Kelly Ripa Wannabe

At the end of April, as you may recall, my mom came out and took me to Saint George for a much needed girls' weekend. Well, on that weekend I made a comment to her that she took some offense to intitially, but then came to accept. I told her she was a lot like Kelly Ripa in the way that she could just go on and on (and sometimes, on) about any old topic.

So, a couple weeks ago as I was writing my pirate post and how a simple comment about piracy (the floating, looting kind, not the movie/music-stealing kind) got me going on and on about the genetics of my pirate obsession and about 100 other things my co-worker didn't ask for, I realized that I, too, have this Kelly-esque quality.

Thus, the great idea was born. If Kelly makes a great talk-show host, then if my mother and I were to team up, we'd be the best duo since, well, Regis and Kelly.

Where do we sign?

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Risky, Risky...

So, as of late I have been pondering the idea of getting a balance ball to sit on for at least a few hours of my work day so that I can strengthen my core (i.e. abs) while I'm attending to e-mails and what-not. I sit 8 hours a day, why not spend 2-3 of those working on my six-pack? Seems like a simple decision, but the following concerns have risen in my mind:

1) My image around the building. (Read: Someone needs to come to my office and asks who I am to another employee, that employee responds, "oh, you know her, she's the girl with the balance ball).

2) Potential danger (Read: What if my balance sucks and I fall over and hit my head on the filing cabinet and go into a coma - will that qualify as a work-related accident? Or will that be out-of-pocket?)

3) Religious concerns (Read: I work for a religious institution, what will people think if they walk by my office and it appears I have channeled voodoo energy to float off the ground by my desk, thus rendering my need for a chair obsolete?)

4) Color Dillemma (Read: No, by this I actually mean choosing a color for my ball. That's a big choice).

5) Fear of Failure: (Read: I sit on my balance ball for 3 hours a day for a month - my abs are the same.)

What to do...

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Heart Strings...

So as Amanda already mentioned the window in the Passat decided it wanted to spontaneously blow up and it did just about that... okay, maybe not blow up, but more specifically the track decided it wanted to disconnect (to put it lightly) from the clamps that held up the glass part of the window. If this is boring anyone I'm sorry, I spent several hours disassembling it, so I know rather intimately what went wrong. Anyway, I am taking (as one of my 'for fun' classes) an automotive class about the electrical parts of a car, which might I add is what makes your car do everything! So I have access to the shop and tools and the things I need to take a deeper look into my broken window. After a couple of days driving around with plastic taped to the side of the car, I finally took it into the shop and started tearing the door apart. I was surprised at how much stuff they put in that door... or maybe just the complexity of taking it all apart, I don't know, either way it was an experience for me. I get the door all apart and see what the problem is, unfortunately I cannot get off this one really large panel, so I invite my instructor to come take a look at it. He tells me that the whole panel is part of the mechanism that has broken so I have to replace the entire thing... ugh, shoot me now. Also as Amanda mentioned, we needed a way to keep the window in the up position (because of this crazy rainy June in Utah). So I took two tennis balls and cut them with a razor blade down the middle and squished them inward to form ovals (verses there common circular nature) and stuffed them into these two small holes in the door panel which now is what the glass in the window is resting upon, tennis balls. At least tennis is a high class sport...

Well, yesterday morning I left my wallet in the Passat and so I had to drive out to Amanda's work to get it. After I picked it up, I remembered that there was a junk yard right next to Amanda's workplace. I stopped in and asked if they had any cars like my Passat (there are a couple of years that would work) and the attendant said that I could go "look." I went through the building to the backyard and started looking. Unfortunately I couldn't find an equivalent vehicle but I did stumble upon something that yanked on my heart strings...

For all you that may not recognize... This is the car that Amanda was driving when I got back from my mission and started dating, we had it while we were first married and it reminds me of great times that I spent with my wife. We really liked the Probe and it was kind of special, then it blew up.... no pun intended, it really did explode while on the freeway, it was scary. When I first saw it from across the junkyard I thought 'no way' but as I got close to it I could see that beloved A's sticker and knew right away that it was ours (plus the license plate was a dead giveaway).

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So much...

Well, it's been far too long since I blogged since there's been so much going on that I haven't talked about. Here's a quick rundown of the top 10 happenings (in no particular order):

10) I went to the Kelly Clarkson concert with my sisters-in-law. Kelly Rocks.

9) I went to the Yanni: Voices concert with Stephanie. We had the most hilarious time.

8) Geoff finished classes for his first block of summer semester. He's got finals this week and then starts all over again the week after.

7) Geoff and I saw Up in 3D. VERY good.

6) The passenger window in the Passat decided to break. It is now being held up by tennis balls - thanks to Geoff's ingenuity.

5) Geoff and I apparently became inept at returning movies as we kept two seperate redbox DVDs for three days each. Lame.

4) We went up to the in-laws for a fun-filled Father's Day complete with cheese, meat and chocolate fodue, croquet, and Pit.

3) I taught my first lesson in Young Womens (12 girls!) while Geoff simultaneously taught his first lesson in Priesthood.

2) I got a new work phone (a T-mobile G1) and we have been having fun learning how to use it. It's pretty cool. Not quite an iPhone, but it rocks.

1) My cake-decorating exploits continued with a failed attempt at tall cupcakes - but I will be trying again!

I'll try to keep our lives a little better updated!

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Proof

Proof that the desire to be a pirate is genetic:
Mama G with a "REAL, LIVE" pirate

Me at my 4th (?) birthday party. Note the eyepatch.

See the post below if this makes no sense to you. :-)

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Walk the Plank, Matey

Another amusing happenstance at work I feel the need to report on for anyone who needs a giggle.

I was heating up my lunch and standing around in the membership room next to the microwave. I was looking around the room when I spotted an earring that I had lost about 3 days ago. I yelped with joy as I walked over to collect it and explained to my co-workers that I had lost it and found myself getting ready for bed to find I had only one earring.

To this, my co-worker replied, "Like a pirate?"

At which point, I got a little too chatty (what else is new) and proceeded to tell him that I had always wanted to be a pirate. And that it was my mom's fault - she had passed it down to me. And that she almost got to be a pirate once because she had to wear a patch; but it was a white, gauzy patch and not the kind that pirates get to wear.

My food was done at this point in my pirate rantings, so I turned to leave the room and as I exited, I heared my co-worker responding to my story, "Of course, because we all know that the desire to be a pirate is genetic."

Ahoy.

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Pra-duh!

So, I was driving back from Wal-Mart today and as I drove down 800 N on my way home, I passed the grocery store Maceys. I noticed that in the parking lot were giant inflatables and booths of some sort set up in the parking. Having nothing better to do, I detoured into the parking lot so see what all the fuss was about. What was it, you ask? A giant yard sale. Boutiques and families had set up camp in the Maceys' parking lot for a big sale. I'm never one to turn down a good deal, so I parked my car and perused the booths.

I got toward the end and found racks of purses, which immediately drew me toward them. As I got closer I realized these weren't just any purses as logos like Prada, D&G (Dolce and Gabbana for the fashion illiterate), and Coach twinkled before my eyes. Now, I'm not an idiot, so I know that these bags aren't real...but, hello, since when am I a purse snob? I may be a car snob, shampoo snob, and an Orville Redenbacher popcorn snob, but purses? No. All I know about purses is that there is no such thing as too many and if I can fool one person into thinking it's a real Prada, even better.

So, I caved and bought one. According to the (extremely legit-sounding, of course) salesman, it's the newest style for the spring and summer. Feel free to drool as necessary.

Prada from the grocery store parking lot - I'm livin' the good life.

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No Death!

Well, the previously mentioned tie dye extravaganza was definitely a success.  People got so creative!  I think tie dye should definitely make a comeback.  Or, maybe it just did.  Enjoy some of the highlights: 

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To dye or to die?

Tonight I am in charge of the Young Women's activity for all the Young Women in my ward at church. I gave the girls 5 choices on Sunday to rank from favorite to least favorite (cake decorating, tie dye, physical fitness, service, and something else that has eluded me at the moment). Tie dye was far and away the winner, so that's what we are doing tonight. I've got all the supplies ready to go, instructions on hand, extra white socks for anyone who forgets to bring something to dye...now I just have to survive the evening.

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To Waddle or...

Posted by Amanda: Well, I had the aforementioned personal training session this weekend and let me say this much - it's a good thing it was free! He KILLED me. I can hardly walk today - and the session was 2 days ago. I'm pretty much miserable. If he was trying to convince me to purchase more of these lovely sessions, he's INSANE. I'm in pretty good shape, all things considered, so to push me hard enough that I can't even go back to the gym 2 days later is just sick and wrong. ha. I can't even cross my legs without the aid of my hands.

Which brings me to the bright side of things. I was talking to Geoff on the phone a few minutes ago and informed him that I definitely needed a "soda run" today. My soda run is a 10 minute break from work where I dash over to the nearest gas station and get a giant refill of Diet Mountain Dew. Well, I told him in no way could it qualify as a "run" today since it takes me 5 seconds (counted as 1-one-thousand 2-one-thousand, not 1, 2, 3). He laughed on the other end and said, "Yes, more of a soda waddle."

Indeed.

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