waiting for mckay

i have been patiently awaiting McKay's arrival all day today. i can't wait to start the labor day weekend. i am bored, fidgeting with the Internet. so i decided to add a poll to my blog. i think it would be fun if you voted. thanks. i will try and update my poll every few days.

henry's helmet

The time has finally come. Henry got his helmet today. For those of you that don't know, he sort of has a flat spot on the back of his head. Along with the plastic surgeon and orthopedic DR - we don't want him to be made fun of in Elementary School. Anyway, I was afraid - I have to admit - that he would look totally lame in the helmet. But, to me and my MIL, is it possible that he could be any more adorable? Yes it is. We think he looks fab. So we will be getting people to put stickers on the helmet, kind of like signing a cast. So if you want to "sign" Henry's helmet - send or give us a sticker to put on the helmet. Although, M says that they have to approved by both me and him first...

cabin weekend

McKay's brother was in town a few weekends ago, so we headed up to the family cabin. Here are some pics:

My MIL playing the guitar. YES she really was playing Metallica.

Henry and Grandma bundled up for the sunset on the deck.

Henry and Grandma: sunset admirers

Yes just like mom - thumb sucker!!!

eddie bear

After my father-in-law passed away, some friends of my mother-in-law took some of his (FIL) shirts and sent them to this awesome lady in SLC. She then made these fab teddy bears out of them. So I really wanted one for Henry. M picked a shirt out that he most loved of his dad's and then we had it made into a bear. Courtesy of http://www.carriebears.com/

contemplating labor

so I have been hard at work trying to decide how to celebrate the perfect holiday - my holiday - LABOR DAY. I have Saturday planned so far. A perfect day of pre-expo scrapping with my two favorite scrappin buddies. Before that will be ANOTHER 1st time weigh in at WW and then a vigorous game of racquetball. I think I will also start pre-planning the pre-expo scrap by visiting a few stores on Friday before we hit it up big on Saturday. Still planning the rest of the weekend - stay tuned.

TGIF

TGIFinally here. Utah County has done something spectacular that I could put on my pros list for ever wanting to live here more than I have to. Freeway Meters. Between about Orem to Lehi there are freeway meters on every off-ramp, making my drive home that much more enjoyable and quick. I love freeway meters. It reminds me of when I was a kid and would go to Raging Waters every summer and sit on the waterslide anticipating the drop that was about to come waiting, waiting, waiting... for that meter to turn green. Thank you Utah County for making my 45 minute evening drive into 25, and for helping me feel like I am about to go on the best ride of my life.

labor day

I was talking to M and his brother about holidays. I can't really write exactly the conversation because I feel that people that don't know me may happen upon my blog and judge me as a terrible person. So basically we were talking about holidays and how I feel that I would like a holiday for me to celebrate that I could really relate to. We figured out that Labor Day would do the trick - for the working class people. I will, and am very much looking forward to, celebrating the HECK out of Labor Day. Because I am working class and I need a holiday.

UOP

Started school today. I have a 10 page paper due on self analyzation in like 4 weeks. Ugh.

nothing bundt cakes

I have really become obsessed with these bundt cakes. I actually dream about them somtimes. I have family from Las Vegas that came across the cakes a few years ago and have brought them to St. George for family get togethers. I haven't bundted in a while...then on the 4th of July everything happened so quickly. The Vegas family came, they brough 2 bundt cakes, and my life changed. I never remember them being so good. It has to be the "change" I went through after having H. So I looked up the website - www.nothingbundtcakes.com and found one in UTAH. Sick and wrong. Anyway, I have only been twice since the 4th of July so that isn't too bad. The best part is they have these little cakes called bundtlets that cost $4 and it is like 2 servings of delicious bundt. If you are in the Sandy area about 106 South, you have to go to this store. Anyway, thanks Stewart family for bringing me even further away from my weight loss goal than before :) Happy bundting.

tell me...

I thought I would play along to see if anyone really remembers anything good about me. I hope I made you laugh at least.

1. As you comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

new favorite website

I am kind of in love with shutterfly.com right now. My SIL made a book about my FIL last year after he passed away. The book was perfectly put together. She just made another one for our Iceland trip. So I am trying it out for all sorts of stuff. Love it. Thanks Kristy.

post bear fight

BEFORE

AFTER

new favorite product

I was toodling down the beauty aisle in Walmart and happened upon these. Its nail polish in a pen like dispenser that is user friendly. The polish does not go everywhere and it is an easy do-it-yourselfer, for those like me that give self mani/pedis like a two year old. Around $7 - totally worth it. Thanks Sally.

lame restaurant rant - bad service and foreign concepts

So I am a social worker and its kind of a thing that we social workers go out to lunch quite a bit. Well lately I have had the worst service ever. We have banned like 3 restaurants in our area in a week. This is quite embarrassing I must say, as I shouldn't be eating out this much...but I am thinking about following through with my plan to stick to a weight loss plan...alas, it may be karma that I have been running into crappy service lately at the local eateries.

Anyway, so again, along the restaurant line - M and I went out twice today. Gross, slovenly, and gluttonous, I know - what are you going to do? its the weekend. Can you tell I feel guilty, anyway, service was great, however we were no where near work territory today. But suddenly I realized that when you say to the host at the front - 3 and a baby - they look at you like you spoke in pig latin or something. Now I can say that I feel this is not rocket science or a foreign concept (finding something to put the baby in, a highchair or baby swing perhaps) because I have diligently been a part of a restaurant team a time or two. Its not that hard. It happened twice today. Both times, we walk in with H in his car seat and say a # of people and a place to put the baby carrier. Both times it took what seemed like several minutes for the nice, but confused, hostess to figure out what to do with the car seat. Oh well. No big deal. I just thought maybe someone else has had some restaurant experiences they would like to share.

iceland

Here are some pictures from our Iceland trip. I will add more later, McKay went fishing and I am sure he would like to show off his angling skills.

This was actually in the middle of our trip, but I wanted to put a picture with the whole family in first. So this is who went: Kristy, Mike, Boas, Jason, Me, Mckay, Nord, Wren, Whitney, and Karen. This was taken at the marina type area in the Westman Islands. We flew from Reykjavik over for a day tour. About a 20 minute flight. This was where Karen's ancestors are from.


McKay and I in front of the ever so fabulous Mall of America. We stopped over in Minneapolis/St. Paul to fly directly to Iceland. We went to the mall before and after the Iceland getaway.

Our second day we went on a tour of Reykjavik, the capitol city and where we stayed the whole time. The city is behind McKay. The large church has a statue of Leif Erickson - who founded America of course - in the front of it. This picture was taken on top of the big geothermal plant in the city, called the Pearl.

This was taken the first night we got there. It was rainy, however really beautiful. We stayed in a place right in the center of the city, about a 5 minute walk to the ocean shore.

McKay's ancestor performed the last execution in Iceland. Ask me about the story someday, its fun. Anyway, the ax that cut the heads of the executed off is in the National Museum. We snuck a few pictures.

We took a tour outside of the city one of the days. This is one of the several gigantic waterfalls in Iceland.

Our hotel was right on the main shopping street in the city. Yeah for me.

While at the Westman Island (home of the cute puffin bird) we had lunch. Mckay ate puffin meat prepared in two different ways. This was smoked. It was so disgusting. One of McKay's goals he wanted to accomplish in Iceland was to eat the delicacies. This was one of them.

We met the President of Icleand (Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson ). We also had a personal tour of his home. It was kind of crazy. In a good way.

More delicacy food. On the very left is dried haddock, rotten shark meat - with the flag -, sheep balls at the top (on the right of the egg), next to that blood pudding, and I don't remember the other nasty stuff. McKay also ate whale meat that night as well. He achieved all his eating goals by the end of the trip.

turnip

this was fun to find in the garden- well actually i didn't physically find it, but it was fun to see the finished product. As big as Henry's head. He has a big head.

ribeye

I have been obsessed with ribeye steak for about a month now. Its kind of embarassing. Anyway, I just had one for lunch and wanted to discuss how good it was. I went with a great friend of mine - who also reminded me that I need to update my blog - and it was cooked perfect and had some really fattening butter marinade sauce on it. Thanks Chili's. I want my baby back baby back baby back...I know you will laugh M.