Habits, Projects, and Improvement

NOTICE: This post will be full of venting.

Now that I have that out of the way I shall begin my rant. It all exploded yesterday. I realized how LAZY I have become. I have developed habits from when I was sick that haven't gone away. I go to bed around 10:30-11 p.m. However I do not wake up until 7:15-7:30......so I feel like I am over sleeping....yet I usually can take a nap around 2-3 pm everyday. Why? Second thing, I rarely prepare breakfast. If Brandon or I make a pot of oatmeal, mix together pan cake batter, or make french toast its a celebration at my house. Usually it's fend for yourself aka cold cereal. I then go to work. Thankfully I have been busy and when my tasks are complete I have found ways to educate myself and use my time wisely. I then try to go to the gym at least three days a week. I try to go for at least 45 minutes to an hour. This has been a huge accomplishment. Once I get home I make dinner or help with dinner and then I proceed to sit in front of the TV or read a book until bedtime. Now I do help with dishes and cleaning up after dinner. I sometimes even do a load of laundry.....but I still feel LAZY every single night. 

Also I hate cooking. I hate trying to find new recipes, trying to find something that I will like and that Brandon will like. I hate trying to find everything at the store. I do not enjoy all the effort that goes into preparing the meal. Most of all I HATE cleaning up after cooking. I like have a clean house, but I feel like I am ALWAYS doing dishes, laundry, and cleaning up after myself and Brandon. The worse part is I sometimes let things sit for two or three days.....and then I'm super stressed out and go on a cleaning spree. I guess I feel a little exasperated about being a good wife and mother. If I don't enjoy cooking now......what are we going to do when we have kids and I'm not working full time? I don't want to be the mom that feeds her kids pbj's and fish sticks all the time. I want to enjoy cooking. Like a 50's housewife (refer to the picture up and to the left).

 Part of my issue is that I really do not know how to cook. I wasn't allowed into the kitchen until I was about 14, then on top of that my mom didn't really cook. Tacos, spaghetti, tater tots, fish sticks, rice a roni, cheese toast and peaches were common meals at my house. My mom worked full time (more like 60 hours a week) and she had two kids she was raising while my dad worked out of town. By the time she got home at night she didn't want to cook and she definitely didn't have the patience to teach me. Saturdays we cleaned and it was basically fend for yourself. Sunday my mom would make two nice meals depending when church started. However she did most of the cooking herself because she didn't like have a lot of people in the way. She would let me help her cook the hamburger, or stir the noodles, cut veggies....simple things. But she didn't ever really teach me to cook. I don't think she really enjoyed cooking all that much.

 Now I'm not blaming my mom for my dislike of cooking, but I think my 

main issue is that I haven't had anyone really TEACH me to cook. My biggest frustration is not know what I am doing or know how to do something. Brandon does all the technically cooking. Heck I haven't even used our Kitchen Aid, food processor or blender! In fact I just recently learned how to use the rice cooker a few months ago. Pathetic I know. So far we have made do.....but I want to be an amazing wife. I want to cook yummy foods and treats that my husband brags about. I want to not feel so overwhelmed by cooking. I just do not even know where to begin. I've thought about going to some cooking classes....but my other problem is I'm kind of picky about what I eat. Also a lot of stuff I like Brandon doesn't. For example: I LOVE shepherds pie. Brandon will eat one serving out of obligation, but he doesn't like it. Example 2: Enchiladas. I like red sauce, Brandon likes white sauce.....so we don't have enchiladas. So there have been some......issues trying to agree upon meals. The other problem  is that I don't like weird, experimental, mixed together stuff. I like everything to have a place on the plate and to eat them separately....hence I struggle with casseroles and things cooked or covered in weird sauces. 

In all here is my plan. I'm going to force Brandon to sit down with me and plan out meals for a week. Just a week. That way I can get all the groceries we need at one time and I don't feel pressured to figure something out for dinner at 4:45 pm that day. I also need recipes. I need simple, yummy, easy recipes to try. So if you have any suggestions or recipes.....I'd love to have them!

To try and feel less lazy I've joined the PTA to try and give me something to do other than read and watch TV. I'm also attending more church meetings......so I guess I am trying to break the habit. But it is so hard to get out of a rut...it takes a lot of work and sometimes its nice to have someone supporting you or encouraging you. So now that I've successfully dragged you into my pity party you can now say nice things and boost my self confidence. I'm thanking you ahead of time. I promise that was not my intention of this blog post. Honestly what I wouldn't mind are suggestions and advice. That and invitations to go out and do things. I tend to be a home body.....and to be honest I'm content being a home body, but I feel like I am wasting my talents and potential staying at home, tucked away from the world. I'm not saying I want to be busy everyday at every hour, but a few times a week would be nice. I do have a few projects I am working on. I have some quilts I need to do. I'm also planning on buying yarn and making scarfs and blankets. Not sure what I'm going to do with them.....but I'm sure something will come up. As you can see I'm not super creative....that's why I stick to blankets they are easy and to the point. I guess I wouldn't mind joining a Stampin Up group again...I did enjoy that. 

I'd love to make some seasonal wreaths!

Group crafting is always fun!

 Anyway I feel like I have successfully vomited my random thoughts and feelings. If you are confused and lost, it's okay I forgive you. I do that to Brandon all the time. If you can relate, my condolences and contact me about starting up a club. If you have suggestions or advice.....I can't want to hear! Also if you know of any cool cooking classes, hot yoga, craft night.....please invite me!!! Alright, goodbye for now!

First of Many More

Well folks I have successfully been married for a year. We made it!!! Friday Brandon and I celebrated our very first anniversary. We didn't do anything huge or amazing, but it was simple, together, and wonderful. I will admit I was a little grouchy and negative during the day because I wanted something bigger, better, somewhere else, but in the end I enjoyed every second of our night and day together. We both worked Friday, but once we were off we packed an overnight bag and headed to Springdale. For our open house we received a night at the Cliffrose Lodge and an gift card to Oscars, we decided this would be the perfect opportunity to use them. Springdale was busy! It was wonderful to arrive and to see all the "No Vacancy" signs and lines at the restaurants. We weren't sure how busy it was going to be because of the recent shut down, but it seemed that everyone else was just as excited as we were about getting out while Zion was open. We checked into our hotel (they had mini cookies from the Sugar Cookie.....I was in heaven and had three of them) and then went to dinner. Neither of us had ever eaten at Oscars and it was fun to trying something new and different. Brandon had ribs and I had an enchilada......the servings were huge! After dinner Brandon had to stop at Blondie's and get a slice of pie for dessert. We then enjoyed the rest of the evening in our room. Brandon did surprise me with a very thoughtful gift. He had done some research on anniversary gifts and found that the historical 1st anniversary gift was paper and the modern was a clock. So he purchased me a book (paper and I love reading) and a watch (I've been looking at a few watches the past little while). I was both surprised and touched at the time and effort he put into both items. The watch says "be happy, be you," something Brandon stresses to me often. Brandon's gift from me was a annual national parks pass, he usually gets one for his birthday, but the government decided to shut down that day so I improvised. Anyway Saturday we had breakfast at Mimi's Cafe and decided to do the Emerald Pools hike. I have never hiked up to the top pool so it was a fun experience and I enjoyed every minute of it. The weather was beautiful, we met friendly happy people along the way, and it was perfect! We returned home late that afternoon and enjoyed the rest of the weekend doing the normal weekend routine (aka laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping).

Other than that our lives have been pretty normal. We did go on an overnight camping trip with Cody and Carina to a place called Kodachrome Basin (it is east of Bryce Canyon) and a blast with them. We also celebrated Brandon's thirty something birthday :). I've included some pictures. Sorry this post is so short, I just don't have a whole lot to report. Enjoy the snapshots of our life!

Dinner at Oscars

There is a slot canyon that repels off part of this wall.....over towards the right. I want to do this canyon....there is a free fall repel into the top emerald pool. It looks epic.

If you look closely you can see the head of a snake....yes I saw it and didn't freak out! He was just chilling there until two Asian boys came running up the trail banging their light sabers.

My thoughtful amazing gifts from Brandon.

Water falling from the second pool to the third

I love Zion, I am constantly awed and amazed at the beauty of the sandstone cliffs. One of my favorite places. 

Part of Brandon's birthday celebration. I tied all of his favorite candies to the balloons. I was going to do it for our anniversary with candy and reasons why I love him, but I had to improvise something for his birthday.

Kodachrome Basin

Rain, Work, Rain.....and Work

Wow so much has happened! The last few weeks have been super busy but amazing. We went to Salt Lake the weekend of August 24th. Unfortunately it was not for a joyous occasion, Brandon's grandfather passed away and his funeral was Monday August 26th. Even though I only knew his grandparents for a short while they definitely found a place in my heart. They were always so excited to see us and loved our visits. I'm sad that we will not be able to see them when we go up north now. The happy part about all of this is that Grandpa is now with his wife. He has been miserable since she passed away, and now they are together. The other great part was the opportunity to spend time with Brandon's family and extended family. I'm always amazed at how......small his family including his extended family is. My family outnumbers his three to one....at the very least it's probably more now that I really think about it. Either way it was wonderful to see everyone and get to know them a little better. It was also great to see and stay with Bonni and Jeff. I have missed them so much! It was nice being able to catch up and spend some quality time with them.

 That following week at work I was alone here at the office. Catharine (my boss) was in Vegas with a birth mom and Tracie (our Outreach Coordinator) was in Arizona. That week I continued to dive into the policies and procedures of Hague. For those of you that do not know what Hague is let me give you a description;

"The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) is an international agreement to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of the child. The Convention entered into force for the United States in April 2008. The Hague Adoption Convention applies to adoptions between the United States and the other countries that have joined it." 

So this convention has created guidelines, policies, and procedures that accredited agencies are required to follow. It is these said policies and procedures that I have been reading, studying, and learning about the past several weeks. It's pretty intense. In fact let me give you a sample of one of the many sections:

I. Policy for Suitability of Supervised Providers:
 A. For all international cases in which Premier Adoption Agency acts as the Primary Provider, and in which Premier uses Supervised Providers, Premier Adoption Agency shall ensure that each such Supervised Provider:
1. Is in compliance with applicable State licensing and regulatory requirements in all jurisdictions in which it provides adoption services.
2. Does not engage in practices inconsistent with the Convention’s principles of furthering the best interests of the child and preventing the sale, abduction, exploitation, or trafficking of children; and
3.  Before entering into an agreement with Premier for the provision of adoption services, discloses to Premier the suitability information listed in Hague section 96.35.

As you can clearly see it is a little like reading a law manual, but I feel like I may be making progress. Some days it has felt like I was treading water in the vast ocean not sure which way was land because all I could see was water on either side. I was able to receive some clarification and direction last Monday and at least I now have a little better indication as to where I can find the shoreline. I was also able to get some direction on a few other projects I have been working on and I am close to finishing them up. Overall I enjoy that fact that I am helping make a difference in a family's life. Here is a little of what has happened just last week at work:

On Tuesday I finally heard back from the Department of Education in the United Kingdom (they are the central authority in the UK, which means they regulate adoptions) and we got the green light that we could work with families there who would like to try and adopt a US baby. This is very exciting because we have had 3-4 inquiries the past month from families in the UK interested in adopting.

Wednesday was spent learning our new software program in our Mesquite office (this is the office that handle the bulk of our domestic adoptions). However only part of the program as been built and is ready for use. The other portions (contract adoptions and international) have yet to be completed. Learning the program was not very difficult, but trying to envision and apply what I was learning to the future international portion was very draining and a lot of work for my brain. It was a very long 10 hour work day.

Thursday I spent the day again in our Mesquite office. I helped input information about our current adopting families into the new software. It was nice to have a change of work and scenery for a day. It was also another long 10 hour day, but I was able to get a lot done. I road down to Mesquite with my co-worker Tracie (she is our outreach coordinator) because she was taking the company car to Vegas for some training. However she was in meetings in Vegas until about 7:30 pm. This left me with a couple of hours of down time. Thankfully my dear friend Natalie recently moved to Mesquite and I was able to spend the evening with her and her two adorable children.

Friday was a half day because of the extra hours I put in Wednesday and Thursday. However we heard that there is a possibility that Kazakhstan may actually be opening for adoptions. This is very exciting news because two weeks ago it was looking like they would be closing the program. This news was also confirmed in a conference call with the NCFA's phone conference I attended this morning. The weekend was a blur and before I knew it it was Monday again. I worked on a few things for Catharine and then spent the afternoon working on a project for our Latvia program. Tuesday I spent the day in Mesquite helping with our new software and enter data to get it up to speed. I enjoy the people in that office so much! They are all unique, fun, and committed to their work. I really enjoy spending time in their office. Honestly, I just LOVE my job. Each day is a little different and it makes it more enjoyable. I am excited for next week. I have a notary class in Las Vegas, to obtain my Nevada notary, Thursday morning. That afternoon I will be tagging along with Tracie going to a few birth centers and such. I'm super excited!!! This job really does keep getting better and better.

A few random side notes. First, I ordered and paid for my temple dress! I'm very excited. It's gorgeous and I'm going to enjoy wearing it every time I attend the Temple.  Second, I volunteered to help the PTA at the Little Valley Elementary. My friend Annette is doing pictures and asked for a volunteer to help with layout and editing. After a few days of reflection and pondering I decided it would be a good idea. I have been looking for a way to give back to the community, and this was a perfect opportunity. I do not have a calling in church, but I do have a few extra hours each week to give. I have felt like I am wasting my talents a little by sitting at home reading or watching TV instead of being productive. This felt like the perfect opportunity! Kyle and Kaylee both go to Little Valley, and I will be able to spend time with my friend who is expecting a baby in January. Once again it is amazing how the Lord sends opportunities and experience your way, you just have to be open to except and receive them. I'm excited and will keep you posted with that.

To end I have loved the past week here in St. George it has been raining on and off for the past few weeks, and even more so the past few days! I adore rain storms everything from the smell, sounds, and how beautiful it makes the landscape. So the last few days have been wonderful for me. This morning I was able to make some hot chocolate and wear a long sleeve shirt, I was so excited! Fall is my favorite season and I can't wait until it is here to stay.

Below are a few pictures from the past little while. Enjoy!

Brandon decided he wanted to hike to Signal Peak in Pine Valley. We went on a Saturday (8.17.2013) with our friends Cody and Carina. 

It was cool and beautiful. The only negatives: 1. The allergy attack that happened 20 minutes into the hike. 2. Being out of shape and struggling in the higher altitude. Thankfully Carina was done around 3.5 miles too. We let the boys continue the rest of the way without us. 

The hike down. Aren't we cute? We ended up matching/color coordinating....didn't even plan it.

Carina got us amazing seats for $8 each to see Mary Poppins at Tuachan we went Friday August 23rd.

Jackie, Brandon's mom, brought us her old pasta maker. Brandon used it Labor Day weekend. 

One of our offices and the bathroom flooded from all the rain and a clogged drain on the roof of our building. They are still doing repairs three weeks later. 

Brandon bought me a new pair of climbing shoes! I've been wanting this particular style for a couple of months now and he found them on sale and got them for me! 

A beautiful sunset in Utah Hills. We went for a quick evening climb last Friday. 

Iowa - The Hawkeye State

Brandon and I recently took a trip to Iowa. Brandon was raised in the Davenport area of Iowa. I was very excited. First, I love traveling and going places I've never been before. Second, who doesn't like vacation? Third, did I mention I LOVE traveling and not working? Anyway we left St. George mid morning and drove to the Las Vegas airport to catch our Allegient flight to Moline, IL. We made it to our gate in plenty of time, and as luck would have it our plane was late. Brandon requested our seats so we had the extra leg room of sitting in the emergency exists. I will have you know that I had just recently watched the last episode of Grey's Atomony season 8. Yes that is the season where they were in the plane crash.....so I did have a few freaky thoughts throughout the flight. I have never flown Allegient and I will say it is not my favorite airline. The plane is very loud and not nearly as comfortable as other airlines I have flown on. However they did get us to and from our destination without stopping and closer to our destination than larger airlines can. We landed in Moline a little after 9 pm. Immediately Brandon said he wanted Whitey's ice cream, however he had to wait until after we had a family dinner with Jason (his dad who picked us up at the airport), Amy (Jason's wife), Grandpa Roth, Jordan (brother), and Camille (Jordan's wife). After dinner we did go to Whitey's. Brandon has been talking about this place ever since we met, and even more so since we booked our flight. It was delicious, but he definitely liked it more than me.

The next day we went to a farmers market and to a little festival in downtown Davenport. Below is a picture of the Mississippi river. 

A skywalk that apparently changes different light colors at night. I only say it during the day. 

Potatoes on a stick....I thought it looked awesome.

Brandon's dad is a firefighter and they had a water fight activity on one the main streets. Its two teams of two that try spraying the bucket with the fire hose to the opposite side of the line. It was interesting, but we were all freezing due to the unusually cooler weather so we didn't stay long. 

Instead we went to Rock Island Arsenal. If you've never heard of it.....you should look it up. 

Sunday while waiting to see a family Brandon and Jordan grew up with we stopped by a place called pioneer park. At one point in time it was a stagecoach stop and people actually lived there. We also came on the right weekend when there were actually people there dressed up and acting out pioneer stuff.  Later that afternoon we went sailing on the Mississippi. It was amazing! Jordan and Camille have pictures of that, but I forgot the camera, hence no pictures. 

Jordan and Camille

Monday Brandon rented a car and took me to Nauvoo. I was so excited! I have wanted to visit this place since I was a little girl!!! We say the Mansion House (shown below), homestead, and the Nauvoo House (I think that is what it was called.) All of these are owned by the Community of Christ  church so I was unable to take pictures of the inside. But I was able to get pictures at the blacksmith, brickmaker, John Taylor, Willford Woodruff, Brigham Young, and the printing shop!

Nauvoo Temple!

Tuesday afternoon we went to Chicago. After checking in to our hotel we went to dinner, walked around a little, and then went on an architectural boat tour of Chicago. It was pretty awesome I thought. 

Jason and Amy

Brandon and I

Trump Tower in Chicago

Chicago skyline from Lake Michigan. 

Our view the next morning. 

We went to the Shedd Aquarium the next day. Here are a few of the good pictures. 

Creepy eel

"Say Cheese!"-blowfish

Sea Horse

Nemo land

This is a popular Catholic church in downtown Chicago....I thought it was beautiful. 

The backyard of Jason and Amy's home. In the morning we'd sit outside and eat breakfast and enjoy the beautiful weather....except in this picture. It as raining that day so we stayed inside. 

All too soon we had to leave and return home. I could have easily spent another two days in Chicago and probably another day or two in Davenport. It was so wonderful!

Here is a picture of St. George from our airplane window.

Once back home it was once again getting ready for the next week. However I had the weekend off! I was able to attend my home ward for the first time since February! Also I started my new job at Premier Adoption Agency this last Monday. So far I'm loving it. I still have a lot to learn, but I think I'll pick it up fairly quickly. Until then I can't wait until I'm busy doing work, instead of reading policies and manuals :)

Until next time! Ciao!