Oh Happy Day!

For two years, our yard has been dirt. And not so much plain dirt, but clay, since our soil where we live is crap. Finally, this year we have finally been able to put in our yard. Last fall and for the past few weekends, my family has been working really hard with us to finish the sprinkler system. It was finished on the 18th, which means this last Saturday we were finally able to make it look like someone lives in our house.

Here's Brad and my neighbor Amy (who is almost as excited for our grass as we are) getting the soil ready to lay the sod.



Patrick was a real workhorse Saturday, planting trees and lugging a lot of sod.



We had a few neighbors come help, and Lane and Everett to lay the sod. They finished up the last few pieces just as the pouring rain started.



I'll have to take some good pictures, now that the whole thing is done, but it was raining way too hard the rest of the weekend to get good shots. We still have to plant one more tree in the back, spread the seed back there, and put in the flower bed, but then our yard will be all done; ready for a summer of BBQ and fun. We've got a Little Tykes swing set for Lottie to play on and everything. I can hardly wait to be able to fully enjoy the perks of home ownership that include our own place to play outside!

Today I am grateful for...

My sister. I stole this title from her, because she has been posting on her blog every day about something she is grateful for. It's really nice to think about all these random things - movie quotes, new laptops (jealous), family, etc. It was a goal of hers to post one thing every day this month. And I love it. So check out her blog if you want something refreshing - funny - insightful - each day during April. I find myself really looking forward to it each day.

A few things

Last night I auditioned for Seussical the Musical. This was big for me. It has been a while since I auditioned for anything. I was thinking it was three years ago, but as I pulled my old theatre resume off the computer, I realized my last show was four years ago. And I haven't sung in public since that time.

Luckily my good friend Candice worked really hard with me on an audition song. Singing is not my strong point in musical theatre. I'm an actress who can sing, not the other way around. So I get nervous during the singing portion of auditions. Especially since I was auditioning for people I know. The musical director is a wonderful woman named Tammy. My only contact with her has come outside of the theatre, so singing for her was new. And the director is my sister. I've been dreading singing to be judged by these two talented women. They can be quite intimidating.

Well, as generally happens with me and singing auditions, I hit some pretty bad notes. Surprisingly though, I thought my sister would make me more nervous, but it actually calmed me to look at her! Candice too was in the audience, and between looking at the two of them and seeing their support, I was able to get back on track. And I felt good about my reading of "The Sneetches."

So, we'll see what happens. I'm not hoping for a lead; I know I don't have the vocal strength for one in this show. But, it will be good to get back to the theatre and have some "me" time. I've got to get that in before the next baby's born.

Which brings us to part 2 of this post. Lots of people know, but for those who don't, I'm pregnant! It was quite unexpected, (really, those little pills only work if you don't forget them for three weeks) but we are so excited! Baby #2 (currently named Cain & Abel by Steph) is due to enter the world on or about Septmber 27th. Yes, that puts Lottie at only 16 months - two not in nursery. But, since I'm not getting any younger, we're in a two week countdown to 30, it's not a bad thing to get our family into the world quickly.

Unfortunately, that's why I'm writing this post at 3:00 am on my phone... Pregnancy insomnia. I wake up for hours at a time during the night, unable to get back to sleep. I laid here for over an hour tonight before I decided to just do something. So, that means a blog update (since they're way too few in number). Next time I'll post from the home computer so I can include updated pictures of Lottie. They're getting even cuter now that she actually smiles for the camera sometimes.

A little confused

Lottie loves socks. She really does. She's just a little confused about where they go.

Update

It's really sad when you finally get around to reading your sister's blog, and only then realize that you haven't updated you own in 5 weeks. So here's an update.

We went to dinner on Friday the 13th to celebrate my mom's news that her cancer is in complete remission. Yippee! The transplant worked just as they hoped it would.

Our little family is doing well. Lottie gets bigger every day. She's still got her daddy's calm personality, for which I am continually greatful.

My Trip to CES

I found myself at the Microsoft booth at CES 2009. The CES, or Consumer Electronics Show, offers some of the latest technology, coolest gadgets and craziest new innovations. At this particular booth, I was playing around with one of the newest Windows Mobile phones when I was approached by a very insistent woman.

"You need to get off this phone, the FCC Chair wants to see it." Say what?

Naturally, I obliged and let Kevin Martin, the current (but not for long) FCC Chairman, use the phone I was just playing with. He kicked me off!

Part of me wanted to respond, "the FCC Chair can wait his turn just like everyone else." But I didn't want the government all over me, though I wonder in retrospect what he would've done if I had resisted. Guess we'll never know.

So why did I go to CES? To blog. And for an escape. I'm making the transition from full-time job at AT&T to a part-time internship, and it seemed like the best time to do it. Plus, I could get into the show and parties for free. All I had to worry about was the gas, food and possible hotels. Sounds like a good deal to me.

I currently blog for unwiredview.com, and figured I could find plenty of stuff to write about. It was true. Some of the cool stuff I saw? A watch with a built-in touchscreen phone (Dick Tracy style) and MP3 player, that will speak your text messages to you. A luxury phone that costs $2,000. An 8 MP camera phone (read: better than my current digital camera).

There was a ton more. Huge booths with the fanciest displays I've ever seen, showing off all the latest products. One in particular was a sensor that you put on the top of your HDTV that can see your hand gestures so you can use your hand as a remote control. Practical? No. Intriguing? Indeed.

I also enjoyed the parties. Many of the big players at CES will put on afterparties Thursday-Saturday nights. I went to three on Friday night -- one that was on the top floor of the Wynn, with amazing views of the valley; one that was uneventful for me and doesn't need to be mentioned; and one that featured a free performance by the Counting Crows. I got into that one at the last minute and waltzed right in to a nice view, only 5 feet away from the lead singer. Not bad for free!

I also was able to attend my grandma's birthday celebration that my parents and my dad's siblings attended. That was nice timing for me to be there, and a pleasant surprise for her.

The other notable thing I did on the trip was eat out at a posh steakhouse at the Paris called Les Artiste. Rather pricey stuff. I was invited by my sister-in-law who was on her way down to Cali with some friends; they definitely wanted to go to a place while stopped in Vegas for the night. Naturally I hadn't eaten much that day, so thus my stomach was smaller and I wasn't able to eat much of my expensive dinner. Nice timing for that as well. Fortunately I got a doggie bag and finished it all later, so it didn't go to waste.

All in all, it was a great weekend and everything seemed to come together quite nicely. I networked with some new people, saw some cool new gadgets, and caught some good entertainment. Great way to transition into a new phase of my life!

Between Boise and Bliss

I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog posts, but I thought I would start our holiday recap with this:

Lottie is generally such a happy baby. She spends much more time laughing and playing than she does crying. And she has slept through the night since she was a month old. So of course, when we went to Washington to spend Christmas with Brad's family, she was up throughout the night crying. She didn't smile and laugh like she usually does. I'm sure the family who doesn't get to see her much thought that we all lied about her personality.

It reminded me of when Melanie and Jeremy came to visit Utah last year. They spent a day skiing with Brad and Lane. I couldn't ski because I was pregnant (well... that and I can't ski). So I watched their 5 kids that day. They told me that Brielle, the baby, was so good-natured; that she was just a happy little baby. Of course, she spent the whole day crying and didn't take a nap at all. Turns out she was teething and having a bad day.

Well, as we were driving home from Washington (which is a story for another post) Lottie was being generally good. She was laughing and smiling or sleeping. Until we got back in the car after eating lunch in Boise. Then she cried and screamed pretty straight until we reached Bliss, Idaho. Then suddenly she started laughing and playing again. It was crazy how quickly her mood changed. I grabbed the camera and snapped some pictures. It was then that I saw this:


Look close on the bottom of her smile there - you'll see Lottie's first tooth. I guess one tooth makes a big difference in attitude. The difference between being in Boise and Bliss!