A future

Today I had to find a class to fill a SW elective.

I signed up for social gerontology...

Social.

Gerontology.

Oh, and did I mention that it is 3 hours long?

I almost fell asleep before I even finished adding the class.

Okay, that was uncalled for.

I love my grandparents.

I will give it a fighting chance.

Just don't say I didn't warn you

when you ask me to remember anything past 

"Students, welcome to class"...

On another note,

this afternoon as I was sitting at my desk at Up to 3 

(Yes, I have a desk. Woo-hoo.)

I had one of those "this is it" moments.

You know.

Those times when you think to yourself,

I'm where I'm supposed to be. 

I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. 

And I'm loving it! 

And I felt grateful

--like reeaaallly grateful--

that things have worked out this way.

Cheers to futures unfolding!

I am.

I am a wife.

I am a daughter.

I am a sister.

I am a friend.

I am a realist.

I am a college student.

I am a lover of learning.

I am a pianist.

I am a (closet) singer.

I am a cook.

I am a reader.

I am a writer.

And I'm a Mormon.

 

Ha. I've been watching too many of those Mormon ads, 

or something!

But seriously... today I feel as if belting those words 

from the rooftops... "I am a Mormon!"

Because I feel so proud of the fact 

and am happy to have that blessing in my life!!

I often wonder where I would be if I didn't have the direction of the gospel to guide me through this journey we call life. Jake and I were talking about this the other day with some of our friends, and the conversation went a little something like this...

Friends: We'd be wine connoisseurs--traveling the world, 

and drinking the best of wines.

Steph: Me too... mostly because I love cheese. :)

Jake: Yeah... not gonna lie... If I wasn't LDS, I'd be one of those chubby guys that is at every college party who wears the stupid beer hat with the straws coming out of it and says really inappropriate things!

Ha ha! Can you picture it? Hilarious.

And we joke about these things, but when it comes right down to it, I would rather be nobody else, than a member of 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I am grateful to know that on the day that my husband and I decided to officially tie the knot, we were not given the assurance, "til death do you part" but were instead promised that we would live together forever, however long that may be. 

A handsome dude who constantly makes me laugh, 

stuck to my side forever? 

I'm in!

And I also love the fact that the day when I get to hold a tiny little baby in my arms and look down at it, knowing it's mine, that I can also know that it is mine, even after we die. 

I look forward to this day with so much excitement! 

I can't even wait! 

(No, this is not an announcement.)

Of all the truths of the gospel, the knowledge that I will live together with my family and with God forever, in a beautiful place (I'm picturing 75 degrees with orangeish/reddish sunsets every single night!) is the one that brings the most peace to my mind.

I am forever grateful for the blessings of the gospel in my life and I wish that every single person could feel the joy I feel, 

knowing that there is a God and that he loves us 

and knows who we are and what we need.

 

I am a wife,

a friend,

a cook,

a writer,

and a Mormon.

Who are you?

In case you wanted to know...

I feel like I want to do an update.

(And since my email is currently un-useable (again!), which means I can't do stuff for my job, and in the spirit of "soaking up every last bit of summer before school starts again" I am not even going to allow myself to feel one bit guilty about doing two consecutive posts on the blog.)

So here goes:

I FINALLY quit DownEast.

I say finally, because... it is time.

Those of you who have ever worked retail for longer than a year

(but really more like 2 years or more) can understand what I mean.

It has been weird to really be done, since I have worked there longer than any other job.

And there are a few things I am really going to miss...

Cleaning out dressing rooms that look like dorm-room closets

Picking up beverages left on top of rounders, 

suckers stuck to children's clothing,

or diapers propped outside bathroom doors.

Folding things. Especially these types of things!

Answering the same question over.

and over.

and over, again.

Sweeping and mopping this floor

Walking in to work 

(or even better, church, only I can't find the picture at the moment!) 

only to find that a co-worker is wearing the exact same thing!

Being yelled at because "my" exchange policy sucks.

Feeling sorry for my co-workers who got to 

clean up the barf on the drinking fountain. 

Giving band-aids to children after begin screamed at by parents

because "my child almost cut their eye open on that glass shelf!"

And so many other wonderful things!

Okay, let's be honest, I probably won't miss any of these things, 

but I will miss my peeps at DE.

That place has definitely brought some great friends into my life!

And really, the job wasn't that bad.

I mean... at least I've never had to pick up pig ovaries...

I am excited to be done, and ready for my next adventure to start, which is my practicum that will begin this fall at Up to 3, 

an organization on campus that works with families who have children with developmental disorders.

Currently I am still working on campus doing all sorts of things 

that are hard to explain in a nutshell.

The gist of it, is that I do research, create websites 

and encourage people to get involved in mentoring.

I like it.

 

I also just recently got a new calling at church 

to be the primary pianist.

I'm loving the kids already!

As for Jake, he is enjoying his new job.

He's working for Wasatch Properties Management where he takes phone calls from people who are calling in about apartment complexes managed by Wasatch.

I am also enjoying this new job, 

because not only does he no longer have to work late in to the night, 

we also got to upgrade gyms, 

and our new gym has a swimming pool!

Let's just say that I have been one happy woman 

during this blazing hot summer!

Jake, as of late, 

has also been working on creating a website with a buddy of his.

aggiewelcomewagon.com

Check it out and let me know what you think!

And the most exciting thing that has happened recently is that my brother-in-law returned home from his LDS mission in Tahiti!!

On the way to the airport... we were all a little excited...

My husband looks pretty good as a Tahitian woman :)

He's home!

Jake practicing on his new ukelele

Taylor is great, not only because he was always someone that I could talk to when Jake was on his mission, but also because he just has a way of making everyone happy.

I love the kid and am so happy he's home!

With just one week left 

until I start my VERY LAST YEAR of school....

Life is good!

Anniversary #2

Once upon a time,

This boy

met this girl

 

 and they became friends.

 

While boy served LDS mission,

Girl waited around for him to get home. 

attended 2 Universities and had lots and lots of fun!

Some of the greatest friends! Sadey, Liz and Court

TVT- Our bowling league at SUU

Alternative Spring Break- Guaymas, Mexico

Football game at BYU

Heather's wedding!

Tubing down Provo river with roomies

Hanging with Jenna

After 2 years, boy and girl re-united.

 

 awkwardly.

 Time passed and boy finally mustered up the nerve 

to pop the question...

She said "Yes!"

 

 and they lived happily ever after.

 

For at least 2 years, that is...

And I normally don't like PDA types of things,

but if we're talking anniversary-talk, 

then I'm just gonna say it...

  

I love you, Jake!

Can't wait to see what the next 2 years bring!

Food love

I wanted to write a post about food.

And love.

But really, mostly food.

My father-in-law lives by the statement,

 "I don't live to eat, I eat to live"

I can--with complete confidence--proclaim to you 

(in all caps) 

that 

"I LIVE TO EAT!"

and feel not one bit ashamed.

And if we're divulging secrets here, then I will also say that I spend an unnatural amount of time looking at food blogs and pinning pics of delectable dishes in an attempt to gather recipes for my next ambitious adventure, or the ever-dreaded un-curbable craving.... 

which I might add, is a regular occurrence in my life. 

How people who don't cook ever satisfy their cravings, 

I will never know.

Late-night grocery runs?

Frantic fits of pleading cries for the husband to 

"PLEASE go buy ice cream"?

An exercise of self-control in which one 

suppresses their overwhelming need for food?

One and two I can relate to.

The third? 

Not so much.

But.

 I would argue that this lack of self discipline is not all bad.

You see... if I had resisted an urge to cook something that looked absolutely delightful, I would have missed out on 

the explosion of flavor which was this

Honey Glazed Salmon with Brown Butter Sauce

Photo by cooking classy

or failed to experience my newest favorite pasta topping 

which was this

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Photo by Our Best Bites

or, even worse, missed out on the buttery, salty, goodness of these 

Hot Buttered Fluffy Pretzels

Photo by Fifteen Spatulas

which turned out looking EXACTLY like the picture promised!!

And what's more, 

I never would have had my first go at a delicious

Strawberry filled lemon shortbread cookie

Photo by evil shenanigans

 or acquired my "go-to" group gathering recipe 

lovingly referred to as

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Photo by The Girl Who Ate Everything

or tried my hand at pie making with this

Double Chocolate Silk Cream Pie

Photo by Lauren's Latest

that tastes, if at all possible, even better than it sounds!

Really though.

Who needs self-control when it results in this kind of bliss??

Not me.

Or myself.

Or I.

Now for the love part of the post...

Today, while I was looking through an old USB drive, 

I found a priceless pic

Brown and gold never looked so good!

Happy thoughts

At this moment in time, 

I am ECSTATIC.

While it is true that life has been quite exciting lately,

my happiness stems from more than just that.

Let me explain.

By nature, I am a less-optimistic person. 

[I like to consider myself a realist. :)]

I often dread the worst, and tend to worry myself to death 

about the "could be's" and "mights"

So back in May when I was looking at the social forecast for the next three months of summer, it looked like a lot of bleak, boring nights, sitting at home alone while my husband was at work and while I sat wishing I was anywhere but in my current location, 

or current stage of life. 

Why am I living in Logan?

Why don't I have more friends?

Why don't we have more money?

Why am I still in school??

Why is our apartment not cleaner/bigger/prettier/more inviting?

Hmmm...And while I'm thinking about it, 

WHY don't we have air conditioning?!

Why does my husband have to work nights??

Why am I having these thoughts?

Why?

Why?

Why?

(I ask myself that question a lot. ha.)

One night while dramatically lamenting to my husband, 

as he patiently sat listening to his ornery wife, 

he gave me the look. 

No, not that look...

 I mean the look that says

 "you are seriously complaining about this again?? 

How many times do I have to tell you 

that it all depends on how you perceive things??" 

That look.

And I realized that I really needed a change.

An attitude change, that is.

While I am not even close to being good at seeing the positive side of things, I really did try to start looking at my current situation 

with a more optimistic perspective. 

I decided to start looking for all the great things that Logan has to offer. I decided to actively start pursuing the art of making new friends. I added a few "homey" touches to the apartment, took a chill pill and relaxed, and just hoped beyond all hopes that my husband would soon find a job where he didn't work nights.

It's amazing how different life is when you take action 

and view it from the positive side of things.

I realized that Logan is actually a great place to live. 

It FINALLY grew on me.

(And I couldn't be happier about this.)

I started hanging out with different people while my husband was at work, and though it was hard at times to put myself out there and really go out of my comfort zone to do new things and hang with new people, I really feel like I've made improvements in this area.

And the best news of all: 

Jake got a new job. 

Where he doesn't work nights!

My intentions are in no way to make it seem 

as if we now have the perfect life.

(because obviously, that is not the case.)

They are, however, to remind everyone out there, 

including myself, 

that a smile and a positive thought

goes a very

very

very

long way.

[So does asking a girl to Senior Prom....]

 Smile.

It could change your life.

:)