Halley Carol

Despite Rumors to the Contrary....

2012-01-24T15:05:00.000-08:00

....I am, in fact, alive. I have not posted here since oh I don't know June? April? 2003? Whatever the point is I'm here now, take what you can get people!

This school year has been a lot more challenging and stressful than I had originally anticipated but I am surviving and maintain a pretty decent gpa. I moved out of my parent's house at the end of august and into a ghetto-fabulous duplex in Pittsburg. I can not begin to tell you the amount of relief that comes from NOT having a 40mile commute one-way to school every morning at 7 am! That being said, it is suddenly much easier to oversleep than it was before the commute...whoopsies. *Note to self...get your heiny outta bed!

Being on my own has brought a renewed sense of freedom and independence, and a neediness for my parents when something goes wrong. Last semester was ridiculous! Remember when I said my life was like a TV show and you all laughed like I was kidding? Yeah - days of our lives' got nothing on this! In fact other people told me last semester that my life was like television. I keep hoping that once A is fixed, B can be repaired, then C will be able to be taken care of and certainly D is the last MAJOR issue to come up....but I'm not holding my breath, lest E be a trip to the ER for symptoms of oxygen deprivation.

For those of you not in the know on the FB circuit, my divorce was FINALLY finalized on September 14, 2011. I am officially rid of the Velasquez name (except on my driver's license - that's next on the list). I am so grateful to be done with that hassle and hopefully the remnants of hassles will be resolved soon. That evening I went on my first date as a single lady. If you think that that was not wasting any time and perhaps too soon I would like to remind you that I had been separated for a full 2 years at this point. Not to mention the man that took me out, Damon, is very sweet and had waited for close to 6 months to do so, respecting the legal marriage. Damon and I have been dating ever since and its fun to have a boyfriend - though I'm certain I'm not very good at it most of the time and I panic over completely insignificant situations. He's very understanding and tries to hide his laughter at my ridiculousness, so for that I thank him.

This semester is shaping up to be even more crazy than the last so I must keep reminding myself it will all be worth it when I am student teaching next spring! Not to mention all the sweet things I get to do in this craziness including a trip to ITALY on a performance tour with the PSU choirs over spring break. It will be amazing, feel free to be jealous! For choirs alone we have a performance ever month, let me break it down for you in case you feel inspired to attend, or just so I have them all written in one place lest I forget:

April 29 - Fundraising concert at St. Peter's Episcopal in Pittsburg

March 9 - Spring Coir Concert, McCray Hall

March 17-26 - ItalyPerformance Tour

April 29 - "Psalmfest" concert at United Methodist in Pittsburg

I love to sing so I'm of course excited about all these opportunities but also know it will be a lot of work for my 4 ensembles in addition to my 20 other hours. Okay...deep breath.

So if I disappear into the ether again this semester, I apologize. They say whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger...so if it's been too long you might wanna come check on me. I might actually have been killed.

:D Love you all!!

Okay, Okay...I Get It!

2011-07-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

I hate when my own words come back to bite me right in the bum. At that point what can you do but accept it and move on? I had one such moment this last week which I ALMOST didn't admit to. I am staying with the Stokes family during my summer in Overland Park and have had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with them for dinner, birthday parties, going to the theatre, and even voice lessons and dance class. After Dance class last week Adelyn (the eleven year old) was commenting that her least favorite part of dance was the stretching.

"What?! That was one of my favorite parts!" I remarked, remembering that great feeling of warming up and feeling lithe and limber in my younger days.
"But it hurts because she's trying to make us all be able to do the splits." Adelyn reasoned.
"Its a good hurt though. Just think how cool it will be when you can do the splits...ya know, I can do the splits!" I thought maybe the fact that old and chubbilicious Halley could bust out the splits might encourage her to keep pushing through the pain.

The next day or so as I was doing some studying I read a talk from Elder Richard G Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles entitled "Trust in The Lord." As I read his counsel and advice on where trials come from and how to face them I contemplated where I am in life, how I got to this point and how I could possibly get to where I want to be and then he said this:

"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your own disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion, which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."

OKAY OKAY I GET IT! My excuses of it hurting, being uncertain that I can handle some of these issues (or at least not wanting to) suddenly hold no water. I am constantly reminded that "Stretching" is one of my favorites...and to think how cool it will be when I can do or be whatever it is I am stretching towards.

Oh HI! I remember You!

2011-05-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

Surprise! Its a post for Halley! What what what? Its true!

I have started a few posts in the last 6 months and abandoned them due to time constraints or the fact that there was simply too much to talk about and I didn't want anyone to feel overwhelmed--including myself. So now that I am mainly feeling just plain whelmed (I've travelled to Europe so I think this is OK) I thought I would do a quick update.

I finished my first year back to school with mixed success. Nothing below a B but some of the B's disagree with me. But I am not complaining. I am trying not to complain about most things these days because last Sunday as an EF5 tornado swept through the area of my hometown I realized that I have way more to be grateful for than I have thought about in a long time. I am so extremely blessed! My family and friends are all safe. The tornado passed right behind my brother's house but thank heavens he was headed to his girlfriend's in Carl Junction or he would have driven head on into it and I would probably be attending his memorial.

I am grateful for the thousands of volunteers that have come from all over to helpo Joplin dig out. Including the Elephats...yes ELEPHANTS from a circus passing through town that stopped to help move larger rubble and cars.

I am grateful for my amazing friends and those whom I have not seen in a long time. You are all still part of my life and part of my heart.

I am grateful for technology which has allowed me to stay updated and in contact with my friends at home while I am working in Kansas City. And I am grateful to be working and be with my dear friends from my time in Overland Park.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and were able to thank a soldier who has had an impact in your life.

Coulda, Shoulda...Didn't...Won't

2010-09-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

I had such plans for my "back to school" blogpost. I was going to put a "first day of school" picture from my childhood and take one on August 23rd to commemorate my return to scholarly pursuits. Then I would discuss (as a well-educated college girl) the similarities and differences of my first day of grade school and the one I've just experienced, perhaps a venn diagram would be involved, there's no telling. Sounds positively insightful doesn't it? There are some significant problems with this idea: First, the lack of an easily accessible picture from my "first" day of school. (The use of quotations is significant only to the middle child in me who thinks it bears noting that my traditional "First Day of School" picture actually depicts my first day of first grade, not kindergarten.) I know its in the box of photos somewhere but that's a rabbit hole that always takes you a while to find your way out of. Secondly, I did not take a picture of my first day back to school because I was FREAKING OUT!! The level of anxiety about returning to school may, or may not, have been a little overly dramatic. Also, my mother mocked my anxiety and I can not imagine what asking her to take said photo would have given her in the way of mocking material not to mention what would have happened had my brother and/or father found out. Finally--I did not have the time or energy to do that post justice. It just wouldn't be fair of me to start such an amazing venture only to finish it half-assed because I forgot how EXHAUSTING school can be. Lets discuss that point for a second, shall we? I remember in high school going to school from 8-3 and then doing theatre and debate and showchoir and working and staying up late. Occasionally an early morning seminary attendance was thrown in there. For the last several years I have worked. --Ten-hour shifts at the hospital, more with privacy calls. In OP: 7:30am-1 with 3 girls under the age of three and then 1:30-5:30 in an office of men who acted under the age of 3 --and again, stayed up late on a regular basis. I have, apparently, aged 97 years in the last couple of months. I get up at 6, start class at 8, done by 3/3:30 but am falling asleep by 9:30pm. Aren't college kids supposed to be resilient? Aren't we supposed to be pulling all nighters and out partying til 3in the morning? I really need to be working but I can't imagine where I would get the energy to do so...so I guess its good nobody's hired me? I am obviously not a college kid any longer. I am reminded of this fact each and every morning at 8am when I join the ELEVEN-year-old college kid in my music theory class. Alex is a double major in piano performance and biology. So not only is he mega young, but he's a DOUBLE major...one of which is BIOLOGY. I apologize for the excessive (?) use of capitalization but I feel these points bear stressing as much as possible.

Other than that, school is good. Two weeks in and Halley's pulling Straight A's! WHAT?! yeah! Also I made both the small ensembles I auditioned for (one of which has me singing alto--yikes). I haven't quite reached the panicked-overwhelmed-feel-like-committing hari kari-stress yet so I'm looking forward to that! I am in percussion techniques where I learn how to play/teach percussion and, it turns out, my family was right--Halley is not a good drummer. Good call, Sagengs, Good call. I'm also in string techniques (I bet you can figure out what that class is for) and so far it's fun but I have to keep my fingernails short because Ms. Giray says they aren't just mine anymore--they're hers. At least the four that I place on the strings. She says I can keep the others long, So I'm considering that as my next fashion look.

I'm glad to be back in school and am adjusting back to student life. I've realized how vastly different the music program is from theatre and feeling like I may, actually, be prepared for my life beyond. Here's hoping!

Hey Remember That One Time?

2010-08-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

Remember 2 years ago when I got married? What a difference a couple years can make eh? I am grateful to have had the time I had with Johnny and know that I will always have good memories of those short few years. I am also grateful to know that life isn't over because we didn't work out. I had an awesome opportunity to travel west last week and witness the marriage of two of the most amazing people I know, Ryan and Jannali! Looking at them reaffirmed my belief in the marriage ordinance--Jannali looked SO gorgeous and they were obviously SO happy and I know they are SO going all the way!! I was so blessed to be able to celebrate with them and see some great friends I haven't seen since my own reception. How awesome to be able to see these people 2 years later and not feel like a week had passed since then! I was also able to get some prayers and questions answered in attending the temple with my mom. I filled out divorce papers and delivered them to Johnny's parents for him to file. I don't know that he will follow through on it but I have done my part and it is on him til December. I got to spend some quality time with my nephew, Tristan. He has changed a bit since John and I used to babysit when he was a little turtle baby. I have been deemed Auntie "Ha" Halley is difficult to say (Even for many adults) and making him laugh is the funnest thing I can think of so I will take it!! It was quite the week Were there times that sucked the big cahones? Why yes, yes there were. Was it all worth it? You bet your sweet bippy it was!!

Mommy and I hitting the Road. In Coordinating outfits, of course!

Kimber Sue and I at the reception of the year! Can't wait to be her fake lesbian wife in Wyoming! HAHA

Andrea and Halley are pretty much models! So Hot right now!

My Wiggly lil' Nephew, Tristan and his Auntie Ha!

The Totally Gorgeous Bride and Groom. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

Never Trust a Skinny Chef

2010-06-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

My father is a subscriber to this belief system and so, as the resident chubster child, I made a tasty dinner for Father's day last week. I've had requests for recipes (because they were both delicious and healthy--don't tell Daddy) and I took some pictures to show off my kitchen adventures so as they say in Bud Light commercials: Here we go!

I made these Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing the night before so Daddy could have them before church. They were SO good! At 120 Calories a piece you can afford, as Dad chose to do, to eat 6 before dinner!

It is not a very difficult recipe but it takes up some room so click HERE for the link if you want to try it yourself. They look a little messy in the pan but as you can see in this shot, it's just their amazingly delicious cinnamon ooziness spreading its love across the pan. I could eat one right now!

For dinner I made grilled round eye steaks (a delicious and healthy option when it comes to steak), fresh snow peas steamed from Mom's garden, baked russet potatoes, and these next two recipes.

I started with a baked version of the delicious-but-disgustingly-bad-for-you Onion Blossom. Instead of one or two JUMBO onions I did a medium/large onion for each person so it was slightly more labor intensive and I think had a little more breading than normal (I blame my mother for my math issues in quintupling the recipe). If you're good at math or are just going to follow the recipe, click HERE.

It was pretty good. DEFINITELY make sure the onions are dry before putting them in the egg wash or you will get frustrated! I also upped the calorie count by dipping mine in light ranch rather than the fry sauce they suggest.

And now for the piece de resistance: Key Lime Mousse Pie! No messing around here. This is the recipe everyone actually wants so I'll put it right at the beginning of my spiel so you don't have to read any further if you don't want to. If you choose not to read on, my tip for this recipe is make sure you have a deep pie pan. Mine was a bit shallow and nearly over-flowed.

Food is an experience for all senses so I tried to make it pretty. We sugared some fresh limes---just make sure you eat those before you dig into the pie. Afterwards its a bit...tart. We spruced it up a bit for Daddy (and the rest of us) by garnishing with Reddi-Whip. But hey, at a miniscule 15 calories per serving--so worth it! If you do choose to reddi-whip it, do so just before serving. We did ours earlier and just put it back in the fridge and the whip melted. (Bummer we had to add more...hehehe)

This is 1/8th of the pie which is equal to one serving. Without the added whipped cream it is only 88 calories. That's no pansy skinny girl slice of pie people, and it is only 88 calories. The pie itself is only 1 weight watcher's point, with 4 Tablespoons of reddi-whip it is still only 2. So delicious, so crave-able, so easy and equally easy on the waistline.

Sorry for the wait! Hope its worth it and with some of these recipes, I'll soon be untrustworthy as a chef. :D

Journeying On

2010-06-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

I often wish my life was like an episode of Glee...that when the moment called for it I could bust into an awesome version of "Don't Stop Believing" or the classic "Ice Ice Baby" and yes, occasionally "Poker Face"--don't judge! Even without the back up band and ensemble and with a somewhat lacking production value, I try to live my life as a musical (or at least with a killer soundtrack). Songs particularly fitting with my life at the moment seem to find their way from chaos and into a loop in my head. This does not annoy me--I apologize if it annoys you when I randomly start singing along with the non-existent-in-reality background music. One such song has brought itself to my attention today. I can't tell you the last time I actually heard this song or watched the beloved cartoon musical for which it was penned, it just was something my life needed today. Ignore the part about the past--that doesn't make sense, I am not a amnesiac princess who was abandoned by her family (though what a blog THAT would make!)--but focus instead on the references to future, family, and the journey. One step at a time...its playing in my head right now! Do you hear it?

Heart, don't fail me now
Courage, don't desert me
Don't turn back now that we're here
People always say
Life is full of choices
No one ever mentions fear
Or how the world can seem so vast
On this journey...to the past

Somewhere down this road
I know someone's waiting
Years of dreams just can't be wrong!
Arms will open wide
I'll be safe and wanted
Fin'lly home where I belong
Well, Starting now, I'm learning fast
On this journey...to the past

Home, Love, Family
There was once a time
I must have had them too
Home, Love, Family
I will never be complete
Until I find you...

One step at a time,
One hope, then another
Who knows where this road may go
Back to who I was
On to find my future,
Things my heart still needs to know
Yes, let this be a sign!
Let this road be mine!
Let it lead me to my past
to bring me home...
At last
-Journey to the Past from Anastasia

PS~If you were able to read that and NOT sing along, you might be heartless and we probably can't be friends. LOVES!!

Moved

2010-06-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hello dear blog-following friends and welcome to any random blog-stalking visitors. I have successfully moved...again. This makes #6 since moving to Utah in August of 2006. Yep, 6 in less than 4 years. Originally I had planned on working and getting an apartment soon but I just don't think I can move again for a while. It is a bit of an adjustment to move back home after being with roommates, then your husband, then just you and your dog. The amount of time spent half dressed or running to the other room for something in just your undies is cut down considerably. I'm 24....not ancient by any means but definitely not a spring chicken (trust me...my mom has some 85+ spring chickens and other forms of fowl.) But I think I may be just a little too old to be living at home. At least without some serious readjusting. My mom is my best friend. I've been saying this for years and I think its very true. But we need to learn how to live together again. I've been here quite a bit the last several months since I lost my husband and its always been great. However, after more than just a few days, with stress (plus heat and humidity) high I've come to the realization that just going home and being by myself is not as easily achieved. I may or may not have had a minor break down in an argument with my mother, Sorry Mommy. I locked myself in my bedroom for several hours just to be alone and contemplate how, for someone who HATES to be alone, I really needed alone time then. I am sure that, when I get a job, things will be much better. And once the remainder of my stuff is no longer in the living room. Also, poor Louie is very confused. He has been almost as clingy if not more so than when I first got him. And the country bugs are doing a number on both of us! I pulled 6 ticks off him last night and another 8 this morning before deciding I don't care if its a week early and giving him his medication. The mosquitoes think I am particularly sweet and I have countless bites to prove it. I wish I had a monthly treatment I could rub between my shoulderblades and tail that would keep from being snacked on. Other than trying to settle in and unpack, I am trying to find a job. I've had a few nanny-position interviews. One of which went very well and one of which was super crazy ($60 a week for 40+ hours?) and I have another tomorrow with another music education major from Pitt State. Things could go well there! Mom just invited me to go get Shake's with her using the quarters from Daddy's change jar. Yes thank you! Y'all have an enjoyable summer evening. Frozen Custard here I come!

Damn My Morals!

2010-04-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

Oh the life of a pretend TV Star! The plot thickens as our heroine faces, yet another, something new and unexpected in her life.

I don't know if it was sheer happenstance, a test, or a reminder of what I want and need in my life. Maybe it was a bit of all three: a chance meeting that tested my strength and morals and eventually reaffirmed what it is I need. Or maybe it was something else I needed: a reminder that someone finds me attractive and desirable given the recent news that I have been replaced.

I stuck to my guns....after a week or so....and said NO. I know a lot of people probably think its too soon for me to have this drama (myself included sometimes). But my would this show be boring without a hot guest star to spice things up a bit?

In A Holding Pool

2010-03-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

I got an email this week from the music department at Pitt State telling me that, though not a current scholarship recipient, I am currently in a "holding pool" for scholarship money. To help me feel better, Dr. Fuchs included in the letter that there were 15 people they could not make any offer to at all. So--I'm better than at least 15 people but they're not sure I'm good enough to give a scholarship--though after renewing current scholarships and allotting money there, they may have some to share. That would be awesome! Even just $50 a semester would help--and if I'm given a reward now, it can always increase. STILL crossing my fingers and saying my prayers!

But it got me thinking...I feel like I'm living in a holding pool. I haven't moved yet, I haven't started school, I still have lots of work to do before I go....but I know I'm leaving, and a part of me already has. I am in a giant transition stage--but there is no transitioning taking place yet. Divorce papers are not filed, but I've already been replaced. I'm not single...yet I'm certainly not married. I don't live in Carthage, but I don't really live in Kansas City anymore either. I also realized that by the time I'm in my next apartment I will have moved 7 times in the last 4 years. Given how much I despise moving, I'm not sure why I thought all this was a good idea.

Oh life! No? I sometimes think my life would make an awesome TV show--because seriously, you can't write some of this stuf!!

New Take On Life!

2010-03-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

Happy 2010! I really did start a post in January, and thought about continuing it several times after that but just could not bring myself to make all the changes I needed to. But here I am! Most of you are aware of what's goin on in my world by this time. If not, the new look and the previous post should give you some insight. If you're still not sure, thank I'm not quite sure what to tell you.

I have officially been in Kansas for a full year. It is amazing how much the world can change in one little year. Other than the state I live in, I can't think of a single thing in my life that hasn't changed this year. For the most part I'm good and am able to stay positive and look forward to the new things in my life. There are those days when I'm not so good and I get knocked back a notch or two. Some of those days I let myself stay in bed, some days I make myself get out and work on something.

I know there is a plan for my life that will, in the end, lead to the most extreme happiness I can imagine. I'm looking forward to that day!

I love this Song!

2009-12-27T06:47:00.000-08:00

I've always loved this song. It's from the show The Last 5 Years. I'm not sure if I still love it or hate it a little for its accuracy...either way. Here it is for you to enjoy. If you get a chance you should you tube it and give it a listen. SO GOOD! Thank you Broadway for, once again, understanding my life and explaining it so well!

Jamie is over and Jamie is gone
Jamie's decided it's time to move on
Jamie has new dreams he's building upon
And I'm still hurting

Jamie arrived at the end of the line
Jamie's convinced that the problems are mine
Jamie is probably feeling just fine
And I'm still hurting

What about lies, Jamie?
What about things
That you swore to be true
What about you, Jamie
What about you

Jamie is sure something wonderful died
Jamie decides it's his right to decide
Jamie's got secrets he doesn't confide
And I'm still hurting

Go and hide and run away
Run away, run and find something better
Go and ride the sun away
Run away like it's simple
Like it's right...

Give me a day, Jamie
Bring back the lies
Hang them back on the wall
Maybe I'd see
How you could be
So certain that we
Had no chance at all

Jamie is over and where can I turn?
Covered with scars I did nothing to earn
Maybe there's somewhere a lesson to learn
But that wouldn't change the fact
That wouldn't speed the time
Once the foundation's cracked
And I'm
Still Hurting

Then Again...Maybe Not

2009-09-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

*EDIT* I don't know how that sentence got moved up in the paragraph but it's now fixed and will hopefully make a bit more sense.**

I thought I'd get on here and post and everything would flow. But nothing is coming out right. I'm not in the right frame of mind for blogging....or much else for that matter. I feel jaded and I don't like blogging my naval for all to inspect.

However, it is official. After living in Kansas for 6 months, I have a job. I've been temping this summer with the same project management company as this spring. I left for two days for our anniversary and the office exploded. I made myself indispensable (hooray?) So they have bought out my contract and I am now a Murray Company employee. Maybe now I'll get a work email and a contract manager log in other than Temp? i will also be nannying part time for a couple in the ward. She's a vet so starting next week I will have 3 girls (3yrs, 18months, and 7 weeks) for 15 hours a week. I'm excited....and a littletrepidatious. Maybe it will get rid of my baby hunger. (*cough*doubt it*cough*)

So there is good news in our world right now. Sometimes its hard to see the roses for the thorns.

Now is the time I would typically vow to be better at posting and set some imaginary deadline for my next foray into informative, cheery ranting. But I know its not likely that I will get back to that point soon enough. So please excuse my hiatus from the blogging world. I will post again eventually.....probably.

I have Not Forgotten You

2009-07-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

I promise....I've not forgotten you my dear blog world! No my life hasn't been boring...but it's not been over the moon exciting either. I've been working a temp job for the summer and haven't felt like jumping on to blog as soon as i get home. I have to finish my Heritage Makers Book by FRIDAY --Eep!-- so all my computer time is devoted to that...but then I'll be back. I promise you! Don't cry for me!...ok you can go ahead and cry a little!

A Note on Drowning

2009-04-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure that if you live in the midwest you have to love thunderstorms and I am no exception! I was so excited driving to my parents' house Friday (Yes a week ago I realize) because we were in for some storm action. I think my parents' house is perfectly situated because they seem to get the most excitement out of thunderstorms. Saturday started out sunny and gorgeous and then it started to sprinkle so we decided to do our gardening inside. It was probably the smartest we've been because we were hit with TORRENTIAL downpours. This post is all about the aftermath of that storm and the hilarity that ensued.
That is the plot of land my mom has tilled to use as her vegetable garden (Quite a bit bigger than my "mobile garden"). You can see the standing water on the mud and in the yard. There were spots where I was standing in probably 8 inches of water. Ridiculous. Mom's original goal was to get her seedlings into the garden that weekend...good thing we didn't get it before the rain.

The storm came in from the south and came down so hard that the little hole in the window was not big enough and the window sill was filling up with water. I didn't get a picture of my mom draining it--she used a turkey baster and a flower vase...I couldn't get my camera I was laughing too hard. So this is my dad drilling another hole fore the water to escape through.

(Side note about my dad's right hand: the vicious neighbor dog was attacking our dog, Junior, dragging him on the ground by his ear. Dad tried kicking and pulling but nothing was working so he punched the evil beast on top of the head. Dad broke his hand...the dog was unfazed.)

Before dad could actually use the drill, it had to charge but the battery was stuck on the drill . This struggle of trying to get the drill apart from the battery with a gimp and a short little redhead went on for about 5 minutes before I came to rescue. I personally love the drill bits in my dad's mouth. Mom was quite afraid that this shot was going to look like a dirty picture...so I'm pretty sure the use of power tools suggests they're not doing something right. Or I fear for my mom's safety. I haven't decided which yet.

As you can see, my dad had already let go at this point but this picture makes me laugh so hard. Mom is SO ready for the next pull. Her legs are braced in a lunge to absorb the shock and she has her game face on! You may not think it is as funny...but I'm laughing right now just remembering it.

A casualty of the storm. My mom had seedlings ready to go in the ground that had outgrown their seedling pots. Since the ground wasn't ready and my mom is resourceful she moved the seedlings into shoeboxes and set them outside on the patio table...under the edge of the eaves. So with the downpour and the subsequent runoff from the roof (the house has no gutters) the seedlings were lambasted with water. We moved the salvageable ones into the back mud room area of the house and left several outside floated in their own watery graves. Some have succumb to their injuries. My mom was quite upset...so I'm trying to stifle my laughter.

This is Muffin. Yes, you read that correctly. This monster is MUFFIN or, as my dad calls him, The Muffinator. He was my mom's empty nest dog (she still has not had a truly empty nest except for almost a year while Evan was on his Mission.) All of our other animals can be trusted to go out in the yard, romp in the fields, and return home in a timely manner. Not Muffin. He still has to be on a chain when he is outside. In the chaos of trying to rescue the drowned seedlings, Muffin escaped. For several hours he was having the time of his life running through fields and ponds and storm-made lakes and rolling in the mud. Mom finally chased him down in the car after dinner and this is what came in through the front door. You can't really tell inthis picture but his wet hair curls around his ears and looks like a bad eighties crimp perm. Hilarious. Of course after coming in he had to be snuggled and tried to play the sad puppy for having to be out in the rain. PANSY!

Leaving for dinner we saw this. A perfectly arched bright rainbow. The other end was on the other side of the house. Thank goodness the rainbow is a promise that God will not WHOLLY flood the earth again. I don't think my camera could capture the antics of any more flooding than we experienced last weekend in Carthage, MO.

Spring Festivities

2009-04-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

I adore spring!! It is my absolute favorite season. I love the baby animals the new growth on trees and flowers, the thunderstorms, sun, the breeze...EVERYTHING! Johnny and I are going down to Carthage tonight and we'll be back Sunday morning in time to go to church. I haven't been home since the wedding and I'm excited to just go visit for a day. My mom is doing the vegetable garden hardcore this year and she has inspired me. We always had a vegetable garden growing up in Sioux Falls and now that I have a little patio I really want a little vegetable garden of my own. So I'm bringing my seeds and some planter type things (maybe the pails leftover from the wedding?) and she's going to help me get something going. I can't touch what she's doing with her tilled garden and CHICKENS?! but I'll get a little produce for me and Johnny ray to enjoy...hopefully. OH! And I'm going to use her bread machine to make some tasty bread! Huzzah!

Malheuresment today started out slightly left of what was planned. Our spare bedroom's bathroom toilet was clogged and overflowed. Approximately 10 gallons of toilet water spilled onto the 3sq. ft of tile and seeped into the carpet. oi. I am so glad we live in a complex where we can just call the clubhouse and someone comes to take care of it within an hour. Granted the first guy showed up with just a plunger, as if I was THAT much of a ninny that I couldn't unclog the toilet myself. So he left and sent over a carpet guy (with preetty narsty BO) who steamed it out and sprayed to avoid mold. Now I get to mop and scrubbed the tile. And then pack an overnight bag, run to target, and wait for Johnny to get done with work so I can go see good old Carthage. Can I get a woot woot?

Hopefully I'll get some batteries for my camera so I can get a few pictures of our adventures in the country.

OH! I had an interview with ForRent.com and it went really well. I also got a call from the staffing agency and the Law Office wanted to know if I was still available so I may have an interview there. Fingers crossed for a job by May Day?

Happy Easter Monday!

2009-04-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! My Johnny Ray had to work so our Easter was rather unremarkable- celebration wise. Of course I am so grateful for the reminder of our Savior's resurrection and the blessing that the Atonement has been in my life. When I say unremarkable I mean no big dinner, no eggs or baskets or chocolate (probably all good things)-no family gathering. I called my mom and was confused at first as to why she was making a pie.

In other news: There's really no other news. I did a temp assignment at a construction project management company for 3 days last week. Still no job. A couple more interviews, lots more resumes, and a bucket of stress. We have been very blessed that Johnny has had some overtime and we've had money for food and gas and have been able to pay our bills. We're hoping that by this time next month Johnny's car payments will be straightened out and that will relieve a lot of the financial stress. (NEVER do business with Nuvell- they are EVIL!) I did two interviews with a real estate appraisal office and thought things went very well but I ever heard from them again. I have an interview with For Rent Magazine on Wednesday. Johnny says we're okay and I don't need to stress, but I'm not buying it.

I feel silly posting essentially the same thing so I haven't been posting. But I check my subscriptions and for the first time since I can remember, there was no post from Jenny H. I had a little bit of withdrawal and thought I should post so that I can nag her for not posting and entertaining me in my cabin fever extravaganza.

Today's To Do List:
Shower--woohoo!
Find recycling place--recycle
Buy Brown Sugar, Garlic and Ginger
Bring Timecard in to temp office
Get Monday Free Redbox--yay!
Send out more Resumes--fingers crossed
Call Event Planner for Job Opportunities
Make Sweet & Sour Veggie Chicken--we'll see
Watch Monday Free Redbox with Hubby.
Hope not to go crazy.

I'm off to cross out number one--at noon. Sad. Hope you all have an eventful Monday!

The Internets

2009-03-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

Oh how I have missed thee. Now that you are back in my life, internet, I am sure you will be a huge help in procrastinating, updating and maybe even finding a job.

No Halley does not have a job yet: color me going crazy! I have had a few more interviews but no more offers. I keep applying and hoping that someone will want me eventually. I have an interview with a staffing agency on thursday morning but they will likely not have anything permanent for me right now. She said if everything goes well then they can put me in their database and maybe find me some temporary to possible hire work. I have some major cabin fever going on in this joint! Hopefully the home internet will make the job search a little more convenient since I won't have to go up to the clubhouse to get online anymore. I will need to use my laptop on wireless though since this computer doesn't have the MS Works suite so my resume wouldn't save or be able to be sent. Also this ergonomic keyboard is a bit unsettling.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on. Johnny is working and (thank heavens) getting some overtime. And we have an adorable baby bunny that lives in the bush by our back porch. We've been leaving him some celery and brussel sprouts and he and his family have gobbled them up. He is so cute! Johnny and I call him Peter. He is very speedy, and even though he runs away as soon as he realizes we're watching him, I know we're really good friends!

I'm sorry I've not been so good with the updates in the month we've been here but I promise it will get better!

Bon Avril Poisson demain!!

Quick Update from Kansas

2009-03-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

No tornadoes yet! Woohoo!

We are moved in and Johnny is working like mad. He likes his job (I think he's liking the power a lot too). I am still looking for a job. I had an interview on tuesday but the job would not have been good for us and I have a job for a management position with customer care on Monday so wish me luck! Our new apartment is still full of boxes and I really have no motivation to un pack them...much to Johnny's chagrin. I got a new phone number (the collection calls for Aisha Johnson were REALLY getting annoying) so I now have a local number. Let me know if you didn't get the mass text and need my digits. I really don't miss Utah. Sorry. Imiss my friends and family lots and I miss having a job and my friends from work but the place itself...not so much. Our ward here is awesome! The Elder's quorum helped us move in and had everything off the truck in less than an hour. Sunday night we already had an invitation to dinner, everyone is so welcoming and friendly--a complete 180 from our last ward. Its nice being closer to my parents. They came up the first weekend we were here to help us get organized and set up the bed and couch and such. They came up again last weekend for Johnny's and my Dad's birthday. Its so great to know they are a short drive away if I need them or want to visit.

Sorry no pictures of the new place yet. We don't have internet at the house yet so I'm at the clubhouse mooching and looking for a job. Hopefully both the internet and job situations will be remedied soon. That's all for now. Time to make dinner for my husband. Much love!

Last Entry as a Utard!

2009-02-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

So if you ever need to get candle wax out of carpet do this: put a brown paper sack over the wax and iron it with a hot iron. It melts the wax and sucks it up into the paper! It's amazing. The wax is almost completely all gone. I had a few trouble spots since the wax got under the baseboards. It took me a bout an hour with the amount of wax there was but I did it and it looks amazing! I was so proud of myself!

So we were little packing machines last night. We enlisted the help of Johnny's nephew, Preston, who is "sick" today and helping the boys load the truck. I went to bed a midnight because I had to work my last (10 hour) shift today. The boys got almost everything packed, except the bedroom and the big furniture, and finally went to bed around 2:30 this morning.

My coworker Marci brought me a stack of boxes so I spent my Saturday night putting them together. I went through an entire roll of tape and totally ruined my nail polish.
I didn't stack them very neatly at first so between the boxes and our suitcases full of all our clothes, we didn't have much of a living room. Just a walkway from the door to the couch.
I tidied them up by the time Johnny Ray came home so we had half a living room until last night.

So long Utah! I don't know when I'll have access to the internet next so it may be a bit before I can blog again. Call me if you miss me too much! Thanks for the last two and a half years, it's been real. We're clicking our heels and heading to Kansas!

A Note on Spreading Out

2009-02-25T09:26:00.000-08:00

My favorite cookies (since I can't have white chocolate macademia nut) are oatmeal scotchies. I've not found many people out here that know what those are so in case you are among them: Oatmeal Scotchies are oatmeal butterscotch cookies and they are delicious! Well i decided to make a batchbut, because we are broke and I am cheap, I got the generic botterscotch chips which did not have a recipe. I tried to find one in my many cookbooks but could only find one for bars or one for oatmeal chocolate chip. So, being the genius I am, I decided to combine the two. The cookies called for butter AND shortening, the bars called for just butter. I didn't have shortening so I used just butter....and this was the result.One giant gookie all spread out on the pan. They looked horrible but were still quite tasty! I walked into the family room to Johnny all spread out on the sofa. and quite content.
I joined him on the couch for a good snuggle. But soon the picture we had sitting on top of our TV fell off and hit the candle which had been sitting on the warmer all day. And soon we had wax spread out all down the wall and deep in the carpet.
I scraped as much as I could off the wall and from the carpet. Tonight I'm trying a neat trick I learned on the internet where you put a brown paper sack on top of the wax and then iron it with a hot iron and it soaks all the wax out of the carpet and on to the sack. Here's hoping it works!!

Farewell Apartment!

2009-02-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

As we leave our apartment in Salt Lake I figured now may be a good time to post the few pictures I have taken of our living room. I actually took these right after Christmas...but It is marathon posting time. The pictures are uploaded and I am going!
The original idea was to add and 8x10 of us individually on the other corners but it is not happening now. The two pictures are from our actual wedding day in Nauvoo and in the center is our Sealing Certificate from the temple. And to the left you can see our homemade curtains. They are a greenie gold silk type material. I love when the light comes in in the morning and they look completely gold!
This is one of our end tables (we got a great deal on two end tables and a matching coffee table.) The flowers are my bouquet, preserved. I'm a little concerned now about the drive across country, I desperately hope they survive. The Lamp is actually more maroon than red, and I like the sparkly danglies on it.
This is a close up of what's on the end table. Its one of our engagements with the Family proclamation on top of it in transparent. It was a wedding present from the Jones family and we love it!
I love our couch! It's so comfy and also very versatile. I promise that the coffee table only looks this clear when we have people coming over. It is currently covered in mail and bills and other papers we may need before we leave. These were some pretty flowers Johnny decided to get while we were grocery shopping. He knows how much I love fresh flowers and tries to get some in the house as much as possible.

So there you have it... I'll try to post pictures of our new apartment before we are moving next!

The United States of Halley

2009-02-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

We're no longer unemployed or homeless! Hooray! Johnny was hired as the new Sous Chef for Village Shalom. He's actually employed by Aramark and since they are taking over this company's dining facility he has to do hiring and training so we are both excited for him! That also means he has to be there for the takeover on March 2--which means we can't leave March 1st. SO we're actually leaving the 27th. (OY!) He also found us a place to live---we got in on a great deal at the Pointe Royal Townhomes. We don't have a specific unit just yet because he's actually going to look at a slightly bigger model on monday before he flies out. The facility looks really nice and is just 5 minutes straight down the road from his office, and only 20 from the hospital. Oh and I applied to be a hospital operator for the University of Kansas Hospital part time. Its all very real now...and I'm freaking out a little bit! So... 7 DAYS and Counting!

Posting Fail

2009-02-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to post for quite some time but have failed miserably. You see I keep taking pictures with the intent of posting them on my blog but then when I get to work and don't get the pictures uploaded I can't think of anything to post sans illustration. And it's pretty sad...cause I had some GREAT blog ideas.

I am working for Amanda today. Her fiance surprised her and flew in from Missouri for Valentine's Day, and since my Hubby is in Missouri doing interviews and we won't be doing anything tonight, I took her shift. Johnny pointed out that since our husband's switched places it only made sense that we switch shifts. It stinks just a little because A) its the first day back from a long weekend so we're busy and B) Johnny has his first interview today and he can't call me when he's done because I'll be on the phones. (It's been an hour and no text message so I hope that means it's going well.)

I still have pretty much nothing packed, and I'm kind of concerned a bit. Johnny says we don't have much so it shouldn't take long but, I've moved before and it ALWAYS takes longer than you think, not to mention we have a lot of crap...he doesn't realize it because it is cleverly disguised. So I figure he won't be working the week he gets back so HE can pack everything up while I'm working. HAHA. (Ok so probably not really everything cause he's a but when he's stressed and I don't want to add to that...or to risk him throwing things out to avoid packing them)

So we had a very nice Valentine's day with our friends Ryan and Jannali (who probably think we are the worst couple in the world now)...but I'll have more on that later when I get those dern pictures uplaoded! Have a happy Fat Tuesday!!

Some Explanations

2009-01-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

I had to wait to explain until our bums had been covered and we'd notified our employers. SO, Drumroll please>>>>>......>>>>>.....

We Are Moving March 1st!

Johnny left the New Yorker Friday night and he says he feels much better...so that's good. I know it sounds sudden...but the way our apartment lease is set up we have to give thirty days notice, from the 1st. So it was either March first or April first and I don't know that we can afford to move any later because of Rent. We've been talking about moving and planning on moving for a while but now that we have the actual deadline...I'm freaking out! I keep looking around my house trying to figure out how we have nothing, but too much stuff to move out there.
So here's the plan:
**Johnny will be going out to Missouri for a week in the middle of February to actually meet with some people. We're still dealing with people not looking cause we're in Salt Lake. He'll be taking a stack of resumes and hopefully doing some interviewing.
**If he finds a job, he'll be looking for an apartment.
**March First we will be driving our little selves and all our worldly possessions across country. I don't know where our final destination will be. Right now our pit stop will be my parent's house in Carthage, Missouri. (Just a couple weeks at the most)
**Its an adventure....I have to keep telling myself, and sometimes Johnny, it will be an adventure.

So since Johnny is no longer at the New Yorker, I've gotten a glimpse of what a normal marriage looks like. I think I kind of like it. It is a weird feeling knowing that I will see my husband every night and not just as I'm going to bed. We do have a lot more dishes than normal since we've been making dinner every night. But HE'S cleaning the house tonight...HA HA! Tomorrow we finally have our double date with Ryan and Jannali that we've been planning for almost two years now. It's also weird being able to plan a date NOT on Tuesday....or a holiday ON the actual day. For one brief shining moment we thought we could actually have valentine's day ON valentines day...but alas he will be in Missouri and I will be here. I think Amanda and I may have a girls night since both our men will be in the Show me state.

So I hope that fills anyone in who may have had questions. I realize it probably seemed worse than it is...but I'm a drama queen, you should expect that sort of thing by now!

The (not so) Calm Before the Storm

2009-01-24T19:09:00.001-08:00

I love my husband. That's what's most important right now. He can be a turd and he has a temper, but I've known that all along. His temper mellowed for a bit, however his neurotin (the medication he's been on for his herniated disk) makes him a bit testy sometimes. But he loves me. I know he loves me even when he's a butthead. He's dropped back on his neurotin considerably but has had to add more pain medicine and muscle relaxers since the accident with the drunk driver. He has to have a neuro CT and bone scan on February 10th because the MRI's have only shown soft tissue damage and given no explanation for his now daily headaches. I know I'm not always as sympathetic as I should be, and I take him for granted. He has been working two jobs the entire time we've been together. He starts at 9 in the morning at the Bakery and would often be out till 11 or later with the New Yorker. He works himself to death and then I expect him to come home and be happy and giggly and playful all the time but the second I have a bad day or headache I'm a total grump and just want to curl up in bed.

Something happened last night. The details are not important. Suffice it to say our ball has been kicked and we are rolling full speed ahead. The next month is going to be a complete whirlwind for us and we are entering completely uncharted territory in our lives. I love my husband, and we can make it through this stronger and happier than ever....that's what's important right now.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2009-01-21T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yes I know my blog looks a mess, right. I am trying to update with cuteness and the Christmas one is STUCK, hardcore. I'm enabling the help of my somewhat more tech savvy (read: nerdy) friends so it should be fully adorable by tonight. Thanks for your understanding!

EDIT:Ha! I figured it out all on my own...Hooray! Still tweaking it as bit...but it should be fabulous soon!

Frustration

2009-01-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

I am getting really frustrated with the job hunt! Since October we (I for John) have sent in at least 20 resumes to jobs from Kansas City, to Arkansas, to Oklahoma, and yes, even Branson. We've only heard back now from 3...count it, 3! One wrote us back to say the position had been filled, one won't pay enough and is only offering a part-time position (and doesn't know what the hell he's doing) and we just got another email asking if we were planning on moving. The job we applied for in Oklahoma lo the many months ago at the casino is looking for a sous chef again so Johnny'll be calling them today or tomorrow to check up on that. One place, that Johnny would have been GREAT for said "we didn't bother calling you back cause we didn't want to pay to relocate someone." Paid relocation is not necessary for us, we're about at the point of giving notice, packing up, and moving and THEN finding a job. People are not even looking at us cause we live in Utah. Mom thinks it may also be because of the last name. Racist redneck bastards! I've put in the email or cover letter for most of the jobs that we are planning to move or in the process of moving, but still NOTHING. FAH!

I'm getting frustrated and so is Johnny. He is SO over tiredthat I feel like if he's home, he's sleeping. Or I'm sleeping because it's midnight and I have to work in the morning. Not gonna lie, I'm a little starved for attention. Which really makes everything that much more frustrating. I know I'm not the first to go through this schtuff and I will not be the last, and it could be worse, and really I'm just being a big baby....so this is my whiney baby post.

On a funner note~I got to babysit Tristan again on saturday. He does not look like a naked turtle anymore, he is definitely a chubster mcgee. And adorable. And I heart him. That is all.

I Heart Playgrounds!

2009-01-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my day off for the week. My boss is wonderful and has made sure that no matter what my schedule is she makes sure that I have Tuesday nights off to be with my hubby. He is in winter hours so works in the mornings giving me a chance to sleep in and watch my guilty pleasures like Real Housewives of Orange County, Intervention, the First 48...you get the idea. Yesterday I got the urge to go for a walk/jog--if I don't do so immediately when I get these urges, my laziness wins out and I never go. So out I went--I walked over to the park by my house and had the best out of house experience I've had by myself in quite a while. First I played on the swings. I love swinging, I always have. It's the closest I'll ever get to flying. I had a rude awakening when I moved to the monkey bars. After a year and a half of not waiting tables, my tray arm has definitely weakened. I felt very sad and pathetic....and tall cause I could touch the ground! Some boys came to play in the skate park area and I felt lame so I made my way around the park to the duck pond. I love duck ponds! I want a koi pond and a duck pond when I grow up and have a mansion. I watched the ducks and geese and laughed at their noises which sound like laughter. I laughed at the geese that had eaten sticky cake someone left which gave them all crumb mustaches and felt bad for the one who accidentally flew into the tree. I stopped at the swings again and went down the slide before leaving the park, lamenting the fact that I was alone and could, therefore, not play on the teeter-totter. I jogged home and found my house was an oven compared to the cool winter air I'd spent the last hour playing in. I love being a little kid! Maybe the real reason I want to have children is so I can feed ducks and swing and slide and teeter-totter to my heart's content without feeling lame or judged. Maybe the real reason I want to teach elementary school is because I want to that age again, I want to be that person again, I just want to play again!

...And A Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T07:44:00.000-08:00

I can not believe it is 2009! I hope you have all had wonderful holidays and celebrations. I had a fabulous first married Christmas. My parents and baby brother came out from Missouri and My Sister and her 8mo old baby came up from Arizona. I loved having my parents staying with us, I'm not sure Johnny loved it quite as much as I did but....that's to be expected I suppose. We were very busy running back and forth doing all kinds of stuff and nothing at all.

Little Tristan was blessed on Sunday by his daddy with help from his Bestefar (my daddy John), his Great grandpa (also John), Uncle Johnny, and some other gentlemen I don't know. This is the second nephew that Johnny has stood in the circle for the blessing of. It is a blessed reminder of how grateful I am that he holds the Priesthood. It's some thing that I know I take for granted, but that is, and has always been, so important to me. One of my goals this year is to live more like the person I want to be in the Gospel. I have been severely lacking in that aspect of my life and I can feel it and it really bothers me. I am so grateful to have the Gospel in my life and the Priesthood in my home. I hope that as we focus more on that part of our lives that we will grow together as a family, we will be prepared to raise children in the gospel, and Johnny will feel worthy and ready to take our own baby into his arms to give her a name and blessing.

That was a little deeper than anticipted.

In all the hustle, I failed to take any pictures ( I know...shocking.) I have elaborate plans to take a post-first Christmas First Christmas picture with our adorable tree which, yes, is still up! I'm not sure if that will actually happen so in the meantime I will bore you with a few of my fav Bridals.

I Love my Mommy!

Alright so we have a couple goofy ones, and A Classic...not really cohesive but it is what you get today!

I was a little excited...just a bit....

I Call this one..."A Woohoo"
I love the background on this one!
Ryan did such a good job I love all the pics...more to come. Not all of them goofy I promise!

This One Goes Out to Jenny H!

2008-12-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

I was recently scolded for not updating and was told I couldn't be blog buddies with someone if I didn't post so....here's a post.

I admit I have not been perfect with the blog, I'm still adjusting to having our internet privileges back. I also have a rather massive project going on since I got my wedding pictures! Woo woot. My bridals are posted on facebook. I'm done with the pre-ceremony and ceremony pics. Now all I have is the reception pics....They're probably completely boring to everyone except me and I shouldn't post them all on facebook but I like them and I'm going to! So there!

We are currently being bombarded with snow and I LOVE IT! I'm so excited to have a white Christmas for my first married Christmas. I just hope that mommy and daddy don't get stuck in Kansas for three days again like they did the last Christmas they drove out here. If everything goes well they should be here tuesday evening! I adore this time of year! Everything from October 1st through the fist part of January (and maybe now through Feb. and then Johnny's Bday in March) is just wonderfulness. I'm so excited for Christmas this year because we have two new babies and Tristan will be blessed the sunday after Christmas and my mommy and daddy will be here and now I'm married. Its gonna be great!! I work tomorrow and then not again until NEXT friday and then not again until monday. It's MADNESS!

So Jenny, I hope this fulfills your need for a boring insight into my world. Please forgive if I do not post again for a week or so.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

4 MINUTE UPDATE

2008-12-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

I only have a few minutes left on break so I thought I'd just post for the sake of posting. I can't believe it is already December 5!! November just disappeared! Our Thanksgiving was quite nice. We had a delicious vegetarian feast--if you're a vegger I highly recommend the Quorn Turk'y Roaster. It was very tasty and I even had the leftovers I was so jealous of last year! We are still working lots and just plugging away. We would love to find a job closer to my home so if you hear of someone needing a fabulous chef let me know!

November was crazy! I got to spend some time with my Mommy and baby nephew. Two of my best good girl friends are pregnant (and due a day apart), and another dear friend gave birth to a beautiful girl. The Baby is perfect but mommy Kylie has had some health complications so please keep her in your prayers. Ok Break is over! Sorry to jabber and dash--call me if you miss em that much!

October Wrap-up!

2008-11-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

I spent the Tuesday before Halloween in the most fall-tastic fashion I could think of. I made caramel corn and and caramel’d apples, I made little treat baskets for the ladies I visit-teach, and Johnny and I carved our pumpkin that night. Well Johnny emptied out the disgusting-ness and I carved the pumpkin.
SIDE A—Sassy Jazzy Ghosts

SIDE B: A SpOoOoOoky House. Don’t be Too impressed….they are from a pattern book. And I managed to slice my thumb a few times with that Darned old saw.

Ok so I absolutely love October and fall and, of course Halloween. But the absolute BEST part of our October this year came very early in the morning on Halloween. The long awaited Tristan Nelson Coons finally came out to meet everyone and a nice solid 8lbs 4 oz and 21 inches long (not to mention a 37 cm head and 4 inch long feet). After thirteen hours of Labor the Doctor realized that his head was just not gonna fit so they prepped Brittany and took him C-section. It was not an emergent situation so Chad still got to be present for his son’s birth. I know I may be a little bias but Tristan is seriously the most perfect little baby I have ever met!

Ignore the makeup. I was team supervisor at work so had to be a good example and dress up. I came speeding over as soon as I could get out of work. (I even forgot to clock out). I love this picture because his eye is open. The whole night he would open one eye at a time and look around. It’s a little too bright to have both eyes open the whole time I think.

A non-costumed picture. He’s so tiny and precious!! He loves to be laid skin on skin. In fact, Brittany said that’s the only way he will sleep now that he’s home. He just wants to be close to his mommy. I cropped the picture so it’s closer tin on us but from as far back as it was actually taken he looks so itty bitty. From his cheekbones up he looks just like his daddy, Chad. But he has Brittany’s lips and chin. And, someone, Caitlin’s snotty face. Oh yeah--he’ll glare ya down when he isn’t happy with you. (He really likes me so I haven’t been glared at yet but I have been pee’d on…I think I would prefer the glare.)

I think he looks like a little baby doll in this picture. He is THAT perfect that he looks molded. And notice that strawberry blonde hair! His eyes are really dark but they have some almost gold/brown around his little pupils so Brittany thinks he’s got his daddy’s hazel eyes. Mom will be quite excited if his hair goes red. Notice the little Winnie the Pooh in the background? That is a stuffed toy Chad’s mom gave to his sister before she passed away in, I think, 2001. So Jen gave that to Tristan on his birthday so that he would have a present from his Grandma. He’s so perfect and I just love him!! So you see….October really is the best month of the year!

Happy November!

Welcome Back!

2008-10-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

I am severely behind in my posts. Our stats have tanked hard over the summer at work and continued with our staff shortages so we have limited our internet use to our breaks until we bring those stats back up to our goals. So marathon post.......GO!

Early this fall I played on a co-ed softball team. And we had a PERFECT season: 0-7! WHAT!! These pictures were taken right before our final game of the season. We were the AU Goldstars.
My friend (and green bridesmaid) was the manager and we had a blast sucking it up hardcore!
Its funny how competitive boys are in comparison to girls...as a generality of course. I'm a pretty competitive person but as we began our downward spiral each game the boys would get SO mad...one would even sit down in the field and pout after he missed a catch. we had one game where we played AWESOME! We were tied in the last inning and they got two in and took the W. Even THEN some of the boys were pissed that we lost...oh boys.

In other news I celebrated my 23rd birthday last week and had a wonderful time doing so! I've always had pretty disappointing birthdays...at least since my teenage birthdays set a trend that way. But we seem to have shifted the tide this year. The tuesday before my birthday we ventured down to the heart of Happy Valley to meet our friends in Provo. We had dinner at the Brick Oven Pizzeria with Todd and Kristie:

This picture pretty much sums up the night. Kristie is glaring at Toddy for being a turd and Todd is just goofy as normal. They are a lot like Johnny and I in that they argue back and forth a lot in a playful way: It was quite nice to be on the other side of that situation for once I must say. After dinner John and I went over to Liz and Erik Anderson's adorable little apartment to hang out and catch up with some friends I very much adore. Erik and Johnny soon ganged up together on Liz and I making fun of our midwest "accents" and like verbal graffiti and stuff.

Before our adventure my cute husband told me that he didn't have any wrapping paper so he had hidden my presents somewhere in the house and that I had to find them. He said it was up to me whether to look right away or wait until my actual birthday 3 days away. But was rather anxious and ended up insisting that I look straight away. So I was off on my quest:

That is my quest for presents face I guess. I found the first one rather quickly...it was hidden in the front coat closet. It was a little white toaster! Something I have had my eye on for a while but not been able to justify buying for myself. Then came the big one: I looked in the bedroom, in the backroom, in the water heater room, the bathroom and still had not found it. I had to have a little help from the "warmer colder" game. I finally opened the kitchen cabinet to find this:

No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is, in fact, a Magic Bullet!! I have wanted one of this contraptions for YEARS! Heather and I used to watch the infomercial in our dorm room any time it was on dreaming of the day that we could use the two different blades to make meals in less than 30 seconds. We made smooties that very night and a smoothie has never tasted sweeter!

These are from my actual birthday: Friday, October 10. I spent the day doing absolutely nothing! I took a bubble bath and gave myself a manicure and pedicure and just relaxed until my husband got home with these beautiful roses and PUMPKIN TREES! Have you ever heard of pumpkin trees? I hadn't but they are very cool and perfect for my favorite time of year!
My sweet husband then whisked me off to a fancy dinner at the New Yorker Club. I love getting dressed up for special occasions and going fancy places and it isn't something we get to do very often so it was a wonderful birthday present! I had french onion soup, black mushroom stuffed chicken (seasoned Perfectly) and Apple Beignets with 3 sauces. It was very delicious (that day and the next when I had it for lunch).
I am so grateful for my husband! He is so cute and very sweet. He has taken care of me this last week while I've been sick and is always very loving. Yes we may argue and no I don't always love everything he does...but I am very happy that he is my husband forever. Look how cute he is!

We Have Babies!

2008-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

...well fishies anyway. I have a fish tank I got while attending Truman, it has had angelfish, fantails, tetras, and dwarf frogs in it before but has been sitting empty since the frogs died while I was in France. Last night we brought home our first joint-pets. 5 brightly colored guppies, including one whose tail had been nibbled a little in the store. I was so excited to bring them home and watch them swimming around. But it concerns me a little at what kind of mother I'll be: I know that sounds ridiculous but let me explain. I got the fishes home and was worried about them being in the plastic bag too long, and then whether the water was too warm or too cold, I worried when one wasn't swimming around enough and when they were all swimming crazy. With fish you can't tell if they're happy or sad, or sick or hungry and I was worried about them all night, and now I'm worried the water will get too warm with the heater and light on all day. My sister (the preggers one) developed an irregular heart beat this weekend and I was a nervous ninny until we got it figured out. My mom said that if I had a normal pregnancy I'd read things into everything and be one of those hypochondriac pregnant women. I thought that was crazy, and that my concerns were just stemming from the rash of pregnancy problems that have surrounded me this year. Now, after my baby fish have turned me into the nervous wreck that I am starting to think that Mother may be right.....

But Happy October!! October is pretty much my favorite! It's fall and who doesn't love fall!? and then there's my birthday, and halloween. It reminds me of being a little kid in Sioux Falls and I love it. After October we all gear up for the holidays and it's all wonderful from here through about February. I'm so excited for October...I can't help it!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Pop!

2008-09-29T14:55:00.001-07:00

Last night was Jim and Kathy's 32nd Anniversary! Johnny and I are broke so we just decided to make a tasty dinner to celebrate. Our little nephew, Preston, wanted to do the fancy napkins so those were all his! He also set the table to make it look nice with the "two bowls on the ends and the platter in the middle." I tried to get a picture of the happy couple but they weren't having it. So Happy Anniversary Mom & Pop Velasquez...and Happy "15th" Birthday Kathy! When we got to the house Kathy had decided to move their family room all around (including the big projection TV) so that was some excitement to start the night off. I found out where Johnny got his argument style: he got BOTH of his parents tactics....Oy!
We took these pictures while making dinner. I'm totally bummed that the first was fuzzy cause it is MUCH better than the second. But Johnny is giggling in the second and very cute so you get both! His g's are hanging out a bit...I think his wardrobe was sluttier than mine! HA!
We have been so so busy at work today and its wearing me down...going home to watch movies and eat popcorn!! Hopefully the New Yorker will be slow tonight so I won't be doing so alone.

Karate Chop

2008-09-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

I've been saying it for a year: after the wedding, I'm cutting my hair! So tuesday my lovely blue bridesmaid Jannali took care of the mess that was my hair and left me with this lovely 'do. I gave her two rules: Shorter and cute....and a sub rule of nothing that would make my face look fat.
I had gotten to the point where it was put in a low bun everyday cause it took long to do anything with and my ends were not cute... It's shorter than I expected but I love it! Especially curly cause now that all the weight is gone my natural curl comes out so much better. I'm still getting used to it....Johnny is getting used to it even more so. Granted I did kind of spring it on him. He's a good husband for telling me he liked it and thinks its cute even though I know he liked my long hair.

Homemaking news: We finally have a microwave!!! After 3 months I can re-heat leftovers without the stove or oven. As we were leaving the store Johnny said it had been nice not having a microwave...I would have responded but I was too busy weeping for joy over our new appliance. Until last night: I took the microwave for her maiden voyage of two-minute reheat of lasagna...with 30seconds left the stupid thing died. Johnny took it back to the store while I was at my softball game and was told that he had just returned the third of that microwave for that shift. So we just got a refund and bought something else at another store. It has so far lasted through4 hotdogs...so I think it just might work!

Rewind!

2008-09-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

I have to play catch-up a little. I've had these pictures on my camera haunting me. Johnny hid the cord and didn't tell me so I couldn't upload them, and I didn't want to post about the events sans pictures so here we go: (NOT in chronological order)I made a diaper cake! I was so proud of myself and my entirely Mormon shower gift for my sister! The little butterfly guy on the top makes sounds and giggles and lights up when you move the wings. The giggle is pretty creepy but the little guy at the shower was quite entertained so I guess it might work. I was so proud that I got it to stand stable given that the center is supported by bottles that are masking-taped together...that is it was stable until I had to drive it out to West Jordan. It, much like my wedding cake, couldn't handle how cute it was and the top toppled. I think I've learned my lesson and the next one will be much better and far sturdier. The diapers were newborn size so that they don't hurt little Tristan's umbilical cord...but the only go up to 10lbs. so that boy better be smaller than his mama was. (I think he's going to be a tall boy...about 8lbs.)

Yes this is the best picture of this shot. We tried about 4 times: the first one was zoomed in, the second one was too too bright, this is the third, and Johnny is talking in the fourth. I'm smiling but its not as cute so I picked the one with my cute husband. This is by the Mississippi River covered in Lilypads 2 days before our wedding in Nauvoo.
We got to Nauvoo a few hours before my parents with Brittany and Chad so we got to spend some time walking around one of my very most favorite places. These are just a couple shots of the Nauvoo temple. It is so beautiful and the spirit is unavoidable in this place. I have heard some really cool stories from people who have worked in the temple or helped in its construction, and I have a few of my own cool experiences. Our last trip though definitely took top prize when Johnny and I received our endowments and were sealed as husband and wife for all eternity! Forget a fancy reception hall, I can't imagine a more beautiful place for a wedding! This is my favorite part of the Nauvoo temple. Every LDS temple has this inscription over the entrance, the significance in this plaque is the second to last line: Commenced April 6, 1941. The first time I saw that I broke down in tears. The early members of the church began building this temple before they were once again chased out of their home and across to Utah. The building was never finished, it was looted, burned, and eventually finished off by a tornado. After that there were only a few cornerstones left and a dent in the earth from the foundation. The temple was rebuilt and dedicated in 2002. I love it! The saints finally finished their temple...161 years later.This sculpture depicts Joseph and Hyrum Smith as they rode toward Carthage where they were eventually martyred. They paused to look out over the City Beautiful where they had met joy and prosperity, if for only a short while. The sculpture's detail is hidden by the sunset but I still love this picture!
This is Johnny's favorite sculpture in the Relief Society Gardens. Not gonna lie, I got a little choked up while we were there, knowing that in two days we would be beginning our own family. We are so excited to start expanding our little family when the time is right and can't wait to act out this same moment in our lives.
It was a long and crazy engagement but I am so glad we waited. Going through the temple with Johnny was the best moment of my life so far. I love temples, most especially the Nauvoo temple. What happens inside those walls is so amazing and I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was that day and how happy it makes me knowing what it means in our lives. And I love Nauvoo! I'm so happy Johnny agreed to get married in Illinois! I hope to have more rewind pictures coming soon but for now enjoy a current: I decorated our table with our plates and fall colored napkins and I think it looks so cute! Now all we need is chairs!

NOklahoma

2008-09-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

So they filled Johnny's position at the resort in Oklahoma on Monday. He had the HR department take his resume over to the chef anyway to see if they could use him in some other facet but we haven't heard anything. We are a little bummed but it has definitely opened our eyes. We have realized that we are a little more ready and wanting to move than we thought. We've started looking at other jobs but we are taking our time. I told my boss that we were starting to look. I didn't want to spring my notice on her when we finally find something. We've had people giving notice left and right around here and so I promised it wouldn't be before the middle of October. She told me that that was the reason I didn't get the promotion in August. She was afraid that 3 months after training me in the position of executive secretary that I would be running off the midwest. Its funny that not getting the promotion has made me want to move a little sooner...I think I'm finally starting to get a little burned out. Everything is catching up with me and my body so I think I will go home and nap and everything will be better in the morning.

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A....OK?

2008-09-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Johnny got done early last night so we got to spend some wonderful and unexpected time together. We watched Kitchen Nightmares and ate some mac'n'cheese before we headed over to Bed Bath and BEYOND to grab a present for Danny and Jenny and a pot for us (to cook in...not piss in.) Right after we blessed our dinner (in which Johnny asked for guidance in our careers) my mom called. My phone was still on vibrate so I heard her leave message. I had just talked to her and she knew Johnny and I were spending some time together so I thought...hmm. She said she'd been reading the newspaper from two days ago and found an interesting listing. About 45 minutes from where my parents live and brand new Vegas-style casino and resort just opened and is looking for a Sous Chef to be over two of their 5 restaurants...native american preference. It has free benefits including medical, dental, vision, a matching 401K and paid Holidays. We haven't decided on anything...its a little too big of a decision to make in 5 minutes...but we are contemplating it. It would be a BIG deal. We would be packing up and moving across country...so they would have to make it worth it. But we had planned on going back to the midwest eventually...like in a couple years. Johnny says if they tell us to move tomorrow we're nto going.
Here are my pro's:
We'd be closer to my family...and OUT of Utah
Johnny would be AWESOME at that job...and would only have to work 1 job!
Cost of Living is much lower...as is the cost of Housing!
Found out the Restaurant I worked at there is also hiring Managers....possibility?
Johnny DESERVES this kind of position.
It's just starting out so if he can be a part of this who knows what kind of opportunities lie in this.
I Could say Forget you Uof U and Finish my stinkin' degree already!
I would get to see Holly once a year!!

Of Course there are Con's:
We would be moving...hello hugeness!
We don't have much in the way of savings to get out there.
It would mean a big upheaval in our lives...apartment, jobs, friends....
I would miss spending lots of time with baby Tristan (though if we were settled and making good money we could afford our own little baby a little sooner...hello pro!)
....I can't think of any more right now"

I'm trying not to get excited about it and treat this like a mature and responsible adult. But I can't help but get a little excited at the sheer possibility. Much fasting and prayer will go into this decision...and it may turn out Johnny doesn't even want to apply...or that they don't want us. For the record though, I think it's a great opportunity and we should at least apply...who knows.....?

I Need to do Thank You Notes!

2008-09-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have not even started...oi!

It only rained Sunday and a little bit Monday morning but the resulting crisp, fall-like weather has been FABULOUS! I love fall...it just makes me want to bundle up and go cheer for the football team. I still don't know how I ended up with the guy who hates to go watch football....oh well. OH! and go pick apples and make tasty apple treats!...man I love Autumn!

We had a nice date night last evening. We went and saw Hancock at the dollar theatre a couple blocks from our house. We were going to stay and see Kung Fu Panda but the hubster had a headache so we called it a night a little earlier. He is a hoss. He went and worked a full shift at the bakery, ran to the chinese market for his boss, came home and did yardwork until I got home at almost 6 and then went upstairs and put the baseboards on in the kitchen and bathroom in the upstairs apartment. He didn't even get a chance to eat dinner before the movie. His dinner was popcorn and reeses pieces and soy milk...no wonder he had a headache. I'm trying really hard to be a good wife...I guess I kind of dropped the ball on that one last night.

Work has been pretty frustrating these last few days. We're really short staffed for all of September. It means I get some much needed overtime moneys but it makes it crazy busy, especially when we have people call out. I'm one of the team leaders and we end up having to be Nazi's and that's just not fun for anyone. I absolutely hate being the bad guy! We've hired several new people and we're workign on getting them trained so I'm sure it will get better in the not too distant future. For now I'll just blow off some steam playing softball after work!

Rain Rain Come and Stay!

2008-09-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE the rain. Most especially thunderstorms. I think thunderstorms may just be what I miss most about Missouri. Missouri has the BEST freaking thunderstorms!

Yesterday was probably the best Sunday Johnny and I have had for a while. We were a little late to church (we're still adjusting to the 9:00am time) but we had our records read into the ward and got to see a baby blessing. I think baby blessings are my favorite! We came home and had an awesome brunch. I kind of snarfed a few of the pancakes but I ate those ones so it was okay. Then we both laid down and took about a 6 hour nap. I can't tell you how much I have been needing sleep lately. We got up and had dinner, watched a movie, and went back to bed. Sleep is good!!

I had to work today so I left the hubby with a honey-do list including laundry and caulking the kitchen baseboards in the upstairs apartment. It has been pretty slow because of the holiday and I am not complaining. It stopped raining for a bit but I hope it picks back up so I have another night of snuggles and movies.

I love the rain!!

Big Step

2008-08-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Johnny and I finally took the plunge and got a joint phone account! I know...its pretty serious. I've been on my mom's family plan since I got my first phone at 16 and have had the same number ever since. I was kind of sad to give up my 417 area code and the number by which I have been identified for the last 7 years but since Evan is home, he needs a phone, and I live in utah so....bah. I'm not the happiest camper since we are still with SPRINT but my phone is really cute and has an MP3 player and camera so I can still be excited!

If you haven't received my mass text my new phone number is: 801-750-8744.

In homemaking news: we finally got our plates last night and switched out the broken ones. I'm pretty excited cause they are so nice and my grandparents were so wonderful to buy two sets for us! We discovered that shopko also carries them so we can get the expansion serving set and big ice cream/soup mugs. We also got our fabulous cookie-making-kit from my cousin and made-of-honor Annie! I don't think I've ever been so excited to make sugar cookies. Johnny and I keep picking up the pail to see what fun shapes we can find in the cookie cutters.

We still need to get a few more picture frames and get stuff up on the walls. They are looking more and more naked as we get stuff settled and put away. I can't wait until we start our big project of putting in a washer and dryer. Sending Johnny to his parents' once a week to wash our undies makes me feel like an inept wife. Maybe I'll venture to the laundromat this week just to feel a little more domestic!

OK: So I feel like Johnny and I skipped the entire honeymoon phase of our marriage. He has been really stressed about finances and chores with building maintenance so his fuse is even shorter than normal and I never know when I'm going to say something that upsets him or when someone around him is going to set him on edge. I'm mowing the lawn for him tonight and going to make the house spotless. Any suggestions on how I can make him happier / relieve his stress level?

Dum Dum Da Dum

2008-08-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

It is official. We have been sealed for Time and Eternity and we have walked down the aisle and exchanged rings and one hot and steamy kiss! Ok not really hot and steamy...but sweet and simple. It was so much fun...except certain people refused to dance...LAME!

My wedding party is awesome and they looked fabulous! We definitely partied...especially when we busted out the karaoke! I have to thank them for the car decorations....most specifically the sardines-EVIL CARLOS!! I don't have any good pictures yet. My mom has some from the temple she is supposed to be emailing me when they get home so it may be a couple days before I get those. Carlos has posted quite a few on facebook. I'm not sure when I'm going to get my bridals and official pics from my photographer but I'm most excited to see the pictures from when our cake toppled. Yes...ahh smashed cake. But it was still delicious!! :D

The temple was amazing! I love Nauvoo!! I Can never get enough of that place! The weather was perfect. It had been 105 the day before so I was a little leery of wearing my dress outside but it dropped and it was a gorgeous 85 on our wedding day! We were able to see the Pageant the night before we were sealed and there was a couple sitting in front of us that just as the lights came up on the temple he got down on a knee and popped the question...now THAT is a mormon Proposal!! We met a lot of the cast members before and after the show, several of whom we saw the next day who wished us well and remembered everything. Johnny and I did some touristy Nauvoo stuff after our sealing which was fun, got the brick, the prairie diamond rings and the rope. They don't do wedding candles anymore and I was VERY sad about that. But we did get the mini horseshoe since it was our day!

Our Open house in Carthage got rained out so no bonfire. We just all gathered in the house and we still got to have our fireworks so I was happy! We had a lot of friends show up and it was so good to see everyone! Especially several people I hadn't seen in years! I'm kind of bummed that a couple people weren't able to make it but I understand that life takes place...its all good!

So now Johnny and Halley live together (WEIRD) and are back to work. We're actually living a married life. The project that has been my focus, obvious and underlying, for the last year is now over. I have to do thank you notes and everything...but I don't have a big project anymore. Guess we'll have to start trying for a new one if you get my drift ;)

Speaking of! My sister Caitlin came up for the festivities and brought my adorable little nephew, Justice. He's almost 4 months and I just love him! He was blessed by my daddy on sunday and Johnny got to assist. It was pretty cute. Daddy held him as he slept through sacrament and he just couldn't stop staring at his grandson...ADORABLE!!

There is of course more but this is getting a little long. I'll be back with more details later...Happy days!

10 Points to whoever can tell me the significance of this post's color scheme!

2 Weeks!

2008-07-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

We are getting SO CLOSE! I can hardly believe it! I have been so busy at work with the privacy stuff and I just haven't had time to post so...I fail. They did find the tapes on July first so that is way good news. However people just don't seem to care. You tell them and expect them to say...oh nevermind then. Instead we get more of the "yeah. but that doesn't mean anything." Ok these guys are IDIOTS! one tried to put one of the tapes in the VCR thinking it was like home-made porn or something. The Sheriff is quoted in the news as saying "I don't think these men could find their own rear-ends with two hands." So we've slowed down a bit but we're not out of the woods yet. We also got all the returned mail (all 250,000 letters) that we needed to sort between forwarding address and non-forwarding address and now go through and update any of the ones with forwarding addresses (about 20,000). I am SO glad I only have 6 days of work before I head out of here. Can you believe that its almost time for me to be Married?! CRAZINESS!!

Our apartment is slowly but surely becoming our first home. We finished painting the bedroom last night and we put our bed together. Its very pretty. Now we need a ceiling fan...and some nightstands. BUt those aren't too important. We are half-painted in the kitchen, the bathroom hasn't even been started yet, and our living room is all but complete. Our makeshift TV stand will eventually have to be replaced but it works for now. We got our gorgeous plates from my grandmother. Target or UPS did a not so awesome job of shipping though and 5 of the 8 dinner plates were broken and one of the bowls. We have a replacement on the way so hopefully we'll have dishes soon.

Wedding planning is done....its all planned...its the execution of the wedding planning that has me ripping out my hair at this point. It will all work....I know this...but that doesn't calm the wedding coordinator inside me. I just figure that by the time all the ring ceremony and reception stuff gets here it won't matter because we'll already be married.....holy shizrick wixfoz!

On a very sad note, Grandpa George (pictured below) passed away Sunday. He had suffered a stroke last week and his poor little body just couldn't handle it. Johnny actually woke up at the exact minute that it happened. I'm so grateful though because the lesson in Relief Society and Priesthood that day just happened to be about comfort at the time of someone's death. Does Heavenly Father know us or what?! I'm so glad we were able to spend some time with Grandpa George in June and what a beautiful picture of him with Johnny. Would you just check out that smile! Johnny is of course upset, especially since we can't make it down to the funeral today. But the important part is that he will be put to rest with Military honors and the fun-loving joker will be able to walk and run again. Something he hasn't been able to do since he returned from Vietnam.

I think that's all I've got in me today. I'll try and get some pictures of our home posted soon. Oh! and I got Johnny to agree on a girl name! CUTE!

Sorry About That

2008-06-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so first of all I love love LOVE my fiance! Everyone talks about Edward Cullen like he's the best thing taht men could ever be...but I just laugh at how much Johnny Ray and he have in common sometimes...plus he's not a vampire so Bonus!

Recap: Johnny's grandmother passed away on June 7th so we spent a week on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. It was educational to say the least! A lot of the res runners were confused by the random white girl at the family meetings but they were very nice and welcoming. One of his grandma/aunts (its an Indian thing) told me I had to watch out for the red ants cause they don't know me. I'm white so they might want to try something new. hahaha...of course I got a little sunburnt and we decided I was an official Redskin. We first went to Albuquerque and saw his Grandpa/Uncle George and spent some time in Old Town. The picture up top is from us playing in a touristy hat shop.

This is Johnny and Grandpa George. Grandpa George is in the Spinal Cord unit at the VA as a result of Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War. Johnny was very close to Grandpa George when he was younger so they spent the visit talking and laughing about the pranks they used to pull on his Grandmother. Heaven help me with this man's children is all I can say!

It wasn't the happiest of reasons be visiting family but we did have a good time. It also means there was a week on the reservation so wedding stuff is a little behind right now but we'll get it taken care of.

When I got back to work I was informed that the morning of June 2, 2008 2.2 million patient's billing information was stolen out of a courier's personal vehicle. As a privacy specialist this means I've been working everyday. I will have 20 hours of overtime this week alone. Its stressful but it is definitely a blessing for our finances.

Our apartment is shaping into a very nice home. We painted our living room and have a sofa. It looks great! I'm so excited to have furniture! We've gotten half of our kitchen painted, we bought a mattress (Side note: It is amazing how much better you sleep on a mattress when you haven't had one for 2 years!) We also ordered our bed and it will be ready for us in July.

Here's the forecast: I'll be working A LOT over the next couple weeks; we're getting our engagements taken sunday morning (if Ryan comes through), invitations will be stuffed and sent on monday and tuesday; I have to get my dress altered and shipped to my parents' house; I have to get shoes for my wedding day and my tiara; I need to stop eating in my stress; and about a million and a half other things. Stress Stress Stress but it will be worth it......it will.....just breathe!.... :D

PS Jenny you're adorable and I heart you!

OH MY LANTA!!

2008-06-16T18:44:00.001-07:00

GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

More to come.....just breathe!

Transition

2008-06-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

So I'm in our new apartment. It's so big and I have nothing to fill it with. We get to paint and I finally get to pick out the color I want the rooms to be and have someone else pay for it! Hooray! We got a kitchen table...its an octagon which I think is pretty sweet. We found it on Craigslist for 40 bucks! We don't have any chairs for ti yet....but we have a table!! My bed is still sitting under a tarp in Johnny's backyard. We're planning on getting a bed so we just need to move the mattress over to my place so I have something to sleep on. I slept on blankets on the floor last night. Luckily we have nicely padded carpet so it really wasn't too bad. We're trying to get settled and find furniture, and juggle our budget, so it can get a little stressful but we're really coming together as a couple. Johnny has been so cute about "our place." We were at the store tuesday night getting some necessities and he got really sad looking all of a sudden and just kept saying "I hate this."...."I hate this" I couldn't figure it out....finally he told me he was bummed cause he couldn't move in with me into our place yet. It was really cute. I really kind of love him.

In other news: My little brother Evan came home last night from his mission in Africa. I'm kind of excited to have him at my wedding! And I'm excited for him to help me with my french (it has suffered greatly in the 4 years since I went to France)....now I just have to get him to be nice enough to slow down and not make fun of my non African Accent. Johnny and I still have his TV so I have a bargaining chip!

OH! And my sister Brittany is having a boy, Tristan Nelson Coons!

Otherwise not really too much going on. Just getting busy trying to set up my home for my husband...63 Days!!! <3

1 Move Down 2 To go!

2008-05-30T09:01:00.001-07:00

OK. So we signed a lease on our apartment tuesday, and I move in this coming Tuesday. We are going to be living at 2263 South 800 East #3 in Sugarhouse, Utah. It's the two bedroom one we looked at last week that doesn't have washer dryer hookups. Johnny looked at the other place but it is OLD and has original windows and wiring so utilities would be beastly high and He decided he'd rather pay low utilities (gas was only 50dollars at it's highest this winter) and pay for his laundry. We're still hoping that we'll be able to get washer dryer hookups put in. I'm so excited to just get in there and be in our first home. Granted it will be pretty empty for a while since I have basically No furniture but it will still be nice. I'm basically done in my house. Johnny came over last night at 9 to find me lost and unmotivated. So we finished packing up my room, he helped me carry out my bed frame and television and we loaded up both of our cars and took it all over to his house around midnight. Tonight after work I have to: Pack up my dishes, put the last dozen bags/boxes in my car, finish cleaning and vacuuming and head over to my sister's in West Jordan (oh! and try not to annoy the pregnant woman!)

We got our invitations on Wednesday and I couldn't stop looking at them! They're awful cute! We don't have our engagement photos yet so they aren't ready to be stuffed or sent yet....but they will be awesome! :D

Unfortunately no matter how cute my invitations are there are certain members of my family that will be declining. I found out on sunday and I am rather offended. ESPECIALLY because the reason they gave for being unable to attend. Not that they've actually said anything to me or my mother...oh well. Its still gonna be a rockin' party!

10 Weeks from Today!! :D is everyone excited?!!?

And We're Back

2008-05-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

I know its been a bit of a sabbatical ( I love that word) but I have resolved to get a post out by EOB today! (I started this monday...I fail) It hasn't snowed to the point of sticking since mayday...the mountains and hills are still white most of the time but the roads aren't. In fact down in the valley its been quite toasty the last couple days. I was beginning to think we'd bypassed spring and jumped right in to summer but its cool and rainy for the rest of this week.

I haven't been blogging cause I don't want it to be a whine-spot and I've been feeling a little stressed lately. I have to be out of my house next week and we still have not found where Johnny and I are going to living post-marriage. We were going to buy....but without a sufficient down-payment we weren't going to be able to afford anything worth buying. So we were going to rent...but then we found an application for a down-payment grant from the government so we're in limbo. Luckily there are a couple of girls in my ward at church that I can stay with for a while-up to a couple months until we find something. We actually found a great place last night. It's right over in sugarhouse, its big, low utilities, well maintained....the only problem is it lacks the hookups for laundry. This is a major problem. NOT because I'm a princess!! The issue is that Johnny is a chef and only has so many jackets and pants and they always have to look nice....he does laundry about every 3 nights. We talked with the landlord about the possibility of putting those in either the kitchen (which is big enough to put a shutter closet around a stackable) or in the back bedroom closet. He said he's thought about it before and is more than happy to have it priced out but that he didn't want to promise us anything. He was actually really great and the girl that lives in the apartment now actually knows Johnny and I from the ward that we're in. She said the ward was awesome, they're only moving a few blocks away and will still be in the ward. It was honestly the first place we've looked at that I really liked and felt like I could live there and be happy with it. But the washer/dryer issue is an issue. So we have another one that Johnny is going to see tomorrow ( I might if I can get out of work for a little bit longer of a lunch break). SIGH....I just want to move in!

We have been so busy at work this week! We took over a new call center that includes two of the biggest clinics and we've been slammed all day long! I left early yesterday with a migraine. Nerves and stress plus crazy busy= nausea and headaches for Halley. But today is a short day and I'm going visiting teaching...so hopefully I'll be buoyed up and blessed by finding a house we can afford! Oh I hope!

Around the May-Pole in Snow Boots

2008-05-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Yes....it is May Day....and SNOWING. It snowed a little bit yesterday but just the little snowball pellet things and only very briefly. But today there is snow sticking to the ground....I'm having some deja vu from my childhood in South Dakota.

But on to bigger and better subjects: I haven't blogged in a bit because I got tattled on for venting about my future MIL in a venue where they will never see it...but I have repented. I should probably take the post down or make it private...maybe.
Since I haven't written in a bit a lot of schtuff has gone down! So get settled in for a blog-tastically long post...or just leave. No skin off my nose.

A) Most importantly I am FINALLY an Auntie!! My sister Caitlin Reed Sageng gave birth to Mr. Justice Kyng Braithwate on April 29 at 5:18pm. He was 6 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches long. Caitlin did a great job and I am very proud of her! The labor was definitely not an easy one, Justice was face down so she was having back labor and had to have an epidural. A couple hours later Justice was still being stubborn and didn't want to come out. It turns out the cord was around his neck and started to go into distress, his heart rate dropped into the low seventies so they wheeled Caitlin into the OR and did an emergency c-section. It was a little scary but Mommy and Baby are both doing well and are beautiful!

They're from a camera phone so they're a little blurry. But these are the very first shots.

B) My Class at the Youth Theatre is finished. I don't think I have ever been so proud in my life! As of the wednesday before class they were still not off book or even close to as ready as they should have been three weeks before. And they got a little bit of a bum chewing. But Friday they were awesome!! They went for quite a while without any missed lines and when someone did miss they caught on and covered. The audience was laughing and they were all having a good time. I was afraid they all just thought I was the mean old lady that yelled at them once a week and that they had no fun or learned anything. The day of the performance they were all happy and having a blast and I caught them playing a round of "Big Booty" before the show....so if they learned nothing else, they learned big booty.

If that last shot doesn't scream "THEATRE KIDS!!" I don't know what does.

C) Johnny is back at work...and we're trying to be very careful with his back. He's on some medication that is supposed to help build up his muscles for the next month or so and then we'll look at more physical therapy or maybe injections to get that herniated disk taken care of. He's been kind of grumpy because he's in pain but it has been quite nice to spend so much time with him. And we've been cooking some delicious dinners. A couple of sundays ago he made a portobello wellington, wild rice, and carrots & parsnips. here are a couple of shots of him (all messy and not happy I took his picture hee hee) and a shot of dinner to make you salivate.

Trust me it was delicious!
Until next time. HAPPY MAY DAY!!

Giving In to Boost My Spirits

2008-04-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ok that is the dress....not on me (In case you couldn't tell). I really like it. I should take the princess dress off of here cause I really liked that one too. I just though a view of it would boost my less than sparkling spirits today.

...this week has been pretty stressful. Johnny hasn't been in to work since last friday and won't be going back for another few days at least.

Here's the skinny: Johnny's back was giving him problems (as usual) last thursday and I made him do some stretches with me. (NOTE: What follows is NOT my fault) The next morning he woke up with INTENSE pain in his back and numbness down his leg and the bottom of his foot. Doesn't tell me he's numb until I was over at his house that night around 11:30 so then I (in my drama queen way) panicked and made him go to the ER. They diagnosed him with sciatica and told him to stretch it and heat it and get to physical therapy as soon as possible. Physical Therapy was yesterday and had not improved...AT ALL. So they said it was a problem with his spine, either a herniated or ruptured disk. His MRI at 7 this morning showed it was herniated. Which sucks...but its good because now we know what is actually wrong and it can be treated without surgery.

It stinks that he hurts and I know he's miserable....but I am really enjoying him being off of work.....that's bad I know but I like being able to spend time with him. [EDITED! Dumb mean comment removed by author!]

Sorry...that was selfish and I like my Wedding stuff so you should be excited Halley coming out there a little. But yeah so that's what's going on in my world. Hope everything in yours is bright sunshine and daisies (which happens to be a lot like my wedding stuff). Have a fantasmic evening! :D

Oh Happy Day....

2008-04-03T12:54:00.001-07:00

You know you wanna sing the song...sing it loud and proud!!! I just got off the phone with the director of financial aid at the U and they are pulling my account out of collections!!!! What does this mean: it means that they remove the $1600 + fees that were added to my tuition. It also means that with the same loan I can pay them, pay off my credit card, and my $700+ taxes and still be paying less a month than I already am. It ALSO means that I can get back to school in the fall and FINALLY finish this degree up!! I can not begin to tell you the HUGE sigh of relief I have already begun to breathe.

On another, non-scholastic note: My mom found some GREAT deals on wedding stuff last night! She found a bunch of bright colored, high gloss little buckets with daisy cut-outs around the top that we're just going to fill with a little bit of sand and a bunch of white daisies. They were $2-4 dollars a pop. And she found some bright paper lanterns for the dance floor for a remarkably low price of 2 dolla' THANK YOU HOBBY LOBBY POST-EASTER SALE!!

Also I finally got my New York City Ballet Work-out DVD...and my bum has been kicked! But in the best way possible! My legs were a little tired by the end but I wasn't hurting...just sweating and panting (LOL) but by the time I walked downstairs to my room (a whole 5 minutes) I was feeling it. And I'm still feeling it. I only feel it in my abs when I laugh but my legs are burning and I can feel it in my shoulders and back. Woohoo dance...I'm trying the second workout tonight. I hope I can walk in the morning!!

...Thanks for Voting!

2008-03-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

But I actually went with another dress. Mom and I went to a place called FairyGodmother's Bridal that a lady runs from her home and found a dress that is similar to the princess but is different and unique in its own way. It's been discontinued so NO ONE will have this dress ever again! BWAHAHA! It's actually a little too small in the bustal region but we're getting laces put in so it will lace up the back and I can have my pink bow at the bottom! I am so glad my mommy got to come see me--oh and get this! After all the dilemma because she liked the queen dress she told me "after thinking about it I think the Princess one would be better for you too" I think the price tag was a little scary...and it certainly was. But I found one just as beautiful and unique and flattering and sparkly and lacey and for A LOT less money! And it has a hoop in stead of tons of tool as a petticoat so it's still poofy and full but without being quite so miserably hot. But I haven't decided if I should put the pictures up on here...or just make you come to my wedding to be surprised. I'll ponder that. You go ponder other things. Later lovelies!

Oh Man...Can't Decide...HELP!!!

2008-03-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

OK this is the "queen Dress". We're going to alter the dress so the sleeves are 3/4 length, shorten the shoulders, and let it out a bit in the hips....cause let's be honest: I was built for the baby bearing! I look kind of awkward when I just stand straight like that...cause I don't really ever stand like that. hmm. Pros: It's different! Not a lot of people have this dress. It's classic: My kids aren't going to look back and think...yeah she was definitely married in 2008. It's grown up. (maybe that's a con) Its less material...we're taking pictures and doing our ceremony outside in august. (But we're also going to have a nice air-conditioned room we're in as well...so)

And this is the "princess" dress. PROS: I kind of LOVE it. I feel more comfortable in it, but partially because the other one hasn't been altered. The only alterations it needs are the shoulders. It's poofy! CONS: It's $175 dollars more than the other: but I think I've discovered a loophole there! It will be a little warmer with all those layers of poof...but again we're only going to be outside for an hour and a half before we're inside toasting and eating and cutting cake and by the time we're back outside for dancing and stuff it will be 7 at night in the mountains. I think I can be hot for a day.....in this gorgeousness. Other cons: my mom likes the other one better. so does my sister. So I need your help:

Queen or Princess? Or Keep looking? HELP ME!!!!

Hooray For You!

2008-03-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hooray for me! After three days on sabbatical I finally acted like a girl and put some of the good old rouge on. (Granted I still didn't really do my hair and I'm in jeans and a sweatshirt).

My Mommy will be here tomorrow night!! I'm so excited!! We get to do real wedding stuff like go to our venue and go dress shopping and meet with our florist and yeah ...so YAY! Plus she gets to go with Brittany to their first ultrasound with the new baby. She gets in Sunday night and leaves Saturday morning. I know its going to go by so fast and sadness abounds at that...but still she's gonna be here! I'm kind of exited....like REALLY excited!! I've never been a "homebody" or a real Mama's girl until I moved out here to Utah and I only get to see her for a couple days at a time. And its been really difficult planning a wedding without her here. Tuesday is going to be hectic cause it's the only day we have with Johnny so we're going out to the venue and we may be going done to look at a house....OMG I'll tell ya that story next.....and then he's going to take a nap because his work that morning is going to be crazy and mommy and I are meeting with my florist and then we're all (along with Brittany and Chad) going to dinner somewhere. Oh and mom is going to the ultrasound that morning so he'll be glad to sleep in on wednesday I think.

SO I think I may have found Johnny's and My first home!! Its amazing and perfect and when I found it I just had that feeling...ya know the "this is my house" feeling. I don't want to curse it though, and I would definitely be very happy in some of the other places we're going to look at but its a townhouse right along little cottonwood creek and they're asking 40K less than its value because they have to sell it IMMEDIATELY.

And you want a "just goes to show our church is like way truer" moment? I had been bad about paying my tithing cause I've been barely scraping by lately but decided last week I had to be better and put that first priority. So I paid it on Sunday and just prayed that I would have enough from my paycheck to cover my bills. It was gonna be close. But Thursday I ended up babysitting for my boss and made a sweet 20 for playing with her baby (BEST JOB EVER!) and all my bills have come through and I still have a few bucks left. And then Friday...on the high of realizing the immediate blessings of obeying commandments I found this house. I don't know for sure that we will get it....but its definite proof that my needs and concerns are known and addressed.

So to sum up: 1000 points of light....wouldn't be prudent....I still want a baby....I hope and pray we get this townhome....and Pay your tithing!

Hooray for you! Have a good day!

At My House Eating Cake In a Dress

2008-03-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

That's going to be my wedding reception. I have decided. Nothing quite seems to be working out with the wedding today so I think we're going to default to sitting our family room eating cake while I wear my wedding dress.

We made the deposit on our venue last week. We've been planning forever to do it at the Cottonwood Market Street because A) its PERFECT! B) it's the company Johnny and I worked for when we met and C) Johnny still works for the company so they're paying our facilities charges. However today I got a copy of the contract emailed to me and it had a minimum food charge requirement of about a thousand dollars more than we were planning on. Well Shizrick Wixfoz! The problem is that pretty much blows my entire budget. And if we cancel, we lose 500 big ones from our deposit. I'm okay doing our own food...NOT A PROBLEM. Johnny doesn't want to but neither he nor his parents are paying for it so....yeah. But I don't know where else we could do it. We could maybe bribe Bishop into letting us do it at his Cabin. I really want to use that as a last resort because we love Bishop and don;t want to impose.....but the place is GIANT! Oh and if we buy a condo instead of a home we may have a fieldhouse we could use. I don't know.....I'm telling ya: Cake and movies in a dress.

Other than that it is GLORIOUS outside. I guess its supposed to rain slash snow this week. It was supposed to start today but they said "oops, we mean tomorrow" so let's hope that continues. I just had to vent a little but I should probably get to blocking my student's show....LUVS!!

Another Happy Post!

2008-03-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

Happy posts are good....I feel like I really let my low swing get to me more than I should have. But its gone and things are up again. Man I sound like a wack-job!

I've started working 4 ten-hour shifts instead of 5 eight-hour shifts so I have two weekdays off (tuesday and wednesday) and Sundays. Its only my first week on this schedule but it is already so hugely perfect! Tuesday was Johnny's and my date night and since his birthday was wednesday we spent our night "celebrating" the man that is Johnny Ray. The celebration was modest but I made him a candlelit dinner with fancy dessert (AKA jell-o in a martini glass with whipped cream hahaha) and then we watched a couple episodes of "Into the West." Earlier in the day we went to the home loan people and got pre-approved for a mortgage. Holy Cows on a stick!! We're pretty excited and feel rather grown-up. (He should...he's old. ) And I gave him his Birthday present that has been taunting me for three weeks since I picked up. I finally found a CTR ring that suits him and he loves it and hasn't taken it off yet. so Yay!

Tuesday we also officially found out that my gorgeous sister, Brittany, who lost her baby just 8 weeks ago is pregnant again! so way totally awesome news there! Its crazy and we are hoping and praying very hard that she has a healthy pregnancy and pops one out around my birthday or maybe evans...we don't yet. Man this is exciting! Oh and everything is going well for Caitlin and she's due in 2 months! YAY BABIES!! My mom is dead convinced I'll be mighty preggers with one of my own when Evan gets home from his mission....in one year. Keep in mind Johnny and I aren't getting married for another 5 months. I'm not saying I'd be upset cause we all know I'm baby ravenous (a higher degree of Baby hungry) but its is not in our game plan. Even though I, not-so-secretly, want to be pregnant now. I guess its just a little sister thing.

I think that's about it. After my low swing and a little bit of sicky tummy its been glorious! and The weather has been pretty friendly itself. A little chilly but its getting up there--and we discovered we have about a dozen tulips in our front garden. a very pretty happy spring surprise! May your march bring you the Same!!

Spring.......?

2008-02-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

Its beginning to look a bit like springtime....about every three days. We've still got patches of snow and about once a week we're getting a lovely rain/snow/slush mixture falling from the skies. But today is gorgeousness! And the forecast is varied in the next week...maybe its spring...maybe not.

I puppy-sat for my sister last week while she and her husband went to New York City...I don't like being in their house alone so instead of sleeping upstairs in the nursery (with no window coverings) I slept on their love-sac in the family room..and the puppies slept inside with me....Don't tell Chad! Johnny was able to come over a couple nights and hang out with me and the pups for a bit before our curfew hit. And one night he brought me my valentine's day present: a tanning package to my favorite tanning parlor! Yay! I've been saying for a few weeks that I wanted to start tanning again because A) I'm pasty 2) I'm chubby and tan and chubby is much cuter than pale and chubby C) it helps with my skin and my seasonal affective disorder....not to mention when you're engaged to an indian you're always pale. It's better to not be transparent!

We did our cake tasting saturday and I am way excited for our wedding cake: It is going to be a lemon cake (very light tasting) with a Meyer Lemon curd filling with lemon buttercream frosting. I know it sounds like lemon overkill but trust me it's not overpowering and its delicious and PERFECT for an august evening in Utah! :D Johnny is also having Ro do his groom's cake but he purposely made me nervous by making a point of telling her he would describe what he wanted later...that it had to be a secret from me...jerk! lol I'm sure its fine but he did it on purpose!

Let's see what else has been going on in my world...OH so there was an earthquake in Nevada on thursday...and for some reason (maybe connected, maybe not) our ENTIRE computer system campus wide went down..that was a bit of stress and hecticness right there. Appointments had to be cancelled, we had to go on disaster divert because we couldn't admit anyone to the hospital, we had to page Cardiac Arrest teams overhead....man was it a party. Our computer system was down from 11:30 am to 7:20 that night. I thought the way to take down a hospital was just to get the pager system down (Dr.'s FREAK when they can't page) but no..take out a computer or two and see what happens.

Johnny has been very sweet and cute lately. I don't know if it's because spring is just peaking around the corner or if its because we have been doing better with "the rules" or what. But I kind of like it. He sent me a random text message today just to ask "do you wanna be my wife" it was kind of cute. That's probably really cheesy and sappy but I'm in love so deal with it!!

Speaking of love...Mr Todd Elliot is getting married next saturday. I'm excited...especially since it's saturday morning so Johnny gets to come with me! It's so crazy... But I feel so loved cause I get to be part of the "family" ceremony. Johnny has to work so he can't go to the reception with me..so I may have to drive back down after he heads to work. I love Todd and I'm so excited he's getting married...That girl better be good to him or I'll beat her! BWAHAHA! He was so funny when he told me he was engaged we were talking about how everything was going so well for both of us and he said "and we're both getting married...to different people!" I had to laugh...cause it's so true.

I think that's good for the day...Yay for happiness and stuff!!

Happy Pink Valentine's Day!

2008-02-13T09:21:00.001-08:00

So I kinda forget about this....mostly because I've been trying to get all my ducks in a row with my projects and such. But here we are!

Things have been crazy but good. After the events of the previous post and my slight mental breakdown we all took a deep breath and kept going. I started class and, other than some small discipline issues. we were all okay. I've decided that since I'm basically a substitute teacher to them at this point, that's why they don't want to be good. The ones that haven't done any classes at the school before love me...they don't always know when to stop talking...I think once everyone gets used to me and my ways it'll be a lot more fun and much easier to get our work done.

My room is dry. They had to remove the padding that had disintegrated from the flood and while I am at Brittany's next week puppy-sitting they're going to replace it. Plus I get to cuddle with my niece dogs and hang out on their monsterSac (a knock off of a love sac).

Johnny and I had our first Valentine's Day celebration yesterday. I know that the actual Holiday is tomorrow but , of course, the man's gotta work. So we went to Faustina and had a very nice dinner...I felt bad cause it was pretty pricey but it was so good and just overall a nice dinner. We went over to the gateway to see Juno and since we had a little less than an hour before it started we walked over to the little arcade to play around. The first game we played was Deal or No Deal and won 1000 tickets! lol We were such dorks and it was so much fun...we even did the good old photo booth. We used our tickets to get snacks for the movie so it all worked out! Aww good times. I kind of love him....and i get to eat my leftovers for dinner tonight! :D

I have class again tonight and we're going to do some improv so we'll see if we can keep their attention a little longer. Off I go!

Nude Finger Day

2008-02-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Title refers to the fact that I left my engagement ring at home this morning and my finger is very very naked and its just a sample of how my day has been going since 10:30 last night.

OK: Good news! I (finally) met with Penny at the youth theatre wednesday night. I work 9-5:30 and most school offices are closed by then but we worked it out and it went really well. I start teaching the Drama Company class on wednesday from 5-6:30. I'm so excited!! I have six girls and two boys ages 9, 10, and 11. We meet once a week for ten weeks (twelve if you count the two weeks we have off for spring breaks) and at the end put on a performance. I'm so ready to get in and meet my students! I'm making them all Black and Silver Star Name tags. I'm stoked but at the same time I had written the start date down wrong so I thought I had more time...not a big deal just bit of stress. Also today is friday which means jeans day and I'm wearing my skinny-jeans. I feel kind of chubby in them but I can sit and breathe comfortably So yay.

Now the "since 10:30 last night" story: I was sitting in bed, had the TV on, and was about to start working on my lesson plan for wednesday's class when I heard dripping coming from the little closet in my room with the furnace and water heater. I opened the door to find a rain forest: the hot water expansion tank (high pressure) had sprung a leak and was spraying everywhere-it was dripping from the walls and ceiling, there was a 1/4 inch of standing water on the floor and it was still spraying fast enough that it soak through a super heavy shop paper towel in less than 5 seconds. I started picking clothes up and putting them away (I just did laundry and hadn't stored them yet) and when I hung something up in my closet I felt a little moisture. I though it was just melted snow from my boot...but soon found that the water at soaked through the walls and was pooling under my carpet. It had entirely soaked several items of clothing and was so saturated that when you stepped on the carpet it would shoot water out. We had to turn our hot water off to stop it form spraying. I got most of the stuff up off the ground, did a load of laundry with the wet stuff and went to bed very stressed and tired. In the hurry to get out this morning before our Landlord's father came to fix it...I left my beautiful ring in its box on my nightstand, on the way in to work I hit every single red light, and it was snowy and gross so I clocked on a minute late. And then we were ridiculously crazy slit-your-wrists busy, which in my state of mind only pissed me off.

Chelsie got to work around 2 and gave me tho official report: we now have hot water again, they put a new tank on (sans holes) and have begun the clean-up process. Unfortunately the water had so entirely saturated the carpet that the padding was practically disintegrating. So that means they have to replace the carpet in my room, when they do so I will be room-less. Much like tonight. They have fans and stuff going, they've ripped up part of the carpet, and will be working in my room until late tonight which means for the next couple days I'm sleeping on the couch or at someone else's house. And I still have projects due at work including recognition committee birthday board, the behavior standard bulletin board (ownership focus), and a unique valentines box. I also still have not done my lesson plan or made the kids nametags. Nor have I done anything wedding related, other than look at resorts for our honeymoon. but nothing has been accomplished. And here I am blogging away---no wonder I failed out of school!

Doors are Swinging Open!

2008-01-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

Last week was a hard one with the loss of Peanut and everything but Friday really turned things around. I had heard about an opening at the Youth Theatre here at the U and really REALLY wanted to work with them. Youth theatre is what I want to do with my degree/life. So I started working on my cover letter and resume and contacting people as references. I emailed my former acting teacher here at the U and asked if I could list her as a reference. I didn't hear back from here so I just arranged for other people. I finally got an email back from her on Friday saying that for some reason she'd tried to respond but my email wouldn't let her...but that she had already passed my information on to Penny (the artistic director doing the hiring) and that she thought I'd be great. So yay! I was finishing up my cover letter and asked one of my coworkers to read it and tell em what he thought. He in turn asked his friend who is an equity stage manager and she told me the Egyptian theatre is also hiring people for their youth theatre and gave me the name and contact information for that person. That afternoon I got a call from Penny saying she was still looking for an instructor for one of the classes and that Margo had just said wonderful things about me. I dropped my cover letter and resume off and I have an interview later this week!!
I was having a pretty darn good day. After I got home I got to see my good bud, Jace Holland Dredge, aka Papa Dre who served his mission where I went to school in Missouri. We went to the gymnastics meet, met some cool girls in our ward and hung out at my house until almost 12am laughing and being crazy rowdy. When Johnny got off work he came over and met everyone and then told me HIS awesome news for the Day. A) The Bakery he works at got invited to be part of a Soups and Dessert show later in February. Since he does all of their soups he's going with his boss, Romina who does the desserts to be in this show. Awesome news #2) He is going to start doing a monthly TV spot on GoodDay Utah from the Maytag store representing the Bakery. its always good to get himself seen! and FINALLY) Johnny Ray has been asked to be an instructor at Williams Sonoma! which means once a week he'll teach a class inside the Williams Sonoma store here in Salt Lake.
We are definitely very grateful for all these opportunities and know that our Heavenly Father knows our desires and needs! And I'm also grateful for the 75% discount we'll get at Williams Sonoma---you know that's where I'm getting my stand mixer! We are still stressed but we're looking forward and things are looking good. We found out my roommates are not extending their lease so I have to be out by June first which means we're looking for our first home! Its exciting and very weird. I'm starting to feel grown up.
OH!!! and as of today we have LESS than 200 days til we get hitched: 199 to be precise. (6 and a half months) which is much better than the original 12 months and one week! And we have now officially been together for 9 months...now if only we had a baby to show for that ;) JUST KIDDING!

Wedding Stuff!!

2008-01-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Man I love doing wedding stuff!! Its great sitting at my desk all day and looking at different options in between the calls I get. Today......get ready for it......drumroll.........I Found my Tiara!! I LOVE IT..its so gorgeous!!! .I kind of want to wear it like...now

I realize I should probably pick my dress before the tiara and veil and such but I'm so so so torn on my dress and I already have my veil (Something Borrowed) and this tiara should work for any of my dress finalists. And it matches the whole feel of the wedding. And I just love it. SIGH.

Yay for girlie weddingness!!

Ok so I have a question for all you married MoMo's out there... I kind of feel like I want to do my endowments the day before the wedding itself. Both my parents and my sister did it all in one shot...but they were both married before and were being sealed. I feel like doing them at the same time would just make it a really really long long day. If we did our endowments at 11 we would have to be there at 9:30 (which is the earliest I want to be there) and we wouldn't finish being sealed until almost 2pm. That's an awful long day especially since good old Mr. Johnny gets hypoglycemic. Then my parents would have to drive the 8 hour trip home to get ready for the open house the next night. AND B) I know I'm going to be all giddy and dorky and "yay wedding day" and I'm afraid that I might miss out on part of the endowments. But mom points out that they enhance eachother. And I didn't realize it but Johnny wasn't planning on taking the full 2 weeks like I was so he doesn't want to leave any earlier than the 6th...I'm working on that because I don't feel like that's going to be enough time....I dunno. What do y'all think?

The Tides They Are A Changing

2008-01-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

We received some very sad news on Sunday evening; my sister, Brittany, and her husband, Chad, lost their baby. This is always a very sad circumstance but particularly devastating for our family. Brittany and Chad had been trying for three years to get pregnant and had met with much difficulty. They even tried a couple rounds of in vitro and, after that too failed, they decided to adopt. The morning they were to meet with their case worker, Brittany took a pregnancy test and it was surprisingly positive! They were, of course, elated as was the rest of the family. My other sister, Caitlin, is also pregnant and they bonded (And I decided it was another way to exclude me). Everything was going well, the nursery was already nearly finished, they had clothes and blankets, Johnny and I even got the little Peanut a "Baby's First Norwegian Cup" for a Christmas present. Brittany was 13 weeks along and in her second trimester, she'd had three ultrasounds and everything seemed to be going well. At 11 weeks she had an ultrasound where they were unable to see the heart beat but the Dr. said it was just an old kind of fuzzy machine but that the baby looked good for size. What we learned after Sunday was that for whatever reason, Peanut had stopped growing at 9 1/2 weeks, we don't know when the heartbeat stopped, but we do know that Brittany continued to grow the whole time. We are all very sad but are looking forward. We know that they can get pregnant, and that her body knows how to deal with a baby, and this means she can attend my sealing!! This comes just after my best friend, Holly, lost her baby after trying for years, and Brittany's dear friend, Megan, lost theirs after going through a very similar situation as Brittany's. I don't know if its because I'm so baby hungry, or just because these girls are so dear to me, or just my innate love for babies but I have been crushed each and every time. I am so worried that I will lose a baby and I can't even begin to imagine how that feels. That doesn't help when this happens- I know that I don't know what they are going through and I can't really offer any comfort. All I can do is tell them I love them, let them know I'm here, and pray.
This is kind of a downer post. But on the lighter side: Caitlin's Boy is growing healthy and big, Lizardbreath Ducklips is nice and preggers, Jace is in town to party before he moves down here, We're down to less than 7 months to the wedding, and I'm sure there's some other good stuff but I'm at work and my head is kind of everywhere. CALLERS ARE CRAZY!!!

Starting Anew

2008-01-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

Ok so I used to post on Xanga and I went through spurts of being really good about blogging and I always love reading everyone else's posts. But it seems lately all my friends are moving away from the xanga and onto the blog spot---always a sheep, Here I am!
Quick overview of Moi and mon vie!

I am currently an operator for the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics. It is a total switch from everything I've done before (namely, waitressing) and I heart it on a major level. I am kind of a student at the U but haven't taken classes since last spring semester. NOT MY CHOICE!
I get to go raise some heck in there today after work:

You see I transferred to the University of Utah from Truman State for the fall of 2006. I attended half-time paying exorbitant amounts of money for out of state tuition. In the spring semester I had to go through all kinds of hoops because they had not applied my federal Stafford loan because I had not clicked a specific button online apparently. So We clicked the button, had to go fill out paperwork, and do a bunch of schtuff so they would not only apply the loan but not kick me out of the spring classes I was already attending. Fast forward to this summer, just after finally taking care of Truman's mess that sent me into collections for money that I DID NOT OWE! I started getting calls from a collections agency for Utah saying that I owed almost 10,000 dollars... Apparently when I went through all those hoops last spring they neglected to tell me that I needed to attend an orientation meeting for my Loan to be applied. When I asked them why I was never told about this I was informed that they had tried to call me twice and since I a) don't answer calls I don't recognize. and B) never got a voicemail. I never attended this orientation and the school SENT MY FEDERAL AIDE BACK. And was then told that federal stafford loans cannot be applied retroactively. So that rant means that I took last semester off so that I could afford this semester (my job pays 50%) and now had to take this semester off because they say I owe thousands of dollars that should have been paid for by my loans.

If you're still reading.. I am amazed and feel loved. Other than school stress I am engaged to Mr. John Ray Velasquez II. We are getting sealed for time and all eternity in the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple on August 8, 2008 and are having a ring ceremony and reception here in Salt Lake on the 16th. I am all about planning weddings...for anyone. But planning MY wedding just has a bit more fun and excitement attached...call me crazy!

We're not quite sure where we headed after the wedding or what our life will bring to us. We're hoping to stay here so I can finish my degree and then head back towards the midwest to raise our family.

I think that's a good overview...if you have any questions let me know. Otherwise I'll see you here next time. Same Bat time, same Bat channel.