Hard to believe that 2011 is here already. So much has happened this year, and they’ve all been great! Here’s a quick recap of the year:
January:
I flew back to Idaho to continue dating Erin… ahem, I mean to work while off-track.
I asked Erin’s father if we could get married. (They actually never gave me a straight “yes.”)
The next day they left to Cambodia on their mission.
We were officially engaged on Saturday, January 30, 2010, 10:40:46 AM
February:
A wedding date was selected and we began planning.
Erin agreed to be my Valentine every year for forever.
March:
Erin turned 21.
Erin’s Parents flew back from Cambodia.
My Parents flew from Florida.
Erin went through the Temple.
April:
We were married for Time and Eternity on April 1st.
Went on a short Honey Moon to Idaho Falls.
Everyone flew home.
School started up again.
May:
I turned 22.
June:
Our block classes finished.
We drove 40 hours to Florida for our real Honeymoon.
We sold Fireworks to pay for our Honeymoon.
Erin almost died.
Erin almost died.
Erin almost died.
…. It happened a lot in Florida….
July:
We finally were able to enjoy our Honeymoon.
Went to the beach and a lot theme parks.
August:
We drove another 40 hours home to Idaho.
September:
School started again.
October:
Hmmm… Halloween? And school…
Oh, I white washed Erin after a snowball fight.
November:
A wonderful Thanksgiving at the Judkins
December:
School ended.
Our first Christmas together.
Went snowmobiling in our back field.
There’s a lot more than just that that happened to us. Pretty much every day we have some sort of adventure. But all in all, it’s been a really great year.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
We are still here!
I know it’s been forever since I blogged last. Life kinda took off, I thought it’d slow down sooner rather than later but I guess I was wrong. Anyways, I’m back to blogging so life is good again! I tried to blog a bit after Thanksgiving but I never finished so here are a few stories from then: I hate scary movies. Why? Well because they scare me. Andrew, on the other hand, seems to love them. I won’t watch any with him or if I do I’m hiding under a blanket with my ears plugged. Now you see I’m not a wimp; I just have a very over-active imagination. When the show ends for everyone else it keeps going for me in my mind. Soon I freak myself out to the point of me not being able to handle Andrew popping around the corner and saying “boo”. Just this last week I was at home folding towels, I had my music on loud and was just trying to get through all the laundry that had piled up. I didn’t hear the garage door open or Andrew unlock the door. He though it would be funny to spook me so he tip toed around the house so that he could creep up from behind me. I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Andrew. Although it didn’t look like the Andrew that I had gotten used to over the past month, he was no longer blonde! I didn’t immediately recognize him. My breath caught in my throat and my heart skipped a beat. Who was this man in my house!? In a second after that thought I recognized him as being my brunette husband. My body relaxed and I realized that I had begun to cry. He started laughing (I’m sure to ease the tension) and I completely broke down into tears of shock, fright, and relief. He felt really bad for giving me such a scare. All he had done was walk up behind me, but it really freaked me out. I think the tears were triggered as a defense mechanism… an emotional woman should be able frighten off any potential attacker right? [The best part is, she hasn’t seen a scary movie in years. –Andrew]
The snow has finally come. Though it hasn’t snowed enough in the valley to do much with it; that notwithstanding, the roads out in the country have managed to have formed random patches of black ice under the snow fall. I was driving Andrew into school the other day and we came to the first stop sign of the commute into town. I put on my brakes like normal but the car didn’t slow at all. It took me a second to figure out that my car was sliding on what my dad would call “a road that was slicker than greased gofer guts”. I hadn’t taken my foot off the brake yet but I heard an odd mumbling coming from Andrew as we started to slid sideways, about to hit the stop sign and the fenced off ditch right behind it. I finally translated his chanting mumbles into “let off the brake, let off the brake, let off the brake...” I took my foot off the brake and flipped the wheel into the slide and onto the shoulder of the road. The tires grabbed at the dirt and repelled us away from the certain disaster of totaling of our car in the ditch with a stop sign wrapped around us and a broken fence, and maybe a smashed cow or two. I felt like a race car driver! It was super cool! We were literally inches away from hitting something but my fancy driving rocked! Yeah… I’m really not kidding anyone am I? We were very blessed that day to be safe. But I still felt cool.
Over Thanksgiving brake I took Andrew sledding for the first time. What an adventure! My goodness… The days leading up to Thanksgiving the weather turned flat out mean. The Rexburg wind took out it’s vengeance on the valley; bringing a white out blizzard making the visibility only as far as to the end of our driveway. It was on a day such as this that I thought I should take Andrew sledding for his first time ever. (He’s from Florida and had almost no idea of what to do with frozen white stuff that was suddenly avalanching from the sky.) We bundled up in some borrowed snow gear and headed for the hills up by the college. We almost got stuck on the road in the snow behind van that was stuck in a drift at a stop sign. We finally parked and marched up the hill. The sleds acted as kites, that plus the wind blowing on us and we barely made it to the top of the hill. We ended up laying on top of our sleds to spread out our weight and using our feet to propel us over the monster drifts that had formed in the path. We couldn’t see anything but white and our eye lashes were frozen together so the first run Andrew made was the first one he could get to. I went first thinking it would just be a straight drop to the bottom of the hill but the people who had formed this run had added massive jumps that I couldn’t see due to the white out. Before I knew it I was flying four feet off the ground. I landed with a bone rattling crunch, I just managed to keep a hold of my sled as my momentum hurtled me down the rest of the hill and over a few smaller jumps that had also been invisible to me. Once I regained my senses I turned around to warn Andrew. It was too late, as I turned I saw him about midway down the hill just about to take fight off the first jump. I yelled to tell him to turn aside or bail but the wind blew my shouts back into my face. The he was off, up into the air very unexpectedly. I couldn’t see anything of his face but his uncovered nose and eye, which were wide with surprise. He made the landing and I could see his whole body absorbed the shock of the impact. He was coming down the hill at top speeds now and I realized with a jolt that in a matter of seconds that he would be crashing right into me. I had to dive out of the way getting snow all down my coat and in my face. We only made two more runs down the hill that day because it was so hard to get to the top. We came back a few days later and stayed for hours. Andrew really enjoyed it! Maybe next year, once we have our own snow gear, I’ll try him out on snowboarding or skiing.
Speaking of the crazy blizzard, I think that was the end of our cats. I thought they were old enough to handle themselves better in the cold but I guess not. Once the storm cleared we went out looking for them and there were no tracks to be seen. I don’t think the coyotes got them because there was no blood or remains. I think they were walking under the drip line of the house and a sheet of snow slid off and crushed them. I’ll find them in the spring if this is what happened, if not, I guess I’ll never know. Maybe Andrew will get me a cat for my birthday or something. By then the snow should be thinking about melting…. Maybe…
Christmas was amazing this year! Without a doubt it was my favorite Christmas ever. The night before we each chose a gift to give each other to open. Andrew gave me a yogurt maker! I love yogurt and once I figure out how to make Greek yogurt I’ll be set forever! I gave him an extra long double layered fleece blanket that I made myself. Now when we cuddle he will have a blanket that can actually cover his feet. That night we watched The Ultimate Gift. It’s one of my favorite movies. We went to bed and at six in the morning Andrew woke me up to go unwrap presents. I told him no and rolled over falling back to sleep in his arms. A few hours later we actually woke up and went up to enjoy our first Christmas together. It was so fun to be just us! I got him a nice PJ set, slippers, a bath robe, a beanie, a Leatherman, a blender, jeans, a hoodie, an I-pod arm band, a food scale, and a gift certificate to a local laser tag place. He got me some yoga pants, slippers, a teapot, a certificate for an hour massage, a really awesome chesses planer, some high quality knives and a knife block that has a bunch of rods instead of slots so I can put any knife in that I want and it will fit. He is so thoughtful! After presents he made me biscuits and gravy for breakfast. We both crashed in the fat boy chair and watched the extended addition of The Fellowship of the Ring. I slept through almost all of it and I’m not sure how much Andrew was awake for. But it took three hours to get through. By then we had to get to Christmas lunch that our amazing neighbors had invited us to. We ate till we almost died and came home and laid around for the rest of the day just enjoying each other’s company. It was wonderful.
The snow has finally come. Though it hasn’t snowed enough in the valley to do much with it; that notwithstanding, the roads out in the country have managed to have formed random patches of black ice under the snow fall. I was driving Andrew into school the other day and we came to the first stop sign of the commute into town. I put on my brakes like normal but the car didn’t slow at all. It took me a second to figure out that my car was sliding on what my dad would call “a road that was slicker than greased gofer guts”. I hadn’t taken my foot off the brake yet but I heard an odd mumbling coming from Andrew as we started to slid sideways, about to hit the stop sign and the fenced off ditch right behind it. I finally translated his chanting mumbles into “let off the brake, let off the brake, let off the brake...” I took my foot off the brake and flipped the wheel into the slide and onto the shoulder of the road. The tires grabbed at the dirt and repelled us away from the certain disaster of totaling of our car in the ditch with a stop sign wrapped around us and a broken fence, and maybe a smashed cow or two. I felt like a race car driver! It was super cool! We were literally inches away from hitting something but my fancy driving rocked! Yeah… I’m really not kidding anyone am I? We were very blessed that day to be safe. But I still felt cool.
Over Thanksgiving brake I took Andrew sledding for the first time. What an adventure! My goodness… The days leading up to Thanksgiving the weather turned flat out mean. The Rexburg wind took out it’s vengeance on the valley; bringing a white out blizzard making the visibility only as far as to the end of our driveway. It was on a day such as this that I thought I should take Andrew sledding for his first time ever. (He’s from Florida and had almost no idea of what to do with frozen white stuff that was suddenly avalanching from the sky.) We bundled up in some borrowed snow gear and headed for the hills up by the college. We almost got stuck on the road in the snow behind van that was stuck in a drift at a stop sign. We finally parked and marched up the hill. The sleds acted as kites, that plus the wind blowing on us and we barely made it to the top of the hill. We ended up laying on top of our sleds to spread out our weight and using our feet to propel us over the monster drifts that had formed in the path. We couldn’t see anything but white and our eye lashes were frozen together so the first run Andrew made was the first one he could get to. I went first thinking it would just be a straight drop to the bottom of the hill but the people who had formed this run had added massive jumps that I couldn’t see due to the white out. Before I knew it I was flying four feet off the ground. I landed with a bone rattling crunch, I just managed to keep a hold of my sled as my momentum hurtled me down the rest of the hill and over a few smaller jumps that had also been invisible to me. Once I regained my senses I turned around to warn Andrew. It was too late, as I turned I saw him about midway down the hill just about to take fight off the first jump. I yelled to tell him to turn aside or bail but the wind blew my shouts back into my face. The he was off, up into the air very unexpectedly. I couldn’t see anything of his face but his uncovered nose and eye, which were wide with surprise. He made the landing and I could see his whole body absorbed the shock of the impact. He was coming down the hill at top speeds now and I realized with a jolt that in a matter of seconds that he would be crashing right into me. I had to dive out of the way getting snow all down my coat and in my face. We only made two more runs down the hill that day because it was so hard to get to the top. We came back a few days later and stayed for hours. Andrew really enjoyed it! Maybe next year, once we have our own snow gear, I’ll try him out on snowboarding or skiing.
Speaking of the crazy blizzard, I think that was the end of our cats. I thought they were old enough to handle themselves better in the cold but I guess not. Once the storm cleared we went out looking for them and there were no tracks to be seen. I don’t think the coyotes got them because there was no blood or remains. I think they were walking under the drip line of the house and a sheet of snow slid off and crushed them. I’ll find them in the spring if this is what happened, if not, I guess I’ll never know. Maybe Andrew will get me a cat for my birthday or something. By then the snow should be thinking about melting…. Maybe…
Christmas was amazing this year! Without a doubt it was my favorite Christmas ever. The night before we each chose a gift to give each other to open. Andrew gave me a yogurt maker! I love yogurt and once I figure out how to make Greek yogurt I’ll be set forever! I gave him an extra long double layered fleece blanket that I made myself. Now when we cuddle he will have a blanket that can actually cover his feet. That night we watched The Ultimate Gift. It’s one of my favorite movies. We went to bed and at six in the morning Andrew woke me up to go unwrap presents. I told him no and rolled over falling back to sleep in his arms. A few hours later we actually woke up and went up to enjoy our first Christmas together. It was so fun to be just us! I got him a nice PJ set, slippers, a bath robe, a beanie, a Leatherman, a blender, jeans, a hoodie, an I-pod arm band, a food scale, and a gift certificate to a local laser tag place. He got me some yoga pants, slippers, a teapot, a certificate for an hour massage, a really awesome chesses planer, some high quality knives and a knife block that has a bunch of rods instead of slots so I can put any knife in that I want and it will fit. He is so thoughtful! After presents he made me biscuits and gravy for breakfast. We both crashed in the fat boy chair and watched the extended addition of The Fellowship of the Ring. I slept through almost all of it and I’m not sure how much Andrew was awake for. But it took three hours to get through. By then we had to get to Christmas lunch that our amazing neighbors had invited us to. We ate till we almost died and came home and laid around for the rest of the day just enjoying each other’s company. It was wonderful.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
We may never have children.......
The Primary Program was this last Sunday. Andrew and my little 5yr old class did very well. I sat in the very front where the Bishop Ric normally sits and most of my class was placed in front of me. I wasn’t too excited about being front and center. During the practices I had to split up a three way fight with the 3 yr old kids just next to me. I am amazed the smallest of the bunch didn’t come out with a concussion. My girls did everything except for sit still and none of the microphones worked when they needed to work. I figured that during the actual program the children would be petrified because they would be in front of the entire ward. With all those adults staring at them I hoped that no one would have the nerve to throw another left hook (good thing they were only three and couldn’t put much weight behind the punch). As I predicted, the children did much better when their parents were watching them from the audience. Aside from one of my girls pretending to be a lion and growling at me and taking swipes at me with her “paw”, then another one of them breaking my ear ring I had let her hold so that she would stop fidgeting . All of this was done in front of the entire congregation. Andrew sat in the middle of an older class and was almost hid completely by the piano. I think the kids around Andrew were placed there purposely so that if they killed each other no one would see. That and the fact that Andrew could get after them as many times as was needed without causing a disturbance. All in all, the program went great. Afterward was another story. The children were so fidgety from sitting still for so long that I honestly thought about velcroing them to their seats. I’m very worried about Halloween Sunday. They all will have stayed up way past their bed time and will have eaten their weight in sugar the night before. Odds are that they will be grumpy little energizer bunnies that have their volume stuck on loud or loudest. I’m so excited….. Here’s hoping that I’m wrong!
Oh! Remember the kitten that we gave our neighbor’s? Well it’s dead. At church one of our neighbor girls ran up to Andrew and me and told us that their dad found it dead in their garage. I figured that something like this would happen sooner or later. That kitten was very small for its age. I felt bad for them but now Meekus and Mittens are the only cats around our houses (skunks don’t count) and they get all the attention once again. Maybe they planned the little kitten’s death…
One Week Later...
This Sunday was… wow. I was very worried about how my primary class would handle church after a long night of trick-or-treating. To my joy, their parents hadn’t let them eat their candy the night before, although they had been allowed to stay way past anyone’s normal bed time. So instead of bouncy grumpy kids we just had barely coherent none responsive kids to teach. We were talking about our favorite stories about Jesus and one little girl must have only heard me ask what their favorite story was. Her hand shot up! I was excited to have such an enthusiastic response from a class full of zombies. But as soon as I called on her I knew that no one was listening to a word I had said. She blurted out “My favorite story is the Simba story from Lion King!” Andrew had to turn away so that the kids wouldn’t see him crack up laughing. I on the other hand, just stared at her in disbelief. BA! I fear it was pointless to try and teach today. I probably should have just let them color or something.
Andrew’s hair is back to being dark! At the primary activity this Saturday a really sassy and rather rude 9 yr old girl got into it with me about how Andrew looked as a blonde. Granted that he hadn’t had time to style his hair so it looked puffy and unkempt, when it was styled it looked pretty darn cool. This little brat had the nerve to tell me that my husband didn’t look very good (she said it with not so many worlds) I told her that he looked fine and to go away. But I guess my “subtle” hint that she should shut up and leave me along wasn’t apparent enough because she kept at it. Finally, with great effort to keep my voice under control I told her “Well, it’s a darn good thing you don’t make out with him then, isn’t it!” I wanted to say something more inappropriate or just smack her but we were at a primary function and the Bishop was on the other side of the gym in clear view. Suffice it to say I won the argument with a 9 yr old girl and if the girl ever crosses me about my husband again it may come to blows. That evening I went into town, got the color I needed from my salon, came home, and immediately took Andrew back to a dark hair color. I don’t know how much more of this his poor hair can take… I guess we will see!
Oh! Remember the kitten that we gave our neighbor’s? Well it’s dead. At church one of our neighbor girls ran up to Andrew and me and told us that their dad found it dead in their garage. I figured that something like this would happen sooner or later. That kitten was very small for its age. I felt bad for them but now Meekus and Mittens are the only cats around our houses (skunks don’t count) and they get all the attention once again. Maybe they planned the little kitten’s death…
One Week Later...
This Sunday was… wow. I was very worried about how my primary class would handle church after a long night of trick-or-treating. To my joy, their parents hadn’t let them eat their candy the night before, although they had been allowed to stay way past anyone’s normal bed time. So instead of bouncy grumpy kids we just had barely coherent none responsive kids to teach. We were talking about our favorite stories about Jesus and one little girl must have only heard me ask what their favorite story was. Her hand shot up! I was excited to have such an enthusiastic response from a class full of zombies. But as soon as I called on her I knew that no one was listening to a word I had said. She blurted out “My favorite story is the Simba story from Lion King!” Andrew had to turn away so that the kids wouldn’t see him crack up laughing. I on the other hand, just stared at her in disbelief. BA! I fear it was pointless to try and teach today. I probably should have just let them color or something.
Andrew’s hair is back to being dark! At the primary activity this Saturday a really sassy and rather rude 9 yr old girl got into it with me about how Andrew looked as a blonde. Granted that he hadn’t had time to style his hair so it looked puffy and unkempt, when it was styled it looked pretty darn cool. This little brat had the nerve to tell me that my husband didn’t look very good (she said it with not so many worlds) I told her that he looked fine and to go away. But I guess my “subtle” hint that she should shut up and leave me along wasn’t apparent enough because she kept at it. Finally, with great effort to keep my voice under control I told her “Well, it’s a darn good thing you don’t make out with him then, isn’t it!” I wanted to say something more inappropriate or just smack her but we were at a primary function and the Bishop was on the other side of the gym in clear view. Suffice it to say I won the argument with a 9 yr old girl and if the girl ever crosses me about my husband again it may come to blows. That evening I went into town, got the color I needed from my salon, came home, and immediately took Andrew back to a dark hair color. I don’t know how much more of this his poor hair can take… I guess we will see!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Hair today, Gone tomorrow.
Well this has been a month for Andrew’s and my hair. It all started one morning when Andrew turned to me at breakfast and said, “I wonder what I’d look like blond.” Andrew has pretty dark hair naturally; I like to take him darker because it makes his features stand out more. I’ve only put bleach on his hair once and it was just one strip of blonde. But I figured, what the heck, let’s find out how that would look. So that evening, after my other appointments, I trimmed up Andrew’s hair that he’d been very persistent on growing out, (it was getting way too long and as long as I had the sheers it was going to be at least clean cut) mixed up some bleach and for the next two hours tried to take my very dark haired husband to the most platinum white blonde that I could. It normally would have worked out great, but just a few weeks before I had used a demi permanent color on his hair to darken him. This certain demi permanent does not lighten easily but I managed to a white ish yellow ish blonde.
The next week I got my hair done. Long story short it was a lengthy and complicated process and I’m just lucky that my hair hasn’t fallen out and it now, to quote my sister, “looks like fire!” Not exactly what I was aiming for but my tan from the summer has all but gone so I can pull the bright colors off. How intensely bright hair color and pasty white skin go together I’m not 100% sure, but I’m glad it does! Speaking of hair falling out, I got home and Andrew said that he wanted to chemically straighten his hair. Cool. I was kind of worried about using such a strong chemical on his hair after we had just done and intense bleach job. Again I though what the heck, he knows his hair might fall out and he’s ok with it, so let’s see what happens. The next day after my last client I had Andrew back in my chair. I got all the strengthener on and it was like magic…. Bad magic! As I looked at Andrew’s hair I saw it begin to wither, much like hair does when Nair is applied to it. I’d done chemical straightening before and it turned out perfect that time, but the hair hadn’t gotten it guts bleached out just a week before so there you go. I had to get that stuff off Andrew’s head ASAP or he’d literally have no hair left! We dashed to the sink (early that day the salon manger called saying that the hot water pipe had broken and they were trying to get it fixed. As of then all the salon had was ice cold water.) I turned the water on high and both Andrew and I jumped and shrieked with surprise. It turns out the hose on the sink needs replaced too cause it shot a steady stream of frigid water right into my face! I covered the leak with my hand and quickly went to work on Andrew’s head. I couldn’t feel my hand after about a minute of washing because the water was so cold. Poor Andrew was still whimpering and jerking when the water touched a new area of scalp. It was so cold! I couldn’t stop laughing which made it take longer and became a freezing /painful cycle of jerking, screaming, and fits of laughter. When we finished Andrew’s hair felt like cotton. It had matted together and the tips were coming off in little clumps. This past week we’ve washed it with only conditioner, styled it with conditioner, and deep conditioned it every night. To our relief it is now starting to feel like prickly grass and it is well on the road back to becoming more like hair.
The next week I got my hair done. Long story short it was a lengthy and complicated process and I’m just lucky that my hair hasn’t fallen out and it now, to quote my sister, “looks like fire!” Not exactly what I was aiming for but my tan from the summer has all but gone so I can pull the bright colors off. How intensely bright hair color and pasty white skin go together I’m not 100% sure, but I’m glad it does! Speaking of hair falling out, I got home and Andrew said that he wanted to chemically straighten his hair. Cool. I was kind of worried about using such a strong chemical on his hair after we had just done and intense bleach job. Again I though what the heck, he knows his hair might fall out and he’s ok with it, so let’s see what happens. The next day after my last client I had Andrew back in my chair. I got all the strengthener on and it was like magic…. Bad magic! As I looked at Andrew’s hair I saw it begin to wither, much like hair does when Nair is applied to it. I’d done chemical straightening before and it turned out perfect that time, but the hair hadn’t gotten it guts bleached out just a week before so there you go. I had to get that stuff off Andrew’s head ASAP or he’d literally have no hair left! We dashed to the sink (early that day the salon manger called saying that the hot water pipe had broken and they were trying to get it fixed. As of then all the salon had was ice cold water.) I turned the water on high and both Andrew and I jumped and shrieked with surprise. It turns out the hose on the sink needs replaced too cause it shot a steady stream of frigid water right into my face! I covered the leak with my hand and quickly went to work on Andrew’s head. I couldn’t feel my hand after about a minute of washing because the water was so cold. Poor Andrew was still whimpering and jerking when the water touched a new area of scalp. It was so cold! I couldn’t stop laughing which made it take longer and became a freezing /painful cycle of jerking, screaming, and fits of laughter. When we finished Andrew’s hair felt like cotton. It had matted together and the tips were coming off in little clumps. This past week we’ve washed it with only conditioner, styled it with conditioner, and deep conditioned it every night. To our relief it is now starting to feel like prickly grass and it is well on the road back to becoming more like hair.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Short Stories
Holy crap. Yup that about sums up the last few weeks. I’m very sorry that I’ve been slacking on my blog but I’ve barely had time to sleep little lone take an hour or so to write on this. Life has been crazy and it would be a five page blog if I went through everything, so I will just hit the highlights to make it a four page blog instead.
Remember the little kitten Andrew and I found abandon a while ago? Well the mother of that kitten had apparently thought we had done well with it so she dumped the rest of the batch on us. Thankfully the rest of the batch had grown up more than their sibling. At first I just wanted them to be wild and live in the barn but our little neighbor girls saw them once and I knew it was over. The girls spent all morning catching them, cuddling with them, and feeding them. There was no way that these kittens could be wild now. That evening we posted them on Craig’s list and in three days all but one was gone. Andrew and I took it over to the girls and said that they could play with it but if they got bored with it to just put it back up on the deck. Long story short, the kitten was never put back on the deck and our neighbors have a little kitten of their own.
Classes have been crazy. I spent one day studying eight hours straight of chemistry and nothing was making since. Frustrated and fried I decided I needed to go to the bathroom. I left my study room and sauntered to the restroom. As I pushed open the door a volt of shock went through me as I took in the scene of the boy’s bathroom. Urinals on the wall, the odd bluish tile, and guy staring back at me. I yipped and sprinted for the girl’s bathroom blaming chemistry all the way for frying my brain. I couldn’t even think straight enough to walk into the right bathroom!
When we went to Utah for conference we stayed at my sister Heidi’s house. We watched the first session there then jumped in the car and headed down, hoping to get into a live session. We had no ticks but Andrew was sure that I could get us some if I held up a sign. I hate begging but I really wanted to get in so I agreed. On our way down I saw a van smoking on the side of the road. Memories of when I was twelve flashed to the forefront of my mind. My family had gone to conference but on our way home our van broke down. I was amazed that no one stopped to help us for at least a half an hour. I couldn’t let things go the same way for this family. I asked Andrew to turn around and see if we could help. Our two-door Honda Civic wasn’t prepared for the amount of people that climbed out of the van. There were three girls, a father, a son, and two elders. It turned out that one of the girls was going to be baptized the next Saturday. She was an exchange student from Mexico. Her host family and the elders thought that it would be amazing for her to be able to go to a session of conference. The elders had been prepping her for week and she was pumped. Their van broke down only 20 min away and they were stuck. We told them that we could fit three more in our car at most. They decided that the girls should go and hopefully the men would make their way later on. Just then another car pulled up to see what they could do to help. It just so happened that the man had room for four people in his car and that we were all going to the same place. The girls grabbed the parking pass they had bought in advance for conference and gave it to us. Cool! A free five buck pass! We got down there and Andrew dropped the girls and me off. We met up with the rest of their family and we traded numbers for after conference in order to get them home. I saw that they all got in then I went to work trying to find tickets. Ba………. I wrote on the back of our mapquest directions “I need two tickets please. ” I felt so retarded. When the girls and I had walked up to the conference center I’d seen a lot of people and groups of people holding similar signs with no luck whatsoever. I figured I’d be standing there for a while so I found a spot in the shade of a tree and timidly help up my sign. Not two second after I’d help up the sign than two young men came right up to me and handed me two tickets! “They aren’t next to each other but at least they will get you in.” I was floored! I couldn’t thank them enough! Once they had left I gave my “lucky” sign to another group looking for tickets. They asked me we I had been standing so I pointed out my spot and wished them luck. Andrew and I got to enjoy conference while sitting next to each other in the 5th section. It was wonderful. After conference the family decided to take the bus home but asked that we talk the elders back to their mission car that was back at the host family’s home. The elders were so funny! We even stopped off and got Jamba Juice with them. Yummm They were so excited about the girl being able to go to conference. They had challenged her to go with question that she had prayed about and had searched for an answer. When conference was over they asked her what happened with her questing and she excitedly told them how every single one had been answered. I was happy for them and her. What a cool experience to have right before she was baptized! Later we went to dinner with Andrew’s family and watch the gator’s game. They may hate me for saying this but Alabama played really well against Florida, at least for the half of the game that I watched. I never found out how the game ended but I would bet that it didn’t turn out very well for the Gators. After the first session of conference Sunday Andrew and I headed home to Rexburg.
All I remember of the next week was that I had six tests even though I only have four classes. I couldn’t sleep because my mind wouldn’t slow down. I normally don’t sleep well and this made it worse. I averaged about three hours a night. My stomach couldn’t handle all the stress resulting in me not being able to eat without me almost vomiting after. It was a hard week that I did not like. Let’s hope the next wave of tests go better.
Remember the little kitten Andrew and I found abandon a while ago? Well the mother of that kitten had apparently thought we had done well with it so she dumped the rest of the batch on us. Thankfully the rest of the batch had grown up more than their sibling. At first I just wanted them to be wild and live in the barn but our little neighbor girls saw them once and I knew it was over. The girls spent all morning catching them, cuddling with them, and feeding them. There was no way that these kittens could be wild now. That evening we posted them on Craig’s list and in three days all but one was gone. Andrew and I took it over to the girls and said that they could play with it but if they got bored with it to just put it back up on the deck. Long story short, the kitten was never put back on the deck and our neighbors have a little kitten of their own.
Classes have been crazy. I spent one day studying eight hours straight of chemistry and nothing was making since. Frustrated and fried I decided I needed to go to the bathroom. I left my study room and sauntered to the restroom. As I pushed open the door a volt of shock went through me as I took in the scene of the boy’s bathroom. Urinals on the wall, the odd bluish tile, and guy staring back at me. I yipped and sprinted for the girl’s bathroom blaming chemistry all the way for frying my brain. I couldn’t even think straight enough to walk into the right bathroom!
When we went to Utah for conference we stayed at my sister Heidi’s house. We watched the first session there then jumped in the car and headed down, hoping to get into a live session. We had no ticks but Andrew was sure that I could get us some if I held up a sign. I hate begging but I really wanted to get in so I agreed. On our way down I saw a van smoking on the side of the road. Memories of when I was twelve flashed to the forefront of my mind. My family had gone to conference but on our way home our van broke down. I was amazed that no one stopped to help us for at least a half an hour. I couldn’t let things go the same way for this family. I asked Andrew to turn around and see if we could help. Our two-door Honda Civic wasn’t prepared for the amount of people that climbed out of the van. There were three girls, a father, a son, and two elders. It turned out that one of the girls was going to be baptized the next Saturday. She was an exchange student from Mexico. Her host family and the elders thought that it would be amazing for her to be able to go to a session of conference. The elders had been prepping her for week and she was pumped. Their van broke down only 20 min away and they were stuck. We told them that we could fit three more in our car at most. They decided that the girls should go and hopefully the men would make their way later on. Just then another car pulled up to see what they could do to help. It just so happened that the man had room for four people in his car and that we were all going to the same place. The girls grabbed the parking pass they had bought in advance for conference and gave it to us. Cool! A free five buck pass! We got down there and Andrew dropped the girls and me off. We met up with the rest of their family and we traded numbers for after conference in order to get them home. I saw that they all got in then I went to work trying to find tickets. Ba………. I wrote on the back of our mapquest directions “I need two tickets please. ” I felt so retarded. When the girls and I had walked up to the conference center I’d seen a lot of people and groups of people holding similar signs with no luck whatsoever. I figured I’d be standing there for a while so I found a spot in the shade of a tree and timidly help up my sign. Not two second after I’d help up the sign than two young men came right up to me and handed me two tickets! “They aren’t next to each other but at least they will get you in.” I was floored! I couldn’t thank them enough! Once they had left I gave my “lucky” sign to another group looking for tickets. They asked me we I had been standing so I pointed out my spot and wished them luck. Andrew and I got to enjoy conference while sitting next to each other in the 5th section. It was wonderful. After conference the family decided to take the bus home but asked that we talk the elders back to their mission car that was back at the host family’s home. The elders were so funny! We even stopped off and got Jamba Juice with them. Yummm They were so excited about the girl being able to go to conference. They had challenged her to go with question that she had prayed about and had searched for an answer. When conference was over they asked her what happened with her questing and she excitedly told them how every single one had been answered. I was happy for them and her. What a cool experience to have right before she was baptized! Later we went to dinner with Andrew’s family and watch the gator’s game. They may hate me for saying this but Alabama played really well against Florida, at least for the half of the game that I watched. I never found out how the game ended but I would bet that it didn’t turn out very well for the Gators. After the first session of conference Sunday Andrew and I headed home to Rexburg.
All I remember of the next week was that I had six tests even though I only have four classes. I couldn’t sleep because my mind wouldn’t slow down. I normally don’t sleep well and this made it worse. I averaged about three hours a night. My stomach couldn’t handle all the stress resulting in me not being able to eat without me almost vomiting after. It was a hard week that I did not like. Let’s hope the next wave of tests go better.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Ba. Freshman!
Someone please kill me before my Chemistry class does! At least if I die now I’ll still have an A in the class. How that will help me when I’m dead….I have no idea. But it would make me feel better!
Can I just say BUYI is a much different place when you are married? It is like I’m not a person unless I’m talking to a girl or another married couple. Most guys just won’t talk to me at all! Example #1: I was in the gym lifting weights and I had my army sweats on that I earned in my military fitness class. I went to the cages to I could do hanging crunches but they we all full. A big black guy was finishing up on the end so I went to wait for his cage. He and I started talking about my sweats, how they were army and the military fitness class. I was having fun talking to him but then I reached up with my left hand to climb up to the straps and he saw my ring. He literality stopped mid-sentence and walked away. I had no idea what I had done to tick him off so badly that he justified being that rude. Then I looked up at my hand and saw my ring. When I told Andrew he just laughed at me. Latter when it got closer to school Andrew confessed that he felt bad for me because I wouldn’t have any friends this semester. I looked at him in shock then punched his arm as hard as I could. In desperation to avoid another punch that was aimed at the same spot as before, he shouted that it was because I hardly ever made friend with girls and that all the guys wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore because I was married. I hoped he didn’t know what he was talking about but the first day of school proved that he know more about the male intellect than I gave him credit for. Example #2: I was in the BYUI book store and I started talk to a guy who was waiting in line to check out. An old high school friend came up and put his arm up to give me a hug then stopped and did something really odd that morphed his hug into high five/hand shake as he said “HEY You!.....yooooour married! Oh yeah….” Then he walked off leaving me with the baffled guy that I was talking to. The guy looked at me, turned and said “Well, see ya.” And went back to staring at the back of the head of who ever was in front of him. BA! What had just happened!? And here I had thought I had made a friend. I turned around and started to walk off, sad and friendless. But then I saw Andrew, walked up to him, and received the biggest bestest hug ever. I just love that man!
The only classes I have friends in are my Math 110 class where I got in a group with two engaged guys, my Nutrition class where I made friends with the girl in front of me because the teacher partnered us up, and in the hall where I met a very nice young man. He and I started talking and he didn’t even flinch when I mentioned that I was waiting for my husband. It made my day that I could make at least one guy friend while being married! In my Psychology class I walked into the room with a newly high school graduated 18 year old girl. She looked at me in disgust and said “Oh my gosh, your married too?! Gosh everyone gets married so young here! It’s just stupid!” I was taken aback and quite confused, the way she had said that made it sound if she were married as well and then was dissing on it. I asked her how old she was and she said that she was 18; I then replied that I was 21. She gaped at me “There is no was that your 21! How the heck could you be 21?! That’s impossible!” I held back the sarcastic reply that I was born 21 years ago and that’s how I could be 21 and that yes, it was very possible. She went on to criticize her roommate who had started dating a boy within the week she had been in Rexburg. Then to my shock she wheeled around and started picking out boys in the class who she thought was cute. I’d turn to me on every one that she pointed out and asked me if I thought that they were engaged or married as if I was some kind of expert on the subject. I mentioned that I like the shoes of the girl who was sitting in front of us and she went off again on how much competition there was on campus and how I had no idea how hard it was to be a single girl on campus because I was married and out of touch. I just looked at her and wanted to ask her if she knew who she was talking to! Ba. Freshman.
This Saturday was my nephew Andrew’s baptism. He wanted to be baptized in Bear Lake at ten in the morning. My Andrew was asked to be a witness and was very worried about having to get in the lake because it would be so cold. The high temperature for the week was in the 60’s so the water had to be colder. Andrew and I had so much homework Friday night we couldn’t go down until Saturday morning. It’s a three and a half hour drive from our house to the lake. So at five in the morning Andrew and I pried ourselves out of bed and in to our Sunday clothes. I volunteered to drive first because I had a spectacular headache and wouldn’t have been able to fall back asleep in the car even if I had of wanted to. As I was driving through Blackfoot a skunk sprinted right in front of me. I mused with the idea of flooring the gas pedal but then though Andrew might get a bit upset with me if he woke up to that smell. So I let the skunk pass. We got to the church right on time, then we drove down to the lake. I felt the water and both My Andrew, my nephew Andrew, and my brother-in-law Jason had every right to want to stay on the beach. As it turned out My Andrew didn’t have to go in so he was ok. But my poor Brother-in-law and nephew! When my nephew went under the water he all but sprung out and latched himself to his father’s chest. His face was so funny that no one who was watching could hold back a chuckle. He looked like someone had just very unexpectedly attacked him with a bucket of ice. Jason carried him back to the beach where two warm towels were waiting for him. Before I was baptized everyone told me I would feel a warm comforting feeling as I went under the water. In my nephew Andrew’s case I honestly don’t think he felt warm and comforted at all when he was submerged. I’ll bet he felt something more like shock and panic! The rest of the service was wonderful, My Andrew and I really enjoyed it even though we had to leave as soon as it was finished so that we could get home in time to do some more homework. I ended up reading my Chemistry book on the way back in the car. I was too confused to even worry about getting car sick as I read. So I guess that’s a good thing….?
Well Andrew always gives me crap for writing so much so I think I’ll call it quits for now…. Well wait. I just heard that Andrew is writing about his version of our dating life. I don’t think he ever tells the story quite right to I’m going to set the record straight. We first met in the Hinckley building on campus. It was Sunday afternoon and I had just finished up with a presidency meeting. I was bored stiff waiting for my roommates in the foyer. Another girl and I started to rate guy’s ties as they walked by. We saw a group of young men over in the corner by the door and went to work putting their ties in ranking order. There were yellow ties, red ties, striped ties, and then there was this super cool blueish greenish tie! We instantly ranked it number one as the best tie we’d seen that day. We were sitting by a pumpkin that had an amazing picture of President Monson etched in it. I think the group of guys heard us talking about their ties and walked over to us with the excuse of looking at the pumpkin. We told the young man with the amazing tie that he should win a prize for good taste. Then the young man with the yellow tie asked me where I was from. It turned out that he knew my sister and he and I talked for the rest of the time. I tried not to be rude to the other guys and gave some effort to including them into the conversation but it mostly stayed between the yellow tie guy and I. My roommates then came out so I got up to leave. On my way out the door the young man with the prize winning tie followed after me[I didn’t follow after her...] and said that we should hang out and asked for my number. I had given out my number twice already that day but I figured each time I gave it out I could at least get two free meals out of it. It was an effective way of cutting my grocery bill by more than half. During the past month I hadn’t had to buy or make lunch or dinner once because I always had a date set up. I’d get to know the cool tie guy then go on a date then I’d be finished, without another worry. So I gave him my number. We texted off and on throughout the week planning for our date to be on Friday but half way through the week a friend invited me to get a date and come with her and her husband to come to the Hunted Mill that Friday. I hate scary things but I said yes anyways. I shot Andrew (the cool tie guy) a text and he sounded really excited. BA! So the date was on.
It looks like Andrew is waiting to write about the Hunted Mill date so I will too. Just to make sure he is telling it right.
Can I just say BUYI is a much different place when you are married? It is like I’m not a person unless I’m talking to a girl or another married couple. Most guys just won’t talk to me at all! Example #1: I was in the gym lifting weights and I had my army sweats on that I earned in my military fitness class. I went to the cages to I could do hanging crunches but they we all full. A big black guy was finishing up on the end so I went to wait for his cage. He and I started talking about my sweats, how they were army and the military fitness class. I was having fun talking to him but then I reached up with my left hand to climb up to the straps and he saw my ring. He literality stopped mid-sentence and walked away. I had no idea what I had done to tick him off so badly that he justified being that rude. Then I looked up at my hand and saw my ring. When I told Andrew he just laughed at me. Latter when it got closer to school Andrew confessed that he felt bad for me because I wouldn’t have any friends this semester. I looked at him in shock then punched his arm as hard as I could. In desperation to avoid another punch that was aimed at the same spot as before, he shouted that it was because I hardly ever made friend with girls and that all the guys wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore because I was married. I hoped he didn’t know what he was talking about but the first day of school proved that he know more about the male intellect than I gave him credit for. Example #2: I was in the BYUI book store and I started talk to a guy who was waiting in line to check out. An old high school friend came up and put his arm up to give me a hug then stopped and did something really odd that morphed his hug into high five/hand shake as he said “HEY You!.....yooooour married! Oh yeah….” Then he walked off leaving me with the baffled guy that I was talking to. The guy looked at me, turned and said “Well, see ya.” And went back to staring at the back of the head of who ever was in front of him. BA! What had just happened!? And here I had thought I had made a friend. I turned around and started to walk off, sad and friendless. But then I saw Andrew, walked up to him, and received the biggest bestest hug ever. I just love that man!
The only classes I have friends in are my Math 110 class where I got in a group with two engaged guys, my Nutrition class where I made friends with the girl in front of me because the teacher partnered us up, and in the hall where I met a very nice young man. He and I started talking and he didn’t even flinch when I mentioned that I was waiting for my husband. It made my day that I could make at least one guy friend while being married! In my Psychology class I walked into the room with a newly high school graduated 18 year old girl. She looked at me in disgust and said “Oh my gosh, your married too?! Gosh everyone gets married so young here! It’s just stupid!” I was taken aback and quite confused, the way she had said that made it sound if she were married as well and then was dissing on it. I asked her how old she was and she said that she was 18; I then replied that I was 21. She gaped at me “There is no was that your 21! How the heck could you be 21?! That’s impossible!” I held back the sarcastic reply that I was born 21 years ago and that’s how I could be 21 and that yes, it was very possible. She went on to criticize her roommate who had started dating a boy within the week she had been in Rexburg. Then to my shock she wheeled around and started picking out boys in the class who she thought was cute. I’d turn to me on every one that she pointed out and asked me if I thought that they were engaged or married as if I was some kind of expert on the subject. I mentioned that I like the shoes of the girl who was sitting in front of us and she went off again on how much competition there was on campus and how I had no idea how hard it was to be a single girl on campus because I was married and out of touch. I just looked at her and wanted to ask her if she knew who she was talking to! Ba. Freshman.
This Saturday was my nephew Andrew’s baptism. He wanted to be baptized in Bear Lake at ten in the morning. My Andrew was asked to be a witness and was very worried about having to get in the lake because it would be so cold. The high temperature for the week was in the 60’s so the water had to be colder. Andrew and I had so much homework Friday night we couldn’t go down until Saturday morning. It’s a three and a half hour drive from our house to the lake. So at five in the morning Andrew and I pried ourselves out of bed and in to our Sunday clothes. I volunteered to drive first because I had a spectacular headache and wouldn’t have been able to fall back asleep in the car even if I had of wanted to. As I was driving through Blackfoot a skunk sprinted right in front of me. I mused with the idea of flooring the gas pedal but then though Andrew might get a bit upset with me if he woke up to that smell. So I let the skunk pass. We got to the church right on time, then we drove down to the lake. I felt the water and both My Andrew, my nephew Andrew, and my brother-in-law Jason had every right to want to stay on the beach. As it turned out My Andrew didn’t have to go in so he was ok. But my poor Brother-in-law and nephew! When my nephew went under the water he all but sprung out and latched himself to his father’s chest. His face was so funny that no one who was watching could hold back a chuckle. He looked like someone had just very unexpectedly attacked him with a bucket of ice. Jason carried him back to the beach where two warm towels were waiting for him. Before I was baptized everyone told me I would feel a warm comforting feeling as I went under the water. In my nephew Andrew’s case I honestly don’t think he felt warm and comforted at all when he was submerged. I’ll bet he felt something more like shock and panic! The rest of the service was wonderful, My Andrew and I really enjoyed it even though we had to leave as soon as it was finished so that we could get home in time to do some more homework. I ended up reading my Chemistry book on the way back in the car. I was too confused to even worry about getting car sick as I read. So I guess that’s a good thing….?
Well Andrew always gives me crap for writing so much so I think I’ll call it quits for now…. Well wait. I just heard that Andrew is writing about his version of our dating life. I don’t think he ever tells the story quite right to I’m going to set the record straight. We first met in the Hinckley building on campus. It was Sunday afternoon and I had just finished up with a presidency meeting. I was bored stiff waiting for my roommates in the foyer. Another girl and I started to rate guy’s ties as they walked by. We saw a group of young men over in the corner by the door and went to work putting their ties in ranking order. There were yellow ties, red ties, striped ties, and then there was this super cool blueish greenish tie! We instantly ranked it number one as the best tie we’d seen that day. We were sitting by a pumpkin that had an amazing picture of President Monson etched in it. I think the group of guys heard us talking about their ties and walked over to us with the excuse of looking at the pumpkin. We told the young man with the amazing tie that he should win a prize for good taste. Then the young man with the yellow tie asked me where I was from. It turned out that he knew my sister and he and I talked for the rest of the time. I tried not to be rude to the other guys and gave some effort to including them into the conversation but it mostly stayed between the yellow tie guy and I. My roommates then came out so I got up to leave. On my way out the door the young man with the prize winning tie followed after me[I didn’t follow after her...] and said that we should hang out and asked for my number. I had given out my number twice already that day but I figured each time I gave it out I could at least get two free meals out of it. It was an effective way of cutting my grocery bill by more than half. During the past month I hadn’t had to buy or make lunch or dinner once because I always had a date set up. I’d get to know the cool tie guy then go on a date then I’d be finished, without another worry. So I gave him my number. We texted off and on throughout the week planning for our date to be on Friday but half way through the week a friend invited me to get a date and come with her and her husband to come to the Hunted Mill that Friday. I hate scary things but I said yes anyways. I shot Andrew (the cool tie guy) a text and he sounded really excited. BA! So the date was on.
It looks like Andrew is waiting to write about the Hunted Mill date so I will too. Just to make sure he is telling it right.
Memories of the Past... (As they really happened!) Part 1
So, I decided I wanted to write about things that pre-date the creation of this blog. And if I write them, then it will be my version of events that are recorded and can be referred back to in a time of question. So, let’s say, 10 years from now, Erin wants to tell a story, but forgets (or fudges) the details, a quick search can pull up the “real” account of what happened. Genius, I know…
So what should we start with? The beginning? Sure. Erin and I’s first meeting and the proceedings:
So early in the October 2009, I was leaving church with a few other guys in my Elders Quorum. As we walked down the stairs in the Hinckley Building I saw a pretty girl sitting in the foyer with a friend. Having a goal to take a different girl out each weekend, I thought I might get my weekly quota in a little early; so, I lead the group across the room to say hello. This girl introduced herself as Erin, and complimented my tie. It was a good start I thought, but things got a little less than opportunistic when the conversation quickly became a game of “do you know…” with Erin and one of the guys in the group who lived locally. However, there was something about the lingering looks from this gorgeous girl that kept me interested. Then, as her ride was leaving, the time came for the bold invitations I was accustomed to only been off my mission for 2 months. I told Erin that her and I needed to hang out sometime (to which she agreed), and asked her for her number. I quickly entered it in my phone and she left. The guys who were still with me, turned and said: “Wow, Jarvis. That was bold. Nice work.”
During the week we texted off and on. We planned to go out Friday night, and I would plan out everything. But on Thursday, she texted me and asked if I wanted to go with her and a few friends to the Haunted Mill on Friday. Oh that was a lot of fun…. But we’ll save that for the next entry.
So what should we start with? The beginning? Sure. Erin and I’s first meeting and the proceedings:
So early in the October 2009, I was leaving church with a few other guys in my Elders Quorum. As we walked down the stairs in the Hinckley Building I saw a pretty girl sitting in the foyer with a friend. Having a goal to take a different girl out each weekend, I thought I might get my weekly quota in a little early; so, I lead the group across the room to say hello. This girl introduced herself as Erin, and complimented my tie. It was a good start I thought, but things got a little less than opportunistic when the conversation quickly became a game of “do you know…” with Erin and one of the guys in the group who lived locally. However, there was something about the lingering looks from this gorgeous girl that kept me interested. Then, as her ride was leaving, the time came for the bold invitations I was accustomed to only been off my mission for 2 months. I told Erin that her and I needed to hang out sometime (to which she agreed), and asked her for her number. I quickly entered it in my phone and she left. The guys who were still with me, turned and said: “Wow, Jarvis. That was bold. Nice work.”
During the week we texted off and on. We planned to go out Friday night, and I would plan out everything. But on Thursday, she texted me and asked if I wanted to go with her and a few friends to the Haunted Mill on Friday. Oh that was a lot of fun…. But we’ll save that for the next entry.
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