The Unadventures of Tracie

I've been posting a lot of "serious stuff" lately so thought I'd post some lighter stuff before I delve back into deeper matters. First of all, Austin and I bought new couches! I got a bonus from work and we decided to use the money to get new furniture. So hello new couch and loveseat. Love, love, love them. I'd post pics but unfortunately my camera is broken. Does anyone know where I can get a Canon camera fixed? I haven't been able to take any pictures since Morgan's birthday, which means I'm missing many potential photo opportunities. See here and here for online stock pictures of the couches. They look better in person. Anyway, the couches are awesome. We looked all over the place, sitting in just about every couch in Utah County. Finally we found a sofa set (sofa + loveseat) at a place called I.M. Home in Provo. The couches are chocolate brown (so dark they're almost black but not) and I think faux leather but parts of them feel real. T...

Remember how Austin posted on his blog about us buying a condo? Well, it's almost here. We close next week (if we get our Aflac money on time, if not we'll have to delay closing a few days). So we will be moving to our new place very, very soon. I can't believe we are doing this. I'm freaking out a little bit. Buying a house is such a huge step. I really hope we're not going to be in over our heads. It was just such a good time to buy right now so we had to act while opportunity was knocking. Anyway, it's late and I'm tired so I'll write more later about our place. For now, here are some pics: Main Bath Bedroom (There are 2 bedrooms besides the Master Bedroom. They both look about the same.) Tub & Shower in Master Bath Master Bath Master Bedroom Kitchen Dining Area in Kitchen Deck (wish this was always going to be our view but they're building a town home right there) Living Room Laundry Room (sans washer and dryer)

Thanksgiving has come and gone once again. Though I took my camera to every event, I did not take any pictures. So you'll have to settle for words only. Austin and I had a great Thanksgiving. He wrote all about it for the most part, so I'll just sum up from my point of view. The night before Thanksgiving Austin and I went over to my parent's as Troy, Jen, and family were there. They had decided to surprise us all. It was a wonderful surprise. That night was spent making pies (mostly by Mom) and singing karaoke. Next day was all about food, food, and more food. We made my oh-so-famous cranberry sauce and pumpkin cheesecake and headed over to my parents. Mom's homemade rolls were excellent as always. The turkey was good as were the mashed potatoes. The gravy was absolutely superb, as was my cranberry sauce that I didn't personally eat. Everyone was there except for the Powells (who a lot of us had visited last Thanksgiving). Grandma and Grandpa McNeil also joined...

So, before I bought my car I noticed the a/c go out during a test drive. We told the people that we wouldn’t buy it until they fixed it. Next time we came, it was “fixed,” and we bought my car. A month later the a/c started going out. Slowly the speeds and the fan died. It wasn’t too bad in the summer since I didn’t drive that much and I could get some cool air when on the freeway. Flash forward to the winter AKA the Cold Death of Coldness. So, I drove to Salt Lake and back every day. I have had almost no heat (except when cruising at higher speeds and when I had the defroster on from some reason). So last week the defroster stopped working and I was getting almost no heat. I couldn’t take it anymore so I finally took my car to the shop to get fixed. I found out that I needed a new blower motor and a new blower resistor (the thing that makes the air go different speeds). Sigh…. So $478 dollars later, my heater works again! I no longer freeze on my way to work, tap my leg to keep warm, ...

Soft and squishy Like Sleeping on a cloud How I love my mattress pad! So, yes, Austin and I got a new mattress topper. It finally finished decompressing and we put it on our bed last night. (The edges didn’t finish all the way but it had been 2 ½ days and I didn’t want to wait anymore, besides we don’t sleep on the edges anyway and the edges aren’t even on our bed really.) It was heavenly… It was like sleeping on cloud or resting on a marshmallow. All joint pain and tension immediately ceased. Austin and I have been talking about it all day today. We can’t wait to go to bed just so we can lie on it. The mattress topper consists of 2 inches of memory foam that is zipped into 2 inches of a microfiber quilted top. The whole thing has a connector piece that tucks into the mattress. It’s absolutely wonderful! It was worth all the money! I hope to be having much sweeter dreams from now on.

I just wanted to update briefly and say that I am the proud owner of my first pair of boots! They aren't the uncomfortable, flashy, modern-looking ones. But they are SO comfortable! It's like walking on feathers! I love my new boots! They also have insulation in them to keep my footsies toasty. Heads up! Major blog entry on Austin and me's story coming soon! Watch for it!

So, I FINALLY have my car. Sheesh. What a process. I'm really excited to once again be the owner of a car. No more being carted around! No more begging for rides! FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOM! (said in William Wallace voice) I haven't driven that much yet. But I love driving it. It is so choice. (Ten bucks if anybody besides Heidi or Austin knows that quote.) So, I was thinking I should start writing again. I mean, I used to write in my lj (livejournal) all the time before dating Austin. Now I never write. And it's not like I really don't have the time. I really do. And let's face it. I can type amazingly fast. Like a tiger. So back to the car. I bought a 2002 Mitshibushi Lancer. It's shiny and blue and doesn't rain on the inside. I have yet to name it. Those who want to name it, feel free to give suggestions. I will shoot them all down. (Because my ideas will always be better.) Last Friday was my last day at BYU Broadcasting. I am sad in...