The "M" Word

Mortgage, that is...

Here are some photos of my soon-to-be "ball and chain."
It's in Clearfield and I should close (fingers crossed) May 15 or so!

The front of the house. (I neglected to get a "full-body" shot)

The front room (paint is actually a beautiful dark green).

The kitchen

The family room (kitchen, dining and family room part of a great room).

Backyard complete with a swingset and playhouse for Adi! The patio also has stamped concrete.

Master bathroom

Master bedroom. Those "nobs" are actually little reading lights!

GOAL!!!

A training session at work a few weeks ago concluded with a challenge: List 101 Goals. There were no limits, no boundaries. It was no easy task, but I managed to create a full list! I thought it was completely cathartic and certainly fun to dream up a string of possibilities. Here are a few, some legit while others a bit more frivolous:

* Exercise more regularly

* Pay off my car

* Buy a house (DONE!! Post on that coming up next) 

* Go skydiving, hopefully for my 35th birthday

* Return to Japan

* Fly first class

* Be on the Ellen Degeneres Show

* See the musical "Wicked"

* Take singing lessons

* Read 100 books in a year

* Become a Senior Publicist

* Launch my own Public Relations company

* Cut my hair for Locks For Love

* Travel to Spain

* Visit the Louvre

* Write a novel

* Take piano lessons again

* Learn to swim

Well ... the list goes on and on. So I hereby challenge all of you to come up with your own 101 Goals! See where your wishes, dreams, desires and ambitions take you. Tell me your top 5, you might inspire me to add even more to my list! 

A Fowl Meeting

Every morning on my drive to work, when I don't detour to Starbucks (I'm a sucker for the chai tea latte!), I drive pass the Layton City Park, aka the Duck Park. 

Now the water is actually a lovely walk deep into the park and not near the street, but one morning as I was driving by, I noticed a flurry of fowl, a gaggle of geese, a myriad of mallards.

 

It appeared to me like Mr. I-Once-Was-An-Ugly-Duckling GooseNeck had called a meeting of all the feathered inhabitants to discuss the severe stale bread shortage (this was during the cold winter months, afterall). It was either that, or the city park officials had rustled up the crew and herded them away from their watery home. A little Pre-Spring Cleaning perhaps? 

Well, over the ensuing weeks, I've realized this is a regular gathering. Clearly there must be a very important aviary revolt about to surface. 

You've been warned! 

12 things I can't live without...

I was just flipping through a magazine and saw this "12 Things" feature and thought it might make a fun blog entry (since my life is pretty dull, I'm always looking for interesting stuff to blog about).

Here goes... (in no particular order)

12. Magnetic Dry Erase Boards: First off, I love to write things down and then be able to wipe them off when I complete them! Then I have this amazing, growing collection of magnets and I gotta put them somewhere, right?

11. Napolean Dynamite talking doll: I LOVE this doll! He says 17 phrases from the movie! GOSH!

10. KitchenAid Mixer in Emerald Green: Not only does it help make the best homemade bread ever, but it's stylish, too!

9. Digital Camera: I would never have started this blog without it. 

8. Weight Watchers meals and snacks (where the points are already configured): A scale-saver

7. iPod ... and my general music collection: Has revolutionized my life.

6. Other electronics stuff ... laptop, iHome alarm clock radio/iPod dock, cell phone: They have all become like additional appendages

5. Lotion: Dry climate = Need for vats of lotion

4. TiVo: Again, has revolutionized my life. Enhances my couch potato-ness

3. Pilot G-2 gel pens, black ink, medium point: I love these pens! 

2. Notebooks: Gives me a place to use those gel pens.

1. Memory foam mattress topper: Sleeping on a hideabed for the past few months ... well, it's a God-send!

New Jersey-ites in Utah!

Here are some great photos from the past week...

Adi LOVED her tent ... she asked for it nearly every day!

Such a silly girl!

The Easter Bunny found Adi!

She got a new Easter dress, hat, purse ... man that Bunny has got some style! And ... she got not one, but TWO new babies! A sleepy baby (above) and the "BIG Baby" (in the background)! What a generous Easter Bunny!!

Did the Easter Bunny bring Guitar Hero?? Nope ... it was Jeff's two generous sisters spoiling him on his 30th birthday!

Dressed in their Easter Sunday best.

Kohen was all dressed in a pin-striped suit for his uncle Jarett's wedding. Here he's enjoying some "Wind, Wind, Wind the Thread" with Grandma Beth.

Just can't resist those cheeks!

A Daddy's Girl for sure!

Kohen LOVES his Aunt Jenn!

I can't wait for these guys to move back to Utah!! Next month Jeff, Juline, Adi and Kohen will be Utahns once again!!

Birthday Boy!

Jeff turned the big 3-0 while in Utah and Juline and I conspired together to throw him a surprise birthday party at ABC Mandarin in Roy! He was totally surprised!!