January 28th and 29th, 2011, 50th and 51st Day

Who doesn't love Fridays?  Work was a little boring, so Kerry and I went shopping for frames for our pictures in the office.  We found some great frames at Michaels, and as I looked around, I noticed we were the only guys in the store besides the clerks.  I'm sure many of the women were thinking, "What are those two guys doing shopping in Michaels?  Well, it didn't help the cause any when we bought five large, 30" X 40" frames and then as we were walking out the door I remembered--we had the Porsche.  "Um, Kerry, did you remember we had the Porsche?"  "We can fit them in the Porsche".  Well, we couldn't even come close to fitting them in the Porsche, and so we had to call Kim to come pick them up in the Navigator.   I'm sure the ladies in the store were thinking, "Those two men have brains the size of walnuts, they should leave the frame shopping to the ladies!"  And, they'd be right.   The rest of the day went pretty smoothly.  I had to go pick up my dry cleaning and they told me they had to send it to Las Vegas.  "Why do you have to send it to Las Vegas?" I asked.  "Because your shirts are so smelly no one in Washington or Saint George will clean them!"  "What?!"  No, just kidding they didn't say that, I guess they send all the shirts to Las Vegas.   I was hoping the shirts would come back with some extra money in them, but I was out of luck, they came back as just plain old white shirts.  

Friday night my wife and I went out on a hot date to Costco to pick up some cheese and then we had dinner at Costco.  We split a Carne Asada wrap.  That's what happens when your daughter gets married, you split your meals at Costco.  Next time, we've decided to splurge and move up to the slice of pizza, but we have to wait until pay day.  The guy at the counter was nice, but he charged Nicole $10.16 instead of $8.06.  I thought Nicole was going to have to argue with him to get her money back (hey don't mock $2.10 can come in handy when planning a wedding), but when she went back he admitted his mistake and gave her back her money.  So, with our new found riches we left and went back home and watched an old episode of "Psyche" before reading and going to bed.  How's that for a hot date!

Saturday I had to get up at 6:45 (who likes to get up at 6:45 on a Saturday), and go down to the church, where we met the youth of our ward, had muffins (the French toast ones rocked) and chocolate milk, then went to a three hour EFY meeting with the kids.  It was really good though, they talked about all the temptations kids go through these days.   Then I went back to Costco, ate all the samples, and bought more cheese (yes, we go through a lot of cheese in the Kimzey household.  I'm pretty sure one of the boys uses it as shoe inserts, because sometimes their shoes can smell pretty bad), and then went back to church for a 2 hour leadership meeting.  Then, it was home for some In and Out burgers and off to another meeting at the church from 7:00 to 9:00.  Then, back home, off to Walmart again, and home to play cards with Nicole and Hunter, and they even let me win one game because they felt sorry for me because I was losing so badly.   So, it was a very spiritual, and tiring day.  I was nice to everyone I came in contact with, however, so I'm now at 51 days, with one outburst at a Qwest Employee and a little grumpiness on Christmas day with my daughter.  Things I learned Friday and Saturday, 1st, you can't fit even one 30" x 40" frame into a 35" tall Porsche, none-the-less five of them.  2nd, I can now say I've laundered in Las Vegas!  And, since I paid them, I guess I laundered money in Las Vegas!  3rd, Costco can be a cheap date, if you're in the food section.  If not, it's impossible to have a cheap date at Costco. You're likely to go in just to get cheese, and come out with a large screen TV, a Vitamix blender and a new mattress.  4th, French Toast Muffins from Costco are better then French Toast at I-Hop (well, maybe not the stuffed French Toast at I-hop).  5th, Going to a lot of meetings at church can be tiring, but you come out wanting to be a better person, and I guess that is what life is all about.   

January 27th, 2011, 49th Day

Thursday was another great day!  I was nice to everyone, and everyone was nice to me!  It's amazing how if I change my attitude toward people, they seem to change their attitude toward me (of course, Mr. Burton probably read my blog and was depressed the entire day!).  I went shopping in the middle of the day because i was bored and I got caught!  Kelly Anderson was shopping at TJ Max in the middle of the day, and she said, "You better be nice to everyone".  Now, it appears, I have spies keeping me in line, so I better be extra careful, and extra nice.  Today was kind of a lazy day.  We rented the movie "Red" and we didn't even start the movie until 9:30.  My back has been hurting for some reason, so I had to lay in bed on a heating pad.  I think I'm just getting old.  Instead of being one of those 70 year olds that rides a 100 mile bike ride, like I envision, I'm probably going to be one of those old guys who sits on the couch, eating ice cream and yelling at the TV.  However, most of the time I still feel like I'm 30, so maybe when I'm 70 I'll feel like I'm 55.   The wedding planning is going good.  Watching Nicole and Amber plan this wedding is like watching a well oiled machine.  I just step back and watch the machine do it's thing!  However, then I check the Credit Card bill and think, "Maybe it's not so much a well oiled machine, as it is a well oiled printing press!"   Actually, they're doing things very economically.   They both know I can't get mad, though, so it probably makes it a little easier on them.  They say, "Hey Dad, we saved $400 on the photography! Now we have more to spend!"   Here is what I hear, "Hey Dad, we spent $1,600 on photography!"  No, just kidding, it's fun to watch them have fun, and it doesn't do any good to stress anyway, that would be like stressing that you have to put on your underware (you're going to have to do it anyway, so why stress)    Things I learned today, 1st, Kelly shops at TJ Max at 2:00 in the afternoon, either that, or she was following me to make sure I was being nice. 2nd, Having a bad back is no fun, it's like crawling through an ant hill in your underware (there, I used underware twice in one blog!) after you've been dipped in honey!  3rd, Planning a wedding is much more fun when Nicole is your wife, just let her go--  She's like the Energizer Bunny! 

January 25 and 26th, 2011 - 47th and 48th Day

Tuesday seemed like a long day, but it was pretty easy to stay nice to people. Dave the Qwest guy didn't come knocking on my door, and the day was pretty uneventful.   I did get to go to the Alltel store and pick out my new phone and the telephone rep there was extremely nice and helpful.  It made me wonder, how come Qwest doesn't hire the Alltel employees?  I ordered my new Droid phone, which makes me excited, because scanning prices at the store is soon on the horizon.

On Wednesday I woke up and read the paper.  I read about Robert Burton, a UCONN donor who apparently wants his money back that he donated to the University (over 3 million dollars), because they didn't consult him when they hired the new football coach!   Mr Burton also said he wanted his name taken off the facility.  What the hey hoo?!  I almost fell out of my chair.  Good thing Mr. Burton wasn't in my living room because I would have called him a pompous windbag and I would have lost my "be nice to everyone" status for the day.  Of course, when I read the article and told my wife, "This guy is a complete idiot!", she reminded me that I needed to be nice to everyone, to which I replied, "You're right, but it shouldn't count, he's an idiot".   The rest of the day went great.  Amber started working with us today as a receptionist and she did great.  At night, the family watched American Idol (yes, I'm a little bit of an Idol fan, but not a huge one), and they had a touching story about one of the singers that proposed to his girlfriend and then she got in a car accident and was brain damaged.  She really could barely function, and yet he stuck by her.  He said, "I was about to utter the words, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.  What kind of person would I be if I didn't stick by her side?"  I thought that was a touching story.  Too bad more people aren't like that.  Then Logan and I watched number 9 BYU play #4 SDSU.  BYU won 71-58!  It was a great game, and Fredette scored 43 points!   That definitely made my night.  Things I learned yesterday and today, 1st, Steve, from Alltel, should give Dave, from Qwest, some customer service tips.  2nd, the Droid phone will be shipping on Feb. 4th, I will then be so happy, I will be more likely to make others happy!  3rd, Mr. Burton is a pompous windbag (sorry, but you know it's true)! 4th, Crying during American Idol is like crying during Scooby Doo reruns--it just feels off.  5th, Jimmer Fredette throws down the rock! (not to be confused with my stomach being a rock after I ate the Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup ice cream! 6th, Here is a picture of Mr. Burton--enough said (sorry, but I couldn't resist). 

January 23rd and 24th, 2011 - 45th and 46th day

Sundays are always easy to be nice.  This Sunday I had to give a 20 minute talk.  I really wasn't nervous, because I liked my topic.  I spoke on recognizing and appreciating what God has given us.   I told the congregation to imagine they were at the beginning of a large dirt field that stretched on for five miles.  The field had very large trees at the side. They were there with their family, and none of them had a drink or eaten anything in two days.   At the end of the field was plenty of life saving food and water for the entire family.  They were given the choice of three things to help them on their journey.  First, an SUV, loaded with gas, and lots of food and vegetables, and a five gallon jug of water.   2nd, a chainsaw and enough apples for the entire family and two quarts of water.   3rd, a metal detector with a 15 foot arm, and no food or water.  Which one should you pick?  The SUV of course!  However, I then gave them more information, three miles into the field was a 200 foot deep crevice with jagged rocks at the bottom, and the only thing to cross it was a very old, one foot wide rickety board that may or may not hold even one member of your family.  Now which one would you choose? (Hint, the chainsaw, to cut down the tree and make a plank to carry to the crevice).  Then I gave them more information, the field was a mine field.  Would that now change your choice?  I then related it to life, and how sometimes we think we bummed that everyone has an SUV loaded with stuff, and all we get is the dumb metal detector, yet God knows each of us, and he gives us the tools we need to get through life.

Sunday night was nice, Nicole and Kelly Anderson went up North to help Amber go wedding dress shopping tomorrow, so I invited Mike over to have some barbecue sandwiches for dinner.  Then, Hunter and Logan and I sat around and talked and played pool.  It was a nice evening and I wasn't even tempted to be mean to anyone.

On Monday Amber and Nicole and Kelly went dress shopping and they found a really nice dress.  It was at a place called Pamela's and they don't sell their dresses, you can only rent them.  So, Amber is renting her dress, and she's happy, and I'm happy.  The boys and I were alone for Family Home Evening, so what did we do?  What any group of guys would do when left alone, we decided that we needed to go to the store, pick out any treat, and eat that treat.  I picked an entire half gallon of Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter cup ice cream!  How good is that.  Then we came home, ate our treats, and played pool and watched "Chuck" on TV.  Fun night.  Things I learned yesterday and today.  1st, I'd rather go through a mine field with a metal detector than an SUV! 2nd, It's nice when you have friends that feel comfortable enough to come over, eat with you, talk for a few minutes, and leave, without feeling like they are imposing.  Mike's one of those kinds of friends.  3rd, I love this rent-a-wedding-dress idea!  How cool is that, get a nice dress, save some money, everyone wins!  4th, Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter cup ice cream rocks, literally! (I loved it, but I looked like a rock when I was done).  5th, Fighting the fluff by eating Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter cup ice cream and Milk Duds is like trying to save the dolphins by not eating tuna fish (Does the word fruitless come to mind?) 

   

January 21st, and 22nd 2011 - 43rd and 44th Day

I love Fridays.  How can anyone not love Friday.   No matter what happens, you know you have Saturday right on Friday's heels.   Work seems shorter on Friday's, and even when someone get's mad, you can take it in stride.  My wife and I always go on our date on Friday.  Tonight we went out to dinner at the Parrot Head.   We talked, we laughed, we cried (ok, we didn't really cry, but we did laugh and talk).   We then decided to go to Dillards and look for a Bridesmaid dress for Kaylee.  (Note to self: dont' shop for Bridesmaid dresses at Dillards)  After finding nothing there, we quickly went to JCPennys, and found absolutely nothing there either.  Nicole did find a lot of other pieces of clothing she liked at Dillards, and I'm now in the process of taking out a second mortgage so I can buy her an outfit or two (don't tell her, I want to surprise her).

Saturday was even a better day.  I woke up at 8:00, wrote my talk for church, then went on a 30 mile bike ride! I went with my brother and Ken Sheppard and they were nice and waited for me when I was panting like a Chihuahua who wants his taco (have you ever tried spelling Chihuahua without looking it up on Google, don't lie).   After I got home and took some oxygen, Hunter and I went shopping at Costco.  It's our weekly ritual, and it was fun.   The samples were great, but one of the sample guys was handing out Yogurt and I said, "I love yogurt!"  He then said rather grumpily, "Then why don't you buy some!"   Not sure why the yogurt guy was Mr. Grumpy pants, but I didn't buy yogurt, just to spite him, but I was still nice to him!  Then, we went to Walmart to shop for food and I said to Hunter, "Hey, wait for me, I have to go buy some pork chops."  Hunter said, "Why do you want to buy a fork lift?"   I said, "What are you talking about?"  Apparently, pork chops sounds like fork lift, but I'm not sure why he thought I was going to buy a fork lift.   We then came home and went to see the movie, "Mega Mind", but we got there late and the line was too long, so we came back home and made dinner and watched Psych (that's a hilarious show by the way).   We bought the Ellsworth's pool table for $75 and it doesn't fit in our house very well.  In fact, if you try to shoot from the side closest to the wall, you have to use a pencil with a good eraser, because the pool stick is too long.  Oh well, it was fun, maybe we'll just have to get a bigger house to fit the pool table, or better yet, when Amber leaves we'll turn her room into a billards room!  Sorry Amber, but once you're married, the room becomes a man cave!  Nicole said I should put in my blog that she is my goddess, my princess, and the best thing that has ever happened to me, so I'm putting it in my blog.  However, it is true, even if she had to coerce me a little.  Things I learned today, 1st, Dillards is too expensive for me, I'm sticking to JCPennys and Walmart.  2nd, They don't serve Parrot food at Parrot Head.  3rd, Ken and Kerry ride like Lance Armstrong, and I ride like Oprah Winfrey.  4th, Hunter is fun to hang out with, and he's funny.  5th, I don't need a forklift at Walmart, but it may come in handy lifting the bales of cash at Dillards when I want to buy a sweater.  6th, Having a pool table is going to be more fun than watching Dave the cable guy go through a car wash with his windows down. 

January 20th, 2011 - 42nd Day

It was an exciting day today.  It started off fairly routine, and then we went to lunch.  When we came back to work, our entire building was cordoned off with yellow police tape.  Apparently, there was a gas leak and it was going to be at least 2 hours before the city would let us back in.  Well, there's only one thing to do when you're going to be locked out of your office for more than 2 hours--that's right, a bike ride!  Woo Hoo!  Kerry and I went on a 20 mile bike ride, and within 15 minutes of getting back home, the city called and had found and fixed the leak.  We were welcome to go back to work.   How's that for timing?  However, I hadn't ridden in a week, so you can imagine how slow I was.  It was kind of like in the movies where they show the fat person running in slow motion and they're jiggling like a jello salad in an earthquake.  Yep--not too pretty, but you have to start somewhere.   Then I got home from work, made my family a nice dinner, and hung out.   We found out today that Josh and DeAnna Cluffs little boy, JD, has meningitis.   He was having bad headaches, and they took him to the hospital, and they had to life flight him up to University of Utah hospital.  He's not doing very well, so we are having a fast for him through Friday night.  We're praying he's ok.  Things I learned today, 1st, I want some police tape.  Does anyone know where I can get some?  Wouldn't it be fun to cordon off your friends house while they were away?  2nd, Bike rides in the middle of the day are like donuts and hot chocolate on a cold winter's day--it just doesn't get much better.  3rd, I wish my stomach was more like my son Hunter's and less like jello.  He's got a six pack, and I have a milk jug, which I don't understand, since I eat like a bird, and he eats like a rhino!  4th, I hope and pray the Cluff's boy is alright.  There's only one thing worse then watching your spouse suffer, and that's watching your kids suffer.  

January 19th, 2011 - 41st Day

Ah, Wednesdays!  Too soon to think about the weekend, but too far away from last weekend.  We had kind of a funny thing happen at work.  We had a customer that told us on December 29th he had sent us two checks he owed us.  Then, we called on January 5th, and he said, "Oh, I'll get those out right away".  Then, on the 10th he called in for tech support and we said, "Nope, not until we see the checks".   He said he had already written the checks and that he would FEDEX them the next day.  We got the checks today (wow Fedex is slowing down, 9 days to get a package!)   So, we look at the checks and one was dated 1/14/2011, and the other was dated 1/21/2011, AND, they were consecutive check numbers!   I guess his company doesn't write a lot of checks, if  he wrote the checks on the 29th!   Apparently, he had accidently sent the checks to his mother's house in Florida.   At night we went to Subway.  I said to the guy behind the counter, "Have a GREAT night," and he responded, "You have the kind of night you want to have".  Hunter and I thought that was kind of a unique way of wishing us a good evening.   We then rented "Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps", and then we watched American Idol, how's that for an exciting night.  Things I learned today, 1st, "The check is in the mail" really is a statement that people make, even when the check is not in the mail.  2nd, FEDEX is slowing down, I better move my business to UPS!  3rd, People in customer service positions have it rough, I think people are often not very nice to them (especially Walmart and Subway employees).  4th, Is it wrong to want a caramel apple and some ice cream at 10:00 at night!