#2 What is your worst memory?

I have mentioned before that my step brother, Daniel was killed a year ago this past December. He is my step dad’s only son and he left behind a daughter, Taylie.
The day I got the call I knew something was wrong. I didn’t answer the phone and let the call go to voicemail. I still didn’t listen to the call until the next day when my brother Randy finally called me at work.
He told me that Daniel had been in a wreck and was in the hospital in Indiana. I didn’t know what to say. I had him repeat the words again and they still didn’t make any sense. I knew Daniel was in Indiana but I couldn’t understand how it had all happened. I asked my Randy what happened and he recanted a story that didn’t’ make any sense.
I went out to my car and called my mom. She was a wreck and just kept rambling on about her last conversation with Daniel.
Out of the three of us kids he was the one with the most problems. He was the one that needed more attention from our parents and he was the one who seemed lost.
I guess Daniel was planning on coming back to Idaho and had asked my mom if he could stay with them. He asked her if he was welcome at their house. My mom explained to him that all of us kids were always welcome back at home.
My mom new that day, Daniel wasn’t ever coming home. The hospital was waiting for my step dad to get there so they could remove him from life support. It took my step dad a day to get there but he made it to say his final goodbyes.
We are still unsure how this all happened and justice has yet to come, but we know Daniel’s in heaven. The hardest thing is to see Daniel’s daughter Taylie, struggle with his death. It’s sad to know she will never get to fully know her father and they will not be a part of each other’s lives.
Getting a call that morning that Daniel was in the hospital is a memory that will haunt me, always.

A question a day

Matt and I went to Barnes and Noble on Saturday to look around. He likes to look at all the books and grab a few to sit and read. We didn’t have as much time as we wanted  but I ended up finding this Q & A a five year journal. After looking it over I thought it was sort of interesting. Each day it asked you a questions and you keep doing this for five years. It would be cool to see how your answers change. I showed the book to Matt and he thought it was a good idea too. Since we are almost done with January it will be hard to remember what we did on some of those days to answer the questions but we have started to fill it in. I think this would be a good gift for anyone and I might have to start getting my friends and families one.

Getting Fit in 2012

My fitness has been slacking to say the least. So after much complaining and excuses, I finally started to do something. I am going to start going to Nampa Fit Studio and taking some of their classes. I did one on Tuesday with my mother in law and today I can barely walk. I’m going to try and go twice a week and do another class at work on Mondays. I took some before pics this morning and those were so depressing but I figure it will be a good motivator when I look at them.

#1 Who am I?

Such an interesting question! It’s like the first day of school when you have to introduce yourself and your voice is shaky and your palms are sweaty.

I am 28 years old, almost 29 and was born in Nampa, Idaho. We moved around a lot when I was younger and never really settled in one place for very long. I have a step brother named Daniel and a half brother named Randy. I met my best friend Matt when I was 18 and we fell for each other hard. We got married in 2008 and have been together for almost 11 years but married for over 3. Not long after we got married we bought our first house in Nampa. We knew it was our house the moment we walked into it. About a year after that we got a dog, a little Pekingese mix named Cid. In 2010 we both decided to put the kid thing on hold and go to school. It was a great decision as far as bettering ourselves and our family but we are both ready to have kids and now have to wait a couple of years…

The best way to describe me is: loyal, loving, and compassionate to those who deserve it; not to those who don’t. Honest to everyone. As I get older I realize the importance of family and I appreciate the relationships with close friends. My family has come together during tough times and my friends have been there to support my decisions and celebrate my accomplishments. I will give you complete respect and expect the same from you. When that is ruined all bets are off.

I love my relationship with my husband, and thank God everyday for the enormous amount of love Matt shows to me and the incredible respect we have for each other. Growing up the relationships I witnessed by adults were not great models and I wasn’t sure I would ever have a “good” relationship.

And… that’s who I am, or at least the stuff I want you all to know!

Stuff and another blog challenge

My blog has been very boring lately… I mean very boring. I have hardly posted anything and when I did there were no pictures. I like to look at pictures, even if they are of nothing. So I decided to try and post every other day… I am going to do another bloggy challenge and do 30 posts in 60 days!! I know I can’t commit to 30 in 30 so I will just do what I can, when I can. Along with those posts I will post pictures…YAH!!! So here it is, the challenge:
1. Who are you?
2. What is your worst memory?
3. Nicknames you have and why you have those?
4. Habit/s that you wish you didn't have.
5. Interesting things about your family.
6. A picture of you in your childhood days.
7. Your favorite magazine.
8. Person/s you want to exchange lives with for a day.
9. Who you want to be if you are not what you are today?
10. Far place/s been to so far.
11. Place/s you want to visit.
12. Best present ever received.
13. What's your greatest romance fantasy?
14. Something that makes you happy.
15. Something you crave a lot.
16. What would I find inside your bag?
17. What are your beauty essentials?
18. What's your staple closet must-have?
19. What is/are your pet/s?
20. Websites or web pages you check/follow every day.
21. Your ambition during your childhood.
22. What/Where do you splurge on?
23. About your circle of friends.
24. What profession you wish you are?
25. Places or stores you love to shop.
26. If you're a thing, what are you?
27. What is/are you're best asset/s?
28. Why your hook on to blogging?
29. A picture that makes you happy.
30. How did you come up with your blog name?

Classes back in session

Getting back into the groove of school is hard to do when you have been off for three weeks. Let me tell you, those three weeks were pure bliss! I lounged on the couch in my pjs, from the moment I got home from work until I had to go to bed. I got all caught up on my juicy shows and even some that I just had recorded because. It was nice; no care in the world. No books to read or assignments to write, it was great. I look forward, and cherish the little breaks I get. Don’t get me wrong, school is a blessing and I am thankful to be going but sometimes I miss my time. I miss being able to craft, read, and just lay on the couch. It seems during the week its go, go, go and then on the weekends I like to spend time with my honey.
So, today we are back in the groove of school. The first week of classes each session I am a little off kilter and stressed. I never feel like I’m ready and I over think everything. Tonight I’m heading to my favorite coffee shop for some alone time (aka: time away from the mother in law) and I’m going to get organized and do some homework. Surprisingly I am looking forward to this… that’s a first.

New Year's Checklist

The beginning of a new year brings new resolutions. I like to think of things I can work on for the upcoming year because I like lists and I like to check things off! So here are the things I will try and resolve this year!
1. Work harder in school. I want to bring up my gpa; I know it only matters to me and C’s get degrees but I will know what my gpa is and that's all that matters.
2. Read at least two books this year that are not required for school. It’s hard to read during school time but I love to read and miss it dearly.
3. Spend a little time each month working on my crafts. I feel at peace when I’m crafting.
4. Organize some of our spare rooms and closets.
5. My biggest hope for this year is that my father in law makes a full recovery and can come home. If nothing else this is something I hope I can check off my new year’s list!
My husband and I spent our New Years very mellow but it was so nice. He has been working weird hours and my mother in law lives with us so it’s hard to find time for ourselves without a third wheel! So we started the night off with taco salad and dug into the Batman movies, starting with the oldest. When it got close to midnight we poured ourselves some wine and toasted the New Year.
Each year I learn a little more whether it’s good or bad. Life’s lessons seem to get harder and harder but I hope and pray this year will be a little easier on our family.

Christmas present of sorts

Sunday our washer stopped working and we were bummed since we didn't plan on buying a new one. But my hubby tried to fix it and instead it just broke even more. It was on its way out as my husband could tell by the way it broke while he was fixing it. So he did his research as he does on everything, and after reading many reviews he told me that we were going to spend the extra money and get the front loaders. I was shocked because I thought he would just find the cheapest ones but was excited nonetheless. So after getting our beauties home and hooking them up, I was ready to wash and dry. I read the manual and these puppies are very temperamental! The biggest issue with the washer is the fact that they can grow mold if you do not take good care of them. So when you are done with your laundry for the day you have to wipe the gasket around the door down really good. This little issue does make me nervous but it is something I will overlook in order to take good care of these! The other crazy thing about these two is that they make noise. A little jingle when they are done, not the annoying buzzing noise but an actual song is played. I haven’t figured out what the song is but is quite interesting. The first time we heard it we were shocked and couldn’t figure out what it was!!

Weird coincidence?

My husband started a new job today and get this.... its at Home Federal where I left to take my new job. He will be working in the IT department which is my old department, in my old desk with my old email address. I think its all a little weird. Right now he will be working 10-7 but in a few weeks he will be working 3pm-midnight. The position is running the nightly batch which affects credits and debits into customers accounts. I'm excited for him but its hard not to admit its weird! It will be nice to have a full time paycheck coming in but most of all this schedule will work perfectly with school.

Oh and did I mention that my hubby looked hot in his nice dress/work clothes. I could get used to that for sure!!

Marriage stuff

Last night my hubby irritated me and I was mad which doesn’t take much to do with me! But after I just backed off and let myself cool down I was fine and it didn’t bother me so much. When I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep I started to think about that and was proud of myself for coming so far. I used to be the one who would get mad over little things and wanted to argue about it. After arguing for a while I could never really remember what made me so mad in the first place. It made me think about the things I have learned since being with Matt for so long and being married to him. I think the three most important things to a good marriage are communication, respect for each other, and picking your battles.
I would never claim that our marriage is perfect or that I know a lot about being married but I do feel like being with someone for over ten years and married for three of those years qualifies me to talk about this!
Communication was not something we were good at in the beginning because we were both immature and trying to figure things out. I was always honest with Matt and wanted the same back from him. Now I would say we communicate very well and that’s our strongest area of our relationship. I know that when couples stop communication it can lead to issues.
Respecting each other has always been important. I don’t complain about Matt to my friends and never to his family. That will cause issues all around and out of respect for him I do not do this.
Picking your battles is huge. It’s easy to get upset with your partner and want to argue to prove your right but before you know it your two hours into a fight that doesn’t mean anything anymore. I am not saying it’s not okay to argue because I think it’s actually healthy and to disagree and talk it out is normal but starting an argument over everything is not going to make your relationship stronger. I think picking your battles comes with maturity and feeling confident in yourself and your relationship makes it easier to just throw in the towel and let the argument go.

Mr. Homemaker

For the last month my hubby hasn’t been working. When he started his IT program in august he went part time at Pepsi. This was to allow him more flexibility with school since that is Monday through Friday 8am to noon. He worked part time for a few months until Pepsi let him go. It wasn’t a huge shocker since it was a possibility the whole time. Pepsi doesn’t do part time and were making an exception for him. So for the last month he hasn’t had a job and there have been some definite perks. When he gets out of school he spends a few hours a day going grocery shopping, going to the bank, cleaning the house, doing laundry, and making dinner. Since I work full time and go to school as well this has been a huge help for me. I don’t have to worry about the dinner or house stuff because I know he has it taken care of. My hubby has gotten really good at doing all these things that it will be missed when he starts working again.
Last night we were talking about him getting a part time job, something around 20 hours a week and I have to admit a little part of me was saying no! I know he will still help around the house but I also know he won’t be able to help as much and I really got used to it! It’s nice to have a partner who can step up and help where you are lacking. I always tell my hubby we are a great team.

C- won't cut it

I got a call from my advisor right before Thanksgiving break who told me that in two of my classes I got a C-. I didn’t see the big deal until she said that the ACE program will not accept this. Of course I was super disappointed in myself for getting a C- twice but what could I do about it. I try really hard in all my classes and some things I am not going to be good at. So now I am stuck retaking those two classes in hopes of getting higher than a C-, no pressure or anything! But the worst news of all….this puts me back a semester. Because of how the classes in this particular program are laid out, they are not offered all the time. I was pretty bummed almost depressed. After talking to the hubby about it we decided it happened for a reason. That’s how we think most things happen in life, for a reason. They may not happen how you planned or you may not see the outcome at first but in the end you realize it was for the best.

Thankful

This year has been hard and continues to be but with everything going on I am happy and grateful for everything I have.

Laptop Sold

I'm glad I posted this on my blog, got it sold in 5 seconds flat!!!

Laptop For Sale

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Laptop (Gateway NV5378u)
• 15.6" HD Widescreen Ultrabright™ LED-backlit Display
• 1366 x 768 Native Resolution
• 2.0GHz AMD Athlon II X2 Dual-Core Processor
• 4GB Dual-Channel DDR2 RAM
• 500GB Hard Drive, 5400rpm
• DVD SuperMulti Drive
• ATI Radeon HD 4200 Graphics
• Integrated Webcam
• Connectivity: WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet
• I/O: 4 x USB, VGA output, HDMI output
• Multi-in-One Card Reader
• Full-Size Keyboard with Multi-gesture Touchpad
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Adult owned excellent condition.
It comes with original battery and charging cable.