A Copacetic Life

The Sanding Zone

2012-01-25T23:22:00.000-08:00

HOW TO COME INTO POSSESSION OF A CHANGING TABLE:
By Kim and Ben Sharples

1. Establish that you can't afford a brand new one
2. Realize that there is only one hand me down store in your small town
3. Scan craigslist for a couple of months wondering when will the same 5 postings change. (Again- small town)
4. Suggest that you drive to a 'near by town' (2 hrs) to get a $30 table
5. Husband will calculate the drive time and gas balanced by the cost of the table and vetoes the idea.
6. Husband will decide to make his own.
(this is actually a cute and good idea. Man nesting.)
7. Find appropriate plans on the inter-webs.

8. Set aside several hours to visit home depot - there are many decisions to be made (muffin - this was the day I emailed you :) )
9. Do a cost analysis of all types, shapes, colors, thicknesses and sales of wood and make selections.

10. Become totally side tracked for an hour when you discover a power tool sale.
11. Call everyone you know for an opinion on whether or not to by the tools that are on the sale.

12. Pace up and down the isles until you decide against it.

13. Take LARGE pieces of wood home in your small Corolla.
14. Use brand new hand saw to cut pieces down

15. Set up a 'Sanding Zone' in small laundry room by closing bed room down and putting tiedie sheet in door way to kitchen --- because it just too STUPID COLD OUTSIDE to be sanding.
16. Thank Home Depot in your prayers for the sale on power sanders.
17. Have wife sand for a while while husband applies for jobs. (sanding is kinda like ironing :))

18. Screw most of the pieces together
19. Realize that you are missing a couple pieces of wood after reading the directions again.
20. Repeat from step eight.

The Mattress

2012-01-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

Next mile stone completed - mattress + water proof pad + sheets = more prepared.
So - baby stuff is expensive. In order to help out on the financial front - If found a mattress on craigslist for 20 bucks! A lucky find.
After work Ben and I stopped by Hastings while I got confirmation from the seller and the address of where to come check it out. On the way to the car - we spot a lock smith guy in a van with a dead battery. We offer and he accepts our help - I say to him with the price that he give us directions to this mattress address I have. As Ben is fishing out the cables, I read off the address to him and he give me a little bit of a shocked stare... saying... 'you know that's not a great neighborhood...'
*Now. I need to explain that because of my previous work experience I have learned that there are shady people in 'good looking neighborhoods' and good people in 'not good looking neighborhoods'. And Wenatchee's standard of 'not a great neighborhood' looks like Kaysville compared to some of the places in Ogden I have been to. Okay.. moving on...*
Ben and the lock smith attempt to jump his van. For whatever reason they couldn't get it to work and sparks were flying every where. The lock smith guy said thanks but no thanks and that help was on the way .. I'm sure freaked out by our sparking Corolla. He gives me the directions to the mattress house one more time then checks out my prego-state and says "Does he know where you are going?"
Dude... we're not crossing into enemy lines...
We get in the car and mr lock smith asks Ben if he's clear on the directions and if we had a flash light with us.
Okay okay I get it! You are scared you are going to see us on the news that night...
COUPLE FOUND IN DEAD IN CAR IN WORST PART OF TOWN.
whatever.
It's hard not to be on 'high alert' after such a warning or that the street you are looking for is called 'Terminal".... but ... I gotta tell ya. It wasn't bad. Across the street from the elementary school. Mini van in the drive way. It was a little family with young kids - and the Mama ran a day care out of their home. She was trying to switch out the couple of cribs she had for pack and plays to save space. Very sweet family. I could have stayed for tea and crumpets. Ben and I laughed all the way home about the 'wrong side of town' and what a sissy Mr. locksmith was.

The mattress was great, pretty much like new. I still bleached the sugar out of it but saved like 40 bucks and DODGED DEATH on the bad side of town.
good grief.

Annnnnnnnd.... we're back.

2012-01-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

I'm not even going to try and catch up. :) We'll just say that last months have been BUSY. Vacation(s) were awesome but bittersweet.
On to the next.

Now that the dust is settling...
...Baby Awesome is center stage.

This is my favorite discovery over the break. And will be one of the first pictures I take :)

Next is this...

I only have 1/2 a room to work with but should be enough. The other day I had a mini panic attack and laid out everything I have in order to take stock. I'm trying to think in the mind set of only the first 3 to 4 months. There is a good chance we'll be moving again in 3 months ... so to prevent unnecessary packing - I'm only trying to gather up the essentials. BUT WHAT ARE THEY? :) (this is the opportunity to post useful help).

In other most recent news:
Ben starts a new rotation today at the hospital. The ICU. Ooooohhh. That should be interesting.

Yesterday I was released from young womens and now into the relief society secretary. Also should be interesting. I have be doing other things for so long... It's kinda new grounds for me.

Some sad news. We did have to send Reggie to heaven before the christmas break. It was one of the HARDEST things I've ever done and neither of us could talk about it for days with out loosing it. However, I don't doubt my choice. He was big time suffering from heart failure and it was best.
I'm sure I'll have more to say later.

So Tally is learning to be the "Main Dog". We've had to do strange things for her in order to accommodate Reg (ex: Tally won't drink out of Reg's water - i'm guessing because of the floaties... so we would stop up the bath tub and fill it up just a bit for her water. When she was thirsty she'd jump in and out of the bath tub to let us know.) No more of that ridiculousness. Your own bowl.
It's tough being the Main Dog.

Fall Time so far

2011-10-19T16:31:00.001-07:00

I really need to get better about blogging more often - rather then saving up 10-hundred pictures to show off.
Okay - so here we go.

Happy Fall in Wenatchee!
Harvest time in the "Apple Capital of the world" has been awesome. It's going to be really hard to get produce at the store when we're used to apples for 50cent a pound - like Honey Crips! Yah.

Seasonal Decorating has been fun. We have an old house and a pretty creepy large yard on the corner of a busy street. So I don't send the dogs outside unless they are dressed up. :)

I saw this in the Oct. Martha Stewart Living. It's chunks of card board cut like board planks. They look pretty good. I think the big window needs another one.

Pumpkins. Carved with the beehives with my favorite one in the back. The one that plugs in...

This is more like September - but did some pretty serious peach bottling from an amazing u-pick orchard. I already told you about that...

Alright, I can't seem to change the order of my pictures.. So I'll be saving my favorite part for the ...middle.
I've had this idea to be a 'creepy guy' in our yard. We have a lot of over grown bushes, tall and droopy trees, weeds... you get the ideas - we don't really keep it up. But PERFECT for a mysterious back yard.

So I Frankenstein-ed this guy together.
This is the view from the side walk.

He's about 9 feet tall with a back bone made from a pole a scavenged from my weird back yard, 2 black sheets, old shirt, card board and duck tape.

I stuffed the shirt like a scarecrow and constructed cardboard-like football guard pads. He's also got like a card board hood - and all wrapped in a plastic baggy/poncho style. I do live next to the Cascades after all...

This is the view from my kitchen window. My favorite view. BECAUSE I can watch the jr high kids come slowly down the side walk, laughing and clinging to each other... then SPRINT up the road.
Yah, I've seen it several times.
wwwwhhhhaaaaahhhhaaaa

On to lighter news. Apples. Beautiful.

And finally. Ben's traditional butternut squash soup with sausages and blue cheese. Oh man. I know it looks scary enough - but it's awesome.

U-Pick

2011-09-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

We are seeing the first of the harvest in Wenatchee - the Apple Capital of the World. This weekend we visited the 'Taste of Harvest Festival' - which was just a big farmers market. Then went to a U-pick farm. Ben was walking around in dream land :) Not only were there rows and rows of peaches, nectarines, grapes, apples, but chickens, pigs, goats, cows.... and a pumpkin cannon.

We brought home the mother-load. My favorite part (other then fresh-picked fruit at my house) was the beauty of the orchards. It was cool, cloudy and quiet. :)

Final product was bottling. Something we're still working on....
Tips and advice are welcome...

a FAIR-ly good weekend

2011-09-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Yeah! It's fair season! Turns out in Washington State there is no 'state fair' like Salt Lake has a 'state fair'. However the largest fair in the state is in Puyallup (pronounced pew ALL up) - about 2 1/2 hrs west of us, near Tacoma.

Here are just a few of the fun things we saw in the 8 hrs we were there!

Always a favorite - Mutton-Busters! I like this and don't like this. It's fun - but kinda insane that we put kids under 6 yrs old on a running wild animal. (yeah the sheep is not wild.. but has pounding hooves!)
There were even 3 year olds doing it! Tough kids!

This is for my brother Mike :) Chain saw wood carver.

Yeah, you know piglets are cute. Ben wants a piglet..... that's still under discussion.

This was really cool. Kind of a acrobatic act. Really really fun!

Ma! This was the grand champion winner

So this was cool and kind of a bummer. It made me realize that I probably won't win anything at the fair with my knitting until I'm a granny - and have 50 more years under my belt.

Ben studies the entries for next year.

This was the favorite part. This little girl was snuggling with a small cow. We watched her for a while and she looked just like she was saying to her 4-H cow "you can do it! Just do your best!"
I'm sure that I saw a little glimmer of tear from Ben at this little girl.

...he says as we walked away - 'our kid will have a 4-H cow'.

Cute Ben.

I wonder where (in which state) we will go to the fair next year?

Closer to Harvest...

2011-09-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

There has not be one farmers market I have NOT enjoyed. From Salt Lake, Portland, Seattle .... but Wenatchee. Wow. You WON'T BELIEVE the produce we've seen. Local and really good. Cherries have come and gone - peaches are on they way out --- here comes apples and pears!
We picked up out biggest haul this Saturday - 20 bucks got:

- 1 Melon
- 2 Peaches
- 2 Nectarines
- 9 corns
- 9 garlics
- 3 onions
- 2 large tomatoes (different varieties)
- 6 apples
-12 peppers
-2 lemonades
- 1 pork taco (not shown - eaten)

YEAH! Eat that Albertson's produce section......

PROOF

2011-09-01T12:03:00.001-07:00

I tried to add some little edits.

That says Trogdor Arm - http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html

Family - will print off better and mail home :) To put on the piano.

Master Chef

2011-08-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I'm learning that when you are pregnant - food is no longer a treat but a chore. I'm past the tossing-my-cookies stage (I believe). I can eat more or less - with out any negative side effects. However, not very much and I've lost a lot of my appetite. Which makes eating a chore - because I know I need to be consuming x-amount of diary/veg/grain/fruits/water/etc. ACK!? No human can eat that much! (who is not an Olympic athlete.) The chore being what can I eat now that won't stunt the growth of my blueberry?

One thing we have invented is this: Smoothy: oj, cranberry/pomegranate juice, frozen pineapple/mango/blueberry/raspberries, yogurt, cucumbers, kale leaves, and fax seed. WOO! Check. :)

Have you hear of Master Chef?

(Skip to 4:22 for challenge)
Yet another cooking show. Part of the game show, is the 'mystery box challenge'. They are surprised with a set of ingredigents and one hour to make it into something. Other then I want to punch Gordon Ramsey in the face - it's fun show. I decided Ben should do a mystery box challenge!
I skipped ahead to the next episode, gathered the ingredients and said "Ben - you have one hour to create something STUNNING" (what stupid Gordon Ramsey says). (the video above is the 1st episode.)

His ingredients were potatoes, rice, ground beef and pork, carrots and celery, peas, and peppers. (plus some other cooking stuff).
Master Chef!

Ben made amazing meat balls/plus bell peppers stuff with the same yummy meat, Parmesan cheese crisps, peas puree', and excellent potatoes.
On another subject - Been playing board games the last couple days because B and I have colds. This is my agricola high score :) Agricola is ben's new obsession :)

AND! I wonder whose christmas present this is!? :)

America

2011-08-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ben and I have been calling Costco - "America". Because it seems to represent the "American dream" of bigger is better. We rarely went to Costco in SLC - but before leaving Ben acquired us a Costco card and now we feel like adults. When ever we go-- we spend most of our time laughing and making fun at the size of the mustard bottles and the quantity of things. This gave us a good laugh.... prego sized bucket of pickles.

But every once and a while at Costco - you strike gold. It has been no secret that I want a wagon and we have been on the prowl for one for several months. And then... saturday.... we found it!

GLORIOUS. Yes, the main reason I wanted one was so I could pull Reg around in it. He's just not up for walking any more. BUT! The best part is it collapses in the middle to be no bigger then a stroller making it SSOOO portable. It has cup holders, extra pockets on the out and side, handles 100lbs, and is a smooth ride. Reg was right at home. Like taking a senior citizen a walk in the park in his wheel chair.
He wasn't jittery or wiggle around...he prolly thought this is his how nature intended it.
We did of course get him out to enjoy the scenery. This is the Columbia River, very high in August. Less then a mile from our house.

8 Weeks along now, and I've decided this is me and baby's new theme song.

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

Free Time

2011-08-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday. I've been able to get the morning sick- mostly under control. Haven't barfed in like a week! Praise the pepto! Taking morning slow, eating ahead of schedule and cold things seems to do the trick. But still feel that car sick - ...like right now.
So. Have more free time - all of us.

Reg's new favorite past time is to sunbath in the dirt patch in the front of the house. Only for an hour in the morning or so.

Oh, this dog...

Ben has got back into his experimental cooking again. These are pickled carrots.

... Myer lemons soaking in salt

Homemade noodles

... and meatballs! I do hope he makes these again.

This is interesting. He's working on duck jerky. Right now it is hanging in a cheese cloth from the ceiling.

And mine... christmas :) Christmas pressie's always start in July. Also - math. In trying to finish some education - math. I haven't taken math since my junior year in high school. Which means 11 yrs later - I'm at like a 5th grade level. :( Math, pressies, not barfing, and cleaning up after Ben's experiments.

News

2011-07-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm posting it.

WE'RE PREGNANT!

Yeah. I can't believe it either. I ask my 4 readers not to post anything on face book. It's been an annoyance to me. Impersonal posting about a life changing event right after "so and so" posts about taking the laundry down the stairs and someone else saying "I'm lonely today" just to get 700 'you're awesome' impersonal comments.

Okay I'm done. :) But I figure if you watch my blog, we have some sort of relationship and you already know - or... I don't have your personal email. :)

(Just so you know, Ben is fine. Great in fact. Remember the days when he told me he doesn't see babies - just women hugging the air? Those days are far behind us and he's totally awesome.)

So. It's been hard to far. Sick. Sick. Sick. It's really great that I don't have to try and get up and function and get my butt to work... because I'm pretty much KOed until about 2pm. Good news.. I only barfed once today! Hooray!!!

Haven't been doing much but I can only show you Kim's view of Wenatchee so far. (mostly just around the house).

Our first garden produce

Big Dog on Ben

Rhubarb - Wenatchee style.

A portion of the front room.

Pretty view up the Cascades.

My little blue house.

Kitchen. There is a small dining area behind me.

More pictures to come and I'm sure more pregnancy stories. ALL ADVICE WELCOME. I do read your blogs and take your advice (christy - first thing I did was buy a nice pair of running shoes because you said it helped with support, energy and foot swelling.)

Ta Da.

The 4th

2011-07-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

I know that it's behind - but we had a pretty relaxing 4th. Actually didn't do very much. I wanted to have decorations in my new back patio. I realized that I needed those little flag-banner things. My Muffin makes them out of fabric - (muff, i tried to find one ... maybe you can post a link to your blog about your banner things? PLEASE GO SEE THEM). Anyways, I wanted some easy decoration - so I made a flag banner our of scraps of paper around my patio. Kinda fun.:)
One must grill on the 4th. Corn and dogs.

Also fireworks and the dogs being freaked out about it. Fireworks actually don't bother Reggie - but he got stuck in this spot for a couple of hours...just because.

Fireworks over the columbia river. Tally did well until it was time for ben. Then she wigged out. With nothing else to distract her - was left to jump and shiver at the booms out the window.

It was fun to spend time with Ben and 4th of July traditions. But - pretty uneventful.

For Dad and Mom

2011-07-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

10 YEARS AGO, my freshman year at USU I lived at the dorms and did not have a cell phone (and did not for many years). So, I had to purchase a phone card to call home .... OR use the 1-800 number to the church office building !! WHAHAHA! So Dad got the brunt of my '....so dad....what's up'? Or I just need to talk to some one cuz I'm bored and too poor to buy a phone card.
10 yrs later I'm calling from my cell phone from WA - still to Dad at work :)

Dad asked how my dogs are (which is very nice of him because he isn't very fond of them - but knows they are my babies)... Reg had been outside for the last hour - not in the sun - just outside at 9am in the morning. And he was totally pouting about it. Over reacting.
'...it's sssssooooo hoootttt'

He came in and crashed right there on the kitchen floor.

Look Ma -
We now have to be Seattle Mariners fans...

http://mlb.jibjab.com/view/71qVt3v8bop3h6eL

Seattle

2011-07-03T19:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Ben and I took a day trip to Seattle. A 2 hour drive over the Cascade Mountain Range. 2 hours is just on the edge of 'too far for a day trip' but still do able. Since we know we could do more then one trip we didn't try and over do it and just visited a few things.
Pikes Place Public market. Actually a really cool place and go the best peaches I have had in long time - called "OMG" peaches :) I would recommend going to Pikes Place just one - because it's too crowded to be used as a 'market' and is more of a tourist attraction. But still neat.
A couple of blocks away is the Seattle Aquarium. Ben really likes aquarium and this one has a really cool touch pool that allows you to snuggle up with star fish and other shore creatures. There was more then one time I caught ben on his knees looking into a tank and explaining to a group of kids what they were looking at. Cute huh.
Mom! Saw 2 cruise ships and got more excited about our family cruise in 5 months!! I really like the water. Probably because I grew up in the desert.
Have you seen Northern exposure? You know....

Did you know that it was filmed in Roslyn Washington - like 45 minutes from our house? We've been watching it a lot lately - so it was cool to see some of those classic sites.
On the way home also is Snoqualmie Falls. :) Very cool and right off the freeway.

Last but not least - traditionally we visit a man vs food restaurant site. This time was Red Mill Burgers. REALLY REALLY AWESOME. Expensive. But awesome.
See video below :)

Before/After

2011-07-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

What is your vote.
A....
Or B...
Employers like B. So that's what we're going with. I like to watch when he trims down his beard. Sounds like he's shaving through hedges with an over worked weed whacker.

My back yard

2011-07-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Okay sorta. Like 15 minutes away.

Wenatchee

2011-06-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

My usual approach to blogging revolves almost entirely around pictures (I realize). However, there isn't enough pictures to properly portray the experience of moving from Utah to Washington. A 2 day haul with an 18 foot trailer and our little corolla.
The best I could do (in pictures) would be my 2 dogs drugged with puppy sleeping pills for the 2 day haul.

We came a week before B starts his job at the hospital to unpack, see the town, sleep in, etc. My house is almost totally put together, B is right now repairing the couch, and I'm working on a pretzel recipe.

Today we visited Lake Wenatchee (but not for a long time ... it was a surprising 60 degrees!) I brought Miss Tally along and my favorite part was her learning about what waves are. Cautiously creeping to the edge for a sniff and a drink, lets her guard down, and the next big wave sloshes over her head. Now she's scared of waves. :)

I look forward to posting more often so I don't have to play catch up. :)

Favorite parts of this week

2011-06-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

Today is Thursday. Today I'm homeless. B and I spent all day yesterday and today packing up the trailer that would take us to Wenatchee and cleaning the West Vally duplex. I think we did a stinking good job!
But it's trippy to sit here and think about the adventure I'm about to embark. B and I have been saying that the last couple of days we have been experiencing and 'event'. Living an 'event'.
Now everything I own is stuffed (STUFFED) inside this 18 foot trailer.

For the last week B and I have also been unemployed! Which was needed for the packing and preparing. I don't feel like we have had more then and hour and a 1/2 to relax. But have done some pretty fun things too. One in particular was epic.
You know the game settlers of catan? We have been playing with my Dad at least once a month for about 5 years. Last sunday - fathers day- Dad won his first game!! Not because he wasn't able to before - but Ben is very hard to beat! It was perfect! (We DID NOT let him win either).

Another favorite part was getting new furniture. I know that Ikea isn't the HIGHEST brand every - but it's about our price range and I think it's pretty good stuff. We got a computer table, new kitchen table, lamp, front room rug, book shelf and egg timer :) We also had dinner at the Ikea resturant - DO NOT DO THAT. Awful. Really awful.

Moving is hard on dogs. Tally has been wigging out the whole time. Not happy that we kept moving and hiding her stuff. Reg however, just rolled with the punches. Ben rewarded him for his good behavior. Frozen steak! He looks pleased. Another board game night with friends - the Andrus's - was Agricola on Bills Bday. Because I'm ridiculous, I brought him some crazy balloons. Thanks to Andrus's for a fun friend night! And thanks to Jay for the extra goodies and additions to the game. :) We'll miss you!

Finally this is my new favorite mormon message :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l70e1TfN34w&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP4E784EC0770935C0

... As I'm experiencing epic change to look to what matters most.

One week and counting

2011-06-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

T-MINUS. ONE WEEK AND COUNTING.

That is so wild.

So wild.

I now am unemployed - no longer working at Big Brothers Big Sister of Utah. It was crazy to walk out of there, saying good byes, packing up stuff... crazy. Yesterday I went to dinner with my parents+Ben+Mike and I though to myself "I can eat the rest for lunch at work tomorrow....OH WAIT!!!"

So packing and cleaning...

But been doing other fun things to including:

- Tally's play date with cousin Lucy (tally doesn't like it when we do this. '...lucy's on my chair...'

This is my craft creation of the week. Ben's cousin's wife's (*phew*) baby shower is tonight. Diaper cake. :) Easy - if you want to make and copy it - email me. It's easy.

The other big news - we are down a car. This is our 1998 camry with 307,000 miles on it. WHOA. And I have been concerned about how we were going to get it up to Wenatchee .. like 700 miles away. Last friday I was driving home, thinking to my self - HOW DO I GET THIS CAR TO WENATCHEE. And it died! Right then and there on the free way! It's like the car heard me and said - 'i have an idea...'. Uhhh - very good. So - it doesn't look like it's going to make it and might be time for it to go away. I'm a little nervous about just having one car.... but we'll probably be okay.

As a side note also - Ben when fishing and brought home a bunch of crawdads.

....

I don't like crawdads. Bugs. Blah.

2 Weeks on the road

2011-06-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Home again - jiggity jog.
I can't believe we pulled off 2 weeks on the road! The trip totaled SLC to Wenatchee to Portland, down the oregon coast, through redwood national forest, down the middle of ca to stockton CA, back over to San Fran, up through San Rafael to Reno to SLC. *phew* Did you follow me?
I've lost track of which days we did what and so you'll just get the hall of fame version.

Ready? (See Golden Gate?)

(One of my least favorite things about blogspot is it uploads your pictures backwards. So looks like we're going this review in reverse)...

Jelly Belly Factory, Fairfield CA
So very cool. We went on several 'tours' on the trip and Jelly Belly's rocked. Just like you would imagine a willy wonka factory tour would be. Machines wave, bright colored walls, huge plastic candy pieces hanging from the ceiling, free samples. Great!

Angel's Camp CA - World Mark Resorts.
This is good. The night before we got to stay at the time share our air mattress went flat. Lucked out. We spent 2 nights at the time share with hot tubs, microwaves and flat screens. Spoiled, I know. One of the days - we set out on a mission to find this specific board game - Agricola. Fun game - and this picture is the one time I won. I WON. I never win - and I ran around the room and captured the winning moment. :) Wha ha. (Muffins - it's the new catan... oh yeah).

2 full days were spent driving down the Oregon and California coast. So beautiful. My favorite was the ocean and I made ben pull over when ever we could. Probably because I grew up in the desert - but that much water is so amazing! I made it a rule to have a stick before getting to the beach - so i could poke stuff, draw lines, and tell the ocean where wave boundaries were. Yeah, i'm 12.
Every beach we went to - there was NO ONE there. Probably because it was kinda chilly - but it was awesome.

Rocky beaches are the best. Look prettier and have more things to explore.
This is ben's version of the 'stick'. Playing around with big sea weeds.

BRRR! But yeah! 2.5 seconds after I took this - because I wasn't watching, the next wave came in a soaked me to my knees. But it's okay.

This WHALE JAW BONE was displayed next to a camp site of ours. I just couldn't get over it! This could be a flipper... okay that's understandable... but NOT A JAW BONE!! Crazy! Part of my home again home work assignment is to find a national geographic on whales.

Almost the north west corner of the Oregon coast is the Tillamook cheese factory. Well, we had to go there... but sadly it wasn't really great. It was memorial day and it was PACKED and the factory wasn't running and 70% of it was gift shop. But, did have good ice cream.

Just after the Tillamook factory minor disappointment... we found a much smaller local cheese place with cafe and petting zoo out back ( I know that sounds like a strange combo, but it worked). We got some fabulous candies and soft cheese and I made a friend...
This was (i think) the best camp site we had. Near Tillamook and we just stumbled on it. We had to hike up the hill and forage our own fire wood ("squaw no get 'em' firewood"), with a nice stream near by, just beautiful!

I spend the whole night doing puzzles and snuggling with nutella :) :)

Now we are home. And ready to pack!3 weeks to Washington!

A day in Portland...

2011-05-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Another play day - this one in Portland. I like Portland - people are super friendly, hippy, colored, edgey and earthy. Today was a big day and we did a lot of stuff!
Are you familiar with man vs food? He highlights a doughnut shop called VooDoo Doughnuts. Really a unique place with very different kinds of doughnuts.

We got a dozen which included bubblegum, pudding filled, fruit loop, coco cake and nuts, sprinkles, cinnamon sugar with caramel glaze, coco puff cereal, and white cake with mini m&ms! GOODNESS. The bubble gum was actually one of the best. And the environment of the store was so fun and awesome to see were Man vs food was (again!) OH yeah.

Next we went to Saturday farmers market at the University of Portland. I love farmers markets and this one was so great! I love the smells, the freshness, and the visual beauty.

Isn't it beautiful!! We bought a little box of strawberries, a small cup of goat cheese with pesto (wow!) and mint lemonade. (I don't really like lemonade - but there is something about fresh cold lemonade out of a straw at the market..... love love love it.

There was lots too see at Washington Park. Though we didn't know what... first we pulled into a big historic mansion.
We spent a good amount of time at the Washington Park Arboretum. Ben was excited about the trees and could tell me about all the different kinds. And it was really nice to get out and hike through the trees after VooDoo.

Next was the Yarn Garden! In our Portland guide I found an article about a shop that was described as 'the mother ship' of yarn shops. WHOA. We are going there. And. It. Was. 4 rooms of yarns, patterns and gear. I got some yummy sock yarn.

Finally - we went to a little dive called Pine State. Highlighted by Guy on Drive Inns, Diners, and Dives. I got the McIsely. Fried chicken, pickles, whole grain mustard, and HONEY on a yummy biscut. The honey was the craziest part. It was dripping in honey - a honey swimming pool - and i was concerned how much there was. It WAS SO AMAZING! Really - one of the best dinners i have had.
We also did a load of laundry, watched Iron Chef America, and got locked out of our apartment 4 times (because our card key stopped working - blah) and will be to bed early.

What we did today...

2011-05-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog.
Big things going on here. I've had trouble to find spare time to blog. But! Right this minute I'm sitting with Ben in Portland Oregon at The Viking Motel. A comfortable little place for $50.
I'd like to show off just what we did today... though the pictures won't be in order.

Last night, we stayed at Mary Hill camp ground. Different from Utah camp sites with manicured lawns and showers and such. But we found a nice corner spot I nick-named the brier patch. Wasn't too crowed either.

Camping breakfast is the best. This morning was sausage and pancakes. (look mom! using your plates!)

The entire day was spent along the Columbia river gorge. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. Green and cool weather - and rained . A lot - off and on.
Me and Ben looking down on the gorge.

I am proud of my packing. Every morning I repack the lunch box.... in order to save money and I'd say it's working!
Beautiful green. We wanted to walk down a trail head but got a little lost - and ended up by the train tracks. I was thinking as we walked along.... what kind of crazy state makes a trail head along railroad tracks??... we just made a wrong turn.

Beautiful falls. There were several falls to visit along the way. Awesome!

I like the mossy walls
Holy crap. Look at this slug. HUGE. I think it's a banana slug. Longer then my pointer finger.
Brrrrr.
View of the gorge.

Having a good time! Another week to go!
Oh! And did I tell you? That we found a place to stay in Wenatchee. A cute little blue house, enclosed fence, washer and dryer, 2 bed rooms, a peach and plum tree, garage, on a dead end corner,... I. Love. it.

Chickens like Yogurt.

2011-04-10T21:22:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I'm totally serious.
We learned this week that occasionally some plain yogurt does a chicken good. And they totally loved it. I loved their little yogurt dipped beaks. :)

This particular Red likes attention. I know that if I told you that chickens have personality - you won't believe me. But I'm telling ya - this red has to be the center of every picture and always poses the best...In other news, Ben leaves for his 3rd week at the Super 8 in logan tomorrow morning. T-minus 4 weeks to Graduation!!! Holy moly I can't believe it's already here. So, I'm spending a lot of home time cleaning, packing, sewing, knitting, and cuddling with Reg. He is actually good at just snuggling when you need a good snuggle. I have attached a car air fresher on his collar .... that really helps.

The weekends are filled with games (got the new Donkey Kong Country), shopping for 'I'm about to be a for-real pharmacist' attire, just hanging at home.
This particular weekend Ben got onto a cooking kick. He made homemade Lasagna with home made meat sauce, Indian Pudding, this Bavarian Cream desert...

...and Chicken stock. Homemade, boiled chicken chunks, veggies, etc, and drained for the juices. THEN frozen into cubes for easy use. Yeah - that's chicken stock serving size!

The coolness of Ben also got me these AWESOME flowers - so I can 'remember he loves me through the week'. He's so great! Aren't they beautiful?!

Finally, I have come to the realization that my heart beats to Reggae.
So - here's the Reggae song of the week. Go ahead and let it play as you check your facebook page :)

Update

2011-03-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

Well. I was asked the other day why I don't blog any more. First off - WOW. Someone noticed?! :) Second - My lap top died and I think it would be near impossible to blog from an ipod.
However, I do feel that an update is in order.
I feel as though we are standing on the edge of an abyss. A deep yawning chasm that has been waiting down the line for several years. We have anticipated it's arrival and now that we are WEEKS from graduation the tension is making me a little crazy.
Mr. Sharples graduates from the University of Utah with his PharmD the first friday in May. At which point we may either go to a residency or look for a job.
A few weeks ago we went to interview at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee Washington. It was several hours long and Ben says he walked away feeling pretty good about it.

(NOT A POSED picture of Ben getting ready for his interview. Really, he always looks that professional. )

Wenatchee is cool. Though, it's difficult to judge a city's value in the dead of winter. One of my favorite parts is that the city is nestled between 2 middle mountains with the big Columbia river running through it.

We should hear if we are going to Wenatchee Wednesday March 23rd. Cross your fingers and toes.

2 dogs are good.
I know I told you that we taught Reg to shake and I was totally convinced that he was the brains while Tally had the looks. Much to my surprise little Tally has surpassed big Reg in her abilities to learn new tricks. Reg seems to be stuck on 'the shake'. But it's turned in a pathetic looking act of attention. Any time you might have a treat or goodie for him - he raises his little paw high in the air ... like LOOK!!! I'M DOING !! PLEASE NOTICE ME!!!
Watch Reg. ...

I did worry a little --- but the chickens made it through the winter with flying colors. We had to occasionally wrap the coop in a tarp or leave the heat lamp on over night... but for the most part they were just fine. Laying one egg every 25 hours per chicken.

Now that the grass is up they are crazy about getting out for some vegetation.

Good chicken.

And me? oh me. Other then going just a little crazy with anitcipation for what lies ahead.... just peachy. Mostly. I'm trying to pack up and make sense of our things. When through some massive changes at work - from good desk area I've been in with co worker/roommates I've been with for 4 yrs... now in a different room. That's hard!

But! A really cool thing happened today. Middle of the summer last year, I listened to an NPR story spot on Women for Women International.
Kinda hard to explain - so....

... okay. I'm going wait for a minute while you go get a tissue. :)
That same night I signed up to be a sponsor. It's like $30 a month. No biggie. The first couple of months I received some cool stuff about where my sponsor sister is from. Her name is Vestine, she is 24 and is from Rwanda. They sent materials about what is going on in Rwanda, the kinds of classes Vestine would be taking. They also said that in a few months I would receive word on how my sister was doing and her progress. That was in August. Several times a month I got emails about fundraisers and donation requests - but nothing about Vestine. Now.... I work in the non profit field. I know the need for a strong development department - and with out that program does not exists. However, I started to loose hope about hearing about my 'sister' in Rwanda and loosing that -even little bit of personal connection and 'sisterhood' - would be sad because it was what attracted me to the organization in the first place.
Then.
Today in the mail I get this.

On the left is Vestine in Rwandan (or whatever language that is --- they did tell me she can write). On the right translates - "Dear Sharples Kim. My dear sponsor, I write greeting you. I just want to hear how you are doing. I thank you for accepting to be my sponsor. Thank you."

Wow. Renewed.
Check out how to be a sponsor for Women For Women International HERE.

Dirty Job

2011-01-20T19:01:00.001-08:00

Dear Mike Rowe and the Dirty Jobs Crew;
I love your show. I have every episode queued up in my netflicks. Not only is it funny and informative - I appreciate your efforts to praise the concept of hard labor and dedication to get the job done....even when it's dirty.
At the end of every show you ask us for dirty job ideas. This last weekend I came up with one.
A 70 lb bulldog with the stomach flu.... and all that that implies.
Regards,
~KimIsn't that a sad picture?!
Good news is that it only lasted 3 days and we are now in the free and clear.
Today we went to Kim's favorite park -Sunnyside- near the U of U. I like it because no one is ever there and I can let Reggie be the leader and follow him around. He prefers to stay on the side walk.

... with the occasional side trip.

Tally just runs every which way - all with in 15 feet of me. :)

In other news - Ben and I ventured over to try a new doughnut place in town. BEYOND GLAZE. Ben got this maple bacon one! It was so - so. But my blue berry torte was pretty awesome. I would recommend them :)

Finally, I got such a kick out of tally's sweater project (and was not pleased with reggie's previous sweater) - I whipped up this thing for Reg. He's more a challenge to knit - because of his weird shape.
Horizontal stripes are cute but not slimming.
Reggie, Can you shake?

Just a fun day off

2011-01-17T19:50:00.000-08:00

# 12 of "To Do" is to hit up 15 on the "Where locals eat" list.
I was surprised when Bruges didn't make the list. It's a VERY small place - but was people were lined up out the door!
We spotted this place while watching Man Vs Food - Salt Lake City version. (this is the second time we've followed Adam to his recommended food destination - first one at Dinic's in Philly)

Watch the episode here -( jump to 5:50). Yes, this show is all about 'pig out' comfort food spots... which is okay to have in moderation. :) right? There are only like 2 things to have one the menu - but they are really really good 2 things.
Namely...

THE MACHINE GUN SANDWICHDon't worry we split it. But it was so so good! Yummy comfort food and always fun to try new places.
Go check them out. BRUGES.

This week is a 20 miler week - 3 times a week. Today I did the mileage at the parents. Work off the guilt of a 'machine gun.' :)

Yesterday I finished another craft project! Isn't it so fun to FINISH projects??!! Tally is still kinda bald and it's still kinda cold and she's kinda ruined her only sweater.
So I made her this new one!
The coolest part is that I totally just made it up. No pattern! And it's all one piece done on circular needles. Cute huh.

Check off #15

2011-01-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

As previously mentioned - there is a big "To Do List" this 2011. And I'm knocking them out one by one! This week with the help of the Andrus's--- I was able to check off number #15 - "Play games with the Andrus's :)"

Amber and Bill - Ben playing Dominion. Fun Game!

To Do #15 - done and done

Another fun accomplishment has been these lame-o curtins I made this weekend. I don't sew very well and need some more practice. So, I chopped up some old scraps, tied them together, and hung them up above the windows. Not great - but not bad.

Another thing on my "To Do List" (#5 to be exact) Is to be able to ride the Salt Lake Century with my Dad in May. I've been riding the stationary bike at the gym 3 times a week and uping the mileage by 5 every week. Next week is a '20 miler week'. Wish me luck.

Finally look at what Reggie learned!

To Dos:

2011-01-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

My BFF once gave a good description about resolutions and how they sound so 'final'. No wiggle room.
2011 is going to bring some big crazy fun stressful changes to our lives. I also have a lot of friends who are doing that '30 things to do before 30'. All of these influences combined have resulted in a 'list' sorts for this next yr. Things that I would like to do before we leave Utah, things I haven't done before and things that would provide a well balanced life style.
One of them (listed as #12) is to try 15 of the 100 Utah Best Local Restaurants

So! The other day we went over to Royal India. One of the first (and best) experiences I've had with Indian food!
I got the mango chicken and garlic nann! Fabulous.
Ben LOVES curry - and got the curry lamb. ... and... I'm not sold on that.

Yup. It was good. I would recommend it.
Off to work on "To Do #5".

Back up your hard drive

2011-01-02T15:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays every one.
The last few weeks have been up and down - but mostly up. One down thing that happened was the death - or stroke - of my lap top. Sadly containing all my pictures. We do have Ben's lap top -- so we are still able to connect with the outside world.... but the loss of 3 yrs of pictures is painful. I try not to think about it and am thankful for what I have posted to the blog! Memories not lost - but stored in the web forever.
Friends, back up your hard drives.

2011 brings many good things for the Sharples family - including graduation! 4 1/2 months and counting ! Ben has put in his applications for some residencies and now we just have our fingers crossed.

In other news, Reg is still alive. We believe he had a seizure last week which was very sad and we have kept a close eye on him. I have wanted to make him a sweater forever - so I thought I better get on it before he totally kicks the bucket.

Whatcha think?

A snow day

2010-11-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

It's been snowing non stop all day. I kinda like it.
Thankfully I have a good man who will shovel the drive way and hang up the lights.

It's snowy!
B and me felt all grown up when we got our first snow shovel. Funny how we felt these trips to Home Depot for a hose/rake/drill/shovel/etc were milestones.

In the mean time, Tally and I snuggle in to our newly decorated tree. It's a black friday walmart tree we got like 3 years ago and is a good little tree. We've also figured out how to fill it up which makes it super shiny.

Today I also worked on my 'office christmas presents' - Banana Bread in a Can. I'll wrap it cute cute ribbon or something. It actually turned out really well!

Did I tell ya that the chicken strike is off? We tried EVERYTHING to please them - and I think what broke the strike was the agreement for a later curfew. Ben adjusted their light to turn off at 10p instead of 8p. Now we get 3 to 4 eggs a day! So great! My favorite part of that is 4 eggs a day from 4 chickens MEANS that little Winny - who we raised from a chick and survived 2 brutal attacks -- is all grown up, well adjusted, and reaching her full potential. (cuz one chicken can't make 2 eggs a day). ... I just wish I knew which one was hers!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-16T20:44:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures from halloween...

Tally's just got her little red dress :)

And then - there was super Reg. I made this little red super hero costume. Or a mexican wrestler?
He has the perfect face for a mask - with a little wrinkle above his nose to hold it in place. What a good sport.
Also - need to show off this awesome pumpkin carving job Ben did. He did this just before we left for the rally. Totally his own design!!
This is J. Stewart btw.

Between 2nd and Walnut street

2010-11-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

Friday October 29th - Ben and I had a couple hours to kill Philadelphia.

The weather is luke warm, the leaves are pretty, and the streets are crowded. We had a few hours to spare before we were to meet up with Katey (our Philly host). So we found a park bench and decided to observe the natives. However boring this sounds, I think we laughed and giggled the whole time.

First was the "Party Ride". ...

The party bus was loads of fun. a gaggle of girls with sleeveless dresses in late October is amusing -not to mention they tuxedo-ed counter parts all had a "beverage" of their own.

After the party bus moved on, the creatures of the night appeared. Mind you this is Halloween weekend....

The Lizard man came back down the road about 15 minutes later and I asked him if I could take his picture. He says "wait wait..." and puts on his mask and claws and then starts hissing towards me.
....Dude, it's a picture. Not an audition.

Next was M. J. Who was all put out to pose. You dough head - don't come out dress like you want attention and then be mad when you get attention. This other kid (who actually looks like throw-back M.J.) is free loading on my photo opp.

This guy was hilarious. He originally came chasing Katey from across the street asking if she wanted a drink. Kinda freaked her out but he was a good sport.
"What? I dress like this every day?".. he says...

"People watching" is a past time I learned from my Dad. I remember hangin' at the ZCMI food court and Dad commenting on how people have different kinds of walks.
The people of down town Philadelphia are fun to watch. :)

Rally to Restore Sanity

2010-11-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

Well. If you didn't know Ben and I went to the Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington DC --- we don't talk enough.

This trip will have to come in a couple of different posts. But should start with the crowning jewel of the trip. About 2 months ago, it was announced that The Daily Show and the Colbert Report was doing a rally for the 'moderates' of the country. Only Ben can really tell you how much I flipped out over this - and really how much I wanted to go. 1) for fun 2) to be a part of this historic event (i knew it would be huge) 3) I really do consider myself a moderate and struggle with the extreme points of view and competitiveness that our 2 party system can often be made up of.

I'm going to skip right to the rally - 2 days into our trip.
We were staying in Philadelphia with a friend... 2 1/2 hours from Washington DC. We were up at 5am and making the 2 hour drive through the corner of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and parking in Maryland metro station for another 1/2 hour ride into Washington DC. Thankfully - we had been to DC last April and new our way around the Mall well.

2 1/2 hours early - we followed an already enormous crowd to the capitol. Picking up towels, buttons, stickers, signs along the way -
(I'm putting up some videos. Not the most flattering of me or award winning - but you'll get the idea).

We hustled to the mall and actually had the chance to stand/sit up pretty close near the stage! But - Ben had the smarts to sacrifice about 100 feet back to be positioned in front of the first screen/speaker. Which was the best idea. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to see anything.
For the next couple of hours Ben held our spot (studying) while I went on a picture rampage.

People were pretty eager to get their pictures taken.
The magnitude of people was what was amazing. AMAZING. 215,000 people. Every cool, calm and collected. Of course there were signs out to legalize pot - and if you watch any of the videos you'll see beach balls bouncing through the crowd - they all say legalize pot. But whatever.
215,000 people.

When it was time to start - we were crammed in there pretty darn tight. That's when I reminded Ben he was a genius for putting us in front of the screen.

Bottom line. Jon Stewart is awesome. The rally was fun, moving, and refreshing.
If you soak up anything from this blog post - please let it be Jon's explanation for the rally.

I can't get the video to come up here.... so please - WATCH - here.

Grilled Cheese Project

2010-10-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

A favorite past time of mine and Ben are food 'projects'. One of our first was with apples - picking up one of every kind of apple, slicing them up, and comparing them side by side. This is when I learned that I just love pink ladys! and other super crisps. Other projects have included olives, chocolates, and root beers!
Over the last few months we have been collecting cheeses from the cheese bar at Harmons. Today Ben had the GENIUS idea to have a grilled cheese sandwich project. WWHHAHAHA!
We had a little baguette hanging around - which was perfect for little bite size sliders.

In the running was Extra Aged cheddar - Smoky Gouda - Butterkace - medium cheddar - and blue cheese (with granny smith apple slices).

Throw in some Castelvetrano Olives .... you got a pretty DANG good sunday lunch.

My vote is for smoky gouda - Ben's is for the age cheddar. Head on over to the store and get to know your cheese bar! Pick up a baguette or ciabatta loaf for an airy crunch.

The strike continues..

2010-10-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Alright.... We are still working to please our hens. They have been on strike for several weeks and cut off all egg production in the mean time. And because they are girls - they are offended that we don't know what they are feeling and can guess their needs. Sheesh.

The current theory is that they are molting. Apparently something chickens to once a year - molt out their feathers and grow new ones. Generally happening with the onset of colder weather.

During this time - about 2 months - we shouldn't be expecting any eggs. While we wait for christmas eggs - Ben has installed a light in the roosting box for light at heat and hopefully part encouraging egg production. (yes - we've equipped the coop with electricity by running an extension cord across the yard).
Okay chicks. We'll provide the most stylin' and up to date coop available - making any other hens in the neighborhood envy the Sharples Flock...
... and you'll give us some of these...
And these.... (every notice that Reg is always in food pictures - whether or not I'm trying to crop him in?)

DO WE HAVE A DEAL?

Oct. Update

2010-10-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

Well. The good news is we got 5 eggs during the first couple of days we had our new hens. Bad news. No more since then!! This mystery is driving Ben and me nuts. Do they need more sun light (put in a lamp?) Do they need more calcium? (put in a supplement) Do they need a special box? (put in a nesting box) WHAT IS THE DEAL?! I figure they are on strike and will be until I can figure out what their demands are. Cable? Heated roost? Chinese take out? JUST TELL ME!

In other news it's that time of the year again. Christmas knits. Which kills me because I would really like to show it off... but all four people that look at this -- I'm making things for. So that's silly. I'm going to make an effort to have a big post christmas knit post. Show off the goods. Put your requests in now! 2 down and 8 to go.

A Flock

2010-10-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Chickens have turned out more challenging then I originally thought. And not the chickens themselves - but everything else that wants to eat them for dinner.
As you know, in April of this year we got 2 little black chicks and raised them up. However last month "something" dug under neath the coop that Ben build and snatched one of them up for supper. Pretty sad.
I managed to get us a couple more - totaling 3 blackie chickens. Not 3 weeks later 'something' came back around for a chicken nugget at the Sharples... found that we'd make it hard to dig under the coop --- so 'something' PULLED the wire right off the side of the cage!!!
...and picked off the 2 new ones. More sad. Interesting though that the same original hen has made it through both attacks.
And with some 'fighting skills'. So much so that we are concerned that she might be a ROOSTER!
Ack! That would not be good.
Ben read up on some strange behavior tests and tried them out in the back yard. We couldn't get a definitive answer but Tally has developed an opinion of her own.

Poor Tally.

However. Reggie doesn't think that "It's" that tough.

Don't worry. Winny survived but certainly was put in her place.

Because one chicken is a sad chicken (and just in case Winny is a rooster) we found 3 more in the ksl.com want adds.

The guy we got them from says that they are already laying!!! Ooooh!!! I made them a little box/bed with some hamster bedding in it. Ben thinks that's not necessary -- but I've tried to explain to him 'women need a 'spot' to do their thing'.
Needless to say that we'll be up bright and early to check for eggs.
:)

Jib Jab part 2

2010-10-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here's another one Ma. :) HERE.
(you are welcome to the fun - even if you are not my Mom).

Jib Jab :)

2010-10-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

Jib Jab strikes again. Video for Mom. :) Click HERE For the Child Family version.

I need to take some pictures for these videos. These aren't the best fits...

Please can i have this?

2010-09-30T09:14:00.001-07:00

Mom.
This is what I want for christmas. :)

Where to rest your rump.

2010-09-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

Ben and I have been sick the last couple of weeks --- I have lost control of the house. So - all .... ALL of today was dedicated to cleaning the house. Not straightening - cleaning. And I didn't even get to the 2nd bedroom and basement!
**Let me just side track here and shout out in wonderment to my mother - how did you clean our HUGE house in a day? I BARELY finished the kitchen, front room, laundry, bathroom and one bedroom. You had all that times 5.

Anyways. One of my projects was to clean a rug. Two days ago - Ben and I were gone longer then usual during the day and Mr. Reg had an 'accident' on the rug.
To get to it, I had to unload 5 shelves of a book shelf and move it off the rug, spray it down with a hose twice, scrub with a soapy brush, spray down again - hang dry (hang damp more like) , shove it in the washer, hang dry and spray with febreeze, bring inside and sprinkle with baking soda, vacuum it up..... and I go to put the vacuum away and look whose fat butt is sitting on the rug...

2 minutes later I get the towels from the dryer and leave them on the front room floor for 30 seconds to come back to......
WHAT IS WITH YOU?!!?!

Invaders

2010-09-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

Ben and I are united in the effort to keep spiders out of our home. We take the defense against these invaders very seriously. Much like Robert Neville in I am Legend - (it is that intense and that scary..)

.. and like the clip.... yesterday - one got in. (I'm sure there is more then one in the house - but this one is huge). Ben and I were just hanging out, watching 30Rock... and I spotted it. The kind of big that you can see every leg from across the room.

Smaller then silver dollar - bigger then a quarter size.
I was not okay. Ben - trying to stay cool and calm just says "I'll get it with a paper towel" (which is what he usually does with the little ones). In the mean time I rant on about how THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE and I CAN NOT LIVE IN THESE CONDITIONS WITH SUCH LOW SECURITY and laundry list of things I would do the following morning to insure we would not have another breach.
Ben walks across the room with paper towel hand.... and freezes 4 feet shy of the beast. Then turns to me and says "That's a really big one. I'm kinda freaking out."

A plan was quickly put together - removing all things it could run under and escape from us. Ben questions --as we pull away pillows and blankets in a 10 foot radius... 'why do we have such primal fears of these things!?!'

Armed with squirt bottle of bleach set to stun and a tall glass vase to trap it (and be able to see that we've trapped).... we review the battle plan before moving in -- I was to shoot it with the chemical, causing it to run right and corral it towards it's glass prison. Bleach proves to be a paralyzing agent lending itself easy to capture .... this time.

As I have always done - I slide a book/paper/magazine - and in this case a book AND chunk of cereal box until the vase and carry the prisoner outside to the front porch.... where it will sit as a reminder to other invaders what happens upon entry.

I've done this trap-them-under-a-cup/vase/mason jar-then carry-them-out-side-to-burn-up method all my life. Especially in my teenage years - at any one point in time during the summer there would be a couple of mason jars on the back porch with shriveled insects in them. I'm sure I'll be questioned about this when I get to the judgment bar -- why I torched heavenly fathers creatures.

Once detained and secured - investigation on what type of creature follows for the next 1/2 hour UNTIL Ben runs across you tube videos of spider bites. WHOOOAA!! Time for bed.
Ben gets up and walks towards our bedroom. I ask him, as he crosses the lanolin floor in his bare feet.... 'are we going to be okay? ' He replies ' of course we are.... '

... but then steps on a rubber band - which scares him so bad he nearly busts through the roof and does a mad sprint to the bed.
I really laughed for the next 15 minutes.

True story.

Sneek Peek

2010-09-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Ben is working at a local grocery store. I went to visit him and snapped a picture of him in his 'element'. Isn't he cute?
We have rotations to finish through May 2011 and his last 6 weeks will be in Logan! Coolness. After that we're (hopefully and probably) off to do a residency for year - most likely out of state.

In other news , I am a proud new Mommy to a ksl found washer and dryer.
I've been going to coin and parents for nearly 10 yrs! I totally deserve it :) They certainly aren't new. During the spin cycle - I need to sit on it to keep it from walking away.
Here is the question of the day. ...
Why are laundry rooms the scariest room in the house? I mean... what the heck is this stuff???

A roof over your head.

2010-08-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Chickens are totally moved in. Have been for a couple of weeks and they are really doing great. They've learned to 'roost' on their own and we are looking forward to eggs in a couple of weeks.

Ben comes home from work and checks on them every day. Winny is much more okay with being held and loved then Bentio - she's too in dependent.

Get out of there Reg. This is just a picture I wanted to show - this was the last thing we needed to do - the roof. The whole coop is 9 ' by 4' (ish) and ben wanted one solid piece. How are we going to get that home? Then, we were really smart and tied it to the roof with the doors shut so we had to climb through the windows. :)
As a side note - if you haven't seen the new mormon messages - you must see these. Very well done!

BLUE RIBBION WINNER!

2010-08-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Ben would tease that he's putting his bread in the fair but not tell you how he did. Rude huh. He won BLUE RIBBON for his french bread - plus some special cooking award. (see the red oven mitt?) And Red ribbons (2nd place) for his White bread and rye bread.

Anyone want to put in an order? :)

Judgement Day!!!

2010-08-10T15:54:00.001-07:00

Hey, its Ben here. I know you aren't used to hearing from the other half of A Copacetic Life, but here I am. To what do we owe this appearance? you ask... Well, its due to the intersection of a couple of my favorite things, food and the fair.

Last year, some of you may recall, I entered a white bread in the state fair and won a second place ribbon (I still carry it around on my backpack). This year I have decided I can do better than that, but I have a major pharmacy assignment due a week after the state fair starts so I doubt I'll be able to do much then. Substitute the County Fair!!!

This morning I entered 3 breads I baked yesterday into the county fair. They are being judged right now. In one short day I will find out how I compare to other bakers in the county. The suspense is killing me.

This is my rye bread, the top is my french bread and pictured below is my (failed) White loaf bread. Wish me luck.

Guatemala Man

2010-07-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

My little bro is on a mission in Guatemala and sent home this pretty scarf for me. He's been working hard down there and trying to communicate to us what it is like. Though nothing speaks like his pictures! He's already been through a lot including humid summer, volcano, earth quakes, and hurricanes! Tough little dude....
This is where he is right now - back country near the coast. He talks about having to hike up the mountain to get to an appointment.
BURRITO!
Jake is going to bring me home a brown baby :) Very proud of him and I want the Universe to see him and the people hes growing to love.

Daddy's Girl

2010-07-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

The 4th and 24th are like Halloween to Tally. It's sad how much she gets scared of fireworks. Every year she cowers by her Dad - usually wrapped around his head shivering. :( It's one of the few nights of the year he will tolerate her on his side of the bed.
Snuggle bugs the following morning....

All but the kitchen sink....

2010-07-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend Ben and I really put the petal to the metal and finished the chicken coop! All that is left is the 'lid' - which will be a 9 foot by 4 foot piece of wood we'll have figure out how to get home in the camry....

Anyhow, are you familiar with the Disney Movie "Babe"? This is Ben's favorite movie. I know that he wants to be farmer Hogget when he grows up.
I was snapping pictures of Winny in her new coop - and this one reminds me of a couple of lines right at the beginning of the movie Babe.

THE PIG AND THE FARMER
REGARDED EACH OTHER.

AND FOR A FLEETING MOMENT,
SOMETHING PASSED BETWEEN THEM.

A FAINT SENSE
OF SOME COMMON DESTINY....

Yes - It's pink. Paint is expensive. We went to the 'oops' section of home depot - where paint is $5 a bucket. Our 3 choices were baby blue, aqua green, or miss piggy pink. Can you see us staring at these cans? "......well..... Hens are girls....right?" So we went with the pink.

Here is peeking down inside, plenty of room to peck and scratch, and totally Reggie proof.
Our girls should start laying eggs in a couple of months - so they'll need some room to stretch their legs and hideous feet and .... up the latter....
GASP!! Look at all this space! But is lacking natural lighting and where will I put my vanity??

I'm so proud of Ben! This was not easy to put together and he stuck with it. I'm excited to see these chicks in full swing. I'll let you know when Ben decided to install a solar panel on the coop for the winter :) (just kidding.... kind of....)

Day Dreaming...

2010-07-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

It's hot today....

2010-07-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Raspberries

2010-07-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

Our new place has raspberries. Their time is almost up -- and I'll miss the fruits of this bush. It was great to pick a bowl of berries A DAY and have them with morning breakfast or evening desert. Seriously, they will be missed.
The bushes are along the side of the house which is where the chickens live and provide a long grassy area for dogs to sniff. Over these weeks of berry picking, Reggie discovered that he likes raspberries. He'd stare up waiting for us to offer or drop one down to him. THEN the little neurons clicked in his big head... that those red dots on this bush are berries!!
I'll just get some myself!!
Here is Reg. Eating my raspberry bush. Good boy.

Phases of the Coop

2010-07-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Chickens are growing up! With bigger chicks comes bigger homes

They start off so cute..
Next they moved to a bigger box --- but the predators could watch too closely. Up yet another size. ..
... this is chicken stadium. They hung out in the stadium for a couple of weeks until they could fly up and perch on the edge.
Next comes the rabbit cage. This was the home yet! No flying out. But the messiest cuz they scratch and kick everything everywhere!
Now Ben's working on the Chicken palace. HUGE wood coop 9 feet long and 4 feet wide..
So far keeping chickens is super easy and the only time i have to fuss with them is to upgrade the housing unit. Though, they are pretty stinky.

Reggie Likes Corn

2010-06-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Signs of Summer

2010-06-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

(tally got a summer hair cut and now thinks the air conditioned house it too cold)

Good Saturday

2010-06-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Today was great. I usually have appointments on Saturdays but everyone canceled so I didn't have to got into the office. (Mind you I'll still need to put in some home hours this weekend - so I'm not totally off the hook...) But! I finally got to do 'saturday' things! Went to my first Farmers Market of the season - got rhubarb, Apricot goat cheese, and a Crumb Brothers Danish.

We then helped Shebly and Steve de-roof their new duplex. What is a Saturday with out good hard labor?

B and I took an after noon nap watching Batman Returns. Easy to nap through :)

Did a little fathers day shopping...

Saw Toy Story 3 with Ben's Mom. SO GOOD. I would highly recommend it. I'm NEVER throwing away another toy.

For dinner we got to go to California Pizza Kitchen FOR FREE! A new place opened by my office and we got a special email invite to go for a 'training night'. I would also highly recommend California Pizza Kitchen.

Finally one of my favorite Lauras asks how we keep the heat out of our west facing windows:
Tin Foil. Yeah it's not pretty (oh - is it not pretty) but the reflective tin foil plus some heavy curtains in the evening has helped tremendously. (and we have a swamp cooler :))

Oh! Chickens are growing up nicely. They'll be outside permanently next month. See video of 'Chicken Play Time' HERE.

2010-06-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Because it makes my Mom laugh....

Art

2010-06-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm 27 - but don't yet feel 'grown up'. I occasionally will have 'grown up moments' when it hits me how old I am.... and I might actually be an adult. I'm consistently hit with reality when I think about my BFF having 2 kids or when Ben and I go to Home Depot for tools or parts.

Today I had that 'adult' moment when I got my first piece of Art. Art I chose and chased and I am real excited about. I have many awesome wall hangings that have been given as gifts or inherited... all very good.
This was painted by my Granny many many many many years ago and is precious to me as a Sharples/Child/Nelson family heirloom.

This was painted by my mother in law for a wedding present! Not bad huh?At work we had a 'family and friends auction' as a fundrasier and silent auction. We bid and won a bunch of stuff including give certificates to ihop, leatherbys, Kimball art center classes, etc. But from the beginning I had my eye on this 'Ireland Poppy'. It's about 2' across and 4 ' tall.... so pretty big and BEAUTIFUL! I did have to bid up over the top of my co worker a couple of times -- but it all paid off and is right at home above the couch. :)

Home is where your mop is.

2010-06-13T21:48:00.001-07:00

I've been asked a number of times if our new place feels like home yet. Well, today as I was mopping our huge kitchen floor, for what seemed like the 100th time... I realized that I am feeling more at home. And the more time and effort I put into CLEANING and putting it back together... the more homey I feel.

Introducing - the Duplex!

This is our bedroom. My Mom made that awesome bed spread - it's called "Logan Roads". No I don't like the mirror and I'm still looking for the right wall covering...

Next in our HUGE kitchen - this is pointed north...

...and this is pointed south. I love the natural day light and our sturdy kitchen table. See those cool tall flowers Ben got me from the farmers market? :) Also note the great and terrible bonsai project...This is the front room. New couch, lazy boy, dog bed, and globe lamp. The windows are west facing so we had to put tin foil on the outside and heavy curtins... Sharples don't survive well in heat.

This is the view from the other direction.Very comfyThis...sigh.... in the 2nd bed room. Right now it just where I've been throwing junk that we use on a regular basis and I haven't figured out how to store it... or what to make this room into? Storage? Office? Not sure. There is also a pretty big 'basement' room + wash room which is in worse condition then 2nd bed room (wood room as I call it because it has wood floors). The basement still contains unpacked boxes, tools from the painting job, and chickens :)
Looking forward to putting it all together. Not looking forward to talking it down in a year...

T

News

2010-06-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

GOOD NEWS:
Comcast finally showed up and the wireless is up and running.
BAD NEWS:
Camera broke. So no new chicken pictures.

GOOD NEWS:
Got a new cage for the chickens - an old rabbit cage
BAD NEWS:
Had to get a new cage because they're big enough to FLY.

GOOD NEWS:
Made Martha Stewart cupcakes with york patties in the middle
BAD NEWS:
Don't have the calories to spare for them. blast.

GOOD NEWS:
House is clean :)
BAD NEWS:
... still not totally unpacked.

More Good Ideas and Bad Ideas.

Toys, Tools, and Testosterone.

2010-06-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Off to a good start for summer - This weekend I rode 15 miles with Dad and Mike along Legacy parkway and then spend the night at a family-friend's cabin in Oakley. Nice to get away and have those mini vacations.

I want everyone to know that Ben is awesome. He works hard at school, he works hard at work, and he works hard at home. As we speak he is on the roof with cousin Chris in 200 degree heat trying to fix our air conditioner.
In other awesome Ben news :
Do not be deceived! This is not a toy! But a pharmacy knowledge tool (with games, music, internet and movies). :)

Last saturday we felt like grown ups buying our first hose, spout, hanging plant and drill at home depot. Our new apartment has washer and dryer hooker ups - and AFTER we get those - we'll be getting a decent grill. Ben is a GRILL MASTER. Here he demonstrates the art of grilled pizza.
Speaking of grilled - I've got to run. Grilling burgers with the in laws tonight. :)

6 Souls in my home.

2010-06-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

Well - we are settling down in to our new duplex in West Valley. It's turning out to be a really nice place! I've got (what feels like) a miles of more space. I haven't located my camera cord yet but found out that ben's computer has a card reader! I've got a million things to show 'you' - but we'll start with the LOUDEST thing.

We got chickens! Everyone asks why - and I just tell them that Ben is a farmer at heart. He's been talking about chickens (not as pets but employees) for ages! He did all his research and these little blackie chicks will grow to give us about one egg a day. It's been fun to watch them grow up! They were cute little fluffy chicks when we got them --- but now they are turning into some ugly adolescents. (I think they're still pretty cute now - but I'm sure it'll get worse...)
Dogs are surprisingly okay with them. I'm sure that if I left Reg to his own devices he'd chomp on them - but he's too old to do anything about it. So he just gives glares like ..."....if I were a younger dog....."

Tally on the other hand is totally freaked out by them. This picture is the closest I've see her get to them. Every time she makes an effort to sniff them she gets pecked or they pull on her fur --- then she turns and runs for her life. Still very curious though....
Because we have been talking about getting chickens forever - a long time ago we decided to name them after world leaders. ... below is Winston - call her Winny - after Winston Churchill. She is the smart one (if you can call chickens smart). She's the one that figures out how to jump over things and seems to think more then the other (usually in an effort to escape).
And this is Benito - for Benito Mussolini - who is the brave one. She is the one that pecks tally on the nose or runs at her when she's getting to close. Benito is the reason Tally is scared of chickens.
Still so many things to show you - but I'm going to try and spread it out a bit. Don't want to overwhelm ya....

packed.

2010-05-16T19:39:00.001-07:00

Well! I think it is a sin to make a post with out adding pictures. However, I just moved and I'm still packed. I consider it lucky that I know where my shoes even are right now.
I was talking with Ben the other day about how the last six months has just POUNDED US. And nothing terribly bad just so much going on - one thing right after another.

Most currently about 3 - 4 weeks ago some guy ran a red light and smashed up my saturn. Sweet. Thankfully the whole car replacement process was so smooth. The guys insurance paid for my BMW green bug rental and it giving me more then the high blue book value for my "totaled" car. We quickly replaced it with a 2001 corrolla. Very nice. Ben loves it.

We also had the opportunity to move to a duplex Ben's parents own in West Valley. It's like triple the space and so lovely. It was hard work getting to be 'so lovely' - but is now so lovely. I'm still mostly packed and I'm convinced it will take 4 months to UNpack. Once I locate my camera a cord I will repent of my pictureless-post.
And! You can see the beaver tail that is nailed above my front porch - placed there by the previous tenant. Yes. A beaver tail.

Last couple pix from DC

2010-04-22T00:10:00.000-07:00

I've got just a couple last fun pictures to send out to the universe from our DC trip...

National American History Museum - Julia Child's kitchen! If you haven't see Julie and Julia - get on it. Meryl Streep should have won that award!
C3PO! The original!
One of my favorite places we saw... the National Cathedral. I really like the Gothic style castles.
Ben wants me to get him this poster.
Ninja Turtles!
This picture is great. We had some serious rental car problems. Like breaking down on the freeway and then in Old Alexandria. Broke down. This picture accurately shows our confusion. Took 3 ish hours to get a tow truck to come down with a new car. Kinda ridiculous. Don't rent a jeep.
Finally Gettysburg. Very impressive and solemn monuments.
I already expressed that I felt like I didn't have enough understanding and appreciation for such a place. Would be nice to go back after I've taken some time to study some more about it first.

Monuments of Washington DC

2010-04-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of monuments. Lots. I would suggest pick out a few that you really want to see, get a tour bus pass (NOT from the "Tourmobile" Company) and focus on those few. Just too many to see.
We chose to see the capital of course. Didn't go inside - the outside really is impressive enough. Can anyone tell me why there is a 19 foot statue of an Indian on our capital? Not that I have a problem with it - just want to know why?
(Ben is so good at one handed pictures...)

Another angle of the capital - Ben and Phyllis.

Above is the ceiling of the Library of Congress. A place that was not high on my list - but was on Ben's IF he could see the Gutenberg Bible. Which he did- and I found a display of hand written letters written between Washington, Jefferson and other founding fathers. That really was so neat. It's hard for me to picture these historic figures as real people some time - but when you are looking at their hand writing... it makes them kinda real!

Below is the WWII memorial. I thought it was really awesome and conveyed from the artist VICTORY!

Kim and Ben and FDR's Dog. Lincoln Memorial. Huge. Majestic. And a surprisingly reverent place for how many people were there.

FDR Memorial: "Freedom of Speech. Freedom of Worship. Freedom from Want. Freedom from Fear."
Very good.

Cherry Blossoms 2010

2010-04-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

One of the major reasons Rick and Phyllis wanted to come to Washington D.C. during the first week of April was for the cherry blossoms! I wasn't sure how excited I was about it - because I've seen cherry blossoms before, but you add the blossoms, in large amounts, plus the beautiful buildings - really is a sight to see!

Lake, Jefferson, Cherry Blossoms, and phyllis pointing to something...

Here is the other thing about the Cherry Blossoms. For every little flower - there was a person there to see it. It was VERY VERY crowded. We asked around to the local tour people and they said this saturday was the busiest day of the year. It's defiantly a sight to see, but come prepared for the crowds.

For more about it - check out the National Cherry Blossom website.

Washington and Weddings

2010-04-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Pictures from Washington

Hail to the chief! This last weekend Ben's parents took us to Washington D.C. as a planned christmas present. It was such an experience! There is so much to see and do it's kind of overwhelming. I can appreciate the emotion and passion that has to go into building such structures, monuments, etc. There are many pictures to show and share for the next couple of days :)

Uncle Sam Wants YOU!

This is great. Ben has always wanted to be a part of or start up a riot. So we walked the reflecting pool where many other protests have occurred. Here Ben and Phyllis protesting the 1/2 hour wait at the tour bus stop. NO MORE WAIT! NO MORE WAIT! NO MORE WAIT!

We went out there the busiest saturday of the entire year! Saturday, Spring Break, and opening Cherry blossoms... SO many people. Which I really didn't mind (with the exception of the metro). This view is from the Lincoln monument. Pretty nice huh.
(Like a where's waldo... can you find ben?)

Just before we left was Shelby's wedding! Yeah! Sadie Sadie Married Ladie! I'm excited for Shelby and Steve to jump into married life after many years of courtship. :) Not the best pictures but a beautiful wedding, beautiful bride, beautiful food, :) Yeah!!

Very cute couple.

Long time no bloggy

2010-03-18T20:54:00.001-07:00

Wow. I can't believe it's been a month has gone by with no posts. I can tell you that my life feels so full and scheduled but I can't seem to come up with what it is it's scheduled with. You know those days that you climb back into bed and think "what the heck did I do today??" Ya know?

....the things that are going on are not unmanageable but certainly makes you feel small in comparison to what needs to be accomplished.
Not just things on your to do list - but trying to help others with their assignments.

And it's hardest when your totally feeling unmotivated but still know there are a million things to do!
Work gets busier and busier every day and you wonder if you are cut out for an 8 hour desk job...
And there are parties to attend and social events to plan..

*Sigh* But at the end of the day - even if it's busy, your glad you have so many good things and good people in your life. Big Smiles all around. :)
Ya know?

Project Puppy

2010-02-22T21:10:00.000-08:00

Okay.
Alright.
I admit it.
I watch project runway. I think it's impressive that these people can sew a dress in one day. Sketch, buy, cut, sew. Wow.

Anyways, Ben and I went out of town this weekend and Ben's parents are always really great about babysitting our pups. I wanted to make a little surprise -
Reminded me project runway. Tim Gunn says you have an old sheet, a couple scraps of fabric, and a marker..."make it work".
Pretty lame I know. I would probably would be 'out'.... but Phyllis says it made her laugh for 5 minutes straight.
Don't look at me like that Tim....

Things I learned this week...

2010-02-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

This week I learned a lot of stuff.

Ben and I were lucky enough to be given symphony tickets! My first time for me and I learned the difference between Mozart's classical and Dvorak's Romantic period styles. I feel so refined...
Today I (remembered) that today is Reggie's birthday - into the Sharples family. We've now survived him for 2 years. He's a handful but we love him.
Valentines day is awesome. Awesome because Ben and I are so chill about it. It's more of a month of conscious choices of service. I tried to leave little treats/surprises on our table for Ben when he gets home from school. And Ben cooked a really nice dinner this week and gave me a fun pair of ear rings. I love that we take the whole thing 'chil-lax'. :) However this week I learned that I don't like Smiths frosting. I normally LOOVVVE frosting - which is what inspired Ben to get me this monster cupcake. Which is totally fun... but the radio active yellow frosting was... blah. (turns out reg likes it though. I scrapped it off and threw it away and later when --- reg got in the garbage --- it was spread all over the kitchen floor and we had pink paw prints around the house. argh)
I learned that fish don't like warm water. Ben is always saying we need to keep the house kinda warm for the fish -- so, why not warm up the water too when I clean it out? Sadly, this is a 'file photo' -- for the gold fish is no more. :(This week learned that the sweater I have been working on for ben for a YEAR --- is WWWAAYYY to big for him. Ya can't really tell right here...but it's monstrous and super thick. I know that if I unpulled it - there would be enough yarn to make a hat for every head in Haiti.
This week I learned that - swap-bot.com is a lot of fun - but too expensive. You are paired with someone in a group to swap something. From postcards to food. I've been doing post card swaps with international and state wide people (which was fun) but I signed up for a chocolate and yarn swap and ... spent TOO much in just shipping. Fun while it lasted...
This week Ben and I did a - small - fruity/chocolate taste testing. I learned that toffee makes a big difference and so does the jump from 65% to 70% dark choco....
Finally I learned that Tally is scared of birds. Big ones. We went on a walk around Liberty park which has a small aviary and Tally was totally freaked out by the peacock and duck noises. Couldn't see them-- just hear them. She was trying to escape any means possible - including running through the mud over and over and over.
...i hate those quacks...

Bacon Cupcakes and Ancestors

2010-02-07T21:32:00.001-08:00

Yeah. That's right.
First - happy Super Bowl. Ben decided to make these cinnamon cake, maple frosting, bacon topped cupcakes. Everyone is hesitant to take a bite... but once they do - EVERYONE stops in their tracks and says - 'whoa. That's good'.
www.foodgawker.com is the source of Ben's power... tap into it.

Next. I don't know if you can see this picture... but let me explain. In church we were introduced to the new church family history data base. It's pretty user friendly and I was impressed the first time a glanced at it. I could tell that my family tree was pretty filled out but it will only show you a couple generation at one time. So tonight - as a sabbath appropriate activity - I wanted to draw out my family tree - so I could stand back in visualize it's magnitude.

As you can see - it's big. It became MUCH more exciting then the super bowl to click on the next generation page and say I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S STILL GOING!! WHO IS LOOKING UP THIS STUFF AND WHERE DO YOU FIND NAMES FROM THE 16TH CENTURY?!?
Looking through the whole thing got kind over whelming - so I just followed the longest generation line I could find... and it went back 17 generations to ELIZABETH SMITH in 1450!! Wow. Eariler this week I read an January ensign article about a lady that found an uncle who had a family book that had 120 generations. WHAT!?! That's so crazy! Can you imagine the size of that book!
Go check it out.
www.new.familysearch.org
You do need your membership record number.

Sweet Nothings

2010-02-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

Been working on a quilt block for Shelby's bridal shower. This is my first time having an assignment for a bridal shower (out side of presents and food of course) I cut up pieces of this fabrics and Frankenstein stitched it all together. Mom says that it's a popluar thing to do these days.... from a distance it's cute - but up close looks a little like a 2nd grade art project.

My block is titled Anything Sweet - in memory of Shelby's undying desire to find sweets. When we go on family vacations - that's one of the first thing she is asking for ... "where is the Candy Store?"
Also - She's started a collection of cookie jars. Very cute idea. In efforts to stay with the theme... I found this really fun cake cookie jar. The green tier comes off. It's not small either - maybe a foot and a 1/2 high!

Finally - this is a 'vlog' respond to my muffin. This Seinfeld clip is taken from the episode
"The Glasses". The title says it all and was the first thing I thought when I saw 'the picture'. Sorry the video isn't that great and be sure to turn down the volume :)
Love and miss our Fetters friends...

Hey Hay!

2010-01-29T18:22:00.001-08:00

Ben and I are together recovering from ... probably the WORST stomach flu I've ever had. Holy moly... I'll spare you the details.. :)

Earlier this week I came home from work and found this on my counter...
"Ben? What is this on the counter?"
"Um. Hay."
"I'm sorry - .... did you say hay?"
"yeah"
...following the little fuzzy trails ....
AH HA!!! He's up to something...
Some time ago - and some how - Ben got his hands on a raw wool - right off the sheep. I don't know where the heck he got it but it's been camped out in our garage for some time. This week - the barn experiments begin. The ultimate goal is to be able to spin it into something fun.
Gotta shake out the HAY (not on the kitchen counter) and wash it out with super hot water and shampoo. Can't agitate too much or it'll felt

Wash rinse repeat.

it'll take a couple of washing sessions before we can start carting. I'll let you know how that goes....In the mean time, the dogs are confused about what kind of animal is living in the bucket...

Dearest Chinese Wish

2010-01-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

Saturday Ben and I went to his work party at very popular Chinese resturant in Bountiful. Very good food. Very crowded. Fun conversation. And! At the end of the evening - as usual for most chinese restaurants - we got our fortune cookies.

How trippy is it to get the same fortune!
QUICK BEN! WISH FOR A MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

Turkey Day

2010-01-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

Thursdays are my day off and today I cleaned the house - including kitchen blinds and bathroom shower tiles, paid the bills, and did a little sewing. Now - Ben's orders- I'm chilling with a mud mask, surrounded by my martha magazine stash and blogging.
Very good.

During November Ben is on the hunt for good turkey sales and stores it in our freezer until his wife goes crazy with the lack of space :) Then it's time for turkey day. This turkey he got for 6 bucks - is almost too big for our oven.

It's pretty huh.

Ben cooked us turkey and home made potatoes that were incredible! ...I microwaved the peas.
The best part of the turkey (other then the extra space in my freezer) is how far it goes! A week of dinners - easy. Dogs LOVE turkey day.
Desert are peanut butter love cups. :) Cookies in my heart shaped cup cake holders. Cute huh.

If I didn't have Ben around - I would have Apple Jacks for dinner every night. :)

January Update

2010-01-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

This 2010 is going to be a big year. The more I think about it - the more I can add to the list of things that are going on. Mostly Random events.... Promise to keep you updated.

First - last post I mentioned the "Journal Jar" and explanation has been requested. :) I believe this Sunday afternoon tradition started in my mid-later teens and was designed to give my parents a break by sending the kids to the room to 'write in your journal' --- and I don't see anything wrong with that.
Journal Jar was a small mason jar that sat a top the fridge filled with journal writing topics on scraps of paper. Things like 'your favorite vacation', 'your favorite class', '5 things you want to do this year/when you grow up', 'who are your heros?' or even just 'what happened this week'. I think i was the only one who really enjoyed Journal jar.... but I think that it helped me to even more appreciate pouring the thoughts out of my head - regardless how random.

In more current news. We still have the frogs. The Petco guy told us that I don't have to feed them crickets (*shivers*) but we can do meal worms instead (*mild shivers*). So we made up a little worm bowl out of milk lid.... and I guess this is what they think of the new meal plan...

Speaking of meal plans. Don't leave ANYTHING on the floor. Reggie will eat it. WWWHHYY!!?! Yesterday he ate a guitar pick. Earlier this week I found him munching on a banana from Ben's back pack.
Peal and all
Alllllright. That's enough potassium for one day.
I'm caught up on ALL of my knitting projects. I love and hate the moment when I realize I have nothing to do. In taking inventory of my yarn basket - I have several balls of sock yarn but not enough to make a pair of one color. Hum. What if i just made the socks smaller? Then I'd have enough.... don't get overly excited when you see this baby sock. No buns in my oven. Just too many skeins in my basket :)

.... I am incapable of doing a small post.....

Ben's parents got Wii Fit. It has little games designed to keep you moving. The object of this game is to fly from one stand to the next... you can kinda see it on the screen. Ben is the best flyer. "I'm a flyer!"

Finding

2010-01-11T23:05:00.001-08:00

Do you have a place where stuff just gets stuck? Mine is the trunk of my car. I know that there are things back there. Not much - but things I haven't touched in YEARS. I guess I don't pull them out because I think - 'Where else would I put them? I will get them out when I have a place to put them".
I was looking for something totally different in the trunk... when I found 3 grocery bags of books. I knew there were books back there.... but which books? Hum.

It turned into a real gold mine of memories.
Some of my favorites are these 3 text from some of my favorite classes: Gender studies, Environmental/social issues, and Asian studies. Maybe I'll try to read them again. ... maybe...
Aw. I found a large pile of church books that I feel close too - these two are just cute.
One of the BEST finds was a journal from 2004. I'm pretty good at keeping up on journal entries (thanks to the Journal jar, Ma!) This journal had stories I forgotten and pictures I didn't know I still had!
This is "Homeless night" on USU campus - Matt and Ben. This picture was taken by Jen who was silly enough to go with them. :) Homeless night - was students sleeping out on the quad with out sleeping bags (the tough ones like ben) .... to raise homelessness awareness? The purpose i'm not clear on. Jen, Matt, and Ben tried to convince me to go. "Uhhhh - I'll be aware from home". It was late fall and freezing.
Jen! 2004 - the first year I was with Ben .... Me, Jen and Anna went to vegas for Valentines Day! That truly was a blast!
Oh goodness - this was my only school dance - college home coming. Not all that exciting but the preparation was way fun. We got ben a tux with tails in Brigham city - and my Mom helped me make the shiny red skirt. I still wear that...
This is one of my favorites. March of 2004 Kim , Ben and Matt took a spring break trip to San Fransisco. There are good fun memories mixed with --- "If I have look at these boys one more day...." :) I was only 20! Ben was only 23! He turns 30 this year!!! Very cute old picture.
Do all findings like this make you feel old. I feel old - but even more attached to my hubby as I remember JUST HOW LONG we've been together and how many fun things we did.

Where are some of your things 'stuck'?

Who's That?

2010-01-05T22:45:00.001-08:00

Hey? Who's that? They are really small Can they come play? I'll play nice - promise.

Clean tank. Happy frogs.

Sugar Spun Success

2010-01-03T20:42:00.001-08:00

For Christmas I got Martha Stewarts Cupcakes book. Which feels like the next step up in cupcaking. It's more then just decorating - it's lots of good recipes.

Such as.... Sugar-Spun crowns - with Devils food cake. Wow. I won't tell you how many sticks of butter go in the cake and frosting - - just that it's more then 5 STICKS. More.

Ben made this "hazelnut spires of hope" - Really cook huh.
The crowns are bringing sugar, water, and corn syrup - brought to boil at 300 degrees, cooled and then drizzled over spoon handles to create threads of sugar, then gathered up into clusters.

It was super fun adventure with Ben. ... The word now is to create them for Shelby's wedding. Oh boy. ...
How long can those cupcakes stay in the freezer?

Last Hours of 2009

2010-01-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

It was weirding me out yesterday that Y2K was a DECADE AGO!! Holy Moses time flies. Ben was in Chile for "Y2K" - and says it wasn't that big of a deal. .... I was at Holly's house - one of the few parties at Holly's. It was the middle of my Jr year - I remember making a toast with my 5 friends... toasting to something long term. So much for that - eh.

Oh well - the present day New Years toast is filled with much more tradition - and no one my age :)

I think for the last 5 years I've been going with Ben to his high school bud's place (Jay) for Ginger bread waffles. They have been doing this New Years tradition for .... wow.... high school? Ben turns 30 this year - so you do the math.
At this shindig are folks Ben's age and the host's little brothers age - 3 yrs older and 3 yrs younger then me (or so)

Anyhow this year - the night starts off with Ben's home made doughnuts. Look out. Fried dough.

Aren't they pretty?This was my job.

At Jays there is OODLES of food, board games, video games, the dick clark count down (that's right ryan seacrest - you'll never replace mr clark)

The majority of the night was spent trying to save the world in Pandemic.
(Andrus's! We must plan another night of gaming. )
(Muffins - We're not convinced that Lt. F would like this because it's not competitive.... we'll have to try it.)

Anyways.... at the final count down I brought out a couple of the left over boxes of our wedding sparklers and it was a total hit. I found it very satisfying to see people I didn't know running down the street with my sparklers :)
Shout out to the Browns :) Happy to hear you're reading about our copacetic life - place put your blog site in the comments! I want to see your scraps quilt and christmas creativeness.

More sparkler fun.... with Jay's little brothers friends? Donno.
Ben and I have a HUGE list of new years goals and realized that it's going to be a HUGE year for us: shelby's wedding :), Ben's last semester of classes, applying and interviewing for out of state residencies, my dad turns 50!, my hubby turns 30!, my brother comes home from his mission....and other things :)
Looking forward to sharing it with you.

Creative Catch Up

2009-12-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

I've with held my lastest creations from the abyss of blogspot - because most of them were Christmas presents. Now the cat is out of the bag and I can show them off.

I did 2 table runners
4 pairs of socks
felted bag
2 beanies
1 sweater (almost finished)
1 vest

Figgy Pudding table runner for Phyllis

The other 1/2 of the figgy pudding for Shelby.... one was greens/red/whites the other was brown and light blue....
One of the striped socks .... Phyllis got these
And this beanie I THREW together at the 11th hour for Steve (Shelby's future Mr. )
Figgy pudding from a distance.

.... can anyone tell me how to change the layout to something else besides just plain green? The templates offered by blogspot on not all that exciting....

To Frog or Not to Frog

2009-12-30T17:06:00.000-08:00

Any one that knows Ben and I knows that we have a soft spot in our hearts for little animals and creatures (as long as they are not venomous or require a stable --- at least at this point in our lives).
Ben's brother Jordan recently left to the MTC - and has gifted us his frogs. We agreed to foster the frogs until sunday when we can hand them off to an unsuspecting extended family member. Jordan hadn't fed them in a week - and they were just in a glass box with rocks and water. Talk about quality of life. So Ben and I got them a bag of crickets (**shivers**) and a plastic log to bounce around on.

They are korean fire belly toads. It is becoming increasingly difficult not to become attached to these little dudes. There are several "CONS" to this decision including crickets (**shivers**) and my house is inches away from becoming a petting zoo.

For christmas Ben got me this cute goldie - his name is Chibbols. He's my favorite so far. Never complains, knocks over the garbage can, takes up my sleeping space, and doesn't even stink. Just makes bubble noises when he's hungry.

This one just got a hair cut and RULES THE WORLD. :) but is the most darling.
This thing needs no explanation.

.... oh yeah.... and Ben :) He is not classified in my 'zoo' but certainly needs to be cared for fed and cleaned up after :) jk .... sorta.

.... all in my one bed room apartment. Sigh....

How to Get Blood Stains out of Fabric

2009-12-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

The title of this entry reflects some of the craziness of the last week or so.

First I want to say that things are really okay. Even though these are tales of madness - we are gearing up for christmas, trying to keep CHRIST in mind, doing crafts, cooking caramels, and poor Ben can't figure out what to get his wife :)

The picture below is a pot of sugar water and lemon peel. Yeah. Ben gets the tick to cook late at night - and earlier this week he wanted to make candied lemon things at like 11:30 at night. I managed to stay up with him until midnight - and had to keep taping him... 'ben you're falling asleep - go check your boiling pot'. And he'd jump up - stir - and fall right back to sleep. When I called it a day - "Ben i'm going to bed - you're asleep.... how are you going to finish this project?"
He looked at me through slits in his eyes and said 'I'll set an alarm' .
The Holy Ghost tried to warn me. As I was laying in bed he was telling me .... Don't leave Ben alone.... he won't wake up'.... but i didn't listen.
At 1 am I was awakened to Ben running this pot out the front door and being surrounded by smoke. Dudes, i'm not kidding. It was so bad. Eyes burning, throat stinging, cough cough cough cough. We would have to run in the house - open a window and run back out again. We put a box fan one of the windows and left them all open all night.
... still a little bit of a smokey smell.
Lesson - Ben now has a cooking curfew of 11pm and GET A FREAKING SMOKE DETECTOR!!

Wednesday night Reggie dug into Ben's backpack and ate an entire box of those chocolate raspberry sticks. Oi. There was 2 days of explosive dog diarrhea and we kept a rented rug doctor on stand by. Thank my lucky stars it happened on my day off.
There are no pictures for this event - for your benefit.
Lesson - Keep all food above waist height.

This mystery has been going on for several months. Ben will randomly get big cuts on the back of his left arm. I tried to show you here - and you can only see the new one - not all the old scars. Whats strange is Ben doesn't remember where/when/how he got these. And they are not just little paper cuts. How can you miss that??

This morning Ben woke up with another cut and I found a large blood stain on the bed! AAAHHH!!! This is what is looks like after Ben spit the heck out of it. It's on the side away from me.... there is nothing sharp on that side of the bed.... What the heck...
The only thing it could be is the zipper on my pillow --- but I"m not convinced that is what it is... It might be a paranormal experience. Whoa.

Google says that blood stains will come out with a tsp of dish soap and a cup of hydrogen peroxide and blot it out - wash in cold and hang to dry. Ben thinks spit works fine.

I'll let you know how it turns it out...

Lesson: Get some red sheets and a library book on ghosts.

Las Vegas Weekend

2009-12-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

This weekend Ben had to go to the a pharmacy - residency conference. 30,000 pharmacists at the Venetian - the largest gathering pharmacists in the country.

We were able to get very very cheap plane tickets so I got to come along! We got a hotel room in the wedding chapel district :) and rented this nice little Aveo!

Saturday we got Ben checked in to the conference and did a little walking around 'the strip'. Sharples are not Vegas people. We had top restaurant options around us and what do we pick? IHOP! Eggnog pancakes. High class, huh

We walked from one end to the other and one of the things that Ben was excited about - Trying the 16 differnt sodas from around the world!

Ben's pointing to his winner - the mint spirte.
The coke building.
Good ol' Belaigo.
Sunday morning - Ben's getting ready for the conference! Good Luck Babe!

To Lt. Fetters and Fam

2009-11-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Fetters:

Saw your post today and shouted for joy that you are all together again. If you were a time zone closer (and I wasn't experiencing swine flu symptoms) we'd be out there catching up.
Which made me think ...what would I put in the car and haul up to Logan (or where ever) to show you. (Like that time we drove our tv and wii gaming system up so we could watch Lt. F. box).

First I would introduce this furry face to baby Maren..
Let Lizzy beat up this face :) .... he doesn't care....
Show you these buttons I'm making for the christmas party on wednesday - for the matches that have made it a year. Button making is fun.
My first flower arrangement - I was in charge of center pieces at the Sharples Thanksgiving dinner. You can keep this one. I have others...
Jake's far well is tomorrow and I wanted to make come cool martha cookies. These are peppermint meringues! However, since mom learned I'm 'infected' - these are deemed to be a bio-hazard. poo.
Ben says any 'sickness would have been cooked out.' So - I'd bring them over.
Also these chocolate WHOOPIE pies :) You can keep all of these :) :) :)
Last but not least....Ben and i get these 'game night games' newsletters - that gives the top 5 games....

We have all but one - So we'd bring this Dominion game...

Finally an official welcome home - please excuse my swine face :)

Love you and miss you guys.
(Ben's been saying 'sucker' a lot lately in honor of Lt. F. and I tell him it's just not the same).

Horses Horses Horses

2009-11-23T07:42:00.001-08:00

So. I'm way behind on any kind of blog update. I have been all kinds of crafty but for christmas - I can't blog about christmas presents!!

That means December 26th will be the craftiest post of all time :)

These pictures are - once again - from our cruise. Remember how I said that it was a great vacation and exhausting because we did so much! Hence the million blog posts.

Anyways, while in Mexico we rented and rode horses for 3 hours! Which was a high light for me. There were about 30 people in our group and we all tromped up the mountain side.

This is Ben's horse. It's name in spanish is 2X --- meaning LARGE HORSE. :)
This is looking behind me - you can see Shel, Ben, Phyllis, and Rick way back there.
Not sure how to take a picture of my own horse - Guapo (which means good looking --- so obviously we had commonalities :) and bonded quickly )
This is looking in front of me - Big group!

Jordan and Rick - ready to ride.

....and just for fun - in connection of the horse post and the 2 inches of power that came down last night....

Meg Ryan at her best... reminds me most of Jodi :)

"The Fateful Moment"

2009-11-08T22:27:00.000-08:00

Another cruise vacation story...and still on Catalina Island.

As we were walking around the botanical gardens and riding on golf carts (see previous posts) - my brother in law, Jordan, really wanted to try a prickly pear. A fruit that grows off a cactus. These items CAN be found at a local grocery store - but Jordan was determined to find and pick a fresh one.

So we're driving around the streets in our golf cart and spot some off the side of the road - and convinces Ben to jump off and help him find and pick a few.
This is a prickly pear that is ben is holding now...

Here they are, wandering up the hill side in.... THROUGH CACTUS BUSHES......

....find a couple.... and Ben makes the oh-so-smart-decision to carry them down in his shirt.

I like to call this picture..... "THE FATEFUL MOMENT" when Benny realizes that cactus needles are very small, very sharp, and very bothersome. Notice the stance he is taking and where the pricklies from the pear would have landed and wormed their way down through his shirt....

*sigh* It was a rough hour or so. I couldn't touch him the rest of the day or I'd have little needles in my hands and arms. And the clothes were condemned from the rest of the suitcase. The best part - for a week we were picking needles out of areas --- that'd I'd rather not say :)

2009-11-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Sharples ride up the hill on Catalina Island in a go cart.

I've lost which day I'm talking about....

2009-11-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

So. Still talking about the cruise. I've lost track of what happened which day. :) You'll just have to roll with it.

These pictures are from the botanical garden on Catalina Island - which at the top is the memorial for Mr. William Wrigley (again, the gum guy who bought the island)

Jordan pays tribute to Mr. Wrigley.
I love this picture because it looks like Ben is really working something out in his mind. I also like the colors. "Back in the day" -Catalina island peeps produced beautiful tiles and demonstrated here with the blue and green tiles...
Phyllis and Shelby
Again, the beautiful blue tiles.... and a narnia lion's head.
Candid shots of the fam resting
This is that Wrigley Memorial from a distance - in the building are the pretty tile pieces

Cactus. This is about waist high and was part of the botanical gardens below Mr. Wrigley
More big cactus. Interesting how many different plants there are... and just how many cactuses there are.

Travel Log Day 3 Part 1

2009-10-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Catalina Island, California

I like water. I like boats, swimming, waves, etc. My poor husband doesn't really. He had a sea sick patch on the whole trip (which worked well - ask him if you need one).

To get to Catalina Island, you have to take little boats off the ship to the dock. This is us walking down to the little boat.

I love this picture. Things that give you a sense of size. Being up next to the cruise ship sure does make you feel small..
...you doing alright back there?

Pulling into the dock here... I like the little houses build up on the hill. Catalina lsland was actually bought by Wrigley - like Wrigley Gum. Yeah. really. Mr Wrigley paid big bucks to keep the population size (how many residents- could live there) to a minimum to preserve wild life and such. Very pretty place.
I'm sure that many of these places are rentable summer homes, but by whom.......some one with money.

Not sure what the turkey sign is about. But i'm sure a valuable standard.

Pretty flowers in October
Just a picture of the streets...There were areas that were restricted to residents. I think that's a smart idea ---

Part 2 coming soon - botanical gardens and Wrigley's monument.

...a quick side note...

2009-10-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser?
See all the black scuff marks from our shoe basket on the wall? ....the ones I can't get off with ANYTHING....

.... I'll never be the same.

Day 2 part 2

2009-10-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

\
Dancing the night away on the cruise ship. :)

Travel Log: Day 3

2009-10-20T21:39:00.001-07:00

Day At Sea.

Day 3 was dedicated to just time on the ship. My thought was that there was going to be a lot of down time, lounging and such. Yeah..... you can do that... but there is so much you can do! Again - if you don't drink or gamble - the options are cut down some.
During the day you can go to the spa, enjoy several different performances and genre's of music, eat, watch the hairiest chest competition, mini golf, relax or swim at the pool/hot tub, eat, battle of the sexes, variety shows, the newly wed game, name the song.... did I mention EAT!!

(I don't know why this part is underlined....) This is the top view of the ship - you can lots of lounge chairs, twisty slide, kiddy pools and hot tubs, a stage behind the slide and plenty of life boats (important :))
This is Noortje. I'm not sure if it's okay to put her picture here :) but I only do so because I think she's awesome and the envious job of Cruise Director. She was in charge of our activities and well being, and the coming and goings of the guests. She MCed many shows and was fun to have around and She's from Amsterdam! Which is another fun part of a cruise - the vast majority of the crew are international! The accents, personalities, stories are interesting to get to know.

Eat. I did mention that right? There are nice dinners, cafeteria style meals, and all night buffets. Ben had a frozen yogurt about every 3 hours.

This was a Ben favorite - squash pot pie - looks not so great - but he loved it.

This is my Brazilian style spinach lasagna. Oh yeah.
Though my favorite meal.... I ate this grouper fish..... the best thing I think I've eaten for some time.... tasty.
Of course the classic towel animals... Cute Elephant.

..... and this angry seal. We also got a sting ray. Room service comes in and cleans twice a day! I was amazed how clean the place was all the time....
Aw. Mr. and Mrs. Sharples on 'Elegant Night'

Good day at Sea. Time flies so quickly! I'm telling you - cruising gives you the bang for your buck!