I Cooked My 1st Turkey!

I am super proud of myself. I'm sure I'm not the only woman who can share the same feeling of accomplishment after cooking their first turkey and having it come out really, really good! Steven and I will have lots of turkey for the next week (that is if we don't stuff ourselves like we did last night).  

Steven got to the turkey before I could get a picture of it's beauty.

Before we destroyed it any further. Isn't it beautiful!? And didn't realize my finger was trying to get in the shot.

The Mural.2

Okay, didn't complete the mural still, but Saturday should be the absolute last day for me! So excited for it to be completed!

The crappy edit to show the entire mural. I suppose it could be worse.

The best I could do to get most of the mural in one shot.

I like my window cat :)

Almost Got a Hair Cut

What a week!  As most of you know I got a job! That was probably the biggest event for me and Steven. I also got to share the same kind of joy with my friend Jessica since she too got hired. We're kinda on cloud 9 after months of searching.


I still have a cough that is just so annoying because I'm not really coughing up anything, but I feel like I have to clear my throat. Definitely makes sleeping a chore.


Friday I got to see my Chiropractor. Part of me wonders if it was a good thing or a bad thing. My neck feels like it's going through the with drawls. The doctor is trying to correct the curve in my neck and I think my neck is trying to go back to old habits which makes my neck kinda hurt. So not sure how to feel about that.


I was also gonna get my hair cut that day, but my stylist unfortunately had something come up. So I'm hoping this coming week I'll be able to get my hair taken care of, but we'll see.


Steven of course has been busy busy busy. He got a day of over time this week. So far for our weekend together he's helped with the laundry while I continue to work on the Mural at my mother's clinic. Plus it's super nice having company while I work.


Yesterday Steven and I went to a wedding reception for our church friends. It was fun sitting and looking around, seeing the happy couple and reminiscing on our wedding not so long ago. Steven of course says there was nothing to compare cuz our wedding was the best, but I enjoyed pointing out all the beautiful decor that had me slightly envious. I definitely was envious of their temple photos, but I keep telling myself I'll be getting those photo's too probably with in the year :) It was a beautiful reception and I think they will be a happy couple all their life.


Love you all and hope you're well!


<3 Meri

The Mural

Okay, got more done. I hope to be finished with this mural on Monday, but chances are it'll be next week that I'll complete it. Last week, actually 2 weeks ago (thanks to the snow) I left the room looking like this:

Today I did this:

I really like the window sill the most because the brown paint I was working with left streaks in the brush stroke and happened to give a very nice wood texture as you can see below.

Here's hoping Monday (or next week) I'll have the completed mural for you all to see. I know my mother sure can't wait :)

Got A J-O-B

Couldn't wait til Sunday to update you family and friends! I GOT A JOB!!! Yeah that photo is my attempt to contain my excitement. I will be working with 2-4 year olds as a teacher aid. It's 4 miles from the house and it's FULL TIME with BENEFITS!! I'm so stoked! 


I tell you, getting closer to my Heavenly Father has probably been the best thing I could have done compared to the past 2 or so years. Things have been on a rise and getting this job truly has been the best blessing. Not having a job and living off of one income has been stressful! Not because we were about to loose anything, but to the point that it was uncomfortable and if we weren't careful we would have been in trouble. My unexpected Chiropractor expense and student loans needing to be paid were the biggest stressors (if I say so myself), but with the stress and Steven and I continually praying together, HF has blessed us with enough. Whether it be the over time he got for three weeks in a row at work, the murals my mother has asked me to paint (which one is so close to being done!), or the late wedding gift in the mail each were perfectly timed to keep us busy and get us by. 


Now we should be on our way to a more sound mind and flexibility. I sit back and I feel that burden of due dates not as scary as they once were. I also think about how grateful I am for working with my previous coworkers and employers. If I hadn't had those experiences I wouldn't have been the great fit they were looking for. I'm off to go party dance more (which translate to doing the dishes and cleaning with my music blaring so I can sing and dance while working).

My Neighbors Are...

Loud

Messy

Filthy

and Rude

Afraid to

be touched

But demand

My food

The world's

Their toilet

Their bath's

The pond

If they weren't

So darn cute

I'd wish

They'd be gone

http://www.freefoto.com/preview/01-08-34/Ducks

The Sitting Unicorn

I drew this many years ago and was having fun drawing a horse sitting... then I made it a Unicorn

Dogbot

I drew this many years ago, started to color it, but stopped for whatever reason. However I really like how it looks :)

Malfeiya Playing Her Flute

A Sick Girl and Lots of Snow

Last Sunday (the 15th) was just a teaser here in Western Washington. Monday There was a few inches out, but not enough to stop Steven from going to work but he got of 45 minutes early anyways. Tuesday was the preemtive start of the blizzard that was suppose to dump on us Wednesday. With the left over snow from Monday, I went over to Jessica's to play in the snow. We ended up building a 5 foot snow man (also with the hel of her sister and her sis's boy friend). I thought it's name should be Marshall KG, but we never really decided what name to give it. 

Marshall KG

I had also been stalking the weather earlier that day and what should have been snow fall at 4pm Tuesday evening kept getting pushed back an hour every time I checked. Finally it settled on 4am Wednesday morning to come, which was perfect for me. I had a get together with some of the Sisters in the ward for a friend's birthday. It was really nice of them to invite me especially since I don't think I'm really good friends with any of them yet. It was the first hang out with a bunch of married women, some with kids, some pregnant, and the rest like me, happily married and someday gonna have kids.

With the snow getting pushed back further and further, after getting home from the get together with the other Sisters, I had the thought of not being surprised if the "blizzard" was just a few inches of snow. But to my joy and surprise when I woke up there was 4 inched out on the ground! So with Steven home we enjoyed the snow by walking to the store. I chose to wear my new fur coat for the walk and now know what it feels like to be a wet dog. At least the coat doesn't stink when it gets wet and it dried just fine :)

Then it was suppose to rain, expect Thursday turned out to be a mixture of rain and snow... which just lead to everything getting coated in about an inch of ice on top of 6-8 inches of snow! Steven tried to walk to the bus to go to work, but instead decided to go back home and get me out of bed to admire the icy wonderland. I hadn't mentioned this part, but Tuesday night I had developed a very soar throat which Ibuprofin, a cough drop and a prayer helped soothe and relieve. But my energy was still pretty shot. So to have Steven get me out of bed at 7 was really tough. I wanted to hate him, but I did enjoy the enthusiasm he had for wanting to go outside. In the end, I did enjoy all the pretty ice covered trees and fences. It was quite amazing.

Marshall's nose got all icy, making it look like he has an open beak.

My dead car all covers in snow, ice and icicles. Oh and my dog's head.

This is only a sample of the damage done.

Steven getting his tongue stuck to pine needles instead of a pole.

But that lasted about 3 hours. It continued to be a mixture of snow rain through out the day and one thing Western Washington trees were not prepared for was the sudden weight that was added to their limbs. As pretty as the ice looked on them, it soon became very problem some as the trees began to loose branches and some even topple over under the weight of the ice stuck to them. This then cause lots of power outages (100,000's) and a few deaths. Thankfully Steven and I and my parents home weren't affected by the ice storm (other than being stuck at home), but lots of friends and some family had to do with out power for a few days. Despite the hazard the ice became, this was quite the adventure for 2012. Maybe I wouldn't be so warm feeling toward this crazy storm we had if I had lost power, but what are the chances for this happening again? Yes, it was scary to drive, yet who wants to stay put in the same house for 3 days, and if this happened every year, I'd probably loath it whether or not my power went out. But considering this is probably a once in a decade or two kinda of storm, I'll enjoy it as an adventure.

The snow is practically all melted now thanks to the rain. Steven and I enjoyed hanging with friends and my sister Friday night. We played games and Steven had his group come to the house for Magic. Saturday we ate at Red Robins with my sister Emily and tried to go see Tower Heist, but the tickets were all sold out, to all the shows we wanted to see! It was a bummer, but I suppose it was just one of those kinds of nights in which everyone had to get out of the house (I don't blame them). So we took Emily home and went shopping before Sunday. 

Today has been very laid back. I still am crazy tired and stuffed with a mild cough. I can't wait to feel better. I want to get my jogging done and not feel so lazy due to the lack of energy I have. But until then, I hope you all are doing well especially those of you who have been affected by the storm.

<3

Sick Boy and Snow

I continue to work on the mural I'm doing for my mother. I am probably 70% done ^_^ Unfortunately the picture doesn't really do it any justice.

Other than that, been job hunting while Steven works through a sinus infection. He ended up staying home 2 days but I think he's finally on the up swing.

Thursday was busy! Amilyn and I baked a bunch of desserts. One was a cupcake with cookie dough in the middle. We also topped the cupcakes off with a white candy coat and sprinkles (which I still have). Then we did two batches of brownies. One with chocolate chip cookies in the middle and the other with marshmallows mixed in. And we cooked up the rest of the cookie dough for our enjoyment. I'd say it was a perfect day too to bake those desserts because Jessica and Adam came over again for game night. Nothing like a bunch of goodies to make game time more exciting. And it looks like that'll be a weekly event we'll be doing and hopefully we'll get more friends to come out, but for now 4 is just right.

Saturday I worked on the mural some more (the cat and cat post) with Steven's help. When we got home, Emily treated us to chicken and broccoli fettuccine. So yummy and completely unexpected.

As for today, snow! Oh man it's so wonderful! Plus I dreamt last night that it snowed, and that I cut my hair into a mohawk... Thank goodness the snow part came true and not the other.

Hope you all are doing well! Until next time,

Meri