It's Moving Day!

Okay so it's after Moving day...but still the phrase reminds me of Saturday mornings curled up with my tv blanket, eating toasty o's (that's right...we weren't hoity toity about breakfast cereals), watching the Secret of Nimh...you know that part where the rats help Mrs B move the cinder block that is her home?
Well much like her experience...our moving day was full of stress and uncontrollable situations. For starters...Amy and I top off the tank to the diesel...ouch! Then it was off to the only UHAUL place that was open (it being a holiday and such)...only to find out that we didn't have the right size ball for the hitch (like 5/16th of an inch too big)...so I had to buy one...then we didn't have the right lighting adapter (which they tried to sell us...but Amy said "nope, don't need it"...go AMY!!!) Luckily my brother had the right one so we could be legal.
When we get home I look at the trailer...6X12 feet isn't as big as it sounds. When everything was said and done it took the entire trailer, the cab of the truck, the bed of the truck, my car and Dan's truck to get everything that was ready to go...my stuff got dropped off without too many problems (unless you count a crushed middle finger and a slip on the stairs) then it was Amy's turn...they had to take the door to the basement off in order to get some furniture into the basement...and then it was lunch time!
After lunch we headed home to finish loading the stuff for Amy to take home with the truck...I am so proud of us...we were able (with the loan of some wrenches from the neighbors) to unhook the washer and dryer, dolly them up the grassy hill in our backyard, to the driveway up 3 stairs onto our tiny porch and onto the bed of the truck...
Now we just have to unpack our stuff (at our respective places) and clean the old house by Saturday...

~Pyper

So, I have been really busy lately. Started a new position at my job. More responsibility, more stuff to deal with and the same pay... I really need something new! Alas, they have been somewhat good to me over the last 5 and a half years. I do get to work with some outstanding people that persist on teasing me about my religion daily, weekly, monthly, however you would like to look at it.

Then there is the matter of Dawn and Ryan's wedding, packing to move, and all the things that come with the territory. We can't forget my general desire for laziness either, haha... So much to do and so little time!

My deepest apologies to Pyper who has had to keep our blog going all by herself over the last little while. We really should be completely honest and state that her stories are much much more interesting than mine anyway. :)

One last thought for those of you who check this to see what I am up to, NEIL DIAMOND is coming to OMAHA!!! I must buy tickets! We celebrated his appereance on American Idol at work last week by making it our Neil Diamond week. We listened to his music every day while we digiligently prepared the work for the night interviewing staff. What a fablous way to spend the day. Sweet Caroline, You Send me No Flowers, Girl - You'll Be A Woman Soon. I will be 30 on Wednesday - I mean 24!

Amy

The whole Fam-damly (well the younger portion anyways)

Not often do all of us 'younger' kids get together...even rarer that we all agree to having our pictures taken.

~Pyper

When good rolls go bad...

Okay so I'm visiting the family this weekend and yesterday in preparation for dinner we decided to quick rize the rhodes dough...but I didn't read all of the instructions. So we put the frozen lumps of dough in a pan, preheat the oven and turn it off (as instructed), place boiling water in another pan and position it below the top rack and insert the rolls...we then promptly forgot about them...well, kind of (we thought we could leave them be for an hour and a half...but we were wrong). When we opened the oven to check on them, we had roll dough oozing over the side of the pan and brushing the oven rack...this would never do for rolls so we removed it, gathered up all of the dough, smooshed it into one giant glob and then pinched off pieces and placed them in muffin tins. They tasted good when they finished, but check out how huge they were....

~Pyper

It's definitely not as easy as CSI makes it look...

Pyper here...this weekend has been one hectic piece of excitement after another. Saturday was supposed to be a walk in the park (if you'll excuse the expression). I was supposed to meet my partner to process our first (and probably only) 'crime scene' for class. Then after 2 1/2 hours I was supposed to be headed home for a nice afternoon with the girls (watching some mushy Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte movie)...then it was off to a wedding reception and stake conference...so here's what actually happened...

I got to campus a little early and waited with my professor for about 20 minutes until my partner showed. Then we started processing...since we've never done this before it was a little slow to get started. And took about an hour longer then expected, not to mention the unbelievable level of tediousness involved (maybe I don't want to go to grad school). And of course...since it was a 'crime scene' I couldn't just pause the exercise to call the girls to let them all know I was running late. We finished up and I had several voicemails/texts wondering where I was. Luckily everyone was very understanding. Suz came over after I got home and helped me calm down a bit (I was freaking out about measurements not looking right, per my diagram, and missing ones, and evidence we should have been more thorough with (I'm hoping my partner caught some of the details I didn't) and the fact that I was so dehydrated when I got home (and hungry) that I was shaky and actually lost some of the water I had chugged when I got home (note to self...not a good thing to do when you are hot, hungry and thirsty). Suz saved me as we loaded into her car and headed to Chipotle and Sonic before going back to the house to enjoy (also not a good idea to try and hydrate with Ocean Water....though it didn't make me sick, I was just really thirsty a couple hours later). After a few episodes of Scrubs and dying Suzs' hair it was time to think about getting ready for the reception.
Amy misplaced the wedding invite....so we went to conference instead. It was pretty good...Jordan and Aaron were nice enough to try and squeeze everyone in the row together so we could all sit on the pew...Amy opted to sit in front of us with some other friends.
After conference and some friendly banter (something about Uno, my hair style, and stinky mushrooms) Amy I raced home to change for a movie with Vao and Michelle.
"Under the Same Moon" was fabulous and I would highly recommend it to anyone...be advised there are a lot of subtitles...
I think I drank almost 2 Liters of water during the movie along with the PB Twix I snarfed down.
This morning greeted me with a swollen left eyelid...which will hopefully get checked tomorrow, and the need for a mild attitude adjustment (and honestly the 2 hours sitting on hard folding chairs for church did nothing to help in that area...my bum was asleep by the first choral number)
Luckily, this week is short (thank goodness for ARBOR DAY which is a State holiday here in Nebraska)...I'm headed home for a nice longish (5days and 6 nights) vacation. I plan to do nothing but play with the nephew and niece, bum around the house in my pjs, maybe do some light shopping (and I do mean light...I have a deposit to pay next month on an apartment I still haven't found) and the every dreaded home ward visit. (the old ladies have quit asking about my dating life...but it's still rough...the kids I used to babysit are getting married...argh!!!)

It's never funny when you have to explain it...

I'm sure that everyone has been in this situation before...you say, email or text something that sounds really funny in your head and then just falls flat once it's out there. And then the person you said, typed, texted doesn't get what you sent so then you have to explain why you said what you said...and then it's really not funny.

So, note to everyone that reads this...think at least twice before you send or say anything you may think is remotely funny (cuz it might not be)....especially if it's really late at night and you've been hanging around your crazy friends for hours.

~Pyper

Why make plans?

I ask this question everytime plans fall through...and I never seem to come up with a good answer. I think that maybe I do it because like all people I like to think I have control over my life...but then reality hits and I realize that I don't.
So here's the scoop...a couple of months ago I decided that it was time to try something kinda new...so I up and applied to grad school and for an internship in my home town. I haven't heard about school yet, but the county emailed me (a pathetic little thing it was too) and basically said that I wasn't cool enough to be an intern there. So now I'm waiting ever patiently for my rejection letter from grad school so I can freak out about what to do now. My options are looking pretty slim: stay in Omaha, frantically look for a new place to live, and keep on keepin on at work...whoohoo!

~Pyper