kimball

Our 1969* Kimball piano made it safely home last night. No pictures yet; our camera batteries were dead. The previous owner had started to strip the finish for an update so we have a big project ahead of us. It needs to be tuned but is still playable and has one key that sticks. Overall, not too shabby.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing it last night although I need to snag more of my old piano books from Mom's stash :)

Thanks Greg, Dad, Bob, and Mom for your help getting my baby home.



*This is my best estimate with the research I've done so far.

One Year

One year ago today Greg and I went on our first date. It's been on my mind today so I thought I would recount the night. It went a lot like this (for me at least):

I already knew I had a huge crush on him and was therefore quite nervous. So nervous, in fact, that I don't even remember what I wore (this is unusual for me--being nervous as well as not remembering what I wore to an "event"). He was very punctual. And sooooo good looking. The theme of the night was uncontrollable amounts of talking/laughing. We went to dinner at the Macaroni Grill in SLC and quickly realized that we have a lot more in common than we previously knew. I had serious butterflies. Not just thoughts of "oh, he's cute," but actual flutterings in my stomach that made me wonder just exactly what I had eaten for lunch that day. My food was literally cold by the time I got around to eating it. I kept thinking to myself, "I can't wait to tell Caleb how right I was about this one." You see, I had been telling my brother Caleb for months that Greg totally wanted me, he just hadn't realized it yet. BUT, someday he would wise up, ask me out once, and it would be GAME OVER for both of us. Caleb had summed it up to total self-absorption, but that soon changed...

After dinner, we went to a Jon Schmidt concert that was sponsored by our shared employer. Greg's boss (aka my previous boss) was there with his wife and I could tell they were wondering about us. We accidentally sat in the wrong seats and an usher had to show us our real seats which were situated in the middle of all our fellow co-workers that were also attending the event. This, of course, lead to more questioning glances. Or so it felt. I had a really hard time keeping quiet during the performance. How could I not point out the atrocious holiday sweater being worn by the man two rows in front of us or the hilarious dance moves of the guest performing break dancers? I knew Greg would appreciate such things. Needless to say, I'm sure the people around us were annoyed by our whisperings.

As the concert neared its end, I began to dread the thought of going home. The night was going far too well to ever end. Greg seemed to be enjoying my company and was at least pretending to laugh at all my jokes. Then I began to worry I was seeing the situation through rose colored glasses and in came such self-destructive thoughts as, "I wonder how many other girls he tried to ask out before me? I'm sure I was at the bottom of his list. Do I have something in my teeth? I knew I should have looked in the mirror after dinner...."

We slid around on the icy sidewalks of the U of U as we made our way back to Greg's car which led to the idea of going sledding. A rather clever thought considering neither of us were wearing sledding appropriate clothes or in possession of a sled. So, we ventured back to Ogden. After many failed attempts to "sled" on the wake skate Greg happened to have in his trunk, we found an abandoned sled and continued the fun until we were completely frozen. Then, instead of getting in the car where it was warm, we slid around on the ice in a parking lot until 2 a.m. I was really feeling the inklings of "GAME OVER-ness" at this point. We talked about everything. I confessed to getting thrown out of the Grand America Hotel (a story for another day) and he talked about his mission, etc., etc,. etc. It was pretty much all on the table by the time we got back in the car.

Then for everyone's favorite, "the doorstep scene." I'll admit, it was a little awkward. We had worked together for almost a year at this point and I really had no idea what he was thinking. The doorstep for the apartment where I lived at the time didn't help the situation either. I just remember thinking (like I always had) that it was the guy's job to lead the doorstep finale. All I really remember is that we didn't even hug. I felt really stupid after for not initiating something but I didn't want things to be weird if he wasn't that into me (although I REALLLLLY hoped he was). It turned out just fine considering he kissed me only 4 days later, not to mention the fact that we have now been married almost 8 months :)

I still get butterflies when I think about that night. Thanks for taking a chance on me my Greg :) I love you.

What I'm thinking right now:

[This is inspired by recent e-mails at work from Greg asking what I'm thinking about at that very moment. Isn't he adorable?]

• How much I love listening to Greg sing along to his iPod while getting ready in the morning. He has a new cover of the "Oogie Boogie Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas -done by the one and only Tiger Army- that he gets really excited about :)
• I haven't worn make-up pretty much this whole week; not sure why. Although sometimes I don't put any on in the morning so I can have a refresher before I pick Greg up from work and it makes me feel way hotter (so glad I just admitted that).
• Some of the toliets at work have the auto-flush feature and others don't. I opt for the non-auto-flush; that's just a surprise I don't appreciate (translation: I found out about the auto-flush toliets by accident one day.).
• There are signs hanging up at my work that say "Making Ethical Training a Success." I laughed the first time I saw one. Why? Because of this:
  

• This is awesome.
• Favorite quote(s) from last night's episode of The Office: There's just too many good ones to pick from. Check them out. Or even better, watch the full episode.
• Pie. I got an e-mail telling me that Culinary Arts is going to be selling slices of pie for 25 cents at 11:00. Nope! Just kidding. I was just offered FREE donuts AND chocolate milk at 10:00. Sorry pie, you snooze you lose. And, I love chocolate milk so you really didn't stand a chance. This brings me to a story though:

STORY: The pie that is being sold at 11:00 today contains a mystery filling (according to the e-mail). Don't worry, I'm sure the people that made the pie know what's in it. I hope. Anyway, if you can guess what's in the pie, you get free lunch. Is it worth the risk???

STORY #2: A few weeks ago, Sunday September 14th to be exact, my Greg was in Denver and I journeyed down to K-Town hang-out with some Wilsons for the day. On that day, my Mom made a pie. She called it "mock apple pie." I was uncomfortable with that. Then, when she wouldn't reveal why it was a "mock" of real apple pie, I became really uncomfortable. I didn't eat that pie. Even after she told me what was in it. The best part is that now I don't remember what it was.......little help Mom?

• I love Fridays.

iPod(s)

Greg sold the good 'ol iPod Touch yesterday. He also found a 30g iPod Classic being sold on KSL (love that website) in South Ogden that we picked up last night (making for a nice little profit). The best part was the previous owners left all their music on it. The likes of everything from AFI, Christina Aguilera and The Black Eyed Peas to O-Zone (Which I'm still appauled Greg had never heard--I called to tell you that last night Bob), Mo-Tab and Justin Timberlake. And don't forget Mariah Carey, Sulja Boy, The King's Singers, and the scores from just about everything done by Hans Zimmer. It made for an entertaining night of singing songs Greg really wished I didn't know all the words to. I still have "Always be my baby" stuck in my head....."




....."you'll always be a part of me, I'm part of you indefinitely, boy don't you know you can't escape me, ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby"

A Willis Summer (Part III)

A continuation of some summer happenings...

JULY

We took a road trip to Mesquite/Vegas over the 4th of July weekend to see Rancid at the House of Blues (because I don't have a problem with spoiling Greg :) We didn't take a bunch of pics-actually, the only ones we have are still on our phones so we'll take care of that later. It was a blast and we got to see a billion fireworks on the 4th so I was happy. I did however miss the infamous Kaysville 4th of July parade which I will somehow drag Greg to someday (he's not the parade type). All you Kaysvillians know what he's missing though, so help me out! The campaign for the Kaysville parade 2009 begins now! As long as it doesn't become lame after what happened this year...

When we got home we found that some of our baby frogs had perished in the heat :( So we decided it was time to release them back into the wild. Greg was a little sad as you will note in the first picture.

July 12th meant it was time for a second tri.

Echo Triathlon 07.12.08

This is the face of pre-race determination. Or that of freezing cold.

Finishing the swim...

Finishing on the bike...

[note the strategy of removing the shoes for a faster transition]

Refueling before the run...

And the finish.

Echo was a fun race and we got to see some friends from our old ward. Greg ended up with a good 'ol cramp in his calf though after riding a different/smaller bike (his new one hadn't arrived yet). Thanks Leigh (Greg's brother) for letting him borrow it though!


We finally fired up Greg's motorcycle and did a little off-roading.

(Wendy on 4-wheeler and Greg on motorcycle).

We didn't get any great action shots other than Wendy conquering a mountain (aka boulder) and Greg inspecting a small animal skull but we weren't afraid to get some air (I think I scared Greg, truth be told).

And now it's August. We still can't believe it either!

52 Days, 52 Reasons

When we were engaged, Greg made a countdown clock on my cell phone that listed how many days were left until our wedding. Now that the wedding has come and gone, my phone lists how many days we've been married. In honor of being married for 52 days (I know I'm random), here's 52 reasons why I love Greg. You might learn some things about him you never thought you would and maybe some he will wish you didn't :) I love, love, love you Greg and here's a small taste why...

1. He absolutely adores our cat, Jade. I often tease him that he loves her more than me.
2. He always makes sure we have a bag of treats for Sacrament meeting.
3. He’s a bad boy—he’s a graffiti artist (but only in places where he’s allowed to :)
4. He’s a good boy—he always remembers family prayer.
5. He pulls the car out of the garage for me every morning.
6. He makes a mean breakfast on Saturday mornings.
7. He smells so good.
8. He loves his calves (they are totally hot).
9. He cleans up real nice (thanks to GQ and Esquire subscriptions :)
10. He cleans up real nice everyday (thanks to Bank of Utah employment).
11. He does laundry.
12. He is adorable when he’s tired or wakes up.
13. He always opens doors for me.
14. He shares my love for crossword puzzles. Or at least he pretends to to make me happy.
15. He definitely shares my love for words, especially when they are made up or used incorrectly. (Deef?)
16. He does favors for me at work.
17. He likes to do grown-up things like play video games, skateboard and catch tadpoles.
18. He dances in the car to his favorite tunes.
19. His iPod Touch is his baby.
20. He will hold me as long as I want.
21. He is always willing and worthy to give me a blessing when I need one.
22. He never complains when I take forever to get ready.
23. He’s a bargain shopper (groceries, clothes, you name it!).
24. He rides his bike to work for extra triathlon training and I get to drive the car.
25. He will eat anything I make, even if he probably shouldn’t :)
26. He always lets me have the last cookie, cracker, etc.
27. He always tells me I’m beautiful, even when I’m a complete disaster.
28. Every now and then I catch him singing in Tagalog (he served a mission in the Philippines).
29. Sometimes he lets me beat him at Rummikub or Dominoes, but never at Boggle or the Dot Game.
30. He always knows how to make me laugh.
31. He lets me cry on his shoulder when I’m sad.
32. He is a super handyman—he opens jars, assembles beds and dressers, puts up lights and ceiling fans, changes the oil in the car, fixes broken power windows, and more!
33. He loves to eat his veggies.
34. He never gets mad if I forget to move the seat back in the car (in my defense, this "rarely" happens).
35. He loves his family and would rather do something with them than anything else.
36. He laughs at my jokes, or at least at me :)
37. We have almost identical food preferences (except he doesn’t like Mexican food—what?! I know.)
38. He always slightly melts his ice cream in the microwave before eating it.
39. He lets me rent just about any movie I want. I still don’t get why he doesn’t want to watch the A&E Pride and Prejudice though…joking.
40. He leaves me love notes in the “love note mailbox.”
41. He always tells me he loves me more although I don’t think that’s possible.
42. He gets really giddy when he’s excited about something.
43. He was more nervous to propose to me than to ask my dad for me hand. He already knew my answer.
44. He likes to cuddle when we watch movies.
45. He’s always reading books, magazines, etc. to get the leg up at work.
46. He takes care of the cat’s litter box, food, water, etc.
47. I can do absolutely nothing other than be with him and be completely happy.
48. He does cute things like make me a piggybank (I collect) for Christmas and getting Jon Schmidt to embarrass/sing a song for me (us) for Valentine’s Day.
49. Everything is so mango with him.
50. Grendy = Joy.
51. He has goooood looking hands. (Anyone that knows me well knows that’s a must!)
52. He’s my best friend.