Goin' on a dead mouse hunt!

Our apartment smells so bad right now! Jake and I are pretty sure that we have a dead mouse somewhere. It smells to high heaven! It's like my niece Echo came and took a dump somewhere in my house and it's been festering for a few weeks. And there is nothing that we have found that has worked so far to take the smell away. It is VERY frustrating!

From what I have read, if we can't find the mouse, we will just have to wait it out. And it could be weeks. So my mom came over the other day and we went on a dead mouse hunt together. I am not afraid of mice when they are alive, but the thought of seeing a dead mouse just gives me the heebie-jeebies! So I made my mom do most of the looking while I just assisted. We had a small flashlight, which we called the CSI flashlight, plastic gloves, and plenty of Clorox Wipes! But try as we might, we could not find the little bugger anywhere! So I guess we will just wait it out. Weeks. >sigh<

So I am desperately looking for any known remedies for dead mouse smell. Even if it doesn't take the smell away but just masks it... I am desperate at this point! So any and all help will be appreciated! Thanks guys!

Happy Birthday Jake!

Jake is officially 24 today! So here are 24 things that I love about my husband (in no particular order):

1. His long-standing love for Jackie Chan and Jackie Chan movies

2. How he thinks it's so funny how revolting I find Jackie Chan

3. He plays the guitar - so super sexy!

4. His dedication to school - when a teacher requests that certain pages are read before class, he actually reads them before class! I never did.

5. His willingness to watch chick flicks because it means he can cuddle with me for 2+ hours

6. The love he has for my family and the attention he pays to Robbie

7. His willingness to eat all of my cooking, even if it is burned

8. His love for violent video games

9. How he will clean up after dinner so I can go lounge on the couch

10. He watched Lost until he liked it so we could enjoy it together

11. He lets me talk his ear off about petty things like The Bachelor even though he couldn't care less

12. He likes to make sure we say our prayers and read our scriptures together - I love how important that is to him!

13. His desire to have kids and how good he is with kids

14. How he has never complained that I am the reason we can't have kids for a few more years

15. His love for Jelly Belly's

16. His patience with me and my never ending conversations

17. His love for Willow the movie

18. His amazing ability for languages and his love for the Portuguese language

19. His willingness to have adventures with me

20. How he knows that when I slightly arch my back it means I want a big long back scratch and he is always willing!

21. The way he never complains that our house isn't spotless even though I've been at home all day with nothing to do

22. How when he wants to do something that he doesn't know a lot about, he researches it so that he pretty much becomes an expert - he even built a whole computer and made our TiVo!

23. How he is so loyal to those in his life who mean a lot to him

24. The way in which he loves me unconditionally - no matter what dumb mistakes I make!

Bloody Noses and Smart Siblings

Wow. It's barely 8am and I can already tell this is going to be one interesting day!

Well, I woke up this morning to a beautiful bloody nose. Not fun. I ran out of the room yelling for Jake to come help me. I was freaking out - not because of the bloody nose - that I can handle - but because I had gotten some blood on my favorite sheets! I love my bed sheets and was so worried that I had permanently ruined them! They are so beyond soft I can't even begin to explain how amazing they feel! So I laid down and called my mom for advice while Jake did everything he could to treat it quickly and get the blood out. My mom had some good suggestions so don't worry - my sheets will be fine. But while on the phone with my mom my brother Robbie wanted to talk to me. Keep in mind that this is my 6 year old brother who is in Kindergarten this year. He gets on the phone and begins to tell me that since your nose is connected to your mouth that when you get a bloody nose, you could also get a bloody mouth so make sure to keep your mouth closed so the blood doesn't run from your nose and out your mouth. I was stunned into silence. This kid was technically absolutely right! What a little smarty pants! Apparently, he's been reading this new body book and has been impressing my family with his new knowledge lately. I was definitely impressed!

Music to Jake's Ears

So Jake was commenting today about the music on our blog recently and how he didn't like it. He thought it should be changed, especially since it is "our" blog. I told him that there were 44 posts on "our" blog and I have entered every single one. He claimed that since it bore his name also that it should in some way show his personality too. So we compromised - I will continue to write all of the posts and take all of the pictures and document our lives as such and he will be solely in charge of the music. So the music list on our site has now been fully composed by Jake so that this can truly be considered our blog. And since it is by Jake, there were some obvious choices for "must haves":

There must be some music by The Cranberries. He loves them.
There must be some Joe Satriani. He's a big fan.
There must be some Brazilian music. I told him to make sure there were no bad words first.

And so, without further ado (is that how you spell it?), I present the now complete version of our blog. May it be music to Jake's ears.

This Guy Is A Lot Of Really Bad Words!

I have already confessed my love for the show The Bachelor. So of course I watched the finale of this season last night and was happy when he picked my favorite from the first episode - Melissa. She mixed well with his family and just loved him and wanted to be a mother and nothing else. Well, my happiness was short lived, because during the After the Final Rose show he decided that he had a change of heart and dumped Melissa and brought Molly back out to see "if there was still a chance". It made me sick.

He claimed that life with Melissa has changed during the six weeks since he proposed. This is totally understandable. I mean, all of the sudden the cameras are all gone, the fairytale destinations and dates are nonexistent, and you are no longer dating multiple people but just this one person. He also said that he couldn't get Molly out of his mind but that he tried for the sake of his relationship with Melissa. All of this I can see and I still don't think he's a horrible person. However, when he decides to break up with his fiance, the girl that he had plans to marry until death do they part, on national television without preparing her in any way, that is what I see as cruel and lower than low! He could have broken up with her privately shortly before the show so that she could compose herself, they could both go on and say that it wasn't meant to be, and everyone's dignity would have been upheld. Nope. Not this loser. He decided it was best to humiliate her in front of America and do it on TV. And he knows what it's like to be humiliated on national TV after DeAnna slammed down his proposal last year. What was he thinking!?!

Melissa, who is pretty much perfect, handled it much better than I would have. She apparently thought everything was going great in their relationship and was really upset that Jason first of all didn't talk to her about the issues he was having and secondly didn't want to try and work through anything or fight for their relationship at all. He just quit. She also had a great line where she said something to the effect of she wanted just one proposal to one guy and he has now stolen it from her. She didn't punch him or slap him and she didn't throw the ring down his throat but just calmly handed it back to him and asked him never to contact her ever again and walked off. He later stated that he believed they could be friends someday. She's not that dumb buddy.

But who is that dumb is Molly, who was brought back with a lot of questions, demands, and apparently, a lot of feelings for Jason. Jason came out and was struggling to get the words out that he had just dumped his fiance and wanted Molly back so Chris (the host) helped him a little bit and Jason told her that he and Melissa had "ended it" and wanted to know if there was a shot and then, very awkwardly, asked if she would go for a coffee or a drink sometime.... She didn't really believe him at first and then was overjoyed to find out that the man who dumped her and beyond broke her heart and couldn't give her any reason why he wasn't picking her in the first place had decided he had loved her all along. Wouldn't you feel at least a bit guarded and cautious after all he had put you through? Not her. She practically threw herself at him and not even joking - less than 30 minutes after he dumped his fiance he was heavily kissing Molly. Sleaze bag and dumb girl. I mean, make him work a BIT harder than that! I really wanted her to say, "Sorry, but you snooze you lose!" Instead, she forgot the pain he put her through and forgave him. Ugh.

I am very frustrated with this whole show. Part of me wants Melissa to come back as the Bachelorette but the other part of me wants her to just take this time to heal privately and find someone out of the limelight. I'm so torn. And still very angry. Stupid TV show for messing with my emotions!

List of Must Haves:

For those of you who haven't been following my drama of a life (shame on you), I have been on a VERY strict diet for the past month and a half. It has been a challenge and I pretty much don't eat anything anymore because it's hard to come up with stuff that tempts my taste buds. Well, after 6 weeks, I can finally eat normal stuff tomorrow! Here are the things I have been craving the most:

Cheese

Tortilla Chips

Big Mac and Fries

Ice Cream

Pizza

Milk

White Bread

Chocolate

Popcorn (smothered in butter!)

Oreo's dunked in milk

Wingers Sticky Fingers

Anything I don't have to make myself!

At this point, any food commercial that comes on TV instantly starts me salivating! I think for the first week or so I am going to go wild and crazy! So all of that weight I lost by eating practically nothing, well, lets just say it went away for a short vacation but it's about to come back home!

Need Some Time Away From the Pressures of a Hectic Life? I Can Tell You How To Get It!

Do you ever find yourself wishing for some time alone? Some time where you can just relax and focus on yourself? Where you won't be in reach of a phone or the demanding cry of ungrateful children and the constant messes they make? All of this you want but feel like you can't have because of the guilt of dropping all of your responsibilities? Well, I can tell you how to get your time alone and without the guilt! "How?" you ask? The answer is simple and foolproof:

Get thyroid cancer.

Because when you have thyroid cancer, it is treated with radioactive iodine pills and, if given in a high enough dose, you must go into total isolation for a period of three days. No one can come near you and you can't really go anywhere. There are other small complications like having to flush the toilet 3 times after each use and wearing plastic gloves everywhere so your radioactive sweat doesn't get on everything you own. And really, after you've been completely alone for 1 1/2 days, the glamour wears off. Now it just feels restricting. Luckily, Jake can move back in on Monday (and I can start eating normal food!). Although we can't sleep in the same bed for another 7 days, I'll take what I can get.

The Long Awaited Scan!

So, after 7 months of waiting, I finally had my scan last night to see if my last dose of radioactive iodine worked. I had my entourage with me (they were mostly just curious about the results) and like a true Doggett/Cuthbert, we got there 30 minutes early. So we passed the time:

My mom kept complaining there was nothing to read there and Jake was still studying hard - no surprise there. Alex was drawing comics and I was just generally irritating people. At least I had fun! It finally became time to go back for the scan (and yes, they called me back late!) and I took Alex along as my photographer. You can only have one person in the room at a time. Guess what their reason is for this - because they only have one extra chair. Lame. You think they could come up with a better excuse than that! So here is the machine with my lab tech guy blinking:

And then they put this pillow under your knees so they won't move:

And then they bind your feet together so they won't move:

And then they tighten the strait jacket over your torso so your arms won't move (because their table isn't wide enough to rest your arms on - cheap lab!):

If you couldn't tell, you are not supposed to move at all during this procedure! So if you have a mom who likes to try and make you smile even though it is quite obvious you aren't supposed to move, don't let her come back with you. Then they lower the gamma camera so that it is just a few inches above your face:

And they start the Total Body Thyroid Scan which is such a lie because it only goes to your knees. But it does take 30 minutes to scan from head to knee. And I can't move. And I can't talk. At least, I can't talk until it moves past my head and at that point there's really only about 10 minutes left in the scan. Good thing I find my own thoughts very entertaining! After the total body one they do a second scan where they position the camera right above my neck for 10 minutes. This time they lower the camera to within an inch of my nose! Luckily, I am not claustrophobic, but it did bug my eyes because they had a hard time focusing on something so close, so for most of the scan I just lay there with my eyes closed. I don't have any pictures of that one because Alex had gotten bored by then and gave up her seat to Jake who eventually gave it up to my mom who tried to get me to laugh until the lab tech scolded her.

Last time I had the scan the ladies were nice and let us have a peek at the results so we would have an idea of what was going on. Unfortunately, these guys were sticklers for the rules and regulations. We pretty much begged and pleaded to get just a glimpse of the scan but they went all "HEPA rights" and "privacy violation" on us. And when my mom tried to look over their shoulders during the scan, they purposefully shifted their bodies to block her view!! So I have no idea what to expect during my doctors visit tomorrow. For goodness sakes! I'm been waiting over half a year to see if my scan showed any surviving thyroid cells and they couldn't even let me have my 5 seconds with my own scan! So I will know more and post more tomorrow. Let the anticipation begin!

Why Oh Why Am I So Addicted to Pro Cycling?

The Amgen Tour of California was on this past week and I didn't miss a day! Why do I love cycling so much? I can't really put it into words, but I know one reason:

Andy Schleck. He kicks butt in those mountain stages! I have already mentioned that he will one day win the tour of tours - The Tour de France! So I have decided that someday I will meet him and I will go up to him and tell him that I love him and then introduce him to my husband whom I am crazy about! And then I will slyly mention that I have two very attractive and very available sisters! I just hope he speaks English! Do people in Luxembourg learn English? Let's hope!

Radioactive Again!

I took my next dose of radioactive iodine yesterday so once again I am in partial isolation! I feel quite normal (although that could be because I just took a small dose. The larger one comes in about a week.) but I'm still on my low-iodine diet until I take that larger pill. Considering that I am consciously making myself radioactive, it is surprising how normal the pill looks. However, the container it comes in is about 1 inch thick pure lead all of the way around! And then they roll this harmless looking pill into my bare, unprotected hand and I swallow it just like any other pain killer. Very odd. Enjoy the pictures!

I will have my body scan on Monday evening so I will post pictures of it when I get them. Now you can wait in suspense!

A Low-Iodine Valentines Day? It Can Be Done!!

Since this whole radiation process has taken much longer than I thought, I was still on my low-iodine diet for Valentines Day. That meant that I couldn't eat out, but I still wanted to have a nice romantic dinner with Jake so I had to find something that was still yummy but low-iodine. I definitely succeeded!

I made my own balsamic vinaigrette dressing which I put on top of spinach leaves and then I made some honey mustard chicken and laid it on top of a bed of bow tie pasta. And of course we had Martinelli's Sparkling Cider! And for dessert I made a Hot Fudge Pudding Cake! And all of this meal was made without any diary, soy, eggs, butter, margarine, chocolate (I used cocoa powder which is okay), and only a pinch of salt (I couldn't find salt free mustard but I did find an organic brand which used very little salt)! I was very proud of myself! Now I will be the first to admit that the cake would have been DELICIOUS next to some vanilla ice cream, but even by itself it was really really yummy!

You MUST watch this video! It's Amazing!!

This girl is one of the best dancers I've ever seen! And the song is awesome too! She was the national Junior Soloist last year with this routine and it's not hard to see why! She dances with such emotion that it's crazy! And did I mention that she was only 12 when she won?

Ok. I must tell you that I am completely biased because this is one of my Young Women! She also lives a few houses down from me. Her name is Alexia Meyer and she's already accomplished more in her life than most people I know! She trains at The Dance Club and is on most of their ad campaigns. While at a national competition she was discovered by a modeling agency and spent two weeks in New York doing some modeling. While there, they were holding auditions for The Nutcracker and she decided to audition on a whim. Well, she landed the role of Clara for The Nutcracker in Nashville. She spent two months there with her mom. She also won the National Soloist competition last year on the junior level at the young age of 12! She is also super nice and super sweet! She makes sure that all of the girls in her class are included and feel important. I love her! So enjoy the video!

If you want to see it full screen, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxsIrobJc_I.

Goodbye Grandpa Tom!

Two weeks ago my Grandpa Tom Doggett passed away after a long and loving life. It was hard to let him go because he was such a good grandpa. He was always willing to do whatever we wanted and never complained when we wanted to use his precious tools. He helped to inspire our creativity and with him, the wood project possibilities were endless! He loved to take us to the beach and to the dump, which as dirty as it sounds, is actually quite an adventure. And he always had the best stories to tell us! They were always a mix of fact and fiction and we had fun trying to figure out how much trouble our dad actually got in!

He was always smiling, except when there was a bad call made during a Patriot's game! He was a hard-core fan! He also loved to say, "Good on ya!" so that people would think he was Australian when in fact he had never even been to Australia!

He served in the US Navy and at one point sank his commanding officer's boat! He also graduated MIT in 3 years while enrolled in an accelerated program for the military. When my grandma and dad joined the LDS church, my grandpa was wary at first but after the baptism he was always supportive of them going to church. He even paid for my dad's mission and wrote his throughout the entire mission. He also encouraged my dad to go to BYU and paid his tuition. And he was excited when my dad and mom decided to get married in the temple.

But above all else he did during his time on earth, he loved his wife! He spent his life serving her and even he said that was his greatest accomplishment. I'll miss you gramps!

*This is my sister Hana with my grandpa at Christmas a few years ago*

*This is me when I was just teenie. Wasn't I the cutest?!?!*

Miami - Part 4 - Epcot

Here is the last part of our trip! And by this point I was so tired and my feet hurt so badly and so I wasn't so keen on taking pictures. In fact, I wasn't so keen on doing much that day. We got to Epcot just before 11am. Magic Kingdom was already closed (it was New Years Eve) so the line to get into all of the other parks was way long! We finally got into Epcot and ran to get some Fastpasses for something. Oh wait - for anything good the fastpasses were long gone. In fact, the line for Soaring (one of the most popular rides) was over 5 hours long! So instead, we went on those smaller rides and had some fun around the park: We eventually decided to go on a ride called Test Track but the line was about 3 1/2 hours long. Luckily, we saw that the single rider line was only 90 minutes long so Jake and I braved the crowd and stood in line. And after waiting and enduring next to a family who cannot comprehend that giving their children Coke will make them want to pee, we finally got on the ride and we were actually in the same car! Was the ride worth it? No, but at least it killed some time, seeing as how we were there until midnight.

We did go on the Ellen Degeneres Energy ride - basically because it was 45 minutes long and that was just more time to kill. I actually enjoyed it mostly because it also starred Bill Nye the Science Guy. It was a quiet gentle ride and I had a good time. Jake found it so peaceful that he slept during the whole thing!

It was so crowded that Jake and I decided to bail on doing anything else and went to find where his parents had staked out a spot to watch the fireworks. They had found a great spot and we pretty much stayed there the rest of the day/night. We got suited up for the New Year in our New Year Gear:

As is quickly becoming our New Years tradition, we were sitting next to some Brazilians (it randomly happened last year in London as well) who had a blast talking to Jake and his dad. They helped to pass the time for Jake and I tried to sleep. I must admit though, the fireworks display was beyond amazing and just before midnight they went through each of the countries represented that had already celebrated the New Year and they each had their own fireworks. Then of course, the countdown, the kiss, the blowing of horns, and the weaving through the drunks. Typical New Years! I have it all on tape if you want to see it. I must say though that Jake and I showed our amazing weaving skills once midnight was done with. We beat everyone to the front gates. If there is even a small opening, we dart and slip and push our way in. We are pretty much awesome!

So there is Miami! It was a great time with lots of fun and lots of memories, but it was so filled with activities that we had to come home and have a breather!

Miami - Part 3 - Magic Kingdom

We had a great day at the Magic Kingdom! The weather was beautiful but it was so beyond crowded! The park was closed before noon because it was at capacity! So because of the craziness, I didn't take too many pictures (you're welcome) but I did take a bunch as we clowned around on the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House! I quickly took charge of the tree house: and spent time dreaming of my future home:
clowning around on the trek up: And then realizing how much energy it takes to clown around on the way up: Jake was the smart one and clowned around on the way down: And then went on to prove his manliness by touching some of the props that clearly were not meant to be touched. I'll never understand boys. As we made our way around the park one place we definitely did not stop at (in fact we ran as fast as we could through the crowd to specifically avoid it) This ride may look innocent, but it's a total farce! It is beyond scary and definitely nightmare inducing! Jake and I also drove the cars and my car was considerably faster than Jake's so I obviously had to slow way down to wait for him to catch up so I could take these fabulous pictures! Luckily, no one was behind me for a long ways so I didn't hold the line up. It may look like he's winning, but really, I kicked his behind! And I'm sure it had nothing to do with his unusually slow car!

When I asked my brother Robbie if he wanted me to take pictures of any characters for him, all he told me was to give Buzz Lightyear an "air hug". Wow. Can you tell this kid picks up a lot of random stuff in Kindergarten or what!?! Well, thankfully, the line to Buzz was FOREVER long so I dutifully gave him an "air hug" and then snapped his picture from afar. And for the last, and my personal favorite, picture of Magic Kingdom: We can't even remember what ride it was on (my guess is Thunder Mountain Railroad) but it still cracks me up because it is usually the child acting up in those "what not to do" pictures but the adult is totally going for it too! It makes me giggle every time!

Alright. That's it for this stop. Don't worry - only one more Miami post to go. Now I must go and make my low-iodine peanut butter cookies in preparation for American Idol and Lost tonight! What a great TV night!!!