Our Latest Addition to our family....

Rob's work is doing away with the swing shift, so he had to either go to days or graveyard shift. He really didn't want to go to days so he picked graveyard, well that leaves me home alone 5 nights a week....UH not my favorite thing in the world, I was a little freaked out, so Rob agreed to let me adopt Shellie, a Golden Retriever. For those who really know Rob, this is a HUGE deal as I've been BEGGING for a big dog for 4 years.....While she's not a Great Dane....Shellie is an AMAZING Dog! I already feel safer. I know I have my 'cats' and 'chihuahuas' but what really are they going to do? 2 of my cats would run and hide, DeeJay would show them to the fridge, and Mini Dee would beg for loves and attention. The chihuahuas Sebastian would make a loud fuss but he's all bark and no bite, Zoey might bite their big toe, but that's not really what we need, one kick and they'd both be dead.

Meet Shellie (named after Shellie Elkins---> Golden Retriever who was missing for 4 years then reunited with her family due to being microchipped---my Shellie has the same expressive face).....she is our newest family member. She has something called Osteochondritis Dissecans and will need surgery on her shoulders (once confirmed with better xrays on tuesday). She is 7 months old, and is one of the BEST dogs I have met, so far she knows sit, lay down, heel (needs work), roll over, off, and only chews on doggie or kitty things....no shoes or furniture. She is very mellow especially compared to several 'adolescent' Goldens we have that have been coming for daycare 11 months old, both are boys and are HYPER! (Maybe it's a boy thing). Shellie is such a sweetie. She loves attention and will 'sit' on your feet, she likes to be right where you are, she loves to play with squeaky toys, play tug of war (even if you don't want to, she brings the toy and plops it on my laptop) Here are some pictures of my beautiful girl:
Here she is on her way home for the first time, she's sleeping in my back seat on her bed that the owners sent with her. Then just her happy face, look at how expressive her eyes are

Notice the food on the left, she is trained to sit and wait for food & water until you give the okay, she is up to 5 minutes, you can't leave the room yet but she is getting there.

Just another happy girl shot!

You can see more pictures of Shellie and read more about her on our 'zoo' blog
http://thethompsonzoo.blogspot.com

Frugal Tip of the Week....

I found a link to make your own Laundry Soap off of my friends page on Facebook:
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
Or a Video made by someone else: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/821928/make_your_own_laundry_soap/
The ingredients are:
1 Bar of Ivory Soap unless you can find the Fels Naptha Laundry Soap then 1/3 bar
1/2 cup of Borax
& 1/2 cup of Super Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
& Water
***We doubled the Borax and Soda for added cleansing power.

It made 2 gallons and we figured out it cost us $1.12 to make 2 gallons which is 64 loads using 1/2 cup which equates to $.02 per LOAD of laundry. Lately I've been using Gain Expressions for $4.75 for a 24 load bottle which is 20 cents per load. I use one of these per 3 weeks. Its gonna save us so much money, and was super easy to do. I estimate that the 2 gallons is going to last us at least 3-4 months.

And if you are wondering if it actually works, I am on my 3rd load with it, my whites came out so much brighter and cleaner, hubbys handkerchiefs are brighter and cleaner! I'm very impressed. They are less stained as well.

Rob & I's Courtship

I thought it would be cool to post some more information about Rob & I's courtship. He first emailed me from LDS Singles on December 18th, 2004 (also my mom's b-day). At first I wasn't going to respond as he didn't have a picture, and call me vain or whatever...but I liked to see their pictures. Then something just nagged at me and I responded to his email. He seemed like a nice guy, and we started chatting on AIM almost immediately.

Here are our profiles:
Mine: I am an RM, Active Church Member, Current Temple Recommend Holder, Honest, Up Front, Cute, Sweet & Fun to be with. Looking for the above + a man who honors his priesthood and respects me.

I'm just your average independant girl, looking for "Mr Right" my man tha tI can depend on , and one whom I can spend time & all eternity with. I love animals Dogs, Cats, Horses and they are a big part of my life, I have plans to become a Veterinarian, so I need someone who's not ot be intimated by a girl who will help bring home the bacon so to speak! I love to watch movies, go shopping but not in a crowd, read books, surf the web. I love the outdoors, hiking, camping...I'm game to try just about anything. I have a good sense of humor and love to smile! I've been told I have an hourglass shape, though it may not be perfect...but I'm working on it! I'm a brunette, with blue/hazel eyes which darken/lighten occasionally.

Rob's Profile:
What I want: I want to find someone to cuddle with while watching a movie. I would like to find someone to laugh with, life is too short to not throw your head back and laugh. It would be nice to find someone to share life's experiences with, it's up's and down's. To have someone help you when you stumble, and to be there for when they stumble.
I want to find somone to be friends with, and hopefully for it to one day move into more. I want to find someone that doesn't have a problem with me cooking for them. Someone that will let me pamper them on occassion, rub their feet, back etc. Someone that enjoys public signs of affection. Somone that can give and accept the little kindnesses in life. Someone that can enjoy the simple pleassures life has to offer:.
About Me:
I am a kind, caring, open, easy going individual with simple tastes. No caviar for me, sorry I (salty fish eggs, YUCK!) but I will try almost anything once, sometimes even twice. I enjoy learning about anything and everything, reading, music, bowling, watching movies, camping or basically anything in the mountains, picnics, BBQ's, and in the winter, I like to curl up with a good book. I love to cook (I'm actually quite good at it) and to do anything with my hands, from woodworking to arts and crafts to home repair (not every weekend though, ok?).
I enjoy a good conversation, if you don't communicate with people you will always go through life misunderstanding them.
I'm just as happy going to a museum or to a symphony as I am going to McDonald's or bowling. I am serious when life requires it, but I also know how to kick back and have fun and laugh, did I mention you have to laugh at life, did I mention that you have to laugh at life? I think I did, yup I said it right up there ^ :-)
My friends and family describe me as "Honest", "Fun", "Smart", "A Smart Alleck", "Kind", "Big Hearted", and "Learns Quickly" (from my own mistakes and other peoples.)
So send me an e-mail and say "Hi", you won't regret it. LOL I hope not anyway
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So can you see what grabbed my attention? The perfect man :)

We chatted for 7-8 hours a night on AIM, we were having so much fun getting to 'truly' know each other. I would go into work so twitterpated and happy I thought my face would for permanent smiles. I started falling for him when he sent me the song "Restless" by Alison Kraus, he just thought it was a cool tune :) He never realized how really neat the words are:

Honey, I know you've been alone some, Why don't you 'phone some, 'cause I love you. An' honey, I know I've been away some, I've had to pay some and you have too. But the one thing I know: that when I, I turn out the light, Visions of you, dear, dance in the night. I've been put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown. An' I can't help it if I'm out of sight, 'Cause I'm restless tonight. I just can't stand bein' alone. Gonna have to change that some day. There's a restless feelin' in my bones an' I know, That at times, it just won't go away. So if it's all the same, honey, I can't take the blame, baby, I can't play your game, honey, what's true is true. And if, in the end, the temptation wears you thin, honey, I'll, I'll just pretend that I'll leave it up to you. But the one thing I know: that when I, I turn out the light, Visions of you, dear, dance in the night. I've been put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown. Can't help it if I'm full of fire. But the one thing I know: that when I, I turn out the light, Visions of you, dear, dance in the night. I've been put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown. An' I can't help it if I'm out of sight, 'Cause I'm restless tonight.

He didn't start falling for me until he got really really sick around New Year's Eve, he was chatting with several other girls online at the same time but I was the only one he missed chatting with for those few days. He lived in Kearns at the time and thought that Sunset was in southern utah, so after he got sick, he looked it up to discover it was only 50 Miles away. He decided to ask me out. I'll post more in another entry...this one is getting lengthy.....

Happy Anniversary to us!

It's our anniversary today! 4 Glorious years. It's my normal day off and Rob was lucky enough to get the day off so we could spend it together. We spent the day snuggled on the couch watching TV, and we had homemade pizza for lunch, are having Steaks w/baked potatoes, salad for dinner. We are going out to eat at Outback Steakhouse on Monday (Thanks Jen--she gave me a gift certificate for making Bandanas for her, and thanks Lara as she gave me some $$ for printing her up some stuff.). We may try to see a movie as well. I have attached some of my favorite pictures from our wedding....not all of my favorites though :)

Another Update on Rob

just got back from the Internal Medicine/Sleep Dr. Rob's sleep study wasn't so good, he only got about 3 hours of sleep (out of 8+ hours) and didn't ever go into REM sleep. He had 'apnea' disturbances 113.5 times (normal is 5) anything over 30 is SEVERE Obstructive Sleep Apnea, so what does he have? Extreme Severe? SCARY! His oxygen fluctuated from 60%-90% depending on the moment, but it went up and down A LOT! They said that everytime his oxygen would dip his brain would wake up telling him he needed oxygen, hence the lack of sleep.

So the game plan is he is getting a CPAP Machine with an Auto adjust mask on it to adjust the pressure to keep his airway open. In about a month he will go in for another Sleep Study, this time using the CPAP Machine (if they can get him into a deep sleep). I hope this helps him, he's been exhausted lately and wakes up tired, he hasn't been sleeping very well. We are hoping to get the CPAP this week.

I must say I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO grateful for my new Doctor (seriously my prayers have been answered), who is on top of things and immediately sent Rob to specialists. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't....I don't even want to think about it. Next week Cardiologist to find out results of Echocardiogram, then 2 weeks the Pulmonologist to hopefully get his Asthma better under control, he is on steroid, and using Nebulizer everyday

He is being a good sport about all the appointments, he's had a lot. Hopefully by the first part of May we will be done with appointments.

Why I love my husband.....

I love my husband....he's such the practical joker. He keeps things 'interesting' to say, the least. We have discovered how to make a 'really' easy pizza using Pita breads as the crust, I'm on my protein day so am avoiding carbs, so I just ate the toppings. Anyways the pizza on the right is the one he made for me....it's on a ritz cracker :) He pulled this trick a while back with "Sprite" Floats...see here: http://robnheather.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-husband-and-i-are-equals-in-every.html

He definitely keeps things interesting, funny and happy! His coworkers all think I'm a saint for putting up with him :P