Cherry Chub Reunion

Yes I am a terrible blogger right now. After working long hours for some reason I just don't feel like blogging.

But a cherry chub reunion "Vegas style" did happen this last week. No, I never did live in the Cherry house (most of you know it as the woman's Gartz house in Provo) during my tenure at BYU but my sister Emily lived there, cousin Mandy, roommate Melissa, and of course Bethany and Courtney Gartz from my hometown. Emily's old roommates Jamie, Sarah, and Jen all know me as well. Of course, we'll overlook the fact that they couldn't all fit in Melissa's house and so they had to invite me so they could sleep at my house :-). But I didn't mind cuz then my sister came to visit me! And my cousin! And the Gartz's.

However, although I did take my camera over to Melissa's Sunday afternoon... I never pulled it out. So here are some Christmas pictures which I also never blogged about.

I was at work Friday until I picked up Bethany Gartz from the airport and went to work on Saturday. I got to leave early on Saturday so I could join the pack for dinner at a Japanese restaurant to celebrate Courtney's birthday. I was a bit cranky. So more Christmas pictures with us making farolitos!The food at the restaurant was wonderful even though it was in a kinda scary place. Once I got some food in me I felt much better. It was pretty late but we went back to Melissa's house (our houses are about 40 minutes apart) to do more Courtney celebration. We also did baby shower celebration stuff cuz Jamie was flying back Sunday morning. I didn't give my baby stuff away cuz I hadn't finished it yet. It made me kinda sad. So here's more Christmas pictures of making cinnamon rolls... and other stuff.
While the boys did what they do best.
Sunday I didn't have to work!! (Actually, us three lady engineers (Angus calls us "the girls" but I'm trying to wean him off that... we are LADIES!) kinda rebelled and decided we weren't working Sunday. When they say they are giving you 4 days to do a QA/QC check you CANNOT count Saturday and Sunday at two of those days! Sigh) So we went to church. I even got to go to RS cuz the YW president decided the laurels needed to go to RS once a month so they can make the transition easier. But Mandy had to go home with her babies since they were all ill.

Christmas picture of me in all my new pajama and apron glory.

Sunday I got to spend all afternoon and evening playing with Mandy's baby Julia (3 or 4 months old?) and furiously crocheting to try and get booties done for Laticia who didn't know what flavor her baby was going to be (if she had known it was a girl, I woulda been all set!). I ALMOST succeeded. I finished them that night and Emily took them to her Monday.

Monday I got home about 9pm from work and then everyone left Tuesday morning.

So now we need more Christmas pictures to remind me of more happy times than when people leave me after playing in Vegas without me. The End

PS I didn't take many pictures at Christmas either so I have no pictures of Dad or of Jenny and family. Anyone that would like to share would be my bestest family members for life. Doesn't everyone want that?

Hunter Show

So, I've been averaging between 50-60 hours at work... although this week will probably be more than that since I've already logged 16.

But really I don't want to talk about that. You don't want to hear the frustrated/mad/bitter Melanie (although most of you have already gotten an earful. Sorry!) . I just wanted to explain why I haven't been blogging even though I have some good posts in my head... not even counting Christmas. But when I get home from work I just sit on my couch. I don't even want to crochet (GASP! Melanie not wanting to crochet? The world doesn't make sense anymore). Then I go to bed early cuz I'm exhausted.

However, since my brother Nathan came to visit me this last week to smooze with advertisers at a big Hunting Show here in Vegas, I thought I would post about that.

It was so fun to see him and hang out. I miss my family so its nice when they come visit me! I'm sad we couldn't plan fun things to do since it was the middle of the week and stupid work got in the way (it also rained the whole time they were here and cleared up as soon as they left... Hello! It's Vegas!). But we did get to go out to dinner and I sampled "land maggot" (sheep) for the first time (that I remember). Needless to say Nathan and his coworker Sean did not try it. I just thought it tasted like meat :-). I also discovered meat gut and why we are supposed to eat meat during the winter... it makes u wake up in the middle of the night and throw off the covers cuz ur burning up.

Course, maybe that's just how I respond.

We watched the music video's I made of Jenny's kids and the one of Nathan's kids (poor Sean had to sit though them. Can you imagine watching other peoples home videos?) and showed each other funny u-tube videos, a favorite family past time.

The last night Nathan got out his gun and I suddenly remembered my camera.

There he is.
And here I am.

(This is how I really felt about it.. I wouldn't touch it until he showed me the empty chamber)
Wait, where'd he go?

Ah.. there he is. My camera skills just couldn't cut it.

Thanks for coming Nathan! It was so much fun to have you here and you are welcome anytime, with or without family :-). But next time I think you should take more food home with you. Although my YW are happy you didn't take the M&M's cuz otherwise they wouldn't of had any treat today during my lesson!

Sunday Evening

Yes I haven't blogged in forever. Yes it was because of work (don't really want to talk about the hours I've put in there)... and then Christmas (most of the people that read this blog were there!). Yes I will blog about that later. But it's Sunday evening and Aaron is making donuts.



Emily and I beaded and then I made a flower. OK, we WERE beading. I made Thorpe a manly bracelet to go with his new blue sparkly collar. I love my family.

Ebenezer Scrooge

This is my favorite version of Dicken's A Christmas Carol cuz I love the way Patrick Stewart portrays Scrooge. Did you know he did a one man version on stage for 10 years?

So I bought it.

And I watched it.

I forgot that I can't watch the Jacob Marley's ghost part cuz it's a little scary (ghosts are scary), I don't like when Ebenezer sees his old life cuz it makes him so sad (I may have teared up during that part), and I really can't watch the part with the ghost of Christmas Future.. talk about a SCARY ghost and so sad (might have been a little tearing up there too).

So basically I like the very beginning... the ghost of Christmas Present (Except the end when he gets old and scary), and the end (my favorite)... about 1/4th of the movie.

I think I need to go watch White Christmas. The only part I can't watch of that one is when what's her name is mad at Bing cuz she thinks he's selling out the general. That's only like... 1/3 of the movie.

Nice Neighbor

What do you do if your neighbor finally gets fed up with the rumble of bass coming from across the wall late at night, gets her shoes and puts a coat on over her pajamas, walks around the block to the other side, knocks on your door, and asks you to please turn it down?

You leave a note outside her gate the next day (that she doesn't discover until a day or 2 later) that says:

Isn't that a nice way to keep peace in the neighborhood?

(PS. I added an explaination of how I make hashbrowns in the comments of my last post... for those who wondered)

Hashbrowns

I love Hashbrowns. Really love Hashbrowns.Sometimes I add an egg.But mostly I stick with what works... Butter, Salt, and Starch.

Mmm..

But something I have learned.. Don't grate the skins.

Ew...icky brown stuff... No, we want White, fluffy, Fried.. YUM!

(Yes, each of these pictures were taken on a different day. Like I said, I like Hashbrowns!)

Playing in the Pool

Jenny and Tom heated up their pool for TWO WHOLE DAYS just for me.

And Emily... and their family... and some friends, but mostly just for me. I'm the one that got sunburned. Of course, poor Jacob came in saying he was seeing rainbows, but that only lasted one evening.

Here is Sarah on top of my shoulders.. I mean the spash as she fell off. Here she is bustin' a move.

OK.. that's all I got of me... on with the rest of the show! I didn't pull my camera out until people started jumping.Some took a little while to get ready. There she goes! (OK, she never did do it.. next time Carly!)

Sarah is pretty good at bustin' a move.There is my cute Emily that didn't want a picture of her out of the pool..How did that get in there?!?!?
I just had to show people that you did some dives off the diving board! Unlike moi. I was doing a great job as the photographer.

And of course, Jenny showed us all up.

So.. who's been spending the most time in the pool do you think?

(So.. I thought I got a bunch of video but apparently I only got one of half a dive when I thought I WASN'T taking video (hence the sideways view) SORRY!) (for more pool pictures (and one of Megan.. I don't know how I missed her!), go to Jenny's Blog)