I would like one, please...

Ever since I was little, we have had a dog.  I absolutely LOVE dogs.  I can't imagine not having one.  Whenever I go home and visit my mom, I play with our dog.  If I see a puppy in the pet store, I have to hold it.  I love dogs, especially big ones.  I'm really not a fan of the little dogs.  They are spazzes and they bark a lot and are too needy.  So maybe I should rephrase what I said before: I love BIG dogs. :)

Covey, on the other hand, never really grew up with pets of any kind except for the occasional cat that one of his sisters would adopt.  He doesn't really like the idea of having a pet and thinks of them more as a nuisance than a joy.  The good news is, Covey is coming around and actually kind of likes dogs now.  He even said we could have one when we get a house!  The bad news is, we probably won't be getting a house for a while.  But I just wanted to post some pictures of all of the cute puppies that I have found that I would like to have. :)

Australian Shepherd

Weimaraner

Black Lab

Yellow Lab

Alaskan Malamute

Waking Up Late

I really like sleeping in, but sometimes I sleep in too much because I like my snooze button.  Too bad it made me late for work.  :(  That and the fact that the left turn signal skipped my lane this morning as I was trying to get on the freeway...  Arg.

So Ready...

I am SO ready for a vacation!  I totally deserve one.  I haven't taken a vacation since August of last year and I haven't taken more than 3 days in a row off from work since then either.  Good thing is, I'm going on one next week!  Bad thing is, it's only a mini-vacation.  But we are going to cram as much into it as humanly possible without spending too much money!  We are going to go with Shannon and Grayson, my sister-in-law and her husband, who we also went on our last vacation with (they've had more vacations than us though since then).  I should probably wait to talk all about the vacation until it has actually happened, but I'm too excited!  :)

We'll start off by waking up at dark-o'clock on Thursday morning and driving down to Zion's National Park where we are going to hike Angel's Landing (hopefully, we make it to the top).  It is about a 4 1/2 hour hike roundtrip in the hot southern Utah sun.  We'll see how it goes.  Depending on how tired we are after that, we will either do some more little hikes or maybe just drive around and see some of the other sites.  After a full day of sun and hiking, we are going to go to a hotel in St. George and get some sleep.

The next morning, we're going to go to the St. George Temple and do a session.  Then, (hopefully) we are going to hang out at a water park for most of the rest of the day.  We're still working on locating one, but there has to be one in St. George, right?

Then we're going to drive to Las Vegas to Covey's sister's house and spend the night there.  Next morning, we're going to play at the pool with our nieces and nephews.  Then, we'll probably do some shopping and walking around and do a tour of the wax museum on the strip.

On Sunday, we'll go to church with Mark and Tiffany's family and go up to the Las Vegas Temple grounds and just kinda chill.  Then we'll drive home. 

I am really excited to get out of Provo and do some fun things with Covey and Shannon and Grayson.  We always have such a fun time together and we all really need a vacation.  When we get back from our trip, I'll write about what actually happens, because it's rare that trips go exactly how you plan them to be.  Whatever we do though is going to be awesome! :)

Our New Cabinet!

So a couple of months ago Covey and I decided to take on a project.  It all started when we found our new apartment and realized that we were going to need a little more storage space than what was currently there.  We looked around a few places to see if we could find something but didn't see anything that was a reasonable price.  Then we went to Savers where we found this base cabinet for $24.99:

It wasn't the color we wanted and it didn't have a top but my creative juices started flowing (greatly inspired by all of the HGTV I'd been watching) and we decided to tackle our first big furniture refurbishing project.  There was a lot of learning to do along the way because neither of us really knew what we were doing, we just had an end product in mind.  Thankfully, Covey's dad has all the tools we could ever need (and then some) to do this kind of a project.  So here is the progression from beginning to end of our newest addition to our furniture:

First, we had to cover the inside so that it didn't get spray painted.

Shaking up the spray paint

After the first coat of spray paint

To paint the cabinet doors, we hung them from a tree and sprayed them.

Spraying on the second coat of paint

Covey and his dad had to cut a big piece of board for the top of the cabinet so we could tile it.

Cutting the tile for the top

We got the top all tiled and grouted then we had to let it dry before we could tile the top edges.

The finished product!

We are so proud of ourselves!

Overall, the project took us about two months and about 20 hours.  We learned a lot and did many things the hard way, but I tell you what--if we ever do another cabinet like this, we are going to know exactly what we're doing.  We can tell you about grout and cutting tile and spray paint and all sorts of fun stuff.  :)  It was a really fun project and I wouldn't be surprised if we undertook another project in the future to try out our creativeness. :)

FREE STUFF!!!!

No, sorry, I am not the one giving away free stuff.  It is this new website I found called freebies2deals.com!

The girl who runs the site posts all these different deals, coupons, drawings, and free stuff you can sign up for all in one place.  I have become totally obsessed with checking this website multiple times a day to see what there is out there for me to get for free!  So far, I haven't actually received anything because I only found out about this website a couple weeks ago and most stuff takes 4-6 weeks to be delivered.  But when those 4-6 weeks come up, I am going to be getting all sorts of fun things in my mailbox.  I don't know about you, but I really love receiving things in the mail. No one ever sends stuff through the regular mail anymore besides credit card companies and no one wants that kind of mail (especially if it has a bill attached to it...).

The site also has information about 'couponing' which is basically using coupons to get great deals.  She actually tells you about the coupon and shows you how you could use it to either get the product for free or for very cheap.  It's pretty cool.

Anyways, I wanted to share the joy with those of you out there who read my blog and might like to know about free things and coupons and whatnot.  Enjoy!

The Best Two Years (So Far)

Yesterday, Covey and I celebrated our two year anniversary.  On my lunch break, I went to WalMart and found a mini-grill.  Covey has been begging to get a grill because he loves to BBQ, but we haven't had enough room.  I was really excited to give it to him because we hadn't talked about getting gifts for each other.  So I set it up in my trunk and when I got home I asked Covey to go out and get "something I left in the trunk".  He kept asking me what it was and I told him it was potatoes.  I heard him coming back down the stairs, holding his new little BBQ and had a big smile on his face.  It was so fun to see him so surprised.  :)  When I had walked in the door though, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table that Covey had picked out and put together himself.  He'd also made me a little card to go along with it.  I love him. :)

Covey putting his new grill together

Soon after all this, we got ready to go out to dinner.  We are trying to save money so we didn't want to do anything really expensive.  I found out about a great deal going on at TGI Friday's and Covey and I both really like that restaurant so we went there for dinner.  Every time we go there, we get the fried green beans for an appetizer.  I don't know what it is about those fried green beans but they are so good!  Covey always gets the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron and swears it is the best inexpensive steak he's ever had.  For dessert we had this absolutely divine Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.  Yuuuuummmmm!!!

Fried Green Beans

Covey and the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Then we went bowling at Fat Cats.  When it comes to Covey and I bowling, you never know who is actually going to win.  Turns out that we each won one game.  I think the funniest thing that happened was when I bowled a frame left handed and it went into the gutter so I turned around and then Covey pointed down the lane and when I turned around I saw that I had gotten a strike!  The ball had bounced out of the gutter and hit all the pins.  Too bad I missed seeing it happen. :(

Game 1

Game 2

After bowling, we went and got the movie 'Love Happens' with Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart.  It was a cute movie.  All in all, it was a good night and it was a fun way to spend our second anniversary.  We're on our way to another great year!

We Did It!

We did it!  Today Covey and I graduated with our bachelors degrees!  I graduated with a degree in MFHD (Marriage, Family, Human Development) and a provisional certificate in Family Life Education.  Covey graduated from the Marriott School of Management with a Strategy emphasis.  We actually both walked with my college so that our families didn't have to go to two separate ceremonies and because mine is smaller than the business school.  I am actually the first in my immediate family to graduate with a college degree and the first grandchild on both side.  Covey is the last child in his family to graduate.  All of his siblings have graduated from BYU, which is pretty neat.  Anyways, we are really excited to be done with this part of our lives and excited to move forward.  Covey and I will both start working towards getting our Masters degrees in the next year or so, but we wanted to take a bit of a break so that by the time we get going again, we'll be ready. :)

Lining up for the processional

 My side of the family

Me and my sisters

So cute in our matching robes!

Stress

If only this meant that the only things that stressed me out were desserts...

It's the end of the semester and I'm just about ready to pull my hair out.  I just finished a paper that is due at midnight and I have a massive portfolio due on Thursday morning at 10am that is only about 3/4 of the way done.  Then it's finals.  This should make me happy, but right now, all it does is stress me out.  I'm going to go eat a dessert...

Selling These...

Hello friends!  We are trying to sell some of our furniture.  If you or anyone you know might be interested, please let me know!  If you like the item, but not the price, I may be able to negotiate to a reasonable price. :)

FORMAL FLORAL COUCH

This couch is in great condition! It shows very little wear. This would look nice in a formal or casual living room. We are moving at the end of this month (April) and have purchased a new couch and cannot take this one with us. The couch measures 88" wide x 40" deep. Price: $175

 

A close up of the pattern

 

 Comes with a total of 4 matching pillows

 

SINGLE PAPASAN CHAIR

This single papasan chair is in really great condition! The dark green cushion does not have any tears or stains and comes from a non-smoking home. The frame and base are in perfect condition as well with no cracks or breaks. We are moving at the end of April and would prefer not to take it with us. Available immediately.  Price: $100

 

A close up of the cushion

 

The base and frame

The Desires of My Heart

I try not to ask for much.  But enough is enough!  Give me sunshine!  Give me warmth!  Give me shorts and flip flops!  I keep looking outside hoping that it is sunny, but I am disappointed most of the time.  So I found some photos of things that make me happy. :)

I'm feeling...

ANTSY...

Symptoms and Theories

A friend of mine once told me that taking a class in mental disorders made her think that she (and everyone else in the world) had about 10 of them all at once because she kept seeing the symptoms of these disorders in her own (and others) behaviors. The truth was, she didn't have any of these disorders. But simply learning about them made her see those things in herself. I thought it was kind of funny that she thought there were all of these things wrong with her when it was quite obvious to me that she did not have any of these disorders just because she exhibited some of the symptoms.

This semester, I am in a theories in family perspectives class. One theory that we recently learned about is called Social Exchange Theory. The basic idea is that humans are self-interested and will try to maximize rewards and minimize costs in every situation they are faced with to have the most profitable outcome possible. A lot of research in the area of relationships has been done using this theory and it makes sense because isn't that what we all want in our relationships with others, be it coworkers, friends, or family? To maximize our rewards and minimize our costs? In learning about this theory, I've been seeing myself in some of the concepts that are presented. Or maybe it is just that now I have been exposed to this new information, I think that I am displaying some of the 'symptoms' of this theory.

However, there is a critique of this theory that also makes sense. If humans are self-interested, how can we account for altruism (kindness to others)? I think about church lessons on service and charity and how they always point out that even though we are helping others, we are also helping ourselves because we are happy as a result of our kindness. Does this mean that every time we do something nice for someone it is because we are trying to serve ourselves because we think we are going to get something out of it? Or is it just a happy byproduct?

Another critique of this theory also attacks the idea of self-interest. It claims that if we, as humans, are always trying to serve our own self-interest, then how can we account for sacrifice? When I think of sacrifice, I think about how something cannot truly be considered a sacrifice unless we are giving up something good (a reward) in favor of something that is not as good (a cost). According to this theory, my decision could not be thought of as profitable and therefore, I am not acting in my own self-interest. But what if the cost at that time is actually not a cost compared to what the reward is in the long term?  This idea brings to mind the Atonement. Choosing to go through so much pain and torture was very costly to His (earthly) body, but Jesus Christ's reward of eternal life and being able to prepare a way for us to return to Him was so much greater than the cost of sacrificing His (earthly) life.

So I guess my main thought is this: If we can sacrifice our own self-interests in favor of others self-interest, then our interactions with others are going to be more profitable than they would be if we think only of our own self-interest when making decisions. It's not that we are necessarily trying to serve ourselves when we serve others; instead, we can't avoid helping ourselves when we are trying to serve others. (I guess theories really are useful in helping us understand the world.)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Even though my mom's birthday was a month ago, I still wanted to pay tribute to her and tell her how much I love her! She is the best mom I could have! :)

We Found One!

We found an apartment!  We love it!  We are so excited to move into it! (Don't worry 5th ward friends--I will miss you!)  It is a basement apartment in Orem in a newer home.  I promise to post pictures as soon as we move in and everything is settled.  But we are so stinking excited! :)

Never Forget

Yesterday I went to a funeral of the brother of Covey's good friend.  The brother was a Marine who had been killed in Afghanistan by a land mine at the age of 21.  As I looked at the dates of his birthday, I realized that he was younger than my next youngest sister.  Sitting there listening to the memories of this Marine and looking around at the completely full chapel and cultural hall, I couldn't help but think about how much I hoped that I would have at least that many people come to my own funeral one day (hopefully far in the future).  I hope that I am able to touch enough lives that everyone there will be there because they knew me.  I don't want that to sound conceited.  I just really want to make a different in people's lives.  It got me thinking about a poem that I read called 'The Dash' that I saw at another funeral.

The Dash - by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

I really love the perspective that this poem provides.  I think that as humans we tend to get so caught up in other things that we forget about what's really important.  It's not the money, the nice clothes or fancy car--those aren't the things that people remember about us.  It's who we are as a person that matters most.  I have most often found that funerals, while sad, are such a wonderful reminder of how we need to be better and try harder to do and become the person we need to be in order to return back to Heavenly Father and Jesus and the others who have passed before us.  I never want to forget the things that are most important to me--my husband, my family, my friends, the Gospel, and my Savior.  I hope and pray that I will never forget.

A bit of encouragement

A girl at work sent out an email the other day with this quote and I found it encouraging:

"Hard things are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength."

My Latest Sweet Indulgence

 

I love these!

Looking...

Covey and I will be graduating this April and as part of the celebration, we are moving!  The problem is, we don't know where yet.  We'd really like to get out of Provo, or at least away from BYU where there is so much stinkin' traffic.  If there's one thing I hate it's crowds and Provo, especially around BYU, is getting so crowded.  So we'd like to move away from the college scene.  Ideally, we're looking for a place in Orem, Lindon, or PG but we'd take something in North Provo if it was really great and not too close to the school.  So I'm posting this in hopes that someone will read it and let me know if they know of anything coming up available at the mid to end of April or the beginning of May.  I've included some of the things we'd like in an apartment (not all of these must be included but would be nice):

• 2-3 bedrooms (BIG)

• 1-2 bath

• W/D hookups (not in the kitchen area of the apt or in the bathroom)

• Large closet in master bedroom

• Spacious and open

• Lots of storage space (for food and other)

• Gas stove (I can hope!)

• Newly remodeled if an older place

• 800+ square feet

• preferably not a basement apt (unless there are high ceilings and lots of natural light)

• balcony or porch big enough for a grill (Covey's request)

• max rent: $750-$775 (including utilities) 

So that's pretty much it!  If anyone hears of anything, please let me know! If you helps us find a place, we'll invite you over to dinner first out of anyone! :)

Random Food for Thought

You ever have those days where are just hungry and absolutely nothing sounds good to eat?  For me, that is most days.  Or, what I am craving, I cannot or do not have.  Now, you might be surprised (if you don't know me very well), but I am pretty much always hungry.  It is rather annoying.  You kind of start running out of things that sound good to eat.  As a result, you just start eating because you have to eat, otherwise you're just going to be even more hungry than you are right at that moment.  But every once in a while, something sounds just divine AND you have access to eating it!  Those are great moments.  I really wish I had more of those moments.  I have a feeling that if I lived on a cruise ship, it would definitely happen more often.  Oh well.  A girl can dream...

On A Whim...

Today, Covey and I were hungry but nothing sounded good.  As I looked in our pantry, I saw that we had a ridiculous amount of diced tomatoes, black beans and green beans.  Then the thought came to me, "Why don't I make this into a stew/soup/goulash?"  So we did, and it was so yummy and fast!  So if you'd like to try it, I've included the 'recipe':

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can sliced green beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1/2 lb. ground beef
various spices and salts (onion salt, Mrs. Dash, chili powder, etc)

Pour tomatoes and beans into a large pot including the juice and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes (we didn't want as much juice so we let it go a little longer). Meanwhile, brown the ground beef and then put it in with the veggies.  Let it cook just a little longer and then put it into bowls and add flavor as necessary.

Servings: 2-3

This was a perfect amount for Covey and I for lunch.  You could easily double it to make more and have leftovers. Mmm...mmm...good!

Awww....

 

I WANT ONE!  SO CUTE!

My New Venture

 

I would like to make this quilt.  Problem is, I have no idea how to quilt.  We'll see how it goes...

My Love/Hate Relationship

*Disclaimer: I do not think I need to lose weight, nor do I think that I am not skinny.

I have a love/hate relationship with working out.  I love feeling more energized and being more toned and in shape when I do work out.  I hate knowing that I am going to have to force myself to work out until I get into a routine.  And even once I get into a routine, sometimes things come up that somehow seem more important than getting sweaty.  Now granted, I have done dance from the time I was 3 up through college and, to me, dancing is not working out even though it gives you one of the best workouts you will ever have in your life.  Unfortunately, trying to find a dance class on campus that works with my school and work schedule has been pretty impossible which has been really frustrating for me.  Then why not get a gym pass, you ask?  Because I do not have the money for a gym pass.  (I will gladly take donations though.)  Therefore, I am stuck with the workout videos of Denise Austin, Billy Blanks and Buns of Steel.  Nothing against them.  I'd just rather be dancing.

Despite my love/hate relationship with working out, this morning I woke up ready to go.  I cleaned the entire house and then thought, 'well, I am sweaty and smelly anyway' and pulled out my workout videos and became more sweaty and smelly.  Thank goodness for showers.  But bottom line, I am writing this post because I know that if other people know that I am trying to work out, then I feel accountable to them, even if they never say anything to me about it via blog comment or in person comment.  Wish me luck!

One of the worst things...

So there I was, sleeping in my nice warm bed, having a lovely dream

and all of a sudden I come flying awake because...HORROR!...I realize that I've slept through my alarm and I am supposed to be at work already!  I made it to work in record time, but the rest of the day I was kind of out of it because I hadn't really had time to wake up gradually like I usually do.  Honestly, I think that being startled awake, for any reason, is one of the worst things ever.  Not only is your heart going a million miles an hour, but you don't feel refreshed, no matter how much sleep you got the night before.  All I can say is that this had better not happen again any time soon.

Jenga!

Last night Covey and I wanted to play a game so we rummaged through our games and found Jenga which we hadn't played in a while.  So we pulled it out and set it up.  Now, as you may or may not know, Jenga starts out with 18 levels of 3 blocks each that are criss-crossed so that you can try and take out one block at a time and then stack it on top of the tower.  The point is to see how high you can get the tower before it falls over.  Covey and I were pretty impressed with ourselves when we got it up to 31 levels!  We decided to take some pictures to document this momentous occasion. :)

The tower

Covey is studying out his next move

Trying to figure out which one to pull out next

The blocks really did fall over right as we took this picture!

 

Out of My Mind

With as busy as I feel some days, the days that I don't have anything that I have to do, I can't think of anything to do.  I really don't have that many things on my plate as far as quantity goes, but I feel like those things just suck the life out of me.  It's go to work, go to school, come home, eat, homework, sleep and then do it all over again.  Half of the things that I want to do, I don't feel like I can because they cost money, which Covey and I are trying to save up to pay off student loans, to get some new furniture, hopefully move to a new place soon, and so many other things.  It seems like it is so much harder to find a variety of things to do when you are married that don't cost money because you don't live in an apartment complex where tons of things are going on.  People just have their own lives and trying to get together with friends sometimes seems like such a hassle.  And when you finally do get together with your friends, half the time you run into the same problem--the things you want to do cost money.

Honestly, I am going out of my mind, because I just want to have things to do that I enjoy without feeling stressed out because it costs money.  Or I can't think of things to do that don't cost money that both Covey and I will enjoy.  I get so frustrated with myself because I don't know what it is I even want to do sometimes.  Besides graduation, I just don't have anything that I am really working towards.  And even working towards graduation doesn't give me a lot to do.  It's almost like I try to leave my schedule so open in case anything does come up, that I don't plan anything and then I am bored because no one else has planned anything either.  I want to be able to do things with friends and invite them over to our place, but we don't have very much room for that where we are right now. 

I'm not meaning to sound like I am complaining because I am sure that if I put forth more of an effort to do things with people, I would have more fun.  So basically, if anyone wants to hang out and do stuff, totally let me know because I like to have fun but sometimes I just don't know how or what to do.  I am down for most anything.  And I don't care if you have kids.  I like kids.  Sure, they can sometimes limit what you can do, but that's okay.  Hanging out is hanging out and I want to do more of it!

New Years Resolutions

It's that time of year again when everyone decides to make new goals to try and accomplish in the coming year.  Every year, I do the same thing: I make a list of goals and then steps to take for how to follow through with them and then a couple months into the new year those goals just disappear.  This year though, I have some really good ones that I think will be a little easier to stick by.  Yes, I know that goals are supposed to push you to grow and I think that they will.  But the thing that gets people, I think, when it comes to making goals is that they tend to shoot so high that it makes it difficult to achieve them.  They certainly have good intentions but we all know where those lead...  So that is why I've decided to tone down my goals to a slightly more attainable level.  Some will be pretty easy like, graduate in April 2010 (that one is pretty much in the bag), but others, like saving a certain amount of money in our savings account each month for a house, are going to be a little harder.  Bottom line, I think that people need to have some goals that are a little easier to accomplish and put those together with other goals that are going to push them and make them better people.  This way, you don't get discouraged and decide not to set goals because you think "what's the use?".  Instead you ask yourself "what can I do to become better?" and then you do it.

Sigh...

I just wanted to breathe a sigh of relief that Christmas is over.  At least in terms of my job.  Otherwise, I want it to come again soon. :)

StReSsEd OuT

Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't Christmas supposed to be a time of happiness and goodwill towards men and women?  A time of joy and laughter and relaxation, especially for students whose brains have just been fried by final projects and exams?  Well, I have to say that this is probably the first year that I haven't been in the Christmas spirit.  What with all the stress that comes from being a student, working 40+ hours a week and teaching in RS, I just really wanted to feel all Christmasy.  You know--that peaceful feeling that comes when you look outside at falling snow, or walking around Temple Square looking at the lights?  That's what I want.  And I sure don't feel it. 

I know that part of this, well, most of this, is because of my position at work as a supervisor.  I'm the one who gets to take the angry calls of people who are "disappointed in our company" and want to know what we are going to do to make it up to them.  For heavens sake people!  Christmas is not the only time during the year to give gifts and tell people you care about them!  If your book doesn't get there until the day after Christmas, is your Christmas really going to be ruined?  If so, that is a pretty pathetic and totally skewed outlook on what Christmas is all about.  I want to reach through the phone and strangle these people for making my life, at that moment, just as miserable as theirs is.  I cannot control how long it takes the post office to deliver your Christmas cards!  I cannot make you understand that you have to order your projects more than a week before Christmas if you want them in time for Christmas!  But no.  I get to talk to the people who think that by telling you that you ruined their Christmas that it will help their package get there sooner.  Seriously?  Can't we just be nice to each other?  Can't we get it in our heads that we need to have the Christmas spirit all year long and not just one month a year?  I honestly think that if there was one single message that I can teach my children about Christmas, it is that we should treat people kind all year long and not just when we want something.  I know that sounds kind of cheesy, but it's true!  I just want people to have sympathy and be kind to each other and then, our world really would be a better place.