Moose

The day before Thanksgiving, we picked up this guy as an early Christmas present to Cocoa. Meet Moose, a year old Chocolate lab. He is a total love-bug and Cocoa's new best friend. He can often times be found looking for food and trying to get into the pantry. He is a cuddlier and is working on putting on some weight. He is keeping us busy!

Guess who turned 27 today?

We are off to Utah!

Updates when we return!

Changes...

I have never been a fan of change. Not that I resist trying new things, or shaking life up a bit, but something can be said for the comfort of consistency. These last few weeks, our lives have taken a cue from mother nature. Just as the trees have started to change, and the nights getting cooler, our lives are morphing into something new, and I am trying to like it.

The first major change is that I gave notice of my resignation at work. Three weeks from now I will be done with this job forever. After many many months of too much stress, late hours, and other not so pleasant happenings, I finally quit. Probably one of the most crazy, scary things I have had to do as an adult. I am enjoying this transition phase and the freedom that comes with it.

With the end of one job, I begin preparing myself for the new one. I am excited, and feel so blessed to be able to say I found a job closer to home, with a family-like environment. I know that this job is an answer to many prayers. I will be able to do the kind of work that I studied in college, and they will pay half my gym membership!

The last major change is that James and I were released from our callings as Nursery leaders and set apart to new callings. James was called to be a Sunday School teacher for the 16-17 year old kids. Yesterday was his first week teaching and he is a natural teacher. My new calling is the Secretary for the Relief Society. I must say it is slightly overwhelming to be a part of the Presidency. I am the youngest woman in our ward's Relief Society, and yet they are entrusting me to more responsibility in a calling than I have ever had.

So now begins our new life. I am training my replacement, trying to figure out how to create the Relief Society calender, and nervously anticipating my new job. James is enjoying preparing lessons with a little bit more substance than the Nursery allowed him, and is being very patient with his slightly frazzled, but very happy wife.

Remember him?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about James' cousin Mike Day making it to the Olympics. Well if you were watching, you might have noticed that he won silver!!! He was first in all of his heats and the time trial, and then medaled in the finals! Good job Mike, we are proud of you!

Mondays...

My lunch break today included:

• Talking on the phone to the hubs while walking past a homeless man asking for money. Instead of trying to lie to the man and tell him I have no money, I decide to ignore him. Apparently this did not go over well. Homeless man proceeds to laugh VERY loudly at me and shouts "Thanks a lot!"
• Walk past a car wash and almost eat it, in front of the entire car wash crew. Note to self: Your black flats don't have traction on wet sidewalks. Avoid wearing them when it rains next year.
• Finally sit down to eat lunch. While eating, eavesdrop on a couple sitting one table over debating whether one can tell the quality of a food establishment from the quality of napkins provided. I am still undecided on this one.
• Pull out my planner and plan out the next week, including grocery lists and cleaning schedules. Realize how nerdy I must look, but can't bring myself to put the planner away. My name is Danielle and I have a planning addiction.
• Start listening to a father and son talking near by. Notice that the son is scary looking due to his clothing and tattoos. The topics discussed included inflation, gas prices, the economy, politics and homeland security. Reprimand myself for finding this surprising. Hear son make comment that due to lack of security, he has been shopping for a handgun. Nothing too crazy like a rifle but something that will make him feel safe. I take this as my cue to leave quickly.
• Walk back to work and past homeless man again. He looks at me and then spits on the ground next to him. No words were said but I am pretty sure he knows I won with my silent treatment.

I swear I don't work in a scary town, apparently it was one of those days when all the crazies come out. My clumsy self included.

What in the world?

We just had a 5.4 earthquake. One of the reasons I love California. I am thinking the workday will pick up a little! You can read about it here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/29/earthquake.ca/index.html

I work on the second floor of my building and we were moving quite a bit for a couple of seconds. I even got a bit seasick, or perhaps earthquake-sick?! It has been a while since I have felt an earthquake and it was as much fun as I remembered! Luckily no one was hurt and there was only minor damage at the epicenter down near LA.

I have heard people say that they would rather deal with tornadoes or hurricanes as opposed to earthquakes. I strongly disagree. It feels like you are sitting or standing on a water bed for a couple of seconds and then it is over. Plus I think Dorthy would agree with me that tornadoes are no fun.

Any friends from other states want to come visit?

Slackers!

Oh man have we been bad posting lately. Luckily, Melanie tagged me so I had a great excuse to post! I am at work so no picturse this time. Here goes:

What is your favorite zoo animal? I love animals, all animals, but the size of the elephants always blows me away, oh and the fun monkeys, and the seal lions, and the....told you!

What was your favorite toy as a child? I was an outdoor child for sure, bikes, Rollerblades, handball, tether ball, dodge ball, okay anything with a ball really.

What food do you eat too much of? I am with Melanie on this one, cereal is way too good, and of course chips and salsa.

What kind of hairstyle do you have? I chopped it off a while ago so it is growing out. Lots and lots of layers and swoop bangs or whatever they are called. I am trying to decide if I want to grow it out long again or cut it shorter. Too many choices!

What was your favorite activity in gym class? I was the dodge ball queen. Only the teacher could get me out. Good memories.

What is on the shirt you're wearing right now? Black sweater with 3/4 sleeves. Got to love the work attire.

What is the picture nearest to you of? James and me at Brandon's wedding reception.

What kind of salad dressing do you like? Any type of vinaigrette, or Italian. I am not that picky unless it is really soupy.

Whats your least favorite food? I have a thing against weird textures. Onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, fish or any type of seafood, I think the point has been made.

What do you do on a Sunday night? Usually spend time hanging out with family eating some type of meal. Walking the dog or taking a bike ride is always nice too!

If you could only use one condiment on your food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Again I ditto Melanie with the Ketchup!

What color are your sheets? Grey-Blue

How big is your computer display? Work computer is 17 inches

What pair of shoes do you wear most often? Sandals when I am not at work. My feet love the tan lines.

What is your favorite game? Card games of any kind unless James isn't on my team, then we get too competitive. Oh and right now we are trying to master the Rubik's cube. Dang multi-colored box is driving me crazy!

What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? My sister makes the BEST mashed potatoes. I could have a plate just of that, with a little bit of turkey to make myself feel better.

What is your favorite pizza topping? Hawaiian or BBQ Chicken

What time do you plan on waking up tomorrow? 6:00 am :( Long gone are the days when my first class starting at noon.

What is your favorite day of the year? Christmas! Ever since I went away to college, Christmas is my favorite day full of family, food and traditions.

I tag anyone needing help updating their blog ***Sally ***cough****cough****

Congrats Mike!!

Mike Day, the rider in front, is James' cousin and just qualified to go to the Olympics!!! He left everyone in his dust on Saturday at the qualifier and the entire family is so proud of him! Congrats Mike, we are rooting for you!!! You can check out more from the race here.

Someone is playing a joke on us

Last Saturday James received a phone call from a member of the bishopric. These types of Saturday night phone calls usually result in a talk, a calling or giving the prayer in Sacrament the next day. My vote was on the prayer since we had spoken less than a year before and had our callings less than a year. When James got off the phone he said "Brother Felt wants to meet with us" to which I jokingly replied "I bet you are getting a stake calling and they are releasing me ha ha ha" (such the supportive wife I know).

James looked at me and while smiling said that he knew what it was for and that I had to guess what it was. Now this is a little game James likes to play with me because I am not patient enough to wait for the news. After much begging for him to spill the beans, FINALLY he gave in and told me we were both getting released, and were being called into.....Nursery. The next day were were released and sustained.

Wish us luck, a lot of it.

I am riding my bike from now on

Last Saturday we went to Santa Maria to get gas and do our usual errands. We were met at the gas station by this lovely sign. That is right folks, 4 bucks a gallon. James was very sad, as you can see!

Thanks to gas prices we are trying to save money in other ways, like Shampoo for instance! Since I turned 23 a couple weeks ago, I have been feeling like a new, older person. It kind of crept up on me, but I feel like an adult now! A new me deserved a new hairdo. Nine inches later and I think I have achieved that. Not only do I have a great/short new look but a cancer patient gets a new wig. A win-win I think.

Mathews B&B

The Mathews' B&B is located in the friendly town of Los Alamos. We strive to make your experience a pleasant one. A few of the accomidations include:

Foods from around the world.

Our staff helps you unpack.

On-site child care and nap facilities. Children and adults are welcome to participate in nap time.

So next time you are in Los Alamos, call us up and we would be glad to have you!

Thanks Rejholecs for coming to California to visit us. It was such a nice time and we loved finally meeting baby Julia. We will definitely need to make it a tradition. Our turn coming up to Utah next! To all of our other friends scattered across the nation, we would love to have you! (hint, hint, hint)

Garden Dreams

Firstly sorry about the month delay in posting, there have been many things going on. More on that later. This post is dedicated to my first grown-up, all by myself garden.

When we first moved into our house, there were a couple of things that I REALLY REALLY wanted. One of these was a garden. I grew up with a rather large garden full of strawberries, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini, corn, grapes, and anything else that might have been on sale at the nursery when it was planting time. The problem however is that the only location that would work for a garden is in my front yard.

My original plan was to put it on the side yard alongside the fruit trees we had already planted. The problem is that Cocoa's favorite spot in the yard is, of course, on that side where she basks in the sun. Plus James and I were not really looking forward to putting up a fence. The other side did not get enough sun and was already landscaped. So the front yard it was.

I chose a great location next to the fence hidden from the street but full sun. I purchased the perfect vegetables to plant at the perfect price. I got the perfect fertilizer for my perfect garden and last weekend I spent three hours preparing the soil, measuring out the perfect rows, digging the multiple holes at the correct dept and circumference, and lastly planing and watering my new creations. I was pretty proud of myself actually. Doing my part to be prepared and be self-sufficient. But then it happened...

Last night we got home late from work after re-locating the Explorer to a different spot with hopes someone who was looking for an SUV would drive by and have to buy it. I changed into my usual sweat pants and then grabbed the watering bucket to water the newest additions. As I turned the corner I saw it and I wanted to cry. Something/someone had eaten all of the leaves off of all of the plants. Not like an insect who munches over the course of a couple of weeks through the lush foliage, no these leaves were ripped off of the stems and consumed. Someone made a salad of my garden and left me with plant stubs!

Already I am planning on new ways to start over. They may or may not include an electric fence, no trespassing sign, security camera, and barbed wire. One day my dream of a beautiful garden will come to fruition, but I might need a couple weeks to recover from the loss.

Three Years?!

It is hard to believe that we have been married for three years now. It has been the best three years full of new experiences, travel, and life's big milestones. All of which I was able to share with James. I could not imagine being married to anyone else. It is crazy how you start your married lives as two separate people and become one. When James mentions a memory of before we met, I think "I don't remember that!" Then I have to remind myself that there was in fact a time before we were together. I like that I always think of my life as his and his as mine.

I am so excited for this next year of marriage. We have accomplished so much thus far and there is so much more we get to do together. This is what I dreamed about as a little girl and I must say that reality is even better than my dreams.

Church

Yesterday James and I got ready for church, left our house on time and arrived at church at 9:05. We walked quickly through the halls of the church and walk into the chapel. All of the seats are quite full and we take a spot in the second row from the front.

Things are good. It is our ward conference and all of the stake presidency is on the stand. In fact the Stake President is speaking. A couple of minutes go by and the President is still speaking. I check the clock, it is 9:10. I whisper to James something like did we miss Sacrament? I didn't think we were that late. James looks as confused as I am. That is until he leans over and says that we forgot about Daylight Savings Time and were in fact an hour late. Realizing our error, and the fact that we had walked in, in front of the entire ward, and in front of the entire Stake Presidency caused me to start laughing, quiet laughing but I admit it was not exactly reverent.

Once Sacrament ended, I was prepared for the worst. We only received a couple comments like "glad to see you made it" and a wave with a smile masking laughter from the First Counselor of the Bishopric. Okay maybe not everyone noticed. I can survive this embarrassing moment. That was until a counselor in the Stake Presidency, the man who had interviewed me for my Temple Recommend, stopped me in the hall and asked "Sleep in this morning Sister Mathews?" Wanted to die right there.

I have never forgotten to change my clocks for Daylight Savings time. Ever. Neither has James. Believe me, we learned our lesson.

Taxes...

Last Saturday we got our taxes done. We were very interested in how they would come out since there have been so many changes since last year. Our income went up since we both have full-time "big-people" jobs. We were not students so we lost that deduction. We bought a house this year. We lived in CA this year instead of UT where the taxes are lower. Overall it was a good experience. We got a nice return and learned a lot about the way deductions work.

The good news:

Thanks to the house deductions, we were able to buy this awesome rug with our return.


The bad news:

I worked up until December 23 2006 at BYU. Apparently the paycheck for a couple of these hours was not sent until beginning of 2007. Because it was only $60, no taxes were taken out. All of this was forgotten until BYU sent me a W-2. The problem? Because I made income in Utah in 2007, and did not pay taxes on income in 2007, I have to pay a $20.00 fee to the state of Utah and a $2 fee to Federal. Plus postage to send it to them. That is over 37% of the measly $60 check paid in fees. Lame? You bet. Good thing I love that rug so much.



PS-Buying a house is a great investment, it reduced our taxable income by a ton. I would highly recommend it.

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!

Today is my little sisters 21st Birthday! Happy Birthday!!!

Nicole is such an amazing sister, friend and is such a joy to be around. She is upbeat, funny and does not take herself too seriously which is such a great quality. Perhaps being born on the day we celebrate love has something to do with it? I have always been blessed to have had a great relationship and can call her not only my sister but one of my best friends. Nicole is such a great person and I know that she will accomplish much because she is a hard worker and true to her word, oh and her wardrobe doesn't hurt either. :) Love you sissy, hope all your dreams come true.

P.S. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Random Thought for the day.

I have a cold. It bites. But it got me thinking...

• I would much rather have a cold than the flu. With a cold you can wander around your house. With the flu you have to stick to the bathroom.
• With a cold you can stay in your pajamas all day on the couch without feeling guilty.
• Where does the cold start? We all know that it is very contagious and that it can be passed from person to person but where does it start? Is there one person who kicks it off and then walks around a mall sharing the love? I vote we find said person and lock them in their house for a week.
• My immune system is faulty. I get the cold at least twice a year. Last year I got the flu for a week, and then the cold.
• James has been sick maybe twice since we have been married. He takes vitamins and I don’t. Maybe I should work on that...
• I read an article that your body needs extra calories to fight off being sick. Me and the ice cream carton are willing to oblige.
• After I learned about white blood cells, whenever I am sick I always envision a Book of Mormon type battle, white blood cells against the virus. Body armor is included in this daydream.
• A doctor in my ward told me that the reason your nose gets red when you have a cold is actually from the mucus irritating the skin, not because of the tissue use. If you dab your nose, it won’t turn red. Tried it and it works.
• Smelling like menthol is almost as bad as coughing.

At least the cold doesn't last that long and it makes you appreciate breathing through your nose and what a blessing it is to have a healthy body, until next cold season.

Happy First Birthday!

Today is Cocoa's first birthday. She survived her first year which is quiet an accomplishment! She has been so much fun to watch grow and test our parenting skills on. She is semi-spoiled but we are proud of the fact that she does not beg and has never been fed from the table. Let us not forget that she did graduate at the top of her class in puppy training! But yes she sleeps with us on the bed.... We will be sad that she is no longer a 'puppy' but I have a feeling that she will always act like one. Happy first birthday Cocoa-bean!

How is it....

How is it that I always get hurt doing the most usual things and then do something that should have really hurt but I am totally fine?

I have had my fare shares of injuries. But they all were the result of something so simple and so stupid that it is hard to believe that it is true. When I was eight I was STANDING on my driveway in my rollerblades. Now I just have to say that I was quiet the rollerblading queen in my day and steep hills with speed bumps and cars coming was no problem. Okay so back to my driveway, the dog was outside with me and was hooked up to one of those long skinny tie down rope things for dogs that is 40 feet long. Apparently I was standing near the rope when my dog noticed a cat walking down the street and when she starting running, the rope grew taught and basically clothes lined me while I was STANDING STILL. I flip and sprain my wrist. The worst part is having to explain that I have a soft cast on my hand due to standing near a dog. I thought this was the last time I would have to deal with this embarrassment. Oh no.

Two Decembers ago I was WALKING up a steep hill on my way to work when I slipped on some snow/ice. I put my hands out and BROKE my thumb. Yes that is right I broke a bone while walking. Even James did not believe it when I called to tell him that I needed a ride to the hospital. Was I done there? I think not.

Last Saturday morning I was BLOW DRYING MY HAIR, when I felt immense pain in my lower back. A trip to the chiropractor and a lot of granny walking and I find out that I put my back out by trying not to get a cold.

Am I alone here or does everyone else get hurt doing everyday tasks?? Oh and as a side note I totally brainstorm stories to tell when someone asks me how I got hurt.

Ketchup

We have been away for a while from the blogging world but are happy to be back! This past month has been jammed packed with tons of family, fun and Holiday parties. We started the month with our companies' Christmas parties where James won a 10 pound block of Belgian chocolate! It is huge and we still have all of it. Anyone in desperate need to chocolate? My party was a little toned downed compared but fun too.

We spent a lot of time with family and received so many gifts. We were very blessed. On Christmas morning we woke up at 3:00 am to a new roster behind us. To those who have not yet visited our house, we have a roster behind us named Charlie that is a little senile and crows at 5:00pm instead of in the mornings. Well apparently the owners felt the need to get a new roster for Christmas but he started WAY WAY to early in the morning. We finally got up and I was about to let Cocoa out when I noticed that the new roster was IN the backyard. That is why he was so loud! I took some pics and then sent Cocoa out to scare him so he would never come back. It has worked so far!



The day continued with me attempting to make cinnamon rolls for the first time and the butter melting and starting a small smoke storm which caused the smoke detector to go off. Ah Christmas morning. The rest of the day was great but man we were tired! Cocoa had fun with the rapping paper and survived us putting ribbon and bowes on her. Poor thing.



Then we headed out to Merced to go to Brandon's little girl's first birthday party. It was fun and she is such a cutie. She did great with the cake! Then it was New Years where we played a lot of pool over at the Mathews and watched movies. I will win one game eventually right?!



Alas Christmas came and went and taking down the decorations this year was sad. The house looks slightly empty but we did get a new hutch which looks great! Oh and James had a lot of fun climbing on the roof taking down the Christmas lights. Almost gave me a heart attack but it made for some great pictures of what the town looks like from that vantage point.



We had a great Holiday season, and look forward to a great 2008!