Putting my creative talents to some use ...

My computer decided to die on me last Saturday.  Luckily, only $15 and one power cord later, we are back online.  It could have been so much worse.

I've been spending a lot of time lately watching the cooking channel and HGTV.  In fact, they're the only channels I really watch on TV.  (They're even kind-of addicting).  I've been getting so many good ideas that I just can't stop rearranging furniture or artwork or trying new food dishes.  Creativity both in cooking and decorating is a real passion of mine.  Recently I rearranged the TV room by moving the loveseat to the wall directly across from where it was sitting.  It wasn't so much that I thought it looked better there, but it was more functional for me and my optimal television viewing distance.  Plus it hides the drum-set from Rock Band that didn't have anywhere else to go.  Moving the loveseat opened up a space and so I decided to put a medium-height dresser there to help with the lack of storage space in the apartment.  This particular dresser belongs to the apartment, but when I got it in place I simply couldn't bear to look at it.  It was such and awful slate-blue color and it was dull and chipped in places, so I asked my landlord's permission to paint it.  They said it was fine as long as I didn't paint it a strange color, so I painted it a dark royal semi-glossy blue and I must say, I am quite pleased with the results.

Before: (with the drawers already removed)

When all was said and done:

Good old fashioned Southern barbecue

Very soon after moving to Georgia from Utah, I was invited to a gathering where I was told there would be "barbecue" for dinner.  Like anyone who comes from the northern side of the Mason-Dixon line, I assumed there would be hot dogs and hamburgers or something of that nature, and I was sure it was going to be barbecued on the grill.  I could not have been more wrong.  In the South, pulled pork on a bun and slathered with your favorite barbecue sauce (a.k.a. "barbecue") is not only a classic dish, but a staple.  My husband has had barbecue on the brain for several weeks now and after watching "Throwdown With Bobby Flay" where Flay was scorched by a lady barbecue champion, we were decided.  Barbecue would be on the menu!  We decided to make it in the crock-pot, as we don't have a smoker and it seemed to be the best way, and so we bought a 10 lb. bone-in Boston Butt (Pork Shoulder) and last Friday night at about 11pm I put a spice rub on it and set it in the crock-pot (fat side up) all by it's lonesome self.  It cooked all night and I think I woke up about 6:45 and the whole house smelled like meat.  I couldn't get back to sleep after that.  When I took it out of the crock pot it just fell apart.  It was so tender and juicy (and fatty).  It didn't take very long to pull it!  At around 11:30 my brother and his family came over for lunch.  Man did we have a lot of pork!  Ben likes a mustard-based (South Carolina) barbecue sauce, but I like the traditional tomato-based barbecue sauce, so we had some of each.  I had made some coleslaw the night before, and traditionally you put the coleslaw right on top of the pork and sauce.  I like it with the coleslaw on the sandwich, Ben does not.  (Go figure.)  I wish I had taken a picture of the sandwich once I got it made.  It was beautiful!  And it tasted even better.  Everyone ate well, with 10 lbs. of meat, and we still had half of it left.

We had a fabulous time chatting with each other and after lunch, I decided to make some cookies.  Of course my neice and nephew wanted to help, so here we are making some cookies which turned out AWESOME!

So the verdict is, we need to make pulled pork more often.  In fact, I was watching a cooking show online and the gal said that pork shoulder is actually a really good bargain--it's only about $1 per lb.  Considering how far that goes ...  So, here's to pulled pork and some good ol' fashioned Southern barbecue!

Sewing Projects

For our wedding, my mother-in-law bought us a sewing machine. I like to joke with Ben about how his parents like me better than they like him. For the record, he agrees with me. Case in point--sewing machine. Ben, I'm sure, will never use the sewing maching, so essentially, OUR wedding present was for me. I was so excited to get a sewing machine, as I've always wanted to have one for my home. It is a Singer Confidence, but since I don't have anywhere to put it, it sits on the broken chair at the foot of our kitchen table when I am not using it.

(I love Kisya in the corner of this picture--she cracks me up because
she is always right in the middle of whatever I am doing!)

The first thing I did when I got the sewing machine was to try to figure out how to use it. There were some quick-start directions and then there was the whole manual. Well, I don't have the patience for the full manual, so I read the quick-start manual and wound a bobbin with black thread. I should probably say that I did have an idea of the basics of sewing because my mom had a sewing machine, and, after all, even if they don't teach Home and Careers in schools any more, back in the 90s, they still did. I always begged my mom to teach me more interesting and complicated aspects of sewing but she would never let us touch her sewing machine because she didn't want us to break it. Understandable, but I always give her flack about it whenenver the topic moves to sewing machines. And then I like to remind her that when it comes to stories about breaking sewing machines, she takes the cake. But, that is a story for another day. So, I had an idea of what I was doing, but I didn't really have anything to practice on except for an old tablecloth so I sewed about 4 inches of a straight line on the tablecloth, called it good, and decided to hem some slacks. Well, it didn't go too badly. On the first pantleg, I ended up only about half and inch lower than where I started when I got all the way around. Who's going to be looking at my ankles anyway? And even if you were looking, unless you knew there was a flaw on the inside of the cuff, you wouldn't notice it. I did much better on the second pantleg, ending up only a milimeter or so below the start.

For my next sewing project, I decided to make my cat a bed. I got really ambitious on this project though because I decided to cut the letters of her name out of that old tablecloth and sew them on to the fleece top of the bed. Well suffice it to say, I haven't figured out how to do that very well. The lines around the letters are ... uhm ... pretty crooked, but you can't really tell unless you examine it and Kisya doesn't really care. I made the outside like a pillowcase and then I put two layers of batting inside. I still have yet to sew it closed. I was going to put some cellophane inside the bed so that it would make a cool sound. I thought she would like that but when I got it all together and stuffed the cellophane inside she didn't like it after all. So out came the cellophane. Kisya had been sleeping underneath the kitchen table. (I know this because of my midnight trips to the bathroom.) So I figured that was as good a place as any for this little bed. The second I put it under there she was all over it. She LOVES it, and that makes me feel good. The cool thing too is that even when we have to move the bed (like when we have guests over and we want to eat at the table), she still seeks it out and lays on it. :-) Maybe one day I'll decide how I want to sew it closed. It's not like it's falling apart because it's just 4 layers of thin batting, and I want to be able to wash it ... Well, while I'm deciding, here's some pictures.

Aching Feet

My feet hurt so bad every day when I come home from work now.  It would probably help me to exercise, but I haven't quite figured out how to come up with the motivation to exercise when my feet hurt.  Maybe I need to find an exercise where I actually don't need to use my feet.  Good luck with that one.

The reason why my feet are hurting is that subbing is really picking up.   One school in particular has been calling me in nearly every day.  Actually they admitted that they were spying on me yesterday and that I was doing a good job so they know they can call me back.  That made me feel good that I get a good report.  I don't know what the prospects are for getting a job this year, or even next year.  The economy has slowed so much that people aren't moving in.  In fact, enrollment is down at nearly every school.  The county is probably going to have to move some teachers around once the final counts are in sometime in the next couple of weeks.  I guess there could always be a miracle ... (Let's pray for a miracle.)  I do enjoy subbing, although I enjoy teaching a lot more.  When you're subbing your paycheck is a lot smaller, first of all, but secondly, a lot of times the kids are doing independent work such as a worksheet or answering questions from their textbook.  This is great if I want to catch up on my reading, but I don't get to exercise my true passion, which is teaching.  I'm going to start doing another job too, just some contract work; teaching small science lessons at a couple of preschools.  It'll be fun to actually teach some science and also bring in a little more income.

Well, I guess I'd better get back to doing something productive ... No rest for the weary!

It's September!

I'm so excited that it is getting closer to fall. Monday was Labor Day, of course, and Ben and I went to our stake's Family Day at the Atlanta Temple. He had to be there way early, and I got to sleep in--ha ha! We were done there at about 12:30 and so we headed up to Alpharetta, where Ben's sister Brandee and her husband Eric live. Ben's parents came too and so we had a fun time playing with the kids and eating some good barbecue.

My adorable husband making an oh-so-endearing face.

Ian & Ella, reading a book

Claire-Bear (She makes some pretty amusing faces)

All three of Brandee and Eric's kids

Brandee, Ella & Eric playing Acquire

The happy couple :-) (We are so nerdy)

A morning off

I have this morning off! I've been working a lot this week. Monday and Tuesday I subbed, then I went over to Legacy and worked another 2 hours. On my feet for nearly 10 hours ... it makes for a long day. My feet still hurt this morning.

Speaking of subbing, it seems to be picking up. I'm booked every day this week, and a couple of days next week. This afternoon I'm going to a school I've never been to yet. Actually Ben went to middle school there so I'm excited to check out his old stomping grounds.

I don't know if I blogged about this, but the second week in my new ward, I got called to be the Ward Choir Director. I was kinda nervous about it, and not really sure whether I would enjoy it, but I have actually REALLY been enjoying it. It also helps having Ben there supporting me at every choir rehearsal. He sings so well--I love having a husband that can sing. The choir performed for the first time this last Sunday. We sang "High On The Mountaintop". I thought it sounded great, and so many people said the same thing. We really need to recruit new members though or it's going to fizzle out. We have one family which is in the process of moving and they initially constituted about 6 or 7 members of the choir. Now the men are all gone and that was 4 or 5 of them so ... we need some more men in the choir!

Ben received a calling this last Sunday. It was exactly what he was hoping not to do ;-) He got called to be the Teacher's Quorum advisor in Young Men's. I knew he'd be great at it but he is so funny. He just didn't want to be in Young Men's. Well, he will LOVE it, I know he will. And he is such an amazing man and he will be a great example to those young men. They don't know what they have there yet, I'm sure ... (Did I mention I love my husband??)

Still waiting on wedding pictures. The photographer emailed me and said he was going to try to get those out this week, so ... Here's to hoping!

Cookie dough and an anniversary

Of all the things I've every tried to feed my cat, I've noticed she usually will go for something sweet or something cheesy. Better yet, she loves straight cheese. She usually recognizes when I'm cutting up that yellow block of deliciousness too, because she comes at me with the loudest meows she can muster. Usually, for just a few seconds, I will dangle a piece of cheese just inches away from her little nose as she dances on two legs trying to get it. I get so much amusement out of that cat, it's ridiculous. Today for lunch I was shredding up some leftover pork loin that I made on Sunday so that I could add barbecue sauce and, voila! I would have some different to eat. So I tried to give her some of the fatty end of the meat that I cut off, but after licking it a few times, she left it in her food dish and then when I got home from work I found it in the middle of the floor. Tonight, however, I decided to make chocolate-chip cookies and when she noticed I was cooking, she said, "meow meow!" and so I thought I would give her some cookie dough since she seemed to want it so badly. Turns out, she likes cookie dough just about as much as I do. When I took "Comparative Animal Nutrition" at BYU, they taught us that generally, cats don't like sweet things, while dogs have terrible sweet teeth/tooths (uhm...yeah). Well, I guess they broke the mold when they made my cat. She is one of the oddest cats I've ever known. I think one of the most interesting things I've ever fed her is cheese and crackers. By that I mean wheat thins with cream cheese, which is, by the way, a delectable snack which I don't indulge in much any more ... But at any rate, I would break her off a small piece of cracker and scoop up some cream cheese with it. She would gobble that up faster than anything.

Moving on from my cat ...

Yesterday was our 1-month wedding anniversary! When I got home from work Ben was practically bouncing on his heels so I knew there was probably flowers or something in the bedroom. But, I dilly-dallied for as long as I could just so he would keep hovering around me. It was really cute :-) Finally he said, "aren't you going to go change before dinner?" Why yes, I said, and so I went into the bedroom and there was a dozen beautiful roses on the bed and also a spice rack. I've been wanting a spice rack so badly! Incidentally, so has Ben. My husband is very thoughtful ... The flowers are SOOO beautiful. Although the first picture looks a little pink, they are really red and yellow.

We decided to go to Ted's Montana Grill for dinner. If you haven't ever been there, you ought to look and see if they have one near you. Of course, we live near Atlanta which is the heart of "Ted Turnerland" so there are a few of these restaurants around us. They serve Bison, which is healthier than beef, and everything they use is either reusable or biodegradeable or recyclable. Yes, they even use paper straws. AND, the soap in the bathroom is in powder form and it's biodegradeable. I'm talking hard-core. It's great though. We've been three times and I haven't yet been able to get anything but a bison-burger there. I just can't get away from them--they're soooooo tasty! I wish I had taken a picture of the burger but it was just so good that I forgot all about the fact that I had my camera when they put it in front of me. Ben had a bison steak which was pretty good too, but I still wouldn't have traded my burger in for it. We had the brownie a-la-mode for dessert and when the waitress brought it, I asked her to take a picture of us. (I finally had remembered I had my camera). A minute later she was back with another digital camera and asked if she could take our picture and she would print it out and give it us in a special "Ted's" frame. We agreed and she came back very shortly with a little folded card thingy with our picture slipped into the frame on the inside. When we got home though, I cut it apart and taped it back together the way I wanted it so I could put it on our bulletin/memory board. My plan is to print out pictures occasionally when we do fun things and put them on the bulletin-board, collage-style. So far, the card from Ted's and my mission nametag are the only things on there. Oh well, here's the picture:


Overall it was a very nice evening. I feel very blessed to be married to such a wonderful and thoughtful man. Here's to one month and many more to come! Cheers!

Waiting on ...

I'm not really sure what we're waiting on here. So far there haven't been any teaching jobs open up. I guess that means that I'll substitute teach again this year. I keep thinking that maybe I should try getting another job. But I really hate to do that because I really want to be a teacher. Should I settle just to boost our income? I don't know the answer to that. In the meantime though I am very lucky to have such a supportive husband.

We started building up our food storage this week. I used some of the money we got from our wedding and went to Aldi's and Sam's Club to get a few items. I'm pretty sure now that we are close to having our 3 month supply, although I don't know how "comfortable" all these foods are. I love fresh foods so much that it would be hard for me to subsist on canned and bottled foods. I KNOW we don't have a 3 month supply of water though. I don't know where we would store it either. Well, one thing at a time.

It's been hard not working. I am feeling very lazy. I always find stuff to do, but sometimes I sleep in very late. This morning I actually got up about 7:45. I was very proud of myself. Have I gotten anything done you ask? Well, this and that. Hey, I'm blogging! Be grateful! This afternoon I plan to take my resume and cover letter to some schools in the area to let them know I want to be on their sub list. Which reminds me ... I need to get a hold of the county and change my name on their records. They are so impossible to get a hold of!

I went to JC Penney's yesterday and bought a lot of clothes. Well, to me it was a lot because I never buy that much in one visit. I was desperately in need of some professional-looking clothing though for subbing or teaching or whatever I'm going to be doing. I was so impressed with the selection of clothes they had at JC Penney's, especially for bigger people like I am. The clothes were not frumpy looking, instead they looked very nice and flattering on me! And the best part, is that I got them all on sale. I am SO proud of the fact that I got 2 pairs of dress pants, and 6 dressy shirts all for $100. Everything I bought was on sale, and half of it was on the 70% off clearance rack. I got one hoodie sweater for $2.38! That's right, I'm a bargain shopper. I guess this is the time for sales because it's back to school!

Well, I guess I'd better find something productive to do so I feel good about myself later. Or maybe I'll just sink into a good book for a while ...

Marriage is Wonderful

To any women out there who are holding out for the best man in the world ... it's too late. I've got him! I can't even begin to describe how much I love my husband and how grateful I am that I married him! I love him more and more every day. It just feels so normal to be married and to wake up next to Ben every day--it seems like I've been doing it since I can remember. I love it!

Well, enough gushy stuff.

The wedding was wonderful. I'm pretty sure I was floating on a cloud all day long. Ben stayed with his parents in Rochester the night before we got married so he came separately to the temple. He had been sick for the two weeks previous and started new medication the night before. He arrived at the temple looking a little green. We got to wait in the celestial room for a little while which was really nice. Everything was really peaceful. Ben was able to collect himself and by the time they took us to the sealing room he was smiling and holding himself up pretty well. All of Ben's brothers and sisters were able to come to Palmyra which was absolutely fantastic. For a while we didn't think they would all make it, but in the end, they made the trip and I think they were all glad they did. What a blessing it must have been for Ben's parents to see all their children in the temple on the same day. The sealer gave us some wise words and had us look in the mirrors which are hung on the opposite walls in the sealing room. He pointed out that we probably couldn't see ourselves very well, but that we could see many multiples of our chosen companion. As long as we always focused on seeing our companion and serving them, we would be much happier in marriage. After we were sealed I went and put my wedding dress on and we went out of the temple to take pictures. It was so hot and sunny that I think we were squinting in most of the pictures! Poor Ben didn't do too well out in the heat and so by the time we got to the reception he was feeling a little nauseous. We had a very nice reception across the street in the Palmyra Stake Center and left there about 3:30. As we were leaving, my brother Jacob and my cousin Carter pelted us with marshmallows from their marshmallow guns. I had also forgotten to lock my car so they had filled it with balloons, paper cups, plastic utensils, and tulle.

The first part of our honeymoon we stayed in Belhurst Castle which is on Seneca Lake in Geneva. Seneca Lake is one of the famous chain of Finger Lakes in upstate New York. We stayed in the Turret Room, which was in the attached Vinifera Inn portion of the castle. The room was beautiful and had a nice view of the lake. Both Saturday night and Sunday night there were wedding receptions going on so they were playing music until midnight in the ballroom which was right below us. Ben was really tired so we didn't venture out until Monday when we went over to Skaneateles. I always have to visit Skaneateles whenever I go home to New York. And, if possible, I eat lunch at The Sherwood. We went on a boat tour of the lake which was so relaxing with all the windows down in the boat and the wind blowing across our faces ... After the boat tour we ate a late lunch at the Sherwood and headed back to Belhurst.

We left Belhurst on Tuesday morning and after stopping at my parents house in Smithville Flats, drove a total of 13 hours to Kill Devil Hills, NC, which is part of the Outer Banks. We spent the second half of our honeymoon there, and went parasailing, regular sailing, minigolfing, ate some good food, and even attempted swimming at the beach but instead got beat up by the Atlantic Ocean. We decided the beach isn't all it's cracked up to be but we still had a lot of fun. We also did a lot of resting because Ben still wasn't feeling up to par. The hotel was a major step down from the Belhurst, but it had a free continental breakfast with Belgian waffles, and it was right on the beach.

We left there Friday morning and drove 11 hours (I drove most of it) back to Grayson where we have been settling in. We opened all our presents from New York and then I finally got those put away before we had our second reception and got more great stuff. I have so many toys to play with now it's so much fun! We got several pieces of crystal which I'm not quite sure what to do with yet because I don't have a good place for them in my small kitchen. This kitchen didn't seem that small until I tried to put a lot of stuff in it and then ... well, you can understand. We've had to rearrange things once already and I think we're going to have to rearrange again! We're not sure yet where we're going to put our food storage or how we're going to do all of that but, we'll figure it out. I don't have a job right now so I'm playing homemaker which is really quite a busy job, even without kids! Suddenly the laundry is multiplying twice as fast as it used to and there's a neverending sinkful of dishes! Speaking of which ... I'd probably better get back to work. But, it's nice to be able to blog again and I'll be back soon--promise!

Happy 4th of July!

I've been spending a lot of time alone lately, as Ben is pretty much too sick and weak to keep me company. He actually got sick about a week and a half ago, and had just been getting worse and worse. Of course, it seems like anytime you have a stomach bug it couldn't get much worse ... So, I'll go over to say hi to him at night and I read scriptures to him and then we pray, but other than that, we haven't really been able to hang out much! It's kinda boring, I admit, but I'm doing okay. I just hope that he'll be well enough to leave for NY in just a few short days ... He says he doesn't care if he has to carry around a bucket in the temple. He's not going to wait any longer to marry me! If there's one thing I've learned about this whole wedding thing, it's that nothing really matters except being there in the temple on that day. All the rest, it's for pomp and circumstance. So whatever happens, I am excited to be sealed to my companion and best friend in 8 days.

Having had so much time to myself, I've done a pretty good job of getting everything in our apartment in order. I have unpacked nearly all the boxes, and found a place for most of my things. It is SOOOO nice to have my own place and be able to arrange it however I want, do laundry whenver I want, have the bathroom all to myself, and know that any dishes in the sink are mine (or Ben's) and I am responsible for them. I have really enjoyed this whole homemaking business.

Kisya is adjusting pretty well. There isn't as much space for her to run around and there isn't as much sunlight, but she seems to be doing okay. I set up her cat tree so she gets a little bit of exercise climbing up that occasionally. I put it right next to a window so she could climp up and look out. I'm trying to leave more of the blinds and curtains open so there's light in here. I came home 2 days ago and it was so dark in here but it was only 7pm. I thought, "poor Kisya! She hasn't had any sunlight all day!" I figured it might get depressing for her if I kept leaving all the blinds shut. Not to mention, I like windows too and I get depressed when there's no sunlight.

Ben and I are supposed to be leaving on Tuesday evening. We'll see how that goes. I have a feeling we may just leave on Wednesday morning to give everyone an opportunity to have a little bit more sleep. I think if he's still not 100% I may have to do most of the driving, and it's a LOT of driving.

I can't believe how fast this has all gone. I AM excited to get married. I'm so grateful for this last week which has been a blessing in more ways than one. For starters, I've realized just how much I love my future husband. It's hard to imagine loving him more than I do now, but I know, as they say ... this is only the beginning.

Last Minute Details

Well, I say last minute, but there's still 12 days, 12 hours and some odd minutes until we get married. Honestly, I suppose having a timer that counts down to the millisecond is a little cheesy, but ... oh well. It'll be here before we know it!

Interestingly, I'm only working half of the next 12 days until my wedding. Four days this week, two days next week. We leave on the evening of Tuesday the 8th. We're going to drive straight through, but it'll be more like he'll drive while I sleep, I'll sleep while he drives ... ha ha ha. All right, I might let him sleep while I drive. I can't believe how close it is until we get married!

I moved into our apartment this weekend. I got my kitchen unpacked this morning. I must say, it is really nice to have my own place. Any mess I make is my own, no one is going to eat my food except for Ben, and that's okay in a marriage ... you know, stuff like that? Not to mention I get a queen-sized bed all to myself for the next 9 days. Ha ha ha ha.

I ordered my veil on Ebay and I'm not really very happy with it. I think I'm going to try to modify it or else I won't wear a veil at all. It wouldn't be the end of the world I guess to not have a veil. It's weird how I had some ideas of how I wanted things to go for my wedding, but when it comes right down to it, if it's too much of a hassle I'm just like, you know what, forget it. It's not worth the trouble! The most important thing is Ben and myself and our families together at the temple on July 12th ...

Getting closer ...

I surely don't spend enough time blogging and updating everyone. Things have been going smoothly for the last couple of weeks. I guess the biggest news is that I have my ring! It is so beautiful and I am so happy to have something more comfortable to wear. That may sound like a strange adjective, "comfortable", but anyone who has worn a ring from Wal-Mart or some similar cheap costime jewelry knows that once the plastic wears out a little bit it starts to get rough! We got our wedding rings too. We ordered them online and they came today. They are just plain bands but it's one step closer to the big day and so it's exciting to have the wedding rings! After a little snag with ordering the announcements they are on the way. We've been attaching labels to envelopes tonight and finalizing address lists. I didn't realize, however, when I went to the post office today that you can't buy more than 6 books of stamps with one credit card in the same day. Well, I only use one credit card right now so I'll have to go back tomorrow and get 6 more books of stamps. I just don't want to have to wait in line even if it means getting them all at once.

In related news, I'm moving into our new apartment in a week and a half. THAT will be so crazy! We're going to try to move some of my stuff in this week and next week and the final big move will be on June 28th. We leave for NY on the 8th or 9th of July. We weren't going to leave until the 9th but we're thinking we might leave on the evening of the 8th.

Anyway, we're just really excited and looking forward to seeing everyone that can come to NY! If you can't come to NY, hopefully you can make it to the reception in GA.

Wedding madness!

Needless to say, I have been very busy planning a wedding lately! I'm sorry I haven't taken the time to update ya'll on what's been going on!

First of all, I bought my wedding dress! I got way lucky with this one. There is one shop in the area which specializes in modest wedding and prom gowns so of course I went there first to see what my options were. I knew most of the dresses wouldn't be in my size but there was one in my size. When I tried it on it fit like a glove and looked gorgeous so I bought it. The lady in the shop made me try on 3 other dresses, just for good measure but I knew once I tried mine on that it was the ONE.

I decided instead of having real flowers that I would buy silk ones and make my bouquet and Ben's boutonniere. My mother was horrified that I would not be having real flowers but I figure that I have two receptions and I can have the same bouquet at both! Not to mention, I'm trying to save money on things I don't care as much about. I made the bouquet myself and I personally think it looks really nice.

We've found a place to live. There is a couple on our stake who rent out their basement, and we went and checked it out. We had to make a kind-of hurried decision because the next day someone else looked at the apartment and really liked it. We had only looked at one other place but, the basement apartment has everything that we need and it inexpensive so we went for it. I'll be moving in around the last weekend in June and trying to get the place set up and organized before we leave for NY on July 9th.

We've also finished making our invitation and are now trying to figure out where and how exactly to print it. I was all set to order it last night but Ben started reading about colors and he was afraid it wouldn't print with the same colors and so I gave up. I guess I'll try going somewhere today and seeing if I can get a proof.

I've also run into a snag with respect to a wedding photographer. We're getting married in Palmyra of course, and my photographer of choice is not available for that day. I've been looking around on the web, but I want someone who is familiar with temples and LDS weddings and I don't know where to find anyone! If you have any resources, please help!

You know, they say that the mission is an emotional rollercoaster. I think the mission is nothing compared to planning a wedding. I think I'm pretty easy to please but it seems like while some things come really easily, sometimes we just run into snags and my emotions are so close to the surface lately that I'll just erupt into tears at the slightest provocation. Poor Ben is so good though. He knows exactly how to handle it when I go crazy. I don't think he really realizes how much I appreciate his calm strength. I am seriously so lucky to have found someone so amazing and so perfect for me.

You asked for it, here it is! The Ben questionnaire extraordinaire!

I rather suspect Ben might have some addendums. If he does he'll have to leave them in the comments section ...

How did you meet Ben?
We met sometime over Christmas break 2006-2007. He was home from BYU for the holidays and we went bowling with our mutual friends. I thought he was really cool and wished he lived closer. Turns out, he thought that same thing.

Where did you go on your first date?
Well, what I would consider to be our first date was dinner at Ted’s to celebrate me getting a long-term subbing job. Apparently at the time he wasn’t thinking of it as a date, but I knew he liked me so I considered it a date since it was just the two of us and he planned and paid for it and it, although though I had no intention of dating him at the time. Our first official date after we hooked up was to Shakespeare’s theater where we ate some scrumptious food and watched A Midsummernight’s Dream.

How long have you been together?
Well, officially, 1 month and 1 day. (I know, I know …)

Who eats more?
Depends on what we’re having. A lot of times we eat about the same amount, but sometimes Ben eats more.

Who said I love you first?
Well, I knew he wanted to, so I said it first to break the ice and he started gushing soon after ;-)

Who is taller?
Uh—definitely Ben. He’s 6’2”.

Who is older?
That would be me! I’m 27 and Ben is one month shy of 24.

Who sings better?
You really have to be more specific; who sings “what” better. We are both very good singers (if I do say so myself). But if I had to answer one of us, I would say I sing better. Ben sings louder …

Who is smarter?
We are both so uber smart it’s sickening. He has an amazing memory but he loves it when I go on and on about nerdy scientific stuff.

Who does the dishes?
We do them together, always.

Who cooks dinner?
Well I have a slightly larger repertoire and I really enjoy cooking. He will always help me in the kitchen though. He is an eager assistant. He also has a few things that he cooks very well. It stresses me out when he fries the garlic before the onions though … Yesterday I was so tired that he made dinner all by himself and MY it was tasty!

Who drives when you are together?
Ben, always. He loves to drive and I hate it. Perfect combination. He always opens the car door for me too. I love it!

Who is more stubborn?
Hmmm…I think I pretend to be. We’re actually both pretty flexible. If he’s not being flexible I call him on it. If I really want something though I can use my feminine wiles to get it.

Who is the first to admit when they’re wrong?
What? Are you saying I’m sometimes wrong?

Whose parents do you see the most?
Right now, we see Ben’s parents the most as he lives with them and my parents live in NY.

Who kissed who first?
Ben kissed me. He claims he could tell I was dying to kiss him. Whatever. Anyway, I taught him how to be a good kisser and, oh baby!

Who proposed?
Well technically Ben brought up the subject of marriage first but I decided first that I wanted to marry him. It took him a full week beyond me to decide. I kept playfully trying to hurry him up so I did ask him to marry me first, but he wouldn’t commit. Ha!

Who is more sensitive?
Definitely Ben, but we’re both sensitive to others’ needs.

Who has more friends?
Not sure really. Probably about equal.

Who has more siblings?
Ben is the youngest of eight. I am the second of five.

Who wears the pants?
That would most definitely be me.

Palmyra it is!

Well initially we were thinking we would get married in Atlanta but some things came up and we started to rethink where we wanted to get married and began seriously considering other options, including Palmyra and Washington, D.C. The more I thought about Palmyra, the more I could see it happening there and the more excited I became! So we made the decision to get married there and I called the temple this morning and made the appointment! The seating is limited and Ben has a big family so we're sending out individual invitations to the sealing. It was so crazy after I called, it was like--wow, this is really real! I'm really getting married! So we're planning on getting married in the morning of July 12th and we'll be having the reception the night before, Friday the 11th at the church. We didn't want to drag everybody all over the place on Saturday and have to have everything ready while attending a sealing at the same time. Not to mention, we can leave on our honeymoon right after the wedding luncheon, and all our guests from out-of-town can tour Palmyra. Hooray! Also, we'll be taking engagement pictures this week so as soon as I get those, I'll be posting them here. Things are crazy but they are coming together ...

Engaged ...

Well, I'm engaged! Only it's not April 1st and I'm not kidding this time! Ben and I have decided to get married. Just a note for those thinking about getting married--buy the ring a month in advance since that's about how long it takes to order these things nowadays. We ordered the ring from the jeweler today and found out that it will take 3-4 weeks to get here. So, we went to Wal-Mart to get a cheap costume ring and then we went to the park and as we were walking across a bridge he dropped on one knee and proposed then put the interim ring on my finger. It was cute. I can't wait to get my real ring as it is BEAUTIFUL. I can't even begin to describe how frustrating it was at the jewelers this morning when we found out that it would take 3-4 weeks to get the ring. They could custom make a similar one in 2 weeks, but without the bezel-set diamonds that I love. So we decided to go ahead and get the ring I really wanted.

The diamond we got to go in the ring is beautiful too. The jeweler brought out several different diamonds, all of which were either too low-quality or too expensive. We were getting frustrated again when another of the gals that works there said, hey we just got this 1 carat colorless SI2 in yesterday. When the salesman unwrapped it we both just gasped and went WOW. It was in our price range too so we said, "done deal" and got it all set up. I'm so excited! I know it's going to be three weeks before I get it but I'm okay with that. So, we're planning on getting married on July 12th. We're not sure exactly where we'll get married yet, but we'll let everyone know as soon as we know!

Tootsie Rolls

I couldn't think of a title for this post so I looked up at my bookshelf and saw the package of tootsie rolls left over from my trip to Washington DC. We stopped the second day we were there to get some more ice for the cooler and I saw a small bag of tootsie rolls that for some insane reason I was really craving right at that moment. So I bought it and immediately devoured half of the tootsie rolls in there and I finished the rest for breakfast. I'm not even sure how you classify tootsie rolls. What kind of candy are they anyway? You can't describe them! I just may have to do some research on this. (Note: upon further research I discovered that Modern Marvels describes them as "not quite caramels, not quite fudge, but something like both". Makes sense to me!) I think one of the reasons that I like tootsie rolls is almost completely sentimental. My Grandmother Brown used to take me to a candy shop when I was a little girl and she would buy me a couple of these little brown candy bears which, incidentally, tasted a lot like tootsie rolls. So every time I bite into a tootsie roll, I remember walking out of that sweet shop with my grandmother many many moons ago.

In other news, things with Ben are going really well. We have both fallen very deeply for one another, despite the fact that it has only been a month. I am SOOOOO glad I finally decided to give him a try.

We had a really fun time last Saturday. We went and saw ironman in the afternoon and then we went over to Stone Mountain at around 7 and started hiking around the mountain. Well, I did not realize that when Ben said we were going to "walk" around the mountain, that we were really going to HIKE around the mountain. So here I am thinking 5 miles, 2 hours, no problem. Well, we got about 1/2 of the way and it was already 9 o'clock and dark. We made it to the laser show around 9:30, watched that until 10, and then took the road instead of the trail back to the car. It was really fun but we were tired by the end of that. Sunday was a good time too. We are just loving all this time we get to spend together. There never seems to be enough time to be together!

I'm also working, hooray! My long-term for subbing was up on May 6th, and the very next day I started a new job working with my roommate as her assistant director up at Legacy Academy which is a preschool/daycare. It's been pretty fun so far. It's not full-time, but I've been enjoying it nonetheless. Some days are full-time, others are not. It just depends on how many teachers are out, etc. Anyway, I can't complain. Life is very, very, very good!

Ben and I at Stone Mountain

Life is Good

I know it has been FOREVER since I've posted anything. Believe me, I know! I honestly haven't had two seconds to sit down and think about it until now. The reason why I've been so busy is that I started dating someone 2 1/2 weeks ago. It was really funny how it all worked out. Ben has liked me for about 3 months now but I kept pushing him away because I was so devoted to Joe and I didn't want to ditch Joe on his mission. But after Ben and I got back from DC I didn't see him for a week, I really missed him. It was the first time I had gone several days without seeing him. I realized then what that must mean and the Spirit softened my heart. I began responding to his advances and I must say, the last 2 1/2 weeks have been some of the most amazing in my life. I am very happy to be with Ben. He is an amazing man and he is head over heels for me. I am becoming head over heels for him too. Life is Good ...

Trip to Washington

This past weekend I had the marvelous opportunity to go to Washington DC. My family came from NY and I went with my friend Ben (the mullet guy). I came up with the idea of packing a cooler, figuring we could save some money on food that way. By the time I was done buying lunch materials and snacky foods though, I had spent $60 on two people for 4 days. Hmmmm.... well, at least we would eat more healthy-like. So we packed up and headed out on Wednesday afternoon at about 4:30. Our plan was to stop in Durham at a campground for Wednesday night, spend some time visiting some sites around Durham on Thursday and then drive up to Washington DC Thursday evening. But when we got to the entrance of the campground on Wednesday night at about 11pm, the gates were closed and locked! Apparently they lock them at 8pm. Well, that thought had never even occurred to me and having no other feasible option, we made the rest of the drive to DC that night. We arrived at the campground there around 3:45am. I knew from the website that this campground had 24-hour self check-in, and you leave your payment in a drop-box. We found a campsite, and then began to set up the tents in the dark. We got the first tent set up with no problem but the second tent had the wrong sized poles or something because it looked a bit droopy.
Oh well, what do you do? So we each crawled into our own tents; I got the nice dome tent and Ben took the partially collapsed one, and I finally got to sleep around 4:30.

The next day we slept in until about 9:30 and then got ready and went to the nearest Metro Station where we took the Metro into downtown Washington DC.
We started at the Washington Monument, then headed over to the Lincoln.
In between them you will find the relatively new World War II Memorial, which has a beautiful fountain and granite panels representing each of the war ships used by the United States during the war. We then headed up to the Lincoln Monument which was about 20 degrees cooler than the rest of the mall.






We rested there for a while and then walked forever and a day down to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. My feet were aching at this point so we decided to watch a movie in the planetarium about space collisions. It was pretty cool to watch, especially after having just studied astronomy with my students. Ben really wanted to eat dinner somewhere in the city, so we picked a stop on the Metro with some hotels nearby figuring that they might have restaurants there. We saw restaurant called Bravo Bravo and the menu posted outside looked pretty good so we decided to go in. You had to descend some stairs to get to this basement bar, but once we got down there and looked around, we decided it was probably a pretty laid-back place to hang out. Instead of normal tables and chairs, there were couches and tables which were slightly lower so you could lounge while eating. We were much disappointed however, when the host came striding up and informed us that they do not serve dinner. They were only serving drinks and there were free ourderves (sp?). Well, we were not so much interested in free appetizers which didn't really look that appetizing at all, so we left and found an Indian restaurant where we ate instead. Ben had never had Indian food so I was happy that he was willing to try it and that he liked it! Personally I consider Indian food one of my all-time favorites. I need to learn how to cook it I think ...


Friday we had intended to go to Mount Vernon but we got a slow start due to some logistical problems and so by the time we got there, the parking was all full. No, not a spot! We drove down the road about a mile and a quarter and there was a little park there along the banks of the Potomac. There was actually a trail that dumped you right into the parking lot at Mount Vernon. We had seen it when we were looking for a spot there. So I had this genius idea to walk the mile and a quarter back to Mount Vernon. Well, it was a nice walk but having walked to much the day before, I was getting pretty tired of walking. We only had a couple of hours at Mount Vernon, but we got the see the house and the tombs and we watched a cool video in the museum. It was a pretty neat interactive theater where the seats vibrated when the cannons were going off and they actually blow snow at you during one part of the movie. After we left Mount Vernon we drove to Fairfax where we met one of my mission companions for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was yummy! We then drove on to Manassas where we were staying with my parents at the Residence Inn. It was so good to see my family! I miss them.



Saturday the weather was a little gloomy, but we drove down the street to Manassas Battlefield, site of both battles of Bull Run. We had a very pleasant time on the guided tour. The guide seemed to know a lot about the battles and drew a very comprehensive picture for us of how the battle went. It was pretty cool. We then drove around to some of the other sites but everyone was pretty much too tired to walk around. We did get out and look at the infamous stone bridge, however. The ground near the banks of the river was covered in bluebells. It was gorgeous! When we got back to the hotel I took a nap since my feet hurt like the dickens and I was just plain exhausted. Late in the afternoon we headed down into DC again, this time parking and walking to the Jefferson Memorial. We then got to walk along the banks of the Potomac at sunset and I've rarely seen anything so beautiful. The weather was perfect!


Sunday morning we loaded up and headed out, stopping after about 45 minutes to attend a Sacrament Meeting. We then continued our journey, stopping only for gas and arrived home around 9pm. It was a long day and a long trip. I was so not ready to go back to work on Monday morning but back I went. Suffice it to say I had a wonderful vacation and wish that Spring Break and my vacation could have lasted longer!

Lane shift ahead. Please drive slow.

I wonder if most people would recognize the error in that phrase. So, let's make it a contest. Leave your answer in the comments!

In all seriousness, I was driving down the road today and when I saw that sign I had a coughing fit and nearly drove off the road. I have to admit though, living in Georgia has seriously affected my ability to properly speak and write English. Well, it's partially that and it's partially the fact that I spent a year and a half of my life speaking Russian instead of English. I find myself mixing up their, they're and there, which is something that I have never before done in my life. I also suspect that I'm becoming senile in my old age. I'm not as young and quick-minded as I once was, that's for sure ...

I went to a Braves game last night. It was enormous good fun, especially since we were sitting in the 7th row! AND, considering we were right behind the visitor's dugout, they had removed the first 5 rows so it was more like 2nd row. It was so great!

Oh it's time, in fact it's way overdue!

It's April! And I got engaged yesterday. Why do you think I've been too busy to blog these last two weeks? Made you look ... April Fools! I'm not engaged, although it was one of the pranks I was considering for this blessed holiday. I'm not much of a prankster. I just don't think it's as fun if I can't be there to see the reactions. Not to mention I don't want anyone to really go crazy and lose sleep over it or anything.

Teaching has been an adventure, as it always is. Next week is Spring Break and so the kids are going CRAZY! Of course, they pretty much think they don't have to work any more. I've never seen such lazy children in my life. Surely I was not this lazy when I was in 6th grade! I don't know how much longer I will be with these kids. Technically the teacher is supposed to come back on April 14th, but she may stay out another 6 weeks on the Family Medical Leave Act. I guess we'll see. That would take us to the end of the year. I think the kids might riot if their teacher doesn't come back. Half the time they say, "I don't want my teacher to come back" and the other half of the time they desperately want their teacher to come back. Usually it's when they are mad at me that they want their teacher back. They're so funny. All in all I love the kids, but they do drive me nuts sometimes. I'm still learning how to deal with them. I feel so blessed to be a teacher though. It's a great working environment.

Still can't believe it's already April. The weather is beautiful but the allergens are out in full force. I never had allergies until I moved here! And now suddenly I'm sneezing all the time during allergy season. That's the only bad thing about Spring ...

Fifty-first post

I've had this blog for how long and I only have 50 posts? My life must be really busy ... but strangely I don't have anything to blog about ...

This week has been kinda crazy. We had a teacher work day on Monday so I only saw the kids for 4 days, but 4 days was enough! I was so emotionally exhausted by Friday evening. This week we have another 4-day week as well, with Good Friday being this coming Friday. Let me tell you I'm looking forward to that! So do I still want to be a teacher you are asking? Yes, I am still planning on it. I figure I really have to give it at least a couple of years before I decide against it. I really do enjoy teaching, the kids can just be difficult to deal with sometimes. I LOVE my co-workers. Teachers really are amazing people. They really do care about the kids and want them to learn.

So you may be wondering how we fared out here with all the tornadoes last night. Well, everything is just fine where we are. We haven't had any tornadoes right around us. There was at least one that touched down in downtown Atlanta last night and it did quite significant damage there. Then there was another that touched down north of here today. It completely demolished an older couple's house. The wife did not survive and the husband is in critical condition at the hospital. It's so heartbreaking to see the pile of lumber and know that it used to be a house and also to think about all that family is going through. It makes me feel so lucky and so blessed to have all that I have and to be safe right now.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my friend finally cut all his hair. So, no more mullet.

The Mullitia

I have a friend who in an act of rebellion decided to grow his hair long and grow a full beard after he left BYU. A couple of weeks ago he shaved most of his beard off and he left a really bushy goatee. I've been bugging him to cut his hair because I personally think it looks really awful. Last week he decided to experiment with corn rows:


Well, he decided that he would let me cut his hair if I would first give him a mullet. So tonight I cut him a disgustingly lovely mullet:

I'm not sure how long he's planning on keeping the mullet for. Not long ... I hope ... I can't believe this was EVER a cool hairstyle.

I got this recipe from my aunt at my sister's bridal shower. It was a sort-of game where we had to guess the missing ingredients. So I just found it the other day and since we had a fryer chicken in the freezer I decided to see if I could modify it slightly to go in the crock pot. This is what I came up with:

Viennese Chicken

Cook together in large pan:
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 minced onion

When the onion is yellow add:
2 T. Canola oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil would probably work well too
1 green pepper, chopped
6 mushrooms, chopped

When vegetables are all sauteed, dump those in a crock pot along with:
1 roasting chicken, cut into pieces
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 can tomato soup
1 Cup water
Salt, Paprika, and I added some Pampered Chef Greek Seasoning, but I think anything with garlic and something that goes well with poultry would probably work well here. You might have to get a little creative with the spices.

Cook on high 4-5 hours or so. About 30 minutes before you take it out, mix together:
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 Cup Sour Cream

Stir into the chicken and sauce.

Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

It turned out pretty tasty although I think with the skin on the chicken it was a little greasy. Maybe next time I wouldn't add the chicken broth from the can. If you need extra moisture, I think a little extra water with a little salt would probably work just fine. The tomato soup isn't in the original recipe, but I added it for flavor and moisture. I might consider using chicken breast next time to make it lower in fat. Let me know if you try it!

It's amazing ...

I got a full 8 hours of sleep last night for the first time in ... forever and it's really amazing how energized you feel in the morning after a nights sleep like that! Or maybe that's just because it's so atypical for me. When I was in college I made absolutely sure I got 8 hours of sleep every night. I had a very tedious job which involved quickly looking back and forth between two computer screens, so I had to be fully awake for that. I found that if I didn't get 8 hours of sleep I couldn't function very well at my job. Not to mention reading textbooks ... ugh. But now that I'm out of college I've stopped sleeping 8 hours a night. For some reason it's easier to function on less than 8 hours now.

On Saturday our singles branch went and helped out a build for Habitat for Humanity. We along with several other small groups actually finished 6 houses that day. Most of our work involved laying sod. It was VERY dirty work. When they called us for lunch, the best I could do was get my fingers clean with 2 baby wipes! I was still filthy. The Outback Steakhouse catered lunch. After lunch we finished up with the landscaping and then Habitat, along with Clark Howard who is a prominent radio talk show host here in Atlanta, dedicated the 6 houses. It was neat to see all the people who had helped and then see the families who would be living in these new houses at a fraction of the cost of buying a comparable home. Some pictures:

We WERE raking, but we stopped to pose for the camera.

Sod line ...

All the folks who came out to help.

One of the houses we finished. Yeah, we laid ALL that sod you see.

Clean Floor!

I HAVE to post on February 29th, of course! It only happens once every four years. Not that I particularly like February 29th, as it lengthens an already very long month. January and February are by far the longest months of the year, I've concluded.

I swept and mopped my floors last night. I won't tell you when the last time was, but I will tell you it wasn't recent. It's such a daunting task; having to move all the furniture and not to mention that the linoleum in our house covers quite a large surface. I have to mop the kitchen,

the laundry area,

and the main living room area.

It's so much! But I must admit, it's so nice to have a clean floor again.