Jon and Kristi Harmon's Sweet Blog

2011-12-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, my parents came out for Thanksgiving. Yay! We ate Turkey, visited the arch in St. Louis, and went out to eat at Lotawata Creek (just thought I'd throw that in there because I like saying the name:). Harrison turned into a Daddy's boy over Thanksgiving. He would cry if I took him from Jon. I guess that is okay though, I would be bored of me too if I had to spend all day, every day with the same person. Jon enjoyed it:) He gets SO excited when Jon comes home. He giggles, he squirms, he lunges out of my arms, etc..

The pictures below are of a street that me and Harrison frequently take walks on, and Harrison ripping up junk mail a couple months ago (I figure I might as well get some use out of it). We really like the area we live in, with all of the trees and fields. It doesn't look as pretty right now because it is winter and everything is dead and none of our snow has stuck yet. But this picture was taken in summer time. I meant to get a picture of the trees in the fall because they were really beautiful, but by the time actually remembered to get the camera out, we'd had a wind storm that had blown all the leaves off of the trees:(

The video is from this morning. Really, he can jump much higher and more excitedly, but he was a little distracted by the camera, but it is still cute! Also, please ignore me talking in the background. I hate hearing myself. Darn it, I just tried to play the video and it didn't work. I will have Jon fix i...hopefully soon.

Just Because

2011-12-02T14:52:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I like to sit and watch the Mormon Messages at lds.org. I just do, I can't explain it. But here are some of my favorites from today:

http://lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#how-do-i-love-thee

http://lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#marriage-and-divorce

http://lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#motherhood-an-eternal-partnership-with-god

I don't know how to make these into links. Apparently I am technology illiterate. Oh well. But if you copy and paste it into the box at the top of the screen it will take you right to it:)

2011-11-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

Oh Poop!

2011-10-06T09:58:00.000-05:00

WARNING: This is gross. If you can't handle gross, I suggest you stop reading now.

One morning, about a month or two ago, I left Harrison alone in my bedroom for just a few minutes so I could get some necessary things done. He was surrounded by toys to keep himself entertained, and I made sure there was no possible way he could harm himself. However, when I returned just a few short minutes later, I found him on his back with some sort of dark goop on his face and hands. My first panicked thought was that he had somehow hurt himself and was bleeding. Then, on closer inspection, I saw the smears across the floor, his hands, and up his back. Yes, he had pooped, and it had squashed out of his diaper (gross!). He had then wiggled across the carpet, leaving smears, rubbed his hands in it, then rubbed his face with his hands. I am not certain that some of it didn't get into his mouth. He does sometimes like to suck his hands and fingers. How can one so small make such a big mess so quickly?!?! I sincerely hope that none of it went into his mouth- but either way, he is okay, he never got sick. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there are no pictures to preserve the memory, but I was too concerned with getting him cleaned up and washing his mouth out-just in case.

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this story because it is gross, but I will probably want to remember it later on down the road. Looking back on it now, I can see it was kind of funny as well (now that I know he is not going to die from poop consumption:).

Reading

2011-09-19T10:57:00.001-05:00

Harrison likes being read to, especially if the book is touchy-feely and has furry things for him to feel/attempt to eat, or if it makes noise. I took this picture of Jon reading to Harrison yesterday and thought it was very cute.

However, this book is a little dangerous because he likes to hit his head with books for some reason. I did not teach him this, he learned it on his own...isn't he talented?!

About Harrison

2011-09-19T10:02:00.001-05:00

Again, it has been a while since I posted. Today I will just post about Harrison.

In mid-May, he got his first tooth! It was tough on him (and me) though. While he was teething he would wake up almost every 2 hours at night (he'd been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old), although he was also sick at the same time (some sort of cold, cough, sore throat thing-I was also sick), so I'm not really sure if it was the illness or the teething keeping him awake. Oh well, he looked super cute with his little tooth. He now has 7 teeth, and I'm pretty sure he is working on getting some more right now.

He went on his first big vacation to Hawaii and loved it! Mostly he loved being outside all the time, and being carried around:) He has also flown to Utah and Alabama (for Jon's officer training graduation). He usually does pretty well on his flights, but if you stick him in the car for any extended length of time, CRANKY PANTS!!!

He also went to his first BYU game in Mississippi! Me and Harrison spent most of the time down below the bleachers. He has never been a fan of loud noises, so all the cheering, stomping, and yelling scared him a little. I think he finally got used to the noise because he finally decided it was okay for us to go up and watch the game at the very end of the 3rd quarter...just in time for the good part:) Go BYU! Side note: Clapping used to really scare him too, so I started acting really excited and saying "yay" whenever people clapped, so he would get the idea that clapping was a happy thing. He now loves clapping!

I took him to the doctor last week for the first time in a while. He was 75th percentile for weight, 90th for height. We also had to get caught up on immunizations, BOOO! Actually he did really well. He cried while they were giving him the shots, but then stopped crying as soon as I picked him up after they were done. I think he was mostly crying because strange people were touching him.

Harrison is not a fan of strangers these days. He loves smiling at them, and will shriek (happily) at them to get their attention. He loves being around other kids too.

Day 9

2011-07-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

The toughest physical part of this trip has been the hot weather. Ever since that cook day in Arches, everywhere I've been has been seeing record setting temperatures. I think Texas is just mad that I've been mocking it and this is its best way of retaliation. Well, Texas, I'm not done with you yet. Last night, the bandito struck again as I camped at a state park. I had planned to pay for a campsite but none were available. So I just set up "camp" (aka- my car) in the overflow parking and said goodnight. Actually I checked later on and there were still multiple campsites that never filled making me angry. But not too angry, since I did wind up saving money. Anyways, the park was pretty nice. There was largest man-made swimming pool in the world although I'm not certain of its accuracy. At night, I invented a new game. Due to the heat, I would get my hair wet and see how quickly it would dry. Then I would repeat and count how many times I could complete the cycle in an hour. I did it 11 times. This might not sound like a fun game to you but I think you'd like it better if you were playing. Anyways, today I continued on to Big Bend national park located on the Texas-mexico border. While, in my opinion, it was still borderline as to whether it should be a national park, it was definitely an improvement over the last. As you wander through this park, you will find it a grand place to see tall bluff, the Rio grande carving it path, and of course, drug trafficking. The Rio Grande I found to be quite interesting. It is Spanish for large river, which it is not. I could go for Arroyo Grande but that's about it. Either way, its not the most daunting obstacle. If you didn't know, there is actually a sister park across the border which, roughly translated, is called "Gateway to the US National Park." Anyways, I think its called the Rio Grande to sound intinidating. Unfortunately, in Mexico its known as the Rio Brovo, or Brave river, perhaps trying to conjure up courage in those daring to cross. I, myself, may or may not have crossed. Due to government regulations and the illegality of doing so, I feel it is in my best interest not to make any definitive statements. I can say that I did sit halfway in the river and that a dirt line was clearly noticeable once my shorts dried. True dat.

Day 8

2011-06-30T12:59:00.000-05:00

Oh Texas, Oh Texas- what can I say? I've heard everything is bigger in Texas, but I did not find this to be the case. Today I conquered your biggest mountain, Mt. Guadelupe. Not only did it fail to meet quintuple digits, it failed to even surpass 9000ft. Where I come from, that's barely a foothill. In fact, I've seen trailheads higher than your summit. I almost ran up its slopes, but being my first time in Texas, I decided not to mess. The 8.4 round-trip journey took a mere 3 hours. Did I mention I did it on a 110 degree day? I'm still not sure exactly why Guadelupe mtns is a national park even. It's kind of pretty, but not as much as Mt Whitney. And Mt Whitney is only half national park. Are you trying to say that the Guadelupe mtns are twice the national park that Mt Whitney is? I find it hard to believe. Although, I may have to sympathize with you, Texas, a little. After driving around a little more, Texas appeared to me flat and barren like unto New Mexico. I can understand why, when you see a hill, any hill, you rush to throw the national park label on it. In Texas, there may not be anything like it. Anyways, I wish you well and hope you get better soon.

Jon

Day 7

2011-06-29T13:02:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been a whole week. It seems like just yesterday that I was getting risked by the police for sitting in my car. Anyways, I started the day exploring the UFO museum. It wasn't too exciting- mainly just newspaper articles and stuff to read. I was hoping for more exhibits and a perhaps a spaceship but maybe I expect too much. By 1pm I was at the Carlsbad caverns and not a moment too late. Today it was a brisk 110 degrees outside. This made mr. Air conditioning and I good friends. Luckily, inside the cave it stays a constant 59 degrees, no matter what temperature it is above ground. I decided to explore the caves by myself and not to on the tour since they always used the same jokes, most of which are pretty hollow. The caverns are monstrously awesome, definitely the best caves I ever seen. Interesting fact: the floor of the bat cave in covered with more than 50 ft of guano. I was just disappointed they don't let us explore that portion of the cave. I hung around the caves to see the evening bat show as well. At dusk, thousands of bats can be seen leaving the bat cave for a midnight snack and to fight the Joker.The rangers give a presentation where they give kids misleading information. They also have you put your cameras and cell phones away so as not not annoy the bats and so that you can't verify their info on the internet. Overall it was a great day. Exploring the caves was a very hole-some activity.

Day 6

2011-06-29T12:28:00.000-05:00

I've been pondering how to make day 6 sound exciting, but have realized it to be a difficult task. I spent the morning filling out paperwork and after a stop at the air force base drove down to roswell. That's about it. I did have some thoughts today, however, so it place of events, you'll get thoughts insteady. First I thought about how glad I am to be done with USC. The people were great, but the administration (with a few wonderful exceptions) was... interesting. I had to call them today to a form sent to the air force. Now, the easiest way would be for me to email them the form, have them print it, fill it, and send it out. Instead, they require me to send it to them by snail mail. I told them I be willing to pay the $.05 that it cost to print it, but to no avail. We'll just leave it at that. Second thought- there really isn't much in New Mexico. I had always thought that, but my drive across the state confirmed it. It's a desert, and a boring desert at that. Death Valley was a desert as well, but at least there were striking mountains and salt flats and stuff. If New Mexico could add a little variety , I think it would help. Finally, I also decided that this blog was a good idea. By posting my location in here and Facebook, at least someone will know approximately where my remains are should I be killed by a serial killer. If I don't make it to officer's training, I want all 3 of you to report my whereabouts. Oh, the same thing goes if I'm abducted by aliens. Driving into Roswell, I'm pretty sure I saw a mysterious light in the sky. I'm scared.

Day 5

2011-06-25T18:31:00.001-05:00

Today I got to hang out with Rigleys. Booyah. It also happened to be Kim's birthday, and for her present she wanted me to leave her alone, which I was good at. Ok, so Mike gave her a new book that she wanted to read, so while she did want some alone time, it wasn't just because she didn't like us. So we decided to leave Kim to her book. I told Mike I wanted to do the most exciting thing in albuquerque which is riding a tram to the top of some mountain. But since that was closed, we did the second most exciting thing, which as it turns out is disc golf. We played a fun course filled with trees, hills, and your occasional homeless person. After a little barbecue dinner and a second round of disc golf (apparently its also the third most exciting thing as well), Kim joined us for more card games. I decided to play it close, show them I could win at any time, and then graciously lose at the last moment. It was good times with good friends. Thanks Mike and Kim. And thanks Brad for letting me use your room.

Day 4

2011-06-24T22:32:00.000-05:00

Today I learned that the early bird doesn't always get the worm. I've found that my makeshift car bed, while better than a reclined driver's seat or asphalt, can only provide me with about 6 hours of quality sleep. Therefore I find myself waking up at unruly hours. Like the previous day I sought to take advantage of this by exploring a national park before the crowds formed. However, at mesa Verde national park, all the good attractions open at 9am. I tried to entertain myself with the other Indian houses, but once you've seen one kiva you've seen a thousand kivas. When I did get to see the cliff dwellings they were pretty interesting, but I've decided I don't want to live in an alcove. I had an enjoyable hike to some petroglyphs and I think I even found a secret path to the cliff dwellings should I want to visit early some other time.
I began driving through New Mexico, when I was startled to find myself in Cuba. You might not have known Cuba was in New Mexico but it is. Go check a map. I was in southern Cuba when disaster struck yet again. Believe or not, I was given my first speeding. I was disappointed. Not so much that I had received a ticket, but the manner for which I received it. I had always hoped my first speeding offense would be for something crazy like going 100 in a 35 mph zone or simultaneously hitting school children, but instead my ticket was for going 78 in a 70 mph zone. 8 over!. Its barely more than 10% the posted speed. I didn't even think he was coming for me when he first turned on his lights. On the "bright" side, the ticket was only $76. While I can think of a lot I can do with that money, I know a similar ticket in California would be triple that.
I continued on to Albuquerque, which is very difficulty to spell, to visit Mike, Kim, and little Bradley. Surprisingly, Brad didn't run away crying when I met him. I must have still carried a little bit of baby smell thanks to Harrison and not showering. We played games and I graciously let my hosts win. We ended the day watching an engineer's guide to cats, which may be the best educational video out there.

Day 3

2011-06-24T21:10:00.001-05:00

I stayed the night at arches bandito style and would like to dedicate the entire night to Taran. Long live the banditos. I actually awoke early and arrived at the delicate arch trailhead at 5:50am, only to find that I was the fifth to arrive. Really, who are these people. The arch was really nice as were all the arches. They were all so ... round. After leaving aches I headed down to Moab to go to church. I happened to walk into a singles ward, which is surprisingly no that uncommon when I traveling. Anyways, I felt a little out of place so I felt it best to take off my wedding ring. To fit in even more I got some girls phone numbers and promised them we'd "hangout." Ok, maybe not. It being Fathers' day, the speakers spoke on fathers, which I was surprised to hear was also the subject the precious Sunday, due to some fiasco. It's ok, I almost thought last Sunday was father's day as well, so I can understand the dilemma. Or perhaps the bishop felt it was an important subject. Call me traditional, but personally I think he should be pushing marriage first. The speakers all did a good job, but I was disappointed that they didn't hand out any holiday goodies. Maybe they did it last week.
After leaving behind all the single ladies, I found myself in Monticello. The temple there was tiny, even by small temple standards. And they say it was even expanded a few years back. At the temple, it was super windy. I took a fine video of me jumping straight up and landing 12 inches backwards. I'll have to post the video if I get the chance. You'll just have to trust that I'm not intentionally jumping backwards.
As I was driving through southeasr Utah, I felt it would be an unsatisfactory trip if I didn't visit the four corners, where four states intersect. In my anxiety to see this historic landmark, I found myself locking my keys in the car. At this time I was glad I paid the extra $5 on my insurance to get roadside assistance and highly recommend that everyone else do likewise. The only problem is that cell phone reception is poor when you're in the middle of nowhere, making it difficult to contact your insurance. To make the call, I had to climb up a small hill , crouch down into the fetal position to block the wind and even then my call was dropped thrice before successfully requesting service. After returning from my phone call, I found a local who wanted to help me into my car for $60 which I refused. Instead, I let him do it for free. Alright, I gave him $5 to save me the trouble of waiting, but that's it. After that I finally got to go in the park and stand in all four states at the same time and my life was complete.

Die blogger

2011-06-23T23:11:00.001-05:00

I hate you Blogger. I have tried to post twice today and twice you have failed to publish. On top of that my saved draft was also eliminated meaning I have to write the same post for the third time. We are no longer friends.

Day 2

2011-06-21T12:02:00.001-05:00

Before leaving SoCal, I needed to say goodbye to a dear friend. This buddy was always there for me, even at 3am. They provided me with sustenance and frequently entertainment. Truly their place was a home away from home. I'll miss you WinCo foods. At winco, I stocked up on food, but had a tough time deciding witch bagels to get: Sarah lee or fresh WinCo bagels. On one hand Sarah lee bagels are always soft and last a long time without going bad. While WinCo bagels have better flavors to pick from and are delicious. It was a taxing decision but in the end I chose the WinCo bagels since it let me get just four bagels and because it was my last time at WinCo for awhile. I traveled onto Baker, Ca where I decided to take a little nap. I slept under the worlds largest thermometer, also known as the worlds largest incorrect thermometer since it was off by about 20 degrees when I compared it with my phone. Next I was on my way to Vegas. I have a lot of pennies in my car so I was tempted to stop at the penny slots and get rid of them. But then I was worried about actually winning and, not being familiar with Vegas, was afraid of being paid in pennies, which would only further my problem. Instead I went to Nellis Air force base where I was lucky to find the thrift store open. I wound up getting an audio book by Richard Bachman, aka Steven king, which I have since stopped listening to due to boringness. I was also delighted to find gas for 3.50/gallon, which is about 40 cheaper than L.A. On top of that, the gas station gave me a free snickers bars with my gas. Now that satisfies. St George was next on my checklist. I really needed to visit the deseret industries there as, in the past, I had been foiled by its "closing time." Several times I had pulled into st George shortly after the 9pm closing time including 9:01. But time I made it with plenty of time. A quick calculation tells that this is the 35th DI that I have visited, leaving me with just 10 remaining. I got a great deal on a cooler which is the exact item I was looking for. Yes, DI came through again. What I didn't realize is that, while I drove to Arches national park and while I slept through the night, that the cooler had a bad seal around the spigot area. When I awoke everything on my passenger seat was soaked. Yay! I'm not sure if this was also the cause of my steamy Windows in the morning, or if I just sweat a lot, but either way I may need to crack my Windows a little more.

Day 1

2011-06-19T01:00:00.000-05:00

I did not expect the first day to be that eventful, but it sure was. We have movers taking our stuff for us, so I wasn't able to consider leaving until about 6pm. Anyways, I didn't actually leave until 9pm and drove an hour east. By then I just wanted to find a place to sleep and really get out the next day. Also, since I can't afford a hotel every night, I will be sleeping in my car quite frequently. So I found a quiet residential area and started looking at a few things on my phone. Unfortunately, a cop came by at that time and to them, a man sitting alone in his car in this residential area looks very "creepy" or "stalkerish" or "child-molester-like" - you can pick your favorite. I tried to explain my story and the transient state I was in, but I think my explanation made things worse. Anyways, the had me step out of the car and pass a drunkenness test which I passed. I told them that their test was easy compared to the dental school test I be recently taken. They didn't laugh, but I got a kick out of it. Then they patted me down which didn't feel that invasive thanks to the many times I've been "randomly" searched at the airport. I then got to sit in the back seat of the cop car while they did a background check. It was spacious enough but the seats were super hard; probably due to the fact that they were made out of plastic. Anyways, they had no dirt on me so they had to let me go. Little did they know is that, if they wanted dirt, all they needed to call my wife and she could plenty of info that could put me away for a few life sentences. Anyways, I learned my lesson and drove another 20 minutes before finding another residential area and staying there for the night.

The saga begins

2011-06-19T00:50:00.000-05:00

So I've begun an epic journey across the good ol' US of A and figured everyone would want to know everything that's going on. Ok, so this is more for my sanity, since for the most part this is a solo journey, I need someone to talk to. And since I'm not too good at talking to the strangers at the gas station, I therefore blog. So get ready as I travel from Los Angeles to Alabama.

Sleeping!

2011-04-12T00:20:00.001-05:00

I read something the other day that said when you put your baby down in their crib to sleep for the night, you should put them in there still somewhat awake so they learn to go to sleep on their own. I thought I would try this tonight for the fun of it...and it worked!!! I wasn't expecting it to work yet, and I thought there would be tears involved. He was somewhat drowsy when I put him down, but then his eyes popped wide open and he gave me the biggest smile (he usually can get whatever he wants with this smile:). He played around for about 5-10 minutes and then went to sleep. Yay!

Now I know this may not ever work for me again, but I am still pretty excited, so I just thought I would share:)

In other news, I get to go to Utah this week to see my family! Harrison will get to go on his first plane ride too...we'll see how that goes...I'm pretty nervous about this. I hear sucking on something helps their ears pop with the elevation change, but Harrison won't take a pacifier and he doesn't like his bottle so much anymore. I guess I will just keep trying to get him to take his pacifier, or let him suck on my finger. He thinks my fingers are pretty tasty:)If anyone has any ideas on how to keep a baby happy on the plane, please feel free to let me know!

Who Knew?!?

2011-03-05T00:03:00.000-06:00

We found out on February 8th that Harrison had Pyloric Stenosis. I'd never even heard of it before! Apparently it means that the valve between the stomach and intestines thickens so much that food can't pass from the stomach to the intestines, so they just throw everything up. Thankfully the surgery to fix it is very minor.

Let's back up a little though. It started a couple weeks before this. Harrison had been spitting up excessively on and off for a couple of weeks. I hadn't taken him to see a doctor because after it would happen, he would seem to be better for a little while and would keep his food down. However, over the next couple weeks it kept happening, and then it started getting more and more frequent. Finally, late on a Saturday night I took him to the ER because I was so concerned. They checked him out and everything seemed to be fine, he had even gained a decent amount of weight. They mentioned that we could check to see IF he had Pyloric Stenosis, but they didn't really think it was a possibility because he had gained weight and seemed fine. They said they would have to call in an ultrasound technician (it was about 3 am) and that would take an hour or two. I decided at this time to not have them call in the ultrasound tech. and just monitor Harrison, because they really didn't think he had Pyloric Stenosis, and Harrison seemed to be doing better again. It was also very late/early and Harrison was very tired. So we went home and he was okay-ish on Sunday, but on Monday things got a lot worse. He was throwing EVERYTHING up every time he ate, despite me sitting with him for hours after he ate, so that he could sleep in an upright position (and hopefully keep food down). I made a doctors appointment for the next morning with his doctor. They still didn't think that anything was wrong because he hadn't lost weight, but I insisted they do an ultrasound to check for Pyloric Stenosis (for my sanity-I just needed to know that we had checked everything). They did the ultrasound and they found that he did indeed have Pyloric Stenosis. That was the longest day ever. Poor Harrison was screaming most of the day because they would not let me feed him (and he does love his food). He had to have an empty stomach for the ultrasound and for the surgery. They didn't do the surgery until late that same night. I guess they probably got him in as quickly as they could, but it seemed so long with Harrison screaming so much. Harrison is normally such a sweet and relaxed baby, so this was not normal. He also kept throwing up in the hospital because he was so upset. I don't know what he was throwing up, because I hadn't fed him for so long:(

After the surgery though, everything was so much better immediately. It was truly a miracle:) Harrison has been much happier since then. He loves to eat SO much, and he loves when he doesn't throw it back up. He only has three little incisions on his stomach from the surgery. They are so teeny (they just look like a very little paper cut). One of the incisions you can't even see because it is in his belly button. We are so grateful to all of the doctor's that helped our little Harrison.

p.s. The post after this is also new. I just didn't want to post this with his happy birth story.

Crash Diet

2011-03-04T23:28:00.000-06:00

I'm sure most of you know this already, but in December I went on a crash diet. I decided to wait until after Christmas, because I wanted to enjoy Christmas treats:) The name of my crash diet is Harrison Lancaster Harmon. Okay, you may have figured this out already, but my "crash diet" was giving birth. It is a very effective way to lose weight! Anyways, he was born December 26th at 3:15 pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long (just like his mommy was:).

My water broke at 4 am that morning. I took a shower, and then we left for the hospital after Jon packed a bag or two for us. I didn't have a bag packed because a lot of the things I wanted to bring with me were stuff I used every day (except for Harrison's stuff). I started having contractions a little while after my water broke. I timed them on the way to the hospital and they were about 3 minutes apart. The people at the hospital didn't believe me that they were that close together, but I was right. They hooked me up to their machine and it said that my contractions were coming every 1-3 minutes! For the rest of the day we just chilled in the hospital until they remembered to check on me to see how dilated I was. They did have to put some fluid back in me (my stomach) because Harrison's heart rate would drop with my contractions and they thought that the umbilical cord was being squashed. When they finally did check to see how dilated I was, they said I was dilated 10 cm...or more (I didn't know there was an "or more"), so they had me start pushing and Harrison came pretty quickly afterwards! Yay! We are so happy to have our sweet little baby here with us:) We love him quite a bit. Anyways, here are some pictures.

My parents drove down the same day that Harrison was born and stayed for a few days to help out. Thanks mom and dad! Then a couple weeks later, Jon's mom flew out to help us as well. Thanks mom! Help was very much appreciated:)

My Feet Are Beautiful!

2010-11-06T10:44:00.001-05:00

Okay, maybe not beautiful, but better looking than before:) Let me explain. Some people have pretty feet, but I've never thought my feet were particularly beautiful, what with my ankle bone poking out and veins popping up. However, last night when I looked down at my feet, I thought "Wow, my feet look really smooth!" I was pretty excited until I looked again and realized they were so smooth looking because they were swollen (you couldn't see my ankle bone or veins). I hadn't had my feet swell up until now. I thought I would get away without that happening. No such luck. Oh well! They did go down quite a bit during the night though. Sorry there are no pictures for this post. I'm just too lazy to take a picture of my feet, and I'm pretty sure that most of you out there don't really want to see my feet:)

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-02T23:15:00.001-05:00

This year is the most we have ever partied for Halloween! We had an institute party on Thursday, a ward party on Friday, and then went to a haunted "maze" place on Saturday. I say "maze" because you were taken on guided tours through these "mazes." It was super fun though! They had creepy people dressed up that would sneak around and try to scare people. I wasn't too scared, but it sure was fun to watch other people freak out:) Our ward party was at an old Victorian house that a couple from our ward is living in. It is absolutely beautiful and was perfect for the Halloween party!

Jon is a blessing in disguise! Haha! I could not figure out what he was for the longest time, and he refused to tell me. I guess if he told me, then he wouldn't really be in disguise anymore.

In past years here we've always been at a ward Halloween party the night of Halloween, so we've never known if anyone came to our door to trick or treat. This year, since Halloween was on Sunday, we were at home. Our doorbell only rang ONCE the entire night. By the time I made it to the door with the candy, the kids (teenagers) had already left...their loss, they could have had smarties! I kind of suspected that not many would come to our door though. I wouldn't let MY kids trick or treat around here. In our neighborhood most of the parents take their kids trick or treating in the daylight to the stores in the area.

On another random note, I am very excited for next Halloween! I am already looking at costume ideas for my little boy. I just love those baby costumes, and they all look so comfortable and warm:) Would it be bad to take a ten month old trick or treating? I wouldn't let him eat all the candy...I'd help too!

We're alive...All Four of Us

2010-10-02T18:47:00.000-05:00

I know what you are thinking: what does she mean "All Four of Us?" Well, Marley (our semi-adorable cat), is part of the family! But here are some pictures of the newest member of the family.

(Above)And one of Marley, who also thinks he is a baby. Believe it or not, he actually LIKES to be held like this. The picture order is backwards, so the first baby picture is the last one. I got to see his adorable little heart beat at the first appointment, but other than that he kind of looked like a little blob (a very cute blob). The second to last picture is the second ultrasound I got, and the first one where he looks like a teeny person! The color picture I got at the ultrasound appointment where I found out that he was indeed a he (not that you can tell that in the picture-I'm not putting that one up, sorry). And the very first baby picture is the most recent. I put it sideways because it is somewhat easier to tell what's what. Below is the best pregnant person picture I have available right now.

And here are some pictures of some things we've done lately (below).

(Above)We met my parents in Vegas and stayed at Circus Circus, and then traveled down to the Grand Canyon with them. It was indeed very "grand." We also, in true Cisney fashion, enjoyed a Denny's breakfast the next morning. After we separated from my parents, we then stopped in King-something, AZ, where Jon got me a hotel to stay in! It was actually really nice. For those of you who know us, we don't usually go in for the hotel thing unless someone else is paying, so this was a pretty big deal. We usually camp, either in nature or the car, depending on the location and circumstances.

(Above)Jon won tickets to a Dodger's game and with it we also got to meet some Food Network star (he is in the main blog picture at the top)and eat some of his creations. There were hot dogs with a grape relish, and pretzels with a really good tasting dip. On another note, pregnancy has greatly heightened my sense of smell and I can now smell beer (which they have lots of at Dodger games). I'd never been able to smell it before, but in case you were wondering, eeeewwwwww!

(Above)We went to a friend's wedding down in San Diego. The temple there was under construction. They found water damage in the spires, and when they got in there, it was more extensive than they'd originally thought. I don't know if they are done yet, but hopefully they are, because it is really one of the most beautiful temples. They gave my friend a cd with pictures of the temple from different angles, so that they could photo shop themselves into pictures with a normal looking temple. I don't know how that turned out yet, but hopefully well:)

(Above)We went on a ward camp out at Malibu State Park, and hiking the next day. We hike to the Mash site. The people in the picture are friends of our and Jon. The one with her head blocked by the tent is the friend I go walking with in the mornings.

(Above)Jon went to Panama with a group called AYUDA to do some free dental work. If I uploaded the right pictures, then there is a picture of a nearby temple (might not actually be in Panama), some of the kids they worked with (and Jon-isn't he adorable?), and the building they did the work in.

(Above)Me and Jon went to Utah for my sister's wedding. Aren't they adorable? I had to put up the kissing picture as proof that they actually have kissed. My sister does not like public displays of affection...even on her wedding day:)On the way out to the wedding we also stopped at Bryce National Park. It was very windy. Then, of course, we stopped at a few DI's that Jon hasn't been to (or just hadn't gotten a picture of for his DI album), WINCO (an amazing grocery store), and some temples that we also needed pics of (Manti, Provo, Ogden, Logan, and Bountiful).

We also went to the Harmon Family Reunion in August, but apparently we were depending on everyone else to take the pictures for us, so there are no pictures:( While there, we had an egg dropping contest (I won the biggest splat award, and Jon came close to actually winning but was beat out by a much younger nephew-Enoch), an awesome all day scavenger hunt, a talent show, and lots of illness (I think about half the people there got sick with the flu (?)-including me:). The reunion took place at church girl's camp site in Washington. It was absolutely beautiful! There were trees, and mountains, and a lake to go kayaking on.

I know this was really long, but it's been a really long time since I posted. Don't worry, I won't be offended if you don't read the whole thing:)

Christmas!!!

2010-07-28T20:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is a Christmas background. I miss Christmas...a lot. I get a hankering for it every summer. I guess that's why they have the Christmas in July on tv where they play those old Rudolph cartoon/movies:) Do you miss Christmas too?

Hello world

2010-06-14T19:49:00.001-05:00

Dear all, I felt like it was about time to post again. Whenever I don't post, I would like you to know that it is 100% due to laziness, and not for the lack of material. Why, just the other day I had to decide whether I wanted a peanut butter and honey sandwich or not. It was a difficult decision because I hadn't had one in a long time and I was unsure as to whether I could just "go back" to eating like that. Needless to day, I was convinced by the fact that we had just purchased honey from Winco that it was indeed time to have a PB & H. Anyways, what I really wanted to write about is Kristi. Few people know this, but Kristi is a devout stalker. If you have a blog or a facebook, she most likely stalks you. However, I would like to know whether she stalks herself. So basically, the contest is the guess how long it will take for Kristi to notice our blog has been updated. I'm guessing 30 days. Feel free to make your own guesses down below. And no cheating. Cheating is against the rules.

He's Alive!!!

2010-01-03T21:59:00.000-06:00

For Christmas we went to Utah and Oregon for a total of 2 weeks. Unfortunately, we had to leave our baby Marley behind:( We've never left him for so long, and I was worried that by the time we came back he would be dead...or stuck in a plastic bag (yes that has happened, and we'd only left him alone for one day). We had a friend check on him for the first week, but the second week he was on his own (he's growing up so fast)! Much to our relief however, he was alive when we came home, and so excited to see us! I played with him for a while, but then decided I should go to bed since it was after 2 am and we had church in the morning. Marley was not happy that I went to bed, he still wanted love and attention. He decided the best way to get this love and attention was to come up right by my face in bed so I could pet him, and then try to take a chunk out of my arm. He knows that if he does something naughty that he will get attention, even if it is only me spanking him and shutting him in his room. I guess attention is attention, no matter how you get it:O Don't worry, we still love him.

Post It

2009-08-24T23:13:00.000-05:00

This one is for you Becky.

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but we haven't posted for a while. I have way more fun trying to make our blog pretty than actually posting on it (although I don't even do that all that often). I was waiting for something truly noteworthy to post about...and that time has come. You will be blown away. This is what you have all been waiting for. No, I am not pregnant....

I have the most awesome bruise in the world!!!!

Let me go into great and disgusting detail just for you. It all happened on a bright and sunny California day (yes, I know, they are all bright and sunny:). Me and Kelly (friend of many moons who just move to CA) decided to go to the beach. After picking her up we headed due west, as the ocean is locted in a westerly direction (unless you are headed for the Atlantic ocean, and even then it depends what land mass you are on). Well, anyways, we finally, yes finally, came upon a beach. We parked, paid the meter, grabbed the crap from the car, headed down a very long flight of stairs, and across the sand where we parked it fairly near to the water. Since we had these body boards with us, we figured we should take them out on the water. At first we didn't get much action, but soon the waves came with a vengence (sp?). Okay, they weren't actually that big, but they were pretty rough once you got on them. As I was getting the thrill of my life on one of these waves, I realized I wasn't actually on the board all that well. Soon the wave had turned the board perpendicular to my body and up into my leg. Not just turned it, shoved it. Afterwards, I had tons of speck like bruises covering a section of my leg. I was kind of hoping for one really big bruise (I think I deserved it for the pain my leg went through), but this looked even better. It has now been a few days since the incident and the skin is turning a lovely shade of purple and sunchine yellow.

And yes, you will continue to get only these kind of posts until Jon is done with his boards (September 1st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)and can then give you, perhaps, a decent post.

Now you know how fascinating my life truly is. Jealous? I would be too, if I didn't have an awesome bruise like mine.

Really, this is the end.

San Diego

2009-07-19T21:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had our annual ward temple trip down to the San Diego Temple. I think it is one of the most beautiful temples. It looks like the ice queen's castle. Except that it is definitely too warm for there to be ice anywhere near it. The weather was perfect.
Jon also recently got a new camera. He got it for his new job at TMZ. We are pretty stoked that Jon has found a job. So anyways, in preparation for the new job, Jon went a little "paparzzi" on everyone. He camera skills were a little shaky at first, but he soon got the hang of it. In no time at all he was chasing down cars as we were waiting in the parking lot for everyone to show up. Getting right up in their face as they were getting out of their car. Asking the most thought provoking questions. I don't know how many of you watch TMZ, but I have never seen such skill for coming up with questions. I believe Jon will fit in with the crew at TMZ in no time! So enough talking. Here are pictures. I know that is what people go for first. It is definitely what I go for. I skip the words and go straight for pics. Don't worry, I do actually read the posts, just not until I've looked through the pictures at least five times. Oh right, I was going to stop talking. Here goes...

Demon Cat!

2009-07-10T09:59:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I've posted anything about Marley before, but he is my oh so lovable cat. Now, when I went kitty shopping I was picturing a cute, sweet, cuddly kitty. Instead, I got Marley. It is true, I was fooled by a cat.
Sometimes he can be cute, why just this morning he tried to give me a hug. Okay, maybe he was hiding behind the bed waiting to attack me. What he wasn't expecting was for me to be ready for him, so it really freaked him out. Oh I am on to him and his little games. He jumps up, standing on only his back two, front paws extended, eyes crazed. He got kind of freaked out that I was ready for him and stood there in that position for a good ten seconds. You can't tell me cats can't walk on just their back two legs! I've seen it done! The cat you see in the picture is indeed my dear sweet kitty. I just had to include it as it exposes his true personality so well.

The Life and Times of Kristi Harmon

2009-07-03T22:09:00.000-05:00

I went to my first Dodger's game this Tuesday with some girls from work. It was fun, and much more interesting to watch than football (just in case you haven't been to a baseball game and were wondering if there was anything out there better than football). As some of you may know, Jon and I are stingy. Pay for parking? No, never. Don't even think it. Such horror. So I decided to park at Elysian Park and hike in to the game. I took note of my cross streets and paid attention to exactly how I got up to Dodger Stadium. You would think that would be enough to easily make it back to my car. After the game, I asked one of my friends to give me a ride back to my car as I didn't want to walk back to it alone in the creepy darkness. Who knows what lurks out there? Not me. When leaving the parking lot with my friend, we discovered a slew of traffic screwing nin com poops (aka traffic directors). Now I know I'm not spelling nin com poop right, I just don't have the patience to look it up, so I will spell it phonetically. Traffic was horrible, but not because of the large number of people leaving the game, but because of the nin com poops who blocked off half the streets and only allowed you to turn certain directions on other streets, thus resulting in chaos. My friend and I drove around for some time trying to find a way to get near the park, even asking the nin com poops for directions. However, no matter which way we turned or what illegal maneuver we pulled, it was not to be. Finally, frustrated with the system, I jumped out of the car to hike my way back to the park. At this point I was so frustrated that I didn't care where I was, I just jumped out to find my own way. I thought perhaps those nin com poops, or even the police officer I asked, would be able to direct me easily to my destination. Oh, they did direct, just in the completely wrong direction. Let's just say I wandered around for 2 and 1/2 hours looking for my car. In the dark. Until midnight.
The reason I tell you the embarrassing details of my life is not just for kicks. I tell you because I now know what lurks out there in the dark. If you wish to know, you know where to find me. But please, don't come find me in the dark, because then you will be one of the lurking. Let's just say, you don't want to be one of them. Oh, and I also don't get enough opportunities to use the word nin com poop in my life. It is a really fun word-try it out and you will see what I mean.

.........................Free Stuff from Me.........................

2009-02-22T21:18:00.000-06:00

The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me to you. My choice. Made especially for you. Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done sometime this year.
4. You have no clue what it will be... it may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. who knows? not you, that's for sure.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!! There is a good chance that it will be connected to Deseret industries, so be forewarned. Oh and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!

I would DIe for you

2009-02-22T20:43:00.000-06:00

Without a doubt, Deseret Industries is the best retail store in the world (along with Salvation Army and to a lesser extent, Goodwill). There are some things that just make sense to buy there. Clothing is a great example. I guarantee that I could find any type of clothing there for a price that puts even Ross to shame. And the quality is good enough that most people if not everyone won't know where you got it (unless of course you tell them). I would say the variety is better as well since you can find classy wear, casual, athletic, formal and T-shirts with funny sayings (Go JN Graves). Now, I concede that some things should be bought new (ie- underwear, socks, etc) but for the most part DI has you covered. Some of my finds include:

Ski with bag: $7
Ski boots: $5
SonicCare Toothbrush (new): $2
UV Sanitation for toothbrush (new): $4
Suits: From $2-$20
Quality picture frame: $1
Larger Dresser: $15
Coffee Table: $10
Wetsuit: $25
Leather Football: $2
Cow costume: $2
7 Piece Sectional Couch: $70 (a little pricey, I know)
Car back up sensor ($2?)
Harry Potter Books: $2 each, but with buy one get one free
wooden Futon frame: $5
Quality Body boards: $3-$8
General Happiness: Priceless

I love you DI, what more can I say

DAHHHH!

2009-01-19T00:18:00.000-06:00

So you know in those old movies when you see the ladies scream and jump onto a chair because of a mouse? Such a reaction is not as ridiculous as one might think. Why, just tonight I saw a mouse, jumped, then screamed. I probably would have jumped on top of a chair too, if there had been one nearby.
It was only last week we rid ourselves of what we thought was our only Ratatouille (sp?). It was quite the battle. He had been evading us for more than a month, maybe two. He was too smart for all of our traps (although perhaps it was the lack of cheese on the trap). His fateful day of capture began with our return from Christmas vacation. I went to turn our water heater back on, when what should prance out of the closet and past my feet, but our very dear Ratatouille. This closet is in our crowded, but very tiny, back room. So Jon raced to my rescue on his white stallion (well maybe there wasn't a stallion, but he did race). He trapped the mouse in the room, and emtied it of all its contents. After a very fierce battle (which Jon was lucky to survive) the mouse was trapped in a bucket and set free in a distant land (aka, the next street over). I then discovered that the mouse had been through our tootsie roll stash already as well as on our stove, leaving his special markers (as I like to refer to them).
However, the tale did not end that fateful day in the back room. Just tonight we heard a little clicking noise in our kitchen, and what should appear, but our dear sweet Ratatouille Jr.. Having a grand ole' time on our stove.
Stay tuned to hear the fate of Ratatouille Jr.. Will he end up like his father? Or will he live on to tell the tail of his father, Ratatouille "The Great"?

Facebook says I have friends, but...

2009-01-19T00:09:00.000-06:00

I've come to the conclusion that I must be a terrible friend. For some reason, a lot of people with whom I have acquaintance with have come to check out the scene down here in Southern California. They come and see everything SoCal has to offer: the beach, the temple, hollywood, disneyland, In-n-out, etc. They see everything, that is, except me. Apparently there's no time in their busy schedules to see an old friend, if I can even be considered a friend anymore. We even offer our place as a resting point for any who may be in need of rest, and yet, our offer in often in vain. And hotels here aren't cheap; a motel 6 will still run you about $100 per night. In other words, people are paying $100 per night to avoid me. A vagabond staying for a week has paid about $700 to stay clear of my scent (which I concede isn't too pleasant, but still). Not even Spud can entice people to come near, and that's saying something. I don't know what to do but weep. People don't even try to hide to wrongdoings. Pictures are posted on facebook almost every week with someone enjoying the Los Angeles vacation. The captions almost seem to say, "I'm sure glad Jon isn't with us right now. He sure smells funny." Again, I cry myself to sleep at night. So come and visit. I promise to let you sleep at our house. I promise to make you breakfast (JMOPs). I promise to wear deodorant as least every other day. So please, come visit.

Mara-fun

2009-01-18T19:05:00.000-06:00

So it turns out marathons are quite long and cause quite a bit of discomfort afterwards. But yes, I did complete the Running from an Angel marathon along with good ol' Mike Rigley. I didn't quite do as well as I liked, but I feel like I can blame that on the multitude of hills that were much more multitudious than I had thought. My official time was 4:10, which isn't too bad for a first marathon of this nature. To make myself sound better, there was quite a wind there which may have affected my time. To make myself sound even better, my knee gave out at mile 6 (20.2 miles before the finish) and made it extremely painful to run every now and then. And it wasn't the wimpy "ow, it kind of hurts pain," but instead my knee was saying "hey moron, why you be runnin' still? Don't you be seein' the pain you causin'?" Anyways, I knew there would be food every 4 miles, so I kept going. Every now and then, Kristi, Kim, and Tyler pull over and laugh at me (or cheer me on?). At about mile 17, my legs decided that they didn't like running anymore, but I tricked them by telling them the finish line was just around the corner. By mile 20, my legs got wise to the trick and would only run because they didn't know how to stop. I probably would have done something funny at the finish line, but I could only think of the satisfaction of eating food. Plus, there was another guy who was gaining on me rapidly, but didn't want to pass me at the end because he though it would be rude. Instead he pushed me across the finish line. In the end, I did finish 26th overall and 2nd in my age group. The post-race food was satisfactory, but I would have preferred a jamba juice.

These are a few of my favorite stores

2008-12-11T23:36:00.000-06:00

On the way back from our thanksgiving trip to Arizona, Kristi and I saw the best thing known to man: the soothing glow of a WinCo sign. For all those unfamiliar with WinCo (bless your little heart), it's an amazing, low-priced, spacious grocery store full of general goodness. You spend $100 there and wind up feeling good about yourself. Anyways, after buying a 20lb turkey for $3, I got to thinking, "If I could design a perfect shopping center, what would I put in it?" Well, it would, of course, have a WinCo for grocery needs. A quality thrift store would also be needed, so it'll have a Deseret Industries. I also think a Dollar Tree would add a nice touch. Now, the shopping center would need places to eat. Winco does have fresh pizza and a deli, but a variety is always welcome. We'll put a Quizno's in over subway because Kristi likes it more. Teriyaki Stix and Jamba Juice are also needed. Some kind of mexican restaurant would be nice, but not a chain restaurant- something local and authentic. A Ross would be a nice backup in case DI is lacking (like in the new socks department). Finally, there needs to a place to unwind, where a kid can be a kid, aka Chuck E. Cheese. Now, if there's more space, I may put in a costco or a home depot, but only if space allows. Revisions may come if I think of something better, but for now this is the blueprint.

Joshua Tree- don't kick the cacti

2008-11-30T16:36:00.000-06:00

So they apparently named one of the national park after a U2 album: The Joshua tree. Being a U2 fan, we decided to stop there for the night on the way to my sister's house. Joshua Tree national park is part of a large desert so as you might have guessed, it rained hard for the entire night that we were there. In the morning, I wanted to check out some of the famed oasi (plural of oasis) that litter the park so unabundantly. Normally, seeing a group of palm trees isn't too exciting for a southern california resident, but if they're growing naturally in the middle of the desert, it's different. They represent the only water for miles and miles, excluding the visitors center and during times of rain. Anyways, the first oasis was 20 feet from the parking lot, and was about as exciting as an oasis can be. However, I decided to run to another, bigger oasis 3.5 miles away. I left Kristi behind, she was enjoying our luxury suite in the back seat/trunk of the car and could not be disturbed (or awakened). It was a tough little hill climb of a run to say the least. There wasn't too much wildlife on the run, but when I arrived at the oasis I found a critter pooing in the middle of the trail. He said, "Ooops, I didn't think anyone would be coming." We laughed, but secretly it was a little disgusting. I guess he and a few of his friends had a slumber party in an area that distinctly said no overnight camping. I tried to capture the serene landscape on the camera, the pictures only came out so-so. Overall, the national park probably would have gotten boring real quick if we had spent anymore time there. The one thing we didn't see in Joshua Tree National Park: A Joshua Tree. There wasn't any U2 music playing either.

Running with the gobblers

2008-11-30T16:10:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving break was kind of more on the thanksgiving and less on the break. I started the break off with a little something known as the "turkey trot." The "turkey trot" actually contained very little trotting and even less turkey. It was said to be a 5k, but when I crossed the finish line in 17:52, I knew something was wrong. I like to say I'm pretty fast, but I can barely run 1 mile in 6 minutes, let alone 3. Later, thanks to a measuring system known as google earth, I found the distance to be 2.7 miles. Overall, I finished 9th out of the 41 runners, but I was slowly starting to catch those in front of me, including 2 in the last minute. The winner creamed me though. He darted out to the front, took a wrong turn, darted past me again and despite his navigational error, still finished around 14 minutes- which is insane. I did win a USC windbreaker in the post-race raffle, so booyah.

One More Thing

2008-11-25T12:57:00.000-06:00

You might have noticed in my post entitled "You and Me" that when I spelled the word geniousness, I did not spell it correctly. I left out the o. Clearly that means that there was no actual spurt of geniousness coming on. If you can't even spell the word geniousness correctly, clearly what you are experiencing is really just a bout of indigestion. So next time you feel a "burst of geniousness" coming on, sit down and try to spell geniousness. If you can't spell it correctly, then just assume that it is indigestion.

Squirrels and Other Such Evil Things

2008-11-25T12:49:00.000-06:00

So this story all starts on a bright Saturday morning. I sat innocently chatting on my phone in the car, parked behind our apartment. Suddenly an orange falls on my car from the orange tree above. I figured that probably happens a lot when I'm not sitting in my car. Then another orange drops. Coincidence (I don't know if I spelled that right)? I continue chatting when suddenly a third orange falls on my car. Now this is just weird. I doubt that many oranges just drop on my car within like a minute. If they fell that often all the time, there wouldn't be any oranges left. So I look up....and to my utter horror I see a possessed squirrel dropping oranges on my car. Now you might think I would climb the tree to teach it a lesson...but I didn't. Not going up there to teach it a lesson will be one of those lifelong regrets that will trouble me to my dying day. So, moral of the story is, if a squirrel drops an orange on your car, don't let it get away with it or you to will have a lifelong regret.

2008-11-16T20:46:00.000-06:00

View Album

Get your own

2008-11-16T01:14:00.000-06:00

I figured it is getting to the point that people might start thinking I don't ever chill with Kristi. Recently it seems that most social encounters have found me without my dearly beloved. I would just like to dispel these rumors. Why, just today we almost ate breakfast together (I actually seemed to be finishing my oatmeal as she began to devour her english muffin). Now, when I am alone, most people ask "Where's Kristi?" I'm not sure whether this is out of general curiosity or whether they consider me intolerable without her. I lean toward the latter. Anyways, I also discovered flavored rice cakes, which are mostly nutritious and so I'm going to go eat them.

"Oh Boy" Eggnog Waffles

2008-11-09T16:14:00.000-06:00

So this Saturday I decided to be somewhat domestic and make waffles with the help of Jon's friend, Tyler. As I went to the fridge to get milk, I saw Tyler's Pumpkin eggnog, sitting innocently in the fridge. So I said "we should make eggnog waffles," not being completely serious. It could have been very disgusting, but Jon and Tyler liked the idea, so we made pumpkin eggnog waffles. Guess What! It was actually very good. So if you are brave, then just look up the "Oh Boy" Waffles recipe at cook.com and substitute the milk with pumpkin eggnog. I'm sure someone has already thought up this idea, but oh well. It is new to me.

2008-11-09T09:39:00.000-06:00

I've come to realize that running has its ups and downs. I mean that in a literally sense and not some thought-provoking double-meaning kind of a way. What I'm trying to say is that I don't like hills. However, yesterday I was able to develop a way to go downhill fairly efficiently. Now, you might now say, "oh, he's learned to roll down," as you silently chuckle. Because of that I'm not going to tell you how I really do it. Plus, we're not friends anymore.

You and Me

2008-11-07T01:35:00.000-06:00

I tried for hours to figure out how to put music on our blog. Jon finally figured it out for me. He won't tell me how long it took, which probably means it only took a few minutes. I was close to figuring it out though. I could feel a spurt of geniusness coming on. My favorite song is the You and Me song. It is the song that Jon played when he proposed to me. Very romantic. I was in a cow suit and he proposed with a ring pop. Best tasting ring you will ever find. I have run out of words and this post has no point. But I have posted now. Hopefully future posts will have a point.

Will it work?

2008-11-05T22:49:00.000-06:00

I got a new job the other day. Actually, I heard about it, applied for it, and was given it within about 2 hours. It was the easiest job I've ever obtained. I'm actually not sure what I do but I think it involves playing video game-like devices that help teach dentistry. I think they call it research. Either way, if you include the Air Force as a job, Kristi and I have 4 jobs between us. The only difference is that I work maybe 8 hours a months compared to 160 hours for Kristi. Oh, and I get paid more.

Special Sunday Recipe

2008-11-02T18:25:00.001-06:00

I just thought I'd take a moment to share with everyone a recipe that is dear to my heart. It's a little something called Almost Orange Julius. You will need:

1/2 can of Orange Juice concentrate
1/2 c. Milk
1/2 c. Water
1/2 t. Imitation Vanilla
1/2 dozen Ice Cubes
1/4 c. Sugar
10 love units

Throw everything into a blender and push "on." Failure to push the "on" button may result in a less than satisfactory product.

I cannot currently make this because I don't have a blender at the moment. Even if I had a blender I'm too poor to be able to afford the ingredients. But at least you can now enjoy that which I cannot.

Get the motor runnin'

2008-10-31T00:13:00.000-05:00

So I've begun training for a marathon and thing are going mostly well. I haven't died yet and I always have to consider that to be positive. Today was a little setback. I ran 20 seconds slower than my previous best 5 mile time. Currently, my best times are as follows. 1 mile- 6:06 (which is pathetic), 3 mi-20:57, and 5 mi.- 35:37. My goal is to run the marathon under 3:10 and to be sponsored by either Nike or Wheaties, which ever pays better.

New bloggers!

2008-10-22T20:33:00.001-05:00

Look at us Kristi, we have a blog!!