Monsoon season

Sometimes it rains in the desert. Big storms. And this is what comes pouring off your roof during said storm:

Welcome home Kaeli. Guess I will have to start blogging again. So if you happen to drive thru my town you might get to see these little cuties...

Just sayin...

(short term) memory loss

You know how you do some things so many times that it is easy to forget if you did it this time? For example, I take my vitamins as part of my bedtime routine. Some times I get to the end of my routine and think, "did I already take my vitamin? I can't remember!" And the sad part is, if I did take it, it was less than 5 minutes ago that I did it! Sad. And super irritating! Because then I don't dare take it just in case I already did! So what reminded me of this was tonight when I went down to put some clothes in the dryer. I use dryer sheets, and normally I throw one in before I put the clothes in...but not always. So every time before I start the dryer, I think, "did I already put one in?" I can't see it if I did...since it's under a pile of wet clothes...but i also can't remember back to two minutes earlier and whether or not I have done it. So because i am too lazy to dig under the clothes to find out, I just throw another one in, just in case I didn't do it. Static cling is worse than a wasted dryer sheet! And you wouldn't believe how many times I have found two dryer sheets in a basket of clean laundry. Why can I remember the address to the bus station after a whole month but I can't remember what I did 2 minutes ago? Brains are weird.

875

I moved recently. Halfway across the country and into a condo we found online. We didn't bother to tour the place in advance because, A: it was big enough to fit my quilting machine; B: it was only going to be for a year (you can do anything for a year); and last, but most importantly, C: it was $875 per month. EIGHT-SEVENTY-FIVE. For those of you who have never looked for housing on the east coast, let me put this in context. A small, two or three bedroom house is about $1500 --and is 20 miles away from the hospital where husband works (unacceptable). An apartment, 2 bedroom, medium sized and close is $1600 (but has no space for the aforementioned quilting machine-which is kindof a deal-breaker). The dream house with at least 1600 square feet, 3-4 bedrooms and close to work is (brace yourselves) $2000 to 3000+! Yikes, right? So now it should be completely obvious why we couldn't pass this place up. It was too good to be true! And how bad could it be right? Tiny kitchen with literally 3 feet of counter space? 875! No room for a guest bed? 875! No garage or covered parking? 875! The justification for every shortcoming of this place before we moved was: (you guessed it!) 875! So I'm not gonna lie, the first couple weeks were ROUGH. Nothing could have prepared me for what we really got for 875. Here's a short list, just for fun.

-no air conditioning (P.S. the east cost is HUMID)
-kitchen cabinets that look dangerously close to falling off the wall
-two kitchen drawers...neither of which fit even the smallest silverware tray
-weird smells; most notably elusive propane exhaust (this literally drove me crazy for a good two weeks)
-nasty smelling basement (smell waxes and wanes with the humidity)
-old plumbing...we've had the plumber out twice already in less than a month
-a neighbor who ruins every breath of cool fresh air with his smoking on the front porch requiring the closing of windows/doors several times per day
-pet mouse who lives under the deck

 Yes, 875 gets you a lot...but don't worry, there is more! We also get:

-a pool! A nice pool!
-a swing set...and a 30 second walk to get to it!
-fabulous deck that the kids play on for hours, and we eat on frequently
-close neighbors with kids for my girls to play with
-cute neighbor friend (in my ward who lives 1 minute away)
-less square footage=less cleaning!
-extra money (not being spent on rent) so we could afford to buy shelves, drawers, air purifiers, fans and a small air conditioner YAY

 So though it was rocky at first, the pros are starting to outweigh the cons. This place is starting to grow on me. And if I ever get frustrated with anything here...I just say to myself...875.

People are weird...

I saw an unfamiliar car pull up in front of our neighbors house across the street this morning. I saw a few middle aged ladies get out and pull some stuff from their trunk. I got bored watching and went back to what I was doing. 2 hours later my kids are looking out the front window. Madi yells, "they decorated the house! Christmas is coming!" So I go to the window and see this:

upon looking closer, I discover that the decorations on the neighbors house are bras...

lots and lots of bras...there is even a lacy black one on the mailbox.

You know it is probably the neighbors birthday today...she is probably turning 40 or something...and there is probably some inside joke going on here that has those women all laughing hysterically at their wittiness...

All I know is those gnomes are getting an eyeful today!

Anniversary...

I don't know if anyone else does this, but occasionally on random days of the year I will think, "last year at this time I was...(fill in the blank here with where ever and what ever I was doing)". Then I will think, "that is so weird that it's been a whole year since then."  Well every year on April 24th I think, "it's been X number of years since I got home from my mission." Today it's been 9 years. NINE. That is such a long time! There were days when I was a missionary that I thought it would never end...and more days when I wished it never would. But it did end, and now when I look back on it, I can't believe what a small part of my life that was...I've been home 6 times as long as I was out. And that seems so weird to me...18 months seemed so long back then. I still remember it all like it was yesterday. And even though it was such a comparatively short time in my life, I think it has had more of an impact on me than anything else I've ever done...so I'm always glad to celebrate this little anniversary...missions are awesome, and I'm so excited for Juli's call tomorrow!!

Dear Crazy Neighbor Girl,

Thank you for waking me up this morning. You know I really hate to sleep in past 4:45 am--especially when I have a killer cold. I'm just so fortunate that you decided to yell into your phone out on the balcony...I'm sure "baby girl" appreciated it too...she probably wouldn't have been able to hear you if you hadn't increased your volume with every f-bomb you dropped! I really appreciate how considerate you are...you made it so much easier for me to eavesdrop! Most people try to have their conversations in private where the entire apartment complex can't hear them-but not you. No, no need to apologize, I enjoy it when you broadcast the intimate details of your super-exciting life at 200 decibels. In fact, I really would like to thank you. Normally my next door neighbor has the happy privilege of waking me up in the middle of the night...every time he moves, his bed bangs against the wall and jolts me out of sleep...and then I get to enjoy the symphony of his amazing snores through the wall. It was so much nicer to wake up to your soothing shout. I am just so sad that we will only be neighbors for 5 more days! I really am a much more effective person when I never get a full night of sleep...so really, Thank you! And please, enjoy your Saturday morning...I am sure you will be sleeping in, so I'll make sure to tell my children to keep it down while they are playing out on the balcony...I know, I don't usually let them play out there in the morning...but for you I'm going to make a special exception. And I won't encourage them to have a scream-at-the-top-of-their-lungs contest, just for you--I always like to repay favors!

Regards,

Your sleep deprived neighbor

How do I love this song?

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

Let me count the ways...

So just to clear up any confusion...I am not lamenting a lost love or anything. I heard this song a few months ago but wasn't super impressed, but then I heard it again and actually listened to the lyrics (which are awesome) and then I was in love! I made Jeff buy this album with the itunes gift card I gave him for Christmas (so Merry Christmas to me instead!) and then I listened to it in the car on the way to Florida as many times as I thought Jeff would let me before he wanted to break the ipod. Or throw me out of the car. I am definitely a "repeat" kind of girl. I listen to the same song over and over and over and over and over and over. And then I sing the song to myself, to my kids, unconsciously under my breath (or unconsciously out loud) until Jeff has to tell me to shut up. :) So hope you will enjoy this song too. And if you are lamenting a lost love, just crank this up and sing to your mirror! (You know you do stuff like that!) Own it!