Christmas Eve

I've been up since about 3:45....

Lots of thinking
Lots of worrying
Lots of wondering
Lots of being grateful...

Merry Christmas Everyone

Lets Start Over Shall We?

So much for my Thankful week lol
After Stace came home I got all kinds of distracted and passed out every night from the long days filled with laughing :)

Thanksgiving was great... good food, good people, good times.


EXCEPT...
Belle does NOT like me.
whatever

Friday Stace and I went BLACK FRIDAY shopping! It was fun, it was early, we were tired.
(I bought 2 pillows, thats it lol)

Saturday we had family pictures, it was fun and we got some really cute prints... you'll see um later.

Stace left on Sunday, or shall I say "Sadday" :(




Fast forward to today....

I wanted to do something with the kids that was more about giving than receiving so tonight we picked 4 families, made mint chip brownies and played 'secret elves'.


The kids took turns running up to the doors of a few neighbors, rang the bell and either took off or hid so as not to be discovered.
They both thought it was so fun! Of course, they HAD to dress in dark clothes to be 'ninja-like' lol




(me and P@ were laughing watching them)

We'll be doing this every week this month!

Day 3

Mel McDaniel (who?) has an old song called "Baby's got her Blue Jeans on".
My Grandma used to sing this song to us when we were little and say it reminded her of Stace.

I picked my sister up at the airport this morning... and thought of this song when I saw her.

Today I'm thankful for my sister.

We are completely opposite and yet I love being around her. We did alot of laughing today and I'm sure the rest of the week/weekend with be just as funny.
She is a Diva. A sassy crack up who doesnt take any crap from anyone.
I admire her greatly.

How lucky am I to have a sister like Stace.

Love you dork

Day 2

Sometimes you have to think really hard about what you're thankful for on a particular day.
Today was one of those times.
Today was rough... no, today really sucked.
It was one thing after another all day and I kept thinking to myself
"What are you gonna say you're thankful for tonight?".

I think what I'm thankful for today IS tonight.

I'm grateful that when I have a crappy day, the night comes and I can lay in my bed and sleep. I can take a deep breath and pass out, knowing that tomorrow will be better (hopefully)

A Week of Thanks...

Today I am thankful for my Patrick...

There was a time, not too long ago when I thought that marriage (again) and children were probably something that I just wasnt going to have in my life.

Lemme back up,
I have ALWAYS wanted to be a wife and a mother. My earliest memory was when I was 14.
Then in High School I was the Vice President of
FFA (future homemakers of america, thank you very much).
Then again, right after high school I was sitting with a group of friends and we were going around in a circle saying what we wanted to 'become'. I said a wife and a mom.

Its what I've always wanted.

Then, choices were made (not the best ones) and I found myself in the middle of an extremely challenging and difficult life. Looking back, I believe it took me so long to change the situation I was in because "this wasnt the way it was SUPPOSED to be" and I was holding onto the "idea" of how it should have been a little too tight.

When I finally let go and moved forward, I became a different person. For the better.
I am much, much stronger than I once was and I like it.

When I met Patrick I knew what I wanted and was SURE that I would not let myself be put in a similar situation that I was in before. And I didnt.
Patrick treats me with kindness, respect and love.
Yes, sometimes he farts right next to me in the store and then quickly leaves so that others will think it was me, but thats ok. And I may have just washed his iPhone in the washing machine for the SECOND time... thats sort-of-ok.
He is thoughtful, caring and funny.
He is a great provider and carries things in the house for me.
He's always concerned about my finger :)

He is what I have always wanted and what I deserve.
I am thankful for the trials I went through and the person I have become because of them.

I love my Patrick very much and am very grateful for him.

Whoo Hooo

Its here! October is here!
As much as I love the summer, I get so excited when October comes! The only thing better would be if after October we went straight to Spring, that would ROCK!

This weekend I went Fall crazy, I had a break from school, the kids were at their moms and I decided to pack my mini vacation with October festivities.

For treats I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies:


P@rick and I drove around and strolled the Halloween stores, looking at all the spooky ideas. I normally just decorate in pumpkins but this year I went a little crazy and added skulls to the mix:

Specimen jars and a BOO banner



Skull wreath for the door


(I realize it looks like a heart.. its not, its a circle lol)

I let the little girl decorate the outside of the apt with Danger tape, spider webs and various rubber animals...

We're ready.

A Letter....

A Letter To Mr Biology
(inspired by Rookie)

Dr Mr Biology,

Are you kidding me? Making the switch from Chemist to Biology teacher must have rocked your world. Somehow you have forgotten that you are NOT teaching at Yale or Harvard, but at a humble Community College. I appreciate that 3 pages of my test were in take home form; using the internet helped a great deal to answer questions (except for the 2 that NO ONE could find). Imagine my surprise when I walked into class and you handed me a PACKET of the 'in class' portion of the test, along with the Scantron which you smiled and said "You wont need to use the Scantron until you get to page 6". Seriously? Did you know that I have other classes? Do you think that I can look and a drawing and tell you what molecule it is along with the atomic number and lewis structure drawn out? Well brother, I cannot. When you told me I should have the periodic table memorized by the second week of class I thought you were just kidding.

I now know that Chemists/Biology teachers dont kid.

Hoping that reality hits you really soon...
Strugling Student

The Letter H

Oh, I havent forgotten people....

Happy Husband... I'll tell you what, this dude is a positive one! Always looking on the bright side. Comes in very handy when I want to line people up and down my block and just slap them! lol

Halloween... My absolute favorite holiday! The leaves, the smell of autumn, the CANDY, oh the candy. Patrick asked me how in the world I could love Halloween so much when I hate anything scary. I told him " Oh, I just like the nice parts of Halloween, you know, candy, pumpkins, little kids dresssed up like animals, THAT kind of Halloween" hahaha

Hair... I have hair. Its semi-long. Its ALWAYS been long, except for ONE time I cut it almost to my chin for Locks of Love (sorry, that was ugly). Well, I've been thinking about choppin it off. What do you think of these:

I dont know if I could pull it off... its tempting

Hello Stranger....

There is a somewhat dim, hazy light that I THINK I can see at the end of the tunnel...
I'm aiming for it :)

Things are calming down (a little) so I find as I sit here at the computer working on the take home portion of my Biology test, I would MUCH rather update my blog.
It makes total sense when you really think about.

I DID get the boot at work, but wasnt too worried about it on account of my school loan and unemployment getting me through. Um, thinking honesty IS the best policy and maybe it would actually HELP, I marked that yes, I was indeed going to school when I applied for the unemployment. Well, I got denied, BECAUSE I am going to school full time and therefore they could see no possible way that I could also work full time, and if I couldnt work FULL time, there would be no help. (Picture steam coming from my ears)
Now I'm freaking out.

Summer semester is over, got an A in both classes (thank you very much). Fall semester started last month and lets just say I have been having flashback after flashback of days in my younger years when I was teased (by family mind you) of how I was NOT the sharpest crayon in the box. It has been 15 give or take years since I went to school and I am Strugglin'! Things are not registering in my little brain and it will be all I can do to pass 2 of my classes with a C. Thank goodness for my medical terminology class, that class I love and its the only class during the week that I dont want to throw my notes, book and pencil up in the air and walk away!

We now have both the hubby's kids living with us, the boy is 12, the girl 9. Being a step-mom is hard, I'm more than a babysitter, but not their mom and finding where I fit in, and what my boundaries are has been a challenge. I'm grateful for Patrick and his understanding, compassion and love for me. He's awesome.

Lets lighten this wah-wah fest shall we?

Fall's almost here :) Fall is my FAVORITE time... halloween! I've already decided and prepared for my October treat making, get ready! Speaking of treats, this weekend the kids were at the moms and I had a nice quiet house. I made TWO things I have never made before. First, friday I went to a backyard get together for the YW in my ward, I made Recees cup peanut butter cookies. YUM. Then today, I made... wait for it.... homemade soft pretzels :) I didnt like the way I was making the knots so I made little pretzel bites. Double Yum.
Both recipes are going into the recipe box!

It makes me so happy!

So many things, so little time...

I know, I know, it's been quite a while since I blogged. I KNOW! Here's the thing, school, work, family, other family.. I'm busy! (thats not an excuse, I know everyone's busy) OK, I'll work on it, I'll do better! ConsidHow are things going? Dont ask. Lots of trials right now...

But everything is fine and things will get better!

Its the least I can do to tell ya the highlights, right? OK....

Summer semester started and is done in a little over 2 weeks. I thought I'd be able to finish my nursing pre-reqs by fall semester but it looks like I wont be done till spring, I somehow managed to save all my bio and chem classes till these last 2 semesters.. Good job Stepharoo!!
I cant wait to be done!

Work. Work is a pain in my you-know-what. I'm 75% sure I will be getting laid off at the end of August, we'll see.

Church... I love going to church, its peaceful. I just got a calling as the Laurel advisor. For those of you that dont know, that means I'll be helping teach the 16 & 17 year old girls in our ward. I'm excited, ok, maybe not excited, but I do think it'll be fun and interesting.

Did you know that a mother can file for child support even if she doesnt HAVE the kids? And did you know that your husband can have that said support garnished out of his check whithout any say from you? Did you also know that if this mother did this fraudulently that you and your husband then have to file charges against her, work with an investigator and jump through hoops even though YOU are the honest ones? You didnt? Me either... until now.

Home. Its my favorite place to be. I love being home, making dinner, cleaning the house and spending time with my hubby, its my favorite.

Speaking of home, the boy started football yesterday. Football practice, football games, sitting in chairs watching and cheering. Its kinda cool.

Still speaking of home.. we're trying to have a babe. Frustrated with Dr's who arent on top of things and are real 'busy'. Gimme a prescription pad, I learned how to read one so I can write my own now thanks :)

The heat. Oh the heat. How you torment me with your fiery rays. Did you know that the airport is 10-15 degrees hotter on the tarmac? Yup, I feel it. Oh, and they said that buying us ice is no longer in the budget. Um, ok, maybe if a passenger isnt going to finish their drink I can have it. (Hahaha if you know me, you know I would'nt do that in a MILLION years! haha)

What else... OH!
What do you do if the boy has somehow 'lost' the drumsticks to our RockBand and your brother-in-law and sons are commin over to play?
Answer:





I came to a conclusion. I love cupcakes. I've always loved cupcakes but then it became 'in' and 'cool' and I didnt want to admit it. It started with this shirt on this baby:

My name is Stephanie and I love cupcakes.
There, I said it. I gave in and went to a cupcakery. $2 for a TINY cupcake? Please!
Gimme $1.00 and I'll make you a normal person cupcake, promise.

What else.. Oh, here's a good one; Ex got evicted from his apt and is dodging them so they went back in the contracts to see who the last person was on them with him... ME! So I got a letter from my work about an intent to garnish $3,500.... Um, NO. Patrick and I went to the court and requested a hearing...Waiting for the court date... Talked to idiot Ex, he's aware. They are SO not going to get a dime.

See, I tried telling you there was alot going on... you didnt believe me did you?

Did you know that when your muffler is 'going out' it can make your sweet little mini van sound like a street racer with a condition?

They came out with coconut M&M's..... you can only eat a couple every few days otherwise you cant taste the coconut. AND, the candy coating's too thick. Consider yourself warned.

Ok, I'm tired.
Dinner's ready and I'm now going to make some brownie cupcakes with a cream cheese peanut butter inside. Oh Yeah!

Updates and General Info.. zzzzzzz

Things are busy. crazy, good & bad so I decided to give you the jist of whats goin on over here....

Where to start? Oh yes yes, YES... My sweet husband surprised me with a massage! At a Japanese spa! Be quiet! I have never had a massage in all my days and WOW that was SOOO relaxing! Work is kicking my butt on a regular basis and this felt so, so nice! Unfortunately the efforts of an awesome massage chick were quickly wiped away the next day :)





I finished Spring quarter at school with some pretty good grades and just started Summer session last week. Let me tell you I DO NOT like pre-req's! They are a pain! I'm fine takin them but you cant register for them until the grades from the 'pre' part are in and by that time the class you want to take is full, so even though I can register for fall classes now, I have to wait until summer classes are done and grades are turned in to be able to...aarrrgghh. (Ok,vent over)

Speaking of school, the boy (which we lovingly call him) graduated from 6th grade! I find it interesting that they dont call it a graduation but a Promotion... He's been promoted to middle school in the fall, whoo hoo! We're very proud of him:

And to round out the last few weeks, Pat has been on a mission, a BBQ mission. More specifically he is searching for the perfect rub, sauce, smoke, cooking regimend that will give him the BEST bbq! Watching the Food Channel, looking at how to's on Youtube and recipes online. WELL, last week he decided to give it a try, a dash of this, a sprinkle of that, rub rub rub... Oila! BBQ!
He was SOO excited!
He bbq'd for HOURS!


Yeah, they burned lol BAD

NOW I'm working :)

They laid off 235ish people from my work.. I BARELY made the cut. Along with all those getting the boot, they got rid of my position which was going to Delta planes, grabbing our bags and running them to our planes. SO, as of Friday, I am a ramp worker, meaning I only work with our planes now; bringing them in, unloading the bags from the cargo bin, loading new bags into the cargo bin and pushing the plane out. Let me just say that I'm sore in places where I didnt know I could even GET sore, I'm sweaty, REAL dirty and have ALOT of bruises on my body! But its good; for the last 2 years I've been afraid of getting that up-close and personal with the planes; What if I ran the plane into the bldg!? What if I ran a plane into another plane while I'm pushing it back?! (ok that one ALMOST happened, good thing I had brakes lol) Anyways, I'm glad I'm on the ramp, its a GREAT workout, I get to be outside for HOURS at a time and its summer (which I LOVE).
Winter will be another story... we'll see what happens :)

Routines... Patterns...

I was washing dishes yesterday, thinking about things that had happened and things that were going to happen, people I had talked to, errands I needed to still take care of and homework that was waiting for me.

Then I noticed the dishes, I wash dishes in a certain way; plates, bowls, cups, small containers, big containers and bowls, and last, the silverware (I hate washing silverware).

I thought about other things I do in a certain order; Shower:
Shampoo hair first, then put on the conditioner and let it soak in while I wash everything, then shave everything, face gets washed last, then conditioner rinsed out of hair.

Most of the ironing I do is with my left hand, getting the sleeves and ties (if there are any) ironed first

When I fold laundry I make piles; tops, bottoms, towels, then socks (socks are always done last) and in those piles, the biggest items go on the bottom and the smallest on top.

Why do I do things in a certain order? I think its because its just that, order. I feel in control when things are done in a certain way, and I think things go smoother.

Thats all, just something I was thinking about :)

On a side note, being married to Patrick is wonderful!
I'm the happiest I have ever been in my entire life....

I'm no fool...

I dont like this day, nope not one bit.

Patrick on the other hand TRIED to get me, twice.

First time he put toothpaste in some oreos... too bad it was blue toothpaste :)

Second time it was conditioner on the toilet seat, fortunately for me I ALWAYS look at the toilet seat before I sit down because I live with 2 guys :)

Nice try brotha'

Here comes the.... lol

Last Monday Patrick and I got married...

This man is THEE best thing that has ever happened to me.
He makes all the past pain and hurt worth it.
He makes me feel so good and warm and happy.
He's funny and smart and very kind.
I am a lucky and blessed lady.



We just ran over to the Salt Lake Courthouse... quiet and small. In a year we will be sealed in the Temple and then we will have a big party and invite everyone! Mark your calendars!
In addition to becoming a wife, I also became a step-mom to two kids; Libby is 9 and Ako is 12. Oh, I will be a cool step-mom, dont worry. :)

I'm very happy!

Well, there you go...

Just a brief side note to those of you who care about my
confection controversy a couple posts ago;

Dove chocolate has come out with this heavenly

Dark Chocolate with Coconut Caramel

shut your mouth!
I cant compete with that...

My Weekend...

I've been dreading my 35th birthday for awhile... 35, this gigantic number that says really nothing unless you're not married (which I'm not) or if you dont have children (which I dont). So I decided in my head that when I hit 35, pretty much its all over.

I started getting sick on Thursday night, again, no big deal except that I dont get sick! I mean it, I stay away from sick people and I wash my hands. So by Friday I felt like bricks were sitting on my chest and a bowling ball was on my noggin. I had to work that morning and then came to the hobbit house, took a long, HOT shower and got in bed (couch lol). Around 5pm Pat and the kids brought me a dozen cookies and orange juice from Paradise Bakery... aaawww how sweet! Then they went away and I laid back down. Around 11pm they came back and brought me dinner and a gallon on orange juice. I'm so lucky!

By the time Sunday rolled around I was feeling only a little better... We all went to church that morning, went over to Pats for lunch and hung out. Later that night we took the kids to visit their mom and Pat & I had dinner. Then we went over to Pats parents house and hung out for a minute, the kids mom dropped them off and we all went back to Pats. The kids were watching a movie in the living room and we were in the kitchen talking. Pat had been carrying a piece of paper around all day and writing on it. Everytime I asked him what he was doing he'd say 'none-ya' lol.

We were sitting at the kitchen table and he grabbed my hand and started reading the words that he had been jotting down all day... It was a BEAUTIFUL poem-ish thing about his life before me and now. Then he got on one knee in the middle of the kitchen and asked me to marry him :) He pulled out a CTR ring and said that he was giving me this temporary ring until he gives me the real one when we get married because he 'Chose The Right' woman and for me it was supposed to mean 'Choose The Ripley' (thats his last name) hahaha It was very sweet.

35 turned out to be not so bad...

Um, I said yes :)

I'm an addict...

This may come as a shock to some of you but her it goes...
My name is Stephanie, and I'm a sugarholic.

That sweet, granulated goodness. That heavenly delectable deliciousness.
I cant get enough, I eat sweets EVERYDAY!
When people at work want some candy, all they do is look for me, I'm Packin' People!

WELL NO MORE!

I'm also packin on the palatable pounds, and it needs to stop!

I can bake up a storm and not eat ANY of it....easy, but I ALWAYS have a bag or two, or three (three's pretty much my limit, thats a lie I do things in evens... lets say four) bags of candy in my possession at ALL times. I cant resist, I AM weak...

Humor me for a moment...
Runts, Chewy Runts (which are hard to find), Recees Peanut Butter cups (the little ones) and my favorite, Peanut Butter M&M's....

OH the memories! I will miss you, my little morsels of mouthwatering confections.

The Letter G

There's lots goin on right now but I'm tired lol
I'll do G instead...

Green: This is my FAVORITE color! Real, grass, true green. It feels fresh. One day I will have a scrapbook room, and in that room I will paint the walls this beautiful green and have white trim. Oh yes I will...

Grapes: I like the green, seedless kind. Not a fan of the red/purple ones, they dry out my mouth and make it feel chalk-y. Also, grapeseed oil is AWESOME for your skin!

Glasses: I unfortunately don't have perfect vision and had to get glasses in high school. I dont like them, I feel like those horses with those guide things on their eyes when I wear them. Lasik would be awesome but I'm too afraid something would get bumped and I'd be left with even worse vision, a lazy eye or a lazer burn across my face; that would be horrible :)

Garden: I dont have one and I dont know how attentive I'd be to one BUT if I did have one, which I think would be so cool, I'd have onions, basil, squash & watermelon YUM

To be continued...

Eatin' Out

On Friday Nina, Patrick & I went to P.F. Changs for lunch. Nina's hubby Jared was given a $25 giftcard and Nina was nice enough to share it with us. I've never been to the Chang before but a girl who lives by my parents said they had an amazing 'Great Wall of Chocolate' cake that she used as her wedding cake so that was the one thing I was going to get for sure get! First, a couple of eggrolls; they were ok, nothing special. Next, some crab wontons; now I LOVE those fried wontons with cream cheese in the center but these were YUCK! Weird mushy crab and if there was cream cheese, the crabs ate it. Alright, now the meals... Nina got sweet & sour, it was ok. Pat got sesame chicken rice bowl; a little spicy and so so. Pats also came with egg drop soup, he thought it tasted like ocean, I thought it was good :). I got catonese noodles & chicken; noodles were really wide but it tasted ok. So far, nothing special, just so-so. I ordered a piece of the cake to go and waited for the bill... $55 bucks. Hhhhmmmm so NOT worth it.

Later that night I decided to have a little taste test with the cake. On Wednesday we celebrated Pats sons birthday and I made a chocolate-chocolate chip cake with vanilla frosting. So I had Pat close his eyes... the verdict? Pat said the only reason he knew the difference between the cakes was because the one I made was starting to dry out lol Otherwise, NO DIFFERENCE! And here's the kicker, I made our cake for about $4 and that ONE SLICE of Changs was $8! Please! We laughed and decided to finish off our cake. :)

So, we experienced the Chang, got to hang out with Nina for a minute and take a break from a crazy week.

No Pain, No Gain...

This semester I decided to take a Yoga class. I figured I could use the relaxation I heard it brings and I have never done it before and wanted to try it. Wednesday was the first 'real' day we yoga-ed....

Downward facing dog, Cobra, Bridge, Warrior, Half sun salutation.... They were tricky!

I learned that my feet sweat, alot, and it was hard to hold my ground when my feet keep slipping on my mat (any hints would be helpful). I felt good after class, limber and energized! The next day, hhhmmm not so much. I was in PAIN! Parts of my hurt that I didnt know even existed! Did you know there is a line on each side of your stomach where there's supposed muscles? I didnt! Everything around my arms, belly and chest hurt like a beast! But, it was GOOD PAIN! I'm excited for yoga, I think it'll help me strengthen some of the muscles I lost after my surgery and develop some of the muscles I didnt know existed!
Plus, it makes me feel great afterward and helps me relax.

Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll get more 'bend-y' and who DOESNT want that? lol

The Letter F

I'm bringin it back folks!

FAMILY
I love my little family so much! I dont have many cousins, aunts or uncles, nieces, nephews or siblings, but I am greatful for what I have and that Heavenly Father everyday for my wonderful family!

FAILURE
I am scared to death that I am gonna mess up this opportunity I have to go back to school and become a nurse... nough said

FEMALE
I have a love/hate relationship with the fact that I am female.
Things I love: we have WAY cuter clothes, shoes and jewelry than guys do.
I do have a problem with the amount of emotions I have no control over. There have been many instances where I KNOW I am being a girl; analyzing, mulling over, the back & forth... PLEASE!

FEBRUARY
My second favorite month...the month of love! February has tons of good in it: Uncle Pats birthday, MY birthday, George Washingtons birthday ;) (all the cool people).

FERTILITY
My life has been a roller coaster on this topic. Will I; Wont I, Can I; Cant I, Should I; Shouldnt I. I'm tired and trying to accept the fact that it just may not be meant...

FEATHER
As in my feather pillow... its my favorite pillow and if I am stying over somewhere or traveling, that pillows commin with me!

This is just a few of my F's off the top of my head...
the rest of the alphabet will be appearing on a regular basis now lol

How could something so simple, be so wonderful?

I made cinnamon rolls a couple weeks ago, not a big deal but this was the first time I made something with yeast! I was nervous at first, made sure I had my thermometer so the milk was the right temperature for the yeast and Presto!
They were good but not so pretty:

See, the problem was that I could only get the dough so thin and smooth with my hands, I didn't have a rolling pin so it was tricky.
I was at mom & dads house and noticed Grandma B's rolling pin on top of the fridge covered in dust. *Lightbulb moment* I asked mom if I could have it, she said yes and I was off to bake again! Well, I made the rolls last weekend for Patrick & the kids. This time they turned out SO much better!

I'm in love with a rolling pin....