I LOVE TO LAUGH!!!

One of my favorite movies growing up was Mary Poppins. When I was little me and by BFF would sit in front of the TV and watch it over and over and over again. It was nice that our moms were BFFs so that they would chat away and were able to ignore Supercalifrag...however you spell that... being sung over and over again. One of the songs in the movie is I Love to Laugh. It's about a friend of Mary Poppins and he has laughed so hard that it has made him rise to the ceiling.
I love this thought. The idea that laughing is so glorious that it makes you rise above the clouds and puts all your troubles below you. Even in the movie the only way to get down is to think of something very sad...sadness is a downer.
The other day I was talking to my most wonderful mother (in-law. I don't like really mentioning that part but since I do have another mom that is wonderful I like to make clear which one I am talking about) on the phone. We had had a very serious conversation and both of us definitely had some serious crocodile tears a flowing. Since we both hate ending on a bad note we try as hard as we can to make it so the conversation ends in happiness. This is really an unspoken thing but it's still done. In this particular conversation we started talking about how women come up with these wild and crazy stories in our heads. For instance...for the sake of embarrassing a close friend I will not use real names...I was taking a flight to a certain city and I was flying with a big group. One of the couples in this group had 3 kids. We were each assigned a child to look after and the mother, lets call her Gabriella (I know she loves that name and wants to be her), left herself with the youngest, lets call him Dash, for he was pretty young. A couple nights before the flight Gabriella was laying...or lying which ever one is correct English... in bed, this is usually when women think of crazy things, and she started thinking about what she would do if the plane started to crash. She got so nervous because she just didn't know what she would do with Dash. He was young enough that he would be in the seat with her so it's not like she could stick some sort of life preserver on him. After a lot of options she decided the best thing to do would be to stick Dash in her bra. For some reason this was the most logical explanation and eased her mind enough to go to sleep. I still laugh out loud about this.
As I was saying, though, Mom and I were talking about these crazy instances that we have thought of. Before I knew it I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt and my eyes were watering. I no longer remembered the hard times that were weighing me down. All I could do was laugh.

BTW

Does anyone else think it's hilarious that all my blog postings are at crazy morning hours?

Saturday Stake Conference

So, I am 21 years old; almost 22. I was born in the covenant and up until high school was really active in church. But in all this time I had never been to a Saturday session of Stake Conference in my life; until today. One of my best friends, Masha, needed a ride up there and asked if I could take her. Even though I didn't really want to go I know Masha did and I decided nothing bad could come out of it. I'm so glad I went. First, I found out that I am very distantly related to my stake president. He mentioned, in his talk, about his mom, maiden name Evans, and how she moved from all her relatives in Lehi. I am an Evans and all my family (from way back) comes from Lehi. I asked him about it after conference and it's a pretty sure bet. So, it's a small small world.
Anyway, all five talks were amazing but one struck me especially. Right as the talk started I felt the spirit tell me that this talk was for me. I love it when that happens and was so ready to hear what the Lord had to say to me. I was slowly disappointed as the talk went on. It was about loving those who are different than us. He focused on things that are not of our faith...such as...in his firm they have a volunteer group that helps those with aids. They also have baby showers for the ladies at the firm and some of them are not married. He said that he helps in all these things and enjoys it. Even though this is a wonderful message it isn't something I'm struggling with so I thought maybe I had misunderstood what the spirit was trying to say. Then I had my AHA moment; one line, "If in a family you say, I love you but I hate this behavior (whatever behavior that might be) Can you really harbor that hate with out it affecting that love?"
This struck me like a mallet to a gong. (good metaphor LuLu) The sentence resonated with me. I thought about it's meaning for a really long time. I then thought about certain behaviors that I have in my life that I am trying to change to become a better wife. One of them impeticular is a really pesky bugger and is causing great problems. Even though it's hard for Michael I really need him to just get through this with me so I can be better. So, on my part I need to love Michael and his faults. I don't feel like you can just put up with faults. You need to recognize them and appreciate them or else you can't truely love that person.
I think that this line, alone, can do tremendous things for me. It not only applies to my husband but to those around me. I once had a long talk with my boss about having control over our bakes. Every night that I bake I have to go in a certain order so that everything comes out looking beautiful, done correctly, and comes out on time. You have to have such control over everything. I was even getting to the point where I would get frustrated at my assistant for putting a cart in the "wrong" spot. Since I was mad about this I would notice all the other stupid things he would do. But, after talking to my boss (she used to be the same way) I discovered that my assistant is just doing what he thinks is best. He's trying to be in control of the assisting side. I then learned to appreciate what my assistant did for me. Even if it wasn't my way it was getting done and getting done correctly and that's all I really needed. Even though Neil, my assistant, isn't someone I spend my every day life with he is still a dominant person in my life...considering I see him about 40 hrs a week. Now, instead of always being frustrated with him I can just enjoy working with him.
Is this all making sense? I hope so. I know that it makes sense to me and I guess that is all that really matters.

Crazy Sleeping Schedule

I absolutely hate my Sundays. On Saturday nights/Sunday mornings I have to work. I work until about 5:00 AM. I then get off work to come home and sleep a small amount of time before heading to church. I then come home to get a few hours asleep. I wake up for a few hours to eat and watch TV. I try so hard to stay awake through the rest of the day but can never make it. I sleep until about 1:00 in the morning and I am awake for good. I'm really annoyed by this and don't know how to fix it!!!!
I need some suggestions people.

Life in the home of the Hardy's

It's already February and Michael is already a year older. Time seems to be flying here in E-ville, CA. Honestly, I've been wanting to do this since the beginning of the new year but haven't really found the right words until now. So much happened to Michael and I in one single year I just can't believe it. I just want to prove to everyone that you can't expect anything and that anything you expect will not come out the way you expected it. So I start...
The beginning of Feb. 2008 Michael had just started school. Both him and I had JUST managed to find jobs for the first time that year. I was working for Chevy's Fresh Mex as a hostess making NO money and he was slaving away at Fed-Ex making some money but slowly killing himself because he was juggling it with school. The plan was that once Michael had started school he would no longer work because school was work load enough. But, with the cost of both of us commuting and the fact that Vallejo was about to claim bankruptcy I just couldn't find a job that would pay me enough. I even tried having two jobs...but still not enough.
We struggled for two months trying desperately to make ends meet. We knew we needed to move to Emeryville but never had the money to move. I finally did all our tax stuff in March and low and behold we had received enough to MOVE!!! It only took us about two weeks to find our new place and we didn't even look back as we said good bye to Vallejo.
This is our current apartment but it was bran spankin new at the time. I really didn't want Michael to take this picture because I was really sick in it. What I didn't know was that this sickness was the start of me getting diabetes. Ya, I recently learned that diabetes starts with some type of sickness. So, boo to this.
So, anyway, voiceless and all I started back up at work. I was working at Cold Stone in Pinole which is way closer to Vallejo then it was to Emeryville. But, I got paid just enough for us to make it. Michael didn't have to work and that's all I really cared about.
Working at Cold Stone was it's own little world. I would get back from school and have just enough time to eat and change then I would have to head off to work. I would work really late into the night and come home to sleep just a few hours and start over again. In the mean time Michael was being piled on with homework. Most days the only time we saw each other/ our first kiss of the day was when I would come home from work and I would be heading to bed. Through the grace of God we still managed to have some type of marriage.
May was an eventful month for us. Michael had just finished making his first movie and they were doing a "movie night" at his school of all the student films. His parents surprised us and flew down to see us and the movie. Even though I was exhausted (from working, schooling, and having diabetes and not knowing it :)) we had so much fun. We went to the city (which is lingo for San Francisco around here) and they spent a lot of money on us. It was so awesome! We are excited because, almost one year later, they are heading out here again for my graduation ceremony!!
Even though the beginning of May rocked we had a rough end of the month. Michael had some neurological problems. I was scared out of my mind but my friend, Marielle, was there to help the second I called her. I soon realized the importance of a ward family and how much it meant to me. I also realized the importance of an Eternal Marriage and how much Michael meant to me.
The next few months were pretty uneventful. We tried very hard to make ends meet and had to get help from the church several times. The second...or third...time we received help from the church I realized it was time for me to get a job that paid more and was closer to home. (This was after purchasing a new fuel efficient car. We miss our Equinox but we had to be more practical.) I managed to find a job as a server at Elephant Bar. Food is good, job was pretty crappy. But with the knowledge that the end of September would mean that I would be done with school and finding a "real job" I kept a smile on my face. I thought it was full speed ahead.
During this time Michael decided to leave me for a week to go and help his two sisters and thier families move to WV. I'm still sad I couldn't go but I'm SO glad Michael was able to get out and help.
During the time that he was gone I was slowly...well quickly...loosing a ton of weight. I was also so tired that I would even be able to stay awake if I sat down. I figured it was because I was eating really crappy or because of the fact that I only got 4 hours a sleep..if I was lucky a night. But it soon got so bad that I decided to go to the hospital. I will have you all know that it was more than just being tired and loosing all the wieght. I also had lost 1/2 the hair on my head and was extra moody. Well, come to find out...I have diabetes: type one! It was an eventful/emotional/crappy weekend in the hospital. But I know have a pretty good handle on it and now it's just part of my life...whatever.
The month of September, though, was pretty emotional. I was trying to get a hold on my new disease and trying to finish up school. Somehow I managed to do it and even got a job at Panera Bread. Ya to having benefits and to NO SCHOOL!!
From there on out it's been pretty uneventful. Michael and I celebrated our 2nd year anniversary and Christmas alone.
Now, I just work every night and Michael stays wrapped up in his school work. We are getting by and loving life! I can't believe how far we've come together and it blows my mind to think of how much more we have to go. A life time together is a long time to learn a lot and it then goes onto eternity. I'm so glad I chose Michael as my companion because no one could make a bettter one!
Hopefully this year brings us more joy than the crap we got last year! ;) It was a great year though. I learned a lot about myself and the importance of my marriage and I could not ask for more!

Learning how to blog

Ok, so I don't know if I just was missing or asleep the day that blogs got big. But apparently I missed the big meeting of how to do this. Fortunately between some friends and family I'm getting a hang of this blog thing. So, pretty much I'm just testing some things out.

Just to let you all know this picture was taken right after Michael and I said "I love you" to each other for the first time. I think that he really wanted to show me off to all of his home boys. I am a super hot babe!