some things

TEN THINGS ABOUT YOU:

1. I'm not a trendy person--I like classic styles, and some vintage. 

2. I really really want to be a good seamstress.
3. My favorite season is spring, and yet I was born in the winter.
4. I love reading. Lately, I've been reading a lot of nonfiction books--cookbooks, advice books, things like that.
5. Lately, I've also become passionate about nutrition. Whole foods and organic food especially. That's another post for another time.
6. I've also developed an interest in natural living. Before you label me, I do not, I repeat, do not hate medical science. That's yet another post.
7. Someday, I want to be able to grow a good portion of our fruits and vegetables. I don't harbor any pastoral dreams; I just want to be more self-sufficient and to know where most of my food is coming from.
8. I am not as thin as I look. I weigh somewhere between 120-125 pounds (at a height of 5'4"), but people tend to think I weigh a lot less than that. It's my big bones and the way I dress. On that note, I also HATE being called "tiny." Call me tiny and I'll give you the look of death.
9. I didn't learn to talk until I was 3.5 years old. That's yet another blog post for another time, but let's just say I defied a whole lot of expectations. I also made history in Katy ISD.
10. I absolutely hate how people use the term "retarded." It kind of goes in hand with #9. Oh, and I absolutely hate it when people make fun of the mentally or physically handicapped. I hate it to a point where you have to keep me from beating the tar out of those mockers.


NINE FAVORITE FOODS/DRINKS:
1. Sushi
2. Katsu
3. Peas
4. Hot chocolate
5. Salmon
6. Egg salad sandwich on a croissant
7. Chocolate
8. Simply Lemonade
9. FRESH apple juice

EIGHT THINGS YOU LOVE: (you said things, not people)
1. Springtime
2. A clean apartment
3. cute clothes
4. A manicure (haven't had one of those since the day before my wedding)
5. reading
6. being healthy
7. the temple
8. music

SEVEN THINGS YOU WANT:
1. Stephan to be done with school
2. a baby
3. a house with a yard and a big kitchen
4. a dishwasher
5. Pioneer Woman's cookbook ;)
6. to eat more healthily
7. more hours in a day

SIX THINGS YOU DO DAILY:
1. Shower
2. Hang with Stephan
3. water the plants
4. laundry
5. cook
6. research

FIVE THINGS THAT YOU HATE:
1. Argumentative people
2. closed-mindedness
3. self-righteousness

4. The porn industry
5. immorality

FOUR MOVIES YOU LOVE:
1. Pride and Prejudice (the A&E version)
2. West Side Story
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. Star Wars (mainly the original trilogy)

THREE TELEVISION SHOWS YOU WATCH:

(don't have a TV, but these are shows I like)
1. Frasier
2. What Not to Wear
3. Home Improvement

TWO THINGS YOU SAY OFTEN:
1. "I love you!"
2. "Oh dear!"

ONE PERSON YOU COULD SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH:
1. Stephan!!!!!

Maybe every other day

Okay, maybe I won't write everyday but rather, every other day!


I defied my boss's expectations. He gave me an assignment on Tuesday that he wanted me to finish by Friday morning (i.e. today). I finished them YESTERDAY. Then last night, he gave me another assignment: seven 300 word articles to write by noon today. Thankfully, they were about books (topics like hardback vs. paperback, etc). I wrote three of them last night, and woke up early and wrote four and was finished BEFORE noon. So folks, I wrote approximately 2100 words in less than 24 hours. What was this about me being slow?

What's my secret, you ask? Money is a great motivator. My income basically depends on how many articles I write. The more I write, the more money I make.

Stephan just got rejected by one employer. It's kind of a bummer because we had been really hoping for this one. He interviewed with them today, and found out that it wasn't quite what we were led to believe. Plus, they didn't have any part-time openings, only full-time. You know what else is annoying? When we got married, he was the one with a job and I was the one looking. And then for a short time, we were both unemployed. Now, I'm employed and he's not. Can we have it so we're both employed and that number in our checking account keeps going up rather than slowly going down? I'd also love it if we were making enough to put into savings. The thought of having a savings account sends thrills through my loins and sinews. Give me a break, my dad used to be an accountant.

I also don't like the pressure of being the breadwinner. In fact, I hate it. I also think my husband needs to get out of the house more....

Hmm, maybe I should be more cheerful.

I just baked cookies...past nine o'clock at night. I couldn't help myself.

Stephan made dinner.

I forgot to mention earlier that we've been married for nine months.

And uh....I don't know what else to say.

Another top ten

Silly me, I didn't do one last night. Oh well.

(1) One of our cucumber seeds is starting to bloom at last. The lettuce is progressing. And Arthur and Joey (tomato plants) are doing well. There's nothing like seeing green amongst the brown dirt. Try it sometime.

(2) My boss hasn't been too happy with how "slow" I write. I usually can only write three articles (with 300-350 words each) a day, but he wants a lot more than that. He's keeping me, don't worry. I freaked out about his criticism about my speed, and asked Stephan for a blessing. Basically in the blessing, I was counseled to continue on the path I'm on, and I'll be given the strength to accomplish my tasks. Let's just say that I have been given the strength. My boss gave me an assignment of seven articles to finish by Friday. I have finished six. I wrote two of them last night and four of them today. He'll get the surprise of his life tomorrow (hopefully).

(3) With my increased job responsibilities, Stephan has been helping me around the house even more. He's a sweetie.

(4) Our anniversary trip is planned...three months in advance. We're going to spend a couple of days in Cedar City for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. We'll be seeing "Pride and Prejudice" (I know, it's not a Shakespeare play, but it is playing at the Shakespearean festival) and "Much Ado About Nothing." I'm excited. The trip will actually be cheaper than our honeymoon, and yet, nicer.

(5) I've become interested in vegetarian cooking. No, I am not going vegetarian. I'm just interested in cooking meat-free meals every so often, especially with the warm season upon us. I'm also interested in finding ways to eat more fruits and veggies. I've gotten a little better, but I can improve. I checked out a cookbook called "The Occasional Vegetarian" from the library.

(6) My father-in-law has stopped radiation treatment. He got a really bad feeling about it and he had spiritual confirmation that it was okay to cease radiation treatment.

(7) I've been losing my keys a lot recently. I keep forgetting to put them back in my purse. Silly me.

(8) Even though I spent a good portion of the day writing articles, I somehow managed to find the energy to scrub the toilet and bathtub, reorganize the bathroom sink/counter, do laundry, and sweep the kitchen floor.

(9) Did you know there's such a thing as outdoor carpeting? I found out when I was doing research for my articles on outdoor flooring.

(10) I want to bake something sweet...again. Maybe I've been eating too many unsaturated fats and my body needs that balance of saturated fats...yeah, that's it!

My Daily Ten

I decided to copy Sister Boyce's "daily ten" that she likes to do on her blog. Perhaps it will get me to writing more often.


(1) I have a new writing gig. I found a listing for a content writer on craigslist and decided to contact the guy. He thinks my writing is pretty good and he was pleased that my rates are reasonable. He has had six writers (one after another) in the past, and they were all flakes. I promised him that I am not a flake. So far, he seems happy with my work. He's also LDS and refuses to do marketing for any "adult" companies. Whew!!!!

(2) Our lettuce is growing! I was out moving our tomato pots into the brightest part of the sun when I took a look at our planter and saw little green leaves poking out of the soil. I was so excited that I went back into the apartment and got Stephan to have him see! Maybe I didn't inherit my mother's black thumb after all.

(3) My father-in-law has started radiation treatment. More on that another time.

(4) Stephan is planning our anniversary trip. We heard on the radio that "Pride and Prejudice" is going to be performed at the Utah Shakespeare Festival this summer, and the wheels in Stephan's head started turning. I didn't even hint at it, honest! Nothing is set in stone quite yet, but we've got time. Our anniversary isn't until August.

(5) Both of my flats died, so Stephan offered to take me shoe shopping on Saturday. Yes folks, I have a husband who offers to take me shoe shopping. I didn't get any flats, but I got two new pairs of sandals (black and brown) for the summer. They're pretty much the most comfortable shoes ever, but they'd better last me a long time because I paid a little more than I would have liked.

(6) Why is it so hard to find size 7 shoes? Seriously, I had to look high and low for shoes in my size! So annoying.

(7) I think I'm addicted to baking desserts. Especially cookies. This can't be good, but oh, it tastes so good. What can I say? Most of the women in my family are excellent bakers.

(8) After writing articles for a good portion of the day on my computer, I don't like the computer much anymore. This helps me get back into my other hobbies, like reading and crocheting.

(9) Did you know I live really close to a Catholic church? Yes, there are Catholic churches in Utah. Yesterday, Stephan and I were taking a walk, and there was a huge party going on at that Catholic church. Those Catholics sure know how to party.

(10) War stories make for good starters to Sunday School lessons. We had a substitute in Gospel Doctrine yesterday, who is a Vietnam veteran, started the lesson with a personal account from his days in Vietnam. It was powerful.

The end.

Funny story

I got paid.

So, my former boss e-mailed me on Saturday, asking for my phone number. I was a bit baffled, so I replied by telling him that I don't give my phone number out without a good reason. He responded to that by telling me that he wanted to pay me and that he could explain everything. I gave him my number, and he called me right away.

Basically, what happened was that he embarked on a completely different business venture and turned over the business I was a part of over to his roommate. Well, this roommate didn't do anything with it. That's pretty much what happened. So, Stephan and I went over to his place where I got paid for not only the work I did, but also the suffering I experienced. Not only that, he gave me some business advice--essentially he's mentoring me as I embark on a career of sorts in internet marketing and SEO, and how I can get content writing jobs in that field. Who would have thought I would get into marketing?

That's my story. I'm glad it has had a happy ending. Ooh, alliteration :)

Stephan is still looking, but we're very hopeful.

I should post recipes. Especially my mint chocolate chip cookie one. Yum yum!

We have planted a garden. A potted garden, that is. We wouldn't dare plant anything in the wretched soil we have around here. We got a couple of tomato plants and planted seeds for cucumbers and lettuce. A salad garden! Ha ha! The tomato plants have names: Arthur and Joey. It was Stephan's ideas. I'll post pictures eventually.

In other news, we're getting a niece or nephew in November! Stephan's sister is expecting her third child. Another baby for me to play with :)

That's all for now.