My Shame

I almost hate to type this, as it will reveal one of my true loves.

McDonald’s.

I’m loving it. Seriously.

I just have to say one thing before I begin to get hate mail from those who have seen Supersize Me or want to educate me on the damage I am doing to my body….back off!

I know it’s not healthy and I know much of their food is on the disgusting side, but I don’t eat there every day or every week or even every month.

However, there are three things obtainable only at MD that I absolutely adore. Their Sweet and Sour Sauce, Sausage Biscuits, and Parfaits. Most often it is the sweet and sour sauce that draws me in. I order a #9 with a Dr. Pepper and extra S&S. Then I devour the chicken nuggets and fries with all the S&S I can possibly pile on before taking a bite.

In the past week, I have been disappointed by McDonald’s not once, but twice. (I know this goes against the only-every-once-in-a-while argument, but let me tell the story.)

#1. On Saturday evening the S&S sauce began chanting my name, I caved and Ronnie and I stopped by to fulfill my desire. We ordered in the drive through and I accidentally forgot to tell Ronnie about the sauce, but I thought “No big deal, we’ll just ask for it at the window.”

Wrong.

We asked. They were out. Out? Out of the only reason I was there. We had already paid, and I thought I could live, so we drove home.

I was wrong. I couldn’t even finish the meal, because the nuggets and fries were nothing without the sweet nectar of life.

#2. This very morning, on my way to work I was starving! I had forgotten my granola bar and decided that a Sausage Biscuit would hit the spot quite nicely, plus I was confident that friendly workers at my “work” Mc Donald’s would redeem my previous experience.

I ordered, paid and waited patiently for my delicious sandwich. The smiling young woman handed me my bag and I happily drove the two blocks to work—practically drooling with anticipation.

When I arrived I opened the sack.

A FREAKING MCGRIDDLE?!?!?

The most disgusting food on the entire menu.

I know I should have checked before I drove away, but I didn’t.

I know I should have driven back and demanded the correct sandwich, but I had a work meeting in 15 minutes.

I know I should have learned my lesson two days prior, but I didn’t.

Goodbye McDonald’s. I’m sorry it had to end this way.

(But don’t worry too much. I’m sure another craving will hit me in the next month or two.)

I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M

I don’t know if anyone else is sick of opening up my blog and only seeing news about law school, but I am! So it’s time for a trip down memory lane.

At the ripe-old-age of 15, I decided it was time to get a job. Through my many friends I was able to interview at Baskin Robbins and was offered a position. You may be wondering how I was employed in the 9th grade, to which I respond—it was Wyoming-okay?

I was soon dreaming of shopping trips and all of the new CDs I could buy with my outstanding wage of $2.15 an hour.

Yes, you read that correctly. I was making $2.15 BEFORE taxes.

Nevertheless, I was stoked (and I really did use that word in 1998.)

I eagerly donned my white polo shirt and blue apron and started training. I remember scooping and then weighing those scoops for the first four hours. Then came the daunting task of (gasp) helping someone. Through the next month I perfected my scoops and my right forearm. (I really wish I had taken a picture of that at some point, but let me assure you, it was awesome!)

The biggest bonus to this job (aside from the outstanding pay, of course) was that nearly everyone who worked there was LDS, lived in my neighborhood and was my best friend. It wasn’t work; it was a rip-roaring batch of fun. A senior in high school was the manager and we would all beg to be scheduled together.

We carpooled, we joked, we sang, and we scooped.

As time went on I continued to be employed by the “BR” as we called it. I received my nickel or dime raises every few months and trudged onward. Surprisingly it was just under four years later that I finally had to move on. In that span of time, I collected some treasured memories. (I’ll apologize now for the length of this post.)

1. There is only one radio station in Laramie that is not country or oldies. Thus, it was the station we listened to. There was an eternal game of “Name the Artist” at which I utterly failed every night. However, due to Saturday night being “80’s” music, I can sing EVERY song that was EVER popular in that time period. This knowledge has astounded Ronnie on more than one occasion.

2. We closed at 10pm and there was a very specific clean up schedule. We had to sweep, then pre-mop and then bleach the floor. The pre-mop mop (confusing, I know) had a swivel handle that led very easily to dancing. I can name you the song that EVERY person I worked with danced to while mopping. (Ryan-Bailamos; Annie-Walking on Sunshine; Amber-Closing Time, etc.)

3. While this will probably haunt me forever—I peed my pants while working. I was 15, was laughing uncontrollably and just could. not. make. it. My two dear friends helped me find an old pair of shorts left there by the owner. I then had to secure them around my waist with a garbage bag and put my shorts out to dry in the back. I still smile when I think about that night—not the peeing my pants part, but the friendship and laughter.

All in all, I learned hard work, how to earn a paycheck and gained some valuable friendships. And, if I ever have the privilege of serving you ice cream you can expect a gigantic scoop for the price of a small (just don’t tell the boss.)

Congratulations Carissa!

My wonderful roommate of three years, Carissa, just got engaged this last week! I am so happy for her—yeah for weddings! This is a picture of the two of us at a Utah/BYU game in Salt Lake—scary stuff!

I finally got to meet the “guy” and have to say I approve. After all, he IS from Wyoming, so what’s not to like?

Shawn and Carissa are getting married in Portland, so I won’t be around for any of the planning (which I consider the fun part), but I know it will be spectacular!

Congrats again!

The Update

I know everyone probably wants an update, but all I have to say is that we

Still.

Haven’t.

Decided.

I’ll let you know if anything new happens.

I don't have any law school titles left...

So we visited UNLV.

It was fine, but we have felt better about a few other options, so we have decided to let UNLV go.

The day that we left, we received an acceptance from Temple University in Philadelphia. It was a school that we applied to based on their invitation and never really considered because 1. we didn’t think we could get in and 2. it is all the way in Philadelphia.

Nevertheless, we are accepted. We weighed the pros and cons and decided that we would call them and ask a few questions regarding residency, etc. Ronnie called and found out that if you are a student in PA, you cannot receive residency. Period. Based on this fact we ruled it out.

That was yesterday afternoon.

A mere four hours later, Ronnie was going through the mail and saw we had received a packet from Temple. This is fairly common with law schools. They send you an acceptance letter and then follow up with a huge envelope with more information. Although tempted to throw it out sight unseen, he decided to open it.

It’s a good thing he did! We were offered a scholarship that brings tuition to the residency price for all three years. That means that a school ranked 60th is the same price as Wyoming.

Temple is back in the running.

Ronnie has always dreamed of living in Pennsylvania and I am getting more used to the idea. It is still a LONG ways away from family, but it is the most prestigious school on our list and that is a definite plus.

As always, I’ll keep you updated as the saga continues. BYU’s deposit (for those accepted) was due last week, so we are hoping to hear one way or the other soon.

A Mission Call!

My brother, Adam, received his mission call last week. He will be serving in the Guatemala Quetzaltenango Mission.

Yeah, we can’t say it either.

He reports to the Guatemala City MTC on August 1st and will be speaking Spanish. I guess they expect him to be a fast learner, because he will only be in the MTC for 19 days! Maybe they confused his last name with mine—just kidding!

I am so excited for him and with this news a lot has hit me. Adam, the Ad-man, will REALLY be gone for two long years. Who will tell all of the stories and keep me entertained for hours with his impressions? Who is going to master Guitar Hero? Who will make up songs on the fiddle?

We’re going to miss him a lot! I’m a little bummed that I will miss out on the Provo MTC experience; I was all ready to provide him with FABULOUS care packages. When I expressed this disappointment to the fam, Jordan, the 10-year old was quick to respond, “Don’t worry KaLee. I’m still coming up!” Which is very true, just a short nine years and we will be doing this again.

Congrats again Adam! We love ya!

Here's a pic of the Ad-man with his elk this fall. (He's second from the right.)

Details

I know I have been a bit neglectful of the blog lately, but I have officially moved desks at work and have been training for the new parts of my position. It is a LOT of work. Not hard work, just work. The funny thing is it is very detail oriented. While you would think I may be overwhelmed, instead I get giddy inside thinking about it.

Yes, it’s true. I am a freak.

I just love little details. The simple, mundane tasks that must get done, but aren’t that exciting. I enjoy the challenge of completing things and knowing that it is done correctly, because I did it.

After I am trained, I will hire an assistant. Ronnie laughed when I told him that. He said that I won’t have the student do anything because I will need to make sure it is done exactly. precisely. right.

The sad thing is he knows me too well. Delegation is a struggle for me, and I suppose I can look at my new assistant as a way to train myself to improve. I have a feeling that the work load will force me to use him/her and then I will be grateful and not freaking out.

I hope.

On another note: We are heading to Vegas! We’re touring the campus, sitting in on a class, and trying to get a “feel” for the school. Of our top three choices currently (Pacific, UNLV, and Wyoming), UNLV is the only one we haven’t visited and think it deserves a chance.

After visiting the campus, we are continuing down to Cali for a short weekend visit with the fam. Yea for beaches and warm weather!

Airport Security

I have never been one to fear flying. I sometimes get a little nauseous, but I never worry about crashing, or dying. I just enjoy my bus-ride in the sky. Nevertheless, there is one part of flying that I, and most people I know dread.

Airport Security.

After September 11th, when security was tightened many people had stories of being asked to step aside for additional screening. For the next two years, I was not able to go through security without an extra check. Apparently I look pretty threatening or too innocent for my own good.

My freshman year of college, I had the pleasure of meeting Heather. She is one of the sweetest, most caring, genuinely nice people I have ever met. Case in point: When I had the flu and was running to the dormitory bathrooms every few minutes to throw up, she bought me Sprite and saltine crackers and rubbed my back for over an hour, because it made me feel better. She is THAT kind of friend. (In fact, I haven’t heard from her in a while so maybe this post will bring her out of the woodwork.)

Heather has the most gorgeous, natural curly, thick hair. It is seriously so pretty. She came back from Christmas break and shared a rather unique search which she had to endure.

She was pulled aside from the regular screening process and the security person proceeded to probe her hair with a plastic stick of some sort. Apparently, Heather looked as though she was hiding weapons in her mounds of gorgeous curls and nothing short of scalp-probing (along with an extra sweep of the metal-detecting wand) was necessary before they could clear her to board.

I am no longer able to go through any security screening process without wondering what the lady in front of me could be hiding in her hair.

Law School--Yet Again!

So, the latest news is we have been accepted at Texas Tech and are on the waiting list at Mississippi. I am pleased to announce that we have at least narrowed things down, so below you will find the list of our top six schools. We have yet to hear from Houston, but are still interested, so we shall see. As always, I’ll let you know of any news, or decisions we make.

Work, shmurk

For over a year, my work has been in a state of “transition.” At least that’s the word the management uses to try and calm us. Our General Manager resigned last March and we went through phases of a management team, an acting general manager, and finally two months ago they hired a new General Manager.

With new leadership comes reorganization. In every staff meeting there is an underlying tension of what will be the big announcement this time. They have told us time and time again that no one is being fired, but that they are going to be changing some job titles and duties and if you don’t like it you are free to go.

My job has been targeted for change.

Contrary to most of my coworkers, I was excited to see what I would get to do. I was promised either programming or accounting and looked forward to the change.

You see, my job once had enough work to keep a full-time employee more than busy, but through the years it has evolved (read: I S-T-R-E-T-C-H everything I can to take up more time). I am constantly asked to work on special projects such as:

Supervising a night shift of customer service.

Supervising an editing student. (I had to ask someone where the editing room was during this project).

Helping with international trade shows. (That I do NOT get to attend).

And other various stuff.

I really can’t complain, I am paid well (for Provo), have excellent benefits, get a cool cell phone, and was offered the job without ever applying.

Today I was informed of the “transition” my job would be taking. I am moving to a new department and will have the work load of one former employee added onto what I already do. I know that I will be busy, because the General Manager told me that if I get too overwhelmed, to let him know. That pretty much guarantees I will be swamped.

On the positive side, I still get an office with a window (those are few and far between at our building), I have my own A/C controls (I know I am really reaching for that one), and I get to hire a student to help me (hooray for total domination).

So, here’s to my “transition!”

Hockey and whatnot

On Friday we were invited to attend the Grizzly Hockey game by Josh and Gnickie. I had never been to a hockey game before and since it was something new and different (read: not games and movies), I was excited to attend. Everyone I talked to told me that hockey is way more fun in person than on TV and boy were they right!

We didn’t get just any seats either. Gnickie’s boss is the doctor for the Grizzlies and has a box. So we enjoyed the game with the comfort of tacos, hot wings, quesadillas, and chocolate cheesecake. I have now determined that I would like to aspire to someday owning a box. There really is NO better way to enjoy the game.

Unfortunately, the Grizzlies lost, but we were able to keep smiles on our faces.

Gnickie and Josh

Ronnie and me

We also had the pleasure of my family coming into town for Conference. It was an extremely quick trip but it was great to be with them and to attend the Saturday Morning Session. We’ll see you in May!

Idaho!

Last weekend, Ronnie and I had the privilege of attending Jared and Kara’s wedding. Jared is Ronnie’s second cousin; only the families are a lot closer than the relation makes them sound. Here you can see Jared and Kara outside the Idaho Falls Temple.

Ronnie’s parents, as well as his sister Alisa and her fiancé Alex made the long journey north. Ray was the photographer, so he had good reason to be there!

It was so fun to spend the weekend with them and play a few intense games with the fam!

We love you!

That's Good News! No, That's Bad News!

Okay, not really. We JUST received an email letting us know we are on the waiting list for BYU.

While it is nice that it is not a solid NO, it just means we can’t do anything until we know for sure. We immediately replied and let them know of our interest and now we just wait.

For how long?

They didn’t say. Of course.

Are we ever going to talk about anything other than law school?

Probably not.

That being said, I thought it was about time for another update. (I finally figured out blogger--a little bit.)



And now I will walk you through a few of our thoughts. We just heard from Utah last night and are disappointed. Ronnie is convinced that this means we are definitely not getting into BYU, but I refuse to give up hope. You may notice a full-ride scholarship to Whittier on the list now. It was flattering to receive, but we have since learned that they are on probation with the ABA and may lose their accreditation. This would be a bad thing.

We are waiting to hear back from a few more schools (namely: BYU, Houston, Mississippi, and Texas Tech) before we begin weeding things down and hope to get those letters in the next two weeks. (Ideally before next Monday so I can save on deposits that are due.)

Check your Mail...

…but not because you will see anything from me.

I currently own no less than five different designs of postage stamps.

Why the variety you ask?

I enjoy matching the stamp to the type of mail or person I am corresponding with.

My categories go something like this:



Happy Birthday Stamps. These are used for the obvious—birthdays. It’s a nice way to brighten up the outside of the envelope and ensure that the recipient is aware of the contents.


Elegant Stamps. These are used for wedding cards, thank you cards, sympathy cards and the like.






Wonders of America Stamps. I like to use these when sending information or if I feel the person would enjoy learning what the largest rodent in America is (American Beaver.)






DC Comics Stamps. I use these for the young and old alike. I enjoy picking out the most applicable hero (Flash for Adam, or Supergirl for Sarah) and sending that message along with my card.





Regular, Old American Flag Stamps. These are reserved for my bills. Nothing as insignificant as the electric company will receive a stamp that took some thought.




My love of the upper right corner of an envelope was inherited from my mother. When I was planning my wedding she took great care to select stamps that would correspond with the wedding colors (and succeeded.) Everyone who was perceptive enough arrived at my wedding already expecting black and white with a splash of blue.

So the next time you receive a piece of mail from me, check to see how it was classified. (Unless I’m out of everything but the American flag stamps and just had to get it out.)

Gimme a D....V....R!

We were introduced to the magic that is DVR over a year ago when we got our HD television. Once we had the possibility of watching things in HD of course Ronnie HAD to have the HD channels.

Ronnie lives for sports in HD.

I don’t even know how to find the HD channels.

When we went into Comcast to add the HD channels I found out that we could get a DVR for just $5 more and had to have it.

It has changed my life.

I no longer deal with appointment television and can watch an hour program in forty minutes. Although this is all marvelous, it also means that I watch more shows—since they each take less time. I thought I would share the shows that I enjoy.

“24” Jack Bauer is the bomb—I don’t think I need to say anything else.

“Prison Break” I have to admit that I was leery about this one at first, but the characters grow on you and it has made me really think about our government on several occasions.

“The Unit” Now that I look at this list I think Ronnie has influenced me a bit. This is a great show about families in the army, plus it has David Palmer in it.

“Heroes” As out there as this show may appear—IT. IS. AWESOME. I love how one minute I am on the edge of my seat and the next I am laughing out loud.

“America’s Next Top Model” This is my guilty pleasure. I actually hate watching the entire episode but love the photo shoots and ending pictures.

"Amazing Race" This is a recent addition but one that I love. It is entertaining and surprisingly family friendly (except this year I have seen men kiss three times so far.)

“HGTV” Any time I do want to watch live television, this is what is on. I know I am a typical girl, but I love it.

*****Edited to Add*****

"LOST" Thanks, Bethany for the reminder! I can't believe I forgot our Wednesday night show! This is a great show, but I believe its one downfall is that you could never join in at the beginning of a new season, you have to watch it from the start. This season has been a bit of a drag, but I hear that this weeks episode is amazing (we'll watch it soon.)

Any recommendations for shows we are missing?*

*Before anyone kills us—we know “The Office” is awesome, but haven’t watched it from the beginning. We are in the process of catching up through the DVDs and will add it to our regular line-up soon.

Happy Birthday Grandad and Grandma!

Both of my maternal grandparents have birthdays in March and they both happen to fall on the weekend, so while I technically missed Grandad’s birthday, I’m going to catch them both before Grandma’s. (No one should be allowed to have their birthday on the weekend; I have a much harder time remembering those.)

I have been blessed with the most wonderful grandparents ever! They are quick to show their love and supportive of everything I do. I have wonderful memories of spending one week each summer at their house (surprisingly those memories consist of the chores I had to do and dinner—nothing else.) They also took Erica, Adam and I to Nauvoo and the surrounding areas and it was amazing! Each room in their house has a specific memory and now that I live there, I relive my childhood daily.

I had the pleasure of living with them for a summer when I was single and grew to know them more personally. Grandma is a wonderful listener and Grandpa has profound advice (practically every time he speaks.) They are currently serving their third LDS mission on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and learning about a whole new culture.

We love them and miss them! Happy Birthday!

Returns

The weather has been beautiful here and last night after dinner, Ronnie and I decided that we needed to get out of the house. We weighed our options….a walk, a drive, the park and made our choice. Where did we end up, you ask?

Costco.

I don’t know how “enjoying the weather” led us to a large, concrete warehouse, but we were there nonetheless. We are in desperate need of a printer and after some online research, decided that we needed to peruse Costco before we made any decisions.

I’m sure our decision to shop at Costco is the same as most—the return policy.

There is nothing simpler than returning ANYTHING,

for ANY reason,

at ANY time.

It even makes a slightly higher price worth it—especially when you are buying electronic (and prone to break) items.

So we wander through the electronics section at Costco and I am noticing stickers on most of the merchandise. I stop to read one and notice that it explains a 90-day return policy.

WHAT!?!?! Why am I here?

In my rage, I stopped one of their helpful associates and stammered through my questions. I just wanted to let all of you know that all televisions, cameras, camcoders, ipods and MP3 players at Costco now have a 90-day return policy. (Lucky for us this did not include our printer.)

The change went into effect on March 12th. Anything purchased before that time has the old (and much preferable) return policy, but from the 12th on Costco is the same as EVERY. OTHER. STORE.

After catching my breath, and trying not to kill the Costco associate with the laser beams shooting from my eyes, we purchased our printer and went on our way.

I may have to rethink my Costco membership the next time it comes up for renewal and that saddens me immensely.

Law School--An Update

Due to the number of questions we have received regarding law school and where we are on a decision, I have decided to post a list. Those of you who know me, know the first thing I did when we were applying was create an excel document with information for each school, so this list is taken from there. Note: Blogger is dumb and won't let me create a table of any kind so I apologize that this list is a pain to read. I've bolded the schools we HAVE heard from.

School (Ranking) Accepted (Scholarship)
Akron (3rd Tier) Yes (15000/yr)
ASU (53) No
BYU (34)
Campbell (4th Tier)
Cardozo (53)
Connecticut (50) Waitlist
George Mason (37) No
Houston (70)
Indiana (37)
Marquette (3rd Tier) Yes (15000/yr)
Mississippi (97)
Pacific (97) Yes (10000/yr )
Santa Clara (87)
Temple (58)
Texas Tech (3rd Tier)
UNLV (3rd Tier)
Utah (57)
Washington & Lee (22)
Whittier (4th Tier)
Wyoming (4th Tier) Yes

Now you can all feel “in the know” in regard to our pending decision.

If any of you would like to sway our decision, we are accepting outside scholarships. This can be in the form of trips, free food, money, etc. Just so you know what you are up against, my dad has offered Ronnie a Cowboy Scholarship (read: one pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat) if Wyoming is our final decision.

Rascal Flatts

Ronnie and I were married very close to Valentine’s Day and as a result, we struggle celebrating both V-day and our Anniversary. This year, we decided that instead of spending money on presents for each other, we would buy tickets to the Rascal Flatts concert in Salt Lake. It turned out to be an excellent idea.

I loved it! Our seats were dead center, in the second row of the balcony. The best part was when they lifted up the front part of the stage and brought it to the back, right below us!

The view right over the balcony. I know the quality is bad, but that's what you get with a camera phone.

Ronnie and I loving our country music!