Guess What?

Kelly is HERE!

That is all.

It deserves a post all to itself.

Coziness

I bought a new sweatshirt today and I love how soft and fuzzy it is on the inside.  It's awesome.  With how cold it is, I've found the need for sweatshirts greatly increased, I own a number, and I've stolen a couple from Bruce as well.  Anything to stay cozy!

Dream Weaving

I keep having a series of dreams where I wind up being stabbed.

It's less than fun.

There are always varying circumstances, I generally cannot see who my attacker is, I'm stabbed with various items; swords, knives, and other sharp objects, and I am unable to effectively call out for help (generally because I am not loud enough to alert anyone).

I normally have these dreams a couple times a month, but I've had the dreams (nightmares, really) 5 times in the last week, which is a bit disturbing.

Your sparest of spare rooms

I finally got my spare room slightly more organized.  My spare room has been a sore spot since I moved in, and while it is still not how I'd like it, it does look a bit better...albeit a bit bare.

Someday I'd like to get a bed for it so that when I have people visit they don't have to sleep on a cold air mattress, but that probably won't happen for a little while since the spare room is pretty low on the totem pole.

Onward and upward

Well, I officially have Christmas put away, and I have to say, my apartment looks a little sad.  Oh well.

Anything you can do...

So I got a Target gift card for Christmas yesterday (how crazy is it that Christmas was just yesterday?), so Bruce and I went and picked up a couple bookcases that I've been wanting for my spare bedroom...to house all my crafting crap...which is kind of all over the place in no real semblance of order.

I've been putting together pre-fabricated furniture for years, for myself and for those I live with who do not feel up to the task.  This began in 2007 when I moved to Salt Lake, and has continued to this day.  I know how to put these things together in my sleep, and I usually put them together mindlessly while I listen to music or watch something on Netflix.

Bruce, however, was kind enough to put them together for me.  It took me a while to fully pass the reigns over to him, and we joked about me being a back-seat furniture builder, but by the second bookcase, I was able to let it go.  I didn't think it would be this difficult to learn to let people help me.  I'm not really used to allowing people help me with things that I've been doing for myself for years, and that I am perfectly capable of doing on my own, but as I apparently need to keep reminding myself, being able to do things for myself is not the point.  Bruce knows I can do things for myself, but he still wants to help me, make things easier for me, and feel needed.

Tonight was a small step in getting over myself.

Christmas Goodness

Okay, I totally missed posting yesterday.  I honestly didn't have time to last night.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Yesterday, Bruce came over after I was done with work, and we went to lunch/dinner at ChickFilA.  I hadn't ever eaten at ChickFilA before, but I have had their lemonade before.  The spicy chicken sandwich that I got was appropriately spicy and adequately filled my hunger need.  Afterward, we went back to my place and watched parts of "The Dark Knight Rises" while we baked chocolate chip cookies.  After our baking exploits, we met up with Jimmy and Sarah to go look at Christmas lights.  We went to one house that coordinated their lights to music for a Christmas light show, which turned out to be about 2 blocks from my house once we actually found it.  From there, we went back to Bruce's place and watched "A Muppet Christmas Carol", or rather Jimmy and Sarah watched it and Bruce and I fell asleep.

It happens...

Fast forwarding to today, Bruce and I went to his parents' house for Christmas Day.  His sister flew in from Alaska and arrived in the early-ish afternoon.  His family is great, I love how down to earth, funny, kind, generous, and accepting they are, so it was great to be able to spend the day with them.

As far as Christmas gifts go, I got my years supply of shampoo from my parents along with a generous Target gift card, a lifetime supply of Sharpies from my older brother and his wife, printer ink from my baby brother, a game from Bruce's parents, a handy turban towel from Bruce's grandma, and....the piece de resistance...Bruce got me copies of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD.  I mean, the original...no digitally remastered, enhanced, "crap-added-to-it-because-it-sounded-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time" versions, the originals.  Yeah, that's right, I have the best boyfriend ever.  Of course, he'd still be the best even if he hadn't gotten me them, but it only adds to his many perfections.  Yay for nerdiness!

Secret Santa

My group of friends did a Secret Santa for each other rather than attempting to buy/make presents for everyone since there are quite a few of us and that can get pretty pricey pretty quickly.

We did our exchange tonight.  It was fun to see everyone, at least one person has been missing from some even or another for a while, and technically one of us was missing tonight too...there goes the whole "togetherness" thing...oh well.

Anyway, my dear friend Erin drew my name for the exchange, and she did brilliantly!  I got Silpat baking mats that I have seriously been coveting for a long time....I know we're not supposed to covet...and now I no longer have to!  She also copied down some of her favorite recipes for me onto some pretty recipe cards and I am excited to try them soon!  I am now in possession of Johnson Family Secrets... Muahaha!

Lunch Date

I got to see Heidi and Rumel today!

I received a text message this afternoon from Heidi asking if I'd eaten lunch yet or not, which made me remember that they're in town for Christmas!  They picked me up and we went to lunch at Cafe Rio.  It was so good to see them!  And I am so terribly excited that they'll be moving to Idaho Falls in 3 weeks or so.  It has been a long time since we've lived close enough to each other to see one another more than once a year or so, so I am quite jazzed.

Unfiltered

I didn't go to my ward today.

I went to Bruce's parents' ward instead.  They had their Christmas program, and Bruce's dad was singing in the choir, so we attended there with the rest of his family (minus his sister who is out of the state for a couple more days).  Afterward, we all went back to his parents' house and ate pancakes, eggs, and bacon, all of which were super tasty.

After leaving there, Bruce and I watched a couple Christmas movies at his place.  Any excuse to cuddle up with him is a good one in my book.

I came home and ate some dinner before heading to a friend's house for a game night.  It was fun, though my social filter was definitely off...which is always a bit touch-and-go.  Oh well, que sera sera.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the ugliest of them all?

Tonight was the Ugly Sweater Soiree that some of my friends put on.  We had lots of food, a white elephant gift exchange (Bruce got a Disney snowglobe and I got a miniature deck of cards), as well as an ugly sweater contest.  There were seriously some U-G-L-Y sweaters.  The winner got a pair of reindeer antlers decked out in fake Christmas lights.

I might have won...

And nothing compliments an ugly sweater like a crazy face!

Feeling Blissful

Date night with Bruce.

I seriously love that man.

We went to dinner at Costa Vida before heading to the movie theater to watch "Desolation of Smaug"...again.  Yeah, we kinda like it.

When we were leaving the theater we noticed something fluffy and white falling from the sky, much of which had already accumulated on the ground and the cars in the parking lot.  That's right, someone went and threw cotton balls all over the place!  Just kidding...it was snowing.  And snowing pretty fiercely at that, by the time we got to the car (which wasn't that far from the door) we both had a nice covering of snow on our coats (or rather, MY coat and Bruce's light sweatshirt...I would die without a coat, but apparently that's just me).

So we have snow.  Quite a bit of snow.  It will definitely be a white Christmas, which should be fun.  I may need to make a snowman out of some of this... I haven't made one since 2007 when my roommates and I went out at 3:00am and built one in front of the neighboring apartment complex.  Yay for crazy times with roommates.

Schleep

You ever have those days where you are so tired you kind of just pass out?

Yeah, that might have happened to me this evening.

Yays & Nays of Today

Nays

I woke up with a bloody nose.  Luckily I caught it before it made a mess of everything.

I can no longer deny that I am sick.

My apartment is freezing cold.

My electric bill is astronomical.

I need to go grocery shopping at some point...I'm down to my last yogurt.

Yays

I did an hour on the elliptical this morning and think it helped clear my lungs a bit.

I did a chocolate face mask as well, probably the best way to use chocolate in my book.

I got to see Bruce last night, and I get to see him a bit more later in the week.  I'm gonna love it when he's on break.

Christmas is a week away. Craaazy!

I won a $25 Amazon Gift Card from work yesterday for possessing an insane knowledge of Christmas trivia

I'll be making an epic Ugly Christmas Sweater for a party I'm going to on Saturday.  It'll be hideous.

I finished making the last items for a Secret Santa gift for one of my friends yesterday, which means I am DONE with Christmas gift making/buying.

Clementine oranges are basically the best thing ever...and I love them.

I forgot I purchased some shoes online a while back and was pleasantly surprised when I (finally) checked the mail and they were here!  It was like Christmas came early.

J-I-N-G-L-E Bells

I finished my Christmas craft today.  It was seriously annoying.  Well, it wasn't annoying so much as the spray paint that I used was annoying.  The sides that don't have the pretty paper are covered in glittery gold spray paint, and I had a dud can that didn't work properly and proceeded to leak all over the place for 2 days...so obnoxious.  Anyway, I think it turned out nicely and I am glad to be done with it.

On another note, I think I'm catching something.  Or rather, I caught something and it is furiously attempting to make itself known.  Overall I feel fine, but I have a cough and my glands are a bit swollen.  I knew it was asking too much that I remain healthy for this long.  I am actually really really surprised that I hadn't caught anything up until this point, especially since Bruce was sick a while ago, and I'm normally sick at least once or twice during Autumn.

Oh well, as long as it doesn't completely wipe me out and turn me into a disgusting mass of mucus, I'll be okay

Can't trust that day...

It seems like there is a serious case of the Mondays going around.

I keep seeing all my friends posting things on Facebook today about frustrations, breakdowns, fights, disappointments, accidents, ailments, and sadness today.

Hopefully things turn around for everyone as the week progresses.

My day has actually been pretty decent, so I'm hoping that continues too.

On the bench

I was about to head to bed early, then I realized I didn't post today.  So I'll make it snappy.

I am looking forward to a month where I do not conduct Relief Society.  I have been conducting Relief Society basically non-stop for the last 3 months due to the presidency change and people being out of town.  Thankfully, I get a reprieve next month. Yay!  I really just don't like talking in front of people.  I get flustered and generally forget to say something I should have, or I say slightly inappropriate things (which in RS is not always appreciated), or I stumble over my words and sound like a bumbling fool.

But anyway, I am greatly looking forward to being benched for a while.

Thief

Today was a cooking/baking day.  I made an assortment of items for some various ward goings-on that are coming up.  I made Pecan Pie truffles (which I'm very much on the fence about...on the fence but leaning toward dislike, personally), Pealing Bell cookies, Pfeffernuss, Almond Joy truffles (which I don't like with the almonds I have...so I turned them into Mounds truffles).

I basically spent the whole day baking, and didn't actually eat any real food until just now.  I made homemade biscuits and gravy.  I turned ground turkey into "sausage", to make the country gravy.  It turned out pretty well and I'll likely make it again.

Somewhere in the middle of the day, I purchased an elliptical machine as well.  I've been meaning to buy one for the past year and a half or so, so I am glad that I was finally able to do so thanks to a sale that was going on, and a friend with a big enough vehicle to transport the sucker.

Tonight was also my ward Christmas party of sorts.  We did a White Elephant gift exchange...which was pretty long winded in execution.  The gift I opened was a hat with a plastic fish attached to it, so basically, it was gift exchange GOLD!  Unfortunately, Bruce stole it from me right after I opened it and I wasn't able to get it back, but he had it stolen from him pretty quickly as well.

One of the funniest gifts was a legit walker, which I actually stole from someone at the very end, however, true to form, Bruce stole it from me right after I got it and he was the one who got to keep it at the end.  Great things are in store for that walker, so I can forgive the fact that he kept stealing my stuff from me.  Though what he gave me in exchange was a "Buns of Steel" VHS, which may or may not have remained at the church rather than coming home with me.

A (not-so)Unexpected Journey

I requested work off for yesterday sometime back in November, and I had been looking forward to that day with much anticipation for months.  Back when Bruce and I first started dating, conversation turned to our mutual love and appreciation for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", so naturally, we made a plan to go see "The Desolation of Smaug" when it came out...yesterday.

I'm not going to lie, I've been counting down to that day more than I've been counting down to Christmas.  So when the day arrived, I was pretty stoked.  Except for the fact that I woke up around 4:00am and could not for the life of me manage to fall back into blissful slumber, so it made for a tired morning.  But I digress...

Bruce, his brother Jimmy, and Jimmy's gal pal Sarah (no, those aren't their real names either...) and I met up around 9:00 to start our adventure down to Utah where we would see the movie in IMAX later that afternoon.  The drive was good, the weather was very cooperative which was nice, and we talked and listened to Christmas tunes as we went.

We stopped for lunch at the Burger Bar in Roy, it was pretty tasty, and their fries were really good.  I definitely approve.  After lunch, we went to the Layton Hills mall and just killed time before the movie.  Pretty sure my favorite store was the Love Sac store, they've come out with some new and better stuff since the last time I looked at them.

After the mall we went to the theater and met up with Kelly.  It was super good to see her!  Especially after the rough week she'd had, I wish I could have talked to her a bit more, but sitting in a dark movie theater isn't terribly conducive for conversation.

The movie was awesome!  I loved it!  Except for the spiders, but I suppose that was a necessary evil....EVIL!  I want to watch it again, and I wish I didn't have to wait so long to see the next installment, but alas, I do.  I highly recommend that you watch it.  You can thank me later.

After the movie, Bruce, Jimmy, Sarah and I drove down to Temple Square and looked at the lights for a bit before we headed back home.  All in all, a very successful day and a fun trip.  And it's just a bonus that we all survived.

On Hold

Due to the fact that I am exhausted, I shall recap my day for y'all tomorrow...but this notice still counts as a post for today.  Just sayin'

Elf Shoes

Tonight was our Relief Society activity.  We went to City of Refuge which is a men's shelter here in Idaho Falls.  We put together Christmas packages for the guys and then organized their pantry area a bit.  All in all it was a good activity, even if it was poorly attended.

Afterward we got together as a presidency and put together gifts for the Relief Society sisters.  We made them these little Oreo elf shoes.

They turned out pretty well, and I only burned myself on the hot glue gun once...though I just hit the spot where I burned myself and it stings a bit at the moment, which isn't all too pleasant.  We had fun working together and chatting as we put them together, so it was all worth it.

Christmas Time is Here

I started making a Christmas craft today.  Some block letters cut out to spell the word "Jingle".  It's pretty cute, but I need to get some new paint before I can properly finish it.

I also watched "Elf" with Bruce tonight.  I have been aching to watch that flick for a while now, so I am glad that tonight was the night for it!

The Funnies

One of my very favorite things about my relationship with Bruce is that while we are both mature adults, we can both be incredibly silly and have fun together, we don't have to be serious all the time...or even most of the time for that matter.  He is constantly making me laugh and I find myself smiling when I recall some of the funny things he has said or done.

I love how happy, silly, ridiculous, and hilarious we are.

Chicken Pot Pie

I made a Chicken Pot Pie today, and was sad because I wasn't sure I would remember what exactly I put in it, so I wouldn't be able to replicate it.

BUT... I think I was actually able to recall everything.  Though I will say that I have a habit of not measuring my herbs and spices when I cook, so really, everything is based on how you want it to taste.

Chicken Pot Pie
   

·             ⅓ cup butter

·         ½ onion, chopped

·         ⅓ cup flour

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         ¼ teaspoon pepper

·         1¾ c chicken broth

·         ½ cup milk

·         5 chicken tenders, shredded

·         2 cups vegetables, thawed

·         1 teaspoon sage

·         ½ teaspoon rosemary

·         1 box Pillsbury pie crust

D    Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pie crust for a double crust pie according to package directions. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add broth and milk and stir. Cook until sauce thickens and begins to bubble. Add vegetables and chicken to sauce. Pour into prepared crust and cover with top crust, cut slits in top of crust to vent.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the edges with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent burning. Let sit about 5 minutes before serving to set the filling.

Calligraphy

I think calligraphy is pretty.

I saw something written in calligraphy this evening, and had the thought, "Wow, I should take a calligraphy course or something, that would be fun to learn".

And then I remembered that I actually DID take a brief calligraphy course about 14 years ago.

Not sure how I forgot that.

Actually, scratch that, it doesn't surprise me at all that it slipped my mind, let's be honest.

Raindrops on Roses

Ah, Christmas time... there is no other time like it.  This time of year was my favorite until I hit my angsty teenage years, when a distinctly annoying pall was cast upon it, but luckily it regained popularity when I entered my twenties.

Here are some of my favorite things about this time of year:

Christmas trees- Growing up, we'd go to the Christmas tree farm in mid-December where we'd pick out and cut down our tree.
Hot Chocolate
Snow- We didn't often get snow on Christmas when I was growing up, so we were always ecstatic when we would get a light dusting anytime around the end of December.  Now, I prefer to view it from the warmth of my living room.
Sledding- Snoqualmie Pass always got a fair amount of snow, so we used to go sledding as a ward on the huge hills out in the middle of nowhere, it was always exhilarating.
Eggnog
Christmas carols
Christmas parties
Ornaments
Christmas lights- I love seeing the lights on houses and trees.  We used to go to this area in Issaquah that would decorate a huge area with tons of lights, trains, nutcrackers, giant wooden pieces making up Santa's workshop, etc...
Snuggling
Listening to Christmas music
Baking Christmas cookies- Every time I listen to "A Carpenter Christmas: Christmas Portrait", I think of when my sister used to come home from college and make Christmas cookies while listening to this CD.
Wrapping presents
Santa Claus- Yep, he's real.
Decorating
Christmas movies:
                          Elf
                          Muppet Christmas Carol
                          White Christmas
                          It's a Wonderful Life
                          Christmas in Connecticut
                          Home Alone
                          The Santa Clause
                          Cheesy Made for TV Christmas movies
                          Miracle on 34th Street
                          The Holiday
                          Holiday Inn
                          Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
                          While You Were Sleeping
                          Die Hard
                          The Shop Around the Corner
                          It Happened on 5th Avenue
Celebrating Christ's birth
The joyful/peaceful feeling
Picking out gifts for loved ones
Online shopping- It seriously makes things so much easier
Being crafty

Saturday in the park

My Saturday started out with a bridal shower for a gal in my ward.  It was fun to see her and the reactions to some of the gifts that she got.  Some of them were pretty funny.

---------------------------

That evening was my friend Paul's surprise birthday party.  We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, where he was a good sport (kind of) and put up with sitting on the birthday saddle while the whole restaurant gave him a hearty "Yee-haw!"

When we went back to Caryn's house afterward, he opened his gift, which was a pair of batman footie pajamas...which he actually put on.  Did I mention that these footie pajamas have a hood that has Batman's mask on it?  And that it also has a cape?  Yeah... it was epic.

We skyped with Erin so that we could show her, which was fun.  I seriously miss that girl, and I'm so glad she comes home in 2 weeks!  Yay!

Brown Paper Packages

I am very impressed with my wrapping job on Bruce's Christmas gift, it's amazing what adding ribbon will do to the face value of an item.

I think it's pretty, and it's my first venture into making bows, so I'm glad it turned out!

Posting

So, it's my goal to write in this here blog every day for the whole month of December.  I'm sure that some of you may have noticed that I've posted every day so far...because you're intelligent and observant individuals.

Anyway, the challenge for me is to come up with (or remember) noteworthy, or at least mildly entertaining tidbits to write about.  And I should note that I consider anything posted before 2:00am to count as a post from the previous day...if I haven't gone to sleep and woken up, then the next day hasn't started yet.

Fact.

Substitutions

Normally when people run out of ingredients that they need for the recipes they want to make, they go to the store and buy them.

Me?

I've been making substitutions with various things I do have around the kitchen, with mild success.

I made some delicious blueberry muffins yesterday and had to substitute the milk and lemon zest for other things, and I actually really like how they turned out...quite delightful.

And today I decided to make coconut curry, but realized I didn't have enough curry powder on hand, so I basically ended up creating an entirely new recipe, that I'm not sure I'll be able to replicate, and it turned out nicely, or it was at least edible and not completely revolting, which is always a good thing.

The only bad thing is, I'm running out of some of the basic essentials.  Bruce remarked the other day that my fridge looks like a single guy lives here.

Ah, well.  I really just don't like grocery shopping.

A little darkness and a little light

I woke up this morning, looked over at my clock, and immediately noticed that the orange glow it usually emits was distinctly absent.  The faint glow that typically bathes my office was also missing.  It could only mean one thing.

The power was out.

After the power remained out for another hour and a half or so, I determined that I needed to take affirmative action and locate someone with electricity...and heat...and a shower that wouldn't freeze me to death.

After a few text messages with various friends, I discovered that the power was out from Rexburg to Shelley...which is a huge chunk of Southeast Idaho.  Fortunately, the power outage only affected those who use Rocky Mountain Power.  Unfortunately, the majority of people use Rocky Mountain Power.  I was however, able to find a kind, generous friend who still had power on the other side of town, and she was willing to let me come to her house; shower, get warm, and use the internet for a bit.

Once I returned home, I discovered that my power had returned.  Yay!  Bruce's electricity however, was still off.  So he came over to take advantage of my heat and internet access...and to see my adorable face, of course.

...................................

This evening was Bruce's ward Christmas dinner and service auction.  It was a fun time.  I got to talk with some fun new people, saw people from my old ward, and chat with some people I haven't seen in months.

There is a guy in Bruce's ward that does auction calling, he was entertaining, and kept inserting little witticisms here and there.  It was fun to see how high some of the items sold for, his ward members are very generous, and they raised a considerable amount of money to be used to provide Christmas for 4 families in the area who would otherwise go without.

All in all, it was a fun evening.

Let it snow!

One of the joys of living in an apartment that is not really a complex, and whose grounds aren't exactly maintained regularly, is that I get to shovel my own snow...something I haven't done since I lived at home, which has frankly been a good while.

I got the privilege today, alas, most of it was pure ice.  Luckily, it came up for me pretty quickly.  Makes me glad I bought that snow shovel last time it snowed!

All the pretty lights

Bruce and I put up my Christmas tree on Saturday.

I normally put ribbon or beads, or some sort of garland on my Christmas trees, but discovered that I fail to possess the necessary accoutrement for such decorating.  Even still, I think the tree turned out to be quite pretty.

My people are doing well

My dear friend Heidi and her husband Rumel are moving to Idaho Falls sometime around January, and my other darling friend Amy and her husband Sam, as well as their two adorable children have moved from Washington state back to Utah...ever so much closer!

I also had a lovely chat with my old roommate Christine today, which made me very happy, it's been far too long!  She and her husband are having fun experiencing the joys of parenthood.

My sister-in-law Rebecca told us on Thursday that she is pregnant with kiddo #4, which is awesome!  I had actually said a few weeks ago that I wanted one of my siblings to have another baby soon, maybe I'm omniscient...

My sister and her family will be moving back to the United States soon, most likely very early next year if everything works out as it should.

I'm so glad that things are working out so well for the people that I love, it makes me happy.

It's fantastic, thanks for asking

I think 3 of the 4 guys I had been seeing (online dating) before Bruce and I started dating are getting a bit lonely during the holiday season.  I keep getting variations of these messages:

"Happy Thanksgiving! Hope life and your new relationship are treating you as well as you deserve!  How is that going for you??...?"

"Hey!  Happy Holidays!  How's the relationship going??"

I had actually deleted some of their numbers, so it took some sleuthing to actually figure out who these were from.

Hopefully their holiday loneliness will pass soon enough.

Lava Hot Springs

This past weekend, Bruce and I went to Lava Hot Springs with a few friends.  I had never been to the hot springs, but have heard about them before and was naturally intrigued, so I was glad of the opportunity to experience them first-hand.

We got there around 7:30 or so, changed into our suits, and ventured out into the frigid night air.  Seriously...freezing outside.  Okay, not literally, but it was really really cold.  But having it be cold outside was actually really nice once we got into the water, which was really hot.

There were something like 4 different pools, each with varying temperatures ranging from "Boiling your skin off" to "Nice, normal hot tub temperature".  We started out in the second hottest pool.  Well, rather, we girls started in that pool, and the boys found us after a bit, since they went to the hottest pool first.

We jumped around pools for a bit, then some of us decided to venture into the town in search of ice cream, because really, why wouldn't you go eat ice cream when it's frigid out?  It actually was an awesome idea when we were roasting in the pools.  Luckily, the ice cream parlor was still open...kind of, so we were able to get water and treats before heading back to the group and going to Jared's for pizza and a movie.

The movie was...weird.  Have you ever watched "The Fountain"?  It's weird.  And not just because I was sleeping through most of it either.  Pretty sure it's just bizarre.  Some people left after the movie to head back to Idaho Falls, but the rest of us were staying over for the night, so more movies followed.  "Gatsby" and some documentary about a sushi restaurant in Japan.  "Gatsby" seemed interesting, I'll have to actually watch the whole thing one of these days.  Though my favorite moment was when the phone rang on screen, and Bruce sat bolt upright and started frantically searching for the phone.  Priceless!  Sorry Bruce, but it was funny.

I decided to head to my sleeping bag somewhere around 4:30am or so, and pretty much fell right to sleep.  Until about 7:00 or 7:30 anyway and then I was wide awake, albeit a bit tired.  Jared made us pancakes for breakfast, and shortly thereafter, Bruce and I headed out for the day.

We stopped in Pocatello and went bowling and played some pool at the ISU campus.  It was a lot of fun, and true to form, my bowling game was atrocious.  I was, however, pretty decent (lucky) at pool.  We've played a couple times now, and I actually really enjoy it, even if I have virtually no clue what I'm doing.

All in all, it was a fun weekend.  Some of us want to go to Lava again, and are thinking of going near the end of January, so that will be something to look forward to, though without the overnight antics.  I value my sleep too much.

Gift Giving

I did the bulk of my Christmas shopping today.

Shopping and wrapping.

Can I tell you how weird it is to figure out the logistics of Christmas gift-giving more than a month before the actual holiday?  I am staying in Idaho over Christmas, so my gifts will be delivered to their recipients over Thanksgiving.  The person that this is proving to be the most complicated for is Kelly.  This is our first Christmas apart in 5 years, and it's been a challenge to figure out how this will all work this year.  We typically do stockings and gifts for each other, and figuring into the mix the fact that I can normally see her immediate needs and wants, and buy last-minute gifts, it's weird having the disconnect and having to get it all figured out by next week.  Granted it won't all be like it's been in the past, far more casual and less involved, but Christmas socks and ornaments are a tradition and must be continued!

I also need to figure out what to get the little brother...or rather, he needs to figure out what he wants and get back to me.

Remember that one time...

I have a weird memory.

I can remember small, insignificant details about some things, movie lines, song lyrics, old locker combinations, phone numbers, faces, addresses...you get the idea.  But at the same time, I cannot remember A LOT of things that have happened in my life, conversations I've had, I leave keys in the door lock, people's names and occupations, why I walked into a certain room, what I did last Tuesday...

Tonight I may have left my purse at someone's house.

So obnoxious.

It's a freaking wonderland

I've been anticipating snowfall for the past couple weeks, but each day, the fluffy white stuff has eluded Iona.  But this morning the sunlight seemed to shine a little brighter, and when I looked outside, this is what I saw.

Time to enter "Winter Mode".

Sometimes I wish I was a napper

This week has felt a little off.

I spent the first 3 days of the week in Utah, staying with Kelly, who is recovering from gallbladder surgery...poor gal...but she's a champ!  And I had a work meeting as well, which was basically a waste of time, but c'est la vie.  It was fun to see people in person, and get paid to essentially chat...and since I recently got a raise, I can't complain.

Today was busy with work, school, and church meetings.  Tomorrow will be work, school, and time with Bruce (if he's feeling better...the poor guy has caught something and isn't feeling well). On Friday I'm going to the Temple with some friends after work, and Saturday will consist of school work and meeting Bruce's familia.

This week isn't really much more busy than normal, but it's making me tired just thinking about it.  Then again, I could be tired because I never see the sun, so I could be Vitamin D deficient.  That's the theory of my coworker anyway.

Then again, I could be tired because I've been up since 5:45am.

We'll go with that one.

Feast your eyes!

Went bowling tonight with Bruce.

I am not a very good bowler.

I average in the 80's when I bowl, and being true to form, I bowled an 87 or so on our first game.

And then, something magical happened... I'm not sure what it was exactly, but it must have been something magical, that's the only way something this amazing could happen...  I broke 100.

Not only did I break 100, I got a 153.

Yep, I'm bragging on myself.  And yes, I posted this on Facebook too.

That's how astounded I am.

Frigidity

Holy Frijoles!

I came home two hours ago from being out with a friend, and I cannot shake the shivers.  I am frickin' freezing!  It started snowing today...I know it was silly of me to hope that winter would stay at arms length for a while longer, but it has reared it's head, and I won't be able to get away from it.

Oh well...I suppose it means that I can officially wrap up in my electric blanket, wear slippers, sit in front of my heaters, and drink hot chocolate.  Not that I haven't been doing all those for a while now, but now it's not weird.  VALIDATION!

TV Shows

I've had people recommend various TV shows for me to watch over the last few years, and never really got around to watching them, largely because I either wasn't interested, they weren't available on Netflix (my source for TV shows), or there was a bit too much hype surrounding them for me to truly want to delve into the beast.

I have recently attempted to watch a few of these shows, but cannot get more than about an episode in before I realize that I cannot watch them, no matter how interesting the base premise may be.

There is just way too much sex, violence, and language in all of them.  And I cannot do it.  I can't sit there and watch a show that has everyone dropping the F-bomb every 5 seconds, I also don't need to see gratuitous sex scenes, or blood and guts everywhere.

I am actually pretty appalled that these shows are allowed to air.  Things have certainly changed a lot over the years in regard to what is readily available on television.

I think I'll stick to my light & fluffy shows.

It'll make me feel better.

Things to do

I tend to get a little restless and feel the need to do something creative during the fall season, but after I do one thing, I always go looking for something else to work on because my tasks/crafts never seem to occupy enough of my time to make it worth it.  I think I need to invest in a puzzle or something.  Not to say that I don't have enough other things occupying my time, I am merely referring to when I have free time and am feeling antsy and crafty-ish.

Anyway, here are a couple of the things I've done this week.  The wreath and the stool were done today.

Apple Butter:

An Autumn Wreath:

 





A stool for Kelly's new kitchen:

I made a "Think Tall" for our kitchen probably 4 years ago, when it became apparent that we were both too short to reach the top cabinets of our own free will.  I personally like this new one better, and I hope it works for Kelly in her new place.



I also made and worked on a few other things, but since they're Christmas gifts for some of the people that read this thing, I shan't post what they are.

Anyway, I still want another project and am open to suggestions.

The end draws nigh

I have started this blog post 3 times now, so here's hoping I don't delete this entry as well.  Fingers crossed.

It occurred to me today that it's October.  And not just October, but the end of October.

I know, I know, I'm a bit slow on the uptake.  But it really isn't so much the fact that it's October that I noticed, I mean, really, I've clearly known that it was October this whole time, I'm not a complete moron... It's more the fact that the year is almost over.

And that to me is crazy.  The first 4 months of the year are a bit hazy in my memory, largely due to the fact that I wasn't completely happy...I made some poor decisions, had a fair bit of crap dealt to me, and I have mentally blocked most of it out.

Luckily, at the end of that time...actually, kind of in the midst of the crap-dealing, I made a decision that I do not regret at all.  I chose to move to Idaho.  Idaho?  I know, Idaho.  I never thought I'd live in Idaho, but I felt that it was the place I needed to go.  It wasn't even that I was only looking for places in Utah and Idaho either, I looked in Oregon, Colorado, Montana, and even Wyoming (yeah, I was getting desperate enough to look in Wyoming), but felt that Idaho was where I should go.

Even after things blew up in the relationship department (the day after I signed my lease), I could have chosen to move elsewhere, but I felt sure about Idaho.  More sure, in fact, than I had about my previous relationship.  And while the majority of the people around me questioned my decision...a lot, some even going so far as to question my sanity, I knew that for some reason, it was where I needed to go.

And here I am, 5 months later (seriously, time flies...), happy as a clam (assuming clams actually are happy), and wondering why I never considered Idaho before now.  The past 5 months have felt like a blur.  I've met a myriad of wonderful people, who I feel like I've known for years, and I have had some awesome adventures with them.

I'm excited to be an Idahoan for a while, though I'm anxious about the winter weather that is surely around the corner.  And I am excited for the upcoming holiday season and the end of the year, though I can't believe that it's so near.

And I'm pretty sure most of this post is incoherent owing to the fact that I should really be in bed.  So I shall bid you adieu until I get the urge to write again.

Time, how it doth fly...

Today marked one month from my first date with Bruce.  He being the awesome individual that he is, remembered it of course.  I being me, did not...until he reminded me yesterday.  He's good with details and dates like that, while I am good at...uh...laughing at inappropriate times... I'm really good at that.  But I digress.

It's strange to think that Bruce and I have really only known each other an incredibly short amount of time, because it feels like we've been friends for much longer.  I'm completely comfortable around him, and I feel safe, which those closest to me know is incredibly important, and not always something I've had in past relationships.

Things with Bruce just feel different.  And I know some of you are sitting there, shaking your heads and thinking, "Seriously, Lisa?  It's been a month...you're high on the newness of it all, simmer down and you'll take off the rose-colored glasses in time."  But really folks?  I've been in enough relationships, and I've put up enough walls around my heart to know when things are different.  Bruce managed to somehow bust through those walls effortlessly, probably without even knowing they had been there in the first place, and in record time too.

I am so incredibly and richly blessed to have him in my life.  He is such an amazing man.  And yes, for those of you who have been asking me for a while now, you will meet him at some point.  And I know you'll like him too.

So forgive my having turned this blog into "Lisa's Dating Extravaganza", but I want to share it with you, and Facebook is not the place to do it.  I will attempt to avoid getting too mushy, though I will admit that it requires a number of revisions on each post to keep it from getting too mushy (who would have ever thought I'd turn into such a sap?).

Happy times!

Ice, Ice, Baby...

There are caves in Idaho.  Caves filled with ice.

Bruce and I went with some friends from my ward to such a cave yesterday.  The cave is out past Rexburg, past the sand dunes...basically in the middle of nowhere.  After reaching the middle of nowhere, we then had to take a winding, bumpy dirt road to the East of nowhere...and this is when I started having trouble, I started to get super duper nauseated.  Bruce, however, enjoyed being tossed back and forth in the back seat like a rag doll in a dryer.  I had to get out of the car and walk the last little bit to the cave because I just couldn't stand it any longer, and Bruce was kind enough to walk with me.

The caves were pretty neat, once we got in and scrambled down the rocky face, traversed the stepping stones in the half-melted ice, it started to get super cool.  Literally.  The further we got in, the better it got.  Ice covered the floor, the walls, and the ceiling.  Lots of slipping and sliding, which was a lot of fun, though I have a number of very pretty bruises all over my legs.

Driving back home from the caves proved to aggravate my nausea again and we had to stop so I could get out for a minute yet again.  Motion sickness is seriously one of the most annoying things ever, just sayin'... It always makes me feel super bad for anyone that has to put up with me when I'm dealing with it.  Thankfully I was able to settle everything down after a bit and was feeling fine by the time we got back home.

Once everyone else left, Bruce and I had the evening to ourselves.  I made dinner and we watched a movie, or rather, I watched half the movie before falling asleep, while Bruce managed to make it through most of it before falling asleep himself.  Yeah, we're awesome like that.

Today was busy, and cold...I'm always cold.

Things have been slow at work recently.  Really, really slow.  But I still have to stay near my desk in case I get a phone call, email or IM from someone.  I get really excited when I actually have something work related to do, and try to keep myself entertained when I don't have anything.  Which equates to reading, watching Netflix, Facebook stalking, reading blogs, looking at various crafts, thinking about all the things I need to get done but that require being away from the house...all sorts of things.

Today I decided to rearrange my living room furniture while on my lunch break.  I actually wanted my furniture to be placed like this when I first moved in, but convinced myself that it didn't look right.  It'll take some getting used to, and I think it could use an accent chair and maybe something else like a cabinet or shelf in one of the corners, but we'll see how long it takes me to get around to that.

After work I finally broke down and got my Idaho driver's license and registered my car in Idaho as well, so it's official, I am now an Idahoan for the foreseeable future.  I also finally made spare copies of my house key and car key, things I've been meaning to do for a LONG time but never got around to...I've meant to get the spare for the car for years (I know!  I just never remember to, dang memory).

Once all that was taken care of, I had dinner with my bishop, his wife, and my recently released relief society presidency.  It was nice to get together and laugh with one another one last time before we all separate ways.

Immediately after that, I had a meeting with the new relief society presidency to go over some things after the changing of the guard, as it were.  I think that we're going to have a lot of fun together as a presidency and I hope that we can implement some fun things during our run.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I found a Shelob of a spider today.  This thing was HUGE!  And it basically taunted me until I convinced my neighbor to kill it for me, because I was too terrified to do it myself.  Bleeeeccchh!  Spiders and I do not get along.  At all.

Chaaaaarge!

Bruce and I had our date night last night and decided to carve pumpkins.  So we went to WallyWorld to pick out pumpkins, I forgot how picky I am when it comes to pumpkins...so it took longer than I anticipated, but we finally got around to choosing the appropriate pumpkins, picked up dinner and went back to watch Arsenic & Old Lace, a classic Halloween favorite.

After the movie, we started in on the pumpkins.  Bruce was kind enough to cut off the top of my pumpkin and gut the sucker while I sketched out his carving pattern for him.  He's great like that.  We did have some pretty funny times trying to extract the top of his pumpkin, which fell into the innards and refused to come out without a serious amount of coercion.

Bruce carved out a Batman pattern, and I chose Darth Vader.  His turned out amazing!  Mine had some issues, but overall I was satisfied with it.  Yeah, I know I'm a perfectionist...which explains why I've done nothing with the 7+ years of art classes I have taken.  All those classes to be a doodler ;)

Here is a picture of our handiwork.

Hello, Bruce...

I have basically had a goofy grin perpetually plastered on my face for the past couple weeks, and I can't get it to go away.  Frankly, I don't want it to go away.  I am absolutely, ridiculously happy.  I currently get to keep company with the most amazing man ever, who for some inexplicable reason, wants to be with me just as much as I want to be with him.  In the past, I've refrained from even mentioning a significant other until we've been dating a number of months, but I literally cannot keep this to myself, he's too phenomenal and I'm too happy :)

If and when I mention him, I'll refer to him as Bruce, which will probably only make sense to me, but that's the whole point of a pseudonym, isn't it?

I love the fact that he loves the Gospel, that he's a dork, that he's responsible, that he laughs quickly and easily, that I feel safe when he hugs me, that he loves music and movies, that he can't help smiling at me, that he's ambitious, that he respects me, that he smells amazing, that he's more than a foot taller than me..it's crazy, that he enjoys good books, that we just seem to work, that I find him very attractive, that I can't stop thinking about him...all. the. time.

In short, Bruce is the best, and I'm glad he's mine.

Not High Yet

My neighbor smokes pot.

A lot of pot.

Most days the smell is pretty faint (yeah, it seeps into my apartment), but today when I got home from the Temple (yeah, I thought it was kind of appropriate too) I could barely breathe.  The smell was completely overwhelming and I became sick to my stomach.

Normally, my friends and I joke about the fact that I have the "fun" apartment where everyone feels really really happy all the time due to the second-hand pot, but tonight was definitely not such a night. The giddiness hasn't kicked in yet anyway...but then again, I set up the fan to disperse the nastiness.

The Good, The Bad, and The Pervy

Those of you who really know me (if you don't know me, I question why you're reading my blog in the first place...) know that I have a difficult relationship with online dating.  I've been on dating sites off and on for the last 4 years or so.  I sign up, get frustrated, cancel my account, and then sign up again, because quite frankly, if I didn't use online dating, I probably wouldn't date at all.

In fact, I can probably count on one hand the number of guys who have asked me out based off of real-world interactions...and still have fingers to spare.

I've had good experiences from online dating, a few relationships of varying lengths, fun dates, good conversation, hilarious conversations, etc...

But I have also had to deal with my fair share of sickos, perverts, and jerks. Which is why I generally cancel my subscriptions...that and I get tired of going out with people, having great chemistry, and a few weeks later they fall off the face of the Earth.  It's not so much that I care that they don't want to continue dating me, it's that we'll be talking just fine, and then conversations become less frequent, shorter, but not non-existent...so we both keep talking, but it's obvious that something is different.  And then they abruptly stop altogether.  We met on a dating site!  I know you date other people, as do I, I'd just appreciate a quick text saying, "Thanks, but no thanks", rather than dragging it out longer than necessary.

My current lament is the sheer number of and the complete brazenness of the perverts.  And may I mention that I am only on LDS dating sites?  Yeah...  It's disgusting, disturbing, and just plain awful.  It makes me want to quit the whole thing again, but as previously stated, I don't date people I meet in real life...or rather, they don't date me.

So I guess I have to keep weeding through the nastiness and hope I find something worthwhile.

Again...

Oh July, how swiftly you have come and gone thus far...

Kelly came for a visit at the beginning of the month, so we got to gallivant around town and explore some of the surrounding area, which was fun.

After that, I went whitewater rafting with some friends from my ward in Wyoming and had a blast!  I like hanging out with outdoorsy people, it's pretty sweet sometimes.

The next week, I had meetings in Salt Lake, so I got to stay in a hotel downtown, and spend a lot of time trying to remain engaged in what was being said...which was tough.  Somehow I still kept staying up fairly late, so what should have been a relaxing hotel stay, did not do anything to help me catch up on my sleep.  Kelly and I sang a musical number in her ward on the Sunday I was down there, and I think it went fairly well, all things considered.

This past week, I wound up having multiple late-night conversations (like, til 2am each time)...I either need to stop talking to/hanging out with/being around people, or adjust my internal clock a few hours.  I get anxious when I sleep past 6:30, and consequently have to work later in the afternoon, and when you've been starting work between 6:00 and 6:30 for the past 6 years or so, it's hard to get that frame of mind to change.

Maybe I'll just start having to work 9-5 like everyone else...boo.

On a happy note, Pie-N-Beer day is this week, and that is always a good time...I'm hoping to convert some of these Idahoans to the awesomeness.

Catching Z's

I am about as tired as a single, childless person can get.  The past few evenings have been late ones, where I haven't gotten to bed until after 2am...or if I do get to bed before then, I wake up multiple times during the night...and then still wake up to start work at 6am.

It really hit me today during a fireside that I went to...in which I fell asleep...more than once.

I think I need to just sleep for an entire day...and being that I am single and childless, I can totally get away with that.

I love the fishes...

Two Saturdays ago, I was driving home from a ward shindig when I passed a cop.  The cop, sensing my desire to meet him, turned on his flashing lights and flipped a U-Turn in hopes that I would see him and we could have a friendly chat...

Okay, my interpretation of the scenario might be a little off...

Turns out that my left headlight had burnt out and I was summarily told to fix it.

Monday afternoon, I purchased a new bulb for the aforementioned headlight, and had a friend change it out for me that evening!  Problem solved!  We also discovered a fair amount of water sloshing around in the headlight chamber (I don't know that they are actually called "chambers", but whatever), and it was suggested that I should keep a goldfish in there for fun....though something tells me that the fishy wouldn't last too long...I can't even keep them alive when they aren't  in unfriendly surroundings.

Fast forward a couple days...

I'm driving home one evening, and notice that my headlight is out again!  Now, those of you that know what happens to hot glass when it touches cold liquid have already deduced what my problem is...the Trusty Justy likes to blow things up, apparently.

Because of the water in my headlight chamber (yep, chamber) I cannot merely replace the bulb and be done with it.  Unfortunately, I also cannot just empty out the existing water and call it good either, since there are some pretty major cracks in the plastic and water has a tendency (clearly) to collect there.  So I get to replace the whole light...chamber...thing.

P.S.  Did you know that Justy headlights aren't the easiest thing to come by?

This is gonna cost a pretty penny.

Meanwhile, I keep getting pulled over for having a headlight out.  It's fun.  Makes me feel like a rebel.

Under the radar

I have always been pretty active within my singles wards.  I go to activities, participate in lessons, organize get-togethers, and have done a musical number or two.  Until my last ward anyway.  I did not get involved in my last ward...at all, and I was okay with it.  I figured that I needed a break from being the social figure that I had been in all my previous wards, and since I was not looking to date anyone, I didn't need to go to activities and mingle with the college freshmen.

When I met with my Bishop before I moved, he told me that I wasn't allowed to fly "under the radar" in my new ward.  So I decided I wouldn't.  I already knew that I wouldn't since I needed to make new friends and all.

I decided that I would be outgoing, go to activities again, participate when I could, and just get back to being the old me.  So far, so good.

I got a call last Sunday asking me to meet with the Bishop, and I figured that a calling was coming my way.  Totally great, just another way to get involved.

I entered the Bishop's office, sat down and we chit-chatted for a second before he told me that they'd like to extend me a calling, which I said would be great!  Then came the words, "We'd like to call you to be the First Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency...".

Excuse me, what?

I just moved here!  I've been in the area for just over 2 weeks!  I don't know anybody! How did this happen?

My actual response was something like, "Uh...really?"

I guess this is what comes of becoming friends with the RS President...

Bonus: We all get to speak next Sunday in Sacrament Meeting...on obedience

Touche Karma, touche.

Meeting People

Meeting people can be hard.

Especially if you have hermit-like tendencies and spent the better part of the last year trying to avoid interaction with human-kind. Okay, so I wasn't quite that bad...

For the last 5 years, I have always had Kelly with me in my corner, so if I decided to make other friends, that was fine, the more the merrier!  But if I didn't want to, that was okay too, because I had Kelly.

When I moved here, I didn't have a friend safety net.  I had to *gulp* actually go out of my way to meet people.

So my second Sunday in my ward, I did just that...I virtually ingratiated myself into a hilarious group of people, who as yet are none-the-wiser that I am a bit of a social-outcast/nerd....but a funny one...

My new friends invited me over to their house for Orange Julius' and chatting...little did I know that these people are serious night-owls....a fact that I learned right quick.  Anyway, there was a little group of us, maybe 5 girls and 2 guys, and we just chatted a bit and got to know one another...or rather I got a glimpse into who these funny Idaho people were, and they decided I was interesting enough to keep around for a bit.  Secure in the fact that  I hadn't thoroughly embarrassed myself and knowing that I had stayed up WAY too late (yeah, it was all of 11:00), I went home and went to bed.

The next day, I got ready to start a workout video...which meant that I put on my cutest workout outfit, did my hair just so, and made sure my makeup was perfectly in place....NOT.  My workout clothes are mismatched (black pants, green top, brown shoes), my hair was pulled back and I had clips keeping my bangs out of my face...at odd angles, and makeup did not grace this face.  I had just started the beginning yoga routine, when I heard a knock at the door.

I paused.  Did someone just knock on my door?  No one knows me, maybe it was for the neighbors.... I'll ignore it.   But wait...maybe it's the FedEx guy, I am waiting for something to arrive...

So I checked out the window to see if there was a FedEx truck out there.  No FedEx truck.  However, I did recognize the car belonging to one of the guys I had met the night before.  I looked down to survey the mess that was currently me... there was no way it would be a quick fix... so I decided to open the door, looking like something off People of Walmart.

This particular guy has since learned to inform me ahead of time when he is in the vicinity...and asks if I'm decent when I open the door...it's much safer for all involved that way.

The Moving Story Part 2: Idaho

As we left Utah, my car was in the lead...and I managed to get a number of miles ahead of my parents (I might have a lead foot).  Because of this, there were quite a few "where are you?" phone calls from my dad.  As we got about an hour from our destination, I called the leasing company to arrange for someone to meet us at the apartment for the final hand-off of rent for keys (I will note that this was what I was instructed to do in the e-mail correspondence I had been having with these guys over the course of the previous month).  When I got on the line with a very confused guy who thought I was trying to merely view the apartment, and had a hard time getting him to understand that I was physically moving in, I had hoped that speaking with someone else would be a good thing.  However, they proceeded to tell me that I had to come into their office to do the hand-off.

Did I mention that I didn't know the area?  I DO know that I failed to mention that the guy I was buying the washer/dryer from had to be at work at 2:30, and was taking off a little time to help us load it up and take care of it.  I was in a bit of a time crunch.  I anticipated that we would not be rolling into Idaho Falls until 2:45 at the earliest...I was supposed to be at my new apartment at 3:00 to meet the movers, but I still had to get the washer/dryer and NOW I had to go to the leasing office to boot....not only go to it, but figure out where it was.

I was having fun.

Trust me....I was.

We got the the washer/dryer guys apartment (well, my dad and I did...we kinda lost my mom somewhere), and they were super duper nice, offered to help load it up and even let me use their bathroom... so I left the money (with an additional $20 for helping so much) with my dad while I went in search of the leasing office....and called the movers to let them know we'd need them around 3:45 instead of 3:00...luckily they said that worked just fine for them.

Once at the leasing office, I got a call from my dad saying that he and my mom were having a hard time figuring out where to go...and could I direct them (because Idaho likes to use 2 or 3 different names to describe one road...), but as I've stated before...I did not know the area...so they were on their own...kinda....I gave them maps before we left, so that was something.  Anyway, the guy at the leasing office, realizing that I hadn't physically seen the apartment before (Did I leave that out?  Yeah... it's true), decided it would be "kind" to put me on my guard and explain that it had been a hard unit to rent out.  But I was here, I had all my stuff, and I didn't care if it was a hole...I was moving in.

I left the office and headed toward my new digs (luckily, I had spent some quality time looking at Google maps of the area over the previous month, because I got lost too).  But I managed to make it to the place...before my parents, who I had to direct once I kinda knew where things were.  We were just grateful to be done driving for a bit...EXCEPT that I had gotten a message from washer/dryer guy letting me know that my dad had short-changed him... gah!  I now needed to run the rest of the money (which had remained in my dad's pocket) over to this guy.  But first, I STILL hadn't physically seen the inside of this apartment that I was now going to be calling "home"...

Oh the apartment.

Ants.  Lots of them.  Tiny, scurrying, evil little ants....everywhere.  Mostly outside, but a bit inside too.  First order of business was going to be to eradicate the buggers.  Well, maybe not the first order of business, but it was pretty high up there.  Walking in, it was easy to tell why the place had been so hard to rent out.  It looked sad, worn and unloved.  Cuts in the doors and floors, holes in doors, broken appliances, no hot running water in the shower (didn't actually find this one out until I wanted to take a shower...yeah...), ugly piping all over the place, and just some all over craziness.  Filling out the initial move-in damage sheet was a blast.  We even had a visit from one of my new neighbors...who asked if we were "church goin' folk"...I kid you not!  We ended up having to borrow a pair of pliers from him later, so I was glad he stopped by.

By now, I was beginning to wonder where our movers were since it was now after 4:00.  Having the movers on both ends be late was not my favorite thing, but at this point I didn't even care, as long as I didn't have to do all the heavy lifting.  They showed up about 15 minutes later and began unloading

I quickly made a list of a few things I needed immediately, like ant killer, something to fix the oven with, outlet covers, and a new vacuum, to name a few and headed out to pay washer/dryer guy and pick up the needed supplies, leaving my mom to direct traffic (luckily I am a bit OCD and had color coded boxes to the rooms they would go into...see, the crazy is helpful sometimes).

I think I'll just wind down this incredibly loooong story now.  I've been here for 3 weeks now and I love it.  I got the hot water fixed (after having to bathe in the kitchen sink for 4 days...not fun), the ants are dead, the place isn't as ugly now that there is furniture in it, I love my little town, I have made some fun new friends, and things have been great!  So despite the grand adventure that was moving day, everything has gone smoothly and I love being here.

The Moving Story Part 1: Utah

I am not 100% sure why I decided to move on a Friday.  It would have been far more logical to move the next day, when I wouldn't have to request work off, but move on a Friday I did...not that it has any real bearing on the story...it's just a minor detail.

My parents were kind enough to come help me with the move, I hired movers to do all the heavy lifting on both ends, but didn't feel comfortable driving a U-Haul by my lonesome...or at all...I really don't like driving large vehicles...I mean, really, I drive a Justy...

So anyway, I packed my schedule (and my belongings) a bit tight for the day, here is what the schedule for the day was supposed to look like:

8:00- Pick up the U-Haul
9:00- Movers arrive and pack up the truck
11:00ish (but no later than noon)- Set out for Idaho
2:00ish- Arrive in Idaho and pick up the washer/dryer from the nice guy from Craigslist who was holding them for me...but who had not as yet given me his address from whence to pick it up from
3:00- Arrive at my new apartment; meet the leasing agent at the apartment to pay initial rent and get the keys, movers arrive and unload the truck
5:00- Return the U-Haul

I very much like my time schedules, I like when they go according to plan...BUT I am flexible and can deal with it when things blow up...and did things blow up....

So when my parents got to my apartment, my dad and I headed to the U-Haul place to pick up the truck.  I've used this particular location before and they are really helpful, so that was nice.  Little did I know that I would be standing in the gas-station-converted-to-U-Haul-outpost for an hour....turns out that ALL of U-Haul was having difficulties...their entire site was down.  As the time was drawing near to 9:00, I started to panic a little bit because my movers were supposed to be arriving at my apartment any moment...and I wasn't even there!  Then I received a phone call...

From the moving company.  Apparently the batch of movers I was getting had been out late the night before, and were having a bit of a slow morning, so they were going to be late.  How late? I asked.  The lady projected that they would be there around 10 or 10:30.  I managed to inform her that that was a little unacceptable due to the fact that I needed to be loaded and heading out of the state by noon (I didn't feel the need to inform her that I was still without a truck for them to load into).  She promised that they would be there soon and that they could have everything done by noon.

Meanwhile, things remained slow at U-Haul.  Finally we made some headway, but it required me to pay in cash (which luckily I had on hand....but for other areas of the move).  We got the truck back to my apartment and waited for the movers...who surprisingly showed up at 9:30.  The movers were pretty frustrating to work with initially, I'll be honest...I was not terribly pleased.  On top of the fact that I had to keep some of the electronics connected (wireless printer, laptop, router) until the washer/dryer guy got back to me with his address...which he was taking his sweet time with).

I won't get into all the details of the runs to the store for rope, runs to the bank for additional cash, my belongings being dropped (and nearly dropped...as was the case with my TV), and the movers incessantly asking me why I didn't want to use furniture pads on all my precious furniture, or how the moving company in Idaho called to ask if they could come early to get us unloaded (they didn't realize I was coming from out of state...and that I gave a time-frame for a reason).  The washer/dryer guy sent me a text in the final hour with his address, and I was able to print out some new maps for us to follow since I did not know the area AT ALL.  Finally, we managed to get everything loaded into the U-Haul and the 2 cars we were taking up with us.  We also managed to locate the tiny piece of paper containing my payment confirmation codes for the movers that had inconveniently been placed in one of the vehicles.

Miraculously, we left Layton right at noon, and after gassing up the cars, we headed toward Idaho...and a couple more problems...

Some of what's been up

Lots of things have happened since I last visited this little sputtering of the mind, otherwise known as my blog.

Firstly, I have moved to Idaho.  I live in the quaintest little town that I have come to love.  I'm out in the country, but close enough to the city so that it's not a huge trip to go to the grocery store...because, no, my town does not have a grocery store.  While that may sound horrible to y'all, I find it incredibly cute.

Secondly, Kelly and I are no longer living together.  After 4 1/2 years of being roommates, we have moved to different areas.  It is kinda annoying that there is a 3 hour drive required to see each other, but luckily we live in the age of cell phones, texting and e-mail, even though I probably don't utilize those outlets as often as I should... I'll try to be better.

Thirdly, T and I are no longer dating.  It's been just over a month now, and while it was less than pleasant when it initially happened, I have definitely moved on.  I've been out with a few guys, and have been enjoying getting to know some new people in my area.

Fourthly (I've never heard someone say "fourthly"...but I'm going for it), I am kinda in love with my apartment.  Sure there are...flaws, but I still love that I have a 3 bedroom apartment that I get to call my own.  I'm pretty sure I have the ant problem under control, I now have working hot water in my shower, and I have a delightfully loud washer and dryer that I have affectionately named Bert & Ernie (Ernie is the washer...it's the loud one).

Fifthly (I'm sticking to the whole "add 'ly' to the end of the number" thing), I still have boxes I need to unpack...I think I'll do that tomorrow (which ironically, is what I say every day).

Sixthly, I bought a new camera back in April and I am totally stoked to drive around and take some pictures of the beautiful scenery.  We've had some interesting weather the past few days, and the landscape and lighting would be amazing to catch on camera...provided I can figure out how to use the thing properly.

There have been a lot of other things thrown in there since my last post, but my goldfish-brain often makes it difficult to convey everything.  Maybe I'll get around to telling my moving-day story, it's kind of a dilly :)

Mindless Nothings

Growing up, I didn't do a whole lot of cooking or baking.
Well, I suppose "a whole lot" is all relative.
To some people, pulling Pillsbury cookie dough out of the fridge and plopping it on a baking sheet a couple times a year qualifies as "a whole lot" in their books, but I digress.

I think I was about 12 years old when I decided that I wanted to really learn how to cook.  However, even then I was a stubborn, headstrong thing.  Cooking lessons?  Who needs 'em?  Certainly not ME!  I decided to blaze ahead with not a whole heck of a lot to go on.  And in an effort to actually follow through on this whole "cooking" thing, I believe I even made a deal with my mom that I would make dinner once a week.  I believe I selected Wednesdays as the evening of choice for my victims family.

I pawed through our various recipe books (most of which lacked photographic aids), and settled on "Sweet & Sour Chicken" for my first meal.  Folks, my poor family had to eat Sweet & Sour Chicken a LOT.  My brother dislikes Sweet & Sour and won't eat it to this day....I like to pretend it has nothing to do with the weekly meals he was subjected to in our youth.

My culinary prowess did not extend much further as the years progressed.  I once boiled out an entire pan of water, simply because I forgot about it.  I can also attest that it IS possible to screw up Macaroni & Cheese.   I've mixed up salt with sugar....which resulted in an extremely unappetizing peach cobbler.  I do not recommend setting your oven to 500° in the hopes that your oven will heat up faster (I honestly have NO idea why I would think that....), but if you do, I urge you to remember to lower the temperature of the oven when you decide to bake those cupcakes...I also urge you not to completely forget about the aforementioned cupcakes and mosey on to bed, only to be awakened by your father asking if you forgot something in the oven...true story.

I will say this for cooking though, the more you do it, the better you become.  Sure I still mess up.  Just this very evening I misread a recipe calling for "1/2 cup White Vinegar and 1 tsp White Sugar"....something got inverted....yeah...  But the important thing is to keep going.  I can't count the number of times I have had to start over on a recipe, or double it because I accidentally added WAY too much of one ingredient.

Now, I am not saying that I am any sort of culinary whiz, but I do enjoy my time in the kitchen.  I peruse cooking websites, read recipes and cooking blogs.  I ogle kitchen gadgets like you wouldn't believe!  But I still mess up, I still cut, smash and burn myself...I'm actually sporting a relatively new inch-long scar on my right hand thanks to my oven, but it goes really well with all the other cooking scars I have.

One thing is certain though.  I have branched away from Sweet & Sour Chicken.  I haven't made it in years...probably because it wasn't that good to begin with.  But the memories are fun to dive into.