My Husband, the Bachelor

Have I mentioned lately how excited I am for Bon's college graduation? And how proud I am of him? Yes? No? Well, here's a post about it!

So Bon just graduated from ASU (he attended the Polytechnic campus) with a Bachelor's of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology with a focus in Electronic Systems. *whew*

A brief overview: after he graduated high school in 2001, he did a year at Cal Poly Pamona (sadly, very few of those credits transferred to ASU); then he went on a two year mission to Kentucky for our church; when he returned, his family had moved to Minnesota, but before he had a chance to start school there, they all moved down to Arizona. Once in Arizona, Bon started at ASU Polytechnic (fall of 2006); we got married during his Christmas break that year and the two of us have been plugging along for the past three years. Up until this last semester, Bon worked 30+ hours a week at his job (full time during the summer) and juggled at least 14 credits on top of that. This last semester; however, Bon quit his job and did a rigorous 21 credits to get everything all done this year. And he did indeed get everything done!

I would say that this last semester - nay, just this last month - has felt longer than the last three years combined! The stress and anticipation has been intense! It was easy for me to get excited (I had a countdown going since the first day of the semester) but Bon had to actually deal with all the work to get to this point, so he was feeling more of the stress aspect of it. As short as the tunnel was, and as bright as the light at the end of it was, it was still one heck of a tunnel to go through...

So, Tuesday was Bon's LAST DAY of classes/tests/papers/presentations/finals!!! The relief was palpable. We celebrated by going to Red Lobster and seeing Iron Man 2 - we're wild and crazy, I know. Bon's thoroughly enjoyed his past few days of absolute freedom!

Then, Friday (yesterday), was the actual graduation ceremony. I took the day off work and we all went to downtown Tempe to the main ASU campus. It was a beautiful, sunny day to compliment the mood! When we were sitting in the auditorium, waiting for it to begin, Minndy and I spent some time congratulating each other and savoring a job well done. ;)

And now, on to the pictures!Bon all ready in his cap and gown!

Bon and his family

Bon and his proud moma, Minndy.

The Processional. (I've pointed out Bon for everyone's convenience)

Having his name read.

Receiving his diploma!

Bon's first seconds as a grad!

Bon with his wife and diploma! I'm so proud of him!!! I love you, Bono!

BATH TIME!

My dear old dog, Molly (who is now in Doggy Heaven) used to HATE baths. She would get the shakes and go hide if we even said the word "bath"; so then we started spelling out "B-A-T-H" but she caught on to that too. We eventually moved on to pig-latin.

Thankfully, Zed isn't so bad about it. I mean, it's definitely not something he enjoys, but he tolerates it well enough. But, man, oh man - after it's over, he runs crazy around the house! He just seems to be thinking "I'M ALIVE!!! I SURVIVED!!!" He's like Scrooge on Christmas morning!

Anyway, since he's been doing better with the baths, I thought I'd take the time to get a few pictures of him this time. First, I'll start with a pre-bath pic just to assure everyone (and myself) that he is actually a cute dog. (this picture was actually taken a few weeks ago right before he got his first haircut)

We start by wetting his body down and leaving his head dry. It makes him look like a lion. A very weird lion. (we mostly do it in this order because it gives us a few minutes to get a good laugh in)Then, when his whole body is wet, the transformation to "stranger dog" is complete.
He's such a tiny dog under all that fluff!

I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too!

Yes, ANOTHER dog post!

Zed has many toys (granted he considers every shoe, scrap of paper, and bit of string as a toy for him) and is particularly rough on his Frog. Now, Frog started out all bright and healthy with springy back legs. But Zed felt an amputation was necessary for that cheeky toad. Here's what Frog looks like today:

(notice, he's missing a back leg)

Well, a few weeks ago, Zed went through a phase where he loved to flip his bed (a big blue cushion) over and over. As soon as he'd flip it upside down, he'd start tugging at the corner again to flip it right-side up. Well, one day he left it mid flip and this is what I found:

Which reminded me of this:

Things We've Learned About Zed

He LOVES

Leaves. Every single leaf is a new and exciting toy for him. And the crunchier, the better.

Rugs. Tugging at their corners, scratching at them, pottying on them - he loves it all.

His "guy". It's one of those wooly, stuffed toys that's shaped like a gingerbread man. Bon nicknamed it his "guy" before I could have any input. I'm voting to change the name because he's taken to humping the "guy"...

Attention. And since he's so cute, he gets a lot of it.



He HATES

Baths. Between the freshly mowed grass turning him green and several messy "accidents", he's had quite a few. It's pretty amazing how scrawny he is under all that fluff.

The Blowdryer. And after the baths, he needs his luxurious mane to be dried. It's a pretty traumatic experience all around.

Being ignored. Even if the person (or bird) is across the parking lot, he will alternate between patiently sitting, alert with big, sad eyes, and bouncing and dancing around in his most enticing "come hither" way. And he will not be deterred until he has their love and attention.

The Newest Addition to Our Family...

A PUPPY!!!

We just bought him last night. He is a Havanese breed and only about 4 lbs right now.

We've named him Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Zed for short). He's named after the wizard in the highly dorky show we love, Legend of the Seeker. He's all fun and playful when he's on the ground but then will get mellow and cuddly as soon as he get's picked up.

We love our new little man! These pictures don't do him justice - he's absolutely adorable!

(he's a blur as he chases after his toy)

I had fully intended to post this BEFORE Christmas...

But, of course, I am nothing if not lazy.

Anyway, I'm making this post because I'm actually kinda pleased with my Christmas decorations this year; this was the 4th Christmas that Bon and I have been married (for the first Christmas, we had only been married four days - what was I thinking to get married four days before Christmas???)and I finally feel like my Christmas collection has started to take shape and is fairly substantial for our little apartment. So, I'm taking a moment to brag and boast and I'm going to force you to 'ooh' and 'aah' at my stuff. (actually, I'm aware that it's really nothing fantastic and totally understand if you want to look at another website instead. Go, leave now, before it gets any worse) Also, for the sake of time and everyone's gag reflexes, I'm only posting the new or refurbished decorations - fair enough?



First up is a small quilt that Bon's mom made for him when he was younger. In the past, we've just draped it over the couch but it always fell down and got ignored - so this year, I attached some rick-rack to it and hung it on our pantry door. Ingenious, I tell you!


Next, we have our "Merry Christmas" sign. I made it a couple years ago at a Relief Society craft day thing. I originally painted it forest-green, but I've been trying to do a red/burgundy/white/cream theme with our Christmas stuff, so I repainted it this year. And, luckily, the original ribbon I had used for it matched perfectly! (are you gagging yet?)

Okay, here's a new one to the group. This puppy took a LOT of time. And a lot of glue sticks. I saw the idea here (warning: mine is not nearly as good looking as the original. Not even close) and thought it was simple enough that I could do it. Psh, WRONG. Ok, well, it was easy enough but it was just really time consuming at took way more ornament balls than I thought it would. And hanging it up wasn't easy either. Anyway, with all this buildup, prepare to be underwhelmed:

Another new one is the set of five ornaments I finished this year (yes, finished - I bought them two years ago). I originally just painted them burgundy and hung them on the tree. But after a couple of days, I got the idea to cover them in red glitter-glue for some added sparkle. And, now I LOVE them! They are so pretty when the tree lights are shining on them. Gosh, they give me warm fuzzies.
And, lastly, the crowning glory. In the past, we've rigged up a few different methods of hanging our stockings, but nothing I was ever crazy about. Then, last year, I saw this blog post using a sign and knobs to display stockings. I thought it was way cool and finally got around to it this year. (also, a little plug - I have gotten several signs from Lolly Jane and she always does an AMAZING job - LOVE her!) So, I got the vinyl from Lolly Jane and used some knobs I got from Anthropologie and - voila!



So, there you have it: some of my Christmas decorations! And, look, we all survived!

Insert clever Halloween title here (also, the abundance of pictures are for my mom)

Let's see, for the actual day of Halloween, Bon's little sister (Hannah) threw a great little bash and it was quite fun!

But 99% of my Halloween efforts were absorbed by the party I hosted the weekend before. It was fun (or, at least I think so) but caused LOTS of stress beforehand! And now, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking...

The Decor...




The Costumes...



Bon and Me...

Ok, I doubt many people will get our costume reference, so let me explain it first... There's a video game that Bon loves (ok, he loves a lot of video games...) called "Left 4 Dead". In it, the four characters - Louis, Francis, Zoe, and Bill - are trying to survive the Zombie Apocalypse are are accosted by thousands of zombies. It's quite horrific. So, in sticking with our video game themes of previous years, I dressed up as Zoe and Bon was a zombie. I got to kill him - it was great. Bon even made me my own (pretend) pipe bomb!

Have I Ever Mentioned...

That I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!

I don't bust out the physical decorations until October 1st, but I figured it wouldn't hurt if I put the blog decorations up a bit early. After all, I'm nothing if not impatient.

So I guess I could also use this opportunity to update you on the comings and going of our lives. Although, I maintain that my life is totally boring, so this might be a very short post...

Two weeks ago, I hit the 90-day mark at my job (which is usually about the time I get laid off) and so had the 90-day-review with my bosses last week. I was a wreck in the days preceding the interview - sure, I was feeling good about my job performance, but I had felt good about my work at my previous jobs too and they laid me off!

So, during lunch, I met with the two owners of the practice and we reviewed my performance along with a little questionnaire I had filled out (can I just say: honestly, I wrote several drafts for each little question - I mean, these were psychologists that were reviewing my answers - they're trained to analyze the crap out of that stuff!!).

Anyway, the interview went really well - and I even got a raise! w00t!! But the biggest thing for me is just that I finally feel appreciated and safe - I don't have that feeling that one mistake will get me fired. I'm really loving my job!



(at this point in the blogging process, I asked Bon if there was any update he'd want me to share on his behalf. He replied "...uh...I don't think so...")

You come in to MY HOUSE and attack MY FAMILY!?!

-- or -- SCORPIONS ATTACK!!!


So 1am last night, Bon and I are fast asleep - suddenly, Bon shoots right up and grabs his foot. He's shouting in pain so I ask him if he was having a charlie horse. He's like "no, something stabbed me!" I have no clue what he's talking about, so I start to fall back to sleep (I'm such a nurturing wife!) and he hobbles to the bathroom to inspect his foot. He's almost crying in pain so I go check it out too, but we can't see anything. I get back in to bed and Bon realizes "I know what did it - it was a scorpion! Jessie, get out of the bed!!!" So I get BACK out of bed and shake out the sheets but don't see anything. (at this point, I'm overcome by a massive wave of nausea from being woken up so abruptly so I run in to our other bathroom and almost pass out) So poor, stung Bon is left to hunt down and kill the predator himself which he quickly finds at the foot of the bed on our bedskirt. He hobbles out to the kitchen and grabs our Raid and returns to douse the monster with a generous spray. Finally, we both recover enough to drag ourselves out to the computer and call poison control (after I disposed of the carcass - man, that thing was crazy looking!).

Poison control said the symptoms would last a good 6-7 hours. I think Bon can attest to that and then some! Poor guy wanted to chop his foot off!

Kids Say the Darndest Things, Don't They?

So Froggybaby's comment on my last post got me thinking: kids really don't have a filter between their brain and mouth (I still don't have one) which can lead to some pretty funny revelations. Heck, looking back, I can think of several things I said that probably made my parents want to melt in to the floor. I'm gonna share my favorite oh-no-they-didn't tale and then I want everyone to share their favorite story too (it can be something someone else's kid said or something your own child said - if you want to own up to it) (c'mon, I need some comfort before starting in Primary tomorrow!)

So, back when I was eighteen, a family asked me to babysit their 5 year old daughter and their 2 year old son. Just to give some background, I had never met the family before - they were friends of a family in my ward; the mother was an avid Mary Kay "consultant" and the father was the pastor at their church. I got the vibe that they were very...how do I say this?..."into their image".

Anyway, towards the end of the babysitting evening, I was coloring with the little girl. We were drawing pictures for each other, so I thought I'd be all cutesy and draw a picture of her family. She was very excited about it and it inspired her to draw a picture of her dad. When she was done, she handed it to me and proceed to explain her 5 year old scribbles:

"This is my dad sitting in front of the mirror. He takes his hair off every night in front of the mirror. See, he's brushing it."

!!!!!

I had no idea what to say to that, so we just went back to coloring. I tell ya, it was really hard not to rake my eyes over the dad's hairline when the parents got back home!