Its a Love Story

My Goals for 2012....

2011-12-29T14:05:00.001-08:00

2011 was a decent year. Nothing truly remarkable happened, besides the birth of my gorgeous daughter, of course. That was the best day, ever. She's so beautiful, and the absolute light of my life. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted Clint and I with this amazing spirit.

I'm determined to make 2012 a year of improving myself and my family. With that being said, the following is a list of goals I would like to accomplish for 2012 (in no particular order)....

*Project 365: I would like to take, and publish (via Facebook or my blog here) at least one photo a day. I'm hoping this will improve my photography and editing skills.
*Lose weight, be healthier: I won't put a number on it, because I'll get discouraged and quit. But I want to make healthier choices that will lead to a healthier body weight.
*Cut out soda.
*Make an effort to get ready every day. Sometimes I feel like being lazy, rather than do my hair and makeup.
*Learn to sew. I'd love to make cute things for my sweet McKynlee :)
*Make a budget, and stick to it. This will allow us to be financially responsible.
*Open a savings account. Use it for emergencies only.
*Move into our own place. Make that place a beautiful home.
*Try at least one new recipe every week.
*Scrapbook at least one page a week.
*Make at least one craft a month.
*Go out on a date with Clint at least once a month.

This is what I have so far. I'm sure I'll think of other things that I'll add later. I feel like I've got a good list going. What are your goals for 2012?

ABC's of Me...

2011-10-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

Age: 26 (27 in just 4o days)
Bedsize: Queen. and honestly...we need a king. We're both bed hogs lol :p
Chores you hate: Um...all of them?? LOL but I do them. They're necessary.
Dogs: N/A!
Essential start to your day: Kisses for my baby girl!! Love waking up to her smiling face! <3
Favorite color: Turquoise or Black
Gold or silver: Silver or white gold
Height: 5'8"
Instruments you play: N/A
Job title: Customer Service Associate @ Wal Mart. Whoopee.
Kids: My darling McKynlee Ann!! Love her so much!! :D
Live: in Mesa, AZ
Mothers' Name: Sandra (birth mom) and Sharleen (stepmom)
Nickname: Clint calls me Beaker. Because I guess I sound like Beaker from the Muppets when I get sick and lose my voice? :p
Overnight hospital stays: When I had McKynlee a few months ago. Made it 25 years without a single hospital stay!! :D
Pet peeves: people chewing with their mouth open. Drives me batty. Mumbling. That drives me nuts too...now I understand why my parents always told me to "stop mumbling!" :p
Quote from a movie or tv show: "She's armed....he's dangerous" "....no." -Castle
Right or left: right handed
Siblings: I have 4 little brothers. William, Alex, Nicky and Ted
Time you wake up: Really depends on what time I have to work. Usually around 7:30 am though. McKynlee is usually ready to eat right around then :)
Underwear: I own some. I wear it. That is all.
Vegetable you hate: Lima beans. They're disgusting. Okra, too!
What makes you run late: McKynlee. LOL! I'm still learning how to manage my time to get us both ready on time :p
Xrays you've had: my right hand, both my feet.
Yummy food you make: I bake lots of yummy cookies. Texas sheet cake. All those yummy treats :)
Zoo animal: um....cheetah?? :)

6 Weeks

2011-09-23T20:41:00.001-07:00

McKynlee Ann

6 Weeks Old

How is it possible that 6 weeks has already passed since you came into our lives?? It seems like its been a week, at most. We are completely enamored with you. We love you more than words will ever say. We can't remember our lives before you, and we can't imagine our lives without you.
You've started smiling at us. Not all the time. When we went to get your pictures taken on your 6 week mark, you wouldn't smile for any of the pictures....so the smiles aren't very frequent. We love them though, when you share them with us. Your eyes have lightened up, but we're not sure if they'll stay blue, or eventually change. (Daddy thinks they'll stay blue.) You're over 10 pounds now! Daddy calls you his little chunk. :) Everyone who meets you says you're gorgeous. We have to agree. :) You're holding your head up a little better every single day. I can't believe you're growing up so fast!

9/11/2001

2011-09-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago today, tradgedy struck the United States. I turned on the tv that morning to watch the news as I got ready for school. It was very routine for me. I remember seeing the headline "Plane hits WTC." I remember thinking, "what is the WTC??" So silly, that I didn't even know what it was. Everybody remembers where they were, what they were doing, as the plane struck the second tower. Myself? I was a junior at Apache Junction High School. I sat in my math class, watching with my classmates in horror as the tower crumbled. We knew our lives would never be the same. I remember students at school holding candlelight ceremonies, moments of silence, etc. I took part in several of them.

So many people lost their lives today. Every year, we stop to remember. Remember the brave men and women who selflessly gave their lives that day. Remember the innocent civilians, whose lives were tragically taken from them. Whether or not we knew someone in the towers, we were all affected.

Ten years later, we celebrate the lives of those we lost. We reflect upon the amazing show of patriotism that occured in the weeks afterwards.

God Bless the USA.

Four Weeks Old...

2011-09-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

How gorgeous is SHE??? :D

Forgive me for being such a terrible blogger. Its been a CRAZY week, so this post is actually a day late.

McKynlee is officially one month old!! Where has time gone?? My sweet baby will be headed off to kindergarten before I know it. I know that seems extreme, but its so true. I wish I could keep her little and cuddly forever. She loves cuddles with her mommy and daddy. She's got the most adorable chubby cheeks, and she loves kisses on them. We fall more in love with her every single day. Is that even possible?? Its happening. She's weighing in at 10 lbs 1 oz, as of her one month mark. We took her to the doctor, she's got a slight head cold going on. Good thing is its in her nose only. Hasn't migrated to her ears or her chest. We're using saline drops and a bulb syringe to remove boogers a few times a day. Also sleeping with a humidifier. Hopefully, she'll feel much better in a few days. Though, despite being sick, she's still such a great baby. She only cries when she is hungry, or wants/needs a diaper change. She fusses every once in a while. Usually because she's uncomfortable, or bored. She coos and "talks" to us all the time. Such a sweet girl, she is. Everybody loves her. :)

We're headed out of town for a few days next week. Just going up to St. Johns for some peace and quiet (hopefully). We'll go up to Big Lake and do some fishing. We cannot WAIT!! Its been far too long. We're curious to see how McKynlee handles the long car ride. She's not such a fan of her car seat for an extended period of time. Hopefully, she'll sleep most, if not all of, the trip.

Two weeks later....

2011-08-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

McKynlee is two weeks old today. I can't believe how quickly time has passed. Mommy is sleep-deprived, but completely in love with my baby girl. Clint was home with us for a week, which was nice. He took care of her at night, when she's most awake. I was pretty doped up on pain killers, since I'd just had surgery. But he's since gone back to work. He hates it, leaving us every night. He'd much rather be home with the two of us. I've got about another 3 weeks of maternity leave left. The thought of returning to work and leaving her breaks my heart. I'll be a wreck when the time comes. For now, I choose not to think about it. :)

I still haven't shared McKynlee's birth story. I checked into the hospital at about 8 pm on wednesday night, August 10th. By 9:30, I was started on Cervadil (sp?) to begin the induction process. It was 12 long hours. I was almost always hooked to monitors. They took them off around 2 am, to let me get an hours sleep. It was the best hour, ever. :p At around 9:30 am, they removed the Cervadil, and checked me for progress. Nothing. Seriously?? The contractions were there. I swear it! Ok, lets try something else. Dr. Rowan decided to try prostaglandin (again, sp?). That was a 4 hour process. The contractions were pretty brutal. I was having back labor. The contractions were pretty painful, and made it impossible to get comfortable. I went through a ton of heating packs, trying to ease the pain. At the end of 4 hours, the nurse checked me for progress. NOT A THING! Oh my heck. Seriously? Dr. Rowan was in surgery at that moment in time, so they took a message to her, and I was told she'd be in to see me shortly. Within 20 minutes, she came in, to check me herself. I had made very little progress, from when she last checked me in her office (4 days prior). She told me we could continue with the induction process, but that I probably wouldn't give birth to McKynlee until late friday or even saturday morning. Or, she could c-section. If I had made any real progress at all, I would have opted to continue with the induction process. But, I couldn't have pain meds in the immediate future, because they'd slow down any potential progression even more. So, I opted for the c-section. Her head was too big to descend into the birth canal, which is why I wasn't progressing, despite the contractions. I love that she left the decision up to me.
The c-section was NOT that bad. Really. Everyone tried to tell me horror stories of c-sections. The absolute worst part of it, for me, was being numb from the ribs down. I know that sounds dumb, but I had a panic attack. I knew my legs were there, but I couldn't move them. Obviously. But it panicked me. I kept telling them that I wanted to stretch my legs out. They finally told me that my legs were as stretched out as they could possibly be. :p When they stretched my uterus to pull her out, I vomited. It was the most intense wave of nausea I've ever experienced. They told me it was completely normal. As soon as they stopped stretching my uterus, after she was out, the nausea passed. As soon as she was out, they pushed Valium into my IV. I assume it was to mellow me out, stop my panic attack. It worked, and the rest of the surgery is a blur. It seemed to go really fast. I remember Dr. Rowan talking about my placenta. You'll remember that I had a chorioangioma on it. Next thing I know, they were moving me to my bed, and wheeling me back into my labor & delivery room. There, I got to hold my sweet baby girl for the first time. She was/is so beautiful, and I fell in love at first sight. It was short lived, however. My blood pressure went completely nuts. It plumeted, and they rushed to stabalize it. She was taken from me while they pushed meds to fix it. At its lowest point, it was at something like 70/40. Then it shot up to something like 187/140. Numbers are a guesstimate, because I don't remember the exact numbers. Finally, it stabalized to 117/90, or something around there. They were satisfied enough to let me cuddle with my baby girl again, while still monitoring me very closely.
After about an hour, I was wheeled over into postpartum. I was still extremely nauseated, so I didn't spend too much time with the baby. I kept vomiting, for hours. I hadn't had anything to eat in 24 hours. I was used to eating every 2 hours, because of the gestational diabetes. I begged the nurse for something to eat. I told her I'd stop vomiting if I could just put a little food in my stomach. She finally brought me 2 saltine crackers and some sugar free jello. I ate it, extremely slowly. Sure enough, I stopped vomiting. Around 2 am, I really spent quality time bonding with McKynlee.
She's absolutely perfect. My nose, and my coloring. She's got adorable pouty lips. Lots of dark hair. The chubbiest cheeks. She's gorgeous. We tell her how beautiful she is a few million times a day. She's very, very loved by all. Spoiled rotten. Already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Introducing....

2011-08-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ms. McKynlee Ann McLaws

Born at 4:20 pm on 8/11/11

8 lbs. 4.7 oz. 21 inches long

She's beyond precious. So beautiful. We're completely in love.

39 Weeks- The Birth Plan

2011-08-10T12:46:00.001-07:00

We made it to 39 weeks. We weren't sure that we would, for awhile there. Doctors were hoping I would, since babies of gestational diabetes sometimes have slower lung development. They've found that 39 weeks is an ideal number. If I had gone into labor on my own earlier, after 36 weeks, they wouldn't have stopped it. But she's content in there.

However, its eviction time. We're going in at 8 pm tonight to start the induction process. Hooray! We're anxious and nervous. We cannot wait to meet her. We're nervous about how the chorioangioma will affect labor and delivery. Only time will tell. I've been having contractions off and on for weeks now. But, still only dilated to about half a centimeter. So, our birth plan, is simple. We developed it with our doctor at our last appointment.

Tonight, I check in at 8 pm. They'll start me on Cervidil. Hopefully, that will actually do something. She's not sure if my body will respond to being induced, seeing as how my body hasn't responded to the contractions as of yet. My doctor is on call all day tomorrow, so she'll check me in the morning after the Cervidil. We'll then start me on another medication. Perhaps pitocin, if I'm dilating. If I'm not, it'll be something else. If, after those two attempts, I'm not dilating, then we'll cut our losses and do a c-section. She doesn't want to put me through tons of attempts if my body isn't willing to cooperate. Especially since we don't know how the chorioangioma will affect L&D.

So sometime, in the next...36 hours or so...our sweet McKynlee will be here. :) Kinda weird to think about!!! We're leaving the house, and coming home with a baby. Its very, very surreal.

Stay tuned for pictures! If you're on my facebook, you'll probably see pictures sooner :p

Oh, what fun we've had....

2011-07-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

and yes, the title is heavy on the sarcasm. McKynlee is determined to give mommy and daddy grey hair before she even gets here. She's already a handful, and we still have about 6 and a half weeks to go. If we make it that far.

I've been in Labor & Delivery Triage 3 times in the last 2 weeks. The first was because I got overheated and dehydrated. Baby girl was perfect. Mommy was sick. A few IV bags of fluids, and I was sent on my way home to rest.
The second time was yesterday. We went to our doctor for one of our twice a week check-ups. They did an ultrasound, in which they do a biophysical profile. Baby girl has been scoring 8/8 on them. Yesterday? A 2/8. She wouldn't move. Wasn't practicing her breathing. The 2 points were given because the amniotic fluid was good. So, we were sent next door to the hospital for additional monitoring. We were there for a few hours. Hooked up to fetal monitors. Her heartrate was great. They did another ultrasound, checked her BPP. The tech literally had to stand over me and shake my belly....and I guzzled some ice water. But it woke her up, she started moving, and we were discharged.
Third time was today. She was fairly active around 7 am. Around 11, I realized it had been a little while since I'd felt any movement. Typically, one should feel about 10 kicks every 2 hours. I drank a little juice, ate a little cereal, and laid on my left side for a little while. By 12:30, I'd only felt 3 soft thumps. I called my on-call nurse, who recommended I go into L&D to be monitored. Especially since she only had a 2/8 just yesterday. So by 1 pm, I was in L&D. Hooked up to monitors. Again, her heartrate was good, but there was no evidence of movement. They ordered an ultrasound, brought me some ice water to try to wake her up, and told me to relax. Easier said than done. The on-call doctor came in shortly after to go over my chart with me, and ask questions that she had. She's not our normal doctor, but WE LOVED HER! She was so nice, didn't dismiss any of our concerns, and really did her best to put us at ease. A little while later, ultrasound came in to do their part. A typical BPP scan will last for 30 minutes, unless they find that everything is great sooner. Her heartrate was good. About 3o seconds into the scan, she started practicing her breathing. So far, so good. But, she wasn't moving. At 29:45, the little stinker finally moved enough that they were more than satisfied. Even the tech was like, "are you freaking kidding me?!?!" So, they reviewed the scan. And the on-call doctor called Phoenix Perinatal (high-risk specialists who've been conducting my Level 2 scans) to get their opinion. Shortly after, they were discharged. Her scans were perfect, so they saw no reason to keep me. Which we understand, but its frustrating. This corioangioma on the placenta can put her in distress at any moment. So when she goes periods of time with no movement, we worry. And the doctors insist we go back in for monitoring. We have an appointment with PPA next week. They're scheduling us for a consult as well. They may end up taking over my care for the duration of the pregnancy. We'll see. So for now, I continue what I've been doing. Try to take it a little easier from here on out. I can continue to work, unless the doctor at PPA says otherwise next week.

In other, better news....my shower is a week away. I can't wait! Its going to be fun to see all the family and friends again. :) And our due date is only about 6 weeks away. Which is SO CLOSE....yet still so far away. We're so anxious and excited to meet our baby girl! :)

31 Weeks

2011-06-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

We had another Level 2 ultrasound this week. McKynlee's kidneys look fine, which is great news! The mass is larger. Almost 6 cm now....4 cm larger than 8-9 weeks ago. So at this point, we begin weekly ultrasounds to monitor its growth. Doctor said we may even need to bump it up to twice weekly ultrasounds. If the mass were to get too large, it could begin to put strain on her heart. Hence, the need for closer monitoring. It grows as she grows. The delivery plans are still if-y. Right now, she weighs about 4 lbs, 8 oz. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks, and then we'll decide on traditional delivery vs. c-section.

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 31 weeks, 3 days

Total Weight loss/gain: I have lost count! I have gained weight back, but I'm still below the 10 lbs doctor initially told me to lose. So, we consider it weight loss :)

Maternity clothes: I have one pair of jeans that still slip off me. I'm constantly hiking them up. I can still fit into my pre-maternity jeans, though they're slowly becoming more uncomfortable. My pre-maternity tops still fit just fine. My work shirts are just now becoming a little too short, as the belly starts to protrude more. :p

Best moment this week: She's been SUPER active the past 24 hours. I don't know if she's stopped for more than 5 minutes at a time. I love all her kicks, pokes, and somersaults. Though some of them are becoming slightly painful as she gets stronger and is getting more cramped in her space. :p

Movement: Again, she's BEYOND active!

Food craving: This week, I've been craving mexican food. Nachos, tacos, burritos....whatever! I'm not picky! Although I am trying to ignore said cravings and choose healthier choices to keep the gestational diabetes in check.

What I miss: decent sleep! The past week has become increasingly difficult to get a good nights rest. Between her midnight dance parties, aching hips and back, leg cramps, bathroom dashes....I'm up every few hours.

Sleep: see "what I miss"

What I'm looking forward to: McKynlee making her debut sometime in the next 9 weeks! We are so ready to welcome her into the world! Clint becomes more and more impatient by the day.

Belly Button: Still an innie. Although, its becoming more and more stretched as she gets bigger.

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks have made an appearance. I've had cramping as well, but doctor says its completely normal. Lack of sleep and energy. Achy hips, legs, back. Sciatic nerve pain. I've adopted a slight waddle in my walk :p Nausea is also starting to show again. I went about a month with none whatsoever...it was so nice!!!

I swore I was going to be better....

2011-06-10T23:58:00.000-07:00

but I lied.

Just a quick check in tonight....Mommy, Daddy, and Baby are doing great. Mommy is miserably hot. Daddy has joined a gym. Baby thinks its great fun to play punching bag with Mommy's bladder. And sciatic nerve. And even the rib cage, the other day. Only about 10 weeks to go!

We had a check-up last week, where the doctor decided I am officially Gestational Diabetic.

Dang it.

SO Mommy is watching her carbs and sugars....and testing her blood sugars 4 times a day. YAY!!!....not. But so far, I'm controlling it with diet, so no need for any medications. Which is very, very good. :) We have another ultrasound on the 14th of June. We'll see about how much she's weighing. If she gets to 9 pounds, Dr says we'll do a c-section. Sooo....maybe I could have her early? We'll see. I'm ok with that. I'd rather have a c-section then try to give birth to a toddler. The McLaws' are not known for their small babies with tiny heads. But even with enlarged kidneys, a placenta mass and diabetes....the pregnancy has been fairly routine, and baby is super active, which doctors say is a great sign.

I'm off to bed. Volunteering at work tomorrow for our Childrens Miracle Network Carnival. Come by the store and see us! All proceeds benefit Phoenix Childrens' Hospital Childrens Miracle Network :) I'm doing a photo booth... :)

26 Weeks

2011-05-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

This week we had another ultrasound to check out McKynlee's kidneys and the "mass" on my placenta. The tech was able to get a 3D image of her sweet face. Isn't she precious?? We like to think so. :) Her kidneys were not nearly as large as they have been the last 2 ultrasounds!! YAY! While they're still just slightly abnormal, its an improvement, and we're so happy to see that! We have another level 2 ultrasound next month. Hopefully, we'll see more improvement then! The "mass" on the placenta IS larger, but its in proportion to the growth of the placenta, so my doctor thinks everything is just fine. They're estimating her weight to be at 2 lbs 4 oz. She's actually about a week ahead of schedule, but its not enough so that they'll change my due date.

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 26 weeks 3 days

Total weight loss/gain: Holding steady. Nothing lost, but nothing gained

Maternity clothes: Still just in my one pair of jeans. I have a hard time spending $50 on a pair of jeans, so I've been shopping ebay. Nothing much out there this week. The pair that I DO have, is a little big still. I'm constantly pulling them up.

Best moment this week: Seeing her sweet face! Clint thinks she looks just like me. His mom sees a good mix of the both of us. What do you think??

Movement: Still a wiggle-worm!!

Food craving: I wanted a coke SO badly yesterday!!!! I got a raspberry lemonade instead.

What I miss: going a day without a headache. they've been brutal lately.

Sleep: haven't been sleeping to well the past week. I've been off the last 2 days, and I spent a lot of it sleeping. I'm a lazy bum.

What I'm looking forward to: the next 3 months passing very quickly!! Its getting unbearably hot.

Belly button: Still an innie!

Symptoms: Very sleepy. Headaches. (some) nausea. Heartburn like nobody's business lol.

25 Weeks....just kind of a slacker :p

2011-05-06T00:35:00.000-07:00

The Bump at 25 Weeks Pregnant :)

So, I must apologize for being such a slacker. I really have no excuse for it. Just too lazy LOL. We did have a Level 2 Ultrasound a few weeks ago. McKynlee's kidneys are enlarged. There's no extreme concern right now. They're monitoring it with monthly ultrasounds. If there were to be a problem, it would be after she's born. Its fixable, surgically. We're hoping it fixes itself in utero. Obviously, we don't want our little girl to have surgery right after birth. So we pray for the issue to clear itself up. The concern level of the doctors is a 1, on a scale of 0-10. There is also a mass (for complete lack of a better term) on my placenta. The doctor believes it is just blood vessels. It only has one main blood supply, so the doctor doesn't anticipate it growing larger. IF it were, it could cause strain on her heart. That could mean they potentially take her early, IF that ends up being the case. She's super active though, and the doctor says that active babies are healthy children. We're confident she'll be just fine. :)

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 25 weeks, 2 days

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Still in the negative! I haven't gained anything. Awesome!

Maternity Clothes: I have one pair of maternity jeans that I bought on ebay for 8.99! Yay for good deals! I wore them out the other night, and they're actually still a little too big. I kept pulling them up.

Best Moment this week: Finishing up our registries! Thank goodness that's done! Its a daunting task.

Movement: Lil' Miss McKynlee thinks she's the next David Beckham. She's one active little bean! Constantly kicking and moving! She likes to kick mommy's bladder. She likes to kick mommy's sciatic nerve. She's a stinker <3

Food Craving: Salad! I've been eating salads like they're going out of style. Had a craving last week for nachos. And they were wonderful! :p

What I Miss: Waking up and not being nauseated. I was on a good run, but its slowly creeping back. I was warned by several pregnant friends that it might happen.

Sleep: It is MUCH improved since we acquired a new(er) mattress from a family friend. It is in MUCH better condition than the one we'd been sleeping on. I've noticed that my quality of sleep is greatly improved. :)

What I'm looking forward to: The belly getting bigger. I actually have a bump now!!! I'm sure when it does get bigger, I'll be wishing I was small again LOL. The summer is going to be long and hot.

Belly Button: Still in. BUT I've had some pulling sensations and itching in the area. I think some of it is from the scar tissue left over from surgery last year. They cut into my belly button and fed the camera through in order to do the operation.

Symptoms: Nausea. Super active baby girl. Heartburn. Fatigue.

21 Weeks

2011-04-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 21 Weeks 1 day

Total weight loss/gain: down 2 pounds from where I was at last week

Maternity clothes: Nothing yet. LOL. I don't know if I'll EVER be in maternity clothes, at this point :p

Best moment this week: Somebody asked me how far along I am! Hooray!!! :p LOL I was beginning to think people were thinking I've been making it all up :p

Gender: Still a girl :p

Movement: McKynlee is VERY active!!! She just kicked me so hard that I jumped. It completely startled me. But it is the absolute coolest feeling. I absolutely love it!

Food craving: Nothing this week.

What I miss: Being able to walk 5 feet without sciatic nerve pain. My sweet little girl just LOVES that nerve! :p

Sleep: Been sleeping fairly well. What I'm looking forward to: Still looking forward to the belly popping out :)

Belly Button: Still an innie!

Symptoms: Lots and lots of movement from baby. Nausea is still present, though it is easing up (FINALLY!).

McKynlee Ann

2011-04-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

We think she has my nose :)

20 Weeks-Halfway there!

2011-04-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 20 weeks, 2 days.

Total weight loss/gain: About the same, I think. We'll find out at the appointment on monday.

Maternity Clothes: None yet!! My pants are slowly becoming more uncomfortable, especially after I eat. So far, I am by far most comfortable in basketball shorts. I live in them on my days off.

Best moment this week: it actually happened about an hour ago! I was sitting here on the computer, gathering photos for inspiration for the baby shower to send to my decorator. My arm was lying across my stomach....and I felt a soft kick. I thought it might be gas, so I poked around a bit, and she kept kicking back! :D

Gender: Girl

Movement: She's VERY active at night. I feel her move a lot when I lie on my left side, kind of on my stomach. It tickles!

Food craving: Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd. I HAD TO HAVE ONE!! and it was SOOO good! :D

What I miss: cooler weather. I am SO hot all the time. doesn't help that we hit 100 degrees today.

Sleep: I sleep an average of 10-13 hours a night. And even then, I'm ready for a nap halfway through the day.

What I am looking forward to: my baby belly finally popping.

Belly Button: Still very much in

Symptoms: Sleepy all the time. small baby bump....I look more bloated than anything.

Week 19

2011-03-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 19 weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I've gained back about 5 pounds. Doctors cautioned me to be very aware of what I eat and drink. They'd like me to keep it as low as possible. The past few weeks though, I've felt pretty icky, so I've been eating whatever I can just to feed me and baby :)

Maternity Clothes: None yet!!! Got a very small baby bump

Best Moment this Week: Our Ultrasound. We have to go back on April 4th for another one, because baby wouldn't stay still long enough for the tech to get a good picture of the heart and stomach. What they did see though, everything looks fine. :)

Gender: ITS A GIRL!!! We're SOO excited!! We can't wait to meet McKynlee Ann in August!! :D

Movement: Same as last week. If I apply counter pressure to my stomach, I can feel her kicking and rolling. She's VERY active!

Food Craving: None, really. Still want cantaloupe. Its still not in season. Dang you, cantaloupe. :p

What I Miss: same as last week. Just energy.

Sleep: I could probably sleep all day, if I was allowed to. I napped twice today. I adore my sleep.

What I am looking forward to: finally having a baby belly. So far, its pretty non-existant. I swear, if I didn't have ultrasound pictures to prove a baby was in there, nobody would believe me. :p

Belly Button: Still very much in.

Symptoms: Still pretty nauseated in the morning. I take at least one Zofran a day. Heartburn is taking over my life lol. Very tired all the time. I have some sciatic nerve pain. Its usually how I can tell if she's moving or not. She shifts and sits on that nerve, and its just....painful.

Week 18

2011-03-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 18 weeks, 3 days

Total weight loss/gain: 20 pounds lost, that I know of.

Maternity Clothes: none yet! my pre-maternity clothes are too big for me now!

Best Moment this week: feeling butterfly flutters when Clint was listening to my tummy. He does this daily, but this week, I started feeling movement when he was applying pressure to my belly. :)

Gender: Ultrasound is scheduled for 8:50 am on Monday morning! :D

Movement: see "best moment"

Food craving: nothing really. I haven't had much of an appetite at all. I tend to force myself to eat.

What I miss: energy. not feeling nauseated all the time. sleeping through the night without getting up to visit the bathroom. :p

Sleep: as long as I've got my maternity pillow, I'm fairly comfortable. I've had some sciatic nerve pain, and that sometimes makes getting comfortable for sleep a little difficult.

What I am looking forward to: finding out if its a boy or girl! can't wait to start buying gender specific items, planning the nursery, etc. :)

Belly Button: Still very much in!

Symptoms: fatigue, nausea, back pain, "chest" pain (if you catch my drift LOL), some "cramping" sensations. These are caused by my ligaments becoming more elastic as the baby grows (according to my book :p)

Oh hai there....

2011-03-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

SOO this is my first post of 2011. Fail, huh? First thing I notice is that my background is non-existant. I vaguely recall getting notification that they'd be changing things around, and so my background would probably be erased. BUT, I forgot. First order of business was to update that so I have a pretty background again. :)

We have been up to absolutely nothing. Work, work, and more work. Our lives are thrilling. Truly, that's all we have done. I'd be lying if I said we did anything else.

Baby is growing strong. Heartbeat has been at a steady 150 bpm. With the exception of a couple weeks ago, when it was down to 136. I had the stomach flu, I think poor baby was stressed. But, it was still in the normal range, so doctor wasn't concerned. I sat around the house for a week to get rehydrated and get over the nasty flu. Then I got a double ear infection. Oh, dear sweet baby of mine....you're killing Mommy's immune system . You're going to be immune to every antibiotic known to mankind when you're older. But, we love you more than anything. :) We get to find out if the baby is BOY or GIRL on March 21st. That's in TWO WEEKS! We're SOOO excited!!! We have no preferance one way or another. We want baby to be healthy. :)

That's about it, for now. Nap time is quickly approaching. I get SOOO tired nowadays.

That time we found out we were Pregnant :)

2010-12-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

So, it has been a LONG time since I last posted. Fail. I know. Its been a super busy few months. And I can't even remember everything that has happened. However, as you may have guesses from the title, we're having a baby! :D The story about how we found out....Its a funny one. Or, I think so, anyway.

On December 22nd, I was due to have my tonsils taken out. They've caused me a lot of issues with strep throat and such. So my doctor wanted them out. For a couple weeks leading up to the surgery, I'd felt sick. I chalked it up to nerves over the surgery. Clint pestered me to take a test, but I insisted that wasn't the reason. I was tired, all that jazz. Chalked it up to working too hard before the holidays. SO there I was, in pre-op, on the 22nd. I've been IV'd, gowned, and I'm ready to go into the OR. They had taken a urine sample, and they always test for pregnancy in women, as a safety precaution. The nurse came running in, with a grin that went from ear to ear. She says "I think we gave you an IV a little too early", and puts a little piece of plastic in my face. It has two lines on it. She says, "honey, its positive." My mouth just dropped, and I burst into tears. I kept asking "are you serious?? seriously???" I was crying so hard, that she asked "is this a happy thing??" Absolutely, it is!! I was just in such shock. Clint and I have never protected ourselves against pregnancy, and we were beginning to think we couldn't have children. It was becoming discouraging. Clint immediately called his mom, who didn't believe us. Clint's such a joker, so I can see why she was doubtful! Needless to say, surgery was cancelled. I can't be put under, its too dangerous for baby. We went to wal-mart, bought pregnancy tests, and took them. All 3 also came back positive. We were in total shock. We still kind of are. But we are so, so excited!!!! We cannot WAIT!

On the 23rd, we went to the doctor. They tested again, and confirmed that we are, indeed, pregnant. They did a full exam, asked some questions, and gave us a due date of August 1st. Which means I am just entering my 3rd month of pregnancy. We have an ultrasound on January 3rd. We'll get to hear a heartbeat. See how big the baby is. We cannot wait. We are beyond excited to be parents. My parents are SO excited to be grandparents. My grandparents are so excited to be great-grandparents. Basically, everyone is just super excited. :D

New blog!

2010-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a new blog, dedicated solely to my photography.

http://aliciamclawsphotography.blogspot.com

Check it out. Become a follower. Spread the link around. :p

I am a horrible blogger...

2010-07-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

Oh hey!! Lookie there....we're still alive. Oh, its true. Alive. You wouldn't know it, unless you keep up with us on Facebook :p Because I....am a horrible blogger. :p

Since I last blogged, I had surgery. See, right after my last blog post, I started showing all the classic signs of pregnancy. Fatigue, achy parts, hot flashes, morning sickiness (of sorts) and missing cycles (those are sporadic, at best)...all that fun stuff. It was weird, and all tests came back negative. I finally sucked it up and went to the doctor. Turns out, I had a large cyst on my right ovary. Very large....like, softball sized, large. Doctor decided the best course of action would be to remove it. So on May 12, I had my first surgery, ever. I had three incisions, one in my belly button, and two at my bikini line. The whole procedure was done laparascopically (wow-that's butchered...and spell check can't even figure out what I'm attempting to say :p) so my incisions are very small. He removed it all successfully, and now I'm on medication to regulate my system. We figure I'll stay on the medication for 6 months, and then go off of it to see if my body keeps up. If it does, we'll try for a baby. If it doesn't....well, we'll explore other options. :)

Clint and I both managed to injure our right feet. Yep, we're awesome like that. He ran over his at work one night while pulling a large pallet of dog food. The pallet was taller than he is, and was full of 50 lb. bags of dog food. He caught his heel with it. Managed to break his heel. Oh, and he has Achilles tendonitis. So he is in a large black boot for 6-8 weeks. I....don't have a cool story for mine. I was literally just walking. I have a stress fracture in my right arch. Because of its location, I am also in a large black boot, for 6-12 weeks. People think its "so cute!" that we're both in a boot on the same foot. Its funny, that's for sure! Our podiatrist says he's never seen such a thing in his entire 31 years of practice. :p

We went to Big Lake with his family the last week in June, like we always do. It was a blast, as always. We're going to try to go back up in August, for a long weekend :) and in September, we're going to California to visit my mom and brother. I haven't been to Yosemite National Park in years, and I miss it. Clint's never been, and I'm excited to show him around. We're really looking forward to it... :)

That's about it. See....3 months without blogging....and I have really, nothing interesting to say :p

Marshall & Kayla

2010-04-11T18:36:00.001-07:00

On April 9th, we gathered to celebrate the marriage of Marshall and Kayla. Before the reception, we went to the Temple to get some bridal shots. I took SO many, and it was hard to narrow down to just a few to share. Please excuse the picture overload, all the while, enjoying the pictures :)

Engaged

2010-03-28T22:34:00.001-07:00

My dear friend, Natalie, is engaged to David. May 29th is the big day, so we ventured out yesterday to take some engagement photos. Be prepared for a picture overload....love her, and she's GORGEOUS! its hard to narrow down to just a few to share :p We went to the Mesa Arts Center, and the Mesa Temple.

Love this. She has stunning eyes, and he truly cherishes her :)

They look fantastic together :)

He has a great smile, and he rarely ever shows it. Not sure what I said here to get it, but all that matters is that I got it! :p

Love this. again, they look fantastic together!

One of our favorite shots of the day :)

Random, but fun :)

I love comments! and constructive criticism! :)

Congratulations Natalie and David! So excited for your big day!! :)

Engagement/Anniversary Pictures

2010-03-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

Clint's cousin, Marshall, met a cute girl, Kayla, a couple years ago. In February of 2009, they eloped. They're having a reception this April to celebrate with everyone, and they asked me to take some engagement/anniversary pictures for them. Here's just a few. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out :) I think they were too, because I'm also taking their formal wedding pictures. :)

P.S. I love comments. Constructive criticism is great. I'm trying to build a portfolio of sorts, because I'd love to start a business in a few years after I've had more training :)

One of my favorites :)

He was threatening to drop her in the water after he'd been holding her :)

Love the color in this one :)

Congratulations Marshall & Kayla!!

Picture Day

2010-02-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today, I took pictures of my nephews and neice. This post showcases Kyle and Mackenzie. They are Courtney's and Aaron's kids. (Courtney is Clint's older sister). The "photoshoot" was...interesting. We had a lot of fun. The kids weren't so into it, at first. We promised we'd take them to the park if they'd just say "cheese!!" I got a few decent shots near the water, but struck gold at the park. I just followed the kids around while they played, begging they say "cheese!" and blow kisses to mommy before they would slide down the slide. Kyle actually got really into it, and started demanding I take his picture towards the end of our shoot :) Enjoy the pictures...its only a few. I ended up taking 242(!) pictures! I ended up with about 60 really good ones.

Mackenzie. She's absolutely gorgeous. and this is one of my favorites from the day :)

Kyle and Mackenzie. Love this picture :)

We begged, and begged, and finally bribed to get this picture. Its not perfect, but I really like it :)

She's such a pretty girl. That smile says "I'm up to no good". She's a doll :)

My handsome boy! Kyle is getting so big! When I first started dating Clint, Kyle was almost 6 months old. He'll be 5 this year. Time needs to slow down.

I've been using my friends and family as guinea pigs, while I develop my "talent". I'd love to make photography a business one day. I'm slowly building some sort of portfolio. I've also been considering taking a class or two at the local community college. Nothing I'd be doing anytime soon, but its a possibility for the future :)

More Pictures....

2010-02-16T05:33:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned lately that I love my camera?? Because I LOVE my camera. I got some great pictures at the hospital yesterday. Then I had a lot of fun editing them. This little guy is going to get sick of my constantly sticking a camera in his face. But, these are the moments we'll want to remember forever. So, deal with it :p I love taking pictures, and I'm so excited to take his "newborn" photos in a couple weeks. I'm also so excited to take pictures of my other neice and nephew (Mackenzie and Kyle)...which WILL happen sooner than later, Courtney! I haven't forgotten!! :) At any rate....here are some more fun pics of Slade :)

Daddy feeding Slade for the first time

He was attempting to suck on his hand. SO cute!! love his cute little lips. adorable.

Isn't he the sweetest?

With Mommy, right after birth.

Daddy's HUGE hands, with Slade's small body. You know, he was surprisingly small for a baby of 8 pounds. He's so....dense. Solid. Its not really baby fat....just baby. :p

Slade Romney Farnsworth

2010-02-15T20:38:00.001-08:00

Slade Romney Farnsworth

Slade was born on February 15, 2010, at 12:17 pm. He was 8 pounds, 20.5 inches. Both Mommy and Baby are happy and healthy. Daddy is extremely proud. As are aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents....to say this little guy has captured our hearts is an understatement.

I took a couple (thousand) pictures....here's just a few.

Mommy and Baby bonding

Pretty much the cutest face ever, right? I agree

Daddy is so proud!!

Love him. So much. He's so beautiful. Sweet. Content. A very good baby :)

One of our favorites of the day. This is daddy's thumb in comparison to Slade's fist.

A date at the zoo

2010-01-12T19:40:00.001-08:00

Our weather has been so gorgeous here in arizona the past week or so. In the 70's! Today didn't disappoint, so Clint and I decided to have a date and go to the Phoenix Zoo. Not only were we out in the fresh air, doing something together that we'd never done before, but we got good excercise too. Hooray for working on weight loss goals! :p

Clint and I watching the elephant play.

Birds. Apparently Packers fans. (note the yellow and green). We may or may not have heckled them. Remember when the Cardinals beat the Packers? I do.

Clint and I getting ready to go into the bear enclosure. Biggest waste of our time. HUGE enclosure for a small bear. Stupid thing hid from us. Whatever :p

SO funny story here. This was by the Oryx enclosure. This statue was right around the corner, and when I turned said corner, I jumped about 4 feet into the air and gasped. Totally thought the stupid thing was real. Then I laughed really hard at myself for being so stupid. :p

Giraffe. :)

What fun dates have you been on lately? :)

I <3 my new camera :)

2010-01-05T20:06:00.001-08:00

My dear friend Natalie and I went to the Mesa Arts Center today and played around with my new camera. The camera was a gift from Clint for Christmas. Its a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, and its amazing. We just took some random photos, but they turned out really great! I've always loved photograhpy, and I really hope to find that I have a talent for it! :p

Natalie

Myself

Natalie. She's so gorgeous and photogenic!

Myself again :)

This was my absolute favorite picture of the day. Its fantastic in color, and then I played around with it in Picasa and I absolutely adore the outcome :)

My latest craft....

2010-01-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

I found this idea on a blog called Not So Idle Hands. http://notsoidlehands.blogspot.com/

When I saw hers, I knew I had to make my own. It was such a beautiful, simple project, that reminds us of the most important "Be's" :) I purchased the vinyl from a gal on etsy. I think in the future, I'll just buy vinyl in store and have Clint's aunt Brenda cut it for me with her Cricut. I think it would be cheaper, and I'd get way more for my money. I spent $20 for the vinyl (two sets, so that I could make two of these). $.51 CENTS for a HUGE 4 foot long 4x4 at Home Depot. it had cracks and what not, but I filled those, and sanded them down, and it was good as new. My brother in law, David, cut them into 4 inch blocks for me. The paint was a sample that we bought to test in the living room. It was $2.94. SO in total I spent about $15 for one set. I made this one for Courtney's new apartment. :) I'm helping her decorate it :) See the Rock Band box back there? its only the drum set, but I got it for $9.96 on clearance at Wal Mart!! :D I got the actual video game online for $13.99. I'm still looking for a guitar, but the boys are having fun with the drums for now. Its way cheaper to buy it piece by piece...the full set retails for almost $200!....or something like that :p

Anyone make a new years resolution this year? I never make them, because I never keep them. But Clint and I have decided that this is the year to pay off as much debt as possible. And I've decided that this is the year I need to get healthy. Better eating habits, and more, better quality, excercise. I'm not setting weight loss goals, because I may just get discouraged. Just going day to day, being better about it all. :)

How Arizona Does Winter....

2009-12-31T00:34:00.001-08:00

Yes, that would be my new christmas toe socks with my ever-so-comfy Honolua flip flops. Don't judge.

FREE Photobook!!!

2009-11-24T16:22:00.000-08:00

I got a great coupon in my email today! Its a coupon for a FREE 20 page Photo book PLUS FREE SHIPPING!!! The code is "BONNIE" at Photoworks.com. Its only good for the first 25,000 orders, or until 12/7/09. Which ever comes first. It was super easy to do! Its a $50 value, for FREE! WooHoo! Hurry on over to Photoworks.com

Oh HAI!....

2009-10-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we're alive. I'm just an absolute horrible blogger. We've been spending our time working, sleeping, scrapbooking (in my case), decorating for halloween (in my case), re-doing the bathroom (again, in my case-I SWEAR I'LL GET IT DONE SOON!), and playing Mario Party. That's pretty much the extent of our lives.

Clint's been working all over his store. He's supposed to only be in electronics, but they've had him everywhere, stocking. He comes home every morning completely exhausted and ready to pass out. Often, the only time we get to spend together is sleeping in the morning. So I've been staying up until about 3 or 4 in the morning, so that I can sleep in with him in the morning, just to spend a little time with him. Cute, huh? Its a little dysfunctional, but we make it work.

I'm working hard to earn a promotion at my store. I had my year-mark review the other day, and I had "exceeds expectations" in nearly every section. I got a $.50 raise, and they asked me if I'd be interested in being a Customer Service Supervisor (CSS, for short). I told them that I would ABSOLUTELY be interested! I was told I'll be getting an interview shortly. I'm trying to go out of my way to show them that I'm the right choice! :) It would mean another pay raise, and possibly some more normal hours. Either way, I'd be learning something new, and I'd be challenged on a daily basis!! I like running the Smoke Shop, but I'm really bored with it. I'm ready to move on up!

I know I promised to blog more about my trip to San Diego. But I also promised to blog about our camping trip back in JUNE, and I never delivered. Again, I'm a terrible blogger. I was doing really good there for awhile. Not sure what happened. Anyway, those blogs may come soon....they may not. I won't make any promises, this time :p

Some pictures....

2009-09-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my pictures loaded out of order, but that's probably operator error. :p its late, and I'm pretty tired. Here's a few pictures of our trip so far! I'll write more details later!

Callie, Natalie and Rosson (Nat's cousin) after the Shipwreck Rapids ride Natalie SO EXCITED for Shamu!!

Natalie and I before Shamu came out and soaked us!

Myself, Kristen (Rosson's girlfriend) & Rosson

Callie, myself and Natalie

Day Two at Sea World!!

Ok, so we went and saw Shamu again. I thought I was wet yesterday...nope!! I got SOAKED today!!!!!

Natalie enjoying her churro and frozen lemonade!

Natalie and I petting the Sting Rays

Myself, Natalie and Callie after a long day at Sea World

Like I said, I'll write in more detail later. I'm pretty much wiped out right now! :p

So little to blog about...

2009-09-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in so long. I've just been so bad about it. Its been too hot to do anything!! I haven't scrapbooked, because its too hot in the back of the house, and I'm really too lazy to drag all my stuff out into the living room. I haven't re-vamped anymore of my thrift store purchases like I'd sworn I would do. I started to clean our room the other day. We have a floor! Imagine that :p

I have, however, started my christmas shopping!! Oh yeah, I said it. Christmas.Shopping. I've started. Boo-yah! :p Don't get too excited...I've bought ONE gift LOL! But I got a screamin deal, so I'm excited about it. Got the supplies necessary to make another two christmas gifts. I really want to make as much as I can this year. It will save us so much money. Or so I'd like to think. Guess we'll see :)

I'm going to San Diego later this month for four days with a couple of friends. I'm really excited to get away for a few days. I am leaving Clint behind, he has to work. It will be the longest we've been apart since we got married. Four days isn't long at all, but I know I'm going to miss him like crazy. I can't wait to go though...I've never been to southern California. We'll be going to Sea World and Coronado Island, as well as relaxing on a couple local beaches. It'll be so nice to get away for a few days, before the holiday madness starts.

My beautiful new baby cousin was born last month! (a couple weeks ago, actually). Baby H was delivered by C-section, and both Mommy and Baby did great. She was 7lbs, 5 ounces and 20 inches long. She's so gorgeous, I love her so much already...and I haven't even met her yet! But how could you not love that adorable face?? You know I'll be scrapbooking her :)
That's about it from us. We're alive and relatively well. Been busy with work...story of our lives :p We both cannot WAIT for winter to be here. I think just about the entire state is sick of 100+ degree heat.

I'll try to remember to blog again soon :)

FOR SALE!!

2009-08-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

For Sale:

(2) Two Alpine Type R 1000 Watt (each) Subs

$350 for both

But we're willing to listen to offers. :) Here they are in the box. Pretty, eh?

The price of the box, you ask? $100

ooo...this studly guy is a Kenwood 1700 watt amp.
$150

A picture of all three together. Wanna buy the bundle? Make an offer!!

We need to sell...and we're willing to listen to offers!

Any questions? Ask!

Wanna buy? Comment!

Know someone who might be interested? Send them my way!

Thrifting...

2009-08-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

This past saturday, I had the day off from work. Hooray! That hardly ever happens, and I decided to spend the day running errands. I've been on the hunt for an antique, ornate frame...so I hit up a couple of Goodwills. I found a few things...but no frame.

I saw this and decided that it held a lot of potential. It was marked at $2.99, which is a steal in itself. But it had the sale tag of the day, and I got it for only $1.49!

I decided to paint it to match the scrapbook tool organizer that Clint got me for christmas. I'm going to use it to hold all of my cardstock packs!

So this is the before... and this is the after! Now, it isn't perfect...but I like it! It was a trial and error experience...but I think it turned out pretty well. The picture doesn't show the color too well...but I spray painted the whole thing Pistachio green, and did accents of black.

another picture. Its a good size...it'll hold a lot of paper! :D

Tomorrow I'll paint a basket I bought! And I do have another item I purchased to re-vamp...but its gonna have to wait a few months ;)

we ARE alive!

2009-08-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

Hello- we're alive and well. busy with work...what else is new? I have nothing interesting to say. No funny stories...WAIT! yes I do!

Today when I left work, I walked to my car, but it wouldn't unlock! What.The.HECK?! I was so irritated. Then I looked down and realized...

This isn't my car.

OOPS!!! hahahaha I laughed really hard and walked down 6 or 7 cars and found MY car. So yeah...I'm basically an idiot. I should probably pay more attention :p

I think that's the most entertaining thing that has happened to us in quite some time. :p Kinda sad, huh?? I know it.

I lack the motivation and inspiration to write anything more. Its almost midnight! Gimme a break! I promise (?) I'll be back with more...sooner than later.

Maybe...

and another one....

2009-07-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

This is another page that I did in class today. I finished it at home. But I really like how it turned out. Its cute! :) Excuse the bad picture....my blackberry wasn't cooperating. What else is new? :p

On another note, please pray for my brother in law, Aaron. He's in the hospital. Everything is relatively ok...he's being watched carefully. He was admitted because his potassium levels were too low. We're praying for a speedy recovery! :)

New Page

2009-07-15T19:02:00.001-07:00

I took a class at Scrapbooks Etc today. We did 3 pages. I've still got two to finish up...but here's one that we did. I love it. It features my adorable nephew, Kyle :) I really like it. What do you think?

Its Friday!

2009-07-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it is for Clint and I at least. We both have tuesday and wednesday off from work this week. :D I'd love to say that we're going somewhere, doing something, getting away from the heat....but we're not. We're gonna stay here, do nothing, and stay inside away from the heat. :p We might hit the pool up a couple of times....but that's about it. He'll play World of Warcraft, and I'll scrapbook. Speaking of scrapbooking....I have some new pages! :D

Its Love

Our Parents

And I've already posted this one, but this is a slightly better picture of it :)

a random post...

2009-07-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

I was just looking through wedding pictures....deciding which ones to scrapbook. I fell in love with my dress all over again. I truly felt so beautiful on our wedding day. I have the desire to put it on and just lounge around. HAHA :p Does anyone else ever feel that way about their dress? I really do completely love my dress :)

Things that everyone likes, but Alicia hates....

2009-07-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

My bloggy friend Lauren did a post that was "Lauren's list of crap that she hates but the rest of the world LOVES." and she tagged all of her readers, commenters, bloggy friends to post their own. So here's mine :)

I'll probably be shot, maimed, hung by my ears....but Twilight tops my list. I'm sorry!! I've read the first two books. They were actually pretty good. Do I understand the hype? Absolutely NOT! It was a good book. That's about it. I watched the movie. Horrible. Hated it. The End.

(Don't kill me...I'm entitled to my opinion :p)Pajamas in Public. Ok...I'm the first to admit that I'm pretty darn lazy. Most days, I don't bother with makeup, and the hair is just in a ponytail. But I at least throw on jeans and a tshirt before I leave the house. Good grief.
World Of Warcraft. Hubby man plays it. Dominates his life. Meet his wife: World of Warcraft. I'm just the mistress. Ok, not really. But he does play...a LOT. Do I get it? Nope! I've tried. He gets irritated when I mess up the terminology :p I asked him once about Agrogging. He thought I was being a miss smarty pants....but I was serious. Oops :p

Musicals. Ugh. Gag me. I really think I'd rather face a huge spider head on (Hi: I'm arachnaphobic) than watch a musical. Pretty much goes for all of them. Give me a great football game, and I am happy as a clam. Put me in a theatre in front of a musical...and you're commiting a crime. Srsly. Homicide is wrong.

Amusement Parks. *Except Disneyland, which I'm sure is completely awesome, though I've never been* I hate roller coasters. I hate fast rides. I hate rides that put me upside down. Hi, $60. I'd rather spend you at a scrapbook store. :)

So that's my list. Don't hate. Re-post your own if you'd like! Let me know if you do! I'm curious to see everyone's lists! :D

Too cute

2009-07-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

I tell people that I have the cutest neice and nephew ever. Lets face it, I do :) They were playing in their kiddy pool this last weekend in our front yard, and Kenzie somehow ended up face first in the dirt. Courtney (their beautiful mom & my sister in law) took this adorable picture of her! Apparently, Kenzie didn't really mind the dirt. Well, I was inspired by the picture... and I created this. Now, my blackberry is being dumb, so I can't really get a decent picture of it. Its pinks, browns, and a little bit of green. The quote is "A little dirt never hurt!" I used a lot of Tim Holtz distress ink in Walnut Stain to give it a "dirty" look. I really like how it turned out :)

Comments and constructive criticism is always welcome :)

I love lazy days....

2009-07-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...its dark :)

I am thinking...about scrapbooking :)

I am thankful for...my family. my friends. my health. my JOB. I'm very blessed.

I am wearing...my new shirt from Old Navy, jeans, and flip flops :)

I am creating...nothing at the moment. Gonna start working on my scrapbook pages again soon! :)

I am reading...the Twilight series. I finally caved.

I am hoping...that this cold leaves me soon. I hate being sick.

I am hearing... Deadliest Catch on tv

Around the house...the AC running

One of my favorite things...scrapbooking!! If I could make a living out of it, I totally would!

A few plans for the rest of the week...work, scrapbook, sleep, spend time with my loved ones :)

A picture to share...(well a layout)

Pic is Natalie, Danyelle and myself....goofing off one night at JoAnn's. Cuz we're cool like that. Don't hate. Just love on the page. I adore it :D

We're home!

2009-07-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

We've been home...for almost a week. I have lots of pictures to post....BUT I have to buy a USB cord for my camera first. Clint's computer charger broke, and so I can't use his laptop to upload them like I usually do. We had TONS of fun on our camping trip! The fishing was completely amazing! I did get fried one day. Like, completely. It was bad. But its healing. We all got bit by many mosquitos....but we're healing from that too. Some of Clint's co-workers asked him, "What happened to your arms??" and he responded, "Oh, its just chicken pox." One of them went and tattled to the manager because she believed him! LOL!

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th!! We're both working, so we obviously won't be doing much :p

If you need us...

2009-06-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

We'll be here.... Big Lake, AZ

Doing a lot of this....

We'll be back on the 29th. Try not to miss us. :p

Dear Daddy

2009-06-21T11:34:00.001-07:00

Today is a day to celebrate dad's. I love my dad. He's such an amazing man. He's always been my rock, helping me through the big and the small trials in my life.

Thanks so much for everything you do, Dad. I appreciate it more than words can ever say.

Happy Fathers' Day, Dad. I love you :)

Happy, Happy Birthday!

2009-06-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today is my little brother's birthday!! Alex is 17 today!! Where has the time gone?? :p

Happy Birthday, Alex!! Prom Night, 2009

One Year...

2009-06-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

One year ago this month....my family was enduring trials we didn't think we'd ever have to endure.

One year ago this month....we cried a thousand tears, and said a million prayers.

One year ago this month....we were struggling to understand how and why.

One year ago, June 18th, my stepfather, Fred Laam, lost his battle with cancer.

It was a very difficult time in our lives. Thanks to the loving support of our family, friends, and Heavenly Father, we made it through. I knew we would. It was just hard to remember that at the time. We've all come to terms with it. My mom has met and is dating another wonderful man. She misses Fred terribly, and Tim is very understanding and is there to help her through the tough times.

Fred is missed very much. Not a day goes by that we don't think of him. But we know that he's watching over us. It gives us peace and puts us at ease. :)

*Photo is courtesy of Summer. Pictures are of my parents wedding day*

Completed

2009-06-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here's my completed Friend Brag Book. Mostly, anyway. I'm debating on how to bind it...but this is what the entire book looks like when you're looking at it all :) I have detail pictures that I'll post later....busy doing laundry and packing for our camping trip :) Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, or constructive criticism! This is the first one I've ever made....and there are definitely things I could've and probably should've done differently :)

Feeling Domestic...

2009-06-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure exactly what it is....but today I started feeling really domestic. I don't exactly want to vacuum the carpet....I just feel the need to create something. I've got the urge to sew something pretty. How weird is that?? The last time I touched a sewing machine, I managed to knot it up pretty good. In fact, I think it might still be out of comission. [Oops!] I found a cute girls blog (I don't know how to link to it), and she sews all sorts of cute clothes. she took a onesie and attached fabric to it to make a cute dress for her daughter. Um...adorable! I just look at a sewing machine, and I imagine all the super cute stuff I could make! :) Perhaps I'll attempt to learn how to sew. :) I've thrown myself into scrapbooking, and I like to think that getting I'm pretty good at it :) But I think I'd like to become more crafty and domestic-y. I just want to create cute things for my home, my family, my friends. So far, I'm good for a scrapbook page. That's about all. :p I have a couple other ideas. A cute girl makes what she calls "Big Pages" and frames them. I think I'd like to tackle one myself. For a gift. For someone special. Speaking of making gifts....I've been working on a super cute project for someone special! ;) Curious? Is it bugging you yet? That's too bad. It won't be unveiled until its done. Hopefully, that'll be sooner than later. :) But so far its beyond cute, and I'm super excited to gift it. And I think this person will LOVE it as well. At least, I hope so :) So stay tuned for that, but don't hold your breath. It probably won't be ready till after vacation.

Speaking of vacation...

We're leaving for Big Lake next weekend. Do I need to even tell you how excited we are? Because we are beyond excited. We've been anxiously counting down the days. We're staying the full week, and we can't wait. Last year, we had just gotten married, and we only went for a weekend. We're going the entire week this year. Lots and lots of fishing awaits us. I'm even taking some scrapbooking :D Yes, I'm that much of a dork. But I have lots of cute kits made and ready, so I don't have to take all my stuff. Just the basics. It'll keep me busy. I need to get a book. Still debating reading Twilight. Natalie thinks I should. Half the world thinks I should. I'm still being stubborn and holding out. But I haven't completely dismissed the idea. We'll see. I usually end up taking a couple Harry Potter books. :) But I've read them all numerous times....it might be nice to read something new. :) We shall see :p

So...I can't think of much more to blog on about. We're alive and well. :)

Opinions, Please :)

2009-06-13T01:46:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I have a friend who asked me to make her one of these. She gave me the money, and I purchased the materials. Its not done yet....I need to add embellishments and whatnot....But this is the first "brag book" I've ever made. So I was just curious what you all thought of it so far. I think its kind of cute. But maybe that's just me :p So critique away!! :)

The boys...

2009-05-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that I've only been scrapbooking pictures of Clint and I on the Temple grounds. But we had a bunch of amazing people involved in our special day. Today, I did a page showcasing the groomsmen. I like how it turned out. Its nice and bright. I keep having to remind myself that I don't need to stick to just black, white and turquoise. :p Bright colors really add to it, I think. I tend to gravitate towards the neutrals. I found a page similar to this online that gave me the inspiration to create this. :)

I don't have a unique title....

2009-05-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

but I do have a funny story!!! :p Clint was at work on friday night, and he had a few guys come into the electronics department. His department was being waxed, and customers weren't allowed in the movie section, to avoid accidents. The guys asked for a movie, so Clint carefully walked over and got the movie. They were all talking about all these "man" movies (as Clint calls them). After talking for a few minutes, one of them suddenly says to Clint, "Hey! We should go out sometime!" Clint was pretty much stunned. He tells me he immediately thought, "If this guy touches me, I'm going to lose my job!" He kinda stammered for a few minutes, then said to the guy, "um...I'm MARRIED." I guess the guy just kind of brushed it off, tried to give Clint his number, saying "well, if you ever change your mind..."

LOL! I don't know that I've ever laughed so hard. I mean, Clint doesn't exactly give off vibes that would give someone the idea that he might be into men. :p

New Page...

2009-05-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't scrapbooked in a few weeks, with the exception of the Scrappin' Sampler class I did a couple weeks ago at Scrapbooks, Etc. One week, Clint and I were VERY sick with a nasty upper respiratory infection. Last week, we were really busy with preperations for Kyler's graduation....well, mostly, I just ran errands all day. We didn't really have any "preperations" to make :p We just had lots of air horns to buy :p

This is detail of the bottom of the page...
Detail of the top of the page....

Bad picture of the entire page....

I really think this might be my favorite page I've made so far. I really like the way it turned out. Of course, its a yucky picture, taken with my Blackberry. I have no idea where my digital camera is. I should probably find it before we go camping next month....

Anyway.....I promise I'll blog more soon. I've been really bad about it later. But we are alive. And I am still scrappin' away! :)

Class of 2009

2009-05-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Clint's little brother, Kyler, is graduating from high school today. We're so happy that his guitar class isn't holding him back :p He's a great kid, with a very bright future ahead of him!! We know he'll do everything he sets his mind to. Congratulations Kyler!! We're very proud of you!!! :D

Kyler McLaws

Mountain View High School

Class of 2009

His official graduation announcement. :)

My Mother....

2009-05-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
"Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to stay that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Were you raised in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get be my age, you'll understand."

25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you."

I don't have the privelege of spending mothers day with my mom. She lives in California. My mom is beautiful. She's smart, funny, and adventurous. She's the life of everyone's party, and brings joy to everyone in her presence. The above points were sent to me via email, but they bring back floods of memories from my childhood. :)

I love you, Mom. Happy Mothers' Day :)

Not so sure...

2009-04-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

how I feel about this one. I love this picture of our hands, during the ceremony. Our cousins girlfriend took it. When I found the quote "As I give you my hand to hold, I give you my heart to keep", I had a flash of inspiration. It didn't turn out quite as I'd envisioned...but I think its cute :)

A few more pages....

2009-04-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

Love is all you need... Living Eternally when kissing your lips...

GROOM.... :)

BRIDE... :)

You'll have to excuse the poor quality of these pictures. Clint's computer is on the fritz, and its what I use to upload the pictures from my digital camera. SO I took these with my new BlackBerry (which I happen to be in LOVE with! :p) and the flash is EXTREMELY bright, and it kinda cut the pages weird. Whatever...you get the general idea. :) I happen to be very happy with the pages I've done...although I did cheat and buy a few super cute kits...they supply the pieces and I put it together :) Today I went to a local scrapbook store and took advantage of a coupon I had for a free die cut lab. I'm in love. LOL! They had all sorts of great die cuts and you can make as many as you want! Normally, its only $5 for an hour, which is pretty reasonable when you consider all you can get. MUCH cheaper than investing in a Cricut, or a Slice. Don't get me wrong-I'd LOVE to have one or the other....but since I can't right now, I'll visit the die cut lab every once in a while :) I've got all sorts of fun die cuts to play with to create some new pages. I've been really good about doing at least one page every day I have off. Its not much, but it gets the book done :) Slowly, but surely :)

a kiss to build a dream on.....

2009-04-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

I promised to share scrapbook pages as I finished them....here's my first one. Its the first wedding picture I've scrapbooked :p got LOTS more to go! :)

The Epitome of Foolish...

2009-04-05T23:30:00.001-07:00

Clint and I were married on April 26, 2008. Our loving friends and family really enjoyed decorating our car. SO.CUTE., right?? I know. I loved it. Ready for foolish??

This is our car. Today. As in April 5th, 2009. I know, I KNOW! Its almost a year later! But there's a good reason! First off, I think they used like, super unwashable car paint. Seriously. Crap does NOT come off for anything. I washed the car today. And I scrubbed and scrubbed. A little more came off. *sigh* Second: you see the funky line on our convertible top...to the far left there? That would be a CUT in our convertible top! Some idiot tried cutting into it while Clint was at work one night.

My goal is to have it all off before our one year anniversary. In 20 days. Think I can do it??

Seemingly lost...

2009-04-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

I've been so preoccupied for the last year. When Clint proposed, I threw myself into the wedding planning. Our day came and went and it was beautiful. It was so rewarding to see everything come together. After our wedding, I threw myself into my friend, Sarah's wedding. I spent countless hours on her day. She was married on March 21st, and her day was beautiful. Again, it was so rewarding to see everything come together.

Now...I'm lost! I have absolutely nothing to do! I spent the last two days off that I had doing nothing. As I sat around tonight watching pointless tv...I decided that I want to work on my scrapbooking. =] I haven't even started our wedding scrapbook yet, and we'll celebrate our one year wedding anniversary next month! I've spent a good part of my evening looking at scrapbooking blogs, websites, and layouts. Gaining inspiration, wishing I had more cool tools, and vowing to develop my talent(?). :p

Not sure where I'll start....but I'll post pictures as I finish things.... :)

He gets whatever he wants...

2009-03-17T23:03:00.001-07:00

Today, Clint and I went to the store because we were hungry. Nothing too exciting right? Well, you've never shopped with Clint. I have no idea how he does it.....but he gets whatever the heck he wants. We were wandering around, trying to decide what we wanted. I picked up some Doritos and a gatorade for Kyler, a sandwich for myself. Clint got a pizza, two cans of stew and ice cream. Plus juice, and when he added two containers of croissants to the basket, I firmly said "no!" because he had way more than enough already!! He looks at me, leans over and kisses my cheek, and says "you look so beautiful today, sweetheart."

the stupid croissants are now in the kitchen.

*sigh*

March 5th...a few days late on this one

2009-03-10T00:03:00.001-07:00

March 5th marked 3 years since I started dating this cute boy. =] March 5th 2006 was the first day we met in person. Our first date. And we became a couple that day. I don't kiss on the first date. But I made an exception for him. He was cute. He was funny. He was different. This is the first picture we ever had taken together. It was at Mike & Natalie's wedding. We'd been together one month. Don't we look so young? And holy cow...he's so tall!! =] I love it.

I'm so happy that you found me. I'm so happy that someone was smart enough to create Myspace. How lame is that? But without it, we may never have found one another. I love you so much...more than you'll probably ever know. You are my rock, my everything. I truly would be lost without you.
I Love You, Clint.

Congratulations!

2009-03-08T11:18:00.001-07:00

A big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to my dear friend Jadyn & Tomas. They were married yesterday in the Mesa Temple for time and all eternity. Aren't they gorgeous together? I love you both so much and I'm sorry I couldn't be there for it. Can't wait to see pictures! ;) Jadyn & Tomas

March 7th, 2009

In the past month...

2009-02-28T20:59:00.000-08:00

I've been chewed out by a bum. For.Reals. I said, "Hi, how are you this evening?" when he came through my check out lane. True story! I was sweeter than sweet. He ripped me a new one for being "rude & condescending". Um, yeah. THAT'S what it is. Honestly, I fought SO HARD to keep from laughing in his face. He said that everybody is horrible these days, and the lady behind him said, without missing a beat, "I'm great!!". LOL! The sick part?? He came through my line an hour later, and I said "Hi, how are you this evening?" DOH! Its such a habit. I immediately apologized profusely. He offered to teach another cashier how to be a bum. Her response? "Nah-I'm not so good at pan-handling." OMG! I died. I kid you not. A few days later, he was banned from our store by police because he was carrying a HATCHET and threatening people with it!! So yeah, I could've died, folks. Meh....

I've realized that I probably have the worst.roadrage.ever. Srsly. I get really irritated by people who don't do the speed limit (i.e. 25 in a 45. Srsly??). I get really irritated by people who cut me off, then slam on their brakes for no reason. What the heck?? People who merge onto the freeway doing 10 mph. OMG don't get me started!!! I almost got slaughtered by an SUV because the moron in front of me slammed on his breaks to allow ALL the traffic to pass him on the freeway before he'd proceed on. We all ended up going around him. It was ridiculous. Where are the cops when we need them?? Clint gets a LOT of laughs at my expense. I yell and scream and gesture wildly in the air. Will this make a difference in their driving?? I highly doubt it. In fact, its pretty irrational. Meh.....

I can actually throw a decent party!! :D I'm Matron of Honor for a friend getting married in March. On Feb. 21st, I threw her a bridal shower. I was SOOO nervous for it! Seriously, I spent MONTHS preparing! I felt like throwing up when I woke up that day. The decor was very simple, all black and hot pink. We played a couple of games, ate lots of yummy food, and really enjoyed ourselves. I was very happy with the turnout, and with the results of the party. It really was lovely and all of the family commented on it. So, now I feel like I can take on anything! =]

Speaking of the 21st....Clint turned 24 on the 21st of February. Happy Birthday Clint!!! I love you more than ANYTHING!! :D I bought him a very nice Phoenix Suns hat. He got a gift card for Macaroni Grill from his mom, and we wasted no time going to eat! He received some money from his dad, and bought himself a really nice mouse for his computer. He's a gamer, and he goes through mouses really fast. He wanted a good quality one that would last awhile. I was so happy that he was able to use his birthday money on something that he wanted, rather than something he needed. In the past few years, everytime we receive a monetary gift, it goes straight to bills. The realities of being adults.... :p

I do believe that is just about it. We really are boring. People say all the time that its not possible. I swear to you it is. It seems that all we do is work and sleep. But we're alive. We're healthy. We're loving that its 90 degrees in February :P Hope you all are doing well! =]

Like Em, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into.......

2009-02-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

**Stole this idea from my fabulous Aunt Emily =] Thought it kinda sounded like fun**

Something just for you!

Lucky you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Good luck!

Surprise!!

2009-01-26T22:15:00.001-08:00

Back on January 1st, we woke up to the sounds of dogs barking in our front yard. BIG dogs. We opened the door and there were two big dogs eating the cat food. Both cats were gone. At the end of the day, Baxter came home, but Tinkerbell was nowhere to be found. I was heartbroken, but I tried not to let it show because I didn't want Clint to feel guilty (he blamed himself because of his allergies. Silly =P).

Tonight, I got home from work around 9:30. I grabbed my purse, and got out of the car. All of a sudden, this gray flash comes across the yard, and its Tinkerbell!!! She's pretty dirty and got some bad knots in her fur. She also weighs a good 10 pounds lighter than she was when she disappeared.

I'm so grateful to have her back, but I think they're still gonna have to go outside while Clint is home and trying to sleep. I don't want him to be completely miserable.

Craftiness!! =]

2009-01-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

So I've been working on stuff for a friends bridal shower in February. I've been trying to find cute ways to make it really personal, while watching the wallet. I'm really proud of the monogram I made to display at the shower. Perhaps I'm conceited, but I think it turned out so cute!! The pink ribbons are SO much brighter in person. Silly camera. I'm working on something else now...I'll post pictures when I'm done =]

Well, they did it!

2009-01-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

The NFC Championship game result is the cause for much joy in our home right now. Clint claims he lost his hair, and he'll probably have a stroke during the super bowl =P I'm excited the Cardinals won. It'll be nice to see someone new at the super bowl. I'm kinda sick of seeing the same 4 teams in the super bowl over and over again.

and no, I'm not saying I'm a Cardinals fan. I'm forever a Niners fan at heart =]

Ugh

2009-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

My face hurts. Literally-my face hurts. My sinuses are so swollen due to this stupid sinus infection I've got going on (diagnosing myself-no doctors needed here!). Oh, and I sound like Beaker when I talk. Kyler and Clint are LOVING it.

I'm going back to bed.

Random High School Survey....

2009-01-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Name of your high school and graduating year:
Apache Junction High School-Class of 2003

Did you marry someone from your high school? nope!

Did you car pool? Um, yeah, I guess. I got a ride with Jessica and her dad to early morning seminary, then Sister Wood would drive us to school. LOL I remember one time I ended up in the backseat with her son Braxton, whom I had the BIGGEST crush on. Was SO excited-for no apparent reason LOL! Took him to Homecoming senior year. Sweetest guy ever and a dear friend of mine...getting married now on Jan. 24 to the sweetest girl ever! So excited for them! =]

What kind of car did you have? I didn't! LOSER =P

What kind of car do you have now? Clint and I have a 2001 convertible Camaro.

What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked as a cashier/photo tech at Osco Drug (now CVS/Pharmacy.). Actually, I worked there for 5 years and loved it. Still go out to visit all of the people I worked with.

Were you considered a flirt? Nope, didn't really waste my time

Did you get suspended or expelled? nope

Can you sing the fight song? "Go Prospectors! Fight the enemy! Make them kneal before our varsity!..." that's about it! And I might actually have two different fight songs mixed, since I went to two different high schools =P

Where did you sit during lunch? where ever I felt like sitting

What was your school mascot? the Prospectors.

If you could go back and do it again, would you? maybe just for Flagline & Choir

What do you remember most about graduation? My aunt and uncle flew down from utah. my stepmom got really sick and was in the hospital. when they called my name, my dad had her on the phone and was holding it out to the crowd so that she could hear my name being called as I got my diploma =] and the Choir yelled REALLY loud for me and the superintendant said "wow-you have a fan club!" lol. then I went to Osco in my cap & gown and got stuff to make hot fudge brownie sundaes at home =] OH! and Laural got pulled over for speeding when she was on her way to get me (so that we could go hang out with our Mormon friends at the park behind our church) and she handed the guy her credit card instead of her license! LOL! He let her off because she was "smarter than half the town" for just graduating =] that's a lot, i know =]

Who did you take to the Prom in your Senior Year? uh, Jason Majewski. as a friend. I think he was the oldest one there LOL

Do you still talk to the person you went to prom with? We actually work together at good ol' Wal Mart =P and by "together" i mean, in the same store. different departments =]

OMG I want it!!

2009-01-04T01:16:00.001-08:00

Haha-Afton was telling us about these shirts the other night, and I've decided that I must have them LOL! (FYI: WOW= World of Warcraft....oh, and my husband is addicted =P)

Just sayin'...

Crafty Challenged

2009-01-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

Oy. I've got 5 weddings before June. FIVE! And a few of them, I'm really struggling on gift ideas because they've got everything they need. Lately, I'm obsessed with monograms. But I'm terrified that whatever I'd try would end up SO ugly. Bleh! I see all this ADORABLE stuff being done with monograms, like the picture above. (Sorry Dany-I had to. I LOVE the monogram!) It was done by her adorable sis-in-law, Afton. I'd love to give original, thoughtful things as wedding gifts. Especially for close friends. I have a wedding at the end of this month. I'm considering hitting up Hobby Lobby and checking out some ideas. What do you think? Is it better to give cutesy, crafty, thoughtful stuff. Or should I just wrap up a blender?

And so it appears...

2008-12-30T22:01:00.001-08:00

Another woman has taken Clint's heart from me. Mm-hmm, you read right, folks. She swooped in right in front of my unsuspecting eyes and stole his heart from me. What a meanie! Who is this other woman, you ask?? I'll show you!!::

Eh, guess I can't blame him. She IS after all, completely gorgeous <3

Seriously? Another one?

2008-12-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

Drunk: My new years resolution is to make you my woman!

Me: Uh-oh, my husband probably won't like that too much!

Drunk: Its ok baby, I don't mind sharing!

Me (fighting the urge to roll my eyes): You wanted Marlboro Lights in a box, right?

*sigh*

What the...?

2008-12-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

Today was quite an eventful day at work. I mean, we were so busy. It was insane. I hardly had time to think straight, let alone get any of my tobacco order put out. Again. 2nd day in a row. Beyond frustrating.

Around 4:30, I had about 3 customers in my line, and I noticed that one of them was excessively loud and obnoxious. Nasty, greasy, stringy hair. Nasty, stained tshirt: 3 sizes to small. Nasty, stained shorts, falling far to low and exposing some icky beer gut and ickier plumbers crack. Goody. When it came to be his turn, I tried not to gag on the smell of 3 day old alcohol on his breath. Prayed that he simply wanted cigarettes. I wasn't so lucky. He demanded whisky. Oy. I quickly pointed him towards the liquor (which is right behind my register), sweetly telling him to select his whisky, and come back through my line. As soon as he was out of earshot, I quickly flagged down a supervisor. Its policy that we can't sell alcohol to anyone that is visibly intoxicated. I told her that I would need some support to do this, because I've never had to deny alcohol before. She agreed and radio'd (not EVEN a word, sorry!) a manager up to my register. Finally, it was Drunk's turn again. And I was dreading it. I wasn't sure how to initiate this conversation of "guess what? no booze!"

Drunk: Found my whisky!

Me (stalling): Great! I'll be just one moment, I'm getting some quarters.

Drunk: Great! Need my ID?

Me (still stalling): That'd be awesome!

Drunk (turning to the people behind him): I'm getting carded!! HAHAHA!

Drunk (turning to me): I'm so F___ing drunk!!

**Bingo!! WIDE open line to the "guess what? no booze!" conversation!

Me: REALLY? That's too bad. Unfortunately, Wal Mart has a strict policy against selling liquor to intoxicated customers.

Drunk (bewildered): really?? Since when?

Me: That's always been our policy, sir. I'm afraid I won't be able to sell you any liquor today. Is there anything else I can get you?

Drunk: seriously? I guess I'll go to Circle K then

Me: Ok. They can sell it to you if they'd like to.

*At this point, I think he was expecting me to cry out in pain that he suggested taking his business elsewhere, but I wasn't budging. At this point, he became aggrivated**

Drunk: Well fine then! You know what? You're fat and ugly and I'm not!

Me (in my head): REALLY dude?? Really? Great comeback man!

I'm told that when he tried to get in his truck (that's right folks: he drove!!), his pants came completely off and he just stood there. Nice.

When it was finally over, I was shaking SO hard and I honestly was fighting back tears. Not because of what he said to me. I could care less about what he, or anyone, thinks of me. I think it was just the adrenaline. Nichole (supervisor) was shaking really hard to. Tim (manager) told me over and over again that I handled it extremely well, and that he was very proud of me.

The rest of the day, I was told that I have horrible customer service a few times because people were trying to get stuff at 50% off that wasn't supposed to be on clearance (non-holiday merchandise) and I wouldn't let them. Bunch of cheap skates. And because my debit/credit machine went on the fritz and decided not to work. Yeah-because I control the dumb thing. I swear it has a mind of its own.

The only good part about today was that I did the paperwork that makes me a permanent employee. =]

Grateful!!

2008-12-27T00:05:00.000-08:00

Our prayers have been answered!! I was told tonight at work that they're keeping me as a permanent employee past the holiday season. Hooray!! I wanted to cry with relief when they told me. When they asked me to come into the office- I knew it was the moment of truth. Either good or bad. I kept saying, "thank you so much!!" and they said, "don't be silly-you deserve it!" There aren't any pay increases, and the hours will remain about the same (I've been averaging 29-36 hours a week). We're just so grateful that I was chosen to be a permanent employee. We, well I, was stressing really bad. Hoping that I'd made a good enough impression to be kept on. Its next to impossible to find a job in this state, and I'm so very grateful for the one I have. =]

Well?

2008-12-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

Did Santa bring you everything you wanted? =]

Hope you all had a nice christmas. We did. A small one, but still very enjoyable. I got Clint the Armani Code cologne he'd been wanting. An Arizona Cardinals sweatshirt. A Cardinals wallet. (let me tell you, it physically hurt to buy anything Cardinals-and I almost cried. No joke!!). Um, OH! And the Bourne trilogy. He loves the movies. Myself? Never seen them? I know, I know. If I had the time, I'd sit in front of the TV and watch all three right now, I swear it =] He got me the coolest little (portable!) scrapbooking organizing case. A protector case for my scrapbooking paper. A shoe box FULL of scrapbooking stickers and embellishments. I got the first season of Bones on DVD (obsessed with the show!!). He got me an MP3 player! =] Oh. and I got an Arizona Cardinals camping chair. Hardi-har-har. His family has a great sense of humor, and they think its funny to buy me Cardinals stuff for my birthday and for Christmas. Actually, it is hysterical. And I just handed the chair to Clint and said, "here-I got you a camping chair." Hahaha! I'll sit in it...I'm not THAT much of a hater. But I tell you, I won't be happy. =P I swear he's getting U of A stuff for his birthday. (and when I say that-I'm totally kidding. Because I value this life I've been given. And Uncle Joey and Grandpa Gross will swiftly take that life away if I even LOOK at U of A stuff. Ok, ok. Maybe not THAT extreme. But they WILL sharpen their hunting knives with it. No joke) His mom got us a totally cool waffle maker that I'm so excited to use. Its one of those ones that flips after you've closed it. Eh-I'm easily amused. My parents gave Clint Kung Foo Panda and The Dark Knight on DVD. I got toys! Wall*E and Eve from the movie Wall*E. And I love them. I play with them all the time. Telling you, I'm obsessed. 24 years old and still getting toys. It'll never end! And I hope it doesn't! =]

SO that was our Christmas. We opened gifts here with his siblings, then went to Grandma & Grandpa Gross' house for Christmas lunch/dinner at 1. Went to my parents after that. Had a very quiet, very nice Christmas. Now, I get to go to work. Ick! Clint worked last night, and he said when they opened the doors at 6 am...it was a zoo. Goody. He said people were walking out with 3 or 4 carts of stuff. Hmm. I won't be doing that. Can't really afford it. Since we just had Christmas and all.

Family Pictures

2008-12-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago we did family pictures. I'm long overdue on getting them up. But here you are! Enjoy =]

The Entire Family =] Just the Kiddos

The Chambers =]

The Farnsworths

The McLaws' <3

It took me like, 20 minutes to figure out how to upload these. Now that I've figured it out, maybe there will be more pictures in the blog! =]

50 Girly Questions...

2008-12-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

I snagged this off of a blog that I've been reading. Don't even know the lovely young lady, but she's SO funny! I love reading her blog. =]

1. what is your name? Alicia Marie

2. what color is your bra? white

3. Do you straighten your hair everyday? nope...don't really care that much. I probably should. I look better when I do hahaha

4. Do you worry about the size of your boobs? sometimes, I worry that they'll end up causing back problems. laugh it up. say I'm "blessed". w/e

5. Are you the typical girl who's addicted to gossip?: nope, I'll listen to it, but I don't live for it

6. What's your favorite girly magazine?: Cosmo

7. Best junk food? um...tortilla chips =]

8. Would you kill for chocolate? I've thought about it. HAHAHA =P jk

9. Do you go to lunch with girls a lot? not really. just Natalie and/or Laural on occasion

10. Jeans or skirts?: hate skirts. love jeans

11.Do you wear clothes/shoes/jewelry that's uncomfortable? nope! I don't really care what other people think. I won't wear something just to look cute.

12. Did you ever spend all day/night getting pretty for a guy? not anymore. I admit that I did when Clint and I first started dating. I think I took all day getting ready for our first date =P

13. Did you ever cry during a romantic movie? I admit that I do!

14. Would you leave the house without makeup on?: almost every day. people are surprised when I DO wear makeup.

15. What's the biggest turn on about guys?: funny guys. I love a guy who can make me laugh =]

16. What about the biggest turn off? controlling guys

18. On a scale of 1-10, how fun is shopping?: um can I do -10?? I HATE IT!! I find what I want online, then I do a beeline through the store to get it. Now, sometimes I do get in the mood to browse. But its rare

19. Are you a girly-girl, tomboy, or in the middle? I'd say in the middle

20. Do you think lipgloss is the best?: I like it. I own lots. Usually, I'm wearing chapstick though

22. Do you freak out if you miss your favorite show? nope. that's what the internet is for

23. Do you obsess over your looks? not at all

24. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?: about 10 minutes. LOL!

26. Accessories make the outfit; true or false: I'm sure they do...I just don't care enough to accessorize.

28. What kind of guys do you like? tall, cute and funny =] basically, Clint ♥

29. Is pink truely the best color in the entire universe? NO!!!

30. Lip gloss a must? not really, but I like it

32. Do you have a bf?? nope...a husband!

33. mountains or ocean? mountains

34. Do you take the chance on Halloween to dress like a whore? no, I don't dress up for halloween

35. Ever dressed like a whore to impress a guy?: um, no!

36. Do you often wish there was something you could change? yeah, who doesn't??

37.Has a guy ever given you something on valentines day? a little stuffed monkey one year (we were broke lol) and flowers last year

38. Gold or silver?:Silver, white gold

39. The guy that you like/LOVE/whatever, what is his name? Clint McLaws

41. Do you dress up too much for holidays? nope!

43. Do you write alot of mushy love poems? nope. i'd rather be watching football

44. Do you consider yourself to be fashionable? eh, not really lol

45. On a scale of 1-10, how much do guys confuse you? only like a 2. i understand guys way better than I understand girls

46. Guys that cry during movies: sweet or weird? sweet

47. Do you worry or fuss about your clothes? nope!

48. Do you wear make-up? every once in a while

49. What makeup product could you NOT live without?? mascara. I look more awake when I'm wearing it

50. what age do you want to get married? um, i got married at 23 =]

A conspiracy...

2008-12-22T16:41:00.000-08:00

So last night, while I was feeling like the worst furbaby "mama" ever, Clint suggested that we brainstorm ways to keep the cats indoors. I told him that this wasn't fair to him, and insisted that they would remain outdoor cats. UNLESS it were to rain. Then I would bring them inside, for the duration of said rain. That would just be cruel, right? Well, I'm convinced these kitties heard me. Guess what? Its raining! and where are the cats, you ask? In my room. Nice, right? And they're just LOVING it. Of course they are. Now I've gotta start the whole "weening" process again. Some other day. When its dry. =P

Furbabies...and other stuff =]

2008-12-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

So, we've discovered that Clint is allergic to my two kitty cats whom I love dearly. But, I love my husband more (sorry kitties). So, I had to move the kitties outdoors so that Clint could sleep. He can't breathe around them, and they like to snuggle. As I sit here writing this, I can hear Tinkerbell outside crying because she's out there and I'm in here. =[ Sad day! She's breaking my heart. Baxter is ok being outside. He doesn't mind it that much. I think he may have been an outdoor cat when I adopted him from the pound. But little Tinkerbell...I adopted her at the age of 8 weeks. She's always been an indoor kitty. I know that they will adapt, and that I need to just leave them outside, and stop going outside to cuddle with them. Isn't it funny how kitties, perhaps all animals, are like babies?? I've heard that when trying to get babies to adapt to new customs, sometimes you need to "ignore" their cries because if you keep cuddling them, they won't adapt. So I sit here instead watching "Click" and trying to ignore their cries. I know they'll be fine. =]

Work is getting crazier and crazier as Christmas approaches. Which is to be expected, I suppose. I know that some people don't get paid until right before...but everyone?? Haha--I finished mine two weeks ago. Clint and I decided this year to shop only for each other and our parents. We just couldn't afford to include everyone that we'dve liked to. Maybe next year. Kinda depends on the economic status =P

So Clint did his yearly damage. He was walking at work a few weeks ago. Simply walking. He stepped down weird, and now has a stress fracture in his right foot. Yuck, right? Especially when we have no health insurance. Thank goodness Dr. McKay is really cool and adjusts costs to suit our budget. He's [supposed] to be in a big, clunky walking boot for awhile, to let it heal. He wears it when he's at work. But that's about it. I can't convince him to wear it anywhere else. Oh well...I was just as bad when my foot was broken last year, so I suppose I can't blame him.

In other health news, my tendonitis is flaring up really bad right now. Being a cashier will do that. I try to remember to take some ibuprofen before starting my shift to curb the pain, but I forgot today. Right hand is KILLING me. Not much that can be done for it though. Just take anti-inflamitories (that's not even spelled right lol) and wear a brace to support it.

UM...I don't think there's much else going on in our lives. We're really boring, I swear it. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas! I'm sure we will =]

Working on "Black Friday"...

2008-11-29T10:02:00.000-08:00

Or Blitz Friday, as Wal Mart likes to call it. Interesting. Let me just begin by saying that I was scheduled to work at 5. I had to get gas, so I left home early. Ended up getting to work around 4:30 am. The parking lot was PACKED. and we don't exactly have a small parking lot. So I parked, grabbed my water and cough drops (i'm fighting off a cold) and headed inside. I walk in the doors, and all I see is wall to wall people. Easily, 400 people crowded in just for electronics and toys. I mean, I saw little old ladies hanging on to a pallet of Dora dolls for dear life! Now, I've never been one to even go CLOSE to a retail store on this day. I mean, I've worked on Black Friday. But let me tell you that working at a drug store does NOT even compare. It took me 10 minutes to get from the front of the store to the back, where I could clock in. And people are VISCIOUS!! I kept having to flash my nametag because people were getting mad and accusing me of trying to get ahead in line. I get to the back and I hear a supervisor calling out that all cashiers must clock in IMMEDIATELY and report to the registers. Apparently, they weren't expecting a crowd this big. However, my store prepared and hired about 70 extra people for the holidays. The moment 5 am hit, and the sales started, the volume in the store raised considerably. You could HEAR people running for the registers. I looked up and had 50 people in my line within minutes. However, we were all moving fairly quickly. Really, the wait wasn't bad for people waiting. I think we had every register open. All 30 of them. There was a wait, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I was told repeatedly that I had a great attitude. I had to though. If I'd shown up really cranky and ready to have a bad day, it would have been horrible. But I showed up, determined to have fun with it. I told several people that I was grateful for the crowds. As long as people shop, I have a job! =] And the day passed really quickly. =]

We did have a couple of incidents: one lady was pushed into another ladies cart. Pushed lady turned around and sincerely apologized, and Cart Lady reeled back and punched her in the face! Goodness!! Around 10 am, we got the terrifying page: Code Adam. Missing child. Doors are sealed off and no one is allowed in or out of the building. And all available associates search. I happened to be at lunch, so I didn't join, at first. (Wal Mart considers it working off the clock). But when they couldn't find him, EVERYONE joined in the search. Strangely, the mother wasn't that concerned. About 45 heartbreaking minutes later, she suddenly remembered that she'd left the boy at home with his father. Ugh. Apparently, she wasn't "all there". I'm just glad the boy is safe.

When I got off at two, Laural and I went to the swap meet and she bought me an early christmas present: a pair of Crocs. My poor feet hurt so badly at the end of my shift that I often leave fighting tears. I don't have appropriate shoes, first of all. And I do need to get used to standing again. But I immediately changed into my Crocs and felt a little better. I'm curious to see if wearing them at work will aleviate my feet pain at all. I've talked to people who've said it will, and some who've said it won't. After the swap meet, we stopped by the house so that I could change into comfy clothes and drop off the car. We then went to Chandler mall. I got one of Clint's christmas gifts there, one at Wal Mart. I can't say what they are, because even though he teases me for "blogging", he checks this thing every once in a while =P

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. And if you were brave enough to take on the "black friday" crowds, I hope you had luck! =]

Back to work...

2008-11-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

After nearly a month of unemployment, I'm back to work tomorrow. Its bittersweet. I've enjoyed this "vacation", but we're desperately in need of the money! I've been hired by Wal Mart to be a seasonal cashier. If I do a stellar job, and they have the hours available, it may become a permanent position. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that I'll have 30-40 hours a week. Oh well. I took about a $4 pay cut. But right now, any money is good money! =] My stepmom played a huge part in helping me get this job. I've applied everywhere, and I just wasn't getting any calls back. It was really frustrating. Shar hassled her manager and he finally called me. Within two days, I had the job. Yesterday, I put a LOT of applications in all over: grocery stores, retail stores, etc. Hopefully, something with better pay and closer to home will come along. Right now, I'll be travelling about 15-20 miles for work. Its gonna be a lot of money in gas. The bottom line is: Thank Goodness for work! We're incredibly blessed that this came along for me. I hadn't seen any money from the state. Last week, 36,000 people in the state applied for unemployment benefits. Yikes. What used to be a 7-10 day process, is now a 4-6 week process. So, I'm back to work tomorrow. No doubt I'll be exhausted =P

Random Christmas Survey...

2008-11-08T02:59:00.001-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper! I'm such a dork, I love to wrap gifts. I like to use ribbons and fancy tags to make the gift extra special. =P

2. Real tree or Artificial? I prefer real ones, but they're so expensive!! My parents finally broke down years ago and bought an artificial one. My stepmom goes to home depot though and asks if she could have some of the branches from the trees that they have trimmed. she puts them behind the artificial christmas tree so that we still have the great smell! =]

3. When do you put up the tree? sometime after thanksgiving, usually

4. When do you take the tree down? after New Year's, I want to make the season last as long as possable! :)

5. Do you like eggnog? LOVE it! BUT you can't have it until Thanksgiving night with ice cold pumpkin pie. =] Its a little tradition that my family has to kick off the season. I cannot drink it before...its just not the same.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? oh wow. IDK! um...this is so horrible. because i know there was plenty, i just can't really think of one right now!!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad, and Clint!!

8. Easiest person to buy for? my neice and nephew. They're so young that they love anything you give them! =]

9. Do you have a nativity scene? my family does.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I guess mail?? I don't send them out though, and I rarely receive any.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Barbies!! ugh!!! i hated the stupid things. I used to steal my brother's tonka trucks and run over my barbies. hahahaha! =P

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story =]

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I always say that I'm going to start "early". and I have bought a few things here and there as I've come across them, but not nearly like I'd wanted. I usually wait till just a couple weeks before LOL

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? its this really yummy raisin bread. its a christmas bread from Denmark, I think. I'm not even going to try to type the name, because I'll just get made fun of =P My dad makes it every year though-homemade! no bread machines here!

16. Lights on the tree? on my last tree, it was red and white =]

17. Favorite Christmas song? don't really have just one

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cupid, donner, blitzen, rudolph

20. Angel on the tree-top or a star? star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve, or on Christmas morning? Christmas morning. Clint's mom always gets us all pajama pants though, and we open those on Christmas Eve =] and on the Jensen side (my dad's family), everyone draws a name on Thanksgiving day. you buy an inexpensive gift for that person, and we all open them on Christmas Eve. They're referred to as "Dollar Gifts"

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The fact that people lose sight of the real reason for the holiday

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? My tree when I lived on my own (before marriage) was red and gold. Oh, how I loved that tree! it was beautiful!! =]

24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? its always ham and scalloped potatoes! i love it! =]

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? IDK. I haven't really thought about it. I'd like to be employed, that's for sure! =]

I tag:: Whomever wants to have a little fun and do the survey!! =]

Life Lately...

2008-10-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Has been a little difficult. Clint and are doing well--all things considering. A little over a week ago, Clint's wallet went missing. There was no activity on any of the cards, so we kind of assumed that it was somewhere in our house or at his moms. On Monday (last week) we discovered that someone had charged up his credit card. Suddenly we were scrambling to cancel the credit card, his debit card, ordering new id's...it was kind of a nightmare. There was less than $200 of fraudulent activity, total. But still-not something we wanted to deal with. On tuesday, I somehow threw my back out and seriously considered going to the ER. It hurt to move, to breathe...it was just really hard to function. Thank goodness for Icy Hot!!! =P Wednesday, I was sure that life couldn't get much harder. Sounds silly, but true! Well, I lost my job wednesday afternoon. Its one of the worst feelings I've ever experienced. It was even worse to call Clint and tell him. Now I understand how he felt when he called me with the same news the week of our wedding. Anyway, I've got applications in all over the place, with all sorts of different companies. Hopefully, I'll hear something and be working again soon. In the meantime, we're packing up our condo and moving in with his mom. Thank goodness for her! She's welcoming us back into her home. I don't know what we'd do, otherwise. No way can we afford this place on just one income. So...that's how we've been. We're alive and relatively well! =] Thanks to everyone for your prayers!! =]

Another Random Survey....

2008-10-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dany for this random lil survey =]

A is for age: 23...24 in 27 days!!
B is for Breakfast: I hardly ever eat breakfast. But I'm a BIG fan of French Toast =]
C is for Career: unemployed right now =[
D is for my Dog's name: No dog =[
E is for Essential Item I Use Everyday: cell phone & chapstick!
F is for Favorite T.V. Show: House, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Ace of Cakes!
G is for Favorite Game: Tetris? lol
H is for Hometown: San Francisco, CA
I is for Instruments I play: do funny noises count?
J is for Favorite Juice: Apple! and Cranberry. Sometimes together!
K is for Kitchen: in boxes. preparing to move =[
L is for Last Place I Ate out: um...Filibertos
M is for Marriage: Fantastic! Almost 6 months!
N is for Nickname: Beaker (LOL ask Clint!)
O is for Overnight Hospital Stays: none
P is for People I was With Today: Clint
Q is for Quote: “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it"
R is for Biggest Regret: I have one...but its in the past.
S is for Sport: FOOTBALL!!!
T is for time I Woke Up Today: 7 am. then i went back to bed around 9 and slept for a few hours with Clint =]
U is for Favorite Piece of Undergarment: um....???
V is for Last Vacation you Took: weekend to Big Lake!! =]
W is for Worst Habbit: being stubborn and argumentative
X is for X-Rays I Have Had: left hand, left foot, right foot
Y is for Yummy Food You Ate Today: ritz crackers LOL
Z is for Zodiac: Scorpio

Random Lil' Survery--Thanks Dany!

2008-08-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

I am: amazing =]
I know: the Church is true!
I want: to be sealed in the Temple to Clint
I have: an amazing family!
I wish: I had a career...
I miss: Clint, when he's not around
I fear: losing anyone in my family. I would be devestated
I feel: sick! =[
I hear: pre-game show for Alabama-LSU football game
I smell: hash browns
I crave: about 18 hours of sleep!
I search: for a job that I love, rather than one that just happens to pay the bills.
I wonder: why the power just went out...and now our cable isn't working....
I regret: very few things
I am not: a very good housewife. I hate to clean.
I believe: that Christ lives and is our Savior!
I dance: every chance I get. I'm not very good at it, but I love to do it!!!
I sing: in the car. loudly. but only if i'm by myself =P
I don’t always: eat like I should
I fight: as little as possible.
I write: in my online blog. but that's about it. i'm not much of a writer.
I lose: my mind at the beginning of every month. my job gets INSANE!
I win: not very often!
I never: sleep well during thunderstorms
I listen: carefully.
I am scared: of not finding my one true calling on earth. terrified of not having a career, and being stuck repoing cars the rest of my life
I need: my loved ones around me. I'm happiest surrounded by family and/or friends.
I am happy about: every day =] Life is good =]

So Tired....

2008-08-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since Clint started working nights, I seem to have developed some major insomnia problems LOL! I can sleep just fine with him here, but when he's gone-its very difficult. Random, I know. =P Right now, I'm completely exhausted and I can hardly seem to keep my eyes open as I type. But the second I crawl into bed, I'm wide awake. I think that I would sleep much, much better if we had one of those handy security doors on the front door. Right now, its a bunch of glass paines that anyone could easily break and gain access to the house. The likelihood of this happening is slim to none--but these are the silly scenarios that I build up in my mind. And I think that deep down, its thoughts like these that keep me awake at night. I'm keenly aware of every tiny little sound. And its always nothing. The house just naturally settling as they all do. I've considered trying to find a job working nights as well, just so that I can actually get some sleep hahaha.

Speaking of jobs, I'm still searching for a new one. I had a great interview, and I thought for sure I'd landed the job--but didn't get it. Everything happens for a reason, so I just kind of got over it. It seems like everyone else though is going and and finding a job so easily. I've been looking for months, and I'm getting nothing. Well, I did get an email from Express Scripts, but their pay is only $11.25 an hour. We really can't afford to go down on the pay scale. They do offer a pay differential of about $1.25 an hour, if you work the super early shift (starts at 5 am), and I've considered doing that. It'd be a bit more than I'm making now. The thing is that I know that something will drop into my lap when I least expect it. So I keep looking and applying online. The worst they can do is not call me. Or call me, and then say thanks, but no thanks.

Our cousins Dusty and Leslie blessed their new baby boy, Dallas, today. He's a stud. =]

I've written recently that our friends Mike and Natalie are relocating. Mike leaves on September 1st. This past month has flown by. Its hard to believe that this is our last week with him. I'm gonna be a sobbing mess when it comes to say goodbye =P My emotions lately are twice as bad as normal. I cry easily anyway-its just the way I am. But good grief- I cry at EVERYTHING lately. Its horrible. I don't know what on earth is wrong with me. I was driving to the grocery store last weekend and Tim McGraws "Live like you were dying" came on the radio. No joke: I had to pull over because I started sobbing for no reason. Yeah, I'm a mess LOL!

Such a Klutz

2008-08-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm officially part of the McLaws family. I'm sure some of you are reading this and thinking, "well--DUH Alicia!" But yes, I have become a McLaws. In order to be a McLaws, its pretty much required to do some personal damage to yourself, resulting in something broken, at least twice a year. Well, last saturday-I did it. Clint had just left the house for work. I sat down on the couch, with a pillow behind my back and my laptop on my lap. I decided the pillow was uncomfortable, so I leaned forward to reposition it. Suddenly my laptop slid off of my lap and onto my right foot. I don't think I've ever jumped so high, so fast. It HURT! and badly!! It started to bruise almost right away. and swell. I called Clint, sobbing in pain. First words out of his mouth were "Is the laptop ok?!?!" (its ok--i know he loves me LOL!) then told me to wrap some ice in a towel and keep in on my foot. By monday, I was still limping around. So I made an appointment with my podiatrist. On tuesday, I was told that I cracked my "pinky" toe, and bruised the rest pretty badly. I'm supposed to be in a huge walking boot for at least a week--longer if it still hurts to walk. Don't wear it much, but I do try to keep off of my foot as much as possible. I generally wear the boot at work, because I'm running around on my feet a lot. So yes, I'm officially a part of the McLaws family (greatest family EVER, mind you!). :)

Clint started working nights this week, at Wal Mart. He works 10 pm to 7 am. Kinda sucky, but he gets $1 more an hour--which really adds up. It kinda works out as far as the car situation too, since we share a car. When he gets home, I leave for work. and I don't have to stay up late to take him to work :p

Clint, Kyler and David recently decided on their Christmas Talent for the family Christmas party. I won't ruin the surprise...lets just say that I REALLY can't wait for Christmas this year LOL!

We've also recently learned that a couple of our best friends are moving to Hawaii. we're kinda bummed, and we'll miss Mike and Natalie very much. But now we have somewhere nice to vacation. :) As long as Matt and Dany don't move away, I think we'll be ok :p :)

Not so good at this....

2008-07-30T21:08:00.001-07:00

I'm not very good at this blogging thing. Haha...our lives are pretty boring--there's just not much to talk about!! We're both just working a lot, as usual. I've been looking for a new job, because there's a whole lot of favrotism in my department--and I can't deal with it anymore. However, in this economy, finding a new job is proving to be difficult. I had an interview last week, but I didn't get the job. Weird, because I've never interviewed for a job that I didn't get. It was bound to happen sometime :) I just keep trying :)

Clint and I had a pregnancy "scare"---already, I know!! Came back negative, and we were both kind of bummed about it. Clint, especially. He wants so desperately to be a dad. He acts like he's a big tough guy, but he's got the biggest heart and he's such a teddy bear :) He's constantly talking about having a baby. :) We've decided to kinda, sorta try. He's so completely excited about the idea of being a father. He'll be such a wonderful father someday. I can hardly wait to raise a family with him. :)

Well, I suppose that's about all the excitement on our end. Thrilling, I know. I wasn't lying when I said that we're boring :p

News Story Regarding Last Night!

2008-07-04T14:55:00.001-07:00

**Courtesy of AZ Channel 3**

MESA – A family fight turned ugly and then turned fatal in the East Valley.
It all happened early Friday morning in Mesa.
A woman allegedly went looking for her husband and found him with another woman and that is when the fight escalated and spilled out onto the street.
Detective Steven Berry with Mesa Police tells 3TV the wife located her husband who was at a party with his brother and other people. The husband allegedly got into an altercation with his wife before she called another family member to go pick her up.
When the wife was picked up, her husband and brother allegedly followed them and began ramming the back of their car with their pick-up truck.
Once the husband’s brother pulled over, the husband reportedly exited the vehicle and began pounding on the vehicle where his wife was riding in.
Once the family member who was driving the wife away began speeding away the husband jumped on the car and was subsequently thrown.
The husband was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators are still trying to determine whether the victim was run over or died from the impact of being thrown.
The man who was driving the wife was taken into custody because police say he drove a short distance away from the scene of the fatal wreck and stopped the car before attempting to flee.

Like a Movie Scene

2008-07-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last night was crazy and weird. Clint works until 11, so I went to pick him up. We were almost home, when we heard a big smack. We'd been having storms (the lightning was amazing!), so we thought it was thunder. All of a sudden, a little white car comes flying by us with its back end completely smashed. He'd been rear-ended by a little red pickup truck, on PURPOSE! The truck kept ramming into the back of the white car, pushing it across University (a main road in Mesa, AZ-for those out of state) and down our street. The two vehicles came to a stop inside of a parking lot, and the two men in the truck jumped out and went running towards the white car, fists flying! Holy Cow!! Clint slammed on his brakes and turned around to go BACK so that he could get in the middle of the fight! Um, no. I was on the phone with 911, trying to describe the scene, and keep Clint in the car. With this kind of stuff, I always think worst case scenario. I'm thinking they could have weapons, like guns and such. I'm thinking if he jumps out of the car and leaves me alone in it, and they want a getaway vehicle bad enough, we could be carjacked with ME still in the car. He got mad at me because I wouldn't let him go fight, but I just lost my stepfather, I really don't want to lose my husband. After a couple minutes (and still on the phone with 911) we drove toward the scene, and the white car was gone. How? I have NO idea, because it was smashed really bad. It didn't look driveable. The truck had been abandoned. I did notice one guy running from the scene on foot, and I let the operator know that. The cops were on the scene almost immediately. I did notice that they were stopped just down the street, so I think that maybe they'd found at least one of the guys who'd left on foot. Anyway, the truck was smashed really bad, we saw the damage really close up. 911 asked if i'd scene which way the white car went, and I hadn't---but I told him it had BAD backend damage. The trunk was in the backseat!

The whole experience was like something from a movie scene. They almost hit us, while taking out their stupid teenager/gangbanger(?) anger on each other. It could have been just road rage. I have no idea. I just know the some people don't think of the people their actions could affect. They could have very possibly killed someone if it had escalated at all. Thank goodness for our police! :)

Thanks Armenda =]

2008-06-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Poem on the Picture Reads:

God Saw You were getting Tired,

And a Cure was Not to Be,

So He put His Arms Around You,

And whispered, "Come To Me."

With Tearful Eyes We Watched You,

And saw You Pass Away

Although We Loved You Dearly,

We Could not make You Stay.

A Golden Heart Stopped Beating,

Hard Working Hands at Rest,

God Broke Our Hearts to Prove to Us,

He Only Takes The Best.

**Made by Ms. Armenda for Alicia**

Five

2008-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

5 things on my to do list:
1. Laundry
2. Dishes
3. Clean Living Room
4. Grocery Shopping
5. Pack for camping next weekend =]

5 jobs I've had:
(IN ORDER)
1. Cashier at Sam Goody
2. Courtesy Clerk at Fry's Food & Drug
3. Photo Clerk at Osco Drug (now CVS/Pharmacy...I was there for 5 years!)
4. Teller for Wells Fargo Bank
5. Currently, I'm a Recovery Assistant for Drive Time. You don't pay your car payment? I send someone to get your car. =]

5 Places I have lived:
(Ok, I'm gonna do this the short way--because I'll type all day if I do details)
1. California
2. Maine
3. Massachussetts
4. Utah
5. Arizona

5 Favorite snacks:
1. Fruit (melons, mostly)
2. Popcorn (butter and salt!)
3. Captain Crunch (lol I'm currently obsessed)
4. Brownies
5. Applesauce =]

5 thing I would do if I was a billionaire:
1. Pay off all our bills
2. Buy both of us new cars
3. Buy a house
4. Give to the church
5. Go on a vacation!!!

I TAG-
1. Kimber
2. Danyelle
3. Amy
4 & 5 whoever wants to!

The Power of 3

2008-06-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names

3 JOYS-
1. My Husband
2. My Family (all of 'em!!)
3. My Friends

3 FEARS-
1. I'm terrified of spiders. Mostly tarantulas (I just got chills typing that). They can be alive or dead, fake or real, on tv or in pictures or right in front of me--I WILL burst into tears and try to get as far away as physically possible.
2. I am scared of heights.
3. I am scared of being unsuccessful. Terrified of not having a career.

3 GOALS-
1 To be Sealed in the Temple to Clint
2. To always be financially stable.
3. To eventually someday buy a house

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS-
1. The Food Netword =P <3
2. Weddings =P
3. Decorating my kitchen. I've decided to do rustic-y USA stuff. =]

3 RANDOM FACTS-
1. I like to try to scrapbook--I'm not very good at it though.
2. I would love to make a career out of wedding photography. I love, love, love taking pictures.
3. Clint and I met on MySpace.com

I TAG-
1. Kimber
2. Danyelle
3. Amy (you can do this on your myspace blog since you don't have a blog)
4-5. Anyone else who wants to because I don't know of anyone else who I think would do it.

Sleeping with the Angels

2008-06-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

As everyone knows, Fred was diagnosed with cancer a few short weeks ago. This morning, at around 7:15 am, he left this earth, and is sleeping with the Angels now. Thank you all for keeping my family in your prayers. Please continue to do so, we need strength. We all loved him so much, and though we know he's happier and in a much better place, we still miss him so much. Not certain on funeral arrangements yet, but we know that he wouldn't have wanted his loved ones standing around his grave sobbing. We're thinking of having a party to celebrate his life. He would have liked it. =]