Vacation!

Joseph and I had a week off. We knew we wanted to do something but we weren't really sure what to do. Our house projects have been sucking up a bit of cash, so we decided it would probably have to be within driving distance. I've never been to Vegas, and Joseph's good friend Steve lives in Utah, so it started to sound like a plan.

Hoover Dam baby!

This is off the Vegas strip. I don't really know what that boat is, but it looked like a good photo op.

The view out the window from our hotel room in Vegas. We were on the 23rd floor.

After our tour of the vegas strip, Joseph and I got massages, and I also got a facial. No pictures of that here, but it was probably one of my most favorite parts of the trip.

This was a little electric train that runs between some of the hotels/casinos and also the very upscale mall "Crystals." Joseph promised to take me shopping, but it isn't really shopping when you can't afford anything.

In the upscale mall. You see one of the stores behind me is Versace.

Here we are at our dinner/show. We stayed in the Excalibur hotel and the show we saw was something about the knights of the round table. It was kind of cheesy but also fun.

This is the king of Hungary, which was my section. I'm pretty sure he's an aspiring actor who is stuck playing a knight in Vegas. Joseph thinks he must like it because he seemed really into it.

Here is Steve. We drove all the way to Salt Lake to see this kid. When he and Joseph get together it's really fun to watch. You can just tell they're good friends. You don't get very many good friends in life, and I think when you have someone you really click with, you need to stay in touch. This is pretty late at night; we'd just got in that day and he had to work, but he came over after. He and Joseph gossiped a bit and made plans for the next night.

That area of Utah also has other friends. We met up with Joseph's cousin, the opera singer (no picture). We also met up with Jessica, featured in the picture above. Are you jealous that I got to see your sister Ashley? It was fun to catch up.

Around six we met Steve and his wife Ellen for dinner at Fazoli's. I was so stoked there was a Fazoli's right next to our hotel! It is one of my favorite places to eat, and a few years back they closed all the chains in Arizona. Steven and Ellen were a ton of fun. I'm actually sad that I made a new friend and she lives in Utah! The good news is they're coming to visit this summer. :)

I didn't do as much homework as I should have on the trip. But who wants to do homework while on vacation? Total buzzkill. I'm just going to have to crank it out these next couple days.

Camping

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a camper. But I also don't like to be left out of a good time. When my senior at work, Matt, invited a group of us up to his cabin (with the understanding that his cabin was on the small side, so we would be sleeping outside), I really couldn't pass it up. I had running water and electricity...I could sleep on the ground one night, right?

This is Asmahan and Jose's tent...Greg is off the right right. Matt's cabin in the background.

Jose lit his smore on fire...on purpose.

Matt and Cindi were pretty sloshed. Joseph and I enjoy the antics.

He pretty much dared me to.

Smores are my favorite part of camping.

It was a good weekend. We sat and talked, played some games, had a really delicious dinner...I'd do it again. Even if I did feel like I'd been kicked all over after sleeping on the ground.

Playing CatchPhrase:

Matt: leaned over to the side and made a farting noise
Fred: Gas!
Matt: Yes, ok, and oh no, I'm on the freeway!
(The answer was "running out of gas")

Fred: The thing Jesus was buried in
Cindi: A tux!
(The answer was "shroud")

Best game ever.

Blanket, wet cat, and homework

Here is my latest creation, a baby blanket for Anna's little baby boy. I have been promising myself I would try a little sweater, so that is next on my project list...after my secret project that I can't mention because it is for someone who follows my blog....Don't you hate when people do that? Are you totally curious now? If you were me, you would be.

Joseph decided Marley needed a bath. She was not appreciative. He came out of the bathroom with her wrapped up in a towel and she did not look happy. She spent the next hour re-doing all of his hard work...by licking herself.

This will be where I am hanging out for the next eight weeks. I am doubling up on my classes...I didn't realize it was going to be so much work. Notice the books that surround me....as well as the very large candy bar my sweet husband bought for me.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. After these eight weeks, I just have one more class. Then I should be graduating with a Masters in August.

If I survive these next eight weeks.

I find that I always get a lot done when I have a lot of homework. And by get a lot done, I am referring to housework and other projects that do not include homework. For some reason, when I have a paper that I need to write, the dirty dishes that have been in the sink for three days just absolutely need to be loaded into the dishwasher before I can concentrate on anything else.

Joseph is really good at taking over those tasks so that I can actually get some work done. I really appreciate that boy.

We gave up trying to fight the weeds ourselves and hired a company to come out and take care of it.

They were at the house for over four hours. And they trimmed the bushes too. Joseph and I feel like we got our moneys worth.

They had a truck and trailer, so they parked sort of on the side of the road, but mostly in our driveway. They were not in the neighbor's driveway, but off the the side.

I was reading my book on my lounge with the door open, and I heard a loud noise. I glanced up and the landscaper's truck is kind of rocking back and forth. I was wondering what the heck happened when I hear someone start yelling, "Why the F*** is this parked here? What the F***?!" Over and over.

The kid next door hit the trailer with his car.

He must have realized it was his own fault, because he didn't say anything to the landscapers.

Later, the UPS guy came to drop off Joseph's ladybugs (for his garden) and hit the other side of the trailer.

The landscapers asked us what is up with our neighborhood.

The yard sure looks nice.

Beautiful Women

My very beautiful sister Megan lives in Texas with her family. When I posted the blog about my eyes she requested a picture. I had Joseph take this tonight (my hair is fairly OK looking...doesn't happen very often).

I had pretty low self-esteem growing up. I really couldn't tell you why. I thought my thighs were fat and would agonize how they spread out over the chair in music class when I was in the fourth grade.

A few years back I was looking through pictures and realized all that agonizing was pointless. I'm an alright looking girl. Not model material, but I think I'm cute (wow that sounds so vain). I realized how critical I was being of myself, and also I knew quite a few cute girls who were doing the same thing.

And I decided I would stop. Or try to at least. My hair doesn't always cooperate and even though I am twenty-freaking-five I still have acne, but Joseph thinks I'm beautiful.

And you know who is also beautiful? My Mom. Look at this picture.

She cracks me up...look at her face. So all you beautiful women out there who don't see it...cut it out.

And quit dating the idiot boys...Danielle.

Saturday

This weekend I had a to-do list. I woke up at eight (which is dang early for me) and got my oil changed. Which my Dad taught me to do myself, but I like to have the pros check everything and make sure Marcus the Truck looks good. He is middle aged and in need of special care. Then I came home and told Joseph we were going to replace the cartridge in the bathtub faucet so that it would stop leaking (something I have been meaning to do since we moved in....but it only leaks when you use the shower, and I think the guest shower has been used about three times, so it wasn't high on the list).

I got the handle off.....no wait, I couldn't get it because the screw was stripped. I had to call in re-inforcements.

Joseph is my loosener. Taking apart the handle was tricky, because we didn't want to damage anything, but we weren't exactly sure how it came apart. We finally got the cartridge out (which smelled like dead fish), took it to Lowes (in a plastic bag so as not to offend) and bought a replacement for $15. Putting the faucet back together took about two minutes (using a new, un-stripped screw).

My friend Renee told me she paid $150 for someone to replace her cartridge. She said she would call me next time. I said I only do my own home repairs, because if I mess up, it's my own home and I can always call a professional. Plus there was a part in this project where the cartridge would not come out and Joseph and I just kind of looked at each other and said..."What do we do now??" Brute force was the key to that one....Glad I've got my Joseph.

After we turned the water back on and made sure it didn't leak, Joseph planted my rose bushes for me in the front yard. My Mom has rose bushes, but they are in an area where they get a lot of shade. We put ours in the front next to the house, so I'm hoping they do alright. Our neighbors have rose bushes in full bloom and they are just gorgeous. I don't have pictures of the bushes just yet (they are small and not blooming) but here are some of my flowers Joseph planted for me.

I love Gerber Daisies.

I am glad Joseph has a green thumb and likes to do stuff like that. I sat outside to keep him company and painted my toenails. Then I made muffins for a party we were invited to, and went to a friend's house to play games.

It was a good Saturday.

My Eyeballs, Part Two

So I decided to go with Schwartz and have the ICL procedure done. Before they implant the lens in your eye, they have to do an iridotomy. Basically, they have to poke holes in the iris (the colored part of the eye).

That made me a little nervous. Poking holes in my eyes? But it's not a new procedure that was invented just for the ICL; you have to get it done for glaucoma treatment as well. It's necessary for the ICL because when the lens is implanted, it messes with the balance of fluid flow in your eyes.

I made my appointment for my iridotomy the following Monday. For the implants, my left eye was going to be done Wednesday, and my right eye the Wednesday after that.

The iridotomy required my pupils to be constricted, which is the opposite of dilation. The woman put eye drops in my eyes and told me if I developed a headache to let her know and she would give me some painkillers.

Eye drops give me a headache? I scoffed. Yeah right.

It gave me such a migraine I was trying very hard not to die. I had to sit in a chair under really bright lights waiting for my eyes to constrict enough so that holes could then be shot through them.

The woman was so nice; she gave me painkillers, got me crackers, got me water.

Although it didn't do much good, because the migraine was so intense that it caused me to vomit.

After that, I had to sit and have the holes poked in my irises. Then I had to wait an HOUR so that they could test the pressure in my eyes. I slumped onto Joseph in the waiting room and tried to lose consciousness.

One of the worst experiences of my life.

The contact implantation went much better. My eye was foggy for the first day, and the next day I was so groggy that I slept during most of it (did do a half day at work but I was exhausted). By Friday everything was good. I am still taking eye drops and I have one last follow up appointment, but I have been getting compliments since I've ditched my glasses (if you don't count my nephew, who told me I look weird).