Cara and Steve

Getting Ready for Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Sorry, about the lack of posts... preparing for this little one consumes the majority of my time when I'm not working. I just have to say that I'm sooooo excited to meet our baby girl. I feel like I know her already, but I am so excited to see her features and kiss her tiny hands and toes.

My pregnancy has been going well. I'm still able to work, but I've cut my hours back... more time for sleep! Of course, I'm feeling somewhat uncomfortable and I encounter back pain occasionally, but I know it will all be worth it.

Over the past few months, Steve and I have been preparing by taking a hypnobirthing course. The reactions that people have when I explain this to them is pretty funny. Some think I'm a little crazy and others are quite interested. To explain hypnobirthing in a very simplistic way, a mother uses self hypnosis (deep relaxation) to naturally birth her baby. Let's just say that hypnobirthing has completely calmed my nerves about having this baby... I'm so excited and look forward to a beautiful birth!

We have been very grateful for the generosity of our family, friends, and co-workers. We've had several baby showers over the past few months and I feel very blessed by the generosity of those around us. The nursery is pretty much done except for one project that my mom and I will tackle when she comes to visit.

A physical therapist I work with has been so generous... she sold us her crib, changing table, and glider for a very affordable price... thanks Mariah!
I spent many hours working on the curtains in her room, but I think they turned out perfect. I had the lights off so you can see the butterflies when the light shines through the window.
You can never have to many diapers! I have been stocking up on diapers using coupons and other great deals for the past few months which has caused a shortage on closet space!

And my philosophy... a girl can never have too many clothes. Baby girl clothes are just too darn cute... I think I have enough baby/toddler clothes for the next 2 yrs.I was able to find this adorable blessing dress for an awesome deal... My work threw me an amazing surprise baby shower... hence no pictures because I wasn't prepared with my camera! One big surprise at the shower was this seat belt diaper bag. Steve thinks it's totally impractical, but I absolutely love it!My friends at church threw a double shower for my friend Tara and I... it was so much fun! They went to a lot of hard work and it turned out perfect.

And of course amidst all of this baby planning, we had to decorate for Christmas since we won't be heading home this year. We purchased this beautiful tree... it was so much fun to decorate.
And how could I forget... I'm sure many of you want to see a prego pic before I wrap this post up. This was taken at about 36 1/2 wks. (sorry... it's a little blurry and dark).

U2 concert & Halloween Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:42:00 +0000

A few weeks ago we rocked out to U2 (and Black Eyed Peas)... little baby included. My boss at work is awesome... he got tickets for everyone at the clinic & they were amazing seats (Thanks Doug!).The baby was bouncing around in my tummy... I hope it wasn't too loud for her, but I think she enjoyed it. Steve luckily took the night off from studying and was able to join us.Our camera has a pretty good zoom, so we got some close up shots. They are a little blurry because of the lights, but I think they turned out pretty well. They had this gigantic screen that was segmented so it could stretch/grow... kind of hard to explain, but it was pretty cool.

And of course... the long awaited prego pics... or should I say "super hero" prego pics. We all dressed up as super heros at work. I wasn't quite sure on what super hero I wanted to be so I just threw this together. Everyone thought it was pretty funny... especially the emphasis on my ever growing belly. I got the name "super-prego" for the day.

And here's another at 31 weeks (without all the glitter accessories).

Updates at last!

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:08:00 +0000

So, it's been a while... I guess being pregnant has caused me to become preoccupied with baby stuff, baby books, coupons, shopping, showers, etc. So here are some updates:

This past weekend I drove up to Southern Utah for our yearly family tradition: The St. George Marathon. And yes, I registered for this race only to find out a few days later that I was pregnant (unfortunately there were no refunds or deferrals).

On the drive I decided to stop and see the Hoover Dam. I had driven across this thing several times, but I thought that it was time to finally get out and take a picture... I opted to avoid the tour and wait until Steve could come along to do the whole tourist thing.Although, I had no intentions to run the entire marathon (and risk going into labor), I still wanted to participate in the race. So at mile 23 I put on my number and joined my sister Abby on her last 3 grueling miles. Abby ran her very first marathon and I am so proud of her! I knew how tough it is to run those last few miles and I'm so glad that I was able to share that experience with her. I got off the course before the last 100 yrds. and gave her a pat on the back and said, "you made it, you did it Abby!" I always say that to myself at the very end of a race, but it was an awesome experice to cheer my sister on... WAY TO GO ABBY!Here I am at 27 weeks... people are finally noticing now that I'm pregant and not just thick around the middle. My brother Isaac and sister-in-law Megan ran as well. They got married 1 week before the race! I'm sure you can imagine how much they trained for this race with all the wedding planning... not much. In the end it's about finishing. NICE JOB Megan and Isaac! Here they are about a month before the wedding... what an adorable couple :) I flew up for the wedding 2 weeks ago. Luckily the weather was beautiful and we all had a blast at the reception (which really was an awesome PARTY!). Here I am with my sisters and sister-in-law Amy. It was so much fun to see all of my siblings since we all live in different places.

Angie and I in our cute navy dresses (luckily the dress was forgiving through the middle). Dancing the night away...

While I was in Utah, my friend Emily gave me an awesome baby shower. It was so much fun to see all of my friends on my short trip. Thanks Em for such a fun shower!

As far as preparing for the baby goes, I've gone a little crazy and have hit a "nesting" phase.
I am constantly looking for deals and clipping coupons. A few weeks ago, I got an awesome deal on this crib bedding at Babies R Us. I decided to decorate her room in light pink and brown with a butterfly theme. The room itself needs some reorganizing, so stay tuned for some pictures.

One more thing I thought I would share. So, our baby girl just LOVES music. I started to play the guitar for her and she just goes wild every time in my belly. You can see her poking and dancing around through the skin on my tummy... it's sooooo fun to watch. It's such an amzing thing to see how she reacts to things. She gets really active when I shower and take warm baths. Today I was lying down and I could actually push her from one side of my belly to the other. This whole experience is quite amazing... I can hardly wait to see our baby girl!

In case you didn't hear...

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:49:00 +0000

We are expecting a baby GIRL!!!
We found out about 2 weeks ago, but I've been so busy that the blog was put on hold for a while. This summer has been a little crazy, but we've had so much fun. Being in the Primary presidency has kept me pretty busy. Our primary president was out of town for most of the summer which made things a little hectic, but now that summer is nearly over things should calm down. We also did some camping in Flagstaff. Steve and I then went up to Utah for about a week. It was so much fun to see our family and friends. We had 2 family baby showers while we were there... can I just say that baby girl things are sooooo cute!!!!

More pics from our adventures to come...

Summer Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:54:00 +0000

So, it's been a while since I've talked about what Steve and I have been up to this summer. First of all, thank you to everyone who voted for my sister Abby.... she has moved on to the semi-finals in the summer music showcase concert. In a couple of days the voting starts back up again. Please continue to vote for her so she can have the opportunity to perform.... she's made it so far already. All of your votes are appreciated :)

Well, here are some updates from the past month or so. Everything is going well with my pregnancy. Although, I don't really look pregnant, I'm sure my belly will "pop" soon. I haven't gained any weight yet, but everyone reminds me it will come soon enough and to be grateful now. I am about 18 weeks along. We find out in 2 more weeks what we are having! My guess is a boy, but we'll have to wait and see. I'm feeling a lot better than I was early on. This pic was taken today... I'm actually wearing maternity clothes for the first time... the shorts are so much more comfortable than button up shorts.

Steve recently finished his latest wood-burning. For those of you who know Steve well, you are aware of his hobby for art. His free-time this summer has allowed him to enjoy many of the things that school kept him from doing (including playing his X-Box... I think he plays excessively, but I know he won't have another break for a long time).A couple of weeks ago, my two friends Lizzie and Kendra came to visit. We had a blast even though it was extremely hot here that week. I'm so grateful that even with the hot summer temps they spent part of their summer hanging out with Steve and I. Living away from home is not always easy and it was so much fun to have some of my close friends here. Thanks again Kendra and Lizzie!

Here we are at the Phoenix Art Museum (enjoying the children's exhibit)...About a month ago Steve and I went to visit my sister and her family in North Carolina. It was so much fun to see my two nieces... I miss them already. Here we are at an incredible Italian sorbet shop... it was soooo yummy :)Kayla loves her uncle Steve...We went and visited the Biltmore mansion... this place was amazing. I've never seen a home so huge! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside.The kids enjoyed the petting zoo they had there. I think they were more comfortable touching the animals than me.After spending a few days in NC. Steve and I drove down to Charleston, South Carolina. Steve served his mission here, so he was an excellent tour guide. Here we are with one of the families he baptized. They are still very active members in the church. Everything was so green here... what a change from Arizona.We went to the Slave Market museum in downtown Charleston. You learn a lot more about slavery than they teach you in a history book.Here we are visting the pier...The weekend we were there, Charleston was doing a historical celebration and there were tons of old battleships in the harbor.It was fun to see all of the cobblestone streets... it's like stepping back in time. Many of the buildings are extremely old, but cannot be torn down because they are considered historical sites. The homes in down-town Charleston are very well preserved, but others on the outskirts of down look as if they are about to collapse.We went to Market Street. This is where slaves and other goods use to be sold. Now it is an extremly crowded shopping area where people sell crafts, art, and other home-made things.There were also many old cemeteries. I thought they were really cool because they reminded me of the grave yards you see in movies. We were able to walk through a few of them. Some of the head-stones date back to the early 1700's. Little did we know, mosquitoes were attacking us during this little adventure.After spending time in Charleston, we made our way up to Myrtle Beach, SC. We stayed at the most beautiful hotel (we scored an awesome deal on Hotwire.com!)Steve enjoying the ocean waves... it always makes me nervous when he swims out really far.

So far our summer has been lots of fun. It's so nice to have Steve around especially since I can't get as much done being pregnant (working usually takes up all my energy). School starts in about a month, but we are making one more trip up to Utah before things get hectic again... I'm so excited to see family and friends!

Please VOTE for my Sister!

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:19:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

So I really need your help! My sister is in a contest called the Summer Music Showcase sponsored by mormontimes.com. She is incredibly talented and really deserves this opportunity. If she places as one of the top four artists, she will perform in a semi-final and hopefully she will move on to the finals. The top three winners will win a cash prize. Although she could really use this money as a poor college student, this would provide her the opportunity to perform and get her name/music out there. Currently she is in 5th place... let's make it #1. You can vote once everyday during July. Please vote for her at:

http://music.mormontimes.com/contest.php?id=3533&nocache=1

** To vote you need to provide your e-mail address... you won't be sent any mail from this site... I haven't received any mail from them. They just use your e-mail because you can only do one vote per day per e-mail address. Please, please, vote!

Little One on the Way...

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Well, many of you already know, but for those of you who haven't heard...

we are having a BABY!

Since we don't know if it's a boy or a girl we call the baby "little bug"...

I am 12 weeks along & looking forward to the end of the first trimester in about a week. I hear that pregnancy gets a lot better at about that time. I've had a bad case of what I call "evening sickness." I actually feel pretty good in the morning and by the end of the day (about 5:00) I get really nauseated. Luckily, I had about 2 "good days" this week and I think all of this will ease up soon. I'm not as exhausted eithernow... I can do with 8-9 hrs. of sleep instead of 10 or 11.

I'm not really showing, but Steve and I are going to take pictures of my belly profile every couple weeks and make a flip book in the end.

We are so excited to welcome a new little one. My due date is January 2nd. It's funny because many people have reminded me (mostly guys) that if the baby comes before the new year we get a nice tax credit :)

Lots of Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:20:00 +0000

So, it's been an entire month since my last post... I'm so sorry for the lack of updates. This past month has been quite eventful. About 2 weeks ago we had the first Lake Powell Paulsen Family Reunion... it was a blast!!! (Thanks mom & dad). All of my nieces and nephews were there. My sister and her family even flew all the way from North Carolina to be there.

Lake Powell

The whole fam at Rainbow Bridge. Each time I see it, I always wonder how much longer until that thing collapses. Steve testing his wake-boarding skills after a hard year of med school.I love to ski on glass... what a treat!My brother Isaac... the pro wake-boarder in the family. He always gives us a show.

Isaac and the wicked back-flip...

Steve and I showing off our fair Arizona skin.Miss Makayla enjoying the water.

This is a silly video of Makayla. She is very good at saying names, but she loves to call me by the wrong name (I've realized this is on purpose). I'm know she thinks it's pretty funny because I always get a good laugh out of it.

Emma with her favorite uncle Steve... what a silly pose.My brother Josh just being himself :)Jane loving the wind in her hair.Emma and my sister Abby showing off her cool shades ("I got them for only a dollar!").Audrey making sure the sun stays out of her eyes.Emma is always ready to set sail!Isaac with his lovely girl Megan along with my two sisters. It was so fun to have Megan there!Bryce Canyon

So our trip was supposed to end at Lake Powell, but our plans changed. My grandmother, Bestamor, passed away on the last day of our vacation. We extended our trip a couple days more so we could attend the funeral. Luckily we weren't too far from home and we were very grateful to spend more time with the family. We first made a detour by stopping in Bryce Canyon with my sister's family. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and did some fun hiking with the kids. After spending one night there, we headed up to SLC. Salt Lake Trip

Once we arrived in SLC, we were busy making plans for Bestamor's funeral. Many of these plans were already written in detail by Bestamor before she passed. She knew exactly how her funeral should be... a celebration with lots of "fun"... she always emphasized the "fun" part of fun-eral. Abby and I worked on putting together all of her favorite songs, many of which she had written, into an organ hymnal arrangement for the prelude music... it was amazing... Abby is so talented. I know that Bestamor loved the music and hearing her children speak. She was an amazing woman and I am so grateful for her influence in my life.

Bestamor always said that if something ever goes wrong, " just put it up in a balloon, and let it go." I thought it would be very appropriate to emphasize this simple, but powerful phrase buy sending off some balloons at the cemetery. Bestamor was 80 when she passed, so with the help of my siblings we brought 80 yellow balloons to let go. It was a beautiful day... just the way it should be.
When we arrived someone else in the family had purchased 80 white balloons. So after a countdown everyone let go of the balloons... it was an unforgettable moment.
We'll miss you Bestamor!

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:31:00 +0000

Ever since Wicked came out in 2003, I've been wanting to see this Tony Award winning musical. After six years of it playing on Broadway, I finally have the opportunity to see it!!! Steve and I are going on July 4th and our tickets arrived in the mail today. Although I've never seen the show, I already know every lyric to every song by heart. I feel like I've seen the show many times already in my head. We traded fireworks for a musical instead on the 4th of July, but I wouldn't have it any other way! ** note: For those of you who are not familiar with this show, Wicked is about everything that happened before Dorothy arrives in Oz. You primarily see how the Wicked Witch became wicked.

Rubber Ducky, you're the one...

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:37:00 +0000

So this is my adorable little niece Mikayla ( a.k.a, "kayla-bee"). Last weekend I was able to go home to S.L.C. for a very quick trip. My sister was in town with her girls and I just didn't want to miss the opportunity. After a very long day at work last Friday, I flew out that evening to find the little kiddos sound asleep.

We played all day on Saturday and Sunday.

I bought these adorable sunglasses for Kayla-bee at Children's place.I got Audrey sunglasses as well, but....she seemed to prefer Kayla's.Mom, Abby, and I went on a little hike Sunday afternoon. We still had our dresses on from church along with our tennis shoes. I refused to go home without doing a hike... I miss the mountains soooo much (the hikes in Arizona just don't compare).

My brother, Isaac, with the caramel popcorn tower. He made his special "mixed drinks" (non-alcoholic of course).After a fun-filled weekend, I flew back very early Monday morning and drove straight from the airport to work (I made it there by 9:00 and worked 10 hrs... let's just say I was sooooo exhausted).

Calling All Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:44:00 +0000

Steve and I love to eat out. This could really be considered one of our hobbies. Over the past few months we've tried to cut back and limit ourselves to only once or twice a week, but it just didn't seem to work. Luckily we are both active and the effects haven't shown up on the scale, but it really isn't the best thing when you are trying to be health conscious. Eating out also isn't the best when you are trying to budget (although, you can find some really good deals out there).

A couple weeks ago, I decided to start planning meals for the week and then make a grocery list according to the menu.... it totally worked! Steve and I didn't eat out at all that week, and I actually liked the things that I cooked. It was nice to come home from work and know immediately what we were having for dinner and not having to worry about missing ingredients. We then made the goal to do this for an entire month. So far things have gone pretty well. We went to Olive Garden last week because we had a gift card. Interestingly, we both kind of felt sick after because we ate too much and the food was really rich. I guess our bodies are getting used to the healthy home cooked meals.

Since I am still working on my domestic side with all this cooking, I would love to get any of your favorite recipes (hopefully they aren't too complicated, I am still a beginner). So, my challenge to you is to write a post or leave a comment with your favorite recipe to share. I know many of you are awesome cooks!

Here is mine:

Macaroni Lasagna

Ingredients:

*2 1/2 cups of macaroni/elbow noodles

*1 lb of lean ground beef or ground turkey

*1 cup low fat cottage cheese

*1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese (I like to use cheddar).

* 26 oz can of spaghetti sauce (about 3 cups)

*1 tbs of dehydrated onion

Directions:

1. pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. cook noodles until tender, set aside.

3. cook ground beef/turkey with dehydrated onion (I like to use seasoning salt as well for more flavor).

4. spray/grease a 9x12 baking pan (I use a stone one, but glass works as well).

5. place a small layer of noodles in the bottom of the pan (about 1/3 of the noodles)

6. next layer some meat, continued by the shredded cheese, cottage cheese, and then some sauce.

7. add another layer of noodles. Repeat above step 6 above.

8. add one more layer (as said in steps 6 & 7) ending with the shredded cheese so it is on top.

** all of the ingredients should be divided into 3rds so you can layer each ingredient 3 times (the layers should be small).

9. cook at 400 degrees for about 30-45 min.

Time to Say Goodbye...

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:47:00 +0000

In only a few hours the cast and crew of E.R. will take their final bow. Many of you may know how big of an E.R. fan I am. In 1994 the first pilot season of E.R. was shown on NBC. It became a huge sucess and I became a true blue fan at the age of 11. Ever since then, there are very few episodes I have missed. In fact, I can remeber many times recording the show so I could watch it over and over again. The cast has completely changed over the years. I was absolutely devistated when Dr. Ross left (played by George Clooney). It's somewhat strange that I had a huge crush on that guy when I was only 12. I must say that the original cast was my favorite, but I have continued to watch it even with the changes. I will miss my Thursday night E.R. ritual, but it seems that Grey's Anatomy is also becoming a favorite (it does not however amount to E.R.... there's a little too much drama in it for me).

The original cast...

Dr. Doug Ross...

Dr. John Carter...
The current cast...

Lots of Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:36:00 +0000

So, the past few weeks have been a little busy... sorry for not posting in a while. We were in Salt Lake this past weekend for Steve's brothers wedding. The wedding was beautiful and it was so much fun to see family and friends. A few days prior to leaving Steve and I went to the zoo and aquarium... it's been forever since I went to the zoo. For St. Patrick's day I cooked a green dinner. I always thought the whole green food on St. Patrick's day was kind of weird, but I really had fun with it. Here are some pics/videos from the past few weeks:

This is my niece Emma... she is soooo much fun!

The kids love to jump on the tramp. I love how their stands on end because of the static.It's so hard to get kids to look at the camera at the same time.

This is a video of my nephew Jacob... he is so adorable. He loves to talk, but it is all nonsense... I love it!

The kids love their uncle Steve.

This is Jacob in his jumping swing. He loves jumping around.

My dad with Jacob.

This is my sister Abby. She has an incredible musical talent. She made up this song about the 5 food groups for her nutrition class... it's pretty funny.

Here is Steve's brother, Richard, with his beautiful wife Shannon. They got married in the Salt Lake Temple this past weekend. We are so happy for them!

Before going up to Salt Lake, Steve and I went to the zoo. Here are a few pics:For St. Patrick's day, I made this green dinner. Although it looked kind of strange, I think it tasted pretty good.

Disneyland Getaway

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:27:00 +0000

So, it had been a while since Steve and I had a trip to Disneyland (we were both in high school). Since this destination is only 5 1/2 hours away, we thought it would be a fun trip since Steve is on his spring break right now. We stayed at the Anaheim Marriot... it was beautiful, but it's too bad that nice hotels don't have a continental breakfast ( I think an omlet was nearly $13 !). We spent 3 days there. On Saturday we met up with some of our friends, Kristin & Brian and John & Liz.What is a Disney trip without a classic picture with Mickey Mouse?Lightning McQueen...Me with my 3D bug eye glasses... quite the fashion statement.Steve playing the organ at Mickey's house... he had way to much fun with this picture.

This was at "Minnie's House" in Toon Town. One of my favorite rides is the Tower of Terror. About a year ago my sister Abby went to Disneyland and recorded a video on her phone of the ride... it was so funny to hear her scream. I decided to do the same. I had no idea a screamed this much... maybe I was just nervous about losing my camera on the ride. (warning: you may want to turn down the volume on your speakers if you view the 2nd video.)

This picture was taken while waiting in line for Midway Mania... it was so much fun (one of Steve's favorites).The only downside to the whole trip was the expensive food. Can you believe this, $5.99 for a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich!

First Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:48:00 +0000

So, I was racking my brain trying to think of what to write about. I am currently in the process of making a quilt, but I didn't want to post about it until the finished product was complete. I am about halfway done with it and I decided that it might be nice to show you what it looks like now and then show some pictures when I'm finished.

I've made plenty of fleece tie quilts, but this one is a lot more complicated. I decided to make it out of the production shirts from all the shows I did at Hale Center Theater (13 total). Unfortunately, I couldn't find 2 of the shirts, but most of them were in great condition since I hardly wore them.
The color combinations are a little wierd, but I think it's more about the sentimental value. I still need to decide on what color to use for the border and the back. Any suggestions?

Another Race Done

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:19:00 +0000

Although I ran a half marathon just a few weeks ago, I decided to do it all over again. This past weekend, I did the Sedona 1/2 marathon with some friends from church... it was a blast! My time was slower with this race, but I didn't even care. It was the most beautiful course I have ever ran. This race had some major hills (up and down), but the scenery seemed to distract me from the inclines. I finished in 2 hr. 7 min. which actually placed me at 9th in my age division. That sounds really good, but there were only 21 people in my age division (I just don't like telling people that). I finished the first half of the race in 58 minutes, but I probably walked about a mile toward the end of the race. The best part was running in perfect weather, on an amazing course, and with some great friends!
You can get an idea from this elevation map of the hills that this race involved. Phoenix is flat and low in elevation which makes it very difficult to train for this kind of terrain.

It was so much fun doing this race with some friends... they are all great athletes.Here is Tara and Julia the night before the big race.Here I am with Tara after the race. She did an awesome time in 2 hr. 3 min! We got these really cool shirts... they are bright lime green.
So, it seems I have to make some plans for my next race now... I'll keep you updated.

Dumpster Diving... Literally

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:05:00 +0000

So, I have a funny story for you (maybe I shouldn't be sharing this story because it is actually somewhat embarrassing, but I think it is very blog worthy). Last night I was debating whether to take the trash out or not... it was late and it was one of those nights where you just want to veg, but you don't because there are just certain household duties that need to be taken care of.

Luckily, our trash can has a lid on it and it can only hold so much trash until the lid can no longer be securely fastened. Lets just say that lid was not going to shut if anymore trash were shoved into the already compacted Rubbermaid trash receptacle.
I sometimes get scared taking the trash out at night even though we live in safe area with a gated community. In order to calm my nerves I decided to take my pepper spray with me and I also locked the door before leaving (just in case any burglars decided to break in during my 1-2 minute absence).
So I ventured out with pepper spray in my right hand and the plastic trash bag and keys in my left. As a tossed the bag into the gigantic dumpster, I thought to myself, "don't throw your keys into the dumpster." I must have jinxed myself during that moment because as just as I went to release the bag, my keys caught tangled up in the plastic and went straight into the bin.
I stood in shock for a moment while I internalized what had just occurred. In a short moment I started briskly walking back to our apartment to retrieve a flashlight since it was pitch black outside. After taking only a few steps, I stopped and realized that I had locked the door and if it wasn't for my paranoid thoughts my keys would not be in the bottom of the dumpster.

Contemplating what to do next, I thought of knocking on my neighbor's door and ask to borrow a flashlight, but decided not to since the conversation would be very embarrassing, "hi, can I borrow a flashlight? I locked my door before taking out the trash and I accidentally threw my keys into the dumpster."
So, I decided to go for it... diving right in. I blindly searched for my keys. I'm glad that it was dark so I couldn't see how germ infested the dumpster really was. Within 30 seconds I found them. Fortunately, they were still tangled up in the plastic trash bag and hadn't fallen to the bottom. Well, this whole experience taught me an important lesson: don't be too paranoid or else you might throw your keys into a dumpster.

I thought this was pretty funny:

New Endeavors

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Well, I did my first 1/2 marathon this weekend! I ran in the P.F. Chang's Rock n' Roll marathon and 1/2 marathon... what a HUGE event. Over 30,000 people ran in this race! It's ironic that I have actually ran 3 marathons, but never a 1/2 marathon... let's just say it's a lot easier. My goal was to run it in 1 hr. 45 min, but I came in at 2 hrs. 7 seconds. I just kept thinking to myself, if only I had ran 7 seconds faster, I would have broken 2 hours... oh, well. I can't complain because I kept a fairly good pace at 9:10 minute miles. Steve also participated by volunteering on the race medical staff.

My race medal:

Pics from the race (note the huge amount of participants):
We were all divided up into 26 corrals. They let each corral go every 2 minutes so things wouldn't get too congested.

It got up to 78 degrees towards the end of the race! There were bands at each mile.

So when is my next race? In approximately 3 weeks I will be running the Sedona 1/2 marathon with my friend Tara. I'm excited because it should be a lot more scenic and not as many runners.

Well, with all this running I have been getting somewhat eager to try something new. I have always wanted to try a triathalon, but this past week I took some steps towards acheiving this goal. Today, I started seriously swimming laps for the first time ever... wow, what a workout! This will definetly be the toughest part so I have decided to start with swimming and add biking in a few months.

I checked out a few books to help me along the way...

Lots of Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:02:00 +0000

I'm back!! Sorry about slacking on updates... I think I will blame it on the holidays... I'm sure you all understand. Well, it has the past few weeks have been very eventful. I finally feel like I can take a breath and sit quietly at my computer to update my blog. Here is the recap:

So we spent 5 days up in SLC to visit our families. We had a blast! There was even enough time to take 1/2 day and go night skiing up at Brighton. My favorite part was giving my nieces and nephews lots of hugs and kisses!

My mom and nephew at my Grandparents house.

At Steve's aunts house in Liberty, UT.Lots and lots of snow!Christmas Eve fun...I couldn't believe all the snow we got.Isaac always makes me laugh.Don't they make great news anchors?At the Salt Lake Burger Co.Don't you love that smile?I just had to play in the snow the day before we left.We made this gigantic sledding hill.The annual friend Christmas Party... one of my favorite highlights of our trip.

Shortly after returning home, my sister and her family along with my parents came down to AZ to visit.

Celebrating the U game!

Audrey on the Bosu.

My friend Neema from work and I at the Suns game.

Too bad they lost.

Well, so that is a quick update of what we've been up to the past few weeks. Now that things have settled down I'll be sure to keep up with my weekly posts.

Busy in December

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:19:00 +0000

Well, I thought that things would slow down a bit this December since we are not close to family, but that has hardly been the case. Steve started up his 2nd quarter and is determined to achieve straight A's... I didn't think it was possible to study as hard as he does. While he has been off studying, I have kept myself occupied with making Christmas cards, buying gifts that will easily be transported on a plane, Christmas parties, and training for a 1/2 marathon in January. Although things have been busy, I am so excited to be going up to Salt Lake in a few days to see our family and friends!

Picture we used for our Christmas card:
My work Christmas Party:

These are two of my good friends from work, "Sparky" and Laura.

Mesa Temple Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:50:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, Steve and I went to the Mesa Temple with some friends. When we came out of the temple they had just turned on the lights for the very first time this year... it was amazing. I was so sad because we had forgotten our camera. I really wanted to post some pictures, so I decided to just browse for some on the internet. Here is a little taste of what we saw:

A Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:55:00 +0000

Well, I can now say that I have officially hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner! Luckily everything went fairly smooth and our guests seemed to have a great time. We wish that we could have spent this holiday with our family, but this new experience turned out to be so much fun. It not only makes us very grateful for our family, but we are also blessed to have such wonderful friends. Here are a few pics from the special occasion:

We got a great deal on these dishes at Linens and Things (unfortunately they are going out of business).

The turkey turned out really well thanks to Reynold's Wrap Oven Baking Bags.

Turkey carving.

We had 3 couples join us and they all brought yummy dishes to share.
I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Advice for a First-Timer

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:41:00 +0000

So, it seems that I have taken upon myself a somewhat challenging task... hosting/cooking a Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah, it sounds somewhat daunting, but I am determined to succeed. Since we are not traveling home for Thanksgiving, I decided to take a leap of faith and invite a few other couples over for the occasion. Although I am not cooking the entire dinner, I am still taking charge of the "meat and potatoes" portion of the meal (turkey, potatoes, and stuffing). So, my question for you is: what advice can you give a first time Thanksgiving cook/host on anything and everything from cooking, decor, food assignments, etc.? Wish me luck!

** just a note: I already put the Turkey in the fridge today to thaw.

Thanksgiving THEN

And NOW

Things sure have changed...

Sedona

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:15:00 +0000

Well, Steve's finals are finally over! To celebrate, we decided to head up north to Sedona for the weekend... it was soooo much fun. I'm very excited because Steve gets 2 weeks off for Thanksgiving! He still has some things that he needs to study over the break, but I we will definetly have a lot more time together. Here are some of our adventures this weekend...

We did about 9 miles of hiking on Saturday... it was amazing!
I was a little scared when I walked over to that ledge... it looks a lot higher in real life.
This one reminds me of Lake Powell.
Steve climed up to this little cove... and he even had a sprained ankle from playing basketball the day before! I just think he has a very good pain tolerance.
Hole in the rock... literally.
Taking a nap...
I can't believe he got his whole body in there.
The challenging part is getting out! We saw lots of art too.

This is actually a painting.

DDR

noreply@blogger.com (Cara and Steve) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:54:00 +0000

So, it seems that I have a new addiction: Dance Dance Revolution. I know this game is kind of old and its popularity died out long ago, but I have wanted to own one of these things for years. Steve got me one for my birthday a few weeks ago, but the story behind this birthday present is what makes me realize how lucky I am to be married to such an amazing person. Since we have only one vehicle, Steve's current mode of transportation is a bicycle that has a knack for getting flat tires (as some of you may know we sold Steve's car before we moved here). I occupy our vehicle almost everyday of the week and and some weekends because of work. Steve wanted to purchase my birthday present without me knowing and decided to use his bike for transportation. Luckily when he made the trip to Wal-Mart he didn't have a flat tire, but the journey was still quite eventful. Steve rode about 6 miles to Wal-Mart on a very warm Arizona day with his backpacking pack to put the presents in. He not only got me DDR, but also a sewing machine since I can no longer make a trip to my sister's house to use hers. Unfortunately the sewing maching box did not fit in the backpack. Steve rode all the way home with a DDR box in his backpack and a large sewing machine box on his handlebars! I'm such a lucky girl...

You can see the intense concentration.

But, it all pays off in the end... a nearly perfect score.

note: REENACTMENT

Now I just have to figure out how to use this thing...