Tuesday Night

It's Tuesday night! Which means one of two things, one thing nothing happens on Tuesdays...second thing it means BIG BROTHER is on! It was good pretty dramatic. And then I'm watching BB After Dark on HBO, and OMG lots of drama, lots of fighting, it's pretty crazy...the house is a shakin! I love it! :D I love the drama, and I'm yelling at the players constantly about what they did do or what they should do.
Dustin should totally have taken the trip and the money in the veto comp. HELLO, either way he gets what he wants, anyone who was playing would follow through with the "master plan" so what did he have to lose at that point. Anyway...I'm just saying Dustin has a TRIP and 5000.00 and he still got his way as far as the veto Ceremony! WonDerFul!
Then Evil and Daniell and Jen and Nick are all fighting. Everyone is fighting, it's a tea dumping bitch slapping war! And it's wonderful!
Tata
Christie

Oh Puppies...

You Should Own a Yorkshire Terrier

Lively, sweet, and easy to carry.

What Kind of Dog Should You Have?

Hot Saturday

Today, it was hot. Very hot. I think that it reached 102 dergrees. Kip and I were at my parents cleaning out the garage and "laying out" the pool. We had to put stakes and string in the ground where they are going to put in the pool. And it was hot out! I think that doing any task in the heat just adds to the irritation of having to do it in the first place. We tried to have fun and I think that we accomplished that. I also wanted to say that I am sorry to Drea.

Otherwise, it was just another hot, busy Saturday. I can't wait for my parents' pool!!

This woman just came out with an incredible CD. If you have not heard her music you must get online and check her out. She's awesome. Definately a good new artist to buy! Fantastic!

Thanks

Christie

Gratitude

This is a small portion of my beautiful family. My Grandpa Tracy (Standing) and my Grandma Tracy (sitting with the dark hair). They are sitting among their friends Grandma Jen and Grandpa Lauring, who have recieved those names due to the closeness of the family. This is at my wedding and I am so so blessed that all of my family could make it to the wedding. It was just such a great day and I'm so glad that I got to share it with you all. Even those not pictured. It meant a lot to Kip and I to feel that support of our family! We feel blessed and loved because each of you took the time to come and celebrate with us! So thank you!

Big Brother 8-athon

Well Big Brother 8 has been on for about 4 weeks now. I haven't commented on this season yet, I've been waiitng until I really had some opinions and such to share with you!
First of all lets start with some of the "showmances" as they are respectively called on big Brother.
Danielle and Nick, obvious but still worth commenting on. Should they or shouldn't they showmance? Uhm, I'm not sure, I think that it would be good for dramatic sake, but at the same time I think that Danielle should stay true to her boyfriend at home. However, I feel like if I were outside the house and my significant other was inside the house cuddling on a hammock with another person, then I would probably be a little upset. So we shall see where it leads!
There aren't really any other relationships in the Big Brother house, but that doesn't stop me from forming opinions on who SHOULD have a showmance.
Now you might disagree with me on this but I definately think that Eric needs to "make a move" on someone. I think that America should vote on WHO this special someone should be, but I think that Eric defiantely needs to make a move on someone! Tee hee, I was thinking maybe Jessica or Amber. What do you think?
I also think that maybe some guy should totally hit on Jen. I do NOT like Jen, and I want her OUT, she's soo annoying, and I really want to fast forward when she's on, but I'm afraid I'll miss something. But BB after dark has been an enlightening experience. I find myself glued to the TV and I want to tell on peoplle so bad, I talk to the TV and I feel like an idiot! I do talk to them, and mostly I yell at Jen because she's so annoying and I want her to BE QUIET. So I think it would be funny if she got played! (I know I'm so mean)
OK well, this week Jen and Kail are on the block, I'm sure that Jen wins the veto and then Dick puts up Mike. I want Kail to go home this week. I also think that Jen needs to go home next week. If I could pick the next HoH I would definately pick...Eric. I think that would definately stir up the house a bit, because Eric doesn't really have a "side" and it might cause some drama to see who he really wants to help and who he doesn't. I also think it would be great to see Jessica win HoH, because no one thinks she's a "player" and they wouldn't know what she would do! I like that, I like when it shakes the house up!
I definately think that they need to get a pet though! Wouldn't be cool if they had a BB Dog! He could be called "Bro" or something. They defiantely need a pet in that place, A) to keep them distracted and busy and B) who doesn't want their dog on National Television! Mia is volunteering!
Ok, well we'll see tomorrow night what happens with the Veto (even though I already told you) and then on Thursday we'll see who gets evicted and who wins HoH.
Until then! Please let me know what you think about BB8~ tata

Burny McBurn

I got a sunburn awhile ago. As all of you well know. Last night the pain was so bad on my chest that Kip took me to the ER at about 11pm. We waited for quite awhile and when I was finally seen they told me that "I'm lucky, I won't have to have a skin graft." I was like "Excuse me" That didn't even cross my mind, I just wanted some miracle aloe or some heavy duty neosporin or healing cream. I just wanted them to tell me how to treat it so that it would stop hurting. It hurt to wear a bra and then it hurt not to. It hurt to lay on my back and it hurt to sit. We called Kip's mom, who is a nurse, to ask her opinion on the situation. She told us to try a couple of things and if that didn't work to go to the ER. So we tried those things and I was still in a lot of pain. At the ER they put on what I now refer to as "Fairy Dust" because it's amazing. It's not even a dust, it's a cream. And it's incredible. Instantly it relieved my pain and has continued to work as relief on my chest for the last day. So I'm going to continue using it until my bottle of Fairy Dust is gone! So thank you to the staff at the Saint Luke's Meridian ER. I thought I was going to cry in pain all night, and thanks to them I slept and am well on my way to healing. Kip has a picture of me in my hospital gown that he will post as soon as we can figure out how to get the picture off the phone.
I have to thank my fantastic husband, for remaining calm through my upset. I was crying all night, and he was still very gentle with me and still very concerned for my well being. Even though he had to be up early today, he was willing to take me to the ER and sit with me through the entire night, and then he brought me home, put me in bed, and went to sleep. He only got a few hours of sleep before he had to get up and go golfing. So thank you to my husband for not only being the man of my dreams, but for putting up with me and being my constant support. Mentally, emotionally, and phsycially, you are there for me constantly. I know that I can count on you and I appreciate it more than you will ever know! Thank you for your love.
I love you!

Until next time!
Christie

Thursday, day before Friday. Day after Wednesday. Not much to say. The sunburn has been peeling, it hurts. Not so much the peeling, just the raw skin underneath. Ouch. My Fault....oh well!
Christie

YESSSSSS.....it still hurts.

PS-From Christie

I would just like to add a little to Kip's wonderful post about our Lazy Saturday. It was great laying out in the sun, over the sprinkler. However, the sun is BRUTAL! Seriously, I'm so dumb. My wonderful husband offered me sunscreen many times. (Take the hint Christie) but no no, I didn't. So I just lay there with my bare skin unprotected in clear and strong view of the sun. Do you ever feel like the sun was after you because it knew you weren't wearing any protection? I DO! The sprinkler kept me cool, and therefore all my inner temperature guages were tainted! The result? You guess it I'm SUNBURNED, I'm talking can barely move because my skin is so tight and leathery. SO GROSS, Kip is helping me, and constantly offering me his help. which is great, I wouldn't be able to feel better without him. I have done many layers of aloe and I finally did the cold soak this morning in the bath, it was brutal but I'm hoping that it drew some of the heat out of my body. My body is so hot (heat wise) and yet I'm so cold. It's aweful, but it's at my own hand! ARARHG, I'm so dumb! Kip totally knew that I needed sunscreen, and I was dumb and didn't listen to him! So thanks to Kip for taking such good care of me! And aside from the sunburn we did have a fantastic lazy Saturday.
Christie

Lazy Saturday

Saturday was a good relaxing day for Christie and I though it didn't start out that way. I started the day by watching Tairia and the USA Softball team kick the Dominican Republic's BOOTAY with a final score of 9 - 0. I stayed as quiet as I could so Christie could keep sleeping, we didn't get to bed the night before until 2 a.m. on account of seeing the late show of Harry Potter. (By the way the new Harry Potter movie is GREAT.) So I was watching softball and Christie was sleeping. I had made plans earlier in the week for us to go play volleyball up at Sandy Pointe, a little state park by the Lucky Peak reservoir just outside of Boise. So I woke Christie up at noon, which is early for her since we didn't get to bed until 2, so with only 10 hours of sleep she was a little cranky and I felt bad for not letting her sleep. But we got on our way with a little help from Starbucks and alot of apologies from me. We got up to Sandy Pointe and apparently it is JUST out of cell phone range, so not seeing our friends Terry and Amanda Dumont we drove down a little ways until we got cell phone service again and I called Terry. They were just about to leave their house to go up to Sandy Pointe, they had gotten held up at the bank for quite some time which I do not envy them for. By this time it was 2 o'clock and we were all supposed to meet at 1 at Sandy Pointe, and since Christie and I had a previous engagement later that day at 5 we decided to bow out of playing volleyball and go home and relax until we had to get ready for dinner. Well just as we were almost home we got a call cancelling our dinner so with no other plans we went to Target to see about getting som lawn chairs so we could layout in the back yard and get some sun. Unfortunately lawn chairs are made of gold or some other precious metal and the prices reflected that so we decided against that, but we did see a hammock with stand at %50 off so we got one of those, and I am glad we did. We got home, we put the hammock together and then Christie layed in it in her swimsuit with the sprinkler going under her to keep her cool due to the 100+ temperature. She layed in the hammock, I layed on a towel in the grass and I read while she listened to a book on cd. It was very relaxing and I thoroughly enjoyed relaxing together, getting some sun and not worrying about a thing. Apparently though Christie enjoyed the Hammock a little too long and she got SUN BURNED. I feel bad because she is in pain but it does look kind of funny with just the front of her red and the sides and back white. I don't think we will be enjoying the relaxation of our new hammock today but maybe again next weekend after her pain has alleviated. But that was our Lazy Saturday and hopefully we get to do it several more times this year.

My Cousin The Olympic Gold Medalist

I have to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to my cousin Tairia Flowers, she was awarded the MVP of the Canada Cup softball tournament. She had rediculous numbers, .650 (13 for 20), 10 RBI and three homeruns. She helped the USA softball team go undefeated through the tournament and continue their domination of fastpitch softball (this is almost the exact same team that won the gold medal in the '04 summer Olympics in Athens). You know that team, the team that gave us our pride back after our mens baseball team didn't even make it past the qualifier.

I mention this because this weekend starting tomorrow, 7/13/07, is the KFC American Challenge Series and most, if not all, of the games will be televised on ESPN. So I invite you to sit and watch a game or two so you can see just how good this team is, not to mention Tairia. In the Canada Cup tournament Tairia played first base so hopefully they will keep her at that position and you all get a chance to see her in action.

I will keep you posted after the weekend but I just wanted to let you all know about the tournament this weekend and get some support for the USA Softball team. Plus get Tairia some more exposure, it is very exciting having an Olympic Gold Medalist in the family. If you would like to read up on your own here is the website for you, www.usasoftball.com.

Let's Give Em' Something to Blog About...

This should be Idaho Steakhouse's new moto. Kip and I decided that we were going to try something new tonight and dine out at a new place by our house. We have been eagerly watching construction as they built what seemed to be "our new hang out." So tonight, two weeks after opening, we decided that we should finally go and give it a try. There are constantly cars lining the streets to go in a see what's new at Idaho Steakhouse.
The buzz has been positive for this upcoming new Steakhouse. People have been excited to promote and support a local business. So we thought yeah that's a bandwagon that we'll get on!
Here is a rundown of our experience tonight:
First, when we walked in the hostest asked how we were and then just stared at me. It was very awkward and uncomfortable, so finally I just said "TWO" and she put our name down. So then we only had to wait 10 minutes (maybe) it was probably not that long at all. We get to our table that was up against pillar and it was nice. It was really hot outside, so it was going to be a great break to sit and have dinner. We sat opened our menu, and I was prepared for a slightly pricier meal, which it was going to be. When the waiter came to our table and put our napkins in our laps I thought, "Ok this is a 'Nice' restaurant." So we proceeded to order and get our drinks. Then dun dun dun it started.
Positive things:
1) It's a new building.
2) It's close to our house
3) They didn't make us wait a lot
4) The bread was yummy and they have Rasberry butter (weird but good)
5) The bar was nice (we weren't in it, and from our angle behind the pillar)
6) Our busser was nice!

Negative things:
1) The hostess was awkward.
2) The waiter took our oder, and then disapeared (we didn't see HIM again until he came to collect our money)
3) Kip ordered salad and I ordered soup, he got his salad, and I had to ask for my soup (about 20 minutes later) which they brought out to me, and then promptly brought our dinner our before I even had a chance to eat the soup.
4) I didn't see one table (except us) who didn't complain about something. (That's a RED flag)
5) We finally got our water, (I guess that's the bussers job, and the waiter was too good to get us water)
6) It took longer than usual to get our food. And apparently they were having "problems" in the kitchen.
7) The menus were falling apart. When you open them up (and put them back together) the ink was smeared on the menu and the prices were big, the standards didn't seem to meet their prices. (We'll talk more about price in a minute)
8) I ordered the "Rasberry Chicken" I thought, hey this is an classy restaurant and I should try something a little different because I bet that it will be fantastic and I'll have to have it everytime. WRONG! I was SO WRONG! I think I had one bite, and gave Kip one bite and was done! EW! It was gross, and I don't ever want to see it or smell it or taste it again.
9) Kip and I both ordered the smashed red potatoes. When we got our meal, there were potatoes on our plate but not smashed ones. I know I'm picky, call me what you will, however the lady who dropped our food off (and I mean dropped) said "Oh we're having problems with the steamer so you get roasted red potatoes tonight. HELLO! That's not what we ordered, I mean red potatoes are fine anyway you want to cook them, but might you forewarm someone when you change their meal? Especially when they are paying good money for it?!
10) Kip ordered a steak (it is a steakhouse and all), and they put a side of sauce on his plate. It was in one of those silver dipping sauce cups, and we were like "Oh yum" but when he tasted it, it was Ketchup. KETCHUP! HELLO....enough said.
11) I really didn't feel like their prices were condusive to their service, food, atmosphere, or ANYTHING! Rar...
12) We became friends with the people behind us, because we were all just waiting, we did a lot of waiting....waiting...waiting...everyone was waiting. Your server, you wait, water, wait, food, wait, check, WAIT.
13) IT WAS HOT! I was sweating, hello, we weren't even that close to the kitchen and I was SWEATING, I was practically pleading with my eyes to Kip to get me the hell outta there. So when the lady (server in training) asked us if we wanted dessert, I was about to laugh HELLO NO! No dessert, I want to leave! So can you hurry and go so we can wait for our check now?

So we could get into this, but we thought we'd give you a small overview of our experience. (haha, just teasing about the small part). This was an experience we thought we needed to share with the greater good, especially those of you living in Boise. We don't know if they just need to work out some kinks in their business or what, but we will not be returning anytime soon, and if we do, it will be under the great assumption that everything will blow!

Hope you're glad that we shared our night with you! Please let us know if you have a different opinion about Idaho Steakhouse, we would like to know if anyone has had a pleasant experience.
Thanks
Kip and Christie

Seriously?!?

I feel like kids at work are this manipulative sometimes!

Crybaby

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Hot Pocket

Whenever I tell Kip that my back hurts, he always asks me if I just had a hot pocket. Now you'll know why!

Jim Gaffigan - Hot Pockets

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Weekend

So I thought I'd give you a taste of our weekend. Kip and I didn't really do anything on Friday night, we were going to watch Spanglish, but then he fell asleep next to me and I just watched the History Channel (What he left on the TV). Then Saturday morning I went and got my hair done. We thought that we were going to go to Salt Lake to meet Kip's mom but we didn't end up doing that. So instead we went with my family to Opperation America Uprising. My aunt Cindy oversaw it, and it was basically an event to support our troops. It was great to see people out there, however I hope that next year there is a bigger turn out. My uncle Jay was telling us some of the things that my cousin Tyler sees and goes through over there. There is a point where I'm really interested in the story, and then all of the sudden I get scared for him. So as interesting as it is to hear what's going on over there, it's not very uplifting. The things that I hear make me respect and support our troops even more.
Then we went to Oceans 13. It was a great movie! Of course if if you liked the first two then you will like this one. After that we came home and hung out, watched TV and stayed up late. We went to sleep at 2am and slept in today. I woke up around 12 starving and feeling icky. So I ate and took some medicine and went back to bed. Kip worked on the laundry because he's the best husband ever! While he let me sleep in the bedroom. He's always so quiet and respectful when I am sleeping. I don't know if he realizes how much I appreciate it! So thanks baby! Then I showered Kip is watching Bourne something. One of them (he loves them). Then he's going to come to bed! We had a good weekend. I hope that all of you did as well! It was hot this weekend but we made it through. (Just in time to face another heat wave). So tomorrow it's back to work, and it's back to another week!
Big Brother was on Friday and Tonight and HOLY COW it's going to be a good season. It's off to a slow start. But there's only been two episodes. Alliances are starting to form, as are enemies! So if anyone else is into it, let me know!
Until Next Time

Oh, and Dallas/Kansas City S.W.A.T. as well!

Our "Fireworks"

This is what we did instead of fireworks for the 4th of July, and I just wanted to share a little bit of it with you guys. If you have not seen this movie, please just buy it because it's so good that you'll want to own it anyway! Don't waste any money renting it, BUY IT! Here's a piece of it!

My Happy 4th contribution

This is my contribution to Kip's "Happy 4th" posting. He commented that my dad was the reason he got to take today off, and I'm commenting that my mom is the reason I got to take today off. Yesterday when I was at work she came to our house and did all the dishes and washed the kitchen towels. It was so helpful and such a great relief when I got home and it was done. So thanks Mom! And Dad! You guys helped make our day relaxing and fun, instead of work filled.

Also I would like to say Happy 8 months of being married to my husband. He's so great and loving, we have thus far had a great marriage. I have learned a lot and learned to love deeper. It's so far the best experience I've ever had, and I know that it will continue to be. Today, like he said, was a great day just spending time together and taking it easy. We washed the dogs and they are B-E-autiful! So happy 4th and I hope you all get to spend it with someone you love!

~Christie

Happy 4th

I just wanted to wish you all a happy 4th of July. It was a great day for me, I was able to spend the day with Christie doing nothing. I know I probably should have done some laundry or something productive but that stuff is for the weekends, today was a great day to do nothing with the love of my life. Christie did give Mia and Mona a bath today, they are SOOOO much softer when they are clean. That is when it is the best time to cuddle with them and baby them (just don't tell anybody about that, it will be our little secret.)

I would also like to send a big thanks out to Larry (Christie's dad), he helped me fix our sprinklers last night. That saved me from having to do it today, and if not for him I would have made it much harder than it was. Who knew cleaning out filters would do so much. So thank you Larry, because of you I was able to do nothing today.

Wii

This is why we ALL need a Wii! It seriously makes adults laugh this hard too!

This is a great video! Soooo good!

Thank You (by Kip)

Well I am back from the sprawling metropolis that is Stanley, Idaho. I can't believe how much that place grows from year to year. Another 7 or 8 decades and it will begin to rival cities like Banks, Lowman or dare I say even Idaho City. But that is the way we like it, the less people the more fish for us to catch and release. Though I love my family and I have a great time while I am up there I am glad to be home and by Christie's side again. I missed her very much and I would like to extend a very heart felt thanks to all of you who helped her get by while I was gone. I had no doubt though, she is a very strong woman and I am greatful for that for those times when I am not. I have read all the extremely nice things she has written about me in our blog so far and please allow me to set the record straight once and for all. Take everything she has said about me and multiply it by 100 and that is a beginning of how wonderful a person she is. I would not be half the husband or man that I am today if not for Christie, she is the whole reason I strive to be such a nice and loving person. So please know that I am humbled by her comments but more importantly know that she is the true saint and rock of this relationship and I love her dearly for that.