Our Big Texas Adventure

FHE Lesson

2010-04-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

So Robert's parents are visiting us in Waco this week and for a FHE lesson tonight we are teaching them how to blog!!!!! So, in the spirit of practicing, we are writing this post to show how you post. Check back later this week for an update and pictures of our fun adventure with them!

My New Kitchen Table

2010-03-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

So I have been wanting a new kitchen table since Robert and I got married, but due to small apartments I have held off. Well, we are moving to a new townhome in April that has alot more space and I decided it was time to spend the "furniture money"..I have a savings account set up just for furniture that Robert puts money into a gift at ie...valentines day, birthday, etc. We used the furniture money this time to purchase this new kitchen table that I love!!!! I have wanted one of these counter height tables since they came out! Ours is exactly like this except we bought extra chairs to go around the table and our's came with a lazy susan (???spelling) for the middle of the table.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-01T17:06:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving, it's probably one of my favorite holidays. I am not really sure why I love it so much, maybe it's all the good food, or the time cooking in the kitchen that I enjoy so much, but I am sad that it has passed now. This year's Thanksgiving was so fun! We had really good company and really good food!!!! What more can a person ask for, right?
The day started out with Robert heading to a Turkey Bowl that morning. Apparently the young men and some of the "older" men in the ward kicked Robert's butt, because he is still sore from playing. The poor kid has been sore for almost a week now from it! Despite the soreness he had a good time though. Then after the Turkey bowl our friends Dan and Lesli from the ward came over. This is kind of how the day went:

Lesli and I do the the cooking

Dan and Robert enjoyed relaxing while we were preparing the feast

This is what are hard work in the kitchen produced, Lesli and I made a great team in the kitchen!

Here are the guys doing the dishes for us girls so we could plan out super strategy for Friday morning's shopping extravaganza
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Later after we had all digested our food, we went to the movies to see "The Blind Side". If you have not seen this movie, it's a must see and it's well worth the money you'll spend on the tickets! After the movie we all headed home to get a "nap" in so that we could wake up the next morning and go shopping for some awesome deals! Personally I think Lesli and I were more excited about it then the guys, but they were good sports and went with us, they benefited from it though, they got some pretty cool "toys". Sears was Robert's and mine first spot, while Dan and Lesli were holding spots at Radio Shack for us. At Sears we got a blue ray disc player and surround system (which we got the last one of...it was kind of an ordeal at Sears, that's another story for another post) and then we headed to Radio Shack to meet up with Dan & Lesli. They got a new GPS there and we got our new flat screen TV there. After Radio Shack we all headed to Target and then Kohls. After all the shopping we did we worked up an appetite and went to Panera Bread for breakfast...oh so yummy!!! After that we were all pretty dead so we went home and rested up and later that night Dan and Lesli joined us for leftovers and to watch a movie on our new awesome tv and surround sound system.
We had a great holiday and our friends Dan and Lesli made it super enjoyable! Thanks guys for a great and memorable Thanksgiving!

Oh, here is a picture of our new "toy"

Time for a Face Lift!

2009-11-18T18:20:00.001-08:00

I have missed my goal for the last couple of weeks for blogging. I was trying to think tonight why I haven't really met my goal. As I thought about it, it comes down to this....I am just being lazy! I chose to do other things than meet my goal. So, in an effort to energize me and not make me lazy with this goal of mine to blog once a week, I decided to give the blog a face lift! I figured if I could intensify the "cuteness" of this blog, than maybe I would be more excited to look at it and blog. It really needed it anyways... it was getting kind of dull and plain. It's like when you look through your closet and you realize you are sick of your clothes and everything makes you look like "Plain Jane", so you have to go get a new cute outfit to make things not seem so plain and dull! So, I went and I got the blog a cute new outfit. I plan on adding "accessories" to this new cute outfit as the weeks pass...so stay tuned to see the rest of the face lift!
Just to give you all a little preview of accessories to be added...Robert and I are having family photos done this weekend, I hope to use those to add to the banner.

A weekend in LA and new callings

2009-11-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

I missed making my goal last week because Robert and I flew to LA for the weekend for his brother's Brandon's wedding. We had a lot of fun hanging out with his sibilings and family. I know Robert took some pictures so I'll have to post some later. Being in LA I realized that I never want to live southern California. The traffic is unreal!!!! Driving the 405 is like having a death wish! We flew into LAX and drove to where we were staying on Santa Monica Blvd, which is only like 20 miles, but it took us almost an hour to get there, and that's what the natives called a good day of traffic. It was ridiculous! Onto other more exciting things than the traffic in LA.
So today at church Robert and I got a couple of new callings. The Bishop had called Robert a week ago or so and asked him what his schedule was like and that he was submitting Robert's name for a stake calling that would have him working really close with the Bishop. Well,he called friday and asked for both of us to meet with him on Sunday before church. We went in and Bishop and Stake President explained that the Ward Exec. Secretary was going to be gone on business till January and that the Stake was calling Robert on a special assignment to fill in for the Exec. Secretary especially since it's tithing settlement time. So, then as I am picking myself up, the Bishop says, "oh, we have a calling for your wife too". I was just called as the compassionate service leader a few months ago so I was kind surprised that they were changing it. So, then he proceeded to tell me that I was being called as the 2nd Counselor in Relief Society Presidency. I am excited for it, I think it's a good way to meet more women in the ward since I missed out on meeting so many of them when we moved in because I went to Austin for work so fast after moving here. I think we have very busy days ahead of us!!!!!

Excuses and so much more

2009-10-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I missed making my goal for the week, I am suppose to blog a post by Saturday night, but failed this week. I do have excuses though...I promise they are valid excuses too! So here they are......
1. I worked like a 50 hour work week this week because I had a coworker who thought he would take a week long vacation and leave me to tend to his clients. At our office if you are out, another caseworker has to look after your cases and clients. We call it the "buddy system", which I think is funny we call it this because after your "buddy" leaves all of his/her work to take care, the last thing I want to do is call that person my "buddy". This coworker of mine will have a very angry "buddy" to answer to on Monday morning! Nothing was in order with his cases and as luck would have it all of his angry, seriously disturbed clients came to see me! I am pretty sure there will be a butt kicking party tomorrow morning at my office and I am pretty sure that after that he'll never want to take a week long vacation again!So on to exuse #2
2. I felt terrible the whole week due to allergies. Texas and it's ragweed is going to kill me! I don't know how many kleenexes I have used this week, I think I might have to buy stock in the kleenex business! I haven't been able to taste anything but snot for the past week, sorry, most of you probably could have lived without knowing that. I have lived on advil and bendryl for most of the week, leaving me groggy and not able to blog.

Okay, so I am trying to think if there is another excuse, but these are the only 2 I can think of...but they are 2 valid excuses, right???? Anyways, I am trying to be better with this blogging thing.

My one sentence

2009-10-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Robert is not letting me go to bed(it's currently 11:58pm) unless I blog one sentence. So here it is....I have to speak tomorrow in church so instead of a really good post on this blog, I wrote my talk instead.

Home Sweet Home

2009-10-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since I posted, which as some of you may have figured out by now, is nothing unusual with me. But, I have made a new goal to be better with blogging. I have told Robert that this is my goal, and that he is suppose to check the blog once a week to make sure I am keeping my goal. Goals are so much easier when you know someone is holding you accountable! Anyway, to play catch up..I am home from my 10 weeks in Austin,TX for work. Let me just say, I'll be happy if I never have to stay in another hotel or eat out again! I have a gained a new skill from all of my traveling....I am an expert at packing...you would be surprise to see just how much I can fit in a suitcase. I also learned that if you check in to a hotel after 9:30pm they'll upgrade you to a suite! I am so happy to be back home with my husband and back in my own bed! Home Sweet Home!
So, other than me returning home, Robert has started his first semester at Baylor and is loving it! The kid comes home everyday and tells me just how much he loves it here and loves his advisor. It's so nice to hear him say this. It's also nice to know that we chose a great place to come to. The Lord definitely directed us to where we needed to be. We are loving our Texas adventure!

Tolerance

2009-08-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

When I was in the MTC I made friends with a couple of sisters who were Samoan. They would eat lunch with my district quite often and one day we started talking about phrases we use and phrases they use and the difference. They taught us a phrase that went like this.....E eseese pato (I hope I spelt that right!), the translation is "ducks are different". I remember asking what that meant, and they said that basically it says "everybody is unique, different-so be tolerant". This phrase came back to me today because lately I have been thinking a lot about tolerance, maybe it's because I have been experiencing situations where there needs to be more tolerance for people's beliefs, how they live their lives, or even the challenges they experience in life. Who are we to judge them? I have listened to so many people this past week judge one another on their religious beliefs, on their marriages, on their mistakes, or even on their hardships (who are we to go and judge someone if they need medicaid or need help feeding their families!) Now I understand that I am a social worker, so I am naturally passionate about tolerance, but it just seems like this world is beooming more and more intolerant. Last week wasn't the first week I have heard intolerance, it's almost hard to go somewhere and not see it or hear it. I think tolerance is one of those things we have to wake up everyday and make a committment to strive to reach. One of the greatest things we can give someone is respect, a little respect can go a long way, and I believe that respect is something that can be passed on just by receiving it. We don't have to have a formal lesson to learn it. We just need to listen to people's stories with compassion. I once heard in a sacrament meeting that if we understood everyone's stories then we wouldn't judge one another, we would extend love instead. I don't mean to be on a soap box about this, it's just something that has bothered me lately and I am by no means perfect, so I hope I can wake up each day and tune my heart more each day to hear the stories of the people around me so I can love them a little more each day.

Austin Texas and Recipes

2009-07-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

So as some of you know, I am in Austin, Texas for work for the next 8 weeks, actually it's 7 weeks now, since last week was my first week here. The state of Texas has sent me and 4 other employees to Austin for policy training since we are new social workers for the state. So, for the next 7 weeks I am calling a hotel home and only get to come home on Friday and I have to check in again on Sunday. I really miss being away from my husband and it gets old eating out all of the time. Because I am missing being able to cook, I am posting some recipes that people have requested lately. If you all can think of others you want, let me know.

Mexican Roll-Ups

1 package of flour tortillas
1 package of cream cheese
1 8 oz container of sour cream
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can of green chilies
1 can of chopped black olives
1 lb. of deli chicken breast sliced somewhere between thin and medium
shredded cheddar cheese

soften cream cheese, once softened, mix in sour cream, taco seasoning, green chilies,and black olives. Once all this is mixed in, spread on tortillas, then layer a couple of pieces of chicken breast, and then sprinkle cheddar cheese (how ever much you want). Roll the tortilla up, and the cut off the ends so it's even on the ends. Cut them in half or slice in 1 inch slices to be little pinwheel party sandwiches.

Brown Sugar Carrots

1 package of frozen carrots or fresh baby carrots
3 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 TBSP cinnamon
a couple of drizzles of maple syrup
2 TBSP butter

cook carrots, once carrots are cooked to desired tenderness, drain all but a very little bit of water. Place butter in pot and make sure it melts, add brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup. Mix and serve.

We're all moved in!!!!!

2009-05-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it. We have been here in Waco 2 weeks tomorrow and we're all moved in!!!! I am so glad that we are done unpacking...I HATE MOVING!!!!!!!!! I think I would rather have a root canal done than move. We left Terre Haute (THANK GOODNESS...can you tell that I didn't really care for the town??) on 5/13 and got to Waco Thursday evening. Our moving truck showed up Monday so we had a fun weekend of camping out in our new home with nothing but the airbed and the kitchen stuff I brought with us just in case. Next time I am going to remember to put the camping chairs in the car with us so we have somewhere to sit until our stuff arrives. Live and Learn, right??? I have plenty of other moves I am sure to perfect the science of moving...I am not quite sure if I should be excited about this or distraught???
It took us a week to unpack the house and like 6 runs to the goodwill to get rid of crud that we brought that we should have gotten rid of before we packed it and paid to move it here. I am not posting pictures of house put together on this post. I am waiting till we get our new living room furniture. We bought new furniture last weekend but they didn't have it in stock so they had to order it for us. Once I get the living room furniture I'll post pictures of the entire house, but at least you can see what the front looks like. We love this little house! It was totally gutted out and remodeled so I feel like I am living in a brand new home, such an improvement from our little 1 bedroom apt that was the top of an old home in Terre Haute.
The other good news is that Robert and I both got jobs. I had a job interview the day after we got to Terre Haute with the State of Texas Dept. of Health and Human Services for a caseworker position and 4 days later they called and offered me the job. I had been hoping they would offer me an interview and after the interview I knew I really wanted the job. I start next week. Robert also got a job last week working for a company that organizes medical records for insurance companies. It's a good summer job for him. We've been very blessed with coming here. It's so nice when you listen to the spirit and make the right decision. We chose the best school and the best place we could have come to. We're excited to be Texans!

Next Stop....Baylor University!

2009-04-02T05:19:00.001-07:00

Okay, for all of you who have been waiting to find out where we are off to next, the answer is Baylor University! Robert accepted a spot in the Social Psychology Ph.D. program there this week. We are very excited about Baylor and feel like we made the right decision. He'll be working with a great professor who has a grant doing forgiveness research, the grant secures funding for him for 5 years, which is one of the great things about Baylor. He'll make each year $19,000.00, which we have been told that a yearly stipend like this in unheard of in graduate school. He was also granted a full tuition waiver for 5 years, so that saves us approx. $42,000.00 a year! The people have been so nice and on top of it at the university and that has been a nice change from some of the other universities we were considering.
Baylor is located in Waco, TX, which is about an hour and half south of Dallas/Ft. Worth area and hour or so east of Austin, TX. We're super excited about this adventure and change, and I personally am very proud of my husband of getting into such a renown school as Baylor!
More to come later......

Things about Me

2009-01-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

So, it seems that I am only good with updating my blog when I get tags. At least it's something right???? Or, maybe I just tell myself this to make me feel better, but at any cost here is something that can be considered an update.

ABOUT ME:
1. I am a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
2. I get really stressed about timing
3. I work with morons who act like teenagers in high school
4. I wish that my family was a part of my life and would accept my religion
5. I have the best in-laws, (brothers, sisters, mother, father, grandparents...all of them) they treat me as if I am truly part of the family
6. I have the best husband ever!
7. I see doubles
8. I love anything chocolate...I could eat for breakfast and be happy woman!
9. I fear never being able to have children of my own ( not something I admit very often, but has been more of a fear/realization lately)
10. I feel my best when I know I have done good things for others
11. I can't wait to move from Terre Haute!!!!!!
12. I could live without cable TV and be happy reading all day
13. I have extra bones in my feet
14. I served a mission in Latvia
15. I am addicted to reading CNN daily
16. I pride myself on my cooking skills
17. I love red shoes-my count now is at 9 pairs
18. I am so proud of my husband for all of his hard work in graduate school
19. I am a proud USU alumni!
20. I worry about the impressions that I leave with people
21. I wish I could be more spontaneous and a little less regimented
22. I want to make a difference in this world
23. I love having lazy saturdays with my husband
24. I miss my friends that I left behind when I moved
25. I am anxious to find out where we will be moving to next

So, I tag everyone who reads this blog!

8 Things of 8

2008-12-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, so my sister-in-law Janelle tagged me and I usually don't do these because I am pretty bad at posting things on this blog, but I am trying to do better. So, in an effort to do so here it goes:

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Greys Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Brothers & Sisters
4. Lipstick Jungle
5. CNN-yeah I know, I am wierd ...but I like to know what is going on around the world.
6. Oprah
7. Smallville
8. Friends

8 Favorite Movies:
1. Father of the Bride
2. Sleepless in Seattle
3. Made of Honor
4. Pursuit of Happiness
5. You've Got Mail
6. The Parent Trap (original)
7. Return to Me
8. One Fine Day

8 Quirks About Me:
1. Can't go to bed if bed hasn't been made all day-I have to make it first
2. Bite my fingernails when I am anxious or stressed
3. I have to have things cleaned up inorder to sit down and relax
4. I will not use milk that is past the expiration date ( my mother put this fear in me)
5. I pull cooked chicken apart to double check that it's done ( samonella once will make you do this)
6. I check our checking account like 5 times daily ( a bad case of freud will make you paranoid like this)
7. I grind my teeth in my sleep
8. I have to have a straw to drink out of a can

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to work
2. Interviewed students for a student assistentship
3. Hired a student for a student assistentship
4. Repaired our TV (with Robert's help)
5. Made dinner
6. Did the dinner dishes
7. Made invitations to the ward Christmas party
8. Read a book

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Moving from Terre Haute!!!!!!!
2. Christmas with Robert
3. Robert's parents visiting
4. Using my new sewing machine
5. Going to Nashville TN with Robert and his parents at the end of the month
6. Giving Robert his Christmas gifts
7. Robert finishing his thesis
8. Robert getting accepted into a Ph.D. program

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. Sewing machine ( got it-thanks to my wonderful in-laws)
2. New work out clothes
3. a Ph.D. program for Robert
*That's all I really want....I am not good at making wish lists...never have been*

8 People I Tag:
1. Heidi
2. Becca
3. Wendy
4. Kristy
5. Heather P.
* I think those are the only people besides my sister-in-law Janelle who might read my blog*

Young Women's Conference-"Arise and Shine Forth"

2008-11-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

So, a couple of weeks ago our Stake had what is called Stake Young Women's Conference. It's like a mini youth conference, but only for young women. It's not a standard activity done in the young women's program, but the Bloomington IN Stake has done it for years and it's a much loved activity among the young women. When I was called into the Stake Young Women's Presidency they handed over this activity to me to plan and take charge of. I guess the President and each counselor take turns planning and leading certian activities and the counselor I replaced was in charge of YW conference, so by default I got this activity. I have to say that for several months this conference was source of serious stress for me, but the actual weekend went very well and the girls I think had a great time. We did this year in Terre Haute since I was in charge. Typically, it's done at the Stake Ctr., but I think it was a nice change for some of us who always travel the hour+ to get to the Stake Ctr. (And it helped me greatly to have it locally with having to work full time.) The girls traveled in on Friday night and we had a brown bag fashion show and then we housed the girls friday night at members' homes here in Terre Haute and they came back saturday morning for a fun day filled with a keynote speaker, workshops, and a service project. The theme was "Arise and Shine Forth". The keynote speakers and workshops were tailored to fit with that theme and then the girls did a service project where they made Christmas Ornaments for Hospice patients of the Wabash Valley(Terre Haute). The weekend was a lot of fun and we have great girls in this stake that truly know how to "Arise and Shine Forth"! Below are some fun pictures from the weekend.

With the brown bag fashion show we took brown paper sack from Krogers and filled them with misc. things like garbage sacks, ribbon, scrap fabric, duct tape, beads, tissue paper, and any other fun things I could fine at the dollar store and then we labeled the bags after stores like Gap, Buckle, Old Navy, etc.... Then we divided the girls up into teams of 2 or 3 . We gave them like 20 minutes to dress one girl up and design her outfit and then the others were in charge of announcing her as she walked down the runway. This group here won first place...they were so funny! The group had the store Buckle and they decided that their model would go after a "hobo" look...she even had a "hobo purse" (white garbage bag). The girls had a great time with the activity.

These two girls just barely came into Young Women's. The conference was the first YW activity they had taken part in. They were so excited to be there.....it was nice to see that excitement!

The girls had a great time coloring the wooden ornaments for the Hospice patients...and they did a great job....the ornaments turned out so cute!

Here I am with some of our leaders throughout the stake. We have awesome leaders and women in our stake that are amazing examples to the young women and me!

Church Recap

2008-10-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Robert comes home from Louisville in a couple of hours and I thought because he missed church today that I would post a recap for him and anyone else who reads my blog. We had a young man from Terre Haute who leaves for his mission on Wednesday speak about missionary work. It was a great talk and he will make a fine missionary. During the sacrament meeting as a congregation we sang "Called to Serve". As I was standing up singing this hymn I found myself taken back in time. It felt like the summer of 2002 all over again and I was in the MTC surrounded by thousands of missionaries singing this same hymn. Whenever I hear or sing this hymn my mind seems to wonder back to that time period. I think it's because I remember the feeling that overcame me as a missionary singing this hymn in the MTC. I don't know the right word to describe the feeling, it was like the spirit touched you as you sang this hymn and you knew there was no better work you could be doing. I love how I get that feeling everytime I hear or sing "Called to Serve". I went to Relief Society today ( I go to Young Women's twice a month to visit usually....if I go more than that I think I make the YW's president nervous by having a member of the Stake YW's presidency there) and heard a great lesson on trials. It's lesson 19 out of the manual. The teacher asked us "why does God give us trials"? I love the quote in the manual for this answer..."God gives us trials so that we may go to the Mount of Zion and be exalted". I know in the moments when I have my trials I don't think about being exulted but how grateful that I am for my trials when I actually stop and think about them. I owe most of who I am to my trials...they have shaped who I am for the better. I love being a member of the church!

Companionship

2008-10-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

I am missing my husband right now, so I thought I would blog about him and the great companionship I have in my life because of him. Robert is in Louisville, KY right now at a conference for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. He is presenting some research that he and one of his professor are currently working on. He left yesterday and will be back Sunday. I know it's only been 24 hours since he has been gone, but it feels more like weeks if you ask me. It's still amazing to me how I have been married for almost one year and I already know that my life will never be the same because of this man. I was single for a long time and it some ways became very accustomed to that lifestyle. I never thought I would be so addicted and so attached to the companionship in such a short amount of time. Life is so much better with companionship...it's like peanut butter....it's just better with the jam! I am so glad that Robert is my "jam". I love him so much and my life has become greatly enriched from the moment he stepped into it. Thank you Robert for the loving companionship that you give me daily...my life has forever changed for the better because of it!

Make New Friends But Keep the Old

2008-10-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

Let me start this off by saying that I have met some great people since moving here to Terre Haute . Though every once in awhile (okay, I'll be honest, it's more like daily) I yearn to talk to my old friends that I either left behind in Utah or knew from some other place in life. Tonight I had the chance to talk to a great friend who when I got off the phone with her, I found myself with tears in my eyes wishing there wasn't 1400+ miles difference between us. This friend is the type friend that by her mere presence around you somehow makes you a better person. I consider myself lucky....these types of friends are rare and precious and I have a few in my life. How blessed am I! I I think at times in my life I took for granted my great friendships. Now, for those of you who have heard me complain about moving (just typing that makes me cringe!) know that I would rather have a root canal performed than move, but when I think about this last move I have realized that I have learned some valuable lessons from moving...one of such is you make new friends, but you ALWAYS keep the old ones! I can remember my mom telling me this as a kid when we would move towns, and I don't think I realized then how true that statement is! There is just something about that old friend........

OLD FRIENDS ARE LIKE:
*Old friends are like that favorite song that you know every word to and everytime it comes on the radio you get a smile on your face and you start singing and it somehow enegizes you!
*Old friends are like that favorite sweatshirt-everytime you pull it on...the comfort and warmth is there.
*Old friends are like your pillow, you can lay head on it and rest your eyes and your body istantly relaxes.
*Old friends are like your journal...they know the thoughts of your heart.

So life may get busy, overwhelming at times, and location of residence may change, which might bring along some new friends, but I have never nor will I ever forget my old friends. It is you my old friends who have helped me be in some way who I am today. " It has been said that some people come and go out of our lives, but some leave foot prints on our hearts and we will never be the same!" Thank you my old friends for all of the foot prints that you have left and continue to leave on my heart.

More Updates

2008-10-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

So life is plugging along. Lauren and I are both overwhelmed at times. I am still working on my thesis, I am going to defend it at the end of the month. I am also working on applications, which involves studying for the GRE. I am also working on another research project, which is slowly moving along. Teaching takes up a lot of time too, preparing lectures is what takes most of the time. I am also taking two classes, which I ignore most of the time.
Lauren on the other hand is working hard at her job which keeps her super busy. She gets to clean up messes that other people make. She is also working hard preparing a young women's conference, it is something that our stake does. She has some really great plans for it. They are doing this really cool service project where they are making receiving blankets for the maternal health clinic here in Terre Haute. They are going to be given to mothers with some information from LDS family services on adoption. It is such a needed thing in this area. The youth talk in church about friends that they have who are pregnant. We heard a story of a 12 year old who is a friend of one of the young women in our ward who is pregnant.
So busy is the story of our lives right now. We are getting excited to find out where we are going for my PhD and hopefully for Lauren's MPA. Keep watching and we will give you updates on that.

School Happenings

2008-09-18T04:03:00.000-07:00

Well I have been feeling a little left out. It seems that Lauren is the only one who has been updating our blog, so I thought that I would do a little of it. Last week a professor from the University of California Davis came to ISU to talk about his research. It was a great opportunity for me because I would like to work with him for my PhD. Dr. Emmons is his name and he does a lot of gratitude research, and also some research on religious and spiritual goals. I got to have a meeting with him and discuss my research and he gave me some suggestions. Hopefully this will work to my favor and help us get to a better place when the time comes for us to move.

I have been teaching a class, Research Methods in Psychology. I love teaching the class and getting to talk about research the whole time. It is hard because there are 80 people in the class. I am having to get used to not everyone liking research and students just not liking me.

I am getting ready to defend my thesis proposal here in the next little while. Hopefully I will be able to get my data collected this semester, so I can focus next semester on writing.

I guess the main thing to say is I am staying busy and enjoying school.

Really bad at blogging, but here are some updates

2008-09-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have been extremely bad at blogging, as a matter of a fact "extremely bad" doesn't even really explain how bad I have been with it. Sorry to all of you who check our blog (I don't think it's very many, so I don't think I have disappointed too many). But, I decided that after a six month hiatus it was time to update the blog. So, here is a run down of our lives over the last six months. Robert has completed his first year of grad school and we currently only have 8 more months of living here in Terre Haute (thank goodness-you can only live in the ghetto so long and then you start itching to get out-more on living in the ghetto later). Robert will finish his thesis in the spring and graduate the first weekend in May. From there we will move to wherever we get accepted into a Ph.D. program. Currently, we/he has 10 schools to apply to, mostly out west, but a few on the east coast. As for I, I am working-we have been really blessed with my job and the opprotunities it has afforded us-even Robert. My boss gave him some part time statistical work over the summer which was a really blessing. I don't remember what I wrote about in my last post (I could look-just to lazy to look back at the post) about our church callings, but Robert was called to serve as the second counselor in the stake young men's presidency and I was called over the summer to serve as the second counselor in the stake young women's presidency. It's been a real great calling...we have had a lot of fun with the youth, we just had youth conference a month ago ( pictures at the bottom) and some fun youth dances. Although, I have to say....sometimes I think to myself after these activities..."do I really want to have kids????" after thinking that I usually realize that I do want kids, I just want to send them to boarding school or live with Robert's parents once they hit the age of 13! Really though, the youth have been a real blast to be around and it's really nice to have callings that Robert and I get to do together. Okay onto other things that have taken place. ....Roberts Parents came for a visit in July and it was alot of fun to take them around to places like Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. ( Pictures posted below on our trips around these places) Also, this summer we moved to a new apartment-this is probably the best thing that happend all summer. Our last place was soooooooooooooo bad!!!!! I don't even know how to explain how bad it really was. It was a step above a trashy mobil home park-you all laugh, but I am dead serious on this. Here is a little wisdom I am passing onto you all-NEVER TAKE AN APARTMENT WITHOUT SEEING IT!!!! The time finally approached where our lease was up and so we moved. Now here is the thing...finding a good apartment in Terre Haute is like trying to find a rare precious gem...it's just doesn't happen very easily. For those of you who haven't heard me talk about Terre Haute, it is the most ghetto place I have ever lived or even really visited-this is bad because as a social worker I have seem some pretty bad places. Let me give some examples on the "ghettoness"...you can walk into Krogers (local grocery store) and go to the meat department and find a sign that say quote on quote "Fersh Ground Beef'"-yes folks, that "fersh ground beef" not "fresh ground beef". I have given myself the nickname of "gheto superstar" for living in this place. Okay, back to the apartment search. So Robert and I started searching for a new apartment in early summer. We looked at some 20 plus aparments and only found 3 that were decent. Now by decent, I mean that there was no little yellow sticker warning you that the house/apartment was a former meth house, no rats in the oven, and no holes in the floor. So, of the three that we found we decided on this cute little one bedroom apartment that is the top of a historic home. I don't have pictures of it but I will take some and post them for all of you to see. We've decorated it so cute and we love it. Okay here are some pictures......

Here is Robert and I at the Chicago Temple....we got to be the Witness couple that day...very cool experience.
While in Chicago we went to Navy Pier and the Chicago Children's Museum.
Here is Robert at the Children's museum playing a life size game of chess.
At Youth Conference I taught a workshop to the young women about women serving missions. Hopefully, some of them will consider serving a mission...sister missionaries are so needed-simply because they are the greatest!
Another workshop we had for the youth was a swing dance workshop. The last night of youth conference we had a band come in and had a formal dinner for the youth where after dinner they were able to show off there new swing moves while the band performed.

St.Louis-"The Gateway to the West'

2008-02-08T05:53:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Robert and I and another recently married couple in our ward drove to St.Louis to go to the Temple and to do some sight seeing. We are in a really great location by living in Terre Haute. We are only 2 1/2 hours from St. Louis and we are just under 3 hours from Chicago. St. Louis isn't technically our Temple district but more often than not our ward goes to the St.Louis Temple instead of the Louisville, Ky Temple like we're suppose to. St. Louis is actually easier for us to get to and is a bigger Temple which offers more sessions and has a Distribution Center with a waiting room, so for families it makes it alot nicer. Dan and Elona, the other couple we went with got married in october, so it was alot of fun to hang out with "newlyweds" just like ourselves. We had a great time going to the Temple ( which we now realize how lucky we were to live 3 blocks from a Temple in Utah...those of you who live that close...take advantage of it!) , and sight seeing around the city of St.Louis. The last time I was in St. Louis was as a kid and hardly remember going up the Arch when my parents took us, so it was great to experience it again and to do so with my husband! If you are ever in that area it is worth the money and wait to see the view from the top of the Arch. We want to try and get in as much sight seeing in this neck of the woods before Careers and Ph.D. programs take us else where. We are going to Bloomington next week for Stake conference so I'll post pictures from that weekend getaway. Bloomington is a great little city and is home to Indiana University-Go Hoosiers!!!

Here is Robert inside the little car "thing" that takes you up to the top of the Arch .

Robert and I scrunched inside the car "thingy" on our way up to the top.

Here comes the Bride and Groom

2008-02-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs a good kissing picture!
I was admiring my cute red shoes in this picture.
Such a cute couple, don't you agree? Maybe I
am just biased though.
This is my favorite picture from that day!

So, I have been meaning for the last oh, 5 weeks to post some of our wedding photos to our blog. Heck, I have been meaning to simply update the blog in general, but married life gets busy and takes you in different directions sometimes, especially when you add moving into the equation. Life has finally started to get a routine and lately Robert has been working late with his assistantship for the graduate program and I have been home by myself, so I decided tonight was a great night to update our blog. Lets see to update you all....I think I will just list updates...lists are easier for me.
1. We finally have our small studio apartment set up....word to the wise....NEVER try to move a 3 bedroom house into a studio apartment. It stretches you imagination in ways that will tire you out quickly!
2. They called me to serve in the Young Womens in our ward. I have actually really enjoyed it and the young women keep telling me how "cool and stylish" I am....they are use to having leaders that are twice my age and won't get out and dance with them at the stake dances. Yes, I and Robert chaperoned the stake dance a couple of weeks ago and got out there and danced with them....Robert took our video camera and has me on video doing the YMCA with the youth...if I get brave I'll post the video.
3. I started to have a bad feeling about my job that I accepted before I moved to Indiana, so after much pondering and prayer with Robert, I found another job and accepted a position with an assisted living/nursing home village called Westminster Village, which will help me use a part of my degree that I have never used before. I am really excited to gain the experience with the geriatric side of social work.
4. Robert started his 2nd semester of graduate school and has absolutely loved it. He is headed to Baltimore at the end of the month with some of his professors and other grad students for a conference that will help him gain contacts for Ph.D. programs. We'll hopefully have a better idea as to where we will go for that shortly.
5. I have learned to drive a clutch....it was kind of scary for a while, but its now safe to drive on the roads here in Terre Haute at the same time as me! I much prefer the automatic and am glad that my parents taught me on an automatic, but driving a clutch isn't as bad as I thought it would be.
6. Our ward had a chili and cornbread cook off....I won the "Queen of Cornbread" award...Robert was proud!

Well, I think for the most part thats most of the major updates. I'll post some more of our wedding photos for everyone to see.

We Made It

2008-01-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. We made it to Terre Haute with only a few minor problems. We left on Sunday and started driving. The weather wasn't the greatest so driving through Parely's canyon wasn't too much fun, then it got a lot worse after Evanston. They closed I80 after Rawlins so we had to get a hotel in Rawlins. We wanted to make it to Sidney Nebraska. Since everyone else was also having to get a hotel all the good ones were taken. The place we had to stay in was so bad that we didn't want to even sleep on the bed. We put blankets down and slept on those. We took some video of the hotel and when we get the chance we will load it so everyone can see it. The next day they opened up I80 and we left our motel and started to drive. The roads were bad in spots, but we took it slow and got through the bad stuff. We made it all the way to Kansas City the second day it was almost 12 hours of driving. Besides stopping for gas we only stopped twice. In Kansas City we stayed in a nicer Hotel. The next day we drove the rest of the way to Terre Haute and started unpacking. It took us about a week to get totally unpacked, but we are now unpacked. I must say too that Lauren did a great job. She turned a less than great apartment into a wonderful looking place to live. We will post pictures for all to see.

Distance Almost Done

2007-12-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

Well for those of you who know Lauren and I have been doing the long distance thing for around five months now. In that time we have only seen each other 4 times. It has been trying at times, but neither one of us regrets doing it. I think both of us have grown and we have come closer because of it. Now that it is almost over I am so excited we only have 9 days left until we are married. It is really exciting to finally get to the point where we are starting our lives together. And to all those out there who think they want to do a long distance relationship, I would say and I think Lauren would agree with me. Go for it! Just kidding.

2007-11-28T14:50:00.000-08:00

we should of used the zoom button on our camera for this picture...but too late for that. This is taken at Indiana State University right outside of their student center...it was so hot in Indiana the week I was there with his parents to move him out there. With high humidity we were reaching temps of over 100 degrees and we almost melted it was so hot...so this fountain felt so good! And..no I didn't cut my hair...it's just pulled back because it was so hot. The univeristy is slightly smaller than Utah State University ( where we both graduated from) but its a pretty campus and offers a great program for Robert's interests. I am really glad that I got to go out their with him and his parents to help him move...it allowed for me to get to know the town better and where we would be living...ask us sometime about the hole in the floor it makes for a great story...it also allowed me to spend time with his parents on my own on the way back which was really great. I have to say I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and wonderful in-laws, which are more like parents to me than I have ever had.

2007-11-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

Robert and I have found that the phrase "distance makes the heart grow fonder" is SO TRUE! We have been seperated since the beginning of August when Robert left to go to Indiana State University to pursue a Master degree in Experimental Psychology. I am going to take a minute here and brag about how smart he is and how lucky I feel to have someone who is so ambitious and motivated. I love hearing about what he is studying and how he loves what he is doing!

I am so excited to be Indiana Bound in a few weeks to call home to Terre Haute Indiana. Terre Haute is about an hours southwest of Indianopolis. This picture was taken the day before Robert, I , and his parents left to help him move to Indiana. We have been lucky to see each other 3 times since then, but we both agree that we can't wait till the 1400 miles are no longer between us!

2007-11-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

So, its been said that "Love is a journey, not a destination." As Robert and I start out on our "journey" together we wanted to make sure we kept in touch with all of our friends and family who have been part of our lives, and what better way than to create a blog. This way everyone can see where our journey is taking us. Some of you may recognize this picture from our wedding announcement, and those of you who don't we apologize that we didn't have a current address for you and couldn't get you one, but we hope this blog will help all stay in touch better. We are so excited to start our "journey" together on Dec. 19th and anyone who will be in Logan that day we would love to see you at the reception. We are so excited to have found each other and a love that is sweeter than anything we have ever tasted! I know that sounds sappy...but its so true!