Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Random Acts of Kindness

I love how when you're paying attention, you can find the spirit on a daily basis in unusual situations.

Yesterday I did NOT want to get out of bed. My alarm went off at 7:15, but I turned it off.  I stayed in bed until 8:15.  I'm supposed to leave by 8:10... so this is a recipe for disaster already.  I went in the bathroom, powdered my nose and put on some mascara.  Generally, I wear a lot more makeup than this, but I just wasn't feeling it today.  I was in the car and on my way to work at 8:20.

Traffic was as usual.  I'm still not driving over the speed limit, so I wasn't stressing myself out to get to work on time.

Got to work 3 minutes before 9:00.  Crazy, huh?  But I have already shared my feelings on the blessings I get for obeying the speed limit.

I walked into work and sat at my desk and noticed that something was missing.  I had left Lance's most valuable Christmas presents on the floor under my desk, and they were not there.  Trying to remain calm, I looked around the office.  I thought to myself, maybe the cleaner put them on a desk somewhere so he could vaccum.

Nowhere to be found.

I went into my co-worker's office and asked him if he'd seen anything.  He immediately got out of his desk and tried to help me find them, with no luck.  Well, we're at work and there was work to do, so we both went back to our desks, and I figured I would tell my boss when he got in.  But I started panicking.  Could they be stolen?  I started to cry, and I went into the bathroom to pray.  I got on my knees for the first time in a long time.  I felt so unworthy to pray asking for help when I hadn't prayed in months.  All I could say was, "I deserve this.  I don't deserve to ask for your help."  I got up and came out of the bathroom, accepting the fact that I had lost hundreds of dollars worth of presents.

Now the hard part.  Telling Lance.  He was not happy.  I had to talk to him in the bathroom so no one would hear me crying.  I don't like to cry in front of people.

I came out and Dave had gotten on his coat and hat and said he was going to go look in the dumpster out back.  I offered to go with him, but I had a pile of work on my desk, and he said it would be best for me to get my work done.

He came in about a half hour later saying he found a small straight cutter.  (I had mentioned that my scrapbooking stuff was next to the presents, and it was gone too.)  This was exciting!  So I went outside with him, and he pulled out all the boxes of presents that I bought for Lance.  They were all still in perfect condition, in their boxes, with their receipts.  I thanked him about 20 times.  And I brought him some candy today as well.

Thank you Dave.  Not only did you save Christmas for us, but you also helped return my faith in prayer.

Letter From a Missionary - 6

Hey,
I got your letter.The reason I can´t send very many pictures is because I can only send 2 or 3 at a time and it takes 3 minutes to put each picture in the e'mail. I only have 1 hour to use the internet each week.I have pictures on my camera you will just have to steal when I get home.
Hehe
I love you, Merry Christmas
Elder Keele

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Are You Read-Ay?!

Four days until winter officially starts, and eight days until Christmas!

I strongly hate the cold, being cold, and seeing people cold, and I strongly hate snow.  But here some things I love about winter...

1. Pomegranates!!  Okay, okay... so technically they are in season in the fall, but it snows in the fall so I'm counting it as valid for this list.
2. Fireplace - 'nuff said.
3. Christmas carols/Christmas songs - It DOES bother me that they start playing them November 1st on FM100 (*singing voice* point threeee...), and KOSY 106.5, but after Thanksgiving and on to January 1st I will listen to them!
4. Sweaters! Boots! And all manner of warm clothing - I store these in a different closet during the spring and summer and I love to bring 'em out in the cold season.  It's almost like a new wardrobe! Yay!
5. The above for my Bentey, minus the boots - Yep, we bought Bentley some clothes.  It's so sad to see her shaking in the cold when she has to go outside. :-(
6.  Hot chocolate - It's warm, it's chocolate... what is there not to like?
7. Sledding!  As long as I have mucho warm clothing, and hot chocolate afterwards (see #6), this is a fun activity.
8. Clean air!  Yeah this is kind of strange, I'll admit.  But, I drive to South Jordan every day and have to see the greenish yellow smog that lingers over the Salt Lake valley.  In the winter it's rarely there and I appreciate that.

This will be Lance and my THIRD married Christmas, and our EIGHTH Christmas together altogether!  They get better every year. :-)

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Depression Hurts... Chocolate Can Help!

Another great job turned us down.  What are we doing wrong?

Maybe our feelings of needing to move out of state aren't just a crazy wish.  Maybe that's what we are supposed to do.

It's so scary! 

How are we supposed to sell our house and buy a new one, when the one we are in is worth less than what we owe?  (We bought right before the market crashed....)

How does Lance go about interviewing out of state?  It's not like we have the money right now for him to be flying all over the country.

If he gets a job somewhere, does he move out there and leave me alone here to pack up the rest, and move on my own?  I hate being alone.

I'm not afraid of being jobless.  I'm not afraid of losing anything that we own.  I am afraid of the unknown.  I'm afraid of having no idea what lies in my future.  I don't know where I'm going.  And surely, I have no idea how to get there.

I just need chocolate and a good movie, and I'll just forget about it all.  Maybe if I don't acknowledge it, it will all just go away.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Silly Mama

Lance's mom told us she wanted a fleece jacket for Christmas this year, so today we went to go buy a few of the ones at Old Navy for her.  They were only $5 this morning!  Guess who we ran into there?  His mom.  Yeah.  She was getting herself one.  What a stink!

Peeps...  between November 1st and December 25th, you aren't allowed to buy yourself anything.  It's common Christmas courtesy.  Really!

On another completely unrelated note, I like the word swagger.  It's such a sexy word.  I'm still unclear on the definition tho.

Dictionary.com says that it's a way to walk.

But the way people use it in conversation sounds like it means style, charm, and just overall sexiness.  So that's how I'm gonna use it when I say... Eric Maynor (from the Jazz) has some SERIOUS swagger!  He's not super attractive, but boy am I attracted.  LOL!

It could also be the fact that from far away he looks like a brown Lance out there playing B-ball.

Yeah, that's it.

Love me some swagger!!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Letter From a Missionary - 4 & 5

Hey Jenn,
Thank you so much for all your letters. And yes it´s ok to write about none spiritual stuff.  Thats awesome about the Jazz game.  It´s weird to think that the season already started, because for me... nothing is happening in the world.  So you said you knew when you were going to have a baby. But you didn´t tell me.  It´s all good.  I just want to be an uncle.  Thats crazy about what´s happening with you and lance and church and stuff.  I have to tell you, I am no good at socializing as well, but i´m forced to do it.  That´s basically what missionary work is.  I am no good at it.  But i´ll learn.  Sometimes I don´t want to learn but I think It´s really important to be able to speak to anyone.  I speak to strangers everyday.  The nice thing about home teaching and visiting teaching is that you can get to know them after a visit or 2.  And you visit them over and over.  I have to talk to new strangers everyday.  It´s scary, but once you break the ice it´s fun.
Love you, Thank you so much for writting me.
Love Elder Keele


Hey Jenn,
I hope you are doing alright. I just want you to know I´m praying for you and lance. I hope he finds a job soon.Just stay positive, be smart.
I love you.
Love Elder keele

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Madness

Hosting Thanksgiving was a success!  Luckily, I didn't have to make the turkey.  Lance's wonderful mother took care of that for us.  Hooray!

The plan was to eat by 1:00pm.  Lance's family is usually late, so, I was sneaky.  I told everyone to be there at noon.  Is that rude?

Well, I don't care if it's rude, because it worked! 

Laura brought the tables and she was there at noon.  Yay!  So I was able to set up everyone's place setting all purdy-like.

Lance's parents were there at 12:30 with the turkey all ready and carved!  Wow!  How nice of them!

Nicole didn't show up until 1:15.  Good thing I said noon, or she may have shown up at 2:15.  ☺

So all in all, it was a great success.  Granted, our kitchen is STILL dirty, and dishes are STILL in the sink...but uh, Lance can take care of that.  Not like he has a job or anything, right?  (It's ok for me to say that (I hope), because he jokes about it all the time...)

I don't beleive I ever mentioned that.  Yeah Lance got laid off from his job a few weeks ago.

I kind of like having him at home.  We've talked more these past few weeks than we've talked the whole time we've been married (not really, but we do talk more often now...).  It's so nice!  He also does clean, do laundry and do the dishes.  But he did that before.  Just now it's done when I get home, so then we can spend the evening together doing whatever we'd like that is not related to housework.  Also, Bentley gets to have a friend with her all day long.  And she loves that.  I love her!

Oh Bentley!  We went to Petsmart to get something I won't mention for someone I won't mention and came out with stuff for Bentley.  She's our child.  We love her.  We got her a new bed, a pink sweater, and a new collar.  The bed is blue and green and has a cute paw print on it!  It is so soft and fluffy.  I think she loves it.  The pink sweater....  yeah... I always made fun of people who dressed their dogs.  But my poor baby was always so cold when she would go outside to go potty.  It's so cute on her!  It says "Snow Angel" on the back.  And it has a hood..l.  Ok, make fun of me.  I don't care.  And the collar, we got her because she chewed up her old one.  Merry Christmas Bentley!

Black Friday was MADNESS!  I have NEVER in my LIFE had such an AWFUL time shopping.  EVER!  And yes, I've shopped Black Friday many, many, many times before.

Toys 'R' Us had the brilliant idea to open up at midnight so that everyone, their dog, their cat and their bird would go there.  We were at a Jazz game Thanksgiving night, and left early to go get in line at the Toys 'R' Us at Sugarhouse.  We got there at around 11:00pm.  The line wasn't very long at that time, so we weren't very far back.  When the doors opened, we walked like civilized people into the madness that was about to occur.

We needed 2 items.  Both of which I cannot mention.  2 items.  TWO!!  That is NOTHING compared to the shopping carts that were full of items, piled to the cealing.  Ugh, it just urks me.  Two items.  First of all, we couldn't find what we were looking for.  We even asked people who worked there, who then pointed us in a direction, the WRONG direction, I might add.  After 45 minutes of searching we found what we were looking for.  They were close to each other, hiding, not out in any open area, but near the front.  So then we had to find the line!  It took us an hour of walking around the store to find the line.  When we got in the line, we stayed in it for 3 hours.  Not moving.  Nothing.  Standing.  Still water.  Stale mate.  We were thinking "@$%$#@%*& is going on?"  (Yes, I think in symbols, not words.)  Finally, we figured out that people were cutting in line, around the corner where we couldn't see.  And there was nothing we could do about it.  We talked to someone who worked there and he basically said there was nothing he could do about it.  I don't know why I didn't punch him in the face and tell him to get me out of there.  You work here, what do you mean you can't do anything about it?  Stand there and tell them where the end of the line is.  DUH!!!!  So finally at 4am we were out of there.

I am never, ever shopping at Toys 'R' Us again.  Ever.

After this, we were brave enough to go to Walmart.  But, lucky for us Lance's sister, Laura was holding our stuff for us, so all we had to do was wait in line until the sale started at 5am.

We got home at 6am.  I was supposed to go to my family's chocolate dipping party at 9am, but I was NOT going to wake up that soon.

I was going to give some homemade, chocolate dipped candy to my neighbors this year, and my visiting teachers, as well as the ladies I visit teach.  But... I didn't get any.  It sucks.  Big time.  Boo hoo.

At least I got some good stuff for the people I love.  They better like it.  I almost died getting it for them.