Pics from Tony's Open House

Well, Tony's been gone 5 whole days and it still hasn't really sunk in that he's gone. I know, I'm pathetic, but apparently my denial went deeper than I thought!

Poor Jack :( He knows that his Tony-boy is gone and he isn't a very happy puppy right now. It's really sad to see him so lethargic.

The baby that I am clutching is Mark and Sariah's (waves at them). Sariah was home sick so I claimed little Janie for the majority of the afternoon :) I had WAY too much fun.

I LOVE MY (younger) SIBLINGS!!! I can't say "little" because, as you can see, they're all WAY taller than me. It'll be fun when Tom and Tony are both home and we get another picture together.

Elder Shoell x2

My Tony left for the MTC yesterday :( I have been in denial since he got his call so it hasn't really hit me!!! We will miss him SO much. He made everything fun and could always make me laugh. Christmas is going to be just plain sad without Tom and Tony!!!!

See Scott Dance!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Pictures

We waited around to take our Christmas card pictures until we had a bunch of snow, but there wasn't any in the forecast. There was a little up at Sundance so it still looks "Wintry". Naturally, there is snow in the forecast for this weekend...
Anyway, here's a few of our favorites. Steven and Catherine Monson took them for us and did a really good job!

Christmas Questionnaire

A friend sent me this Christmas questionnaire so I posted my answers here:


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags??
Paper! It's much more fun!


2. Real tree or artificial?
Real trees smell and look good, but I like the artificial because they're not as messy and a lot less expensive.

3. When you put your tree up??
as soon as i can after thanksgiving.


4. When do you take the tree down??
Usually New Year's Day.


5. Do you like eggnog??
Not really. I usually have only a small taste on Christmas Day.


6. Favorite gift received as a child??
One year I got the My Little Pony barn, and then for my birthday I got the castle!


7. Hardest person to buy for??
My Dad.


8. Easiest person to buy for??
My Mom. You can't go wrong with a Cafe Rio gift card, towels, or Fiesta Ware dishes.


9. Do you have a nativity scene??
I now have 2 thanks to Tony :)

10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards??
I'm a fan of Christmas cards.


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received??
I wouldn't say it was the worst, but I was pretty embarrassed when I had a package of underwear in my stocking when I was a kid.


12. Favorite Christmas Movie??
Oh wow there's a few: "Holiday Inn", "Charlie Brown Christmas", the first "Home Alone" movie, "The Grinch" (cartoon)


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas??
Very soon after Thanksgiving.


14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present??
Ummm...I plead the 5th on that one.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas??
Oh gosh. I love homemade sugar cookies; my mom makes these yummy snacks - a black olive, a little smokey and a cube of cheddar cheese together on a toothpick.

16. Lights on the tree??
Yes - I prefer clear (white) lights on a Christmas tree.


17. Favorite Christmas song??
It's a hymn - "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"


18. Travel at Christmas or stay home??
I've never traveled for Christmas so I don't know; but I imagine I'd rather be at home. I tend to avoid stressful situations and I think traveling at Christmas would be very stressful.


19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's??
(sings the song in my head) Yup.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star??
A star.


21. Open the presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas mornings??
My mom always let us open one on Christmas Eve which was usually jammies.


22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year??
No money.


23. What theme or color do you decorate in??
I'd say it's pretty "classic" Christmas.

24. Favorite thing to have for Christmas dinner??
Honey Baked Ham!!! and Christmas potatoes (or funeral potatoes; you know, the ones with the corn flakes on top)


25. What do you want for Christmas this year??
A gift certificate for a couple of massages (hint to my hubby....)



Merry Christmas everyone!

My Masterpiece & High School

The picture is hard to see, but here it is: My masterpiece! It's a cross stitch that took me over 6 months to do. I'm a little proud of it :)
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A few days ago I was going through my CD's and downloading Christmas music to my ipod via itunes. I came across the CD's Breanne (Tolman) made me of our various choir concerts when were in high school. Just for kicks and giggles I put them on and flipped through each track, laughing as I listened to some of the music we were forced to sing (Who could forget "Old McDonald in Latin????) What surprised me was I actually got a little sentimental about choir and my choir friends (WAVES to Annika, Bre, Erin, Courtney & Kristen) It surprised me because I didn't enjoy 90% of high school and couldn't wait to get out. I was miserable most of the time (granted, some of it was self-inflicted, the rest was my lack of serotonin...) But that 10% when I was Ladies, Chamber and A Capella, I loved. Too bad I've let my voice go to pot!!!

On the flip-side of that....

I'm on the Design Team at Capelli and we've gone to a couple of career fairs for high school students. We talk to them about coming to our school, do some hair, and try not to murder them. And then I remembered why I didn't miss high school. I can't even give you specific examples, just picture yourself in front of a group of them and trying to talk. `Nough said. Today at the career fair in Heber this punk jock decided he wanted Trianna to cut him a nice mullet. Yes, a mullet. Business in the front, party in the back. As she was cutting away he said "My mom is going to kill me!" And the thought that came to my mind was: "I really hope she does just that."

How many boyfriends do you have?!

Before you call me pathetic, I'll admit that truth myself: I am pathetic.

We were at Scott's parent's house and there was a commercial mentioning Gerard Butler and Scott said "Oooh honey it's your boyfriend!" and John (my father-in-law) said "Holy cow how many boyfriends do you have?" So after a fun filled search on google images, here they are :

Of course, Sean Bean.

Gerard (Gerry) Butler

Josh Groban (I mostly have a crush on his voice, but whatever)

And Richard Roxburgh (aka Dr. Townsend, character in my unfinished novel. I based the dear Dr. on Richard :)

And last but certainly not least, dearest Christopher Reeves who was my very first crush at age 7 or 8. The reason he's on my blog page is because Scott and I found out very early on in our relationship that we had "Superman" in common. We'd both grown up watching the films and love them.

Tag

Got tagged by Sariah - so here I go!

Rules:1. Post rule on your blog
2. Answer the six '8' items
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.

8 favorite TV Shows:
1. House
2. The Office
3. Jay Leno
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Stuff on the History Channel
6.
7.
8. ummm I don't watch that much TV

8 Things I did Yesterday:
1. Baked Pumpkin pies
2. Baked Rolls
3. Baked pumpkin cake roll
4. Slept in!
5. Tried unsuccessfully to carve a turkey.
6. Ate a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner!!
7. Took a little post-turkey nap
8. Visited Thomas family party (waves)

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Graduating from school (5 more months!)
2. Scott graduating from school
3. Christmas!!
4. Babies of my own (sigh)
5. The new Harry Potter movie
6. "Angels & Demons" movie (this is the first Robert Langdon adventure before the "Da Vinci Code" - I liked it better!)
7. Meeting Scott and Cecily's new baby :)
8. Snow!

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Rumbi Island Grill
2. Olive Garden
3. Applebee's
4. Goodwood BBQ
5. Red Lobster
6. Cafe Rio
7. Market Street Broiler
8. PF Changs

8 Things on my wish List:
1. Big, flat screen TV
2. Babies!
3. a house with a big yard
4. Black IKEA bookshelves
5. Monthly massages
6. cars that are paid for
7. be published
8. buy my mother a BMW

8 People to tag:
Ummm......

Long time no...err..blog

Our lives have been crazy lately! It's amazing how you can live in the same house with a person and hardly see them. I don't like it (pouts)
Anyway, Scott and I made a deal : he would go sit through "Twilight" with me and I will sit through the new "Star Trek" movie coming out next year. So last night we had our tickets for the 8:30pm show, got there are 7:45 and were pretty much in the back of the line that was formed OUTSIDE. We thought we were going to freeze to death before the theater Nazi let us inside.
My Review: I loved "Twilight". I had decided early on that I was just going to sit and enjoy the movie as a movie (and drool a little over Robert Pattinson) and not compare it to the book because we all know the book is better :) So I went with an open mind and no expectations and really enjoyed it. So I don't spoil anything I'll just say - yeah, it was different. Of course it's going to be different, but it was well done. Scott was pretty lost, but he even enjoyed it (as much as can be expected anyway).

Girls at School

Halloween!

We had a pumpkin carving contest at school. We stacked one ontop of another and decided to make it a mummy. When I looked at our pumpkins from behind, well, it had a behind!! We thought it was totally hysterical.

And here's our mummy from the front.

Me as the evil Queen from "Snow White" and Trianna as SuperWoman.

Underneath the beard is my adorable husband! Isn't he the cutest Wizard ever? I think so :)

Apologies and Josh

I deleted the other post that was here, hopefully before anyone had a chance to read it (crosses fingers). I realized I was being stupid in venting about feeling ill on my blog - I'll save that for my journal :) So sorry if anyone read it.

Anyway, Scott came home from Home Teaching appointments today only to hear Josh Groban's Christmas album playing full blast. As he does when I do anything stupid, he smiled and shook his head at me. So what that it's ... err... October. If you don't have this album you MUST go out and get it (whenever you start listening to Christmas music...to each his own) A) It's Josh. `nough said. B) The arrangements are beautiful. C) There's a piece with the Tabernacle Choir! (there was a rumor going around that Josh would be the guest artist with Tab Choir for their Christmas concert...SO wish it was true!)

Another Book Review

I came across "The Heretic's Daughter" on Amazon.com and found the premise totally interesting! It's about the Salem witch trials, told from the perspective of a young girl whose mother is arrested for being a witch. What originally caught my attention is that the author is a descendant of the mother, Martha Carrier who was tried as a witch. The story of Martha was passed down verbally through the family. So Kathleen Kent (the author) spent 5 years researching everything before writing it.
I have to admit it 's pretty slow going at the first; there's a lot of background and random characters. But once into the trials you see why it's all important. It's pretty dark, and historically it's VERY well researched. You get a real good idea of what life was like in the 1600's. It was a sad time in our countries history! Anyway, if you're in to historical fiction I think you'll enjoy it.

You're Getting OLD!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, handsome, sweet, loving husband!!! Wasn't he a cute little thing? He's the love of my life, my strength and my better half (WAY better!). I love you!!!!!

Yay for Scott!

Scott got a diploma in the mail for his Associates Degree! Hey- we're excited.

He's still at UVU working his way towards his Bachelor's, but half way is half way! He refuses to cut back hours at work so he's got full time work and 9 credits this semester. He's a busy boy, but he still makes time to watch "House" with me on Tuesday nights and "The Office" on Thursday nights. What a guy!

Summer Flashback

This picture is from the Lehi parade in July - I just got a copy ;) We were supposed to have "high fashion hair & makeup", so pieced with our Capelli shirts and short/jeans, it just looked odd. Oh well - it was fun and we had some pretty creative styles going on!
School is still going great. I'm half way there - I have 1000 out of my 2000 hours. GO ME! Several of the girls have graduated and a few more are leaving soon, which leaves me, Trianna and Brittany as the Senior Students. HUH?!? I didn't think I was ready for that. But there isn't a service that I have a hard time with so I'm pretty confindent. We'll see what my last 6 months bring!

What does your name mean?

I found this link (which is posted below) on a friend's blog. I was suprised - a lot of this is - sadly - right on! And some of it is just crap. But hey - it was fun.
What Stefanie Means
You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life.You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home.You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble.You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.You are loving, compassionate, and ruled by your feelings.You are able to be a foundation for other people... but you still know how to have fun.Sometimes your emotions weigh you down, but you generally feel free from them.You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyournameshiddenmeaningquiz/

Golf Carts and Other News

If you know Scott at all, you now he' s out golfing at least once a week. Golf always seemed to me to be a very safe sport....

This seemingly harmless golf cart you see here is actually quite the dangerous little thing! After being laid up the previous week with his toe, Scott was laid up again this past week, this time with a severly sprained ankle. How - you ask? Scott and his brother Tony were riding together at Cascade golf course and were (not suprisingly) messing around; Scott took a corner too fast and tipped the cart, throwing his leg out to supposedly try to catch them. Tony bailed out and pulled a lovely Jean Valjean and caught the cart on his shoulders and pushed it back up. If he hadn't, my poor stick skinny husband would've been crushed.

Later at the Emergency Room, the Doctor chuckled and told us he couldn't believe how many golf cart accidents he'd seen that summer, and that a guy recently DIED from a head injury. I turned to Scott and said that he'd be carrying his clubs for the rest of the season.

**In other news, Tony aka Jean Valjean, got his mission call to Mississippi!! He leaves December 17th and I am going to be devastated. Yay for another Elder Shoell!!!!

**If you watched the Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday night (which I did - even though there was a "House" marathon on USA!) you might have spotted my sister Sue singing in the choir. It was fun to see her!!!

**Now for some baby news....no, not me sadly... my sister-in-law Cecily found out she is having another baby boy, due in January. YAY! And my friend Jen Yearsley is having another boy (that'll be 4 for her!) any day now! YAY! And another friend, Alissa King, is having a girl! Woo Hoo!!! Now can someone please pass over some of that fertility over my way?!?!?

Viva la revolution!

I decided to see what the fuss was about and read "The Other Boleyn Girl". I couldn't put it down! I'm so in to the historical fiction stuff.
Anyway, I did like it but I was also totally blown away by how women were treated. I mean, I knew, but reading in fiction form was even worse! It seemed like they weren't even people. More like a horse or a cow - actually, I think the horse in the King's stable got treated better...
I seriously had violent feelings towards Mary Boleyn's Uncle, I wanted to pummel her parents, and I wanted to put King Henry in therapy and on some serious medication. I never realized how grateful I was for the sexual revolution and that women have a voice and a say in their own lives!
(After I finished reading it I went on wikipedia and read about Henry VIII and his wives :) I found it truly fascinating. )

OUCH!

Poor Scott had to get a screw removed from his big toe yesterday. The screw was starting to stick out! It was pretty nasty looking. The proceedure was supposed to be quick and easy, but the screw was over 10 years old and Doctor's don't use that size anymore. So the poor Doctor spent an hour with all sorts of different tools trying to get it out. So we sat and waited for another 1/2 hour or so while the Doctor got a kit from the hospital's O.R. Once he had the right tool it only took 2 minutes or so to get it out. Thankfully, the local anestetic was really good and he didn't feel much. But the sound - oh the sound of that screw being unscrewed was a little much and I don't have a problem with medical stuff.
We had a bit of a rough night last night with some pain but he is happy as a clam today being "forced" to sit and watch college football all day.
Below is the screw. It's kind of a big sucker!

Meatloaf and Bean

I have successfully concocted the greatest recipe for meatloaf! The secret? KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. Here it is:

2lbs of lean ground beef

1 pkg wheat Stove Top Stuffing

KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce

2 eggs

mix meat, stuffing mix, eggs and BBQ sauce (not sure how much because I just dump some in!)

Once you've mixed it and put it all in a loaf pan, spread a bit more BBQ sauce on top. Bake at 350 for an hour or so.

*Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is even remotely healthy or whatever, but if I can find something that my husband likes and that will actually fill him up for a couple of hours - I don't really care.

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My poor husband puts up with a lot from me. One of the items, is my neverending crush on Mr. Sean Bean. Scott's response to the pictures I have saved of Sean on the computer? "I'm not worried".

Temple Pics #1

I was finally clever enough to make these pictures small enough to post :) So here's a couple of our favorites.

Me with Trianna Tucker - our fabulous photographer and my stylist! (See Designs By Trianna on my Fellow Bloggers)

Temple Pics #2

My favorite part of my ensemble: My hot pink high heels!! I loved them :)

(Some of) My Family : Brian Carey, Dad, Mom, Scott W, Cecily, Sue, Scott C. Sean and Melissa had to leave right after the ceremony so we didn't get any pictures with them :(
I LOVE MY IN-LAWS. They are so funny!!! (Tom is the only one missing - he's currently serving in South Africa)

Couple Random Things...

So I read on Stephenie Meyer's website that in light of the new "Harry Potter" movie being moved back, "Twilight" is scheduled to be released EARLY! November 21st! Woo Hoo!!!!

In other news, I was introduced to David Archuleta's first single "Crush" and thought it was kinda cool. Then, after hearing several more times on the radio, fell in love with it! I immediately downloaded it from iTunes when I got home. When Scott came home from work I played it for him and I was singing while making dinner and Scott made fun of me because I already knew the words :) But really - it's a great song! Check it out! (if I were smart enough to do so, I'd post the song on the blog so you could hear it. But alas....)