And the battle begins

Christmas. I love Christmas time. However, the season marks the beginning of: Da Da Da Da!!!!

Willpower vs. chocolate chip cookies, symphony bars with toffee and almonds, gobstoppers (we battled tonight), peppermint ice cream, chocolate covered popcorn, carmel popcorn, M&M's, homemade carmel's, sugar cookies, cheese balls and crackers, eggnog, etc, etc, etc, the list continues. My willpower is severely outnumbered.

Tonight as I climbed Satan at the gym (the affectionate name of the big stair climber) I thought, I'm burning these 400+ calories to be able to go home and skip dinner and munch on Luke's candy he insists on having in the house. Is it worth it? Luke has willpower each day he takes a small square of the symphony bar and is done. Satisfied. I, on the other hand, take a square before I leave the house, a square when I come home, two squares after dinner, a square while I'm folding clothes, a few squares before bed.. by the end of the day its gone and he exclaims something like "Wow you really like the symphony bar don't you? I didn't even see you eat any!" In a house of only two its hard to put blame elsewhere.

Sigh...

Am I alone here? Does the season mark similar sentiments in you?

Poisoned???

Warning: Do not ingest

I had a serious migraine, my head was throbbing. At about midnight before I crawled into bed I decided to try to sleep it off with the assistance of Ibuprofen. I popped the pills and grabbed a glass of water from the counter and gulped them down, finishing the clear liquid in the glass. Before the last drop slid down my throat my entire esophagus was on fire. I was coughing, wheezing, gagging. Then my memory (why did it take so long) fired up and I remembered, Luke saying "I'm going to clean my toothbrush" and watching him use that same glass of liquid to scrub and sanitize his toothbrush with HYDROGEN PEROXIDE!!!! I gained control and called Luke into the room. We both found it pretty funny. We laughed for a minute and then thought we should check the bottle for warnings. It read "If ingested call Poison Control immediately". Our smiles disappeared quickly. Luke called Poison Control and was informed that Hydrogen Peroxide is used as an Ipecac for dogs. He was instructed to have me drink plenty of water, not let me sleep for a few hours, and not lay down for a few hours. Reminder: I ingested this stuff around midnight.

Consequently within 10 minutes I began to feel really sick. We spent an hour on the bathroom floor surrounded by pillows, him laying down, me propped up. About every 10 minutes I had the vomit sweats and shakes. By 3am I crawled into bed and attempted to sleep sitting up. Somewhat successful. I made it through the night with no vomiting!! Yeah!! The next day I was a little nauseous but able to function.

All in all, I'm fine now, we can laugh about it, and we have a great story about how my husband tried to poison me.

my sexy nighty

Now that temperatures have dropped below freezing I have been able to break out the most flattering nighty I own. I have wanted some of these forever. Whenever I put kids to bed I've always felt slightly jealous that I can't have my slippers adjoined to a full fleece bodysuit connected by one zipper. Sasha, whom I will forever be in debt, found some in the children's section, XXL but they fit!!! Now every night is a pink plush party. Luke loooovvess them!

Single????

I spent a little Cook sisterly time minus Amie (we missed ya Amie!) in St. George. About an hour before Katie left to drive to St. George I decided to join her. The reasons that convinced me this would be a good choice:
a. Both jobs, dictation and weddings, were closed for the weekend. I had no work
b. Luke was working on Halloween until midnight and I really, really did not want to spend the night alone.
c. Katie, who I might mention is 16, was driving all alone there and back
d. I'd get to see Nikee!!!!
e. Most importantly, Luke gave me permission

I threw random things into a bag grabbed my Halloween costume and left. While driving there I realized something I'd never thought about. Nikee is single. She lives with roommates. Nikee likes to party (in a not drinking way). Katie informed me that we were probably going to spend the weekend party hopping.

I forgot what it feels like to have all of the girls meet at one apartment/house and spend 4-5 hours getting ready (we really spent 4-5 hours!!!) We did each others makeup. We ratted each others hair. We tried on different outfits for opinions on which one was the best. We listened to loud music and sang along, me off-key. Around 10pm we left the house.

Halloween night we went to a party at a house first and then attended the Dixie Howl dance in a barn. I thought my moves would be out-dated, but apparently my moves are classic. I still fit in. I don't feel like I looked like the oldest person there, although I was. It was probably one of those moments when you run into someone from high school and you think, wow they look really old, I don't look that old. But they are thinking the same thing. Yeah, I felt like I fit in.

The next night, once again around 10pm, we headed out for a bonfire. Another taste of what the single life is like. There was dancing, singing, a lot of guys, a few girls, alcohol, and a huge fire. I felt really out of place. I was introduced as the "sister-in-law" but I don't think some understood. Katie and I stood there on the outskirts. We were told to be social and go meet people. We felt really awkward. It was about this time I slipped out of the group and sat on a rock in the dark and talked to Luke. Sigh..... Luke. We talked for about a half hour before I noticed Katie being swarmed on and had to leave to rescue her. I had her back.

What I learned.
1. I am really really really really glad I have a man like Luke.
2. I am really really really glad I am not single.
3. There are not a lot of good guys left out there, if there are some (Matt), they are few and far between.
4.I can't pull the all nighters. I can't stay up until 3-4am and get up 7am to go to school and/or work.
5. I am completely done with that part of my life.

It was such a fun weekend to spend time with Katie and Nikee and Nikee's hilarious roommate Amanda (pictured below as captain Vagina). I loved all of the good conversation. So much fun. All in all, I really missed Luke.

New England

I have been East many times, but never in the Fall! Luke had an interview in New Hampshire and I got to come along. We were able to stay with my sweet Grandparents which made the trip that much better. Here are the highlights:



Luke at a covered Bridge


Pretty fall colors


Downtown Plymouth


One of the many old farms we passed by to get to Hanover


A cool building on campus


Dartmouth, such a beautiful campus


Luke walking out of his interview. Doesn't he look handsome?

The Lady "Timp" at her best

I think you all can agree with me that Autumn is probably the best season to be in Utah. This year for my Golden Birthday (turning 28 on the 28th in 2008) I gathered a group of 20 enthusiastic family and friends to hike to the tin house. The day before the big hike, as we were making final preparations for the morrow, I called our hiking group and realized that one by one everyone was flaking out on me. Needless to say the next morning as we ventured out at 6am, I learned who REALLY loves me. Thanks Luke, Mom and Dad (who are both 55+), Jared, and little TJ. What an unforgettable day!!!


Sunrise






Fall at her best just above Aspen Grove



Jared taking on the glacier


TJ became known as the gazelle


View from the saddle


The six of us at the tin house. My parents are so cool they love hiking and the outdoors and have taught me to do the same. Thanks for a great birthday!

Road Trip *SEATTLE*

This last week Luke and I cruised north to Seattle. It was a LONG drive to do in one day. These are my highlights:

Pike Place Market: the flowers!!! I couldn't figure out a way to bring them home and make them last :(




San Juan Islands: We shipped our car along with us to San Juan Island to camp for a few days. On our way back it was all dark and foggy and I totally felt like I was on the movie "The Ring".




Kayaking San Juan: We camped on San Juan Island edged by the Puget Sound. Beautiful sunsets, fresh mountain/sea air, and unforgettable camping neighbors. The next morning we kayaked the Sound with a group. One of the most amazing things I've done.



Braving 46-degree water: We could not drive all they way to the ocean and not jump in. We even had a few spectators who wanted to see if we were crazy enough to actually get in.