My Life

Ceiling Fan Complete

Well that was fun...
So after a lot of fooling around, then a day and half of chill time, I got the ceiling fan installed and yes, functional. Now we'll be testing this bad boy out this summer to see if he's all he's made up to make us believe he is. By the way, I don't know if the fan is a boy or a girl. I'm just making a blind guess.

The Amazing Singing Rocko

Hang the Garage

This weekend has officially become the most productive that I've had in the past... week. I woke up early Saturday, drove around with wifey, you know, doing the things that husbands should do. Took her out shopping and tried to keep my energy leaves up. She loved it so mission accomplished on that front. Since the weather was warming up I decided to reorganize the nasty corners of the garage and found myself scrubbing all the winter snot the cars left and hosed down the floor. Next project I had for myself was a 68" ceiling fan to be installed in the front room. Right now the ladder is still up, which mean I'm going to be staring at it until I got the time, tomorrow night. Round 2 is about to commence... after some sleepy time... and then work... and then dinner.

Selling Rex

Last night I listed my Montero for sale so I can help fund my current rebuild. I spent a lot of time tinkering with this guy and I'm sad to see him go but I'm even more excited for my next project. Here's a listing.

All Done!

So after goofing around, I mean, while goofing around, I was able to help my buddy get his pickup running like a race car. We took off the skid plate, popped out the oil pump, realigned the gears and then made sure the rotor on the distributor was at cylinder number one. We put it all back in and started it up. PURRRRRR! It snowed today so I sure hope he found a nice parking lot to do donuts in or else it all would've been for nothing. Booyah! All done!

Timing

I spent most of Saturday helping one of my good friends replace his timing chain on his pickup. We were pretty much able to put everything back together, eat a yummy Qdoba dinner and jam on Rockband to end the night. The truck sat for a day to let all the sealant to set, then he put the fluids in last night, started it up and found that it was hesitating. He called me up and after thinking about it I remembered that when we put the oil pump back in it had a gear that ran by the crankshaft up to the distributor. I'm thinking the lack of attention on how we put that in is the culprit. But hey, at least we won't have to tear it all down to the timing chain. Pheww!

My Fiesta Blog

In an effort to woo Ford into selecting me for the Fiesta Movement, I've created a blog:
http://paulsfiesta.blogspot.com/

Please visit it and become a follower.

Ford Fiesta Movement

Lately I've been putting a video together in response to Ford's Fiesta Movement. Here's my video:



Please watch it tons and leave a comment on YouTube's website.

The Facts of Life

We all remember it, right? The 1980's T.V show with Toodie and Mrs. Garrett! I thought this was a fun blast from the past to introduce what's been in my brain the past few days. It's funny and random things that I've learned since 1979, which happens to be the year that "The Facts of Life" T.V show came out. Enjoy!

1. Climbing a tree while wearing roller skates is not possible. Found this out around 1986. A lot of people were watching.

2. Recently found out that wearing a Breathe Right strip on your nose for too many nights in a row to bed can leave a hickey on it.

3. When trying to do your own auburn highlights for the first time-a few tips from 2005. Do not use regular pieces of tin foil and make little squares. Even if your husband is helping you, do not start in the front, as the process takes longer than you might imagine. That's how I ended up with purple hair. I had actually always wanted to try purple hair, and though it wasn't planned, I did enjoy it!

4. Avoid working in jobs where they literally pad-lock and chain the doors and won't let any employees leave until everyone has completed their duties. In 1997 I worked for Cracker Barrel in Utah and found that this is the policy at all their restaurants. Three months after I quit, one of the managers when crazy taking hostages with a gun. Weird. Still a good place to eat though.

5. If a cut is deep enough to see severed veins, you need stitches. Hence the scar on my left middle finger. (I wasn't using it!) It got cut on a bunk bed. But, the scar on my left pinky is barely visible after a plastic wrap blade attacked me while working at Sizzler, and I had stitches on that one!

6. Men really are just grown up boys. Their toys just get more expensive. My garage is full of things with grease and dirt. The toys at our house are paintball gun, X-Box, cars, and whatever else that's in the garage that I don't know about. I love my boy.

7. Toes can accidentally fit into a bathroom sink drain. All I'm saying is, that all the accident prone people need to be careful.

8. Ducks are not indoor pets. Summer of 1994 in Pennsylvania visiting my mom. The duck slept in my room and all I remember was poo on the floor everywhere. I don't know why my mom permitted that!

9. Pumice stones are not for lips. Yeah...I recently found this out for myself unfortunately. When your lips are rough and chapped feeling, if a warm wash cloth doesn't help the exfoliating, do not take it to the next level. You'll wish you hadn't.

For more cool 80's stuff check out Retro Junk

Paul's 30th Birthday!

What a fun day! I had the day off from work, so I surprised Paul at work by bringing cookies and Rocko to visit him at lunch time. That evening, we had a special Rockband birthday party where everybody brought him 30 of something to honor the leaving of his 20's. We also had a yummy Dairy Queen Blizzard ice cream cake, which we broke the knife trying to cut! Thank you to all of our wonderful friends for making it a special night for Paul.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Now hold on! Don't gag just yet. Yes, its Valentine's Day, a time to get all sweet and dopey over your sweetheart. Ahhh love! We come into it with the craziest of ideas, don't we? "End of our troubles...life will be bliss...heart shaped clouds and raindrop kisses." Well, I've been thinking about what REAL love is, and these are the things I have recognized as evidence of love.

1. When Paul does the dishes after each dinner to show appreciation for the meal.
2. For letting me be when I wake up cranky in the middle of the night for one reason
or another...sometimes I can't sleep.
3. Finding my phone for me when its lost...almost daily.
4. Showering in the other bathroom so he doesn't wake me up when he goes to bed late.
5. When he made sure he bought a car that had comfortable seats for my picky back.
6. For wanting me to go out and buy stuff that he knows makes me happy.
7. He acknowledges and feels happy when I accomplish something.
8. He invites me to go to the junk yard and Home Depot with him...and I go.
9. He gets excited to show me new trailers of movies he wants to see.
10. Half the time, I go to bed before he does and he stops whatever he's doing to
have prayer with me before I go to sleep.

O.k, so its not your typical top ten romantic gestures list. That's the whole point. I think its so easy to overlook the common or even hidden signs of love in every day. A box of chocolates is nice, but that of course will disappear fast, while the good feelings of knowing that someone considered your feelings in a decision or thought enough of you to ask you to "look at this engine part!", will be what lasts.

It's good to be board!

In an effort to spend more time with Paul, I suggested to him that for Christmas this past year, I wanted to finish purchasing the snowboard equipment that he started buying for me four years ago. It has taken so long because, honestly, I was afraid to try it. I soon found that my fears were very justified as the first trip down the mountain produced hard falls, pain, and yes...crying. But, knowing it would be hard beforehand, I decided "I will learn this!". This past weekend we stayed at my boss's condo in Keystone, and on Friday I took a snowboarding class at Copper Mountain, which boosted my confidence. By Saturday, I'm proud to say, I was doing runs down the mountain! Funny thing is, after I learned how to do it right...I was even more sore. Totally worth it though, and I can't wait to go again!

Oh, and just as a side note: I realized this weekend that I really like Mountain Dew too, which I never really used to care for. Its like I'm entering a whole new culture...or something. Ha ha ha!

Christmas 2008

Every year we go to Utah to spend Christmas with my family. We always have a blast together! This year I tried to start the tradition of going sledding the day after Christmas, and this year was successful! Every Christmas has to have a story, so here's mine. I call it:
Thank Goodness For Dogs Who Eat Christmas Presents!

My family has a very naughty black lab dog named Jake. Anytime he's alone in the house, he finds whatever he can steal to eat. Counter tops are not off limits in his opinion. We stayed with my family this week and bunked in my brother's room. Well, I forgot about Jake's bad habits and went merrily to the Christmas Eve party thinking all was well. I returned back to my family's home that evening and found that Jake had not only eaten a whole bag of chocolate that was a gift for my step-mom Anjela, but had also demolished a necklace that I had made for her. The chocolate I can understand, but why the necklace? Stupid dog! I was furious! Luckily Jake wasn't harmed by the chocolate, but I was so disappointed about the necklace. I asked my 10yr old sister, Megan, to get out her bead box, so that we could secretly fix the necklace, but she didn't have the right stuff to do it. So, she and I ventured out to Walmart to see if we could get stuff there to fix it, but being Christmas Eve, it was closed. We returned home, with me discouraged. We went back to Megan's bead box, and after much thought, decided to make Anjela a new bracelette with what Megan had in her box, then I could remake the necklace when I got home and mail it. She helped me pick out beads and gave ideas, as we schemed in my brother's room to create a new present. I could tell that she felt so good to be the one to help me out of this unexpected jam. As mad as I was at that dog for ruining something I had worked so hard on, I found myself being grateful that he did it, and gave me the opportunity to bond with my little sister. I moved away from home when she was just 1yr. old, so we didn't have that constant home-bonding thing like I did with my brothers. Anjela loved the bracelette, and I chuckle to think how some of our blessings are brought to us...even through gift eating dogs!

Send To Phone

Send To Phone

Send To Phone

Merry Christmas!

Turn off the already streaming music before viewing. Enjoy!

Oh Christmas tree!

One thing I look forward to every year is snuggling up with a blanket and hot cocoa and just staring, mesmerized by my Christmas tree. I look at it like a family member who's looking back at me, reflecting all the years and memories of my life. To the casual Christmas tree putter-upper, this may sound sappy and weird, but in truth, my Christmas tree reminds me of my mom, and I feel close to her when I gaze at it. Ever since I was born, my mom got me a special ornament every Christmas. My most prized bulb is this one from Santa's Workshop at "North Pole" Alaska, from the year that I was born. We also made home-made ornaments together when I was a kid. I remember watching her hand stitch each sequin on the little girl ornament pictured here. When I turned 20 years old and had my own apartment, she sent them all to me. She still continues to get me a special ornament every year. I have added a few of my own, particularly ones that have special meaning. One that stands out is when my ferret, Ricky, who was my pride and joy for 5 years died, and Paul had his little paw prints imprinted on a yellow star, and made it into a keepsake ornament for me.

When I look at my Christmas tree, the ornaments make me think of all the wonderful things that have come in to my life, and I sink into sweet memories that I wish I could stay lost in just a little longer.

Bragitis-Maximus!.....(brag moment)

Everyone need a brag moment, right? So, here's mine. A bunch of other talented ladies, and myself, have been busy preparing for the Christmas craft fair that we will be holding at my house this Saturday from 10:00am-4:00pm. Anyone reading this should consider themselves invited! My addiction to making jewelry is what I will be displaying. I have about 70 pieces! Crazy.

Sweetness Remembered

Today is Sidney's birthday, and I am remembering the love, sweetness, humor, and special life that touched us all. Though we love and miss her dearly, we have been blessed and comforted to know that we will see her, and laugh with her again.

Silly Sid Moments

One day when her and I were playing guitar she told me "My friends say I have sausage-y fingers". I always thought that was funny!

She would hide my flip flops or shoes when I came to visit. Then I'd see her wearing them as I looked all over for them!

She loved deviled eggs! Last Easter she asked if she could ride to Grandma's house in our car. We thought she wanted to hang out with us, but later we learned that she just wanted to get away with eating some of the deviled eggs on the way to Grandma's.

I was always so proud to be her aunt. I think it was because I was impressed by her as a person, her talents and sweet personality, and that she always made me feel special. One thing I always looked forward to on Sundays was seeing Sidney at church, because she would find me and give me a hug.

We love you Sid, thanks for everything!

Halloween 2008

We started our festive evening hanging out with Jeff and Cassie, and promoting tooth decay by giving their kids each whole bags of chocolate. Paul and I dressed up as "vampire rock-stars". I was able to make us some really cool vampire teeth at my office. Ahhh, the perks of working for a dentist! We had "the gang" over for a Rock Band party, and of course topped of the night with a scary movie. I brushed my teeth and was in bed at 3:oo a.m. We had so much fun!

Tag whaa...!?

So I'm officially blaming Darcy for conning me into having to post. I'm a guy. Guys don't post frequently. Don't you know that I have to give myself about six months to recuperate from the last one. Oh wait, it was a video. Here's my list of what makes me weird, besides the obvious.

1. I don't mind the dog licking my feet. Yes, to some this might seem gross, but I gotta cool dog and we've got this bond thing going on. Note: ONLY my feet. Well, sometimes he'll lick my leg or hands or face or... that's about it! Don't judge me 'cause I'm cool!
2. It's necessary for me to smell my deodorant before I use it. I guess I'm doing quality assurance and verifying that what I have hasn't expired. Actually it smells good.
3. I will almost never travel a long distance in a car without first purging the innards of all that makes it filthy. Yes, that means trash. I'm just trying to be fancy with my wording.
4. X-FILE CASE #463: Occasionally Veronica will find dryer lint behind my ear. CASE UNSOLVED.
5. I can be, and Veronica will attest to this, extremely stubborn when I get involved in a project. Particularly one that I have done extensive research on. Sometimes to the point that I prefer to do it by myself. I guess I have this perception that since I know how I want it done, it's hard to express it to others. Obviously I need some working on this one.
   
6. When I smile, there's a piece of cartilage in my nose that turns the tip of it white. Watch out, it's sharp!
7. I must travel as often as possible. Domestically at least twice a year. Internationally at least every 4-5 years (crossing my fingers). Gotta keep on mooovin'!