Utah has been great. We have had a lot of full days but really good ones. I have more pictures but I am still trying to master Photoshop. Yesterday I went to Ikea, not once but twice. I went in the morning with my friend and then in the evening I went with Eric. After walking through the store Eric and I want to totally redecorate our house. We have both agreed to save the money to by the whole set at a time. I will update more later but I just wanted everyone to know we were still alive. We are heading out to Iowa tomorrow so wish us luck.

Utah so far

 

 

 

 

After watching the weather reports we decided to leave on Sunday December 21st to make the long drive to Utah. The morning started with a little excitement when we saw a semi on fire on the side of the road. The entire trailer was engulfed in flames and only the frame was left. Other than that the drive was pretty average. We made it to Sandy by about 5:30 PM. It was great to be able to enjoy Sunday dinner with Eric's parents. On Monday we decided to try and go shopping. The weather was pretty snowy but there were some really good deals at Cabela's for Eric. The store is about 30 minutes south and the farther we went the worse the weather got. At one point we got stuck and I, Rebecca (Eric's sister) and Eric all had to push the car to get it up the hill. Once we made it to Cabela's all of the stuff Eric wanted was gone. It was still fun to go. Later that evening we went up to Temple Square. I found a Deseret Book and had a good time in there. We also went and saw the Joseph Smith movie. While we were in the movie Eric went and did family history. He was able to find a few more names for my family. I had only seen the lights once before and so it was fun to see those. To avoid dealing with traffic we took Trax up to Salt Lake.

On Tuesday we went to the Jordan River Temple with Eric's parents and Grandma Coffman. We were hoping to do baptisms for family names but we can only do them in our own temple district since we did it on the new Family Search program. That evening we went and visited Eric's great Grandma Christensen. She is 98 years old and still very lively. It was fun to hear some fun stories.

This morning we went to Kneaders for breakfast and are going to go sledding with Eric's nephew Max this afternoon.

It has been a great trip and we are only half way through.

Update

So there actually isn't a whole lot going on right now. Yesterday morning the weather was pretty nice but it had snowed and sleeted so it took forever to get the car scraped. Then we couldn't get our car out of the driveway. Eric and one of our neighbors had to shovel a path to get us out. The roads weren't too bad since the road crews had been sanding all night. But when I got to work my car got stuck in the middle of the parking lot. Luckly we have shovels at the library so I had to go get a shovel and shovel out a path to get my car into what I pretended was a parking spot. Work was pretty normal. I had my last teen program here at North. I had 4 kids come which is way more than I thought I would since the whole state pretty much cancelled school. All in all life is going really well and tonight I get to open up presents!!

Brrrr!!!

So after a beautiful 50 degree day on Saturday this morning was -2 degrees!! I am sorry but that is just cold. But I did have to remind myself that cold is much easier to travel in than snow and ice. So I have decided that it can stay cold as long as there isn't a bad snow storm when Eric and I are travelling to Utah next week.

Now I know that in reality that doesn't really work that way but I feel much better having made up my mind about something.

Transfer

I found out this morning that starting Jan 5, 2009 I will be working downtown. I put in for the transfer last week and was waiting so very impatiently. Part of me is sad to be leaving North Side where I have been for the past 18 months. But getting to and from Central will be much easier since I don't have to transfer buses and it is a lot closer to my home.

100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my 100th post on the blog!!!!! I feel like doing my little "I just won boxing on the Wii" dance. For those of you who haven't seen it trust me it is unforgettable. It has been great sharing little moments in life with everyone and recording them for future generations. Wippee! 100 posts!

You Are Flannel Pajamas

You seek comfort above everything else. You rather feel good than look good. You are a very relaxed person, especially when you're surrounded by your favorite things and people. You are a homebody. Home is the place where you can truly be yourself. You are likely to wear pajamas a lot. In fact, you often change into your pj's the minute you get home!

What Kind of Pajamas Are You?

Handmade Holidays

 

 

 

 

This morning my library was hosting a all day program with the Salvation Army. You could go and do all sorts of different crafts. There were a ton of people there and the place was a mess. The best part was I could go be crafty, not have to pay for anything, or then not have to clean up in the end. I made the swag for our door and then I made a cell phone case out of a tie. There were a few other crafts that we didn't do but it was fun to see all the different options.

Playing Games

 

Over the last couple of months we have played games with Greg and Britney Iwaasa quite a few times and I finally thought to take a picture. They have introduced us to a lot of new games which has been a blast. I very rarely win and that makes me sad but Eric sometimes wins so that is good.

2008 Get to Know You

This is what I do when I am bored at work and want to entertain myself.:)


1. What is your occupation right now? Library Assistant
2. What color are your socks right now? White
3. What are you listening to right now? the random noises in a library (and you thought a library was quiet)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? a Nestle Crunch bell
5. Can you drive a stick shift? nope
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Laura-a co-worker
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? No one sent it to me, I stole it from a blog hehehe but I love myself very much
6.How old are you today? 26
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? football
10. What is your favorite drink? milk
11. Have you ever Colored your hair? What color is it now? only ever did semi-permanent red but right now is is brown and all mine
12. Favorite food? burgers and fries
13. What is the last movie you watched? in the middle of Big Fish
14. Favorite day of the year? one that starts happy, goes well, ends well and has no snow
15. How do you vent anger? talk and talk and talk
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? book and baby dolls
17. What is your favorite season? SUMMER!
18. Cherries or Blueberries? neither
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Since this isn't an email I'm not expecting anyone to respond
20. Who is the most likely to respond? Depends if anyone reads my blog, so probably no one
21. Who is least likely to respond? Everyone
22. Living arrangements? a third story apartment with my lovely husband Eric-our first place together
23. When was the last time you cried? You know for the first time in a long time I really don't remember
24. What is on the floor of your closet? laundry baskets and about half of my shoes
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Joella or Rheanna are the two friends who would read this that I have known for a long time
26. What did you do last night ? went to Enrichment
27. What are you most afraid of ? fires and clowns
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese!
29. Favorite dog breed? beagles, basset hounds or the wrinkly dogs from China that I can't spell
30. Favorite day of the week? Monday (I don't work)
31. How many states have you lived in? Wisconsin, New Jersey, Florida, South Carolina, Utah, Iowa and Seoul South Korea (not a state but too important not to be listed)
32. Diamonds or pearls? Both!
33. What is your favorite flower? roses, tulips, anything Eric surprises me with

Decorating our First Tree

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Eric and I weren't going to buy a Christmas tree this year because we are going to be in Utah for Christmas and then the next couple of years will be crazy. But we actually ended up with two trees. My sister gave us her old one because they buy real ones every year and then my parents bought a new one so they gave us our old prelit tree. Lowe's had all of their Christmas decorations on sale so I was able to get all of the ornaments and the ribbon to make the tree topper for about $25. It was a great deal! I am in love with our tree right now. When I went to Lowe's there wasn't a topper that matched the ornaments I bought but they had ribbon so I decided to try my hand and I was actually able to make the bow in about 20 minutes. Eric also always wanted a train to go around the base of the Christmas tree so he bought one on Black Friday and we were able to put that up also. It finally feels like Christmas in our apartment.

First Snow

 
 


These pictures don't really show it but the same weekend of the Utah/BYU game we got our first snow. It was a pretty snow and not all that cold. The snow was gone within 24 hours. But don't worrry we have had a couple of good snow storms since then. I have even named our car "Fluffy the Wimpy Snowball" because our car doesn't do as well in the snow as my old one did.

GO Cougars!

 

Eric and I watched the Utah/BYU game with a group of members from a number of different wards in the area. It was a fun game. Eric was the only one in red though there were a few others who were cheering for Utah. The game ended with Eric very pleased. I was fighting a cold and ended up catching the stomach flu there but over all it was a fun time.

 

 

 

On November 21, 2008 Eric and I hosted a Murder Mystery Party. We invited Matt and Erin Pitcher, Tyler and Margaret Jolley and Jenn and Jake Chapman. It was set in Chicago in 1928. Eric was a D.A. though slightly shady and I was the owner of a "Gentleman's club". In the end it turned out that I was the murderer. We had a good time and it was fun to watch everyone get into character and have fun with it.

What This Outfit Says About You

Your style is very sophisticated and elegant. Even if you're wearing jeans, you still know how to look classy. You are enchanting and mysterious. You take your image seriously. You are glamourous in a delightfully old-fashioned way. Your high end fashion designer match: Nanette Lepore Your must have accessory: Long gloves

The Outfit Test

Husband of the Year Award

So while on the tail end of my head cold I caught a really nasty stomach virus. Needless to say I have never slept on the bathroom floor until Monday night. The one bright shining moment in my 24 hours of misery was that Eric was an angel. I woke him up at 10:45 after he had just gotten to sleep to go to the store to get me gatorade and the pill form of pepto (he had already gone once at like seven for sprite and the liquid form of pepto). And like the wonderful man he is he got up and go dressed and went without a complaint. Then on Tuesday morning really early when my body wanted food but I was too weak to stand I woke him up again and he just with a kiss and smile went to the kitchen to get me food. I am so grateful for someone who loves me so much to offer such selfless service.

You Are Having a Blue Day

Today is the kind of day that challenges you to the core. You're going to have to stay cool. You have the intelligence, skills, and drive to rise to the occasion. Your mind is sharp. While things may be a bit chaotic, you are still taking the time to reflect and be calm. Today you are extra attractive and interesting to people. You are giving off a detached vibe, which is very intriguing.

What Color Day Are You Having?

If things come in threes...

than I should be coming to the end of a crazy month. After the anxiety and the cyst I woke up this morning fighting a cold. Yuck! At least this is pretty minor. Plus before my mission all of the cold medicines had pseudoephedrine (the stuff meth makers wanted in cold medicine) which my body reacts badly to so I could never take anything for a cold. Now because of all of the druggies out there all the cold medicines have a new drug which I can take!!! Yipee!! Granted now I think of the Zicam commerical with a sheet over the rhino and comparing that to my body. Kind of a funny mental picture.

Now I know why drugs are bad

So for those of you who read my blog know I had a nice trip to the emeregency room and was given Vicatin for the pain. Well on Saturday and Sunday I was taking it (no more than one pill for every 6-8 hours). I was feeling fine. I didn't really feel high or anything like that so I thought I was good. I know it can be an addictive drug so on Monday I decided not to take any unless the pain got really bad and I needed it. I went grocery shopping and in the middle of Wal-Mart my body started going through withdrawls. I got all shaky and light headed and just felt werid. Right now I am really confused as to why people do that to themselves at all. I mean I felt horrible coming off the drug and I didn't even feel all that special on it. Just one more to a list of things I will never understand.

Stake Conference

We had stake conference this weekend and it was really good. I personally enjoyed Saturday night more than Sunday but that was my personal preference. It was a great time and after Saturday night I really felt renewed and uplifted. I have found in the last couple of nights that I usually prefer the Saturday night sessions. This time I really enjoyed President Chapman's talk about becoming an eternal family. I know so often I think that since we are sealed in the temple we are an eternal family when in reality we are still working on it and will be fore the rest of our lives.

The last week I have also been reading the conference Ensign and I have loved that time everyday when I am able to read and to feel uplifted and feel like I can do the things that have been asked of me. The last week (even with my emergency room trip) has been really good and I am starting to feel much more balanced in my life.

One Crazy Friday NIght

 
 


Back when I was in high school and college I got a cyst on my tailbone. Yes it is as painful as it sounds. Last week I got another one and because I still remembered the pain of having it lanced I tried to ignore it thinking it would magically go away. As you can tell from the medical braclets in the picture it didn't. On Friday night Eric took me to the emergency room. I wanted them to lance it and to be get all of the yucky stuff out. Well instead they gave me the most painful shot I have ever had in my life. I almost bit Eric's hand it hurt so bad. Then the nurse came back in and handed me a Viciatin. I guess I was a bit excited to get relief from the pain because I yelled "Sweet" and swallowed it down no problem. Noramlly I have really big problems taking pills with only water, espeically bigger ones. After all that was done Eric took me to QuikTrip to get me a chocolate shake. Those are my favorite shakes and that made the night a little better. So now I get to take an anitbiotic for a few days, have a whole bottle of Viacatin and get to go see a surgeron in a few weeks to try and get the whole thing taken care off for good.

You Are a Conservative Chick

Like Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Ann Coulter, you're conservative and proud of it. You speak your mind, even if everyone else around you disagrees. As you see it, you have to stand up for traditional values and what's right.

Are You a Liberal Lady or a Conservative Chick?

Life carries on

So I love reading everyone else's blogs. I am a blog junkie. The irony is I haven't been posting very regularly. As for life in Larsenland we are doing well. With the exception of my sister (hint hint send your list :)) all of our Christmas shopping is done and we only have a few odds and ends to put together for shopping. Eric is an amazing husband who has been getting so much done now that his class is over. Last week I came home and he had rearranged our cupboards and linen closet to make room to really start building up our food storage. Plus he has really been going crazy on helping me get Christmas all ready so the last minute stress is gone.

For those of you who don't know I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder with Depression about two weeks ago and I am doing a lot better now that I am aware of what is going on and how to work with it. Life has become much easier to deal with and I fine I am smiling and laughing much more. There was a night about a week ago where Eric and I started laughing so hard I couldn't breathe and it was great!

My calling is going really well. There were a few crazy weeks when our President was out of town and our secretary was serioously ill. But we are getting our feet back underneath us just in time for me to leave and our 1st counselor to have surgery.

I have been reading the Conference issue of the Ensign this past week. I was unable to attend on Saturday since I had to work and I have enjoyed reading the talks that I missed. It is great to have such inspiration in my homes.

I think that sums up the last week or so.

Rainbows

So the last couple of months had been really hard but I had been doing a lot better and then on Thursday morning I took Eric to work and as I was coming back down I-235 there was a huge beautiful rainbow. I could see all the colors and the sky was bright blue and I was just in awe. Since I was driving and didn't have my cell phone I didn't get any pictures (so I added one from the internet) but I thought I would let everyone know about the beauty that touched my life.

Your Attention Span is Medium

Your attention span is just about average. You may think that you have a short attention span... But being distracted is something most people struggle with. The most important thing is that you're aware that your mind wanders. If you find yourself daydreaming, you can usually snap out of it. It may be tough to concentrate at times, but you can do it... if you want to!

How's Your Attention Span?

What Your Socks Say About You

You are: - Quite glamorous - Somewhat reserved - A little bit greedy - Known as attractive

The Socks Personality Test

I'm grateful for:

having a really good day even with the stress of voting in a crazy middle school and working in two libraries in one day and the evenings being so much darker at 5:30. I was able to work out this morning which feels great, the weather is beautiful, Eric is done with Pharm and life is good.

Feeling Patriotic

So I was looking to try and change my blog background for fall or Thanksgiving and nothing really jumped out at me so I thought since we are voting today (have you all gone and voted yet?) and Veteran's Day is next Tuesday (I only know this because I get the day off!!!) I would do a patriotic theme. Plus the weather is still so nice it feels like summer is right around the corner rather than winter.

The weather

I remember when I was younger and older people would talk about the weather and I never understood why and I now I find I talk about the weather a lot. But I have to say I am so grateful for the beautiful weather we are having this year for fall in Iowa. Tomorrow is supposed to be almost 70 degrees. Eric and I have yet to turn on our heat and haven't had our air on for a month. I love lower energy bills!

What day of the week are you?

You Are Monday

Like this day of the week, you are ruled by the moon. More than anything, you are flexible. You are moody and impressionable. You are easily influenced by the world around you. And while you can be temperamental, you eventually adjust. While Mondays tend to be the hardest day for people, you don't mind getting back to regular life. You're the one waking up early and making the coffee while everyone else complains.

What Day of the Week Are You?

Writing for the Sake of Writing

Sometimes after reading every one's blogs I want to get on and post and post and post and then I try and think of something to write about and I draw a huge BLANK. My work brings lots of interesting challenges some of which are humorous, some which are not. For example today I had a patron who had 42 books on hold. The check out limit is 50. Before we started I specifically asked him if we wanted to go through them and make sure he wanted them all. Because every time without fail when I have a patron with that many holds they give half back. So we get all but about 7 checked out and he hits his limit. With a blank, dumbfounded look he asks "I guess the limit is still 50 uh?" So we had to go back though all of the books and figure out which ones he really wanted. Yep in the end he only took about half of what he had on hold. That was one of the moments when I just had to sigh and decide to let it go since in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a big deal.

That kind of brings me to the next point of this pointless ramble. I recently finished a book called "Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy". I have been really down and stressed out a lot the past couple months and I figured something written with an LDS background would be the most helpful. I feel so much better after reading this book. She said a lot of the same things that are in scripture and said by general authorities (both of whom she quotes all the way through). But reading it in the way that she wrote it was eye opening for me. Learning that there are so many things that just don't matter in this life that we get so caught up on. I highly suggest it to anyone.

On Sunday while I was trying to be reverent during the Sacrament I was reading Christmas carols and I got all teary eyed and then I just started crying. I actually ended up crying all through Sacrament meeting (it was our primary program). Back to the Christmas carols. I was just thinking about Christmas and all the wonderful feeligs that go along with that time of year and I got all sad and happy all at the same time. I also started thinking about Christ and all He did for me and lets just say I was emotional.

Finding Answers

Have you ever had the experience where you follow a prompting thinking you are getting an answer to a prayer but it doesn't work out but following the prompting does lead you on a journey that answers your prayers?

Eight Things

Eight TV shows I like to watch...
Army Wives
Survivor
What Not to Wear
Rachel Ray
The Doctors
whatever else I can find at the gym

Eight restaurants I like to eat at...
Red Robin
Applebee's
Huhot
KFC
Famous Dave's
can't think of any others, I am a pretty picky eater

Eight things that happened today...
worked out (lifted weights)
helped a man find a book about dinosaurs
took a quick shower
ate breakfast in bed
mailed the car payment
read lots of blogs
ordered lots of books with other people's money :)

Eight things I am looking forward to...
Christmas in Utah
my first cup of Hot chocolate this winter
finding the next great book to read
losing the post wedding day weight
FHE with my family on Sunday
my brother and sister-in-law being sealed
Christmas presents (giving and receiving)
sleeping

Eights things on my wish list...
a baby
new clothes
lots of books
internet at home
being better at being organized
my own home
no snow until Christmas
no bad hair days

Eight people I tag...
Rheanna, Jenn C., Bri, and anyone else who would like to.

Relief Society Board meeting

 
 
 


Last Thursday I had a Relief Society Board meeting. Eric went with me to shop for decorations but wasn't really all that into saying that it was because he was never going to see them. So I took a few pictures of what we did with the tables so he could see them. The irony is that he doesn't really read our blog so he still doesn't know what it all looked like.

Relief Society Broadcast

 
 


A few weeks ago I talked about the Relief Society broadcast and I thought I would add a few pictures of the way the gym was decorated. It was so beautiful. It was a great night.

Killing time

i am: hungry
i think: that the weather is too cold
i know: that books are good for you
i want: to cuddle up and read a good book
i have: green sheets on my bed
i dislike: tomatoes
i miss: the innocence of youth
i fear: clowns
i feel: a heavy heart
i hear: kids being too loud in the library
i smell: books
i crave:chicken burritos
i cry: whenever I want to
i usually: tell people I am okay when I am not
i wonder: where Eric will get a residency
i regret: not doing things perfectly
i love: Eric
i care: that I don't see any progress in my job
i always: worry too much
i worry: about everything
i am not: an optimistic person
i remember: the first time I saw Eric
i believe: that I will get through hard times
i dance: when I want to
i sing: when no one but Eric or those who already love me can hear
i don’t always: do what I should
i argue: with myself
i write: to let out what I feel
i win: very rarely
i lose: quite a lot
i wish: I could not have to worry about my health
i listen: to kind words
i don't understand: why teenagers are so rude
i can usually be found: at home
i am scared: that life won't be how I want it
i need: constant reassurance
i am happy: when things are simple
i tag: anyone who wants to try

We're still here

I know it seems like I disappeared into some great unknown in the blogging world but Eric and I are both just living the day to day life. There isn't anything special going on right now so there hasn't been a lot to blog about. As with everyone else I enjoyed general conference and look forward to reading the talks, especially the ones I missed with working on Saturday.

Rock Band

Have you ever wondered what a hard working teen librarian does with her time? Well I am here to tell you-I play Rock Band!! Today I had a program for teens and we played Rock Band at the library. I have to say thank you to my brother-in-law Jeremy for introducing the game to me last New Year's Eve. It was amazing how quickly the skills came back after nine months. All in all it was a fun time. I personally prefer the drums.

I'm FLYing

So I go through slightly obsessive phases and right now I am addicted to www.flylady.net. She is a home organizing house cleaning guru. Now I don't do everything she says and my mom taught me a TON about how to run a home but I guess I just needed something to give me a kick in the pants and to get re-energized about keeping up with things. The other thing is right now we haven't lived in one place long enough to collect to much clutter and I would love to keep it that way. So I am doing me best to make sure our home is clean and happy.

Small blessing

I have noticed on TV and in movies and in real life it is way more common to bash on husbands than to appreciate them. I am grateful that there are people in my life who share the joy they feel from being married to their husbands. I know I am so grateful everyday for Eric and for the sweet and loving things he does. I am also grateful that I am friends and family with other people who feel the same way about their husbands. Now I am not suggesting that the husbands loves their wives any less it is just the wives who tend to blog more and so I hear their side of the story. Thanks to everyone who shares great things about their spouse.

Small Blessings

Yesterday at church one of the speakers talked about taking note of the small happiness that comes in our life and not just the big moments. The whole talk was amazing and it was great to feel the Spirit so strong during sacrament meeting. I really want to try and notice the small blessings that come everyday. Already today I have had so many blessings and great things. Eric is such a wonderful, caring husband. Whenever I am in a crazy mood and bouncing off the walls he is there and understands that sometimes I need to just be crazy.

New Obsession

So when my brother was younger he would get on these kicks where he would be obessesed with one thing or another and we would all wait till he moved on to the new thing. Well he has grown out of it a little bit (Bri will have to tell me if that is true) but I have grown into it. For awhile I was always thinking about scrapbooking and then knitting and now my new guilty pleasure is www.flylady.com. I had heard of her before but I refound her website yesterday and that is my new obsession. She has a lot of tips for keeping your house clean and staying organized. So we will see how long this lasts. :)

Big Day in Larsen Land

A lot of people's blogs that I read are posting that they are on a noteworthy blog number like 100 or 500. So I decided to celebrate my own little victory. As of today (well in about 2 1/2 hours) Eric and I will have known each other for a year. You better believe it; last year at this moment I didn't even know Eric Larsen existed. He didn't know I existed either. So here is to a year of great and wonderful changes.

Life is good

So I keep wanting to blog and to write about everything that is going on and then I remember there isn't a lot going on. On Saturday night Eric and I had dinner at my parents house and then stayed to watch some of the USC vs OSU game. That was a good time and it was almost a little weird to be at my parents house with no one else there. Then on Sunday night the Relief Society president had the whole presidency and their husbands over for dinner. It was fun to have a big family dinner and meet new people at the same time. Last night Eric worked late while I was at my parents doing laundry and enjoying dinner. As I am writing this I am realizing that I did a lot of eating this weekend. That is about the most exciting thing that has happened recently. No wonder I keep missing my goal to lower my body fat percentage.

Scrapbooking Dilemma

So I have decided that after all of these years I am not a scrapbooker. I enjoyed it before my mission but you know what they say and a mission changes you. So then I was thinking of doing digital scrapbooking but that didn't really appeal to me either. Recently I have been making a photo book from our wedding photos through blurb and I love doing it. So I think I am just going to start making photo albums for each year. The software lets me add backgrounds and text and colors and everything only it is a lot more simple than photoshop. Another plus-it doesn't require the internet which is good since we don't have the internet right now at my house. I love it when I can find something I enjoy doing and it is simple and other than the cost to publish the book (which is around $30) it is free to do. Fabulous.

How to make a day at work better

So I am in love with ESPN right now. I work all day today and ESPN does live updates of the games. I was checking all morning and only the IOWA Iowa State game was even semi-interesting but now the BYU/UCLA game is on (and BYU is winning!!) I love ESPN!

Yummy cheesecake

Okay so last night Eric and I went to Cheesecake Factory for....you guessed it cheesecake. Work yesterday had been really hard and Eric had been stuck at home all day so we were both ready to get out of the house. We went to Jordan Creek mall since we can always find something to do there. We spent a lot of time in Barnes and Noble looking at different books. Years ago I had found a journal type book called "All About Me". It prompts you with questions that you can fill out and learn about yourself. I knew there was one for couples and we found it last night so now we get to do soul searching as a couple. We then wanted a treat and so we decided to go into Cheesecake Factory. I ordered the 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cheesecake (or something like that). Basically it was 4 layers, 2 or each and it was sooooo good. Normally a dessert like that is too rich for me but this one was perfect in everyway. Eric ordered an Oreo one that was actually too rich. So I got the point for picking the best cheesecake for the night.

BYU alumi camping trip

Last weekend Eric and I went camping and so I thought I would share some of the pictures with you. We had a good time. My sister Jenn and nephew Isaac went along too. The night was a little cold but other than that it was great.

Cedar Rapids Service Project

Eric and I were able to go to Cedar Rapids and work to clean our houses that had been affected by the flood this summer. We rode down with Matt and Erin and met everyone else there. The first house we worked on (Bessie's house) nothing had been done and the house was still wet. The second house (Marylyn's house) a lot had been done but there was still a lot to do. It was a long hard day but still very fun.

September Goals

Okay here we go for September-hopefully we do a little better this month than last.

1-I am going to keep working on my body fat index. I am not sure where it is right now since I have been too scared to get on the scale. But I would like to see it back down to 22% at the end of the month.

2-I am really going to start writing in my journal. We are getting rid of the internet (stupid Mediacom-another story) and so I will have to change how I do it.

3-This year in institute they are studying "Jesus the Christ" and I really wanted to go but we have presidency meetings every Wednesday so Eric and I are going to read and talk about it.

4-I am really leaning towards going digital with my scrapbooking but before I do that I have to get caught up with my scrapbooking that I have pictures printed off for.

5-This month I want to study different ways to be physically active.

August goals-update

1- My body fat is not back down to 22% so that is an area I need to keep working on. I did go to the gym in the morning a little bit more than July so there was improvement though not as much as I would have liked.

2-Journaling went even farther down hill. But a side note on that; I was keeping a journal on a separate blog that I thought was private. Well it turns out that it was public and someone had found it from Australia and left a comment. That was embarrassing and ,yes, I have switched it to private now.

3-With having Enrichment in August my calling got a lot of my attention. The Enrichment went really well and everyone had a really good time.

4-I didn't touch my scrap booking in August let alone get caught up. I am actually really starting to think about doing digital scrap booking. We will have to see-that requires learning a new computer program and for those of you who know me that is a big step.

5-I actually did a really good job at looking up information about endometriosis. I guess that one seemed to have the highest level of interest for me.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!?!?!?!

So how do you know your husband is obsessed with college football? When he dances around the house at 4:30 in the morning singing about college football kick off week. Yes he really did. We spent the day in Cedar Rapids doing flood clean up (more about that later) and all Eric could talk about was that the Utes were playing that day against Michigan. I am starting to feel like I am on the movie "Fever Pitch". The boy is obsessed with a sport only he likes baseball and my Eric loves football. The good thing is Eric isn't quite that obsessed. I have yet to see football themed toilet paper in my house. The other good thing is I really like football too, just not quite enough to dance around the house at 4:30 in the morning. So let the season begin.

Service Project

Do you remember all of those service projects you did in Young Men's/Young Women's and you always moaned and complained even though you always ended up having fun? Well tomorrow Eric and I are going to help with the flood clean up in Cedar Rapids and I am actually really excited for it. We have to be at the church at 5:30 in the morning!!! But there are other people going from our ward and I think it will be a great chance to get to know people better. Now the real fun will come on Sunday when I have to give a talk at church and my legs won't work :). Once my hands come back I will post and let everyone know how it goes.

On a completely different note I am so bummed about the Stephenie Meyer scandal (she is the author of the Twilight Series). Chapters from her next book were published illegally on the Internet and now she has postponed releasing "Midnight Sun". In my opinion it just shows a complete lack of respect for another person and their hard work. Copyright laws are not bad!! Sorry I get a little worked up over this.

Juggling One Car

So for the past week we have been trying to balance one car and things have gone really well so far. Tonight was going to be our first little problem. Eric was working until 8:30 and I had Enrichment. The plan was for me to pick Eric up downtown but I was worried that I wouldn't quite be done with Enrichment by then. But then last night he found that the Blood Bank van picks up and drops off an employee at Valley West Mall. Sweet!!! So Eric will get dropped off at the mall ,walk to the church and be there in time to help clean up.

When we bought the car I was worried about the cost and also living with one car. Eric kept telling me that we would receive blessings since we were doing our best. Everyday I see proof of the those blessings. This was just one more example.

A new list on our blog

So you know how every Christmas and birthday someone asks you "What do you want for Christmas/your birthday?" and there is always a big blank. Well I am trying to avoid that this year but starting my list early. The last couple of days I have had random thoughts of that would be good to go on a Christmas list but I know I would never remember all the way until Christmas. So I have decided to keep a running list on the blog for myself and for Eric and then also for anything we might like as a couple. I hope I don't sound selfish and greedy I just don't want to have to do the whole scramble for something to say come December. Plus I like making lists and this one is great because it isn't a to-do list.

A brand new car

Okay so a quick side note when I was typing in the title I could hear Bob Barker in my head. On to the real news of the day. Eric and I bought a car. We decide to get the Cobalt I talked about earlier. I insisted on driving it home because now with a new car I will actually be riding the bus more. My job allows me to ride the bus for free and so with both of us working I ride the bus and Eric gets the car most of the time. I also have to pay to park when I am downtown and Eric gets free parking so it makes sense. Plus I get a lot more time to read. But I am excited to have a car that isn't going to be a ticking time bomb. We ended up getting a car with a lot of really neat little features. One of my favorite is the info button on the steering wheel changes the display on the instruments panel. It tells you your average mpg, gas range, two trip meters, and some other things I can't remember but I was pretty excited. It also has a plug in for our ipods so we don't have to use the cigarette liter kind anymore. I plan on taking some pictures of our car to put on. The one from before was just a random Internet photo.

Biting the bullet

There comes a time in every adults life when they have to go car shopping and for me and Eric the time has finally come. On Friday we took my car in for an oil change and what we thought would be a quick fix to a small problem (I can hear you giggling, you know what is coming). My car needed new rear struts and also some brake work done. Well we fixed the struts right away because that was urgent but the brakes could wait. I know, I know I would have thought it was the the other way around. Well after a long talk and crunching numbers Eric and I decided it was time to stop putting money into our old cars and go buy a new one (well new for us). Last night on line we found a 2002 Toyota Corolla for 9900 with only 50,000 miles. I agree, what a deal but when we got there this morning the guy told us it had been gone for 2 weeks. The first disappointment to come. After cruising the Merle Hay Auto mile and calling my dad (our resident car expert) we found a Chevy Cobalt that is a 2007 with on 32,000 miles for 11,890. Now we have to start the whole financing dance and see what they will give us for both of our cars. Neither Eric nor I have ever purchased a car (well Eric bought his Mustang through a lady he worked with but never a dealer). So we hope we don't show our greenness too bad when dealing with the salesman. Luke, the dealer (of cars, not drugs) at Stivers was the favorite of the day. So if anyone has any advice feel free to share. Please no horror stories, I am scared to buy a car already.

Cooking for two

Last week I decided to make a lasgna and I knew that we would never eat a full pan so I made a little itty bitty lasgna. Eric thought it was the cutest thing he had ever seen. The nicest thing was I was able to make it really quickly.