Eating is my favorite thing!

Although it does make it hard when you're watching your weight so you can fit into a wedding dress.....

So there's a new Pizza Factory opening up in Syracuse and my boss's daughter was transferred there to be an assistant manager. He was able to get some VIP FREE meal tickets for this last weekend before they open and he gave one of them to me and Derek since we live close by. The catch? There wasn't one! You could get whatever you wanted and it was all free. We had a hard time deciding, so we ended up getting 4 mini pizzas, a calzone, some garlic cheese bread, a dessert, and drinks for the 2 of us. Yikes. I kind of felt bad for ordering so much but we decided we weren't the only ones when we looked around at everyone else.

The waitress brought out our food and we started eating and then I noticed that all of the food was on Derek's side of the table. Not on purpose, but it looked funny. So here's a pic:

By the way, Derek's drink was a strawberry Italian ice and it was amazing. Mine was a strawberry lemonade and was really good as well.

The food was really good and we did have leftovers. I think we took about half of it home with us and ate some yesterday and I have the rest today for my lunch. I didn't notice any of the prices on the menu since we were getting it all for free, but I think they're pretty decent and the food is GOOD! I think it opens this Wednesday to the public, so go try it if you're interested.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Derek has been talking about going to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert for a long time. We got tickets a couple of months ago and he's been so excited! Our friends Nick & Lynette got tickets too, and their friends (I can't remember their names...) did also. Before the concert we decided to go to Red Robin for dinner. Yum! Here we all are (Nick in the back is trying to drink the fry sauce):

They have the best fries. And they had something new that I decided to try. The Bruschetta Chicken Burger. Oh my goodness, it was so good. And it had pesto on it, and I love pesto.

Then we went to the concert, which was AMAZING. There was a sign that said no pictures so I didn't take any, but I think I could have gotten away with it. Let's just say there was a lot of fire, and that was Derek's favorite part. My favorite part was probably just the whole thing. And it totally got us in the Christmas spirit!

Last weekend

I know, it's almost the weekend again and I'm just barely getting to what we did last weekend. Oh well. It's been a pretty busy week. On Saturday we met with our wedding cake lady in the morning and got that all picked out. Then we went up to Logan so Derek ccould show me the apartment that he had looked at the day before (pics on our other blog). We ended up getting it and it worked out so fast! Then we went to the Logan temple since we were up there and ended up being put in a Spanish session! Derek speaks Korean so he had to wear the headphones, but I went in without them and understood everything, thanks to the mish. It was the first Spanish session I had ever done and I was so excited.

Afterwards we drove back down to Ogden to I could do my monthly piano playing at the hospital. I asked Derek to take a picture of me because I don't have any pictures of my there yet and I've been doing it for a year and a half, and who knows how much longer I'll be able to.

Then we met our friends Steve and Vanessa at Firehouse Pizza in Centerville. Yum, that is definitely my favorite restaurant. Derek and I split a chicken cordon bleu pizza, some focaccia bread, and of course a ph'zookie.


Then we all went to the Gateway so I could scout out some places for my bridals this Saturday. Vanessa was really helpful and found lots of good spots and even took our picture in all of them.


We followed our ritual and got a chocolate at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and then played a racing game at the arcade, which Derek won....usually I win the arcade racing games and he wins the Xbox racing games.

We finished off the night with hot chocolate and cider at Vanessa's condo. It was a really fun night and SO good to meet her finally. Steve has been telling Derek all about her and we finally got to do something with them. Thanks guys!

On Sunday we had dinner with our friends Nick and Lynette. They're the ones whose wedding we met at. So we just wanted to say thanks guys! Anyways, dinner was really yummy and afterwards we played a game called Mate something. It was so much fun and really hilarious. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. Thanks you guys for inviting us over!

Eww

I had a dream last night, and I can't remember most of it enough to be able to tell the story, but I do remember the last part that happened before my alarm went off. A black spider bit me in the middle of the bottom of my foot and I was afraid it was poisonous, so I started to squeeze the venom/blood out. In about 2 seconds I had like a 1/4 cup of blood pooled on the bottom of my foot. Gross. I thought that would have probably worked to get the venom out, but then my foot started feeling numb. Then I woke up.

5 things about me

Another tag! By Amy.

5 Fears:
1. Not succeeding in what I do - I like to win!
2. Financial ruin
3. Spiders
4. Sometimes the dark. Like when I come home at night and I don't know who might be out there.
5. Letting others down

5 Joys:
1. Counting down the days until the wedding!
2. Eating
3. Playing the piano
4. Watching my nephews (and soon to be niece) grow and learn
5. Knowing that whatever happens in our world or country, I'll be ok

5 obsessions/collections:
1. Books books books!
2. Food
3. Getting the best gas mileage possible
4. Whenever I go somewhere I usually buy postcards and/or a magnet
5. My Derek

5 surprising facts:
1. Ummmm.....I don't like seafood. At all. (I guess some people know that and some don't.)
2. Like Amy I can't stand messes, but I'm not the cleanest person in the world.
3. I don't think there's really much about me that's surprising. I like to travel a lot...
4. I really like to do "domestic" stuff, but I never do it. Recently I posted that I made jam and that was the first big thing. The next project is a quilt that I want to finish before I'm married. ...wish me luck...
5. I don't really like to watch too much TV. I haven't had television access for almost 2 years and it's been really nice, although I do miss watching The Office and the news.

Answers to an age old question

I saw this on my friend Sheryl's blog and thought it was hilarious! Enjoy!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch.

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!


JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken doesn’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Another quirk of mine

I guess this could be in addition to the quirks tag I did a little while ago. So here it is.

I HATE buying gas, and with my commute I have to fill up every few days. It has been wonderful watching the gas prices fall so quickly and being able to fill up a completely empty tank for $30. Anyways, so my quirk is that I kind of have a contest with myself to see how long I can make a tank last, or how many miles I can get out of a full tank. To do this I do the following:

1. Use cruise control all the time
2. Accelerate slowly
3. I have a manual, so I usually shift gears when the RPMs are between 2 and 3
4. I put it in neutral when I'm going downhill
5. Slow down when approaching a red/yellow light, even if I'm far away
6. This applied more in the summer, by I fill my tank in the morning on the way to work because (or so I've heard) gas expands when it heats - so the later in the day you fill up, the less gas you will actually get for the same expensive price.
7. One thing that I should be better at - making sure my tire air pressure is as high as is recommended. This helps with gas mileage.

There are a ton more things that can be done to save gas, but these are the main ones that I do all the time. If you drive with me you may comment on my granny style of driving, but I can get 480 miles from 12 tanks of gas! Ha!

Halloween after work

After work on Friday I drove to Derek's house, where he was all ready and in his costume. I did his makeup for him and we took some pictures. He was pretty creepy looking. A neighbor kid came to the door trick-or-treating and he was scared to death of him. Then Derek wouldn't leave the poor guy alone and he almost fell off the porch. I think it was the fangs that really got to him.

Here we are in all our creepiness



Then we went to Burger King to get something to eat (I know, it's not the most Halloween-ish place to eat, but we had coupons that expired that day!) and then went to my parents' to show off our costumes. There were a few trick-or-treaters that came by while we were there, but none of them were scared by us because they were too enamored by Maggie the dog. She thought everyone was coming over to see her, of course, and all the kids in the neighborhood lover her so she got a lot of attention. I didn't take any pictures, but she wasn't dressed up this year anyway, even though she does have a lobster costume and a Santa outfit.

Then Derek and I went to the Institute Halloween dance/activity. There were a TON of people there - more than I have ever seen at an Institute activity in Ogden. We only ended up staying for about 1/2 an hour, because out of all the people there we couldn't seem to find anyone we knew. And they weren't playing any slow songs. In the past I wouldn't have minded that, but now that I'm actually with someone, a slow song or two would have been nice. So we left and watched The Office instead.

Oh, and today I found out the results of the costume contest at work. I tied for first in the Prettiest/Handsomest costume category!

Halloween at work

I love Halloween! It's a great chance to dress up and be something that you would never be. About half the people at my company dress up. We have a costume contest and a department decoration contest. Then the employees' kids come in the afternoon and trick-or-treat around the office and have treats in our big conference room.

Derek's mom made my costume this year. I'm a vampire/countess and I love it! It matches Derek's costume (except his is red). He's a vampire and a mighty fine one at that ;). Here are a few pictures from work:

Me

Marci is "Miss MasterControl" supplying all our software solutions

Beth is a domino

I decorated our department with "dead" bodies and tombstones w/ personalized epitaphs for everyone. Here are a few:

Mine. It reads:
Here lies Tawni Jaco
Getting married you know
Her leaving's a blow
Now she's below.

Curt (my boss):
Here lies Curt the boss
A big BYU fan
He screamed like a madman
And lost his head due to their loss.

Jason:
Here lies Jason Clegg
All in all a pretty good egg

Michael:
Here lies Michael Bothe
For his good work ethic we gave him this trophy.
He didn't like it--he thought it was too scary
So he jumped in the river and yelled, "Death come and get me!"

Marci:
Here lies good ol' Marci Crane
She lacked a headline
And so missed a deadline
And that's how the newsletter became her bane


I'll post more pictures later after I see Derek in his costume.

Weekend catch up

I always feel like I have so much to catch up on after the weekend! I got to go to Logan this weekend for Homecoming at USU. The dance was on Friday so I took the day off so I would have time to get ready. And I need to use up my PTO before I quit my job. It's nice to take a day off every once in a while just because, although I ended up being pretty busy.

I hadn't been to a dance since USU's spring formal when I was 20, so it's been a while, but it was a lot of fun! I went with Derek, of course, and we ate at Firehouse for dinner (yum!). His roommate works at the one in Smithfield, so we went there and he got us a free large ph'zookie. Oh baby. This is the only picture we took that night, right after we were done eating. You can't see my skirt but it was hot pink.

After the dance was True Aggie Night. We went. The end.

I stayed the night at my brother-in-law's parents' house so I wouldn't have to drive home so late. Thanks Rick and Cindy! The next morning was the Homecoming parade on Main Street and we went to it. College towns are so cool! I can't wait to live there. They threw out a lot of candy and some other things. Derek got this cow and a t-shirt.

Yay for parades!

We were going to go the game, but ended up looking at a bunch of apartments, one of which we liked. But we're going to keep looking a little more. If anyone knows of a 2 bed, 1 bath apartment for a good deal in Logan/Providence, let me know!

Then we went to our friends' house in Providence and ended up going SHOOTING. My first time. I was kind of nervous, but it was really fun. I shot a .22 rifle and pistol and hit a water bottle like 10 times.

In this one Derek told me to growl and show some teeth, so I laughed instead.

On Sunday after church we went to Derek's parents' house for dinner and pumpkin carving. Here's Derek scooping out the guts (my least favorite part):

This is what it's supposed to look like

The carving process


And the finished result! It kind of looks like I've tackled Derek into a wrestling hold, but I'm really not.

Derek loves candy corn.