What to do when you're unemployed

I'm sort of obsessed with craft blogs and I have a whole list of things that I have wanted to make for a LONG time :)I saw this blog with a great wreath idea (http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-acorn-wreath.html) and automatically thought, since we are trying to stay on a tight budget, something like this would make a fabulous Christmas gift for my mom and mother-in-law. I couldn't find acorns like she used so I decided to go with the lima bean idea. It was probably a little cheaper anyway. It was really easy and cheap. Don't worry, they don't even know I have a blog so no surprises ruined :)


What you need: 1 straw wreath (I would recommend a styrofoam wreath. The straw bunched up in some places so the beans wouldn't sit flat, not to mention the MESS), a glue gun, 2 bags of large lima bean, a lot of hot gun glue, and a can of spray paint.

Please ignore the nasty carpet

Glue on the beans in whatever pattern you would like







Spray paint it




And add a ribbon



Easy as that!

Found a job!

It's been awhile! Just to get it out there now, I did find a job! I'll start this coming Monday at Conservice (a utility billing company) doing data entry. I was offered the job toward the end of November and they told me I wouldn't start till December 20th. Even thought we knew we had to go a whole other month without me working, it was still such a relief to know we only needed to stick it out a little longer. It has definitely been a long two months, but I am so grateful that I have a job! After many hours on the computer looking for jobs and after a lot of interviews, I know that Conservice is where I'm supposed to be so I'm pretty happy about it. God has truly watched over us the last couple of months. We were worried we would have to use all of our savings to pay for our bills and to pay for all of the Christmas gifts we would need to buy, but Mike's paychecks doubled and everything worked out perfectly. We are so blessed!

Throwing Curves

Sometimes life can throw you curves that you never saw coming. They can sweep your feet out from under you and it may even be a little difficult to get up and to look at the positive side of things. Last Monday I went to work with a job and left with a 5 days notice that I would no longer be employed at my job because of their financial difficulties. This whole week has been very bitter sweet. Some days it was a little more bitter than sweet.. :)

I have worked for Murdock for 2 1/2 years. I was planning on staying there until I graduated because it had been such a great job. It was extremely flexible, they worked with my school schedule, and the pay was pretty darn decent. On Monday I was a little bummed, but surprisingly okay with everything. The next morning I decided I wasn't okay with everything and spend the whole day SO SO ANGRY! I couldn't understand how someone could just go ahead and lay off their employees to save money. Just the week before, the dealership was having a promo and giving $25 gift cards to different customers who came in. Maybe since they were going to fire 7 people throughout the week they figured they could afford it? My poor husband has had to deal with me having these lame emotional break downs because I am so worried about finding a job and being able to make ends meet and pay the bills if I can't find anything before Christmas. I know I shouldn't worry about it because things will work out, but worrying is part of my nature. It'll be an adventure that's for sure! I have to keep reminding myself that God stretches us to make us stronger and that he'll take care of us if we keep paying our tithing and doing the right things. I know everything will work out, so for now I will keep looking for jobs and I will learn to be patient and grateful for everything I do have in my life.

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake."
-Victor Hugo

Blogs

Blogs are a funny thing. Mike likes to make fun of all of us bloggers who put our husbands names in the URL or in the name of our blog. He's never posted anything on here, but I think Mike and Carlee sounds so much better than just plain Carlee. I'm also not creative enough to come up with anything better so he'll just have to deal :) Anyway, he thinks it's really weird that I post things that are personal for the world to see and that I don't mind. I've told him it's my lazy way of keeping a journal for myself, but he's right! Why would I allow everyone to look at my life or read my journal? :) I figure I read other peoples blogs for entertainment so I need to pay them back with a little entertainment of their own. :)

I was talking to my friend Lauren the other night about blogs and how much we love them. Both she and I really blog so we can stalk other people. I check my blog everyday to see updates for other people, which may classify me as a bit creepy or lame.

I think facebook has ruined any sense of privacy for everyone and no one cares about being private about their lives. Those kids on facebook who tell me what they had for lunch on their status or who leave a status saying that they are feeling really down need to cool it. To me they're only fishing for the 28 comments that say I love you. I'll pray for you. You are the best! Don't let the haters get you down! What's wrong honey?? and so on... That is why I love blogs. You can see what is going in the lives of the people you really care about and it isn't nonsense (most of the time :)) Some blogs make me so happy and I laugh my head off at a lot of stories such as the time my friend Suzanne peed her pants on a carnival ride in Mexico (funniest story I've ever heard!) Anyway, is this post weird? I think it's weird so I'll be done. Have a good one!

Race Pictures

And here we are before the race looking... oh so pretty





And after looking... not so pretty! Just pretend we look extremely attractive. :)

The Soda Screamer 13.1

Now for the race!

Another LONG post

Our race started and ended in a little park just outside of the main part of town. Since it was a Halloween type of race, a lot of the runners were dressed in Halloween costumes, which was kind of fun. It was a tad chilly, but absolutely perfect weather for running. Something I didn't know before the race was that almost 4 miles of the race would be trail running up and down a bunch of steep hills. Now, I trained on flat paved roads and only went up and down a pretty steep dip 4 or five times during training so trail running was a bit of a challenge. Anyway here's an overview of the race.

Mile 1: I felt really good. My muscles were starting to warm up and really warmed up on heartbreak hill. Running up all of those hills was a killer.
Mile 2: Still feeling good. We passed Superman so that's saying something. :) We were at a really good pace and things were warming up.
Mile 3: Grabbed a drink, ran through some muddy areas and up and down some more hills, but things were still going great and our pace was still pretty strong.
Mile 4: Just happy to be running.
Mile 5: Urges to throw-up come on. I have never gotten sick while running. Chelsie and I had run 10 miles the week before and I had felt great the entire time and I still had energy at the end of our run to pick up the pace. I figured feeling sick would pass and everything would be fine, but it seemed to get worse with every mile.
Mile 5: Still wanting to puke.
Mile 6: Had a GU and some Gatorade, which made me feel a little better.
Mile 7: We hit the end of the road on the course where we were supposed to turn around and run back the way we came. This area was so beautiful! The weather was overcast with the sun peaking through the clouds occasionally and the air was crisp and full of the smell of sagebrush.
Mile 8: Feeling a lot better from the GU and Gatorade, but still needing to stop and walk quite a bit.
Mile 9: We were back on a trail out in the middle of nowhere, next to a canal and it was once again, beautiful.
Mile 10: Back on a paved road and abandoned by my sister :)
When Chelsie and I had planned to train for this we planned to run the race separately, but when we ran together for training we were pulling out faster miles than she had previously done so she knew she could beat her past times from other races. It may have also helped that I begged her to run it with me because I get so bored running alone. Isn't she SO nice?
Half-way through mile 10 I was so close to tears because 1. I was so disappointed in myself and frustrated that I couldn't pull myself out of the rut 2. I was holding Chelsie back from her goal and 3. Well I felt like crap. I told Chelsie that I needed her to leave me so she could get her time. At first she didn't want to because she is too nice and was worried about me, but I assured her I'd make it and that she needed to go! She picked up her pace and was soon out of sight.
Mile 11: I started talking to myself A LOT and praying to try and get my body to do what my mind wanted it to do. I was only able to run about .25-.5 miles at a time without walking, but I figured as long as I was moving forward, it didn't matter.
Mile 12: I could see Chelsie about a 1/2 mile ahead of me and I decided I'd try and run as much I could to catch up. That didn't last long. :)
Mile 13: I started thinking about how blessed I am. The fact that I was out there in the middle of nowhere running as far as I was running was amazing. I was so grateful for the legs that carried me through those past 12 miles and for the heart that was beating in my chest, and for the hot air I was breathing out of my lungs and the crisp air coming in. I prayed a lot in the last mile asking Heavenly Father to help me to be able to make it and to have the ability to be proud of myself when it was all over even though the race wasn't going how I wanted it to.

The last stretch: I came around the corner where I saw the finish line and Chelsie running toward me. She came up next to me, grabbed me by the elbow, and started cheering me on. She told me I was doing so great and that I could do it! This helped me to push my feet into the ground as hard as I could. The finish line seemed like it was SO far away and I did think to myself 'So this is what Hell feels like', but Chelsie being there to push me forward was such a blessing and I got there! I couldn't believe I had done it! I was so relieved to be done and very happy. I sat down to stretch and got very emotional. I couldn't help, but feel so blessed.

I know that Heavenly Father helped me through the entire race and that he helps all of us get through other races in life. Whether it be the race of going to school, work or working through any tough problems in life, he's always there, watching over us and pushing us through. He also sends us wonderful people/angels throughout those races and challenges. They are right by our sides so none of us are alone and we can make it to the finish. Life is so good.

Night before 13.1

Last Friday afternoon, my sister and I took off to Soda Springs, Idaho. Population: 10. Okay, not really 10, but we seriously thought Soda Springs was a major city in Idaho. We thought wrong! Before we left Logan we thought about stopping somewhere to eat, but I just hurried and printed off a list of about 30 restaurants in Soda Springs instead so we'd be able to get there in time to pick up our race packets and bibs. Once we got to Soda Springs with it's whole 3 stop lights, 2 motels, and an Alco, we picked up our packets and then tried to find a place to eat. I pulled out our list of restaurants and proceeded to tell Chelsie the directions to the Village Pizzeria. The address was something like 11570 Deer Creek Rd. Truckee, CALIFORNIA. Haha! The rest of the restaurants were in Soda Springs, CA so we ended up eating at the Trapper motel cafe'! We went in to look at the menu and all of the employees were sitting in a booth eating something. We decided we'd eat there since there was only an Artic Circle, Taco Time, and Subway. The salad bar consisted of cut up iceberg lettuce, cheese, olives, and beets. We both had to touch our food to make sure it was cold.
The decor in the restaurant was immaculate! haha! I can't even describe it. Everything was so random, from a sombrero hanging from the ceiling, a kite, a wooden duck, cowboy hats, a hot air balloon, the list goes on and on. Chelsie even found the ugliest miniature wooden carousel in the bathroom (which she got trapped in because the door wouldn't open... HILARIOUS!) that someone took a lot of time to make super ugly. Anyway, the night was full of giggles!
If you ever want to jump into a time machine, stay at a motel in Soda Springs. We got our key to our motel and all of the sudden we were in the 60's. Our room was FABULOUS! We had some nasty brown carpet, it smelled like an old folks home, and the bed spreads... oh the bed spreads! Maroon, brown, navy blue, and germ infested. There was also a lovely faded painting of some deer for us to look at. We jumped on the beds a little and watched an hour of 'Say yes to the dress' (love that show) and lights out! Good news about the beds though. Our motel conveniently covers their pillows in plastic cases that sound like candy wrappers as its user turns his/her head... or breathes. I ended up taking the case off and proceeded to find hair that wasn't mine on the fabric case under the plastic one. Pleasant! But seriously, funniest night ever. Now that I've been to Soda Springs, I know how deprived my life has been!

10 Miles!!

I remember... oh about 12 weeks ago when I ran 2 miles for a long run and thought to myself 'There's NO way I could ever run 3!' The next week I surprised myself and ran 3, then 4, and so on. After I ran 7 miles with my sister I realized that I could totally do a half-marathon and I'd be completely fine. It is SO amazing what you can train your body to do. It's so fun to think you can't do something only to surprise yourself.

The furthest I had ever run before training for this thing was exactly 1 1/2 miles. Today Chelsie and I hit 10! I have never felt more proud of myself! Well, actually I was pretty proud of myself when I got a C+ in math 1050 (yeah, I know what you're thinking all of you smart overachievers, but you must understand that Math + Carlee = Disaster X 10) my junior year of high school, but that's another story.

On today's run, Chelsie was probably pretty entertained with my sweet power ranger jumps, singing, and cheering (she chimed in too, I'm not the only guilty one :)). It was a pretty fun run all in all.

We were chased by a dog today! That was eventful. Most of the dogs we've been potentially chased by have always been tied up, but not this one. When he came flying out of the bushes, we stopped, started yelling at him, and then his owner who saw all of this, called his dog back. I apologized to the guy for running past his house (Who am I? A couple of weeks ago I apologized to my friend Heidi for the sun because it was so bright and in her eyes... since I have absolute control over the sun!)

Only one more week till the half-marathon and I'm pretty excited! I'm so happy that Chelsie is going to run it with me. Running can get pretty boring after a couple of hours... or even 10 minutes so it's been so nice that I have had a running buddy to talk to the entire time and laugh with. It has been so great!

Why I heart Logan

Top Ten Reasons I Heart Logan

1. I love USU!
2. I love the crisp air in the mornings
3. I love that everywhere you go, there is always someone running.
4. I love the summers!
5. I love that the mountains are a 15 minute walk from home.
6. I love Brent (He is a man with special needs who rides around Logan on his bike, sporting his hello kitty backpack, waving at everyone).
7. I love the people watching aspect of things. Anywhere you go, there is a character, such as this man from campus yesterday.

It was 12:00, prime time at the TSC, and this old man came zooming past me and suddenly stopped to do maybe 50 jumping jacks? Where he chose to do this was like a little stage for him. There are stairs surrounding this little water fall thing and he chose to stand at the bottom where all could observe his fitness. After his jumping jacks he started to do some downward dog poses, and then proceeded with a bunch of push-ups. Everyone was taking pictures with their phones because this... this was not normal. After his push-ups he jumped up and started zig-zagging through hoards of people. It made my day.
8. I love Pounders!
9. I love its beautiful sunsets
10. I simply love this place and will be so sad when we have to leave to move on to bigger better things.

We've hit the big time baby!

Last weekend (the 4th) was Mike's and my first year anniversary. We figured that since everything will go downhill from now, we might as well celebrate! :) Just kidding. I can't see it going downhill anytime soon. Mr. Berry is SO wonderful and he makes me laugh every single day. He is also the kindest most sincere person I have ever met and he takes really good care of me. If he happens to read this I think it would make him feel better if I told you he owns 60 guns, is extremely manly, rude, and he beats me. :)

When Mike and I were first married, a lot of people told us how hard the first year of marriage was. Maybe looking back at it, we'll think it was hard, but we have loved our first year and if this is as hard as it gets, I'm just fine with that! :) I'm sure once real careers and kids come, it will have it's challenges, but I'm very excited to face them with my best friend. How cheesy!

First day of school

Oh the joys of first day of school pictures! For some reason I was always a weird child and would pose with my hands on my hips or with one arm in the air doing spirit fingers. Holding a prop (like my mothers basket of flowers from the front porch)was also a favorite of mine. Apparently I needed to add some glamor to my pictures, the new school clothes just didn't cut it!

If only I could have had something a little like this with my sisters! Thankfully we had a mother who loved us.


Today was my very last first day of school and I'm so excited. I think it's going to be really weird next fall when I don't have to go. School is all I know!
I didn't know if I was going to be able to graduate by next spring or not, but after talking to my advisor today, I will be walking in May! My advisor also told me that it's against the Comd departments policy to take online classes if you are registered for classes on campus (oops, broke that rule this summer). That led to me having to drop an online class today, which led to me have the dumbest semester ever! It will blow my mind if I don't get a 4.0. All of my classes are basically electives (spinning, guitar, managing work and family, etc..) so it will probably be the easiest yet most boring semester of my life. Oh well. I should be grateful that I'm not going to have to study my brains out, but I like me a little bit of a challenge. We'll see how the semester goes!

Perfect

You know when days are absolutely perfect and you kind of get a high from everything going so well? Today was one of those days! I decided yesterday that I am going to quit being a time waster and try to start doing productive things that help others and make me feel good! Today I tried really hard to stay away from hulu and facebook and I have dinner ready for tonight, laundry is done, and my apartment is very clean as a result. It makes me so happy when all of that is done and I can just sit and chill with my ridiculously attractive husband when I get home from work.

I'm a Stallion!

So as you might know, I'm training for a 1/2 marathon that I'm going to run with my sister Chelsie in Soda Springs in October. I started training for the Top of Utah Half Marathon back in May, but things kept coming up like vacations, school, studying for tests, no motivation (which came all too often) and that made it hard to make time to run. SO Chelsie found one in October that I can run with her and I'm stoked for it.

Being stoked for running is a MIRACLE because you know what? Running is hard! I used to think running a mile was the HARDEST thing in the world! Every fall in grade school when the Presidential Fitness Mile came up, I could just picture myself gasping for air in my stirrup stretch pants and my ginormous pink bifocals, laying on the side of the track... left for dead. Was I a dramatic child? Maybe a little.

Once I hit high school my best friend Suzanne (who was on the cross country team) convinced me I could totally run as far as I wanted and that it was possible. She would run with me and teach me techniques for breathing and it helped me to feel more comfortable with running. I never thought it was fun. I never thought it felt good, but now that I'm a wanna-be runner, I feel like those little bits of advice from 3-4 years ago help me a lot now.

I've been reading a lot of books and blogs about running lately that have seriously made me a lot more motivated to run and they've been SO inspiring to me. People are SO amazing! They prove that anyone can do hard things. They just have to be willing to do them! Once I start reading something it makes me want to pull my hair up and throw on some running shoes (but usually I just stay sitting at my table eating my life cereal and I am content).

In a lot of the articles or books I've been reading, a lot of runners talk about their "mantra", aka, what their running motto is. This morning as I was running with my sister Andrea, I was thinking about my mantra and decided it could be what I always tell myself when I start to feel tired. That being, "You're a Stallion!" This helps me to get going when I start slowing down. I decided this would be my mantra when Andrea left me in the dirt in the last leg of our run... because I wanted to walk for a minute. Then I quickly walked past this older woman walking her dog who looked at me like 'you do know she is beating you right?' Then I saw the USU cross country team running toward me in all of their glory (seriously, they looked amazing!) and I thought, 'what are you doing woman?!! These people are probably running 100 miles today and you can't run another couple of blocks? You are a stallion! Come on!' That is when I decided to kick it into gear and to sprint to the end. I did feel like a stallion and I decided it totally worked for me to say that. I caught up to Andrea and we walked up that nasty hill on 6th East out of the island. Then Andrea wanted to be a show off and ran the rest of the way to her house (a few more blocks) so I ran a block with her and walked one more to my apartment. She is the true stallion. I just have ambitions to be one. I'm so glad she lets me run with her! She makes me such a better runner and it's so great to have someone pacing me every step of the way and encouraging me. She is the BEST!

I can honestly say I'm starting to enjoy running and it truly is a miracle. It is the perfect way to start a day!

HEAVEN!

Last month Mike and I were able to take a break from everything and spend a whole week in heaven with my family, that heaven being Lake Powell. It was SO fun and a much needed break from school and work. I spent my week reading, swimming, skiing, and doing absolutely nothing. It was FANTASTIC!

Mike and my brother-in-law Chad had both never been wakeboarding before, so they were both determined to learn how to wakeboard together. They were both up the first day there and by the end of the week, and after burning a lot of gas in the boat, they were grinding the wake, and attempting to jump over it. Mike took a lot of hits and had the wind knocked out of him a hundred times, but he had a blast and I'm so glad.

Mike is doing his famous trick in this picture where he touches the water, lets go of the rope, and hurries to grab the rope just in the nick of time... ok not really, but I love this picture. Can you say face plant?



Aren't we lovely... I have no idea what our bodies are doing.
Mike had to give me a pep talk (more like yell at me, but in a nice way?) before jumping which really helped since I am NOT a fan of heights. I also found that if you yell and scream right before you push off it really helps. :)





How cool of a dad is he? Colter, my 15 year old nephew, convinced my brother Justin to shave in some chops for the week and what did he do?



Where our houseboat was parked. We had shade almost all day which was so nice!


View from the houseboat


The Family


I'm so happy that we were able to go! Mike loved it and still likes my family so that's a bonus!

Dear Neighbor...

This summer, both neighbors on both sides of us ventured off to Africa for internships in Ghana and Uganda (Jealous). Both couples were lucky enough to be able to sublease their apartments for the summer so they could keep their apartments for next year which is so fantastic! I'm probably more happy than them that they get to stay! :) This is a big old complaining post, but I can't take it anymore!! I want our old neighbors back!! haha!

Here is a little background. On one side of our apartment, the walls are pretty darn thick and are basically sound proof. Right now we have a couple with a newborn baby living there and we've never heard anything on that side of the wall. The wall on the other side of our apartment is a different story... It was installed 80 years ago by a 4 year old Vietnamese child with cardboard, colorful tissue paper you use in gift bags, and white paint. No joke! :)Right now, on the opposite side of that cardboard wall, the apartment is inhabited by a single guy whom, I have discovered, is simply a treat! I have found that if I sit at the table next to that wall to study or what have you, I can get all the entertainment I need! I can sit and listen to an assortment of colorful words including the F word every five minutes, bombs exploding, hearing "Are you kidding me?" over and over again, etc. When this kid first moved in I had to check outside just to make sure World War Three was indeed not in the parking lot.

My special neighbor put his computer right against that wall and literally sits 3-4 feet away from where I am so it sounds like we're in the same room. He plays some game ALL day long so I get very aggravated and have resorted to kicking the wall every time he says the F word. I just think, why would you waist your life!! Doesn't he know that an addicted gamer is not the number one quality a woman wants in a man? Am I being judgmental? Yes. A little bratty? Yes, but I would just really enjoy some friendly talk from the other side of the wall such as, "Thank you so much for shooting me you wonderful person" or maybe "Bless you, you piece of happiness".

In conclusion:
Dear neighbor, please put a sock in your mouth to stop it from articulating ugly words, try to leave your apartment other than when you run out of food or your mother wants you to visit. Maybe you could even try to meet people and go on a date. Expand your horizons son! It's time to take that big leap!

Please ignore it!

So I just realized that the video in my previous post, does in fact have volume. I didn't know my phone recorded with sound so I guess that's good to know. I'm so sorry that you have to hear some random lady.... screaming like an idiot for her husband. For your own sake, turning it down before watching it would probably be a good idea, unless you like to listen to shrieking. :)

Bees Game

Last week Mike and I headed down to Salt Lake with some free tickets from Farm Bureau to a Bees game. We drove down with one of his co-workers Aaron and his wife Mackenzie and had a super fun time. We stopped at 5-guys burgers in Bountiful on the way and I just about died it was so wonderful! I could eat their cajun fries for the rest of my life!!
Anyway, we got down to the game and were happy to find that we were surrounded by some characters. I really enjoy people watching at sporting events. There are always the people who are wearing their muscles shirts with wonderfully disgusting mullets and two glasses of beer. I enjoy watching people who are drunk get really into the game or the ones who just get louder and louder in their conversations. Needless to say, I was entertained the whole time, and NOT by the ball game. We were next to a group of drunk people in their 30-40's-ish who were all flirting like crazy with each other and their conversations became a little risque. Mackenzie and I would hear them say things and we'd just look at each other and say, did they just say what I think they said? It was grand and so entertaining.



While at this people watching/baseball game, one of the Bees cheerleaders came over to us and asked us if we would volunteer to be in a dance off or sing off. Mike said he'd do the dance off and Aaron said he'd do the sing off. After the first inning Aaron was out on the field singing a little jig for whipple plumbing. He was up against a guy dressed up in a cape so he was a little jipped. He did get a $50 gift card so it was probably worth it! After the 8th inning it was Mikes turn and he did awesome! It was Elvis night so he got up there and was shaking his booty. I think he danced a little bit like Napoleon Dynamite too, but he definitely got the crowd with the worm. It was pretty sweet and the crowd thought so too so he won. He won a blanket, a baseball, and baseball bat, and more tickets to another game. SO thanks to my husband and his amazing moves, I will once again be able to revel in people watching and all of its glory.



Oh how I love that boy! I laugh every time I watch it.

Is this your big thumb?

The other day while Mike and I were driving home, I was looking at my hands and then turned to mike and asked, "Do you call this a big thumb?" He just looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "Um... I call it a thumb?" For some reason I thought all of my fingers were called thumbs so my actual thumb had to be my big thumb. We both laughed our heads off. You might(?) have needed to be there to appreciate it, but I thought it was hilarious.

Christian's Home!

Christian got home the weekend we were in Montana which was a bummer, but we were still able to make it home Sunday to listen to him speak. It is so amazing how much he has changed spiritually, mentally, and physically (he's a little on the chubby side :)).
If you don't know my brother, he has had a lot of mental challenges while growing up that have held him back from a lot of opportunities. I think his mission will probably open many doors for him in the future because of what he learned on his mission.

I'm obviously not in the picture, but this is what Christian looks like now. He ran into some poison ivy before he got home and his face was all puffed up from the steroids a doctor prescribed to him.



We're glad to have him home.

Montana

A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I left for Montana with some friends for the weekend. He and 3 of his companions from his mission planned the trip while they were on their missions so I'm glad we could make it a reality for them. :)We stayed in a super nice cabin that belonged to one of his companions' family. We were able to go to Yellowstone Park to see Old Faithful do it's thang and to see all the hot pots (stink pots). I also became an expert at poker... or tried to be one, and the rest of the weekend was full of eating A LOT of food and hanging out. It was such a good time and we're hoping to be able to do it again.

Shooting





Yellowstone









Mike and his companions

Dreaming

This morning as I drug myself out of bed at 7am to go to the gym with Mike. This morning while I was sitting in a stuffy classroom for 3 hours. Today as I sit at work trying to get the motivation to start homework, I can't help but think of this beauty..



My family has gone to Lake Powell every single summer since before I was born. There hasn't been a single summer that I've missed. I even dropped a class last summer just so I could go (besides the fact that it was Andy Anderson's anatomy class... not a hard decision). It is fantastic spending the week out on the lake with no clocks, no phones, no work... well you get the point. I absolutely cannot wait to go! There is nothing like it! The whole week is simply wonderful with good food, the whole family being together, staying up late watching movies and playing games, listening to U2 and Chicago, experiencing my dad being hyper (which only happens at Lake Powell), getting up early to ski on a glassy lake, the sunsets, sleeping under the perfectly clear sky. Don't worry, I'll stop now. I've just been day dreaming about it all day and needed to get that off my chest! :)

One Year!

Today one year ago, Mike took me out on our first date. I can't even believe how fast time flies!! It has definitely been the best year of my life!! I seriously have never ever been so happy. No offense to single people, but I had no idea how much being single sucked! I thought I had if made until I met Mike. Now I can't even imagine life without him and it only gets better and better every day. Boy what a lucky girl am I?

Here are a few pics of the past year.

Top of Utah Half Marathon

It's official. I'm doing it! I decided right now is a good time to cross one of the life goals off my list and that is to run a half marathon. Next after that will be a full marathon, but that depends on how much I like the half... :) I started running last week since I'm absolutely, completely, and utterly out of shape. Just getting up to 2 miles has about killed me since my heart is not used to working so much, but boy do my love handles and thighs like it!:)It will take a lot of will power, but I will make it dang it!

New View

Our weekend was FABULOUS! We decided it was time to change things up with our apartment so we rearranged everything. Our apartments is tiny! We have a small front room followed by a "wall" that is about an inch thick to split it from the bedroom/kitchen/bathroom. It's basically a studio apartment. Moving furniture around in one room is basically impossible because it is like a little sardine can. Since summer is on its way we decided to move all of our bedroom stuff into the front room so we can have the windows open at night to feel the breeze. Now our tv and couch are where our bed used to be.
We Spent all of Saturday moving things around, bought some curtains, and Wallah!

Festival of Colors

A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I hit the road to Spanish Fork with our friends Dallas and Adrianne and Micah and Kathy to pay homage to the Indian Gods. It was a very eventful day. On the way down we stopped at In-&-Out for burgers which were AMAZING! After that we headed to the festival. When we got there, I felt like I was at some crazy hippie party which included a temple, lamas, and a bunch of high school kids. There was a layer of colored dust caked on every surface of everything and the air was thick with corn starch and the dirt that had been kicked up by everyone. We bought our "colors" and then went up to the temple to pay our respects. The temple was full of people singing songs and dancing to drums. It was... interesting. :)
BEFORE

We went outside, threw our colors and left. After the festival, we cleaned up at Dallas and Adrianne's apartment and went to dinner at a place called 'The Roost' which was really good! While we were waiting for our table, Mike asked me for my keys so he could grab something out of the car. I told him I didn't have them. That's when I realized I had locked them in our car. So.. Mike, Dallas, and Micah told us they were going to be "men" and unlock it with a hanger that was hanging on the restaurant wall. The girls sat and watched as they tried to get it open. Then I saw one of them on a phone. Needless to say we ate dinner as the lock smith saved the day. It was such a fun day!



AFTER

EARTHQUAKE!

Yesterday at work I was sitting at my desk and my chair started shaking. At first, I thought it was one of the salesmen or lot techs shaking my chair, but then I realized that my computer we shaking too, and I wasn't touching my desk. I looked to my right and the big glass doors were opening and closing slightly. I felt really dizzy and suddenly realized we were having an earthquake. The epicenter was in Randolph which is almost 70 miles away, but it still felt pretty strong here. I hurried and texted Mike, but he said he didn't feel it. I wish he could have. It was so cool!!

Grateful

Last Friday we were able to go to our good friends Dallas and Adrianne's sealing and it was absolutely beautiful. I cried through the whole thing which I think may have embarrassed Mike A LOT! Haha! We were invited to their wedding breakfast and went to the reception so it was sort of an all day affair. I couldn't help but remember our wedding day and the feelings that I felt in the temple and after. I think that's the reason I was crying so much. I was so happy for them, but so happy for me too! It was so nice to remember what is most important in my life, which is the gospel and my marriage. I'm so grateful that I have the gospel in my life and that I have an eternal marriage to my best friend. Mike is truly an amazing person and I'm so grateful that he picked me.

Make It and Love It!

While I sit here at work, I browse around the internet for HOURS and yesterday I came upon this little wonder of a blog and I'm absolutely in LOVE with it! It made me think of my sisters and all the super creative things they're constantly doing to their houses and for their kids. Anyway, I thought you'd all like this website. This lady makes ugly things look really really cute for cheap and teaches you how to do it too! She even made a pillow case out of an old sweater. I'm inspired and I decided this summer I'm going to attempt to be crafty and open up my unused sewing machine to make my apartment look the bomb.com! I'm going to reupholster my ugly leather/orange kitchen chairs, possibly paint, and maybe even make some pillow cases. The options are endless and I'm SO excited!! Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/

Stake Conference

Last Sunday our stake had Elder Ballard come as a visiting authority for stake conference. He gave an amazing talk about listening to the promptings of the Spirit and said a lot of other things that really touched me and made me feel like there are so many things I can do to improve my life. I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life and I'm thankful that we had the opportunity to go!

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!

Last night as I was sitting at my desk at good ol' Murdock Hyundai, I looked out on the lot and thought I saw my husbands car driving through. I looked again and it was gone so I didn't pay much attention to it. Later, after I got off work, I unlocked the door, put my backpack in the back seat and noticed something in the passenger seat. I opened my door and there was a super cute skirt and top laying on the seat. I was so excited! What a sneaky boy! I had to go up to campus after work to study for a big test I had today and was sad I couldn't go right home to thank him. It was definitely a surprise and very sweet.

But WAIT! There's more! I got home from classes today and started throwing stuff in the crock pot for pulled port sandwiches. When Mike got home a little later, he told me that we should eat the pulled pork tomorrow. I didn't know why for a second, but then I thought, great, I must have ruined a surprise. He told me he was taking me to Cafe' Sabor tonight for dinner with some good friends (Issac and Lauren). I felt so bad, but amazed that he just had all these little surprises up his sleeves. He had another one waiting for me at work. I got to work today and what was sitting on my desk, but a lovely vase of beautiful red flowers. Once again, I was indeed surprised. I don't mean to make is sound like I'm only happy when my husband buys me things. I promise I love him for a whole list of things! I'm the luckiest girl in the world to be married to my best friend and to be with him forever!

Exciting weekend

This week Mike's brother Robert will be getting home from his mission in Germany. Although this will be such a weird experience to meet someone I'm related to for the first time, it probably won't be as weird for me as it will be for him! Mike is pretty excited for Robert to be home since he hasn't seen him in almost three years. I'm excited for him too. It'll be a very happy weekend in the Berry house.

What a week!

Mike and I just barely finished up our first week back at school and it has been a little overwhelming! A couple of weeks ago Mike took the refresher course for math because USU makes everyone take the math placement test after two years of not having math. Because of that, he had to take the test last Saturday and register for a math class. All of them were completely full since it was only a couple of days before the semester started. On Wednesday he was finally allowed to sign into a class and we're both very happy about it. He works for Farm Bureau and they decided to move his branch to Brigham City starting in February. He's been working extra hard before the big move and he's also been working at his other job so he's super busy. His job in Brigham will most likely put us in Bountiful in a couple of years.

My whole week at school was so terrifying to me which is SO weird because I don't get freaked out about school. I actually really like school, but for some reason I was nervous all week and was so so sick about all of my classes. Before this semester, I went to talk to my advisor and he told me I needed to take a Quantitative Intensive class this semester or I would also have to take the math placement test. Let's be honest, I wouldn't be able to get a score high enough to save my life so I decided that taking a class now would probably be a good idea. Now, USU is silly and has some ridiculous classes that are available for a QI class. They even have one about the production of cereal, which was full dang it! It all came down to Genetics or Psychological Statistics. I went to a fabulous website called ratemyprofessors.com to find out about the professors for the class. ratemyprofessors has reviews from other students who had already taken a course from the professor and they rate the workload, the teacher, how hot the teacher is, etc. Let's just say genetics lost. My stats class looked a tiny bit more promising and I loved my other stats class so I signed up for it. I looked at all of my syllabus's (syllabi?) for my classes and wrote down when everything was due and when all of tests and research projects were due and I think I've been hyperventilating since. :) I didn't realize how time consuming my stats class would be! We have 2 super long assignments due every week and our tests are supposed to be ridiculously hard. A girl I knew who took the class last semester said to plan on spending 5-6 hours on the take home part of the test (half of the test is a take home test) Mike was so so nice all week. He bought me flowers and listened to me complain all week! He's the best! It has been quite the week, but hey, only 15 more weeks! I think...

A little bit about us

This week Mike and I were spotlighted in our ward newsletter and had to write a paragraph about each other and how we met. I thought, what a great way to start a blog.... I guess? Anyway here it is!

Mike and I were married on September 4^th, 2009 in the Logan temple. We met last January through one of my roommates. He was at our apartment all the time, but nothing started cookin’ until my roommates were out of the picture. We started dating in May, got engaged in July, and were married in September. It was all really fast, but oh so good!

Mike is from Hyrum and graduated from Mountain Crest High School. He served in the Tempe, Arizona mission (2006-2008) and is majoring in Business Finance and Financial Planning. He always has something to talk about and he’s constantly thinking about random things that always surprise me and make me laugh, such as the morning I woke up to find him staring at the ceiling with his arms folded. When asked what he was thinking about he said, “Oh, just comets”. Mike works full time as an Associate Agent for Farm Bureau Financial Services (Insurance). He’s super busy with it, but he loves it! He also has a deep love for Wikipedia, graffiti, and the Guacamole Bacon Burger at Carls’ Jr. as well.

Carlee is from Tremonton and went to Bear River High School. She is the youngest in her familia. She is going to school in Speech Pathology and works at Murdock Hyundai (“your no regrets dealer!”) as a receptionist. Carlee can pretty much dominate me in many physical recreational activities, which is devastating to my ego. Water skiing, normal skiing, bejeweled, volleyball, and a bunch of other things that I don’t care to include. I am sure, however, that I can own her in a race, dancing, or that Ancient Mesoamerican hip ball game.

We intend on getting done with school, becoming homeowners, and retiring in Southern Utah. And we’ll have a few kids, so someone can milk our future cow and do the dishes.