Just the Way You Are!

A couple curious readers have asked what I scored for Mother's Day. I think my gifts show a perfect reflection that my husband loves me just the way I am (think Billy Joel here). Here's what I got:

• A dozen red roses the night before Mother's Day
• Dishtowels
• Dove peanut butter & chocolate treats
• A homemade frame, book and butterfly from Ryanna

• The Biggest Loser Cardioblast Workout

Now, before anyone goes nuts with the idea that my husband would buy me a workout tape for a gift and all of the hidden messages that sends--just stop. This isn't Father of the Bride--remember that blender and how it almost ruined the impending marriage? It really and truly is a great gift and I'll tell you why.


I love to exercise. Okay, maybe that's a lie. I like the way I feel when I'm done exercising. I like feeling like I pushed myself and worked my muscles and did something a little bit (or a lot) tough. I don't have a gym membership, but I do exercise every morning. Okay, every weekday morning anyway.


I rented this Biggest Loser workout video from the library to give it a try. I'm not going to deny that I was a bit cocky about the whole thing. I mean, those people are really, really big, so how hard could it be? Well, one of the really neat things about this tape is that it has several different options for how you want to exercise. Since I've been working out for months and months, I selected the hardest option. It did not disappoint. They aren't kidding when they say it's all cardio. It was great. I could hardly breathe at the end of the second section of cardio.


Now, what kind of mixed signal is it to get me a bag of chocolates to go with an exercise video. Well, in my world it isn't at all. It's my husband's way of noticing that I wanted a new video to do and knowing that I also have a very large sweet tooth that needs to be satiated as well. If anything, it shows me that he loves me Just the Way I Am. You know, go ahead and eat up, I don't care one little bit if you exercise, but since you loved this tape, I noticed and got it for you.


I do have to say that my husband has become better and better in our marriage at noticing comments I make and mentally storing those ideas for later. I love that he tries super hard to get me something that shows that he pays attention to me. I love flowers and those are beautiful sitting on my counter, but he also took the time to really know me and get me something I would love too.


I've already got one of his Father's Day presents and it's killing me to not give it to him. I'm so excited. I also am in process of getting the next one. I have to do a bit more research before I purchase it though. Isn't buying thoughtful gifts for people so fun?

Genetics--You Can Run, But You Can't Hide!

My husband is a wonderful, talented man. He is my example in so many different areas. That being said, some of the things about him really make me chuckle. For instance, my friend just emailed me the pics she took from Easter since our camera didn't make the trip (I'm not going to issue any blame here--see how charitable I am?). As I was looking through the photos, the first thing I noticed were Derek's feet. Have a look for yourself.

You are probably thinking, Derek was a premier danseur (male ballerina)? I kid you not, that's the name of a male ballerina. No, Derek was never a professional dancer of any kind, he has been a sports fan all his life. He did dabble with piano for a few, short years...oh yeah, he was also in a children's singing group, but nothing in the dancing catergory. His feet stand like that ALL THE TIME.

I don't think he needs corrective surgery, although I don't know if that's ever been investigated. I suppose he prefers to think of it as an advantageous mutation. Think about it, you're at the bathroom sink, brushing your teeth and you lean over to spit--Derek's a good 2-3 inches closer than most. Or, his first love soccer. (I mean his first sports love, not his first REAL love, that's me of course). Can you imagine a soccer player that wouldn't die to be born with feet ready to kick a ball?

You know the weirdest thing? If he puts his feet together, his knees turn out a weird way. So, obviously, he was born with this situation going on. I've heard of pigeon-toed, but I don't know what you call this...

For as athletic as Derek is, you would think he would have some level of flexibility, but sadly, there is none. We stretched out together once. Okay, I stretched out and he did something that looked like he was bending half way over at the waist. I told him to really try and stretch and he said that was as far as he could go. Try this. Stand up, bend over at the waist to where your fingertips touch your knees, that's about where his flexibility stops. Now, I would say this was poor training by coaches over the years, but then I saw Derek stretching with his brothers. Now there's a whole group of men who can barely stretch. I don't know how it happened, but it did. I did hear rumor that his brother Trevor built up his stretching ability over the years and can now safely bend over and touch his ankles. I'd have to see that with my own eyes.

I have to confess that my body too has its quirks. My fingers are all messed up. Seriously, if I point, my finger bends like a weird double-jointed way. Why you may ask? I have no idea. My pinky has a weird side bend going on as well. I think my aunt is to blame for that one. Your aunt you say? Hey, I can assign blame wherever I choose. She gets it for this one.

As for my toes, the second toe and the middle toe used to cross. No joke, for several years when I was born they crossed each other. Freak! Don't talk about my grandpa that way he'll kick your bum and that's where I got that weirdness.

You want to know something else weird? I laugh a lot on my homevideos. You can hear my cackle in the background if you listen. You know who laughs just like me? My mom. That's right, she's copying me. She loves me that much. I first noticed it a couple of years ago. We laugh exactly the same. Genetic laughing? What chromosome is that one?

I know I make some people nervous because I'm a big-time detail person. Typos, incorrect word usage, the stray hair lying on your back. I'm taking it all in. Don't worry, I rarely say anything, but I'm watching. Know who else is just like that? My dad. Big deal you say? Well, I only lived with him the first year of my life, so how in the heck did that get passed on?

Wouldn't it be amazing to know all of the traits that have passed down through the various branches of our trees that make us who we are? To be able to provide credit and assign blame to ancestors for all of the many characteristics that make us individuals. How fun to see them all in one room and recognize a tiny bit of ourselves in each person we meet.

Rejuvenating Your Date Life

Since I often gets posts requesting me to tell my secrets of what makes my marriage to Derek so wonderful (okay, I don't, but the idea isn't that farfetched--we have a great marriage). I thought I would share some scientific data that the NY Times just recently wrote about here. Don't be a slacker, read it. It's like two pages long. Since some of you inevitably aren't going to read it and since I'm going to tell you what I think anyway, here it goes.

What it said was that your husband should give you back massages every night before you drift off to dreamland as well as make sure your fridge is stocked with your favorite ice cream. Okay, maybe it doesn't say that, but I can tell you those would work to improve marriage too. What it really does say is:

"Most studies of love and marriage show that the decline of romantic love over time is inevitable. The butterflies of early romance quickly flutter away and are replaced by familiar, predictable feelings of long-term attachment.
But several experiments show that novelty — simply doing new things together as a couple — may help bring the butterflies back, recreating the chemical surges of early courtship. [The same chemicals involved in drug addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.]"

They also tested people by having them do the same activities they usually do and it didn't stimulate their brains the same way as trying new things. So, are you feeling like you've hit a dating slump? Get creative--what is an activity you've never tried? Where's somewhere you've never been? One of the doctors even said, "better yet, don't make plans, and see what happens to you." (That was said in a positive tone for those of us who are obsessive planners such as myself. In my mind I hear that as a warning, but here it's positive.)

I thought it was especially applicable this last week since it was Valentine's Day. I met Derek downtown and we went to a restaurant (Switch) and then went to hear Sheri Dew speak at the ASU Institute building. I wouldn't usually consider listening to a speaker the most romantic way to spend the holiday, but it was planned for that night, so there were no other options. I DO consider a night of anything with my husband a fun time though.

Anyway, I've never met Derek for dinner by his office, I've never eaten at that restaurant and I've never gone to hear Sheri Dew speak before. A night of firsts and it felt like such a wonderful time!

It's really given me motivation to not fall into the same ruts. We got on this kick a couple of years ago where we'd eat Panda Express almost every weekend and I remember thinking those nights were pretty average. Great that the weekend was here, but could've been better. Realizing that it's not possible to always do new things and there is definitely something to be said for familiarity from time to time, I still want to make our date life even better!

Tagged--My Husband Derek

Melissa tagged me on this one and I thought it was excellent timing with Valentine's just around the corner. Before I fill you in on the fascinating relationship that is Derek & Audrey Petersen, I wanted to let all of you know that Costco's deal for Valentine's is THREE dozen roses (delivered!) for only $59.99. I've never heard of such a great deal. Anyway, moving onto us...

1. What's his name? Phil Derek Petersen (No, that's not short for Phillip which is what I'm always asked. Yes, he goes by his middle name because he is named after his dad. And, no, we did not carry on the name of Phil with our first born for which I will always be slightly in trouble for. However, we did name our son after my husband's great-grandpa so that counts for something I think.)

2. How long have you been married? To Derek? Probably, that's what you mean. 6 1/2 years.

3. How long did you date? Puh-leez! Don't get me started on this subject. I say we basically didn't date really at all because Derek is a big proponent of "hanging-out" so he didn't ask me on many formal dates at all. We did see each other almost every single day for about four months before we got engaged.

4. How old is he? Enjoying the last year of his 20s.

5. Who eats more? It depends on what is served. If it's dessert in any form--me for sure. If it's the main course of meat and sides--Derek. (I always remember to save room for dessert.)

6. Who said "I love you" first? Derek did. After he discussed with me how would a person know if he was in love?

7. Who is taller? I am by like 1/2 an inch. I do contend that he tricked me though by wearing hiking boots most of the time we dated (it was winter in Utah.).

8. Who sings better? Definitely Derek. His family is very talented musically while my family is talented in appreciating people who are talented musically.

9. Who is smarter? Well, Derek always says I am. However, I think it depends on what it is we're talking about. I'm very good at grammar and spelling and better at math than he is, but he has a better memory for certain details in stories and definitely knows politics and world news better than me. He also is more dedicated to studying than I could ever be.

10. Whose temper is worse? Definitely mine. Derek doesn't get that upset about most things.

11. Who does the laundry? I wash it all, but he often helps me fold it.

12. Who does the dishes? I do them most of the time, but Derek will help if I ask him to.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? This is a weird question. What is this supposed to reveal? I do right now, but it has switched from time to time.

14. Who pays the bills? Well, Derek is the one making the money, but I'm the one that pays the bills.

15. Who mows the lawn? I did mow it one time, but it's really Derek's job.

16. Who cooks dinner? Me most of the time. Derek doesn't get home in time to do that. However, on the weekends, sometimes I'll let him cook me something. He doesn't like to cook with recipes.

17. Who drives when you are together? Mostly me, but I try to let him drive because it shows that I trust him. (There's a story here, but I'll spare you the details.)

18. Who is more stubborn? Mostly me. This is genetic by the way, I have no way of avoiding this trait. Ask every male that has married into our family.

19. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? What is this? Some sort of a put my faults on display for the whole blogging community? Derek is a thousand times better at this than me. Maybe that just means he's wrong more than me?

20. Whose parents do you visit most? I would say that my grandparents are probably who we see most because they live closer than any other parents.

21. Who proposed? Derek.

22. Who has more friends? Boy, this is a little devisive I'd say. I would say that I do a better job of keeping in touch with my friends. Who keeps tallies of these things? Even if I do have more friends, would I want to flaunt it?

23. Who has more siblings? He does--he's number two of eight.

24. Who wears the pants in the family? Well, I guess I would say that I typically am the bossier of the two of us, but to his credit, I don't think it's because Derek is a pushover, more because he recognizes a genius when he sees one. (Seriously, I think it's because Derek doesn't really feel strongly about most things that have to be decided on, but we try very hard to work together on big decisions.)

Okay, who to tag? I tag Misty M., Adrienne, Marielle, Lolly, Kelli & Stephanie

On the Road Again, I Can't Wait To Get on the Road Again...

Well, I most certainly CAN wait to get on the road again. When I was a teenager, I actually really enjoyed my various drives from Provo back to Montrose where I would crank up the volume on the radio and sing as loudly and as badly as I wanted to. In fact, most drives I arrived almost hoarse from those nearly six hour drives. I even thought, from time to time, how I would love to be a trucker just chugging down the road listening to my tunes, singing and chatting on my CV radio to other truckers...
How scenarios change when you add a four year old and a barely one year old. I knew the drive from Gilbert to Montrose would be long (it's 11 hours if things go well), but I couldn't imagine how poorly it would really go.
We started off by finding ourselves on major icy roads--in Arizona!!! I realize that northern Arizona gets snow, but I never really take it all that seriously since I don't live there. Well, just before we reached Holbrook (the town with all the dinosaur replicas for you who have driven this path) the roads were really bad. I was driving--I like to drive okay. Like I said, I was driving and we were last in a line of about six cars. We were all going about 25-30 miles an hour. All of a sudden, I see the car in front start to spin off the road. I gently applied my brakes and watched as our car started to fall off the road as well.
It was really a little bit surreal as I didn't panic and neither did Derek. It was like one of those action scenes from the Mission Impossible movies where everything is in slow motion. In fact, during the car sliding off the road, Derek looked at me and calmly said, "Audrey? Blah, blah, blah" (I don't remember) I said, "Derek, I am putting on the brakes." So lovingly spoken to each other--must be the Christmas holiday spirit or something.
When we finally stopped, I was glad to see no one was hurt although it did wake Owen up from his nap, which is plenty enough damage in my book. Out from the car that originally slid off the road emerges three of the skinniest teenage boys you'll ever see. I promptly employed these boys as well as Derek to try and push the car back on the road. Given that the total weight of the four combined was probably about 450 pounds, I wasn't giving much hope to this activity and sadly, they couldn't do it. We had to wait until the highway patrol came and towed us back on the road.
The fun doesn't stop there as we slowly wove our way to Cortez, Colorado. Upon our arrival there, we called my grandma only to find out that there was a crazy snowstorm by Telluride and they were requiring chains and possibly closing the whole pass, so we needed to turn around and go to Utah and venture through that way. Well, Moab was clear as the reports promised, but Monticello was a nightmare. Derek was about to fall asleep, so we switched driving again and I drove the rest of the 14 hour drive home. Yes, 14 hours in the car with the kids. In the first two hours Ryanna asked that terrible question, "Are we almost there yet?" at least five times until we mentioned Santa's route may be flying directly past our house if she didn't desist. Owen was actually an angel and cried a tiny bit on and off and slept a lot. This is quite an improvement since the last time this drive was made he screamed for two hours straight without stopping.
After all of this driving, I can most definitely attest to the fact that Willie Nelson did not drive in snow-packed roads nor did he travel with small children or his lyrics would be greatly altered. I would also like to offer my greatest thanks to the creators of the portable DVD player. Bless you.

Projects that suck up my energy and time

I have always had the desire to create a picture DVD for my grandparents that documents their marriage and all of us that have come from their union. Well, I never had a program to do it before, but I decided this was the year. They also celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year, so I thought the timing was perfect.
The problem lies in the fact that they reside in Colorado while I live in Arizona. One time while I was visiting, I was able to chronologically organize a bunch of snapshots through the years. When I say chronologically, I mean to the best of my memory and realize that I was not even alive for a lot of these photos.
I was able to convince my grandma to let me take those a year ago. The best photos are in a box at her house. Yes, a box, they should be on the wall or burned to a CD so all of us can enjoy them, but at least they're safe I guess. There's only a few things my grandparents really guard--jewelry, guns and photos. You psychoanalyze that. My aunt did manage to scan quite a few photos for the 50th Anniversary celebration, so that she could make these huge posters. She provided me with a copy of the CD and it has been a great resource for my project.
This is the very reason why I have been neglecting my blog. I have easily spent over 30 hours thus far (and I'm STILL not done) trying to create this thing. It's about 30minutes long with each photo taking up 5 seconds. Yes, that's over 400 photos. I scanned probably 150 of them myself. I have had to crop a lot of them and tried to improve color on a few.
Needless to say, my husband and kids have been awesome in giving me the time to do this. Especially my husband. I usually wait till the kids are in bed, but poor Derek has been incredibly understanding that his wife is bound and determined to finish what she set out to do.
So, I thought I'd post of few of me as a little girl, so you can enjoy my cuteness too.

Family Photos Arizona style

Saturday my friend, Sheri agreed to take some family photos for me. We headed over to Freestone Park which is a beautiful park. I had heard of it, but never been there, however, I definitely plan to go back. Anyway, she brought her camera and her daughter and took a bunch of pictures of our family. Crazily enough, it was a windy day (as you will witness with some of the hair) and it was a bit chilly as well. Being that we have adapted so well to the heat here, that means it was probably like low 70s and we were freezing.

Tell me which of the photos is your favorite of our family. I want to enlarge one and frame it for our wall. Let me tell you, between Ryanna looking anywhere but the camera for most shots and Owen being obsessed with watching the ducks and the water and my hair flying everywhere, it was a miracle that we got anything good. Oh, and yes, that is a bruise on Owen's forehead. Don't ask me, I don't know how it happened.

Remember, please tell me which number is your favorite and why, so I can decide which one is best! That means all of you too who never post comments. Don't try and be sneaky. I know you're reading this and not posting. Obviously the other shots are simply for your enjoyment.

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Happy Birthday Sweetheart

I just wanted to let you know that I married the most wonderful man (hopefully you all feel the same about your own husbands).

I really feel so blessed to have a hard-working, intelligent, athletic, spiritual, HOT man in my life. The more I hear about some of the guys that are out there, the more I realize how lucky I was to find Derek. If you feel like you're married to a man with great qualities who treats you well, offer a prayer of thanks because you have a huge blessing that some women would die to have.

Serioulsy, how easy is it to bash your husband's faults rather than to acknowledge his differences and celebrate how your differences and his are what make your marriage wonderful? I know that if Derek were just like me, we'd drive each other crazy...and be really, really FAT. You can't have two people obsessed with junk food like me and be healthy.

He's such an example to me...I love him!!!

Derek, I wish that you were able to be home today to celebrate with us, but know we're thinking of you.

T-shirts in All Their Forms

Last night Derek and I were invited to go to an Arizona State University football game. We were able to get some friends to babysit at the last minute (thanks Chris & Lolly!) and off we went. I didn't know until we got there that our seats would be amazing. By amazing I mean we were on the 50 yard line three rows up. I was telling Derek that lately we have been scoring amazing tickets to games. Now, if only we could find someone who has tickets to the Suns...

I had forgotten how fast, big & athletic the players really are. I had previously only attended BYU football games when I was a student there. Those were such fun games. I sat with my roommates and we had such a great time. We weren't in the student section this time, but the student section was directly next to ours corded off by a long, yellow rope. After being there for only a short while I realized that that rope was probably for my own protection. Those fans are crazy! I think they're mostly crazy because they're drunk. Well, they are college kids trying to impress each other so that comes into play as well.

You'd think that with such amazing seats it would be impossible to be distracted by anything else. Well, you'd be wrong. I am a people watcher. I love to see how people present themselves not just in dress, but in body language and facial expression. I had a really hard time when we were looking at houses when we were deciding where to move because if the house was occupied, all I wanted to do was look at the photos on the wall or try to figure out the person's interests from items in their homes. Honestly, I even looked in their pantries not just to see the size of the pantry, but to see what foods the home owners liked. I know, I'm weird.

So, when I wasn't watching the game and trying very hard to protect my ears from the foul language of the all the fickle "coaches" sitting in the stands, I was being shocked by the way the ASU women present themselves. Now, to be fair, there were some female students there that were dressed very modestly and looked very sweet, but they were in a small minority compared to those girls who were prowling around. These prowlers were wearing ASU T-shirts that they had deconstructed into tube tops, dresses and whatever else they could to barely cover their chests. Seriously, I've never seen such a sight. I did figure out how they do it though:

1. Buy an ASU T-shirt that is already too small for you if it were left completely alone.
2. Rip said T-shirt to where you can tie in around your chest exposing most of your clevage.
3. If you think that style is too "last year" then you can cut slits in the side of the T-shirt causing others to place bets as to how long your shirt will stay together.
4. If styles mentioned on numbers 2 & 3 are too boring for you or you actually want to try a new avenue, you can buy two shirts and make them into a dress. It won't be flattering, but it will be a dress.
5. I also forgot to mention that you must bleach your hair blonde and wear a lot of foundation on your face.
6. You must carry a cell phone with you at all times. If you are not texting on this phone, you must have it stuck to your ear to let everyone know that you're at the game, but you are so popular you could be anywhere with anyone.
7. You need to walk up and down the stairs or in front of the bleachers where the other ASU students are sitting at least 4 times per quarter. Any less and you might be able to watch the game.

Okay, I'm being really judgmental here. I know, I know. I was a crazy college girl once too, but I couldn't help but think while I was there, "We are going home and teaching Ryanna the BYU fight song. We are going to buy all of her clothing in blue, tan and white. We are going to bring up the idea of BYU at least twice a day and mention how excited we'll be when she goes there." It really scared me to think that women are presenting themselves this way. No wonder the men in our society are turning to hard porn, there's soft porn surrounding them daily.

Even sadder is that these girls are dressing this way to attract attention from guys. I had a group of about eight such guys sitting directly behind me during the first half of the game, so I was able to hear their running commentaries on the above-mentioned women. They did think these females were hot no doubt, but with absolutely no respect for them. They called them very unflattering names. They didn't find these girls interesting for any other reason than their bodies. Besides, what kind of a man are you going to attract when you dress that way?

Ryanna would've talked my ear off if she would've been at the game. We had a family home evening lesson on modesty about two months ago and boy she took it to heart. Whenever we're out she lets me know when she seems a woman immodestly dressed. I hear it from her when I do my exercise videos:

Ryanna: "Mom that lady is not dressed modestly."

Me: "I know, that's not good is it."

Ryanna: "No, she should put some modest clothes on."

Me: "Yes, she should."

Now that I've got that out, I feel a lot better. Oh yeah, ASU stomped Washington.

It's Official!!!

Late Friday afternoon, I called Derek to find out when he would be venturing home from work. As we were talking he checked his email and discovered that the results from the bar were up.

Drum roll please......

He passed!!!!!

YAY!!!!

Just so you know I'm not lying, check it out for yourself. Click here.

Always paying attention

The other day Derek was entertaining Ryanna by playing with her MagnaDoodle. It's one of those magnetic boards that you can draw on with the little, attached pencil (a little like an Etch-a-sketch?). So, after a while of drawing, she says to Derek, "Let's play a little game." Derek agreed and Ryanna outlined the rules of the game, "Dad, you're going to draw whatever thing you think is my favorite thing and I have to guess what it is. Then, I'll draw your favorite thing." She had Derek go first.

I have to admit, if she posed this game to me, I'd probably draw her dolls or maybe some chocolate or ice cream or something. Derek drew a horse I believe. She guessed and he handed over the pencil to her.

Now, what do you think she drew? You'll never guess this one. She drew a picture of me! She said, "I know mom is your favorite thing dad." I can hear you all saying, "ahhhhh," just like I did.

And all I can hope is that she would draw Derek for me and not a piece of chocolate...