The Great Catch Up

1. So yesterday was a great day! All of the women on my mom's side of the family got together to celebrate my Grandma's Birthday. I LOVE my Grandma! Really there are just so many great things about her, and she always makes me laugh and smile. We had not been together for a long time and it was so fun to see everyone and laugh! I come from great women. For dessert I made the BEST soft sugar cookies and promised that I would post the recipe. I wish that I could take the credit, but my sister-in-law Suzy shared the recipe with me. So ladies here it is:

Soft Sugar Cookies
* In Small bowl mix together:
1 c sour cream 1 tsp baking soda
set aside

Mix dry ingredients:
5 c flour 3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 1 ½ c sugar

Make a hole in dry ingredients and add:
1 c softened butter 3 eggs
Sour cream mixture 3 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon or almond extract

Chill if needed. Roll and Cut. Bake at 375 for 4-6 minutes. Frost with icing of choice

As far as the icing goes, I just kinda made it up with 4 oz of cream cheese, 1/3 cup butter, milk and powdered sugar.

2. I survived! I am SO glad Eric is home! He was in Houston for six days and man did I miss him! Thankfully, no one broke into my house in the middle of the night and I made in through the week alive. Since I am such a wimp, Momma J and I had a slumber party the whole week. Thanks Mom! Having Eric gone just reminded me how much I love him and how lucky I am to have him. I am so thankful that we are best friends and that we love being together so much! Thank you so much to those of you that called, kept me company, had me to dinner and made sure I was not too lonely!

3. After my massive post about DWTS, a lot of people have been asking me what I think so far. Here it goes. I can't get hooked for some reason, I watch it but I don't get excited. I really think Brooke adopted her baby, there is no way her stomach can look that good! I really like Warren Sapp, how his three hundred pound body is so light on his feet is beyond me. Cheryl still needs a new haircut. I am sick of Lance and Lacey pushing the envelope, enough with the chains on your costumes. Cloris is entertaining, but it is way time to go.

4. Presidential Elections: So I watched the debate this week, I am not impressed with either one. I am still up in the air about who will be my final choice. I have decided however that I think it should be mandatory that the nominee announce their cabinet choices before the elections. Who are they going to surround themselves with? You know who I would vote for..... that's right Tom Selleck!

5. Baby Mack is doing very well. He is quite the mover and shaker. Now when he kicks we can see my tummy move with him. I was amazed at this and so was Eric. He then asked me if I remembered that scene in Ailens and Spaceballs. I really missed Eric!

I am a FF Fanatic!

I don't know what happened to me over the weekend, something has been rewired in my brain. So on Sunday morning I get this frantic call from the Hubby in Houston asking me to look at his fantasy football lineup for the games that day. I locate the lineup only to find out that our (see I am even saying "our" instead of "his team") wide receiver is injured and is probably not going to be playing. I also look to see that we are playing another team who is favored to beat us, I must act quickly! I have never been into the whole fantasy geek football thing before so it took me a long time to figure it out, and my deadline was fast approaching. At exactly three minutes before the lineup was closed for trading out the teams bench I finally figured it out! I was a proud peacock, knowing how grateful Eric would be.

But then during church, my mind started wandering.... How is the team? How are our players? Has anyone been injured? Was it wise to take Braylon Edwards off the bench? I then looked at our opponent this week silently sitting in church and started to wonder if he was obsessed as I was. Then I was hoping that he would lose badly.

So I came home and checked and our team was looking okay. It was 86 to 89 and we had one more player to play Monday night..... Braylon Edwards our bench warmer. Oh no, would my trade work? Where was Eric when I needed the reassurance that our team was okay? Sure enough, our team ROCKED! 112-89 baby! Braylon was amazing and now might be my favorite player! I called to tell Eric the good news and we celebrated via cell phone. I am the BEST assistant manager/coach ever and I am completely perplexed as to why I care so much!

Tylenol Toby.... I Swear He Has Hidden Thumbs

So I have decided that I have waited long enough to blog about The T-dog. I just didn't want to appear like the obsessive people who live for their pets (even though sometimes I am one of them). But no, don't worry I don't wear T-shirts with the Tob's picture on it and I don't do the whole baby talk thing to him either, he is way too intelligent for such talk!

So, T-Dizzle has had a very stressful week. Today I left for a doctor's appointment to come home to find a Ziploc bag full of Tylenol (that I keep in my CLOSED nightstand drawer) on the floor in the front room. The bag had been chewed open and Tylenol was scattered everywhere. So I called the vet, and of course they recognized me as the owner of the dog that will eat anything. (Some of the things on T's wrap sheet include: a bottle of Tums that, were also in a closed drawer, snail bait, Benedryl that had the child cap on and pure vegetable oil. The beag has iron gut.) Well, Toby was really excited until we pulled up to the Vet's office where he promptly put on the brakes. I walked in and they greeted me with, "There is Tylenol Toby". So they take him back to make him throw up the Tylenol and I sit down to wait in the waiting room. Some busy body in the waiting room then asks how in the world my dog got an unspecified number of Tylenol. I felt like a neglectful mother. Needless to say, the Beagle Boy is recovering fine, a little stoned because of the medication and a little clingy because of the trauma but I don't blame him. I called to report to Eric and we decided that if we can't keep our dog out of trouble, maybe we aren't quite ready for Mack. But I am sure we will do fine!

A Few Frustrations

Okay, I am really not in a huge negative mood..... but it's time to vent. Lately I am really trying not to say a few words in prep for when baby comes and one of them is "hate". So this is my list of things that I am really disliking lately.

1. Insurance Customer Service: So a few days ago we get this bill in the mail from our old insurance carrier. After talking it over with Eric, we decided that we had met the deductible with that insurance and we really should not have to pay. And let's be honest the bill was over $200, so it wasn't like it was a $6 lab bill or something. So I get on the phone, keep in mind that I know next to nothing about insurance except that I am grateful to have it. So I explain the situation, and before I know what is going on, the lady is explaining ALL of the claims that we have had since we were married. And then she says, "Well with your accident in March of last year we have been paying out to your Accidental Supplemental Plan." Umm... what accident in March, and Accident what plan? I am completely confused and attempt to explain that there was no accident in March. Oh dear. So then she explains that they have processed every claim wrong including back surgery appointments, the hospital stay, the surgeon, physical therapy everything, so they will have to process everything again and that we really owe them about $1,000 for the whole Accidental Supplemental Plan. I panicked. A lot. She told me she would talk to her supervisor and call me back. Lots of prayers were said during that 15 minutes. So she calls back and I lost it. I mean I kinda fell apart. The tears were flowing and I was explaining that I didn't know anything about insurance lingo, that we weren't even on their plan anymore, that my memory stinks, and that I was pregnant and not sure if I could handle this. She listened through my sub subs, said "oh dear" and told me she would call me back again. She called back and said that after talking to her supervisor, that this seemed like such a unique situation. She said she felt sorry for me and instead of processing everything again and possibly having to pay the 1k, that if I wanted to I could just pay the $200 and be done. Sure thing I replied, signed, sealed and delivered.

2. Rocky Mountain Power: Okay, I know it's just like the insurance thing, I am incredibly thankful to have both insurance and power. So Salt Lake had the hottest summer ever, so as a result I had the air conditioning on a lot. If I got too hot, it was pass out city. So we get our bill in July. HUGE amount. What? Our condo is not small, but by all means it is not as big as a house! I am in total shock over the amount and I could tell Eric was as well, but didn't want to say anything. Eric is sweet, but not all husbands are so understanding about there wives heating and cooling issues. I am sure the Rocky Mountain is the root of a many divorce. So, I vow to try to improve. Thankfully August came and it had dropped $75 (keep in mind not to $75 but dropped by $75, that should give you some idea about how bad it was. And I am still sure that there was some sort of mistake.) So it is better now, but it still bugs me so I am hoping this little vent might cure me of my animosity.

3. Ghetto Smiths: So the Smith's by our house is totally Ghetto Smiths. It's not very clean, they are ALWAYS short staffed and there are always men out in the parking lot asking for money or trying to sell you something. But prices are pretty good and it is close. So a couple of nights ago, Eric and I struck up the deal that if I went grocery shopping, he would clean the kitchen while I was gone. Great! I really like shopping at night and I got a lot done this night. My cart was pretty full so I go to checkout. Not one checkstand is open. Huh? Only the four self checkouts were open with a line from Salt Lake to Tahiti. I look at the time just because I was curious how long this would take me. And of course the people in line behind me were less than thrilled when they saw how full my basket was. But honestly I couldn't let everyone behind me with a few items go because the line was SO long. So I finally get to my checkout, the scanner won't scan anything! I complain to the girl and she has to scan them at the main desk and then acts like I am slow and can't handle it by myself! AHHH!! It's not my fault there is an angry mob behind me armed with milk and eggs, and your scanner is on meltdown. So I finally get done. How long did it take me from when I got in line to when I got in the car to drive away? THIRTY-FIVE minutes!

Okay, thank you I feel much better. Really quite a bit. I am thankful for the grocery store, power and insurance but it felt good to let it all out. One more thing where is Tom Selleck?

DWTS Thoughts

What's wrong with me this year? I am not glued to me TV, hosting girl's night watching Dancing with the Stars! I don't know why, but I am not quite loving it this season. But I did DVR it and watch all three episodes while Eric was sawing logs next to me at night. Here are my thoughts:

1. Where is Tom Selleck? For the love, where is Tom?

2. Lance: Okay, he can move and he can dance, but a little too feminine for me. ( Yes, I know he is gay) I guess when you expect Tom Selleck and you get Lance Bass there is sure to be a little (to a lot) of dissappointment. I don't love Lacey his partner either, she doesn't scream ball room to me and I can't figure out why every outfit has to have chains on it. But they will do well in the competition.

3. Rocco: He is cute and he cooks. I kind of like him. I don't think he is the best dancer, but hey I like him. Karina is too tan!

4. Misty: I was shocked with her performance! I was totally expecting her to be a lot more masculine but she wasn't. I really like Misty (and I really want her legs), but I never have liked the bad boy of the ballroom Maksim. Isn't that kind of an oxymoron, bad boy of ballroom? Get over yourself, you are not that hot and you use more product in your hair than any man should.

5. Maurice: I Love Maurice, that's right world's fastest man. That man can move! Talk about rhythm! He is fun and energetic and I was very impressed! Cheryl you need a new hair cut, get rid of the shag that you have had forever. Heck, I don't care put in some extensions! Something, really anything different!

6. Toni: Okay, I am biased (Suzy don't kill me) but I don't like Toni. I saw her on Broadway in my all time favorite musical Aida and she butchered it. Really she killed it.

7. Cody: I love little boys and I love this one. He is a cutie and I am impressed with his ability to focus when that cute Julianne is around. I think that they will do pretty well, but I don't think they will take it all. Was I the only one that thought Julianne looked like Christina Agulaira (ya... I know I can't spell) Monday night?

8. Cloris: Hmm.. Good for you that you are in your 80's and dancing, but really before the show stay out of the bottle. She seems way too tipsy to not be sloshed! She doesn't dance well at all, but she is semi-entertaining. But her antics are wearing on me already. Corky, well your name says it all!

9. Brooke: Yup you can move and you are hot. I secretly habor ill feelings towards you because you stomach looks like that after giving birth six months ago. Derek, I never know how to feel about you. You remind my of the drama nerds in High School. I kinds expect you to end up on the Maury Show titled "Confronting Your Bullies: Look at Where I am Today".

10. Susan: I LOVE that Cary Ann told you to put on the ol' lbs. You need to. You are too fragile looking. Tony, why are you always paired with the older ladies.

11. Jeff: Glad you are gone even though I really liked your sense of humor. I am quite certain that a many a husbands will now stop watching the show because Edyta is gone.

12. Ted: I liked you, in fact I liked you a lot. I am way bummed you are gone. You had the whole gentleman thing down really well and that was attractive! Brooklyn girl, you kinda bugged.

13. Warren: You are amazing and I was way impressed with you being so light on your feet. I hope you stay a long time. Kim, I like you but it kinda looks like you had a botched plastic surgery job over the summer.

14. Kim: Well, you are totally sleazy. But I have to be honest, having a "booty" myself it is nice to be represented. Mark, you are a cutie and I am hoping that one day you don't turn into Corky!

15. Where is Tom?

Guardsman's Pass and Acme

So last Monday Eric and I decided that we needed to take advantage of fall and go on a "Fall Drive". One of our favorite things to do together is to go on road trips, mini ones and not so mini ones. Don't ask me how this came to fruition, especially with my tendency to get motion sickness. But alas, we are drivers. So this is a picture of our drive up to Guardsman's Pass (the dirt road link between Big Cottonwood Canyon and Parley's Canyon), it was spectacular! We decided to drive through Midway and Heber instead of heading home through Park City. I think that this was for sure the best idea because the breathtaking scenery was after the PC exit.

In other news, we had a bunch of friends from the ward over last night to play games and do the chillin' thing. It was so much fun and thanks to all of you that came! We are trying to get to know other couples and it has been a lot of fun. Anyway, this was such a fun dynamic group and we can't wait to do it again. Special thanks and props go out to the hubby who cleaned all day in prep for said chillin' event. I attempted to help, but Eric really transformed into Mr. Clean (except that Eric has more hair)!

So the other night we are laying in bed and I stomp out of the bathroom frustrated at what pregnancy has done to my face. I am a loyal customer of Proactive, but really it hasn't been working through the pregnancy (see earlier posts about my "mountain range"). So anyway, I get into bed huffing and puffing waiting for Eric to ask me what is wrong. Wisely he picks up on this and asks. This is how our conversation went:

Eric: What's wrong Babe?

Me: (huffs and puffs) My face is breaking out AGAIN!

Eric: Oh stop I can't see anything.

Me: This....this huge cluster of zits! (Moving my bangs to display the cluster)

Eric: Oh honey, that is nothing! It doesn't even look like "Acme".

Then it occurred to me. Eric has had such perfect skin his whole life, so he doesn't even know that it is acne, not acme! I hope Mack gets his papa's skin!

Happy Birthday MJ (Momma J)!

Okay, I love my Momma! Any of you who know me, know that MJ and I are tight. Anyway, it is her birthday today and I wanted to wish her a Happy Happy! There is something so special about my mom, and I have always known that. She is compassionate, cheerful, dang funny, and such a support to both Eric and I! She will be the best Grandma to Mack and I so much appreciate how great she has been during those lovely "pregnant moments" when I have not quite been myself. Anyway Happy Birthday Mom, you are the best mom and the dearest friend anyone could ask for!

Whoops, I think I just let Baby's name slip! That's right we are naming him Merrick (Eric is still thinking of a middle name) Larsen, and calling him Mack for short. This is after Grandpa Blake who we both love and admire!