Ball and Biscuit

For the record,
The White Stripes are aMaZIng!
The secret to their great music is that it's that they never over do it.

This is probably my favorite song, Ball and Biscuit:



I love how bluesy it sounds.
And yeah, the lyrics don't make sense -
apparently the story goes Jack White wrote the lyrics just before they went into record it and the words just sounded good together.
And the drummer is a girl! How often does that happen?

Navajo Falls

Over a year ago I went to one of the most beautiful places on earth, Havasupai. In the Grand Canyon after an 11 mile hike in you find this incredible sight:

It's stunning!!

There are four amazing falls in Havasupai, these are my favorite, the Navajo Falls. The perspective of this shot throws off the size. It is HUGE. And one of the best places for cliff jumping into the perfect blue waters below.

Well I just learned that about a month after the awesome camping trip there was a huge flood that destroyed Navajo Falls, it now looks like this:

Isn't that so sad? Seriously, it breaks my heart a little that it's gone - it looks so empty and dead. But I guess it's part of a natural course. Two more falls were created when this one was destroyed.

Anyways, I just learned about it today and was a little shocked that something so powerful and large, and in my mind long-lasting, could be gone so quickly.

Thursdays are the Best Days

Pioneer Woman did a drawing for a Kitchen-Aid and asked us which day of the week we liked best (which reminds me I gotta check and see if I won!! 1 out of 30000, I can still hope, right?). I said Thursdays because they have all the anticipation of the weekend and none of the disappointment that sometimes comes up, also I got married on a Thursday.

But this Thursday is the best because Craig comes home!! Yay!!

He's been in Vernal. Looks like he'll be working there most of the Winter, so I'll mostly see him on the weekends (he's working so that makes up for the fact that he's been out of town about 1/3 of the time we've been married, right? Right? Someone tell me I'm right.) He and his guys decided to work extra hours Mon-Thurs so they can come home tonight! They're awesome like that.

Also 30 Rock is on tonight, which is still the funniest show on right now. (Glee may be the most feel good, but 30 Rock is the funniest).
Thirdly In-N-Out just opened in Orem. YUM!


It's gonna be a good day.

Mama, don't listen to them

"Some days I never leave the house and I'm just chasing after a two year-old and I worry that I'm not contributing enough to society or to my family."

A sister at church said this in our Relief Society class on Sunday. She went on to explain how often times she feels looked down upon because society tells her that since she doesn't have a job she's not contributing, she's not growing, she's not worthy. Many of the sisters who are also SAHM agreed with her during the lesson.

I'm not in her shoes, so I don't know exactly what she feels like, but I can understand why she would express that sentiment. Society does tell women that if they choose to be "only" a SAHM that somehow she isn't good enough.

It's been on my mind a lot, thinking about that and how media and the world tries tells us how we should live. But you know what? I've been working since I was 16 and I've never really felt like I've made some great contribution. I work to make ends meet, rarely is it a grandiose position full of altruistic work. Other than keep me busy and keep me from getting lazy, work has never made me felt like I'm really contributing to society (although I should probably interject here that I am very grateful for my job, so we can make ends meet). So girl, don't buy that trash - it's so not true. And honestly all that fluff that we're told we need or should have? Travel? Careers? Fancy cars? Big houses? Designer clothes? - that's for the birds. It's all about family. (Isn't that why they said UT and HI were the happiest states? Cause of their focus on families?)

I don't buy that having a paying job means that you're contributing more to society or that it makes you a happier, better, more well-rounded person. I'm also not going to buy that owning a hybrid really is better for the environment than raising good children (P.S. this notion that too many children leave reckless carbon footprints - feetprints?- and that we're over-populated is also bunk).

For you working moms (because most working moms I know would love to be SAHM and can probably vouch that working is more for making ends meet than being a meaningful person in society) - bless you for all you have to accomplish each and every day.

Please note, I'm not trying to imply that this SAHM, or any others, were complaining and they should be so grateful blah, blah, - self-righteous attitude blah blah - that is NOT my point- I'm just saying don't believe when the world says a career is more fulfilling or more valued than mothering.

7 months

Well, there is at least one thing I've learned in the last 7 months

wife = scapegoat.

Craig has discovered that using me as an excuse can work to his advantage . . . I'm still not sure how I feel about this. :)

salvation is not a cheap experience

"If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Elder Jeffery R. Holland

I was just remembering this talk. It's probably one of my all-time favorite lessons on the Atonement, scroll down to the part that says The Atonement and the Missionary

How much house?

There is so much talk about the housing market. I know a lot of people who have been hurt by the drop in home prices. But you know what? They haven't gone down enough, not by a long shot.

Just take a sampling of a few places:

Santa Rosa, CA

Average Gross Income: $62,639
Average house/condo value: $654,942
How much house can a person making $62,000 a year buy (with average car and debt payments): $189,335* (without monthly debt payments: $245,988).

Provo, UT

Average Gross Income: $38,517
Average house/condo value: $213,700
How much house: $90,707 (no debt: $164,972)

Goldsboro, NC

Average Gross Income: $34,809
Average house/condo value: $110,045
How much house: $68,399 (no debt: $145,599 - yay one winner!!)

It's just not right. Of course most of us assume we will make more than the average. But I take a look at these numbers and it's easy to see that things are just not right with this picture - when the average person can't afford the average home price something very, very wrong.

*I assumed a $10000 down payment and made slight adjustments to property taxes and homeowners insurance for each area.

A big deal for me

See that? That is an empty inbox. That may not mean much to anyone else, but it means a lot to me. I can count the number of times on one hand I've been able to leave work with no emails. It is such a good feeling!

Anybody want a Pepsi?

This is Craig, trying to get a soda from a Pepsi machine we found in someone front yard! That's right one of our neighbors has a their own machine in their front yard. We laughed so hard when we saw it.

Crazy!

The best part about Halloween?

Seeing all the pictures of Halloween costumes, especially Reece, Joshua, Anna, James, Savannah, Joseph, Jacob & Alayna, and Abby. We were especially happy when Jacob came over to show off his dragon costume (thanks Daniel and Steph!)
I'm hoping to see Betsy, Boo & Kitty, and Max soon too.

Thank you for posting them - They're adorable!!!