babies

I swear I am surrounded by the most fertile women on the planet. I either know or know of someone who is pregnant almost everywhere I turn! I want to hold off on being pregnant until after Christmas (God willing) because of a trip to Disneyland Steven and I have planned, but those pregnant women....THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!

the wonderfulness of nephews

a little compilation of photos put together as a collage, old school via paint. if I were five, you would call this a masterpiece! this is just a little preview of the fantastic adventures I'm going to have tomorrow with the sweetest boy in the world (I know I'm biased)....Dylan Elliott Shugg!

eyes wide shut

I wish I were having the problem of eyes being shut; however, they are wide freakin' open. I can't explain why I am wide awake at 11 pm on a Thursday. I am a huge supporter of sleep! In fact, I include napping as a hobby. I am usually dead to the world at 10 pm most week nights, and 11 is pushing it for weekends.

I got home from small group tonight a little later than normal, and on a normal small group night I would get into PJs right away and be on my way to the land of nod. I walked in my bedroom (or as I like to call it, where the magic happens) tonight to do the usual straight-into-PJs routine, but I didn't want to. I stretched a little, thought about changing, and realized I wasn't that tired. Yawning occasionally? Yes. Ready to go to bed? For whatever crazy reason, no. And I'm still wide awake, much to the chagrin of my poor, sleep lover of a husband who for whatever reason cannot sleep when I am awake and cannot wake up when I am asleep. I feel like doing something. Anything. I just don't feel like going to bed.

Am I rebelling against being grown up-ish? Maybe. Am I living it up because I am in my mid-twenties and I can be awake and I should stay awake while I have "the luxury?" I guess. I think I may be pushing against the notion of being a boring, married, grown up with a regular 40-hour-a-week job. I don't want to be routine and boring, but I also need sleep to function.

Am I having a quarter-life crisis? My 25th birthday is a short 6 months away...who knows? I don't feel like I'm in crisis mode. Things have been going well for me lately in a lot of different ways - Steven and I are getting along better now than I think we ever have in the entire 5 1/2 years we've been together, I am feeling more comfortable in my new position at work, I am taking good care of myself physically by attending at least 2-3 hard core cardio classes a week and watching what I eat, I have been spending time reading my Bible every day and trying to do my work and manage my life so that it is all for God....what's missing? I feel pretty happy all around.

Whatever the cause, whatever the reason, I am sitting here with my eyes wide - but the opposite of shut.

don't hate me 'cause you ain't me

For the love of baseball...Friday night was a great night for me. I got to go the Dbacks game - granted they aren't having the best season, but they're my home team so I love 'em just the same. Anyway, I got to hang out in the Gila River Casinos Suite (thank you Jamie from GRC!) and it was Fireworks Friday. Due to Gila River Casinos sponsoring the fireworks every Friday, I got to sit in the VIP chairs they set up ten feet from home plate to watch the fireworks! It was pretty awesome. Just don't hate me 'cause you ain't me. :)

Steven and I enjoying the "suite" life

Hanging out like a VIP

Yes, that's home plate over my right shoulder

Standing just inches from the playing field after the fireworks....right in front of the Dbacks Dugout

guilty pleasures

There are a few things in my life that I consider guilty pleasures....those things that I know I probably shouldn't enjoy so much considering my love of Jesus, but I can't help wanting to follow them like a rabid animal anyway. A few examples: the Harry Potter books, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, healthy curiosity about the Twilight Series....just to name a few. Well, one of the big ones lately is One Tree Hill. I can seriously hear all of you laughing at me right now (except the one or two of you I know who share my little obsession). Why would a semi-grown up woman want to watch a TV show like One Tree Hill? Well, it all started last season when the show jumped ahead 4 years, skipping over the dreaded "college years" awkwardness other teen shows fall into when their stars grow up. Now they are 20 somethings playing 20 somethings, so it's a little more realistic. Some of the stories are far-fetched, but that's why I love it. It doesn't have to be real - it's TV!

Anyway, the new season started last Monday, while I was on vacation. I DVR'd it, of course, and have LOVED the first two episodes so far. This season is going to be so freakin' good! I suppose the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, so I have a problem. I am slightly hooked on One Tree Hill. Don't disown me as a friend now that you know.

vacation all I ever wanted

Steven and I just returned from a fantastic trip across half of the United States to visit friends in Kansas City, MO, with a small pit stop in Denver, CO to have dinner with more friends. All of this traveling transpired because of the facebook and a random wall comment to come and stay with the Erlandsons before we had kids of our own and wouldn't. So we did! Here's a short journal of our travels....

Day 1

Depart Queen Creek at 6 am. Stop in Salt River Canyon for pics. Breakfast in Show Low, lunch in Albuquerque, dinner in Amarillo. Sleep after a 13 hour day of driving.....

Handsome Husband at the bottom of the Salt River Canyon

Day 2

Depart Amarillo at 9 am. See the Motel Cafe (any relation to the Hotel Cafe in LA? Perhaps). Find the World's Largest Cross, accompanied by the World's Most Blood-thirsty Mosquitos, in Groom, TX. Take more pics. Lunch in Edmond, OK (home of Olympic Gymnast Shannon Miller) after passing through Yukon, OK (home of Garth Brooks). Take a scenic byway rather than the interstate in Kansas (somewhere southwest-ish of Emporia, KS). Arrive in Kansas City, MO around 9 pm and finally eat dinner. Finally get to see the Erlandsons!!

The Motel Cafe in Amarillo, TX

Day 3

Hang out in Kansas City. Kiersten develops a crush on Steven despite being shocked that "There's someone in Caleb's bed" (Steven) at first. We have a wonderful day going into downtown KC, getting some great barbecue, then relaxing and playing a memorable game of Cranium to wrap up the day.

Steven and I with the most fun kids we've ever met

Day 4

Cameron was preaching in "big church" Sunday morning, so we enjoyed that. After church, we changed and went out for some "Mexican" food. Never get Mexican food in the midwest. The salsa may as well have been Heinz 57, and my "burrito" was the saddest looking thing in the world. I wish I had taken a picture. After lunching, we went to explore Smithville Lake north of Kansas City. After some yummy ice cream and a quick wardrobe change, back to church we went. Bryan was preaching in the high school service! After big church, we headed over to Bryan and Lori's for some legendary shepherd's pie, the best margarita I have ever tasted, and a game of Settlers of Catan (which I had never played before....). After Settlers, we discovered the fun of camera timers for getting group pictures. Below is one of the cuter ones.

Steven, Me, Lori, Bryan, Sharla, and Cameron hanging out at the Lopez home

Day 5

We leave Kansas City! Before we get out of town we discover a crazy good sidewalk sale at Walmart where I score a shirt and some capris for $6 total! After what seems like eternity, we make it across Kansas and into Colorado. We stopped for lunch in Hays, KS, which was a "cultural" experience. We make a stop in Aurora (east of Denver) for Famous Dave's for dinner, and I get to see Amanda - one of my good friends from back in junior high! She may be stalking my blog right now.... I discover the joy that is ribs (never had them before this night), then we go down to Colorado Springs and check in to our hotel for the night. By the way, never stay at a Crowne Plaza! They are clean, but the staff we encountered there were so rude and there was no convenient way to get to our room from the exterior of the hotel. Plus there wasn't a free hot breakfast included, like at the Holiday Inn Express (so yummy). Just thought I would throw that in there. Steven wakes me up at midnight to tell me his sugar is low and we have nothing for him in the room to bring it up, plus no cash for the soda machine. After a 10 minute walk back out to the car, we get him some sugar and all is well.

Matt, Amanda, Me, and Steven outside Famous Dave's

Did you know that Matt lived next to the first Famous Dave's Ever? I feel like I met a celebrity. =)

Day 6

We explore Colorado Springs, so I get to enjoy the Olympic Training Complex there! I embrace the chariot of fire within, that is for sure. After some exploring, we get back on the road, I take some serious Sudafed, and then I sleep off and on the rest of the way back to AZ. We had lunch in Las Vegas, NM (seriously!) and dinner in Holbrook, AZ. After midnight, we finally roll home and get into bed. What a crazy six days!

And you thought the Mesa Main Street Statues were fun! Look at all the possibilities with this single statue...