Friday Foto Fix

Jed is going to be such a great father. I can just tell by the way he was with West. :D

I cannot wait until I can have a picture like this with Jed and our baby! (That's a lie. I can wait...)

This is the only picture I got of Eli. And I don't even think I took it... :\

They had some exotic fruit at the farmer's market we went to - like this orange/pear thing.

No comment except "I love my mom." :)

Nana and grandbaby West.

Can you see his super long finger(s)??

Thankful Thursday

I really do have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes it's hard to choose just one thing each week. But this week, one thing stood out to me: I'm thankful that I was able to drive home in that snow storm on Sunday. Oh the irony!!

I'm not kidding. I'm seriously grateful for the challenge I faced on Sunday: driving, white-knuckled, for hours in a snow storm just trying to get home. Number one, it gave me more confidence in my driving-in-the-snow abilities. Now I know I can drive, no problem, in any snow situation Utah hits me with. (I kinda felt that way already, but know I know I can do it!) Number two, it opened my eyes for the billionth time to how sweet and patient and gentle and calm my husband is. The whole time I was driving he was alert and would help me decide whether or not to pass people, etc. He also had his GPS out and would warn me every time the road was expected to curve up ahead. He's the best. PS - The road conditions and visibility were 10x worse than this picture:

Wednesday Weigh-In

I weighed myself at Gold's tonight and it said their scale said that I was back at 250. However, according to my new Wii Fit (which I love dearly), I have lost 4.8 pounds since I started using it on the 18th!! :D Maybe I'll start going by that instead of Gold's... As of right now, I weigh 246.5 on the Wii Fit.

Go Spurs Go!!!

I made it a point to get tickets to last night's Spurs/Jazz game. Apparently they play each other every year, in SLC, at the end of January. Jed and I got to go last year (with the Keays and the Nielsens) and had a great time (except for that kid who threw trash on us and that old lady who kept turning around and pointing at us every time the Jazz scored...). I love me some live basketball, especially when my boys are playing! As you can see, our seats weren't amazing, but true fans will watch from the last row just to get to be in the same building. ;)


We sat with Spurs fans on the left and Jazz fans on the right. There was this funny old couple sitting behind us. No joke, every time the Spurs were on offense, the lady would shout (in her high-pitched old lady voice) "De-fense, De-fense". Except she was never in sync with the crowd and her voice always sounded flat. The first time the Spurs scored and I clapped, the old man tapped me on the shoulder and told me I wasn't supposed to clap. And they kept making these random, off-the-wall comments, as old people do, like "You make a million dollars and you can't make a free-throw?" or, referring to Duncan as "cry baby" all night, "Cry some more, cry baby". Then I was taking a picture of Jed and the old man practically grabbed the camera out of my hand and motioned for us to get together for him to take the picture. My camera is just a point-and-click but apparently it was a little difficult for him to figure out. It only took about 8 tries to even push the button down. Luckily it was a decent picture the first time...


The game itself was intense!! It was neck-and-neck the entire time. Back and forth, back and forth. 3-pointers were being made right and left. But in the end, MY SPURS were triumphant! 106-100!! :D
Obviously I'm not a very good commentator... haha So here are two articles on the game, by people who get paid to write about sports:
ESPN
Spurs Website

A

Stole this from Megan.
Rules: Answer all with the first letter of your name.

1. What is your name: Ali
2. A four Letter Word: Akin
3. A boy's Name: Aaron
4. A girl's Name: Alisha
5. An occupation: Acrobat
6. A color: Ash
7. Something you wear: Ankle Socks
9. A food: Almond
10. Something found in the bathroom: Asprin
11. A place: Amazon
12. A reason for being late: Acupuncture
13. Something you shout: Ahoy!
14. A movie title: Amazing Grace
15. Something you drink: Acid/Apple juice
16. A musical group: Ataris
17. An animal: Antelope

Monday Memoirs - California Dreamin'

This weekend was SO much fun! Jed and I headed out to California to visit Laurel and her family and my mom because Laurel just had a baby last week. The drive down wasn't too bad and we made pretty good time, even though we still got in pretty late Friday night.

On Saturday (our only full day there...) we woke up, had breakfast, and "Wii'ed it up"! It's so much fun to play the Wii with a bunch of people, especially family. After we were all showered and fed, we went to Tom's Farms and shopped around a little bit in the market. We couldn't ride the rides or visit the petting zoo because it was raining, but it was a cute place to go. Jed randomly found a fruit that he hadn't seen since he lived in Chile - a cherimoya.




We got In N Out for lunch, of course. Then Laurel, Mom, West and I went shopping for materials to make Laurel some curtains while the boys stayed home and played Guitar Hero. It was fun for them to have an equally good partner to play with (Laurel and I are not so good at that game...) and us girls had a great "outing". :) For dinner, we went to this Mexican restaurant that makes amazing tortillas - just like San Antonio! We hung out the rest of the night, and played with West a lot:


Jed and I had to leave around noon on Sunday, so we just bummed around in the morning and played Wii and hung out. Jed opened his special fruit for breakfast, but apparently it wasn't ripe because it was hard and tasted, to me, like ground pepper. :\ When we told Eli that we were leaving he told us that we didn't "need to go to Utah" and he was super sad that we were leaving him. That was cute.

Jed and I were making good time (I think mostly because I was driving) all the up to St. George (where we stopped for more In N Out) and then a little past that. But then we hit a storm. The worst part was the very beginning, when it was a white-out and I couldn't see the road or anything else more than a foot or two in front of the car. The scariest thing was when I started to hit those bumps just outside the lane (you know, the ones that make that really loud sound?) and I thought I was all the way to the right, but then I saw a mile-marker thing coming towards me from the left and realized I was on the opposite side of the road than I thought I was. It was awful! We were so close to driving off the road and in to a ditch, had we not seen that stick thing. So we eventually found a semi to follow and stayed behind larger vehicles the rest of the way home, and added about an hour and a half on to our trip. Jed was SO supportive and helpful while I was driving. I wasn't so much that way to him when the situation was reversed and he was driving home from Vegas in a storm. He is SO good to me, and sweet, and patient. I'm grateful that I have such a wonderful man to spend my life with.

Friday Foto Fix

This was at a bowling alley in December.

Old Spaghetti Factory. It was really yummy.

These next few pictures are from the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.

Cera from Land Before Time

"Spike"

Rib cage of a brontosaurus

Big ol' sea turtle

Woolly Mammoth. See the guy in the back trying to throw a rock at it? That thing is huge!

This animation display was randomly at the museum...

Sabrina pretending to be engaged with my ring

The icing on the cake. :)

Thoroughly Modern Millie

During my junior year of high school, I was able to go on a choir trip to New York. While we were there, we went to three Broadway musicals. Of course I had heard of Les Mis (and read the book), but I hadn't heard of the other two: Aida and Thoroughly Modern Millie. It goes without saying that Les Mis was incredible, but the other two were amazing as well and I loved them.

Since then, I've watched the Les Mis movie a bunch of times and I've seen Aida twice -once in San Antonio when a friend was in the cast and once this past year at the Hale Center Theater. Well last night I dragged Jed to my first Thoroughly Modern Millie experience since that New York trip. We watched the BYU production. It was good, but it was no Broadway. I guess you can't really expect that good of a performance from a college production. I'm still glad we went; I like that musical. :)

Thankful Thursday

Yep, we are now officially Costco members. I feel so...grown-up. Just kidding. We had a Sam's Club membership last year, but that wasn't cutting it - it was farther from our house, and they didn't have that yummy Kirkland Chocolate Weight Loss Shake
() that I drink every morning for breakfast. :D And they have those awesome tortilla strips that are great for dipping (). I also got the Amex card. I think it'll help pay for the cost of membership.

Also, I am thankful that Jed and I get to go to Cali tomorrow to see Laurel and her cute family, and my mom! I can't wait to see my new nephew - he looks so cute in his pictures!

And I'm thankful that I have a Wii, because I love it. (Is that vain?) Well, I love my Wii Fit because it's an easy way to keep track of my weight [loss] and I can do fun activities on it.

Heading Out to the "West"

I feel like such a blogging slacker (as if it all matters in the grand scheme of things...). But I do have an excuse. I've been on my death bed. Well, maybe not, but it kind of felt like it. I had the worse head pain over the weekend. I was going to go in to the doctor if it continued on through today, but luckily it stopped. (I really thought I had a tumor or something serious. Now I'll never know, but then again I don't really care as long as I'm not hurting anymore...) I do still have the stuffy/runny/raw nose, coupled with throat pain that Jed and I keep passing back and forth. Yuck. I hope I can get rid of it before I go see my brand-spanking new nephew on Friday.

Yep, I'm officially an aunt of FOUR nephews, no nieces. Westley Kai Lakey was born on Monday. (We'll call him West) 8 lbs 2 oz; 20 inches, I think? Jed and I are so fortunate to be able to drive to California on Friday to see Laurel's family (and my mom)!! Here's a picture I stole from Laurel's sister-in-law's blog:

And It Begins

Yesterday marked the beginning of the end, maybe. My company laid off the first person in our office since this economy "crisis" thing started. I really hope this isn't the beginning of a downward spiral. The fact that I work in the construction industry has been especially unsettling these past few months. People don't want to build new commercial buildings that will most likely not do very good business because nobody will be buying anything for a while. At least this is how I think these companies are thinking.
Anyways, when I was hired, it was because they were promoting the girl who did my job to a position that hadn't previously existed. The girl I replaced, who trained me to do everything I do, still works here, down the hall from me. That being said, our office "traffic" has slowed significantly and there isn't as much being done around here. My biggest fear is that, since this other girl already knows my job and has been here for years, they will bump me out and put her back in my position. I really have no upper hand or edge in this situation - she knows how to do my job in its entirety and she'd done it for years. I hope I don't get the axe, but I guess I could always go back to the temp agency who actually were the ones who got me this job. That is, if they have any work...

Friday Film Fix

These are some movies we took on our trip to Vegas in December.These were the lions at the Mirage. So neat!

More lions...
This is a very flamboyant guy dancing on the street for money. I thought he was sexy, but Jed wouldn't let me get his number to party with him later...
This guy was super cool!

Thankful Thursday

This really is a THANKFUL Thursday. I have nothing to complain about!
Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. Aside from having to go to school and class, and not having all of my family here, it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had!

While I was in class (where we just watched a movie the whole time), Jed took my car to get washed and baked a cake (chocolate with sprinkle frosting...yum!). He also shaved and put on the yummy cologne I got him for Christmas. :D After class, I got to go to dinner at Macaroni Grill with a bunch of my good friends. Ally Kirts, an old roommate who I love, and Sabrina McCain, a friend from home who I hadn't seen in years, were even able to make it! We had a fabulous dinner and I got a birthday cake from our waiter, who sang a great solo of Happy Birthday in Italian! Most of us went back to our apartment for cake and ice cream. And Jed's brother got to join us for that, which was nice.

Jed did an amazing job in the birthday department this year! I got jewelry, Bath & Body Works stuff that smells yummy, a dock for my camera so I can upload pictures at work, and a few things that will encourage me to work-out and get back into shape (but I won't embellish on those because I don't want to make everyone jealous - just know that my husband is fabulous and insanely thoughtful).
I had an incredible birthday, filled with lots of love and good times. Thank you so much to all of those who wished me happy birthday and joined in on our fun birthday festivities. I have the best friends money can't buy!! ;)

Ali's Birthday

Hey everyone!
If you guys didn't already know, today is Ali's birthday! My wonderful, cheerful, lovely wife just turned 23 today. If you haven't already, you should wish her a Happy Birthday in some way or another.

I decided to write down a list of some of the wonderful things I know and love about Ali:
She has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, with or without make-up.
She makes you feel good when she laughs.
She does thoughtful things for me.
We're very similar in our interests.
I like spending time with her.
I like to talk with her about everything.
She's an amazing cook.
She always smells good.
She's smarter than me.
She tries really hard to make me happy all the time.
She like to be goofy with me.
She's organized.
She has beautiful hair.
She's a great blogger.
She plans ahead.
She has a pretty smile.
She's very social and likes to be around people.

That's MR. Goodell To You!

Jed works for a company that gives tech support to LDS Church employees. They take phone calls from all over the world and solve technology problems over the phone. He's worked there for almost four years and has worked his way up from taking calls to training to becoming someone's PA this past semester. Well the guy who Jed was "assisting" randomly quit one day because he said was moving back to his home country in South America. Jed had nobody to assist, so he got a double demotion and was put back on the phones last week. This week they told him that they might have another PA job for him, but that didn't end up working. So they offered him another position. Not taking calls. Not training. Not a PA. Jed is now a SUPERVISOR! I'm so proud of him! Congratulations, Jed! :D

Monday Memoirs

No-Stress Saturday!! I went out to lunch at Zupas with my good friend Meals. I had only been there once before, and that was years ago. The food is really good, but we agreed it was a little overpriced. Unless you get the "Take 2" meal and split it with someone else. It was good to catch up with Meals. I love our friend dates. :)
I went home and picked up my hubby and we went geocaching for the first time! Well, kind of. I've been wanting to do it for a while and we finally got around to it, but I think our GPS is a little off (it's pretty much a piece of junk)...AND we didn't feel like spending more time hiking in the deep snow near Bridal Veil Falls, so we decided to pick up that adventure later.
Jed had a surprise for me, which was going to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. Apparently it’s the largest one in the world. It was interesting and Jed absolutely loved it. :) For dinner, we tried a new place (for us) in South Jordan called Gecko’s. The chips and salsa were super good, but the food itself was good, just not anything too special.

We came back to P-Town and rented I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry because it was the only thing that looked remotely interesting at RedBox, and because the girl behind us said it was really good. Meh. Not impressed. It was actually pretty dumb. Surprise, surprise…

Sunday- After church, Jed and I were invited over to the Nielsens' house for dinner and games. Adam's sister and her little girl came too, and it was really fun. We played a card game called "Shanghai" which is a lot like Phase 10. Jed and I borrowed "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" from Amanda because I had never seen it before. It wasn't amazing. I don't understand why everyone loves that movie and thinks it's so funny... Maybe it was funnier when it came out. Generational humor?

Friday Foto Fix

This is him.This is me.

This is my brother, Jeff, and my nephew, Nate.

"Remember the Alamo!"

What's a visit to the Alamo without Mexican soldiers??

Riding the trolley.

Oh, the chillins!

Rockin out in El Mercado.

Takin a siesta.

We love each other. And I love that comb-over I have.

One of my good friends, Micheyl.

I choo-choo-choose you!

They have a pack of live turtles in a pond in the middle of this mall!!

Jed walking throughout the whole mall as a train conductor. Sucker forgot he was wearing it.

Emily won the jackpot on this game for the second time!!

Gotta love boys and video games...