Other Things that Happen + Pictures

May has been super quick, it's hard to believe it's almost June! The weather certainly doesn't feel very summer-y, we have had thunderstorms, hail, and massive amounts of rain this past month. It's frustrating, because all we want to do is enjoy the windows being opened, the sun and warm weather, and not using the heat until the fall. As far as job hunting goes for me, it is still rough. I had some interviews that sounded promising, only to get our dreams crushed a few days later. Some days it's definitely hard to stay positive, but I keep trying and trying. Zak has been great at supporting me and motivating me to keep trying. Hopefully I'll get something soon and life will be a bit easier.

One morning Zak woke up very early, which in turn woke me up. We couldn't go back to bed, so I suggested we go for a walk. We didn't go as far as I would've liked, because it was actually quite chilly. But I took some pictures so you can see the trail we walk on. Also, there were some beautiful tulips and some cute bunnies along the way!

a river

down the hill from our place

Zak thought it was cute that I was ecstatic to see wild baby bunnies! They were so cute!!

pretty tulips

sorry it's blurry; you get the gist of it, though, right?

walking back from Safeway trail

One major complication that happened with me this week involved not only a job, but my nose and its ring. I had an interview at the Best Western last week about a busing/cashier job that sounded decent enough. Their policy is no piercings except for ears, and I figured, ok no problem. I had the second out of a possible three interviews a few days later and Zak suggested that since I knew the policy, I should show up without my nose ring in. I took it without any problems and went about my interview, and the following one I had at a daycare place. Zak talked me into getting a small hoop for my nose, with the idea that it would be easier to take out and put back in if I got the job at the hotel, and plus, he thought it'd be really cute for me. We got a decent one and came back home after all our errands.

Too bad the next several hours were awful. I can't remember exactly what happened, in the correct order, but there was a lot of blood and pain on my end. For starters, the hoop was a little bit thicker than my stud with the screw end. For second, the inside hole in my nose had more or less closed up. I had never taken out my ring just for fun, a few times it's been yanked out (OW), but I don't play with it because I'm nervous about it closing up. And putting in the screw end ring is difficult, because it feels different than it looks in the mirror and after 30 minutes of me getting frustrated and convincing myself to just let my holes close up permanently, Zak stepped in. He sterilized a safety pin so we could 're-pierce' the inside hole in my nose. We let that sit for a few hours and then we tried again. It appeared that I would not be the one to do it, so Zak bravely got the hoop through my nose.

yes, we only had GIANT safety pins...good times...

my poor, sad, little red nose :(

And then to my utter & total frustration, I didn't get the stupid job where I'd have to take out my nose ring. Thanks! So for now I have the hoop in my nose, and I clean it at least twice a day and try to move it around so it won't get super gross. It sure doesn't help to blow my nose with a sore nose, but that's life. I'm still not 100% sold on the hoop, but people tell me it's cute, so go figure.

Oh, I also cut some of our lovely tulips and brought them inside to cheer me up. I had always thought they were red, and they kind of are, when they're really open in the sunlight. But inside and closed up, they are pink, and that makes me even happier! Our pretty blue hyacinths are dead, but what can you do.

Other news includes how much we love the bread machine. It is so easy and I have found a great basic, white bread recipe for it. I need to try a few others to compare for wheat, or specialty breads, so if anyone has some good ones to contribute, please e-mail me! And we continually enjoy our hamsters and how cute they are. They hardly fight anymore, and we catch them doing cute things, like sleeping on top of each other in a random corner in their cage.

Vlad very much enjoyed being in Zak's pocket

hello!

...normal Zak

these guys LOVE the colored pellet pieces, he was chewing on this forever!

hehehehe they are sooo cute :)

Next weekend Zak has shows up in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. I will most likely go with him, so that will be fun for us. His first round of the custom design shows didn't go well, which was really hard on him. :( No one showed up in Moscow or Lewiston, but at least that's better than people showing up and leaving without purchasing anything. He's trying to stay positive, but this is a test to prove that not only can he do it, but be the best at it. There are 3 computers and 4 people qualified to do this job, and he wants to be one who gets to keep the computer locally. I know he will do great at these next shows because they are bigger volume stores with clients that have more money. Moscow is more or less a college town, with humbler folk around here, and kind of the same story for Lewiston. Spokane and Coeur d'Alene have nicer stores, products and richer customers. Plus, the weekend after this round of shows, Zak will fly out to Oregon to do shows at the top stores in the company, so he will kick butt at that. It has been fun to watch him create and design things, even silly ideas I suggests, he'll make look nice. He has a good eye for design and I just want him to be successful, because he can definitely do this--it's not his fault customers haven't shown up. So it's just hard to prove himself without an opportunity. So think of Zak and wish him luck these next few weeks!

Rachel and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Blah. I woke up at 4:30; as I was returning to the bedroom, I heard lots of hamster squeaks [let me preface: they were fighting a lot, we clean their cage with some pet cleaner stuff, separated it w/cardboard, reunited them after five days only to have them fight again, but once the cardboard was back in, they discovered they could tunnel under it to get at each other]. I reluctantly went downstairs, grabbed a hamster and put it in a ball and let it roll around.

complete with demarcation line

Of course I couldn't go back to sleep. So at 5, I went downstairs and read for a bit. A few hours later, I noticed that the ball that once held Tesla was vacant. He had knocked the lid off and was no where to be found. We searched in vain for him, under the stove, fridge, couch, back behind the water heater, etc. Zak set up a little hamster trap in the hopes that Tesla would be hungry and come searching for food.

hamster trap

Fast forward to 10:15, I took Zak to work [another side note: we got our car back on Friday from the shop, fresh with new tires and a power steering system that actually works! the joy] and went to get some much-needed groceries. I won't go into detail about the frustration shopping at Winco with lots of slow-moving people, because it will go on forever. Shopping took a bit longer than I would like, but it was ok. I quickly ducked into the Co-Op for ground beef (it's so amazing), only to discover that my car wouldn't turn over/start.

Zak sent Mat, our wonderful friend who is a car genius, to figure out what the problem was. It turns out it just needed to be jumped (thank heavens), which Mat did for me. He advised me to drive around for about 10 minutes, and let the battery warm up. We didn't drive the car for about two months, so it was probably just sleepy and not very lively. I followed his advice and drove on the highway south for about 7, 10 minutes.

I found a place to turn around in and all of a sudden, the car just stopped working. The steering went out and I luckily, made it to the turn area and got it into park, etc. I got Zak on the phone, and told him what happened. Mat came to the rescue again! He is great. He got it started up, and said the problem was either the alternator or we just needed a brand new battery. He made sure to follow me home.

A few minutes in, I felt the car quit, and thankfully, there was another turnoff (just for me!) to safely turn off into. We got it going again and drove back into town. I panicked at a light, worried that it wouldn't start again after, but it did. And then right as I turned onto the road that is JUST BY OUR HOUSE, it died. Up a hill.

This all took about 30, 40 minutes. Mat started work on the car, only to be frustrated. It turns out the battery is under the wiper fluid ..container thing. I don't know, he is dealing with it. It looks like we just need a new alternator. The guys at O'Reilly's are doing a full charge on the battery. I am a bit scarred and don't want to drive the car for awhile. We are not friends.

I found the hamster. He was making some noise under the stove, so I pulled out the bottom rack and saw him sitting there, calmly. I tried to lure him out with some food, but nope. He kept going into this tiny crack that my fingers couldn't get to. Zak suggested a broom, so I ended up just scaring him enough to get him out from under the stove (after battling with him for about 10 or so minutes).

please excuse the utter grossness under the stove; I promptly swept the floor after I caught him

tricky little guy

He is now in solitary confinement. I am not as angry with him as I was initially, but still feel justified in my decision. He has a dish of food and that's all. Stupid little hamster, being a total punk.

So that has been my day so far. Oh, and last night as I was pulling homemade biscuits out of the oven (they were scrumptious), I burned a good part of my arm. Here is a picture because I have to share the pain. It hurts a fair amount, and some of the skin is trying to peel, revealing really tender parts. I apologize for its grossness; you may skip this picture.

yeah this boy hurts like crazy. it kind of looks like an eye...I have to be careful to not let things touch it, etc.

Hopefully the rest of the day will be better!

Hamster Fight!

The hamsters have been fighting a lot lately. So we've had to separate them; each has their own cage now. Yesterday Vlad was in the little house and Zak decided he'd wake him up and play with him. Vlad was not happy and fought with him a little. So we let him be. Awhile later, Zak was laying on the floor, reading and went over to Vlad's cage. Vlad came out of his house, saw Zak, gave an indignant SQUEAK and went back inside.

It was the funniest little thing! It was funny that Vlad recognized Zak as the man who terrorizes him and gave him a piece of his mind.

We were reading on-line and think we know why they keep fighting whenever we put them together. We think it has something to do with their scents and they've gotten all convoluted living together. So we have to get an enzyme cleaner, clean out the whole cage and refill it with everything. And then we'll set up a demilitarized zone, so each hamster can have a half of the cage, mark their scents, and then after a week, lift the wall that separates them.

We're hoping this works. It's very cute/funny/sad to watch them fight. It's funny/cute because they squeak and tussle, but sad because sometimes there's blood on one or both of their backs. Sad! We hope to have both hamsters living together in peace very soon.

This is happening.

Aside from Zak's birthday, we haven't had anything major happening here in Moscow.  However, I feel like I should write at least something about our past month or so. 

1.  We got another hamster.  His name (yes, it's a boy, we are not into breeding dwarf hamsters) is Viscount Tesla von Roborovski.  He is slightly larger than Vladimir, and much quicker.  He has zoomed off Zak's hand a bunch, so we are careful with him.  Our friend Erika donated all of her hamster accessories to us, which is mostly why we decided to get another hamster.  Erika gave us a larger cage, some food bowls, dust bath bowls, rolling balls, a wooden house, a few wheels for the cage, a water bottle, and some connecting plastic maze things.  At first, the hamsters were unsure about each other and there was some fighting and what have you.  But after the first day, they seemed to have gotten along with each other.  We often find them snuggled up together in their house.  It's really quite adorable.  One of the funniest things they do is run on the wheel together, one following the other.  It's very funny.  Zak also put them both in a rolling ball, which was fun to watch them figure it out together.  They are very cute and we are happy with them.

2.  I got my hair cut this week.  It was kind of random, but at the same time...I've been wanting to, but just haven't felt the need.  But the day I went in, I had straightened my hair and flat-out was like, 'no, this won't do', so I got it cut that afternoon.  I was very nervous because I honestly don't remember the last time I've had my hair cut in a studio.  Someone from church, my mom, or my friend from BYU-I have cut it in the last decade+, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  And, not to be sexist or whatever, but a man was my hair dresser, which added to my nervousness.  However, I let myself relax and tried to be clear with my wishes.  And it turned out really well, he took his time (well, I have a ton of hair) and I am pleased with the results.  I didn't want a whole lot of length off, just some new layers and bangs, and it is very cute.  I even had a customer ask if I had it cut yesterday.

not the best picture, but trust me, it's shorter and cute

3.  We bought a new couch.  Er, sofa.  Well, I have hated our current couch for awhile (we got it a second-hand shop and it hurts my back), and we have been looking into getting a new one for our Christmas present.  It's just that .. Christmas decided to come early for us!  We had found one we liked at a store in town and tried to financing for it (it was a $440 couch, like $40/month payments, no biggie, right?), but we weren't cleared for it.  It upset us for awhile, since we have pretty decent credit history.  So we put that idea on the back-burner for awhile until we decided to go to Pullman on a mutual day off and look at a place.  It was basically good furniture for a cheaper price, I think the website is like extrafurniture.com or something.  Anyways, we found two sofas we really liked, and they were both cheaper than the store we had tried previously (since our price range was minimal, we had a limited selection).  After trying them both out, back and forth, we settled on the one I really liked (sorry, Zak!--he does like it, he just liked this moss/olive green one that was more fabric-y.  I didn't like it as much because it didn't support my back as much as the one we got, plus it'd be more difficult to clean), a mixed leather one.  I never thought we'd end up picking out a leather sofa, but there you go.  It's comfortable and nice, and we are pretty psyched about it.  The other day we wandered around Bed, Bath & Beyond to look at accent pillows and whatnot, because we'll finally have something nice, and then we can create a 'look' for the room.  It arrived in Pullman yesterday, but Zak's friend Mat is helping Zak pick it up tomorrow (since we don't want to pay $50 to ship it to us).  Here is a few pictures of it:

 fresh from the factory

 we got the pillows from Bed, Bath & Beyond; the tiger one Zak got in Nepal

4.  I got extremely praised at work yesterday.  Our corporate execs were visiting (they do so every 8 weeks, and I have always missed out because I normally don't work on Wednesdays) our store and since I've been kicking butt the last couple of months, I was called out by my district merchant lady.  I was surprised and caught off-guard...and also pretty embarrassed.  I don't like to have a lot of attention focused on me, not at work, not when I'm opening birthday presents, I just don't like it.  But whatever.  My numbers have been really good lately, and I am proud of that, but I don't feel like I'm doing a whole lot more at work.  I am definitely more confident with my products and what to suggest to people, and I greet/meet customers more.  But I don't think I've been doing something so progressive.  But whatever, my managers think I'm awesome, so we'll leave it at that.  I also have a really low return rate, which I didn't know.  The corporate lady said that implies/infers (?) that I find out what my customer wants and I get it for them and they leave happy.  So that was cool.  Oh and I got to be in a meeting with some of our 'elite' selling team, talking about our new way of selling and why it's great, etc.  I don't know, I'm proud that I've been doing so well, but now I feel like I have to continually keep it up, so I don't disappoint everyone.  I'm working on it.

5.  The weather is starting to get cold and crisp, and we both love it.  Some of the trees on campus have even starting to turn color!  I'm getting really excited, because we are going to have fall here!  Of course, it's nothing compared to back east, but it's more than I've ever experienced, and for that, I am excited.  I'm also excited for these things:
-pumpkins, carving, eating, etc.
-caramel/candy apples
-apples in general (ooh, apple crisp!)
-scary movies
-watching leaves/rain fall, while bundled up in blankets with Zak
-trick-or-treaters this year!
-soup--clam chowder, potato, minestrone, tortellini, ravioli, I think I might try homemade chicken noodle!

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but we are both (Zak more than me) excited for winter, because it'll be beautiful here.  I'm happy to have autumn for awhile, however.  I'll post pictures of the leaves as they start to turn even more.

6.  Zak is finally getting back to full-time and 40 or so hours a week.  Meaning I don't have to pick up a shift or two every week if I don't want to, because Zak will have more hours than me, hahaha.  One of the girls quit this past week (and is now working in the shoe department at Macy's), so it's just going to be four people (including Zak) at work.  Which is good for the hours and information will be easier to consolidate, but bad because of scheduling.  I'm hoping we get at least one day off a week together.

7.  We are going to Spokane next month to see one of our favorite bands since high school, Coheed and Cambria.  Zak has seen many bands in his day, but never them, so he is really pumped.  I'm not a huge concert person, and I've only been to a handful (well, 3, but I was chaperoning 2 of them, the only one that was my choice when I was 16, Rufus Wainwright in San Francisco--win), but!  I love this band too, so I am excited.  In fact, before we started dating, Zak was over at my apartment for a big dance party thing, and he was wearing a Coheed and Cambria shirt.  I told him I loved them, and he asked if I liked them before they got big, and I was like, 'Duh, since I was 15.'  He then fell in love with me right then.  No, I'm just kidding, but I guess it made me e v e n cooler to him.  More to come on the concert, but we are getting pretty excited for it!

8.  I'm pretty sure that's all that has happened/will happen.  Right now I am home sick (blah), and need to do some dishes or something.  It's like they never end...That's all for now--ttfn--ta-ta for now!

Meet our baby.

This is Vladimir.  Well, technically, Baron Vladimir von Roborovski.  He is a Roborovski (dwarf) hamster that we added to our family today.  He is tiny, cute, quick and pretty fun to play with.  The story behind Vladdy is that Zak saw a craiglist ad for baby hedgehogs and responded.  We were hoping it wouldn't be very expensive, but the lady wrote back and said the hedgehogs were $200 apiece.  So we found ourselves at the pet store, looking at the cute dwarf hamsters.  Zak has always wanted one, and I agree they are a million times cuter than normal sized hamster and guinea pigs (no thank you).  We decided that we were going to get one because fish just aren't as much fun to play with.  We got some basic necessities and -poof!-we became hamster owners.

cage with food, water and chew mountain for him to chew on and hide under

We brought him home and while we got his cage set up, put him in his little rolling ball.  He didn't quite understand the purpose of it, but once we moved him to the linoleum, he got the hang of it. 

carpet = not as good as linoleum

We spent the rest of the day letting him run around on the carpet (he is fast!) and climb over our chests and hands.  He even got up Zak's shirt a little ways when he was laying on the floor, but we rescued him.  We are trying to get him used to being held and played with.  So far we think it's going well.  I spent awhile having him sleep up next to me as I gently rubbed his soft fur.  He is a cute little thing!

all tuckered out

Zak has had the opportunity to have been both pooped and peed on a fair amount today.  Vlad seems to think he is his toilet, probably due to the fact that Zak loves holding him and Vlad hasn't spent too much time in his cage.  Hopefully he will get used to his new home soon.

new best friends!

We are very happy with our little hamster.  We hoped to get another one in a month or two, so they can play together.  Here are some more pictures of our fun afternoon with Vladdy.

I like how flat Vlad is

rocket hamster