A New, and Very Tiring Change

First off can you believe its been 7 MONTHS since Jared and I got married!!!

Second its been 6 months since he left for Fort Hood in Texas!!

Third 5 months since I took my long trip down to Texas to see him and say Goodbye a 2nd time!

Fourth there are roughly 5 months  left till I can give my Hero the biggest hug and kiss he's ever had (yes probably more than when we got married even.haha)

I wanted to start by saying how fast things go by. Even though it is hard having my sweetheart over seas, only being able to text, call, skype, email every so often, it has gone by faster than I thought it would. And these next few months I hope just fly by.

As for the new and very tiring change... many of you have heard that I got a new job!!!

I have been looking for something for almost a year, but nothing has turned up that would be worth it. Then I got married and my husband got deployed and we decided mot to worry since my job was so flexible. But as of late I've needed something more.

Don't get me wrong. I loved the clients I gained at Cookie Cutters. And I loved the girls I worked with. But as a 'manager' I barely got 30 hours and week, and didn't have a very high hourly rate. I say 'manager' because my boss was a micro manager and did mostly everything herself, but with her living out of the state I didn't errand for the salon, for example the deposits and getting supplies like toilet paper and cleaning products.

My Father-in-law has been awesome and always sends me job links, he likes to look out for me like he does his kids. But a couple weeks ago he sent me a link that the Providence Great Clips was looking to hire a manager. Well this was right down my alley so I applied. In the process of applying I clicked to be notified for jobs at the North Logan Great Clips. Well Providence never called me, but I did get a call from North Logan. Of course I'd go in for an interview! 

I went in on June 1 for an interview and after chatting about what I was doing and what I'd be interested in, I was asked if I could come back in that night for my 2nd interview and if that was enough time to round up a couple haircuts. I knew dad needed one, and I was sure mom, Morgan, or Lexie would be available. So we went back in that night, she watched me cut hair and then offered me the job! I would start as a stylist which was a pay cut from what I was getting, but I would work 40 hours a week which would even out. But with tips and Great Clips productivity and product bonuses and could make way more, PLUS I would stay busy and with more hours I won't end up at my parents or in-laws or friends bored!

So in the end I started right away working 2 jobs for a week and a half while I finished my 2 weeks. I have been so tired! I'm not use to working this much, I have been spoiled, and I haven't had to work on Sundays for 4 years (I forgot I had to at Mastercuts) and I had to work yesterday. And Friday we got my schedule all screwed up so I ended up working at Great Clips 9-2 then 4-9! Wow was I exhausted!

I'm so looking forward to the next few months and seeing what other good things come from this change!

One Year

One year ago today Jared invited himself over to my apartment for a movie night 

and my life hasn't been the same since.

Today I've been thinking back to last year and what was going through my head, and it just makes me smile.

Jared was and is everything I needed in my life.

I'm so glad Heavenly Father places people in our lives right when we need them.

He knows exactly what we need.

One year ago I was content. I was happy with who I was and what I was doing, I loved myself. I was actually thinking of moving out of Logan at the end of the summer. It was the next step, move out of college life and onto my career life, time to grow up a little more.

That night Jared came over and Tami and I were flirting with the guy downstairs trying to get him and his roommates to come up. They never did. I took the Love Sac and slept through the movie. After the movie I woke up for a min but dozed back off. Jared was still there talking to Tami about how to make her move on our neighbor that she liked and he decided to use me as his prop. 

He grabbed my knee scaring me awake and then held my hand. All the while going through my head was.. "What is going on. You can let go of my hand now. Umm boys don't like me what are you doing? This is kinda weird." At that point in my life I'd never had a boyfriend. I was friends with guys and I had crushes on them. But guys that liked me took me out on a few dates and then stopped talking to me, almost as if they'd falling off the edge of the Earth.

After Jared went home we stayed up chatting on Facebook for another hour or so. Not knowing it I'd met my Husband. Looking back now he was exactly what I'd always dreamed of... A guy who had guts. I was crushing on another guy at that time, but Jared was forward and took the initiative to 'weasel'  his way into my life and more importantly into my heart.

Now that we are apart I love him even more. 

The distance helps me see the little things about him that I miss.

I miss his hugs.

I miss him surprising me by coming home for the night when I thought he'd be in Salt Lake still.

I miss date night.

I miss cuddling on our couch watching TV.

I miss his smile.

I miss his laugh. But that I hear occasionally when I send him goofy stuff.

I can't wait for many more years together with him. 

Jared you are my hero! Stay safe. I love you lots and lots.

sometimes you just have hard days

I feel like I just ramble on sometimes.

I wonder why you guys read this.

But its a good outlet for me, I can write when I need to.

Today was hard. It started out wet and rainy so I didn't go on a run like I planned. (yes a run! I've decided to start running as Jared likes to and would like to run together.)

Jared and I tried to Skype but his connection wasn't strong enough so we just messaged.

Then the Xbox login got all messed up and I couldn't get Netflix up and I couldn't fix it.

I sent Jared a package today. I think that was most of the problem. Sometimes I just miss him so much, and wish he was here around the house. Even for stupid things like the messed up Xbox.

I love him so much and am so PROUD of MY HERO. As hard this is I wouldn't change it. For whatever reason we need to go through this, and I know it will make us stronger. It will strengthen our marriage.

I fell in love with Jared while he was gone last summer and this is just making that love stronger. I realize the things that I love most about him. What I miss about him. Like him playing Xbox while I do the laundry. Or us making dinner together. Summer picnics. Shooting up the canyon. Date night.

Thinking about all of these makes me happy looking forward to his Homecoming.

Pinterest Disasters

Ok this is going to be a very random post!

But I tried some Pinterest recipes yesterday... and they were awful!!!

It was a sad day and I don't find many disasters like this.

I tried Paula Dean's Mashed Cauliflower... http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/mashed_cauliflower/

GROSS! I don't know if I made 

it wrong but it was nasty and I threw it all out!

Then I decided to make cookies, but I didn't have many ingredients so I looked on 

Pinterest for a quick easy recipe and I found these Meltaway cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting.

http://www.landeeseelandeedo.com/search?q=meltaway

They were easy... butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and flour... and they were yummy, but the after taste was horrible, so I also threw them out. It was a sad night.

Weekend in Texas

This was a great vacation with such a sad ending.

To begin with I was suppose to fly out Wednesday, February 6th at 8:00 pm with a straight through flight to Austin arriving at 12:00 am Texas time where my husband was going to pick me up.

Well, the Army decided to switch some things around with training and they added an extra day for some, and 2 days for others!! What a bummer for these guys who were suppose to be on pass with their families!

Luckily with the job I have, and the girls I work with, I am pretty flexible and when Jared asked me to try and get an earlier flight it was an option.

 sitting in the SLC Airport

 I found a red eye I could switch to and got on it. I left Salt Lake at 1:00 am, after my dad was kind enough to drive me down, and that put me into Atlanta at 6:00 am (4:00 am Utah time) with a 2 hour layover before the flight into Austin. I won't lie I was kinda nervous about this flight with the switch... I usually only take a carry on so I wasn't quite sure how checked luggage worked but I was very happy to find my suitcase made it safe to Austin with me.

 Atlanta sunrise

When I got to Austin I was also nervous about my car rental. Jared was originally going to pick up the car so he could come down to Austin and pick me up, but then after they switched training we cancelled that and rebooked so I picked up the car. But now I was coming 12 hours earlier. It was no problem they had one ready, I just had to have it back sooner on Monday so I didn't get charged for an extra day.

 rental

I then got directions and headed up to Ft. Hood. I discovered that Texans don't speed, going 1-2 miles over I felt like I was flying by them. Except in a work zone... they didn't slow down, adjusting their speed for that. I stopped for a bite to eat at Jack in the Box when I realized I hadn't eaten actual food in about 12 hours.

 lunch

Then I finally made it I found Jared!!

I got a big hug from the love of my life!! And it was so good to be in his arms.

We had fun that weekend in Texas. We ate good food, saw a good movie, hung out with friends, and just spent good quality time with each other. 

One thing I've learned from our relationship is that the distance has helped us grow closer together. Its helped us learn the little things that we love about each other. I love Jared  being around to do the shopping with me, or doing the dishes, or cleaning the house. I love curling up on the couch while we put in a movie and I fall asleep on his chest. I love him just being in the house. I love the faces he makes to get me to smile. And most of all, we've learned that time together is precious. You never know what will happen so you need to make the most of every minute you are together.

3 long weeks

Tomorrow!!! Tomorrow is the day I get to fly out to see the love of my life!!!

Isn't he so handsome!! And he's all mine for a few days.

My flight isn't till 8 pm  so I don't get to Texas till midnight, and now there has been some change with their pass days so I may have to get the car and check into the hotel by myself and not see him till Thursday afternoon. But the bonus is that he doesn't have to be back till Monday morning where he was originally suppose to be back Sunday at midnight.

Even though it has been hard having him gone, I think it makes our love for each other so much stronger. I realize the little things that I miss him for, like cleaning the house together, grocery shopping together, hanging out with family together. Relaxing at night together. I think that is the hardest one. When I've worked all day and get off at 7 I don't really want to go anywhere, but it gets lonely sitting on my couch, eating dinner, and watching something on Netflix by myself.

I truly fell in love with Jared when he was gone this summer. He had to go to California for 3 weeks in July for his AT (annual training) and in that time we fell in love and started talking about maybe getting married. Sometimes distance hurts the relationship, but in ours it brings us closer together. It helps us appreciate the other person, and helps us remember why we love each other.

Broken hearts

I didn't want to put a black spot on my last post as it was a very happy occasion. 

But I guess every story needs some trials to teach us lessons and make us stronger.

In September when we were thinking about getting married, setting a date, looking at our future, we found out Jared's reserve unit got identified to Deploy, and it was going to be in April that they left for Fort Hood to train. We were thinking of getting married in January after the holidays, and after a few more months together but this put a kink in things. We decided that we loved each other and were planning on getting married so why not do it quick. We planned for a November wedding, this way even with him being gone for a week each month for training we'd have a good 5-6 months together before he left.

Sadly a week before the wedding Jared got a call while he was at work. He thought it was going to be about his drill weekend so he called them back... It wasn't about the weekend. They moved up the deployment, he not only was leaving for Fort Hood in January, but since his unit was in Salt Lake he would be living down there Monday through Friday. He was suppose to report November 13, four days after our wedding. 

You could say they were kind enough to give us a week to be together. 

That first night after Jared left I had a hard time sleeping. It'd only been 10 days Jared said, but it was so natural having him around and sharing a bed with him. It was nice that it was Thanksgiving that week and Jared was only gone 2 1/2 days and then we had 4 1/2 days together before he was gone again.

November 29 and 30 Jared was out in Minnesota doing paperwork. November 30 I went with my father in law to Salt Lake to watch Rhetts' hockey game and then I was going to pick up Jared from the airport. Well Jared always likes to surprise me... he caught an earlier and was waiting at the ice rink! After the game we went to his grandparents house to spend the night. December 1 was a Christmas party at the Army Center. They had a big lunch for everyone and then we just mingled with the other soldiers.

At work Tami was so helpful to me. Her husband is in the National Guard so she was very understanding of my situation and she worked every Saturday so that I could have my weekends with Jared.

Poor Jared wasn't home for 2 weeks in December. The 9th I drove him to the airport and he went to Fort Bliss till Thursday. I left work early as Jared again got an earlier flight. We got lunch and then went shopping, Jared got my Christmas Present (a pearl ring) from Morgan Jewelers. After that we went to Jared's grandparents to stay the night again.

Friday we got to the airport as we were going to a Yellow Ribbon Event in California. Sadly, the tickets were put in my maiden name and all I had were my married IDs. They finally let me through security but I had to get patted down. And now we were stressed about coming back from California. 

California was great. We got a lot of information that was very helpful (if only I could organize it). And it was somewhat warm too. We spent some time in Downtown Disney and bought Jared some legos at the Lego store. He was a very happy 'kid'. Sunday getting back through security wasn't so bad as we called Andy and he got a marriage license faxed to us at the hotel.

The next week Jared was out Camp Williams, but they were nice to keep them mostly inside as it was so cold outside. 

The next week was Christmas, then New Years, and then we got 1 1/2 weeks together before he reported to duty and flew down to Fort Hood where he is now.