I know all of our regular readers are probably on the edge of their seats each month to find out our "Mystery date Christmas date" Well don't worry! We didn't forget about the date, and now I'm going to give you the update you have been waiting for since last month.
This month was one of the dates I planned. It was Daniel's birthday month, and I wanted to do something special. Conveniently, one of the local colleges was putting on The Importance of Being Earnest as one of their last shows of the season. We bought tickets in advance and got great seats! We used Daniel's free birthday hamburger at Red Robin to get a meal, and then we headed downtown for the show.
The production stayed pretty true to the original play, and Oscar Wilde still gets the laughs today like, I imagine, he did back when he wrote the play. No need to do a lot of changes if the material already serves the purpose of making people laugh without explanations. The cast did a good job, and we really enjoyed our night out at the theater!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Lots of Work
This has been a crazy busy week, but there have been lots of good things about it. First off, we were invited to a housewarming party with one of my coworkers. Since his house is about an hour drive away (I'm not sure how he deals with the commute), we decided to carpool with my cube-mate. They made very good BBQ and had fun ridiculously-large version of normal games (like 2x4 jenga, which I was going to show a picture of but don't have it yet).
I've been really busy with work. I have been working on validating a design and getting 2 different 1 hour presentations put together (I was co-presenting both of those, so I was only responsible for about half of each). Elissa explained last week. The presentations are put on by other folks in R&D, and the bar is set pretty high (not that people need to make moving speeches, but that people need to really know the subject matter they are presenting on). In addition to having 2 presentations to give, I was trying to finish validating a design before we ordered a new revision of the prototype board, and the timing happened to coincide with NI Tech.
On Tuesday, I finished up the validation I was trying to do, which was really nice. And I came home feeling very productive, wanting to finish up some of the projects around the house we have been meaning to do. We got some pictures hung up, put up some miscellaneous organization stuff, and put up some cup holders we've been meaning to install.
Today was the big day for my presentations (I know, 2 in one day, that sounded rough to me too). But, we did our best to prepare, and when the time came, the presentations went rather smoothly and I think people came away feeling like the presentation(s) had been worth their while. As a side note, they gave me a cool polo which I get to keep. All in all, definitely glad I did it, but it was super-stressful and I don't know if I want to do it again any time soon (at least not 2 presentations during the same week that semi-critical validation needs to be done in).
I've been really busy with work. I have been working on validating a design and getting 2 different 1 hour presentations put together (I was co-presenting both of those, so I was only responsible for about half of each). Elissa explained last week. The presentations are put on by other folks in R&D, and the bar is set pretty high (not that people need to make moving speeches, but that people need to really know the subject matter they are presenting on). In addition to having 2 presentations to give, I was trying to finish validating a design before we ordered a new revision of the prototype board, and the timing happened to coincide with NI Tech.
On Tuesday, I finished up the validation I was trying to do, which was really nice. And I came home feeling very productive, wanting to finish up some of the projects around the house we have been meaning to do. We got some pictures hung up, put up some miscellaneous organization stuff, and put up some cup holders we've been meaning to install.
Today was the big day for my presentations (I know, 2 in one day, that sounded rough to me too). But, we did our best to prepare, and when the time came, the presentations went rather smoothly and I think people came away feeling like the presentation(s) had been worth their while. As a side note, they gave me a cool polo which I get to keep. All in all, definitely glad I did it, but it was super-stressful and I don't know if I want to do it again any time soon (at least not 2 presentations during the same week that semi-critical validation needs to be done in).
Friday, April 12, 2013
Daniel's Birthday
This week Daniel has been really busy at work since Tuesday, so I'm going to tell you all about his birthday. First, I think you should know that, I'm pretty sure he had a great time, and that he really appreciated all your birthday well wishes!
In the morning, we went to a neighborhood garage sale. I would say that it was pretty informal. If you wanted to participate, you just set up on your driveway, and the people would come around and see what you had. The neighborhood association advertised so there would actually be people that would come buy all the stuff.
We managed to bring home a lot more than we expected. For $25 we got all this stuff! For his birthday, Daniel got a rotary cutting mat (for puzzles), the last two Harry Potter books, and a new game (Literati). We also got a rocking chair, a jewelry box (for me), a shower curtain for upstairs, a coffee table, and a couple of boat pictures. Added bonus not pictured: We also got to meet some neighbors around the neighborhood!
Then we watched all the sessions of conference. It can be easy to forget how amazing it is that we have prophets and apostles who talk to us every six months! Perhaps small consolation for Daniel because conference weekend means no time for parties!
Since then, Daniel has been pretty busy. Besides just working on his regular "super secret" project this week, he is also preparing to co-presenting two different presentations at NI Tech next week. (NI Tech is basically an employee seminar put on by Daniel's company. Employees put together presentations about the cool things that they found, learned or engineered during the year. The other engineers come sit in and learn new techniques and ideas for future projects.) So, Daniel has been busy preparing his presentations this week. As his favorite (and I assume cutest) guinea pig, I can tell you that the presentations are getting better all the time! I think he'll be glad once they are over with though!
In the morning, we went to a neighborhood garage sale. I would say that it was pretty informal. If you wanted to participate, you just set up on your driveway, and the people would come around and see what you had. The neighborhood association advertised so there would actually be people that would come buy all the stuff.
We managed to bring home a lot more than we expected. For $25 we got all this stuff! For his birthday, Daniel got a rotary cutting mat (for puzzles), the last two Harry Potter books, and a new game (Literati). We also got a rocking chair, a jewelry box (for me), a shower curtain for upstairs, a coffee table, and a couple of boat pictures. Added bonus not pictured: We also got to meet some neighbors around the neighborhood!
Then we watched all the sessions of conference. It can be easy to forget how amazing it is that we have prophets and apostles who talk to us every six months! Perhaps small consolation for Daniel because conference weekend means no time for parties!
Since then, Daniel has been pretty busy. Besides just working on his regular "super secret" project this week, he is also preparing to co-presenting two different presentations at NI Tech next week. (NI Tech is basically an employee seminar put on by Daniel's company. Employees put together presentations about the cool things that they found, learned or engineered during the year. The other engineers come sit in and learn new techniques and ideas for future projects.) So, Daniel has been busy preparing his presentations this week. As his favorite (and I assume cutest) guinea pig, I can tell you that the presentations are getting better all the time! I think he'll be glad once they are over with though!
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Easter Treats
I know this post is on my birthday, and I'm not mentioning anything about it. Don't worry, Elissa will tell you all about it next week.
This last week we each had our book groups. I decided to host for the boys' group this month, and since it was close to Easter, we decided we'd make our birds' nests a little early and make a big one for treats that night. We talked about The Prodigal God, which was a thought-provoking take on Grace which contrasts with the way we LDS folk tend to think of it.
We also decided to go ice skating (we originally planned to go before we got sick earlier this month) as part of our pre-planned 'Christmas' dates. We had fun but wished we'd asked specifically for hockey skates, because we didn't realize they had those to rent at all and I don't like figure skates.
Easter was also good -- we did a "fancy" dinner with ham steaks and au gratin potatoes (Elissa's family style -- which is cubed instead of scalloped). It was a good meal and we had lots of leftovers. Hope you all had a good Easter!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Benefits of Cleaning the House
Sometimes we do chores around the house because we are trying to be mature and not live in a mess. This week we decided to rearrange some furniture -- that required some cleaning. Usually the only reward for cleaning that I get is the satisfaction of having a clean house, but this time I found a surprise! (Daniel will tell you that I should have found this before now, but that is okay.) I only tell you all this because I think you will like the surprise too. New ultrasound pictures from our last doctor's visit!
- Little Baby Feet - We have two pictures of baby feet. Probably because our baby was stubborn.
- Whole Little Baby - regular ultrasound picture
- 3D baby - This is our baby with her hand at her face.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
A Healthy Family
So toward the end of this week, we've finally started feeling better. We both had residual congestion and got prescription stuff to try to get it all cleared out before we get infections.
The other interesting thing that happened this week is that we had another ultrasound and found out that our baby girl is growing exactly how they expect. We also learned that she could be incredibly stubborn, but we had a good technician that eventually got all the shots they needed.
On another note, we've got a couple of pictures for you. We want to find a way to post pictures only for people we know but keep the blog public, so we're trying something new this week. If you email Elissa or I, we'll get you added to the permissions to see the pictures. This last week we had our Christmas Cactus start blossoming. Also, Elissa got dressed up in some of her nice maternity clothes so we got a picture of her here too.
Let us know what you think of the new way of doing pictures.
The other interesting thing that happened this week is that we had another ultrasound and found out that our baby girl is growing exactly how they expect. We also learned that she could be incredibly stubborn, but we had a good technician that eventually got all the shots they needed.
On another note, we've got a couple of pictures for you. We want to find a way to post pictures only for people we know but keep the blog public, so we're trying something new this week. If you email Elissa or I, we'll get you added to the permissions to see the pictures. This last week we had our Christmas Cactus start blossoming. Also, Elissa got dressed up in some of her nice maternity clothes so we got a picture of her here too.
Let us know what you think of the new way of doing pictures.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sick Not Dying
So, we don't have much news this week because first I caught a cold (last Thursday) and then Daniel got my cold yesterday. We have been busy watching Neflix and getting lots of liquids. So, that was pretty much our last couple of days. Fortunately, Tuesday I made a big pot of soup so I didn't have to cook for the two days that Daniel was home. Unfortunately, our kitchen looked like a disaster area until tonight when I felt well enough to do some cleaning.
Daniel stayed home from work yesterday and today to try and get better. So far I think that plan (getting better) is working. I'm just hoping he doesn't get the cough part. For this cold the "bark" (coughing) was way worse than the "bite" (everything else!)
I've been feeling better-ish, so yesterday I went to the store to stock up on supplies. I forgot that our near by grocery store is probably the worst place to pick up over the counter medicines. They don't stock things in a way that makes sense, and often they don't have generic versions of things that I think that they should. (Like a box of nighttime cold medicine. They had the daytime just not the nighttime. I ended up getting the last combination box) I also needed some decongestant, so I went to the counter to get it too. After three trips through the register, I got all the things I came for at the store, and the knowledge that if I'm not sick and dying I should shop elsewhere for my pharmaceuticals.
I'm excited because I was able to sleep last night. I wasn't coughing violently all night for the first time in a week. I am taking sleeping at night as a sign that we are not dying, but just sick. Seriously, I think I might have pulled a muscle I was coughing so hard and so often. Fortunately, my baby should be okay because babies are generally pretty safe even when they are inside the same body that is sick. I have to imagine that the baby didn't like all the coughing though --Too much shaking! We are going to see the doctor next Thursday, so she'll be able to tell us more about our baby then!
Daniel stayed home from work yesterday and today to try and get better. So far I think that plan (getting better) is working. I'm just hoping he doesn't get the cough part. For this cold the "bark" (coughing) was way worse than the "bite" (everything else!)
I've been feeling better-ish, so yesterday I went to the store to stock up on supplies. I forgot that our near by grocery store is probably the worst place to pick up over the counter medicines. They don't stock things in a way that makes sense, and often they don't have generic versions of things that I think that they should. (Like a box of nighttime cold medicine. They had the daytime just not the nighttime. I ended up getting the last combination box) I also needed some decongestant, so I went to the counter to get it too. After three trips through the register, I got all the things I came for at the store, and the knowledge that if I'm not sick and dying I should shop elsewhere for my pharmaceuticals.
I'm excited because I was able to sleep last night. I wasn't coughing violently all night for the first time in a week. I am taking sleeping at night as a sign that we are not dying, but just sick. Seriously, I think I might have pulled a muscle I was coughing so hard and so often. Fortunately, my baby should be okay because babies are generally pretty safe even when they are inside the same body that is sick. I have to imagine that the baby didn't like all the coughing though --Too much shaking! We are going to see the doctor next Thursday, so she'll be able to tell us more about our baby then!
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