What Do I Get For Christmas This Year?

SAWYER!!!

So Sawyer decided he wants to be our Christmas present this year. It's his new favorite place to lay. What more could I ask for, for Christmas?

Neat Picture

Matt and I went with some friends and acquaintances to temple square last week. We took our camera and took some pictures like we always do. I looked at the pictures later and this picture just looked really cool. I think what happened is that I breathed right as Matt took the picture.

Moved In!

So we are all set up and moved in. We did the finishing touches Thanksgiving morning; hanging up all the pictures and things. I really love being on our own again! I really appreciate the fact that my in-laws let us stay with them for those 7+ months, but it’s really refreshing to have all this responsibility again. I also think having that experience of living with them has made me come to really appreciate the things I didn’t appreciate as much as before. I have come to find that I love making dinner; I love cleaning up, doing the dishes…call me crazy. I don’t know how long it will last, or if it’s just the newness of it all, getting something back I haven’t had for a while, but it makes me happy to have these opportunities again, being on our own.
We have already met a lot of nice people in our neighborhood. We even have a few friends! Some old and some new. We met one side of our next door neighbors in church on Sunday and they are just really nice people. Our other next door neighbors moved in this week. We have heard a little about them and we have been told they are excited to meet us. They sound like really nice people as well.
Sawyer has taken on the place of being the head dog of the household. I think he really likes it where we are. The first night he had a hard time being in such a big and empty place, but once we got our furniture in, the house all put together, and he was able to go exploring, he hasn’t had a problem. He is so funny! Wherever I go in the house when Matt is not home, he follows me everywhere! He’ll go find his duck or his dog (stuffed animals), bring one along in his mouth, and follows me, to then either play with his toy near me, or just lay down and waits patiently until I’ll play with him or take him for a walk. He loves to go on walks around all the other townhomes. He has even found a friend; a golden retriever who it seems is almost 7 times his size, but Sawyer thinks he’s just as big as his friend, and wrestles with him without batting an eye.
Matt and I love it here. I have never felt so at home in a neighborhood. I just feel at peace, like I don’t need, or want, or could want anything else. I can’t remember ever feeling so content. In all the other places I have lived, I have always felt some level of restlessness; like I needed to go somewhere. I could never really just stay put. Now I feel I’ve found that feeling that you hear so many people talk about in stories or songs where the one place they want to be is sitting on their front porch, looking out, with the person they love; and all that matters is knowing that that alone is enough.

This morning we closed on our home.

Woo hoo!!!!

'nuf said. :)

For those who didn't know, Matt and I have been building a townhome. We signed the papers in February, sold our other townhome in April, moved out and moved in with Matt's parents. It has been seven months since we moved and finally, this week we will be doing our final walk through of our home, and next week we will sign the papers. I have really missed having a home of our own. In a short week and a half we will be able to move in! :) I have really appreciated Matt's parents for letting us stay with them. I'm not sure they can say the same, but I will never forget what they have done for us. So many good things have come out of being there. One thing I am so glad we have now is our little dog Sawyer. He is now a part of our family and has a piece of our hearts. He has even won over the heart of my mom, who has never really liked pets before.

Now that I have seen our home done for the most part, being in there, it makes me so grateful for the fact that we will have our own place again. I haven't cooked a real meal since the last week we were in our townhome. Not really anyway. While we have been living with my in-laws, my parents have let me come over every day to workout at their home. I have really appreciated that, and seeing my family more has been a lot of fun, but I have to admit, it will be so nice to come home to exercise and be able to shower right after I'm done, saving time on traveling, which leaves me time and now a kitchen to be able to make dinners again, which in turn gives me time to unwind in the evenings. Not having a place of our own for a while has made me grateful for all these little things I have missed.

I Finally Finished the Twilight Series

Ok, so I finally finished the Twilight series. It took me two months to read them. Overall, I really liked the books. I'm not a die hard over them like a lot of people, but I would recommend them to anyone, so long as they think they would like those kinds of books. It was entertaining to say the least.

Reaching Greater Heights Again

Kevin and I decided to hike to the top of Mt. Olympus again today. We figured it would probably be the last or close to the last time to hike it this year. We're afraid the weather will not be nice up there much longer. Today there were a few thunder storms in the afternoon, but the morning was nice and cloudy. Perfect for hiking. We started hiking about 6:10 AM and got back down at 11:40 AM. It was beautiful just like all the other times, but slightly more so with the shade from the clouds and the cool breeze. I hope we can do it again soon. If not, we will have to wait until the end of next June. Such a long time to wait! :(

Hiking Mt. Olympus

This last Saturday two of my brothers and my good friend April hiked up most of Mt. Olympus. We made it to the saddle (which some may say that can be considered as the top). The last part is where you have to climb, (literally climb) on your feet, your knees and your hands up big boulders and rocks for what usually takes about a half hour going up about 600 feet from the saddle. My dear sweet April did not have very much energy and time was slipping away so we decided not to make the last climb. I will be the first to admit though that, that is not an easy hike! However, it was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!

I have always had an interest in rock climbing, so I haven’t been able to get the image of that last 500 feet out of my mind. What to do… Well, I decided I am going to hike it again this Saturday. Those who are crazy are coming with me. One of my brothers is definitely coming along and my other brother said he has to think about it. Matt is also coming. He has only come on one hike with us this year. I am excited that he will be able to experience it! He is not too enthused over the idea that we will be hiking for about six hours, but I’m glad he’s coming. This time I will take pictures. I took my camera last time, filled it with freshly recharged batteries, and two spare ones just incase. It turns out that the freshly recharged batteries were placed in the charger wrong so I ended up having four cold dead batteries. Bummer! I will make sure to share the pictures this next time around and tell you how it goes!

Poor Dad

Monday after I finished my workout at my parent’s house, my dad came home from work.

My mom was making dinner.

Dad walks in, goes straight to a note on the table and says in a very frustrated voice, “Alright, when am I supposed to call them?”

Mom, gives a chuckle while Dad answers his own question by reading the note.

Dad frustratingly walks off to go sit on his chair to dial the number.

Me: “Hello to you to.”

Completely distracted by his frustration, he doesn’t even notice I said anything.

Me: “Who does Dad have to call and why is he so frustrated?”

Mom: “Dad got a call today to go and get a colonoscopy on Wednesday.”

Dad, on hold, suddenly tuned into the conversation.

Me, realizing what this meant…started laughing.

Dad, not thinking the situation was funny, laughed anyway and said, “This is not funny!”

Me, dying with laughter.

Dad, not amused.

I left.

Matt and I came back later that evening.

Dad, looking perturbed.

Me, didn’t even say a word. All I did was look at him. Each time I did, I broke out into silent uncontrollable laughter.

Dad, noticed the silent uncontrollable laughter. Wasn’t amused.

Me, days later. Found out he thought he was going to be put to sleep during the procedure.

He wasn’t.

Still find myself breaking out into silent uncontrollable laughter every time I see him.

Dad, still isn’t amused.

I Started a New Read

"Twilight" is the new series I decided to start reading this weekend. So far it is good. I'm not too far into it, but last night as I was reading and ended a chapter, the book persuaded me to keep reading when I should have been putting my efforts into going to sleep. I have a feeling there will be more nights like that. It reminded me of all those years growing up reading in bed, trying to fit in another chapter before drifting off to sleep. Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Although, when you become an adult, and have more responsibilities, it's hard to put aside the time for as much reading, even though the time is there. I know there are people out there who really don't like reading for one reason or another. I know a few. But what I really think is that they mostly have never really given reading a chance for the pleasure of it. To use some of their spare time to find a good book and read it. Although, I'm sure if they tried it, they might find the reason so many people love to read.

Eye Surgery

I finally went and had PRK laser vision correction done to my eyes! Most people will recognize it as LASIK. The difference between the two is the way they get through your cornia to do the actual lasering process. Unlike LASIK surgery, PRK does not require the creation of a corneal flap. Instead, the epithelium is gently removed and the laser is applied to reshape the surface of the cornea to fix your vision and get rid of the astigmatisms. Since an astigmatism (the front of the eye) is shaped like a football rather than a basketball, a clean circle cannot be cut and get the same result as with a normal shaped eye during LASIK. Therefore, they had to get rid of part of the top of my eyes that is no thicker than a piece of hair. It was a very painful recovery, since the healing is much more strained. But all is well. It has only been a week and a half since I had it done, so it is still healing, but it is an AMAZING thing, technology. From having very, very bad vision, to not needing any contacts or glasses, I would recommend it to anyone!

As a side note, I know most people get freaked out by the fact that you watch the whole process being done to your eyes. But this is how I saw it. For those of you who wear mascara, you might better understand it. When you put your mascara on, you watch yourself doing it in the mirror. If you look directly at the brush coming at you, that is a much more freaky process. But we don't get freaked out when we see it coming at our eye in the mirror. Well, that's how this vision correction is. They tell you to focus/stare at the blinking orange light, and not to move your eye at all, or the machine will shut down and it will have to start over again. You are so focused on not moving your eye, and focusing on that blinking orange light, you can't focus on what they are doing to you. And the thing they clamp your eye open with...you can't even tell it's there. You don't have the urge to blink because they keep your eye nice and moist. It's really not that scary.

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The benefits far out weigh any moment of any nerves you may have. It'll hurt for a few days, but I'll tell you it's worth it. Besides, it gives you a reason to hug a stuffed bunny like you did when you were little. (Yes, they provide a stuffed bunny for you to hug during the procedure). And it made me smile. :)

I Can Do Hard Things

At the beginning of the year, my brother and I decided we were going to hike the Grand Canyon. We went about a month ago in the middle of June. It was such an amazing place to see!

I enjoyed the trip, and overall, I might say it was a great experience...all except for the end. We spent the night and started hiking out early in the morning. That would not have been bad, had I not had carbon copy symptoms of the stomach flu. To put it lightly, I felt horrible! I felt like I was experiencing something straight from hell. (Excuse the term). To even add to that, we each had a 40 pound pack to carry. Being down there, feeling like I was, knowing what I had to do, and looking up towards the top, it seemed to go on forever. It was a very daunting feeling. I felt very similarly to what a bug must feel like at the bottom of a vase.

In the Grand Canyon, they tell you not to hike between the hours of 10:00 AM and about 4:00 PM because the heat is so bad. I knew we had to be to the rim before 10:00. I already knew I was in trouble, because I did not eat anything (do you blame me?) and I had not had very much to drink. We started at 4:00 AM. I just kept telling myself to put one foot in front of the other. The last thing I wanted to do was hike out of the Grand Canyon, but I knew I had to. There was really no other choice. We got to the first rest stop and we kept going. I had built up a rhythm. Even as horrible as I felt, I knew if I stopped, I would only feel worse. I wasn't about to do that. So on and up we went. The further we went up, the worse I felt, and it seemed the top was not getting any nearer. My brother finally told me to stop and rest, forced me to sit down, and like I said before, once I lost my rhythm, I threw up. Too bad it was just that little water I got down earlier, because I knew I needed it. At that point my brother started to get really worried. He wasn't aware of how bad I was feeling until that moment. It was getting hotter and I had no fluids in me. He thought maybe it was heat exhaustion, and very likely, that is probably what it was.

So from then on, my brother was trying to give me pep talks like, "We're almost there...". Then I would look up and find that to my dismay, it never looked any closer. If I had felt better at the time, I would have laughed at him each time he said it. There were only two moments as we were coming up that I actually thought to myself, "I don't think I am going to make it out of here." to then tell myself, "You are going to get to the rim! You will!" Then I would push myself again, putting one foot in front of the other.

My motivation was one word, ice. I was going to reward myself with ice once I got out, and lots of it! I promised myself that ice would be my constant companion after this was over (and it has been). More than halfway to the top, I started to feel like drinking water, so I took my chances, and drank whenever that happened. Nearer to the top I heard a bus, and I almost cried. Four hours later from when we began, we surfaced from what I then lovingly referred to as "the ditch". The walk to the car seemed a long endeavor, but once I saw it, I had a wave of insanity rush over me and thought to myself that I should name my car. Although insane, since then I have found a suitable name and call her Sheyenne. I went over to my car and hugged her, to then be quickly pulled off by my brother as to not cause any embarrassment (I am sure). We proceeded to find the nearest general store and we each got a 32 oz. cup of Sprit, filled with ice. It was one of the best things I had ever tasted! And as luck would have it, I felt 100% better within a half hour of resurfacing. Dirty and tired, but I felt good. It is in times like these that we really notice how much we take for granted like the fact that we feel healthy for the majority of the time in our lives.

The moral of this story is not for you to feel bad for me. I realized after the whole ordeal was over, that I can do hard things. Before this happened, I thought that doing an hour of exercise every day is a hard thing, and it is. I have always been proud of myself for that. Doing things that I say I will do, regardless of how hard it is. However, I realized that the way to see what kind of a person you really are and how strong you are, is how you handle hard things when they are not planned. When you seem to already be down and something else happens that makes you wonder whether or not you can get through it. You have to ask yourself, can you put one foot in front of the other, or will you just give up and break down? As someone once said, "You are only as strong as you make up your mind to be".

While I was in Arizona, I bought a necklace. It is strung with black stones, hung with a bear shaped stone at the bottom. I am not one much for putting decorations in my car, but I put this necklace around my rear view mirror. Every time I get into my car and look at it, it reminds me that I can do hard things and that I am brave. I feel like we could all use a reminder like that in our lives.

Looking back, realizing what a difficult thing that was for me, it has given me the strength to know that when things happen in life that are not easy, and I don't just mean physically, that I can get through it because I know I can do hard things. When you have moments in your life that are hard and it seems unbearable, remember that you too can do hard things. Don't ever give up. Life isn't always easy, but we all just have to remember that we are not always going to be hiking up the Grand Canyon. We are always going to have our Grand Canyons to climb, that is inevitable, but we aren't always going to be climbing. Life is also enjoyable, and we can look forward to those moments when we are trying to get to the rim of our problems.