Not Quite Canadian

There's No Place Like Home!

2011-12-23T10:10:00.001-08:00

There is a LOT of good Mexican food in California. Mexican is typically the first place we pick if we're going out to eat. Everyone has their taco shop. I just wanted to show you a picture of my all-time, 5 year standing favorite meal at any Mexican place. This is the Carne Asada Nachos from Santana's in PB. The picture may not look amazing, but it's just my favorite-est-est meat, pico, guac and cilantro meal! I highly recommend this place (also called Fresh MXN).

We've been in San Diego about a week now. It's been great to be back where we have so many great memories, family and friends!

2011-12-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

If you saw Peter's blog (I think a lot of our readers are shared), you know that I caught some 24-hour bug. I'm mountains better now, but Tuesday night - Wednesday night was plain ugly. I'm not sure how the flu inspired it, but I did three puzzles in 24 hours and watched The Happiest Millionaire. In that time, I saw what was in my inner-self and I saw what my inner-self likes to do when I'm hurting. Puzzles and classic old Disney Musicals.

Happy Holiday Home

2011-12-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

We'll be away from Tucson for Christmas, enjoying holiday-family-play-eat-music-cheer time. We don't get to enjoy our tree for long, but we love when it's up!

This is our new apartment. I love that we inherited the light green walls. I like the way it makes the tree pop against the fireplace.

Family Pictures

2011-12-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

We got these pictures taken right before we left Pacific Beach last summer. We felt sorta silly, like they were engagement photos again, but I'm glad we did it. We LOVED living a mile from the beach and all these places are places that were really important to us for those 2 years.

Oh, the places you'll SLEEP

2011-11-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

I left for my big trip three weeks ago today. In reflecting on the trip - I wanted to put down in writing where I've slept since then...

1 night on a plane to London
1 night in Qatar
3 nights on a spare bed in Dubai
1 night in different bed in Dubai
3 nights in Tiff's spare bed in Qatar
1 night on a plane back to London
1 night at my mom's new house
3 nights with my mom in a Marriott in Palm Springs
3 nights with Peter in the same bed at the Marriott
1 night on a pull-out bed/couch with lots of kids on the floor
1 night in a different bed in the Marriott, alone finally
2 nights in our bed in Tucson

So- there it is. This is probably more for me to remember and enjoy than for your enjoyment, but it's 11 beds in 21 nights. Seems like I'm in my early 20's again... I was always crashing and staying at friend's places. (right, Tash?)

Pictures of my to trip to Dubai, Qatar and London

2011-11-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Tucson after 3 great weeks out and about this planet!!

I had a fabulous time, and it was a perfect trip to the Middle East!

I uploaded my photos to Facebook from my trip. I think it would be too much to post that many photos to my blog-ito, so I'll attach the links for the people that don't have FB (ahem, Anne), so you can see them.

Dubai

Qatar

London

Thirtieth Birthday Trip!!

2011-10-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

My 30th birthday is this week and it's been on my mind for months. It could be said I'm going through a "Third-of-Life-Crisis." So, I'm doing something about it, I'm going to Dubai and Qatar in 2 weeks and I'm so excited!! To me, and to people that knew me in my early 20's, this is the perfect trip for me.

My longtime girlfriend, Tiffani Clark Bates (check out the MTC below) lives out there for the last few years with her husband and darling children and has always offered for us to come for a visit. Unfortunately, Peter is just so busy with school and I'm just not busy with anything else. I wish he could come, he wishes he could come, but he gets that I need to do this trip (and it gets him off the hook for a big birthday gift). :)

QATAR SKYLINE

DUBAI SKYLINE

DUBAI'S PALM ISLAND

Fabulous old pictures of Hermana Clark and Siostra Romney
Sep 2003

Das Gemüse

2011-09-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Farmer's Market. There's something so satisfying, domestic, fulfilling and tasty about having a full fruit basket in your kitchen.

The title of the post is an inside joke with my sister Liz, even though she may not even remember it. If you think back to "Called to Serve" video, it shows an MTC teacher drilling vocab and saying this over and over again. It translates to vegetables. At the time I didn't know how to say 'I Love You' in Polish, so we used this phrase. As she pulled away from saying goodbye to me from my mission in 2003, we kept yelling "Das Gemüse" at each other. We wrote it on our letters. Silly memory, but I like it.

You Remind Me of the Babe...

2011-09-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

All thanks to Awkward Family Photos, I found this picture. My brother Dave and I LOVED the movie Labyrinth and this picture makes me smile. When we were about 12 and 14, we pooled our money and special ordered the soundtrack for $17.99 from Sam Goody, that was a big deal and a lot of money back then.

I hope the picture makes sense to you, and makes you smile too.

First Home Football Game

2011-09-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the home opener, and we had a great time! I love being around a ton of people screaming for a fun reason. This was one of Peter's first College Football games, he thought it was way over the top. I thought it was fantastic.
Take note - I am wearing blue, which is a common denominator with this school and my favorite school, but I am never giving up my Cougars. I called it ambiguous Blue.

The sunset was beautiful!

The Marching Band spelled out U of A. I thought that was way cool!
Take note - it was 9:45pm and still that hot!

It was a good time!

Our Second Anniversary

2011-08-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

So, two years under the belt. Another two to go!! (totally kidding) How different do we look now? I still smile like that at him daily. He makes me really happy!

August 29, 2009 at the Temple in the World's Best City.

August 29, 2011 at Guiseppe's in Tucson.

Peter took me out to the nicest place Tucson had to offer and I made dessert. This was my first fancy-schmancy cheesecake, Caramel Apple Cheesecake with Streusel Topping. All thanks to Mel's Kitchen Cafe.
And my sister Anne for letting me call every 20 minutes when I try baking something difficult. ::wink::

Now, onto the next 75 years so Peter and I make it to this adorable couple!

Peter "The Grad Student" Leavitt

2011-08-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

As you know, we moved to Tucson two weeks ago for Peter to start his PhD in Social Psychology. He's been looking forward to starting Graduate School for about 3 years now. I had to get pictures of the event.

This is his first day of Orientation last week.

This is going to class today, his first day of Grad School.
We were both pretty excited!

He wasn't excited that I wanted so many pictures, but I wanted to remember this day!

We're in Arizona Now!

2011-08-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Even with a sun-shade in my car, it's just so hot!

We try to not drive in the afternoon for the reason shown above.

2011-08-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I have two specific memories of my dad buying me TCBY yogurt with sprinkles at the airport. That sort of thing really sticks with a kid. Peter knows well, I always get sprinkles, and I think this is why. I splurged and just got some. It's making me happy, although it made me tear up a little bit too (which is really rare for me).

I'm on a layover right now that's delayed in Phoenix. I've got a lot of thoughts running through my head. I'm flying back to San Diego after having been in Tucson since Sunday. I bringing back our second car and I have my last recital on Saturday. Just a lot of transitions.

The whole Tucson thing isn't going to well... yet. We're going to manage another building again, and really lucked out getting one in Tucson. We didn't see it before we signed and it's just a bad-on-bad situation. But, school starts for Peter in 2 weeks and we're really excited for him to do that (although I'm going to be so bored)! I'm looking forward to making new friends, cooking dinner each night, taking an Institute class on Studying the Scriptures and that my darling Peter will be loving and working hard in his program.

I'll be posting much more once all this is done. Thanks for letting me vent.

Fingers crossed for Tucson to be good! I really hope I can say it got 100% better!

The Last Harry Potter Movie

2011-07-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

We're going Friday and I'm so excited! Honestly, my heart beats a little faster when I think about it. Peter's even excited (but I think that's because the trailer shows a lot of fighting).

So sad to see the movies come to an end. But, I know I'll be reading them again with my teenagers... or every other year on my own...

Whippler, AnnMarie and Holly - roommates I've had that got me more and more into it. Thanks Ladies!

Magic Mountain

2011-06-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

We went to Magic Mountain with Peter's fantastic cousin and his wife, Ben and Sharley Leavitt. Peter had never been and I hadn't been in at least 5 years. I loved this place in High School! And looks like the place is still loved by High Schoolers. We had a great time!

Grabbed lunch at In n' Out and ate in the car on the way up. Peter was the only one who didn't get 'Burger Crotch.'

Before getting onto X2. "Show me your scary face!" AWESOME ride! I hadn't been on it before.

Ran into an old friend in line for Apocalypse, James Franco. He asked ME for the picture. No big deal.

This was taken before out last ride, should have taken it before our first ride. We were so hot, tired and post-sweaty. Magic Mountain is so fun, but exhausting!

And this was the buzz-kill for the ride home. This truck jackknifed and stopped traffic on both sides. Slow-moving for way too long...

We drove 6 miles in 2 hours, 20 minutes. Got to bed at 2am. Eh.

Peter's Marathon

2011-06-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Peter ran his second Rock 'n Roll Marathon yesterday. I imagine he'll do a post of the emotions and stories, but here are the pictures of the event. It's so much fun to watch someone run a marathon!

I put these are the pictures I put on Facebook last night, you may have seen them already. But I'm so proud of him, I want everyone to see!

Before the race

After the race... Not too bad, huh?

It's simply amazing to see 33,000 people running!
Mile 1

Marathoners on the 163

Peter at mile 10

Mile 22

Mile 26.19...

Peter got me that shirt last year, seem appropriate to wear it.

Video of him about to cross the finish-line

San Diego Temple Worker

2011-05-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm positive that I will work at A temple several times in my life. When I realized I'd be leaving San Diego, I had a moment of panic that I had never worked at the SAN DIEGO Temple. I think personal temple ownership and pride is special. This particular temple means so very much to me (and about 1 million other people). I was married there, I decided to go on a mission there, I received my own endowment there, I went to the dedication, I pass it on the freeway all the time, all my siblings have been married in the exact same sealing room. That special building means a lot to me and my family. No doubt about it!

So, about 2 months ago I was set apart to be a Receptionist, every other Saturday evening. I've done 4 shifts now, and had several special moments. From watching faithful old patrons, bright-eyed new patrons, children being sealed, seeing old friends, being alone in the Celestial Room. Just so many good experiences there! I took my trainer's advice and got a 'Temple Journal' and write down the special events/thoughts that happen on each shift. I'm going to love that I did for years to come!

I eventually will be an Ordinance Worker, but knowing we're leaving and not feeling good about a weekly Saturday commitment. Receptionist is a perfect place for me! All I have to is smile at everyone, answer questions and talk to visitors.

And I LOVE IT!

Another Perfect Weekend

2011-05-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Our weekends are usually simple and wonderful. We rarely go out of town or spend any money, but each one is full of wonderful friends and food. I wanted to jot down some of the fun things we did.

-Dinner out in Old Town on Friday using a year old gift card from Becca Haynie
-Watched the hilarious Community Season Finale
-BBQing, homemade strawberry ice cream and games on Saturday with the Roberges
-I accompanied a Special Musical Number for the Elders, one going home this week
-Lunch/Home Teaching after church at the Coxes
-Sunday Nap
-The Hollands came over for dinner
-Sleep over on Sunday night and games at my brother Dave's place in Carslbad

Working Hard for the Dough

2011-05-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Recently my fantastic friend, Jackie, gave me her bread maker. She wanted to put it behind her and start baking entirely homemade bread. So, I've tried two loaves now and it's a huge learning experience. Really intimidating, but it came with a booklet with great tips and recipes. I hope (and so does Peter) to get into pizza crusts and bread sticks.

Now, I need to get a sewing machine and more food storage on my step to being the cheesiest (or breadiest) (get it! Cheesy inside cheesy comment!) Mormon around...

Easter Pictures for Jackie

2011-04-27T10:51:00.001-07:00

My nephew Owen found some Princess shoes and... uh... you'll see...
(they didn't have a camera, so these are for her)

And this one's for me!

An Ode to Annie Larson

2011-04-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

One of my best-est friends in the whole world came to SD for a few days this weekend. I wanted to put some pictures up from this week, but I went through and found a lot of our back-story. This post gets a little long, but this is for Annie and myself. So many trips and fun times. :)

For the rest of my life, Annie Larson will be close to my heart!!

Her birthday party where Dave was the 'Dancing Entertainment,' 2007

Disneyland

Niagara Falls, 2007

My father's funeral, August 2006

The often talked about chocolate croissant, New York 2007

DC Temple, 2008

HOURS burned 80's Dancing at Area 51 in Salt Lake

She and her brother's came down to my brother's wedding, October 2008

Then there was my wedding, August 2009

THIS PAST WEEKEND
We went to see the 80's Musical- MixTape downtown for date-night.
Fantastic show, everyone in SD should see it!

Sunday Dinner, my whole family was excited to see her.

Singing around the piano, we did a lot of this the year we were at school together with both of our brothers.

Out to a swanky Sushi place in Bird Rock.

Miss you already!! Looking forward till next time!

Happy Birthday, Dad

2011-04-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

"I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as Tomorrow"
-as sung by Stevie Wonder

San Diego Friends

2011-04-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to take more photos of my San Diego friends. Here are some of the great people we saw in the past month. I'm 'seriously so blessed' to always have great friends in my life!

My siblings and their spouses, we try to do a dinner once a month. I'll miss them the most!

My hilarious friend from working at the piano studio, Karolyn.

The Riches and the Neris! A lot of Dominos and Yoga have happened at this house!

"No Kids Dinner Group-" some of the couples in our ward that don't have kids hang out every so often. This picture is from last Nov, but we had a lunch after Conference... Three of these couples are now expecting babies.

The Sounds concert with Mike and Britney Roberge.

Terrie and her baby Alice, hanging after Conference. We were in YW together.

Nice and lazy Sunday nights at Uncle Fred and Aunt Lisa's.
another older picture, but we go about once a month.

The nieces and nephews. This is Mitt's Tanith and Dave's Owen.

Danielle, the date I mentioned to Polish Mass with a piano student. A great night! I'm going to miss a lot of my piano families! I have developed great friendships with all of them.

Former roommate Holly and one of our favorite snacks, apples and peanut butter. She's just so good to me!

Our friend Jenna moved to become a flight attendant. This is what happens every time I you try to get a picture with her. You end up laughing too hard!

This is the one friend I don't have to leave behind in San Diego. Isn't he just so handsome?!? cue the barfing or the laughing

Butterfly Circus

2011-03-30T18:33:00.001-07:00

When you have 20 minutes, watch this video with your family or someone who's looking for a pick me up. (if it doesn't show up, seach Butterfly Circus, you'll find it)

It's perfect for preparing for Conference Weekend! It's a beautifully done video from a Christian Film Festival. Great message!

Dave Ramsey is Right

2011-03-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've been a credit card user for years. Never once paid interest, always paid off in full, always thought I was beating the system because I earn cash back on it. So, it's pay off time and I've earned $77 from my Costco AmEx and about $100 in WF rewards. That's it! That seems like nothing!

I'm going to give Dave Ramsey complete rights to say- 'I told ya so.' Yeah, we haven't been caught yet in debts, but the statistics show that we spend 12-18% when you use credit than cash. So, I've been spending an eighth more than I normally would, just to get $100 back over one year. Maybe those numbers are totally made up, but I agree, I spend more when I use my card when when I see cash go out of my wallet. Peter and I are going to try doing the cash/envelope thing for April. Katie Sabin, aren't you trying it now? How's it going for you?

A good quick audio clip from Dave Ramsey that talks more about this. And thanks to the Bell family for introducing me to Ramsey.

I hope this isn't too personal of information to be putting on my blog-ito. I'm just laughing at myself for thinking I was smarter than 'the man' and am posting this to make it more official so I stick to it.

Apostate Date

2011-03-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

Mariacki Church in the Main Square in Cracow, where I spent 6 months in 2004.

I have a date tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it!! It's Apostate, because I'm going to a Catholic Mass with a piano student. She is Polish (raised in France, studied in Australia, been in SD now for about 30 years, such an interesting person!) and we're going to the Polish Church that is a block away from my house in PB.

Peter and I have been to the past two Polish Festivals in the fall, but I've never worked it out to go to Mass. So, Danielle and I are going to dinner and Mass tomorrow, and I'm so excited! Been reading my Polish Liahona this week to get ready for it.

2011-03-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

So, my 28 year old Canadian baby is home sick today. He's been down and out since Sunday and missed two days of work...

And I'm loving it! He's home, he's cuddly and needy and I love spoiling him! All things considered, this is a fine time for him to get sick. He's done with interviews, he has sick-time at work and the gloomy weather welcomes staying at home, watching TV, playing Mario or other games and just being together.

Peter, I'm sorry to be happy at your cold, but it's really fun having you around.

Vegas Vacation

2011-03-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Tash and I used to do so many road-trips and fun, spontaneous things while students at BYU. This past weekend, we were able to slip away to Vegas for about 30 hours. This trip was just perfect, reminiscent of what we used to do. I met Tash, and fell in love, 10 years ago this fall. Wowzers!

With Tash, getting there is half the fun!

She had done her homework and knew where to go for the free-fun stuff that weekend. This is some club where we saw some band somewhere in Vegas.

80's Dancing at Mandalay Bay. She knows me so well, that she knew 80's Dancing is what I would want to do on my weekend!

Trying to get the hair flip picture. Not the first one we have.

Mobile Food Court with about 8 food trucks and a great DJ. We danced away the time change.

The dirtiest hotel I've ever stayed in. This is our view from the HoJo. It had it's own Little White Chapel attached.

Brunch at the Bellagio... took us about three hours for the whole, wonderful experience.

Hanging at the Bellagio pool.
Bellagio. Algonquin for the "good-life."
Wayne's World Reference

Love you Tasha! Glad we made it happen!

New York

2011-03-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

Just some pictures from our trip. I hadn't been back in 3+ years! Time flies. I'm so glad that I lived there, but I'm, like, totally a California girl. For sure!

Rockafeller Plaza

The Top of the Rock

The Concrete Jungle, Downtown

The Bull

Statue of Liberty

AnnMarie! My roommate/best friend when I was out there.
That's a ripe face! I don't look too good after a red-eye flight.

Dinner in the village with my two best friends from my old job.

Peter's first Slice. SOO GOOD!

Rueben Sandwich at Carnegie Deli

My two favorite toys stores in Midtown, FAO and Apple

The Classic Shot

That's us on that huge screen in the bottom left corner

An ambulance stuck in gridlock. Funny!

I saw three shows-

MEMPHIS
2010 Tony Award for Best Musical

ADDAMMS FAMILY
with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth

MARY POPPINS
I was in the front row of the Mez, see how close she flew in front of me! I was totally tearing!

Graduate School Update

2011-03-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

For those of you read only my blog and not darling Peter's, Peter announced his acceptance from University of Arizona last week. We are SO EXCITED that he earned a good offer from a known school and lots of funding! It looks to be a strong program for his PhD that would give him some good options after graduating in becoming a professor at a University.

Also, we've been in Manhattan for the last week for another interview at CUNY. No offer from there yet, so no decision to make. But at least we have one offer to start with!

NOT Waiting for the Phone to Ring

2011-02-25T14:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a quiet week, and I love it! My phone hasn't rung much and only a few texts a day. My phone is really more of a work phone the last couple years; piano mom's canceling, tenants telling me about leaky pipes, people locking themselves out. But nope, not much of that this week. Just a nice calm week.

Feel Good Message

2011-02-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

Elder Holland's Talk from last Fall, Because of Your Faith. I like it.
Fourteen minutes well spent.

I've been so busy with school, callings, work, and feeling pretty wound up because of Peter's Grad School prospects. I came home from work on Friday, crawled into bed and watched about 6 different talk on YouTube, mainly from Elder Holland. Peter got home an hour after me, and I was just in bed, smiling and I felt 100% better.

I really like being A Mormon.

Genocide

2011-02-16T11:24:00.001-08:00

...of Fruit Flies!

Gross picture, I know, but I'm happy to have completed this genocide! We killed A LOT of fruit flies. This is apple cider vinegar with dish-soap covered by hole-y Saran Wrap. I did about 8 more of these. And a gallon of Bleach down our drains. But they're all gone! Yes!

Honeymoon isn't over...

2011-02-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

Peter is gone this weekend at a Graduate School interview, so exciting! Alas, I am left at home in this fantastic little beach town. I got off work today, not much to do, so I ran to the beach. You know, because it's less than a mile away, no big deal. And the butterflies came back!
I love living in PB! Today is 75f and just the way life should be.

We have loved this year and a half here, but it's not the same without Peter. So yes, I love this city, but it's not the same without my buddy. The honeymoon isn't over with him either.

The picture above is a Christmas gift from Peter. He commissioned Ashley Kressin to take pictures of our favorite spots in PB. She did a great job.

Holiday Highlights

2011-01-26T12:57:00.001-08:00

We tried to get it all in this Holiday Season!
I'm late in posting, but these are some of my favorite photos from the Holidays.

Our tree. It's simple, but it's perfect.

Girl Gift Exchange. I've got great friends in the 7th Ward!

A trip to Huntington to visit my Curetons... AND! There's a Cafe Rio in OC!

We sang in a concert with the my siblings. We all wore Ugly Sweaters, we were lucky enough to get matching ones. Peter's face explains how he felt about wearing that sweater.

My brothers under the Mistletoe. It's normal where I come from.

Hanging with the Fleavitts (Peter's cousins).

Playing Just Dance2. The two guys that proclaim to be able to
beat the game not by dancing, but by being smarter than the system.

Then there's the Romney kids, hamming it up!

Christmas Morning!

Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico

The reason we go down to Mexico every year, the FOOD!

Hanging and cleaning out memories at Lomas.

The Rose Parade! Peter served his mission in East LA and never saw the parade, so he was extra excited to see it, in the place he used to serve.

My adorable cousin, David, got home from his mission in Colorado.

Dominoes with the crew!

Girls Night out at Karaoke with 'All The Single Ladies."

Kings-Oilers Hockey game with Peter's Canadian buds. My first NHL game.

It was a perfect Christmas Season.

Personality Preferences

2011-01-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

I renewed my drivers license last October (yes, I did my hair and wore one of my favorite shirts). They gave me the Interim License. That expired mid-December while I continued to wait for my new one. So, Holidays and GRE are over so I finally followed up. The DMV has no record that I went in or renewed my license. What?! Sorta scary that the DMV lost a record. I had to make a new appointment and have to go and do the whole process over again... At least I've lost a couple pounds and gotten my 'hair did' since that last picture.

An unknown service fee showed up on our Credit Card last Saturday. I called immediately, the guy apologized, said it was an error and they'll take if off. Ask Peter, I'm neurotic about doing everything by the books and never paying fees. It's Thursday and it still hasn't dropped. So, I called again, and there was no record of my first call. They say it will now drop off. What?! My CC lost a record. Eek!

Last one... A washing machine was broken at our apartment last week (I manage our building). I called Wednesday, said they'd be out Thursday. I called Thursday, said they were on their way. Called Friday, said it was first thing on Saturday. Called Saturday at 5pm, spoke (yelled) with two managers who didn't have any record of the broken machine. They came out on Monday. Wow.

I prefer being a 'yellow personality,' but if I didn't pull out my 'red' every few days, I'd be a poorer, illegally driving person with stinky clothes. Don't you hate when you have to be control freak?!

Comfy Bed

2010-11-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

I bought flannel sheets yesterday. They're fantastic! Our other sheets were so cold each night when we first got in. Even Peter was cold (and his thick Canadian blood is never cold), so I know I wasn't being a baby. Sorta funny putting on flannel sheets in San Diego, but we were happy last night and I'm looking forward to it tonight.

Today's Housecleaning Project

2010-11-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

Since Peter and I might be moving next year (so sad!), we've been trying to downsize. Our second bedroom is full of boxes and junk and stuff. I think this is a project people work on their whole lives! Today, I'm importing all my old burned CDs to the computer. It is such a trip taking this walk down memory lane to hear the mixes and Polish stuff from a couple years ago. Music is great!

Our Birthday Weekend

2010-11-22T15:42:00.001-08:00

Our birthdays are 6 days apart - Peter: Oct 19th and Me: Oct 25th. It'll be fun for years to come that we get to celebrate together and for a whole week! I want to share some pictures from that week, even though was a month ago.

Peter was still working at the Academy on his birthday, it was one of his last days. So I surprised him at work with a cake. I timed it so I'd get there when he was with about 8 colleagues, but no-one knew it was his birthday or that last day working with him was 2 days away. It was SO AWKWARD! They all appreciated the cake once they knew, but had no idea who the girl with the cake was when I walked in. I hope he at least appreciated the effort and embarrassment.

Our Ward Halloween party was on my birthday. I wanted to go because had such great kid costumes (compliments of my sister, Anne). We were Princess Peach and Luigi from Mario Brothers.

We went to a nice wedding of Alan and Britta DeMartini. It had nothing to do with our birthdays, but still fun to get dressed up and go out for food and dancing with friends.

My gift was that Peter surprised me and took me to see miXtape, and 80's musical downtown. Shows that he knows me well, dancing and 80's music! My favorite things!
(he's wearing one of the gifts I got him, I love dressing him!)

We loved it so much, er, I loved it so much, I talked my sibs and spouses into going. It was so much fun! I recommend it to everyone. And sitting next to Miles is a great way to see it too, he was laughing/singing the whole time!

I Love Sundays!

2010-11-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

We had church, choir, naps, dinner/dominoes with friends and ended the day watching Enchanted. How about Peter being perfectly happy to watch Enchanted with me!? I married my match!

Canadian Thanksgiving

2010-10-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

The Second Monday of October is Canadian Thanksgiving. Luckily, two of Peter's best friends from Colllge live in California. Dan Harker came down from Orange County and Randy and Theresa Miller live in the Bay Area. It was a great weekend!

The food was amazing!

It took a lot of hands to make the meal.

Our beautiful little city on a Sunday afternoon. Definitely not the same weather Peter and his friends had when they celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada.

The Polish Festival was the same weekend down the street, so we walked over and some of my favorite food!

Basically, a whole lot of hanging and food at our place.

An email from my USU Professor

2010-10-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

I know people don't like BYU. Cougars can be self-righteous, close-minded and elitists (but I love it with all my blue-blood and heart and am so proud to have gone there!). Last week I got this email from my professor from USU, sent to about 450 people. I don't think it's appropriate. Oh well. Thems the breaks.
**I edited my earlier statements, I know they were really self-righteous. It just bugs me.

2010-10-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we were disconnected from our onramp to the Information Superhighway! We couldn't cruise on the freeway of fun or watch happy helpings of Hulu. I couldn't do much for school work, emailing, banking, iTunes stopped working because it needed an update or something and we've been playing MarioParty and Peter beats me every time (so frustrating!). But... this morning, I couldn't take it anymore and I asked our neighbor for their password in exchange for pumpkin choc chip cookies. They're nice, they gave it to me and I'm back! So much happier!!

Temper Trap - Love Lost

2010-09-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

This is my song of the week. I love it, the video is great too.
Listened to it about 15 times.

Our Own Date Night

2010-09-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Since Monday is our day off, it's a good night for a Date Night. We had the idea to make our movie night more San Diego-ish and watch Date Night down at the Crown Point. I made dinner to-go, and we watched this movie with a good dinner and an amazing view of Mission Bay. Great night and hilarious movie!! We laughed so hard! I'm definitely on the Tina Fey bandwagon and think anything she does these days is gold. And we've been married just barely long enough to think a lot of the married jokes were pretty spot-on. Two thumbs up!

First Anniversary

2010-08-31T10:21:00.001-07:00

We still smile like that to each other.

This year - Dinner out in Coronado on Saturday night...
(Do our faces look a little rounder than a year ago?!)

Sunday afternoon at Balboa Park touring the International Houses...

...And the fanciest dinner I've ever made that night.

It was a great first year of marriage!

My Least Favorite Day of The Year

2010-08-26T12:22:00.001-07:00

When my favorite man of
my future,
met my favorite man of
my past.

Today is always a rough day. August 26th, 2006 is the day my father unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. My heart still hurts if I think of that week. I won't post about that today. Or ever. But I'm always reminded of that whole experience on this day in August. And it's four years later and I still miss him. We all do. I don't think about him all too often, but on this day, I always do. Although it brings sad memories on this particular day, it's really nice to think of him and be sad today so I remember how much he'll always mean to me. Every time a big decision comes up, I wonder if he would be proud of how I handled it. He was so good at giving advice for big decisions. And most important to me, would he love that I married Peter? I think he would. I really think he would love Peter and be proud of me for bringing him into his family.

It was particularly sad morning because I dropped my mom off for a knee surgery she didn't really want to have without her husband next to her. We both were sorta scared for the procedure (she would NOT like if I told people about her surgery. But I know she doesn't read blogs, so her secret's safe with you, the world of the Blog). We were all together last night and thought it was sweet that she got the procedure done today and will be under anesthesia and close to my dad.

Aren't we lucky to know about the Plan of Salvation?
Or, The Plan of Happiness as I like to call it.

unADVENTUROUS

2010-08-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

We're coming up on our first anniversary and I'm thinking on this past year of marriage. Before we got married, I used to travel all the time (helps that it was my job, when I lived in Manhattan), eat fun and new foods, always meeting new people, go dancing often and stay up late doing things I laugh about now. It was great! Lived life to the fullest! Wouldn't trade my memories or experiences anything (especially a baby)! Now it's been a year and I realize I've give up my adventurous streak. I don't do any of those things anymore...

AND I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER!!

I love, love, love doing nothing and everything with Peter. And we don't even have to go anywhere, we love being in our apartment. We love being in our home, eating a home, walking on the beach or the bay from our home, playing games, doing puzzles, watching shows, talking with interesting friends. It surprises me- It's not what I would have thought I'd become, but it's what I'd heard about. But in thinking if the trade was worth it? Yes! Almost 365 days of yes! I'm really happy and it's all because I married Peter, my best friend.

We might be breaking the Word of Wisdom

2010-08-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

In doing the dishes from our Mexican Chicken Casserole, we realized we've had Mexican food every-night for a 7 days! Cafe Coyote in Old Town, Taco Salad, Carne Asada Tacos (Costco's meat is amazing!), Salsa Chicken, leftovers... We've still got Fish Tacos and a Nacho Dip in the line up for next week.

I don't think I knew we were that into Mexican Food?! Maybe because it's so easy to make? Maybe because it's cheap to make? Or maybe because fresh Avo and Cilantro is the best combination in the world, to me!

First Step to becoming a Speech Pathologist

2010-08-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

I just bought my text books! I start my 3 online courses through USU's Second Bachelor's Program in Communication Disorders at the end of the month. I'm excited!!

I'll be taking-
-Language, Speech, and Hearing Development
-Fundamentals of Anatomy for Speech and Language
-Language Science

The first and last one sound much like my Linguistics courses at BYU. The scariest sounding one is the Anatomy for Speech and Language. I took Human Anatomy years ago and it was tough! The life saver was the lab, where I could go in and study. Since this is online, I'm not sure what my study options are. But I really want to do well. I feel like being married, not in Provo, not snowboarding 3 times a week and wanting to improve my career will be a much better motivator! Wish me luck!

Family Night at Moonlight

2010-08-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

With four of the six Romney kids living in San Diego, we try to meet up about once a month for dinner. We took advantage of the beach had a lovely little evening last night.

Peter, Dave and Rob played on the skim board...

Owen giggled and was cute, like always...
Couldn't get Anne's boys to smile, they were too busy playing in the sand...

And shot with my wonderful mother!
Two of my favorite things in life-
SAN DIEGO AND FAMILY!!

Peter's Post

2010-08-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

Peter detailed out our trip with a few pictures on his blog. And I bet anyone that looks my blog, would see the big ol' album I put on there. Fun trip! Aaaand, we're already planning our next summer's trip- Dubai... Guatemala... Those are the front runners. It's exciting just thinking about it all! Although we are SO HAPPY where we are! We had a great SD day and just love that this is our home.

2010-07-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

All is well in Canada.
We're half-way done with our trip.
The car has been working wonderfully.
I can't get enough of being with Peter.
It's great to see his friends and old homes.
Vancouver and Seattle were great cities.
Loved camping in Banff National Park with friends.
Never seen so many Cowboy Hats as I did at the Calgary Stampede.
I'm glad we still have a week together.

Not sure where this picture was taken, but this is a common
view in Western Canada. So pretty up here!

Oh, Canada!

2010-07-08T13:11:00.001-07:00

Peter and I are off this weekend for our 2+ week, 5,000 mile road trip through Western Canada - my honey's home-land. We'll be doing so many fun things- Visiting his Mom and sisters in Seattle, visiting Vancouver, camping in Banff, going to the Calgary Stampede/Rodeo, visiting his University in Edmonton and Peter's 10 HS Reunion in southern Alberta. So, no phone or communication from me for a while, but I'll post about our trip at the end of the month.

So excited about camping, we bought a tent this week, and watched a movie in it. Going to be so fun!

Speech Language Pathology

2010-06-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm considering going back to school for a Master's in Communication Disorders to become a Speech Pathologist. I'm excited and scared about the prospects of higher education! It would be about 3 years, and we'd probably have a baby during that time (eek!). But there are some amazing Pro's to it- Use my Linguistics Degree and my brain, make better money with benefits and paid time off, not be bored when I'm an old empty-nester. Or do I just envy Peter for looking into schools and want to be like him. Either way, what do you think?

Betrothed

2010-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Love you Peter!
Glad you asked me to marry you a year ago, today!

San Francisco Weekend Getaway

2010-06-08T08:14:00.001-07:00

This past weekend Peter and I headed up to SF for my "best friend since 7th grade's" wedding. Kristy and I have been close since grade school, and although the last couple year's have been busy, it was still an emotional and great weekend to see her so happy.

Minutes before she walked down the aisle, her mom pulled me back to the waiting room. We laughed, cried and laughed some more.

We visited the Winchester Mystery Mansion, a childhood dream of Peter's. He read about it, and it's quirkiness and it's potential haunted-ness when he was a kid.

Saw the "Door to Nowhere"

And I had never been to the Oakland Temple Grounds. Lovely Temple!
(but I still prefer ours in SD)

And this visit was my request...

It was a nice weekend away.

Your Most Valuable Possesions

2010-05-26T08:53:00.001-07:00

We had just gotten back from our day-off errands. We were snacking when we heard the crunch in the front. Cars often get swiped on our Street, so we went out to see who's it was. And it was Peter's 8-month old car (well, it's a '95, but it's only 8-months old to us)! The girl wasn't even going too fast, but moved the Civic 20 ft. down the road, with the E-Brake on and it's a gonner. Her car too. She was decently nice, has good insurance, and it will be fine. We've got the rental that day and hope to hear what the amount we get it. We were surprised how un-angry we were. Although we think it was a hate crime, notice she only hit the Canadian side of the car? Not the US side. And on Victoria Day!

Then, 18 hours later, I'm walking laundry out and while holding the laundry basket, my hand swipes the broken breaker box that is always cutting everyone. I drop the laundry and look at my hand to see the cut. A second later I'm panicking on my hands and knees looking for the diamond that got ripped out! So sad! We have insurance to protect this also, so again, it's ok. Just inconvenient. And I'll be ring-less for a couple weeks. Sad.

2010-04-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

I started taking Violin lessons last week.

I taught Beehives on Sunday about Cultural Arts. I played classical music during the lesson.

I've been playing "Name that Composer" with my students.

I sure do like Classical Music.

Wanderlust

2010-04-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not an early adapter, so you might have heard of Dancing Matt before. To know what I'm talking about watch this video, all of it.

Why does seeing people dance together, all over the world, make me tear up?!

That video makes me miss traveling. I used to travel, a lot... Tomorrow I might think I'm lame for posting travel pictures, but for now, it's for me. Reminding me that I have seen some amazing pieces of the world. And I look forward to seeing more of it, with my awesome new travel buddy, Peter.

We're hoping to head to Canada this summer. Never been there, It'll be cool.

Moscow's Red Square and Athens's Parthenon

Rome's Coliseum and Flowers of Barbados

Ruins in Ephesus,Turkey and The Blue Mosque in Istanbul (not Constantinople)

Cruising around Dubrovnik, Croatia and The Mid-Summer Festival in Helsinki, Finland

Mission Friends

2010-03-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

Living in SD and NY, I see maybe one friend from my mission in Poland about once a year. Such a bummer because I have such great memories and friendships with my companions and other Elders. I would love to have more interactions with these friends! This weekend, I was lucky enough to see 3 in one day.

Matt Bell surprised his lovely, pregnant wife with a birthday trip to Sea World and San Diego. I was so happy they stayed with us. Matt was often in my Zone somewhere, so we got to be good friends. And about a year after being home, we went back for some friend's first trip to the German temple. While there, we did what every missionary wants to do when they go back, eat Pierogis!

Fall 2006 --------------------------------------------- March 2010

That Saturday was Julie Whipple Herbert's Wedding Reception in Riverside. Julie was my companion for almost 6 months in Krakow. That was a great Summer and Julie is one of the dearest people to my heart. We worked hard, but probably laughed harder. I'm elated she's found a Mister and she can do all the good things for him that she did for me that year!

Summer 2004 -------------------------------------- March 2010

Coincidentally, Jes Erickson, one of my two MTC companions was on vacation in Palm Springs. She came with to Julie's reception. We got to spend a good couple hours remember how much we like each other. She and I have always had a inexplicable love-connection; always have, always will. Always.

Fall 2003 ------------------------------------------ March 2010

A Perfect Day Off

2010-01-12T13:20:00.001-08:00

We woke up late, went to the gym, did errands, ate good leftovers, played Settler of Catan online, long boarded Mission Bay, made waffles for dinner, watched Labyrinth. And now I know what I want us to be for Halloween next year.

I love that we have Mondays together in San Diego.

You don't have to put on that Red Light

2010-01-08T08:36:00.001-08:00

Peter, a huge movie-buff, had not seen Moulin Rouge. So, we watched it. I had to hold back singing along with every song. He enjoyed it, but at like at a 'B' to B-'. Only my Romney brothers love musical movies more than action movies. Guess I'm used to that level of musical movie enjoyment*.

Got me thinking- Peter and I have yet to sleep with someone else for money, sing Elton John love songs, die in the other's arms 'in the name of love' or dance a sexy, abusive tango. And after seeing this movie, it all looked appealing. That large and spacious building looked really appealing! Why does that look tempting?! Really, all because of amazing 80's music, lights, an ittie-bittie waist line and great curls in her hair? I couldn't be happier with my 'boring' life, loving husband, warm bed and plenty of food. I love Bohemian Virtures; Beauty, Freedom, Truth and above all, Love. But, I also love my warm 2 bedroom apartment, my piano, my husband, my family, my friends and my religion. Can I have both? I think so. I'll try. But, I don't think I can get Nicole Kidman's waistline. I'll give up on that one.

*My brother David and I choreographed/sang Alladin's "A Whole New World" on a rug when it came out. We learned the dances to dance movies. This wasn't uncommon for us to do in our youth... or... last month.

Nuestro Navidad en Mexico

2010-01-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Since we recently received plenty of generous gifts from the wedding, Peter and I didn't want/need gifts for Christmas this year. We don't need anything for our apartment and I feel like I've got all the gadgets and clothes I need. So, we decided to travel for Christmas. Everyone tells us to travel now before we have kids or more obligations. We went to a place about 25 miles south of the border, to a safe and clean gated vacation home neighborhood - Las Gaviotas. I had been there before with friends from my Singles Ward, so I was excited to go back with my fantastic husband. It was a great first Christmas and first real mini-vacation with just the two of us. I hope we go there often and eat as much as possible.

We went down to Ensenda, walked around and ate a lot. Ensenada is a great little city because it has no Gringo tourist, so no haggling as we walked by. It's a tourist destination for Latinos. I hate being haggled and whistled at, hence, I don't like Tijuana. But Ensenda is a great place.

The reason for the trip - the street tacos!

View from our 2 bedroom house

Remember Lot's Wife

2009-12-04T13:17:00.001-08:00

I'm posting a talk today. This talk was a devotional at BYU in January this year. It's by Elder Holland. You can read it or listen to it. I recommend listening to it, Elder Holland has a great way of sharing his love and empathy through his spoken words.

I've listened to it twice already, brought me to tears and new resolutions each time. I hope to always be finding talks and good words, new or old, from this Gospel.

Cliche Happy Post

2009-12-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

I've always been happy where I am. I don't think the grass is greener over there or wish it was better over here. I've enjoyed all stages of my life; HS, college, Mission, NY, singledom, work. But I'm really loving this stage of my life. Many times a day/week I think it couldn't get better than this, I couldn't feel more loved by my husband or Heavenly Father. Going through the holidays with Peter has made me think how... "seriously so blessed" I am.

We are making great friends, we love our apartment, we love being together, we love what options lay before us, we love our family and love being together. I don't post often, and now it's becoming cheesy, but I've gotta get it out there. I'm as happy as I could possibly be.

Temple Shoot - These are my Favorites!

2009-10-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Wedding Group Shots at the Reception

2009-10-23T08:56:00.001-07:00

The Happy Couple

The Mothers

Our Families

Our Siblings

The Girls

The Boys

My Family

His Family

Our Siblings

Wedding Flowers and Decorations

2009-10-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Engagement Shots - Studio

2009-07-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

Outdoor Shots in Balboa Park

2009-07-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

Engaged at Disneyland

2009-06-17T04:26:00.000-07:00

Peter and I are Engaged! I get to spend my life with my best friend.
Never been happier.

We got engaged at Disneyland now it's the Happiest Place on Earth - times two! We are Disney Enthusiasts, so it's common for us to go up there with our season passes. Disney is just getting busier each day with summer and all the shows, so we went knowing we were going to be watching parades and just enjoying our day instead of catching all the rides. I wasn't surprised when Peter suggested we take a picture in front of the castle after the Parade. He even enlisted the help of a kind stranger to take the picture. But I didn't hear Peter's whispered instructions to "just keep on taking pictures". So I was definitely surprised when he...
...stepped back and dropped to his knee! I didn't say a word. My jaw dropped, I covered my mouth with my hands and I simply nodded. I don't even know what he asked me. He could've asked me to go get a corn dog for all I remember. I pretty much blacked out once I saw the ring.

By this time, we had drawn a crowd, which is what Peter wanted. So this picture is Peter yelling "SHE SAID YES!" to three hundred of our closest Disney friends who were crowding around us.

There was a lot of laughing and hugging. It might have been a couple minutes before some old lady yells - "You've got to put the ring on her!" We sorta forgot about that part.

We both were shaking so much that it was really hard to get it on. I was so nervous. For this picture, I couldn't straighten my fingers

This picture is about a half hour later when we calmed down a little.

There is a lovely story behind my engagement ring. My mother gave Peter her diamonds/ring since she now wears an eternity band. The ring I grew up seeing on her was two matching diamonds, about the same size. It's the engagement diamond my dad gave my mother, and the engagement diamond my maternal grandfather gave my grandmother. Peter had it re-set to a three stone setting. It's a special way to bring my father into this event in my live... I mean OUR lives. It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen.
I enjoy typing, driving and playing the piano more now.

We had a nice time for the rest of the day. People we didn't know recognized and congratulated us in lines. Disney gave us "Just Engaged" buttons to wear (see picture below, but we only wore on the way out. We're cheesy-in-love, but felt like the buttons were a bit much). One lady gave us some fast passes. So fun!
Never Been Happier.