Dreams do come true...

Our dreams came to us in a package of about 1,295 square feet. Here is our little apartment/condo. It's where we staked our first claim and settled down.
Sara was excited about the fact that the place came with a washer and dryer... and a refrigerator... I thought these were just benefits of western living... apparently in California they don't throw these things in automatically.
This is right before we cleaned up the place:)

Design Poll

Since my candidate for president is not going to win... most polls these days only seem to alienate me... so I thought I would run my own poll... nothing to do with politics. Okay, we got our 42" of a mammoth TV and now we need to find place to put into. I put together a little model of our home... just to give you a brief tour.




So here is our dilemma... the fireplace competes with the TV and the nook that holds the TV is too small... proportionally it was a bit of challenge but we decided we could build a concrete hearth to possibly balance the space... here are our options...



Here is option D in perspective... but don't let it sway you from the other options...



anywho... please give me your opinion... or ideas!!!

Grandpa Snowball

I was sitting at my desk at work this morning and at 8:30am an email popped up from Tasha relaying a meassage that Grandpa Snowball was at Long Beach Memorial in the ER, having had a stroke in the early hours of the morning. At that moment he was doing pretty good considering what happened but by 10:00am he went from mild/medium stoke to massive stroke. Not something you want to hear. My grandpa is a trooper and hanging in there but things are progressing fast and not in a good way. Grandma is now having to consider signing DNR papers and the swelling in the brain could be continuing for another day or so. I love my grandpa and it's killing me that I'm not working at that hospital anymore and that I'm not right by his side. Thankfully my mom and aunts and grandma are taking good care of him and have done so much. We were told to start gathering the family...and those who can are coming. Stanford and I will be out Sunday. My grandpa is a very well loved man and is so strong minded and willed and I know he will work hard to pull through, it's just whether his body will let him or not. Please keep him and my family in your prayers.

My tribute and self advice

Okay, I really don't want to overshadow Sara's tribute but it is my birthday... besides her tribute has pictures... and mine does not. Now, why should anyone right their own self advice? Perhaps after having a bad day and good day all rolled into one, it is possible to feel weak, feeble and confused. So a good tribute and self advice seems to be in order. Perhaps I am going to become a consultant to others who have lost a job, the week after their Father died or before Christmas or squarely on their BIRTHDAY!

Okay, after a while certain doubts do creep in. I have currently changed jobs three times in less than two years. I am suppose to be career building. But never fear Stanford because with each job loss comes another and better opportunity. I attribute my perseverance to my Mother. I attribute my faith to Sara and paying tithing. With each job loss comes several questions. Is it me? Office politic, should I concede? What will I do? What is the price of gas?... really I must stop there and take a deep breath. Whewww... First, I need to remember my faith, that God is looking over all and like the lilies of the field, God will provide. Second, I must persevere. I need to go to bed and wake up in the morning and then come up with a game plan... and then pray and get everyone I know to pray for me.

Well, so far that is the strategy I follow... and oddly enough... in the end I am always gratefully for having past through the experience. All-in-all my trials are quite trite.

Tribute

My dear friend Blanca passed away this past Saturday the 19th of January. I happened to be in Riverside, California for my friend Laura's wedding and on the way to the chapel I got Caroline's text message saying she was in the PICU, intubated and probably not going to make it through the day. I was so sad and prayed that she could hold on until after the wedding so that I might be able to see her. My prayers were answered as Stanford and I raced the hour distance to the hospital. My heart just about broke when I walked into her room but was so grateful for the chance I had to stand at the head of her bed and express my love and admiration to her. She passed away just a few hours later. She fought a long and hard battle of Cystic Fibrosis and I got to know her well during her many inpatient stays during the four years I worked at Miller's. We used to play games together and talk about the challenges and blessings life brought. She struggled but she never gave up. She knew a lot about my religion and she used to tell me how awesome she thought it was that I believed and practiced the things I did. I used to joke with her and say, Ok Blanca, now don't do anything I wouldn't do...and she's laugh and say oh sara, you know that's not possible... :) She had her own ways of doing things and she took care of herself the best she could. She was an amazing girl and I will truly miss her. I feel peace knowing she is no longer in pain and that I will get to see her again someday. I love you Blancita!

Me, Blanca, and Caroline


Kandra, Mike, Caroline, Blanca, and Me


Me and Blanca

The Pics:: Snowball style!!!

Sara and I spent way too much time on this blogging project... but here is the result of living our lives through blogging... originally this was suppose to be an evening project... which turned into projects... and something else. Here is the sweat of our labors, please enjoy.
(View and download the pictures)

Christmas Season

The Christmas pictures are finally here...even if we're already half way through January! Life has been pretty hectic. Stanford and I are in the process of buying a condo and will close escrow on January 21st. We are very excited to be moving into our own place and we've been busy getting everything squared away. I will try my best to post more often than I have. Here's pictures of Christmas...

Tasha, Tanner, Brayden, Stanford, and I spent some time at my Grandpa and Grandma Torgerson's house before Christmas




Family Christmas Party at the Olson's the Saturday before Christmas! Such a fun event where we eat soups and bread and sing old fashion Christmas songs.




Christmas Eve at my parents house


Christmas morning . . .














Christmas Day at the Torgerson and Snowball Grandparents home














Last but not least ... Christmas at our home in Las Vegas. Here's some final pictures of what our apartment looked like during the Christmas season.






Stay tuned for Stanford's favorite pictures!

A California Christmas

Stanford and I are in California!!! We got here Friday night and are staying until Wednesday. I LOVE being home! Everyone is here...Carly, Blake, Chad, and us (and of course Paige who is always here). Tasha is also around and we've already seen her twice and will see her again tonight at the family Christmas party at the Olson's. It's been quite a party around here with singing and piano playing and movie watching and just spending time with family. (View and download the pictures) Merry Christmas from warm, sunny California!

How I love technolgy

Whenever someone asks me what I want... I can never think of anything... being as we are already so happy, but today I remembered I have been creating this huge list of books on amazon (stanford's list) which I will probably never get around to buying. Anyway, I thought I would publish it as useful Christmas gifting information... maybe I can get Sara to do the same thing.

The Newly Weds

Jack was a pepper-jack
round cheese gut
Jane was a mix
part Labrador, part All-Bran
Jack sang the chorus
on tune, who knew?
Jane sang the lyrics
break-dance, hip-hop
Jack was a hydrostat
unrushed and unbookmarked
Jane was a broken thermostat
an icecream burn
Jack was a misfact
a word unknown
Jane was a flavor
right upside down
Jack was a misbeliever
an A.M. chirper
Jane was alarmist
perpetually snoozing
Jack was a misdemeanor
FedExed but undelivered
Jane was back seat driver
last word heard