Clint and Gillian Erdman

A Ginormous Catch Up

2011-07-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

Okay I suck...I know. A lot has happened since...October?!?! Geez, I do suck! Let's do a rundown and figure out why I've been a slacker...

In September, we moved to Clint's parents property and spent 6 months there. As much as I enjoy being around family, it was a VERY trying time for Clint and I. We were in such a teensy place and we spent much of our time arguing about how much of a mess we would make for being in such a small area. There were times when I just felt like giving up, to be honest. It was so hard to deal with. That and we were just getting nowhere in saving or anything. With the gas and food prices just SKYROCKETING (or at least I felt like they were), we just couldn't take it anymore. Finally, in March, I broke down and asked my mom if we could move into her house for just a couple months to really get on top of things. Clint and I were both working in SLO and driving 2 cars up and over the grade EVERY day was ridiculous. So we moved into Mom's guest bedroom and stopped filling up our gas tanks every couple days - it now is every couple WEEKS. SO MUCH DIFFERENCE!! We lived there for about 3.5 months until we finally found our cutie little place...but more about that in a bit!

We celebrated Christmas pretty quietly this year. I love Christmas time! It's such a great time to reflect on all that the Lord has given to us and all that we can give back. It makes me want to serve others! My mom, sister Becca, and I decided we wanted to do the 12 Days of Christmas to one of our favorite family's, the Kiahas because they have the CUTEST little girls and most adorable baby boy. They are a super great family! We had so much fun doorbell ditching some fun treats for them for that almost 2 weeks. There was one night near the end where as I was walking it up to the door, I saw one of the girls coming down the stairs in the window on their door and I just hit the pavement! I had to jump up (or halfway up, really!) and race back to the car and we had to circle the block a couple times to make sure the kids didn't know we were there. They are sneaky kids though!

We spent Christmas day with my family and had a blast. It was just a quiet, fun day. My big gift was a Nook, which I LOVE SO MUCH!!!! And Clint got a bunch of fun, little things - the new game he wanted for his Xbox (which he had just gotten a new Xbox - a sleek black one - on Black Friday, so that was his other big gift) and, of course, Chase was spoiled like he always is. Tons of treats and and fun new stuffed animals to tear apart. But if you know Chase at all, all he REALLY wants is a new tennis ball to throw around. He's a sucker for a pretty, new tennis ball. What a cheap date :)

We started the new year out quietly and got back into work full force. Then in March, I got some great news: I was promoted to a department manager! That came with longer work days, but a substantial raise! I now work 10 hours (minimum) per day. Not too much different from what I WAS doing! I also started doing a (fairly) intensive training program to get me "up to speed" on what a manager at Bed Bath and Beyond does. Unfortunately for me, since I've been with the company for 7 years, they decided I could do it all on my own instead of going to Pasadena to BE trained. In some ways it was good, because I could go at my own pace and I got a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. But I didn't get to go to a different store and get away from the people in my own store, so that was kind of lame. In the training program, we have to pick a room (normally, new managers are given an actual department on the floor, so its easy for them - they just pick a room on their side of the store. However, for me as the Customer Service Manager, I don't have a side, so I had to pick just a random room that I would only get to work in about 2 days a week). That room would be the room that is MINE, mine to plan, mine to order, mine to make moves, etc. At the end of the training, the DM and any other district staff come to test the new manager in what they call a "Big Walk." They test to make sure the manager has an understanding of the ins and outs of the company and how to do "manager things." Its a big undertaking, and unfortunately for me, since I had no idea what room to pick, 2 of my senior managers "helped" me to pick one of the hardest rooms in the store. I picked Tabletop - dinnerware, flatware, glassware and serveware. Our store is set up different than pretty much any other store, so any of the maps that Corporate sends out won't match our layout. UGH it was so frustrating sometimes to try to map that dang room! But my big walk was June 7th, and I'm still here today so clearly I didn't die. Or fail. :)

On July 1st, we officially became renters again! We found a super cute little apartment/cottage house or whatever you want to call it. Its actually an old barn workspace that has been converted into a little house. We live in the downstairs area and our friend (who's aunt and uncle own the property) lives in the upstairs studio apartment. His place has its own entrance and everything, so we hardly ever see him, if at all. We got the keys on the first and slowly started moving things in. We got our new (to us) couch and loveseat on the 3rd and spent our first night in the house on the 4th. Our place is great - its technically one bedroom with a weird room to make it a two bedroom...I dunno, you'd have to see it to understand it. I don't have my camera working at the moment (can't find my dang charger!) or else I'd take tons of pictures of the place. The one bedroom is teeny, right now its kind of like a giant closet (we keep the door shut mostly). And the second bedroom that's not really a bedroom is OUR bedroom. It's not really a bedroom because it doesn't have a door. Weird, huh? We haven't yet, but I want to hang a curtain so that its closed off from the rest of the house to give us privacy. And also to hide it when it's dirty :) But I finally have my own kitchen, even if it is small. And my own laundry area, even if it is small. I love my house, even if it is small!!! :)

For the 4th, we decided to take Chase with us to the beach - bad move. He's such a scaredy cat and a nervous nelly! He was so anxious sitting with us while we were waiting for the fireworks to start, just watching all the people! Then when the fireworks actually started, oh geez! He was so scared! So we took him back to the car (which was only about 2 blocks away) and watched the fireworks from there. Well, Clint and I watched and enjoyed them - Chase sat huddled in the back slightly shaking and definitely cursing his mean, mean parents. Enjoy these little pictures:

Clint and I :)
Clint and the scaredy cat, I mean Chase

The next day was my birthday. Blah. I don't even really want to talk about it...I turned old. Just kidding! I turned 25 and thank goodness there wasn't a whole lot of hoopla! The only thing was that the kids sang to me in Primary the Sunday before and made me wear a crown with my name on it. And Becca sat in the back snapping pictures of me...thanks, sister :) She did get this super cute one on the way home:

And next up is Clint's big birthday...his big day is one week from today and he will be 30! Any ideas on fun things you did for a big milestone birthday? I need ideas! I'm going to get some yummy cupcakes from Brooke's cupcake shoppe (check out her website here, she's AMAZING!)

So we have been busy, too busy to blog? You be the judge (I'm gonna say NO, just that I'm kinda lazy...)

See you next time!

New obsession

2010-10-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

I found a new website I'm obsessed with...maybe a tad too much, but who's to say? :)

I discovered it while at the Bridal Show at the Madonna Inn a couple weeks ago (so much fun by the way...delicious cakes/food, fun vendors with freebies - I even got a toothbrush and toothpaste!! SCORE!!!). She's a local jewelry designer and she makes the CUTEST jewelry. I've already started dropping hints to Clint for Christmas, so we'll see. I think I'll make a wishlist and then send it to him...

Anyway, here's the site. Poke around and tell me what you think! Great gift ideas for family/friends (ahem...me...ahem) and great jewelry for yourself too!

Pretty Jealous

2010-10-16T22:19:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty jealous of this girl and her craftiness...I'm pretty jealous of anyone who is crafty because I'm the farthest from crafty there is. Just check her out HERE...you'll get jealous too!

My life is now complete!

2010-08-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

I just got back (well, a few days ago) from the most amazing trip of my life! As previously mentioned, my best friend's boyfriend got us tickets for MICHAEL BUBLE! I have never seen a more amazing concert in my entire life.We left Atascadero around 8:30 am on Tuesday and started our trek to Sacramento. Well, after a few stops, we arrived between about 1:15 and 1:30 and we went to check into our hotel room. It was an Extended Stay type of hotel, so it actually had a mini kitchen and ginormous bathroom in it. SO AWESOME! The sucky part, though, was we were about an hour and a half early to check in and our room wasn't ready, so we had to go play around for a bit before we could actually check in. So we went to Taco Bell and then over to the Starbucks next door to it to get on the internet and figure out exactly where the arena was (we were literally 5 minutes away...and our hotel was cheap...and awesome...and we're awesome). Then we decided to drive to find it, so we wouldn't be the crazy tourists that night like everyone else seemed to be. After we drove around it (I tried to convince Michelle to go into the parking lot in hopes that maybe we could sneak inside and possibly hear him rehearsing...but no), we realized that the street next to the back entrance was actually a street that ran parallel to our hotel's street (I think the hotel was pretty much backed up to the arena). WE FOUND A BACK ENTRANCE! The mapquest directions were taking us off the freeway so we figured everyone would take that way, and since we're smart, we took the back way! So we go back to the hotel, check in and just chill for a little bit. Then we got ready and went to BJ's for dinner. The wait wasn't horrible, it just sucked because since it was so close to the arena, everyone and their mother (literally) came there, so it was packed. And as we were waiting, I (stupidly) stood by the door, so that every time it opened, I was greeted with a gust of HOT air. Yes, it was late afternoon and still in the 90's. Michelle and I (mostly me though, since I am SO not used to hot weather) were DYING.After dinner, we ran to the car and drove as fast as we could to the arena. We finally got to the arena and parked and ran to the door. Upon entering, we noticed a giant poster of Michael Buble, set up by Nordstrom, where you could take your picture with it. So we did.The concert was at the Arco Arena, where the Sacramento Kings play. Our seats were in the upper balcony, and this is the view from our seats. The opening act was a band called Naturally 7, who are AMAZING! They are completely a capella, but the coolest thing is that they make the sounds of the instruments with their voices! It is completely brilliant! One of them can sound exactly like a drum, one was a bass, one sounded like a DJ mixing beats. Ahhh, it was awesome!

After they finished it was intermission and we went out to buy some merchandise (I got a shirt and key chain, and we also bought the CD/DVD for Naturally 7). As we were running back to our seats, we saw another poster of Michael, so I did this: Then we ran back to our seats, with only about five minutes to spare until the most amazing man in the world (besides my husband, of course) came out and graced me with his presence! :) He is an amazing performer, very personable and friendly! He was interactive and funny and just all around so good! I can't even put into words how great of a concert it was.
My life is officially complete.

Lots to catch up on...

2010-08-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so bad at blogging lately...I feel like I am always going, going, going with no end in sight. And I also feel like I have nothing to blog about that's interesting. :) So let's catch up on life with the Erdmans:

In June, Clint's sister Karina had a beautiful baby girl, Isabella Rose. She is such a cutie and I love her so much!I stole this picture from my brother-in-law's Facebook. She's such a doll!

Then in July it was my birthday at the beginning and Clint's at the end...we don't really do too much for it, especially because we both don't really like the fact that we are getting old. Not older, OLD. At least that's how we feel! I turned 24 and Clint turned 29. I think next year I might plan something fun because I'll be 25 (a quarter century...ahhhh!) and Clint will turn the big 3-0! CRAZY! We did have some sad times in July though; Clint's grandfather (mom's dad) died on July 16th. The memorial was on Clint's birthday and in Nevada, so unfortunately we spent the weekend apart because I (of course) had to work.

Then came the fun part of our lives. It started on July 21st or something right around then...we dropped Clint's car off to get some maintenance work done before his warranty ran out (which was basically 10 miles later!). Come to find out that it was a much bigger job because more things were wrong than we thought and it was more than just mechanical or electric errors, it was "wear and tear" which is not covered under the warranty. So after much fighting with insurance and policy people, we finally got his car back last Friday...August 13th. Almost a full month after dropping it off. Because Clint works in Paso and I work in SLO and we live in Atascadero, we had to borrow my mom's car for awhile (THANKS MOM!!! You are such a lifesaver!). We had her car until August 9th, and then we figured it would only be a few more days, so we were just going to use my car and he would drop me off at work and pick me up at the end of the day. So that worked for Monday. Then Tuesday comes. I get a bad head cold, but still go to work (dedication, I tell ya!). Then I get a call from Clint. "Your car died." I literally wanted to shoot myself in the face when I heard that. We find out that my timing belt has gone bad and broken or whatever happens to the timing belt. Also, because my car is SO SPECIAL (sure) the timing belt breaking has the potential to break more things in my car. Cool. Our friend recommended a mobile mechanic (who has been a GODSEND) to take a look at it. Long story short (too late!), my car is going to basically be brand new by the time he is done with it! Yahoo!

It's been a full week and my car is not done yet. That's the other dilemma. We still only have one car. It's been a VERY trying week, let me tell you.

We did make a decision that I finally feel comfortable about. We are moving out of our teeny tiny apartment to an even teenier, tinier 5th wheel on my in-law's property. BUT we have full access to their house, kitchen, bigger bathrooms, living room with ginormous TV, etc. And I love my in-laws dearly; they are such good people to help us out like this. We are giving them $200 a month to live with them so we can get our finances in order, pay off bills and such. But it'll be good for all of us, even Chase. He'll finally have more room to play and more dogs to socialize with. Maybe he won't be such a baby when we leave for work now...just kidding :)

My job is still going pretty good - it's super stressful because of Back to College season...a word to the wise, STAY AWAY from BBB during the 2nd weekend and the first few days of the 3rd week (basically September 10th through the 14th)...Poly freshman are moving in and it'll be a ZOO there! But I have officially been in my position for 5 months now. Still learning new things everyday and new ways to cut corners to hopefully make my job easier...hopefully.

Clint and I also hit the 18 month mark in our marriage! Yay for us! :) We are still a happy little family, and I can't wait for what the future holds for us together.

It's the little things...

2010-05-14T19:28:00.001-07:00

...that make me so grateful for my sweet husband. I left this morning to go to SLO to get my haircut. As I was leaving, I gave Clint a hug and kiss and said, "Okay, I'm going to get my hair cut now. The next time you see me, I'll have pretty hair." And he said, "You always have pretty hair." *Melt my heart*

As I am sitting here writing this, Chase came up next to me, sits down and looks up with his cute eyes. I turned to look at him and what does he do? He puts his paws up on my lap and lays his head across my lap so I would scratch his head.

Can I get a better life? I think not.

Greatest news EVER

2010-05-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

I got the best news in the whole world earlier this week...

I was getting ready for work when my best friend's boyfriend called me. He says, "Hey Gillian, I was wondering if you'd be able to get August 24th and 25th off." I asked him why, and he told me that he had gotten Michelle her birthday present, but he wasn't going to tell me what it was because he was afraid I'd tell her too early and he wanted to actually surprise her with it. He actually said, "I don't trust you to not tell her." WOW! However, he is right...but that's besides the point. Anyway, I coerced him into telling me what it was and here's how THIS part of the conversation went:
Him: "I got her Michael Buble tickets for the 24th up in Sacramento. I think she's really going to like it, don't you?"
Me: "And I need to get the days off because...?"
Him: "Oh because the only stipulation I'm giving her with this present is that she has to take you."

I screamed.

I'M GOING TO SEE MICHAEL BUBLE IN CONCERT!!!!!!!! Be jealous everyone, be jealous!

Recipes

2010-04-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

My schedule at work lately has had me getting home around 8 pm most of the week. I have been trying to get myself motivated to get some good meals going for my husband, who usually gets home AFTER me. I am totally at a loss for some new recipes, and I am asking all my fellow readers to let me know some of your recipes. Something easy, quick, not a lot of clean up (hopefully). I am totally done with pasta or cereal everynight!!!! I would love all of your input! Thanks!!! :)

First Day

2010-03-15T19:37:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day at my "new job"! It was such a loooong day (I got there at 7:30 this morning and didn't leave until about 6:15 pm) but it was so productive. The best part about it was that the girl training me is one of my best friends, Michelle, so we got to spend the whole day together. And we live very close to each other so we are car pooling this whole week because we are working the exact same schedule all week. So that is so helpful with gas and everything. It was fun to talk over the day with someone who actually understands! (unlike my husband...who listens for about a second and then tunes me out. That's love, I'll tell ya!)

It was very overwhelming because on top of learning a new job, we also have a new store manager, with new ways of doing everything. I had a meeting with her this morning that lasted almost two hours going over most of the things that are expected of me in this position. It was definitely eye opening, but totally fun to learn all this new stuff! I am so excited, but incredibly nervous that I'm just going to screw everything up! Thank goodness Michelle is here for the rest of the week so at least I'll have an idea about what I am doing daily! I am so excited!

Clint also started his new school this morning. He is going to Laurus College for Web Design and he is very excited. He goes Monday through Thursday, 8-10 am. This will last about 18 months, so hopefully he won't get burned out and will be able to finish well. I am so proud of him for wanting to do this, for actually getting his butt in gear and doing it, and for still holding down a job to help support the family! What a great husband, I definitely married a winner!!! :)

The latest and greatest

2010-03-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

It seems like I am only posting about once a month...I feel like that's about the extend of our exciting news. But still, I have some great news to share with everyone!

I have been offered a new position at work! Anyone who knows my work history with this company will know EXACTLY why I am excited! I have been working the same position for almost 5 full years now (and I have been with this company for almost 6 years)...thats a LOONG time to be doing the same thing day after day, week after week. Starting Monday, I will be the new Customer Service Lead at Bed Bath and Beyond! I am officially OFF the front end...and hopefully will never have to go back (for an extended amount of time that is...). All next week (minus about half the day Saturday) I get to be in training for my new position. The existing Customer Service manager and I will be attached at the hip for a whole week while she trains me, because starting the following Monday, it's all on me! Oh joy! :) As sad as I am to leave my girls (my cashiers and other leads at the front end), I am so excited about this new job! It will be a great opportunity and wonderful stepping stone to hopefully bigger and better things.

Clint has also got a new job. If you remember, he was working for a company that went door to door selling Charter internet, cable and phone. As of this past week, he has started doing the same thing, except for Dish Network and Direct TV. He is much more comfortable with a lot of their policies/procedures and feels a million times better after making this decision. The cool thing was that the owner of the company flew out to train Clint and his friend Joey on everything and spent two full days with them. The OTHER cool (or funny) thing is that this guy is from Utah, so of course my first question to Clint was, "Is he Mormon?" Clint asks Kevin this the next day, and obviously his answer is, "Yes." For some reason (I know what reason!) that little statement made me feel a ton better as well. I feel good about our decision for Clint to start working for this company as opposed to the last one. It just feels right!

2010-02-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our 1 year anniversary! Can you believe that?! I had to work in the morning, but I was able to convince my boss to let me leave early (one hour early...let me tell you, it took a full week to convince him...I love my job, I love my job, I love my job...) and then Clint met me at work. We drove to my mom's house where we both changed into nice clothes and chatted with my little sister Hannah. Then we headed down to Pismo Beach for dinner. We went to the Sea Venture restaurant and had such a fun time! It was MUCH fancier than either of us are used to so that was a big surprise. But it was so much fun! Here's to the rest of our lives together my love! :)

That morning, Clint had dropped Chase off at Petsmart to get groomed. So after dinner we headed over there and picked him up. He looks TONS better and I know he feels tons better too! He went from looking like this: ...to looking like this: We are just really excited that he is no longer looking like a wooly mammoth!

Today is also a very somber day for me. Seven years ago today was the death of two boys my age. McKay Edwards and Ian Purdon. It is always a hard day for me, so I decided to spend some extra time with my mom and sister. I miss you both so much, but I do have the knowledge and faith that I will see each of you again someday.

Family Pictures

2010-01-19T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hannah's gift to my mom for Christmas and her birthday was to have all of us take family pictures. We recruited Melissa White and her fabulous photography skills to help us out! On December 29th, we all got together at Cuesta Park and spent some time taking pictures. Thanks to my mom, it felt like senior pictures ALL OVER AGAIN! First it was pictures of the kid and their significant other. Then it was pictures of just the kid (what's she gonna do with those? I think she told me they were going to be for her new dart board........thanks Mom!!!) and then it was pictures of the five kids, then of the kids and Mom, then of everyone! Let me tell you, that was a LOOONG day! BUT it was also a long time coming; the last family pictures we took were in I think 2001! And before that was "the awkward years" pictures that have since been hidden (Hannah, we still have to destroy those!!!). So these should be really good this time around. We were just let known today that they are ready and Hannah will be getting us copies of the pictures by this weekend (fingers crossed that they turn out good!!!), so soon, I am going to be changing photos in frames!! I'm so excited! The things we do for our mother!!!

Love you momma!!!

Christmas and after...

2010-01-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

I feel like I'm always posting a "catch-up" post...I feel like I just never have the time to post something!!! I'm going to try to remedy that this year, and post more about our lives! *The biggest problem I face is that we just aren't that cool...nothing fun really happens to us!* I guess that could be a good thing, in that nothing BAD every really happens. But I will try to find things that we are doing that are blog worthy...

That being said...

We spent Christmas with my family in SLO. Hannah had to the night before so we all showed up around noon to let her sleep in a bit. I only took two pictures at Christmas (I know, I suck). One was of my mom getting her special gift:

We all pitched in and got her an Ipod. It's the only thing that she wanted, and since we are good kids, we got her one! The only other picture I took was of Clint after he opened up his gift from Chase...I have to admit, it was pretty darn cute!I got this frame from my work where you can decorate it yourself (some of you parents will recognize it; my mom and I got them for our kids in our Primary class to decorate for their parents!) So I decorated it and Chase "gave" it to his Dad! Clint loves it (despite his face in the picture!) We spent the rest of the day just hanging out and playing games as a family; it was truly a wonderful Christmas season this year!

The next day (December 26), Clint's sister Karina got married! She was married out in Cayucos to a great guy, Jovanni (I think that's how you spell his name.) I was able to get out there JUST in time for the wedding; I literally ran inside and was sitting for maybe 3 minutes before the ceremony started! It was a very quick ceremony, but it was very touching. Karina looked so beautiful! I took a few pictures, so enjoy the people you probably don't know! :)

The other pictures I have are pretty dark and just not really of great quality...maybe a career in photography is not going to happen for me!

Giveaway

2009-12-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the tip Leighanne...
Go here for a great giveaway - $100 to the store of your choice!!! :)
What a fantastic giveaway!

Catching up with the Erdmans

2009-11-15T20:59:00.001-08:00

* Best friends*

So I know I haven't blogged in a while...I just really haven't had anything to say. I will just update you on whats been happening in our neck of the woods:

Clint is now working for Charter Communications as a salesman. If any of you are interested in switching to Charter or upgrading in any way, let me know and I'll get him down to you as soon as he can. He just started last week and is enjoying it a lot. He also just finished a season of Men's Softball up here in Atascadero. He really likes getting out there and getting some exercise. Clint is a really good ball player and I loved when I was able to get out there and watch him play!
I am still working as hard as ever at Bed Bath and Beyond. Like I mentioned in the last post, my direct superior is out on medical leave for an undetermined amount of time. I have heard she is trying to get back as soon as possible but I can't see that happening any time soon. So, in her absence, the responsibilities of the department have fallen on me, as the full time lead. Last week I was able to sit down with our district manager Dennis and discuss my options and future with the company. I left the meeting with no exactness as to what will happen, but a definite feeling of hope that things in the store will be changing for the better, and that I am not being overlooked as far as promotions go. The district staff is well aware of all my hard work and accomplishments and that's basically all I need at this point. I am still team teaching with my mom in Primary at church - we love it so much! We started out the year with 7 or 8 kids (I really have lost track!) and we are now down to 5. But they are such lively and crazy kids - I LOVE them all so much! They make teaching so much fun with all their little comments and questions and ideas!
Chase is...well, still the same! He seems to be getting bigger, but I really think its just the fur. He spends his days being lazy around the house and his nights trying to get either Clint or myself to wrestle around with him (after we get home from work and just want to be lazy).

Clint and I were able to get down to Ventura at the beginning of October to visit with some friends of ours. It is a tradition for us to go to Universal Studios and do their "Halloween Horror Nights": it is AMAZING! Think about it - a movie studio putting on a Halloween party, complete with costumes and all kinds of great special effects. It is absolutely insane! This was the first year that Clint could come with us, so that was really neat! They have a couple mazes that are built after some of the classic scary movies (Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, etc) and everything is SO real! They also have scare zones, where you just walk through and people jump out at you and scare the crap out of you!!! Its so much fun!

Other than that, everything is pretty boring. :) Just the way I like it - drama free!

And to leave you with a treat (since you read SO much already!!!), here's a picture of Chase dressed up for Halloween:

I thought he was cute...he didn't like us too much after the photo shoot was done. ;)

2009-10-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I was getting ready to do the dishes, so I take off my rings and watch and turn on the water. I let it run for a few seconds to warm up while I arrange the dishes for easier washing and check back on the water - still cold. Move some more things around, open up the dishwasher, check back with the water - still cold, and it feels like its getting colder. This goes on for a little bit and I cannot for the life of me figure out what the heck is going on. Why won't my water heat up?!?!

I forgot to turn on the HOT water...that's what I call an epic fail.

On a brighter note, my manager at work is taking a leave of absence for illness. No one is sure exactly when she will be back, we just know it will be at least a month or longer. So this basically means...I am in charge of the front end at work! Yahoo! It's finally mine again!! :) I have two other leads that are fantastic; very hard workers and lovely girls to be around, so we are going to have a blast without Pauline (who everyone seems to greatly dislike...hopefully this will bring about a change in attitudes along the whole front end!) So yay, its been a pretty good week, despite the crazy weather and long hours I had to put in. Good karma is finally catching up to me! :)

Yummy Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowls

2009-10-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

The finished product...mmm

I've been totally loving checking out so many blogs because they give me so many ideas about fun things to do around the house and fun things to cook as well. I tried a great one from The Idea Room blog, it was for Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowls for soup to go inside. If you click here, you will get the posting.

It was super simple and they came out really, really cute! They only thing I'd do differently (and this was my own fault) would be to before baking, make the balls flatter, like in the picture on the blog. That seemed to be the reason why mine came out so round and ball like...I think if they were flatter going into the oven, they would have been more like an actual bread bowl, more oval in shape. Next time, I'll try that.

Fresh out of the oven

They were super easy to make and totally delicious!

This weekend...

2009-09-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

So Clint is gone this weekend in Tahoe with some friends (LUCKY!!!! This is the reason I hate WOW week at work/Poly sometimes...I never get to go with them) so I decided to have a sleepover (yes, a sleepover...be jealous!) with my best friend up here Michelle. Her boyfriend is leaving on Sunday to go to Ireland for at least 6 months to try it out. He's hoping he'll find a good job and stay, but I'm hoping he'll come back. Mostly because regardless of where he is, Michelle will end up with him there, and I want her to stay here! So anyway, we're doing it up right: girly movies, cookies, brownies, ice cream, and the inevitable sob fest I'm sure. She's supposed to be out of work RIGHT NOW, so I'm just getting the apartment ready for this awesome slumber party! I love being a girl at times like these - boys wouldn't do this. But we're gonna have the best time! I sure do wish all my girls could be here though...I miss our sleepovers sometimes. I wish we weren't so spread out and this could be a regular thing. Miss you ladies, love you!

Etching

2009-09-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

I just found a fun blog that I am totally loving on right now. It's called theidearoom.blogspot.com and it has such fun ideas for almost everything. I found this one and just fell in love, so I decided to try. It sounds so easy (and it is, once you get the hang of it...)
I got all the materials at Michaels (except the contact paper...that was from the Dollar Tree). I got the idea because Becca is leaving to go back to Idaho and I wanted to make her a going away present. I thought she could put this on her desk and think of home sometimes. I forgot to take pictures while I was doing it, AND I didn't get pictures of Becca's finished present. So you'll have to make due with pictures of my practicing...I made Becca's on a similar jar as this one, except smaller. And the final product on this one is one letter on each side (C, &, G, E to make like "Clint and Gillian Erdman) and I just put a "B" on one side for Becca.

This has proven to be a pretty fun and fairly easy project, one that I want to continue to do. I didn't think I had this creative streak in me...

Marriage Quiz

2009-08-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a silly thing that Lindy tagged me for on Facebook. It was fun to fill these answers in there, so I figured I'd put it up on here too!

1. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time?
Softball field

2. What is your spouse's full name?
Clint Antony Erdman

3. Do you have any house pets?
Yeah, our pup Chase (cockerspaniel...amazing!)

4. Do you own a house or rent?
Rent

5. Do you live in the country or city?
Small City - Atascadero

6. What is one of your favorite activities together?
Take drives, watch movies, play games

7. Do you have a favorite vacation spot?
Not really...we go to see our friends in Ventura sometimes, we always enjoy that.

8. When did you first kiss?
Mmmm...like a week after meeting...something like October of 2007.

9. What church do you attend?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

10. Where were you married?
SLO...February 6, 2009.

11. What town is your current address at?
Atascadero, CA.

12. Do you work or stay at home:
We both work full time.

13. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Night of our wedding was spent in a hotel in Pismo...we took a trip to Disneyland a couple months later when we both could get some adequate time off!

14.What was the funniest gift you gave when dating?
I don't even know...

15. Who asked who out?
I think he asked me out on our first official date - sushi and a movie! :)

16. How old are each of you?
Clint is 28 and I am 23

17.Where do you each work or go to school?
I work at Bed Bath and Beyond and he works for Mega Door Management

18. Do you go to the same school?
No school for either of us.

19. Are you from the same home town?
Nope, I am from SLO and he is from Atascadero/Yerrington, NV

20. Who is smarter?
Me duh...on some things. We kinda balance each other out I think.

30. Who is more sensitive?
Definitely me...he's getting better though.

31.Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Depends on our mood and budget. We love sushi, especially Yanagis. And for a relaxed meal we'll go to Woodstocks for pizza!!

32. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Not far...we've gone to like LA area. Hopefully we'll be able to travel more together soon!

33.Who has the craziest exes?
Me for sure.

34. Who has the worse temper?
We both have bad tempers but we're pretty good about not letting them get too out of hand especially at each other.

35. Who does the cooking?
Me

36. Who is more social?
Probably him...I have my core group of friends and tend not to stray too much from them.

37. Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us...we like things cleaned and orderly, but we're definitely not obsessive.

38. Who is more stubborn?
Both of us...mostly Clint though ;)

39. Who hogs the bed?
DEFINITELY CLINT!!!

40. Who wakes up earlier?
Depends on the day, usually him though

41. Where was your first date?
Yanagi's for sushi, then a movie.

42.Who had more boyfriends/girlfriends?
I think me.

43. Do you get flowers often?
not often, but sometimes.

44. How do you spend the holidays?
With my family...his doesn't celebrate.

45. How long did it take to get serious?
Not too long...a couple weeks I think.

47. Who eats more?
I think me for the most part...

48. Who does the laundry?
All me.

49. Who’s better with the computer?
Clint for sure. I'm stupid when it comes to computers haha!

50. Leave a piece of advice for the other couples.
You're spouse is going to be there through the good times and the bad, so rely on him/her. Let him/her be your best friend. It's the most amazing friendship you will ever have.

2009-08-21T12:40:00.001-07:00

Just finished reading Harry Potter #7 last night...I wish that the story just kept going. But, it has freed me up to begin reading Twilight all over again.

I love to read!

I don't think that Clint really likes that I read all this much...I was trying to finish the book last night and he kept trying to talk to me and I think just all around annoy me. It worked - I ended up just getting up and walking into the other room to get away from him so I could finish. He wasn't too happy that his plan was foiled! :)

Twilight obsession

2009-08-12T21:51:00.001-07:00

Well, its more like a reading obsession as a whole right now. I'm trying to get through the Harry Potter books again. Yes, I have read them each at least once before, but I wanted to try them again. I was told that because I enjoyed the last movie I am not a true Harry Potter fan. I was actually told this by a few people. Seriously though, entertainment value only...they are fantastic movies! Anyway...
So Clint and I were down south visiting friends this last weekend, and while the boys were out golfing, my best friend Teresa and I decided to hit up the local Barnes and Noble. Yes, we are cool. I was planning on starting to collect the Twilight series one at a time because lets face it, it can get expensive! So while they, I stumbled across an employee who informed me that I could order the whole series together, in HARD BACK no less, for cheaper than if I were to buy it in the store that day. And free shipping. Okay, I'm there. In store, it would have cost me over $80, and I got them delivered to my door within three days for under $60. I've found a new favorite store...So I get the package today and basically it has made my whole life. The smell, I think, is what has gotten me so far. I love the smell of new books! So now I am frantically trying to finish the Harry Potter series (I'm part way through 6 now, shouldn't be too much longer now!) so I can start on this one.

My next thing is to collect the Harry Potter books (I've been borrowing them from my mom). I want them in hard back too...we'll see how far this goes with Clint. :)

Ticket...

2009-08-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

I just got pulled over in good ol' SLO for talking on my cell phone.

My question is...how does EVERYONE ELSE in the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD (total exaggeration...but still, it sure seems like it) get out of tickets every single day, and I always get one? I just don't get it.

My sister thinks it because I need a boob job and some low cut shirts...any other thoughts?

Great Deal!!!!

2009-07-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

So Clint's birthday is on Friday (the big 28!!!) and so we decided that it was time for a little investment for our personal entertainment. We've been wanting (well, he's been wanting, I don't really care too much) a Wii for a while now. We had visited some friends of ours in Ventura a couple months ago and they have a Wii and Clint fell in love. He's been bugging me since then that we NEED to get one. So I obliged and starting looking around to find prices. Man are they expensive! I was going to just bite the bullet and shell out the money for it when he mentioned it again yesterday. So I told him my plan and he told me what he had been doing. Looking on craigslist for a cheap and slightly used one. Well folks...we found one. We found a barely used one from a guy in Atascadero. Apparently, he had just lost his job and was selling off a lot of his unnecessary items and a Wii was part of it. We got the system, two controllers, the sports pack, and a Mario racing game for $140 dollars! Everything without the Mario game at a store is priced at about $250! We are so excited! I love great deals!

Update...

2009-07-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to update about my bee sting drama..lame.

I was able to work on Saturday, taking many opportunites to sit and rest and put my foot up though. That night was one of the most uncomfortable ever - I had to have my foot elevated up, with ice on it and try to sleep. Try it...not easy.
When I woke up Sunday morning, I could hardly walk at all. I called my mom who told me to go immediately to a doctor because the swelling had increased and it was still completely red with no signs of it going down regardless of all the Benedryl I was taking. So we go to the doctor only to have him tell me there was nothing he could do...this is just how I "react to foreign matter" in my body...Thanks....for taking my money and telling me nothing. I really appreciate it.
I spent all day Monday resting it and what formed was a dark red, almost purple splotch on the top of foot. A bruise. Fabulous. So I am currently limping only when I have been on my feet for a very long time, and taking Benedryl/IBprofun on when needed.

Again...I hate bees.

Oh the movies we enjoy

2009-07-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

I got to go see the newest Harry Potter movie on opening night at midnight...it was amazing!!! The energy and enthusiam in that theater was so awesome! I always forget how crazy some fans can get (there was one girl dressed up as Hedwig, Harry's owl, and apparently someone else was dressed up as the Snitch...awesome!) but thats what makes it so much fun!

*Special thank you to my lovely sisters Megan and Becca...they sat out in front of the theater from about 5:30 pm on holding out spot in line. I arrived a little before 11 pm (hey, I had to work that night!!) and only had to wait about 20 minutes. I love my sisters!*

The previews were great too...I so want to see all the new movies out. Can you believe they are making a movie based on the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are"? WHAT!?!?! I LOVE that book!

ALSO...New Moon preview. I am SUCH a fan, I cannot wait for this movie to come out! It looks sooo good...HOT is all I can really say about this movie. I'm so friggin' excited. :

What a day!

2009-07-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

So Becca and I were hanging out today in SLO, and we decided we wanted to go to a park and play around for a bit before she had to go to work. We go to Santa Rosa park and start walking towards the play stuff when all of a sudden, a bee stings me on my toe. Seriously. I hate bees, especially now. I, of course, fall to my knee and start freaking out a bit and Becca's telling me to get it out now! Also, the bee was STUCK on my toe, so I flicked it off, then made her get the stinger out. Now, the last time I got stung, my whole foot swelled up to at least twice the size and I had to go to the doctor to get it taken care of. I was off my feet (on crutches) for two or so days after that, so I got incredibly nervous today. I immediately called my mom and asked her what to do. Becca and I went back to her house, I took some Benedryl and just rested until Clint came down. When he looked at it, he informed me that there was still a little bit of the stinger in there and we went to work to get it out. What a day! Needless to say, I am watching my toe to make sure it doesn't swell up too much more so I won't have to go to the doctor this time. STAY AWAY FROM SANTA ROSA PARK!!!! Dumb bees will sting you for no reason. But basically I am glad that the bee died...

New Place?

2009-06-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

We went and looked at another condo in our complex last night. Two, actually. I want a bigger place, we are too cramped in this one. The two we went to look at were two bedrooms. They are not necessarily huge or anything, but they are nice. Its like a mini house. Totally cute! I hope we decide to get into the bigger place (it has a garage...that would be absolutely amazing!). I want more space!

I had a nice time last night with my sisters! Hannah and Becca (and Hannah's boyfriend Danny) came up to see the apartment and Chase and hang out for a couple hours after I got off work. It was so much fun. I took them on a tour (lasting all of about 2 minutes...yes, my apartment is small...) and then we sat and talked for a looong time waiting for Clint to get back from the gym. When we realized he wasn't coming home for a while we decided to go get some dinner. Hannah treated us all to In N Out. I think thats the main reason they came up here was for the In N Out. No judgment, I would have done the same! Hahah :) We had so much fun, I wish we could all get together more! Love you sisters!!!

...and now...

2009-06-28T22:11:00.001-07:00

Billy Mays too?! What is happening with all these celebs, huh? Seriously, you if you've bumped your head - GET IT CHECKED OUT!!! That's two celebrities within about 2 or so months of each other to die because of a head injury that they didn't think was serious. It's serious!

On a lighter note...there are officially pictures hanging in my house now. Yay!!!! My mom gave Clint and I a "C" and a "G" lettering wall hanging thing when we got married and I finally got it up...just shy of 5 months of having it sit on the ground in our bedroom. Now its up! Along with a ton of other pictures, mostly from our wedding. I do have two collage frames with 7 spots for pictures in each. One of them has some of our engagement pictures and some cute ones of us when we were dating. And the other is a tribute to our trip to Disneyland last month! I just got those up tonight, and man were they hard to get up! I have never had so much trouble with something like this. First of all, I suck at hammering. Yeah, I know...it's not THAT hard, but I somehow make it completely difficult. And then I didn't measure properly. Again, I suck. But I finally got them up, they are *somewhat* straight. But somewhat is good enough for me. Especially in this heat. I think it hit in the high 90's up here, if not higher than that. AND yesterday my mom, Hannah, Becca, Clint and I went olallieberry picking! Clint and I came out with a flat of these delicious berries. We froze four baskets and kept 2 out for our general grazing. So I decided to make a mini cobbler today (I think the heat really got to me...because seriously, baking? In this heat? I must have been dehydrated or SOMETHING...I don't even know). It turned out AMAZING! Clint and I downed the whole thing in about 5 minutes (seriously). It was pretty tiny though, about the size of a loaf pan, and maybe about 2-4 inches high. It was so good. I wish I had taken a picture of it. It was that beautiful. Side note...GOOD LUCK TO LEIGHANNE! The doctors should be inducing her (or should have already) she is getting ready to have her first baby! Love you Leighanne and David and baby Maggie! :)

Today has been a weird day...

2009-06-25T18:30:00.001-07:00

I still can't believe that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett both died today. It's so odd. And as weird as this may sound, I think that I will always remember exactly what I was doing when I heard about them. Both were when I was at work today. (As I'm sitting here, I'm thinking that I can probably remember the time too!) I was in my car with a co worker on the last little bit of our lunch and she was checking the Internet on her phone for news...well, Farrah Fawcett dying surely is news. I would say this is about at 12:47 (ish). And then around 3:22, I took my last break and had a text from Clint (sent at 3:15) telling me that Michael Jackson died. I looked on my Facebook today, and so many people had something about one or the other or both as their status. As one person put it, "I thought he was immortal." Seriously. You don't think that celebrities are going to die. This has been a weird day.

RIP Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

New stuff

2009-06-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

We're getting a new TV! Oh, I am so excited! Not that I watch a ton of TV, but mostly just because we are getting an amazing deal. Our friends' parents got this one about a year ago, and decided that they didn't want it anymore...I think they may have upgraded even (must be nice to be able to do that at the spur of the moment...), so they had this one and offered it to us for $350, which they said we can pay them a little each month for. So awesome! Its a 42" flat screen LCD, HD, every kind of "D" you can think of (haha just kidding)! Its a beauty...we're getting it on Saturday and my wonderful husband said he's going to have it all hooked up by the time I get home from work that night. YAHOO!!!! :) Which means two things: 1) I have a lot of rearranging to do (we're moving the TV from the living room into the bedroom, and the TV in the bedroom has to find a new place to live) and 2) I have to find that place for my poor old TV to live. Its about 6 or 7 years old, a 19" TV/VCR combo, and I don't think the VCR really works anymore...but who has VHS tapes anymore? I think I'm mostly excited about the rearranging part. I LOVE redecorating, however small a project it may be. I'm so happy to have a project!!! :)

In other news...we finally gave our poor pup a haircut. It's getting way too hot during the days, so we got him shaved down completely to tackle the heat. He looks so silly without all his fur and curls! He looks so little now!

I'm really hating...

2009-06-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

all this lame construction on the freeways. Unnecessary, in my opinion. Well, not entirely. It's unnecessary that it's taking THIS LONG TO COMPLETE. Last night, I got off work around 10:15 pm. It usually takes 20 minutes TOPS to get home, and thats if I am driving the speed limit the WHOLE time. Now, that NEVER happens, so I'm home within about 15 minutes. It took me over 35 minutes to get from BBB to home last night because of TRAFFIC ON THE FREEWAY ON A TUESDAY NIGHT!!!!! It was lame. I hope they stop soon.

2009-06-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

What a day today is going to be. First of all, it is my first day off since last Tuesday...yes, I worked 8 stinkin' days in a row. My feet hurt, my legs ache, my back is absolutely killing me. So I finally get a day off. Here was my plan for the day:
-Sleep in
-Clean the house
-Get a few things at the grocery store
-Take Chase to dog park
-RELAX

Here's my NEW plan for the day:
-Sleep until 730 and get woken up by a crazy dog scratching at the door
-Open the door to have him jump on my face
-Try to get more sleep, but are denied this because of said dog
-Get trapped in my own home...

So I have a crazy dog, and thats all there really is to it.

As far as me getting trapped in my home...here's the deal. My apartment complex is getting repainted or touched up or something. For the past three or four days they have been working on MY building, which is like four apartments. Chase is absolutely TERRIFIED of these guys for whatever reason. Okay, they are making quite a bit of noise (normal, I suppose) as they are literally right outside our windows and on our roof (we are on the 2nd and top floor). So I try to lay in bed as long as I can to get the most out of my relaxing time. Chase is laying on a pillow, which has been made into a time out pillow for all the barking he is doing at these painters. At about 10:15 there is a knock at my door. I go to answer it and there is one of the painters there, who informs me that they will be spraying now, which means they will be closing off my door...my only exit to the outside world.
"How long is this going to be? When will I be able to leave?"
"It's going to be all day, ma'am. I'd say around 4 or so."

..................what?
So now I am here...trying to figure out how to do anything now that all my motivation for a good day is gone. Chase is locked in the bedroom because he kept barking and now thats all he is doing. He's really into the howling bark...its quite lovely. So I guess its MOVIES all day long...I'm already looking forward to work tomorrow.

Quick Update

2009-05-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing super new to post lately...except...we finally set up my computer! Yay! I've been fighting with Clint for the last, oh four months (since we got married lol) to get it set up. It's been sitting in our living room for that long. We finally got a desk at WalMart about 2 or so months ago, and that sat as well in our living room up until last Sunday, when my wonderful husband surprised me when I got home from work. Then it took me another two days to move it into the bedroom and get it set up enough for him to get the Internet into the room. We are lazy people...just kidding! We've been SO busy with so much these last four months, I'm surprised we have time to be together sometimes, let alone set up a computer! But I am so excited because now I can go onto and do my thing while he is doing his homework and hogging the laptop out in the living room. It gives me more of an excuse now to leave him alone while he's doing his homework as well. I used to sit out in the living room and watch TV or read or something, but now that I have this, I feel free! Hahah :)
Things are still going very well for us. Clint has started his 3rd term of school and is liking it so far. He started with four classes and realized it was going to be wayyyy too much work, so he dropped one and is enjoying it so far (it's only been a week, so we'll see!). Work is still going good as well for him...I am so grateful that even in this recession, his company is still able to find work. As for me...well, my job is still there. I am quickly approaching a milestone there. On Tuesday, June 2 it will be 5 years since I started. Appparently I got a pin to wear on my name tag that says "5 Years." We'll see if I actually wear that... :) I am eagerly awaiting the Paso Robles store opening in hopes I can transfer up there. That would be an incredibly exciting possibility for me! AND there's a really good chance that I won't have to be involved in this year's Back to College mayhem because the store is opening right around the same time. HOPEFULLY!!!! :)
Thats all the news from the Erdman front. We hope everyone is having wonderfully magical days! :)

Ugh!

2009-05-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so done with all the stuff going on with my work...SO done! I can't wait for the Paso store to open, I want to go there! I know, I know, Bed Bath and Beyond is the same everywhere...but geez. How much more can I take of that store?! All the dumb politics and jumping through hoops just to get nowhere! So frustrating! I've been having a really hard last couple of days, all dealing with work. Clint doesn't quite get why I get so upset...mostly its because I put so much of myself into that job and get VERY little out of it, and that's very frustrating and upsetting to me. I have to remind myself all the time to just breathe, the day is almost over, it's not THAT big of a deal. Am I just acting too crazy? Sometimes I really think I am...that place drives me bonkers!

Our Weekend

2009-05-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had the best weekend ever! And I call it a weekend because it was continuous days off, which I NEVER get off from work, so thats a weekend for me. Clint has this whole week off from school, so we decided to get some days off of both of our works and go to Disneyland for a couple days!! Oh it was amazing...well, for the most part!

We left on Sunday after church and drove down to Ventura. My best friends live down there, so we stayed the night with them. Elvin barbequed up some tri-tip, made corn on the cob, salad, potatoes, the whole nine yards for dinner. It was absolutely DELICIOUS! Then, we spent the rest of the night watching movies and playing Wii. SO MUCH FUN! I have heard from just about EVERYONE that playing Wii makes your muscles and arms and legs and everything so sore and tired, and all I would think is, "Yeah, right! You guys are just out of shape, this would never happen me." Boy, was I wrong. I'm still hurting, and its 2 solid days later!

Anyway, we wake up early the next morning and leave their house by about 8 to make the rest of the drive down to Anaheim. We get to about Camarillo, right before the grade up to Thousand Oaks, when it hits me. And I mean it HITS me hard! Yes, ladies, I got that wonderful thing that Mother Nature likes to torture us with. HOWEVER, I didn't start THAT quite yet. Nope, I got the cramps. Now if anyone REALLY knows me, you'll know just how bad they are. On a good month, I will be knocked out for a couple hours, just curled up in a ball wishing I could die. Yes, I did say a GOOD month. This was an okay month. I think the vibrations of the car and my sweet husband holding my hand and rubbing what he could of my shoulders helped me to deal as best as I could.

So we arrive in Anaheim and get off at whatever exit you take that basically puts you at Disneyland's front door. To our right is a gas station. We are in the far left lane that you can only turn left in. Clint is furiously trying to figure out a way to get over to that gas station because my face is rapidly turning green and there is no where to throw up! Except...in the Jack In The Box bag from our "breakfast" that morning. Which I did...over and over again while that BLASTED light never changed. We are finally able to make it to the gas station a few minutes later (gross part: bag is completely soaked through, seeping down my hands onto my pants...yuck!), go to the outside bathroom, wait for what seemed like an eternity while lame people were in front of me taking their sweet time, during which I threw up again in the bushes. Nice. We leave there and drive around trying to find a store to buy Midol and tampons (yes, forgot both. I am a genius). While I am changing my pants in the store, Clint is calling our hotel for directions and the possibility of checking in early, which they did let us do.

We get to the hotel and Clint goes in to check in, while I am still in the car crying from the pain. He comes out and helps me inside the lobby to the elevator, which of course, takes about 5 million hours to open up, and I have to throw up again in the lobby trash can. I am a mess at this point and don't care who sees me. (The only other person was the receptionist guy, who tells me he'll send up some trash cans to my room. Thanks.)

Anyway, long story short, I start to feel better (few more rounds of hugging the porcelain god, a relaxing - somewhat - bath, and a nap) around 4. I literally jump up and say to my wonderful husband, "Can we go to Disneyland now?" My only thoughts the entire day (besides, "Oh crap, where's the toilet?!") were that I couldn't believe I was ruining this for us! We had planned on spending two solid days at Disneyland/CA Adventure, and look what I was doing? So we get ready to go and get over to Disneyland (about a 10 minute walk from our hotel) at aobut 430. We started out with The Haunted Mansion (my favorite!), then Tom Sawyer's Island, and Pirates. We did a couple more little rides, wandered around a bit, and basically just had a good day. Our friends, the Hickman's, were there too, so we met up with them and hung out for a few minutes. We called it a day at around 830, and just went back to the hotel.

The next morning we were up and ready to go super early. We got to the park at about 830 and waited in line for them to open up. As soon as we got in, we booked it to Finding Nemo's Submarine thing. That was so much fun! I'd been on the old Submarine ride years ago, but this one exceeded both our expectations! It was a total blast! After Space Mountain (by myself, Clint's not big on rollercoasters), we decided to head over to CA Adventure. I'd been there once myself a couple years ago, but Clint has never been. I had forgotten how cool it was! We hit Soarin' Over California first, which Clint LOVED! And then we went on the River Rafting ride. It was about 11 or so at this point, so it was nice and hot. We got soaked on this ride, which was awesome because it was cold water, and it felt GREAT!

We only stayed until about 230 this afternoon, then headed for home. We wanted to miss the traffic and since both of us have to work tomorrow, we wanted to be well rested and back in our own bed. Pictures will be coming soon; we didn't take many but we got some cool ones! All in all, it was a successful and super fun weekend for us! And Clint even wants to go back for more! Who can blame him, its the Happiest Place On Earth!!!

Can anyone tell me...

2009-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is when he was littler...he's probably double in size now, and doesn't fit in the sink anymore!

...why when after a bath, the dog must run around at lightening speed, then rub his face all over the carpet, the couch, basically anything around? It's so weird, but every time I give Chase a bath, this is what happens. First of all, he hates bath time. Absolutely hates it with a passion. It's completely an uphill battle that I regret doing as soon as I start it. He is so ornery about it that I have to actually get INTO the tub with him so that he will feel a bit more comfortable. If I am outside the tub, he will run to the opposite side of the faucet and growl at me if I try to get near. But if I'm IN the tub, it's a little better. He still thrashes around (today he was trying so hard to get away that the poor little guy slipped and went sliding around...I laughed...good mom, I know.) but I finally get him all cleaned up and rinsed off and partially dry, and he just takes off out of the bathroom and whips around the apartment like a madman. Its so funny!

On a lighter note, Clint and I let him attack his next challenge...a giant rawhide. This thing is MASSIVE. Thanks to Megan and Drew for that Christmas present. The funny thing about that is Megan and Drew bought rawhides for all of the dogs in the family (Chase, Buddy - Mom's dog, and Kelsey - Ben and Caitlin's dog), and Chase ended up with all of them. Both Buddy and Kelsey get a real mean streak in them when they get rawhides, and Chase doesn't, so he got all of them. So we are slowly making out way through the teeny ones from Buddy, the regular size ones that were his, and finally the ginormous one from Kelsey.

Its almost as long as his whole body. He'll just sit on his bed at night while we're watching TV and chew. It's so funny...it's been about 2 weeks or so since we gave it to him (this picture was a day or so after we gave it to him) and he still has sooo much left. Dogs are so silly.

Just one more picture...how can you not love this little bug???

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day today! I had a good day! I spent the morning with my mom at church, which is always the funnest time for me. It's just us that go to our ward, so we get to spend some good quality time together. We team teach one of the Primary classes together - the 6 and 7 year old kids. And let me tell you, if it wasn't for that wonderful woman I am so lucky to call my momma, I would be such a mess in that class! :) We get to spend all three hours together at church, and I am so happy every Sunday to be able to do that! If you don't know my mom, you are totally missing out! That woman is the most incredible person I have met in my entire life. She raised her five kids all alone from the time the youngest was 3, and Becca just turned 19! We all graduated high school, Hannah has graduated college with a nursing degree, Ben will be graduating from the Police Academy in a few weeks, I am married, and three others are in serious relationships, all of whom my mom loves and they all absolutely adore her too. Who wouldn't though, honestly?! She is amazing. The best part about her is that she doesn't know it. She is so incredibly humble and completely loving, I can't believe that I am so lucky to have her as my mom. Here's to you Mommy! I love you so much!

My mom and I on my wedding day

All my sisters and brothers...we're all happy and healthy and successful because of our beautiful and wonderful mother!

Epic Fail

2009-05-08T00:16:00.001-07:00

Yes Becca, I am copying your title...because I had an epic fail the other day. And now that I have gotten over the whole embarrassment thing, I am able to tell the world...I failed.

I was going to my car on Tuesday evening around 6 pm (at work). It was nearing the end of my lunch break. I am minding my own business (okay, no one else was around, but still!) walking down the stairs with my keys, phone, and a soda in my hands. Well, here comes the epic fail part: I totally fell. I am usually incredibly amazing at NOT falling. I am an artist at stumbling and catching myself, and I almost never fall. Except for then. And fall did I! If I remember correctly (which, I don't really...but we'll try!) I stumbled, over myself of course, and missed the last 3 or 4 steps. I go crashing head first toward the wall and the shopping cart that was right there and hit the cart with my head and right arm. I landed hard on my knees, which is where I sustained the majority of my injuries. I had my keys and phone in one hand and the soda in another...Next thing I know, keys and phone are across the hallway, soda can in crumbled in my hand and soda is EVERYWHERE: in my hair, on the ground, everywhere. And whats my first reaction? "Oh good, no one saw! If I can clean this up quickly, no one will ever know!"

SO I hurry and clean everything up as best as I could (literally had no idea if I was hurt or not, my adrenaline was SO high!) and went out to my car...I sit down...and feel the full weight of my injuries. I slowly pull up my pant legs and what do I see? An incredibly large bruise ALREADY forming on my right knee, and my left knee has swollen to almost twice its normal size.

Crap...what do I do now? I get out of my car and realize that I can't walk normally now. There is no hiding that I am hurt. It takes probably 20 or so minutes to actually admit to myself that I need to tell someone, at which point I completely lose it. I am bawling as I'm trying to tell my store manager what happened, partly because it hurts so much and mostly because I feel so dumb. I was closing the front end, which means I am up and down the stairs all night long counting the registers out and getting all that paperwork done. Does this sound like something I can really do? Yeah, I didn't think so. So instead of sending me home (I didn't want to go to the doctor), I was banished to "my office" (or my hole, as I so affectionately call it. Its a room thats like 6'x6' MAYBE, with no windows and its always locked...it's a hole) while my manager brings up the drawers a few at a time so I can count them. For 2 straight hours, there I sat. When I did try to get up, I opened the door, which looks in our break room, and was promptly yelled at by an employee to get off my feet! How rude!! :)

I do manage to venture out and grab my cell phone, on which I played Tetris for about a half hour (there was nothing more I could do at this point, and we still weren't closed!) I was so bored. I called Clint, who freaked out a little bit, and he promised me a bowl of ice cream when I got home, so that was awesome! Needless to say, I am swollen, bruised, and mostly embarrassed. And no, I did NOT take any pictures; I definitely didn't want to document my epic fail!

So three days later, I am walking more uprightly (which is a total plus!). Thats about all I can say. My lower back and my tail bone are in a lot of pain because of the way I've been standing (leaning most of my weight primarily on my right side). Which ALSO means that my hips and alignment are completely whacked out. I will be needing a good chiropractor in the near future to fix this problem.

I am okay though, I will live. Life is interesting sometimes...if it wasn't for my husband's constant nagging to eat healthier foods and drink more milk, I probably could have SERIOUSLY hurt myself. I definitely fell hard enough to warrant something like that, but I was extremely lucky. I guess I can't call it nagging anymore; its helpful advice that I will continue to follow!!! :)

I need a "pick-me-up"

2009-05-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for *these things* even though *these things* happen:

1. Even though I fell the other day (more on that later), I didn't have to go to the doctor for it!
2. Even though I have to pay for insurance, we are stable enough that we can afford insurance.
3. Even though I could barely manage to hobble my way up the walk way to the mailbox today I got the cutest Mother's Day card from Chase (courtesy of my mom...love you!!)
4. Even though its after midnight right now and its still boiling hot, at least I'm not somewhere where its snowing!
5. Even though I am so tired of working and stressed out from it too, I am grateful that I have a job.

5 things that I am just plain grateful for:

1. My husband and family.
2. That my car is still working!
3. Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
4. Chase still sneaks over to me and snuggles, even just for a minute.
5. My health.

5 things to look forward to:

1. Waking up in the morning next to my favorite person, with my favorite dog laying nearby.
2. Disneyland in about 2 weeks!
3. Going to work and showing up my manager (thats so fun!).
4. Getting my mom's Mother's day present situated.
5. Knowing that tomorrow can only big forth good things IF I let them - and that's what I'm going to do!

2009-05-04T15:38:00.001-07:00

Yay, I have insurance again!!!! Just thought I'd share with everyone...I'm legally safe to drive (again). I know, I'm bad - I should have gotten it ages ago. But now its done, another to check off of my list. I like checking things off of lists! :)

Happy Birthday to Becca!

2009-04-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yay its Becca's birthday today!!! She is........still a teenager... :) BUT its her last year until what I like to refer to it as...REAL ADULTHOOD!

Isn't she cute?

I have a lot more incredibly embarrassing pictures...maybe I'll save that for when we meet the future husband. I'm gonna be such a good mom...

LOVE YOU BECCA!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Just for laughs

2009-04-20T13:51:00.001-07:00

I absolutely LOVE this...anyone in need of a good laugh (one that will KEEP you laughing for a loooong time) should try this:
Open Google.com and type in "where is chuck norris" and then click the "I'm feeling lucky" button instead of the regular one. Read the whole page that comes up, you will just love it. I showed it to Clint on night when he was having a not so good day, and he couldn't stop laughing for probably over an hour. That turned into, "Lets find more jokes about Chuck Norris" (and trust me, there are THOUSANDS upon thousands out there...all hilarious). It's just too funny!

Book Review

2009-04-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished a great book...actually, I've been done with it for a while, but I've been busy searching for a new book to read, and having little luck. Anyway...book review:

The book is called "Confessions of a Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella, and it was wonderful!

I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, but it was such an easy read. Thats the kind of book that I truly enjoy. Something that I can sit and read and not want to put it down. It was a completely honest look at a normal girl, and I really liked that. I would recommend it to a friend for a lazy day read.

This is the first book in a series that follows the life of Becky Bloomwood. It showcases her work troubles, men troubles, and credit troubles. I've read the first two in the series (the second is called "Shopaholic Takes Manhatten," and follows Becky and her boyfriend to Manhatten and the troubles that arise with that wonderful city!) and I can't wait to get the next one!

I hate...I love...

2009-04-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

I got this from my super sister's blog...she's so amazing! I loved this, so I thought I'd try it.

I hate...I love... (in no particular order, for no particular rhyme or reason)

1. driving in the rain dancing in the rain
2. random bruises my husband
3. dumb drama my family
4. headaches smiling
5. long, drawn out voicemails cute text messages
6. funny emails spam mail
7. cooking pen explosions
8. commercials showing up my manager at work
9. chapped lips music
10. B.O. scented candles
11. cleaning the bathroom vacuuming
12. getting up early kisses from my sweet husband
13. cold feet my puppy
14. when I burn my tongue watching F*R*I*E*N*D*S
15. flat pillows Sex and the City
16. my white, bare walls reading great books (I NEED MORE!!!)
17. paper cuts holding hands
18. spelling errors hugs
19. being lonely lotion
20. stupid questions water
21. crying laughing
22. racism love
23. bigotry being in love
24. drawing Dr. Pepper
25. unpredictability dressing up
26. pennies wearing heels
27. tap water the color green
28. interruptions cuddling
29. people judging me before they know me the smell of lavender
30. buying computer ink the color blue
31. shaving my legs pajamas
32. changing lightbulbs conditioner
33. bills taking pictures
34. writing checks kids giggling
35. getting my oil changed sunglasses
36. bandaids salt
37. too small rubber bands salads
38. headphones stroganoff
39. people "bumping" their music in the car fresh fruit
40. songs that get stuck in my head brussel sprouts
41. dead batteries spiral notebooks
42. abuse (of any kind) Staples
43. textbooks Paris
44. working for stupid people phone calls from old friends
45. people who don't have a sense of humor road trips
46. pain puppy breath
47. losing my keys jewelry
48. dropping my cell phone lillies
49. boring conversations teaching chase new tricks
50. bad drivers that LOOK from my husband...the good one.

I could go on FOREVER with this...its so much fun! I encourage ALL of you to do the same, it's awesome and completely uplifting to find things that I do love (because I definitely think about the things I hate more than the things I love)! Enjoy!!! :)

Yummy yummy muffin recipe!

2009-04-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins!
They are so delicious!!! :) Thanks to my sister Megan for the recipe:

3 bananas
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat the bananas, then add the softened butter, then sugar. Add the eggs (one at a time, mixing well in between), flour, baking soda, and salt. *Side note...I add each individually and mix well in between.* Mix all together well. Fold in half a bag of mini chocolate chips.

Line muffin tin with paper cups and fill 3/4 of the way up. For for 15 to 20 minutes.

This recipe yields about 6 dozen mini muffins, and I'm not entirely sure how many regular sized muffins.

I made it for the first time yesterday (on my new BLUE KitchenAid too, I might add!), and they were so easy! Start to finish (including all the clean up) too less about an hour. Super easy and very delicious recipe. Plus, mini muffins are so cute! And I feel better about eating a bunch of little things than one or two huge muffins, don't you?

Two months

2009-04-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

Two months ago today, Clint and I got married! What a wonderful day it was! I just wanted to take a minute to just gush about my wonderful husband. I know its only been a very short time that we've been married, but it has been such an amazing time! We fit together so well! I love him so very much. Who wouldn't love to wake up next to this every morning?

What a cutie, huh? He is the most supportive, loving man I could ever ask for. I feel so dang lucky to have found him (and kept him! Haha!) I just really feel blessed! I know that God had a definite hand in bringing the two of us together. Sure, we have our little squabbles; doesn't every couple? But like two seconds later, he'll come up to me, give me a hug and the fight has been forgotten completely. At the end of the day, he is what I look forward to coming home to. (I'm looking at the picture up there and realizing how much he's gonna hate that I put it up there...so shhhh don't tell him!)

I just can't wait for the future with him! Here's to many many more of these silly anniversaries babe!!! :)

Organization

2009-04-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've been trying sooo hard for...well, as long as we've been married (2 months on Monday!!!) and even a little before then, as I was moving in, to get this place organized. I put it off with the thought of the wedding reception/open house because I knew (well, THOUGHT) that we'd be getting a ton of gifts. Thus, my mess. (No pictures...you guys REALLY don't want to see our messes!!) The past week or so, on my days off, I've been scouring online and in stores to find the best kinds of organization I can find, and also the least expensive. We haven't even decorated yet...this is getting ridiculous!

TODAY, however, I finally just did something. Something small, but something HUGE in my mind! I went to my work today (Bed Bath and Beyond) and used some of my gift card money to buy some storage cubes. They are lovely. I got two boxes of them, so I now have 8 cubes to work with. I am so loving them already!

Along with it, I got a couple of storage totes:

And so now I am so much more organized. I can actually see the floor of our bedroom, which is a major plus! We now need to focus on decorating. I got some wonderful frames from our wedding, which I've put some lovely pictures from the wedding into...they are in our hall closet right now. We have literally no table/counter space to put them on to. So that is where they will lay until I can get what I need to put them up...i.e. a HAMMER. And nails. And a husband that wants to/has time to help. (I love you Clint!) I have some ideas about what I want to do, how I want to decorate. But I just REALLY need to get my booty in gear and DO SOMETHING! I want to get some cute decorative shelfs to hang in the living room, you know to put like a candle, maybe a picture frame on. I found a couple from Bed Bath that I am interested in...here are the two choices that I have. The problem is...they don't really match as far as decor, so I don't think I can get both.

So boxes...or shelfs. I don't know. HELP ME, I'm so lame when it comes to decorating!

Super Simple Recipe

2009-03-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

Clint and I have been on a bit of a health kick lately...mostly because we kind of examined what we eat on a daily basis and realized how much junk we do eat! SO we decided to try to eat healthy, and one of our new favorite things is to make salads. We've spent some time making up different ones, but the one that has stuck, the one that he asks me to make almost every day is my own version of a Chef's Salad. Very simple and you can add just about anything else you want to it.

Salad greens (we use a bag from the store of Spring Mix Salad Greens)
Turkey and ham, sliced up
Cheese (I like to put in two kinds, cheddar and mozzarella), cubed into tiny bite sized pieces
Tomato
--and this is where can get creative--
I sometimes will add cut up broccoli, avocado, kidney beans...pretty much anything that is in the house that sounds good. The best part about a salad is that its so easy to pick out the stuff you don't like, and just eat the stuff you do. We top it with whatever dressing we like (Ranch for me, Balsamic Vineagrette for him) and just enjoy.
I love making this because it takes so little time and tastes so good!

wedding pictures...

2009-03-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

I've seen some slideshow things on some of your profiles...where did you go to get that? I've finally somewhat organized the pictures from the wedding and some from the open house, and I want to put them up on here. So let me know how to get that done!!! THANKS A MILLION!!!!

Recipe Tuesday #2

2009-03-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Manicotti!!

I made this for Clint and my's first Valentine's Day as a married couple. And let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS! I couldn't believe how easy it was too!

*Note: It's kind of a time consuming recipe; it takes 30 or so minutes for prep, and then bakes for about 50 minutes...JUST BEWARE!!! :)

This recipe is out of the Betty Crocker Cookbook - made for 7 servings, so cut it down or add for however many you need.

14 manicotti shells
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 jar tomato pasta sauce (26-30 oz)
2 boxes (9 oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 can mushroom pieces and stems drained (I omitted this from ours...not a huge fan of mushrooms)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook and drain manicotti as per package-use MINIMUM time to prevent shells from tearing.

Cook beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until beef is brown. Stir in the pasta sauce.

Squeeze thawed spinach to drain the excess juices, make sure it is pretty dry - use a paper towel to pat dry. In a medium bowl, mix spinach, cottage cheese, mushrooms, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and pepper.

In the baking dish: spread 1 cup of the beef mixture. Fill manicotti shells with the spinach mixture and place filled manicotti on beef mixture. Pour remaining beef mixture evenly over shells making sure to cover evenly. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and baker 20 to 25 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly.

I know, I KNOW super loooong. BUT amazing. Totally worth it! Honestly though...the spinach is a little much. It kind of overtakes the taste (not that its bad, it still tasted wonderful...I like spinach though!), so maybe one package of spinach or one and a half packages. Let me know if you try it, I love this recipe!

Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

2009-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

I found this on a friend's MySpace page and absolutely LOVED it! It is so incredibly true:

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Recipe TUESDAYS

2009-03-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm going to follow in Leighanne's footsteps (and hopefully keep this going for LONGER!!! Haha) and start doing Recipe Tuesdays. Yes, I should REALLY follow her and do Recipe Mondays...but it's Tuesday and I'm going to start today.
For my first recipe, its actually an old favorite of my family's. My mom likes to call it "Poor Man's Stroganoff." It's so good, here we go:

*serves about 4* (leftovers!!!!)
1 lb ground beef
1 family size can of cream of mushroom soup
any kind of noodles: Clint likes the big shells, I like egg noodles (those good curly ones!)
a spoonful of sour cream

Brown the meat and drain the excess fat. Put back into the same pan (I use a jumbo chef pan so I can mix it all in there)
At the same time, start cooking up the noodles as normal. Drain when done.
When the meat is done, put the whole can of cream of mushroom soup in with the meat. Cook that up until hot, but don't let it boil. About five minutes before you are ready to serve, mix the sour cream in. Serve over the noodles.

You can also use rice, but I don't like it with Poor Man's Stroganoff. I tend to only like it with regular stroganoff, which is the same recipe except instead of ground beef you would use slices of, for example, a round roast. That tastes better with rice. And I would put up a picture, but the only pictures I can find don't make this recipe look appetizing, which it most definitely is! Super simple and quick meal. It takes no more than about 20 minutes to make it all. And so delicious. ENJOY

Vacation!

2009-03-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

So this week has been AMAZING! I'm on vacation! LOVE IT! I finally was able to take real time off of work since being married. And it has been lovely. Clint is taking tomorrow and Friday off of work and the real projects will begin. :) We got CD's of our wedding pictures, but the only lame part is that it takes forever and a day to get them onto the computer, so we are slowly but surely doing that. The ones that I do have on my computer are turned on their side and I can't for the life of me figure out how to change it. Its BUGGING me too, cuz I want to show them off but I don't want everyone to have to strain their necks to see them. But as soon as I do, I will display them all! :)
Tomorrow Clint and I will be going down to my mom's house to replace the carpet on the stairs. We have a wonderful puppy who made a BIG mess out of the carpet on the stairs, and we get to replace it. Funny story about Chase to come later...So we get to hang out at Home Depot tomorrow and change out carpet. Yay. *Sense the excitement.* It'll be a nice day though.
So Chase's story...oh man. We were taking a nice drive this afternoon, showing Chase some animals in Atascadero (he barks at all of them, and the horses just stare at him like, "Yeah, right...we'd EAT you!" haha). All of a sudden, on the way home, Clint and I smelled something not so pretty. Chase had POOPED IN MY CAR!!! I felt a little lucky (right, lucky!) because he did it on some clothes that I had there, so it was EXTREMELY easy to clean up. He was in such trouble when we got home though...and we had to give him a bath which he HATES! So that was his punishment. What a day, right? Hope everyone elses day was just as good as ours!

Funniest video I've seen in a while.

2009-03-05T13:20:00.001-08:00

I found this online...have to show it off. It is so funny! I love Cameron Diaz and Jimmy Fallon and this just intensifies that! :) Enjoy!

Video Recaps Full Episodes Webisodes

Music Playlist

2009-02-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

For anyone that REALLY knows me...music is my life. I love ALL kinds of music. So I was fiddling around here and made a playlist. Most of it is by Michael Buble, who is my love. (I wish.) He has the most amazing voice ever. Love it. I do have to put a small disclaimer up about one of the songs though: Cheater, Cheater by Joey and Rory is NOT about Clint. NOT AT ALL. I just really like that song for some reason that I don't really know haha.
But this playlist is truly just a small taste into my musical taste. I love music so much.

Catch up

2009-02-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

So I know I haven't updated in a really long time, its been quite busy, let me tell you! Clint and I were married on Feb 6! I moved into the apartment officially that day, and its been wonderful! I can't believe how much I love married life so far. Yes, its only been about 2 and a half weeks, but still! Its amazing! I've taken so well to being like a housewife, its crazy. And for ME to say that, well wow! Thats truly saying something! I can completely and accurately characterize myself as an undomesticated woman, to my mother's dismay, I'm sure. That poor woman has spent years and years trying to teach me to no avail. However, I am pleased to report that I cook dinner (and NOT just spaghetti or CEREAL) each night that I don't have to close, the apartment is cleaned, dishes are done, laundry is done. The floor is swept and carpet vacuumed. Bathroom is basically spotless. I'm amazing. (Yes, let me toot my horn some more!) So thank you Mom, your efforts have completely paid off. My husband is a happy boy.

I've been spending my days off trying to get my name changed over to Erdman. It's a looooong process man! Thank goodness when we got the marriage license we were able to designate that I wanted my name changed over as soon as we were married, so that saved me from filing with the courts and having to appear in front of a judge to change it. But then there's Social Security, and the DMV, and work, and the bank! I went last Friday to SS and spent a good half hour sitting there listening to everyone and their problems and why they needed their money and blah blah blah...then it was my turn and I was up there for literally 5 minutes while it was changed. Same thing at the DMV. Everyone seems to have these horrible problems and they always feel the need to literally start at the beginning...of life...to tell their story. And it takes me no more than 5 minutes start to finish to get my stuff done. Aggravated much?

But thank goodness, it is done. Work and bank will be easy, not too worried about that. And it won't take me NEARLY as long for that. Pictures of the wedding and apartment are coming, I PROMISE! I don't have my computer up here yet, and I'm not sure if I want to upload all the pictures onto this computer. We'll see. But wedding pictures, I haven't even seen yet. They better be good...what with all the rain...lovely day!

Yay for life...

2009-01-27T22:21:00.001-08:00

So I'm sitting here...in my new apartment...realizing its been a while since I've written on here and SO much has happened. We were finally able to move into the apartment on January 23rd and I've been slowly moving all my stuff in, little by little. It's been such an experience. A good one, but definitely an experience. Its interesting meshing your things with someone else. I am grateful for this wonderful time in mine and Clint's lives, and I know that I'll cherish this experience forever. I mean, we're finally doing it! We're finally getting our lives together started!
We've had so many great things happen for us in the last few weeks. To start off, all the help that we've received from family members in helping us get our little apartment set up. See, I had next to nothing in the way of furniture. And Clint had not too much more than I did! But somehow, we were able to come out of this with an L-shaped couch and chair (thanks James and Paulina!), a washer and dryer (Ben and Sara - you guys rock!), and a table and two chairs (courtesy of my lovely sister Hannah!). Next, the little things - my sister offering to help move the rest of my stuff in, my mom and sister watching Chase so that I am able to come up here every day and get a little more set up in the apartment. And lastly, a special thanks to my wonderful fiance Clint. How else would I be able to do this if it weren't for you?
But the best part about LIFE right now is going to happen in just 10 days...can you believe we're getting married that soon! I have never been more excited for anything in my ENTIRE life! Finally, we will be a married couple and be able to enjoy our lives combined.
--More pictures to follow of the apartment/set up process and hopefully the wedding too!!! :)--

APARTMENT!!!

2009-01-09T18:03:00.001-08:00

We got an apartment!! I can't believe it, seriously! We got one!!! :)

It's in Atascadero, which sucks a little bit because of the drive to work. But whatever, because its ours!!! So Clint will move in now (or whenever the move in date is) and then as soon as we get married, Chase and I will move in...yeeeeeeahhhhh!!! This is amazing news and I've been on cloud 9 ALL DAY LONG!!!! Here's some pictures of the complex:

They all look Adobe style like this...this is two and three bedroom apartment style, they have a garage. Ours is one bedroom with no garage, but the outside looks similar.

So this is what the stairs look like. What a cute place...I'm so stoked right now, no joke!

And this is what the floor plan for our apartment looks like. The kitchen is ginormous!!! And the bedroom is spacious, which is AWESOME! Great thing: WASHER/DRYER HOOKUPS!!! Ahhhhhh!!! Can't wait for that!

So anyway, needless to say...our lives are going to be way different now. We have a place and the wedding will be happening very soon! YAY FOR US!!! :)

Christmas stories

2008-12-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

I was just looking at Gilen's blog and I noticed she had this cool link to an even cooler website. Seriously, its so incredible. http://http//www.northpole.com/personalizedstories/
You go there and type your kid's name in and it generates this cute Christmas story. I love it...makes me wish I had kids at this time of year...
ENJOY

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T15:28:00.000-08:00

Oh what a joyous day today is. I love Christmas because in my house its all about the family. Unfortunately, this year, our family is a little smaller. My brother and his girlfriend are up at her family's house for Christmas day, but they will be here tomorrow so thats good. Hannah and Megan went to Florida and Sacramento (respectively) with their boyfriends. Megan will be back on Friday or Saturday and Hannah will be back on Sunday. So TECHNICALLY, I get like four Christmases this year. Haha! :)
But my little sister, Mom, Clint, and I all had a great morning. I woke up early (as usual on Christmas) and had to just wait it out in my room. Normal. I watched movies and got the stockings all taken care of and then waited more. Clint came over around 9 or so, and we waited more. Finally, we went downstairs and Mom and Becca were getting breakfast ready, so I made them stop so we could open gifts. I love giving gifts SOOOO much more than getting them. No joke, I know that sounds very cliche, but its so true. My favorite thing is to watch someone open a gift from me. Clint seemed to love everything I got for him, so that was really special. I was very surprised with the gifts that he got me as well. I got a crap load of new DVDs. He had basically gone on Black Friday to WalMart I think, and just took over the DVD bins and bought them out, lol. He also got me a BEAUTIFUL necklace. I can't even begin to explain how amazing it is. He is just the best fiance I could ever ask for.
I just want to take this time to tell anyone that reads this how grateful I am for them. This time of year makes me appreciate and love everyone in my life so much more. I know I need to take the time throughout the year, instead of just at the end of the year, and express my love to everyone. Remember the true meaning of this season.

Thus far...

2008-12-13T19:23:00.000-08:00

So its been over a month since I've last posted and man has a lot happened! Thanksgiving was great...my brother and his girlfriend came down from Chico to spend the weekend with us, but of course it was too short of a visit. It was nice having them here because it left me out of the Thanksgiving dinner making process...which I love cuz I'm not a great cook. I got to set the table! Hahah, that was fun.

Then came Black Friday. Now if anyone has been in the retail business EVER, you'll know that Black Friday is probably the most hated day in the business. Especially at Bed Bath and Beyond. We don't run sales ever, and that includes that Friday. We hand out a coupon (woohoo...) between 6 and 10 am for 20% off the purchase, but thats about it. Man we had some angry customers. Oh well, thats their fault for getting up and being around at 6 am. I had to be there at 6 that morning...oh joy. At least I didn't have to close for that day though. Its rough that night to close the store. But Black Friday of course ushers in the....HOLIDAY SEASON!! And that means - holiday shoppers. They are some of the rudest, most inconsiderate people I have EVER been around. WOW!!!! There really is no need for most of the crap that retail employees have to endure because some person is so mean. For example, a woman came into the store today to return some cups she had "purchased over the summer." Now, I use quotes because she is a liar. Plain and simple (hahah). So she swore up and down that she had purchased them at our store and demanded her money back because they had cracked. No one recognized them as ours and so we passed that to our store manager Steve, who echoed us. He went and found a similar cup and proceeded to tell the customer, "I'm sorry ma'am, but this is not from our store. This is the closest we have to something like that and unfortunately we do not, and have never carried that cup." Before he could say ANYTHING else, this customer just went off on Steve. Now I should probably have said this customer was not young...I would guess she was in her 60's or 70's. I couldn't believe some of the things that she said next. I don't even want to repeat most of them. But basically it was something about how horrible our store was, she's never coming back in here again, your attitude and tone is *bleep* not good...etc. In front of a store full of customers and associates. Then she ran out of the store. And I had myself a good laugh because, who does that? Seriously. If she had shut her mouth and listened to Steve for literally 2 more seconds, he would have taken care of her and she would have been happy and we would have lost money (like normal). Whatever. Holiday shoppers suck.

So we are 12 days away from Christmas and I couldn't be happier. My little sister is coming home tonight (she should be here very soon) and I will be surrounded by my loved ones. The holiday season just makes me smile because of everything that it represents. It makes me think about Jesus and all that He did for me makes me happy to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. What a blessed and wonderful thing!

Still trying to figure this out.

2008-11-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

If anyone is even reading this (I have NO idea if anyone does, lol) but any help on this blogging thing would be helpful. My biggest question is how do I get that list of friends? Do I need to MAKE friends first?! Hahah, but seriously, I have no idea what I'm doing on here! So any advice on how to make this easier would be GREATLY appreciated! :) Thanks!

Just starting out...

2008-11-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

I'm very new to things like this...it makes me nervous sometimes when I think about "blogging" but I figured I'd give it a go. It'll help me to remember the fun times that Clint and I are having with each other. We are still anxiously awaiting the day (that hopefully will come in the very near future) when we can get be married to each other. As much as I looooove to just be engaged, I think I'm going to like being married just that much more. We'll see though, I'm sure! I can't wait for that next phase of life, and like the title of this one, I feel like I'll be just starting out my new life as a wife and hopefully soon thereafter, a mother. That's such an exciting thing to think about...now I'm all giddy inside!