Where I've Been

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. It has been crazy, to say the least.

The majority of the insanity has been great...on our Anniversary, Bryan and I found out that we are expecting! We wanted to wait for our first appointment to make sure everything was OK before we made a big announcement. So on Dec. 11 we had the first ultrasound and got to see and hear the little one's heart beat. It was amazing.

While we couldn't be happier, it has been a bit of a challenge as well. Being sick every day (why do they call it morning sickness when it lasts all day??), wanting to do nothing but sleep and only being able to eat a total of about 10 items has definitely all been new. I am currently 10 1/2 weeks along, so hopefully in a couple of weeks the whole sick/tired thing will begin to fade. Bryan has been his usual wonderful self, very supportive and not even taking issue with the fact that he's been on his own for dinner every night for about a month now (I cannot handle the smell of just about anything cooking...).

Anyway, that coupled with the holidays (luckily I had all of my shopping done early) and an unexpected trip to California after Thanksgiving for my grandma's funeral has left me without energy to get much done other than those things which are absolutely necessary.

Everyone tells me that once I get through the first trimester I will return to my happy, energetic self which will of course leave lots more time for posting on the blog :)

The Tuesday Ten

In honor of Thanksgiving this week, here are 10 things I'm grateful for:

1. A wonderful, kind, patient, hard-working husband
2. Citizenship in a free country
3. Membership in the Church
4. Not having to worry about food on the table, clothes on my back or a roof over my head
5. Wonderful friends
6. Good health (even with my current bought of hives, I have it good)
7. My puppy dog
8. A job where I enjoy my co-workers and feel like I'm contributing to something meaningful
9. Getting to work with the young women in my ward and hopefully becoming a little less selfish in the process
10.My education

The Tuesday Ten

Ten Things That Currently Make Me Happy:

1. Sleep!
2. The consistency with which I have been having good hair days lately
3. Bryan
4. Having more than half of my Christmas shopping done
5. Scrapbooking
6. Mac lipstick in Desire
7. My favorite Coach bag
8. PB&J sandwiches
9. That my iPod is no longer MIA
10. That it's mid-November and I still haven't had to wear a coat

(Because I've been a bit of a slacker on posting lately, I stole the idea of "The Tuesday Ten" and figure at least once a week I can come up with a top ten list about something!)

A Hobby Rekindled

Around 10 years ago I was introduced to scrapboooking when my friend Mary Lou had a Creative Memories party at her house. I had never been particularly crafty, but I loved photos, so I quickly got hooked. Over time however, work and school and many other demands on my time prevented me from pursuing this little hobby.

A few months ago, Bryan was looking at the scrapbook I put together back in the day. “Why don’t you do this with our pictures?” he asked. Good question. I’m still busy but not to the extent I used to be, and to be honest I’ve been feeling a need to have a hobby. So I pulled out my old scrapbooking supplies, bought some new ones and got to work. The good thing is that every since we’ve been together, I’ve put all of Bryan’s and my pictures in an album, in order and with notes about the dates, places, etc so it’s been pretty easy to get going.

This past weekend I went to a fun crop with my friend Wendy. We were there from 6:00 to midnight and I got a ton of pages done. It’s fun to have a hobby again!

Doing My Civic Duty

I love election day. Weird, I know, but true. Here in Arizona there is an interesting policy where in addition to being able to complete an absentee ballot, you can also go down to the elections office a few weeks prior to election day to cast your ballot. I see how this is convenient (it is definitely Bryan's preferred method of casting his vote) but for me there is something patriotic about going down to the polls on election day.

This morning I headed over to my polling place and after about a 45 minute wait, I did my thing and voted on the longest ballot in Arizona's history. I dig the ballots here in Arizona--you use a marker to complete an arrow that points to how you want to vote. Pretty much idiot proof. No hanging chads here.

Anyway, if you haven't yet voted, make sure to get out there today!

Time Flies!

Yesterday was Bryan's and my 2 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been two years already!

I always say that marrying Bryan was the best decision I ever made. He evens me out, keeps me from taking life too seriously, and can always make me laugh. He humors me when I need to be humored and isn't afraid to lay down the law when necessary. Pretty much he is my perfect match. I'm a very lucky girl, and I try to always remember that.

Last night he had to go to a meeting, so we had a quick dinner at Outback, but tonight we're actually 'celebrating.' I have no idea where we're going (well if I were to guess I'd guess Melting Pot, so we'll see...) but we have reservations at 8:30, so I'm looking forward to that...

Yay for being happily married :)

(and yes, those are the flowers he sent me yesterday. he has fabulous taste...)

My Favorite Time of Year

October is an interesting month in Arizona...at the beginning, there are still days with triple digit temperatures, prompting me to wonder if Mother Nature failed to get the memo that summer is in fact over. And then, right about this time, it turns nice. Temperatures in the 80's during the day, in the 60's at night. Last night I came out of the temple a little before 9:00 p.m. and I was chilly. I think that's the first time that has happened since April or so. I loved it.

We're now only 13 days from my favorite month. Perfect weather, my favorite holiday, and my anniversary.

Life is good.

Hometown Huddle

Every year, all of the United Way's in major cities team up with their local NFL team for this fun event called Hometown Huddle. In addition to completing a major project for a local agency, some of the players and cheerleaders come out and do a little mini football and cheerleading camp for a group of kids that tend to be on the lower rungs of the socioecomonic ladder. Anyway, Hometown Huddle was yesterday. It was a nice break from the office and we all had a great time.

The photo is of me, some of my fellow marketing department divas and Deuce from the Cardinals...

Babies, Babies Everywhere

This past weekend I went up to Sacramento for my best friend's baby shower. It seems like everyone is having babies! I love it! Anyway, the shower was seriously the nicest baby (or any other) shower I've ever attended. Everything was picture perfect.

The best part though, of course, was spending time with Christine. The only thing I dislike about living in Arizona is the distance from my friends. But little visits here and there defininitely help.

In addition, I got to help her get everything organized for the nursery, which I totally loved. Maybe I should have taken the Professional Organizer career track...

Birthday Fun for Bry

October is a crazy month for us, so even though Bryan’s birthday isn’t until the 10th, we took his birthday trip this last weekend. Day One was spent between Disneyland and California Adventure, which was fine, but since it was our 3rd time in two years, we just weren’t feeling the ‘magic.’ However that night we had dinner at the Blue Bayou Restaurant (inside of Pirates of the Caribbean) and the food was spectacular, which made the whole day worth it. Day Two was spent at Universal Studios. It had been years since either of us had been there and we had a great time. That night we went to Bryan’s favorite restaurant, Rockin’ Baja Lobster where his Bucket O’ Meat was the highlight of the trip for him! Day Three we met up with my friends Katherine and Rob for brunch before heading home to Arizona. All in all it was another fabulous weekend trip, which will hopefully keep us geared up throughout the month!

Recollections of 9/11

On September 11, 2001 I had lived in San Francisco for a little more than two months. I got up that morning as usual, showered, dressed in black pants and a lavender ¾ length sweater, and proceeded to get ready for work. My roommates and I rarely interacted in the morning, for no other reason than our own preoccupation with our individual morning routines and the accompanying effort to get out the door on schedule. So when I came out of my bedroom that morning and saw Katie and Kelly standing in front of the TV in Katie’s room, I knew something was up.

I walked into Katie’s room, and no one said a word. I think they were in shock. After a few moments of viewing the horrible images that flashed across the screen, I was, too. We continued to watch for a few minutes, wanting to look away, but somehow unable to.

One by one we eventually tore ourselves away from the TV so we could proceed to work. When I got onto MUNI that morning, something seemed strange. Usually people occupied themselves with newspapers and books and their blackberries as the Express worked its way through traffic toward the Financial District. After a few minutes someone started a conversation—addressed to no one in particular—and astonishingly, everyone began chiming in with little bits and pieces of information that they had gleaned from various news sources that morning.

After we reached my stop I walked the three-or-so blocks to my office in a fog. When I walked into the office, one of my co-workers was sitting on the couch crying. She had family that worked in the towers. Within minutes our main office in Utah called and told us all to go home. My co-worker Katherine’s boyfriend picked us up and drove us back to the other side of town. As we made our way through the Financial District and the Civic Center it was like a ghost town. Very eerie for a Tuesday morning in September.

By the time I returned to my apartment in the Richmond District, both of my roommates were home. We parked ourselves in front of the television in our living room and wondered out loud whether the reporter’s speculation about terrorists targeting the Golden Gate Bridge could actually happen. You could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the balcony of our apartment.

The very last plane in U.S. airspace that day was to land in San Francisco. We watched with baited breath as news cameras captured its touchdown at SFO. The three of us breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Within a couple of weeks the inability to sleep had set in. The horrible nightmares followed soon after. I don’t remember exactly how long they lasted, but Tylenol P.M. and a meditation-type CD my mom sent me helped me get through the weeks and months that followed.

Eventually I was able to get a normal night’s sleep—uninterrupted by terrible images flashing through my mind—on my own. But the memories of the fear I felt during that time will always remain.

That day could very well be the reason why the city life which I had always wanted to live became something that I truly abhorred…

Things I Love (in no particular order, except #1!)

My husband
Having a plan
Coach bags
Weekend getaways
Chocolate chip cookies
Fire and Ice Roses
Good pens
NASCAR
Cute shoes
Pedicures
Going to the temple
Sales at Banana Republic
November
Roller coasters
Celebrity gossip
Unexpected phone calls from friends
Crisp cotton sheets warm from the dryer
Jackson's welcome when I come home
The beach
Lists
The way I feel after I go to the gym
Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches
The sound of Bryan's laugh
XM radio (which I really miss during my commute)
Getting a good night's sleep
Chocolate shakes from Crossroads Cafe in SF
Weekends at the cabin
Having a clean house
Anything that Bryan BBQ's
Clinique lipstick in A Different Grape
Watermelon-flavored gum

A Cooler, Greener Side of Arizona

On Friday afternoon Bryan and I headed up to his parent's cabin in Show Low for the weekend. Being a typical California girl who expected all of Arizona to be cactus-laden desert, I never cease to be amazed when I come up here. It's about 20-25 degrees cooler than it is in the Valley, and there are big, green pine trees as far as the eye can see.

We've had a fun time with Bryan's parents, his grandma, his brother and his brother's girlfriend. Oh, and Jackson has had a great time, too. Too bad I forgot to bring the camera. And too bad we have to head back home tonight...

Random Musings...

I was thinking this morning about how some of the things I enjoy in my life have been “acquired tastes”—things that at one point I didn’t care much for, but now love. For example, I remember a time when I hated reading the newspaper, abhorred going to the gym and avoided getting up before 10:00 a.m. on the weekend like the plague.

But now, I enjoy reading the newspaper every morning. While keeping up on current events makes me feel like an educated member of society, I’m always on the lookout for anything having to do with personal finance and health and fitness. And of course I love those warm-fuzzy human interest stories.

As far as going to the gym, it’s now a love/hate relationship. I hate getting myself there, but I love the way it makes me feel. Luckily the love part of the relationship outweighs the hate, which keeps me going back.

And while I still (on very rare occasions) allow myself to sleep past 10:00, I find that I am much happier when I get up and going and actually accomplish something. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and have started to realize that time is a commodity not to be wasted. Or maybe it’s just because I’ve been working a 'real job' for enough years that my internal clock freaks out if I’m in bed past 6:30. Who knows.

What happens in Vegas...

...doesn't really stay in Vegas when you have a blog! This last weekend Bryan and I took a long weekend in Vegas for my birthday. On the way there we stopped and did the Hoover Dam tour, which was really interesting and especially fun for me because I had never seen it before. We saw the Blue Man Group which was just as good as everyone said it was, and did plenty of eating and shopping and eating, and of course got in a roller coaster ride at New York, New York. The great thing about Vegas though, is that I didn't have to feel guilty about eating that cinnamon apple crepe or the fruit tart because we did so much walking! The last morning we were there we had the most amazing breakfast at a restaurant inside of the Venetian called Bouchon...I highly recommend it. The only disappointment was that they've closed the Coca-Cola museum! Bryan had never been and I was all excited for him to try all of the crazy flavors of soda that they sell all over the world and when we got there...nothing! All in all, though, it was another perfect weekend getaway...

I love to see the temple...

Back when the Church announced that there would be a temple built in Sacramento, I told my best friend who lives in the area that when it opened, I would take her to the open house. So that's what I did this weekend. The temple is absolutely beautiful (of course) and it was great to be able to share a little piece of that part of my life with someone who is so close to me.

The rest of the weekend was a blast, as well. We got in a descent dose of shopping (of course!); bbq'd and had poker night with Christine's hubby, parents and grandparents; hung out by the pool; saw a couple of movies; and just generally had a good, relaxing time.

Thanks, Christine, for a perfect weekend!

Doggie Drama

So to say the least, July was not the best month for the Colby clan. Even Jackson didn’t make it into August unscathed. So here’s the story:

After having to board Jackson for the first time recently, we started taking him to Doggie Day Camp once a week or so. We thought it was a great opportunity to get him better socialized with other dogs. He’d gone probably 5 or 6 times, always getting good comments on his little daily report card (and no, I’m not joking about the report card). So one day in July Bryan was going up to Boy Scout Camp and I had an all day departmental retreat for work, so I decided I would drop Jackson off at camp on my way in. Well around 10:00 a.m. I had a break so I checked my cell phone and there were multiple messages from the camp facility. My first thought was that he was sick or injured, which freaked me out, so I called right away.

Come to find out, Jackson bit one of the employees. This of course seemed really strange to me because he is such a gentle little guy. The lady I was talking to had a teenaged son who worked there, and he was the one who got bit. As soon as I called she was basically yelling at me that I needed to get them his proof of rabies vaccinations otherwise her son would have to endure a horrendous round of shots. She’s also telling me that she called my vet and they’d never even heard of Jackson. Oh, great.

Well here’s what actually happened: Jackson had been kind of aggressive with one of the other dogs all morning. Rather than put him on “time out” (which they actually do) they continued to let him play in the yard. Well he and this dog ended up going at it, and this young kid came up behind Jackson, grabbed him by his hind legs, pulled him away from the other dog and then attempted to grab him by the scruff of his neck, at which point Jackson bit him. The facility had a copy of Jackson’s shot records (required for him to even be there) but they lost them. And when they entered his vet’s info into their computer, they chose the wrong one on a drop-down list.

So in the interim, Bryan had to drive an hour and a half back to Gilbert to get the shot record, take it to the facility in Scottsdale where I met him to get Jackson, then I had to take the rest of the afternoon off to take Jackson to the vet (because I was totally panicked about why my dog would bite someone).

The vet told us that his reaction was totally normal, and that if someone is going to try to separate two fighting dogs, there is a correct way to do so, and grabbing them from the hind legs isn’t it.

Well at that point, I thought we were done. But oh, no. The next day I come home and find a notice on our front door that animal control had come by and we needed to contact them about a bite case. Great. Come to find out, whenever a dog bites someone and it’s reported, the dog has to go into a 10 day quarantine. Luckily for us the animal control guy was really nice, saw what a good dog Jackson was, agreed that the guy working at the facility was an idiot, and let us do an at-home quarantine.
Jackson wasn’t super fond of being grounded, but at least they didn’t have to haul him away.

And did I mention that was only part of our July drama? Thank goodness it’s August…

My Little Mountain Man

So this week Bryan is off to Camp Helaman with the Boy Scouts in our ward. Usually he works with the 11 year old boys, but there are absolutely no 11 year old boys in our ward right now, so he's been recruited to help with the older boys. He is going up for a couple of days under the guise of Camp Cook. These boys have no idea what they're in for--I don't call Bryan the grill master for nothing! He's going to be serving up fajitas, steak, biscuits and gravy, and who knows what else. All I can say is those boys sure get a lot better food than we did at Girls Camp! Anyway, here he is sporting his new backpack.

Back from Some Much Needed R&R

Bryan and I just got home from spending the 4th of July weekend in Southern California, and it was just what we needed. We got in lots of beach time in Malibu (which unfortunately resulted in a bad sunburn/blistering for Bryan), some excellent shopping at the outlets in Camarillo (including new golf clubs for Bry and a new Coach bag for me), a Dodger game, good food and lots of laughs with our good friends Ana & John. With Bryan's business it's nearly impossible to get away for any extended period of time, but these long weekends always get us recharged...

Why I love every other Wednesday

When Bryan and I first got married, it seemed like we spent at least half of every Saturday cleaning the house. I love a clean house, but it wasn't exactly the ideal way to spend the one day a week we really had to do whatever we want.

Then while we were staying with some friends, they mentioned their cleaning lady. That of course got us thinking. I asked around and found out that here in Arizona pretty much everyone has a cleaning lady. Go figure.

Anyway, a friend from church recommended her cleaning lady, and every since then I've been coming home every other Wednesday to the sweet smell of lingering cleaning products. Obviously there is still plenty of housework to do in between her visits, but it's sure nice not to spend my Saturdays scrubbing toilets and mopping floors...

Voila!

I've had a couple of comments about the color we were painting the bedroom...the flash made the color on the roller look like this crazy bright blue, which it is not. It's actually a dark blue--like a navy blue, only a little bit brighter. I took this picture of the end result, but I think the flash did its thing again. In any case, we finished that little project and when you see it in person, it looks absolutely awesome. We did a bunch of finishing touches to our ocean inspired bedroom this weekend in addition to the paint, so it's looking great.

One thing I do have to say is that having a house adds a whole new dimension to the 'to-do' list...

Time for a Little Home Improvement

So just for the record, Bryan hates to paint. But in an effort to keep his wife happy, he agreed to help with this little painting project in our bedroom. Now granted, I had to do all of the prep and detail work, but I don't mind that part so much. And of course, I once again chose a color that will require at least three coats of paint...

I Survived Girl's Camp!

So I have to admit--as much as I was not looking forward to 3 nights in the wilderness, Girl's Camp ended up being a really great experience. First of all, my girls were awesome. None of the drama you might expect with 15 girls aged 14 and 15 ever even surfaced. (They were just part of the 380 girls that were at the camp).

In addition to some really great spiritual experiences, I had the opportunity to go rappelling and canoeing with some of my girls. Rappelling was not anything that I had ever really thought about doing, but it was really fun, once I figured out how the whole rope thing worked and was convinced that I was not going to fall to my death from the face of a cliff...

Indoor camping?

So last night I came home from Target and found this in my front room!

Next week I am going to Girl's Camp with the young women in my ward. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who is willing to take the day off to drive up and help us get set up, and he wanted to make sure that the tent was in proper working order (since we've never actually used it before).

I have to admit, the thought of camping in my front room is actually quite appealing...especially since there are no showers in the White Mountains.

I Heart North Carolina

Bryan and I got home from our trip to North Carolina this afternoon. We had a fabulous time, and absolutely loved it! Everyone always says that NC is so beautiful and so green...and I concur.

It was great to be able to spend some time with our friends Greta and Tom. They're the kind of friends that you only see every once in a while, but when you do, you always pick up right where you left off. I love that.

As far as the trip itself, we were able to see and do a lot. We visited multiple NASCAR Museums (the Richard Petty, Richard Childress and Winston Cup museums), enjoyed fabulous Japanese food (who knew you'd be able to find good Japanese food in Charlotte?), and of course went to the All-Star race on Saturday night. Little did we know that the Red Hot Chili Peppers would be performing at the race, so that was an extra little treat. Our other extra little treat was the rain...there were multiple rain delays before and during the race, so the race didn't even finish until about 1:00 a.m. But it was all good. We had great seats and a fun time just the same...

Welcome to our blog!

So we've finally succumbed to the latest technology. As more and more of my friends have created blogs, I find that it's a great way to keep up with what's going on in their lives, even when I don't get around to picking up the phone or writing that email. Hopefully we can now do the same. The goal is to update this at least weekly, so we'll see how we do!

Later this week we are off to visit one of my old college roommates and her husband in North Carolina. We've never been there, so we're really looking forward to it. (OK, so Bryan has been there before for business, but we're still excited.) We'll also get in the NASCAR All-Star race while we're there, which is a treat because we didn't plan for it. A couple of weeks after we booked our tickets for the trip, Greta called and told me that we were coming the same weekend as the race. Since she and her husband have only been in Charlotte for about a year, we decided it would be the perfect time to introduce them to America's favorite spectator sport. We're glad they are humoring us and going along for the ride!