Getting old, babysitting, and Christmas Fun!

Lots has been happening lately. I am officially 25.

Friday the 12th, my dad took us out to eat at Chili's for my birthday. Mom was MIA due to illness, but we had a lot of fun. Dad brought a gift of Brighton earrings and money, and I also received my birthday card/cash from the Breinholt's. Thanks a bunch!!

Saturday the 13th was my birthday and I had a ton of fun. My good friend Tami (who I've known since 7th grade, That's like 12 years!) took me out to lunch and bought me a cute shirt. I love getting together with her, it always seems like no time has passed since the last time and we always get along. She is an amazing person too, very kind and caring. After that I went out to eat with Heath, Jill, Josh, Joey, Kira, and Brian (another friend from high school). We went to OTB and had a blast. Then all of us minus Brian went bowling. Josh embarrassed me with a 198. That's not even fair considering he doesn't even like bowling. Doesn't everyone know you let the birthday girl win?

After all that fun, we all went back to the apartment, ate some candy, played some Adrienne Trivia (quite funny), and just hung out. Jill spent the night (since we never see her due to Grad school) and we stayed up till 5 am (I would like to point out that this was quite a feat considering I usually go to bed at 9).

Needless to say it was a long and fun weekend.

Last night, the 22nd, we got to babysit for Ben and Mer. What fun!! I think we played different variations of Hot Potatoe for about an hour and loved every minute of it. Sydney is just such a sweet little girl and we had so much fun playing with her. Malla was excellent and even let me feed her, which she is usually picky about. Just a great night. We loved it. Happy Anniversary Ben and Mer!

Now we are getting ready for Christmas and so excited to spend time with the Breinholt's Christmas Eve ( even the Utah ones via webcam!), and Christmas Day with the Barnette's, and the weekend with my mom's side of the family. What fun!

Hope you all are staying warm and staying safe as you travel. We love you all and wish you a very, Merry Christmas!

Holy Smokes! The year is almost over!

Wow, a month usually goes by before I write another post. I guess that's what happens when you don't do anything but sleep, work, sleep, work. Can you see a pattern? It doesn't make for a very interesting blog.

This week we actually do have something to write about. Heath's parents have been in town since last Friday and we've been doing lots of fun things with them ever since. Heath is like a child at Christmas when he learns his parents are visiting, it is so cute. Although I am like that too when it has been awhile since I've seen mine.....In fact it has been a whole week since I've seen them :) (I guess Heath wins on the whole not seeing family for awhile thing). So anyways we've been eating good food, telling fun stories (mostly funny ones to our neice about Heath as a child, she loves them, hehe), and just having fun together. We are especially grateful this holiday season that they were able to come visit. We love spending time with them and I know Heath missed them a lot!

Heath also had finals this week, which he did awesome on, as usual, and I had mandatory overtime (fun, fun). So that has pretty much been our week, trying to fit in as much as possible, and boy am I exhausted! (In fact I probably owe everyone who's been around me the past couple days an apology for how cranky I've been, I'm sorry, I'm tired!).

So it is Christmas time and boy do I love it. Although I think it brings out the best in people, I have to say these Winter months don't bring out the best in me. When I was younger I was diagnosed with depression. Winter is the hardest time for me because there is not as much sunlight (especially if you go into work when it is dark and come out of work when it is dark), and that just messes with my head. Plus I think, if you have an attitude like mine, you get towards the end of the year and think about all the things you wished you had done instead of all the things you accomplished. So I am going to do it both ways and say all the things I am thankful for that happened in 2008 and all the things I wish for in 2009 (or the near future):

Great in 2008:
1. Graduating college
2. Getting a job right after graduating
3. Heath going back to school
4. Ben and Mer not moving to Nashville (Sorry guys, we would have died)
5. Friends and Family (especially Heath)

Hopes for 2009:
1. Heath getting into either of his choice schools
2. Having our first baby
3. Getting a house (this would be a near future one).
4. Heath graduating soon (again, near future)
5. Ben and Mer moving where ever we end up (PLEAAASSEEE?!?!)

Well, I am just so grateful for all that I have and all that is to come. I hope all of you are enjoying this holiday season. Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Mourning the good life.....

So we are officially P O O R. We are giving up our satelite subscription (no more cheesy CW shows or The Office :( ) and trying to find other ways to help save money also. It is sad saying goodbye to the life of "luxury" we've grown used to, but alas it must be done.

In other...better....news, we celebrated Heath's 25th birthday last weekend (true belated style due to tests in school) by going out to eat with my parents at OTB (On The Border) and had some cake at home. It stinks when you get to the age where you need to use birthday gifts for bills, no fun. Thanks Mom and Dad Breinholt and Barnette from Heath for wonderful gifts!

Next week, among many other celebrations (like Thanksgiving and the Texas/Texas A&M game) Heath and I will be celebrating three years of marriage!

I am so grateful to have such a loving, wonderful husband. I just love him to death and can't wait to see what the future years hold for us. Thank you honey for being my best friend, the love of my life, and the best darn husband ever! I love you!

Happy Belated Birthday Heath and Happy Early Anniversary to us both!

Hope everyone is safe over the holiday week and Go UT! Beat them Poor Aggies!

Under the Influence of cold medicine.....

Why is that everytime I get sick, it lasts about 2 weeks or more? Why?!? I have been really sick since Wednesday and it has been miserable, and before that I was somewhat sick for about a week. Yay for incubation time. So I went to the doctor and they said it was just my sinuses (not shocking if you know me) and gave me a shot in the bum and a script for the antibiotics. Too bad it looks like it is just a cold virus that just needs to take its course. So pretty much I am on antibiotics for no reason. All I can say is pray, pray, pray that I don't get the dreadful C. Diff infection again.
So that has pretty much been my week. Just staying home and not getting to enjoy it because I am loopy off the meds and just stare at the wall. What fun!
Hope all is well with everyone else. Stay healthy!

An accident waiting to happen...

So visualize....I have just eaten at Braum's and now decide to get a delicious cone of wonderful ice cream. I look at all the flavors and finally choose a holiday fovaorite of Egg Nog (it is so good!). So I had driven us to lunch today and found myself in a dilemma. See I drive a manual and so it is quite hard to drive and eat at the same time (especially with an ice cream cone). So I look at my keys and then look at my ice cream and decide this isn't going to work. But alas! my boss knows how to drive stick so I ask him if he will drive us back (I mean we were only a block away from the hospital, WHAT could happen?). So we venture into the car and head off on our "long" journey. Everything is fine and then IT happens. We are stopped at a light under a highway and the car in front of us decides to slam on its breaks.......unfortunately the car behind us decided they didn't like that idea and kept on cruising right into the back of my car. Are you serious? That is all I could think of as our lunch outing turned array. But don't worry, only minor damage was done to the car and no damage was done to all the people in the car.
Put into perspective that this is like the third time this has happened to the Corolla. We have officially deemed her jinxed as a car.
Needless to say my boss was very sorry and I was laughing, the only good thing you can do in a situation like that.
Oh P.S. in case Mer was wondering what I had done with my delicious ice cream....I put it on the ground and left it.....I wasn't thinking at the time!
Hopefully today goes better! Hope everyone is having a great week and will have an even better weekend! We love you guys!

Coccidia what?

So were gone again this last weekend to Austin for a football game. Well apparently Ally didn't deal with this too well. Joey and Kira have been watching her while we're gone and she has been stressing herself out about the situation. So bad that this last weekend she ended up getting a bacterial and parasite infection. Yuck! The parasite is something that usually infects puppies and most older dogs hold an immunity to it, but she made her immune system go so down from stress that she got a rampant stomach infection. Poor baby. I'll leave the details out, but after her "symptoms" didn't leave yesterday we decided to take her into the vet and the did some tests that found out that it was Coccidia. The doctor also said she probably has an infection with the Clostridium bacteria. I personally felt sympathetic for her on this one because about a year ago I got a Clostridium infection of the human variety. IT WAS HORRIBLE. Honestly the most horrible time in my life so far. It makes you sick, sick, sick. So we got our baby some meds and brought her home to a bland meal of cooked rice and chicken (pretty spoiled for a dog) and some rest. Feel better dear Ally, feel better.

Hook em' Horns!

So we finally got to go to a Longhorn game. It was against Rice though, so what does that mean....boring, boring, boring. It was still fun though. Our hotel was horrible though. We must have stayed next to smokers on a "non-smoking" floor and the smoke would seep into our room every once in awhile and it was sickening. We walked the campus and Heath got see the School of Architecture. We had a lot of fun. Thanks mom and dad for inviting us!
I was sick the whole weekend though. I think it is bad allergies/sinuses from the storms that came through with the Hurricane because I've had a headache for about a week now.
That was pretty much our weekend. Next weekend we'll be at the make up game against Arkansas, so that should be fun too.
Hope you all had a fun weekend! Love you!

Thank you Hurricane Ike......

So we were all excited about this weekend because we had plans to head down to Austin for the UT vs. Arkansas game, but alas, mother nature wins again. The one weekend we have tickets (Thanks mom and dad!) a hurricane comes barreling through and it gets cancelled. No, the Longhorns aren't afraid of a little bad weather, it's just that everyone evacuating from Houston is coming up through Austin and the traffic is horrific right now! The good news is that the game has been rescheduled in two weeks! Yay! That is pretty much the news here. We are all just waiting for the bad weather to come through (the winds are supposed to be 60 mph or more) and hopefully everyone down South stays safe.
Oh, and Heath had his first interview at the Apple store yesterday and said it went really well and they are askig him back for a second next week. He is all about having this part time job because he really likes telling other people about Apple products and I think he'll enjoy it. We are just hoping he gets it to help out with saving money! Thanks honey, for being such a harfd worker! I love you!
School is also going well with him. He enjoys most of his classes and is working hard!
Love you guys! Hopefully we don't get blown away!

Weekend Update

League went well on Thursday. Davy ended up leaving our team so he could start one with his girlfriend so we were pretty bummed about that considering our team won last year. There are a lot of new people and it is a little bigger so it should be fun. I got a 147, 137, and I can't remember my last game but it was pretty bad.
The concert was great on Saturday. Maroon 5 played for way too long and the Counting Crows played way to short. Personally, I think it is way below CC's to even play with someone as horrible as Maroon 5. But all in all it was a great time.
I realized fun pictures would be good for blogs like this (especially to apease all of my eager readers, you know, all three of you), but I always forget to take pictures or load them. Sorry! I'll try better!

Camping, Competition, and some Crows....

So the camping trip was a big success. We forgot a few things, you know, like matches, but everything worked out just fine. We got there with enough daylight to set up camp and start dinner. Then we stayed up making Smores and talking with our friends Joey and Kira who went also. The next morning we got up to some little boy screaming that he "caught a fish grandpa!!" and attempted breakfast. I say attempted because we had left our borrowed matches out in the morning dew (not smart). Then Kira and I swam in the lake and we packed up and headed back into town. It was a really good time and not that expensive to do. After that we were supposed to go over to the Anderson's but we were really tired and had a lot of cleaning up to do so we sadly had to stay home (we always have fun with Mer's family). So that was our Labor Day and we had a blast.
Other news this week is that my bowling league starts up again on Thursday and I am super excited about it. It is pretty much a World Religions class because everyone comes from different backgrounds and different faiths and we get together with respect and have a really good time. Plus, it is the only bowling league that I know of that is smoke free and alcohol free. How great is that!? I wish more people could be aware of this great oppurtunity and come join the fun, we need more people!
Also, my brother comes into town this Friday to go to the Counting Crows concert with me on Saturday. It is his birthday present and should be a lot of fun. Heath isn't going because he doesn't really care for them and would rather stay home and save money and just jam with Joey on the guitar. So it should be some good brother-sister time.
It is a busy week and I am so excited for all the fun. Hope everyone is doing well. Love you guys.

Deep thoughts on hypocritical people...

I'm so sick of people saying one thing and doing another. If you say you are poor and make everyone feel sorry for you because you are, then you better well live stinking poor. None of this going out and buying new, expensive crap and then saying you can't afford food or gas. I HATE THAT. Be smarter than that.

Labor Day Weekend!

Yay, I love holiday weekends. Why you ask? Because I get to be off work and still get paid for it! Today is a half day at work (I didn't even know we had those!? It is like grade school again!) so I get to leave at 11:00 and spend some time with Heath.
Things are going pretty good here. Heath quit his job at HCA so he could go to school full time and started his semester this week at TCC. He is enjoying his classes so far and LOVES not working. He is looking into a part time job to help out and might just get a job at our Wal Mart with our friend Joey. I am just so greatful for all the hard work he put in at HCA even though he hated that job. He is so awesome!
I am still working at Presby-Denton. It has been good, although I have to admit it has been hard to motivate myself some days. I have the worst attention span and my head wonders a lot, and that is not good at a job where productivity is everything.
Both of us got callings in our Ward. I am the "Publicity Person" for Enrichment and Heath is a Ward Missionary. Is it bad to say I was a little disappointed and sad that I didn't get Heath's calling? I love missionary work because I am product of it. Drawing memos and signs for upcoming Enrichment nights just seems lame, but I am glad to get more involved with Relief Society and get to know some people (Honestly, I would have loved Nursery or Primary, but because I did that before, they wouldn't even think of me for it again). I'm sure the Lord has a plan for me in all of this but I just don't know it yet.
Last night we got to go to Chuck E Cheese's with Ben, Mer, Syd, Mal, and Cody. It was so much fun to run around with Syd and play games with her. She is such a sweet kid and we are so lucky to be able to be so close to them. We got over a 1000 tickets and got Syd some great, well junk, but fun junk. What a fun time.
A couple of weeks ago we went on a little trip to San Antonio for the weekend. It was a blast! We stayed on the Riverwalk, did some sightseeing, and went to Sea World. It was nice to get away and spend some time together and it was our first road trip together!
We are thinking about going camping this weekend, but aren't sure yet. I think that is pretty much it with us. Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy! Love you guys!

We're alive!

Well as you can see things have been busy, busy and I haven't had any time to get on this thing and update. Well, that and we currently do not have internet at our apartment so it is a lot harder to make time for the good ol' blog these days. Just a little update for what is going on with us...... Heath will be starting school at the end of August, he deferred UNT for a year and is going to attend TCC because he got grants there and only loans to UNT. I am enjoying my new job at Presby-Denton and especially enjoying not having to worry about school! Although I did sign up for my certification exam which I will have to do quite a bit of studying for. We are still enjoying the apartment and everything else is going pretty well also. We are just sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see if Ben and Mer get this new job in Nashville. We want it for them but also will miss them a ton and can't imagine life without them. Other than that it has just been hanging out, having the girls (Sydney and Mallory) over for swimming, and just trying to relax! Hope everyone else is good. Love you all!

Go Mean Green!

Well it's been awhile since I've posted and a lot has happened! Heath got into school at UNT and he starts this Fall in the School of Engineering. Yay Heath! We are all moved in to the apartment (Ally and all!). She loves living with us and we love having her with us....unless she barks! I started my new job and am loving it. It didn't take me long to get used to their programs and so things are going smoothly. I miss Amy and other aspects of my job at HEB, but I really like coding and working here. Everyone is really nice. Well, that is all I really have to say right now. I am really tired but things are good. Hope everyone is doing well. Love you.

Officially A Coder!

Well I officially have a job at Presbyterian Hospital of Denton! I start Monday, June 16th and I couldn't be happier about it. It is about 10-15 minutes away from our new apartment so that will be great! This is going to be a great oppurtunity for me. It is a wonderful, huge hospital and I am getting paid great and will be trained in all areas, so I am thrilled! Yesterday I went to sign my pre-employment paperwork and take my drug test (don't worry, I'm pretty sure I passed) :) Everyone was really nice and I am looking forward to starting. My orientation takes two days and then I start coding! I think that is about all for news with us. Hope you guys are doing great!

A new place and a NEW JOB!

So things have been pretty busy around here lately. The Breinholt's came down for Mallory's baby blessing and stayed for a week. Heath and I were busy with work and getting things ready for our new apartment. Yep, we finally moved out of the old parent's house and into our own place again. We LOVE our apartment. It is so nice. It is the next best thing to a house for us. We also had to buy a couple of new things. We got a washer and dryer, a vacuum, and a new mattress (our other one got mold on it from storage!). So it has been an eventful, yet expensive last week for us. We are still unpacking and trying to give everything its place but we are really enjoying it. I'll put up pictures later. And in other news.....The job hunt can end! I have been interviewing with Presby Denton Hospital for the past 2-3 weeks and yesterday they called me back with a job offer. Of course I don't know what it is yet because I didn't get the message until late last night, but it looks like I'll be starting my new coding job on the 16th (that is when they signed me up for orientation). Life is just great right now. I am almost afraid to say that in fear that we've hit our blessings quota for the month and are due for a trial soon or something, but honestly we have been so blessed lately. We truly know that Heavenly Father hears ours prayers and knows our needs. We also know we are blessed because we pay our tithing. We are just so grateful for all that we have and all the people we have to share it with. We have such wonderful family that support us (even when we go out and buy a huge TV) and that love us. We love you guys too! Hope all is well with everyone. We miss you Utah Breinholts and hope your trip back was safe!

What a trip!

So I am finally a Graduate! Yay! Graduation was perfect. We just went out with some family to a local restraunt and it was a lot of fun. Four days later we left for Utah and had a blast with Heath's family. I even hiked a mountain! A mountain! Just saying it twice for all you unbelievers out there (mainly me). After we hiked a mile and a half up we went through some caves ( This was quite a feat for me considering I am claustrophobic) and then we hiked down another mile and a half. Needless to say I hurt for about three days following but it felt great to do something like that! We did lots of other great things too. We visited the Bountiful Temple and did some family history work. The Temple was covered with these beautiful huge tulips and it was just a wonderful time. We also went downtown and looked around Temple Square, saw the new Joseph Smith movie at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and ate lunch at the Lion House. We had a ton of fun! It is so surreal to be back in Texas today but we love it here, it just feels like home to us. Now that we are back into the "real world" it is job hunting time for me and school applying time for Heath. Welcome back!

What a relief!

Well I finished everything for school last Thursday and I "graduate" this Friday! I put graduate in quotations because I decided not to actually attend graduation but to just go out with family and celebrate. I am so excited. No more tests. No more papers. No more projects. Just work and life with Heath. What could be better? How about a job oppurtunity!? I recently applied to two jobs (one in Denton and one in Dallas) and today I got a call back from my number one choice, the Denton one. They want to schedule an appointment with me to take their coding test. I am really excited but also very nervous. Every hospital's test is different and I didn't do so well on my last one with HCA (talk about learning experience!). This job would be perfect because we were planning on moving to Denton for Heath's schooling at UNT so then both work and school will be close by for both of us! Yay! I'll let you know more when things start happening with this oppurtunity, but PLEASE, PLEASE Help me out with your prayers! Hope everyone is doing well. We are excited to be going on vacation next week to Utah. It will be fun to see everyone and just have the time off! Life is great right now! I'll keep you posted...

Act your age!

Boo. I am so tired of this thankless job. I try and work my hardest and it always seems like there are people who honestly SEARCH to try and find something I did wrong with the report I sent them and then are almost disappointed when there isn't anything. I do the report and then they go and ask Amy questions WHILE I AM SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HER, like I am invisible and pretty much tear down my thought process and it is insulting and demeaning. This is the best job I have had. I have lasted nearly a year without blowing up at someone and right now I am about ready to blow up and walk out. These women are ridicalous. They are 40+ and act like three year olds. I just have never experienced grown women like this and it is almost depressing how poorly they act. Okay, now that I've been able to vent.... Only two more weeks until graduation and I am so excited. Excited to be done with studying and classes and definately clinicals! I am still searching for another job (one in coding) and hoping for the best! Hope you guys are having a better day than me!

A Vacation and a Graduation-What a Celebration!

So we have finally decided on a place to go for "vacation". It isn't Albania. It isn't a cruise. We compromised and are going where we both like going.....West Jordan, Utah! We are going to go visit Heath's family for a little over a week, May 13- May 21. I am just glad we are going anywhere and it will be fun to visit Mom and Dad Breinholt again! We bought our plane tickets today and are very excited about it all. We are going to check out BYU and housing in case Heath gets in for Spring and do lots of other fun things too! It's kind of crazy considering we were just there for Christmas (although that seems ages ago) and because they will actually be coming down here at the beginning on June for Mallory's baby blessing. It will still be fun though! So yay for finally making plans and doing something about them. Although it is not completely finalized yet, but pretty much a sure thing, I will be graduating May 9th with my Associate's Degree in Health Information Technology. I have been fighting feelings lately of my degree not being fufilling enough for me (I honestly wanted a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology) but I know that this was the best path for my family and me and it will be well utilized and open up a lot of good job oppurtunities (when we need them). I guess I just see all these people younger than me getting Bachelor's and it kind of depresses me, but I am happy with this degree and for graduating (because I am sure there were a lot of people that didn't think I ever would :) ) I decided to not go to my graduation because seriously with the number of graduations I have attended under my belt I am just pooped out of any desire to attend another one (including mine!). So we are just going out with my parents to celebrate at a nice restraunt. Well that's the news with us. Hope everyone is having a great week. We love you.

She's Here! Miss Mallory Claire!

Yesterday my sister-in-law had her second little baby girl and she is just as adorable as can be! Her name is Mallory Claire Breinholt and she weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces. I got the priviledge of spending the day at the hospital with them and holding little Mallory. What a treat! Sydney was such a great big sister and sat with mom and held her too. She just loves the new addition and so do we! Heath got to stop by after work and hold her and he did such a good job and I think Mallory loves him! Of course he looks just like Ben so she probably thinks he is her daddy! haha. So it was an amazing day and I am just so proud of my two neices down here and my three nephews and one neice up in Utah! They are all so cute!

After we visited the hospital we were off to go to the Rangers game with Joey, Kira, Spencer, and Davy. Our Ward does this every year where you can get really cheap tickets to a Texas Rangers baseball game. So we headed up there at 5 thinking the traffic was going to be bad (it wasn't). So we were an hour early. I forgot a hair thing and it rained like crazy and my hair was all over the place and then they delayed the game and then after waiting an hour they told us the game was cancelled. Boo! So we got replacement tickets for a game in June and we are going to try it again. Better luck next time!

Still looking for a job I guess....

Well I never heard anything from that job I applied for. I am too busy to really worry about it but it has been at the back of my mind lately. It just really would have been perfect. School is going well. I finally feel like I am able to breath, but only long enough before I have to start my next project or study for my next final. I have just one presentation and two tests left in my HIT courses. My Access (Database) class started right before Spring Break but it is pretty easy. I do a project then take a test afterwards each week. Not too bad.

Well Heath and I have given up on the whole vacation idea completely. I am pretty bummed beacuse it would have been really nice to go somewhere together and enjoy some time off. It was just too expensive to go to Albania and Heath won't go anywhere else. I have been trying to convince him to go on a cruise but it is a no-go. Honestly I am so worn out by everything this semester that I don't even care to fight for it. Maybe when we are 50 and our kids are grown we will be able to go on a trip....haha. That is pretty much life right now. Heath is busy with school and work and doing fun things like going to "band practice". Our friend Joey has this band and Heath goes with him to practice and sings for them. It is pretty cool and Heath LOVES it. I am busy with bowling and trying to catch up on sleep! Hope all of you are doing well! Have a good weekend!

One Month!

Okay, I am totally stressing here. I have one month left of school! One month! I can't even begin to tell you how much stuff I need to get done and study in that one month! In fact, I think I am having an anxiety attack right now thinking about it. I just need to make it through this semester and BE DONE!
Okay so now that I've vented......I got a call back from that job I applied to. I had a phone interview on Friday morning and did a coding test for them this weekend (they do phone interviews because everyone is based from home so that is how they will communicate with you once you get the job). Now it's just waiting and wishing! I wouldn't be suprised if I didn't get it ( I am a little rusty on my coding skills ) but it was a great learning experience no matter what. I should hear something this week. So pray for us because it reeally would be the best job for us and I really want it but I am not getting my hopes high!

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. My brother came into town and I got to spend some time with him so that was great. I haven't seem him since he moved to Bastrop (near Austin) in Jan.. Have a great week! Wish me luck!

Still waiting...

Well I haven't heard anything about the job I applied for. I am hoping that is just because they received my application close to the weekend. Last night we had some friends over and played games. It was alot of fun. It's a bit odd inviting your friends over to "play" at your parent's house, but they are pretty laid back about it all, so that makes it nice. I'm really excited because I have next week off. Off from school and and off from work(It is our Spring Break!). It will be a nice, much needed break from the craziness that is life right now. I only wish that Heath could have gotten off also because he is working hard too, but he still has to go to work. I know he knows this, but I am so grateful for him and his diligence in working hard for us. He is such a hard worker and is working in a field right now that he has no desire for, just to help us out. So thanks poopydoodles :)! You're the best!

Blessings, Blessings, and MORE Blessings!

Well things are going pretty great here. There is this opening at HCA (where Ben and Heath work) for an at-home coding position and I am applying for it. I REALLY, REALLY hope I get it because it is the perfect job for us. I would get to stay home and work AND make more money than I make now. That is just amazing! This is exactly why I went into this field. So I can stay at home but still make some extra money if we need it. The Lord has really blessed us with good timing in our marriage and I am grateful for that. I know without the Gospel we would be lost and I am just so thankful to be watched over and to have a Heavenly Father that knows my family's needs. Prayer works! Heath and I are still planning on going to Albania. We're really excited about that, but as usual, slow to plan things. I think it's the fact of giving up some of our hard earned money that is difficult for me. Hopefully everything will work out and I will get that job and graduate school and we'll have a safe trip to Albania....here's to hoping! Hope you guys are having as great a week as we are! Love you!

To Albania or Bust!

Yep, you read it right! It says Albania. Heath and I have decided to take a little vacation in between his semesters of school to Albania. Why you ask? Good question! To most, it seems like quite the strange place to go on vacation to, but to my husband it is like his second home! He served a church mission there for two years and fell in love with all things Albanian! He came back from Albania in 2005 and has been missing it ever since and begging me to go with him ever since we've been married. So alas, I have given in and since this is probably the best time in our lives to go (no kids yet, money saved up, and we have the time!) we are going! I mean this is for real, I got my passport and everything, and we are extremely excited to go. But it is not all exciting....because I am claustrophobic! Yikes! I can barely stand the flight from DFW to SLC to visit Heath's family. I usually do okay for a while and then I realize I am in the air in a tiny capsule called an airplane with no way of going outside and breathing fresh air and then I silently loose it! I say silently because I am too self conscious to actually be histirical on a plane, but my heart does beat faster and I do get that sick feeling in my stomach of doom! So yah I think I am going to have to get over that little obstacle considering I will be on a plane for over 20 hours! What was I thinking agreeing to this?! hehe. I am actually really excited. I've never been out of the country before and I am really interested in seeing where Heath served and meeting some of the people he taught and made friends with. What a wonderful oppurtunity! So that is the big news in our lives right now. Now what else is going on....
I have been trying to eat/drink healthier so I have given up all sodas. I get way to much sugar from them and they really bog me down so it is my first step to being healthy! I haven't drank one soda in 9 days now! That is really good for me! I mostly drink water, milk, and juices and my absolute favorite is the Strawberry Lemonade at On The Border! Juices still have a lot of sugar, but they are better than sodas in a lot of ways! I have also been eating better. So hopefully this kick will help me exercise and do other things to keep my body healthy. I've just noticed some changes in my body and I want to nip them in the butt before they get bad.
A funny story to go along with that.....At bowling on Monday, I think I was on Day 4 or something on my "no soda" rule and I was HATING it! I have to work before bowling and so usually I am pretty excited about bowling, but tired from work. So what do I do....go and get a giant Dr. Pepper to help me get some "energy". Well this week I got a giant water! It just wasn't the same. I bowled a 101 which is horrible!! But I didn't give in and get my favorite drink, DP. It is hard to make changes in your life......especially if there are temptations around every corner.....free soda with my meals at work, seeing other people order your favorite soda at the table next to you, and living with parents who stock about a million cans of the stuff in their garage fridge......ahh the misery. But man do I feel better now that I've stopped!
Other news..
I am starting to apply for some coding jobs at some local hopsitals. There are a couple openings where Ben and Heath work but because I am family it might be hard for me to get one there and then there is one opening at a large hospital (Harris) in downtown Ft. Worth. I like "working" where I "work" now but I am considered a Temp and don't get any of the benefits of a a real hospital employee (that's why I put work in quotations). It can be frustrating sometimes and plus I went to school to code so I really want a job doing that. So hopefully one of those will work out.
I guess I'll add a little tid bit about the huge amount (disclaimer*for Texas) of snow that we got on Thursday! It was amazing....except for the part when I had to drive in it and it took me an hour and a half to get home (It took Heath 3!). Silly Texas drivers! Ally (our dog) had lots of fun prancing around in it and was really confused when a falling snowflake would hit her. hehe it was cute! All I can say is snow in Texas = no school and no work! So hooray! Heath enjoyed his night off from school on Thurs. and I enjoyed mine on Friday!
Hope you guys are having a Merry March like us! Love you!

Warning: This Blog is Boring!

I cannot think of anything interesting to talk about this week.....Honestly all we do is go to school, work, and sleep. I think someone else said on their blog that they needed to have a baby or a pet to have something to talk about. Well I have a pet Schnauzer named Ally and I've figured out she's as boring as us! She pretty much lays around all day and sleeps. We did have a fun night with our friends Joey and Kira Perkins. We played some Wii and ate at Babe's Chicken (yummy, I know all you people living outside Texas are jealous about that :) Monday is Bowling League night for me. Yep, I'm a bowling nerd and I LOVE IT! I used to bowl leagues with my brother when I was younger but stopped when I got in high school and college because I didn't have time. Well my brother was on this Christian League in Watauga and one fo his friends on the team was moving out of state so they needed someone to take her place, so I did. Then he got a new job and had to move back to the Austin area so we had to find another player, and now Joey is on our team. The other two players are Matt's friends Davy and Spencer (they're brothers) and we all have tons of fun. Heath and Kira (Joey's wife) usually come and support us and it's nice to have something like that to do to take my mind off of everything else I am doing right now. Last week I told my team I had a feeling I wasn't going to do very well and Joey, trying to motivate me, said "You're going to bowl your highest game tonight!" and I DID! I bowled a 170 which is pretty good for these punny arms. So this Monday is Bowling Night and I am excited! Well hopefully I will have more to talk about soon! Love you all!

Texas Forever

Well Ben and Mer can release that sigh of relief. WE WILL BE STAYING IN TEXAS...for now. We looked up Heath's application today and he had been denied for the Fall. It said he was good candidate but it was a no go. I wasn't too suprised considering we sort of did it on a whim and turned the application in like a month before it was due. I wasn' t too disappointed considering I get to stay by family that much longer, but now I feel like we still don't know what we are doing...again! Arggh. That is just a frustrating place to be. I feel like now we know what we want to do but don't have the tools to get it done. Hopefully we will figure it all out and things will fall into place. Yay for more months of fun with Sydney and cuddling with baby Mallory!! Can't wait!

I am tired!

So I guess I wont be writing that baptism day post. It would be wayyyy too long because there is just so much to write about! I'll just keep my simple one before this and add on this: When I look back to my life before the church it is very strange to me. I feel like I was a completely different person back then, and I was! Now it feels as though I've always been a member and that is a great feeling. I guess the biggest thing that has changed for me during the past seven years has been my thoughts on family. I don't think I ever loved or appreciated my family the way I do now. I am very thankful that I had such wonderful parents who raised me with such great standards and that taught me right and wrong. I think I would have made a lot more mistakes in this life if it wasn't for their teachings. So Happy Belated Baptism Day to me!

On to other news. I think this semester's schedule is finally catching up to me. I am just so tired. I feel disoriented because each day is so different and I have to remember which day is work, which day is clinical, and which day is school! I just can't wait until this semester is over! Also, we should be finding out about BYU soon. That's exciting! Although I got to spend Tuesday with Sydney and Mer and let me tell you that girl is good at convincing me to stay here in Texas just by giving me a bejo (a kiss). I'm going to miss them so much and my family too! But hey, when the spirit speaks, it speaks! That's pretty much it for the news. Hope you have a great day!

7 years!

Monday was my seven year mark since joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I still cannot put together a post to encompass all of that. I am working on it but will just say that I love being a member of the Church and can't wait for another seven years to pass. My life has been so blessed since being baptized and I am grateful for that. More to come later...

Ode to the Blog

Blogs are an amazing thing. They allow us to see further into one another more than normal. I'm what some would call a "Blog Stalker". I creep around, read posts, and sneak away unnoticed. I've been thinking today about the fact that we don't really know the people around us. We may think we have them all figured out, but we don't. I guess I am reflective on this today because there are some people in my life who seem easy to categorize, to stereotype, or to place blame on. But really I don't know what is going on with them, what they are going through, what they've been through. So I guess I am thankful for blogs and the oppurtunity they give to us to see a little deeper into the lives of those around us and help us to be a little more understanding.

Busy Little Bee

Lots of things are happening right now and that is fun! Last night we got to spend some time with Jill. It was a lot of fun. She is a busy, busy girl with graduate school so it was nice of her to take some of the little free time she has and spend it with us! We love her! Ron (Heath's little brother) will be going into the MTC (Missionary Training Center, for those of you not fluent in Mormon abbreviations :) ) next week! I can't believe it! We miss him already! I will miss playing Wii Sports with him the most! He is such a great kid, the little brother I never had! Good luck Ron! And then this weekend my brother is coming into town. I haven't seen him in like a month, yay! And next weekend Bandaid (Mer's sister) is coming into town from good ol' Provo! Lots of fun to come in the next couple weeks! Hope everyone is a having a great day and I love you guys!

Tough Love

Sometimes I feel like I have to be 100% fake, nice/upbeat all the time, and honestly, that just ain't me! I'm kind of a tell it like it is person. I guess I am just a little annoyed that some people constantly complain and let their downfalls/trials define who they are. That's just not fair to them and surely not fair to those who love them. I don't think people realize how much other people would probably like to be like them or have their life and sometimes they take for granted all the blessings they do have. Like an eternal family, a house to live in, an income....and much more. If there is anything I have learned in the past 7 years since joining the church it has been realizing how blessed I am. I am not saying I am perfect. I am not saying I don't complain. I'm just saying that most of us have it pretty good (I know I do!) and instead of letting shortcomings, or illnesses, or trials define us and hold us back....lets thrive on the many blessings that we have in our lives. I've been that person that fell away from the church to find myself and honestly all I did was realize how much the church meant to me....and the road back was long and hard and not at all fun...pretty painful in fact. I am not a very fun person, in fact I can be a pretty depressing person sometimes, but I don't let depression define me. I have, however , let the Gospel help me find peace with my depression. So what is the point of this long, rambling, probably a little rude or angry tirade......I'm not sure, but I am sure it has everything to do with this lesson. The Gospel is perfect, the people are not. You cannot rely on the people of the church to keep your testimony burning, you have to do something about it. I am guilty of this too. You cannot lean on the crutch that is someone elses testimony. Find your own. It's hard but so worth it.

President Hinckley

I tried to write a post about three times on Monday about President Hinckley passing away. I think I figured out that I cannot express in words what President Hinckley meant to me or how I feel. As a young convert to the church he was like a distant grandfather to me and I hung on to each word that he said and wanted to do good in his eyes. I knew then and know now that he was a man of God, that he was ordained by God to lead us. He spent his life serving others and what a great example that is to all of us! I am truly thankful for a prophet on this earth and grateful to have known such a wonderful man in my lifetime.

I was just thinking yesterday about how lucky I am and how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband who wants the same things as me and how much the Gospel has blessed our lives. I wish these were the things they reported on the news about LDS people. How happy we are. How blessed we are.

Little Life Update

Well last night was Sydney's birthday party. It was a lot of fun and reminded how much I miss Ben, Mer, and Syd. In other news Heath has officially sent in all of his application to BYU but I am a little worried some it won't make it in time for the deadline. I guess there is always Winter semester! So that's pretty much life right now.....school, work, and applying to school. So in May we will either end up in Utah or staying in Texas. That's it for now-nothing too exciting going on I guess.

Following the crowd...

I am an official member of blog-a-mania! I have been for a little bit now but I really just had one so I could comment on other people's blogs (Bandaid and Mer!) . I suppose I will start posting now but I promise mine won't be as witty nor charming as the many other blogs out there. I am just a simpleton in this creative writing boom. Hopefully it'll bring a few laughs to your life though. I officially dedicate my blog to Sydney, Auntie, and Mer! Love you guys!