I Heart Antibiotics

I am having a love affair with my antibiotics.

On Tuesday I woke up with a little swollen tonsil but just started repeating positive affirmations to ward off a cold like I usually do. It kept persisting through the day and that night I was having trouble sleeping because it had gotten so bad. Finally I woke clear up and thought to myself: “self, I think we have strep throat”. You see, I know what this feels like because I had strep throat almost exactly a year ago! Ugh.

I woke up, went and looked at my tonsils and knew immediately. If you’ve ever seen tonsils with strep, you know there’s no mistaking. It looks like this: (look away, faint of heart.. and faint of butt... Props if you know what that is from.)



So... don’t tell my doctor, but I had a few of the antibiotics left over from last time and I took one of those in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning. Strep is probably the worst sickness/pain that I’ve ever had. It is so sucky I can’t even describe it. Can’t swallow without it hurting my entire body, feel like I’m going to hurl and having nightmares about how intensely painful that would be on my throat, aches all over, fever. Worst. Ever. I am SO – SO glad I had the old antibiotics because I started feeling better by that afternoon, right around the time I had gotten my new prescription filled. So I would’ve been insanely miserable for another 12 ish hours had I not had the old antibiotics. Yay for cheating on stuff!

Moving on from that epic story about sickies, life is grand now! I feel almost 100% better today and I am in love with antibiotics. Can you imagine getting strep or something like it in the early 19th century? If it would’ve happened to me I think there would have been two options:
a – I would have died.
2 – I would have killed myself because of the pain.
Either way I would’ve died.

Today I am full of gratitude for the modern medicine that I do believe in (which is, to be truthful, a slim category). It is a lovely day out and I’m glad I get to enjoy it and the awesome weekend that lies ahead!

We Got a Puppy!

We have been wanting a puppy for a long time but they are sooo expensive and we couldn't justify spending several hundred dollars for the breed we wanted. So last week I was just looking around on Craigslist and found this little guy! He is a Maltese.


I e-mailed the lady to see if he was still available and the more I found out about him, the more perfect for us he sounded.
We got him Sunday night and we've been loving getting to know him!


Sometimes he tries to eat our faces...
Just kidding :) He was just yawning.



He is super cute and loves to cuddle and be rubbed.



We are so glad he is part of our family!
We still haven't decided on a name...
First he was Archibald, and then he was Fred. And then he was Winston. I still like Winston but Alex doesn't. We're also tossing around Nigel, Gunther and Terrance.
Hopefully we decide soon! I'm sure he's getting quite confused as to why we are calling him all these different names.

Hmm... maybe I should blog

Wowsers, it's been a while, eh?
Well, work was INSANE for a few weeks before we took our vacation, so that's my excuse for then. I was working 10, 11, 12 hour days and some Saturdays. I love being busy, but it got exhausting really fast. My husband is amazing for supporting me through times like that. Actually, just always. He almost always does the dishes AND the laundry.
*Sigh* I am so lucky.
Some highlights from March: (that I only remember because of the scheduler in my phone)
-My nephew CJ's baptism. He's getting so big!
-Seeing Al's little bro in a Shakespeare play at school. He was awesome and the show was so, so funny. (I'm totally trying to mask the fact that I cannot remember the name of the play... loser).
-Getting my nails done at A Seron Style on Bluff Street. I love them and I got a great price. I haven't had my nails done in forever and it was fun to feel girly! I also got some SUPER cute decals put on them from a company that we work with at Rainbow. Check out her amazing product at www.sheekee.com
-GOING ON A CRUISE!!
Our week-long vacation could not have come at a better time for us, especially with how my work was going. I was beyond stressed and was more than ready to get away.
Here are just a few highlights from the amazing week with our friends, Seth and Jamie Price.

Best. Tacos. Ever.


Freaking awesome sand... thing.


All the dessert I want?? Yes, please!


Am I really excited about free ice cream all day, with sprinkles?! Yes, I am.


He is totally putting out the vibe.


Lots of this:


Puerto Vallarta


Legit elotes! YUM!


So that is our awesome vacation in a nutshell. I'm still not quite back in the groove of regular life after that.

Conference was amazing and I continue to be humbled by and so grateful for my membership in this true church. I have many new resolves to be better in several areas!
...Including blogging more often :)

I enjoy being a girl. . .

Womanhood has been on my mind a lot lately. I heard a sad story about a woman who felt like God did not love her as much, just because she is a woman. I couldn't believe how foreign this was to me, and I wanted to document how lucky I feel because of that. So here are some random thoughts on being a woman.

- I have always known that I am a daughter of God and that He loves and cherishes me so much. Never have I felt like I was not as respected or revered because I am a woman. My mother taught me young that men have their place in the church, and so do women. Both share equally important responsibilities.
- I have never been offended by a man opening the door for me. I see this as a sign of respect and I truly believe that this is the way Heavenly Father would have His sons treat His cherished daughters.
- I have always loved the idea that Heavenly Father does not mention Heavenly Mother because He cherishes her so much that He does not want her subject to the disrespect He knew He and His son would receive. (That was a lot of pronouns. . . .)
- Ever since I was young I have been excited to be a wife and mother, with all it's cliches. I imagine myself being the "cool" mom that makes snacks for her teenage boy and his friends when they come over. I want to be a soccer mom. I want to do my kids' laundry and be home for them whenever they need me. I will feel so blessed if this is possible for our family.
- I love being unique, special and having "womanly" abilities and instincts. I love being able to multi-task!
- I have always felt an awe and respect for the women of the church from it's leaders.
- I know with all of my heart that God respects and trusts me so much because He is willing to let me raise His children. What else could illustrate this so thoroughly? I also recognize that this ability/responsibility is very comparable to holding the priesthood, and never once in my life have I wanted to hold that priesthood because I see motherhood as my role to fulfill.
- I am totally guilty of asking for help from a man when I could probably do it myself, but I love being the woman and allowing the man to be the man. Have you seen the look on their face when you let them lift something heavy for you? It's adorable.
- I don't know if I'm just really lucky, or if I view the world through different eyes than some women, but I have never felt disrespected or looked down upon because I am a woman. Don't get me wrong, I have definitely felt those things, and more, but I haven't felt that it is a direct result of being female.

I feel truly blessed to be a woman in this day and age and hope to become the powerful woman that God would have me be. Not person, but woman. I have unique abilities because I am a woman, and I know that God expects me to use those to rise to my full potential.
I scanned through a few talks from the general authorities on womanhood, and felt such love from them and my Heavenly Father, and this quote solidified everything I have ever felt about the power of women:

“Without the devotion and absolute testimony of the living God in the hearts of our mothers, this Church would die.” - Heber J. Grant

Yes, try it again... only, without the "oops"

Sum up of the last week in 7 words:

Monday: Talking, talking, talking with Dew and friends.
Tuesday: Celebrating memories with balloons, music and food.
Wednesday: Realizing I'm not ready to be mommy.
Thursday: Independence Day rocks and coughing up lungs.
Friday: Really, Aunt Linda? You suck really bad.

Some insights from this week:

The hangover from NyQuil is worth it if it means I got a few hours of sleep.

I love using music to soothe people's souls.

Aliens are bad and scary, but we'll be okay if we have Will Smith on our side.

No matter how tired I am I can argue politics like it's nobody's business. And I always love it.

Life is short. Really short for some people. And really long for others, but really it's all about the people who surround you. I'm so glad to be surrounded by people I love and who love me.

Spitter scags are the worst.

I make a killer stroganoff.

I'm excited for the weekend!

The end.

Disney Advocates Dysfunctional Families

First of all, let me say that pillow talk is one of my favorite parts about being married.
This is how our pillow talk went last night.
Me: "Don't they kill the mom in Dumbo?"
Al: "Yeah."
Me: "Ugh. That's why I don't like it. Bambi, too."
.....moments of silence.
Me: "Dude, there are tons of Disney movies that have single parents, dysfunction, adoption, etc." (I didn't really say etc... does anyone ever really say that? But it makes my point.)
We then proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes spouting off all the Disney movies we could think of. Check this out.

Pinnochio - single dad
Dumbo - single mom, killed
Bambi - mom killed, dad was not in his life for childhood
Cinderella - lives with stepmom and crazy stepsisters
Peter Pan - orphan
Jungle Book - orphan
The Aristocats - abandoned, orphans
The Rescuers and Rescuers Down Under - boy is an orphan
Fox and the Hound - orphan
The Brave Little Toaster - abandoned by "master"
Oliver & Company - orphan
The Little Mermaid - single dad
Beauty and the Beast - single dad (plus, he's crazy)
Alladin - orphan boy and single dad for Jasmine
Jungle Book - orphan
Pocahontas - single dad (at least I think there is no mention of mom)
Toy Story - single mom
James and the Giant Peach - orphan, parents eaten by rhinoceri!
Tarzan - orphan
Lilo & Stitch - orphan
The Santa clause - divorced
Finding Nemo - single dad
Chicken Little - single dad
Meet the Robinsons - orphan
Ice Age - little boy is orphan
Up - single mom

I do not consider myself to be a Disney expert, and may not know some of these stories entirely, so correct any misconceptions that I have. And this is by no means a full list of Disney movies, but mostly what I've seen. There were a small handful that I had seen that had traditional families - Hercules (although he gets adopted), Mary Poppins (though there is dysfunction in the home in the beginning), The Incredibles. Those are really some of the only ones I could find.
Just some food for thought.
Maybe Disney is the reason the divorce rate is so high. Subliminal messages, my friends. They are powerful.




P.S. I hope no one takes me seriously on this, I don't want fiery comments about being a Disney-hater! I just thought it was really funny to find SO many movies with the non-traditional family! Even a lot of the older ones, too, when it was so much more the norm. Maybe Walt was an orphan...

Anniversary Weekend in Brianhead

Alex and I really wanted to do something fun/really cheap for our anniversary this year and we ended up getting hooked up with a free room at the Cedar Breaks Lodge in Brianhead for the weekend! Woot!

So Thursday night we hung out with our besties, the Telfords, and I started feeling really weird/nauseated/sicky/headachey, so I went to bed early, especially after Alex told me I had a fever. BOO. I was trying SO hard to fight it off because I didn't want our weekend to be ruined. So the next morning I was totally raunchy because I felt awful, but knew I had to go to work because I already told them I was leaving early and I KNEW that if I called in sick they would just think I wanted to leave early for vacation. Nobody wants that. So I went in and sickied all over them. I had a fever and sinus congestion all day. I left around lunch time and Alex and I started to get stuff ready for our trip. He was really tired and I was so sick and we both wondered if we should go but we knew we'd regret it if we didn't.

So... I passed out for the whole trip up, mentally punching Alex's throat whenever the car lurched enough to wake me. He was so sweet to drive the whole way and let me sleep. But he still deserved some throat punches.


Then we got to the lodge (no, we didn't take ANY pictures. FAIL.) and I passed out again and started feeling SO much worse. On top of the sinus pressure/headache/intense body aches, stiffness and pains/sore throat/stuffy nose I started to feel really sick to my stomach. Ugh. When I woke up after tossing and miserably groaning for an hour or two Alex gave me a blessing and I was able to fall back asleep and felt so much better after waking. Yay for the priesthood! I was even hungry, so we went to the on-site cafe, which we loved! It was so yummy and not even over-priced at all. I have much love for people who don't over-price things just because they can.

So I got a salad.

Bad. Choice.

I felt totally fine going to bed and then the middle of the night the "oh my gosh, I might die or maybe just throw up my intestines" feeling came back again. Kept me awake and whimpering for an hour, then I went and threw up. Salad. SICK. But then I was able to sleep - yay!

So that's the really long account of the sucky first, very non-romantic, night of our weekend. I was weak for the rest of the time and still had a sore throat and stuffy nose but felt much better. I would like to tell you of fun adventures and awesome things we did, but we seriously did nothing all day Saturday. Nothing. We watched TV (it was Nazi day on the History Channel!), played games, read books, slept on and off, took baths and showers (the bathtub had jets!) and looked out the window at the icicles, waiting for them to fall and seriously injure someone below. Not as a sick, sadistic wish, but that maybe we might have a millisecond to yell "SIR! Look out, a 3 foot icicle is about to strike your head from above!" But really it would just come out "Bleahhhahhhaaaaaaaa!" If you can name which comedian I am referencing your "I'm a rockstar" meter will rise by 10 points. Post a comment and I will notify the winner of their current standing on said meter.


(Side note: I got this from a news story titled "Falling Icicles Kill And Injure Record Numbers In St. Petersburg". See, this shiz is real.

Then we came home today and played video games and forgot what time was.

All in all, a pretty rockin weekend.