"Please bless Nephi to find the plates"

Saturday night, John and I babysat 2 of his nephews while our sister and brother in law went out on  a date. I will be the first to say that I hope we do not have boys. Growing up in a family of 4 girls, I have absolutely NO idea how to handle boys. Luckily, John has around 70 nieces and nephews and helped raise 4 of his younger brothers, so he has plenty of experience working with little boys. I was completely baffled as to how to entertain them. With girls, it's easy! You sit around playing with dolls, or playing house, or dress up. With boys, you have to play Legos (which for some reason just does not come easy), or build a train track, or have a sword fight. And I lose every time to those swords. They must have taken lots of sword fighting classes because they were killer....literally.

Anywho, John and I were watching Mason (4) and Jimmy (2). I destroyed so violently (in their words) the Lego house that they built. So I proceeded to build them a newer, bigger house. While I was constructing this house, they decided to be police men. VERY LOUD SIREN NOISES PROCEEDED TO BE MADE. And when I say loud, I mean LOUD. I couldn't help but just smile at John with my head tilted like I was going crazy. Because I was.

After they had their kick of being cops, they both attacked John with their swords. He sure is a great guy around kids. If we have boys, he will be a much better father than I am a mother. Girls, different story ;)

To wrap up the evening, we watched Shrek and read a bed time story about Thomas the train. I do believe that was Mason's favorite part of the night. After story time, it was time for prayer. I helped Jimmy with his sweet little prayer. He is such a little angel. Next, it was Mason's turn. He said his own prayer because he is such a grown up kid. Everything was going great, until I had to hold in a vein from laughing when he said "Bless everyone to go pee." The things little kids say is just so innocent and can only be said by little kids. It seriously was the highlight of my night.

When their parents got home from their date, we chatted for a little and told them about Mason's special prayer. They told us that he also will pray for "Nephi to find the plates" and that they just don't have the heart to tell him that he already found them. At least he prays knowing that the Lord will take care of it, right?

I had such a fun night with those two. I can't wait to have kids, but I think that babysitting will get me by for now ;)

On Sunday night, while watching a movie, I decided to paint my nails. And I wanted to do something different than my normal one color boringness. I remembered seeing something about scrapbook paper and rubbing alcohol to add cool designs to your polish. I looked it up, and got right too it! What I hate the MOST is how misleading some blogs can be. After probably 4 coats of new nail polish after taking it off, I finally got it down. It took MUCH longer than the blog said and was a lot more work. But here is the end result!

I think they turned out pretty great for my first try!

Question time!

What do you and your spouse do to determine who does what when neither of you like doing it? John and I normally do best two out of three in rock, paper, scissors. But he is just SO. DARN. GOOD. at it that I can never win! I need some new ideas :)

SCCREEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHH......

Reality check time!

These last two and a half months of marriage have been like nothing else. It has been the best thing to happen to me for many reasons.

From everything I heard prior to marrying my husband, marriage was supposed to be so easy. It would be like cutting through soft butter with a plastic knife. Instead, it has been like cutting through steel with a piece of string. No, we don't fight. We don't wake up and hate each other, or get on each other's nerves. We get along just fine, like any couple in love should. I'm talking about merging two lives together who have baggage.

I have my car to pay off.

John has his student loans.

And when you least expect it, you've got everything going against what you have planned.

John and I are still waiting to hear about if he got this job in Salt Lake or not. And me being the girl with off-the-chart emotions, I freak out when we don't hear from them the next day. My panties are in a huge bunch from stress.

We got a notice yesterday that we were to start paying off his student loans next month. We weren't expecting this until next July. And it was a HUGE wake up call.

Life has kind of taken an unexpected turn. And all we can do is love each other and trust that the Lord will take care of us as long as we keep His commandments.

"When life gives you more than you can stand, kneel."

Through these different trials and surprises, I have grown my relationship with my Father in Heaven so strongly that it catches me by surprise sometimes. I have never prayed as much as I have in the last month than I have in my 20, almost 21, years of life. Yes, I am human and have my doubts sometimes. But I know that He is always there to comfort me and to catch me when I fall.

Life certainly is no walk in the park. But I wouldn't want any other partner in this crazy journey than the one I have.

Time to get creative!! ;)

A Mustard Seed

I have a horrible time at being level headed and not getting stressed in a situation.

For example, John had his second interview for a position at the University of Utah Hospital today in Salt Lake. This is an awesome possible job that would change our lives. I want him to get it so badly, that I over think things and worry about it non stop. John told me about how his interview went and all I did was pick out the bad things and focus on them...saying that we're screwed.

Through this whole process of him applying for the job, waiting for an interview, then waiting for a call for the second interview, and now waiting to hear about if he got the job or not, I have prayed like cuh-razy. I've never prayed this hard or this much before. And now I can say with conviction that prayer DOES work. Yes, you might not get the answer you want. But you will get the answer you need. Who'da thunk. My mom was right. All I had to do was pray with faith and an open heart.

One of the biggest things I have a problem with, is I hate not knowing how something is going to turn out or what people are thinking. What's even worse, is I know I have no control over that, whatsoever. Yet, I choose to stress over it. (Constantly, I wish I had super powers and could read people's minds...)

This experience, which is far from over, has taught me to turn things over to the Lord. I have to let him take care of things as he knows exactly how they should go. I have had to learn, and am still desperately learning, to be okay with something if it doesn't go the way I want or planned them to go. Now, if we don't go to the restaurant I want to, or are too late for the movie of choice, I don't freak out. But for something this HUGE...let's just say it's been scary living with me while going through all of this.

My oh-so-wise mother keeps telling me "If John doesn't get this job, that means that something better for HIM and for you BOTH will come along."

I JUST HATE WAITING.

with a passion...

Everything will happen in the Lord's timing. He knows what is meant for John and I. I have never been so scared, worried, stressed, happy, or have had so much faith in my Heavenly Father as I do now.

Having faith is one of the hardest things to have. 1 year ago, my faith was pretty much non existent. Today, I have more faith than I know what to do with. Yes, it might be the toughest thing I am going through at the moment, but I trust my Father in Heaven more than I trust myself. Heck, I trust him more than my husband. And that speaks volumes.

"The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell, right to the top"

The only way anyone can make it through those miles of clouded hell is by having faith that everything will be okay. Everything will work out exactly how my Father intended.

All we have to do is have as much faith as a mustard seed.



Side note: this is a song by SafetySuit, my favorite band, that has helped so much through hard times. I think it was written so perfectly. For too many reasons, this is my theme song.

Kindness is key, and is also very tasty

Ambulances suck. And are a pain in my side. Especially the company itself...

Back in 2008, I went to an Urgent Care due to some medical complications with some medications I was taking. I was then rushed by ambulance to a hospital, and then transferred again to Phoenix Children's Hospital. At the time, I was 16. I was still a minor.

When I applied for my car 2 years ago, I could not get qualified if my life depended on it. I had to have my parents co-sign on the loan. And I had no clue why I couldn't qualify on my own, because I had never done anything against my credit. Ever.

A few months ago, I decided to check my credit score for kicks and giggles. What I discovered was NOT what anyone wanted to see. I had horrible credit. And it all came down to the two ambulance rides I took when I was 16. Furious, I called the ambulance company and they admitted their mistake. They said that they do not bill minors and billed me by accident. Subsequently, I have had a delinquent account on my credit for almost 5 years. Ouch.

After talking with multiple people on the phone, I was told that it would be taken care of and be removed from my credit in 45 days or so.

So I waited.

Patiently.

2 months later, I called to see what the progress was, and the girl I spoke to had no clue whatsoever I was talking about. I had to explain my whole situation again. This time, she documented the call on my account and said that she would send it over to be removed in 45 days or so.

So I waited some more.

Patiently.

3 months later, today, I decided to check my credit score to see if anything had been fixed. Low and behold. Nothing had changed. My blood quickly reached boiling point and I was about to explode. I was so mad that I started to stutter....

Furious, I dialed their number. When someone greeted me happily, I bursted out "I need to speak to your manager." When I was asked if I had an account number he could give them, I repeated "I need to speak to your manager." In now way was I kind or patient. That had all been used up in the past months. After I was put on hold, he came back and said that his manager was helping another customer and that if I left a voice mail, she would call me back. Now, I had heard that same phrase time and time again from the previous customer service reps I had spoken to in the previous phone calls with them. I told him very rudely that I would hold. No longer than a minute later, I was transferred to her voice mail. And I proceeded to leave one of the nastiest voice mails I have ever left for anyone. I was REALLY mad.

(Was I proud of any of this? Absolutely not.)

After cooling off for a few minutes, I decided to take a different approach. I decided to actually be nice even though I did not want to be very nice. So I called them up again and politely asked for a manager. After giving the customer service rep a little background to the situation, she gladly was able to help me herself. We spoke for a few minutes, and she eventually got me her manager even though I was sure I didn't need to speak to one anymore. Her manager told me that in June, the last time I called, they sent the information over to their third party vendor, or something or other, who was supposed to get in touch with the credit bureau and that they had not done anything with the information. She then had HER manager speak with the manager of the third party vendor to get this resolved. The manager I spoke to was so extremely helpful in getting things resolved. Yes, it took WAY longer than it needed to be. But getting short and frustrated with people isn't going to help anyone. I've worked in Customer Service for a long time and always hated when people got frustrated and yelled over the phone at me for something that I personally had not done. Why did I not think of this when I was on the phone? I have no clue...

After all the drama ensued today, I wanted to make soup (random, I know) because it's just one of those soupy kinds of days. It's the beginning of fall, and it's just what I needed. So I decided to make black bean soup! And oh boy was it delicious!!! And because people, mainly my mom and sister and a few aunts, ask for recipes, I decided to give you this one! I hope you all enjoy and let me know how it turns out! John loved it, and it made so much that we now have plenty of leftovers.

1 T. canola oil

1 chopped onion

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 T. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

3 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. salsa

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/4 tsp. salt

1 T lime juice

2 c. cooked macaroni

1. Heat oil in pan and add onion and bell pepper. Cook until onions are translucent.

2. Add chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 min.

3. Add beans, chicken broth, salsa, cilantro, and salt.

4. Bring to boil, simmer for 10 min.

5. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree. Stir back into saucepan.

6. Add cooked macaroni.

7. Add lime juice and stir.

8. Enjoy!

You can add more spices if you'd like, but this was absolutely perfect. We added a plop of sour cream to the soup and stirred it in. I've never had soup this good before.

Let me know what you think!

Nothing of Impotance

This post really has no important facts, or urgent news. I was just utterly bored while my husband played his game and figured I'd touch base with life before we watch Master Chef.

John and I have watched the entire last season of Master Chef in probably a week. We both immediately want to watch it when we're home from anywhere. Weird, I know.

John is stubborn.

And I guess so am I.

Fall has officially come into play. We can't sleep with the window open anymore because then we would have to turn on the heater. I LOVE it.

And yes, he still hogs all of the bed.

I have picked up a new hobby. PAINTING. Can't wait to post some of the stuff I have been working on.

I found out how to download new fonts to my computer and have gone a little haywire. I have made so many posters for quotes that I absolutely love and changed my photo about and had fun doing it. I think it's a lot cheaper than going to a shrink...you should try it some time!

I was employee of the month this month and had the opportunity to win $400. All I had to do was answer 5 questions correctly. I could put as much money as I wanted on the 4 answers available. What I won from each answer would be taken into the next round. I answered the first question perfectly, still holding the full $400. The second question got the better of me. "What causes crickets to chirp" or something like that. I put all my money on the time of day. Little did I know, they chirp due to temperature. So, there went my $400. Luckily, my work is so nice and caring that even if you lose all of your money, you still get an extra $50. Date night anyone? And on top of winning $50, my face was imposed into something that I like. What could that be?? GIRAFFES. I have a slight obsession, but nothing too serious ;)

Life is wonderful :)

How is life treating you this wonderful holiday season?