Valentine's Day Remains the Same

Some might look at that title as quite sarcastic or negative (which in some cases may be just right). Well, it's neither negative or positive....just a stated fact which I am completely okay with. Valentine's day has not been a HUGE deal in my family. Sure, we'd get a few little treats from Mom & school, but it never has been the whole....you must buy expensive & elaborate gifts to show your love to one another. Dad has always said that it was dumb to have just 1 day to show someone you love them when it should be done every day. I TOTALLY agree! Yes, it's always fun to get gifts, but not when 1 feels they HAVE to because it's Valentine's day. The thought of this day can bring with it a lot of unnecessary pressure. I hinted of this to Derek in the days/week leading up to Saturday. In fact I believe I told a few people that we didn't get each other anything because I wasn't expecting anything. Also, he has his kids this weekend which pretty much meant that there wouldn't be the "Valentine's day date", which, again, I'm totally used to & okay with. Well, to those of you whom I told this lie (unknowingly of course) I apologize. I had breakfast with Derek this morning while his kids were at their ward & before mine started. Who would show up at my house with gifts.....He got me some perfume & a box of chocolate. I felt dumb because I only got him some chocolates at Costco. Granted they are his favorite. I was just going to give them to him just because so he didn't feel bad for not getting me anything and just because I know he likes them. Guess who felt bad! Well I told him that I'd give him a "real" massage (as I've just given him back rubs). So I guess that turns out to be a pretty good gift, right? (Matt can attest to this as he was many a time the "client" for Monica to practice on) Massages run $35 & up (not that money is any indication of one's worth) & well I've been told I'm pretty good so it should be a good gift & thoughtful too as he's always complaining about how his neck & back hurt. THANKS for agreeing with me. All your support is helpful :). He was very nice about it all & said it really wasn't a big deal and he didn't want me to stress about it. He was very willing to say he'd take the raincheck on the massage. LOL, who wouldn't?

So, you may ask what I did with my day and being the kind soul that I am will tell you! I was a good girl & went to the gym early (well for me...). I have been kinda slacking lately & can tell, so it's back to it for me! I ran a few errands waiting to hear from Grandma. She & Grandpa were working a few hours at one of the Parade of Homes homes in the morning. (starting Friday we are having the St. George area Parade of Homes). I have never been since I've lived here & this year decided to buy a ticket & go look at some of the crazy homes people spend their money on. I went with my grandparents to 5 then they kindly took me out to eat. It was a very nice afternoon spent with a wonderful couple. I appreciate them for spending time with me & taking me around.

One of my great accomplishments of the week was to make it through the first 2 groups of songs on Aerosmith Guitar Hero on MEDIUM! I had a hard time passing "Sweet Emotion" and I had to practice it a few times, but I DID IT!!!! Very exciting times in my life!hahaha I really didn't think I would be able to do as well on medium and was pleasantly surprised. WATCH OUT TY!! We will battle it out one of these days & I'll show you what your Aunt Shelly is made of wah ah ah!

My love to all.....as always....everyday you are all the BEST!!!!

side note: i have been enjoying driving a rental car for the last week while my poor baby is getting fixed. pictures to follow....

A Little Freaked Out

Friday afternoon Derek wanted to know what I was doing Saturday. Now this was a little odd as he now has his kids the weekends I don't work. He proceeded to say that maybe all of us could do something if I was up to it. Up to it? Meeting his kids? SCARY!!!! Honestly I was more nervous about meeting his daughter (14) than his son (12). Look, I was a teenage girl once...I didn't understand them then & don't think I am any better at it now. I guess I figure 12 year old boys are a little easier.

Whenever someone would ask me if I've met his kids, I'd happily say...."No, I'm waiting for him to be ready for me to meet them". Well, I guess I thought it would take a bit longer. My grandma said, "it's about time". I'm not so sure I agreed with her, but I AM HAPPY to meet his kids when he wants me to. I don't think I would ever be less freaked out, so I might as well suck up the fear & press forward, right?!

I have to say that my fears were put to rest when he told me that his daughter had opted to hang out with a friend, so I would just be hanging out with him & his son. THAT was definitely doable.(sp?) We went out to eat & then played laser tag. It was pretty fun & I didn't make a complete fool out of myself. On our team, Dylen got 1st, Derek got 2nd & I followed along in 4th. Not too bad for a girl, right?

So, there you have it....I met one of Derek's kids. Could have met his daughter yesterday, but I had already told my friend I'd come over for a little Super Bowl party....GO STEELERS!!!! Have to say that was a good game! We'll have to see what the future weekends hold.

side note: thanks Mom for your encouragement. it really helped! i really tried to be myself & have fun.

My New Year

So, HURRAY, it's a new year! I can hardly believe how fast 2008 went. I was all set to have a fun New Years Eve. I mean, aren't you supposed to automatically have a date for such occasions when you're dating someone? I guess I'm still learning. I woke up Wednesday (12/31) morning feeling like a cold was coming on, but still feeling ok. I thought I had several options for spending the night & ringing in the new year. I found out that Derek had a party he was going to (no, apparently I was not invited) and then a friend of mine decided to go out of town @ the last minute. I could have hung out with my grandparents @ their annual party with 2 other couples, but by the afternoon my cold was getting worse. I figured I probably wouldn't be much fun with my congested head. As the night went on, I just got worse & felt achey. I ended up waiting in line @ Walgreens @ 11:45 thinking I would welcome 2009 with a bunch of sick strangers. I did make it home in time to watch the ball drop then quickly make it to bed with the help of Nyquil.

I was still congested the next morning, but not feeling as bad as I had & headed over to Grandma & Grandpas for a late breakfast....yummy! I stayed for a few hours, then headed over to Dereks for the rest of the day. Gotta love drugs that relieve sinus congestion!

Friday (1/2), I headed to Grand Junction. Some of those elevation changes were killer! I thought my head might explode. It's not my favorite way to travel...stuffy then runny then pressure... I made it well enough.

It was fun to be home & I got to celebrate Christmas with my parents. I was excited to have them open the gifts from me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see Craig, Keri or Ryan. My parents were very generous as usual. My big gift was a Wii! How fun is that? I also got some great flip flop slippers. I think this was one of the first years that pretty much everything I got was from my list! :) I got several movies (thanks to the CABirds too!)

I spent the weekend sick & grateful to have my mom taking care of me. It's always nice to have someone around to help you when you're sick. My dad gave me a blessing Sunday night which I know helped since I felt tons better Monday then even better Tuesday.

I got to spend a few hours with my friend Monica on Tuesday before I left for St. George. It's always fun to catch up. It's funny how you can be away from a friend for a while & when you see each other again you can start up where you left off. I guess that's a true friend. I'm blessed to have several. I was sad that I couldn't visit with my friend Jolie too. I'll be back!

Yes, I went to see Derek when I got home. I'm still not sure if this was my best decision. My car got hurt while it was parked outside his house. There is now a lovely dent in my rear driver's side door & a little on the driver's door. I realized how bad it was today when I went through the car wash & ended up with some soap suds in my back seat! It's been over a week & I finally heard from the insurance company of the car that hit mine. They informed me that they are going to accept my claim & fix my car. Well, isn't that nice of them since that's why drivers have insurance....so they can take care of these things! The thing is, I wish I could get them to pay for my whole car to be painted! It is in desparate need of a paint job! Oh well. Here are a few pics.

I'm hoping there isn't more damage than the dents. The rear wheels were moved closer to the curb. Derek said he could see the marks left by the move. The rear door is hard to close & my door sticks a little.

I hope your New Year started off much better than mine. Oh, I'm not really complaining. I know it could be much worse!

HAPPY 2009!