Christmas '08 / Fry Daddy

Well Christmas time has come and gone. Staci and I very much enjoyed our first Christmas together and look forward to future. this past Christmas we were able to think deeply about the past year with gratitude for the many wonderful blessings the Lord has given us, especially each other. ("awww..." - I know, shameless plug. it's true though...)
As for Christmas morning however, it was all about the presents! - I received the über Cool Olympus Camera that took the following shots, as well as many other much appreciated accessories, movies, clothes, etc :). Staci received her lot of presents as well and so far as I know loves them :) however knowing of Staci's food allergy to Wheat / Gluten I decided a few gift cards for food may prove helpful as well. (y'know, In-N-Out burger, Chipotlé) mmMMMMmmmmm.
The big hit this year seemed to be a special gift known as a "Fry Daddy" (a big shout out 'Thank You!' to her parents Cindy and Faren btw)~ we haven't been able to eat french fries from most places and as a result make regular stops to In-N-Out. the following pictures show us serving up our very own fried foods! take a look



Attempt #1 - Fries (hey, don't knock the Mario pants! they're comfy)



Attempt # 2 Gluten Free Mozzarella sticks! (- Look how happy she is!)
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Hope you all have a happy new year! Check back later for WEDDING PHOTOS!

NEW POST!

okay okay okay i'm a horrible person. I don't update this blog daily, weekly or even bi-monthly. 'Quarterly' sounds somewhat accurate but hey, I just got married so give me a break. :)

but speaking of, I LOVE my wife! she's my best friend and I enjoy living with her very much. I'm also quite excited because last saturday our wedding photos came! over 500 of 'em too. it'll take some time to pick out favorites, post on facebook, and the like but until then y'all will have to be patient. like you always are.

other than that school's out and I couldn't be happier. Staci's excited as well yet she at least has a light at the end of the tunnel. she's graduating spring of '09 and someday I'll get past freshman year... sigh.

all that's left is a fairly desperate job hunt from both of us. I do enjoy my job occasionally (especially when i catch counterfeiters!) but most times I'm running ragged from branch to branch and I'm tired of it. WaMu and it's transition to Chase has put more stress on me than I can deal with, and I need something new. Staples has left Staci worn out and frustrated. all will work out of course but for now we're looking.

our new ward, the Harris Ward, is great. several newlyweds move in each month apparently as we have had 2 new couples already! they're very proactive in getting to know us though, which I can appreciate. I just hope we don't get stuck in primary!

WEDDING INVITATIONS

Want a once in a lifetime invitation to Andrew & Staci's Wedding / reception this coming November 7th? or rather would you just like to 'see the invitation' and would like a digital copy? (Far less cool by the way...) then contact me ASAP and get me your address!

drewsanders@hotmail.com
a.sanders04@gmail.com

or txt my cell phone @ 602-339-1848
(make sure to include
your name & address / email address)
I'd love to see you all there! thank you~

(as well we're registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target if you need gift ideas! hope to see you & hear from you soon. )

Wedding Announcement Picts

As most of you know, I'M GETTING MARRIED! ( Okay seriously, if you didn't know that, but DID somehow know this website address I'd be surprised.) Anyway planning a wedding has gotten extremely intense, but we're knocking out our to-do list one day at a time. last saturday my fiance Staci Ardis and I went with a family friend (Amy Reid) to Val Vista Lakes here in Mesa to go take our engagement photos. she's an incredible photographer and we ended up with some great pics. enjoy!

...so far as math is concerned, "Aunt Sally" can go to hell!

YARGGGGG!! ..... RAAAAA- words cannot describe how I feel right now. I just realized a moment ago that an extremely simple math function taught incorrectly in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has left me screwed over for the past 7-9 years; I've not only failed 2 math classes previous to my current one at MCC but have had years of annoyance, frustration, and a medium to severe feeling of hopelessness that I cannot even begin to describe. in short, I feel like my elementary education was raped. vulgar I know, but it is so severe that the damage seems incomprehensible.

it all comes back to an oh-so-frustrating acronym in Algebra describing order of operations. "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" was meant to describe what functions of algebra should be solved first in order to finish the equation. (P.E.M.D.A.S: Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction). for years I've followed this rule, and the long and short of it is "sometimes you get the right answer". "sometimes you don't". I could never understand why some problems & tests in my Algebra I & II classes were so easy to answer correctly and why some were flat wrong. I ended up failing my algebra II class and dropping it, only to take Math 092 @ Mesa Community College (MCC) last semester and failing/ dropping it as well. my new teacher, Mr. Brenneman (a somewhat eccentric acting 'santa' looking impersonator) teaches 'Basic' math. Painfully slow I might add. he described the "Aunt Sally" method and later explained it's faults. his new system, (a 'nephew' named 'GEMAL') teaches math slightly different. Groups, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction, Left/To/Right.

and all this time I've struggled with Basic Algebra, I've often wondered 'how would I EVER understand Trig, Calculus, etc.' , (especially if I can't pass a Math 092 class...) yikes people. I can't beleive it. "Aunt Sally can go to Hell!"