As You Wish

Good morning all! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend whether you were celebrating your love for your special someone or just celebrating the love you have for yourself (because you should totally love you... you are amazing and I said so).

Anyhoozle... I think for this post I'm just going to recap a little bit of each day and call it good.

Friday the 13th, cue spooky music. I had a doctor's appointment in Reno with a neurologist, so we packed up for the weekend and made the 2 hour drive. After the appointment we went to the theater and watched Slumdog Millionaire. It was a really good movie and I'm glad we made it in time to see it.

We made it a semi-early night by checking into the hotel, Summit at Grand Sierra. The Summit rooms are fabulous.

Saturday, Valentine's day, we took advantage of not having any plans and we slept in. It was so nice. The beds in the Summit rooms are so comfy, I wanted to steal one and bring it home with us, but I didn't think we could get it out with out anyone noticing.

Andrew made reservations for dinner at Dolce. The atmosphere is modern and the food was great. I even bought a new dress for the occasion, which I just realized we didn't take any pictures at all over the weekend. Sad.

Sunday we didn't have plans other than driving home, so we slept in once again. It really was a fantastic weekend. Thank you Andrew! You're the best.

My only complaint is that when we got home the heater for some reason decided to stop working, so the house was freezing. Somehow after jiggling some wires and replacing the thermostat it started working again. I hope it stays working because I don't particularly like being cold.

So that's it. I hope you are all having a good Monday. I know that's an oxymoron, but a girl can hope, right?

Side note: I went to the neurologist because for several years now I've been having headaches/ migraines and I was hoping he could give me some answers. A little over a month ago when I first went to see him he told me he wanted me to get a CT scan of my head and do some blood work. At my appointment on Friday he told me the scan looked just fine and he prescribed me some medicine to take when I get my migraines. It was bittersweet to hear that everything is fine with my head. On one hand I'm glad I don't have to have some crazy ridiculous surgery to fix my head, but on the other hand I wish there was some explanation for my head pain other than just because.

Oh and while I'm here typing away I might as well add that when I got my CT scan I had no idea what to expect. When I was taken into the room with the machine I was told lie down on the table. The nurse then proceeded to give me an IV. It then became apparent that she was new to giving IV's and she was unsuccessful on her first attempt on my right arm. I don't know if you have ever had an IV, but it's not the most comfortable feeling having someone poking around in your arm with a needle. She moved to my left arm and was able to get the needle in the right spot. They took the first scan and the nurse came back and told me that she was going to inject some die into the IV and do another scan. She also said that sometimes people get a warm feeling all over or they itch. As soon as she injected me with the die I felt like I peed myself. No kidding. I thought to myself oh great how embarrassing most people feel warm or itchy and I pee myself. No worries I didn't actually pee my pants it just felt like it. Weird.

La Tua Cantante translated means "your singer" and implies being irresistible and enchanting. This line comes from the book New Moon in the Twilight series. I can honestly say that I have found my singer. His name is Andrew and I can only begin to describe the way I feel about him. Today is our 3 year anniversary.

Dearest Andrew ~

I like bullet points, so I'm going to count the ways I love you with bullets (haha kinda sounds like I want to shoot you):

• You know I'm nutty and love me all the same.
• You make me feel smart (even though we both know I'm a little less than brilliant).
• You laugh with me when I do silly things.
• I think it's super cute that you are happy with your alone time, but you miss me when I'm gone. (Absence makes the heart grow fonder!)
• My parents love you (it wouldn't be a deal breaker if they didn't, but it's definitely a plus... although sometimes I feel they like you more)
• You listen when I want to talk about my blog friends.
• You listen when I want to talk about random nonsense.
• You let me rant about my bad day, bad mood, or anything else less than happy and you hug me and tell me it's going to be alright.
• You don't judge me (too harshly) when you catch me dancing or looking in the mirror when I think I'm alone.
• You're not a liar.
• You always kiss and hug me before you leave.
• I knew you loved me long before you had the words to say it.
• You like to take silly pictures of me.
• I like to pose for the silly pictures you take (most of the time).
• If there is something wrong, you try to make it right.
• If I can't reach something on the top shelf, you gladly get it for me with that adorable smile on your face.
• You watch chick flicks with me.
• You make dinner.
• You go to McDonald's for cheeseburgers and coke if I'm not feeling well.
• You save me from myself on a regular basis.
• You call to make sure I made it to work safely if the weather is bad.
  
• You give me the cookie that looks more appetizing.
• If you know I'm leaving before you, you put my key in front of your key on the hook.
• You help me with the decisions I don't want to make on my own.
• You are adorable in all of your fantastic nerdyness (I just made up that word).
• You think it's funny when I make up new words.
• You love me for me.
  
• You are you!
  

Happy 3 year Anniversary Love! I love you very much and I can't wait to see what our future will bring us.

Side note: Happy Anniversary to my parents! They have been married 19 years today.

It's the time of year again where as a country we give thanks. Miss Alyssa decided to have a crafty challenge that centers around something thankful for Thanksgiving. I decided to make some Turkey cookies to give out to friends, family, and my co-workers. Don't worry they aren't as gross as they sound. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think. In my opinion they are super cute.

If for some reason I don't post again before Thanksgiving I hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving, safe travels, and loads of good food. Take care! xoxo

Ingredients per turkey:
2 cookies
1 chocolate covered cherry
candy corn
chocolate frosting (this is the glue that holds the turkey together)

Ok so I’m sure that most of you have heard of the book/ movie Twilight by now. Can I just say…Love, love, love? Wow yeah my obsession with this book, the movie, and vampires could be considered a little loony, but I’ve resigned myself to that fact and I’m over it as you should be.

I haven’t quite finished the book yet, but I’m close. The movie comes out this Friday and I’m super stoked about seeing it. The only problem is I don’t know if it will play in Winnemucca this weekend. If they disappoint me by not showing it I will have to escape to Reno to watch it. I believe Andrew officially thinks I’m crazier by the minute and he thinks going to Reno just to watch a movie is dumb (and a waste of money). He really has no idea does he?

I believe my obsession with vampires started with Interview with the Vampire. This movie came out in 1994 when I was 10 years old. Is that young? Oh well I’m over it once again.

I loved when Kirsten Dunst’s character Claudia was turned into a vampire and her hair changed into tight spiral curls. I wanted my hair to do that. I was jealous.

Now that I've made my confession here are some pictures courtesy of Google images.

I'm not sure if you know, but I have puppy fever. You know it's kind of like baby fever, but I want a puppy instead of a baby. For many good reasons we just can't have a puppy right now. With that said a while back Andrew told me that if we get a puppy he wants to name him Beef Supreme. Why? He thinks that would be an awesome name for a dog. Also this is the name of a guy in Idiocracy. Have you seen it? No? Go now and watch it. It's one of those movies that's so dumb it's hilarious.

Today I was doing a google search of puppies and I just had to send Andrew an email that went something like this...

Can't you just imagine calling this little guy Beefy?
Isn't he the cutest? Someone talk Andrew into letting me have this sweet little beefy goodness because he obviously isn't listening to me or my super adorable email.

This past weekend was pretty fantastic, so I am going to share with you what went down.


Friday - We joined some friends of ours for breakfast and had a great time chatting and catching up.


Saturday - Andrew decided he wanted to take a break from the deck and make a trip to Reno. I'm always up for anything that gets us away from Winnemucca for a couple of days. When we got to town we went to the new Scheels that was just opened last weekend. It was amazing. That store is huge. It has two gigantic fish tanks that you can walk under, they were handing out free hats, it's two levels, it has a running ferris wheel in the center and an airplane hanging from the ceiling. That isn't even the beginning, but I think you get the point. Here is a picture Andrew took of me while trying on one of the hats. What a goober!

After Scheels we made our way over to the Atlantis buffet to meet up with my parents and grandparents. It was an awesome lunch and I love buffets. I feel like everyone walks away happy, because you can get whatever you want. I won't go into details about what I ate because now that I think about it I'm a little ashamed at the amount of food I consumed.

As an added bonus to our stay in Reno Andrew told me that we would get dressed and go dancing at Bubinga which has a pretty strict dress code for getting in. No street clothes, sneakers, etc. I was pretty excited. I love to dance.

When we were ready to go we made our way downtown and ate some dinner. We ordered some pizza and enjoyed a few alcoholic beverages. I had a strawberry daquiri and Andrew had a couple Dos Equis. Upon finishing dinner Andrew pointed out that there was a little something extra in my purse. When I investigated I saw that there were two pieces of paper folded together. You know what they were? Tickets to So You Think You Can Dance! OMG! That is one of my most favorite shows ever. When tickets were first on sale I decided I wasn't going to buy them this year because I should save my money. Being the sweetheart that he is Andrew took it upon himself to surprise me with tickets. I love him!

We didn't end up going to Bubinga, but that was ok. I was happy watching others dance even if I didn't get to.

This was one of my favorite routines between Kherington and Twitch. I heart Mia Michaels and her ability to choreograph.


Picture time before leaving the hotel:

These are Andrew's shoes. I love these shoes.

Sunday - We did some shopping and made our way home.

Thank you Andrew for such a fabulous weekend. You're the best!

If you are interested in reading about our trip to see the show last year click here.

This is a guest post written by Andrew. Continue on with an open mind and willingness to learn something new. This post is completely non-partisan.



America,

It’s that time again when politics and political hearsay are running wild. It’s my personal opinion that this election is very critical for the future of the USA. I consider myself a skeptical person by nature (especially when it comes to political statements, rumors, and rhetoric) and I truly despise the fact that “wedge” politics are used so often nowadays to decide political outcomes instead of facts about the issues.

While I will never claim to have all the answers nor will I ever try to push my opinions on anyone else; I would like to ask of you the following: Try not to get caught up in the political “spin” and do NOT believe everything you hear from the left wing or right wing media; and be very skeptical about any emails you receive or TV adds you see.

Collectively we, as a people, owe it to ourselves and this great nation not to be tricked or coerced into believing anything. We should be free thinkers, who pay attention to truly important issues and aren’t distracted by fear mongering or other political ploys that may distract us. We must check the facts that are presented to us, and then weigh our personal beliefs, morals, and life experiences against those actual facts to come to our own independent conclusions.

If we fail to base our decisions on facts and fall victim to the lies, then we perpetuate the stereo type of uninformed voters who can be easily manipulated. Unfortunately this is all too common and many elections are won on false pretenses. This rampant onslaught of misinformation that bombards the American people is astonishing and truly does us all a huge disservice.

We are all very busy in this day and age, and are constantly inundated with stories and opinions from every direction. It’s easy to become overwhelmed, throw up your hands, and follow the rest of the flock. I urge you not fall into the perils of becoming one of these sheep who repeats rumors and rhetoric as absolute fact.

I’ve found a couple of non-partisan Fact Checking web sites that are straight forward, quick, and easy to use. They serve to declutter the fog of misleading information and/or lies that surround much of the world today.

http://www.factcheck.org/
http://www.snopes.com/


Here are a few examples of the untruths circulating out there:

1) Obama claimed McCain’s plan for Social Security would have senior’s money at risk in the stock market.
-FALSE – under Bush’s plan supported by McCain, seniors would have the option to put some of their money in the stock market. (link)

2) Claims that McCain said he was a war criminal and had bombed innocent women and children.
-FALSE – twisted account of McCain retelling a story about the document he was forced to sign while being tortured during an interrogation session while he was a POW. (link)

3) Obama is un-American and despises “Old Glory” as proof by removing the flag from his campaign jet, not covering his heart during the National Anthem, and refusal to wear a lapel pin of the flag.
-FALSE – the plane was repainted (as all campaign planes are) and the North American Airlines trademarked stylized depiction of the flag was removed, but there is still a traditional depiction on the aircraft. (link) Technically the popularized photo is true, but over emphasized as other photos show he does cover his heart during the anthem and sings along, and has led Congress in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. (link) He has worn the lapel pin and still does on occasion just like the rest of Congress and the Senate. (link)

4) Multiple statements about Palin including cutting funds for special needs education, demanding that books are banned from the library, was part of an association to get Alaska to succeed from the union, and she pushed for teaching creationism in schools.
-FALSE – these statements are all either misleading or completely false. (link)

5) Multiple statements about Obama including that he is Muslim, was sworn in to Congress using a Quran, and has relations with radical Muslims.
-FALSE – all of these statements are false and are twisted interpretations of some of his past or just made up all together. (link)

I read this entry from Katie and it gave me inspiration. Thanks Katie!

I've been neglecting my blog for far too long. I’m not going to make excuses for myself and why I’ve been such a slacker, I’m just going to move forward. With that said…

He's mine ladies and no you can't have him!

Thank God again for friends that own a concrete mixer. Hallelujah!

My staining work station in our driveway.

Making progress.

Ok picture this...right where he is standing is where the BBQ will be. Isn't he cute pretending to flip a nice juicy steak? Yum I can't wait.

Starting to look like a deck or at least the skeleton of a deck.

This is my favorite part of the deck. It looks like a pair of eyes.

We are further along than this picture, but this is the last picture I took.

This beast totals about 700 square feet. When it's finished (providing we have enough wood) there will be a bench on the left side and a built in BBQ over on the right. Stay tuned for the finished product. It'll be a while I'm sure because this weekend we are going to my family reunion and next Wednesday we leave for Montana for a week and a half. Wooooooo! I'm excited for a vacation if you couldn't tell. I'll still be around blogging and twittering.

So...I was a complete slacker (sort of) last week and I didn't submit a photo to the Exposaroonie challenge, but I'm back in action this week.

The challenge for this week is to show what we think "Friendship is." The following picture is of Andrew and I in our backyard. He is always there for me making me laugh, being the shoulder for me to lean on, and listening when I need someone to talk to. Simply put he is the best. I love him and he is one the best friends I have ever had. Thank you for going along with me when I ask you to help me with a photo challenge. You're the sweetest.

If you like my photo you can go here and vote for me. Thank you in advance if you do decide to vote for me.

On Saturday at around 7:00 am we were both sound asleep; both in our own little dream lands. Let me just start off by saying that the only time I remember the dreams I have had are the ones that are super strange. The dream I had Saturday wouldn't really be considered strange, but the fact that I remember it is a little strange.

I guess I was probably at work in an office setting. I wasn't at the place I work now though because there were several women around and in my office I'm the only female. There was this one particular woman who decided it would be fun to hack into my computer and use my account information to buy herself some airline tickets. I'm sure we all know that flying isn't cheap and I was furious. I yelled at her and decided it was a good idea to punch her in the face. What was her reaction? I have no idea because at the moment I swung to punch her in the face I woke up to punching Andrew a few inches below his face. Needless to say he did not appreciate it. He now fears for his life sleeping in the same bed with me.

We both agree we need to upgrade to a king size bed (or california king would be even better). I am a bed hog and I steal the covers. He had no idea what he was getting himself into when he started letting me stay over. Not only do I take up 3/4 of the bed, the entire blanket, and I grind my teeth, he now has to wear a suit of armour to protect himself from my violent women bashing dreams.

As some of you may notice there is a new header on my blog. Thanks to Andrew (and photoshop) this was all made possible. I edited my photos on my own and he arranged them to look the way they do now. I would have done it myself, but I don't really know how to use photoshop yet and I didn't feel that the other night was the time to learn.

I figured because it's a little difficult to tell what is going on in some of the pictures I will explain them all. Starting from left to right there are 7 pictures.

1. This picture was taken at Wal-Mart. I like monkeys, so when Andrew saw that giant one he pointed it out to me. I immediately picked it up and hugged it. He thought it was cute, so he took my picture.


2. In November 2006 we went to Seattle with Andrew's parents for his birthday. Their gift to him was the trip and tickets to watch the Seahawks play the Raiders. At the gift store I found that awesome blow up helmet and had Andrew take a picture of me with it on. (I know I'm silly.)


3. In this picture we were at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle (same trip as above). We had gone on the Ride the Ducks of Seattle and the captain of the "amphibious World War II vehicle" gave me a duck bill that when you blow on it, it quacks. I had a lot of fun with that...probably too much fun.


4. We were in Spencer's and I put on that cute hat and posed for yet another picture.


5. At the Pacific Science Center in Seattle's gift shop I found a pink hard hat and a huge fake diamond. I wish I would have bought those, they would go perfect as decoration in my office.


6. In July 2007 we made a trip to Montana to visit Andrew's family and friends. While there we made a trip to Bozeman to see where he went to college and visit his old roommate. At the university bookstore I found those giant "bobcat paws" and...yep you guessed I posed for the camera.


7. And last, but not least...once again at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, I found that dinosaur head and just had to put it on.

If you haven't figured it out by now I like to be silly and let Andrew take my picture. I'm not sure which one of us enjoys it more, but we both have a good time.

So...what do you think? Do you like it?

(Picture me shaking my fist in the air at the clip)

Today I was looking on the internet for one of these:

I couldn’t think of what it might be called, so I searched the site using:

• Cubicle panel clips
  
• Cubicle panel accessories
  
• Cubicle panel fasteners
  
• Cubicle panel connectors
  
• Cubicle panels
  
• Clips

Not one of those gave me what I was looking for. I knew those darn things had to be somewhere on that site because my boss ordered some panels along with the aforementioned “darn things,” but for some reason I couldn’t find them. I also scanned through the catalog and couldn’t find them. I didn’t look through the catalog with an eagle eye though because it’s 4,070 pages.

I resorted to the only thing I could think of that would help me. Nooo I didn’t go ask my boss what they were called, of course not. I called Andrew. He knows I’m special and he doesn’t judge me for it. The longer I can keep it a secret from the people I work with the better, especially my boss. So when I called him this is what happened:

Me - I need help. I’m going to explain to you what I’m looking for and hopefully you can tell me what they're called.
Andrew - Ok.
Me - You know what a cubicle looks like? You know how there are those things that hold them together?
Andrew - …?
Me – When you have two sections of panels and you need to hold them together there are those things…
Andrew – I know what you mean I just don’t know what they are called.

He then proceeded to go to the site I was looking on.

Andrew – I think I found them.

Mind you about 2 seconds had gone by.

Me – What did you type in?
Andrew – Cubicle.

I typed Cubicle in the search.

Me – grumble grumble That is exactly what I was looking for.
Andrew – Did you try using Google to figure out what they were called?
Me – No because I wanted to order them from this specific site.
Andrew – The Google machine can still help you figure out what they’re called.
Me – Yeah well I didn’t think of that.
Andrew - You just need more experience Googling stuff.
Pause…
Me – I’m missing the part of my brain that knows stuff.

We decided we wanted to have cereal for dinner the other night (because it was easy and good) and this is the conversation we had:

Andrew - Do you want Fiber One?

Me - Eew no. I already pooped today.

Andrew - It's not for today...it's for tomorrow.

The reason we have Fiber One in the first place was for this recipe and this one too. We tried the cheese sticks and they were pretty good for a healthy option. We haven't tried the chicken yet, but I think it looks good.

So far it looks like I’m the only one that is going to take my challenge. That’s alright I see how it is.

Andrew and I are living in sin, so I’m going to tell you about how we met. I think it would be fun to talk about a fantasy proposal, but I want it to be organic and happen on it’s own with out any persuasion from me (not that I don’t want one, but…).

Here goes…

Andrew moved here from Montana to take a job with a local mine in January of 2005. I started working for the same company a short time after that, but I wasn’t available at the time. I’m not the type of person that has a wandering eye and I dedicate myself to the person I’m with, so I didn’t notice Andrew in the beginning. I think it’s only fair to your significant other and respectful (even if you despise them) to be faithful. I’m all about r-e-s-p-e-c-t. After I wizened up (became single) I took some time and started to take notice of a very good looking guy in the department I was working for (Andrew).

In the beginning I totally thought he saw me as an idiot. In my mind I was that dumb girl that couldn’t figure out the copy machine right across from his desk. He constantly had to save me from myself when I tried to use/ break it.

I started flirting with him, asking him a million questions, and I always tried to find reasons to be in the vicinity with him. At the time he was working for two different mine sites owned by the same company, so no matter which site he was at I would try to spend a little more time at that particular site. I’m not sure if he knows that or not, but now he will. I was working as a Parts Runner, so I was able to travel between these two sites quite frequently. I had such a huge crush on him and I really wanted him to notice me. I told him about the local comedy night that occurred every Thursday and I told him he should join my friend and I sometime.

The only time I got to see him outside of work was on the weekend going to dinner or out to bars. I took what I could get in the beginning because he told me he wouldn't tell me where his house was. His reasoning...he was afraid that if he told me I would never leave. Fast forward for a minute...he was right. Now he's stuck with me because I won't leave.

Ok back to the beginning again. The first time we ever went out alone was to a local bar in early February. We were having a good time, we had a few (several) drinks, and I remember we were playing pool. It was a Thursday night, so there were only a few people in the bar. I kept trying to talk him into calling in sick the next day, so we could stay out later. Secretly I just didn't want to go home (or him to go home) because I knew that would be the end of our evening together. I'm going to confess now that I'm a light weight when it comes to drinking, so I was pretty tipsy playing pool. The next part is a little fuzzy, but I still know what happened. Andrew was sitting on a stool leaning against one of the tables beside the pool table all smooth like and that's when I pounced. It was more of a I'm trying to be sexy, so don't think I'm stupid kind of pounce. I leaned in real slow and kissed him. It was heaven. I was so excited. I actually kissed him.


Next. (This is how it should have happened) He took me in his arms and confessed that he had been dying to kiss me from the first time he laid eyes on me, but nnnooooooo. You wanna know what really happened? Whether you do or not here's the cold hard truth. Approximately two minutes after I practically threw myself at him I had to excuse myself to the ladies' room to vomit. How sexy is that?

I returned to the bar trying to compose myself along the way and I decided it would be a good idea to down two huge glasses of water. Guess what? Not such a good idea. I then returned to the bathroom to spew once more. I'm sure at this point he was so impressed.

Upon my return to the bar I decided this time I would sip my water more slowly. This surely would cure my ailment. Once again I had to excuse myself and... yep you guessed it...I had to be sick...again!

This is when Andrew decided it would be a good idea to take me home. In hindsight it was probably for the best.

After falling asleep in the passenger seat of his car he woke me up long enough to drop me off at my house, and drove himself home probably thanking his lucky stars the night was finally over. I found my way to my bed and woke up the next morning naked from the waste down with a very hazy recollection of the past evening.

So that's how it all started. There it is in all it's gloriousness.