Going on...

...What's going on...

1. My new favorite commerical is the Gap commercial where they are dancing.
2. I'm working out again. :)
   
3. I'm still in love with Glee.
4. I've been reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Good book.
5. Patrick going back to school! Crazy. Exciting. Scary. Awesome. With a side of stress...
6. Lilly's doing good. She's cute.
7. I love milk again. It's so good.
8. Snow is cold. Seriously cold.
9. I have become an excel expert. Thank you work. I'm seeing spreadsheets in my dreams.
10. I'm bad at blogging.
    

Have a very GLEEfull day!

I'm in love...

... with this show....

... wish I could sing like her...

... think he's hot...

...wish I had a teacher like this (pretty cute too)...

...Been listening to ALL the full version songs all week...

{INSERT PICTURE OF HAPPY BEKI HERE}

P.S. So excited for this weekend... Birthday Weekends ROCK!!!

P.S.S. Bought my New Moon Tickets.... Yeah. Really. Hubby's taking me :D

Love these!

Can I just say Rachael is amazing!? Seriously! Love her! Anyone who can make me look that good is a serious genius!

....

will. update. soon.

have. lots. to. say. really!

lots. going. on.

real. exciting.

sorry.

summer. is. over.

that's. all.

BTW....

Tuesday August 11, 2009 ... The Raymond's 3rd Anniversary!

LOVE YOU SWEETIE!! You're the best thing that has ever happened in my life. Every year gets better and better and that makes me so excited for our future!! You're my best friend and I love that we can hang out and just be together and love every minute of it. I love that we still stay up every night talking until it's way late. I love that we play Mario Kart together and you help me win since I'm not very good. :D I can't wait for what's to come. Happy Anniversary Lub!!

2 Things Happened That I Never Thought Would...

... Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. Don't worry though. I haven't fallen behind on what's going on in your life. :D

So I got laid off. In June. It sucked. Really. Scariest thing that has happened to me so far.. I probably sound a bit dramatic but since I turned sixteen I've had at least one job and, basically being the main source of income for my family, not having a job is a problem. It came kinda suddenly even though I knew if my company was going to lay any one off, it would be me. I was overhead and knew that my job really should have just been a part-time job instead of full-time. I was actually looking for another job at the time and took the lay off as an opportunity to jump feet first into the job seeking world.

I was laid off June 15. Had 2 weeks severance pay. Was offered a job on July 10. Started on July 22. I'm kinda proud of myself because in the economy that we're in right now, to get a job within a month of being let go is pretty good. (If I might say so myself). I had a crap load of interviews (like every other day) and was applying to places like crazy. I actually turned down an offer a week after I was laid off because it didn't feel right and I knew I wouldn't be happy there for very long.


I accepted a position at the University of Utah. Yup, that's right. I'm now a Ute. Crazy. Nothing against the U or anything but it probably was the last place I'd expect to work. I love it though. I'm now a Pediatric Accountant. Basically, I work in the Department of Pediatrics. I'm one of 8 administrative accountants and I do all the accounting and finance work for a couple of the divisions. I love what I do. And it's seriously an awesome job.

In the end it was a blessing. I needed a push to just go out and get a new job. I ended up getting a better job. More money. Way better benefits. And I'm at a place where I can do what I love. I'm in Excel all day and I love it!! Geeky I know but that's OK by me. I know that my Heavenly Father was listening to our prayers. And really, he placed this job in my hands. I'm so grateful to have his comfort and helping hands in my life.

Next is Patrick's Job Conquest, but that's a whole other post :)

We're all adults here now...

Happy 18th Birthday Twiners!!

... What do you blog about when your not a mom...

You tell stories using pics from your cell phone you randomly were looking at one day... :D

Lilly likes to sleep under the bed sometimes.... Not sure why... Maybe she's hiding...

I wake up and this is what I see... Yes. Lilly sleeps like a human... She also can't wake up. I have to shake her to get her up sometimes.

Sleeping again, I know... HA! With Howard. Her Friend.

Big enough. Maybe she's compensating for being so small.

We like popcorn.

Lilly ate a bee, got stung, and her cheek swelled up... She really is smart.


ATTACK OF THE LILLY MUNCH!!!

Doing what Lilly does best... SLEEP!

CHEESE!! It's picture time!*


Oh hello!!

Ok, so she fell asleep on our bed (she sleeps A LOT) and we tried to see how much we could put on her before she would wake up... HA!

One of her many sleeping positions... It's like shes dead. You can pick her up, move her and nothing. When she's out... She's out!

Franklin/Rosie.... We're not sure if it's a boy or girl so it has two names. :D

The Jazz game was on, so she took a break from sleeping...

Trying to make my face look bigger so the sunglasses didn't look so GINORMOUS on me.

*This pic was taken a long time ago... my hair doesn't look like that any more. It looks like the above pic. :D

...Quick Update...

Ok so I'm WAY behind... it happens! Sorry!

Quick recap:

• Went to Wicked back in May... AMAZING!! ( Made me totally rethink my career path ) Yeah I wish I could be that good. Got in trouble after I took this picture...

• Went to Minneapolis, Minnesota! Loved every minute of it. Shopped. Read. Hot Tubbed. Relaxed. Ate (a lot!!). Spent time with Mom and Sista. Miss it now. Too bad we can't go on more vacations like that.

• Memorial Day. Another relaxing weekend... except for the odd tan lines I got from sitting in the back yard with the dog and the family. Rough.

• Hung out our Hamocks! We love them! One for me. One for my love. Yes!

• New Hair. After a full head of foils (70 to be exact)... I'm blond :D Almost. More blond than I've ever been. Threw the last one it cuz it's so cute!

Belly Pics :D

HA!!!! GOTCHA!!!

But for real people, everyone's having a baby nowadays. It's crazy! I tell people I'm married and have been for almost 3 years, I get the "Oh, how many kids do you have?? " {Eye's flutter, waiting for a good response like 2-3 kids} . When I say "None, for now of course, but someday!" they get this shocked face like "Oh!". Oh well, I'm fine being the undeclared aunt and friend/babysitter. It's almost like being a really young grandma. No real obligations, but I get to enjoy the benefits.

Congrats to Angie, Mishayla, Joni, Katie, and all you new moms! I love your little ones and can't wait for them to say Aunt Beki! You know they will! :)

*More to come... lots to update!

What to do, what to do

What do you do when you've spent a whole week... literally, a whole week, planning a work party for your company's 8th anniversary party, and at the last minute (day before at 4 p.m.) your boss calls you into his office and says he's canceling the whole thing? He has his reasons, and they're valid ones at that, but seriously... a week.

What did I do? I spent the next hour calling and canceling all my hard work, then blogging about it. Lame.

It's a Fridge-Nation!!

Hey Guys.... Who wants a fridge!!! (ME ME ME ME) Ok, so we have a mini-fridge, still in the box, not being used, not ever used that we want to sell. We tried to find a place for it in our house but we already have one in our "theater" room and really don't need another one. (Why we bought two is a completely different (long) story.)

Specs:
White: This one is black. This is mine (not for sale) just wanted to show what it looks like.

HOLDS: A Crap load of drinks! We've fit a case of water and 2 12-packs of pop in here. There's also a small freezer in the right corner.

ACTUAL: Real box. Real white fridge in the box. FOR SALE. Price tag still on the box.

So, for $70 bucks this can be yours!! Just leave me a comment, if you want it, with your info and we'll get the party rollin'!

Here I Go Again.....

School.... Bleh....

Masters of Accounting.... Even more Bleh.....

...But first THE Test.... The most Bleh....

If anyone else is taking this test let me know... Study groups are the best motivation to study :D

P.S. I totally want glasses like that... Saweet!

...New beginnings...

During the whole packing and getting ready for the Nicaragua trip (2 days before he left to be precise), Patrick received a life changing phone call. He was asked to audition for a job opening at the Landis Lifestyle Salon in Sugarhouse. I know what your thinking... "audition". Usually people have to interview and maybe submit a portfolio, but no... not at Landis. You have to audition which consists of 2 tasks: (1) The first is to do a one-length bob cut on a women (which I guess is one of the hardest cuts you can do because if it's not perfect you can seriously tell) and (2) do a creative and dynamic color of your choice on a model. You have to bring in your own people and product to do these tasks and you have 2 hours to complete them. You'll be judged on timeliness, creativeness, and how well you can do the bob. Let me just tell you that the task should have been just trying to find the models... If everyone show's up, you get the job. (Yeah!! I wish!!) His audition was Monday March 23rd. (I know I know. I'm behind.) As of the night before, the model getting the color was a for sure thing, but the model for the cut was totally up in the air. We had like 5 girls say they would and one after another drop out. (It's ok, we totally understood and Patrick didn't want to cut anyone's hair that didn't want to.) Finally, one of the girls who said they couldn't a couple days before, came through.


Well, we're assuming that everything went great because he got the job!! Patrick said everything went perfect! The color rocked and the cut was beautiful. The girl loved it and her mom, who was there with her, was so impressed she offered to pay him for it, even though she knew it was going to be a free cut because of the audition. I'm sure he just got another future client out of her! :D Word went around the salon how well Patrick did, that the people he knew there texted him later and told him they loved it!

SO today was his first day and he was totally excited this morning when he left. I'll let you know how it goes later!

If you want to visit him, or need anything done, check him out here at LANDIS LIFESTYLE SALON or at 1300 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84105

Managua, Nicaragua

So Patrick's trip to Nicaragua went awesome! According to him, they had a great time and it was very "eye-opening". I've been there plenty of times myself so I knew what he'd be seeing and was grateful for the opportunity he had to see what a great and sad country Nicaragua is. They stayed in a little area called Diria, where some of my family live. One of my parents homes is being built there and is in the last stages of construction which was the purpose of this trip... to work on the home. Let's just say they did a lot more sight-seeing and traveling around Managua, and outer areas then they actually worked. :D That's ok though. I'm glad he got to see a lot because the next time we'll be able to go is probably when there's a Nicaraguan temple (cross your fingers and pray!).

Patrick wanted me tell you all that he had a great experience and loved it. He's more grateful today than he's ever been for our country and for the blessings we've received and receive daily. He has a new appreciation for our home, for cleanliness, and for our pets. He saw a lot of homeless dogs and really hated to see them in pain and hungry.

Other than the sadness of it being a third-world country, the trip went marvelous and the home is closer to being finished. I'm extremely grateful for Patrick to get that chance to see what we've all been talking about when we talk about dear ole' Nicaragua. :D

[Pictures coming soon....]

Overload

Ok guys, I'm gonna do a post overload.... This weekend! :D Gotcha!

Lonely.... oh so lonely....

So Patrick left this morning for Nicaragua and, I'll be honest with you, I had my whole week planned out. I was gonna clean, work out, hang out with Lilly and pretty much just do a whole lotta nothing, and now, I'm sad he won't be around to do those things with me. As excited as I am for him to go away for a week long vacation with the boys, I'm sad he's gone. I didn't think it was gonna be this hard.

If your bored this week, I'll be at home getting ready for a baby shower, and hanging out. Come visit me!

2 Words: T.V.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a secret life as a T.V. watcher. Yes, I know, admitting it is the first step to recovery. Well, be that I come from a family with the same addictions, I don't see me deviating from the television screen anytime soon. To give you somewhat of an idea, I'd like to quote my younger sister Ellie:

"oh my goodness. this could take hours so i'll condense to my top favorites: one tree hill, FRIENDS the oc, gilmore girls, 7th heaven, the hills, real world, road rules, NEXT, heroes, AMERICAN IDOL, Law and Order SVU, lincoln heights, wildfire, dateline NBC, 20/20, primetime medical mysteries, house, america's next top model, degrassi, instant star, south of no where, beyond the break, hannah montana, FRIENDS, life with derek, boy meets world, true life, juvies, my super sweet 16, did i say one tree hill? we can't forget that one. :) there's more... i'll get back to you. i've been watching Smallville, ugly betty, supernatural, alot of HEROS i am absolutely in ♥ with Peter Petrelli, FRIENDS, so you think you can dance, rock of love and a shot of tela tequila! But I don't watch that much TV....ANYMORE!!" ~ Ellie Franco

Yes I know, it's not that long. Well, we've definately added to that list with new recent shows like The Mentalist, Lie to Me, Making the Band, FRIENDS, Jon and Kate plus 8, 18 and counting, Extreme Home Makeover, Super Nanny, Nanny 911, The Secret Life of an American Teenager, so many more I can't even list them all. :D

The most recent addiction is an oldie, one that hasn't been on air for a couple of years. No, not Friends, although that is probably my number one, number uno show ever. Ok, it's That's 70's Show. I know I know. Weird. But Patrick and I love it. We record them all and then watch a couple of episodes every night. In fact that's what we did Valentine's Day night, we watched like 4 hours of That's 70's show and we absolutely loved loved loved it. It is so much fun to just sit, grab some snacks, and enjoy time together. Laughing, crying... yes crying (but only me). I'm a crier, so sue me. In fact, we watched the Finale episode a couple nights ago, and I cried through the whole thing. I remember when the finale first aired back in 2006 and I was sad to see it end. It also kinda reminded me when FRIENDS ended. Man that was a bad night. Well, anywho, this is to The Basement! Hello Wisconsin!!

The DO is done....

.... Pictures to come! .....

P.S. It's not 100% complete. The hair cut is done :D but the color is gonna happen in two steps. My hair is so dark and weird that we put in highlights but I want to take it one more step of lightness. I didn't want to fry my hair with bleach so we're doing it little by little.

Dire assistance needed

So I'm posting this survey to my immediate right ----------------> for some help. I'm due for a change. The great thing about having a husband in the "Beauty" industry is I can change a lot for very little cost. Now, here's the tug and pull going on in the Raymond household: Patrick's on a bit of a crazy kick. He likes the wild side of things. Although I think a bit of fun color is.. well... fun, I work in a professional atmosphere. I'm in front of clients quite often and for some reason pink, blue, purple, red and any other crazy colors, I feel, should stay on my clothes and not in my hair. So I'm going for a little bit more natural color but am willing to do something crazy with that natural color. So, here's where you come in: Vote on the pics below for which you believe would be a good look for me. Then we'll see what changes will be going down with my new do!

#1 - Staying dark but throwing a few extremely "crazy" sections throughout the top.

#2 - Staying basically dark, but more highlights through the front and a bunch of peek-a-boos throughout the middle section of my hair.

#3 - Lightening up my hair a few levels, then throwing in subtle highlights throughout.

#4 - Light brown highlights everywhere (below shows highlight placement, not color) to counteract my dark hair.

I wasn't going to do this....

... So I'm not ...

Thanks Katie for writing this up. I couldn't have said it better myself, in fact, I couldn't read it without breaking down. I can't imagine trying to write it...

From Katie Powell's blog:

Ok, first let me start by saying this is a very hard topic for me to discuss. Even typing about it makes me burst into tears. My little sister Hollie was in a near head on collision. a car hydro-plained into her lane in Provo canyon, the car was coming at her head on, Hollies instincts were to turn the car so her passenger didn't receive any impact. In my opinion Hollie's split second decision saved all 4 persons involved. she avoided it being completely head on, and the car hit the front corner of her truck. Hollie was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and remains there. Her arm is broken in 2 spots, her leg is broken in 2 spots, her ankle is completely shattered, they removed a rib, and the worst, she broke her back. she has had 4 surgeries since Friday and is in for 3 more. she is the strongest person I know and is handling as well as she can. She is in so much pain every single minute of her life. Its hard for me to talk about, I feel so helpless and I want to be there with her all the time. Every free moment I have I am thinking about her. I miss her, I love her, I want her to heal. PLEASE PRAY FOR HER.

Hollie, my dear sweet cousin, we love you and can't wait to have you home. I'll see you tonight!

As of yesterday, she was moved out of ICU and is now in recovery. She has a back brace on and is elevated and awake, but still in excruciating pain. As far as I've been told, she hasn't eaten since the accident because of the surgeries and the pain meds. She's miserable, and unhappy but grateful to be alive and so are we. I love her dearly and I'm praying for you Hollie. Please keep Hollie in your prayers for the next few weeks. She's gonna need them.