Song suggestions please...

So I go through stages where I get really addicted to songs. Songs, not bands. Well lately I have been addicted to three songs by the Spill Canvas:

• All Hail the Heartbreaker

• Sunsets and Car Crashes

• This is for Keeps

I've been craving more of their songs but I hate getting into songs by a band and then finding out the rest of their material sucks! So if anyone listens to them and can recommend a good song, please do!

Also, for the record... I do LOVE A Fine Frenzy's most recent album. She is one of the few exceptions to my band rule. I don't know if she will ever top "Almost Lover" ... "Near to You" ...or... "Ashes and Wine" but I am super excited to know she is in the studio with Butch Walker! Whatever those two cook up will most likely be perfection!

Here's the video for Almost Lover:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_S_TbD1XFM

I'm in the market for new music so anyone with any good songs, send them my way please!

On a more interesting note, tonight is Joel's Bday Celebration! He turns 30 tomorrow so tonight Broke City is playing a show at A Bar Named Sue! Super excited for all the bday festivities!

AND... we gave Cleo her fist bath :)

Cleo

So if you know me, you know that I have wanted a dog for 13 years.... and I finally got her! Here's how...

I've been looking for a Maltese/Shih Tzu (Malshi) or a Shih tzu/Poodle (Shih-poo) for quite a while. Both are hypoallergenic and I'm allergic to dogs so it was a pretty narrow selection of breeds.

I had a pretty crappy couple of days while traveling for work. I go to two small towns once a month for site visits. The drive to the first town is a little over three hours through a couple different canyons. I get there, work all day and then drive another two hours through a canyon to the second town. Driving through Canyons in Utah during the winter months sucks pretty bad. Usually you are required to have snow tires because the snow is so bad but it hadn't snowed much so I figured I would make it through them just fine.

One word... FOG. I didn't expect it to be so dang foggy. On my way to the first town, visibility was only about two car lengths... ON EVERY SIDE.



Now normally this would have been okay, but factor in a winding canyon with an open range and it was scary! It's not uncommon for cows and deer to be hanging out in the middle of the two-lane road. Luckily I only saw two deer and I was driving slow enough that I didn't hit them.


Well, long story short (sort of) on the way to the second town the sun set and it got dark. The fog continued to increase and by this time I could barely even see the end of my car. The only other vehicles on the road were semi trucks that were pulled over on the edge of the canyon so I couldn't tail another vehicle. Nor did I feel comfortable spending the night in my car with no blankets and half a bottle of water. (Normally I would have considered it, but not knowing where in the canyon I was and having crappy cell service, I decided it was a bad idea.) So after lots of tears and prayers and lengthy spotty phone calls to Joel, I finally made it to the other town.

When I got back home the next day, I was SO happy and relieved... as was Joel. We had seen an ad on KSL for a Malshi female puppy that a local vet was keeping. So out of pure curiosity, we went to see if they were still open. They were and the three female puppies were just adorable. We picked out little Cleo and they got her all bathed for us. We were excited because the vet will continue to see Cleo her whole life and will spay her for free. She gave us a little puppy package with toys, food and heartworm medicine.



Cleo has been an absolute joy! We are slowly training her on pee-pads and she seems to be a smart little puppy. She has a current biting/chewing problem, but we're working on that too :)



I'm sure I will blog about her a lot as she grows and learns! We are enthralled by her and probably spoil her a little too much! Joel jokes that he thinks we'll be paranoid parents since we are constantly researching everything puppy oriented. Haha!
Luckily, we won't find out for a couple years :)

Sunday Bum-day

Well, today has been another lazy Sunday. I have been writing continuously since my last post but kind of fell off on actually posting them to my blog. I know, I know ... a full year of NOTHING getting posted. I am going to work really hard to blog on a regular basis from now on.

As a little update from the Econo-me post, I lost my job only a couple weeks after I posted it. The company I worked for was having a very profitable year but the owner made some bad investments in the process. So, the creditors came after our company for all the debt the owner had acquired.... which meant, I stopped getting paid by the end of January.

We had been in Vegas for less than a year, and already my company was filing bankruptcy. Joel and I weighed our options and decided that Vegas was not the best place to try to find a new job. We had two options on the table.

Option 1: Austin TX
-a sales rep job already offered to me
-Joel would have to quit the band and start over with building base clients for a recording studio
-We would have to find a place to live.

Option 2: Salt Lake City UT
-no job prospects for me
-cheap or free living with friends or family
-Joel continues working in the band and with the recording studio.

So, we decided option two was a much better option. We moved back to Utah in June of 09 and LUCKILY I was offered a job as a field rep after being back only a week! We had some WONDERFUL friends who let us stay in their basement apartment for free while we got on our feet. They were the biggest blessings in our life for letting us share their beautiful home.





We bought a house in July and now live close to downtown Salt Lake City. Our little brick bungalow was built in 1923 so it has all sorts of neat little details and lots of character. I'm hoping to have a cute little swing on the front porch this summer.


We're in the process of turning the basement into a recording studio but it is a slow process. Renovations take FOREVER, so I'm sure I will blog about them a lot. Joel replaced the hardwood in half our house as a surprise while I was on a business trip. And it looks amazing! Other than the floors, we have only completed my office and the dining room. They still need decorating but at least the painting is done.

Our dining room is a dark red with a black glaze. I love how the white woodwork accents the room :) I'm a nerd, but we just adore the paint in this room!


My office is my "Girly Room" and I love it! Basically, everything we own that is too girly for the main house or is to frilly or whatever, goes in my office. I love that Joel and I chose to have two rooms that were our own. He has his studio/man cave and I have my girly office :) I painted my office a dark grey but kept all the white trim. I've wanted a harlequin wall for a long time so we painted the little inlet harlequin. The only photo I have of it, was a "during" photo instead of an "after" but you can get the idea.



Well, that is pretty much all of the updating I have for the past year. I went to a knitting group with some girlfriends today which was pretty fun. I'm learning to make a scarf since it's the easiest project. If i actually make it through the entire scarf, I will probably blog about it :)

I'll leave you with two motivational posters that I just can't get enough of! They were both featured on thechive.com. And they are hilarious! If you get a chance, you should check out their website! It is GREAT for a little laugh during a break at the office!