Happy Birthday G-ma

***I can't take credit for these pictures. I took these off my cousins blog. Thanks Tami :)

Last Saturday we had a birthday party to celebrate my grandma's 84th birthday. It was so much fun to see cousins and aunts and uncles that we don't see very often.

Before

After

When it's your birthday you can do what you want with the cake! Some of the great-grand-children wanted the flowers so my grandma helped cut them out. What a great grandma!

My mom did these center pieces that were so cute. Peas in the bottom of the vase!

Tag...

Laura tagged me so I guess since I have nothing else to post about I will grant her wish.

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 Years Ago: Senior in High School. I was a soon to be an "adult" and thinking I was awesome.

On My To-Do List:
Work out (check)
Go to work (check)
Update blog (check)
Watch the Jazz game
Watch the biggest loser
Watch American Idol
Watch the BYU basketball game
Play the Piano
Make lunches for tomorrow
Check email
Go to bed...I know this is some life I lead. What a great question to answer. It really points that I watch too much TV and really have boring life.

5 jobs I have had:
Hmm...what does having a "job" really mean. I can think of 3 jobs I have had but quit because I wanted to go boating instead. Real responsible I know :)
1. Dillard's...quit after 6 weeks because they wouldn't let me have the time off to go to Lake Powell
2. Foot Doctor Receptionist...quit after 2 days because I about puked when I had to watch the doctor cut out an in-grown toe nail, and we were going boating
3. Sizzler...showed up for 1 shift but never came back...again the boating thing.

Those were back in my "irresponsible" days. I really can hold down a steady job.
1. Pizza Factory Server (worked there for 1 1/2 years and quit to concentrate on school)
2. Program Manager at Jenny Craig (quit to go to graduate school)
3. Taught Tennis, Bowling and Running at BYU (stopped teaching because I got a job at Novell)
4. Health Promotion Specialist at Novell (going on 3 years!)
5. hmm...I guess I have only had 4 stable jobs in my life. Yes, I know a very long answer to a simple question.

What I would do if I became a billionaire: Spend all of it on Cadburry Mini Eggs...really what kind of question is that? Doesn't everyone have about the same answer?...quit job, buy big house, buy big boat, buy big car, give lots away, but lots of shoes and clothes, save lots, etc.

Bad habits: What an uplifting question! How many should I list?
1. I watch too much TV
2. I can't go to the store without "browsing" the candy isle
3. Every time I go to the store I buy candy...the "browsing" always turns into buying.
4. I have a candy drawer that Matt discovered about 3 months ago.
5. I love holiday candy but once the holiday is over I want nothing to do with it. I still have an unopened bag of candy corns from Halloween sitting in my candy drawer and a bag of candy hearts sitting in my cupboard (I guess I have a candy cupboard too :)

Things I enjoy:
Summer, Running (especially in races), the pool, diet coke, boating, Lake Powell, spending time with Matt, going out to eat and baking things that are bad for you (cookies, brownies, desserts etc.)

Things people don't know about me:
1. I am a germaphobe...I am constantly washing my hands, using sanitizers and asking myself "what has that touched" or "where has that been" The worst things for me are escalator railings, buttons on an elevator, airplanes (or any type of public transportation), money, gym equipment (I bring my own Clorox wipes) and shopping cart handles.

2. I am not a very social person. I would much rather stay home than go to a party or a large social gathering.

3. I love T.V but don't really like movies unless they are chick flicks. I know this is strange.

4. I don't have a gall bladder. I had it removed when I was a senior in high school.

5. I love running marathons. My goal is to be in the St. George 10-yr club and I am almost 1/2 way there!

6. I can't go to bed without flossing my teeth. One time I was so tired so I just brushed. After I was in bed I couldn't sleep because it was bothering me so much that I didn't floss so I had to get up and floss anyway.

So now that you have a learned that I am a germaphobic, sugar loving, t.v. addict I will tag Jenny S., Katherine (I know you were just tagged but this one is different), Julianne (this is to help her with her first blogging post), Nikki, and Nicole

GiOrDaNo'S pIzZa

Laura has brought to my attention that I post a lot about food. Well, here is another one.

Matt brought home famous Chicago pizza from Giordano's. It was YuMmY! This is no Papa Johns's pizza. This pizza was huge and heavy! You can see from the picture all the gooey cheese and the thick crust....that's got to be good for you:) We don't have it very often so we ate up and enjoyed. Matt was a good sport to bring it all the way from Illinois. Don't worry, they package it for traveling. I didn't want you to think we thought old, stale pizza was good :)

Thanks Southwest!

Truth be known I don't like flying. Why you may ask?
1. I don't like breathing the same air 200 other people are breathing
2. I hate laying my head back on the chair...how many people with nasty, greasy hair have laid their head back.
3. The table trays...seriously, do they ever wash them.
4. The arm rests. You would be surprised how many people DON'T wash their hands
5. The bathrooms. I can hold it a long time. I am NOT using that bathroom!

It was confirmed this weekend that airplanes are nothing more than bacteria traps. About 12 hours after I got home I realized that I wasn't feeling all that great...scratchy throat, stuffy nose, achy body. So as I write this I am hacking away and feeling like crap. Thanks Southwest!

Matt's Trip

Matt seemed to have a great trip to Illinois. I obviously was not there and since Matt refuses to post on the "blah" (that is what he calls it) I will write a short summary...hopefully I can talk Matt into writing a little more about it.

Matt's parents still live in the same house that Matt grew up in. It was fun for Matt to go back to Naperville and just spend time with his parents. He was also able to spend some time with Jessica and Andrew and their 5 kids. Matt is so glad he had the chance to go back to the place he grew up.

Congratulations to Ryan and Katie who live in Michigan. They had a baby boy while Matt was out there. He we was too far away to go see the new little guy but that was one thing exciting that happened while Matt was in Naperville.

I know, I know...very boring post but if Matt would just write about it himself it would be a much better read (grr!)

Day 3

Lisa has some great paved trails right in her back yard! It was such a nice day to go running so first thing Monday morning I went for a run. It was great. The day was also filled with fun at the park, playing and watching gladiators and the car wash.

Nate came and picked me up during his lunch break and we went to yummy Chipotle!

Thanks, Lisa for the fun weekend!

Day 2

Katelyn and Kaci enjoying the frosting on the cupcakes

On Sunday Teri and Jason fixed us DeLiCiOuS fajitas. We ate and ate and drank and drank...diet coke of course :) It was fun to visit with cousins that I don't get to see very often.

Paul and Katherine also live in Denver. I was hoping I would have a chance to visit and see their new house...well kind of new. It's new to me because I haven't seen it yet. I will definitely have to make a trip their way next time I am in town!

Day 1

Robbie and Lisa were great hosts. They picked me up from the airport, bought me lunch (Burger King- YUM!) and gave me my own private bedroom (well semi-private...no lock = 7am wake up call from Katelyn) and private bathroom (again, semi-private...Robert liked to see the things I was hiding in my make-up bag.)

Later that night Nate and Tara took me on a great tour of downtown...Broncos Stadium, Pepsi Center and 16th street. I also got a tour of Nate's sweet office right next to the printers (that's what you get for being an intern)

I'm Back!

Tanner, Katelyn, Robert

Wow! I don't know how Lisa gets everything done. She is truly amazing. I had the chance to peek inside the Whitaker household for the weekend and I was impressed. With three kids 3 years and younger it definitely makes for busy days.

Katelyn is 3 and so full of energy and loves to talk! She was constantly asking me "Do you want to play tag" or "Do you want to play the jumping game" this consists of...JUMPING anywhere and everywhere! She was always talking about Gladiators and couldn't wait for it to come on TV.

Robert is 19 months and is so sweet and quiet. I think he knows that Katelyn will just do the talking for him. We played catch and he loved being "chased" He would really just stand in one place waiting to be tickled. Robert loves bath time. One night Lisa took him out of the bath and put him to bed while Katelyn continued to play in the tub. Lisa and I were down in the kitchen talking...I heard crying so I went upstairs to check on Katelyn. Robert had decided he wasn't done in the bathtub and had gotten out of bed into the tub with pajamas and all! He was completely soaked head to toe!

Tanner is 6 weeks and loves to be held. He has big eyes and is learning how to smile. He puts up with a lot. Katelyn loves to be the big sister and Robert loves to hug Tanner and tries to poke at his eyes.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to CO I go!

Matt flew to Illinois to visit his parents so I decided to make a quick trip out to Denver to visit the Whitakers. Stay tuned...

Happy Valentines Day!

This year for Valentines Day I decided to surprise Matt with dinner. I know you are all thinking "Wow, what a cook." Well, I have to give credit to Macaroni Grill. I ordered it and had it all ready for him when he got home from work. When Matt got home he surprised me with flowers (Daisies which I love), my favorite chocolates, and some jewlery

Yes, that is how big the bag was. Yum, Yum!

I also had a present for him...

his and hers Jazz shirts

It was a great evening and so glad that Matt is MY valentine!

Now I know how my parents felt!

I remember long ago as a family gift getting the original Nintendo for Christmas. We were all so excited! I remember the long hours we would spend playing Super Mario Brothers trying to conquer the game without warping, conquering Contra in the least amount of time possible and playing Tetris and Pinball long into the night after my parents thought we were in bed. I remember knowing the paddle like the back of my hand. I also remember trying to teach my parents how to play Super Mario Brothers and I could not understand how they could be so uncoordinated with the paddle. Seriously, Mario was not that hard to control. Well, I am afraid I now know how my parents felt.

Matt and I are proud owners of a Wii (Christmas 2006). When we first made this purchase it made me feel like a kid again playing tennis, bowling and baseball into the wee hours of the night when we should have been sleeping. I was impressed with my control over the paddle. In fact, I have to admit I thought to myself..."my parent were just out of it back in the day, THAT is why they didn't have precise Nintendo playing skills." Well, I gave Matt Mario Galaxy for his birthday last month. He of course has put long, hard hours into the game. Today I decided it was finally my turn to show him how the game was played. After two hours of Matt laughing, me running around the boards aimlessly, and asking Matt multiple times "how do I do this?" I finally passed the first Galaxy. For those of you that know Mario Galaxy...it should not have taken 2 hours.

All I have to say is I now know how my parents felt back in the day when they were trying to control Mario. I am afraid it is now my turn to feel old and now I am the one that can't control Mario. Alas, I have not given up. No matter how long it takes me, I am not going to let Mario control me. I will conquer the game. Even if it takes me 3 times as long as the average person!

I think he's 100% converted!

Being from Illinois of course Matt WAS a Chicago Bulls fan. However, after living in Utah for the past 7 years I think that has finally changed. In the past Matt would cheer for the Jazz unless they were playing the Bulls, but now I believe Matt has fully converted. Last night we went to the Jazz game and who did they play? The Bulls. Who did Matt cheer for? The Jazz, 100 percent!

I just want to say...Matt, welcome to our side :)

*It's a good thing Matt doesn't check this often

I wanted to love it!

I am not a huge movie person except when it comes to chick flicks! I was so excited when I saw the previews for 27 Dresses. It looked so cute for many reasons. I could relate to "never a bride, always a brides maid." I really like Katherine Heigl (thanks to Grey's Anatomy) and the timing just seemed perfect. I convinced Matt how good it would be and he agreed to go. So...we went, I laughed and went "Aww" but for some reason it just didn't tug at the heart strings or leave that "I love that movie" feeling in me. It was just ok. So I walked away with an empty feeling and a continuing hunger for a new good chick flick to add to my collection

I love to vote!

I don't like the long lines

It's NEVER convenient

It's not fun

The volunteers always take FOREVER to find your name

So, why do I love to vote? Because it's my RIGHT!

Holy Crab!

That's a lot of crab!

On Friday night Matt and I went to Schneitters. This is a restaurant at the Zermatt Resort in Midway. On Friday night they have a big seafood buffet. Jeff and Lisa joined us for dinner and we had a lot of fun. Matt, Jeff and Lisa filled up on crab while I filled up on french fries from the kids bar. Matt seems to think I don't have any taste buds :) After multiple plates of food we were STUFFED! Thanks Jeff and Lisa for a great time.

Matt, Sharon, Lisa, Jeff