I cried when I left Baltimore.

We got there Tuesday before Christmas and came home Sunday night.

I should take more pictures, J.D.'s parents have a nice house in Columbia, Maryland. When we visit we get the basement, which is finished and awesome. The bedroom has no windows (so in real estate terms its not really a bedroom, whatever). Its always the perfect temperature and it's impossible to wake up on your own. This year we had Christmas as the farmhouse, which is a big old house on J.D.'s mom Lauries friends property. We celebrated Christmas Eve with J.D.'s parents, his brothers family, Aunt Lisas family, a few friends from Lauries ward and a sweet family who weren't going to have much of a Christmas. There was a talent portion, songs, and Santa even came...(I couldn't find J.D. anywhere when Santa was giving the kids their presents...he just disappeared! And he magically appeared when Santa had gone home and he was a little sweaty. Where was he?) Christmas Morning we went back to the farm house, poor kids didn't get to start opening presents until we got there at 9...they were ready at 6. Poor kiddo's!! Torture! Christmas day I read my new book and took a 3 hour nap. I love the sleep I got this week. We had a yummy Christmas dinner, played games, chased our cute little nephew Trey (1). It was great.

Friday we went to the movies and watched Marley and Me. I cried embarrassingly loud, gasping for air. I really don't cry very often. My sisters are all babies and cry once a week. I rarely shed a tear. I was still crying on our way home in the car. Crying is a lot like laughing for me, once I start it's so hard to stop. I remember getting choked up in a touching sacrament meeting years ago I had to go home because I couldn't stop crying. Ugh. Anyway. Later that night we went to Washington DC to see the temple lights and the national tree. Beautiful.

We spent Saturday in Baltimore looking at lights, eating at a local seafood spot and walking around Annapolis.

J.D.s parents, Laurie and Cliff were so great. It was so nice to spend good quality time with them, they are so good to us, and to everyone really. Cliff made breakfast every morning, always the best. Laurie cooked delicious food for everyone all week and got me bagels and cream cheese, my current food along with Cheeze It's and Mexican Pizzas. I could pretty much eat those three things everyday. I'm starting to get a little belly. I can't suck in like I used to. It's fun, and awkward for my first. But mostly fun. Gosh I hope I still look cute when I'm huge.

Maryland was a great Christmas vacation and I can't wait to go back.

Baby Barker

We went to the dr. today, 15 week check up. This was the most fun, we could see the baby kicking! Those feetsies are so cute. It was a lot clearer when we were looking on the screen, you have to really look for those feet...the head is pretty obvious. :) So we'll find out next time if it's a baby boy or girl. I found out today that I have a hyperthyroid. Hopefully it will settle down after my body goes through all this baby building, I suck at routine pill taking. I guess I'll get used to it.

Update

My dad read the tupperware blog and got me a new set.

Awesome!

Since it's been raining so much this week, when Roxy hears it she asks to outside, then she sits there and does this....

So...I'll text J.D. on my way home and say 'OMWH'...(for On My Way Home)

Or if we're meeting somewhere just 'OMW'

J.D. will text me whatever he's doing, like SOTCWR

( Sitting On The Couch With Roxy)

Or, MT, JL

(Me Too, Just Left. )

Anyway, so I've gotten really good at looking at it and thinking about what he's probably doing, and figuring it out in NO time!!

Today was the usual... OMWH from me and I get THIS back

ATFGSNTLAR

So I was like, k, give me 20 minutes, I can figure this out on my way home.

It took me FIVE minutes.

At The Football Game Sitting Next To Lori and Ryan.

Oh, and I had forgot that he was going to a football game this afternoon

(5A state championship, my cousin Sean plays for Centenial)

So. I'm really proud of this new talent I have, I just dont know what to name it.

Picoult

This month I've read 4 Jodi Picoult novels, I just start reading one and i cant stop, then I have to pick up another one. It started with My Sisters Keeper when I was at Barnes and Noble I text'd my friend Kim and asked her for a book suggestion. When I was done with the book I found myself sitting cross legged on the toilet seat cover sobbing. Not all the books so emotional but they are all great. I let Heather borrow My Sisters Keeper, she just happened to finish it last night and text'd me this morning asking me why I put her through that, even though she loved it too. Ironicly Picoult was in Phoenix on her tour tonight and it was easy to get Heather to come with me! She spoke for about an hour about a few of her novels and interesting senerios from her research (with she is very good at, it shows in her books).

We got to meet the author, get our picture taken and books signed.
It was a fun night!

Tupperware

So over the last couple weeks, smells make me gag..comes with the territory I know. But that makes doing the dishes suck even more than usual. So in all laziness I threw away a few leftovers that were over a week old, one was pretty old, it was hiding in the back. Then it got easier and easier to chuck stuff in the container instead of dumping it and washing it. Needless to say, while I had a plethora of Tupperware 6 weeks ago, I have ZERO now. I need one for the cookies I just made...and I don't have ONE Tupperware. The only thing good that comes from this is all these extra lids lying around are going to get tossed and I don't even feel bad because they have no bodies. Jeez. What am I going to do with these cookies?...just eat them all right now? :) OH YEAH, that's what Ziploc bags are for! In fact I'm just going to start putting leftovers in Ziploc bags, no matter what it is. Chicken, spaghetti, pork chops...all ziplocable. If we didn't cook for 6-8 instead of 2 we wouldn't have this problem but whatever.

I thought this was hillarious

see more pwn and owned pictures

Update

She's back to normal today. She's only crying at the gate til J.D. gets home, which is normal. Silly girl. (her AND me) :)

Poor baby...

I took Roxy in to get spayed this morning. She was so cute trying to play with the other dogs and cats while we were waiting. She got on the scale and she weighs 48 pounds! For some reason I thought she was in the 30's. I got big tears in my eyes (I don't know why) I just can't believe how much she's grown since we got her! J.D.'s co-worker has a friend who is one of the vets at the clinic so J.D. had her check up a few times today, of course it was fine...they do this all the time...Roxy isn't the first one. She's had utters since her first heat in September, which is why we dressed her as a cow for Halloween. I should have asked them to give her a lift while she was in there! They told me when they took her that because of her breed it might be more complicated so she would go first, which meant I got to pick her up first! I got there at 3pm. When they brought her out her tounge was half out and she was SO tired she could barely walk, again my eyes filled up with tears, because I'm retarded. In fact she took a little break in the parking lot 15 feet away from the car. She cried all the way home, still with her tounge out. I couldn't get her out of the car, now that I know she almost weighs 50 pounds...if I still thought she weighed 32 it would be different. It didn't matter she walked out of the car okay and used the tiles on the grass like she always does. When we got inside she went straight to her bed and has been sleeping/crying in her sleep for over an hour, and I have a big lump in my throat. I'm a little emotional today.

HELLOOOO...November 5th!

I guess we knew when the Washington Redskins lost last night that a republican wouldn't move to 1600 Pennsylvania in January...but it still hurt a little tonight. Jessica text'd me and said she's 'moving to Mexico'...J.D. suggested Australia, I told him no..there are too many girls with blond hair and green eyes, his weakness. :) This country is resilient. It's idiot-proof. He can't do anything that we can't fix later. We're just taking a few steps backwards...or as I like to say...Barackwards.

I'm glad 102 passed! I love the comments on azcentral.com following the article...whinny little babies, thank you for giving us Mormon's credit by the way...we deserve it we worked hard for that, um because it's important.

Joe Arpaio won! I'm sure the Republic is happy about that!...not! (I like Joe) Shadegg won, J.D. likes him a lot. I just don't like Bob Lord, I just kept noticing all his signs outside of church's and I thought it was just too ironic. That's like totally taking His name in vain. Come on now.

I'm also glad the election is over! It's like planning for a big party, whether everyone shows up or they go to a different party...at the end of the night you clean up and go to bed.

I'm learning something right now, I'm still in the process...so this may sound a little premature/immature/armature...but This... 'insert issue aka the election' - doesn't define me.

PS. One of my friends family all mails their early ballots and goes to Disneyland on Election Day every four years. No lines! No stress! I think its a great idea!

I Got Tagged

I Got Tagged! I was tagged by Corie Green & Heather Wrong, I mean Wright; If you get tagged, Link the person who tagged you (I don't know how to do that, I just copied and pasted this first part).

Mention the rules on your blog.
Tell 6 unspectacular quirky things about you or your family.

Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them. Or 3...whatever.

1. "I wear a size 6 but a 7 feel so good I buy a size 8": I can quote Steel Magnolias and I usually do at least once a day, more often if I'm around my sisters. I remember the first time I watched that movie I was in High School, home "sick" and watched it upstairs with my mom. I cried my eyes out! Since then I watched it everytime I was home for anything or couldn't find anything else to watch. That's still common today, it's my default. I really don't have very many DVD's (seriously maybe 25 if you don't count all the kid church movies I have) so if I don't want to watch Juno or Billy Madison...it's Steel Magnolias! It makes me laugh, I love the closeness with the friends in the movie. I also love to torture myself with heartwrenching stories...because I'm a girl, and girls do that. "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."

2. "There is no such thing as natural beauty..just look at me! It takes some effort to look like this!": I wake up at 5:59, a minute before my alarm goes off every morning. I makes me crazy. Thing is, I've always wanted to be one of those "I don't need my alarm clock" people. Just wake up when it's time to wake up. The sound of the alarm is SO ANNOYING! Someday I hope to be able to disable it.

3. "How precious is this wedding gonna get I ask you?" "Mama and I, we agree on one thing...THE GROOMS CAKE. It's awful." I pulled my favorite wedding together in 12 days this summer. J.D. and I got engaged February 8, 2008. We had to submit info to the First Presidency so we could be sealed in the Temple. It took a while to get letters in/approvals/etc. We got a letter from President Monson on July 14 saying we were good to go! We asked our parents what they were doing next weekend, they said nothin so I called the San Diego temple, my mom booked hotel rooms, I bought/altered a dress, picked out pretty flower with sea shells, got our friend/photographer Nick to take the weekend! It was amazing. In OUR case, it didn't take a year to plan a wedding. Just a few days and focus. I think about those couple weeks all the time. I loved how it happened and wouldn't change any of it!!!

4. "Oh Drum would never point a gun at a lady. He's a real gentleman. Bet he takes the dishes outta the sink before he pees in it!" J.D. cooks dinner every night. It's so yummy. He has all his pot and pans goin...I just stay clear. He makes yummy chicken, steak, hamburgers, spaghetti, potatoes always squash and zucchini. Yum. I do the dishes. Yuck.

5. "The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize!" I know I blog about the dog its lame, but Roxy is a super sweetie. When we were researching dogs and I learned about English Bulldog personalities I thought it would be too good to be true. But she's even better! I think the greatest thing about her is that shes not THAT smart. So she doesn't sneak off, she doesn't get into stuff...she doesn't 'figure' stuff out. She is polished enough that all I have to do is grab my keys and she goes in her cage. When we eat she goes to her bed (and stares) and she can sit, lay down and play dead. But only all together and only in that order. :) She's super friendly and meet new friends every time I walk her. Right now we're working on keeping her out of the kitchen (it's just too small) and getting her to stop barking so loud when she thinks someone is opening the back gate. It's so annoying. "I heard you got so screwed you cut your dog out of your will and had an ungrateful nephew put to sleep"

6. "JONATHAN! DON'T YOU DECORATE YOUR SISTER'S CAR WITH CONDOMS, IT'S TACKY!" "Well if you and Jackson want to practice safe sex..you're all set!": Forget that!

We're having a honeymoon baby!

"Looks like two pigs fightin under a blanket" I'm about 11 weeks according to me and my physician. I go the Gyno next Monday and find out more. But I feel great! Just a little tired, boobs are huge and they hurt, and I can't chew gum without gagging. We are SO excited for a Barker baby! It feels weird being pregnant. I call Jessica everyday. It makes me feel better. J.D. spoils me, just like he did before...so it's awesome.

"Smile! It increases your face value!": I tag Brittney, Shauna and Kristen

New hair...

I'm not so bleach blonde anymore. It's pretty light brown with blonde highlight still of course. I was being silly taking "myspace" pictures before work this morning.

If you want funny....

This movie is hillarious.

I just hate azcentral.com right now.

Where else can I get local news? Azcentral is the most ridiculous source. And I always have to read the comments and they just piss me off. GRR.

What do I do? Bookmark a local TV station website? They seem so lame!

Roxy Update

New pictures of Roxy!

She just being super cute today, bless her heart.

Her favorite place to sleep.

Roxy's spot...the ottoman.

He loves that little girl.

Roxy with her toy and my toy.

BLENT

This morning at work we had a 2 hour conference call, all good stuff!! But this happened a couple times and it drives me nuts. When someone says something like "Now, what does the mean for Phoenix?"...then the same person pauses and says 'well' as if he has just heard the question for the first time in his life and he has to come up with something on the spur of the moment then when answered completely and competently acts as if that was AMAZING! The pause and the 'well' are the worst part.

No big deal. Just a blent (blog vent.)

PAGOSA SPRINGS

Last weekend J.D. and I went to Pagosa Springs, CO.

His grandparents lived there for the last 7 years, they recently moved to Texas.

They miss it so much and I can see why, it's beautiful! When they told us they were visiting Pagosa we decided to join them.

They needed some help cleaning out a storage unit they still have a lot of stuff in from the move. We went shopping downtown, played cards, went hot tubbing and of course watched the presidential debate and talked about politics all weekend. :)

Ryan watched Roxy when we were gone,

thank goodness shes a good girl and we have good friends.

This summer we had a Boyd family reunion in Vegas. (Doesn't this look like Vegas?) It was fun. I found these pictures today so I thought I'd toss em up on the blog before I forget.

Set...hike! yeah, we didn't know what we were doing...we just posed for the camera for 10 minutes.

Papa Boyd

The heartbeat of the family, Papa Boyd got a fancy car this year! He deserves it.

Our nephew Trey Scott, he's going to be famous.

My neice Lydia Rae (2 1/2) and nephew Jonah Wyld (5 months).

I love these babies.

IF...

You're thinking things aren't easy to read on my page because of the color skeem...I don't know how to change the colors on this thing. Myspace is the only social network I have figured out. Heather, if you could hack into this thing and make it better...DO IT!

And I ended up on a bunch of fun peoples blogs tonight, people I haven't seen for a long time, it was awesome.

I'm watching Chelsea Lately. I love her.

A typical week night at the Boyd's

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

A typical week night at the Boyd's

So today at dinner:I had apple juice and dad tells me not to bring my urine sample to the dinner table. It was so funny. Then I told him about heather and her 3 continents, and how you thought mexico was a continent. That was funny too. Then we started talking about Shauna and Erin going to the Kelly Clarkson concert, and dads says "I know who she is" and starts singing "JESUS, TAKE THE WHEEEEEEL." and heather and I start laughing and we're like, no dad. Since U been gone, you know that one and he goes "Oh yeah! SINCE U BEEN GONE, I CAN BREATHE FOR THE FIIIIRST TIME." (with help from heather). It was also funny. Then I started drinking my apple juice. And I notice him eyeing me. And he says "That's so gross." And I tried not to laugh cuz I had my mouth full of apple juice. I couldn't help it, I started busting up. Apple Juice went ALL OVER my plate. Luckily, I was finished. I was laughing soo hard I was crying. I couldn't stop. It was HILARIOUS.

love,
Ali - my lil' sis'

Baby Cop

Caution: some swearing in the beginning. But worth it in the end.

See more Will Ferrell videos at Funny or Die

BURR!!

Tonight we went to Rubios for a salad, (and ended up getting a taco too because I'm what we call a 'fatty'). It had to have been 50 degrees in there. The tips of my hair were almost icicles. I was eating as fast as I could so we could get out of there. I kept glancing at the door, thinking can I just go stand out there, just for a few seconds? It's 97 degrees out there, 50 - 55 in here. BLOWS my mind how much of a difference. I love phoenix, really i can't think of a BETTER place to live. But in some ways I have to believe its as cold as Minisotta in the summer because apparently business owners dont read the manual on their Trane air conditioning unit.

While we're on the subject, last week in church there was a man in his 40's or 50's holding a sleeping one year old walking around the room before sunday school started. He was holding a device that was not a cell phone, ipod etc. I was interested/could care less. J.D. and I were in our seats waiting for everyone to settle in. Then I hear the man with the baby and the device telling the older ladies which spots of the room were 5-6 degrees warmer than the ones they were sitting in. Of course the smart women grabbed their scriptures and sweaters and changed seats before the rest of the hethens filed in. I need to get me one of those. Air conditioners need a button that says 'comfortable'. Then people just need to stop trying to be the expert and just hit the button.

Im loosing my mind tonight. Actually, its thawing out is all. I'll be okay in the morning.

My little girl, a woman.

Roxy went into heat today. I'll skip the details. But she's a woman! Now I just need to keep the boys away, it'll be tough...she's her mothers daughter. :)

This week

Jessica, Troy and family came down this week. It was fun to have Lydia running around and Jonah making faces. Cute babies. Lydia loves to tell me and Heather that her favorite aunt is aunt Ali. Silly girl. J.D. wore his shirt that has Ryan Gardners face on it today and Lydia looked at it and said, 'is that your friend?'. I don't know if he wore that another time we saw Lydia and J.D. told her that or if she recognized Ryan, because she's met him before and was scared because of his beard.

The D-back game was a blast tonight, it was 80's night, Gonzo was visiting, we won, and Misty Mae from the Olymics was there, and she showed her Gold medal! It was awesome. Ryan and Kristina were there too, not sitting with us but we met up with them after. Good times.

Wedding Pics!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYsWLFi4ZMWTpI
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYsWLFi4ZMWTrA

Honest to Blog?!

Welcome back to my 'perfect life' that is about to be interupted by 'real life' we just got back from the the moon...or the honeymoon that is. The cruise was great, it was my first one. I can't wait to convince my parents & family to do a group one soon. The food is all free/included, so even though it wasnt very good...we ate alot. But my jeans are loose, so I'm happy. They played a few movies over and over on the T.V. in our room including JUNO so I can almost quote it as well as I quote Steel Magnolias. There were a couple funny comedians for evening entertainment and we ate with a bunch of hillbillys who were almost as entertaining. Probably the most entertaining dinner was watching the table next to us go from talking/laughing to tears in 15 seconds. It was strange. I mean, 4/6 of them had tears, one man was saying something about his father...soon the matre-de came to see if everything was alright and invited them to join the earlier seating group for the remainder of the cruise. Weirdos!!! J.D. spent some time looking for a G-SHOCK watch before the cruise. I teased him, but it was a smart move! We went snorkling in Cozumel. The watch is all water resistant so we weren't super panicy about time getting back to the ship. We snorkled for a good 1 1/2!! I saw SO much, the water was crystal clear. We saw a HUGE school of fish and while were watching a baracuda starting going after it. It was really neat. Later we saw an octopus!!! It inked! It was super cute. All the other fish and coral were awesome too. We didn't have much time in the Grand Caymans, but we got some quality beach time and the water was nice. The best part of the cruise might be the fact that As The World Turns was on at 3:00 everyday and we were usually taking a nap at that time, so it worked out. This morning when we got our bill we there was an accidental charge at a photo booth. J.D. went down to get it cleared up. They said it was from my card at 3:00 the prior day, he's like...uhh...that's not possible. :) I wasn't sea sick at all, in fact I rarely felt the boat move! On the other hand, during our leg from Chi town to Tampa after a 4 hour unexpected layover, we went through a thunderstorm, there was a lot of turbulance and on top of the a person or a small child must have pooped their pants. I looked at J.D. and told him I was sick. He handed me the bag and I totally puked. I'm sure the 'flaver chemist' sitting next to me was annoyed. That's right, flavor chemist. The man to my right on the plane is a 'flavor chemist' aparently there are only 600 in his profession in the world. He helped create diet lime and lots of tropicana flavors. He was interesting. The cruise was awesome, it was nice to have week together, Im flying to Dallas for work TOMORROW and I miss him already! (J.D., not the flavor chemist.)

Hitched!

Could this weekend have anymore perfect? We left Friday for San Diego, stopped in El Centro to get a California marriage license where I dropped of my Romero and picked up a cute little Barker...I couldn't resist. :) Once we got to the hotel I rushed to get ready. I wore my hair straight, Melissa helped me get the kinks out. I put my dress on and felt amazing! J.D. came to my room to pick me up wearing tan linen pants and a bright white linen button up shirt wearing sunglasses and flip flop...BABY he looked amazing! We headed to Pacific Beach, my entourage followed (Jess, Liss & Ali). We took pictures in the last hour and a half of daylight available. Nick is so talented and made it such a fun/special experience. It helps that I'm a ham and J.D. is a stud. Saturday morning Heather went and got breakfast for the girls and J.D. took all the guys to Konos, a breakfast place right on the beach where his family goes a lot when they vacation in the area. I spent the morning repacking, playing with Jessicas babies and getting ready for the big day! At 2:00 My parents took J.D. and I to the San Diego temple. I can still feel what I felt when I was there. It was peaceful and sweet. At the ceremony: Grandma & Grandpa Thayne, Aunt Vicki, Jessica & Troy, Heather & Matt, My parents and J.D.'s mom. When we walked out of the temple little Lydia ran up and hugged me, it was super cute. We took family pictures in front of the temple then headed over to California Pizza Kitchen. I hope everybody who was there had a good time. It was everything we hoped for and we appreciate everyones support.

Currently we are in the San Diego Airport, my bag was 10lbs over so we had rearrage, but we did it all without having to throw out my 2 liters of bed head shampoo...whew!! Our flight is 1 hour delayed and didn't have time to pick our seats yesterday and now there are none available together. I might have to turn on my charm in a minute to see what we can do. We will be in Tampa tonight and on the ship Monday!

I love my life....is' the best!!!

Squirt Gun Wedding.

Usually when someone is going to terminate a lease, they give 30 days...to quit a job, typically 2 weeks..but how about 2 weeks notice for a wedding? :) J.D. and I got our letters from SLC on Monday July 14. We were so excited, I don't think I've stopped smiling since! Because of our schedules we decided to get married July 26! I went out and found JUST the dress I wanted in the first store, the first dress I tried on!! I took it right to my seamstress aka mircale maxine. The next day I picked out a bouqet, scheduled the temple and bishop interviews and here we are 2 days away! And people plan for YEARS for weddings? :) On top of all that my friend Shauna Richardson threw me a bridal shower and some of my closest friends came to say congratulations...it was so nice! A couple people at work who don't know me very well asked quietly if it was a shotgun wedding. I'd like to call it a squirt gun wedding. It's not so intimidating, harsh or negitive. It's a good refreshing thing!!...(and it's summertime). J.D. also referred to it as 'planned eloping'.

We are getting married in the San Diego Temple on Saturday July 26th @ 3PM. Honeymooning on a Western Carribean Cruise to the Grand Caymans and Cozumel (thank you Laurie!)

Thank you friends and family for being so good to J.D. and I. xoxo

Shauna & J.D. Barker

First Blog

I'm new to this, still peeking at other blogs to get the gist.
I'm not ashamed to admit I am an idea stealer, story stealer...hair tie stealer and pen stealer. I like watching my recorded soap when I get home after work and I'm often reminded 'they are not real people, no matter how screwy Paul Ryan is, he really doesn't exsist.' J.D. and I are engaged and waiting for our 'letter' from SLC so we can move forward with wedding plans. We've been engaged since February 8, 2008. We just got a puppy, her name is Roxy. She's a 6 month old fawn and white english bulldog. She's the end all and be all for us. She's a sweetie.
I'm lucky I met J.D. when I did. Another week and he would have moved to Nashville and camped out on Sarah Evans doorstep until he could convince her to be his. He's what I like to call a keyword short of genius. Let me explian...he knows something about everything and if he doesn't, he's quietly looking it up and becoming an expert. The combination of his ability to retain information and constent seeking for knowledge makes it so he can talk intelligently about every subject. Among friends he is the 'phone a friend' resource right after google. He's also a big sweetheart and a die hard sports fan from baseball to soccer.
WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!!!