Addendum

Dude, seriously? I hate to ask, cause I know I'm asking for it, but really, how much worse can it get? Yesterday I was pulling back into my covered parking spot after Pinewood Derby and hit a freakin' pole and bent my rearview mirror back! Curran tried to direct me on how to fix my horrible parking job, and I just got frazzled, slammed the car into park and got out to let him figure it out on his own.

I thought for sure my bad luck would come to an end, but then as I was about to leave to house to go watch "Twilight" for the first time I decided to make a potty run--just like I make my kids do before leaving the house. Well, my precious cell phone (which really was a piece of junk, but it was precious to me) decided to go for a swim in the toilet! I fished it out, but it was no use. After switching my sim card to a new phone I discovered that all my Colorado numbers were deleted. Why all my Colorado numbers and not the others? You'll have to take that up with my phone. I personally think someone (or something) is still bitter about leaving California. I think it was feeling a little inadequate in a place filled with iPhones and Droids. I wish it had talked to me first, though. I might've been able to talk it out of ending his dear, sweet life. I needed it. I don't think it understood just how much I relied on it. May I show my new phone just how much I appreciate it before it's too late! Let this be a lesson to us all! Don't hold your feelings in! Tell your phones how much they mean to you before they're no longer around to hear you. And don't carry your cell phone in your pants pocket.

In all the mayhem and chaos afterwards--trying to rescucitate my phone, wondering if calling 9-1-1 would help--I completely forgot I had to pee!!

Highlights (and lowlights) of the Week

Judge 'em as you wish:

1. Went to look at houses in Centennial and Littleton where I found a house decorated in the "Party Centerpiece" motif--ceramic babies and gaudy flower arrangements ga-lore--including a tiny shrine to the Virgen de Guadalupe. Bonus points if you can tell me whose house this reminded me of (and I say that with the utmost love and respect)!

2. While looking at other houses, witnessed my realtor knock over a picture frame (of the favorite child cause there were pictures of the same girl--in the exact same pose--all over the house) and send shards of glass flying all over the carpet. I almost wet my pants seeing the panic on his face...

3. Went to the park TWICE this week where we got a little sun, threw wood chips around enjoyed the weather before being hit with the yuckiest snowstorm I've driven in.

4. Once again, managed to break my vacuum--why doesn't this ever happen when Curran's vacuuming?

5. Went for a 2-mile walk and spent the rest of the day (and the next) with shin splints, feeling nauseous and so stinkin' sore--even my hair hurt. Working out is overrated...just saying...

6. Skidded into a curb (at pretty good speed) and was then thrown back into oncoming traffic where I sat stunned for like 5 minutes before reacting. Thank you to Pie and my sweet husband for dealing with a pretty shocked (and at times hysterical) me. Oh and to Jessica and Elise for their session of exposure therapy--nothing like confronting your fears just a few hours after seeing your life flash before your eyes!

Panic

I am awake at 4:30 in the freakin' a.m. Why, you ask? cause I came to the startling realization that I am getting fatter. I put my jeans on last night--the ones that not that long ago required me to wear a belt to hold them up. Aforementioned belt was not even needed--far from it. These "fat day" jeans were a tad bit snug on my surprisingly-expanding gut. And that's the funny part: It came as a total surprise! How did I not realize this would happen after the continuous party I've been having with my new-found amigos? How is it that at 4 am my eyes popped open with the stark realization that I was fatter? It came as such a shock that my little eyes (which may be the only thing little on me at the moment--besides my willpower, of course)would not shut. My mind started to race and I think I felt some heart palpitations--though that just may be due to the cake and cookies and ice cream I've been chowing down.

So what is my course of action now that the shock has subsided some? To sit my rotund self on the couch and blog about it, of course...and check my farm on FarmVille...cause that's what all healthy, active people do, right? I'm trying to figure out a plan. And now that the weather is getting warmer I will be left with minimal excuses--but trust me, I'll still find some. Usually episodes like this in my life begin with me being in total denial--walking by the scale a million times a day but refusing to weigh myself to avoid the harsh reality of my fatness. But I'm making progress! I gave myself a little pep-talk as I was lying there awake instead of telling myself what a failure I am, and I walked to the scale to confront that number and know exactly what I'm up against. Good news: It's not as bad as I thought. Bad news: I may lose my friends over this cause I learned last night they only like me for my food...

How's the House Hunt?

Well, LET ME TELL YOU!! You might want to get comfortable, cause I have a feeling this one may take a while. I wont be offended if you choose to not read the whole thing. I promise...well, maybe a little bit, but I don't hold grudges...for long.

We got bit by the house hunting bug at the beginning of the year. We got a nice tax refund. We were reminded of the wonderful tax credit for first-time home buyers, and a friend in the ward was selling her house. So we started searching for a realtor. I asked for recommendations from a community yahoo group and within an hour had received over 30 emails with realtor recs. We were a little overwhelmed, but chose a couple and met them in person at different times--although now that I think about it, having them meet each other and holding some kind of Roman gladiator-esque competition might've been a better way to go...hindsight, I tell you.

We had a little bit of a tough time deciding. We liked them both--but for very different reasons. If only we could mesh the two into one super-uber realtor we would feel like we struck real estate oil. We broke up with one and committed ourselves to the other, and have felt on multiple occasions that we made a horrible mistake--just kidding. Time and time again Curran and I have felt that we went with the best one for us. We've also learned that the relationship you have with your realtor is just like a dating relationship. On more than one occasion I have referred to us "going steady" with him, and how sneaky realtors have tried (on more than one occasion) to get us to "break up" with him. But communication is so important, and honesty, and rapport (which might be the same as communication), and values--check, check and check, my friend.

There are a few things you should know about me: I'm a girl, and as such I am entitled to be stubborn, and fickle, and indecisive (which might be the same as fickle), and I exude these traits to the max. It started out with my firm rule of not wanting to move out of the ward boundaries--yes, that same ward I was so hesitant about 9 months ago; the ward I thought I would never be able to feel part of. I didn't want to move to a new ward, and be "the new girl" again--or worse yet--be called to the nursery again since that seems to be my "hazing" upon moving into a new ward.

After exhausting those options I compromised and said I would look out of the ward boundaries...but NOT out of the stake boundaries. We had more to choose from and actually found a few we really liked. Some of our possibilities did not come to fruition (love that word) but we have one that is hanging in there. We have hit a bit of a massive road block thanks to a lender who shall remain nameless. Let's just say their name rhymes with "mytech." Said lender is made up of a bunch of CHUMPS. That's right, I said it--chumps. I will spare you all the details, but let's just say the words "loan fraud" have been thrown around to refer to what they're trying to do. Chances are this lender has tried this tactic before and been successful, otherwise, why would they attempt such a risky deal? Isn't that sad? The most frustrating part is that our hands are basically tied. There is nothing we can do (that is legal) to please them.

We went as far as to look in another city completely only to learn that it just didn't feel right--see? I can be flexible. So now, we wait. We wait to see if those jokers have a streak of integrity and take the deal before the bank forecloses on the house. We wait to see if any new listings in our price range come up. We wait to see if we get a $20,000 check in the mail. We wait to see if we win the lottery. Problem is, I STINK at waiting.

Hee hee, and woo-wooo!

This skit from Jimmy Kimmel is not only hillarious, it also has some sweet eye candy. Ladies, enjoy. Gentlemen, I beleive even you can admit that these men are indeed handsome. Go on, admit it. We won't think you're less of a man, or a little too in touch with your feminine side for doing so.

Randomness

It's been a while since my last post and a lot has been happening--the biggest of all--well, there are three big things (and none of them involve a "bun in the oven" so just get that out of your head right now--are: Noah turned 2, Lola turned 5, and we are officially house hunting.

Noah's birthday was totally low key. He's two, and we took advantage of the fact that he wouldn't know any better and took him out for Mexican food where a bunch of loud Mexicans (present company included, and one with a COW BELL) sang happy birthday to him and scared the be-jee-bees out of him. We then took him to Target and let him pick out his gift. I was going to try to lean him towards the bigger toys, but then thought better of it and let him take home a $5 DVD and a $3 bouncy ball. He was ecstatic (and so were we)!

Lola's birthday was more of a weekend celebration. Much like her mom, she firmly believes birthdays were meant to be "birth weeks" or in this case a "birth weekend." Friday was her preschool Valentines/birthday celebration. She scored tons of sweets and plenty of valentines. Saturday I took Lola and Grace (her bestie) to Build-a-Bear where they each picked out an adorable (and overpriced) plush animal and stuffed, bathed, dressed and named it. Lola came home with "Queen Bear" and Grace came home with "Kiwi." We then went to lunch at Red Robin and stuffed ourselves with yummy food. Sunday after Church we had neighbors and family over for cake and ice cream (p.s. Thank you Pioneer Woman for the "best chocolate sheet cake" recipe). She scored yet more gifts and went to bed a happy girl. This morning she woke up to a room full of balloons and yet more gifts--oh to be five again!

The house hunt, though, is what has consumed the majority of our time since the beginning of the year. It went from being just a thought in the back of our minds to the forefront in a matter of weeks. We found a KILLER agent--and by "killer" I mean super great, not a crime committing felon. We've never house hunted before, and he has been way patient and we've learned a ton from him, and his name is PIE--and since we're being honest, I picked him cause he's named after one of my favorite foods--the fact that he's great at what he does is just a bonus. So we talk/email/see Pie on a pretty regular basis, and I've learned that being a Realtor is a lot tougher than I ever imagined. I just really hope all the time and work we're all putting into this "finding a house" thing pays off for all of us (and soon).

The only other thing I have to report on is the fact that we have found a group of friends to hang out with, and though this may sound cheesey and lame, I am SO stinkin' happy! Moving to a new state is tough, and though we have loved being in Colorado there is something to be said for having good friends close by that can make any new place suddenly feel like home. I feel like we finally have that, and I am blessed because of it. It's just nice and comforting to have that assurance that you can pick up the phone and find someone to do the most menial, mundane things with you just so you don't have to do them alone. It's nice to know that come Friday night, even if no plans were made, we'll always find people to eat/chat/ laugh with while our children destroy the house. It's nice to sit and chat with a friend for twenty minutes only to discover it was actually more like 2 hours. It's nice to know someone who wont laugh at you just cause you want to drive out to Sams Club just for an icee. Life seems a little fuller, a little brighter, and it's moments like the ones we have had a lot of in the last few weeks that I realize how well Heavenly Father knows me and places people in my path who will help me and teach me and make me feel like not such a bad person cause man, are they gonna burn in hell for some of the stuff they have done!!

Reasons I have LOLed this week:

1. Mark McGuire (finally) admits he used steroids--as if the whole world hadn't figured that one out.

2. The State of the Union address may be rescheduled so as not to interfere with the final season of Lost season premiere--smart move Mr. President. Smart move.

3. Lola telling me that IF we have another baby and said baby is a boy she plans on selling him cause girls are better.

4. Watching the crazies on The Bachelor (will this ever get old? Hmmm...I think NOT!)

5. Having the blender explode protein shake all over my kitchen thus ruining my ONE feeble attempt to live a healthier life in 2010. (The laughter only came after a few choice words that would make a sailor blush)

6. The mental pictures Lola's comments from the previous post have caused to appear in my childish mind.

7. Trying to fit into a cub scout shirt that was like 3 sizes too small after being told the shirts run "super extra grande."