UnDeR CoNStRucTioN

I have decided to give my blog a makeover so please excuse the tackiness of our blog for a few days.

What do you think?

So the media is hammering us with this whole "going green" agenda because the polar ice caps are melting which is leading to depleting resources and threatening the mass distinction of wild life. Some of us, like myself are thinking "blah, blah, blah." But the other day I got to thinking, no matter where you place yourself on the political spectrum there is no doubt that civilization today is the most wasteful and destructive to the environment this planet has ever known since the beginning of time.

Can you imagine what a dump planet earth would be if plastic was invented 4,000 years ago? There would be litter everywhere dating back to the stone age! Thankfully, everything our ancestors used was organic (meaning it came from the earth and returned to its natural state) and wasn't tainted with harsh chemicals. Pretty much the only lasting artifacts still in tact from ancient civilizations are either made of stone or some kind of metal.

It is projected that it would take at least 700 years for a plastic water bottle to completely disintegrate after being buried. I am not going to go into all the statistics of or nation's yearly amount of waste --you can find plenty of websites to tell you that. It wasn't until the last twenty years or so that our nation looked at our consuming habits and realized that we could recycle and reuse materials in order to reduce waste and conserve resources.

OK, I know you are probably thinking that I am a total hippie- I know my husband thinks I am even though I take daily showers and shave my armpits and legs, but I do think it is important for our society gradually stop being so wasteful.

Here are some small steps I am taking to recycle, reduce, and reuse:

1. I save all the plastic bags I get from grocery stores and recycle them.
Most major grocery stores have a box located at the entrance where you can return bags.
- eventually I want to get some sturdy reusable bags, but I don't feel like spending the money yet. I read an article the other day that said many of the reusable shopping bags stores are not selling are poor quality and will fall apart after a few trips to the grocery store.

2. I am going to start rinsing out all used plastic containers, and put them in a large garbage bag and recycle them.
-This includes: milk cartons, yogurt cups, plastic containers with lids, laundry detergent containers, shampoo bottles, -basically anything that is plastic.

3. I rarely purchase canned soda and if I do, I recycle the cans. -You can get $$$ for them too.

4. I always turn off all the lights when I leave the house. Its saves energy and $$$.

5. Recently I have gotten into refinishing old furniture. It is so rewarding to transform an outdated, piece of junk into a beautiful piece of art. Its fun, cost effective, and resourceful!


Its a small start but it gives me the piece of mind that I am at least doing my part.

I would like you read what you have to say about all this. If you have any other ideas of more ways to recycle please let me know!

If you see me this summer I will be wearing these...

OK, so I know it is technically still Spring but according to the clear skies, warm temperatures, and fresh watermelon, it has been Summer in Sacramento since April. I am all about summer clothes because they are light, colorful, playful, and most importantly less expensive than winter and fall clothing. If you see me this summer I will not be wearing my usual high heels, unless it is date night of course, but instead wearing one of my three pairs of flip flops.

I seriously have worn these gold flip flops for three summers now. I bought them at Ross in Idaho Falls for like $12.00. Little did I know they would be my all time favs. They are Sbicca's and they have superb arch support. The straps are so comfy on your skin and you never have to worry about getting blisters. You know how when you wear flip flips for the first time after winter and the skin on the sides of your feet get irritated? Not with Sbicca's!

Last week Old Navy had a huge sale where they were selling flip flops for $1! You would think I would have been allllll over that. Well, I didn't. Instead I went there today with my friend Vivian and they had them 2 for $5. I kicked myself for not buying them when they were a buck each, but I also thought to myself, 2 for $5 is a pretty dang good deal too so whatever. So, I bought a pair in highlighter green and red. They are no Sbicca's but they are really cute and pretty comfortable. Definitely worth the $5!

Other exciting news....I finally landed a nanny job. I will be taking care of the cutest little ten month old baby. He is half Brazilian and half Texan, so you can imagine how adorable he is. Today at the interview he was giving me the flirt eyes and was totally comfortable sitting on my lap. I am looking forward to taking him on walks, to the pool, and just watching him be the cute babe he is.

Rivercats Baseball Game

A few weekends ago we went to watch the Sacramento Rivercats baseball game at Raley Field with a few of our friends. Kind of a spur of the moment thing, but it ended up being a fun night. Isn't that how it always goes? Nothing says, "summer time" like watching a baseball game on a warm summer night.

Golfing in Sacramento

A few weeks ago Mike reached one of his incentive goals so we bought him a golf bag. Earlier this morning we woke up around 8a.m. so we could play a quick 9 holes before Mike went to work. I love playing golf but am not very good at it so I just teed off a few times, drove the cart, and took pictures of the scenery. It was a great way to start off the day.

I almost ran over this cute little box turtle when I was driving the golf cart. I have never seen such a big turtle in its natural habitat. We had to document it.

Sunglasses are the new mascara, especially in the A.M. ;-)

Spring in California

Mike and I are back for another summer in sunny Sacramento. I was a little bummed to hear that Pinnacle chose the same location two years in a row, because I enjoy being in a new place and exploring a different city. We moved about 15 miles south of where we were last year and so far I really like the area. However, moving to a new place automatically makes me unemployed again. I think I speak for most when I say that job searching is absolutely dreadful. I feel desperate applying for jobs that I normally wouldn't do. I will keep you posted on when and IF I get hired somewhere. Mike on the other hand is doing well with selling so far. I was a little worried with all the recession news that people would be reluctant to buy an alarm, but that has proven to be wrong. Apparently during the Great Depression door-to-door salesmen were quite successful despite the collapsed economy. Who knew?

By the way, I don't know about you but I feel like the news is beating a dead horse with this whole Swine Flew...excuse me...H1N1 disease. I heard a statistic today that we are more liking to die from Sal manila than H1N1. All this hype was caused when VP Joe Biden said he wouldn't set foot on a bus or plane because of the risk of contracting the disease. Not a very smart thing to say considering airline companies are already hurting in this economy. Doctors (who I trust more than politicians) suggest just washing our hands more frequently and keep living our lives.

Ok, enough about that. More importantly, Mike's sister, Sarah and her husband Austin, finally had their sweet baby girl named Emmry Catherine Wiley. Before we came to CA, Mike and I took a quick trip to Denver to see our families.

Also, one of my best friends Michelle married Sterling Ercanbrack on April 10, 2009 in the Salt Lake City Temple. Michelle and I have been friends for about four years and were roommates in college. When we lived together Sterling first asked her out with a note and roses in a Mason jar. So cute. They are a beautiful and fun couple and we were lucky to be witnesses at their temple sealing. Congratulations Newlyweds!

One of my favorite part about weddings is all the little bridesmaids. They are so cute and I bet they are all thinking, "I can't wait until I can be in a princess dress and marry my handsome prince!" I know I did when I was little.

The rest of the picture are of our apartment in Sacramento. Mind you, we are using rented furniture and the decorations are minimal because we could only fit as much as we could in our two cars. Oh, I failed to mention that I am officially done with college classes! I just have student teaching to do, which I will complete next winter in Rexburg. I will walk in graduation after I student teach. Its crazy to think that I will never take classes at BYU-I again. That chapter in my life is over. However, I will still be living in Rexburg for another two years *cringe* until Miguel finishes. Whatever...that's life I guess.

This is Mike's incentive wall. For each sale he gets to peel off a star. About every five stars there is a treat like lunch at Chipotle or In 'n Out or whatever. A couple days ago he got a golf bag which he was pretty excited about.

Lastly, I almost forget to post this too. We just had our One Year Anniversary on April 26th. We celebrated by going to Chevy's -one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and spent most of the day with our friends at the pool. Overall, I would give the first year of our marriage five stars. Complete bliss.

Got to love the self timer. It took us about five times to take this picture and we still didn't get it right. Oh well.

What Goes Around definitely Comes Around

I just have to share this story because it is the perfect example of that phrase, "what goes around comes around." So here what happened.

When Mike and I lived at an apartment complex in Rexburg we decided it was worth the extra ten dollars a month to have a reserved parking spot. Anyone who has lived in Rexburg knows that you don't want to have to park too far away from your place when it is -10 outside and blowing snow in your face. Ever so often we would come home and our spot would be taken by someone else, so we would write a kind but firm note and attach it to their car.
We didn't ever want to tow people because it is like $100 for making the silly mistake of parking in the wrong spot. Plus, Mike loathes the tow guy and would never want to get him more money than he deserves.

Well, after so many times of our parking spot being taken by someone we decided to write a pretty mean note to car owner. The note went something like this: _____please move your POS car_____Next time you do this we will tow you_____. You get the idea. It wasn't very friendly. (the blanks aren't swear words but are just more threatening words.)

Then we came out to our car and a returned note read: Dear Angry Car Owner, Sorry your life is so terrible that me parking in your spot ruined your day. I will make sure to not park in it again. from: the POS car.

After reading his note we felt pretty stupid for freaking out over such a silly thing. We then promised ourselves that the next time we saw his car we would write a letter of apology, which we did.

The car owner then wrote a sweet note back thanking us for apologizing to him. We felt so much better about ourselves and were able to sleep at night again.

So here is when the story goes full circle. Two days ago Mike's younger sister, Lauren, called and said, "Guess who I am hanging out with? (Then she handed the phone to her friend who said) The POS car."

Moral to this story? Yes!