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