Sunday, May 29, 2011

healthy diet

ohh we've been having too much fun around here lately. seeing as how i'm self-employed and my husband is currently pre-employed, we are both home together all day every day basically treating each day like a saturday and going on all sorts of fun adventures. like seeing pirates of the caribbean 4 on a random thursday afternoon, just because we can! i love being free. thursday dates and working in your pj's is so SO much better than working 9-5 for the man, and you can quote me on that.

plus, it's a three-day weekend, so...party time! apparently we've partied too hard, though, because i've been completely exhausted by 8 p.m. the past two nights. i missed my sunday nap today and was so worn out that i fell asleep on the couch at 630 right after i put jack to bed early. [sundays are hard on all of us.] probably not the best choice seeing as how it's now 10 p.m. and i'm wide awake, but WOW did that nap feel amazing. also b went to bed at 8 p.m. so you know there's something weird going on around here.

anyway, our new computer won't upload my newest photos, so in the meantime you get a little glimpse at jack's healthy diet. i mentioned on facebook that the kiddo has gone on a baby food fast [which is fine, except i get nervous that he's not getting all the nutrients etc he needs if he's just eating random table food, though i try really hard to give him a balanced diet], so in the meantime we just feed him whipped cream out of the can. kidding, kidding. he eats other healthy things like cheese, yogurt, chocolate chip waffles, etc. ;) but he REALLY likes whipped cream. leave it to dad to teach him this one.




oh, and don't mind all the crap in the background of these photos. we outgrew our apartment like the day we got back from colorado and have been stuffing it to the brim ever since. i cannot WAIT to move and re-organize my life because sometimes it's just not fun to keep your personal belongings lined up along the walls in every room when there's nowhere else to keep them. ikea organizing section, i'm coming your way.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

"it rains nine months of the year in seattle."

this is what i know about seattle:

- my dad likes to threaten me that the city will erupt in volcano apocalypse any day now
- the movies "sleepless in seattle" and "10 things i hate about you" were filmed there
- nordstrom & starbucks were founded there
- it rains a lot
- half my college roommates & a lot of good friends grew up there

obviously, i have a lot to learn seeing as how i have never previously set foot in the state of washington. but let's be real, people -- i've been prepping for this move my entire life by watching "sleepless in seattle" 100+ times. [subject line quote is from that movie.]

since b started MBA school, i've been making a little list in my head about the qualities i would like the city we eventually settled in to have. here is how seattle stacks up:

MANDATORY:
- not in the midwest: check
- listed in the top 20 largest markets in the US: check
- LDS temple nearby: check
- trader joe's availability: check and check!!!

PREFERRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:
- h&m: check
- paper source: check
- ikea: check
- near family: no :(

sooo obviously my shopping habits are excited for the move. and hopefully we'll make some new friends quickly because we won't have ANY family and only very few friends in the whole state of washington when we move. plus jack's first birthday is coming up and it's just so sad that we'll be celebrating his first cupcake with, like, no one. i'll just walk around trader joe's looking for kind-faced strangers and invite them over. "hey! want to pretend to know my little boy and eat cupcakes?" a silly thing to be concerned about, i know, but you only get one FIRST first birthday, am i right?

also, i'm a little sad to not be going back to california. a tiny part of me really did hang on to the hope that we'd be back -- after all, i grew up believing southern california was the end all and be all for best places to live in the country. but thanks to some big epiphanies over the past two years, i've realized i can be happy in other places [and that cali isn't actually that great] -- and i can't wait to make seattle my home. plus flights from seattle to LAX are only $99 one way :)

Friday, May 20, 2011

seattle, here we come!


the short version: we're moving to seattle! b accepted an awesome job at microsoft and we move at the end of june.

***

the long version: here's a little story about faith.

in spring 2009, when b was accepted to BYU's MBA program, he was assigned an alumni mentor. b's mentor happened to be german [b lived in germany for 2 years], had family in our ward in pasadena, and worked at microsoft in seattle -- he & b hit it off right away. b was fascinated by the microsoft culture and asked the mentor lots of questions about the company. we thought, what a cool job.

throughout the MBA program, b and i knew we ultimately wanted to stay in the west; we listed LA, san francisco, portland, seattle and denver as cities we'd keep our eye on for job opportunities. during his first year, b helped plan a student trip to seattle. he toured microsoft and thought it was a great company to work for; he came home and applied for internships and jobs there but never heard anything back. then he was offered an internship in denver and we left for the summer and loved it -- or rather, loved denver, but not so much the job.

that company didn't hire b on for post-MBA work [which happens in approx half of the MBA internships] so it was back to the drawing board for second year. b is amazing at networking and researching, and found tons of job opportunities. he went to career fairs, applied for jobs, enlisted me in researching and applying, did informational interviews, phone interviews, fly backs, first rounds, second rounds...and nothing. no job offers for b. but he didn't LOVE any of the companies, either, so we just kept looking.

meanwhile, most of his classmates had nailed down jobs and everyone kept asking b "got a job yet? got a job yet?" this has got to be one of the most annoying questions on the planet, comparable only to asking a woman who is trying to have a baby "are you pregnant yet?" it's not like we weren't trying!

b stayed pretty optimistic throughout this whole process, but once in a while he'd get down on himself and wonder what was going on -- why he didn't get offers when it seemed like everyone else did. it was my job to be his perpetual cheerleader, reminding him that he IS awesome and capable and that the right job WOULD come along. we prayed and prayed that we would be led to a job that was right for b and right for our family. i honestly believed that the right job was out there for him; it was just a matter of finding it. b is a major planner and i think if he HAD gotten a mediocre job offer back in september, he would have taken it just because he worried nothing else would come along -- and it could have been a bad fit. we needed to find the right job.

spring came, graduation came and went. nothing quite as nerve-wracking as finishing school and having no idea what is next. we gave ourselves till the end of july [when our apartment contract expired] to figure something out, and decided not to stress till then. i felt really calm about the whole thing, knowing it would all work out. b was actually in good company; even now, there are a handful of b's classmates -- also very qualified, competent people -- who still don't have jobs. i really think it's just a weird year for the hiring pool.

a few weeks before graduation, b was randomly contacted by a microsoft recruiter who had seen his resume after he'd applied for those previous jobs. she had a position in mind for him and wanted to fly him out to interview. sure, why not. b had already flown to new jersey and california for jobs that month, so what was one more? he got in touch with microsoft's travel department to book his interview -- and then got a call that the job he was interviewing for had been terminated and they were reworking that whole division. there was one other position in a different area, so maybe he'd like to try for that one? oh wait -- that other position already got filled. another dead end.

then the recruiter called back. she had a different position, this time in a different department, that seemed right up b's alley. he booked his flights and went out there the week after graduation. his interview lasted 7 hours (!) and when he called me at the end, he sounded SO happy. i've never heard him that excited about an interview -- even after the 20+ interviews he's done this year. he loved the people he had met, loved seattle, loved the position. his role would be in marketing, but involved a lot of PR stuff which matched his background perfectly. it's like this job was made for him.

our second day in san diego, microsoft called b and told him he got the job! they made us an amazing offer. we were 90% sure we were going to take it, but that same week he got TWO more offers from companies in california and we had to think about all this. after months and months of waiting and getting nothing, all of the sudden everyone wanted b!

obviously, we've decided to go with microsoft. a few years ago, i might have been a little nervous about making such a big change [i've never even been to washington] but now, i feel so good about this decision. everything just fell into place and seems so meant to be -- how can i doubt that it's right for us? i feel like this job was an answer to all the prayers we've said over the past nine months -- what an amazing thing, to get such a clear answer of where exactly we're supposed to go and know that God wants us to go there...or He wouldn't have set it up so perfectly that i don't even have room to second guess it. answers to prayers always come....sometimes you just have to wait a little longer to get it.

i can't wait to see what seattle has in store for us!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

first haircut

on saturday, we took jack out for his first haircut. i love (LOVE!) that he has so much hair, but honestly, it was getting out of control. it fell down whenever i tried to spike it, and would get in his eyes. when i swooped it to the side [another little one-eyed wonder], b told me he looked like a hitler baby. so, a trim was in order.

we just took him to great clips here in orem and parked it for a random beauty school graduate. probably should have gone a little more momentous for the first haircut, but i'm not about to pay $20 for some certificate.

the before -- blissfully unaware of the pending hack job to his baby mullet:



at first he thought it was okay.


then he got nervous.


then he got pissed.


but it wasn't anything a binkie couldn't fix.


now he looks like a champ and the hair spikes much better. hooray!


also, tonight b informed me that our blog has gotten "boring" and is "only about our kid" [which i would kindly beg to differ...i still blog about non-baby subjects like weather and random thoughts as much as i ever did pre-kid].

so, if you agree with him, i apologize. but it's not like my puff the magic dragon-listening cat lady neighbor posts or trader joes obsessions were ever that much more exciting. at least with jack you get cute photos.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

san diahgo

we made a quick family getaway to gorgeous san diego last week! it was fantastic. we claimed the purpose of the trip as "celebrating b's graduation" but really, we just wanted a little family vacation (our first with jackal) and it totally delivered. [new year's resolution #4: mission complete.]

we stayed on coronado island, in a beautiful boutique hotel called the glorietta bay inn. it was built in 1906, historic and quaint -- it was perfect for us. our suite even had a backyard patio that we utilized daily. [PLUS free breakfast, free wi fi and free cookies...i was sold.] we ate breakfast on the hotel terrace overlooking the harbor each morning and slept like rocks in our comfy king size bed every night. highly recommend the gbi.


even better, it was right across the street from the hotel del coronado. that place is beautiful! [so beautiful they modeled one of the disney world resorts after it, a fun fact i learned in 7th grade.] feels very titanic-era inside.



we spent our days going for walks, shopping on coronado's little main street, going to the pool & beach, reading books and just enjoying some good ol' family time. jack was NOT a fan of the sand.


a little nervous around the waves too, but he got used to it. [check out the two bottom teeth!]



on tuesday, b had to drive up to LA for an interview [not planned ahead of time] so we made a trip out of it. of course that means we had to stop for a little of THIS action:



jack's first trip to tito's! which, obviously, he was thrilled about...until b gave him his first taste of salsa. not a happy monkey after that.

while b interviewed, my bff jolee met up with me & jack at starbucks and we had a little reunion/introduction. she hadn't met jack before this but they hit it off -- good news since SHE will become a mama herself in only 6 short months! hooray!


my parents came down to see us on wednesday. AND, my friend roxanne came over [phil's bbq in hand] for dinner with us on thursday. sadly, no pics of that. is it a blessing or a curse to vacation in a place where family/friends are easily accessible & readily visit-able? i would argue: blessing.


during nap times, b and i hung out together and solo. i preferred to spend my alone time HERE, lounging by the pool:


but i always loved getting back to my boys. five days at the shore was just what the doctor ordered for this little fam.



"ah, san diego. drink it in, always goes down smooth." - anchorman

Thursday, May 5, 2011

having a hard time focusing on work today so here's jack's latest trick.

one...


two...

three...


four! standing up like a champ.


the sun is out and b is coming home today and vacation is right around the corner. hooray!