festivities and fanfare that are fun and free!

Alright so Travis and I got free tickets to the "Dancing with the Stars live tour" last night! It was really fun! The tickets were like $195.00 and apparently they didn't sell enough, so they were giving tickets away. Travis' co-worker gave some to us. It was such a blast! I felt bad for all the performers though because the E-center was not packed AT all, and the energy was non existent from the audience. I know what it's like to perform for a dead audience and it's not fun!

Anyway, Marlee Matlin was there, and even though she's not the best dancer in the world, I just adore her. She's so cute! She had an interpreter with her and he was pretty good, but I would have been better, because I'm a girl, and I would match her better. Not everyone from the show was there, but still, the dancing was incredible! They had lots of new dances choreographed and I was impressed. Travis and I had a wonderful time! Thanks to Erin for thinking of us!

alright already!

Ok, to appease several and satisfy the request of many, I will post something else so you don't have to keep looking at the quinoa. :) Yipee, it's the holiday season and I love it! Christmas was great, and we all had a wonderful time! This year for Christmas, Travis and I decided to not get each other any presents. We did give one homemade gift. Travis made me an awesome Travel Log scrapbook of all the places we've been to. I must say, he's actually really good! I made him a book of fortunes. I took all his fortune cookie papers that he's kept over the years and organized them and wrote a blurb about why each one is going to come true. I decorated it all colorful and stuff. Both were very time consuming, but also quite heartfelt and received well.

SO... in lieu of not getting each other small gifts, we did give ourselves a present... of traveling together. For a few months now, we've been putting extra money into a bank account, to save up for something special, and we decided that would be our main Christmas gift. WE ARE GOING TO HONG KONG!!!!!
I am very very excited! We are going in March for 10 days and we already bought our plane tickets. I have wanted to go ever since I found out Travis served his mission there. We found a killer deal on flights and hotel for 9 days. You would be surprised to know how inexpensive it was! So, it's a Christmas gift, but also a graduation celebration for Travis, and early 2 year wedding anniversary trip. I cannot wait to go around and see where Travis lived and served for 2 years!

Travis is teaching me some Cantonese and it's hard! It could not be more different than sign language. Luckily I can memorize easily. I already know how to say:
-I love you
-How much does this cost? (Super important because we'll be doing lots of shopping! Anyone want a purse?)
-This older brother is taller than that older brother
-Excuse me... I'm lost.
-Thank you

I'll be learning much more! Also, Travis says I'll fit right in, because apparently all the girls are short and slender with dark hair. By that time my hair might change though... we'll see! Anyway, we are really looking forward to going and we're happy we found such a good deal. And it's only 2 1/2 months away! Yay Hong Kong!

quinoa, get outta my mind!

A few weeks ago, I tried quinoa. (Pronounced keen-wah). It's a rice like food packed with protein. Health food fanatics are crazy about this stuff. Put some brown sugar in it and it's like oatmeal. Use it as a rice substitute, put it with cream of chicken, blah blah blah. Well in a class I interpret, the teacher really wanted everyone to try it, and she included the interpreters. Me? Well, I didn't really want to, but curiosity got the best of me. I ate it. After each bite I had a GULP of water to wash it down. She served it plain. No sugar or cream for me! :( While eating it, I didn't think it was that bad. But that was the day I got sick. Needless to say, I won't be eating it ever again.

Here's why. While I was sick, the only thing that I could think of was quinoa. Quinoa. QUINOA. After that, barf. I'd be feeling a little better and then BAM... quinoa. Bleah. It makes me cringe even now. I expressed my feelings about quinoa to my family and how it keeps popping into my head, and their reply? "Well just don't think about it." Easier said than done! I even prayed about it, to have it removed from my daily thoughts. But that's all I can think about! The sick little beads of quinoa running down the back of my throat. The bland taste of nothingness. To chew on it is like eating little baby birdie's eyeballs. Yeah, sick, right? YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO EAT IT and then BARF it up! Even know, after feeling better... quinoa pops into my head and instant pebble skin. The hair on the back of my neck stands and I start to sweat. Quinoa get out of my mind... please!!! Do you feel sick now? Yeah, me too. Sorry.

does this really happen? (part two)

Let me tell you a cute little story, with a wonderful ending.

So, remember the post titled, "whew, that was a close one"? Well, there's much more to it! So, in short, I had an opportunity, and I had to turn it down. I was really upset about it. I followed the promptings of the spirit and I'm glad I did. Here's what happened!

Two days later, another, BETTER work opportunity was presented to me. If I had taken the first opportunity, I wouldn't have been able to take this one. I changed my schedule back to the way it was, and things were good. If I had left my schedule unchanged, I wouldn't have been able to accept this position. Also, because I listened to the Lord, someone else took the first opportunity. This person needed the position much more than I did, because they had recently been laid off. Not only was my life blessed, but many other people, too! Just because of a silly work opportunity! I feel so lucky to know the reason why I needed to turn it down. Most people never know the reason why they are prompted to do certain things. But within 2 days, I did!

Alright, I know the suspense must be killing you, so I'll just get on with it and tell you the good news already. I am the newest adjunct teacher at Utah Valley University. I will be teaching the simultaneous interpreting class next semester. I am ecstatic! I love interpreting and I can't wait to be teaching it!

you forget, honey; I'm a big nerd

Last week while Travis and I were trying to finish up our final papers and homework, we sat in the living room listening to some classical music. I was trying to get some inspiration for my music class and a paper that I had to write. I don't often listen to classical music, but since we were both doing homework, why not?

Well a song came on and Travis said, "Oh, this is gregorian chant, right?" I was kind of surprised that he knew the style of song. If I had not known anything about music, I would have said, "Oh, this is like monk singing, right?" Anyway, I told Travis that I was surprised he knew what it was, and then he said, "You forget, honey; I'm a big nerd. I know lots of random stuff."

Hence the title of my post today. I am here to tell you that my husband is amazing. He is a jack of all trades, and master of a few. ;) He knows something about everything and I learn new things from him daily. He is incredibly smart. He knows about people, relationships, business, crazy upperlevel math, church history, he is the best movie quoter I know, and he remembers EVERYTHING. (This can be bad when I have my foot in mouth moments and I try to get away with it. Doesn't work. He remembers every converstation we have and every word uttered.) I know he likes to play around and be silly at times, but he's always acting appropriate for the situation. He is also very creative. He is quite the entrepreneur and has several business ideas that he wants to see in action. I'm excited for him and support him in all his endeavors!

I also wanted to announce that as of last night, Travis is officially DONE with school! He now has a BA degree in Business Management! I am very proud of him and all the work he has done to accomplish this goal. It was a long road for him and he's already thinking about getting a Master's. He said he wants to take a break for a while and see where life takes us. I support that 100%. I am very much looking forward to spending more time with him. Yipee! Although... it's my turn to be busy now. I've got some good news of my own. (and NO, I'm not pregnant.) I'll post more later about the good news! I know you're dying to find out, but this post was dedicated to my one and only, dearest husband Travis. Congratulations, you have a BA DEGREE!!!!

puttin' on the ritz

Ritz crackers are my friend. That's all. :(

Does this really happen? (part one)

So you all know that there's been a bug going around for the past few days, and let me assure you, this story will be different than all the rest. I'll try to make it the least graphic I can. Wednesday evening I felt very sick to my stomach and come nightfall, I was tossing cookies like no one's business. That actually lasted for a full 12 hours, it was not pretty. I thought it would be food poisoning, but I kinda felt like it was something else. I ended up going and having an IV. My body was so dehydrated, I had an entire bag in 15 minutes! It normally takes 45! They drew my blood and did a urinalysis. Come to find out, I have a freaking kidney infection! Do people even get kidney infections? Apparently I do!

I was so weak, I couldn't even hold my own weight, let alone try to get up or walk anywhere. I had a temperature of 102.5 that didn't break until later last night. I thought my brain was going to fry itself. I am very frail and weak right now, but doing a little better. Doctor said only liquids for 48 hours. That means I get to have my first meal tomorrow at 2. I might sneak and eat a saltine here and there. Real food doesn't even sound good yet. So I think I'll stick to doctor's orders. I'm on meds fight off the infection, and hopefully it'll be gone in about 2 weeks. Unless I need to change meds, because apparently there's more than one for a kidney infection! I'm so glad I had people to help me yesterday. There's no way I could have been okay alone. My mom and sister are absolutely wonderful. They came and stayed with me almost all day! I know, I'm such a baby, but I can't suffer alone! You know how sometimes you really want to punch someone in the kidney? Well if you've ever thought about doing it to me, you've got your wish... That's exactly what all this feels like. Abs, hurt. Feels like I did 5,000 crunches. Knees, sore. No explanation. Throat, yuck. And kidneys? Feels like they got punched. Still. You may not have the satisfaction of actually doing it, but what I've been through is much much worse. Feel better? I hope so.

whew, that was a close one!

Yesterday I was presented with an opportunity that I really wanted to accept. I changed my entire school schedule around to accommodate for this opportunity, and to give my boss more availability to interpret. This change seemed best for everyone. My boss was pleased that I gave her more availability, the people were happy that offered me this opportunity, and I was glad I could still take my 4 classes. I hastily made the decision. I was surprised that everything fell wonderfully into place and I was able to make the change. It seemed to come as a blessing.

As the evening wore on, I felt horrible about this decision. Well horrible is an understatement. I felt physically ill about it. I wanted this opportunity and I knew it would give me experience. Not only that, but this opportunity could lead to several others. However I knew I had to turn it down and change my schedule back to the way it was. I didn't want to, but the Spirit was so strong, I couldn't ignore it. I would much rather face my boss, turn down the job and live with the consequences than ever experience that feeling again.

All I could do was hope that the Lord would be merciful and not let me experience too much of a hard time from making the wrong decision. I felt bad enough for making the wrong decision without consulting Him first. I changed my class schedule immediately. I wasn't able to completely change it to the original, because people had already taken my spot in the classes. I still have the same classes, just at a slightly different time. Tender mercy #1. I emailed my boss before retiring to bed and first thing this morning, she texted me to let me know it was alright. She wasn't mad at all. HUGE tender mercy #2. (For those of you who know my boss, this is a big thing. She is in charge of scheduling all the interpreters at UVU and it is very stressful. I gave her a crappy schedule to begin with, I get her hopes up, and then change my mind. She was so nice about it!) Next, I talked with the people who offered me the opportunity. They said not to worry, that this opportunity would actually come up again, and that I'd be the first in mind. Tender mercy #3.

I know it seems like no big deal, but it really is. This opportunity would have changed my life, but it wasn't right. Everything is back to normal and much better. I feel so great knowing that I proved the Lord I was willing to follow HIS will, even though I REALLY wanted this other opportunity. (I'm being vague because nothing was set in stone and it needs to be kept on the D.L.) I sacrificed today what I wanted sooo badly, for something the Lord had in store for me. I may never know why it wasn't meant to be, but I am happy I didn't even go down that path. I was blessed for fixing things and in the end choosing the right. I am still being immensely blessed. I still can't believe this is my life! It's wonderful!

oregano

Today I talked with a friend who gave me an analogy which gave me great insight to who I am and how people interact with me. She told me that when she moved here she felt like she was constantly out of place. She even expressed that she felt no one liked her. In church one day someone told my friend that she was like the salt of the earth. She was special; she gave the world flavor, and that the Lord needed people like her to spice up others' lives. Likewise, my friend likened me unto salt. Or better yet, oregano.

Not everyone likes oregano, and it's okay. You don't have to. When combined with the right foods, oregano can give it just the right amount of flavor. When sprinkled on the wrong foods, it can taste horrible. Some people love it, and some people hate it. We all have different tastes and that's what makes us who we are. As far as oregano is concerned, everyone falls into one of the following categories.

Oregano lovers- These are the people who love oregano so much they put it on anything. Their car is green like oregano, they wear hats with oregano's initials and they are truly grateful for it. Others may perceive it as overkill, but to the people that love it, it doesn't matter, because to them... oregano tastes good on anything.

Oregano in moderation- These people like oregano when it's good for them. They think about oregano only when they need/want to add it in their food. In fact, they might even pass the spice rack everyday and not even think about oregano.

Oregano envy- These people (or other spices, if you will) are envious of oregano because it may be perceived as at the top of the spice rack. In actuality, oregano is right in the middle. Every time oregano is used, they hate it. They keep waiting for an earthquake to make oregano fall off the shelf/rack. It doesn't happen. They keep waiting for oregano to run out, but it never does. In their minds, oregano is perfect. Little do they know that oregano does have it's weaknesses too. Oregano didn't ask to be put up there, and in fact, it gets lonely at the top.

Oregano haters- Need I say more? These people hate oregano so much they can't even look at it or think about it. They, like the people who are allergic, will do anything to avoid it because they hate it so much. They might have had a bad experience one time. Now forever more, oregano will be on the blacklist.

Oregano fakers- These people pretend to like oregano in public. In fact, they'll even eat it when placed in front of them, or they might ask for it to be sprinkled on their meal. Why? To impress company. As soon as everyone leaves, these people complain about how bad the food tasted, ALL because of the oregano. They may even throw it up.

Not everyone likes oregano, nor does anyone have to. A word to the wise, don't be the last on this list. I think it's better to just dislike the oregano than to be fake. Don't complain about how bad your ice cream tasted because YOU put the oregano on it. Just leave the oregano alone and move on. It doesn't serve you well to talk about how much you hate oregano or how awful it is, or how you wish oregano would fall off the face of this earth. It also doesn't do you any good to pretend to like it, or assume things about it. Especially when you've never opened the bottle.

Oregano minds its own business and gets personally attacked everywhere it goes, even on people's blogs. Again, I tell you, not everyone has to like it, as wonderful as that would be, it's not going to happen. If you are not an oregano lover or even if you aren't fond of oregano, if you really don't like it, or you hate it, or you're envious of it or whatever else, all I ask is that you don't attack it, or pretend to like it. Make up your own mind about oregano but don't rally the troops against it. Is it really gonna make you feel better by attacking a seasoning? Forget about oregano and move on!

Oregano is always gonna be around. You don't have to put yourself around it, talk to it, or talk about it. Oregano doesn't care anymore what you think. It's gonna do it's job: to spice life up. If you've got a problem with that, take it up with the Chef. Oregano is considered to be one of the better seasonings out there. It's special, and SOME people need it. I guess it's all in the eyes of the beholder. Good thing my Cook loves it.

love it

...when people open up to me. It's the greatest thing in the world. Yesterday and today a few people have really opened up to me and I could not be happier about it. They all told me some personal things that are hard to talk about and I'm so proud to be the receiver. It's never easy to divulge personal information but just know that I am like a vault when it comes to this stuff. If ya vent to me, it gets locked up into the vault... Unless you wanna open it up and talk about it again, then I magically remember. :) It's kind of a blessing, actually. Today I have received yet again a number of tender mercies from the Lord. One of them being that these people opened up to me and I had the opportunity to talk with them.

Sometimes God puts us in others' lives for a reason. I LOVE finding out that reason. Today, I think I realized my place in a few people's lives. I know that as I'm prayerful I will be told what to do and how to act to truly uplift and benefit the lives of these individuals. They've already blessed MY life by just talking to me. I learn so much from them. I feel like I am living in accordance with what the Lord wants for me. It feels good to be obedient. I am being so blessed!

another long one

Lately I've had a few questions on my mind that I can't seem to let go of.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I truly don't understand. I see my friends suffer from various trials and events in their lives and I cannot witness it anymore. Most people ask "Why me?" when experiencing something they perceive as negative. I ask, "why NOT me?" I would rather take on any of my friends trials than see them suffer. Unfortunately this entire life is a trial, and people have experiences tailor-made for them. We are literally on trial for what we believe and we must take a stand or we will fall.

I see people who are so wonderful, gracious, and kind, experience the most awful things. Conversely I see people who are so heinous wreaking havoc get away with anything, never seeing the repercussions of their behavior. Where is the justice?

That being said, here's another question... is revenge ever sweet?

Even though I cannot stand when people are awful, I would never wish bad things upon them. I only want justice. Sometimes I want revenge so badly and when it comes, I feel horrible. Most often I would have never wished that upon the person. Sometimes vengeance overcomes me, and then I become the awful one. So is revenge sweet? Nope, there's no such thing.

I think bad things happen to good people to help others (like myself) have a paradigm shift. I look up to and revere people who have bad things happen to them, yet they continue on. It's not easy, but they make it look so. There are people in this life that experience bad things to stand as an example for others. I KNOW I can be better and endure my own trials more graciously.

As far as vengeance and justice is concerned? Maybe I'll never see people get what they deserve. I might never see the heinous individual fall. Maybe God's way of "justice" is blessing me so immensely as to distract me from the horrible things around me. Maybe the Lord just wants me to be happy and stop looking for justice. Or maybe that IS the justice... that I am truly being blessed. Either way, I trust the Lord and His timetable. Things will come to fruition in His due time and all I have to do is continue to be obedient to His will.