Texas Here We Come!

I can't believe how quickly Tuesday Jan. 12th came this year. We are leaving tomorrow morning bright and early for Houston. We were called by the moving company so we know our stuff arrived safely which is a load of stress off of our shoulders. We still need to decide on the cheapest hotel to stay in the night during our trip and to find another hotel in Kingwood. I was thinking too much about the student teaching orientation in Logan and forgot to sign up for electricity. Thankfully the leasing agent called and reminded me. Now we can either face $60 in charges for no electric account or move in a day later; however, since our bed is in storage we might as well pay for a cheap hotel and sleep on their bed instead of our new floor.

We wont have internet for awhile, but I think we'll realize what a necessity it is for both of us right now and we'll cave in soon enough. Until then farewell!

I think I'm slowly killing myself :)

Stress: mental, emotional, or physical strain caused, e.g. by anxiety or overwork.

This word defines my days right now. I am stressed about student teaching (and it hasn’t even started yet), moving, and MONEY. I have always lived by the “what if?!?!?” scenario and the stress that comes with it. Living this way is rather stupid, I agree completely, but how does an individual recondition their mind to think differently? I was so relaxed in California that I thought positively about the move to Texas, but now that I am home the stress is back on. The sucky thing is the stress is affecting the last few days I have with my mom and my relationship with Chris. We are usually laid back but when I’m stressed I somehow get us arguing. It’s a character flaw that I passionately hate. I don’t even think there is anything of necessity to be stressed about but yet I do.

Onto a new subject! We are all packed up with ABF. This company is very different from UHAUL in that you can get a cube, or trailer delivered to your home that you pack yourself. However, you do not have to drive the truck. It was a great solution to our situation and we even saved money by taking our stuff to the terminal in Salt Lake. We reserved two cubes but managed to save about $600 by only using one cube. The downer is that we will not have a couch when we arrive to Houston. Oh well I guess!

The relocube that we used was scary to see at first because it doesn’t seem big at all. The real truth to the matter is it’s tall! So instead of packing out you must pack up. I’m a little nervous about our packing job because the boxes and all the rest of our junk will inevitably shift in transit. Hopefully everything will survive!

California and New Years 2009

Chris and I were able to visit with family in CA for New Years. The ride there was a little scary because it was snowing like crazy. Thanks to Larry's driving ability and Roxy's dependable car we arrived safe and sound! The first night there we were able to go to Grandma Merket's surprise birthday party. Chris had the amazing idea to make a Merket plaque for his grandma. We used my mom's Cricut and enjoyed a little creative outlet.

We were able to take a Bird family photo. This was by far my favorite photo of the bunch... its shows our true personalities. Just by this blog alone you can tell the difference between professional and amateur photography. My pictures all of the dates in bright yellow (thanks in part to booting and my laziness) and Roxy's have perfect lighting.

Finally there is a photo of all of the Merkets. The last time we were all together was for Larry and Roxy's wedding... however, the happy couple were not in any of the sideline photos. It is one of my new year's resolution to get a family photo from all of the fun events. I'll be emailing Roxy soon for some of her wedding photos :)

Roxy also took some pictures of Chris and I besides a beautiful vine covered patio. The Lees moved into a gorgeous home with an amazing commons area including this patio. I loved this picture because it shows the reason why I married Chris (he makes me laugh).

We went to the Rose Parade for New Years and spent New Year's Eve on the street throwing tortillas and marshmallows at cars. It was a lot of fun and a great experience. Larry and Roxy had great hookups that made the parade a blast. The lack of sleep and constant douche bags walking past made during the night me a grumpster for a moment, but I tried to regain my composure. Chris is such a light sleeper he didn't sleep at all. I felt pretty bad for him but he didn't show any sleep deprivation at all, well at least he didn't until we reached the car and he was out.

Our many thanks to the happy couple for a wonderful time!

The sunrise on Colorado Blvd. It was priceless. This was taken by the Chevron bathroom line that wrapped around the building.

Chris was a dear and took everything back to the car in the morning :) I got to sit on my butt and people watch!

The funniest moment of the morning was when Larry realized his pants were on backwards the entire time. It was pretty freaking funny.

We were able to visit the ocean :) Newport beach seems to be our usual stop while visiting family but I still enjoyed the smell of the ocean and the sun (very therapeutic).

I felt like highlighting this photo for everyone's enjoyment. I was the DOUCHE BAG who asked Roxy to snap a photo of Chris and I walking on the beach... yes sometimes I let the cheesiness decide things for me.

Liz was also able to use her resources and get us into Disneyland for free. It was a lot of fun to spend the day with Dan, Ami, Larry, and Roxy. Cathy, Joann, and Liz joined us in the evening.

We had never seen Disneyland decked out for Christmas and its a small world was a treat to say the least. The rest of the lights were already taken down... and it was only the 5th of January!

Chris pulled out the sword in the stone when he was five and we were able to revisit the memorable spot. Chris' face is near constipation while Dan pulls off normalcy.

Christmas!

Christmas this year was filled with the annual Hansen Christmas party. It was a little bittersweet. Bitter because it was the first Christmas my family has celebrated without my Grandma and sweet because we got to visit and see everyone. It still surprises me just how many people are related to my immediate family. My mother had 6 siblings and most of them had many children themselves. My oldest uncle has 5 girls that are around my mothers age and they are already grandmothers. Another uncle was married 3 times and has a total of 6 children. I honestly don't know everyone's name, but I guess that's part of the fun!

I had to take a picture of my mom while she was cooking... just to show you her distracted face.

On Christmas day David came over and we enjoyed Sherlock Holmes, a lovely dinner, and exchanging gifts. My mom is notorious for giving tooth care necessities in our stockings and this year include toothpaste. However, my mother hid my brother's gift (a check to help with school bills) inside his. He carelessly tossed around the box until the hints hit home and he checked inside. We received a GPS for our car to help us transition into Houston driving... it'll be an interesting experience to say the least.

We end once again with a picture of Brody. We had Travis, Ryan (David's friends), David, and Alyson (David's girlfriend) over for dinner and games tonight. I don't know who put Brody in this pose but he was content to stay there for a few minutes. We also played a good game of Scattegories (sp). On one specific list our letter was "p" and the category was body part. All four guys started laughing at once and we knew what they were thinking of. In the end my mom and I could not think of any other word and put it down... penis (pathetic I know).

Merry Christmas!

So Chris informed me last week that it was a little late to try to send out Christmas cards... sadly I think he's right. So here is my electronic Merry Christmas... or Happy Holidays whatever you celebrate :)

We are becoming minimalists!

After moving from Idaho we realized we have a ton of junk! The move to Texas is going to be pricey for the truck, so we have decided a detailed cleaning and inventory of our things is needed. We started with an idea from Steve and Laura Lee. They have the most impressive collection of DVDs but none of the covers. We took our 2 boxes and dwindled our DVD collection into one sufficient binder. It was surprising to see the amount of waste a DVD cover really is.

Without trying we purchased a "green" binder. It isn't even made out of recycled materials, but rather sustainable materials like cotton. I have never felt so environmentally friendly in my life, but it was the cheapest one :)

This addition to the post is again about Brody. I haven't had a dog for the 4+ years I've been away at college. Having Brody around again has made me realize that I am a lot happier when I have a dog annoying me for my attention. My mom knew Brody would love this cheap toy and he did... it took him 2 minutes to love the stuffing out of it.

My mom purchased Brody a new coat during the freezing temperatures recently. I tried to get her to realize Brody was a boy... and a more manly coat would do wonders for his masculinity. She felt that the fakefur lining would keep him snug. Now I no longer have a Brody but a Brodina (that's my attempt at being funny :) it worked well right???)

You might find us crazy... MEH!

Well Chris and I have been enjoying Salt Lake for the most part. Chris' job as an opening Bagel Baker has been strenuous on his sleeping schedule. He seems to always be tired no matter what day it is. I think his body would accept working at 3 AM if it was every single day. Anyways! Although he is tired my husband can rip a phone book apart... can yours??? :)
Apparently my mom ordered 2 phone books specifically for our house. Unfortunately the message didn't get through to us because she has 5 in her cupboard as we speak. We took the extra phone book and Chris tested his strength.

This lovely photo is to show all of the Merkets that I have arrived in the family. Just like Dan and Chris I have tall hair in the morning. The real question is.... IS THEIR HAIR TALLER THAN MINE?? It's amazing to think of the endless possibilities our children will have with their hair anytime of the day. I'm impressed with our gene pool already. (And I do realize that sounds extremely egotistical but like I said before MEH!)