Owl-mitt

One time, I drew a picture of an owl. Chase wanted me to make something with it, so the other day I made this oven mitt.

Life & macaroni

So, taking into account the fact that the people who may read this blog are practically non-existent, I wanted to "share" some thoughts:

1. My camera broke. I suppose it's not all that bad since I've had it for at least 5 years. That's a good amount of use right? Except it's frustrating because I want to take a lot of pictures of all the things that are going on in our lives. Luckily, Chase's camera works. Which isn't saying much (no offense Chaser!) So anyway, if anyone has some recommendations for a good SLR camera, do tell.
   
   
2. If it wouldn't kill me or turn my skin orange, I would eat Kraft macaroni and cheese for lunch every day. I'm so excited to be a mom so that I can finish off my kid's uneaten mac & cheese. Is that totally gross? Or just cool?
   
   
3. We bought a puppy and named her RVCA (Ruca). She is a buttercup-colored Lhasapoo who is my new best friend, second to Chase of course. Behold the pup:
   
   
   This was when we first brought her home.
   
   
   
   Such a cuddlebug. :)
   
   
   
   So, RVCA sometimes gets really mad when we put her in her crate and she barks and whines for a while. When we take her out, she has slobbered all over herself! We hope that's a normal puppy thing?
   
   
   
   She thinks she's a big dog.
   
   
   
   
   
4. We love our house so so so much. We love our neighbors (especially Blossom and Bill, a cute old couple who lives across the street). We love our ward.
   
   
5. I've read several books this year, among them my new favorite series The Hunger Games. Now I am just itching to read more and more books, which is frustrating because even though I'm at home all day, I don't really have the time. I'm kind of getting into those post-apocalyptic books, like The Road, The Giver series, and Hunger Games. There is quite a genre of them out there, and I'd love to read them all. Is that creepy? Also, is it totally lame that I want to read the entire Harry Potter series again, even though I just read them last August? It is. But I'll probably still do it.
   
   
6. Old movies are the best kind of movies. They also have the best opening credits. I started watching Lover Come Back with Doris Day and Rock Hudson. It's kind of the beginning of trashy movies I think. It was pretty risque for a Doris Day movie. But, it did have cool opening credits of animated birds and flowers and sweet typography:
   
   
   
   
7. I have the most amazing, perfect husband/best friend. He teaches me how to be a better person every day. And he let's me have naps and ice cream. :)
   
   
8. On a spiritual note, I came across a quote that I thought was really interesting and kind of turned a light bulb on in my head. I've always been so perplexed when I've thought about Laman and Lemuel and how they saw an angel and heard the voice of God, yet they still had no faith whatsoever. I mean, come on, how blind can you be? But then I read this quote from the Gospel Principles manual:
   

   "When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase" (Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Answers to Gospel Questions).

   Wow! Isn't that incredible? Laman and Lemuel actually SAW AN ANGEL, but they lacked something that I think I sometimes take for granted. Sometimes I think that miracles don't happen in the way they used to in the scriptures – people seeing visions and speaking face to face with God. But He's given us the Holy Ghost, something even more powerful and convincing than seeing an angel. Something He knows will stay with us. Sure, He could send angels to us, but He knows that we need something stronger, something that will not fade but will build our faith and testimonies. Reading this quote has totally changed my view of the Holy Ghost. I've always been so grateful to have it and use it as a guide in my life, but to realize how truly blessed I am to have something so powerful leaves me in awe. I hope this makes sense to you the way it did to me. I sure do love the Gospel. :)

We bought a house! (almost)

We put an offer in on a house, they counter-offered, and we accepted! So unless for some reason the inspection says there is something really wrong with it, we bought a house! We should be closing on March 25. The house is in East Mesa, right around where I grew up. It's a four bedroom, two bath home and we absolutely love it! It was originally built in 1970, but in 2008 it burned down completely and they just finished building a brand new house on the old foundation. It's a 4 bedroom house, but it isn't huge – definitely a starter-home. Anyway, I'm posting some pictures so our family in Idaho can get a good look at it. :)

Click here to view the pictures of our future home!

Chase got a job!

So even though Chase is nearly at the end of his first week of his new job, I thought I better make it official by posting it here. :)

Two weeks ago, Chase had a job offer from another company and he nearly accepted it, but we found out that it just didn't pay enough, even for an entry level mechanical engineer. So we were both kind of bummed. Sort of. Except for Chase really wasn't excited about working there – it was kind of going to be a job just to get by, not something he'd really enjoy. So it was a good thing he said no. Then, a couple of days later on Monday, he applied for a job online and saw that they had posted a phone number. He decided what the heck, what could it hurt to call? So he called the guy who said he was going through about 150 resumes. Chase was really nice and told him that he was really qualified. Actually, most of the people who applied had 30 years of experience. But the guy said he just wanted a new graduate. Ta da! May I present my husband Chase, new graduate! So anyway, they scheduled an interview for the next day. It went really well. The day after that, the guy (Darwin) called back and asked for references. The day after THAT, Darwin called again with a job offer! One that pays enough! So in one week, Chase went from jobless to starting his first day at work! And the best part is every day this week he has come home talking about how much he loves his new job. :)

The other best part is that his boss, Darwin, looks just like Chuck Norris (red beard and all) and has even met Chuck Norris because he teaches karate and has a black belt like Chuck Norris!!! So cool.

Chase's Birthday

Chase is 24!! I can't believe he's so old. And I only say that because to me he is just a little boy. :)

Anyway, a month before his birthday I started planning a special day for him to enjoy. On his actual birthday, which was a Thursday, I took him to his favorite restaurant, let him buy some speakers he'd been wanting, and drew him a little picture (he made me, really). He thought it was a pretty good birthday, so no complaints. But on the following Saturday, we woke up and got ready and I told him I was taking him somewhere for his birthday, but I wouldn't tell him where. I just made treasure maps out of little scrolls of paper that had hints as to where we were going.

Our first stop was In 'n' Out for lunch. Then we took a two-hour drive down to Tucson where we went to Saguaro National Park – he kind of has a cactus fetish. After that we killed some time at the mall then went to eat at Panda Express. Then, the final destination: we went to go see a show with Chase's favorite band, Saves the Day. That was definitely the best part of the day! Let's face it, you can only be so enthralled and excited about a bunch of cacti. But while we watched them play, every time he turned to look at me he had this huge grin on his face, and that made everything worth it.

Happy Birthday to my Chaser Bug! You are my best friend and I just can't get enough of you, ever. Love you :)

(Sorry for all the pictures! The first one is the picture I made for him – super weird, I know)

Job offer!

So, Chase got a job offer! And we are so excited about it. Well, sort of. It's not exactly Chase's dream job, and let's face it – will anything even look semi-cool next to a job at Fender? But it's a job and would give him a lot of experience (not to mention pay the bills) so we're hoping that it works out. Right now, we're figuring out all of the details to see if it's really for us. It's for a company called Texas Capital Semiconductors. This is their sweet logo (hurray for ugly gradients and drop-shadows):

They rebuild and repair vacuum pumps that create particle-free environments for companies like Intel so they can manufacture computer chips (a.k.a. silicon wafers). I almost yawned hearing that too, but once you understand how these things work, it's actually a really interesting process. The little blades are suspended in the air with magnets so they are basically floating as they spin super fast.


Anyway, this is where Chase might work for a while (until he can get in at Fender of course).

Beardless

I just wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to an old friend of ours who has recently passed on: Chase's beard (begin Celine Dion song here).









The last one is definitely my favorite. Goodbye our furry red friend – until next time.