Has it Really Been That Long?

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. My, how time flies. I am all sorts of nervous right now. This is for a variety of reasons.

1) I have a final due in two days. And, as usual, I have procrastinated working on it. But I anticiipate I will get it done, as I usually do.

2) I had a job interview last week and I am waiting to hear back about it. I'm not sure if I want the job, but I still want them to want me. I'm a bit of a tease that way. Always have been.

3) The dress samples for the dress business are on their way to me and I can't wait to see how they turned out. Hopefully, good!

That's a lot to be nervous about, I think. My GPA, my livelihood and the potential for my little business are all significantly affected. How is a girl supposed to get anything done!?!?

But get things done, I must. I will fill you in on recent happenings, aside from anxiety, later. I gotta get back to my actual job that pays my bills.

I Don't Think I'm Ready

I read an article from the Washington Post today that was linked on Facebook by one of my friends. It was about Mormons. I am, of course, always curious about what kind of attention we're getting. We've been in the news a lot over the last year or so, and it's a cumbersome thing to keep up with our media attention, but I like to try. It's not really a dutiful act. I am just curious. What are people saying about us now?

Well, I think this article was an eerie foreboding of things to come with the ramping up of the presidential race. And I remember a recent NPR interview with Joanna Brookes a week ago Sunday that predicted as much. For the record, I liked the interview. I thought it was very objective and informative. The link to that interview is here.

The Washington Post article, however, wasn't very representative of my experience with the faith or its teachings, which is why I'm not linking to it. It also wasn't flattering in any way -- which is why I didn't like it. It's not so much because the article wasn't true. On the contrary, I'm totally fine with journalists lying about my faith in print. But the general rule about lying is, if you're going to tell a lie, it should be a nice lie. This article was decidedly neither honest nor nice.

It's all probably going to start getting very ugly. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready for it. I suppose I'll just have to brace myself, as I don't really have an option. Here it comes....

Fasting

I am waiting on some things.

#1 -- for a job interview call
#2 -- that I hope may result in a new job
#3 -- to finish my classes & degree (one month to go. I can do it)
#4 -- to move

And for some reason, this has resulted in fasting. Not food fasting. No, no. I am definitely an eater. Fasting these days includes:

#1 -- shopping fasting. Since July, believe it or not. And I think I will hold out till one of the above things I'm waiting for happens before I break said fast. I even returned my birthday presents, so not even that was given an exception.

#2 -- working out. For some reason, I can't get myself there. It's only been about a week. But even the few weeks before that I only got there once each. I think I'm just too mentally overwhelmed and full of anticipation.

Fast #1 is definitely deliberate. Ben was pretty unpleased when I took birthday items back to the store. But I just don't really want anything. And I want the satisfaction of shopping when I really have some exciting news to shop for. Weird? Perhaps. But it should benefit our bank account. I could do worse.

I'm hoping my end to fast #2 comes sooner than my end to fast #1, since I don't anticipate any of the items I'm waiting for will bring an end to fast #1 within the next few days. But I'll get there. Whatever funk I'm ever in eventually goes away.

Shew, funk. Shew.

Clothing Conversations

Over the past weekend, Ben and I have had a few comic exchanges in regards to wardrobes. They were too amusing not to share. J

Friday morning, before I am about to leave for work:

Ben: Sharon, you look really nice today.

Sharon: Aw. Thank you.

Ben: Yeah, really nice. Kind of like Christmas.

Sharon: It's September. I'm not supposed to look like Christmas. Maybe I should go change.

Ben: No, no. Really I like it.

(memo: if you want to compliment someone's outfit, steer clear of telling them they remind you of a holiday – especially if it's not that holiday)

Sunday, while watching general conference and the speaker is giving men tips on how to raise daughters:

Sharon: I think we're only going to have girls.

Ben: No, we're only going to have boys. And they're all going to have red boots.

Sharon: Why would we give our boys red boots?

Ben: I don't know.

Sharon: Well, if our sons are getting red boots, I have to have a pair of red boots too.

Ben: **audible groan

(Admittedly, I'm still trying to figure out what possessed Ben to say boys need red boots. Where does he come up with this stuff!?!)

Sunday, when I bring the 3 loads of laundry that I washed last Sunday, but never put away, out to the living room to fold:

Ben: Holy Cow! You have so many clothes!

Sharon: Ah, and yet not enough. It's such a paradox.

(Too true. Too True.)

Growing Up and Getting Married

Ben and I celebrated our THIRD anniversary on Monday. It's not a whole lot of years in the grand scheme of things. But it makes me feel like we're established. When I think about what being married over the past three years has taught me, I would say one of the biggest lessons has been how much we're all really still kids. But I get to act like it again, now that I'm married.

I like to cuddle a lot. And now, I get to be cuddled almost every night. I used to be cuddled a lot when I was little too.

Marriage has caused Ben and I to engage in more tickle fights, wet willy attempts and thumb wrestles than I have waged in all of my previous adult years.

I have to share again. This includes taking turns to kill the spider, wash clothes, eat the last few bites of ice cream or drive to wherever it is we have to go.

There is other sharing too. Decision making over expenditures is no longer an independent choice and I have to check with someone else about my schedule now before I make commitments or tell someone they can come over to play.

What I'm really saying is, most of my adult life was a farce. So, for all the singles out there, you don't really need to try to be such a grown up. Because when you get married, you're just going to be a kid again anyway.

Books

Ben and I have been cleaning house little by little, organizing our paperwork, throwing out things we don't need, and figuring out what we actually have. I took this opportunity to reassess my relationship with my book collection. I don't re-read books very often. And they take up all this space. And things seem to be going digital. Should I? They're so heavy. Do I really want to take them with me when we go?

The Verdict: I got rid of probably 70% of my book collection. I kept the books that I had on display, ones of specific sentimental value, reference books that may be hard to come by at a library, and my school books. That's it. I sent the rest to good will. It's done. I can't go back.

I have now put my boots and other shoes on my book shelves, as my shoes didn't seem to have enough room on the shoe rack. I must say -- my book shelves look so much better now.

First Wart

What a milestone to be having, right? I'm sure my mother would be very proud. Of course, I blame this on Ben, as the hepatitis virus that causes it clearly must have come from him. Otherwise, I'm sure I wouldn't be having my first wart at the fabulously aged prime of 31.

Location of wart: my right pointer finger. Kinda not an ideal location.
Size: small
Discovery: maybe in May or June?

So, I let it sit there for a while. It wasn't incredibly noticeable. it wasn't painful. But it was there, and warts are supposed to be gross. So I thought maybe I should get rid of it. I got some wart remover stuff at the store -- it's an ointment you squeeze onto the wart. Then you let it dry and stay there all day and it's supposed to kill "it". It says to use the ointment for up to 12 weeks.

I DID initially think 12 weeks was too long. Little did I know how right I was. I got through one week. And then, I looked at my poor finger and thought, " if I continue, I may not have much of a finger left. I think I will stop."

And now, instead of a little, hardly noticeable bump on my finger that, YES, was a wart (ew), I now have a large flesh wound. Said would can be seen here:



I know. Pretty tragic, right? The packaging on the medication said not to use on reddenned skin. I'm pretty sure scarred and lesioned should qualify as well.

I've been Mcartney'd

We got invited To see Paul Mcartney in concert last Thursday night. It was awesome. Thanks Mike & Teresa!

Running, Running, Running, And Then.... WHAT!?!

Ben and I had a bet before we went out to Salt Lake at the end of May. We started it some time back in March. The bet was if we worked out at least 3 times a week, every week until the trip, we get a prize. Woohoo!

I was already in the habit of working out 2-3 times a week. I designed the bet to mostly be a challenge for Ben. :) Despite this, it was actually hard for me to do 3 times a week consistently, every week. Ben fell off the wagon early on. Sad, because we really made the bet to help him with working out more than we did it to help me. But I totally got my prize.

But then I got overzealous and I started going up to 4 times a week for some weeks. I say overzealous because NOW my ankle is totally sore and I cannot run!!!! No!!!! It's all stiff. As if I needed a reminder that I am not an olympian. Give me a break! Not literally, please.

So I have been biking and doing the arc trainer at the gym instead. I am trying to be nice and not run too soon on it because I would really like to be able to run when we go on vacation -- mostly because I don't anticipate I will have access to the gym, the arc trainer or the stationary bike. But i will inevitably want to exercise and could run, if my ankle would cooperate.

Two weeks and counting till we leave. I'll let you know if my little ankle is nursed back to health in time.

A Lovely Sunday

Yesterday was a nice day. I woke up very refreshed at 7:30am. Not bad for the weekend, if I do say so myself. We had signed up to make dinner for one of the family's in our ward and I had a lot of lofty goals in that department -- redemption mainly. The last time we signed up for dinner, our schedules were so swamped we ended up ordering them chinese food. Pathetic, no? So, I was excited to get on with cooking.

This time around, we were doing it all different. I started by making fresh bread. Yup, you read that right. Once the bread was going, I started the roast in the slow cooker with some yummy veggies. And then I made a chocolate thunder cake. Mmmmm. Okay, so I don't know if it was actually mmm because I have never tried it before and we gave it all to the family. But it consists of chocolate cake, sweetened condensed milk, hot fudge sauce and melted white chocolate with peppermint on top for decor. It sounds mmm, right? And with vanilla ice cream, how could one go wrong?

I loved cooking that much food! Ben and I don't cook a lot. And for the most part, that is because we are lazy. But it is also because we just don't have that many eaters. And I love to cook for a crowd, for some reason. They are a family of 6, so I got to cook LOTS of food. I just like doing that.

That took up most of my morning and we don't have church until 2pm. I taught the laurel class. And the girls actually said how much they enjoyed my lesson. We talked about the house of Israel and the Covenant of Abraham. Who enjoys that lesson?!?! I was totally stoked they didn't fall asleep, even more stoked the professed they liked it.

Late that night before we went to bed, I was looking at a sale email I got and something caught my eye -- an LBD. I have been trying to find an LBD. Despite all of my formalwear, I actually don't have one and have had need of one on a couple of occasions. I had to improvise with separates (which I achieved with mixed success). Finding a cute, modest and affordable LBD is kind of a challenge. I thought this one might qualify. So, I bought it.



I'm hoping: 1) it's hemmable. This model is probably 5'10", which means this "knee-length" skirt would come to my mid-calf. :) 2) it doesn't look matronly. The good news is if neither of those things prove to be true, it's returnable.

Oh my. I just admitted that I bought this online on Sunday. It was at like 11pm. And I swear I was incredibly focused on sabbath-like things the whole time. Don't tell Ben. But it kind of put the cherry on top of my Sunday.

No!!!

Ben went to meet with the stake president yesterday to replace his lost temple recommend. A good thing right? Well, it was. Until it took a turn for the worst. In a nutshell, he told Ben we should hurry up and have some babies already. I have so far been able to happily ignore any other indications that we are late comers to the parent club.

Don't get me wrong. I have no intention of having a baby just because my stake president told me to. But it's going to make me feel SO much more guilty for however long it takes us till we have kids.

If I See an Article About A Mormon One More Time This Week, I'm Gonna....

How long before the media is tired of printing the word "mormon"? I kind of feel violated. We're everywhere! Including:


Here

And here

And here

And here

And here


And that's just a small sampling of the litany of articles, news flashes, shows and other media that have been flashing my religion across the television screen and the newspapers, for everyone's entertainment. There's still the Big Love show (which really isn't even related to mormons, but whatever) and Jimmer Fredette and... you get the point.

I have always assumed that when people I meet learn that I am a mormon there will likely be a small moment of, "I've met one!" or "really!?! odd." or something to that effect. And I don't mind that much. I understand that outside of the densely populated areas of Utah, Las Vegas or Idaho, we tend to be an anomaly. I've been totally fine with that my whole life. And I've never made any effort to "hide".

But now with all the media attention and the obsession with minute details about my faith that really don't "define" myself or my belief system, the initial impressions out there are suddenly run amok. I might have to do "damage control". And I don't even want to worry about the innumerable misnomers and misconceptions that might now be out there when people learn about my religious affiliation. I don't want to have to dispel anything or defend myself -- especially so early on in a relationship! I am growing quickly tired of having my religion be used as a point of amusement and something to pick at and contort.

Not that I have big issues with any particular tidbit or story that is in the media. Even with the Broadway hit show. I have gotten the impression from a few that they feel it is only right if we, the faithful (mormon or otherwise), are offended by how someone could mock something we hold as sacred as our religion. As much as I can see their point, I've never been one to take offense to much and I can see how many of my own beliefs could be seen as crazy and absurd. It doesn't bother me at all to have people laugh about that. I just don't like the frenzied attention. And the prolonged fascination. The en masse and lengthy obsession is weird.

I did not join a reality tv show and seek this out. I don't think the church leadership did either. Are we really that interesting? For all you're wishing we were a freak show to see, I am just not much of a freak. Can we all move on now?

Of course, I am aware both Romney AND Huntsman have announced their candidacies for president. It's not going away any time soon. But a girl can wish, can't she?

Our trip to Utah, 2011 Edition

Congratulations to Karla! She graduated from high school and Ben & I got to be there for the happy occasion. We also got to celebrate her older brother Daniel's college graduation (sorry, no pictures of pretty much anything else from our trip. I know, I'm terrible.).

When we got to Salt Lake on Thursday night, we stayed at my mom's. As one would expect from my mother, she stocked the bathroom with brand new towels, spruced up the guest bed with adorable pillows, and filled the kitchen with all of Ben's favorite treats. And when we woke up in the morning, what else would be waiting for us but fresh crepes with all the fixings? Ahh, so good to be home.

That morning, however, we were whisked away with Ben's family to Indianola for some cabin-ing. We got to play games, ride ATV's, have ping pong throw-downs, hike around the back of the property while all the nieces gathered wild flowers, and enjoy all of the fabulous food everyone prepared. Admittedly, I should have gotten a good picture of Ben covered in piles of mud from an ATV ride. It will just have to suffice that I know it happened and we had to pre-soak and pre-scrub EVERYTHING he had on before they could actually be washed. D.I.R.T.Y. BOY. I also got in a couple nice relaxing runs out there. Pretty vistas like that need to be enjoyed. I think I also ran by a rattle snake while on one of those runs. Good news --- I was already running. The only thing that would have made the trip any better would have been if it had been warmer. But we expected rain all weekend and only got 1 day of it, so I won't complain too much. And the food was so good, I've decided for the Neu family reunion in August, we should just have the Young's come cook for us. French toast with fresh strawberries and buttermilk syrup, anyone? Mmmm.

I ended up leaving the cabin a day early because, tragically, I had finals the week we were gone and I needed to do some research for the papers I was working on. While Ben stayed, I came back on Monday to get down to business. I was surprised as I was leaving to realize that this would be the first time in a looooonnnnnggg time Ben and I had not slept in the same place -- probably since the first few months of our marriage when I was still traveling for Sharon Charles and had not moved out to Ohio. It felt a little strange.

My well-intentioned study plans were quickly averted when I called my parents to tell them I had arrive back a day early. They immediately swooped in to pick me up and drive me out to Kerrie & Laurent's where everyone was gathering and feasting for the holiday (I had forgotten May 31st was a holiday). I don't think they heard much of what I said after I stated that I was at their house. Later references to "it's just me and Ben's still at the cabin" and "I came back to work on my finals papers" were lost on them completely, as they were disappointed to see my husband was not in toe and didn't seem at all concerned with my homework. And, since I was so excited to see everyone and this was such a prime opportunity, I decided to ignore my homework for a while too. Robbie, my nephew, came up from Provo, and then Emilie & Dustin came with their kids as well. I finally got to meet the twins!!! As I suspected, they are adorable. We feasted, we chatted, I ate too much and I didn't get squat done on my homework until I came home that night. However, I didn't overeat as much as my niece, Camille, did. Holy freak! That girl can't be more than 20 lbs, and I am quite certain she ate her weight in rolls and fruited jello. She can totally pack it in. It defied all knowledge I had about the limits of a human's digestive system.

After that, however, I could have been anywhere, because all I saw was my laptop screen for the next couple of days, as I worked on my homework. Ben and I hung out with my folks and Laurent on Tuesday night when he got back from the cabin and had a throw-down in scrabble. Wednesday was a lot more of the same until I left to go to Provo to meet Chamaine and Mesha for dinner. So good to see them! There aren't a lot of people I talk to on a frequent basis. I can probably count them on one hand. So, it's a good thing I have friends that I can pick right up with wherever it was that we left off!

On Thursday, I got a run in with my nephew Christopher at 7:30am in Riverton. It was a milestone day. I have gone running with Chris a few times before. But he is now a robust, tall, athletic 16 or 17 year old. He not only kept pace with me for the entire 2.5 miles for the first time ever, but he smoked me at the end when he still had steam to sprint to the finish. I don't have steam of ay kind at 7:30am. It was definitely not like the old days.

After that, dear Karla graduated from high school. It must be noted, she's pretty much amazing and she is off to Happy Valley to study at BYU. Go Karla! PS -- I have a cute nephew that you should meet when he gets back from his mission in a couple years. wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Afterwards we had a good time hanging out at Ben's parents house, where there was, as always, delectable eats, fun games and lots of family around. Katrina made something I'd never had before -- lime zested sugar cookies. I was in love.

That night, we stopped by to see an old friend, Manny. He looked like he was doing really well and we had a good time catching up. Then we went back down to Provo to see Rachel & Jesse, Will and Adrian & Ty. There were so many people we love hanging out with in one place, it was a gold mine. We brought thai food and just talked and caught up and laughed and made fun of each other -- my favorite way to eat dinner.

Friday. What did we do Friday? We slept in. And then we went up to Emilie & Dustin's to see their new house. Also, Ben hadn't met the twins yet. And how can you say you've been on vacation and not have played any pinochle? So, we hung out there until we could detain their family no longer (around 1pm) and they left for THEIR vacation down to St. George. Their house is awesome. Ben and I are totally moving in. After that, we picked up a couple graduation presents and took off for Daniel's graduation party at their homestead. More yummy food. And lots of fun seeing family again.

We ducked out a little early to see an old friend with a new wife: dear Aaron and the new addition, Juliann. It's so good to see an old friend and to see he has found his perfect match -- WHICH was totally obvious. So fun to see them both. And they got us some of Hatch's chocolate pot de creme's for dessert. Oh my. Aaron, how I shall ever endeavor to deserve such a good friend.

I must confess, that we didn't stop there. We left Aaron's and ran back to Daniel & Gretchen's to play games. Ian was there too, so it was like old times before we had ever moved. We played Settler's. I can't remember who won, but it certainly wasn't me. That, however, was probably the only flaw of the evening. :)

Saturday (I swear I'm almost to the end of the trip): I woke up and got to go to my old stomping grounds, Sugar House Park, and got in a good run. And then I laid in the grass and reveled in my good fortune. While I reveled I did some push-ups and squats, so I was productive. When I came back from my run, Ben and I were greeted by crepes again for breakfast. I must confess, my mom fed us breakfasts pretty much every day that week. Did I mention my mom is amazing? But she made us crepes TWICE. And nobody does crepes quite like my mom, so I have to mention it.

Finally, we left to start out our day by going to visit an old friend, Blair. I got to meet his wife & kids. I met his daughter once before because we used to work together and he brought her to the office one day when daycare didn't work out. I tried to entertain her in my office for a little while. I was incredibly unsuccessful. This visit was much better. We read a disney princess book and a book about fairies. I like fairies. Apparently so does Regan. Oh, and we also got to catch up with Blair. Blair, Blair, Blair. He's just amazing. One of those people who should be doing book tours and giving motivational speeches. He's not your average bear. Needless to say, I enjoyed our visit. I think Ben did too.

After the visit, we went up to check on the studio in Park City. My studio is officially a bachelor pad. And for some reason, my renters are very bad at buying themselves proper light bulbs -- every one of them, out of 4 years of renting. It's uncanny. So, as a token of our gratitude for our fabulous renter, Eric, Ben and I did what he could not do for himself -- we went to Home Depot and got him all new light bulbs so the place would be well lit. Then we got some grub at El Chubasco, one of my all-time favorite Mexican eateries in Park City -- WHERE I ran into one of my old housing program clients, Rena. She is doing great! It was good to run into her. I tell ya. My luck is awesome.

At last, on Saturday night, I had my girl's night out -- something that would happen much more often if most of my old girlfriends did not live so far away. Tragically, Bethany did not get there. She was very missed. I guess we'll still have to plan a weekend getaway. How tragic. :) But I was more than filled with updates from Katie and Emery and gave back my fair share of down low information.

Sunday, we packed up and left. That was it. The trip out west was fabulous. Honestly, it felt like we never left Utah. When we started to prep for the airport, both Ben and I noted that we wouldn't mind if we never went back to Ohio. Is that terrible to say? It's not that we don't like Cincy. But we just don't have everybody there with us. However, work beckons both of us and I can only live off of a suitcase's worth of clothing and shoes for so long. :) And before we went, we got to do a few of our favorite things. And see a bunch of our favorite people. I was dismal at taking any pictures outside of Karla's graduation. But, luckily, some of our favorite people were in attendance there. Here's a picture:

We miss you already. Thanks for a fabulous trip!

OH the Anticipation… I Can Hardly Wait!!

I am anticipating so many things!! And I just have to say – happy anticipation puts me in a very good mood. I don't know why. It's almost better than getting what I was waiting for. Almost.

Let me share with you all the lovely things that are coming my way:

1) A vacation to Utah in only TWO WEEKS!!!! And we get to spend time out at a cabin with Ben's family. YIPPEE! And I get to see my family! And I get to meet my sister's new twins!! And I hope to have some time to see some good friends who I haven't seen in a long time! And I get to take a break from work! I get to go back and do some Bikram Yoga at the studio in Sugar House! I get to go out to dinner at Jean Louis' with my folks! I get to go hiking in the mountains! I get to go running in Sugar House Park! I get to! I get to! I get to! Was that all just really annoying to read? I felt like a little kid tugging on her mom's skirt, gushing over an upcoming trip to Disneyland, as I was typing. And as immature as it may be, it's a pretty accurate description of how I feel about it all.

2) The end of the quarter is coming, and it comes this time with a very long BREAK. HELLO SUMMER! I have been working on the MBA relentlessly since January 2010. With 3.5 hour long classes twice a week and all the coursework and exams, I am pretty sure I am swearing off collegiate pursuits indefinitely once I'm done. But, I still have more work to do. Regardless, I have managed to schedule my classes this summer so that I have absolutely NO evening classes. I have 4 full days of classes, 8-5pm, and the rest of my work is going to be done via independent study. I'll still have work to do, of course. But it's so nice to have control over my schedule for a little while. Just the reprieve I needed to make it thru the homestretch.

3) Did I mention I'm almost done with this MBA thing? At least, I consider 6.5 months equal to almost done. And all of my financial coursework will be behind me in just 2 short weeks. That means all of my upcoming classes are ace-able. That also means that there is a new phase of life fast-approaching for Ben and I with so many unknowns I can't even count. I can't even day dream about it because there are too many options. Will we be in Ohio or will we move? Where would be move to? (The answer: we have no clue).Will we buy a home or will we continue to rent? What new job will I get? What new job will Ben get? Will I start getting back into community theater? What other hobby might I pick up? I pretty much have no idea what our lives will look like once I finish the degree. And while I can't wait to have a clearer picture and see how things take shape, I am really excited for whatever it is.

All this anticipation might lead one to think I don't like my life just as it is. I don't mean to say that. I am actually quite content these days. I love having a gym on campus where I work so I can go running on my lunch breaks. I enjoy the people I work with and office life has been much less tumultuous lately than it was during my 1^st year on the job. I have met some great friends in my mba program and I have really valued what I have learned in my classes so far. Ben and I love our ward. Cincinnati itself is actually pretty cool. It's got great restaurants, theater, shopping, sports and all sorts of stuff to keep us entertained. I think the only thing we don't love is the apartment we live in and the fact that so many of our friends and family are so far away. And of course, despite the fact that I like everyone at work, I am looking forward to getting a new job at the end of all this. So don't get the wrong idea. I'm totally happy. And waiting for all that is to come only enhances that fact.

Double Take

Facebook is awesome. I love finding old friends. Adrian used to laugh at how I love to collect people. I don't really keep in touch with people on a frequent basis, but I love to keep track of people and just have them not too far away. I like to know they're alright. I don't know why. It makes me feel better.

I found another old friend this week. It's been years. Probably since middle school. We used to do plays together. I was so excited to have found her! After we were officially "friended", I was snooping through all the things she's been up to and looking at all the pictures, and suddenly I was smacked by the most shocking revelation. This girl was ME! No, seriously. Me, but being me much better. It was like that episode of Friends when that chick steals Monica's identity. But how is that possible?! I thought I was doing a pretty good version of me up until now!

It took me a little while to think through it. How could she be doing such a better job at being me. She is knee-deep in all the things I absolutely love -- plays, swing dancing, photography. And I don't do ANY of that stuff right now. Why am I not her? We clearly love the same things. And that WAS me for a while, but it was me like 5 years ago. Look what has become of me! How did this happen? Where did I go wrong?! Where am I?

But then I got a grip. And I realized, this was not me. First of all, I don't have her fabulous legs (I never do have those legs). But I also have other loves. And I have this incredibly serious side. And while I've left some of my loves for a while, I was planning to dive back into fun-loving hobbies I used to know as soon as this MBA mumbo jumbo is over.

Phew. Mid-life crisis averted. But she really is pretty darn awesome. I admit it. I did harvest a little bit of jealous. That doesn't happen often, so it took me by surprise. But I can embrace my jealous tendencies. They're a form of flattery, right?

Jeep! Jeep!

I think that is what the roadrunner should have said in all the WB cartoons. As some of you already know, Ben and I have finally graduated to becoming a two car family. Ben seems happy to have more freedom (since I always stole the Subaru and left him stuck at home)and he gets an impish grin on his face every time someone stops to ask about what's under the hood of that car. Below is the article that featured it in Diesel World Magazine, in case you are also wondering what is under the hood of his car. And also to brag for Ben that his car was featured. Thanks a gazillion to Ben's dad, Dad Young, for taking all the pains and time to oversee it's never-ending need for attention until it was all finished. We are so glad to have it!

It's What Month!?!?

Seriously? March? Impossible. I must have been in a coma for the last two months, because it totally seems like January to me. And it's not just because it snowed yesterday (although that helped).

Life has seemed at a standstill for the beginning of this year. This is mostly due to having too much to do and not having any time to do anything fun. I haven't worked out since January. I haven't traveled. I haven't really been home. It's been, shall we say, a little busy.

Classes have been grueling. And for the 1st part of the year I took on an extra project that consumed a couple hundred hours of time I didn't have. And then I have spent the rest of my weeks catching up. In addition, it is recruitment season at my work, which has required a lot of overtime and working on weekends. Or what used to be known as weekends and what is really just a very long week running into other very long weeks.

This next week is finals. I have to bear my head down for 7 more days and then, I will have done all I can do and the Spring Quarter will be over, as will recruitment (at least most of recruitment). And then maybe life will feel like it is moving again. Come to think of it, it's really not so bad to have your head in January and then wake up the next day to find it's almost April. I like April. It's very springy.

AND these months have not been without cause for celebration. This month we got our tax return back. Happy, happy return. And with it, Ben & I paid off the rest of my car loan and his student loan in one fell swoop. Yeah!!!! I can hardly believe they're done. They were our two remaining loans (aside from the mortgage, of course). I was incredibly delighted. When I get done with all of this winter craziness, I may even throw a party just to celebrate. But now that those are taken care of, I have to admit that I feel a loss. I looked forward to this day for so long. Now what do I look forward to? Never fear. We have enlisted the help of a financial planner. Hopefully he will give us some guidance on what to do next. My guess is he will not tell us to pay off the mortgage quickly, though I kinda wish he would. I hate loans of every kind, really.

There were some other highlights from the past few months of inertia. Ben & I celebrated Valentine's by going to one of our favorite restaurants in Cincy, Daveed's. We actually remembered to make a reservation early enough that we didn't have to choose between eating dinner at 4:30 or 10pm. And it was lovely (and delicious). Other rare news, I impulsively bought us 2 sky-diving tickets with a groupon offer. So, expect some future posting on that adventure, when we get around to it.

Well, It's not over yet, so I must be getting back. The chain at my desk is tugging me to pay attention, reminding me that I really don't have time for this. At least not for 7 more days. Till next time.