Merry Christmas

This year was the first year that I haven't been with family.  And by family I mean extended family cause Jeff was of course there.  It was nice.  We got up, opened gifts, played some games, and relaxed.  We did go over to a friends house and play some games.  We basically learned 2-3 new games every time we go over to their place.  But it's fun.  We enjoyed ourselves and I think it was special just spending Christmas with my husband in our own home together.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the company of our families but this is different and in a way a little better I think.  Well I got Jeff a DC deck building game and we spent most of the day playing that.  He also got his usual stash of new movies from his family to add to his collection.  I got some clothes, books, and a beautiful emerald necklace that Jeff bought for me.  He did good.  I am grateful for his companionship and I'm grateful for the holiday season and the gift of Christ.  Merry Christmas.  Both of us are back at work today which is SO much harder to go back to work after Christmas.  Especially on the weekend.

Our finished tree with our 21st century wrapped gifts aka cardboard boxes.  

A side note about this derp cat.  First off, he was in love with the boxes.  I mean he couldn't decide which one to sit in.  Eventually he opted for a paper bag and then got his head stuck in it.

Dentist Update

So I wen to the dentist again today.  They did some drilling for a bit.  He didn't want to fill in my root just yet.  So this visit was just to clean out the hole and put in some medicine and leave that in for two weeks and go back in, more drilling and then filling it up.  I have to say, quite a hefty bill.  But I'm looking forward to this being over and done with.  And I have to say, feeling the novocain fading is not the best feeling.  Normally it wouldn't be that bad if it was just my lips and cheeks but it's in my nose as well and it's not pleasant.  Not painful but I don't like it.

I'm a little happy about this

I don't know if anyone else experiences the married 15, which is a self proclaimed name I gave it similar to the Freshman 15 in as you gain 15 pounds when you get married.  Well that certainly happened to me where I was down to like one maybe two pairs of pants that I would wear.  Well thanks to mono I dropped 10 pounds from that alone.  On top of that, with the meds I'm on, I can't eat carbs and that helped me drop another 10 pounds.  So happy I can fit into the smallest pair of jeans that I had since before I got married.  One thing that makes me smile.

Thanksgiving

A bit late, but here is how our Thanksgiving went.  Jeff woke up early and headed down to play football with the elders quorum (did I spell that right?) and help someone move.  I got a good dose of extra sleep and didn't start cooking when he was playing.  But I did wake up to snow!  Very happy about that.  I did prep the turkey, make the popover batter and pie crust the night before.  But we started cooking around 3 and it was not that stressful actually.  But we did skip out on a lot of dishes that are pretty expected in a Thanksgiving feast like the stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  Jeff and I aren't potatoes people and I can't really have carbs anyways so we figured one kind of potato was enough.  I didn't realize how carb heavy Thanksgiving meals are until I planned out the meal.

Since we had one oven, it wasn't planned out as well as I wanted it to but it turned out good.  We put the creamed corn in the crock pot and let it sit there.  Sweet potatoes were prepped and waiting for the oven and the pistachio pudding made.  Basically the day was spent watching Psych (good show) and basting the turkey every 30 minutes.  Very relaxing actually.  But I am proud to say that I've made not one but TWO things that Jeff doesn't normally like and he ended up really liking it.  Sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce.  Success in my book!  Since I couldn't eat the sweet potatoes he had to eat it regardless so I'm glad that he actually liked it.  But I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was nice.

On top of Everything

My computer is nearing the end of its life.  It freezes on me sometimes where the mouse and keyboard doesn't work.  If you kinda put pressure on it on the back, in the right spot, it MIGHT unfreeze on you but then if you look at it wrong it nothing can bring it back.  But touching it the right way doesn't even work anymore.  I had to buy it a external keyboard and mouse.  So sensitive.

Well Jeff quit his night job.  He has been absolutely exhausted at nights and we don't get to really spend time together cause after we eat when we both get home, he starts dozing as we play cards.  I think the deciding factor was that he fell asleep during a movie.  Yeah I know right?!  That is pretty much the highest punishable crime in their family.  And not just any movie, Lord of the Rings.  His all time favorite movies.  I think that was the moment when he knew that he was stretching his limits.  But his day job gave him a raise so it makes it easier.

Last week, my tooth started hurting pretty badly.  So bad that it has given me a headache for like 5 days now.  I went to the dentist this morning and they took a x-ray.  Large black nothing where bone should be and the problem is there is no sign of it on the surface.  He gave me antibiotics cause he thinks it's an infection and he wants to call other people to see if I need to go to a specialist.  Happy holidays to me.  I need a root canal and the next available appointment isn't until the 23rd of December.  Pretty much a month away.  Joy.  My meds that I'm on now, isn't letting me eat carbs and load on the protein.  I noticed something this morning as I was getting ready to leave.  I think I have spent more time preping for the dentist than I ever have on a date.  I brush like no other, floss (which I'll admit, I never do) and I even used mouth wash.  I've spent more energy getting ready than I did for dates.  The dentist should feel flattered.

I had Jeff give me a blessing with our home teacher.  He basically said that these antibiotics are gonna help not only my toothache, but also clear out the rest of my body of whatever has been there the past year.  There were a lot of things I learned this past year to where I'm at the point now where I'm fine with it.  No it isn't ideal and it kinda sucks but it is what it is and I know it'll pass.  I've been looking on the bright side of things and I've seen myself get stronger and healthier (thanks to all the cookies, pasta, and cakes I can't eat with the meds).  I know in my heart that I am being prepared for something and for some reason, I have more patience now than ever.  I am grateful to Jeff for being a worthy priesthood holder who is able to help heal and comfort me on a moments notice.  I'm grateful to my dad for being so knowledgeable and a help to me.  I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for not abandoning me.

Anniversary and Halloween

So a few things happened last week.  First, we celebrated our one year anniversary.  My parents were here over the weekend to say hi and Jeff and I went to Fleming's (where I work) for dinner.  Anyways, tradition is you are supposed to save the top tear of your wedding cake and eat on your one year anniversary.  Well... ours didn't survive the drive from Utah.  So I decided to make my own!  It was a chocolate cake with a raspberry filling and I think it tasted pretty good.  I thought I would make a cake roll.  Did everything I was supposed to but when I unrolled the cake, it kinda broke apart.  So I tried to put it together all puzzle-like and try to make a regular layered cake.  Picture below.

All I have to say is... Nailed it!

Second, it was Halloween!  Both of us had to work so we weren't home for the majority of the night.  My mom bought us pumpkins when she came down and we decided to save carving them for the day of to do something festive for Halloween since there were no costume or parties.  But here are our results.

And lastly (on a more somber note), it has been quite a while since I posted anything.  I have been in a bit of a... slump.  I'm over/out of it now but... it wasn't fun.  It was for reasons that I'm not ready to tell anyone yet.  I will at some point, but this is not that time.  I apologize for not "being here" if that can really be used as a term.  

But Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up and I'm excited to cook a Thanksgiving meal for the first time ever.  It'll probably be just the two of us, though I think I'm going to invite this other couple in our ward over.  So if anyone has any favorite recipes, I'd love to hear them.  And I'm sorry to announce, we will not be coming back for either holiday.  I was told very bluntly by my boss that I better not even think about taking vacation time around then.  We aren't open those days but it is our busy season and since all the other hosts we have I have just barely trained, they don't want me gone.  Also at Buca, Jeff is required to work on those holidays as well.  So we decided to wait until January to go visit my family in Michigan.  We will be back at Utah for a wedding at some point.  Maybe even two points, but right now we can't afford it and can't take the time.  I hope everyone is doing well!

Step it up!

So Jeff and I have started a routine.  In order for me to get better at italian, we decided to only speak italian every other day.  We have been doing it this whole week so far and we have been doing pretty good.  The days when it is only italian, I've had to switch to english cause most of the things I know how to say is pretty much every day things like, "we need to clean the kitchen" or "please feed the cats".  No intense discussion happening in italian any time soon but baby steps.  A friend sent me a website where I get more additional vocabulary on top of what I'm learning on Rosetta Stone.  A lot of useful kitchen items have come up which is good since I spend most of my time in there.  I hope with doing this more "immersion" speaking I can get more fluent faster.

Autumn

It's that time of year!  I love the fall.  Everything from the crisp weather to the changing leaves.  But the best part.... food!  I broke out my family cookbook and whipped up some wassail. For those that don't know what wassail is, it's basically a warm cider with cinnamon, oj, and some lemon and other things.  My mom would make a large (at least 2 gallon) pot of this around this time and winter and there is nothing better!  Perfect time to make it too because Jeff happened to get a cold.  It seems to have helped his cough and throat.  Whenever I get sick Jeff does too but he makes my illness seem like nothing cause I'll end up with the flu with a fever and aches while he will get it and be like "eh just a cold".  But he is doing fine.  Working hard and pushing through it.

Oh and Karen if you are reading this, we made the sweet pork recipe you sent us.  It was yummy and Jeff said I lived up to your standards which was the highest honor for me.  With the leftovers we are gonna make burritos and freeze them (you know how much Jeff loves his frozen burritos).  Thanks again for the recipe!

Job #2

We had a great weekend.  I requested the weekend off so I can sit at home and watch conference with Jeff.  Well Jeff forgot about conference when he scheduled his FSO test.  So we only watched the first session before he had to leave to go take his test.  He thinks he did decent.  He doesn't like saying that though cause he said that test makes him second guess everything.  He will find out in 3-5 weeks what his results are though so fingers crossed!  But he came home and we watched priesthood session.  We definitely felt inspired and will take that in consideration.  

But anyways, Jeff got a second job.  Since we both have opposite schedules and he is basically sitting around at home when he is done with work in the morning, he thought it would be best if he got a second job.  I was considering doing the same and I really don't know if I should or not.  I'm really on the fence about it because we really want to save money but since I was so sick over the summer we don't want me to get sick again so I want to take it easy.  I dunno, any thoughts on the matter?  But he is working at Buca di Beppo.  It's an Italian restaurant and he will be starting on Wednesday.  So hopefully our schedules will still match up a little still.  We are gonna try and live off my income and one of Jeff's job and put the rest into savings.  

Italian

So I'm trying to learn some italian.  I have been for a while and I think I'm getting somewhere but I'm not doing enough as I think I can be doing.  So today, I did a few lessons on Rosetta Stone and I labeled pretty much everything.  Everything from the flour to sink to toilet to the countertop.  I even debating on putting a label on the ceiling, but I restrained.  But I just want to get as much vocabulary in my line of sight so I'm looking at the words and reading them everyday.  Jeff and I need to set up a schedule to ONLY speak in italian so he can keep in practice and I can learn more.

A Little Note From Jeff

So Jeff sent out an email to our families explaining our situation the past couple weeks.  I thought I would copy and paste it here for those whose emails we didn't have.  Before I do that, I wanted to give a quick update on my health.  So while recovering from mono, I get the flu.  However, it is a blessing to me because all my symptoms that I felt from mono are going away aside from a stuffed nose.  I was talking to a friend of mine who also had mono and she said she got strep instead of the flu so count my blessings!

Anyways, without further ado....

Hey guys,

For those of you who don't recognize this email, this is your brother-in-law Jeff Fletcher.  I just wanted to tell everyone how things are going for us, because we have been receiving a lot of blessings since we moved out here.  I just got a job working for a construction company, and Ali is working at a steak house called Flemings.    

Since the government jobs were taking a while to respond to me, I have also been looking for a lot of random types of jobs in the city where we lived.  So I applied to work as a driver for a construction company.  Just moving materials back and forth.  I talked to the guy a bit before I came back for Dad's wedding, so i told you guys that I had an interview when i got back.  Well, when I came back and had the interview I showed up, and met the guy at his warehouse.  He started showing me around, and the more we talked the more he seemed to like me.  Right off the bat he said the driving jobs pays 8 an hour.  I had been hoping for at least 9 or 9.50.  He said that he had two positions open, so i asked him what the other one was.  He said that he was also looking for an administrative assistant, to help him with all of the paper work, and sending emails.  I told him that I am good with computers, and between school, work and the army I have had my fair share of writing papers, and sending emails.  So he was interested more in having me help him out on the administrative side.  When I asked him how much that paid he told me 12-13 an hour.  I was pretty psyched.  I showed up planning to get a low paying job, and got offered one that was much better.  I definitely felt like it was a huge blessing.

Ali had a similar experience with her job.  She got a job as a hostess at a nice steak house in Michigan when we were living there.  She liked doing it, and she was able to do it even though she was still recovering from mono.  The reason why she got it was because she had found that they had a second location in Northern Virginia not too far away from where we live.  So she transferred her job and she was loving it here to.  When she had been working in Michigan she had been making about 9 an hour, so I was expecting her to make at least that if not more when we moved out here.  Well she finally got an answer from her boss, and we found out that she is going to be making around 12 an hour as well. 

We found out her pay as well as me getting offered the job around the same time.  So we were feeling really blessed that week.  I have now worked there for a week, and it is fun.  I basically am just in charge of talking to his crew of cabinet installers and making sure that they have everything that they need, while he is busy running back and forth between the job site and his ware house.  Plus doing reports, and sending emails.  Pretty easy.  Apparently I was doing a half decent job, because when we went to finalize my paperwork, he said he was going to pay me $15 an hour since I was taking care of a family.  So the blessings keep on coming.  Ali had a baking job lined up as well, but when we found that we were both making good money we decided that she didn't need a second job.  She had been turned off by how unorganized they had been through the interview process, and how they didn't seem to care that much about her, even though she hadn't even been officially hired yet.  Since it might have interfered with her job at Flemings (the steak house), and it didn't sound like she would enjoyed it she was glad to know that she didn't have to have a second job.  So she just told them that she had changed her mind, and didn't want the job.  

I have been trying to get my job at target transferred down here as well, but that whole process has been a pain, and I don't really know if I want to work there anymore.  I still might get another second job, since I get off work early enough to have a second one, but we are in a good enough position that I am not in that big of a hurry to get one.  I am still working on getting a government job, that is still our main goal.  I even met a guy on the airplane ride out to Utah that does government contracting that I am going to get together with and talk about any opportunities.  Our ward is also full of people that do, or have worked for different agencies, and they all seem willing to help me out.  So I am feeling pretty confident.  

Ever since we moved out I just feel like we have gotten one blessing after another.  I know that we are in the right place, and that the Lord is looking out for us.  It has just been surprising me how much we are getting helped out here, so I wanted to tell everyone.  We love all you guys.  I hope that the lord is looking out for you to.  

Jeff and Ali.

ALS Challenge

Is it just me, or is anyone else pretty tired of the ice bucket challenge?  It's great that we are raising awareness and all, but how many of these people that are dumping water on their heads actually donating?  I dunno but to me the challenge shouldn't be to withstand cold water that would probably be put to better use.  If you think about it, if everyone of these people doing the ice bucket challenge donates just a dollar, I think that would help research and stepping closer to a cure than just telling people about it.  I mean, I've seen at least 50 people on my facebook page taking the challenge so just with the people I'm connected with, that would be 50 smackaroos right there and out of the thousands of people doing it, I think it would make quite a difference.  I would like to think that some of them donated as well.

So What Now?

So tonight is the first night that Jeff and I are spending the night apart in our married life.  And I must say that it pretty much sucks.  Jeff and I have made it a goal to go to bed at the same time even though I might be up on the computer or he is watching some shows.  The point is, we are next to each other every night when we go to bed and I must say, it's pretty awkward and lonely.  I don't know how some people do it.  I do not handle these situations very well and I take my hat off to my sister-in-law whose husband is in the military and sometimes has to leave for work.  I should have started work this weekend to keep myself busy.  But I didn't so it is what it is.

Anyways, on a lighter note, we had a spiritual dump this week.  The first week here, there was a baptism confirmation during sacrament on Sunday, and a woman in our ward invited us to her endowment and sealing to her husband and two children.  It was a sweet experience.  The woman looked so incredibly happy and so grateful to be sealed to her family for eternity.  I am grateful and blessed to be sealed to my wonderful husband and that our children will also be sealed to us forever.  I am truly blessed.

Why Hello There

So we made it.  We got the internet up and running.  Sadly, that was the first thing we did besides unpack.  Well we didn't even finish unpacking yet.  Utensils are all over the floor and countertops and clothes have taken up residence on the floor.  But we did get the TV set up.  You know, the important things.

The apartment is nice and the neighborhood seems good.  We have a lot more space than we did in our last place in Utah.  We have stuff spread out over the apartment and we have an echo still.  That really isn't saying much since we have close to 0 furniture.  I believe tomorrow we will hit up some garage sales and see if we can get some cheap stuff around here and get some food.  Food is good.

I'll post some pictures when it isn't a huge mess.  But we are both happy and well.  Just relaxing in between boxes.

Preparation

So we have a move date now.  We will be moving to Maryland on the 13th this month!  We are both excited to finally start this part of our life.  All of our stuff is still packed from when we left Utah so we don't have to do much packing.  It has been a bit of a drag living out of one suitcase though so I'm excited to open all the boxes up when we get there to remember what we still have.

As of right now, I have my job here that is transferring me over so I will have a job when we get there.  It's only part time but a job is a job, right?  Jeff is also looking to transfer as well but we haven't heard much about that yet.  I also might be working as a part time baker at a grocery store if I get a call for an interview.

In the meantime, we are setting up a garage sale for my parents this weekend to help de-clutter a bit.  I haven't been too much help with this since my energy isn't quite back yet.  But I'll be the one stationed there doing the selling and bargaining (which I'm not very good at).

But we are just relaxing before the storm as I'm sure both of us will have to work a couple jobs to start out with.  At the moment, I'm watching our cats chase a fly around the room.  Mew eventually caught it and Charlie then ate it.  I guess we won't have to worry too much about a bug problem since these boys got it down.  Not sure how they handle mice though.  I'm hoping to not find out.

Just an update

Nothing really going on in our lives that is particularly exciting.  I'm working at Fleming's and Jeff is working at Target as well as painting the house for my dad.  I'm gonna start a little gardening tomorrow.  I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday and I hope I don't have to keep going back.  Our apartment is being fixed up and we are both pretty excited to get out there.  But again, not much going on with us.

Family History

So we had a lesson in church a couple days ago about doing our family history.  So I decided to give it a go since my only grandparent alive is my grandmother and she is 92.  So I talked to her to try and get some information down so I can find her ancestors and my grandfathers ancestors.  I went on the computer and I got all excited and I was finding people and others have already found others.  YES!

And then there was the set back.  Well I have a problem with my great-grandfathers ancestors.  He changed his name at one point while he was in the states, which is kinda annoying to track down.  Also, my mom is in possession of two of his birth certificates.  That's right, he has two of them.  'Aint he special.  One says he is from Germany and the other Russia.  And there is some speculation for Poland as well.  All my excitement is on a halt until I get over this little bump.

Technology

I was watching a video about technological advancement in relation to how far we've come and where we are going.  And it got me thinking and I have a theory.

So my thoughts (not that you asked but I wanna share anyways).  Personally, I think too much more advancement is a bad thing.  I feel like most things in life can be solved by the simplicities of life.  Health for instance, now vaccinations are great, don't get me wrong, but things like heart attacks and strokes I feel can be solved with the right diet and good exercise.  When we didn't have all these advances people naturally lived longer because they had to walk and run around to work and get food and food wasn't in excess.  But with technology in general, I don't feel like it is being used to better man.  Things are easier, yes, but I wouldn't say better.

It makes me think of a quote from Supernatural and it says, "You humans are now so connected and yet you are more alone".  To me, we are losing the community bond that people have for each other in a city or town because we don't feel the need to get out and make human connections but instead choose to sit at home and send a text message to their children saying that dinner is ready.  I know I'm guilty of this, which is why I got rid of my iphone.  I want to be better connected with my husband and family and future children.  Granted, since we aren't living next door to our parents, we can't make that human connection with them (which is the whole point of this blog) but there are others.  I feel like that is what the church does since we are so involved with each others lives and with the well being of those around us and I am grateful to be apart of that.

So now, my theory.  When Christ comes again, I believe we are going to take a huge dive in technology.  We won't have the huge advancements we do now and we will have to start to live off the land like gardening and raising chickens and cows.  It can happen.  It might not.  I don't know but it's just a thought and I just want to make sure I have people I can count on when I need it.

Sorry for the long string of thoughts.  Today has been very meditating heavy.

You Wanna Hear Something Crazy?

So I think I have decided to do a juice fast.  Crazy enough for you?  I do spend some of my time watching this LDS family do video diaries of their life on YouTube.  They are the Shaytards (that isn't there last name).  But the father, Shay, he does a juice cleanse on a number of occasions and he testifies that it is a huge burst of energy and he feels good and healthy after about 6 days or so.  And it was a thought that sort of sprouted in my mind.  What really made me decide to do this was oddly enough a gift that my dad got for Father's Day.

My mom got my dad a juicer and with it, a DVD of someone with his testimony on it.  What he did, was he did a 60 day juice fast.  All he had was juiced veggies and fruit and water for 60 days.  He lost about 90 pounds and he was able to go off his medication for an auto immune disease.  There were other people and their testimonies as well with a variety of different medical issues.  By no means am I doing it for 60 days.  But I'm at the point in where I've been feeling uncomfortable/sick since January and I am willing to try it.  If it doesn't work, well it's no harm on my body.  I've been will have been eating veggies and fruits for the past 6 days.  Jeff is even willing to do it with me since I'm pretty bad at diets and goal setting in general.  It'll be good having him cheer me on.  I figured now be a good time to try it since my parents have a juicer and we don't have much expenses at the moment.

Jeff has a job interview tomorrow afternoon with Target.  So when he finds out if he will be working there we can decide when to start the fast.  Good news about that though, there is a Target hiring near where our new apartment will be so he might be able to transfer.  It's not his dream job, but it's a job and it'll get it started.

Night Owl

Well as of now, I've been going to bed at like 7 or 8AM instead of normal hours.  I'm getting better but the smallest stuff really takes it out of me.  Kinda embarrassing.  But my days seems to start at like 4PM.  Sigh... With us being here for a while, I have my eye out for different jobs and I don't think I'll do well readjusting my schedule.  BLEH!  Speaking of jobs, I'm still not receiving texts from some people and I'm a little worried that I might have been contacted for a job but they weren't able to leave a voicemail or record that they call.

Waiting and Recovering

Well Jeff and I decided that we are going to wait till July to move into an apartment in Maryland.  Basically, the one we wanted we were too slow to apply for and the ones available in June were snatched away.  So July it is.  We applied and are waiting to hear back from them if we are approved and that we actually got the apartment but fingers crossed!  In the mean time, we are just working around the house since we aren't gonna be here long enough to get a job.

I'm getting better.  Still exhausted all the time but I don't feel nauseous anymore, which is a relief.  While I'm recovering, I've picked up crochet.  A habit that isn't really within my generation but it's good to keep me distracted.  Since I have 3 nephews and 1 niece that is expecting this year, I've been on a baby blanket spree.  I finished two already and I'm currently halfway through the third.  I've been cranking them out.

Mono

We got back from Philadelphia last night and now are trying to decide between a couple apartments that we found in Maryland.  I'm getting more and more excited the more we start to plan for this.

As for me, turns out I've had mono which is why I've been so sick for the past few weeks.  Joy.  Well at least I know what it is after about 3 doctors.  Now I'm just sitting around waiting for it to pass.  It can get kinda annoying when I can't really do much or leave the house.  But I'm working on a crochet baby blanket for my sister-in-law who is expecting in July.  So if anyone wants to give me a call to chit chat, since I can't do it face to face, that would be awesome.

A Pit stop

Jeff and I took a stop in Michigan and are currently staying with my parents for a little bit.  Unfortunately, I've still been pretty sick so I'm just kinda taking it one day at a time.

We are in Philadelphia for Jeff's older brother's graduation from Dental school and then we'll swing by the D.C. area and are going to do some apartment hunting.  We have a few picked out and hopefully we will be able to get one.  I don't have too much to say right now since the only thing I wanna do is sit in front of the toilet and hope this nausea goes away.  Sorry, TMI?

And We're Off

It's almost 3 AM and we are just now starting to drive out east. I would personally rather travel through the night instead of wasting a day and it's always busy. We are sitting at a gas station and I have Mew exploring what little space we have in the car and Charlie is sitting on my shoulders basking in the life. Basically all the room we have in the car is the two front seats so this should be a fun 28 hour car ride. 

I feel pretty horrible for Jeff because I've been really sick for pretty much the whole weekend and I didn't have the energy to do much. Jeff has been the biggest help and trooper with everything. But we said our goodbyes and now it's on to the next part of life. 

The Next Adventure

So the time is very near for Jeff and I to make the move.  No we are not pregnant.  We are moving to the Washington D.C. area.  Jeff wants to build up his connections so he can get a government job where he can travel and get a job he really wants. 

Now, I wanna address some concerns.  First off, no, Jeff does not have a job lined up for when we get out there and no, we don't have a place to live.  This is where we are at so far: We are going to Michigan and stay with my parents for a couple of weeks.  I'm going to spend some time and look for an apartment while we are there and then go out there.  We have a pretty good amount of money saved up so we can survive for about 6 months, which I think is plenty of time for the both of us to get a job.  

We realize the absurdity of the situation.  We have seriously thought about the situation and have spent months thinking it over.  We have fasted, prayed, went to the temple, and have talked over the situation on several occasions.  For me, I have felt that we gained everything we could in being here and that it's time to move on and if we stay and linger on here, we'll be stuck.  I have faith that everything will work out.

For any of Jeff's family who may be reading this, I do sincerely feel bad for taking him away from you.  He loves you very much and he is sad to leave his home.  I don't wanna speak on his behalf though.  I'm sure he will tell you if you ask.  We promise to visit often.  We love you all.

Love

Pre-post warning:  This might sound a bit conceded.  I don't mean for it to be but this isn't really a typical story that I normally share.

So on Sunday, I was at my sister's house celebrating Easter and Jeff's birthday with her and her family (she is married with 5 children).  They have this tradition where during the dessert we go around the table and say one thing we love about the person whose birthday it is.  Since my nieces and nephews have taken a huge liking to Jeff, I got shafted to the other end of the table.

Anyways, I was listening to them say what they love about him and I was doing fine probably because they were saying was something to the liking of, "I love that you play and wrestle with me".  Anyways, it got to my sister's oldest kid (he is 15) and he said somethings but he eventually said "I love that you make Ali happy".  That was a huge tug at my heart strings.  On the verge of a breakdown, I was able to hold things back until Jeff looked at me and my niece asked me if I was crying.  Well that did it.  The dam burst and I started to cry.  We were just staring at each other, crying awkwardly, for about a minute or so.  All I could think of doing was getting up and honestly all I wanted was a hug.  As we were holding each other with the brightest spotlight on us, I caught my sister telling her kids that when they are ready to get married that that was something they want to look for in a spouse.  Just looking at them the right way with that much love.

Jeff was the third person I dated and by far, the best boyfriend I ever had.  It was a touching thing to hear.  No one has told me that I look happy or in love before Jeff and it was heartwarming to know that my happiness has been seen and so they know I didn't make a mistake in getting married as quick as I did.  I was honored that Jeff and I were a good example of what love looks like to my nieces and nephews.  We have been married a little shy of six months and things are going very well.  Here is to infinite months in the future.

Happy Birthday Jeff

Today is Jeff's birthday and it has been a rather interesting day.  At least for me anyways.  So I was on the highway right, and I was merging over to get into the exit lane.  I look over my shoulder to check my blind spot and I turn back to the road and there is a freakin' metal slab of who knows what in the road.  I looked just in enough time to not hit the dang thing head on.  I still hit it with both of my left tires.  Lovely.  After I pulled over to the side of the road, I saw another three cars pull over due to flat tires.  It didn't take long for the cops to show up and one by one, we were all towed out.  I got a ride to Target and I just chilled there with some friends that worked there.  I picked up Pandemic and a few movies and wrapped them in some newspaper that was in my friends car and waited for Jeff to pick me up.

With that aside, Jeff said that he enjoyed his day.  Since I didn't get home to put dinner in the crock pot, I decided to throw together some pasta.  Homemade though.  Had to do SOMETHING special.  We are going out to dinner and a movie tomorrow and rock climbing this weekend.  So happy birthday to my wonderful husband!

Back on the Horse

So after a couple years after graduating college, I'm getting back into painting. I might have gotten too much ambition by starting with a 48" x 36" canvas. Anyways, this is the temple that Jeff and I were married in. I've been slightly frustrated with the color of the temple. It could be due to the fact I haven't painted much in almost 2 years. Hopefully I can finish this before the move in May. Sigh...

Where to begin...

So let's automatically assume that I (Ali) will be the only one writing in this blog.  This isn't Jeff's thing and this will save myself from saying something stupid like "Ali here!" every time I type a post up.  Instead, I'll make Jeff do it.  Well now that that's all cleared up...

So here I am and sharing my life with you.  Why?  Well first off, I wanna pull away from Facebook.  Since I'm currently unemployed and have no children to occupy my time, it is pretty easy to get sucked into that vortex to hell.   And since I'm pulling away from Facebook (and hopefully smart phones by the end of the year), this would be a way for my family and friends to keep in touch with what is going on with our lives.  My short term memory is malfunctioning so I'm going to end this awkward post and... yeah...