Sunday, November 25
Slacker!!! AGAIN!
As my friend Shelly has said, hopefully there are people who haven't given up on me for not having posted in forever and a freakin day!
SO much has happened in the last month or so since some of you faithful viewers of DopfDetails last tuned in!!
Let's see... where to start?? Well, it turns out that we did end up getting that call from my parents that they got a job offer from a small privately owned oil company in Denver. After some discussion with Brandon, we went ahead and purchased tickets to Houston to celebrate one last holiday in the house I will forever consider home! It was agreed that while we were there to visit and have some R&R, we were totally willing to help out with helping prepare the old house for sale on the market really soon.
I flew out a week before Thanksgiving, and Brandon flew in the Sunday following. The area where I grew up used to be considered the boonies, but now it is quite the opposite, hustling and bustling shopping centers and businesses are now sprawling where huge beautiful trees and forests, and farms once stood. There is now a major tollway close to my house where I grew up, and some seriously huge master planned communities with gargantuan homes springing up everywhere. It has changed so much, I couldn't recognize much of the landscape as I once knew it. It was exciting yet a little saddening at the same time. It wasn't the home that I remembered and was blindly expecting to stay the same forever.
While there we certainly enjoyed rolling up the sleeves and diving in to help around the house. I went through my old bedroom and desk, flooded with memories that I have not thought about for years it seems. Went for a drive to good old Galveston Island (for those of you poor souls who have no idea where that is, get out a map if you have to) and then out to Brazos Bend State Park. You may need to sit down and brace yourself for what my twisted mind considers fun.... but this state park is filled with nothing but swamp, trees, snakes, alligators, and turtles. Basically this park is full of man-made trails that go through the swamps and forest around this area of southern Texas! Brandon and I walked around and altogether we saw 41 alligators, 2 turtles, and no snakes (I was okay with that last one!) 41 alligators doesn't hold a candle to the record of 111 allies I saw with my dad 1 1/2 years ago! The coolest part about this that I had never seen was a mama alligator with her little brood of about 16 babies! It was freakin awesome! (Will post pics of all this!)
Another thing that was awesome was the opportunity to go home to where everything is green and beautiful all year around! Oh and it was in the 70's and 80's while we were there except for the last two days. One thing that I must say is that I prefer the flat lands of Texas to the brown, dead looking mountains of Utah in the winter when there is absolutely no snow anywhere! I also made sure that while I was in Texas, I indulged myself with the best food that the world has to offer, meaning Ozarka Spring water (an absolute must when one feels a sense of thirst coming on), Southern cooking at the good old Black Eyed Pea, ham and cheese and sausage and cheese kolaches at Southern Maid, as well as donuts from Shipley's Donuts, Schepps chocolate milk, Texas BBQ from Goode Company, but one thing that I will regret was no Bluebell Ice Cream! Dangit! And of course eating at Escalantes with my best friend! Oh and getting to enjoy the humidity that does wonders for dry skin here in Utah, and going from dry limp hair in Utah, to volume in an instant of stepping off the plane!
I could go on and on about all this, but the biggest thing that was difficult was saying goodbye to the house that I grew up in! Cheesy as it sounds, I went around the house taking pictures! I just didn't want to forget the rooms and memories!
We came home late Friday night, and then all day Saturday, went and ran errands with Brandon! Saturday night we came home and had to go through all our crap in the storage underneath the stairs in order to dig out our Christmas decorations and decorated the house! It was a lot of fun to try and figure out where we wanted to put everything!
And another side note, Lexi was anxious to come home from her week long doggie day care!
Well, that's it for another lengthy and in way too much detail episode of DopfDetails, but tune in for hopefully a sooner next time!
Love you all!
Lisa
P.S. Are you happy Lo? Thanks for your message! You'll have to get in touch with me soon!
SO much has happened in the last month or so since some of you faithful viewers of DopfDetails last tuned in!!
Let's see... where to start?? Well, it turns out that we did end up getting that call from my parents that they got a job offer from a small privately owned oil company in Denver. After some discussion with Brandon, we went ahead and purchased tickets to Houston to celebrate one last holiday in the house I will forever consider home! It was agreed that while we were there to visit and have some R&R, we were totally willing to help out with helping prepare the old house for sale on the market really soon.
I flew out a week before Thanksgiving, and Brandon flew in the Sunday following. The area where I grew up used to be considered the boonies, but now it is quite the opposite, hustling and bustling shopping centers and businesses are now sprawling where huge beautiful trees and forests, and farms once stood. There is now a major tollway close to my house where I grew up, and some seriously huge master planned communities with gargantuan homes springing up everywhere. It has changed so much, I couldn't recognize much of the landscape as I once knew it. It was exciting yet a little saddening at the same time. It wasn't the home that I remembered and was blindly expecting to stay the same forever.
While there we certainly enjoyed rolling up the sleeves and diving in to help around the house. I went through my old bedroom and desk, flooded with memories that I have not thought about for years it seems. Went for a drive to good old Galveston Island (for those of you poor souls who have no idea where that is, get out a map if you have to) and then out to Brazos Bend State Park. You may need to sit down and brace yourself for what my twisted mind considers fun.... but this state park is filled with nothing but swamp, trees, snakes, alligators, and turtles. Basically this park is full of man-made trails that go through the swamps and forest around this area of southern Texas! Brandon and I walked around and altogether we saw 41 alligators, 2 turtles, and no snakes (I was okay with that last one!) 41 alligators doesn't hold a candle to the record of 111 allies I saw with my dad 1 1/2 years ago! The coolest part about this that I had never seen was a mama alligator with her little brood of about 16 babies! It was freakin awesome! (Will post pics of all this!)
Another thing that was awesome was the opportunity to go home to where everything is green and beautiful all year around! Oh and it was in the 70's and 80's while we were there except for the last two days. One thing that I must say is that I prefer the flat lands of Texas to the brown, dead looking mountains of Utah in the winter when there is absolutely no snow anywhere! I also made sure that while I was in Texas, I indulged myself with the best food that the world has to offer, meaning Ozarka Spring water (an absolute must when one feels a sense of thirst coming on), Southern cooking at the good old Black Eyed Pea, ham and cheese and sausage and cheese kolaches at Southern Maid, as well as donuts from Shipley's Donuts, Schepps chocolate milk, Texas BBQ from Goode Company, but one thing that I will regret was no Bluebell Ice Cream! Dangit! And of course eating at Escalantes with my best friend! Oh and getting to enjoy the humidity that does wonders for dry skin here in Utah, and going from dry limp hair in Utah, to volume in an instant of stepping off the plane!
I could go on and on about all this, but the biggest thing that was difficult was saying goodbye to the house that I grew up in! Cheesy as it sounds, I went around the house taking pictures! I just didn't want to forget the rooms and memories!
We came home late Friday night, and then all day Saturday, went and ran errands with Brandon! Saturday night we came home and had to go through all our crap in the storage underneath the stairs in order to dig out our Christmas decorations and decorated the house! It was a lot of fun to try and figure out where we wanted to put everything!
And another side note, Lexi was anxious to come home from her week long doggie day care!
Well, that's it for another lengthy and in way too much detail episode of DopfDetails, but tune in for hopefully a sooner next time!
Love you all!
Lisa
P.S. Are you happy Lo? Thanks for your message! You'll have to get in touch with me soon!
Monday, October 29
It's been just over 2 weeks since I last posted anything about my life. Several things have happened, but I won't bore y'all with all the details....
Let's just say that another cool moment I have experienced with my job was meeting and interpreting for some political figures. I was able to interpret for Utah's Senator, Mr. Orrin Hatch, and also meet Karen Hughes. I showed up for that appointment completely and blissfully unaware of exactly who and for what I was going to be interpreting. So it was a totally awesome experience.
My continued love affair with the Harry Potter books has come to a screeching and anxious halt. I have read the entire series over the last month, except for the 7th and final book, due to the fact that it is still in hard cover only, and you have to pay an arm and a leg if you want to read it and own it at the same time. I bought the first 6 books from Walmart, making it no big deal to purchase them. Given the fact that I purchased the first 5 for the same price as the hardcover 7th book, this is the obvious reason why I am anxiously awaiting for the last one to come out in paper back. (We'll see how long this lasts, given that I am not the most patient person)
For the last several weeks, my husband and I haven't seen a lot of one another due to work and crazy busy schedules. So this last weekend was totally ours for the enjoying. We just spent the entire weekend together, had fun, and relaxed. On Saturday we went down to the Salt Lake City Hogle Zoo, because we wanted to see the "Ghost of the Bayou" exhibit. It is a rare white alligator that seems to be a "traveling" exhibit, and was here most of the summer, and will be leaving in the coming weeks. It was pretty cool to see it. We took some pics, which I will either post on my facebook page or here, I am just not sure yet! The inside of the exhibit was really humid (reminded me of my beloved Texas) and it had a lot of plants that you see when you visit a place like Brazos Bend State Park in Houston, and it made me seriously homesick.
Speaking of homesick, it has yet again been another long time since I have been back, and after I explain a new development, those visits will probably become few and far between!
A few weeks ago, I got a call from my parents saying that they were looking for a job in Denver, Colorado. My dad has been with a certain company for a while now, but feels it is time he and my mom return back to their beloved state of Colorado, (or somewhere closer to the mountains and their kids) and so my dad sent out his resume, and landed an interview with a company in Denver. They haven't given real go ahead with everything, but it looks like the chances are pretty good they will be moving soon in the next 3 to 4 months, possibly even sooner if need be. This comes with both excitement at having them closer but also at a loss for words when it comes to facing the reality that they won't live in the house that I grew up in anymore. I mean nothing is set in stone just yet, but my heart breaks a little just thinking about it. But in the end it would be so much better to have them closer in order to see them more than once a year. They would just be a few more hours away than we are from Brandon's parents in Idaho. So we will see, and I will keep y'all posted (for those of you who really care that is) and we will see that pans out from all this.
Other than that, nothing is really new with us. We are having Brandon's parents come visit for a week or so, staying up in Eden, UT, which is gorgeous by the way, but it will be good to see them!
Love to you all!
Lisa
Let's just say that another cool moment I have experienced with my job was meeting and interpreting for some political figures. I was able to interpret for Utah's Senator, Mr. Orrin Hatch, and also meet Karen Hughes. I showed up for that appointment completely and blissfully unaware of exactly who and for what I was going to be interpreting. So it was a totally awesome experience.
My continued love affair with the Harry Potter books has come to a screeching and anxious halt. I have read the entire series over the last month, except for the 7th and final book, due to the fact that it is still in hard cover only, and you have to pay an arm and a leg if you want to read it and own it at the same time. I bought the first 6 books from Walmart, making it no big deal to purchase them. Given the fact that I purchased the first 5 for the same price as the hardcover 7th book, this is the obvious reason why I am anxiously awaiting for the last one to come out in paper back. (We'll see how long this lasts, given that I am not the most patient person)
For the last several weeks, my husband and I haven't seen a lot of one another due to work and crazy busy schedules. So this last weekend was totally ours for the enjoying. We just spent the entire weekend together, had fun, and relaxed. On Saturday we went down to the Salt Lake City Hogle Zoo, because we wanted to see the "Ghost of the Bayou" exhibit. It is a rare white alligator that seems to be a "traveling" exhibit, and was here most of the summer, and will be leaving in the coming weeks. It was pretty cool to see it. We took some pics, which I will either post on my facebook page or here, I am just not sure yet! The inside of the exhibit was really humid (reminded me of my beloved Texas) and it had a lot of plants that you see when you visit a place like Brazos Bend State Park in Houston, and it made me seriously homesick.
Speaking of homesick, it has yet again been another long time since I have been back, and after I explain a new development, those visits will probably become few and far between!
A few weeks ago, I got a call from my parents saying that they were looking for a job in Denver, Colorado. My dad has been with a certain company for a while now, but feels it is time he and my mom return back to their beloved state of Colorado, (or somewhere closer to the mountains and their kids) and so my dad sent out his resume, and landed an interview with a company in Denver. They haven't given real go ahead with everything, but it looks like the chances are pretty good they will be moving soon in the next 3 to 4 months, possibly even sooner if need be. This comes with both excitement at having them closer but also at a loss for words when it comes to facing the reality that they won't live in the house that I grew up in anymore. I mean nothing is set in stone just yet, but my heart breaks a little just thinking about it. But in the end it would be so much better to have them closer in order to see them more than once a year. They would just be a few more hours away than we are from Brandon's parents in Idaho. So we will see, and I will keep y'all posted (for those of you who really care that is) and we will see that pans out from all this.
Other than that, nothing is really new with us. We are having Brandon's parents come visit for a week or so, staying up in Eden, UT, which is gorgeous by the way, but it will be good to see them!
Love to you all!
Lisa
Saturday, October 13
Monday, October 8
Harry Potter Procrastinator!
The last 2 weeks have been the beginning of my love affair with the Harry Potter books. I am way too many years behind in this international phenomena, but hey better late than never! I just thought that I would pick up the 1st book while walking through Wal-mart one day, and decided to read it. I fell in love! I am now in the middle of the 4th book, and loving every minute! It's not a book easily put down.
Hmm.... let's see. A week and a half ago, my friend Angie and I met in downtown SLC in order to participate in the "Step Out for Diabetes" walk. It was something I had been looking forward to, and haha, of course the morning of, it was rainy and FREEZING! We got to the "this is the place heritage park" and immediately after we got out of Angie's car, the wind picked up and it started sprinkling! The first thought in my head was, "I am paying $15 for this??"
We went ahead and registered, got the free t-shirt, and got breakfast which was a cold white bread bagel with cream cheese on it. I couldn't help but think of all the carbs they were giving out at a Diabetes walk! You would think that the organizers for a diabetes event would have been a little smarter not to only have pure sugar drinks and white bread for breakfast! I just grabbed my usual bottled water!
The rain steadily got worse, as did the wind and I thought I would freeze clear to the bone! We ran and got in Angie's car to thaw out as much as possible before the actual walk began, and it felt wonderful! We joked that if we didn't participate in the walk, then that would have been a $15 dollar bagel, so we decided to tough it out. When all was said and done, it was a cool experience! I really enjoyed it because we were able to get free stuff at the end of the walk, as well as a free admission to the Hogle Zoo!
Lately it has come of interest to Brandon and I to start looking at homes in the Ogden area. We have had to be careful about some of the addresses we look at, because we wouldn't want to buy a home in areas of Ogden that help give it the nickname as the "ARMPIT" of Utah. We just want to get a feel for the pricing of the homes in our area, which happens to be a much nicer part of the Ogden area. (The entire city is not a dump, as many in the Utah population seem to think) We have been renting for just over 3 years now, and we are just sick of having our hard earned money being used to fatten someone else's wallet. So if we find our dream for a starter house, we will keep you all posted. But like I said, when it comes right down to it, we haven't made the etched in stone decision.
Well this was definitely one of those longer episodes of dopfdetails, but hey these posts open the window of our lives so you all can be somewhat involved!
Love to all y'all!
Lisa
Hmm.... let's see. A week and a half ago, my friend Angie and I met in downtown SLC in order to participate in the "Step Out for Diabetes" walk. It was something I had been looking forward to, and haha, of course the morning of, it was rainy and FREEZING! We got to the "this is the place heritage park" and immediately after we got out of Angie's car, the wind picked up and it started sprinkling! The first thought in my head was, "I am paying $15 for this??"
We went ahead and registered, got the free t-shirt, and got breakfast which was a cold white bread bagel with cream cheese on it. I couldn't help but think of all the carbs they were giving out at a Diabetes walk! You would think that the organizers for a diabetes event would have been a little smarter not to only have pure sugar drinks and white bread for breakfast! I just grabbed my usual bottled water!
The rain steadily got worse, as did the wind and I thought I would freeze clear to the bone! We ran and got in Angie's car to thaw out as much as possible before the actual walk began, and it felt wonderful! We joked that if we didn't participate in the walk, then that would have been a $15 dollar bagel, so we decided to tough it out. When all was said and done, it was a cool experience! I really enjoyed it because we were able to get free stuff at the end of the walk, as well as a free admission to the Hogle Zoo!
Lately it has come of interest to Brandon and I to start looking at homes in the Ogden area. We have had to be careful about some of the addresses we look at, because we wouldn't want to buy a home in areas of Ogden that help give it the nickname as the "ARMPIT" of Utah. We just want to get a feel for the pricing of the homes in our area, which happens to be a much nicer part of the Ogden area. (The entire city is not a dump, as many in the Utah population seem to think) We have been renting for just over 3 years now, and we are just sick of having our hard earned money being used to fatten someone else's wallet. So if we find our dream for a starter house, we will keep you all posted. But like I said, when it comes right down to it, we haven't made the etched in stone decision.
Well this was definitely one of those longer episodes of dopfdetails, but hey these posts open the window of our lives so you all can be somewhat involved!
Love to all y'all!
Lisa
Saturday, September 22
Thankful....
Once again, it is a Saturday night, and I am home alone watching "Flip that House", while Brandon is out on another man date with his good friend Craig. They went to the Utah State football game tonight, so I hope the game is going well and was well worth the drive! (ahem, this is USU I'm talking about) ;)
Today I spent most of the day with the sisters that are in the Relief Society, where we signed up to bring food and signed up to make some fun crafts. The food was great, and the crafts were fun too. I am always looking for opportunities to decorate my house with cool things that also happen to be affordable. It's also a plus when I can say that I made something myself, when in all actuality, I have never been very artsy fartsy. (Brandon has brought it to my attention that I tend to be more fartsy than artsy). So I made a glass block thingy that says "faith, hope and love" on it, and a wooden plaque thingamabobber too.
I am grateful for this opportunity that I have to be able to have my calling as Relief Society Pres in the branch that Brandon and I attend. I am learning so much from the wonderful sisters that I work with. I have the best counselors in the world. As I spend more time with the people, I am getting to know them better, and my love for them is growing. I am thankful to be able to associate with truly loving, and at times very bluntly honest people. This has really been an opportunity for me to come out of my "shell". I am usually a very selfish person when it comes to how I spend my time, but with more and more opportunities that I have for serving others, the more I grow to love them and I forget about my own struggles in life.
Well, I had better go and accomplish some late evening house cleaning! This is an opportunity to get is accomplished with out any interruptions!
Love to you all (those of you who actually still tune in to the occasional episodes of dopfdetails!)
Today I spent most of the day with the sisters that are in the Relief Society, where we signed up to bring food and signed up to make some fun crafts. The food was great, and the crafts were fun too. I am always looking for opportunities to decorate my house with cool things that also happen to be affordable. It's also a plus when I can say that I made something myself, when in all actuality, I have never been very artsy fartsy. (Brandon has brought it to my attention that I tend to be more fartsy than artsy). So I made a glass block thingy that says "faith, hope and love" on it, and a wooden plaque thingamabobber too.
I am grateful for this opportunity that I have to be able to have my calling as Relief Society Pres in the branch that Brandon and I attend. I am learning so much from the wonderful sisters that I work with. I have the best counselors in the world. As I spend more time with the people, I am getting to know them better, and my love for them is growing. I am thankful to be able to associate with truly loving, and at times very bluntly honest people. This has really been an opportunity for me to come out of my "shell". I am usually a very selfish person when it comes to how I spend my time, but with more and more opportunities that I have for serving others, the more I grow to love them and I forget about my own struggles in life.
Well, I had better go and accomplish some late evening house cleaning! This is an opportunity to get is accomplished with out any interruptions!
Love to you all (those of you who actually still tune in to the occasional episodes of dopfdetails!)
Monday, September 17
CRAZY!
Once again, I am a slacker when it comes to updating my blog! GEEZ!
Life has gotten busier and busier and busier! That's not necessarily a bad thing though, because at last that keeps me out of trouble!
Last week was awesome! My grandma from Denver came over to visit for almost a week, and then my dad flew in for a big surprise to show up at my grandpa Voorhees' 80th B-day last Saturday!
Here's the story:
A couple of weeks ago, my dad called me from houston and asked if he could come up for this weekend and stay with Brandon and I in order to surprise my sister and her family, as well as his family that was all going to be at my grandpa's birthday party. He told the entire family that he would not be able to make it because he was inundated at work with all kinds of projects! ( So sometimes it's okay to lie)
So he came up and stayed with us, and being able to lie to my sister was half the fun! But even better was the reaction when we showed up at her house on Saturday morning when when opened the door! Her jaw dropped to the floor, (for those of you who know my sister, that's a big mouth, jk Katie! love ya!) and she started crying! All I could think was "YAY! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" We spent time with her family, went to lunch, and then went on down for the next big surprise!
We arrived at my grandparents' house and my dad called them from his cell phone, and said that he was at a stop and called to wish my grandpa a happy b-day. My grandma asked where he was, and he told her that he was outside in the front of their house. My grandma didn't believe him, but he then told her to walk to the front door, so she did and when she saw us she started crying! That was priceless in and of itself! So needless to say, it was fun to be involved with this little surprising scheme!
The party was neat, I was able to spend some time with family that I don't get to see often, and it was neat to celebrate my grandpa's milestone birthday!
Dad's trip here was short, but it was great to see him!
Other than that, life has been great, just nothing too exciting!
Oh and Ben! It was great to talk to you for a while the other day! It's always great to laugh and talk with you!
For those of you that I haven't talked to for a while, it's been way too long! Hope to talk to some of you soon! Love to you all!
Life has gotten busier and busier and busier! That's not necessarily a bad thing though, because at last that keeps me out of trouble!
Last week was awesome! My grandma from Denver came over to visit for almost a week, and then my dad flew in for a big surprise to show up at my grandpa Voorhees' 80th B-day last Saturday!
Here's the story:
A couple of weeks ago, my dad called me from houston and asked if he could come up for this weekend and stay with Brandon and I in order to surprise my sister and her family, as well as his family that was all going to be at my grandpa's birthday party. He told the entire family that he would not be able to make it because he was inundated at work with all kinds of projects! ( So sometimes it's okay to lie)
So he came up and stayed with us, and being able to lie to my sister was half the fun! But even better was the reaction when we showed up at her house on Saturday morning when when opened the door! Her jaw dropped to the floor, (for those of you who know my sister, that's a big mouth, jk Katie! love ya!) and she started crying! All I could think was "YAY! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" We spent time with her family, went to lunch, and then went on down for the next big surprise!
We arrived at my grandparents' house and my dad called them from his cell phone, and said that he was at a stop and called to wish my grandpa a happy b-day. My grandma asked where he was, and he told her that he was outside in the front of their house. My grandma didn't believe him, but he then told her to walk to the front door, so she did and when she saw us she started crying! That was priceless in and of itself! So needless to say, it was fun to be involved with this little surprising scheme!
The party was neat, I was able to spend some time with family that I don't get to see often, and it was neat to celebrate my grandpa's milestone birthday!
Dad's trip here was short, but it was great to see him!
Other than that, life has been great, just nothing too exciting!
Oh and Ben! It was great to talk to you for a while the other day! It's always great to laugh and talk with you!
For those of you that I haven't talked to for a while, it's been way too long! Hope to talk to some of you soon! Love to you all!
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