Poor guy

Right now Stas is trying to study for his last three exams of the semester. Three finals in three days. No big deal. No pressure. Unfortunately his studying has coincided with my weekly cleaning rampage. So on top of having the cutest pup ever and a simply irresistible wife (the best distractions ever) just a few yards away, he also has to deal with the obnoxious noise of the following objects:
-Bread machine
-Dish washer
-Washing machine
-Drier

And in our little one-bedroom, the noise sure adds up. Maybe I’ll even throw in the microwave just to see what he can handle. Okay probably not. But I did make waffles with fresh strawberries and bananas for lunch, so maybe he’ll let it slide? I hope so.

Buster's next haircut

How can I not stop laughing whenever I think of this photo?


And why did it take so long for me to learn about this blog? Its hilariousness is unparalleled. Thank you Stas for, yet again, bringing a new avenue of humor into my life!

Weatherman

I can only imagine what Stas’s classmates were thinking when he strolled into class today wearing khaki shorts and a short sleeve polo. My guess is something along the lines of “hey crazy, its forty degrees outside and pouring down rain!!”

Stas has seriously been hating on the weatherman lately. Apparently whenever he checks the weather it says highs in the eighties and endless sun. Haha, wouldn't that be nice.

Today was the turning point. We were on the phone and he was expressing his deep frustrations for the inaccurate weather forecasts and “how on earth can it say that it is sunny right now, when in actuality it’s raining, raining really hard!!” I feel that as wifey it is my duty to help Stas calm his frustrations with the world. After a deep discussion of his weather-checking-situation, the problem is solved: change your location back to PA when you get home from a trip!!

Or else you might end up confusing this:

for this:

And it just might ruin your day!

Trading Up

I absolutely cannot be more excited that come this Thursday, I will be trading in this:

For this:

Birthday Poem

I generally don’t consider myself a creative person. That is unless you consider creating spreadsheets and off the wall object lessons creative.

Well, one of my co-workers has a tradition of writing a little poem for everyone on their birthday. Last Monday was his birthday, so to honor him we each wrote a poem. Then of course we made him choose the best one. By some miracle mine one. So I’ thought I’d share.

Birthday Brent-o

Your birthday is a cause for celebration,
Too bad Arizona will be your destination.
You have run all over this nation;
Seriously your voices should be used in animation.
And on your special day congratulations,
You are the funniest Brent-o in all of creation!

[Note to understand this complex literary work: he spent his actual b-day in Arizona; he is a hardcore runner and travels to do races; he does crazy voices and can imitate anyone; his nickname is Brent-o.]

Another innocent victim

…of Buster’s compulsion to chew

He got them off of the coffee table while I was napping. Tsk, tsk. Please note that the earpiece should be a solid brown and smooth; a sharp contrast to what is shown. He also got one of the lenses. I can't imagine that would feel good. oh well.

My long-loved glasses are joining the ranks of several other loved items from our home:

My cell phone charger (note the teeth marks and electrical tape needed to return functionality):

My ipod cord, beyond repair:

And Stas’s beloved slippers/shoes. I had already repaired them once, but this time I'm waving my white flag of surrender.

Sorry for the wanting photo quality; blame it on the camera phone.

Surprise, surprise!!

Yesterday when I got the mail, I flipped through it, pulled out the bills, and set aside the rest in a soon-to-be-thrown-away pile. (I can never quite bring myself to put the junk directly into the trash can.)

A few hours later Stas asked what had come in the mail that day. Logically my reply was “bills & junk.” After a little encouraging, Stas convinced me to go through and open up all of the junk.

This brings us to one particular item of “junk” mail. Now why did I question the legitimacy of this particular item? Well let me explain:
-The return address was from Omaha, Nebraska
-The name on the return address was simply “Sweepstakes”
-The envelope was stamped and not metered like most junk mail.
-My name was spelled wrong. And not even my married name, my maiden name. It was addressed to “Julie Best”. I mean seriously, it’s only four-letters long. If they can’t even get that right, then I really don’t care what the Sweepstakes has for me.

As I examined the contents, I became increasingly curious. The envelope held a single sheet of white paper with plain black text. Hmm, that’s odd. Normally junk mail has tons of enclosures and excessive colorful ink. The sheet was a flight itinerary, odd. As I reviewed the text on the page, these are the things that stuck out to me:
-Both Stas’s full name and my name were spelled correctly (in contrast to what was on the envelope).
-The airports selected were Philly and DFW; totally where we would want to fly to/from.
-The dates of the flights were exactly when we might be able to travel aka when I have off of work.
At this point I was thinking that these “Sweepstakes” people have some really good marketing research software. Software which is so good it kind of freaks me out. A lot.

And then the light bulb turned on – this was for real! Surprise! Stas, the most bomb-dot-com husband of them all, had booked the tickets a few weeks earlier and had been keeping it a secret from me. He even had my family in on the deal! The “Sweepstakes” letter was his fun way of letting me know. He is so creative. He made up the return address and misspelled my name just to mess with me. That’s my man! He had wanted to wait until the very last minute to tell me about it, but using his better judgment he decided to give me a two week heads up. Thanks babe, my obsessive-compulsive need to plan everything thanks you for the two week notice. And I say THANK YOU for being so thoughtful. And of course I love you.

I am so thrilled to be going to Texas. I haven’t been “home” since Christmas 2007; that’ll be sixteen months I've been away!!! Needless to say, I am excited to see mis padres, my sister & her family (including my new niece!), hopefully D & his family, to share with Stas the Omni experience, to eat at Costa Vida, Uncle Julio’s, & Sonic, to escape the eternal butt-freeze of PA, and to maybe see some more of our favorite people! I just can’t wait!!

Isn’t my husband the bomb-dot-com?

Sweet, sweet justice

{Short version} A cop passed by me with flashing lights to give a rude driver speeding ticket.

{Long Version} This morning after reversing out of my parking spot, as I was shifting into first gear I glanced in my rear view mirror. Whoa! Where did that car come from? In the short time since I checked my mirror prior to reversing out of my spot, to when I was shifting into first gear this car had sped around the parking lot and was waiting impatiently for me to go. Seriously, the lady’s face looked very disgruntled. I could tell from a quick glance that she was not having a good morning and was angrily waiting on my slow self to get out of her way. Fair enough.

I proceeded to shift into first gear and exit the parking lot. No sooner had I pulled out and I was being passed by that same car!!!! WHAT!?!?! To save a ridiculously detailed description of my road, I'll just say that if she could hold out another twenty yards it would have been perfectly safe to pass as the road turned into a four-lanes. Anyway, I was just pretty peeved about her lack of common road courtesy. Come on!! I don't drive slow, and we were so close to where the street widens that if she had waited just like thirty seconds then she wouldn't have had to force herself between me and the median!

So as I am fuming over this driver's poor choices, I see blue and red flashing lights in my rear view mirror. Oh shoot. I typically watch my speed pretty closely on this road, as another member of my household got a speeding ticket on this street in the morning hours, but this day I was a little distracted by my disbelief in the lack of good driving behavior. Yet, before I can even check my speedometer (is that the real word for it?) the officer of the law proceeds to demonstrate proper passing etiquette as he speeds ahead of me. Well guess who he was after. . .

A bit further down the road I see this nice officer and my impatient neighbor pulled off to the side of the road. Hmm, I guess it pays to chillax on the road rage. Sucker!!

Siamese Crocs

No seriously, Siamese crocodiles!

Cardigans

The time has come to buy a new cardigan. I've actually been looking for a new cardigan for about a year and a half now. Unfortunately it seems that I am either somewhat picky, or not looking very hard.

I have two cardigans. The first is a heavier weight-single button style. Anyway, I bought it at Gadzooks in the Fall of 2005. Needless to say that a Gadzooks-quality $20 sweater is way over due for replacement. It is covered in those balled-up fuzzy things. And honestly I feel a little embarrassed when I wear it to work (or anywhere), because it looks pretty pathetic. Oh, and there is a bit of a hole in the shoulder. This sweater I leave at work, because I assume that everyone there has already been numbed of its sad state. But, alas this post is not about this sad cardigan (but this one was. Up-date, I tried to get that sweater, but they didn't have my size).

My other cardigan is quite well traveled, having accompanied me on my two most recent (okay two out of my just three) trips to Europe. Anyway, so I wear this thing everywhere: work, church, casual, hanging out, doing dishes, you get the point. It was purchased by my loving mother from her local Walmart many moons ago. Yep, that's right. My favorite cardigan is from Walmart and has gotten some serious mileage. Just this week I wore it three days in a row, which is typical. So back to the point.

This morning, just before leaving work, I did something I rarely do. I looked in the mirror, after getting dressed, and I just so happened to try and fix my hair when I found this:

Alas, there is a near-hole in my favorite cardi!!! And how long has it been there? Sweaters don't get that worn overnight! (Oh, don't mind my weird-o lips; they just do that when I'm bummed out.)

So now I am at a loss, trying to figure out what to make my next woven investment on, and how long I can pretend that the near-hole (and eventual hole) is not there. Anyone seen a fabulous multi-functional sweater?!? And so what if my life revolves around keeping warm--it's cold people!!

Memories in my sweater:
In Provo by our Christmas Tree 2006 ---- My BYU Graduation Dinner 2007

Christmas 2007 in Texas ---- In Virginia July 2008

Red Square in front of the Kremlin Moscow 2008 ---- In my heart attacked Kitchen Feb '09

B-a-n-a-n-a-s!!

Yesterday I ate four bananas. I ate FOUR bananas without even trying!! Lately I've been averaging 2-3 bananas a day, but yesterday set a new record. I had one with breakfast, one as a morning snack at work, one with dinner, and the last one of the day just before bedtime! What a delicious little food. I am so glad they are in season right now!

Special thanks to Gwen Stefani for writing a song to help me spell this delicious item.

I'm a survivor.

At least for now. I've survived another round of cuts. Keep your finger's crossed that I'll be able to make it another year or so.

Thin Mints & Independence

So I was so, SO excited when I came into work this morning and saw that the Girl Scout cookies that I'd ordered had finally arrived! Not one to wait for the perfect opportunity, I opened them right up enjoyed a few delicious morsels of my favorite cookie, the Tagalongs: a perfect combination of crunch, peanut butter, and chocolate. Mmmmmm good!!



Then, not to be unfair, I took out the box of Thin Mints. As I pulled out the tube/roll of cookies and indeed, it is notably shorter. Hmm, strange. Turns out my suspicions are correct! I guess even the Girl Scouts of America of feeling the stress of tough economic times.

In other news, today is Texas Independence Day! In 1836, 173 years ago today, the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed in Washington-on-the-Brazos! Interestingly enough, the Texans weren't just being prideful, under Mexico they were denied among other things:

• freedom of religion
• the right to keep and bear arms
• trial by jury
• no public education

Oh yeah, and that whole military dictatorship under Santa Anna business. Anyway folks, Happy Independence Day!!

That was fast!

Forgive me for writing an entire post all about Dentist and insurance, but hey, these are things that matter to me!

1. Yesterday I went to the dentist. It is a family practice that reminds me very much of the dental office I went to for the first twenty-two years of my life. They staff was friendly, personable, and the Dentist actually took the time to talk about my dental health. It was great. I know what you are thinking, "so what's the big deal, isn't that what dentists due?" The answer is not all dentists! Upon moving to PA and gaining dental insurance (very exciting) I set upon finding an office and getting a cleaning. Doing the stupid thing, I just used the online directory to search for an in-network provider and just picked at random an office nearby. I knew better. I knew I should have asked around at church or at work for a recommendation, but I was too silly and shy. Never again. I repeat, never again will I just pick at random. After a year of awful, and I mean seriously AWFUL dental and customer service I asked around. And may I say that after the first visit the difference is NIGHT and DAY!! I'll just stop there. I won't bore you all with the details (hey, that's what my mom's for! she already heard all about it. sorry mom!), but I am a satisfied customer!

2. This morning I had an email from my Dental Insurance provider stating that I had a recent dental claim ready for review. What!?! I was just at the dentist yesterday! That's right folks, within twenty-four hours of my appointment the office had already filed my claim, and the insurance had cleared the charges. Nice. I love modern technology! MetLife Dental is the way to go!

Side note: This current overjoyment may also be in part due to the recent frustrations that I have been having with my medical insurer and prescription coverage. Those two are on my bad list!

Fastnacht Day!!!!

Hello folks, it's Fastnacht Day here in Central PA! While I might not celebrate Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, or Lent I can always throw my support behind a holiday that celebrates with delicious pastries!!

Last year I remember being very confused about this Fastnacht business. I mean how can you Google something if you can't even spell it!?! I first heard about it on my local morning radio show. When I got to work, I learned that they were absolutely delicious pastries. Fastnachts are similar to donuts but not as heavyor sweet, and they don't make me feel sick after I eat them. Donuts are sometimes too sweet for me to handle. But I downed two of these bad boys in the powdered sugar variety no problem!

Happy Fastnacht Day! Enjoy a Fastnacht or two! They're delicious!

Geometric Pizza

For a combined youth activity each class was given a theme and instructed to build/cook a pizza around that theme. It was intended to be an activity on sharing ideas, planning ahead, and working as a team. It was a success.

Five of the themes were:
All-meat
Chinese
Colorful
Breakfast
Geometric

The Laurels had Geometric; here’s our beauty:


We used cookie dough as our 'dough,' triangle-shaped of course! Cool whip was our 'cheese,' and cherry syrup our 'sauce.' Our toppings were various fruits cut into geometric shapes including: star fruit, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. It tasted delicious! Yum-yum!!

Look who's getting cozy!

We got Buster a new crate/kennel tonight, and I think he likes it! I found him like this after I finished up working for the evening. (Yes, it will be another one of those weekends). This is a good sign--going into his crate of his own free will and choice! The one we had been borrowing from my friend/co-worker (note: she's my friend first, and co-worker second) had just gotten too small as our canine companion has doubled in size this past month. The tank now weighs in at eight pounds!

Sorry for the rough photo. My camera has permanent dead batteries, so I had to resort to the camera phone. This was after I already woke him up with the first shot. Please ignore the bead head, I mean fur. We really do groom him regularly.

We also got B-man his first rawhide bone. Wow, what a life changer. This bone kept him completely occupied for hours!! He didn't even come beg for food during dinner. And he wouldn't go anywhere without it; he even wanted to bring it outside for potty time. Looks like we scored big time at Petco this week!!

Puppy Love

Thanks Aunt Meg!!! .... and Uncle Dirt, too I guess. But I'm pretty sure that Megan was the brains behind the operation!

Wednesday night when I checked the mail, we were blessed with this little number. Cutest Puppy Love T around!

Obviously Buster hasn't learned yet, that part of being a fashion model is selling the clothes. He'll get it eventually. Maybe he just needs a few pointers from his "Aunt" Meg! And of course, just like any proud parent, I'm going overkill with more photos than necessary--but can you really blame me?? For even more Buster photos, go here.

Corynn Olivia!

Welcome to the world, Little One!

Congratulations to my sister Jen , her husband Shayne, and their two kiddos Ava & Nolan on the arrival of Corynn Olivia Sunday, February 1, 2009 at 5:19 pm! Little Corynn was born 8 lbs. 1 oz., 19 1/2 inches long, and with cute, long red hair looking just like her big sister!!

Way to go Plip! I am bursting with pride!!! Love you all and good luck!

Right now it is a wind-chill of 2 degrees outside

2 degrees!!!!!

Just thought I’d share.