already august

Havasupai was amazing! we left thursday after aaron & jen got off work. so it was about 3:30pm. we drove to kingsman and were going to stay in a hotel there, but decided to keep driving and ended up staying in peach springs. the hotel there was seriously over-priced but we didn't know of another stop before the trailhead (hualapai hilltop)
we woke up around 4:30-5am friday morning and drove the rest of the way to hualapai hilltop. the hike in was amazing. it took us about 8 hours (we figured cause we didn't have a watch & lost service on our phones) to get to the campsite from the top of the grand canyon, but it was amazing. pictures are posted on facebook.
from the top of the trail to the village is roughly 8 miles. you have to hike in and pay your fees at the village and then hike about 2 miles to the campgrounds (saturday morning they actually had a ranger come and check tags) we were all pretty beat from an all day hike so for the rest of friday we played in the havasu falls and then played blackjack until the mosquitoes ate us alive. and we went to bed about the time it got dark.
saturday morning we woke up with the sun and went hiking (without our packs) to the different falls. we did about 6 miles round trip with visiting mooney falls and beaver falls. if we had wanted to go another 8 miles, we could have made it all the way to the colorado river and back. somehow we just didn't want to do that :)
i couldn't believe how green and rain forest like it was in the middle of the desert. everywhere the river and falls were, it was green and jen said it looked a lot like hawaii. there were some spots where we had to take off our boots to cross the river to stay on the trail. it was beautiful. again pictures are on facebook. i know i need to just get some on here, but i can't figure it out... something about being technology handicapped...
anyway, when we got back from hiking on saturday, we were all pretty beat again, but didn't want to stay outside our tents cause the mosquitoes. it seemed like the more bug spray we sprayed, the more mosquitoes would come and eat us. so we didn't hang outside our tents a whole lot. we ate dinner and went to bed. we woke up about 3am sunday morning and packed up camp. we wanted to not get stuck hiking in the heat as we had coming in. it took us about 5 1/2 hours to hike out. we got to see the sun rise and were so happy to see the jeep.
there was a point on the last 2 miles ish out that zach & i got stopped by cows being herded in. the cows wouldn't move, so we had to wait to hike up the trail cause the cowboys couldn't get the herd moving. it was irritating, but i was kinda grateful for the delay cause i was getting worn out. i should mention that the first part hiking in is all switchbacks down. of course cause you have to get into the canyon. so that make the last part hiking out all switchbacks up. not easy switchbacks either... ones with big wooden steps and fairly steep. not to also add to the equation your packs which weigh between 30-45 lbs. it almost killed me. but i survived!
next time we go, i think we will save a little more money and pay to ride a horse in or helicopter in. but if you helicopter in, you miss a lot of the view. so i think i will pay to ride a horse in. there is a spring there to get fresh water from. they do recommend filtering it, but we didn't and all of us seem to be fine. the port-o-johns weren't too bad, but they did smell like an outhouse. all of us got blisters. i don't think it matters how broke in your hiking boots are, i think if you hike that long with that much weight on you, you will get blisters. i would also recommend taking as little as possible or things that don't weigh much. we over shot a little and ended up hauling out a fair amount of our food. we just didn't eat as much as we thought we would. i think it was the heat. you don't eat as much when it is hot outside.
all in all it was an amazing experience and i would do it again for sure. i do recommend starting on the hike as early as possible and make sure you have enough water to get in and out. there is no water at the trail head, and there is only the spring in the campground and a faucet at the check-in. depending on the time of day, there is an indian that sells cold drinks and snacks at the trail head, but if they aren't open, you are out of luck. not to mention it is expensive.
so that is pretty much all that has been going on here. not a whole lot else has happened. i finally got a work uniform shirt. i feel like it is more like the old school star trek shirts the women wore. but it is light weight and i don't have to wear a tank top under it. (i did with my school shirts cause they were too short) i've had some really stinky clients. and by stinky i mean smell like chain smokers and bad body odors. i about threw up on one client cause he smelled so bad and wanted aromatherapy on top of it. mix b.o., cigarettes, and aromatherapy....equals barf on client. it wasn't a good night. thankfully i didn't puke on him, but i really came close.
then i had a lady who i think had digestive problems cause when i started working her muscles, the unmistakable smell of poo came out of her pores. and i had another client who just had really bad body odor and really bad breath and wouldn't breathe through his nose. it has been a weird couple of work days since i got back from only taking a week off of work. i usually work monday, wednesday, friday, and saturdays. and boy oh boy was i glad i took the monday after havasupai off. i couldn't hardly walk. well, i can't think of anything else right now so i will leave you until next time :)

half way through july already?

wow time is certainly flying past. i figure i should update this since zach has gone to work & i have a few hours all to myself... well reichael is with me, but she is content just laying by my side for now. okay so let's start with my birthday.
my birthday was great. uncle devin invited zach to go help brand some calves. zach asked if i could tag along too. so we all went up to the ranch, reichael too, and i got to help round up the cows and watch zach wrestle them down to brand. it was a lot of fun. i had to leave early though cause i had to go to work. i actually did get a nice $40 tip from one client. i told him it was my birthday & he said that it was also his mother's birthday. i am not sure if he tipped well because of my awesome massage or if it was kinda a birthday present ish. i also had another client give me a "sweet tooth fairy" cupcake coupon. it was really yummy (i brought it home & shared with zach cause it was way too sweet to eat alone)
well i didn't have a full schedule, so they let me off first at work cause it was my birthday. anyway, i came home to reichael loving me again (she got a bath when we came back from the ranch cause she smelled like cow poop) and zach had made a wonderful dinner. he also made me a cheesecake. it was yummy! esp for it being his first cheesecake ever. and he got me dominion seaside for my birthday as well as a cute pair of sunglasses. it was a terrific birthday!
our anniversary wasn't what i had planned, but it was still fun. we both had to work the saturday before, and our anniversary landed on sunday this year. we spent the day with mom & dad (smith) and kendra & golden's family and miah was in & out. it was a good day though. and we did end up getting each other backpacking packs. i am so excited for havasupi! we also got hiking boots, but that came a bit later than our anniversary.
we haven't been mountain biking as much lately. mostly because over the 4th of july we almost killed reichael. we went for a bike ride to goosebury white trail on the 4th and mom (smith) even came with us! it was an amazing trail, and i can't wait to do it again. we didn't get to the end of the trail though cause the thunder & lightening were starting to scare me a bit. then we had a great lunch and dinner with mom & dad (smith) and we watched the hurricane fireworks from the church ball field. and then zach set off a bunch of fireworks i've had forever.
then on july 5th we decided we were going to go biking again. just 3 of us went plus reichael (she always comes with us). we did the jem trail. well, about half way or maybe 3/4 of the way reichael decided she was done. she laid down in the middle of the trail and wouldn't move. she wouldn't stand up. she wouldn't wag her tail. she wouldn't do anything but lay there and pant really hard. zach picked her up and carried her to a little stream. we laid her in it and started pouring water all over her. it wasn't cold water, but it was something to help cool her down. thankfully just around the bend was a quarry road so dad (smith) & zach took off to go get the truck while i stayed with reichael to keep pouring water on her. i tried to get her to walk just a few more steps to be closer to the road, but she wouldn't budge at all. i ended up carrying her a little bit farther down the trail.
when we got home, i gave her a bath in cooler water. she still wouldn't do hardly anything but lay there. it took almost 3 days for her to finally be back to her happy, bouncing self. we haven't been biking since. mostly because we don't want to push her. i think she will have to stay home if we go on longer trails. she won't be happy about staying home, but she will be alive. zach says she is more of a sprinting dog and not distance runner. he also says she will have to stay home on longer trails. if we could just get up early in the morning, maybe it would be cool enough for her to still come, but we will have to make sure we have even more water for her than we have been packing.
work is coming along. i had 1 saturday completely booked with all requests. it was awesome! some of the therapists have started to call me the "resident rockstar" just because i've only been there for 4 months and already have had quite the requests. i don't want to get an ego, but i know i do massage a lot different than other therapists. i have my own style and my own pressure and my own flow. granted every therapist is unique, but i have had 4-5 clients tell me i am the most unique they have ever experienced. one of them has been all over the world and had massage and he was so impressed by my style that he came to me even with his usual therapist working. (i don't think he knew she was there or he wouldn't have come to me, but it was a nice thought)
anyway the management still sucks, and on my last check i was not only shorted hours, and bonuses, but also my tips were missing. some of the other therapists think that management is stealing from us. one therapist went to deposit her check & it bounced. another thinks that they are stealing cash tips from us as well. for instance a client will leave a 10 & a 5 but when we go to pick it up it is only a 10. or when they leave 1's that a couple of them disappear. it isn't easy to prove the cash side, but the check side is plain as day. i think it should be reported, but i have no idea where to start or how to prove it in the system, because they can change the computer schedule system. they can even remote log in from home & change it.
i have to work today and oh yeah, i still don't have a uniform. all of the 5 people that have been hired after me have massage envy shirts, but i still don't. i asked about it again the other day and the manager said, "i am not going to order the old shirts because we are getting the new ones in july" i said, "it is july" and he said, "well you can just wear whatever black or white shirt you want until then, but i think you look good in that (my school uniform)"
it is so frustrating. on saturday one new girl didn't even bother showing up for her shift. i don't really blame her. if i didn't need the money, i wouldn't be there either. i want to press sexual harassment charges too because my manager towel whipped me one day. i tried to tell him that wasn't appropriate, but he had turned around and ran away laughing before i could say anything. he usually isn't around when i come in for work and if he is, i don't hardly acknowledge him. i don't want to give him the opportunity to try anything else. if he does, i will not even hesitate to put my knee in his groin and walk out. then i will go to the officials for certain.
well, i have a house that won't clean itself, so i should get going. until next time :)

a day of remembrance

today marks 15 years since my mom passed away. oh how i miss her. i often find myself thinking about how different things would be if she were still on this earth. it is silly, i know. i find myself thinking if i really remember her. here is what i do remember.
i remember always running to her if i was hurt or if i was in trouble with my dad. i would sit on her lap and the world would be ok again.
i remember her smile.
i remember the day she came home from getting her hair cut really really short. i didn't know at the time she did it so it would be easier when her hair fell out from the chemo.
i remember thinking, "what did she do with her hair?" but telling her, "i think it's cute"
i remember coming home from school to the house smelling like bread and suddenly getting really hungry. no one made bread like she did.
i remember her driving faster when the classical music on the radio got faster.
i remember when she was really mad that she could no longer speak in english.
i remember she always prayed in chinese.
i remember when she would start doing dishes the running water would make her have to use the bathroom, but she would do the "potty dance" until the sink was full then she'd run.
i remember she would always make my dad a lunch everyday for work.
i remember her walking with me to school one day because i had missed the bus.
i remember how she loved to sing.
i remember that she used to keep some type of candy under the headboard drawer under her pillow.
i remember going grocery shopping with her and me always having to put a penny in the gumball machine.
i remember crawling into her side of the bed at night if i got sick or had a bad dream.
i remember she always planned the best birthday parties for me.
i remember the beautiful dresses she made.
i remember going to "help" her teach english to some chinese friends.
i remember she loved to chew gum.
i remember how she always had some chinese medicine to fix any ailment.
i remember her doing all the packing on all our family camping trips.
i remember her cutting up the deer my dad got on his hunting trips.
i remember her plucking chickens.
i remember every christmas morning we would have new pajamas made by her and we had to go put them on before we opened presents.
i remember back to school shopping with her & how we would all put our coats in the cart so she could also do christmas shopping if needed.
i remember her hugs.
i remember how she used to lock the storage room so we wouldn't get into the snacks for camping.
i love my mom!

welcome to june... and it only gets hotter

so here we are almost half way through june. things have been going pretty well. zach, dad (smith), lincoln, gage, reichael, and i have been going out mountain biking. its been lots of fun. gage actually only came with us for the first time on saturday. he did so awesome! and is excited to come next time too. we figured we will have to ride at least 2 times a week so we can have a "big kid" ride and a "everyone" ride. the big kid ride we go much longer and on a bit harder trails. the everyone ride, we just do smaller trails. it is great exercise, and it is so much fun. look at pictures on my facebook. i know, i know... i need to just get the pictures on here, but i am still trying to figure it out.
this past thursday, i got a phone call from none other- my bff- lena. she was on her way down here with her singles ward. they were having their super activity. well, zach & i had the wonderful opportunity to attend a temple session with lena & her ward. it was awesome! i haven't seen her, or talked to her since our wedding. and that is almost a year now :)
crazy, i know. time is flying.
so work at massage envy is becoming a bit of a challenge. i love massage and most of my co-workers. i just don't love the management. every single therapist there warned me that i have to watch my checks closely. well, i didn't really keep a close enough watch. i went back through my checks on saturday because i had discovered on my last check i was shorted an hour & a half. so i went back through every single one.... guess how much i was shorted. 5 hours & 5 bonus treatments. guess how much money that it adds up to.... $81.00
on saturday, my one manager told me that my 1 & 1/2 was not paid because the client didn't show up. duh i know she didn't show cause i sat there waiting. well, massage envy didn't have a credit card number on file so they didn't charge for the session. (if you don't cancel before 24 hrs, or 4 hrs at my location; you are charged at least half price for the session if you don't show)
so because the receptionist didn't get a card number to hold the session, and because the client didn't show up, massage envy didn't get paid, and therefore means i don't get paid. i think the receptionist should have to give me the money for not doing her job. but who knows... whatever. $81 will just keep adding up. and all the good therapists will leave. now i do work today, so who knows if i will be able to get paid that shorted amount since it was from a month ago. they will probably have some other excuse. and i will just find another place to work.
i am much to valuable to have to keep tabs on my checks. i was also talking to another therapist about it, and she suggested to me that i also track how much i am being tipped on credit cards. apparently some of their checks have been shorted their tips. does that seem like good business to you?! GRRRR!!!
well, anyway... june is now here. the days are getting hotter. it is kinda nice, but also not. i am getting really funny tan lines from biking. zach says i am becoming stripped like a tiger. i told him that he needs to take me to a lake or beach and then i'll be just fine with only swimsuit tan lines. then i add, "even my white skin that never ever sees sun is still darker than your white" to which he responds, "yes, but you are chinese." and so life goes here in la verkin at the smith's.
my birthday is coming up next monday. i am stupid and am working it. maybe i will/can get bigger tips by telling my clients that it is my birthday. HA! like that will really work. i keep asking zach what he is getting me. he won't tell me. blast. i then ask him what he is going to get me for our anniversary. he won't tell me that either. but i think i know what we are getting because we are getting each other the same thing.
our friends, jen & aaron, invited us to come on havasupi with them in august. we don't have hiking backpacks, so we are going to get each other a hiking backpack for our anniversary. at least i think that is what we decided. i am super excited and zach is too, to be going on havasupi. aaron is the only one who has gone backpacking on a trip like that.
i am also excited for erin & greg to come visit. they are coming to st. george for a mini vacation/celebration and we are going to go hiking and maybe mountain biking with them. i think summer will be a great summer full of good friends and good times. makin' memories, wahoo!!
i am also reading a lot more that i have been in the last year or two. it is great to get my nose in a book again for fun. zach was laughing at me the other day because we bought "the hunger games" on paperback. i was smelling the pages. nothing smells like a brand new book. i love the smell. he called me a bookworm and laughed. i called him a techno-worm. i really don't mind being called a bookworm. i love books. i love to read for fun. we just finished "i am number 4" and it was really good. yes, zach will read on occasion. i am trying to get him reading more rather than play with the technology. oh well.
anyway, i can't really think of a whole lot else right now, so i will leave you here. until next time :)

holy smokes its almost the end of may!

yikes i haven't been here for a while. well, things are going pretty good. zach & i have been mountain biking a bit. sometimes if we can & he is available, we ask dad (smith) if he wants to come. it is a lot of fun and if we hit the right trails, reichael can come too. she loves it. and it is great exercise for her, and well us too.

not too much has been going on around here though. may has come and gone almost too quickly. work is going alright. there are busy days and not busy days. i need to find out what is going on with the scheduling though cause i am only scheduled to work 3 days a week. YIKES! i must admit it is nice to have more time for biking and laying around the house, but at the same time, i need to make sure the bills get paid so we can continue to have a place to live, food to eat, and a jeep to drive.

talk about gas prices...they are super scary and fluctuate way too much in my opinion. inflation...poop on it!

zach continues to work for marketsource as an hp rep, but he is also looking into working another job as well as getting back into school. hooray and blah all at the same time. i am so glad i am done with school for now. i might go back once i am an empty nester, but who knows... and that is a long ways away.

time is flying by for sure, but seeing how we are thinking about 4 maybe 5 kids... and if we have them all out of the house by 21 at about 2 years apart... then the math adds to be... okay i can't think it in my head so i'll have to pause: but it doesn't matter if i pause cause you'll continue reading along and it won't matter :) oh yeah and the starting to have kids.... well, its a ways away. and thanks to zach, it would be 31 years once we started having kids. and that is a long ways... i'll be in my 50s maybe 60s... and we are so done with this for now.

don't get me wrong, i want kids... i just don't want to think about how old i'll be. next month i turn 26. not that big of a deal, but zach turned 27 so he is way closer to 30 than i am. he is trying to get me freaked out about being closer to 30 than to 20. really, i don't care. i just don't want to think about me being 50 or 60 something right now.

i posted pictures on facebook of our apartment in la verkin as well as a bike ride we went on today. and i am thinking i need to get off the computer since rei rei is jumping on me and panting in my face. that is usually a sign that she needs out to potty or she just wants to be center of attention. and here i'll leave today, hopefully to be back faster than last time. so most likely, i'll see you in june. ha ha ha :)

fun with 2 cool kids

we had 2 cool kids come stay the night with us sunday. lincoln & shaunie. they had the easter break so we had them come sleep over. it was a lot of fun. zach & i were sneaky ninjas and started the night off with a pillow fight....that we totally won. then we told ghost stories. some were really scary, but others were only scary until the punch line.
after that we decided to lighten the mood and watched "support your local sheriff" i thought for sure we would all fall asleep, but as soon as the movie was over, lincoln, shaunie, and i were still fairly wide awake. so we stayed up talking and then finally around 4 o'clock, we all went to bed. i woke up at 7 and got zach up so we could run to the store and buy bacon. breakfast was made and the kids were woken up. after dishes, we decided to go into st. george to the mall.
we walked around for a while and then finally shaunie & lincoln decided what they wanted to buy. shaunie got earrings, a necklace, and a very cute shirt. lincoln got a shirt and a spitfire sticker. then it was lunch time. so we stopped at arctic circle and pigged out. we had a fun day with them. when we got home, lincoln & i played through a duet that we are going to perform sometime. it was then time to take the little ones home so they could get the things done they needed to.
zach & i then took reichael out to the park & stopped by mom & dad (smith)'s house on the way back. they had chili and offered us some. it was delicious! and after the wonderful chili, we topped it off by going to yumz. it is a self serve frozen yogurt place. really good! and thanks to mom & dad for providing us with dinner & dessert. it was really yummy & as always a fun time out with you two :)
i am also going to blog a bit about zach's birthday. it was kinda a lame one since we both worked. i did, however, make 2 cheesecakes from scratch. he wanted strawberry cheesecake instead of regular cake. and i am such an awesome wify & put sparklers on 1 of them for his candles. it was awesome and the cheesecake didn't taste that bad either. in fact, i am going to go have a piece after i finish with this blog. and that would be now cause it sounds better than typing... :)

golfers...

my day yesterday was quite interesting. with the weather outside being overcast, i really didn't want to go into work. i wanted to go back to bed. but alas, i got myself up and dressed and all off to work. i decided to stop in at maverick and get a mtn dew live wire (the best ever cause its orange with caffeine). needless to say, i almost guzzled the whole thing on my 30 ish min drive to work. *i haven't had soda for almost a month too, so i was really not wanting to work*
i got to work, and yippee, had clients... no "on call" today. i hate on call cause i don't get paid. i just sit and wait to get called in. but i guess if i just sit there, i don't get paid either. whichever way, i have to have clients to get money.
so both of the bosses were there and they were both in bad moods...really bad moods. it was kinda funny. cause they should be stressing about the place and all the "behind the scenes" stuff going on. (they had 5 therapists leave in less than 2 weeks, and might have 4 more walking out in the next 2 weeks and they so far had only hired me to replace all the ones who left) well, i looked at the screen that tells us when and who our clients are, and low and behold, there is a new therapist. she comes in after me so i won't get to really meet her until after my first 2 clients, unless i get more... which i did.
well, the newest therapist was late. and she was storing her extra linens in one of the couples rooms. and i don't know if she washed after each session cause i only saw her waiting right outside the door each time i was in the hall waiting for my clients. and i watched her walk in on a client disrobing cause she didn't give them enough time before she just walked in. needless to say, i hope her day today will be better or she won't be having this job too much longer. she already had 2 clients complain against her too. poor thing. but she gave me weird vibes. i just don't know if it was first day jitters, but i wasn't like that on my first day. yes it was a little crazy, but i was also on time and watched everyone else in the hall and such.
so on to my clients. boy oh boy.... all but 1 were yappy. every single one of them wanted to talk. so i just let them. it was a little weird cause most people fall asleep, but not these ones. all of them were in because they have a golf tournament tomorrow (today) that they need to relax and work out the sore muscles from practicing on the green. i felt like i was a birthing coach too cause i had to keep telling my clients to breathe slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth so i can work a little deeper. breathe, breathe.
one client was talking about opening his own spa. he offered me a job when it is finished. it was kinda funny cause he was talking and talking and the suddenly snoring. it was funny, but it was also a relief. my hands worked magic. yes! so after i got done with that client, he was still in la la land and took his time coming out of the room, but it was ok cause it gave me a chance to get a business card (massage envy's but i wrote my name & number on it) so he can call me when the spa opens.
and my next 2 clients were also golfers, and wouldn't stop talking. they didn't fall asleep though. but the funniest was my 77 year old man. he was wanting a deeper massage, but then found out he didn't really like deep. so i switched to a more swedish massage style. he asked me what the strokes were called. so i was telling him as i was working the muscles. this is petrissage, this is effleurage, this is feathering, this is petrissage again. he would tell me oh yeah i like that one or oh not so much on that one. and when i had him turn over he was almost in la la land.
well, then i finished working his legs, and moved up to his shoulders and neck. he then opened his eyes and said to me "i don't know how to put this, and don't take it wrong, cause i don't know how else to put it, but that feathering stroke is, well, kinda turning me on. i think i am going to ask my wife if she wants to get in the whirlpool with me when we get home."
HOLY CRAP!!! what do you do with that?! it took me by surprise and all i could say was "ok" but my brain was screaming "la la la la la, too much information, i don't want to know that! just shut up and enjoy your massage! la la la la la" he did leave me a pretty good tip, and i think they might join and become frequent clients. who knows. i just hope he is silent the next time he comes in for a massage so i don't throw up on him.
thank goodness for my last client who was silent. she wasn't a golfer though. oh, and i forgot cause a lot happened at work yesterday... but the new girl has a uniform. i still don't. so i had to give the one boss crap for it. he didn't take it well. and it wasn't until he realized i was totally joking, that he tried to make up for it and said that i looked professional and beautiful in all black. what a jerk, but whatever. he is just stressed and needs to learn how to manage things a little better cause he is going to find himself without therapists soon if things keep on the way they are. oh and they are completely redoing the shirts, so that's why i don't have a massage envy shirt yet. and that was my work day. CRAZY!

poop

well work is going alright. i only get paid though when i actually work on clients. my schedule isn't quite set yet, but it is getting there. i still don't always get booked either. so sometimes i sit and wait for people. it gets very boring. the other therapists are all pretty cool people. i am still trying to get names with faces and keep them straight. i know it will come eventually. reichael is doing much better. she has an autoimmune disease. they treat it with steroids. most likely she will have to have shots or pills for the rest of her life. but at least medication is working. reichael still is having digestive issues though. i was woken up an hour ago by her jumping on our bed to inform me she pooped. usually she lets us know she needs out, but i guess since she has diarrhea, she just went. it smelled awful and i managed to step in it. i hope that it will be better once the bleach water dries. i cleaned it up. yuck yuck yuck. i almost threw up too. whatever am i going to do with babies? zach is looking for another job as well as getting back into school. his hp job is going great, but he isn't getting enough hours to support us. i am worried about bills. but i guess as long as we have faith and pay tithing, the Lord will provide. i am still wondering what it is we are supposed to do down here. all in due time though. i need to figure out what i am getting zach for his birthday or what we are going to do. if we want to go out & eat or if i should actually attempt cooking a meal. we both will have to work that saturday, but i guess it just depends on what zach would like. anyway, i should try to get back to sleep again. i fell asleep just after midnight and was woken up at 2am, cleaned up the diarrhea, and tried to sleep again, but tossed and turned. so i got up and am still feeling like i should be sleeping, but i'm wide awake. blah blah blah. i guess its good i am not scheduled for today. but i did work yesterday & am really tired. i just can't get comfortable and my allergies make it hard to breathe. oh well. whatever.

i got a job

okay so the family vacation was tons of fun. we just went to st. george and stayed in the world mark there. it was really nice. the world mark is like a time share for those of you who don't know. there were 2 pools, 2 hot tubs, and 2 kiddie pools. and if you are rich enough, the presidential suite has its own hot tub on the deck. it was great to spend time with all of zach's family and we just played games and ate and swam and hiked a bit too.
well, i guess the biggest thing that has happened since my last blog was that i got a job. yep, that's right. i went in for a practical on tuesday of this week and they put me to work on wednesday of this week. i also worked thursday and today (friday). i won't work again until wednesday. i got a request and they decided to schedule me to fit in the request. plus i think i get a few more dollars when someone requests me specifically. so i am now working at massage envy in the pineview plaza. i get paid when i give massage.... so everyone come in and request me.
reichael is doing much better, but she is still really sick. the vet thinks it could be seasonal allergies or some other autoimmune disease. he gave her a shot of steroids and sent out for a biopsy as well. we should know by tuesday exactly what is making our puppy sick.
we are all moved in to our new place and we got the internet today. (that's why i am blogging) and zach bought me a desktop computer so we both can work in the office (our second bedroom). it will be really nice once we get all the extra boxes and stuff out. i can actually do massage here at home again. and we have an extra bed that someone can come visit. hint hint... family you can come visit zach and me :)
zach got his hp packet today so he can actually work tomorrow in uniform and not just sunday best. he will still be in a white shirt, but it has hp on it. and he will have a name badge as well. i am still waiting for my uniforms. i will be in black or tan pants/capri which i have to provide but massage envy will get me t-shirts. they are in the middle of a uniform change, so i get to wear my school uniforms for now. good thing i kept those.
i am also still waiting for my massage insurance packet. techinically i am not supposed to be working without the proof that i have it, but where everything happened so quickly and i explained what happened, they understand. i just have to get it to them as soon as i get it.
so life here in la verkin isn't so bad. i love having family so close. i think things are finally going in the right direction with us. we just need reichael to get better and everything will be great.

the things going on

we got everything packed in the horse trailer and the back of dad (smith's) truck. i am quite surprised it actually all fit. where and how did we accumulate so much stuff? oh well. zach & i found a place to live down here in la verkin. it is actually a place that zach's uncle owns and rents out. it is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, washer & dryer place. it will be nice not to have to haul the laundry to the laundromat. we have been living with mom & dad (smith) for the last 2 weeks. and on monday we will be moving just up the road from them. i think i might go over today and clean up the place to amber standards. i don't think it has been lived in for a bit. when we turned on the water in the shower, it came out brown for a few seconds. don't get me wrong, the place was cleaned after vacancy, but i just feel better about cleaning it myself and knowing that i was the last one to clean.
zach is working today. he had a conference call this morning and then went to meet his boss over at the hotel. his boss lives up in slc i think. he just came down to take zach around to the different stores he will be working at and introductions and the such. so i am just hanging out doing laundry and taking care of rei rei.
she got a bacterial skin infection. it was about a month ago that we first noticed it, but we didn't know a vet or have the money for a vet. well we got our tax return, and when her sores spread all down her one side and her leg & ears, zach took her to a vet he knows down here. she is on a broad spectrum antibiotic. if it still isn't better by tuesday, we take her back to the vet. hopefully she will get better. she put herself to bed and won't come out unless we make her. usually its just to potty and eat a little bit. i think i will try and take her for a walk later today. just to keep her moving. the first pill we gave her made her throw up. after the second one, we walked her around a little and she did much better. i think she just needs rest and the antibiotics will do the rest. well, i am going to go to walmart with mom (smith) now so i'll leave this blog here and tell about our family vacation on the next one.

we are moving...

holy cow another whole month gone.... i am really getting bad at this whole blog thing. well, lots has happened. first off, i think the biggest one is that we are moving to la verkin and then perhaps st. george.
zach got a job as an hp rep for the st. george area. he will have only a set schedule of 10 hours at the best buy in st. george, but he will also have others stores that he will spend some time in throughout the week. zach is also going to look at getting a second job.
i am hoping to transfer to an associated store down in la verkin, hurricane, or st. george. just for right now. i am still working on getting my license. yes yes i know it is taking forever. well, i will explain down the blog here so just hang on.
if i can't transfer to another associated store, i will try my very best to look for something i can do to keep an income coming in. there are just too many bills for me to not work. when we get our bills under control, we can rack them back up with children.
my license.... well, i finally just took a day and went to apply for my massage license. i took the completed application to my school so they could fill out what they needed to. well, they threw away my entire application and printed off one of their own. they assured me that this was better and that i didn't need the whole thing. i was an idiot. well, i went to take my application in and the building was closed. government buildings are closed on fridays. blah. so i took another day and went to turn the application in. this is all in salt lake mind you. so i paid my fee, and turned in my application. earlier this week, i got a letter. my application has been denied. why.... well because it was incomplete. go figure! so i had to take yet another day and go turn in the part my school office people threw away. now hopefully my application is complete and will be processed in the next week or two. but we will be at a new address then, so i will still have to wait for the mail to be forwarded. blah blah blah. what is wrong with the office people?!!!
ok so really a lot of what has been going on with us has only been going on the last 2 weeks ish. we went to brian regan live in logan. mona & esther got us front row seats. it was a pretty funny show. the drive back was not so fun....it was a blizzard... and i am so excited to be leaving snow behind for a while. warm weather, my tan, warm weather, no more snow, i am just a bit excited.
and well, maybe that's all that has really been going on.... we have been busy packing up what we aren't using or going to use in the next week. our official move date is march 7.
my parents are going to bring the massive horse trailer down for us to hopefully fit everything in. my in-laws are going to bring a truck as well, and i am so grateful that family is willing to sacrifice to help us move.
rei rei is confused about what is going on. she keeps looking at all the boxes stacking up and then she gets this look on her face. it is kind of a sad look, but also a 'what have i done wrong' look. i wish i could read her mind. she is such a fun dog. zach and i decided that we are going to spell her "full" name reichal. (people kept reacting funny when we said her name is rei rei) (not that we really care what people think of us) so we decided that her full name will be reichael. we are allowed to spell it funny because she is a dog.
well, i am excited to be leaving ogden. i will miss most of the people here. i am scared, but also happy about the whole situation. i think we are needed in st. george and that might be why zach couldn't get a full time job here in ogden. i will miss my young women. they are good girls with so much to offer. i hope they all know that. it will be hard telling them that it is my last sunday with them on the 6th. (we have stake conference this coming sunday) i am still not sure why i was put in the young womens, but i have enjoyed being there. and now i really must get to more packing.

hormones....

this may just be a slight venting blog, but i do have some sort of kinda round about funny story. but first the venting because i find that i really should keep a diary, but i find typing much easier not to mention faster. i really really hate that i have to be the "smart" one in my office. not to mention that i am not really tech savvy, but apparently i am and have to be. whatever. i just can't handle when people who really are supposed to be tech savvy because they are working in a tech support place really aren't any help at all. go figure. so i have to figure it out on my own, but the good news is, i did figure it out. bad news, it still didn't work. so i have been on the phone for almost 2 full working days now just trying to get someone to find the extra special thing i missed to make the printer work. BLAH! why can't they test things and make sure that there really aren't so many flaws before they expect little ol me to understand and then teach the even more handicapped.... okay okay, maybe they aren't really handicapped, but that doesn't explain why they still can't do even the smallest of tasks not to mention that one flat out refused to learn, but then was told that there isn't a choice anymore in the matter. double BLAH!
okay so now i am just all around frustrated with myself because i told myself i was going to be gone before christmas 2010.... now i looks like i may be there for a while longer. and if they can't find someone to replace me, well then it isn't my problem and i can walk away and never give another thought to it. don't get me wrong, i do love most of the people. and i haven't found another job to give my well, i suppose i should give more than just 2 weeks, but if it comes to it, then 2 weeks is all it will be. who knows. it just depends on when i can get down to SLC to get fingerprinted and background checked and fees paid and apply for the license. i have all the paperwork filled out. i (thanks to a wonderful sister) now have the money to pay the fees. i just need to be able to take a day between monday and thursday to go to SLC in the day/working hours. only 2 problems.... i am much needed at work and gas. why am i so loyal to my job. why can't i just play sick one day so i can still get my hours that zach & i so desperately need... and why can't i just get it done? i hate that i am so close and yet i feel like it is impossible and can't find the will power or whatever it is to just be done with stupid people.
i get so frustrated dealing with the exact same issues everyday with the same people. and why can't people just work at work. is that really too much to ask for. i sure wish i could just talk on my phone all day and hide out in the bathroom and walk around talking to everyone instead of working or take as much time as possible to do a simple task. i wish i could come to work, punch in, change my clothes, read the paper, and then come down to work and then do what i really wanted to do at work instead of prioritizing things, and then when it is time to leave, go change my clothes again and then wait a few more minutes just to make sure i get all the time i can, and then punch out and leave. i wish i could do that. but then, oh yeah.... i'd get FIRED. so why do other people get away with it all the time. why do i have to work my butt off and still have things that "need" to get done but if i hit over 40 hours i get written up. why can't the system work.
alright...i think i am okay now. so on to the kinda funny in a round about way story... on sunday zach and i came home to find that rei rei had got into the trash and covered the living room floor with it. upon cleaning it up, zach found a blue plastic pouch with a sticker on it. it was partially eaten. he handed it to me and asked what it was. it was my birth control pills from my mostly zipped up purse. rei rei had opened my purse, dug through it, and pulled out; not the gum, not the candy, and not the chocolate.... but the birth control pills!!! and not only did she manage to get the pill pack out of the plastic wrap, she almost got every single pill out of the punch bubbles.
i have no idea how she did it, but i was so mad i was ready to just beat her. she put herself in the kennel though and stayed there the rest of the night. i went into work monday and didn't really have a clue as to what i should do. i asked the pharmacy people if rei rei would be okay. they said that since she is spayed that she should be okay but we should still watch her. and then i asked if i could get another pack of pills, esp since it was a brand new pack. they looked it up... insurance won't pay for it or any part of it... i could just get it and pay out of pocket. i asked how much. the answer $50.00 YIKES! then a friend suggested i should go to planned parenthood. it would work, but i would have to see one of their doctors first. i don't know how long that would take. then another friend suggested that i call up my doctor and just ask if there is anyway i could get a free sample pack. so that is what i did. i called up my doctor. only problem, they didn't give me a call back until close of tuesday night. i had called as soon as i was off work tuesday. i should have figured something out on monday, but things just didn't work so nicely on monday. it was just not such a happy day.
the doctor's office said that if i could come wednesday at 9am (when they open) that i could get a sample pack and that i would have to take 1 pill as soon as i could get it, and then take another one at night. then do that again thursday (today). they also told me that for the next 7 days that we should use backup birth control if we make love unless we want to possibly start our family growing with children. um, not yet please. so they didn't have my exact birth control that i have been taking, and this new one is slightly different. and it is messing with my hormones. maybe it is just in my head, but i have been awfully short tempered and then just short of crying and then back to being angry and then depressed and then my poor husband gets the full craziness of it all. but it has now been 5 days and rei rei is okay. so i guess that is what is important. even though my emotions are all over the place, we are both okay and i just have to remember that. so now i have comleted my story and here i shall leave you all.

i know, i know... its been a while

i haven't posted for a while because well, let's face it. i have just been kinda busy and when i wasn't busy, the computer was either ignored or occupied by, um, not me.... so here i am by myself on friday night because zach is at work. and rei rei is keeping watch out the living room window so i can finally have some time to blog.
i last left you all just before thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was wonderful except for being so rushed. zach and i didn't get the head start we thought we could get to head down to la verkin. we ended up leaving about 2 hours after we had planned. mostly in part of the freezing cold. our windshield washer fluid froze because i still had summer fluid in. imagine that, you don't use as much washer fluid in the summer than in the winter/weather..... anyway... we had to stop at walmart and put in winter washer fluid. still didn't help because the line was also frozen.
our usual 4, 4 1/2, 5 hour trip took almost 6 hours because we had to keep stopping to splash washer fluid on the windshield so we could see. and rei rei kept having to make potty breaks. (i told her before we left that she needed to be a good dog and potty and poop before we left) and she sort of did... at least the potty part. we were able to sleep in a tiny bit on thanksgiving morning, but i really wanted to visit with my family. so i didn't really sleep in and once again rei rei is used to keeping my early morning hours and insisted on being taken out to potty at 530am. oh the joys of having early mornings and a puppy set on that schedule...
thanksgiving dinner was of course excellent. mom & dad (smith) and everyone else that added their talents of cooking to the meal did a wonderful job. the whole family was there and it was just a fantastic time. after dinner we rushed to take family pictures since we were all there. and then zach & i & rei rei had to head back up to ogden. boo hoo for black friday and both of us having to work it. blah. and that was thanksgiving. very short and yet it was still worth it.
december brought with it very chilly weather. and i have been able to get to know my young women's girls better. we had an activity to do baptisms for the dead as a whole youth group. it was such an incredible time to see the youth doing baptisms and watching zach throw the young men down in the water then struggle just a tiny bit to bring them back up. the ogden temple has a unique viewing area that looks straight at the font and allows everyone (in the baptistery in the temple) to watch the baptisms. when the names we brought were all done, and the youth all dried off, we went to golden corral for dinner. a few of the girls had a bit much sugar and it was quite funny to watch them giggle and enjoy each others company. and after dinner we all went to the ogden lds institute christmas show. it was quite a different time for me being there in the audience without having my sister to watch or me being on stage too. but it was a good time.
december also brought with it a sad but happy day. my grandpa richmond passed away. i was kinda shocked that my dad called to tell me since sometimes he forgets that his children might want to know these things. i was even more shocked when he asked me to sing a musical number at the funeral. i mentioned that esther has a beautiful alto voice and it might be better if we could do a duet instead of a solo for me. my dad agreed and es & i did the duet. i had to fight hard not to let the tears take over me. but it was a happy day because grandpa was home with his sweetheart again. my grandma richmond had passed away earlier in the year. i think grandpa really really missed her and just wanted to be home with her for christmas.
then an exciting day for mona happened. it was her birthday, but also, she was able to go and receive her endowment at the logan temple. i was able to go and be in the session with her and most of the snyder clan. it was a wonderful day. and so exciting.... (this was my second session since i received my own endowment in june) i know, i know.... zach & i tried to go to do a session in ogden temple, but the temple was closed the day we went and scheduling things have not allowed us to go together. but we were able to go and do sealings with mike & debbie once and that was a lot of fun.
after we had lunch and fun with the snyders; es, zach & i headed up to blackfoot to have an early christmas with dad, eliz, adam & cedar. it was a lot of fun to be able to see adam & cedar. we hadn't seen them since our joint reception in june. their dog, bosco, has gotten really big and rei rei and bosco had tons of fun. they were good entertainment for us. esther is a very crafty person and had made homemade dog toys for bosco. rei rei and bosco played tug-a-war with one. they were about equal in strength & height. at one point bosco laid down while still keeping his end of the rope in his mouth. rei rei didn't like that. she started dragging bosco across the floor. it was so funny and we were all laughing so hard that rei rei stopped and looked at us funny. it was a great time.
and now finally to real christmas. thanks to our thanksgiving mishaps, i was packed and ready to go by the time zach got off work. so all i had to do was pick him up and we were off. we made it in our usual 4, 4 1/2, 5 hour time on christmas eve. both of us had to work, but i got off quite a few hours before zach did. it was sooooo good to actually spend time with mom & dad (smith) and relax. christmas was wonderful and i hated leaving to head back up to freezing cold ogden.
i am going to take the last bit here to share what happened on the monday after christmas. we were able to stay in la verkin until monday afternoon/evening. my cousin was going to receive her endowment that day. i didn't know this until we got down there. i had actually had a thought to grab our temple clothes right before i locked up the apartment and went to get zach. i dismissed it because i thought temples were closed on mondays. when we got down there and mom mentioned that we should come to the session, i thought what a stupid idiot i was not to have obeyed my, what i realized now, prompting.
well, you can rent temple clothes at the temple. hooray! we could go. so i got up monday and got myself all ready to go to the temple. i then had a thought that i should make sure i had my temple recommend. i went to my purse and pulled out my wallet. low and behold, i had left my recommend in my temple bag when i went through in logan with mona. i went to tell zach i didn't have my recommend and once again, could not go. i felt awful. because of my own stupidity, i couldn't go to the temple. i started to cry and zach held me for a minute. he said he would stay with me and i told him no. he needed to go, even if i couldn't. we went out to tell mom & dad that i had forgot my recommend. dad then said, it's ok, i have a plan. we called the temple and dad explained the situation. the temple asked for our bishop's phone number. then we left it at that. i thought that maybe i should also try calling the bishop. i did and no one answered. it was now time for us to go to the temple. the whole ride to st. george i was praying that somehow i would be able to still go.
when we got to the temple, i went in and said that i was the sister who had left her recommend in ogden. they had me wait at the side for a minute while other people went in. finally they came and said i could come in and attend the session. a rush of gratitude and love came over me. during that session, i was thinking about how much life is like what just happened to me. i'll explain.
we come down to earth (la verkin) and spend time with our loved ones. we then are called home (the temple/heaven) but find ourselves full of sin and can't be allowed in (forgetting temple recommend/temple clothes). our wise heavenly father (dad smith) says it's ok, i have a plan. and then though repentance and our savior jesus christ (a series of phone calls to our bishop) we can enter the gate of heaven and come home to be with our loved ones and our heavenly parents again in the celestial kingdom (temple/celestial room). see, it makes sense. sort of. anyway i know that i was blessed and that i needed to be at the temple that day or i wouldn't have been able to go in. it was such a grand feeling being back in the temple, esp the temple i was sealed to zach in for time and all eternity. to be with my family in the celestial room after and knowing that heavenly father loves me and knew that i needed the temple that day was just amazing :)