the thankfulness continues...

And now, here's today's list:

1. I'm thankful that 27 years ago today, my parents were married. I was probably watching from heaven, and pretty excited about it.
   
2. I'm thankful for another great Jazz win tonight.
   
3. I'm thankful for finding random cash in the pockets of things I haven't worn for a little while!

Catching up...

I forgot to post yesterday, so here's yesterday's list :

1. I'm thankful to have a friend to sit with in Elder's quorrum. In the Kimball ward, I was in the nursery right from the start. Once I was able to go to priesthood, I didn't really know anyone.
   
2. I'm thankful for Elder's quorrum teachers who actually prepare for class on Sunday and teach a good lesson.
   
3. I'm thankful for Sunday afternoons with my family.

Today's Big 3

Here are my 3 things I'm thankful for today :

1. Sleeping in! We get up at 5:00 AM Monday through Friday, and we have 9:00 church on Sundays. But on Saturdays, we can sleep as late as we want. (today, I slept until 9:30 -- SO nice.)
   
2. We went to the Utah game today with Eliza, Paul, and Peter. What an AWESOME game! 50 to nothing! What made it even sweeter was that Wyoming's head coach had guaranteed a Wyoming win today.
   
3. Hanging out with my family -- playing Guitar Hero and watching Ratatouille. Good times.

I'm Grateful Too...

As I was reading everyone else's list of things they're thankful for, I realized that my list would have a lot of the same things on it. But I would be very ungrateful if I didn't stand here and thank... (oh, wait... this isn't fast and testimony meeting... and incidentally, I HATE when people start off their testimonies like that... It's a TESTImony, not a THANKimony. So TESTIFY!) But I digress... Anyway, I decided to write my list regardless of the fact that many of these things have already been mentioned. This should be interesting, since I am so far behind. In order to catch up, I'll need to list 27 things today... HERE GOES!!

I Am Thankful For :

1. my wife -- she is my best friend, and we have SO much fun together. She's a nice wife.
2. a good job where I have great co-workers.
3. health insurance. We still get excited whenever we remember that we have insurance now!
4. my iPod. It helps me get through the day.
5. audiobooks. I may not like to read very much, but I do enjoy a good book!
6. the Jazz beating the Sonics tonight -- it's embarrassing that it was so close, but it would have been terrible to lose.
7. nice parents who are letting us live at their house.
8. milk.
9. my sisters -- they are some of my best friends.
10. excedrine.
11. being able to make my wife laugh.
12. my dad, who yells at the TV while watching sports just as much as I do, AND understands wanting to watch whatever college football game happens to be on.
13. The Office -- it's gotta be the funniest show on television.
14. my other favorite shows: CSI, Shark, Life, and of course, 24.
15. mary's ability to find the exact spot on my back that itches, and scratch it for me.
16. weekends.
17. being back in a good ward.
18. Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
19. my friends -- I couldn't ask for better ones.
20. music.
21. my in-laws. Marrying into such a big family was a little intimidating, but I really like everyone.
22. all of my nieces and nephews.
23. all of the people who are serving our country in the armed forces.
24. being able to go to school.
25. the gospel in my life.
26. all of the great experiences from my mission.
27. the temple.

Well, I know the list is pretty random, but those are the first 27 things that came to mind. So now I'm all caught up!

The Sky is Falling!!

The last couple of weeks have been pretty eventful for us...

On September 23rd, we were watching TV in the bedroom, when Mary noticed a slight bubble in the ceiling that was leaking water into our apartment. Yet another advantage to living on the top floor. So we put a bucket under it, and called the maintenance man the next morning.

As you can see, I was not happy. The maintenance man came out the next day and "fixed" the leak on the roof. Our cieing, however, now had a bald patch where the paint had pretty much disolved.

Whatever he did, it didn't work. The next day it rained again, and the ceiling kept on dripping. Then leak number two. This one was more of a constant stream than a periodic drip. So that was fun trying to sleep when it sounds like someone is taking an eternal leak right next to your bed (please excuse the analogy...).

Well, as the days went on, new leaks kept springing up, and it was getting pretty frustrating. The maintenance man came out twice more, and "fixed" the problem...

No. He didn't. As you can see, by this time, an entire piece of sheet rock was starting to droop under the weight of all that water still in our ceiling.

Well, that was when we knew that we had to get out. We didn't want to still be in that apartment when the ceiling caved in on us. However, we didn't want to go back to paying rent. So, we were left with only one other option. Thus, for now, we are living with my parents. We got everything out of our bedroom first -- we just didn't want any of our stuff ruined. We have been moving the rest of our stuff over here and there (since we have until the end of the month anyway). Each time we go, the ceiling is a little worse. Here are some pics taken over the last few days.

Wow, that's looking pretty bad, huh? Oh you think so, do you? Well take a look at this!

Yeah, I was pretty much cracking up. You can't really tell from the pictures, but the carpet on that side of the bedroom is totally soaked. What a mess!! I'm sure glad we got out when we did!

Tagged ... a while ago...

1- what I was doing 10 years ago :

Ten years ago, I was 13 years old. I had just started going to Encore Academy, which was a great experience for me. Before that, I was quiet and shy, and not at all outgoing. It gave me a huge boost in my self confidence. Some of my all-time best friends are those I met during the several years I spent in Encore.

2- Five years ago :

I had just graduated from high school. My senior year was a blast -- I watched most of my friends stress about A.P. tests and concurrent enrollment and honors classes. Meanwhile, I coasted through Choir, Seminary, Foods, Teacher Aid, Student Government, and my one "real" class -- Humanities. Sure, I regret not working harder in high school. But on the other hand, I can honestly say that I really had a good time.

Also, I was working at Video II with Guy Watts. And I had also just started dating Kellie Tye.

3- One year ago :

I was anxiously ripping link after link off the countdown chain that hung in my bedroom keeping track of the days until my wedding. I pretty much let her make all the decisions, as I only had an opinion on a couple of things. Those were exciting times. I'm sure glad I found Mary!

4- Yesterday :

Yesterday was Mary's birthday so we took the day off. We woke up around 8:00, and Mary opened her presents. Then we went out to eat at IHOP. One of her presents from me was Season 3 of "The Office" on DVD (which BTW is just about the funniest show ever!), so after breakfast, we came home and watched a few (I think 7...) episodes. Then we got ready for the day and went Mini-Golfing at Boondocks, at Mary's request. We finished off the day with dinner at Restaurante Morelia (some of the best Mexican food out there.)

5- Five Snacks I Enjoy :

• 7-Layer Dip


• Pringles (loaded baked potato...mmm....)


• Moosetracks ice cream


• Training Table cheese fries


• Oreo shakes

6- Five things I would do if I suddenly had $100,000,000 :

• Pay off my credit card


• Get rid of my old crappy cars and buy an Escalade. (and one for pat...)


• Quit my job (not that I don't like it, but...why work?)


• Buy a huge house


• Travel lots

7- Five Locations I Would Like To Run Away To :

• Europe (esp. England and Spain)


• Guatemala


• The Caribbean


• Peru (Machu Picchu)


• Hawaii

8- Five Bad Habits I Have :

• Bothering my wife to try and get a rise out of her, and then feeling bad when she finally gets mad... (although this one is pretty funny... :D)


• Forgetting important things


• Speeding


• Day dreaming (usually about having super powers... or being rich... or BOTH!)


• Using sarcasm

9- Five Things I Like Doing :

• Traveling


• Watching sports


• Hanging out with people I like


• Singing


• Eating good food

10- Five TV Shows I Like :

• 24
• CSI
• Seinfeld
• The Office
• Shark

11- Five Things I Hate Doing :

• Reading (although, I do enjoy audiobooks...)
• Dishes
• pretending to laugh at my lame supervisor's jokes... lately I just listen to my iPod at work and just pretend I can't hear her talking to me. So far it's working out pretty well.
• Managing apartments
• Paying bills

12- Five Biggest Joys of the Moment :

• Finally getting out of our terrible apartment! (more on this later...)
• Utah won a game (and let's face it... if they hadn't beat USU, well that would have just been rock bottom...)
• Cooler weather -- I'm a fall/winter person.
• Sonic jumbo popcorn chicken

Colors Concert!

After almost 5 years, one of my favorite bands put on a reunion concert tonight. In high school, my friends and I were kind of Colors groupies. We went to just about every concert, had all the CD's, sweatshirts, bumper stickers -- you name it. They came and did several concerts at Murray High and the Murray Amphitheater. Going to the reunion concert was lots of fun, and it brought back some great memories. Here's some pictures of the concert :

P.S.

At the rate the Utes are going, they'll likely be playing with their entire second string by about mid season...

These injuries are killing us!

Friendly Letters...

Dear Tommy Grady,

I just want to say thank you for a wonderful game. 20/39 passing, 2 interceptions, and an average run of -1.8 yards. You really stepped it up for the Utes. They clearly reflected your leadership and confidence on the field. Thanks again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Officials of yesterday's Utah/Air Force Game,

I really appreciate how dedicated you were to making sure that Utah didn't get any calls their way. Thank you for slapping us with 7 penalties totaling 160 yards, compared to Air Force's 5 penalties for 45 yards. That really helped us out.

All my love,

A disappointed fan

New Computer!

This post is coming to you live from our brand new computer!

We decided we needed a second computer (as up until now, all we had was my laptop), so once we had some extra money, we set out shopping. We decided to go to Costco first, since they usually have the best prices on electronics.

I wasn't really sure what to buy, but luckily I ran into a friend from high school who happens to know quite a lot about computers. He recommended the wonderful machine you see pictured here:


We also can finally afford to have cable TV and internet (thanks to managing the apartments), and those were installed this afternoon. This means that, as much as I despise The Mountain, I won't have to miss out on the college football action this season. Speaking of which... Grady is about the sorriest thing I've ever seen.

Bye.

The last straw!

So I've decided that I'm pretty much fed up with restaurants that use the styrofoam cups. I always seem to have trouble with them. Once we were at Fazoli's and when I inserted my straw, I stabbed a hole right through the cup. It instantly sprang a leak, squirting lemonade all over the table.

Today, we ate at Sonic between classes. You know those tables that they put outside that are a kind of metal mesh? I don't know how else to describe them (see image)...

Anyways... They use the kind of ice that is like a bunch of little pellets. So, I was having a hard time getting my straw to the bottom of the cup so that I could enjoy the last few swallows of Dr. Pepper. I guess I pushed a little too hard, and my straw punctured the bottom of my cup. Thanks to the wonderful meshy design of the table, the last bit of my drink leaked through the table, and right INTO my shoe... So you can imagine how comfortable that was.

So that's it, I've had it! No more styrofoam cups for me. Can't handle it.

In the blink of an eye

It's amazing how your life can change so drastically from one minute to the next...

I got a phone call on Wednesday morning from the wife of one of my life-long friends. She told me that Patrick's dad had suffered a heart attack that morning while at work, and he passed away.

Patrick's mom died the year we graduated high school after having suffered for years with cancer.

I just can't even imagine what it must be like. The past couple of days, every time it comes to my mind, I just feel so sad for my friend. I don't think anyone plans on burying both of their parents before the age of 24. Patrick, if you're reading this, I just want you to know how much you impress me. Heavenly Father must really think you're strong -- He wouldn't give you such trials otherwise.

But I guess this just really has me thinking. We never know how much time we, or any of our loved ones, has left. No one thought Jim would be leaving us this soon. I'm very grateful for the knowledge we have of what is to come. What a tremendous help and comfort it is to us at times like these.

Free Rent!!

So we are now officially managing the Rose Anne Apartments where we live. In exchange for our services we are living rent-free, which is awesome. It's going to help us out in a huge way. We'll be able to get out of debt and build up our savings. We only plan on doing it for a year or so. By then we should be in great shape financially, and ready to move on.

We had our first training meeting on Saturday morning (which took OVER 3 hours). We're both feeling a little bit overwhelmed with our responsibilites, which include :

1. Collecting rent from the other tenants
2. Issuing "3-Days to Pay or Vacate" notices to tenants who's rent is later than the 5th (we'll be issuing three of those tonight... aparently it's kind of a big problem at the R.A. apts.)
3. Taking calls for maintenance requests and scheduling the maintenance man to come fix things.
4. Keeping the property grounds looking nice.
5. Listing and filling vacancies
6. Preparing vacant apartments to be rented
7. Going to the main office at least once a week to pay bills and enter rent checks into their computer system (which happens to be ANCIENT... it's a DOS program if that tells you anything...)

We have other miscellaneous responsibilities as well. I know it sounds like a lot, and truth be told, I had no idea how much would be involved in managing. I just keep telling myself, "It's only 1 year. Free rent! It'll be worth it!!"

We really are counting this as a huge blessing for us. Hopefully we'll be able to handle everything!

My Awesome Platinum Birthday

Wow, what a fun birthday! I sure am lucky to have such a nice wife!

I know everybody already knows everything that Mary did to make my birthday great, so I just want to say that it was absolutely perfect. It was so much fun getting a present every day leading up to my birthday -- as Claudia said, it was like Haunuka :D

Thanks again for everyone who wrote a message for the scrapbook Mary made for me. All of the things you wrote really made me feel good and it will be fun to go back and read through it again and again.

07-07-07 was the best! Thanks everyone!

Sometimes, my head hurts...

So I had to go to the Emergency Room the other day...

I started getting bad headaches on Wednesday the 4th. I've had migraines before, but they've never been this bad. Nothing I took helped. I still had some prescription pain meds left from my car accident, and those at least took the edge off the pain. The headaches kept getting worse and worse, and I was getting them about every day. They were always accompanied by nausea, too. I asked Mary to please cut my head off, but she wouldn't do it.

The thing that had me worried was that something weird happened every time I was about to get a headache. First, wherever I was looking directly would be blurry. I couldn't focus my eyes on anything. Then, in my periferal vision, it almost seemed like a strobe light. That's about the best way I can describe it. It was really strange.

On Wednesday, I got the worse headache so far. The strobe sensation in my periferal vision was so intense that it hurt to keep my eyes open. I was extremely dizzy and nauseous, and I felt like I might throw up. We decided that I better go to the E.R.

I desribed the strange things that had been happening with my headaches, and the doctor told me that it's called "Migraine with Ora". I was just relieve that he didn't say, "Hmm... Yeah, that's really weird. I don't know what that could be...". They gave me a shot in my stomach which helped a lot. They gave me a prescription for the same medication in injection form.

The doctor wants me to schedule a CT scan, just to be sure that there's nothing else wrong. So for the time being, I am doing MUCH better. Thank heavens for drugs!