Our story

Our story is my favorite. When I think about all the events that fell into place to create our story I stand amazed.
Josh and I first met in the junior high. We had keyboarding together, and I immediately developed a crush on this blue eyed boy. As I grew up it faded and was gone the next year. That was the year of dating and I didn't agree with his choice...'s.  Josh and I continued going to the same school, our clicks we're different and we only had honors classes together.  We both graduated and attended different universities. He attended a university near home and I ventured into the big bold world...aka Logan, UT.
We we're Facebook friends but the extent of our dealings ended with him accepting the request to like my pet cow, petes, Facebook page.
It was three years into college that a chance meeting would change our lives for the better!
After an eventful Pre Christmas holiday spent in Logan I came home. I celebrated Christmas with my family and started planning our new years party. I was cooking in the kitchen, when I saw a red truck pull into our driveway, and drive to the back of our property. I put on my don't mess with me boots and headed out to see who this stranger was. He rolled down his windows and knew me right off, but I was a little more than a foot away when I realized it was Josh. He was always one to grow facial hair, and he now had a man sized beard, and mountain man hair. I didn't know who this man was until I did. We went through the usual conversation of seeing someone for the first time in years; how are you, what are you studying , where are you working, where do you live, etc.
I finished the Christmas break and went back to Logan. Josh continued with work and school and I didn't give him much thought. Then he started chatting with me, sneakily got my number and we started texting each other when we had time. We went on a date during the winter when I came home for a weekend. It was an eventful date that started off with his truck dying. We went country dancing. After dancing we ate at McDonalds.  If me stepping on his feet, and lacking the almost innate ability to be led that probably every girl possesses, didn't impress him then the way I tore my food apart definitely did. We went for a drive and drove all over provo, where I rambled for a good four hours and apologized many times for the nonstop chatter. He politely replied that if he minded he would have left. He did leave practically falling asleep on the porch at two in the morning.
Then it was a couple more months of texting each other if we had time, but mostly if we remembered. I came home for summer school, and caught up with a few old friends from high school, and went out to dinner with one of them that just got off his mission. We went to a restaurant and low and behold Josh was there with his friends. We said hi, he finished eating and left and an hour later we did as well. When I got home I texted josh asked if he was busy and we went for a long walk around the block. And I found myself starting to like him again. The next day we left for Ohio, and our texting was hard due to the lack of service and the wedding we we're attending. I finished out the summer school, and we didn't really hang out, but I talked to my running partner endlessly about him. Poor girl had to endure my indecisiveness and debates with myself. I didn't want to date anyone and just wanted a good guy friend. But all of my friends said we should date. We hung out together for an entire week and as our conversations grew late into the night, so did our feelings. Honestly I thought he thought I was a tomboy feminist and was losing interest in being friends by the minute. So I was surprised when he walked me to my car,and just sat on my hood like he owned it. And then it came, the thing that is even more awkward than our awkward footfives. Even more awkward then a baby giraffe. Even more awkward than Erin. Yes even more awkward than a junior high boy.  So the dtr was started. Where are we going? Are we going to keep hanging out until midnight? What should we do? what are we? Are we anything? Will we ever be? Do you want to be? Where are we headed? Should we date? So it was decided in front of his house on a Thursday before July eleven, we would give this dating a try. Very soon after he told me he loved me and even sooner after I told him I loved me too. Our summer romance was quickly coming to an end. I paid my tuition and realized I only had a few short Weeks to spend all the time in the world with him. And then it happened I waited until the very last possible minute to pack and drive back up to Logan and start my last year. It was hard getting back into school and not having him there to go canoeing, hiking, shooting or camping with. We visited each other every other weekend and I went camping with his family over labor day, and I went with his family to Arizona to celebrate his birthday. I came home for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and the next semester we couldn't go longer than a week without seeing each other. As much as I hated living far away it was probably one of the best things for our relationship. It made us so strong. We built trust and communication, we hurt each other and we fell in love with each other. 

The year ended thankfully and I moved back to Provo. Now we really are inseparable. I decided not to graduate that May and took another semester of classes, probably the hardest semester.  Never go to school close to home. As the semester progressed we became way more serious and talked about marriage and rings.  We looked at rings and one day we bought my ring. And I waited and waited, and waited for him to "pop" the question. I told him how cliche every possible proposal was, including looking at lights and then proposing. Then I felt like an idiot when he told me days later that he was going to propose after looking at the lights and a carriage ride, with both of our families there. Sounds romantic now. So the day we went to look at the lights and then went on a carriage ride, I waited and waited but he never asked. I was supes disappointed, and a little irritated.
Christmas Eve's eve came, and still nothing, and then Christmas Eve. After opening our presents, he asked me for a glass of water, at which time he placed the last present under the tree. I came back and started opening it, and saw it was a box through tears of joy. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the best Christmas Eve! Although we don't have a date picked out, we know the year. 2015!
Looking back I'm so glad I was the one who stopped him in the driveway.  I'm so glad it changed our lives forever.

School

cleaning attire 

This is my last week at the junior high I so loved working at. It is bitter sweet, mostly sweet. I gave this school a good six months of my life, working early mornings and late nights.
To be honest if my boss was managerial material I would probably be working here next year as well. However having to be manager and grunt worker while making the same pay as someone that does half the work, and only making three bucks more than the grunts is not worth it. In the past month this job has made me miserable.
The only thing I complain about is having to work at the school. Complain...I never complain about work, because I have had jobs that I love or at least can stand. But this takes the cake. When I started the junior high, I had my doubts, but then school ended and we started the summer cleaning which I fell in love with. Physical labor, and for the most part I was in charge and ran the show, and was rewarded for it. Then summer came to a close, my best worker had to go back to school and we got a crew of degenerate do nothings. The work became dull, especially because I had to pick up their slack. People found the job hard, or boring, or perhaps didn't fit into their ten hour day of watching TV, so they quit. Which meant I had more work. I had more work and yet my pay never went up. However other people
So here I stand training the newb that will take over my many duties. Good luck high school kid!

Clean library floor

my freshly waxed floor

carpet cleaner

all of the locks broken off of lockers

The dread vacuum 

My wax bucket, I almost cried after waxing my last floor

not affected by the quitters suddenly got a pay raise and I said hold the door shut the gate stop the bus. Told myself I didn't need this job and the stress, with my two other jobs and school, and gave my one month notice. My boss was stupefied, "what you want to quit, but why? You are working twice as hard as me for half the money. Don't you love it?" That might not actually be how it went. But he was surprised that I was leaving at the date I said I would leave when he hired me. In may I had high hopes of the future and said I could work until December at which point I would be graduating and working anywhere else. So when I gave him my one month notice in beginning November he threw a toddler sized fit and thought I was staying until January, silly bosses never listen and this one never learns.

The machine I learned to fix

The dreaded snow

Well folks it is that time of year again when everyone celebrates the first sow fall. Back are the snow tires and penguin walk across the snow. Snow and cold really aren't my thing, but instead of making this blog awful somber I while try to look on the white side.
Perhaps I hate snow and cold so much because I was born on the hottest day in summer. Where even at two am it was warmer than the hottest day in winter. Or maybe it is because I can't make my own body heat. I am cold blooded by nature.  If there is no sun or other means of getting warm I stay cold. If my bed is not warm when I enter it, it will stay that way. The year I got my electric blanket was the best year of my life. 
With the snow returns layers, two pairs of socks on feet, under shirts followed by long sleeved shirt followed by a sweatshirt followed by a coat. The time of never taking hands out of pockets until you are safely inside has returned. The Rosy red cheeks return as all the blood rushes to your head to keep it warm, to no avail.  Driving on ice and snow packed streets is no longer a nightmare. I always found it funny that everyone always said you should know how to drive in snow, living in Utah...however I only learned to drive in the snow during college in Logan. I have made many a trip through the canyon in a blizzard/snow storm. I'm not comfortable driving in the snow and avoid it as much as possible. Often I like to walk an icy road before I drive it, unfortunately on the freeway this is not widely accepted. Roads that are traveled at eighty plus, slow down to high thirties. My first time driving in the snow was in high school, I came to a stop at a stop sign, only the car kept going and skidded into the intersection. There was nobody around, and I promptly drove back home and had my mom take me.
As I sit here I realize that my car is probably stuck right now.
Onto the bliss that comes with snow. My favorite part of snow is doing doughnuts, in church parking lots. This year thanks to the snow plowers of the ward, that thought they were doing everyone a favor by plowing every church parking lot, we had to drive well out of our way to enjoy doughnuts. We found the parking lot and enjoyed our snow.
Onto the yay it snowed part. It was our puppies first snow and it was one of the funnest things to watch. He ran to the door and skidded to a stop and ventured outside with mild trepidation. First one step then the other and then running through it and getting covered. 
Snow weather also means Elf.  Quite possibly the best movie. When it snows out comes Elf and our favorite hot beverages.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned for the wonderful sun stories.

John, Jen and Marley

Marshmallow puppy

This weekend Josh and I fell victim to Marley and Me. By the end of the show we were bawling because it became abundantly clear that Jorge, Josh and Jack are Jen, John and Marley.  Our clearance puppy is actually our marshmallow puppy.  Jack was the chubby little puppy sleeping in the corner, and I fell in love almost immediately.  He was very lethargic and when we inquired the kids selling him informed us that they had been feeding him marshmallows.  Right away I knew we needed a marshmallow puppy.  Once he had passed the rest of what the kids were passing as his food he became quite lively.  We brought home our bundle of bouncing joy expecting a sweet mild mannered well behaved lab. We didn't get the opposite, but we did get a few surprises.  Within the first couple days we learned just how smart labs are.  Working at a vet clinic I've been around every dog, and Jack by far is the smartest at only four months. He is part Collie and the only Collie that shines through is his herding ability.  As long as everyone is in the same room he is wagging tail and calm demeanor.  As soon as someone decides to leave, he runs after them and tries to cut them off.  He hasn't learned to turn anyone back yet, but he does a good job tripping them as he tries to get them to change their mind, and go back to the populace.  He is surprisingly good at herding insects and often corners three or four bugs at a time, and then watches them.  Here are the similarities to clearance puppy: he is bitey, jumpy, rambunctious, would probably eat a gold chain if he had the chance, but most importantly loyal.  If you are sick or sad he is your best friend and he won't leave your side. When I am sick in bed he will fall asleep at my feet and only get up after I am awake. I'm impressed with our chubby puppy, and can't wait to see what he will be in his adult doghood.

Our first night with him

 I will share a story called Josh scared Jorge and Jorge scared Jack.  After going to a birthday party we were standing in the yard waiting to return home next door. Josh said something and pointed, and I turned around and threw my arms up and screamed a little. I don't know what I was expecting to see, perhaps a bear, but it was Jack. It scared him he shrank back and then ran all the way home with his tail between his legs.  We all started laughing, I felt so bad for scaring him when he was just coming to see us.  The gate had been left open, and when we put him in the backyard he explored and then left through the open gate to explore some more. I'm so glad Jack loves home and didn't run away, but instead like the smart dog he is, he went to see his friends next door and then returned to our doorstep, waiting for us to let him in.
The most hilarious thing he does is keep his back legs on the couch or chair and then he walks his body around on his two front legs.

Some quality face time

Our hipster dog with the neck scarf 

Garbage and groceries

I think all too often the only things in life that go continually forgotten in my life are buying groceries and taking out the garbage. The last thing on my mind on Sunday night or Monday morning is take the garbage out. I suppose leaving the garbage can out by the road would be the logical next move for an altogether important chore that is always forgotten. Call it laziness or forgetfulness I never remember to take the garbage out.

Groceries, this probably surprises everyone, because its food.  Everyone needs food to survive and what not. However with all of the fast food joints and family members willing to invite us in for dinner over and over again, who remembers to get groceries. Even tonight it is Josh's birthday so we are going out for lunch, and we were invited to a bbq tonight.  Ha, one more day that I can put off a necessary chore. This month was really bad, the only thing we bought was milk, bread and candy. I really wish that I liked shopping more.

Even as I am typing this I'm thinking yep I should really go get groceries, oh and take the garbage out.  I would probably tip the garbage man if he came and got the can for me...I know I would tip that man. I'd give him more if he did my shopping as well.

We ride into the sunset, often our destination in mind is the lake. Often our destination changes like the changing moon. Then our destination is unknown, only the sunset can determine our direction, and it is usually somewhere in the west. We rode towards the lake, but sitting at the gate was a fee. You can ride around the lake for four dollars, or you can wait for the season to change and stay for free. So we took an abrupt turn and rode the back roads.  The fields just irrigated leave goose bumps as it cools the night air, but soon after they appear they vanish. We took the first road west, again chasing the horizon.
That day was a special day, that day was my birthday.  And natures gift was just as grande as Nature herself. I sat behind the driver and peered around his helmeted head. As I looked I sat amazed, at all that opened up before me. The sunset lit up the western sky.  The sky was orange and on fire, and purple mountains majesty rose from the ground. The mountains and the sky meet on the horizon line, but not this time. They formed one and rose before us.
Chatter came from the driver in front of me and thank goodness.  An all too independent rider, I was too focused on catching every moment of the night, to transfixed to pay attention to road laws.  So he drove.  We chased the setting sun, until the sun had set. We were left alone with the world in darkness, here and there the occasional city light.

Girls want...

My mom asked me what the two things girls could never have too many of.  According to me it's cows and trucks.  The real answer was shoes and friends.  Sure I love my shoes, and my friends.  But keeping both at sane numbers keeps life organized and helpful. There will be an interview that will ask a very important question; describe yourself. Well okay. For those who have never met me I will, this might be dangerous with all the inter webs crime.  I will, just don't steal my identity.
I am 21, I grew up around animals and my exposure to people was limited until school which forced human interaction on me at an early age. I have three older brothers which makes me the youngest and only girl. I never liked sports until I got to college where I picked up running, and then like Forrest Gump, if I was going anywhere I was running.  Quite literally, you just get places faster.  I've run five and ten k's, full and half marathons. I also became the avid hiker and backpacker.  I love camping always have. Hunting was not always my favorite but I loved going with my family, riding four wheelers, sleeping outside, and eating camping/hunting food. I was given the nick name sharp eyes, for my ability to see deer, and other critters in the mountains. I'm not all tom boy I do love shopping on the rare occasion I need a new pair of jeans, and every other year I like to paint my nails and where jewelry. I love my best girlfriends; watching movies, eating ice cream, and talking in general.  I've had to make the distinction between favorite books and books I've been forced to read. I always say my favorites are textbooks, because honestly I don't remember the last book I read that wasn't a textbook. But I have recently started reading Lincoln Vampire Slayer, and I love it. I have always wanted to be a Veterinarian. Wanting to be a Vet is not something that happened freshman year of college when I had to decided what road I wanted to take.  This has been something I have been working towards since I was a kid. When we were three and four my mom would hold up cards with words, and the only one I remember is the one that said Veterinarian.  I fell in love with the meaning and hid the card under my pillow every night, and returned it to the stack every evening.  When other kids were playing on bikes at seven I was collecting fertilized eggs to stick in my incubators and training the chicks I had already hatched. Around my neighborhood I was known for taking care of animals.  Neighbors would bring me orphaned puppies, kittens, I got pigeons, chickens and pheasants, to take care of and then find homes for. In elementary I designed science experiments that took me to the regional and state science fairs, hoping this would look good to Vet schools ten and fifteen years down the road. Animals are my way of life and helping them is my dream.  I love working cars, I love driving cars, sometimes I wish I drove trucks for a living.

I like parades 

I like riding horses 

I love turtles 

I hate being cold and wet

I love being an aggie

I love halloween 

I love my friends and cookies 

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Home

It's weird to be home, back in Provo home, after being gone for so long. For the past four years I've been in Logan.  I never imagined Logan would capture me and change me.  In four years I grew so much, I learned so much, I lost so much. Now I am back in P town,  the P town, not to be mistaken for Payson or Pleasant Grove. I never imagined that USU would turn me into a true Aggie (not the kissing on the A kind).  For four years I couldn't wait to be done and leave, and now I can't wait to go back. From previous posts you may have noticed my discontent with UVU only because I love USU. I love the campus, the professors, the way they test, the student body, even the cold bitter Logan winters (okay that's a lie, I hat the cold and the bitter).

I can't believe they had the nerve to put the true blue school next to B why U

Manual

My whole life has been all about the automatics, yes even the '72 Chevy (this is the original dashboard in the Chevy) was an automatic.  It might surprise you to know we didn't even own a manual until two years ago, a '71 Chevy.  However, it would only surprise you if you knew my dad.  My dad has driven a "standard" since he started driving, he drove trucks cross country, and loves the manuals. Yet none of his kids knew how to drive one, until one week ago.  My brother learned very fast when he was put in charge of a tractor.  I learned Saturday in a church parking lot.  I didn't pick it up very fast, not that anyone does. I almost gave up when a little boy came riding through the parking lot on his bike. After about ten minutes his mom came driving up and stopped next to us, and asked if everything was alright.  And then she realized what was happening and said 'oh are you learning to drive a manual.' I said "Yes." She replied "Got it, my son said that someone was stuck at the church and the car kept dying, but I understand, everyone goes through this."
The church parking lot was my last experience with a stick.  I was fortunate, however, to get a job at a dairy, and all they have are manuals. So when I was riding with my boss and he left me with the truck and had to run an errand with another person, it was my sink or swim moment. The first hour of driving was rough, I didn't really kill it, because I didn't really get it started. Pushing in a clutch and then turning the key was new for me. I love manuals, I love shifting, and driving them, I'm not a pro, but I've definitely self  taught myself most everything I know, especially reverse. Manuals can be daunting if all you've had is automatics, but never stop driving them. I love it. Every weekend I get to go to the dairy and drive the trucks. Then after being in them for twelve plus hours, I get in my car and look for the clutch and have a bit of a panicked moment when I can't find it. Makes me wish I would have listened to Josh and got a manual after all. For me it's not a learn everything in one day, I am a slow self learner, and I have to do things myself I can't be taught through someone showing or telling me what to do. After two days I learned how to shift and start on hills without dying, after three days I was shifting into fifth gear, which is hard when all you have is short stretches of gravel roads.
Anyway manuals are the way to go, never stop trying. I never thought I would pick it up, buts its ten times easier than you will ever think it is.  My mistake was listening to other people telling me when to shift, listen to the car.

Periods

This is such a touchy topic, that usually goes avoided, but almost every woman will have one. This post is for my best friend, and hopefully I will remember to send it to her mission self.  Most women would say "I wish men had periods too", to which I would reply "I don't." Should they have them instead of women...well yeah.  The inspiration for this post is an unfortunate camping trip, and most of you will question my sanity after reading.
I went up to Logan for the weekend after feeling a little resentment of being in a committed relationship and losing my independence. I had a really good time, I stayed with my friend, and ex...roommate.  We ate pizza, and ice cream and watched all the movies. The next day I went and visited another friend, and we took a visit to the Logan Zoo, I held a chinchilla, and dove, and I want to say parrot. After holding the animals, we had to chase a crazy looking creature off it's nest. I promptly left Logan after that, and had a two hour drive to think of everything on mind. Relationships; mine and others, school, past, present, animals, houses, food, diets, exercising, movies, cars, army, careers, etc. So when I got to my boyfriend's house, I was in quite the mood. At first I wanted to see him, and then I wanted to go back to Logan, and then I wanted to go camping, and then I wanted to leave, and then I wanted to be next to him, and then I never wanted to see him again, and then I just wanted him to do what I wanted him to do. Gah! All of the hormones that come with being a girl, sometimes it gets old, but luckily it is almost never this bad.
Looking back on the weekend honestly I'm surprised we are still going strong.  I will give you a little insight to our adventure. It all started with a trip to Moroni to drop my new but broken car off at the shop. I stopped at my house to pick up some camping stuff (at this time I was in a good mood, we were doing what I wanted), and I told him I would meet him at the store. Then we drove to Moroni, (which was fine because I was driving). We dropped the car off and it was all downhill from there.  I love camping in the rain, because I love hearing rain on a tent in the mountains. We were in Moroni and it started raining, luckily we had a tarp in the truck, so we "covered" everything. Josh was hungry, I was hungry but didn't admit to it, we were both tired, and I was a factory of emotions. We plugged in the gps to tell us where food was, nothing came up. We turned around to find food, we turned around because I decided it was too dark to go camping, we turned around because I wanted to go camping again, we turned around because it was raining, we turned around again because I wanted to go in the rain, we turned around three times. But that was just the beginning.  We got to our camping location and parked.  I wanted to hike to the top of the mountain, but it was much too wet and dark for that to haul all of our stuff to the top. So instead I had to "settle" for halfway up the mountain camping. Then we got out of the truck to get our stuff only to find a small portion of it was wet. I picked up my pillow that was damp, and probably would have been fine and threw it back in the truck and stormed up the mountain carrying nothing but a small bag and pad. Josh took both blankets, pillows, the tent, one of those big foam sleeping pads, and his own camping stuff.  I didn't notice at the time, because I was too busy storming up the mountain through wet grass up to your waist, which only compounded things. I got to the spot in the dark, found a brick patio laid out my pad and laid on it.  Meanwhile Josh came tromping up the mountain, calling my name, and of course I didn't answer, I did sit up so he didn't pass me.  In the rain he set up the tent, put everything inside and then came to get me.  I didn't want any part of it, so he sat for a minute persuading me to go in, at which point I must have decided a dry tent was better than the rain. So I picked up my pad, only to find it muddy and even more wet (duh!). Well this made me even more upset. Josh took off the pad cover and all was well, so it was placed inside the tent. I crawled in only to find a damp pillow and blanket on my pad.  None of this was acceptable so I threw it off, and said I wouldn't have it. I then sent him down the mountain to get water that he left in the truck, and brought it back to me. Looking back on the way I acted, I can only laugh.

UVU Sucks

There are many reasons why UVU is the worst choice when looking for schools to attend. I suggest unless you are getting absolutely free tuition, this is including fees (yes they will pay your "tuition", but you still have to dish out another $500 in "school fees"), housing (however there is no on campus housing, the nearest UVU housing is across the freeway, and parking.  Don't get me started on their parking, or lack of parking. For another fee you can park next to a door and pay a dollar an hour, or you can opt for a permit and park a quarter mile away, don't worry their professors always have ample parking space. If you opt out of paid parking go ahead and check out their free lot a mile away, if you aren't there before eight, forget about finding a spot. Free sounds pretty good, but oh wait there is a mile trek you will encounter, so leave plenty of time. You don't want to walk? No worries, you can take the shuttle.  It comes oh about every 15 minutes and it leaves in another ten minutes.  So don't worry about running to catch the shuttle you have a good eight minutes before it leaves. They don't post times the shuttle comes, everything is just helter skelter, so good luck relying on that for transportation.
Now back to the Professors, or what they have termed professors, they have found the absolute worst God awful professors to "teach."  If you are expecting a "college education", by the time you leave this institution think again.  You will have gained nothing but frustration, or patience depending on your personality.  Most of their professors have an accent, deep accents, can't understand accents, so don't bother listening to lecture, you won't be able to understand it.  Second, their professors don't know how to teach, so don't expect to learn anything. If you happen to buy the book and teach yourself good luck, the only thing that is impressive is the tutoring labs.  I guess it should be because you will spend ninety percent of your time there. I'm 80% sure half of their professors are disgruntled BYU dropouts. If you happen to get a Professor that is understandable, and knowledgeable about the topic at hand then props.  Soon you will have your first test, and you can deal with their testing center, perhaps slightly more organized than their counseling center.
Transferring classes?  Don't bother. UVU likes to recognize...well UVU recognizes its own sub par classes and that is it. It will take you approximately three weeks of bullshit to transfer classes, so start early. During that time, you will transfer your classes by sending in your transcript (at an actual university this is all it will take), talk to an adviser, be transferred to another adviser, transferred to the head of the department, transferred to the "Professor" , back to the original adviser, to the next adviser, to a department head, back to a secretary who finally gets the go ahead. Wow! That was so worth it you will think to yourself.
Because this "University" is so new to universityhood don't expect to deal with professionals, who know their job. Don't expect a school that communicates with other universities. Most of all don't expect a school that likes or even appreciates their student body or the fact that they pay "fees." IF you don't expect anything from a university, then this is a great school.
I would never promote BYU, but yes even BYU is a better school than the little college in the valley that couldn't.

Jack

This is Jacks introduction to the world.  So world meet Jack.  Jack is a Border Collie, Black Lab Mix.  When he is not biting, chewing or clawing his way into our hearts, he is sleeping or peeing.  We found Jack in the great state of Wyoming.  His old owners were selling him at Fort Bridger like common cattle dogs. We stumbled across Jack's small family on the way to the bathroom, and after holding him, he was sold. I fell in love. He had a marshmallow sized belly, probably from having been snacking on them all afternoon. We went back to camp and talked everyone into the idea of buying Jack. Jack is eight weeks old, and growing like weed. He came with his first set of shots and puppy teeth intact.

Where Jack likes to ride, the worst spot possible actually, right by the drivers feet

The CRATE!!!!

After a long day of being  a puppy

We were lucky he is so smart. He picked up very fast on bathroom time being outside. We are now working on sitting, and crate training, and it makes my heart sing to find him sleeping in there without command.  Placing his food and water dishes and every toy he has accumulated in there are the main help.  His crate is large for a puppy, but we're hoping it will also fit him when he grows into his massive lab paws.

Maroon and Gold Cars

All old people drive gold or maroon sedans. Sometimes fords, sometimes dodges, very rarely Toyota, Honda, or Hyundai. Nothing newer than 2009 nothing older than 1995. My car is blue and a 1984.  This post is to all the people who say I'm an old lady driver. I am not. My car does not fit any of the descriptions to make it an old lady car, and me an old lady.  I might go five under on all major streets, side streets and allies, but I've also never had a ticket...knock on wood.

Tires

My baby, I do love this thing

So I recently took my car to the mechanics. No surprise, luckily the problem was need for a new wheel.  I called every junk yard, every spare car parts place, every mechanic, every shop, everyone who had ever seen a car before. But to no avail, they did not have a wheel that matched my 1984 luxury car. Well Poop, actually double poop! I wouldn't think finding a wheel would be so difficult.  Luckily my dad had my back.  He called one place that I didn't, you're probably thinking, "that's not possible." But it was possible. They did not have a match for the Lincoln, but they did have an old wheel off a ford that they mounted, forgot to grease, and put back on the car. I don't know if any of you have ever heard a squeaky wheel, but there is a reason they get the grease. Me being the very stubborn person I am, I refused to grease the squeaky wheel, and greased every wheel but the squeaky one.  I thought, I'll show this wheel who's boss, and greased all it's friends, hoping it would fall into line.  Oh how I was wrong.  It did not fall into line, in fact it fell off the car. Only joking, it's still on there...for now.  But the squeaking is worse than ever, and soon I will be on my way to grease it. Wheel you have won this time, and lets face it, you'll probably win every time, as long as I rely on you for transportation.

The steering wheel, pretty cool

In case you are wondering, I'm selling the Lincoln, ($1500 if you are interested). In my spare time I clean it, so far the trunk, and the outside. I washed it and then I thought I'll see if my dad has wax, because nothing says shiny like a freshly waxed car. Not knowing how wax works I read the directions, and of course disagreed with all that it wrote. On the directions it said to wax one section at a time, let it dry and then buff. I figured what the heck, I'll wax the whole thing and then buff.  I mean by the time the whole car is waxed it will all be dry.  Yeah, too dry. I buffed, and re-washed and buffed some more, and scrubbed. Finally two hours later the wax was gone, and my car was shiny.

Me in my car, I'm awful at self pictures

Where I'm at is who I am

Memorial day came and left me with memories. It only lasted 72 hours but it felt like a week or perhaps a month. It was one of the longest weekends of my life and I don't mean that in a bad way. It was nothing like the spring break I spent in the hospital.
I perfected my chainsawing skills, I'm pretty epic. I didn't work on my fishing, but I did get a fish pedicure in a river. More legs than feet really,  but it was cool. We got stuck in the sand and we got lost, we were hot and got woken up prematurely,  and at times it was more like hell than heaven. There are times when I wish I had pictures but I do have my memory.
This memorial day I went to a little town in Arizona for family reunion with Josh's family. And even though the promise of hiking in Zions never came to fruition I still managed to have a good time.  I felt like a lost child following Josh around the whole time.  Large crowds are not my thing, and his family is large, and I was told there were more.
We camped on gravel on the side of the grass and I feel bad for the kids who had tiny sleeping pads.  I am extremely thankful for two inch sleeping pads.  I'm also thankful to Josh's mom for making a shower after swimming in the river possible.
Sunday night we left and spent the rest of the day in St. George.  We napped in a beautiful park, and watched a couple in what could be love fly kites.  We went to Brigham Young's winter home and also the St. George Temple. There are four LDS land marks that I think everyone should go to, no matter your religion. The Logan Temple, the Salt Lake Temple, the St. George Temple, and the San Diego Temple.
It was a fun weekend and I'm glad that his family is welcoming and let me come along. Thank you Reid Family!

School is now summer

Trail obstruction 

        All I can think about is backpacking. I blame Jeeps.  Jeeps are everything summer, and summer is everything fun. What do you do in the summer besides revel in the fact that you don't have to wear a coat for four months? You backpack. You backpack and you hike everywhere, and you become the best trail runner that there ever was.

Hiking faces...check

         I stumbled across Sams Club one week after I started dating, when I went with my boyfriend's family. Which is weird, right? Because my parents have had a club card for the past few years. Anyway this does relate to backpacking, because they sell things in bulk for cheap. Josh has a card and when he comes to visit we do all the shopping, and in my head I make note of the cheap backpacking foods. 1. Trail mix, get the cheap trail mixes, that are already sorted into a serving size. 2. Granola bars, you could probably buy a box of granola bars and it will last you an entire month. (If only they had the cliff bars, oh wait they do.) 3. Fruit snacks, they aren't terribly packed with anything nutritional, but they are a good snack...they should be, it's in the name. 4. Two pounds of cut up apples. I realized that I don't hate apples, I just hate having to cut up my own apples, so if that doesn't bother you by all means buy whole apples. 5. Chips, they sell all the little one  serving chip bags. I hope that gives you an idea of what you can get. Most people would probably say some of these are probably horrible backpacking options, to them I would say "nay." When I backpack, I typically don't eat, if I do, it's not a lot. One time I survived on granola bars. Unless I am with someone who stops and eats real meals regularly, I just hike, and when I'm hungry I reach back grab a granola bar and eat on the hike.  Anyways I love hiking, and can't wait to start summer.

Used to be good hiking food, in the same bucket as cookies

P.s. all things listed are gluten free, but some cliff bars do contain gluten.

Does contain gluten, but you can
take cookies hiking 

Gluten is not for me

September of 2012 I made a huge decision...actually my body made the decision my mind fell in line...a year and a half later. 

Gluten is found in everything from bread to chips.  Here is a short synopsis of gluten.  Gluten is a protein composite found in wheat, barley and rye.  Gluten is what helps bread rise, and make bread, bread. Crackers, bread, muffins, bagels (yes bagels), pop tarts (biggest bummer), pizza, noodles, cake, cookies, candy, seasonings, gravy, and more all contain the dread gluten.

Around a year and a half ago I started getting really bad heart burn, stomach aches, and overall indigestion.  Not knowing why, I just continued on the the road I was headed. After I started dating, and going on dates and getting sick, we decided to figure out what was making me sick. After cutting things out of my diet and adding things back in, gluten was the factor. 

While still getting used to a gluten free diet I consumed a deep fried sushi roll.  After going a week without any problems, this bite sized amount of gluteney goodness landed me with a terrible stomach ache and many minutes visiting the ladies room, (point being I was sick). The best way to describe the pain that eating gluten causes is like having a monster living in your gi using it as a jungle gym. 

Someone asked me if I was devastated after finding out gluten was making me sick, I was like "yeah, because my whole life revolves around products containing gluten." The opposite is true, I am more conscious of what I eat, and have less gastro intestinal problems. Before going gluten free, each meal consumed was consumed with trepidation.  I mean it does suck that scones, chicken fried steak, and biscuits and gravy are off the table (pun intended), but it's not the end of the world. If I ever live in the south though, I'll probably starve. 

I always thought that food allergies were somewhat a figment of the imagination. However, the problems that gluten has created made food allergies a huge reality and all too true.  Gluten free is not a life choice I would ever choose, it makes eating difficult to say the least. Difficult not only for me, but for family and friends as well.  My diet change has definitely affected those around me. Whether it is going to dinner at a friends house or out to eat.   Gluten is everywhere. For breakfast one morning we went to a restaurant that was famous for scones. Which sucks, when you are the only one in the restaurant that can't eat the prize winning dish. It is just something you have to work around. I can't say that there is anything containing gluten that is worth eating.  Luckily as people become more aware there are more food choices. Stores carry a wide variety of gluten free noodles, cookies, bread, and even spices and gravy's, even restaurants are carrying a gluten free menu.  

Josh and I joke that we complete each other because he is lactose intolerant and I can't have gluten.  We also joke that for the same reasons we can never eat anything. 

This blog of mine

That's me on the cow, I love cows, definitely my favorite animal.

I started this blog as a would be journal.  A journal that I didn't have to worry about losing, or burning, or being torn up by chickens and dogs.  I mean I have to remember the password, which can be a challenge. I was reading some earlier posts, and I know you must be wondering what I'm thinking, "how does one person be so witty?" Sometimes I wonder if it is natural or a product of my raising, probably both.
This blog is a bit of a journal but mostly a product of my thoughts.  Sometimes I wonder who my audience is, because what I write is somewhat censored, I mean it could be friends, relatives, friends of relatives or Oreo eating basement blog stalkers. I'm sorry if I outed you, keep reading if you wish. I think I will include some life stories just so you have an insight into who "That's our Jorge" really is. I've read the first couple of posts that I wrote when I was just a college baby, and look at me now about to graduate. Rambling, a favorite past time. The point, I'm still figuring out who I am, and I grow everyday.

Nude pants and knee cleavage

If Logan/Utah  wasn't seasonally challenged, we would  be seeing the ending days of nude pants and the beginning of knee cleavage.

Party 

Holey pants in the winter is awful to say the least. If it is snowing snows blows in the holes, if it is windy, wind blows in the holes, if it's just plain cold, cold gets in the holes. Not much can make winter worse than holey pants.  If you can make  it through winter with no holes, you can do a small victory dance, which will probably lead you to your first hole of the season.  That's okay, because you made it an entire season of no holes, so please celebrate.
Unfortunately I don't have any nude pants.  I confuse people enough on a daily basis, I can't throw nude pants in there. But I mean seriously have you ever been at the store when you see a cashier with nude pants, and you do a double take. Stores that require khaki like pants and blue shirts are notorious for this.  It is truly disconcerting.

This will probably lead to holes

Every party has or should have a pinata 

If you have a pinata you must break it

Knee cleavage

Ah yes the knee cleavage.  I think regular cleavage is overrated, the knees are where its at. Knee cleavage means summer, and summer means warm weather. All of a sudden those holes aren't so bad.

Horse riding sometimes leads to holey pants