daveandcay

day 28: you're going to die

2012-01-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

because i do every time i watch this!!

(their music is terrible, mute before watching)

42 days until we bring you home little watson!

day 21: storm watching

2012-01-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

from just about the best perspective ever!

they're hoping for up to a foot tonight in the mountains!! crossing fingers, toes, ski poles!

i ♥ keystone.

day 19: meet watson

2012-01-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

introducing....

watson!

he is a week old today, and he will come home with us march 8th, when he's 8 weeks old. we have been planning and planning and planning for this puppy and we are so excited that we are finally getting him!! in this photo he was 3 days old, and he should gain 2-4 pounds a week so he won't be too small for too long. he is a saint bernard, and his parents were 150 and 180 pounds- so basically we'll have another grown human living with us in a few months. and i can't wait!!!! this photo was from the breeder (and not very good) but when we visit him in a couple of weeks i'll take tons of pictures :)

day 15: a little stripe, a little monogram

2012-01-15T20:13:00.002-07:00

we were out and about today and west elm had their super cute new hand towels in stock! they have been backordered since they appeared on the website and i am in loooove. stripes+monogram, what more could you ask for??? now i just need 15 more so i don't feel so bad when i get this one dirty :)

it's the little things.

and yes, we use a lot of towels!

day 14: estes park winter festival

2012-01-14T19:21:00.001-07:00

we made a day trip to boulder/estes park winter festival/rocky mountain national park. things we saw: yum-delish radicchio salad, arugula-prosciutto pizza (best ever), LOTS of colorado-made beer, wine, chili and cheese, ice sculptures, a jalapeno eating contest (the winner ate 14 in 5 minutes and had tears running down this face the whole time), black ice, an igloo, a little baby elk, the stanley hotel (now i want to see the movie!), and now we're watching the broncos take on the patriots. go tebow!

...and proof that i was there:

day 13: the whole fam

2012-01-13T19:52:00.001-07:00

a Christmas train ride with Mr. and Mrs. Claus themselves. Caroline was THRILLED when the couple of the hour walked into our car, and Eli was very serious when going over his wish list with the big man. It was precious!

i wish this one wasn't blurry!

Caroline was PUMPED about Santa, and the kids loved their reindeer bells (does Camperdog not remind you a little bit of randy from a Christmas story in this picture???)

next up, and completely out of order: the Calvert's visit!

day 10: LSwho?

2012-01-10T22:20:00.001-07:00

first of all, thank you LSU... for NOTHING!!! who would have thought that game would have worked out like it did?! oh well, at least the Auburn Tigers are the last undefeated national champs! i guess that means another split national title UAT??

and i will slowly recap exciting events from the blog hiatus...

spending time with the Kyle fam before Christmas. david's family were sweet enough to make the trip to snowy Breckenridge to spend some QT with us up in the mountains. we loved it. besides a minor femur break+hospital stay for david's dad we had a blast!

sledding:

eli and caroline loving life!

day 9: (re)beat bama!

2012-01-09T17:55:00.003-07:00

alternately titled:

geAUx tigers!

i am 100% fine with the poor grammar on this one... because it's so right. only losers ask for a rematch!

GO LSU!!

days 7&8: summit county

2012-01-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

saturday: Breckenridge

It was SO.SNOWY. a storm was supposed to roll in late afternoon, but by 10 am it was snowing pretty heavily, and it didn't stop the rest of the day. we were accumulating quite a bit from the start of the lift to the end, and visibility wasn't that great, but skiing in falling snow is just so much fun!

sunday: Keystone

the 5-7 inches of snow made for some awesome powder! we keep beating our "best day on the mountain" winners, and for now the reigning champ is today, january 8th. we were both exhausted by the time we fell into the car to head home, and that means it was a good day on the mountain!

day 6: step 2 boards, check!

2012-01-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

guess who completed his second round of boards today....

(hint, it wasn't me!)

this whole back-to-studying-24/7-thing was really making us both feel like this:

but now we feel like this:

and we're heading to the mountains to celebrate. see you on the slopes!

day 5: my print blocks

2012-01-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

during our 5 month southern summer stint we were able to spend a little time in andalusia. there is an antique shop that we pass leaving and entering town that i had never been to- until this past summer! and holy cow did we score. we found a large, shallow and dirty tray/shelf piece that held a bunch of wooden print letters. i was in heaven! as it turns out, the shelf and the letters (three whole sets plus a ton of replacements!) were from a tiny print shop in georgiana, alabama, and the antique store owner purposefully kept the entire set together to sell to someone who valued them. i was ecstatic to bring these babies home! now i just have to rig a printing press on my drafting table... and finish cleaning them off. they were all super dirty and i'm still going over each one with an old toothbrush...

day 4: what's for dinner?

2012-01-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

tonight, it was carnitas tacos. and then another night, it will be carnitas chili... i am always a fan of dinners that 1: cook all day and are 95% done when you get home from work, and 2: have leftovers that can be reinvented! it was so easy, and we totally recommend!

day 3: orange and blue elephants

2012-01-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

the elephants on this dress were quite a point of contention before purchasing... but not for long. after all, they are standing against an orange background while wearing navy.

day 2: chestnuts and yoga

2012-01-02T20:32:00.001-07:00

even though the holidays are over, we're still roasting chestnuts. they are little brain-shaped bites of mashed potato heaven! (and if you haven't tried them, whole foods still has them in stock!)

day 1: a conversation with myself

2012-01-01T21:06:00.004-07:00

december (november?) 2011, me: let's privatize the ol' blog and work on updates?

me: sounds good, let's do it.

....buuut i like it how it is??

i know, exhilarating. it is what it is! no cosmetic updates, but maybe a few photographic ones.

trees are very sad looking when they're brown-brittle and naked. but i do like a scantily-clad tree! we enjoyed ours for a few days sans ornaments and am seriously considering doing it for the whole season next year.

hope

2011-10-21T09:46:00.003-06:00

welcome to colorful colorado

2011-10-06T14:27:00.000-06:00

When you travel by two's you do a lot of self-photographing....

...aaaand that's as good as it got.

We were able to make a day trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park before the storms hit last night and this weekend, and I'm glad we went when we did! The park ranger (because when visiting any park, checking in with the park ranger is just the first thing you do) (and yes I rolled my eyes when that HAD to be David's first stop) said the trees hit their peak color last week and the leaves would be gone after the first storms, so we just got lucky!

And then once we passed the tree line on Trail Ridge road, the highest-elevation-continuous-paved-road in the US (I know, wordy, but that's what they call it)...

...we saw last year's snow. This is a "duh" statement but IT WAS SO COLD. Very cold and very windy. We visited the visitor's center/hot beverage place that sits at about 11,??? feet, and they are open from Sept 9-Oct 10 each year because of the snow. I told David that I am so NOT built for this weather. Growing up in the south and living in Arizona for three years has really thinned out the ol' blood.* And ski season is just around the corner, so I better find a way to cope... I'm thinking it'll be with layers and layers and layers and lots of hot cider. :)

*Speaking of thin blood... if you were wondering (because duh, I know you were!) I am off the coum! Now just waiting for some hematology tests to see what in the world caused this mess- thank you for your prayers! :)

friend love

2011-09-26T07:29:00.002-06:00

Thank you, St. Louis, for an awesome friend weekend. So thankful for these two!!

redundant

2011-09-22T08:38:00.005-06:00

Especially if we are friends on facebook... but just in case you missed it, the little shop of caycuts had her first feature on Tuesday!!!

It's pretty cool to see my stuff on someone else's site. Thank you so much discover paper!

Next on my to-do list: a little trip to St. Lou, and then enjoy Alabama as much as I can for the next week before heading back out west. Then more paper cuts!

excited but sad

2011-09-07T10:51:00.003-06:00

The fall-ish weather around these parts brings me two opposite emotions- 1: excitement! because we are almost in denver! and 2: sadness, because the end of the relentless southern summer means that we're almost in denver. For now, I'm going to focus on #1, because if I don't I'll just be sad for the next 25 days, and that would be a travesty because there are still so many fun things left! Dinner with Birmingham friends, a quick trip to St. Louis, a t-shirt quilt that I'm hoping will try and make itself, lots more fam jam time, and a few more doctor's appointments. (Boo for the last one- but my recheck is next week-- praying my little veins are clot free! Mainly for my style pride. See previous post.)

On the excitement note.... David is talking non-stop about skiing and I've been poring non-stop over this website:

Can't wait!!!!

my hottest look yet.

2011-08-23T12:00:00.000-06:00

Jealous???

Haha, didn't think so. Just in case I forgot to update you (I keep forgetting who knows what, and I tell the same person the same update 3 times and then forget to tell another anything. consistency... not my strong point) here's the short version:

June 30- I had my SVT ablated here in Huntsville. The little weird and sometimes exhausting heart rhythm was finally gone! (I had it wrong- my extra AV node isn't actually gone now, but the "bridge" is burned/ablated. Thank you husband :) ) The procedure went extremely well, all of those prayers worked wonders! My heart responded to the catheter immediately and went into its SVT rhythm making it super easy on my doctor to find the problem area and fix it. Woohoo! I had about a week and a half's worth of recovery- just soreness in my right groin/thigh area where they entered the vein, and very light bruising down that vein to my knee. At about 2 weeks after the procedure I was back to normal! The only semi-odd thing I noticed was that the reddish bruising that had travelled down my thigh (over the vein) was a little swollen where it ended just above my knee. It went away after a couple of days and wasn't painful so I chalked it up to the end of recovery. Yay! I ran a couple of times after that and had no pain or other side effects, all was normal.

July 28-31- David had a couple days off at the end of July so we had a little pre-anniversary weekend getaway to Gatlinburg, TN, for some hiking/mountain/together time. (Side note: It was so good to get away and just be together! We are so thankful for the time spent with family -and rent free housing!!- this summer during this weird 5 month stay in the south, but we've missed just us time. So that little break was awesome.) We woke up early Friday morning to get to the Chimney's when it was still cool. Unfortunately for Dave, I like to sprint/hike, so we made it up the fairly steep hike pretty fast, and decided to run back down. It was a great work out! That afternoon and definitely on Saturday I noticed the same reddish bruising over swollen knots in my right calf, on the same inside area (over the vein). There were 4 spots from my ankle to my knee. Since I was 4 weeks post-procedure, we decided to call the doctor first thing Monday morning to ask about it.

August 1- Call in to the doctor's nurse- of course my doc is on vacation, and the symptoms I describe to her "aren't typical" so I need to come in and let them check on things. After a few calls I have an appointment.

August 4- Show up for my 2:15 appointment at 2:10, sign in and wait. This office is always super busy, and I am always the youngest patient by at least 40 years. It was me and oxygen tanks, wheelchairs and walkers. I sat down next to a chatty little old cathy and she was so sweet, asking why in the world I was there-the first question every single nurse and doctor asks. An hour-fifteen later, and after being informed that my appointment was in fact at 3:30, I head back for what I'd expected to be a little check in and check out situation. Two and a half hours after that, they'd done full veinous ultrasounds on both legs and feet and I'd been kicked off my birth control meds and placed on coumadin and compression stockings. HUH?! Apparently my little vein felt like clotting from my hip to my knee after the procedure, and the swollen knots on my calf were a result of the blood trying to re-route itself around the clotted part at the top. It's crazy how our bodies work! Thankfully they had done the ablation through a superficial vein, so the clot itself wasn't at all dangerous. The doctor I saw (instead of my vacationing doc) was concerned about how quickly I clotted and said I was at risk for a DVT. I am one of those people who is always fidgeting- crossing my legs and shaking one or both feet, making the whole room vibrate, but even more so in the car or on planes- DVT's SCARE me. I think it's because you don't know you have one until it's almost too late. No thank you! Blood clotting is a common side effect of bc, so I'm off of that until the clots are gone. Thankfully the stockings are for long car rides or plane trips, and since I'm off to Birmingham this afternoon I thought I'd share my travel attire :)

September 13- my check up appointment with my doctor. (If you EVER need a cardiologist or electrophysiologist in Huntsville I have several awesome ones to recommend. The Heart Center rocks!!) If all goes well I'll be off this old lady medicine and back on young lady meds :)

And that was so not the short version.... but since you stuck it out this long, another glamour shot:

In other news, I need a tan.

currently obsessing

2011-08-19T08:10:00.001-06:00

all I want for Christmas

2011-08-16T05:07:00.000-06:00

Is it too early to make a Christmas list??? I hope not, because bakers twine in every color is being mentally added to mine, much like this little arrangement below:

via

Except I'd use it all in about 10 minutes! I would tie that aqua or kelly green or creamsicle string on eeeeverything. And maybe use for packaging for the little caycuts shop?

same

Maybe the kelly green and creamsicle together. Or just by themselves? ....any way you tie it, I am in love!

it's live!

2011-08-14T19:52:00.006-06:00

Since most of y'all are either on facebook or read my friend Perryn's blog this is not going to be new news... but just in case you missed P's post feature or the little shout out my sis-in-law Amy gave me on good ol' fb, here it is in blog land: I finally launched my etsy site! Waaay back when, almost a whole year ago, I mentioned the beginnings of a little somethin-something I had brewing. One big goal I made for myself this summer was to at least get the etsy site up- and here we are, it's live! I make paper cut initials! Two are up on the site, and there is another that isn't photographed and posted quite yet.

Getting the site up and running is one of those things that took forever to do, and now I'm a little scared of what happens if I get an order, ha. For now I am excited to watch the stat counter rise a little more each day, and now I have some serious motivation to get more letter examples made just in case!

reason #381

2011-08-07T22:39:00.001-06:00

that I am glad I am where I am right now:

I am helping one of my best friends prepare for her little man's first birthday!!!

A couple of weeks ago I ~~was commissioned~~ nope, I'll be honest, I straight up asked to create a little invitation for P'man's big birthday bash. Side note- I absolutely cannot believe that he is one!! Jess said yes and I was thrilled. This is the first time I remembered to photograph the whole thing, and I'm glad I did- this little invite was so easy/fun/quick, and so inexpensive. I love doing things like this, especially for adorable people:

Who can resist an avocado faux hawk anyway?

So I knew we were working with a nautical theme, and a red and turquoise basic color scheme. Starting at Hobby Lobby, I found a 12-pack of turquoise 5x7 folded cards and a 24-pack of red envelopes. Of course I came armed with my 40% off coupon, and those materials ended up being my biggest little expense for this project! Awesome. I went home and worked on Pages for a bit and came up with the design, then printed them on white cardstock, two to a page. (Note: I LOVE my paper cutter. If you do any paper crafting, don't mess with the slider-paper-slicers, go for it with this guy. Worth it!) I chopped the printed layers down to size and then sliced the folded cards down to single cards, and we were in business.

I knew I wanted to go with a little pennant banner across the top in seersucker material. Because what else says nautical (subtly) better than blue seersucker? Problem: I live in the south now, and it is summer = prime season for little children's seersucker outfits. It was sold out EVERYWHERE. You have to adapt, so I headed to the thrift store and found the best.thing.ever.:

Women's turquoise seersucker elastic waist PANTS! Size 10, so lots of material, and the cuffs unrolled, so even more to work with. For $3 I got way more than I needed, and it was the exact color of turquoise Jess is using. It matched the invitation cards perfectly! I had resigned myself to baby blue or navy seersucker from the fabric store because those are the most common, but this material was perfect. A little ironing...

...and we were good to go! Y'all, this was kind of stupid-easy... like I don't know why I even photographed? I just cut out 1" pennants.

I cut out a whole lot of 'em.

For the "string" I wanted to bring in a little contrasting texture, so I went with hemp rope. I have found a zillion uses for this stuff, it is always good to have a few spools on hand! Proof that I used exactly 4 5/8" worth of rope for each little banner: (What? My Dad is an engineer, this is normal for me)

Then I used my tiny hole puncher and punched holes out at the top corners and threaded the rope through just a bit from the front. (I didn't measure that part- shocker!)

The back of the card should have little Shrek ears like this:

Then I took a TINY dab of low heat hot glue and pressed the ends down. Using low heat means you can touch it immediately after squeezing it out to hold down the rope. I have scars from projects with the high heat from college... I try to stick with low whenever possible.

I flipped the card back to the front and the rope was very 3-D - like bowing out and not touching the card at all. But that's okay! Hot (warm) glue to the rescue. The only thing with low heat is that it dries quickly, which is why there aren't any "process" pictures of the pennant glueing. I just used a little 1/2" line of glue, starting from the center of the rope, and made sure the glue overlapped the rope just enough to get it to stick. Then start your pennant-ing! Voila.

What's so great about having an artistic major at Auburn? Using the leftover supplies! I keep my still-stocked art bin close with me every move, so thankfully all my stuff was with me instead of stored in Colorado. The glue dots we used 4 million of on presentation boards came in really handy.

I just popped one of those in the middle of the turquoise backing to hold down the front, then put 4 more tiny hot glue spots in the corners to really hold down the front layer....

and it was done!

I also designed (and didn't photograph) the round sailboat stickers that served as closures for the red envelopes.

Maybe the funnest thing I have created this summer? Actually, it definitely is my favorite thus far. Now I can't wait to help decorate... 2 weeks until party time Parker!!!

a haiku: to the hubbaroo on our anniversary

2011-08-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

three whole awesome years

[can you believe it's been three?]

let's relive the fun:

phoenix to huntsville,

our home bases may have changed

but you're still my home :)

celebrated life

both some beginnings and ends.

happy and sad times.

almost finished school,

our biggest achievement, no?

made it out alive!

we've moved three times now

(technically two and a half)

Yay, Colorado!

travels and road trips

our fun weekend get-aways

some of my fave times.

the most recent trip--

almost died in the river.

in the great Smokies.

we should have listened

they weren't kidding: "rough rapids"

...we just look hard core :)

but yay! we survived!

toasted champagne to three years

then you got MRSA.

diseases aside,

happy anniversary!!

i love your fat lip :)

Small animals, take note. Please.

2011-07-26T16:12:00.001-06:00

My parent's backyard is a death trap. I know the pool looks inviting, and I think the heat is making y'alls little eyeballs see island mirages in the big blue shimmery abyss. Alas, they are mirages, and if you are a chipmunk, baby rabbit (tear), or ratty squirrel you will die, because you cannot swim.

Exhibit A: I actually was able to help rescue a baby rabbit- or does that make it a bunny? sounds cuter - last week. It was either Tuesday or Wednesday night. M&D&me were coming back after a post-dinner errand and with my hands full I walked by the pool to the back door and saw the poor tiny thing treading water with all it's might. It's tiny eyes were under, his nose was just bobbing up and down. Dad swooped in with the pool net (because you know what happens if it's rabid and it bites) and scooped him out. I got about 25 mosquito bites while hovering over him the next hour and a half before it was too dark, watching little bunny slooowly dry out and recover from his near-death experience. He eventually made it, on his own, under a bush so he was adequately safe from being someone else's dinner. We chalked him up to being on the mend and were proud of our animal-saving hearts. PETA would be so proud.

The next afternoon we saw him sprawled out on the lawn, dead as a door nail. He must not have been on the mend? Or it was the rabies. We agreed it was probably the pool episode that did him in. So into the big green trash can he went. Our trash gets picked up Tuesdays. That poor thing stunk up an entire corner of our backyard, roasting in the 'can, for almost a whole week. Wanna come lay out by the pool???

Exhibit B: Chipmunks are a regular occurrence, because approximately 972 (DAD) live in our backyard. You can guarantee finding one in there if you have plans to swim, it's Murphy's law. Critter in the pool=4 hours of no one in the water so it can sanitize. We probably have one or two a month? Squirrels aren't as regular, but they gross me out the most because they're the biggest. Ugh.

Exhibit C: This one is non-pool related, but just as I was walking inside from rolling the non-death-scented-just-normal-stinky-scented trash can from the street, I came across a tiny baby bird, laying on the patio near the back door, also dead as a door nail. WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING?! There are several little ledges near the roof on the back patio where birds like to build nests, and so I guess this one was knocked out of his or something terrible like that. Maybe it was the blue shimmery abyss that called his name, and he didn't even make it that far.

And guess what? It's Tuesday. Awesome.

baby camp!

2011-07-14T16:44:00.005-06:00

i'm an aunt! three times over!!

campbell scott stapler

"camp"

8 lbs. 1 ounce, 20.5 inches

july 13, 2011

stapler, party of FIVE!

with his adoring big brother eli and big sis caroline. eli is oh so gentle and caroline just wants to check out her new baby!

i could hold him all day. he is so itty bitty and so, SO sweet. we love you camp!

I'm a single lady!!

2011-06-30T16:45:00.005-06:00

Single AV node lady that is. We are stuck in 'room' (curtain) 25, floor 3 of the cardiac short stay unit at Huntsville hospital. I had a little proced ('proceed') this morning and will be able to break outta here in a couple of hours. Svt free, way to be!! So thankful it all went so smoothly but am ready to get off my backside :)

truth

2011-06-27T18:45:00.000-06:00

presenting

2011-06-26T18:50:00.000-06:00

the new mrs. sumrall and her sweet mama:

when more pics make it to fb i'll steal them for here, because she was the most beautiful bride i have ever seen!

and my always-fun "we're going to dance even if it is kinda hot" date. and as always, i'm very glad i listened to him.

happy honeymoon jon and ginny!!!

aaand because this is currently my favorite cocktail dress... the shiny face is unfortunate but i had to post a rehearsal dinner ruffly sleeve pic :)

not in season

2011-06-10T12:36:00.008-06:00

And for that I am sad. :(

For some weird reason, I have had ranunculus on the brain non-stop these days. They are not growing around here anywhere in the ridiculous heat we've had, but I am hoping to be able to figure out how to plant some next spring in Denver.

via

My Easter 2009 ranunculus. Also is it weird that I seriously miss my cake dome???

It's true.

2011-06-02T12:22:00.005-06:00

Found--and envied--here.

I am a sucker for all things Eames, and I am still kicking myself for letting a molded rocker reproduction SALE chair pass me by on Hautelook. They even had it in blue, like this one. (and it was a repro so the "sale" price was more in my league than that sale price) When we end up in a real-adult-home we are going to have a hodge podge of midcentury chairs/pieces- and I am hoping to run into one of these (vintage or not) by then.

In other news... purchased!!! The countdown to the 2011-2012 season has begun :).

Three down...

2011-05-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

...and one to go!!

Although it feels like we have already been in fourth year for a month (and for all practical purposes- not in phx & already starting externships- we have been!), technically I guess it should start next week. That means we are officially starting David's LAST YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL. I remember a college friend telling me that she knew a med-school wife who said these 4 years were the worst of her life. My internal reaction when she told me this was a little bit like "I could have done without hearing that..." but you know what- Emily you were right! Haha. Maybe they weren't the worst, but they were certainly the most difficult thus far. I would never choose to do it again, and since I am certainly not going to be entering med school anytime soon I guess I'm in the clear. :)

One externship down, four more and then a core. David I am so proud of you!

ps- fun pictures of Louisville coming soon!

moving on

2011-05-18T17:00:00.000-06:00

what a start to the month of may! let's just say i am very ready to move on... starting tomorrow! tomorrow i am heading up to kentucky to visit my guy for a few days. i am excited to see louisville! i've never been to kentucky before, and i am ready to see what it's like. all of the locations david is rotating through from here on out are possibilities for residencies, so while it is important for him to like the program- HELLO!- i feel the responsibility to approve it myself as well. :) we'll both be living there after all... where ever "there" is. i'm excited that we're staying at the historic galt house, and then we're going to lexington for a day as well.

david was on call derby weekend, but he was able to make it to the kentucky oaks race, the breast cancer charity function the day before the derby. earlier that day at the hospital dave said a doctor was there dressed in head to toe pink in honor of the race! a pink seersucker suit, white shirt and pink tie. i think it is so fun how the city of louisville pretty much shuts down that weekend (except for the hospital of course, ha)- kids have that friday off from school, and downtown+churchill downs areas are just like a huge tailgate party for the weekend. how much fun is that??? i'll just need to be on the lookout for the perfect hat and perfect my mint julep recipe in case we ever make it back!

how to help

2011-05-03T17:38:00.001-06:00

shelter for the south

please

2011-04-28T23:14:00.002-06:00

pray for alabama.

we're still on our way there, and are getting sporadic text updates from my parents- everyone is ok! just no power and no cell service. planning to load up on bottled water, ice and whatever else we can before we pull into town tomorrow. huntsville as a whole doesn't have that much damage- but there are so many cities that are almost completely destroyed. so grateful that no one we know personally was hurt, but there are a lot of people who aren't so lucky. please pray!

how the west was won: 1

2011-04-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

it's d-day.

it is d-day!!!

our last day in arizona would be the perfect reason to celebrate my most favorite thing about this place: (sorry but you might gag) this is the place i got to start life with this guy...

our stint in arizona hasn't always been sunshiny (other than the weather, that is) but if given the chance to do it all again, i would, but only if it were with him. i can't believe we are already starting fourth year!

bye-bye arizona. see you at GRADUATION!

how the west was won: 3

2011-04-25T06:00:00.001-06:00

this will be brief because we are in the denver airport, and even though our flight has been delayed an hour i am exhausted! 1- we flippin' love denver already, and 2- we took almost zero pictures. evidence of the road trip:

and evidence that we will have more visitors in 8 months than we did in the 2 1/2 years we were in az:

(a snowy easter breckenridge)

we got to see a lot of denver this long weekend, and loved almost everything that we saw. and we can already recommend some yum eating spots, areyousurprised? jelly, wazee's, and racine's are definitely already favorites!

the big half of the move is over, hooray! and now we tie up some loose ends in phx before hitting the road later this week.

and for the "what we've loved about phoenix," part of this post, i definitely need to mention the great friends we have had the chance to meet here. we've been blessed to develop lifelong friendships, and those were hard to come by in arizona there for a while! but here we are at the end, and i'm so grateful for the sweet friends we've made.

how the west was won: 9

2011-04-19T11:01:00.002-06:00

well here we are single digits!

and i'm really just popping in for a status update- the truck arrives toniiiiight! we have a gracious friend coming to help with the heavy stuff and then we're just going to be pack-pack-packing until we leave for colorado on thursday. haaaallelujah! hoping to finish out the last few days with fun arizona tidbits. turns out, we made some really great friends in the PHX, and we're really gonna miss 'em. more later!!

how the west was won: 14

2011-04-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

i know i've run this into the ground but:

PACKING IS SERIOUSLY FOR THE BIRDS.

we have two weeks until we roll out of here for good. and only one week until we roll out of here WITH all of our goods. i am 1 part very excited, 1 part a little sad, 1 part very stressed out, and 1 part exhausted! i was able to get a manicure and facial today (one of those groupon deals- pay for one thing and get four more! i used the hair cut part in october, and finally unearthed the coupon for the facial and the mani. granted, they were "free" and they were not the best, but they were still relaxing!!) and that helped fo sho.

this is the first "real" time that david and i have moved ourselves entirely- no help from family. when we got married, we came back from the honeymoon and my parents (dad?) already had the pods packed. when we moved from glendale to phoenix david was finishing studying for boards and then taking them, so my parents swooped in from lake tahoe and helped me/probably did most of the work. so now david and i are 400x more grateful for their help the first two times- this isn't easy!!

we're also learning a lot about each other through this little packing process.

caylen:

a little bit bossy

as well as a little bit of a control freak

a little bit over protective/paranoid

& ready to get this thing done yesterday.

david:

a little bit too curious about everysinglethingineverysinglealreadypackedbox

a little bit laid back

a lotta less worried about stuff breaking

& ready to just finish it sometime before we have to go.

haha. can you tell we've discussed these things? frequently? :)

i guess this wasn't a "what we've enjoyed about az" post, but it'll do, right? it literally feels like there is no time for waiting for photos to upload... so we'll see what you get in the next few days. hopefully something -anything- more exciting than me complaining any more about packing!

how the west was won: 15

2011-04-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

american idol.

well, obviously american idol is exciting these days because of one PAUL MCDONALD. but if you've read this blog before then you already know that :). vote for him tonight!!! we do NOT need a pia repeat... PLUS all you twihards--- he is totally dating/maybe-just-skyping nikki reed! hello!

welllll, we also really enjoyed season 8 with kris allen and adam lambert. we were able to catch the summer tour in phoenix!!

well, the rest of the pics are darkish, but it was so much fun! and whats pretty cool is that paul will be on the tour this summer!

how the west was won: 16

2011-04-12T06:00:00.007-06:00

hawaii, march 2010.

you know, when the tsunami almost hit.

a super fun trip. almost-tsunami-victim-experience and all!

how the west was won: 17

2011-04-11T06:00:00.003-06:00

well, that blogging break was much needed :). this blogging every day thing is exhausting!

now back to the countdown: 17. sedona!

we camped in cottonwood and then explored slide rock in the july of 2009, and have been to sedona on other occasions, usually just to visit for the day. we also (finally!) got to visit at the beginning of this month to use david's atv adventure gift certificate! i may or may not have given it to him for Christmas of 2008... wow. and we finally used it, and had THE BEST TIME! i would highly recommend it, here is the website. and here are some of the pictures:

how the west was won: 19

2011-04-09T09:09:00.002-06:00

we are in the teens!

we'll take a break from the regularly scheduled "phoenix phaves" to enjoy one of our last weekends with phoenix phriends. a sip-and-see for the cutest new little phoenix baby + the anthro phriends, and then a bbq this afternoon with another phriend group. we're trying to enjoy every last minute!!

on that note: we finally made it to chelsea's! and flippin' loved it. the food was awesome, the drinks were awesome, and my company was better :). highly recommend! we were talking about which restaurants we would have to revisit when we make it back here (for graduation. i love that word!!!!!) and chelsea's is a major contender.

happy saturday phriends :)

how the west was won: 20

2011-04-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

golfing.

dave's taken advantage of our prime golfing location- he's been able to play at quite a few courses over these past couple of years, and here are his favsies:

trilogy at vistancia

troon north golf club

ritz carlton dove mountain golf club

tpc scottsdale

grayhawk golf club

(i spent too many moments arguing with these online photos and their size limits. sometimes you have to pick your battles... and this was not one of mine. not when an apartment is just waiting to be packed! t-minus 13 days until the big move. HOLY CRAP)

how the west was won: 21

2011-04-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

los angeles.

this trip ranks right at the top of my WHY DON'T I TAKE MORE PICTURES OF/WITH PEOPLE list. it really is a problem, and this is hard evidence that it needs to be fixed: we did not take a picture with my parents while there. not a one! we picked mom and dad up at LAX after our time in palm springs, and then toured a bit of LA. the only photographic evidence i have is from the getty museum...and mostly of the gardens! but we also ate at some delish restaurants and got to film several episodes of family feud! (in the audience, not as the fam unfortunately. that would be david's dream come true)

evidence that mom was there:

and dad:

(clearly this was the shaggy bang phase)

our california conclusion: we LOVE everything about san diego, LOVE palm springs as a getaway location, and enjoy LA as a once in a while pass through... that traffic! and the smog! it was nice but not for us :)

how the west was won: 22

2011-04-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

theater!

the gammage, the theater at ASU (that Frank Lloyd Wright helped design, of course) hosted most of these. and they were GREAT!

the lion king

wicked

phantom of the opera

brighton beach memoirs (san diego)

beauty and the beast

how the grinch stole christmas

a christmas carol (the actor's theater, phx)

shrek

fiddler on the roof (we saw until the intermission... long story, but the short version is that we COMPLETELY understand the argument that airlines should start charging grossly overweight customers double- for the TWO seats they take up. ew. ew. ew.)

how the west was won: 23

2011-04-05T06:00:00.001-06:00

cacti.

well, we don't actually have cactus photos... haha. but we are surrounded by them! definitely the biggest landscape change: far fewer trees and many-a-prickly cactus. we'll use our cactus model, K:

january 2009

how the west was won: 24

2011-04-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

palm springs/the viceroy, august 2009

(tip, no one vacations to palm springs in the summers because it is too dang hot. this makes rates plummet-- if you are ready for some relaxing quiet time in an awesome boutique hotel almost totally to yourself, its a steal!)

how the west was won: 25

2011-04-03T06:00:00.002-06:00

(because everything deserves an official title)

(even if it takes me a while to come up with one)

p.f. chang's rock-n-roll half marathon, january 2010, phoenix

(still) glad it is over. and NEVER AGAIN. :)

how the west was won: 26

2011-04-02T06:00:00.009-06:00

san diego & la jolla, may 2009 and october 2010

(pics from '09 trip)

how the west was won: 27

2011-04-01T06:00:00.004-06:00

parkway christian church.

no photos to go along with this one, but we LOVE our church home. it was a labor of love to find it, but after visiting (seemingly) every church in the glendale, phoenix and scottsdale areas we found parkway in surprise.

(surprise is the name of a suburb of phoenix, by the way. so parkway is in the city of surprise!)

parkway has been going through some growth spurts lately, (3rd paragraph under "history") and to be honest our first response wasn't a supportive one. but lo and behold!! worship isn't about politics, period. trent renner has been a fantastic pastor and david and i have been blessed by his sermons many times over, and plan to continue to be blessed via podcasts from across the country. :) so thankful for technology!

and just so its said, this list isn't really in any particular order. our church ranks very high up there on the reasons why we will dearly miss our first home.

how the west was won: 28

2011-03-31T06:00:00.001-06:00

las vegas, thanksgiving 2008

how the west was won: 29

2011-03-30T06:00:00.002-06:00

sporting events.

dodger's/white sox spring training.

the diamondbacks.

the suns.

the coyotes.

the cardinals.

of course, i saved the best for last..... the national championship!

how the west was won: 30

2011-03-29T08:00:00.002-06:00

camping.

oh, the camping.

avondale, arizona, march 2009

cottonwood, jerome & sedona arizona, july 2009

yosemite, california, october 2010

as much as i KNEW i would hate it (and yes, at some points, i definitely did) camping wasn't so bad after all. not with this one anyway:

how the west was won: 31

2011-03-28T08:00:00.003-06:00

our cross-country trek commences.

even though i am terrible at blogging i thought i'd attempt to make up some sort of month-long tribute to the great state of arizona and all of the many ways that we have come to know it these past two years and eight months.

snowbowl.

pictures from a couple of the times we were able to make it up to high country in the past three seasons. clearly, i am not an aspiring photographer, nor does dave do much of the photographing :)

and clearly, david's just elated he married someone who doesn't hate skiing.

popularly recommended

2011-03-22T15:14:00.003-06:00

i'm intrigued and a little nervous because:

- i have no problems with being a vegetarian, i just know it will complicate meals by 200% or more

- in my limited experience non-meat proteins aren't all that tasty and are boring

- i think reading this might nudge me in the anti-animal-eating direction. at least while it's fresh on my mind :)

today i am

2011-03-19T16:36:00.001-06:00

- finally posting: k's bachelorette bash was last weekend, and i was able (thank you m&d) to be there!! we had a lovely little spa treatments saturday morning, some beach time, a little lingerie shower time, then some dinner and going out time! it had been a while since i'd been to seaside- or any gulf beach for that matter- and i'd almost forgotten how amazing southern beaches are. california you are nice, but you don't hold a candle to beaches in the sizzouth. anyway, the weekend was a success! here are a couple pics via katherine:

giant midday mimosas with fresh squeezed orange juice... mmmmm

everybody after dinner+drinks at rum runners. out of the 4 bachelorettes (3 from auburn) she won the dance off! proud sis right here.

(KELSEY WHY DIDN'T WE GET A PIC TOGETHER???)

- flippin thrilled with our new TV set up:

too lazy for pictures... sorry :(

halfway bummed we didn't try and sell/give away that darn armoire earlier. so spacious! the back wall is blank but there is no way i am creating more holes in the wall now because we are outta here in 42 days! (hint: if you are tired of the countdown, don't read for the next 42 days...duh)

- excited to one day use my latest work creations somewhere at home- ruffled burlap (curtains or valence perhaps?), lacquer transfers (wall art, pillows, and endless kidlet clothing possibilities.), and painted, rolled brown garbage bags en masse (okay, maybe not that one, but the installation is one of my favorites)

- thrilled with our living situation in denver... appreciate a hubs who is on it and called a current resident early enough to rent a townhome he owns! AND its big enough for a pup :) cautiously optimistic about that one...

- phoenix friend's wedding tonight!!! congratulations matt and jamie! i tried out reagan's header hair style for jamie's bachelorette thursday night... with this tutorial. that is NOT EASY. but with a little more practice maybe I'll show you what it looked like :)

new direction

2011-03-19T10:22:00.001-06:00

sometimes it's nice to just change gears.

reeling

2011-03-09T16:06:00.002-07:00

- brittany and shep pugh's funerals are friday. what.the.heck. i only met her a couple of times but man death is hard. praying nonstop for their families, especially Clint- husband and father. i just cannot imagine.

i actually had a list made in my brain about what all i'm "reeling" from, but all of my little things are meaningless in comparison. this song is all i have.

it's about time

2011-03-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

one (enormous) less thing to worry about either moving/storing in denver or carting back to the southdizzle. PTL!!

(let's not talk about what we ended up getting for it... depreciation in well-kept antique furniture is probably not supposed to happen, but that is probably not applicable when said antique piece is as heavy as a family of elephants. i was just happy someone wanted to be responsible for getting it OUT!)

today i am

2011-02-24T16:37:00.002-07:00

-being weirded out by social networking... i had pandora on while i was on facebook in another tab and a little bar popped on the pandora page with my fb pic, asking if i wanted to further personalize my pandora experience... umm NO and get my facebook picture off my pandora page! i know, so grandma of me, but big brother GET OUT OF MY FACE!

- admiring my 65-link paper chain. 65!

(big brother, haha)

american idol 10 and pioneer woman

2011-02-23T20:57:00.007-07:00

pw: i whipped up a little french onion soup and baked fudge for dinner&dessert tonight. i do not do food pictures- my unsuccess in them just convinced me to stop trying- but DANG. if you have a spare coupla hours, give that soup a shot. i give the baked fudge a C+. it had a weird crust that was probably caused by the splenda/sugar blend i used, and the egg yolk separated a bit while cooking... ick.

on to..... PAUL MCDONALD!!! a fellow huntsville higher with myself, and a fraternity brother with david, he just made it to American Idol's top 24! GO PAUL!!!!

(and you can vote for him too if you feel so inclined)

score!

2011-02-21T11:10:00.014-07:00

have you ever snagged a $9.95 return at the A???? (meaning: someone bought it last season/season before then hung on to it for far too long, returned and then it's resell $ was almost free!) i ogled the crap out of this top in the fall....

and you can guess where this story goes:

in case you can't see, it has chairs on the orange trim, rain clouds at the top and hats, leaves and umbrellas blowing all over the body. love! and my fryebabies = last chance is the best store EVER. (they should totally pay me for this)

now that i have figured out how to keep big pictures from being pixellated, ~~i discover that you can't scale ones grabbed from the internets. boo.~~

picture dump

2011-02-18T20:39:00.012-07:00

our newest biltmore area discovery (mainly because it just opened this month) fuego tacos. thanks to living social, we'll be going back two more times on the cheap!

our v-day ski trip/last time to snowbowl. we conquered blackjack, the run in the center of the photo behind the lift. while we were taking a little my-muscles-are-straight-up-jello break at the lodge i saw the view and it looked pretty steep so i snapped this random picture. from the top it was terrifying but from the very bottom it wasn't as scary... so here's my proof:

it does freeze in the desert:

that was a couple of weeks ago, and it stuck around for a few days.

and we were given tickets to the suns vs. bucs game february 2nd. (thank you scott and coach peterson!) it was our first, and we had a lot of fun!

i'm working for the weekend... but i'm working FOR the weekend. ick. i'm getting off the computer to work on my paper chain to count down the days 1) at work and 2) in arizona!

inevitable

2011-02-18T14:21:00.013-07:00

via

i'm in a funk and i know why...

i have two totally different opinions of change, depending on the day (and let's be honest, my mood)

usually i'm one or the other, and occasionally the two clash, but sometimes they just keep me still and wondering, wondering, wondering "what happens next?"

today is a non-clashing, wondering day.

i'm okay with it though.

these days...

2011-02-16T17:52:00.002-07:00

...david plays words with friends with julio jones and randall cobb, while chatting with landon donovan and the rest of the LA galaxy team, while i started working with a football pro's daughter

...we are still trying to find someone to be the new owner of our beloved armoire

...we went skiing to celebrate v-day (just like we did in 2009!), and it was our last venture at snowbowl

...i am ~~enjoying~~ dealing with eating leftovers so much more these days when work is exhausting and we're both starving by 6:00 and reheating takes 95% less time than making a fresh meal (taco soup tonight!)

...we are irritated- with the rest of the Auburn family- with the knucklehead alabama fan who thought it would be hilarious to kill our precious toomer's corner trees after his team LOST in the iron bowl. sorry dude, pretty sure we're still national champs and you are still a loser who will go to jail. idiot.

...we are plotting out our last weekends in phx. nutso!

...and we are eating said leftovers... peace.

phew!

2011-02-13T22:13:00.000-07:00

they are FINALLY OUT... why do i procrastinate so???? i guess all that last minute project-creating in school was just an snippet of how i am about everything :/. but i think they're cute and i hope a certain someone likes them too!

(k's bach weekend invites-- hoping they aren't to heavy and therefore aren't returned!!)

and there's my giraffe. i found that pic the other day online and it made me "aww" at the cuteness. i love (cute) animal kissey faces!!

please

2011-02-01T22:27:00.001-07:00

pray for kate.

brain dump

2011-01-28T10:42:00.003-07:00

- i've discovered drew barrymore's covergirl lipstain... not sticky or glossy and i am in looove. easiest makeup to put on.

- not that i need more stain in my life- my hands were smurf blue this wednesday after work and i had to resort to bleach last night to try and salvage them for..

- the engagement partay this weekend! k&b are getting celebrated. and we are on our way in a couple of hours!

- (the stain is still there. i look like i have perma-frostbitten fingers)

- i am really sad to move away from last chance. that store is overwhelming but full of deals.

- anyone want a beautiful armoire?? our first (big) piece of furniture purchased together is also going to be our first (big) piece we sell... it is a beast and isn't worth trucking up to denver in april. (aaaand an eames lounger+ottoman may or may not have taken residence in the apt, and seating is always needed, massive storage is not. right? it will make its blog appearance after the darn armoire make its exit and i can justify paying what i did for it :) )

- on that note- 91 days left in AZ! i'm beginning to get a little sentimental... but then i remember the 4,982 activities this spring and remember i don't have time for that :)

- and on THAT note, i finally bought a charley harper planner. as well as the necessary papermates. what else do you use to write in a planner?

- i got a whoole lotta texts yesterday about anthro's new wedding department... i can't wait for it either! if only it were here 3 years ago. i see a 3 year vow renewal in our future... haha.

- crossing our fingers that greenbrier is open at 9:00 when our plane gets in so we can get some hushpuppies and white sauce to go. aaaaaaaaagh i can't even think of the possibility that they won't be opennnnnnn

happy weekending!

ob-sessed

2011-01-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

the hardest part of my job is also the best part of my job: working amongst pretty, pretty things.

jersey maxi... i almost didn't take you off when i tried you on this morning. diviiiiine

and so-very-70's oh-so-soft flares.... i almost didn't take you off YESTERDAY when i tried you on...

and cashmere sweater... i didn't even try you because i saw that price tag and did my discount math and thought it was better if we admired each other from a distance :)

are y'all down with the 70's comeback?!? the flares are kinda fun i think :)

(i know i know, lame-ish post. hoping to post about our apache junction mlk day sometime.) (or not) (let's just be honest)

Emily, 28, Knoxville. . . she's awesome.

2011-01-22T21:25:00.001-07:00

Hi there everyone! So today I am participating in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life: Show Us Your Singles" blog post. I know I'm a day or two late... but better late than never, right? :)

I actually put this off those couple of days because I was debating whether or not my sister in law would die if she found out I posted this... but then I decided to just go for it. :) (LOVE YOU EM!) And y'all will understand why... she happens to be the best ever!

Emily lives in Knoxville, and has one year left in PA school there. She is one of the most fun people I know, and family is really important to her. she cares for her niece and nephew as if they were her own! she has close friendships with really quality girls, and means a whole lot to a whole lot of people. and i just thought i'd share her here!

to help sum her up, an acronym:

E- everyone is laughing while you're with her! (seriously, she is hilarious)

(Em is dead center, white had and black shorts-- camping with the fam!)

M- makes the most of things. emily is an eternal optimist... i don't think there is a negative bone in this girl's body.

(Emily is on the left)

I- is super driven and has one year left of her second round of grad school. a brainiac, this one is! :)

(white coat ceremony, what whaaat!)

L- loves to take care of others, and is one of the most selfless people i know. she is amazing, and that is something i admire most about her.

Y- yearns for her Savior. she is such a strong Christian... something else i really admire!

We love you em!

(and if you want, leave a comment for me and i'll relay it to her :) )

whoop

2011-01-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

there it is!

later seen here...

and here...

wde my friends.

ps- obviously we will miss these two. obvi.

wde

2011-01-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

yesterday was a long day.

yesterday was an anxiety-filled, gray hair producing (even at 24), excitingly stressful day.

yesterday was a GOOD day!

you know it all by now- i'll just put up some pics!

before all the festivities really started- so weird to see our bus in the university of phoenix's field lot!!!!

first up: football's biggest tailgate party. and they weren't kidding.

the espn radio analysts- the third from the left is the SEC expert that we knew from watching his analysis of each game... aaaand now i can't remember his name. right before this we had our pictures taken with THE coaches trophy!!!!!! they will be online by tomorrow, then i'll add it here!

you know, just hanging out with carnell williams. it's what i do. and we have an autographed war eagle pin and photo to prove it. what up cadillac?!

our other celeb siting: e.hard. so glad i bumped into you again!!! (and see my freshly signed button???)

we had a great spot for when the band and cheerleaders showed up:

"due to stadium 'logistics,' there will be no tiger walk" ...hmmm, i think we've heard that one before?? and i think they had the same results:

a tiger walk!

this is the only good picture of the team coming in that i got- but! i was up on d's shoulders and i got a good little video of them all!!

then, we parted ways. here are the ticket holders before kickoff:

note: see that yellow in the corner? that was IT. because check out the other 3/4 of the stadium...

and then another pic after the "1" was permanent:

pretty darn sweet, huh?

weagle weagle war damn eagle, y'all kicked them in the butt big blue!!!!!!!!!!!!

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!

2011-01-10T22:19:00.001-07:00

AAAAAAAH!!!!!! I might have lost 10 years of my life but OH MY WORD!!!!!

pics later.

WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!

bcs NC: sunday

2011-01-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

iPhone+ bar= super short. Looking forward to a Monday gameday full of excitement!! Y'all help us cheer them on, ok?!?! It truly is 75% auburn fans out here but oh how I would love to shut up the stupid 'O':

O championships +
O Heismans =
O chance :)

I like it. WAR EAGLE!!!

bcs NC: saturday

2011-01-08T23:07:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

HOLY CRAP AUBURN IS PLAYING IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN ARIZONA ON MONDAY.

had to get that out. we keep having those HOLY CRAP moments and when we realize we aren't crazy and that we also happen to be lucky enough to be in the midst of all the excitement, we just get more excited :)

that said: saturday pictures. (actually the guys are out probably taking more but grandma me decided to stay in for the night :) and i hear guy time is good. and i am not a guy.)

a little croquet at the biltmore to get the day started

and here we are!

my fave part: "I WILL"

at the coyotes game.

(ps david is not chubby this is just not a great angle) (pps he suggested that comment be added)

seriously, i have a star trek forehead vein. what is up with that. it has a SHADOW.

and there you have it! hope to post more tomorrow.

botta getta botta getta,

THEY'RE HEEEEERE

2011-01-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

after being sufficiently germ-x'd (our phx AU club president was squirting any and all hands in an effort to keep our players HEALTHY) and screaming about a million "war eagle" 's, i got about 85 high-fives, some dark videos, and this lovely picture

i was trying to take a picture with the bus, not the random auburn fan. i am hoarse, but i don't care! the 2011 BCS national champs have arrived and i could nooot be more excited! as soon as i can get my short videos uploaded to youtube, i'll add them. it's a lot of wonky/loud "war eagle" 's from me, but i bet the excitement might translate :)

WEAGLE WEAGLE,

eat, drink and be merry...

2010-12-28T21:51:00.001-07:00

...for in 2011 we diet.

dear blog,

so we had loaded baked potato soup for dinner, followed by THREE OF THESE:

i found the BEST recipe online and i just couldn't resist. left the rest in the fridge- to be used by the end of 2010. just because.

really though, our fabulous white Christmas in flagstaff at snowbowl was a wake up call. last year at this time we were in the final weeks of "training" for the half... and have taken a few-er-eleven-months off since. and holy COW can we tell. it's time to get in shape to be able to finish the hard runs without stopping for a breather/so my legs don't voluntarily jump ship on me. time to start training now for the rest of ski season AND for denver-winter-2011... that is SO worth the run-time now. (i say that today... lets hope i still feel that way when it's 2011 and healthy time.)

back to Christmas day. we had a blizzast getting to ichat/gift swap with the Kyle fam Christmas morning, getting to ski all day, then getting to ichat/gift swap with my family. THANK GOODNESS FOR TECHNOLOGY!!! thankful for technology and thankful for generous friends and fam, and mostly thankful for our Savior. hope you and yours had a very merry december 25th!

peace, love and funnel cake calories,

opening date: saturday, december 25

2010-12-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

via (click if pic won't enlarge) (just in case anyone didn't already know that)

my father in law joked with David that d's obsession with skiing was bleeding over onto ME- which i immediately shot down, but..... i don't know how much longer i can deny it.

2010 might be a big year for the kyle's regarding natural disasters.... the tsunami in hawaii in march and maybe an avalanche in flag in december?? i kid, i kid, but the fact that they said they're doing avalanche control on the slopes is exciting because even mentioning "avalanche"=massive amounts of ski snow.

nope, i can no longer deny it. I CAN'T WAIT TO GET OUT THERE!!!!!

(huge, proud grin on the hubs face right about now.... and then some VERY excited cheers/fist pumps/celebratory dancing. the obsession might have bled over, but mine still cannot compare. i can't wait to see his 24 hours-a-day grin starting as soon as he knows they'll be open on time.)

x's & o's & avalanche snows!!!!

cayk

merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

merry Christmas! happy holidays! feliz navidad!

we decided (rather randomly, i might add... hence my t-shirt and pullover) to go ahead and do our little hubs-to-me and me-to-hubs gift exchange tonight!

and i'm so glad we did. our Christmas eve/day are shaping up to be busy (right flag??????) and full of ichatting family, so we thought why not?

we got to take our time and enjoy giving and receiving and even took a few pics to prove it.

can you tell we're preparing for the constant-freeze of colorado???? :)

merry Christmas! if you have any last minute shopping to do this week, you can bet i'll see you at anthro :)

praying for snow,

ick

2010-12-14T20:47:00.004-07:00

dear blog,

what i'm living on these days:

powerade zero, a disgusting but effective codeine/phenergan concoction, mini mint muskateers & mint mnms, with a little pasta action mixed in...

i had no idea the common cold could knock me off my feet like it has. which is why i'm still maintaining a bronchitis diagnosis. i'm done with the obnoxious "oh, i neeever get sick!" because that is now a lie. oh misery.

peace love and coughs,

ps- we're down to 137!

also, i'm done complaining.

this is camtastic!

2010-12-04T18:10:00.004-07:00

sorry non-auburn/football readers who could care less but

AUBURN IS GOING TO THE BCS CHAMPIONSHIP! THEY'LL BE IN PHOENIX THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY!

don't you think we won't be at the airport decked out in orange and blue when they fly in :) and we can't wait to see so many auburn friends game weekend!!!

war cam eagle!!!!!

also, i'll be on the hunt for cammy cam juice. if you find some, let me know.

thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T17:45:00.003-07:00

dear blog,

our life out west's thanksgivings: the notables:

- this was thanksgiving 2008:

(with bro in law scotty-dawg in vegas)

- thanksgiving 2009 wasn't photographed because while i did attempt cooking, i was 100% not pleased we were missing family.

- thanksgiving 2010

based on our previous experiences, we knew that getting out of town on turkey day was the way to go. wellll, about a month ago we decided we wanted to find a tree farm to cut down our own Christmas tree this year- both of our families cut down our own trees back in the day, and we both wanted to start that tradition in our little K fam. as you can imagine, tree farms in the desert are kinda hard to find. they do have a few around the phx area, buuuut the prices were a bit higher than we wanted. with a little googling, we found out that several national forests in arizona offer $15 tree tags- purchase a tag for a certain tree and you can cut it down for 15 bucks- SOLD! so, we decided to spend thanksgiving day in flagstaff so that we could cut our tree down in the Kaibab forest, a little outside of flag.

if you are ever in flagstaff for thanksgiving- i would HIGHLY recommend the little america hotel brunch. actually, i might plan a trip around it- it was amaaaazing.

we had our own adorable two-top white tableclothed table, and i enjoyed a little bubbly when we sat down.

i won't bore you (or make you jealous?) with all the meal deets, but this is how we were both feeling afterwards: (at dessert)

then we took off in search of the kaibab. (obvi i have discovered/am obsessed with the hipstamatic)

my hopes were not high- we were supposed to be able to find a TREE out here. do you see any trees? no trees yet, but it is a windy 20 degrees.

we finally made it to some foliage! inside the forest we found what we were looking for... sort of. i had the image of a perfect juniper tree in my brain because we have several in the store that are just a perfect whimsical whoville Christmas tree. but in real life- and in a real forest- juniper trees are bushy! our tree tag was good for a juniper or pinon tree, so we decided on pinon. and after some hiking,

we found her! and my mountain man got to work:

the catch with a forest cut tree: it doesn't come with a flat bottom! and it has rocks at its base when you cut it to make a flat bottom impossible! haha. so we've had some tree vs. kyle wrastlin' meets in our little a-p-t this week, but we think she's about ready for some decor. if nothing else: we made some thanksgiving 2010 mems. fo sho.

thankfully,

iron bowl champs!

2010-11-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

man oh man.

in case you didn't know... today a very great thing happened:

auburn 28- uat* 27.

!!!!!!

unfortunately, i wasn't able to watch the game (darn black friday) BUT i have a husband who should seriously consider sports commentating if podiatry were to fall through... and most of the good stuff i got to hear real time!!

*for any non-southern/alabama friends-- that means "university of alabama in tuscaloser," our bitter in-state rival.

more about our thanksgiving later. WAR EAGLE BABY!

(ps- IF the national championship- in glendale- were to fall through, we have good chances to go to the rose bowl which is in pasadena (6 hours away) or the fiesta bowl- also in glendale!!! YES)

are-you-ready-for-this

2010-11-24T17:10:00.003-07:00

dear blog,

oh.my.stars.

(in flagstaff)

what that screenshot doesn't tell you is that there is a wind chill in the NEGATIVES tomorrow. i'll tell you more about why i am so concerned with that later... if i survive.

meanwhile... happy thanksgiving!

hugs, kisses and a snowy thanksgiving,

c&d

ps... if that title didn't make you think of jock jams then you obviously didn't have mrs. wagner as your PE teacher at jones valley. whoop there it is!

sometimes i wonder...

2010-11-23T15:48:00.001-07:00

dear blog,

the other night when dave and i were driving to friend's house for dinner, we passed a jewish home/synagogue/building of some sort. and the following conversation ensued:

me: "hey did you see that candle thing back there in front of the jewish home/synagogue/building? what do you call that??"

(i had a feeling this answer would be interesting...i wasn't too far off)

d: thinking... thinking... "oh! a dremel!"

me: laughing... a little more laughing... "no, a dremel is a hobby tool that cuts/sands/etc. the term you were looking for was DREIDEL, and that is a jewish game"

....more laughing :) (thankfully, from both us)

me: "so??? what was it called???"

d: "kwanzaa???"

me: "uuum, no, that is an African-American Christmas celebration"

d: thinking, thinking... "give me the letter it starts with"

me: "that will give it away!! okay, 'm' "

just a few more seconds of thinking... then

david beams and triumphantly says/yells: "MAZEL TOV!!"

....

i was just glad we were back in the right direction!

me: "david, NO"

eventually i had to give it to him- 'menorah' wasn't popping into his head. maybe you had to be there, blog, but it was hilarious. oh dave... :)

and just to be fair-- i had big plans for this pork chops and grits recipe on sunday night, and i was super pumped about trying it. when i was buying groceries for this recipe last week, after checking the cabinets (we don't have a pantry at the moment) i decided to skip purchasing more grits because we already had a box full of the individual packets- why buy more? sooooo, fast forward to a hot pot of 5 cups of milk sunday night, ready for 1 cup of quick cooking grits (i make full recipes=leftovers=one less meal to cook from scratch!), so we measure out 1 cup's worth of packets. in case you're wondering, that is 3 packets. well, a solid 10 minutes later it was still so thin! definitely not thickening up like i'd expected. then i realized that i needed quick cooking grits... and the packets are instant! the same thing, right?? apparently not... david's laughing hysterically at this point. well, we were both determined to have our pork chops and grits so we made do and added 5 more packets :) they were perfect! so, i highly recommend this recipe, but only if you have the correct ingredients, haha. but like my fave bravo-turned-lifetime mentor says, "make it work!" and we did!!

sometimes i wonder how we get by day-to-day... then i realized that as a pair we aren't too bad off.

oh bloggie, he's the best isn't he??

ckyle

but since i am out here....

2010-11-19T17:18:00.003-07:00

dear blog,

i want to meet the person responsible for this. and give 'em a war eagle TIGER hug. (i almost typed "bear.")

WAR CAM!,

friday funday

2010-11-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

to start: liquid nails does NOT come off of your skin. in case you ever got it on your bloggy epidermis, it doesn't just rub off, no matter how peanut buttery it looks. i'm hoping mine wears off soon...

if you like the grinch movie you should go and see the play- tonight! or this weekend! in real life!! it is at the gammage and is perfect for a kids-night-out: it is only one act. i guess you can't stretch a dr. seuss book into much more, huh? but the grinch's costume was spot-on (and he was hilarious!), the sets looked just like a page out of the book, and the entire thing is in rhyme! adorable, and now i'm almost ready for Christmastime. which, by the way blog, includes the first kyle family griswold-style tree cutting. more on that later.

162 is a special number... can you guess why???? it'll change tomorrow though... and the next day, and the next.

here's to a short weekend! blog, if you need me i'll be in the 150 degree front window @anthro alll dayyyy sundayyyy, painting my little heart out.

xoxo and happy iron bowl trash talk week (50% of me is glad we live in phx, and the saucy 50% of me is not. probably better this way),

cayk

meet my friend

2010-11-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

meet mr. moose. his official name is not "mr. moose" but it hasn't been decided yet- when we pick it from the gazillion entries i will let you know.

he also isn't wearing his holiday ("holiday," mind you, NOT "Christmas") garland at the moment, i'll be sure to update you on his appearance after he's decorated.

and don't you just want to nibble on those little hooves/legwarmers/socks??

i knew you'd like him.

x's & o's & little moose toes,

i'm taking out an ad

2010-11-03T21:40:00.000-06:00

SEARCHING FOR:

KIND, QUIET PERSON INTERESTED IN ALL THINGS MEDICAL (GORE), WILLING AND ABLE TO LISTEN TO EV-E-RY SURGICAL DETAIL WITHOUT GETTING RUBBERY IN EVERY JOINT AND PASSING OUT.

AVAILABILITY: EVERY WEEKNIGHT ABOUT 7 PM. MUST HAVE LOTS OF TIME ON YOUR HANDS.

SERIOUSLY.

this must prove that i am not vain

2010-10-29T19:10:00.000-06:00

it must... because this picture is horrendous.

found here. i was shopping for work yesterday and met the saweeeetest little lady (now i know her name is Fran and she is a volunteer) and am vowing to shop up there every chance i get. (for work i mean, it's on my work-shopping-route) obvi another sweet little lady distracted me just as the manager was taking the photo. nice.