We Work Hard For The Money

Last week, Noah and I really earned our buck. I went to Hershey PA, visited Chocolate World, got my free sample (mmmm...), cheered at a hockey game, and claimed it all as "work."





Then on Tuesday, I called Noah to figure out our post-work pick-up plan (ah, the joys of being a one car household) and he told me he was already at home. Apparently he had some "research" to do that could be done at home, on the couch. His "research" was learning how to use the Wii for SelectHealth's booth at the Utah Dentist Convention. This is why we went to college.

Overheard

If you were walking within earshot of Noah and me as we crossed Smith's parking lot the other evening, you may have overhead this...

Noah: "Since we started training, I weigh less than I have in a few years."
Allison: "Really babe? That's awesome! I have no idea what I weigh, I never step on the scale."
Noah: "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

PAUSE

Allison: Uproarious laughter.
Noah: A panicked "that is NOT what I meant and you know it" look.

For the Love

In celebration of the day of love and our typical Wii tennis score, we present to you...

Tagged.

For the past few months, I've been watching the "Tag" ping around among friends and I've enjoyed reading the results. It's a bullet I've managed to dodge. Until now.

10 Years Ago:
February 1998 - I was a seventh-grader and it was nearly Valentine's Day, so I'm sure that lethal combination meant love was on the brain. My crush du jour was Jake Cooper, but because I never said as many as eight words to him throughout my entire junior high experience, he didn't play an ACTUAL role in my Valentine's Day celebration. I'm sure school that day was spent holding my breath each time the student body officers came into classrooms to deliver Candy Grams (the ultimate status solidifier to any SOJH Spartan) as my classmates and I all did quick mental math to see who was racking up the most.

That evening, my BFF Shae and I went down to Dallin's house and spent the evening with some of the boys in my neighborhood. Dallin was my neighbor, and he and the the rest of the Pleasant Valley boys didn't hold much of my interest. But this was 7th grade... when four elementary schools combined for the first time, and the H. Guy Child Elementary boys held a certain charm for Shae who hailed from Uintah Elementary. I imagine I went along partly to be the supportive friend, partly because Jake wasn't pounding down my door, and partly because I looked oh-so-hip in this old, plaid jacket of my older sister's I'd found to wear for the occasion. These were my glory days, people. After some games and the like, we really painted the town red and went doorbell ditching. (For REAL? We were like, 13. Were we really still this lame? I confess, we were.) But that went sour quickly when Shae tripped, broke her wrist, and ended up in a cast for the next few weeks. That'll teach us to quit being such hooligans and just start making out on V-Day like other teenagers.

Snacks I Enjoy:
Oh man, for real - what won't I eat in the snack food realm? But among my list of favorites...
Gummy Bears/Worm/Octopi/Whatever - but if you're gonna do gummy, you can't go cheap. It's all about the Haribo or Black Forest. For sale in embarrassingly large 5lb bags at Smith's. I haven't succumbed in nearly 7 months.
Red Vines
York Bites
Cadbury Mini Eggs (but not the Christmas ornament crap they're trying to pull lately. I swear they taste better in egg-shape.)

Things I Would Do If I Were Suddenly Made a Billionaire:
Noah probably thinks I'd still make us live like students :) and there is probably a shred of truth to that. I don't think I'd have the nerve or the desire to do anything really excessive with it.

But really, I'd probably want to set up our kids' college funds, buy (and FURNISH) a house, pay for both of us to attend grad school and visit each of our siblings (from Guatemala to Australia to Texas to the midwest and back).

Then I would probably purchase something modest like a private jet.

3 of My Bad Habits:
I do NOT put away clean laundry for the LONGEST time. (Amy, I think you mentioned this one on your blog at one time, and I had to hang my head in "I do it too..." shame.) Part of this I like to blame on the fact that I have approx. 4 cubic feet of closet space, so all of my shirts/dress pants/skirts/dresses are hung at least three to a hanger. To a SINGLE hanger. So it's really an involved process... (that's justification, right?)

I get REALLY committed to schedules and plans once they're set and I have a hard time adjusting or being flexible. I really like being efficient with my time, so it drives me nuts when things like people and stop lights don't cooperate.

I never carry keys, my debit card or any photo I.D. It makes me a very unlikely target for petty theft, but it also tends create a problem if I am ever locked out, in a situation where I need to purchase something, or pulled over.

5 Places I've Lived:
Ogden, Logan, SLC - UT; Fayette, ME; Wuxi, China; Arlington, VA

Jobs I've had:
Violin/Piano Teacher - still, one of my very favorite jobs.
Junior High Janitor - I learned useful skills, such as how to drive a Kubota and how to get gum out of carpet... bleh.
Parking Booth Attendant - so many good times, where to begin...?
Rich Kids Camp Counselor - all that time spent with the 7 Jeans CEO's munchkin and not one free pair...
English Teacher to Chinese Kindergartners - I don't know if it counts as a job, I wasn't actually paid. But I was fairly compensated in kisses and "wo ai ni's."
Produce Stand Extraordinaire - I sold pluots and crenshaws like nobody's business.
Intern
Intern
Intern
Intern
PR Account Coordinator

Who I'm tagging:
If you haven't answered these questions, and you would like to... I tag you. Go nuts :)

Ringing In 2008

We had a great New Year's Eve this year with two of our faves - Quinn and Lindsay.

At Bangkok Thai on Main Street, Park City.

This was the extent of our braving the frigid cold that night. After a quick photo op on Main Street, we headed back to a condo in Midway where we stayed that evening. After a few games with my parents and Lindsay's delicious dessert, we rang in the New Year with Carson and Martinelli's.

We attempted to round out the evening with that 80s classic, "Better Off Dead" - but when we got to the line, "It's a real shame when people be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that," and nobody uttered so much as a chuckle, I realized we were all out for the count. We're such rockers. :)

"Uncle Noah Knows Nice People"

My sweet sister, Ashley, and her family live in Missouri, and since they don't get to spend a lot of time around family, she's putting together a picture book for her little girl with photos of each member of the family and a sentence or two about what they like to do. For example, "Parker is good at spelling and football." "Aunt Megan can run circles aroud the boys on the basketball court." "Uncle Jeremy is always packing heat and is within his legal parameters to fire if provoked." The theory behind the book is that even though Abbey doesn't get to see the family very often, she'll still feel like she knows us when we get together.

I find the same principle applies with adults.

This weekend, Noah and I made our way up to Logan for the PLC/Ambassadors 25th Anniversary. One of the definite highlights of the evening was greeting a few adorable families with hellos and hugs as though we'd been friends for years, when in fact I had never officially met them. Ah, the blog. My version of the picture book for Noah's USU friends. For the past few months, I've been getting to know the Blakes and the Biggs only through their delightful blogs and the occasional comment back and forth. Between the always-good stuff Noah had to share, and their adorable personalities via blogging, I knew I was in for a treat once I finally met them - and they did not disappoint.

After the dinner, and my quick nap on a couch on the TSC's third floor (I never actually fell asleep in the student center when I was legitimately a student. This was a first for me. Maybe the outrageous chest cold had something to do with it...) we met up with the Millets for the game. In true Allison, Lindsay, Noah, Quinn fashion - we sat in that order so the boys could enjoy the game while the girls caught up on all the latest since we last saw each other (approx. 1 week ago at yoga). We didn't realize we were chatting so loudly until the gentleman in front of us recapped our entire conversation at the end of the game. Our apologies. Go Aggies.