t-day

the day has finally come. aaron is having oral surgery today to have a tooth removed and an implant put in. the whole process will take about 5 months, but today is the big one. i'm nervous for him, i think he's a little nervous, too, but know it will all be fine. we've been talking about it (and saving for it!) for months and now it's before us. many thanks for K for the delicious tomato bisque recipe i'll be making for his post-op meal. keep him in your prayers!

i love my ice cream

last night we headed to Baskin Robbins after the gym with some friends. we worked out together and ate ice cream together. perfect! even though it was 9:30 at night and we just finished kickboxing there was no way we could pass up such a great deal. and while we were there we saw more friends! there is only one BR in la mesa, so it was inevitable. i got gold medal ribbon, chocolate chip, and butter pecan with a sugar cone on top. a friend recommended gold medal and it's a new favorite. the chocolate chip and butter pecan are in the freezer for tonight! i hope you enjoy 31 cent scoop night, too!

and aaron joined the girls in turbo kickboxing last night! usually the boys do other stuff, but he gave it a shot and did a great job. it was fun to have him experience my weekly date with richard!

it must be time to change my last name when...

...i can no longer remember it. on the church records i'm gough, but legally i'm still godfrey. yes, yes, i know. 18 months later and i haven't made the switch. i have my reasons, but my goal is to do it before we have a child. two names on the birth certificate would be hard to explain. since a baby is no where in sight i figure i have awhile. my poor brain is telling me otherwise.



often i accidentally write 'godfrey' on my tithing slips (and what a pain it is to request a reimbursement check since they can only make it out to the name on church records). we have multiple aimees at work (pretty amazing that we are all spelled the same) and someone just walked up to me and asked me if i was aimee so-and-so (looking for a different aimee) and i said, 'no, i'm aimee go...., um, uh, godfrey! aimee godfrey.' sounded like i was lying and she looked at me quizzically, but thankfully took me at my word. perhaps i'll have to change it sooner rather than later.

too much stuff

i watched the show 'hoarders' for the first time last night. oh my heavens. i was beyond disgusted. one woman said she loves to collect things and mentioned cats as one of her collection items. cats? not ok. it wasn't until i arrived home and found myself cleaning the corners of my house that i realized how much the show affected me. i had trouble falling asleep. i'm still grossed out just thinking about it.


many of the relatives of the hoarders said they were afraid to clean out the person's house because they thought the hoarder would freak out on them. let them freak out and get over it. they need professional help. i am so opposite of a pack rat, i can't even deal with clutter. so much of those 'collections' could go to goodwill and help people who don't have enough. yikes.

DIY mini repair

my ipod mini battery has been on the fritz for a few months. we discussed buying a new one for Christmas, but ultimately i wouldn't agree because i love my mini and i didn't see the need to spend the money if we could fix it. my brother told me i could change the battery myself so that's what i set out to do. ordering a battery and mini tool kit online was a snap and i successfully changed the battery last night. all by myself!

for every one who is amazed that i still have an old school mini (which is almost 5 years old), my cell phone is almost 4 years old and i never want to give it up. i'm frugal and use it until it is totally dead! (aaron is drooling over an iphone, but i'm blocking that dream as long as possible)
thanks so much for your help, steven!

cake party

i have been graciously invited to a cake party and i'm excited! as the name describes, it's a party where every one brings a cake (and the recipe) to share. we will have a light supper to ensure non-sugary sustenance in our stomachs before getting down to the main event of eating cake. the date is less than two weeks away and i still need to pick what cake to bring. does anyone have a favorite?

a few ladies have made decisions and will be bringing:

lady baltimore

red velvet

chocolate with bacon

orange and dark chocolate

my primal instict tells me to stick with chocolate somewhere in the dessert, but springtime lends so nicely to fruit. i have some ideas, but would love to hear yours.

Conference & Easter Weekend

aaron and i made the crazy drive to conference last weekend. we spent about as much time at my parent's as we did driving. most of my family was there, so the house was filled to the brim. once again, can i say how much i love aaron's delight in children? i am so lucky. here are a few snaps from the weekend.

bathing beauty

One of the reasons i love jcrew is for their bathing suits. they are wonderful! each year they come out with such great styles, not the same old boring halter triangle top. new cuts, new styles, new textures, made with quality fabrics. they are lined and all my jcrew suits have lasted me for years. the best part? they have a fabulous selection of one piece suits! while other stores (ahem, gap and old navy) have two suits to chose from or the same suit in differing colors, jcrew offers a wide selection for many body types. also, they have a great return policy so if you don't love it when it arrives, no problem.

i saw this one online today. isn't it beautiful? how could you not feel good when you were putting that on? so luxurious.

i'm thinking of this one.
the only drawback is they are a wee bit expensive which is why my heart is not set on the silky looking one at the top. but, if you hit the beach or pool a lot in the summer think of it as an investment that will last for years to come! i know i sound like i'm in sales mode. i don't work for jcrew (i wish i did), but it's always nice to get a little help with the dreaded swimsuit shopping!

UPDATE: apparently more people read my blog than i thought because the blue bathing suit is sold out! i was waiting until payday to buy it. one day earlier and it could have been mine!! what a sad day it is.

spring break fun

we were toilet papered last night. since our bed is right by the door and i am a light sleeper i'd like to think i could hear someone(s) up to no good outside my door, but nope. i heard nothing.

there are two funny things about this story. first, we don't have much to toilet paper. a puny rose bush, a small tree and a bbq. they did what they could. they even did half of my neighbor's tree as if there is a invisible property line going down the middle of the tree. second funny thing is that it rained last night and was still raining this morning when we found the disintegrated remains of last night's fun. i really wanted to get a picture, but it was raining too hard. the sun is out now and most likely fosilizing the soggy toilet paper to my tree. and i have my young women to thank! i've just been inducted to the cool kids club.

thankful for health

i have been exericising a lot more lately (see 'anger management' post below) and working hard at getting back into shape. i have two races coming up and am motivated to not be so cyclical with my workouts. this has helped me be extremely grateful for the health that i have. i am so privileged to be able to workout and do any physical activity i want. my body has no limitations and i can condition my it to become comfortable with anything that is hard for me. i'm such a lucky girl! each time i take my much hated/loved spin class i think about how so many people in the world could not be doing what i am doing right then and it humbles me that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such good fortune. enjoy your body! it's amazing!

anger management

work has been extremely stressful and overwhelming for a few weeks and there is no end in sight. that said, i am so thankful for my job. i really am. i'm thankful Heavenly Father blesses me with income and the ability to work for what i need. it's still hard though. i used to be able to leave work at work, but the tension has grown large enough that i cannot escape when i leave for the day.

aaron is gone at school until late each night so i am alone without anyone to talk to and get my mind relaxed. i go to the gym each night, but that relief is proving to wane as well. this anger is starting to effect areas of my life that it shouldn't (i shouldn't be angry at all)! i find myself increasingly infuriated and, at times, enraged, and acting in very non-aimee like ways. any suggestions? i know i'm not the only one who has gone through this. how do you unwind and escape from the unpleasant things in life?

vegetable victory

summertime means lots of grilled foods because cooking dinner that way doesn't heat up the house. tonight while aaron was grilling chicken i threw on a foil packet of broccoli tossed in olive oil and salt/pepper. it turned out delicious! i love roasted veggies, but normally roast them in the oven, not on the bbq. i think broccoli is great in just about any form, but aaron has a more discerning palate and even he loved them. victory!!! i can't to make them again. aaron, too!

clean it

saturday afternoon was spent doing a major spring cleaning of our apartment. we threw away a bunch of stuff, gave away the rest, and laundered most everything we have. the dust under our bed was amazing and totally disgusting. it feels so great to have it done! there is nothing like coming home to a clean house.

burn

on saturday night i burned my hands on very, very hot soup (there is a whole backstory here which i won't bore you with unless you ask me to). at first reaction i thought it was a bummer and then it really started to cook my skin and i started screaming. we weren't at home so it took me a minute to run and find a faucet for cold water. since i was holding the container of soup at the time, both hands were burned in multiple places. short of the long, i ended up going to urget care because i was in a lot of pain and unsure how to treat it.

the doctor said i scored first and second degree burns on my hands (mostly my left hand, so writing is a total pleasure) and sent me home with antibiotic healing ointment, super strength ibuprofen, and gauze. i lathered on the ointment and slept with gauze wrapped hands that night. i must say, i am very impressed with how much they healed over night, but they are still quite tender!

my wonderful aaron has taken great care of me, including washing my hair for church on sunday (hot shower water does not feel good on the hands). he has been the gauze king, an extension of my hands, and a hairdresser. thank you for helping me!

hot soup on the hands is one mistake i will not be making again!

meep

I had some downtime while working in the bride's room at the temple on Saturday and was gazing into a mirror while lost in thought (there are mirrors everywhere in the bride's room so i wasn't finding a mirror to look at myself in). Like my father, I get a bit of a poker face while thinking and can look annoyed or angry without meaning to. I've always known this about myself but never seen it in action because if I think about it the "thinker face" disappears. Well, on Saturday I caught a glance of this face and was surprised at how frowny it is. A blank stare with a frown. Which made me think of the meep muppets on "The Muppet Show". That's pretty much what I look like, minus the bulging eyes.

I shared my discovery with Aaron on the way home and he couldn't believe I didn't know that was my "thinker face". Apparently everyone knew but me. We googled the meeps that night and found this gem of a clip on youtube. Needless to say I am making an effort to smile more.

Enjoy.