Reality is not my friend right now

So I've been really lucky over the last year. REALLY lucky. You see, the license plates on my truck expired last January. And in California, registration is VERY expensive. And Earl has been out of work for the last year, so there hasn't been any extra money laying around.

As I was driving Earl to his parents' house this morning before I had to be to work, I was pulled over. I was freaking out, my hands were shaking so bad! The cop was pretty nice, if you can consider a cop to be nice. But you know what the stop was for initially? A brake light that was out! Really? There are how many illegals here driving around, unlicensed, uninsured, and unregistered, driving like a bat out of hell and causing accidents and I get pulled over for a tail light????


I just love how our government works. Or doesn't work, for that matter. There are bigger problems going on and the locals are worried about tail lights. I have such confidence in where this country is going, let me tell you!


Earl and I have discussed moving to a small town out in the middle of nowhere. We've been thinking of moving to Montana, Utah, Wyoming, somewhere where there isn't so much concrete. I would love to live in a place where people care about one another. 


Sorry, I like to "ride the harley" as some people do. The cop wrote me a fix-it ticket for the light, and a fix-it ticket for my insurance card being expired. Even though we still pay it every month and have requested new cards but haven't gotten them yet. Just when Earl and I think that we're going to get just a little bit ahead in our bills. To be able to save some. To have a financial security blanket. Life just beat us down a little bit more. 


I'm so done with being an adult. Can I go back to kindergarten now? Those were good days...

A Time for Everything

Tis the season to be cold! Well, only sometimes. Earl and I decorated our first tree together this week. It's a little 3ft prelit guy from Target. It's absolutely perfect on a little wooden table that my mom gave me two years ago.

We picked out the ornaments. Earl picked out the garland. I'm not usually into garland-not that I'm against it, it's just that my family never used it. But he picked the sparkly red kind. I was skeptical. I wasn't sure if it would look okay or not. But once the garland and all the ornaments were on the tree and we plugged it in, it looked very nice.

Of course I had Earl take pictures. But of course I had him take the pictures before I pulled out the box of holiday decorations that had a little angel tree-topper in it. I unfortunately don't have time to post up the pictures right now-it takes for-ever for them to load. So those will be posted later.

Just had to share the joy of our first Christmas together as a married couple with the world! 

You want to Super-Size that?

I'm sorry, I just need to gripe and vent a little bit. 

I was just looking online at some clothes, "window shopping" I guess, and I started to feel bad about myself and angry at the clothing manufacturers. Not that I'm upset at looking at these rail-thin models who don't know what it's like to eat a cheeseburger, let alone animal style french fries from In-N-Out. No, I was becoming upset at myself because I was looking at skirts and dresses (holy cow I'm shopping for skirts? I hate skirts!) because every skirt/dress that I own is at least 3 years old.

Now this isn't to say that I'm in desperate need of skirts/dresses-I'm not. I guess I'm just bored with what I have. But what was irritating me so badly was the fact that all I could find were skirts that hit above the knee (on an average person) and so would be mid-thigh or higher on me. 

I know that being tall is a blessing, and I should be grateful for it, but when it comes to clothes, I become so discouraged and angry that I give up. I keep wishing that I was shorter. That my legs weren't so long. That my torso wasn't so long. My arms as well. I guess the only solace I have is that I wear men's clothing to work and that's the only reason why it "fits". 

I was even looking at Gap, because I know that they make pants and jeans in "tall" lengths. I was so excited (I've bought them before), but then  I noticed that the models were all wearing high heels with these jeans, because that's the style that they wanted. I just wanted jeans that didn't look like high waters! 

I suppose the only way I'm going to find pants that are long enough is to make them myself. And we all know THAT will never happen. So until the day that pigs fly, I'll just have to settle for pants that are just a little bit too short. 

And I've given up on skirts. I'd wear pj's to church if I could.

Work, work, work...

While I'm sure everyone has thoughts of gratitude and thanksgiving on their minds, I had to take a moment to express my feelings. 

To start, Earl has been out of work for the past year. He was able to get some construction work for a few days during the late spring/early summer time. This past week, he interviewed at a business called Garys. They are at Fashion Island, the mall in Newport Beach. Well, the lady called him back and said that they wanted to make an offer to him. It's a part time cashier position, and I believe it is only seasonal. But they offered $10/hr and he is at his first shift right now!!!

When Earl texted me at work yesterday and told me the wonderful news, I was so thrilled that I actually teared up! This is a huge blessing in our lives, one that we've been praying for for a long time. 

So while I am sad that I am home alone (I already worked my shift at Sport Chalet today) I am excited that Earl is at work!

Now there are three sources of income in our little family. Hopefully we will be able to keep it all in savings, preparing for a rainy day!

Dreams

It's interesting to pay attention to your personal patterns. When I was young, I had nightmares frequently, which my mom can testify of. I used to walk from my room upstairs, all the way down the hall, down the stairs, through the dining room, kitchen, into my parents bedroom, and all the way to the far side of the bed to where my mom slept.

"Mom." Pause. "Mom." A little louder this time. 
"What?" 
"I had a bad dream."
"Do you want to tell me about it? 
"No."

"Okay, good night Mom."

And so I would reverse my path and head back to my room. Never did tell Mom anything about my dreams. Just that I had one. 

Well now that I'm older, I've notice that I don't dream very often. And if I do dream, by the time I wake up, I've forgotten what I dreamed. I don't wake up Earl to tell him if I had a dream. It's funny though. He dreams almost every night. 

However, the last couple of nights I have had dreams. Usually right before I wake up and the dream is still vivid in my mind. My most recent dream that I had involved myself, my parents, Earl, and my two kids. 2! Ahhh! I've got kids! 

Okay, shock aside, I had just moved back to Texas with my parents. Don't know where in Texas, but it was very flat and you could see for miles and miles. I was living with my parents and some storms were rolling in and before I knew it, a tornado warning had been issued for our area. I remember that I had started grabbing pillows and blankets and all sorts of stuff and started running to the basement, where I was staying with the kids. Earl was there and before we knew it, we could see the twister and it was the first time he'd ever been in a tornado. 

It was weird. Not the fact that I was living with my parents. But the fact that I had two kids! A girl and a boy. Two little cottontop kids. The girl was the oldest. I don't remember much, but I know they were cute. 

Dreams are an interesting phenomenom that I don't feel that we will ever understand. I'm okay with it too. Sometimes the dreams are fun to recall and really make you think. Sometimes when they have strong meaning, and sometimes they have warnings. Whatever the case may be, they are still fun!

Oh So Much Fun!!

Okay, so I think it's safe to say that I have recently had my first full run-in with insurance. Back in September I took a trip to the ER for a migraine that I'd had for a week. Most of the 5 people who read my blog know that I get migraines on a regular basis. Well, this one lasted a week, which was new and weird for me.

Spent about 5 hours there, got a CT and some wonderful drugs that took the pain and nausea away. I have since gone to a neurologist for follow up, and to create a plan of action to help with the pain. 

Now the bills are coming in.

Joy.

I made sure to sign up for a PPO because I wanted to be able to choose my own doctors and whatnot. So I pay the most out of my paycheck for it. Well, most of the bills were normal, still painful to see, but normal. I got my EOB today from the actual ER bill and it showed that out of the approximate $5600 that was billed, none of it was my responsibility. WHEW! dodged a bullet there!

So now I'm confused because I had an MRI done after the ER, when I saw my neurologist. Got the bill for that and saw that I owe $560 and my insurance only paid $280. Holy cow! Not cool. So after talking to Mom, I now have to spend time on the phone contesting this bill, because I had authorization from my insurance company to have the MRI. 

I'M SO CONFUSED!!!! I don't like dealing with insurance. It's not fun. It's frustrating. And most of the time, I just feel like I'm throwing money down the drain. Anyone else feel this way?

Oh the joys of being an adult...

Responsiblity People! Please!

Can someone please tell me what the fascination is about throwing trash and other various objects into the back of pickup trucks? I own a Chevy Silverado and I love it. It's my truck, and although I live in the city and can't fully justify owning a full-size truck, until I have kids and require more seating space, this is my ride.

I have experienced the Del Taco bags, newspaper ads, water bottles, fast food cups and who knows what else thrown into the bed of my truck. Is it so hard to find a trashcan? Maybe. I like to think that I'm responsible enough to throw away my own trash into the proper container. Except for batteries. I guess you're not supposed to put them in with the regular trash. Weird, I know. 

Anyway, back on subject, earlier this week I picked up a couple of hours on Friday at Sport Chalet working from 6am-10am. Now, for those of you who do not normally see me in the morning, I am not a morning person. At all. So as I was driving to work in the wee hours of dark-thirty, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. 

Then, as I was much more awake at 10, and on my way home, I could hear something rattling around in the back. I just figured some bozo had thrown his trash in my truck again. When I got home, I got out, fuming, that someone did this AGAIN. I took a step to the back and peered over the side to find a pumpkin! No, not just one-TWO! Two very whole, non moldy, pretty, orange pumpkins! I think I would have expected this the day after Halloween, with nasty, cut up, broken up jack'o'lantern. Nope, these two were still in good shape. 

So, being flabbergasted, I called my wonderful husband who was at home, and told him about my find. We proceeded about our day, as we were going to see '2012' in about two hours' time. Awesome movie by the way, great special effects.

We threw away the pumpkins, for we had no need for them. Totally random, I know! We still don't know where they came from, never will I suppose. 

This leads me to my next little gripe. We have assigned parking spaces at my apartment complex and there isn't much parking on the street. Well, our spot just happens to be right in front of the complex clubhouse. So it seems that whenever somebody reserves the clubhouse for a party or get together of some sort and we come home in the middle of it, we are without a spot and have to rudely interrupt the festivities. 

Sometimes there isn't even a party going on and our space is taken. It's very frustrating because then we have to call the tow company that is contracted with the complex and provide a copy of our leasing agreement to prove that the spot is ours. I guess I just don't understand why people feel that it is okay to park in a spot that is reserved for someone other than themselves. Grrr!!! 

It just makes me angry. Life would be so much simpler if people acted responsibly. Is that too much to ask for? So please, the next time you have an empty water bottle or fast food bag, find a trashcan, not a truck to put it in. And be respectful of reserved parking spaces. They are there for a reason!!

**On a side note, there was a party Friday night at the clubhouse and someone parked in our spot. Had to ask them to move. Saturday morning when I went out to go to work, some of the party's popped balloons and ribbon were in the truck bed. I guess someone hasn't graduated from diapers yet!**

Oh Daddy!

I'm not sure if anyone could define or explain the bond that exists between a girl and her father. There are times when we want to scream at him because he wouldn't let us go out on Saturday night, and other times we want to run to his arms crying because of a bad day. 

Most of the time I don't feel like yelling at my dad. In fact, I don't think I have told my dad often enough how much I love him and how thankful I am for him and what he does for me. Even now, as I type this out, I have misty eyes thinking about my dad and how much I love him. 


Before I met Earl, before I had only dreams of getting married, I told my dad that I wanted to dance with him at my wedding reception. He's not much of a dancer, blames it on bad hips I believe. I often joked with him that if he didn't dance with me, I would never speak to him again. Well, he danced with me and probably about 10 seconds into the song I started crying! That was what I had wanted my whole life. To dance with my dad. It was a great moment. I don't even remember what song was playing when we danced, it doesn't matter. 

There is a song that I do remember, however, and I think it is one of the better explanations of the bond between father and daughter. I don't know who wrote the lyrics, but the song rings true.

I remember Daddy´s hands, folded silently in prayer.
And reaching out to hold me, when I had a nightmare.
You could read quite a story, in the callouses and lines.
Years of work and worry had left their mark behind.

I remember Daddy´s hands, how they held my Mama tight,
And patted my back, for something done right.
There are things that I´ve forgotten, that I loved about the man,
But I´ll always remember the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

I remember Daddy´s hands, working 'til they bled.
Sacrificed unselfishly, just to keep us all fed.
If I could do things over, I´d live my life again.
And never take for granted the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love...
In Daddy´s hands.


This post was inspired by what my dad posted on Facebook earlier as his status update. It made me realize how special fathers are. It made me realize that my dad isn't going to be around for my whole life, which makes me sad, but I know that we will be a family again after this life. I want so badly for my daughters to have a loving and strong relationship with their father. 

There are still times now, as a married woman, when I want to run to my father and exclaim, "Oh Daddy!" when I've had a rough day. Sometimes it's just because I love him so much and want to hug him. There's nothing like a hug from your daddy regardless of how old you may be. 



Wow I write a lot! Is this a little too much? Do I need to work on keeping things short? Oh who cares! I like to ramble! Hopefully one day this will be like a journal. Don't want it to be too short and have holes in the story!


So I guess the point of me writing this was to make sure that all who read this will make sure to tell their fathers that they love him. Even if he isn't around, work to build that relationship. It's one of the strongest bonds I've ever seen or felt. And totally rewarding. So tonight, even though my dad is about 3 miles away, I just want to run up to him and say, "Oh Daddy!" and be embraced.



Perhaps I should have prefaced this by saying you need a box of tissues before proceeding? Oops!

A Few of My Favorite Memories

So here are a few of my favorite memories from the day that I married my best friend. 

We got married on the beach at Little Corona Beach in Newport Beach, CA. The cliffs all around us were the inspiration for the artist who painted the Creation room at the Newport Beach LDS Temple. 

This is Bishop Johnson who married us. One of my favorite bishops!

 

First kiss as a married couple!!

Our photographer Adam did such an amazing job. He caught the moments beautifully!

 

 

Much to the dismay of my sweet mother, I got married in flip flops. It was perfect for the beach and I was comfortable. 

Samantha Rasmussen, Amanda Bell, me, Karah Brandt. My sister and my two very best friends. I'm so glad that they were all able to be a part of my special day. 

Well, there are some of the highlights. If you beg for more, or even if you ask politely, I may be inclined to post more. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I do!

 

Very Random, Not Sure What to Call This One

While I don't consider myself to be a housewife, I am trying to become one. Kind of. I don't feel that I lead a very exciting life. And I don't have cute kids to tell funny stories about. I guess sadly enough, my excitement comes from cooking. I'm sure that if my mom were to read this, she would be so proud!

Well, not to disappoint you Mom, but dinner tonight wasn't from scratch! It wasn't macaroni and cheese either though, so I guess that's a step in the right direction! 

Earl and I went to see 'A Christmas Carol' today with Amy and Lisa and had a wonderful time. Great movie! We were on our way home and stopped in at our favorite store, Target, for some light grocery shopping. Neither one of us could really decide on what to eat for dinner, so we walked up and down the aisles waiting for inspiration to strike. We decided to try the Bertolli skillet meals. And figured it would be good, seeing as it said right there on the package, "A complete skillet meal for two" and we're only 2!

So we came home, opened the mail, did up some dishes from earlier in the day, and I got started "making" dinner. 

Step 1: Cut open bag
Step 2: Pour contents into skillet (I cheated and used a stock pot because I don't have a 12 inch skillet, which is recommended for this meal)
Step 3: Cover and stir occasionally

And ten minutes later dinner was served! I must say, it tasted really good. I'll have to remember to look for coupons for them! I slaved and sweated over this meal, after all, it did cook on medium-high heat...But it turned out well. 

I know, cooking stories aren't very exciting. Maybe next time I'll share some pictures and stories from our honeymoon cruise to Mexico. It was my first time on a cruise, and first time out of the country. Took a couple of cute pictures, maybe I won't post up the pictures of me in a swimsuit...don't want to blind you with my extremely white legs...heck I don't even like to see them! Well I think I have started to ramble...guess that means it is time to wrap this up. 

Maybe this week I'll have some more funny work stories to tell...Can't wait for it to start snowing in the mountains...although I'm afraid I'm very much out of shape for snowboarding. But that's what I'm looking forward to this winter!

Wow!

I'm such a dork, I know. You don't have to tell me. But I am so proud of the fact that I was able to figure out how to change my background and my my blog look all snazzy!

You may laugh now.

Kitchen Surprise!

As I journeyed again into the wonderful world of cooking tonight, I was forced to recognize yet another kitchen utensil that I do not have. 

I was making these very yummy chicken crescent rolls that my very best friend Sam gave me the recipe for. (They turned out great, thanks again for the recipe Sam!) As I was about to crush the croutons for the crunchy outer layer, I put them in a zipper baggie (no trademark infringement here!), and said to myself, "Now what will I use to crush them?" 

So I pulled out a soup spoon from the silverware tray and started to crush away. Then I asked myself, "How would Sam do it?" followed quickly by, "How would Mom do it?" Then it dawned on me. They have rolling pins!!! That's right folks, I don't own a rolling pin. Just goes to show how much actual cooking/baking I really do. 

Might have to put it on my wishlist for Christmas. Might have to bite the bullet and go get one myself. I don't think I can accept the fact that I'm at the point in my life where I ask for kitchen utensils for Christmas...am I?

In the meantime, my rare forays into cooking will have to do without a rolling pin. I'm not big on cooking so I think I'll be okay. It's not that I don't cook well, I do. It's just that I don't like it. I've noticed that when I do cook (more than just Hamburger Helper), I end up not eating much. Don't know if it is because I'm too tired to eat by the time the food is ready, or if I'm too warm and all I want to do is drink water...weird!

So, any suggestions on what type of rolling pin to get? My mom has a really old wooden one that I used when I would help her make sugar cookies or pie.  Don't need anything fancy...fancy doesn't match my kitchen style! Which is mostly whatever was cheapest. I just want something that will last and won't fall apart on me. 

I'd say it's time for me to do the dishes, but Earl is already doing them. We have a wonderful arrangement that whoever cooks, doesn't do the dishes. Isn't he a great husband? It's a good thing too that he's doing the dishes, because I made a lot of them!

Oh Work...

So while nothing overly exciting happened at work today, I thought I might share some "interesting" calls that come in. 

• Middle-aged female drunk on mouthwash...
• Two homeless, intoxicated males fighting over a wheelchair
• Dad passed out b/c his son broke his leg and Dad couldn't stand the sight of the deformity
• "Astronaut" said that the mothership was coming back for her and she needed to hide
• Toothache...really? 911 for that? At 4am? Really?
  

I've had other calls that were exciting when they came in, but we got cancelled en route or on scene, so they were very anticlimatic. Like the mysterious package left on the doorstep of a fire station. Hour and a half later, we were cancelled.


But, I still go to work 3 days a week, and have to get wrong numbers, "I'd like to make a prayer request for so and so" (TBN), "What showtimes are available for the concert in November?" (Pechanga Casino), "What can you tell me about refinancing my home loan?" (I have no idea, happened a couple of times in one shift and then not again...)


I love my job, really I do. I just wanted to share some of its wackiness with you!

Gratitude

In the past, I have not been a fan of my birthday. It always seemed that something bad happened on it. Well, this is my first birthday being married, and it's been absolutely wonderful! I woke up to find that many of my friends on Facebook had already posted warm birthday wishes on my page. To know that I have friends who care about me is a wonderful thing. Friends are amazing gifts from God and I want them all to know how happy I am to have them each in my life. Even though this blog is brand-spaking new and I doubt that anyone reads it, I still want to express my gratitude for the blessings in my life. So thank you to everyone!!

Littls Bits of Random

Today has been my first Saturday off in I don't know how long. Not that I mind working Saturdays. Usually they are more mellow than the weekdays. But it's a little hard to be social with friends or family when they ALWAYS have Saturday off.

So today I am hanging with my in-laws. We all went to the Newport Beach Temple this morning and I had one of the most wonderful times. Then we went to breakfast at Coco's (mind you, it was noon). After that Earl had to head off to Rancho Santa Margarita to work with his DJ buddy for RSMHS homecoming dance. It's interesting that I can be away from Earl at work and be okay, but for some reason today is different. I miss him!! I guess I really am still a newlywed and want to spend every minute of every day with him.

So here I am, sitting on the floor, typing away on the laptop while Adam and Pops and Cathie watch O'Reilly Factor, missing my sweet husband. Gosh, makes you sick, doesn't it? Am I being too sappy? Could be...

I'm bummed too, because the ALCS Game 6 has been postponed til tomorrow due to rain. I was all set to cheer on my Angels to send the series to Game 7, but now THAT's not going to happen! Maybe I will be able to talk some people into going to a rodeo tonight...

My First Blog!!

Alright, I'm way new to this, so please bear with me. I'm hoping that this will be like a journal for me. I was always HORRIBLE about keeping a journal when I was younger. Maybe technology will be good for me and enable me to chronicle my life a little better.

For those who I haven't had a serious conversation with in years, this is for you. About 4 or 5 years ago I went to OCC and took an EMT class. I absolutely fell in love with it and decided to pursue it. I went to work as an EMT for Doctor's Ambulance Service back in April 2007. I was there for 6 months when I accepted a transfer to Utah with my other job, Sport Chalet. Well, I moved 700 miles away from everything familiar to me and started over, all on my own.

Now to go back and parallel this story, I was living in Long Beach, CA and met a great guy named Earl. We started dating and didn't decide to be exclusive until 2 weeks before I moved to Utah. Great timing, right? Well, Earl proved his worth to me when he drove me and my U-Haul to Utah. He helped me find an apartment close to work and was the rock I needed in my life at that time. Earl came back to visit a month later, found work, and moved up himself. We continued to date and a few months later in March, Earl proposed to me at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

Earl and I came home in September of 2008, I continued to work at Sport Chalet, and returned to Doctor's as soon as I could. Earl and I were married February 27, 2009 at Little Corona Beach. It's been the best 7 1/2 months of my life thus far! We plan on being sealed in the Newport Beach Temple in early March of next year.

Not too shabby for my first post, right? There will be more catching up soon!