Date Night

In an effort to accomplish our goals, we will actually be going on a date tonight. So far, its not going so well.

It is Hanks day to plan it. I called him before leaving work to get the details. He explained that we were going to dinner and a movie. Hmm...he sure thought outside of the box!? I inquired a little further, wondering which movie we would go see. I've been dying to see The Backup Plan or Date Night (even knowing they will probably be awful!), so you can imagine my excitement when he informs me we will be seeing Robin Hood. I had suspected he wouldn't have done much planning, so I was looking at movies.com as we spoke. My suspicion was confirmed when after searching for this movie for minutes, I spotted in on the Coming Soon tab. May 14th. Hank did no prior research besides seeing it on Pay Per View the night before.

So in an effort to set our date nights off on the right foot, I have stepped up and planned the evening. First on the agenda is eating at the Blue Lemon. I've wanted to try it out forever. Every meal looks like a piece of art. I don't know how I will refrain from ordering everything on the menu, but luckily I've been studying it all day so I have a good idea of what I want. In case you're interested in going and wonder the dress code, let me suggest that you don't call to inquire. In hope of wearing my comfy sweater and baggy pants tonight, I called to learn the "dress code." The woman on the other line explained that its "black pants or a skirt, no slip on shoes, no earrings, and on and on. Then she added employees get a company shirt to wear." What?! I don't want to eat there if it requires different clothes! Then it occurs to me that for some reason, she is explaining what SHE wears to work. Weird, but I'm not too interested in the employee uniform. In answer to my original question, customers must wear "a shirt and shoes." Still confused, I determine its casual, otherwise she wouldn't have had such a difficult time answering my simple question.

Next, we will go see one of the lowest rated movie ever, Date Night or the Backup Plan, and I will probably love it while Hank pretends to hate it. Then we will come home early and fall asleep. We're old and boring.

Why am I writing about all of this nonessential information? Hank is still at work, we're an hour off schedule and I'm hiding from my dirty house.

Lets hear it for our first date night this summer!!!!

Graduation Weekend

So, it looks like the last thing on Hank's to do list is blogging. I'm sure he is still proud of me, we just will never really know for sure. :)

My graduation weekend was almost perfect! Elder Christopherson spoke at the university graduation on Thursday--he's great, one might even say better than Dick Cheney. On Friday, everyone came to the Marriott School graduation, where I made an my final appearance walking across the stage. No amount of weight loss prior to graduation could have prepared me enough for the slenderizing effect of a black garbage bag like robe or the cone head cap. The pictures prove it.

I felt on the verge of passing out every night. On Saturday morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn wanting to puke. I quickly learned that half my family had been up ill all night. I knew this was coming. I had a feeling once my stress level subsided, something big was going to happen. Of course, I was right! By noon, I could feel my muscles beginning to cramp up from dehydration and I couldn't tolerate the pain too much longer. Hankie and I took a special trip to get an IV! :) No pictures to represent this event, I looked absolutely horrendous.

Here are some pictures from the weekend!

A special thank you is in order for my faithful scholarship providers: Barbie & Chad. Without their support, I would likely be living out my childhood dream of living in the little blue playhouse in the backyard on Tomsik. I used to tell them I would be happy living in it and would just stop by the back door when I needed things. I couldn't imagine needing anything beyond that! Needless to say, I'm really outdone myself....only thanks to them!

COMING SOON:

A post by Hank describing how proud he is of me for finishing grad school.

Well, at least I think. I've dropped subtle hints when he chastises me for not updating the blog, suggesting maybe it could be his turn and if he needs a subject, I could probably help!

Its just a waiting game now.

Never again....

will I have to go to class. Under any circumstances. PhD? Over my dead body.

My Wildest Dreams Came True!

This weekend, I had the honor and privilege of meeting the cutest boy ever to grace the stage of American Idol....

And yes, I got his autograph.

And absolutely, I got a picture with him. I even took video of him on-stage but am too blogger-incompetent to figure it out.

I got to meet him because he was willing to meet before the game & show with a group of kids who have cancer. I had the lovely task of coordinating it all and it turned out much better than I could have imagined.

He is just as cute, shy and awkward as he looks on tv....I just love him!

Freedom

In approximately 2 weeks, I will be done with my education which will free up an awful lot of time! 1/2 of it, to be exact. There are so many things I've said I will do "when I have free time." That time is coming nearer with each passing day so I'm making a list of those things so I don't forget!

1. Exercise every day. Right now, I actually wish I could do this. However, its likely that once the opportunity presents itself, I will find a million other things to do.

2. Clean out drawers. They've been driving me crazy for the last 2 years. I know they will quickly become disorganized again (thanks to Hank's confusion of the entire being organized concept) but it will feel so good while it lasts.

3. Do laundry consistently. Every week there is a national emergency at our house. One day we are completely out of jeans. The next, underwear. The next, towels. Its a vicious cycle I'd like to end forever. And while I'm at it, perhaps I will iron things right after being clean, instead of having piles of "dirty," "clean," and "needing ironed" scattered throughout the house, making it necessary to sniff to determine which category they fall in.

4. Go on dates. We've been pretty horrible about this the last 2 years....A special thanks to both of us. We prioritized school above family life, even though we knew we shouldn't. We've gotten better about it lately and its so nice to step away from the day-to-day routine and remember that you actually like, if not love, the person you married! :)

5. Daily scripture study. The thought of waking up every morning and reading scriptures actually excites me. This is probably a similar concept to the exercising one, but I know it would make a huge difference in our lives. Hold me accountable should I find an excuse to not do this one!

6. Take George on daily walks. So even if the Bichon Frise book does say they dont need lots of exercise, I think he would certainly appreciate expanding his world beyond the walls of our town home! He's been so good about being locked up 50% of the day, never once complaining! He deserves a little freedom...

7. Make a life plan. A special thanks to Ruth who assured me it isnt weird to map out your life, I will begin this immediately upon graduation. It will ease my anxiety at least having a plan on paper. Heaven knows Hank won't follow it! :)

8. Become a budget shopper. I've improved significantly since being married. I try to follow all the deals around town and often take advantage, but it adds a few hours on to my grocery shopping adventures, which I resent. If time is money, it certainly isnt worth driving around Utah County to save a few bucks! With more free time, I'm willing to take up this hobby. I will even post every deal on this blog in an effort to make you feel terrible about buying non-sale items, so stay tuned. Ok, so no I wont, thats annoying.

9. Volunteer at a senior living center. I love love love old people. Not sure why.... but it certainly would help with my long-term goals to get a little experience, so I should probably go ahead and do it, sooner rather than later.

10. Fatten up Hank. I've tried since the beginning, but its a full-time job! The boy burns more calories in a minute than I do after an hour of cardio, making my mission rather difficult. My new goal instead of pouring butter over his meals will be to incorporate healthier fats into his food and obviously increase the amount significantly. Why can't I have his metabolism?!

Thats all my goals for now. The number 10 seems about right! I sincerely hope my new free time will allow me to accomplish these goals! Its a good thing new habits are so easy to adopt, no need for consistently practicing them at all :)

A very good day!

I'm not sure I deserved to have such a great day today...but who am I to argue? In an effort to express my appreciation, I will outline the great things that happened. In order of timing, but the best does happen to occur last....

Naturally, my day began with hitting the snooze button 5 times. I don't know why I do this to myself every morning. Instead of having a relaxed morning, I insist on resembling a tornado on my way to school/work each day. My inevitable actions left me with no breakfast and no lunch. I didnt have time to pack it and even if I did, we haven't been to the grocery store in weeks so it would have consisted of something canned--no thank you.

#1: I walked into marketing this morning (on time---hooray!!) to donuts. My sweet professor brought donuts for everyone to enjoy. Even though I don't normally eat them (unless they're Branbury), I indulged and considered it Heaven-sent to help me get through the next 10 hours before I would eat dinner.

#2: I couldn't get out of work on time to get to a meeting. I was over an hour late by the time I pulled into the Tanner building. As always, there were about 5 cars swarming the parking lot like ravenous sharks. I happened to notice a boy getting in his car so I acted fast to secure his spot. One second later, all the other cars lined up behind me in anger. I won....and felt guilty about it for a few minutes. Bless the parking lot gods for looking over me. I believe in them wholeheartedly.

#3: I called Hank to ask what he wanted for dinner--a trip to the grocery store seemed inevitable after my law class. He informed me that he would be making dinner tonight. I didn't know how to react. In 2 years, he has never made dinner! (I've also never asked him to...) He made delicious tacos for dinner, which cut out my typical 2 hour adventure to make a mediocre dinner. I was in heaven.

#4: Dog.com (yes, somehow in the process of purchasing George I became a member) sent a sampling of 4 Christmas cards of bichons. They encouraged me to order soon, despite Christmas being 8 months away. Maybe they will sell out? Anyways, these cards brought more joy than you could ever understand. We have narrowed the selection down to 2: either 3 smiling bichons asleep on santa's lap or 3 bichons making a snowman with their owners. This one is a front-runner because 90 percent of the card is in cartoon-color format, while the dogs are real life pictures photo shopped in. It's epic. You won't want to miss this, so be sure and leave a comment with your address. Below is a sample for your viewing pleasure. Who makes these things?!!?

#5: As I sat and ate dinner, I began to think of how I needed to run to the store to get dinner for the next few nights. Then an angel appeared in the form of my sweet neighbor Cara, with homemade dinner for this week in hand. She individually packaged our dinner so we could pull it out of the freezer the night before and be set! I didn't even know people could be this nice. Clearly, this amazing act of service was an answer to my prayers to "survive" the next few weeks, allowing me to spend time catching up on homework.

I am so grateful for all the wonderful things that happened today! Thank you!!! :)