Crissyland

Puppies for sale!

2011-11-08T01:37:00.003-07:00

So we have puppies. They are adorable and I would keep them all if possible but it's just not. So we are selling them. We have had sooooo much fun with them and we won't be giving them up til they are 8 weeks old so I get to play with them a little longer. :) Yesterday I decided I wanted to do a little photo shoot with them and here are the fruits of my labors. I think they turned out well, but it's easy when you have such great raw material. :)

This is Porky Bear. He's the only boy in the litter and the biggest, though not by much. He's the most aggressive and playful. He has more chihuahua type hair than shih-tzu. He's mostly light brown but he has that dark face and white on his chest and paws. He likes to growl at me when I scratch his back, but he still wags his tail. He figured out how the stairs work first, the smarty! He has no fear of other or bigger dogs so might do well in a group. He's a sweetheart.

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This is Dash. We named her that because when she was born she had a black mask right across her eyes, like the Incredibles. But it turned out to be a good name because she walked first and she's still the fastest. She likes to follow me around and sit by my feet. She has shih-tzu hair, very soft and fluffy, and already getting long. She's a good cuddler.

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This is Cocoa, because she is by far the darkest of the litter. She has shih-tzu hair, very soft. She has white paws and a white spot on her chest. She has a small hernia where her umbilical cord was, just like her mom, but mom grew out of it so she probably will too. She is very cute and bounces everywhere she goes. She loves to snuggle and lick my face.

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This is Blacky, because she has such a black face. She has a lot of her chihuahua dad in her fur color and hair length. She's very light colored and still has white paws. She has the shih-tzu breathing problem, she snorts and grunts a lot but they usually grow out of that, once their noses get bigger. If not, the corrective surgery is very minor and only about $100. She's cautious with her affections but once she knows you she's a sweetheart. She's good at playing by herself.

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And here's the group!

They are half shih-tzu and half chihuahua mix. Mom is 9 lbs, Dad is a little bigger. They are not papered. They had their first shots at 6 weeks, on Nov 5th. They'll be ready to go to new homes on Nov 19th. I feel it's best to keep them with their siblings and mom til 8 weeks in general but would be willing to make an exception if necessary. We are asking $250 each. Comment with any questions!

Perfect Timing

2011-09-24T23:42:00.001-06:00

I've been so upset with myself lately, and I wasn't sure why. I would get up in the morning and go to work and come home and somehow I constantly felt that I should be doing more, accomplishing more. I would look around at my house that I want to do so much with and just get completely overwhelmed and not know where to start and therefore not start. And of course I would hate that I wasn't doing anything, I felt so lazy! And it was this vicious cycle punctuated by guilt. I just kept piling on these tasks I felt I should be doing and it was this impossible, crippling weight so instead I would just sit on the couch and watch tv. And then feel guilty for actually wanting to do nothing, even though at the same time I wanted to do so much! And it wasn't just me I was being so hard on, either. I felt like Ryan should do more, should want to do more. I was piling things on him and he was quite unforgivably not even noticing! I couldn't understand why he didn't feel the same.

A couple nights ago I pretty much broke down under all this weight, which was inevitable now that I look back on it. Ryan tried so hard to help me see how hard I was being on myself, on him. It was tough for me to let go of it, but I started to realize I was making myself miserable and I really needed to change how I was thinking and recognize when I accomplish something. No matter how little it was, I could celebrate that and move on to something else instead of getting overwhelmed and paralyzed. I definitely felt better.

And then today was the General Relief Society Broadcast. I'm not gonna lie, in the past I haven't paid much attention to it, but perhaps the fact that I have to work tomorrow made me feel I should get some spiritual nourishment, since I won't be able to go to church.

So I watched the broadcast and it was nice but I was pretty exhausted because Callie had her puppies last night and we didn't get much sleep. And then Elder Uchtdorf started talking and I had to pay attention. Everything he was saying was exactly what I needed to hear. He said we have so much compassion for other's faults and weaknesses but so little for ourselves. It's so true. I need to be at least as nice to myself as I would be to any one of my friends and family. I'm a nice person. I can do that. :)

Slightly Random Posting

2011-08-29T23:27:00.001-06:00

Well look at me, blogging twice in the same month! Gasp! :) Just felt the need tonight, I guess.

Life is pretty great grand and wonderful right now and I need to express my gratefulness for that. We are just so incredibly blessed. It's quite obvious to me that we are actually where the Lord wants us, even if I may have had different plans for my life. No joke, 5 years ago, Utah was pretty close to the top of the list of Places Crissy Never Wants To Live. :) But we are here and I am not hating it... not all the time.

This is the front of our house, a couple weeks after moving in, right after the roof got done. I love the roof! I love that it doesn't leak. I love that I got to pick the color. That says home ownership right there, I tell you what! :) There are so many other things in this picture I don't love. Perhaps I should not point them out but I will anyways. That bush right by the front door? It's too big and too small all at the same time. Like it's trying to take over the front door but not wide enough to really fill up the flower bed. Ugh. There's also a teeny rosebushe hiding somewhere in that mess of weeds. We didnt motice it until it bloomed! I cannot tell you how much I would love to take care of the weeds! I worked at it for 8 or more hours over a couple of days and breathed in so much dust I coughed and hacked for the next 48 hours. Maybe a mask? It's so overwhelming.

This is one of the bedroom floors right after we finished staining it. LOVE! The color came out so nicely. Unfortunately the kitchen and liven room don't look as good. I think the bedrooms had carpet so the wood was much easier to sand and had less coats of sealant to get off. The living room and kitchen still look good, just not that good.

This is one of my more recent accomplishments and I'm a little proud of it. I saw a crochet pattern that was something along these lines but it didn't look refillable, and I'm just not as comfortable with crochet. So I kinda made up my own knitting pattern for this and then used some elements of the crochet pattern for the details. It was a gift for Marisa because she loves penguins. :) Even Ryan said it turned out much cuter than he thought it would be when I told him what I was making!

Here's a fairly recent picture of Callie nesting in the clean clothes. So cute. We really love her, she is such a good little dog. And it doesn't look like she's pregnant, for anyone who was wondering after that one Facebook post. Whew. I've heard Chihuahua-Shih-Tzu puppies are cute but I'd still rather not. We'll probably breed her next time she goes in heat, with another shih-tzu. Can't wait, actually, shih-tzu puppies are ten times more adorable than that pic!

Soooooo we had lots and lots of guests this summer! Marisa got married end of July and the whole family came and we had 15 people sleeping at our house, I think! Man I am so grateful we have the room for that! But this here is Chris, Ryan's cousin, who had to stuff one of the jumbo marshmallows in his mouth. Funny thing was his brother Kirby saw and tried right after and had no trouble stuffing the whole thing in! Guess we know who's the big mouth, huh Kirby? :)

Here's one of Callie watching the comings and goings of the neighborhood. She has several cat like tendencies but this one is pretty cute.

Here's a video of our cousins trying to duct tape Ryan to the wall. It was quite an epic fail but pretty funny. I honestly don't know how that came about. Boredom? :)

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And this is where Ryan and I just got back from! We went to the last week of Movie In The Park. Someone sets up a huge projector screen and tons of people play Wii Dance until dark and then play a movie and eat popcorn. It was fun but cold. I can see why they stop at the end of Aug. It's supposed to be warmer than usual for this time of year and I was cold enough we left halfway through the movie. :)

So there you have a selection of random pics that have been hanging out on my phone and a few other things you may or may not have seen on facebook. I was testing out the capabilities of my blogging app too. I like it! Leave me some love people! Maybe it'll inspire me to blog again soon??? :)

The Saga of the House

2011-08-23T23:07:00.001-06:00

Where to even begin? We looked at LOTS of houses. We had a lot of unique requirements and it really seemed that we would never find something that would work! We found a house right off that would have been great but we were outbid. We found another house that would have been perfect with a little work, but the owners were unwilling to negotiate and they were asking more than we could give them. Finally I came across this house and asked our realtor about it. He called me the next day and said an offer had been made but it was less than the asking price and the bank didn't want to let it go for less. So we offered the asking price and got it!

And then the troubles began. The inspection went fine on our end but the bank inspector came up with a bunch of nitpicky little stuff that had to be fixed before we could get the FHA loan. We really wanted an FHA loan because the interest rate was so much better, so we really wanted the stuff to get fixed, but the bank wasn't willing to put a dime more into it. They were ok with us fixing it, though, which is very unusual. So before we even owned the house we were painting over chipped paint, fixing leaky sinks and repairing an old furnace. The house limped past the 2nd inspection and the loan went through. Hallelujah!

So we kept working on the house, even before we moved in. We stripped and sanded and stained the hardwood floors. We pulled out the old carpet and put in new carpet, we painted several rooms, we covered the concrete walls with wainscoting. And then we moved in, and it only got better! First day we realized we had no hot water. We called the home warranty company to get it fixed, which was cheaper but took much longer. At first the warranty company wanted to just replace the heating coils but the tech was unable to get the coils out, they were so rusted in! We opted to put in two new water heaters instead of just replacing the old small one. We paid the difference and thought it was done.

A few days later our new tenants upstairs called and said the ceiling had fallen in in a couple places. The inspector had said the roof needed replacing soon but we didn't realize it was quite that bad! So we cleaned it up and hurriedly got the roof replaced. I feel like I found the best deal we could get, but it was still frustrating to have to rush so much. It was such a wet spring we were really worried we wouldn't be able to get it done without it being rained on! The roof guys also told us the last people to put the roof on had done so without any vents, which essentially boils your tiles in the summer heat, which will significantly decrease the life of your roof. It was no surprise, we had already run into A LOT of cutting corners in the rest of the house. We were lucky to find a guy in the ward that does general house stuff to repair the ceiling for us. He was wonderful.

A few days after that, the air conditioning stopped working! Yay for us! So we called the home warranty company again and they sent someone out. He replaced a wire that looked like some animal may have damaged it. We had to call again just a couple days later because it wasn't working again. The tech did some sleuthing and found out our ac/furnace and our two new water heaters were all wired to the same 30 amp circuit. So illegal! He also told us the guy that put in our new water heaters had daisy chained the wiring, instead of running a separate wire for each. Also illegal.

And sometime in the middle of all this we got burglarized. Yes indeed burglarized. I came home from work on my last day of training at my last job and found so much of our stuff missing. Our living room is downstairs and is an enclosed room so it took a while for me to notice. Our tv was gone, the Wii, the xBox, all the games and controllers, all my dvds, Ryan's guns, his camera, our blu-ray player. They even took the time to go through our movies and pick a dozen or so of our favorites. It was creepy how it felt like they took their time. We also found out they had gone upstairs into the apartment and stolen a couple thousand dollars worth of fly fishing equipment. We found out we have a very good insurance policy that covers the actual replacement cost of our stuff but it's still taken over two months to resolve. I can't even describe how much of a pain it's been.

So back to the wiring fiasco. By that time we had been robbed and I was fairly certain that it may have had something to do with all the contractors that had come over to give us estimates. So we called around the ward and found a wiring guy. He came over to look at it and found out that the breakers we would need to replace have not been made for the last 20 years, and we would have to replace the entire breaker panel. Of course. Of course. He was great about it, and replaced it all for us for his cost. So amazing.

We truly have been blessed throughout this entire adventure. Our family has been there for us, our ward has been wonderful. Even though the universe in general seems to be slapping us in the face with home ownership, the Lord has been there smoothing the path every step of the way. Every time some crap fell in our laps, exactly what we needed came right along. When we were robbed and I went outside to see if the neighbors had seen anything, the lady that had actually talked to the guy happened to be taking a walk with her husband right past our house! When our tenants got into financial and health trouble and had to move out unexpectedly, we had the apt rented out again in less than a week, and they are wonderful people! We've both been blessed to find full time jobs. We're so grateful to have our cousins living with us, they are so great to have around. We had over a dozen guests here when Ryan's cousin got married and I was so glad we had the room for everyone! It was fabulous.

So there you go, the abbreviated saga of our home ownership adventure. I'm sure there's more to come as we do more renovations, and I'll try to keep you updated. But let's be honest I'm quite obviously not very consistent at this blogging thing, so you'll just have to take what you can get. If anyone reads this, that is. :) Laters peeps!

New hairstyle!

2011-07-20T16:03:00.001-06:00

How many posts do I have with that title? Hmm I'll have to check sometime. Probably because I get pretty excited when I change my hair, I sure love it! So our new ward is fabulous in many and myriad a way but one of those is this lady named Tisha who lives around the corner from me and is super nice and quite obviously a hair genius! She just did it this morning and I really couldn't be happier!

I can't wait to try it curly too, it's going to be great! And yes I realize this is my first blog post in months and I haven't mentioned the house or anything, but it's literally quite a saga of woe and triumph over evil so I will save it for later. But coming soon!!

SO MUCH GOING ON!

2011-04-05T22:20:00.000-06:00

Yeah I realize that writing in all caps is kind of like shouting at people but that's how it sounds in my head, so that's how I wrote it. Because there really is so much going on right now, it's insane. Where to even begin???

We are in the middle of the home buying process, which I literally have no words to describe adequately. On the one hand, we are truly blessed to have this amazing opportunity and we owe it all to Ryan's uncle. He's wonderful, it's just such a blessing. On the other hand, those lenders want to know every single little thing about you and the process is painstakingly long! What's getting to me is that the timeline is so fluid. There are a few deadlines (which sometimes contradict each other) but for the most part they say you will close in 45 days or less. So that leaves a pretty wide window of time for getting out of our lease, doing repairs and fix up before we move in, etc. We are hoping to close at the end of the semester and move in the end of the month, but I really have no idea if it will work out like that. Hoping is definitely the operative word in that sentence.

I found a job that I am very excited about! I'll be doing tech support, working from home full time with benefits and great pay. I start training in early May, so I can finish the semester first. I believe the Lord had to hit me over the head with this one, it's definitely what He wants me to be doing. :) The flexibility of working from home and the pay raise is going to make a huge difference in our family. I am so sad to be leaving Ancestry.com though, it's been wonderful and I've made such good friends there. Fortunately I have another month to deal with the separation anxiety.

School is crazy, the semester is winding down and the assignments are getting harder and more frequent. I am really enjoying it though. There's these skill reviews at the end of every chapter and it's highly gratifying to have them tell me to do something, and actually know how to do it! Haha the computer does what I want! *insert evil laugh here* I have gone about as far as MCC will take me online though, so I have to apply to the University of Utah for next semester. Sigh, it's so much more expensive. I looked at BYU, but they really don't have anything close to the degree I want. I was hoping to do Web Development at MCC, and UVU has a Digital Media degree that isn't too far off.

Other things I'm excited about include...

Remodeling/Decorating the new house! I realize it will be a long process but I'm excited to get started and make it the way we like it! :)

One of Ryan's cousins invited all the female family members out to Frontsight for some defensive handgun training the end of this month. She feels strongly that we should all know how to defend ourselves in a bad situation and I can't say I disagree. We might become members and take other classes, like the hand to hand training, if we like it.

We are looking around and thinking about getting another shih-tzu. Callie is awesome but she gets upset with us when we don't play with her enough and the poor girl is easily bored. Plus, I want another puppy!!! :)

Ryan got a full time summer job! I'm crossing my fingers that we won't need student loans next semester, especially since I'll be going down to part time.

Ryan and I have been going to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, since our stake sponsored it. If you've ever read his Total Money Makeover, you'll know the basics. Can I just say I would recommend this book and these classes to ANYONE. It has made such a huge difference in our finances, and our marriage. I can't even stress enough that it will help you. It will.

In celebration of finding a full time job, I bought an iPad1!!! I thought about getting the 2, but since it had just come out, the first gens were selling like hotcakes at great prices. Found one on craigslist, and I love it! Lol kind of like the Kindle I got for Christmas, I just didn't know how much I would love it until I had it. In fact, I kept making up reasons I wouldn't love it, to convince myself I didn't want it. But I have it now and I realize how silly I was. I love it! Both of them.

That's all for now folks, more to come! :)

You've been gone so long...

2010-12-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

Geez, guys, I'm sorry it's been so long! Let's see if anything interesting has happened... No, not really. What, are you still reading? Fine. :)

Sooooo I got a promotion at work! I sure do love my job. I have to say, I had fears and worries about getting out of massage and facials. I had spent so long building up qualifications and certifications that I wasn't sure I'd be able to find anything worthwhile outside the field. But being honest with myself and realizing that I pretty much hated it and wasn't reaching any of my goals kinda pushed me to try. And both jobs I've had since then have been amazing! I'm also in the best place financially I've ever been in my adult life! Haha that might not be saying much, but it's true. It's not great, but it's better than it's been in years, and it's looking up!

And seriously, my job is great. In case you didn't know, I work at Ancestry.com scanning and auditing images of old documents. Last month, I got a promotion to team lead! It's a lot more responsibility but a lot more satisfaction too. I had to switch shifts to 8 am and I worried about that. You all know I'm not a morning person. But I haven't been late, and the people on my shift are so much fun to work with. Let's see if I've got some pics...

This is a party we had for our boss, Sally, right before she left to get married. She's sitting right next to me. We all pitched in and I bought the presents. A girl on our shift, Vikki, put together a soup and bread bowl lunch for her. Sally had no clue until the day of! You can also see behind us is a Christmas tree made entirely of canned food. Ancestry.com had a canned food drive and each team had to build something. That was our contribution. :)

This was my Halloween costume. Nearly everyone on my shift dressed up, it was great! You can see behind me one of the machines we use to scan microfilm.

Here's a couple people on my shift, Stephanie is Barbie, I can't remember what Becca dressed up as, Amber is a vampire, and Alex is Al Capone. Ancestry.com had all the employees families come in and trick or treat. We decorated and had tons of candy stations. There were some really cool setups! One was a spooky mine that had a shaft you could see down to the 3rd floor! One handed out cotton candy. I scared a lot of kids unintentionally with my skeleton face. :)

This was on Red Nose Run Day. Our entire department had the day off to do a scavenger hunt! This was my team and our Weapon Of Mass Destruction. You can see we have a catapult made of toothpicks and paper clips and marshmallows. I'm sure it will be very helpful during the zombie apocalypse.

In addition to the promotion, I was offered a second part time job in Yearbook Acquisition. So after my shift as team lead, I buy yearbooks! It's pretty fun.

I'm also in the process of scanning my grandmother's pictures. My parents were talking about how they were digitizing them with Grandpa's scanner and I told them I could do it much faster on our scanners at work. It's wonderful that they're willing to let me use the equipment off the clock, as long as there's room for me. And it is going fast! I've probably done over 1500 pics in about 15 hours, and they're at 600 dpi. Much faster than any flatbed scanner. :)

All rihgt then time to quit raving about the job. What else has been going on?? The holidays! We spent three days in AZ for Christmas, it was heavenly! Instead of scraping ice off my windshield we were eating dinner outside! It was insanely busy, this is the first year we've really juggled both families but it was sooooo much fun!

This is my husband's family playing a game I was able to show them. Everyone has a piece of paper but there's only one pencil. Your goal is to write the numbers 100 to 1, but you can only have the pencil when you roll doubles. So you're writing numbers while everyone else is rolling, trying to get doubles and then someone snatches the pencil out of your hand. It's super fun!

Here I am shooting a shotgun. They tell me I clipped a couple of the clay pigeons but I'm not so sure I believe them :)

And then we had to come home and wait for Christmastime. We are leaving for AZ again soon so we didn't really plan on decorating much or anything like that. But then I just couldn't stand not having any decorations at all so we went and got a 3 foot tree to put on our little coffee table.

It's so cute and little! I love it! And then Ryan found a good deal on the little outside lights and put lights all over our house! Once one of the little ball ornaments fell off the tree and I forgot to pick it up. Ryan had noticed and ten minutes later he asked where it was. He looked in Callie's kennel and she had hidden it in there! :) We love our dog!

Well that's probably enough of an update for now. Merry Christmas everyone!

What is up with this??

2010-09-18T15:12:00.000-06:00

I have been sick this week, but it's weird. Starting Tuesday evening, I had that tickle in the back of my throat and I thought, Crap. That tickle means a head cold for sure. By the time I went to bed I was running a low fever. Wednesday felt exactly the same. Slight tickle, low fever. That night I kinda lost my voice. So Thursday at work I wasn't running a fever but I sure sounded funny. Friday I coughed a few times and the fever came back. Today I feel achy and lethargic and that's about it.

At first I was thinking this isn't too bad. I feel kinda sick but not really enough to not go to work or anything. But now it's been a full 4 days and I'm starting to wonder if not being sick enough to slow down means I'm not slowing down enough to get better. It's like I've been running at 80% for days now and I'm starting to hate it.

I'm doing lots of things to get better though, and I'm sure I'll get there eventually. I'm taking Airborne frequently and popping Vit C like candy. it really does help. Perhaps that's why I haven't gotten really sick. Sigh. I just wish it would GO AWAY already. Blah.

General Life Update

2010-08-30T23:29:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've blogged so I think it's time for an update. What is going on in our world?

It's getting colder... Dum dum DUM!! I don't think you can understand the depth of my dread about this. I was born and raised in sunny Arizona and therefore never had to deal with being cold, like at all. Never have I needed a hat, or scarves, or gloves, or even anything warmer than a nice thick sweatshirt. Now I will probably need them all, because my body is no good at being cold. I shiver so much it's actually kinda scary. Not only have I never needed cold weather clothing, I wouldn't have even known where to get it! Stores don't even carry serious jackets and stuff in the Valley of the Sun, why would they? I am so unprepared for this. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

Ok sorry please excuse the minor panic attack. It's just snow right? Right. Deep breath. Let's talk about something else. :)

I started school last Monday. I'm taking Psych101, but I may have to switch it. There has been a delay in getting my textbooks and my teacher is turning out to be not so understanding about it. Next week I start Adobe Flash, and Adobe Dreamweaver! Flash is about putting animation and videos on the web, and Dreamweaver is for making websites. I am so excited! And the last half of the semester I will be taking Creative and Personal Writing. I haven't done any writing in so long, this will be fun!

Ryan started classes at BYU this morning. He's been going over the spring and summer semesters but this is his first full length semester. He's going to be very busy! He's still working part time at Discount Tire and recently started riding his bike a lot. There are lots of gorgeous places to see around here, he loves it!

I love my job! I'm still working at Ancestry.com. It really has helped me get more interested in doing my own genealogy, and it's rewarding to feel that what you are doing could make it possible for someone else to find their ancestors!

We live in a house that has been split up into 4 different apts. When we moved in there was a mother and daughter in one place, a single girl in another, and an elderly oriental man in the last. But in just the last month, two really nice young couples have moved into the apts the single girl and the oriental man were in and we are really excited to get to know them! They even have dogs, and Callie is loving having the occasional play buddy.

I got a funny voicemail from a member of the bishopric yesterday. He called me by my full name and asked if he could meet with me before Sacrament (I didn't get the message until way later). He said he knew I was doing music in RS but he was hoping they could add on to my calling. This was baffling because as far as I know, I don't have a calling! So I called him and left him a message saying so, and I guess we'll see what that's about later.

I've been getting familiar with my crockpot lately! We've done spaghetti sauce, Santa Fe chicken, pork roast... And they all end up so yummy! I'm sure glad we have it.

I still haven't read Mockingjay! Gah it's killing me! But we don't have the first two and it's been so long since I read them that I really want to start at the beginning again. So now I have to buy all three of them and we can't afford it quite yet. Argh.

I miss my family. I miss Ryan's family. I miss being hot. I miss bright blue pools and swimming every week, then laying in the sun until I'm hot enough to get in again. I miss the cicada sound. I miss floating down the Salt River. I miss all the big freeways that get you where you're going fast! I miss Harkins movie theaters. I miss my friends. I miss my job at the ASLP. I miss Filiberto's and Matta's. I miss the amazing sunsets from the horrible smog. Sigh.

I love my husband. I love my apartment. I love the mountains. I love that we can have a puppy here. I love the family that is close by, and that we are making friends. I love our ward (not as much as lehi 4th, but hey, can't have it all). I love my job. I love the houses in Provo, they're all so unique! I love taking Callie on walks. I can do this. :)

When was I supposed to learn this?

2010-07-30T14:26:00.000-06:00

I guess I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. Life is going along pretty good but there are so many things that I feel like are getting away from me and I'm not sure how to deal. Let me give you an example.

Meal planning- when was I supposed to learn this? There are so many things about this that just overload my brain! I feel like I'm supposed to know how to cook a healthy meal in a timely manner. First of all, what is healthy? More protein than carbs? As long as there's something green there? There are so many different opinions as to what healthy is that I don't even want to start researching it. Then there's the problem of reconciling the idea of healthy with my finicky taste buds. I hate lemon, bell peppers, tomatoes and the list goes on. Most of the time when I read a "healthy" recipe, I know I would never eat it because half the ingredients are things I hate. Ok so say I find a recipe that I want to try. Chances are I'm going to have to go shopping before dinner because I almost certainly don't have the ingredients on hand. Logic tells me that if I made a meal plan a week in advance, I could probably go shopping once and make sure I have all the things I need. But that seems expensive. It may not be more expensive than the way we're handling it right now but it seems like it would be. Right now, when one of us is hungry we look in the fridge or freezer until something looks good and then cook it. Every couple of weeks we make a big shopping trip and get most of the ingredients for the things we eat more regularly and in between we get stuff like milk. It feels like making a big trip every week would eb more expensive, but I don't know. And this is why I find it all overwhelming.

Finances - when was I supposed to learn this? This is probably one of the most important things in our life. Money or the lack of it causes so much stress and anxiety. How is it that I made it this far without really knowing what to do with it?? I've read a lot about it, but little of what I've read seems actually applicable to my life. I keep trying, but it's a long tunnel and the light at the end seems so far away.

And there's so many other things I feel like I should know about or know how to do. Decorating our home, making sure we have the clothes we need, keeping everything clean, exercising and staying healthy... No to mention all the things I want to know how to do! Gardening, reupholstering, quilting, to name a few projects I'd love to get started on. The other day I was reading a book and this girl was learning how to run a household (it was set in medieval times) and I was kind of jealous! There was no home ec class in high school, or money management. And the really frustrating thing is, I know I'm smart! I'm a straight A student, and a quick learner. Why are these things so hard for me? I should be able to figure out something that works for us!

All right, I realize I'm sounding pretty pathetic so I'm done. :) Life is really good, even if I am feeling inadequate at times. I dislike Utah much less now. I don't know if I'm to the point where I could honestly say I like it, but I'm heading towards that side of the scale. I love my job! Ancestry.com is a great place to work, and it's close by and the hours are fantastic. Our puppy gets more adorable every day, and I love our apartment. A couple people recently moved out of the other side of the house and it looks like there are really great young couples moving in! Our ward is amazing, and I'm excited that we won't have to move and go to another one for at least two years. Fall classes start in a few weeks and I'm really excited for this semester! I'm grateful we have friends and family nearby and more coming back soon! This summer has been fantastic, we have been so blessed to be able to see our family so much even though we are far away. I love my husband, he works so hard for us! So life is good and I am grateful for everything the Lord has given us. I know it can be taken away so quickly so I try to enjoy every moment!

Yummy Dinner

2010-06-28T21:56:00.000-06:00

I made Santa Fe Chicken tonight, just the way Susan makes it. So good! If you want the recipe, go here. Sorry the pic is so horrible, but believe me, you really should try it!

Puppy Story

2010-06-19T12:18:00.002-06:00

So I was eating breakfast and Callie comes in and I look down and she's dragging something. I realize it's my purple bra I left hanging over the side of the tall laundry basket yesterday. She was wearing it like a second collar! Oh sooo funny! I of course immediately went and got my phone and took a picture to send to my hubby and mom and a few friends and blog. I love having a puppy!

Recent puppy pictures

2010-05-21T16:11:00.000-06:00

I got some super cute pictures of our puppy Callie and I just had to share. She's pretty much the most adorable thing ever!

This is at Bridal Veil Falls Park just a couple days ago.

She loves chewing on sticks! We got her rawhide ones instead.

Callie and Ryan conked out on the couch. They do this a lot. :)

Callie likes to pounce on Ryan's head when they're playing. It's close to the cutest thing she does.

This is at the top of Bridal Veil Falls, hence the spray. That was a great afternoon!

Stay tuned folks! :)

We are all settled in! For now...

2010-05-06T13:58:00.000-06:00

Yes that's right we are all settled in here in Provo. Ryan started classes last week. We moved in with Ryan's cousins Andrew and Autumn. It's wonderful because they are so close to campus! And even better, their downstairs apartment is going to be vacant in a matter of weeks, so we won't have to feel like we're crowding them so much. They are so nice to let us use their ground level rooms but it still feels we're in their space. I'm sure we'll all be much more comfortable when we're not stepping on each other's toes!

I still haven't found a job yet, but Ryan was able to transfer straight to The Discount Tire in Orem. Such a blessing! Hopefully I can find something soon. I've applied about 20 places already!

And we got our puppy! Ryan decided to name her Callie and she is pretty much the most adorable thing I've ever seen! Training has commenced, and we shall see how good we are at being pet owners. We sure do love her.

I only have a week and a half of school left! I'm super excited to have the summer off. I'm also excited about the classes I have next fall. I wish I could go farther towards my degree with MCC online but it looks like I'll have to switch to UVU eventually. I'll have to wait at least a year though, to get Utah residency. The out of state tuition is pretty heinous. I thought about going to BYU too but I don't like their computer program. I really wish I could stick with MCC's program, they have the best Web Development program but I've already taken most of the classes I can take online. *sad*

So we'll probably be here for another couple years. It'll be about that long before Ryan gets his Mechanical Engineering degree. What is a little depressing is that even after that, there's no guarantee we'll be able to go home! Realistically I have to be prepared for the possibility that Ryan may not get a job near Mesa or even in Arizona. *sigh* I just have to hope!

So I miss Arizona and all the people there but the weather here should be nice soon and the ward is great and we have a puppy and there's lots of reasons to be happy! I'll just remind myself of that a lot. :)

Puppies!!!

2010-03-30T17:22:00.000-06:00

We are going to get some puppies! On our Spring Break trip to Utah we stayed with Ryan's Aunt Lora and Uncle Gene and they had a litter of shih-tzu puppies only 3 and a half weeks old. Ryan just melted all over them! I love shih-tzus and I kept telling him I wanted to get one when we finally lived somewhere we could have pets. Ryan kept protesting saying shih-tzus are too small and he wanted a weimariner instead. So I figured after we moved to Provo we would get a shih-tzu and a weimariner, because we'll be living with Andrew and Autumn and they are ok with pets! But then Ryan saw these puppies and suddenly he had to have them! Not that I blame him, who could resist this face?

Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen? There are 7 of them and in these pics they're only 3 and a half weeks old.

This almost makes it ok that we're moving away. Almost.

Zoo Trip

2010-03-30T17:08:00.000-06:00

My dad's company party was at the Zoo this year! They are really switching things up, usually it's at Sunsplash. But it was a beautiful day for it. Almost the entire fam was able to go. Mom wasn't feeling well and Clark n' Kate had something. But here are a few pics of the trip

Ryan rocking out the SmartPractice hat!

I think my husband secretly wishes he could be a monkey

This little guy in the Monkey House was getting up close and personal

The grandma orangutan was so funny! Couldn't get any pics of the baby but she was even better!

Ryan talked Landon into giving him a piggyback. I don't know how he does these things.

There was a turtle competition going on called How Many Turtles Can Fit On One Island?

Yay I love my little siblings! Yes I know you're both taller than me but I am stubbornly going to call you my little siblings!

The decision has been made

2010-03-29T18:07:00.001-06:00

I wanted to update you all and let you know we are definitely moving to Utah! We went and visited both cities and it was pretty obvious we are supposed to be in Provo. I felt like the Lord was just smoothing the way, everything worked out so easily.

We'll be leaving April 23rd. Well, we're packing up the 23rd and driving up the 24th. We're going to live with Ryan's cousins Andrew & Autumn and I'm excited! I'm also super excited to get our puppies! We stayed with Aunt Lora & Uncle Gene and they had a litter of puppies and we just fell in love with them. (Ryan especially) By the time we move they will be old enough to live with us!

I'm just going to be so sad to leave all our family and friends here! I can't think about it too much or else I feel like crying. I'm sad to leave my job, it's so wonderful! Gah I just don't know what to do about it. We're leaving in about 3 weeks now so call me so we can see you before we go!

Crossroads

2010-03-11T12:57:00.001-07:00

Hello all my wonderful friends!
I just wanted to give you all an update because I said I would be better about blogging so this is me keeping my word! I have to say life is pretty great. We have so many opportunities in front of us, it's tough to know what to do next. The BIG decision is..... Where should Ryan go to school? He got accepted into BYU Provo as well as BYU Idaho. This is such a tough call. Ok let me tell you all the factors.

BYU Idaho Pros (in no particular order!)

Aunt Becky and Uncle Ben and the amazing Smiths!
Grandma and Grandpa Park (in the summer)
Reed's Dairy milk yummmmm...
smaller campus + less students = more attention from teachers
Ryan already knows the teachers
Ryan is already in the Mechanical Engineering Program
housing is cheaper
insurance is cheaper
great friends like Vicki & Dave, Liz & Dave, Suzi....
My little sis Emily MAY be going in the fall!
I like the computer program there better than BYUs
I already have a library card :)
Rexburg temple is super close

BYU Provo Pros

warmer than BYU Idaho (not by much, but it is!)
closer to Arizona by 4 or 5 hours
Syrena!!
lots of Ryan's other fam there, like Andrew & Autumn, Amanda, Aunt Laura
warmer than BYU Idaho
even more great friends like Zachary, Holly & Jeff, Matt & Emily, KeriAnn etc etc
bigger city
possibly easier to find jobs
did I already mention warmer?

That looks like a pretty comprehensive list for me. But what will probably make the decision is WHEN they want us to come. BYU accepted Ryan to start the Spring semester, which begins April 27th. BYU Idaho has made a decision on which track to assign Ryan to, but we have to wait for the letter, which may or may not have been mailed Monday or Tuesday (GRRRRR). If BYU Idaho assigned Ryan to the fall-winter, or fall-spring track, we would not have to leave until September!! In which case, we would probably go there because I would really like to be able to keep my job through the summer. Plus Ryan just got a raise at work and it would be good to have that for a little while. BUT! If BYU Idaho assigned him to start the spring semester, that starts on April 20th. So there's not much difference between the two in that case. Ryan isn't sure all his credits will transfer to BYU from BYU Idaho, so he's going to check on that. Also, he is only accepted to the Pre-Engineering Program at BYU and would need to apply to the Engineering Program. Gah, there is too much to think about!

To switch the subject slightly, today is my last day of work before Spring Break! We had plans to go to Rocky Point with Ryan's family but about a week and a half ago I realized that I do not have a passport and you need a passport to get back into the US now. Ryan thinks we should still go and just take my birth certificate and social security card but all the research I've done online says you need a passport as of June 1, 2009. And it seems to me the best case scenario is getting stuck at the border for hours. I don't even want to think about worst case scenario. So I don't want to go without a passport and there was no way to get one in the time we had. SOOOOO we're going to Utah and Idaho!! Hopefully we will know what BYU Idaho's decision was in the next couple of days so we can find housing etc if we need to. And if not, we will just visit and have fun! Ryan's been lamenting that he got a snowboard for Christmas two years ago and hasn't used it yet so what a perfect opportunity! :) I can't wait! If you're reading this and you want to see us, let me know!

My MacBook isn't naked.

2010-02-26T12:14:00.001-07:00

I got a new skin for my MacBook! It was from decalgirl.com and I love that site! So many options and very good prices. Got one for my phone too. :)

A little decoration

2010-02-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

I did a little decorating yesterday and i wanted to share because it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I look at it!

And here's a little close up.

Yay! I love our apartment!

A few wedding pics

2010-02-11T00:13:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been over a month since I've been married and I don't even wanna think about how long it's been since I blogged. Sometime in October. Ack stop thinking about it! It makes me feel so bad. I'm sorry!!! I don't know if there's any of you out there that are not facebook friends with me but if there are, I apologize! I'm on facebook a lot and I tend to neglect the blog. I will do better, I promise.

The wedding was amazing, seriously the best day of my life! So far. :) Hopefully the link at the top will lead you to the facebook album but if not, here it is again

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379352&id=597125310&l=9fc5336c7f

and then you can see the pics. I loved everything about that day! Everything went right, and so many things turned out better than I had even imagined! My family is amazing, my new family is fantastic and I love my husband!

Here is the link for the album of bridal photos

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=379185&id=597125310&l=2de8bb0c1d

Andraya Dietrich did our photography and she did a fantastic job! Seriously I would recommend her to anyone!

So I have decided that if I keep trying to post a huge life change blog every time I blog, I will never do it, so from now on, I may not blog about big important things every time! Sometimes it will be silly things, or just plain interesting things, or whatever I want! Because that's what a blog is for, right? :)

I am engaged!

2009-10-26T01:51:00.000-06:00

Holy crap no really I'm engaged and I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around it! I've been single for so long, wanting to get married, and the fact that I am actually going to do it now, instead of just wishing for it, but trying not to want it too much for fear of serious depression, is kind of mind boggling.

But I think that many of you out there will be confused so here is the full story.

Yes, Ryan and I broke up in June. This was mainly because despite 2 years of dating, a serious commitment didn't seem to be on the horizon. There was lots of debate and prayer but that's really what it boils down to. So I was single. Again.

But I was pretty happy, as you might be able to tell from the last blog. I have a fantastic job, great friends, school is so much fun, and in general life was pretty rosy, if I ignored the ever-present something important is missing feeling. Things went on like that for about 3 months or so.

And so I'm strolling through life and one day Ryan wants to talk. We go on a walk and he tells me he's been thinking and he wants to date me again, he wants to get married now. He's been stupid and he's grown a lot, etc. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to think. Lots of times guys only want something once they can't have it, right? So I told him I would pray about it. If the Lord tells me I can be happy with you, then I'll believe Him and we can get together again. But I wasn't going to make a decision until I could go to the temple and the temple was closed for another 3 weeks.

So the poor guy was just waiting for me to make a decision for weeks. I feel bad about this, but he used the time wisely. :-) We went on nice dates and spent time together and talked about what could happen in the future. I think maybe I needed that time to start convincing me that things really might be different this time.

And then last Wednesday, I went to the temple and prayed a lot and finally decided that this was a good thing. I told him that and things kinda snowballed from there. Wednesday we changed our facebook status to dating, Thursday he bought the ring, and Friday was the proposal!

Ryan made reservations at the Capital Grille. We had the best steak ever and took a tour of the kitchens and got the hugest piece of chocolate hazelnut cake I've ever had. It was by far the nicest dining experience I've ever had. Then we rushed off to the Hyatt in Scottsdale to take a gondola ride. We got there right as they were closing but they took us out anyways. And there by the lake right before we got on the boat, Ryan got down on one knee and said, "Crissy, I know I've made you wait a long time, but will you marry me?" And of course I said yes! Here's a couple pics of the ring.

So we got in the gondola and snuggled under a blanket and looked at the lights in the garden and the stars while a gondolier named Marcus poled us around and sang us some beautiful Italian songs. Actually Marcus was the gondolier that took us on our first gondola ride, over two years ago! We were there for our 5 month anniversary and when he found out how long Ryan had been home from the mission and how long we'd been dating, he straight up asked, why aren't you engaged yet? Haha! And there we were getting engaged right in front of him 2 years later. Funny world.

So the date is set for January 2nd, the week after Christmas! It's 10 weeks from yesterday. It's maybe a little less time than I'd like to plan everything but it's when I'm off work and we're both out of school and it seems like it should be the easiest for all our family to be there. Besides, what better way to start the year off right?

We do have so much to do and possibly the most daunting task is gathering addresses for invitations. In hopes of making this a little easier, I've made a form for getting everyone's information. If you'd like an invitation, or even just an email announcement, click here

http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=tKPHUo6VI3kA4yLFnuhDiQg

and fill out your name etc. It puts the information right into a spreadsheet that I can work with! I can't wait to see you all at our wedding!

Update on Life

2009-08-15T02:55:00.000-06:00

Holy smokes how time does fly. I am a bad blogger, obviously, since it's been more than 5 months since the last post. But enough about me, let's talk about me. :-)

When last we saw our heroine, Crissy was working at a day spa in Scottsdale, living with her parents. And that's about it.

Oh so much has happened, where do I begin?

First, I lost my job. It is a long tale and I will not bore you with it. Suffice to say I was not too upset about it, and that is definitely an understatement. My mother, on the other hand, was more than a little worried about it, which is also an understatement.

I worked for a little bit (like a month) as an independent contractor for a nail salon in Chandler. Then I found out my boss was a control freak (no really, she had rules about which shelf the cds had to be on) and when they decided to change the schedule so that we had to work 10 hour days, I decided that was enough of that. My mother stepped up the worrying process.

She did, however, enjoy the benefits of having me unemployed and living in her house, which were mainly my scads of free time combined with my intense dislike of things being messy, dirty, or disorganized. Also my ability to drive any younger sibling anywhere at any time. She mentioned how much she enjoyed it to a coworker, and that coworker correctly deduced that I probably did not have a job. So when she got completely overwhelmed from temporarily taking on someone else's job as well as her own and needed someone to help her do some organizing, she thought of me.

I started working with her to make some sense out of the mess my predecessor had left behind and quickly realized that I was pretty good at it. Once I had done everything she needed, she started loaning me out to other people in the office and I got kind of a reputation for being able to do whatever job you showed me how to do, and usually quickly. So nice to be appreciated. :-)

Then my mother, who was still a little worried about this job I was pretty good at not being a permanent position, heard from yet another coworker that she was looking for an admin assistant. I interviewed and got the job. So far, I love it. One of the best parts is telling people I'm an Administrative Assistant for the After School Learning Program at Sequoia Charter School. They just stare at me blankly while they process for 3 to 5 seconds.

Somewhere in the middle of this process, around June I think,
Mom said, "Why don't you go back to school?"
I said, "There's no way I could afford it."
She said, "Have you filled out the FAFSA, looked at tuition costs?"
"Um, no."
"Well why don't you try that?"
"Yeah, ok."

So I started looking at MCC, what degrees they offer, seeing if there's anything I'd want to study, etc. I fill out the FAFSA and lo and behold, I was awarded free money! More than enough to cover tuition and almost enough to cover my books. And before I have time to worry about how to pay for outrageously expensive textbooks, I find out that they gave me a student loan without me even having to ask for it! So. I am going to school. I'm going to get an Associate's in Computer Information Systems. I am very excited. So ready to learn something new and not related to massage in any way.

Ah, that was what you were wondering about, huh? You were thinking, Crissy, haven't you been a massage therapist forever? Yes I have! That is the problem! Did you know that the average career of a massage therapist is 3 to 5 years? And here I've been plugging away for close to 9. I am sick and tired of it. Not only is it a very physically demanding profession, it is very emotionally stressful. It was impossible for me to fulfill everyone's expectations. Some people wanted me to get rid of their back pain or headaches, and if I couldn't, they got upset. Some people, on the other hand, absolutely loved my massage and suddenly I was indispensable to their happiness and well being. Again, way too much pressure. And I went into facials, thinking it would be different but oh no! When a woman comes in and pays for a facial, you better make her look at least 10 years younger and know exactly what she needs to put on her face to become gorgeous. Women put so much value on their appearance. Not that I don't myself. It's just I don't want to be responsible for such a huge chunk of your self esteem.

And it might have been different if I had been making the kind of money you expect a massage therapist and aesthetician to make. It wasn't hard to get jobs, with my qualifications and experience. And there were definitely perks. It's truly great when everyone is happy to see you, and even happier when they leave. But when I look back at myself making the decision to go to massage school, I thought, this will be great, I can help people and make enough money to support myself and get out of debt. And that never ever happened. I don't know if I'm just an exceptionally bad business person or money manager or what, but I rarely made enough money to get even a little ahead. And if I did, it was because I was working so much that I didn't have any time to spend with family or friends. And to me, family and friends are way more important than any job.

So I had been doing the same thing for almost a decade, and still wasn't even close to reaching my goals. Sounds like time for a reevaluation. And now that I am going in a completely different direction, it looks like the end is in sight. No joke.

And that is the major part of what has been my life for the past 5 months. I'm working in an office, I'm starting college in 9 days, and I am happier than I've been in a long time. At last, I feel like I'm actually going somewhere! A step forward! Hooray!

Lots of other things have happened. Ryan and I broke up. Jessica got married. I turned 28 (blech). I could go into the psychologically devastating effects of becoming a 28 year old single LDS woman with 2 younger siblings already married, but I won't. At least not now. Maybe later. :-)

I could make promises about trying to blog more regularly, but I'm pretty sure I'm about to become busier than I've been in a very long time, so you'll just have to take them as they come. Or call me. Actually, just text. Texting is much easier. I always respond. Eventually. :-)

Gratitude

2009-03-12T01:23:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I am feeling a little numb, a little apathetic, a little haywire. It's probably just the wrong time of the month but I do know that the best cure for it is gratitude. Well, that or a good workout. :-) And since it's currently midnight (just a little late for working out), I'm going to go with the gratitude route. Here are a few things I am grateful for.

1. My family

This is all of them. Well except those two on the ends. Ryan's not officially part of the family and Jadey is Jessica's fiancee's sister. But we love them too!

2. The Gospel

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is now, always has been, and always will be a huge part of my life. I am so grateful to have a personal relationship with my Savior. I know He loves me and He wants me to be happy and that gives me strength to endure whatever may come.

3. Ryan

Yeah I know our relationship is confusing and frustrating and not even really a relationship anymore, but in spite of everything, I know he loves me and I love him and no matter what direction our lives take, we are better people because of it.

4. Money

I don't have much, certainly not as much as I need, but what I do have, I am grateful for. It shows the Lord's mercy in blessing me with enough to take care of what I have to.

5. Pillows

Seriously, would sleeping be near as wonderful without them? I think not.

6. Books

No matter how bad life gets, I can always pick up a book and enjoy myself for a little while. Yeah, sometimes it sucks to put it down and get back to reality, but I wouldn't give them up for the world.

7. The World Wide Web

How else would I share my innermost thoughts with all of you wonderful people? Pay my bills?
Keep in contact with my globe trotting friends? Find a recipe for baba ganoush?

8. And Last but NEVER Least

A great pair of shoes.

There are many many more things I am grateful for, but I will have to mention them in later lists, as it's getting very late. Good night all!

Not Resolutions, Goals

2009-02-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how awesome my bishop is? He is wonderful. Bishop Rod Castillo is seriously great. He keeps up with us on facebook, lets us make appointments by text, and one of my favorite things is his 5th Sunday instruction. Every 5th Sunday he teaches a combined Sunday School and talks to us about whatever it is he feels the need to. Usually it ends up taking a couple hours, but it's so entertaining that nobody minds!

Well this year he wanted to talk to us about goals, but we don't have a 5th Sunday until March! That was just too far away so last week he pretended it was 5th Sunday and talked to us about goals he wants our ward to work on for 2009. He decided the theme was Come To Zion. He challenged us to work on 1200 goals, as a ward. Why 1200 goals, you ask? Well, as you may or may not know, it's 1200 miles to Independence, Missouri, which is where the Lord has designated Zion will be. Or is. Or was. Whatever. :-)

He passed out a list of goals, separated into categories, that we can use as a starting point. We can pick from the list, or make up our own, but if all of us work on 8 goals each, we will get 1200. I think the actual math was 7.5 goals each, but that would require too much thinking. How would you accomplish half a goal? Make a goal for what you actually want, then divide the number in half? Only work on it half the year? One day on, one day off? Yeah, you get my point. :-) So, 8 goals each, and here is the list. Bear with me, it is a little long.

Spiritual category

Attend the temple at least monthly
Study scriptures for a month, a week, and a day
Footnote your patriarchal blessing as if it were a chapter of scripture
Share your testimony
Choose a chapter of scripture and study it in depth, (all the footnotes)
Read the Book of Mormon
Keep current in Gospel Doctrine and RS/EQ lessons
Write a college like term paper on a Gospel topic
Pay tithing and offerings
Fast with a specific purpose
Attend and participate in all meetings
Kneel for meaningful moring and evening prayers

Missionary Category

Share a Book of Mormon
Invite someone to an activity or meeting
Contribute to the missionary fund
Share a Church magazine
Distribute pass along cards
Pray for missionary experience and report back
Obtain and study Preach My Gospel
Attend missionary firesides
Invite someone to Easter pageant or Christmas lights
Attend the visitors center
Research comparative religions

Preparedness & Provident Living

Have a 72 hour kit, water, and $10 in coins in your car
Have a month supply of food
Have a month supply of basic commodities
Develop an emergency plan for communicating with family/ward
Learn first aid/CPR
Develop a realistic budget
Maintain a months income in savings
Research IRAs, brokerage accounts, etc
Get out of debt

Family History

Keep a journal for a month, a week, and a day (I love ldsjournal.com)
Install PAF on your computer
Have four generations entered in PAF
Register with new.familysearch.org
Visit the Family History Center
Submit names for temple ordinances
Share family history data with other family members
Record personal history (also possible at ldsjournal.com)
Participate in indexing
Take Family History Class to learn the above

Physical

Get high on a mountain top (hike four peaks in the state)
Lose a dress/pants size
Run a 5K or marathon
Participate in a mini Ironman
Learn or practice a new sport
Participate in an organized ward or city sports event
Participate in an individual activity (hiking, backpacking, cycling, canoeing)
Hike the Grand Canyon/Havasupai

Character

Make promises and commitments carefully - count it as your sacred word and act accordingly
Go the second mile for a month, a week, and a day
Read Proverbs 16:18-22 and avoid doing or saying anything indicating pride
Seek to be truthful in all you say, avoid gossip and think of the effect of your words no matter how small
Make and keep a resoltuion to not cheat in any way
Cultivate friends and associates who earnestly strive to keep high ideals
Cultivate patience, tolerance and love for family members, roommates and other associates
Keep sacred any confidences entrusted to you
Be courageous enough to acknowledge mistakes and apologize
Give up a bad habit
Eliminate negative self perception
Read a self help book

Intellectual

Develop a new talent
Expand your cultural appreciationstudying and attending a new art form (dance, opera, ballet, theater etc)
Read 10 Newberry winners
Read a literary classic
Study another country or culture
Develop fundamental speaking and writing skills in another language
Improve your knowledge in an academic field
Earn/re-earn a Merit Badge/YW Value project

Service

Design and carry out a service project
Teach an art or skill to someone who can't afford to pay
Assist the elderly or a single parent family with household chores, lawn maintenance
Fellowship new members of the ward
Write uplifting and encouraging letters to the missionaries
Read/sing/listen to people in hospitals or nursing homes
Become a tutor or mentor

Employment/Education

Take a career interest inventory
Take a career aptitude test
Update your resume
Attend a career fair
Explore a different career, research job requirements
Research requirements for starting college
Meet with a counselor for planning
Take a class

Social

Attend one additional YSA activity
Expand your dating experience
Plan a small game night or dinner at your home
Update your facebook account

That's the list we get to choose 8 goals from. I love that last one, I got that one down! :-) Or I can make up my own. So here's my list.

Attend the temple at least monthly
Take at least 5 family names with me
Get out of debt (or at least closer)
Include Preach my Gospel in my daily scripture study
Be physically capable of participating in a sprint triathlon (thats .5 mile swim, 13 mile bike, and 3.2 mile run)
Read The Secret and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Go to an opera, ballet, musical play or art gallery
Write uplifting and encouraging letters to my missionary friends

So I'm blogging about this and telling all of you my goals for the year for three reasons. One, everyone says you have to write these things down or it's much harder to accomplish them. Two, I want to write where I am and be able to come back at the end of the year and see some progress. And three, I want you guys to call me out on it if I don't accomplish anything!

So, here's my current state of being.

I haven't even been to the temple yet this year. So not doing so well in that respect. On the other hand, it's only been a month, so things may not be as dire as they appear.
Last year I was able to take 2 family names that my grandpa gave me. This year I want to find them.
I'll have to get back to you with specific numbers, but I would like to pay off at least one credit card. Whoa, dream big!
I think I need to make time for scripture study in the morning before I go to work because right now I do it before bed and I'm way too eager to put it down and go to sleep. Much less effective. I also think Preach My Gospel is packed away in the garage (oops).
I can currently run (well, jog) a quarter mile without having to stop and walk. This is a huge improvement over last year, so I am very hopeful that I can accomplish this goal.
I've read The Secret but it bears repeating, and my parents own 7 Habits. I will yoink it.
I'm going to check out the Mesa Arts Center and see what performances they have scheduled, and the Phoenix Opera. Also ASU has stuff like that at Gammage, right?
I have a few friends that knew me when they were on their missions that can attest how horrible I am at writing. So pretty much any activity in this area is improvement. :-)

And that's all for tonight folks. Stay tuned for progress reports.

Options please!

2008-12-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm getting a little desperate. I do not have enough money to even keep up with my regular bills. I LOVE my job, but with this economy, I just don't have as many clients as I need. When I think about how much I could have been making last year at this job, it makes me want to cry. I'm totally grateful to have a job, because it's barely keeping me afloat and I know lots of people don't even have jobs at all right now. But there has to be some way to make a little bit more.

I just spent a few hours online reading reviews for work at home companies and I honestly can't seem to find one that everyone agrees is a good opportunity, even if I could afford the "membership fees". I checked out the risks of donating your eggs and that's not gonna happen. I found a plasma donation center I'm seriously considering going to, even though that was a disaster last time. At this point the only thing I can think of is picking up cheap stuff at garage sales and reselling it on eBay or Craigslist. It sounds very time consuming. Fun though. :-)

So, what I'm asking for are some options. Does anyone know of a good solid way to make some extra money? I need some hope here!

Clothes Exchange Party

2008-12-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about how I haven't had the money to buy hardly any new clothes in the recent past, and about how all my girlfriends are complaining of the same problem. Nobody has extra cash right now! So I thought it would be fun to get a bunch of us together and exchange some stuff. We all have clothes in the back of our closet we don't wear anymore right? Clothes that fit 10 pounds ago? Clothes that were a great deal but just didn't look the same when you brought them home? Well, let's get together and divvy up! And I'm not just talking about clothes here either, you can bring anything! Shoes, bags, jewelry. You know the right accessories can totally change an outfit. :-)

So, I'm thinking it'll be at my house, next Tuesday Dec 16th. Let's go for 7 pm til 10pm. Show up anytime, but first come first serve. Invite your friends, especially if you like their style! Call me or comment if you need directions or any other information, and let me know if you're coming!

Christmas List

2008-12-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

I started this list because my family wanted a specific list of things I would like. So we all wrote them out and this is mine. I figured this would be a good way for anyone to get at it from anywhere, so here it is. This is not me asking all you guys to get me gifts! :-) I just want you to have a Happy Christmas!

Crissy's Christmas List

Compact, portable, picture capable printer
Wall-mounted jewelry cabinet

I saw one at WalMart with picture frames on the front for 25 dollars

Cute laptop bag
New tires, windshield, hubcaps

Hot Stone Set

Gift Certificates

Delia's
Charlotte Russe
Forever 21
American Eagle
Urban Outfitters
Buckle
things of that nature :-)

Stop! In the Name of Pants by Louise Rennison

at Amazon.com

Quao (card game)

Quao
I saw it first in the game store at Scottsdale Fashion Square mall

Serenity

at amazon.com

scrapbooking supplies
S Factor hair products
DSLite

at amazon.com

any good books or movies
fun jewelry
Watch
Complete tool set
Silver Spoon Cookbook

at Amazon.com

An Incomplete Education

at amazon.com

card reader
secret puzzle box (I like the pirate chest one)
iPod second skin
AmazonKindle

So cool! too bad it's so expensive :-(

Headphones that live in a case so they don't get tangled up with all the stuff in my purse
Camelpack

Picture Blog for Trish

2008-11-07T00:02:00.001-07:00

All right Trish tagged me to do a picture blog so here we are! Hope you all enjoy. :-)

First, this is my Friend Becky and I at Disneyland in January of 2007. It was one of the most fun Disneyland trips I've ever been on, and that's saying something, because I've been a lot! But this is us at the Opie's hotel room, I believe, getting all set to enjoy the park. This might have even been New Year's Day. And the Mickey ears we're wearing, yeah, they light up.

These are my parents Ralph and Tammy. They and my siblings got to go up to the Mogollon Rim August 2008 and pick wild raspberries. That would be why my dad has purple fingers there. :-) We used to do this every year when I was little so I'm extremely jealous that I was in Idaho and didn't get to come. But I got some of the homemade jelly and I got to see the pictures so I'll deal. Until next year!

This is my cousin Maddie. She's doing a fumanchu moustache like I used to do when I had long hair. I think it's hilarious, but she'll probably kill me if she ever sees that I put this up. :-) hehe

This is me and my cousin Charity. She's amazing, one of those people that actually personifies her name. I miss her so much, and when my brother got married this last summer, she came up and it was joyful.

And this is my goofy brother Clark and his wife, Kate. Yet another picture taken at Disneyland, just this last summer, we were waiting in line for the Matterhorn! Clark's pretty much incapable of taking a non weird picture so this is how he looks in almost every picture I got. :-) Just kidding, there are a couple nice ones. But I thought this one was really cute, so here you go.

And now I get to tag people! Let's see, Terina, Katie, Heather, Solana, and Andrea!

Back in AZ!

2008-11-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

Oh wow I am sooo happy to be back! I got back last Wednesday. I drove down to Utah Tuesday morning and spent most of the day with my friend KeriAnn and visited a few others. I saw Holly and her husband Jeff and my friend Mark and his new wife. I visited Syrena in her BYU dorm, too. It was so fun to see them all! Then on Wednesday I drove through Vegas to Kingman and visited my great aunt and uncle Jennie and Norm Stanley. It was soooo good to see them again! I hadn't bben there in about 5 years and I really can't let it be so long again. I got home later that day and it is so good to be home! I love the weather and I missed my family so much! Halloween was cool too, I got dressed up all freaky.

And the best part was I didn't need to wear a jacket or anything! :-) Call me if you want to go have lunch or dinner or play Guitar Hero or just hang out! I miss you guys!!!

Never mind, I'm coming home!

2008-10-22T23:13:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, I just posted a blog yesterday about how I was going to try and stay here in Idaho for another couple of months and all, but today, the crisis came. I went to work for a meeting that I wasn't even told about by the management and got yelled at for an hour for things I haven't done. Then I opened up my paycheck and saw it was quite a bit less than I needed it to be. And I thought about the reasons I was going to stay until December. First, I thought it would be good to save up some money. However, at the rate my job is going, I'm not going to be able to save anything. In fact, I'll go even farther into debt. Not smart, especially when I know that I can go home to Arizona and get a job where I'm making three times as much as I am now. So, to make more money and get out of debt, going to Arizona would be much more helpful. The second reason I was staying is because I had a prepaid membership to a gym up here, but honestly, when I compare the money I'm losing to the money I would be making, that's not a valid reason. Then I had thought my lease on my apartment was up in December but I found out a few days ago that it ends this month. And lastly, I wanted to stay because I've made some fantastic friends and my sister will be up here until December, too. But Jessica can live without me, and so can my friends. :-)

So I prayed about it and went to the temple (my Institute teacher says that's the best way to confirm your impressions) and went home and started applying for Arizona jobs and put ad up to find someone to take my room. And I have to say, I am SO EXCITED!!! I cannot wait! I'm having a hard time convincing myself to stay long enough to take care of all the stuff I need to do. I made the decision like 4 hours ago and I've already applied for 4 jobs, talked to everyone in my family, and started giving away unnecessary crap. As of now, the plan is to work until Monday, go to Utah and visit a few friends there on Tuesday, and come home Wednesday. I'll be back in time for Halloween!! Arizona, here I come!

PS If you guys know of any jobs I should apply for, let me know!

6 months in Idaho

2008-10-21T16:13:00.000-06:00

Well, it's getting cold here in Idaho. It snowed two weeks ago, and I bought an ice scraper. I've been wearing such foreign things as scarves and hats, and my sister and I had a conversation about getting leg warmers! The fall has been beautiful though, what with leaves actually changing colors, not something I've ever experienced before. I have a half hour drive to and from work every day and it's nice to see things change. People are giving me advice about surviving winter, the best of which has been to get a hobby and never put your car on cruise control when driving in the snow. I've considered trying cross country skiing, since it seems less dangerous than downhill, and I'm told it's much cheaper. But in spite of it all, I'm about 92.7 % sure that I'm gonna head south for the winter.

I've been here exactly 6 months today and I can tell I'm getting really antsy already. 6 months is when I start to think about moving, literally. I'm sure there are many of you that got to help me move plenty of times that are smiling as I say that. Or groaning. But I'm going to suppress my restless feet for a little bit longer. As of now, the plan is to leave the week before Christmas, which would put my time here at a total of 8 months. And that will be something to celebrate since that will be the longest stretch of time I have stayed anywhere in the last 5 years. Wow, maybe I'm starting to settle down? Nah, probably not.

There's still a lot to do before I leave. But there's even more I want to do when I get back. I can't wait to have really fantastic Mexican food again! I can't wait to have fish tacos at Rubio's, and wings at Native New Yorker. I am excited to go to Lehi 4th Ward again, I've missed my friends. I've really missed my family!

So unless something really weird happens, I'll be back in Arizona before Christmas. Woohoo! I can't wait to see you all!

I LOVE my hair!

2008-08-06T15:38:00.000-06:00

OK, the last style was cute, but unfortunately the color faded out after a few days and I was back to the blonde. :-( And that was exactly what I didn't want. So I did something a little more dramatic this time.

Here's the before pic.
Yeah I just woke up, give me a break. :-)

And we decided to cut off as much damage as we could.

And here's the foil head! No aliens reading my thoughts!

Colored but not cut.

And the finished product!

And I love it!!!

Funny Massage Story

2008-08-05T15:45:00.000-06:00

OK, in my field, you can run into all sorts of uncomfortable situations. It didn't take me long (about 3 days) to realize that I was gonna have to learn to laugh at them. Otherwise I'd come home all outraged and upset way too often! So here's the most recent.

One of my clients last week was a guy that my coworker had already warned me about. He's about 40, a former massage therapist, and likes to get too personal. She told me that he asks every girl out and the easiest way to avoid him would be to just tell him I was married. I didn't really like that, though. Apparently this guy is a regular and I didn't want to have to lie to him repeatedly. What if I slipped up? So I decided to do what I usually do, be nice and chat about anything appropriate, and if anything inappropriate is said, be firm about stopping the massage.

Forewarned is forearmed right? I started the massage and mostly talked about massage stuff. You know, when was your last massage, are there any specific problems you would like me to work on, etc. And he was pretty good, at first. He gradually started asking me more personal questions, like what kind of music do you like and have you been to Yellowstone? Every time he made a comment that could lead to something inappropriate I either shut up or changed the subject. He seemed to be getting the idea, but towards the end of the massage he finally just came straight out and said, "Would it be weird for me to ask you out?"

And I, being the tactless person my mother always moans about, said, "Yeah that would be weird."

He seemed to be ok with my response for a few minutes, and then asked, "If I get some Mormon references, will you go out with me?"

And I realized I would have to be even more blunt, so I said, "Would you like me to enumerate all the reasons I won't go out with you?"

He was a little smart, "No, I can take a no."

"Good, I'm glad." I was a little annoyed by now. Drop it already before you make me be mean.

"Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it, though."

"Well, if you're not happy with it, then you don't have to come back."

And that's how you deal with sad, sorry little men.

New Hairstyle!!

2008-07-15T23:29:00.000-06:00

So I never realized how much time and effort it takes to keep up a drastic hair color change. I'd never been blonde so I had no concept of how often I would have to retouch the roots and how long that whole process would take. Also, bleach is really bad for your hair! Haha I know everyone told me that, but sometimes you just have to experience it, you know? My hair felt different and while damage makes it more manageable in some ways, I just got sick of it hanging there like some limp mop on my head! Unless I spent an hour fixing it, of course, and who wants to waste that much time in front of the mirror every day? :-) So I decided to start going darker. My roommate is a cosmetologist so we decided to do strawberry blonde first. I'll eventually go back to my nice dark brown, but it's been fun venturing into new realms and I'm going to take the opportunity to experiment a little more. I took a couple pics of the whole process, which is time consuming!

First we put a coppery brown in the bottom half.
And then we started on the top half, putting in a bunch of red and leaving some of the blond.
And this is right before we fixed it. It always looks darker when it's wet.

And here's our finished product! And can I say I love this new color? It's so fun, and my hair looks so much healthier. And believe me I never could have gotten this color without bleaching my head first so it's a good thing I was blonde before.

Essence of You Day Spa

2008-06-28T00:31:00.000-06:00

Hooray, I have a new wonderful job! I love this place. It is so exactly the kind of place I want someday. They do it all, hair, nails, facials, massage. Another cool thing is that it's in this old house that's been remodeled. I swear this house is probably 100 years old, and it's sitting on an acre of gorgeous gardens. And I love the spa. They have a vichy bed! I haven't used a vichy bed since I worked at the Hyatt! And shockingly enough, people tip me in Idaho Falls! Crazy, isn't it? I'd actually stopped expecting it. It was so nice to have the front desk girl actually hand me some money at the end of the day! Hooray!!! Excuse me while I do a little jig in my head. :-)

Sage Day Spa

2008-06-16T13:19:00.000-06:00

So I just got fired. And this comes as a total shock. Seriously I have never been fired before. And Kurt was so vague about it too. He said there have been scheduling conflicts, which I agree with. They are always messing up my schedule. Extending my shift or putting me on random days. It was weird and very frustrating. But we had talked about that a few weeks ago and it had definitely gotten better. Not great, but better. And I was sick last weekend. But how can they be upset with you for being sick? And he said there have been personality conflicts as well, but I can only think of one girl that has a problem. And surprise! She's the girl that was always messing with the schedule. But everyone else has been wonderful. How weird. The more I think about it, the more I think it must be because they heard I was looking for a second job. And for heaven's sake I was only doing that because they didn't have enough hours for me!

So what do I do now? I really felt like I was supposed to be here. I can try to stay up here but now I'll have to find another job. I can probably work in Idaho Falls but that is half an hour away and I would be spending a lot of money on gas, which is really expensive now. If I wanted to go home I would have to find someone to take over my lease, which was rather difficult for my roommate. Not impossible though. Rexburg is such a small college town it's so hard to find a good paying job up here. I've been looking for the last month! Grrr...

But on the bright side, I now have an interview with a day spa in Idaho Falls. It's actually Sage's biggest rival, so hah! Hopefully that'll work out.

The Plasma Center

2008-05-26T13:01:00.000-06:00

I decided to go to donate plasma last Wednesday. They give you 30 bucks and I thought it would be a good way to earn a little extra. So after 3 hours of questions and forms and sitting around I finally get back to the actual place where they stick you with a needle. This really nice guy named Seth tried first. He kept talking to me, so that was nice and distracting. But unfortunately he scratched my vein and wasn't able to get the needle actually in the vein. So he was able to get a little blood out, but apparently it wasn't flowing fast enough to do the plasmapheresis. Probably because if it wasn't actually in my vein, it was just bleeding from the damaged tissue. So he gets his supervisor, Nathan. Nathan is also nice and explains that they want to try and stick my other arm, so they can get my blood back into me. I say fine. So Nathan tries to find my vein on my right arm. He is the most experienced phlebotomist they have, but it would seem my veins are very deep and hard to find. So when they try to return my blood to me, it just starts building up in the tissue of my right arm. Ouch. So they decide to give up on me, give me 30 bucks for my trouble and tell me I can't come back for 8 weeks because I lost almost a cup of blood. So now I have some very pretty bruises on both my arms, and no high opinion of the plasma center.

Blah. At least they paid me.

Rain is wet.

2008-05-26T12:16:00.000-06:00

So I'm living in Idaho now. I guess I didn't realize how much of change this would be, but the thing that is the most difficult for me to get used to is the weather. I love Arizona, where you never hear, 'in case of rain'. The sky is so blue it almost hurts to look at, and it never gets really cold. So now here I am in Idaho. At this very moment I am in my room, listening to the rain on my window, and the frequent thunder. This is something I would have loved to do at home! I guess my enjoyment is tempered by the fact that I could have done the very same thing 5 out of the last 7 days. I just can't get over how wet it is here. Seriously, I've been here over a month, and I can think of 4 days where I stepped outside and thought it was a nice day. And bonus, on those days, everyone else was complaining about how hot it was!!! :-)

We went to a park about 10 minutes out of town to have a barbeque yesterday. About half the park was taped off because the river flooded it! It was a very cold, very long winter up here and then about a week and a half ago, it got really warm (by their standards) really fast. The entire surrounding area is in a flood advisory because there's so much snow melting! Oh and the constant rain doesn't help, I'm sure.

Here's a quote from a local news story.

At Beaver Dick Park near Rexburg the water from the Snake River is closing roads, and picnic tables are half way under the water.

The last time this area saw water levels like this was 20 or 30 years ago.

This is crazy! Someone remind me why I moved here!

Money is evil, when you don't have it.

2008-05-20T01:58:00.000-06:00

Ok, I'm just going to vent a little bit. I am so so so tired of how hard it is for me to make enough money to pay my bills! I don't spend extravagantly, I try to stick to a budget and I supposedly make really good money, but there just never seems to be enough to pay my bills, especially not on time.

I'm sick and tired of it, I hate the stress, the disappointment, the frustration, I just hate feeling this way all the time!

I believe I can change this about myself, in my life, but I don't even know how to start! If I get the jobs I love, in the nice little places where I have a flexible schedule and great coworkers, I never seem to make enough. And if I get the jobs I know pay more, like hotels, I end up hating it for the inflexibility, the corporate feel, the lack of repeat clients. There just doesn't seem to be middle ground. I also had to finally admit to myself that I am not mature or driven enough to be my own boss.

I don't know what to do, what to try next, how to fix this situation that has been broken for ten years, and its scary. Yeah, I'll just say it, it's scary. I'm terrified that I'll live my whole life like this, paying the phone bill late, deferring the student loans, overdrawing my account just to buy food. I have goals, and dreams, and I'm going to hold on to them, but I just can't see the road from here to there.

I'm sure tomorrow, or next week, my attitude will have significantly improved. It always does, since I trust in the Lord, and know He will provide. But right now, I'm just tired and disappointed and yes, even scared.

I'm doing everything I know how to do, and it doesn't seem to be making any difference.

Blah.