Oh yeah--

Check us out in The Wildwood Leader--my newspaper back home in North Wildwood, NJ! pg 12

My brother Joe and my sister Katie also made the paper: page 4, under the heading "Margaret Mace Announces Honors." www.thewildwoodleader.com

"Imitation," TCU/Utah, and more

I grew up five blocks away from the Atlantic Ocean. I have seen my share of imitation products, namely imitation crabmeat, lobster, even shrimp; I also have seen imitation cod or flounder. I consider fish sticks to be imitation, although they are made from whiting or pollock, which are real fish--I just don't like fish sticks.

But imitation cheese?

Because we were tired and because it is more on the way home than Neighborhood Walmart, Kroger's became our destination after the Blue and Gold Banquet. Chris had to pick up a few things for his department lunch; we already had Ranch-style beans at the house (if you have not yet experienced the joy of Ranch-style beans, go find some), but we needed shredded cheese and sour cream. We scoured the isles in search of our wants, found the dairy isle, and proceeded to cheese. Chris found some, a white package, 8 oz. Wait, he said, I'll probably need more. He reached to grab another white package, but I pointed out that right above was a black package of shredded, 16 oz. But, it turned out that two white packages were nearly fifty cents cheaper than the one big package (oh the joys of price negotiating). Okay, we started to go for the two white packages, but then Chris noticed why they were cheaper: "Shredded Imitation Cheese Product," something to that effect.

We both cracked up. Imitation cheese? What exactly is used? Fake milk? A different cheese than the one advertised? After some searching, I found that it is made from vegetable oil. It's obviously less expensive, but it also has much less flavor and it doesn't melt very well. We'll continue to stick to real cheese...

Chris scored some tickets to the TCU/Utah basketball game tonight in Fort Worth. We'll both look forward to a break from the studying we will be buried under this afternoon. I am very tempted to have every article of my clothing reflect the letters BYU, but I'll wait...for the BYU/TCU game we will attend in a few weeks!

Chris is taking tomorrow and Friday off to study before his big GMAT on Saturday morning. Thank goodness it is here in FW, rather than in Waco or somewhere else that would require lots of driving. Well, I am off to study--I have my three Independent Study exams tomorrow, at TCC. I am so ready to get these behind me and dive into my Spanish 441 course...

Chris' stab at this blog thing!!

I know people have been waiting for me to write a blog, especially my dear, sweet wife Mary. I just want to let the whole world know that she is the most beautiful woman and that I love her very, very much.

There is much going on right now. People want to know what our big surprise is and some know, but if you don't know and are very curious, give us a call--we may tell you.

I want to go to graduate school. I know I want to get an MBA and a law degree--maybe I will become a lifelong student. Oh!! How I love school!!! We shall see. I take the GMAT this Saturday so that is a start.

I think this blog thing is cool. Not a bad idea. Catch you all later. And, the person I am voting for in the Texas' primary is.........


P.S. I have been introduced to Alias, and I am addicted--almost done with the first season.

Avoiding Facebook, too

I've decided to avoid Facebook for the rest of today and much of tomorrow (a solid 24 hours), and I found this on Julianne's blog, so, here it goes...

A- Attached or single: Attached! Happily so :)
B- Best Friend: My husband Chris.
C-Cake or Pie: Pie. Apple, caramel pecan...I've never really loved cake.
D- Day of choice: Chris's off-Fridays. They are really a blessing!
E- Essential Item: Juanita never leaves the house without some makeup on, and now I find I do the exact same thing. Never thought I would do that.
F- Favorite Color: Kelly green or Cerulean blue. And Sunshine yellow.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears--especially the red and clear ones.
H- Hometown: North Wildwood, New Jersey.
I- Indulgence(s): Shopping--finding great deals. Buying clothes for my husband!
J- January or July: JULY baby! Bring on Summer '08!
K- Kids: None yet.
L: Life is Incomplete Without: Chris, Jett family, Killion family, the Church, friends.
M- Marriage Date: June 2nd, 2007.
N- Number of Siblings: 2 brothers: Bill and Joe, 2 sisters: Kate and Julia.
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges. But if the said apples are golden apples, I'll take them.
P- Phobias or Fears: ? ...I don't like bugs.
Q- Quote(s): "Does this look like a face that kids?"
R- Reason To Smile: Chris, NJ, TX, BYU, family, friends, BOOKS
S- Season: SUMMER. No doubt. My birthday (August 12), beach, tan, boardwalk...
T- Tag Three +: Anyone who feels like doing this or who actually reads this!
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I don't like calling people I don't know.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Vegetarian? Me? No. I love my meat. Vicariously. Texas de Brazil, anyone?
W- Worst Habit: Procrastinating on Facebook.
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Never had an X-Ray or an Ultrasound. Heard Ultrasounds are pretty neat, though.
Y- Your Favorite Food: That is such a difficult question, and I know it changes from time to time for me. Right now? Papa Murphy's Gourmet Vegetarian. In the summer, it's scallops wrapped in bacon and cajun shrimp--all seafood fresh from Dock Street in Wildwood. In the fall, it's Wawa hot chocolate, while I'm cuddled within a blanket, watching a WCHS soccer game. In the spring, it's...well, when I find out, I'll tell you.
Z- Zodiac: Leo

Avoiding studying...

Yes, it's true. I should be studying for my three final exams, but I'm not. Story of my life (as well as everyone else's lives too, I'm sure).
Chris woke up yesterday with a sore throat, but we thought nothing of it. When the doorbell rang at 11:15 am, I was a little suspicious and nervous because no one comes by that early around here. I open the door, and it's Chris! He wasn't feeling well at all--all flushed and hot to the touch. I told him to go to be where he remained for much of the afternoon. We ended up watching the first seven episodes of ALIAS. Bottom line, we are now addicted and we will have to keep watching until we are finished Season 3 (I have seasons one, two, and three, courtesy of my cousin Christa). Man, I had forgotten how much I love that show! SO INTENSE!
We went to the doctor's this morning; we waited forever, but oh well. So the doctor says it's not strep--a relief! We went to Neighborhood Wal-mart to get his prescription filled, and while we waited, we FINALLY went grocery shopping.
Yeah, we had next to nothing in our fridge. No eggs, no bread, no apple or orange juice, no beef, no cereal...it was actually somewhat an adventure because it forced me to really investigate our small pantry to create something for our dinners for the past few days. For instance, I made this Lentil Soup yesterday...we each had a bowl...and I bet that is all we will have, although there are two containers worth of leftovers on the second shelf! Life cracks me up.
I have some news to share, but I won't share it until I tell Chris that I want to share it here. It involves some more planning and prayers on our part; I will let you know soon!

ARGH, but :D

I AM SO ANGRY! STUPID HEPE ASSIGNMENT KEEPS FREEZING UP THE LAPTOP AND I REALLY DON'T FEEL LIKE TYPING ALL THE NEEDED INFORMATION FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN A ROW. Thank you. Just had to vent.
On a lighter and more cheerful note, Valentine's Day was superb. I gave Chris a little bear because he loves bears. The bear (unnamed as of yet) held an awesome croft&barrow pink/white/gray striped tie which he will wear soon with his gray suit. So cute!
We went to this German Restaurant called Edelweiss for dinner--very authentic and very good. The owners are from Germany, our hostess who sat us is from Germany, the musician playing music for the restaurant was from Germany. Delightful! Our hostess and Chris shared some Germany conversation, as she was born and raised in Kaiserslautern (sp??) very close to where Chris was born in Landstuhl. And when Chris mentioned Landstuhl, the woman remarked, "Ah you must have been a military baby!" Oh yes, Chris's dad was in the Air Force at the time.

Before I burned my finger on the glass lamp that lit our table (I have a klutz hidden very clumsily in me), Chris gave me my presents: beautiful! beautiful! I lost my sterling sliver claudagh ring a while ago and lamented over its loss for awhile. And my dear, sweet Husby was awesome and bought me a new claudagh ring with a peridot in the middle (my birthstone: August). He knows me too well. The ring came in a beautfil box; its inside inscription reads "Love, heartfelt and true." And on its lid (inside), Chris placed my favorite picture of our wedding. He is too creative and verrrry talented at making me melt. :)
Hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Tired but Happy

Well, yes, I am tired but I can't help but smile when I wake up in the morning and I begin a new day. Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity.
Chris got home from work a little after 5:30 (traffic was SO bad off of 820). He threw on some clothes and we rushed to go pick up our Webelos for the night's activity, to begin at 6 pm. Normally we don't meet til 7pm, but we needed to leave early to catch John's game in Springtown, so we decided to meet early.
The boys were so excited to build a fire and grill their own cheeseburgers. I remained in the kitchen to watch the waffle fries and I made banana cream parfaits for the boys' dessert. Man--food does wonders for young boys (older boys, too!) They were in heaven, scarfing down their cheeseburgers, waffle fries, pickles (claussen of course), suicide drinks (raspberry ice crystal light, sprite, caf free diet coke--combined), and parfaits. They loved it! Chris and I are so lucky to have a great group of boys.
Then we rushed them back to the church on Beach Street (I really love how the church building is on Beach Street here in FW...makes me feel somewhat close to NJ) and headed off to Springtown. The boonies. Honestly, as soon as you get a a few miles away from the highway, anywhere around here, everything vanishes and you're left with places like "Lynne's Tavern," "Old Plantation Meats," and "Jr's Quick Stop", complete with scattered random tires, wafting skunk smells, and proudy displayed confederate flags. It cracks me up!
Fossil Ridge crushed Springtown...80-34. Man, those Springtown players were dirty! Lots of pushing and bad words flying out of mouths so fast, left and right, my head was gonna fall off. John played well.
Chris and I went home to IHOP! National Pancake Day yesterday, baby. I was so excited. I didn't make myself a burger with the boys, so I was hungry. It kinda took forever, but that's okay. Free food is free food, you know? Especially to a college student...poor college student...
Got home to watch some Jay Leno and Headlines--we live for Headlines--and proceeded to wind down for the night. Needless to say, we were TIRED. We even read our scriptures in bed.
What makes me smile in the mornings is my husband. The alarm on my phone goes off, I hop out of bed, turn it off, proceed to bathroom. Chris gingerly sits up...and stays there there. Just staring off into space. Sits there some more, doesn't move a muscle...until I finally throw a glance into the bedroom to signal "You should really get up now."
Haha I'm not making fun of my husby; I just think he looks so cute sitting there, all...tired and sleepy. I would love nothing more than to carefully push him back down to sleep (and he would be out in less than a minute, really), but...alas=the dreaded place called Work beckons him from White Settlement, Texas.

Passed on from Brianna!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves
C. At the end of the post, the player tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they are tagged

10 years ago I was: in the 4th grade, Mrs. Rucci's class, Margaret Mace Elementary School in North Wildwood, New Jersey. W0w.

5 things on my 'to do' list today:
1. Finish up class for the day
2. Make something good for dinner
3. Read for Rel C 333
4. Exercise with Chris
5. Valentine's Day prep...can'r write it or Chris will see!

4 Things I would do if I became a billionaire:
1. Move us back to BYU where I would finish my degree and Chris would get his MBA
2. Buy a truck for Chris
3. After our Utah stint, I would buy a house in NJ
4. Trade in the Taurus and get...an SUV

3 of my bad habits:
1. Procrastinating on facebook and now on blogs
2. Reading for pleasure before I'm finished reading for school
3. Making assumptions too quickly

5 places I've lived:
1. North Wildwood, NJ
2. Provo, UT
3. Orem, UT
4. Fort Worth, TX
5. No where else yet...next up--who knows?!

5 jobs I've had
1. Resident Assistant at Deseret Towers
2. Waitress at Pompeo's on the Wildwood boardwalk
3. Supervisor for North Wildwood Rec
4. Cashier at Samuel's on 17th Ave.
5. nothing else yet...

Things most people don't know about me:
I am a total homegirl and I like things to stay the same. Case in point--I grew up in the same house for eighteen years! Never moved! So, when something changes, it's difficult for me to adjust at times.

OK...now-who's it?You've been tagged:
1. Megan
2. Havalah
3. Julianne
4. Autumn

Goodness Gracious

So today is the last day to register to vote in Texas for the March primary, and I need to register because that will stabilize my residency here. I dropped Chris off at Lockheed this morning; nice drive, lots of traffic but no standstills. Almost home--I pull off of 820 onto Beach, turn onto Fossil Vista, go into our complex. Park our white '05 Taurus, appropriately named White Chocolate, in the BEST spot (because everyone else is off at work), I walk up the stairs.
As I walk up the stairs, I reach down into my purse because that's where my keys should be. Key word: SHOULD. Yes, that's right. I soon realize that I don't have my set of keys. They are safely locked, right on the other side of the door, inside the apartment. Chris locked the door with his set, but neither of us remembered to mention that as we kissed goodbye and I pulled away.
hahaha I had to laugh. My first inclination was to get upset, but what the heck? Who wants to be mad at 7:30 am? No room for that on an early, beautiful Monday morning. Did I mention that i's absolutely gorgeous outside today--70 and climbing? Ahhh good ole Texas.
The office doesn't open until 10 am. So I drove to my in-laws and that is how I'm writing now. I'll be taking Mark to the doctor today, then taking that voter-registering paper downtown. One plus--roads won't be too busy because it's not rush hour.
Oh yes-- we went to UT Arlington on Saturday--looking verrrrrrrrrry promising, especially in terms of cost. That's a good thing because Lockheed will reimburse Chris--we are so lucky for that! Their business school options allow for much flexibility, which is wonderfully accomodating. UTA= probable candidate for Chris's future MBA.
I finished my application to UTA last night; Chris will finish his soon. If all goes according to plan, we'll both be traveling to UTA during the fall semester!

Well, well, well

Hey, this is Mary. I see everyone and their spouse with their cute little blogs and I finally made one for my Husby and me. I finished my Rel C 341 text this afternoon; I'll order the final exam soon and ta-da! Finished with the course. I don't mind this Independent Study thing really. If you're one to have difficulties getting yourself to do something consistently on a daily basis, I.S. would not be your best bet. It's working all right for me so far!
I got accepted to TCC for their summer term (Tarrant County College). I'll be taking Biology, Sociology, and two Civ classes; they will transfer back to BYU for the GE credit. So exciting! Every day is another day closer to graduation...
Chris worked on his application to the Neely Business School at TCU last night. I helped him with editing his essays; I do love editing. Really. I'm not kidding. I just love it. We didn't get to bed until wayyyyy late, but that's okay. Because we got it in last night, the $75 application fee was waived. That's right, $75. As if the school itself doesn't cost over $50,000, they want you to throw more money at them for little things like filling out an application. Such is the life of the business school pursuer.
Tomorrow Chris and I will be going to Arlington to visit UTA and their business school. It will also be an opportunity for me to check out the campus, since the plan calls for me to finish up this fall semester over there. UTA Business School is a bit more reasonably priced than TCU, or UT for that matter (nearly $80,000 for UT Dallas, even if you're an in-state resident) so it is a nicer possibility.
All right, I finished my work for the day and I am enjoying a John Grisham novel, The Summons. Goodness gracious he makes all that lawyer stuff seem interesting. I may finish it before Chris gets home. Don't worry, Chris will contribute to this blog soon. You won't have to read just me all the time :).