Defunct Dreams

I had a dream last night about teaching people to irrigate.

What prompted this?

Was it the little boy now living next door to my parents who is fascinated by the water running through their backyard?

Was it an innate desire to swim through dirty river water?

Or is it just summer, and that's what happens?

At least I didn't flood any neighboring basements

Reboot the blog

I don't know if it's from reading too many blogs, or from watching too many episodes of Scrubs, but I seem to have a constant dialogue in my head of randomness. It's like I look at everything and try to assess if it would make a good blog post. Even this discussion of internal dialogues for blogging has been an internal dialogue.

I wish something cool would happen so I could blog about it.

I just finished re-reading all my archived posts - some of them are so funny. I used to be really good at this. I was laughing out loud not only because of my funny wording but also because of all the bizarre comments I got from y'all.
I think I noticed a change in the blog once I realized how many people could be reading it and I probably shouldn't be using it as a personal rant zone. Nevertheless, I promise to get back to posting inane observations about life and stories that have no point (with pictures to illustrate).

because that's what we're all here for right?

3 long months

This baby is 3 months old now.


She is a big girl.


We had to get really candid with the camera because she freezes up when she sees it.

happy birthday baby

steamed vegetables

what is the best method or apparatus for steaming vegetables?

Some Dedications

These are some pictures we took on our recent trip to Thanksgiving Point Gardens, they are specifically dedicated to some individuals but everyone should enjoy.

For: Jan and Robyn

For: Ben
Baby Geese

For: Laurie Jayne
My Nephew's Chucks

For: Beetle
Mom rented a segway

Obviously, we had a great time.

I added some pictures from our San Diego trip

One Stellar Day

Today is Mother's Day, I bet you knew that. But did you also know that today marks the day of my birth?
It's true and for my first Mother's Day as a mother it's pretty awesome that I also get to turn 20-something.

To mark this occasion Anna and I flew to San Diego to spend it with Ben
In addition to it being Mother's Day and my birthday, it's also the two year anniversary of the last time Ben and I were together in San Diego - for our Honeymoon.

As you can see, this trip is not lacking in its significance.

So, back to the topic at hand, today.

It has been wonderful, we woke up to our alarm clock - a chattery baby, we then got ready and went down to the lobby for some free breakfast - I had waffles, which are definitely a favorite. (Waffles Forever is a t-shirt slogan I'm working on popularizing)
Then we went to the local ward, they have their own set of missionaries - as does the other ward in the building. They handed out chocolates for the mothers.
After Church we returned to the hotel to change and because we have no kitchenette we went out to find some lunch - let me tell you about LUNCH.

It was FABULOUS - this was the highlight of the day for sure.
Ben had read about a diner here that had imported Fried Clams from the East Coast, so he wanted to try them out and I'm always up for diners, with their gritty waitresses and homestyle yet greasy food, you can't go wrong. So at the Studio Diner (it's next door to the only movie studio in San Diego, they filmed Renegade and Veronica Mars) we had a very friendly waitress who couldn't stop smiling at Anna every time she came to our table. I had a delicious Caesar Salad and a cup of fruit (the most delicious melons I've ever had at a restaurant, pineapple and Blueberries on top), Ben got his fried clams with french fries - that's Ben for you.
So then, our very friendly waitress came over and offered us a FREE Mother's Day peach cobbler! with ice cream! I was quite pleased at that. Then Ben told her it was my birthday and she brought out a FREE birthday hot fudge sundae! It was AWESOME!
This waitress made my day. I made sure she got a good tip, and this restaurant will always be recommended by us both.

After lunch we drove to the San Diego Temple and walked around, we met a nice older missionary couple from Logan who took a picture for us. It was pretty gray and windy so we didn't stay long.

When we got home we did a video chat with Ben's family - not so much a chat but an Anna session.

Then naps.

awesome.

They are still napping while I've been typing this, Anna woke me up because she noticed the pacifier had fallen out of her mouth and she wanted it back. When I reached in to find it, I must have brushed my hand against her face because she immediately wrapped both of her hands/arms around mine and tried to suck on my knuckles. That's the closest we get to kisses, but I'll take 'em.

We still have dinner ahead of us, which I'm sure will put the final touches on a great day.

Happy Mother's Day to All

I stole this from Diana's blog

It's funny cause it's true, and it rhymes.

These are for the Man we Miss

We miss you Daddy!

Halfway Syndrome

I am so frustrated. Ben has been gone to California all week on business and I've been home with the babe. When I heard he was going to be gone all month I immediately started a mental list of all the projects I could complete during that time to keep me busy. Eventually I wrote some of that list down and got to work on it.

Now I'm at an irritating half-way point in everything.

The laundry is folded but not put away

The carpet in the front room is vacuumed and shampooed but the hallway and bedroom remain, meanwhile the carpet cleaner is sitting in the entryway.

The dress that needs to be adjusted for Anna is unpicked but needs to be resewn

The items I bought at the store are still sitting in the shopping bags on the table

The kitchen is clean but not tidy

The lesson for Sunday has been read through but not really planned out

The quilt is pieced but not quilted

The garbages are full and acknowledged, but not yet emptied.

etc. etc.

I guess next week will be spent finishing a few things.

A Chilean Restaurant in Edgemont

I just ate at a new restaurant in the Day's mini-mall called Pantrucas - it's a Chilean restaurant and it is delicious.

I ordered a) the Ave Palta sandwich - pulled white chicken with tomatoes and mounds of avocado on a soft white (or wheat) homemade roll. It was good and very filling.
but that's not all
b) a beef Empanada - flavored ground beef with onions, olives, hard boiled egg in a fried tart shell. There were supposed to be raisins but I didn't see any - no matter, it was also tasty.
but that's not all
c) the crowning dish of the meal was a natural fruit juice for 2.99 - They have many flavors, I got Mango, but here's the kicker, it was like a liter of natural mango juice, a liter of delectable, sweet, healthy mango juice for only 2.99.

Above all we don't want this restaurant to fail. The owner/server was super nice and explained every dish to us before we ordered. Situated in the former Lon's Cookin' Shack, this man, his wife and a son were very enthusiastic about me having lunch there. Two times, he showed us an article that ran in the Daily Herald about his restaurant, looking online, there is also a video about it which explains many of the dishes. So I recommend this place to everyone, don't be afraid of ethnic food - it's what makes America great.