The Ellsworths

My once a year post, coming right up!

2011-09-29T12:36:00.003-06:00

I have four days off in a row, and blogging seems like an appropriate thing to do because it will help me procrastinate all the other things that I really do need to do.

So, first of all we got a new doggy. And if I knew how to upload pictures, then there would be a picture of scooter right *here*. But I don't, so you'd like to know what Scooter looks like then come visit =)

We adopted Scooter earlier this month. Her name was also Tinkerbelle, but having 2 Tinkerbelles got confusing real fast, and we quickly found a new name for her. My current schedule has me working ten hour shifts and Tinkerbelle was getting lonely being home alone all day, so viola, a new doggy! They are becoming better friends, and mostly like to chase each other around. That is until we get home, and then they just want to play fetch or go for walks.

Also earlier this month Jon's uncle came to visit from Hawaii. I was back in training for work and couldn't take any time off, but Jon was able to take the week off to play. We bbq'd at Deer Creek one afternoon, saw a live radio performance at BYU, played bumper boats at Trafalga, had a birthday bash for Howard, went to Strawberry reservoir to catch craw-dads and soak up some sun, and just had a good time in general. I think we're still trying to adjust from having lots of people in and out of our house to it being quiet with just the 2 of us. And, in all fairness, it is our turn to visit him next =)

I was hoping my once a year post would be a bit longer (and contain pictures) so maybe I'll have to see about posting again in a few months.

2 months ago..

2010-10-25T10:49:00.018-06:00

We were just returning from Hawaii!

We made friends with the locals:

And came home craving fresh pineapple and pineapple ice cream.

(Good thing I found a good pineapple cake recipe to calm my cravings!)

In order to swim with the fish, you have to go in looking like a fish?

(Next time we'll take an underwater camera, there were so many cool fish and sea creatures!)

We satisfied my inner history junkie:

As well as my girly, mushy, side:

There were cool trees:

And Rocks:

And we went in here:

to see this:

I'm pretty sure the Ellsworths needs to spend more time with Howard, at his house in Hawaii of course =)

I sewed this:

2010-10-14T16:05:00.005-06:00

Yeah, I know red doesn't go with our living room.

I learned how here.

I didn't sew this:

but, aren't they cute??

Summer of Fun- Part 2, Make time for Friends and Exercise

2010-09-22T10:12:00.002-06:00

I know there are some who will laugh when I type that I went to see the midnight showing of Eclipse (or that I went to eclipse at all)...but I did! And, I even went to a before party. And no girls night out would be complete without dinner(mmm goodwood)!

Truth be told, I was excited to be going out at midnight, I thought it would make me feel like I was 18 again. Really, it just made me realize that I'm 27 and should adhere to my regular 10:30 bedtime. That's not to say that it wasn't fun, because really when you're out with these girls everything is fun!

And, honestly, I would go anywhere with these girls, no matter what time of the day it might be. On days that I *really* want to move away, they remind me that I have some of the best friends ever right here. It's crazy to think that around this time of year 9 years ago I was just meeting them (and eating their freshly baked cookies...because JoAnn knows how to make friends) and that we're all still friends.

This picture is from April, but if T lived in the country now I bet she would have been right there with us at midnight =)

Also in July I was a substitute mom again for the McArthur kiddos while JoAnn and Nate were on pioneer trek. When I watched them last January Jon wasn't working full time ao spent a lot more time with us than he was able to this time around. For the most part it was me and the 3 kids. Lucky for me they're the best kids around! We had a picnic at the park, we went to kangaroo zoo, had sleepovers in the movie room...basically it was a party =), and I'm glad I was able to help out so that JoAnn and Nate could go and experience trek together.

And since I didn't bring my camera with me in July, here's a silly picture from a sewing night long, long ago that always reminds me of them:

June and July were also great exercise months for me. I stuck with my goal of jogging 3-4 times a week and 12 miles a week. I love love love warm summer evenings outside!

Summer of Fun- Part 1, Yellowstone and not getting eaten by a buffalo

2010-09-18T20:16:00.012-06:00

Planning a trip to Yellowstone(where you don't get eaten by a buffalo) involves preparation:
1. Convince the Forbes that you're cool enough for them to carpool with you
2. Have your parents rent the coolest cabin big enough for 17 people
3. Spend lots of time with the niece and nephews, and everyone else too
And
4. Make sure the Kimber's are on the trip (you know, to make sure you drive around the buffalo, right now).

La Moto

2010-09-06T11:14:00.005-06:00

This is Jon's new baby. He *might* love it as much as he loves Tinkerbelle. It is a 2009 Honda Shadow Aero, which at the time of purchase had 0 miles on it, and now not even 2 weeks later, has close to 300.

Jon's brother LOVED motorcycles. He had 3 of them. When he passed away, Jon and Jake both wanted to do something together, that would remind them of their brother, and what better way to remember him than by doing something that he had loved? We inherited 2 bikes from Dave, but neither are in great condition, so Jake and Jon created a master plan, consisting of them both buying new bikes. Now Jake and Jon are able to go for afternoon rides, and weekend rides together, and if at any given time I can't locate my husband the first place I look is the motorcycle.

It has also occurred to me that this is an excellent way to convince Jon to move somewhere that is warm all year long. He might not be going for it now, but I'll wait for a moment of weakness on his part, you know when there's 2 feet of snow outside and he really, really, wants to go for a ride. Or maybe I'll get him motorcycle gear for Christmas, that he'll have to wait 4, maybe 5 months to use. mwhaha.

Eventually I'll brave up and take a motorcycle riding class and learn to ride too. Does that make anyone else nervous? Jon has shown me a bit out on one of the old bikes, but I think I'm the sort of learner that won't really get it until I'm actually out there doing it. Even scarier you say? I agree.

A new Be-be

2010-04-16T08:32:00.005-06:00

My little nephew Ben does a lot of things that are cute. If you tell him he's bonkers, he will get a smile on his face and say "no, you're bonkers". If I was in the fort and he didnt' want me to leave he'd get a smile on his face and say "don't move a muscle!". Everything, yes, even play dough and strawberries, turn into trains for him. And, when he was in the bath tub, he was using the bubbles to 'paint' easter eggs on the side of the tub.

However, the cutest thing that Ben does is say 'baby' which sounds like 'be-be'. And, he is so excited to have a be-be.

And, I am so excited to be an aunt, again.

Here is a picture of Ben being a monkey in the fort:

One day it was warm enough to swing outside:

Look at what a cute Mom Cheryl is! Part of me enjoys watching her be a mom, especially at bedtime when she is trying to feed Spencer and simultaneously get Ben to bed hehe. This is my favorite picture though.

I'm so glad Cheryl and Jason let me come up and play with Ben and meet little Spencer. I miss them already. Good thing they don't live too far away!

I'm in Wyoming now hanging out with Nate. Well actually Nate woke up and went to school this morning, so I'm just chillin at my mom's house =) My little brother is such a good kid. He even made me dinner last night. He said he got tired of me complaining I was hungry, and I got to experience my very first ramen noodle burrito. It is exactly what it sounds like.

Now I'm just excited to get home and see Jon and my doggy, and to sleep in my own bed.

Thank you.

2010-04-10T20:32:00.002-06:00

Jon and I truly have some of the best family and friends in the world, we feel so loved and so blessed. Thank you for being there for my husband. And thank you for being there for me so that I could be there for Jon.

Sadly, Jon's big brother Dave passed away on March 5. He was 27, and was a great big brother and a great friend. We will miss him so much.

And, while March was one of the hardest months ever, we honestly can't help but feel the out pouring of love and kindness from our friends and family. We've always known that you're all great, but thank you for going the extra mile for us. We have so much to look forward to in the upcoming weeks and months (new nephew, weddings, family get-togethers) that no matter how sad, we can't help but feel thankful.

So thank you! And now I need to finish packing so that I can meet my newest nephew tomorrow.

No room for me?

2010-02-04T09:53:00.005-07:00

I love this picture. Even if I did end up sitting on a chair.

How old Am I, really...

2010-01-27T19:07:00.005-07:00

The best part about turning 27 was:

Spending the day with Jon. And the chocolate cake he made me. And the chocolate cake he made me. Did I mention the chocolate cake he made me? Mmmm.

Then,

Spending the next day with my mom. I like that we can just meet for an afternoon, and I think we should do that more often. Good thing you're birthday is soon mom!

And,

Spending the next day with JoAnn and Chelsea. I have the best friends ever. And I went home feeling spoiled. Thanks ladies!

However, the best part of being 27 is that I'm fully convinced that I'm not 27. I seem to fit in better with 5 year olds, and 3 year olds, and even 21 month olds. Weird, huh? Never would have guessed it. Last week I went to play for a few days and watch some of the cutest, best kids in America.

5 year olds are helpers, and I wouldn't have lasted with out all the help!:

3 year olds know how to have fun:

And 21 month olds can have you wrapped around their finger in no time at all:

We made these delicious and fun cookies that my roommate had her blog (thanks Becky!), and we went here to have some fun and let the kiddos run around for a while. I think I may have had more fun than the kids =)

Thanks for having such fun Kids JoAnn!

Flashback to the Past

2009-11-20T14:50:00.015-07:00

A few weeks ago, while planning for last nights annual roommate Christmas Party, I took some old negatives in to get digitalized. These pictures are from a trip in 2002/2003-ish to California for Blake's Baptism. At the time, I lived with the super coolest girls on earth. The only thing that could have made my roommates better that year was if JoAnn and Brooke had been there too =)

Becky, Tesera, Chelsea, Me, and Danielle. Hemet, CA.

At the Santa Monica Pier, Me, Becky, Tesera, Chelsea and Danielle

This one has Blake and his roommate in the picture =) One of the missionaries that taught Blake while he was at UCLA was Jeremy Layton from my ward back home. He had been transfered before we went down for Blake's Baptism, but talk about a small world!

JoAnn and Brooke are missing from the California pictures, and, I suppose I actually never really lived with them, but they are my roommates nonetheless! And, all of us that still live close get together for Christmas, and weddings, and Birthdays, and really whenever we can. I had such a blast going through these old pictures. We all look so little and un-married. Here are some more recent pictures.

Roommate Christmas, 2007?

From October, 2009 at Chelsea's Bridal Shower

I just love it!

I can do winter!

2009-10-31T12:14:00.004-06:00

Homemade Apple Cider:

Half gallon apple juice
4 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp cloves
1/2 lemon, sliced

Simmer for half an hour. Enjoy.

I love it! On top of tasting perfect, it made my whole downstairs smell delicious.

And, I just have to post how cute these turned out! JoAnn and I had a little sewing party for our friend Chelsea. It was a little spur of the moment, it took a *little* longer than planned (thanks H1N1!) but it was soooo worth every.little.bit!

And, Jon doesn't have work for the next 2 weeks. A 2 week lay-off I suppose? Whatever you want to call it he will be home for the next 2 weeks with moi!

SO, homemade apple cider + fun sewing projects + time with hubby = I can do winter! =) (Now that's my kind of math equation)

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

2009-10-13T10:14:00.002-06:00

There is something about the cooler temperatures that makes me want to bake (but not cook, I don't know what in this world could make me want to cook). Last weekend I made some yummy pumpkin zucchini bread, and I think it turned out pretty well for the first time around. Sorry, Summer and Carolyn, if you lived closer I would have shared, but here is the recipe for you anyways =).

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread:
(coming to you straight from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
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DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.

Next up: Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake.

Fall is here

2009-09-29T15:53:00.004-06:00

I like fall. I like the changing leaves and I like that we can sleep with the windows open and there isn't a need for either ac or heat (for like 2 whole weeks!)

I just don't like that after fall comes winter.

How long do you have to live in Utah

2009-09-22T14:52:00.003-06:00

To be considered a 'Utah Driver'? PLEASE tell me I'm not there yet.

Death Panels

2009-08-27T20:56:00.002-06:00

This past week Jon and I have had the misfortune of needing to create our own death panel. We've had to sit down and openly communicate the different end of life options at hand for my dear companion, my laptop.

The conclusion we've come to is that I will use it until it dies, while simultaneously searching for a new one. Dr. Ellsworth gives it a month, at most. It comes in and out of consciousness freezing up anywhere from 5-10 times a day lately (usually when I am right in the middle of something). But, the time we have together is quality time spent blogging, facebooking, emailing and failblogging.

It has lived a good life, and as far as laptops go, a fairly decent length of time ( 3 years, which in laptop years is almost 1 million). Now I need to start backing up my music, and photos and other documents that would otherwise be lost forever when laptop kicks the bucket.

Also. Anyone have any good recommendations for a new one? I've decided I definitely want a laptop. I currently have an hp, which has served me well, but I'm open to any suggestions. It needs to have a photo card reader and at least 2 usb drives and a good enough video card that I can play computer games against Jon (and yes, we are that nerdy, but I'm guessing you already knew that).

Always an Adventure

2009-08-18T19:23:00.005-06:00

Today I decided to go to the Orem City Library. I have after all, lived in Orem for more or less 7 years (not counting the brief time I moved to Salt Lake so that I wouldn't get married to Jon and the year that I lived in Provo, which lets face it, is pretty much the same town). I've been to the library before, but never to check books out. I have always just done that at the UVSC library. However now that UVSC is UVU and there is a new library I didn't want to risk not being able to get a new library card since I'm not a student anymore. So off I went to the city library.

In Orem the Library is next to the City building and the Police Station and the Ball Parks and Walking Park, so I had to park forever away from the library, but it was a nice day so I didn't mind the walk. Also, I was in a really good mood because I was satisfying my inner nerd by going to the library.

Once I got in the library, I walked around, and the whole time I was thinking 'what a nice library, why have I never come here before?'. That is, until my husband called and asked where I was, and I realized that I had been at the library for about 4 hours and quickly headed to the front to check out and get an Orem City library card. This is when my visit to the Orem City Library turned upside down. Turns out you have to prove you live in Orem. I can understand that, so I show the Library Guy my drivers license.

Guy: (looking at drivers license from when I had my hair dyed more blonder and it was long and I was wearing contacts) ummm. (looking up at me) ummm. (looking up at me again) ummmmmmmmmmm. (Finally) Is this your right address?

Me: (with my hair currently chopped off, dyed dark, and wearing my glasses) Oh, let me see, yeah that's my old address. We moved last year. My new address is....

Guy: Oh, I need to see verification that you have changed addresses.

Me: Oh, ok, here's my check book, that has the right address on the top. (It also says Jon and Michelle Ellsworth, where my drivers license says Michelle Turner, because I'm far to lazy to go get it changed)

Guy: (Looking confused, probably because I don't look like the girl on the drivers license and my name on the drivers license doesn't match the one on the check book). Ummm no, it has to be either a car registration or utility bill.

Me: Really? I don't usually carry either of those around with me.

Guy: Well I'll hold these books for you and you can go get your car registration.

Me: Really?

Guy: Yeah.

Me: (hangs down my head) Ok.

So, I walk outside, where it has gone from being a beautiful day outside to being very hot. And I walk a mile to my car, that is not parked in the shade, and sit in my sweltering car for 10 minutes trying to find my latest car registration (apparently I keep all sorts of stuff in my glove box, tooth paste, car registrations for the past 5 years, every oil change receipt there is, etc). Well, I find my latest car registration. The only problem is it has my previous address listed, although it had been forwarded to my new address. Well I'm not going to walk all the way back just so Library Guy can tell me no, so I dig some more (all the while in my very black, hot car) for something, anything, with my current address on it. My efforts were in vain though, and I ended up walking back to the library with just my car registration that had been forwarded to my new address.

Lucky for me and unfortunately for the rest of the library, there was a small child throwing a full blown fit at the check out desk. (Apparently his mother wouldn't let him check out a book, and he was NOT happy about it). This child was laying on the floor screaming, and I thought 'sweet maybe library guy will be distracted and not notice my address'.

And, lucky for me I got Library Girl, who was very preoccupied by the screaming child, and long line of uncomfortable patrons behind me (due to screaming child), and who I was very nice to and explained my address situation and she said 'cool'. And I got my card.

And now I am the owner of an Orem City Library Card.

Super Stars!

2009-08-14T19:42:00.008-06:00

About this time 8 years ago I was moving into my first apartment here in Utah. The first person I met was this totally out-of-control girl named JoAnn who was making cookies and ended up being my neighbor-roomate. Now JoAnn has 3 kids--and they are all SUPER STARS, and since I'm not working right now we get to play and have random get togethers way more often (which doesn't help inspire me to get a new job, at all).

First we have Monsieur Sam. He took his shades off just for the picture to show off his blue blue eyes!

And Bailey, who could swing higher than the moon!

And last but not least Brinlee, who went down the green tunnel slide with me =)

I love these kids!

Wild Life

2009-08-05T20:55:00.006-06:00

I've traveled far and wide in search of these rare animals. My journey has taken me to the edge of the earth: Canyon Lands Utah and Arches National Park. Luckily, I have been successful in photographing these rare species:The one in the pink is especially wild. The one in the blue can out hike me.

Eventually I ventured close enough to these wild species:
We are really good at swimming at night and eating ice cream before going to bed.

Big Trucks!

2009-05-11T23:48:00.007-06:00

On Sunday, Jon and I went on an afternoon drive up to Kennecott Copper Mine.

The mine is HUGE! And, so are the trucks. The picture doesn't do them justice. They have ladders going up the front so the drivers can get in because they're 2 stories tall.

That's a regular sized truck driving next to the giant truck!

And, big SCOOPS to fill the giant Trucks up with rocks.

And with every big truck and big scoop, there are big TIRES. I'm still trying to figure how we can aquire one of these tires and turn it into a giant tire swing.

The drive through Bingham canyon was nice too, everything is pretty and green (probably for another week or so, or until it snows again). While at the mine we got some geodes and brought them home and hammered them open. Jon also hammered his finger, which is now purple.

Meet Sadie

2009-04-04T13:35:00.005-06:00

my dog thinks i'm a traitor

2009-03-24T20:19:00.010-06:00

Because I left her home over the weekend with Jon while I went to play with Mom, Cheryl and Ben. And play we did. We should play more often. (But maybe next time we'll play at a lake and bring our husbands and doggies?)

Guitar Hero

2009-02-03T21:53:00.002-07:00

I am no guitar hero. I truly stink at the game. Sometimes I can get a 40 % on easy. If it's a good day.

My husband, on the other hand is a rock star. He's got star power. And I'm jealous. That's why I haven't had an Internet life lately. We've been rockin out.

So, my question is, Is it better to be an Internet/blogger/facebook junkie or a guitar hero junkie? Jon says guitar hero junkie, "by far".

Anniversary numero 4

2009-01-01T18:09:00.002-07:00

You read that right. 4 years. Whew! So to celebrate our blossoming love (and the fact that we haven't killed each other), we went out to a nice dinner, here. It was sooo tasty. Even a little romantic. You should try it sometime. I had the trout, it was to die for.

Merry Christmas, Happy Anniversary, and a Happy New Year!

2008-12-27T10:53:00.007-07:00

All in all, it has been a wonderful Christmas break. The last of our house guests flew home today, (just in time for our 4th anniversary tomorrow) and our home is the quietest it has been in more than a week.

Tinkerbelle is sad that her new friends have left her. Uncle Howard *cue picture:

and Tink became best friends. He wanted to take Tinkerbelle back to Hawaii and even found me a replacement dog:

Lucky for me, Tinkerbelle loved Dave *cue picture

more and decided to stay here with him. Too bad for Tinkerbelle, Dave flew back to California today and she is stuck here, in the snow with us.

After semi cleaning up today, I have found numerous things that I do not believe truly belong to us. Such as:

~baby binky

~fuzzy toddler boots

~$1.25 (left under one of the air mattresses)

~3 socks

~a toy doggy

~a toy tractor

~a blue shirt

~massage lotion

~mucinex

I can't wait until I really start cleaning, who knows what I'll find then! And happy anniversary in 3 minutes husband!

It was a dark and cloudy night

2008-12-14T14:09:00.003-07:00

But the moon was full and shining through the clouds, making it quite light out for 2 am. Jon and I had gone outside to unplug the Christmas lights that adorn the Ellsworth home. And, upon returning to the front door, we were greeted by a most unlikely visitor, none other than....

CEILING CAT!

Ceiling cat meowed at us, and hopped down the front porch stairs. He stopped about 5 feet away and turned to us and meowed again. When our cats do that it means we are supposed to follow them. Usually down to the kitchen where they will continue to meow at us until we give them cat treats. So, Jon suggested we follow this white cat, to see where he would lead us.

There it was, 2 am, on a Friday (actually Saturday morning), we were out in our jammies following a mystical white cat in the light of a full moon.

Ceiling cat led us around the neighborhood, staying about 5 feet in front of us and occasionally stopping to meow at us and make sure we were still following. And, once or twice collapsing onto his back, belly up, as if we were supposed to go rub his big, fluffy tummy.

Ceiling cat eventually led us to another front porch, our neighboor on the opposite side of the block. There he plopped down, and we headed home.

And now you all know what we do for 'fun' on the weekends.

The End.

Note: It cannot be proven, but we suspect that this ceiling cat is dropping by our house to disturb Fuzz, our very own Basement Cat. It snowed last night and when we went outside this morning we saw little cat foot prints in the snow on our front porch.

I guess we'll start cooking again

2008-12-04T21:09:00.007-07:00

The only thing leftover from Thanksgiving dinner here at the Ellsworth abode is mashed potatoes. I was hoping we'd be eating leftovers for at least a week, but we ran out on about Monday. The only reason the mashed potatoes are left is because we also ran out of gravy, and really who likes to eat mashed potatoes without gravy? We had a great Thanksgiving. Here's a quick recap

With Thanksgiving now over, we are now looking towards Christmas.

This year we are especially excited because we have a chimney for Santa to scoot down. I'm very thankful that for the past 4 years we were able to somehow still recieve presents without one, but this year will be especially exciting because I'm hoping that Santa's bum is big enough to clean out our chimney on the way down so I can start using the fireplace without worrying about it being clogged!

Procrastination

2008-11-16T17:56:00.005-07:00

I am fully aware that Thanksgiving and then Christmas are just around the corner, and that people are going to be making themselves at home in our basement, but I'm having the hardest time getting myself to finish unpacking the last few boxes down there! I did hang up curtains, a shelf, and also assembled a bookcase and stuffed it with books. But there are about 3 boxes of stuff still just sitting. Motivation, where are you?

Why did the Chicken Cross The Road?

2008-11-02T13:54:00.003-07:00

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a changeThe chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.SARAH

PALIN: Kill it!

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad?Yes the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of Chicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

I'm going, are you?

2008-10-27T18:59:00.002-06:00

What: Vinyl Lettering Warehouse Clearance Sale
When: Nov. 1st - 10 am - 4pm.
Where: Thanksgiving Point - Utah Room (above Harvest Restaurant)
Why: Clearance Sale to Benefit Utah Food Bank - Huge Savings, Good Cause

My co-worker has his own vinyl lettering business, and each year he does big 50-80% sale to get rid of all the old and get ready for all the new. He donates the profits to the Utah Food Bank, so its a win win!

If you can't go, but still want to look at his businesses:
www.vinylcraftlettering.com
www.wallstamps.net

Word around town is most items will be less than $5.00!!

On My Mind

2008-10-17T00:46:00.002-06:00

The mornings and evenings are becoming chilly here. And, with this change of weather, I just want the entire world to know that if it ever came down to having a winters' supply of toilette paper or a winters' supply of hot chocolate.....well I'll just drip dry. Thanks.

This is the best stuff ever. EVER.

Every Now and Then

2008-10-08T22:33:00.002-06:00

Every now and then I get tired of doing dishes everyday, doing laundry every weekend, paying bills every month. Maybe I'm looking at the glass as half empty and not half full. Thankfully, I have Jon around here to knock some sence into me. Well and to schedule me a surprise facial, massage and manicure and pedicure. Thanks Husband, I think you are the best.

My Sunday Afternoon stroll

2008-09-28T17:27:00.007-06:00

This is what I saw on my nice Sunday stroll today. Gorgeous!

What's Cookin'?

2008-09-21T22:03:00.002-06:00

Answer: Banana Bread. And it'll be done in about an hour. Yeah, bummer, it's got to cook for 60-65 minutes. I might just eat it raw. We'll see how it turns out, this is the first time I've even attempted to make it. And, as per hubsands request, no nuts. I must really love him. (Or maybe we forgot to pick them up while we were at the store...)

A weekend of wonderful work

2008-09-14T17:36:00.003-06:00

It always feels good to get a lot done. Yesterday I did about 4 loads of dishes (in the dishwasher of course), and about 7 loads of laundry. I vacuumed the office and the bedroom and cleaned the living room floor. I also sat down and wrote out all of the bills for October (hopefully we'll be gone the beginning of October, so I wanted to have them ready to send out early). Jon and I went grocery shopping and Tinkerbelle finally finished eating/chewing up her bone that she's been working on for weeks. Now, I just wish I had 2 more days off to relax and maybe *gasp* read a book.

One Last Summer Party

2008-09-07T08:32:00.011-06:00

Last week was just a busy week! Jess & Jake had their little girl (hooray for another neice!), and Jon's mom came down to stay the long weekend with us. We had fun with some new recipes, brown sugar meatloaf and broccoli casserole. And, though we have yet to cook the enchiladas, I'm sure they will be just as tasty.

It seems like it took forever for the weekend to roll around, but finally yesterday came and I headed to Bear Lake with Mom and Nate to spend one last weekend on the sand and in the water.

I had lots of fun building in the sand with Nate, and being built into the sand by Nate. He dug a hole for me to step into and then buried my feet and ankles. He packed me in pretty tight with really wet sand and it was hard to move! And, when I was unsuspecting, buried in sand, he soaked me with a bucket of water!

When we had first arrived Nate and I played a bit with the beach ball. We probably would have played more but it was really windy:

The lake was cool, not cold, just cool. Mom and I had a little raft that we would pull out and then jump onto and float around in. Because it was a little windy there were some fun waves, and couple of times Ma was not as successful jumping into the raft as she was at becoming a man overboard.

Nate built a sand city, complete with baseball stadium, football stadium, and a levee (the shadows from the 'houses' remind me of goblin valley):

This picture is after I got Nate back with a bucket of water over his head=)

It was nice to have one more day at the beach before summer really ends. Next year I think that the Kimbers and Turners should join us there for a little camping trip. The Forbes too, but we'll get you a nice hotel room =).

Good bye Bear Lake, until next summer!

Ready for another week

2008-08-24T19:55:00.008-06:00

Tonight we had Jake, Jess, Brayden and their doggy, Sadie over for Sunday Dinner. On the menu was one of our latest favorites, chicken pot pie IX, from allrecipes.com. One of my favorite things about allrecipes.com is that you can leave comments/recommendations, and they're usually right on.

After dinner, I did some yard work. There wasn't much to do, because, if you haven't heard, I have the coolest little brother in the world. On Thursday he mowed my grass, and cleaned up all the rotten apricots in the yard that were smelly. Nate, you can come down and play PlayStation any time!

And, since I didn't have to do much work, I could take a minute and enjoy this:

And this:

And I even tasted some of these:

Unfortunately, most of these

are rotten. They are mostly just bird food now. And, as grouchy smurf would say, 'yuck, I hate birds'.

And now Jon and I will watch the last of the Olympics and then take Tinkerbelle for a nice evening walk and get ready for yet another work week to begin.

Olympics, Apricots, Dining.

2008-08-19T21:23:00.004-06:00

That would sum up what we've been up to! Jon and I are olympic junkies. Right now men's track is on, and those dudes are fast! Here are some of my likes and dislikes about the olympics:

Likes:
-I like when the best athlete wins. I like when American's win, but more than that, I like to watch the best of the best compete and see the best one leave with the gold.
-I like when an athlete who loses, congratulates the winner, and when the winner congratulates the loser.
-I like Michael Phelps. Yes, I realize that he is slightly un-human.

Dislikes:
-Are badmitten and 'table tennis' really 'sports'? I dislike that they are in the olympics.
-underage gymnists.
-synchrinzed swimming.

Also, I can't decide if I like that other countries come to the US to train in their respective sports and then compete for their countries. On an unrelated note, I also can't decide if I like citrus flavored gum.

Next. If anyone wants apricots, come to my backyard. They will all be rotten pretty soon, probably by the end of the week. I'm tired of picking them. I'm tired of them rotting in my grass, and I'm tired of making jam! No more!

I had tons of fun with my roomates on Saturday making jam though, (I can still call y'all my roomates right? Even though I didn't actually live all of you, it seems like we did). We had a girls day, played with the kiddos and ate good food while Chelsea made us Jam =) I had so much fun and I totally think we should do it more than just Birthday's and Christmas. It makes me realize how much I need girls days sometimes. And, also how many friends I don't have =) seriously, the only person I hang out with is Jon. But, since he does pluck my eyebrows and paint my toe nails, I guess I'll keep him around. Anyways, I made a few batches after everyone had left, and I still have a bowl of apricots in my freezer and a ton more on the tree.

And, lastly, our dining table. What did we do without one? We debated and debated about getting one, thinking we'd never ever use it (unless people were over). And, to be honest, we've only eaten at it twice in almost a week. But, it is sooo handy! For instance, I used to hit my head on the dining room ceiling light at least once a day. But now that there is a table under the light so I no longer bonk my head. Whew!

To end, I wanted to share this clip that Jon showed me. Sometimes people do things that make us laugh for weeks on end. This is one of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnZb5wi_jsU

What's All The Fuss?

2008-08-10T02:52:00.002-06:00

IKEA. You can't really miss it. Its big and blue and yellow and right off I-15. And, it's huge. All in all though, not impressed. Well, except that there was a little food court upstairs. That's really why we stayed as long as we did, because seriously, no one wants to be in a store when I'm hungry. Except for Jon, because he just thinks I'm funny when I'm 'hungry grumpy', and that's why we're married. We might have enjoyed it more had we been the only ones in the store (and had its exterior colors not reminded me of Blue and Gold Kennard Dale High!), but it was soo crowded that the air we were breathing seemed like it had just been exhaled by the dude ahead of us. I won't lie and say we didn't get any ideas though. For instance, now we want to make our bed a bunk bed with a star canopy tent above it and a fort below it. And, some of the shelves were cool, but all in all, just not my style. Apparently, my style isn't so much 'modern' as it is 'old lady'. Or at least that's what Jon would have me believe. Whenever I'd see something that I liked and he didn't, all he had to say was 'yeah, that's something you'd see in my Mom's house', and suddenly, it was on to the next aisle.

Did I mention that the reason for looking at furniture was not because we really think that we'll use a dining table or living room couches, but more an attempt on Jon's part to get me to stop riding my new bike through the loop from the living room, dining room, and kitchen? In my defense, it's been kinda rainy here...

2008-07-29T21:42:00.011-06:00

This is why Jason is a cool brother in law:

That's right, I drove a little scoop. I know, you're thinking 'big deal, it's a baby scoop'. Well, you have to understand that on occasion Jon stays after work to drive scoops around and always comes home and brags about all the fun he had driving scoops. Yes husband, I know this isn't as big as the scoops you drive, but, hello, it's a scoop! And it was fun to drive! I think I even might have taken out a few weeds.

And this is why Jason isn't so cool:

That's my dog, her name is Tinkerbelle. Her name is not Lady. And she is not the Kimber's little girl dog. (I am making my grumpy face at you Jason & Cheryl!). Apparently Jason has decided that in order to make up for all the teasing I used to do to Cheryl, he has to tease me....alot! I'm just wondering when I get to pet the fish, next trip to Idaho?

And, here is an example of how Mom and I get around Evanston in style; our chauffeur, Monsieur Copper drove us around town Friday morning to our walking spot at the state park:

Ok, so the dog didn't really drive. But he did do this:

And, when we got to Idaho, Ben did a lot of this:

And this:

Belle will testify that the kid can crawl fast! Ben would crawl around chasing her and she would let him get close and then run the other way. Poor Ben. Or, poor Belle?

On the drive home Mom took a little detour to show me Bear Lake. Apparently we used to go to Bear Lake when I was little. Equally interesting is the fact that my mother, my very own mother lives about an hour away from quite possibly the most heavenly place in Utah and didn't even let me in on the secret. Here's the truth folks, there is SAND. There is warm, clear, WATER, and lots of SUN. Also known as MY PARADISE. True, its no ocean side beach, but it is definately where I will be spending the rest of my summer. If you need me, I'm at the lake.

Friends or Foes?

2008-07-22T19:47:00.005-06:00

Tinkerbelle looks short in this picture:

They are bonk heads:

And, isn't Belle a sweety?

This was all before Belle barked at gray cat (which made gray cat very upset) and gray cat attacked Belle. It was all very, very entertaining. Gray cat meant business, he would have beaten Belle up right there, but my sweet little Belle just jumped into my arms (awwww), now if that doesn't say wussy, I don't know what does. So Gray cat bit my toe and ran back into his bathroom. As I walked back upstairs I stopped and said 'did that really just happen?'.

Did we mention we live in a zoo?

2008-07-17T19:25:00.006-06:00

Saturday was our nephew Brayden's birthday party. And truth be told, Jon and I were a little nervous to go. Our concerns stemmed from the fact that we watch too much tv and were envisioning a wild, crazy, party with a bizillion 2 year olds, clowns, lots of noise and too much sugar. Thankfully, that was not the case. And, the party even came complete with Sponge Bob (or Bob Bob) cake and all:

Who knew that a sponge that lives in a pineapple would be sooo tasty? And this is the big kid, looking into a big bag:

Since Jon's Mom had driven all the way down for the party, we had a little shin dig on Sunday with everyone. Jon loves to tease Brayden (but I think Brayden has him figured out) and since Brayden's favorite things to say are 'No No No' and 'Mine', Jon would take something and say to him 'MINE', which made Brayden say 'No No No'. To top it off, Brayden even points his finger at him. It's all too cute to handle. At one point, Jon took one of Tinkerbelle's toys (big meanie, I know!) and told Brayden 'MINE' to which Brayden said 'No No No, Belle's toy!'.

And since I'm a cool aunt, I had star stickers in my kitchen drawer. Here I'm giving Kaylynn a sticker:

But, this is what took place for the most part:

Needless to say, Belle slept very good that night, once we got her to calm down =)

Cat In a Bag

2008-07-13T12:59:00.003-06:00

The cat is in the bag. Over and out.

He's got it figured out!

2008-07-09T11:25:00.003-06:00

So, Jon sent me flowers and chocolates at work yesterday. Lilies. In a pink vase. With Chocolates. What a nice surprise to find waiting for me at my desk. You're the best huz! And, yes tonight you can play your video game till at least midnight =).

In other great news, our refrigerator is fixed. This has been a loooong ordeal for us. We got the fridge used from a co-worker of mine who had just moved, and the fridge that is now ours didn't fit in her fridge spot. So we took it. At first it leaked water, so we disconnected the water dispenser and solved that problem (although it did make mopping the kitchen a little easier). And then a few weeks ago it stopped cooling. So, with our grumpy faces on, we threw out all of the spoiled food that we had bought and had spoiled (mostly frozen pizza's so, it wasn't too heart breaking). The first repair dude I called just never showed up. So, I called a different company, and he did show up, but wasn't able to fix it because he needed another part. So, I took Wednesday off from work and was told he'd be back from 1-4. Around 4:30 they called to say they were running late. Around 6 I called and asked if he was still running late. At 6:30 they were closing and said he'd call us on his way to our house. At 7 I left for the baseball game with the NM Turner's. And at 9 when I got home he had never shown up. So, the next day I called them, very disgruntled. And told them that they needed to come Monday at 6pm, after work. And they did. And now our fridge is cold again. And, we didn't pay them for their troubles.

The End!

The Latest and Greatest!

2008-07-06T22:16:00.005-06:00

We've had kind of a busy weekend, or, at least busier than most. Here's just a little of what we've been up to:

I never really knew there were different kinds of cherries. Not until my Dad asked us if our cherry tree grew pie cherries. He put this idea into my head, and whether or not they are true pie cherries, they are now, because I made this:

But only after I picked these:

It turned out to be very tasty. And the recipe was really easy. The hardest part was pitting the cherries, as I couldn't seem to find a cherry pitter anywhere and had to cut each cherry in half to get the pit out. Also, it would have tasted better with my mom's pie crust recipe. But I didn't really feel like making pie crust after pitting that many cherries. So I bought some. And it wasn't that great. But if anyone wants some cherries, our tree still has PLENTY of pretty red ones.

Also, we decided we wanted to be more like the Forbes, and are fostering gray cat for an undetermined legnth of time. We brought gray cat home with us Friday night after watching fireworks in Evanston. So here is a picture of gray cat a.k.a kitten, for Mom:

Basically, your cat is stubborn and wouldn't look at the camera. Except that everytime I put the camera down he looked at me. And those are treats by his tail. Nothing else. He prefers to eat them out of my hand, I guess eating off the floor is just not his style. He seems to be doing better every day. But we have been loading him up on catnip so who knows.

We're learning Spanish

2008-06-11T19:46:00.011-06:00

Apparently, Spanish is to the business world what mountain dew is to my daily functioning. Not completely necessary, but ooh so much of a boost. So, Diatect bought Jon Rosetta Stone to help him learn a little of the freaky deaky dutch. It's a new twist on learning a language. Much different than my years of French with Ms. Jacobs (and she even started each class by exclaiming :''language is fascinating!'', as she held her hands up in the air...). I think if we do well with it we'll have to treat ourselves to a trip to Mexico. Mexico anyone?

I also have some pictures of the things growing in our back yard. And Tinkerbelle's new haircut.

But first, a shout out! Hello to Marina from Chambersburg, I've added you to my links! That means that occasionally when I want to annoy my husband by being an internet junkie I will click your link and leave you a long, pointless yet friendly comment! hoo-ray!

And now, a few pictures:

Our Strawberries are turning RED!

The Cherries are GREEN:

And, Tinkerbelle's tongue is PINK!

And this is our new 2 person hammock, aka our phone booth. Chances are if we're talking to you on the phone, we're laying in the hammock.

Too much Fun!

2008-05-25T23:08:00.003-06:00

Jon's Boss has a couple of these:

Jon has been out riding with him after work lately, and last year over Memorial Day we had taken them up to the Uintas for some fun. Seriously, these things will go over anything! And they go up to about 50 mph. So much fun. Well, there is still too much snow in the Uintas, so this weekend we took them out on some trails outside of Heber. We had a chance to try out Jon's new binoculars and even saw some deer. Both Jon and Dave managed to get stuck in some of the fresh snow that was up in the mountains (why is there fresh snow this time of year?), which we decided, means it was a good trip. At one point we went around a bend and had them tipped onto the left 2 wheels. But my favorite is still driving fast through big puddles.

Who Would You Vote For?

2008-05-13T20:31:00.005-06:00

I'm not usually one for political comics, but this one just made me laugh. I don't know which is my favorite...probably McCain's chubby cheeks, or ''chuffy chinks'' as we call them in the Ellsworth house.

On a completely other note, we had a super duper fun weekend with the Turner's in Goblin Valley. We also learned a few important things this weekend, and here they are, in no particular order:

#1: Bring a map! Which, we of course did not do. But we will from now on. I had googled the trip before leaving work, and Dave had emailed me directions, so I thought we were good to go. But a few minutes into Spanish Fork Canyon (or several minutes?...this is where a map would have come in hand) we got a flat tire. Really flat. Big, ginormous nail in the side of the tire, flat. And, not knowing which direction we should drive with the itsy, donut of a spare we had, I sheepishly had to call my Mommy. And ask her to tell me where we were. And then admit to myself that I'm 25 and just had to call my Mom to ask directions. Thank goodness for Mom's.

#2: I love being an Aunt! Ok, so I didn't learn this on the trip, I was just reminded of it. My heart was full of glee when Isaac called me 'Miselle'. My inner guts were so excited that this trip I wasn't 'Seryl'. Although, being 'Seryl' in September was pretty cool, it was more cooler that he knows his aunt 'Miselle'. I even held Evan (and he didn't cry) while Dave did something. And Allyson and I had so much fun playing tag and tagging the boys, hehe girls are so cool. And Ryan and I climbed some totally awesome rocks. He might be half mountain goat the way he just runs up them. And,

#3: I'm stronger than I knew, just look, see for yourself:

Click here to see the whole album of fun times! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40621&l=f0b86&id=618108473

"Honey, the phone is for you"

2008-04-30T21:44:00.003-06:00

Yes. Those are my panty hose. And no. We don't make a habit of talking on the phone like this. This is actually a picture I took back in December, I think we had cabin fever...bad.

Happy Birthday Husband! And how it all began...

2008-04-20T22:31:00.007-06:00

4 years ago today Jon and I hung out for the first time. He invited me to his birthday party. I told him I'd go if I didn't have anything else going on. So he invited another girl, thinking I wouldn't be there. And then I ended up showing up. And the other girl got ditched. I think she might still be mad at me. Weirdest thing about that night: none of Jon's roomates went/go by their real names. They all have weird nicknames, such as Honky. Lloyd. Clyde. Wanda. They still go by these names today, though during the past 4 years I have learned most of their real names. Jon's nickname? Fuzzy. And there you have it!

So to celebrate his aging we headed up to the Cheesecake Factory in Salt Lake on Saturday. Note to self: This place is always packed! Having been a server for the majority of my college days, I knew that the best times to go to a restaurant on a Saturday are between 2-4. Miss the lunch crowd, miss the dinner crowd. When I went there for our rommate Christmas Dinner we got right in because Chelsea had put our names on the list like 3 hours ahead and then gone Christmas Shopping. 3 hour wait due to the holiday season? Due to the dinner crowd? Well maybe it was just normal. We showed up about 1:30 and got our table around 2:50. Wowza. You'd think it was the only Cheesecake Factory in the state or something. But mmm mmm good. But to be perfectly honest, Carolyn's cheesecake is very comparable. Siss, you make a mean cheesecake.

Also, this year I attempted to make Jon a cheesecake for his birthday. I will give it a rating of ok. I think I followed the recipe just fine, I think the recipe just wasn't that great. But it at least looked purty =)

To top off the birthday celebration, Jon's oldest brother Jake and his wife Jess and their son Brayden, baby Ellsworth (still in the oven) and Sadie dog (beagle doggy) came over. Jake showed up just in time to help us clean up the 2 inches of water that had flooded our entire main floor when the washer machine hose broke =). Brayden attempted to 'ride' tinkerbelle, like he rides sadie dog, but seeing as Tink is about half the size of Sadie it didn't quite work out so well. So here is a picture of Brayden, our only nephew on the Ellsworth side (he looks a little unsure because aunt Michelley is a little bit scary!):

Another Clue to the Mystery

2008-04-17T21:47:00.005-06:00

When we bought our house we were told that there was a cherry tree and a tangerine tree in the back yard. Since then I've had some of our neighbors tell us that they are a cherry tree and a peach tree and then I was told they are a cherry tree and an apricot tree. And to be honest I'm a little skeptical that anything can grow in this frozen tundra that magically turns into a sweltering desert. But to my surprise the mystery tree blossomed this week! Does anyone know what it is??

Step 3

2008-03-30T19:18:00.006-06:00

Step 1: Painting/cleaning carpets. DONE

Step 2: New appliances/fixtures. DONE

Step 3: Move. NOT DONE.

Last Saturday Jon and I were watching the smurfs and an episode came on that involved Mother Nature and Father Time (it also involved Jokey Smurf getting a Funny Bone transplant because he said his funny bone was broken). But on with my point. Mother Nature and Father Time have definately got things all wrong. I would know, I double checked my calendar. You see today is March 30, spring officially began 10 days ago, and yet this is what is going on outside today:

Ok, so the picture is from the newspaper, but still, it's snowing here! I have to admit I haven't written a letter to Santa Clause since like my sophmore year (and I'm pretty sure that Santa and Mother Nature and Father Time are all buddies), but I think it's time for someone, anyone, to write to Mother Nature and Father Time and let them know that according to the calendar it should be spring and not winter. Also, this dreary weather explains why step #3, Moving, is not complete. Turns out all of Jon's friends/family are whimps and didn't want to move stuff in the snow. Blah blah blah, excuses excuses.

Anyways, here are some pictures of Step 1 & 2. I know they are just the begining of our home improvement experiences, but I'm pretty excited with our handy work. Here is the new hall light, and while I can't say that I helped much with installing it, I do think it looks pretty good up there (too bad we only had 1 energy efficient light bulb left, now we'll have to climb up there and change them out earlier than 8 years). And, I don't even think it is going to spontaneously fall, at least anytime soon.

And, here's one for Mom, as you can see I got the bricks in! You can kind of see Tinkerbelle off to the left, she would not stop running around her new back yard. Tink doesn't know what to think about the neighbor dogs, they are always barking and she just doesn't get what all the commotion is about. They like to stick their noses under the side of the fence that we share and bark at her, and then she runs inside. At least I know I won't be the neighbor everyone hates because their dog won't shut up.

I still don't know what to do with the part below the fence, as you can see I just laid the bricks up against the gap at the bottom. I think I might just use the white fencing we bought but figure out a different way to attach it. Any suggestions?

And here's one more, a picture of the entrance way, as you can see Mom the light fits just perfect, we can even open the front door. This picture also shows the new paint color fairly well, though if you look closely you can see that the first part of the ceiling above the stairs is still pink! I'm not quite sure how we missed that one...I blame Jon!

We do hope to be moved in by this weekend before the Forbes & Friends come out to visit. Or better yet, we'll just hold off and make you help us =).

Moving Day

2008-03-18T17:01:00.002-06:00

Do you ever feel like your body stops working at the most inconvenient times? Seriously, this week is supposed to be moving week. I have boxes to pack, junk to throw away, and the normal dishes and laundry and stuff to do too. But no. I'm out of the game. I have this awful cold/flu thing going on. All I want to do is sleep (and I did until about 4pm today). Thanks to Mom and Nate for coming down on Saturday and helping me make some home depot runs! Really everything is ready for us to move in (the walls are no longer pink!), I just need to kick this cold!

(hehe, yeah this is the picture from the ad, it isn't green at all here yet!)

Stuffed Salmon

2008-03-01T12:39:00.002-07:00

The new year has brought a new hobby along with it--I am learning to cook. I actually really enjoy it, the cooking and the eating to be exact. I've learned a few things along the way, for instance butter and margarine are not the same thing just with different names. And that it's worth it to spend a little extra $$ to get nicer pans. And when we started house hunting we knew we wanted what we deemed a '2 butt kitchen', something that both of us could be in at the same time (our current kitchen is more like a closet with a microwave). So along with this new learning experience comes experimentation. And what better to experiment with than fish? So when a coworker shared this recipe with me I boldly tied on the apron and went to work. Here is Gerd's recipe for stuffed Salmon:

6 salmon filets (4 oz each, wild)
2 T olive oil
salt/pepper
STUFFING:
1 C baby spinach (chopped fine)
1/3 C feta cheese
3 T red onion (chopped fine)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1/3 C fresh basil (chopped)

Combine stuffing ingredients in a bowl or food processor. Salt and pepper to taste. Slice each filet horizontally, stopping 1/2" from the edge. Open filet and divide stuffing mixture evenly between them. Close filets and brush with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Saute in non stick skillet and/or grill. Cook each side 5-10 minutes. The stuffing can also be used uncooked as a cracker spread.

Another favorite recipe so far this winter has been from the recipe book Dave & Summer gave us for our wedding, the homemade stew recipe. MMM. And I've made stuffed shells, though they didn't come out as well as yours do mom, I really don't know what I'm doing wrong, maybe we'll have to make them together next time I'm up like we did with the cinnamon rolls. Anyways, I'm always looking for new recipes, so please feel free to pass any along!

A Little Confession

2008-02-21T19:17:00.005-07:00

I have to admit it, this is the first presidential election that I have really been in to (in my defense, 4 years ago Jon was distracting me! I blame him!). Tinkerbelle and I watch debate after debate and sometimes I get a little worked up (kind of like Mom when she watches football). I've found myself reading about politics at work instead of gossiping with my coworkers. I even missed the first 45 minutes of American Idol to watch Hillary and Barack debate. WOW. Don't worry there was another hour and half left to see who would get voted off, let's not get too carried away. Now I work in Provo. And the day Mitt Romney dropped out of the race was a somber day in the office, I think I saw a few tears shed. Needless to say it is a very conservative environment. So, when I showed up to the office on Monday with The Audacity of Hope book, written by Barack Obama, I got a few stares. Looking back on it, I should have shoved it in my purse and only read it in the bathroom during breaks. But, alas, I didn't think it would be odd to show up with a book since I work with nerds who read during breaks instead of gossiping with their coworkers. Who does that anyways? Even more surprising is that my husband bought it for me. I tell you I'm changing his ways. But really, it is a good book, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Well, anyone who doesn't work in Provo, or who doesn't mind getting a few crusty looks.

And, just in case you're checking this while you're gone ubsand, here is a picture of Tink after her bath. I tried to blow dry her shaggies but she would have no part in that! And no, she hasn't buried anymore pizza under your pillow =)

wikipedia

2008-02-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I don't know the answer to something that I want to know. That friends is why I love Wikipeida. Seriously it has it all. Granted I realize it may not always be 100% accurate (is anything?). But today I found out that it not only can be used to gather information but wikipedia can also keep me from losing my mind trying to remember what happens after the old lady swallows the spider. You see this morning I found my cat playing with a spider, batting it around my bathroom floor, and I was reminded of this story we had growing up. And Viola! I found the whole story and will now be able to get some zzz knowing that the old lady swallowed a bird to catch the spider. Talk about peace of mind! Oh, and my cat ended up eating the spider (too bad all of the birds in UT have flown south for the winter or else we might have let him eat a bird to catch the spider). I knew we kept him around for something.

Tag!

2008-01-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

So Becky Tagged me, and since I don't want to be the one who didn't play along, here ya go!

10 years ago:
I would have been 15, and all I wanted to do was hang out with my friends.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. clean my car
2. take my car to get safety/emissions inspected and registered for 2008
3. return some cloths to the mall that looked really cute in the store, not so cute on me.
4. go grocery shopping
5. buy some new contact lenses so I can see next week
(No, this isn't a normal Saturday, it just so happens that it is above freezing outside and I will be able to bear going out).

I enjoy:
Traveling, going new places, getting a break from the norm. HGTV. And playing with my puppy.

3 of my bad habits:
I don't think I have any. Just kidding.
1. I don't drink the last 3 gulps of soda in a soda can. Something inside me tells me they are the backwash gulps and I just can't do it. I don't even think I back wash, but just in case...
2. Peanut Butter m&m's
3. I play Company of Hero's way too much. It wouldn't be a BAD habit except for that I seriously play it way too much.

What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
Buy a winter home somewhere warm. I would spend October-April there. And maybe April-October.

5 places I have lived:
1. Evanston, WY
2. Stewartstown, PA
3. New Park, PA
4. Provo, UT
5. Orem, UT

5 Jobs that I have had:
1. I worked at a shoe store in high school
2. Waitress/food server
3. Meier & Frank
4. Administrative Assistant at UVSC
5. Academic Counselor

5 things most people don't know about me:
Well, if most people don't know them, there is probably a reason for that =)
I can't sleep at night until I have done a walk through of the house, making sure that the stove/oven is off, door is locked, stuff is unplugged etc.

While I was out...

2008-01-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there who have animal friends, whether they are cats, dogs, turtles or just young children (and husbands as shown below), do you ever wonder what they do while you are out? I've long suspected that mr. mittens invites the other cats in the complex over for parties while we are at work, but, I have yet to prove it. What I can prove, with the evidence below, is what my puppy and husband do while I am out partying with my roomates:

All I can say is HUSBAND, YOUR GUILTY!

You can't have your cake and eat it too?

2008-01-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

PWA! That's what THEY want you to think. But, I did have my cake, and ate it too. For my Birthday Jon made me a cake (there are no pictures because there is no cake left) in the shape of a heart. A double decker even. And here's the catcher: we don't have heart shaped pans, that's right, he cut the cake into the shape of a heart. Part of me thought "that's really mushy" (not the cake, the fact that it was in the shape of a heart) but it was ooooh so yummy. And it helped me put aside the fact that I am now 25. Which Carolyn (I'm sure lovingly) reminded me means I am no longer in my younger 20's...This is what a 25 year old Chelley looks like:

Yes, that's right I'm a little bit more blonder-er, and with "long bangs" (I thought that "long bangs" was an oxy moron, but my hair dresser insists its their real name). And I look amazingly like a monkey.

Now, there are among us some who are evil, who desire to steal and eat an innocent girls' birthday flowers. C'mon look at those eyes don't tell me he's fooling you too! I think he was getting us back for shaving a stripe down his side, but what can I say, we're chop happy.

Here's wishing you all a happy 2008, the year of the Rat!

2007-12-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

Us in front of the State Capital in Albany:

Soo, as you all know, Jon and I travelled to the far off land of New York for Christmas. Back towards the end of October Jon and I decided that we needed to bust this joint and go somewhere. And it just happend to be that of all my siblings,Carolyn was the only one I hadn't gone to see yet this year.

Or so that's what we would like Siss and Stew to believe. Really we saw pictures of Little Fighter and just haaad to meet him.

So here he is on Stewart's back.

And on Carolyn's back:

And one of me and my big sister:

There are lot's more pictures and details to come, but right now I just want to snuggle my puppy.

The Elf Ellsworth's

2007-12-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen this yet click here:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1415568904

Merry Christmas!!

Maybe we need a bigger couch?

2007-12-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

They are giving us the "oh no they want the couch which means I'm getting the floor" look. We get that look alot from our family of pets. And this is the seating arrangement we all finally agreed on:

In other news, I am officially begining my winter hibernation. Thank goodness for online shopping, otherwise Christmas would be cancelled.

BELGIUM WAFFLES!!

2007-11-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning Jon had the greatest idea ever! He decided to make me Belgium waffles for breakfast! Unfortunatley, neither of us have had much experience making waffles before, and neither of us are from Belgium. The recipe called for oil, which we had to replace with melted butter. I'm not a chef or anything but I'm guessing they aren't really interchangeable after all? Also, this is what happens when you put too much batter into the waffle iron:

On the 3rd batch (and a can of Pam later) we finally got it right, they didn't stick to the iron and they didn't overflow, mmm mmm mmm. The only thing missing was the REAL syrup Siss is always talking about. Maybe next time.

Meeting with the Senators

2007-10-28T21:24:00.000-06:00

Jon here, long time reader first time poster.

Michelle thought it would be a great idea for me to sum up my trip to Washington DC and since I always do what she tells me to, here it goes.

Driving on the congested rain soaked freeways I kept having a reoccurring thought, "Wow, it really is green here!" The landscape is beautiful, the people are diverse and amazingly open with strangers. The drivers are TERRIBLE! They remind me of my time in Jamaica where there are no traffic rules and you get to go simply because you managed to cut someone off that wasn't as willing to put life and limb on the line for a extra few seconds of 40 MPH freedom.

That all melts away when you cross the Potomac and the capitol comes into sight. Landmarks and structures of human ingenuity pockmark the landscape like cell phone towers do here. Every building is built without care of spending (why should they, it's taxpayers) and seem to only focus on the awe factor and a feeling of grandeur. My neck hurt from snapping back and forth trying to take it all in. Needless to say, I immediately fell in love with the city and I am already looking forward to going back. Maybe this time I'll take Michelle (if she does all her chores).

My pre-meeting with Senator Symms was pretty boring and not really worth mentioning other than that he makes a mean turkey sandwich.

The meeting we had with Senator Bennett in the depths of the capitol building blew my mind. We were escorted through a bewildering maze of limestone corridors barely wide enough to accommodate two men standing shoulder to shoulder. It looked like those hallways hidden behind the "Employees only" doors you find in huge hotels. Only yellow from the choice of unfinished stone instead of grey concrete. On either side stretching into the distance was dozens of unmarked doors. And above us ran a strangled mess of wires and pipes. It gave you the feeling that they were leading us to a storage unit rather than a Senator of the United States office. We even had to take a underground train to get to the aforementioned corridor. Don't ask me where we were, all I know is we went in the back door of the big building congress meets in (capitol building?). Behind one of the unmarked unremarkable doors there was a plushly red carpeted, ornamently furnished, impeccably clean office that was much larger than you would believe. I was introduced to a tall, skinny, pale, skeleton of a man with an over sized head that just so happened to be Senator Bennett. He shook my hand with a grin and stated matter of factly, "I can't believe you found me, I was trying to hide." He called the room his "capitol office" and said it was lovingly referred to as such between the congressmen. It was his "Office away from the world" and the only place he gets any work done. He encouraged us to sit, gave us drinks and we talked for about an hour or so about the issue we went to meet with him about. We talked about Utah and our company. He said he would come and visit us next time he was in Heber. Then he handed all our information over to the two young assistants that were feverishly scribbling down everything we said and told them to make sure our problem was taken care of. Mission accomplished!

Well that's about all. I thought it was incredible and felt like I should share. Although you all grew up in that area. So this probably sounds like a child getting excited about discovering the house has an attic for the first time.

I'll turn the blog back over to Michelle now. I'm deeply sorry to all of you that actually read this.

-Jon

Reason's I shouldn't live in Utah.

2007-10-18T14:44:00.001-06:00

Here are just a few:

In the winter the state is a frozen tundra.
In the summer the state is on fire. Literally. Furthermore, there are only about 2 weeks in between the winter and summer, some call these 2 weeks spring and fall. I prefer to call them pre-summer and pre-winter.
I'm much more liberal than I am conservative. I knew this before I took Stewart's quiz, but that just emphasized it even more.
People here get eaten by bears and lost in the mountains. Neither of which I find the least bit interesting.
I'm almost 25, been married 3 years and don't have children.

THE END.

Albuquerque

2007-09-07T08:29:00.000-06:00

To bring our summer to a close, we decided to jump on a plane and go to New Mexico to visit Dave and his family. Now, because Carolyn and Stew refuse to move to Salt Lake and be our puppy sitters, we had to keep our trip short so our neighbor with a baby, a puppy and 2 cats of her own could watch belle (what's one more pet when you're already out numbered?) Even though the trip was short, we were able to spend some time exploring the town inbetween playing with the cute Turner kids.

We tried really hard to get lost...but we did not end up stranded in the middle of the desert. We didn't even break any traffic laws...assuming that traffic laws are like calories on vacation and don't count. And we didn't leave town until I broke the news to Isaac that I wasn't Cheryl, and that I was her big sister Chelley, to which he gave me a confused look and said "ok Seryl".

Baby Gwen

2007-08-31T08:25:00.000-06:00

It seems everyone around me is having babies. In between my trip to Idaho and Florida I squeezed in sometime to visit my friend Carrie who just had a little girl.

Gwen was fun and all, but Naomi is the one who knows where the party's at, as demonstrated in this picture:

And yes, l'il Gwen's hair is real, although I think for a minute I may have had Jon convinced it was a baby wig.

Our Journey to Sugar City

2007-08-21T07:26:00.000-06:00

This Picture can sum up our trip...yes, it was very hard to cover up Cheryl's tummy, but look, we managed to smuther her with all of Benjamin's stuff! They are going to have to get a bigger house to hold all of the baby items, not to mention the kid himself.

All throughout the trip I was surprised at how much my sisters and I are alike...we all like to nap, eat ice cream and play with baby cloths. Who knew that we would have the same hobbies? I must say though, we are very good at what we do.

Carolyn was greeted at the airport by a wagging tail and licks from Tink. They snuggled the entire drive. By the time we reached Pocatello we were pooped but there are "alot of tours" through Pocatello (I'm still not sure what that means...) and we couldn't get a room, so we pushed on to Sugar City. I can't recall what Siss and I talked about the whole drive. I actually think she was asleep and just kept talking to me in her sleep, I wouldn't have known the difference anyways. Carolyn brought a slice of technology with her that transmits her music through the radio, I'm still not quite sure how it works, but I think I need one. But no, I won't trade my puppy for it.

In this picture Siss and Tinkerbelle are being cute...neither one had to try very hard.
And just so that everyone is clear:

1. Tinkerbelle's name is NOT whimper #2.

2. Tinkerbelle does NOT belong to the Forbes.

3. Jon and I will not be puppy sitting for them when they go out of town.

Any questions??

In this picture Nate made a Yankee Fan out of my dog. I'm ok with it, mostly because I know that she won't be at Yankee Stadium rooting them on anytime soon.

Sunday afternoon Mom and I went for a drive to the Warm River. Mom tells me that it is named for a Mr. Warm, who discovered it, and I bought the story because that river is most definately not warm. We also saw a couple waterfalls before heading back to Cheryl's house.

And this final picture is the best. Nate took a picture of the girls on Sunday before church with the sun in our eyes. Cheryl and I just look grumpy, but Siss and mom had sunglasses to block the sun.

Oh, Boooobye Hair's!

2007-08-05T12:46:00.000-06:00

Before Mr. Fancy Pants Jason moves away for optometry school, we decided to get the old gang together one last time! Here we are....Jason, Erica, Laura and myself!

Somehow we all managed to escape the grasp of CSSE...except for Laura, but we'll send Jack Bauer in for you..or perhaps Michael Scar FBI will do the trick. Here are a few more pictures from out li'l picnic up the canyon.

Tinkerbelle loves Kenzie and Zac, and after chasing them around for 3 hours, I have to wonder who was more tired, the kids or the puppy?? And this is Boss, in her true surroundings, outdoors (not the closet office)! She's the brave mom who took her kids to Yellowstone by herself, and I assume that since they were both present at our picnic you didn't feed either of them to the buffalo.

And here's the last one, Erica, with Jason & Jana's new baby Adelyn. Was this her first campfire? And she didn't even get a marshmallow, poor kid.

The newest Ellsworth

2007-07-12T23:50:00.000-06:00

Basically Siss told me to make a blog. And here it is. And what better way to start off a blog than with new puppy pictures with my new digital camera (that I've only had for a week and don't really know how to use either).

You see, tonight we were on our way to a movie when Jon spotted a sign... "SMALL PUPPIES". So, of course we had to stop and say hello to the small puppies. Siss, you need to understand that for a long time now I have been feeling out numbered...Jon and 2 boy cats = trouble. So when the smallest girl puppy jumped towards me it was love at first sight. I gave Jon my own puppy dog eyes and the deal was sealed! Our new puppy is about a third of the size of our cats, and already likes to chase them around! She is a yorkie shitzu mix, and will be about 8 or 9 pounds full grown. Her name is Bell, full name being Tinker bell, but only when she's in trouble (which hasn't happend yet). And I'm pretty sure fuzz and mr. mittens will like having a little sister around. I suppose we'll find that out soon enough.