Got Gygi?

HaPpy HaLLowEen!

2010-11-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

Started off the festivities with a visit to Mommy's work on Thursday to show off the cutest Tinkerbell Fairy!

Next came a visit to Daddy's work on Friday and her TV debut on the Halloween episode of Good Things Utah

It was so cool to see Madison and Nate on TV. Even if it was just for about 20 seconds. I still think she will think it's cool when she grows up and we tell her that the highlight of her life was at 4 months!

Next came Trick-or-Treating with the cousins at Josh and Denise's house. Madison didn't really go out with the older kiddos because it was raining and cold, but you bet we dressed her up, again! This was the third day putting her in that costume and I'm surprised there was any of it left. She mostly liked to try and eat it every time it was on her. Yum!

Cousin Daxton as a scary dragon

Cousin Bella as a beautiful Cinderella princess

And finally, we ended the holiday with Nate's Mother's Birthday/Halloween Party. Her birthday is on Halloween and this one was a big one! So big, that even Nate joined in the festivities and dressed up. He was a pirate to go along with Madison and my fairy costumes.
It was a fabulous holiday, but lasted a bit long with having stuff to do for 4 days in a row.
Here's to next year when Madison actually cares a little more about what's going on...

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday like we did!

BOO!

2010-10-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

The best thing about having a child of your own is that you get to dress them up in whatever you want for the first few years!
I bought these Halloween jammies for Madison back in July and was so excited when it was October 1st and we could finally put them on her...
they are so cute! Look at the pumpkin bum!

She also has about 4 Halloween shirts I've been trying to rotate as much as possible this month to get as much use as I can out of them...
thanks to Grandma Sheryl, Auntie Mels & Sierra for getting her the cute Halloween shirts!
Can't wait until next week when it's time to put her in her adorable costume... So fun!

Happy Halloween!

3 Months

2010-10-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

This little pumpkin is 3 months old and we are loving it! Life at 3 months is great and I can't even believe we got here so fast!

Last month we did Madison's baby blessing. She did a wonderful job of not crying, spitting up, or pooping in the middle of it. And Nate did an even better job giving the blessing. It was so weird to think that I was the mom in the audience watching my husband bless my baby. I thought only grown-ups did that?

When Madison was born we found out that she had a very small heart murmur. This was a small curveball thrown at us as new parents; tiny actually compared to what other parents visiting Primary Children's Medical Center have to endure. But we had a visit at that time with the cardiology department and they told us back then that it was so small and they hoped it would close up as her heart grew bigger. They told us to come back at 3 months and get another EKG to check it out.
This past Friday I took Madison to have her heart checked and guess what.... She's such a big girl who fixed her heart all by herself! Yep, that's right, her heart murmur is gone. The walls closed themselves as she and her muscles grew bigger. That means no more follow ups with the cardiology center.

Oh and at 3 months old she's 11.4 pounds and 24 1/2 inches long. I don't know percentages because it wasn't like a well-baby visit, but I'm pretty sure she's growing like she's supposed to.
Now if only she would do everything else she's supposed to like sleep through the night. She was sleeping about 7 hours at night when she was two months old, but lately she's forgotten how to do that and will only sleep about 5 1/2 to 6 hours at night. She goes to bed at 9:30 and wakes up at 3 or 3:30 every night and I don't know how to stop that habit. I'm sure I could do what other moms do and read "Babywise" or some other helpful book but I really feel like I have no time to sit and read a book now that I'm working 40 hours a week and trying desperately to spend all the other hours making sure this sweet girl knows I love her even though I can't spend all day with her anymore!

She sure is cute and I'm loving that she's smiling every day now. She even laughs occasionally....it's the best!
And yes, she loves to stand up on her sassy legs. She'll probably be walking before we know it!

Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey

2010-09-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

I came across Kelly Slater's autobiography, Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey, a few weeks ago in the library and just had to read it. I love all sports so it shouldn't be surprising to you that I even used to watch surfing contests on t.v. back when they actually televised some of them. There was also a short-lived, reality-style show about some surfers living in a house together for the summer and I watched all 5 or 6 episodes. I still remember some of the big name surfers like Sunny Garcia, Andy Irons, Tom Curren, and of course Kelly Slater, who will go down as a surfing legend when he finally retires for good.

It was a great book. Kelly seems to have the stereotypical surfing attitude. He is totally laid-back, loves the earth and being outdoors, and wasn't interested in being in the spotlight but just doing something he has loved from a very early age. I enjoyed reading about his childhood and his rise to surfing god. I especially loved the parts about Jack Johnson since I'm a fan of his as well. There is also some stories about Eddie Vedder too who I didn't know was a friend of Kelly's and does some surfing himself. Who would have thought that the lead singer of Pearl Jam was into surfing? I loved reading about Kelly's thoughts on Pamela Anderson. Since we usually only hear about celebrity relationships from a third party magazine source, it was fun to hear firsthand his story of dating her. His stories about being part of the "Baywatch" cast are hilarious. Apparently he thought the show was as corny as everyone else.
Anyway, it was a pretty cool book and I happened to come across an article a couple of days ago that talks about Kelly and how he is probably the greatest athlete that no one has heard of. He has dominated his sport for the last 2o years, winning 9 world titles. You can read the whole article HERE

I thought I'd throw out another recommendation to anyone interested in a good autobiography. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Hate, Hate, Hate it!

2010-09-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is the sad sight of Madison's legs on Wednesday. She had her two month check up and I hate it all. Hate having to see her get those shots when she doesn't know what's coming and crying her lungs out when she figures out what just poked her!
Hate that she's growing up way too fast and is no longer the tiny, little newborn she was two minutes ago before I turned around! (okay so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but mothers out there know exactly what I mean)

Just in case you care, she's now a whopping 10 lbs. 12 oz. (50th percentile for weight) 24.5 inches long (95th percentile for height). And according to her pediatrician, has a very nicely shaped round head. Growing like a champ!

I will say that 2 months is pretty great, though. She's sleeping 7-8 hours at night, on a pretty good feeding and napping schedule, and smiling a ton while she lays on her back and kicks & kicks those sassy legs of hers!

Loves hanging out with dad

And makes a super cute pirate, if I say so myself :)

"Open" by Andre Agassi

2010-08-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have been reading every night while Mindy feeds Maddie. I have been wanting to read Andre Agassi's autobiography for a while now. Growing up in the 90s, I was a big fan of Agassi. He was the supposed rebel who took the tennis world by storm. He's still my favorite tennis player of all time. He just seemed to genuinely love playing and was the picture perfect display of sportmanship. A true class act. I finally picked up the book and read it. I enjoyed it a lot. It amazed me how much detail he remembered from all of his matches. He played for 20 years and recounted very specific details from his earliest matches in 1986 to his final match in 2006. He described how he felt emotionally and physically before and after each match and how those feelings effected him on and off the court. The most interesting thing was that he says numerous times during the book that he "hates tennis." At the beginning I could understand it because his father basically bullied him into playing tennis and treated him like a slave to make him a great player. I don't believe that he continued to hate tennis however because he wouldn't have continued playing for 20 years if he hated it so much. He has always had serious back problems and had to play through pain in almost every match. He had a great excuse to quit but I think he loved the game too much to walk away from it. Anyway, it's a great book and I had fun reading it. It was funny to hear how he met Brooke Shields and later married her and how he always secretly wanted to marry Steffi Graf and how that dream finally came true. You gotta be a sports fan, especially of tennis, to enjoy it though because the majority of it recounts his matches so it could be boring to someone who doesn't know the game of tennis. If you're a sports fan though, I encourage you to read it. It's a fun read for sure. It hilarious to hear him talk about Pete Sampras. He didn't like the guy at all and you would have never known it. I have a whole new opinion of Sampras. He always seemed to be a pretty good guy but according to the stories that Agassi tells, he was a total egotistical jerk. Just wanted to throw out a recommendation to all you leisure readers out there.

5 1/2 Hours

2010-08-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

The other night we had quite the summer thunder storm up here on South Mountain. Looked kinda like this, only much closer.

Seriously, a couple of times the lightning struck so close it seemed like it hit the park across the street.

Anyway, the lightning was so close and the thunder was so loud that it was kinda scary. I'm not sure if Madison was affected by the bad weather but for some reason she began her night by crying at 8:30. She continued to cry through her nightly routine of a bath, lotion, fresh diaper, and jammies. She ate for as long as I could stand it (probably 45 minutes total) and then cried and cried after that for about 2 more hours until 11:30.
However, once she calmed down and Nate had her sleeping in her arms she was out. We were both watching the rain pour down and the lightning crash outside her windows while she just slept. Once she was really asleep at about midnight she didn't wake up again until 5:30! 5 1/2 hours of sleep was a break through! She's never slept that long before but I loved it!

But, I think she only slept because she wore herself out crying for so many hours before that. Because once she did wake up she only ate for 10 minutes and was out cold again. So I decided to go get the pump and have her meal ready for her when she decided to get up. While she was waiting for her meal I figured I'd just leave her where she was when I was feeding her and she loved it.
Here's the picture I decided to take of her sleeping next to her daddy at 6 a.m. while mommy pumped the milk.

She loves being in the big bed!

And here's the cutie today...she got all dressed up and put a bow in her hair to see daddy at work for a lunch date! We all thought she looked pretty snazzy!

Madison's World

2010-08-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

This adorable shadow box is now hanging on the door to Madison's room. Isn't it so cute? My sister-in-law made it for a baby shower gift and I absolutely love it! But does this mean that I have to make our next child a super cute room with letters for his/her name etc... I have a feeling that we will make excuses like we're too busy for our next baby and he/she will not get as special of treatment. Poor kid.

When we got married we wanted a King size bed so we bought a brand new bedroom set for our room and since Nate already had his own bedroom set it had to go somewhere else other than the master. So for the first two years of our marriage this is what our second bedroom looked like:
Pretty much looks like Nate's room that he lived in at his parents' house.

So when we found out we were expecting a little girl a few changes had to be made around the house. First of all we had to paint her room to be a beautiful pink and brown in order to match the bedding I wanted. Thank goodness Nate's dad is retired and offered to paint the entire room for us. Mine and Nate's painting is not allowed in our house anymore. To see our handywork just come down to our basement where we messed up the wall so bad it had to be covered with a wall-sized bookcase!

So here's the one of the pink walls with Madison's crib and cute bedding! (store-bought; I don't sew and neither does my mom so the only homemade things Madison has are from more talented extended family members)

The other pink wall. Her initials (for Madison Kate Gygi if you didn't know) and dresser.

And the back wall that we chose to do in brown with her changing table and shelves.

Pretty simple, but then again that's how I decorate. I've never been too creative and so nothing is really spectacular. But Madison loves it, I just know it!

And of course...
I had to include a picture or two from Madison's newborn shots. So freaking cute! I mean just look at that little pout. Don't you want to plant a big kiss on those lips?!

Love, love, love her!

Getting big....

2010-07-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today Madison is 4 weeks old! I can't believe that she's only been in our lives for 4 weeks because it seems as though we've had her in our family forever!
I don't want her to keep growing. I want her to stay tiny like she is forever. But, then again, I feel much better about my parenting now than I did 4 weeks ago. She will sleep for 4 hours at a time, only wakes up once during the night to eat, wants to look around at everything, and doesn't scream nearly as bad during bath time.

Nate is really good at calming her down during bath time as well as for bed time. She just seems to fall right to sleep in his arms.

She definitely doesn't love tummy time, but the doctor told me to have her lay on her stomach for 10-20 minutes per day to get her neck muscles working. So we have tummy time exercises daily.
I love being home with her and being able to have these days with her. I'm soaking it all up while I can because I do have to go back to work soon and we won't have all day to play anymore. So, for now, I'll continue to enjoy my days with little Maddie. She's so stinkin cute! But I'm probably biased since I'm her mom.

Madison Kate Gygi

2010-07-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

Arrived Monday, June 28th 2010 at 3:36 p.m.
8 lbs. 1 oz.
21 in. long
Very little, dark hair.
Chubby cheeks
Cute, cute, cute!
Mom, Dad, and baby are doing great. Adjusting to the change of parenting, but we absolutely love our little girl more than we ever knew we could!

More pictures and stories to come, but for now we're going to continue occupying our time with feeding, changing, sleeping, and snuggling this little princess!

"You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round..."

2010-06-05T09:07:00.001-07:00

I am choosing to write down my experience at the hospital yesterday so that in case the need comes again I can remember my exact words that I said to my husband after all was said and done...
Let's start at the beginning.
At about 28 weeks pregnant I did the nasty glucose test, got my rhogam shot, and the doctor did the usual measure my belly, listen to the heartbeat etc. He also felt my belly and noticed the giant hard spot towards my ribs and noted that he thought my baby still had her head up instead of facing down. He said that baby's turn on their own between 28-32 weeks so we would see what happens. Left the appointment with no worries or anxiety and just kept on growing this baby.
So the same thing happens at week 30 appt, week 32, and by 34 he says we need to make sure that's what he's feeling because it's really hard to tell what's what on first-time moms since my ab muscles are still in decent shape. Ha ha, I know right?

So at 34 weeks we get an ultrasound and sure enough, there's her giant head squished up against my ribs (no wonder it's so uncomfortable to sit. If I bend over just slightly my ribs run into her head and it hurts folks!) So he measures some stuff to estimate how big she is at that time, measures how much amnotic fluid I have in four different spots, and by my request, makes sure this darling baby girl didn't accidently have a penis that we missed at 20 weeks. But no, there is no penis and this girl is going to look great in all her dresses we have for her!
So the doctor explains to me that it appears as though she likes the position she is in and is not going to turn her head down on her own. Explains very minimal about how we can turn her around externally, but explains that it is painful and his own wife wouldn't even try it and she took the other route which is a cesarian section delivery. C-section delivery was never something I had even considered and didn't even want to. So I said, let's turn her and he said we'll see next time.

So at 36 weeks we make sure she's still in her favorite position. She is. And we set up an appointment for a few days later to go to the hospital and try to turn this baby upside down. At this appointment the doctor mentions to me that it's a 50/50 chance of working on first time moms. Again, he blames my ab muscles that are in such excellent condition (ridiculous!) and says there is a less than 1% chance that it may stress out the baby and they'd have to take me in immediately for an emergency c-section anyway. So Nate and I freak out a bit but we're still going for it because I want to avoid the long recovery and nasty scar that come along with a c-section!

Friday, June 4th, rolls around and Nate and I are at the hospital for our External Cephallic Version appt. I get a small taste of what we're going to go through in a few weeks when we're back there for the delivery. I have to put on a hospital gown (as all you women know it's the thing that has like one tie in the back and your bum hangs out! super embarassing, but I guess I'd better get over that real quick!) They have me lay on the hospital bed and the nurse comes in to hook me up with the blue and pink straps that monitor contractions and baby's heart rate. Found out some of the kicks I feel are actually Braxton Hicks contractions and no big deal.
Then she hooks me up to an IV and forgets to draw my blood (just in case I end up in surgery). So she decides to take out the IV tube, leaving the needle in my arm, and just puts the little test tubes in, but that means in between all that I've got a needle going in so what comes out? Lots of blood. I couldn't see because she had all these warm blankets in my way, but I could feel the warm liquid oozing all over my hand and Nate is watching the whole time and starts to feel a bit light headed at all that blood coming out. What am I going to do with this guy when I'm delivering? Anybody's extra tough husband want to trade for the day? I really need someone who's not going to pass out, ditch me, and make me go through labor by myself!

Once we're all hooked up and ready to go we wait. We sit and wait until the doctor is done with his patients in his office and about 20 minutes later he shows up ready to do this. Comments on how brave I am, I freak out in my head for a minute when he says that, but here we go.... He puts a muscle relaxing medicine in my IV to relax the uterus squirts lots of jelly on my belly, and puts the ultrasound on it to see where my little baby is and where she's going to go. First he has to get her little bum out of my pelvis since she's basically squished in half trying to go down the birth canal. So he pushes nice and hard on my lower pelvis and I start cringing and holding my breath because it hurts. Nate jumps up into action and asks if I need a hand to hold. I shake my head because I just want to look at the celiing and hold on to the rails of the bed. Doc reminds me to breath because when I hold my breath it tenses up those muscles that are in his way of turning our baby. But he keeps pushing on my lower pelvis and now up by the baby's head trying to get her to turn the 1/4 turn she needs to go. He says, she's not going to go this way and we're going to try turning her the other way which is a 3/4 turn. He just keeps pushing as hard as he can on my belly and squishing the baby and she actually moves sideways across my tummy. He sees that something is working and makes sure I'm not going to die; I shake my head and just hope that it really is going to work and say something about how I can't believe this is okay to do and it's not killing the baby.
It only took a couple of minutes but it eventually worked and the doctor is amazed that he got her to turn. She was fighting him the whole time, but her little heart beat steadied around 150 the entire time and we all are hoping she will stay that way!

So we had to stay on the monitors for another 30 minutes to make sure her heartbeat stays steady, and it did. We were all done and now I've got a baby facing the proper way. Now it's just a matter of hoping that I go into labor in the next 3 weeks because I don't want to go past my due date. That's way too long! And of course, we hope that she stays put but if she doesn't I've got two options. We can try all that fun turning stuff again and be induced immediately, but it may not be so easy since she will be a bit bigger by then. Or I could have a c-section. And seeing as I just put myself through all that to avoid a c-section I think I would do it again to avoid the c-section. It only took a few minutes, wasn't the worst pain I've ever felt, and so my conclusion is that I would do it again in the future if I had to!

Congratulations if you made it through my super long post, but I just wanted to write down what I went through so I can remember in a few years that if I need to go through it again for another baby I told myself I would. Oh, and I don't have any recent pictures or anything so just look at my little twin on the countdown. I pretty much look exactly like her; anorexic looking arms, small chest, small butt and fabulous legs. Just a basketball hidden under my dress. Right? I wish.....

Oh yeah. And since I'm writing this for myself anyway I might as well wish myself a Happy 25th Birthday today! Hopefully my cute husband will do something extra special for me like get me a donut at the store this time, instead of the usual two donuts for himself!

Music to My Ears

2010-05-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of a music junkie. Everyone who knows me well knows that I love singing in the car. I often annoy my passengers with my on-the-road performances. I find music to be pretty powerful. You can hear a song and associate certain memories with it. Music has the effect to change your mood. Some songs will excite and energize you while other songs may depress or sadden you. Anyway, one of my friends sent an email today saying that Tonic had released a new album a few years after initially breaking up. I didn't really care because I've never been a big Tonic fan, but this friend who sent the email and another one of my friends said that they were excited because Tonic's 1996 album "Lemon Parade" was in both of their Top 5 favorite albums of all time. It got me thinking about all the music I own or have owned and what albums would be in my Top 5 favorite albums of all time. I like a lot of music so it was tough to narrow it down. I decided to exclude "greatest hits" albums because they are basically a mixed tape of an artist's best songs. Of course it's going to be a good album. It's a collection of the best stuff. So choosing from my favorite regular albums I came up with the following Top 5 favorite albums of all time along with my reasons.

5) "Yourself or Someone Like You" - Matchbox 20 (1996)

This was their debut album and it inlcudes their best and most well-known songs. They hit it right on the head on their first try. They have always been one of my favorite bands and this is where it all started. Lead singer Rob Thomas is one of the most talented people in music in my opinion and his two solo albums are excellent as well.

4) "Under the Table and Dreaming" - Dave Matthews Band (1994)

Even though it was released in 1994, most people, including myself didn't discover it until 1995. Nothing reminds me more of my high school days than Dave Matthews Band. They were the new huge thing during my senior year. Dave Matthews Band was probably the first band that I was fanatical about. Too bad their music pretty much went downhill from there. This debut album still defines their career. It is such a classic album and every song brings back a memory of hanging with my high school friends. Good Times.

3) "Continuum" - John Mayer (2006)

I'll admit that it took some time for me to become a fan of John Mayer. I liked some of his first songs but he officially found a connection with me on this album. He's always been a great guitarist, but I think this is the first time he really displayed his incredible talent. The album has a great combination of rock, blues, and pop with a wide range of tempo. Mindy loves this album too and it's one of the ways we musically bond. She likes the song "Gravity" and I always remember that when I hear it. Even John Mayer himself admitted that this is his best album.

2) "Songs About Jane" - Maroon 5 (2002)

Probably the best debut album to come along in the last decade. Great stuff that brought a new, fresh, funky sound. The whole album is awesome. There is only one song that I sometimes skip. This album also reminds me of one of the most fun concerts I've ever been to. Matchbox 20 with Maroon 5 and Sugar Ray opening. Maroon 5 was brand new and they were great live. Everyone should own this album.

1) "Dosage" - Collective Soul (1999)

Obvious choice. My favorite album from my favorite band. I first heard this album in a CD store in Lugano, Switzerland while I was on my mission. I saw it in the window of the store and just couldn't bear not to go in and listen to it. I listened to the whole album once and went straight to the register and bought it. It is the only album I own that I NEVER skip a single song. It is everything that I love about Collective Soul. It is what the Soul Experience is all about. It takes me into a world of my own. Love it. Love it. Love it.

So that's my list. Hope you enjoy it. Now it's your turn. What are your Top 5 favorite albums of all time?

Dear Daddy,

2010-02-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

I want this cutest tutu onsie ever for Valentine's Day. I know the holiday has passed but seeing as I'm not even here yet you can get it for me now and wrap it up until June. I'll be your greatest Valentine ever :)
I would be so precious in this for cute newborn pics... don't you think?
Thanks in advance!
Love always,
Your darling baby girl

Drumroll Please.....

2010-02-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

So, if you haven't noticed our little countdown, please note that we are now passed the halfway mark and on our way down the longer, but more exciting half of this pregnancy! And, as many of you know, that means that we've been to the doctor for the ultrasound to see how this baby is doing and whether or not it's a boy or a girl.
Ever since we found out we were having a baby Nate has been telling me that he feels like we were having a girl. He says he can't explain why he thought that, just that he did and had been imagining this baby as a little girl. I have not had any inklings or intuition feeling as though the baby was either a boy or a girl. I haven't been shy about telling eveyone who asks what I hoped for though. I have been openly sharing my desires to have a baby girl. I just feel like little boys are foreign territory to me and I might know a little bit more about dealing with a girl than with a boy. With that, everybody says that I must be carrying a boy because I want a girl so badly. I even did the draino test with my mom, sisters, and sister-in-law around to try and get an idea and their perception was that the test said I was carrying a boy and was going to be highly disappointed when going to this ultrasound to find the little boy growing inside me.
So, I'd been preparing myself for a son and finally coping with the idea of having a little boy around. I even looked at crib sets online and tried to pick the cutest boy one that I could. But, when we went to the doctor and she put that ultrasound on my tummy and moved it towards the little one's legs I saw nothing. She went over that area about 5 times during the ultrasound and each time there was nothing to see between those tiny little legs. And the technician wrote those sweet 3 little words on the screen that I've been dying to hear for 20 weeks.....
"It's a girl"

It's a relief to finally know what we're having and I can imagine this little baby girl as a part of our lives. Our family is so nice and threw us a party to celebrate and even brought gifts. This little girl already has quite the wardrobe and other gifts building up and she won't be here for another 4 1/2 months! It's so great to have so many people around us supporting us and showing their love for us and our little family.

And for those of you who have been waiting for this baby to start showing herself off, she is here and in full swing! My pants have been getting tighter and tighter right where I button them and I finally decided it's time to buy some maternity clothes. My sweet husband bought me these super cute jeans for Valentine's Day. He went all out this year, he had flowers delivered to our house on Saturday, bought my favorite caramel filled chocolates, and took me to the Asian Star and to the movie, Valentine's Day. (Which was really cute and funny, by the way. Even Nate enjoyed it)
Here we are getting ready to go out on our hot date...

Rock-A-Bye Baby

2010-01-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I wanted to not be so selfish this year and get something other than clothes. I figured it was a great time to ask for something to help us out with the new addition to our family, but it was hard to come up with something when you don't know what to expect with the little one or what you are going to need. I still have no clue about everything that we will need for the baby and it will be here in about 5 months... ahhh!
So, to think of something gender neutral that could go with any decorating ideas we come up with for this baby I decided I wanted a piece of furniture that every young mother should have. My wonderful mom bought me this fabulous rocking chair as a start to our baby furniture collection and I love it!
We just put it together last weekend and haven't moved Nate's furniture out of the second bedroom yet so for now it sits in our living room just waiting to be taken to its home in the nursery upstairs.
I helped (not much) Nate put this together and when he was done he decided to try it out. Can't you see him ending up like this on Sunday afternoons? Sleeping in the rocking chair, baby in arms, and Mindy in her bedroom taking a nap on the bed....

And I am just crazy enough to hold my imaginary baby in my arms while I rock back and forth to try it out. That's right baby Gygi, get excited to come home to this weird mommy!

Goodbye 2009!

2010-01-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Stole this from Miss Amanda Couch's blog because I love reading these kinds of things on other people, and best of all I love filling out surveys on myself!

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Got Pregnant

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I have never made New Year's Resolutions. Which means I probably won't make any for 2010!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Several close friends, it seemed as though everyone around was having babies so I decided to join the club for next year. Also, my sister-in-law brought us a baby newphew.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Nate's Grandpa Gygi

5. What countries did you visit? Just America for me

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? What wouldn't I like to have that I didn't lack in 2009 other than more money and other selfish, materialistic posessions?

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Uh, I'll say June 12th since that was our one year anniversary, but no specific dates really stick out.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Got a promotion in April and have loved my new job ever since...

9. What was your biggest failure? Not saving as much money as we were supposed to

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I did suffer from lots of morning sickness, but hopefully that will be leaving us as we enter 2010. Also, my cute hubby and I visited the Emergency Room for 5 stitches on his forehead after a rough game of church basketball.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Anything for my house (i.e. the coffee table, end table, fabulous painting for the kitchen) Oh, and Nate's car

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Beyonce Knowles for giving Taylor Swift the chance to speak after Kanye took it away from her.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Tiger Woods, well I wouldn't say I was depressed for him, but it's pretty appalling

14. Where did most of your money go? Mortgage payments, a new car, a trip to San Diego

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Honestly, getting pregnant was pretty cool and I was really, really, really excited to tell everyone about it!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? I Got A Feelin, by Black Eyed Peas. It was always on in the boat this summer and reminds me of those good times!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? happier

b) thinner or fatter? Surprisingly I am probably about 5 pounds thinner than the beginning of 2009, but at 15 weeks pregnant I am sure that is about to rapidly change for the worse...

c) richer or poorer? Richer, we're not saving any more but I am making more and it's funny how easy it is to spend more when you're making more!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Cleaned, excercised, and gone on more vacations

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worked, complained to my husband about money

21. Did you fall in love in 2009? Nah, I love my husband plenty

22. What was your favorite TV program? What wasn't my favorite TV show? The Bachelor remains high on the list, The Office, Modern Family, Keeping up with Kardashians... they're all so good

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? That's ridiculous, if I hated someone more this year I definitely wouldn't tell anyone!

24. What was the best book you read? I don't read cool books so out of the few I read from Nicholas Sparks I'd say "The Lucky One" was the best

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I didn't discover any good music this year, my husband probably discovered several, but he's still probably his own greatest musical discovery!

26. What did you want and get? Preggers

27. What did you want and not get? My husband to get a new job

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Probably The Ugly Truth

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I know I didn't work because it was a Friday, but I honestly can't remember. Thanks a lot, Nate, for making such a memorable B-day for me! Just kiddin, love you lots. Oh, and I turned 24

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If my work decided to move down the street from my house, I hate the commute

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Nothing awesome, I still buy the majority of my clothing with the thought that I have to be able to wear it to work and I end up with nothing plain or comfortable enough for the weekends

32. What kept you sane? Having Fridays off and the very occasional getaway from Utah

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? John Mayer, he seems like he'd be hilarious and I still enjoy all of his music

34. What political issue stirred you the most? None

35. Who did you miss? I missed Tyler, Dannielle, and Isabella for the first 9 months but then they got smart and came back to good ol' Utah!

36. Who was the best new person you met? Sawyer, Kambri, Daxton etc. (my friend's kids that were born this year)

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. You can't play God

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. No.

Got Baby?

2009-12-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. The Gygi's are expecting to add a third person to their family of two and are thrilled about it!
Now this ultrasound picture is, of course, not ours. I stole it from google. But it is the profile picture of what a baby does look like at week 13, which is exactly where our little fetus it currently at. The ultrasound picture that we have of our baby is from our first doctor visit at 8 1/2 weeks and it's just too small to see anything cool.
It was really cool to see in person though. Everybody knows it's different to go through pregnancy as the father and as the mother, but seeing the baby for the first time showcased exactly how Nate and I are going to go through this differently.

We found out that we were expecting a baby together at home with a pregnancy test and it was pretty much exactly at 4 weeks. I was a bit paranoid about the fact that my cycle was so long after going off birth control for the first time and just had a feeling that the ol' period wasn't coming back. I wasn't one of those people who wait until the next month to really check it out, so we knew right away that the cycle was so long because it was stopped by baby implanting itself and starting to grow! Anywho, I knew at that point in time and in the next couple of weeks by the way my body felt that we were definitely expecting, but Nate wasn't so convinced. Nate would say to me in the weeks waiting for the first DR's appointment that we'll know for sure when a doctor tells us we're pregnant that it's for real. "You never know that those home pregnancy tests are accurate" is what he would say to me. Silly Nate!
So when we went to the doctor for the first time I laid down, the doctor put the ultrasound on my belly and started searching for the little flickering of its heart. I just laid there patiently waiting for it to be found and Nate sat next to me. As soon as we saw the light of the flickering heartbeat he sort of jumped forward towards the screen and was like, "Holy crap, do you see that? It has a heartbeat! I can see the heart beating back and forth!" And then the Doc turns up the sound on the monitor and you can hear the heart beating super fast, once again, "Mindy, do you hear that? It's going so fast!"
So now we have been to two appointments and the heartbeat is still strong and super fast. And we're both believing that there really is a baby in there. Doctor says all is healthy and he's not worried about a thing with me. Let's hope it stays that way.

We are very excited for the changes that will be coming in the next 6 months and can't believe that the first trimester is already over! It's going too fast and there's so much to be done by June. Oh and the due date is June 27th, for now.

We'll keep everyone posted as things progress but really there are no changes for now. No baby bump yet, and we won't know the sex of the baby until February so those are things to look forward to. If you can look forward to a baby bump, I'm certainly not!

Blackout Game for Halloween

2009-11-04T21:48:00.000-08:00

Mindy and I went to the Utah/Wyoming game on Halloween this year. It was a "blackout" game where the fans wear black instead of the traditional red. It was a little chilly, but we survived the entire game. It was fun and we had some entertaining fans around us who added to the excitement as well. We had to stay until the end because Utah didn't have the game in hand until the last 4 or 5 minutes of the game. They won the game 22-10. The Utes are now 7-1 which is great but they have been winning ugly this year for sure. They haven't really put a great game together yet, but they always find a way to win.

After the game we went to hang out with my friends for a while. It was fun to have just about all of us together. Some of them got into the Halloween spirit and wore costumes. It was an enjoyable night and we look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday and spending more time with family and friends.

Collective Soul in Wendover

2009-09-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Mindy and I drove out to Wendover, Nevada with our friends Mike and Sarah to see Collective Soul in concert. As everyone knows by now, they are my favorite band in the whole world. We counted the number of their concerts I've been to and the count has now reached 8. Mindy has been to 4 of them with me. Mike has been to 4 or 5 as well, so we had a great cheering section. Click here to read about our last Collective Soul concert.

The evening started out a little chaotic when Mike realized he had left his tickets at home when we were maybe ten minutes from reaching Wendover. Luckily the concert hall was able to reprint his tickets when we got there. Disaster avoided. We ate dinner before the concert at the Montego Bay buffet. Mike enjoyed the all-you-can-eat crab legs as usual. We then drove up the street to the show. Black Stone Cherry opened the show and they were entertaining to say the least. Pretty wild bunch of guys. Collective Soul then took the stage. They played several of their old, well-known songs as well as a couple from their new album which was released in August. We all had a blast singing along with the band. They put on a fantastic show as usual. Everyone should experience the Soul. Mindy and I absolutely love the Peppermill Concert Hall and we have now converted Mike and Sarah to being fans as well. It is a perfect venue for concerts. We capped off the night by playing ths slots at The Rainbow Casino. Sarah turned $1 into $35 playing the penny slots and I managed to turn $5 into $30 playing the quarter slots. It's nice to go home a winner every now and then.

Great day. We loved every minute of it. Here are some pics from the show.....

Mindy and I in front of the stage

Mindy, me, Mike, and Sarah

Joel, Will, and Ed

Collective Soul, baby!

One of my heroes, Ed Roland

EXPERIENCE THE SOUL!!!

Playing the San Diego Way

2009-09-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Mindy and I took a trip to San Diego over Labor Day weekend. We were in need of a nice, relaxing break from work. The weather, other than the humidity, was perfect and we really enjoyed ourselves.
We stayed at in a hotel right on the San Diego Bay and the views of the marina and ocean were great. There is always something so peaceful and relaxing about the ocean. It has a nice calming effect. The hotel was only a couple of minutes from the airport and maybe ten minutes from downtown San Diego and the Gas Lamp District which was convenient for eating out. We spent a lot of time hanging by the pool and walking along the boardwalk by the bay.

We spent 5 hours one day and 3 hours on another night at Sea World. I thought it might end up being kind of boring now that I'm an adult, but it was quite entertaining. I always love seeing the dolphin show. I'm amazed at what they can teach those animals to do. Mindy and I both liked the sea otters and penguins as well. They are always playful and fun to watch. Sea World was doing "Summer Nights" while we were there so we were able to see the dolphin show at night which was really cool and an acrobatic show which was fun as well. The night ended with a firework show.

One morning, Mindy and I stopped at Winchell's (mmmmm....tasty, tasty), got some doughnuts, and headed to the beach. We had stopped at Ocean Beach earlier in the week and it was full of homeless people and locals who looked pretty out-of-it, so we decided to try another beach this time. We went to Mission Beach and it was much better. Neither one of us really enjoy swimming in the salt water, but we liked walking on the sand and sitting on our towels, eating our breakfast, and watching the surfers.

It was a great trip and we are now refreshed and ready to head back to work. It was a nice way to start the fall season which we both love. Time for some football!!!

Island Park Getaway

2009-08-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

>The Stark family had been going to Island Park over the 24th of July for several years. Mindy and I missed last year because we had already taken time off work for our honeymoon. We were so happy we were able to join the family this year. Mindy always talks about how fun it is so I was curious to experience it for myself.

We jumped in the car Tuesday, July 21st and started heading for Island Park , Idaho. Mindy's sister-in-law, Dannielle, and her little niece, Bella, hitched a ride with us. We got there safely in about 5 hours, however that included a brief stop to clean up Bella's Del Taco quesadilla that made a trip back up from her stomach halfway through the ride and a 45 minute detour due to Mindy's bad sense of direction.

It turned out to be a great weekend. It was my first time to Island Park and it was beautiful. The lake surrounded by pine trees is very picturesque. We rented a neighbor's cabin which is right on the reservoir. We spent most of our time on the lake tubing, wakeboarding, and knee-boarding. The weather was great all week except for a little storm that rolled in on the last day.

We played games, watched the whole first season of Arrested Development, ate some good meals, went jogging, and golfed. We also made a trip one night to West Yellowstone to celebrate Mindy's dad, Cory's birthday. It was good times with the whole family and we're already looking forward to next year.

Here are the pics that tell the story better.....

Mindy and I in the canoe

Chillin' on the boat with Mindy's niece, Bella, and her sisters, Sierra and Melanie

Playing in the water with Bella

Mindy's niece, Bella, and her brother, Tyler

Mindy's dad, Cory. Happy birthday, old man!

Sierra and Mels at dinner in West Yellowstone

Jack's Mannequin/The Fray

2009-07-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Jack's Mannequin and The Fray were in town last Saturday night. When tickets went on sale at a 2 for 1 rate, Mindy's sister Melanie talked Mindy and I into going. Neither one of us are dedicated fans to either band, but we were both pretty excited about seeing Jack's Mannequin play because we really like a few of their songs. The concert was at USANA Amphitheatre which is a great venue. Even if the music isn't that great, th environment is laid-back and relaxing. It's fun to lay on the grass and talk with your friends with some cool music in the background. We loved Jack's Mannequin. They were great and they played all of our favorite songs like The Resolution, Mixed Tape, Spinning, and La La Lie. The piano player was fantastic. I can appreciate a great piano player and this dude was rockin' the house. The Fray, on the other hand, were a little boring. I expected this since most of their music is mellow and slow. It really isn't the best music to fill an hour-long concert. They played all of their songs that we knew (i.e. Over My Head, You Found Me, How To Save a Life, Never Say Never) which is only like 3 or 4, but since they get overplayed on the radio, it wasn't that entertaining. All in all, it was fun to get out of the house and do something. We had fun hanging with Melanie and her friend, Brooke, and we love music so it was an enjoyable evening. Here are a couple of pics we took.....

Happy Birthday To You, America!

2009-07-12T09:20:00.001-07:00

First of all, I have to say that the 4th of July is a wonderful holiday! I have always loved celebrating the 4th because you never have to work, it's pretty much always sunny and you've got a nice tan from the summer months, and you usually get to attend a BBQ and eat hot dogs... Yummy! And then you close it out with fireworks, what could be more glorious than that?!

This year we started celebrating the 4th a day early due to the fabulous 3-day weekend. Nate and I went boating with my family at Deer Creek Reservoir. It was kinda cloudy and windy so the water was only good for tubing but we had a great time doing that!

Me and Melanie getting ready for some tubing!

Nate and I taking pictures while my dad blew up the tube

Nate trying to stand up on the tube and pushing my head down to steady himself!

We found this rope swing on the east side of the lake and everybody wanted to give it a try, but as you can see in these pictures my dad was the only succssful one who knows how to properly swing on a rope. Everyone else didn't get high enough and ended up dragging in the water!

Nate getting his foot caught in the rope.

Mels dragging through the water

Cory swinging successfully far enough to actually drop down into the water

We finished off the weekend with a BBQ at Nate's sister's house and some fireworks at the Rasmussen's house. It was a great weekend and I am so excited to do it again in 3 weeks for the 24th of July. We'll be celebrating that weekend in Island Park, Idaho with the whole Stark family! Can't wait!

Happy Birthiversary, Miss Mindy!

2009-06-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

I had planned on writing a blog for Mindy's birthday which was last Friday, but I kind of forgot, so I decided since our first anniversary is this Friday that I could pull off a 2-for-1. I hope you had the best birthday ever, Mindy. I know I suck at coming up with good surprises, but I hope it was still enjoyable for you. You always do nice things for my birthday and other holidays and I appreciate it so much and I can only hope to be half as thoughtful as you. Anyway, happy birthday!

And secondly, Happy First Anniversary! This has been such a fun year and I'm so happy to have such a wonderful, loving wife. I have continued to learn new things about Mindy. I have found out what a great cook she is. I have had many delicious meals this last year. We have even come up with some of our own recipes. (Sausage Party Pasta, anyone?) I knew Mindy was very smart, but she has really impressed me with how quickly she has advanced in her career. She has caught on very quickly and keeps moving up that ladder.

I love that Mindy likes to go to concerts like I do. We have been to quite a few in the last year and there will be many more to come this next year. I also love that Mindy likes movies with crude humor and inappropriate jokes. (The Hangover, anyone?) I don't feel as bad about liking those movies when I see her laughing just as hard as me. Mindy has also been so good about letting me indulge my passion for sports. She has gone with me to many sporting events and watched a few hundred games with me on t.v. this year.

I want her to know how much I love and appreciate her. I look forward to the many years ahead of us and feel so lucky to have such a wonderful wife to share my life with. I love you, Mindy.

Dane Cook's "ISolated INcident"

2009-05-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

This week Mindy and I went to see the funniest man on the face of the earth. DANE COOK!!! This was the first time he's ever done a show in Salt Lake and we just had to be there. We had fifth-row seats and it was so much fun. It was so awesome to see him live and be close enough to see all of his facial expressions and gestures that make his stand-up acts so hilarious. He is the absolute greatest storyteller ever. We laughed non-stop throughout the whole show. It's was like being at a rock concert.

To start the show, he came running down one of the aisles with an escort of guards. Lights were flashing around the arena and music was blasting. I don't know of any other stand-up comedians that get the rockstar treatment like Dane does. About ten-minutes into the show, Dane says, "Salt Lake is already heating up," and takes off his hoodie and throws it into the crowd right where we were sitting. It didn't quite make it to us, but some dude a couple of rows in front of us got a pretty sweet souvenir. Anyway, it was a great night and I'm so glad we went. It felt good to just laugh really hard for awhile. The two opening comedians were really funny as well which was an added bonus. Here are some pictures of Dane doing his thang (sorry they're so blurry. he wouldn't stop moving long enough to get a good one):

New Wheels

2009-05-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

After my Pathfinder broke down two times in one week, bringing the total to four breakdowns in the last three months, Mindy and I decided it was time to trade up to a newer, cooler, sexier model. We found us this little guy below...a Murano. Let's just say we feel like proud new parents. My favorite part is the "continuously variable transmission." You don't feel any gear shifting at all. It makes the ride as smooth as butter. Go test drive one today!

He's happy, too. Look at his smile!

Gygi Rock Scene Still "Thriving" As Usual

2009-03-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

The night after my birthday, Mindy, her friend Jessica, and I went to the Thriving Ivory concert. If this sounds familiar, it should. We went to their concert back in October as well. You can read about it here. The show was at Murray Theater again and it was another good one. Company of Thieves and State of Shock were the opening acts.

State of Shock

They weren't all that great, but the lead singer of Company of Thieves was fun to watch. She had a unique voice and some killer dance moves. I just had to get my picture with her after the concert.

Mike (drums) and Genevieve (vocals) of Company of Thieves

Thriving Ivory then took the stage and entertained us with their awesome music. Since they only have one album, they played pretty much the same songs as last time. They did throw in a couple of different arrangements which was nice. We talked to them after the show again and I think they may be starting to get a little big for their britches. There was a short line of people waiting to talk to them, however they refused to take pictures because they wanted to "keep the line moving." It was nice of them to stick around and greet the fans and sign autographs, but a picture only takes like 10 seconds and it's much more personal than another autograph. They didn't seem as appreciative of their fans as they did last time. As their notoriety gets bigger, so do their heads.

Thriving Ivory

Clayton and Drew of Thriving Ivory

Anyway, we had a good time again and are looking forward to the summer concert season. We had a blast last summer and hope to see some good acts again this year. Gotta keep rockin'!!

Happy Birthday Nate Dogg!!

2009-03-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

I just had to make a shout out to my hubby on his birthday. This fine looking young man turned 31 today!
I can't believe I've known this great guy for only a year and a half. I remember even from the beginning of dating him it seemed like we always had a good time together and I couldn't help falling in love with him as quickly as I did. He's everything that I was looking for in a husband, and he really is the perfect catch for me.
First of all, he's such a smart boy. Being a smart girl myself, I always wanted to have a husband that was smarter than I am just because I feel like that's the way it should be. But I do have a better memory and he lets me win when it's a battle of who can remember what and when.
Secondly, he's much nicer than me. Nate keeps me in line when I come up with rude or snotty remarks about others and he really does try to see the good side of everyone before judging them like I do.
And as everyone who knows Nate well knows that he is so funny. We are always laughing in our little home together and that's because of the things Nate says and does. He is always entertaining and can be funny to a wide variety of senses of humor.
Oh yeah, and he's the sexiest guy ever! Everybody knows that. Especially Nate!

Nate has many talents and I absolutely love the boy. I'm very lucky to have him in my life, he's such a wonderful husband! So have a Happy Birthday, Nate... I hope you had a great day!

C. A Great Film. Final Answer.

2009-03-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm one of those people who believes that there is no such thing as a movie that is worth $8.00 (actually $16.00 for us married folk). Mindy and I still go to the theater regularly but it's rare when the money seems well-spent. I guess I decided to write this blog for those people who have these same feelings. Mindy and I had both heard a lot of positive, glowing reviews about "Slumdog Millionaire" and decided that we needed to see it. So last night for our weekly "date night," we went to see it. Two words: CINEMATIC BRILLIANCE. I loved every minute of it. I wasn't sure what to expect since the critics also raved about "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood," which, in my opinion, were extremely boring and irrelevant. "Slumdog" has action, romance, comedy, and drama, but most of all.....it has heart. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this movie so much. I felt an honest connection to the characters (i.e. I hated the bad guys, cheered for the good guys) and I believe that is a telling sign of good screenwriting, acting, and directing. I get sick of seeing the same overpaid movie stars give crappy, unconvincing performances (i.e. Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz, etc.) It was refreshing to see a bunch of unknown actors convey such a great story and receive the deserved recognition ("Slumdog Millionaire" won the "Best Picture" Oscar this year). Even the end credits were entertaining. I love movies that inspire people and provoke positive thinking and I think this film did that for me. I hope everyone who reads this puts this movie at the top of their list. I promise you won't be disappointed. Let me know what you think after you see it.

"Ice" Storm Hits Salt Lake City

2009-02-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

Working at a television station can be pretty cool sometimes. One cool part of it is that celebrities often stop by to make appearances on our live morning show. The list of celebs who have been on the show recently include Norm MacDonald, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jesse McCartney, and the Cheetah Girls. Okay, so they're not exactly A-listers, but it was still interesting to meet them. I was pretty stoked to hear that Vanille Ice was in the house yesterday to promote his and MC Hammer's concert that they put on last night in Orem. I never have my camera with me, but fortunately my supervisor had her camera with her and I was able to grab a picture with the music icon. I think I was in junior high when his big hit "Ice Ice, Baby" shot to the top of the charts and I remember watching him on "The Surreal Life" more recently. Anyway, he's a very nice guy. He seemed very genuine and didn't seem to be overly cocky like I expected. He politely talked to everyone and took pictures without seeming to mind at all. He might even give Jesse a run at being my new best friend. Fun times at work.

"Just Like Football!"

2009-01-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

This is kind of old news, but we didn't want to miss our chance to rub it in. We went to the Utah/BYU basketball game on Tuesday night and it was yet another Utah victory. Every game that we have been to this year, football and basketball, has been a win for Utah. What can we say? We have the lucky mojo. It was actually a really good game. It went into overtime and that's when Utah ran all over them. I think they scored 23 points in the 5-minute overtime period. Looks like it's the Utes year this year. I guess the Cougs will have to start their "Quest for Perfection" over again next year. It would be smart for BYU to get rid of the lame sports mottos that are only designed to sell t-shirts and just play the game. We know how well "This Is Our Year" worked for the Jazz. Oh, by the way, Sports Illustrated did an early ranking for college football next year and they have the Utes ranked at #8. GO UTES!

O.A.R is A.O.K.

2009-01-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

When I heard that O.A.R was coming out West, I just had to go see them. They are from Baltimore and tend to keep their tours close to home. Last night Mindy and I went to their concert at The Depot in downtown Salt Lake. It was a pretty good night, but could have been a lot better.

Eric Hutchinson, a new artist who recently hit the radio airwaves with his single "Rock and Roll", opened the show to our surprise. Most opening bands at these little venues are lame, but he actually has some good tunes. He reminded me of Gavin DeGraw, with his rocked-out piano playing, but not as good.

Eric Hutchinson tinkling the ivories

O.A.R. then came out and got the real party started. They are great musicians and have a funky reggae sound that makes you want to dance. They played some of my favorites like "Hey Girl", "This Town", "Shattered", and "Love and Memories", but they left out some other good ones like "Lay Down", "I Heard the World", and "City on Down" in favor of a bunch of older songs that Mindy and I didn't know. I would have preferred a setlist that I was more familiar with. I guess that's what you get when you're a middle-of-the-pack fan. I thought the venue was a little small for the size of the crowd, too. It gets annoying when people are bumping you all the time and the sloppy drunks are spilling beer all over. We eventually moved out of the main crowd to the back where we were more comfortable. I must say that Jerry DePizzo is AMAZING on the saxophone. I was most excited to see him play. He makes me wish I'd picked to play the sax in elementary school instead of the lame clarinet. I guess you're never too old to learn. They played for like two hours and then decided to play a half-hour encore since they had the day off today. Unfortunately Mindy and I did not have today off and we were tired when we got home around 12:30 a.m. Anyway, overall it was pretty good and I'm just glad I got to see them in concert at least once in my lifetime.

The lighting wasn't great for capturing pics, but here's a few of the better ones.....

HAPPY "UTE" YEAR!!!

2009-01-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

We started the new year by cheering on our Utes last week. On New Year's Eve we had a wild and exciting time up at the Huntsman Center watching the Utes jump out to a big lead against a Top 25 Gonzaga team. The lead disappeared, but Utah hung on to win by one point after Gonzaga missed three game-winning shots in the last 7 seconds. It was a fun one for sure.

On Friday night we watched the Sugar Bowl at Mindy's brother Josh's house. Wasn't it great to watch the stunned faces of the Alabama fans in the crowd? They had no idea what was happening. Utah just knows how to show up for the big games. Also.....Barry Switzer needs to be silenced. Since the Utes dominating win couldn't do it, maybe a punch in the mouth will.

Then on Saturday, My friend Ryan and I went to the Utah/Wyoming basketball game. It was pretty much over in the first 10 minutes. The Utes built a nice lead and maintained it the whole game. The basketball team hasn't been that great the last few years, but they are starting to look respectable again.

Anyway, it's been a great year so far to be a Ute fan. I hate to see the college football season come to an end. However, this "sugar" high will get me through until next August. GO UTES!!!

Happy Holidays!

2009-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas should be a whole month! I love celebrating the holidays, but they're all over now and I've got Spring Fever! The only thing that makes winter bearable is the Christmas Season and now that it's gone I'm wishing it was March already. So here's a late tribute to the wonderful month that December was...

My wonderful husband came home from work with tickets to the Nutcracker! He knew I had been wanting to go and what a better way to celebrate our six month anniversary than to attend the Nutcracker during the Holidays. Thanks to Ereka & Jordan for joining us for the evening and providing the gummi bears!

Christmas is less than exciting with just the two of us in our home on Christmas morning. But, we managed to have a good time! Nate got me an iPod and plenty of other good stuff, I got him plenty of new clothes. What can I say? It's the only thing I really know how to shop for. We also enjoyed the plenty of nice gifts from our families, especially the 5 lb. bag of gummi bears from Robyn & Alan!

I gotta say that the best thing about the holidays is all the time away from work and spending time with family. Nate & I have spent lots of time together catching up on our trashy MTV shows and hanging out with family members. I'm going to miss you, Ty, Dannielle, & Isabella when you go home next week! Maybe we'll plan a trip to Texas in the spring to get away from the stupid cold weather:)

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is looking forward to a long spring, because I know the Gygi family is!

Excuse Me Sir, May I Have Some More?

2008-12-20T23:03:00.000-08:00

My work held a Christmas lunch the other day for all the employees. We had pulled pork sandwiches, beans, chips, salads, and cupcakes for dessert. Some of the food was left in the breakroom for the night employees to eat. As I was leaving work that night, I decided to stop in the breakroom and grab a cupcake to take home to Mindy because she loves cupcakes. I turned the corner into the breakroom and there is one of the guys from sales standing there spooning beans into a container. He works during the day so I know he had eaten lunch with us earlier. I say "hi" and he says "hi" back but completely avoids eye contact like he's been caught looking at a dirty magazine. He then takes a container and begins filling it with pulled pork. Then he puts several cupcakes on a plate and covers it with a napkin. He puts all of this in a box and grabs a whole bag of hamburger buns as he heads for the door, leaving nothing but some assorted scraps for the night crew. He then obviously feels guilty and turns around and says, "There's a less-fortunate family in my neighborhood that will enjoy this." I can't believe he'd use that excuse. Last time I checked my company was not a soup kitchen. I follow him down the hallway toward the exit and he is moving like I've never seen a 300-pound guy move. He scurries out the door to his car, looking over his shoulder periodically, and drives away. I'm all about feeding the less-fortunate, but come on, dude.....that's pretty lame to be stealing food like that. I'm sure this neighbor of his wouldn't want the food if they knew he stole it from his work. What a saint! I'm still laughing.

BICYCLE-RELATED UTAH CODE (TITLE 41, CHAPTER 6A)

2008-12-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

"Your bicycle is considered a vehicle and you have the same rights and are subject to the same provisions as the operator of any other vehicle (41-6a-1102). This includes obeying traffic signals (41-6a-305), STOP AND YIELD SIGNS (41-6a-902), and all other official traffic control devices (41-6a-208).

Okay, now that we've covered the first paragraph of the Utah bicycle laws set forth by the Utah Department of Transportation, I can tell you about my huge pet peeve that was reaffirmed today. My brother-in-law will love this one because he is a big cyclist.

I HATE CYCLISTS WHO THINK THE TRAFFIC LAWS DON'T APPLY TO THEM.

Mindy and I were running some errands this morning and we came upon a "T" intersection. Our road DID NOT have a stop sign, however the road that intersected with it DID have a stop sign. A couple of cars were stopped at the stop sign and I was going to continue forward and make a left turn onto the other road. I see some cyclists coming toward the stop sign and I hestitated a moment before I made my turn because I know that a lot of cyclists ignore stop signs. Sure enough, these cyclists completely ignore the stop sign and ride right past the cars that are stopped there. Then...and this is when I flipped out...they don't make a right turn onto the street I was on, which wouldn't have been a big deal because they wouldn't impede traffic in any way even though they should still be stopping at the sign. Instead, they ride out in front of me to cross the street!!! What the %@"! Good thing I had slowed down. I should have just ran them over.

It really ticks me off that so many cyclists think they ALWAYS have the right of way, don't have to stop at stop signs, don't have to stop at red lights, don't need to signal turns, can ride in the middle of the street at 15 miles under the speed limit hence impeding traffic, and so forth. It's amazing that more of them don't get killed. They should stay off the busier streets or buy a mountain bike and hit the trails. Or better yet, just obey the traffic laws that apply to ALL vehicles on the road. It's b.s. that cops never write them tickets. I could never blatantly run a stop sign in my car at a busy intersection and get away with it. I'm seriously going to get out of my car and throw a large rock at the next cyclist I see that runs a stop sign. Giving them the bird isn't satisfying enough anymore. Vigilante justice, baby!

Welcome Back, Knicktown!

2008-11-19T19:24:00.001-08:00

Since I grew up and currently live in Utah, I am naturally a Utah Jazz fan. That's no surprise. However, people are always perplexed when I say I'm a long time New York Knicks fan, as well. I guess it kind of started back in the late 80s when I started becoming a huge fan of basketball. Along with the Jazz, I remember watching a lot of Knicks games and something about their syle of play, the awe of Madison Square Garden, and their celebrity fans caught my attention. I become an even bigger fan in the early 90s when the team included Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, Charles Oakley, John Starks, and Anthony Mason.

I remember 1994 especially because they made it to the NBA Finals but lost in 7 games to the Houston Rockets. But my proudest season as a Knicks fan came in 1998 and solidified my standing as a life-long Knicks fan. This team is by far my favorite Knick team of all-time. This was the lockout-shortened season when the Knicks, despite having what I consider a phenomenal team, barely made the playoffs. The postseason was another story. The Knicks became the first 8th-seeded team in history to reach the NBA Finals. They, however, lost to David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and the San Antonio Spurs in five games.

Just to remind any basketball fans that might read this...the following players were on that team: Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, and Charlie Ward. I still don't know how they managed to lose with that team.

Anyway, I decided to write this blog because times have been tough for us Knicks fans these last ten years.

New York hasn't had a winning season since 2000 and reached rock bottom last year with a 23-59 record. However, the team is showing signs of life again this year. They are currently 6-5 and playing well. If Coach D'Antoni would just let Starbury play, they'd be rolling.

After being ridiculed for so long, I can finally start proudly declaring again that I AM A KNICKS FAN, baby!

She Does It!

2008-11-07T11:08:00.001-08:00

Okay so the picture is a little bit old, but I feel just as proud as I did that day I graduated Preschool in Texas in 1989. This week was my 9th and final week of training at my new job! Yay! It seemed like I would forever be in the sheltered world of training at work, but Thursday was graduation day and they shipped us off to our permanent office and our new teams. Now I will be working real cases every day, and hopefully helping to better the lives of those in need of government assistance. This is how I felt yesterday when my boss brought me into my new team's meeting. So alone and so scared for my first day. I'm such a big girl!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-11-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Usually I love Halloween and I really look forward to dressing up when I have a good costume idea, but this year it was all last minute and we did not look like we had the Halloween spirit in us. Nate doesn't really like dressing up anyway so he grabbed his old soccer uniform and wanted to be David Beckham and have me go as Posh Spice, but I didn't have any leather pants or miniskirts. So I grabbed a denim skirt, some boots, and one of Nate's shirts, put on a hat and called myself a cowgirl.
Nate's mom's (Robyn) birthday is on Halloween so every year she has a Halloween costume party the Sunday before Halloween and everyone looked great. I have to say that Karen and Jim's Hunter & Deer costume was the best. Maybe next year we'll have a little more time to put into our costumes and we'll come up with something better. Hope you had a great birthday, Robyn!

Light Up Mississippi Salt Lake City!

2008-10-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

We capped off our PERFECT Saturday with an awesome concert. We went to see Thriving Ivory at the Murray Theater last night with my sister Karen and her boyfriend Jim, our friend Jessica Fluekiger, and Mindy's co-worker Julie. We also ran into my cousin Cathy, who was there on a date. Karen and I hardly recognized her with her new dark hair. Looks good, Cathy! If you don't know Thriving Ivory...you should...because they are going to be the next big thing on the music scene. They are AMAZING. They just released their first album this year and were excited to be in Salt Lake for the first time in front of a sold-out crowd to top it off. They really rocked the house. We got to hear all our favorite songs including Angels on the Moon, Hey Lady, Twilight, and Light Up Mississippi. After the show, we were able to meet the band. They signed my CD and took some pictures with us. Really cool guys. We had a fun time and really can't say enough about how good this band is so you'll just have to check them out yourself. Thanks Thriving Ivory! We love you guys!

Me and Mindy during the concert

Thriving Ivory rockin' it out

Bret, Paul, and Clayton doing their thing

Mindy, Paul (drums/percussion), and Me after the concert

Drew (lead guitar), Bret (bass guitar and Jessica Flue's new boyfriend), Mindy (sexy trophy wife), Clayton (lead vocals), Scott (piano & keys), and Me (music enthusiast)

My autographed liner notes

The Verdict Is In: Perfect On All 3 Counts!

2008-10-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a PERFECT DAY for us in three different ways. First, I'm sure everyone can agree that the WEATHER WAS PERFECT for mid-October. I believe the temperature was in the 70s with a light breeze. And the weather made for a great day of football. Mindy and I watched the UTES REMAIN PERFECT on the season with a 49-16 thrashing of Colorado State up at Rice-Eccles Stadium. I'm glad their BCS chances are still alive. I feel bad for BYU and their whooping at TCU. Okay, not at all. I knew they'd lose when they actually played someone good. Anyway, I digress. The weather was so nice that we actually got a little sunburned. You don't expect that in October in Utah. I was glad I went back in the house to put shorts on before we left for the game. Our Saturday night activity was PERFECT as well. We'll write a separate blog about that later. PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT!

She's a Brainiac, Brainiac Of The Door!

2008-10-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Mindy went to take the garbage out and get the mail. She trotted back to the house to find herself on the wrong side of a locked door. The neighbor came home to find Mindy sitting on the front porch in 50 degree weather. So Mindy called me from the neighbor's house and I didn't answer because I didn't recognize the number. She leaves me a message, but I don't listen to it for another half-hour because I was trying to finish up at work since I was already late leaving for the day. I know, such irony. After hearing the message I call the neighbor's house.

Neighbor: "Hello?"
Me: "Hi, is Mindy Gygi there?"
Neighbor: "No."
Me: "Mindy isn't there?"
Neighbor: "No. You must have the wrong number."
Nate (with confusion): "Okay, thanks."

So I finish up at work and start driving home thinking that Mindy is for sure in her bare feet and paper-thin pajama pants and apparently decided not to stay in the neighbor's warm house but sit outside on the porch until I got home. A few minutes later Mindy calls me again from the neighbor's house.

Me: "Hello?"
Mindy: "Are you still at work?"
Me: "No, I'm on my way home now. So you locked yourself out?"
Mindy: "Yep."
Me: "I bet you're in a t-shirt and you don't have shoes on."
Mindy: "Yep. And pajama pants."
Me: "I knew it. Sorry I didn't answer my phone. I didn't recognize the number and I wanted to finish my work so I could leave."
Mindy: "I knew this would happen on a day that you had to stay late at work."
Me: "I called the neighbor's house and she said you weren't there."
Mindy (laughing): "I heard her answer the phone and say it was the wrong number."
Neighbor's faint voice in the background: "Oh my gosh! I'm such a retard!"
Me: "Well, I'll be home in like ten minutes."
Mindy: "Okay, bye."
Me: "Bye."

It was a pretty funny story and Mindy got to know a lot about our neighbors who we haven't really met. Turns out they are pretty nice.

Our Yearbook Photos

2008-10-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

My sister Laura told us about this website, yearbookyourself.com, where you can put your face on yearbook pictures from various decades. It turned out to be pretty hilarious, so we decided to post some of our favorites from each decade from the 50s to the 90s.

Here are Nate's photos...

1952

1964

1976

1988

1996

Here are Mindy's photos...

1952

1968

1978

1984

1996

Let's Hear It For The Boy!

2008-10-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

After another long, 10-hour day at work I went up to my bedroom to put my comfy sweats on and get ready to watch some TV with Nate when I saw this beautiful black box sitting on my dresser. As I walked over closer to it I noticed that inside was this gorgeous sparkly watch from Guess that apparently my super cute husband had purchased for me. So I grabbed it and ran downstairs to thank him with a big huge kiss! He had picked it out online and had it sent to his parents house so I had no clue... Best surprise ever! I love presents for no special occasion because it means that he was thinking about me and thinking that he loved me so much that I deserve presents for fun even when we are poor people! So Nate, this post is mostly for you. I just wanted to let you and anyone who reads this know that I love you so much and you really are the best husband a girl could ask for. Not just because you bought me a present, but because I am so incredibly happy just to be your wife.

Runnin' With the Utes

2008-09-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

The fall season is officially here.....and that means FOOTBALL! We went to the Utes game last night to cheer on our alma mater. It was perfect weather and we had fun seeing some friends we hadn't seen in a while. I'm glad my parents were able to come and enjoy the evening as well. It was Homecoming, so it was fitting to have a couple of other alumni with us. (My mom is really a Cougar, but her masters degree from the U makes her at least 23% red)

Oh yeah.....Utah 37 Weber State 21. 5-0 baby!

"The Soul Experience"

2008-09-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Mindy and I journeyed out to Wendover last night to see Collective Soul. As most of you know, they are my favorite band in the whole world. This was my seventh Collective Soul concert, my third in the last year alone. While every concert has been something special, this one could possibly have been the best yet.

We were fortunate to get seats on the second row of the balcony, which is just to the left of the stage and level with the stage, giving us a great face-to-face view of the band. I highly recommend the Peppermill Concert Hall for seeing concerts. It only has about 1,000 seats, half of which are padded armchairs with little tables in between them with cup holders. Very much like Vegas lounges. The balcony has these armchairs so we were relaxing in comfort. Also, there was a ton of space in between each row, giving us maximum room for shaking it down. The front row people didn't show up until halfway through the show, so we were basically on the front row. In fact, we were so close that I was able to give Dean a couple high-fives during the show. At one point Joel tried to throw me a pick and it went like three feet in front of him. I put my hands up like, "what was that, Joel", so he tried again and it was right on target and I snagged it out of the air.(see picture below) Yeah, it's just a pick, but it was still cool since it's the first one I've caught in seven shows. We had the absolute time of our lives. I don't know if there is a happier place for me than being at a Collective Soul concert. I escape to a special Nate place. The people next to us were hardcore fans, too. One of them was pretty drunk and kept giving me high-fives. It was hilarious. Mindy and I always make friends whenever we go out. I'll have to write a blog about that sometime.

Anyway, I could go on forever about how cool it was, but I won't because I don't think anyone can appreciate it as much as me. I love that Mindy is becoming as passionate as me and has been right there rocking with me at the three shows this year. We are looking forward to the new Collective Soul album next spring, which means another concert next summer. So we're doing what Ed always says to do and we're telling all our friends and family that we saw Collective Soul. EXPERIENCE THE SOUL!

A Snazzy New Living Room

2008-09-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

After three months of having a bare living room, we finally purchased a new sofa and loveseat combo during RC Willey's Labor Day Sale! As sad as Nate and I are to not be able to have cartwheel and handstand contests in the living room anymore, we are super excited to have some furniture and feel like we actually have a home now. We originally imagined having mostly black and white furniture in there with apple green accents like a lamp, some striped pillows, a throw blanket, and some candles. But, the couches were delivered with these pretty nice red, cream, and grey pillows that look really good with the grey wall and cream couch.
So now this is where Mindy, the not-so-savvy decorator, needs help. Should I stick with the cute apple green accents or change everything to red and cream to match the pillows that came with the couches? Here are some pictures of the different decor options. Please give me some feedback as to what you think of both looks!

Saying Goodbye to One of the Best

2008-08-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

I was sad to hear that the great Leroi Moore died on Tuesday, August 19. He was such an amazing musician and really played a huge part in making the Dave Matthews Band as successful as its been. They've always been one of my favorite bands and I hope they can overcome this loss and continue to fill the world with great music. Fittingly, one of Leroi's most memorable solos is the intro to "Say Goodbye" and I think that best describes the sentiments of all the DMB fans around the world at this time. Keep rockin', Leroi!

A "Banana Pancakes" Dinner

2008-08-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

Mindy and I went to the Jack Johnson concert last night with our friends Jessica and Derek. It was pretty sweet. Of all the concerts I've been to at USANA (maybe 5 or 6), this was the most packed I've ever seen it. There were people all the way to the back fence and and it was practically "standing-room only". That's pretty impressive, especially considering the two opening acts were unknowns. Who knew Jack had developed such a following? We went to the John Mayer concert (who I thought would be the bigger draw of the two) a few weeks ago at USANA and there was tons of room on the grass. Anyway, it was just a really relaxing, laid-back two hours, which you'd expect from a surfer, hippie, nature-loving kind of guy. He is a great musician. I wish I could play as well as him. Playing a little guitar myself, I really appreciate the talent that goes into playing. John Mayer was absolutely amazing. He doesn't get enough credit for his guitar skills. Anyway, Jack played all the good ones (i.e. Upside Down, If I Had Eyes, Bubbly Toes, Good People, Flake, Banana Pancakes). We loved the whole show and had fun hanging with Jessica and Derek. It took us probably an hour and 15 minutes to get out of the parking lot, so we really bonded while making comments about the interesting people we observed while waiting. Hey Derek, "Don't be mad, I love your red sweater vest." It's too bad you couldn't find your tickets, Jordan and Ereka. Stop looking for them. It'll just hurt more when you find shredded pieces of them in Bella's poop.

Miss Fancy Feet

2008-08-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

The other day, Mindy and I were upstairs watching t.v. She decides to go downstairs to get a "treat." About two minutes later I hear a big thud on the stairs and then a disappointing "awwwww." I get up and look over the edge of the staircase to see Mindy sprawled out on the stairs with a bottle of water in one hand and a smashed cupcake in the other. Hilarious.