I'm off to the Big Apple

I leave tomorrow morning for New York! Sam & I are flying out tomorrow so I can spend a full day with Laurel before our girls trip actually begins! My mom comes out on Tuesday night to meet up with Sam & I for a week in NYC.

I now realize that when I go on vacation, I have to enjoy absolutely every minute that I'm away because the before and after part of a vacation just plain SUCK. Trying to get everything ready for work so my dad can survive a week without us in the office....running errands and getting the house in decent shape before I leave.....not to mention my calling in YW. We have a camp fundraiser next weekend that I'm missing (which I'm actually really sad about!) so I've been trying to do my part and do as much as I can before I leave. Needless to say, it's been a crazy week in preparation & coming home to 200 emails isn't fun either. The nice part about coming home is that my wonderful husband has always done a project or two for me while I'm gone.

I look forward to enjoying every minute of my vacation with my mom and Sam. We've never done a girls trip like this before so I'm thinking it's a great new tradition. We wish Ali could join us but it makes it harder for her with her little ones.

Hope you all have a FABULOUS week! I know I will. :) See you tomorrow Laurel!

You can find me anytime, any place

I have entered in the world of absolute constant communication now that I have emails on my new phone.....the Q. In my work life, it's perfect. I can get emails without having to be at work so I know when that important approval comes through or when a new job needs to be started. However, I'm going to have to get in the habit of not checking it once I leave the office or else I don't feel like I will ever have a break from work. The main reason I bought it was for when I work from home after the bambino is born. That way I don't have to be near my computer at all during the day and I can still communicate with my co-workers and clients. It has worked well for my sister Ali so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm finally getting the hang of all the buttons & options. It's amazing what technology we have these days and how easy our lives have become.

Phoenix, Arizona

We got to spend the weekend in Phoenix with Mimi & Dan! Mimi started dating Dan at the same time I started dating Wes our Senior year at BYU. It was perfect timing because we got to spend quite a bit of time with the four of us our Senior Year!

We had a great weekend with them....they are always such good hosts! We went to a fun restaurant on Friday night & then since Mimi and I are both expecting our first baby this late summer/early fall, we did a little baby shopping on Saturday and just hung out. We actually had self control and didn't buy anything, but got some fun ideas. I also got to meet Mimi's two twin neices who are three weeks old. They are so precious and adorable!

We had a great time visiting with some of our favorite people. We only get to see them a few times a year, but we always look forward to it! Thanks Mimi & Dan for a great weekend and your hospitality. We appreciate it!

On a side note, I definitely hate pictures of me already! I feel like my face has gained twenty pounds so after this photo,there could be a shortage of Lindsay photos until post baby!

A love of mine....having someone ELSE do my hair!

I love getting my hair colored and cut. Every time I walk out of the salon, I think to myself, "I need to do this more often." Especially since I'm slowly becoming a blonde again! My hair grows super fast now that I'm pregnant. I swear I'll have roots again in 2 weeks.

I got my hair done last night & as she was round brushing it dry, I found myself thinking that if there was one luxury I want to be able to afford one day, it's to have my hair washed and blow-dried once a week! With my thick and wavy hair, it takes so long to blow dry and straighten that I LOVE having someone else do it. I've even attempted to teach Wes how to round brush. He's tried it a few times and he's actually really good! I wish I could wash my hair and by the time I was ready to leave, it was dry without a blow dryer! But since that's never going to happen, I'll just look forward to the day when I can pay someone to do it more often for me.

I'll post pictures of the new hair-do (shorter and blonder) over the weekend. We're headed to Phoenix to see Mimi & Dan so I'll take a few pictures there!

Car #3 in a 5 car accident

We definitely had a little too much excitement last night. We went with my parents to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants – The Pasta Shop. We were on our way home, stopped at a red light. We were sitting there for at least a minute when we heard a car coming behind us….obviously not planning to stop with the rest of us at the red light. The reckless lady driving a red corolla smashed the right side of the Ford Taurus right next to us….sending them in to my mom’s Infiniti. The Red Corolla was going SO fast & because the red corolla hit the side of the Taurus, it then smashed a Nissan Sentra which hit a van and then spun in to the intersection. It’s amazing how fast all of this can happen.

We were definitely watched over last night. We were the only car in the left lane so we had minimal impact and minimal damage to the car. Everyone in the other lane got hit quite hard. Three of the other cars are most likely totaled & two people had to be rushed to the hospital. The lady driving the brand new ’07 Red Corolla had purchased her car the DAY before. It is now totaled & she's liable for a five car accident.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how blessed we were last night. Now that I’m pregnant the thought of being in a major accident scares me. We easily could have been in the other lane & then I would have been the one going to the hospital. While I knew I was fine, I was relieved when I felt him move around in there a few hours after the accident. I’m grateful we are all OK!

Book Club - Agatha Christie

~The District at Green Valley Ranch ~

Once a month a group of us get together for book club. We rotate who is in charge of picking a restaurant & leading the discussion on the book. Tonight was my turn. Our nights are absolutely perfect right now so we met at The District. It's a local outdoor shopping and dining area that is just charming, especially at night. Lights in the trees & little tables/benches throughout. There are plenty of "take-out" restaurants so we all picked up our food & met at a table. It's a small group but I really look forward to it each month.

This month we read a mystery novel, "The Murder on the Orient Express", written by Agatha Christie. I've always wanted to read one of her books. Since I was in charge of leading the discussion, I got to do some research on Christie and this particular novel and it was really interesting. The Orient Express first ran in 1883 and is still running today. Agatha Christie is known as the "Queen of Crime" and sold more than 2 billion copies of her novels. She never attended school - it was through her determination and help from a governess that she learned to read and write. Her "first love" was music which eventually turned to writing.

I enjoy book club because I read novels that I typically wouldn't read on my own. It has really broadened my horizons as far as reading different types of stories and non-fiction books as well. I also love the girls in our book club. I met a lot of them through book club so it's fun to get together every month!

An ideal weekend

I love conference weekend.

Saturday was a great day….I got so much done! Wes usually plays golf every Saturday morning and this weekend was no different. While he golfs, I get projects done around the house. I especially loved this Saturday b/c I had the upstairs & the downstairs TV’s on with conference so I could listen to it regardless of what I was doing. I got the nursery almost totally cleaned out (that involved a trip to the storage unit!) & the house cleaned. On Saturday night during Priesthood session, I got the scrapbooking urge so I did that for 4 hours straight while Wes was gone!

Sunday included a great morning at home watching conference & brunch at my parent’s house. It is such a privilege to be able to listen to the words of our prophet and apostles. What great men they are. We watched the second session over at my parent's and then came home to fix dinner for some friends. Wes made his favorite “New Mexico” green chile enchiladas. Pretty tasty! It was so nice to just be at home. We didn’t really have anything that we had to do which is always the best. It was an exceptionally great weekend.