The Big 3-0!

So I am at the start of a new decade. My FOURTH decade. How crazy is that?

Thirty use to seem pretty old. Now that it is here, I don't feel old at all. I feel like I've just gotten started.

I use to write my "future self" letters. You know, the kind where you write what you hope you have accomplished by a certain date, seal it up, and write "Do Not Open Until (insert date here)." So here it goes.




Dear Future 40-year-old Laura, (OK now I am kind of depressed a little)

I hope by the time you are 40, you still don't feel old.

I hope that you have lots more babies. But if you don't, I hope you are not sad about it. And just love the baby/babies that you have.

Not to be materialistic, but I hope you have more money. With this money, I hope that you have a nicer car because well.... the jeep is not doing so good back here in 2012. My guess is at 224,000 miles this car is not going to go much longer.

I hope that you like your job, love your husband even more (if that is even possible), still kiss your daughter's cheeks (even if she still doesn't like it), and still have great friends.

I hope you live in a house that does not have neighbor's dogs that bark constantly in the back yard. I also hope you have a few flowers in your weed bed.

I hope you have went on a few fun trips over the last 10 years.

I hope your zits finally go away (yes I said it). I'm starting to think wrinkles are at least better than zits.

I hope you still have a strong testimony of the gospel.

I hope you are happy, and I hope you strive to bring happiness to others.

Happy Birthday to me.

Love,

Your younger self,

Laura

PS 40 isn't old either. 40 is the new 20 you know.

Food for the Soul

As you probably know I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka a Mormon. My faith is a very large part of my life. It shapes the way I think, what decisions I make, the clothes I wear, and so much more. I have many friends who are not Mormons. We have different beliefs and that is perfectly fine. Sometimes we venture into discussions, agree to disagree, and still love each other just the same. I think that is how it should be. I am not here to judge you, or to force my beliefs onto you.

Growing up, I had a good friend of another faith. I don’t want to mention names so we will call the church "X". Her mother would not allow her to come with me to church. Her church had classes about what Mormons believe and how we are bad. I find that so interesting. Why would you go to X church to learn about another church? It just doesn’t make sense. Just like the in media recently with the whole big hoopla about people saying Mormons are not Christians. I don’t know why someone who is not Mormon would have any knowledge or authority to tell others what Mormons believe. I would never ask a non-catholic what Catholics believe. I have always been taught that most every church has something good about them.

So today, my very good friend invited me to go to a church across the street from my work. They do a weekly lunch with a short sermon. I will admit, I was only going because of the cheap delicious food (which by the way was really good.) But I also really enjoyed the sermon. (Even though it was kind of a plug for the guys book which was a little weird to me.) He talked about restlessness. How sometimes we always look for more, wish we had more or that things were better/different. The "grass is greener" philosophy. He talked about how this restlessness can be a strength in that you are always trying to improve what you are doing. That can be a good thing. However, you need to be grateful for the blessings that you do have. I have been feeling like that lately. There are several things in my life that I wish would improve. Lately, I have felt a little selfish and like I am not counting my blessings but focusing on what I don’t have. Instead of being happy that I have a sweet husband, a beautiful daughter, a warm home, and a wonderful job; I have been focusing on needed house repairs, almost broken down cars, money that we don’t have, and time that I have to spend away from my daughter. The man at the sermon talked about how instead of being restless, we should strive for patience with hope and faith that things will get better. I know that the Lord is aware of me and my life. I know that it is in His hands and things will go on His time. I need to be open to His guidance, and in the meantime focus on being happy with what I have.

Between a wiggling toddler and having a calling in the nursery, it is sometimes hard for me to listen to messages at church. I guess the Lord found me where he could. It was a much needed reminder for my life. I am glad that I ventured across the street for some fried chicken.

The Great WWW.

While reading this website last night I saw this website.

It is a website where people post pictures of items they would take with them in case of fire. It is neat to see what people think of.

My parents had a house fire once and their dining room table had a large burn scar on it. As a child I was always a little fearful of this. So I have always had a list of things I would grab if I could.

When I lived in an apartment by myself, I would always pray that my building would not catch on fire. Another building in the complex had burned down years ago, and being that the apartments were a little.... old.... I strongly felt that it could be a possibility. Not to mention the fire station seemed to be called out to our area a lot. For a while, I would mentally go through my list before I went to bed at night. Yes, it was a little morbid and a lot weird.

One night, I felt that I should say a special prayer of protection over my apartment. Then sometime in the middle of the night, I awoke to loud sirens outside and a banging on my door. I remember stumbling out the door of my apartment into the hallway. Then down the hallway pushing open the back door. I was filled with shock as I stared at the building behind mine which was engulfed in flames.

Thanfully, no one was hurt in the fire. The building was a total loss, and many people lost their homes. One of my friends lived in the building next to the one that was of fire. Because of the direction of the wind, she had to gather her family and leave for the night just in case her apartment caught on fire. Possessions can be replaced but sometimes it is interesting to think of what you would grab if you could.

My list: MY FAMILY OF COURSE, any scrapbooks I can carry (I worked hard on those), my scriptures (I have marked them just the way I like), the afghan blanket my granny made me, wedding rings, my journal, car keys, wallet, and cellphone.

My list has changed over time. Mostly I would just want to get my family out safely. Also, now that I live in a house that is more than one level, I feel that most of what is on my list would not be feasible to grab in a hurry. (scrapbooks are all the way downstairs so that probably wouldn't happen.)

What is on your list?

I would like a little cheese with my whine please...

This post may be a little too personal and a little too long. I usually don't write things that are too personal because... well... this is the internet. And I try not to write things that are too long because.... well... noone likes to read super long posts.

So skip it if you want. But I wanted to write this for my records.

I have been in a weird mood lately. I feel like I am at a really weird point in my life. When I was a kid I always dreamed that I would be 1 of 2 things when I grew up: a teacher or a stay-at-home-mom. I wanted to be a teacher because I love to organize and calendar things and I thought that making the bulletin boards would be super fun. Oh yeah and teaching kids would be cool too. I wanted to be a stay at home mom because I wanted to teach my children and organize my home and calendar things and.... I think I could totally make a bulletin board for my home.

Turns out I am neither of those things. Life does that you know. You make plans and they don't exactly turn out the way you thought.

I am OK with not being a teacher. I really love the job that I do have. I love the people that I work with. Plus I don't like public speaking and so teaching may have been a little much for me. I would write more awesome things about my job but for security purposes I cannot. But my job rocks.

I do wish I could stay at home with my sweet little baby. I know that it's not easy to be a stay at home mom. I know they work hard and oftentimes don't get much credit for all that they do. I think it would be hard to not be around friends/co-workers everyday. But I wish I could do it.

If I stayed home, I could spend everyday with my baby. It has been hard lately because Eliza has started sleeping in later, and going to bed earlier. So that means less time with her. I use to think that I would get up and go to work really early so I could get off early and have more evening time with her. But that is unrealistic at this point. If I did that I would miss seeing her in the mornings, miss dropping her off at daycare, and miss nursing in the morning-time. Right now I only see her for a little bit in the mornings and a few hours in the evenings plus weekends. This makes it hard for me to do anything else but be with her when I am not at work. I don't want to go do anything babyless because that just takes away from more time with her. But I know I need to do things babyless because I need to nurture other aspects of my life.

If I stayed home, I think I would clean my house more. Currently I feel that spending time as a family is more important than dusting (or other housecleaning acitivities). Kase has picked up a lot of my slack and I am grateful. The problem is I actually enjoy cleaning and it makes me feel good when I clean. So I begin to miss it when I am not cleaning.

If I stayed home, I would feel less guilty. It is hard to leave the baby. I know that she loves playing with her daycare friends and I know that she loves me and seems to be doing really good. But for selfish reasons I miss every minute I am not with her.

If I stayed home, I might have more friends. I would have more time for the friends that I do have, and I could make friends with other stay-at-home moms and we could hang out during the day. I have 1 friend at work who is a working mother to small children but we don't really ever talk about it. I don't think it really bothers her. I don't really know anyone else who works full time. Ok I do know 1 person but she is so busy we never have time to chat (see above). The people I know either work but don't have kids or they stay at home.

I know I am doing what I have to do. We cannot afford for me to stay at home right now. I know that I am blessed to have a wonderful job that I really love, an amazing husband who puts up with my craziness, and a sweet daughter who I would not trade for anything. I would rather be a working mother than not a mother at all.

But sometimes it gets lonely and then I need to vent. So there you have it.

And because the only thing worse than a really long post (too late to rememdy that) is a post with no pictures. Here is my Junebug hydrating after a walk with her dad:

Change

I don't like change. I am one of those people. I dread change. Worry about change. Put off change.

Until it happens, and then I get use to it and like it better and wouldn't change back if I could.

And then another change comes and I do it all over again.

We've had a lot of changes this year: Kase finishing school, Kase getting a job, Eliza joining our family, things at my work changing, so on.

So far things are better than they were before these changes, but I still can't seem to enjoy changing.

I guess in my new life with a child I need to get use to change. Eliza changes all the time which means our lives are going to constantly change. Forever.

Just when I get use to being a mother of a baby, she'll be a toddler, then a kid, a pre-teen, a teenager.... well you get the point.

It's kind of scary. But I guess it's life. I know that her changing means she is growing and is healthy and happy.

She will be 5 months in 1 week. Which means in about a month, we will be starting cereal and baby food. I am DREADING it for some reason. Isn't that bad? Probably because it's another change. It means my little baby is growing up. I really enjoy being her source of food. I really enjoy not having messy food all over the place and not having to drag out the highchair. I really enjoy snuggly mealtimes and having a light diaper bag. And speaking of diapers.... I enjoy there not being as many stinky ones... enough said right?

But I know I will enjoy seeing her face when she tries new foods, and picking out different things for her to taste next. I know I will enjoy watching her grow. I will enjoy when there is more laughing and less crying, when she starts chasing the dog around the house, when she squeals with excitement when daddy gets home.

I guess I need to focus on enjoying the moment. The phase that we are in RIGHT NOW. And when the next changes come, I will enjoy those too.

Beware of Sharks......Halloween pictures and post coming soon.....

Motherhood

Sometimes I wonder when did I become that person who can't stop thinking about my baby? I try to make it so she's not the ONLY thing I talk about to people, but even when I talk about something else, I am secretly thinking about her. I mean really, she is cute. I kindof want to eat her. Just a little. I am obsessed.

But in a way, I am glad I am so crazy about her.

When she was first born, people would say to me "Isn't being a mom so great?!" I would think.... uhhh not really.

I mean I loved her sooooo much. Of course. I thought she was beautiful and sweet. And the first time I saw her I knew she was a miracle. But those first ohhh..... 7 weeks of her life were the hardest 7 weeks of my life.

Hours of crying (both she and I). No sleep. No energy. If I was home alone with the baby I didn't even have enough time to grab decent food or get a shower. Breastfeeding sucked in everyway possible. Painful and time-consuming. She ate for a hour and then was hungry again an hour later. I felt trapped.

I dreaded nighttime because I felt so lonely. Even though Kase helped, he couldn't feed the baby every 2 hours for me. Taking turns sleeping on the couch with the baby lumped on our chest because that is the only way she would sleep. Uncomfortable. Sleeping in our bed for a hour or so while Kase pacified a screaming baby downstairs felt luxurious and torturous all at once. A tease of sleep.

Did I mention our baby cried? A lot? She was hardly consolable and nothing I did (besides feed her) would help. I felt helpless and unhelpful.

I knew motherhood would be hard. I knew a newborn would be a lot of work. But I was totally unprepared for this.

Maybe I had the baby blues. Maybe I had a colicky baby. Maybe I had both. I don't know.

So when people talked about how motherhood was wonderful, I found it hard to relate. I longed to feel that way too.

I knew the rough weeks were a phase and they would pass but it didn't feel like it. It felt like life would stay that way forever. I imagined what it would be like to have a 6 month old insist upon sleeping on my chest everynight. She was going to be so heavy.

But time slowly crept by. She began to cry less and sleep more (and in her crib!). She began to smile at us and coo at us. She began to pat my face and grin when I come into the room.

And suddenly I found that motherhood was the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced.

Just one smile from my little girl was worth all the tears, the sacrifice, the sleepless nights, and the pain of those first weeks. She makes me feel wonderful. My little family makes me so excited to wake up everyday and so excited to get home everynight.

So that is why I am obsessed with my sweet baby. That is why I can't stop thinking about her. And yes.... being a mother is great.

Goings on....

So another weekend has past and I still have not uploaded any pictures. I know, I am horrible. Sighhhh....

But here is what we did last week.

- Eliza attended her first church softball game to watch her daddy pitch. She watched whole game with no crying and no sleeping!

- Speaking of sleeping... Eliza has been sleeping better. Any 2.5 month old that sleeps from 9 to 3 or 4 and then goes back to sleep is doing pretty good I think. Plus some nights she does better. Like last night she slept from 10 to 6. That was luxurious. But I still have to get up and pump. But it's not so bad.

- Daycare is rough. The dropping her off part. She doesn't seem to notice but I don't like it.

- Picking her up from daycare is pretty awesome. Everyday I race over to pick her up and she mostly looks at me like she didn't realize I was gone.

- Eliza has been SUPER tired after daycare. I like to think it is because she is having fun, but it's probably because she is stressed and wondering what is going on. So we usually come home, eat diner, nap on the couch together (the highlight of my day, I love snuggling) eat again and go to bed.

- Pumping at work has been.... interesting. I have a cubicle so I can't just shut my door and have privacy. I have been finding locations with blinds/no windows and a door lock. Then I have to put a note on the door "In use for 15 minutes. Thanks." Then I have to pray that noone will want to come in while I am doing my thing. I also strongly dislike putting all the pump pieces together, taking them apart, washing them, and repeating 2 or 3 times a day. But it's totally worth it for my little one. Oh and SO much cheaper than formula.

- Speaking of breastfeeding, it's not so bad anymore. It doesn't take as long, it doesn't hurt, and I kindof look forward to it at the end of the day. Plus I love that Eliza likes it and I am the only one that does that with her. It's our special thing I guess. I know people tell you this, but at the begining breastfeeding was soooo horrible it was hard to believe them. But it's true. It does get better and the pain and crying was worth it.

- Eliza has learned that her hands can tug on blankets, shirts, hair. It's her new favorite thing.

- Today Eliza gets to stay home and snuggle with daddy. Then it's softball time again. Looks like a pretty good Monday after all.

So that is what's going on here. I won't lie, pictures may or may not be uploaded this coming weekend. We'll see. I need faster internet and to take less pictures. Sighhh.

Dear Orange Juice,

Image from here

Let me count the ways that I love thee.

Obviously you taste delicious. Especially with bits of pulp, or maybe some added pineapple juice.

When you were on my mother's grocery list, you were simply refered to as OJ. Which puzzled me as a child, I wondered what you, a sweet innocent juice, had to do with Mr. Simpson.

During the summer, Mother would often turn you into a popsicle. Sooo good. When you're frozen you still remind me of my childhood.

You taste soooo good with breakfast, or even as a little snack.

But now, my delicious treat, a baby has come between us. And you have left me with a burning heart, or as some would say heart-burn.

So it is that I must say farewell. Atleast for a while.

But don't worry. I am sure you will show up on my grocery list soon, OJ.

And one day popsicles will be made for my little girl.

Until then.....

Plans

Before I get into writing this post, let me just say that I know it may be a little controversial. I do not mean for it to be. But lately I have heard many different opinions and I realize this can be a touchy subject. I am just sharing my thoughts. Feel free to share yours.

Before I was pregnant, I always new it would be hard. Pregnancy would be hard, delivery, and parenthood would be hard. But I also knew that these experiences would be wonderful. Above all, I know that we have no idea what we are getting ourselves into.

So far pregnancy has been great. Changes come all the time: new feelings, new phases, a bigger belly. It has been interesting and I feel blessed to have had a fairly pleasant pregnancy so far.

One of the difficult things, atleast for me, is not knowing what to expect. I am a planner after all. We have no idea when this baby will decide to join us. We have no idea if she will be a super needy baby(like her mother) or a laid back baby (like her father). We have no idea what we feel like as parents. I could go on forever. But I guess part of becoming a parent is learning to give over some control. It will be an interesting ride.

Also, one of the most difficult things for me has been visiting daycares. It is so hard to go into a place and decide if the people there will take good care of your baby. If the atmosphere of a place is safe for your baby. It is so hard to look at people and realize they may be taking care of your baby for a large part of the day. They may be the ones who see your baby reach a new milestone for the first time, even before you do. No matter how nice these people seem, it breaks my heart and I haven't even met our little one yet.

Growing up, I always fully expected to be a stay at home mother one day, and maybe one day I will be. I know being a stay at home mom is hard. It is a lot of work. By no means do I think that it is all fun and games. But I wish I could be the one who creates the atmosphere my child will be surrounded by. I wish I could be the one who sees all of our daughter's milestones. I wish I could be with my baby and make sure she is safe and loved all day.

I know there are people who look down on working mothers. I have already experienced some of these judgments. I also know stay at home moms are also judged in the world today. You just can't win I guess. I think that every family is different and you have to do what you have to do to make things work. So people shouldn't judge.

Despite others judgments, I will not be a working mother because we want to afford fancy things or want cable tv. We do not live frivolously. I will not be a working mother because I think my career is more important than my family. I will be working because it is what is best for our family at this time.

Don't get me wrong. I have a wonderful job. I have been blessed with the most amazing co-workers. I feel a purpose in what I do for a living. I (mostly) like going to work everday. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to work where I work with the people that I work with.

But I will miss my baby.

I hope I don't sound too whiney. We are very blessed with the amazing opportunity to have a child. I have a wonderful husband who is supportive and caring and sweet. He works so hard and is striving to provide for our family. I honestly could not ask for a better partner. We both have wonderful parents and siblings who are there if/when we need them.

Does anyone have any working mom advice? We thought about finding and paying someone we know to take care of the baby at their home. But I don't know anyone who would be interested in this commitment.

I know that everything will work out just fine. I am going to treasure the time I get to take off of work to spend with our baby. I know it will all be ok.

This baby stuff is hard already. But it's worth it.

Hey Look Me Over

My mom use to sing a song to us as kids. It goes something like....

"hey look me over, lend me your ear. Fresh out of clover, mortgage up to here, but don't pass the plate folks, don't pass the cup. I figure whenever you're down and out the only way is up. And I'll be up like a rosebud, high on the vine. Don't thumb your nose, but take a tip from mine. I'm a little bit short of elbow room but let me get me some and look out world here I come."

Anyways. Sometimes I do feel a little fresh out of clover.

But not this week. This week I am feeling pretty lucky, and very blessed.

Kase was able to start his internship this week. He was laid off last October and has been fulltime student-ing since. But this week he's back to work, and he loves it. Plus he graduates in 3 weeks! We are excited.

This weekend is looking pretty lucky too. My parents and sister are coming for a visit. And there are some fun baby showers involved! (I wish my brother and his wife could come visit. Hint hint if you happen to ever read this.)

Plus the weather has been awesome.

AND I've also decided our baby is very lucky. In the last 2 weeks, while walking to work I have randomly came across 4 four-leaf clovers. How lucky is that? It's all the baby.

So...

Look out world, here we come!

Blogging Because I Never Do and I Feel Guilty

One day I will upload pictures. It's just that my internet is slow and my camera is around here somewhere.

Christmas was good. We went to my parents for the long weekend. It was nice to relax, eat good homemade food (especially the smoked turkey) ,and visit with family. We got to spend time with my parents, sister, brother, sister-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmother. Well, you get the point.

My sister made me the cutest diaper bag/blanket combo for which to carry around little peanut’s stuff. I love it.

My mom and dad gave us a vacuum, which I am super excited about because the dog sheds like a maniac. I am surprised she still even has fur left to shed.

My brother and sister-in-law gave us the cutest doormat with our family name on it. I kind of want to frame it because I don’t want people using it to wipe their feet. It’s true.

The little peanut got some cute gifts too! I am excited to organize it all. Yes, I’m a dork.

But the best part was spending time with family.

I can’t believe this year is almost over. It seems as though it just started. It has been a good year.

I am going to copy other people and do our year in review:

January: My first month of being without school. It was awesome. We went on vacation to Disney and Universal in Florida.

February: It was a quiet month full of work for Kase and I, and school just for Kase. We celebrated valentine’s day with heart-shaped pizza.

March: I turned 27 and we took a weekend trip to Gatlinburg. A hotel room with a fireplace and a jacuzzi with outlet stores next door. What more could you ask for?

April: We got a car so we’d both have a way to drive to work. It was suppose to be Kase’s car, but for some reason I drive it everyday. Hmmmm..... interesting.

May: This month was full of graduations. Two of Kase’s brothers graduated, one from highschool one, with his masters degree. I also went to my cousin’s graduation from the Tennessee School for the Deaf.

June: This month was sort of uneventful. Lots of family birthdays and baby showers to attend. We went to see Back to Future on the big screen. Awesome.

July: I traveled out of town for a week for work training. Kase turned 26 and we celebrated by going to see lots of movies.

August: To celebrate our 3rd anniversary we traveled to Los Angeles and San Diego for vacation. It was so relaxing and a fun adventure. We ate the best burrito I have ever had.

September: Kase’s brother, Scott, got married. It was so special to be there for their wonderful day. I also survived babysitting our two nieces and nephew. All by myself. Overnight. We were expecting a little one of our own, but didn’t know it yet.

October: Kase lost his job. We found out 5 days later that we’re having a baby. Good timing I think. We got to see a picture of the little tiny peanut and hear his/her heartbeat.

November: I threw up a lot this month. On an unrelated note, we saw my sister sing in her highschool’s concert. She is awesome. I questioned if that was really my sister up there. I think maybe one of us might be adopted. She is super talented. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Kase’s parents. I love cheesy potatoes.

December: We heard little peanut’s heartbeat again. Kase grinned so big. We celebrated Christmas with my family and are so grateful for our many blessings.

We had a great year. I have a feeling 2010 will be even better. Happy New Year everyone!

Attention All Drivers

I have learned from experience, that some drivers are not aware of pedestrian crosswalk signals and what they mean. Let me explain.


When you are driving in any area, but specifically an area where there are a lot of pedestrians, you should keep an eye out for crosswalks and the crosswalk signals. There could be people walking to work, or to lunch, and the last thing you want to do is injure someone.


Perhaps you are an angry driver who is downtown for some reason during lunch time driving around. Or perhaps you are a city buss driver who drives around all day and has been through training but are still unsure of the pedestrian cross walk rules.

Please note:

-Pedestrians have the right of way.


- Crosswalks are the big white bars across the road often found at intersections.


- This sign means that pedestrians may walk with only a minimal amount of fear that you will run over them:

- This sign means that pedestrians should not walk and that you should cautiously proceed through said intersection:

- This sign (the red hand should be flashing) means that pedestrians may walk, but only have 6 more seconds to reach the other side:
This sign DOES NOT mean that pedestrians are not suppose to walk. It DOES NOT mean that if you are a city bus driver you can almost run the pedestrian over. It DOES NOT mean that if you are an angry driver downtown during lunch time you can yell at the pedestrians crossing the road telling them that they are not suppose to be walking. It DOES NOT mean that you can then proceed to try to run over the pedestrians and then honk at them.


Thank you and good day.

What's for Dinner (or lunch)?

Since we've been back from vacation, we have been trying a new experiment. We are not eating out for a month (except for an occasional date night). Our goals are to lose a little weight, eat healthier, and save money.

It's not that we ate out a LOT before. I would eat out maybe 1 or 2 times a week for lunch. My work is stocked with a fridge, freezer, microwave, and even a toaster oven so bringing lunch is easy. But when EVERYONE else has delicious hot lunches from a nearby location, well, temptation is hard to overcome when your stomach is growling. Kase, on the other hand, has it rough. His work doesn't always have a fridge or microwave (depending on which location he is scheduled at). So he would eat out for lunch most days, or not eat any lunch at all.

Then there was the temptation of eating out for dinner. I would be driving home late and pass by taco bell, a favorite at our house, and think "well, it's really late and I don't think we have any good food at home. Taco bell is cheap." Or friends would invite us out to dinner and we wouldn't want to say no. It was just easy. Not that we ate out every night, but it was easy to lose track.

So it's been 2.5 weeks since our not eating out and it's been great! I feel better and have been cooking more which is a goal I had set for myself. Kase has started back to school so he packs his lunch and eats between classes or when he gets to work.

As far as our goals, I know we've been eating healthier. We've even noticed we've lost a few pounds. And we are saving money. Groceries are still very expensive, but we have leftovers that go farther. So it works out better.

Plus when we have went out for date night, I realize the food doesn't even taste all that good.

This post is kind of boring, but I just wanted to remind myself that I have enjoyed our experiment and I plan on continuing it.

Also, I need good (EASY) recipes so if anyone has any PLEASE send them my way!!!! :)

Back From Vacation

We're back. In case you didn't notice that we had left, we were on vacation in California. A great vacation. A vacation that wasn't long enough.

But alas... back to the real world.

I will post vacation pictures and stories later. Once I get somewhat caught up on work and such.

Until then here is what I don't like about being back:

1. Having to wake up early and go to work, instead of sleeping in and spending all day with Kase doing whatever we feel like doing.
2. Having to pretend like I am not awake yet so I don't have to get up and let the dog out.
3. Walking outside into the ridiculous humidity and heat.
4. Needing to know what day it is because I have responsibilities again.
5. Laundry galore.
6. Not being able to spend all day laughing with my husband.
7. Did I already mention going to work?

Here's what I do like about being back:
1. Seeing family and friends.
2. Seeing the dog.
3. Sleeping in my comfy bed.
4. Showering in my non-questionable shower.
5. Saving money because we don't have to eat out all the time.
6. Finding on my desk the cookbook my thoughtful co-worker bought me while I was gone.
7. Reading everyone's blogs that I missed for a week.
8. And still laughing with Kase.

I guess being back isn't so bad. :)

CA to FL and Everywhere In Between

This week I have been in Columbia, South Carolina, for work training. It's interesting because I get to meet people from all over the country who do my exact same job. They are like me in an alternate universe. During the week, you get to chat with these people and go out to dinner and such. We often refer to each other by what state we are from, just because it's easier. For instance, my main friend this week was Rhode Island. She works in RI but actually lives in Boston. I like her. She says fun things like "Grocery Market", "Wicked", "Huge Big", and "Rememba".

During the week, I met Nebraska, Georgia, California, DC, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, and so on. Very nice people. One night Rhode Island and I were walking through the lobby when we ran into Florida. She had her husband, 6 month old, and 9 year old with her. We chatted and she introduced us to her husband. "Sweetie, this is Miss Tennessee and Miss Rhode Island." We chatted a while and goo-ed over her baby. I noticed her 9 yr old seemed to be staring at us kindof funny.

The next day, she told us that after we had left, her 9 yr old had said "Mommy how come Miss TN and Miss RI didn't have crowns and sashes like the ladies on TV". haha. He thought we were beauty queens or something! How funny. I guess he probably thought that beauty queens sure do look better on TV then in real life!

Other funny story: Security is very important at training. (After all it is the government.) During class, if you had to go to the bathroom, you had to memorize a code to be able to get into the outside batroom door. I went out into the hallway and began looking for the bathroom. I couldn't find it. Finally, I found a door with a key pad, punched in the numbers, and it let me in.

Later, Rhode Island had to go to the bathroom so we went out for another trip. She passed the room that I had went into earlier. "Where are you going" I asked. "To the bathroom, rememba?" she said. I thought to myself, if this is the bathroom where did I go earlier? On the way back to class, I realized I had used the mens restroom. Perfect.

Things I was reminded of this week:

1. I don't care if my future kids take tennis lessons, speak only french in their 7th grade classrooms, or are enrolled in the same private school as the president's daughters so they can go to white house sleepovers. I just want my future kids to be happy. (Thanks Miss DC)

2. I don't care about getting promotions, and furthering my career. I just want to make decent money so I can support my family and pay off my student loans. (Thanks Miss NH)

4. If I were Miss Tennesse I would work towards world peace. (Also, saving children, feeding the poor, umm....... spaying and neutering pets....)

5. Seriously though, Tennessee is beautiful.

6. I have the best husband.

7. I am grateful for my life.

Random Thoughts For The Day

1. I hope that the dogs at home are ok. (We are dog sitting.)

2. Reese's peices are good and they remind me of ET.

3. On Friday, while eating at cracker barrel there was a girl at the next table painting her toe nails! That was rude and gross!

4. I am really enjoying the book that I am reading. It is the autobiography of Julie Andrews: Home.

5. What should I feed the missionaries tomorrow? I don't cook well.

6. I wonder if this week will go any faster. It already feels long and it's only Monday.

Home

I know it's going to be a long day at work when I immediately turn my radio on. That means I am bored, lonely at my desk, and don't feel much like actually working.

It's also going to be long because it's Friday and I am excited about tonight and this weekend. We are going to my parents for the weekend and to the temple. We haven't been to either place in a long time and I am excited to go. Both places make me feel safe and loved. They also remind me to keep life in perspective and to focus on what is important.

Such places that make you feel that way are wonderful. I love coming home everyday. I love having a place where we can keep out the bad things of the world and strive to fill it with good things. Yesterday, I went visiting teaching and I must say that I love visiting this home and the people in it. The home is so warm and inviting and safe. I hope that my home feels that way to others. It's so wonderful that we can all have a little bit of heaven in our own homes. A wonderful spiritual place to come home to everyday.

A little taste of Heaven.