I broke down

I did it. I finally broke down. I ordered a copy of Breaking Dawn. I have no idea when it will arrive but I am expecting it much sooner than I could get it from the library. I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t purchase the book especially since I rarely read a book twice. And until I move into a bigger house, I don’t have space for my already large collection of books. So I have been depending on the local library. However, lately I have been getting more and more frustrated because the books I want to read seem to have long waiting lists. For example, months ago I placed a hold on Breaking Dawn but I ended up being number 75. So I figured I wouldn’t get it until December or next year. Now I see the hold list is up to 200! So I broke down. I ordered it online for a good price. I am justifying it because I will have a few long travel days coming up in which a good book will be necessary. I also don’t want anyone to spoil the ending for me. Plus, I am just fed up with the library.

BYU Football

I have an addiction to BYU football. I can honestly say that the reason I attended BYU was 90% for the football team. My parents are both BYU alumni. I grew up watching BYU football. I was woken up as a child to the Cougar fight song. I was taught to wear blue not red. When I was 13 my Dad decided that it was time to fully expose me to the thrill of BYU football and bought me season tickets along with his. Which proceeded to become a tradition for the next 7 years. He taught me the game of football and I have so many wonderful memories of our trips to Provo for the games. A few of those memories consist of playing Area 51 in the arcade in the Wilk and almost missing kick off because we almost beat the game. I also never seemed to dress appropriately, so my Dad always ended up buying me a hat, a poncho, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker, ice cream and hot chocolate. So I now have an entire collection of BYU gear for any occasion. Sadly, after I graduated we decided that it just wasn’t feasible anymore to drive to Provo so many times during the season. I haven’t been to a home game since! Even more tragic, now that I live in Logan it would be even more trouble driving to Provo just for a game. But then hope came early this year when I heard that Utah State was playing BYU at home. It won’t be the same with it not being in Provo or in the LaVell Edwards Stadium but I’ll take what I can get. But my story continues to sadden. Perhaps, it is a pride issue but I want to sit with the loyal Cougar fans, so I can wear my BYU gear from head to toe and cheer on my team. But I just found out that it would cost nearly $100.00 to buy two tickets!!!!! I could buy season tickets for about that much. To make a long story short, I have to decide whether to really splurge, sit with the Aggies, or not go. I have never been to a USU game, so I don’t know if the Aggies would take kindly to me sitting in their section cheering on the opposing team. Usually, that just isn’t a good idea. Needless to say, I am so disappointed.

Just Blogging

I am actually going to use my blog to blog today! I try to stay away the serious stuff but in this case I just can’t help it. The governor of Utah has decided in order to cut down on energy costs all state employees beginning August 1, 2008 will work 4 days a week, 10 hours a day. Some state employees are exempt such as those who work in educational institutions, highway patrol, etc. I have been reading online polls and comments of fellow Utahans expressing their opinions and sometimes, well most of the time, ridiculous uneducated opinions. I know I am so harsh! But seriously, if you check some of the comment strings on ksl.com or even locally in the Herald Journal, you would feel dumber for having read them! Since this is my blog, I will use that power and express my opinion and I would love to hear yours (please disregard my aforementioned harsh comments above : ) ) I think it will interesting. I think it will take some getting use to. However, I don’t see anything wrong with it. That means less government employees on the road while I am commuting to work on Fridays. It also means that I don’t have to run my government agency errands on my lunch hour because they will be open later during the week. I wouldn’t even mind giving it a shot but unfortunately I am exempt. I understand that there are issues with child care, etc. However, unless a couple both works for the state, couldn’t the one parent who doesn’t, pick up their child? Just a thought. Another “brilliant” person said working 10 hour days would be highly unproductive. But they are wrong! Studies show that you are more productive in a 10 hour day than an 8 hour day. If you don’t believe me, I will email you the studies. You are more productive because employees waste so much time starting up and shutting down each day that when you work longer you actually have more time for more productivity. Plus, I know that my morale would be higher if I got every Friday off! However, I do recognize that would make evenings at home during the 4 day work week even shorter but maybe a 3 day weekend would make up for that.

Now, I will elaborate on the most “intelligent” comment I read. Several people suggested that the state agencies should actually be open 7 days a week with people working swing shifts as well. That was the one that just made me wish that people were required to take IQ tests to reproduce. Umm, I am pretty sure that having agencies open 7 days a week would defeat the purpose of cutting energy costs.

Okay, I feel better now.

Finally! I've been tagged.

So, I've never been "tagged" before. I secretly wanted to. Perhaps, some think "tags" are silly but I think they are interesting and it's better than not writing anything. Plus, it made me feel special to be "tagged." Thanks, Mikelle!

Two Names You go by:
1. Cheryl
2. Sweetheart (but only Neil can call me that!)

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. Black capris
2. White shirt

Two Things You Want Right Now:
1. To take a nap.
2. To go on vacation!

Two Things You Did Last Night:
1. Went on a "Sunday drive."
2. Read a book.

Two Things You Ate today:
1. A bowl of cereal.
2. I haven't eaten anything else but I am hungry and looking forward to lunch.

Two Favorite Drinks:
1. Stewart's Orange Cream Soda
2. Rootbeer

Five People I'm Tagging:
1. Alyssa
2. Tina
3. Meg
4. Alicia
5. Adrienne

Engagement Anniversary

Today is Neil and I's two year engagement anniversary! I don't know if it is weird that we celebrate our engagement, but we love any chance to celebrate anything. At the time we got engaged it was such a stressful time and I had a lot going on in my life at that time. So I have to admit that I am so glad that we got engaged and we are where we are now. It took us 5 years to finally get engaged and I feel so lucky to be married to Neil. I am so happy to be married to my best friend.

And Happy Pioneer Day to everyone else, so you can celebrate something too!

Were With You

I was recently perusing a local newspaper and came across an advertisement for a local business that stated that they stood by their slogan, “Were with you.” Now, I do not claim to have mastered the English language but I am pretty sure it should be “We’re with you.” In this particular instance the company was looking for an enthusiastic individual to join their team and began to list many qualities that they were looking for including “pays attention to detail.” Well, I hate proof reading myself but I’m pretty sure it is a bad thing if you mess up your slogan! Would I want to work for a company that can’t even punctuate their slogan correctly? I guess maybe they have pretty relaxed standards, sounds like an easy job to me. Or maybe, I am wrong and they wanted to let the public know that they were with you until the economy started failing and now they are not with you anymore. That must be it. My mistake.

Pathetic.

Would be the perfect word to describe Neil and I’s not so perfect attempt at tennis. I don’t know what got into us, maybe it was the long dreadful winter but we decided to take up all sorts of hobbies that we probably haven’t done for years. Unfortunately, so far all of our attempts have turned out pretty pathetic. I think the hiking hobby was the only one we didn’t fail miserably at (because we did make it to our destination) but to be perfectly honest I’m not sure I have much of a desire to hike up anymore mountains any time soon. Some of you may ask why we chose tennis. Well, my last summer in college I had a roommate that was an awesome tennis player and she offered to give me free tennis lessons. So I jumped at the chance. See, you probably wouldn’t know this about me but I honestly love trying new things (except in the food department). However, I don’t like to try new things if I feel like I’m going to make a fool of myself. So as long as I know that whoever is enticing me with the prospect of trying something new isn’t going to laugh at my pathetic attempts, then I am all on board. Now, back to the reason we picked tennis. I had an awesome tennis teacher and learned to love playing tennis. I even bought a cool racket and everything. Unfortunately, after my roommate moved and I moved, I never stepped onto a tennis court until last night. To make our attempt at tennis even more pathetic, we drove around for at least a half hour to all of the tennis courts that we knew of in Logan, trying to find a vacant one because I was too self conscious to play tennis with other people around. There is nothing more embarrassing than your tennis ball ending up in someone else’s game (well unless you fall asleep near an art exhibit and wake up to an art class observing the art exhibit, yep, done that one). To make this even more pathetic, this isn’t the first time we drove around trying to find empty tennis courts. We’ve done it before and just ended up going for a walk instead. Last night we did come across an empty area (on our second pass by), other people were playing in other areas but I felt it would be safe because no one was playing on the net directly next to the one we picked and the two nets were in it’s own fenced off area. So we began the ball chasing phase. Then to my horror, only a few minutes into our “tennis game” another couple came to the net right next to ours. But Neil insisted that we stay. So we did and continued to serve the ball and chase. Serve the ball and chase. Serve the ball and chase. Serve the ball and chase. Then, the girl with the short tennis skirt prances onto the courts and I am ready to go home but Neil insists that we stay. We finally are able to hit it back and forth like two times and then the chasing commences. My goal to enjoy tennis once more was not met but my goal to exercise was exceeded. I think we need to just stick to the things we are good at.

Bear Lake

This weekend was the annual Bear Lake trip with Neil's extended family. This is the third year I have attended and it was a blast as usual. I definitely think this is one of my favorite traditions with his family. Every July we spend a weekend at Bear Lake boating, playing games, relaxing, reading, talking, and eating. This year we were only able to go up for one day but we at least got to enjoy the wave runners and fabulous company. I know Neil's cousins, aunts and uncles much better than my own and it was so much fun to catch up with everyone (even though we see them all at our monthly birthday celebrations).

Last year on the wave runners Neil was driving crazy and we both ended flying off the wave runner into the water. So this year I made Neil promise to not throw me in the water and he didn't. But with my crazy wave runner driving skills I almost got us thrown off. Good times.

Picnics

I grew up going on picnics. I was encouraged to enjoy picnics. But to this day, I just cannot enjoy a picnic. Maybe you find this ridiculous or appalling but I just can’t stand eating outside. There are just too many natural elements that make it impossible to enjoy a meal. I do not enjoy bugs crawling on or around me, I do not like the wind blowing things into my food, and I do not like eating in unbearable heat. I have tried time and time again to enjoy a picnic. In fact, I have had picnics all over the United States and in some foreign countries but to no avail. Today Neil and I thought it would be a good idea to try a picnic near the pond by where I work but it turned out to be a very bad idea. Bugs were out in full force, the wind was blowing, and the grass was wet. Let’s just say we finished the picnic in the car. Much more enjoyable in my opinion. Needless to say, I do not think I will be “enjoying” anymore picnics for awhile except those that you have in your living room when the weather is bad. I can handle that.

Midnight Ramblings

I just have to share a few of Neil's funniest moments. Don't worry this is with his permission and he has a good laugh over them. Now, keep in mind all of these incidences have occurred around midnight or later and Neil is completely asleep.

Moment 1:
Me: Neil, are you awake?
Neil: No.
(At least he is even honest in his sleep)

Moment 2:
Neil: One battery, one charge.
Me: What????
Neil: One battery, one charge.......
Me: (giggling) Neil, are you dreaming about your power tools?
Neil: NO!!!! (turning over rather gruffly)

Moment 3:
Neil jumps out of bed and starts heading towards my side of the bed which is also nearest to our closet.
Me: Neil! What are you doing!!???
Neil: (extremely dazed and confused) I don't know...... (and then he gets back in bed)
Me: What were you doing?
Neil: I was getting my shoes.....
Me: Why were you getting your shoes?
Neil: I don't know.....

Moment 4:
Neil: (very gleefully) I won.
Me: Ok. What did you win?
Neil: The race.
Me: We were racing?
Neil: (no answer)

Moment 5: (My favorite)
Neil all of sudden jumps on top of me.
Me: Neil! What are you doing!?
Neil: I saved you.
Me: Saved me from what?
Neil: The bomb.
(Isn't that sweet! Now, I know that he would even protect me from an imaginary bomb in his sleep!)

And those are just a few of the highlights. No wonder I'm tired all the time.

Never Done This Before

1. How old will you be in 3 birthdays?
26. So, I totally remember being like 13 and desperately wanting to be 16. Then, when I was finally 16, all I wanted to be was 18. But that was the last age, I ever hoped for.

2. Will you be married by then?
Absolutely and still lovin' it.

3. Who was the last person(s) you hugged?
Neil. We always hug and kiss hello and goodbye EVERY day, without fail. And I still miss him while I'm at work!

4. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Sleeping.

5. What states have you been to?
Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, New York, and Hawaii.
Layover States: Georgia, Florida.

6. What countries have you been to?
Good old USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico (I know, I know, it is a territory of the US but I think it fits better with this category), Dominica, Belize, Bahamas, and Honduras.

7. If you could be anywhere, where would you be?
On vacation with Neil. Place doesn't really matter as long as it's not cold.

8. What's your favorite ice cream?
A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard with extra Reese's. Seriously, that is what I get every time.

9. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
I guess I sleep on the left. I'm not really attached. It just depends on where the door is.

10. Do you know how to drive a stick?
Yes, although it has been awhile. Neil's car is a stick but I never drive it. I actually learned to drive on a stick. So it was pretty embarrassing in driver's ed when I didn't know how to drive an automatic. Seriously, I didn't know you had to push on the brake to change gears.

11. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
No. I heard that wearing jewelry specifically wedding rings at night can wear them out faster. So I don't.

12. What's bothering you right now?
Well, I am not really happy that I got stuck behind yet another tractor this morning on my way to work. I don't think that should be legal. This morning, I even went as far to look up the city laws to make sure. I mean you can't drive an ATV on city roads and an ATV can go faster than 20 MPH, so if they are going to allow tractors, ATV's should be allowed as well. By the way, I couldn't find a listing of the laws, so if anyone knows where I could find those, that would be great!

13. What are you mad about right now?
I'm pretty sure, I am still mad about the tractor.

14. Do you enjoy traveling in airplanes?
Enjoy would be an overstatement. I have over the years become paranoid of germs and I keep hearing stories that have traumatized me about traveling in airplanes. However, I still do it because I love the places I get to go on airplanes. And don't worry I haven't gone as far as wearing a mask and gloves. But you better believe, I have hand sanitizer packed in my checked luggage since you can't even get that stuff on the plane anymore!

15. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Well yes. But it was temporary and it was for an ice-skating performance that required it. Let me just say the name of the song was, "Cause I'm Blond."

16. Is your current hair color your natural hair color?
Yes and I plan on keeping it that way. I hate seeing people's roots and stuff. And it's just too expensive to maintain dyed hair properly.

17. Have you ever dated anyone more than once?
Oh wow. Where do I even begin? If you know my dating history, you don't even want to hear me answer this question. Let's just say that if I presented my story to the Soap Opera Network, I would be a millionaire.

18. Did you date someone last summer?
Sure did. My handsome and sweet husband.

19. Does anyone like you?
I sure hope so. I would like to think I am a pretty likable person. This is kind of random, but whenever I ask Neil if he likes my latest craft or scrapbook page, he ALWAYS says yes. Then I just tell him, he HAS to say that because he is my husband. Just like how your mom has to like all the pictures you colored for her when you were little and insisted she put on the refrigerator.

20. What is your middle name?
Ann

21. Do you like to text or call more?
Don't even get me started on text messaging and my theory that texting is truly going to make generation Y illiterate. So I prefer calling. Texting is just a way to get out of talking to someone.

22. Are you tired right now?
Yes, for some reason my body has decided that I need to wake up at 2:00 AM every day for the last week.

23. Do you enjoy school?
That is a tricky question. I love learning. But I hate impossible tests or writing extremely long research papers on subjects that I really couldn't care less about.

24. What do you look forward to in the next 3 months?
Trip to Bear Lake and Washington DC.

Disappointment

I have been anticipating something that would have been really good for Neil and I for the last few months. And today, I received the news I had not so patiently been waiting for. It was a HUGE disappointment. I tried over the last several weeks to not get my hopes up. Don't we all? But somehow, we do and rarely do our big hopes pan out. This was certainly the case for me. I had my big hope, medium hope, and barely acceptable hope to try to compensate but the news didn't even fit into the barely acceptable hope. So of course I had to deal with all the emotions of being disappointed today. When the news first broke, I was speechless. Then, I had to try to not cry. Which led into being very angry because in my opinion what I hoped for wasn't that unrealistic. I have even touched on the bargaining phase (to recall my interpretation of the stages of grief--see my waffle post!). I thought, well maybe it was a mistake and I will get better news later. I would like to just accept it and move on but I think I am going to be angry a little longer.

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! I know I am late but I was out of town. The 4th of July in my family is the biggest holiday we celebrate. It is the only holiday that everyone gets together during the year. I don't know how this tradition started but we all look forward to it every year. This year even my sister and her family came from Texas to celebrate. Her husband's birthday happens to be on this day of celebration and nobody celebrates his birthday as good as we do. Traditionally, we all meet at my sister Wendy's house. At some point the movie "Independence Day" is watched. We also go to a movie together. This year we saw, "Wall-E." It must be some sight to see all 25 + of us heading into the movies. Then at some point we have a water fight but this year only the kids mostly participated. We eat of course and then have cake to celebrate the birthdays. This year we also played several games together on the Wii. We end the night with a big display of fireworks. Years ago, one of the men decided to attach a firework to his remote control car and drive it around, which now has become a tradition. As each new man is introduced into the family, he will get a remote control car in time for the 4th of July festivities. Only minimal damage has occurred so far. For example, my brother (who lives across the street from my sister) put a smoke bomb in one of her hanging plants which set the basket on fire. The next year, a smoke bomb mysterially appeared in my brother's mailbox. Such good times.

Neil was exhausted from all the fun!

Missing Summer

Lazy summers, I miss you. Days like this I wish I had become an educator, so I could have summers off. I am staring out my window at what appears to be a gorgeous day. I wouldn’t know since I have been outside since 7:30 this morning when I walked into work. I feel like I am experiencing cabin fever because I am cooped up at work when all that sounds good is a lazy summer day. You know, one of those days when you were 12 and didn’t have a care in the world (well, except what cute boys were around and which friend you were going to hang out with). The perfect lazy summer day consisted of: not waking up to an alarm, watching some TV while eating a sugar breakfast cereal, rushing through chores in order to play, helping your friend with her chores so you could play, walking down the street to get some snow-cones and candy, walking barefoot everywhere, watching the “cute” neighborhood boys roller-blade, attempting some roller-blading ourselves, resting in the shade with an ice-cold glass of lemonade (well it was probably water but lemonade sounds better), watching movies and eating popcorn, listening to music (remember NSync, Backstreet Boys and Hanson!), and playing night games when it finally got dark. Then, the best part, starting all over again the next morning.

I feel robbed of those summers. I started working the summer I was 14 and missed out on those perfect lazy summer days. Now, nearly ten years later, I want my summers back!