Christmas =)

Merry Christmas to one and all!!!

I need to say that now because I doubt i'll be blogging before Christmas.  Tomorrow is my last day and I am done!!! Forever!!!!

Oh How I wish I could say that but here is the real deal...tomorrow is my last day till the holiday. And THEN I have to work day after Christmas. STINKS!! Ugh!!!! I have to be there at the normal time. Ugh...

Well anyways last night when I got to our door it was Christmas early!!!  We had 5 packages!!! We are so lucky!! And blessed to have such caring parents.  My mom just does so much for us on the holidays =)  She is too sweet. =)  And my dad also sent us a package =)  We are so excited =)

And Austin just told me that we got a package today. How in the world does he know that?!  He's a few cities away from our house! I am guessing they sent it by UPS.  Who ever did that you are so awesome!! Thanks for supporting Austin's job =)  You rock!!

So I have always had this issue about Christmas music.  I have/HAD issues with those that announce that they are atheist, don't believe in God, or don't believe in Jesus Christ.  BUT then they go around singing Christmas carols like silent night, joy to the world, and oh come all ye faithful. Well do they realize what the Christmas season is all about?? Those songs are about CHRIST! His birth!! Why would you sing about Christ when you don't believe IN Christ. And it actually made me a little mad that they were such hypocrites!! 

But...as you noticed the had at the beginning I have had a change of mind and heart. If someone does sing Christmas songs who doesn't believe in Christ then I say sing them ALL YEAR ROUND! If you aren't getting any other doses of religion than a little heaping of Christmas music might be just the thing for you =) As tiny tim says, "God Bless us, everyone."

well that's all for now. I am tired of typing. =)

Have a great christmas everyone!! =) =)

Love you all!!

Here I am again

Okay I promise I won't go all crazy like I did on a previous post...you know the one I mean.  Well the exciting news of the day is that it's my Mom's Birthday!!! =)   Happy Birthday Mom!!!  (I will be calling you soon but I am in the library after work and can't use the phone in here. =)

austin saw a mommy raccoon and baby raccoon. How cool and incredibly lucky!! =)

Work was fine.  I got my christmas "bonus". Well it was a 19lb turkey. Sweet!!! A free Christmas dinner!! =)  Although I would have loved to get...oh I don't know...$5000!!!!!....but I will settle with a free(somewhat) Norbest 19lb turkey =)  We will probably doing the same recipe as before. Y'all are invited to come and have some if you'd like =)  just RSVP with me so that I can plan on the amount of side dishes =)

Besides that life has been just about the same as it was before.  Nothing new has changed or come up. 

Austin has worked a couple times helping deliver UPS packages.  He looks so cute in his size 38 pants and XXL jacket =)  (austin is a size 30 and wears medium to large jackets)  But you know what's funny, The arms are STILL a little short on him. 

My amazing man and his monkey arms. =)  But you know what, its so great having those monkey arms in the kitchen to get things down for me =)

I am getting some classic christmas movies from the library:
>The Christmas Box
>Home Alone
>Ernest Saves Christmas

Classics alright =)  Couldn't go through the season without them =)

Well that's all for now folks.

Have a great day and feel free to send gifts and treats our way =)

(haha that kind of rhymes =) )

adorable chirstmas puppies =)

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!

We have NOT heard back from any of the jobs that we are currently waiting to hear back from... yup.

nothing has changed around here for us.

Suprise!! =S

Also a side note for parents: You really don't need to ask us EVERY time you call if we've heard back from any of them.  If we do have some exciting news we'll share it, but on the other hand I am sick of telling people (not just parents) that "he didn't get that job" or "he was in the top of the applicants but wasn't selected" and "we ahven't heard anything yet". Do you realize how hard that is on me?  It is so disappointing and its just another emotional roller coaster to get over AGAIN.  I am trying to be strong here but every time I hear someone ask Austin or me that question I want to break down in tears and say "no. we. have. not. thanks for making my day more depressing!!" 

I am sure you don't realize the effect that question has on me but it really is time to stop asking me about the job situation.  I am done talking about how we are STILL waiting to hear back and trying to fake my positivity over the phone.  If Austin continues to get turned down by job after job, I don't want to hear that question for the next eternity. I am done answering that question.

now if you do forget I will still sourly smile, while talking to you on the phone, and as best I can positively say that "we are still waiting to hear back but it should be any day now. =)"   =P yuck...

I don't know what you guys are thinking, but I know that you really do have our best interest at heart, but do you honestly think that we will just up and move and NOT tell ANYONE?? (those over the primary/nursery think I am just going to leave) Have we EVER done that before??? We've moved around three times now in almost 3 years to farther away places and we need the love and support of our family amd friends to accomplish that. We don't plan on keeping it a secret.  Once Austin gets the right job we will probably go out and scream it to the whole world!! We will be so excited to tell everyone our happy news!!

But...at the moment we have no happy job news to share.

So, from the bottom of my heart...PLEASE stop asking me if we've heard back anything from any of the jobs Austin has applied to.

Thanks.  I really do appreciate it.

Love you all and may you have a beautiful holiday season. =)

New BLOG!!!

Austin has decided to jump on the band wagon and start a blog about all our wildlife adventures!! So this blog will feature all the wildlife we come into contact with or see or hear with a small bio accompanying it.  While the wild brewers blog will still continue to update you on all of our family wild adventures =)

New Blog Address!!

www.brewerbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com

go and enjoy our up and coming wildlife posts!!

day on the town!!

yesterday austin took me to the big city for a day on the town. Shopping, eating, going to the temple, and all that good sutff!  The best buy of the day by far is my christmas sweater!!! Its not just some regular old sweater with a couple snowflakes... its a snowman christmas tree stuffed stockings red green blue white sweater!!!!!!! we are talking about the ULTIMATE christmas sweater!!! I love going to DI and getting such a great bargain!!! I even got two cute tops and got 20% off all of it!! Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!! =)   I wish I couple put a picture up but atlast I am much too lazy and this is a public computer and I feel weird doing that. But I do look really good.  Austin said that its a "mom" sweater =) haha its so awesome!!!! =)

the day after

well we survived and yes...we ate WAY too much!! Our turkey... I don't think I can say too little about it.  It was tender, juicy, flavorful, and just amazing!! I would love to tell you all my secret to a juicy flavorful tender BUT I am not going to so that you will have to come to our house for some turkey in the future.  = ) I am so evil aren't I but this secret is just too good to share with anyone but those who already know =) hahaha

Hope you all had a great thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Menu

Today is Pie making day!! =) Apple and Pumpkin pie!! I am so excited to be baking. =) 

We were talking the other day about how excited we are to be doing our own thanksgiving. Its exciting to plan ourselves what we want to eat and make. AND I get to cook the turkey all by myself this year. I am SUPER excited!! I feel all grown up!!

Here is the Thanksgiving Day Menu :

Turkey (of course)
Stuffing (the real kind...from a box.{my ABSOLUTE favorite})
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce (wouldn't be thanksgiving without it)
Green bean Casserole (a traditional favorite)
Home made rolls(YUM!!)
Sweet Potato Butter (thanks to my great mom)
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie

Its a lot of food and what I wouldn't give for a double oven right now but it will be so great =)

I am trying two new recipes for my pies.  well three actually. I am making a pat in the pan pastry pie crust, thanks to Diane at work =), and a Paula Deen flaky pie crust. the flaky will be for the apple and the pat in the pan for the pumpkin. Austin is getting REALLY excited for tomorrow =) And so am I =)  We have the charlie brown thanksgiving movie to watch tomorrow and I am so ready to watch that. I have been waiting to watch it for almost a month! My wait is almost over!! =)

I am still debating about how to cook the turkey. Bag or no bag... I do but I don't...Hmmm I guess we'll see how I feel tomorrow. =) (don't worry mom, I'll figure it out today, I won't wait till the last moment) =)

Its been raining/snowing off and on here for the pass two days but I am totally loving it. Its almost like being in the pacific northwest again for the holidays =)  Duke, on the other hand, is NOT enjoying the rain. He likes sun and snow. NO rain for him!! becca just doesn't like going outside in general unless its for a walk or she REALLY has to go to the bathroom. than she takes maybe half a step from the porch and squats. At least she gets off the porch. haha

Work is still crummy as usual. I am doing the job of three people and so is denice. it stinks that I am only getting paid for a third of the work I do...

So austin didn't get the job in St. george. Big disappointment.  He recieved an email yesterday saying that it was offered to someone else but that he was one of their top choices. Wish we could put that on the resume because we've heard it a million and one times.  But at least we still have the texas school to hear back from, the burley job, and the kingman job. At least there are still 3 things to hope for in the future. 

(Please don't call me and talk to me about the St. George job, I don't want to talk about it. Its too disappointing to discuss, but if you feel the need you can call austin, he's still positive through everything so he can talk to you. thanks for understanding.)

well on that happy note(haha) I am going to go back home and start my pies =) ....I love being an adult =)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! =)

still here

Okay...well to start off with we are still where we were last time I blogged. Nothing new has happened.  We have YET to hear back from st. george but we're still hoping to hear back today or tomorrow. 

Austin's birthday is on sunday and I am way excited. still need to get a cake which might be trickier than it sounds.

new found loved snack: saltines with a smear of peanut butter and a small slice of granny smith apple. very good =) AND!!! they are like practically healthy! =)

austin made me nachos last night but forgot about them while under the boiler. oops. But we still ate them =)  they were really good with sauteed onions =) and then we watched Last Song. (ha ha) Miley Cirus(i probably spelled that wrong but I don't care enough to fix it) is a TERRIBLE actress and it makes me laugh.  I've always said that I have chipmunk cheeks...do my cheeks look as big as her's do??????

well I don't know what else to write so I am going to leave now. Have a great day everyone

its been awhile

Hey all my loyal blog followers, which I believe there is only my mom and....my mom?? anyways thanks for being so loyal mommy =)

so life hasn;t really changed much except that austin is now unemployed for the time being and is working really hard to get a permanent job that pays him well or a grad position. He is also a better house wife than I was/am!! what's with that?!  when I arrived home yesterday, the house was spotless!! I couldn't believe it!! ha ha well my husband is the best =)

work is fine. working all mornings this week. 5 days at 9 ish hours a day. very. tiring. yeah.........

Happy birthday patrick!!!! (27th)

Happy birthday Ken!!!! (28th)

Happy birthday becca!!! (29th)

and Austin's and Grandma's is coming up in November. So exciting! We might actually be living in the same place for BOTH of our birthdays!! Wow!! =) or not.... ???

lets see.... oh! we got almost 6" of snow last week!! now its just raining off and on.

I really want a smore right now... good thing I don't have to wait till we go camping for that =) =)

I love my nursery girls =) they make me want a little girl =)  but not to keep though. too much emotional drama come teen years. no thank you. 

Oh!!! AND its amanda's birthday in november too!!! Love you BFE =)

halloween is tomorrow.

cool.

this is the one holiday that young couples wished they had children. because then they could take their infant trick or treating and then eat all their candy.  The prime trick or treating years for parents is child age from 0 - 5, after that, the child will start to realize that you are hoarding all the candy while they only get a piece of two.  you make be asking yourself, "would austin really do that to his innocent children??" and the answer is this, "yes, yes he would. but for those few pieces that the children do get, they would have to do tricks like jumping, standing, rolling over and shake...just like he does with the dogs" haha yes, that is who I married, the best man in the world =)

okay, well with that mental image in your head I am going to say good bye for now and

Haaaaaaaaapppppy Haaaaaaaaallooweeeeeeeeeeeen!!!! =) =)

I love this talk

As we meet sisters around the world, we are amazed at the strength of your testimonies. So many of you are first- or second-generation members of the Church. We see many sisters serving in multiple callings, traveling long distances to attend church, and sacrificing to make and keep sacred temple covenants. We honor you. You are the Lord’s modern-day pioneers!


Recently my husband, Mel, and I met a volunteer tour guide named Mollie Lenthal as we visited a museum in Australia. We found out that Mollie, a lovely woman in her 70s, has no children and has never married. She is an only child, and her parents have been deceased for many years. Her closest relatives are two cousins who live on another continent. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with the Spirit testifying to me, almost as if Heavenly Father were speaking: “Mollie is not alone! Mollie is my daughter! I am her Father! She is a very important daughter in my family, and she is never alone!”

One of my favorite stories from the Savior’s life is the story of Lazarus. The scriptures tell us that “Jesus loved Martha, … her sister [Mary], and [their brother] Lazarus.” Word was sent to Jesus that Lazarus was very ill, but Jesus did not come immediately; He stayed away two more days, stating that “this sickness is … for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”

Hearing that Jesus was coming, Martha “went and met him,” telling Him what had happened. Lazarus had “lain in the grave four days already.” Grieving, Martha ran back to her home to tell Mary that the Lord had come. Mary, weighed down with sorrow, ran to Jesus, fell down at His feet, and wept.

We are told that “when Jesus therefore saw [Mary] weeping, … he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,” and asked where they had laid him.

“They said unto him, Lord, come and see.”

Then we read some of the most compassionate, loving words in scripture: “Jesus wept.”

Apostle James E. Talmage wrote: “The sight of the two women so overcome by grief … caused Jesus to sorrow [with them], so that He groaned in spirit and was deeply troubled.” This experience testifies of the compassion, empathy, and love that our Savior and our Heavenly Father feel for each of us every time we are weighed down by the anguish, sin, adversity, and pains of life.

Dear sisters, our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, know us and love us. They know when we are in pain or suffering in any way. They do not say, “It’s OK that you’re in pain right now because soon everything is going to be all right. You will be healed, or your husband will find a job, or your wandering child will come back.” They feel the depth of our suffering, and we can feel of Their love and compassion in our suffering.

Alma testified:

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

“And he will take upon him … their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, … that he may know … how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”

When we wonder if we are known by our Savior and our Father in Heaven or how well They know us personally, we might remember the Savior’s words to Oliver Cowdery:

“If you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.”

Earlier the Savior stated to him, “There is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.”

The Savior reminded Oliver that He knew every detail of that pleading prayer—and remembered the exact time, the very night.

Many years ago my husband became very ill with a rare disease. As the weeks went by and the sicker he became, the more I became convinced that he was dying. I told no one of my fears. We had a large, young family and a loving, eternal marriage, and the thought of losing my husband and raising my children by myself filled me with loneliness, despair, and even anger. I am ashamed to say that I pulled away from my Heavenly Father. For days I quit praying; I quit planning; I cried. I finally came to the realization that I could not do this alone.

For the first time in many days, I knelt down and poured out my heart to my Father in Heaven, pleading for forgiveness for turning away from Him, telling Him all of my deepest feelings, and finally crying out that if this was what He really wanted me to do, I would do it. I knew He must have a plan for our lives.

As I continued on my knees to pour out my heart, the sweetest, most peaceful, loving feeling came over me. It was as if a blanket of love was flowing over me. It was as if I could feel Heavenly Father saying, “That was all I needed to know.” I determined never to turn away from Him again. Gradually and amazingly, my husband began to get better until he made a full recovery.

Years later my husband and I knelt by the side of our 17-year-old daughter and pleaded for her life. This time the answer was no, but that same feeling of love and peace that our Savior has promised was just as powerful, and we knew that even though Heavenly Father was calling her back home, everything would be all right. We have come to know what it means to cast our burdens upon the Lord, to know that He loves us and feels compassion for us in our sorrows and pain.

One of the sweetest father-to-son moments in the Book of Mormon is Alma the Younger’s testimony to his son Helaman. Alma described the “inexpressible horror” he felt as he imagined coming into the presence of God to be judged of his many transgressions. After feeling the weight of all his sins for three days and nights, he repented and pleaded with the Savior to have mercy on him. He described to Helaman the “exquisite and sweet” joy of remembering his pains “no more.” Instead of feeling “inexpressible horror” at the thought of coming before the throne of God, Alma saw a vision of “God sitting upon his throne” and declared, “My soul did long to be there.”

Is that not how we feel, my dear sisters, as we repent and contemplate the love, the mercy, and the gratitude we feel for our Heavenly Father and our Savior—that we too “long to be there,” to be embraced by Their loving arms once again?

Just as the Lord has testified to me that He has not forgotten His precious daughter Mollie Lenthal, I testify that He has not forgotten you! Whatever sin or weakness or pain or struggle or trial you are going through, He knows and understands those very moments. He loves you! And He will carry you through those moments, just as He did Mary and Martha. He has paid the price that He might know how to succor you. Cast your burdens upon Him. Tell your Heavenly Father how you feel. Tell Him about your pain and afflictions and then give them to Him. Search the scriptures daily. There you will also find great solace and help.

Our Savior asked:

“For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. …

“… I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.”

“I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world.”15

That is our charge. We must feel and see for ourselves and then help all of Heavenly Father’s children to feel and see and know that our Savior has taken upon Himself not only all our sins but also our pains and our suffering and afflictions so that He can know what we feel and how to comfort us. I testify of Him in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

9/11

I can't believe that is was eleven years ago that the twin towers came down. to be honest I didn't even know what the twin towers were or where they stood till 9/11.

That's how it always seems to be isn't it, we don't notice things or take the time to learn until the worst has happened and we try to tell ourselves that we need to remember this because we felt so stupid and ignorant before and don't want to feel that way again. and it was involved with a seriously sad even that has scarred america in more than one way. So many people died and I wonder how those people who committed this murder will be tried in heaven.

anyways I worked last night and I work again this night and I am not excited for tonight. I have to close with the new guy and well...he's a lazy bum that sits on the floor behind the register and plays with his phone. I am NOT going to let that fly tonight. I am one tough woman and not to be messed with, specially when I am already in a bad mood. Which I am still trying to decide if I am upset after a recent conversation I had...

Some days I hate my job. Others days I despise my job. and still other days I can't think of anything worse than my cruddy-crappy-going-no-where-but-the-dirt-end-of-the-road-job. But its a job and I don't really have too many choices at the moment. I shouldn't really complain because my job is not that bad...still....its not my dream job.........

Well I should head out to work.

my life is great. I love my life.

and just so you know I never get the couch when austin is gone, the dogs take over and I am stuck on the floor. seem backwards to you?? I thought so too.

have a great day everyone.

okay well I don't have a whole lot of time to blog but I just thought I would let you know that I am alive and so is austin, along with all the furry friends and non furry friends.

so much has happened in the past month that I don't have the time or energy to blog about it.

my parents visit was great but too short as usual. and like usual, they spoiled us rotten, they are way too good to us but thanks mom and ken =)

second, it was my birthday on the 20th =) it was great and I was spoiled by everyone! my two families are very similar =) both my mom and ken and austin's family got me these items :
1. vegetable scrub brushes
2. aprons
3. candy
4. decorative things for our house
5. movies(which luckily none of them were duplicates =) )

so i just have to say that I loved ALL of the stuff that I got and that both families have great taste=)

Also my dad is coming in two weeks and we're excited about that. and my dad sent me a new charger and extra battery for my camera, how sweet. =)

well that's all for now. I really need to get going and head to work.

bye ya'll!

ps: my boss spells lettuce "lettice". Am i the only one that finds that annoying??

Pss: the guy next to me in the library is talking to the computer and GROWLING at it!! Should I be worried???? =S

day off...

here I am at the library checking out some movies for today and tomorrow for me to watch while I clean and I thought I would jump on and give a shout to the world saying hello world! =)

One thing I don't understand are those people who buy $75 worth of lottery tickets each week!! crazy! do they understand that thats $300!! a month!!! not worth it! the ticket might as well say

"thanks for supporting the Lotto industry! you won't be seeing this money ever again! Play responsibly and OFTEN!! We need supporters like you!"

geeze!!

okay I am ready for a long vacation...

work is going well and the new girl is catching on pretty well so hopefully we'll have a keeper. =)

I saw a skunk last night =) pretty cool huh?! =)

austin is doing good also.he works almost 100 hours a week. he gets paid over time and since I am also working he doesn't seem to mind. plus it gets him out of the house which I am sure he enjoys.

I can't believe august is almost over... it felt like this summer has just whizzed by! I can't seem to keep track of the days anymore and I don't even know what happened to july. I think I lost it in the garage. I haven't cleaned in there in a while so that might be where I lost july. hmm...

my family is come to visit us this next week and we are so excited!! it will be great to see them. I know the time will go by way too fast but it will be fun none the less. =)

I am craving ice cream

hmm....what else do I have to tell the world...

OH! so have you been wondering why I haven't posted any pictures lately?? well its because I lost my camera battery charger. and so I am camera-less. its really sad. there are so many pictures that I have missed capturing because of my lack of camera... =( I have really missed my camera... =( but i guess life goes on...

well i think that I am going to go now and get my movies and check out. have a great day every one!!! =)

short on time

I am at the library and don't have a whole lot of time because I start work here in about 35 minutes and I don't like being late. =)

this weekend austin took me to the fair and the rodeo and spoiled me with a smoked turkey leg, elephant ear, and ice cream!!! it was so delicious!!! and yummy too =) the rodeo was fun but the clown was lame and would have been better if he didn't talk at all. and the most distressing news i have for you is that I didn't get a free t-shirt when they were throwing them out to the crowd =( sad sad sad... But! it was okay because i had ice cream and the world is still good. =)

well I better get going. I need to get going and head over to work and hopefully meet the new girl. fingers crossed she at least stays through next week and can take 2 of my days. =)

buh bye =)

well here I am again..after doing another back to back . closed lat night, opened today. I am tired. but luckily i don't work till 9 tomorrow so that is nice... I am tired.

not much has happened in the past while.

I saw a bear on my drive home on monday. that was pretty cool. I stopped the car to see if I could see it in the trees after it crossed in front of my car. well I had the windows down and I had food in the car. probably wasn't the smartest. so I continued driving.

austin saw some pileated woodpeckers also this week. I am extremely jealous because I have wanted to see one for a long time now! lucky him of course.

ps: my birthday is this month =) A friendly hint for all of those who want to send me loads of presents =) haha jk but seriously, it is my birthday this month and I had a revelation that i shared with austin and I feel I should share with you...we are getting old. theres no way to deny that anymore. my back is hurting now and I make all sorts of noises just trying to get up from the couch!! if that doesn't scream old than I don't know what does. ...

austin took the dogs swimming yesterday and duke loved playing in the shallow water!! he loves it when only his feet get wet =)

funny story: well while austin was out with the dogs at the lake, it was all pretty shallow except for one spot where it was deep. so austin walking around jumped over it, easily, and soon the dogs were following. well...poor duke, he thought that it was shallow but it was really 3 feet deep. so duke jumps thinking it would be like all the other areas where its shallow but nope, he goes down all the way and can't touch the bottom and he had to swim across. then there was becca, watching all this and observing doesn't go flying into the air to land in the deep puddle but tenderly walks around to the deep part and gracefully swims across and gets out. Ha!! doesn't that just scream a little brother and a older sister!? but I wonder what it would have been like if becca had gone first? I am guessing that the same thing would have happened. =) you have to love our little two year old =)

I am excited for mom and ken to come here in a couple weeks. It will be fun to have more visitors. I am going to make some homemade biscuits and hashbrowns etc. =) I am excited.

pss: If i tell you that we DON'T have any green peppers for your salad, DON'T ask me 4 more times if I have any and then ask really!! like I can just produce them out of thin air! we don't have any green peppers for your salad so get over it!!! and just leave!

sigh...okay, I just had to get that vent out there. some customers I swear are just so dense that what ever I say they just can't comprehend and want me to fly to some garden and PERSONALLY pick them what they want!! I am not paid enough for that!!

oh, by the way I am getting a raise. yeah...

well I can't think of anything else to write. that's about all I can think of at the moment.

nope, I lied. I thought of something! On monday when I was closing with barb, it was 10pm so we shut and locked the doors. well at like 10:10pm this girl comes banging on the window desperate to buy beer! and when we say that we aren't opening the door she asks if we know of anywhere and we both shake our heads. how sad is that! 1. I love living in a small town where the closest place to buy beer after 10 is boise, and 2. this young girl should not be so desperate to buy alcohol! sad sad sad...

psss: oatmeal with bananas, huckleberries, and a tsp of brown sugar is one yummy way to start the day =) if you come over I'll share some of our huckleberries =)

winner winner chicken dinner

I think we might have chicken for dinner tonight. it sounds good.

but lets be honest, my mood changes in a matter of minutes and soon I could be craving beef.

beef. its what's for dinner.

we got our starter fixed

Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!

cost $300

booooooooooooo.....

but our car starts on the first turn of the key!!!

Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!

I am tired and ready to go home and relax and cook dinner.

ps: a shout out to one of my best friends KK!!!! happy birthday!!!!! =) =) =)

hot wings

well i am at the library again after a long tiring day... I have put in 76 hours and I still have two days left till pay period ends. I work about another 16 hours so I am looking at getting some sweet overtime. =)

my father in law might be coming up saturday to do some fishing with austin. austin is super excited! =)

I found out that my co worker only likes working there because of all the cute boys that come into the store. when I heard her say that i thought, "that sounds just like my sister. she should work here." Well incidentally my coworker is actually quitting because its cutting into her social life and she is going to move to boise. Hey natalie, if you want a job you should hurry up and get here because they are looking to hire immediately. =)

I ate some pizza today. it was pretty good. I dipped it in ranch mixed with hot sauce. that made it great! =) if you haven't tried ranch with hot sauce you should try it. its delicious. and it was great for my sinuses.

my allergies have been bothering me all day and its really annoying working with food when you are constantly having to sneeze all the time. I was totally sanitary but still. it doesn't look good to customers.

I get my birthday off! yipee!!!! =)

dark knight rises opens tomorrow and I am going to take austin at some point to the theater to see it =) I am excited to take him =) I bet the movie is going to be epic!! =)

well I am going to start another class soon and I am trying to decide whether I should take western humanities first or technical writing. what do you think??

urinals

urinals... can i just say that I can't understand one thing when it comes to my job. Maybe i should back up and catch you up...

backing up...
backing up...
backing up...

Okay so you know that I have a job at the local place here in town making pizzas, subs, etc and well I work the mornings and the evenings, basically opening and closing. Well when I close I have, no, for ken's sake i'll write GET to clean the whole store, INCLUDING the bathrooms. And well its not as bad as you think when you start out. I start with the womens and its fine, change things out, sweep, mop, sanitize and your done. Then I head innocently to the men's room and POW!!! I am hit with the disgusting smell of urine and all sorts of other things i don't want to know. I have come to this conclusion since closing three times:

Men miss the toilet.

But more suprisingly and disgustingly they miss the URINALS!!!

How could they miss?!?! Its less than a foot in front of them!!!!

They can't seem to aim well even though they have a huge thing to aim right at!!! There is always a little puddle under each one and its my job to clean up after their bad aims. Yuck!!!

Once we have little boys I am going to make sure that austin teaches them to NOT miss the urinal because some poor person is going to have to smell it and clean it up and regret ever taking the job.

So incase you didn't get the what I learned at work today, here it is:

>Men miss the urinal, and I am the lucky soul that gets to clean up after them.

Please don't anyone envy my life...

well I did another double hitter. I closed last night and opened this morning. I am running on 5 hours of sleep and starting to feel it. or it could be that I haven't eaten lunch. Oh... I just realized that I haven't eaten in 12 hours. I should probably leave the library and go eat my PB&j sandwich. And saltines.

I love saltine crackers. Ever since I was a child I have loved saltines. They are the best all around snack cracker. except sometimes they can leave a nasty after taste in your mouth. and that's not good. i don't remember it as a child though... maybe its only when you've been deprived of water because you forgot your water bottle and were too lazy to go back and get it.

child vs kid. I have been trying really hard lately to use child or children instead of kid or kids. My mom says its much more proper and i have to admit it sounds much nicer talking about ones child instead of one kid.

I mean when you think of a child you think of that cute little toddler playing around with the lincoln logs saying how amazing their mommy is....while in the other hand when you hear kid you think of a butt kicking, ramming, loud, obnoxious goat that won't stay in one place for very long... come to think of it now though, there were some kids at the daycare I worked at...but you get what I mean. =)

I miss lincoln logs...

I am really rambbling now so I am going to go and eat. I am starting to feel light headed....

light. light. light. light.... heeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaded. could be a rock song. ha ha =P

okay i am gone before I really go crazy. buh bye

becca burp

well I am off to work and kind of dreading it cause I dislike getting home so late but its a job and I enjoy what I do. Hope everyone out there has a great day!!

ps: becca burped really loud last night and then looked at austin like, "I didn't do that". Austin and I just busted out laughing. It was really funny =)

optimus

I am at the library again and the fan that is blowing is the brand optimus! how cool is that?! I think its awesome =) Now I really want to watch iron man.

I know that doesn't make sense but it does to me =)

So I worked yesterday from 3-10:30pm and then opened at 5:20am. Lets just say that I am running on less than 5 hours of sleep. It was a early morning, but with hard work comes blessings. Last night I said the prayer before we went to bed, which was around 11:20ish(ugh) and I prayed that work would go by quickly and wouldn't be very busy. This morning at 6:10am, right after we opened I was still trying to get the breakfast sandwiches out when 3 russian came wanting sub sandwiches, grilled chicken of all things! and I don't get the hot meats out till 9 but any ways I had to make 2 footlongs and then 1 6'' and by this time people were wondering where the breakfast sandwiches were. I thought to myself, "Didn't God hear my prayer last night asking for it not to be busy???" Well I didn't let it get me down and dealt with all the customers that needed this and that with a smile and cheerful conversation and then by 7:30 it died down. But at 9:50am cindy shows up saying that I am done at 10am. "WHAT???" I thought. I thought I was suppose to work till 3 but I guess the schedule changed the day before and I was off at 10. Wow! Look at that, God did hear my prayer asking for the day to go quickly. It wasn't the way I was hoping for but i'll take the blessing none the less =)

I am just glad to get the chance to go home and rest a little, which actually most likely won't happen because there is alot that needs doing around the house; dishes, reball the yarn that duke played with(funny story), look over lesson for sunday, laundry, vacuum, and clean up in general. I swear once you get married you never stop! I can't even imagine what its going to be like when we have children, I'll be like the go go go mom that never sits if I don't plan it into my schedule. haha well maybe not, I know when to stop and sit and do nothing, its good for the soul and the innards. I am surprised that I have never had any side effects from all the stress that I have. blessing!! and knock on wood (knock knock). ha ha

I saw father of the bride for the first time this week. I thought it was really funny, Frank(pronounced like honk but with a FR at the beginning) was my favorite character. Yesterday at work I was walking around like him really throwing my shoulders, yeah I am just that awesome=) If you haven't seen the movie go to the local library and check it out. Its funny =) Steve martin is also pretty funny as the dad. =)

a quick sidenote and cute story, becca has beeen acting more like a puppy lately and its really cute. she goes prancing around running and jumping wagging her tail so fast that it makes her whole backside shake =) Last night while austin was home he told me this: I was sitting on the couch and becca was under the coffee table just laying there. When I looked down at her she got this huge grin and started to wag her tail. It was really cute. AWWWWWW!!! How sweet is that?! It's those little moments that makes having dogs all worth it. =) We won't mention dukes fiasco at the moment so we keep the wonderful picture in our mind right now of dogs =)

well that's all the news that I have for now. My hands are tired of typing anyways and I think my eyes are hurting from looking at the computer screen. so I am off to do something else somewhere by myself, or maybe with the dogs, depending if I go home right away or not. =)

Have a great day everyone!! =)

wow.

look at this. I am blogging two days in a row.

what I learned today at work:

you do NOT touch your arm to the conveyor oven
don't try to argue your right with your supervisor when she just makes it worse and worse

and finally...

You Do NOT need higher thinking abilities to work at a gas station...they'll hire just about anyone. (story about this, but another time... maybe)

ps: i experimented today and my manager faked throwing up in a joking way. is that normal??? but my experiment turned out really well. well at least all the customers that got a free sample liked it.

basically i am just awesome like that, and I have washed enough dishes to last me the rest of the week. good thing my husband is so great and will do the dishes for me at home.

pss: tomorrow first day closing by myself. actually first day closing at all. my supervisor says that its the opposite of opening. well should I undo the food? well I talked to one of the newer girls and she said that it was way confusing because the supervisor didn't show her at all. well wish me luck. It will be a long day tomorrow. I don't get to go home till 10:30pm...ugh

yup, here I am typing...

Okay I promise we are still alive...we are just way busy and it takes a lot of effort to go to the library after work.

Oh yeah, ps I got a job so I work during the week. Not my favorite schedule but I enjoy what I do. I make pizzas, subs, burgers, cookies, wraps, burritos, breadsticks, etc, etc. You get the picture.

I started last tuesday. Funny story but I don't feel like telling it now. I am tired. I start work at 5:20 and got off around two ish and was on my feet all day moving around from one place to another. So much harder than veyo merc or spanish trail. But thanks to coni she prepared me to be moving all the time and I am catching on really quick. I will start by myself this wednesday. I am a little nervous but i'll make it work =)

Well that's about it for now. Not much news to report. Life is the same as always. Although my st. george tan is going away. Sad huh...

I hope all is good with you in the world!!

Victoria is out.

pss: I also finished my American Heritage class. I got an A- on the final and got an A- in the class. Pretty good huh? =) Austin is really proud of me, I even took him out to dinner. Another story later, but he won the bet and I owed him dinner. He benefited from my success. weird... anyways, 1 down 3 to go. Almost there!!

I am back, not strong but back.

Well I am not yet in the full swing of blogging. I have to drag myself to the library to blog and I hate leaving the house. I enjoy being home with the dogs. Well, most of the time =) Ha ha

So today Austin took his Pesticide Test in Boise and I guess he did pretty good. He won't find out his scores till tomorrow, so of course I am nervous and just dying to know what he got on the test! He seems relaxed about it. We really are the most opposite and yet the most similar couple in the world.

On my way home, after dropping austin off at the office, I saw a red fox(Vulpes vulpes) playing with a mouse. It was so cute! He was pouncing on it and then letting it go to pounce on it again! Just like Duke! Duke probably has a little fox in him =) It was fun to watch him =)

I don't feel like much has happened in the past two days...hmm......I really can't think of anything...

Well I guess I could tell you that we put bird seed in the bird feeders around our house and well...we've had black headed grossbeaks come and one very VERY chubby chipmunk. He will sit there for an hour eating and stuffing his cheeks, to then run up the tree to his nest, and then come back down again and load up! Ha ha We've decided not to put anymore bird seed in that one because he just eats it all. At this rate this little guy will be all ready for winter by July!

Oh, and ps: I have named him alvin =) Yes I did just watch alvin and the chipmunks so the name was on my mind. I guess I could have named him theodore but he just didn't come off as a theodore. He didn't look theodorable =)

Our Idaho bird list is going really well. I believe we are at 63 birds in our two weeks here. One lady got about 94 after being here for a long time...lets just say that we hope to beat her total =)

I can't think of anything else to type so I am going to go now. Have a great day everyone!! =)

Brewers out! =)

We're Back!!!!

Hello blogging world!! =)  How are you? We are doing good. So here I am at a little ity bity library in central Idaho in a town with a population of about 900.  We are really moving up in the world now! We went from tiny veyo of population 450 to this!  We have doubled! But our ward, well it can't even be called a ward, its a branch, is half the size of what it was in veyo but the people here are so much more welcoming then any other place i've been.  On our first sunday there we had 3 invitations for dinner! We never got asked over for dinner when we first moved in in our last couple wards. This branch is awesome!! and we meet at 10am! What a great time!  =)  We when we first arrived in town we didn't have a place to live but we had a cabin to look at and we were hoping that hopefully by the sun gone down, we would have a roof over our heads.  Well we looked at the place. Were satisfied.  Wrote a check.  Handed over check. Received keys.  Roof over head! Yeah! We were really excited until monday night when a huge storm hit and our power went out.  Now I have been without power for a couple hours at the most but this time it was a little bit longer.  And when I say a little, I mean A LOT longer! 4 days!! Now you might be wondering why it was out so long. Well we live in a cabin, but not like the one before, out in the middle of no where surrounded by sagebrush, no, we are up the mountain, surrounded by 100 foot + tall trees.  And when this storm hit our house was a shaking a trees were falling left and right! A tree with a 2.5 foot diameter fell just 25 yards from our house. Can you say luck?! In that same spot 3 other trees also fell.  Along the main road we live on tons of trees were down. Power lines were down, along with the poles. This was a mass outage, from boise all the way up to riggins! Unfortunately because of the wide spread outage and the damage done, our area was of last concern. So we didn't regain power till friday night.

Now don't get me wrong.  I love it when the power goes out because its just so fun! and it makes me think about what it was like for the pioneers and what they did for light etc.  When I was younger, me and my little sister would get our horses on a stick and tape flash lights to their heads and ride all over the house.  We would pretend we were cowgirls on a night journey needing to get somewhere by first light.  We would even roll up blankets like they would in the movies and basically just be awesome little kids. =)

Well this situation was different, when our power goes out, we basically died.  Literally! I am not joking!  Most homes, when their power goes out their water still works and they don't have 32 huge boxes all over the living room/dining room.  Well we did and our water was NOT working. We are on a well and have an electric pump that pumps the water to our house. No electricity = no water. UGH!! No shower, no washing dishes, no washing hands, AND no flushing toilet! Arg!!!!!!!!!!!  I was not prepared for that.

I am a girl.  I like my toilet.  I like to wash my hands after I go to the bathroom.  Power out = unhappy and stressed girl.  Last week is not the best week of my life. Although its not the worst week but still a tough one.

So that was our first week here. Lots of unpacking in the dark.  No water.  Hotdogs for dinner/subway/Grandma's restaurant.  And big black ants. My life is just so perfect! Ha ha Who's jealous??

Well anyways, it got better by the weekend, or so i though it would.  June 9th was free fishing day in Idaho and we all know how awesome the fishing is suppose to be in Idaho so we were excited.  Its $98 for a 1 year license for a non-resident! Crazy! Its only $70 in Utah. So we needed to get all our fishing out of our system on Free fishing day.  We went to Tom's Tackle to buy us some Jake's(really popular fishing lure. Its basically a bent piece of metal, with dots of paint on it with a treble attached and you got it).  We were so confident that we would be reeling in fish in no time.  We even organized our tackle boxes and got our carry on box ready too.  We were even outside digging up worms to use as bait! We were set.  We set out at 6am Saturday morning for a great fishing day.  We went to cambells creek first and tried our worms. We were told that perch were the best thing to fish for in the mornings so we cast out our worms/bobber lines and waited. and waited..... and waited............. and waited some more...................... By 7:30am it was raining/hailing/SNOWING!!! We gave up rather quickly on the worms(which by the way were dead when we opened the container in the early morning) and put on our peer recommended Jake's.  Austin Actually caught a fish soon after, but it was a small rainbow trout and not worth keeping, and I, unlucky victoria as all the fish call me, only got a slight nibble on my Jake.  I was freezing, cold, wet, and miserable.  We headed back home to get some warm breakfast.  I made oatmeal, hot chocolate, and toast.  It warmed us right up we were out again to try another side of the lake.  We went to a little dirt turn out close to town and threw our lures out once again. 

cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. cast, reel in. Ahhhhhhh crud!!!  I was hooked under a rock(somehow) and my precious Jake was lost to the stormy water under a huge boulder.  My day was turning out worse and worse.  Why was free fishing day scheduled on such an awful day?! They, the state, probably did that on purpose so that they wouldn't lose a lot of money on all the fish we would catch. Well that basically was the end of my fishing day.  Soon after that happened we decided to try another spot on the lake.  So then we drove for a good 20 minutes to where we finally saw other people fishing. Till this point we had see two people in their boat trolling and looking miserable.  There wasn't much room in this spot so austin casted out a couple times with no luck what so ever.  He gave up and we took a little drive to warm our selves up.  the car heater felt so good on my numb hands.

we decided this would be a great time to take a break and do a little shopping since we basically had nothing in our fridge.  We stopped at the D-9, grabbed some groceries, headed home and made a warm lunch of mac and cheese with hotdogs.  delicious. 

One last attempt at fishing was back at cambells creek.  Austin landed a just a bit too small small mouth bass. bummer.  I got stuck another 5 times under rocks and around willows and austin lost a Jake's as well (only this one was one that we had found at quail creek last summer).  We decided to cast out one line with the biggest worm we had(we dug up new worms since ours were dead, oops) and austin said that we'll cast this worm out and let it sit out there for 30 minutes and if the worm is still on there when we reel it in then its the fish that are being picky but if when we reel it in the worm is gone, then we are just terrible fishers.  Well 30 minutes later we reel in and our worm is gone... Yup, its official, we are the WORST fishers on the planet.

And that concludes our free fishing day.  I can say that I am not at all wanting to buy an out of state fishing license now.  I might have been if i had at least caught one fish but no such luck.  I think I will stick to trout fisheries where they bait your hook with food and the fish go crazy cause they haven't been fed yet. 

I know that this has been a really long blog post but i thought that you might enjoy a long post since I haven't blogged in forever. I hope all of you are doing well and that life is going good.

Brewer's out! =)

so long and farewell

I am not sure if i spelt farewell right...fairwell or farewell?? too lazy and to hurried to check it =) haha

you may be asking why i am in a hurry. well i will tell you. I don't know how long i have to live...

just kidding!! what i mean to say is that i don't know how much longer the internet will last. I cancelled our Internet yesterday because
1. they wouldn't extend our promotion deal
2. the guy on the phone was a jerk
3. $30 for Internet is NOT a good deal
And finally 4. the guy on the phone was a jerk!

so it is getting cancelled sometime today so i just wanted to blog real quick before it goes away. Just so you all know we didn't die when i don't blog for a couple weeks, we are just deciding to live like the pioneers. Well sort of...we will still have all the modern day needs...movies, phones, electric stove, chocolate, microwave, chocolate, and a quesadilla maker. but basically we are going into pioneer mode. =) yes. we are just that awesome =)

so long and farewell for a little while all my blogger friends. I hope that we can meet again (hopefully in person, its better that way)

Have a wonderful day!! =)

A working woman

Well i have a job. Its nothing amazing but its at the little shop here in town. Its fun but its a early morning for me. I get there at 5:40 each morning and don't leave till 2ish and then I have to walk home which is like 1.5 mile walk. uphill both ways is what i am going to tell our children in the future.


So i have had this job for two weeks. I trained for the first week with megan, which was really fun =) and then I worked solo this week. it was good =) we didn't tell anyone that I had a job till it was a bit more for sure that i actually had a job. But know all the family knows and they are all excited for me. I am hoping that everyone will be able to come down and visit me at the store. =) Austin has stopped twice to see me at work. =) I love seeing people that i know at church. I keep thinking that one of my family members, most likely my mom (of course) will surprise us with a visit and come and surprise me at the store =) But that would be a long drive with a hurt ankle. =) I understand mom =)


there are pro's and con's to this job but i won't get into those right now, I have more exciting news...

My BFE is engaged and getting married in June!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Clayton and Amanda!!! =)

4th paper

Here is my fourth paper, 4 down 2 to go. =) haha

-Discuss the civil rights movement in America since 1950, illustrating the challenges as well as the accomplishments involved. Be sure to comment on some of the differences within the civil rights movement, and the significance of those differences.

African Americans have been fighting for equality since they were first brought here to the United States of America. After the civil war blacks did gain freedom from slavery but they weren’t looked at as equals to whites. Many northerners fought for slave freedom during the civil war but were they thinking of the post war outcome if they won? Were these white men ready to work side by side with a black man in an office? Did they want these blacks voting in the booth next to them? Were they thinking that everything would be sunshine and lollipops for the slaves that had just gained freedom in a foreign land to them? Slaves were uneducated, knowing nothing but hard labor and punishment. Many didn’t understand that with the freeing of slaves all the problems wouldn’t be solved. Blacks wouldn’t be satisfied with only half freedom. Everyone has the right for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“For Whites Only”. This is what signs said outside of businesses throughout the northern and southern parts of the United States. Segregation was the main problem and what the blacks fought the most. Cities were divided based on race, there were the white neighborhoods and the black back alley slums of the city. All over, the blacks were reminded that they weren’t white which made them different. Nice schools were for the white children. The front of the bus was designated for whites and blacks had to move from their seat if asked. Blacks weren’t paid minimum wage and didn’t have a say in any type of politics but did some of the hardest labor and were brushed under the political rug of issues to deal with. The American people knew that something was going to happen sooner or later, like Dr. King says, “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever.”

The first major step towards desegregation was in 1954 with the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Chief Justice, Earl Warren, had a lot of pressure placed on him when this case entered his courtroom. He knew in the past how segregation cases were ruled (referring to the Plessy v. Ferguson case which stated that “separate but equal” was constitutional). Warren decided to focus on “today” and not concern himself with the customs or reasons that made segregation possible in the past. He said this, “In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.” He continued to point out that equal access to buildings and facilities didn’t necessarily indicate equal opportunity for education. Warren decided that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” The decision was based on the Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. With this ruling the nation was in shock. There was reorganization of schoolrooms, bus routes, and classroom roles. Warren designated desegregation as a top priority and then gave jurisdiction to the lower District Courts to handle the details and demanded that the changes be made “with all deliberate speed.” Many objecting states found this their excuse: they needed to slow the process and demanded state sovereignty. Many laws were passed and implemented to slow desegregation in southern states. Although it met with fierce opposition, this one event paved the way for large scale desegregation and gave blacks that ray of hope that they desperately needed.

There were many prominent leaders during the civil rights movement, but none were as influential in my opinion, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King was born into a segregated country in 1929. He attended school and acquired his doctorate after many struggles. Later in life King became a Baptist preacher in Alabama, whose courage and confidence in equality led to many protests against segregation. Many didn’t like King; one angry white woman even took a letter opener and stabbed King in the chest but luckily she barely missed his heart. Although King suffered many hardships he never used violence as an answer to the problem. King looked to two great examples of nonviolence; the first being Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi inspired King to fight injustice not with hate but with love. The second example that King looked to was Christ. Christ was the only one to suffer so much and did literally nothing to fight back or get even. He even forgave the men that were crucifying him saying, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” There aren’t many out there that could sit back and allow terrible things to happen to them and not say a cross word to them. Doctor King taught those that would listen to not fight back. In 1963 King led a protest in Birmingham, Alabama and spent several weeks in jail for doing so. While in Jail he wrote one of the most profound letters in defense of nonviolent protests that has ever been penned.

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” explains the reasons why the movement must protest, even if it breaks the law. In this world there are just laws and unjust laws. A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that’s out of harmony with the moral law. If the law uplifts the human personality then it’s just but if any law degrades the human personality then it must be considered unjust. King stated that all segregation statues are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. He tried to help the people see that there are events in the past where people have broken the law or what they did wasn’t breaking any law but looked at as a bad thing. He reminds them that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid or comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany but King tells them that if he had lived in Germany he would have helped those Jews who were struggling. King makes a good point with this saying; one who breaks an unjust law must do so with a willingness to accept the penalty. Look where King is! He’s in jail willing to accept the punishment for his “crime.”

Another point he hits in this letter is his disappointment with Christians and their leaders. One white man from Texas wrote a letter to King saying this, “All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it’s possible that you are in too much of a hurry. It has taken Christianity almost 2,000 years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth.” They had waited since the 1600’s for their freedom and to be treated like equals. King’s response to this was that time is neutral and that it’s only through the tireless efforts of men willing to sacrifice that change is brought about. He mentions that oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever and that eventually the yearning for freedom manifests itself. The black is reminded of his/her birthright of freedom and that it can be gained. King points his finger at those, both black and white that call themselves Christians but don’t take a stand to help the movement and sit on neutral ground, not willing to help either side. These are those that remained quiet, cautious, and safe behind their stained glass windows while others openly opposed and refused to support any such movement for desegregation. King felt as though there was no support outside of those blacks that felt the weight of oppression crushing them, and even though King tried to promote nonviolence, there were many that had had enough of doing nothing.

There were many acts of violence since the end of the civil war, most were done by whites. Dr. King was the greatest advocate for nonviolent protests. He tried to teach his followers that the war would be won not through violence and hate but through love and endurance. Many followed this counsel and participated in peaceful protests. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a group of college students that explained their reason for participation in nonviolent protests. They say that by appealing to conscience and standing on the moral nature of human existence, nonviolence nurtures the atmosphere in which reconciliation and justice become actual possibilities. There were others that didn’t listen and thought that through violence more problems would be solved. One group, the Black Panther Party renounced nonviolence and had a new idea. In their protest they wanted everything just handed over to them and were willing to take measures if the country didn’t go along with what they wanted. Jan Howard mentioned though, that nonviolent protest were what really helped the civil rights movement because it was “only when racist whites responded violently to peaceful black protesters because only then would the broader public, appalled at the violence, give their support to the blacks.” When you think of it from her point of view, you can understand the strength of nonviolent protests. After the brutality of police officers during the march in Birmingham, Alabama the civil rights movement gained ground. There were many whites that acted very violently claiming the lives of thousands, but one group had been the most destructive, the Ku Klux Klan. Between 1884 and 1920 more than 3000 black men had been lynched.

There aren’t many that haven’t heard the “I Have a Dream” address given August 28th, 1963 in Washington, D.C. Dr. King gave that speech to over 250,000 people, around 60,000 of them being white. He told of how even a hundred years after the Civil War they still weren’t free; they were still crippled by the chains of discrimination. After that great March on Washington and a bombing killing four girls in Birmingham, Alabama, the ball began moving and change was occurring.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by President Johnson and was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. The Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The act also provided the federal government power to enforce desegregation. Then in 1968 another act was passed prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. In 1965 an act was passed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made it easier for southern blacks to register to vote. The literacy tests, poll taxes, and other ridiculous requirements to restrict blacks from voting were made illegal. Although acts were being passed it would take more than a mere act to change the way of thinking of white Americans.

From 1968 to now there has been a real change of thinking. Blacks are accepted as equal citizens and treated like any other person. We have a black president, well he’s part black and we aren’t really sure if he’s American and he hasn’t done a very good job, actually he’s ruining our country. Although you still find people that don’t look at a black the same as a white. Blacks, at times, still feel the sting of discrimination but this isn’t a perfect country filled with perfect people, we are trying to get better and see each other as our brothers and sisters, not our inferiors. If we followed the counsel of the Declaration of Independence then we wouldn’t have so many problems, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

this week...

where in the world did this week go?? did you see where our week went? i lost it. it went by so fast and i look around the house and think, "did i do anything this week?" well i guess i'll have to work a bit harder this week. ha ha

the weekend went by just as fast. i love having austin home all to myself (well sort of). its so great to have him home but so hard when monday comes and he has to leave. ugh. but this saturday we went on a hike with the dogs. they LOVED it!! =) we saw lots of birds too!! sparrows, vireos, hawks, shrikes, wrens, etc. did you know that wrens are one of the prettiest sounding birds ever?? I want a pet wren to sing for me during the day. it sounds so soothing and relaxing. although i don't know if i would want to clean it up. haha =)

well not much else happened this weekend. I guess we finally saw transformers 3 and breaking dawn part 1. they were okay. i definitely think that unmarried girls should NOT watch that movie. i can't believe an LDS person wrote a book like that also. the world is slipping down hill...

Austin did his home teaching today! go my awesome austin! =) I still need to go visiting teaching but my companion hasn't made any appointments yet. we take turns making appointments.

I really could go for a milkshake right about now.

$4 worth of donuts would be great right now.

yummmmmmmm....

what should i make for dinner? or will austin make dinner? does becca like broccoli? yes.

it snowed last night and was raining too. i loved waking up this morning to the sound of rain hitting the roof. how peaceful =)

i have to teach a lesson next week. i need to make a treat. which treat should i make?

hmmmmmmmm..........

here i am sitting at home

I got back from my beehive presidency meeting around 4:15ish and my sweet husband was making dinner. awwwww... =) well we spent a whole 50 minutes together till he left for a young men activity. They are going bowling. why is it that the young men always seem to do really fun activities?! well anyways i kissed him hello and then kissed him goodbye. I don't know if i'll see him tonight's again because I can barely keep my opens as is right now and these activities always go late and any later than nine i'm in bed. i'm proud of austin for being so committed to his calling and being a god example to those boys but i miss having him to myself all evening. oh well. times are a changing, and life is going to get more busy for both of us.

this morning...

well this day is already going swell. not. as soon as austin left i scurried off to the bathroom because i hadn't gone yet and when i came out becca was licking a plastic baggy. i rushed over and yup, she ate the contents of the bag. what was the contents you ask?? a brownie. yup, she ate the whole thing. i was furious and terrified because dogs are NOT suppose to eat chocolate.

"It is important for animal guardians to be careful about possible chocolate ingestion by their pets. Chocolate toxicity is a common emergency around the holidays and can be a serious, health-threatening condition. The ingredients in chocolate contain what are known as methylxanthines, which are caffeine-like compounds that can cause serious health threatening consequences. The specific ingredient theobromine is the one we are most concerned about, and which pets have a hard time metabolizing even in small amounts.

Symptoms of chocolate toxicity may include initial nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, followed by cardiac symptoms including arrhythmias and even seizures. Bleeding and death may even occur. Treatment includes induction of vomiting, as well as supportive IV fluid therapy. If seizures occur, Valium and Phenobarbital may need to be given. Antiarrthythmic drugs are also indicated for any heart arrhythmias. Since theobromine is eliminated very slowly in pets, treatment may need to be continued for up to a few days after ingestion. Prognosis is usually good, as long as treatment is performed within a short period of ingestion." (petmeds.com)


So yeah. I am a bit worried so i will be watching her carefully now for the nest couple days. at the moment she seems fine, sleeping and snoring on the couch.

well while i was dealing with the brownie situation not even 2 minutes later duke was puking up last nights dinner. ugh. really? i mean he couldn't wait till the middle of the day like he normally does?! ugh. so as i was going to the kitchen to get a paper towel to pick up the chunks of the puke i turn around and see becca over there eating it!!! ALKJDFOIWNUJEUNVJHUFRJU!!!!!!!!!!! STOP THAT BECCA!!! she has issues! nastyness! ugh! so i ran over and had to pull her away and then picked up the few remaining pieces she didnt eat. ugh.

well as you can tell the morning is going swell. a smooth sailing day i am sure is ahead of me. oh look the toilet is overflowing and the front door is falling over, and Oh look there! our electricity is out due to a downed pole. And theres the cockroaches that are moving in when i look away. yup. smooooooooooth sailing.

all i have to say is that if either of these dogs pee or puke in the house today i am freeing them into the wild and they can run with the coyotes. yup. i'm sticking to that today.

haha haha

Monday dinner

On Monday for dinner guess what we did?! We roasted hot dogs and had mac n cheese =) The best part was was that we didn't have to go outside and sit in the freezing wind! =) We snuggled up to our fire place and enjoyed roasted hotdogs =) we did have to put the dogs outside because, specially the becca, really wanted to do some taste testing. =) It was really fun and I know that we will be doing it again soon =)

Becca aka the meme

That girl...well do I have a story to share with you...(this is a long post)

Saturday started like any other saturday morning. We ate some really good breakfast that Austin made for me and watched some Darkwing Duck. We then gave becca a bath because she was really dirty and stinky. Then Austin went out and chopped the wood and I went and sat in the sun and read. Well we put the dogs in the fenced off area that we now call the yard and I sat on the porch watching them/reading. Well I looked up to see where they were and then went back to reading. About two minutes later austin came over to check on the dogs and guess what, becca was gone.

Lets let that sink in. Becca was gone and nowhere to be seen. Now also consider our house alone sits on 14 acres and our neighbors also have a ton of property and then there is BLM land around that. And our small little beagle that isn't taller than the sagebrush is missing. Oh....no.....

She went missing around 10:30-11am.

We both set out looking for her. Not together but separate. Austin took duke so 1. he wouldn't go missing and 2. he might be able to help find her. I took off in the opposite direction from him. I walked the entire fence line that borders the BLM land(I think) and that must have been at least a mile and austin walked the entire ledge like. She was no where to be seen or heard. I was trying so hard to control my thoughts(I always have the most awful thoughts of what I might find or not find when our dogs are gone).

Austin took the car and went up to 5th north and then came back down looking out over the land and then turned back around and went to the highway(That is what terrified me the most, all those speeding cars). Still nothing when he came back. He said that he did tell the neighbor children to watch for her and described her to them. I hadn't anything to report. I had been walking the whole time. When austin went out towards the canyon I went up the road. I walked all the way to the highway still with that fear of having to carry back her little body all lifeless and bloody. But I had to check. I would not stop till we found her one way or the other.

On my way back to the house austin was on his way up on his bike to go look down a dirt road that she could have gone down. Right there we said a prayer together. (Each of us had already said a dozen personal prayers by then but another one never hurts) He continued up while I went down to the house. I grabbed the treat box and took off again out to the open land hoping to get some response from my lost dog. After a long time of shaking that box still nothing.

With hope fleeting, I slowly headed to the house with every couple steps I stopped and listened. I could hear the birds walking on the ground. I could hear the rabbit slowly hoping. I could hear the bird fluffing its feathers. I could hear a raven over head flapping its wings. I could hear the wind rustling the trees. I could hear the squeakiness of an ephedra bush. I could hear something digging in the ground but I could not hear becca.

I looked at my phone, it was 1:15. My heart was breaking thinking about what might have happened. Austin came back and started to finish up his wood cutting real quick. I took off again towards the canyon nearer to the neighbors property. I listened to every sound, hoping to hear that collar jingling with her walk or the sound of her heavy breathing or the sound of her digging. Nothing...not a single sound that was hers. My mind started to play tricks on my by this point. I would think that I would hear something but when I would head toward the sound it wouldn't be anything.

The tears were starting to creep out. how could I lose my dog? Where could she be? What would I tell my mom? What if something has happened to her? I should have watched them better! How could I let this happen? What kind of owner am I? She doesn't even have an updated tag with our number or address! I am the worst person ever! I need to find her. I can't go home and rest till I find her...

So I kept walking. My feet hurting and my arms and face burning from the scorching sun.

I was out in the middle of nowhere not even able to see the house or the telephone wires. I was praying that I would see that little white tail of hers or that austin would call and tell me that she had come back to the house.

It was at 2pm that austin called me, I thought asking me where I was but to my great relief he said, " The neighbors boy found her. They are on their way to our house."

I almost collapsed with relief and happiness. My baby is safe and alive. She is okay! I dropped to my knees and thanked God for helping her make it back to us safely. My heart was overflowing with joy.

As I made it to the house they were coming down the road with becca in this little boys arms on the back of a 4-wheeler. Austin hooked her to a leash and talked to the boys about where they found her. (she had been found a couple miles away at the neighbors grandpa's house.) She came over to me wagging her tail and so happy. She was dirty all over(another bath I guess)! They said that she was actually heading back towards us when they found her. I am so grateful for neighbors as wonderful as we have. They didn't have to do that but they did. They cared enough to help us find her. What a blessing!

Austin went in a got all the kids a brownie. I am glad that we had enough for everyone =) Right when I brought becca inside my mom called.

My first thought was that she was calling to check up on becca(because I am pretty sure she misses becca more than me now ;) just kidding..sort of) and I was glad that she didn't call 10 minutes sooner because I would have had to tell her that becca was missing for the past 3 hours.

Luckily she had been found and I could say that becca was doing good and very tired. and of course I had to tell her the story now that it had a happy ending. =) My mom said that becca was probably heading to washington for a visit(becca was going north) but got tired and decided to turn around and wait for a car ride to washington instead =) Ha ha

That evening becca did nothing but drink water and sleep(which she is still doing now). That was a long journey for her. When I go to heaven I am going to watch where she goes and what she does for those three hours!!

In the end becca is safe and exhausted. My face is burnt while austin is looking more tan. And we walked at least a couple miles that afternoon. My feet are still a little tired but I am just glad to have both dogs again and that they are both safe and healthy. =)

Allergies

The woes of allergies....you just won't understand them unless you have allergies. Luckily I don't have any food allergies, knock on wood, but I am most definitely allergic to dogs, cats, pollen, dust, grass, nature, homework, and giving talks in sacrament. My worst allergy of all time is the cats for sure! I can't be in a house with cats for more than 20 minutes until my eyes start watering and itching like crazy!

At the moment the dog allergy is bothering me the most. last night was the worst ever!! My nose was running, I was sneezing, my eyes itching like CRAZY and I couldn't get to a tissue fast enough to blow out the boogies. Ohhhhhhhhhhh.............. You just won't understand the frustration of allergies if you don't that them. I have a box of tissues next to me as I type.

why is it that I have to love dogs to much and yet be allergic to them???? Its a curse I guess I have to bare...

Its going to be awful for me once the sagebrush pollen is in the air. Both years of sageSTEP that was the worst two weeks of my LIFE!! I am so allergic to that pollen that I literally have a thing of benadryl as a juice box. But there are times when nothing helps and I have to sit and suffer and endure to the end of the season. Ugh...

BUT!! Luckily I still have a few months till the sagebrush flowers open and release there pollen =)

Oh the woes of allergies.... =S

Ps: Becca just had a really stinky toot!!! =) haha it smells really bad. "Pew becca!! You stinky!! But you are so cute =) "

Yesterday at the Volcano =)

When I got out of bed yesterday and went out into the living room to my surprise I see austin folding our laundry. I picked up a pair of jeans to help get it done quicker when he said, "Nope, today is your day off." Well that didn't sit well with me. I couldn't take the day off! There was so much that I needed to do! I first ran away from austin trying to fold the jeans while running but it was pointless. He took them and made me sit on the couch and relax while he did all the house chores. How wonderful is he?! =) But it wasn't very easy for me to sit there and enjoy myself. It was painful to watch him do all this work while I sat there and did nothing!! Even after all my begging and pleading to just make the bed! I was once again told, "Nope, its your day off." Luckily austin is quick and focused when it comes to house work that I didn't need to wait very long.

Once he had finished we packed up a lunch and went to a little lake behind a Volcano. Really cool huh?!! =)

The dogs had a blast. As soon as they were out of the car they were digging. Becca's tail was wagging like crazy!! =) And her face was covered in dirt! Very cute!! Duke also was going crazy!! He leap into the hole and start digging sideways! haha I love that boy =)

Once we were able to pull the dogs away from the hole we took a walk around the lake looking at the birds and the prettyness around us.

At one point becca was sniffing a SATR or russian thistle(I believe) and two voles ran out! Duke tried to find them but the voles won because they ran to a rock hill where it would be really hard for a dog to quickly follow them. =)

We then drove to another smaller lake down the road and ate lunch. We decided to eat in the car since it was a bit chilly outside. Our sandwiches were good and so were the snacks! =) we then took a walk again and saw lots of ducks! We saw redheads, canvas backs, common mergansers, ringnecks, common golden-eyes, ruddy duck, and a belted kingfisher! Pretty cool! Plus we saw two others but we weren't able to make them out. The dogs once again found a hole and started digging. Ha ha =) They both really need a bath =)

We drove home and passed through Gunlock on the way. We also made brownies when we got home. They were really yummy smelling and tasting! (Bummer!! I forgot to give us one with our lunches today. oops.) and We redid May's crib again. =) I think she likes it =)

That night austin took me out to dinner to the new mexican place in town =) It was pretty good. Nothing high class but good =) Similar to all the other mexican restaurants. We've decided that we want to go back and do a dessert sampler. Their fried ice cream looked really good and they have apple churros!! That just sounds like a victoria treat! =) =)

Then we went home and fell asleep watching Hook. Overall day was wonderful and I am sure that I have the best husband in the world =)