Amen

"If heaven wasn't so far away I'd pack up the kids and go for the day.
Introduce them to their Grandpa
Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks...
Then we'd tell him we'd be back in a couple of days
In the mirror, we'd all watch 'em wave.
Yeah, and losing them wouldn't be so hard to take.
If heaven wasn't so far way."Listen to song here
Lyrics here

Tonight

Who will go home?
My prediction...or rather my hope? Ashley.
Although I feel like maybe this is when the whole preview thing of Brad crying and someone looks like Emily is leaving? Of course that could be totally edited, but they haven't shown it for a while.
Whatever it is...I have a feeling it will come to pass tonight.
Who will sleep with him?
My prediction?
Everyone but Emily.
What do you think?

Life According to Mum

It's time you met my mom.
Like for real met her.
She's amazing and I feel like somehow my blog will improve in every way if I include her more.
So my loving mother has agreed to do a weekly guest post.
I have decided to call it "Life According to Mum."
That's what my brother calls her..Mum.
I don't.
She may post on motherhood, the gospel, housekeeping, family, funny things, The Bachelor, articles she reads in magazines. Mom gets free reign of my blog for one day a week. And it will be every Friday because Fridays are the best day of the week.
In a moment my mom will introduce herself...sort of :)
But first allow me to tell you a few things about her so you might see why I'm including her on here with such frequency.
My mom looks like Oprah.
She disagrees with this.
My mom laughs at herself a lot.
She has a great sense of humor and can handle practically anything.
She literally can do it all.
She is my Wikipedia. I call her for anything and everything.
I am twenty-six and I still believe my mom knows everything.
She raised my brother and I with so much love it's indescribable.
She helped us make some of the best memories.
She makes me feel good about myself every day.
She cannot operate a remote control for the television to save her life.
She says and does everything with extreme purpose...even pushing buttons on a microwave.
She reads magazines backwards.
She also vacuums the house backwards.
She eats ice like it's candy...and it's really annoying actually.
She will put away any dish or glass you sit down even if you just went to the bathroom or went to put the salt shaker away.
She is unbelievably self-less.I sent mom a few questions...and she answered.
Ladies and gentleman I present my mom:
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: Yes, two cats that are not really mine. Eppie and Roy are like some difficult foster children. They have behavior issues.
Q:What is your favorite food?
A: Chinese food any day or time
Q: How do you spend your free time?
A: I love to read and go to the movies. I like to watch The Bachelor. I love to go shopping in every store and look at EVERY single item. Nobody likes to shop with me except Cara.
Q: Tell me about a favorite event of your adulthood.
A: Man, too many to name I swear. I might say my trip to San Diego with Shane and Shar or my trip to San Fransisco with Todd. They are a tie. My wedding is up there along with Shar's and Shane's homecoming from Brazil.
Q: Tell me about a favorite event from childhood.
A: Our first family vacation to Vernal, UT and Dinosaurland. Who takes their kids to Vernal, Utah? But it was the best thing ever! I was six years old and Danny would not shut up about seeing the trains. I loved staying in a motel and eating out for breakfast I loved the whole thing. So much so that Todd and I relived it and took Shar and Shane there when they were little.
Q:What are your hobbies?
A: Yard work, cleaning, and READING!
Q: What do you do on Sundays?
A: I go to church with my dad and then with Todd (YEAH) and we have family dinner at our house or Shar's. It is my kids, Zach, Kylie, Todd, Dad, and me. We have been having family home evening on Sundays after dinner since Shane has been home from his mission. I love Sundays!
Q: What's your motto in life?
A: I don't know that I have a motto. I just try to make the best of things, so I guess that's it. Make the best of it!
Q: What kind of people do you like?
A: I like a lot of people but I like people that are kind to others (to me:) This means not talking about people or treating people in their families unkind. People that try to make the best of any situation they are given in their life. I admire them. I actually really like Sharlee and Shane. They are two totally different types of personalities. I like optimistic people. And I love a sense of humor. LOVE IT!
Q: What are you best at?
A: I am pretty good at cleaning when I have time. I don't have a lot of talents so I try to be decent at it.
Q: Who do you respect the most?
A: Marty for her strong beliefs and living them.
Q: Who has had the most influence on your life?
A: Shar and Shane. This is true as having them has had a profound effect on the way I have chosen to live my life. Also my mom and dad because they taught me so much: good work ethic, faith in God, and love of family.
Q: If you could attempt anything and not fail what would you be?
A: A writer.

Mom, here's your chance. You get to write for the world to see. Thanks for doing this mom, I love you so much!
Readers, you will fall in love with my mom. Look forward to next Friday when Mom makes her debut!

Why Not Luna's Plan?

Why I am opposed to Tom Luna's "Students Come First Plan":
1. First and foremost...I am passionate about public education.
I feel that the best way for students to learn and grow is through interaction with people who think differently than they do. I could go and and on about this but basically, I am scared that if this plan takes place--I will not be putting my own children in public school.
I always said no exceptions, but I did not see something as asinine as this coming.

2. This plan is a slap at educators plain and simple. I don't quite understand how our state superintendent doesn't respect educators but everything about how he has handled this clearly shows that he does not. When did teachers become the enemy? I don't understand this. Is it because we get weekends, holidays, and summers off? Do people think we honestly don't work and work hard? Is it because we have a union? I seriously don't know why the general public (not everyone but a vast majority) doesn't like teachers. Misty wrote me today and told me that there were lots of comments online at the Idaho Statesman as well as on Facebook about people being sick and tired of bad teachers being overpaid.
What a joke? Seriously?
I will tell you this. I love my students with all of my heart. I hate when the year ends. I miss them all summer. There is a heart and an art to what I do. I know their handwriting. I know who works slow and who works fast. I know which students will work well together and which ones won't. I know which lessons they'll like. All weekend I find little things that I can share with my students that I can manipulate into a grammar lesson, math problem, or tie into a story we've read. I am overwhelmed but I rarely complain about my job. It is tough, I will tell you that. I work long hours and I never work enough. My to-do list is never crossed off and my mind is never away from my students. I may not think about paperwork, newsletters, grading papers, or administration constantly. But my students? Yes. I can't tell you how many times our dinner conversation revolves around how cute or funny one of my students was. Or how my class united in an effort and I'm so proud. I can't tell you how many times I've been cuddling with Zach just about to fall asleep when I suddenly have to tell him something that happened today. Someone finally got a math problem or got a good grade on a test! Or the mornings while I'm getting ready when I tell Zach what we'll be learning that day. What we'll be learning, not they.
I don't complain. I appreciate the "perks" of teaching if you will.
I truly appreciate my job.
And trust me I know there are teachers who do complain. I KNOW it and it drives me crazy. C.R.A.Z.Y! But guess what. They are still working hard!! I promise. They are taking work home and working through the weekend. Cross my heart, they are.
I do not appreciate those who do not appreciate what I do simply based on assumptions.

3. Technology replacing teachers and replacing classroom interaction.
I don't buy it. I've taken online classes and they are a joke. Teachers are essential to a successful classroom. Peers are essential to a successful classroom. I can't tell you how many times I have been astonished with the creative thinking, the problem-solving skills, and the experiences my students share when we are working together. I benefit from their knowledge and so do the other students. One students converts time using this particular strategy and suddenly my students are understanding the strategy and using it. Everyone wins. I have taken online classes...I am the queen of B.S. ing and I made my way through those classes with flying colors. I didn't take them to learn. I took them to get easy credit. And I happen to think that's exactly what Luna did, too!

4. Pay for Performance
I was told (by a family member--if you will) that teachers that don't want pay for performance are lazy. EXCUSE me. Not the case. This bill is offensive. Why? It makes the assumption that I am able to do more, I just choose not to because I'm too busy whining about my low pay. But if you offer me a bonus...well then I will work a little harder. I will try that much more. I know I wrote about this a long long time ago, but my Educational Philosophies come from the works of Alphie Kohn
I agree with this guy almost ALL of the time, but my favorite of his books is:
Punished by Rewards.
I don't reward my students. They have a job to do and they should do it. End of story.
I have a job to do and I do my best. Every day.
No need for a bonus. It is offensive.
It also creates competition and destroys collaboration. Not really helping our students advance because we are no longer working together.
Plus--Money.

5. Can we say money?

6. Sending tax payer money to Virginia and wherever the state contracts for their technical support. Now in times of economic crisis that does not make sense to me.

7. Cutting jobs to send money out of state.

There are many more but I will stop here. I am disappointed in the choices of our lawmakers today. I just thought I would explain why.
I don't want to be ungrateful, though. I would like to publicly thank those that have worked hard in opposition to the bills and the senators who voted against them today!

Love Language of Apology

I've neglected this blog this week. I apologize. I didn't do my Bachelor post. I am just going to post my predictions on Monday before the show and you can share yours as well, sound good? I hope so. Tomorrow I have a very exciting post planned. For today, I did check out the 5 Love Languages Website to take their apology assessment...how I like to be apologized to. It was kind of interesting. Take a look.

This is fitting this week. I am desiring that about three people right now accept responsibility :) It probably won't happen.

Your Scores

5	Expressing Regret
10	Accepting Responsibility
4	Making Restitution
0	Genuinely Repenting
1	Requesting Apology

Interpreting and Using Your Profile Score

The highest score indicates your primary apology language (the highest score possible is 20). It’s not uncommon to have two high scores, although one language does have a slight edge for most people. That just means you may feel equally receptive to two or more of the apology languages.

This Weekend

Was wonderful....
A recap:
On Friday Zach came home and I attempted to spoil him with some of his favorite things.
I had cran-apple sparkling cider
Homeade General's Chicken
Steamed Rice
Served with chopsticks
and for dessert we had brownies and cookie dough ice cream.
Zach's very favorite dessert is banana bread and I made that for him on Tuesday.
Week-long Valentine's celebration.
Saturday:
Volleyball at the church...Zach worked on homework.
I came home.
Cleaned.
We napped.
Zach surprised me with dinner reservations at The Sandbar in Marsing.
I've been wanting to go there since I started teaching in Caldwell and I first heard about it.
We deemed it "okay."
So cute of him though.
Home and a movie--Netflix The Pelican Brief. Old. We'd never seen it. We liked it a lot.
Sunday:
Sleep in.
Church.
I helped Zach teach his primary class. Any excuse to spend more time with Zach=I'm definitely down.
I went to see my mom teach the young women.
She did an excellent job.
We hung out and ate dinner and had our spiritual thought at Mom's.
Then we headed to Payette to play games with Cody and Lisa.
We were planning to play Settlers.
We ended up playing The Newlywed game.
This time was MUCH better.
Zach and I won one game and tied the other.
Cody made us a certificate :)
We laughed a lot.
Monday:
We slept in. Beautiful!
I made Zach breakfast before he left for a four-hour work day.
I was productive in his absence: cleaned house and worked on Personal Progress
When Zach came home we attended our very first rally together.
We rallied against Tom Luna's proposal for education reform.
It was our first rally ever.
Together or separate.
It was kind of exciting.
We didn't bring signs.
But we cheered.
And clapped.
And listened to some amazing speeches.
Speeches that encouraged all of us to write to our Senators and bring our case and reasons to light.
Do it! (Yes, I'm talking to you!!)
Then we went home and took Mal for a walk and gave him some treats
--it was his birthday after all)
Last of all, we went to my mom's where Zach enjoyed the first Bachelor episode of the season with me (more on that later).
We were joined by Shane, Kylie, and Kylie's mom.
It was a great night!
A wonderful weekend.
I am so blessed!

If You're Interested

Our computer monitor has been gone since September.
And therefore, I have not posted some very important pictures from September through now.

I actually only have from September-December to share.

So like I said, if you're interested.

Take a peek.

I am NOT blogging all of these events now. :)


Zach in his honor attire with his diploma on Graduation day.
September 16th

Zach with my mom.

Zach with his dad.

Zach with Grandma and Grandpa Hatch
I love these two!

I am/was so incredibly proud of him!

Misty and me at the St. Lukes Women's Fitness Celebration Run/Walk
We were on Kate's team this year :)

Halloween 2010-Burn Notice
Michael and Fi

I love this picture of Zach! We were at my Grandpa's house celebrating the bazillion October/November birthdays we have in my family. (Seriously worth blogging about all by itself)

Cake for breakfast is acceptable all of the time, but I try not to. But on our first anniversary it was totally acceptable. Encouraged even. And it was every bit as amazing as it was on our wedding day...and the weeks that followed :)

For our anniversary we decided that every year we will go on a gift that we can both enjoy together instead of separate gifts. Knowing we were going to Georgia for Christmas and hoping we'd be going to Hawaii five months after that....we opted for a couple of games. We got a card game Guillotine. It's suitable for two players and we played it all day long on our anniversary.

We also got Kill Doctor Lucky. A Clue in reverse if you will. Suitable for more than 2 players. We've played with Richard and Aleisha a few times and we like it.
Excuse the picture. I'm a nerd. We're both nerds if you hadn't figured that out yet.

Sunday breakfast the next day. I made my brown sugar bacon and Belgian waffles.
Zach just informed me yesterday that Belgian waffles are not his favorite.

Christmas 2010. Gingerbread House Wars. Zach and I attempting to cooperate. It got better with time. My husband is a p.e.r.f.e.c.t.i.o.n.i.s.t. and I am NOT. I am not patient at all.

Christmas Eve food, conversation, gift exchange, and memory sharing at Nana and Granddad's. I loved it. LOVED IT!

Team next to us...we had to share the table. This is Suzanne, Rob, and Jeremy.

Winner Winner. Bo, Warren G, Hallie, and Kay.
I accidentally deleted my teams' picture. I will post it later someday.

Random picture of Mal huddled under a blanket and sleeping.
Is he not to die for cute?

Zach with his Nana and Granddad. I love these two.
Zach has amazing grandparents on both sides.

All of us.

Pictures in LaGrange at the Town Square. My camera was acting up but we got a few.

And this guy is officially one year old.
And you just have to look at him. He is one of a kind.

Truth be Told

Truth be Told:
*I read somewhere that you are supposed to replace your razor after 5 uses.
I think I go over at least ten times that if not more.
Lucky for me I have smooth skin and it doesn't really make a difference.
*I don't like fancy food. I have decided this. Idaho Pizza, Chicken Critters from Texas Roadhouse, and Kraft Mac and Cheese makes me happy. I need a restaurant with chicken strips on the menu.
*Kids are better than adults. Always.
*My mom needs to teach a parenting class.
*Misty needs to teach a step-parenting class.
*Everyone needs to read We Need to Talk About Kevin
*I need to relax a little more.
And this just in.
Truth be Told:
Some families are blessings. Others are curses.
Fortunately my family is a blessing.
Unfortunately, I'm a little too close for comfort to the latter in other areas of my life.
I guess you win big some...you loose big some.
And I know some real big losers.
Ugh!

The Bachelor

Finally!
*Got rid of Britt. I had nothin' against the girl but why was she still hanging out?
I didn't really understand that and their date? Awkward!
Michelle FINALLY left. Good grief.
I am so relieved. I really thought we might have had another Jake/Vienna on our hands.
Luckily, Brad is slightly smarter than that.
I say slightly because let's be honest...
what guy actually thinks doing a photo shoot--without warning--for Sports Illustrated is a good idea for a group date?
A pig guy. To answer my own question.
Kill me now.
I would have hated that date.
1. I'm not taking photographs in a bathing suit at this point.
2. Mental preparedness is a very big thing for me
3. I am against the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition in general.
4. I would have definitely gone off on men being pigs and would have been the one sent home after this date...ESPECIALLY after my "date" makes out in the sand with the biggest sleaze of all the women.

So Brad sent Michelle home and that wins him only some respect.
For he is dumb.
I also finally got to see Chantel in a swimsuit.
Isn't it funny how I just told you I'm anti-the swimsuit edition yet I have a picture on here and I linked to it? I think it is, too.

photo found here
But here's the thing. I was hoping Chantel in a swimsuit would make me feel better or give me some sort of inspiration and on some level it did. But not as I had hoped.
1. I would definitely need a boob job.
2. I definitely need to work harder than I am right now.
I love her.
She was self-concious and I loved her for that.
She was gorgeous!
She is the most normal looking girl I have ever seen on The Bachelorette.
Although, my brother did walk into the room when Chantel was in her suit and the first words out of my brother's mouth--and I could have told you they were coming--"She's fat!"
I think she's gorgeous.
I enjoyed the Michelle going home part the most.
I am anxious to see how the home dates go.

Who do you think is next to go home?
My hopes are on Shawntel but I'm also still waiting for something dramatic to happen with my beloved Emily.
And if you didn't know...I'm all about Chantel these days.
I love her.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Valentine's Day. Always have.
Probably has something to do with my wild infatuation with love.
And my wonderful mother who always made this day about telling people you love, you love them.
Pretty simple. One of my favorite things to do.
So I have never hated this day.
Even when I was single.
Even when I was single and had recently had my heartbroken...
(recently as in 5 months prior but still...I was broken nonetheless)
and that Valentine's day was amazing because Misty came to bowling class with a choc. chip muffin for me and a book about love written by one of the RENT characters.
Well about RENT but RENT is about love.
Years following I was still single. Mom still gave me stuff.
And Jonnie and his mom would give me things and Jonnie would write me notes like:
"Someday there will be a lucky guy who's lucky enough to be giving you a Valentine's Day gift but until then, I feel honored to be the one to do it."
How could I ever hate this day.
I've been abundantly blessed.
Still am.
I've got lots of love in my life.
Here are a few examples:
*A kiss goodbye every morning. Followed by a "See you tonight!" and a "Can't wait!"
*Spooning to sleep
*Laughing at dinner with friends
*Laughing at my brother until my sides hurt
*Kneeling in prayer with my family every Sunday night
*Dinner cooked for all of us and enjoyed together at Mom's every Sunday
*Cuddling with Mal on the couch
*The Bachelor on Mondays with Mom
*Using Zach's body wash so I can smell him during the day (sshh...don't tell him)
*Phone calls, texts, and emails all day from people I love
*Students who have spoiled me with gifts today.
*Boys who brought me Valentine's
*My students light my day most days
*Game nights with friends
*The thought of seeing a "scary" movie with Misty
*Planning for Grace's arrival
*Kissing my grandpa on the forehead

My life is full of love. I am abundantly blessed and my life is very rich.
For this, I am so grateful.
I am so grateful to share my love with those that are still here to share it with.
What a blessing.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Letters--Letter to my siblings

Dear Shane,
I love you so freakin' much! I feel so blessed to be your older sister. I am so grateful it's been "just the two of us." I am ever so grateful that I was so lucky to get a brother like you.

You can make me laugh like nobody else can. Yes, you are hilarious. I think there's just this part of me that is wired into your sense of humor. When you were serving your mission I honestly (dramatic as it may be) felt like I was missing a part of myself. I remember you coming home. I distinctly remember laughing from my gut for the first time when you got back and something came back alive. I had sorely missed laughing with you.

You've taught me a lot about 'boys" even though I still think YOU are the one with a lot to learn. You helped me get into basketball and I miss that. I hope our son will play ball and his uncle will get to teach him.

I love that we are so incredibly different (Zach says I stole all the class and you got whatever good stuff was left :) If I said that to your face and then smiled, you would come over and squeeze my cheeks and say, "You think that's funny huh? Well you're going to have to apologize. I know that and just thinking about it makes me laugh. We are different but we share so much. We both love Grandma the same and we both miss her. Just the other day I told you that I had an I miss Grandma moment and your response was, "Yeah. I had one of those the other day." I love that about us. I love that we have those memories of Grandma's house and playing make believe together. I love the games that we made up. I love everything about my childhood with you. It was so rich and I can't think of a better friend to share that with.

We both know how dumb mom and dad can be...and you know what I mean when I say dumb. It's not really dumb. We also know exactly what makes each one of them amazing. We will back each other up when it comes to the parents...usually. All I have to say is: hanger incident. I love you so much for backing me up.

We both understand that Michael Jackson is awesome, mom looks like Oprah, and Will looks like Jim Carey--especially in Liar Liar. We both know what an awesome movie Liar Liar is and we still quote it. We experienced the beauty of Latter-Day Night Live together. Funny though, that never would have happened if it hadn't been for me trying to piss you off by buying it in the first place.

We know the amazing moment of Hymfir in the car on the way home from Utah. We know exactly how to team up to make mom mad or to make dad look gay. We know that Ross is the best character on Friends. We agree on the funniest lines and the best episodes. We know that the Alec Baldwin episode is hilarious. We know all of the best parts of every vacation we've ever been on. We can easily recall the three day journey to seeing Levi off to Iraq.

We remember Cara and Will's funniest moments ever. "I'm Troy Aikman...and I throw interceptions." Cara singing in the driveway even though nobody is listening. "You're in the line of fire!" "Stick a fork in it's eye!" Of course there are millions more but to just name a few. Hahaha. I'm laughing so hard.

You know that I will more likely answer to Ham or Fat Cow than Shar. You have promised to tell me if I am starting to look like I'm about to hit XXX pounds. We have that kind of thing.

I love you so much, Shane. I cannot imagine my life without you in it. And even though you annoy me when I'm trying to watch my show I love so many things about you. Things that make you better than me. I will never forget things like the way you were always so nice to me when I would come home from work or school when I got older. "Hi Shar!" Even though I was pissy, I'm sorry about that. I will never forget your happy attitude in the mornings and me being so pissy. I won't forget how you called me at work at the Y after I went on a date just to see how it went, even though you didn't like the guy. I remember how kind you were to me on my graduation day. I remember you insisting on talking to Zach on Christmas before you came home because he was your brother-in-law even though you had never met him. I remember the nice things you said to him, they are making me cry just thinking about it. I love how you get along with him.
I love you! We're different. But we're the best kind of siblings. We are friends. You are the best brother and I love you forever!

Love,
Er Ham

On My Mind

I've had this on my mind a lot lately.
My friend Cody is an amazing minister.
And I love reading his blog.
He is an incredible writer.
I feel that he understands what it means to follow Christ.
And he put into words something that has been on my mind for a while.
You can read an excerpt below.
But to get the real deal you need to go here.

"Over and over throughout my years in the church, I have heard statistics cited about the number of people who are turned off by hypocrisy in the church. Growing up I was taught this was all about the "don'ts"- in other words, if people hear you cuss or see you take a drink or hang out with the hang people, then that is what turns them away.

But having been around for awhile now, and being a minister, more often than not what I hear people mean when they talk about hypocrisy and Christians is the fact that we claim to take the teaching of Jesus seriously, but then we actually DON'T love our neighbor. Or they point to the infighting that we have. "I get enough politics and backstabbing at work. I don't need to add MORE of it to my life," I've heard more than one or two say.

I am not saying being a hypocrite does not include the things we ought to avoid in life. But more and more I am surprised at how many who use that as their reason for being turned off by the church actually take serious Jesus' teachings about how we love others, the oppressed, the poor, the overlooked, people who are different. I have come to the conclusion that they are not so much concerned about the other issues. By and large, I have found most who use this reason for rejecting the church are actually quite understanding about those issues, because they know people struggle with issues of sin, addiction, and temptation. What they can't understand is our disconnect when it comes to love..."

The Bachelor

I just read such a better post about this week's episode and I'm feeling at a loss for words.
I have a few thoughts.
You should know that I was home yesterday with strep.
Wasn't feeling 100% at all.
Still not.
So I didn't pay as much attention to detail as I should.
Michelle is ridiculous crazy.
She needs to go home.
Seriously. Is Brad going to end up with her.
He just eats it up.
I loved that he told her to leave him alone.
I love how she acts like she's just playing around and laughs it off when she's giving him the witch eye for having a repelling group date.
AAAH!
And she has a big time potty mouth. Gross.
I love Chantel. I really do.
I thought that when they came out of the rain that fact that ALL Brad had were dress shirts for her to change into and no shorts or anything was interesting.
Yeah. Right.
Awfully convenient.
I think she's it.
I still love Emily but I really don't think they'll end up together.
The rest is just. Blah.
I think the previews keep me more entertained than the actual episodes themselves.
Not looking forward to Chantel crying about the beach photo shoot/make out scene.
This may be seriously problematic.
Next week I believe I am just going to post all of the funny things my mom says while we watch this. That's all I'll post and it will be FAR better than my own posts :)

Answer This

What's the best nap you've ever taken?I was reminiscing about the best nap I've ever taken and this episode of Friends the other day and I decided it needed to be an Answer This post.
The best nap I've ever taken was truthfully on the 'Love Bed"
I was a little less than a month away from getting married.
Meaning it was still a little early in the school year.
And I was staying up WAAAYYY to late with my soon-to-be-husband.
As saying goodnight was too difficult.
And so I was exhausted.
We had plans to attend the temple with Zach's dad and Pati.
I came over and Pati was not home yet so I hung out at Zach's.
The Love Bed was right there and so I just laid down on it.
The house was warm.
Zach got on the Love Bed with me and cuddled me.
We totally fell asleep unplanned.
We really hadn't meant to.
We woke up when Kim and Pati came over.
And Zach's arms were still wrapped around me.
And I didn't want to leave.
And lucky for me, Pati totally said it was fine and she understood me being tired.
I know we should have gone to the temple.
That's not the point of this post, though.
The point was, I was exhausted, the nap was not planned, it was just warm enough, and I had my fiance's arms wrapped around me the entire time.
Best. Nap. Ever.
And I'm a napping addict.
True.
I'd rather nap mid afternoon than sleep in.
I know how to nap.
And that was the best nap ever.
I still talk about it. Especially on those rare occasions where I'll wake up and Zach will still be cuddling me. :)
Writing about this just made me smile.
Make yourself smile and tell me your story.

What I Want for Valentine's Day

Well, we have a trip to Hawaii to pay for.
So I didn't want much for Valentine's day.
I came home the other night and told Zach that these are what I wanted.

I need new curlers...like 2 years ago.
They are clean, cute, and just pink enough to pass as Valentine's day gift.
Also, I am a practical gift person.
Even better if the practical gift is thoughtful.
I.E. Mom giving me OLAY Quench and new razors as my "end of school year gift"
Knowing I'd be wanting to keep my legs silky smooth.
Thoughtful. Because razors and lotions and keeping my legs smooth is very me.
But also practical. I will use it.
This is probably a topic I could blog about all on it's own.
I digress.
I have changed my mind for Valentine's day.
What I really want?
I really want Zach to finish all of his homework.
We will be celebrating Valentine's day the weekend after the day.
I want all of his homework done.
And I want to climb in bed on Friday night
(not in a dirty way)
and I want to spend the ENTIRE weekend with my husband.
I miss him.
Here's the deal:
He is in class until 10 or later three nights a week.
And EVERY night...class or not...he's doing homework until after I've fallen asleep.
Gone are the days of a movie while cuddling on the couch.
Gone are the days of going to sleep at the same time together and cuddling to sleep.
Sure, he wakes me up and cuddles me when he climbs in but it's not the same.
I was spoiled.
And I want my husband back.
That's what I want for Valentine's day.
And then I'll probably cry on Sunday night when it's all over.

The Bachelor

Thoughts this week:
Like I said to my mom last night. I want to be like Emily when I grow up.
She is beautiful and so gracious.
How well did she handle the NASCAR date?
And without making a scene and begging for Brad's attention.
Which ended up giving her "too much" attention.
According to the girls.
Who need to grow up.
And Allie needs to go home.
AND SO DOES MICHELLE!
She's insane.
Her seductive manipulation with the tie-tugging and lap-sitting
and whispering and kissing.
GROSS!
Gag me!
And Brad fell for it.
Which made me sad.
She needs to go.
Yesterday.
I was somewhat sad to see Ashley H. stay.
I was disappointed in Ashley's total breakdown over going home.
Have a little dignity for crying out loud.
Didn't your mother teach you anything?
I was also sad to hear quotes like,
"I just never thought it would be me and Ashley."
Now that's some deep thinking.
I laughed.
I like Chantel.
I loved the shopping spree date.
I bet a million trillion dollars though that I would never allow anyone to spend $5,000 on a purse for me.
Especially a purse that I wouldn't buy at Big Lots.
Hideous.
I don't have designer taste.
But I do have decent taste.
Give me a shopping spree somewhere else I guess.
I think the previews make me nervous and excited.
Did it look like he was hugging Emily goodbye and bawling to anyone else.
I am dying.
Gotta see what happens.
And Michelle has definitely got to go.
Anyone else think Brad will pull a Jake? She is the Vienna of the group.