Scion XB

So.... lately my jaw has been hurting... I diagnosed myself with having the problem of smiling to much! I just bought the car that I almost bought 2 1/2 years ago. My old car , VW Passat, got me around but was falling apart quick. I was already upside down in the loan and it was only going to get worse.

I am so against buying brand new cars. They just typically loose so much value right when you drive them off the lot. So what do I do...(after a LOT of research) I buy a brand spankin new 2010 car. The brand new one was only about $1500 more than a used 2008 or 2009 and it comes with amazing warranties. So why not. It had 23 miles on it when I bought it. I thought I was going to vomit or pee or something. So nerve racking. But don't worry you guys I am ok! This car lot only gets one Scion XB about every 2 months or so and the one they had was the exact color I wanted. So pretty. Its called Stingray metal.

This is how many miles when I got home in my driveway.
Here she is. Not great pictures because its raining outside and its cold.

Her rear end. Looks like a minivan? Hop in kids.

Some people love them (like me) and some people hate them (like Kristi). Haha. Funny story... none of my family new I was even looking for a car let alone got a new one and I pulled up at hula practice on Saturday the same time Heidi and Kristi did. The first words out of Kristi's mouth were "THAT THING IS UGLY" Yes, yelling it because she was across the street. And Heidi says "isn't that what you were going to buy a couple years ago? Why didn't you just buy it then?" Like I said... not everyone likes them and thats ok! I happen to love my beauty! Oh and Kristi...that means I don't have to drive you anywhere! haha.

start of kitchen remodel

Rillz and I have wanted to redo some things in the kitchen. We didn't know what and we didn't have much money. We knew we wanted a new sink, needed a new garbage disposal, tile the counter tops, and wanted to paint the cabinets... just to start. We really want to take down some walls, put new ones up, buy a new oven, blah blah goes on and on. We both didn't have to work at all last weekend. So we got off work at 6 on Friday and said... lets just go look at Lowe's at sinks and paint. We had been looking on craigslist too for kitchen stuff. Well, of course, sinks can burn a whole in the pocket so we just looked. The paint... well Lowe's was spendy on that too, if you can believe that... haha. Walmart was next door so we wanted to look around. We ended up at the paint section. We had no idea what color except to match our window curtain (which has a lot of colors). We looked at yellows.. not quite so we looked at browns... naw... but the red screamed at us. So we picked our shade. And we knew red stinks to paint but we were ready. We ended up staying up til 4:00 a.m. doing the cabinets. Oh and the inside color was a mess up can from Home Depot. So it cost us $1 to paint the inside.

How the kitchen was... dirty counters and all.

So gross... the old inside of the cabinets. We could have been killing ourselves by storing our dishes in these disgusting cabinets. Maybe lead... maybe mold... maybe just nasty shelf liner. Can you say 1970!

We had a long night ahead of us.

Out with the old and in with the new. Hello red! Still dirty cluttered counter tops!

Ta Da. Even with uncluttered counter tops. We are still working on that middle section. It is going to be a wine rack and wine glass area with lighting and glass! I am going fancy on y'all.

The sink we got from craigslist. I researched the sink and if brand new would have cost $500. On craigslist for a perfectly fine used one... $30. A brand new kitchen faucet on craigslist.. $30. I so love craigslist!

The old sink... yuck. It leaked and was cracked and the garbage disposal worked every once in a while. Also, there was no sprayer which drove me nuts. P.S. Rillz hates that green olive plate behind the sink.

So much better. We can fit a whole sheet pan on the right side. Look a sprayer! And look Rillz, no olive plate! The plumbing issue took a while and many trips to the store and many towels to clean up water before it was right! The sink is sooo clean and shiny! That's just water in the sinks that make it look murky in this picture. Since we were up til 4 and were doing Walmart runs... we noticed it was snowing hard for the first time this season! Notice the ghost thing in the bottom left corner of the picture. Yes, I just took down all my Halloween stuff a couple days ago. No need to mention its already Nov. 22. Hello, Mindy, get with the program.


We still have plenty to do. The tile counter tops and wine rack area are next.

50th birthday bash!

Some of you might have read on Heidi's blog about the surprise party we had for my dad. I was so excited for it when planning until it started getting closer. Kristi was in charge of invites (which were awesome), Heidi was in charge of making the cake (so yummy and really neat looking), Heidi also did decorating with Noelle (very creatively done), and I was in charge of food. Oh and the guys helped with whatever we told them to do. So naturally as time got closer I stressed a little more everyday. Cooking a whole luau menu for 100 people?!? And it doesn't help that my oven is half the size of a normal one. When the party was all said and done I don't know why I stressed over it. I didn't do any of the cooking anyway! :) I helped shop for all of it and transport it and rented the chafing dishes and whatever else needed rented. Thats about it. Rillz was so kind to help out with it! I mean, it is what he does everyday. Without him I would have cried my way through cooking (or more like burning) all the food. Everyone helped with the food too. It was a really fun party and with all of us doing our parts made planning a party easier for everyone. My dad claims he had no idea, which I believe him. My mom did a great job getting him to the church building without him suspecting anything.

This is the cake Heidi and Ren made. It was really good tasting too! They have gotten really good at making shape cakes with fondant. Heidi makes her own fondant which tastes so much better than the store bought.

Here was the room setup


This was one of the centerpieces. I like how they turned out.

Here is the entrance table with pictures of my dad and a lei for everyone.

This was taken right when my dad walked in. He looked so happy.

My Aunt Cathy came from Arizona just for the party. This is my dad noticing her there. That was very unexpected for my dad to see her at the party.

This is the hula group in our newest costumes. I think the costume is so cute! Wow check out my white legs and arms.

Well, that was the party. It was a blast! Happy 50th birthday dad! We love you.

Who ate the chicken?

So I didn't work until 11 this morning and I thought I would plan ahead and get out chicken to thaw out and rolls to rise for when I came home at 8. Rillz got off work at 6 and let the dogs out. They came back in the house and Rillz went into the back bedroom. He heard a dog whining and thought they needed to go out again until he noticed the plate with the chicken was EMPTY. Yes, 4 big pieces of raw chicken were gone without a sound! I don't know who did it but Malu looks sure looks guilty with a stomach ache laying around. Well... so much for dinner. Take out anyone?

Malu's new accessories

So Ren has been working really hard on Malu's dog collar. He is an amazing crafter and since he loves Malu he wanted to make a leather collar for her. (Which Ren probably regrets to volunteering himself for the job). Rillz thought it would be cool to put shark teeth on it. When we were in Hawaii we went and got the shark jaw from the shark his uncle caught when Rillz was in 6th grade. Anyways, this is how it turned out...

The shark teeth kept cutting through the string and so Ren had to sit there and file all of them down in three different spots. Wow patience! It is a gorgeous collar and we love it so much but unfortunetly our clothes, couch, blankets, and Simon do not agree with the shark teeth too much. So it is a special collar for going out for walks, to the pet store, and when others come over to the house. We also don't want the teeth to get ripped off.


Also, I am a non-believer in clothes for dogs. But, we got Malu and she HATES the cold. Her body cannot handle it. So we actually bought her a coat for practical reasons. Now I am a believer that some dogs really do need clothes. I hate to convert into a believer to tell you the truth but it gets cold in Idaho and, until she learns how to use the toilet inside, going outside is unavoidable. It really is cute though and she doesn't mind it being on. P.S. make fun of me all
you want for buying my dog a coat (because to be honest if I was reading someones blog about dog clothes I would say its dumb).

The fur around the neck shows her personality well... prissy. We take her on walks and she will not step in a puddle or muddy area for the sake of her pretty little paws. What a girly girl.

FYI: Simon does not get doggie clothes because he has plenty of warm hair and would hate to wear one anyways. Thats all I have for you on Malu. Ok peace out.