Some more good news!

This probably isn't a big deal to most of you, but this is huge in the Westwood home. Since I've changed schedules, I've pretty much given up football season, which is my favorite activity of the year. Down here if you want TV you have to either get Dish Network or cable through a company called Precis (which is what we have). I heard on the radio this week that Precis now has the Mountain channel, which is what most of BYU's games are broadcast on. So the other day I went through the channels that were not on my memory and there it was! On channel 8 is the Mountain channel which means that I can now tape the games and watch them when I get off of work. I had been keeping ESPN on my computer at work and I would watch the scores, but this is WAY more fun. I'm so excited that I don't have to miss football games this year! Woohoo! And Yay for BYU being #7! Hopefully they keep it up and bust the corrupt BCS.

The Office + The Biggest Loser= AWESOME

I've been waiting for some good TV to come back on. Summer TV is really dull and I don't have time for it, but I really enjoy a few shows that start in fall. The season premiere of The Office was on on Thursday and they did a contest at work for a weight loss challenge. This episode could not have been premiered at a better time because starting last week on the 22nd, my work decided to start a "Biggest Loser" contest. There are only about a dozen people signed up, only one being a man. We are doing the contest until November the 22nd which is in the week of Thanksgiving. They are giving whoever wins a $50 gift certificate (we're not sure where to). Being in management, and obviously needing to lose weight, I have to set the example and do it. I'm actually really excited. I think that I can stick with it and I really want to lose this weight that I've gained since being married. The first week is always the hardest for me. It is that week that pretty much determines whether I can stick with it or not. Trying to limit the sweets, controlling portions and not eating after a certain time are the things I'm adjusting to and that will make or break this challenge for me. I've exercised 5 times this week and I can feel a huge difference in my energy level and I just feel better. I was really good at maintaining my weight before I got married. I know I could have lost some, but I was content with staying at that weight, but then when I got married things changed. I had chores to do that took up time, instead of exercising, I learned to cook and wanted to make really good tasting (therefore fattening) food to please my husband and I ate with him. We ate out, we ate late, and we ate whatever looked good. Since we have moved here, we don't eat out anymore, I rarely cook since I'm not home at night and we are busy! Scott has lost quite a bit of weight because of the change in life and now it's my turn. 

I would appreciate comments on this post so that I know I'm not the only person in the world that struggles with this horrible, constant battle. But if you are really skinny, please don't post how you are blessed to be able to eat whatever you want and not have to exercise and you never gain a pound, we might not be friends after if you do. :)   

Oh, and back to The Office, the episode is hilarious and met my expectations of funniness. Yay for Jim and Pam! 

A day off!

It's so weird to be home on a Monday, but it feels so great! The weekend was so crazy at work. I was basically thrown into my job and left alone to figure it out. They didn't mean to do this, it was by accident, but alas I had to figure things out there. I'm actually at a point where I enjoy going to work, it's so different than anything I've done before. I have to work hard and do a lot of paperwork but I really enjoy the challenge. I've finally found my niche here, it's so good for me, and I'm the happiest I've been since moving here. The company is that I work for is having a big open house on the 1st and my parents are coming down for that, which I'm really excited about. This will be the only time that the public will be allowed to come inside. I'll post pictures, it's a beautiful new building, probably the prettiest in Price.

Princess test

I made Scott take the princess test (thanks Lena for the GREAT idea!) and he is Pocahontas. It's kinda a relief that he's her and not one of the girly princesses.


You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

And then me made me take the test...


You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

I was actually tied between Cinderella and Aurora, why they gave me Cinderella I'm not sure. I'm pretty stubborn.

Jonah

He's here, and I finally got to meet him! Jonah is so cute and I love everything about him. He's really squirmy and really hard to hold, it was kind of weird holding a new born again. It's been a long time. But he is full of personality and really sweet. He doesn't cry hardly every. Joey and Rhonda deserve such a good baby. Here are some pictures of him. Ali-Jo is holding him in one picture. She is always holding him and loving him.


P.S. How great is that BYU team! Way to shut out Wyoming! I love BYU football!!!!

Home Sweet Home

I'm home! It was so nice going to Salt Lake for training and it was good to see what happens at corporate, but being there gave me a whole new appreciation for the center down here. I was really excited to come back and see my co-workers (good small town people) and to start my new position. I'm really excited about the work that I'll be doing, it's been a long time since I've been this excited about a job. And Price is starting to grow on me. We'll see how I feel after doing my job tomorrow by myself.

The Quest: Tradition Spirit Honor

BYU deserves the shout out today. 59-0 over UCLA, home of the Norm Chow offense. Way to shut out the Bruins. It was an entertaining game (and I have the tomato red sunburn as a souvenir) filled with lots of scoring and a lot of cheering. I loved that this game was a win from the whole team, no one player dominated the game, everyone participated and contributed to the win. It is rare that you get to watch a game like that. This may be my last game for the season since I will be working Saturdays now, and I'm sure glad I went. Beside it being extremely hot, it was so much fun. I hope that this sends a message to the Pac-10 and the BCS that we are for real. GO COUGARS!!!

Remember that dreadful day

7 years ago today was a day of national tragedy. We were brought together as a nation, for that one day it didn't matter if we were black/white, republican/democrat, religious/atheist. We all felt the impact. Unfortunately that unity was short lived. People were quick to forget that gut wrenching feeling that came from watching the disturbing images of that fateful day. As I've watched the video again today on TV I am reminded of how horrific and evil that act of terrorism was.

A little over a year ago, I had the opportunity to go to NYC with 5 of my friends from my ward. We only went for 4 days. The first day we were there, we went to Midtown to get tickets to Wicked. As we tried to find our way to the theater, we came upon this fire department. I took this picture as we passed. An honor to their brothers, fallen on that day. (This station is probably 15 miles away from the WTC.)

Later that day, we did some touristy things, we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, went to Wall Street, Macy's, and Serendipity, but we knew our trip would not be complete without paying our respects to those that lost their lives that fateful day. The WTC is just across the way from Wall Street, and like the rest of NYC it is bustling with business men, locals, and tourists, it's SO noisy. As you walk up to the area this is what you see.















Even with all the noise, there is a peace on these grounds. It is a sacred place where many lost their lives. At the time that we were there, they were still working on making the memorial. It was just a big piece of land with cranes. An empty void that can never be filled again.














As you walk around the gated area, there are pictures and memorials to those that were lost.



















It was a sacred experience. It made me even more proud to be an American, to live in a country with freedom. Let's hope that not everyone will forget that this is still "one nation under God."

The family name is secured for another generation

At 1:19 a.m. this morning I received the phone call that I've been waiting for for a month. Jonah Clinton (NOT after the former president) Marks has made his debut into this world. He was born September 8th around 11:15 p.m. (45 minutes shy of his oldest sister's birthday) weighing in at 7 lbs. 5 oz., 19 inches long, with inch long curly light hair. And their family is finally complete.

My grandparents have 34 grandchildren, only 3 of which are males that have the last name Marks (the Marks family makes girls). And Jonah is the first male of his generation to carry the name Marks.

It's been 7 years since the last baby on my side of the family and so it will be so fun to have a baby, especially a boy, in our family. The last boy in the Marks family was Nick who is 12. So, I'm just glad that Jonah is here safe and that everything went well in the delivery. I have to wait until next Monday to see him (when I go for my business trip, hehehe, I feel so grown up saying that) so this week will be really long! My parents are going to meet him today and will take pictures. I will post those later.

We have great news!

Okay, I can see what's running through your minds already...no we are not pregnant. I've been with my job for 2 and 1/2 months now and I got the job thinking that it would be temporary until I found something that I could use my degree for. About a month ago, there was a position open that I applied for at my work that would put me a step up. It was a $.40 raise (which isn't much but every little bit counts at this point). Unfortunately I wasn't offered that position and I was so frustrated that I wasn't moving up anywhere. So a few weeks ago they let us know that they were hiring for a 2 Team Lead Supervisor positions. Our company is growing fast and they are constantly hiring new people and they are needing a lot more management to handle it. So yesterday I had an interview with my boss and today I had to do a phone interview with corporate in SLC. And then this afternoon they offered me the job! So this position has a 30% raise, which is such a relief to us! They let me know that my education played a huge factor. It feels nice to be getting into a position that is not entry level. This is the first promotion that I've ever had and it's a great feeling. My boss told me that from the moment she first met me that she knew I would be going places in the company, so that's always encouraging to hear. I get to spend 4 days in Salt Lake City training, so it will be nice to get to be home for a little bit. Unfortunetly my schedule will be changing to Tuesday thru Saturday. In the business we are in, it's a 24/7/365 job and so all Team Lead Supervisors have to work 1 weekend day. I'm just glad that I'll have Sundays off. But I only get to go to one more football game this season, so that's kind of a bummer. We just feel really blessed that everything is falling into place.

P.S. I'll be in charge of 10-15 people on my team and we have to come up with a team name. Anyone got anything witty or fun? I'm open to suggestions...

Victory Victory Victory

Last Saturday was my one of my favorite days of the year...opening game day for BYU football. It was so fun to go there and be in the crowd, enjoying the atmosphere. Unfortunately for me, it was 97 degrees outside and about half way through the 1st quarter I thought I was going to pass out because I was so hot. So for a quarter and a half I watched the game from under the stands on the big TV on the south side of the stands. The rest of the game was a blast and there's nothing like the rush of a touchdown. The final score was 41-17, but BYU definitely has some things to work on. Let's hope that they do better this week and not turn over the ball so much. And just as a side note, if you ever go to a BYU home game, you have to have a cougar tail. Scott had been looking forward to this treat for a long time. It's a donut over a foot long and about 3 inches wide and an inch tall that has maple frosting on it. They are divine! Scott went down at half time to buy us one and they were all out under our stands, so he went all around the stadium looking for one and finally found one on the opposite side from us. What a great husband! And it was so tasty! We'll be getting another one next time for sure.

After we were done at the game we drove to Fairview to Scott's grandparents cabin. It was so nice down there. It rained a lot and it was so great to be in nature and visit with family. We had some yummy roasted hot dogs and s'mores.
Scott was able to do a lot of homework, and he enjoyed doing it somewhere besides home. Besides the bugs, it was great!













On to other things, tonight Scott cooked dinner and we made stir fry. We just kind of winged it and it was so good! It was a really cheap dinner and tasted great. We are loving that combination! I took some pictures to make you all jealous. This was the first time Scott mentioned something being "blog worthy" and I totally agreed. We used frozen vegtables except the zuchini which Scott's Aunt Li Ling and Uncle Rob contributed to us. It was good stuff!