Seriously?

So let me just preface this by saying that we have a really good dog. Lole has been well trained from day one and it is so nice to have a dog that we trust to sit on the front steps of our apartment without chasing people or running away or causing trouble. Our neighbors, on the contrary, have this stupid basset hound who would run away in a heartbeat if he wasn't on a chain.

If you want to have an outside dog, wait until you have your own house or move into an apartment with a fenced in area. Don't chain your dog up outside your apartment so people can't walk on the sidewalk unless they want to be jumped on or barked at. Now our neighbors have been informed a couple times that if they are going to have their dog outside on the chain, he needs to be supervised. Well, aparently they don't feel like that is a need. If you really don't like your dog well enough to have him inside, then get rid of your dog. Seriously.

So our neighbors were informed again yesterday about thier dog and he flipped out. Mind you he is pretty much an alcoholic and I'm not sure how many drinks he had before he was confronted at 6 oclock in the afternoon. Well, quite a few profanities later, he called the police and felt the need to inform them that Lole is not on a leach when she is outside. And since Springville is a leash city, we can get a big fat fine for having our dog outside our apartment without a leash. Which includes her going to the bathroom.

I am so frustrated! My dog goes to the bathroom in the same place every time and she is perfectly capable without me standing there holding a leash! WELL now he has threatened that any time she is not on a leash, he is going to call the police on us. SO I had to go buy Lole a leash last night (lol thats right, we didn't even know where ours was because she never needs one when we go anywhere). And now I have to stand outside and hold my dog on a leash every time she goes to the potty.

Well. There you go. Thanks for letting me vent!

I love spinning!

So when school started, I started losing my habits of going to the gym. But I have really been trying to get those habits back recently! SO... my really cute friend from Happy Sumo recently became a spin instructor at Golds, so I been going to her spin classes! I LOVE IT! It is such a good workout! The first time Adam and I went, I threw up half-way through the class, but since then it has all been uphill :) I don't know what it is about the dark room and loud music, that totally gets me in the zone!

Other than that, Adam and I have been keeping really busy since school started! I am taking 16 credits and I think Adam is taking either 15 or 16 credits also! His business is keeping him really busy every other moment of the week! I am working about 2-3 shifts a week at Happy Sumo and am really needing all the extra time that frees up for me with all the homework my professors assign!

All in all, I am really enjoying my classes. I am learning some really interesting things about education and how I can be the best teacher possible! I can't wait to just get out into the classrooms!

With everything that has happened in the past few weeks, I am just reminded of how lucky I am to be blessed with such an amazing family (old and new)! The support system we have and the strength I have seen in my family, especially Trey, amazes me every day! It's crazy to think that if I had to deal with so many situations that I would just shut down, but I see members of my family go though these things and they are so strong and have so much faith! I am grateful to them for their great example to me.

And with that I just have to add how lucky I am to have Adam for a husband! He really is so good to me! He always knows just what to say to make me smile and he really makes sure I know, every day, how much he loves me! I am so grateful that we can be an eternal family!

PS! I just have to add my shout out to the dear Madelyn Wayment! She helped me (and when I say help I mean pretty much did everything while I watched lol) create my wonderful new blog, which I absolutely love! Thanks so much Madelyn!

Avid Reader

So in my Children's Literature class today, my teacher was talking to us about the one question you can ask a person to see if they are the sort of person who loves reading and reads regularly or not. I thought this was super interesting (after trying to guess the question several times he finally gave us the answer he was looking for lol)! The question is, "What are you planning on reading next?" This is because someone who is constantly reading, will probably be thinking about/planning for their next good read!

I know a lot of you are big readers, so my question to you is, what do you plan on reading next, or do you have any great suggestions for what I read next? I am STILL working on the 9th Work and the Glory book (I took a break to read the Twilight series) and am trying to decide what I want to read next! I was thinking about reading East of Eden again, since I read it in highschool and absolutely loved it! So... what do you think?!

Are you educated?

So the first week of classes has come and gone and I have learned some fascinating things from some of my professors. One question which has been asked by a few of my professors is does recieving a diploma mean you have been educated? I thought this was an interesting question to ponder.

One professor said that too often we get less than we pay for with a college education. That really made me think. Am I becoming educated throughout my years at this university or am I simply doing what needs to be done to get by? I'm not really sure how to decipher my previous college years, but I do know that I can make a difference now; this semester. I am going to get the most out of my education so that I can truly feel like I have been educated.

So this leads me to something I want to ask my friends and family who read this blog. What do you think it means to be educated?

Still Alive...

Good news! I have survived the first two days back at school! I have some classes that are going to be really interesting and quite an assortment of teachers! I have one professor with a doctorate from Harvard and another that is a math education graduate student! So far I have only gotten one migraine ;)

It looks like this is going to be a busy semester for both of us taking 16 credits, but we are ready to plow on through our education! We'll be sure to keep you posted!

Be of Good Cheer!

Happy Labor Day!

Can you believe it is already September!? This year has really flown by! Well today the plans were to go to the lake and show off my end of summer clearance swimsuit before the summer ended, but then it was going to be too cold. So then we decided to go skydiving, but then it started raining this morning! SO, we decided to go bowling with Tommy and Aria! It was a fun way to spend my 'last day of summer!' We still plan on going skydiving before the weather officially changes, but we'll see if it ever happens ;)

My my visiting teaching companion and I visit teach a mom and her two daughters in our ward, and they are such a hoot! Yesterday, we went to visit teach after church (for the month of September already! Mom, aren't you proud of me!) and ended up sitting and talking for almost 2 hours! We got talking about school, work, primary, and just the stresses of daily life and had a good time laughing about it all! I really enjoyed the overall message for this month and we were excited for find the motto we are going to follow this week:

BE OF GOOD CHEER.

Doesn't that just sum it all up? So with school starting this week, I am really going to try and keep that state of mind! On that note... school starts tomorrow! I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes!

We are geeks, we know! We have a picture just like this from my 20th birthday! :)

Tommy and Aria!Here you can see Adam's great form and me just flicking the ball as usual :)