Halloween sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!..........

....at least this year anyway... Porter ended up being sick. (Following in my footsteps.) We don't know if maybe it was something he ate or if he really is sick (flu). The poor little guy was up all night last night in and out of the bathroom. ...bluh...

We had spaghetti for dinner last night, and I'm fine, so I know it wasn't from that. He didn't have school yesterday, so he stayed home (at his Mom's) while she was at work.. (she just works at a salon right down the street from their house). I asked him what he ate yesterday and all he said was "candy". Great. All day, ALL he ate was candy. Maybe that's what made him sick. TOO many sweets.

Anyway, we were planning on taking him trick-or-treating. That didn't happen. Will went out and rented Transformers 2 and a video game, so we just stayed home and relaxed.
We did manage to carve pumpkins last night before Porter got sick. Well.... I made dinner and Will and Po did the carving. They turned out really cute. Hopefully next year will be more eventful and none of us will be sick....

Halloween at Work...

We celebrated Halloween at work today, because we have a night crew who's hours are M-Th 12pm - 8pm and are off on Friday's. So, we did it today in order for everyone to participate. I had no freakin' clue what to dress up as. One of my friends from work sent me a list of easy-to-make homemade costumes:
1) Get a roll of orange yarn and a few bags of roasted pumpkin seeds. Glue them all over a cheap orange sweat suit. Go as pumpkin guts.
2) Wrap yourself in a roll of orange felt. Cut armholes and put an orange ski cap on your head. Go as a carrot stick.
3) Throw a white sheet over your head, and cut a hole for your head to come through. Wear a yellow hat and paint your face yellow with make up. Go as a fried egg.
4) Dress like a mailman. Get a stuffed dog and sew it's mouth to your pant leg.
5) Get a large box. Cut a hole for your head and arms. Wrap it with gift wrapping paper and put a big bow on your head. Make a large gift tag out of construction paper that says, "To: Women, From: God." This year, you can honestly say you're God's gift to women.
6) Get a bunch of Barbie dolls and a black sweat suit. Attach the dolls randomly all over the sweat suit. You're a babe magnet.
7) Wear a black sweat suit and randomly attach single socks all over your clothes. You're the sock thief from the drier.
8) Paint your car or bicycle tires with black paint. Lay old clothes front-down on the street and drive over them. Let them dry, put them on and go as road kill.
9) Tie a sneaker to the top of your head, wear all pink and paint your face pink. Go as a piece of gum.
10) Dress as a dog and put a cardboard cone around your neck to keep you from scratching for fleas.
11) Get a rubber pig's nose and wrap yourself in a blanket. Go as a pig in a blanket.
12) Plaster yourself with name tags, using a different name on each, and go as a someone having an identity crisis.

Well, as I lay in bed last night... all these ideas were running through my head. I decided on #9.A piece of bubblegum stuck to the bottom of a shoe... You can't really tell, but it's a flip-flop fastened to my hat. (I didn't want to have to wear a heavy shoe on my head all day...) Everybody got a kick out of it. (I didn't win the contest, but it was still fun.) There were quite a few interesting costumes. One of the teams at my work has one guy and five girls, so they came as Warren Jeffs and the Sister Wives. One of the girls is actually about eight months pregnant, so it was pretty funny.
Another girl came dressed as a box of Franzia wine. (wine included) She made the box herself and it was actually pretty cool. One of the owners was a Samurai and the other was Sponge Bob. There was another group of five who dressed up as One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. REALLY CUTE. Medusa and a bunch of others....
Will has his work Halloween party tomorrow... His team is doing a group thing too. They are going to be the 'Rock of Love' cast... (with Brett Michaels from Poison) and Will was assigned to play 'Big John', Brett's bodyguard on the show. There are only two guys on the team, so all the girls get to dress up like skanks, I guess. LOL!

Anyway, it freakin' snowed on Tuesday (10/27) and it snowed bad. All day long! Redick has never really been out in the snow, so of course, we took him out. I don't think he liked it too much. He probably didn't know what to think of it.

This is a normal 'meal time' around our house. The boys always have to be right in the middle of everything. Have to know what's going on and what they might be missing out on. Dorks. They sure are cute dorks though.

New site to check out....and pumpkins to pick!

My amazingly talented little brother, Kale has his own wedding videography business. Kale Fitch Productions. I added a link to his site, under my "family blogs" on the side bar... Check it out. Let me know if you have any one who would be interested.

He can do any type of videography, but his specialty is weddings. He does such an awesome job. Ever since high school, he has always been interested in film. He is great with a camera, and has a talent for what things look like through the camera.

Anyway, enough about that... Kale and Britt's dog, Charlie, (weenie dog of course) had to have back surgery about a week ago. Poor little guy... He isn't very old either, about 5 years is all. But, with weenie dogs, you have to be extremely careful. Their backs can get injured very easily. They got him home earlier in the week, and he is recovering. Slowly, but surely. This is a picture of little Charlie.

And this is little Charlie with his Dad (Kale) and Mom (Britt).These pics were from when we went camping with Kale and Britt in September of 2008. We didn't have Cecil yet. (Actually, this was the same weekend that we found Cecil!) When we were getting ready to go, Kale had mentioned that some of our friends (who are also their neighbors) had a Dachshund who had just had puppies. So Porter and I walked across the street to check them out while Will and Kale got the camper ready. And it's all history from there...

So back to Charlie..... he is on the mend, and his Mommy and Daddy are taking good care of him. I went out to my Mom's today to spend some time with her. We went up to Kale and Britt's to see the little guy and he seems to be doing well. He is just very limited on what he can do and Kale (and Britt) have to really monitor him so that he doesn't jump up on anything or go up and down stairs. Poor guy. No fun for him.

This morning, Porter had his last soccer game at 11:30. He scored 5 out of the 9 goals his team got. They won! He is such a good athlete.

Porter is number 3.

Before I went out to my Mom's today, my Dad had invited me to bring Porter up and pick out some pumpkins (before they freeze). My dad has his own little garden in the back yard. It's actually a decent size garden. He has planted everything. Tomato's, cherry tomato's, cucumbers, peas, carrots, watermelons, cantaloupes, and pumpkins... (I can't remember it all.) When we got there, Kale was actually there too. He was helping my Dad fix his boat.

My Dad tells Porter that he's his "Grandpa" and Porter just loves it. He calls him Grandpa. It's so cute. Here's my Dad, Kale, and Po, getting ready to pick some pumpkins. Porter sure liked the boat. He loved the driver's seat.

Anyway, enough for now...

Lady GooGoo.....and the flu flu.....

So... there I was at work today and we starting chatting about how crazy that Lady GaGa character is... So we "googled" her name and a bunch of pics came up. I saw this one and laughed about it for a good half hour.... I emailed it to Will because he is a HUGE Eminem fan. He called me laughing his A$$ off...
Then I saw this one! Just exactly how many Kermit's did they have to kill for this?? Poor guys..
Then Kermit got his revenge!

Pure entertainment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, speaking of work... both Will and I have new jobs. And I can honestly say that I am the happiest that I have been in a llllooooonnnngggg time. I love my job. I'm basically my own boss. I work for a medical staffing firm in Murray. I was hired in July, about a week after I was laid off from the architecture firm. Will knew a girl that worked at this place, and sent her my resume. Next thing I know, I had a phone interview, then a "real" interview the next day! I finally had one more "real" interview and was hired on the spot. They started me out at $3 more than what I made at the architecture place! And the benefits are awesome. AND THE BEST PART OF IT ALL!?!?!?! We have happy hour every Friday at 4:00. We stay clocked in and all gather in the kitchen for a glass of wine and conversation, to get to know everyone. There are only about 45 employees, so it's a smaller company. Me and my loud laugh fit right in!! I am so blessed to have lost my last job. It brought me to bigger and better things.

To top it off, Will actually got a job (finally) with one of our competing companies. Funny, right? I talked to the owner's of my company and they said it was no big deal. Nice! He started about 3 weeks ago and he loves his job too. It's different than any other he's had in the past. Instead of being pressured by numbers and sales and junk, he's in a support position. He is the only person on his team that does what he does. Makes you feel important! He's so used to feeling the pressure of selling and hitting certain numbers, that this was a refreshing change.

Right now, we are down to one car. (couldn't afford both... so this has been going on for about 3 months) But it works out pretty well because Will works 8-5 and I work 9-6, so we just swap out the car at lunch. It does make it hectic sometimes, but for now, we have to do what we have to do. :)

With all the sickness that's been going around lately... We've been loading up on Vitamin C. But low and behold... my whole freakin' office (well, pretty close anyway) came down with the flu. I woke up last Thursday morning with the headache from hell, so I stayed in bed all day. As the day wore on, it got worse... and worse... and worse.... by the time Will got home from work and Porter's soccer game (about 7:00) I couldn't even roll over in bed, I was in so much pain. I mean, my back ALWAYS hurts anyway, but it was to the point that I was crying. The last time I hurt this bad, I was actually diagnosed with Strep. So... that's what I thought it was. Will and Po took me to the instacare down the street from us, and they did a strep test and a flu test (which by the way, is the most unpleasant thing I have ever had to do). They stick a freakin' long a$$ swab all the way up your nose. I swear, it touched my brain. My eyes were watering so bad. Anyway, both came back negative. The doc said that the flu test isn't all that accurate, so he asked me if I wanted to treat it as the flu anyway, just in case. So, I left with a Tami flu prescription and told to take Tylenol til my 102 temperature came down. I was dying!!!!!!!! Friday sucked, so I stayed home again... Saturday, I got a little energy back, and Sunday I was actually up doing laundry and chores and stuff. All in all, I'm glad it only lasted a few days.. but now I'm screwed on vacation hours (PTO) because it put me in the hole about 18 hours. (I left early on Monday...) So, I just have to work an extra hour here and there to make up the hours (which is nice that they let you do that instead of just taking it out of the PTO you get bi-weekly anyway...

OK, OK.... enough out of me. I will write again soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween is coming.........

I'm excited for Halloween. (have no idea what we're dressing up as yet...) But I LOVE Halloween! This time of year is just fun. The cool air, the pretty colors, and the warm clothes. Now... if we could just find a way to keep winter away for a little longer.... hmph.

I haven't wrote much about this summer.. (we haven't had the internet..) so, it's time to play "catch-up".

Will's parents came home the end of June and left again the middle of August. We spent some time with them at the cabin (Bear Lake) and here are some pics...

This is the cabin at sunset... The boys didn't dare to go down the stairs, so it was perfect!We went down to the beach for a few hours... Porter had fun with his cousins... (Po is in the goggles)The boys learned how to swim (their first time in a lake) Red LOVED the water. Cecil hated it..Will took Reddick out on the lake quite a few times on this raft. He had so much fun. And we went to dinner with Will's parents the night before they left (and one of their friends). Well, that's all I have the time for now... I'll write more soon!

I am alive....I promise...

Just barely surviving, that's all. NOTHING to complain about, life is rough for everyone, and right now, I'm one of those people. Trying to keep my head above water and keeping a smile on my face at the same time. I have a new job, and I love it. Losing the job I had previously, (which I thought was the end of the world) was actually a blessing in disguise! Literally! I cannot have wished for better. I am truly blessed. Life is actually looking up for us.

Porter started 2nd grade. I KNOW! 2ND GRADE!! Time has flown. When I first started seeing Will, Porter had just barely turned 4. I cannot believe how big he's getting.

Our two little weenie's are doing great! They are such good doggies. We love them. They bring us so much joy and laughter.

Will is keeping his head above water as well. Trying to find a decent job to support his family.


One of the reasons I was inspired to write, was because last Friday was Sept. 11th. I cannot believe it has been 8 years. I'm sure everyone has memories of what was going through there heads that day... I know I did. If there was anything I could tell my family right now, it's that I LOVE THEM. WITH ALL MY HEART. I just wish things were different. I know deep down in my heart, one day they will be differernt.. ... until then, I love you.... each and every one of you, in your own special way...


Anyway, I'll try to write again soon.... life just gets difficult sometimes.

Love you all,
-Tori

New 'Do..

I got my "hair did" this week. I love being blonde! ("Platinum" if you want to be specific.) haha..

I am so excited that it is finally warm and 'summery' outside! I've gone to the pool a few times already, and gotten some color. I love being tan.

For Memorial Day, I went out to my brother, Kale's house. I picked my Mom up on the way. We had a BBQ and played some volleyball in the backyard. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We had a lot of fun.

I took the doggies with me. Kale and Britt's backyard isn't fenced yet, so I had to keep Cecil and Reddick on leashes and attach them to the posts for the deck. Well, my youngest brother, Ev and his girlfriend, Nina were there too. Ev kept insisting that we let Cecil off the leash because he needs to 'learn' to stay by us... let me just tell you how well that worked. Cecil ran away... twice. There's a big field behind Kale and Britt's house, just unfinished land, which is where Cecil ran and Ev had to chase after him. Naughty dog. The second time he ran away, Ev caught up with him and stomped on his leash, which scared the crap out of him we think, because he turned around and started running back towards the house. And didn't run away again. Brat. They stayed in the yard the rest of the time. Which I was really suprised about.

That's about all the fun I have to write about for now...

Scary stuff.....

So, we had a shooting in our apartment complex on Tuesday morning. (That's comforting.) Anyway, here's what happened: (taken from the Salt Lake Tribune)

-A home invasion ended in a deadly spray of bullets early Tuesday when a Midvale man wrestled a gun from one of the intruders and opened fire on them.
As many as 10 people were waiting outside an apartment near 1000 East and Watercress Lane (6995 South) when a 26-year-old answered a knock on the door about 1:30 a.m., said Midvale police Sgt. John Salazar. Wielding guns and knives, they pushed their way into the apartment, fighting the man and stabbing him in the hand, Salazar said. The man fled the apartment, followed by several assailants.
Still inside were the man's two nieces, 14 and 22, and the 22-year-old's boyfriend. One of the intruders hit the older sister, angering her boyfriend, Salazar said.
The boyfriend, 23, fought with the man and took hold of his gun.
He began shooting in the apartment, hitting another intruder. The heavily tattooed 31-year-old man, carrying two knives and a gun, was shot three times, Salazar said. He died in the apartment as the other attackers fled.
"I heard the screaming and I heard the gunshots," said neighbor Arun Sayam.
At least four shots were fired inside the apartment and at least three more outside. Investigators say one of the bullets also struck a female attacker, leaving a trail of blood outside.
Salazar said none of the bullets fired entered any of the surrounding apartments at the Springs of the Country Woods complex.
"I'm amazed that no one else was hurt," he said.
David Sandford, who lives in a second-story apartment just yards from where the shooting occurred, said he was listening to the television and reading a book when he heard five shots.
Sandford went to his bedroom and grabbed his gun for protection.
"I just wasn't sure what was going on," he said.
Sandford then went to his balcony and saw several people run south and one person run north.
Sandford, who has lived at the complex for about a year, called the attack "kind of disturbing."
Other witnesses, some huddled behind a trash bin in the parking lot, told police one of the attackers ran into a downstairs garage. Police used an explosive to force their way in but didn't find anyone.
Later, investigators recovered a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun and a .40-caliber handgun that had been tossed onto the roof of a nearby carport.
Police on Tuesday were still trying to determine a motive for the attack and confirm the identity of the man who was killed.
No arrests have been made.-

Pretty scary stuff, eh??
This is the update: (taken from the Salt Lake Tribune)

-A man police say was killed by one of his intended victims during a break-in at a Midvale apartment was a 31-year-old with a criminal history including car thefts and drug and gun possession.
The letters SAC are tattooed on his face -- the same letters used by the white supremacist gang Soldiers of the Aryan Culture.
And court records show he was charged in a similar home invasion attack two years ago.
But as details about Blake Jay Anderson were emerging Wednesday, investigators said they still haven't found any connection between him and the family in the apartment ambushed by Anderson and as many as nine others.
"I don't think the intruders knew what was on the other side of the apartment door," said Midvale police Sgt. John Salazar. "Everything we've been looking at looks like it was a case of mistaken identity."
The four people who lived in the apartment did not recognize their attackers, who fled when one of the victims wrested a gun from an intruder and opened fire, killing Anderson.
"We haven't found a motive yet," Salazar said. "The only suspect we have is the one we can't interview."
Despite Anderson's tattoo, police are not investigating the invasion as a possible hate crime, Salazar said. The assailants likely did not know their victims, two of whom are white and two of whom are Latino, said Salazar.
The victims -- an uncle, his two nieces and the boyfriend of one niece -- have fled the state, Salazar said. Police do not know where the family is, but a relative has contacted investigators and is relaying messages to and from the victims until they recuperate.
"They're not going back to that place," Salazar said of the apartment. "They've been through a lot."
Police are pursuing no charges against the 23-year-old who shot Anderson, Salazar said.
Any involvement by Anderson in the Soldiers of the Aryan Culture is unclear. Metro Gang Unit investigator Jeremy Poor said he has had no contact with Anderson, and U.S. Marshall's spokesman Michael Wingert said he was not documented as an SAC member when he was in federal custody on a firearms conviction for 30 months from 2004 through 2006 and again in 2007 and 2008. Salazar said Anderson was also not previously known to Midvale police.
At the time of his death, Anderson was wanted on a $25,000 bench warrant for failing to appear at a Friday sentencing hearing in 3rd District Court.
Anderson had served a year at the Utah State Prison -- from June 2003 until June 2004 -- after failing to comply with court-ordered probation in a handful of Salt Lake County cases, which included drug possession and three stolen car cases.
He also spent more than four years in a federal prison -- beginning in July 2004 -- for being a convicted felon in possession of a pistol.
Anderson was also a suspect in another violent home-invasion attack in January 2007.
In January 2007, Anderson and Anthony James Bolton, 34, broke down the front door of a Salt Lake City apartment and started fighting with the occupants, a man and woman, according to charging documents. When the woman tried to call 911, Bolton came at her with a knife. When the male victim tried to intervene, Anderson hit him over the head with an amplifier, court documents state. When the man collapsed from the blow, the two invaders fled.
They were stopped by police in a vehicle that contained black ski masks, gloves, cutting tools and drops of blood, according to court documents.
Anderson and Bolton were charged with first-degree felony aggravated burglary, and Anderson also was charged with third-degree felony aggravated assault. The case was dismissed two months later when the victims failed to show up from a preliminary hearing.
In the Monday attack, as many as 10 people were waiting outside the apartment when a 26-year-old answered a knock on the door at about 1:30 a.m., said Salazar. Wielding guns and knives, they pushed their way into the apartment, fighting the man and stabbing him in the hand, Salazar said. The man fled the apartment, followed by several assailants.
Still inside were the man's two nieces, 14 and 22, and the 22-year-old's boyfriend. One of the intruders hit the older sister, angering her boyfriend, Salazar said.
The boyfriend, 23, fought with the man and took hold of his gun. He began shooting in the apartment, hitting another intruder. The heavily tattooed Anderson, carrying two knives and a gun, was shot three times, Salazar said. Anderson died in the apartment as the other attackers fled.-

Well, we are ok. And we actually didn't even know about it til after I got to work on Tuesday. One of my cousins had text me asking if we were ok because she saw what had happened at our apartment complex on the news. I was like, "What the heck are you talking about?" That was the first I had heard of it. So I pulled up Fox13's website and looked into it. It happened in building 7 which is on the opposite side of the complex from us. We are in building 23. We didn't hear a thing. Nothing like this has ever really happened there... And we've been there for almost 4 years. Pretty crazy.

Anyway, I'll post again soon. :)

What's the deal....

...With the freakin' weather?!?!?! My allergies are going hay-wire. My eyes itch like crazy, I can't stop sneezing, and my throat won't quit itching. aaahhh! Luckily, Tylenol Allergy comes to the rescue. I wish Mother Nature would make up her freakin' mind. I can't handle the back and forth all the time. I'm fine when it's nice and warm outside. As soon as the cold, rain, and moisture come, I'm screwed...

Anyway, the doggies are doing good. Red is getting big (long). He's definitely turning into a weiner dog. Cecil and him are really cute together. Except for when they wake up at midnight and again at 1:00am, wanting to play. Brats. Here are some pictures of them...

Cecil playing with their teddy bear
Reddick trying to take the bear from Cecil... Red being a mope..Layin' in the shade...Layin' in the morning sun with dad..

I'm Alive!

We had a pretty good weekend. It was nice. The weather was great! And my mouth wasn't bothering me as bad as I thought it would be. On Saturday we went downtown and my Dad took us on a carriage ride, for my birthday. It was really cool. He knows a lot about the downtown Salt Lake history. He took us up by Memory Grove and just around Temple Square. The horse was freakin' huge! And I found out the hard way, that I am allergic to horses.... Just as bad as cats. I was dying by the time the ride was over. We had to stop and get some allergy pills on the way back home... We took the doggies with us for the carriage ride, they had a lot of fun. Cecil was going crazy! He was so excited. Porter got to ride up front with my Dad, and help steer the horse. He thought that was the coolest thing.

We went out to Kale & Brittany's after that, to have cake and ice cream. My Mom and Grandma where there as well. My Mom surprised me and said that her and my Grandma were taking me to dinner afterwards! We had Chinese food. It was yummy! All in all, I had a pretty good day.

Sunday, Porter wanted to go to the pool at our apartments, and it was warm enough.... So, we went to the pool!!! Our first visit of the season! YAY! Except, I got fried! We were only out for about an hour, and I wanted to get some sun, but GEEZ! Not that much. Porter was so excited to go. Every summer, we go to the pool pretty much every weekend, if we can. Both days. So he was happy that we went so early in the season.

Something cute that I wanted to post about: when we take Cecil on walks, and we're getting him ready to go, Reddick will grab Cecil's leash and try to walk him around the house. It's pretty funny. While we're out, we let Reddick down so he can run a little bit here and there, but for the most part, we carry him. He's not big enough to be on a leash yet. WE LOVE THESE DOGGIES!

I'm dying.....

Not really, but I feel like I am. I am a HUGE procrastinator, and have never got my wisdom teeth removed. (I only have the top two) The one on the right came through a few months ago, and hasn't caused me ANY pain until this last weekend. The whole right side of my face hurts. I have never had a toothache in my life. This sucks. I had scheduled an appointment with an oral surgeon for this Friday, but I can't wait. I called this morning, and they are getting me in at 9:45. I would much rather deal with the pain of having them removed, then have to deal with this.

Anyway, the doggies are doing good. Cecil just LOVES Reddick. They are best friends. They cuddle when they sleep and they always have to be next to each other, or know where the other one is. It's really cute. My birthday is this Saturday, which really sucks, cuz I don't know how much I'll be up to actually doing. We have Po this weekend too.

Well, I'm off to the oral surgeon... I'll write again soon.....