New things

Gee, it's been a while! I'm not even sure where to begin. Since the last time I wrote, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter have all come and gone and summer is just around the corner. We have been living in San Diego now for almost a year now, and still loving it. We had a new addition to our family in February. No, not a baby! Well not a human baby anyways, a PUPPY!

MEET................ BOSS!

Ahhhhhhh! I still can't get over how cute he is. OK let's be honest, he sort of looks like a little rat in these pictures. But luckily has gotten even more cute over time. So let me apologize now because I will probably be posting about him A LOT. I'm like a mother with a new baby I suppose. So if you're not a dog lover (Cough, Kelly W!) You may not be very interested in my blog anymore. But really, come on, even if you don't like dogs, how could you not be obsessed with that little face} <<<< That is going to be my question mark for this post. For some reason, it does a colon when I hit the question mark key. Anyone know why}}}}}} :) 
Anyways, back to Boss. He is an English Bulldog. He is now almost 5 months old, and quite a noddy puppy. Maybe noddy is not the right word, curious, I guess. You may be wondering why an English Bulldog} Well, ever since the first time I saw the show Rob and Big, my sophomore year of college, I always wanted a dog just like Meaty.If you don´t know what I am talking about, click here. And why the name Boss} Well because the man at the gas station we always go to calls Zach "boss". "Hey boss, how's your day going, see ya later boss!" We always thought it was so weird. And maybe we are the weird ones, for naming our dog after the gas station man. 
                                                       
                                                               The first night

                                                                  Little marshmallow

                                                                       Sleepy boy

                                                                          More sleeping

                                                                      And more

 We were so nervous to get a puppy because we LOVE our sleep. And by we, I mean ME. Anyone who knows me knows that I can sleep anytime, any place, all day if I wanted. So naturally, I was dreading that part of getting a puppy. I`ve heard so many horror stories about puppies waking up at 3 am needing to go outside. And our problem is that we live on the 3rd floor. So walking down 2 flights of stairs at 3 am did not sound very appealing. However, we lucked out, and got the best, most sleepy puppy in the world! He has only woken up at 3 am one time in the 2 + months that we´ve had him. Not only does he sleep through the night, he sleeps in until we wake him up. One Saturday, he slept from 9pm to 10:30 am!! You know how people always say the dog´s personality matches the families} Well, I´d say he matches ours to the T, especially our sleeping habits. :D Thank goodness!

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Fall Part 1

Supposedly Fall is here..it's maybe even  Winter? And to be honest, I still feel like it is May. It's the strangest feeling to know that we are past the leaves turning colors, past Halloween, and today it SNOWED where I used to live (Logan). It's so hard to describe the feeling. I guess it just feels like time is flying by because before I know it, it's going to really be May again, and the weather will still be the same as it is today. I'll admit, I did miss the fall, the crispness of the air when it's just starting to get colder, going to pumpkin patches(I'm sure we could have found some here, but it wouldn't be the same when it's still 75 degrees outside) and corn mazes... aw I love that time of year. But just as I was starting to miss it, I looked on facebook today and saw everyone posting about snow, and realized that fall goes by way too fast, and before we know it, it's snowing outside, and will be for the next 6 months. Ugh. And that I'd be happy to give up 2 months of fall to not have to deal with WINTER! :):) :) Funny story about this subject: Last Thursday night we had the news on. I wasn't really paying attention and heard them say "be prepared for a winter storm tomorrow". I woke up Fri. morning, put on warm clothes, you know, preparing for this winter storm that was coming, go outside.. and it's raining. Maybe even 65 degrees still. For some reason in my head when I heard the words 'winter storm' I expected to have to scrape off my car, get a head start on the icy roads, oh silly me. Funny thing is, there were over 400 car wrecks that day. I can't imagine what would happen if these people lived in Utah during a real winter storm!

Okay Okay, enough of my ranting, I have a lot to update everyone on, so much that I'm making it into 2 posts! So let's get started.
My Trip to Arizona
A few months ago, I had a couple of days off work and decided to go spend some time with my family in Arizona. It was a short trip but still a great time.

My dad was gone on a business trip but was able to make it back in time to go to brunch with my mom and I. Aren't they so cute with their stylish reading glasses?!
Conference weekend
Then just a few weeks later, they had to go to Santa Ana for a funeral and stopped in San Diego to stay with us for a few nights. It was over conference weekend, so we had a nice relaxing time eating good food, and watching conference.


This is the monkey bread that I did in fact make all by myself!

 Weekend with Chris
And then, just a week later, my little brother came to stay with us during his fall break.



I took the day off work, so Chris and I went exploring/window shopping for Halloween decorations until Zach was able to join.





MUSSELS ANYONE? If someone could please tell me how to get these little guys unstuck from the rocks so I can eat them, I'd be very appreciative.



These seashells were stuck all over the rocks. They weren't coming off either!

On Saturday, we went to the beach. We got a little sunburned, but we found a star fish stuck to the rocks.

So Cool!



The boys at dinner.

 We love getting visitors and were so happy to have my parents and my little brother visit in the same month. Hopefully they had as much fun as we did!

The weekend after my brother came, we went to Disneyland! ...more to come! :)

-CC- 

My life as a movie.

Even since high school, I always seem to have the strangest things happen to me. The kind of things where you think to you self after, "I sure hope nobody saw that!"  I know everyone has these moments/thoughts every now and again, but I have them a lot!  I remember watching The Truman Show in high school and feeling like that was me, that was my life!  Why else would all these random things be happening to me, other than for someone, somewhere to be watching and laughing. ( And then sometimes I wonder if Heavenly Father just needs a good laugh and puts me in these situations because he knows I will be a good sport :)  )  Anywho, just a few off the top of my head:
The time I was a 15 min crawl underground, in a cave, and my stomach decided to not agree with what I had for dinner. "I sure hope nobody saw that...or knew it was me" Enough said.
Or the time I was running late for work and my car doors were frozen shut. Really?? Who's car doors get frozen shut.  I had to climb through my back window to get in, and for some reason thinking it was a good idea to go behind first, came down on my ice scraper, which poked a hole through my dress, leggings, undies, and put a nice big gash on my cheek. There was no time to go change, so I had to go to work like that. I remember looking around in embarrassment with the thought, 'I sure hope no one saw that!'
Or all the other random times that my car door was frozen shut once again, miraculously I got it open, but then it wouldn't close. So I had to drive to work  with one had on the steering wheel, and the other holding my door closed. Every time I'd turn a corner, the door would swing open and I'd think, "oops, I sure hope nobody saw that!"
What about the time we got in that car accident and I was put me on a stretcher and wasn't allowed to get up until they took xrays.  3 HOURS LATER.. my bladder was going to burst. I begged and pleaded for the nursed to just let me get up and go to the bathroom. Nope. But they were generous enough to give me a bed pan. Painful story short, bed pan overflowed ( I had to go ..bad!) and my clothes had to be cut off of me, because they still refused to let me get up to remove my wet shirt. I remember thinking, " The poor souls who had to see this!" HA
Well, these kind of situations slowed down for a bit, and I thought maybe 'my show' had been cut. Maybe it was someone else's turn to have the "I hope no one saw that" thought come up much too often.
But I thought wrong.

It all started when we were house hunting. The lady who was helping us sign our lease was telling us about all the cool local spots. One of which was Blacks Beach. She described a gorgeous view atop a cliff that overlooks the ocean. Then you hike down the cliff on these stairs that are carved into the side, and at the bottom is the most amazing beach. She said you often times see celebrities there, and there are hardly ever any people. Sounds pretty dreamy right? Well it was!

We had been to the top a few times to admire the view, and watch the sun go down. But we had never made it to the bottom. (For some reason it's always cloudy on the weekends and sunny during the week.. when we can't go to the beach. Not to mention the hike to the bottom is very steep and we were a little reluctant to do it.)  Finally we got a sunny Saturday! And we decided to go check out the long awaited Black's Beach. We got a head start, wanting to get the prime spot on the sand. As we slowly hiked down the cliff, I noticed there were quite a few older men, alone, hiking down as well. This should have been a red flag. But I was much to excited to finally have a nice beach day, that I didn't notice anything was different until we reached the bottom. I raised my eyes to look at the ocean, and the first think I see is a naked saggy butt! Zach and I just looked at each other, hmm that was strange. Then as we continued walking to find a spot, we noticed another naked person, and another, and another! Was this come kind of joke? The leasing lady told us this was the best beach around. It was gorgeous like she said, and there also were not a ton of people like she said, but what she failed to mention was that it was a NUDE beach!(She got us good!) We were laughing SO hard, and trying not to throw up  at the same time. We thought about going to a different beach, but by the time we hiked back up, and drove somewhere else, half the day would be gone. So instead, we walked about half a mile down the beach until there was no body in sight, and still had a good time. I guess I should clarify, a CLOTHED good time! And I can assure you throughout this whole thing, I was thinking, "I sure hope nobody I KNOW saw us!" Or I don't think I could ever look at them the same. Hahahahaha! gross
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Home sweet home!

Our Apartment

Living room, and kitchen.

Kitchen

Ittybitty bedroom

I know, not the best pictures, but it's the best I could do. Although our apartment is pretty small, we still love it. It is actually the perfect size for us. And we even have a "den" that I did not take a picture of because it is messy with all our storage stuff and extra bed! So if you want somewhere free to stay when you come to SD, you know who to call!  We also have a little deck, which I am so happy about because we bought a grill 2 months before we found out we were moving. I was going to be so sad if we had to give it up! But now we can keep grilling all year long! And thank goodness for that nifty grill. Last Thursday, the power went out in all of San Diego. For 12 HRS! When we finally got home, there was nothing to eat. I guess we could have had cold soup, or a pb&j sandwich (we could have had a lot of other things, but you aren't supposed to open your fridge, it'll help your food last longer) So we cooked a frozen pizza on our grill! How creative! It actually wasn't too bad, and the experience was kind of fun.
*Side note* Wow, how inspired is the church? FOOD STORAGE!? What if instead of 12 hrs it was 48 hrs with no power? Some neighborhoods had to boil their water because a pump stopped working. What if they didn't have electricity to boil water? (Or a grill :) ) They'd be out of luck. Unless they had food storage! I'll admit, we need to stock up a little better. But it's hard with  a small apartment. There is hardly no storage space as it is, let alone.. extra storage space! Nonetheless..it is important!  I don't think you understand how much we rely on power until it is out. Everything we do relies on it! It's kind of sad, really.
But you don't need power to see this! Better than watching TV any day!

-CC-

Sweet, sweet, San Diego

I'm back! I'll be the first to say that I have been HORRIBLE at updating this. The thing is, I still don't really know how to use it, so whenever I get on, I usually end up spending 2 hours to write one little post. This is not a lie. Someone please teach me. And because of this, it's hard to find time (2 hrs) out of each day to update. I need to be better. I want to be better! So, hopefully I will.

Well, so so much has happened in the last month. Zach and I moved to a little place called Carmel Valley. If anyone is familiar with San Diego, it is in between La Jolla and Del Mar. And we LOVE it. The move went well, THANK YOU to my wonderful mother for helping us with so much, and driving down with us. What would we have done with out you? Also big thanks to Zach's friend Peter who drove with him in the truck, and helped us move, and also Zach's fam who help pack everything up. We have such wonderful family and friends and are so lucky to have them in our lives.

GOOD BYE LOGAN!

 Things are a lot more expensive here than Logan, but it is well worth it. RENT: OUTRAGEOUS! Every time I give them that check, I cringe at that thought that we are just throwing that money away, out the window, no big deal. There are so many other things I would love to have, such as a dog, but nope, we have to pay the rent! GROCERIES: Ok, I never EVER thought I would say this, but I miss super Walmarts. Gross, I know. Don't judge. But the grocery stores here are all very expensive, especially the produce. They remind me of Lee's in Logan.(If anyone even knows what I'm talking about) They are kind of like privately owned type stores. And they are pricey!  And they don't have food Walmarts here, or at least anywhere I've been. I mean, they have a few food items, but nothing like the ones in Utah. I always thought California was ahead of Utah in things, not in up to date Walmarts I guess. Maybe this is a good thing, contributing to local businesses and all. hmm. TAXES: The state of California thinks it is ok to tax EVERYTHING! Income taxes, sales taxes, anything you can think of there is a tax on it. I don't understand how this state is bankrupt when they make so much money off taxes. Here is an example, well 2 examples: I bought a new phone a few weeks ago. It was on sale, but I had to pay the sales tax on the actual price rather than the sale price. This should be illegal! My cousin told me he bought a TV a while go. TVs are expensive as it is, when the cashier wrung up the TV, it was $100 more than the price. He asked why, and they said there was a "recycling fee". Keep in mind, he was BUYING the TV at the time, not recycling it. DUMB. They'll get ya wherever they can!

Despite the expensive cost of living, we still love it. Zach's job is going well. He has been there for about a month and a half, and I think liking it more and more. It was really stressful at first, as all new jobs are. But I think the lifestyle change made it a little harder. His job in Logan was so laid back. He'd take 2 hr lunches, go in late, and no one cared, leave early sometimes. Here, he usually works 10 hr days while eating lunch at his desk. It took a while to get used to. But I think he's coming along. As for me, I found a job a little sooner than I wanted. Ok, that is kind of true and kind of not. I am VERY greatful and lucky to have found a job here. It was hard to even look because we didn't get internet set up until a month after we moved in. So I had to go to Barnes and Nobel every day and use their WiFi to find jobs. I'd look for about 3 hrs, and then come home and clean the house, and go to the pool. Part of me LOVED this, but the other part felt worthless. After looking for a week, I had found nothing. I was so devestated, I cried and told Zach that I was never going to find a job. (Dramatic, I know, especially after 1 week ) Well, I got an interview the next Thursday. It was a group interview, the worst kind! They called me that same day and basically I started the next day.  I'm now going on my 4th week. It was fast, and I am so greatful for it, I  just wish I woulda appreciated the time by the pool a little more. :) The job is at a place called Torrey Hills Surgical Specialties. There is an Oral Surgeon, and a Podiatrist. I just do front office/reception stuff. So far, I like it, other than the "starting a new job part".

The think I love about San Diego is that there are so many things to do. I feel like we will never be able to do everything that is out there. So far:

Sleepy little guys.



This was one of the coolest experiences. The guys hands you can see in the right bottom corner, are those of this handicap man. We had been watching the monkeys for a long time wishing they would get closer to the glass. All the sudden this man pushed his way through the crowd and got next to me. He put his hands up to the glass, and all the sudden this monkey came RUNNING to him and put her hands up to the glass to match his. It was the cutest/most amazing thing ever. Then he went on to tell me all about this particular monkey. I guess they were friends. How cool!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
This is the birthday Peach pie that I made myself. I'll be honest, it wasn't nearly as good as it looked.

Zach took me to a really cool restaurant right on the beach for my birthday. It was called Jake's Delmar. Great steak and sea food place!

One Sat. night we went to Old Town. It's kind of like and old western/mexican town. There are old buildings that have been turned into museums, soap/candle making shops, classic old candy stores, and really good Mexican food. This was a little hispanic band playing at a restuarant. They were pretty good! 

Like a kid in a candy store.



Ok, so it's hard to see in this pict. But there was a little old lady sitting by us while we were watching this band ,who was really into the music, to say the least. While sitting down, she was tapping on her legs, shoulders, stomping her feet, to the beat of the music. Then all the sudden, she got up, walked to the front of the stage, and started doing some salsa dance by her self. She was up there for probably 5 minutes, walking up and down the isles, clapping her hands, shaking her hips, having a grand old time. It was hilarious! I hope I am like that when I'm older!


Well, my 2 hrs is up! I promise I will update this more often. These are just a few of the adventures we've been on so there will be a lot more where this came from!

-CC-

 

Wow it's been a while!

Alright alright, I am fully aware that I have not updated this thing FOREVER. I'm sorry (if anyone even cares) but life has been so crazy the last few months. Lot's of seeing family, working, and our most recent trip:

SAN DIEGO!

And the reason for this trip was to find an apartment! For those of you who have not heard, WE ARE MOVING TO SAN DIEGO... next week. EEK

Zach got a job there basically doing the same thing he is doing in Logan, but he is getting paid more, and there is no snow there, so how could we turn it down?! It all happened really fast, Zach just gave his 2 weeks on Monday. Ha! It'll be an adventure for sure and we are so excited!!

Sorry this is so short after not posting for so long, but I have to go pack. (and if anyone wants a free ride to San Diego next week, I'd love someone to ride along with me! Any takers?...anyone?) :)