Don't Worry

For those of you who may have missed my daily blog...don't worry...I am still here. I have just been too lazy to get on my cpu at home over the weekend. Actually I was on the couch with the laptop and since Rick doesn't like it when I have diarrhea of the mouth, or fingers, I decided to not blog with him sitting next to me.
We caught some great tv sports viewing over the weekend. Kyle Busch's engine blew up during th NASCAR race. That always makes me happy. My fantasy football team is kicking butt. (I still have a player playing tonight but I am up 268 to 178 so there is no way I am going to lose. Thank you Eagles Defense for the 57 points! And yes it is MY fantasy football team, not Rick's.) We watched a very emotional tribute at Yankee Stadium. I am not a Yankee fan but I sure did shed some tears. College football wasn't too bad on Saturday.
Today I was able to pick up an awesome computer stand for me to use while on the couch. Don't worry I will be posting more tonight, maybe even a video of me playing Rock Band!

Why I Do What I Do

Darci made a comment the other day mentioning that she likes how I blog. That it is the "real" me. I appreciated that comment. It made me feel good about what I do. I figure that I have the time to blog so why not. Sure I write about random things and that is why I blog often more than once a day but heck, if anyone finds it entertaining besides myself then all the better.
I look at blogging as a form of a journal. I once upon a time was very good at writing in a journal. Usually the entries had to do with boys but I wrote most every day. I stopped writing at some point in my life when the hurt from those boys became so much I didn't want to write about it anymore. I haven't gotten back into the habit of writing, until now. Granted there aren't any of my deep dark secrets on here. Those are saved for the people I trust and talk with via email/instant messenger (I just don't do the phone!) and since this is basically the general public you don't need to know everything, even though I bet sometimes you think you are getting all my dirt. (My life really isn't that exciting.)
Has anyone figured out how to download their entries from this to save them on your own hard drive? I think that one of these days I might have to start printing off all my entries so I can save them in a hard format or even print them, scan them back in and keep a pdf file of everything. Since I have been doing genealogy for the last year I am really into electronic preservation of things.
ANYWAY~ Back to the point. Thanks for putting up with all of my crazy entries. (I tend to get bored at work some days.) I am very grateful for blogspot too. It has helped me create friendships with females that I didn't have before. I love to read your blogs and I so love to read your comments so keep them coming.

Memer

Maddy had this on her secret blog this morning. I thought I would post it on my regular blog.

I love these things!
1. Take a picture of yourself right now.
2. Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair. Just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with no editing.
4. Post these instructions with your picture.

OK I seriously look like a dork! I took this with my cell camera and that is why the words are backwards behind me...it was closed. I think I am going to have to make a trip to the bathroom and change my hairdo.
Ok take two is much better. You know I do look in the mirror before I leave for work each day. Maybe I need to do the photo thing. It makes a big difference. Good thing there is only one person at work so far who has seen me.

So here I am in all of my morning glory on a Friday!

Feel free to have fun with this, if you want.

Award

Today I was award a blogging award by my friend from high school, Heather.

Here are the rules she said go along with this award:

1. Put the Logo on your blog!!

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.

Therefore I nominate:

Maddy: Action Jackson - I nominate Maddy cause she makes me laugh

Carrie: Clark Party - I nominate Carrie cause I think her babies are just the cutest niece and nephew ever

Carrie Ann: Ramblings - I nominate Carrie because I love her and her girls

Darci: The Franco Fab Five - I nominate Darci because she is such a wonderful friend from High School

LaDawn: Twin Mama Plus One - I nominate LaDawn because she in such a short time have proven to be a dear friend who gives me good advice and helps me be strong

Connie: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - I nominate Connie because from day one she has touched my Spirit as someone I want to be around

Jennie: The Stephens Family - I nominate Jennie because she is so funny and I just love talking with her

Things I am Working On

I decided to share with my fans the list of things I am currently working on. Some are large projects others are things that need to be done by the end of the week. The problem with much of this is that I am supposed to be at work from 8:30 until about 5:00 every weekday. Then additionally I am exhausted so I have been going to bed by 9:00 pm. I cook dinner and spend time helping Rick hold down the couch too cause I have no energy after to do anything. Maybe that is why these things make me feel like I have so much to do.

Credit Reports - Rick and I found a bunch in inaccuracies and sent in disputes. These have now come back but I have not sorted through all of them to find out if everything is fixed now. This is something I need to do this week.

Filing - I have a box of papers that needs to be filed. It was supposed to be done last weekend. Guess it gets pushed to this weekend as a deadline.

Scrapbooking - My general photos - This is a large scale project which I really don't want to last forever. I am trying to not only put my photos into electronic and pdf scrapbook pages but I want to make videos.

Scrapbooking - Genealogy -As part of my genealogy I have been working on collecting family/personal histories and photos. I want to compile these electronically so that I can share them with my other family members and so no one has to re-do the information again.

Quilting - Of course I had to start something new. Not having a sewing machine of my own will slow this down and probably make it so I don't keep up on it as much as I could/should/want to

Knitting - I started a blanket 3 years ago. Yes 3 years ago and it still isn't done. I am happy when I get 5 rows done a week.

Cross Stitching - I have a project I started when I went to England...8 1/2 years ago!! Let's not even talk about this one.

Exercising - I try to get out and play tennis as much as possible with Rick. Right now the weather is superb and so we cram in as much as we can before it is too wet.

5 year Budget/Spreadsheet for work - Yes this is what I shoudl be working on right now. I am in charge of putting together the 5 year budget for our big Talisman project. (1800 acres with an 18 hole private golf course on the south side of the Jordanelle Reservoir.) Obviously I am not into it. I have all the data from different pro formas I have put together for it over the last year and a half but finally I am to put it all into one location and it is to be set in stone.

Read - I just always need to be reading something and learning something. This goes along with Scripture reading too but doesn't count towards the general learning.

I can't believe I almost forgot...Wash my hair. This is an undertaking in itself which must be done at least twice a week!

I think those are the things I feel that are on my plate right now. Really it isn't too bad. This work thing just seems to get in the way of my life and the things that I really need to do.

Additional Blog

I have created a new blog for my photography. I am not by any means a great photographer. I just take LOTS of photos. (I had 470 photos from our Seattle trip from Thursday afternoon until Tuesday morning.) Please check it out... Point and Click Photography of Michele

Moving

I have created quite a stir in talking about moving to Seattle. Here is the deal... If Rick could get a job there that would make us enough money for me to stay home...then we would probably go for it. I applied to one job up there already for him today. I also found some homes that are probably in our price range if it were to happen. All of which aren't more than 30 min from Dad and Laurie.
As for those of you in my ward, don't get me wrong I don't want to leave this ward but living in an apartment for 2+ years stinks! Rick and I are SOOOOOOOOO sick of it. I totally want to buy the Rasmussen House but $1,000,000 - It ain't going to happen! Not even for that much land.
In all reality, Rick and I are planning on building in Saratoga Springs up on the hill (not down in the marsh lands) next year in April and hopefully move in September/October.
Things change a lot though in this market so who knows what will happen. I am so grateful for my friends in our ward. It makes me happy to know how appreciated I (we) am (are). Please keep these notes of love coming. =)

Tree Huggin Hippie Crap

Our Seattle was so spectacular in many ways yet horrible in others. The "green bug" bit my butt! I HAD to go to the farmer's market at Thanksgiving Point yesterday. I have for a long time tried to buy local fruits and veggies but yesterday there was an urge that was killing me. For 2 hours I sat at work thinking about it, waiting for it to open. I even went over 20 minutes before it officially opened!
While I was there some lady gave me a bag with some cool magazines about cooking, some sample spice things and something else. I was all excited to have my first reusable bag for shopping. I was able to buy some veggies and some awesome bread. It was from Great Harvest so in reality I could have just gone to their store but this was different. I bought Beehive White. The loaf is 2 pounds! It is so heavy and it is made with honey rather than sugar. It is mighty tasty. I had bread for dinner last night. I also bought a loaf of white bread with white chocolate and raspberries. It is utterly divine!
Then today Rick and I went to the regular grocery store, Harmon's, cause they just don't have a big enough farmer's market. We ended up buying 5 more bags. Now I have 6! I am totally excited to use them. Also when I go to Harmon's I get a $0.05 credit for using my own bags so eventually they will pay for themselves. Yes I shop there enough that they will.
Rick also changed on our dishwasher the drying cycle so it dries with normal air rather than the hot air. I guess it potentially could save us some money there too.
And a secret....we are going to see what jobs are available in the Seattle area and what homes are around too. Yes we liked it that much! We have no issues with rain as we both can't stand the snow anymore. Rick doesn't like the 100+ heat of the summer and I would be ok with how hot it still gets there. Rick told me that he just can't get over it, the trees and the lakes. I don't know that I see it happening, but hey we can't just be passive in our lives. Who knows what might happen. We might end up with moss growing between our toes...well I would cause Rick still would wear shoes!

Yankees at the Mariners

We arrived just as the gates were getting ready to open. We were given foam hands, but just tucked them away as souvenirs.
This was before I took the boys shopping.
Kenzie was good enough to sport the WaMu backpack that was given to me.


It has come time for me to blog about our baseball game in Seattle. It was AWESOME! My first pro game was back in 1993...Rangers at the Mariners. I was able to go in 1994 to see the Braves. (Can't remember who they played though.) Both times we were pretty far out, this time we were right behind home plate. My dad mentioned that we could check out batting practice beforehand so we were able to catch that too. McKenzie went with us and we had an awesome time. The pitcher for the Mariner's was in his MLB debut. He threw a no hitter for 7 2/3 innings. It was so much fun once the crowd realized what was going on. They SO got into it. I think that he did a great job.(if you see a resemblance between McKenzie and me, please comment. Rick says he can see it but isn't exactly sure what it is. For those of you that don't know, Kenzie is my half brother.)

The Space Needle

On Monday we were able to visit the Space Needle in Seattle with our friends from England. We met up with Wayne, Barbara, Chris, Peter and Stan at the Westlake Center where we had a bite of lunch. We then rode the monorail to the Seattle Center.
Having Wayne in a wheelchair has it's perks. We were able to ride up together and had a pass to get on the elevator all together and barely had to wait for it.

Wayne was unable to go out onto the observation deck but I was able to take his camera and get photos for him. Some nice lady out on the deck offered to take Rick's and my photo together. The weather was incredible!
We had a great time with friends hanging out watching the sea planes for awhile as well.

Pasco Washington

Rick and I were able to use frequent flyer miles for our trip. We were able to get a one-way flight on the way back but not on the way to Seattle. We had the opportunity of stopping for 3 hours in Pasco Washington. The airport of the Tri-Cities area. The above photo is the full airport. While hanging out there I decided to call Rissa. Marissa has been in this lovely airport before. Rissa found the airport on line and they happened to have a live webcam. I walked around the airport trying to find it but alas, I was unsuccesful.
Also, when Rick first started working at England (See How Rick and I met) he was a planner for the northwest area of the country. Pasco/Kennewick and whatever the other city is up there are a major hub for ground transportation in the northwest.
We decided to leave the secured area since we had some time on our hands. We ended up watching some Harry Potter for a while and then checked out the groovy restaurant in the airport. They had Walla Walla Onions for a limited time. We were able to partake and enjoyed some great onion rings, minus the fry sauce. (I serious do not understand how fry sauce has not become at staple in other parts of the country. Nevertheless the ranch was good.)
The last photo on our tour of the Tri-Cities airport is of me with my back against the furtherest wall in the airport taking a photo of the entire airport. There are 5, yes 5 total gates and you can see security from where I was standing. Rick said it was like going to the Salt Lake airport back in the 70's.

Clark Clan BBQ - Issaquah WA 2009

I am going to post about our trip to Seattle in several different blogs. I ended up having 470 photos on my camera and it looks like not more than a dozen are fuzzy or just accidents. I wanted to start out with our BBQ on Saturday night. This way I can post the photos of Maddy so she is happy to look at them.

Drew was in the house watching football much of the time we were on the porch talking. This was the first time Joanne, our aunt, met Drew and Rick. It was the first time Grandma Jo met Rick as well. Grandma's birthday was 2 weeks ago while she was visiting family in England so we bought her flowers for her brithday that morning at the farmer's market. (Story and more photos to follow.) We had a nice time with everyone. Even Kenzie stuck around for most of it before sneaking off to the Sounders game.
My photos look like they are going to have a funky layout which is cool with me so I am not going to try and rearrange them. For those of you that don't know... Red and yellow sweater = Laurie, my stepmom. Dude with grey hair, Jimbo, my dad. Joanne is in the blue shirt and is my dad's sister just 16 months younger than him. Guy in the black sweater, my half brother McKenzie who is 19 and last but not least, the lady in the vertically stripped shirt, my only living grandparent, Grandma Jo. (Don't forget the photo of me with my arm around my invisible friend.)





Welcome to the Clark Clan!

Survey Says....

Right now I should be packing, but this is way more fun!

Alright you! Yes, you! If you are reading this I am tagging you! Copy and paste this into your blog, erase my answers and put in yours! I can’t wait to read your answers! If you don’t have a blog, email me your answers!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My name, Michele, is my mom's middle name
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I had tears in my eyes from my headache about 45 min ago. Does that count?
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Somedays
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?Processed lunch meat is revolting
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 2 step sons, 22 (as of last Monday) and 20.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Heck no! I am too crazy
7. GREATEST FEAR? Losing Rick, yes I know it will happen someday but I don't want it to happen any time soon.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? NEVER!!!!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cranberry Almond Crunch
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Unless I can slide them on
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes but I still have a long ways to go.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Fendalls Lemon Gelato
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? The way they talk to me ~ Especially men in the business place
15. RED OR PINK? PINK
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? My lack of self esteem
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandma - She could put my mom in her place (and since I moved all my 6000+ photos off my hard drive, I can't find one of my grandma! Check back next week and I will find it.)
18. WHAT IS THE GREATEST THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? I have to agree with Heather, my thirst for knowledge
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? No shoes, no pants
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? The toppings off a slice of pizza from pizza hut
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The cars on the distant freeway
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Pink, Pink, Pink
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Clean babies
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My hometeacher
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO TAGGED THIS TO YOU? She is awesome!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH: NASCAR, all we pretty much watch in this house is sports...LPGA, Tennis, Volleyball, Football, no basketball cause I don't like it but I think you get the picture

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown
28. EYE COLOR? Brown
29. Do you wear contacts or glasses? Nope, I have 20/20
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Cookie Dough
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings...I hate scary movies!
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? I was watching The Holiday not too long ago. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the last movie I finished watching, last night
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? an OLD Old Navy shirt
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Yes please
37. WHO IS YOUR HERO? Cinderella

38. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO? Hang out on my computer
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? None I finished my last book last night and didn't go to the library today
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? "North American Division" with the England logo from a mouse pad I designed when I worked at CR England. Rick's mouse pad is right here too, it has Kiss on it.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? US Open
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Streams
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? STONES
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Italy
45. DO YOU HAVE A WEIRD TALENT? I am not allowed to discuss it in civilized conversation
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City
47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED? Just before getting on my computer
48. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? 8:13 pm
49. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PRAYED? Last night it was my turn to pray
50. IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOU WHAT WOULD IT BE? My low self esteem when it comes to my physical looks

Noon on Wednesday - Bored

I really feel like blogging right now but I don't have anything to say. I haven't done anything new or spectacular that is worth sharing. I guess maybe I feel like writing because I am bored. For the last few months Maddy has been online with me at this time chatting. I miss her! I wish she didn't have to go back to school. (She teaches 2nd grade.)
I have some of my cool photos on my work computer. I supposed I could start a photo blog. HHMMM Then I would really bore all of you.
Yes I know I have a pathetic life which some of you probably wish you could have from time to time. It is a quiet life really except for the fact that I am not a quiet person. Just ask Rick, he will let you know that I have "diarrhea of the mouth" and apparently fingers too. Having no kids and a job where I get to hang out most of the time...well it makes for it to be boring at times. I am so happy and thankful for my life just the way it is. I love knowing that tomorrow morning when we go out of town it is just the two of us and we don't have to worry about diapers or any of that. I love knowing that when I get home, if I don't feel like cooking, Rick can fend for himself. (This is pretty rare though.)
So anyway, back to the topic on hand, my boredom. I suppose I shall see what other websites I can peruse this afternoon. Maybe it is time to actually read up on some politics... Awe crap! Someone just asked me to do some actual work! SHEESH Don't they understand that I have "things" to do?!

Unspectacular Me - More like Weird Me

I think I was tagged on someone's blog...they put Michelle so I am just going to assume it was me and do it anyway. (Just in case you peoples out there don't know, my name is spelled Michele hence the one L in Shel)

1. Post these rules.
2. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
3. Tag 6 fellow bloggers

I have to be honest...as I sit here thinking of what to put, I am at a loss. I know I have many quirks and much weirdness in my life as Rick reminds me daily. I just don't know what are some good ones to share...ones that will make my readers go...OH that explains her....

1. I love children's movies. I watch Disney movies probably before any other movie out there other than my Cinderella type stories...Ever After, Ella Enchanted, Princess Diaries (which is a Disney movie too.)

2. I dream about hanging out with Jeff Gordon's wife and daughter. He usually isn't in my dreams but his wife most certainly is. We are friends and hang out.

3. I am a computer junkie. If I am not on my computer, I feel like I might be missing out on something. This is why I don't have an iphone or a blackberry. I know that it is good for me to get away from the computer sometimes.

4. Shoes - I do not like to wear shoes. As soon as I come home I take them off and I usually leave them by the door. They tend to grow and multiply there too. I just don't understand it. (This probably helps explain why I don't like winter too...cold+wet = shoes = yucky)

5. I don't like hair on my neck or my face. Yes I have waist length hair and don't plan on cutting it anytime soon nevertheless, how often have you seen it down touching my neck?!?

6. When I go to the pool, I really don't swim. I just lay out and read. Most often than not, I don't even get wet. Maybe if I did get in and did some exercise....Nah working on my tan is much more fun.

I tag:

Marianne F, Lori F, Jennie S, Maddy ~ there is only one MADDY, Carrie, Carrie Ann, Mary G (where did your blog go?), Heather Z and Darci F =)

Go forth and make me smile.