Earth, Part 1

So I'm back on Earth...er, Ohio. We're staying with Grandma and Grandpa Ridinger which translates to more space but NO internet. I'm at the Derby's now, but it's too cold to write a long update. I think most of the blogging will be done after we get home....so far, though, it's AWESOME. I'm having a blast!!

I'll Be Home For Christmas

We only have SIX days left before the awesomeness begins!

All of a sudden I'm realizing all I still have to do before we leave. I have a few present projects to finish, I need to pack, clean our apartment, and be ready for our last Scout activity of the year (pack meeting the night before we leave!) Also, we've been having some problems with software at work so I'm behind and need to catch up and prep Caleb for my absence, as he will be taking over many of my responsibilities while I'm gone. This wouldn't be so hard except I'm only working 18 hours total next week...maybe I can stay late one or more days since I could use the extra time. It seemed like the time was going so slow and now even though I can't wait, it feels like I will BARELY be finished in time. As David mentioned in the last post, it doesn't feel like Christmas here. Maybe it's the lack of snow, maybe I've just been too worried and busy...I listen to Christmas music at work every day but it doesn't really help. The only time I feel that old familiar Christmas feeling is when I'm imaging our time in Ohio and how much fun it will be.

In other news, I'm thinking about quitting the stake play, Aladdin. I've had a lot of complaints about it and my director is driving me insane, but I'm not sure if I want to actually quit because I love being on stage and I've come so far...after our trip there would only be 4-5 weeks of rehearsals left anyway (2 rehearsals a week). Basically, I've noticed that my theater experience puts me in a more advanced category than most of the cast and crew. Also, I tend to take the show more seriously, at least in my own mind, and my standards for professionalism basically leave me standing alone. I've tried to relax, and early on I did have lots of fun, but I never really connected to any cast or crew members; I never found anyone who I could just be myself around. Rehearsals started annoying me more than anything because I spend 2/3 of each one, maybe more, sitting around. I would watch my director run a scene 4 or 5 times in a row, but when my scene came up, we did it once, twice if she wanted to change something. Maybe that was a compliment; I needed less work, but I felt like my time was being wasted. I hated that the days she picked for rehearsals sucked. First, Wednesdays from 6-9. I have scouts on Wednesdays from 6-7, so I missed the first hour EVERY WEEK. From what I heard from the other narrator, she would spend more time working my scenes BEFORE I arrived than after. What a waste! Then, Saturdays. At first they were Saturday mornings. OK, fine, whatever. However that changed to Saturday 1:30-4:30. LAME! How can I ever make plans for a Saturday if I have to go to (horribly lame and time wasting) rehearsals SMACK in the middle of the day!?! It's not like I can plan things for before or after rehearsal, unless they're really short things. Going to the temple has only been made possible for two reasons: 1) I didn't have to go to every rehearsal and 2) This is Utah, temples are so close in any direction, and large enough that you don't need an appointment, we could go on a weeknight, last minute if we needed. Anyway, I also didn't think the schedules were very clear. She would give us paper schedules at rehearsal for only the next two weeks. This was fine if you were one of the people who was needed at the last rehearsal on that schedule, because she would hand out new schedules at that rehearsal. This is where the problems really started. I was not needed at the final rehearsal on a certain schedule, therefore did not know if I needed to be at the NEXT rehearsal. No one called me but I thought I'd be safe and go anyway. I got there and the place was deserted. Gee, thanks for the heads up. Because of that, I figured they would call, so I missed the next rehearsal as well. Then I thought I was probably needed, so I went to the next one, sat around for a long time, did 5 minutes of stage time, and left. Having not known they were there, I did not pick up a new schedule and the loop continued. So I e-mail my director and I say "Hey, could you possibly e-mail the schedule as well as hand it out?" thinking this was a simple request (the schedules were always typed, so it was simply a matter of attaching a file). She writes me back and says "I would do that but not everyone has email access, and this way, both the child and the parent have a hard copy. I have them in plenty of time for the next month, and I announce that I have schedules, it is just up to the person to pick one up before they leave. Sorry if it has been a problem. Come to practice on Saturday at 1:30 and you can have another one if needed. " So...what you're saying is that you're too lazy to do both?? I asked her if she could do both and she told me that she's "really busy as a wife and mother" but since I'm the only one to bring it up, she has to ask the cast first...???? Seriously!?!? Give me a break!

SO...needless to say I'm not impressed with my "director"...(I use quotes because I've worked with directors before and she doesn't seem to know what that all entails)... OK, well, I missed the next rehearsal because I totally zoned and forgot I had it. She e-mails me the following day and says "I noticed you weren't at rehearsal" but then basically acts like I'm super mad at her (???) and says that if I miss the next rehearsal she's going to assume I quit the play. Say WHAT? So I e-mail her back, explaining why I missed and all seems OK, but next rehearsal I walk in (late, because it's Wednesday) and there is SOMEONE ELSE doing my part. My director says "Oh, well I have to plan just in case, so she's learning your part".....uh huh....Well I'm like, whatever, as long and I'm here, I'm doing my part and you can do what you want the ONE hour a week that I'm not here. However she then spends a lot of time working on MY songs, with HER. WHAT?? She won't even work on them with me. So anyway, I'm irked but I keep coming. Well this last week I get an e-mail from my director and it's the last straw. She says "you're coming really late every practice and I heard you're bringing the cast down with your negative attitude so you need to shape up or resign" (I'm paraphrasing, of course). First of all, I'm NEVER late, unless you count my calling. Second of all, I don't talk to people in the cast, to be honest, so how can I be bringing them down? I do my part and then I read because the play is boring to watch. Also, this guy who plays the Genie is pretty funny, but he basically goes WAY overboard until he kills all the humor. She gets upset with other people try to change lines, but she lets him completely disregard the script. I'm not even kidding. When people stand in for Aladdin or something, they can't follow along because he just does his own thing. So I wrote her back and told her what I was seeing (hypocracy, favoritism) and that I was quitting. She writes back and says "I don't believe in favoritism" but that she's OK with any decision I make...riiight. I don't know what I want to do. I'm seriously annoyed because the play is WAY cheezy, and she DOES play favorites in who can change their lines and things, and I don't agree with her decisions about what to keep and what not to keep and therefore I see a play that she thinks is funny but I don't think it's that funny at all. I don't even feel like I have the freedom that a narrator role is supposed to entail...I have to be some cookie cutter narrator. EH....

So now that everyone knows about my show and how I feel about it...is it worth it to stay in? At what point does committment and things trump a bad experience? It reminds me of seminary my senior year when people kept telling me that it was a spiritual experience but Brother Robison treated me in such a way that the spirit wasn't there and I wasn't learning from his classes. If I'm not having the "spiritual experience" that a stake activity is supposed to have, is it better to just back out and find something that WILL let me feel that way? Bah...I don't know what I want to do...

Sorry for ranting.....I can't wait to just go to Ohio and forget all about this Utah drama...

Where is Christmas?

Where is Christmas. The feelings of Christmas have just not come this year. All our memories of the season are in Ohio, and it is just not the same here. When we think of former memories we picture the early December snow, trips to campus while listening to carols, family, lights, shopping, and a mirade of other related thoughts. This Christmas we are still waiting for a snow to stick and it is only two weeks till the day. We don't travel much and when we do instead of seeing lights and decorations we see business advertisements and shopping centers. As the radio is still broken in our car we can not listen to our usual CDs that heighten the spirit of the season. Our family is across the country, we have no money for shopping, and all in all when we think of our feelings of the season it feels more like a cold September. They say Utah has the greatest snow on earth, but so far they have had about two inches, both of which were melted within 12 hours. If you make a special trip to a suburb community you can find lights, but not unless will you be so fortunate. With the economy we are not the only people with shopping trouble and when we do take an evening to window shop the stores are not at all like the hustle bustle of our Ohio home. to make my point in one sentence, it just dose not feel like Christmas, and we spend more time trying to create it and longing for our trip home then enjoying what is actually here.
On a different note, we are doing OK with the financial survival and we are looking forward to a couple good options for jobs in January. There is a company that I interviewed with a week ago that said that they are almost positive that they can get me in in January for an inbound sales position that averages $17 an hour. Then if my knees (which I blew out last week and have been wearing braces and fighting for several minutes just to make it down a flight of stairs) get better I am 1/2 way finished with an application process for a job at the county jail that is very stable and starts just under $16 an hour. Both of which I will likely be able to get by the end of January if things keep going as they have. They both have their good and bad parts, but both would pay all our bills with no help from Becky's job so we could pull out of this rut and have a comfortable savings in less then 6 months. We are working hard and I have started doing some personal computer consulting on the side that could take off into a profitable small business. I have made a small amount of money but nothing major yet. However I am handing out business cards and working as much as I can in the mean time to get word out to the ward and local community. I had several people tell me that I was good enough to start a small consulting company but did not act on it until Becky's company said that they would pay me if I went in and fixed a problem for them. I did what I could do, made some money, and decided that it was worth a try, especially being out of work for the time being.
Well, that is the happy and sad news from the Allreds and we are very much looking forward to our Christmas vacation to Ohio. We both believe that the 18th of December, when we step off that plane, is when our Christmas will really begin.

Silver Lining

I've been thinking a lot about everything that has been burdening me this holiday season. I've decided that above all else, the most important thing in my life is my family. David, of course, but after him, my parents and my brothers and my sister....they mean more to me than any "thing" that I own. I realized that I would give it all up to spend Christmas with my family. So, even though it may be hard, I am truly looking forward to this trip. It is more than just a vacation, it's a silver lining to this black rain cloud that has been hanging over me these past few weeks. This will be a spiritual as well as a physical rejuvination. I am counting down the days! (16, although in a few hours it will be 15.)

We got the forms to defer our college loans today. We are both eligible we just need to mail the forms in. With that help we should be able to hold out and pay the rent when we get home from Ohio. We also spoke with our bishop and he helped us know the steps to take if we need some help from the church. Because we are temple worthy, active members, and full tithe payers, the help is there if we decide we need it. It is a great piece of mind.

By the way, Nick at Nite is freaking awesome.

Oh, and I just found our Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin passed away last night. He was a good speaker and was just so sweet. I will miss his talks but he has been looking more feeble lately and I'm glad he's back with his wife and not suffering anymore. I know he's very happy. I wonder who the new apostle will be...??

So is Life

This economy is really starting to piss me off. While I am enjoying the gas prices ($1.87 at the Maverik on the corner by my apartment) that's just about all the positive I am seeing. Per my last blog, David and I have both been looking for jobs--any jobs. Part time, full time, ANYTHING. Like I said before, though, as soon as you say "by the way, we will be gone the week before and after Christmas," they say "So long!" At the time, getting those tickets was perfect. I wasn't working, so that wasn't an issue, and David's current boss (Dave at NXS) had approved said vacation. We got a great price, too ($100 cheaper than any ticket I had seen so far), which is amazing for that time of year. Having been away for almost a year (minus my week stint in July for Molly's wedding) having two whole weeks with my family was (and still is) a dream come true. We don't miss my brother or sister's birthday, cookie day, or even New Years. It was...well, perfect. But now? As much as I'm looking forward to it, it's become such a huge burden. I didn't realize it would be such a sacrifice to spend the holidays in Ohio, which is where my heart would be anyway. I suppose it will be slightly easier once we get back.

As far as my job goes, I'm really not worried about it right now. I have sat down with my boss and had very honest conversations about the basic (never detailed) financial situation within the company as well as in my family. My boss has said that it would be easier to let me go first because of my pay situation with OfficeTeam, but he has also said that it is a last resort for him because I do so much here. Without me he'd have to hire someone else anyway and he knows finding someone who could do what I do as well as I do it will be more than difficult. He's been having lots of trust issues with other employees but has never had them with me and therefore holds me in higher regard. I have told him flat out, I could be working for more but I really like this job. I said I would stay as long as he can assure me that I would not lose my job. He said it was nothing to worry about and he would take many other measures before it came to that. He is guessing that based on the past and how things have worked, things will start looking up after a few months. By that time he can pay off the OfficeTeam fee (especially with the money he is saving by me working part time and missing two weeks over the holidays) and then afford to even give me a raise when I move back to full time. He has always shown me to be an honest man with integrity and I trust him when we tells me this stuff. Also, we have a new accountant, Caleb, and he is already finding ways to save money and increase the profit of the company. While we are struggling now, as a company, I think the new year will turn a lot of things around. I also feel I have made myself valuable enough that I don't have to worry about my job. While I am looking for another part time job (which I will probably not get for another month or more), I intend to stay with Great Dane. If I do land a PT job sometime, I will probably keep it even after I'm FT again here because I get off at 3:00 (when I'm FT) and would have the time for an evening job, plus, I want to build up our savings so this kind of thing isn't such a crisis if it happens again.

Having Chris and Amber living with us doesn't really bother me most of the time. A lot of people are asking about Ben and Misty and why Chris and Amber aren't living with THEM. Well, there are many reasons. First one being, we offered. I think Ben and Misty would have offered as well, had they had the opportunity, but I think we all knew that it would just add much more stress to both couples. Ben and Misty are wonderful, loving, generous people, but they have a family, and they are busy. Misty was raised in a way that makes her a wonderful hostess, but if the guests are long-term, it is difficult because she feels she has to be that wonderful hostess every single day, and it stresses her out. Think what you will about how she should be, but I've seen her handle her three kids, and she is expecting their fourth, and if I can offer my home and spare her the drama, I will. She's my best (female) friend nowadays and I would do anything to help her. That being said, she was a little upset that she wasn't asked, but in the end I think she is grateful that she doesn't have that extra responsibility. Besides that, the space that Chris and Amber would have had at Ben and Misty's is about the same they have with us. The bedroom they are in is about the same size as the guest room at Ben and Misty's. The bathroom at Ben and Misty's, however, is tiny compared to ours (ours is about twice as big, maybe a tad more than that even). There is another guest room at Ben and Misty's, but it is much MUCH smaller and only has space for a twin bed. The other room in their basement is a play room for the kids. While they could turn that into another bedroom (it used to be), there is an air hockey table and bunk beds in that room that there isn't another place for. On top of that, the one guest room is completely filled with storage and Christmas presents currently, that also have no other place to go, so it would be a much bigger task for them to make space for Chris and Amber. On the flip side, mine and David's guest room had furniture that was empty and no much of anything else. The only thing that we had in that room was food storage, which is still taking up most of the closet. We also have our third bedroom (the office), which has nothing in it but out desktop computer and my sewing machine. We have plenty of room for their storage (which includes their bed and many boxes of bathroom and kitchen stuff mostly) and we don't really have to move much around. We had an elliptical machine in there that we were storing for Ben and Misty but they are taking it back (who knows where they have room for it). Another reason was financial. Charging Chris and Amber rent helps us a great deal, while Ben and Misty charging rent really doesn't make a difference to them. While we aren't charging right now (we will after they break their lease), once we are getting that extra money, it really will help us. Most of our bills will stay the same, but having that extra to cover food and take the edge off rent and things will really be an answer to prayer. Another reason they are with us is that when I heard them telling us about their problems, I felt very strongly that we had been prepared for such a change. I offered our home to them before I had really realized I was going to, and I have not regretted it. It is difficult at times, but I think that all of us are benefiting. I am learning a lot about myself and my ability to be compassionate. I'm learning about my capacity for pain as well as love. Having Chris in my home after everything that happened is difficult and sometimes painful. Watching Amber go through pregnancy right before my eyes is heart breaking, but the Lord never was one to go easy on me, and if this is his way of helping me grow and cope, than that is OK with me. A couple weeks before this all started, David gave me a blessing (for something completely unrelated) and in it the Lord told me to prepare for changes that were soon coming to my home. I didn't expect this, but after much prayer I think this is what he meant. There is a reason for all this.

In other news, I think I am catching a cold. I wake up every day with a sore throat, and while it fades through the day, it never completely goes away. I feel extra tired a lot and go through times when my head feels really warm but my hands and feet are freezing. Of course, it could also be the crazy weather we're having. Yesterday I came to work in winter hat, coat, gloves, and a fleece pullover and by mid afternoon I had changed into a 3/4 sleeve button down and was fine without a coat. My aunt Brenda came up yesterday as well and we went to Wal-mart. I had to grab a few things and she wanted some help getting stuff for the female family craft that we are doing over Thanksgiving (since we aren't going to Washington (for financial reasons) we are spending half of Thanksgiving with Ben and Misty and half with the Porters). We bought empty wreaths, ribbons, bells, and things like that. It will be fun. I think I'm going to make mine silver and red, to represent the scarlet and gray of Ohio State (GO BUCKS! MICHIGAN SUCKS!). [Side Note: I make daily bank drops at Wells Fargo for work and there is this guy in the North Layton Branch (where I usually go) who saw me in my OSU hoodie one day and told me he was a HUGE Michigan fan (in a family of OSU fans, mind you). So ever since then we always raz each other (he's so cool) and I made a bet with him over this weekends' game. Loser has to wear the winner's colors on Monday...he said he didn't know if he could take the bet. He knows Michigan sucks, hahaha. Anyway, I can't wait to wear my OSU jersey to the bank on Monday. It's funny because the BYU/UT game is on the same day so that's all anyone is talking about. Well, except us.] Anyway, then we went to Marie Callender's and had a nice lunch/dinner. It was fun, we had good conversation and talked about our respective families. Angie is ready to have her baby (I think she has 2-3 weeks left) and Celeste has strep throat. Ben and Vanessa are working towards the temple, so they are really excited for them. Cam is still preparing for the mish, obviously.

OK, well I better go, this has been long enough. Thanks for taking the time to read. :)

Fessing Up

OK, I guess it's time for me to fess up. I've been avoiding this but I guess here it is:

David quit his job at NXS Technology at the end of September. Basically his boss, Dave, hired a new guy a few weeks before all the drama started. Scott (David's supervisor; just under Dave) assured David his job was not in jeopardy and we relaxed. The new guy had more experience than David but was working another job and was a bit demanding. Then one day Dave calls David into his office and basically says "We've been having customer complaints about you. You need to write me an essay detailing why I should keep you or I am going to fire you. If I decide not to fire you, you can stay but in a probationary state where I will fire you immediately should you screw up in the slightest." Well David brings this "list of complaints" home and it is the biggest bunch of crap I've ever seen in my life. It's stupid stuff like "David took too long" when these people have NO idea what David is doing and how long it is supposed to take. We talked about it and David felt that even if he spent the time writing the essay, Dave would probably fire him anyway and I said it looks better on a resume to quit rather than get fired, so he quit the following day and immediately began searching for a new job. Because of his increased experience we didn't expect it to take long. He got several interviews within the first week. One was with Galileo Processing, which is where Michael Carey works. This job was $40,000 a year and was basically 90% Communications and 10% IT, which is basically David in a nutshell. He interviewed and was one of the top two and right before we were supposed to hear back, the company goes into a hiring freeze. They call David and assure him it is simply a hiring "frost" and that it should be over by the end of the week. David keeps interviewing with other companies but basically tries to hold out for Galileo. After 2-3 weeks of stringing him along, they inform him that the hiring freeze will probably last until January. Go figure. By this time we're pretty desperate so David asks Michael to help him get in the Galileo call center, because at least it was something. Bottom line, they guaranteed Michael they would call David that very morning but they didn't and when Michael went to find out why they said their training class was full. Galileo went from hero to zero in my book and they have shown themselves to be nothing but flaky.

So David went to our bishop and explained what was going on to see if there was anyone in the ward who knew of any job openings. One of our neighbors, Phillip Lundquist, who lives in the building next to us in the complex, approached David with a proposition. Phillip and his wife run an IT business out of their apartment and were thinking of hiring a Marketing Director. Since David has his Communications degree and knowledge of IT, he was a good fit. The good news is that the pay will be good and increase steadily as David makes sales/increases the size of the company. The bad news is that he is on a commission only basis until he reaches 5 sales. (A sale means a $500 sale. The company has options that are $250, $500, $1000, and $1500 depending on the size of the client company, so a $1000 sale=2 sales, etc.) Based on past sales, this could take a few months, however this is based on sales by people who aren't focusing on sales. A little background: The company is called Extrotech. Basically they offer IT support and website design/upkeep for a monthly fee as opposed to other IT companies that charge by the hour. From what David has told me, it is quality work and it's a good "product" they just need someone to come and focus on sales. Other good news is that they need an Office Assistant and they heard that's pretty much what I do, so they have specifially asked for me. When the company gets large enough they will bring me on with a salary of $25,000/year.

This might not have been quite so bad except for the fact that my company, Great Dane Cranes, has been sinking slowly like most companies in this fabulous economy. Because I was hired through and am paid by OfficeTeam, I cost the company over $18/hr, even though I'm only paid $11/hr before taxes. Basically I was becoming too expensive. My boss informed me I had to start working part time, and my hours got cut from 40 to 30 per week. I have tried looking for a second part time job (as has David) but so far no one wants to hire anyone who is taking a two week vacation right at the busiest time of the year. David was even offered a job (albeit a poor paying one) on the spot if he agreed to skip our trip to Ohio. I told him I'd rather be together for the holidays so he turned it down. (It wasn't enough money to be worth it, anyway.) As much as I'm looking forward to our trip and spending the holidays with my family, I am a little worried. We have enough savings to cover our bills for December but if we don't find another way to get some money we will run into problems in January. If nothing else, I'm sure we can find part time jobs in January once our vacation is finished. My job at Great Dane is extremely stable (which I am very grateful for) and I have a promise of a return to full time as well as a raise in the next 3-4 months, but until then things are rough. We have faith that the Lord will take care of us, but we have been cutting back on a lot of things.

As far as Christmas goes, we already bought about half the gifts we need for our Ohio trip, so that is helping us, however we are not sure how we are going to get the rest. We are joining my sibs for several group gifts but I do not know if we will be able to pay our share at Christmas. If Andy especially is willing, we might have to wait and pay him a few months after Christmas. I'm fairly embarrassed because we have been married 3 1/2 years and have never run into financial problems like this before. Watching my mom, brother, and sister go through everything with the house and dealing with my dad, I never felt like we had room to talk because we were much better off than they were. Only in the last few weeks have things really started looking grim. I just wish we could find a way to pay our bills and pay for Christmas. We've already decided to count our airline tickets as our gifts for each other. We were going to still do stockings for each other but I don't know if we'll even be able to do that. Like I said, I've always prided myself on being financially stable, but I felt I should inform people of the situation since it is starting to affect others things and people.

On top of everything else, there is more. As I predicted, Chris and Amber have run into financial problems as well. Amber, who is about 12 weeks pregnant, had to quit her job because they would not allow her less time on her feet even though her doctor told her she needed to. Since her income was about 60% of their family income, they very quickly realized they could not afford their bills. Also, their apartment was making Amber sick (we're suspecting it was a meth lab or something along those lines before they moved in because it smells really awful). It had been making her sick from day one but she had been trying to ignore it and deal. However, with the pregnancy it made her more and more worried. Also, because she lost her job, they lost their medical insurance, and therefore any pregnancy coverage. In order to qualfiy for Medicaid, they can't afford for Amber to get another job. SO, they moved in with us. I will admit it wasn't my favorite solution but David and I both felt strongly that it was something we needed to do. We are charging them $350 a month, which helps them save money and helps us in our situation, but we are not offically charging them until they break the lease at their apartment, which may not be for several more weeks. Basically that money is not helping us anytime in the near future. It's a little more crowded but I've stayed busy enough that I don't really mind it yet. We looked into buying a house but with David's job situation, that was ruled out pretty fast.

So things are looking like they will look up early 2009 but for right now things REALLY suck. If anyone has any ideas of jobs I could do (telecommuting would be really nice because I could work over break if I needed) please let me know. I will post any updates that we come across as we are still looking very hard for anything and everything we can do.

This was a long and depressing post. Ugh. Sorry.

I'm Not Dead

Sorry it's been awhile, I guess I owe my faithful readers (all 3 of you) at least a minor update. This weekend David and I got to practice parenting by watching our niece and two nephews from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. Their parents (David's brother, Ben, and his wife, Misty) spent the weekend in Logan to celebrate their 7th wedding anniversary. I believe this is the first time they've ever been able to go away together for an anniversary as their oldest, Zach, was born a few months before their first and this is the first time they've felt all kids are old enough to be left with sitters for that long. David and I being close by also helped that along as before we moved here there really wasn't anyone they felt OK leaving their kids with for that long. As they are expecting their fourth child at the end of April, they assumed it would be a few years before they could get away again also, so this was the year.

Anyway, as I get off work at 3, I was supposed to come over as soon as possible on Friday so Ben and Misty could leave. Unfortunately, this became difficult as I found out on Wednesday that my cousin, Cameron, was going to be receiving his endowments in Bountiful that same Friday at 5:30. So Chris (the other brother), and his wife, Amber, were kind enough to cover for us until after the session. By the time David and I arrived the children were already in bed, so Friday was a breeze. :)

Saturday I woke everyone up at 7:30 for breakfast and we spent awhile searching for a lost cleat (which was never found). Then we went to Zach's soccer game at 9am. Afterwards we went back home and Michael Carey came over to work with David on SQL (computer stuff). After lunch I went to rehearsal, and when I got back we took the kids to McDonald's and on to Lagoon for Frightmares. We spent a few hours there before coming home, and two of the three kids were asleep by the time we got home. Woot woot!

Sunday morning Shae woke me up at 6 because she was scared. I put her movie back on for her and went back to bed but I was extremely dizzy the entire time. When I went back to bed I still felt dizzy, and when I got up at 7:30 to pray, I was dizzy laying down, kneeling, and standing. It sucked big time. David told me to go back to bed, and he put some pillows under my feet. We ended up missing church because I didn't feel well enough, but after a few more hours in bed the dizziness subsided quite a bit. I feel better now but not 100%. Ben and Misty got home around noon and they've been playing Wii Fit most of the afternoon as a family because it was an anniversary gift for Misty.

Hopefully I will be well enough for work tomorrow. I think I will be fine, I'm just curious as to why I had such intense dizziness. Any ideas? (I had eaten and drank regularly the day before, including some fruit snacks and water at Lagoon)

Current Story of my Life

"Broken" by Lifehouse

The Broken clock is a comfort
It helps me sleep tonight
Maybe it can stop tomorrow
From stealing all my time
And I am here still waiting
Though I still have my doubts
I am damaged at best
Like you've already figured out

I'm falling apart
I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart
That's still beating
In the pain
There is healing
In your name
I find meaning
So I'm holding on (I'm holdin on)(I'm holdin on)
I'm barely holding on to you

The broken locks were a warning
You got inside my head
I tried my best to be guarded
I'm an open book instead
And I still see your reflection
Inside of my eyes
That are looking for purpose
They're still looking for life

I'm falling apart
I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart
That's still beating
In the pain (In the pain)
Is there healing
In your name
I find meaning
So I'm holding on (I'm still holdin on)(I'm holdin on)
(I'm still holdin on) (I'm holdin on)
I'm barely holding on to you

I'm hanging on another day
Just to see what, you will throw my way
And I'm hanging on, to the words you say
You said that I will, will be okay
The broken light on the freeway
Left me here alone
I may have lost my way now
But I haven't forgotten my way home

I'm falling apart
I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart
That's still beating
In the pain (In the pain)
There is healing
In your name (In your name)
I find meaning
So I'm holding on (I'm still holdin')(I'm holdin' on)(I'm still holdin') (I'm holdin' on) (I'm still holdin')
Barely holding on to you (I'm still holdin on)
Barely holdin on to you

Arabian Nights

One thing I learned about my new stake is that they put on a play annually (at least that's the rumor I heard). It may or may not be a musical every time, I'm not sure. What I DO know, is that this year we're doing a musical, and it's familiar to all: Disney's Aladdin. Auditions were this past Saturday and I got an AWESOME role. I am a narrator. I know it doesn't sound all that awesome, but you have to trust me. The play is written with five narrators but my directors felt it was too much, so they brought it down to two. I realize this will mean more lines but it will also mean more stage time. (Whoo hoo!) In my call back, I met Kathy, the other narrator, and together I know we will have tons of fun as our line are full of comedy. Basically, we are the Abbott and Costello of the show. On top of that, we get to sing and there is only minimal dancing (or so I hear). I am SO excited! Rehearsals should be starting next week and performances will be in February, and I know that sounds like a long time, but rehearsals are only two days a week; Wednesday evenings from 6-9 and Saturday mornings from 9-12. I will make sure it is taped for anyone too far away from Utah to come see it.

Other than that, not much going on here. Just working and things....snore.

Workin' Hard for the Money

Well one prayer has finally been answered! I have been looking for a job since March (although I have only been seriously looking since early July) and I was just starting to think there must be a reason for my unemployment when the door opened. I had gotten an interview with a construction company (as an office assistant) that is building a huge shopping center across I-15 from Lagoon in Farmington but in the end they decided to hire someone with more experience in the field. This was annoying because I felt I had done really well on the interview and they even told my temp agency that they had "nothing negative" to say about me. I guess that was supposed to make me feel better about not being hired. The following week I filled out an application to be a receptionist for an assisted living home my friend, Chelsea, works at. They told me the position had been filled but would take my application and resume for future reference. A few days later I interviewed for a title clerk position in a North Salt Lake car dealership. The day after that interview my temp agency called me and told me they had a position for me that I didn't even have to interview for. My friends happened to be there when I got the call so they drove me over to meet my boss (he asked if I could stop in and luckily I had that ride available). I met John and who I would assume is his fiancée (temp agency told me his fiancée wanted to meet me), Lee. They seemed impressed with my resume and I started the following day. Of course, now that I was hired, the car dealership called to offer me a job and even the assisted living home called to set up an interview. Go figure.

So here I am, I am an administrative assistant for Great Dane Cranes, Inc. I have my own office, with my own computer (including my own login), my own phone, my own set of keys, my own code to the alarm system....I feel so grown up! HAHA. Actually this is my first "real" job since in college I was just a student worker and at Griffin I was only temp so I never got keys or a login or anything cool like that. I work a lot with Janeen, who is the office manager. The company owns thousands of cranes, which are those claw machines you see in the grocery store, the sticker machines, candy machines, toy dispensers, and stacker machines (more common in the west; if you do well you win big prizes like a Nintendo Wii, Rockband, PSP, Digital Camera, GPS, Gameboy Advance, Computer flatscreen monitor, Ipod Classic or Touch, Zune, Iphone, Xbox 360, or $225 Visa gift card). We also own a bunch of jukeboxes. Aside from John (the president/owner), Janeen, and I, there are four drivers (Keisha, Andrea, Matty, and Jayson) who collect all the money from the machines, and Kevin, who does a lot of our repairs. There are a lot of family members within the group. Janeen's husband, Jeff, is a silent partner, Keisha and Kevin are married, and Janeen's brother, Neil, is our IT guy. The lady I replaced, Julie, is Janeen's best friend. As much as I love this job, how I got it is very sad. Julie's sister was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer (she smoked for ten years about ten years ago). I found out today it is in stage four and the prognosis is very bleak. Julie is the primary care giver so that is why she left the company. However, I am learning a lot and I love coming to work every day, except for the lack of air conditioning. I do a lot of computer work, entering info into and creating new spreadsheets. I manage all the large stacker prizes and keep track of who gets what and when. I also count all the money that comes in. This process takes a few hours, even with counting machines, but I don't mind it. I spent so much time looking at one dollar bills last week that I memorized all the mints that they are printed in and their corresponding letter of the alphabet. The more intelligent people reading this probably already know, but if you arrange the mints by their "code" letter, they go from east to west geographically. Very cool.

Well I just thought I send in the update on the job situation. Feel free to post questions if I left out any details. :)

More Annoying Rants

I've blogged a bit about the "Utah Mormon" culture that seems to see the world through these rose colored Mormon glasses that make everything look hunky dory, as long as you claim "personal revelation". Like I've said in the past, don't get me wrong, I am a strong believer and supporter of personal revelation; I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father answers prayers and gives answers to those who righteously seek them; however, I see so many people using it as a defense instead of actually using it as intended. Let me explain. I was married at 19. I was engaged at 18. I KNOW that was young, and it was something I prayed about and got revelation about, HOWEVER--I was not going to jump into anything just because I'd been given a green light from the Lord. I took time to be sure that this was the answer I had gotten, and more importantly, I took time to make sure I was asking the correct question. It was not "should I marry David?" with an expected yes or no. It was "I've really thought about being with David for eternity and I feel that we would be a good match. Do you agree?" When I received confirmation of that I took the time to make sure of it. I asked over again because I didn't think it would be a bad idea to be SURE of that answer since this was THE most important decision of my life. After I was sure that Heavenly Father approved of the union I went back into my own mind and made sure it was what I really wanted. I used the mind my Heavenly Father gave me to logically consider all the options, all the pros and cons, the risks and rewards. I thought about my desires for life, my dreams, my hopes, my aspirations, and I thought about how a marriage to David would affect these. I considered what life would be like depending on where and when and IF...I considered the alternatives and how they would affect my life. I thought about factors that would make things more difficult and/or cause more antagonism from friends and family, like my age, and ways that I could get over them. Because of my young age, I had to look at our relationship from an outside perspective, find ways to counteract the apprehension that came from the age issue. The age thing bugged me a little, too. I didn't want to get married right out of high school; it was important to me to have some college behind me. That's the main reason our engagement was so long. In retrospect, I hated waiting so long. I do not recommend it to anyone; however I would hardly recommend a minuscule engagement either. While 15 months is way too long, 3 is way too short in my opinion. Adequate time should be given to get to know someone and to prepare for a wedding and marriage; finances should be taken into account; more should go into planning a wedding date/marriage then just not wanting to wait.

Then there is the flip side. You find people who meet someone, decide within a few hours that they are going to marry them and then two days later when someone asks "Did you pray about it?" they say yes and this is supposed to appease everyone. When people (like me) question that (in Utah, anyway), it's practically blasphemy. You might as well have claimed to be Jesus Christ himself the way people act towards you. Do I doubt that a prayer has been said? Not at all. My apprehension comes because I fear that maybe people are too involved in a relationship to recognize a true answer. This crossed my mind a lot when I was looking for my own personal revelation and that's one of the reasons I asked many many many times and did everything I could to make sure I had really gotten the answer I had gotten. When someone meets someone, prays once, and "gets an answer" I wonder how serious the prayer was. On top of that, I fear about whether the correct question was asked. If the wrong question is asked, how can one expect the "right" answer? When people make mad dashes to the altar and then play the personal revelation card when other people express concern, it should raise red flags. Personal revelation is something that should come after a decision has been carefully thought out; something that confirms what our own logical minds conclude on their own or refutes it and forces us to rethink from a new perspective. When people express concern about a decision we have made, we should be able to logically explain our decision without going immediately to the "personal revelation" response hoping that that will make everyone shut up. This only says (to me at least) that the decision has NOT been carefully thought through, thus the desire to "shut everyone up".

I have some other thoughts about similar items but they will have to wait for another day. Thanks for taking the time to read my rantings.

Cool Thing from D and a Little Venting

One word. That's all you can write as your answer. Can you do it? Not as easy as you might think. Change the answers to fit you and post! It's hard to only use one word answers!

1. Where is your cell phone? .................Purse
2. Your significant other?.................Incredible
3. Your hair?....................................Short
4. Your mother? .................................Outgoing
5. Your father?..................................Determined
6. Your favorite thing?.........................Hugs
7. Your dream last night?..................Forgotten
8. Your favorite drink...........................Juice
9. Your dream/goal?........................Celestial
10. The room you're in?..................Bedroom
11. Your ex?.....................................Insane
12. Your fear?..............................Failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years......Mother
14. Where were you last night?................... Home
15. What you're not?.............................Relaxed
16. Muffins......................................Chocolate
17. One of your wish list items?.............Camera
18. Where you grew up?...........................Kent
20. What are you wearing?...................Rings
21. Your TV?.....................................Old
22. Your pets?..................................Dead
23. Your computer? ........................Fabulous
24. Your life?.................................Blessed
25. Your mood?..................................Stressed
26. Missing someone?........................Katie
27. Your car?...................................Abused
28. Something you're not wearing?...........Shoes
29. Favorite Store?............................Target
30. Your summer?..........................Hot
31. Like someone?.............................David
32. Your favorite color?....................Blue
33. Last time you laughed...................Today
34. Last time you cried?....................Prayer


I just need to vent for a minute. It has nothing to do with the rest of this post I just need to say it to say it. I HATE Osama, Obama, whatever his name is. If you like him, good for you, but he has done NOTHING to show me he would make a good president. I'm not just saying this because I lean to the right, either. The guy gives me the creeps and I'm terrified of what he will probably do if elected. If you feel the need to stand up for him, tell someone who cares, because I DON'T and I HATE hearing about politics in general, but especially from people who just want to defend their voting decisions. Vote for whoever you want and I'll do the same. BAH.

Ohio Trip Part Two and the Aftermath

I finally have pictures! Yay! The first picture is of me with Kyle and Kira after the Kirtland Show. After that is some pictures from the rehearsal and then the wedding. The ones during the ceremony were taken by my brother, Jon. Here is what happened after my last post:

On Sunday I got up and attended church in Tallmadge, which was my ward until David and I moved this past January. It was good to see a bunch of the people I had been missing. After church I went home and read until Mom and Jon got home. Mom made chocolate chip pancakes for lunch and then I left to go to the Carey's house. My friends, Kyle and Kira, are both going abroad soon so it was a combined bon voyage party. Kyle is headed to Japan to teach English for anywhere from one to five years. Kira is headed to Germany for either one or two semesters as part of a study abroad program. Her major is German Translation, so this is definitely a good move for her. I can't imagine a better way to learn the language. Anyway, I hung out over there for a few hours and then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Ridinger's for what I thought was the rest of the evening. Grandma had invited my aunt and cousins over as well so it was a big family dinner in honor of my being in town. During dinner, however, my brother received a call from my sister, Katie, who was in Virginia working at a girl scout camp. She had been fired by her crap-for-brains ex-friend and needed to be picked up. She was so upset it made me want to cry! Anyway she asked me to come get her and I couldn't say no so I went to Grandma and told her I was sorry but I would have to skip out on the rest of the evening. As sad as I was to have to leave, I was excited to see my sister, and I was touched by how our family came together to help Katie out. Grandma and my aunt Sue went to the kitchen to make Katie a sandwich, Jon went and printed directions for me, and my dad gave me $80 to pay for gas and tolls. I also heard from my other brother, Andy. He and his wife, Heather, live in Maryland and offered their apartment for us to sleep in since it was fairly close to camp and we would be there late. Andy and Heather were vacationing in North Carolina, however, and the guard left too early to let us in, so that didn't work out, but Andy also offered to get us a hotel. I just felt like everyone in the family was there and ready to help. It was a great feeling. Anyway, I drove to Virginia in Katie's car (which she had left behind) and arrived at 12:30 am. I might have been there sooner but 90 miles of the PA Turnpike was closed due to an accident and I had to detour. We drove straight home (the turnpike was open by then) and made it in five and a half hours. We were tired by the time we got home, obviously, so we went to bed. I got up a few hours later and showered before meeting my friend from high school, Linday Kean, at Panera for lunch. After lunch I went home and slept some more until 5:30 when my dad came and took Katie and I to Mike's Place. After that we went and saw "The Dark Knight." It was SO well done. Heath Ledger did an amazing job as the joker. He was so disturbing in that role...I was very impressed.

Tuesday, Katie and I went shopping at the mall, and we all had dinner at the Derby's. I got some glow-in-the-dark nail polish and some travel items I needed. Wednesday we went thrifting before I went to the airport. Luckily my flight was on time and I reached home safe and sound. David picked me up at the airport and we went to Wal-mart to get some things for our campout this weekend. Then we went home and found a note from Chris that said he was at his new apartment and would drop his key off later. We were a little confused because up until that day the plan had been that Amber would move into the apartment until the wedding and Chris would stay with us because she wanted to be away from her parents and she had already requested the transfer to Clearfield for her job. We went to his room and found it empty! Chris had just taken off while we were gone. I had mixed feelings about this. Chris had been living with us for over a year and while the last few months were overly stressful with him here and I was in many ways looking forward to him having his own place, I found it incredibly rude that he would take off the way he did. Even if he had decided to move out earlier than we expected, common courtesy would have been to come to us and tell us that he was going to move, preferably a few days before he actually moved so that we could prepare and even help him. It is irrelevant if he was angry with us for whatever reason or whatever else because I think at the very least we deserved more respect after housing him (rent free for half of that time) for the last year. He stopped by later that night to drop off his key and I could barely look at him it was so awkward. I couldn't think of anything nice to say so I just sat there most of the time. Supposedly she is staying/moving back in with her parents and he is going to live at their new place for the next few weeks. While this is a good thing for me and David, in my humble opinion, it is a big mistake for Chris. He is putting himself in an even more dangerous situation. She got the transfer and therefore will be commuting from Bountiful to Clearfield until the wedding since she can't live at her place due to his midnight flight. They say they won't due anything stupid but they've already proven that is very difficult for them and honestly, I just don't trust them at all. They still don't even know if she's pregnant or not so I don't know how they can feel relaxed about any of this. He knows that if anything happens he'll be excommunicated and yet he keeps putting himself in the same situations hoping the same thing won't happen again. I believe the definition for that is STUPID. Retarded and ignorant are also good words. However, after some venting I decided that this is AWESOME for me and David! It feels great to have our own place again. In fact, I already redecorated his room into our new guest room! As soon as he picks up the rest of his junk, I can finish redecorating our office (which will be a nursery eventually....but not anytime soon, I'm afraid). I have pictures of that room, too. I think it looks awesome. So come visit! We have lots of space!

Broadcasting from Ohio!

Here I am in not-quite-so-sunny Ohio where it is hot and muggy ALL THE TIME. However, I am having lots of fun! Wednesday after I arrived my mom and brother and I got Hungry Howies (not in Utah, therefore a MUST) and then I went to the church with them and talked with Kira and some other people for awhile. Thursday I got up and met my cousin, Lindsay, and my aunt, Jane, at Ridinger's and we went over to the library where I met up with a bunch of people I used to work with and introduced Lindsay because she is going to start working there this fall. We also went to the bookstore where we got some books and also some awesome clearance clothing items. I got a hat for $5 and a hoodie for $13. Then we went to lunch at Ridinger's. Grandma made chicken salad. Jon came over and ate with us also. I was SOOOO stuffed! After that I went home and waited until Dad came to pick me up and I rode with him to Kirtland for the show. I helped him carry his stuff in then went and took pictures backstage. The show was pretty good, I enjoyed myself. Some people did a REALLY good job and were some of the best people I've seen in that role, but others I thought could have been better. So is life I suppose. After the show, Kira, Kyle, Sister Carey, and Sophia Gawu (friend who used to live here who was visiting with the Carey's) went to Kokomo's for ice cream. I have some good pictures of that but I haven't put them on my camera yet. I do have some pictures of the show though because I used my dad's camera.

Friday I went to my friend, Molly's, house and we went and decorated the reception hall with the other bridesmaids (Rachael and Sheila), Molly's mom, Brendan's (the groom) mom, and Molly's friend Siobhan (pronounced Shavonne). Then we went and had a bridal lunch at the pufferbelly. After that it was back to Molly's and we watched a movie and I did my nails. Then I went and got Molly's gift (a nice frame) and then we got ready for the rehearsal. We were way ahead of schedule all day so we had lots of down time. I regretted not having my book. Then we went to the church and did the rehearsal. It was nice to know what to do but the lady showing us what to do was kins of rude and mean. I didn't like her much because she didn't know how to talk to people in a respectful way very well. Oh well. After that we went to the Sheraton in Cuyahoga Falls for the rehearsal dinner. That was fun but also went a bit slow. There was an open bar though so I got a Shirley Temple (channeling my brother, Andy). I got my car from Molly's house and went home to bed.

Today I got up early, showered, and then Mom dropped me off at Molly's. I ate half a bagel then Molly, her mom, and I left to get our hair done. Molly's took almost 2 hours! Ugh! It looked amazing though. Then we went back, got make-up and stuff on and finished getting ready. I was done before most of the other girls but I was smart and brought my book so I got to read awhile. Then we all drove to the church and got dressed in the bride's room. We waited a bit (it was very VERY calm...no one was freaking out like you might think) then went upstairs. The wedding itself went well, I don't think I messed up....then we took pictures and went to the reception. I just got home from that. Again, I have pictures of all of this but they are all on my camera. When I get home I will put them all on facebook and a few on here as well.

For now, I'm tired and I have church in the morning.

Whoa Baby!

Today=Laundry

Tomorrow=Packing

Wednesday=OHIO!!!!!!!!!

Less than 48 hours.....omg I am SOOOOOO excited!!













(Plus really pumped to excape Utah ("Mars") and some certain people for a week....)

OOOOKKKKK

So I really don't know what to post about but it's been a week so I figure I should write something. I guess I can blog about our campout although I didn't take any pictures (trust me, there wasn't much to take pictures of...)

So David, Nick, Chelsea and I left around 4ish on Thursday, the 3rd. It took about 2 hours to get to Wendover and the three of us not driving spent most of the trip playing Monopoly on my Ipod. (We didn't finish.) When we reached Wendover we walked through several casinos to find a good buffet because Nick kept telling us how cheap they were, however it must have been a while since he was there because every single one was $15-16 per person. I don't know about you, but that is RIDICULOUSLY expensive for a buffet. I mean, even Hometown is only, I don't know, $9 a person. Anyway, we passed on the buffets and went to Burger King instead (I wasn't super hungry anyway and wasn't about to pay $15 for one plate of food since I knew I couldn't eat any more than that). I just got a Whopper Jr. and I was full. After dinner we went to the KOA, which was right down the road. It's funny, I KNEW I was in the desert and yet I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Just picture a large dirt parking lot for RVs. Around the perimeter of this parking lot is a wood fence. There are sections divided off with more wood fence and a small corner of each section has a lean-to-like roof over top of a pint size picnic table. On the other side of each section is a giant sandbox. There is not a single tree within 100 feet, no cement, no blacktop, just sand and dirt. However, before we get too bad-western-movie, there are several casinos less than a mile away with pretty bright lights so we never felt too far from civilization. So we get there and check in, where they asign us to "tent site" (giant sandbox) J-11. We're thinking "oh geez, thank HEAVENS we brought our own firewood!" We also pass the pool, which looks a gross shade of green. Oh boy.

So we start setting up camp. Amber has loaned us her family tent, so we set it up in the giant sandbox. We also dragged another picnic table over because one only seats about 4 people comfortably. Then we notice their "fire pit" is this little hole in the ground with iron bars over it and it is way too close to the fence, not to mention it is partially underneath the lean-to cover of the picnic table. So we went around and found several medium size rocks and made our own fire circle (which apparently was against the rules). I pulled the one picnic table out a little and then covered both with a long patriotic table cloth. I believe we then decided to brave the pool. The good news is that we found the water wasn't that gross. Apparently some idiot decided that since the KOA sign was on the bottom of the pool, the entire inside of the pool should be painted yellow to match the sign. Throw in some blue water and BAM you have a nasty looking pool. So we were able to cool off without feeling like we would be covered with slime. However the filters were rarely used (if at all) and so there was lots of sand/dirt/leaves etc floating on the top. At least they had a skimmer.

We swam for awhile then showered (another nice perk to KOAs) then went back to camp. After a while Chris and Amber showed up but they didn't stay long as they went to get food and ended up staying out for hours. When they came back we all sat in the tent and talked. After everyone else fell asleep I had to go to the bathroom so I asked David to come with me. We started talking and ended up staying up a few more hours. We finally went to bed and I tried to sleep but sleeping on the sand isn't as comfortable as you might think. At least it wasn't so blazing hot. However as soon as the sun came up it was awful. Luckily, right outside the tent was a shadow from Chelsea's GMC Jimmy so a bunch of us sat there to eat breakfast because it was significantly cooler. The boys left to find a good place to shoot off fireworks and the girls all went to the pool. We talked and stayed cool for several hours. The boys found a spot then decided to go lizard hunting. Joy. They came back with a horny toad. Crazy loons. Anyway, they came to join us in the pool after that and we stayed there a bit until Michael showed up with our lunch (hot dogs). We went back to camp and ate then decided to go play poker in the game room. This was a great place because it boasted an air conditioner and a TV (reception sucked). So we played poker until Chris and Amber bailed and then Nick and Chelsea decided they wanted to go get dollar chips from all the casinos. I would have gone but I had a terrible earache so I laid on the couch and waited for them to come back with some medicine. Michael stayed with me and read his book while I tried to watch NCIS. David came back with medicine (he had gone with Nick and Chels) and that helped a bunch. The two of us went swimming again (I didn't put my head in the water) and Michael came and read by the pool. Nick and Chels decided to nap and we still had no idea where Chris and Amber were. However there were clouds and the temp dropped enough that we were too cold so we went and showered and changed. Then we went back to camp and started with foil dinners. Chelsea and I cut up veggies and David called Chris and Amber until one picked up their cell to tell them to come back for dinner. (Don't even get me started on how annoyed I was that they took every opportunity to leave the group.) They turned out pretty good, I was impressed. After dinner we went and played Apples to Apples in the A/C until it got dark enough to leave for fireworks. Nick, Chris, and David put on the show for the rest of us. I videotaped a bunch of them for Michael's girlfriend, Cheri, who couldn't make it, but also to see if the boys would do something funny enough to sent to AFV. Chris almost killed himself a few times but other than that it was fun. We came back and after a bit of annoying drama and a few ghost stories we went to bed. By morning I was ready to go. We took camp down and checked out by 9am. Everything was soooo sandy. Chelsea, David, and I finished our Monopoly game and it took almost the entire 2 hours. Chelsea was about to win several times but I think David won in the end. When we got home we showered and started putting stuff away. Nick and Chelsea went home also and showered and then came back and we took them out to lunch at Chile's. After that we went home and played some Pirate's Dice, then they went and got a movie and stuff for Root Beer Floats. We had those and watched "The Eye". It was an OK movie.

Sunday was church and resting, Monday I cleaned the entire apartment. I vaccuumed and washed all the non-carpeted floors, got all the camping stuff put away, did dishes, everything except the guest room because it needed more time. Yesterday I had an interview with the Syracuse branch of the Davis County Library. I'll know by today whether I got the job. Cross your fingers.

Dang this ended up being long and probably REALLY boring. I am working on all the plans for Ohio right now and making sure I have everything I need. We're going to the temple on Saturday but other than that no big plans.

7 days baby!

So Don't Make Plans for September

September is going to be a busy month for us here in Utah! My bestest friends in the world, Nick and Chelsea, are getting married on the 18th, and then my brother-in-law, Chris, is getting married the 19th. Both weddings will be in the Bountiful Temple. To add to the excitement, Chelsea will be getting endowed on the 16th and Amber (Chris's fiancee) will be getting endowed the 17th, both of those also taking place in Bountiful. That is four days in a row in the temple! Crazy! It will be fun though. Nick and Chelsea I believe are having their reception that same evening, the 18th, and Chris and Amber are having theirs on Saturday the 20th. So 5 days of festivities. The only difference between the couples at this point is that Nick and Chelsea have been dating since December and Amber and Chris met about 2 1/2 weeks ago. In all fairness, they talked online for two weeks before that, so they have been communicating for a month, but they pretty much decided to get married after being in each other's presence for about 7 hours and within a week or so moved the wedding up 2 months and Chris dropped $1000 on a diamond ring and silver wedding band set. I have my opinions about their sanity in moving so ridiculously fast, and I have shared them with the happy couple, but in the end I know it is their decision and I just need to be happy for them. I'm working on it; it will just take me a little more time to adjust. I only pray that the common problems that arise when couples rush into marriage won't be so big that things fall apart. Overall I think they make a good couple; I have believed this since the day I met her, I just think they would be wise to get to know each other better before making such a big commitment. I've been married just over 3 years and I've known David just shy of 5 years, so in many ways I do feel qualified to make that kind of assessment (in general). I suppose some people feel that they "know" it's right faster than others though. Nick and Chelsea are ready though. I can see they are already committed to each other 100% and you can just see the love between them. I have fewer worries that they will be very happy together. In the end, I just wish both couples as much happiness as I have in my marriage.

In more exciting news, I am WAY pumped to go to Ohio in two weeks! I am going to be able to see my best friend from high school get married and I will be blessed to be a part of it. Aside from that I'll get to see my friends from the Kirtland Show and I'll be able to see the show, which will be awesome, I'm sure. I'll also get to spend time with my family and just be in my hometown again. I am just itching to be back in Ohio!! My sister was kind enough to allow me use of her car so I'm sure things will be awesome. I can't put into words how excited I am to see everyone!

We're leaving for our big 4th of July campout tomorrow. David and I still need to do some shopping for the food and stuff we need but hopefully I can do that this afternoon. We have a pack meeting tonight and then we're going to play croquet at Nick's so there isn't much time after David gets off work. Plus we have to find out where his mom and brother, Daniel, are. They came to visit and have been here since Monday although they are planning on leaving tomorrow. I haven't seen them at all today though. I don't know what we'll do with them when we go to Nick's. I guess they can stay here. Eh, we'll see. It should be a good time. We have plenty of fireworks. I'm going to videotape them for a friend who can't make it. Just pray we all come back alive....yikes!

Happy Independence Day! (Since I won't be here to post on the 4th)

Ohio in FOURTEEN days!!!!!!

Quick Update

OK so here's what's going on in Utah:

The antibiotics I was given for my UTI worked great on the UTI but made me quite nauseated. I also had loss of appetite and a little vomiting. I just figured I could tough it out but it got worse and grew to stomach pains so David took me back to the doctor this past Saturday night. Luckily the doc told me I could stop taking the antibiotics because they were a high dose and probably took full effect after 5 days (my prescription was for 7 and I'd taken 5 1/2 days). I was also told to basically OD on Gatorade because I was dehydrating. I forget sometimes how easy it is to do that out here. Anyway, by noon on Sunday I was feeling much better and I'm pretty much back to new now. My laundry has been anxiously awaiting my return to normal. (In case you were wondering, the antibiotic was Ciprofloxacin 500 mg)

Chris almost broke his foot but I guess the x-ray showed it was just a sprain or something. He called me to tell me about it but it was unclear what the final diagnosis was. He is still using crutches and I think he has one of those air casts on...not really sure, I haven't seen him since before he went to the doctor. He assures me it doesn't hurt as much as it did yesterday. Boys....*sigh*

We're planning a campout for 4th of July with a bunch of friends. We made reservations at a KOA in Wendover, Nevada because they have looser laws about shooting off your own fireworks. (Again, boys...*sigh*) I am kind of excited. I haven't been at a KOA in ages...since the last time my Derby grandparents took us on a vacation. At least there's a pool so I know I won't "roast" as my mom would say. I hope it all ends up being as fun as we all hope.

I may be getting a job soon! It's nothing major, just a minimum wage, part time gig at the local branch of the county library, but it's within walking distance and it will be nice for me to have something to do during the day. They tend to start everyone at the bottom and allow them to work up, so I can apply for any higher job that comes open. Also, my bachelor's degree qualifies me to be a reference librarian here in Utah so if I stay long enough I could work my way up higher than even in Ohio. We'll see how it all goes but they were impressed with my library experience from Kent. I hope it works out, a library job would be so fun.

Ohio in 23 days!

Doctors Rule

I ended up awake most of last night with a painful UTI (urinary tract infection) that ended with me at the doctor's office at 8am. Luckily, we found a clinic that gives 50% off to people like us who don't have medical insurance, so the lab and the exam was only $122. Not bad at all considering we had to pay out of pocket. Then I got 2 perscriptions (antibiotic and a really amazing anestetic (sp?) that helps with the pain) that were each only $4 at Target. Awesome. Within a few hours I felt immense relief and was able to go forward with the rest of my plans for the day. I was uber excited.

David and I spent a little more money to get new swimsuits because mine was way too old and didn't give enough support if you catch my drift. I ended up with a really cute tankini that I think is wonderful and even (gasp!) flattering. Who knew a swimsuit could be flattering on ME!?! It's a halter top with a bluish-green design and a navy blue bottom with a little skirt attatched. Normally wouldn't go for the skirt type...but I think it looks better than a normal bottom on me. Go figure.

After shopping we spent a few hours at Lagoon with Nick and Chelsea. We went on some water slides and through the lazy river at Lagoona Beach (the water was WAY cold even though the weather was easily in the 90s) and then went on the log ride and a couple rollercoasters. Considering how I had felt less than 24 hours earlier, I felt amazing and had a ton of fun. I seriously have the greatest friends in the whole world.

In other news, those of you who know my brother-in-law Chris might be surprised to hear that he's found himself a girlfriend. Her name is Amber and she is 21 and lives in Bountiful (about 10 minutes south) a few blocks from the Bountiful Temple. She is really sweet and she and Chris make a good couple. They compliment each other's personalities. I can see this relationship moving on in the future. I'll put pictures up after the 4th; Nick, Chels, Chris, Amber, and Michael Carey are all going camping with us in Wendover for the weekend and we're going to light fireworks off and just have a grand old time so we'll have some good pics after that.

Hope all is well....I'll be in Ohio in 29 days!! Woot woot!

Have You Ever Just Wanted to Die Occasionally?

So I thought I was pretty healthy. I wash my hands regularly, I keep my home clean, I even use Clorox wipes on my doorknobs and phones every once in awhile. Then I go months and months without getting sick and just when I feel like everything is great, BAM! I get sick several times in a row. THIS SUCKS.

You may remember a post a few weeks ago when I had that lovely cold? A few days after that went away (and it went away from David, too, who caught it from me) I woke up feeling sick again, this time flu-like symptoms. My entire body ached and I felt nauseated so I stayed in bed all day....but the next day I felt fine and attributed said illness as either a 24-hour bug (if such a thing exists) or to something I ate. Who knows.

So yesterday David, Chris, and I took my 5 year old nephew, Zach, and my 4 year old neice, Shaelee (nicknamed "Shae"; turned 4 the day before, June 4th) to Lagoon. The original plan was to go all together with Ben and Misty and all the kids, but Joey (the youngest of the three) got a fever so Misty decided to stay and so Ben stayed too and watched Joey while Misty ran errands. We took the other two to get them off their hands for awhile and we had lots of fun. An hour or so before we left for home though (around 7ish) I had slight feeling of sore throat. It didn't really hurt unless I swallowed and it wasn't too bad so I ignored it as best I could. I did get an ICEE though. We went to Ben's the drop the kids off, stayed maybe 15 minutes (by this time Joey's fever was gone and he was happy as a clam because we bought all the kids harmonicas. HAHAHAHA) then went home.

We made a frozen pizza and I watched an episode of Jeopardy! I had DVRed and by the end I felt MUCH worse. My whole body ached, my cheeks were bright red, I felt SO hot, and my throat hurt much worse. Swallowing was so incredibly painful I didn't know what to do. We didn't have any cough syrup or anything, but I ate one throat lozenge and took some Ibuprofin for the body aches. David gave me a blessing too. I found out I had a fever but 5 minutes after I found that out I felt really cold and David brought me an extra blanket. I woke up a couple times in the night, first to throw the blankets off, then to bring them back to my chin. UGGGHHH...

So now I'm up and my body doesn't ache as bad and I think my fever is gone but my throat still kills. I'm supposed to make cakes today....maybe I should bust out the masks we have in our 72-hour kits so any of my germs won't get in the cake. The last thing I need is to make other people sick. I think I'll make some tea, too, maybe that will help.

I am SO TIRED of getting sick! I just hope this goes away soon and nothing comes back.

Graduation 2008

Before I start explaining all this graduation stuff I am going to make a list of names so those who are not familiar with this part of my family can follow along (hopefully). Here goes:

Brenda = my mom's sister

Rick = Brenda's husband

Celeste = Rick and Brenda's oldest daughter; has a twin brother named Ben; age 22

Derek = Celete's boyfriend; age 26 (almost 27)

Angela = Next oldest daughter of Rick and Brenda; age 19

Matt = Angela's husband; married 7 months; age 25

Cam/Cameron = Youngest child of Rick and Brenda; recent high school graduate; age 18

OK, so last night was Cam's graduatioin from Viewmont High School. It was held at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah (part of Weber State University). All of the previously listed people were in attendance. It was a little different than other high school graduations in that the school did not ask the audience to withold their applause until the end...so EVERY single graduate (all 400+ of them) got applause after their name was read. Needless to say, I only clapped for two (Cam and his girlfriend, Brittany, whom I have never met). Also, instead of a band there was an organ...which played Disney songs as prelude and I found I was not mistaken when I heard "My Heart Will Go On" (from Titanic) during the reading of names. HA. HA. HA.

The above picture is of the graduating class. Like my high school, the students' names were read boy-girl-boy-girl, except instead of seating them this way, they sat the girls on one side and the boys on the other. The side closest to us was the boys. The grads on the stand were in the concert choir. Another odd thing was that the grads were not seated alphabetically. It was purely random; they just carried cards with their names on them that were read when they got to the front. I guess it works but I still thought it was funny.

Oh, and their diploma covers were metallic gold. I was almost blinded by some kid who was mesmerized by it.

This picture on the right is the proud parents; Rick and Brenda with Cam.

The next picture is the whole family (minus Ben,, who lives in Boise). Celeste is on the far left and Angela is between Cam and Rick.

Sisters

Cousins

Afterwards we went to Denny's ("Kids! Git in the cah; we're goin' to Denny's!"). Matt, the engineer, made this lovely toothpick/fork/salt shaker display.

Overall it was pretty fun. I was stuffed though.

Amusement

So Saturday we went to Lagoon with Nick and Chelsea. Coming from Ohio, it is hard to go to ANY theme/amusement park and not compare it to Cedar Point. Although Cedar Point is owned by Cedar Fair, the same company that ran Geauga Lake into the ground *insert sad face here*, I am always up for a thrill, especially when it involves rollercoasters, and Cedar Point is the "rollercoaster capital of the world." SO...when it comes to rollercoasters, Cedar Point is still #1 in my book, but alas, I now live thousands of miles away. Lagoon is pretty much the only amusement park in the state and probably most the states bordering Utah. I know there are some great ones in California, so I hear, but that's a bit of a drive. All things considered, we're pretty lucky to live as close as we do to Lagoon (even though we're not as close to my mom's sister, Brenda, and her family). So anyway, I love amusement parks no matter what (even if they are weak compared to CP in terms of a thrill) and Lagoon has a special place in my heart because it is there that I officially lost my fear of rollercoasters, permanently. So anyway, we went on Saturday and because we live so close we decided to spring for season passes (they're called "season passports" here) so that we could come and go as we please and not have to worry about finding a time when we could spend the whole day in order to get our money's worth. Besides, with David's work schedule we'd only be able to go Saturdays and those are the busiest times. This way we can spend evenings or just go for a bit on Saturdays and leave whenever we want and not feel bad about it. Plus, we're more likely to get our money's worth out of the passes than we would out of a few day passes. We also sprung for season parking because that will pay for itself also within a few visits. It was a bit more than we usually spend in a month but now that we can go there whenever we feel it was a good investment.

So anyway, they have this rollercoaster that is the newest in the park, which translates to the most updated and therefore most like other places with lots of "good" coasters. It's called "Wicked." The very beginning is like a small version of Top Thrill Dragster at CP because it goes up and down the hill at 90 degrees. It's pretty cool. Like I said, it's not CP, but for Utah it's really fun and I enjoy it. I figure that this is all I have so I'm going to make the best of it. Probably the most fun ride I went on all day was called Catapult. It cost 20 bucks (actually 30 because I went twice) but it was so awesome. Basically Chelsea and I got strapped into this little ball-like capsule and got flung 250 feet in the air. The boys were kind of chicken (David said there is not way I'd ever get him to go that high suspended only by cables haha) but Nick and Chris got more nerve after Chelsea and I did it and said they would do it later this summer. I hope so, it's a blast. I hope I can do the giant bungee jump/giant swing thing later this summer. that one costs money too but it's only $15.

Sunday David and I had dinner at the Porter's (my mom's sister's family that lives really close to Lagoon). My Aunt Brenda was working so I didn't see her (I haven't seen her in over 9 years) but my Uncle Rick was there, along with all four of his kids. I am the closest to Celeste (the oldest daughter, she is the same age as me) and so I had seen her a few months earlier. I had also seen Angela and her husband Matt because we had them over for dinner after we moved in. I learned she's expecting (she's 20; they've been married 7 months) and I'm happy for her but extremely jealous. I'm glad she didn't talk about it a lot because I think that would have been really hard for me. I just hope she knows how lucky she is to not have any problems with getting pregnant. Cameron (Cam; the youngest; he's 18) was there and I had seen him a year ago when David and I visited but it was nice to see him again. The big surprise of the night was seeing Ben, Celeste's twin brother. I had not seen Ben since I was 14 and came to visit. He joined the Air Force after high school and eloped last December and that was pretty much all I knew about him (that's the only kind of news that would float all the way to Ohio). I guess his wife, Vanessa, is also in the Air Force and was there before we arrived but had left to go back to Boise (where they are currently stationed) because of work. The reason for their visit was a long Memorial Day weekend. Anyway, it was good to see him but so weird because I felt like I should know him but I didn't. Also there was Celeste's new boyfriend, Derek. He was cool but I was a little bummed to find out that I was THE last person to know about him. Apparently the news had gone all the way to Ohio before it reached Clearfield. I guess I always felt I was closer to Celeste than the rest of my immediate family so I felt pretty shysted to be the last one to know. *sigh* Oh well. Dinner was good and we played with the Wii. I found out Ben is headed back to Iraq this summer so keep him in your prayers along with the rest of our service men and women.

Monday we hung out with Ben and Misty and the kids, then went to Lagoon again for a couple hours. They closed at 7 so we headed to the mall. I got a couple books (one was the second in a series that I was reading and the other was on sale) and David got a new bluetooth that he needed for work. He also bought a case for his blackberry because he needed one that clipped on his belt. I also got a bunch of cards because between David's family, mine, and a few friends, we have six birthdays, four anniversaries, and four fathers/grandfathers (Father's Day). Phew. I got most of them but I still have a few left to get. I really have a good idea for an anniversary card I want to make for my grandparents but I might not be able to pull it off. We'll see. I wanted to send gifts for Father's Day since I did for Mother's Day...but I don't know ifwe can afford it anymore since we had to get David's bluetooth and we sprang for the season passes to Lagoon....ay yi yi. Maybe I can make some things to send...maybe I can make a few more of the cards too. June is going to be a crazy month!

Obviously Very Busy

SO...I'm not mad. Really. Just a little confused.

I know there is a lot going on at home...but at the same time everyone keeps telling me that things are great and that I "wouldn't even know that anything was wrong" if I was home.

IF this is true...is there a good reason that NO ONE in my family would remember my anniversary? If it's not true...I should be more worried about my family.

OK, I can understand if you forget to send a card or whatever...but not even an e-mail or a phone call? I KNOW they couldn't all have forgotten so completely, especially when I posted on here and talked about it on Facebook.

To be fair, I DID get a card from my grandma and grandpa Ridinger and just today I got a card from my aunt Sue and her family. At least I wasn't COMPLETELY forgotten.