So i'm FINALLY with my husband again!! Mind you, it's only for a month, but that's besides the point. What really matters is that everything is right in the world again because my man is at my side. Basically... bliss...
The flight was first thing in the morning and my Dad was kind enough to drive me to the airport at 5:00 AM. I made sure to be there extra ridiculously early so that I had ample time to make it through border patrol. We aren't the best of friends, so I was kinda nervous about that. But I made sure to come extra prepared with a stack of papers showing that I'm not trying to enter the US and never come back to Canada. I'm too noble to do anything illegal, but they never seem to want to give me the benefit of the doubt. Yeesh.
Obviously it went well since I'm in Colorado, so thank goodness for that. The flight was direct, but it was still long. Three hours long... and it was cloudy the whole way so I couldn't even look out the window and see anything really cool. I had my trusty Tennis Shoes book though, so I read chapter after chapter of that. Finally I got tired of it and was getting stir crazy and wanted to know what time it was. Just as I was searching to find something to tell me the time, the pilot came on the speaker to say that we were beginning the decent and we'd be on the ground in half an hour. WOOT!!! After that I had things to look out of the window at and I was quite content.
The plane ended up stopping at the furthest possible gate from the baggage claim, so it took me a good 20 minutes to walk to the train thing that took me there. I had to pee too so poor Ray was waiting even longer for me. I'm pregnant though. When I gotta go, I gotta go.
I saw Ray waiting for me at the baggage claim where he had already picked up my bag for me. What a sweetheart. It was obviously a joyous reunion. haha. We hugged and kissed and it was awesome. It felt like I was actually home and that I belonged somewhere. What a blessing.
Since then I've been able to check out the awesome apartment that he got for us. It was kind of in disarray when I first got here, but with some team work we got stuff organized, and while he's been at work, I've been a dutiful wife and have made this place a presentable home. haha.
I've really really really missed being a wife. Staying at home in Canada with my parents is a bummer. My mom takes care of everything for dad, and I'm basically just a stow away with no real purpose or direction. My real home is where my husband is, and since being here I really have never felt more at home and at peace. It just reinforces how much I love my husband and how we belong together. We've both just been so happy.
I even find myself more confident in my pregnant body with him around. I think mostly because it shows that we're in this together and that we're happy together. As my best friend Monie so eloquently put it... "it's a literal manifestation of your love". So true. Having Ray with me shows that I'm not just knocked up, but that I'm actually in love. hahaha...
Ray also has been able to feel our little boy kick! I love when Ray holds my belly. haha. At first he didn't believe that it was actually the baby moving. He thought it was me just flexing, but I assured him that it's not my doing, so now Ray's convinced that we have a soccer player on our hands. haha. Fine by me.
So basically, everything is amazing. I love my husband and it amazing me to realize how happy he makes me. My home really is where he is.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
My Sunday Project
Yesterday I had a genius idea. It came about because Church ended up being a lot about missionaries. First, in Sacrament meeting, there was a recent return missionary from our Stake that spoke. He was called to serve in the Provo Utah Mission, and when they split the mission in two, he was assigned to the St George Mission part. Since that's where my little brother is serving, my thoughts obviously went to wondering if this guy had met my brother.
He must have been reading my mind because his next sentence after saying where he served was about how he was aware that there was a missionary serving in that mission from our ward, and that he in fact did know him, and assured us that he was doing very well. haha. So. Pretty awesome. It's nice to have little connections like that to my little brother. I miss that kid a lot.
My mom and I talked to this return missionary after the meeting and it turns out that they had gone on exchanges with one another, and that he had made sure it happened because he wanted the opportunity to meet Ian since they're from the same Stake. So it was neat to find out that he had actually spent a whole day with my little brother and saw him in his full missionary glory. haha.
The Relief Society lesson was also about missionary work. The lesson was taught by my mom's best friend, who is an amazing teacher and I really appreciate her lessons. It was an interesting take on the lesson too. Our ward has a bunch of return Sister missionaries, and she took advantage of that and asked a couple of them to talk about their experiences leading up to going and how they decided to continue being missionaries once they got home. I'm really proud of myself for serving my mission. It really was a defining event in my life that helped me shape who I am going to be for the rest of my life. I love the perspective it gave me, and the understanding of how simple it really can be to be a member missionary. I learned how to teach the gospel simply, and that's a skill that will sustain me for the rest of my life. So I guess while some people dread lessons on missionary work, for me, it kind of makes me sit up straighter and remember that there's always something I can do.
So with all these thoughts running through my head about missionaries and my own mission, I started thinking about what ever happened to all those emails that I had sent home every P-Day. Well, mom and dad kept them on the family computer, so I had full access to them, which was exciting to me. Every time my little brother sends home an email, I post it on a blog I created for him and post it to his Facebook page so his friends can catch up on his weekly happenings. I decided that I wanted something like that for myself. Not so much to share with friends, because those events have come and gone, but more for myself because I wanted to have that record of my mission from the perspective I gave to my loved ones. Since I'm a chronic detail writer, my weekly emails turned out to be pretty long and full of lots of details. I figured if I put it on a blog, I would always have that record that wouldn't ever have to be packed up in a box of books and moved somewhere. This option gave all my letters a more permanent and completely accessible home.
That was my Sunday project. I spent all afternoon copying and pasting my emails onto this new blog. My next step is to read through them all and attach the associated pictures from that week onto that weeks post, so it'll be a full visual recount of my mission.
I'm pretty dang proud of it already, and I'm really excited to go through all my mission pictures again. Like I said, my mission was a hugely defining event in my life, so revisiting it is a privilege. I'm still in awe that I even made it through.
My mom asked me yesterday where I think my life would have gone if I hadn't have served my mission. Quite frankly, that thought scares me. I know I wouldn't have been near as spiritually prepared for life, and I'd have missed out on experiences that helped me gain confidence in what I know to be true. Not only that, but I definitely would have never been blessed to have meet Ray and have him in my life. So my response to my mom's question was repeating what Elder Jeffrey R Holland says about his mission.
Everything good in my life has come as a direct result of my serving a mission.
I really believe that. I am where I am because of my mission, and I wouldn't have been able to get here any other way.
So here's the link to all my missionary emails. I'm really excited about this...
http://sisterdyeralrm.blogspot.com
He must have been reading my mind because his next sentence after saying where he served was about how he was aware that there was a missionary serving in that mission from our ward, and that he in fact did know him, and assured us that he was doing very well. haha. So. Pretty awesome. It's nice to have little connections like that to my little brother. I miss that kid a lot.
My mom and I talked to this return missionary after the meeting and it turns out that they had gone on exchanges with one another, and that he had made sure it happened because he wanted the opportunity to meet Ian since they're from the same Stake. So it was neat to find out that he had actually spent a whole day with my little brother and saw him in his full missionary glory. haha.
The Relief Society lesson was also about missionary work. The lesson was taught by my mom's best friend, who is an amazing teacher and I really appreciate her lessons. It was an interesting take on the lesson too. Our ward has a bunch of return Sister missionaries, and she took advantage of that and asked a couple of them to talk about their experiences leading up to going and how they decided to continue being missionaries once they got home. I'm really proud of myself for serving my mission. It really was a defining event in my life that helped me shape who I am going to be for the rest of my life. I love the perspective it gave me, and the understanding of how simple it really can be to be a member missionary. I learned how to teach the gospel simply, and that's a skill that will sustain me for the rest of my life. So I guess while some people dread lessons on missionary work, for me, it kind of makes me sit up straighter and remember that there's always something I can do.
So with all these thoughts running through my head about missionaries and my own mission, I started thinking about what ever happened to all those emails that I had sent home every P-Day. Well, mom and dad kept them on the family computer, so I had full access to them, which was exciting to me. Every time my little brother sends home an email, I post it on a blog I created for him and post it to his Facebook page so his friends can catch up on his weekly happenings. I decided that I wanted something like that for myself. Not so much to share with friends, because those events have come and gone, but more for myself because I wanted to have that record of my mission from the perspective I gave to my loved ones. Since I'm a chronic detail writer, my weekly emails turned out to be pretty long and full of lots of details. I figured if I put it on a blog, I would always have that record that wouldn't ever have to be packed up in a box of books and moved somewhere. This option gave all my letters a more permanent and completely accessible home.
That was my Sunday project. I spent all afternoon copying and pasting my emails onto this new blog. My next step is to read through them all and attach the associated pictures from that week onto that weeks post, so it'll be a full visual recount of my mission.
I'm pretty dang proud of it already, and I'm really excited to go through all my mission pictures again. Like I said, my mission was a hugely defining event in my life, so revisiting it is a privilege. I'm still in awe that I even made it through.
My mom asked me yesterday where I think my life would have gone if I hadn't have served my mission. Quite frankly, that thought scares me. I know I wouldn't have been near as spiritually prepared for life, and I'd have missed out on experiences that helped me gain confidence in what I know to be true. Not only that, but I definitely would have never been blessed to have meet Ray and have him in my life. So my response to my mom's question was repeating what Elder Jeffrey R Holland says about his mission.
Everything good in my life has come as a direct result of my serving a mission.
I really believe that. I am where I am because of my mission, and I wouldn't have been able to get here any other way.
So here's the link to all my missionary emails. I'm really excited about this...
http://sisterdyeralrm.blogspot.com
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Comic Book Movies
Today I saw Thor. It was awesome. I really do love comic book movies. They make me happy. Especially the Marvel comic book movies. They always have little teasers at the end of the credits, and this movie was no exception.
I also enjoy how they're making individual movies about all the "Avengers" and then making a movie with all of them together. Seriously. As silly as I think the movie people can be, this was a genius move on their part. haha.
Thank you Marvel for enhancing my movie going experiences. haha!
Friday, May 13, 2011
My Awesome Anniversary
As I mentioned previously, it was my first anniversary with Ray on Sunday. Since we're stuck in this silly situation where I'm in Canada and he's in the US, I wasn't really expecting much to celebrate. Especially since I'll be seeing him so soon. I guess I just figured that we'd be able to celebrate when I got to go see him. Boy was I wrong.
Family dinner was just winding down that night, and the house was kinda chaotic just because Ian had just called us. Mom was already crying because that's just what she does when her missionary children call her. haha. Then Dad called to me and told me that someone was at the back door for me and I was so confused. I don't really have people showing up for me out of the blue.
I went to the back door and I saw three of my friends all standing there. Kaleena was right in the middle holding a poster board with a red heart drawn on it. Allison was standing to the right holding a phone and recording me, and Janelle was on the left recording Kaleena. Then they hand me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and start playing a song on a computer that they placed on the ground. haha. I was pretty confused until they started playing the song, which totally cleared things up for me that Ray set it up. We have a song... haha. We're just cute like that. So this is where I started crying. haha.
Anyways.
As the song played, Kaleena went through all the posters in her hands which had the lyrics of the song written out and then at the end there was a message for me from him. It was amazing. Then they handed me brownies and ice cream. Yum!!
So Ray had totally been conspiring with my friends the whole last week to set this up. I had no idea that it was coming. He's pretty good at setting up surprises like this, and I like it. :)
This is what it all looked like.
Basically... Amazing. I love my husband.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Holy Moly
Ask and you shall receive. Yeesh. I've been complaining about how bored I've been, and these last couple days I've been way busy. It's been amazing!
Sunday was ridiculous because of Mother's Day and family dinner. I made a cake for it. I was really proud of myself. I made a chocolate cake from scratch and my Grandma LOVED it. To impress her with anything edible is the hugest compliment EVER. She had a huge piece of cake and ate it all. I'm quite proud of myself if I do say so myself.
See?? Doesn't it look delicious??? I'm proud of me.
Yesterday I was gone all day with my best friend, Monie. She's rededicated herself to getting her drivers license, so she needs more practice before she goes off and does her actual test. Apparently the task falls on me then to be the "teacher"... Initially I thought it would be fine... until she started driving and we saw this HUGE car accident right in front of us!!!!! It was terrifying!!! A dude in a van was turning left, and a girl coming the other way suddenly switched into the other lane that was otherwise clear at the same moment the guy decided the road was clear to turn left and they hit each other hard and both cars did full 360's, and the van ended up wedged under a semi truck and the car ended up smashed into a pole... Oh. My. Gosh. We were both completely stunned that all of this just happened and we had a front row seat. Thankfully, being totally uninvolved in the crash, we were fine. So we just pulled over and waited around to make sure everyone was okay (which surprisingly they were) and for the cops to come so we would give our witness statements. An hour later, and we were free to go.
We met up with a couple of my other awesome friends for Bubble Tea. I LOVE BUBBLE TEA. That just needs to be understood. Dream Tea House is the greatest place ever, and Bubble Tea has totally made my life better. haha.
Anyways... We stayed and chatted for like 2 hours. It was awesome. I was really glad to be able to hang out with friends and laugh and enjoy myself like that again.
When we parted ways, Monie and I continued her driving adventure which was thankfully uneventful... traffic wise... But as much as I love that girl, sometimes I wonder how the crap we are such good friends. haha. After that car accident, she was SOOOOO paranoid!!! I mean... She's paranoid already, but that didn't help the situation at all. And the thing you need to understand about Monie is that she'll ask tons of questions, but she doesn't care about the answer. If you do answer, she'll defend the opposite of what you just said to the death, and so basically it's useless to answer her at all. But then if you don't answer her, she doubts herself. So you basically have to answer so she has something to fight against...???... Yeah... That's my best friend. So. All day of this. Whether it was in regards to driving questions/decisions, what to buy at the store, something about her boyfriend. Oh man... Seriously... I love her, but yesterday was exhausting. haha...
So. That was yesterday.
Today... well... I can't say because it's supposed to be a surprise. But after that, I pretty much drove around the entire city getting quotes from body shops to get the front bumper of my car fixed... Which is apparently gonna be around $1000 no matter where I go... ugh... That's more than I was hoping it would be. I dislike that my car was put through hell this last winter (not by me) and now I have to pay to get it fixed... Slightly bitter...
Anyways... After that was done, I was voluntold to get a pizza and deliver it to the Elders tonight. So I did that, then I went to the mall to see if I could find some summer maternity shirts and sandals. Today it was 21 degrees (Celsius) and I realized I'm gonna be my biggest in my pregnancy for the whole summer. Cool clothes are a must. Unfortunately I didn't find anything. That might have been because I wasn't in a full blown shopping mood. So I left the mall empty handed. Not to worry. I'm going out again with Monie and Jessie tomorrow to the mall. I'm glad Jessie will be there, because then Monie's paranoia will be diffused between the two of us. haha.
So now I'm back at home and I have lots of laundry to catch up with. I'm gonna grab a piece of my awesome cake, then I have to fold the laundry.
I'm gonna get to that. Tomorrow's another busy day and I need to not stay up all night for no reason tonight. haha.. Good luck to me with that...
Oh yeah... I still have to write about what Ray did for me for our anniversary... haha. I'll do that later.
Sunday was ridiculous because of Mother's Day and family dinner. I made a cake for it. I was really proud of myself. I made a chocolate cake from scratch and my Grandma LOVED it. To impress her with anything edible is the hugest compliment EVER. She had a huge piece of cake and ate it all. I'm quite proud of myself if I do say so myself.
See?? Doesn't it look delicious??? I'm proud of me.
Yesterday I was gone all day with my best friend, Monie. She's rededicated herself to getting her drivers license, so she needs more practice before she goes off and does her actual test. Apparently the task falls on me then to be the "teacher"... Initially I thought it would be fine... until she started driving and we saw this HUGE car accident right in front of us!!!!! It was terrifying!!! A dude in a van was turning left, and a girl coming the other way suddenly switched into the other lane that was otherwise clear at the same moment the guy decided the road was clear to turn left and they hit each other hard and both cars did full 360's, and the van ended up wedged under a semi truck and the car ended up smashed into a pole... Oh. My. Gosh. We were both completely stunned that all of this just happened and we had a front row seat. Thankfully, being totally uninvolved in the crash, we were fine. So we just pulled over and waited around to make sure everyone was okay (which surprisingly they were) and for the cops to come so we would give our witness statements. An hour later, and we were free to go.
We met up with a couple of my other awesome friends for Bubble Tea. I LOVE BUBBLE TEA. That just needs to be understood. Dream Tea House is the greatest place ever, and Bubble Tea has totally made my life better. haha.
Anyways... We stayed and chatted for like 2 hours. It was awesome. I was really glad to be able to hang out with friends and laugh and enjoy myself like that again.
When we parted ways, Monie and I continued her driving adventure which was thankfully uneventful... traffic wise... But as much as I love that girl, sometimes I wonder how the crap we are such good friends. haha. After that car accident, she was SOOOOO paranoid!!! I mean... She's paranoid already, but that didn't help the situation at all. And the thing you need to understand about Monie is that she'll ask tons of questions, but she doesn't care about the answer. If you do answer, she'll defend the opposite of what you just said to the death, and so basically it's useless to answer her at all. But then if you don't answer her, she doubts herself. So you basically have to answer so she has something to fight against...???... Yeah... That's my best friend. So. All day of this. Whether it was in regards to driving questions/decisions, what to buy at the store, something about her boyfriend. Oh man... Seriously... I love her, but yesterday was exhausting. haha...
So. That was yesterday.
Today... well... I can't say because it's supposed to be a surprise. But after that, I pretty much drove around the entire city getting quotes from body shops to get the front bumper of my car fixed... Which is apparently gonna be around $1000 no matter where I go... ugh... That's more than I was hoping it would be. I dislike that my car was put through hell this last winter (not by me) and now I have to pay to get it fixed... Slightly bitter...
Anyways... After that was done, I was voluntold to get a pizza and deliver it to the Elders tonight. So I did that, then I went to the mall to see if I could find some summer maternity shirts and sandals. Today it was 21 degrees (Celsius) and I realized I'm gonna be my biggest in my pregnancy for the whole summer. Cool clothes are a must. Unfortunately I didn't find anything. That might have been because I wasn't in a full blown shopping mood. So I left the mall empty handed. Not to worry. I'm going out again with Monie and Jessie tomorrow to the mall. I'm glad Jessie will be there, because then Monie's paranoia will be diffused between the two of us. haha.
So now I'm back at home and I have lots of laundry to catch up with. I'm gonna grab a piece of my awesome cake, then I have to fold the laundry.
I'm gonna get to that. Tomorrow's another busy day and I need to not stay up all night for no reason tonight. haha.. Good luck to me with that...
Oh yeah... I still have to write about what Ray did for me for our anniversary... haha. I'll do that later.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Kind Of A Big Deal
Okay. So today is a big day.
1) Because it's Mother's Day, and not only do I get to celebrate my own Mother and Grandmother's awesomeness, but I also get to celebrate my own ALMOST being a mother-ness... haha.
2) I get to talk to my little missionary brother! But not until later this evening, which is kind of lame, but I guess I understand with him serving in Utah and everything. They keep those missionaries way busy ESPECIALLY on Sunday. I'm pretty excited. Each week in his emails, he sounds more and more like a responsible grown up, so it'll be interesting to have an actual real-time conversation with him.
However... We're having a big extended family dinner tonight, so there's gonna be lots of fighting over the phone, taking away from the intimacy of a private conversation. I guess I should be thankful that an extended family dinner only means an extra five people. haha...
3) But most importantly... It's my FIRST Anniversary!!!!!
That's right. I've been married to my wonderful husband for a WHOLE YEAR now!! At precisely this time last year I was at the Temple in Denver, wearing my pretty wedding dress and was (still am really) ridiculously happy. I had a perma-grin to prove it.
Thank you for making this last year the most wonderful my handsome. The first of many many more to come! I love you MUCHO!!!
1) Because it's Mother's Day, and not only do I get to celebrate my own Mother and Grandmother's awesomeness, but I also get to celebrate my own ALMOST being a mother-ness... haha.
2) I get to talk to my little missionary brother! But not until later this evening, which is kind of lame, but I guess I understand with him serving in Utah and everything. They keep those missionaries way busy ESPECIALLY on Sunday. I'm pretty excited. Each week in his emails, he sounds more and more like a responsible grown up, so it'll be interesting to have an actual real-time conversation with him.
However... We're having a big extended family dinner tonight, so there's gonna be lots of fighting over the phone, taking away from the intimacy of a private conversation. I guess I should be thankful that an extended family dinner only means an extra five people. haha...
 |
| He's the one with the glasses.. Just in case you didn't know... |
3) But most importantly... It's my FIRST Anniversary!!!!!
That's right. I've been married to my wonderful husband for a WHOLE YEAR now!! At precisely this time last year I was at the Temple in Denver, wearing my pretty wedding dress and was (still am really) ridiculously happy. I had a perma-grin to prove it.
Thank you for making this last year the most wonderful my handsome. The first of many many more to come! I love you MUCHO!!!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Baking
I'm a huge fan of baking. My husband can attest to that. So in my quest to find things to do each day, I've started making small things every other day or so. It started with Rice Krispee squares, which were gone almost immediately. Then I made puffed wheat squares, which weren't as successful as I hoped because they don't wanna stick together. At least they still taste good.
Today I really wanted to make cookies. I looooove making cookies and they're kind of a big deal in my family. haha. But just as I was getting everything out to make them, mom stopped me and reminded me that I can't really keep baking things so often because they keep on getting eaten. haha...
Clearly in a house with just three people in it, making treats does cause issues with self-indulgence. I think I just use being pregnant as an excuse allowing more indulgences than normal. Especially because I had four months of eating pretty much nothing. haha. Justification??? Maybe... But still. Mom and Dad don't have the same excuses/justifications (whatever they are) as I do. Therefore, making treats in this house kinda back fires. Actually... I think I've always had this issue. I did a lot of baking when Ray and I were together here in Canada, and as much as he loved it, he hated it because it's just not good to always have treats available.
The problem is that I make things not only because I enjoy doing it, but I want to eat it too! haha.. So I know I could give them away, but I just don't want to! Yes I realize that's kind of a lot selfish of me... I guess I just can't come up with a decent happy medium. How can I still bake the things I want that will satisfy my own taste buds and not cause an obesity epidemic in my family? haha. One of life's mysteries I guess...
Today I really wanted to make cookies. I looooove making cookies and they're kind of a big deal in my family. haha. But just as I was getting everything out to make them, mom stopped me and reminded me that I can't really keep baking things so often because they keep on getting eaten. haha...
Clearly in a house with just three people in it, making treats does cause issues with self-indulgence. I think I just use being pregnant as an excuse allowing more indulgences than normal. Especially because I had four months of eating pretty much nothing. haha. Justification??? Maybe... But still. Mom and Dad don't have the same excuses/justifications (whatever they are) as I do. Therefore, making treats in this house kinda back fires. Actually... I think I've always had this issue. I did a lot of baking when Ray and I were together here in Canada, and as much as he loved it, he hated it because it's just not good to always have treats available.
The problem is that I make things not only because I enjoy doing it, but I want to eat it too! haha.. So I know I could give them away, but I just don't want to! Yes I realize that's kind of a lot selfish of me... I guess I just can't come up with a decent happy medium. How can I still bake the things I want that will satisfy my own taste buds and not cause an obesity epidemic in my family? haha. One of life's mysteries I guess...
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