I hate computers

I'm feeling pretty hostile toward my computer. I don't care if user error has anything to do with anything. I hate my computer. I hate it for lulling me into a false sense of security - that anything saved within its hard drives, motherboards, graphics card...whatever, is safe from harm. I hate my computer. I hate it for confusing the heck out of even the most skilled user therefore causing permanent damage "due to user error." I hate my computer. I hate it for requiring hard drives and back up hard drives. I hate my computer. I hate it for crashing. I hate my computer. I hate that all my boys' pictures are gone, lost in electrical space, never to be viewed again. I hate my computer. I hate it even more because I'm sitting here again, in front of my computer. Typing away how much I hate it. Loathing it with every key I push. Cursing it for not being able to be sent to a data recovery specialist and somehow be resurrected. I hate it for all the precautions I "should have" taken and now its gone....gone baby gone. I hate my computer.

This is for you Jennie

How long have you been together? We have been married for almost six and a half years! How long did you date? Oh geez that was so long ago....hmmm....we were an "official" couple for about four months before Steve proposed. Before that we had been friends and "hanging out" for another four months I think. How old is he? Steve is the big 3-0! Who eats more? Hmmm.... Who said "I love you" first? That would be me, thank you very much. Who is taller? Steve, hands down. Who sings better? Steve Who is smarter? Steve Who does the laundry? Moi Who does the dishes? Usually me but when we remodeled the kitchen we invested in a super duper dishwasher so I'll give it most of the credit. ;) Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Steve, I need easy access to the door. Who pays the bills? Automatic debit all the way Who mows the lawn? Most of the time its Steve Who cooks dinner? Me Who is more stubborn? We both are pretty stubborn Who kissed who first? This is a good story but to sum it up Steve initiated it. :) Who asked who out? Steve asked me out. Our first date was with some good friends of ours, Josh and Mari. We rode trax to SLC and ate at China Lily. Chinese food has played an integral part in our relationship ever since.....hehehe. Who proposed? Steve proposed to me. He took me on a beautiful hike up Provo Canyon. We sat on the edge of a beautiful cliff and he read me a poem he had written that ended with his proposal. Every time I go back to Provo I look at the place on the mountain where we sat after we climbed it and remember how incredible that day was. Who is more sensitive? That would be me. Who has more friends? Um, I think that would be me too. Who has more siblings? Steve has five and I have three. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Neither of us makes any big decisions without consulting the other person. Who are you tagging? Britt-ay, Evelyn, Mae, Katie Naylor, Julie Good

This is for you Jennie

How long have you been together? We have been married for almost six and a half years!

How old is he? Steve is the big 3-0!
Who eats more? We can probably eat about the same, isn't that scary about me?

Who said "I love you" first? I did.

Who is taller? Steve for sure. He's 6'2" and I'm 5'4"

Who sings better? Um, probably Steve.

Who is smarter? Steve, for sure. I stink at Math so I think that makes him smarter.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who does the dishes? I do, most of the time.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Steve does.

Who pays the bills? Automatic deduction!

Who mows the lawn? Steve but we hope to have someone else one day.

Who cooks dinner? I do.

Who is more stubborn? Steve is. Love you, hon!

Who kissed who first? Steve kissed me. Actually, he asked "when are you going to kiss me?" It was pretty funny, and awkward.

Who asked who out? Hmm, according to Steve he asked me out first.

Who proposed? Steve proposed to me at the top of a mountain in Provo.

Who is more sensitive? I am, definitely.

Who has more friends? I think I would have to say that I do.

Who has more siblings? Steve does, there are 6 kids in his family and 4 in mine.

Who wears the pants in the relationship? Um, I do! haha...I think we both do.

Life list

1. I'm still in shock that President Hinckley has passed away, it feels like the end of an era for me. I know he is much happier now. I will miss hearing from him. My favorite characteristic of his was how personable he was, he was always good for a laugh! Whenever I listened to him I wanted to be better. I really liked Glenn Beck's tribute to him, you can read it here. Thank you for all you did for us President Hinckley, you will be missed.

2. I've given up reading Pillars of the Earth. It got a little too disturbing for me. Have any of you read it? Is it worth pushing through?

3. I love that I've come in contact with two old friends because of this blog! I'm so excited to be in touch with Julie and Abbie again.

4. I am an iphone owner. I love it! Its so fun....a bit extravagant but fun. I've been afraid to make my ownership public because it lends the wrong image but I've decided to embrace it and be proud! ehhhh, or something.

5. I've been talking (since November) about painting over my canvases in the living room. Well, its about time I put some action behind my words and finally got around to re-doing my paintings in our living room. This is what they used to look like.

And this is what they look like now.

6. I am really excited to go to Mesquite tomorrow. We're going to see our nephew Jaxon be baptized. I'm excited to see all the family. I know my boys will be bursting with joy to spend time with their cousins and see their Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen. I want to leave right now but Steve is making me wait until tomorrow morning (sigh). Honestly, I can't believe Jaxon is eight and going to be baptized! It was just yesterday that he was five (?) and asking me to hold Ethan every other minute. :) I'm always impressed with how easily Jaxon and Tyler share their toys when we come to visit. They are so nice to Ethan and Luke its no wonder my boys never want to leave. We love you Jaxon and we're so excited and happy for you! Thanks for being such a good example to your younger cousins. I know Ethan and Luke will look up to you. Here's a picture of Jaxon holding baby Ethan when they came for Ethan's blessing.

And here is Jaxon in his suit he got for his eigth birthday. His mom told us that he asked for a suit, I think he looks so grown up and handsome. He's got "future missionary" and "heart throb" written all over him.

Fancy some reading?

I just started reading Ken Follett's book, Pillars of the Earth. I wanted to see if all the hype it was getting is really accurate. Its a looooooong book, 973 pages. I'm usually able to return books to the library before they are due but I'm thinking I'm going to definitely have to put an extension on this one. My brother could probably finish this book in a week. Anyway, I'm curious to see how the author creates a 900+ story with the characters I have been introduced to thus far.

I finished Elizabeth Gilbert's, Eat, Pray, Love book while I was on my flight back from Cancun. I really enjoyed this book. It was basically a book about her quest to find balance or harmony between pleasure and spirituality. My favorite part of the book were her travels in Italy. I would love to experience Rome and Naples one day. My words are not sufficient enough to do it justice. I thought it was worth reading.

Mascara

I need your help. I am desperate for a good mascara. Everyone I've tried always flakes and leaves me with black residue below my eyes. I don't need more to add to my dark cirlces! Does anyone have a mascara they love? Or that doesn't leave them with racoon eyes? I've tried Covergirl, Maybeline, Clinique and one from Costco.

Isn't he adorable?

Here's my new nephew Zane! He's pretty cute. Check out that blonde hair!

Welcome baby Zane

Mae and Clay had their baby last Friday night. Zane was born at 10pm measuring 20.5 inches long, strawberry blonde hair, and 7 lbs. 15 oz. I don't have any pictures of him yet but I just wanted to say we're so happy to have him here! I went to the Williford's house last night to take a shift so they could get some sleep and I am already amazed at how good Zane is. He slept in his cradle the entire time! My boys never would have done that. Congratulations Clay and Mae! Welcome to parenthood. :)

Our trip to Cancun

We had a glorious time in Cancun! Actually, I probably had a better time than Steve since he was in meetings most of the time but he still had a good time.

Most relaxing moment: Thursday's manicure, hair cut, and facial...it doesn't get much better than this.

Most romantic moment: Steve and I had dinner on the beach in a little casita. It was so gorgeous and the food was delicioso!

Most food eaten: Friday night's seafood buffet in the Ritz. We all stuffed our faces with Lobster Thermidor, grilled lobster tails, shrimp, tuna, sushi, fried calamari, seafood paella, seafood ceviche, there was too much to name and don't even get me started on the dessert!

Most laughable moment: getting a flat tire on the way back to the Ritz from Tulum! It was dark and the mosquitoes were out to feast. Thankgoodness for the handy men to quickly get us back on the road.

Most educational (for me anyway): the tour of the Mayan ruins in Tulum. We had a great tour guide, Alma. Unfortunately we arrived at the ruins close to closing time so she had to quickly take us on our tour but she did a great job and I was amazed with how well preserved the ruins still were. The tour was the icing on the cake for me.

List

1. I can't believe I'm going to Cancun tomorrow. I wonder what it will be like. I feel out of my element but I'm excited. I don't think I've been to the beach by myself where the only item on the agenda was to read a book and soak up some sun in at least 4 years...wow. Besides the fact that this is mine and Steve's first "international" trip together in the entire time we've been married. 2. My sister Mae is probably going to have her baby while I'm gone, I should just accept that fact. I am having selfish thoughts trying to will the baby not to come until Saturday night. Sorry Mae. 3. I wish I could seperate myself from my children easier. I hate leaving them but I love the idea of going away without them. Weird. My mind betrays me by feeding me worse case scenarios thus filling me with dread and trepidation. Is this what its like to be a mom? I know they will be in excellent hands and its only 4 days. 4. I really like the book I'm reading right now. Its by Elizabeth Gilbert and titled Eat, Pray, Love. She's a good writer. The first 1/3 of her book was about her time in Italy and I just LOVED that. I want to visit Italy for 4 months too and eat at Pizzeria da Michele in Naples, see Rome and everyone grossly displaying public affection, eat gelato and pastries, ride a gondola in Venice, meander around the cathedrals and museums.... 5. This is the last day of antibiotics for Luke...HALLELUJAH!! 6. Where did my interest in cooking go? I just don't want to do it anymore. There are about 5 dishes I like to cook. Unfortuneately for me I tire of those 5 dishes too quickly. I used to love to see what I could whip up, how well I could follow a recipe, what a new dish tasted like. (sigh)