Reed and Jen and then...

Reed and I were thrilled when we woke up the other day to this...




He was in our backyard stealing some shade. Guess we'd better put those screens we bought in the openings in our wall now. This sucker was over 4 feet long and looks as though he's staring right at me in this picture. Reed discovered him (luckily, because he didn't have a rattle) and ran upstairs to share the joyous news with me. I threw some clothes on and hurried downstairs. Reed was a little upset that I just waltzed outside to find it with seemingly no caution at all. Especially because in other news...





I'm pregnant!! I figured it was okay to tell now because:

1. It's getting too hard to hide it and


2. People are probably wondering why I'm "letting myself go" and


3. I'm 4 and 1/2 months





So there ya go. I will finally breed. Watch out world!!!!!!


We'll find out on August 6th that it's definitely a boy...cuz that's what I want!

Independence Day 2009

Reed and I had his family over for the 4th's celebration this year. We usually just watch the fireworks on TV or go up to the second floor of our apartment complex and see what we can see, but this year we decided to mix it up. Being a homeowner sure does open up many more rooms of possibilities. Reed and I thought it would also be more fun to have a BBQ at the very nice and spacious park by our house. Well, when we arrived to clean off the grill that other nasty people have used and start the coals burning, the very nice and spacious part was drenched in about a million gallons of water (courtesy of the downpour we had the night before). Apparently this park also serves as the drainage for our community. Brilliant!! Reed had actually gone over earlier to check the park's availability of crusty grills but decided not to tell me about the water in hopes it would all be gone in the next few hours and I suppose in fear of any yelling that may ensue upon me hearing the dreadful news. So, Reed and I enjoyed cooking and semi-hosting our first BBQ in pools of molch sprinkled with rabbit poo...and the aroma...mmmmm! I say semi-hosting because instead of Reed's whole family attending like we thought and were hoping for, Reed's parents came. (That sounds bad...we did enjoy their company). The other family members showed up in small numbers eventually. The night ended up being rather enjoyable. Reed did a wonderful job with the burgers and hotdogs, he even fed one to the rabbit pooed water. They were tender and juicy. Yummy! We ended the night at the Fireworks Spectacular held in Marana. Next time we'll have to bring lawn chairs, even though we thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the ant-ridden dirt hoping that one would not crawl down my pants.

Reed and his BBQ-ing skills!

Only a fraction of the drainage aftermath...and my father-in-law, Darwin.


My mother-in-law, Jeannie, waiting for her food in the van. She did not want to hang out with us in the rabbit-poo water for some reason.

Now there's the spirit folks!!

Knock Knock...It's Kirby.

The other day, there came a knock on the door. Crap!...a visitor and I'm in my PJ's. So I creep up to the peep hole (so she doesn't suspect my presence) and there is a nice looking girl with a clip board. Should I answer it?...I thought to myself. I can just smile and nod and then nicely decline whatever she was selling. WRONG! Always creep back away from the door quietly and pretend you're not home. Think Jen!!! Anyway, I actually open the door (no thanks to the involuntary muscle reactions of my upper extremities) and listen to her schpeal. She was selling a vacuum and proceeded to explain its glory and wonder with a bonus deep-cleaning of the fabric in the house of my choice. All I basically heard was that I will get a piece of my house cleaned for free. When she's done with her lecture, smiling like she'd like a response, I say "Sure". STUPID! What follows would take me through a 2 and 1/2 hour adventure (which I'm sure you don't care to indulge in) of how this vacuum works...who said anything about a vacuum...and why I should buy it. So basically my morning (and afternoon) consisted of needlessly starving myself for three hours just to get my couch cleaned. By the way, this vacuum (Kirby is his name) costs more than the down payment on our car. I made sure I mentioned that in lou of today's economic crisis before passing out after viewing the price tag. This vacuum is amazing though. Dang it! It not only vacuums...oh no...it is a leaf blower, car detailer, deep-cleaner/shampooer, sweeper, tile cleaner and many other things in one. "Hot Dawg!" you say? Well you can have one for the reasonable price of 2500 dollars. Not so hot anymore right? That's what I thought. The owner guy was totally willing to bargain with me though. However, he was just not going for the 60 dollar price tag hanging above my puppy-eyed head. Guess I should have slipped into something more sexy than my pajamas that morning. To make him feel more successful and less like he had just wasted a good majority of his day, I promised some customers to him. So...anyone who wants this delicious deal...just let me know. I'll send them knocking on your door. Enjoy the hours of fun!

All joking aside, it is a tremendous vacuum, and he is willing to make a deal. Payment plans are offered too. Anyone, anyone?

Guess I'd better

I haven't blogged in awhile...well cuz' there's nothing to say really. Just thought I should since it's been 2 months. The new house is doing well. We are painting it this summer finally. I hate white walls especially when there's not much decoration on them, and color would just be much more homey and welcoming.
School is done for the year. I am taking an online class this summer and one more in the fall...and then I'll finally be done!!! Wait...what's that in the distance? I think it's a finish line. Oh wait...something is blocking it. Oh yeah my comps. Ugh! Ah well...the inevitable strikes again. Guess I'll have to wait till December graduation to get too excited.
In other news, we hope to be traveling across the country later this summer if all goes well with our finances. Tuition has rapidly depleted our savings account. Cripes! Anyway, more posts to come, hopefully of our painting genious and our lovely trip. Stay tuned.

Invasion of the Moths!!!

I just had the most exhilarating, triumphant experience sucking up all the moths (dead or alive) that have recently invaded our humble home with the attachment on our vacuum cleaner. I felt like Vindictive Wonder Woman. She existed once, right? Now, I just have to sanitize the areas where they dumped their bloody poo. Why!!! Anywho, these nasty little germs in flight are the fifth type of critters we've had around these parts. #1: fake bugs from my cousin Alicia on her first visit to our new home. House-warming gift? #2: crickets. #3: our first (and only) cute little baby scorpion. #4: a mouse. He was cute too even though he was dead. Is that macabre? I wait in anticipation for our next critter to rear it's ugly head.

"Friendly Reminder"

If you will all just take a moment to scroll down to my previous post regarding our growth. I thought it was pretty amazing. Well...the HOA did not agree. We received a letter in the mail today about this disagreement with the unsightly growth occurring in our front and side yards. Excuse me, but how can one of God's creations be unsightly. Reed and I were actually encouraging their progress and are very proud of how far they've come. The HOA needs to spend a little more time appreciating nature in action. Despite our valiant efforts to nurture our growth, the weeds in the yard have to go. We have until April 9th. Which means...we'll wait until April 9th before we let our creations meet their demise. Here are pictures to remember them by...

Side Yard

Front Yard

Oh, and I have finally taken the time to photograph the inside of our new house...which is actually almost a year old already! Disfrute!

The Loft (upstairs)

Upstairs hallway

Entry to our bedroom (double doors)...how grand!

Our bedroom. Oops...forgot to make the bed. Oh, who am I kidding...nobody really makes their bed anymore.

laundry room...upstairs...oh yeah!

Entry room

hallway to kitchen downstairs

Kitchen/dining area

Living room

Just Kitchen

What're They Up To???

Reed is really getting into his work...We're making a lot of growth... Reed just went out to water this one. It needs a little encouragement.

I have this recent infatuation with using the word "SWEET" as often as I can...Sorry. No Picture.