Shoot!

Ok, so remember how I was on the sweet strike? Well...I had a minor set back...Holidays are hard, people! I did well to not eat anything ON Christmas, but then relapsed. I've had a few things, but that's ok. I'm starting again New Year's Day. A little frustrating, though, because I did go an entire month without...and lost 9.5 pounds...and now I've gained 2 pounds back. GRRRRRRRRR!
I have a pretty sweet setup here out in the middle of nowhere. A nice 2 bedroom home---it's quiet here, not many distractions, my in-laws are just up the drive, and they have an ENTIRE home gym (I'm talking 24Hour Fitness equipment, here!)---so I think this will be good for awhile. I am determined to not be a chubby bunny the rest of my life.

Didn't you know that 2=4?

Here's a little advice: NEVER move in the winter time. If you absolutely have to, let some moving company drive it to your new location. We left Friday, later than we wanted (10am) because we were supposed to have a phone interview (more on that later. didn't have it---have to reschedule), it was snowing like crazy, and Adam's windshield wiper wasn't working, so by the time we got to a place in Salt Lake City to stop, he was peering out the passenger side so as not to kill us. We had to wait for an hour for someone from Penske to come replace the windshield wipers. We got back on the road at about 12:30, could only drive about 30 mph, so we stopped in Rock Springs, WY for the night. We felt good in the morning---ready to start the rest of the trip. Adam went to warm up the truck and it wouldn't start! So, we had to wait an hour for Penske to come fix the problem and then another hour for them to recharge the battery. We didn't get on the road until 11, or so (waaaaay behind schedule). I hate Wyoming. Why would anyone want to live there? Anyway, Wyoming is famous for their white-outs. Have you ever experienced one? Not fun. At all. We had very low visibility, and then all of the sudden, it was completely white and we couldn't see even a foot in front of us. As we passed it, we saw a semi pulled to the side of the road, and then right in front of it, another semi straddling the lane and the shoulder, so we had to swerve to miss hitting it, and then swerve the other way to avoid hitting a car in the left lane. Somehow, we ended up sandwiched between the two lanes---all 36 feet of us---and somehow our truck stopped gently on a dime. So, we didn't get very far...Sydney, NE...stayed the night, and FINALLY arrived in Omaha on Sunday evening. We were so exhausted, we stayed 2 nights with my parents instead of one. What should have been a 2 day trip turned into 4. 2=4.
On a side note, we lived (obviously), and no harm came upon us. We know it is because so many people were praying for our safety, so THANK YOU!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday!

This post is to my beautiful mother!!! Today is her 40th birthday (hahaha, yeah, and I'd be killed if I told you her real age. Besides, she looks so young, it's believable, right?), and I am so grateful for her. She is brilliant---so brilliant in intelligence and personality, that even strangers flock to her like magpies to something shiny.( Speaking of magpies, she calls herself one, and I want her to know I am grateful that she is so stylish and passed down the love of shiny and big jewelry to me! ) I'm grateful for her love of learning and reading, because I think that it's taught me to really accept others for their differences and embrace truth and good wherever I find it. She is a fun-loving and young person. We're as young as we feel, right? She's not an immature young, but she can hang with the young crowd (she has a group of friends in Omaha that are just slightly older than me!). My mother is also a wonderful Yaya! Ruby loves her so much and we're grateful that she feels she can do anything when she's with her Yaya!

Thank you, mother, for all the wonderful things you have done for me and taught me. You are my best friend! I love you! I am sooooooo excited to live close to you again!

KASS!

Ok, and Kass? I don't have your email address, so if you could give me that, then we could for sure be blog buddies.  Thanks!

HEY! KERI!!!!

Yes, Keri Longmore, this is a post especially for you. I can't get into your blog, which means you must not have added my email address. To answer your question, we are moving next Friday. It would be awesome if we got to see you guys! We miss you!!

Broke the bank

Poor little Ruby is having to bear the weight of poverty on her shoulders. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I forget how closely she listens to me. Not that I publicize to the world how broke we are (except that I'm doing it now? hahahaha), but we're very near the end of the semester, and we're making a big move, so we're trying to spend as little as possible, which isn't hard, considering...

Anyway, lately, whenever she wants something at the store, I have had to explain to her that we can't buy it right now "because mommy and daddy don't have any money." Poor thing. Well, the other day, I told Ruby that we were going to go into Nordstrom to pick up my check, and while I was getting ready, she comes into my room with a handful of coins and says, "Well, we don't have any money. BUT, I have some for shopping. Maybe I could get a cookie." (ps Nordstrom has these really huge and delicious sugar cookies that she gets occasionally) She had broken into her piggy bank.

She really thought that one out!

It's been almost a month since the sweet strike started. I have lost 5 pounds, and I do not crave sweets AT ALL anymore. Seriously, it's amazing.

We're getting ready for our move. I hate packing, but I am so excited to move back to Kansas City, so bring it on! Between packing, finals, working at Nordstrom, and Adam's job at school, it's going to be a tough couple of weeks, but what gets me through is the thought that after it all, I will be relaxing out in the country on beautiful land surrounded by family. Ahhhhhh...

We have a few job opportunities that have arrived, so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...

OH! AND...I just have to brag on my husband for a minute. He has to take a bunch of Chinese proficiency tests for his major---they're national tests, and they have to take them so that BYU knows what they need to improve in the Chinese Department. Anyway, he found out that he scored Advanced High (just BARELY missed the Superior mark) on his speaking test. He'll be getting a certificate for it soon. We don't know the other scores yet, but I have no doubt he did well. He's so smart.