The New Adventures of Our Old Couch

Not too long ago Tay blogged about how she wanted to replace our old couch.  Sean thought she was crazy because he loved staring at that pattern.  As you can tell by the picture above, he really liked it.  But as comfortable as it was, it was becoming a bit of an eyesore and space hog.  Luckily, we were able to find a nice replacement on Craigslist.  

We had taken the matching love seat to my parent's basement since they needed some furniture down there and they can't fit a full couch down the stairs.  That cleared up some room for the new couch, but we still had the full size couch in our living room.  After passively promoting it on Craigslist and this blog, we decided we were tired of it taking up space in our living room.

On Saturday I decided that I had had enough of the couch.  It was time to go.  I decided to do the charitable thing and donate it to Deseret Industries where some other family in need of a couch could enjoy it worth out forking out a ton of dough.  I called around and found out my brother with a truck was just a few miles from my house.  He was kind enough to stop by with the whole family in tow and unload their bikes (they were on their way to the canyon, but happened to have some errands in our neck of the woods before hand) so that we could load up the couch.  It was destined to go that day.

We drove the 2+ miles to DI and when we got there we were ready to unload when the attendant said, "You're gonna have to take that back home."  What?!?  He said they don't take them if they are stained/ripped.  It did have it's fair share of stains and a couple rips, but was still a very good couch.  I told him how much we'd loved it, and that I'm sure someone else would love to have it, but he said they get a lot of couches and end up throwing most of them away.  And I guess they have to pay for it.  I can't tell you how crummy I felt after learning the couch we'd been using for 2 years was not even worthy for DI!  Wow.

After exploring our options (throwing it in DI's dumpster in spite of the possible $500 fine, taking it to the bigger DI in Provo, letting it "fall out" on the side of the road, etc.), I decided it was not worth our time or money to continue the charitable approach.  So, we headed over to the landfill.  My stomach felt sick at the possibility of having to pay money to dispose of a decent couch that some less fortunate family would not be able to benefit from because the DI guy was too selective.

We had to wait in line for what seemed like forever (man is our society wasteful). We were behind some guy disposing of a pickup truck cab, which was kind of cool.  The engine and bed were gone, it was just the cab.  Anyways, we finally got to the booth where we had to pay $7.00 to dispose of our couch.  Apparently we could have gone the economical approach and waited until we had 500 lbs of stuff before going to get the most bang for our buck, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  I knew we had to get rid of it, because Tay would be disappointed to have it back.

We pulled up next to the big pile of junk and were just about to heave it when a Hispanic man asked if he could have it.  "Sure.  You got $7.00?"  The $7 and couch was exchanged and we both left that forsaken place.  They took off pretty fast because I'm not sure you're allowed to take stuff from inside, but whatever.  I felt better about things.  Though I had wasted about a half hour that I wouldn't have if the DI guy would've just taken it, but other than that I felt better about the following things:

• The couch did not go to waste.
• I didn't end up having to pay money to get rid of the darn thing.
• We cut out the "middle man."
• The Hispanic guys got a better deal than they would have at DI.
• Despite what DI told me, the couch was worth something to someone.

We will miss the comfort of that couch, but are already enjoying the new layout of the living room.  More space is better!  Sean will miss staring at that pattern, but we'll take him to see the love seat every so often so that he doesn't get sad.

In the end we got rid of the couch AND got a cool story out of it.  

fun facts

I am taking Paige's tag to anybody and doing it because I feel like tagging people. :) and I thought i should post something today but didn't know what.

Joys (besides my family and friends in general)
1. Sean learning new things. It's so fun to see him developing!
2. Baking, when I get around to it. I'm excited that it's getting cold so i can justify having my oven on for longer than dinner.
3. Doing fun things with Brian.

Fears
1. Somebody breaking in during the night. I really should stop watching 48 Hours Mystery...
2. Brian getting hurt or in a car accident - I've gotten better, but it's upsetting to me if he leaves without kissing me goodbye or exchanging i-love-yous.
3. Ants.

Goals
1. Getting my closets better organized.
2. Keeping up on laundry.
3. Getting family pictures taken in the next couple of months.

Current Obsessions
1. Eating healthy.
2. Figuring out what to do with our savings.
3. Wanting Sean to nap better. It's too bad he loves being awake so much. :)

Regrets
1. Being so lazy about homework during my first few semesters of college.
2. Not caring about sunscreen sometimes and getting sunburned at least once per summer.
3. Not getting a haircut during the spring.

Facts about Me
1. Despite my love of them, I am currently burned out on reading Bronte novels and Jane Austen novels. Serves me right for taking so many Victorian Era Lit classes.
2. I can write a letter or thank-you card, have it addressed and stamped, and never send it.
3. I love spicy food, but not onions.

I am tagging Angie (Nunez), Christi (Gudmundson), and Melanie (Anderson)

Sean Learned How to Roll Over. Front to back, of course.

Nap time is suffering.

Game Day!

So I told mom that I wanted to dress up for the big game today.  I think she misunderstood which game I was talking about, so I promptly grabbed the outfit I wanted her to dress me in.  I guess she forgot that ASU made today's game vs Georgia irrelevant when they choked against UNLV.  I'm just going to forget that Tennessee lost to the same UCLA my Cougars trounced 59-0.   Maybe if I put this on I can help them win against the Gators.  If I hadn't outgrown all my BYU clothes, I might have grabbed them instead.

-Sean

Three Months...

Sean has been doing a fine bit of growing lately. It's hard to see, but so fun at the same time. He still has very kissable cheeks, so I'm ok with this growing bit for now. Lately he's been figuring out different sounds with his mouth (which I have videos of that I won't bore you with), put himself to sleep (blessed thumb!), and, basically today, to roll over. Sigh. The rolling over thing is great and progress for him, but it wakes him up and he tends to only do it while sleeping. It's been interesting today to walk in every time he wakes up and see him on his side. I can't wait to SEE him do it!

Here is Sean with his Daddy. I'm pretty sure Brian is his favorite person, and that's ok. He can be a Daddy's Boy.

This is Sean's latest smile. It melts my heart. When I see it at 7AM every morning, it's hard to stay upset that I couldn't have that extra hour I want...

Bathtime has become his favorite activity. He gets to slide to the front of the tub and kick off as hard as he can. Then he gets to splash about when he doesn't like what Momma's washing. And then he gets all wrapped up in a towel so he can't move or pee on everything (which he tries to do).

The fan in our bedroom is still one of his favorite things. He will talk and coo and get excited to it for a good 40 minutes after a nap. so darling. He's such a content and happy baby... I feel very lucky to have had him first. Once I forget what pregnancy was like, I won't be scared to have another one. If I forget. In addition to talking, he LOVES to kick against things. Anything. I prefer to put a pillow at his feet, rather than myself or a hard object.

And here he is asleep on the living room floor. This was a few weeks ago, but I just love pictures of my sleeping baby. He is my favorite.

On Sunday we went up to Centerville, UT to see my friend Michelle talk in church. She just got back from her mission in Hungary. Oh my was it good to see her! And not only that, but a ton of people I love were there. (Coincidently, they are also her cousins... :) ) There was Gloria and James, Sister Mitchell, Jenny, KC, Erin... it has been too long. I forget how much I love and miss people until i see them again. So, Gloria, I know you're reading this with James - we need to get together. I'll cook (or buy you a Costa burrito... LOL - are you still sick of those? I am...) Anyway, Sean was good for Sacrament Meeting, but cranky for the rest of the visit. Sorry Gloria. That was kind of a bummer. On a side note, I am tired of my friends going on missions. 18 months is too long to be away. so is two years, but i digress.

Sometimes I wish that i hadn't been so groggy those first couple of weeks with Sean. I feel like i missed so much. The next time around I really hope that I will somehow be awake enough to remember exactly what my baby looks like and not have to rely on pictures.

PS I am getting a breadmaker for Christmas. It's going to be a good one and should get me more motivated to get the year's supply going - you know, the wheat and stuff.

3 improvements?

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and today I have started acting on those thoughts. Stephen R Covey would be so proud...

1. I do not cuddle Sean nearly enough. Today i did not put him in his bouncy chair because I wanted to play with and cuddle him instead. I fed him before he told me he was hungry. I nearly feel that the cuddle quota is filled for the day, but only because he does have to take naps. Otherwise the cuddling would still be going on.

2. I am schlumpy. I think Opra made up that word. Anyway, I hate it. Since Junior High, I have woken up at whatever time I needed to in order to get completely ready and hott (lol... awkwardly hott, of course) for the day. Sometimes this constituted 5:30AM. Sleeping in was an indulgence I rarely allowed. Then I EfY'ed all summer and then got engaged, more ponytail days ensued. Married = more ponytail days. And then i was pregnant. Doing hair was no longer something i cared about. I only worried about whether i could eat that day or even get out of bed to go to work. In the past year, I could count on my fingers and toes the number of times i got ready and hott. Today, cold and all, I showered, put make-up on, and did my hair. And i look amazing. Even with circles under my eyes. I am determined to look hott more days than i look schlumpy during the week. We'll see how this can work with toddlers.

3. I don't really cook anymore. I used to love cooking for Brian. It was the highlight of my day. That also went down the toilet when Trimester Uno came along and standing up made me nauseous. (as did laying down, walking, sitting, and EVERYTHING, but i digress) Tonight I will cook a delicious pizza from Papa Murphy's. lol. But tomorrow I plan on something big. Like a stir fry or something incredible like that. And then I plan to try my hand at cake making again. My last was not unsuccessful, so i think we'll take another stab at it. As soon as i buy cake pans. :)

I think that's all. I'm not feeling so hot, so i'm not sure that's everything I wanted to address.

So, with this whole thumb-sucking thing, Sean naps now. WOW. I am a happy camper. I don't know how my mom lived without pacifier or thumb-sucking kids. It's a novelty in the Gudmundson genes, i suppose.

St. George, Cont.

(this was written on Sunday)
Tay's great uncle passed away last week, so her mom is in town for the funeral. For the past 4+ hours, they have been watching one of those ridiculously long BBC miniseries. I've cleaned our room, folded and put away the laundry, done the dishes, tidied the kitchen, spilled a glass of water, cleaned up a glass of water, taken out the trash... I think you get the picture. I was even so bored that I checked the mail at 10:30 on a Sunday night in the rain (I remembered we hadn't done that yesterday, so don't think I'm crazy.) I think there's still a good hour left, so I figured I'd put up the rest of the pics from our trip to St. George. Enjoy!

Pretty little hike to a cool, shady area

Looking out the window at the trees.

Yummy lunch of ok pizza and good french fries.

The Hanging Gardens

View from the Hanging Gardens - spectacular!

Today

So, we'll keep trying to get St. George publishing finished soon, but our internet currently will not upload anything. Digis sucks. The past two months of our phone and internet rotating which one decides to work at that time has driving brian to the EDGE and we're getting Comcast to go with our HOA provided cable. It will be nice to have internet that works more often. And hopefully phone too. sigh.

Today was, relatively, a boring day. And yet so many things happened. Like Sean took a three hour nap because he LEARNED HOW TO SUCK HIS THUMB!!! I am both happy and worried about the implications of this accomplishment. Another thing was Sean not only talks to the fan, but also to video recordings of himself. I worked from home and got a lot accomplished for the office i used to work for. I'm glad that I am still useful outside of my home. Sean cries when he is hungry.... I think I've covered all of today more exciting events.

Brian came home an hour late today. Work is starting to get hectic for him. So, he put Sean on the floor in front of the tv and did a test. He has "discovered" that Sean is the most happy when football is on. I would like to note in these series of tests, he did not leave anything else on long enough to see his response. When these things happen, i like to remind Brian that Sean is just as happy during Rachel Ray. :) And then Brian started throwing tortilla chips on Sean's tummy. I'm not sure why. But they did make a cool thump noise upon landing.

and that was today.