Quick Update...More to Come (Hopefully Sooner Rather Than Later)

I just wanted to do a brief update today.  I am really going to try to post more and get more pictures going on here (once I find my camera).  For right now I'll keep it short.

Good news!!  Nate and Amber have their twins!!  They are so cute and I'm so happy for them!!  I love to see pictures of them on Facebook and Instagram and I couldn't be happier for them!  Congrats Amber & Nate!!

Jonathan and I ran our very first 5K on September 8th with my oldest and youngest sisters and my two friends Shaun and Daniel!  It was SUCH a great experience!!  I had some obstacles to overcome while I was training for this event...I had a month long pneumonia/pleurisy and two blood clots in my arm from the IV in the emergency room the first time.  Three ER visits later and a follow up doctor's appointment later I started to heal.  As soon as I was better I caught a cold that lasted for a week.  I started training the following week and while training I injured my foot...strained the fascia...and was told by the Dr that I needed to stay off of my foot for about a week...which was the week of the 5K.  I listened until Thursday of that week and then I got my butt on the treadmill that day and Friday.  The race was Saturday morning on gravity hill starting at the Capitol and ending at Memory Grove.  It was beautiful...and HARD!!!  Hahaha!!  I walked most of it and got done in about 40 minutes but I crossed the finish line with my sisters holding my hands.  They were literally my motivators during the whole thing.  I was so proud of myself for going through all of that and still pushing through to the finish line!  What an amazing experience that was!!  For any interested...the race was for Racing With Passion and they now have a picture of my sisters and I crossing the finish line hands clasped on their little slide show on their homepage and on their Facebook page.  Here's the link to the website!

Jonathan and I have been getting in control of his bipolar a little better so we are doing much better now.  Every now and then we have hard days with it but it's really started easing up since he got his job as the Academic Adviser at the Utah College Of Massage Therapy which provides a steady paycheck and decent, steady hours (he'll be going to days soon which means 8:30-5:30 Monday-Friday with no weekends and that will REALLY make a huge difference).

Other than that, there's not much going on.  I'm still working full time at the bank and I love my boss and coworkers and that is a great thing for me!  I will post more in depth later but that's just to give you a quick update!

AT LAST!!!

Finally things are starting to fall into place!! We were able to pay off one of our debts in February and this month we'll be able to finish paying off another one!!! I am starting to feel the progress and it is like a breath of fresh air!!

We found our next apartment and we can't wait to move into it!!! We just hope there's one available when our lease is up in July or August! I LOVE the new place...it's in a great location, it's a newer complex, it's laid out a lot better, it's bigger, and it's beautiful...they paint an accent wall for you the color you want (you have three colors for you to choose from)!!! I LOVE the apartments that do accent walls...it makes it feel more like home! I detest white walls!! I'd prefer tan over white!!

Jonathan and I have started a daily, monthly, and yearly checklist of things we feel are important to get done on a regular basis that include cleaning, hygiene, quality time activities, etc. This all started because I felt that all we were doing was work and bills and that was it. I felt that we would work so hard and struggle so much that we were forgetting the little things we can do to keep ourselves healthier, our apartment cleaner, and still have room to enjoy each other's company. We have completely exhausted ourselves between work, housework, dealing with Jonathan's bipolar and my depression/anxiety, bills, etc. We haven't been able to get everything accomplished that we've needed to and still have the energy to have a little fun. So my fix was to start a checklist and break down all of our responsibilities and activities and spread them out throughout the week, month, and year! So far it has worked beautifully!! Yeah, sure, we miss things here and there but the important thing is that we continue to do it. It's like a goal for us that we can work on together consistently and it really has been bringing us closer together. I know that to some of you this sounds like too much work but honestly...it's cut our workload in half because we have a planned out schedule so we don't overdo it on some days and under-do it on the rest of the days. It's balancing out our lives rather nicely and I'm super proud of this project!

Jonathan received the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday and I am so happy for him! He is progressing so quickly through this huge lifestyle change and he's really enjoying the path that it has put him on! I'm so proud of him!!

I'm so happy that 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for us! We are super excited to get to a place in our lives where we can grow together, maybe go to the temple together someday, buy a home together someday, and start a family together someday! We are really trying this year to make a huge leap in our progress towards our goals and so far it's looking good for us! We just want to keep the momentum going and hopefully achieve what we're hoping to achieve!

Update & An Exciting Announcement!!

So sorry it's been a while. Many of you may have already heard that as soon as Jonathan's old burned out computer was trashed and the hard drives were destroyed my laptop completely crashed. When I say as soon as...I mean the exact same day. So we have been computerless for a few weeks but we finally saved up enough to get a new laptop last week and here we are again!

A few quick updates then we have a big announcement.

A few quick updates:

1-I have been at the new branch near my house for almost a month and I am LOVING it!! I save on gas and food because I live so close I can just drive home for lunch and I get to make my own lunch which saves on eating out. I also love my coworkers...they are all really awesome and they treat me like gold which is a HUGE thing in the workplace these days. I love feeling wanted and loved and appreciated!!!

2-Jonathan is still loving his job at the hospital and has had some difficulties with it recently but is still happy with it anyway which makes me happy.

3-We got this new beautiful laptop to replace the two that died and we are loving it!! I know I already said that but I wanted to reiterate the fact that we are making progress in getting the things we need to make life more simple/comfortable!!

4-We started making a family improvement plan to help us with our struggles with Jonathan's bipolar disorder and we're hoping that it will just help improve our relationship as a couple and bring us closer together. I always believe there is always something to work on in relationships and this is a tool that I think will help us build a strong marriage and family. It includes many various activities we can do together (i.e. read together, watch uplifting movies together, exercise together, go on dates together, work on spirituality together, etc.) and building a good stable routine to keep up on the house and hygiene and all that fun stuff! I'm excited about it! I love having routines...things just seem to flow smoother when we're in routines plus it's incredibly good for Jonathan's bipolar!

And here's the big announcement:

If you noticed above in the family plan we talked about working on our spirituality. Jonathan and I have decided to start going to our local LDS church to see if it is something we can both incorporate in our lives together. We had talked many times about having kids someday and desiring to raise them in a healthy, religious atmosphere so they can gain a good moral basis and be raised in a good environment with good friends and make them strong in their own convictions. I have researched many churches and maybe I'm a little biased because I was raised LDS and although I have made MANY mistakes throughout my life (as everyone does) I still feel that I turned out ok and that would be how I'd want to raise my children someday. Not to mention it would be really good to have the gospel in my own life again...the support it gives is phenomenal and I think that having so many good people who share my values in my life would be really healthy for me and Jonathan both.

I honestly didn't think that Jonathan would be up for even testing out the church. He was born and raised Catholic and he had gone a different direction with his life. He wasn't actively attending church and he was quite the party boy. He made some really bad decisions in his life that led him down a really bad path and he had to find his way back to normalcy. Part of the risky behaviors and bad decisions are chalked up to his bipolar and not really knowing about it or understanding it...they call it self-medicating. Most bipolars struggle with drugs and alcohol and other "risky behaviors" and Jonathan had his fair share of all of that. He surprised me when we were dating because I mentioned that maybe I would want to start going to church again to see if it's for me and he agreed to come with me to my oldest sister's ward. It surprised me that he liked it and even more that we were going regularly for about 8 months starting in January this year. We stopped going, however, because it was getting difficult for me to attend when I wasn't sure that Jonathan was really ok with it. I wasn't sure that it would be something we could do if he was unwilling to really apply the things we learned to our daily lives and if he wasn't planning on getting baptized to become a member of the church it must be because he wasn't ok with it fully and I really think it's important to be on the same page as far as religion is concerned. So I struggled with it for those reasons and others.

Today we went to our own home ward for the first time. I have never actually had my own ward so it was scary to say the least. We made my little sister come with us for moral support. In Sacrament meeting there was a speaker from someone in the stake or high council or something (I'm sorry...I forgot what his calling was) and he talked about the importance of tithing which was a really good talk and I learned a lot. After his talk, the bishop spoke about trials and their purpose in life and how we can learn and grow from them. Jonathan started tearing up a bit and pretended to be yawning (I thought it was a yawn..hahaha) and afterwards we met two members of the bishopric...one of which got all of our information and showed us to our Sunday School class. In Sunday School we were learning about Pure Religion and reading from the book of James. We learned a lot of good stuff and we got to James Chapter 1 Verse 5 that says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." LDS members all know why that scripture has significance. That scripture is the one that inspired Joseph Smith to pray in the sacred grove where he saw a vision of God and Jesus Christ who revealed their plan for this church to be brought to earth. Joseph Smith is considered the first prophet of the LDS church. What a powerful scripture that is. Anyway, when we came across that scripture my little sister and I explained to Jonathan the significance of that scripture and how that is how the LDS church eventually came to be. Something struck a chord with Jonathan in Sacrament Meeting already and a bit in Sunday School. He leaned over to me and whispered that he wasn't sure he'd be able to make it through the next meeting (Priesthood for him/Relief Society for me). I thought it was because his stomach had been growling and he may be uncomfortable there and maybe just wanted to go home.

After the closing prayer was given in Sunday School, Jonathan bee-lined over to the bishop and told him we needed to sit down with him. The bishop said that we could set up an appointment and meet later after church but Jonathan told him it was necessary now. We headed into the bishop's office while Jonathan was explaining that he wasn't a member and that I was an inactive member. My sister took a seat in the foyer while we had our meeting. We sat down in his office and Jonathan said to the bishop, "I was listening to your talk in Sacrament and you moved me...I want to start down the path towards baptism." I was SHOCKED!!! I whirled my head around and looked at him with my jaw dropped and said, "WHAT?!!!" He went on about how he doesn't know what happened really but he was touched and wants to start down the road towards baptism. The bishop, obviously pleased and excited for us both, gave us the numbers to the area's missionaries and Jonathan has agreed to take the missionary discussions! I am still shocked now, as I'm writing this! I never expected this. I didn't even know if we were going to be coming back to church the next week because it was so complicated for us both to go when he felt so strongly about not being baptized. I don't know what changed but I feel that between the bishop's inspiring talk and the amazing Sunday School lesson something resonated with Jonathan and he made the choice entirely on his own. I am so proud of him for making such a difficult choice without any help from anyone at all. He felt inspired to do this on his own and that is something amazing to me. So tomorrow Jonathan is calling the missionaries and we'll set the first appointment with them.

I know that this may shock a lot of my friends because I haven't been religious for many years but I honestly have felt very deeply that I need to work on my spirituality. I feel that there is something missing in my life that could help me through all the trials in life. My goal is to get to a state of peace within myself and within the world. I feel that this is going to help. I am so nervous to go back for many reasons but it is something I feel will contribute immensely to my well-being and happiness and now I believe it will contribute to Jonathan's happiness and well-being too. I am not saying by any means that the LDS church is the ONLY way to go. I truly think there is good in almost every religion. I think that this is the one that works for me and I really believe this is the best path for us. I am overcome with emotion from all of this but mostly I am excited. I am excited to start this path with Jonathan and I'm excited to start doing something better with my life. I hope it will all work out for us and that it will be a good experience for us and help us lead a full life. Wish us luck!!

Good News and Fun Times!!!

I have some GREAT news!!! I am finally transferring out of my current branch and moving on to a better work environment!!! I have one week left at my current branch and on October 17th I start at the new branch!! I am so excited to be in a better place!!! I hope it works out well for me!! There's many reasons that it will inevitably be better for me...it's closer to my house making my commute easier and saving on gas, I'll be able to go home for lunch saving on eating out and being able to comply with my diet a little easier, and I'll be working with two of my favorite coworkers!! I am nervous to go back to this branch just because times have changed and things will be different there but I'm just hoping that I won't be in such a hostile work environment and that I will actually be appreciated there! Wish me luck!!!

Yesterday I had to work and I was trying to get out early so we could drive up to Logan for my niece's 4th birthday party! Everyone else was heading up earlier in the morning but I was scheduled til 3:15. I did have a half an hour of overtime that I needed to make up (we aren't allowed overtime pay unless it's absolutely necessary) so one of my bosses arranged for me to be off at 2:45! I got to work and the other boss remembered that I wanted to go up there to be with my family and she let me leave at 1:00 instead!!! I was SO excited for that!!! That RARELY happens for me so I was incredibly thankful!! We drove up to Logan and I changed out of my work clothes and almost immediately we headed off for a round of miniature golf!!! The course was all decked out in Halloween decor and was playing Halloween music so it was a really fun game of mini golf!!! Of course most of us were cheating but we weren't keeping score so it was fun just to get out and have fun with the family!!! When we finished our game we headed off to dinner at Old Grist Mill...kind of like a Subway but BETTER...MUCH MUCH better!!! I had a half turkey sandwich and a cup of their delicious cream of potato soup!! YUM!!! We enjoyed it!! After dinner we went back to my sister's house to relax and enjoy each other's company. We headed for home at about 8:30 and when we got there it was definitely bedtime!!! It was such a fun day and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to go spend time with my family!! I am so happy whenever I get to see my cute niece's!!! My sisters took some fun pictures so I will post those when I get them!! All in all it was such a fun day yesterday and today is dedicated to relaxing and cleaning up the house! I also plan to have a Doris Day marathon!!! :D Good times!!

I DID IT!!!!

‎We just finished Week 1: Day 1 of the rip:60!!!! I didn't do so great in the morning...cinnamon bears and a Coke for breakfast, Arby's Jr Roast Beef (x2) and a Coke for lunch. But at least I had my water bottle mixed with my fiber in there before lunch...and dinner was healthy...lemon dill swordfish steak, wilted spinach, and balsamic rice!!! Plus I've been snacking on healthy things like yogurt and fruit! :D YAY!!!! OH....AND I KICKED Jonathan's trash on the workout!!! WOOOHOOO!!! GO ME!!!! Honestly...the fact that I worked out at all is what I'm most proud of! The rip:60 is intense!! I'm scared to death!! Week 1 is called Waking Up Your Body. You do that workout for the first week then move up to the next so every week is a new workout for the next 8 weeks. Plus there's 4 additional workouts you can do but they are optional. It also has a great menu plan for a good diet! What an adventure this will be. I've hardly worked out ever and I've NEVER been on a diet...SCARY!!! Oh well...wish me luck!! :D

We're Getting There

I am so excited!! I got the interview at the Utah State Tax Commission!! It was on Wednesday morning. It went pretty well...I think. The only thing is they told me what the starting pay was and it's .3o less an hour. Kinda a bummer seeing as money seems to be the bane of my existence lately. I hate money. It seems to control so much. NOT ANYMORE!!! I refuse to let myself become a slave to money. I hate money and I am going to learn how to make it work for me instead of working for it. Hence the reason we're starting the Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover again. I know that I have posted about it before. We actually were halfway to our goal of Baby Step 1 which is to save $1000 for an emergency savings. We had $500 of our $1000 and then....we got engaged. We spent all of our emergency savings...and then some...on the wedding. WELL worth it but still sad that we are here again...back where we started. But this time we are seriously making a huge commitment to stick to the plan. We are determined to be successful with this. Anyway...next paycheck it all starts!!

As for the job crisis...I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do. I mean...I REALLY want a job with a better work environment. Banking was never my final job goal. I actually have gone through MANY different job goals in my life. I even studied Barbering/Cosmetology in college. I quit in the 3rd semester even though I only had one semester left til I was 100% completely finished...it just was not for me. I haven't made it back to school yet but I fully intend to someday. Right now the vision is dietetics. I would love to be a clinical dietitian...at the moment...we'll have to see how that pans out. But as for now I'm stuck in banking losing my energy and drive for that job. It's a pretty rough environment to be in...especially these days with how the economy is...nobody has any money and EVERYBODY is on edge. On top of that...I'm REALLY not enjoying the branch I'm at. So I started applying for jobs. Mostly clerical/secretarial jobs. I think I've sent my application in to about a million places and I have had no success. Here's the thing...I am GREAT at interviews. Every job I've ever had an interview for...I've received a job offer. The problem is I have a limited resume. I am great at interviewing but getting the interview is a whole process in itself. I actually had given up on the tax commission job...just like the many other jobs I didn't hear back from. So I had written to one of my previous managers at another branch from earlier in my career before the divorce to see about possibly transferring and forcing a raise upon myself. The reason being I'm sick of my job...even though I'm great at it...and I'm sick of the dismal pay. So I figure if I can't get a job with a better environment I should start trying to pursue getting a raise to even out the bad environment. Basically I've been feeling like I've been working too hard for too little for far too long!

So...the day after I did that, doubting that I'll have a shot at a new job, I got the call to take the data entry test! Talk about bringing hope back into the picture!!! So I went and took the test...still awaiting to hear about the possibility of transfer but basically thinking there's a good chance that won't happen, either. So you may have read earlier that I did pass the test and get the chance to interview for that job. I went into the interview with an idea that the pay would be equal to or more than my current pay. I was wrong. VERY wrong. It's $50 less a month. So immediately I'm disappointed but then after speaking to some friends and family...I began to contemplate whether the move would be plausible...or worth it. I hadn't heard from my old manager in a few weeks so I kinda had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. Then...I randomly sent a text to one of my other friends who works at that branch and SHE brought up the transfer. She told me that all I have to do is request it from my manager and basically it's a done deal. So now I'm in a dilemma. Do I transfer to get out of the branch I'm miserable in to go to a branch that may be a tiny bit better...and I don't even know if I'll get the raise...or do I take the job with a better environment, better schedule, and better dress code but less pay? I've been talking to my family and friends about it. I have been trying to make the best decision for me and my husband. We could be ok with $50 less a month...it will be a little more difficult...but honestly...with everything that's going on with us...Jonathan's illness, my health, our debt, etc...it's really hard to decide. I have been weighing the options...pros and cons...as for now I am leaning towards the paycut for a better environment but we'll have to see. I haven't even been offered the job and I probably won't even hear about it for a week or so but I'm really hoping I get the offer so I have options. I'm nervous. I really hope I get the offer so that maybe I can make a better decision. I will have to keep you updated on it.

Honestly even though I feel as if my life is incredibly unsettled...I still feel that we're getting there. That pretty much sums it up...I feel as if we are getting there. That's what all of this fight is all about...finding our life together and settling into stability...and we're getting there. I finally feel like something good is coming for us. I feel that just around the corner is something good for us. We're getting there. I am so grateful for all the wonderful opportunities that have been presented to us. We are so lucky. We have worked hard for our life together and we still will. At least I'm finally feeling like we're getting there! I am so lucky and I am so excited to have this journey in my life. I can tell already that I am getting stronger and smarter from all of these experiences. Thank heaven for little victories!

GREAT News!!!

We finally got my car fixed...it needed a new battery!!! THANK GOODNESS that's all it was!!

I also got a call back on a job I applied for about a month ago doing data entry at the Utah State Tax Commission!!! They wanted me to do a data entry test so I went in on Tuesday and did the test. It was HARD!! They had these crazy math questions on part of it which I KNOW I bombed (hahaha) and then the typing tests. I did 9 3-minute tests and I can't remember all of my scores but I do remember getting at least over 10,000 keystrokes average with 99% accuracy...I thought that was pretty good for me. When I finished all the tests I looked around and...yeah...I was the very last person left testing still. I said (yes, out loud) "Man, I'm the last one...that's NOT good!" The HR lady just kinda laughed and gave me my final instructions and I was on my way. I left feeling pretty bummed. I thought I bombed the entire test hardcore!! I went home and pigged out on junk food and applied for 3 or 4 more jobs while I sulked. I got a call the next day from a different HR rep offering me an interview (meaning I passed the test and am still in the running for the job)! YAY!!!! The interview is on Wednesday at 8:30 so wish me luck!!! This job would be awesome because it'd be four 10-hour shifts Monday through Thursday and I'd get to wear regular street clothes (no dress code) and I'd be paid more and I'd be off by 4:30 every single day. It'd also be good for me because I'd be working in the same building as my mom!! I'd be able to be close to her and I think that would be fun! I wouldn't have to deal with customers, I'd actually get to sit down, I wouldn't have to deal with large amounts of cash/responsibilities. It would be such a good environment for me!! I really hope I get it.

Other GREAT news is that I got the results back from the Colposcopy and I don't have cancer!!! They want me to come back in about 6-12 months to do a follow up check to make sure it's going away or gone but so far I'm cancer free!!! YAY!!!!

All in all I am incredibly happy with the past week!!! I'm so excited that things are starting to even out a bit!!! I'm off tomorrow so that means time for me to continue reading my book!!! I'm going to get caught up on things around the house and relax!! I'm so excited!!! Another good thing that happened this week is last night when I got the news that I got offered the chance to interview I came home from work and Jonathan had the table all set up with a coke on ice and our beautiful martini glasses that we received for our wedding with the flowers he'd bought me earlier this week and he had cooked me a beautiful cubed steak dinner with rice and veggies and a side of beans!!! PERFECT dinner!!! After dinner he brought out a beautifully prepared plate of chocolates from Cold Stone Creamery/Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory!!! YUM!!!! It was such a beautiful night!!! I love him!!!

Anyway...I am just so relieved with all of this great news that we've received this week and I am incredibly happy to have a week of near normalcy!! I wish I would've thought to take pictures of my beautiful dinner last night to post. Oh well...maybe next time!!! It was still a great week and I'm feeling satisfied with it! :D

Update!

Sorry...it's been pretty crazy around here for us. I just wanted to write a quick update. I'm still working hard at the bank and we recently had our audit which we passed (THANK GOODNESS!!!). Jonathan is still loving his job as head chef at the hospital.

We're still working on getting Jonathan's bipolar disorder under control. We've been working on getting into a routine because I've been reading some awesome books that are helping us out with the disorder and handling it. THIS BOOK has been my favorite so far! I'm currently reading THIS BOOK to learn more about different types of ways to manage the disease. I'm liking it so far but I'm not that far into it. (To keep up on what I'm reading currently click HERE) We've had a few rough patches on our journey to stability but I honestly feel like we've been making some progress which is GREAT!! Any progress is good progress! We are still working on getting into the therapist regularly but hopefully when that happens it'll make things a little easier on us. I'm thinking of joining a support group that meets about once a month to get my own support through it but we'll see. We also are trying to make his sleep schedule regularized and we're working on getting our diet and exercise figured out to be healthier. The healthier we are, the easier managing bipolar is. We'll keep you updated on our progress.

We are also currently dealing with my health issues, still, and it's a little slow going but we're trying to get it under control. My stomach issues are now determined by the doctors as unknown. They say that I do not have Celiac (gluten intolerant) so that's good news ( I LOVE gluten products)! I had my wonderful yearly exam a few weeks back and usually I get no calls back...just a postcard saying it came back normal. This time, however, I got a call from my doctor saying that they found some abnormalities that are pre-cancer cells in my cervix. They referred me to a specialist to do a colposcopy to look into it further. I took the news pretty hard because I feel like everything is hitting me all at once lately with work, money, dr's, and cars. It's just a test...that's all I have to think of it as. I got the test done on Thursday the 25th. They took two biopsies and sent them to the pathology lab so we're still waiting on the results. We are optimistic about it. We think it's nothing major so hopefully we are right. :D I'll let you know how those results are when we get them back.

When I got in my car the other day to go to my colposcopy...yeah...my car wouldn't start. So Jonathan had to rush out of work to come and get me and take me to the appointment himself. It wasn't such fun because they suggested I take 400-600 mg of Ibuprofen before the appointment to help relieve the pain that will be caused by the test. I didn't have any Ibuprofen so I was planning to leave way early so I could stop at the store and take some beforehand but when my car wouldn't start...that plan went out the window. I had to do it without any medication so it was kinda painful but I survived. We still don't know what's going on with my car. Jonathan got it to start but there is definitely a problem that needs to be fixed. PLUS his car's windshield was attacked by a rock on the freeway and it took a good chunk of glass out of it causing a spider-like chip in the windshield. There is now a crack spreading from there on both sides of the chip and it will soon be the entire length of the windshield. On top of that every time Jonathan's car turns it makes a knocking noise...NOT GOOD! Guess we'll be spending a lot of time at the mechanic shops over the next few months. Hopefully these car problems aren't too serious.

I applied for a job a few weeks back at the Utah State Tax Commission doing data entry and I got a call back for that last week. I'm going in on Tuesday for a data entry typing test so we'll see how that goes. I'm hoping for an interview because that job would be AWESOME for me. I would work four 10's and be off by 4:30 every night. Every weekend would be a 3-day weekend!! Plus I'd get paid more and could wear my regular street clothes...no dress code to follow. I'd be able to just plug in my iPod and work away...no customers to worry about, no standing all day, no lifting heavy boxes of coin, etc. I'm sure it'll be an incredibly boring job but I really wouldn't mind that! I'm excited to see how this goes for me. I honestly think it would be a great thing for us.

Now you know what we've been up to lately...it's been crazy but honestly we are feeling pretty positive about everything in the midst of all of this chaos so that's a really good thing! We are definitely tired and feeling pretty worn but to be feeling positive about everything that is happening is truly a relief. We're just trying to take it day by day and so far it's working pretty well for us. I promise I will try to keep up on this better...it's just been hard because it's like we have SO much going on I don't even know where to start blogging. Hopefully the next few weeks will bring some relief to our situations in life. As soon as the car situation and the doctor visits start slowing we are bound and determined to restart the Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover plan again. Gaining control over our finances will help our stress levels so much and we've been anxious to get started on that again. I'll probably be posting more about that progress as well. Thanks for reading my blog....I really appreciate you for caring enough to check in on us!

Did You See?!!!

Did you see our wedding day ticker on the right of this page?!!! TWO WEEKS AND THREE DAYS!!!! We're SO close now!!! The countdown begins!!!

The Last Four Months

Wow...I really suck at this posting on my blog business!! Hopefully I'll get better at it soon!!! So to update you on the last four months...

In January we had my mom's birthday, in February was Amy's, March was Jonathan's and April is mine.  It's sort of a family tradition to take each other out to dinner where the birthday person chooses then have some sort of dessert (usually cake) with ice cream afterwards. It's always a fun time and it's sort of the highlight of each month to have a birthday to celebrate together!!

In February Jonathan and I took our engagement pictures!!! We went to Gardner Village to shoot them and then headed to a little home decor shop off of 8th West for a few more. Our photographer, ShaiLynn, is the absolute best!! I was freaking out because two days before the shoot I got a big fat cold sore on the corner of my upper lip and it was swollen up so bad!!! ShaiLynn did SUCH a good job...you can't even tell I ever had a cold sore and the pictures turned out beautifully!! Here are a few of my favorites!!

This past four months has been dedicated to working hard to prepare for our wedding next month!!!  We've only got three weeks left and we're so close to having everything done!!  I just had my bridals shoot on Saturday and I'm SO excited to see how they turn out!!!  I'm sure I'll be posting those pictures as soon as I receive them and when that happens Jonathan will be banned from the internet so he doesn't "accidentally" see the dress before the big day!!!  We are so excited and it is going to be such a big day for both of us!!!

As far as everything else goes...we're both just working hard.  Jonathan is the head chef at LDS Hospital and he works really hard at it.  He loves his job which is really nice!  I still work at the bank and working hard at that.  Other than that there's really nothing too exciting happening with us other than planning the wedding.  It'll be nice when the day comes and we can relax and start doing other fun things!!  I promise I'm going to try to post more often after the wedding...our first goal is to get a handle on the bills then the second we have any breathing room we're getting cable and internet!!!  Hopefully it won't take too long!  See ya soon  :D

Happy Holidays!!!

It's been an incredibly long time since I've posted on here! Things are as crazy as ever for us. Christmas was awesome and I'm now officially on vacation til Thursday! Woohoo!!! Then after the new year it's back to working our butts off and planning the wedding(Six more months to go!)! We're super excited! Other than that there really isn't much else going on. Just working hard to get through the holidays! I am going to try to keep up with this blogger better...it's part of my new year's resolution...along with being less of a spender this year so I can pay off more debt AND pay for the wedding! Hahaha!!! Let's see how long that lasts!!! What are your new year's resolutions?! I'd love to hear them!! I hope you all had a great Christmas and are enjoying the holidays!!! Happy Holidays!!!

The Total Money Makeover

Jonathan and I just finished listening to the audio book "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. It took us three days because we could only listen to one disc at a time...they're a little over an hour each disc. Let me tell you...this guy is SMART!!! I loved his simple plans and theories and his common sense matches up with mine so much that it's amazing! I loved his plan and his motto of "Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else"! It was awesome!!! We decided to adopt his plan and really work hard at getting ourselves fit financially! I would recommend this book to EVERYONE!!! He's smart and simple and that's what makes his plan work for me. I am so excited because I actually have hope after listening to it. Seriously I think everyone should read it or hear it...even if you don't adopt the plan into your own life at least you could maybe learn a thing or two from it! I'm so excited to start my money makeover and maybe get myself in a place I want to be instead of a place I have to be. :D

Jonathan's 24th Birthday!

March 12 was Jonathan's 24th birthday! We both took the day off work and did birthday things all day! We started off with shopping at The Gateway where we got Jonathan some awesome clothes from Hollister and Pacsun. We goofed off for a while and then decided it was time for lunch. I suggested Happy Sumo since he'd never been there and it was AWESOME!!! We goofed around at Happy Sumo for a while and then it was time to go back to his apartment to kill some time before we had my family's traditional birthday party for him...dinner and a movie complete with cake and ice cream! We headed out to my sister's house to meet for dinner. Jonathan picked out Texas Roadhouse for dinner which was delicious and the perfect place to goof off and joke around! Nothing like a good steak and some awesome people to be around for a good time! After dinner we headed back to my sisters' condo to decide the next step in our adventure. We got talking about different movies we liked (which is actually pretty normal) and we decided to go on a Quest to find the movie That Thing You Do! which turned out to be more difficult than we thought yet successful nonetheless! We went back to the condo and turned the movie on while we pigged out on cake and ice cream! Heather wanted to make the cake but she ran out of time so she bought him a chocolate cake with mint frosting and it was superb! When the movie ended it was late and we were all homeward bound. We had a lot of fun and I think it turned out to be a really successful birthday for Jonathan! Here are a few pictures of our day. (I don't know why we didn't take pictures at Texas Roadhouse or at my sisters' condo but here's a few from earlier on)!

Birthday Outfit! Shopping Success!

Sushi @ Happy Sumo!!! Yummmm!!!

Waiting for Our Sushi!

Goofing Off!