remembering memorial day

i am extremely patriotic and will always love America because i know this land has been preserved for a special purpose. i am so thankful for all the people who have given their life to keep this country safe. please take a moment this weekend to give thanks for those who have sacrificed so much and say a prayer for the family they've left behind.

Photo of Arlington National Cemetery by Bruce Dale, published in National Geographic, June 2007.

birthday breakfast

this morning i emailed aaron asking him what he would like for his birthday breakfast.

me: what do you want for breakfast? i'm assuming bacon. anything else? eggs? pancakes?

him: bacon and french toast, both crispy, and chocolate milk. that's my dream.

at least the man knows what he wants. if only i could outsource cooking the bacon, but it's his birthday so i will not make a peep.

mating season

does anyone else feel like it's major baby fever time? it's kitten season and as one person in animal services at work said, "we have kittens hanging from the rafters". i'm surrounded by talk of feedings and neo-natal stats all day long. today i found out two of my friends are having (human) babies, another just had one a few days ago, and about a bajillion women in my ward are pregnant. maybe not a bajillion (mostly because i don't know how many that represents), but a lot! crazy time!

Disneyland

(Ava couldn't resist grooving to the magicical tune of It's a Small World)
A good time was had by all.

yes, please.

i wish a warm plate of these delights were in front of me right now. i think i would eat 3. maybe 4. i propose a worker's compensation chocolate chip cookie fund. when the job gets to be too much someone should crank up an oven and serve these. i regret not making a batch of cookies over the weekend. i appropriately realized i didn't have the time, but now i wish i had found the time. (who am i kidding? you can't just find the time to bake cookies. if that were the case i'd bake them every day.)

It's been awhile

oh, like 25 years or so since i've seen your face. i come with mixed emotions. i'm NOT a fan of strollers and crowds and crazy kids. i am a fan of days off, time with aaron, and seeing shelrod and crew. i'm a big fan of that. tomorrow will be a test run to see if i visit in another 25 years or if i make it a regular event. put your best foot forward, disney.
side note: i was thinking about buying some mickey ears, but where can i get these shirts? you've got to be kidding me...

Ward BBQ

Friday was our annual ward kick off summer BBQ. I invited these two friends:

and made these beans. I only tasted about a tablespoon of them because they went quick. I love the fact that they are so colorful and not the same ol bean recipe. Instead of the full amount of ketchup I used half ketchup/half BBQ sauce. Delicious! I'll be making them again. A success!

christmas came early this year

for aaron. we're bringing baked beans to our ward kickball party tonight, so i was up before 6am to begin the recipe. much to my dismay it involved frying bacon. aaron's dream come true is waking up to the smell of frying bacon. a dream that rarely happens in our house, but it happened today. he quickly sadled up to me in the kitchen and begged for a strip. if only i had my wits about me and could have captured his face while eating the bacon. a dream like state, i tell you. don't lose it, aaron, you'll have the rest at the end of the month for your birthday.
my house still smells like bacon. yuck.

note: i am aware of the complete lack of pictures on our blog. we'll bring our camera tonight and post the memorable event.

one year anniversary

today is the one year anniversary of aaron receiving his conditional permanent residency. in 8 months we get to start the process of gathering the monthly photographs (20 in all) showing our wedded bliss, copying our joint tax return and financial documents, requesting letters from friends who can vouch for our marriage, filing grand amounts of paperwork, paying sizeable fees, and all that fun stuff to request the conditional status be removed so he can stay! and then a few years after that we can do it all over again to establish citizenship. what fun.

i've thought of dressing up as andie macdowell and gerard depardieu a la the movie green card for halloween. somehow i don't think sending the uscis pictures of that would be smiled upon. best not to use humor in those situations.

weeknight chocolate fix

last night i tried a martha stewart recipe for one bowl chocolate cupcakes to use up the buttermilk in my fridge before it expired. they were very easy and delicious! just as easy as using a mix, but much tastier. i paired it with a batch of homemade chocolate frosting and was delighted with the results. highly recommended for a quick and easy recipe.

david

i got back to my desk and realized i dropped my debit card somewhere outside.
i frantically ran my route to try and find it.
a homeless gentleman saw me looking and asked if i was looking for a credit card.
he turned it in to the donut shop near where i had dropped it.
i almost cried.
he said the Lord takes care of those who ask for His help and asked me to pray for him.
he even waited until i emerged from the donut shop to make sure it worked out.
at times i am amazed at the kindness of strangers.
and those who could use what i was looking for so much more than me.

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.