It's a BOY!!!

For those of you who didn't read Eliza's first blog entry and or didn't quite grasp the subtle hint of the good news, IT'S A BOY! If I had the ultrasound with me right now I would upload it and post it along with this entry, but I think Eliza still has it in her purse. We've already been clothes shopping and stroller shopping, and we are even starting to clean out the dirty guest bedroom for the new arrival.

For Christmas, Eliza really wanted a pair of Ugg boots. I was more than happy to try to get them, but I had no idea how hard it would be to buy a pair. I tried the official Ugg website, and just about everything had to be backordered. I tried Nordstrom.com, zappos.com, amazon.com, everywhere, but they just didn't have any boots available. So I finally resorted to ebay.com, which I normally love, but for an item that is unattainable, you have to pay quite a bit extra. I set my maximum bid $50 above the normal retail price (high, I know, but I am a very competitive ebayer). Even at that extravagant price, I couldn't win a pair of boots. Finally, after a Google search, I found a store that was selling the black Classic Short Ugg boots that Eliza wanted, and I bought them at retail price, free shipping. They might take a week or two to arrive, but it will be worth it. In all the excitement of boot shopping, I bought myself a pair of Ugg boots to keep my toesies warm up here in the North Pole of Utah. I found them on ebay for cheaper than retail, so I jumped on it (men's Uggs aren't in high enough demand, I guess).

This Christmas will be a little lame because I have to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but we will hopefully be able to find some time to visit our family. We are going to have Michelle and her sister Wendy over on Christmas night to celebrate. We are very excited. We got them stockings and some fun stocking stuffers, and hopefully we'll have something good to eat. Michelle, what do you want to eat that night? I was thinking about making my Red Pepper and Gouda soup, but I don't know what else to eat with it. Let me know if you have any ideas. (I can ask Michelle questions in our blog because she is one of our loyal readers and commenters. Thanks Michelle!)

I'll talk about graduation another day. Christmas and the new baby are topping the importance list. I will just mention that I passed all of my classes with a C+ or better, so I will receive a diploma. Yeah!

Chasing Santa

So today has been a good day. I had some news I wanted to share with my family so naturally I called my mother. She of course didn't answer so I called my sister Carlie who always has as much enthusiasm, and always knows where my mother is so I'll know where I can find her at later. Well I called to let my family know that my ultrasound went well and that I'm expecting a boy! Yes a boy. Which most of you know because I sent out a mass text. The ultrasound went well and even I could recognize the little penis! Chuck and I reminised over the time my sister asked me to set her baby down and not realizing 3 mo. olds don't sit on their own it plopped over and banged it's head. This was only a month ago so the embarresment is still quite fresh. That's not as bad as the time I forgot I was babysitting and left her baby in the crib to go get lunch with my brother. My other sister Katie reminded me of this today. So at the doctor's office Chuck and I were joking about how when our baby is born we won't know what he's capable of. "Hey go get yourself some cereal! Have you eaten yet? Baby! Answer me! Baby!"
Anyway I was so excited I completely ignored the fact that Carlie was barely breathing and yelling at her daughter Halle to hurry. My curiousity got the better of me and I finally asked what she was doing. "I'm chasing Santa." I let her go and left Santa to who knows what fate.
I think now would be a good time to remind everyone to take a step back and enjoy the spirit of Christmas. Appreciate family all that we've been given, or you could end up like Carlie, chasing Santa this Christmas.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

That is totally how it's going to be when we find out! We are going to scream it from the rafters. But we really don't know what our baby will be until the 18th or 19th of December. We could know now, but we don't because we have to wait. So we wait.

My sister is having another boy! Congratulations. This is her second. Here is her ultrasound. I don't really see a boy in the picture, but I'm sure he's there.

I'm graduating soon! I graduate December 15th. I don't really feel like it's happening for a number of reasons. 1) I hardly ever go on campus for my classes, so I feel disconnected from the University. 2) I still have to take a biochemistry class next semester to be able to get into the U. I originally thought that I didn't have to take Biochemistry, and that is why I opted to graduate early, but it turns out that I have to take it, and I have to graduate now because I said I would be graduating now. The admissions committee at the U is very hard to please. 3) I have been working more than schooling, so it really isn't a big part of my life right now.

Anyway, it will be interesting. Anyone is welcome to come. My graduation is Saturday, December 15th, at 10:30 am at the Dee Glen Spectrum on campus here in Logan, UT.

Here is a reminder of Eliza's big day last May:

We'll keep you updated on any baby news that might pop up. Eliza claims that she can feel the baby move, but then she farts. I'm pretty sure it's gas every time. She probably doesn't want me to say that, but it serves her right for not ever posting on our blog.

Amen

I just got an e-mail from my very first mission companion, Joe Wolfe. He and his wife are expecting a baby about a month before us, and I am so happy for them. He was one the best companions that I had on the mission. He was so good with the people, so good with me, and such a good leader. He was one of the youngest missionaries to train greenies, and he was a district leader at the same time. Elder Wolfe was a very successful missionary, and ended up being an Assistant to the President. He is such a good guy, and I miss him a lot. I am still using his phrases and making his excited noises. (Bomby!)
I just spoke to Eric Gardner, also from the mission, and he told me that Trentle is getting married! (Trent Hunsaker, also from the mission, also an Assistant to the President, also an awesome guy and my former roommate.) The word is he's getting married over spring break. Congratulations, Trent!

In other news, I am at the library trying to do my homework, but I just can't get into it. My geography class isn't what I was hoping it would be.


All I can I think about is a quote that one of the residents at the nursing home said while on the toilet anticipating a bowel movement: "Dear God... Amen."

Amen.

Gettin' in the groove

I'll admit, I haven't been to church in about 4 or 5 weeks. This is due to the fact that I work every other weekend, and on the weeks that I could have gone to church we had stake or general conference. So when I went yesterday, I felt about as antsy as the sunbeams! It's hard to sit that long in a room that is either too hot or too cold (or too boring). I'm going to have to get used to this church thing again.
I have to mention that I finally went to the temple on Saturday. It was awesome. I can't believe how blessed we are to have the opportunity to go to such a place to learn and become closer to our Father in heaven. Since it had been so long, and since I had just returned from St. George, I was a bit tired and uncomfortable at the temple too, but I stuck it out, and enjoyed it. From my trip to the temple, I realized that I really need to lose weight. My pants don't fit me anymore. I am showing way more than Eliza, and I'm not the one carrying the baby!

Two Interviews and a Funeral

So, I had my interview at University of Utah. It was actually two interviews, one with a doctor and one with a fourth-year medical student. I think they went well. I felt calm and I responded well to the questions asked. The nice thing about the interviews was they were relaxed. The interviewers weren't trying to make me look stupid or ask hard questions. They sincerely wanted to get to know me and see if I would be a good fit for the school (and I am, by the way). They gave me a tour of the facilities, and I am so excited to even think that I might have the opportunity to go there. The new health sciences building is beautiful. It would be a treat to go there. They won't let me know if I am accepted or not until March 1. Let the waiting begin!
Eliza and I went down to St. George with her family on friday to attend her grandfather's funeral. It was beautiful. Her aunt and uncle gave wonderful talks, there were two musical numbers sung, and the prayers gave us a little "something" to talk about. The overall trip was nice and entertaining. On the drive down to St. George, we got to experience a debate between Uncle Gordy and McKay about the intricacies of modern revelation (I sided with Gordy), and I successfully won a spelling bee by spelling hemorrhage, diarrhea, and diphtheria. On the drive back to Orem, we played "Topic: Subtopic", the next gameshow sensation, which gave way to brainstorming for possible business schemes for Michael and McKay to embark on as soon as Michael graduates from college (although I don't know how likely it will be to become Water Lords).
In the hotel that we stayed at, the water main broke, and we were without water until midnight, or possibly later. This was the opening act of the water tragedy, the closing act to be realized at the Platt home when I clogged the toilet, made it overflow, and, during clean-up, accidentally bleached the really nice hand towel in the bathroom. I only wish that I wasn't the star of the second half.
On a more delicious note, I ate at the new Market Street Grill in South Jordan with my parents, and it was AWESOME! I can't wait to go back.

Never going to post...

I've just faced the fact that Eliza will probably never post on our blog. She's become a blog baby because she thinks that I post too much. This is what I think: if we don't post regularly, then no one will ever read our blog because nothing will be new. So, I'll try to carry this burden alone. My sister and her husband just started their blog. Click here to see it.
I think blogs are the greatest thing. It's like mass e-mailing family and friends without the hassle of trying to figure out who you want to send it to. And the family and friends don't have to feel guilty about deleting those messages without reading them (which is what I often do). Blogs are so informal and fun. Go Blogs!
So, Referendum 1 didn't pass (YES!!!), so Eliza and I don't have to feel guilty about not voting yesterday (since we have a "STOP Vouchers" sign on our lawn). We just didn't register on time. I don't know what else to say about that.
I have my first medical school interview tomorrow at the University of Utah. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm not nervous yet. I haven't had enough time to think about it too much. But I'm sure that I'll be a mess tomorrow morning.

PARIS

As I was lying in bed tonight, I couldn't stop thinking about Paris. Perhaps one of the dirtiest cities we visited on our trip, it was also one of the grandest (I say this after visiting only 3 cities). There were so many beautiful buildings and statues all over town; I wish that I had more time to be able to explore them. Of our 13 days of vacation, 2 of those days belonging to air travel, we spent our final 6 days in Paris.



On our first night, Eliza's birthday, we went out to dinner. I told Eliza to choose the restaurant. Being a little pregnant and sick, she chose the only Mexican restaurant in town, Arriba Mexico! I don't know how we found it, but it was the best place to start our expedition in Paris. By this time, we had already been to London and Barcelona, and Eliza was ready to go home. Fortunately, that little splash of Mexico transported us home for the evening. We spent the night in a cute little hotel manned by a wonderful staff and two cats. We had a room on the fourth floor that was right on this corner. We would spend all six nights in this hotel, but our room would change without us even knowing it.



After the activities of the second day, we arrived back at our hotel to find people in our room on our bed. Completely confused and a little upset, we asked why they were in our room. Apparently the cleaning lady let them in. So we asked them about our things, which were mysteriously not there, even though we let everything everywhere after unloading our back packs the previous night. They didn't know where our stuff was. Fuming and ready to kill, Eliza led the way back downstairs to the lobby to speak to the manager. After a very confusing French/English argument, everything was "no problem" because our stuff had been moved to a smaller, less awesome room without our knowledge. No problem. This is the room we stayed in for the remainder of the trip. Why they couldn't keep us in our room and move the other people in the other room is beyond me. But, this is Paris. There are no problems in Paris.





I can't tell you how much we loved the museums in Paris. It is so amazing to actually see the art that is in every social studies book you've read since elementary school. I'm not talking about the Mona Lisa. That kind of sucked. I'm sure I would have enjoyed her more if I was allowed to get closer than 15 feet away from her, but I just couldn't appreciate her from such a distance. Now, the Venus de Milo was awesome, as well as the Winged Victory (both in the Louvre). The thing about the Louvre, for me, was that I felt like the building outdid the artwork in most rooms. The palace is amazing.

We brought home our own little bit of art. We found a woman drawing on a bridge over the Seine, and fell in love with her simple paintings. We

bought this painting from her, and decided to eat at the little cafe on the corner just to make the painting more special for us. This was a great meal. I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, and Eliza ordered a hot dog (I don't know why she had such weird food preferences ove

r there). My sandwich was a good sized sandwich, but Eliza's hot dog was huge! It actually consisted of two hot dogs laid end to end on a baguette smothered in cheese. As you can see in the picture, it was pretty awesome.

There is more to tell about our Paris excursion, but I'm really tired now and I don't want to think about Paris anymore. To Be Continued...

Fall in Logan...

Fall in Logan basically means winter in Logan. I'm just counting the hours before the snow starts to fall. I really wish I were in Mexico right now. Or maybe even Vegas. That would be nice. I guess I should enjoy it here while it's still enjoyable. Here are a couple of pictures that I took last weekend (taken in Wellsville).



So, I said that we would talk more about Europe. I'm not ready to do that yet, but here are some fun pictures.

Here is Eliza looking stunning at Parc Guell...

Here I am in front of Westminster Abby...

And this is Winged Victory from the Louvre. I love this statue.

Okay, so not much information in this post, but you really don't need information all the time.

Go Utes!

Hello again, world-wide web of people. I thought that Eliza would take a turn next before I wrote again, but she hasn't had the opportunity to yet. So here I go again.

Let me start by saying that these last few days have been surprisingly awesome. Have you ever had a day that went your way, and was even better than you could have predicted? This week has been like that for me. To start it off, I sold two of the coat racks that I've made that are on display on the bottom of the screen. I sold them to a woman in Spain. Things should have gone really bad with the transaction: I quoted her the wrong shipping price, I purchased the wrong type of shipment, and I didn't know what I was doing; but things worked out, and I was paid in full for shipping, and I got it off to her without any trouble. Lessons learned, and blessings received.

The next thing that really made my week was an e-mail from the University of Utah. Do you remember my previous blog, and how I had to drink away my emotions with a smoothie from Sonic because I wasn't hearing from any schools that I had applied to? Well I finally got asked to interview at a school, and it's one of my top picks. I would LOVE to go to the U for the following reasons: in-state tuition, close proximity to family and friends, in-state tuition, and close proximity to family and friends. And I guess they have a great program to boot. I'm pretty excited. One of my fellow pre-med peers who has two interviews scheduled at other schools (he's an awesome guy) isn't even scheduled for an interview at the U yet. Now I know I shouldn't compare myself to others, but I need a little boost where I can take it. Isn't that rad? Go Utes!

Okay, now the third thing is probably the most important. Eliza had her doctor's appointment yesterday, and guess what? She really is pregnant! I thought she might have been lying all along to get me to do stuff for her, but she wasn't. There really is an alien life form inside of her. We have the pictures to prove it. It was so much fun. We got to see the heartbeat and the little hands on the ultrasound, and it was moving around all over. As far as we know, it's a healthy little fetus-thing. We have another appointment scheduled for four weeks from now, so we'll keep you updated.

Finally, I did something about my bum-wiping dilemma. The nurse that I work with at the nursing home told me to apply for the RNS aid position. I would still work on the same wing with the same cute old people, but I would have different duties. So, I filled out an application, on Monday, and the next day I got a call for an interview. I went in, had a five-minute interview, and was offered the position immediately. My new duties include doing physical therapy type things with the residents to improve mobility and ambulation. I'm really excited to start.

As you can see, this week has been pretty awesome so far. I guess I can expect the rest of the week to go downhill. That's alright, I deserve it. One exciting thing, though, is that I'm almost finished with about 4 more coat racks. Anyone is welcome to look at them and buy them after I add them to my shop. You can access my shop via the bottom of this screen. Just click on a picture.

McDoner...McDonalds?...McDoner...

Here's something funny we ran into while in Europe. Across the street from our hotel in Paris was a McDonalds--I mean a McDoner (wow, that sign always threw me off). Honestly, I would like to know what they were thinking with this sign. Were they really trying to confuse people into thinking that they were, in fact, McDonalds? And when their customers tried to order a Big Mac, were they going to be very let down because all they have are gyros and lamb hamburgers?

If you'll notice, this restaurant serves Turkish Specialties. I guess I wasn't aware that there were Irish-Turks. Why else would turkish people name their restaurant with a Mc? It baffles me. Unless, of course, they are trying to confuse people into thinking they are McDonalds. Being confused for a famous world-wide chain should be beneficial.

What shouldn't help business, though, at least with the American tourists, is the second half of the name: Doner. Do they accept McKidneys and McLivers from people, and use it in their food? Or do they take the whole package, like the infamous Donner party? Either way, the appeal is missing.

To add to the excitement of this story, we braved a trip to the interior. Eliza, being the sick one on our trip, picked most of the restaurants we went to, and somehow she picked this one. Although it was located in a shady spot and had a bizarre name, we went, we ate, and we enjoyed. We both got grilled chicken sandwiches and fries. This was our third choice. Although they had a menu, only about three meals were available (I suppose they had run out of doner meat by the time we got there). To be perfectly honest, it was one of the better restaurants we ate in as far as service, flavor and cleanliness goes.

So here's to McDoners! May you eventually beat out your competetor with the similar name!

This is new to me...

Hello world, this is Chuck of Eliza and Chuck. I am the taller more masculine half of this duo. Let me begin by saying that we are two of the lamest people you will meet, which is why it's so fortunate we found each other. Our 18 months of marriage have flown by, and now we're expecting to add a little something more to our lives (to be discussed in further detail on a later date.)
I am currently applying to medical school, and I can honestly say that it is the most stressful thing I've done so far. Right now I'm waiting to here back from the schools that I've applied to so they can tell me that they want to interview me and accept me to their school. Many of my peers have already had interviews, or have interviews scheduled, so I'm feeling a little behind. Eliza has to pep me up about every other day. I was especially depressed on Wednesday night and had to drink away my emotions with a peach smoothie from Sonic. But guess what? I'm an average applicant and can't expect too much action in the beginning. There's nothing wrong with being mediocre--it just means I have to be more patient.
On a more positive note, Eliza and I went to Europe last month and we had the time of our lives. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment:

In front of Buckingham Palace...

At Parc Guell...

On a rowboat at Versailles...

I hope you can recognize this place...

We just got down from the very top.

We went to London, Barcelona, and Paris. More will be written on our trip at a later time. Another thanks goes out to Michelle for watching Fergi while we were gone. And thanks to Brianne for setting this up for us. You're the shiz.

Hi!!!

This is brianne.I'm testing Eliza and Chuck's blog.

Test.

Eliza and Chuck are awesome people. Probably two of my top 5 people. therefore, I've convinced them to start a blog to let the people of the world see how funny, smart and cool they are.

Welcome.