Superbowl ending

Tea cups!
Judd is an insane (well, as insane as you can get!) driver at Autotopia!
Judd helping Goofy decorate!
NO LINE WHATSOEVER for the River Run! Who's crazy enough to ride something that drenches you when it's already raining? Hmmm.....
This was my favorite meal for the entire trip...Clam Chowder in a bread bowl made that day at the Sour Dough factory in California Adventure!
I've always wanted to see Disneyland at Christmas. The rain may have drenched the fireworks, but at least the castle was pretty!
View from our room on the 15th floor! That's an ice-skating rink...we watched kids biff it over and over again...
As much as I love sightseeing and doing all the fun stuff...half of what I look forward to on vacation is the relaxing!


Graduating, to me, is the equivalent to winning the Superbowl, so of course the proper way to celebrate would be to go to Disneyland!

We decided to make the trip a little weekend getaway to San Diego, with a stop in Aneheim first. The beginning of the disastrous California storms were just starting when we got there, which was kind of a blessing in disguise, because it meant there were BARELY ANY LINES at Disneyland! Seriously, we rode most of the rides by 1:00! Luckily, we found a really shady, but totally legit deal on park-hopper passes to both Disneyland and California Adventure (both parks...both of us...$110 total! You know how I love my deals!), so we were able to go back and forth between the two parks.

I was really proud of myself for not being a total wimp and riding mostly everything. I would have done California Screamin'... but the ride had been shut down most of the day...and it was pouring rain...so didn't feel like chancing it. I was scared of Splash Mountain as a kid, and since I haven't been to Disneyland since then, I decided it was time to face my childhood fear on that one! It wasn't that bad... but then again, how awful can a ride be if it has singing animals throughout it?

Judd of course, rode everything. Apparently all good rides (Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad, Indiana Jones, etc) were all broken the one and only time he had been to Disneyland before, so this was a much better experience for him!

The rest of San Diego was a blast, other than the rain. We stayed at the Westin that's attached to the greatest mall of all time, Horton Plaza. It was so nice to just walk a few feet away to shopping bliss.

Graduation!

Judd and I right before!!!
This picture cracks me up, it's so old-school
If we have to wear ugly gowns, at least we have hot shoes!
AAAAAHHHHHH, it's almost here!
Posing with the fam!
Awww, our UNLV news team came out to support us! We love you Studio G!
Accessories
Party afterwards at Blush in the Wynn!


Oh my gosh... it's been forever since I've posted a blog.

But that's because I've been frantically finishing final assignments, studying for those last exams, and preparing for COLLEGE GRADUATION!

I graduated from UNLV last Tuesday, and the whole thing was a whirlwind, so I'll just post some pictures of some highlights!

It's so crazy to know I'm finally done. 5 years...2 universities...1 really crappy technical career school stint...all wrapped up in a ugly tomato-red gown, ridiculously long ceremony and an expensive piece of paper. But it was so worth it. I made some friends I'll have for life, was taught by some of best and caring mentors, and have had some amazing experiences. I really loved going to school, and I would love to someday come back and perhaps teach at a university level.

I know I've said it on this blog before, but I do need to acknowledge how awesome my husband is for supporting me in this. He knew it was my goal to graduate, and he made a lot of sacrifices to make that happen. I want to be just as supportive now that he is going back and getting his degree.

So with that really expensive piece of paper, and all the knowledge, challenges, and experiences I've had, I'm ready to take on the world and see what's next!

Black Friday...

The shopaholic/consumer in me says Black Friday is the best day of the year. Growing up in my house, Thanksgiving was spent with my mom pouring over ads while watching the Macy's Parade and mapping out the best game plan for the morning. We would determine who had the best doorbusters, who was giving away free stuff, where the on-demand ticket items were, and so on.

Early...and I mean EARLY... the next morning, we would get all bundled up and go stand in the lines. I would get sent to one department store and my mom would take over the other. Part of the game plan was to run into the store, grab the free item and doorbusters, pay, then run into the other store and meet up. We seriously have a shelf full of our JCPenney's snow globes! It was the perfect mother and daughter bonding experience.
This year, my mom wasn't able to go. I wasn't sure if I really even wanted to get up early, especially since I had work that day.

But then I saw this bracelet in a JCPenney ad...

2 CT. Diamond. Silver.
Door buster sale for $99, down from almost $700.

I'm not even really a fine jewelery kind of person, but I've wanted a diamond bracelet ever since our honeymoon in the Caribbean, where the diamond industry is huge. I saw them everywhere there... but we figured we should probably use our money at the time to eat shrimp every night instead.

For any other deal, I would have happily gone down myself to the store at 4 in the morning... but this is a romantic gift, so I figured Judd should be the one to buy it for me.

So being the romantic dude he is, Judd accompanied me to JC Penney before the crack of dawn. We found the one outside door with 5 people in front of it instead of 500, which was also conveniently located by the jewelery department. At 4 a.m. sharp, the doors opened and we flew in. We were the first ones in the jewelery department, and there it was!

Once the bracelet was purchased, Judd realized there are HUGE advantages to waking up this early on Black Friday. He couldn't believe the major sales and how cheap everything was, particularly a remote-control helicopter he'd been eyeing for awhile (Oh Judd and his toys...)! It really is a rush to see everything you've wanted for a quarter of the price...

Don't worry, we're not completely selfish. We got almost everyone covered that day as far as gifts go.

I know it's best to be frugal, but I honestly believe it's perfectly okay to spoil yourself every now and then. It doesn't have to be huge or extreme, but it's good to be good to yourself. And if you give to others in the process, the better! And what better way to do it when everything is cheaper anyway?

Rest in Peace, Little Cousin

When I was younger, I always wondered why I didn't have more cousins than I could count like a lot of my friends did. I was shocked that there were people out there who didn't even know all their cousins' names. For me, it was easy. I had 3 cousins total for most of my childhood, plus another that came along in my teens. We joked that we got a new cousin every decade and it was somewhat true.

The Alworth family couldn't have been more thrilled to find out several months ago that a new cousin was on the way. My uncle Cameron and his girlfriend Berit were expecting. November 11, Anderson Montgomery Alworth was born. He had our nose, our chubby cheeks, and our dark hair. He was one of us...

A few short days later... November 25... he left this world, all too shortly.

I'm sad I didn't get to meet the little cousin I have waited years for, as he lived across the country. I'm feel terrible that I couldn't go with the rest of my family to his service tomorrow. My brothers and I donated a floral arrangement, but I wish there was more I could do. I love my extended family and wish I could be there just for support.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't believe in a life after this. It's such a tragic and hopeless thought to think that little Anderson was here and gone without a purpose. His life has brought people together and strengthened family bonds. There is another baby out there who lives because they received Anderson's heart. I hope there is a day when we will all be with this little baby.

Robin's Baby Shower!

Robin's baby shower for our first little nephew Jett (it's still Jett, right?) was Saturday!

It was the first time I've had any involvement in planning a baby shower. I did games and made sure I didn't include the poopy chocolate diaper game. Judd's height was as always helpful for hanging stuff up. We got Jett a little baby bath/basket.

Robin looked fabulous in a non-maternity dress. I hope I look that awesome preggo someday!

Molly made this really good cheesy vegetable soup we ate with bread bowls. Recipe please, thank you! I have a ton of it in my fridge and have been eating it all day, it's so yummy!

I'm thinking maybe next time around, I could maybe possibly potentionally be preggo with my sisters-in-law. I think it would be fun to have a pregnant friend to go through it with. My mother in law asked me to promise it. No guarentees there, but after seeing how fun baby stuff can be, I'm open to it! Of course, after Judd graduates and I get my fill in as a producer!

Anyways, congrats to Robin and our nephew! We can't wait to meet him!

A "Wasted" Vote

Judd and I took advantage of early voting a few weeks ago. Why not hit two birds with one stone, shop at Galleria and do our duties as citizens?

While we both voted for who we individually felt would be good candidates, we were stumped on who to vote for as our Senator. We didn't like either any of the choices available. I refuse to vote straight Republican just because I am one, I truly believe in picking the best person for the job, and we both felt that none of the candidates were the "best".

Luckily in Nevada, there is a "none of these candidates" option, so that is what we chose for this question.

I've been told several times that I "wasted" this vote by picking that option. I "gave away" my vote to someone else.

Obviously someone will become our new (or current) senator tonight. I'm not thrilled about the choices I was given and I hope that whoever the new senator is will rise above expectations and help our state.

In 1844, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were in a similar situation. They all really wanted to do their duty as citizens and vote, but unfortunately, none of the presidential candidates were sympathetic to their cause. They could not feel good about voting for any of those options. Prophet Joseph Smith stepped up and decided to run for president. He obviously wasn't going to win, but he ran so the Saints could have a peaceful conscience with their vote.

Voting is a right people, especially women and minorities, worked hard to make happen in this country. I feel it is important to honor their sacrifices by voting today. We shouldn't complain about our leaders if we didn't do anything to help or discourage their election.

In choosing "none of these candidates," we express our opinion that none of the candidates shared views that are consistent or close to our own, therefore we cannot select any of them. If the chosen candidate does terrible in office, we can have a peaceful conscience knowing we didn't help put them there. There's no such thing as a perfect candidate, and people do make mistakes, but there's no reason why we should have to vote for someone we obviously do not agree with.

This election is extremely tight today, and in Nevada, every vote really does count. So wherever you are, take a few moments to cast a ballot. If anything, you get a sticker that might give you a discount somewhere!

Hallow's Eve

This weekend was full of lots of fantastic Halloween fun, and while I was too busy to take a million pictures, I have these few for just a glimpse!


Sierra and Darren had a Halloween party, so we all carved the goofiest pumpkins we could come up with. Ours is the Cheshire Cat at the end, but I think my favorite had to be Casey and Andrea's pumpkin-eating-a-pumpkin at the other end!

Darren home-brewed some root beer (something I'm dying to figure out how to do!). Lexi and Tori look so entranced by this!

And of course I had to love on the babies! Sierra and Darren's dog Anonymous had puppies a few weeks back, and it is very tempting to not steal one every time we see them!
The one time a year I'm allowed to dress my dog up...at least she liked it!
And our happy little family! The police skirt was a bit shorter than I expected, but thank goodness for really opaque leggings! I know it looks like a cop, but really, it's Public Information Officer Kidman! And of course, Judd was nice enough to wear the prisoner shirt.

I wish I had my camera for work, Channel 8 sure celebrates Halloween in style! Plus it was great to finally be able to dress up for Halloween at work.

Oh yeah, we do have a life...

I realized that I spend so much time just spouting off whatever's going on in my mind that I've neglected to update this blog on other happenings! And what's the point of having a Mormon Mommy Blog (minus the mommy part)/Cute Young Married Couple blog without sharing for posterity's sake what we do these days?



There's about a billion October events in Las Vegas, mainly because people can finally stand to be outside for more than 15 minutes. We go to as many as we can, but by far, the funnest is the Ren Faire! Okay, so it may just be me who thinks that, but I'm trying to stretch out my childhood for as long as I can, and since I've been going to this since I was 11, it works. Jousting, great food, freak show, I love it! Judd loves it too, he just won't openly admit it =D

Karaoke Night! Kristin with an I came into town (you know I love you!) the other night, so it was a bit of an LVA/Friends We've Gathered Along The Way Reunion at the Ellis Island Karaoke bar! I'm permanently scarred from constantly having to compete against overly-amazing singers back during my LVA years, so I don't sing by myself publicly... but I'll sing in a group! Unfortunately the line to sing was about 100 years long so our little group didn't get to show off our best Spice Girls rendition (I was going to be Baby), but it was fun to cheer on Maria and Kristin. And Sasha should put out an album, she was the best singer there!



And this morning there was one of those rare freak thunderstorms. We don't have grass in our little yard, so I made Bindi wear bags on her feet. Such a patient dog!

Other then that, I'm just counting the days down to Graduation. Judd is making Cowboy Beebop Grips for his gun, and he hopes he can eventually make some to sell on Ebay. Apparently (nerdy) people pay hundreds of dollars for these. Thankfully I married someone extra nerdy who would rather make his own! (that's why I love him!)

We've been doing so much better at eating healthy and have shed some of those nasty newlywed pounds. Not that there were a lot, but I think everyone who is married knows what I mean. I'm on this big vegetable and "blue fruit" kick right now. I tell Judd it's in an effort to keep him around longer, but really, I know I at least feel a lot healthier and have more energy lately.

And the holidays are coming up! I'm already working on my Black Friday list, because I'll be honest, Black Friday is my favorite holiday after Fourth of July. I save up for it for months...then just let loose for a day! Don't worry, I'm getting in everyone's Christmas presents in there, I'm not that selfish.

And we're about to be an aunt and uncle for the first time! Robin is having a little boy and Molly will know soon what her baby will be. We're super excited to meet the little ones!

Sister Wives Marathon

TLC sure loves "unique" families.

They love "little people" families, they love really big families, they love really big families made up of multiples. They love families who work on motorcycles, they love families who enter beauty pageants, and they especially love families with freak or accidental pregnancies. If there's anything I've learned from watching TLC, it's that families come in many, many different forms.

Including polygamy, as demonstrated by the lovely Brown family.

I was a little late in tuning into this show, but lucky for me (and Judd since I was in so much shock that I made him sit through it with me), all the episodes were re-running last night in preparation for the season (and probably series) finale. So we had a little polygamist TV marathon last night, complete with pizza and grape soda.

Watching "Sister Wives" to me was like watching a really bad movie that makes you really uncomfortable to sit through, but at the same time it is so fascinating that you can't turn it off. There were a lot of moments where the partial feminist in me cringed, gasped, wanted to throw the remote at the TV, and so on. These moments seemed to happen the most whenever clueless husband Cody or ditzy 3rd wife Christine opened their mouths to say anything. I especially wanted to slap Christine for setting up her newborn daughter to fail by naming her "Truely Brown." I know she had a middle name, but no one is going to remember to use it. Better hope Truely marries someone with a better last name, "Truely Brown" just sounds sad. I'm all for unique names, but come on, think of your kid and all the teasing they might get at their polygamist home school!

Oh, the other cringe moments came whenever about-to-be 4th wife Robyn burst into tears. She bursts into tears every time someone talks to her, she thinks a happy thought, and especially over her shared soul mate Cody.

Which made me wonder, if Cody is everyone's "soul mate", did he have to create some Horcruxes to split that soul up among four wives? So every time he remarries, he becomes less of a person? (sorry, I'm way too excited about Harry Potter in a few weeks!)

Cody may not be Voldemort, but it's pretty obvious the dude just wants a younger, more fertile wife since the other three are in their late thirties and just about past their child-bearing years. The worst was when he told one of the wives that it makes him sick to imagine her with another man...how does he think these wives feel on a daily basis?

But there were aspects of the show I liked too. I really liked 1st wife Meri since she seemed to be the most honest of the bunch and told Cody off the most for legitimate things. I liked the gaggle of teenage daughters who had life goals other than marrying the second they could. I wasn't able to form much of an opinion on 2nd wife Janelle other than that I'm glad she worked because someone needed to keep Cody in his shiny new Lexus and pay for Robyn's country club reception...oh, and feed the kids too.

I appreciate that TLC chose a more mainstream family to represent polygamy other than literal modern-day pioneers that you see in stories about raids and child molestation. These people look pretty normal and their kids seem pretty well adjusted. The wives seemed to genuinely care for one another and their kids. Quite honestly, I'm not sure what part of what they are doing is illegal, as Cody is legally only married to Mari. It's not much different than "The Girls Next Door" except these are mommies rather than Bunnies and there's a bunch of kids involved. But as evidenced in this show, Mr. Brown has several bedrooms he must rotate between, much like Mr. Hefner, I can imagine.

I could never do it. I'm glad I was born in the century I was, because I really don't think I could ever do it. I understand why it was done, but it's not for me.

But it does raise an interesting question: If gay marriage becomes mainstream, will polygamy become a more open thing? Not for religious reasons, but just because it, too, is an "alternative" view of marriage? Or what about one woman and two men? Is there even a culture that allows that?

Good News

Like the rest of the world yesterday, I was glued to the TV watching the dramatic rescue of the Chilean miners who spent over two months trapped underground. At first, I justified having CNN on all day to see how their news producers handled having the same story run for hours on end, because that's generally how breaking news works (I learned that you pull an interview from anyone who may have a feasible opinion, even if it's totally BS like the illusionist they brought on to talk about what it is like to be in a small enclosed space).

Then I decided that I'm becoming a cynic and that really, I just wanted to watch good news for a change, even if it goes for hours on end.

I'm not sure if it's even possible to watch these rescues without shedding at least one tear or two, but the happy kind. I loved watching the families' faces as their loved ones came up the shaft. I loved watching the miners gratitude, especially those who immediately knelt down in prayer. I can't even begin to imagine how horrible it must have been for them underground and how relieved they must be to finally break free of their tomb.

There's so many people who justify their non-belief in God by pointing to horrific accidents, murders, natural disasters, and so and say, "Where was He? Why did He let that happen?" We cannot even begin to fanthom the reasons why some people die horrible deaths while others get rescued in the nick of time. Unfortunately not everyone gets to die of old age in their sleep, you can't plan your manner of death. I like to think that some people are needed a little bit earlier than others.

But what I do know is that God's hand was in this rescue. Those miners were trapped 17 days with little food and water before they were even discovered to be alive. Add that to the 2+ months they were left in the dark. I believe the technology used to save them was inspired, combined with the faith of the miners and their families.

There are miracles every day, and while most don't make international news, they are all around us if we just pause to look.

Just weighing in

This has been on my mind A LOT lately, so I feel like I have to chime in on this whole gay teen suicide/Boyd K. Packer situation. I feel this is impossible to write without offending someone, so I do ask that you keep an open mind and understand that I am so torn between two sides.

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING disgusts me more than Church members, or really anybody, who pretends to be oh so Christ-like, then turn it around and treat a group of people like they are lower than dirt. The attitudes that so many members of our church have towards gay people are quite despicable and frankly, I can't really blame the GLBT community for some of the feelings they have towards us. I've heard so many members belittle, mock, and downright be rude towards people different from them, and I'm tired of it. It's not just LDS people, I know plenty of people of other faiths who have these attitudes. And of course, it's not every member who's doing it, but enough that I'm concerned.

Let me back-track a bit. I went to the Las Vegas Academy for high school, which is one of the top-ranked schools in Nevada. It is a performing arts academy where people have to audition to get in. It also happens to have a large gay student population. I knew so many talented kids who could have easily gotten into the Academy, but their parents refused to let them go there because they would have to mingle with gay kids. They would rather send them to the most ghetto and trashed high schools where they were more likely to get in a fight or get pregnant rather then let them explore their talents alongside gay classmates (and for the record, when I was at LVA, there had been 7 fights in the ENTIRE SCHOOL HISTORY and 2 pregnant girls in the 4 years I went there).

Luckily I have open-minded parents, so I went to LVA. Of course I made several gay friends. These were my classmates, I wasn't going to shun anyone. One friend in particular, I'll call Bob. Bob grew up in a very LDS household, yet knew he was gay. Rather than trying to help Bob, his family shunned him. It is a story I have heard over and over again. Wanna hear about gay teen suicides? It's a horrific fact in the LDS community. It's really sad how often I'm told by my gay friends that I'm the one nice Mormon they know because I actually talk to them.

Once I had to make the decision to either continue dating my LDS boyfriend or keep my gay friends. This guy wasn't happy that I had gay friends so he gave me that ultimatum. Guess which one I chose. I guess I'd rather hang out with people who liked me for me and not for who my friends liked to date.

So for almost 10 years now, I have struggled with how I feel about my gay friends and what the Church teaches. I do believe in what the prophets have said. This isn't an anti-Church rant, I do believe in protecting the family. I wasn't offended by Boyd K. Packer's last General Conference talk. I knew where he was coming from and I think the media has taken it out of context (sorry). Unfortunately he gave that talk during a very sensitive time period.

But the attitudes of the members towards these peoples has got to change. Newsflash, not everyone who is gay wants to be. My buddy Bob wished with all his heart that he wasn't gay. But he had no support from his family, which turned him off from the Church and any potential help he might have gotten. We need to be more supportive and helpful to one another, not try to out-righteous each other. If people knew half of the extent of sins I've committed, I wonder if I'd get shunned too.

I think our leaders would agree with me. The Church released this statement today:

This past week we have all witnessed tragic deaths across the country as a result of bullying or intimidation of gay young men. We join our voice with others in unreserved condemnation of acts of cruelty or attempts to belittle or mock any group or individual that is different – whether those differences arise from race, religion, mental challenges, social status, sexual orientation or for any other reason. Such actions simply have no place in our society.

This Church has felt the bitter sting of persecution and marginalization early in our history, when we were too few in numbers to adequately protect ourselves and when society’s leaders often seemed disinclined to help. Our parents, young adults, teens and children should therefore, of all people, be especially sensitive to the vulnerable in society and be willing to speak out against bullying or intimidation whenever it occurs, including unkindness toward those who are attracted to others of the same sex. This is particularly so in our own Latter-day Saint congregations. Each Latter-day Saint family and individual should carefully consider whether their attitudes and actions toward others properly reflect Jesus Christ’s second great commandment - to love one another.

I know the majority of the people reading this are LDS. I hope I didn't offend anyone. I just hope that we can be a little more open-minded as a group. It doesn't mean we have to accept gay marriage or even homosexuality if we don't want to. But we can treat people better. I have a feeling that the longer people fight for gay rights, the more our church will be in the media. Why don't we help the image people have of us and be the Christ-like people we claim to be? I know we're taking a lot of heat for this and it's difficult to stand up for our beliefs when the media tears us down for it. But the least we can do is show the respect we would like to recieve.

And for my friends who are gay, bi, straight, whatever: You know I'm here and I love you for you.

Here's a link to the rest of the Church's statement today:

http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/article/church-mormon-responds-to-human-rights-campaign-petition-same-sex-attraction

I wanna be a Producer! (10 points if you know the reference!)

I am officially training at Channel 8 to be a free-lance producer!!!!

My progression at KLAS thus far has been intern to part-time assignment editor to now this. Hopefully when I graduate, I can become an associate producer full time. That's the goal, anyways.

So for those who don't know what a producer is, here's a little outline.

A Producer:

~writes the scripts for the newscasts. Anytime you watch the news and you see a story that doesn't have a reporter attached to it in the field, the producer probably wrote it.

~writes the teases. These are those annoying "after the break, we'll bring you....". We're actually not supposed to word them so obviously, so it's tricky to make them interesting without giving the whole story away. We don't want you to change the channel!

~comes up with stories. The producer meets with the reporters and brainstorm about what stories should be covered. The producer also scans national news to finds stories of interest to their region so they can localize it.

~makes stills. These are the full-screen charts, maps, graphs, and bullet-point sheets you'll see on TV. For more involved graphics, they tell the graphic designer what they want and then they get something pretty and photo-shopped.

~times the show. It is very important to make sure the show is timed perfectly in order to accommodate commercial breaks, especially when the show is live. The producer sets time limits for every story and makes sure everyone sticks to it. If the weather person talks a little too long and the anchors chit chat a bit too much, the producer must make the snappy decision to quickly drop a story. In reverse, if the show is too short, you have to egg on the anchors to talk and talk for 30 seconds, or find a story super quick!

~Choreographs the show. Should the anchors be standing, sitting, have a projector behind them, walk around, have an over-head shot, have a TV behind them, be talking to the reporter in studio or in field, etc...the list goes on and on!

~helps direct the show. The producer sits in the control room during the show and makes sure everything goes to plan. They work with the show's directer and make sure everyone is on task, especially the reporters who are out in the field.

~and above all, IS PREPARED FOR BREAKING NEWS!!! You could have a perfectly written script and have your anchors all ready in the field to do their live-shots...but then a plane crashes. Suddenly, half of what you spend the whole day on goes out the window and then it becomes a scrambling mess to get info out to both the reporters and the viewers and rearrange the entire show as it airs.

And in this town, anything goes when it comes to breaking news!

So there you have it! It's been an intense few weeks learning this job, but I love it. It helps that I work with some of the most awesome and talented people in the industry. Everyone has been super nice to me and willing to help me out!

I work weekends now, so with school on the weekdays, my schedule just got even more hectic. I just have to push through these next two months of school, then I can be done and really get this career going. I'm just happy it started before I graduate!

A Modest Proposal- Jaywalkers

I don't know if it's living by UNLV, or living in a borderline ghettoish area, but I can't help but notice the disturbing large numbers of people who jaywalk. People continually jet across the street, assuming that everyone will slam on their brakes for them. Scared drivers do, but I've heard it enough times on the police scanners where they didn't have enough time. There are so many "auto-ped" incidents in this town, it's ridiculous. Some die, some don't, but the impact on the person, and the driver, is huge. Can you imagine the therapy one has to go through if they hit a person, especially if that person died?

I've decided that jay-walkers have a blatant disregard for their lives if they can't walk the extra two hundred feet to the safety of a cross-walk. And the parent jay-walkers who drag a line of little kids or manically push a stroller in the face of traffic don't love their children enough to be concerned for their safety. I've watched too many people just burst on the road with little kids WITHOUT LOOKING both ways, just because they assume everyone will stop.

There's a story that was in the news a few weeks ago about parents who were ticketed for jaywalking as they walked their kids to school. They're all playing the race card and getting NAACP involved, but the point is, they broke the law AND taught their kids a crappy life lesson.

Now someone who has known me for a bit of time may read this and say "But wait, Kristen, how can you have such animosity towards jaywalkers? Weren't YOU one at one time? Isn't that how, you know, you busted your leg?"

Yes, dear readers with a good memory. When I was 16, I darted across the road to catch my bus and paid dearly for it. A fractured femur that required multiple surgeries over two years, wheelchairs, crutches, physical therapy, delayed license-getting, and no winter fun in Reno after the second surgery. But it could have been much worse. I could have died (and a bunch of witnesses thought I did, funny story I'll have to tell sometime).

Having learned to NEVER do that again, I have come up with a Modest Proposal for jaywalkers. I suggest that jaywalkers all get hit the next time they feel the urge to sprint across the street in the face of traffic. They won't die (sorry to those who were hoping I'd go Johnathan Swift and go for a population-eliminating proposal), but they would get injured enough so they'd have to work for a recovery. A few weeks off school/work with no pay, excruciating physical therapy, crutches/casts, and so on.

This way, jaywalkers learn that they are not invincible and that there are consequences for breaking the law. Drivers won't have to worry about cleaning blood and body parts off their windshields, and police can worry about bigger and badder crimes. I'm tired of hearing my brakes screech and feeling my heart drop down to my stomach on a daily basis, and getting yelled at by the jaywalkers who got worried that I'd hit them!

I'll admit to occasionally meandering across an empty road here and there. But when it comes to MY life and OTHER drivers, I want to have common courtesy. Plus, the extra exercise of walking to a crosswalk can't hurt, right?

Happy Birthday Bindi!

Yesterday was Bindi's 1st Birthday!

We actually don't have an exact date of Bindi's birth since she was born under her breeder's house and they think the pups were a few days old when they found them... so we chose the 29th (close enough, right?) to celebrate because it's also the anniversary of the day we met...through our second favorite Border Collie Nel!

Follow me?

I'll break this down by pictures:



So this is me three years ago with my puppy friend Nel. Some friends and I decided to be sneaky and use a puppy to make ourselves stand out at a regional YSA activity. Come on, there was going to be hundreds of people there, gotta make a statement...



...and it worked! He asked me "her name", I said mine, and the love story went up from there! This picture is also from that night...little did we know we just met the person we were going to marry!



A couple of years later, we decided to honor the border collie that brought us together by getting one of our own. We saw this picture in a KSL ad for border collie puppies and just hoped the one in the middle was still available...



...and we adopted her and named her Bindi! We were supposed to wait until Christmas to take her home, but that was too long so we got her Thanksgiving weekend 2009. This picture was taken at Bindi's first Flyball Tournament (love the pink poodle scrubs!).



And now Bindi and Nel are besties! Well, kind of. They're on the same Flyball team and we've babysat Nel and her brother Roo, so they do see each other quite a bit. I think Nel sees Bindi as the annoying little kid that just bugs her, but now that they're competing with each other as teammates, I hope they get along better!

So Happy Birthday Bindi! We love her so much and are so happy she came to live with us and be our pseudo-kid. And yes, make fun of me all you want, but I did wrap her present, make her homemade dog treats, and invite our friends Rebecca and Jared over for dinner so they would bring her friend Alfred to play with!

Answers to that awkward question...

"When are you having kids?"

This question comes in two forms. The first form, I don't mind. "When are you having kids" is a genuine curiosity, much like "Where are you from" or "Where do you work?". The reason I don't mind this version is because when I give the typical "after we graduate," people usually respond positively and tell us we're smart to wait. The joking variety of this is okay too, I can laugh it off.

The second form drives me nuts. "When are you having kids" can really be interpreted as "Why haven't you had kids yet?" This version is asked by those who are concerned for the welfare of your soul, because obviously if you don't have kids at this very moment, you're not on par with "The Plan" (LDS lingo, but I'm sure other religions have something along the lines of it). Or they're just nosy and judgmental elderly Relief Society ladies.

This version also bothers me because it is insensitive to those who may be struggling with infertility issues. There are actually people out there who believe the parents must be sinners if they don't have children, and considering there is a large amount of people who really cannot have children, this is a rude way of thinking and not Christ-like at all.

The longer Judd is and I remain childless, the more often I hear this question. And after talking to many friends, both married, engaged, LDS, non-LDS, I've decided it's a nagging epidemic. It's even an issue for my friends who have at least one kid, people are so anxious for them to have more! So I decided to write this blog to provide some clever responses for my friends and for myself!

So..."When are you having kids?" (the naggy, you're an awful person for not having kids at the moment version)

~"What is your Social Security number?" This can be substituted with "Are you happy with your marriage" or "How much do you weigh," any super personal response question works. Thanks Mr. Geiger for that little gem!

~"Obviously we're not doing something right, can you give us some tips or suggestions?" Awkward, but this one came from my dad, who apparently actually used this all the time before I came around.

~"We're practicing." Everyone's heard that one, but I would love to actually see it used.

~"I'm really busy raising a puppy, three sugar gliders, and two turtles. They're like my practice children." I actually do use this either jokingly with friends or when my school excuse doesn't fly over for those who don't value the education of women.

Alright, so before my mom friends get upset and tell me that children are the greatest blessing and that I'm a rotten person for even posting this, I'll throw in this disclaimer: I do really want kids someday. Really, I do. But I made a promise to myself years ago that I MUST finish school. I was even hesitant to get married before I graduated (but Judd was too cute and I wouldn't do it any other way!). So my philosophy says that now that I'm almost there, I would like just a small amount of time to use that very expensive piece of paper for what it's worth. I would like to support Judd in finishing school the way he supported me.

Obviously, if a baby comes along before that, GREAT! I can't wait to have little Judds and Kristens! I'm not anti-kid by any means. I know it's worked out for people who didn't "wait", and it has worked out for people who did. I would never judge anyone who wanted to be a parent first, that is so unselfish and really honorable. When it comes down to it, it's really a personal decision between you, your spouse, and God.

So when are we having kids?

When we know the time is right!

Dog Park Nazis

This is dedicated to the Other Kristin (note the "i" instead of an "e") who requested I write this blog

Lately, whenever I take Bindi to the dog park, I've noticed that there are several people that I lovingly have labeled "Dog Park Nazis". They are generally older people who tend to have little nippy dogs. I always used to wonder why they even came to the dog park, because their nippy little dogs just sit on the table with them instead of running and playing like dogs should at the park. But I have now determined that they are there solely to judge other people and their dogs and they live off the good feelings they get when they feel superior to others.

For example:

~If a dog does its business, they will immediately bring it to the owner's attention over and over and over again until the owner goes and takes care of it. I watched this happen to a family who was in the middle of their picnic and for obvious reasons, weren't rushing to pick up after their dog. Come on, they were eating. But the DPN continued to cackle about it until these people relented, which brings me too...

~...food. Apparently bringing food into the dog park is like the ultimate sin, next to not immediately cleaning up after Fido. Judd and I have brought pizza in there before, which I have heard is "the stupidest thing ever." I know it's not the smartest thing to do either, but a polite "I'm concerned that my dog might eat your food, do you mind eating it outside and then coming in" would be more appreciated.

~DPNs all want to know how you got your dog, and it will be one of the first questions they ask you. 10 points if you rescued it from a shelter, with another extra 3 points if you drop in a side note that your dog was "abused" by its former owners. 5 points if you bought it from a breeder, but 0 points if they sense that it was a "backyard breeder". -100 points if you admit you bought it from a pet store, and after getting a lengthy lecture about the horrors of puppy mills, you will be snubbed to the opposite side of the field.

~Next to your dog's origins, DPNs want to ensure that your dog is healthy and well-taken care of. I let it slip that Bindi got into brownies a few weeks ago, and the lectures I received on the dangers of chocolate made me wonder if they weren't already secretly dialing Animal Control under the table. I was a veterinary assistant for three years, so I could easily tell them off for how overweight the little nippy dogs are and all the fun health problems you get with that...but I'm nice.

~You may think you are at the dog park to socialize your dog, you know, with other dogs and people, but according to DPN, you are there to bond with your dog while trash-talking those pet store buying, non-organic feeding losers in the corner with the designer Malti-poo. Eating McDonalds. I actually got told off for not playing with Bindi once. I scanned the park, expecting to see a bored Border Collie (crazy, I know) by the lady's tone of voice. Instead, I see my pup happily catching a toy that a nice older gentleman was tossing to her. But since I wasn't the one tossing it, I was a bad owner.

~What else makes you a bad owner? Having a badly behaved dog, or at least one in the eyes of DPNs. Now with this, I can agree sometimes. People with overly aggressive dogs shouldn't be at the park, especially when the dog is trying to rip my dog's head off. But when the dog's only crime at that point is jumping at, not on, but at someone, an angry yelling of "YOUR DOG HAS BAD MANNERS" isn't necessary. Especially when the culprit is a happy puppy who just barely entered the park. I take great pride in all the training that has gone into my dog, both professionally and through Judd and myself. But we know she is an excitable puppy who makes mistakes. It is our responsibility to discipline her though, not a DPN.

And really, it's the dog park. Dogs are there to have fun. We're there to have fun and watch our dogs play. No need to be rude.

Labored

NO, we couldn't remember the exact posing of Charlie's Angels, but we're cute anyways.

My Labor Day started bright and early at 4:00 a.m., where I woke up to go to work. I figured it would be a chill day, who wants to commit crime on a holiday? The scanners were pretty quiet for the majority of the morning. I got a few phone calls complaining about Days of Our Lives being canceled for an all-day showing of a tennis match. I ate a healthy turkey wrap that our morning guest brought in to show parents how to make healthy food.

8:30 a.m.: I'm due to leave work in a half an hour, when I hear this on the scanner:

WE HAVE A 442 TWO MILES WEST OF THE EXECUTIVE AIRPORT.

While there are several police codes to learn, there's a few that should always stick with me, because there's a BIG emergency.

442 is an airplane emergency.

We learned very quickly that a small airplane had crashed in a neighborhood by Silverado Ranch and Bermuda. Instantly, all our phones started ringing. We sent the nearest reporter in that direction while we frantically gathered whatever information we could to help her. Our helicopter went up. We cut to breaking news, infuriating everyone trying to watch the tennis match.

I juggled 4 phone lines, which included requests from CNN, Janet the reporter, Ian the producer, the police, witnesses who wanted to share their story, witnesses who wanted to sell us photographs (unethical, people!), and of course all the angry tennis people upset that they couldn't watch their game. Those people really annoyed me because I was trying to do my job and get information from witnesses and the police and get it to Janet and Ian and I would have to stop in the middle of it and get yelled at by a tennis fan!

Eventually we learned that the pilot was a hero. He landed the plane in the middle of the neighborhood street rather than hitting a house. Unfortunately, he passed away, but his three passengers survived. Neighbors were also heroes; they doused the plane with water and got the fire out before the authorities got there.

I got out of the newsroom at 10:00 a.m., with plenty of time to enjoy the rest of Labor Day. But this is why I love the newsroom, it's a super exciting place to be, especially when breaking news happens!

Later, we let off some steam and went shooting with Kim, Geoff, Amber, and Telly! Had to celebrate at some point, right? I'm no where near the shooting level of the guys (Telly's in the military, Geoff's a policeman, and Judd's just really good), but my trusty pink gun and I are getting there!

Revenge of the Brownies

They looked a lot cooler in person. Someday when I have a life outside of school, I'll take an actual cake-decorating class, but for now I'll just pretend =D

Judd wanted me to write "I re-baked them just for you, Love Bindi"...but who wants to think about dog barf while eating my delicious brownies?!?!?

There is NO WAY Bindi can reach these brownies now, right?


So just to wrap up our Brownie Drama, I finally got around to replacing all the brownies Bindi ate as well as giving our favorite Animal Hospital a thank you tray from us. Judd finally got his Birthday Brownies a week late, but better late then never, right? I dusted them with cocoa and powdered sugar and sprinkled them with flower sprinkles to make the dirt bikes look like they're riding in the desert hills (or dessert hills, HAHAHA...apparently I had one too many of those today).

Happy (late) Birthday Blog Judd!

Okay, so this blog is a week late, but since we celebrate birthday weeks in this family (according to Judd), that's okay.

Judd turned the very scary 3-1, but totally doesn't look it, feel it, or acknowledge it. If you ask him, he is eternally 27. I too have decided to take this approach and will stop aging after 23, just so you all know!

Not that birthdays are a bummer, but our two birthdays both fall right when tuition is due, so I always feel bad for having to keep it cheap. Someday when we're rich AND college graduates, we will have more spectacular birthdays, but for now, we'll keep it simple BUT fun! For a gift, he got himself a bunch of tech stuff, and I got him a bunch of fancy spices and sauces from Cape Cod to encourage some of his great gourmet/Giada style cooking! Plus that snazzy Enduro Cross shirt he's modeling up there in the top picture!

This year, we got a bunch of friends and family to go celebrate at Judd's favorite restaurant/former place of employment: Buffalo Wild Wings! Seriously, Judd can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about anything on the menu. Molly and Mike, Robin and Dave (and the baby ultrasound!), and Kim, Jeff, and Amber came along. Too bad they don't give you anything special if it's your birthday there, but we still had fun!

Afterward, Telly and our adorable British friend Rebecca met the rest of us at our house (which, coincidentally, was the first time we've really shown it off since we moved in 6 months ago!). Rebecca brought her new Wire-hair Fox Terrier puppy Alfred along to play with Bindi (who was sulking upstairs trying to rid herself of all Judd's birthday brownies she ate- see previous post!). We had a game night, where we learned that Kim is always a Mafia hit-woman, Molly is actually an innocent towns person, and quiet people are super suspicious!

So here's to another great year for Judd! Happy Birthday!

I love you,

me!

Oh Bindi, you dumb dog!

If you've been reading this blog for the past several months or so, you all know how much I absolutely love my puppy Bindi. Well, our love for Bindi was put to the test Friday when she decided to eat Judd's special Birthday Brownies!

My plan was to make this awesome brownie structure dusted with cocoa mix and powdered sugar, then put little toy dirt bikes on it for Judd's birthday. So I bake the brownies, set them where I'm pretty sure Bindi can't reach, and wait upstairs for them to cool off. Bindi was sitting innocently in the office with me for awhile, then wanders downstairs. 3 minutes later, Judd comes upstairs and asks me what I did with the brownies. "They're on the counter", I remind him, can't he still smell that lovely chocolaty wafting through the house? "Kristen, we have a BIG problem", he says. Just then, Bindi comes into the room, guilty as sin, with chocolate in her teeth.

"GET THAT DOG IN THE CAR!!!" I yell. "THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" We rush to American Pet, which was closing in 15 minutes. Lucky for us, we're still super cool with them, so the second we got there, they rushed her back and gave her an injection to throw everything up. They invited us back to the treatment area (you know, since 9 months ago this was my job and all!) to watch them save Bindi. They stuck a tube down her throat to pour four tubes of activated charcoal through.

Now when I did this back in the day, dogs would fight tooth and nail for this procedure (unless they were freaks and enjoyed the taste of charcoal). I was super proud of Bindi for sitting still and letting Dr. Pond and Lori work with her. (yes, this dog CAN sit still, believe it or not!). They released her just in time for us to rush to Judd's Buffalo Wild Wings party (more on that later).

Bindi is going to be okay, thank goodness, mainly because we got her to the vet within 20 minutes or so of her eating the brownies. If your dog eats chocolate, the quicker you get her to the vet, the less invasive and less expensive the treatment (by the way, thanks APH for the discount!), and more likely your dog won't have any lasting damage. We're really glad the staff was able to make her feel better so quickly, and I really appreciate them making me laugh when I was seriously on the verge of tears for being so dumb with the brownies. They piled up some of the barf and stuck a makeshift candle in it and sang to Judd, way gross, but I really needed that laugh!

Now I have to make them brownies as a sweet thank you!