Do I have anything on my teeth??

Just wondering. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! By the way, I am sooooo happy Cody is going to be a dentist....hopefully he can help me out. I need a new grill.

Cody's gonna kill me...

So I better hurry and post this while he is gone! I am so proud of him. He got 96% on his chemistry test this week and 103% on his biology test. Whoop whoop! Good job babe...and please don't erase this post.

Fall and Football...could you ask for anything better??

Some good "combos" in this world that we live in (according to me):

1) Peanut Butter and Jelly

2) Homemade Pizza and Ranch Dressing

3) Peanuts and Chocolate Chips

4) FALL and FOOTBALL!

FALL and FOOTBALL is pretty much the best combo I can think of. It was such a beautiful day at the Aggie game today! I can't think of anything better than relaxing with my hubby and fam, eating some kettle corn, and watching some good football. Unfortunately, the Aggies couldn't bring home a win, but what else is new? We still had an amazing day nonetheless finished off with dinner at Fredrico's....mmm!

My sister Tiffany and her cute kids came up for the weekend. Before the game, we went and picked some yummy apples at my brother's house. I don't know what it is, but I love everything about the fall. The smells of ripe apples and pumpkin spice and of course the beautiful changing colors. Why can't it last just a little bit longer?? Before we know it...our beautiful fall will be covered with a blanket of snow. *sigh*

Oh well, here are some pics from our day today....

The grass is always greener

Has anyone ever realized that the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side. No matter what you do you always think how great it was (would be) on the other side. Although I'm really excited about my new career path (and Tennilles too) and I'm really happy to be back in Logan, we always seem to miss our time in Portland. The stupid thing is: when we were in Portland I kept saying "I wish there was a reason for us to move back to Logan"

(I don't know why the grass seems greener in Portland)

Today the weather was overcast and gloomy and it made us miss Portland. It especially made me miss climbing up through the clouds and breaking out on top of the weather to an awesome sunny day. We're also mad that we left the Northwest without doing many of the things we had planned on. I guess we weren't planning on moving that quick so we figured we had plenty of time to do the things we wanted.

Anyway, We're happy to be here and psyched to become a Dentist (eventually) and school teacher, but there are 2 things I've learned.

1. The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side (so don't be too quick to jump ship)

and

2. Don't procrastinate, do things NOW because you never know what can happen.

If you build it, they will come!!!

Due to the fact that apparently I am "over-qualified" for any college student jobs available in Logan, I've decided that I'm finally done riding the un-employment train.

Solution: Start my own business

I have been contemplating this idea for over a year now (actually I bought most of the equipment in 2008) and I am in a perfect situation to finally do it.

Here is my trailer that started out as a pretty ragged, rough looking thing, and I've painted strengthend and redesigned it to look pretty good and feel pretty stable.



I had to put Tennille to work to get the artistic touch on the logo painting





Anyway, the name is pretty self explanatory. I come to you to change your oil. I focus mainly on fleets, and businesses but I do a lot of house calls too. So far it has been surprisingly sucessful. Everyone seems to really like the service. So if ya see this ghetto little trailer on the road, give me a HONK!

Smoke and Gasoline...DUB T!

We participated in some awesome "people watching" last night at the Demolition Derby! What is surprising is that I actually enjoyed myself A LOT more than I thought I would. Watching cars and trucks crash into each other, seeing tires blow and radiator fluid spray everywhere was kinda invigorating! Cody and I joined up with our good pals, Laura and Nate (and their cute kids) and had a blast. We were all smashed into the stands like sardines and ended up all wreaking of gasoline after it was all over. Good times for sure.

Life Happens Quick

Wow things happen quick sometimes. Just about 6 weeks ago we were living in awesome Portland Oregon trying to decide what we were gonna do since I got laid off at my job. We decided that I'd go back to school, and USU would be the best option due to cheap living expenses. Well 2 weeks, and 2 really hard decisions later we had the UHaul packed up and we were on our way.

Now were back in Logan, and I'm back in school. When I was flying airplanes a couple months ago, life was pretty good. I never thought that we'd be back in Logan and I'd be pursuing a totally different career by the start of the next school semester.

This is how I feel in my classes. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person of legal drinking age in any of my classes. When the teacher asked who's very first college class this was... about 85% of the 250 students raised there hands!!!

Anyway, Logan has treated us pretty good since we got back. Tennille has started her Pilates studio (which by the way has the official grand opening next week. Listen for her ads on Q92 this weekend) She has wanted to do this for about 3 years now. She's put in A LOT of hard work, and I think she has done an awesome job. And since I can't find a job anywhere else, I'll be creating my own. So stay tuned for Cody's next business adventure (hopefully more sucessful than Rocky Mtn. Wakesports)

Anyway, its crazy how fast life can move. Take in the awesomeness while you can, because things change too quick. Now we're going to have to road trip to Portland to do all the fun things that we planned on doing and never got a chance... who's in?

The STUDIO

 DANCE ILLUSION (under the direction of Lisa Preece) had its open house last week at the new studio.  I set up a table for A Lotta Pilates and handed out flyers.  The response was awesome!  I'm really excited to get classes started tomorrow.  Here are some pics of the studio.  I think it turned out awesome from what it was before.  Lisa told me that when she first saw the place, it was covered in every paint color imaginable, the floors weren't finished, and of course the mirrors weren't in.  After many hours, some new paint, and A LOT of help, the studio turned out like this!  I think Lisa will have a lot of success in this studio and I hope to as well!  Let me know what you think.

Check out alottapilates.blogspot.com if you want to come to class!

My 25th BERFDAY!

I call this face....."BLUE STEEL". 

(I hope all of you know where this quote is from or else I just feel like an idiot)

Well Cody informed me that I only have one more year of being young...apparently turning 25 means that I'm pretty much a grandma.  To that I say...WHATEVER!  I still feel young no matter what he says.  My birthday yesterday was so much fun and so laid back!  What's been really awesome is that this entire week has pretty much been my birthday week with family taking us out to lunch and stuff.  Yesterday started out with my family singing Happy Birthday as I sat there and ate my oatmeal and then Cody surprised me with these lovely wrapped gifts.  He has the magic touch when it comes to wrapping presents don't you think? 

 Ha ha...he couldn't find the wrapping paper so WHO KNOWS where he found this lovely white stuff and then you'll notice that the blue "ribbon" is actually my Pilates resistance band.  Gotta love my hubby!  He actually made my birthday really special with a lot of girly things like hats, purses, and clothes.  Oh and he took me to the finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE last week in LA.  (which I will post pictures of later...)  So he's pretty much the best husband ever.

 During the day, my parents took us out for some delicious Hawaiian food and then my mom took me on a shopping spree.  I seriously can't remember the last time I was able to shop like that!  So thanks mom (and dad) for making my day even more special.  Later on in the evening, Cody and I went over to our friends Ryan and Lindsey's house for a scrumptious BBQ.  While Ryan was working up a sweat on the BBQ, I took their dog, Stella, and my dog for a ride on Lindsey's beach cruiser.  Don't worry, Stella never fell out.  She almost did...but I caught her.

  

 Anyway, dinner was absolutely fantastic.  Besides the fact that it  took Ryan and Cody three hours to make it...it was well worth it!  The chicken and bratwurst were smoked to perfection...and the chicken only caught on fire ONCE.  

To make dinner even better, a neighbor of mine gave me a birthday pineapple which was so thoughtful.  I don't like birthday cake, so we had grilled pineapple for dessert.  

So now that I am a quarter century old my goal is to live it up!  Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so special! 

The Fantasticks at Sundance

This past weekend, Cody's dad invited his entire dental staff out to dinner and up to the Sundance amphitheater for the showing of Fantasticks.   Somehow we were invited to go, but we're not complaining!  I guess Cody works for his dad every once in awhile so we'll take what we can get!  Anyway, the evening started out with a yummy dinner at Magelby's in Orem and then we all headed up to the show.  The amphitheater setting was really fun, but I (of course) wasn't equipped with a winter parka like I should have been.  It was freezing!  Luckily, hot chocolate came to my rescue as well as my husband (with blankets).  The Fantasticks was a fun show to see...especially since one of the lead characters couldn't carry a tune to save his life.  Ha ha.  I really hope no one who reads this is related to him.  

OPEN HOUSE at A Lotta Pilates

Come check the new studio out on Monday August 10th!!

I, along with Lisa Preece of Dance Illusion, will be holding an OPEN HOUSE at 36 South Main Street from 10am-noon and 5pm-7pm.

I'm so excited to get started on this adventure!! Come stop by...it would be great to see all of you!

Attention attention....READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Hey everyone!  As some of you know, I am starting my own little Pilates business here in Logan. I'll be specializing in teaching mat classes in three different formats.  There is definitely something for everybody. I am super excited to get started!  If anyone is interested, check out my other blog at alottapilates.blogspot.com  Let me know what you think and PLEASE tell everyone you know!  The schedules, rates, and class descriptions are all on my blog.  Classes start on August 17th!  

Also, if you are interested in registering before classes start, there will be an open house on August 10th from 10am-noon and 5pm-7pm at 36 South Main Street.  My friend Lisa Preece is holding an open house for her new dance studio, Dance Illusion, and I will have a table set up for A Lotta Pilates as well.

Oh yeah, one more thing...I will be teaching a drop in HIP HOP class at the new studio.  It will be on Tuesday nights from 7:30-8:30pm and the cost is $5.  This class will start on September 1st...I better see all of you coming in to shake your booty with me!

Jackson Hole Weekend

Every 24th of July, my family heads to Jackson Hole. We've been to Jackson sooo many times that we don't always go, but we decided to tag along this year. It was a good time and I'm glad we went.

This year the highlight was renting canoes and taking them to the String Lakes in the Teton mountains.



Sherrie (my mom), Jerald (my dad) and Addie (my niece). I'm pretty sure my dad's paddle never changed positions from where its at in this picture. My mom and Addie were always paddling though.


We stopped to take a dip and everyone decided to take a plunge off this rock. This is our niece, Naomi, in the center of the picture. It took her about 25 minutes to decide to jump off the rock, but she finally did it!

My sister Amy and her family singing as they paddled.

Ally's Bridal Shower

So I went to my cute friend Ally's bridal shower the other day and I had a few thoughts...

1) It is so nice to see old friends again
2) Chocolate covered strawberries should be a staple in my diet
3) Once you are married, you should have a bridal shower every five years or so...you know to "spice" things up again and to get presents
4) Ally sure got a lot of lingerie...which made me wonder where mine has disappeared to (I apologize in advance to any relatives that read this)
5) Time goes by way too quickly! I need to do better at keeping in touch with friends and family. It's the relationships in life that make us happy!!

If it could happen...it DID!

Oh my...where do I begin?  Well, I'll start out with something positive.  WE MADE IT TO LOGAN!  Yes, to all of you who were in such suspense over the past couple weeks, you can now rest assured that we are back.  Now for the negative.  According to the previous post, Cody had some car trouble a couple weeks back as he drove our little Contour back to Utah.  Well this post is going to make his journey look like a walk in the park  (Cody will probably argue this point).  Anyway, here goes...

1)  6:30am-  We are all packed up and the house is clean.  One last walk through and we were off in our 17 foot UHAUL and 15 foot trailer. In our minds we were thinking "Sweet, we are right on schedule...this never happens!"  

2) 6:50am- We make it to the Columbia Gorge and overhear an announcement on the radio, "Large tanker overturns and spills gasoline all over highway.  Road will be closed for the rest of the day."  Are you kidding me?  Not even fifteen minutes into our drive and we are already following detour signs.  As we start following the signs, we notice that we are headed right back into Portland.  Huh???  I get on the phone and call ODOT.  "Hi there, I was just calling to see where this detour is actually taking us?  I see that we are headed back into Portland and we are in a large moving truck pulling a fifteen foot trailer.  

Can you tell me the best way back to I-84?"

ODOT Lady: "Oh sure, you are just going to follow Highway 26.  This will bring you back to where you need to be."

Luckily we had our trusty GPS and changed the routing to find Highway 26.  Little did we know...this route took us through the freakin Cascade Mountains and up to the summit of Mount Hood.   FOUR HOURS LATER...

11:00am:  I-84 is in sight and we are in pretty good spirits despite the SLIGHTLY LARGE detour.  Cody is at the wheel and I drift off into a much needed sleep.  POP!!  I jumped about five feet into the air.  "What was that?"  Oh it was just our tire...blown all over the highway.  After safely pulling off the freeway, we call Roadside Assistance.  "Yeah, we can be there in one hour."  Oh great.  We couldn't help but laugh.  It was just our luck!  We took advantage of the time and rested, threw the ball for Kusaba, and made some lunch from the little that we had.  TWO HOURS LATER...

Yes, this made it through the Cascade mountains

                           The CULPRIT

                                 Keeping Kusaba entertained while we waited...and waited

1:00pm: We were back on the road yet again.  Mind you, we were probably only 45 minutes away from Portland.  That stupid detour and now the blown tire threw us WAY behind schedule.  Oh well...we were determined to continue.  We drive for about two hours with no interruptions and make it to Pendleton, OR for some real lunch (at Wendy's)

4:00pm:  Full and happy, we leave Pendleton and head into the Blue Mountains.  About 30 miles into the canyon I discover that my lips are really chapped and I need some chapstick.  I start feeling around for my purse...oh crap, where is it?  I start FREAKING out.  "Cody!!! My purse...it's not here!  I think I may have left it in Pendleton!!!!"

5:00pm: Leaving Pendleton...once again.  I still am thanking my lucky stars that someone at Wendy's turned my purse in.  There was a lot of cash in it and I was really stupid to have left it there.  Sigh.  At this point, I just want to give up.  Numerous times I tell Cody that I can't go another mile.  He calms me down and says, "It's okay...you know you are going to be laughing about this tomorrow."  

9:00pm:  Yes, we should have been home long ago but we are still driving.  We decide to stay in Boise, ID for the night.  After sneaking Kusaba into the hotel room, we are fast asleep and ready to put that long and dreadful day behind us.

Luckily, there are no more incidents to report.  The following day, our UHAUL works like a charm (a really SLOW charm) and we make it Logan.  Oh and Cody was definitely right, I am now laughing about the purse situation.  WE'RE BACK!!