phoenix

My parents came and to visit us down here in Tucson Arizona. I think i have seen my parents more this year the previous. I surprised my dad for his retirement. We visited them earlier in the year for our annual "go see Mr. Logan and family." This time my parents came to us. It was fun filled weekend. My dad became more aware of how desolate Arizona is. Driving from Phoenix to Tucson is nothing but a straight line of desert and seems to take forever. We visited the Pima Air and Space Museum for my father. He was very impressed with the vastness and variety of the items. We treated them to dinner at Jason's restaurant. But not before my mom and I went shopping!! I never go shopping, it was really fun and got some cute things. My dad was enamored by our server. She just charmed the pants off him. HAHA. It was amusing. Jason and I had to work the next day so my parents were left to do whatever. They had fun. We took them to the Tucson street fair and found some fun items. We then made our way to Phoenix. We had to wait for uncle randy and richard before we decided what to do for dinner. We went to downtown Tempe and found a irish place that was pretty quaint and highly authentic. I always thought my uncle richard was a cool guy and he still is. The dynamic between the brothers is pretty interesting and funny. We called it a night. The next day we made our way the Cardinals vs. 49ers game. My first NFL game. The fans were absolutely crazy. There were a ton of 49er fans including Jason. I was sporting the Broncos logo. My mom had the Steelers, and my dad had the Siants. We were quite the bunch. It was a weird game and the 49ers scored only one touchdown and the rest were field goals. Cardinals rallied back and won. Jason was kind of upset. It was a good time and I hope to see another game. It was really nice to hang with family and my uncles. Maybe next time my sisters can come too.

reminiscing

My cousin caused me to reminisce about family and holidays. When we were kids, we always created these crazy games. There was doggie soccer, soccer with a beach ball, trampoline basketball, some sort of a hide and seek game. We would play for hours and wake up the next morning super sore. Holidays were always fun and happy. The adults would talk, play jeopardy or some sort of a intellectual game. The cousins would go play our own board game or cards or something active. Grandma would bring chocolate cream pie and banana cream pie. Turkey was always a little dry but what can you do about that. The feeling would be warm and inviting. Thanksgiving was truly a time to be grateful for the family we have. Now that we are all older, married, and have kids a great many things have changed. The family is never completely intact. One person is here another is there. We are too old to crouch down in the doggie stance and play soccer. We all have sort of become unfamiliar with each other. Being with family is so important. We are all lucky to have the one we have. I am grateful for that. Our childhood together as cousins and family will forever be the best past time we will all know. We still talk about them. I just hope we don't forget them and what it was like to be so close and together.

strength of women

So us Rounds girls have been raised to work hard, sacrifice, stay humble, go for the underdogs, and never assume something so quickly. We also were raised to be financially responsible. Going through life I never spent money unnecessarily. Sure I would splurge on shoes or clothes, but now I have a family it becomes really different. Although there is more than just me bringing in a paycheck, lots of money goes out. Stupid bills (namely A/C). But as our relationship progressed I quickly realized and took it upon myself to be the financial adviser of our household. I obsessively check our accounts. I constantly irritate Jason on what he spends. Unfortunately I have had to try to install an allowance for Jason (with little success). I try to show him my spreadsheet to show where money goes and how much comes in. If it weren't for me and my obsessiveness we would be in debt and not living a nice life. My poor husband was never taught such a responsibility. He only had his mom since his dad died when Jason was really young. His mom never knew how to handle money. It is not his fault. I have taught him some things. I always try to explain to him why "we can't do this now because we have this going on." It's not always accepted. One thing I will for sure incorporate into the lives of my children is to be financially responsible and live within your means.

It kind of irks me that some people I work with sort of cop out from grown up responsibilities. One person I work with was laid off from her job. Not a cop out. But she moved in with her parents to "save money and maybe go back to school." When your at your parents house they typically cook and buy food for you, have laundry available, have hot water, a nice A/C for the house. So by living there you don't have bills to pay. Any money that comes in is all yours. This person pays her phone bill and a health insurance bill per month. Well wouldn't that be nice. She can afford to buy stuff from Coach, J Crew, Macy's etc. I am jealous that she has the money to do these things. I don't care about Coach or J Crew, but Macy's has cute things. It has been almost two years and she still hasn't "saved enough." This I know to be false because I make what she does. Anyway so I think its a cop out that a person my age won't get their own apartment and be an adult. Another thing my children will get a lesson on. Be an adult.

hmmm......

I am not one to adapt to change unless it is gradual and i know it is coming. I am slowly coming around to the idea of having a child. I have gotten to the stage of planning the babies room and how many people to invite to the baby shower. Now I have to find insurance, make sure we can at least make the premiums. It's stressful for me to decide on an insurance company. Sorry all, I live a life the is not 9-5 and has benefits. We have to seek it out. Babies change a life. Am I keen on it, not really. But everybody says there is no preparing, you just have to do it. Yeah, that like telling the united states we aren't in debt and don't owe anybody anything. Not so much. I come from a life where people have a way of thinking for the most part. There is a sequence of events that happens in life. School, graduation, job, marriage, family/career. I love my life. I have never been a social person. So to be at home and not have to talk to anybody except family or husband is fantastic. I am bombarded with constant want and need. To not have that for just one day is super. To have a baby will be different. I will want to heed to there every need and want. I do it for the most part with my nephew. I do things in my own time. Eventually I get there. I bristle at attempts to coax me on. This is how I have always lived my life. I think God wouldn't have it any less. He has never prompted me to force my way forward. Things come around as they should and there is always good standing afterwards. I wait things out and always turnout well for me and others.

clumsiness

So I really should make a log of all the clumsy moments that I do to myself, objects, and others. I find random bruises that are probably from work. I sure as heck don't have nimble fingers. My feet aren't fast. And my mind is rather scattered (what a surprise coming from my moms side of the family). I have knocked over or spilled more glasses of wine at home that its become humiliating. Thus i buy a carpet cleaner. Best buy for me. Our good friend witnessed one of these spills, and took it to heart. For christmas he bought me stemless wine glasses. Great present cause I could handle the glasses much better. Well it was due to catch up with me. With a nice combination of allergies, and nice strong sneeze, and my hand just happening to hit my glass I caused a mess. The best part is I had to clean the carpet, clean my couch cover, and thank my dear husband for knowing me so well and getting a warranty for my brand new Kindle. Ouy!! I tell you what I just wander if my kids will be more agile and smooth.
Case in Point: I take a pot pie out of the oven and i manage to spill and drop it all over the oven door. I am glad I have dogs. Best cleaners ever. I have broken all of our stem wear. ALL OF IT! plus enough of our dishes and water glasses that another one of my christmas gifts was a new dish set and water glasses. Dear Lord why have you blessed me with such a gift.

toothpaste

Toothpaste is used for one thing. To clean your teeth with. But do people think of the other things that is can used for. Jason, my husband, lived a life that required him to be creative and use what means he had available. So one day he told me, much to my discomfort, to use the toothpaste and a toothbrush to clean your rings. For some reason I thought that to be a little gross. However, once he did it my ring sparkled. I actually prefer to do that now since my ring isn't that high quality and I fear if I put it in the jewelry cleaning solution my ring may fall apart. I know I am weird. The next use I found to be the absolute best thing I have discovered is toothpaste is an excellent zit zapper. I saw it online. I had really bad acne when I was teenager. REALLLY BAD! My parents and I used all the things you could think of to get rid of my acne. Eventually, we found a experimental drug called accutane, I think, and took part. The drug worked and my acne cleared and has yet to resurface thankfully. Now adays I still get the little zits that one gets when stressed or doesn't care to wash the face before bed. So I decided to put a dab of toothpaste on one of those blemishes and ZAP. Within two days, the ugly red thing was gone. I live by toothpaste as an exceptional zit zapper.

sisters

My pregs aka Beebs told me to write on my blog more. So here we go. I was able to come visit the family this past week. I was super excited to see Beebs pregnant. It tripped me out to see her like that. I would poke her belly, or rub her belly just make sure it was real. She looks adorable. It made me really think about having children. Jason and I have been talking and talking about it. We had a set time to start trying and I am FREAKED OUT. Babies are a big deal. We have a boy name and a girl name picked out already. I live a lifestyle much different than the typical 9-5. So its questions galor to my friends at work who have children and live the life I do. Two major things that have plagued my mind are finances of course and child care. I live in Arizona, miles from my family. Family being close would be so ideal if I needed a babysitter for free. Child care is super expensive. Of course, the other solution is that Jason and I work opposite schedules. My analytical mind is completely overwhelmed with finding a solution. At least I have people around that can give me advice. I have awhile yet, but its not like time stands still.

Fees

Warning to all you bankers. We have been banking with Bank of America for a few years now. As I was doing a routine browse of out statements I noticed a maintanece fee of 9 dollars. It happened again on the previous statement too. I looked it up and it indicated that we have this fee cause we aren't maintaning a certain amount in our accounts. Also we can't waive the fee because our companies don't offer direct deposit. So we go to the bank to talk about our options. Apparently this fee spreads across our other accounts. The amount we need to maintain is higher than we are able to keep in there at one time. The teller didn't seem to understand that our lifestyle is very different than most. She didn't understand that we don't get offered direct deposit and she was at a loss when we said that I get paid in cash everyday. The look on her face made me realize the she wasn't going to help. I was infuriated that we are paying for the bureaucratic, CEO salary for someone to press a button and stare at a screen 9 dollars every month and that people can't see past their regular life and notice a life that isn't the typical 9-5. I immediately called other banks to compare. Although they also suggest direct deposit, they also DID NOT charge maintanence fees. I closed one of my accounts and once that gets here we will close the rest and move our money to a bank that doesn't try to take money for rediculous purposes. What a world this is.

Thoughts

My dog is the cutest thing ever. She had developed this stance of laying alond the back of the couch with her little hind paws stretched out behind her. She also has a biological clock at 1030 every morning, if Jason and I aren't awake, she will take it upon herself to wake us up by stepping on our head or face and licking us. Can be annoying, but you can't help but love her like a human child. We want to get her a friend so she isn't alone when we are working. Jason has a friend that has a dog they want to find a home for. Jason is very impulsive and would have taken the dog in a second. However, he has me the voice of reason that said we can't afford another dog while living in these apartments. I told him to tell the friend to hold off til April unless another owner can be found. I feel bad, but rent on top of dog rent on top of bills and another major issue we are dealing with adds up to money strains.

Christmas was a good one. we bought a 37" flat screen TV for our christmas gift to each other. Its the bomb. In our apartment it looks like a movie screen. We love it. Next is a sick sound system.

Once our lease is up in April we will try to find a place that is less expensive, and more spacious. We just have a few to many things for our little place. Its manageable, but storage is limited. Counter space is ZERO. As I looked online for places I was a little stunned to find that a house for rent is about 200 dollars cheaper than our apartment. I don't really get that. Besides the amenities available here I don't think the price is worth it. So I am excited to get a place with more space, a nice kitchen, storage, and no pet rent.

DUI

Why do people think they are invincible, indistructable, and responsible when they drink and then drive. People are stupid. IDIOTS! my friend has been battling his DUI for two years now just to get it dismissed. So much money and time for a simple phone call to a cab or friend would have avoided that situation in the first place. And why do friends (if they are friends) let thier fellow friends walk out of the bar or whatever drunk and not offer a way home even if they had been drinking but are totally sober enough to drive the person home or call them a cab. Friends....puh whatever, no trust there. It is the worst thing in the world to see someone you know shouldn't be driving sent away by thier friends and you don't know them but still worry about them. Tons of water and a little time and one could be sober to drive. it completely escapes too many people's common sense to remedy thier behavior and then redo it once they are safe at home. It is such a frustrating thing to see and know people that have been beyond stupid and paid the price. Yet they still never learn. What is it that makes them think they can drive safely home after having drinks. If you don't know your limit then you shouldn't even be participating in bar activity etc. So ridiculous. I am grateful for my up bringing and that I can be that person to care for friends that can't care for themselves.

work woes

All of us that have work are grateful and happy to provide for our families. I am grateful for my husband that works so hard everyday. He deals with so much and is always stressed about work. Believe me, he will talk in his sleep about work. It is that bad. Me on the other hand doesn't know how I feel about my job anymore. When I first started working there I was the work horse and would work anytime, anywhere. Than I started taking parties and actually had a couple I would have every week. I also started having shifts in the bar a couple times a week. And presently, I am now fully in the bar as a bartender/cocktailer. I didn't sign up for that. I am a server. I am not a fully trained bartender. I make far less money even if I have a shift by myself in the bar. A restaurant that is part of our corporation had closed and we took on a couple of people from that restaurant. Suddenly some of the senior staff's shifts are less and these new transfers are working the shifts we should be working. It is good to know that they trust me to be alone in the bar anyway. However, I must go back to the MONEY. Even on a slow night on the floor chances are I would make more than if I was in the bar. As a cocktailer, we pool the tips in the bar. so unless I close or stay on for awhile I don't make a lot. It is frustrating. I don't want to say anything cause for some reason management can be very vengeful for stating your concerns. It is slow, I understand. But I can still make good money. I just don't know what to do. I will fight for my right to work during the holidays. Not in the bar either. Why does it need to be this hard to hold a position you have become established at. It is all complete crap.

travel channel

I love the travel channel. I like to watch a occasional Samantha Brown, lots of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmermn. They make it look easy, tasty, and entertaining. Now if only we had the money to follow their excursions. I find myself hesitant to travel to foreign places like southeast Asia or even south america. My taste in food is pretty basic and to dine in a foreign country just to try the food is a little scary. They are eating food sold on the streets and served from the most questionable kitchens (if that is what you want to call them). It is odvious that I have been brought up in sanitation and simplicity. I work in restaurants and I would never serve food from an open kitchen, with street smells, bugs, and people secretions buzzing all around. But there is also the problem that its hard for my stomach to take spicy foods. I am not a fan of the Hawaiian style of mango, pineapple, guava etc. mixes in food. And my husaband is a pork fanatic. So whats left our there for me to eat? I suppose I will have to settle with the kid classic, pasta and butter. I will never be able to follow these travelers in their culinary quests. I hope to at least see the sights.

citizenship

So in going through the process of changing my name, I was very happy to be informed by other newlyweds that you should hit the security office first. Good move. Next was the DMV to change my driver's license. I thought we had the correct documents. Marriage certificate, new social security card and previous driver's license. We fill out the paper work and are called to the window. He than asks if I have my birth certificate. What? Turns out, according to him, Utah doesn't check for US citizenship. Hello! that is new information. And being Arizona I can understand the concern with thier problems of immigration and all. However, Utah is a different story. As far as I knew I would check a box that said I was a legal US citizen. Apparently, not. So I had to ask my sister to send me a certified copy of my birth certificate. Now maybe I can get the ball rolling again so that bank accounts can be changed, car registration, and other important things. Note to all newly weds, start with the social security office first, make sure your state checks for US citizenship and have fun.

Open House

When we returned to Utah from our brief honeymoon, we had a lot to do. We were worried about it raining so we had to come up with a backup plan. We had to put decorations up and experiment with these really pretty floats that Candice created for the pool. We tried to decide what the setup would be and where the food would be. The day of the open house everyone was busy super cleaning, cooking, preparing, setting up, getting ready etc. Well it was raining all day! My aunt called about three times to reassure us that it was supposed to clear around the time the open house was supposed to start. We watched, an hour before the open house, rain pour from the sky, hail pelting the ground. Our street was practically flooding, the hail pretty much covered the ground and made our pool look like a slush puddle. We all were wondering what was going to happen. Well, once again God smiled on us and the rain stopped. We were running around so fast trying to get things setup I have no idea how we did it! Jason and I had seconds to get dressed in our attire. We were all so sweaty and hot from running around we barely had time to catch our breath before greeting our guests. The food was awesome! Severely overpriced, but good. We made ourselves the pigs in a blanket and bacon wrapped shrimp. We are awesome!! Everything was crazy, crazy, crazy, but in the end things cleared up and once again became Perfect.

marriage certificate

We stopped in Afton, WY, to do my Dad's wish of checking to see if we could get our license. When we got to the office they didn't even ask us for ID's. We just filled out our paperwork. She was having a problem with the printer and said "they don't do a lot of these here." When we looked over the document she had mispelled my mothers maiden name which she corrected. Than we noticed she spelled Arizona....Arizonia. We didn't correct this cause I didn't want her to feel stupid. So now our permanent licese has Arizonia on it. I figured that because of these little faults something was going to happen. Well today I go to the Social security office to change my name and they said they couldn't find the marriage certificate number. So I stood there for about fifteen minutes while they sorted things out. I guess they had to call the office in Wyoming and the get the number. They also stamped the wrong seal on the certificate. haha. Just so everybody knows......don't get married in Wyoming. They don't know what they are doing.

our wedding

We are married finally! YAY! It was so beautiful and perfect. I would totally do it again (not the planning part of it). Jason and I just got our puppy Peru three days before we took the long road trip up to Utah. It was a nice ride and we had fun while traveling. We finally got to Utah and I had to register my car so we could drive legally. So we go to Jiffy Lube and have our emission and safety done. The guys said I had to get a muffler problem fixed before it would pass. So I had to drive to Midas and was told it would cost $115 to fix it. We then had my car pass inspection and renewed my registration. That was a bit stressful cause I didn't really budget the money for that. We were really tired when we got to my parents house. We had to finish some details for the open house following the wedding. I found out my music didn't work on a stereo so my brother-in-law formatted it for me. Everybody was kind of scurring around trying to get ready for the trip up to Jackson the next day. We got up early the next day. Jason and I went ahead of the rest because my dad was freaking out about us not being able to get our marriage certificate. He said to stop in Afton to make sure we could get it there or in Jackson. We stopped in Afton and acquired our license. We checked into our hotel in Jackson. It was funny for us to joke cause the Raymond Rounds family went from one hotel room to multiple hotel rooms in less than a year. HEHE. We walked around and took care of some stuff. It rained most of the time we were there. For our wedding it was supposed to rain too. We finally got to Jackson Lake Lodge where the ceremony was going to be held. We settled in and went to our rehearsal dinner. It was 4 courses and delicious. I was happy our guests could get a taste of our world and what we are used to. Wedding day: my sisters and I woke up at 4:30 am to get ready. The banquet staff brought fruit and pastries and coffee for us. Everyone trickled in to say hi and see me before the wedding. Jason and the guys were downstairs talking to the officiant. The cutest thing, my puppy Peru decided the train of my dress was a bed and proceeded to take a nap. I dragged her around for a minute. Awesome moment. I started getting really nervous right before I was supposed to walk down the aisle. I was so happy that I was oblivious to most everything and everybody around me. It was threatening rain, but I didn't care. Jason looked so handsome! During the ceremony I like to think that God smiled down on us with a ray of sunshine through the clouds (literally). Perfect! We said our I do's and We are now MR. AND MRS. SMITH. The reception was beautiful. The food was exquisite and we were surrounded by the most special people in our lives. Jason and I than took off to Snow King Resort to spend a couple of days together. It was really relaxing. I was sooo tired that I took a nap right after we got there. During our second night we were in the hot tub outside and a double rainbow went over the top us. That was so great. Perfect!

Fired!

For working over half a year at my restaurant I have quickly grown to really like the people I work with. So it becomes very sad when they do stupid things and think nothing will come of it because they had been there for so long. Well, as long as I have been there, when people are late I don't hear anything of it. The management seemed to not care as long as they came. So my friend, being known as one of the big slackers, managed to not show up for two shifts. He didn't come look at the schedule for himself. Dumb number 1. As a result he was put on suspension for two weeks without pay. When he was put back on the schedule he was demoted to being a busser and only worked very few shifts. He was doing good. Than a couple of days ago, I was talking with him during a lunch shift and we both knew we worked that night as well. So when it came time for him to clock in, he wasn't there. I tried to save his butt by getting the host to call him. Well, our manager walked up right than and I knew he was screwed. He really was a great guy, but was an idiot. It made me sad to say goodbye and wish him luck.
Another friend of mine, who had been in this business for 16 plus years made a mistake that was completely our of character for her. A guest had allergies to mushrooms. I am not sure, but I guess she didn't communicate this with the kitchen. Thus the guest got sick. She has been doing this forever and she neglects to keep caution. WHY!? So I think she is either fired or suspended. I am not really sure what yet. It blows my mind these people do these things. Now the management is on everyones case to be on time and rightfully so too. However, I think there a few that will still not be reprimended for being late even if its 15 minutes. We are all adults and yet resonsibility comes very slowly to some.

crazy neighbor

This a busy time of year at work. I work 4 doubles back to back. that means 1100 am to 1100 pm with maybe a hour break inbetween. Well, we have a neighbor. this neighbor is single and has a dog and must think he is the only person in the universe. Jason and I tend to get off work pretty late comparitively. We like to talk to each other and catch up with the days occurances. Sometimes we make something to eat. Numerous times this neighbor has complained about loud noises or voices or whatever. The apartment people have come and put little cushions on the cuboards. They have done a sound check in our apartment and his apartment and determined the noise comes from our chest of drawers ( that isn't against the wall and doesn't make noise when we close it). But whatever. We have tried to not cook so noisely or at all when we get home. And we don't have people over simply because he will complain. The apartment people are really sick and tired of his little antics and have been extremely helpful for us. They like us. Not him. But he just keeps on complaining. They gave us the option of moving to another apartment without any fees. We decided that is the best option. We just want to live in peace. So amidst this busy time we are moving to another apartment. It is a newly remodeled apartment and the same size as our old one. But we lose our view. Not to mention we are getting a puppy, and getting married all within a month. People forget they live in AN APARTMENT SETTING. We share walls, and yes sound will carry. Crazy people!!

childhood stories

I don't know if anyone remembers Babar the Elephant or Rudyard Kiplings The Elephant Child. Its funny how you watch a movie like Coming to America and things just pop into your mind. I know I loved these stories and the characters. When reading The Elephant Child I always wondered what "insatiable curiousity" meant. I think I related to it as a child cause I am in fact as an older adult very curious, to the point of being unnecessarily nosy. Babar was just a fascinating character as a child. I don't remember much of anything about that book unfortunately. I would love to find these books and have them for my future kids.

poor Utah Jazz. At least they still make the playoffs. Still, as its been said among my family, the old school coaching and program need to be reconstructed. These young players can't play under restraint. This is why I think the Bulls, Celtics, etc. do so well. They have the freedom and contemporary mentality to be at their full potential. On day maybe we will be on top again.

Remember this: "John Stockton for Three! YAAAAAAAA! John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals!" Oh man good times.

celtics v. bulls

I must say that this series is one of the most exciting games I have seen in awhile. I can only imgaine how the celtics would be if Garnnet was playing, but these teams are very well matched and one has a championship and the other has built themselves up. I am impressed with the bulls and their young team and coach. Rose, Hinrich, Noab are something special. Who knows they could become the next big trio next to Garnnet, Allen, and Pierce. Derek Rose of the bulls is a little speed demon that strides from one end to other and never fears any kind of contact. Although there are times that I think his youth shows quite a bit in his mistakes. I have always liked watching Hinrich when he was with Kansas. Gordon is a good go to man for the bulls as well. Rondo of the Celtics is almost like a mirror image of Rose. They both have speed and a great ability to play this game. I think Rondo actually keeps his cool and lets things be created before he throws the ball around. Oh....Allen for three!! Love Ray Allen. He has the ball you see fans hands go up indicating a three pointer. Even though I think the Bulls have a good chance to progress through the playoffs, I think the Celtics will go further.