my wish list

I have spent far too much time thinking about the things I want but can't have, either because they are too expensive (ok...they all are) or there is no where to put them. A girl can dream.

.dishwasher.

.baby grand piano.

.black toyota corolla.

.canon 50d.

the latest and greatest

I feel like I disappeared. Not just from the blogging world, but from the entire world in general. The sad truth is I spend most of my time these days in bed or on the couch. I'm told this sickness goes away at the end of the first trimester...and I'm counting down the days (and hoping I don't turn out like my mom who was sick for 5 months!) I'm probably going to be struck by lighting for publicizing this, but I don't know how people have more than one child after experiencing it once. I guess it is somehow worth it in the end... :)

Last month, Wade's parents came out and we drove down to Newport, Rhode Island. We saw the famous mansions and got to tour the Breakers. Supposedly, they are just summer houses for rich people back in the day. psh. someone had too much money on their hands... We also did the cliff walk. There was so much fog! I've never seen such a thing! (Thanks mom and dad Poulsen for the great week!)
Yesterday, we went out to Copley Square to stand at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. My heart hurt for those people. They looked like they were in so much pain! But I was also very proud of them. I sure as heck could never do that. It was so fun to be around all the excitement. Hopefully next year we can get a better spot.
One thing is for sure...the humidity is back and ferocious as ever. This weekend is supposed to be 85 degrees and rainy! Hello!! We're just asking for trouble here. Seriously...I would muchly appreciate any genius ideas on how to defeat the frizz that is my hair.

On Saturday, our ice cubes did a strange thing and built an upside down icicle. It was interesting, but not that big of a deal to me. Wade wanted to blog it. I said no. He said why not? I said because it's dumb. He said fine. and then created his own blog just to spite me. For your reading entertainment, I present to you:
Wade's World
He finally has a place to ramble. and now I don't have to edit.

I'm coming home on May 15. I have never looked forward to something so much. I can't wait to see family and friends, visit my favorite restaurants (probably every day), look at mountains again, and breathe some utah air. Also, Cooper is coming home from his mission and Niki is getting married. hurrah!

other news....wade is crazy busy with school writing a new paper every other hour. Somehow he still takes such good care of me. I randomly put my photography blog on craigslist last week. I have no other ideas of how to advertise...but apparently its working! I have some engagements anda wedding coming up! I am so EXCITED!! our apartment is a mess...we are now accepting visitors in exchange for housework. Jared and Susan are coming out in a couple weeks and we can't wait! There is also a little trip down to NYC in the plans to see my friend Tiff who is coming out. Yay! We've been looking for apartments for the fall and its a disaster. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that rent is the amount of a large mortgage payment. But on a better note, spring is here and I couldn't be more happy about that!

surprised?

um yeah. so were we.
apparently this little guy (or girl) was determined to be born.
we are expecting it's arrival on, or around, October 31.
making me 11 weeks along and very, very, very ill.
(details coming soon...)

i [love] my mom

i fully admit that i am a bad daughter. my mom's birthday was on tuesday and i didn't even send her a card (can you believe?!). but, birthday or not, she is a great lady, and thus deserves the acknowledgment of the world (or at least the blogging world...)

"My mom is a never-ending song
in my heart of comfort, happiness and being.
I may sometimes forget the words,
but I always remember the tune."
-graycie harmon

I don't quite know how she does it, but somehow my mom teaches 50 piano students, works a second job, writes to her missionaries weekly, sends packages to her homesick daughter (thats me), serves in 2 callings, and exercises every single day.
She scrapbooks, gardens, loves her kitty, but most of all loves her family. and takes dang good care of them too. Despite her hectic life, she will drop anything to help one of us, even if its just to chat.

Also, she's a pretty good racquetball player. Ask my dad about the time she broke his nose and gave him two black eyes.

love you, mom!

vote for my mom!

my mom is trying to win a trip to come see me
vote for her story "grape juice floaties" at
http://becausemomsaidso.blogspot.com
hurry! the contest ends at midnight!!

happy birthday viva!

(Warning: the following post is full of embarrassing pictures and stories. I would just like to apologize in advance for the fury it might cause to an innocent victim.)

Introducing...the lovely Miss Jennifer Banks. Otherwise know as "viva."

Where did viva come from, you might ask? Well, her mother (and heaven). But the name came from her freshman year in college, when a loving roommate, (me) started calling her Jenavive instead of her given name. It was quickly shorted to viva and the name still lives on to this day.
But in case you want to call her by her real name, it's Jenn. With 2 N's.

Viva has a secret talent that only a select few know about. Those select few have been sworn to secrecy. Only under special occasions has this talent been shared. I am a good friend, therefore I will not reveal this secret, only that it involves Gollum from Lord of the Rings, and tootsie rolls.

Jenn loves sweetened condensed milk. plain.
She also likes pretzels.

She hates beans. of any variety.

Jenn always had a stash of treats hidden away in her room somewhere.

Viva never had a desire to go to Las Vegas, until her roommates had a horrible influence on her and convinced her to go on a road trip to sin city itself. Surprisingly enough, innocent little Jenn loved it more than all of us combined. She also must have been bored in the back seat and made a friend, Stuart Little, from her kid's meal at Wendy's.

She loves taking pictures just as much as I do. Which explains why I have thousands and thousands of pictures on my computer from freshmen year. (are you regretting that now, viva?)

Viva likes Boston accents. I mean, Vivar likes Bah-ston accents.

She knows everything you need to know about cooking. And she taught it all to me. She is the reason I put paper towels in my bags of lettuce to soak up the moisture, the reason I know how to mince garlic without a mincer, the reason I know how to boil eggs, and the reason I am obsessed with the chex mix that has probably added 15 pounds to my life in the last three years.

We used to call her the momma of our dorm. She took good care of us when we were sick and made us dinner all the time.

She has the best laugh of all time.

One time, we tried to throw a surprise party for Jenn. We spent all day sneaking around and spreading the word to everyone in the dorms. We thought we were doing a great job of keeping it from her, but she know something was up when Whitney whisked her away to get pizza and she bought 5 boxes. Needless to say, Jenn wasn't very surprised. But she was still a good sport.

She just graduated in December from Utah State University in Family Consumer and Human Development. I couldn't be more proud.

She is now a nanny in California, 5 minutes from Laguna Beach. I couldn't be more jealous.

Viva can build one heck of a miniature snow man.

We used to make trips to Walmart. Daily.

Viva hates to drive more than anything on this planet.

She loves the shows Survivor, American Idol, and The Office.

After being taught my entire life that cookie dough was bad for me, as in i'll get salmonella and die bad for me, viva introduced a new concept into my life by proving to me that indeed cookie dough is not bad for me and that I will not die from eating it.

One time, viva and I were involved in a love triangle. You see, I had a major crush on a boy who we both had a class with. Viva also shared this same crush, unbeknownst to me. Well, he confessed his love to her while I was on vacation but she never told me until after he got married. ha ha ha.

Another time, we were involved in another love triangle. She had a boyfriend (don't worry, I didn't have a major crush on this one), but I never left them alone. I was their third wheel wherever they went. And she didn't mind all the much.

She's the only person that beats me at Rummikub.

We once had a war with powdered sugar.

She has the best memory of all time. She reminds me of things I've completely forgotten.

She once fell in the ocean while standing on a very sharp and jutted out rock. She got a little scraped up. And then some people told her they enjoyed the show.

Um, also...

She is my best friend.
Happy 22nd Birthday, Viva!

i lied

I guess fate would not have it that the dear Poulsen's go without the internet for 14 days. For some miraculous reason, it's still working....so we're keeping our fingers crossed and anxiously expecting it to shut off at any moment.

Yesterday, I cleaned out our closets. This is quite the task for me, seeing as both closets are full of my clothing. Poor Wade's items have been reduced to a couple of drawers in the dresser. For some reason, I just don't have to heart to give up my clothes. And it's not because I enjoy wearing them so much. I still have shirts from ninth grade, for heaven's sake. I can assure you they haven't been worn since. So what the big deal about throwing them out? I'm emotionally attached to them, people. They all have special memories to me. Like the time my family drove up to Logan to surprise me for Easter and gave me a new shirt. Or the time I saw some old friends after a long, long time. Or the time I went to a Peter Breinholt concert at Sundance. Or Jack's Mannequin at In The Venue. Or the time we all wore green for St. Patty's day at Winger's. Or my favorite New Year's Eve where I randomly saw my brother at the fireworks. Or the shirt I was wearing when I saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time. It's ridiculous. So I have decided that either I must make a quilt out of these old shirts, or just take pictures of them. And since quilting isn't something I know how to do, I have resorted to pictures. This has increased our closet space dramatically. Say goodbye to some oldies, but goodies.