Longest. Week. Ever.

Easter was just a week ago but it feels more like a month! It was fun though...I wish I had taken some photos. Trent and I went to my Aunt Stephanie's house, and it was fun to catch up with all the cousins and aunts and uncles and see my grandparents. I do miss my family but I love having extended family around. Then we went to Trent's parents' and had an Easter egg hunt with his cute nieces and nephew. His family really does make me feel like one of them. They are all so sweet and a lot of fun! This has been such a long week. I think partly because we had our big yearly conference at work, which meant very long hours. The plus side was that it was in downtown SL this year, so I didn't have to drive 40 minutes like I usually do. It was actually pretty fun...I was in charge of writing a few of the executive speeches, so I had to make sure their presentations were set and make any changes to the speeches as needed. We were working long hours getting those set up but it was fun. It was also fun to see all of the different cultures that were there. Next year it will be in Hawaii! Woo hoo, can't wait. I really feel blessed to have the job that I have!

Congratulations!

My little brother Zach got engaged a few weeks ago. His fiance Brittany is adorable and they are so cute together. Here is a photo of them at the Bombay House, where we went a few weeks ago:



They are getting married in Dallas in July. I'm very happy for them! Brittany is a lucky girl and she is marrying one of the funniest, most easygoing, caring people I know. I have so many funny and happy memories of Zach growing up. He has always been a wonderful brother and friend. I love that he lives close. We go and get fro yo all the time after work and catch up...that better not change! :-) Well, I guess Brittany can come now too ;-)

As a funny side note, everyone is asking me if I'm "ok"...maybe because I'm 31 and the last one in my family (even behind my baby brother who I used to babysit) to get married? I'm very happy for them!

And here are me and Trent at the same place and time:



<--Look how cute he is!

A Word of Caution....

So, I Often leave online reviews for places of business I visit. Some good, some bad. Well, I left one last year for a company that I took my broken laptop to. He diagnosed the wrong problem then charged me for his mistake and took a whopping $28 off the bill. That's it. Said he was 99% sure the problem he fixed would take care of it, but it didn't at all. All he said was that I was the 1%. So...because of the horrible customer service I experienced, I left a 1-star review that said it wasn't a good or honest business to work with because he fixed the wrong part and charged me for it. All true. Well the owner literally hired an INVESTIGATOR to track me down and wrote a letter to my new home address asking me to contact him. Included copies of my invoice and bill even though i had zero problem with the pricing. So I emailed him reiterating my beef with his company, then told him it was upsetting and off-putting that he tracked me down. Well, then he emailed a little bit later referencing where I grew up, where I went to college, and made it known he knew where I lived through an investigator because he's going to file a defamation charge against me. He then copied and pasted some arbitrary definitions of "slander" from a website saying I fit all the criteria. LOL! If he had an attorney, he needs to get a new one...preferably one who understands the difference between "libel" and "slander." Anyway, obviously he creeped me out. He was very insulting and rude and clearly didn't know what he was talking about. He prob got on ehow and looked for "How to sue someone for defamation" without actually knowing that no matter how rude a review is, if there's any truth to it he can't win. lol. But anyway, I talked to several defamation lawyers in Utah, showed them the email threads and documents and review, and they said not only was I completely within my legal rights and nothing I said was libelous, but I had a strong harassment case against him. I also talked to the police, who told me to file a police report if he said anything to me again. I'm temped to just leave the review up and tell him good luck, since he won't win, but it's not worth my time and I could care less. Also who knows what length he'll go to.

Moral of the story? Be careful what online reviews you leave, because there are psychopaths out there who will track you down!

Fitness Bucket List

I saw this idea somewhere, can't remember...probably Pinterest, anyway I thought it was great. A bucket list of fitness goals! (Both large and small) I think one of the best ways to stay in shape is to keep setting goals and working towards them.

So here is my bucket list...I'm sure I will add to it as time goes on:

- Do an unsupported handstand
- Learn how to do a cartwheel (it's pretty embarrassing that 3-year-olds can do them but I can't)
- Run a full marathon
- Run a half marathon (signed up for the American Fork Canyon Half in June!)
- Climb a mountain
- Take swim lessons
- Swim with dolphins (Check! Did this in the Bahamas!)
- Do a figure competition
- Scuba dive
- Kayak in Hawaii
- Do yoga on the beach
- Jump horses (I've actually done this, but I'd like to do it on a regular basis)
- Try all the fitness classes at the gym
- Use a bicycle regularly in the summer
- Run a Ragnar
- Compete in a triathlon
- Maintain my size 0-2 the rest of my life

Well that's a start...with so much to work towards there's no excuse not to work out!

Spring Is Coming!

I checked the weather forecast and was so excited to see that it's going to be in the high 50's and sunny all this week! (Except for snow on Tuesday...lame) I'm so unbelievably excited for sunny, warmish weather. These are the things I'm most excited about:

- Tennis. I love to play tennis! Trent got me new grip for my racket for Christmas and I've been waiting to try it out.

- Walks with Pudge. I blame myself for Zoey's winter weight. We used to go on long, long walks and she used to just run laps around the court when Trent and I played tennis a few times a week. Now, I am outside only long enough for her to do her thing then it's right back inside. I'm looking forward to taking her on actual walks.

- Not having to warm my car up. Not that I ever do, because I don't want it to get stolen, but I love the idea of getting into my car and not shivering for the next 5 minutes.

- Gardening. I want to plant a little patio garden this spring, and some herbs.

- Longer days. I am actually very anti daylight savings. We never had it in Indiana and we all got along jusssst fine. But I am looking forward to longer days.

HOpefully I am not getting ahead of myself and this is going to be one of those "springs" that snows until June!

Car Woes

So this is my car. (well, one of them) Cute huh? Looks like a fun car to drive right? While I have enjoyed having it, I think this car has been more trouble than it's worth. Last night, I was happily driving home from work, playing some tunes, when suddenly it started dropping from 75 mph. I pushed the gas, nothing. So I had to pull over in rush hour traffic. It would start but wouldn't go...very strange. I had it towed and am still waiting on the diagnostic, but here's the fishy thing...it has been running perfectly. Never had any mechanical problems (except one when it was under warranty) until yesterday, when I had my oil changed and my rear differential fluid replaced. Not sure if that had any effect on it, but it just seemed weird that the first time I ever had any problem with it was when they messed around back there. So who knows. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg to fix.

And now that I'm on the subject, here are some gripes I have with it now that I've had it for a couple years:

1) No one sees it. It's so low to the ground that it's easy to overlook, which is why I've been hit by not one but 2 SUVs (on the freeway, no less). I was also rear-ended but that wasn't the size of the car's fault...

2) It's loud. I don't know if this has to do with the fact that it's a convertible or that it's been hit 3 times (they never drive the same after an accident...sigh) but it seriously sounds like I'm on a motorcycle if I'm trying to talk on the phone and drive at the same time.

3) It's TINY. I knew this going into it. But it's kind of annoying sometimes when my car will only fit a couple grocery bags and a 12-pack of diet coke. And my little dog. But that's about it. There is no trunk space to speak of since the gas tank and the top are the only things that fit. At least I'm never the one that they ask to drive anywhere :-)

It's been the perfect single girl car, but as those days are coming to a close, I think maybe my next car will need to be a little bigger.

Week in Review

In the spirit of online journaling, I am blogging an overview of my week. It wasn't horribly eventful, but there were some things that stood out:

1) I witnesssed a crime in progress! Saw this guy steal a cop car on my way to the gym. I watched him from the light and thought, "Huh. That's a weird cop uniform. It's all tan and he has a beanie." Then i read about it on ksl the next day.


2) Got some new running shoes. Love the Nike Frees. I've heard great things about them so I bought them and broke them in with a 5 mile run. Now I'm a believer! I got pink and black too...so me.


3) Pudge got a haircut! Sad to see the bangs go but I think this is for the best. She's skinny again!


4) Got released. so I'm no longer a RS teacher. I was kind of sad about it but what can you do? Hopefully something else is in store soon. I really enjoyed it while it lasted though.

Pudge

Ok, her name is Zoey. But between the extra fluff that comes from needing a haircut (see left) and a little bit of winter weight, we are now calling her Pudge. All in good fun. Isn't she sweet?! I usually have her groomed every 8 weeks but I'm kind of loving her hair long like this, esp the bangs!



And here we have Pudge rolling in style in the front seat (and the only seat, i guess) of my car. She's been so good lately, we took a trip to Petco tonight where she got a new plush orthopoedic dog bed (?) and a treat. I love my baby girl!