Wednesday, October 7, 2009

this post is not for you, it's for me. don't read it, it's boring.


wow, what a response from the follower/non-follower community. wasn't intending to fish for followers but appreciate it just the same. still don't know what a follower is or what it does. anyone care to enlighten me?

my mind has been especially scattered lately. a little difficult, but i guess i'm semi used to it by now.

conference was wonderful. watched it online for the first time ever. i still miss being in salt lake for it. i was totally spoiled at byu and somehow managed to go to the majority of the sessions in my few years at byu. especially the last two years. i was at the conference center for every session i think. as i said, spoiled.
so for that reason it makes me sad to be so far away because the whole community isn't celebrating conference weekend with me. just the lds community. so instead of being like everyone is celebrating the olympics, it's just like a small inside joke instead.
and since my sister, emily, is in hr school at utah state she got to hang out with my parents all weekend while they were in town visiting and they went to a byu game and hung out with people and just had a lot of fun without me. and it's sad because my in laws were in slc for conference too and i couldn't help but think about how my christopher and i were missing out on post priesthood session chinese food at the kelsey grandparents.

but we started a tradition of our own. my christopher texted me after conference wondering what fun thing we could do when he got home. first suggestion, milkshakes. i had to inform him we only had two bites left (just the right amount for one more cup of hot chocolate... which i've been having at least every day) and so he would need to think of a new idea. he thought of plenty of ideas but none so great as milkshakes. of course he came home with grocery bags...filled which what you ask? ice cream of course! i guessed he had gotten some sort of vanilla chocolate mix. probably a fudge swirl. finally he told me he got mocha almond swirl. what? mocha? why'd you get mocha? do you like mocha? and my final and favorite question... do you even know what mocha is? haha. oh my honey, he sure is a funny one.

he didn't know what mocha was. when i told him it was a chocolateyish coffee sort of mix he looked at his milkshake with quite a bit of hesitation and then it was like he was trying to decide if he liked it (even though he did just seconds before) and started checking to see if there was coffee actually IN the ice cream. as i said, a funny boy. i assured him of all of his fears and calmed him right down that the mocha ice cream was okay to eat, that it wouldn't kill him or condemn him and that it would be a tasty flavor we would both enjoy.

after that he was like a two year old that just learned a new word! i mean, i know i'm very child-like, but christopher definitely is too, just in his own way. i think i hear him say mocha at least thirty times that night. he now insists that this is our new family tradition. after priesthood session we eat mocha milkshakes. ok honey.

hmm, what else? job search still going. don't wanna talk about it.

still loving our apartment. especially since we got a vacuum so i don't have to see every speck of... well anything really... on our hides-nothing-carpets. we have a wonderful view and our apartment is so small and has such a large portion of its wall's as sliding screen doors, that if our apartment is too warm, i can cool it down in four seconds, and heat it up just as fast.

**18 hours later** got distracted. might have a job. will write more later.

Monday, September 21, 2009

i wish this was surprising

as i was signing into my blog today (which i rarely do) something caught my eye.



i have a follower? what's this about?



followers are people interested in your blog.

followers (1) Bryan and Carolyn Turnage

your friends (1) Bryan and Carolyn Turnage



need i say more?

unfortunately, i need not.

changing schools

9.19.09

saturday afternoon walking to the tailgate
me: who's playing florida state today?
chris: we are
me: no we're not, we're playing san jose.

ohhhh right, we meaning byu. having a bit of an identity crisis as i wear my red shirt.
i talked to my sister that night after the game about how weird it is cheering for another school. i'd try to get really into it (and thought i was doing a pretty good job) but then the whole student section would start some special cheer or clapping chant something or other and then i just felt like an impostor. oh well. still fun. better luck next time.

first day of school

9.14.09they sure grow up fast

our box

dorm room carpet

la petite kitchenette
the basics

the luxury

the dining room
typical dorm bathroom complete with itty bitty sink and industrial flushing toilet

we live in a box. it's a little ghetto. i am in love with it.

didn't even bust a tire

we left wednesday morning for salt lake. stayed the night with the kelsey grandparents. drove the rest of the way on thursday.

beautiful skies as we left salt lake... also lots of salt by the road.

our car was riding pretty low. the packing job was unlike anything i've ever seen before. every inch inside and two car top carriers as well. pretend you're six and you're looking at highlights magazine. can you find these items? a laundry hamper, a box of ziplock bags, a bag of toiletries, clothing, dirty clothing, a kitchen rug/mat, a flashlight, a dish scrubber, cannery food storage food, and an umberella.

after passing over the california state line. chris is sure feeling good about it. he drove the entire way.

GREEN!!! so many trees! i almost feel home again.

and then we made it.

ode to bryan and carolyn

this is bryan

this is carolyn

they like to make food. but more importantly... they like US! they randomly showed up the day we were moving out of our apartment... start to finish... all in one day. they didn't call ahead, they didn't ask, they just showed up. they saved my life!

bryan helped christopher pack the car (and more importantly kept him in a good mood) while carolyn helped me sort through and pack boxes. they ran errands for us and kept us motivated. carolyn brought me milk (we had none) and, pregnant as she was, cleaned my whole apartment, bathroom, kitchen, fridge, and all!

we would love them more but we're still a bit angry that they declined our offer to come to california and live with us.

we went on a cruise


we went to grand cayman, roatan island (honduras), belize, and cozumel. it was amazing.

if you'd like to see a couple hundred pictures from our trip, click here.

if you'd like to see a hundred MORE pictures from our trip, click here too.

Monday, September 14, 2009

what country am i in?!?!



just a list of randoms


NO ONE speaks english. EVERYONE is brown... mostly indian or mexican.

gas is anywhere from $3.17 to $3.39... colorado is $2.29

something 3 miles away will take you at least 20 or 30 minutes... any time of day.

apparently the city does not trust drivers to make left turns on their own. drivers have to pull a u-turn at the light and then make a right turn into where they want to go.

we put walmart in our gps and pulled up one location, 3.6 miles away. we put in chili's and pulled up at least 13 within 20 miles.

my nearest super walmart is over 50 miles away. my nearest super target is 128 miles away.

wal-mart prices
milk is $2.09
kraft mac and cheese $.78 - off brand was only ten cents less
vegetable oil (normal size container) $2.98
ketchup $1.64

grocery store prices (safeway)
ramen is $.38
cheapest ketchup $2.99
kraft mac and cheese $1.68 or ten for ten
milk is $2.49
soft tortillas (16) $4.26

housing is four times the price of what we paid in colorado

i had to buy something for chris's computer. total: $65.98 what i paid: $72.08 why: 9.25% sales tax

at least food is exempt from sales tax.

ps- the weather is beautiful and i like our apartment. i swear i'm not unhappy. just baffled.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

finally here!!!

we're going to the beach!!!! i'll continue my update posting when i get back! yeay! yeay! yeay! i'm so excited!!!!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

memorial day weekend

for memorial day, chris's family got a ton of rockies tickets! that meant that not only were we invited to go with a big group of family and friends but that we got to invite friends of our own as well! rain was pouring our whole drive there leading to a rain delay. this rain delay was wonderful because it gave us all an excuse to go to lunch at the old spaghetti factory --i will post pictures of that as soon as carolyn emails me some ;-) thanks carolyn! -- which was absolutely delicious! the game was lots of fun but became painful to watch. the rest will be explained by pictures and captions...

christopher enduring a baseball game because he loves his wife so very very much



my lovely friend carolyn (husband, bryan, present but not pictured)


as i said, the game came to be just to painful. in case you can't see the score, we're losing 15 to 6 in the 7th. they'd already scored 8 runs in the 7th when we left and i know they scored more before the end of the inning. it was just so sad.


after we got home, chris and bryan played hockey on the driveway with chris's brothers mark, john, and nate for about six hours. just kidding, but really, it was a long time... and rain did not discourage them (notice the dark clouds rolling in). all in all, a very fun and festive memorial day!


_______________________________________________________


other news: i have a nephew!!! i'm sure many of you were unaware -- except for you, liza, i'm pretty sure you knew -- baby will came may 22 and now i have one niece and one nephew and i'm very excited about it! so excited that as soon as i heard the big news -- boy or girl -- i got to work on some blankets. not that phenomenal, but they're special because they're my first!
the first product of the sewing machine my wonderful mother in law gave me for christmas. this same mother in law is also the reason i have learned how to sew, crochet, knit, and embroider since coming to colorado last fall!


this is the first and only blanket i have ever crocheted. it took me about twenty hours and wasn't even very good. liza, thanks for realizing the sentimental value behind it. em, don't worry, your children will have much prettier blankets than poor baby will!

Friday, June 26, 2009

devil's head

mid may we went hiking devil's head with chris's family. i'm loving all of these cool places near here. people always tell me colorado is beautiful but i honestly just never see it. it'll never be beautiful like georgia, like the east coast. but, drive a few hours and it's its own kind of beautiful.

this was one of my favorite views from the hike. it was from the fire lookout hut.


this is bill ellis. he gave us a little certificate when we made it! he's been watching for fires from that little hut for the last thirty something years. he was precious.


this picture totally creeps me out. tell me if i'm wrong, but does it not look like on of those pictures they put on the news about missing people. "carrie hillier went hiking with her family in devil's head just five days ago. this picture was taken just hours before she disappeared. she went back to the car to grab a sweatshirt and never came back. her family is devastated as there has been no trace of her since." can you see it? ps- the real reason for this strange photo was that christopher forgot to zoom out before he snapped the shot.


let me tell you, i have felt few winds as refreshing as the winds we are enjoying in this picture.


so fun. too bad we don't do this stuff more often.

easter weekend

i know i know, i'm so behind. i don't feel like making excuses. anyways, here are some pictures from our day trip to colorado springs and dying easter eggs with chris's family.


this is my christopher on top of the world!!! or just on top of a rock, but don't tell him that. we were so geared up to go hiking through garden of the gods. unfortunately on the drive down it started snowing and it continued, on and off for the whole day. still, we made the most of it. ;-)


helen falls. the free version of seven falls.
at the top of the falls. it was so beautiful!


christopher, hard at work.


he is gifted. if j crew sold easter eggs, they would look like this, i'm sure.


we dyed a lot of eggs. haha this isn't even half of them. ;-)

Friday, May 22, 2009

it's been a while

don't worry, i swear i'm not that far behind on my blogging. these pictures are only two and a half months old from the first weekend in march. stanford had their admit weekend for round one of the business students and we went early and hung out in san fransisco for a day which was tons of fun. i love love love that city! stanford was awesome and definitely as beautiful as everyone builds it up to be. we met a ton of cool people and all of the students seem really nice and down to earth.


this was my first ever time on a trolley car! we got a day pass and rode them everywhere!


this is at the historic maritime park

go giants! i'm super excited to go to giants games... even though they tend to have a losing record.


look what a smart little student boy this will be!


so beautiful! i love the architecture and landscaping. maybe i'll spend my free time on campus pretending to be studious!

more pictures on facebook...


Sunday, March 15, 2009

lately

i feel like i should have made a "no more blogging" new years resolution. goodness knows it would have been my most long lasting! ha.

what we've been up to lately:
avs games
chris's hockey games
our callings
work
good old fashioned hanging out


we love going to avs games! especially when our friend jay gives us 7th row tickets for free!!!


chris and his good friend, pat, in the penalty box with their matching penalties...


these are a couple achievement day girls practicing sign language. this means "weird."


i practically live at carolyn's house. and this is what i do: watch her cook and help her eat. ps- those rolls were great!


so, hope you feel completely caught up on the last couple of months. as you can tell, it has been packed with fun filled and exciting events... at least for me. ;-)

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

no snow, just pure heaven


still loving cancun. loving it so much that i'm only going to take three minutes to tell you how much i'm loving it because i just gotta get back to loving it some more. ha.

anyways, for all four of my fans out there, i wish you could be here because it's amazing. this is where chris and i came for our honeymoon except that now we're here with nine of his family members and we're staying at a resort three down from the omni where we stayed a year and a half ago. it's a lil different this time around but wonderful just the same.

it takes forever to upload pictures to this blog so i put some from the first half of the trip up on facebook. here's the link for all of you to enjoy... try not to drool.


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2232000&l=9fe3a&id=17800933







Saturday, December 20, 2008

nevermind

I no longer feel like doing a good job posting on this thing. i will give you a half hearted apology but that is all i have. lots has been going on, but not really that much stuff that would actually be interesting to write about...
It is so freezing cold here. and it won't stop snowing. the upside? i'll be in cancun on wednesday! thank goodness for that christmas getaway!
I was offered my own classroom at work and after thinking about it for a week i accepted. i'll be teaching two year olds and instead of having an assistant teacher, i'll just have less kids. that's a plus since my current assistant teacher is driving me nuts. sadly, i'll be glad to not see her on a full time basis anymore.
christopher and i completed out christmas shopping today! YEAY!!! we also went on a tie shopping spree and got over $400 worth of ties for under $50. i might even be more excited about the ties than christopher although only some of them will be for him...
k, i'm burned out again. maybe i'll post again in another month or two. maybe cancun will motivate me... but then again, maybe not!