Bored

Ben will not stop talking about how bored he is. It's too late to do anything fun like watch a movie, but too early to go to bed. I decided I was bored too, and now would be a good time to write down a few things.

So, update on us:
We (ok, really more me) are stressed. We hate moving!

-Sale of the house fell through
-No place to live yet in Cali
-Job situation has minor glitch (ask Ben if you really want to know)

So I'm being a little "woe is me" and will stop lamenting, but I just have to vent those things somewhere. Everything is going to work out, I'm just tired at the moment and would like to see it start working out now, not later. I'm at the point I'd rather just stay here where we are comfortable.
But, it's not about taking the easy road or being comfortable, right? It's about doing what will be worthwhile in the end and what is right for us. And I know the right thing to do is to do this move.

Positives:

-Ben will like this job and enjoy the kids he'll be with
-I will get to stay home more with Benny and spend time with him
-No snow in No Cal! Yay!
-Closer in proximity to some of the grandparents

I'm sure one day I'll look back and say "all that stress was nothing. Look how great it turned out in the end." We just have to get past this stuff and look at the big picture. I tend to get sidetracked on the little things along the way and lose my focus.
I know everyone has things going on right now too; we've all just got different baggage, and this is ours at the moment.
So, for the next few weeks I am going to try to pack up that baggage and store it away and support Ben as he leaves on this venture. Three more days in Utah and he is outta here!
Good luck Ben!

Here Come the Newlyweds

Not us, by any means! It's a reality show we got addicted to on Monday nights. The finale was yesterday and I decided to post a quick thought since I take so long in between posts they are all going to be really long and no one will want to read them. Oh well, this is more for my journaling purposes, right?

So the show takes a bunch of newlywed couples and they have to carry out certain tasks and relay race type things every day, and each day they vote to eliminate someone. Each day the money pot grows bigger and in the end, someone will go home with it. Like "Survivor" but for newlyweds.

Well, the Corlisses were not your sugary sweet little couple. His whole body was tatooed, and she wore very little clothing, and what was there was very tight. First impression may not have been the most positive with them and they almost got voted off pretty much every week.
Guess who won..........
Yep, the Corlisses. I COULD NOT believe it.

As the show ended, Ben made another brief but deep thought. As in life, we get kicked down many times. But the best thing to do is pick yourself up and hang in there. And if you hang in there long enough, things can really turn out well in the end.
The Corlisses were so close to losing so many times, and they never quit; they just tried harder. They ended up growing closer as a couple and winning half a million dollars.
How's that for hanging in there!

Happy Birthday Ben and USA!

What a great day to celebrate Ben's birthday, the same day as our nation. He is even named partially after one of history's great men, Benjamin Franklin.
We started the festivities by having our friends Steve and Adrienne over for dinner and a game of Rock Band. I can't find the pic of all of them rocking out, but here is second best. Steve and Ben have known each other since high school and are very similar in a lot of ways. Steve had quite the knack for the guitar, and Adrienne was an "awesome" singer.
The next day we went to Ben's mom's and sister's house for a barbecue. Costco cake is the best!

Yes, Ben got a hammer for his birthday. And of course there's a story that goes with that.

And for the 1st time in 6 years, Ben let us go to fireworks! We wanted to take Benny and let him see all the lights. This is him during the fireworks show:

We ended up just parking the car outside Thanksgiving Point and letting him sleep while we sat on the grass on the side of the road. It was actually quite nice. I even took this lovely picture of us and our license plate:

Toward the end of the show everybody got in their cars and started driving away. All the headlights didn't add to the splendor of the show, and I commented how dumb it was that they would all leave during the fireworks finale, the best part. Why go to something if you're not going to stay to the end? This led to other questions: Why go to a game and leave before the last play? Why go to a conference and leave during the speaker's final comments? Why attend something if all you can think about is leaving in time to beat the traffic? If you are so concerned with how it's going to be leaving, can you really enjoy the whole event fully?

Ben commented that that is a problem for a lot of people in life. We are so concerned with the end result that we don't live in the moment. We don't take time to enjoy what we have now because we're worried about what comes later.

I enjoy spending time with Ben because he usually has little insights like that with pretty much everything we do, whether it be a stupid movie that really has nothing to do with anything, or something he heard someone say during the day. He always has an interesting thought and I am constantly learning from him (when he is not being a total goofball).

I'm proud to be an American, and I'm proud to be married to such a good and crazy guy! Happy birthday