The Rook Family

On a Happier Note

2012-01-21T19:50:00.001-08:00

It is out of this world weird to see your belly growing (however insignificantly) in a way that is completely out of your control. My arms are thin, my legs are sticks, I can see my collarbone protruding out of my neck, I can't even wear my wedding ring because I've even lost weight in my fingers, but my belly is growing outwardly. It is so weird.

No one else seems to notice, though. I tell them, if there is a roundness at all, it's my baby belly. Some of them are nice and say, "Oooo, look at you!" and others just giggle and say sarcastically, "Oh yeah, there it is. So eensy weensy!"

Oh well. I am noticing it, and it is weird.

Today I thought about what our baby will look like and I just wish it was the end of July already!

Political Rant?

2012-01-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

Why am I suddenly interested in politics? I never was before.

Because I have a lot more time on my hands and a Mormon might become president and that is interesting to a Mormon girl like me?

Because my dad is more interested in it because he is retired and has more time on his hands, too? We do talk about it a bit.

Because I'm growing a baby and want to choose a good leader for the future of our country?

Whatever the case, I'm going to delve into something that has totally bothered me tonight.

Why did Newt Gingrich win South Carolina??? Are you kidding me, SC? My father-in-law said he worked under the guy and that he was a lunatic. As speaker of the house, he was kicked out! Two days ago, a story was posted that he asked his ex-wife for an open marriage. And his name is a slimy lizard. Really, South Carolina? Really?? Okay, so he's a good debater. The end.

I read an article about his win and one man said, "Mitt Romney is a good man, but I think it's time we get someone who is mean." So they knew what they were doing when they voted against the upstanding businessman to vote for a creep. *Sigh*

I just hope he does not end up being our republican candidate. If so, I'm voting for Obama.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Mary

2012-01-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought I was feeling a lot better and on my way to my second trimester, but alas, it only lasted a short few days. Back to nausea. It's okay though, cuz it's been a real adventure. Yesterday, I was so hungry, I braved my way into Subway and got a 6 inch turkey breast on italian herbs and cheese with ranch and olives! It was delightful. Then today, Tim made me a super healthy smoothie to start the day. Unfortunately, I ended up seeing it again at the doctor's office.

The doctor felt so badly for me that she let me have an ultrasound right then and there! Our baby looked really healthy, nice spinal cord and all five fingers on the one hand we could see...the poor thing looked like it was uncomfortable, though, because it kept trying to move it's whole body up and down. If I had my head stuck in a crevice, I'd want it out of there, too! And it's hand was on it's forehead. The doc said it was saying, "Woe is me!"

After the doctor's office, I lost my breakfast again in public outside of the Giant grocery store. That's the first time I've thrown up in public since I was in elementary school. It was no fun. I felt like I needed a sign to post saying "Do not step here." Oh well...sorry world.

Today I sneezed and I thought my ovaries exploded. Turns out that's pretty normal since my stomach is stretching out right now with a baby and all the muscles are tightening up. Enter the sneeze and ouch! Over-stretched muscles.

Looking forward to more time passing so I can get out of this first trimester, dangit. 13 weeks tomorrow (maybe today, according to the ultrasound), and one more week to go.

Here's hoping I get over this soon or else.

USU vs. BYU: Fight!

2012-01-08T13:09:00.000-08:00

My sister and I attended these rival schools in Utah, and I just have to say, I think the fight songs say a lot about the schools in general. Here is a link to each song.

USU:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o3vyRC3Q0I

As you can see, it's pretty easy to learn, and just in case you didn't pick it up the first time, they repeat it for you. It's as easy to get the song as it is to beat the team, or to be accepted into the school. Burn on myself.

BYU:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJpz_TYIO54

The cougar song, however, is a bit harder to learn, and the language seems a little over-inflated at parts. Kind of like how the school itself is over-inflated, and maybe some of the students. Burn on BYU buahahaha.

Now I love my Aggies, but the cougar fight song is just so darned catchy, once it's in my head, I can't get it out. For instance, last night I was awake for 2 hours from 2am to 4am. What was the lullaby I sang to myself to go back to sleep? Rise and shout, the cougars are out...I feel like I've betrayed my heritage a little bit. Oh well.

Which song do you like more?

Why is there no winter yet?

2012-01-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

Not that I'm complaining, but it makes it really hard to be stuck inside all day when it's like spring outside.

So someone else I know just found out what their baby's gender is, and it makes me excited because I thought I had to wait til I was like 17 or 18 weeks at the earliest, but these people are finding out at week 15, and I'm only three weeks away from that!!

So now is the time to start guessing. Will we have one of these?
A Tanner?

An Elijah?

A Henry?

A Jake?

OOOOOOOOOorrrr...

An Abby?

A Brooklyn?

A Lizzie?

An Evie?

Gotta love the baby-got-into-mommy's-make-up look!

Whatever the baby will be, at least we know she (or he) will have plenty of cousins to hang out with! And we know it'll be a cutie pants baby because look at what kind of a good lookin family he (or she) is coming from.

What do you do?

2012-01-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

...when your own toots make you gag, but you live in a blanket all day?

...when you're hubby wants to touch your growing baby belly and his hands hold a temperature equal to liquid nitrogen?

...when your pup wants to snuggle, but you just saw her with her head in her bum?

I guess I can laugh a little, because at least I'm not throwing up every day anymore. Life is funnier when you feel a little healthy. :)

Plan 3

2011-12-28T16:47:00.000-08:00

Looks like our insurance still hasn't kicked in because of the holidays, so no home nurse help until after New Year's. Tim and I are confident that things will be okay, though. I weighed myself today and I was at 117! Gained two pounds back, baby! I guess all I've needed is a good strong dosage of Zofran and some pickles to get me back on my feet...Oh beloved pickles, how I've missed you.

Plan 2

2011-12-27T14:50:00.000-08:00

No PICC line. Instead, a consistant dosage of Zofran connected into my abdomen and an IV of nutrients, 2 liters, once a day until I "start feeling better." Let's hope that doesn't have to last too long.

Today, I chowed down on Fritos and bean dip, the most explorative food I've eaten in quite some time. I'd like to say the worst is over, but then I'd have to knock on wood, and I'm sure it isn't good. That's the impression that I get.

At ten and a half weeks, I just want to be able to stand in a room where they're cooking steak and actually want some instead of wanting to barf.

Hi! We Have to Admit You Into the Hospital...

2011-12-26T16:24:00.000-08:00

This is the line I was greeted with Thursday morning when I went to a check-up appointment for my prenatal care. I went from weighing 130 lbs. to weighing 115 lbs. in a month. The doctor said they had to watch me and see what the problem was.

The problem ended up being that I have Hyperemesis to help guide me through my 1st trimester. For those of you who don't know, I've deemed it "Throw-ups Disease," so you have a better idea of what it means and I don't have to go through too much detail.

After spending a couple days in the hospital counting my calorie intake and keeping me hydrated, they decided that I'm not eating enough for my body and I need what is called a PICC line to help me maintain my weight and keep my body healthy, as well as the baby. For those who don't know, a PICC line is an IV they keep in you so they don't have to keep sticking you. We'll have a home nurse come every night and feed me some nutrients, so I'll be gaining weight as I sleep (hopefully).

The part that sucks about this the most is that through it all, I keep feeling nauseous and weak. It didn't matter how long they kept that IV in me, every time I got up to use the bathroom, I could feel my legs shaking under me. I will say by the time I left the hospital, I felt better, but I think I should have stayed in a bit longer. The only reason I didn't was because it was Christmas, and they didn't want me to be stuck in the hospital for Christmas. I'm glad I was able to be home for sure, but I'd rather get an IV of Phenergen than have to use other means to get it into my body.

Can you tell I'm sick of being sick? I'm so stinking tired of all this crap. I don't know how some women do this their whole pregnancy. I just hope I don't have to be one of them.

If it wasn't for that little bean inside me, I'd be going crazy. But I know the most important thing is that I stay healthy so my baby stays healthy. So PICC line, here we come.

No, I would not like any cheese to go with that whine...

2011-12-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, I have a follow-up appointment for the sonogram. My doctor will be mad at me because I've lost 2 more pounds since my visit last week. My doctor told me NOT to lose anymore weight. Oh well, they say the baby is doing well.

Today started out with a puking and ended with 2 bloody noses and another puking. I think I'm disappearing, one bodily fluid at a time.

And I'm Missing You

2011-12-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

One of the things I loved to do most before I started puking everything was to enjoy a nice glass of icy cold water, or as my nephew Elijah would say it, "nice cold water." I would get a great big glass, fill it with thick, ready made ice, and watch the water ricochet off the frozen cubes as they slowly melted. Then, I'd wait. I'd swirl the ice around, letting it melt into the tepid water until I could feel the glass start to chill my skin. That's when I'd drink. No, I'd guzzle that ice water down, letting out a big glurpy sigh at the end of that first lapping. Such cool water was so refreshing and I gladly ordered it where ever I went. Chick fil a meals' lemonade was substituted for a big glass of water. Any time we went out to eat, Tim would order five refills of Dr. Pepper while I happily sipped up my chilly clear beverage. I used to say, "there's nothing more refreshing than a nice glass of cold water."

Negative 11 pounds later, I'm lucky if my beloved water even tastes good, then after that, I can only take it in small sips every 15 minutes or so or else I'm doomed to raise the water line in the toilet. I miss it so much that this morning, I've taken to pulling in a mouthful of the stuff and swirling it in my mouth, remembering the good ole days when I could down three glasses in one meal and not suffer any consequences. Then, I spit it out in the sink, and pray my first trimester ends a little quicker so I can enjoy my icy cold, refreshing glasses of water uninhibited.

Hopefully, only three more weeks to go.

TMI and Baby's First Picture

2011-12-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

I've read that some women in pregnancy are worried about how much gas they have, that their baby is unable to sleep with all the bubbles they feel in their belly. One book I read eased this troubling question by stating that since the baby is comfortably encased in amniotic fluid, the bubbles aren't harmful at all, and are more like tiny water massages for the baby. If that is the case, then our baby is the most pampered womb fetus in all the land.

Tim and I got our first sonogram today and I have to chronicle that we both teared up, and mommy definitely let some tears fall. "It's really in there!" I said, all choked up. And indeed, it is. Tiny little gray peanut inside a black hole in my belly. All the little nuances prior to that moment of seeing baby were nothing more than inconveniences; getting my blood drawn (and having a vein blown), visiting the toilet after every snack, building up so much saliva in my mouth I could refill a pool in the summertime. Now I have had a visual confirmation that baby is alive and living in my belly, all those things have meaning. They are still inconvenient, but at least now, I really know why I'm doing them. For that adorable little peanut inside me, who was just laying there, being tiny and cute. Who the sonogram lady tried to bump into action, and who, I am proud to say, was sleeping soundly. Already so much like your daddy! This little sweet peanut who is already loved so much by mommy and daddy, is something we can't stop looking at, even though baby is nothing more than a gray fuzz. We look forward to getting to know you better, cutie fuzz.

PS. Stop making mommy barf. Love you!

We're Pregnant!

2011-12-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

That's right, folks. After two and a half years of Tim praying for us to have a baby, we are pregnant!

Just kidding, we both have prayed about it since we've gotten married and I was completely surprised to find out that now is the right time and Heavenly Father thinks we are ready to start our family.

We found out just a couple days before my sister had her first baby (little baby Henry--such a cute little man!) and kept it mostly to ourselves til just a day ago when my sister, Laura, came to visit with her babies. I am not ashamed to say I completely freaked out. As soon as I saw that positive mark on that home pregnancy test, I ran to Tim and started to cry. "I don't want to be pregnant! It hurts! Everything is going to change!" He, being the awesome hubby he is, sat me down and just kept telling me Heavenly Father knew what he was doing and everything was going to be just fine. I wanted to tell him HE could have the baby and THEN tell me everything was going to be "just fine," but it made sense and I calmed down. Eventually.

And boy, does your body change. I started feeling strange at 5 weeks, gross at 6 weeks, nausous at 7 weeks and sick at 8 weeks, which is the state I'm stuck in now.

One thing I wish someone would have warned me about was how much saliva production increases in your first trimester. I'm so tired of swallowing my own spit, I want to gag when it's in my mouth. And I can't seem to eat anything but fruit nowadays. Tim tried to cook a pizza the other night and I ran to the bathroom just to escape the smell. It's so weird. I used to love pizza.

The best part about being preggers is my older sister, Jen, is just 3 weeks further along than I am and she and I have had so much fun complaining together about our woes. Unfortunately, now that she's on the cusp of 12 weeks and on Zofran, she is starting to feel like a person again. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted (one day).

The other best part is I get to feel my heart grow for my sweet husband who keeps running out to the store to get more fruit and popsicles, and keeps doing dishes and vacuuming and keeping on top of our finances and business matters. I knew I married a swell guy, but the other day when I woke up to him folding laundry at my feet, I thanked Heavenly Father that I married him. I love you, hubby. I'm sorry I can't stand the smell of your breath to get close to you. (Don't judge too harshly, I can't stand the smell of anyone's breath right now).

So watch out, world. There is a new baby coming soon in mid-July and it will probably be a ninja!

(Tim is hoping for a boy, but I keep feeling it's going to be a girl)

What Happened?

2011-09-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, before starting classes, we had 13 students signed up after three weeks of preparation. Here we are in our second morning of official Kids N' Action Martial Arts first week of classes, and we are already up to 21 students total!

Goodness gracious! I thought I would have time to write my story, but we've been so busy with this, that my brain is already turning mushy. It's fantastic to know how people have been responding to Tim's positive attitude and treatment toward they're children. Everyone has been so complimentary and kind. I hope we can keep that up!

I also hope we can find some help with classes soon. We're gonna need it!

August is Over?

2011-09-02T04:43:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had a dream that I was trying to help a little boy not do drugs. I am very glad to be awake at 7am this morning and not going back to sleep until I absolutely have to tonight. Since I'm up so early on my own, I will update our blog to pass the time.

Well, we are back to good ole VA. And we've already been asked to substitute the 4 year olds in primary :). We've been hanging out with more family and been able to spend all our time with each other. It's been wonderful. And best of all, Tim's new martial arts program is actually growing! Classes start Sept. 5th and we already have over 10 students. We should be getting two more with today's appointment, too, which is awwwwweeesooooome. He's been setting up events around the city and contacted his old elementary school for even more events. I posted this on facebook, but last night, he started talking in his sleep about how to best go about upgrading the cast on his arm, saying if we do it the best way, we can get more students. We worked a little too hard yesterday, I think.

This past month, an earthquake happened on the east coast. Tim and I were in the emergency room to get a piece of glass out of my foot that had been in there for a week without me fully realizing it. I laid down on the hospital bed, awaiting the upcoming torture when everything started to shake. I rose up and looked at Tim and thought, "Is this really happening?" Then I thought, "No, no, is there a railroad that runs right next to the hospital?" Um, no, but you're really smart for thinking that, Mary...

In other news, Tim's cast is getting replaced next week because they're taking the pins out in his wrist! He's been hurting pretty badly randomly because those things are grating against the inside of the cast. They are ready to come out, that is for sure. I posted a pic of his incision as last we saw it. The irritated skin on the side of Tim's wrist is the pins starting to peek out (don't worry, that's what they're supposed to do). Gross!

We'll try to post some more pics of what we've been up to soon. I'm really glad we moved back, though. I haven't got any of my writing done, sadly, but I picked up an old cross stitch I've been wanting to give to my mom since my freshman year of college. I work on that while listening to Tim's emails and updates on the website and watching tv and all that. It's been very nice to feel we're accomplishing so many things on our own!

We're Moving!

2011-08-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

I can tell the world.

Tim is opening his own martial arts program back home and we are nervous and excited and sad all wrapped in one.

Today, my neice Lizzie joined me in Tim's last day at work teaching karate. The manager was kind enough to allow Lizzie to join class. Watching 3 and 4 year olds do karate is the best thing ever.

Here are some funny things she said throughout the day:

While walking up to our apartment, "Stairs are boring."

Me: Take a couple bites of your donut then jump into class.
Lizzie: (takes exactly three bites and gives it back to me)
Me: Oh, you don't want any more?
Lizzie: A couple is three.
Me: ...(impressed) Who told you that?
Lizzie: Myself.

Lizzie: What are you guys doing?
Me: I'm clipping Tim's fingernails.
Lizzie: Why?
Me: Well, he can't really do it himself, he's only got one arm.
Lizzie: (Very seriously) For real?
(Tim's arm is in a cast since he had surgery)

And when coloring cotton candy:
Me: Here's a Papa Mickey sized one.
Lizzie: Here's a daddy sized one. Here's a Jesus sized one!

This girl is way too funny. We had a blast this morning.

The worst part about moving is leaving your friends behind. We've gotten so much love and encouragement from everyone that it's really hard to leave, but we can't wait to make new friends and see old friends back in our hometown!

Novel Update

2011-06-23T08:55:00.001-07:00

Remember when I wrote that I was writing a novel? Yep, still writing it. Here is a progress report for you:

Pages: 30 in the computer (not double-spaced), about 8 more written on notebook paper (I use what I have)

Chapters: Maybe 6 or 7

Character introductions: At least 4 solid ones

Interest: I read it to Tim two nights ago and he said it really pulled him in, but he's my husband, so he may just be trying to get out of doing the dishes by shmoozing... MY interest in it is high.

Point in story: If you look at this graph, I'm beginning the rising action. I've got a long way to go, but I'm just getting to the part where I won't be able to stop writing once I begin it. Yay!

I even have a tentitive title, but that is a secret that will not be shared until the novel is finished and ready.

Hint: It's not called I Love Food, though I did consider writing a novel about how much I do love food. Maybe that'll be my next project.

Karma

2011-06-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

Last night, I dreamed I gambled some money and won some money in the form of $5 paper credits. Since we can't pay tithing on gambled money, I decided to give everything to a charity by buying new clothes and groceries for a homeless shelter. When Tim and I reached the Salvation Army to purchase these things (apparently in the dream, I was thinking quantity over quality), we didn't know how to begin getting our paper credits to work, so we asked a guy by the counter. He explained to feed them into the computer and it will give us a credit under the store account. So that's just what we did.

Going through the store, we picked out all sorts of things. The people in the store kept hiding things in their jackets and taking things from our cart, the last of whatever item was available on the shelves. I would turn to look at a pile of jeans, turn around and half the things we picked out would be gone. In my dream, the people in the store were poor, and I knew them to be. I kept smiling at them like I was personally touching their lives by buying these things for a homeless shelter. But once I saw one of them stuffing their coats with everything they could get their hands on, I told on them to the guy at the front counter.

After we'd picked up everything we thought would help, I believe our last items were baby food and diapers, we went up to the counter. People butted in front of us and gave us dirty looks like they'd been standing there all along.

When we got up to the front, a different front counter person rang up all of our things, then asked us for payment. I explained we put our credits into the machine and they should ring up in the computer. He asked who told us this, because there is no way to do that. It was then I realized all that money that was about to be put to good use had been stolen.

I turned around to the whole store, to all the people waiting behind us looking ill-tempered and screamed at them. "That's IT! I've had it with all of you! You wonder why you're poor!! Have you ever heard of karma?! If you keep stealing things and treating people this way, it's all gonna come back and bite you in the butt. You're going to get robbed of the little you have, or your kid's gonna die, or you'll get cancer!"

I woke up to myself screaming in my dream. It felt pretty good to get all my frustration out like that, but man, talk about karma. I'm having a pretty bad day today. Maybe cuz I yelled at all those poor people who stole from me. Or maybe it showed me the consequences of gambling...

Or maybe we shouldn't eat pizza right before bed anymore.

Cub Scouts: Hard to Handle, Easy to Impress

2011-05-18T18:30:00.001-07:00

When I started Cub Scouts, one of them asked what my job was. I explained I worked for a company that works for the EPA, a part of the government. I explained further, but as soon as I said "government," his eyes lit up. "You work for the government?" I responded, "In a way I do, but not really."

This evening, his mother approached me with a gleeful smile. She explained her son was convinced I was a spy for the government. "It's like the CDA in Monster's Inc, Mom!" He'd told her. "Sister Rook is totally a spy!"

She asked me what I did for my job. "I'm a temp!" I exclaimed. "The company I work for contracts with the EPA doing data entry for lead-based paint activities, and it's super boring." She and I had a good laugh. She told me she'd correct him if he tried to tell her again, but I'm not so sure if I want her to. This particular kid thinks I'm pretty cool. Now I know the reason why I think I'd like to keep it that way.

On a Brighter Note...

2011-05-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

My sister Julie's Blog.

http://nomadicnourishment.blogspot.com/2011/05/little-bit-of-news.html

We are presently calling it "baby coffee cup," but I think Baby Mulie or possibly Baby Jark would now be appropriate. Baby Markie. Baby...Marlie. Which one do you like?

May 1st

2011-05-02T14:44:00.001-07:00

Recent world news has caused me to seriously reflect upon our country's situation. Last night, thanks to a dear coworker of mine (and my husband waking me up), I was given the news that Osama Bin Ladin has been killed by US black ops sent in by President Obama. At first, I thought it was a dream and woke Tim in the middle of the night to confirm it actually happened (I did that for the earthquake a while back).

Since when were we still looking for Bin Ladin? I thought government spending and the economic recession was forefront in the politicians agenda. Come to find out, Obama, who I was led to believe was not doing much with his position besides the whole medical care crap, was hunting down the man behind the 9/11 attacks.

When I checked the news, US citizens had gathered to celebrate the American triumph and global leaders were congratulating Obama's gutsy move. I have to admit, he IS the man right now, especially with the whole Donald Trump thing (please nobody vote for Donald Trump as President. Pretty please?).

Usually, I'm not political. At all. In fact, one of the bless-ed reasons we don't have cable is so I don't have to watch the news. But this...it was too intriguing not to research, and when I looked more into it, I found myself getting more and more frightened at what would be coming next from Bin Ladin supporters. The reality of it was like stubbing my toe on the couch or running into a partially opened door. It was right there, staring me in the face.

I remember when 9/11 took place. I was in the front of the choir room in high school, pulling in a breath to sing with some other unfortunate sopranos when the intercom came on. Everything seemed very distant, like my hands couldn't grasp onto the situation. Apparently a girl screamed and fainted in our class, but I don't remember that happening. All I remember is silence.

Perhaps because I have aged and matured (matured very slightly), Bin Ladin's death has brought the whole world into a large view, along with all its problems and people. I can see how far this war has effected earth's inhabitants. People have said the war on terror is a big stupid war and our country is shot and we need to turn things around and get our troops out of Afghanistan and blah blah blah. Maybe Afghanistan isn't exactly where we need to be, but it's a hop skip and jump away from where the world's most wanted murderer and brainwasher was hiding comfortably.

I've discovered Bin Ladin's attacks on the World Trade Center were to destroy America as a superpower and create the economic downfall of our nation. He almost succeeded. Here we are, struggling to lift ourselves out of an economic recession, more jobs are being created and people are feeling a little better about the economy (I think). And he is dead. And we killed him.

This man's beliefs were so warped that he justified the murdering of his own people, and many innocent lives across the globe. In the name of what? Revenge? Power? God? Where he is now, he is finding out exactly what God thought of his actions. That brings me comfort.

I like how my sister put it in her blog. It is strange to celebrate the killing of a man. Yet, most of the world is feeling better about tomorrow.

I also like my sister-in-law's facebook status: "I sure hope Osama doesn't have any horcruxes."

In Defense of: "The Sound of Music"

2011-04-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Certain parties have suggested this all-time classic musical is "quaint and uninspired." Now, I fervently believe that every individual is entitled to his/her own opinion, no matter how wrong they may be, but sometimes those opinions must be challenged. I've prepared some facts to support my superior and correct opinion in favor of The Sound of Music.

1) Interestingly enough, one possible definition of the word "quaint" is "skillfully or cleverly made," according to dictionary.com. So there goes half your argument. Tppphthptthpthp! On behalf of all Sound of Music lovers, thank you for saying so.

2) Since I know you didn't mean it as a compliment, I will say that "quaint" is an appropriate word to use for something that was made in 1965. Lots of things in that time period can be considered quaint now. For example, The Beach Boys, and Charlie Brown. That doesn't mean they are bad things. I feel one of the key morals in the movie was learning to appreciate the simple pleasures of life. Perhaps a more appropriate word choice for you to use would be "cheesy." Well, my friend, in 1965, it was not cheesy, it was just a new kind of sweetness. The critics thought so as well.

3) In 1966, The Sound of Music was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning 5 of them including Best Picture and Best Music.

4) Any movie that has evil Nazi's in it has to be good. See Indiana Jones for reference.

5) Now to address the next word you've chosen to label it, "uninspired." I guess the opening sequence was skipped when you watched this movie, because I feel it is one of the most beautiful scenes in existence of cinema. Perhaps it is cheesy for an aspiring nun to go up where it is quiet in the mountains of Austria and sing to the hills and streams about her heart wants to "laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over stones on its way," but I wonder, in what place do you write? Have you found yourself a little nook to sit with pen and paper to scribe your feelings? Do you write with music in your ears or out on the streets while cars pass? Do you get...inspiration...from this place you sit? I suppose for a pessimist, it is difficult to understand why someone's heart wants to laugh. Perhaps you would rather see Maria trip and fall over her feet and land in the brook to drown. My point is, just because the sequence is simple does not mean it isn't beautiful and cannot be appreciated. It doesn't mean you aren't allowed to cry and be moved *sniff* ...at how full of life she is... *tear escapes* *sniff* ...Your heart must be stone! *sobbing and weeping*

6) Ahem. Now that I've stripped your opinion down to nothing but cruelty and misrepresentation, I will continue. In addition to many other musicals (The Sound of Music included), Mr. Rodgers and Hammerstein worked together on South Pacific, one of the most controversial musicals of it's time, and nowadays is often painted as cheesy.

7) The Sound of Music was the last musical Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together. Mr. Hammerstein died of stomach cancer shortly after it opened on broadway. The musical is a homage to his life, his last message to humanity. The very last thing he wrote was the song "Edelweiss." Out of all the songs in the musical, I would say this one is presented dripping with the most sappyness and sentimentality. It is also the simplest song in the whole show, once again following the moral I mentioned earlier of finding the simple pleasures in life amidst hardship. The man was about to die and he writes a song about a small white flower that looks "happy to meet [him]." Sounds cheesy, right? And uninspired. But when you look at the facts, you begin to understand it to mean so much more. Perhaps the small white flower represents his whole life that has bloomed in the wake of his footsteps, and as he dies, he feels his life has been a happy one and he has no regrets. In the show, the song envokes the honor and loyalty of Austrians everywhere who are about to get forced into the Third Reich to join the evil Nazis. Kind of makes Captain VonTrapp sound hardcore when he makes the whole audience sing it while Nazi soldiers and flags litter the crowd. Speaking of hardcore, who doesn't like a couple of sinning nuns that pull car parts out of evil Nazi engines to help their friends escape?

7) The storyline itself was inspired from a true story and adapted into a musical for it's inspiring nature. *Boo-yah fact*

8) Just tell me you never wanted to be a part of that puppet show scene. It looks like so much fun!

9) I will be fair and mention my two least favorite scenes...both are love scenes, and both are in that windowed bungalow on the VonTrapp grounds. I've never shouted "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" after kissing anyone. I think Rodgers and Hammerstein went a little overboard there. And for some reason, watching the Captain and Maria nuzzle onscreen makes my skin crawl. Other than that, I smile throughout the movie.

10) On a number of occasions, I have sung "I Have Confidence" in the mirror to boost my own morale, and let me tell you, if that song isn't inspired, it sure has begat inspiration.

I think what it boils down to here is some people not appreciating the classics, even modern classics like ELF and AVATAR.

Like I say to my coworker who doesn't like guacamole, if you tell me not to eat the disgusting roasted seaweed, I'm not going to listen (chomp chomp chomp--delicious roasted seaweedness).

Weekend Snippits

2011-03-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I'm at work, I wish I was at home so I could be writing. Then, when I'm writing, I wish I had some fresh fruit or something better to eat than water and carrots. I think I need some yoda wisdom:

"All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless!"

This weekend was amazing. Chloe took a dive in a neighborhood lake to chase some geese. I got to watch her swim around for a couple seconds, paddling away, probably wondering to herself how the heck she got in the water and what had happened to all the geese.

We got a new welcome mat for our apartment we've been living in for over a year. It is so pretty. It even has butterflies on it! Now I feel like before we got it, we were crabby loners who hated company.

I got to see my dad who's been away in Utah for months and months! Giving him a big hug was great, but it didn't feel like a party until my four-year-old niece, Lizzie, arrived. At one point, she was trying out a magic trick, asking me what magic words to say. I was going to tell her to say "I am a turkey," but then I remembered an old trick my dad taught us. Oh wah tay goo siam. I changed my mind mid-word. "I a...Oh wah." Lizzie obediently repeated. "Eye ah oh waaaah." Me and my sister Jen laughed so hard I thought my gut was going to pop.

I made delicious oatmeal scotchies with Jen and Lizzie. Those cookies were so dang good. It took a great effort not to gorge myself with all that sugary goodness. Then after they were cooked, it took even more effort.

Tim and I got home early that night (is 9:00pm early for anyone else?) and watched our new favorite, 30 Rock.

And now, it's Monday, and all I can think about is how much money we shouldn't have spent this past weekend and how much money I wish we had. Just a couple thousand more a month, is that too much to ask for now?

Breathe

2011-03-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today's been one of those days where I wish me and Tim and Chloe could go somewhere except here. Sometimes life really stings you good. In all directions. And I wish life would take me here:

We could ride horses in the countryside and row out to the middle of our pond to have a picnic. Chloe would love to chase the sheep, and Tim and I could sit by the fireplace at night while I read "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" in gaelic.

Future Oscar Winners

2011-02-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

My sister and brother-in-law!

I Wish I Could Post Videos

2011-02-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

For now, please enjoy this video.

Movie Review: The Green Hornet

2011-01-15T06:22:00.000-08:00

Tim and I have been waiting for this one to come out for a while. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait. I don't remember the last time we laughed so hard at a movie screen. Not only that, the action was AWESOME and the storyline was supple and went in a logical direction. I remember the trailer of this movie cracking me up, and I was really hoping that they didn't show the best parts of the movie in the trailer like they always do. The clips previewed were definitely good parts, but some are built on and they've only shown you the base of the joke. I'm not naming any specifics since I don't want to give anything away. It came out yesterday, for crying out loud. Just go see it. Maybe I'll go see it with you! I would most definitely see this again.

What were they THINKING?!

2011-01-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

Who in the world thought I'd be a good canidate for Cub Scouts??? I feel like I've fallen into a vat of cake mix and am about to be eaten alive!!

On the bright side, I get to go to the firehouse next week to learn about fire safety. So that is more than cool. But oh, heaven help me.

By the By

2011-01-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

Disneyworld rocked and I wish my computer could upload the dreams we created there. Sadly, it is older than I thought.

I'm hoping that if I put it online, it will make me realize it is real. I'm writing a novel. There, I posted it. A 100% mine novel that will kick the butt of all the vampire eat-offs going on right now. Whether it will kick the butt of anything else is still up in the air, but I'm doing it. It's on my New Year's Resolution list to be completed and sent into publishers by the end of the year. For anyone that's curious it will be a Young Adult fiction novel built around action adventure and fantasy cuz that's what I like to read! That's all I'm going to say. So, cross your fingers for me and I'll check up with you in one year.

My Last Post Before Disneyworld

2010-12-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

I made it. We are leaving tomorrow for Orlando. Last night, I was so excited I couldn't fall asleep. Well, I also couldn't stop coughing because of my stupid bronchitis. Luckily, I should be doing a whole lot better by tomorrow and Wednesday, according to the doc.

So I couldn't fall asleep and asked Tim to tell me something about karate or a funny story or something because his voice would calm me down. Tim was close to sleeping and for those of you who are not aware, Tim is pretty much impossible to converse with you if he is anywhere near sleep. In fact, I was half expecting him to fall asleep. Or at least tell a nonsense story. Sure enough...

"I guess it's time to tell you..." he began in a very pillow-faced muffled voice, "when I was younger, my mom and dad left me in the marketplace." Marketplace? Is he talking about the farmer's market?

"I was all alone and really hungry, so I stole a loaf of bread." Aw, he was the little theif when he was younger.

"Then these men started chasing me with swords and I was running over buildings trying to get away." What??? Wait a minute...

"Then I escaped and gave my bread to two starving children and me and my pet monkey went back to our home and looked at the palace."

He explained the whole story of Aladdin and finished off with "me and my princess got married and had 3 triplet boys."

I lubs him. And I'm excited that he's excited to finally go to Disneyworld!

Weekly Countdown

2010-11-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

Only one month til Disneyworld. I mean Christmas. Or DO I?

Week 4: Harry Potter 7 Part 1 *Homer Simpson giddy dance*

Week 3: Thanksgiving!!! (Turkey Bowl, Momasita's, Rook's for games and desserts)

Week 2: Dad Graduates! (Yay, Dad! Party at your hotel that night)

Week 1: Help Momasita move into her new condo (Complete with newly painted walls by Jen)

Week 0: The 0 symbolizes what shape my mouth will be in that whole week. In awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwe. I thought Disneyworld back in 2000 Millenium Celebration during the summer was fun with most of the siblings and dad. I think I yelled out "I love Disneyworld!" at least 8 times. Imagine what it will be like with most of the siblings plus their wives/husbands and kids!!! I think I might explode from anticipation of good times coming.

I am glad there are such wonderful things coming up every week to look forward to so that I don't have to think too much about how excited I am.

It's the Most Wonderful Time

2010-11-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

So I’m just fine. The rhythm specialist (who was not at ALL what I imagined) diagnosed my heart problem as “Premature Atrial Contraction with appropriate Sinus lag.” My heart beats a little early on the top, then the rest sort of catches up. He also called it a Benign Arrhythmia which means my heart does weird things, but everything is fine. He said this type of thing happens in marathon runners and athletes; people who exercise a lot. So I guess I’m too healthy for my heart. Too healthy for my heart so healthy it huurrrrts.

I still have my Event Monitor which is fun to wear around little kids. “What is that?” “A heart monitor.” *Silence. Sweet, sweet silence.* This happened while teaching CTR 6 for Primary two Sundays ago. Boy. That was a trip. Turns out any class you teach to children are just as difficult as teaching the Sunbeams. I think I liked teaching Sunbeams even more because you expect them not to be able to pay attention. 6-year-olds, I expected some degree of discipline. My expectations dropped after one of the kids hit me with a paper ball. It was an accident, but still…come on.

Then, they asked me to substitute as Primary Music Leader for this past Sunday. I had a BLAST doing that! We played the Manassas II favorite song game, “Sing Sing Sing,” stand up or sit down every time you sing the word “sing.” We did it faster, slower, then reeeeeally fast, then reeeeally slow. I took requests and we sang “Once There Was a Snowman” three times. I based our activities on the Primary Music Leader Champion, Sister Hayward. Seriously, the kids love her and she plays the best games with them. During the Senior Primary hour (which consisted of six kids), I joked with the pianist and laughed pretty hard. The little girl in the class perked up and said “I like your laugh!” It was the sweetest thing!! And when church was over, one of the little girls I had taught the week prior in CTR 6 (in my head, I called her “the good one,”) came up and gave me a big hug. “I love your singing!!” I’m pretty sure she was trying to tell me she had a lot of fun singing in primary today. I bent down and told her what a good girl she is. She is seriously so sweet.

Speaking of sweet, guess who has Christmas decorations up (besides Papa Mickey who made sure they were up for Halloween so he could complete his Santa Costume)! That’s right! This weekend, Tim and I got Christmas décor from the luxurious Wal-mart, complete with tiny tree, mini ornaments, lighted garland, stockings, candles, even a wreath to put on our door! Seeing that wreath on the other side of the door was wondrous. I’ve never had such a big smile leaving for work.

I had a debate on facebook this weekend about putting up Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving. Apparently it means you’re smothering one holiday to jump to the next. To those of you who say that, I used to be one of you. Then I wised up and realized, Thanksgiving and Christmas compliment each other and these lights we have up already just mean I’m excited for the entire holiday season including New Years! Besides, Thanksgiving lights don’t exist, people. And when the weather outside is frightful and I start dreaming of turkey, stuffing, and green bean casserole, I start thinking of Christmas, too. Family and food and time off work and feel-good movies and buoyed nostalgia before we all get winter cabin fever…there’s nothing like this season. Like they say, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. So those of you who wait ‘til after Thanksgiving and snub those who do not do the same, you can stuff it up your turkey. That’s right.

Stuff it!

Rhapsody in Blue

2010-11-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today at work, I had a bad episode while talking to Tim. I transmitted the episode immediately and let them know I almost fainted in my chair. After the docs looked at it, they told me I should see the rhythm specialist tomorrow. I hope it’s this rhythm specialist.

Dad thinks they'll tell me it's all in my head. If it is, I'd like a brain transplant.

In other news, old friends will be visiting us this night! So excited to see our old Zombie Fluxx friends!!

Healthy?

2010-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

The results are in—my heart is healthy. Doc mentioned two different things they caught but are "nothing to worry about." The first is a slight leakage in my right valve that 80% of people have, he said, and is never addressed or diagnosed or anything because it never causes problems. The second thing is, in the 24-hour Monitor I had, it recorded four episodes of my heart beating weird (or so I thought). Doc said one of the recordings picked up my heart slowing down, but nothing out of normal parameters or whatever. So since I am still having episodes and the problem is undiagnosed, they gave me another heart monitor. This time, I must keep it for a whole three weeks. An Event Monitor.

The Event Monitor will be my new best friend for the next month. I will keep it close to my heart and hilted on my pants like so:

Like Dennis the Beeper King in 30Rock!

The best part about this monitor can be quoted from an article I found. “[T]he monitor will emit a high-pitched sound from a tiny hole on the front of the device for about thirty seconds while it records what your heart is doing…” This “high-pitched sound” makes me feel like I’m trying to contact Chloe and every other dog in the neighborhood. And when I make the call to report the events that happen, the sound lasts for up to 90 seconds. It feels like my eardrums are getting a band-aid slowly removed. Other than that, everything’s going just fine.

I just hope this monitor helps the docs identify what's going on. I guess I’ll find out in one month.

Matters of the Heart

2010-10-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

For the past little while, I’ve been having these random tightenings in my chest, lightheadedness, irregular pulse, and these episodes come at random times. I could be at home in the tub, at Kick’s Karate dukin’ it out with a stand-up bag, watching TV on the couch, or at work on the computer. Two days ago, I was sitting at my computer at work and felt it again, but it happened for a lengthened period of time (about 30 minutes) and I looked up my symptoms online. Heart attack was on the list so I decided it would be a good idea to go to the doctors. I left work, called Tim and we took me to an Urgent Care Center to have me tested.

One blood-drawing, three EKG’s, three visits with three different doctors and an echo-cardiogram later, they still don’t know what exactly is wrong. Good news is my cholesterol level is excellent (which kind of surprises me since we consume so much bacon), my thyroid is perfect, and my vitals are pretty good. Either I run a low blood pressure or something is going on with that, but I do exercise regularly thanks to karate and kickboxing. Or maybe I should say thanks to my hubby. :-)

Just to make sure everyone knows, I’m not stressed out. My work environment is lovely, our home is sweet and quiet and we have so much fun, Chloe and Tim are the lights of my life, and my spare time is used to fulfill my dreams of either watching TV all day, creatively writing, or sculpting a warrior body. Sometimes I cook and clean and do wifey stuff, but mostly things are pretty awesome. Tim, Chloe and I have started “family snuggle” time which is just me or Tim yelling out “FAMILY SNNNNNUGGLLLLLLE!!” in the living room, then booking it to the bed. Chloe runs after us so enthusiastically, it is often dangerous in our little hallway and we can easily trip over her. She snuggles in right between us and puts her paws up in the air, licking our faces and smelling our mouths to her intense delight. We just all lie there and tell each other how much we love each other and talk about our days. Chloe holds down our arms with her paws and licks our skin til we tell her “enough.” She gives us a look that says “Please? Just over on this arm now and I promise I’ll lick Tim next.” It’s the best part of any day ever.

Back to the heart stuff…

The only abnormality that showed on any of the EKG’s was a very very slight delay in the conduction of my right ventricle or something like that. That picked up when I was not having an episode. My doctor said it may be some electrical malfunction going on that is causing this discomfort. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hhw/hhw_electrical.html

My cardiologist says something I couldn’t hold inside my head because I was feeling so anxious that I was in a cardiologist’s office. Luckily, I have a stress test next Friday and a meeting with my cardiologist a week after that to discuss the problem.

Nothing to worry about, though, everyone. If it was something really serious going on, the cardiologist probably wouldn’t tell me I can continue karate and kickboxing. Aaaaaaaaaand my sister-in-law Jodi told me that if the echo-cardiogramist dude didn’t pull in the doctor’s to look at my heart, things probably are not too bad. All he said was “looks pretty good. Nothin’ I’d worry too much about.” So that’s good, right?

However, I’m going to be selfish and ask you to pray for us. My cardiologist told me, “You’re going to be just fine,” and other sources lead me to believe I’m going to be healed, so things will be okay, I have no doubt. But still, something is going on in that ole ticker o’ mine, and until it is fixed, we would appreciate some prayerful acts and thoughtful thoughts.

Love you all.

P.S. I am not pregnant. I got that question a lot.

Kindness of Strangers 2.0

2010-09-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Tim and I hugged goodbye outside the mall parking lot today, said I love you and he walked into the elevator area while I walked over to my car. He called me up a minute later to tell me this funny conversation he had with some guy in the elevator:

Guy: When you gonna ask that girl to marry you?
Tim: Already did (shows him his wedding ring). It's been over a year now.
Guy: Well look at that! Congratulations to you.
Tim: Thanks.
Guy: Let me tell you something about marriage. It's all about communication. Don't go off and do something stupid you won't be able to tell your wife about later.
Tim: Okay, thanks. Bye.

Tim told me this conversation made his day.

Sidenotes: Happy birthday Mom Rook, Laura Dawn, and Baby Lijah (I guess you're not a baby anymore though, little man).

Chloe puked today :-( But I gave her some plain rice and she seemed much chipper a couple hours later. I guess that rice made Chloe's day.

And Thou Shalt Teach Children to Hear

2010-08-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

Tim and I spent this weekend down in Virginia and had a blast! We found out Chloe likes to sing with me (well, barks with me while I sing), and got to watch Tim’s new martial arts favorite, Ip Man 2, on Dad’s ginormous bachelor-pad TV. Tim defended his honor against Leah in a crucial sibling battle (still don’t know who really won it, though…) after having a lovely family dinner where Dad and Mom said “we’re never going out to eat again!”

For church on Sunday, Tim and I visited our old stomping grounds in my home ward. We used to be the Sunbeam teachers there, and one of my favorite stories from teaching those little tykes was from our lesson on reverence. Tim and I took the tykes around the chapel with their arms folded, and he would stop every so often and ask, “what do you hear now that we are quiet?” The kids answered with excited whispered voices. “People talking!” “Doors!” “I hear a baby crying!” It was a fun way to show them that when we are quiet and reverent, we can hear things we couldn’t hear before (like the whisperings of the Holy Spirit—oh yes, tie-in!). When we got back into class, one of our little Sunbeams was coloring a picture on top of her chair. Suddenly, she turns to Tim and says “I can hear my crayon!!” Later, in closing exercises when everyone was singing, she stands up, throws her arms into the air and yells, “I can HEAR!!!” It was pretty much the revelation of her life and still makes me laugh.

I told you that story to tell you this one. When we visited our old ward Sunday, my little 3-year-old niece Lizzie sat with me. At one point, AJ gave her raisins for a snack. I told her that if she plugs her ears while she eats, she can hear herself chewing really loud. Her fingers shot up to her ears and she grinned. “It’s working, Mary!!” she yelled. I shushed her as best I could. We were in Sacrement Meeting. She then proceeded to show Tim, her dad, her mom, and Papa Mickey that she could hear herself chewing on her raisins.

It’s just incredible how simple things can make children appreciate life a little more. That is why it is so fun to hang around them. They are so positive!
Other funny things Lizzie said:

“Mary, guess what? I’m gonna have a baby girl. Yeah, but she’s still in heaven. She doesn’t have a body yet.”

“Why do you have short hair? I have long pretty hair.”

“Tim, can I touch your hair? Heehee, it’s sooooft.”

“Mary, my mom’s gonna have a baby soon.”
“Oh really? When?”
(Holds up four fingers, then changes to all ten).

“You’re mommy says she’s not having a baby, Lizzie.”
“Why not?”
“Uhhh…because. It’s…just not time yet.”
“Oh, okay. Want some raisins?”

(Me and Lizzie looking through the hymnbook finding our favorite songs and singing them, pointing to a note and singing staccato) “This is my favorite song, Mary. Why are there so many songs about rainbows…” Later, she made up her own song. “O pen the Book of Mormon and read read read read read read read read read read….” On the word “read,” she sang a higher note in her sweet little high voice and put her hands into the shape of a book, looking right at me. It was probably the funniest thing I’d ever witnessed and I wish I had got it on tape. After Tim and I laughed a bit, red in the face, she turned to me and said, “That was funny, huh Mary?”

I took a program and folded it into a puppet face. After Lizzie had played with it for a minute, she crumpled the paper and said, “Look! A ball!” I made two other things out of that paper, and every time she would take it apart and crumple the paper back into a ball. “Look, Mary. I made a ball!” Claaassic.

EARTHQUAKE!!!

2010-07-17T06:53:00.001-07:00

I lay asleep in bed, dreaming about a bad guy who was trying to get into my room inside the grocery store when the bed started shaking. My eyes opened and I heard rattling all around. Overhead, I heard what sounded like a very low airplane flying above our apartment building. It was so LOUD. The shaking continued for a moment longer and ceased.

I blinked. What just happened? Everything was quite fuzzy and I was still dreamy. I woke up Tim. "Did you feel that?"
"Mmm..huh? Feel what?"
"Everything was shaking."
"What?"
"Did I just dream it?"
"Yeah, you musta dreamed it."
"Then you didn't feel anything?"
"No, go back to sleep."
"I could of sworn...okay, goodnight."
"..."

Before going to sleep, I looked at the clock to document the time. Just after 5am. If it's on the news tomorrow and the time matches up, I'll know I didn't just dream it (don't we have the funniest thoughts at night...Like I needed to know the time to know it was real if it would be on the news the next day...).

When I woke up to go to work, I kissed Tim goodbye, trying desperately to remember if I had dreamed all that racket or if it had actually happened. "I half expect someone to ask me about the earthquake when I get to work," I joked with Tim. He laughed and I was on my merry way.

As soon as I walked into the office, Alex at the front desk asked, "Did you feel the quake?"

Hah! I knew it! My imagination is quite active, but not THAT active. I couldn't believe an earthquake had actually hit our area. A 3.6er! Nothing compared to what has been happening everywhere else, but a significant shake for our area. I found out later that the epicenter of the earthquake was right smack dab where Tim and I live. So we felt it the strongest! And Tim slept right through it...

You know you're in an earthquake on the east coast when you convince yourself it must've been a dream.

Power Up

2010-07-11T20:02:00.001-07:00

The only bad thing about the weekend is that it ends too soon.

This weekend was particularly awesome. Friday night I went to Dave and Busters with my co-workers and played arcade games! I think one of the best highlights was when we found a dirty diaper smushed into the floor of a back-corner theatre-type video game. It just made me laugh because...who would do that? Were they upset or something and decided the best way to express their feelings was to remove the soiled diaper from their stinky child and plaster it on the floor of a promising-looking-yet-completely-lame game? People find the strangest ways to express themselves.

I taught my first Creative Writing class on Saturday which ended up being extremely enjoyable and beneficial to myself. I sure hope it was mutual to my single student. After that, Tim and I went up to Jarrettsville, Maryland for a good ole fashioned family reunion gorging and mingling. Aunt Diana always has the best shmorgasboard (sp?) of food on the planet, and it is so fun to see everyone.

Sunday day was the best (sorry everyone else, but it was). Tim and I finally got callings in church. I am the sacrement chorister which means I get to choose the hymns we sing every Sunday and lead the music. Tim was asked to teach the 14-15 year old Sunday School class. He also will be 1st Counselor in the Sunday School Presidency, which means he will be finding volunteers to teach classes when a teacher has to be absent, and generally offering assistance to the Sunday School President. Though we are glad to have such wonderful callings, that is not what made our Sunday so wonderful (MY Sunday, Tim is free to love Saturday more if he so wishes). Heavenly Father really loves us. He really does. He is watching our lives, he is listening to our prayers, and he touches our hearts when they need it. I have received an answer to something I have been praying about and it came to me in a way I forgot how I could receive answers. It reminded me of the importance of the people around us and how they can bless our lives, and reminded me also of the trueness of the gospel, the realness of it. The priesthood is real, and the men in our church have been given a great blessing to hold the power to act in behalf of God on earth today. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father who has answered my prayer and I promise I will try to listen better to what you are trying to tell me.

Let the world know here on this silly blog, the church is true. I know it in my heart, I feel it in my soul. I wrap my arms around it and hold it as close as I can, but I will keep trying harder to preserve my faith and to make it as strong as the base of the earth. Let our feet tred in waters that will lead us all to the paths our Father would have us go.

Isn't it so spectacular to have these moments of revelation that powers up our spiritual batteries? I think so.

Critics vs. The People

2010-07-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

I’ve just learned there is a critics vs. regular audiences dichotomy that has remained a mystery. Movie critics want to know why the American people do not heed their warnings about bad movies like The Last Airbender, which made $70 million in its first weekend, though everyone agreed it was atrocious. To quote Robert Dougherty, an author and commentator of pop culture media:

Although the movie got under 10 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and was hailed as the death knell for M. Night Shyamalan's career, it made a good deal of money anyway…Whether this meant audiences were getting dumber, or that critics were become irrelevant, was uncertain, depending on one's perspective.

I checked Rotton Tomatoes before I left for the movie and saw a big fat 9% glaring me in the face, with scathing reviews to follow. The reason I saw the movie anyway is not because “audiences [are] getting dumber,” it is simply because I loved the series and wanted to see it come to life. That is why Eclipse, New Moon, Twilight, Transformers, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, etc etc etc all made loads of money no matter what the critics said. People know what these stories are and love them for what they have meant in their lives. For me, Star Wars was visiting home with my dad and taking it easy. I don’t care if the new movies are 30 minute segments of Anikan Skywalker whining about his bowel movements. Star Wars is a staple classic for me, and I will always love the old ones. I see the new ones because I love the old ones. Hollywood has realized they can monopolize on our love for these classics and have made a lot of money doing so, whether they do it well or not. We will see it anyway, at least once, just to see.

I would think that any person who takes an opinion from a person they have never met is dumb. So Hah! We as a people don’t know who the heck these critics are. If I took their advice on every movie I’d go and see I’d be breaking my personal standards on some movies like Chicago and missing out on comedy classics I love. Who cares if Tommy Boy received a 45%? Ya gotta love a fat guy in a little coat.

Granted, the critics have a job for a reason. I mean, it’s nice to have the affirmation from “specialists” that Lord of the Rings was successful for more than one reason, but not every person you meet will agree with them, right? There’s always that 9% who think the opposite of the fold. That small percentage that refuse to see the movies for no other reason than they are fantasies. Some of the 9%who didn’t like it may also be people who loved the books but hated the movies. I can relate. I’ve despised the last 2 Harry Potter movies, and when the next two come out, I’m sure I’ll have a similar opinion since it’s the same guy directing them. But that won’t stop me from seeing the movies anyway, because I love the books. I am a loyal and devoted fan. That is why these “dismal” movies are hauling in the big bucks. People are already fans. The sooner the critics figure this little puzzle out, the sooner us dumb American people can stop checking rotton tomatoes and going into the theatre thinking it’s going to be dumb anyway and then hate the critics for being right about The Last Airbender, and hating M. Knight Shayamalan for ruining a perfectly good story when everyone knows it could’ve been 100x better.

Possible worst part of movie: They save earth kingdom prisoners from firebenders and Sokka says “Why don’t we spread hope and good news to all of the nations by helping them escape the firebenders and letting them know the Avatar is alive?” And Aang says, “Yeah!” Then the 20 second segment of them saving villages with strange interpretations of bending ensue and everyone is confused.

A Word from Hubby?

2010-06-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

Mary made me write this. And this. The end.

Wifey: That is LAME. I thought you wanted to write a blog that talked about good things. Where did that spirit go?

Hubby: Pizza's ready!
(From the kitchen) Let's watch the movie!

Wifey: Guess that is a good thing...Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon." Good night blog world!

Ode to Fathers

2010-06-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

One day, I was really really sad and wanted to come home from college. My dad told me that if I didn't want to be there, if it wasn't making me happy, then forget it and come home. The pressure was off when he said that and I felt a lot better. Thanks, Dad!

One day, I left my car outside of my in-law's house with the windows rolled down. A couple hours later (while I was gone) it started to rain. My dad-in-law fixed a tarp over my car so my seats wouldn't get wet. Thanks, Dad!

One day, I needed to learn how to drive. My dad took me out in the stick-shift and tried really hard to be patient with me. We both lost our tempers, but I eventually was doing it right. Not only that, but he ended up giving me that car which is still in good working order. Thanks, Dad!

One day, Tim and I needed somewhere to keep Chloe for a time while we lived with my mom. My dad-in-law took perfect and wonderful care of her that whole time (even when she was in heat...(still sorry about that one)) and told us about the funny things she did when we would come and visit. Thanks, Dad!

A lot of days, my dad flew me home for christmas and summer and spring break. Thanks, Dad!

One day, my dad-in-law spent a whole day with me looking at potential new/used cars for me and Tim to purchase. Boy, was he good to have around that day. Thanks, Dad!

One day, I was born. Thanks, Dad!

One day, Tim was born. Thanks, Dad!

YOu guys are the best and I love you both.

Happy Fathers Day!

Like a New Lappy

2010-06-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

So my new job is pretty sweet. Not because of the actual work (which will always be slightly monotonous in any office setting), but the people. Everyone says hello in the morning to each other and goodbye when they leave, they whisper hints about free food in the kitchen or in the big conference room, they bring in breakfast pizza and strawberries just to share with everyone, they tell fun stories about their weekend, give advice on which movies or books to get, and so on. And best of all, I work only 10 minutes away from my sweetie. We have lunch together about 2-3 times a week and it is awesome. Two of the guys at work are so nice, they fixed my lappy for me. Wiped it clean of everything but what I wanted to keep and now my computer is faster! Wasn't that nice of them?

Every Tuesday and Thursday night after work I go the opposite way down 270 to take class from my sweetie at Kicks Karate. Everytime I kick a pad and move the person holding it off their toes, I imagine I'm in one of those superhero girl movies like Tomb Raider, and the person I am kicking at is the bad guy. "HeeYA!" No way are you going to be sucking the universe into a black hole! "HeeYA!" Don't you point that AK-47 at me, I will only get madder!

This Wednesday, I will be testing for my green belt. Yipe!

Last night, I watched Tim take a class at the Germantown school location with Mr. Brown. He looks so awesome when he does martial arts. He pours his little heart and all his muscles into it so his moves are all really strong and crisp. Quite intimidating. Good thing I know he's sweet. Being there reminded me of the very first time we ever went to Kicks Karate. Tim hadn't trained in a while and he was so full of joy it was like watching a little boy. He kept looking over at me and giving me this huge goofy grin that Chloe sometimes gives us when we visit Papa Mickey. I remember thinking, okay, this is where he belongs right now. Not long after that, he was an employee and our lives have been better for it. I can't tell you how often we've thanked Heavenly Father. Because it is a lot.

Last night, I had a dream we were swimming with dolphins. When I woke up, I remember we actually DID swim with dolphins!!!

Such a pity Destin Beach's beauty will soon be violated by the BP oil spill which is now the largest oil spill in US history (even worse than the Exxon Valdez), and it just keeps acomin.

Can't wait to be visited by these guys:

I am a Jaywalker

2010-05-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Jen, I'm sorry I didn't go down to help you move today like I said I would. To show you how badly I feel, I will download this video for your viewing pleasure. I hope everything goes well today and I love you guys. Enjoy!

Road Rage Much?

2010-04-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

It is Friday. I was in a great mood while leaving work today. I had just slid my sunglasses on and was singing "Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog" when I came to a stretch of road with a yield sign placed before a quick merging point. The trees surrounding the road do not warrant an easy view, but I could see cars were coming and sped up so as not to disturb the flow of traffic as I merged onto the road. The silver car I had merged in front of laid its horn on for a full five seconds whilst still driving. I looked up into my rearview mirror and could see a middle-aged man with grey hair and a big mouth. I knew he had a big mouth because he was using it to shout at me.

The grey-haired man was angry. Really angry. Like Tom Cruise angry. I could see his head jabbing around while he splurred muted profanities in my direction. He raised his fists and I could see them flying around his head as we slowed to a red light.

What was this guy so nuts about, I wondered? I didn't really cut him off, he sped up. I used my turn signal to indicate I was coming and he was ready to force me off the road. Suddenly, I could not help but sympathize with the guy. I bet he had just had a really rough day and maybe this wasn't the first time this had happened at that merge point, or perhaps he had almost been in an accident right before I tried to merge onto the road in front of him and he was still fuming about that. I remember having days like that, where no one on the road seems to be your friend. I began to feel pretty bad for him.

Then I saw he was in a shiny Mercedes. What's he on about? I'm in a dinky Corolla. Then I saw he was wearing a red-checkered polo with an obvious expensive logo. Then I saw his expression as he glared at my car and grabbed for something. Holy poo, is he gonna shoot me? I thought. Then I watched as he feverishly scribbled my license plate number on a pad of paper. Next thing I knew he had his phone in his hand and was speaking to someone and to my knowledge, there is no "How's my Driving?" bumper sticker on my Corolla.

Now, I'm no expert in life, but to me, that is just mean-hearted. How many times have YOU gone down a road and someone has merged their little car in front of yours when you didn't want them to? What do you do when that happens? Call your mommy and whine? Or write a blog about bad drivers?

I began to wonder many things as he drove his car onto the other side of me, window down, screaming once more before speeding away. Who was this man? Why was he so angry? Where was he coming from and what was his destination?

Well, what did I know about him? He drove a hot car and it was quittin' time in a business building area, so he was probably some upper-management dude. He was angry, which just makes him ungrateful. I mean come on, Mercedes-Benz, is life really that unmanageable? Maybe he was going to be late for his golf game. Why else would he wear that ugly shirt?

He could be slightly crazy. I don't think I've ever seen someone snap like that on the road. I was quite frightened and I really think he might have a problem.

I've studied up on my yield definitions and believe I might know where he's coming from. This may be what was on his mind (I'm editing for the children):

What does this girl think she is doing with that turn signal on? Doesn't she know there is a yield sign right there? I'm so smart I know what yield means: To give way to pressure or force. Maybe if I speed up, she'll realize she can't come on the road right now and instead fall into that patch of ditch. Ugh! Why is life so hard?! I hate it when people don't do what I want! I'm gonna go tell the president of my company to blackball her from every office building in the DC area. Oh wait, I AM the president of my company. Ooh, a red light? Goodie, I can tell on her. That'll show her, just like it did that old grandma this morning. Yes, 911? I'd like to report a wreckless driver...What's that? More important callers?! Don't you know what yield means??? Yield: To give up one's place, as to one that is superior. Let the police know there is some jezzebell in a corolla on the loose or I'll make you wear my red-checkered polo! (Window rolls down and he leans out as he passes me by) EAT MY MERCEDES DUST, WHORE!

Some may argue that I will deserve whatever is going to be the after affect of this exchange, that I was in the wrong and this crazed man had every right to take my license plate number down and call the authorities, and perhaps you are right. And perhaps you keep your own notepad and pencil on the passenger's seat, awaiting to nark on some unsuspecting half-innocent.

I hope it made you feel better, dude. Have a happy Friday.

Go, Utah!

2010-04-16T09:10:00.001-07:00

It was another successful trip out west. Babies were held, friends were hugged, sisters were helped, and I was happy to oblige. The best part, though, was the first homecoming Tim and I have ever had. He combined three bouquets of flowers for me and waited an extra hour and a half at the airport (what a trooper!). Still, though I'm happy to be home, I can't help remembering what fun it was to be out in Utah seeing everyone. I've been so blessed in my life to be surrounded by such amazing people. I am truly grateful. Here is some photographic evidence of my good times: Most of my trip was spent looking after Baby Lijah, who is no longer the youngest grandchild of the Rowlett family, so I guess his new name is "Little Lijah." His littler sister is now "Baby" Evie. Anywho, Little Lijah is pretty much the coolest 18 month old I know. Here are some reasons why:

On second thought...

Videos are taking too long to load and I am sitting in Borders drinking a very cold Vanilla CremeKula and getting the shivers, so I will come back to this when we have internet (hopefully sometime next week!).

Go West, Young Woman

2010-03-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

Moving to Maryland went very smoothly. We had 6 carloads of all shapes and sizes to transport all of our things in one bold road trip. Thanks again so much to everyone that helped!! Our apartment is great, minus the once a day bug smushing, and Chloe has been in training to break her from the bad habits she's gotten, though we don't have a Nikki she can chew on or a garden she can dig in. Tim's job is going great, and my job is non-existant at present, though some temp jobs have flown my way. I've had to reject them since they came at a bad time.

I've been traveling! I am exhausted, but I've had so much fun I don't even care hardly. Highlights from Oklahoma:

-Grandma's memorial service. We all agreed it was really moving and the preacher did such a good job. He allowed everyone to tell stories of Grandma, which was so wonderful. I'm proud to have had such an amazing grandmom.
-Seeing and laughing with family I've never met/haven't seen in forever
-Lizzie and Brooklyn's "Coozie" bath
-Tanner's swimming skills
-Bodie asking where Michael Jackson is (referring to my brother Mike)
-Trying oysters

Now, I'm in Utah! Helping with baby. New baby. Laura's new baby. I'm so tired I'm writing short sentances. Like the way Captain Kirk talks. I've. Never seen. A cuter. Tiny baby. The only word I can. Use is. A. Dorable.

First thing baby Lijah did when I saw him and Laura told him to say hi? Looked the other direction. Burned by baby.

I really miss Tim and Chloe, but I know they are having fun together.

Moving!

2010-02-15T18:33:00.001-08:00

That's right, ladies and gents. The Rooks are moving again. This will be the third time since we've been married (nine months today) and five times since we've started dating (if you count moving to and from Utah as two, which anyone who's made that trek by car would). To where, you ask? Why to my namesake state, Maryland. I can't wait to be an official resident just so I can sing "This land is my land."

Pictures to come when we move on Saturday. In the meantime, here is the couch we just got, which we got for a lot cheaper than the website has priced. http://www.marlofurniture.com/Catalog/Product/P13600958.aspx

My Nephew, The Genius

2009-12-15T14:50:00.001-08:00

Tanner Rowlett was the first baby born into our family that made me an aunt. He's pretty much the coolest kid ever, and smart---no, that's practically an insult---the kid is a friggin' genius.

For example... He is in first grade now, and already can message people on the computer. Here is an email he sent me last spring (he was only five):

we wil kam

He was answering my email about his family coming to Baby Animal Days up in Logan, UT (best day of the year). Just today, I got onto facebook and who messages me but TANNER! It made me feel so special because he is just so cool. I priveledge you with a snippet from our conversation:

Tanner: at skool this morning I foold one of my frinds with a nook nook joke

Me: You did, huh? How did the joke go?

Tanner: nook nook

Me: Who’s there?

Tanner: inarupting cow

Me: interrupting cow who?

Tanner: moo!!!

Would you look at that sentance structure? He could probably skip a grade, I bet. He only ended our conversation to go do his homework, which is the awesomest thing in the world. He already has good study habits. Kudos to you, Tanner. We can't wait til you come out here so we can see all of your missing teeth!

What do you do on Snowy days?

2009-12-05T10:42:00.001-08:00

Blog, of course. What else, besides read other people's blogs til your eyes turn red?

Here are some quick updates:

Tim and I have been working for the past couple months while rooming with mi madre (who has been kind enough to let us lodge here until we have the moolahs to move out). Things are moving along nicely and the only thing I feel without is the presence of our sweet little...

Chloe. This picture is a testament to how much Chloe loves AC. We were able to take a whole bunch of these types of pictures throughout that 30 minute drive since she hardly took her nose from the vent. She is two now, and despite our efforts, continues to bark at the sound of any "bing." Never try watching game shows with her. She doesn't know the difference between a doorbell and a buzzer.

One of the best parts about living back in Manassas is being so close to family. How can you not love these faces?

My Life is Average

2009-11-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

Jen, why did you show me this website? I've wasted a whole evening.

But it was worth it.

Today, I was in a store pretending to be a mannequin. I saw a little girl running around as her mom tried to leave, yelling, "I haven't said goodbye to everyone!" She proceeded to run down the line of mannequins, hugging them all. When she got to me, I hugged her back. I've never heard anyone scream so hard. MLIA

http://mylifeisaverage.com

Yay I'm an Auntie Again!!

2009-10-05T15:46:00.001-07:00

Last night, I stayed up far too late playing a grueling game of Settlers of Katan with family, woke up still drowsy, worked my job feeling confused and very...small..., came home exhausted, thinking about all the things I still had to do that day, blah blah blah, sorrow and personal anguish and me me me.

Then Laura called. My mom was adament about me reading her blog. Laura never calls about us reading her blogs but whatever, I LOVE seeing new baby Lijah pictures. So I pulled it up, got to the bottom and

BAM! I'm an auntie again! Yay Laura! Yay Tony! Yay Elijah! You're gonna have a baby!!!!!

I can't believe you beat me to the punch AGAIN, haha!

Best news ever to brighten up a dull Monday, I tell you.

We love you guys!

Life in the Fast Lane

2009-09-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

I've started a new job down in Warrenton this week; another temp to hire position. There are a couple of things I want to say about it, and they are all good!

1) No traffic-I head down 29 and wave to everyone on the opposite side of the road...so long, suckaaaas.

2) The people- They are so nice and smiley, have good senses of humor, and understand when I screw up the printer or computer (yes, I've already done both--today was my second day).

3) The work- Challenging, yet satisfying. It's like trying to solve a puzzle every day, and I looooove puzzles.

4) The kitchen- Food shouldn't be so important to me, but it is, and it deserves to have some space. This kitchen is fully equipped with 2 refridgerators, a microwave, dishwasher, icemaker, silverware, a couple vending machines (snacks and sodas), a tv that actually works and is on during lunch hours, mugs, glasses, a water cooler thingy, recycling bins, comfy chairs, numerous tables, BOOTHS, etc etc etc!

5) The building- I love walking through it. It's classy. Stone floors, dark wood, sleek metal handles and railings, but best of all, big 'ole windows to let in the natural light from outside.

6) My desk- I have a full on desk, people. I can put whatever I want on it, and organize it however I like. Never had that before. It's quite nice.

Just a couple things about that. Yay for new jobs that we like!

We *think* Chloe will be ending her cycle soon, so within the next couple saturdays, I'm going to try to make it down to Richmond and get her babymaker disabled. Thanks to my seester, I have finally found a place that is reasonably priced and will do the job. Maybe while I'm down there, I can visit my family (Rob, Jo, Abby, I'm lookin at you! Whaddya say?). Tim will probably not be able to go because he works Saturdays til 2, so... He needs to get on here and talk about his job! He's been having a blast there!

Love you all!

Old Jobs

2009-09-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I worked for an insurance company. Two weeks later, I get a call from the temp agency saying that day was my last day AFTER I had left the office and was on my way home. Apparently, I wasn't "catching on" like they'd hoped. My temp agency friend told me not to take it personally, that this kind of thing just happens sometimes, but this is the first job I've ever been fired from. Can it be considered firing when I was still working with the temp agency? Anyway, it's okay since I didn't really like working there anyway, but I am racking my brains trying to think of what I did or didn't do that made me not "catch on." Whatever it was, at least this firing explains why no one was talking to me today. But that just hurts my feelings...

I guess I am taking it personally...

New Jobs

2009-09-11T06:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday at Tim's new job, he went to a kickboxing class, helped a child feel more comfortable in a new strange environment, led the orange team in a yellow belts vs. orange belts shouting/kicking contest, and was the fastest kicker in the whole adult class by miles (I knew he wasn't staying off that foot).

Yesterday at my new job, I scanned more files, shredded paper, answered the phone 3 times, got told I talk too much (caked in sarcasm from my boss), and endured the lingering stink pouring from the bathroom where my desk sits the closest to (thanks again, boss).

Is there a significant difference of fun-ness here, or is it just me?

It was kind of fun making secret grossed-out faces after my boss laid a dookie and left the door wide open like he was gracing the whole room with his triumph. No hand wash. No fan on. Are you making a grossed-out face now?

That's What Happens When You're Horsing Around...

2009-09-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, Tim and I were walking from our car into the Rook's house. Being the clumsy guy he is, he bumped into me pretty good. "Sorry," he said. I giggled. Then he did it bigger, knocking me toward the shruberries. "Sorry," he said again (though I could tell he was not so sorry that time by the smirk on his face). I bumped him back. "Oopsie." He shoved me harder. "Whoops." I smacked his butt as hard as I could. "Sorry."

Then, he wrenched his arm back in a fake an elbow strike to my face, not realizing how close behind him I was. CRUNCH.

He HIT me in the NOSE!!! Of course I cried. Actually, I think I screamed right at contact. What can I say? I'm one tough cookie. Blood was pouring out of my nose. I could feel it sliding down my fingers, dripping onto my hand. Tim led me into the house, apologizing like crazy. When we walked into the house, Dana was the first to ask, "What's wrong with Mary?" Tim answered, "I hit her in the nose." "Good job," she remarked. If I wasn't being such a cry-baby, I would've chuckled.

Everything was fine, of course. The blood stopped after like five minutes, and I finally calmed down. The Rooks assured me this would not be the first time something like this would occur. "This boy is a walking accident waiting to happen," they said. "It's true," Tim answered.

I would've disagreed with them if Tim hadn'tve just broken his foot AGAIN last week while in Martial Arts class. He, of course, refused crutches and won't even wear the sandal/cast/boot thingy to help his foot not move so much. All he does is wear an ace bandage around the top of his foot every day under his sock and shoe, and tries to stay off of it (that is what he says, but I'm sure he gets a couple good kicks in during practice).

A couple blogs ago, I talked about how I was just waiting to get into a car accident since bad things happen in threes. So now, I don't have to worry about that, I guess.

Dog days

2009-09-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

Two days after Chloe's initial pup-sitting at the Rooks house, she started her doggie time of the month (or rather, couple months). Very regrettable indeed, and we are extremely sorry. Especially since she has to wear one of these:
A doggie diaper! While she is used to Tim and I putting it on for her since this is her 3rd time going through this (blechh), poor Paul had to wrestle her into a corner while she wriggled, no doubt thinking it was a fun game.

Yes, I know we need to get her fixed, give her the Bob Barker treatment, but that costs a pretty penny most times, so it is on our list of things to take care of. So, for the next 1 1/2 - 2 months, Chloe will be sporting a rewashable jean accessory while indoors. We've learned to remove it before we open the door to the outside, not out of shame, but if we don't, she will soil her diaper with the wrong substances. That was a funny day when THAT happened.

Word of the Day

2009-09-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

Alacrity--1. Cheerful willingness; eagerness.
2. Speed or quickness; celerity.

Sentance usage: Let's all be more alacritous to each other.

It's Been Too Long

2009-09-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

So I was waiting to update this with more wedding pics, but it took so long last time that I just haven't done it. Ergo (Sp?) this post. Tim and I have both gotten new jobs! Tim's working as an instructor of Tang Su Do in Potomac for a company called Kicks Karate. The people there work very hard and are very positive instructors, so it's wonderful. On his first day there, he took a free kickboxing class while on the clock. Sweeeeeet. My job is working in an insurance office scanning and assigning old files into the computer since the office is trying to go paperless. I sit in a gray box for hours going through people's lives, wondering why the percentage of divorces is only 50% when everyone I read through has gotten a divorce. It's also quite shocking how many people have DWIs on their record. Did no one take DARE in elementary school? People are crazy, and so are their lives.

Our life is crazy right now. With Tim attending school and going to work, me working and our hours conflicting every day (I leave at 7am, Tim gets home at 10pm), we miss each other a lot during the day, but we're so busy, the week passes by quickly, and then it is Friday. Yay for Fridays! This is a three-day weekend, too.

Coming up soon: an article about Chloe in heat
an article about Tim's foot breaking
an article about Lizzie quotes

Oh, here's one Lizzie quote to spice up your life. My mom had put Lizzie into the tub with some measuring cups to play with while the rest of us were working on dinner and putting together a table. At one point, Deb-Deb says someone needs to check on Lizzie. Well, we were all doing stuff, so Jen just yells out, "Liiiiizzziiieeeeeeeee!" We hear this little voice yell out, "I'm in the baaaaaath!"

So. Funny.

Love you all!

The Long Awaited...Wedding Pictures!!

2009-06-24T09:06:00.001-07:00

Okay. Before we begin this journey of the most glorious day of mine and Tim's life, let me ask the population of avid bloggers: is there any way to move pictures around easier then click and drag over and over to get it in the spot you want? If so, please enlighten me. I swear I have carpal tunnel. And yes, I had to look that up to spell it.

Tim and I had the best day together on our wedding day. Just remembering how happy I was builds my self-esteem and boosts my energy. Here is a picture of us coming out of the temple where no one was to greet us but our confused photographer and friend, Jean Allen. "Was that it?" she asked when we first exited the temple doors. "Was that you guys walking out?"

I nodded and smiled.

"Go back and do it again!" She pulled out her camera, ready this time. Tim and I laughed and turned around to redo our temple exit.

Our very very dear friends, the Petersens.

When I first saw this picture, I got really confused. Is that us in 20 years?

The precious little girls.

Dad Rowlett...

Newlyweds with the Evans...

Newlyweds with the Koens...

With the Utah Rowletts...

Curly-heads...

Me and Mom Rowlett

Doesn't she look just like her grandpa? Plus some hair...?

Ah, what would I have done without this girl??? Ashley, thanks again for all your beauticious help. Yes, I made up that word.

Dad Rook delivering the flowers. Hardcore.

Mama Rook helping with assigned bouquets and such...

This picture is out of chronological order, I couldn't move it up to where I wanted it. Ah well. Here's us with my seester and Maid of Honor, Ju-Ju.

The pinning of the boutineers/corsages...

My peety hair.

Me and Lindsay!!!!

It was a hot day, and Tanner always knows where the cool spots are.

More temple pics...

Me with all my bridesmaids and now, my sisters!!

Bride, Groom, Bridesmaids, Groomsmen, and Tanner (cuz he's just that cool).

Me and my sissys.

The groomsmen (minus two-one was taking a heinous exam, the other was on his way).

These are some of my favorite pics. The groomsmen...

Look out, GQ.

We had to get one of these pictures.

The dads...

The moms...

Me, Hubby, and my new brothers and sisters...
Maid of Honor and Best Man

Groom and Best Man, and Brothers!

All the family. Okay, really look at these, though. Check out Tanner with the Jetta key. Watch for the flower on top of Ju-Ju's head, Dad Rook's expressions....etc etc etc. Here is the only nice one.

Here's where we start celebrating family.

The Rook Family

The Rowlett Family

Oh Dad...

Oh...us.

My peety flowers.

Okay, I didn't get many chances to sit down during the day, and boy were my feet already tired. Jean was kind enough to capture a picture of me taking a moment of rest and contemplation. That was probably the only time I was ever alone that entire day.

Everyone left for the luncheon and Tim and I stayed for more pictures.

And to finish off, some cool work with colors....

And that's the morning. Our day at the temple.

Visiting Family -- Rooks

2009-06-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

Later that same Sunday night, Tim, Chloe and I, visited the Rook side of the family to play games. And the game of choice...
Zombie Fluxx! Thank you to Steve and Alisa for introducing us to this, the craziest card game of all time in which I have only ever won once out of a fluke. Tim wins most of the time I play with him, and this was the case when we were playing with family. Before I show pictures of the people who played with us, I must say that Tim asked me not to put these up, since the brother and sisters were quite reluctant to get their pictures taken by their older brother. I'm sorry guys, but we're documenting our life here, so next time we snap a picture of you, I think it would be in your best interest to smile. That being said, here are the players for Zombie Fluxx...

Zombie Melissa:

Zombie Leah:

Zombie Me:

Zombie No Face:

And Zombie Beth:

Zombie Tim was there, too but he didn't take any pictures of himself... Let's see if I can find a good one.

Ah, here we go...

Zombie Monkey:

Dana also was there, but there aren't any pictures of her. I'll look through the archives...

Zombie Gangsta:

Welp, that's everyone now. Thank you to all the willing zombies that played. We had a blast, and sorry again that I couldn't stop singing while we were playing. Maybe I should be Zombie Sings-a-lot. We love you and will see you tomorrow! Yay! Be ready for another arduous round of Zombie Fluxx!

Or maybe we'll just play Skip-Bo.

Visiting Family -- Rowletts

2009-06-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Now that Tim and I had a camera to play with, we documented our trip down to Manassas this past Sunday. All three of us had such a good time. Especially this one:

At the Rowlett house, we played Croquet. A civilized game of good sport and finesse. Those in competition were Grandma Debbie:Yours truly:
These two rivals:The undefeated and powerful:
And sometimes this one:

One rule in particular helped move the game along. Anytime Chloe or Lizzie picked up the croquet balls, you had to play where ever it may lay. Exhibit A:

One player in particular really took advantage of this rule.
Just when Jen had reached the end and became poison, one touch from her ball onto anyone elses could destroy them! After Grandma Debbie and I had been poisoned and kicked out of the game, Tim used his influential powers over Chloe to pick up Jen's poisoned ball and drop it way in the corner of the yard, where she would have to pass jutting roots and hit the ball with more force than ever before in order to get back to where Tim's ball was.

While this was going on, these two cohorts were destroying the snack area:

That's right. Lizzie's plan had worked. Mommy was taking all her shots and Lizzie won the game first without having to lift a finger. In the meantime, Lizzie would dig around someone else's water cup, pull out a piece of ice, and give it to Chloe. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: Chloe crunching and Lizzie lifting.
But by the end of the game, everyone was still friends, and Grandma Debbie gave Chloe her water. Chloe was very grateful.

The next best part of the visit were these:
Lizzie's dancing shoes. Her first pair of high heels given to her by Brooklyn. She walked around in them like a pro, and it was darling to watch her dance. Here is a little video for you to see, but I'm sorry my wiggly shoulder blocks the view at points.

All in all, it was a really great visit. Especially when these guys joined us:
One last note, Lizzie loves Chloe. From a distance, though. Get too close without a treat in her hand, and Lizzie runs to me or Jen saying, "hold me, ____, hold me." But still, when Chloe was kept outside and we were all having fun in the basement, this was happening:

More Honeymoon Highlights

2009-06-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Got tired of dragging pics down from the top to the bottom. Okay, so continuing beach pics.

There were actual palm trees there, so Tim and I had fun with that.
I would've taken off my shirt and posed, too...but there were other people on the beach, as you can see, and the nudey beach was on the other side of the island.

Here are a few fun pictures from our Bed and Breakfast, the Dormer House!

The breakfast area:

The antiques and sitting area:
Hangin with a dummy:
So, we had a lovely time. The best part was, I got to spend every moment with my sweetie.

Honeymoon Highlights

2009-05-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

Not THOSE highlights!

First, we stayed at the Gaylord Hotel in the national harbor...at least I think that's what it was called. Our room had a dining area, a sitting area, and a nicely sized balcony that looked over the shops and restaurants below, and allowed us to witness the awesomeness of an 18-floored all-windowed hotel lobby. Sah-weeeet! But the sweetest part was the food. Everything was delicious, but the food from The Old Hickory Steakhouse must be especially noted. Tim and I both agreed, neither of us had ever eaten so slowly, relishing in each bite. Who knew steak could be that flavorful, that... smooth. Oh it was an explosion of juiciness in our mouths and we almost got sick later from over-eating. Simply delicious.The day we left the Gaylord, Tim and I ate at the Pianza, an Italian food buffet. I don't know who invented this, but they deserve the Nobel. Four Cheese Lasagna should be illegal Then, Tim discovered the music we heard around us was an instrumental trio...a bass, a violin, and an achordian player, all wandering around playing songs like "Moonlight Sonata" and "Theme from Romeo and Juliet." I was almost crying it was so beautiful. But the trio hung around the far side of the extensive restaurant and I never got a glimpse of them. Until Tim secretly asked them to come over and play for us! They played "Anything Goes" and ... oh heck, something else I can't remember. But then, the violinist commented on our "glow." "You look so in love!" she said. "We just got married," I told her. "We're on our honeymoon." She was the only woman of the three, so the other guys were ready to move on, but she awwwwwed and said, "Wait, let's play something romantic and special for them." She turned to us with a tender smile and asked, "Do you know Phantom of the Opera?" I laughed. "Yes!" She nodded to the other two and they began, "All I Ask of You." Tim held my hand and smiled at me. I wept a little and kissed his cheek again and again. It was magical.

Cape May was pretty much awesome as well. We walked along the beach and collected sea shells, driftwood, and two horseshoe crabs. One still alive. That's right. Tim ran over to a huge lump in the tide that looked like a rock, but it was a horseshoe crab. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "It finally happened!"
"What?" I asked.
"I found one!"
"One what?"
"One of these things!"

Later on, we found out they are labeled as "the cockroach of the sea," but this was before we took it with us while it was still moving. "Can't we throw it back?" I asked, kinda grossed out. "No," Tim answered sadly, "He's dying anyway. If we throw him back he'll just come back up with the tide. He'll probably be dead in a couple of hours."
So we took him with us, along with all the other seashells and sea sticks and driftwood we were collecting for an art project. We left him in the trunk all night, along with all the other sea things we'd collected. But in the morning, he was still moving. So when we got back, we left horseshoe crab with Tim's family in a bucket outside, hoping the end of his days would come sooner than later. All I have to say is, I'm glad Tim didn't want to bring this home:

Our first morning in Cape May, we got tickets to go Dolphin Watching! Here's the boat that carried us into our adventure:

Everyone on the boat either had a blanket or a big jacket to keep them warm. We brought Dr. Pepper and water to strengthen and nourish our bodies. Though we were cold, that didn't stop us from exploring the little boat and getting front row seats to see the dolphins.
The lady that took that picture was pretty ancient, but totally rad. She was sitting in the front of the boat, too, and once we started talking to her, told us she bet her friend we were honeymooners. Indeed we were, and now that no family were around, we didn't have to worry about people telling us to stop smooching or hugging. The captain of the boat spotted dolphins for us pretty quick, and we tried to get the best shots we could with what we had.

In the last picture, the tiny black dotty thing is a dolphin jumping up from the water, riding the waves. The captain played the "Wipe Out" song while they were doing it, and announced the dolphins love to ride the waves and do it most of the time on tours. And while we were watching them, he said the dolphins were intelligent enough to watch us watch them. Before he even said that, though, I could've sworn one of them looked right at me while he was swimming by. It was the strangest thing in the world, having a dolphin look at you and be like, "Hey! Watch this!"

Back on the beach, we got some pictures in front of the Cape May Lighthouse. If you look closely, you can see it sticking up in the background.

Then, we went shopping in the outside mall.While at the mall, we encountered a little feathery friend that Tim kept throwing Oyster fries to. We should've had Lizzie there to name him something cool like "Dombay," but all we could come up with was "Larry."

Boy, was Larry loving those Oyster fries. When some of his friends came along, he cawed at them to chase them away. When they wouldn't go, he flew into the restaurant encasing we were in, circled right by my head, and flew back out, cawing the whole time. I would like to think he was saying, "MINE! MINE!"

You're probably thinking, Hey, they went to the beach, so did they ever get in the water? The answer is- sort of. With it being the beginning of swimming season, the water was freezing. It's not like I necessarily enjoy getting salt water in my mouth anyway, let alone down my shorts. I only dare to go in so far.
Tim was a little more daring.

Two Days Away

2009-05-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

The flowers are ordered, the decorations are bought, the party favor ribbons have been tied (almost all 300 of them), and I am getting ready to pack for the honeymoon. I can't believe it's only two days away... Just two days until Tim and I are together forever and ever, for time and all eternity. I can't imagine anyone better for me to spend forever with. Can you?

Almost exactly one year ago, I saw Tim at a church singles activity. He told a funny story about how the cast on his leg was removed, and it smelled so bad, he kept apologizing to the nurse. It's a silly thing to remember, but all at once, it allowed me to see part of his character that I immediately fell in love with. Funny, outgoing, and apologetic for his bodily smells. Then he taught a lesson out of the scriptures and I was free to stare at him all I wanted. I remember thinking...

He's pretty dang cute. What's that around his neck? A clover? Is he Irish?! Holy crap, he's got curly auburn hair. Is he the one? Oh, come on, Mary, stop doing that. You aren't here to meet guys, remember? You're trying to improve on--holy shnikies look at those arms. Woo! And his voice is so hypnotizing. I could listen to it all day. I just might have to judging by the length of this lesson, geez. Oh, all the more reason to shamelessly stare at him. No! Stop it! You are not going to--but there is something about this guy. There is something about him, and it's not his arms or voice or hair... I am definitely getting a crazy weird vibe here... What is it about this guy?

Turns out, he was my true love. An idea I had lost faith in for myself. Me, who daydreamed about Prince Charming and Knights more than any other girl I'd ever met, had come to the conclusion at age 21 that true loves existed, just not for myself. And one night at FHE changed my whole world into the beautiful one I'd always imagined. I'm not so naiive as to think everything is perfect now, that I won't ever struggle. I know there will be hard days. Heck, they've already come and gone, or linger and stink. Life is supposed to be filled with trials and heartache, loss and dissappointment, that's what makes it life. But what I will forever be grateful for and happy about is the fact that I now have someone to share those bad times with, and we can cry together or be mad together or laugh together or shmooze together all we want, because we have each other. And we will have each other for the rest of eternity. In two days, I'll never be alone again. Until one of us dies, and has to wait to be reunited with the other.

I love you, my Tim.

Good News Minute

2009-04-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

-I started packing today, and am about 2/3 of the way finished.

-Dad's going to be in town in TWO DAYS

-I just found out my last final is online and I can take it whenever I dern well please until Friday. Nobody bother me this evening...Let's get it out of the way!

-Days til I graduate: 3!

-Days til I leave Logan: 3!!!

-Days til I get back to VA: 5

-Days til I see Tim again: 6

-Days til we go through the temple: 10

-Days til we are married forever and ever: 16

I never thought it would ever get so close, and it's just getting closer. I'm going crazy with things to do, but I am so excited, I am only stressing about packing. How will I ever fit all that crap into my car!?!?

PS

2009-04-23T10:19:00.001-07:00

Days til I graduate: 9

Days til I'm back in VA: 11, hopefully...

Days til Tim and I go through the Temple: 16

Days til Tim and I are sealed for time and all eternity: 22

Time Dum Dum... Is Marching On Dum Dum!

2009-04-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

This morning, I went and played racquetball with my dear friend, Lindsay Niedrich. I awoke right before my alarm went off, which hasn't happened in about 3 years... Racquetball, I've discovered, is not a sport you can get good at in one short morning session. The ball hit my side at least twice within the 20 mins we were playing.

The days are getting longer, but time is closing in. The moment when I see Tim again nears every second, though I try to focus on other things like my writing journal and my final draft for Non-fic. Yesterday, only 10 days stood between me and my trip back home. Today, it's only 9 days. 9 days. And I still haven't begun to pack, which Jen will atest is typical news.

What's even weirder than time is I am going to bed early and starting to wake up early. "Early to bed, early to rise makes Mary totally weirded out and on time for class." I think that's how that goes, anyway. However, just because Mary is waking up earlier doesn't mean she's any more coherant than normal. For example, this blog was written on an early morning whim. Stranger things have occurred on our blog, I suppose, like Tim dancing with Chloe to a soft tango.

I will conclude with the lyrics of one of my favorite They Might Be Giants songs...

You're older than you've ever been.
And now you're even older.
And now you're even older.
And now you're even older.

You're older than you've ever been.
And now you're even older.
And now you're older still.

TIME! Is marching on.
And time.. is still marching on.
This day will soon be at an end and now it's even sooner.
And now it's even sooner.
And now it's even sooner.
This day will soon be at an end and now it's even sooner.
And now it's even sooner.
And now it's sooner still.

You're older than you've ever been.
And now you're even older.
And now you're even older.
And now you're even older.

You're older than you've ever been.
And now you're even older.
And now you're older still.

Countin the days

2009-04-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Wedding day: 39

Temple day: 34

Graduation day: 26

Tim & Chloe leave day (I know he was supposed to leave a while ago, but this is the real day he is leaving): Today. :-(

Love you all.

Baby Animal Days this weekend for those who can come, at the American West Heritage Center.

Jiggery Piggery

2009-04-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Some of our favorite kid moments and sayings:

Tanner:
(Playing guitar hero) "You should see me on easy. You wouldn't even believe it."

"Play the jig song, Mary!" (Michael Flatley dance ensues)

"I'm on it."

"Kiss a wookieeeeeeee, kick a dwooooooid. Fly the falcooooooooon thwough an as-tuh-woid
til the pwinceeeeeessss is annooooyyed....."

Abby:
"Abby C. and Jennifer B. are my best fwiends."

Rob: What's my name?
Abby: Daddy Wobby.

Rob: My favorite color is orange.
Abby: Arnge?! No! It's Pink!

Brooklyn:
"What dat? What dat? I hear kitty cat! I wub dat wing."

"It muh be gumwhere."

"Hor hee! Hor hee!" (horsey)

"Whobody took my movie?!"

Brooklyn: Mom! Who here?
Amber: Tim and Mary!
Brooklyn: ... You wan' come updaire?

Lizzie:
"Maweetim! Maweetim!"

"Tawentatayga!"

Jen: A one hump camel has...
Lizzie: (runs up to Mary's face and says clearly and boldly) One! Hump! Poop!

Mary: (On the couch in the backroom) Lizzie, aren't you supposed to be taking a nap with mommy and daddy?
Lizzie: Heehee! (Climbs all over me)
Creak in the kitchen
Lizzie: *gasp* Hide! Daddy! Hide!

"I'm a ginger, Daddy! I'm a ginger!"

Elijah:
Tim: Augh! He's peeing! It's getting on me!
Mary: Hahahahahahahahaha

Elijah: (playing in the tub) Awwwaaaaaaaa brbbbbbbbb daaaaaaaaaaa! *Splash!*

Mary: Just hold him a moment longer in his little towel.
Tim: Augh! He just peed on me again!

Mary and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2009-03-26T20:15:00.001-07:00

I awoke to the screeching of my alarm. 8: 30am. "Crap! Class starts in 20 minutes!" I got up, brushed my teeth as fast as I could, changed really really fast, then grabbed what I needed for the day. Tim had left earlier in the morning to go to Ogden and Provo for job training, so he had left Chloe by the desk, as usual when he goes out of town or to work. I scratched her ears, said goodbye, and noticed the treats sitting on the desk. This may sound really gross, but we've been giving Chloe some new treats that have given her really bad gas and STANKY poo. I picked up the treats. "Becca," I called to my roommate. "Do you want these treats for your pup? They're...bad for Chloe." She said maybe, so I stuck them back on the desk and walked out the door.

Snow everywhere. My shoes were fabric and the wetness soaked through so I could actually hear squishing sounds before I got into my class. Cold feet.

Once in class, my teacher announced we should exchange our stories with our groups today. "Crap! I knew I forgot something this week!" I had no story to exchange! Luckily, I got the emails of the people in my group and will email them my story on Saturday with no grade reduction.

I was ready to spend the next 3 hours working on a poetry analysis paper about a single poem of our choice. My poem, "The Widow's Lament in Springtime" by William Carlos Williams, spoke to me. I knew exactly what it meant and how I wanted to talk about it. The paper was due at 3:00 later this same day.

"Hot Chocolate and Mexican Bread for a Dollar!" I passed a table of cheap food on my way into the Student Center. I hadn't had breakfast. Mexican Bread is so good, and I love Hot Chocolate on a gloomy day. I handed the guy a dollar in a second and someone put a cup in my hands full of rich, creamy, cinnamony hot cocoa drink. I was so excited, I bounced my knees back and forth like I do when I get excited... Bad idea. Hot chocolate all over my hand. Steamy and burning. Luckily, it was so cold outside, the liquid hardly remained hot for long. But I still have a brown stain where it spilled.

I sat down to study and checked over the analysis paper just to make sure I was doing it correctly. "What?!" I exclaimed at the explanation of the assignment. "Paper on the whole collection of poems???" A completely different paper than the one I had prepared the night before. Crap.

I quickly skimmed through the poems and easily found a pattern of what I wanted to write about. Whew, that was close. I checked the clock. 2 1/2 hours left. Plenty of time.

I walked to the computer lab and sat down, ready to type out a genius paper about William Carlos Williams and his anthology entitled, "Sour Grapes." "William Carlos Williams felt the integrity of poetry lied in the ordinary of everyday life. In the images any one can relate to. In his collection--" Ting-a-ling! Ting-a-ling! My phone started ringing... I looked down. It was my roommate, Becca.

Me: Hey, Becca, what's up?
Becca: Hey, Mary. You know those treats you said were bad for Chloe?
Me: ...oh no...
Becca: I'm afraid so. She got into them and had a spell of diarrhea.
Me: Nooooo!!! Ugh!!!
Becca: Yeah, I walked in the door and it reaked, so I checked by the desk and she had the treats on the floor, half eaten, and next to it was a couple spurts of...
Me: ...Alright, I'll be home soon to clean it up.

There went all the leisure time I had to write my glorious paper

I cleaned it up without puking, so that was good. But it took a long time...and that was bad. I took Chloe out once more since she kept whining like she was going to explode, then she pretty much did explode by the lavender bush in the backyard. I raced back to the computer lab with an hour left to finish my paper.

I had a class at 1:30, then I had planned on heading down to Provo where Tim was and we would have dinner with our friends. I needed to leave by 3:00 in order to get there around 6, but I had no way of knowing when Tim would be done his certification process in Provo.

I finished my paper at 4:15, after I attended my 1:30 class. I felt like my head was going to explode from all the rushing around I was doing. I went home, took Chloe out again, scrubbed the poo carpet some more, and left.

On my way to Provo, I remembered that the last full day I had with Tim til I drove out to VA would be tomorrow. Then, suddenly, like a bad dream, I remembered I had to start work again tomorrow! 9-4 I was to work at the American West Heritage Center to prepare for Baby Animal Days. There goes all the plans for tomorrow.

By the time I got down to Provo, I was ready to eat. So hungry. The last time I had anything to eat, really, was that morning. Half-spilled hot chocolate with a side of soggy bread.

I sat. And I sat. And I waited. I texted my friend that we probably wouldn't be done until around 8 or 8:30. Well, I'm still sitting here, waiting for Tim to finish. He hasn't had nearly as much practice at this stuff as the other guys have, so it is taking him a bit longer than the rest. I know this is the longest blog of all time, but now Tim is ready to go and he has to come back tomorrow to finish up.

I guess it wasn't all that bad. The poo was the worst. *sigh* Tomorrow will be better. Yay for working!

Counting Down Again

2009-03-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

Days til Tim leaves for Maryland: 4 :-(

Days til Mary graduates: 39! Woo!

Days til first time through temple: 47

Days til MAWAGE!: 52

Days Tim and Mary have been apart since their first date: 1 (I was in Salt Lake for Laura's wedding)

Days Tim and Mary will be apart after Tim leaves: approximately 34

Days Mary has already cried: 3

Wedding Updates

2009-03-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Written By Tim Rook

Heres what it looks like minus the budget, which actually is looking pretty good too. The schedule of the day is listed below, nothing is ever finalized until the day. I think however, this might help some understand the order of events. Also, we are not so particularly ridgid as to follow this schedule to the minute. For example, we will not rush through our first dance if we are behind on time. After the schedule below is a list of things we have done and are in the process of completing in case there are any questions. Sorry No Pictures, you will have to come to the partaaay if you want to get a visual. Go Comment Crazy on here regaurdless of who you are or how little your idea may be, Thanks!

Friday, May 15, 2009
Early Am Mary Gets her Hair done.
7:15am Leave for the Temple
9:00am Arrive at Temple
10:00am Sealing
11:00am Photographs at the Temple with Family and Friends
1:00pm Leave Temple
T.B.A. Luncheon
T.B.A. Ring Ceremony
6:00-7:00pm Reception Starts: Wedding Line, eating, and greeting people
7:00-7:45pm 1st Dance, Daddy Daughter & Mother Son, Parent Swap, All Dance
7:45-8:15pm Cake Cutting & Eating
8:15-8:30pm Bouquet & Garter Belt Tossing
8:30-9:00 Final Farewells and Bride and groom exit

Things Done:
Reception Hall: Centreville Stake Center (FREE)
Flowers: Bells of Ireland, Lavender Roses, Orchid (The Flower Gallery)
Table Cloths: Satin with Organza overlays in brown and green
Chair Sash: Green
Food: Salad, Sandwhiches, pasta, shrimp, choco strawberries, etc. (Sister Strickland)
Registration: At Bed Bath & Beyond, Target (Just look up our names and 5/15/09)
Marrage License Application: Notorized and Mailed
Engagement photos: Our Friend Will took these
Wedding Dress: from Fairy Godmothers Bridal in SLC
Brides Maid Dress Fabrics: Jo-Ann Fabrics
Brides Maid Dress Creation & Tailoring: (friend of the Rowletts: Ava)
Invitations: created and arrived. We are mailing them out today, Saturday 21st

Things to Decide on:
Videographer:
D.J.: Possibly Beths Friend
Photographer: Possibly Beths Friend, also anyone with cameras
Coordinator: Possibly Beths friend will help with setup and arrival of flowers
Bridal Photos: Our Friend Will will take these with Mary
Wedding Dress Tailorings:

Things to do:
We need to call Flower Gallery with deposit
We need to finalize our Wedding Rings
We need to decide on gifts for guests, bridal parties, etc.
We need to decide if we want other decorations for around the reception.
We need to contact Debbie Rowletts friend who has the mirrors and things.
We need to continually update our written out budget
We need to occasional call for updates with certain vendors

Also, if you were wondering about life after Marrage he are some possible plans.

Pre-Marrage Mary is Graduating USU with a BSA in English - Creative Writing
We will be living this summer in Rockville, Maryland with an apartment provided from my work.
Tim is working for APX Security Systems from April 6th through August.
Mary is planning on finding work for the summer too.
Tim plan's on being 100% Debt free by August 30th
Tim is researching schools, tuition, and job opportunities across the country: Art Institute, Savanah College of Art and Design, Utah State University (Already accepted), George Mason University, etc.
Mary is writing a book and/or short stories.
Tim after the summer is looking at possibly working for a Security Installation company in Reston, Virginia or finding work related to the college career while attending a university or tech school. Possibly, media arts and animation.

In closing we are always open for tips and guidance at only a phone call, email, or comment on our blog.

We love you all, thanks for checking in with us!

Soooooon

2009-03-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

I wrote a little poem for my poetry class...

Walking Our Dog Chloe On A Winter's Night

Your eyes are stormy blue
But when the sun comes, I know they will blaze bright green.
We talk.
Not about Bells of Ireland or lavender dresses.
Not the wedding plans.
Not the mounting debt.

You say the snow looks like coconut
And take my hand.
I drink the warmth in and sigh.
Chloe prances in the snow, bouncing free.

Pale yellow light and lampposts
Greet us as we pass.
They won't tell who left marks on the ground
When the snow melts into spring.

5 more days til home again. Yay for spring break!

And the Countdown Begins...

2009-02-10T16:37:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Tim and I are getting married soon. As many of you also know, we are pretty excited about it. We've been trying to get our minds off of it as of late to focus on other important things like school, work hours, school, graduation logistics, where we'll live after we get married, planning the day of the wedding...okay, so marriage has to slip in there occasionally, but only for organizational purposes.

The point is, we've begun several countdowns for when big things are happening in our lives. For example, in 4 weeks, we'll be visiting home for Spring Break! Then, graduation. Then our first time going through the temple together. Then...mawage! You see? Things leading up will keep me focused in school and jazz like that.

So the days stand thus far:

Visiting VA: 25 days

Gradumeating: 81 days

First time through Temple: 88 days

Marriage and reception and dancing and food and music and happiness beyond all bounds ever known: 94 days.

That last one's less than a hundred. We'll be getting married before the next Harry Potter comes out, suckas.

This shall be updated along with every post. If I remember.

The end.

More Engagement Pics!

2009-02-06T14:11:00.001-08:00

Here is our second go at engagement pics. Our invitations should soon be ready to mail out. Maybe in another week or two. Yay! Tell us which one's your favorites.

These were our favorites

2009-01-23T20:23:00.000-08:00

We also have pics on http://www.timandmarymemories.com/ Thanks Will!

A Horrifying Death

2009-01-15T01:12:00.000-08:00

Chloe is so dramatic.

You Get What You Pay For

2009-01-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

My momma always says, "you get what you pay for."

Logan is a town known for it's low pricing. People here expect to pay less for things here than in say, the real world. But even with this natural discount, there are still times when you say to you yourself, okay...maybe this just really is cheap.

Tim is moving from the farm house he lives in now to a small apartment in a house, like a triplex dealy. There were some pretty important reasons for the move:

1) Farm house is 20 minutes away from town, work and Mary. New house is in town and only 3 mintues away from Mary.

2) It allows pets. Possibly the first apartment we've found in Logan that does this at all, especially without an extra charge.

3) Farm house is expensive. New house is not.

Yes, it came very cheap. $175 a month (hope you don't me telling, Tim) with the water paid for. Tim even gets the first month free! Are you wary yet? You should be.

When we first walked in to check the place out, Terry the landlord warned us it didn't look so hot. We assured him that wouldn't really matter, Tim was looking for a cheap place to live, so who cares what it looks like, right?

Wrong! Walking straight into the apartment, the first thing you notice is the smell. Old dog and smoke clinging to the walls of the place, and possibly rot. The walls aren't painted all the way in some spots. Pale blue here, paintbrushy white there, with paint still on the windows. The floor was an old rotting wood that had been painted over a couple times, but nothing could stick. Grays and dark grays, blobs of white where someone wasn't careful enough with their paintbrushy job on the walls. But the real mess was in what was left over from the previous tenant. Dog food, bits of shreded couch, spilled ground coffee beans, and DOG POOP! It looked like a pack of dogs had lived there.

Tim opened the fridge for a split second, saw it was empty and closed it, then the apartment reeked strongly of rancid fridge for the next 15 minutes (maybe longer, we left before it dissapated).

There is one room in the house I just won't really go into. The bathroom. Tim was brave enough to open the toilet today, but we couldn't see any porcelian inside it. Just muck and grime! There's dead gnats on the walls, strong curly fungus growing at the base of the floor, a puddle on the floor from who knows what, and a giant hole right by the tub that threatens to take more tiles and floor with it if you press it with your foot. Tim had the great idea of stamping the word "CONDEMNED" accross the door before anyone tries to go in there.

Tim spent all day cleaning up the crap that was left by the pack of wild dogs. He wiped down countertops, stovetops, vaccumed, swept at least 5 times and did everything else to help the place look better. When he finished, he told me, "it looks better and worse. It's clean, but now I can see all the crap I couldn't see when all the crap was in the apartment!" Holes in the walls, mildewed sinks, grungy floors...but even I could admit the place had potential to look pretty cool.

We took it upon ourselves to nicen the place up. We got some paint, some new furniture (Yay for DI!), space heaters off craigslist, and a new mop! Today, we worked on painting the front room (which will be my favorite room when we're finished). My camera was almost out of battery when I took some pics, but I did what I could:

Chloe sleeping on the new couch. This is the only time we've ever got mad at her for getting OFF the couch. We didn't want her to get into the paint.

Tim getting the top trim with the new awesome color!! I believe Melissa would approve. There's a large window to the right of this picture that really lights up this room in the daytime, and it's got taller-than-average ceilings, plus it looks awesome!! Go this color! Oh, and we're doing another coat of it tomorrow...

Shots of the gross floor. We're going to fix it. I feel like Bob the builder this week. Can we fix it? Yes! We! Can!

Here's the yucky kitchen. Notice the beautiful chipping design above the doorway. One plus...the small window had snowflakes on it from previous owner. One negative...cabinet had cut-outs of male models, possibly ready to be pinned to cabinet doors. Previous owner was our acquaintance/friend Mike.

This wall represents the whole deterioration process going on in the bathroom. The curtains have decomposed into nothing but a large towel and staples! Yes, this is the bathroom. The wall is actually the least gross thing in there. I ran out of battery before I could get the floor or the toilet.

Well, wish us luck. On a personal note, I think it's the mark of a true man who leaves his apartment better than he found it. Tim is the kind of guy who makes transformations happen. He's so dedicated. *Sigh* Four more months...we've been way too busy to plan wedding stuff. We might be getting invites out very soon, though. More details on that later.

Love you all!

Snowballs for dummies.

2009-01-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

So today I was feeding the sheep and chicken. Chloe was in the back yard which is fenced off from the rest of the farm. She never likes to see me over there with those evil deranged roosters. Maybe because one time they attacked me so bad I tried to taekwondo kick them but they kept coming jumping one after the other attacking my legs. So I naturally picked up a stick and began beating them back. Useless with my methods I resorted to running for the hills and jumped the fence just in time before my life was taken. However, today while I was out there Chloe began her usual bit of barking whining. I yelled at her "Don't" "no" "Stop" Shut it Pooch!" but none of these ever do work. She is the type of dog that is scared for me yet anciously excited by her own voice. I'm sure a few of you can relate. So I grew tired of straining my voice and decided to start pelting snow balls at Chloe. The first one was a dead on shot and she quickly evaded it with a yelp of unsurity. The next one exploded on the roof of the shed and sprayed down on her. After a few more creative evasions on her part she finally started realizing it was just snow. Chloe loves snow and doesnt stop eating it. ever. So she began running towards the snowballs rather than avoiding them. With her mouth drawn open and a giant leap of joy off the wood pile and into the air she caught the first snowball in her mouth. It exploded and I soon saw her sitting there enjoying her sweet rewards. She attempted the next few and caught only a two of them. What a spoiled pup.

Tim

The kindness of others...

2009-01-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

It was 12:45 AM on the eve of December 31st. The new year was like a fresh awakening for the hearts of northern Virginia. As I drove home from my beloveds house she grew up in I distinctly noticed a change in the community of Manassas. No longer was there a need for speed or a sheer determination to surpass those around you like a race horse going for the finish. Winning by one car length after the next in pursuit of being the first to the next red light. However new years resolutions and dreams of world peace finally reach the outskirts of Manassas City when on my way home drivers began showing a certain tolerance for kindness towards each other. As I approached the first stop sign in my travels I noticed one car across from me. As I got closer the car remained stagnant. After stopping for the alotted time I was given a flash of lights signaling the okay for me to go. I figured he was just trying to find something in his car and I took the gesture graciously. Next while driving on a two way street I needed to turn left. There was a row of cars heading in my direction with no stop sign. The drive heading towards me at about 10 mph stopped and signalled me to turn. He had no reason but pure generosity. He must have known how tired I was and seen my needs above his. This happened the entire way home with one car after the next stopping and letting me go first. You may say that drunks are angry and intollerable but I say thank you for your kindness on the road. I wonder why when the daylight hits they all go back to being a grouch.

written by Tim

Snooooow Snooow Snooooooow!!

2009-01-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

Tim's dad got us tickets to go snowboarding last weekend. I had made a solemn and stubborn vow that I would not let anyone convince me to go snowboarding or skiing ever in my life. However, Tim was going and asked me to try it. So I said yes. Did I mention I'm afraid of heights? You'd think the love of my life would understand this while we dangled on a seat from a cable line up the slopes...

This next video is dedicated to my family who never ever thought I would do this. Including me.

It was just a fun day. We are very grateful to Tim's dad for this opportunity. Here are some more pics...

Chloe's Snow Run

2008-12-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

We got the first big snow up here in Logan this weekend, and Chloe couldn't get enough of it. We made a little video out of it. I know, we're lame, but she's soooo funny! Anyway, we hope you enjoy it!

Come Join the Party!

2008-12-10T21:33:00.001-08:00

So earlier this evening, I was chatting with my sister, Jen online about a funny video my friend made on facebook about the movie Twilight. It's really quite hilarious...a spoof on Edward's wooing tactics. But in order for her to see it, she needed to login to my facebook. This is how the conversation went:

jen: give me your login info
me: Ooooo that's dangerous
jen: especially with ME
me: First you must promise never to change anything I have on there at all. Don't add anything, take anything away, change anything, etc etc etc
jen: hmmmmm i honestly can't make that promise
me: I knew it
jen: you should give me the info anyways
me: I can always change my password, right?

Five minutes later, I went back on and found my status read, "peepeepoopoopeepeepoopoo." Then later, "poopoopotty."
Nice, Jen. Later, she assured me she was doing something funny and pleaded with me not to change it. I was very wary...

me: Will this be hilarious for you or for us?
jen: yes
me: Oh you suck
jen: I'm attending!
me: huh?
jen: you'll see

I got back on only to find a strange event I had apparently created entitled, "I'm wearing big girl underpants!"

This was the description:

"Well, since I am getting married soon to my lovie dovey Timmywimmy I have decided that it is time to ditch the diapies (although I will still wear them for nighttime uh-oh's) and try to wear big girl underpants! Wish me luck!"

I would've been upset if it wasn't so stinkin funny! Hence this blog. Those of you with facebook have been invited to this glorious event, though I don't know what's really going to happen. Maybe we should turn it into an online club with this as the valiant banner:

The Simple Things In Life

2008-12-03T21:24:00.000-08:00

In every path of every road, there is a bend (unless you are in Nevada). Seasons change, restaurants close, and trials begin, leading a single body down a pathway they never expected to go. Whether this pathway brings joy or grief depends upon the traveler. Your attitude affects what you see around you. What I will say in this blog cannot bode ill, for I refuse to allow the bad things to drown the good.

That being said, Tim and I are on a quest to find the perfect craftsman to make our one-of-a-kind ring. We discovered today that the design is much more difficult than we anticipated, so one craftsman down, two other candidates to go. The design we have chosen has taken seed in our hearts and remains blatantly beautiful in our minds. It has accidental perfect meaning to us, and therefore is nothing short of inspiration. Perhaps it is difficult, but we will not rest until someone who can create our dream ring is found and compensated. One craftsman, who we have deemed, "Lord of the Rings" due to his stout, gaunt appearance, and obvious profession, seems quite promising. We hope to receive more information from both new chosen craftsman tomorrow, but I don't believe we'll have the time sufficient enough to show everyone our inspired ring when we come home for Christmas. That is my only sadness.

It was more than excellent to go to Martial Arts class today and get some good kicks out on the slammer pad. Orange belt tests are coming up, and Tim says my sidekicks are "powerful." I'm totally ready to advance to the next level! For those of you who don't know, Michaelangelo is my favorite ninja turtle. I just might come into class with my orange belt wrapped around my face instead of my waist. I'll have to wrap it around a few times like Tim did for Brooklyn's body on Thanksgiving, but that's just fine. It'll be intense.

My last and final paper is due tomorrow, so I've been working on it pretty hard (this blog was a break). So Tim, in all his sweetness, made me dinner. It was a full five course meal! I sat in his room working while he brought me every dish one by one. Here is what the menu consisted of:

Course #1: One holiday Marshmallow Treat (Green and Red Rice Krispies) and a glass of water

Course #2: A bowl of Campbell's classic Chicken Noodle Soup and some Vanilla Hot Chocolate

Course #3: Two pieces Marmalade Toast, one piece Buttered Toast, and a glass of red Kool-aid

Course #4: A bowl of dry Cereal with a mug of Milk to pour

Course #5: Popcorn!

Every bowl was served on a plate for my convenience, silverware ready. Every course filled my heart with enamoring joy! Is he not the sweetest man in the universe? It was most delicious and every bite was like a gentle kiss upon my alabaster brow. Haha, but seriously, it was very sweet of him.

And last, but definitely the awesomest news... Tim has two new students in his Taekwondo program! This Friday, Ty (just turned four), and Gage (five), will be taking their places as fresh white belts in his Little Ninjas class! They sound cute already, huh? And Thomas, who works the office in Tim's department at the Sports Academy, says many people have called with interest for January! I guess the popular thing has been to join up after the holidays. Looks like the Saturdays spent at a table in front of Walmart chucking for hours has paid off! Go Tim!!!!

As always, this is a loooong blog. I have to get back to my paper, but we love you all!

I'm grateful for my family

2008-11-30T11:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I know it's a couple days late, but we had some crazy times this year. Wednesday night, Tim and I babysat baby Elijah while Laura and Tony went on a date to see the new classic, Twilight! It is too easy to fall in love with that baby. All you have to do to make him smile is go, "Wooooooo...Yay...booooootie bootie boooo." I know these words are nonsense, but when you're saying them to a baby who's kicking his little legs and smiling like crazy, it makes complete sense. I think this world would be a lot funner if we spoke like that all the time, don't you? Elijah thinks so.

Turkey day was spent at the Ralls this year. Complete with Kelly's homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and of course, lots and lots of card playing, it was a definite success. My favorite part of the day was when Tim had a mini-Taekwondo class for all the kids that were there. Like Rylee, Tanner, and Jonas:
Avery:
Tanner again (with a jumping back kick!):
And Abe!:
As a class, they were very attentive and eager.
They loved it! And so did the parents. Tim did a great job teaching them about obedience, good sportsmanship, and of course, patience. After that, they earned their white belts!

Some of the belts were a little too big for the younger ones, but Tim improvised.

Later, the kids put on a play directed by Rylee (I hope I'm spelling her name right. Sorry if I'm not). I only got a couple pictures of the costumes, but here are two of the main characters. The hero, Cowboy Ren (played by Tanner Rowlett)!
And the Evil Mistress who ended up dying in a cave near the end (played by Jonas Knockelmann whose last name I don't think I spelled right either...):It sure was a stellar performance!

So Thanksgiving was fun. But a night later, everyone started getting sick! Not fun! Late Friday night, Tim started puking his guts out so much that he couldn't even hold down water. I ended up taking him to the hospital around 7:30am. Four liters, two doses of heavy nausea medication, and five hours later, we were on our way back up to Logan. It takes 2 hours to get from West Jordan to Tim's house in Richmond, so let me paint you a picture of the car ride up. As soon as the car started moving, Tim was out like a light. His mouth was open in a humorous way as his head waggled back and forth with the movements of the car. Although funny and sweet, Tim hadn't had the energy to do anything but vomit for the last 10 hours or so...and that means seriously raunchy breath. Any time I rolled down the window a crack, he would mutter in his sleep about how cold it was, so I could only roll down my window. This was good for airing out the car, but bad since all the bad air rushed past my nose first. Yes, the ride back up was a little longer than usual, but I'm glad we did it. As soon as we got home, Tim stumbled into the house before I could open my car door and when I walked in, I found him curled up under the covers of his bed, fast asleep. Poor Tim...

Despite the illness everyone got, and Abe's trip to the hospital as well that same day (we love you, Abey!), it really was an awesome Thanksgiving. I always look forward to playing with the kids, but this was the first year I had someone wonderful to help me play with them...

I spied on the kids to find out what it is they do up in play room when no one's watching them. I guess I'll never really know what it is...cuz I have no idea what is happening in this video:

This may or may not be my favorite video of Brooklyn:

And presenting My Ring!!!

Talk about some bling, baby! Woo!

Me as a Spazoid

2008-11-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

Getting my comeuppance...

Tim Vs. The Tango

2008-11-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Who else can think of a clever caption for this video? Here are ours...

When Tim told Chloe, "UP" this time...she had no idea what she was getting herself into.

An impassioned dance of frivolous romance and endless love.

Chloe's new trick...seduction.

Showing Off

2008-11-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

She's really learned a lot. We're quite proud.

Who's training who (Or is it whom?)

2008-11-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

More Training...Very subtle, though.

Video Two

2008-11-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

We're trying to teach her, "You've got a booger on your nose!" Becca assures us this is the way to begin...

Posting one video at a time...

2008-11-20T01:09:00.000-08:00

My roommate, Becca, is super dog trainer woman. Since her service dog she was training left this past weekend (Zeeland, to those who have heard his name and stories), she is beginning to train Chloe. Whether it's because she needs Chloe now to be her Demo Dog at Petsmart where she teaches, or just because she misses Zeeland so very much, or just because she loves Chloe's loveable face, all we can say is: Yay!! Take it away, Becca! Although, Tim and I do our fair share of training, no doubt. These videos I'm trying to post are a result of a whole important day for Chloe, preparing her for her first day as Demo Dog at Petsmart Dog Training classes with Becca! Wish her luck for tomorrow! Some of the videos are just a result of us torturing the poor dear, but in any case, by the time she comes home for Christmas, she'll be howling "O Holy Night" on key in a reverent tone. Enjoy the videos!

Some Photos!

2008-11-17T23:56:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to take many photos since I lost my camera cord many eons ago (I know, I really do need a velcro suit), but we finally figured out a way to get them onto my computer that's hassle free. PSYCHE! We've had so many technical problems today. I consider it a tiny miracle that you get to see these on here.

Miracle #1: A darling photo.

Miracle #2: One of our first weekends back, Tony let us ride the Bobsled for free! Normally like a gabillion dollars. He's the bestest.

We are so hardcore.

Miracle #3: Chloe! She let us keep this dang diggity hat on her for the longest time. She is my dawg.

Haha, I love it.

So that was more than a feeble attempt, but there is more on the way! Don't you worry. Once again, we love you all and hope everything is going splendidly.

A Preemptive Post

2008-11-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, family, and maybe some blog stalkers! We have prematurely created a blog to chronicle our lives that are just beginning to begin together. This blog comes to you at the request of us, and possibly Jenny, whose blogs are always amazing and incredibly hilarious. We are the last in the Rowlett family web to make a blog (except Grandma Debbie--gotta get on that) so we don't want to waste any time.

Last Friday, Tim asked my father, Mickey Rowlett, if he could please marry me. My Dad stood up and held out his arms for a huge manly embrace. "You guys were made for each other," he told Tim. Since then, our wedding has felt much more official, and we just decided we couldn't hold it in til Christmas.

On Thursday, we told everyone in our immediate family and some of our close friends that we're getting married! It began when I asked Tim's mom if I could please marry her son (It was only fair. Tim had to hork up the guts to ask Dad, right?). After much giggling and some coaxing, she said okay.

From then, it was a snowball effect. Beth was eavesdropping next to Tim's mom as she was talking to us, so she knew. Then Tim's dad walked in the door and could figure out what was going on. Leah came in and had no idea what they were talking about for a bit, got on the phone and asked, "You guys are getting married?" Tim answered, "No, my legs were cut off in a car accident. I'm stuck in a wheelchair and I'll never do martial arts again." She wasn't had for a second. "Shutup, you guys are totally getting married."

When Tim's dad got on the phone, he asked when we were getting married. May 16th, Tim told him. "We're going rafting that day," he said. Tim's mom was heard in the backround with a giggle: "We can change our schedule." "No," Tim's dad teased. "It's on the calendar, we're going rafting that day."

Later on, Melissa found out during the onslaught of calls we were making. She was in class, unable to answer, but willing to text. "I'm in class, I'll call you when we're done." Tim wouldn't have that. He texted her back, "I'm getting married." A few minutes later, her class was magically dismissed early, and she and Tim conversed for a good while.

Of course, Dana already knew since she caught Tim looking at engagement rings online before we left Virginia. Paul found out three weeks or so ago when Tim just had to ask him if he could be his best man.

On my side of the family, my mom found out a long time ago when she told me Tim was perfect for me. Months later, Julie squeezed it out of me, making me think she had valuable information to swap. Then, of course, my dad who was asked The Question, and was apparently caught off gaurd. Then, Laura who is the best secret squirrel in the family, was told so we could ask her if her husband, Tony, could take our engagement pictures. She was so excited.

Possibly the best reaction I got came from Abby, my brother's three year old daughter. "Yaaaaay! You mawee Tim?" she squeeled. "Yep! Me and Tim are getting married!" "Yaaaaaay! I loooove Tim!"

The next best reaction I got was from Lizzie, Jen's little girl. "Lizzie, say, Yay Mary!" Jen tells me her face contorted into a smirk and she said, "Yay PooPoo!" We're still laughing about that one. Not many almost-two-year-olds have that sense of humor.

I know this was a big first post, but this is a big deal! Yay us! And we wanted to let you guys know how much we love all of you and how excited we are to start our new life together. Thank you all for being so supportive. If you want to, you can visit our website which is still under some construction: www.timandmary.synthasite.com