Saturday, January 31, 2009

Fight it out...



Tonight was a first for me (actually both of us). We were invited to watch the UFC fight between GSP and BJ Penn by some friends so we decided we would come. Neither of us usually watch UFC but we thought we would go and see what all of the fuss was about.

We had a good time. We enjoyed everyone's company, the food and just hanging out, and it was fun to actually watch the fights. But....oh, so brutal. The poor guys are literally just beating each other senseless. Not my sport of choice that is for sure. Fun to watch every once in a while like this but nothing I could stand watching on a daily basis for sure. You just feel so bad for these guys, but then I remembered that they choose to do this... WHAT?!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Baby Boom

Nursery closet; complete with new built-in shelving


New Alphabet bedding thanks to Amazon.com!

We have slowly been collecting and getting ready for this baby that is sure to come (we just don't know when). We didn't want to have a nursery full stocked and just sitting and starting at us but we feel like the time is right to start getting it a little more ready, plus it is fun to do. So the room is now empty and we are slowly working on it. I had picked out this bedding a while ago and I am worried they will discontinue it so that is why we decided to go ahead and pick it up. I love it and it is neutral so it should work either way. The closet was a great task for Dan and turned out even better than I imagined. We have tons of storage space.

Now we just have to decide on the furniture which is harder than I thought. We like one set, but not the price. We like another but not the color. We like one crib but not the dresser... why does this have to be so hard. I guess it is a good thing we have some time.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Change is sure underway


Only days after becoming President, we are seeing the changes that President Obama is making from the White House. Yes he seems to have brought HOPE to the US which is definitely needed during this time but HOPE is not enough. We need other things, like jobs, money, and many other things that HOPE just doesn't have.

The one thing that he has done already is this:
Obama will give federal funding back to family-planning organizations!

The interesting turn is that Obama chose to side step the presidential tradition of making an order related to abortion on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling to legalize abortion was both celebrated and protested today, there is not yet word on the exact timing of Obama's order, just that it will come and will purposely follow the anniversary.

Read the entire article HERE.

I agree with many things that President Obama has said. I like that he gives Americans HOPE. I like change as long as it is for the better. But this I do not like.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Decisions, Decisions...



Confusion and questions basically filled my head this week. We are in a very crazy time and trying to decide what we want to do and how we want to move forward. Here is the story:

I have been helping a friend of mine do odd jobs here and there as he is trying to start up his own business. This is all great since it gives me some time out of the house and some extra money. But is it not very steady and not enough extra money to really count on. Then the other day I get a call from my old boss saying they could really use me to come back and work for them at the doctor's office. The only catch is that it is for sure a full time position. We have been struggling with the decision on what to do. Here we are with two opportunities when some people are struggling to keep their jobs or can't even find one!

Our feelings have not changed that once we are placed with a baby and the adoption goes through we still want for me to be at home and only work for my mom but we feel that right now while I am physically able to go out and work and make some cash that would be helpful (pay for a nursery, and planned trip to England in September, etc.) it would be silly for me not to accept the invitation to go back to work full time right now. It is just hard to wrap my brain around the idea when I have not worked full time out of the house for over 2 years and really wasn't planning on it. But this has just fallen into our laps so maybe there is a reason for it.

So I think I will be giving the doctor a call and as long as he is okay with giving me time off to attend Girls Camp and the wedding in the UK in September then I might be joining the outside working force once again. We will see what happens.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Blogging Slump

I feel like I have been in a slump the last few weeks, ever since Christmas really. I know I have posted a few things, but definitely not my normal for sure. It is not that we aren't doing things because we are, but I just don't feel like they are "blog-worthy" and I don't always have pictures to go with the events and that makes me not want to post either. But tonight I thought I would take a minute and just re-cap about the past few days, or weeks, and fill in the gaps about what has really been going on in our lives.

* My knee recovery is going great actually. I am continuing with physical therapy 3 times a week and am back to 80% according to my last doctor visit which was last week. I can straighten it no problem but still have some pulling sensation with the bending, but it is getting there for sure.

* I actually started a new job last week too. It is not a permanent job or anything substantial but it gets me out of the house a little more and brings in a little bit of "extra" money. I am helping a friend of mine with some data input a few hours a week for right now. It might turn into something different when I am done with this certain project but for right now that is what I am doing and I am fine with that. So far, so good.

* I am busy working and planning with the YW in the ward for an upcoming Valentine's dinner and sweet auction to help us earn some money for Girls Camp. We have been making centerpieces, posters, paddles, etc. and hopefully we will be ready for the dinner that is coming up on Feb. 13th.

* Dan has been working, working, working. He not only has been busy with the new contract at Mandalay Bay but he has been doing some systems at night and also just picked up a new contract with a Toys R Us and a Century Theater as well. He will be busy for a while with those for sure.

* Dan has also been busy with a special project in the house. He just finished building shelves and customizing the closet in the "nursery". I love it and am so excited. It really looks good. We are going to start working on painting and really putting it together now. Just in case... you never know!

* We of course have been busy on Sunday's cheering for our Steelers and it has paid off. They made it all the way to the Super Bowl and we could not be more excited. We can't wait until Feb. 1 when we can watch then win and make it #6 for them. Go Big Ben!

So... like I said, we have not really been doing anything exciting but we have been busy all the same.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

You can Bette on that

So.... last night we went and saw Bette Midler at Cesar's Palace. What a show! It is definitely a "Vegas" show, with lights, music, dancing, singing, costumes, and everything else.

I really enjoyed it. I knew every song because really who doesn't know Bette Midler songs? She did a great job on that part for sure. The one thing that I didn't enjoy was her jokes. She is definitely a little more than rough around the edges when it comes to her jokes. I could have done without that for sure. But overall I enjoyed myself and we had GREAT seats. I had my left arm on the stage! Yeah... we were close.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

What a Blessing

This weekend we traveled to AZ to be there for the blessing of our nephew, Preston, who is the son of Dan's sister Amy and her husband Steve. We were thankful for the chance that we had to make the trip and to spend some time with the family. Again we had a wonderful weekend.

We flew this time (partly because of my knee surgery and partly because we just didn't want to drive) and landed in Phoenix on Friday night after having our plane delayed here in Las Vegas for over an hour...We then spent Saturday with Mike and Holly, also known as mom and dad, just hanging out. We toured Mesa, going to the church bookstore and the local scrapbook store of course, and then had dinner at the Organ Stop Pizza Co. A great place to eat if you are ever in Mesa! Sunday morning we drove down to Tucson for the blessing. What a precious blessing Steve was able to provide to his new son. We then visited at Steve and Amy's home and had to cut our time short in order to make the drive back up to Phoenix in order to make our flight back home. Our visit was quick but we were glad that we were there for such an important event in Preston's life and also in Amy and Steve's as well. We love them so much.

The Urbancic/Wilker family...Katie and Nathan, Amy, Preston and Steve, Holly and Mike and Dan and Aranne

The new little family.... Amy, Steve and Preston

Friday, January 2, 2009

Wii sure celebrated...

New Year's Eve in Vegas can be a little scary so we decided to play it safe and stay at home. We had my mom and dad over, and also my aunt Laura and uncle Curt who were in town for the holiday weekend too. We got a Wii for Christmas and we really broke it in. We played hours and hours of crazy games and had a great time doing it. The whole family really got into it and had a fun time. In fact, we had such a good time that we got together the next night and did it all over again.

Happy New Year to everyone.... Hope it is a great 2009!