And now it's time for my favorite segment..........

Sorry folks, I have no excuse for my lapse in blogging other than my ability to continually procrastinate what I should be doing.

So, to catch you up with our lives, little Lindsay is no longer little. She hit the year and a half milestone on September 4th and is as crazy busy as ever. She know where her eyes, mouth, nose, and belly button are, she is still obsessed with her shoes and doggies, and testing the limits of my patience.

She enjoys going to day care and every mornig when I drop her off she makes the rounds to see which kids are there today and where the doggie is at. I'm glad that she's able to have more social involvement and hang out with other kids her age. I miss her during the day but she seems to be adjusting quite well to me working.

As for me, I really love my job. I love the people who work there and there's never a dull moment. I have to admit that there's a different sort of people who come to court than I'm used to dealing with on every day occasions. Let's just say that the majority of people I see on a daily basis aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. In fact, most of them are old rusty tools who haven't seen the light of day in a long time. But it's fun to meet interesting people and, well, maybe know a little bit of dirt :)

I have some pics to post of Linds and as soon as I work up the motivation to get some new batteries for my camera I will post some to show just how big she's getting.

Hope all is well with everyone!

I've been lazy about my posting - but mostly nothing really new has been going on. Such is my boring, monotonous life.

I"m really enjoying my job though and I'm really grateful to be able to work there. Everyone there is so great and friendly and I enjoy what I do all day long. I've had jobs where I dread going to work in the morning but this job is different and I'm really appreciating the difference in attitude I have towards it.

Lindsay has been learning like crazy and is now obsessed with the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" she just can't get enough of it. She has now learned to say Grandpa (Bupa) and teacher (teta) and it's just such an amazing thing to watching this little person constantly learning every day.

I still am adjusting to the fact that I don't see her as much as I'd like to because I miss her a lot while I'm at work but I just concentrate on the fact that she's able to socialize more with other children and I'm able to appreciate her more when I do see her. She loves her grandma, grandpa, aunts, and uncles and it's such a great feeling to see her relationships developing with the family. Kids are amazing and I feel so blessed to have such a beautiful child to call my own.

This weekend is the Talbot family reunion so Jeremy and I will be taking Lindsay up to Delta to see all her relatives and I'm excited for her to have more time with jeremy's family and her cousins that are near her age. It's always fun to get together with family and just hang out.

I need to get more batteries for my camera (I've just been lazy) and then I can post some cute pictures of my baby girl because she's just growing by the second!

Hope all is well with everyone!

What a whirlwind week it has been for me!

Right now I am currently resting on my bed because I feel like I have the back of an 80 year old - too much lifting I guess!

On Monday I got a call from the 5th District Court where I had interviewed for a job. They called and offered me the position of deputy court clerk. I was so excited! Of all the jobs I had applied for this was the one that I really, really wanted. I had prayed so hard that I would be able to get this job - so prayer does work! Luckily since I was looking for work, I had already scouted out day care places and found the perfect one. It's right between my new apartment and my parent's house and Lindsay loves it there. But I guess I could leave her anywhere there was a dog and she'd love it!

So I started work on Tuesday and I love it. It's a lot of busy work but I'm one of those people that love that. Everyone's commented on how great I'm doing and everyone there is really friendly. I've even learned how to swear someone to documents they're sigining which is my favorite part - "Do you solemnly swear the information contained in these documents is true and correct to the best of your knowledge?" :) It's a fun job, has great benefits, gets me more socially connected, and keeps me busy. I miss Lindsay during the day but I sure appreciate the time I spend with her more.

On Friday I signed the lease to my apartment, the loan on my townhome didn't go through (stupid lenders not accepting alimony) - but it's a great little place and Lindsay's room is huge. More room for more messes! Hopfully I don't receive Melenie's curse of the neighbors and I can make some new friends shortly. I started moving in Friday night, and Darren, Carson, and my Dad helped me move all the big stuff on Saturday morning. Thanks guys!! I've got everything moved in, decorations up, and the only thing left is hanging my clothes in the closet which I am continually putting off because I have too too too many clothes.

Like I said, all is well and I'm glad things are looking up for me now. I've had to learn to readjust a lot lately - I'm still readjusting - and I'm thankful for the new opportunities that have opened up for me. Now it's rest time - at least until tomorrow.

Too tired to post......don't count me out :)

Hey everyone,

After this post, I am going to change my blog address to http://www.shannonandlindsay.blogspot.com . I plan on making the change
one week from today so make sure you change your settings accordingly

Happy Father's Day to All!!

My new favorite addition to the articles in US Weekly is a 25 things you don't know about me section of a certain celebrity. And since I'm a well-known celebrity in my eyes.....lol...I'll share what you don't know about me.


1. I do not like olives due to an overly traumatic situation involving a girl eating a stinkbug. I have since associated the two and it doesn't mix. That and olives just taste disgusting

2. I don't like non-touching food to touch. Cranberry sauce and other Thanksgiving foods? No thank you. Fruit and non-fruits? Let's keep 'em separate. Sure they end up in your stomach all mushed together but that doesn't mean they need to get there that way.

3. I type over 100 wpm

4. I hate irrelevant information in converation. (Ex. So you'll never guess who I ran into at target! Or was it Wal-mart? No, target was yesterday, I think it was Wal-mart...IRRELEVANT!)

5. I consider myself the female Ross. Like I said, always the bride, never the bridesmaid :(

6. Sometimes when Linds's poops are so gross I just shower her off to avoid the task of massive wiping. It's amazing what surprises diapers can hold

7. I am left-handed except when I bat or golf. Althought I don't play golf and can't remember the last time I played baseball

8. I dry heave at the thought of someone drinking cereal milk. I am dry heaving as I type.

9. I am irritated when I can't fast forward through commercials because I'm watching a non-DVR recorded program. Technology is a double-edged sword :)

10. I am a little OCD when it comes to checking locks at night. I know its locked but sometimes I have to check and recheck. Maybe I should go on that Obsessed show.

11. I drink way more diet Pepsi than I should. And now my child thinks its the best thing on earth.

12. I change the channel if I feel embarrased for someone I'm watching on TV. (Ex. Michael on the office)

13. I rarely read a book twice. There's just always another new book out there I could be reading.

14. I am a shoe hoarder. It takes a lot to get rid of a pair of shoes even if I know I will never wear them again.

15. I would never vote for a woman president. Sorry, ladies I just won't.

16. Spelling and grammatical errors drive me up the wall. I will always point them out.

17. I am severly distraught that I will never be able to volunteer at the National Spelling Bee.

18. Laundry is the bane of my existence. I hate that more than anything in life. Except maybe spelling and grammatical errors.

19. I consider my dogs to be my furry children. And right now they are overly furry and deserve a good groom.

20. Sometimes I am way too blunt and should think before I speak.

21. I like to sing sentences Christina Aguilera style.

22. I hate unnecessary whining. And I find all whining to be unnecessary

23. I just watched my child dump an entire Costco sized bag of trail mix all over the floor and just rolled my eyes while she and the furry children went to town.

24. I once had some neighbor girls walk my dogs cuz they were trying to earn money for Summer vacations. I paid $12.00 for a 3.5 minute walk. They saw me coming lol

25. I hate way too long blog posts. And this is one of them. But oh well. There you have it

Okay, so my blogging reprieve was not as long as I thought. I decided that in order for me to process what's going on in my life, talking about it will help.

So, here's the lowdown - - - - -
Yes, I'm getting divorced. Is it fun? Not the first time, certainly not the second Maybe
the 3rd, 4th, or 5th won't be so bad :)

Am I upset about it? Absolutely. But I cannot change the past and I cannot change
the decisions of others. I can only move forward, face reality, and repave the future.

I never imagined that my life would involve being a twice-divorced single mother. It just sounds more like a Bravo show - The Real Housewives of St. George (minus the wealth, mansions, and reunion shows). But nevertheless, it is something I will accept wholeheartedly, adjust to accordingly, and try my utmost to give my daughter the best me I can because she deserves nothing less.

Jeremy is a good guy, he is taking care of us financially, he loves Lindsay more than anything and despite the end of our marriage he will remain an involved father. Although divorce involving children is always disheartening, I do feel that since she's so young it won't have such a dramatic effect on her childhood as it would if we had parted ways later on in life. So, to quote something Jen & Brad might have said ...."we remain close and committed friends" and will do our best to raise our daughter together and show her that although we're not married anymore we both love her more than she could ever imagine.

I've been looking for places and have found a nice little townhome that I've put a reservation deposit on. Hopefully everything works out with that and we can move in once the construction is completed at the end of August. In the meantime, Linds and I will move back in with the parents. Although I always said I wouldn't want to have to live with my parents again (Hello, I'm almost 30), I feel very blessed that they would open their home to us for a couple months to help us get back on our feet. I'm very lucky to have a family (both on my side and Jeremy's) who loves and supports me no matter what.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, your love, and support. And since many of you have asked how you can help ----here's something: Someone get married and for tradition's sake, let me be a bridesmaid. Because it seems my lot in life is to be always the bride and never the bridesmaid. :)

So the saying goes.

The last few weeks have been a really rough time for me, hence my infrequent posting, and recently life has decided to open its clouds and unleash a storm upon me, the likes of which only the Andrea Gayle has seen.

Without getting into specifics, I will be taking a bit of a hiatus on my blog until the first of July - so that I can configure a new direction for mine and my daughter's lives, regain some inner strength, and face my new and different future with my head held high and hopefully some newfound courage, and faith in myself.

Life never turns out as you expect it to and I know the Lord never gives someone more trials than they can overcome. So, as I conquer the trials and tribulations that are placed before me and those that will arise in the coming months, please keep me in your prayers so that I can pull out my umbrella, put on my galoshes and weather the storm.

All is well.

-S.

So, my little dear child is now re-entering the wonderful "I don't want to go to sleep" phase again. I swear we just got over this! She sleeps through the night just fine, but getting her to GET to sleep is now a recurring nightmare! I will put her down and she will cry, and cry, and choke cry, and choke cry and CRY AND CRY and - you get the picture :) It's like a bloody murder cry where I keep thinking, Is she like dying in there?? And then, what makes it the most frustrating, is that anytime I go in there and take her out she instantly is happy and wants to play.

So, I end up listening to the choke cry for an hour and a half - including the time I spend in the backyard so I don't have to constantly hear it, or, my nerves fail me and I take her out and say do what you will. It's a good thing she's cute but this phase better pass quickly or else my sanity will be out the door.

She does like being sang to, so I've ended up singing my own little rendition of Silent Night to help her settle down. It's more of a gentle pleading on my behalf that sounds like a sweet little Lullaby:

Here are my weekly annoyances: Fortunately, there are only 2 :)

1. Jon & Kate + 8 - I don't think I can read another article about this couple's obviously disinterating marriage without wanting to wring my own neck. We get it - he cheated. And obviously now, she gets it. What's even more saddening is that now that their needlessly bicker-filled lives boasts an obvious sex scandal, more people will now tune in. America at its best. At least their kids now have numerous articles and videos wonderfully chronicling every aspect of their, what is sure to be from now on, dysfunctional childhoods.

2. Miss California USA - For the love of Bo the Presidential Dog, could we get over this? I think that from now on, every pageant association should just assume that any contestant and subsequent winner will eventually have nude photos leaked somewhere. What has our society come to that nude photos have become the norm? Is every prospective pageant contestant going to be able to claim that they were "naive" and "vulnerable" during a photo shoot? How about just not take off your top. I thought that was one of the golden rules - Do unto others....and keep your clothes on. Guess I was off. So what wonderful role models our children now have to look up to. Granted I do feel bad for her that she was very obviously judged on her opinion of a sensitive subject and not on her interviewing skills, but I'm still so over this.

I am officially graduated! My pics finally came so now I can post about the big day which was last Saturday. It was a way long day since I had to be up so early to be there by 8 and since I'm perpetually on time I ended up standing in the line for about 45 minutes. I guess I need to learn to be fashionably late.

Since I neglected to mention a MAJOR change in my life I will let it now be known - I AM NO LONGER IN THE NURSERY!! If that isn't proof that God exists I don't know what is. Okay, so it wasn't THAT bad, but I'm very excited about my new calling: Young Women Personal Progress Advisor. All the girls in my ward are way fun, friendly, and excited to be there so so far it's been a lot of fun. Since tonight was YM/YW Lindsay and I walked down to the church and we all learned from Brother Yancy in our bishopric how to take a good picture. He has taken wedding pictures for over 25 years so he taught us some great tricks to taking a great pic.

We took some pictures of the Pinewood derby that was going on and then went outside to see what flowers, plants, and people we could take pictures of. Mine, however, seemed to just come out exactly like I normally take them, regardless of any extra instruction and advice. I guess that means I'm either a naturally good photographer, or hopeless even with help. Knowning my luck, it's the latter. Oh well, we had a lot of fun and I got to know each of the girls - and now it will be nice to know some girls who can babysit!

P.S. pics of my new floor are coming - it's still a work in progress :)

Since I've been busy, and by busy I mean lazy, I've neglected to take the time to post about the uber exciting events that have happened to me. And by uber, I mean moderate.

My father in law and I took on the task of installing new wood floors in my living room, kitchen, and dining area. Alyshia had done hers a month or so ago and I was very jealous of it's easy clean up and how much better it looked than carpet. But boy was it a task! It took us a Saturday, a Tuesday, and half a Wednesday to get it done and and I wouldn't have been able to do it without his expert carpentry skills because there was a gigundo amount of cutting to be done. But it looks great and as soon as we get the baseboards put on tomorrow I will post some pictures. But it looks great! Also, thanks to Alyshia for watching Lindsay for a couple days so she didn't interfere. Linds sure likes to help, but her idea of helping is not equal to mine :)

Then last Tuesday, Lindsay and I drove up to Salt Lake to see Britney Spears lip synch live at the Energy Solutions Arena. And we almost didn't make it. Poor Tracy was nearly on her death bed, and we almost decided to sell our tickets, but she said "I AM GOING NO MATTER WHAT!" And she did, albeit painfully. We had bought our tickets early and got floors seats (our tickets said seat 234 and 235) but when we got there it was standing room only - and we're not vertically gifted if you know what I mean. And since Tracy was super sick and my back hurts after standing for long periods of time and we were quite upset that it said we had seats when we didn't we had to devise a plan involving a necessary lie in order to get our tickets changed. I made Tracy pretend she was pregnant and had preeclampsia and was under doctors orders not to stand for extended periods of time. We acted quite preturbed that we were told seats when there really were none and they exchanged them right away. I know, I know - it wasn't the truth but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Now, the concert was entertaining for sure. There were circus acts of all sorts and fireworks and smoke and crazy cool backup dancers; however, this was NOT a kids show. There was a little girl no more than 12 sitting in front of me and at times I felt like I should be covering her eyes! So if anyone asks you, "Hey do you think I should allow my teenage daughter to go to a Britney Spears concert?" I would say to you, No ma'am.. Because although she might come home with a t-shirt and a multicolored feather boa, she would also come home with a master's degree in sex education! Now, if your teenage son asks to go to a Britney Spears concert, you may have other issues to worry about :) As much as I love/am disgusted by Miss Spears and enjoy her crazy psycho escapades she is not - nor will she ever be - a role model for girls. We took pictures, but lets be honest, all you have to do is pick up the next issue of Celebrities Gone Crazy Magazine, and you wouldn't be missing a thing.

Today, I also had a cleaning company come and give my house a much needed Spring cleaning - and I'll tell you it was certainly worth what I paid for it. My house is sparkling from top to bottom and there's nothing more relaxing than watching TV while someone else cleans your house!

Anyway, that's my weeks in review and boring as it is....well that's my life. Not reality show worthy - unless someone out there is looking for show about a girl who chases a crazy child all day, screams at her dogs, and watches way too much VH1 - I'll let you know if one is ever in the works :) But chances are it would end up on E! and who really ever watches that? Sorry, Mr. Seacrest - the truth hurts.

Today we went to my family's annual Easter Egg Barbecue. This was the first one where Lindsay was old enough to play around with her little cousins and enjoy finding some fun, hidden treats. We all get together quite often at my Aunt Gayle's house for these fun barbecues and it's always fun to catch up with the cousins and see how fast and tall all the kids are growing.

We all ate til our stomachs could take no more - I partook of one of my all-time favorite foods: a severely blackened hot dog. My Uncle Arthur always knows that's how I like 'em. Then all the little kids ran like crazy to the backyard to search for eggs and treats. Lindsay was mostly content to play with a ball instead of hunt for eggs, but with a little coaching she found some foil covered chocolate eggs. She didn't mind the foil taste apparently because they went directly into her mouth. By the end of the day she was covered in dirt, chocolate, grass, and baked beans - the dirtier you are the better time you must be having. That's my philsophy.

The barbecue ended with I think a newly made up game of what I called Easter Basket Ball. Everyone was trying to throw a ball into an Easter basket full of treats. It doesn't take much to entertain us :) Give us some food and a ball and we always have a great time!

Here are some pics of the whole fam hanging out. I know there's a lot, but hey, we had a good time!

I find it a bittersweet occasion that ER is now off the air. And by bittersweet, I mean BITTER because my Thursday night television is now occupied by a number a relentlessly redundant ER reruns whom are watched by way too many people, and SWEET because it is finally off the air and will now be occupied by Southland starring my freebie Ben McKenzie, formerly of the unnecessarily canceled The OC. I love my Ryan Atwood!

15 years? I mean, seriously? Was it really necessary to keep it on THAT long? I personally pride myself on never having watched a single full episode of it. I say, Good Night, and Good Riddance!

Lindsay and I traversed the state from sunny St. George to winter-ridden Provo on Sunday in order to see Tracy and Darren and go to a much anticipated book signing of one of mine, and Tracy's personal favorite, author, Jodi Picoult. If you haven't read any of her books - DO SO. They're all good. All of them. Moral dilemmas + twisty endings = Good books.

It was a ridiculously cold visit my friends - cold, cold, and cold. Personally, I don't know how you Northern Utahns stand this weather :). It's swim time down south! It was so cold I nearly froze my toes off - literally - since I only brought open toes shoes for myself. Since Tracy and Darren had to work during the days Linds and I did lot of window shopping, sight seeing and playing. We went to Kangaroo Zoo in Pleasant Grove where they have about a billion inflatable jumping apparatuses for kids to play on. Lindsay only dare to crawl through the small ones and down the small slides (head first, mind you), but was honestly more interested in the machines that were keeping the inflatables up; however, she had a fun time running around screaming, stealing other kids' drinks, and pointing at nothing in particular.

Since Linds tends to wander around like a lost puppy, I resigned myself to getting her a baby leash - albeit begrudgingly. I keep my dogs on a leash, you know? But holy heavens, did she despise that thing. We went to the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving point and I put the little backpack on her that the leash attached to and she was okay with it as long as she didn't feel me pulling on it. One tiny yank and she immediately dropped to the floor like it was an earthquake drill and commenced screaming like a wild banshee. It wasn't annoying in the least. I'm sure the other museum patrons especially appreciated it. Lately, she has been OBSESSED with stairs and so she spent the majority of the time climbing the two steps up to this massive dinosaur scale and then back down. Up, down. Repeat. Oh, she also ran around screaming and pointing at nothing in particular :)

On Wednesday, Tracy took the day off and we went into SLC and played at the Discovery Center at the Gateway. More screaming and random pointing ensued :) It was the cutest little place though and we even saw a kid wearing suspenders - who knew they existed in that size? And who allows their kid to wear suspenders? I mean, really? Do you want your child ridiculed for the whole of his childhood simply because you're sick of pulling up his pants? Maybe buy a smaller size. But I digress.

That night we traveled the city Lewis & Clark style to find where the book signing was held (thank goodness for cell phone GPS or we might have ended up in Reno) and although Linds didn't sit still or keep quiet even though I brought 8 billion books and treats (perhaps duct tape next time?) and I wasn't able to hear much of what the author said, I did get my book signed first and learned she was also left-handed. We lefties gotta stick together. God made a few people perfect, and then he made the rest right-handed. Sorry, I don't make the rules :)

Today (Thursday) was bitter cold so we stayed inside as much as we could, but having the wildest child ever to live on earth, I had to take her out so she didn't completely destroy the hotel room. We decided to make a trip to The Quilted Bear. Now, normally I love The Quilted Bear. They have cute home decor and other fun and creative thingamajigs. On this trip, however, we found a rather odd and disturbing item for sale. And no, this isn't a joke.

Now, apart from the unknowing stars of To Catch a Predator, I was unaware that there was even a market for toddler lingerie. Sadly, I was mistaken. I can only imagine "Little Lady Lingerie's" competing products: Garter for Girls, Toddler Teddies, Baby Boustiers, etc. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm decidedly against toddler promiscuity. Call me crazy, but I'd rather not tell my one year old it's bedtime and now she should go "slip into something more comfortable." But I guess that's just me.

We also took a trip up to see the new Draper temple and it is quite beautiful. The houses that surround it were almost ridiculous in size. One in particular was quite extravagant - too extravagant even. I pity the fool who has to dust that bad boy. As I sat taking a picture of it, I could almost feel talking clocks, candelabras, and other come-to-life furniture staring at me through the windows - and an unbearable urge to check out the west wing. (Beauty and the Beast reference, in case you thought I was just word vomiting).

Later on, we decided to have Thursday television night at Tracy's, which turned into Thursday wild child driving us crazy night at Tracy's. My child is not unlike Animal on the Muppets. - climbing this, pulling this down, throwing toys, spilling drinks, etc. (but, in her defense, being unfailing cute all the while.) Tonight is a good example of why my child has a 7 pm bedtime. After 7 pm, my sanity is NOT guaranteed.

Tomorrow we drive home - hopefully snow encounters will be few and far between - and I will be back to wearing flips and enjoying the sun! Happy Extended-Winter to all you Northerners - give the Ice Queen my regards :)

1. Rihanna & Chris Brown - I can't believe how many people are shocked that she took him back. Not to be insensitive, but isn't that how abusive relationships work? Abuse, apology, reconciliation - repeat. "They Take Back Their Abusive Boyfriends!" That's not something they put in the "Stars! - They're Just Like Us" pages of Us Magazine. However, I'm sure Oprah's warning to her will mend her ways. Sarcasm intended - mostly because I can't stand Oprah.

2. The Movie Australia - I firmly believe that any and all movies should be limited to a 2 hour time limits. No exceptions. If a film cannot make it under 2 hours, well, then make it a sequel! Most of us DO have lives! (myself excluded) Australia is 2 hours and 45 minutes of dust and Hugh Jackman. And although I certainly prefer the latter, even too much of Hugh Jackman can't be a good thing. It was just way, way, way too long and not near good enough to make up for it. Less is more, people. Less is more.

3. This Bachelor Crap - Of course ABC couldn't settle for another boring season of their good old fashioned meet her 'n marry her show, so this year their Bachelor thought it would be fun to flip-flop Hillary Clinton-style and make himself look like a complete d-bag. Which probaby means he was an original d-bag to begin with - just hiding in a tailored suits. The Sutters being the exception, do people really think that they will find true and everlasting love while dating a bevy of desperate singles all while being constantly filmed? I mean, come on - really? Like really? I guess desperate times call for desperate reality shows.

4. American Idol - How many times are they going to throw in surprise changes in the show before it's not even American Idol anymore and just turns into a bunch of snarky judges making subtley homophobic jokes at a metrosexual host. Oh, well I guess that's something that hasn't changed :) I say let's just keep to the original format, no more sing-offs for your life, get rid of a fourth judge (and by 4th I mean Paula since she's off her meds and can no longer offer any more crazy, loopy, pain-pilled fueled interviews and lets be honest, it raised ratings). FOX better be careful because too much changes could mean AI ends up a karaoke contest complete with has-been stars of the 80's looking for their next big break. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

5. Presidential State of the Union Addresses. Don't think me unpatriotic but I HATE with a PASSION when the address just happens to fill up Thursday night's television slots. That's MY TV NIGHT!! And does it have to be broadcast on every channel short of QVC and Animal Planet? I say how about Monday morning between 9 & 11. I doubt the elderly wont be mad about missing two hours of Matlock and Murder She Wrote reruns. It's not like I don't care about what the President has to say, I just care about the time he chooses to share it. I get very angry when I miss The Office and 30 Rock. You won't like me when I'm angry.