My husband thinks he's so funny!

ME: I love Tchaikovsky's music. It's some of the best ever!

HUSBAND: Yeah. Wasn't he on Star Track too?

ME: Puzzled and confused stare.

HUSBAND: Yeah, he was like a pilot or something.

ME: Puzzled and confused stare.

HUSBAND: (With a hint of sarcasm) Oh yeah, that was TUVOC!

Pumpkin carving

My husband and I at last had the chance to spend a much-needed day together. At first I wasn't sure sure how my sweetie would feel about pumpkin carving for the first time in many years but it turns out that we both had a great time. Now my next task is to bake the seeds we saved!

Can you guess who carved witch pumpkin?

O, Canada!

With my husband's crazy absurd work schedule it's been hard to find time together. Today, though he didn't have to go to work until later in the evening so we got to go to a place that has been and will become very special to us.

This is the site of the new Vancouver, B.C. temple. (This picture was taken a little over a year ago shortly before my husband asked me to marry him at a nearby park.) We just found out on Sunday that we will be in this temple district! We are so excited about this because it is an hour closer to us than the Seattle temple. All this time we thought for sure we'd still be in the Seattle temple district being that Canada is a whole different country and all (even though our Stake touches the border and is quite close to the new temple site). As far as I understand we're the only stake in the U.S. that belongs to a temple district in a different country! What a blessing for us, and for our friends to the north as well, aye?

This is pretty much what it looked like today...

...and this is what it will look like upon completion.

I'm back!

Whew, it's been a while, but here's what I've been up to the past few months:

-I got a seasonal job at a retail nursery.

-The season ended and I'm GLAD to be back home!

As much as I said that I wouldn't let the fact that I'd be earning $5.50 LESS per hour than my last job get to me...it did! It was also a strain on our marriage with not one but two people coming home exhausted and with high tensions every day.

-I planted a garden on my patio.

That's my dad with me!

-The garden grew!

And I have been thoroughly enjoying the fruits of my labors.

-Re-started my Mary Kay business and LOVE it!

And I have so much to say about this fabulous company and how it can empower women to be WOMEN-but that will have to wait for another time. (By the way, if there's anything you need I do keep an inventory. So for those of you who are local to me-I can get you your products that day, and for those of you who are not local I offer free shipping. You are welcome to visit and order from my website here.)

-Went to a couple of ball games.

Ken Griffey, Jr. is my new hero. He was the one who finally ENDED a 14 inning game carrying a score of 0 to 0. My husband would have insisted we stay there all night long if Ken Griffey, Jr. hadn't rescued me!

-Dealt with car trouble a couple of times. (Hang in there just a little longer, car!)

-Helped my husband with his algebra homework.

I always struggled with math in school. I never imagined the day would come when I'd actually be able to help my husband with his math homework! Goes to show what a little bit of hard work and persistence will do.

-And finally, I'M BACK ON THE BLOG!

See you all soon!

Working

For the past few weeks I've been taking my resume to the nurseries and garden centers in the area.  As much as I love to be at home their has to be a balance in life too.  Our home (apartment) is small and it's easy to run out of things to do, and being new to the area I don't know a whole lot of people.  My husband often works 60 hours a week and I start to go a little stir crazy with nothing to do.  Sure, I can find stuff!  I quilt, I read, I blog, etc...I still get a little crazy though.  

Well, today I started my first job as a married woman.  I'm working at a local garden center/nursery and I think I'm going to LOVE it.  I've always felt the importance of mother's being at home for their children but had been of the opinion that a couple without children could always benefit from the potential to save-up some money.  Finding a job after being married though has definitely had some changes in mentality:

1.) I really don't care how much money I make.  I want to do something I enjoy and have fun with it.  (In fact I'm earning over $5.00/hour LESS than my last job that I had when I was single and I really don't care.  I'm glad I don't have all that responsibility that I had before!)

2.) I'm not there to show my boss that I'm the best there ever was (which is oh, so stressful), I'm there to be myself, have a good time, and of course do the best I can do without comparing myself to others.  I already feel a relief of stress.

3.) Part time is perfect.  I'm not torn between wanting to go home and feeling that I have to stay for a billion more hours, or see if I can get some overtime to support myself!

4.) It's a boost of confidence because my employer still wanted me to work for them even after I laid everything out on the table (part-time, not available Sundays).

5.) I honestly feel I can do a better job because I feel more comfortable and relaxed, not like before when I felt like if I make one little mistake it would be the end of the world and I NEEDED that job so I had to constantly BE perfect, even though this was impossible. 

6.) Because spring-time is a busy time of year for gardening, and they need extra help in the spring, I don't feel like I've signed my life over to them!  I don't owe them my soul, my money, or my first born child-just my summer.  When it's time to quit to raise my family I can, and they won't hate me for it.  (Contrast that to my last job and I felt like a criminal because I quit after only being there 7 months-even though the only reason I was quitting was because I was getting married and moving to a different city.  I felt like I owed them at least a year or two.)

I can see that this really is what is best for this stage of my life right now.  Sitting at home alone all day is depressing.  I admire women who can do that, but quite frankly, I don't think any of them actually sit at home alone all day (at least not the happy ones).  I think they go visit family and friends, find some volunteer work, pick up their kids from school, go to school activities, go to their kids activities, etc.  

Unfortunately I don't think working will be a cure-all for my loneliness (because I did work today and here I am still lonely for my husband to come home in 3 hours), but at least it gives me something else to do in the meantime.  

She Quilts!

Now that I have so much more free time on my hands I can persue the hobbies that I always wanted to but simply didn't have the time for.  My new hobby?  Quilting!  I cannot tell you how long I have wanted to do this.  In fact, I love it so much, I feel like I was born for it!  I'm still a beginner, but I'm so exited to have a lifetime ahead of me to be able to do this!

Another neat thing about quilting is the legacy that accompanies it.  I cannot look at pictures of quilts and not remember the thousands of pioneer women who walked across the plains in search of a better life.  Some for more opportunities or homesteading, and some, like my pioneer ancestors, who walked across a continent to escape religious persecution and to be able to worship their God in freedom.  I can imagine them, walking barefoot with frost-bitten toes across a frozen prairie, or sweltering in the hot summer sun, but still continuing on with faith and diligence, and saving every scrap of material along the way to and piece together into something useful and beautiful.  What a wonderful legacy to follow!

P.S. Click here if you would like to read the story about the Martin Handcart Company crossing the Sweetwater River shown above.

It's almost spring!

Hey everybody!  Now that spring is almost officially here and the weather's getting warmer and everybody is feeling just a bit cheerier I decided it was time to springify my page.  Hope you like the more springy look!