Catch up

It has been so long since I blogged that I can't remember how to change the font & text colors of my blog! Yikes I hope it comes back to me soon.

Seems like things are busy busy as usual. I just passed my one year mark for my cosmetology apprencticeship. Time has gone by so quickly. I am expected to be finished with my 2500 hours in May/June 2011. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been give to do this apprenticeship, it has been so great.

Laney & PJ are doing well. Laney is still fat! She had an annual check-up at the vet and the scale said she weighed more than the vet would like. Oops... I guess it is all of those treats she is able to entice grandma to give her! The dogs & I have been going on walks more recently and those have been fun other than the times we get attacked by other dogs, followed by strange men, or yelled at my an elderly man! Never a dull moment.

I am still currently working part time in addition to school/my apprencticeship. I continue to enjoy the people I work with and am very thankful to have a job.

I love fall and am so enjoying this weather. I think I will venture up the canyon to take in the fall colors before they are gone.

Been awhile...

I looked at my blog and thought I should really get with it and brighten up my background and post something new. So I will go with an update of life. I am still in hair school (well doing an apprenticeship). My hours are accumulating slowly since I work part time in the afternoons. I am just over 1/3 of the way done with my 2500 hours. Feels so long, but so short at the same time. I am living with my parents currently and my doggies have gotten so spoiled there. They know how to work my mom and get treats all the time. Now Laney & I have to work to both take off a couple of extra pounds. It was so much more enjoyable putting it on! I have begun tackling the flower beds in the backyard at my parents... this is proving to be a lot of work. I am also planting a small garden this year. I do believe this is my first time as an adult. It does make me feel all grown up. :) So that's life right now in a nutshell.

Gingerbread Houses

My family put together gingerbread houses. It was fun. A little aggravating at times, but fun. My mom and I worked together on one and my sis Carrie, her hubby Jeff, and oldest daughter Madison worked on their own. The kit my mom and I used had a lot of wild colored candies and were not very traditional looking when it comes to Christmas colors or decorations. Carrie's kit had some good stuff and lots of festive colors.

I will admit there were some tense moments especially when Carrie & Jeff's walls appeared to be caving inward! The managed to save the structure though. I was a little sassy at times about the house I was working on too. What can I say... it's some serious work!

Winter already?

I am amazed at how fast time goes these days. This past year has flown by. I can remember so well what I was doing at this time last year. Crazy crazy.

Life is so unpredictable and can catch you off guard at any given moment. It is interesting the things we each encounter... it makes me wonder why I signed up for some of the things I did! I know there is a valuable lesson to learn in it all... some days though it is a little harder to remember than others.

The holidays are tough for me this year and I am trying not to be a scrooge. I wouldn't be opposed though to skipping ahead a couple of months to the middle of February though!

I know I know, I didn't post any pictures yet again!

Sour Attitude

Today sucks! Yes I know I should try to put a better spin on the day and get out of my rut, but I prefer to stay in it and maintain that this day sucks!

Really??

I will just start by complaining that I found two gray hairs on my head today! What the heck? Those are not supposed to come until I at least turn 30! I'm having an age crisis! I gotta get those bad boy grays covered up asap!

Next on the agenda, there has been a subject matter that I have been saying my prayers about for awhile now. I have felt discouraged more than once because my patience was wearing thin waiting for a solution. Well, a possible solution presented itself earlier this afternoon. It's the type of solution though that makes me shake my head and realize I have some thinking to do. The solution is what I wanted, however, there are a couple of concerns that come along with it. What to do....

Lastly, Jacob's birthday is right around the corner and I am struggling hard this year with what to do for the boy! The only cost efficient things he has asked for are cd's. I can't only get him cd's....certainly there has to be something I'm overlooking...I hope!

Clock Watching

So here I sit looking at the clock. It is 1:08pm and sadly, I am ready to go home. Keep in mind that I have only been at work since just before 1:00pm! I know, yikes! Work has been really slow lately and today it appears the phones are going to be pretty quiet too. A nap, more than anything, is what calls my name at this very moment. I better find something interesting to do otherwise, it is going to be a very lengthy afternoon.

On another note, Jacob and I have been going to workout classes at the gym each morning before work. The classes start at 6am. So far we really like the pump classes, but today was step class.... I have a step workout dvd that I do at home sometimes and I do pretty well at it. This class on the other hand was not so simple. Jacob gave up and sat down about halfway through and I kept "at it" till about the last ten minutes in which I headed to the treadmill. Jacob's remark after the class was that he did not know he was going to "dance" class! So I'm guessing we probably won't be hitting that one again anytime soon.

Halloween

I know I struggle with this every year, but what does a married couple without children do for Halloween? There's always the fun of seeing the nieces dressed up. The idea of carving pumpkins comes to mind, but then so does the mess & the hassle... I know a lot of people probably go to parties, but that usually involves dressing up and I live with Mr. Scrooge Junior, so that doesn't usually work out, plus I'm not all that creative when it comes to costumes. So I guess the evening will probably involve something low key. I will be at school all day doing hair, so I may not even be that energetic to try something adventurous. I guess there are always the haunted houses to go to, but I'm sure they will be jam packed and personally I don't enjoy getting the snot scared outta me all that much! Eating something yummy sounds good & watching a bit of a scary movie perhaps. Done...decided...I know what we are doing for Halloween!

my knee!

So I was getting out of my car today and had a few things in my hands and I had all my weight on my left leg and when I stood up my knee cracked. It was just slightly painful and kind of stiff for a minute or so afterward. I know it was not a serious injury, however, it made me feel kinda old! Then after sitting at work, I got up to take my break and it seemed a little stiff and not quite like its usual self. I guess I better take it easy....its as if my knee knew that the run on Monday was a small sampling of the days of exercise to come and it decided to have no part of this! I have been really bad about exercising for the past few weeks and finally got my butt to the gym and got a good run in on Monday. I really need to crack down though next week after we get the move behind us and are on more of a routine.

Moving on up....

Okay, so not really moving on up, but we are moving.....are all the gasps & sighs out? Yes I know, this is the fourth move in 10 months!!! I am so tired of packing I have almost decided to do away with everything and start over...if only things were not so expensive. The good news is that each time we have thrown away more and more stuff so we are constantly ridding ourselves of the clutter. One of the things that I do not pack is Jacob's prized cd collection. I am not going to be the one responsible for scratching hundreds of cds, are you crazy?!!

We are moving in with my mom & dad. They are so nice to let us come live with them for about 1 1/2 years while I go to hair school and work part time and while Jacob is in school full time and working full time. It is so expensive to live these days! Our dogs will be so happy to have a backyard again to run around in. I have been taking them to the park almost every day for the past 3 1/2 months to let them get their exercise. It was pretty chilly this morning. I had a hoodie on and my hands were frozen until I took a nice warm shower.


So I got to cut my mom's hair over the weekend and Jacob's hair today. Of course this was with assistance from my teacher at school! It is really kind of intimidating and scary because at this point with scissors in my hand, I realize I could really hack up somebody's hair if I'm not paying attention. I can't wait for this newness and learning period to be over with so I can have the confidence and really enjoy doing hair. I have thought about doing it for so long and finally decided it was the avenue I was going to pursue, so watch me go!

Other than that, not much exciting has been going on. Jacob's birthday is coming up in November, so I need to figure out what to do for that. Perhaps I could finish sewing the patchwork blanket I started sewing for his birthday last year! I know he would love it, it's just that the sewing machine & fabric were not cooperating together, so frustrating. Maybe now since my mom will be nearby I can work on it with some assistance from her!

Olympic Park

We went to the Olympic Park in Park City last weekend. Jacob got a new job with Xactware and his company was having a party up there for employees and their families. We, of course, forgot the camera! We never get pictures...so sorry it's just a boring blog!

I am a scaredy cat when it comes to rides or heights, so I wasn't the most adventerous person. When we first got there, Jacob rode up the tram and took the zipline down while I observed from the safety of the ground. Jacob wanted me to go up the tram to ride the bobsled ride down. I asked him to go do it one time by himself to make sure I could have open toe shoes & to make sure it wasn't way scary. I decided I would walk over to where I thought the bobsled ride should end. Well that was some walk! I didn't know it was going to be that long or that I was climbing the mountain on a paved path! I had convinced myself by the time I was nearing the top that I was going to ride the bobsled down regardless just so I didn't have to walk that long walk back down. When I reached the top (which is where the ride starts) Jacob was next in line to go. He was quite surprised to see me at the top. He went down the ride while I went and watched the instructional video and signed a release waiver. When Jacob got back to the top, I was really nervous about going because he was a little wide eye and said how it was a rough ride. I sucked it up though and still went! It was a rough ride, my head kept bouncing around and hitting the side of the sled (thank goodness for the helmet). It was fun & definitely different; I'm glad I did it. Jacob wanted me to ride the zipline down, but I had sandals on, so I couldn't, so we rode the tram down. We didn't go on anymore rides, because the lines were so long from all of the people there.

We ate dinner there too; the company had it catered. It was pretty good, I was hungry after my long walk. After dinner, there was an aerial show where the ski jumpers go off the jumps into the pool. That was cool. We stayed overnight and our hotel was nice too. It was a nice little outing that wasn't too far from home.

4th of July

We went to my parents house for dinner and to drop the dogs off on the 4th. My parents were nice enough to let us bring the dogs over while we were gone for the evening so they wouldn't freak out at home at people setting off fireworks. After dinner, we went to the Stadium of Fire. Jacob's work bought tickets for the employees and their families. We were not overly thrilled since the Jonas Brothers were the headliners! I have never been to the Stadium of Fire and Jacob has only been when he was a little kid. It was nice to get out and do something different. Jacob's boss even gave us some spending cash, so that was even more of an added bonus. SheDaisy performed and we thought they were pretty good, too bad they couldn't have played more songs though. Then the Jonas Brothers played and you could hear the girls screaming like crazy! It seemed like they played forever. We did get some pictures, but I do not know where they are saved, so I will have to add them later. When the Jonas Brothers were over we watched a few fireworks and then left. We didn't want to get stuck in traffic and we had to stop and pick up the dogs, so we knew that would slow us down. We were able to see the fireworks as we drove away and plus we have seen them in years past, so we didn't feel too deprived. We successfully got the dogs picked up and avoided the traffic.

When we got home though our place was roasty toasty. Our landlords were camping for the weekend and didn't leave the ac on. I went to Walmart and bought a box fan to generate some worthwhile air flow. Our landlords got home on Sunday and Jacob talked to them about the ac and the guy said they have been dying of heat upstairs and had the ac set like it was because their last tenants were always freezing. So I think they were as grateful as we were that they could adjust the thermostat. It still isn't an icebox, but definitely tolerable now.

So today it is back to work. Bummer, the weekends always fly by. Now the count down is on till we have another long weekend which is only a couple of weeks away for the 24th of July.

The Move...

To get current on my blog I need to summarize our recent events. We moved from Vernal back to Orem/Lehi on the 30th of May. Vernal was not the right fit for us. Jacob's job was really unhealthy in many ways and there were other factors that made us decide to move back.

We stayed at my parents house for a couple of days until our place was ready to move into on June 1st. We are renting a basement apartment; we are in a nice area and only about 2 miles from Jacob's work. It is a little small with our two dogs, but I have been taking them for a walk almost daily, so that helps. I started a part time job this past Monday. I hope to coordinate things so that I can attend cosmetology school in the mornings and then work in the afternoons. Jacob is enrolled in school and starts two weeks from today. We are not exactly settled yet and still trying to get on a schedule, but we are glad to be back "home". We feel like it is the perfect time to get our schooling completed and move forward.

We were able to spend some time with Jacob's sister and her husband this past week as they came up to visit from Alabama. It was great to see some of the family since we probably will not be able to fly down and visit everyone this year. Other than all that, we have been unpacking and trying to get settled.

Too Much Time on My Hands

I am feeling aggravated with Jacob's company and their scheduling. It has been up in the air for several weeks as to what the fate of Jacob's crew is. The company is cutting back the number of fracturing crews from 4 to 3. It has been said that Jacob is going here, going there, staying where he is, and everything in between. So in good ole company fashion there was supposed to have been a meeting on two seperate occassions last week, but as usual the meeting was delayed. We were under the assumption that the meeting was set for tomorrow morning.

We got home from church today and had something to eat and I suggested that Jacob call in to find out the schedule for tomorrow (in hopes he might have the day off). When he called in, dispatch told him that he was going on a cement job at 2pm today. Nice to know, since that was only a couple of hours away! Frustrating. So apparently Jacob is going to cement. The annoyance with cement is that it is not known whether the job will be a couple of hours or a few days! Now I have a lot of time and figure I could be doing something more productive than venting on my blog, but oh well!

Down She Goes....

On Saturday, Jacob & I were cleaning out our office and I had gotten bored so I thought I would take out the couple bags of garbage to the trash. Keep in mind it had been raining all morning and was still lightly raining. I was wearing flip flops, my pajama pants, and a hoodie. I walked up to the garbage can and proceeded to throw one of the bags into the can, but apparently there was a mixture of oil & what-not that got mixed with rain water and before I knew it my foot was slipping and there was no stopping me! Boom! I landed on my left knee smacking the concrete full on with all of my weight. Yes, it hurt! There were people outside, so I, as gracefully as possible, stood back up, threw my bags into the garbage, hollered at the dogs with what voice I could muster, and hobbled into the house. It scuffed up my knee slightly through my pajama pants and left a bruise about the size of the bottom of a soda can. In the pictures it is hard to see the bruise because of the camera flash. That was my adventure for the day....lesson learned, be careful even when taking out the garbage!

Flowers

I have gotten several flowers over the past week and thought posting pics of them would be the perfect way to fully enjoy them. The first flowers (a rose and carnations) were from my boss for administrative professionals day. The mixed arrangement was from my mom & dad for my birthday. And then the fern & azaelia (is that how it's spelled?) is also from my mom & dad for my b-day.

Birthday Celebrations

As usual, I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures. That really is my goal....to get more pictures! Anyhow, Jacob and I went to Orem for a couple of days over the weekend. We were able to spend time with my family and celebrate Madison and my birthday. It was fun and nice to see everyone. Now today is P.J.'s birthday (our youngest dog). I think I will go get a treat for her and Laney too of course (you can't give one dog a treat and not the other!). Well that's just a snippit of what's been going on. Thought I would try smaller blogs and maybe they will become more frequent with pictures!

Stuck in a Rut

So it has been ages since I have posted anything on my blog. The same goes for my facebook page. I never was into posting & chatting a ton, but I got tired of keeping up on them so I went on a hiatus. This seems to be the way it goes for me though. I get tired of keeping up to date with everything and everyone, but that's how it seems to be with most aspects of my life. For instance, I get tired of making dinner (new recipes may come to me, but then I forget the old ones!), cleaning house gets old, putting on makeup & doing my hair everyday gets tiresome, and I'm sure many other things get boring, but I'll stop there. So I've come to the conclusion that I'm stuck in a rut! I've got the everyday blahs.

Anyhow, enough about that. Jacob and I have been taking this class for the past couple of weeks (it is a 6 week course) to help in strengthening our marriage. What we are learning is really valuable. The course really makes you evaluate all aspects of your life and how that got you to where you are today. We each have a workbook to complete for the week, not to mention the class is 3 hours long. Jacob and I were watching Wife Swap earlier and it was funny because we viewed some of the situations on the show in a new light after having gone to only 2 of our classes.

One more tidbit is that we recently moved out of the house we were renting and into an apartment. We were not thrilled to do this (for lots of reasons), but we are saving $1400 a month in rent alone! So with the 3rd round of layoffs just passing at work, we are breathing a sigh of relief that we did move to our apartment. This economy is just too risky right now not to have taken a huge step like that. Now if only we could get our apartment smelling respectable! They put in new carpet and painted before we moved in, but that just does not seems to have cut it. I have febreze plug ins and candles, not to mention baking soda in the bathroom cupboards, but the smell lingers. If any of you have a suggestion, please let me know!

Nothin' Much

So not much is going on. We've just been working and keeping busy. Jacob has had "yard days" fortunately the last two weekends, so that means he actually gets home earlier in the evening and I've been able to go to lunch with him. I get to see him for slightly longer in the day until he passes out on the couch. I would too though if I worked the kind of hours he does and had to get up at the insane hours that I consider "deep sleep hours only".

I felt like such a "mom" last night...Laney and P.J. were chewing up and destroying one of their toys and apparently Laney ate some of the toy snake because I woke up to her throwing up at 4:30am. I had to get up and clean up the stinky throw up and then both girls decided it was time to go potty. Then at 5:30 I woke up again to Laney throwing up the rest of the toy scraps. I put her blanket in the washer and went back to bed for an hour until the alarm went off. I guess this or probably worse is what I have to look forward to one day.

I've had this darn sore throat on & off for the past few weeks. It sure is annoying. I'm wondering if it has to do with the bad air quality....just a thought. I have been trying to be better about exercising this past week. I did pretty well considering I worked all week. My only problem is that when I workout, I seem to crave junk the next day or few days. Or maybe it is just stress that triggers those cravings. Well whatever it is, I need to get it in check. I did one of my Jillian Michaels DVD's the other night and the DVD might be short, but boy does that woman work you out good! I usually feel sick when I'm doing the cool down portion. I figure if she trains all of those out of shape people on the biggest loser for hours a day, then I better darn well keep up in a 20-30 minute DVD!

Brrrrr.........

Brrrr......just barely sums up how cold it is here! Our high today was 2 degrees! This is the time of year when we should plan our annual trip to Florida; even 40 degrees is a heat wave compared to this. Poor Jacob stayed out on location last night for work and it got to -23 degrees below zero. Thankfully he had a warm truck with a sleeper to sleep in. I must say kudos to him though for being so tough to work in such harsh conditions. Thanks babes, you're awesome! Anyhow, I'm hoping for snow just so it will warm up, sheesh that seems crazy......