Meet Munch

Really big and really important news! We've made an addition to our family. Meet Munch the Pooch. We rescued him from a shelter and are currently working through the adoption process. I was trying to keep my mouth shut until all the papers were signed . . . but it's taking longer than I had anticipated. Hopefully he will be officially ours by the end of the week. He's been at our house for almost a week now and he has adjusted so well. Also, I think Luna has finally accepted that she is no longer our only pet. She can be such a priss . . . but I think she's decided Munch can stick around since she's still the superior animal. After all, she gets to sleep on the humans' bed at night and the dog has to sleep in a crate.

Munch is such a sweetheart. He is gentle and loving . . . he never wants to leave our side. He's had a bit of a rough life: missing teeth, torn lip, cut ears. I can't wait to pamper him and give him the love he so deserves. And oh my, the summer is going to be a ball. I can't wait to take him on runs, walks and hikes. I took him out on his first run on Monday . . . we took turns dragging each other . . . but by the end, we were in our element. I think I have a new running pal.

Speaking of pals . . . the shelter actually gave Munch the name of Pal. But he doesn't respond to Pal, so we thought it would be okay to rename him. Does anyone know, is this breaking some kind of sacred rule or will it be okay? I really don't want to offend anyone at the shelter because they've been so great to work with.

I can't wait to share our journey of finding the right dog on this here blog. A dog is a huge commitment, and I'd like to share our experience with others who might have the same questions we had. And I know it's so important to do what's right for you personally, but I do think adopting can be a great option. If you have any questions, ask. I'll be writing a follow-up post soon.  

Truth Tuesday

• I have no photo for this post . . . which means no one will probably read it. I know how hard it was for some people to move on from picture books to chapter books. 

• I wore a nice button-up blouse to work today. Well, I thought it was nice until I looked down and realized that the shirt kept opening up in between two of the buttons, perfectly exposing my right boob. It was the most awkward day at work for me, I sat clinging my shirt shut while I sat in my studio recording. I'll probably get fired now for indecent exposure. 

• When I got home this evening, a guy was walking his dog and he just let it take a dump right in my neighbors' yard. I was super annoyed. He just let it poop and then he kept walking. I wanted to yell, "Hey, are you going to clean that up?" But I couldn't bring myself to do it because I didn't want to sound like a prude. What do you do in that situation? Anyway, I made the mistake of not saying anything. Then I felt super guilty. So I got my little gardening shovel and crossed the road, searched all over their grass for the giant dog turds, and scooped them up. I probably looked like such a fool . . . but I did a nice thing . . . right? I am sooooo relieved that no one came out of their house to ask what I was doing in their yard. 

• We had chocolate chip pancakes for dinner tonight. It was awesome. 

• I absolutely love documentaries. One of my favorite college classes was actually one where we learned all about documentaries and even made a few of our own. Any suggestions of good ones to watch? 

• Now that the Winter Olympics are over, I feel like I have no point of using Twitter. I use it for work and that's basically it. Actually, I got a Twitter account all because my boss told me to. I really just think Twitter is weird.  In the words of Mr. Griffith from the movie "Easy A": "I don't know what your generation's fascination is with documenting your every thought... but I can assure you, they're not all diamonds. "Roman is having an OK day, and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station. Raise the roof." Who gives a rat's ass?"  

Sunday Best: SD Card Woes

top: Bella Me, skirt: Bella Me, tights: Target, heels: Kohl's

It was one of those times when I schmoozed my husband into taking outfit photos, only to find there was no SD card in my camera. Good thing our phones take decent pictures. 

Also, I can't get over this spring-like weather we are having in Utah during FEBRUARY. I hope it's not all a cruel trick. We went on a few walks and a short hike this weekend.

Oh, and some fun changes are happening at the Weller residence. Hopefully I can blog more about that this coming week. 

Peace and blessings. 

XO

Throwback Thursday: The Turtle Story

Throwback Thursday is now a common thing on social media. It consists of an individual sharing a picture from their past. I've decided to take it to the next level. Throwback Thursday will be a new series on the blog where I will share a story from my past. I can't promise it will happen every Thursday, but I can promise it is happening today. 

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As a child, my favorite game involved doing anything where I got to pretend I was someone or somewhere else. As a result, whenever we went to Grandma Reeder's house, I highly suggested to the other grandkids that we play dress up. Being the oldest grandchild, I usually got my way and no one disagreed with my suggestion.

Grandma had a huge old trunk filled to the brim with dress up clothes in her basement. It was all mothballs and memories piled in that chest. There were Halloween costumes our parents once wore, 80s prom dresses, letterman jackets from the 50s, dusty cheerleader pom poms and boxing gloves, faded jerseys, the gaudiest show jewelry . . . you name it . . . it was probably in that trunk.

Playing dress up at Grandma's house usually consisted of the kids marching to the basement to pick out costumes while we left the adults upstairs to sit on couches and armchairs to visit. Once each child had their costume on and their alter ego created, we would parade upstairs again to model for our parents.

One might argue that a child outgrows playing dress up once they reach a certain age. Others might say it's when the child runs out of new clothes to dress up in. Or maybe it's a combination of both. I do not know for certain, but I know how it happened for me. This is the story of why I quit playing dress up. In my family, we refer to it simply as "the turtle story". I was about nine or ten years old although each time my mom tells this story, I magically get older.

 Bad photo quality, but dressing up awkwardly has obviously been a daily occurrence for a very long time. I'm fairly certain this photo was taken on the 24th of July when I wanted to dress like a pioneer. I'm sure my LDS ancestors dressed just like this.

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I pulled out layer upon layer of material. My fingertips brushed across itchy wool, soft and cool silk, stiff and delicate lace. Every outfit idea I formulated in my brain felt too familiar. Perhaps after several years of playing with these dress up clothes, I had finally reached the point of wearing everything in every possible way it could be worn. I sat on the floor surrounded by articles of clothing, letting the smell of their years fill my nostrils. I closed my eyes and tried to formulate a plan. 

Minutes passed. 

"Kelsey, we're ready to show the grownups," my little brother chimed. 

My eyes popped open to see my brother and cousins in front of me adorned in overcoats, high-heeled shoes, bowler hats, and strings of pearls. My eyes then wandered over to the corner where Grandma did her laundry. I suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"Head upstairs, gang. I'll be right behind. I have a plan," I shouted in my very bossy but very enthusiastic voice. 

As the "gang" lined up and started teetering up the stairs, I skipped over to the dryer. In a rush, I pulled my shirt up over my head and my pants down around my ankles. Then I let my panties drop for good measure. I grabbed the rim of an empty laundry basket, lifted it over my head and set it across my shoulder blades. My costume was complete. This was the best round of dress up I'd ever had. 

I ran over to the carpeted stairs, clinging the laundry basket against my bare skin. Then I got down on all fours and began to crawl upstairs, completely nude, with nothing but a dark green laundry basket to partially cover my small buttocks and back. 

When I reached the top of the stairs, I crawled ever so slowly into the living room, doing my very best to stay in character. The living room suddenly erupted in laughter as I made my grand entrance. I lifted my head and pushed my frizzy dark hair away from my face. My aunts and uncles were rolling across the couch cushions consumed by giggling fits. My mother's eyes were filled with terror and her face burned red with embarrassment. She was nervously laughing. 

"Kelsey! Where are your clothes?" 

Why was everyone laughing at me?*

"Don't you get it," I said defensively. "I'm a turtle."

*I must add that once my grandma controlled her laughter, she told everyone that my turtle costume was actually a very creative idea.    

 

Truth Tuesday

• I recently received a card in the mail from the post office. It stated they were holding a card for me that didn't have enough postage. I would have to come in and pay for my mail from unknown sender. Today I went in and paid $1.87 for a greasy envelope which contained a crushed up Oreo. It was from my brother. Don't tell him . . . but I didn't eat it. I smelled it just because I felt guilty. 

• I made homemade Oreos for our Opening Ceremonies party with our friends. While making them, I got the bright idea to make red, white and blue frosting. It's a little bit pathetic how proud I was of myself. 

• I'm sorry (actually, no I'm not), but people who post passive-aggressive statuses on Facebook are pathetic. We've all seen it. An upset person gets on Facebook and posts a status so that the person they are upset with will see it and feel bad. But the upset person didn't say any names or anything like that, so they don't have to own up to doing anything wrong. In my opinion, this is way worse than talking about someone behind their back. Seriously, instead of being a coward and hiding behind your Facebook profile, confront the person you are mad at to their face. Then you'll save all the rest of us from feeling awkward when we read your rage-filled status. 

• Okay, I really am sorry. You're not pathetic if you do that. You maybe just make poor Facebook decisions. Just think before you post, yeah? 

• I went to do the dishes a few days ago (there were dishes piled on dishes in the sink). I moved a plate to find a MASSIVE spider. I panicked. I'm totally comfortable with little spiders and try to avoid killing them. But when the thing is as big as my ear, that's sort of a problem. I called Brian so he could walk me through killing it. He told me to wash it down the sink and turn the disposal on. I put my phone on speaker and set it on the table. I told Brian to stay on the line while I committed the murder, just in case the spider attacked. I grabbed the sprayer and let the water gush out. The spider quickly dashed under a bowl. I screamed. I sprayed. I screamed. I sprayed. Water flew in all directions. I finally killed the beast. I was shaken up to say the least. Later when Brian got home, with a smile on his face, he guiltily told me he'd had his phone on speaker. Everyone at the office was listening to me. He's lucky I didn't do him in like I did with that spider. 

• I'm over the top dog-hungry right now and I think I'm cursed. Every time I park somewhere, the car next to me has a dog in the backseat. Not only that, but each and every time, I lock eyes with the dog and then I want it. I'm going to dognap someone's dog from their car soon if I don't get help. Brian and I were going to get a dog for Christmas but we put it off because we thought it would be better to wait until spring. Spring is coming, guys. Spring equals dog. 

• I'm thinking I'll start a new career in cat photography . . . 

But come on, don't tell me that's not the best thing you've seen all day. I love Luna.  

Love Week

Valentine's Day of 2014 was my favorite to date. I'm finally to the point where I love Valentine's Day. I always thought it was corny (which I guess it kind of is). I think in the past, I had the wrong idea of what Valentine's Day meant. I always thought it was just a day for lovers, and that is how it is widely and popularly celebrated. However, I realize now it's not just a day for your significant other. It's not a day meant to make those without feel lonely. You don't have to be shot by Cupid's arrow to enjoy Valentine's Day.

This year, for me, it was a day to really notice all the people I'm surrounded by who I love and appreciate. And I'm so blessed to be surrounded by so many. It was a day to celebrate my husband, my family members, friends, co-workers, my cat (we can't forget my cat). I even started to realize my appreciation for strangers. I was kinder and more talkative to my cashier at the grocery store; I caught myself with a giddy smile plastered on my face as I watched the crossing guard guide the middle school kids across the road near my home. Love is not just for lovers. Love is for every single one of us. You deserve to be loved. I hope you allow yourself to love and be loved not only on February 14th . . . but each day throughout the year.

I had so many great experiences last week. Since I'm lazy and don't want to write a novel, here's a bullet point list of some things I loved about Love Week.

• I hosted Miss USU and each of the girls were wonderful. Not only that, but I met tons of nice people after the show who came and said hello to me. Oh, and I got a delicious loaf of cinnamon bread as a thank you gift for emceeing. 

• For Activity Days, we learned about budgeting and had a banana split bar. The girls all received an amount of play money and then had to buy everything from their bowl to their ice cream toppings. I planned the whole activity and it was fun to see it all come together and watch the girls enjoy it. Then my heart melted when one of the girls didn't have enough money to buy an Oreo, so another girl gave her one of her dollars. I tell ya, my heart was a puddle. 

• I spent "Galentine's Day" with my mom and grandma. We went out for lunch and antique shopping. My grandma, who is the sweetest, also bought me an antique ring. 

• Pizza and cookies at work on Valentine's Day. I love it when I don't have to plan lunch. 

• I won an awesome Valentine's Gift Package from the Cache Valley Mall. I'm now a firm believer in those silly Facebook giveaways. 

• I got to read a bunch of hilarious awkward date stories from our VFX listeners. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. 

• Brian didn't get me roses on Valentine's Day. He totally surprised me with tickets to Ellie Goulding's concert! I almost hyperventilated. As if things couldn't get better, he put them inside of a cat card. 

• We had a quiet and romantic Valentine's Day evening by getting Chinese takeout and running off to the family cabin. 

• My mother-in-law is the most thoughtful person and left a basket of goodies and movies at the cabin for us, complete with a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries in the fridge. Love her. 

• Oh wait, she also prepared us an epic brunch the following day. Waffles with whipped cream, fruit, sausage, orange juice. That woman needs to open a bed & breakfast.  

• Sleeping in. Enough said. 

• Free Olive Garden. 

• Hot tubbing with friends.

• Waking up to Brian carrying in a tray with breakfast on it (he knows food in bed is the way to my heart). 

• Winter Olympics. 

Love is nice. I think I need to work on celebrating it more every day. 

Sunday Best: I'm basically Ryan Seacrest

dress: Downeast Outfitters, necklace: Downeast Outfitters, heels: Kohl's

Life has been a whirlwind lately. A wonderful and fulfilling whirlwind, but a whirlwind nonetheless. 

On Wednesday, I had the honor of emceeing the Miss USU Pageant. It was my first time playing emcee and I enjoyed it very much. My partner on stage rented a tux, so I knew I needed to dress to impress. I feel like I found the perfect "emcee apparel". I wasn't glitzy enough to distract from any of the beautiful women performing yet I didn't look like something the cat dragged in.

I even had my own cheer section for my first emcee experience. My wonderful husband was so supportive and my mom and sisters came down to watch as well. Gosh, I love my people. 

I only messed up a few times. Once, I forgot to turn on my mic. Another time I almost said, "Let's give them a round of claps." Awkward. It was such a fun night and I'm still so honored I was invited to host.  

Also, I got a haircut. I went for the undercut look and I love it. Upon shaving my head, I did discover I have a few white patches of hair, so that's just great. I'll probably have white hair before I'm forty.