My New Obsession

Just when I thought cleaning couldn't get any better, I go and buy a steam cleaner, and discover a whole new level of cleaning satisfaction! Suffice it to say, I have found a new obsession--my Euro-Pro Shark Super Steamer!

I've always loved watching the infomercials that demonstrate the power and effectiveness of steam cleaning (I'm such a sucker for infomercials). So when Chris and I were shopping at BB&B with our wedding gift cards, I decided to splurge and buy something that I wouldn't normally buy. And I'll tell you what, my friends, that was the best purchase I've made in a long time.

I have been wanting to use my steamer for quite awhile, but I've never found the right time to do so. Our walls and baseboards have been in dire need of cleaning ever since we moved in, especially because our apartment was previously occupied by a family with 2 year-old triplets. I bet you can imagine the grit and grime that are present in the nooks and crannies of our home.

Well, in preparation for our ice cream celebration this weekend, I decided now was as good a time as any. After work last night, while Chris and I were enjoying a romantic dinner at home (okay, not really romantic), I told him of my plans for busting out the steam cleaner. Instead of sharing in my enthusiasm and excitement for cleaning, however, he decided to go camping with his buddy. Typical.

After doing the dishes, paying the bills, and switching the laundry, I decided it was time to pull out the steamer. I was a little apprehensive, mostly because I wasn't really sure what to expect and I didn't want to be disappointed if my results weren't as great as the ones they portrayed on TV. Honestly, I couldn't have been more pleased.

I am proud to say that I successfully steamed and cleaned the door and all of the baseboards in my bathroom (which, by the way, were the absolute worst). And to my joy and satisfaction, they are cleaner than I ever thought possible. It was like I had reached a new cleaning high! I am convinced that with a little steam and a quick swipe of a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, just about any surface can and will be completely transformed.

I awoke this morning with a new outlook on cleaning, and smiled to myself each time I admired my work. I just can't wait to go home and do some more. I'm afraid Chris is in for a rude awakening when he realizes what I want to do all weekend :)

Personal Rejuvination

I wish I could share this incredible experience that I've had recently with personal rejuvination, but instead, I am going to plead for some ideas on how to obtain it. Now, before I go any further, let me just clarify that I'm a happy person and I enjoy most aspects of my life most of the time :)

To say that I'm exhausted is an understatement! I have reached a point in my life where I feel like I am quickly losing control. I have so many obligations to fulfill and simply not enough time to do them all. Between work, household chores/projects, Young Womens, babysitting, couple time, family time, social time, errands, etc., I am completely spent (and I don't even have kids yet!). There are very few days when I feel like I've completed all that needed to be done, and more often than not, I start off my day feeling overwhelmed.

Like I said before, I am a happy person and I am very pleased with this stage in my life. But I've also realized that I have allowed my life to control me, instead of me controlling my life. I feel like I have given up on many things I like to do, so that I have enough time/energy to do the things I need to do. Case in point: I haven't had a day off work (excluding holidays) since our wedding. And quite honestly, that wasn't much of a vacation. So really, it's been a year since I went to Florida last summer, and that was the last real "vacation" I've had. I was finally able to convince Chris that we needed to get away for the weekend, so we are going to St. George in August. Other than that, my friends, I have nothing to look forward to. How sad!

So, it is with deep sincerity that I plead for your help. I need some ideas of how to find and spend more time for myself, without having to jeopardize any of my obligations, or feeling guilty about it. And I would love to say that I'll just give up on everything else for a few days, but you all know that I could never do that (my OCD would kick in before I was able to enjoy anything!).

Feel free to leave your suggestions and comments. I would love to hear how you cope with the various stages of your lives.

LDSP + Provo River = FUN

Vision Conference

I have had the wonderful opportunity of starting my new job this week. And while I still don't feel totally at home yet, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the wonderful opportunity that I have been given to work for the Church.

I was hired just in time to attend the annual "Vision Conference," wherein I was able to meet and associate with some of the best people that I have ever worked with. As you may or may not know, in order to work for the church, you have to hold a current temple recommend, or be temple recommend worthy. Consequently, you can probably already the caliber and character of people that I now work with.

During the last two days, I was blessed to be in the presence of many great leaders: Pres. Samuelson (BYU), Pres. Clark (BYU-I), Pres. Woodhouse (LDS Bus. College), Elder Kerr (former Commissioner of CES and current President of the Logan UT Temple), Bishop Edgely (of the Presiding Bishopric), and countless others, including directors, team members and staff associates of LDS Philanthropies. It is quite obvious to me that the Lord has called these specific men and women to serve in these capacities for a reason.

I also know that I have been hired for a very specific reason. I was told by the HR Director on my first day that I was an answer to prayer. She told me that each and every employee with the Church is there for a reason, whatever it may be, and that the Lord has control over it all. I will admit, I'm not quite sure why I was hired; but it has become my personal mission to figure out why--whether it is for my own growth and benefit, or for the growth and benefit of others. And after having spent an incredible two days being uplifted and spiritually strengthened, I am even more determined to make the most of this experience.

I also wanted to publicly share my testimony with all of you. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know Jesus Christ came to this earth, that He served, He loved, He sacrificed, and He died for us. I know that the Plan of Salvation is ordained of God, and that by keeping the commandments, being faithful, and honoring my covenants, I will one day be in the presence of my Heavenly Father again.

I am so grateful for the wonderful insight and strength I was able to receive this week. I know that the power of the Lord is evident in my life, and I have a newfound desire to be a little better each day.

Thank you all for your love and support. I truly have been blessed with a wonderful family and exceptional friends.

Introducing Baby Haisley!

Just wanted to announce the exciting arrival of Haisley Hoen! She is the new daughter of my cousin, Melissa, and her husband, Brad. Missy was scheduled for a C-Section on June 2nd, but Haisley apparently had plans of her own. She was born at 10:03 this morning and weighs 6lb. and 15oz. (tiny, little thing!). If she's anything like her big sister, Halle, she's going to be one of the cutest baby girls I know!

Congrats, Hoen family!

Tennessee Tot

As I've mentioned before, I am completely and utterly obsessed with my nephew! Sadly, his parents decided to move to Tennessee for the summer...and they took him with them. Can you believe it?! Luckily, we have plenty of pics to enjoy while they're gone. Here are some of my new favorites:

1st Haircut

1st Easter

1st Swim

Good-bye, Jacobsen

As of May 30, 2008, I will no longer be working for Jacobsen Construction Company, Inc. That's right...I got a new job! Hooray!!! I will be working for LDS Philanthropies. I will have the luxury of working on BYU campus, which is less than 15 minutes from my house. And besides the gas money that I'll be saving, I'll also be getting a raise. Chris and I are both very excited and feel incredibly blessed that I have been given this wonderful opportunity to not only work closer to home, but also to work for a great organization, such as the Church.

I have greatly enjoyed working for Jacobsen, and will miss many of the people here. I have made life-long friends, and will always appreciate the time that I've had to work here. But, as many of you know, I just can't handle the commute any longer. Chris and I, along with my parents, are very happy that I won't have to drive on freeway every day. And as nervous as I am to leave and start over, I am so excited for the change!

Wedding Pics...Finally!

I spent about 4 hours yesterday sorting through our pictures, trying to find ones to include in the slideshow. After selecting about 85 (from over 1500), I was totally disappointed to see that not all of the pics uploaded. And even worse, some of the pics in the slideshow aren't the ones that I wanted; but quite honestly, I don't care at this point. I am so sick of looking at wedding pictures right now, so what you see is what you get. Also, I have included some of my favorites on the right column, under the blog link list. At some point, I'll fix the slideshow; but until then...ENJOY!

Drug Bust at the Helmantoler House

Just when I thought life was settling down, we have neighbors move in that not only create lots of drama, but a little bit of entertainment, as well. Just so you know, this post will probably be fairly long, but it'll be totally worth it because it is a fabulous story!

Disclaimer: Chris and I live in a duplex that has two apartments--an upstairs and a downstairs. We live upstairs and another couple with their baby moved into the basement about 4 weeks ago. Even though the apartments are completely separate, we still share the same walls. Unfortunately, we hear and know a little more about our neighbors than we would like to :)

Last Friday, Chris and I took our nephew Stallone to a Utah Flash basketball game at the McKay Events Center. For added spectator enjoyment, we invited a bunch of our friends (Jason & Sasha, Shawn & Erica, Jeff & Leslie, Tom & Danni, Sean) to go with us. After a boring first half, the Flash came back within a few points, but still lost the game. Afterwards, we all headed back to our house for treats.

The second we walked in the door, we were hit with an awful, rank smell! Every one of us noticed the smell and the sheer potency of it. Without much hesitation, it was decided that the smell was marijuana (this would normally be a surprise to most people, but because of what Chris and I have heard over the last couple of weeks, we weren't too shocked). This fact alone gave most of the guys something to chat and laugh about, while the girls expressed their worry and concern with each other.

Before long, our dear friend, Sasha, decided to call the police. She mentioned to them that we could smell pot coming from the downstairs apartment, and that we needed someone to come and check it out. Within minutes, Orem PD pulled up in front of our house. Being the nervous-nilly that I am, I asked Chris to go out and meet the officer and explain the situation before letting him around back (the downstairs entrance is in our backyard). The cop then explained that if he could smell anything when he went back there, it would be reason enough for him to press charges.

Keep in mind that all 11 of us were so excited for the abnormal action on a fairly normal Friday night. We quickly turned out all the lights and took up posts at each window in the house. With everyone on the look-out, we had a pretty good idea of what was going on the whole time--it was hilarious!

While the cop was downstairs, the neighbor's buddy pulled up to the house (he is always there so we immediately recognized his truck). Well, because we had so many of our friends over, there was limited parking in front of the house. After asking us to move one of the cars, the guys headed around back--except for the neighbor. He must've seen the cop car parked up the street, because he took off on foot (unfortunately, we didn't realize it was the neighbor until later, so no one paid much attention to him when he walked away).

After several minutes, back-up showed up and they proceeded to arrest two of the neighbor's underage buddies (suckers!). Along with the idiots, the cops found and took a large bag of drugs, paraphenalia, alcohol, etc. from the apartment. At this point, the excitement levels inside our aparment were almost too much to handle. The guys were going off about this, that and the other, and the girls were discussing their rapid heart rates and increasing stomach butterflies (I know--we're such wimps!).

As soon as the perpetrators were hauled away in the back-up squad car, the officer came back to talk to Chris. He told him that the idiots would be charged with use and possession of illegal drugs/paraphenalia. He also stated that because the neighbor let them in, he will be charged with possession of illegal drugs/paraphenalia, as well as distributing to a minor. Due to the charges, he will be evicted--if not by the landlord, then by the city. However, in order to press criminal charges, he'll have to catch the neighbor, so he told Chris to call him if the neighbor came home.

Seeing as our neighbor is a complete idiot anyway, he probably didn't realize that it was a bad idea to go home as soon as the cop left. After spotting him walk down the staircase in the backyard, we realized that the neighbor was the same guy that took off when the truck pulled up. So, not only was he having a drug party at his house while his wife was out of town, but he got all of his buddies in trouble while he saved himself! Seriously, this guy is a piece of work. Anyway, we called the cop back and told him that the neighbor had come home. The cop came back, but after knocking on the door for 15 minutes without any result, he left--but not before assuring all of us that he would follow-up on the charges.

With all of the excitement, I didn't have much time to be nervous about the situation. I figured that everything had been handled and that everything would be okay. We didn't hear much from the neighbors on Saturday, even though we noticed that the wife had come home. I thought for sure there would be yelling and fighting because that's quite normal for them; however, it was quite calm--until yesterday. The dude proceeded to yell at and threaten his wife yesterday. I was especially bugged because he woke me up during my Sunday nap! So, being the nosy neighbor that I am, I peeked out the window when I heard them leaving. To my surprise, the dude saw me, and yelled at me, "Can I help you?" Needless to say, I wanted to crawl in a hole! If I would've been brave, I probably would've yelled something back, but it's probably good I didn't.

Fast forward to Monday: Chris has his shotgun and shells under our bed, I am carrying pepper spray everywhere I go, and we have contacted the landlord. And as of today, the neighbors have been issued an eviction notice! Hooray! It would be an understatement to say that I'm a little nervous being at my house. I told Chris that I didn't want to be there without him, so until the neighbors leave, that's the way it'll be.

We just wanted to give a shout-out to all of our supportive friends who made what could've been a scary situation, not so scary. And to Officer Adams--thanks for regulating the law with the idiots downstairs. Here's hoping we get some great new neighbors before the month is over :)

My Dilemma

To eat ice cream, or not to eat ice cream...that is the question!

As many of you are probably aware, I have an obsession for ice cream. It is an understatement to say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE ice cream! I love it in all forms; I love it in all flavors (well, mostly); and I love it at any time of any day. Until recently, I have never even thought twice about eating ice cream. Quite frankly, I have enjoyed many moments with family/friends/roommates who share my afinity for the frozen treat, and have looked forward to such occasions. Unfortunately, times have changed.

During our courtship, engagement, and marriage, I have been able to share lots of things with Chris--including my love of ice cream. He quickly came to know that I ALWAYS have ice cream in my freezer, and that it's quite common for me to want to go out and get ice cream. For the most part, he has been very accomodating--until now!

Don't get me wrong...he's not prohibiting me from eating ice cream, he's just refusing to eat it with me. Honestly, half the fun of eating ice cream is eating it with other people (at least I think so). Chris is on a huge health kick right now because he would like to shed a few pounds (and no, he hasn't gained weight since we've been married--it's just weight that he's had for awhile and doesn't want anymore). And one way he has decided to work towards that goal is to not eat as many sweets--including ice cream. Therefore, I have had to eat ice cream twice this week by myself.

So here's the dilemma: do I continue to eat ice cream as I normally would, even though I feel like a fatty eating in front of my husband who is trying to be more health-conscious; or do I accept that he is trying to be more healthy, and join him in his endeavors? I'm seriously having issues with this--especially because he made a special trip to Wendy's last night, just because I wanted a Frosty. How embarassing!