Back by popular demand

I admit, the only person actually demanding is my mother, but after taking a little break from my blogging efforts, I'm back.

Today Cameron and I went on our "walk through" before we close on our house next week. At this point, things are pretty much done, so we have a few pictures to share. We were selective about what we upgraded, so much of the house is boring at this point.


I love our kitchen cabinets, and this is where we spent our money. However, now we have basic lighting, and a cheap sink, and Formica counters (that actually don't look half bad), but we can change all that stuff later.


We also decided that while we want hardwood flooring downstairs, we didn't want to spend the $10K to have the builder install it. Rather, Cam and I plan on going back in after-the-fact and putting in the hardwoods ourselves. A lofty goal indeed. However, the fact that our entire downstairs is currently linoleum should serve to inspire us to follow through on that. Behold, the vast expanse of linoleum. Classy.


And more linoleum. Notice all the blue tape marks where we need touch ups. The whole house was pocked with blue tape by the time we were done.


Anyway, that's just a little taste. The walls are white. The fixtures are builder grade. But we figure we can change all that as we have time and money. Still our house is cute and it's a very functional space. We're excited to move forward with it.

Tagged . . . again

Laura tagged me while ago and I've been unresponsive, so she has started to chastize me for my unwillingness to play along. For the record, I'm officially tagged out.

10 years ago. . . Um it was 1998 so I guess I was a freshman in college still. Wow. The U was still on the quarter system I believe. I think I was taking biology which totally kicked my trash (which is why I’m in law school and not med school). Generally my life was not terribly exciting, so let’s move on.

5 things on my to-do list today. . . . Even though it’s rollin’ up on 5:00 several things on my list remain undone (see #1 of my bad habits).

1) Get up and get showered and dressed and get Ben up and bathed and dressed (Yes I know this sounds basic, but it doesn’t always happen)
2) Meet Eryn and Lou for lunch (Café Med was delicious and I got to see Eryn and cute Leah)
3) I need to go to Target (love Target)
4) Laundry (always laundry)
5) Get ready for class tomorrow.

Snacks I enjoy . . . I love salty snacks – green olives are a fav. I also love triscuit crakers and laughing cow cheese (together please). I’ve also been seriously into eating ice ever since I was pregnant. I’m one of those annoying people who chews on ice and I love a tall glass of ice water.

What I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire . . . Pay off student loans. Never have a mortgage. Get new cars. Go shopping and totally deck Ben out.

5 bad habits . . . .

(1) I’m a procrastinator. I generally get things done, I just take my time in doing them.
(2) My car is always cluttered.
(3) I also spread my crap out over the bathroom counter and don’t put it away, which drives Cam crazy. I think that’s enough bad habits for now.

5 jobs that I have had. . .

(1) Various jobs for my dad – from receptionist to legal assistant.
(2) Legal assistant all during my undergrad.
(3) Elections specialist at the State.
(4) I did “temp” work for the Utah Education Savings Plan the summer before starting law school (Which reminds me, I need to set up a 529 for Ben. Again, see #1 on my list of bad habits).
(5) Most recently I was a summer law clerk for the A.G.

5 things that people don't know about me. . .

(1) I hate making decisions. Cam gets mad because I can’t even decide what I want to eat for dinner. But when it comes to major life decisions (mission, marriage, law school. . .), I have relied totally on my gut instinct and once my gut has spoken, I’m totally immovable.
(2) A lot of people (particularly guys) say my name Lezlie with a “z” sound instead of Leslie with an “s.” This isn’t a really big deal, but I always knew I could never marry a guy who said my name with a “z.” This was the true test with any guy – if he called me Lezlie, I knew not to even bother being interested. Cam obviously passed this test (although he didn’t ever know he was being tested).
(3) Even though Ben is almost a year old and there is no real chance of SIDS, I still sneak in his room and put my hand on his chest while he’s sleeping so I can make sure he’s breathing.
(4) I don’t miss living in Las Vegas at all even though I grew up there.
(5) I have almost completely quit reading for pleasure since starting law school. I used to love reading and was always in the middle of a book. Sad, I know. Anybody got suggestions?

Um -- Katie, if you read this, consider yourself tagged.

This day is bananas . . . B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I promise I have given birth to the pickiest eater alive. This is getting concerning since he'll be a year old next month and he's going to have to start eating more big boy foods soon. Right now there are seriously like 5 things Ben willingly eats. First and foremost is bananas (yo baby yogurt is way up there too). Yesterday he ate bananas in some form for pretty much every meal (banana oatmeal, strawberry bananas . . . ). Yes, I am aware that bananas will back up a baby like nothin' else. He also had a preemptive dose of Mira Lax.

At dinner I was determined to force a well-balanced meal upon Ben - like it or not. So pasta primavera it was (in its nasty, processed baby food form - thank you Gerber). Things went the way they usually do when Ben is being fed something other than bananas (or yogurt).

First bite went down okay. He thought for a minute.


Then he decided this was not bananas (or yogurt); therefore, this was not an acceptable form of nourishment.


Then we played dodge the spoon.

There was also some forcing the spoon through clenched jaws, some tears, and and a lot of spitting that was not captured by the camera. Ultimately, I admitted my defeat. I was bested by an (almost) 11 month old. So we had some more bananas.

Birthday Boy

So Cameron turned thirty years YOUNG today (that was for you babe). He's been feeling kind of down about turning thirty, but really I don't see why. He's got plenty to show for his thirty years. I mean he has a fabulous wife.


He enjoys his job working at Daybreak. Just ask him about his business trip to Florida this week! ;)

He's also finishing up his MBA this year.

Most importantly he's an awesome dad to our little Ben.

So I say, why stress Cam? You make thirty look good.

Sick and Tired

Ben had a rough week. I've been afflicted with the umpteenth headcold I've gotten this winter and Ben caught it. He's been cranky during the day and refuses to sleep at night. He had a total meltdown Thursday afternoon. He cried his head off and yelled and spit for the better part of two hours. He was totally inconsolable - wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, would't let me hold him. Finally Cam came home and he pulled it together for daddy. But mommy got to deal with this fun child for nearly two hours.



Yeah, that's right. I took pictures of my child's temper tantrum. I figured I could laugh or cry.



I highly recommend blowing this one up so you can really see the tears, sweat, snot, and drool.



So sleepy - yet we refuse to nap.



Yes, that is slobber coming out of my child's mouth. Who knew something so cute could be so . . . uncute.

Tagged - About Us

Could it be that I have been tagged? I'm new to the blogging world, but here's my best shot at playing.

What is his name? Stephen Cameron Jackson

How long have we been together? Married for 3 ½ years. I’ve known him for close to 6 years though.

How long did we date? We “dated” for probably around 6 months, although for the first couple months I refused to consider myself to be “dating” him. Then we were engaged 4-5 months I think.

How old is he? Turning the big 3-0 on 2/10.

Who eats more? Cam does. Don’t get me wrong, I like to eat, but he’s still got me beat.

Who said I love you first? How sad is it that I don’t remember. I think Cam did.

Who is taller? Cam is, by like 2”. He’s only around 5’7” and I’m 5’5”. We’re a couple of shorties.

Who can sing better? Um, me? I don’t really know. Cam can carry a tune I guess. Neither of us is really a singer.

Who is smarter? Tough one. I think we both have our strengths and each compliments the other. Is that a total cop out?



Who does the laundry? At this point it seems like it’s always me. Until Ben was born we had a “do your own laundry” thing going. I’m pretty anal about laundry so Cam was forbidden from touching mine, and we have both always been equally busy, so we each just kept track of our own stuff. Since Ben was born I have slowly started doing everyone’s laundry. How did that happen? I feel like my life is all about laundry at this point.

Who pays the bills? Cam does. I don’t know how that happened either. Somehow I have turned into the wife who doesn’t even look at the bank account. I’m usually a control freak, so I don’t know how I got to be so hands-off.

Who sleeps on the right side? Um, right now Cam does. We’ve been moving around a lot in the last few months so we’ve probably switched off a couple times. I don’t think either of us is particularly attached to a certain side of the bed.

Who mows the lawn? Right now, neither of us mows. Before we moved, Cam (begrudgingly) did the mowing. I have faithfully followed my mother’s marriage advice: Don’t learn how to work the lawn mower.

Who cooks dinner? Um, no one usually. If there is cooking to be done, I guess I’m more likely to be the one doing it. Usually we try to conveniently show up at Laura’s house around dinner time.

Who drives? We both do. Cam is a horrible driver. Anyone who has gotten in the car with him (or even seen him drive down the road) can attest to this. Yet, I let him drive. Usually I’m totally hounding him the whole time, so he’d just as soon have me drive, but I’m often feeling lazy and let him get behind the wheel.



Who kissed who first? Hmm. I think Cam kissed me? I’m not really sure who initiated to be honest, but I’d be surprised if it were me. (All these relationship landmarks are hazy – I’m a crappy wife). As I recall, it was just one of those unpremeditated things that was all of a sudden happening. I do remember he had a couple of opportunities before “the kiss” and he totally wussed out. But when he finally did kiss me, it just seemed “right.”

Who is more stubborn? Cam will definitely tell you it’s me. I am admittedly plenty stubborn, but he’s got a stubborn streak too.

Who asked who out first? This I do remember. I had known Cam for a while since he dated one of my roommates. However, I could tell he liked me (even though he was dating my roommate) and it always made me kind of uncomfortable. When I moved, Lou came to help me get the last of my stuff and he was there. He kept acting like he was going to ask for my number or something. Awkward. I remember feeling a sense of relief when we drove off. (Love you babe!)

Anyway, I ran into him at the mall probably more than a year later and he asked for my phone number. I gave it to him, thinking we could just be friends. A couple of weeks later he called me and asked me out on what seemed to be a date. Yikes! After our first “date” I decided I needed to do a DTR (making it clear that we were going to be friends ONLY). Problem is, I called to tell him this right around the time his Grandpa Schaar died. He was so bummed, I didn’t want to kick him while he was down, so when he asked me out again . . . Anyway, it turns out I kinda ended up liking him after a while ;)

Who proposed? Cam did. Our engagement was kind of a mess though. We (he) broke it off a couple times, leaving me to totally freak out. I actually had to call the printer to put our wedding invites on hold. How could he?! All’s well that ends well though, right?



Who has more friends? Friends? Um, we’re both kind of losers actually. Cam is always bugging me that we need married friends. Unfortunately we’re both so busy, we really just hang out with Lou and Brent since they put up with us.

Who is more sensitive? Cam totally is. Sometimes it’s really sweet. Sometimes it’s not.

Who has more siblings? Me. Three in my family, two in Cam’s.

Who wears the pants? I am notoriously bossy. Always have been (ask my mom). However, when Cam makes a point of something, I try to back off.

I don't know who to tag. If this looks like fun to you . . . POST!