The Titanic and it's Crew Rolled into Town!

Last week my parents stopped by while they were hauling their boat back up from Mexico to Washington. Every time I see it I can't help but think TITANIC. It looked humongous parked in front of our house. Luckily no one ever complained to the HOA- it was parked out front for 4 days! Here's a picture of what I call the Titanic (it's real name is Big Windy). Pictures don't do it justice.


The boat makes a great background for a photo op, don't you think?


Mom and Gretchen were getting along quite well. Gretchen must have known my Mom is a cat lover.


We made it over to the town Guadalupe, which is just South of Tempe, and exactly what I imagine a small village in Mexico to be like. It was in this town my Dad found two huge pot/vases, one of which weighs more than a grown man. These pots/vases will go great in my parents home since they are currently remodeling their living room, dining room and kitchen to have a more Southwestern/Mexican vibe.

They also bought us a late house warming gift!


One of the outdoor home decor markets even sold metal cacti!


We had a great time with my Mom and Dad and were really glad they could stay 4 nights rather than just one! Thanks for stoppin by!

Monument Valley & the Grand Canyon- Anniversary Trip

I Can't believe it, we actually remembered our camera. I must say, our anniversary is very well documented. We decided to head up North to Monument Valley and then hit up the Grand Canyon on our way back to PHX. Here are several photos from our 1st anniversary adventure!

We saw this monster on our way out of town. Can we say small penis? (Crude I know. But it's true.)



The View Hotel directly facing The Mittens and all of Monument Valley.


We're so in love! Posing with The Mittens.


Clarkman


Just a pretty photo


Looks like an add for a Nissan commercial, don't you think?


Thoughtfully gazing


Hi Clark! Driving through the Monument.


The Totem Pole


We basically have professional photography skills



We thought this dog was dead...until it woke up when we took the picture.



Absolutely awesome, unobstructed view of The Mittens from our hotel balcony


View from the restaurant


It snowed Monday night, and this is what we woke up to when we stepped out on the balcony the next morning!


The Grand Canyon! Clark is meditating hardcore...


Oh my gosh, Clark, don't let go!


Oh my gosh, somehow I managed to get myself into the same predicament!


Clark doing his infamous pose


Nice framing with the tree, babe!


Yep, we sure did have a good time seeing awesome sights! It was a great anniversary trip!

One Year Down...

Happy 1st Anniversary to us!!


We're happy. Really. We are. :)

Upcoming Anniversary Trip Change

Our anniversary is this weekend. We are not going to SIX FLAGS anymore due to work/school commitments.

LAME

So instead we have a back up plan that should prove very fun and exciting. And since we love the outdoors it should be well worth the journey. We will post pictures when we return! That is, if we remember our camera!

Quality Furniture at...Fry's Marketplace???

Earlier today I was at Fry's running some errands (Fry's is the equivalent of Kroger, or a store that uses the Kroger brand, for those of you who don't live in AZ). On my way out I noticed some end tables. I have been looking on craigslist for a nice wooden end table but even in this economic crisis people are asking way, way too much for their cheap furniture. So Clark and I went back to Fry's a little later to get some chocolate milk and look at the end table. Clark was skeptical of the quality, but the box was heavy. I knew it would be a good purchase.

$20 and some assembling later....

We have an extremely nice end table for our bedroom! And it is real wood, not that particle board stuff that ikea sells. Woo hoo for good buys!

A Little Spring Cleaning?

We've been letting Gretchen wander outside a little more lately. Apparently she rolled in dirt somewhere around the house and came in completely filthy! So we did what good parents should do: we bathed our little girl.

She's frightened and helpless.


We actually tried to blow dry her as well. She tolerated it quite well.

My New Running Buddy

I just purchased this little gem:

It's a Polar rs200sd heart rate monitor! It comes with a chest transmitter strap and a foot pod to gauge my distance, pace and heart rate! I can't wait for the little guy to get here! Quite an investment but I am hopeful that my training will drastically improve. Since I can't do all of my workouts and runs with my friend/coach Jenna, this will be the next best thing!

YouTube Rocks!

I absolutely love YouTube. You can "YouTube" just about anything- kinda like googling but you get a short film rather than a hyperlink to read a bunch of words! Clark has "YouTubed" how to make potato salad and other various recipes. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I missed the first 10 minutes to Twilight when we went to the theaters. So I youTubed Twilight and, to my great luck, found the portion of the movie I missed! Of course Summit Entertainment is trying to restrict the entire movie from being played on YouTube but various members have posted the entire movie split up into 12 different parts. So it's like watching segments of the movie 8-9 minutes at a time. Maybe it isn't exactly honest but I was DYING to see what I missed and I didn't have time to drive to the movie theater. I may just have to watch the entire movie via 12 segments on YouTube tonight!

Another great find: does anyone remember this song from the 80's? I absolutely LOVE it. It makes me want to sing karaoke like no other.

I also love reading the random comments to videos. People and their comments are so entertaining.

Maybe He Really Would Do Anything For Me....

I made Clark see Twilight with me yesterday. He was so unwilling; he made a big fuss about feeling like less of a man. But he knew it would make me happy to have him there by my side :)

I told him we couldn't lose, since the movie is now only showing at the $2 theaters in town. Leave it to me to wait until the movie is almost OUT of theaters and on DVD.

(I think he secretly liked it. He keeps asking me all sorts of questions about vampires and such, as if I am an expert. Dude, I have only read the books ONCE, I have only seen the movie ONCE. I am not a "Twihard" but yes, I am a fan.)

I happened to like the movie. Of course. I knew I would. And now I'll probably want to see it again since we did miss the first 10 minutes. It is only $2. I can handle that.

Very Bad News (Ok, it's not that dramatic)

I feel so....OLD... having to admit this:

I went to the dentist on Tuesday. Turns out I have two cavities. No biggie. I kind of expected that. In addition to those cavities, however, I have to get a CROWN! Oh my gosh, I thought only old people needed crowns! I guess one of my old fillings is so worn down that ANOTHER cavity has formed on the same tooth, and now I need a crown?! Uggghhhh.


I don't even know how this happened. I happen to have good oral hygiene. I brush twice a day and floss... but probably not as much as I should. But at least I do it!

I was very depressed for about two hours after my appointment. Clark was sweet and ordered Hungry Howie's pizza since I was in no mood to cook dinner. Then he ate himself into oblivion. Seriously, he ate himself sick. I thought I had a super-human appetite but man, can that boy eat.

Back to the teeth issue though...I have now resorted to having floss handy at ALL times. I bought extras to keep in my work bag and to keep in my purse. I REFUSE to let this happen again!

A "Healthy" Snack

Vegetable is in the item description so it must be healthy :)

These are quite tasty, you should try them!

A Little of This and A Little of That

The last couple of days I have felt the need to blog A LOT since I neglect our blog on the nights I work. And since I work the next couple of nights I thought I would just add a few pictures:

Here is a picture of Mom's Thanksgiving Green Jello. I posted the recipe several months ago but didn't add a picture. So here ya go. This is what it is supposed to look like. Stellar recipe. I made it just a couple of weeks ago while Clark was sick, thinking he might enjoy something fluffy and sweet. Turns out, nothing but powerade and toast sounded good to him so I finished off the entire batch of the Thanksgiving jello myself. It only took two days.


Last night Clark and I had several friends over for dinner. Now I am not a fantastic baker/cook by any means. But I decided to branch out and try a new dessert. Here is what is left of the pinapple upside down cake. SO delicious and scrumptious! Wish I would have taken a picture of the ring in its entirety BEFORE we chowed down!


Here is Gretchen sitting on our Foosball table. She does this all the time.



Hope you all have a great weekend! Have a great Valentine's Day ( that is, if'n you celebrate the holiday. If you are like me and you really don't, have a great Saturday.)

Super Stoked on Two Tongues!

I realize I just blogged about music, but I love music with a passion and I have to spread good news when I can.

I happen to enjoy a good tune or two, or three, or a thousand. So when two bands I completely adore come together to create 'musical fusion' (name that movie) I get EXCITED!
Saves the Day and Say Anything have created a new band called Two Tongues! You can listen to some of their music here. I just can't explain my love for both Saves the Day and Say Anything. Their talent is apparent in their music. Their lyrics are both intriguing and intoxicating.

The album for Two Tongues came out on February 3rd so I assume they will be touring soon :)

A list of our current favs

This one's for you, Whit!

Clark and I are currently obsessing about:

1. Six Flags. Oh yes, we will venture to the thrill park either in March or April. We were going to go for our 1 year anniversary (veeeeery romantic, I know) BUT the ASU nursing program has the students doing their preceptorships at the hospitals DURING spring break....One more reason to be bitter toward ASU. So if we can't go on our anniversary, we will go in April when Clark is done with his assigned hospital shifts.






2. Diet Dr. Pepper. We've taken to calling our pop "medicinal" after Dad Tobler. We aren't out of control with drinking pop, though. One a day isn't bad, right?

3. Rula Bula. We went out to dinner with some friends last Saturday at this Tempe resturant. It was unbelievable. I got the shepard's pie and I think Clark got the Reuben sandwich. MMMmmmmmmmmmm.... wish I would have been aware of just how good this resturaunt was while we were living in Tempe.

4. Big, Freakin Chunky Rings. I guess it's just the Bohemian gypsy in me that loves big rings. Clark asked me what I wanted for Valentine's Day so I sent him an email with the links to four rings I just love. He gets to choose, and if he so desires, he can get me more than one! He should be very lucky I'm not requesting diamond jewelry.........yet. Actually, I prefer gemstones and silver as it is.


(Just an example of one I like. Clark, don't think you have to get me this one just because I posted it. YOU choose.)



5. Youtube. Oh my gosh, we could spend all day watching any and everything! Here's a link to the band we'll probably go see next month. I'm sure you'll recognize the sound :) I haven't been able to get this song out of my head for the past couple of days.

6. Spending as much time together as humanly possible. AWWWWWWWWW!

7. Clark's Congratulatory Graduation Vacation. Don't know where exactly we're going yet, but I have already talked to my supervisors about taking one month off from work. Who cares if I don't have the vacation time to cover the days I will miss? We're thinking (if airline tickets are reasonable) that we'll go back to Europe and tour Eastern Europe this time around. OR we may go to Brazil or South Korea. But if airline tickets are extremely expensive we may just do a tour de America. See all the sights we probably wouldn't see otherwise. So we'll see what happens...

That's about it. Nothing much new in our lives other than working and going to school. I can't wait for Clark to be finished! Being on the same schedule would definitely be sweet.

EODM!!

Just this past Monday Clark, myself, and our friend Dan went to go see these guys at a venue in Scottsdale. They ROCKED THE HOUSE! It really was an incredible show. Sweet dance moves, great charisma; these guys know how to put on a show. I even got a "hey baby" from Jesse Hughes before the show started. Wow. What a rock star. Clark and Dan had a good laugh about it. Wish we would have brought our camera. We had an incredible view the entire show AND we were sitting.

If you watch the link above, you will realize that Eagles of Death Metal are NOT death metal.

One of the things we've come to learn about this band is that the lead singer/guitarist Jesse Hughes is NOT an Obama fan! YESSSSSS! Here's the link to prove it. He makes his case clear in the last minute of the interview.

Here's another link to a video that is pretty wild. Some of their videos are not quite appropriate...nevertheless, they are all very entertaining. Jack Black and Dave Grohl make appearances in this particular video.

If the Eagles of Death Metal come near you, definitely check them out!

STELLAR GAME!!!

I'll take college football over professional football any day. But I have to admit, last night's Superbowl game was INCREDIBLE!

If only the Cardinals had a minute longer in the 4th quarter....

January In a Nutshell

I think I am going to dedicate one blog per month to what Clark and I have accomplished within the month's time. I am so bad at keeping a journal so I thought I could post a list each month as a reminder of what I did and when. Maybe I'm just trying to justify not writing in a journal....but it's a digital world and I can't deny that typing is more convenient than writing...

I'm so glad to be rid of the terrible cold I had for about a month. New Year's Eve was not so fun. I was quarantined to the house because my cold was so bad. We tried to stay up and watch The Godfather III but I couldn't even make it through the movie (granted, it is a long movie). I also had to call in sick to work several days in a row and I had to miss my friend's wedding and the first dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrioUH6OneM

Somehow Clark avoided getting sick at all. Lucky guy.

JANUARY ACCOMPLISHMENT LIST:

1. Clark has worked super hard on the backyard, clearing out rocks and transporting them to the front yard ....




I tried to help, really I did. But even Clark said that it's a "man's job."

2. I ran my first marathon and finished (whew!). I was 16 minutes off my goal time but I had no idea I would have to go to the bathroom so many times. After stop #2 (mile 15) my groins cramped up like crazy and somewhere between mile 19-20 I actually had to stop and stretch. And then find alleys two more times for you-know-what. Uggghhhh, it just stinks to finish and not feel tired. Just cramped up. Even though I qualified for Boston, I think that would be too soon for another marathon. I need to run a couple of half marathons to get my confidence back up.

here is a link to pictures that I wish I could buy but just can't afford. Or rather, I don't want to afford. This photography company must make a killing.

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=44488&BIB=2120&S=230&PWD=




3. I finished the four books in the Twilight Series. I'm sad to be done, but glad I'm not obsessing about it anymore. Man that fictional Edward is SO stinking hot! Kind of makes me wish vampires were real...




4. Finally, I picked out various samples of colors to paint our kitchen and living room. Clark said we can only paint after he finishes the busiest part of his semester, which is the first 5 weeks. So, after spring break we can FINALLY splash some stinking color on the walls!



5. We finally made it out to the San Tan Mountains with Mom and Dad Tobler the day after the marathon. I have been wanting to go hiking out there for some time. The hiking trails don't quite compare to Mt. Charleston though.





6. I bought a bunch of picture frames for our bare walls...believe it or not, the best deals I could find were at Ross. I checked out Michaels, Target and Wal-Mart as well. Michaels sends out those 40% off coupons each week, but even those won't bring the prices of frames down to the price you can get them at Ross. Of course, Ross doesn't have a consistent supply so you never know what you're going to find...but here's what I found:



(Actually, the smaller 4x6 frames on the left side of the picture I did get at Michaels. But the three multi-picture frames were from Ross.)

7. I started to learn to play drums! Clark is teaching me the basics and hopefully we'll find a good deal on craigslist so we can get another drum set. Since I'm lefthanded we need another one so we can set it up differently.



Clark is extremely good at drums. It is so sexy to watch him play. Maybe I shouldn't type that, but hey, it's the truth.

Hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy. I am so thankful to finally be healthy again. My cold lasted long enough that I shouldn't get sick for another 3 years.