Freud...

Last night, Patrick felt the baby move for the first time. I think I was more excited than he was (of course it was around 11 when I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly). He really has been wanting to feel her and I'm so glad he finally got to. She really was dancing up a storm (I'm thinking jazz tap lessons are in order... later of course), but he only felt the one big kick.

So, since it's me, I can't just be excited and happy for this event. I've got to analyze why I'm so excited and happy (yes, mom I see you smiling in my mind). So, what I've come up with is that it's been a fairly solitary deal so far. Yes, I know it took both of us to start this train ride, but it feels like a lot of the changes and weirdness and craziness mostly happen to me. He's not in on the swelling body parts, funky digestive process, and the first nudges from the inside--editorial note: I am not saying he has not been wonderfully supportive in all of these issues, because, I just couldn't do it well without him. Anyway, the fact that he could feel the baby when I did, just seemed to me like we got to share this pregnant thing in a way more special and real than me just telling him about it.

I know I probably sound a little naive and silly to those who've been through this a couple (or a half dozen) times, but you know I'm more sentimental than pragmatic. And I know you'll forgive me since it's my first time. Here's hoping the train doesn't wreck before we get to the station!

Drum Roll....

She's a girl!

Posty-Post

Apparently, I have been neglectful of my posting duties... No, I haven't written anything about Thanksgiving or my new job etc. Pretty much all I have to say is: I can't wait till Friday, because then it will be ultrasound time. Stay tuned.

My Boys

I have been sick since last Saturday. I have a monster of a cold that started in my sinuses and now has traveled to my chest. But this post is only 10% me whining and 90% gratitude... Last night I woke up every single hour with a new coughing fit and two of my boys were there for me every time. Poor Patrick, I don't know how he got any sleep. Every time I'd start coughing he'd touch my hand or my back, letting me know he was there. That sure helped me feel less miserable. Then Koda, who usually sleeps in the kennel or at the foot of the bed, came and laid down alongside the bed closest to me (I nearly stepped on him when I got up to go to the bathroom). He's been sticking close to me all day as well. This sure beats being single and dogless, even if I am sick.

Melaleuca Mayhem

Okay so I have been putting this off for a while and now it is time to do this. I have left my Director of Information Technology position at DocuTech and accepted a position of Sr. Developer Analyst at Melaleuca on the 8th of September. This was a needed and welcome change of pace for me. I no longer have 100 things a day to work on. I can actually just focus on my two or three projects and just get something done (yah)!

Well last Thursday happened to be Halloween at Melaleuca. They did not celebrate Halloween on Friday becase of month-end where they get a ton of orders and they need to be focused on that. So Thursday was the day to celebrate. Every year the employees get to bring their kids to work and go trick-or-treating. They have an estabished trick-or-treat path through the Home Office that winds through each department. Each department goes all out when decorating. The company is transformed in one day for Halloween in which you would not recognize the place. Very little to no work gets done on that day. Everyone walks around in character and just has fun. It is a steady stream of kids throught the building for 8 hours. That's got to be a lot of candy!

From what I hear IT set the bar high when they moved over to the Home Office. Last year they had a Harry Potter theme, which had moving/interactive pictures and all sorts of cool stuff. Well this year they had to meet the same level and go beyond that. So it was Star Wars this year. There was a hologram setup as the kids walked into the department then each aisle was a theme like Mos Eisley, Jawa Crawler, Endor, or Melenium Falcon. Then at the end there was an interactive display with the Emperor. Needless to say some kids were in awe, some did not know what to think and others were scared (even by Chewy).

Other departments were Jungle (Marketing), High School Musical (Sales), Spooky Alley, Trailer Park, Never Land (Call Center), Rock Band (Business Development). Below are some of the photos we took, Enjoy!

Stuff I've Done

So here's the list I was given. I'm supposed to highlight the things I've done. If you want to play, copy and paste, then mark the ones you've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Alaska
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Been to Disneyland
7. Climbed a mountain (mountain almost won)
8. Held a praying mantis
10. Bungee jumped
11. Watched a lightning storm
12. Taught yourself an art from scratch
13. Adopted a child
14. Had food poisoning
15. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
16. Slept on an overnight train
17. Had a pillow fight
18. Hitch hiked
19. Built a snow fort
20. Run a Marathon
21. Watched a sunrise or a sunset
22. Hit a home run
23. Been on a cruise
24. Seen Niagara Falls in person
25. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
26. Seen an Amish community
27. Taught yourself a new language
28. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (it was better when I didn't have or need it)
29. Gone rock climbing (rock wall)
30. Seen Michelangelo’s David
31. Sung karaoke
32. Seen Old Faithful geyser errupt
33. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
34. Walked on a beach by moonlight
35. Been transported in an ambulance
36. Gone deep-sea fishing
37. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
38. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
39. Played in the mud
40. Gone to a drive in theater
41. Been in a movie
42. Visited the Great Wall of China
43. Started a business
44. Served at a soup kitchen
45. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
46. Gone whale watching
47. Got flowers for no reason
48. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
49. Gone sky diving
50. Bounced a check
51. Flown in a helicopter
52. Saved a favorite childhood toy
53. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
54. Eaten Caviar
55. Pieced a quilt
56. Stood in Times Square
57. Been fired from a job (see below)
58. Broken a bone
59. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
60. Published a book
61. Had your picture in the newspaper
62. Read the entire Bible
63. Visited the White House
64. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (does fish count?)
65. Had chicken pox
66. Saved someone's life
67. Sat on a jury
68. Met someone famous
69. Joined a book club
70. Lost a loved one
71. Had a baby (um, in process)
72. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (waded)
73. Been involved in a law suit

Not Really Sad

So today after lunch I got "laid off". Which is code for: the CEO doesn't really know how to run a company, made a lot of dicey business decisions, and then ran out of money to pay me. I'm not broken up about it, or really even mad, because Patrick and I have been talking and praying about how to get out of this bad company situation. So there you go. Problem solved. Now if I can just find somewhere to work until I have this baby...

Call Us Crazy

Or maybe just glutton for punishment...


Meet BlackJack, our new 4 month old from the pound. He's a lab/hound mix. ...Koda needed a friend.

Family Pictures

Yup. That is the smallest Gunerud. Only .54 cm so far. YAY!

6 Months

Yesterday, Friday the 22nd, was our 6 month anniversary. Sometimes I get taken by suprise that I'm married. I spent a lot of time with the word single attached to my identity. When we got married it seemed like things meshed naturally for us for the most part. We've never had problems with toothpaste squeezing, drinking from the milk jug, or toilet paper orientation. But, sometimes I suddenly see my thought processes and realize that I don't have to think that way anymore because I'm married and the conditions and assumptions I previously used to form attitudes and make decisions don't always apply. But it's a habit. Habits are there so we can conserve mental energy for more important things--new problems, new circumstances--that way you don't have to use all that energy every time you brush your teeth or take out the trash. I'm not really sure of the point of all this. I realize that time and experience will most likely take care of these things, but it's just something I've been thinking about.
Happy (6 Month) Anniversary Patrick!

Shave and a haircut...

Somehow the responsibility to relate this latest tale has fallen to me. I must protest that the event that follows was not my idea. I will claim partial guilt for the outcome as I was fully involved in the process.

Now to the story: Saturday night last week. Just finished watching a movie together. 11:30ish. I vent my frustrations at the mound of cat hair on the pillow and blanket on my side of the bed. (Smokey is Patrick's 13-year-old cat. Ever since we got the puppy he's been shedding double time and my pillow is his favorite place to sleep during the day.) Patrick mirrors my irritation regarding the ever present coating of cat hair on our furniture. He has a brilliant idea. Let's shave the cat! I did not immediately realize that he meant right then, but as he brought out the electric clippers I got the idea pretty quickly.

That brings us to things I've learned: It takes at least 2 people to shave a cat. It also takes at least an hour or 2. Needless to say, we went to bed that night with only a few square inches shaved off Smokey's back. The job was finished the next day after church. Suprisingly, no one was hurt in this adventure and the cat has not been any more grumpy than he already is. I think he's so old he just didn't notice the change in his fur.

However, he does look a little worse for the wear...

Koda, Spud Fest, and Water Dog

So it has been a while since we took that other picture of Koda, so here is one from the 26th of July. He really likes to bite his own tail, one thing that we will gladly let him do.

Today he is 17 weeks old and he is still a handful. He has been very good at listening and coming when called, but lately he has chosen to ignore us. When there are more interesting things going on (like kids playing across the street, the neighbor's black lab, etc.) he will just plain ignore us. With a little work he may just come around :-).

Spud Fest
Yesterday we went to Victor for Spud Fest! We took Koda with us and stayed the night at Fox Creek Inn, which is a bed and breakfast. It was fun to get away and be around the Tetons. That night we went to the Teton Reserve for a potato bar. The Teton Reserve is a golf course and the spud bar was at the pro shop. When we pulled up the place looked really fancy and we had Koda with us. He had to stay in the car while we were there, but he behaved himself really well. Upon walking up to the pro shop, we were greeted by Dawn Wells (Marrianne on Gilligan's Island). She saw that we had the VIP passes and asked us where we were from. She said a few other things to us while we were there, but I will leave those out. We then had our potatoes with 21 toppings to choose from. They were really good. The whole time there we got to listen to a Kenny Rogers impersonator. He was good, but I thought he did not sound like Kenny.

After the spud bar we drove down to the Spud drive-in theater close to Driggs (the one with a giant potato on a truck). Koda was able to get out and spend a little time on the grass while we waited for the movie to start. He was extremely excited and wanted to go see everyone that was there. Luckily we had him on a leash and kept him in one area as most of the kids had to come over and pet him. The movie we watched was The Mummy: Dragon Emperor. It was a good movie, but I was disappointed since it was not the caliber of the last two movies.

The bed and breakfast: Koda was insanely excited while we were there. We just had the leash hooked to his collar and he was pulling as hard as he could going through the place. He was put in his place buy he owners dog who is very territorial. But he had a good time. The owner took him for a walk this morning while Jamie and I ate breakfast. He was introduced to the horses and found their poo was tasty (ugh). Koda was able to retrieve the ball that was laying in the backyard so we were able to burn some of that energy.

Water Dog
After arriving home and a short nap we decided to take Koda up to Blacktail and properly introduce him to water. I was thinking that he might not be sure about going into water over his head for the first time, but Jamie was confident that he would go right in. So in went his tennis ball followed closely by Koda. He took right to the water without any issues. He did have a hard time getting the tennis ball so we switched to the stick like tennis ball. He loved that. He would run into the water grab it and swim back as quickly as he could. After a couple of throws I was in the water making sure that he would be okay and Jamie was throwing the stick. He would swim out grab the stick and bring it back to Jamie. Then he would shake all the water off him on to Jamie and let her throw it back in the water. While out of the water he would stare at the stick anticipating when and where it would go into the water. So all around he is a great swimmer and had a very good time today.

Tagged

4 RANDOM THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY HUSBAND *
-his beautiful eyes
-he lets me win sometimes
-he's a hard worker
-he secretly likes my chick flicks, but always rolls his eyes when I suggest one

*4 JOBS I HAVE HAD*
-usher at the delta center
-camp counselor in TX
-coupon lady at the grocery store
-Occupational Therapist

*4 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE*
-Return to Me
-Secondhand Lions
-Pride & Prejudice (A&E version)
-Steel Magnolias

*4 PLACES I HAVE LIVED*
-Sandy, UT
-Northern VA
-Norman, OK
-Idaho Falls, ID

*4 TV SHOWS I HAVE WATCHED*
-Stargate Atlantis
-Quantum Leap
-What Not to Wear
-Food shows on the food channel

*4 PLACES I HAVE BEEN*
-Haiti
-Hawaii
-Toronto
-San Antonio

*4 PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARLY*
-my crazy aunt linda
-U of U secretary
-spammers
-ummm...

*4 FAVORITE FOODS*
-lasagna
-Mexican food
-cheese
-berries

*4 PLACES I'D LIKE TO VISIT*
-Africa
-New York
-Alaska
-Europe, China, So. America, Australia...

*4 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS COMING YEAR*
-Thanksgiving
-Hiring another therapist so I can leave Pocatello
-Someday starting on the basement
-Getting the wedding album done

*4 PEOPLE I TAG*
-anyone who wants to
-ditto
-see the first one
-yup

You Will LOVE This!

I found this today and it made my morning brighter. I hope you love it too. Enjoy!


Where ___ is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

fine print.

Ok. One blog to vent. Banks stink. Loans stink. Fine print stinks.
Glad I could get that one of my chest. Apparently, although it doesn't say it on the deed or the loan note, I must reside in my condo for the duration of my 30-year mortgage. I of course did not see that small detail, nor was it told to me when I signed the mountain of paperwork 3 years ago. Now, I'm married and living in Patrick's house. We rent my condo to some fabulous people. I, trying to play by the rules, sent the lender a letter with my new name and address. In return, I got a letter stating that I had 3 options: move back in to the condo, sell it (and pay a penalty), or refinance (and pay a penalty). As if you could sell anything in this economy.
Banks stink. Loans stink. Fine print stinks. We'll see how this one plays out.

Fighting the War on...

WEEDS! Morning glory is the bane of my gardening existence. I dig and I pull and I curse morning glory at least twice a week. It thrives in our garden patches despite my constant savagery. It has even figured out how to grow through the folds of the felt lining the lava rock beds in our drainage ditch. Erg. What must I do to conquer the Beast that is Morning Glory?

Koda checking out the neigbors

Today while Jamie and I were out doing yard work we had Koda in the front yard with us. We did not have him on a leash or tie down, since he has been pretty good about minding. Well the neighbor across the street was out working on his cars and had the garage open. Koda saw this and was compelled to run across the street. He ran into the neighbor's garage and started eating the dog food that our neighbor had in his garage. The whole time this was happening Jamie and I were both yelling for him to come back, but he would just not listen.

So the neighbors and his dog food are really interesting for Koda. He ended up getting dragged back across the street by the scruff of his neck. Hopefully that might deter him in the future...?

Seeds of Love?

We've just been alerted by a watchful reader (John!) that there is actual photographic evidence of the first time Patrick & I met. Although, I doubt it would stand up in court since you cannot see my face nor his. This photo was taken at John & Jen's New Year's Eve Party 31 December 2006. We are both sitting on the couch. Also note what a hot babe I was that night wearing a pink brooch and matching pink heels with my jeans.

Hah!

As promised. A mushy newlywed picture. Take that! Thank goodness the snow only lasted 'til June... Ok, so it melted before that, but it did snow in June.

So, since everyone else and their dog has a blog...

Ok. We have succumbed... I wasn't going to, but Patrick used his puppy dog eyes on me. You know I don't usually follow the crowd, but anyway. Maybe we'll put mushy newlywed pictures on here and no one will want to read it.