Happy Halloween!

Here is my super hot husband on Halloween. Any guesses on who he is? Would you make a comment to him about the way he is dressed? Well, not one person said anything to him today about the way he was dressed. Not his boss, or his teachers, or our friends. The people that see him on a regular basis, did not say A WORD. So after I got off of work, I went over to our neighbors house. Scott was already there and when I walked in, I said "Hey Charlie" and our neighbors comment...? "Does she always calls you that when you wear that shirt?" Therefore, we believe that no one really realized that he was dressed up as Charlie Brown. He wore short pants and that shirt....and anyone that knows him knows that he is a good dresser. We laughed a lot about it, I'm super glad that he really doesn't care what other people think.

I, on the other hand, dressed up as an Audio/Visual Technician. So basically I put on Scott's black clothes and walked around with tools. I love Halloween, but I hate dressing up. And my boss required that we dress up. So, I had to come up with something. I'm not about to pay for something that I'll only wear once, at least not at this point in life where we are trying to pinch pennies. So we made due and the day is over. Did you guys dress up? What did you dress as? Please post pictures on your blogs so that I can see!

Preserve Marriage

I don't know why I get so nervous to tell what I believe in, I guess I don't want to offend people. But part of the challenge of these days is not being afraid to tell what you believe and what you stand for. I don't live in California but I do support the effort to vote YES on proposition 8. We need to save the sanctity of marriage. It starts with same-sex marriage and then where does it end? Where will they ever draw the line? Will prostitution become legal? What about polygamy? What will they teach our children in school?

I got this video from Lena's blog. I think it's important to know the repercussions of what is happening in our country. Take a look at this video...

I miss the Castle of Cheese.

I've had a hard time since leaving Su Casa, with the Mexican food craving. I worked there a month shy of 10 years, it was my job through high school and through college. It was not only job but a place where I met some really great people and made some great friends. So, Scott is patient with my attempt to make Mexican food any chance I get. Sunday I made fajitas, with rice and black beans. It was mighty tasty (if you don't compare them to Su Casa fajitas.
So, since moving here, I've thought of the pros and cons of not having to work at the restaurant anymore.

Pros:

• I don't come home with the smell of the food penetrated in my hair and clothes. I was constantly doing laundry!
• I don't go in each day wondering how much money I'm going to make. Having a steady paycheck is way nice!
• I don't have to deal with certain customers that no one liked to wait on. All Su Casa employees know exactly who I'm talking about.
• I don't have to deal with the drama and greediness of some of my co-workers. Enough said.
• I don't have to sweep and mop floors at the end of a closing shift.
• I don't have to touch other peoples napkins and dishes. For being a germaphobe, I'm surprised I lasted so long.
  
• I don't have to deal with the catcalls of the cooks. They obviously didn't know the meaning of sexual harrassment.
  
• I don't have salsa splatters on my shoes.
• The sore muscles, I always had knots in my shoulders.
  
• I don't have to laugh and the dumb jokes like when I ask if they need anything else they say "Just a wheelbarrow to get me out of here." If I had a nickle for everytime someone said that to me and I had to laugh....

Cons:

• I miss my regualr customers. I miss the Lynches, Briggs, Mark and James, Sandy and Jean, my mom and Sue, Amber and her kids, and many others.
• I miss having cash on hand. Having small change all the time.
  
• I miss the hustle and bustle of running around on a crazy night, trying to get everything done.
• I miss having access to free soda, which should probably be in the pro list, but I'm being honest.
• I miss the food! I could live off that food.
  
• I miss the religous banter between Kevin (the LDS bishop) and Miguel (the JW).
• I miss the birthday parties, mostly the birthday cake that Angie would buy, always chocolate!
• I miss the fun times with Shannon and Amber. Remember when we got the fire department to come after we closed and I was still inside in the bathroom with all the lights out. You guys deserted me. WOW, that was a night for the books. I haven't laughed so hard in my life.
• I miss the pictures that we would draw on the chalkboard for Kevin, where we should have been drawing advertisements.
  
• I miss a job with so much personal interaction, not just with customers but with co-workers.
• And most of all, the biggest con of no longer being at Su Casa is my friends. I miss Marcia, Jeanette, Angie, Valentine (the stubborn old man dishwasher that spoke no English and was mean to everyone but me), Shannon, Emily, Stephanie, Chris, Deanna, and most of all Amber.
  

Working there is a chapter of my life that is over, but it helped me grow in so many ways and I met some amazing people. And I don't think I'll ever get over the cravings.

Read with caution: This is about politics and it is long.

So I've gone back and forth as to whether I should write about this topic. And not wanting to ruin relationships along the way, I've put it off for a long time. This is something that's been on my mind for quite some times and I think I would feel better if I got it all out. If you are liberal, I'll tell you in advance that I totally believe in everyone having their own opinion and I'm up for any comments that you want to send my way, but you should also know that it probably won't change my opinion.

I've come to this election year thinking about how I'm going to vote. I've known from the beginning how I would vote, but I think that this year is the most important year to get your facts right and to invest some time in learning about each candidate so that a informed decision can be made, not only for our president but also for local leaders.

Speaking of the presidential vote, I've really struggled with the idea of having to vote for McCain or Obama. I was a Romney supporter, not just because of his religion but because of his standard. I thought that his views went along with mine and he was someone that I think could be trusted in the white house to think about the best benefit of our country and the people. As the debates went down for the Republicans, I lost a lot of respect for John McCain and the way that he was so condescending towards his opponants, I wish he would have told me what he wanted for this country and how he can make it a better place for all of us instead of pointing out the follies of the other candidates.

And then it came down to the democrats. We had Hillary and Obama. And my first reaction was "anyone but another Clinton in the white house." And when it came to finding out both of their policies, Hillary was looking a whole lot better than Obama. He scares me. I've listened to him talk and he is so suave and very convincing...(when he is reading from a script). And I think that people are getting sucked into his charisma. It is so easy to get sucked into his speeches and think "wow, he's pretty good." But then I snapped out of it. The policies that he stands for do not go along with my personal values. He wants change in this country...so did Hitler. Hilter was one of the most suave, believable men that has ever run a country and he was an evil evil man. The policies that Obama wants to introduce to this country are socialistic. He belongs to a party that believes in a "freedom of choice" but if he becomes president the only thing that people will be able to choose is if they want to kill their own child before they are born, and the freedom to marry anyone they choose. We will most likely end up with socialistic medicine and higher taxes.

Speaking of "freedom of choice" I think that this is one of the most disturbing things about Obama. This is a quote that he made about that subject:
SENATOR OBAMA: I've got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I'm going to teach them first of all about values and morals but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16, you know. So it doesn't make sense.
So, you can't use the excuse that other political leaders have said that "I believe that women have the freedom to choose, but I would never personal do this." Because he believes it's a punishment to have a baby. He would not make his girls have to go through that. That should say something right there about his personal believes on abortion.

Another thing that bothers me is that when he was in the Senate, there was a bill trying to be passed in the state of Illinois called the "Born Alive Protection Act of 2000". This act basically says that if there is a boched abortion, where a baby is born alive, that it should be treated as a human with all the rights and should be given medical care. Obama denied this bill. He voted against it. On this site there is the tesimony of 2 nurses that work in a hospital in Illinois that went before the Senate to testify of what has been happening. And even after hearing these testimonies, they still voted against it. Now, I did go on Obama's website to a section about "facts" and this was addressed, and in there he said that he didn't vote for it because there was already a similar law in place. If that is the case then why is this awful thing (which you can read on the site) happening in hospitals! It is the most heanous thing that I've ever read, and I've been haunted by it ever since I read it. So...reader beware, but I think it's important to know.

One last thing that I don't understand about it is that how come liberals believe in a woman's right to end her own child's life, but they don't believe in the death penalty? Now, that's just a mystery for me.

So, my vote has come down to what I will NOT vote for. I will not vote for someone that has no sensitivity to life and family values and wants a government that will make the decisions for the people.

I will not voting for someone that I particularly like, but I do like his running mate. I think that Sarah Palin is a sharp cookie and her decision to go against her doctor's advice to abort her Down Syndrome baby makes me have a lot of respect for her. She has an imperfect family which I like and I think she can bring a lot of good things to the white house. And though I am not the biggest fan of McCain, I do respect him for his values and his willingness to put his country first. And I think that he's the better man to lead our country.

Now, that I've said my part, if there are any Obama supporters reading this, I would like to know what it is about him that draws you to vote for him? I'm saying this out of pure curiosity. I really don't understand the draw and I'd like to know what the appeal is, so feel free to comment.

Best year of my life!

I can't believe that we've hit the one year mark! When we were dating and engaged the time seemed to go by so slow and here we are a year after we knelt at an alter and made sacred covenants to each other and our Heavenly Father. I know that there might be more than one person in the world that you can make a life with, but I know that Scott and I were meant to be together. We both had experiences before we met where I almost changed wards but didn't because of a feeling that I needed to stay where I was. And he was debating whether to move to West Jordan for the summer or to stay in Price and decided to move. After we were married I told him about how I had gone on a temple trip with my cousin Laurel in the beginning of May 2006 and in each temple I prayed for the experience to meet someone great and to get married (which was nothing new to my prayers). It was in the beginning of May 2006 that Scott felt impressed to move to West Jordan for the summer. Everything fell into place. We had our ups and downs and a breakup, of which my mom and Laurel knew wouldn't last long, but turned out to be good for the both of us and our relationship. And in the end we were able to be sealed together forever. There is a lot that you learn in the first year of marriage about each other. And it's amazing how much love can grow. I feel so lucky to have Scott, I've never known anyone like him and I knew it was right, there was no hesitancy in my decision to marry him whatsoever. He is an amazing person with an amazing heart and I'm so excited to see what's next in life for us. Scott, you're my favorite person in this world, you're my everything, my best friend, and thank you for giving me a year of growing experiences, teaching me so much about life and love, constantly trying to make my life better and happier and always giving me unconditional love.

Seriously disturbed!

So here I am. Yes. A naive woman who has lived her life in Utah. I'm sitting in my cute little naive apartment going through the ads that come on Tuesdays (my favorite mail day) and that's the only time I get coupons...so I'm looking through at the coupons and there's soap, children's Tylenol, checks, candy, random weird stuff like ugly ultra-supportive back supporting bras, and this add.
Anyone else disturbed? Yeah, I figured.

Let's move on, shall we? In less disturbing news, I get to go home this weekend, it's been over a month since I've been home and it's the longest time without seeing my dog. Judge all you want, but until you have a dog as your best friend for 3 years that is there for your in all your ups and downs, you will not understand. But I'm really excited to see Cosmo. Scott went to Salt Lake a couple weeks ago and Cosmo got all excited and gave him a kiss and then went to the window to look for me. And since I'm going home, I thought I would bring this:
No, this is not my garbage. Yes we do have a landfill here. This is recyclable stuff from a 3 week period when I decided that I might as well take this stuff to my parents since they have a recycle bin that gets emptied weekly. It started out with water bottles and evolved into anything recyclable. And you have no idea how less often I have to take out the garbage. Yea for saving the world!

MISSING

HELP!!! I'm sorry to bother all of you faithful readers...the 5 of you that are nice enough to read this blog, but I just wanted to put up a missing sign of sorts. The BYU football team has gone missing! They disappeared after their bye week the end of September. There have been imposters playing their games the last 3 weeks. If you could keep an eye out for them, that would be great. I'd like to see them back to play the rest of the season, cuz these replacements are not doing so hot. Ya know I'd even be happy if they were found before the last game of the regular season. So what are you sitting around for? Get lookin!

All by myself

Well, here I am. In Price. By myself. And Scott is across the country in Connecticut working a convention. We knew he would have the opportunity to make this trip about 6 months ago. And we knew then that it was over the weekend of our first anniversary. Yes, we made the very grownup decision to be apart on our first anniversary for the sake of progressing. We were presented with a blessing that was much needed and we made the decision that we can't pick and choose our blessings. Especially when that blessing will pay our short-term loan for this semester. We had no idea how we would be paying it. Even with my raise, there was no way we would have enough, and then Scott got the email asking him to work this week for sure. We are richly blessed and we have had to make sacrifices and have faith in order to receive them. And I had my breakdown, and I cried A LOT when we decided and I've cried A LOT in the last 24 hours, and I'm sure it won't be the last time I cry this week, but it was the right thing to do and I don't regret the decision. And I made the decision that any other adult woman would if she can't be with her husband on her first anniversary... I'm going home for the weekend. I need some mom time. And some Cosmo time. And I'll be darned if I'm stuck here in Price by myself on Sunday.
And just so you know, Scott told me he wouldn't go if I didn't want him to. And at first I was tempted to tell him not to, and I know he would have stayed without a word. But on the brighter note Scott is taking me for to dinner, yummy sushi, on Monday when he gets back. And year old frozen wedding cake from our wedding for dessert! Yum!
So girls, any advice on what I can do to keep my mind busy while he is gone...that is without a mall, a decent theater, or Walmart (we have one, I'm just tired of walking around there, how sad that that's entertaining for me).

A little early for Christmas

I hate how there is already Christmas stuff at the stores and after Halloween FM100 and Kosy 106.5 will start playing Christmas music non-stop until Christmas. Does anyone else see how commercialized this holiday is? Well, I'm not sure what it is, but I have been dying to put up my Christmas decorations ever since the weather has turned cold. I want to put up Christmas lights and put up a tree. My work is doing a competition food drive, each as a team. So I had to wrap a huge box to put the donated food in and that could have been part of it. Also we got out our Back to Basics Hot Cocoa Maker for the first time this season. Scott loves hot chocolate and when he was working long hours for Webb he would come home and that's what he wanted so I would try and have a hot cup of frothy cocoa ready for him. It's our favorite appliance in the wintertime. Plus we have 3 cans from the dry pack of hot cocoa mix. If you like hot chocolate, this machine is amazing. It heats it to the perfect temperature and froths it as it comes out. SO GOOD!! And to top everything off, I bought this candle that smells like some cider spice smell.  It smells really good and makes me want to put on Christmas music.  Does anyone else feel those urges or am I totally out of my mind? 

Election Time

Is anyone else scared for this election coming in November? There is so much at risk. There are moral values at risk. There is freedom at risk. There is national security at risk. There is financial security at risk. I'm seeing the signs of the times. There is so much that could and probably will go wrong in the next 4 years, and it's so scary! I'm seeing people worship other men, hanging on their every word and thinking that they can save the world. Does anyone see something wrong with that? We have entered the fight of our life. A fight against evil, a fight against immorality. (And sorry for the dooms day speech).

A man of God

I love conference weekend. It's a time to refresh and be counseled on what we need to be doing better in our life. I am constantly becoming aware of the little and big things that I need to improve on whether it's me seeing those flaws in myself or others that feel they need to tell me, but I love that only Heavenly Father and his elect can judge me righteously. He is the only one that knows my heart and knows my true strengths and weaknesses.

But back to conference, I just want to say what a great prophet we have here on this earth. I think that it's been a transition for most to get into the habit of saying "President Monson" instead of "President Hinckley". I love President Hinckley and all he did to progress the work of the Lord. He taught us all a lot. I've learned that each prophet has his purpose and his time. The pioneers needed a "Brigham Young" to get them to Zion. And I know that President Monson is the prophet now to help us saints progress even more. He will bring a different kind of strength to us followers.

I don't have many personal stories about prophets, but my grandparents had an experience a few months ago that I think tells the kind of man that President Monson is. My grandpa was in a nursing home for a little while, recovering from an illness. He was only in there for a month or two but he hated it there. He would cry when my grandma would leave him at night. Just some background on him, he had a stroke 11 years ago and has lost most of his speaking skills and his ability to walk very well. He was not a member of the church when he had his stroke. After he went through some rehab he was able to come home but he still couldn't move around well or talk well, it was really frustrating for him. But he made the choose a few years after his stroke that he wanted to be baptized, so he's been a faithful member ever since. While he was in the nursing home, my grandma, 2 aunts and 2 cousins came to the center on a Sunday for Sacrament meeting. As they were in the meeting, President Monson walked in unexpectedly. He was invited to give a few words and then he went to mingle with the people in the center. He is a frequent visitor of this center in Salt Lake, and he always ditches his "secret service" (which they get frustrated with, my friend's dad is one of them) to have some time to mingle with these people that are so close to the veil. He drives his own car there and home, no escort. Anyway, President Monson sat and played a song on the piano with my aunt after the service, it's a song that almost everyone knows on the piano that two people play. He was playing the bottom and she was playing the top. He kept scooting over towards her, practically shoving her off the bench. Finally my aunt nearly fell off the bench and he said "You know why I did that right?" She said no. He said "Because I think I would do better playing the top hand and you playing the bottom hand." My 2 cousins went up and talked to him and after a while, one of my aunts went up and said "You guys need to let him go, you are wasting time" to which he replied "they are not wasting my time, I am wasting their time." At this point my grandma asked if he would come over to my grandpa who is in a wheel chair and meet him. So he went over and shook my grandpa's hand, and my grandpa just sobbed. He's so sensitive to the spirit, and he knew just like I do, that he is a man called of God.

I've been tagged

I have to tell you that it's been really hard for me to move here. I have had to make friends, and that is not an easy task I've found here. I work nights so enrichment is out and I'm in the Primary, so I don't have a chance to go to Relief Society. We've become friends with a few couples in our ward but doing couples things doesn't get the girl talk out. Work is not the most social atmosphere, and I'm not sure if it's a small town thing or a young adult thing, but girls here don't like to listen, they only like to talk, and my opinion is that friendship is a 2-way street. So the first real friend that I have here is Carrie. She is one of the coolest, nicest, best people I've met here and I'm so glad to call her my friend! She knew Scott from way back when (when he was here at school after his mission), they were in a play together "The Man Who Came To Dinner". Anyway...she tagged me so here we go!

3 favorite last purchases:
-Groceries (not that that's my favorite thing to purchase but I don't get to shop for much else.)
-My vacuum. (this would be the most exciting thing in many months, and that's sad.)
-Office supplies for my desk at work. (Again, not so exciting to me, but we there isn't much else.)

3 favorite movies
-Pride and Prejudice
-Pirates of the Caribbean (all 3)
-Multiplicity (not my absolute favorite, but the funniest movie I've seen in a long time!)

3 things I haven't done yet
-I haven't left the continental US.
-I haven't had kids.
-I haven't been to Disneyland this year (or last year, or the year before, it's practically a sin!)

3 things I couldn't live without (I'm going to follow Carrie's lead and not do the obvious things like Scott, family and church)
-Indoor plumbing (that includes a working toilet and shower).
-My computer with the internet.
-Chocolate of course!

3 favorite dishes
-Homeade chicken enchiladas
-Mom's spare ribs with scalloped potatoes
-Stir-fry

3 favorite TV shows (currently)
-Friends
-The Office
-The Biggest Loser

3 last places I've traveled to
-Mexican Riviera
-St. Louis and Carthage Missouri
-New York City

3 favorite desserts (I can't believe they are limiting me to 3, that's ridiculous!)
-Leatherby's "Tracy's Peanut Butter Cup"...can we say HEAVEN!
-Mom's homeade double layer chocolate cake and homeade Oreo ice cream.
-Cheesecake

3 things I would buy if money weren't an issue
-A house
-Clothes and shoes
-A blue BMW sedan

3 wishes
-To have my dog living with me
-To be able to pay off our debts in the next year
-To start a family soon

3 people I tag
-Amber (this is to see if you are keeping up with my life :) )
-Amy Dawson
-Joy Bailey