1 & 2: Utah, rental cars, antiques, domestication, lame visitors & dinner

Last Thursday night, Angela, Clara and I flew to Utah. Luckily, the flight was not full so Clara had her own seat. She was climbing all over everything like a little monkey. Standing on top of the tray table, up the back of the seat, sitting on the tray table, looking out the window, climbing on Angela, etc., etc. I was grateful there were people behind and in front of us that seemed to think her little hand poking between the seats or her face smashed in the crack was cute. Once there, we had to lug our junk so far I knew I'd be sore the next day. I had my roller suitcase, Clara riding on top, my purse and my backpack. Angela had her purse, her roller suitcase and Clara's suitcase. We must've been quite the sight.

After talking to Rachel earlier that day, I decided carrying Clara's seat would be worth saving $45. So I changed the reservation. At the rental car counter, they tried charging me the other price and said that's what the rate was without the seat. Long story short, I had printed the new confirmation number and got the good rate... I reassured the employees stuff like that happens to me all the time so not to worry about it (all three employees were trying to figure out what had happened). They also tried to get me to pay more for an SUV. I declined. But apparently they were out of cars, so we got a small SUV anyway (Murano). My Civic is almost nine years old, so the technology in automobiles gets me every now and then. I couldn't figure out how to start the car... I was pushing the START/STOP button, it was saying brake, the e-brake wasn't on... and then Angela remembered you have to press the brake while you push the button. Wewsh, I might have had to ask the employees how to start the car if she wasn't there!

We arrived at Rachel's, shortly after our plane came in (getting our luggage and everything went so quickly). I was so excited to be there. Clara was exhausted and was up until Midnight. Rachel, Don and I were up until after 3am, I think. I kind of thought that would happen... we like to visit. I'm not the only one in the family that likes to talk. :) Laughing and reminiscing. Lovely.

Friday we went to a couple of antique stores. Angela whipped her camera out (yes, even before I did) at one that is run out of an old flour mill building. The owner said they charge $15 to take pictures of the building.

Are you joking? You wonder. Yeah, Rachel wondered too and asked the guy. But no joke. The rest of the weekend, we kept joking about taking pictures from the street, since he wouldn't be able to stop us, but we didn't. Maybe next time.

Then Rachel showed Angela how to make bread. Okay, so I wanted to know her secrets too because my bread never turns out like her's. Now it will. I'm determined and I've got the secrets. Domestication in progress...

And then we had a visitor bearing bad news. The timing was ironic, since I was in town. Ugh. Seriously, UGH. Just when you think you've got a semi-grip on a never-ending trial and you think nothing else could possible go wrong. Perhaps that was the problem, thinking something so foolish. Sorry I'm vague, maybe when I get over it, I'll laugh about it.

We decided to go out to dinner, just Angela, Rachel and I. While out, I realized that I was glad I was with them to help me forget the visitor from earlier. He didn't stop us from having a wonderful time visiting and eating wonderful food. Mmmm, it was the best dining experience in a long time. We ate at Pizzeria 712 and if you are ever in the Orem area (or close), it's totally worth it. We shared a pizza, salad and dessert. Every last thing was absolutely delicious. I would've taken a picture, but the food was devoured rather quickly. Here's the remnants of our dessert. The price wasn't all that bad either. The service was great too, which seems to be a little hit and miss these days, so it was refreshing. Oh how I love sisters.

Switcheroo

Today is my birthday. But this year, I'm going to pretend my birthday was yesterday instead of today. Because yesterday was a great day.

I went to lunch with, Clara, my mom and Lily. On the way to my mom's, I noticed a few boys (16-17 yr olds) looking at me. They faded behind me and then when I looked over again as they pulled alongside my car, I saw they had written on a piece of paper: "Phone #?" I smiled and wiggled my wedding ring at them and heard both of them yell "Dang it!" Unfortunately for them, we were next to each other at the red light. They refused to pull up to the line. Then, they zoomed past me and the boy in the passenger seat covered his head in shame. Poor guys. Sorry you were humiliated, but it sure made me feel good. You must've thought I was in high school because my sunglasses were covering up my wrinkly eyes. Oh, and what'd you think about the two year old in my backseat? My mother suggested maybe you thought I was babysitting. I wasn't. She's mine. And her father is my husband... of five years. Ha!

So back to lunch... We went to Chive's (the restaurant at the Manor). It was pretty good food and a quaint porch setting. Clara loved that when she was done eating, she could just run around. And the price was just right.
I got some work done while Clara slept and then we took her to my mom's so we could go out. Angela, Ryan, Kathryn and Beka joined us at Outback for dinner. Ah, family, friends and good food. That's the good life. After dinner, we helped Angela get her battery fixed (it decided to die during dinner) and then watched a movie when we got home. Nice, relaxing and fun. Angela, I'm sorry your eyes are closed, but to even things up, I left everyone else's nice and red. :)

Meanwhile... Clara was reading the Owner's Manual to make sure everything was done properly.

Then there was today... I worked from 7:30-3:30 breaking only to make breakfast, make lunch and take a quick shower before Scouts. Clara destroyed my house all the while. I stopped working at 3:30 for Scouts. At five (after Scouts), I realized I forgot to go to KS, so I called Jason to see if he could go on his way home. About then, I realized I was expected to make dinner, but I was trying to pack and Clara was whining over everything (as she had done most of the day). I decided my sanity was worth the expense of going out to eat. Not to mention that I could save myself from a mini breakdown. So the bacon went back in the freezer and out we went. I did compromise with my budget and my schedule and went to Chipotle. Half the price, half the time.

Thanks for everyone that wished me a happy day today. If you're wondering why I didn't call you back, it's because after dinner, when I finally had a spare minute, I talked to the eldest Melzer for over an hour. After my phone conversation and foot rub, it was back to work. Now it's after 3:00am and I'm all ready for bed. Finally. (While I wrote most of this, I was getting a foot rub with lotion. Jason gives me lots of foot rubs, but it takes a special occasion for lotion to get involved. It has to be a really special occasion. Like my mother carrying me for nine months and then birthing me. Thanks mom!) I guess the day wasn't a total loss...

Better Than My Dreams

Friday night, I had a dream. The guys taking our family pictures wanted me to wear a wedding dress. They had implied it'd be a family photo shoot, but really they just wanted two people to model wedding dresses and had lied to me to get me to go. I hate getting tricked into doing things. I pride myself on being skeptical so I felt so foolish that I let them get the best of me. Some strange girl and I were selected for this shoot and they just kept taking picture after picture with us. Obviously, at this point, I didn't realize I was dreaming because I model all the time. :) Anyway, so they took our pictures and when they were done, they hadn't taken a single picture with Jason, Clara and I. In my dream I remember thinking: Even if I was in a wedding dress, at least I could have had one picture with Jason and Clara in it! I was so mad. I woke up worrying that it was foreshadowing and that I'd be disappointed with our pictures.

Fortunately, the photographers were laid back and honest. I didn't have to wear a wedding dress. And we got several pictures of our little family. Reality was way better than my dreams.

We got our pictures back a few hours after they took them. How's that for service? To get the full story of how I found out about these guys, read here. After some reassurance from Angela and Kathryn that my biggest concern wasn't really a concern (I'm a wee bit critical of myself), I've decided I love our pictures. I liked the quality from the moment I saw them, but I could probably find something to complain about in every picture that's ever been taken of me.

Clara was being a little turkey. She just wanted to run away and looking at the camera appeared to be the most difficult thing I've ever asked her to do. However, one of my favorite pictures is this one, where she's looking away from the camera... because that's reality.
Or maybe it's this one, where she's biting her lip and lifting up her shirt.
And this is my absolute favorite.

Jason looks great in this one and I LOVE the lighting. Never mind Clara is mad that Jason won't let her run away.

During one of Clara's many attempts to run away, they just started taking pictures of her. Of course she wasn't about to look at the camera even then. Notice her sagging pants (I didn't have to worry about her running too far because her pants would eventually fall down and she'd be forced to sit down) and her dirty little hand.

The pictures were taken by DM Photo. Check them out if you need lovely photos for anything. The quality of the photos is fantastic and I was able to relax and just have a good time during the shoot because they were so laid back and easy going.

Thanksgiving Tag

Early Dinner: Thanksgiving is always a pretty mellow Holiday. Most years, my family has Thanksgiving dinner on the Wednesday before. It might sound silly, but that way my mom knows we'll all be able to be with her for Thanksgiving dinner and we can still spend time with our sibling's families.

Eating Outside: Most years, the weather on Thanksgiving day in Arizona is absolutely gorgeous. My family has set up our table and eaten Thanksgivind dinner on the front lawn. Enjoying the lovely weather makes Thanksgiving dinner just a little bit more special.

Outing: Oft times we have gone and watched a movie Thanksgiving night. It's a fun way to end a lazy day. Just don't think you'll be the only one at the theater...

Now all of you (even if you don't live in Mesa and even if you don't live in Arizona) reading this should share your traditions and/or ideas with me and the rest of the world. Come on, I need to liven up my life. :) Here's how you do it...

Step 1 - Go to your blog and write a post about a craft, recipe or tradition that makes your Thanksgiving/Fall special.
Step 2 - Add the button by copy/pasting the code. This will link your readers to the master list of everyone sharing their ideas. We will update this list daily.
Step 3 - Leave a comment at iheartmesa.blogspot.com with your blog address in order to get your post added to the master idea list.
Step 4 - Tag your friends and let them know these 4 simple steps. Use the beautiful link to have access to LOTS of awesome ideas to make your season more special.

Click the cute little image to go to the code.

Items too small for an individual post, too big to ignore

Black pot. Could it be that there was a fire under my stove? Surely a piece of food that dropped under the stove coil didn't do this to my pot. Otherwise I would've removed the pot when I saw the little glowing ember.
And no way did it leave these ashes all over. Surely not.

Blocks. Let me tell you the (short, maybe) story of the blocks. I decide I will make blocks for a shower gift. We go to Home Depot to get the 4"x4" beam. They tell me they can't cut it into 4" pieces; the smallest is 12". Okay, 12" now and we'll (meaning Jason) hack it down ourselves. Get home. Realize the nice man cut them to 11.5". Jason goes back to Home Depot. The same guy tries to cut them to 11.5" again. Jason gets him to cut to 12" and comes home. Jason cuts blocks into 4" pieces. I cut the paper and lay it on the block. WHAT? They aren't square. Oh yeah, Jason says. I forgot, 4"x4" means 3.5"x3.5". What genius decided it'd be a good idea to do such a thing is beyond me. Back to the garage, with the saw, so I could show Jason how to cut in a straight line so he could re-cut the blocks. Wewsh. Finish blocks. ... NEXT DAY ... go to pick up blocks to wrap. Blocks are stuck together. Whatever, it's an hour before the shower. So, I took them anyway and begged Cherie to tell me if they stuck again so I could exchange the gift. Maybe I didn't let them cure long enough. Or maybe, just maybe, I have that kind of luck. Another great idea of mine. Obviously it's an idea in need of serious refinement.

Before you mock my protective eye gear... I didn't wear them until a piece, a little chunk of wood, flew into my eye.

Hot & Cold: Friday night Jason and I had tickets to go to Time Out for Couples at the Civic Center. We got a Hot 'n Ready Little Caesar's pizza (I wasn't kidding) and ate it as we drove. The event was pretty good (except that the room was absolutely freezing). We laughed a lot and enjoyed hanging out. Then we held hands as we walked into the ghetto to our car, since I refused to pay $10 for parking. How sweet.

Shopping frustrations. We had family pictures Saturday (pictures to come...) so I decided to go shopping for stuff to wear. I couldn't decide what would go with what, so I ended up buying four shirts and a pair of jeans for Jason and five shirts and four pairs of jeans for me. :) Don't worry, what we didn't wear will be returned (mostly). I bought a brown shirt for Clara on clearance at Target a while ago and was trying to match it. I wanted to wear turquoise and brown but that wasn't happening based on my findings. Friday night, Angela came over to help us coordinate outfits for the picture. I ended up wearing the first and cheapest outfit I bought (should've stopped then!). Seriously, shirt: $6.99, pants: $6.99. Bargains are cool.

Speaking of cool...Skinny Jeans. I'm so cool I can hardly stand it. I bought my first pair(s) of skinny jeans. And I look anorexic in them. Sweet.

Sunday Dinner. Not that I need them, but more reasons to love Sunday dinner at my parent's: Elsa with Clara in a headlock and Lily trying to get Lucy to make her face visible for the picture.

Pepper on Coconut Cream Pie (compliments Chef Lucy)

Elsa coveting Lucy's turn with the sucker and thinking about how much happier her life would be if she could but touch the sucker.

Elsa's dreams coming true as she touches the sucker.

And then the sucker hit the metal chair and broke into many pieces. Clara and Elsa were thrilled, for good reason. Suckers for everyone.

Tiny little dogs dressed up.

Sticky hands and faces.

You Knew It Was Coming

Since Tuesday, I've been trying to organize my thoughts on the outcome of the election so that I could rant and rave in all my opinionated glory in an entertaining manner. Then I realized that could very well never happen, but it's still on my mind. So here are my opinionated rants and raves in a not-so-entertaining manner.

Thought 1: It's great that the US has elected our first Black President. Perhaps it's the bubble I grew up in or maybe it's just my generation, but I've never felt like race was an issue. In my mind, we've already overcome racism. Obviously not everyone feels that way. I think this is an exciting and overwhelming way for Black citizens to have this confirmed... and a good way to remind the ignorant people that race should never be an issue.

Thought 2: People are overly optimistic about Obama. I've read many thoughts of people expressing that although they didn't vote for Obama, they think he'll be a good President if he follows through with his promises. I don't think some of his policies will benefit the majority of Americans. I don't think he has bad intentions and I don't think everything he says he'll do is bad. But I won't be thrilled if/when we see some of policies a reality.

Thought 3: I don't agree with many of Obama's policies. HOWEVER, as the President of our Country, I feel he deserves respect from ALL Americans. Not just the ones that agree with him. Unfortunately, there has been too many instances of complete disrespect for our current President. I thought Clinton was a total slimeball. But I still respected him as our President. (Although I sure hope nothing happens to Obama because I have a hard time seeing Biden as respectable).

Thought 4: Given the chance, Obama will probably not appoint what I'd call "good" Supreme Court Justices. By "good" I mean not right and not left, I mean people that can fairly interpret our Constitution. This, of all things, makes me the most nervous about the next four years.

Thought 5: Obama's policies are socialistic and laced with 'big government' (everything except defense...). I think most people are going to be surprised, and likely disappointed, with the implications of some of these policies. Or maybe not. I suppose those with the entitlement mindset might not be disappointed.

Thought 6: Why would they do another economic stimulus package?? I heard Obama plans to have one done quickly after he's sworn in. Yeah, getting $600 in the mail was nice. But let's face reality: $600 won't prevent me from foreclosing on my house and $600 isn't going to encourage someone else to buy that house. I'd imagine that other people struggling financially aren't going to have their financial despair wiped away by a mere $600 check in the mail. If that's all it takes to relieve you of your financial worries, then I would boldly question how serious their financial situation really was.

Thought 7: I don't understand why people protest after certain laws pass (or don't). Having a democracy allows the people's voice to be heard. We vote and the majority rules. If something passed (or didn't) that upset me enough, I'd get to work trying to get something on the ballot to be voted on, not protest. I just don't get it. I'm not saying their protesting is wrong, I believe in freedom of speech. But it just bothers me that after a law is passed, people are instantly trying to overturn it. Like I said, if I felt strongly about something, I wouldn't stop fighting for it until it went "my way", but I would go a different route.

Thought 8: Obama is an amazing speaker. I believe this worked in his favor. People who have the "gift of people speaking" can convince anyone that their ideas are good. Even if Obama doesn't do what he says he will, I think he'll schmooze people over with his ability to speak.

Thought 9: I don't have a whole lot of confidence in Obama taking an aggressive stance when it comes to National Defense. Thus, it should be interesting to see what comes to pass if Obama is tested as Biden has claimed he will be.

Thought 10: I don't think our Country will have peace and prosperity over the next four years, even if Obama does do what he has promised. I don't think McCain would've solved all the problems though either. I'm not trying to be negative, just realistic. However, I have a sense of peace knowing that me and my family can (and will) still be happy. So now I'm just curious to see what the next four years will bring. I think it will definitely be different than any other presidential term we've ever had. Oh, and if the economy continues to worsen, people will continue to (in my opinion) wrongfully blame Bush.

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Here's the recipe for my darling cookies.

Celebration Cookies (from my mom)

2 sticks butter
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. soda
4 tsp. baking powder
4 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; beat well. Add sour cream and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Roll on floured surface 1/2 inch thick. Cook on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 14-17 minutes (I actually do 12-14 minutes).

The dough is pretty sticky. I just put flour on the counter and on the rolling pin. Then, the first time I roll a batch of dough out, I normally have some of it stick to the counter, so I have to scrap some of the cookies I "cut" and roll the dough back into a ball. Just a little more flour and it shouldn't stick much after that.

The trick for the frosting? Well, it's called extra milk. NOT MUCH. Just a smidge and the frosting becomes a WEE BIT runny. This keeps the frosting from getting real thick, but I don't like much frosting anyway, so it works for me. (And who cares what other people prefer because the less they like them, the less they eat. The less they eat, the more I get. :))

That's all.

FOF - Happiness

It's been a while since my FOF was a reflection of things that make me happy. And it's been a happy week. (Although so many things went wrong.)


1.) Being FREE from one of my jobs. Long story deserving of it's very own post. Soon.

2.) Making progress on my humiliating room

3.) Anticipating a vacation

4.) Cold weather (because it feels great, I can wear long sleeves and I don't have to run my A/C)

5.) Shopping with Jason and Clara


And not that this is interesting to any of you anymore, but for my personal use in the future:
M: pasta with meat sauce (believe it or not), steamed broccoli, carrots and onions
T: butternut squash, corn on the cob, salad (red leaf, red onions, almonds, dried cherries & fresh strawberries) - random meal, but hey, I had to use my squash and corn at some point
W: egg drop soup, chicken lettuce wraps (hit the deck, meat twice this week), zucchini
R: leftovers
F: probably $5 pizza from Little Caesar's - it's a date, Ha!

Politookies

Last night as I was winding down, I realized tomorrow (today) would bring me lots of anxiety for two reasons. In an attempt to mitigate my anxiety, I made plans with myself to have fun and bake sugar cookies. Other than waking up with awful knots/ulcer pains in my stomach (no, not because of the elections, although that was the lessor contributing factor to my anxiety), my day has gone well.

I let Clara frost her cookie. Don't let this picture fool you, Clara never intended that big blob of frosting to be smeared on the cookie. It's much more efficient to just eat it straight off the knife. Why wait and eat the frosting with the cookie?We started with white, but clearly she welcomed the "red" and blue also.

One little, two little, three little cookies...

And as if my cleverness wasn't enough already, I decided to call my political cookies, politookies. Sorry to all non-D and non-R parties, you got lumped with the Independents.

I might not shower, but at least I make some good cookies!

Saturday Fun

Saturday, Clara and I went to a baby shower and then to the Fall Festival at Duck and Decanter. On the way to the Festival, Clara fell asleep. Ah, so peaceful.Angela walked around with us for a little bit. Someone had these giant exotic birds. Clara loved them.

Shadows fascinate me.

They had a few bouncy things. Clara's never been in one and loved it. The second time I letter her play on it, a nearby lady must have thought Clara was younger than she is. She gave me this look and asked how old she was like I was crazy to let her in it (there were only a few other kids). Anyway, Clara climbed the stairs to the slide and was so proud of herself. She was at the top and finally I thought I'd coaxed her to slide down after several minutes.

But just as she was about to slide down, she stopped and went back to the top. It was funny. Not long after, some girl went and grabbed her and slid down with her. While I appreciated the girl, after that, she wouldn't leave Clara alone. In the bouncy part, she wouldn't let Clara play. I find it odd that girls, perfect strangers, will walk up to a two year old and just pick them up. Lily's friends do that with Clara, but that's a different story. This happened once before at the Zoo and I thought it was Lily's friend, but nope, just some random girl wanting to hold her.

On my way home from the Fall Festival, I saw at least 29 cop motorcycles and several police vehicles. I figured they were on their way back to Phoenix from Officer Figueroa's funeral and started thinking about how ironic it is when officers are killed on duty. They put their lives on the line to make our communities safer for us. Then to have their lives ended by the very people they are protecting us from is just so sad. It such a respectable way to lose your life, but bitterly ironic at the same time. So often it's not until something like this happens that we realize the respect officers deserve. I am grateful for so many brave people willing to risk their lives to make our streets safer. My heart aches for the policeman that lost a friend and for his wife and family.

While we were gone, Jason decided to buzz his head. Funny. Oh, except for the fact that we're supposed to be having family pictures Saturday.

Happy Halloween - Yesterday

I had two goals for Halloween this year: go to a pumpkin patch and have Clara's costume done early. We never went to a pumpkin patch and I started working on her costume at about 5:00pm on Friday (yes, the 31st). So much for setting goals... but we did have a fun Halloween.

In lieu of carving a pumpkin, I let Clara paint one. Sometimes it is so fun just to watch her and see what she'll do with crafts. She kept touching the paint and was so upset it was on her hand. She told me she was done, but really she just wanted to wash her hands.
After I got Clara's costume ready (she's a bat if you can't tell from the pictures), we went to my mom's for the party they have across the street every Halloween. It's fun seeing people from my old Ward. We had planned to go to that then head back to our house/neighborhood. The little bat doing her "trick" and the little bat flying down the sidewalk (I don't know if you can see her wings because it's so dark, but she was flapping as she ran down the sidewalk). Clara loved running up and down the sidewalk. She's fast and she just goes and goes. She holds her arms with her elbows bent at a 90* angle when she runs fast and it's pretty darn cute. The funniest was when she started running, heard some scary noises playing at the neighbor's, turned around super fast and started running back with a really uneasy look on her face.
Lily wanted to take Clara around the block, so I let her. They were gone for at least an hour so I started getting a tad worried. Jason drove around looking for them and never found them. He was driving real slow, by himself and staring at all the kids trying to find them. He said all the parents probably thought he was a sicko. Probably.

Lily and Clara eventually came back, just in time to do a little trick-or-treating and candy eating with Lucy and Elsa. PS They are Chinese gymnasts. And they're 16 in case you're wondering. My mom gave them each a little pack of gummy Lifesavers for the picture and each of them stared at the camera as they shoved them in, one by one.

Then Elsa left a few of her's on the ground to go see the trick-or-treaters at the door. I told Clara to put it back as she bit into it. So she did. She threw it right back on the ground where she found it. So obedient in her own special little way.

We ended up staying at my parent's because we had too much fun hanging out. Then a tiger came and ate the poor little bat. The tiger was scared and was being completely stiff and wouldn't move her head, especially after Grandma put her in front of the mirror. Then she warmed up to her new outfit. Lucy chased the tiger outside, touched the tiger's face with one little finger and exclaimed, "Clara!" (in her little 2-year old way). Guess who's pregnant??

Ryan is afraid of the camera. Poor Ryan.

I feel like I was kind of 'unfestive' this year, but I had a busy and stressful day Friday, which means the week leading up to it was busy and stressful too. But it was for a good reason and I'm hoping to have some order back in my life relatively soon. More on the later...