41 Hours in an Elevator

Obviously this guy isn't the first person to get stuck in an elevator - but he might be the first one to have it documented on YouTube. To accompany this interesting story in the New Yorker, they posted a 3 minute video that speeds through the entire 41 hours this man spent in an elevator. It isn't really a funny video - I just thought it was interesting.

I thought about what I would do in an elevator for 41 hours - and I think my thoughts would only last me about an hour. After that I would be going crazy, singing, talking to myself, and trying to sleep. Worst of all, I think I would worry that the elevator was about to drop off into oblivion at any moment due to some sort of malfunction. Oh, and I'm pretty claustraphobic, so I would have to get over that too. Ben says he hopes this guy sued - why would it take them that long to get him out?

2002 B.C.

2002 B.C. - Before Children

Every morning I work in Mom Y's office and this picture is on the shelf. I have taken it down to look at it closely on more than one occasion. I think I like it because we all look so pure, so innocent. Just 9 months later or so (I'm not sure exactly when this picture was taken, who remembers?) Anna was born, followed by Zach, and then Ethan within a period of 3.5 months.

I love, and we all love, all of the kids. But it is fun to look back at all of us before they were here. I think we all look a little less tired.

We Miss you Robbie and Beula

Way back in my second year at BYU, I was lucky enough to inherit my Grandma's 91 Ford Taurus. It was free, I named it Beula, and it was a good car. Best of all, I was able to put my no-working-brakes-in-the-winter-so-I-had-to-fall-into-the-snow-bank-to-stop bicycle to rest. Beula lasted all the way until the summer I had the twins and Ben worked in California. He drove it down to Riverside from Utah, and then about half way through the summer it died. It then retired to Ben's parents driveway/backyard for a few years before we finally had it towed away not too long ago.

Our second Ford Taurus came along a few years later, soon after we were married. My grandparents (who clearly love Ford Taurus') were buying a new Ford Taurus, so we bought the 95 from them. Robbie lasted until this past November, when we sold him before moving to California for a cool $600. And it was running. That was a great deal for a running car.

So why didn't we transport this beloved car with us to Cali when we moved? Because we had a Buick waiting for us. My Grandma had been ready for a new car yet again, and we inherited a Buick.

Sadly, it just died after only a few months. We hardly even had time to call it Margaret.

The question is - are our days of driving "old people cars" as we have so lovingly referred to them over? As I scan through Camry's, Maxima's and Prius', I just don't know if we can pull it off. We have always been the type of 20-somethings who roll in a Ford Taurus. We have always been just a tiny bit embarrassed to drive when going out to lunch with co-workers. It just won't be the same to walk outside and see a car made in the 21st century.

So if anyone in Utah sees a woman named Tree (seriously, that was her name) driving a grey 95 Ford Taurus - tell her we'll give her the $600 back. Our long standing history of driving old cars and avoiding another car payment without ever longing for a fancy new car depends on it.

The Long-Awaited (Maybe by a few people) Disney Post

It has been over a month and I never shared pictures from our trip to the happiest place on earth. They are on Ben's computer and well, he uses his computer. So that is my excuse.

Well, it lived up to my expectations. The adults were more excited to go than Anna, and we got there just after it opened. It looked like it was going to be a pretty slow day, and we had perfect, 75 degree weather. We walked straight over to Pirates of the Carribean. I remember it as a fun ride, "Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me."

Anna seemed apprehensive as we got going, the ride is very dark. Then we went down a small drop - she laughed for a minute, then she cried. For the rest of the ride all I could hear was, "Mommy, I told you I didn't want to go on this ride!" "Cover my eyes, those guys are scary!" And other things like that. I felt pretty bad - the first ride to start our exciting day and Anna hates it.

So after that we didn't take Anna on anything dark or scary in the least bit. And we had a great time. Ellie and I enjoyed the big rides like Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain. And we all went with Anna on rides like Winnie the Pooh, the Train, Teacups, Autopia, and the Tiki Room. Grandma Horsie played with her when Ellie and I were gone, and they got treats, had Anna's portrait done and went on more rides.

Talking about it makes me want to go back, it was SO fun!


Anna was excited as we rode the tram from the parking lot.

Ellie and I on Indiana Jones. I need to learn how to take pictures of myself without the double chin. (Or maybe it is always there?)

Here we are on Splash Mountain. We went twice!

Anna and Grandma coming back over from Tom Sawyer's Island.

The standard pictures in front of the castle.


Anna on a fake dumbo, this was aside from the ride, just to climb on.

The teacups! This was definitely one of Anna's favorites.

Playing the piano and sitting on a chair in Goofy's house.



Getting a little tired as we waited for Autopia. We hoped she would take a nap in the stroller but she never did. Amazingly, she was good ALL day, and never broke down. Well, until we grabbed her a snack right before we left and the chicken nuggets were not McDonald's (I cringed when she demanded that). But after a minute she ate them and I was once again amazed how good she was all day.

On the Rocket Ships - these things go up high!

Waiting for the parade, a nice way to end the day.

Anna still had energy on the tram back to the parking lot, but she fell asleep about 30 seconds into the car ride.

Ellie was a bit more exhausted!



I want to go again and I want to get year passes. But does it lose its magic if you go a lot?

Playoffs, baby

The Lake Show just earned the number 1 spot in the Western Conference. Go Lakers!

FYI, we are not fair weather fans. We have been Lakers fans for life. Just didn't want someone to think I was hopping on a bandwagon. :)

How fast are you?

I saw this test on a blog so I took it, it only takes a minute. I took it three times and it came up with 79, 78, and then 80. Then I went and looked on my resume and noticed I claim to type 90 words per minute. Oops! I was just guessing, but I guess I thought I was faster.

80 words

Ha, I really focused and took it one more time, and I got an 89. Woo hoo. I guess I don't have to change my resume.

How Could You Let Me Fall In?

John, Stephanie, Zach and Maya came to visit over the weekend. Check out the cute picture of Maya playing in the sand on John's blog. Isabel was obsessed with Maya. She must have said her name 500 times over the weekend!

On Tuesday we all went to Laguna. I think our kids are a little beached out lately, but they had fun. Isabel wanted to go in the ocean, and I held her hand. We put our feet in a bunch of times, but then for some reason I let go of her hand for a minute. A little wave came and knocked her over. She wasn't too happy about it! Here she is after the fact, giving her "not happy" look.




John took some great pictures, so I figured I would use them to get lots of blog posts up. So there will be more to come...

Twins

Photos by John Sebastian Photography

WAHM

I am a WAHM. Yep, there is a term for Moms who work at home. There are even websites devoted to us. For the record, the lady in the picture above can't be getting much work done. I don't try to send emails while Anna eats and I hold a baby. So my life looks nothing like that.

Tonight, as I sat down to work, I thought about how I've neglected my blog. So rather than letting another week go by I thought I would explain why. It's because I've had enough work lately that I usually try to get some done after the kids go to bed. So I'm thinking tonight I'll blog about my clients and kill two birds with one stone - update my blog and bill a few hours for writing it.

Just kidding about the billing part. So, for those who wonder if I sell something or transcribe medical documents, here is what I do as a WAHM.

"Public relations (PR) is the managing of outside communication of an organization to create and maintain a positive image." - Wikipedia

For me, this includes creating PR campaigns, writing press releases, pitching magazines and newspapers, writing articles, and other marketing activities. Currently, I work for a PR firm, a Web site devoted to Mamas, and a PR and marketing consulting group. I also do occasional small projects for a Web site start-up, an author and a few technical writing companies.

Although there are differing (and strong) opinions about working or being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom), for me, working at home is the best of both worlds. It works for us, and that is what is important!

Now, I should get a little bit of work done. Perhaps I would already be done if I hadn't watched American Idol. The fact that I watch American Idol is probably the most embarrassing and revealing thing I have ever posted on this blog, but I'm at peace with it. Yrungaray, out.