Happy New Year

It has been pointed out to me that I am way behind on my blog. I will agree since it was October. It is now almost New Years and not much has changed.

I still work at DownEast but I also have a job at a kiosk. I am still not making what I did at the middle school where I used to work but oh well.

I am LOVING my ward. I have great friends there and love the activities...when I get to go.

I did get to go to the Christmas one, in fact I helped out a bit. I took care of the table decorations (nativities I had in storage), made about two hundred cookies, and two big bowls of chicken salad. I had many compliments on my nativities and cookies. And I wasn't in the activities commitee...until that night. That is now my new calling. I am REALLY excited to be doing it. The only thing that worries me is that I was done being social by the time the dinner started that night. I hope it gets better, it's not much fun to be tired of people and HAVE to stay.

I need to learn to forgive myself. I am having a hard time forgiving myself for ignoring what I knew what was right (three years ago) and doing what I wanted. I try now to do what is right but I still can't believe the things I wouldn't (probably) have faced if I had listened to the Spirit and done what was right. I am trying to move on but at times I have trouble.

I hope this year brings great changes to my life. I know the Lord is watching over me. I am grateful for the joy the Gospel brings to my life.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So I just did a nice post with pictures from my halloween party and it somehow is totally gone now and I have to start over. I will not spend so much time on it this time since I am now annoyed.

Anyway I made the costume...but I look really wide in it. My friend Pam painted the wings and did my makeup (AND EARS!!!!!!!) and my cousin did my hair. From the neck up I looked like I had always pictured a fairy looking. The rest well...it worked.

Busy bee

So I've been lucky enough (or unlucky enough since I have less hours which equals less money for bills) to have better days off last week and this week. Last week I got Friday off and got to go to Dinner Club with my ward. For those of you who don't know what that is: We signed up to go and were split into groups and just went over to someones house for dinner and games. I had a lot of fun and got to know more of the people in my ward.

Now when I saw my schedule at work I was not too happy. I work 3 six hour days and that's all. I was told I'd be working 30 a week and I'm not even getting 20 this week.

However, now that I know all the fun things that are going on this week I am much happier. Tonight a bunch of us are going to Thanksgiving Point to go through the corn maze --I do have a problem though (no money) since I am working so much less than I was told I would be--it costs $11 to go. Tomorrow I work. Wednesday the Relief Society is getting together to carve pumpkins. Again I have to have money to get a pumpkin and some carving tools. Thursday I work. Friday is a hallowen party for single adults. I need a costume. Any ideas that won't cost money? And Saturday I work.

Why does EVERYTHING have to cost money? Am I rethinking keeping my car? You bet ya. It is a very reliable car so I hate to get rid of it. But if it meant I didn't have to borrow money I would do it.

I'm excited to have things to do and to not have to work, but seriously when you have no money to do the things they do what do you do?

Anywho my main point was to ask for non money suggestions for a halloween costume.

hehe

I obviously had no idea how to use the codes. This is what I got. Do you think it's true?


You Are a Red Crayon
Your world is colored with bright, vivid, wild colors.You have a deep, complex personality - and you are always expressing something about yourself.Bold and dominant, you are a natural leader. You have an energy that is intense... and sometimes overwhelming.Your reaction to everything tends to be strong. You are the master of love-hate relationships.Your color wheel opposite is green. Green people are way too mellow to understand what drives your energy.

Blab

Well, I have now had my job a couple of weeks. I get my first paycheck Friday and with all that I need to do I will be out of money the same day. My light is on in my car telling me I need an oil change, I have to change my ID to my maiden name, register my car in Utah (getting an emisions test first), change my insurance, move my loan, pay my tithing (witch really is first on my list), and if I can get my tires rotated and hope they'll last. I've driven that car for two years now and the tires haven't been rotated ever!

I do have a few problems with my job. One: It is soooooo boring most of the time. On weekdays there aren't many people who come in, and I'm supposed to have things to keep myself and the sales associate busy. Two: I don't want to work nights. I don't get home until 10 or 10:30 and then I'm WIDE AWAKE. For the last at least three years I have been going to bed around 10. Now I go to bed around 12 or 1.

I can't allow myself to go to sleep until I'm totally ready, meaning I have to read until my eyes start drooping. For otherwise I will think and thinking right now is really bad. I tend to get upset when I think. I decided it's really hard to get over this divorce (not that I thought it would be easy) because I do still Love Ray, but because of the other problems we couldn't stay married. I try really hard to stay positive and upbeat but when I'm alone it comes out almost every single time.

The good things I have found here are: An awesome ward! I started going to a singles ward a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely LOVE going to church. In fact I look forward to it. The first Sunday I went I felt the spirit so strong and I haven't felt that in years! The people are very friendly also.

Oh, I have also started over again reading the Twilight series and I've decided everyone needs to read it more than once. It's so much better the second time.

A Job!

I am so relieved and excited to say I am now employed. Yahoo! I will be working as a Keyholder (shift leader) at Downeast Basics. The pay isn't as much as I would like but I hope it will work. I am really excited. I start work on Monday.

1. Did you date someone from your school? I actually dated a couple people from my school...no not at the same time.

2. What kind of car did you drive? Drive? I was supposed to drive in high school? I actually didn't get my license until I was 19 or 20.

3. Were you a party animal? Ya right.

4. Were you considered a flirt? Yes, my friends nicknamed me the queen of hearts and a guy (my date at the time) told me Oops I did it again was my theme song.

5. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Choir, in fact my senior year I was in three of the four choir groups.

6. Were you a nerd? I don't know, I definitely wasn't popular though.

7. Were you on any varsity teams? Nope, no sports for me

8.Did you get suspended/expelled? No

9. Can you still sing the fight song? We had a fight song?

10. Who were your favorite teachers? I guess Ms. D my drama teacher.

11. Where did you sit during lunch? Sometimes inside on the lower level, sometimes outside

12. What was your school's full name? Buena High School

13. School mascot? Fighting Colts

14. Did you go to Homecoming and who with? Junior year Brandon (my boyfriend at the time) Senior year I believe I went stag...wait ya I did, I borrowed a dress from my friends the Pearces and my mom couldn't drive me because she broke her foot and I thought I wouldn't get to go because I had no ride.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Just my senior year.

16. What do you remember most about graduation? I made candy necklaces for the seminary graduates and I was rushing around trying to give them all out before we started.

17. Where did you go senior skip day? I don't know if I skipped or not.

18. Were you in any clubs? nope

19. Have you gained some weight since then? yes about 40 pounds.

20. Who was your prom date? Junior year Brandon, Senior year Derek (I asked him)

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? I want to but we'll see what is going on when it happens.

A hunting we will go!

Boy do I hate hunting...especially Job Hunting. Since I have moved to Utah I now have to find a job. Dum, dum, dum, dumda, dum, dumdum, dumdum. Or maybe those should have a b at the end? Anywho. I have applied for about eight different jobs. And as I look I am qualified for nothing. Well, I don't know my exact point of this post except to say I hate looking for a job.

A new start

After a few years of mostly being unhappy and no progress toward the temple Ray and I are going our separate ways. I surprisingly am doing well with this. Someone (who knows everything) suggested that we started distancing ourselves emotionally long ago. I do wonder if that's true. So, I have moved to Utah to start over. I will try to go to school as soon as I can. I am still planning on going into teaching but it may take longer since I need to get residency here. I have thought of going to a church school so there is no out of state tuition. I am also looking for a job and may be selling my car to get a cheaper one. I have a feeling things are going to be fine.

Wedding in Oregon

My friends Travis and Carrie got married last weekend. I was a bridesmaid. It was a beautiful cerimony and lots of fun. I got to meet new people...considering the only people I knew when I got there was the bride and groom. Here are a few pictures.

I ended up doing the bouqets when I got there. Left is a bridesmaids bouquet. I don't have an up close of the brides. Right is one of the centerpieces I made. These ones were much smaller than the original.

This is the garden where they got married. The ceremony was in the gazebo.

These are of us getting ready. Left, Carrie thought afterward she should have gone like that. Right, explaining what Carrie was doing in the wedding (she was having her hair done during the rehearsal). Look at my farmers tan!

Left, looking out the window at the guests. Right, just Carrie, and you can kind of see the bouqet I did.

Pictures of the happy couple.

The cake. It was very pretty, very yummy and very rich.

These are the table decorations her mom made. They were very pretty.

The day after the wedding in the shirts we made for them.

Niagara

I went and visited my parents in Toronto. While there we went to Niagara Falls. It was so awesome!

We walked around the city area on the Canada side. This is right above the Burger King. The picture at left is the Ripley's Believe it or Not building.

Just some pictures of Niagara. (all of these were taken on my phone)

We also went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara, New York. We then crossed the border and found there was one in Canada also.

It was so much fun and I loved seeing my parents and Joanna.

We also went to the zoo in Toronto. The bear was so funny playing with his ball.

Summer

So it's summer, thank goodness. I have been working on a few projects. I have a friend getting married this summer and I am a bridesmaid.

My dress is a sleeveless dress so I asked if I could make a jacket to wear with it. This is my finished product. It is the same color as the dress.I also made a centerpiece fot the reception. This is my first try. I really like the bucket, it was a light blue so I spray painted it and it ended up with a kind of swirly look. I have since decided for a centerpiece it is to huge. I will be downsizing it and I hope the new product looks as good.

I have six other buckets. I am going to take the buckets and flowers with me and put them together in my hotel room. The wedding is in Oregon on the beach. I also have shovels that may get worked in to the final thing.

Rambling

So I guess I don't write often enough. You definitely know that when family calls just to tell you you haven't written in a while. There isn't much to do around here. School is officially out and I am officially out of work for two months. That is cause for celebration. The part that is not cause for celebration is that I have nothing to do for two months. I might go stir crazy in my off time. I have been bored enough to work out, maybe I should be bored more often? Ray and I have moved out of the place we were house sitting and are staying with Ray's parents in the interim. We will be moving into a house next to the church here in Los Alamos to house sit for another year. I hope that will work out better than the last place.

The last book I read was The Host by Stephenie Meyer. It was really good. A little hard to get into but once into it I was hooked. I will admit at this point she is my favorite Author. I can't wait for August 2nd when the last book in the Twilight series will come out. I have it on pre-order. Woo-hooo!

I am sad to say I have a hard time finding other books to compare with these.

Ray found out today he is being moved to Swing shift. I guess it is a good thing I am out of work for a couple of months as otherwise we would never see each other. He is working days this week and is supposed to have Saturday and Sunday off. Because of this change however he will work Sunday evening.

Anywho. TTFN!

end of the year and moving

Finally the end of the school year is almost here. There is only a week and a half left before summer. The last four of those being half days. Woo-hoo. The only problem is that as the end gets closer the kids get crazier! There is no fence around the school and there are some houses behind it without fences also. Today we had a student running through the peoples yards. Also, students tipping over the football exercise thing while others were sitting on top of it. We have fights and all sorts of other fun stuff.

While all this is going on at work, I get to go home and pack. We have to be out the day after school gets out (that includes cleaning). So we have people coming on Friday to help us move and we will have a week to clean.

This housesitting thing isn't ending very well for us. The homeowners came home for a weekend and didn't seem to like anything about the way we cleaned. The day after they left for another month we got an email specifying everything we need to clean, and telling us to not leave a single thing in their home. (What if I accidently leave something?) We were also told we had to have someone (of their choosing) to come and inspect the house. We did not like this since the whole mess was not our fault. Their children lived here for 8 or so months before we moved in. And when we moved in there were dirty dishes left, trash cans full of trash, patches of dirt (where there should be grass) and a couple foot weeds. We really took better care of it than they think we did. Grrrrr.

Anywho so now we are moving back in with my in laws until we figure out what to do next.

Stuff stuff and more stuff

Ray and I started house sitting almost a year ago. Really most of the time it's nice, we got to save up a bit of money since we had no rent. But the homeowners are coming home and we have to clean. Unfortunately I also have papers due on Monday and Tuesday in school. So today with a little help I cleaned and wrote papers. Not a lot of fun on my Saturday.

So anyway Ray and I saved up a bit of money but unless we can find a house sitting place for like two years we'll never save up enough money to buy a home in this area. We found a house we absolutely love. Problem: our payments would be about half of what we get a month, not leaving us enough to pay other bills and live. And that is a cheap house in our area. Oh sure there are cheaper most of them built 30-40 years ago and have never been updated. I have looked at some horrible houses around here. One house was $200,00o with a whole in the living room ceiling. All the insulation was hanging out, there was no carpet because the ceiling leaked and the carpet was ruined. And the rest of the house wasn't much better. I really hate living in an area of smart rich scientists. Things are way too expensive for us normal people.

Oh by the way the house we are house sitting in is an area where the houses are 30-40 years old and they go for $300 to $400 thousand. Yikes!

Tag!

7 Interesting things about me.

This might be slightly hard, I don't really think I'm that interesting.

1. I am absolutely loving my job at the middle school this year

2. I love Ice Cream, I could eat it once (or twice) a day.

3. I really like mythical things, like vampires, fairies, witches, werewolves.

4. I love to buy things for other people, unfortunately I don't have the money to always do that.

5. I enjoy writing. I have many interesting stories rolling around in my head, most of them from dreams I've had (and most about vampires).

6. I sometimes have a hard time believing what people tell me. A person lied to me a lot growing up so, it's hard to believe people.

7. When I was in high school still, I really wanted to wear glasses and have braces. Yep I was a nerd, well, I got the glasses anyway.

So I wouldn't know who to tag, maybe Beth and Julia...

NM History

Well, I have to take NM History for my major and let me tell you I have an annoying teacher. To point out some bigger problems. I just don't understand why we have to learn the three different ways people said Christopher Columbus' name, why do I have to listen to Zona Arida instead of Arizona? I also wonder why we are 4 weeks behind...oh wait maybe it's because he gets off track constantly. We spent a class period (3 hours) worth talking about Spain, half a class talking about ancient medicine, watched movies about an Indian calendar. Also, I get tired of hearing him say stuff in Spanish all the time. Last time I checked the main language in the US was English. I'm just glad I am down to 3 weeks left.

"Wordless" Wednesday-haha

So this week I got a cold. It wasn't too bad really...until I lost my voice. Tuesday when I went to work I just hadn't slept well, my nose ran all night long (an no I couldn't catch it). By the time I finished work it was weezy (the bast way I can think to describe it). I then had to go to class for 3 hours (which was pointless, maybe another blog). By Wednesday morning it was gone. So sad, I had to drive to work (20 minutes) without singing AT ALL. And let me tell you, for me it was like the worst punishment possible! Anywho, the teachers I work with were also celebrating my Birthday that morning with breakfast, and I couldn't really talk at it. Suckage. My luck was that by the end of the day (when I didn't need to talk) I was mostly fine. Today I was weezy again. Seriously this was the worst I've ever lost my voice and I hope it never happens again.

Me, me, me

What were you doing 10 years ago? Trying to live through high school

5 things on my to do list today:
1. Make dinner
2. Watch Conference
3. Maybe watch some invisible man
4. Take a shower and get dressed
5. Don't know, it's Sunday, more things on my list for Tomorrow

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Frozen Peas
2. String Cheese
3. Sugar Free Pudding
4. Chocolate candy coated sunflower seeds
5. Ice Cream (yes for me that's a snack)

3 Bad Habits:
1. Eating junk
2. Not exercising after eating said junk
3. Not doing homework right away

If I were suddenly a billionaire...
Buy a nicer house than we can afford right now, Get Ray his EVO, ugrade my car to something I want, put a lot away to get interest and such, for kids education and retirement.

5 places I have lived:
1. Utah
2. Germany
3. Arizona
4. Montana (for summers)
5. New Mexico

5 jobs I have had:
1. Paper Girl
2. Dryer at car wash
3. Sales associate (couple different places)
4. Housekeeper (hotel)
5. Teacher's Aide (elem and currently middle)

5 things people don't know about me:
(So this is hard because I'm not a private person)
1. I would love to be a published writer
2. I fall asleep withing seconds of crawling into bed (literally)
3. I am afraid to experiment when I cook
4. I have a very short attention span
5. I feel dumb when I play trivia games with others

Ray's shoes

Ray bought a new pair of shoes. They had this little knob on the side and we couldn't figure out what it was for. Ray got home and figured it out when it came with a little wrench and funnel. It has flasks in the heel!

Our Trip

Hello all I was told I needed to write on here more. Well hopefull this will be a long post and make up for my lack of speedy posts.

Ray and I went on a week trip to visit family. We flew to Utah (with his parents) rented a car and drove to his grandparents home in Idaho. They live in a small town near Rexburg population 500 or so. There was still snow piled higher than cars in the church parking lot. I don't remember seeing so much flat land as there was there.

We spent 3 1/2 days there, where we also saw some of his Uncles and Aunts, did an egg coloring contest with one and I won 85 cents! Woo-hoo! Rays Uncle did a dollar for first (didn't get that) two seconds at 50 cents three thirds for a quarter four forths at 15 cents and five fifths for ten cents (there might have been more). I also tried my first Thai food. The place we went was yummy!

On Sunday (we left on Wednesday) we spent half the day at his grandparents house and then left to go back to Utah. We arrived in Utah and ate dinner at another Aunts house (turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, DEVILED EGGs) it was great! Then we left to see Trent and Natalie (Ray best friend and his wife). We stayed at his aunts house and went to Centerville on Monday to stay with my Grandma (Rays parents stayed with another Aunt). On Monday night we went with some friends on a date to the Mayan, this is a themed restaurant in Sandy. This night they were doing fire stuff. On the video you don't need sound.

Tuesday was Joanna and I time (Ray went to play video games with Trent). We ran a few errands, ate lunch, got some Cold Stone, and a couple movies. I picked up a Birthday present from my mom while I was there.

Wednesday was the day we traveled home. We flew into Albuquerque and went to the Texas Road House for my Birthday dinner. they have a birthday thing where they make you sit on a saddle attached to a mobile thing. I wonder if they do this to keep people from lying about it being their Birthday. There was also about 6 other birthdays while we were there.

ok so I can't figure out how to turn this picture. You can barely see the saddle.

It was a great trip but I'm sooooo glad to be home.

Atomic City Lfe

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Orange

You're a bold, confident orange. A warm, powerful color that indicates a strong, welcoming personality, orange is the mark of people who are social and extroverted by nature. Vibrant, with an upbeat attitude, you have a bright, inviting demeanor. Energetic and fun-loving, you're a real friend-magnet. Your easy charm and unassuming manner make you the sort of person people want to meet and get to know better. Well-rounded and fun to be around, you enjoy helping others, so it's no surprise that orange also symbolizes attraction. Orange is an extraordinary color — for an extraordinary person.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Substitutes

So yesterday, I got the joys of subbing for 6 out of the seven periods I work. Periods one through four were in a math class. I absolutely enjoyed this even though some of the students didn't understand what I taught. Then I subbed in another math class where the kids did great. The sixth time I subbed was an art class. Where joy of joys one student constantly was disrupting class, eating paper, and writing on the desk. So, I went him to the office. I can say I enjoyed the experience though by the end of the day my patience was shot. I can now understand why the teachers only teach 5 out of 8 periods in a day. They need sanity time.

Today, I was lucky enough to be the only Aide without any subs to do. Yeah! That is until 11:25 when I get a call from the office asking me to give up my lunch to do lunch duty. First, this is 4 minutes before the bell that brings bliss and my lunch to me. I absolutely HATE giving up my lunch, but I have always had a hard time saying no. Though it does make it harder when I hear everyone is doing it all of the other IA's are giving up their lunch. And then they proceed to name them all. So of course I can't be the only selfish IA and say no at that point. So I did it. It wasn't too bad but still very annoying.

Conversations with Middle Schoolers

Who'd have ever thought my life would be so interesting that I'd have a bunch of middle schoolers asking me questions for an hour, and actually listening to what I say? Really it started when one said something about me being Mormon. I couldn't fathom how this student knew this and asked him. Not that I try to hide it, it's just a weird thing to bring up. Then they started asking questions about missionaries and the temple. Let me tell you for not being LDS, this kid knew a lot about us even what LDS stands for. Then they were asking me about my family and all this stuff. I'm sure the teacher was grateful that they were kept busy. It's a really unruly class, it's art. Anyway, I tried to steer them to a new topic being afraid a student would go home and tell their parents I was preaching to them. I told the teacher this after class and she said since they were asking the questions it was OK to answer them, that it was just bad to stand up in class and tell the students they were drawing a picture of Jesus Christ because he is our savior. The other very interesting topic that came up was honeymoons. They asked me where I went. Which I told them I didn't. One student (male) started saying for his honeymoon they were going to Hawaii where they would take a cruise around (exactly where I don't remember) next would be surfing-somewhere, then they would fly first class to Florida and do something there. This I said would be a very expensive honeymoon and he told me his parents would pay for it.

When I first started working there it seemed as if I were back in Middle School-a horrible time for me. But man these kids are growing on me. I've even started to think of going to school to teach them instead of elementary. I must be going crazy!

Life is Wild

Hello all! I've been looking on here for months at my siblings thinking I should create a blog. But my next thought is automatically I don't have time for that kind of thing. Well, we'll see how it goes. Things here in Atomic City, New Mexico aka Los Alamos are great for us. I love the town and the people I go to church with. Ray works security and has just started on graveyard leaving me to sleep alone. I work at the middle school all day and then go to school a couple nights a week.