Way 6: Speak

Tell the story, share what you know!

The 5th Way of Christmas

Since we were children and Christmas brought visions of Santa's Elves and unwrapping piles of presents our parents have been trying to teach us one thing.  Christmas is not about receiving, it's about giving.  Well not today.

Today is all about receiving.

Receiving is an important part of life and we must all learn to do it with grace.  And it doesn't just mean to gain or to get.  Receiving is an active gesture that denotes acceptance and change.  We receive the Holy Ghost.  We are asked to receive each other in Romans 15:7 and of course we must receive the gift of the atonement of our savior Jesus Christ.

This year I have learned about a different kind of receiving.

A few days ago I wrote about losing our Christmas money and how that was a faith building day for me.  I learned that gratitude is always important, even and especially in those hard times.

Before posting it I asked Brent to read it and make sure I didn't sound whiny or like I was asking for a handout.  We have some very generous family and Brent doesn't even like birthday presents.  I simply wanted to write what I had learned.

He gave me the proverbial "thumbs up" so I posted it.

Because of that very generous family I mentioned (and someone anonymous)  we have learned the art of receiving.  Tonight we looked at the unexpected gifts and before we could feel guilty I said, we need to say some gratitude prayers tonight.  And I promise, we will.

We have had so much help through our lives both before and after marriage and someday, we will get to be on the other side of the story!  I can't wait for that day!  But for now we are learning to receive with humility, gratitude and grace.

We may be given temporal aid or gifts, we may be offered love and support, we may even be offered forgiveness.  My hope is that we each have the courage to receive, full heartedly that which is extended to each of us.

Way 4: Influence

According to my "To Do" list, I was supposed to have written this entry yesterday.  But sometimes my mind needs time to wrap itself around an idea before I can put it down.

The idea of influence is, for me, a bit daunting.  It's one of those subjects that seems so obvious, so far reaching and yet so confined.  You may not know what I mean, and if not, I can't help you.  I just feel this way about certain things, especially when asked to teach or write about them.

Just yesterday I called a good friend and left her a voice mail to make her laugh.  Interestingly it was full of phrases and tone that about 3 years ago would have sounded like someone else.  You know who?  My husband.

 Even though we have been friends for more than 7 years, in the 2.5 years of married life he has influenced me the most.  I joke the same way he does now,  I watch anime, I even happily eat onions and nacho cheese.  I'm like a new person.  So when I asked him yesterday how I have influenced him guess what he said?

"You made me more patient."  Geez thanks honey.

The thing about influence is that it can be felt in many ways, It can be that we simply "rub off" on someone, or it can be extended by consistent positive example.  Of course influence can be felt negatively too.

Something else I would say about influence is that it may be large or small.  More importantly, the size and scope of our influence is not directly related to the amount of effort or time exhausted with someone.

The greatest personal proof I have of this is of a story when I lived in Utah for a summer about a year after graduating from High School.  It was my first time living away from home and my first shot at supporting myself.    Actually the summer was mostly boring and lame but for a fun job and a couple family members who lived nearby (and one pretty awesome friend).

I went grocery shopping, and must have gone when I was hungry because I remember filling my cart with things I didn't need.  So when I arrived at the register and figured out that I didn't actually have the money for everything, I started pointing out things I didn't need.  Then the person behind me interrupted and asked to pay for everything I didn't have the money for.  I wish I could remember anything about this person, but to be honest I can't even remember if it was a man or a woman.  After all my interaction with them was about 90 seconds worth.

 I tried to decline, explaining it wasn't a big deal.  However This person went on to explain that once, someone helped them get through a rough time in a similar way and they had always wanted to do the same.  Suddenly my groceries became an important way for this person to pay it forward.  And now I was included in a line of people who had been helped and gone on to help others.  I felt an important responsibility to keep the line going.

And I have.  At various times in various places I have found ways to give to someone in need.  And every single time I think of that stranger in a grocery store.  They influenced me more than ninety seconds worth.

David O. Mckay said once, "There is no responsibility that no one can evade.  That is the effect of one's personal influence."

So why is influence a way of Christmas?  Because too many people are grumpy and rude this time of year.  Trust me on this one, I work at the mall.  How powerful is one polite gesture, even one smile?  How can you spread Christmas cheer and influence the world around you?

Sorry, this isn't a Christmas video, but its an old favorite of mine that illustrates the point wonderfully!

Way 3: Serve

The order of these first few ways of Christmas is intentional.  As we have remembered and acknowledged our blessings, one of the first desires we have is to serve others.  That is why the third way of Christmas is Serve.

Many of us have awesome traditions of service during the holiday season.  Whether helping out at a homeless shelter or even caroling at a retirement home, there is so much we can all do!

Today is all about getting out there and doing something for someone that they can not do for themselves.  Although often mistaken for it, serving is not the same as giving.  Serving requires more than a desire and a means, it requires your time, your skills, it requires you.

So this week I was so excited when a few of my awesome friends in my ward organized us and we went caroling.  We all meet together for "Girls Night" every Tuesday and I love it when someone suggests that we get out and go serve.  Of course, we had to pick a night when it was wet and rainy!

But we really had a blast!  It was fun, we got to visit between stops and it was so fun to see the surprise and excitement in the eyes of some of the people we visited.  Many of them will probably spend the holidays alone, so I hope it brought them some extra cheer!

What have you done to be of service this season?  If you haven't yet, think of something!  There is still time before Christmas and there are so many creative ways to be of service.  In fact, I would love to hear some of your favorite ideas here as comments!

Way 2: Acknowledge

Yep, still behind.  But its actually worked out well, because today is a perfect time for me to be writing about our 2nd way of Christmas: Acknowledge.  As we remembered the past and the gifts we have been given it is important, then, to recognize and acknowledge those who gave those gifts.

Things in the Houston home have been a little tight this year, especially as the semester is winding down and we are at the end of our student loans.  In addition, my 2 months between jobs and multiple car breakdowns have just about squeezed all we had out of us.

To help us hedge against this kind of thing we have been budgeting and using the envelope system where possible.  So for Christmas we had a nice envelope with the cash we were using for gifts.  I have carried it with me when I went shopping and kept it safe.  About a week ago we finished shopping for other family members and were down to our last $100.00 just to spend on the two of us. Its much more than we spent last year, but as we had saved it up for this purpose, I was excited that we could give each other nice gifts this year.

As I have said, money has been tight, and the less we touch our bank account, the better. So when, 2 days ago, I was at Costco, and had rung up a bill that was more than I planned on, (doesn't that always happen at Costco?) I reached for that envelope thinking it would be great to break up that large bill so it would be easier to use as I looked for Brent's gift(s).

The envelope was gone.

I had just seen it that morning in my purse at work, so I knew I hadn't left it at home.  I thought back to my steps throughout the day, did I ever take the envelope out? No. Did I ever leave my purse unattended? No.  Could I have dropped it somewhere?  Maybe.  But after walking aisle by aisle through all of Costco, the long walk through the parking lot, and about an hour of walking around the mall after work, I knew it would be almost impossible to find it.

I immediately called Loft to see if they could find it and they could not.  I went to customer service at Costco to see if anyone had turned in found money and they hadn't.  At this point I started going into minor shock.

How could I have lost $100.00?  Even in the best of circumstances that's a lot of money.  In our circumstances its too much to lose.  Of course I left my name and phone number at Costco, and drove straight back to the mall where I searched my locker at work and retraced my steps as much as possible.  No luck.

At this point maybe you are thinking now what I was thinking then:  "I'll go home and in my mailbox there will be some unexpected check for exactly $100.00 just waiting."  I mean only a week before we had declared ourselves full tithe payers and isn't that how the Lord works sometimes?

This is not one of those stories, but stick with me, it's a happy one.

So last night as we were in bed talking before we fell asleep, I told Brent how frustrated I was.  Why is it that since we have been married we can't seem to keep any savings?  Why is it that as soon as we start feeling a bit secure, disaster strikes?  Why can't we be one of those stories where the needed funds magically appear? Do blessings really come because of righteousness?  If so what have we been doing so wrong?

I even had the thought that maybe, I dropped the envelope and someone who really needed it found it.  But why would God use a poor man to care for a pauper?  I couldn't believe that.

Brent's advice was sound.  It always is.  He reminded me that we obey the law of tithing, not for the "blessings" we receive, but because it is a law. He told me that I should not only think about my frustrations and questions, but that I should study and pray about them.

So this morning when I woke up the first thing I did was go to lds.org and begin studying obedience.  I really love their study notebook and I was excited to use it!  As I did I came across a scripture I have read many times and it took new meaning for me.

  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 

                                                                                     Matthew 7:24-27

Through obedience, we are not promised that the weather will be fair.  We are not told that there will be no storm.  But through the torrent and the darkness we are promised that our foundation will be sure, and that our "house" will not fall.

This is a promise that has been kept.  We may not have excess right now, but we have enough.  We have shelter and food and many luxuries.  We each have jobs.  We have an awesome family.  We have the solid foundation of the gospel and we have each other.

Today's way of Christmas, to acknowledge is more than to simply remember and it is a step past recognizing.  It is to see the good in your life and to show gratitude to those who gave it goodness.  It can be done in many ways.  By thanking someone who has blessed you.  By resolving to make use of the gift.  By changing our attitude and behaviors.  Today, as we keep Christmas, I challenge you to acknowledge one gift or giver today.  Merry Christmas!

Tiffany

Day 1: Remember

I have for some time had a red, leather bound and gold embossed copy of  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in my collections for decorative purposes.  I determined this year to read it, when I saw it on my shelf. I have enjoyed it immensely!  It is a wonderful story and the written word of it is much more touching than any film version I've ever seen.

Assuming that everyone knows the story I wish only to point out a singular character who has always been of interest to me.  The Ghost of Christmas Past.  Described as looking like an old man and a young child at once, and emitting a bright light, this spirit takes Ebeneezer Scrooge on a tour of his past Christmases.

  Through this journey Scrooge's heart begins to soften, he recognizes not only the major regrets of his life, but learns that the smallest things he does can affect those around him.  Because of this first step he is able to eventually gain a desire to share Christmas with others, to help others and shows deep remorse for his wrong doings.

What a fantastic example of Remembering.  We are exhorted in the scriptures many times to do the same.  To remember our God, to remember where salvation comes from, to remember our nothingness.

Even a well known mantra of historians is that he who cannot remember the past is doomed to repeat it.

Christmas Beanies 2009?

There are many things we can remember at this time of year.  I think that is what makes this a time loved by all; that we hold dear those memories of loved ones and happiness that we have had in the past.

Lund Christmas Eve, 2010

What will I remember this year?  I remember dragging my mattress upstairs every December first to sleep in a ring of beds with my siblings for a month, a special Christmas tradition.  I remember the first time I had buttermilk syrup at Grandma's house for breakfast on Christmas morning.  I remember picking angels off the tree in the mall and getting so excited to buy gifts for those in need.  I remember my Dad crying when he just talked about The Other Wise Man.  I remember my favorite Christmas  story has always been The Gift of the Magi. Sadly I have no old pictures of Christmas...

Christmas on THE Square.

Snow Fall On Christmas 2008

But the thing I mustn't forget is the reason Christmas has become such a beloved time for giving recieving and rejoicing.  We must not forget the birth of our Savior.  The Son of God.

The Twelve Ways of Christmas

I have been brainstorming new ways to keep the Christmas Spirit in our home this year and in the future when we have kids.  As I have attended church and listened to carols I am more and more concerned that as a people we are edging out the true meaning of the season.  A great example of this is Black Friday.  The very day set aside for gratitude and thanksgiving for our plenty, is now just a day of gluttony and the eve of a shopping holiday.  Before I get off my high horse, I must admit that I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner and I totally went to Wal-mart to get me some cheap blu rays.

The point is not that buying things is evil.  Just that I want to find ways to keep the holidays, especially Christmas, in my heart.

I found something wonderful that I promptly pinned, but you can see it here.  Its called  the twelve ways of Christmas.  Doesn't that just sound wonderful?  The idea on this site was actually borrowed from another blog, and you can find the original at http://12waysofchristmas.blogspot.com/.

I know I'm already behind, but bear with me while I do multiple posts here on the first few days.

So with a little bit of tweaking I knew how I would keep Christmas this year.  And you may all keep it with me, if you choose, by checking up on us here!

Something that means a lot to me.

    Last night I kept Brent up late to watch reruns of the Republican Primary Debates.  We had a great time! I really enjoy watching these potential candidates defend their views and history and I like to see the little bits of personality you can glean between the campaign rhetoric.  Most of all I want to prepare myself for fulfilling one of the most important responsibilities given us in this country, voting.  :)
   Just before bed I signed on to Facebook to catch up on friends and family.  I often see posts or pictures of a political nature there or on Google+ and it sparked a conversation with Brent that kept him up even later.
   I find myself increasingly frustrated with people who, rather than discuss real policy or affect meaningful change, simply want to mud-sling and name-call those with differing views.   Or worse, people who spend no real time studying the topic at hand and instead parrot the uninformed (or intentionally misleading) media.
    I have a few requests to make of my friends, family and society at large.

Read at least 2 articles on a subject (preferably of opposing views) before thinking you know the story.
    If you really think that the Huffington Post is going to present the same story as the Washington Post, you've got another thing coming.  Doesn't wisdom require that you hear both sides of an argument before deciding where you stand?  Even better, listen to MSNBC and Fox News back to back and see what crumbs of truth you can get from those sources.
   Think how much time you spend reading product reviews before you buy something, deciding if the price is right, or if you can trust the claims made by the company.  Don't you always price check to make sure you're getting the best deal possible?  And yet we read one snippet from the media company of our choice and swallow it like kool-aid unaware that there may be better information out there.

Be skeptical of EVERY political statement made.  Both sides have agendas, can you see it?
    It is so frustrating when I hear people talk about the government being in the pocket of the big businesses on the right while conveniently leaving out mention of the big unions on the left.  I'm not saying I support either but I'm not under some delusion that all the people of my party are working for the good of humanity, and neither are all of yours.
    When I listen to proponents of conservatism rail on someone at Occupy Wall Street for being uneducated after playing a 10 second sound byte, I am fully aware that they picked the dumbest sounding 10 seconds and probably took it out of context to make their point.  Liberals play the same game!  Don't believe everything you hear.  Better yet, believe nothing without proof.  Search your heart, do your research and be just as skeptical of people who agree with you as those who do not.

Stop  all the name calling, class and party warfare and finger pointing.  That is just promoting ignorance.
     When I was young, my father taught me to refer to people not by their political parties(democrat or republican) but by their ideas and views (conservative or liberal).  All Republicans are not always and only conservative and all Democrats are not always and only liberal.  The point of this was to avoid creating a us/them feeling and to allow people to support what they believe in not just a party line.  So if I call you a liberal or even a socialist please don't take it as an insult, I don't mean it as one.
      Today, however I often feel so frustrated by people who take no time in listening to people and immediately group them into us's and them's. We are told that we should be divided according to beliefs, income, race or what party we are registered for. That all conservatives must be rich or that all blacks must be liberals. Why are we allowing this?  I find this most frustrating!  Are we really back in a school yard where people we are different from are subject to name calling?  I thought we were trying to stop bullying?  All this does is discourage people from making their own decisions because they are too afraid to be judged.  What we need is an environment where discussion is encouraged without insults being flung from both sides.
       Both of these pictures were posted in the last 24 hours by different friends of mine.  They are both mindless caricatures of something that is so much bigger and more complicated than either can hope to convey.
                                              I find this:

just as ignorant and irritating as this:

            Which brings me to my next point:

Try to see people as people, not entities.
        I may believe Obama is not making good choices for our country, I also believe he has done some skeevy things to push through legislation.  I do not, however believe he is trying to topple the country.  I bet he probably doing his best to do what he thinks is right.  He is a person with emotion and feeling and experience that has led him to make those choices.  I hope those choices are more about conscience than about money.
       Please give conservatives the same benefit of the doubt.  Yes, I know there are jerks out there on both sides of the spectrum who care more about their own gain than the harm they are doing to others, but they are not the rule they are the exception!  Of all my friends and family from various political parties  if find them to be educated, thinking and to really care about what they believe in.  To conservatives:  Liberals are not all uneducated hippies who want a socialist state.  To Liberals:  Conservatives are not all uneducated, gun happy cowboys who want to crush the little guy in their quest for riches.  We are all people who are doing our best for what we believe is right.  We need to humanize the discussion.

       
Don't assume that someone who disagrees with you is either evil or stupid.
      I hope I don't need to expound.  Enough said.  This should apply to all parts of life, not just politics.



I am not pretending that I wake up every morning and read 4 different papers and listen to NPR all the time. But I do try.  And I don't go around commenting on something I don't understand.  It's actually really scary for me to make political comments sometimes because even after reading about something I'm afraid I may not have all the information and a rarely trust any single source on anything.
  The point I am trying to make is simply that the truly educated listen before they think, and then they speak.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

Nope, not Christmas, Autumn!  And beautiful fall weather really put me in the mood! So I've decorated, plugged in my wallflower, and I even sent out invites for our annual carving party.  They are so cute and I really wanted to show them off! So if you want to come, consider this your invite!

Dont you love it?  Brent pointed out how creepy the cat is so, sorry about that...

Still to come: Pictures of our Halloween decor, which I am really excited about this year!

Tiffany

Why You (I) Need Cords this fall...

One of my favorite trends for the season is the return of corduroy. Comfortable, warm and earthy, it is the perfect pant for fall. We are heading back towards what I call a "Dawson's Creek" era. Low maintenance hair, light make up and cozy clothes.

And there couldn't be a better time. I love that I can just color my hair every few months now, because hombre is in, I love that I don't have to look like a clown with yellow eyeshadow, and I mostly love that I can wear sweaters and cords all day every day (as soon as this weather acts like fall).

So if you're adding a pair of cords to your wishlist this fall, I've compiled some pictures and prices of all styles of corduroy. Shop on!

Clockwise from top left: anthropologie pilcro superscript cord in rust 118.00; asos see by chloe corded fitted button pants in green 190.27; asos vera moda skinny cord pants in red mahogany 73.18; h&m ladies 5 pocked straight leg cords in green 34.95; forever21 women's classic corduroy shirt in brown 19.80

Faith and Infertility

Some of the people who read this already know that Brent and I have been trying to get pregnant for over 10 months now and have been unsuccessful. I realize ten months isn't all that long but it feels like it's been forever.

In addition to that I currently have 8 friends/family members that are pregnant along with a handful who just had cute little babies. I am so happy for these lucky women and their families. But I won't lie and say it isn't hard to watch sometimes.

One of the blessings I have enjoyed most of my life is that as I have gone through trials I have maintained a very close relationship to the Spirit and to my Heavenly Father. I have enjoyed open communication with Him and He with me. It has carried me through tough times and encouraged me when making tough decisions.

So when I tell you that this has been a hard 10 months, a big part of that is that I have felt distanced and alone and sometimes bitter. I'm honest. Don't judge.

Why? I think it has a lot to do with the fact that eventually "please bless that we can get pregnant" Didn't seem to feel right (and wasn't cutting it obviously). So it changed to "Help us to be able to start our family." But soon I just felt like He knew my heart, he knew what I wanted and I had already asked a lot. It didn't feel like something I should be asking for anymore.

Well then I didn't know what to say. I realize that I am the one that created that distance but just believe me that for a while I just didn't know how to talk to my Heavenly Father and I didn't feel like I could bridge that gap.

Last weekend I loved conference! because of my job at Gadabout and Brent's at CVS, we were only able to watch Sunday sessions. But we had some good friends over for breakfast and that helped me stay awake! One of the things I really took away with me was that the Lord knows best and that He wants us to be happy. I heard this message over and over. I'm not sure if it was really repeated that often but I know that the spirit was helping me to remember things I have known for years.

So on Tuesday afternoon I picked up the April copy of the Ensign magazine for some light reading and opened randomly to an article called: I Need the Every Hour By Elder Brent Nielson. The talk was on prayer and Elder Nielsen went through all the reasons we need to pray always and the blessings we receive by doing so. I read it thinking "wow, this is exactly what I needed to read today." I was touched by the Lord speaking to me through the words of his witnesses on Earth.

The next article I read, was about dating people with our standards but really about obedience to the Spirit. At the end of this article I started tearing up when i read the verse quoted from Isaiah


“For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).


I knew that the Lord was reminding me that even through my struggles of wanting to be a parent and wondering why we haven't received that blessing, He really does know best. He wants me to be happy and his ways are higher than my ways of achieving that. I was being humbled and entreated to be submissive.

I really felt that this was written for me and I was so grateful to really hear the spirits voice again, and to deeply feel God's love for me. So as I turned the page and saw the next article:
Faith and Infertility, My whole body started shaking. I know that the Lord was speaking to me at that moment. I saw that He was reaching out to me through His word and telling me that He does know my heart. He cares for me.

Let me explain that as far as we know neither Brent or I are infertile. Its just been a long time that we've been trying. Most of my friends and family are the type who think about being pregnant and about 2 minutes later they are, so for me 10 months was unimaginable at first.

I also want to acknowledge the strong women I know who have tried for years unsuccessfully and are still left wanting. My heart is with these women daily and I know that my trial is small in comparison. Along with all the other difficulties that come with the desire and the struggle of having a healthy baby.

One of the things I loved about reading the last article I mentioned was that For once I heard other people, many other people sharing their feelings that were so close to mine. In the Society of the "mormon" Church its hard to escape feelings of inadequacy or unfulfillment if as a woman, your motherhood is challenged. It is important that we realize that not all families start of easily, healthily or happily. Sensitivity is key!

I will not go over the whole article here, but if you'd like to read it you can follow this link

I will share my favorite quote.
“When someone has an
ailment or an illness and they are healed as the result of a
blessing, their faith is being strengthened. But for those who
aren’t healed but continue faithful, their faith is being perfected.
The first is a faith-promoting experience. The second
is faith-perfecting.”

My testimony has been strengthened of the Lord's love and awareness of me. I believe that my faith has been tested and I hope I can come out stronger!

lets be real people.

My lovely new job at Gadabout has been great in a lot of ways. Its so much fun to be back in a Salon environment where people are happy and friendly and loving. It is great to better myself as a stylist. I have already had some encouraging complements given by the educators there. And of course it is always good to be making money.

However my house is suffering! It is constantly a mess with no hot dinners and lots of dirty laundry! Hopefully I can change that soon. Today I washed two loads of laundry so far and am hoping to have time to finish one more and fold all of it. We'll see. First Im starting with some realistically small goals to make our life at home better:

1. Pray with Brent EVERY day. Even when Im really really tired and I have to wake up early the next morning.

2. through the course of the week get all the laundry done. and folded. and PUT AWAY

3. make dinner for Brent and I once a week.

4. Be on time and ready for work every morning.

Ok I realize these are basic. But thats all I can handle for the moment. Check in later for and update!

My New Hair

Ok well thanks for all your votes everyone! Thanks to one of my great friends that got married this weekend and another great friend who took the pictures at the wedding, I have some cute pictures of my Hair. Thanks to Mallory for making me look skinny and Brent look normal ;)

Ok well We don't look so normal here but its a great shot.

So rather than going for the hombre look i got some basic highlights. However we went much lighter than I've ever been. I am really happy with it! So thanks everyone!

Everybody Vote!

Ok everyone who reads my blog (like 4 people).

I am getting my hair done TOMORROW. Its been like 10 months since I've had it done by someone other than me and Im gonna play with something different.

Most of these are pretty similar, i realize, but there are subtle differences. Julia, for instance, has mostly dark hair with very little lightening on the ends. Ellen has highligts all the way up to the roots and the others have what is called an Ombre technique. Which one, if any do you think I should go for? Please leave your coments for me so I can go into this tomorrow with some feedback. I'll upload a picture of the finished product later!

A:B:
C:

D:
E:

A Week in The Life of My Honda

This is the story of a car and its girl.

Thursday, February 17th 2011

I drive to Mesa to see my family on a short "vacation" Only to have my car break down on the I-10 and completely short out, with no lights, after dark. Thankfully my awesome parents saved me, my Mom called AAA and my Dad came and picked me up. It was a long night.

Friday, February 18th

We had the car towed to Gunnells Tires in Mesa because Brent has an awesome uncle who takes care of our cars there. Unfortunately after a day of working on the car he was unable to determine the problem...

Saturday, Feb. 19th

Gunnells continues to work on the car, but with all their resources combined, they are still unsure of the problem. By the end of the second day. Still nothin. So they kindly towed my little Honda to Kelly Automotive down the street, where they have an electronics specialist.

Sunday, Feb. 20th

Because I had to start my new job on Monday, my wonderful Mom lent me her car to drive home to Tucson. She is an angel.

Monday, Feb 21st

Orientation at Gadabout goes well, but it has now been 4 days with no word on my car...

Tuesday, Feb 22nd

After trying a bunch of random fixes to see what caused the short in my car Kelly automotive is getting closer to finding the problem... we hope.

Wednesday, Feb. 23rd.

Although they dont know why, Kelly finally got the car working, only to suddenly have one of the windows stop working. They fixed that, sent the car back to Gunnells for new tires and gave it to my mom with instructions that we needed to get an alignment asap. At the gas station, Mom loses the gas cap, but after all her help, who could be mad about something so small? Brent drives back to Mesa to get the car even though he is super stressed with work and school at the time. I love him lots.

Thursday, Feb. 24th

I have my car back! Its been a week, but Its all better now. Or is it? On my way home from work the check engine light comes on! Also a few of the small indicators that there were problems before the break down come back!

Friday, Feb. 25th

First thing in the morning, Brent and I drive to the closest Honda dealership for repairs. I am done not knowing what is wrong here. Lets just get this fixed right already! Hopefully it will be fixed by the end of the day. Right. Later they call me to give me the LIST of what is wrong with my car. Of course I can't afford all of it, so we picked the most important repair and give them the go ahead. This should all be over tomorrow. We'll see.

Saturday, Feb. 26th

Until I call them at 5:30 I dont hear anything. Of course my car is not ready. But it WILL be done for sure on Monday.

Sunday, Feb. 27th.

Just waiting patiently...

Monday, Feb. 28th

When I call Honda at 2:30 the car is not quite done, but they offer to send a car to pick me up so I can get the car when it is ready.

At 5:00 I get a call. One of the parts they put in the car is malfunctioning. Just my luck. Hahaha this is getting ridiculous! Thankfully the nice Honda people sent me to enterprise to get a rental car on them. SO at the end of all this stuff my car is still not fixed! But im driving around in a red Toyota Prius till the time comes that I can get My lovely little Honda back home!

Only in Tucson

Well this is what we woke up to this morning!

I knew it was much more likely that we would get snow here because of the elevation. But seriously, this is Southern Arizona! The most I expected was to see a few flakes and watch them melt on the ground.

To be clear by the time we were up there was no snow in our area, but it covered the mountains! I only saw it as I was leaving to go visiting teaching, so I called Brent and made him go outside in the cold to look at it. We both enjoyed it!

Sadly by the time we were out of church at 4pm the mountains were about 65% brown again. Oh well it was fun while it lasted!

*these pictures were stolen off the internet from people who are well prepared with cameras :)

The Good Book(s)

As you can see with my fancy new design here. I've been feeling very inspired lately. Inspired to read again. Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies but for a long time I only read a new book when JK Rowling told me to.

This last year however I have read a lot of fun great books! Some were rereads of old favorites but I branched out into some fun new stuff and I've really enjoyed it. Yesterday an old friend and I were talking about how important it is to read good books and she asked what some of my favorites were. Well, Darci, here's your list of my guilty pleasures from this past year:

1. Anything by Agatha Christie- There is a reason she is the most published author of all time.

2. Treasure Island- A true classic I had so much fun reading this book.

3. Crucial Conversations- More along the lines of a self-help book, this is one I pick up whenever I'm feeling frustrated, or like I don't know how to communicate. Its all about how to get through those conversations that are so important to any relationship, be it romantic, work related or otherwise. I have learned a lot about why I feel the way I do and how to see things from other perspectives.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia- What can I say about C.S. Lewis? I love his honesty and his sense of right and wrong.

5. Meeting Amazing Grace- This is a book I would recommend to anyone who is married. It is a fictional story with very distinct lessons about setting boundaries and coming through for the people who need us. It deals with the relationships we have with our in-laws.

6. Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover- Well about 90% of my family read this book this year and we all jumped on the bandwagon together. A very motivational book with great factoids and tips about making your money work for you and steps to getting out of debt.

7. I also reread 1-5 of the Harry Potter books. I actually got bored with number 5 though and never finished it. Amazingly enough, Harry is really annoying to me after about a million pages of him.

8. Just finished reading Jurassic Park- I was suprised when my Mom recommended this book to me. But I really enjoyed it! It was exciting, scary and surprisingly philosophical.

9. The Little Prince- This is a bad movie, but a delightful book! I was impressed at how profound this book is for being less than 200 pages.

10. Alice In Wonderland- You can see now that I have a thing for children's classics, but I want to make sure my kids get to read the best books when they are young and this is one of them. Yes its got a creepy factor to it, but Lewis Carroll is great at the genre of Literary Nonsense (yeah apparently it's a real thing).

In all this excitement I finally decided to go get myself a library card and I checked out a book I haven't read for a long time. Enders Game. I'm really excited to live through this one again!

My top 5

Today I want to use this lovely little blog to talk about my

Top 5 Most Annoying Things People Do On Facebook

I'd put this on Facebook but I'd undoubtedly have friends on there who would see this and know I was talking about them. SO here we go:

5. Constantly complaining about life or constantly bragging about life. Im happy if you're happy, but stop trying to appear perfect.

4. Posting way artsy pictures of themselves. Come on people, we know you want to look cute but you don't live in a magazine!

3. Posting new pregnancy pictures every day and at like 6 weeks along! You don't look pregnant yet, take a chill pill.

2.Posting ugly pictures of other people, specifically me.

1. Dear inanimate object, I have something to say about you, and I think it's clever to post it as if I were writing you a letter. Although its over done and really annoying.

I must add to this list that I am probably guilty of at least one or more of these offensive habits. I apologize. Also, I thought it would be good to add a list of things I really like on FB so you would all realize that I'm not just bitter and cold hearted.

5. I love it when people who I never get to see wish me a Happy Birthday.

4. I am grateful for people, namely my sister Ashley who continues to post family pictures and tags me in them so I dont have to.

3. I love looking through other peoples pictures, wedding, baby, engagement, or just fun stuff. Its a fun way to catch up with old friends.

2. I love people who post quality videos for my enjoyment so I can pass them along

1. I love seeing that often my life is not all that different for better or worse than everyone else's.

Working Girl

Well I am super excited to have a second interview at the top salon in Tucson, Gadabout. I hope it goes well.

Even more exciting is the fact that now that I have a steady job, I'm bringing in money again! And way more money than I ever made at Tantrum. gotta say, I don't hate that place, but I really don't miss it either.

I really wanted to not be working at this point. I fully planned on being 8 months pregnant by now, but I am seeing the blessings we have and I am grateful for them.

I am grateful that we won't have to be dependant on the government to make ends meet.

I am grateful that at work, I have made even more friends here in Tucson

I am grateful that I am not at home watching netflix all day

I am grateful that working again has given me more confidence and self assurance than I've had in a long time.

Basically, I've just had another witness that the Lord's plan is the best one!

My New Job

Well I finally got a job! Yay! mostly yay.

I work for a company you may have never heard of, let me introduce you.

Convergys (CUHN-VER-JIS) Is a "great place to work with LOTS of opportunities for advancement!" Everyone is really nice and they're all convinced that this is the best place to work, ever.

I'm not so convinced. First of all it happens to be

down the road from a sewage plant. Yeah, it smells everyday, and its not even summer yet.

What do I do there? Oh I'm sorry, I forgot to say.

Yeah, I'm at a call center.

Not my first choice of jobs, but seriously, beggars can't be choosers.

And no I don't work with this guy, he just kind of makes me laugh.

Thankfully I'm not on a sales job. If you call FedEx Customer Service and I'm working and the call gets routed to our center and It happens to be me who takes the call- you might talk to me!

I'm a little frustrated because if I have to work right now (there is more to that comment than me being lazy) then I would like to be in a job where I can use the skills I paid good money to learn in school. I'd also like to work somewhere that will challenge and excite me. Somewhere fun! Somewhere it doesn't smell like the sewer.

I am however very grateful for the added income this will provide. After updating our budget and seeing the difference this will make I have felt really happy about it. Plus already I've made a few friends to eat lunch with.