~ALL about the ALLemans~

One week down!

2012-01-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

So i made it through my first week in St George! I wish i could say that i made it through the whole week all by myself but i didnt... I lasted a WHOLE 3 days before i called crying for Chad to come down (i just love that guy). So being the awesome husband that he is, he came! He had a couple of days off so he was able to sneak away.

I think the whole being away from each other for 5 months is going to turn into 2 months... But we are trying to work out all the details. We will decide this weekend. My sister and her family need to go to springville this weekend so i am just gonna catch a ride with them so i can see chad again for a couple of days!

All in all i think we are going to LOVE St George!!! Its gonna be a fun place to live :)... And im excited to see what the future holds for us!

Finally FINISHED!!!

2012-01-11T22:54:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows my husband know that he is a DIE HARD Nintendo fan, he loves to collect pretty much anything NES (that he can afford)... It really is cute and dorky all at the same time! He's got almost 400 NES games and i cant even put a number on all of the other games that he has. Lets just say me being the wonderful wife that i am ;) let him have his OWN room for all of his collection. I dont mind this hobby because it reminds him of his childhood, and it was a happy memory and so i support it 100%...

Anyhow as i was perusing on pinterest (which i do all too often) i came across a sweet Mario Brothers blanket! I looked closer and realized that this particular blanket had been crocheted. I wanted to make the blanket for chad for his Christmas gift and i just didnt have time to teach myself the stitch so i decided to quilt it. Well i hadnt done that before either but i thought that was totally more doable then crocheting.

So i jumped on facebook to enlist the help (and brains) of my dear sweet niece Corinne. She was JUST as excited as i was. She used her mad math skills to carefully calculate every little square we would need. How many yards of each color and all that fun stuff that i just did not have the patience for :)...

So off i went to the fabric store to pick up all of the supplies! I picked corinne up and we got right to work. We nearly finished the front of the quilt that day! I was so excited all of these little colored squares were finally forming Mario!!! It was super cool! Well i just couldnt contain myself with all of this excitement i begged (and pleaded) for chad to come look at the blanket for almost 2 hours. It was a week before christmas and truly i wanted to have him wake up on christmas morning and open this sweet gift and just love it! But me being the buzz kill that i am would not allow that moment to happen. So chad caved and came and looked at the blanket (just the top). He LOVED it and thought it was the coolest thing ever. But i ruined christmas :(... Nah its was awesome!!!

Anyhow since i had already showed him what his christmas gift was going to be i kind of lost the drive to get it done BEFORE christmas. So the holiday came and went and the poor top of the mario blanket sat so lonely like in my little craft bag :(

UNTIL tonight. I figured ok i am moving this weekend i need to get this blanket done before then. So i headed back to the fabric store and bought the rest of the supplies. And happily i can say its FINISHED!!! Its a little smaller than i wanted it to be but i doubt he will use it, im sure he will display it in his game room, which i am totally fine with!

So here is it in all of its Mario Brothers glory! Keep in my this is my first attempt at quilting. the squares didnt exactly line up (but hey mario is 8bit so it works) so i had to tie it instead of actually quilting so that part looks a tad goody, But i am proud none the less...

Sunny St George Here I come!!!

2012-01-10T23:34:00.000-08:00

Chad and i have always wanted to move out of the area. St George has always been appealing, but we figured we would cross that bridge once chad was done with school in a few more years! Well i uess we crossed that bridge sooner than that because we are now moving to St George! My brother in law offered me a job working in his chiropractic office! Its super exciting and i am up for the new adventure!

Sadly my dear sweet husband had to stay back in springville to finish out the rest of the semester and the rest of our lease. So he wont be moving to St George until June :(... Its gonna be super hard, but i am determined that it is the right thing and a good step for us and our little family! Luckily he was 5 days off every 3 weeks so he will be able to come hang out in St George during those days! Also i hope to get back up to see him at least once a month! We definitely will cherish the times that we do have together!

Chad will transfer to Dixie for fall semester and finish out his degree there... So here we are on our new little journey, excited for our future, and trying to get through the next 5 months living 4 hours apart :(... You may "see" me venting on here throughout that time... I will try not to complain (publicly) so much. I know there are so many other ppl who have it worse...

In other news my Sweet Niece Corinne left to serve and LDS mission in Korea. I just cant even express how proud i am of her. She is such a sweet determined girl! Ever since shes been gone (monday) i just cant help but get choked up when i see her picture or read her moms (my sister in law Heidi's) blog. I just know she is going to change lifes, she is such a great example!

Oh and other super exciting news----- I am going to be a GREAT AUNTIE!!! My other sweet little niece mallory is expecting her first baby in may! She is having a little bebe girl which means she is going to be spoiled! Ive got lots of little girl things i cant wait to make for her!

So there is my update! 2012 is going to be perfect in more ways that 1!!!

Our latest project!

2012-01-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

Now that we have a few refinishing projects under our belt, we are attempting to create something from scratch! I am particularly excited for this project, primarily because it should be a true test of our abilities. We have steadily stepped up our fabricating skills with each project, and I think we are ready for this. Our intention is to build a hallway table, one that doesn't take up too much space, yet remains functional. Our search has ended up fruitless so far, at least as far as finding an already built piece.

So, without further adieu, here is the beginning of our latest!

Here you can see we simply glued and screwed together two boards side by side. Next, I ripped a third down the middle, and using some 45 degree

cuts, made a border around the two. This proved to be a little more challenging than I expected. The overall length of the top is fifty eight inches, and the depth is about twelve inches. I have always heard: Measure twice, cut once.. Well, it turns out I always end up doing the opposite! I

must have cut those 45's a dozen times!

Here is an overview of the length, which is still in very unfinished condition. More of that later!

After letting the glue dry a bit, we brought it in to start mocking up where we wanted to place it when its done.

Our end goal with this is to have a nice little shelf that we can place some pictures on, have a few little drawers to keep odd things, and a bottom shelf to place a few baskets for other things! More pictures to follow as we make more progress!

We brought it back in for the night, and doing a little more inside work. The drawer shelf is almost ready. We had to make a few extra cross pieces, which proved to be a little more difficult than expected.

Here is the back side of the table. We need to put in some stops in the back to keep them from falling out. Also on the to do list: Bottom shelf, molding around the top, the drawer fronts and moldings.

Here is the molding attached to the top surface. The edges are all lined up flush and sanded. This we purchased from our local Sunrock, a more small town version of Home Depot. I love the vibe of this store!

This is the result of many, many hours of sanding! The bottom shelf was made from ripped 2x4. The drawer faces are also done, created from bead board and molding, just like the ones from our end tables. We used some cute handles purchased from Sunrock.

Some small cross braces were added to help guide the drawers in and out.

We spent a lot of time evening out the seams in between boards on the top surface. This thing is awaiting primer! Its in the home stretch, and we couldn't be happier!

This is the base color, Behr Saffron Strands in a flat satin finish. It is a pretty intense color by itself, but we will mute it a little with stain.

Here is an up close of the drawer.

We applied stain, Minwax Jacobean 2750. Not yet finished is the urethane.

What an amazing weekend!

2011-08-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Honestly if i felt that there were words i could express so sum up what an amazing weekend we had, i would. Its better than i could have ever asked for. The love and support we felt this weekend has been amazing and we are SO grateful to everyone who shared it with us.

To start it off i have to tell you a little back story. Friday night was a normal friday night. Chad worked, i stayed home. It was payday for both of us so i went about paying bills and the first thing i did was take out the 10% of our income to give to our churches tithes. As a family we had gone over this and budgeted it all out. That night though i know that the adversary was working SO hard on Chad trying to change his mind about the whole baptism. In Chads head he felt there would be no way to pay all of our bills if we gave our tithes. I know from the past of the blessings that come from being a faithful tither payer but that was a faith strengthening exercise that i had to learn on my own. Chad will have to learn it to. Its hard to wrap your head around when you are pretty much living paycheck to paycheck. I expressed to chad that we need to put our faith in the lord. The paying our tithing will bring us blessings in ways we could have never imagined. That if we will be faithful we will be blessed for our actions. Then i asked chad to pray for strength and pray that he may have the faith he needs to get us through these next few weeks. I told chad to stay out in the living room, to ponder and think about it and then i went to bed. I dont know if he prayed or how long he stayed out there because i was asleep once he came to bed. But i do know that when i woke up saturday morning it was as if nothing had ever happened. He was ready to be baptized.

That night before i thought for sure i was going to have to call off the baptism. I was terrified that chad was going to let satan win, and i was sad that this all may not have happened, but like i said he woke up feeling refreshed the next morning. I dont know what it was. Maybe he just needed some rest, but i am grateful to whatever it was. My husband was baptized and i just know wonderful things are in store for our little family in the future.

The program went well. Pretty much as planned. Chad was baptized by his younger brother Cody (who really is bigger than him), Chad was so happy that his little brother was able to perform the baptism, and it was such a neat moment for them to come closer together as a family. Cody's dear sweet wife, Carina played the music for the day and it was just beautiful. Thank you both for helping the spirit be so strong there for us. We love you!

I had asked my niece who is getting ready to leave on her mission to Korea (in a couple of weeks) to speak on baptism. It was a great talk. She talked about how it is important to take upon the name of christ. How when you are baptized you are following his example and doing things for him. Pretty much you are his spokes person and its up to us to make sure that we carry on the example that christ has set for us. Well that is at least what i got from the talk, so thank you corinne.

We then asked my sister in law heidi who just happens so be one of the strongest most amazing people that i know, to give a talk on the holy ghost. One of the points in her talk was just SO appropriate for that day. She talked about how she lost her brother, and how she had comfort in knowing that he was happy now, and rejoicing. That she WILL see him again someday. I know that brought great comfort to chad because he lost him mom years ago and he cannot wait to join her in the heavens someday.

After the wonderful baptism we had a little brunch with our family and some friends. It was so nice to see everyone and to be together for this special day.

On Sunday Chad was going to be confirmed a member of the church during sacrament. He had asked the elders quorum president if he would do this. He glady preformed the ordiance and gave chad the most beautiful blessing i think that i have ever heard. I know that what he said is exactly what the lord was wanting to be said. He was so in tune and tears welled up in my eyes (and chads) hearing those amazing words and blessings from the lord. I cant pick which part of the weekend was my favorite...

Like i said i am grateful and feel so blessed that this has happened in our lifes. Many wonderful things are to come into our future and i cant wait to share them with my honey!

Here are a few pictures with some of chads family that attended the baptism.

Following in HIS example!

2011-08-02T22:05:00.001-07:00

I guess now is the time that i can "officially" share our exciting news! My amazing, loving, handsome husband will be getting baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are SO thrilled and excited for this new beginning in our lifes. We feel at peace with the whole decision, and my husband has been eager to learn! He is truly such a blessing in my life such a wonderful example to me. He is such a neat man and i just know he is going to be such a wonderful asset to the LDS religion.

This opportunity has also helped me to learn and grow as well. My testimony of the atonement has grown. My testimony in scripture study and Joesph Smith has grown! This is how we want to live our lifes. I want what we have to be much longer than just in this life. I want to share my eternity with the man that i love and the man that i look up to. We are excited! We cant wait to continue to learn and grow together as a couple and to become better people.

The big day will be August 20th. It will be one of the best days in our life :).

Amazingly well!!!

2011-05-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

The title says it all!!! We are doing amazingly well right now. Here is a little recap out whats been going on and what will be going on..

We didnt end up going to Hawaii because all of the flights were booked on the way home, so the sisters and mom decided we would just pack up and go to vegas. It was fun. We enjoyed our time just hanging out... I was SO happy to be home though, i really did miss my honey :)

So once i got home i decided i really really (and i mean it this time) really need to focus on me and getting healthy. I know that alot of my problem is what it eat and how often i eat. I get so busy at work and cant take a lunch break that alot of times i dont eat or i just eat something crappy. So by time i get home i am starving and eat whatever is convenient. So its totally tricking my mind and i am storing all of the yucky foods i have been eating.

A friend of mine recently has been posting on her facebook about her weight loss. I have seen her struggle in the past and saw that she was having alot of success with what she is doing now. So i asked about it. She has been doing this health program called Visalus. I got totally interested in it. There are different kits you can buy but the one i chose for me is their 2 meal replacement shakes a day. I know I know you are probably thinking that u cant just drink shakes the rest of your life, but once i saw all the nutrients and vitamins just one shake had i really thought that i could benefit from putting good things into my body. So i have a shake for breakfast and a shake for lunch, and i eat a sensible dinner i try and eat low carb and low calorie snacks. This is SUPER easy for me since i can just drink a shake quickly at work and be done. I havent been hungry and ive got so much more engergy, it really has been an amazing experience for me. Today is the end of week 1 of the body by Vi challenge and i have already lost 2 pounds and 11 inches. It feels good to have something work and not feel like i am starving all of the time. I cant wait for next week...

Here is some other news, Chad applied for college at UVU on tuesday. Right now we are just waiting for his acceptance letter (which just takes time), but as soon as he gets that he can go ahead and register for fall classes. He is going into Elem Education and i just think that he will be the most amazing teacher. He is so patient and tender and i really think its what he is meant to do. It does make us a little nervous because he has his degree in criminal justice and just hasnt been able to find a job in that field. But i figure there will always be a demand for teachers out there, and like his grandma told us there is no such thing as waisted education.

We are coming up on our 2 year wedding anniversary. It really has gone by so fast and it just has been a blast. We truly do compliment each other. I am grateful for his patience and his love for me. I know im not the easiest person to be married to lol...

Some of our adventures for the summer will include- Squaw peak hike, lagoon, st george, vegas, camping, and many more hikes and lots of nice canyon drives, bbq's and friends :)

I will for sure keep ya'll posted about my health and weight loss. If you are interested more in what i am doing get in touch with me. I know what works for me may not work for you, but you never know until you try.

2011-04-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a friends blog who its also struggling with infertility, it really touched me so i thought that i would share :)

Poem- "Life's Greatest Lesson"

Life’s Greatest Lesson

I would gladly trade places
With the women I see.
The joy on their faces,
Why can’t that be me?

They complain of stretch marks,
And sometimes of heartburn,
Their feet may get swollen.
Then stomachs in turn.

I would gladly trade places
With the women I see.
But instead battle daily
With Infertiltiy.

My months filled with charting
And days filled with meds.
I lie on white sheets
Of hospital beds.

But if I traded places
With the women I saw,
I’d miss life’s greatest lesson
Trusting God with my all.

2 weeks!!!

2011-04-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well we are heading to Hawaii in 2 weeks and i am feeling less anxiety about it then before. I am wrapping my head around the fact that i am going to be away from chad for 6 days. Im ok with it. Life still needs to happen. Although i will miss him, it is only 6 days. There are ppl who spend more time away from their spouses and survive.
I plan on packing very light (i am always an over packer). We will be in HAWAII what more will i need then i couple of tanks, a swimming suit, and maybe a sundress? We do have a long layover in anchorage alaska and since we are flying with buddy passes there may be a chance that we could be stuck there for a little longer than planned. Lets just hope there isnt a huge blizzard or something...
Tomorrow is my 27th birthday. Its a weird one for me. First off i dont like odd numbers so the "7" just tells me that i am going to have anxiety all year long (lol jk), I feel like i am on this silly timeline. I feel like there are SO many things that i should already have or already done, but then at times i feel like i have a whole lifetime to experience things. I find it funny when i was younger how badly i wanted to be "grown up". Now i look back and think "what was the rush"? So now when i see my nieces and nephews or even ppl i work with who are young and i just think "breathe" "enjoy this time in your life, and soak it up"... It only happens once. Dont get me wrong, i am thankful for the life that i have now. I have a wonderful loving husband. I have a great family. We have jobs, there really isnt much to complain about, but i do remember when the things that i used to worry about was who should take me out this weekend, and what will i wear?
At times i feel so grateful that i can sleep in everyday, that i dont have to wake up during the night with a baby, that we can just take off for a weekend if we wanted. We have alot of freedom. But at other times i fear that i am getting so comfortable with this "freedom" that having kids will be a real challenge for me, and a huge adjustment. I think that its just one of those things where you just do it. You never really know if you are going to be a good parent or how to be until you just DO IT. I guess until then i will just soak up the freedom that i do have :)
2 weeks ago i went to a couple of spinning classes. It was SO much fun and a really good work out. It was challenging yet still kept my attention and i didnt get bored. I need to do it more. Now its just mind over matter. I know that my body is strong enough and very capable of doing it, now its just a matter of going and doing it after work. Its all in my head. I just need to get my head right and once i do i think i can accomplish alot more than i think i am capable of.
Thats all for now, i am going to go and enjoy the rest of my evening :)

Happy to go sad to leave :(

2011-03-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

My sisters are probably gonna kill me when they see this blog post but im gonna post it anyway. Every year we go on a "girls trip" me, my mom, and my sisters. Its always so fun to just take a little break from the real world and catch up with each other. We have gone on a cruise, we have gone to vegas, and to mesquite. This year we are going to HAWAII!!! I am super excited for it and i am so grateful to my sister Charity for working for the airport so that we can go, and to my sister Liza for being a travel agent and being able to use some of her employee benefits so that we can have a place to stay for a little cheaper, also am grateful for my mom and sister mandy for being great company :)...

This is exciting, i mean very exciting and it is something that i felt like i would never be able to do, but a part of me is very sad to leave my husband for that long, and i am even more sad that i dont get to share this amazing experience with him. I hope that i can go back someday and take him. I hope that i make it through this vacation without sulking the whole time, i think that once i get there i will be able to take in the whole experience and have a blast. But until then i cant help but be a little sad that i wont see my man for 6 days :(

Hello Spring!!!

2011-02-16T22:45:00.000-08:00

We have had a glimpse of spring the past couple of days and it has been absolutely beautiful!!! Then as quickly as it came it was GONE. It is now snowing out there which means i am going to have to put the flip flops and capris back into the closet :( But spring will be here soon enough and i just cant wait...

I decided to reset my weight loss ticker since i had gained back the 10 pounds i lost this fall at christmas. So i decided to start over with a fresh start and a new year!!! I am proud to say that i have lost 8 pounds since January 1st!!! I am hoping to lose 30 pounds by june because my nieces are getting married and i want to look somewhat decent...

I guess since my last post and since i havent posted any "good news" you can tell that the IUI did not work. I feel like we gave it a good shot and i can go on with my life knowing that we did everything we could do for now. I have decided that i am going to start focusing on the things that i do have, instead of the things i dont have, and honestly chad is amazing and i would be happy if it were just me and him for the rest of our lifes!!!

To be honest it feels SO nice to not having that consume my thoughts every single second. Its so fun to just be spontaneous if you know what i mean. I am totally just going to focus on loosing weight and being healthy and then i know that if i do get pregnant i will be healthy and strong enough to care for a baby...

So other than that we have just been working. working, and working. Oh we do try to spend some time with each other but thats mostly at night when we are sleeping. We totally cherish sundays that we have off together and any other hour that lines up...

Hopeful!!!

2011-01-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful month thus far. We hope that it just keeps getting better. We had been taking Clomid from just my regular OB/GYN for 4 months with no pregnancy success. Although i did ovulate all of the times which i was very happy about. But after that 4th month i just felt like i needed more than just an OB/GYN. So i contacted a fertility clinic where we started seeing an RE.

It all happend so fast really. I totally thought that he would have to do a gazillion of tests and it would be a few months before we could start anything. Thats first appt i had an ultra sound and he said that i could start clomid the very next day. This time was different though, he wanted to see me again in a week for another ultra sound where they checked for any follicles. I had 2 mature (good sized) follicles in my left ovary so they wanted to to ahead with the insemination.

So we scheduled it for sunday morning. On friday night i had to give myself a shot of HCG which triggers ovulation. I woke up early sunday morning with major cramps. but i figured this all comes with the territory and taking hormones and stuff... So we woke up bright and early and headed to the clinic. They had to take chads "sample" and came in with the results. His swimmers we WAY good and he was one proud man. So again they felt confidant to go ahead with the IUI.

So yesterday morning i had the IUI everything went so well. Everything has lined up perfectly for us this month and i really feel good about this. We go in 2 weeks for a blood test to see if i am pregnant, unless of course i start my period before then (lets hope not)...

But i do have to say that if it doesnt work this month my body needs to take a break. Its such an emotional roller coaster.

Other than that life just keeps moving along. Work keeps us both busy and we are SO looking forward to the warmer weather.

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary last week and it really has been the best 2 years of my life. I cant say it enough but chad is such a blessing in my life. I dont know what i would do without him and i just cant wait for the years to come!

2011!!!

2011-01-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

I have had alot of friends who have expressed how happy that 2010 is over and how they are so anxious to see what the new year has in store. I must say i am totally anxious for this new year but i cant really complain about 2010.

Chad and i have accomplished alot this year. We have grown closer then ever and had some things happen to us that bonded us even more then before. He has been the most wonderful thing to come into my life and i can only hope that 2011 is as good as 2010. Im kind of sad to see it all come to an end but i know with the love that we have it can only get better...

So onto my "goals" for 2011... This year i want to....

Refinish a Solid wood hutch and paint it red.
Keep house organized
blog/journal at least once a week.
Continue not to drink caffeine .
Do something crafty once a month

So i think that i will keep it at that for now and ofcourse i do always seem to add things to my list...

I hope that you all have a prosperous year!!!

Forever and a DAY!!!

2010-12-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Wow it seriously has been so long since i have taken the time to blog :( I am such a slacker. I wouldnt be surprised if i had no one to read my blog anymore.

This is going to be short and sweet because honestly i dont really have much to report. Winter is pretty boring in our household and we both have just been busy with work and all. But life has been great here. I cant complain at all. Chad is STILL just so amazing!!!

Onto some other news...

I got a NEW car!!! Well new to me. Its a 2005 ford focus and she is just so cute!!!

and some other good news...

I have been on clomid for 4 months now. I ovulated the first 3 months and i am pretty sure i am ovulating right now (TMI sorry)... So even though i didnt get pregnant those 3 months its still just a HUGE step that i ovulated since that happens for me like once a year. We are hoping for a christmas miracle... But if not, we still have one more month of clomid and we will just take it from there!!!

We hope that you all have a wonderful christmas and a very happy new year!

Peace and Love!!!

Mexico cruise 2010

2010-10-16T17:02:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Well we are BACK!!! We had a wonderful time and it was a much needed vacation. The food was good. We were with fun people and this is definitely something that we will do again!!!

We took a ton of pictures!!!

The Grotto Payson Canyon

2010-10-03T15:07:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Chad and I were taking our fall drive up Payson Canyon to look at the leafs. We came across a little trail that we had never noticed before. Since i wasnt feeling well we decided that we would check out the trail the next week...

So thats exactly what we did. Last week we took the short trail up to the little water fall of the Grotto Trail. It was a nice walk and really not hard. Its took about 20 mins to walk there and 20 on the way back. It was a nice little stroll, even though we do try and go on more physically challenging hikes for the exercise, but this one was a nice change...

The water was FREEZING in the water fall so I was not up for standing in the water for too long while chad got the perfect picture. But we did manage to take a few and we hope that you enjoy them!!!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Good things DO happen!!!

2010-09-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have some good news that has really just made my year!

This month i took the fertility medication clomid. I have taken it before and it has never worked. This month felt so different, I had some very good signs. So i went in for my blood work on day 21 of my cycle to see if the clomid really did work and if i ovulated. They called back a few days later and told me that i DEFINITELY ovulated. They want your level to be at least a 10 (or higher) to determine if you ovulated. Well my level was a 32!!! I was so happy and so very proud of my ovaries!!!

Now this doesnt mean that i am pregnant, and even women in perfect ovulation situations dont always get pregnant on the first shot. To be honest i am just glad that the clomid worked and that i ovulated, that is a huge step for me and my body!!!

I am on day 27 and i feel my monthly cycle is just around the corner. So its makes me think that im not pregnant, but like i said we are just happy that i ovulated!

I have a Dr appt tomorrow to get a new RX for the clomid. The funny thing is that i have looked at the calender and i am expected to ovulate next month (if the clomid works again) while we are on our cruise!!! How fun would it be to say our baby was conceived while coasting the waters of our Baja Mexico getaway!!! fingers crossed!!!

Keep us in your prayers :)

Our trip to Stewart Falls!

2010-09-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

This is my first trip to Stewart Falls, but second for Ivy. All I knew was it was somewhere between Sundance and Aspen Grove. We went to the Sundance parking lot, where we were met by a guy kinda directing traffic. We got some pretty confusing directions from him, so we decided to try our luck up the Aspen Grove area. Here we ran into another family who was also looking for the same place, so we just decided to head out and look for it on our own.

It didnt take long to find it, so we took off on our latest adventure. It was probably one of our more physically demanding hikes, so we just took our time. There were quite a few people also out on the trail, so we took our time and let those pass by who were in a bigger hurry than us.

The trip up from that direction was quite scenic, as you can see below. It was like being in a forest, then in a jungle. Towards the summit, we could hear a snake in the bushes, and despite my best Steve Irwin imitation, we were unable to find it.

When we reached the falls, there was a large number of other hikers there to enjoy. We were fortunate enough to have a couple who offered to take our picture, using the falls as a backdrop.

On the way down, we went the route that is based on the Sundance side. I must say that the scenery was not nearly as impressive! We got to the bottom, where we decided that I would walk back up to the car and bring it back to the bottom. I had not taken into consideration just how far UPHILL (and about 4 miles away lol) that the car was! After a short walk up the hill, up pulled Sundance security with Ivy in tow, who gave us a lift (almost) back to the car. It was quite a wonderful day, and we both got quite a workout!

The leaves are just now starting to change, and will sooner than later be in full color. Everyone be sure to get out now and see the sights before it is too late!

New projects! Our dresser and coffee table

2010-09-05T15:45:00.001-07:00

And i decided to get into the fall spirit so i went and picked up a few decorations... This is my favorite time of year!!!

Here are our latest projects! We lived and learned with these new ideas, we breathed in far more stain fumes than we wanted, but in the end I think we are both happy with the end results! We may make a few changes here and there, but we are done for the most part. These two pieces are some we already had in the house, and they add so much more to our humble little home. Enjoy!

He's been BUSY!!!

2010-08-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

When we first got married we picked up this old ugly desk that once upon a time belonged to a jr highschool. It was an eye sore (so is most of the stuff in our house). But my amazing and talented husband decided to do something about it!!!

I picked the colors just because that was my job :) and he did all of the work... I think that it turned out amazingly well for the money we spent (very little) and the tools that we had... So Chad refinished the ugly old desk and now it looks so pretty... I just love it... I cant wait for the next project we (he) can do!!!

Things i want to accomplish sooner then later :)

2010-08-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of time to just think of all of the things i would like to accomplish. My list may be silly and they may just be little things but they are things that will make me feel better about myself. They will make me feel like wife and just a better person in general. I challenge you to look deep down and make your own "lists"...

Learn to bake an beautiful delicious loaf of bread from scratch (no bread machine)... I have tried and tried to bake bread, and no matter how hard i try it just not turn out. Its not pretty. It doesnt taste good, and i just dont understand why it is not turning out. So i am going to keep trying until i can make a perfect loaf, and then ofcourse i will post pictures.

I someday want to have an abundant garden. I want to grow summer squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, potatoes, pumpkins, cantelope, i want it all. I want to be able to live off of my fresh garden foods during the summer/early fall. I also want to learn how to can all of it. I want to learn how to make homemade apricot jam (to put on my perfectly baked fresh bread ofcourse).

I want to make a beautiful piece quilt. I want to put my hard work into it and i want to say that i accomplished it.

I want to be a wonderful student. I want to wake up early in the mornings and just be so excited for school.

I want to be able to just enjoy 1 can of pepsi with dinner without having the desire to just drink 6 cans of it...

I want to be able to feel confidant when cutting my husbands hair...

I want a little house that is just comfortable for the both of us.

I want a yard, a garden, i want to run through the sprinklers.

I think thats enough for now... I may add to this later...

Oh one more thing... I really want my homemade pumpkin pie from scratch to turn out this year. I can never get it to cook fully....

So liberating!!!

2010-08-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, i just cant believe the thoughts going through my mind as i was preparing to delete my facebook account...

I hate to even admit to that... It kind of gave me a little anxiety but i have to tell you that it felt so good to just delete it. It will be weird to get used to not having updates and stuff in my inbox but i am hoping that to develop new hobbies and to fresh up on the hobbies i have been neglecting for so long...

I have talked to the beauty school and i am rooting to enroll for the october classes. I am so excited to learn pemanent cosmetics, eyelash extensions, and all of the other wonder beauty techniques that they offer... Its a big step in my life that have wanted to do for a LONG time but havent due to fear... So i set my mind to it and i am going to do it!!! I will only go part time (for now) and continue working at the tanning salon...

You will be hearing more from me :)

So beautiful!!!

2010-08-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

I stole this poem from my friend brittany's blog and it just touched my heart! I have a special place in my heart for brittany. She has struggled with infertility as well and is FINALLY after 48 months expecting a little girl in November. Congrats to the Adams family, you have given me hope and totally inspire me!!!

A Heavenly Conversation

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow,
but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have
to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you.
And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand
when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words
you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will
teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach
you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach
you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth
could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave
now, please tell me my angel's name."

God said, You will simply call her, "Mom."

Letting "worldly" things conssume us...

2010-08-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

For awhile now i have been getting really annoyed with facebook. I have been getting annoyed with people who friend people to just have more friends. People who air others dirty laundry because they do not have the balls to say it to said person face to face. People who air their own dirty laindry for attention or a reaction. Its seems like facebook has connected alot of people but it seems like it is also tearing people apart as well. Its done a lot of bad for some people.

I dont like how chad and i have let ourselves get "obsessed" if you will with facebook. I dont like that we tune in to check out what "drama" is going on in peoples lifes. I dont like that the second we get gome we go check up facebook and update our status'. I dont like how we have let something so worldly have that much control over us.

Sure we will still have our internet, satelite, and DVR. I mean come on we aren't becoming amish (no offense). We have to wean ourselves off of certain things in order to help us grow in our relationship. At least with TV we can sit and watch it together ;) So we will totally be focusing our time on our partnership and that we are best friends firs and foremost. We fell in love without the help of facebook so we sure as heck can continue our love and having it blossom more without it...

Another thing that i didnt like about facebook is that i stopped doing something which i love the most, which was writing and expressing myself through words. I used to blog all of the time before facebook. I actually had a good following of people that enjoyed my blog as well. Then facebook came along and i learned to express myself with just 100 letters and i dont like that i lost touch with my passion of just being able to be honest here on my blog.

A lot of things have changed though since used to consider myself a "blogger". Privacy has definitely become more of an issue then it was even just 2-4 years ago. I am very much protective of my man and what goes on in our life, and will even be more protective once we have kids... I love him more than anything and his/our privacy and safety is SO important to me.

So in deleting our facebook accounts we hope to find joys in more of the things around us. Nature, cooking, the holidays etc. I hope this will help me to blog more and update this thing more then just once a month. I hope that this will help us to learn and grow as human beings and blossom into (even) more amazing mates.

I am pretty excited about this, and i hope that you all stay tuned!!!

Life just keeps rolling...

2010-08-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

I think that the title says it all...

Life just keeps rolling, which is always good right. Time is going to pass no matter what so why not make the best out of it...

Things have been pretty good. We have had a good summer went on some nice fun drives, went to zions national park, went to st george. We still want to go camping and we are hoping for next weekend. But i do have to say that October cannot come soon enough. Not only is it my favorite time of year, but chad and I (along with some of my family) are headed on a cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico. We are totally excited for this trip and is is much needed. We have never really been on a "real" vacation so we are pretty stoked!!!

Work is going good for chad. He is still staying busy which is good because that means more money but it is hard when i dont get to spend as much time with him. I got a new job at the tanning salon which has been really fun. Its a lot slower then my old job but its been nice.

I have really been focusing this week on working out and counting calories. I feel really good in every way and weight loss is going really good as well... I was just tired of letting my weight control me and define who i am... I also figured it was time to start getting healthy since i will be starting clomid here this month. So i am hoping that a healthy mind and body will prepare myself to take the clomid and my body will react well to it and it will result in a little baby Alleman crawling around soon. Thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated!!!

I will keep you all posted on whats happening in our future!!!

Just so GRATEFUL

2010-06-25T00:21:00.000-07:00

I have had today off. I have been lazy and really havent done a whole lot. I needed it though. With the day off its given me the time to think about my life and just how lucky i am...

There is this saying and i apologize if i slaughter it but it goes something like this... "we may not have a lot but together we have it all", i just cant believe how true that little saying is for me in my life... We dont make a ton of money, we dont drive nice cars (sports cars) we dont own a home, and right now i am just fine with that... I feel that Chad and i have worked hard for everything that we do have. Nothing has been given to us. It really makes you cherish and appreciate things a heck of a lot more when you have to put your own hours and hard work into it. I am content with what we have. Our relationship is worth more than any item that can be bought.

I am so grateful to have such a hard working husband. He may not be in the "ideal" job but he works so hard so that we have a roof over our head. Food in our fridge, plus a little extra money to spare which is nice :)... I know that life can get stressful and sometimes its just down right hard, but i really really really just want to let him know how much i appreciate everything that he does... What we have and the love that we share could not be purchased with any ammount of money. He is amazing, cant wait to have his babies :)

A little update!!!

2010-06-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a little update on whats been going on in our lifes the past couple of months...

We keep pretty busy with work and dont ever seem to have the same days off. If i have day off Chad has to work, and well if he has a day off I have to work... It has been starting to wear on me, because i just miss my husband. I miss having lazy days with him and i miss taking little adventures!

So this weekend which happened to be Chads birthday, Our one year Wedding Anniversary, and Fathers Day. I decided that i had better go ahead and ask for the weekend off... So i did and i got it :)...

I got home from work on thursday night and made chad a cake... I was so excited for him to have all of these fun holidays all so close. and well i think that last year his birthday kind of got forgotten since we were hmmm getting MARRIED and moving into our apartment the same day... Besides I LOVE having one whole day to myself and i wanted chad to experience that too... So as much as i could, i tried to make it special!!!

We went to Ruby River for dinner and it was so good... the steaks were PERFECT!!! I got chad a paid of Nike sandals, and the Mamas Family full season on DVD (we love this show), and for fathers day i framed one of the pictures of the kids. I was so excited to give him all of these gifts...

On satruday we had a few errands to run and then we went and played some Mini golf and had dippin dots... It was fun!

Today (sunday) is fathers day im letting chad sleep in, and then we will see what we have planned for the day...

I had so much to celebrate this weekend... Chads life! Our wedding! and the fact that he is an amazing father! I am so thankful to have him in my life. For ALL of the sacrifices that he makes and all the hard work he does... He is truly the BEST man i know...

The Hapenings...

2010-04-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Well i figure its about time that i give a quick update... Things have been busy as ever here, but its been good for us... Things that have been going on with us are...

Chads Grandpa passed away on easter sunday. It was bittersweet but, he was ill and is in a much better place and it was so wonderful to see him come full circle with passing on Easter... He will be missed and we will always think about him...

Luckily Chad's work had a mandatory week of during this time so he didnt have to take any time off of work...

We went to st george and spent some time with my sister and her family. Its always nice to go down there for a little mini vacation...

Now that i am working we have some extra money that we are able to just spend how we want... Its been really nice... Its nice to have Chads checks cover bills and my check we can put away or spend or what not... This is the FIRST time in my adult life where i have felt secure and not so stressed about everything... I am so thankful for Chad and all of his hard work he does... His job is not fun and its exhausting but he pulls through and takes care of us... I love him!!!

Anyhow with some of the extra income i have been able to buy some things for around the house... Mostly decor but we did get new couches last week and i LOVE them... Its the first time i have had new couches and my back and neck are VERY thankful for them... Im just loving being able to decorate my house!

But...... We are considering moving... We want a yard, we want to garden and mow the lawn. We want to BBQ and sit on our front porch and watch the sunset... We arent in a position to buy a house but would love to find a little 2 bedroom home to rent... So we are keeping our eye out for something that will fit our needs... Its hard to pass up our cheap rent now, so we will wait dor the time to be right and when we find a good deal...

Weight loss has sucked the month of april... I started drinking soda again and gained 8 of my 22 pounds that i lost back... So tomorrow is a new day and i am hoping to lose 10 pounds by June...

Thats my update for now...

Oh so busy!!!

2010-03-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

I cant believe how long its been since i have blogged. I apologize for that. Life here at the Alleman home has been pretty busy. I have gotten more hours at work, which is good but unfortunately it has worked out that i pretty much work on the days that chad has off and he works on my days off. So with our conflicting schedules we have been trying to spend any free time that we have, together. So poor bloggy gets neglected (and well my house a little too)...

Its been an adjustment not spending as much time with chad anymore... Its sad really, and its sad that its just becomming a way of life. I cherish and am thankful for all of the time that i did spend with chad in the beginning of our marriage. I love him so much, But i had to work. I was just getting a little bit of cabin fever and my nights were lonely without him... So i got a job, its the right amoount of hours. I enjoy the people that i work with. I enjoy the work. The customers, its just been a really positive experience and very good for me. So life is good. Its actually gotten to the point that when i do have a day off i wonder wont on earth did i do before i had a job? I get soooo bored so fast, and to think that i did that for 6 months...

Chads work has been iffy, but we are still thankful that he has a job... Some months there is a ton of work, and other months they are sending him home., and well lets just say that 2010 has not been good for us as far as his work goes. Again another reason i am so thankful that i am working. I have been able to help out when money is tight and when bills are due. They say his work will pick up in April. Although we have figured out that every month that there is 5 weeks in it Nestle just happens to have to have a "mandatory" week off. Hmph go figure. We look forward to those months for a reason but i guess not now...

I quit soda for a whole month oh i was so proud of myself... so so so proud. Well things kind of got stressful at work and well i decided that pepsi seriously relieves my stress. So last week i started drinking soda again :( how sad is that. I am actually pretty dissapointed in myself. But in that months time i lost 13 pounds, that is good. When i quit soda i dont crave sweets or anything so that has been good. Hopefully i can continue to lose weight, that would be great!!!

Well i guess that is enough catching up for now... Hopefully i will remember to blog more frequently...

I Love...

2010-02-23T00:17:00.000-08:00

I love my sister charity for giving me a tredmill!!!
I love my stepdad for bringing it to me all the way from boise!!!
I love my husband for buying me a laptop!!!
I love my brother in law Dan for doing our taxes for us!!!
I love my brother in law Bo for being a chiropractor and working on me when i need it!!!
I love all of my brothers and sisters for giving me such sweet beautiful nieces and nephews!!!
I love my job for giving me something to do and for the money!!!

I love life!!!

A glimpse of spring!

2010-01-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

Last week was such a nice week. The weather was so nice, the sun was shinning, and we were able to get in a few 2 mile walks! I was so excited, but of course all good things m ust come to an end... We woke up this morning to ugly weather :( ... The good thing about that is that we both have to work which is good cause i would rather it be crummy weather while i am working then on my day off...

Speaking of work, i dont know if i posted on my last update that i got a job! I am working at charlies gas station in springville and i am loving it!!! Its just fun to get out and socialize and working there really does help with the social aspect of things.... And i really like the ppl that i work with, i feel that i fit in just fine!

Chad has had a lot of time off since christmas and it has been nice having him home... Although it makes it that much harder to send him off to work today :(, but thats just another reason i am glad to be working now... Keeps my mind off of him not being home and keeps my eyes off of the clock waiting for him to get home... So our little "vacation" is over and now it is time to get back into the swing of things...

On saturday we celebrated our 1 year anniversary (of dating) and it has been so nice having chad in my life. He is amazing, such a great husband, hard worker and my very best friend! I am so thankful for him... I am excited to celebrate many more years together...

Do it and stick to it!!!

2010-01-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

So i have totally come to the conclusion that i can do it if i set my mind to it, that i want to find the easiest fix and not put forth any work. Thats not how it works! I was trying so hard to remember how i lost 45 pounds in 2008, it didnt seem like i made this huge lifestlye change. I didnt exercise a lot (i did a lot of w alking). But i do know that for the first few months of the year i did quit all soda, and then after that i went to only diet. I know that i counted calories which was great because i didnt f eel like i couldnt eat certain things. I pretty much ate what i wanted.

My problem now is that i just dont have any patience. I want to lose weight and i want it now. I want to wake up tomorrow morning and weigh 50 pounds lighter. The thing that i forgot is that it took me almost the whole year to lose the weight.

I get totally motivated for about a week and then i give up (even if ive lost weight)... And i just cant do that anymore. I need to do it and stick to it!!! My one and only new years resolution was to quit drinking sugar sodas. I have done it 100% so far! Which i am proud of considering i work at a gas station and get drinks for .25cents.

So i have learned that counting calories works for me (so why try something new), and thats what i am going to continue to do. I have to write everything down and eat something about every 2 hours... It helps me stay on track... I CANT give up after a week, cause it seems like when i lose a few pounds and gain it back i always gain more then i lost, and i cant afford to get any bigger...

So my goal is....

"Do it and Stick to it"

Christmas has come and gone...

2009-12-28T14:33:00.000-08:00

Well christmas has come and gone... We had an enjoyable time with each other. On chrismas eve we went to my moms house for dinner and watched my nieces and nephew act out the christmas story. It was really funny!

Then on christmas day i decided to make us a christmas dinner. We were kind of feeling bummed out anyway because we havent been able to see the kids in 7 months and it was really tough. We hope that they had a merry christmas and we were thinking of them all day...

So i made a turkey, stuffing, green beans, jello salad, pumpkin pie. And it was all so delicious!!!

We are excited to start this new year and we are excited to see what comes of it!!!

I hope you all had happy holidays!!!

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

2009-12-01T23:15:00.000-08:00

Ok so this is probably gonna sound super cheesey, but its how i feel. I am just so totally inspired by the show the biggest loser. I can relate with the contestants and i truly feel their pain. I cry with them and i smile with them (all from the comfort of my own couch of course)... I think every week if they can do it being 100 pounds heavier then i am (most of them) then i certainly can... Tonight was extra inspiring to me as they talked about why they turn to food. Its more then just liking to eat, and its going to take more then watching your diet and exercising to keep it off. I know that there must be some sort of trigger for me. My goal now is to try and figure it out and change it. Ivy on the inside is a totally different person then Ivy on the outside. Sadly, Ivy on the inside is slowly changing to the Ivy on the outside and i just cannot let that happen...

I had an eye opening experience last weekend while at my sisters house. I dont think i truly realized how bad my soda drinking was until then. Nothing major happened but the look on my brother in laws face when first thing in the morning i had a can of mt diew in my hands and my sister also opened a can and he looked right at me. Like who else would be drinking soda so early, i wasnt offended or anything. It just really made me realize that normal ppl dont wake up needed that rush.

My brother in law is a chiropractor and a very smart man so i really do trust his insight. My Sister is also very smart and aware of the smut we put into our bodies . We talked about how bad the acid is, and how it is so bad for me to take my pills with soda. How water is so healthy and the benefits that come while drinking it. We even talked about how maybe just maybe my fertility problems can be just what i am giving my body and what its feeding off of. It was just really interesting to think about it all. I thought to myself what is there to loose? I can only see positive results by not drinking soda. So i told myself i would give it another go, but with a different attitude and outlook.

So its been 2 days and i have had very little, only to help with the headaches though. I havent had chocolate or candy in the 2 days either... So i am very proud of myself for getting through these 2 days... I know i can overcome this... I dont like feeling that i have to have soda...

So the biggest loser theme song has been stuck in my head all night. Thanks to google i was able to do a search for the lyrics, and in ending this post i would like to end with the lyrics... Think about the words... Thinks about what you have done today to make you feel proud, and i challenge you to come up with at least one thing each day that you have done that made you feel proud. See if your life changes even a little by saying outloud and acknowledging what you do every day!

~Ivy~

I look into the window of my mind
Reflections of the fears I know I've left behind
I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I'm on my way
Can't stop me now
And you can do the same

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It's never too late to try
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Still so many answers I don't know (there are so many answers)
Realise that to question is how we grow (to question is to grow)
So I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I'm on my way
Can't stop me now
And you can do the same (yeah)

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It's never too late to try
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
What have you done today to make you feel proud?

(yeah) We need a change (Yeah)
Do it today (yeah)
I can feel my spirit rising
(change, yeah) We need a change (yeah)
So do it today (yeah)
'Cause I can see a clear horizon

What have you done today to make you feel proud? (to make you feel proud)
(let me hear ya X3)So what have you done today to make you feel proud?
(yeah X4)'Cause you could be so many people
if you make that break for freedom
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?

A "RED ROCK" Thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-28T10:28:00.001-08:00

This year chad and i went to St George for thanksgiving, My sister and her cute little family lives there. It was a fun little get away. It was good to see my family and also my new little baby nephew Liam who is only about a month old! He is just so cute and it was so fun to hold a little baby, its been a long time... Chads Kids are older so i have only seen him with "big" kids. It was just so dang cute to see him with a little baby. I cant wait for us to have our own kids... He is so gentle and sweet and that is why i love him. He is a wonderful dad, i am the lucky one :)

Anyhow we got there on Wednesday and kind of just hung out and fixed a few things for dinner for the next day. I made a Jello salad and YUMMY mashed potatoes with enough butter to give someone a heart attack, but hey it was worth it, after all it is thanksgiving. Dinner went very well. There was plenty of food and it was just nice... After dinner we all went to the movies. The girls (and chad) went and saw new moon, and the boys saw 2012. It was a good show. After that we kind of just hung out for the night...

On Friday we didn't wake up early for shopping but when we did wake up we made our way to some pawn shops and DI. Got a few dvds at the pawn shop and didn't find anything at DI which was a disappointment because i usually really like the St George walmart. So then we decided that Friday was a good day for us to go home, since we had loads of laundry waiting for us. But before we left my sister did take us to the Dixie lookout. It was really pretty. We both were wearing flip flops so we didnt really get a chance to walk around too much but we will save that for a summer day! We did however manage to take a few pics, and of course im not wearing any makeup...

So all in all it was a fun little trip. We are excited to spend our first Christmas together. I am so thankful to have chad in my life. He is my everything! I cannot wait to spend many more thanksgivings with him! We hope that you all had a very happy thanksgiving!!!

Here are our pics from the rocks! Enjoy :)

O Christmas Tree!!!

2009-11-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

So chad and i arent real big fans of the winter and the snow (i like it for about a month then im done) but we do like christmas. So we were excited to decorate for our first christmas together!

We found a decent tree on KSL for 10 bucks and then and went some ornaments and on sunday we decorated it! We just couldnt wait...

Its weird that night as we were sitting with only the christmas lights on i suddenly just felt different. I had such a wonderful feeling inside and i was so glad to have it. I love christmas and what it stands for. I love the feeling that is in the air. I love the decorations and i love the traditions...

So here are a few pictures of our christmas tree!

Life changes...

2009-10-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

I have this LOVE (addiction) for soda, its insane... I didnt think it was this bad until just this year when i tried to stop drinking it and i just couldnt. Ive done it before. I never had any side affects no headaches or anything but this time oh man the headaches are insane...

So chad was reading on one of his forums that there is 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat... The past few weeks i have been watching what i have been eating (except the soda) and i have still been gaining weight. Its not good. So when we you took a look at all the soda i was drinking it was really shocking especially learning how much calories were in a pound... Um no wonder i was gaining weight... Embarrassing as it is i have to admit that i easily was drinking a 2 liter a day so yeah thats alot of soda and alot of calories...

So thats when (last night) we decided that we arent going to drink soda anymore. Chad is so sweet, he doesnt have a weight problem but he knows how badly i hurt because of my weight, so he has decided to stop drinking soda to support me. He is amazing. So encouraging, and i love him.

So today is day one of no soda, and it is a struggle, but i know that i can do it. I have a major headache, i seem very tired, and i just feel yucky... I am SO thankful that soda is the addiction that i have and its not drugs or alcohol. I look up to those who have overcome their addictions and i know that i can do it too... So if i am cranky for the next week or so i am sorry. It will get better...

update!

2009-10-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

So i guess i need to update a little. Every 3rd week chad has 5 days off of work. So i dont really blog much when he is off because during that time i turn into a totally needy wife who doesnt even let her husband go to the bathroom alone. I demand all of his attention so i dont have time to blog. lol... Hes a good sport...

Well i have been an hormonal mess. This clomid really can do that to you... I am crying over everything and getting offended over anything, i am just super sensitive...

Sometimes i get scared to get pregnant. I think that if i would have gotten pregnant when i first started trying 6 years ago it wouldnt be so hard... I just feel the longer it takes the more scared i get and the more i feel that i may loose my motherly instinct that ive always had. Also i am getting more set in my ways and am just used to it being the 2 of us. But that doesnt make me want to stop trying... I will adjust when it happens and it will be wonderful.

Speaking of babies, my sister had her little guy today! He was 8 pounds and they named him Liam. I totally cant wait to meet the little guy... So congrats to Mandy and Bo!

Free Personal signatures - cool!

2009-10-15T20:41:00.001-07:00

TEXTAREA_ID

ThAnKfUl ThUrSdAy!!!

2009-10-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from my friend jami's blog (also the pic) and i just thought it was a great idea to just sit back and remember what it is that you are thankful for...

I am so thankful for chad, always and forever (he is amazing)!
I am thankful for ibuprofen (takes the cramps away)
I am thankful that chad has the job that he does, it may be a crazy schedule but its got awesome benefits.
I am thankful for my sisters.
I am thankful for pepsi lol.
I am thankful for the beauty of this time of year. It always makes me feel so peaceful.
I am thankful that chad has the next 5 days off (i need him).
I am thankful for music.
I am thankful for the wonderful examples are and have been to me.

I better leave some for next thursday!

Mmmm for food!

2009-10-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

Ok so every 3rd week chad has 5 days off. I love those 5 days more than anything i look forward to them every month. I try to plan out the weekend so we are off doing adventures, having yummy dinners that i dont have the time or wouldnt normally make during the week while chad is at work. I have been on this cooking kick where i want to branch out and try new recipes. Things that i always thought that i couldnt cook but really i can. So here are some things that are on my list to cook for this weekend!

So the first picture is French onion soup!!!
The second is, Chicken Picatta
The 3rd is White chocolate cherry cheesecake cookies (i made last week minus the cherries)
The 4th is Tuscan Tomato Soup
And lastly (not photo'd) i am making Pumpkin coconut muffins

I am open to other suggestions on some yummies! So if you have an amazing recipe send it my way!

The love of my life, My best friend!

2009-10-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed to have married chad. He has been my strength this past year. He has stood by me through hard times. Taken care of me when i am sick. Lifted me up when i am sad. He is truly an amazing man and i truly believe that he has been put on this earth for a special purpose. My life was never complete without him. Chad encourages me to never give up. He encourages me to pursue what it is a i want the most. He compliments everything that i do or make. He loves me no matter what. He works so hard to take care of us and rarely complains. He is a wonderful father. He is loving. He is compassionate. He is genuine. He is loyal. He is handsome. He is a great example. He is a teacher. He is a leader. He is caring. He loves with all that he has. He warms my heart. He pushes me to do my best. He is perfect. He is my best friend. My husband. My life. My joy. My everything.

I love you chad!

Not this month :(

2009-10-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

Well i guess there will be no baby for us this month. Ive given myself the night to be sad about it with some panda express and some monkey bread!

Tomorrow is another day, it will be better and we will just keep on trying :)

I cant do "big"

2009-09-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Erg i get so frustrated sometimes.

There are alot of very pretty "big" ladies out there. So much confidence, totally dress cute, hair is adorable, and makeup is great. They are totally just put together. Props to them!!! I came to the conclusion that i just cant do "big". Without sounding shallow, i am pretty sure i can so thin (well what is thin to me may be big to others). I feel cute when i am thinner and can wear cute clothes, dont have to worry about the double chin, or the notorious jonhnson (my moms side) hump that i am noticing more and more on my upper back.

Well sadly i have gained 30 of the 45 pounds that i lost last year. Its weird it didnt seem hard to loose it last year but every attempt that last few months have been SO hard. It totally sucks.

If i am gonna be big why cant i at least look cute and put together like i have seen so many other "bigger" girls look. Well i guess that is motivation enough to loose it right? If i cant pull it off i might as well try something else... So heres to trying for the millionth time in my life...

And High five to all of those who are confidant and beautiful even with a few extra pounds!

Its almost that time!

2009-09-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

So i took the clomid a few weeks ago and i can test on saturday to see if i am pregnant! I have to say though that i have had some symptoms that could be pregnancy, but im not 100% sure. So we shall see on saturday i suppose.

I forgot to post these pics but i thought i would even though its been like a month. We went to cascade springs and bridal veil falls on labor day. It was so much fun to just get out walk around and enjoy our surroundings. We are hoping to drive up the canyon this sunday and look at the leaves. I hope that they will still be pretty by then so we can take some nice pictures.

I am looking for some fun/easy crafts to do so if any of you have done anything or have any ideas let me know and send them my way. My home is in need for some style and decor. So i would love to make some things to decorate with!

Waiting Waiting Wating...

2009-09-05T02:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you who dont know, i have something called polycystic ovarian disease. I also have Endometriosis. This month we are trying a fertility medicine called clomid to help us get pregnant. You take clomid on days 3-7 of your period and it is supposed to induce ovulation.

It seemed like everything had fallen into place. The dr prescribed me it without any major tests or complications. The medication ended up being wicked cheap (since the last time i took it). It all was just working out, all i needed to do is wait for my little monthly friend to come. Well she is late and i am not pregnant, but i cant take the med without being on my period so now i am just waiting waiting waiting. Its killing me, i hate waiting for things. Im just not a patient person.

Anyhow i will take clomid for 4 months before we up the dose or think of something else. I pray that i wont need it for the 4 months. I hope that things keep falling into place. Keep us and our lil babes in heaven in your thoughts and prayers.

a little update...

2009-08-03T23:32:00.001-07:00

Well i had my surgery it went well but honestly there was a minute there where i thought i was going to die, the pain was SO bad... Its been almost 2 weeks and i seem to be getting back to normal. Still sore at times and the incisions are very itchy which i cant stand. But all in all it was a great success...

My family went camping this past weekend, unfortunately we couldnt go because chad had to work but i was able to go up and spend some time there on saturday. It was fun and it was nice to have all of my siblings together, that doesnt happen very often...

We are having a wedding luncheon on the 29th of august which should be fun. I havent met alot of chads family so i am excited for that and its always good to have an excuse for a party!

We planted a garden this year at chads grandparents house. I should really take a picture its too funny. Its a little out of control, i think the kids had a little too much fun planting the seeds, i wish they could see it now they would laugh so hard. We planted cantelope, watermelon, green beans, and pumpkins. Lets just say the pumpkins have taken over well at least their vines have. We have 2 little pumkins growing in all of that mess.

Chad and i are really wanting to take a trip to california sometime this year. We are wanting to go to seaworld but cant think of what else to do. We are not huge disneyland people. I think the san diago zoo would be fun as well. So any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

For all of you who dont know...

2009-07-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Chad and i got married on his birthday june 18th. It was just a simple ceremony at the courthouse with his grandparents as our witnesses. We are living in springville right now and are enjoying our little apartment. We love springville...

Ive started this new "eating change" for many reasons. First of all chad and i are anxious to start a family and with my PCOS the extra weight is not doing me any good at all. I know that once i lose weight and get healthy we will be blessed with a little one which will be a long time in waiting for both of us even though together we havent been trying for that long. Our plan is for me to lose some weight try some more and then see what clomid will be (even though i was on that before) and if that doesnt work we will figure something else out. Right now im just doing the whole basal thermometer and ovulation strips. Secondly my stomache has not been feeling well. Its been off and on for a year now but its back on again and its awful. I went in for galbladder tests and scans i am waiting to hear from my dr but its very painful i just want to find out what is wrong. Im getting real tired of it though because every morning i wake up in pain everytime i eat i am in pain (well after i eat) it just seems like my tummy is hurting all the time i call my dr today and told him i just cant take much more of this. We need to figure something out. Chad has been wonderful though, i mean he is always great but he has gone above and beyond and i am so so thankful to have him in my life. He is a good man with a good heart and intentions. I am lucky!!!

We havent seen or talked to the kids for a month now. Its very sad. We dont know what she is telling them and we miss them dearly. Now we are just trying to set up a plan to get some sort of custody. Its hard and costly. Poor chad and i feel bad for the kids too. We will figure it out though...

Anyhow i suppose thats all for now... TTFN

yay i rememberd!!!

2009-05-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

My ring! and us at vegas with weirdo picture not turning out just right but its all good...

I totally said that i was gonna be better at blogging but then things got crazy, had some more health problems and then seriously i forgot what the name of the blog was so i couldnt find it but, alas here i am with some exciting news!!!

Im getting married! We are gonna get married civilly since chad is not a memeber. We had such a wonderful time vegas and seriously almost got married like 100 times. So now we are officially engaged.

So we decided on august 22nd but now we are thinking thats too far away. but the economy sucks right now. So august at the latest. Its just really strange. I always thought what love was but not true love and devotion and dedication... I spent a weel in the hospital and he was there every second he could. Even stayin the night so i would be alone. He is amazing.

His kids are amazing and i love them more and more everyday and i cant wait to see them grow up.

We are just planning a small family dinner with close friends and i kind of want to so a sunflower theme. It all depends on money though we may just go to the courthouse on of these days... So all in all things are good but i am having some stressful times but its just a bump in the road, and we'll get through it...

hitting the scales...

2009-03-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

So i managed to loose 45 pounds in 2008 (thanks to the divorce diet)... I was satisfied with myself but im not anymore. im wanting to loose another 40 pounds so i thought that i needed to buckle down and do better.

I am proud to say that i have been drinking diet soda (except a few) for a week now which will soon lead to no soda at all. And today i started counting calories. Ugh thats hard. But i have total faith that i can do this. I know because of the weight i have lost before, and i know that i have to for my own health. Besides ive gotta beat out my mom and sister!

Chad and i are headed to st george and vegas next month and we are super excited! Chad has never been to vegas so i am excited to share that with him. So for all of you vegas friends (shelly-andrea-carey am i missing anyone) hook me up with some fun inexpensive or free things we can do there. I think we will just be spending the day. But any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Oh and shelly you need to email me. I need your brain for something :-)

I promise to do better...

2009-03-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

Oh man, i tell you last year was a crazy year for me, and i totally apologize for falling off the face of the earth. The good news is that i am back and i promise to keep up to date on my blog and to keep in touch with all of my dear friends!!!

Just a little update on me...

In december i got a job at JC Penney optical as an optician and am loving it. Ive enjoyed learning new things and i enjoy the people that i work with. Shortly after starting there i met chad, he works for penneys too. I remember seeing him and thinking that he was so cute but i dont think i was quite ready yet. I also thought if he were interested he would make the move.

Well about a month after i started working there he came in to optical and we started talking, and me being the flirt that i am had a hard time playing "hard to get"... I think since that day we have pretty much been inseperable we are going on 2 months now.

Chad is the most amazing man i know. Hes got 2 wonderful kids who keep me on my toes and keep my smiling. He is an awesome dad who would do anything for his children. He loves me more and more everyday and treats me like a princess. I often want to pinch myself to see if its all a dream, but its also a dream that i want to last forever. I knew that i could love, i just didnt know that i could love this much, and have it grow everyday. He was truly sent into my life for a reason, he loves with all that he has. I am incredibly blessed to have him and his kids in my life. Im excited for our future and what that holds...

The weather has been so beautiful here and i am grateful for that. At one point after my divorce i really thought that i wasnt going to be able to handle another winter. Its just so dark and cold and dreary, but i pulled through the winter is almost over, spring is coming, and ive got wonderful things planned for this year!

Anyhow i am going to head out but i will be posting more often...