Anyone Want Some Stickers?

So, Mark, Melinda, and I have gone in on a little business venture. We bought these scrapbooking/crafty stickers and are hoping we can sell them.

Here are all the colors.

There are also lower case letters and numbers.

They are technically for "shadowing" but i have already found lots of very fun and entertaining things to do with them.

such as:

mess with people while they are napping!

The feet were definitely the hardest because i kept tickling him. but he had no idea about the rest!! ha ha.

The Ballroom Dance Kid

Due to Tamra's question regarding the "old dance medals" comment from the previous post, I figured I had better just clear things up now. From about the third grade to the seventh grade, I was a ballroom dancer.

The Cumberbun. My accessory of choice.

I was quite the waltz and quickstepper, but I also took a close second to Shakira with my hip shaking cha-cha!

Marshmallows

This year Mark and I started a new tradition: making marshmallows. We adopted it from Mark's Grandpa Johnson who used to make them all the time. When the time came for us to make ours we really wanted to make them together, which we did. however, they didn't turn out so well. actually they looked and tasted a bit like Jello Jigglers. gross. (we found out that we did everything right except we used the wrong attachment on my kitchen aid. picky picky picky!)

so for the next attempt Mark had to go solo since i was at work. But, in order to make me feel more involved in our new tradition he recorded it for me! so cute! here it it is.

Gets Him Every Time!

Every time this commercial comes on Mark giggles, then laughs, then has to lean on the wall for support. EVERY TIME!!!

Two Five

I thought I would take a moment and share about my swell birthday month so far. Friday the 13th we had a Boy Scout camp out. I didn't really want to sleep in the cold for my birthday, but I wanted to continue my quest for dutch oven perfection. We enjoyed a wonderful soup, Parmesan rolls, and a classic cherry cobbler. I cooked dinner and then took off for my love bug, and my bed.

Enjoying the cobbler

What?!!! A birthday card from Condorman! Ok, Ok, I found the card and tested out my cursive. I got the classic eye roll from Callie. . .happens every time I bring up the winged warrior. One day I will convince her that Condorman really is a good movie.

We started the day off with some amazing Bisquick danish's, and then we went to Sandy for a little party. Mom, Dad, Callie, and I had lunch at Food For Thought. It was very much tasty! Then we went for a little birthday shopping. I wanted a new white dress shirt and black dress shoes. I think I was just meant to wear a french cuff, I feel so fancy. My shoes are superb as well. Maybe we can take a picture some time.

We ended the day with a movie and ice cream. What more could a kid want for a birthday party? It was a wonderful day. And I got two new little ones to uncle! Madeline 11/13 and Alex 11/17. November is no longer just about the turkey and I. Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday songs and wishes. I am loved.

Birthday Month

I went to change my background to a Thanksgiving one today, but Mark insisted that we have a birthday one to celebrate his birthday month. I tried to talk him into a "birthday week" background, but he was pretty set on "birthday month."

So here is to you my love! Happy Birthday Month!

(Plus, how can you resist this face??)

And just to start the month off with a bang, here are the top 50 reasons why i love Mark!


He is:
1. Sweet
2. Caring
3. Thoughtful
4. Considerate
5. Clean
6. Helpful (in all situations)
7. Generous
8. Funny
9. Service Oriented
10. Dedicated
11. Hard Working
12. Efficient
13. Faithful
14. Cute
15. Good Memory
16. Smile
17. You Like My Cookin'!
18. Smart
19. Follow-Through
20. Time-Management
21. Frugal
22. Goal Setter
23. Family Oriented
24. Supportive
25. Understanding
26. Kind
27. Loyal
28. Curious
29. Good Dresser
30. Good ...
31. Loving
32. Help Around the House
33. Good Listener
34. Planner
35. Likes Good Music
36. Interesting
37. Wonderful (in every way)
38. Good Taste
39. Strong
40. Good Kisser (when he wants to)
41. Fun
42. Make Me Better
43. Well Rounded
44. Likes Outdoors
45. Talented
46. Exceeds my Expectations
47. Observant (Obsental??)
48. Wants to be a Little Kid
49. Great Bod
50. He Loves Me Back!

Happy Birthday Month Sweet! I love you forever!

Dreams

This is Mark Chiming in. . .You see, I have been thinking recently about some things that I have always thought would be cool to do/see/be, but thought were somewhat inaccessible. Let me give you four of many ideas about what I am talking about.

First, I was raised knowing that James Bond was the coolest (besides Condorman), and that I needed to drive his kind of car. I have decided that maybe I never will own an Aston Martin, but I need to drive one for a day at some point.

Second, due to my love for skiing, I have always wanted to heliski. I don't need to jump 30 feet out of the helicopter onto a cliff of Alaskan snow, but I want to take a helicopter to the top of some mountain to ski down.

Third, I want to drive a Big-Rig! Just give me the open road and let me have at it for an hour.

Fourth, I know El Camino's may seem ugly to some, not I, I think it would be the coolest to get an old one and restore it to its amazing glory.

Needless to say, I have some interesting things on my list of things I want to do. Now how in the world can I make it happen? The Aston Martin dealership in Scottsdale, AZ wouldn't even let me touch the Vanquish. Jumping out of a helicopter to ski just sounds expensive. I don't want to have to get my CDL to drive a Big-Rig. I ski, I golf, I study, I don't restore cars.

Some of the coolest things out there seem just that, out there! I want to do a little research project with the help of those of you that read this. Post to this message or email Callie or I one or two or ten of your dreams. I want to see what I can find out to make it more accessible.

If your dream sounds silly, don't worry, I like El Camino's

Mark

What Happens When Mark Gets Bored on the Lift

Today Mark went mountain biking at Sundance. Here is what he came up with while waiting on the lift with just him, some sunflower seeds, and his phone:

(in case you didn't get that, he takes slogans quite literally. he he)

It's that time of year again! Aren't the colors just gorgeous!!

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

Here is a conversation Mark and I had last night as we were lying in bed trying to fall asleep.

Mark: I love you
Callie: Why?
Mark: Because you are sweet, sensitive, and sexy. You're basically a SSS (triple S).
Callie: Yeah, like AAA without the cars.
Mark: and like XXX without Vin Diesel.


we just "get" each other.

A Day in the Life

As most of you know, my husband is adorable. However, he has some pretty weird names for me. Here are the ones he called me THIS morning. I will also give you the scenario in which they were given.

1. soy sauce

we were having breakfast and Mark drank all the milk. (we usually share the glass). He got up and refilled the glass for me. I said "thanks" and he said "no problem, soy sauce." I don't even know what to think about that.

2. short stack

I don't really remember the context for this one. But he defiantly referred to me as "short stack"

3. mean jean

He asked me if he needed to shave. I said that he did, and he replied "you are a mean jean." Once again, I'm not sure what to think, but it's pretty funny.

Also, i have been meaning to blog about Mark's incredible ability to create words. Most of the time he knows he is creating them, but sometimes i think he really thinks they are real words. (he will deny that of course) Here is one of them that i remember:

Last week we were driving and our car broke down. ( i know, so sad) but this really nice boy stopped and towed us out of the street. We were kinda surprised that he did it because when he got out of his car he was wearing just a swim suit, had gnarly hair, and was smoking. But he was SOO nice. Later we were talking about how we never want to judge anyone ever again and mark said "yeah, i just want to be obsental [ohb-zen-tal]." get it? not judgmental - obsental; meaning he just wants to observe without judgment.

Now i know you are all dying to spend a day in my life right??

Treasure Hunt

So when i came home from work today i found this on the table:

So i read it, and immediately think of the fake flowers we have in our bathroom. (yes i know this is what you would say "tacky" but trust me, it's better than nothing) So i look in there, thinking that maybe Mark switched them out for some new ones or something, but they're the same and everything looks just like i left it. So i think, maybe i got it wrong and i should look in other places. i re-read it and think "certain location" this can only mean one thing to Mark: the refrigerator. But yet again, nothing. So i continue looking everywhere. Before long i give up and just call Mark to tell him i can't figure out where he put my prize. He just laughs at me and says "I tried to make it hard." then he says "which one are you on?" so then i get it, there are more instruction cards. So i go back to the fake flowers and find this hidden in them:

I quickly hang up with Mark because i want to figure it out on my own. So i read it. Nothing. Trident?? we don't have any gum. and since when does Mark like Trident? Obviously the underlined letters have something to do with it. LITR. Did he mean litter?? am i supposed to look in the trash? So i call Mark back to tell him i can't figure out this one either. Apparently only the L and T are underlined. So??? still nothing. Then Mark says "what do we refer to as LT?" Oh i get it "Learning Technics" (a program we are doing) So i hang up with Mark and run over to the basket we keep all the LT things in (in my defence, Mark has refered to Learning Technics as LT maybe 2 or 3 times in our lives) So i look and find this:

What the ????? So this time i don't even try. I just call Mark again. What the flip does this mean?? He asked me to read it to him so i said "curve arrow three forward arrow three forward slide I right bend and pull." Exactly, no sense whatsoever. So then he explains, curve arrow means turn around, three forward means take three steps forward, arrow means turn left, another three steps, slide I right means slide one step to the right, then bend over and pull. By following these instructions it took me to the desk (why he couldn't have said "go to the desk" I'm not certain)where i bent over (not really necessary, but amusing to watch i am sure) and pulled the drawer open and found these:

Zebra tissues. I love everything zebra (as long as its cute zebra and not ugly zebra). Isnt he so sweet? confusing, but sweet!

Pay Up!

My Congressional Man

I don't know if any of you have heard of the Congressional Award?? It's an award that the government gives you for completing so many hours of service. It's pretty cool. anyway, Mark has been working on it REALLY hard for the past year or so and we just found out that he got it! There are different levels that you can get (bronze, silver, gold) and he got ALL THREE! he is so cool.

so this week we got the bronze and silver medals in the mail. They give the gold at a special ceremony in D.C. (or if you cant go they will mail it to you) But, we REALLY want to go to D.C. because how cool would that be??!! Mark has a really good friend and his wife that live "a 5 minute bike ride" from the white house and they have offered us their apartment and their bikes to get around on. So, that means that all we would have to do is pay for the plane tickets!!! However, us being poor poor students can't afford even that. So Mark, my little fundraiser, has written letters to several prominent members of our society (including Pres. Obama and Orrin Hatch and other "important" people) asking for "financial assistance to aid us in participating in this tremendous honor." We're crossing our fingers that that will somehow work!

Here is a picture of the medals. Sorry i had to get it off the internet. Mark was being all embarrassed and wouldn't take a picture with his medals.

Mark's Quotes

Ok, so as some of you may or may not know, when Mark was growing up his parents only listened to the Carpenter's (and probably some MoTab). (I know, this explains SOOO much!) But yesterday Mark got his hands on a Carpenter's greatest hits CD. Let's just say that he is very nostalgic. He loves it. So much, that it makes him say really weird things. So here are a couple of his "Carpenter's quotes" from the last couple days as we have been driving in the car listening to it:

1) If there was an endless amount of new Carpenter's songs, I could drive around the whole world!
2) Callie, the Carpenter's make me love you even more! (followed by a look of deep concern and slight disgust from me)

I thought they were funny and let you see a little bit of how dorky Mark really is.

You're Probably Sick of Reading This But .....

I really do have the GREATEST husband in the world!!! He is the cutest, most considerate, Sweetest, greatest guy in the whole world!! Let me tell you about how wonderful he is to me.

So cash is a greatly valued commodity in our little family. We rarely have cash. But whenever I do, i cherish it. Really I save it for days that I didn't have time to make lunch so i don't starve at school. And so that i can occasionally buy a snack from the vending machines. So, yesterday we went skiing and afterward we stopped at Mark's parents house and chatted with Wendy (who happened to be there.) I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to her, Mark was running around doing something that needed to be done (typical, getting things done!) Anyway, I was sitting there and Mark came up to me and handed me one of these:

I wanted to cry I was so happy. I know that sounds weird, it's just a dollar he got in change, but he could have kept it for himself but instead he gave it to me. He loves me! It actually made me feel really selfish too, because anytime I have cash, as i mentioned, i cherish it and tend to hoard it.

Next example of my fabulous husband! If i even happen to mention that I am interested in getting something (especially if it would be something just for me) Mark will get it. Not only will he get it for me, he will get it for a SCREAMIN' deal. I promise I love him (and our bank account) enough to not abuse this power, it just amazes me every time. Most of the time I don't even remember that i mentioned that i want something, when it will just show up. And he never forgets!!! I even made an offhand comment that I noticed a bunch of girls in my class have a certain kind of water bottle and hours later, he's on the hunt. The latest example was my recent post about me wanting a bike. Hmmm, guess who has a new bike!!!!! He got me this really nice Trek mountain bike (and a lock) for only $45.00! (yet again, thank you craig's list for getting us in contact with people who have no idea how much their stuff is worth!) The only problem with it was that the front tire was flat and needed a new tube. We barely got the bike last night, and he already has fixed it! My hero!!!

Last example of my fabulous husband! So I am all alone tonight, Mark is camping with the scouts (sniff sniff). Anyway Mark had to leave before I got home, but when i walked in the door he had my favorite cologne of his sitting out and a note that said "feel free to spray me around." Isn't he so freakin cute???!!!!!!! I noticed that he had already sprayed it a little, and i seriously had to walk around and smell everything for about 5 minutes. It smelled so good and made me miss him so much!

So there you have it, I'm officially the luckiest woman there ever was!

Oh The Crazies I See

Long time blog reader, first time poster. I really just want to express my concerns about three individuals I have encountered in public over the past two days. Who raised these kids?!

Case #1
I knew I was bound to see something really exciting sooner or later riding public transportation. There I was keeping to myself thinking about anything but Chemistry/Biology, when I was rudely interrupted by a very angry couple. I am not too sure what the deal was, but some how the guy ended up in the seat right in front of me. Because his "girl" would not talk to him, he just sat sad as could be by his lonesome. To cope with he recent rejection he thought it might be a good time to roll up his bag of weeds. What a nut.

Case #2 & 3
We needed to pick up a few things from the store this evening, and this is where it all went south. I noticed this really tall woman with a cast on her leg and frizzy red hair right when we walked into the store. She was walking just ahead of us, and stopped by the small Jelly Belly dispenser on the end of an aisle. She then proceeded to open the lid, take a piece, and engulf it! I thought that was illegal. . .Just wait, it gets worse. I let that one slide, but then I saw her later on with a bag filled with the glorious beans. She was just snacking away as she was checking out the magazines, BEFORE she checked out! As many of you may know, candy is purchased by the pound when self scooped. Interesting how she will not be charged for the pound in her tummy.

Then this girl who was probably on her way to a chess club meeting (NERD) cut in front of us as we were waiting in line for the self-checkout. She realized that we were possibly waiting for the next available lane as she was and said "you were not waiting in line were you?" . Who is this girl?! Then she got behind us. . .get a load of this. . .She then ran to the next available self-checkout after she just confirmed we were next!

Callie was there for #2 and #3 and I needed to share my experiences with others. I hope you kind of liked it.

I Have the Greatest Husband Ever!!

So yesterday was a great day really, just not so great because I didn't have time to eat anything all day. Really, the only thing i ate all day from 7:00 am to 6:30 pm was one little peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (And i didn't even like it... the jelly tasted weird.) But, i was on the bus home after all my classes, and i was talking to Mark about what we are going to have for dinner. We had about zero food in the house because i was trying not to go shopping this week. (we had a lot of abnormal expenses recently and the $ was pretty much gone.) But, Mark said he would figure something out. So i finally got home, i walk in the door, and Mark has the table set very nicely, had gone to the store to get some essentials, and had made us spaghetti! isnt he the cutest?? He even got us some delicious garlic bread to go along with it! AND he was so romantic and put all the spaghetti onto one big plate and we both ate out of it, just like that cartoon! And the best part is that it was sooooo good! granted i was absolutely staving, but it was really the best ever! He is pretty much the most dreamy guy in the whole wide world!

The Callie 1

So on our day off, Mark decided to play with his legos that my mom sent him for Christmas. This is the result. Sorry we had to do it in clips. My little camera won't do longer ones.

So i hope you enjoyed our first lego production! And now for your viewing pleasure . . . bloopers!!

I just thought that Mark looked too cute not to share it

Christmas Countdown!

So I've been trying to think of things i could do for Mark for Christmas to make it really great despite our limited budget. I was looking through a Christmas book that Mark's mom gave me and I got this great idea. To build the anticipation for Christmas to come, I'm doing a 25 days of Christmas countdown. Every night until Christmas Eve Mark gets to open one of these little box presents!

These pictures didn't really turn out, but i promise it looks really good. As you can imagine in our little apartment there arent many banisters to hang things from, so i had to use the already stuffed bookcase.

I insisted on making them as cute and fancy as possible and for some reason thought that glitter would be a good idea. Well i think they turned out cute but now our apartment and not to mention Mark and I are covered in glitter. Now i know why my mom would never let me play with glitter growing up.

I had to get pretty creative to think of so many things to put into all of these boxes, so most of them have some candy and a "coupon" for Mark. They are just silly things like a back rub and other stuff like that.

Also, I thought I would share our little pathetic tree. This is it!! not much of a tree i know. BUT GUESS WHAT??? Today at work my boss said he would let Mark and I have a real tree for FREE! (he has several tree lots) All we have to do is go pick one out!

Mark is 24!!!

So it's official!! Mark turned 24 on November 14. We were pretty lame picture takers, but we had a great time! this is Mark after he opened all 2 of his presents. The first chocolate orange of the year, and a new web cam!

So as you can see, i'm having some hair issues. I went in to get rid of the red, and i said i wanted blonde. i came home with practically black. I'm just not meant to have nice hair ever again. But anyway, this was the only other picture we got on Mark's actual day. I tried to take others, but let's just say there was someone who didnt want to.

So, here is how the day went, I went to work in the morning as usual, Mark stayed home to hang out and relax... Or so i thought, i came home and Mark had cleaned the whole apartment, including scrubbing the bathroom floor. Silly kid, the one day he has the excuse to take it easy. Anyway, I got home from work and Mark and I went to lunch at Einstein Bros. It was so amazing!!!! I've never had one of their sandwiches, and i discovered that i had never really lived until that day. It was amazing.


Then, Mark and I went to pick up his sister Wendy and we drove all the way to downtown Salt Lake to see the new 007 at the Gateway (outdoor mall). We drove all the way there because Mark had said he wanted to get some caramel apples at a shop that is there, so we thought we would do it after the movie.

But, before we went in to the movie, Wendy said that we needed to try to find this store called Ben's cookies. We found it and got some cookies and they were SO GOOD! in case you can't tell, we are all about the good food/treats!

After the movie, we decided that we were too full on movie candy and Ben's cookies, so we ended up not getting the caramel apples, so we drove all the way to Salt Lake for no real reason, but that's OK, we enjoyed the drive.

So it was pretty much a great great day. Mark had asked me for a banana cream pie for his birthday, but i didn't have time to make it for the actual day. So this is him with it a few days later.

Happy birthday Mark!! i hope you had as much fun as I did!!