It's Official

My last class for my associate degree ended October 26, but it took until this past week to receive my diploma (see photo as proof). It was just plain exhausting going to school full-time and working full-time, and I honestly don't know what to do with all my free time now. Oh wait, there's my new church responsibilities to keep me busy. That should take away plenty of my newfound free time. So to answer the question I have been asked over and over. I am going to get my bachelor degree-eventually. I have decided I really want to do a sociology major. Maybe even a dual maor of psychology and sociology. Someday, I'd love to earn a master degree and do research. However, at this moment, my options for earning a bachelor degree in sociology are pretty limited. From the research I've been able to do, I basically have two options. Option 1 is going to the University of Colorado-Denver and doing their online sociology degree. Sounds perfect, right? Well, the total cost for the two years I have left is about $25,000. I don't know about anyone else, but that's just too much money for two years of college for me. Especially since we make just enough to not qualify for FAFSA with no kids. Option 2 is go to the University of Utah. While a few of my friends and my Dad would be thrilled with option 2, I would be in danger of being disowned by several other friends and family members, including my husband. Option 2 would also require me to change my work schedule. Some classes are offered online, and some are offered at night, but there are those last few that I would have to leave work for. I would also have to drive to the U every day from home or work. From work isn't a huge deal, but from home it's 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. It's just not a great situation. So, I'm waiting. I know I'll get it done before my kids get very old (Greg has promised me), but right now I'm just going to enjoy some free time and stay in my recession-proof job.

They came back!!!!

Just as we thought, they came back to take my blood sample last Monday. The nurse came in and immediately had me fill out the paperwork again. As she was getting her tools ready (The Needle), I warned her of the last experience. She had me lay down on the couch and raise my feet. She asked me if I would like to know when she was going to poke me. I closed my eyes and put my head in the couch and responded to just do it without telling me or it will make it worse. Well she got my vein on the first try and was able to get all the blood she needed for the tests. All I have left to show for it is a small needle mark and slight discoloration around it. Lessons learned: 1. Always lie down when your blood is being taken. 2. No matter how easy anyone says it is to give blood, don't believe them unless you want to look like a ghost and fall to the ground.

They're after my blood!!!

No, I am not dreaming about Twilight vampires-that is what Kay does. Just kidding, she doesn't. The people who want my blood are from our life insurance company. We thought we were smart to have the exam done yesterday morning to get it over with. We get the knock on the door and the nurse comes in and starts asking me questions about my family health history. I thought this was going to be easy. Well, then she said it was time to take blood samples. I do not do too well with the whole taking blood from me, as Kay experienced from my hospital visit when I was in Maryland before we were even married and I was meeting her family for the first time. Anyway, back to the story. The nurse used that horrible needle and poked my right arm. Remember that I had not eaten or drunk anything in the morning and I had not had much physical activity, so my veins were small. She missed my vein and was moving the needle around trying to find my vein. When she found it, my vein was not giving her the blood flow she wanted. I guess my body is a little stubborn when it comes to blood giving. So she moves on to the other arm. Well as soon as she got the needle in I felt a cold sensation in my toes and it started to travel up my legs and then was starting to feel light headed. I told the nurse "I am going to faint." She pulls the needle out of me quickly and I darted for the couch. My battle wounds are below for your viewing pleasure.

THE GOOD NEWS: I survived and they did not get my blood.

THE BAD NEWS: They are coming back another day.

CA Vacation: Days 7 and 8

First, Tuesday night after we got back to the condo from the temple, we immediately turned on the T.V. to see who won the election. Congratulations, Barack Obama. I was not surprised it was such a tight race, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I don't love either candidate, but I really dislike Sarah Palin, so I couldn't bring myself to vote for McCain.

Being in California for the election was interesting. It seemed much more about Proposition 8 then about the presidency. The official results didn't come out until Wednesday morning, and many people were very upset. Wednesday night, we watched the rallies surrounding the L.A. LDS temple and were happy our plans had changed and we had gone to the temple that morning instead of that evening as we had originally planned.

Los Angeles LDS Temple

Our plans changed because we were able to get free tickets to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno for Wednesday and we had to be there at 3 p.m. We decided to go to the L.A. temple in the morning, then Olvera Street, then to the Jay Leno show, then to the Griffith Park Observatory. For those who have never heard of Olvera Street, it's basically a Mexican market in the middle of L.A. It's where L.A. originated, and the oldest house in Los Angeles is on Olvera Street. We enjoyed browsing the shops and eating some real Mexican food.

Since it was three days after the Day of the Dead, the crosses and masks and decorations were all still up. It was really cool.

This is the oldest house in L.A. It was built around 1818.

We barely made it to the Jay Leno show because we couldn't find parking. We were two of about fifty people who actually had tickets to the show, but they were only valid if we arrived before 3 p.m. We got there just in time, then sat around for about 30 minutes before they started seating us. You have to go through a metal detector, then give your ticket to a girl at a podium. She told us to go upstairs, so we headed upstairs and waited in line to be seated. We'd been there for about a minute when the girl comes up the stairs, tells us that she thinks we're supposed to be downstairs and to come down, then runs back downstairs. So, we go back downstairs and she points us down the hall. When we get to a little hallway, the girl standing there asks if we're on the guest list. Umm, no, don't think so. We tell her the girl at the podium told us to come down the hall and just then, a man comes down the hall and says "Oh, there you are," looking right at us. So we follow him and he leads us to seats in the front row, right in front of where the band at the end of the show plays. Being in the front row, you also get to go up to shake Jay's hand at the beginning of the show. You can see Greg very well and my face if you watch the full video here: http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/video/episodes/?vid=813181#vid=813181 If the link doesn't work, go to nbc.com, The Tonight Show, Full Episodes, then the November 5th episode. Greg is wearing a gray and brown striped shirt. I was too lazy to post a picture of it. It's pretty funny watching the taping because John Melendez is much funnier than Jay and the executive producer (I think) is writing questions for Jay to ask the guests the whole time and holding them up for him to see. Seeing Samuel L. Jackson was pretty cool, though.

The Griffith Park Observatory was also fun. We were able to look through a huge telescope at the moon and Greg was fascinated by the tiny motor that keep the telescope in line with the moon. It was less than 1 horsepower. All the other instruments on the telescope had to be manually tuned and positioned, so it was cool to see.

Greg looking through the huge telescope.

Thursday, we drove back to San Diego and flew home. Greg's brother Jeff and his wife, Cori, had dropped off a car for us (thanks guys!!!!) and we bought Jeff a Shamu hat as a thank-you. Yes, that's right, a hat shaped like Shamu. It's hilarious. Greg went to get the car while I picked up our luggage, then we raced home and Greg had to get ready for our HOA General Meeting. I feel like we haven't stopped since then, but it's okay.

On the drive down to San Diego, it was 75 degrees and I took this picture of the coast:

We came home and it looked like this:

CA Vacation: Days 5 and 6

Monday, we went to Universal Studios. It was a lot of fun. My favorite rides were Shrek and the Mummy. The special effects presentations and Studio Tour were also really cool. We started with the upper lot, then did the lower lot, then finished the upper lot. I was surprised that I liked the Simpsons ride since I never watched the show and don't really like what I've heard of it. The Mummy is an indoor roller coaster and was so much fun we rode it twice. The back lot on the Studio tour was fun, too, since I've never seen real movie sets before. We saw the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo, Biff's car and the Lyon Estates entrance gates from Back to the Future (we didn't get a picture, though), the set used to arrive at the island for King Kong, the Bates Motel from Psycho (which included a creepy actor stuffing a fake body in the trunk, then walking towards the tour bus with a knife), Whoville from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the plane crash from War of the Worlds, the set for part of the parade in the Princess Diaries 2, and the shark used in Jaws. We also saw Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives, which actually is a real street on the back lot and has all the characters' houses on it. I don't watch the show, so I couldn't tell you whose house we saw, but we got pictures of all of them. We also saw a crew doing a live production, but we didn't see any actors and we don't know which movie they were filming. Universal also offers several live-action shows, my favorite being the show based on the movie Waterworld. Here are some pictures.

The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo! Not that this picture should really need a caption.

The set used to film the arrival to the island in King Kong. It really is that small, and there are ducks living in the pond that swim around the boat. It's actually quite funny.

Part of the set used in the parade in Princess Diaries 2.

Whoville from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This set is about 1/4 mile from the Bates Motel.

Plane crash from War of the Worlds. Ironically, this set is directly behind Whoville.

Plane crashing through the wall in the Waterworld show. It had real actors playing in it, so it was well done. Was I the only one who saw this movie?

On Tuesday, we went to the beach in the morning since it was finally sunny. It rained Monday night, so the sand was wet when we first went out there, but it warmed up quickly. We both got a little tan and I got a sunburn. For anyone who doesn't know me and the sun well, I have to get sunburned if I'm going to get any color to my skin. Therefore, I don't get a tan very often. But it was nice to lay in the sun. Greg played in the sand and water, but I mostly laid on the beach and read a book. Tuesday night we went to the Newport Beach LDS Temple, which is very small but very, very pretty. It was a different experience than I am used to since I live near Salt Lake City.

Newport Beach, CA LDS Temple

CA Vacation: Days 3 and 4

Friday, after we finished at SeaWorld, we drove up to Sunset Beach, CA to the condo we were staying at the rest of the trip. It took us a little while to find it, but when we did we were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.

Kitchen area. We had a stove top, microwave, toaster oven, mini-fridge, and most of the cookware and dishes we wanted.

The bed and armoire. We also had a TV, DVD player, and an alarm clock that played ambiance noises like ocean waves, rain, wind, etc. It was annoying so we turned it off. I nearly stole the bedspread, frame, and fabric that hung over the frame. It was so pretty.

The shower was huge and the fixtures were all a lot nicer than we expected.

Saturday, we went to Six Flags Magic Mountain. It was supposed to rain, and of course we didn't bring good coats or sweatshirts, so we bought sweatshirts when we got there. They only had large and extra large sizes left, so while Greg found one that fit, mine drowned me. If anyone wants a large, navy blue Six Flags sweatshirt, let me know as I will probably never wear it again. Greg and I got on one roller coaster, the new X2, before it downpoured and they shut everything down. We went to eat lunch and the rides opened back up for a while, but a few rides were closed for the whole day. At lunch, everyone was trying to get under an umbrella to eat, so we ended up sharing a table with four 20-somethings, 3 guys and a girl. They all started speaking in Spanish, not knowing Greg and I could understand, until Greg and I couldn't help laughing at something they said. The girl then asked if we understood Spanish and when we told them yes, the looks on their faces were very funny. As the day went on, we were able to get on 7 more roller coasters. Since Greg had only ever been on roller coasters at Lagoon, I was excited for him to experience a real roller coaster. He thoroughly enjoyed it. The last roller coaster we went on was called Goliath. I love roller coasters, but I get very nervous if I have to wait in line too long. Goliath didn't go upside down, so you only had a lap bar holding you in. The first drop is 225-feet at what felt like a 30-degree angle into a 120-feet long pitch-black tunnel. Terrifying, but well worth it when it's over.

The first drop of Goliath.

Sunday, we were going to go the beach but it ended up raining again and we just hung out all day and went to church. Ironically, at church we ran into a family who is in our ward (LDS congregation) in Utah. The father, Mark, also served his mission in the same area as my brother, Bryce, and used to be our home teacher, so it was really funny. He went up to the pulpit and Greg and I just stared at each other and tried not to burst out laughing. We went up to them afterward and they were just as shocked as we were. It was pretty funny. Sometimes, even with 13 million members, the LDS Church is too small. Sunday night, we went out to the beach (which was about a 3 minute walk away, and watched the sunset.

Sunset at Sunset Beach, CA

CA Vacation: Days 1 and 2

We arrived in San Diego around noon and picked up our baggage and rental car fairly easily. We also decided to rent a GPS system, which probably saved our marriage. I teased Greg that he would have trouble driving in Salt Lake without a voice telling him where to turn, but he's managing very well. It was also funny since the rental car agent commented several times that we would want a nice car for our honeymoon and gave us a free upgrade when he couldn't sell us on it. We figured he couldn't imagine a 22-year-old woman having been married for 3 years, so we didn't tell him. We went straight to SeaWorld, then checked into our hotel, then to the San Diego temple, but forgot to bring our camera to both attractions. We stopped on the way home to take a picture of the San Diego temple, which is why the below picture is in the daylight.

San Diego LDS Temple

Friday, we went to the San Diego Zoo and back to SeaWorld. At the zoo, we saw elephants, tigers, lions, meerkats, pandas, hyenas, hawks, polar bears, zebras, gorillas, oranguntans, monkeys, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, bears, and tons of other animals. It is HUGE. We took the bus tour in order to save time and only walked to a few animals we wanted to see.

A polar bear playing with a ball.

Greg on top of a polar bear statue at the zoo.

An African elephant.

Two chimpanzees and a MASSIVE orangutan. The lower chimpanzee kept coming near the orangutan and acting like it was going to attack. The orangutan just moved farther and farther away for a while until it took a swipe at the chimpanzee and the chimpanzee ran off. It kept coming back, though. It reminded me of a kitten jumping on a bear until the bear takes a swipe at it. Stupid chimpanzee, if you ask me.

Me in front of the hippopotamus tank. I think they could have swallowed me whole.

I liked the zoo, but we both loved SeaWorld. We saw the Shamu show Believe twice, the dolphin show twice, and the Shamu Rocks show. Greg liked the whales, I liked the dolphins and penguins. My favorite whale was the cute baby killer whale in the Shamu Rocks show, but I didn't get a good picture of it. I took WAY too many pictures, so only my favorites are below. By the way, it took me forever to figure out how to make the pictures appear below the text. I was just about to call Erin or Cathi or Kimberly when I figured it out.

A killer whale (obviously). I think her name was Korky.

Shamu.

Shamu, again.

At the dolphin interaction pool, the dolphins swim right up to the tank walls and just stare at everyone. They sat there for 10 or 15 minutes just watching the people looking at them.

One dolphin swam right up to the rocks at the ledge and perched itself there waiting to be pet. Greg ran over and pet it while I took the picture, but it swam away before I could pet it.

The dolphin show included two pilot whales.

Emperor penguins perched themselves on top of the ice, allowing me to take this picture through the glass.

The pool these sea turtles were in was pathetically small compared to the other exhibits. Poor Dude Crush needs to get back to the ocean.

Vacation

Greg and I made a deal a long time ago for vacations. Every other year we would go on a big trip and every other year we would go on a smaller trip. Vacations to visit family don't count unless the vacation spot itself is really cool. Translation: every other year we would spend a lot of money and go somewhere really cool with just us and kids as they come along. Less than a year after we got married, we bought a membership to a travel club where we get all sorts of cool discounts to facilitate our agreement. Of course, the entire agreement will probably go out the window when we have kids, but it's working for now. We got married in 2005, and didn't ever have money to really go on a vacation until 2007. In February 2007, we went to Ixtapa, Mexico and had so much fun. We really just laid on the beach all day, but it was perfect. That was our big trip. So, this year we agreed we would go somewhere closer. Neither of us have ever been to the Grand Canyon, and I have never been to Southern Utah's National Parks, so we started planning a trip to drive around Southern Utah/Colorado. Then, a co-worker told me that JetBlue had a deal that you could fly from Salt Lake to San Diego for $100 round trip, taxes included. Our plans morphed within a day to a trip to San Diego. Then, we found a condo with our travel club in Sunset Beach, CA. Thus our trip to California for a week was planned. We left on Thursday, October 30 and returned on Thursday, November 6. Since we don't have kids, we were able to travel at a much faster pace and saw so much that I will post a separate post for every 1-2 days. Enjoy.

"Just Say No" Only Worked For So Long

Yep, that's right. I caved to peer pressure. Peer pressure in the form of a barrage of "When are you getting a blog?" and "Why don't you have a blog?" and "Do you want me to make a blog for you?" and "Get a blog already." (That last one is a direct quote.) So, here it is. BUT--I make no promises to post frequently, consistently, or to post anything of real interest to anyone but me. With no kids (no, I'm not pregnant, either) and no pets to post pictures of instead of kids, our lives are really not nearly as interesting as you think. That being said, here it goes.