Jerni

Live from Mexico

2011-07-18T18:39:00.002-06:00

OK we're not actually in Mexico but close enough. Life even got more crazy since our last blog session. At the end of spring break in March Marni got accepted into the Arizona Teaching Fellows which was great except for the location. It's like opening the mission call and reading the name of the place you didn't want to go. Yes out of the two places possible Marni got assigned to Yuma. It's all great except for the fact that we were two weeks from buying a house (which we were able to get out of easily) and I had a job currently in Mesa. We took it as a sign of that is where the Lord wants us.

It worked out for me since my job was pretty much a nightmare even though they made changes that made it easier. This gave me the opportunity to end of good terms with them (plus I wasn't sure they were going to bring me back) So we moved to Mesa and found a little one bedroom apt that was reasonably priced and the best part was only 5 min away from my school. That totally beat the 50 min one way drive I was doing.

Marni survived her intense 6 week course by energy drinks, sleeping all weekends, by making great friends at the training, and a little luck. Now we are down in Yuma (Somerton actually) in a nice 4 bd 2000 sq ft. house we are renting. I never want to move again for at least another year. Both the moving truck and Marni's A/C went out and made the 3 hr drive all the better.

We both have teaching jobs at the same High School in San Luis which is literally a mile from the border. We are pretty excited about the opportunity to teach the kids there. I am teaching 9th grade World History and Marni is teaching 9th Grade Biology. We start our training on Aug 2 and we're pretty much stoked and a little scared to begin. Hopefully we'll keep you all informed as things happen.

In the Land of AZ

2011-03-27T21:56:00.005-06:00

My adoring fans are harping on me, crying "update, update!" All three of them have been on my case for months now, so I suppose the time has come to appease them. Let me lay for you the scene:

A long time ago in a month called December, the Paystrups thought they had life pretty well figured out. Wifey had just gotten a new, full-time, decent paying job. Husband was preparing for the upcoming teacher-hiring season. The holidays were upon them, and the snow falling madly to Wifey's great pleasure.

On Monday the 27th, Wifey started her new job. On her lunch break she got a text from Husband saying "I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a teaching job in Arizona". Long story short, she quit her job at 6 PM the same day she began (with profuse apologies), and kissed Husband goodbye as he packed his bags and drove through the night to get to Phoenix to begin his teaching career.

Since then, life has been a whirlwind. There have been so many ups and downs that I'm physically exhausted and mentally worn. So many changes have happened I'm afraid you'll get lost if I write about them in paragraphical form, so here comes a beloved list:

Jeff teaches middle school, 5 different subjects. He is so busy I feel like I don't have a husband anymore. When he isn't sleeping or at school, he is planning.
I graduated last semester but I couldn't believe it until I had a diploma in hand. I finally do, and I am still in doubt that it happened.
We've been living with Jeff's sister and her husband. While we are extremely grateful for them taking us in, I have been overly stressed by feeling we're imposing on them.
Houses!!! The market is INCREDIBLE in Maricopa. We found one we almost bought, decided it cost too much, and found a different, more AWESOME house that we were two weeks from closing on when we found out there are even more changes on the horizon. Instead, we'll be moving into a temporary apartment in Mesa. Someday I'll go into more detail, but for now just know things are crazy.
Though my stress levels have been through the roof with my life not having a definite plan, I feel myself growing closer to the Lord as I learn to rely more on Him.
I started substitute teaching at my sister-in-law's school. It is way fun, but no lie I slept for 12 hours after the I subbed for the 1st grade class.
I applied and was accepted into the Arizona Teaching Fellows program. This is an alternative route to licensure and I will be teaching secondary science next school year after an intense summer training. The program is amazing! The purpose is to bring qualified individuals to teach in high-need areas and improve education. I am going to be Mrs. Paystrup. Weird.

We are in the process of making Arizona our new home. Arizona, of all places. I love the cold. Snow is guaranteed to instantly cheer my mood. The mountains are my refuge. But somehow I have ended up in a desert. Now I know Utah is desert too, but this is full-on 100 degree days, cactus desert.

See what I mean?

I wouldn't have voluntarily chosen to live here, seeing as I like the house to be at a cool 65 degrees and I look forward to skiing all summer long. But I love adventure, and I know we were brought here for a reason. I don't yet know what that reason is, but it looks like I'll be tan year-round during the next phase of our life.

I'll leave you now with a few things I've learned while in the Land of AZ:

Coyotes eat cats. Coyotes also can clear 5 foot and climb 7 foot walls to get to said cats.
I met my first black widow here in Arizona. Luckily it was already dead.
In the winter, the grass in Arizona is "dead" and matches the color of the dirt, giving me the impression that everything here is yellow.
I can get In-N-Out whenever I please, and I love this.
You don't have to pay for heat. But I'm sure air-conditioning in the summer will make up for that.
I swim outdoors in February. The only others at the pool are the Canadians.
50 degrees is considered "cold".
Arizona drivers really are the worst I've ever met. They don't believe in keeping a safe distance between cars, tailgate, and weave without signaling. I get really mad.
Frozen yogurt is cheaper in Maricopa than it is in Logan. I really love this.
Tile floors are much better than carpet.
There is only one Cafe Rio in all of Arizona, despite the massive amounts of Utah transplants, and it is very hard to get to on Tamale Thursdays.
July-September, everybody stays indoors. In Phoenix, the average high is 105, and the low (dead of night) 80.

Me in 3 months

P.S. We'll be in the 90s this week. I may just die.

Why oh Why

2010-11-20T06:00:00.002-07:00

Well Since I woke up around 3:30 after only having a few hours of sleep with no more in sight, I've decided to get on here and ramble for a bit. Isn't life just so grand?! Here I am working in a dead end job for way less than I'm worth. This last week has been a week that I would like to soon forget. I have had 3 days of basically working by myself in a department that requires more than one person to manage. Also business increases a hundred fold with Thanksgiving right around the corner. Being by myself really doesn't bother me at all because things happen and people get sick. It's just a fact of life. But events on Thursday morning really made me quite peeved.
Thursday mornings I work with a interesting gentleman who is in his mid-60's. Nice enough guy but definitely has his little quirks. However, the most frustrating thing about him is he has extreme tunnel vision. There is only one way to do things and that is his way (or the way he knows how to do it). He resists change like it will somehow ruin his life and destroy his soul. Ever since I started working with this individual on Thursday mornings he's been dissatisfied by an aspect of my work. This aspect of work is not a crucial part of a Thursday morning and in fact has been informed by the last managers not worry about it because its not essential. However, to my co-worker its a matter of life and death to him. How dare I not perform this (in everyone's eyes but his) non-essential task in the morning.
After trying politely to explain the situation of why this task wasn't performed the night before (I was by myself and off by 8) I had reached my limit. A couple of hours later when it became time for me to finally perform this work task, he started chastising me upon completing it. By that point I had had enough and wasn't going to sit there and let some old, slow, and pretty much worthless employee tell me off. I just flat out told him he wasn't in charge. Which was a big surprise to him for he truly had delusions of his importance to the company. After a heated argument over everything I had done wrong that morning because it didn't fit the "standards" of the department he basically didn't talk to me or help me at all. He just did his own thing which I'm still wondering how he could stretch it out for 8 hours. To give some understanding of my job on a Thursday morning, I usually only have to fill the milk once in an 8 hr shift. ONCE! He somehow stretched it out, plus a few other small tasks, over 8 hours. I figure he only saved me about an hour worth of work for the day. I did about 90% of the work that had to be done. But now he hates me and my soul because I won't do things the way that he wants them done. My philosophy is that when I get to work I survey what needs to be done and then decide on how to most effectively fulfill the tasks at hand. In my opinion I would be better off working by myself on Thursdays so I don't have to worry about the crabby old fart who gets all flustered and anal when things aren't done his way. In my opinion I work a hundred times faster, harder, and more efficient than him, so he can just shut the HELL up!.
For those of you who are still reading this and haven't closed it out of severe boredom I thank you for letting me vent. This is proof that I need to get the hell out of here and get me a real job. So please pray for me that I can get a teaching job sometime in the future. Then I can deal with the wonderful education politics, but get paid a whole hell of a lot more than I'm currently obtaining.

The Eulogy I Should Have Written.

2010-10-26T02:37:00.003-06:00

My dearest Jaimie,

I miss you more than I ever could have imagined.

I’m so full of wishes and should-haves now. I wish I would have come down and visited one more time. I should have. I wish we could have had that sleepover. I should have insisted upon it. All I wanted was to hang out with you, nothing overly exerting. Maybe get some cheesecake to fulfill that guilty pleasure of ours, but that’s it, I swear.

I wish I had given you a better eulogy, but at the time I was too absorbed in my own grief. I should have talked about how gorgeous you always were. The word gorgeous was derived just so that someday, it could be used to describe you. On both the outside and in. How rare it is to find somebody like that. First off, you had the most amazing hair. Even if it was blonde ;D. It was so thick and soft. How often does that happen? And you always had it styled in the most beautiful ways, with the accessories and fashion to match. And pink. Everything was always pink. How incredible it was that everyone thought to wear it to the ceremony to honor you, without having to be prompted.

But J, it wasn’t your style and fashion that made you gorgeous. Your eyes were deep and full of compassion. They bore into the souls of those you came into contact with, and it was impossible not to feel your love radiating through them. You shared others’ emotions and through your eyes I couldn’t ever help but feel as though you truly understood everything I felt. You were sad with me when I was sad, shared joy when something good came to me. You comforted me when I was down and felt pain when I did. You had darling cheeks, when you smiled they were rounded and full. You could always cheer me up with that smile. And with your adorable giggle that never changed from childhood.

So many memories from those early days have kept my mind occupied these last couple of weeks. I remember building potato bug farms with bubble caps full of water for all of their hydration needs. Too bad we didn’t realize potato bugs don’t drink like we do. We would play epic Barbie adventures, days on end. Of course, sorting all the goods probably took more time than the actual plot lines did. We watched Mighty Morphing Power Rangers daily, followed by Full House. You were so upset that time that I missed them both, because I was sick.

Of course there is the epic memory when we made Amanda a “chocolate” pie out of mud, and she ate it. And the time we planted an apple seed for Johnny Appleseed day in the front yard and it grew! But we were too afraid we would get in trouble that we didn’t tell your parents, and the lawn mower demolished it. On St. Patrick’s day the Leprechauns came and left gold in our classroom, and when we went home we continued to search for more gold in the yard by the canal. But it was New Year’s Eve that was always our holiday. We would make confetti and stash it until the ball dropped, because we knew the parents would be mad if they suspected our plot to mess up the house.

I hated you going to a different school in third grade, and was ecstatic when you came back to me halfway through fourth. I remember how very lonely I was when you were in Texas in sixth grade. I would look forward to being able to talk in chat rooms, back in the days before Messenger and free long distance on cell phones. I was jealous of your friendships with Jessica and later Melissa, because you were always mine.

You were mine because you are a part of me. We are two halves that came together to make a whole. Our opposites completed each other. You were blonde, a dog girl, liked to sing and be in the spotlight. I, a brunette, into cats, shy as one can imagine. But you were also the better half. I was bossy; you were relaxed and laid back. I had a temper, you were the gentle peacekeeper. You kept me in line ;) and loved me despite my flaws. You are more than a friend, you are my sister.

You taught me what friendship is. Thank you for that beautiful note. I love you forever for leaving me with that precious gift. You are my best friend too, for eternity.

I read a scripture the other night, and I instantly thought of you. 2 Nephi 22:2 and Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehova is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.”

I remember when we were 15 we talked about religion, and you weren’t into it at all. Then when we talked about it a few months ago, the light of Christ shone within you. When you got sick, rather than curse Heavenly Father for your trials, you grew closer to Him. You loved his Son with all your heart. You had such a strong testimony of Christ. I know you have been through so much pain, and I know that Christ knew exactly what you felt. I know He was your rock. I know the Atonement happened so that your gorgeous soul would be able to live with Him for eternity. And though I miss you so much it hurts, I’m comforted to know that you are in the presence of our Heavenly Father and our Savior.

I am grateful for all of my memories of my beautiful Jaim. I’m so, so grateful you called me from the hospital and we got to chat one last time. And I’m so, so sorry that I didn’t check back up with you until it was too late. I hate that I let myself get so caught up in life, full of meaningless obligations. I’ve been so self absorbed over the past few years that I’ve forgotten to take care of the relationships that mean so much to me. I just read our Facebook posts, which mostly consist of you trying to get me to come and visit. Why didn’t I do it more? Salt Lake isn’t that far away. Yet, I didn’t. I’ll always regret that. Thank you for being there for me anyway, when it should have been me there for you.

I’m sorry for the time we lost that we could have had together. I wish we could have been closer during those early teens, but I’m so glad I found you again. I’m grateful for the extra years we got together. I still wish you could have come to USU with me, but I’m glad you got to experience college before you left this world. You would have been a fantastic nurse. It is in your nature to nurture. I wish you could have had love again before you went. I hope you get the man of your dreams up there, you deserve him. I hope you get to raise children in the millennium. Though I know you aren’t gone forever, I hate thinking that we will be apart for the next eighty years or so.

Thank you for teaching me the beauty of friendship. Thank you for sharing your gorgeous light with me.

Friends for eternity,

Marn

Wasting Away

2010-08-06T23:45:00.004-06:00

Not only have I not contributed to this blog for months, but I severely decreased the amount of blog stalking I normally do. I consider it quite a feat, to thwart my addiction to following peoples' personal lives on the Internet. As much as I truly enjoy procrastinating schoolwork, cleaning, and any other mundane task, I've come to recognize that I have a problem. This past year I have sought entertainment like never before and ignored my responsibilities. Not only did I waste hours upon hours reading strangers' blogs, perusing through failblog, and Facebooking once a day, but I fell ill to the grasp of trashy reality TV. Yes, I Marni Paystrup, who almost NEVER watched TV through the majority of adolescence, fell victim to the petty stories of others' lives.

I'm about to admit to you my guiltiest pleasures. I think you may be surprised.

1. Clean House. In all actuality, I find it boring and repetitive, and I think the cast tries WAY too hard to be funny. But I get some strange satisfaction in seeing a disaster magically turned into an 'oasis'. Always with awful drapery and paint colors I would never use on my walls. This is only watched when there is nothing else on.

2. Pregnant and...(15, in Peril, 55, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, etc). Terribly acting, over dramatized productions of pregnant people and ER doctors. I've never been pregnant. I'm not 15 nor 55. I don't know why I get sucked in. I really don't relate to any of these people. But I watch. And fear giving birth at any moment.

3. America's Next Top Model and Toddlers in Tiaras. I just can't get enough. Oxygen plays marathons of seasons of ANTM, and I waste my entire day because I just can't stop in the middle (though I do try and do something crafty during to at least be mildly productive). Toddlers fascinates me though the parents are all the same, and the idea of spending thousands of dollars on pageants is ridiculous to me. I guess it is the search for ultimate beauty that is preposterous and strangely intriguing...

4. World's Strictest Parents, Trading Spouses, and Nanny 911. Am I just obsessed with imperfect lives? Really? I don't have enough dysfunction in my own?

5. The one I am most ashamed of...Bad Girls Club. Trashiest. TV. Ever. But I watched the entire season last year. And liked it. And hated that I liked it. So this year, I will ignore it. But I will never live that slip of good judgement down.

Why do I bring these up? I'm purging myself of them. Hopefully forever. We have received free cable for the past year and a half or so. We asked Comcast to disconnect it thrice, and never did it happen. So I have had all the cable I could ask for and more. Now they are switching everything to digital, and in 3 days' time it will be no more. Thank goodness. I can get over my reality TV show addictions and return to some sense of normalcy.

Though I really doubt blog stalking will leave my life entirely.

Didn't get the memo

2010-04-25T11:46:00.003-06:00

So we've been having problems with Toulouse peeing in a corner of our dinning room which in all reality is only about 2 feet from the door into the laundry room where the litter box is located. For a while I thought it was we had started slacking on cleaning the litter box. Well now that we clean it more often he still is peeing in the corner. Well last night I realized what he had done and yelled at him. Oh, he knew he was in trouble and for what. I grabbed him pushed his face in it and then forced him into the litter box. Well after Marni got home she researched what we could do to get him to stop. The funny thing is in bold letters on the website was cautions to not yell, put their face in it, and/or shove him into the litter box. oops!

Instead they claimed to lay down tin foil over the spot because cats don't like the sound and feel of it. So Marni put some out on the floor and I cleaned the litter box. I kid you not less than 5 min later Slick was walking all over it like it was nothing but interesting to him. This morning he was even practically eating the stuff. I guess he didn't get the memo about cats not liking it. I'm surprised that Lou hasn't slept on it yet since he sleeps on the weirdest surfaces. Crazy Cats!

Trash Bags

2010-04-20T21:58:00.004-06:00

Today we used our last trash bag.

It was quite momentous.

Shortly after we got married, we went to Sam's Club and stocked up on essentials to start our new life together. Really the only thing I remember buying though, were these.

We opted for the Member's Mark brand, trying to be frugal and all. They were nothing fancy. No nifty ties, no stretchy sides, not made of heavy duty plastic...In fact, they were difficult to get used to. At first I would try to stuff them full to get the most use out of each bag, but they would easily tear and leave a mess in the middle of the kitchen floor. Or we would scrape food into the garbage can the bag would fall in, just like in that Glad commercial with the meatloaf, because we hadn't tied a knot tight enough. I day dreamed about one day finally using up all of these bags, and promising myself that I would spend the few extra dollars on nicer ones. Finally, that day has arrived.

We have had these bags for 2 years and 4 months now. A random time to reflect on our marriage, but the bags have made me think about the "jerni" we've been through. 2.3 years is a long time, and yet sometimes it feels like we just began. It has in no way been perfect. I've had to put up with his inability to put clothes in the hamper (they are usually in front of it), he's had to deal with my emotional breakdowns. There have been spats over meaningless and unimportant matters, fights over serious issues, and we both tend to get grumpy when hungry. I love to swim and ski, he has a phobia of water and would rather watch movies than do "extreme sports". We are both independent and have strong opinions that don't always agree (a conservative and a liberal in the same house?!?). And yet...

It only gets better and better.

We have learned how to appreciate our differences and love one another for them. He oohs and ahhs when I show him the finished product of a craft I just learned, and I listen to his stories about epic battles on the PS3. Together we have discovered our inner child selves at Disneyland, relaxed at the hot springs of Lava, teased the cats with laser toys, and found that snuggling down together at bed time is perhaps the best part of the day. He kisses me goodbye every morning, and brings me lilies because they last the longest. I traveled to four different stores to find him Reese's Pieces Eggs at Easter because those are his favorite. He pushes me to study when I don't want to because he cares that I succeed. I push him to fill out his teaching applications because I believe in him when he doesn't believe in himself.

I love him. And I'm 99.9% sure he loves me (he definitely will tomorrow, I cooked him lunch to take to work ;D). That love takes new forms each day. Sometimes it is more obvious than others, and we each continually strive to show the other that it is there. He likes to remind me that love isn't a "happily ever after", but a process.

Sometimes it is hard for me to accept that thought, knowing that I have to constantly work at making life great. Our old garbage bags were a challenge to get used to. I had to accept that I just couldn't shove in as many milk jugs as I would have liked, and found that emptying it a few papers less than stuffed meant the bag wouldn't tear. I taught Jeff how to tie a big enough knot so they wouldn't fall into the can. And those bags followed us through these years, serving their purpose well. Like getting used to the bags, it was hard (but definitely worth it!) to get used to being "us" in the beginning. Now we are into our third year together, and we are getting comfortable with who "we" are. We both smiled as he put the last old bag into the garbage, remembering those beginning days. We have learned who we are, and we know where we want to go together. Now we can move on to even bigger and better things.

Like Glad Force-Flex trash bags.

Coaching

2010-02-22T00:12:00.003-07:00

So I now have a job coaching track at Skyview High School. I'm pretty excited cause this has been my dream for a long time now. In the past because of school and work I haven't had the time to be able to help out, but now I have the opportunity to gain some experience and help kids improve in their track abilities. Most likely I won't get paid for it but experience is more important. It will make work really hard because I'll most likely have to split shifts in order to get my full-time hours. I'll do my best to keep you all updated on how it is going.

Two Years

2010-01-04T12:31:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Being on Sunday we weren't able to do anything special, but we were able to spend the whole day together. However with Marni being gone to Mexico for a week it was amazing just to have her back. She got home around 10:00 on Saturday. I'm grateful for the two years that we have spent together and wouldn't change them for the world. May the 3rd one be even better.

Insert your title here

2009-12-07T00:45:00.008-07:00

For those of you who have lost your patience with us cause we don't blog much I must apologize. Marni writes much better blogs than myself but doesn't have/take the time to write. Anyway I guess I will update us. Marni is in school and having a blast!! Her finals start tomorrow. Good luck babe. I've been working two jobs this semester which keeps me pretty busy. I substituted for a couple of days in November for my old cooperating teacher and it was awesome to see my students again. Not too many openings when I check online so I don't sub much.
In September we went to Wendover to the Collective Soul concert. It was such a blast.Here we are on our way (with our friend Heather) to Wendover.

Here we are sporting our sweet Collective Soul t-shirts that we bought while the other band was playing. In my opinion we didn't miss much. We got there for the last song in which this guy who was on the floor dancing to the music like an idiot. He was more entertaining than the band. I was very impressed and excited with Collective Soul, they put on a very good concert.

Here's an older picture of us with the nieces Nicole and Jaclyn at Christian's baptism back in March.
Here's a picture of us men at Christian's baptism. As you can see Marni still needs to learn how to zoom in on the camera. Anyway I guess this blog was random enough. Hope you enjoyed the small update!

The Tale of Two Non-Bloggers

2009-07-10T10:38:00.007-06:00

The title is probably most fitting for the two of us. We always look at ourselves and say we need to update our blog, but neither of us really want to take the time to do it. Blogging takes a lot of effort for us. Well I guess it's kind of like writing in a journal or diary and at least I'm horrible at doing that.

To update our lives won't take too much time and effort because not much goes on around here. Marni is taking a full load of classes between online and classroom studies. She's also been working at Sunshine Terrace and Terrace Grove (not many hours at Sunshine). She was actually working at Terrace Grove when it was struck by lightning but I'll let her explain the story (hint: if you bug her enough she should finally blog about it). As for myself because the basic non-existing teaching jobs that opened up in Cache Valley I am working at Macey's full-time in order to get insurance. It pays me well for the valley and I enjoy the people that I work with.

One fun thing that we did was over 4th of July weekend wast went camping in the Unitas with Marni's parents and step-brother and his girlfriend. Unfortunately we weren't able to get up there until late afternoon on the 4th because I had to work in the morning. For the most part we just relaxed, chatted, and rode the 4-wheelers.
Here's a picture of Marni and myself putting up our tent. It actually went rather smooth. The amazing thing was that the poles just attached to the tent instead of threading them through which can be annoying as anything. It was great to be able to use our new tent, mattress pad, and queen-size sleeping bag that we got at Christmas.
Here's a picture of us that night making smores and telling stories (which ironically none of them contained any ghosts). Thanks Kathy for the pictures. We took our camera but we really didn't take any pictures. Before we left we went on a nice 4-wheeler ride and found this gorgeous meadow but low and behold neither of us grabbed the camera. Yeah we are SMRT.

Also this summer we were able to spend some time with my sister Darcy as she was in Utah for my mother's kidney transplant recovery. We just had a grand old time. We also spent some time with my sister-in-law Shiloh and Kado (their dog was adorable) too bad David had to work. Anyway other than that nothing too exciting coming from our lives.

Jeff Enters the Real World

2009-05-12T00:55:00.016-06:00

On May 2nd, Jeff accomplished a feat he sometimes wondered if he would ever complete...

My Jeff Jeff graduated from college!!! Below I have supplied a montage of photos depicting the day.

Jeff yawns while waiting to get to the stand... Then flashes the peace sign.

Standing in line with such anticipation, then smiling happily with his empty diploma holder. Success!!!

After lunch at Firehouse, my family scampers and I only get photos with his side on our camera. Don't forget to admire my mad midnight decorating skills! (With proper credit and thanks to Val, of course)

Jeff graduates with a Bachelor of Science in History with an emphasis in Secondary Education and a minor in Physical Education/Coaching. We are so proud of you!

Now get out there and teach those children!

This just in: Peter Cottontail is the notorious Easter Bunny

2009-04-10T22:49:00.004-06:00

For those of you who are utterly confused well you share my fate. As most of you don't know I work part-time at Macey's in the dairy department. Well since it is Easter there are announcements about Easter sales. Well some way over paid wannabe advertisement writer (a 5 year old could write better advertisements) decided that Peter Cottontail is no other than the Easter Bunny. Now that the secret is out P.C. aka the Easter Bunny is now in hiding waiting for the news to blow over so he can have a normal life in the back country of Wyoming. At first we thought the idea was preposterous, but then when we started to really think about it we unlocked the mystery behind the ears. One of my co-workers claimed that if you really look at it Peter Cottontail was actually a thief (stealing Mr. McGregor's vegetables) and then it dawned on me that it made perfect sense... The Easter Bunny hides the eggs... he's like a pirate hiding his bounty. He's definitely not very good at it because kids always find them. But you know there always are those few eggs that are never found. Anyway no matter who he is I've decided to put a hit on him. Work has almost been pure hell because of Easter. We've sold so many eggs its not even funny. So I'm sick of Easter and can't wait for it to be over. The holiday itself is fun but right now it makes work a nightmare.

Marathon of Death

2009-03-09T19:04:00.006-06:00

What, you ask, is a 'Marathon of Death', aka MOD? It, I reply, is my life over the past three weeks. Non-stop, never ending, hour after hour, day upon day road of massive studying. Because I know that no one is interested in the nitty-gritty details of what I was doing, I have comprised a summary of the final products of my labors (minus smaller assignments that seem irrelevant in comparison):

*4 quizzes
*3 tests
*4 essays
*2 statistics homework sets (So all of you know, statistics is 'fake math'. I would prefer to do calculus, seeing as each homework set took me about 6 hours to complete. Don't worry, I studied days on end for the stats test I just took.)
*1 presentation
*Study guide for my SI students

These came, one after another. You know how (and for those who are not now in school, take a moment to think back to the days you were) you would have massive amounts of work/tests due at the same time? And how upon their completion, you would collapse in an exhausted heap for about a week before starting up your studies again? I never got that needed collapse. All I wanted was a break, and it just wouldn't come. I would finish one lump of work only to turn around and have to start the next. Three straight weeks of this madness. I felt like it was AP season all over again (I now see a bunch of you nodding your heads, suddenly understanding what I mean :D). I even had to take a Five-Hour Energy Shot in the middle just to get one of those essays done when my body hit its point of exhaustion. I'd never taken any energy booster before stronger than a Mountain Dew (and even those are in great moderation). I was nervous. I researched it while Cameo and Sue went to buy it for me at midnight. Anxious about the possible niacin flush and wary of the touted 'no crash' promise from the makers, I decided to risk it anyway. I threw it back, and was alert for the next 15 hours, with no flush and no crash. Incredible. Would I use it consistently? No way, I'm still overly-cautious concerning energy drinks of any sort . But is it handy for extreme situations? You bet! I made it through the middle of the MOD, anyway.

And then, suddenly, the light at the end appeared. On Friday I took my statistics test, turned in a rough draft of an essay, and collapsed in my metaphorical heap. Joy to the land, I am free! Spring break has now started! Of course I couldn't relax immediately after as I had to work all weekend, but today I slept in until one, sat on the couch and watched mind-numbing TV, ignored the call of the shower, and have just enjoyed relaxing on our beautiful couches.

Ah, the couches!

My 21st birthday occurred in the middle of week 1 of the MOD. We spent the weekend before in Salt Lake delighting in the company of my family, me trying to ignore the fact that the MOD was about to begin. We saw in the ad for RC Willey a doorbuster on a sofa/loveseat combo for $400. Our previous couch being a DI special sitting on cinder blocks, we decided to use my birthday money and help from the grandparents as method of payment, and stood in line that morning in an attempt to get the seating apparati.

We were successful, and our new couches are beautiful! Great to nap on, too! Thanks to the grandparents for helping us get them, Dad and Kathy for bringing them up to Logan that night, and Heather and Don for helping us move them in. They barely fit in our living room, but I think it makes it cozy...

I am absolutely in love with them. I can't imagine anyone has ever loved an inanimate object as much as I LOVE these couches. A little shallow and worldly of me? Perhaps. But oh, I love them!

On my actual birthday, the whole gang (minus Vienna and Rob, Vienna experiencing her own MOD and Rob having to work) went to Lava Hot Springs. It was so nice to relax, even if it was for just a couple of hours.

Now my spring break has started, and I was finally able to relax again today. Tomorrow Jeff's sister Darcy is coming to visit, and then it is back to business for me. During the MOD I fell despairingly behind in my readings and other tasks that seemed meaningless under the stress my other burdens. Plus I have to turn that rough draft essay into a polished product (and let me assure you, it is no where near being polished. I don't even think it uses complete sentence structure).

I do have one confession to make before I end this post. For any of you upset over the fact that we received a foot and a half of snow in 12 hours, I am the one to blame. I prayed for snow so that I may ski each day of spring break, starting Wednesday. If you are extememly upset, I recommend leaving town. But my snow is here to stay, and I feel as though I deserve it.

J&Ms, Anyone?

2009-02-10T21:40:00.006-07:00

Take your pick, plain or almond! Girl or boy, Marni or Jeff! Which M bears a closer resemblance? I just love the distracting things I find to do when I should be working on a paper...

Make your M here.

Worlds Greatest Grandpa gets older

2009-01-19T21:58:00.002-07:00

I'm not much to boast about birthdays, but I just aged another year over the weekend. Anyway for anyone that doesn't know the inside joke when Marni and I were RA's and just dating some friends of ours thought about getting me a sweater that said world's best Grandpa joking about my age. So someone on our staff thought it would be hilarious to make a mug that has phrases about being the best grandpa all over it. So we ended up going to the movies and watched Mall Cop. While there we both decided that people in Logan have no urgency. We got there on a sat. afternoon and there was only one person selling tickets...and there was a line. Then we got int there and there was a ginormous line for concessions and mind that neither of us had eaten and our movie was basically starting. There was like two people serving food and every time we gotten stuff they were slower than tar. Never mind that many people are in a hurry to get to their movies. Forget the fact that concessions is a business of speed getting people in and out. Trust me I do it for a living on campus. So we didn't get any food and went to the theatre and it was pitch black cause of the previews were on. So we couldn't see in order to find a place so we ended up sitting on the second row. Now there were seats but we couldn't see them until there was no use moving. Plus, everyone was saving seats because they were waiting in the line for food. The movie was pretty funny. Then after we had to snarf down some Burger King before going to coach my Jr. Jazz team. Then it was straight to work at the USU Men's basketball game. The best part was after I got dropped off at home by my boss I got to our apartment and realized Marni wasn't home and she had my keys. So I called her and fought out she was in Ogden after buying my clothes. So I was stuck out in the cold while she was an hour away. I then settled and wandered around Walmart since its like next door until she got home. So anyways I'm older now, but not necessarily wiser.

Life Update

2009-01-19T21:40:00.002-07:00

Well it's been forever since we wrote on the blog so I decided to quit procrastinating and write so here I am. We for an update on our lives we are both doing full time school this semester although it really doesn't feel like school to me since I rarely go to the University. In case you haven't heard I am doing my student teaching this semester and so far I enjoy it. I am teaching at a little 6-7 grade middle school out in Wellsville which is a small town right before Sardine Canyon when exiting Logan. I take over teaching Friday and I am excited and nervous. I am teaching world history, physical education, and fitness for life to 6th graders. I think that it will be a great experience. The great thing about it is I have to be there at 7:00 in the morning so I'm still getting adjusted. Marni loves it too cause right now my car is broken and we haven't the time and resources to fix it (it's complicated). So a couple of days last week she had to take me there and pick me up. So it forces her to be up by 6:30. She has declared that the car must be fixed. You know her and mornings. It doesn't faze me much since I am a morning person. I just have to adjust to it being that early. Marni has a full load this semester and she is stoked about writing like a dozen papers. Hopefully this semester goes a lot better then last which I think it will. Oh the fun thing about student teaching is I had to get a new wardrobe. Luckily for me Marni picked it out for me. Yeah me and fashion don't really get along well. So I'll look great, but I get the joy of changing a few times in order to look professional in both the classroom and the gym.

Crazy Cats

2008-11-19T21:51:00.009-07:00

If you haven't heard yet we have 2 cats that are a lot of fun. We are also taking care of a cat temporarily until he can either be adopted or a spot is open at Petsmart. Marni has been trying to convince me to keep the little one, but I don't feel like it is right for us now to have 3 cats. So anyway, I've decided to show some pictures and videos of our cats being what they do best and that is being CRAZY!

Slick is hilarious!! He loves to play with the most random things. One of his favorite things are bags. He loves to climb in them and stuff. One of his favorite bags was from Olive Garden. The funny thing is sometimes he gets pretty protective of his bags. Anyway in this video I walked by and he was playing with the garbage can... too bad I didn't get the camera quicker.

I wanted to show you a video of one of our favorite things about Slick, but the video wouldn't load up so I will just tell you about what we would do. He would randomly go into the kitchen make some weird noises and then start playing with his food. Then he would eat a piece and play with another one. We're anxious to see how much food is under the fridge. The sad thing is that Slick doesn't get along with the kitten we are taking care of and therefore doesn't play with his food much.

For Halloween Marni and I carved Pumpkins and because of the use of knives and the cats' infatuation with them they were locked up while we carved the pumpkins. However after we let them out of the other room they were pretty interested with what we had done.

This video is hilarious!! I was sitting at the table working on some homework and I heard some commotion on the floor. It turns out that Slick had climbed in my gym bag and didn't like it when the kitten got close. I call the video "Trapdoor Lick" because it reminds me of a trapdoor spider. Well I had more videos in mind to show, but for some reason they won't load up so I'll try it again some time. So our cats are great and we enjoy them so much. They are all the entertainment we need most of the time.

Grandma's Video

2008-11-19T17:43:00.003-07:00

I just found out that Jordan School District made a video about their 5 Star Award Winners, so I linked it the the pretty blinky words on the original post. Grandma comes on half-way through, so go ahead and take a look!

I won't lie, when she (very tenderly :D) put the band-aid on the girl's hand I got jealous. That is MY grandma, not hers! I guess I have to learn to share...

Also. I love it when she separates the two boys to far office chair corners. I didn't notice that until the second time around. What did the rascals do to earn this punishment? Here's your chance to post Grandma...

Picture Tag!

2008-11-14T11:42:00.020-07:00

I've been picture tagged again, this time by Cali. Since I finally have my computer (vs. Jeff's) back with a fresh stock of photos, I was excited to see what I'd get!

This tag uses the fourth folder with the 10th picture, and I found:

Carlos and Marni dance the Cuaca

This is when I was in Chile a year ago from July. We had a teacher dinner at the school, and had everything Chilean to go with it! Chileans are so friendly and fun loving! After eating, everyone broke out in loud song and dance. This dance is called La Cuaca, and it is the national dance of Chile. Christian, my host brother, played the guitar (he is AMAZING), and the English professor Carlos (a bit tipsy on the wine and cold medicine, quite the combination) and I danced the (rather flirtatious) dance. To the best of my ability. I lack the grace that most of the dancers have. But what can you do? One of these days I will post the video of my little kindergarteners dancing in full costume. Freaking adorable! After the dinner, the teachers gave me my goodbye gift, a Chilean flag. It touched me so much, I shed some tears. Chile was an amazing experience.

Let's talk about Chilean food. It is delicious! Strange to look at, I'm not gonna lie, but I promise you all it is SOOOOO good!

Cazuela: broth with noodles or rice, chunk of meat (chicken here), boiled potato, and usually
some chunk of squash or corn on the cob. Whole.

Ensalada Chilena: tomatoes, onions, cilantro, salt, and olive oil. Yummy!

My favorite type of bread!

We had bread at every meal, including "once" (pronounced 'ohn-say') which was like a mini snack meal around 9 in the evening. Bread was always toasted on the stove, and then eaten with honey, jam, or 'palta' (avacado).

The 'completo'. Hotdogs are huge in Chile. This one has avacado, mayo and diced tomatoes.

Sopaipillas (scones) with a sweet syrup on them (in the bowl in the back). Yummy!

I miss Chile. I miss Italy. I have the itch.

P.S. Thanks to those who let me use their photos!

Musing Life

2008-11-12T21:11:00.003-07:00

My brain is not functioning to it's full (or even normal) capacity. As a result, this post may not come out as well-written as I would like. But they say writing is therapeutic, and I think a little therapy would probably do me good.

I actually used to journal quite a bit. My journal was, I guess you could say, a type of "best friend". When no one else would listen, or when I didn't want to bother anyone else with my sorrows, worries, or frustrations, I would turn to the journal. Since being married though, I'm not lonely. I always have someone to talk to, so journaling has become rather obsolete. Not that I want it to be that way. I really should start doing it again, because sometimes Jeff isn't in the mood to discuss what I want/need to, and sometimes our conflicting opinions don't give me the satisfaction I crave from speaking my mind.

Plus, the great part about my journal is that I can write in Italian or Spanish, and not many people who pick it up can read it. No need for a lock and key when I have the magical power of foreign language!

One subject on which I wish to expound upon is the passing of Proposition 8 in California. The passing, as I'm sure many of you know from the media attention it got, defines marriage in the state of California to be solely between a man and a woman. Meaning no gay marriage. (P.S. I use the word 'gay' to mean lesbian, trans-gender, bisexual, etc. Gay is my encompassing term. Plus GLBTS...is too complex and I always get it wrong).

The proposition was supported by many Christian religions, including my own LDS (mormon) faith. It is not common for my church to speak out on political issues, so the whole situation has been eating at me since the Church asked members in California to do all they could to help pass the prop. Am I in California? No. But does this affect me as much as it does them? I feel it does.

Politically, I am a liberal and an idealist. While I have my own opinions, I consider myself liberal because I have always felt that every individual has the right to make his or her own decisions. Isn't that what this country was based on? Individual freedom? And isn't that one of the main doctrines in the Church? We all have our agency and are free to do with it what we please? Of course, I know all decisions have consequences, whether good or bad.

For example.

Abortion is quite a heated topic. I personally believe that life begins the moment the egg and sperm unite. Two haploid cells, each with half the number of chromosomes that a human cell normally has, unite to bring the two halves together. These two halves equal one whole, one new individual. I personally would never have an abortion, unless the pregnancy fell under one of three extreme circumstances (rape, incest, or danger to the mother's health). However. This belief is my own. I feel every individual has the right to choose whether or not they will undergo an abortion. Consequences will follow. But the choice should be left to the individual. Who am I to encroach on someone's agency?

I feel similarly about gay marriage. Individuals have the right to choose. My personal belief goes with what is written in the scriptures, saying homosexuality is a sin. But that is my belief, and not all others feel that way. (P.S. Not that I am judging. I don't look at gays and think "Sinner!" I am a sinner too. I just have different temptations and hardships of my own). They have that agency to choose, consequences falling as they will. If a gay individual feels he or she is happy living that lifestyle with his or her partner, who am I to break that happiness?

So my stance has always been in support of gay rights. I have so many friends that fall under the "gay" title that I love so much. Our beliefs are different, but that doesn't change the fact that I love them, nor does it change the fact that they have their agency to make their own decisions.

You can see how I would have a hard time when my opinions about agency and choice where to be hindered by the Church's statement. Yet, I know that this is one of those times in life I would have to use blind faith. My dear friend Sarah Carr explained my feelings exactly in her blog, and I have got her permission to post it here:

"Anyway, I didn't like that the church got involved with Proposition 8. Yes, I am a little more liberal when it comes to gay rights. We don't need to open that can of worms. My main qualm about the church's involvement with the Prop is simply that I love how non-political the church is. Politics mean enemies, and I get sad when I think of people hating the gospel for such a shallow reason as politics. I will say one thing, though. I may not understand why we had to get involved in all of this, (and I may not agree completely) but I trust church leaders. I know that they are not hateful men and I know that they are men of revelation; there is a reason for all this. This might seem naive, my blind faith, but it is all that matters to me. Even so, my heart goes out to all those hurt by the passing of the proposition. I hope things will be resolved without more hate."

How perfectly she explains my torn feelings! I am a liberal, I want rights for everyone, I want people to have the opportunity to make their own choices and take the consequences. But when, through revelation, Heavenly Father needs me to go against my own feelings and follow his will, I do. I can't see the bigger picture. He is all-knowing, and for that I know, even though I wouldn't normally have supported Prop 8, faith conquers all and I do as I am asked. Am I completely comfortable with it? No, but I do know it will all turn out well. It may takes years, even decades. But in the end, it will be okay.

It is during this time that I worry. Like Sarah, I don't want hate to rule interactions with gays and straights, church members and non-members. I hope for a peaceful resolution, I hope for understanding on all sides. But, then again, I am an idealist. Of course I would hope for this.

OBAMA '08!!!

2008-11-04T21:10:00.003-07:00

Have you heard the word? Barrack Obama is the 44th president of the United States.

A WOO HOO!!!!

Much screaming and jumping to be done with Suzie.

I'm so excited!!!!

Marni

P.S. The opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of all members of this family.

Employee of the Year

2008-10-29T12:35:00.004-06:00

We wanted to congratulate Grandma Hig (Delores Higginson) on receiving the Five Star Award from Jordan School District! Only 10 awards are given each year, split amongst teachers, principles and administrators, and it is a highly prestigious recognition. She has been a secretary for the district for many years, loves her job, and we are all so proud her! We love you Grandma!

Crazy Husband

2008-10-29T12:30:00.000-06:00

Jeff has a special job. Every morning, he is to wake me up. This, I tell you, is no easy task and he doesn't always succeed. It is only when something extraordinary happens that he is able to pry me from the grips of sweet slumber.

For example.

I couldn't wake up for Conference. He tried, poked and prodded, and gave up. But the darling he is, he came to announce to me that they are building a temple in Rome. Little did he know what wonderful news this was! I was instantly out of bed and teary-eyed with joy! Needless to say, I watched the rest of Conference and the day was successful.

Today was one of those days he was to wake me up. I remember him telling me the time. I remember him waking me again to say goodbye. No success. I fell back asleep after each attempt. But when he placed a little black, meowing kitten in front of my face, I was instantly out of bed.

The crazy thing is, he expects us not to keep this kitten.

What the heck?!?

He is a sweet little bugger that Jeff found under his car this morning. Long fluffy hair, black everywhere except the paws, chest, and tummy. Very lovey, was super hungry! Needs a home. Slick has decided to bop him constantly, and Tigger has been following him around all morning. They aren't friends yet, but it is only a short matter of time. The best part? Jeff insists we can't keep him. But not because we already have two cats. Not because he doesn't want to clean a litter box with waste from three cats. Oh no. It is because this little kitten has long hair.

Soon as he gets home tonight, he will be smitten. Long hair or not.

The Fuzzy Bee

2008-10-17T18:23:00.001-06:00

No, I am not going to babble about the latest and greatest childrens' book, nor do I even know if such a book exists. Rather this is my own story about embarrassment and my ludicrous ridiculousnosity

I was parked in a lot at the school the other day that has a two hour limit for anyone with a B parking pass. Such a time limit requires an attendant to sit at a booth and be sure you get out before the specified time on the ticket you get at the entrance. The attendant at the time happened to be a particular girl that works the booth quite often. I had never really gotten a friendly vibe from this girl, so of coures it was her that the event to be described had to occur with.

I rolled down my window and had my arm extended, her hand grabbing the ticket, when a bee flew in and decided to take perch on my steering wheel. While some of you may think this not to be such a big deal, those who know me well know I am TERRIFIED of bees. The resulting conversation occured as I tried to remain calm and cool.

Me: Oh! Umm, this may be ridiculous, but I'm afraid of bees. (Easy tone, arm frozen outside the window connected via ticket to the girl)

Girl: I understand. I don't like them either. (Tries to remove the ticket from my hand)

Me: Yeeeaaahhh...(Release ticket, stare at bee. Notice bee's thorax is fuzzy. Any bee who's fuzz I can see is much too close for comfort. Bee moves, landing again on steering wheel) Uhh! (I lose calm and fling myself as far back against my seat as possible, which is not far enough)

Girl: Do you have a paper you can scoot it out with?

Me: Ohh, uh, yeah, I do! (Regain cool attitude, ignoring the fact that I just looked like a fool. Pretending not to be such a wimp. Grabbed the paper I luckily had on the passenger seat, and bring it close to the bee. Bee moves again.)

Me: Ahhh! (High squeal escapes my mouth, my trying-to-be-relaxed facade quickly diminishing despite my best efforts)

Girl: Try to shove it towards the window

Me: (Thinking 'Easier said than done') Right. (Take a deep breath, bring paper into contact with the bee. Bee moves and I flinch back against the seat again. Another deep breath. Bee has gone behind the steering wheel. Can't see it, blindly swipe paper against the spot I believe it to be. Gently, don't want to anger it...BEE FLIES INTO THE AIR!!!)

Me: AAAAAHHHHUUUGGHHH! (Some ridiculous noise in between a low yell and a hiccup escapes as I throw my arms above my head and duck into a tight ball)

Girl: It's okay, maybe he'll fly out!

Me: (Still ducked in the fetal position, voice panicked) Tell me when it's out!

Girl: I think it's gone. (I start to unwrap myself) Oh no, it's still there. (Quickly rewrap myself. Wait a few moments...) I think it flew out your sunroof.

Me: (Fully unwrapping myself and settling back against the seat) Good! Sorry, I just really hate b....AHHHHHHHHH!!!! (Full-out scream as bee appears out of thin air and flies in my face. The adrenaline surges through my body and my mind ceases to work)

Girl: Open you car door!

Me: (Thinking thoughts of death by bee, can't move) Uh huh. (Work up the courage to get my had to the door, pry it open. All calm is gone, no more pretending is possible. Me and my stupid fear bare to the world. Grab my paper, and with some grunt, make a great swipe to scoop the bee in the right direction. It finally decides to leave and flies up into the air.) Wow, umm, sorry about that. (Notice long line of cars waiting behind me)

Girl: That's okay, I don't like them either. Have a nice day!

Me: Thanks. And, uh, don't tell anyone about this (Girl laughs, I drive off).

Despite my best efforts to pretend I wasn't as afraid of the critters as I really am, I exposed myself to this girl who is not generally amiable. I felt weak, I felt dumb...and then I just felt ridiculous. A moment after I drove off, I couldn't help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of what had just happened. While the girl probably thought I was an idiot, I realized that anyone who really knows me would have just laughed at my bizarre and outlandish behavior. This caused me to laugh harder, and I called Jeff to tell him the story. Too bad I was laughing too hard to explain.

P.S. Yes, ridiculousnosity is indeed a word. Proof can be found in the Georgia Nicolson books. The first is entitle Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. They are about a ridiculous British tween who goes through all sorts of coming of age antics while constantly shopping at the Cake Shop of Agony, trying to decide between Robbie the Sex God, Massimo the Lurve God, and Dave the Laugh. Really, I hate Georgia. She is rather shallow and can't see a good thing when it's in front of her. But I read them because the books are hilarious. I would call them the Junie B. Jones for adolescents.

P.P.S. If you haven't read Junie B. Jones books, shame on you! They are laugh-out-loud funny. GREAT books to get your elementary schooler reading. Plus, they are highly entertaining! Do yourself a favor. Go to Barnes and Noble RIGHT NOW, take twenty minutes and read a Junie B. Jones. Other shoppers will stare at you while you sit on the floor and laugh like a crazy, but they really are just missing out. My personal favorite is Junie B. Has a Peep in Her Pocket.

Fourth Photo and Update

2008-10-09T23:42:00.004-06:00

So Darcy tagged us on this random picture thing with picking the 4th folder and 4th picture in your picture folder. Well it didn't work out super great for us so this is the closest we could get. This picture was taken on Marni's b-day and as you can see she wasn't particularly excited about going in to work.

Sorry that we don't update very much. We've both been rather busy. I am currently working two part-time jobs and full time school. Marni is also working two part-time jobs and school with hard classes like organic chemistry and physics. We'll try to do better in the future. Soon we'll be updating some fun pictures and videos of our cats for you to enjoy. Tigger and Slick are the joys of our lives. They are so much fun and they do a good job keeping us company when the other is gone. And they are pure entertainment when they are not tipping over cups of water. I mean they have a water dish but for some reason they prefer to drink out of a cup which usually results in the spilling of the cup.

I tag Sarah Carr and Robyn Pali (This means you go to the fourth folder in your pictures file and choose the fourth photo, and write a post about it)

Tag, I'm it!

2008-08-13T03:12:00.002-06:00

3 JOYS

1-My Jeff Jeff and the babies.

2-The mountains. I would be happy forever in a secluded cabin, plenty of trails to hike, lakes to swim, and large rocks to climb.

3-Being able to speak to people in other languages.

3 FEARS

1-Toilets. They are really, really creepy. Not only can you never be sure that you won't fall in and get sucked down to the dark Underworld of the Toilets, they could at any moment go completely traitorous and spray you with all sorts of yuck. There are 3 different types. The first (and least frightening) is the home toilet. Toilets in houses generally have a mild flush that I can handle, not strong enough to pull you down. Bathrooms are also of a large enough size that I can bolt from any immediate danger that may arise. I don't generally suffer anxiety attacks when I use a domestic toilet.
However, the second type are of a much greater evil, and I am never calm when using them. These are the public toilets. There is no toilet tank in the back, and the flush is massive! Not to mention you are locked in a teeny-tiny stall that does not allow for an easy escape. I always make sure my pants are up and the door is unlocked so that I can dash the second I push down the flusher. Unfortunately, there is no hope when they have automatic flushers. You never know when those things will go off. It is sure doom. I was once using one that kept flushing while I was sitting down! It was horrible. I was awful. And I decided I would rather hold it until I could get home. It was that bad.
The final form of toilet is, by far and without a doubt, the most terrifying. Airplane toilets. Those things, despite what Mythbusters say, really do have the power to suck you into the atmosphere. I'm sure of it.
2-The dark. Not afraid of Boogie Men and scary monsters. I've always been afraid of 'bad guys' waiting to kidnap or murder me. I have to turn all the lights on to wherever I am going, go back to the start, and slowly turn them off one by one. That way, when I get to my destination, it is lit. Add darkness to toilets, and you've really got me freaked out.
3-Failure. I don't like being inadequate.

3 GOALS 1-Get into med school. ALL of my mini goals really work towards acheiving that one huge, daunting task. I want it so badly!!! And so I pull all-nighters studying for tests, take classes that are meant to melt the brains of its students, and work a job that does not pay enough for what I have to do. 2-Be somewhat decent at something athletic. This just may be impossible, but someday I WILL run a marathon. That is at least 2 years away though. 3-Go to bed early and wake up on time for classes. Did I mention it is almost 4 A.M. as I write this? I am not very near achievement of this goal.

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS

1-Rootbeer Freezes from A&W. They are like rootbeer floats, only better, because they are the consistency of a shake.

2-The Olympics. Swimming, water polo, and gymnastics. I can't not watch. I hate that there is a twelve hour time difference.

3-Finding new music. Music makes me ridiculously happy. No desert island would be survivable without iPodio.

3 RANDOM FACTS

1-I plan to take a second husband, and his name is Michael Phelps. When I told Jeff though, he just rolled his eyes at me.

2-I love water. Any body of water, any size. I think swimming is the most relaxing thing a person can do, and the smell of chlorine is one of my favorites. I declare Lake Powell to be heaven on Earth, and I once swam in a puddle 2 inches deep. Jeff does NOT share this love with me. As a result, I see it is absolutely necessary that I become Mrs. Paystrup-Phelps. Michael would understand me!

3-Slick the cat plays with EVERY SINGLE PIECE of his food before he eats it. He approaches it with much meowing, picks up a piece in his mouth, tosses it in the air, bats it along the kitchen floor, then, if it hasn't slid under the fridge or stove by this time, he will finally eat it and pick out his next victim.

I TAG...

Brad and Darcy Ellis, Taylor Maughan, and Robyn Pali!!!

Me and My Man

2008-07-28T21:08:00.000-06:00

My Man...

1. Who is your man? Jeff Paystrup
2. How long have you been together? Almost a year!
3. Dating/Engaged/Married? We dated for a month (Gasp! I know!), were engaged for 3, and have now been married for 7 months
4. How old is your man? 28. Yes, he is old!!! Our RA staff called him grandpa, and someone even left him a “World’s Best Grandpa” mug in his box one day.

You or your man?

1. Who eats more? Probably me, but even if that isn’t true, you’d never know. He is the size of a stick, while I resemble a 100 year old redwood.

2. Who said "I love you" first? Jeff, and I was so glad! I’d been thinking it for days before, and I told myself not to blurt out such shenanigans or I’d scare him off. It was super cute. We were just sitting there, when he said “It may be too early to say this, but I love you”. Aww!

3. Who weighs more? Me. I’m twice his size. And it doesn’t make life easy.

4. Who sings better? We both scrape by. Definitely not American Idol contestants. But I am pretty amazing when I’m in the car. By myself. I couldn’t sing in front of Jeff to save my life. I can’t even sing the hymns in Sacrament with him by my side. I just get too nervous! To fix this problem, we bought Sing Star for the PS2. It is way fun, and the only time I really can belt it out in front of anybody.

5. Who's Older? Jeff. Are you ready for this? He is 8 years older.

6. Who's smarter? We are both good at different things. He knows his history really well, but I can do math and biology.

7. Who's temper is worse? I think we are both awful. But Jeff never gets angry at me. He only gets “frustrated”.

8. Who does the laundry? We take turns. I hate folding laundry with a passion, so he always gets forced into helping me.

9. Who does the dishes? Jeff did them more when we didn’t have a dishwasher because mushy food really grosses me out, but now that the dishwasher does the dirty work, we take turns loading and unloading.

10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jeff? If you think of the right when you lie on your back on the bed. If you’re looking at the bed, it is the left, so I would be on the right…what kind of question is this?

11. Who's feet are bigger? Are you ready for this? Our feet are the same size. We also wear the same size rings.

12. Who's hair is longer? Mine.

13. Who's better with the computer? I would say we both hold our own pretty well. My dad taught me well.

14. Who mows the lawn? The apartment complex. But they always do the large commons one day, and the side grass in front of our building the next, so it tends to look pretty funny once a week.

15. Who pays the bills? Touchy subject. I put them on automatic bill pay, because they would always be overdue. He is still upset with me.

16. Who cooks dinner? Jeff. I get bored cooking. I don’t have the patience.

17. Who drives when you are together? Jeff, because I like to nap. Getting married has been the biggest blessing to my sleep. Before, I hated driving to Salt Lake. I would get too tired!

18. Who pays when you go out to dinner? The giftcards we have from our wedding. If not, both of us. We share our money. When we have money.

19. Who's the most stubborn? Me, but Jeff holds his own pretty well. I tell him he’s not as whipped as I would like him to be.

20. Who is the first one to admit when they're wrong? Jeff. He does it even if he isn’t wrong, because I’m too darn stubborn. Once my dad and I got in an argument and didn’t talk for a week. He finally gave in. Must have told Jeff to do the same.

21. Who's parents do you see more? Probably mine, just because they are a little closer. We don’t get to see our family as much as we’d like to, because gas is so dang ridiculous.

22. Who named your dog/cat? Jeff came up with Tigger, because he bounces around. Slick was both of us. Before we were married, he would take me to Petsmart when I was sad so I could pet the kitties. One day, there was a crazy little kitten named Slick that we fell in love with, and ever after we would talk about getting us a “Slick the Cat”. Finally we did.

23. Who kissed who first? Jeff did, it was super sweet. He was so nervous that his lips were puckered so tight I almost couldn’t even feel them!

24. Who asked who out? Well…Jeff asked me over to watch a movie, but he wasn’t making a move. So, out of frustration, I proclaimed “Your hand keeps getting farther and farther away!”. As weird as it was, it did the trick.

25. What did you do? We watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the one with Johnny Depp). Our first “official date” came later. I think we went bowling.

26. Who's more sensitive? Me. I cried at Petsmart the other day because Corwin still hadn’t been adopted. But Jeff is pretty sensitive too. We both cried at the end of Meet the Robinsons, and shared tears watching Baby Mac’s slide shows.

27. Who's taller? I think Jeff beats me by about an inch. Maybe.

28. Who has more friends? I think I do, but it is pretty hard to beat, seeing as I have 7 best friends.

29. Who has more siblings? Jeff, but only barely! He has one brother, three step siblings, and a half sister. I have one brother and three steps. All I need is a half to be even…

30. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I do, but sometimes I let him borrow them…

New Lungs!

2008-07-28T20:17:00.001-06:00

We want everyone to know that Jaimie Love got her lung transplant this month, and is doing great! She left the hospital and is now working on rehab. Hopefully she'll be able to come home in about 3 months. Hooray!

A Touching Story

2008-07-28T20:07:00.000-06:00

Many of you have already heard about Cali and Josh Hinckley's heartbreaking loss. Their precious baby McKallister passed away before his birth this last month, but his short life has touched many of us. We want Cali and Josh to know how much we love them and how proud we are of their strength. Thank you for sharing Mac with all of us. We know Heavenly Father is watching over all of you.

A link to Mac's blog:
Baby Mac

The Babies

2008-06-29T23:26:00.000-06:00

We are finally getting the message out to the family about our blog. Good news fam, we have a blog! I hope it will be an easier way to stay in touch, since I am constantly being scolded for my antisocial/antitelephone characteristics. We haven't been too diligent in the past, but I think we are ready for a great change. At least we'll give it a shot...

The biggest news since our last post is that we have two babies. Tigger is the oldest (4 months) and loves to adventure. He can be quite the stinker and wrecks havoc on everything he touches. He can also be a sweetheart and likes to sleep above Mommy's head on the pillow.

Tiggy gets ready to pounce

He thinks he is so a ferocious...

Playing in the skirts

Slick (2 1/2 months) is our little angel with a sweet disposition. Tigger is teaching him the ropes to being naughty though...

Slick loves to eat ice cream. Notice the chocolate remains on his nose.

Curled on Mommy for a nap

They are crazy fun to have around, and always keep things lively. Jeff and I love to play with them and cuddle for naps.

As for an update on life, Jeff and I ride our bikes around to save on gas (and, in my case, work off some pudge). We ride up a monstrous hill every day that I dread, and I am constantly reminded how out of shape I am. Jeff is working 3 jobs-Macey's, Concessions, and the USU Housing Office while taking a history class. I continue to work at Sunshine Terrace while trying to do classes (including anatomy) in the 8 week session. Our new apartment is fantastic (praise the inventor of central airconditioning!) and we really enjoy it here. Hope this catches everyone up, and we'll try to keep this thing updated.

We're moving!!!

2008-05-09T13:10:00.000-06:00

Sorry that we haven't updated for a while. Life has been pretty crazy the last month. School just ended last week and we are getting ready for a busy summer. Marni is taking a full load of classes this summer. She's going to have a lot of fun with Anatomy. She's got two classes starting Monday and they only go 4 weeks. Then in June she has the rest of her scedule including Anatomy in a 8 week class. I am going to take a history class starting in May, but we are still waiting for the University to send us loan money so I can sign up for the class. Yeah, it's been fun. Marni will be also working some hours at Sunshine Terrance but it won't be as much as she did during the spring semester. I am working more hours at Macey's and working in the USU Main Housing Office again. So basically I go to the housing office and then go to Macey's. I'll be pretty busy, but it will be nice to make a little extra money to pay off some bills. Well the exciting news is that we are moving next week. We found an apartment that is a little more expensive but is really nice.

Spring Break 2008

2008-03-28T13:18:00.000-06:00

Sorry that it's been so long since we last updated our blog. We couldn't find the camera cable in order to get the pictures onto the computer. Anyway, for spring break this year we went down to Arizona to visit my sister Darcy and her husband. We spent a couple of days there and even took a trip to Mexico.

This is where we ate while in Mexico. The place is right on the shore and where we ate actually hands over the ocean. My food was okay, but Marni had shrimp wrapped in bacon.

Here we are on the beach!!!
Kids close your eyes

It was really nice to be able to stay at Darcy and Brad's huge house. Marni really enjoyed playing with Holly their cat while Brad and Darcy wanted to strangle her. While we were there we visited Jacob Hyde (my best friend from HS) and his family who just moved to Mesa earlier this year.

Then we went up to California to spend a few days at Disneyland. I hadn't been there for 10 years so I was very eager to go there.

Marni on the way to Disneyland
Here we are at the "Honey I Shrunk the Audience"
Here we are on the bridge by Big Thunder Mountain

Arrggg... with our pirate ears
King and Queen of Disneyland!!! We decorated our crowns and watched the little kids learn how to dance with the Princesses
We decorated castle cookies. I bet you can't guess which one is whose?
This was one of my favorite parts. Everytime we walked by the Nemo ride the seagulls would cry "mine"
Here's our picture from Buzz's Astro Blasters. Notice the scores. Marni claims that she got a slow start.

We watched the Jedi Academy Training for the kids. I got so excited when Darth Vader arrived. The Jedi Master that worked with the kids was great. He was hilarious and was awesome with the kids.

That is pretty much our trip. We stayed at Disneyland for a few days then headed back home. Hopefully we'll be able to get back there soon. If you want to see the rest of the pictures find the link on the side of the page called "Spring Break 2008"

Wedding Photos

2008-02-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

So we have links to our wedding photos. So Click on them and take a look.

Our Ward

2008-02-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

Marni and I are currently living in Aggie Village on campus. It's a nice little place that's pretty comfortable. I think the biggest drawback is heating it in the winter because they are only cinder block. But it's cheap rent and we don't have to pay for cable and internet. So our ward is made up of some of the buildings in the area. Our Church is just about a block from our house...good walking distance away. Our Bishop is a great man who we can feel has a great love for us and the other members of the ward. I think the biggest shock to me was that his counselors are probably younger than I am (actually I'm pretty sure they are). I think that it is great having them be our age. They know the area because they live in it. They always claim that living in a married student ward is helping to train and mold the future leadership of the church. Marni got her calling a couple of weeks ago. She is on the compassionate service committee. Her job is to look out for the needs of the ward and if anyone needs help Marni and the other sisters are there. You know when the Relief Society brings over a ton of food after something happens? Well that's the compassionate service part in action. I think that she'll do great. She definitely has the compassion required for the calling. I just received my calling yesterday. I am the 1st counselor in the Sunday School Presidency. For anyone who doesn't know what is entailed in that calling it is where we look after the Gospel teaching of the Church. Basically we train the teachers and make sure that they are teaching correct doctrine and stuff like that. We are trying to improve on the teaching and gospel learning of the ward. I'm excited!! I've been the Sunday School President before a number of years ago in a singles ward and I loved it. Since I'm going into teaching I'm excited to be apart of the teaching of the gospel in the ward. The ward members are really nice and there are some that have taken us in and made us feel welcome. Many of the members are quite reserved so we will make it our mission to get to know others and become their friends.

Fun in the Snow in Logan

2008-02-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the snow in front of our apartment. There is a lot of snow.

This is my car. It doesn't look like there is a lot of snow on it but there is. Also look what I got to deal with in order to brush it off. I actually had to back it out in order to get the front of the car.

This is where my car was parked. Much of the snow wall was already there when I parked it the night before; however, it was obviously worse after the snow storm.

This was the car next to me. Yeah they won't be getting out for a while. But I guess that's okay because they haven't moved the car in a while either.

The storm was on Sunday and then most of the day Monday. There are so many huge piles of snow everywhere. In some places the snow is at least up to my knees. Now that the storms are gone we get to deal with it getting cold. And in Logan it gets pretty cold here especially when the wind blows which it likes to do a lot.

Married for One Month

2008-02-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

Well Marni and I have been married for a month now and I think it's been rather good. I can't belive that we've been married a month already. Everything is going well for us as we are finally getting the apartment put together. We are still waiting for a desk so that we can get the study put together. Mari is currently taking 15 credit hours and is working at Sunshine Terrace as a CNA and makes descent money. I started the Secondary Education Program this semester and I start clinicals this month. I am working back at Macey's which I before swore never to do but I needed to support my family. I get paid pretty descent for Logan. We are both still trying to adjust to working as much and going to school. We are pretty happy. Our ward is really great and we really like it. I have to go to church by myself every other weekend because Marni has to work. Well someone has to take care of the old people. We are hoping to be able to take a trip to visit my sister Darcy and her husband Brad down in Arizona during spring break. We are looking forward to the trip and the chance to go to Mexico. We are especially excited about it because we didn't get much of a honeymoon. Anyway, like I said life is pretty good.