School Frusteration

So as you may or may not know I have been trying to get into nursing school for a bit... The way that this all came about is a few years back I was going to go to a technical college and get my medical assisting license. Then after talking to multiple people and doing some research I decided to do nursing instead. Ok hold on let me back up...When I graduated high school I wanted to become a dance teacher and open my own studio and maybe even teach at a jr. high or college. Then I decided I didn't need a degree in dance to open my own studio so why not just get a "back up" degree and I've always been extremely interested in the medical field. So back to me deciding to do nursing school so then after some more discussion Ben and I decided that going through the Army ROTC route would be the best way to pursue a nursing degree. If you go back a little on my blog you can read how that unfolded. Anywhoo, I obtained my CNA as part of a nursing school pre-req it was only like a 2 week class totally worth it. Well now just over 2 years since I decided to do nursing I am yet to be in nursing school and it is going to be about another year before I have the pre-reqs done to even apply. So here is my frustration  Chemistry is one of the pre-reqs for nursing. I took it this semester and have taken today off to study for this class because at this point I am not passing and I have a test tomorrow and a final on Tuesday. Now I am back to maybe wanting to do my MA. Not just because of  the Chemistry class but I'm just frustrated all together like what the crap am I doing????

There's my vent and why I haven't been blogging much lately because I'm trying to freaking pass my class!!! 

In other news here is our beautimus Christmas tree. I think we did a pretty good job!

St. George Marathon

Well Saturday was the St. George marathon. We headed down Friday around 130pm and met my family down there. We were staying with my aunt who has a huge house! We went to the expo to get our packets it was packed! They had different booths and fun stuff. Select Health had a place to get your sugar and cholesterol checked. I've been told before that I have a tendency to be hypoglycemic which means that my sugar gets really low really quick and its hard to stabilize it. I got my sugar checked and the lady asked me when the last time I ate was. I had basically snacked the whole way down and had some pretzels and Gatorade before we left to the expo. She said that not to be worried but that my sugar would probably be high because of that...guess what it was??? 60. Its supposed to be at least 80...eek! That totally freaked my mom out and she was glad that we had decided to run together. After the expo Mom P, Dad P, Ben and I, and my Aunt Kumja went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. My aunt is hilarious  They gave her this crab dip and she made this funny disgusted face it was so funny! Then we went back to the house and got all of our stuff ready for the race. Then we tried to go to sleep because we had to wake up at 4am ..ugh. We all got up got ready ate some breakfast and drove to the bus pickup. We got on the bus and went for quite a ride up the mountain. Mind you its pretty early in the morning but one girl on our bus talked loudly about her personal life the whole freaking time then... the bus stops and everyone stands up to get off and she looks at my dad and goes to touch his chest and is like "Do you have nipple rings?!" My dad's like excuse me? And this lady behind me is like "Do you always ask such personal questions?! My dad has nib guards because when your running it can make guys really sore and even bleed. My hell some people are insane! Who does that?! Then we get off the bus and it is freezing! Oh my gosh so cold! We had old hoodies and stuff to wear! Then as we are walking we lose my mom and dad. Talk about anxiety attack because I was going to run with my mom. While we were looking for them we found my really good friend who was actually my art teacher in high school and our parents are really good friends its crazy! She helped Ben and I find Mom and Dad P. We waited for an hour and a half two hours for the race to start. They had music playing and it was pretty fun but still freezing.

Starting Line.

Waiting for the race to start.

Freezing and my eyes are closed. Awesome!

Then they announced the race would be starting in about 10 minutes so we went to get lined up. They have what they call "Pacers" If you stay with them you will finish in the amount of time their flag says. Ben,Mom P, and I lined up with the 7 hours pacer. She was the last one and as long as you stayed in front of her they wouldn't kick you off of the race course. Then the race began! Oh this lady that was by my mom and dad said she got her nails done so in case they had to pick her up off the side of the road they would know she wasn't homeless...LOL! Anyways, the beginning of the race its always hard not to go super fast because you want to get out of the crowd and some people are running really fast and all the adrenaline its nuts! Well I lost Ben pretty quick but my mom and I stayed together about a mile or so in we took a bathroom break at one of the porter potties. I was wearing a fuel belt with water bottles on it and a pouch and after we started running again I realized I had lost 2 of my water bottles! Dang! Well from then on it went pretty good my mom and I had an awesome pace and we were making some great time. She kept me entertained by telling me about a book she had read. Around mile 7 there was a humongous hill that we walked it was so intense but then we started running again. We felt great and still had an awesome pace! Around mile the ball of my feet started to hurt and I could feel some hot spots on the sides of my feet. I tried to keep going but then the pain got worse and I began to limp. My mom was getting worried because if you start limping you start hurting other parts of your body By mile 13 I was in tears because of the pain and I did not want to give up I was angry at myself for not training and I really wanted to finish. My mom explained it wasn't worth it to keep going one because of my limping I was slowing down and might not finish in the 7 hours and two if I kept going I would make the injuries worse maybe even permanent so despite serious hesitation and anger I got on the first aid bus. My mom kept going and everyone else finished which is awesome!!! When the bus dropped me off at the finish line I took off my compression socks and I had huge I mean huge water blisters on my feet so I must have stopped at the perfect time. My dad said that he thinks it was the best marathon he has ever ran which is crazy he didn't even train and he went back 4 miles once he finished and ran to the finish with my mom. Everyone was exhausted so we went back to the house took showers and my aunt made us the most amazing lunch/dinner it was perfect! That night we had all bought tickets to Tuachans production of Hairspray. Everyone agreed it was one of the best shows we have ever seen and the enviroment was amazing! All in all it was a fun experience but I will never not train again. I'm hoping to run the Utah Valley Marathon in June of 2013.

Oh wow...

The marathon is less than a week away...oh my goodness. I am quite scared but I'm just going to go have fun and do my best even if I walk the whole damn thing. I just have to remember my mind is the most powerful thing. It's amazing what your body is capable of doing if you don't let your mind pull you down with negativity.

Just another Manic Monday...

Hope that song is stuck in your head now :D So I probably shouldn't post this on my blog because who knows who can get on the internet and stalk the things I post about but whatev. Ben has been working graves the past week and he's working them again this week. His work is rotating everyone because they don't have an actual grave shift person. This situation makes me more on edge than normal partially because I think I have separation anxiety and I watch way too many CSI type shows so me sleeping home alone at night does not mean I actually get a ton of sleep. We do have Duke though which is nice except I think he would come and hide under the bed if someone broke in but I pretend that he will protect me. I'm rambling here but  it's been one of those days. I tell myself everyday to be grateful though that at least I get to see Ben and at least he has a job ya know trying to be all positive. Anywhoo...they gave him last night off which kinda sucks because I have to go to work on Monday so it didn't really give us a lot of time together. This morning I woke up late and I put on my dress which I thought was a skirt when I bought it by the way and put on my sandals realizing I had Chem lab after work no sandals allowed so put on my boots that have wholes in them because I'm very picky when I buy new clothing items and it has to be exactly what I was thinking in my head so I don't have new boots yet. Anyways wearing boots it's 80 degrees outside. Don't get any breakfast packed luckily I have a box full of granola bars at work. At work I had to deal with 2 crazy customers/patients who don't really understand how bills work. That's actually a lot for one day. Most patients are very nice and get why they need to pay and just pay it. Anyways, Monday's are stressful because I get done with work around 515pm and I have chem lab at 530pm. My teacher is really cool and doesn't mind me being late but I don't like it. Plus I didn't have time to pick up my goggles and I was freaking out that I wouldn't be allowed to do the lab but she had extras. Well, after I pick up my goggles from the bin this girl in my class is like "oh crap are we supposed to have goggles" and this girl in my group looks at her and says "gosh don't you listen jeez. uh yeah you have to buy your own goggles." Oh wow someone took their biz natch pills this morning. Then we are talking about nursing and our jobs and the one girls says she works with IHC in the pathology lab and the other girl (the rude one) says she's a CNA with St. Marks. They ask me what I do and I say billing office for IHC. Rude girl says well don't you have any nursing experience and I say yeah I did the CNA for a while but I'm happy with this job I get paid more and I don't have to deal with crazy patients. Rude girl says "well then maybe you shouldn't be a nurse."  And I'm thinking maybe she should shut her trap because my sugar is starting to get very low, I'm tired, I miss my husband and Hi I'm sorry do you know anything about me??? Grr...it made me so angry. She's not even like a girl right out of high school either she's like late 20's maybe even early 30's. Then....we start talking about different nursing school programs and apparently she is an expert on them. Oh man... this is my vent. I will not let her get to me. She's Krazy! So excited that today is almost over. And please excuse my grammatical errors in this post they are not my priority :D

Morgan's Wedding, Ohio Trip and what the heck we are doing Now!

Morgan (my lil sis) became Mrs. Heywood on June 31st. They got married in the Bountiful Temple it was a fun, crazy beautiful day. 

The famdamily! From left top: Jason, Spencer, Morgan, Mom P, Dad P, Trevor Ava.
Bottom left: Karlie, Josslyn, Ben, Me, Amy, Savannah.

Morgan and I getting our groove on!

Telling funny stories at their rehearsal dinner.

Ben, Me and Ava getting ready to party!

My brother Jason had some training during the month of June so Karlie and Josslyn hung out here in Utah and we got to spend time with them.

Joss and I. I was in my workout clothes and she wanted to wear my  headband. I love this pic of us!

On August 15th Ben, Me, Mom P and Dad P headed out to Ohio for Savannah's first birthday! We flew standby so to make it work we flew from SLC to Long Beach to NYC to Pittsburgh and then drove to Ohio :D

The Fam at the pavillion we had the birthday party at. It started pouring rain and the BBQ's were outside which is why the guys are soaked.

Savannah showing me here balloons.

Ben is still working at Staker Parson still likes it most days... I am now working for IHC...again. Yes... count   'em. Since I left IHC in March I've been to 1800 contacts, Spectrum Academy, MCA,  A Step Forward Home Health. Crazy. Stressful. I've been working with my counselor and looking back obviously it was a traumatic experience for me that through my whole "plan" for a loop. I went back to work to early and freaked out and really ended up missing my job. Well I love IHC's benefits and came to realize that they are a great company even though some of their management kind of screwed it up with me. I'm not a CNA currently with them I work in their billing office on the self pay team. I actually really like it. The people are great. Its a great schedule for school and I get all the great benefits and it pays more than a CNA...crazy. Also, last minute like last night I decided to sign up for school this semester because my finanacial aid went through and I got a grant. So I'm taking Chem online, a Chem lab once a week, and a workout class in the morning. Yeah we have a crazy random life... Love it!

Date Night!

Last night Ben and I had date night :)! We did some out of the ordinary things for us. My pictures are backwards as to which was done in order but that's OK! First we went to go see the mansion at the Salt Lake Parade of Homes. We parked right by the Draper Temple it was so beautiful! The guy who owns it is one of the the agents for Lionell Richie, Justin Bieber, Usher, and worked with Michael Jackson. The house was amazing! It had a ballroom, a theater room, two kitchens and of course much more. It was huge! Then we headed over to City Creek and went into Tiffany's, Rolex, Boss, and then we went over and got two pieces of  cheesecake to go from the Cheesecake Factory! It was such a fun night!

City Creek

Cheesecake To Go!

City Creek.

The mansion at the parade of homes.

The view of the Draper temple from our parking spot at the parade of homes.

The Shack

I just finished reading The Shack. It blew my mind. It was amazing. One of the best books I have read. It made me see things with a whole new perspective. It was definitely life changing. I would recommend it to everyone no matter where in life you are or  what your religious beliefs may be. Have an open mind and trust me you won't regret reading it. I want to go back and read it a again and this time take notes there were so many amazing points made that I don't want to forget. I see things a little differently now and I feel at peace with many things. This will be a book I will be reading every year along with Tuesday's with Morrie another life changing book.

In the life of Ben and Linds

Ben and I have been told we are quite hilarious. For now here is just a peek into some things that have happened this week.

 Ben and I will probably never agree that these two types of Mac and Cheese are completely different! I think the characters ones taste way better than the regular. Ben cannot tell the difference...crazy. I'm the one writing this blog too so you get my side of the story unless Ben wants to hop on and start blogging. That would be the day...

 

This week Ben and I decided to go on a hike we felt like we were a little lost and so I told Ben to follow the river. He called me Pocahontas. That's just how we roll. 

We were watching a TV show and a guy had been kicked out of his house by his wife and was staying at his buddies house. Ben turns to me and says " If my friend gets kicked out of his house can he stay with us?" My response " Which friend and why was he kicked out?" Ben " Good point."

Ben's Birthday and S'more

Ben turned 26 on the 22^nd. He loves low key minimal stress type birthdays so I just invited both families over for a fun BBQ in our backyard. It was extremely fun having everyone over. Karlie and Josslyn made a last minute made a trip to Utah. Josslyn’s birthday is today but they went home on Tuesday so she helped Ben with his cake. The cake had whoppers and milk duds on top. I was going for this but it didn’t quite work. Ben didn’t mind though! Ben is such an amazing husband. He is a hard worker, patient, hilarious and much much more!

Ben also took a few days off work to just relax because he works 60-70 hours a week. We went on a hike on Monday. It was the hike we went on for our one year anniversary.  It started getting cloudy when we were headed up and then we were pretty close to the waterfall and it just started pouring buckets! Holy Chicken it got crazy fast! We were hiking right next to the river and Ben got worried it was going to turn bad very quickly. We decided to turn around which was smart because there were a few scary spots on the way back. We were both soaking wet by the time we got to the car. Of course I forgot to take pictures.

On Wednesday we went on hike that I “thought” my friend had gone on it was supposed to be fairly easy and lead to a 40ft waterfall. It was not easy and it was hot and there was not a 40ft waterfall at the end. We took Ben’s little sister Cheyenne and still had a ton of a fun but we were all exhausted when we finished. We figured out we need to be more prepared especially when going on an unknown hike.

Cheyenne

Ben and I

Weight Loss take 2: Week 6

I really need to get my butt into gear. I only worked out 2 times this week. I did 3 miles on Monday and 7 miles on Saturday. I didn't drink soda for half the week but then I had some Rockstars later on in the week to wake me up a bit. I think I ate a little healthier but who knows. I'm hoping to get some new running shoes this week because you are only supposed to do a certain number of miles in each pair and mine are way over the limit and I'm getting blisters and other injuries. I lost .6 lbs this week. When I do get my butt into gear I could really be making some progress! Here's to a new week!

So...

I need to take more pictures.

I (Lindsey) quit the mortgage auditing company and started a new job with a home health and hospice company.

Ben got a job offer for the TSA we will find out more about that this week.

Our stove was broken this past week we traded it out for another one my in laws had. As we were taking the broken one next door to my in laws Ben was saying we should just put it on the sidewalk and someone would come pick it up ... 2 seconds later a guy in a truck pulled up and asked if he could have it. LOL! Awesome!

Umm...what else? The marathon is in 12 weeks. Scared out of my mind. 

Weight Loss Take 2: Week 5

Hello Hello! I did OK last week. I feel like I did quite a bit better with eating healthier yes even with the holiday and I really cut down on soda. I worked out 3 days last week. Monday I did 2 miles run/jog/walk. Tuesday I did Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. Saturday, are you ready for this? 7 miles! Heck yeah! Almost died, no really. I was not as prepared as I should have been and my sugar got really low not pretty but I finished! Also, I bought a scale today but didn't weigh myself because it was too late from when I like to weigh myself :) This week I swear I'm totally cutting soda out and I'm going to train even harder...I've got too or else I will die in St. George. 

Let the marathon training begin :)

Today I officially started my marathon training! Whoo hoo! Feels good! I love signing up for races and different things so I have something to work towards.

Success is the ONLY option!

In other news Ben and I went to Vegas for our 3 year anniversary. It was perfect, relaxing, and just what we needed.

Ben and I chillin by the pool.

Also, Morgan and Spencer had their wedding on Saturday. It was a party! Once pictures start getting out I will be sure to post some :)

Weight Loss Take Two: Week Three

I have this disease called WWWD (Wannabe Wonderwoman Disease). I'm not trying to make excuses in any way. However, I do realize that sometimes I need to take a step back from my perfectionism mind and realize it's OK. I try to work 40 hours a week, sign up for marathons, keep the house clean, not just make dinner everynight but to me it has to be amazing!, be an amazing wife and so much more. Now I'm trying to say that this is not all doable however, I need to better at prioritizing and again realizing its OK.
With that being said moving on to this past week. I did great on drinking more water! I still had some soda but much more water! It's really wierd though because my left ankle has been swollen for a few days??? Anyways, I only worked out 1 day and that was to run the Westfest 5K! Ha! Hey that is something to be proud of. Running 3 miles early on Saturday morning in 75 degree weather. I still don't have a scale ... so thats good. This coming week we have family coming into town and its Morgans wedding so it is going to get a little crazy but so fun!

Spencer, Morgan, Me, and Dad at the Westfest 5k

Weight Loss Take Two: Week Two

Still don't have a scale... haha oops! Last week I get an E for Effort. If it hadn't been for a few things it would have been an F for Fail! I am struggling right now. I'm not happy with the way I feel but I'm having a hard time getting into a routine and there are so many things going on right now. Not that any of that is an excuse because thats life I just need to figure it out. I did not give up soda last week...ugh.. I guess I just don't want to?! I did drink a little more water still need to do a lot more. And y'all are going to die... I only worked out 1 day last week! I did a little jog on Saturday to my parents house for my sis in laws birthday breakfast. That is one of the reasons I get an E for effort. The 2nd thing is I signed up for a 5k this Saturday and I actually encouraged the majority of my family to do it with me too :D I need to keep signing up for things because thats what helps keep me motiviated. Alright, I'm just going to keep trucking and I will figure it out! 

Weight Loss Week 1: Take 2

I do not have a bathroom scale yet I know know. So I don't know if i lost or gained. But I did work out 3 days last week for 1 hour. Thursday I did a Punch, Kick, and Crunch class. Friday and Saturday I did Zumba. Water I did OK on. Around 6 glasses a day so I just need to up that a little bit more. Soda...ugh...not so good still working on that. 

New Job for Linds!

So please forgive me because sometimes I blog binge. I go forever without posting much and then I do a few posts in a matter of days. What can I say life is insane but I love it!

Yes! I was offered a job with MCA (Mortgage Compliance Advisers) as an Auditor I. I start tomorrow! It was actually the only interview that I went away from feeling really good about so I am so happy it worked out. Basically, I would be doing a lot of data entry at first. The company audits mortgage loans from banks just as a quality control measure. They said I would have the opportunity to work up in the company as I gain more experience and become an Auditor II which then I would have the option to work from home. I really really really really hope that it all works out. Oh and no change in pay from my previous job and I will get insurance benefits which is awesome! AND... It's Monday-Friday 830am-5pm... it's a beautiful schedule! So happy! Randomly crazy I applied for unemployment the day 1800contacts let me go and I just found out this week that it was approved because 1800contacts basically had no reasoning in letting me go. I think the conversation might have gone something like this: Unemployment office "Hi, so why did you fire Lindsey?" 1800 "uhh..." UI " Is she rehirable" 1800 "yes" UI " are you currently hiring" 1800 "yes" UI "so why did you fire Lindsey???" ... Funny shiz right there if you know what I mean.

As I end this post I have pictures of our gorgeous new truck we bought from my brother and sis in law. We actually flew up to Seattle (where they live) a month or two ago and picked it up and drove it home. Beautiful amazing drive! We love our truck it's hard not to take it everywhere. We are excited to do some camping trips with it this summer. I'm also leaving you with a few "life" quotes that I think are relevant and one of these days I will get pics up of our new house that we rent from Ben's parents. Oh and I shaved Ben's head woot woot! He still looks smokin hot I love it!

The new truck :D

I figured it out...

I've been struggling with my weigh lately and I figured it out. I haven't been doing a weekly log of my progress! Duh Lindsey! Alright, so starting this Monday I will be doing weekly logs. Here are my goals for June so y'all better keep me in check :D

Lose 5 pounds!

Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.

Work out a minimum of 3 days a week for 60 min.

No Soda!

Little work out humor for ya!

Here's my story and I'm stickin to it

Long story short found out 2 employees who were in my RX training class and also did not pass the same test as me are actually still employed with the company. Hmmm... Frustrating? Yes. Especially because one of them was hired on directly for RX. I've called HR twice asking for answers and have yet to hear back. 

In other employment news I've had about 5 or so interviews the last 2 weeks and more to come. Just trying to be picky and find the best fit for me. Ben loves his job still and is awesome at it! He is actually already training a new guy that's how good he is!

We have been having a ton of fun lately. We went to the air show at Hill Air Force Base, been playing in the sun and the water, having BBQ's it's wonderful! My brother Jason and his family were here over Memorial Day Weekend. Jason had to go back and do some more military training but Karlie (sis in law) and Josslyn (niece) will be staying at least until after Morgans wedding on the 30th. There is a ton of planning going on for the wedding it is getting super close! 

That's all for now. 

I might be going crazy...

All weekend I had anxiety about going back to work today. What was going to happen? What was it going to be like. At 630am right after Ben left for week I started making calls and sending emails to see what today would entail for me.  Around 830am I received a call from Workforce Management they do all of our schedules and things like that. They said to just come in today plan on working my normal schedule and they will get everything else straightened out. I went in at 1130am my regular schedule would have started at noon. I went in and talked to workforce to figure out my login, seat assignment, breaks and lunches and so on. As I'm walking out my manager who I had when I was in the call center said that his manager wanted to speak to us. So we went in his office and he told me I had been terminated and would need to reapply if I wanted to work in the call center. They took my badge and headset and I drove home. What the crap? Am I missing something? So ANGRY right now. Do I want to reapply? Are the benefits really worth it. This is so frusterating.

It's not a huge deal or anything but it kind of is to me. I'm just upset. So I have been loving the new department I was training for at 1800Contacts. I felt like I really understood the material and I got 100% on the first test we took on Tuesday. Yesterday, we took another test and I got 72% the first time and then 76% the second time. You had to get 82%. So I am no longer going to that department. The worst part is the trainer had to make a call to see if I left with good terms in the call center and if not I would have lost my job. I'm so ANGRY! At myself at the company. GRR... I don't want to keep changing jobs but now its kind of embarrassing/humbling to have to back to the call center. Not only that but I'm not the best sales person. It's rough. I love the benefits of the company though I get so much from them. It just really popped my bubble for this to happen. BUT...at least I still have a job right?  I just feel some days like I start getting caught up with life and then I get thrown a curve ball but I guess thats life. Sorry this post is so negative I'm just bummed.

Real Quick Update!

Ben absolutely LOVES his job! He is working long hours but comes home happy so it's great!

I started training for the new department at my work today and I love it! It's going to be great!

We made it into the St. George Marathon...AHH! It will be the first marathon for both of us.

1800contacts had a spot open up for the Utah Valley Half and offered it to me so of course I took it! 

It's in 4 weeks...Double AHH! 

Life is great and crazy... just the way we like it!

Mothers Day!

Me, Mom, Grandma (My mom's mom)

Dad, Grandma (my dads mom) and Me.

Me and Mom

My mom is amazing! She is one of my best friends! I love it when we start giggling about who knows what. It's terrible because we cannot STOP! She has taught me so much and I hope I can be half the woman and mother she is. 

Race for the Cure

We had the opportunity to be a part of the Race For The Cure this morning. 1800contacts actually paid for mine and Ben's registration. My family (Mom,Dad,Morgan, and Spencer) were also there. My sis in law's aunt is fighting breast cancer right now and so we were there in support of her and all others who are fighting this tough battle! It was a great way to start the morning with friends and family and it was a beautiful morning to top it off! 

Ben, Me, Dad P, Mom P, Spencer, Morgan

Me and my good friend Kristine from 1800contacts

Me and Ben

What the heck are you guys doing now?

We put our names in the St. George Marathon lottery today! We find out on May 14th. I really hope we get it!

Ben starts a new job tomorrow with Staker Parson working in the lab testing concrete and Asphalt. We are saying his job title is "scientist".

I am taking a second test tomorrow to see if I am able to transfer to another department that is not sales based but productivity based. 

We are crazy busy, loving life, our new truck, stressed at times but it's all good.

Court Date

It was the big day today. The day that I have been nervous and sometimes unable to sleep because of. My letter told me to be there at 1:30pm. I went to the District Attorneys office and waited to speak with my attorney. While waiting to speak with him he was talking to a lady sitting close by. We (My dad, Ben, and I) heard her saying her soon to be ex which she has a restraining order against because he was abusive keeps driving past her house and she is in fear of her and her kids' life. Then the attorney comes over and asks me if I have any questions and tells us he will meet us over at the court house. So we go over to the court house and meet Ben's mom there and lo and behold who's sitting there on the bench Mr. Krazy who hit me. Also, we find out the lady who is in fear of her life is Mr. Krazy's soon to be ex wife! INSANE!!! We head into the courtroom to wait for our case and it was pretty interesting because we were able to watch 2 other court cases. My attorney comes over to me and asks to speak to me. He takes me into another room and asks me if Mr. Krazy's injuries when I was taking care of him were life threatening. I said I wasn't sure but I didn't think so. Then he asks me what would have happened if he would have pulled his IV's out that day. Then we go into the courtroom. I forgot to mention this was all for a preliminary hearing. Anyways, so first they get to the ex-wifes case and somehow the decide without her even testifying to push out the hearing until June? I kind of got lost so I'm not exactly sure how that happened. Then they get to my case and they start talking all this legal junk and next thing I know they are saying they think it can be settled without the hearing and the judge says "Have you asked the witness (ME!)" if this is ok?" My attorney says no and they judge hesitates and then approves it. So then the attorney comes over to talk to me and says that the charges I pressed were for a Class A Misdeamor but because Mr. Krazy was possibly not in an "Emergency Situation" and his life was not threatened that it's probably just a Class B misdeamor which obviously isn't as severe. I was honestly upset about this decision for a few reasons... 1) Mr. Krazy has now bought himself another 30 some odd days to do whatever he wants/can to his poor ex-wife. 2) IHC has not backed me up at all with any of this. 3) It has affected my life in more ways than one and I was just doing my job that day.

Just sayin...

Got a letter in the mail today. I have to testify on April 26th against the guy that assaulted me at IHC  When I read the letter I got a ton of anxiety and I'm very nervous. Not only that but that is 10 days away so that is super short notice to give my work. Whatever beliefs you have if you could pray, meditate, or send some positive CALM vibes my way I would greatly appreciate it.

Happy Easter ,Grandma Smith's B-day, Garden Time

I believe I wrote in an earlier post that I was celebrating lent. Some people choose to argue that because I'm a "Mormon" that it is pointless to celebrate lent. I choose to disagree. For lent I chose to give up Facebook. I don't think I was necessarily addicted but I definitely spent a lot of time on it when I could have been doing other things. The whole point of lent is to get your prepared spiritually for Easter which is remembering the Atonement and Christs resurrections. Lent is type of fast normally recognized by Catholics.  The point that I am trying to make is that just because I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not mean that I don't believe some if not all of what other churches believe so why can't I celebrate lent and prepare myself spiritually for Easter. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and he loves each and every one of us and that he died for us and was resurrected so we could live again. I don't like posting this type of stuff often not because I'm ashamed but because I don't want anyone to be offended. I feel I'm very open minded and I have many friends with a wide variety of beliefs and I never want them to think that I don't respect that. This is who I am. I'm a Mormon and I celebrate lent. Happy Easter everyone! I hope everyone had a great day however you celebrate it.


It was not only Easter it was Grandma Smith's birthday!

 Grandma Smith is my (Lindsey's) mom mom's. She is amazing! I have so many great memories with and of her I wish I would have kept better record. I remember camping and fishing with Grandma and Grandpa. I always remember Grandma always have fun ideas and laughing. Sometimes when Grandpa would say something crazy she would make her hand into a gun and pretend shoot herself in the head. If it was really crazy it would be a two gun shot LOL! Grandma is also a really good gardner. She always had different plants and flowers. My older brothers, my little sister and I are their only grandchildren. We have always lived really close to them. Sometimes when we would spend the night over and their house and watch jazz games grandma would make sure we had some sort of treat. When the opposite team was trying to make a shot she would hold her hand up and pretend to cover the hoop in hopes they wouldn't make the shot. If the game became to close she would actually leave and go in the other room. Grandma has Alzheimer's and has had it for few years so things have been a little different lately however, she definetly still has her spunk and doesn't take any crap from Grandpa! Today for her birthday my parents are in the Bahama's having a grand ol' time so we (Me, Ben, Morgan, Spencer and Aki) went over to their house to celebrate. I made some chicken with cream sauce and a strawberry lemonade cake. Want the recipes? Here's a link to my cooking blog :)

On Saturday, Ben and I started our garden! We are so excited to have a lawn this year and a huge field that we share with his parents. We have so much space it's wonderful. We also share some different fruit trees with his parents which is super exciting as well! I made apple pies last Thanksgiving with apples from the trees. Here is a pic of our starter garden. We planted some different herbs, summer squash, pumpkin, watermelon, carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes. We are going to start another one this weekend with some different plants.

Running out of titles for my posts..

That is the one thing I like about journals. I don't have to think of a post title or a snazzy intro I just write the date at the top of the page and get going. Anyways, our life (Ben and I) is kind of like the weather in Utah. You really don't know what your going to get and if you wait 5 minutes it will change. As of today this is where we are at. I am back at 1800Contacts full time. I left the school to come to 1800 for a few reasons: Better pay, better benefits, job in the summer time, insurance, they pay for runs (5k's, half marathons, marathons) free gym membership with personal trainer, free movie tickets, gift cards for being healthy and so on. Ben is currently at 1800contacts as well but has had some interviews at other places we are hoping to hear back from soon. Ben and I have one car, my mazda3, and Ben's R6 motorcycle. We are looking to buy another vehicle probably a truck. My brother, Jason, is actually selling his truck right now which is awesome and we would really like it. We were hoping to get everything to go through on the loan last week and then fly out to Seattle on my moms benefits and then drive the truck home but that didn't work out so we are hoping that we can do that same plan this weekend. We found a series on netflix that we are now obsessed with. It is called out of the wild. It's where 9 volunteers are dropped off at a location and they have to survive off the land for 60-70miles until they reach civilization. There is no prize at the end and people don't get voted off. If they want to leave they just push a button and a helicopter comes to get them. It's AWESOME! In other news my parents have a Japanese exchange student staying with them right now. Her name is Aki. She is very nice and fun. She will be staying with them until December while she goes to school at the U of U. She likes to play games and loves American movies. She also loves to skateboard. My dad was taking everyone on motorcycle rides last Sunday at dinner because it was such a beautiful day and he took Aki. She has never been on a  motorcycle before and she loved it. Yesterday, Aki and two of her friends made us all miso soup  for dinner. It was delicious and seemed really healthy I just did not like the tofu. Ben and I got free movie tickets from our work to go see the Hunger Games this Thursday and we are taking Aki, My family, and Ben's little sister Cheyenne.
Also, I chose to kind of celebrate lent this year. Some people argue that "I can't" because I'm not Catholic or whatever but I don't care. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and goes until Easter. It is a time for fasting and prayer and you are supposed to give up some sort of luxury or addiction. I chose to give up facebook. I logged out of it on my phone and laptop and have not been on it since. I miss seeing all the pictures of my family and keeping in touch with those I don't get to see often and such but I feel like my quality of life and focus has definitely improved. Once I get back on after Easter I hope to limit my time on facebook.
It's a whole lot of writing and not a lot of pics but like I said this is more of a journal entry for me.

Aki in the motorcycle helmet. She loves to do the peace sign!

Aki asked us what the longest word we knew was. This is the longest word in the dictionary.