In case you hadn't heard...

We're having a baby shower for Kim on Saturday! There are so many people who know and love my amazing sister, and I'm sure I missed some in e-mailing out invites. So I figured I'd post the invitation here and anyone who happens to read my blog (all 2 of you haha) and didn't get it will know! We'd love for you to come!

p.s. I intentionally did not put the city and state on the invite... e-mail me if you really don't know! :)

Buddy ol' pal!

One of the funniest things about my job is dealing with people who don't work here. I see a Fedex guy, a UPS guy, and the USPS woman all at least once a day, sometimes more. Not to mention the paycheck company, our insurance reps, our printer account reps, and contractors! I see a lot of people come in and out multiple times. I have kind of developed interesting relationships with all of these people through our brief-but-frequent interactions, to the point where I can ask how their kids are, how the party they put on last week went, etc. One very important detail is missing, however. I don't know their names!!

It just doesn't come up, ya know? Not sure how to explain it. I do know that it's way too late now to say, "I don't think I know your name. Who are you?" I don't think this (not knowing people's names) will be a problem as far as work interactions go... but I dread the day when I see them in the grocery store and they are there with their spouse and I am with mine and they introduce me, using my name, because they are good people and I'm not (plus, I have to sign for things all the time). When that day comes, I will be forced to introduce them this way: "Tyler, this is my UPS buddy!"

You know you're an Andersen when...

When your pantry looks like the inside of Costco.

When you are awakened by your mother or father singing the BYU fight song.

When your family reunions include yard work and patriotic programs.

When you spend one weekend in March every year participating in Legacy Conference!

Legacy Conference was on Friday and Saturday this year and it was fantastic. Legacy used to be called A.F.R.I.C.A Conference (Andersen Female Relations Including Cousins and Aunts-- this title always makes me laugh) but is now (thankfully) much less of a mouthful. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year, where I get to see lots of female family and glean from their amazing amounts of knowledge. There have been years where I walk away feeling overwhelmed at my shortcomings, especially when compared to some of the incredible people in my family. This year was different. Not that I wasn't impressed endlessly by my family members' talents and spirits and personalities, because I was! But this year I walked away just feeling so grateful for my life and for the people in it.

Unfortunately, I only got to go on Saturday. Couldn't get Friday off of work to go. But I loved it all the same! I sat with Tiffany, Aunt Launette, Rachel, and Aunt Norene. Some of the coolest people in my world for sure. Some of my second cousins talked to us about trial and hardship, using examples from their own life. It was amazing to hear them open up about their feelings, no matter how angry or sad they were. They told me that it's okay to feel sad and angry sometimes; it's okay to give your family cereal for dinner sometimes; it's okay that the dishes don't get done that night. I was so encouraged by their words! I felt like I could handle life after that discussion. Thank you, cousins, for sharing your lives, tears, and joy with me.

We ate lunch (is there anything better than food+family? I think not) and it gave me a chance to chat with Tiki. I am so glad she came down from Idaho! It was so fun to see her. During the afternoon "session" we sang some songs (music is always a big and one of the best parts of Legacy) and Aunt LaDawn spoke to us about "being of good cheer." I learn so much by hearing from people who have done amazing things in their lives and this was no exception! Aunt LaDawn is amazing and I love her.

One down side of Legacy-- I lost all feeling in my bum from sitting on a hard chair for so long! But it was great, and I loved seeing everyone. A part of me was really sad that my sisters and mom weren't there though. One day we will all be there together!

Really? Really.

Just had to share some stupid things I've done of late...

Last Friday Tyler and I were on our way to meet Adam and Aubrey at Pizza Pie Cafe for a yummy dinner (which by the way, was awesome. Same company that owns Craigo's in Rexburg, so I'm automatically in love). We were walking up the stairs, and Tyler was slightly behind me. He asked me to give him the keys, and... well, I tried. I tossed them over my head above me. A little too high. Guess I've been working out too much and am getting too strong, cuz they landed on the ROOF! I heard the wrong kind of kerplunk and Tyler and I looked at each other immediately. We couldn't help but laugh... it was hilarious. We looked for a ladder, but settled for me getting on T's shoulders to get them. Oh dear.

I had to take our daily Fedex shipment to the drop box yesterday, so I was frantically searching for my keys while trying to finish up the last of the shipping labels to slap on boxes. I was seriously probably searching for about 3 minutes until something caught my peripheral eye. Don't ask me why, but they were in my mouth.

A few different people ordered pizza here at work today. Being the one who cleans it all up when they're done, I gleaned a piece of leftover pizza and grabbed the last garlic sauce cup. You know, the kind that's 99.9% garlic, with just enough butter to make it liquid so it can slide down your gullet easier. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I turned to toss it in the trash can behind me, and I thought, "I'd better make this, or that would be garlic cleanup #3 today." Sure enough, I missed the toss. My binding machine now reaks of a strange garlic+plastic combo. Gross!

There are more, but I think I'll stop there. :) I'm feelin' pretty good about my level of intelligence.

Some things that amuse me

I heard on the radio this morning that a woman is suing a costume company for neglecting to tell her that she might trip, fall, and become injured while wearing big floppy clown shoes at a Halloween party. Uh, DUH.

Just read this. It's not the amusing kind of laugh, more like an "I'm in disbelief" kind of laugh: http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Becoming-worlds-fattest-woman.aspx?cp-documentid=23664683&imageindex=1&cp-searchtext=Donna%20Simpson%20and%20world%27s%20fattest%20woman&FORM=MSNIIT

Speaking of fat, I came home after a really good and long workout last night (power pump class, all abs class, running, and a little yoga class) and quickly fixed myself a plate of melted cheese on chips. I refuse to tell you how late it was when I ate this greasy feast.

Utah weather half amuses me, half infuriates me. Yesterday, I was laying in the grass in the backyard soaking up the sun, and this morning it's snowing. BUG.

p.s. this weekend is Legacy Conference and I'm so excited! I wish I could have had today off of work to go to it, but I'm glad I at least get to go tomorrow. Can't wait to see Tiffany and all the fam!

p.p.s. big purchase made yesterday... a Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand! Beautiful keyboard, fits perfectly in our apartment. Pictures to come.

Fish bowl

I wonder sometimes how fish feel, looking at the outside world through the glass of their bowl. I think it's probably similar to how I feel looking out the glass windows of my work. The front wall is not a wall at all-- it's all windows. Thanks to that, I look out and see people walking to and from class, getting groceries, driving, etc. Sometimes I get jealous and wonder what my life would be like without this place, or any job in general. Seems like it would be pretty nice, actually.

Why, then, do I coop myself up in this glass bowl?

Oh yeah.

Reality.

So I take a break from reality for one hour during each day. My lunch breaks are my sanity-savers. This week has been great weather-wise, so I've been able to go on nice runs outside and lay out in the backyard and just soak up the warmth. The rest of the day, it's print this, fax that, and do it faster, until about 5:30 rolls around and I spend the last 30 minutes of the workday looking at my computer screen in a daze, unable to think anymore.

Okay so it's not that bad. But work has been super-busy the last little while. Everyone leaves for summer selling in 2 weeks, and I can't wait!!

Just some thoughts.

Right now

I am really happy the sun has come out. Saturday's blizzard put me in a bad mood.

I'm not stressing about meals this week. Thanks to a fun night with Adam and Aubrey on Saturday, I have a homemade lasagna in the freezer (my first time making lasagna! Hope it turns out) and a pan of enchiladas in the fridge. This really should be a weekly thing so I don't get so antsy about it.

Work puts me in a really bad mood. I've been super-snappy to everyone at the office lately, and I don't really know why!

ksl.com is my latest obsession. I parouse (sp?) the classifieds every day for good deals-- mostly on digital pianos and sewing machines. Hopefully I can find a good deal on something!

I am a bookworm. I read two books last week (Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult) but don't want to keep driving to the library for more books. Dear John is next! Hope it's good.

I really want to go to the gym. Aubrey and I tried yoga last Thursday and it was great! Not a hugely intense workout, but I did surprise myself with the ways I could contort myself. I want to keep going and improve my flexibility.

Modern Family is my favorite show. Heidi introduced us to it and we can't stop watching it! It's hilarious.

I can't seem to wake up on time. Tyler and I missed the Daylight Savings memo on Saturday night (okay really we just forgot it) and we showed up to church at 10:00 instead of 9:00. I joked with Tyler that he'll do anything to miss part of church. :)

That's all.

All fixed!

Sorry to anyone who has tried to look at my blog the past few days. It was redirecting because of a gadget I put in. WARNING: BEWARE OF GADGETS! Stick with the ones that Blogger creates! Wow that was annoying.

I'm fresh out of good titles

Unless I have a good story to tell, it's sometimes hard to come up with awesome titles. That will suffice for today. :)

I'm pretty sad this weekend is over. I got lots done and it was a nice break from work. Friday night Tyler wanted to stay on campus until later, so I took it as an opportunity to do something that was a goal in February (ooops). I bought all the stuff to frame "The Living Christ" and have it look like our Family Proclamation (fondly called Family Proc, for future reference). My mom gave us our Family Proc for Christmas in a 16x20 frame with the mat covered in pictures of Tyler and I. It looked a little bit incomplete with that and a cute clock hanging next to it, so I resolved to do the same thing to "The Living Christ." I found the exact same frame (amazing, and super-cute) and a ton of slightly-bigger-than-wallet-sized pictures of Christ, along with the actual document. Unfortunately, I forgot to pick up double-sided tape, so I had to wait to actually do it until Saturday. But it looks so great! Tyler helped me hang it up yesterday and it makes the entryway look really nice. I love it.

Saturday was also super-productive. I worked out with Aubrey, cleaned the house, finished "The Living Christ" project, changed the oil in the car, read almost 100 pages in my most recent book, "Walk Two Moons," and had a girl's night with Heidi and her roommate Jess! Well, a girl's night plus Tyler. :) I made gooey cake and we had pizza and watched "The Time Traveler's Wife." Such a tear-jerker. We had so much fun! They are such cute girls and I'm so glad we got to get together.

Sunday I finished my book! I read it in two days-- it was a good fast read. Thanks to Gretchen for the recommendation. I love going to the library to find a new book. A not-so-good thing about Sunday was that it was Fast Sunday. I typically love Fast Sunday, but yesterday I got super-nauseous by the time Relief Society rolled around. I came home from church and took a two-hour nap, and then couldn't take it anymore. I felt so weak and nauseous all day after that, even after I ate. Not sure what's wrong with me these days. Thank goodness I have such a sweet husband who takes such good care of me! I love him so much.

Trying to think of another craft/project... any ideas? I've been looking on Craigslist and other classifieds for a sewing machine, so if I found one, I'd have tons of fun learning to sew again! But any ideas would be wonderful. Share!

p.s. for some reason, whenever I go to my blog page it redirects me to some other dumb site. Anyone know why? Or is it just me that it's redirecting? Help!

You've gotta try these

ROLO COOKIES
Ingredients:
-1 chocolate cake mix (Betty Crockers work best, I've found. I loved German Chocolate, but if that doesn't suit your fancy, any chocolate kind will work)
-2 eggs
-1/3 c. vegetable oil
-1 bag Rolo chocolates

Mix first 3 ingredients together. Wrap cookie dough around 1 Rolo and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

They are so delicious! Tyler was so sad we gave them away to our home and visiting teaching families. He loved the leftovers though:

Something extraordinary

Our Stake President challenged us in our Stake Conference a few weeks ago to "do something extraordinary in regards to the temple." We thought it fitting that earlier that week we'd set a goal to go to every temple in Utah in 2010! I printed out a map of Utah and put stickers pointing to each temple in the state-- there are 14. This has been so much fun so far, and I'm excited to keep this up! We went to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on Saturday with Randall and Crystal. This was the first time we've been back there since our marriage! It was so neat and brought back floods of my favorite memories.

We were so glad Randall and Crystal came with us! We love them!


I'm just the luckiest girl in the world.


I am so grateful to have been married in the temple, because it means I get to be with him FOREVER. That means everything to me.