Trick or Treat

How I Spent My Summer Vacation...

... An apt phrase, since I spent August & September unemployed. Yeah, that's right. The job that was great in July, well... let's just say the other shoe dropped really, really fast. And hard. Really, its a long & frustrating story, so don't ask. However, October brings new joy on my employment front: I got out of insurance altogether! It feels ridiculously liberating. While there were/are many aspect of insurance that I actually enjoyed, the stress was getting to me. Especially at Farmers. *shudder*twitch* That environment was just not good for my health. Now, I'm working for a medical licensing company in Draper and I love it. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I am so happy - even Mondays are good days. You know how I feel about Mondays! So all in all, life is looking up.

Brent is still working in California & looking for a job here in Utah. Trust me, the irony of our job situations is not lost on either of us. He is in California 3 weeks out of each months. Its hard to only have him home for one week at a time (not to mention, I have gotten far too used to being alone and it is a bit unsettling). We are doing the best we can with the situation though. We still feel as though God is testing us, and we think that maybe me finally landing a good job is a turning point in the road. Hopefully. *fingers crossed* Lots of praying around here! ;)

Our computer is having difficulties lately. For some reason, it won't find our D:/ drive. That's our internal storage drive. All our programs are run on the C:/ drive & our music, docs & pictures are stored on the D:/ drive. That way, if Windows crashes we don't lose everything on our computer. Well, har-dee-har-har, the computer is refusing to find the D:/ drive. So I don't have access to any of our pictures or documents from the last 4 years, not to mention our extensive music collection. I think the drive itself is ok, but somehow it isn't linking to the rest of the computer. I am going to have a friend who is good with computers take a look at it this week to see if he can figure out what is wrong with it.

As for pictures, the only ones I have access to are what I have on my camera, which basically sums up the last 3 months. Here is what life has been like lately:

Bowling Adventures...

...and Bees. SLC Bees Baseball, that is!
(We went w/ the Kaufmans & the boys were so excited to see The Bee!)

Helping my Dad & Marlene move into their new home in South Jordan.

Enjoying the crazy weather & gorgeous view from our balcony...

...Or the view of the Salt Lake Valley.

We watched old friends get married (congrats Desi & Kyle!)

Then I ran around like crazy because I was in charge of the food for their reception.
No, I'm not bartending - just mixing the crazy, but very yummy, party punch Desi & I cooked up. (The joke of the day was that I was part witch, part chemist with that giant pot.)

We also participated in the blessing of our newest family member Aubrey.
(Well, almost-family, but I'm not sure that either the Edling clan nor
the Kaufmans even notice the difference anymore!)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Thursday I got to go to an early showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am a GIANT Potterfan. To ridiculous, epic proportions. Its probably my favorite series of books ever, and I read a lot. I haven't enjoyed the movies as much as the books - it is impossible to properly translate the books to the big screen - but the Prisoner of Azkaban & Deathly Hallows, Part 1 movies came the closest for me. So I was excited for ...Part 2!


My brothers Brian & Josef went with me. Josef is almost as big a Potterfan as I am, so we were happily geeking out together & Brian was having fun mocking us. My only regret from the day is that since I had to run straight from work to make the 6:30 showing, I didn't get to dress up. (Yes, I dress up for Harry Potter just like I did for Lord of the Rings. Don't judge me.)

The movie was amazing, and everything I could have asked for. I think it has even replaced Prison of Azkaban as my favorite Potter film. The boys & I had a terrific time. On our way out the door though, we ran into...


VOLDEMORT! I had to take his picture. We got to talking & turns out his real name is Tyler and he is a theater student at the University of Utah studying theatrical makeup. We had an awesome conversation about how he had done his makeup & other fun stuff.

All in all, a great day and the high point of my week!

Highs, Lows and the Evolution of a Good Picture

Lows

I miss my Brent. The apartment is too big without him.

There is a large crack in the windshield of my pretty car. Its almost 3 ft long, but luckily its mostly on the passenger side so it doesn't block my vision. Its still annoying though & I just don't have the money to get it fixed right now.

I had a wicked Crohn's flare up that started early Tuesday morning. Had to go to InstaCare instead of work. This flare up was a bit more serious than the ones I have had recently. It turns out that I have a small tear in my intestine. They are hoping it'll heal with medicine, but I have to go back in a few days to get more Xrays. In addition, because of all the vomiting I "bruised" my esophagus, which means that I scratched it but without it bleeding. So its very swollen & tender right now. It sounds like I have laryngitis. Makes talking on the phone at work fun.

Highs

HARRY POTTER TOMORROW! Through work I got special tickets for a VIP showing at 6:30pm, so I get to get my Harry Potter on super early! I am so ridiculously excited! [/geek attack]

Work is going really well. I feel like I am starting to fit in & getting the routing of how things work there. I get along with everyone & I'm actually enjoying a lot of the elements of my job. Its pretty groovy. Plus my boss called me tonight specially from his business trip in LA to tell me how pleased he was with my progress & how quickly I'm getting the hang of things. That was awesome. :)

Despite my health completely sucking the last 48 hours, I'm still in a great mood from my epiphany. I just feel like such a tremendous weight has been lifted off of my shoulder. Last night was the first night I slept through the whole night without tossing & turning in months. I'm still exhausted all the time, but I feel like that is progress!

Brent & I both got callings in our ward! FINALLY! Brent is the assistant Scout master for the 11 year old boys & I got called to be the Beehive advisor. Back in Young Women's, baby! I am so stoked to finally have a calling. We have really struggled to find our place in this ward & I think this is a big step forward for us. I'm just bummed that Brent can't start his calling until he gets back, but the bishopric is really understanding of our position. (Even though we have struggled with the ward itself, our bishop is totally awesome & has really been great to talk to as we have struggled these past weeks.)

I cleaned the bathroom. I hate cleaning the bathrooms - that is usually Brent's job - but he is out of town, so I had to buckle down & git 'er done. It sounds silly, but I feel rather accomplished.

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A couple of weeks ago, mi amiga Sheryl Holmes did a funny blog post about the evolution of the perfect picture (aka trying to get all of her grandkids to sit still, face the camera & smile at the same time). When I took a look at my 4th of July pictures, I realized I had inadvertently captured the same thing. Sheryl, consider this an homage to your awesomeness. ;) So, here is my version of the Evolution of the Perfect Picture. Enjoy!

California Dreamin'

Snapfish is having a photo contest & the theme is "red".
This was the picture I submitted - the flowers are along one of the walkways in our apartment complex. If I win, I get 24 free prints of any pictures I want printed!

I'm California Dreamin' these days. Especially today. Not because I miss my family, or friends, the ocean, palm trees, sunshine or Togo's sandwiches (although I do). Today I'm California Dreamin' because Brent is there.

See, we're essentially broke, even though I'm working. But poor Brent - everything he has tried up here just hasn't turned out. So once again, Brent loaded up his tools and drove his battered old Explorer down to California to go do some work for his old boss Allen. Hopefully he will be able to come home for a short weekend in a couple of weeks, but for the most part he will be gone the rest of the summer, unless by some miracle he finally gets a job up here. Its been a day only and already I miss him fiercely. I thought I would be better prepared for missing him as much as I do, but our little apartment just feels so empty. But financially, this is the best thing for us right now. I have to say, I have never fully appreciated what my sister-in-law Meshell went through while Ben was at boot camp. I empathized & sympathized but now I get it, and this isn't even a fraction of what she must have felt during those long months.

I had a strange moment today. I was on my way home from work and just getting off the freeway. The stoplight at my exit is long, so if I hit it right when it turns red I know I'm going to be sitting there for a good 5 minutes. Today, standing on the side of the freeway exit was a homeless man asking for money. Now, this may not be very Christian of me, but I am not the sort of person who hands out money to homeless people. I just don't. Not because I'm being mean, but I just... never really think about it. However, today I did. I have no idea what compelled me to roll down the window & hand the guy a couple of dollars (the only cash I had on me), but he was so genuine in his thanks that I had to ask him why he was panhandling for money. He told me that he had moved to Utah from Texas for a job in construction, but when he realized that the company he was working for was ripping people off - using sub-standard materials, not finishing things up to code, etc - he went to his boss & they fired him. Now he is standing on the side of a freeway asking for money & sleeping in a homeless shelter while he tried to find new work.

Now, I have heard a lot of lines in my day but this guy... I believed him. Every word. He jokingly asked me if I had a job for him & I, unthinking, jokingly replied back that if he found one for my husband they could work together. We laughed for a second, then really looked at each other. I don't know what was showing in my face, but his whole expression changed when he looked at me & I can't explain it. I told this man that I would pray for him. He smiled at me and said "Ma'am, I don't think God knows who I am, but if he does then I'll say a prayer for you as a thank you for the kindness you've shown me today." For the life of me, I couldn't think of a response. I just stared at him, and he just smiled at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking. Then the light turned green & he waved me off.

The rest of my drive home was a blur. I just remember I got home and I cried and cried and cried. I have been such a foolish girl. Yes, things are hard here, harder than they were in California. I don't know why, but today meeting a homeless man on the side of the freeway reminded me of something that I told Heavenly Father right before we moved. I said to Him "OK. You're driving. Have at it." I put my faith in Him. Somewhere in the last 5 months, I lost my faith. I think a lot of it was that Brent & I really felt like Utah is where we belonged, and every since we arrived it has been one giant battle after the next, and the hill seems ever steeper. Lately, I have started to believe that moving to Utah was a giant mistake, that we were completely wrong, I even started figuring out how to best move back to California, where we would live & what kind of job, if any, I could find there. But today I remembered that the only thing that kept us going during the 10 days of our move was faith. We knew, we knew, that we were being led here for a reason and that everything was going to be all right. It hasn't been all right, not at all, but somewhere I forgot that burning in my heart that told me I was doing the right thing.

We are being tested, Brent & I. I don't know why, but today I realized I don't have to know why. Because my Heavenly Father is still driving. And we're going to be ok.

4th of July Weekend

Saturday morning last weekend, our friends Dee & Denise Kaufman baptized their oldest son Parker. I didn't get a lot of pictures (I let family handle that) but I took the group shot.


Sunday we didn't do much. I wasn't feeling very well so Brent & I just enjoyed some time together by ourselves.

Monday, however, was the 4th of July and to us that meant two very important things: BBQ & FIREWORKS! Brent's sister Jennifer & her family were in town for the weekend, so they came over for BBQ. We had meant to eat & go swimming but it ended up pouring rain most of the day (which to this California girl is sacrilegious!) so we watched a few movies. During breaks in the rain we ran outside for popsicle stick races, playing with the ducks & in general being goofy. After our day of fun, we headed up to our brother-in-law Gene's brother's house in Syracuse to get our pyro on. We had the best fireworks show in town - 3 hours worth - and only stopped because it was after midnight & some of us had to work in a few hours! LOL!

Getting ready for popsicle stick races!

Brent with some of the firecrackers. He found a shoebox full of firecrackers during our move - goodness knows how old they are! Notice how bright it is outside? Yeah, it was 9:30pm when I took this picture! The sun goes down much later here.



Brent had these things... Disco something... their entire purpose is to induce an epileptic fit! Not really, but it sure feels like it! This picture cracked me up because with the way Brent & Gene are standing it looks like they are watching a wormhole open from another world!

(And there is your hint that I have been watching too much Syfy channel lately!)

It was so great spending time with family. It has been hard here in Utah being so far away from everyone, and those who weren't there this year were sorely missed. (Mike & Deb, I'm looking at you!) Nevertheless, we had a terrific time & are already making plans for next year! Hope your 4th of July was as enjoyable as ours was!

Happy Independece Day

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Family Time

Brent's sister Jennifer & her family are in town for the holiday weekend. They actually got in early, early Friday morning (after driving all Thursday night with 4 small children - brave things!). We got to see them Friday night at my sister-in-law Karinne's home in Eagle Mountain, along with friends Dee & Denise & their kids. Its was a big hootenanny, Edling style, complete with kids throwing up, kid falling & getting bloody noses, the whole 9 yards. Hey, when we party, WE PARTY!

Enjoy some pictures from Friday night.

Baby Brynn in all her sweetness

I'm not sure WHY the kids decided to pose for this picture like they were zombies, but Aunt Jess is proud all the same. :)

Brent with Landon having bonding time.

I'll have loads more pictures later on. Its a family-filled weekend and I am LOVING it!

Sunday, Sunday

What a weekend. Friday morning we found out that my identity had been stolen. Whoever stole my identity had access to the bank accounts, my phone number, my email, etc. The thief had also applied for several loans under my name, so now I'm working with the credit monitoring companies to get my credit cleaned up. The majority of our weekend was spent doing damage control - changed passwords, notifying banks, filling out lots and lots of forms, changing our phone numbers, etc. Needless to say, I'm tired and ready for my real weekend to start. Oh, wait...

Despite the madness, we still had some good moments this weekend. Saturday morning we went up to my grandparent's house. Elk Ridge does their 4th of July celebration the week before, so we enjoy an awesome pancake breakfast at the fire station, then headed over to the Elk Ridge Carnival. There is something highly appealing about certain aspects of small town life, and events like that are one of them. My Aunt Jennifer creates amazing jewelry that she sells online & at local events, so I volunteered to go and be her assistant at the booth she set up for the carnival. Grandma was her cashier, and the three of us had a great time working & hanging out. I did take a break to go dunk my cousin Rachel when it was her turn in the dunk tank. Mwahaha.

For the record, here is Jennifer's jewelry collection on etsy: Secret Key. Its amazing, vintage-style jewelry.

Brent & I decided it was time to update the pictures on our walls. Despite my copious picture taking, I haven't printed off any new pictures since early 2008. So we spent several hours laughing and sorting through the hundred of pictures and decided on the ones we wanted on our walls. It was actually a very calming and fun activity for us for a Saturday afternoon after all the craziness from the ID theft. Here are some of the ones we picked out:

So our walls are filled with all the adventures we have had over 3 1/2 years with the people we love. I hate blank walls. I'm always wanting to fill them up with things. It's how I roll. ;)

An Ode To Our Dads

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad