for quatorze

I was 'tagged' this week by my friend Quatorze, since I haven't written on my blog lately. So, Rachel, this is for you (and anyone else who may find this of interest).

A attached or single: attached
B best friend: J
C cake or pie: Pie. We wanted a wedding pie (instead of a cake), but compromised with a buffet of cake and pie.
D day of choice: Saturday
E essential item: NuSkin facial soap
F favorite color: Lime green?
G gummy bears or worms: Either.
H hometown: Salt Lake
I indulgence(s): NuSkin products, Cafe Rio, Curves
J January or July: July, fer shurr.
K kids: Little boy due 10 June 2008
L life is incomplete without: Caravaggio, Bernini, and Borromini
M marriage date: 31 December 2005
N number of siblings: 6, plus 2 brothers-in-law and 2 sisters-in-law
O oranges or apples: Both. Depends on what I'm craving.
P phobias or fears: Bad art, getting a "B" in a class.
Q quotes: "What kind of bear is best?" "Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica"
R reason to smile: I will one day return to my normal body size
S season: Summer
T tag three friends: Joanna, Kelly, Jeremy (?)
U unknown fact about me: I was in a "New Kids on the Block" club in 2nd grade.
V very favorite store: H & M
W worst habit: www.people.com and www.msn.com
X x-ray or ultrasound: um, ultrasound?
Y your favorite food: Currently it is anything with BBQ sauce
Z zodiac: Taurus

out with the old and in with the new

Yes, friends, it's true. We have finally replaced the Pathfinder. About two weeks ago, we realized that our car (which turned 21 years old at the beginning of the year), was giving up the will to live. Our fears were confirmed when the mechanic later called to say that the car would cost $1,300 to fix. In addition, the mechanic said, the handle of the driver's door fell off when he tried to get in the car. Poor Pathfinder.

Here are just a few reasons why we decided to abandon the Pathfinder:

1) The seatbelts have rusted away from their anchor in the backseat. No baby car seat will ever be safe.
2) The floor of the car has rusted away underneath the backseat, providing riders with very cold bottoms during the winter months.
3) Carbon monoxide wafts through said rust holes, which is especially unhealthy for pregnant riders/drivers.
4) $1,300 is more than twice the value of the car.
5) We will never be able to drive the Pathfinder to our new home after graduation this year, since the car will never be able to drive out of Salt Lake or Utah Counties.

(This being said, does anyone know someone who wants a great fixer-upper for only $300? If not, we're taking the Pathfinder to the junkyard soon.)

So, we have upgraded. Really upgraded. Meet our Prius 2008. Tired of paying 15 mpg for the Pathfinder, we got a hybrid car that usually gets around 45 mpg. Plus, it's more environmentally friendly. AND we can't smell exhaust anymore while we drive. The only thing that I will slightly miss about the Pathfinder is being lurched from side to side as we drove around - I used to get a really good workout for my core muscles.

I love this photo with the two cars side-by-side in the driveway. Art historians could make all kinds of symbolic interpretations about how the New Testament (Prius) has replaced and fulfilled the Old Testament (Pathfinder). If cars existed during the medieval period or Proto-Renaissance, ancient worshipers would have totally seen the correlation.

when do you stop?

So, when do you cease writing your thesis and decide that your information is sufficient? When do you know if your thesis is being treated like a dissertation? When does one stop themselves? Until you have completely exhausted, trampled, and embraced your argument?

Help. I can't stop writing.

goodbye to fish

Well, it's official. Jeremy and I will never become ickthyologists, or even ickthyophiles. After two traumatic weeks of owning two goldfish, we have realized that we are not cut-out to join the world of pet owners. Our fish died while we were in SLC for Christmas, even though we did everything to ensure that they would be alright.

Who ever knew that owning goldfish would be so difficult? We spent quite a bit of money on fish medicine, aquarium accoutrements, water treatment, etc. In frustration, we have thrown most of the fish equipment away - we don't want to be reminded of our failure. If we can't even take care of goldfish, how are we going to manage with a baby?

savvy advice

Thanks to Quatorze for sending this along...

Christa-Taylor clothes

I have recently become obsessed with this website, thanks to Kelly. I really like how this clothing line is dedicated to making modest clothes for women - AND these are really CUTE clothes. Plus, they are more affordable than clothes from JCrew or Anthropologie, which is good news for a destitute college student like myself. Practically all of my Christmas list has been formed from perusing this site.

new additions to the household

J and I would like to welcome two new members into our home: Tom and Harry. We didn't really think about having pet fish until Sunday night, when we kinda-sorta won Harry (on the left) in a White Elephant exchange at the Maxfield's. The truth is, someone "stole" Harry from us during the exchange, and I must have looked so disappointed that at the end of the party the true winners handed the fish to us. Either that, or the winners decided they didn't want to deal with the hassle of a new pet.

So, after the party on Sunday we took Harry home. Being sans fish care equipment, we filled up a glass pitcher with water and placed Harry inside. He sunk down do the bottom of the bowl, looking like the most depressed fish in the world. More than one time we thought he was dead. He would glumly stare out the pitcher, only occasionally moving a fin as he gave a little sigh (I am now convinced that goldfish can sigh).

We felt like the worst fish owners in the world, and immediately started looking up all of this information about goldfish care. I didn't realize that goldfish were so complex - when I had a goldfish in high school, I just kept it in a bowl and fed it once in a while. Maybe we're subconsciously working out baby care anxieties by obsessing about Harry.

Evidence of our fish care anxieties can be seen in the photo. I've never gone as far as to buy a little aquarium or a filter or an air pump for a goldfish before. You can also see that we bought Harry a roommate (on the right). Harry is officially "my" fish, since I got him at the party, and Tom is J's pet. As soon as we put Tom and Harry in the new tank, Harry completely snapped out of his depression. He's been really animated and active ever since. He must be a people-fish. Either that, or he's just glad to be out of the pitcher.