Old age

Is it sad that one thing I'm looking forward to (not most, but it's definitely second to seeing friends) about being in Utah, is the food there. Yeah, really. Fry sauce from JCW. Cafe Rio pork salad. Hires Big H. Kneaders french toast. Chocolate-covered cinnamon bears from the BYU Bookstore. Burger Supreme. Granny B's cookies. BYU chocolate milk and creamery ice cream. Fresh bread and honey butter from Sugar 'N' Spice. Cookies from that place close to my sister's house. Oh man. Sadly the list goes on and on. I am eating really strict Paleo this week so I can eat junk this weekend. Not like eating clean this week will make a difference, but it makes me feel a little better, literally. Junk doesn't take the usual toll if I've been eating clean. I will only be there two days, so I can't fit in all this food. That would be disgusting. Plus I would feel really ill. So I'm actually planning out meals and where I want to eat on a given day. As I'm typing this I realize this is probably something I shouldn't publicize. If anyone wants me to bring them back a Granny B's or some cinnamon bears, you just holler! It would be my pleasure to. Everyone needs a little chocolate-covered cinnamon bear lovin'. I am so glad I didn't know about those little bears while I was at BYU.

There are a few things I've learned in my old age. You know, now that I'm 26.

1. Early to bed, early to rise really is true. The earliest I ever woke up until now was 5:30/5:45 am, for seminary in high school. It felt pretty early. I fell asleep in school a lot (and in seminary--sorry Brother Richins). Our 4:30 am rise time now really gets me charged up for the day, instead of sleeping 'til 9 and feeling like I'm consciously napping all day.
2. Marriage/love are nothing like the movies. Even that idea of "you'll just know" is foreign to me. I "just know" a lot of things. Knowing Jeff for seven years before we ever got romantically involved probably ruined any head over heels feelings for us, but I'm glad. I love him so much. I'll miss you this weekend, BB.
3. Masterpiece Classic has THE BEST programming. Ever. My obsession started much more recently, when I stumbled upon "My Boy Jack." It follows Jack Kipling, son of writer Rudyard Kipling, as he overcomes physical shortcomings to serve, and later be killed, in WW1. Brilliant show. Horrible war. Heroic ending. And it stars Harry Potter. Everyone wins! The one good thing that came from this free trial of Netflix Jeff and I currently have is "Downton Abbey," which I missed when it aired early 2011. Can't pass up a good Victorian-era drama full of backstabbing sisters and the downfall of the British aristocracy. Oh yeah, Dame Maggie Smith is in it too! Doesn't get any better than her. Not even Judi Dench.
4. I really can do anything I want to, or put my mind to, within reason.
5. Family is the most important thing. This has been a source of trouble for me lately. Two of my siblings ignore my existence. I am not sure why. It is breaking my heart, though likely they don't care.

That's all for now, except that I must say I am so blessed to be friends with this girl because she does stuff like this and I can only hope to contribute to beauty as much as she and her dear sweet Carl who I have known since before I even knew Jeff! By probably two days. I can't wait to see them and their sweet baby tomorrow!

Goodbye 25

I turned 26 Thursday. Some people lament growing older, but I was pretty happy to get away from 25. Don't get me wrong--great things happened all year.

Starting with marrying Jeff Labor Day weekend of last year. Starting CrossFit together and changing our way of life. Losing some LBS. Coming into my own more as a music teacher. Having the receiver of my dreams so our vinyl records finally sound like the should (AMAZING!). Going to Costa Rica and Mexico City. Buying my little car (his name is Franklin). Another niece and nephew entered our families. Lots of great things happened. Many precedents were set. Marriage keeps getting better and better.

Because part of me still lives in junior high, sometimes I catch myself thinking what life would be like if Jeff suddenly wasn't in it. When we were first married and marriage really hadn't set in, I would think, "Wow, yeah, that would really suck. I would miss him a lot." But now it usually brings me to tears to think about it at all. I don't know how women deal with that. Losing their husbands. My Jeff means absolutely everything to me. He is my best friend. Only the Savior and gospel have done more than he has to help me be a better person and reach my goals. He even helped me dye my hair yesterday so I wouldn't have to spend $$$ at my salon to have it done. I mean, what a sweetheart!! Not to mention the trip to Utah next weekend. It is SOOOOO HOT here right now, and there's no sign of getting out of the hundreds anytime soon. What a selfless man. My trip won't be nearly as fun without him there with me, and I will miss him terribly the whole time. But I am so happy I get to go see Mo get married. She is my best friend, my favorite companion from my mission. We had so many fun times, right from the get-go.

It's a rather funny story. There was another sister in our mission who REALLY didn't like me, to the point she spread falsities about me to missionaries and members alike. I am still not sure what her motive was, but I didn't care. There will always be people like that in life. I was sad she happened to be my fellow sister mish! Anyway, Mo was serving with this girl before she came to Waterloo Branch, where I was training Andie. I didn't know Mo too well at the time, so when I first saw her at transfer meeting, I thought I might be in for a long haul. Training Andie AND this new companion who looked SOOO nervous, in a tri-panionship. President had really gone crazy this time. Mo looked on the verge of tears that whole meeting. She was so flustered, wouldn't really make eye contact with me, hung by one of the senior sisters in our mission talking in low voices. Something serious was happening, obviously. I just hoped she left it behind so we could get back to Waterloo and WORK!

Fast forward a few days, and Mo and I were the best of friends. That's when she opened up to me about why she'd been so nervous that first day. Apparently this other sister who didn't like me had told Mo a bunch of mean and nasty things about me. Mo wasn't sure she should believe them, and she said after just a day of being with me and Andie she could tell none of them were true. Of course she told me all the things the other sister had said, and of course none of them were true. We had a good laugh and became the best of friends. We saw so many miracles in working together. Who'd have thought this city girl and that country bumpkin would get along like we did. I can't wait to see her next week! I'll be sure to actually take pics.

This Hurricane Irene thing has opened my eyes to something--how many Latter-day Saints still don't have food storage or any emergency preparedness items. I've been puzzled by the many Facebook status updates I've seen from my LDS friends, where they say they went to the store to buy food and water and there was nothing left! YEAH DUH!! That's why we are counseled to have it already on hand. You can try any excuse (don't have the money to buy extra food, don't have the space for it, I won't ever really need it, etc.), but I feel so strongly of the importance of food storage. Just don't do like I did this last time and buy water in that milk jug type of plastic. I checked on our water supply yesterday (hidden behind our TV table), only to find that our two 2.5-gal. container were completely drained! WHAT?!?! So that's where the leak was coming from when the tenant directly downstairs complained of leaking a few months ago...OOPS! Our gallon jugs were all still intact. Nevertheless, I bought water in better bottles yesterday and we will start drinking these gallon jugs. Make sure you buy water in plastic bottles that say "1 - PETE" on the bottom!!

Today church isn't until 4 pm, and we are only having Sacrament meeting and a LINGER LONGER!! Oh yeah. Hopefully it will be inside because if it is outside we are leaving.

If I could have one wish...

...I would make strawberries in season year round. This latest batch from Costco is sub par. Driscoll's has been pumping out the sweetest, most delectable little morsels all summer, until now. I am so sad.

If I could have two wishes, I would have sung this duet with Jeff at our wedding reception. Heaven knows we love belting it out at home. Tongue in cheek, of course.



I wonder if you all are as weird as we are.

Good times only

Sometimes my man makes me so happy. I love him so much.

I found out about a month ago that my best friend/best mission companion "Mo" (short for Sister Morrill) is getting married Labor Day Weekend. THIS IS GREAT NEWS!! And I am so happy for her. The sad news was that this is also the weekend of my first anniversary with Jeff, which trumps the wedding. One year already! I can't believe it.

I had written off going until a week or so ago, when Jeff and I both started feeling so insane from the heat here that we started toying with the idea of a Utah/Colorado/anywhere trip. This toy wasn't very fun when we saw how much it would cost. So, I wrote it off again. No big deal. It's just my best friend's wedding but no big.

Fast forward to last night when Jeff started looking at flights to Utah again. What? Why? I saw why. He had the best dates and times picked out for me to fly to Utah and be back in time for our Monday off, so we can celebrate our anniversary that day. WOW. He is the best ever! So now I get to have my cake (celebrate my 1st anniversary of ETERNITY with my beloved) and eat it too (go to Mo's wedding!). I am so ecstatic. I fell asleep smiling last night. I woke up smiling this morning. I am smiling as I write this blog post. Jeff Ward is the best husband there ever was!

As soon as Jeff had bought the ticket last night, I called Mo and told her I was coming, but she already knew!! She said Jeff e-mailed her earlier in the week and said he was doing all he could to make it possible for me to go to her wedding. Wow-wee. How special is he?! I am overjoyed.

I started my new calling as choir director today. It went well. Nothing else to report on that front.

Jeff and I teach Primary too. The Valiant 8 class. I told them my birthday was this week. Naturally, the kids wanted to know how old I'll be. I told them to guess. One boy said 38. Another girl said 30.

I need a maroon or dark green something to wear for Mo's wedding. I'm thinking of one of these with a pencil skirt I already own (though I wouldn't mind getting a new one). Tell me what you think!

Number one


Number two


Number three
-- UPDATE: Very unfortunately, this shirt is not available in my size. Phooey! It was my fave.

A few things.

Did I tell you I got my hair cut? No, probably not, because I don't need blogging right now. I realized that the other day. I used to write and blog a lot, about many different things. Mainly about questions I had or minor moral dilemmas or noteworthy happenings. My life is not boring, per se. I am just not struggling, so I don't feel the urge to write.

Or perhaps I am more personal now. I used to write such personal things on the Internet. I don't care to share them anymore.

I would say the latter is the answer. As I analyze my current state of struggle, I realize there are a few things I'm struggling with. I do not care to share them online.

Nevertheless, I got my haircut. My boss somewhat snidely remarked that it's "edgy." "What do we call this look?" he jibed. "I think I'll call it 'edgy'," said like a pompous king who's naming the Universe. (He meant no harm by it. I am only upset he is back from his week-long absence.)

Last week I realized that I have not had a cute haircut since before my mission. I classify cute as a cut more interesting that one length/semi-layered hair that falls below the shoulders. I mean BORING. To me at least.

My new stylist Brandan, who is every bit as fabulous as Patrick (former stylist in Utah)--(and I don't mean fabulous in the homosexual way), took off six or more inches of hair. My horses' tail is reduced to a cute little sprig of heather. I like it very much. Since it's been 100 degrees or more for months and months now, my neck likes it very much too. I feel so much more like myself.

I have given up on so many hopes and dreams I've had throughout my life. Dreams of writing, being a journalist, a singer, a DJ, being in a band, directing a choir, living in New York, etc. My life has definitely not gone any of these ways. I teach music lessons and I work as an admin at an oil and gas firm. The teaching part is great--I love it--the admin part pays my bills and gives me headaches. I'm working out like I should, but I'm not eating as clean as I can and should, and I know it. So I'm guilting myself over it. I'm tired of listening to myself and all my "shoulds" and "wills". I'm just not doing them. I'm capable of many of them, but I'm not doing them. I'm lazy. It's too hard. I can make endless excuses for why I'm not. At the end of the day I'm just not.

Far cry from what I was saying a few posts ago. If you want something badly enough, you'll do it.

I will do "it", in all its many forms. Just not this week. Tomorrow will be a better day :)