I learned to knit!

Yep, it's true! I've always wanted to learn, and even tryed when I was little, but wanted to try again. I bought yarn and needles at the supermarket while at the farmhouse this weekend, and sat down with Ch. After about 10 minutes of showing me the same simple stitch again and again, I finally got it. Then after about 15 rows of really ugly mistakes, my doll scarf is finally looking kinda like a scarf. I feel like such an old lady in the evenings, I go home and knit, and go to bed early! I am an old lady!

Dear Farmhouse: Here I come!

E's family is opening the farmhouse this weekend for Easter, after a lot of pressure from their soon to be daughter-in-law (me!). At first E’s mom said no, then she started to crack, and now everyone is very much looking forward to a weekend away.

So, a “typical” farmhouse weekend starts Friday afternoon when I leave my office at 4:00 or so, E and I pile into the car with all our stuff (bikes, crafts, dolls, and clothes) and we start off. After about an hour of fighting with traffic through Utah Valley, we exit at Spanish Fork and the beautiful drive begins, after dinner, of course. We always stop at Little Acorn at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon and get a burger and fries, and oh man, are they good!

About 45 minutes later we pull into Mt. Pleasant and arrive at the farmhouse. Usually Friday night we just dink around and relax. Sometimes I take a bath in the very deep farmhouse bath, and then snuggle in the feather bed with E.

Saturday morning we sleep in, late! Usually E and I get up and head to Stew’s Home Plate for a greasy breakfast. We get eggs, bacon, coffee, scones and hash browns, and damn is it good!

By now it’s already middle of the day, and E and I love to drive and explore. We drive to all the small towns with our cameras ready for pictures of abandoned houses, hawks, or baby animals. I love to explore the abandoned houses, but easily get creeped out, and E keeps watch for me.

Then we head back to the farmhouse tired and happy, we usually have a nap and a little snack of chips and salsa (as you can tell, this isn’t the healthiest of weekends). By now, E’s family is there, and we chat with them. E’s family is wonderful, they all talk so much more than an average family, and we laugh and laugh (usually about really stupid dirty jokes that Ch gets embarrassed about).

Then we make dinner. In the summer we’ll have a roast, a BBQ, or pizza. We always love to hang around outside, relax some more and just enjoy the time we have down there. In the middle of the summer we love to bring the telescope down, set it up, and look at the stars for hours.

Sunday we love to sleep in, then we make an old fashioned breakfast on the coal stove “Old Betsy.” We make bacon, eggs, potatoes, and toast, and we always drink juice! After we clean up, we head outside again, just to hang out, or we’ll go on another drive. This weekend we’ll have an egg hunt.

After another long nap, we have a little snack, clean up, and head home. This type of “typical” farmhouse weekend really is wonderful, and I’m looking forward to my second Easter down there this year!

Photo caption: E’s family’s corral in springtime

One two three, one two three, back step…

I’ve never been able to dance, not a spin, not a step, nada. Well my dance class is going really well. The steps seem simple enough, and I’ve already learned quite a few turns and spins! It’s quite fun, and E is really good, even though he says otherwise.

So my mom moved out last weekend, I helped her on Saturday unpack at the new house. It was sad, but not horribly. I haven’t seen what my dad’s house looks like, left partly empty and alone, it will be hard to see.

Nothing much else is new, other than it finally warmed up last weekend. E and I went biking and had a BBQ at Sugarhouse Park with friends; it was nice to finally get outside!

Good bye Utah madness, Hello Italy!

I am so excited! E and I just booked a tour for our honeymoon in Northern Italy this September. We will leave the 14th and get back the 29th.

Here is the link to learn more: Italy Tour

Thanks for sharing in my excitement! My shitty day turned around, and I am so happy!

I’m depressed, wedding woes

My parents are getting a divorce, they’ve been married 28 years and the year of my wedding they decide to split. I shouldn’t act selfish, but I am, this is my year. Because of this, everything is fragmenting.

My mom’s best friend Heather is someone I’ve loved and cared for my entire life. She doesn’t agree with my Mom, and wants nothing more to do with her which saddens me, a lot. I’m going to miss her family and their friendship. And it really sucks that this is all happening right before my big day, because I really wanted her and her family to be there. I remember back in August when my mom and I were planning the wedding she said something like “as long as Heather makes it, then I’m happy” and now it looks like that’s not going to happen.

Also, my brother and his girlfriend (whom I really like) are not doing so hot. I wanted her to be a bridesmaid at my wedding, but the broke up yesterday for the second time, and I think that it might be best if the split. That is fine, I want my brother to be happy, but this is all happening at once. So I lost two bridesmaids, and I’m down to three (which is fine, but it does make me sad).

My wedding guest list has shrunk, by about 20% which means we might be too small for the larger room at the Ahwahnee. We can still be in the larger room, but we still need to reach our minimum, which is a huge number, and paying that much for a small party is a lot of money. I wish my guest list would grow again, and then this all wouldn’t be such a problem.

E is angry, I am hurt, and everything is cracking. We both want this to be our year, but it has turned out that everyone had other things on their mind, and the wedding is more an inconvenience than a celebration. Shit.

I'm an old fart

25, it seems so old. I know its not, but I'm really not a kid anymore. It is crazy, I always wanted to get married when I was 25 (okay, I admit, when I was 12 I told everyone that I was going to marry at 30) and this is the year I will marry. Wow!

This last year has been a huge one for me, HUGE. I took my first international trip and paid for the entire thing myself, I got engaged in Africa to the man of my dreams, I had a relapse of anxiety (but am all better now, thank God!), my parents got worse worse and worse, until they decided to divorce. My mom bought her first house alone and is moving out next weekend. I dealt with the death of my kitty Smudge, found a new kitty Boo and dealt with her death too, I have planned my entire wedding with only E because my family has had many other things on their mind, all within the last year.

However, I am happy. E and I are planning our honeymoon, we decided on Northern Italy! We will go next September. E’s family has been wonderful, and I’m growing closer to them all the time, and my wedding plans are coming along without any major headaches.

So, here is a list of what I got for my birthday:
Gift Certificate to Home Depot from my dad so I can plan my garden this spring, he says this is the year of “new growth!”
Beautiful placemats, salt and pepper shakers, and a tin bird from my mom
Tanning lotion from my sis (so I can look hella hot this summer)
A beautiful doll dress from E’s family, one that I asked for!
Lots of doll things from E. I put a list together, and he got me everything I wanted, he is so wonderful.

So, now I’m off to sushi lunch (my pick because it’s my birthday!) Til next time…

101 Days to go!!!

One hundred and one days to go until I'm a wife, that’s crazy! I can’t wait to get married, I truly can’t. I am so excited.

And, tomorrow night E and I start our dance class. We’re going to learn to waltz, fox trot, and swing so we can actually look decent on our wedding day.

101 days to go....

Birthday wishes and To Dos:

My birthday is a week from today! I turn a quarter of a century, which seems really old to me. 25, already, wow. I still feel 19.

So, everyone has been asking me what I want. I just keep thinking the wedding is costing enough, but I’ve tried to think of some things. So, I want some money to plant my garden this year, silk flowers for the house, doll stuff (of course!), and maybe a massage at a spa.

The weather is teasing me, as it does every year in late March. One moment it feels like spring, the next moment it’s snowing again. Oh well, spring will be here.

As far as things for the wedding, I’ve been marking “to dos” off like crazy.

I decided on my DJ, ceremony music, and officiant last week, which was the last of the vendors to pick! I picked an online flower wholesaler that will supply all my roses and double checked with the hotel that I could store them in their fridge.

I’ve started the reception worksheet, and picked three amazing dinners that will be served, the most extravagant being “Pan seared Filet Mignon of Angus Beef wit green peppercorn- madeira sauce with market fresh veggies, house made rolls, and accompaniments.” I don’t even know what medeira sauce is, but it sounds good!

We’ve decided on red water bottles as favors, and we’ll have them personalized with our names and “Yosemite 2006”. They will be quite neat for a national park wedding!

Invites are one thing that is causing me trouble, damn those things are expensive! I even have printing contacts and such, but it doesn’t help much. E and I designed our own invite that we quite like; hopefully we’ll be able to get it printed soon.

I’m still unsure on the guest count, and am honestly hoping more people than I expect will show up, but many have declined. Oh well.

E and I have also been thinking about our honeymoon, and Northern Italy is still on the top of our list, but we’ll see if we can afford something like that. I hope we can!

World Traveler

I pretend I’m a world traveler, but I’m not. I’m an imposter.

But, this time last year E and I were enjoying our first trip abroad - a week in London. We were very nervous and excited about seeing the sites and eating at a famous English Pub.

London was actually pretty easy to negotiate . The tube system is simple! And we were also able to take buses and boats without a problem. We did everything a London traveler has on their list: we visited Westminster Abbey, the Parliament, rode the Eye of London, visited Hampton Court, toured St. Paul’s Cathedral, ate at way to many pubs, visited the British Museum, saw Phantom of the Opera and did about everything else.

E and I stayed with my aunt and uncle on the heart of Chelsea, so we got to have a local’s taste of all the fantastic restaurants in London. Whoever said the Brits don’t know how to cook, obviously don’t know where to go to eat!

On the last day we took a train to Bath and explored the Roman Bath house, and also walked all around the town. The weather turned warm and we enjoyed every moment of it. My first taste of being a world traveler was worth every penny.

Zion

Last week was hell; it truly was, with Boo dying and all. I didn’t end up getting a chance to post about my awesome trip to Zion National Park with E’s family. E and I had never taken a trip with his family, other than to his farmhouse, so we were really looking forward to it. E’s dad rented a really nice place in Springdale that had a hot tub and we ate at lots of incredible restaurants.

During the day we did what any girl with a break needs- hike. We hiked long and steep trails, short and easy trials, we hiked and hiked. We went to incredible view points and enjoyed absolutely perfect weather. We explored a pioneer cemetery, and ate lunch at the lodge. I even talked to E’s sister about dolls (our favorite subject) in the hot tub under the stars. We had a wonderful time. We came home rested and ready to start a new week, I just wish that week hadn’t been so horrid, because Zion was absolutely spectacular.

Booberry

Last May on a snowy evening at the farmhouse E heard a little cry from the long grasses as we were unloading our car. He went to investigate and found a tiny stinky black kitten. She was scared and wet and cold. Our hearts melted and we brought her into the house and gave her a bath and some cat food.

Over the next few days she got sicker and sicker and her smell got worse. We were afraid she was dumped by her owners because they knew she was sick. Once we returned home with a cat we knew we could not keep (we already had three) we took her to the vet. An $8.00 shot of antibiotics and rest for a few days made her good as new.

E and I needed to find her a home, before we became too attached. She was one of the sweetest cats we had ever met. Because my family had lost their old kitty not too long before, we asked them if they wanted to adopt this little black girl. They were hesitant, she wasn’t a tiny kitten, more likely four months old, and she had been sick and would need a few more days of rest away from their other pets.

Finally they decided that they would try her out, and give her a home. E and I were so happy! It would have been heartbreaking to give her to the Humane Society only in hopes that she’d get a home. Well she fit right in. My youngest brother Ch fell in love with her. She was so playful and very silly. Everyone adored her. As soon as she could meet the other pets, we found out that she loved dogs. She followed our dog Bingo around for hours trying to get his attention.

They decided to name her Boo.

Boo stole everyone’s heart. She ran everywhere and never gained an ounce. She was a very happy kitty. My dad originally didn’t want another cat, but he fell the hardest for her. And Boo loved my dad back.

Last night my dad called wailing over the phone. I heard Mogha died. “What?” I asked getting instantly scared. “Magaa died!” “Mom died! How?” My heart fell, I couldn’t breathe. “No, Boo died, in the clothes dryer.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was so happy that my mom was still alive, I thought for a few horrible seconds that she was gone. But now the reality, Boo had died. I told my dad I’d be right over, and then I sobbed into E’s arms. I sobbed because I had thought I had lost my mom, and was so happy it was Boo, not her. I sobbed because I was so happy, and finally I sobbed the hardest because my sweet little kitty Boo had met a terrible fate.

She had died, spun around in the hot dryer, scared to death, until she died. It just broke my heart. It made me sick to think about. We drove up to my family’s house, and everyone was in tears. My dad was sobbing, Ch was sobbing, B was outside sobbing behind the garage, M was holding her boyfriend sobbing, and my mom was sobbing. I hugged my mom, and told her how happy I was she was alive, because I thought for a horrible moment she had gone.

We all tried to comfort each other, but to no avail. I couldn’t cry anymore. I couldn’t think. Booberry was gone. My dad had had a horrible day, he was very sad about the divorce, and now this. Ch broke my heart when he said “why, now? She was only one, and why now? When everything else is going on?”

I left broken hearted. I told E it was okay to cry, he loved Boo as much as any of us, after all, he’s the one that found her on the cold snowy day less than a year before. Finally when we got home, E’s tears came. They dripped down his cheeks. Mabel, one of our most loved cats, came over to see what was wrong, and licked the tears off his eyelids. I think she was trying to tell us all kitties got to heaven.

Photo caption: Boo and me right after her first bath at the farmhouse.

20 things I want to do at least once in my life

My dad and I talked the other day and we spoke about things that really matter. Of course there is family, and health, etc. But we also talked about what matters to the individual. My advice to my dad, as he looses his 28 year marriage, is to find out what he’s always wanted to do, and do it. Simple as that. I also want to compile a similar list, of twenty things I want to do at lease once in my life. As far as my dad goes, I think he’ll planning a fishing trip to Alaska.

Fall in love, deeply and truly (I’ve done that!)

Swim in the ocean at night

Take a road trip through Canada

Ride an elephant in a jungle

Volunteer for orphaned children

Visit at least one national park in each state

Go sailing in the Mediterranean

Learn to grow peonies

Spend a whole day in bed

Raise a child

Travel to at least six of the seven continents

Skinny dip! (I’ve done that too)

Splurge by spending a day at a spa

Eat pizza in Italy from a street vendor

Share my love for toys with a child

Own a old home, and fix it up

Run in an official race

Build a tree fort with a rope ladder and trap door

Climb to the top of a very tall mountain (I’ve done this one)

Get married to the man of my dreams