Michael speaks to me with his language

Some background info:
1)Michael and I are currently taking a marriage skills class in church. One thing that we learned was our languages of love. There are five different types of languages that people use to express their love to others; words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. I express my love and feel love most from others through words of affirmation. Michael, on the other hand, expresses his love and feels love most through acts of service.
2)I have a cat that is OCD. Whenever she uses her litter box she spends about 5 minutes moving the litter around to make sure that everything is really covered. In the process she gets litter everywhere!!!

The real story:
I try to clean the litter box every other day. Whenever I clean the litter box I have to sweep the bathroom because of my stupid OCD cat. So, when I left to work the other night this is what the bathroom looked like:
As you can see there is litter EVERYWHERE!!! I had a very busy and very crazy night at work but I knew I wanted to clean the cat box before I went to sleep.
But when I came home this is what I saw:
Because I know Michael's language I knew that this was his way of saying, "I love you and I wanted you to know it!" I really wanted to cry because it meant so much to me. It made a perfect end to one really hard day!

High Spirits in Hard Times

So, my ward is really unique. Every Mother's Day and Christmas (well around Christmas) the Relief Society (the women...for those who don't know) meet during Sunday School and Relief Society. We have musical numbers, that we clap after, and a yummy brunch. The theme is picked out by our wonderful RS President and we have a few, brief talks on that topic. One year ago it made me really uncomfortable because it was different. But now I realize that it's a wonderful tradition and exactly what I need. FYI: all the men of the ward chip in so that every single woman's calling is covered so no one misses a beat.
This Mother's Day Kathryn, RS President, chose the theme of "High Spirits in Hard Times." She felt it was very appropriate for the times we are facing; I have to agree. About two weeks before Mother's Day Kathryn called me up and asked me to speak on how I get through hard times. After a lot of prayer this is what I came up with....
Oh...someone told me it sounded like something they could have read in an Ensign. Just sayin.

The only way to describe my feelings over the last two weeks is...it is such an unique experience to try and figure out how you deal with your problems. Besides, that is, crying your eyes out and hiding under your covers. I do encourage, though, all of you to go home and think of how you get through your problems. It may be hard but it is very rewarding.
For those of you who don't know, I am a baker for a deli called Panera Bread. The thing that sticks out most about my job is the fact that I work straight through the middle of the night. One service that Panera offers is a catering service. Each cafe, or location, has a catering coordinator. At my cafe, Dublin, it is a young lady named Jessica. Jessica goes out and finds businesses who want to jazz up their next meeting with some bagels, sanwiches, or sweets. She then puts orders together and sends them out. As you can probably assume, Jessica works straight through the middle of the day. So, you can imagine, we have very little communication. If Jessica has an order for any thing extra for a catered event she fills out a yellow baker's sheet and puts it in the baker's area. These sheets have every sweet, bread, and pastry that I bake. Jessica simply marks what she needs and I add it to what I am already baking.
The other night, about two weeks ago, I went into work and noticed a yellow baking sheet in my area. Just like clock work, I pulled down the sheet and read over what things extra I needed to bake. I saw 14 extra cheese pastries, 14 extra chocolate pastries, 14 extra pecan braids, and 9 slices of brownie. Just for some foreshadowing you can buy brownie by the slice or whole; one whole browning has 8 slices. when I saw the 9 slices I knew how many brownies we were already baking that night and figured Jessica would have enough so I did not make any extra.
At 5:00 the next morning Jessica came in to start getting her order ready. I had made and set aside all the pastries she had ordered and was slowly cleaning and trying to finish up to go home. Jessica was trying to go as fast as she could so that she could be out the door by 6:00 in order to make it to Livermore in time. At 5:30 Jessica approached me and asked where her brownies were. I stared at her with a blank stare and she once again asked: "Luanne, where are my nine brownies?" Apparently the yellow baker's sheet had been filled out wrong and she had marked 9 slices instead of 9 whole brownies. The next five seconds seemed like the longest of my life. I started to panic. In order to properly proof, bake, cool down, and frost nine brownies I would need about two hours...I had thrity minutes. But, I started to slowly smile and with determination said, "Jessica, consider it done."
I don't think I have ever worked so hard. I went as fast as I could. I had plenty of moments of frustration, some tears, a lot of laughter and two heart felt, very sincere prayers. Mostly, though, I stuck to that orignal bit of determination I had. Needless to say, two cuts and one very bad burn later Jessica was walking out the door with nine beautifully frosted brownies at 6:10, forty minutes later. She successfully made it to Livermore on time and the customer enjoyed them so much she ordered seven more the following week.
As I was driving home that morning I started to ponder what I was going to say today, in church. I, like I had mentioned, only saw myself as crying my eyes out and hiding under my covers whenever I hit a problem. Heavenly Father then sweetly whispered into my ear, "Luanne, remember how you just made all those brownies?" I then realized that when ever I hit a problem in my life I always have a moment of panic, whether it be a few seconds, a few hours, or a few days. But I then slowly start to smile and say with determination, "Heavenly Father, consider it done." I always work so hard. There are plenty of moments of frustration, some tears, lots of laughter and some very heart felt, very sincere prayers. But I always stick to that original feeling of determination. Needless to say, two cuts and one very bad burn later, there is a beautifully frosted problem that I have learned and grown from. The Lord always enjoys my work and throws me another problem, sometimes just one week later.

Even though problems may be hard in your life I hope that all of you are always determined to push through it!

Every FIVE weeks

Michael and I are really blessed. Michael is able to go to an accelerated school so he/we can move on with our lives quickly. But sometimes you have to really focus on the good part of the blessings to ignore the bad. I explain...
The bad part:
Michael takes one...sometimes two...classes at a time. These classes last eight hours a day for five weeks. Because the classes are so short once he reaches week two he starts crunch time. This means that he is up late hours, has little sleep, and is super stressed trying to get the project done. During this time our time "spent together" is him on the computer and me doing whatever around the house. On the day/night before the project is due he is so tired that he falls into bed and instantly falls asleep. He then spends the next few days just sleeping..we normally don't really talk at this time.
Going to school is hard. Even though we see each other more now that I'm no longer in school I am still really starting to miss my husband. I know that once he starts working...especially with his career choice...he will still have late hours and stressful times. But, at least when he is at home there will be no homework. It will be just me and him doing...whatever!!
Counting my blessings:
There is only a little less then a year left.
Michael obviously cares about me and our future family because he works this hard so he can one day provide for us.
Michael is going into something that he LOVES!! That almost tops it all.
Finally, even though he works hard and is stressed...he still takes time to tell me he loves me.

I'm almost there....I almost have my husband back.

Be jealous of my super awesome life!

So, Michael and I have tried really hard to be more active. We've been going to our swimming pool almost everyday. We went window shopping a couple of times and really just try to do whatever we can to get out of the house. The other day we were going back and forth of what we were going to do and nothing really sounded good...but we got such a great idea. CHECK IT OUT!! I don't know why everything above is blue and underlined but I can't change it back; so sorry.






The best part was the beach was only 30 minutes away. We weren't able to stay for long but the time we were there was a blast.

Confessions of a 22 year old Wife

So even though I kind of put on a front when I'm around other people I'm a SUCKER for those super cheesy chick flicks. I LOVE when Michael isn't home and one of those movies is on TV. I love watching and waiting for the main characters to finally have that one kiss we've been waiting for all movie. Even though I know exactly how the movie is going to go I still can't wait to watch it play out.

When I was in high school I would watch these type of movies over and over again and cry over my pathetic life. I was always on a search for my "true love" and hated that every guy I went to high school with either thought I was a freak or saw me as a piece of meat that they could chew up and spit out when things got tuff.

One really exciting thing about heading off to Pocatello was that is was in a different town and led to new opportunities. Which in reality...meant new boys. But, I soon found out that I would once again wallow in my own pity and tears on my bed as I watched a girl being embraced by the man of her dreams. He would hold her firmly but tenderly and kiss her like it's the first kiss of her life. That girl knew, deep inside, that this man that she was kissing was the last man that she was going to kiss and nothing made her happier. I would sit through the credits and wonder where my Prince Charming was and if I had missed him because I was too busy being pushed around by some jerk. I also wondered if one of those jerks was the love of my life and I was destined to live with someone who pushed me around...but don't worry things looked up.

I just want to pause and say that I don't believe that there is one person that you are meant to be with. I believe that there are a lot of people who you are compatible with and who ever you choose is just that, your choice. No matter what you have to work at whatever relationship you choose to be in. That being said, I do believe that two people are meant to meet because they can have a successful relationship. I believe that Heavenly Father knows who we will work well with so he helps in setting up situations where those two people can meet.

So, through fait and a little bit of work I meet the man of my dreams. Was he perfect? No. He didn't sing country in my ear while we drove around in his big Chevy truck...but he did sing. Also, his big Chevy truck was there...just broken down in his parent's drive way. You know, I still wish we could have got the truck working. Despite a lot of really little things I really felt Michael was it (sorry if you didn't know I was talking about Michael, that could have been surprising). Even though things didn't happen the way I thought they would; he was kind of seeing this other girl, his family thought I was some physco girl who was stocking him, and I go back to the whole country music thing, but something was happening. Then, one wonderful day, I got what I had been waiting my whole life for. I'm sorry for the chick flick feel of that line but I can't help myself.

Michael and I had finally held hands and I didn't really know how to "go in for the kill;" the kiss. But, the Monday after we had started moving in a new direction I went over to his house to watch him preform as Javert in Les Mis. After about fourty five minutes of trying to find the first half of the play, Michael had to go back to work. We walked out to our cars and our eyes met...and he leaned in, scared. We had one small peck and he ran away to his car. Even though I loved this first kiss and as soon as I got home and walked through my front door went screaming to my room mates about how excited I was I had no idea what was in store.

That night Michael was leaving my house and we were hugging by his car. He said he felt really dumb about our kiss earlier and he wanted to make up for it. So, he grabbed and held me firmly but tenderlky and started to dance with me. He then started to sing...I actually heard the song at work the other day and started to cry. He then looked deep into my eyes and leaned in for the kill. I then felt the world stop spinning and I realized this was like the first kiss I had ever received and deep down I knew that Michael was the last man I was ever going to kiss.

Tonight, on ABC Family I watched A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff. Even though it was about two kids stuck in high school and it was really lame I cried when the two main characters finally kissed. I realized that these tears were different then the ones I cried in high school. This time these tears were of me being glad that I knew that kiss. I am now in my happily ever after...is it perfect? No, but I find that so exciting. Even though we fight and sometimes we are annoyed with each other, we love each other so much. We are willing to work through all the crap so that we can one day reach our true happily ever after into eternity. I'm glad I have my prince charming and I'm glad to say that I am never giving him up.

Our super exciting life

So this blog is really supposed to be about Michael and I. Little might you all know every entry really does kind of have to do with us but that's all unnecessary. So, I thought I would give an entry that is a little update on our life here in Emeryville.
Michael JUST started a new class today. He had a two week Spring Break and had a really hard time going back; I think it's the schedule. He goes to school from 5pm-1am Tues, Thurs, Sat. As you can imagine that's a terrible schedule and it really affects him. This new class should be exciting, though. He is taking a web design class. Now that Mike is back from his mission Michael can get the password...or whatever...for their URL for Haydy Productions and can design that website. So that's really exciting.
Right now, with Michael at school, I just got done baking a cake. I'm practicing for Trevor and Heidi's cake. I'm not really worried about the top and middle layer, it's the bottom layer that needs some practicing. I'm really excited to share my skills with them to help them save some money. I'm using my skills some other ways too. I am starting my business!! (Dinner for Two) This is where I teach people how to make a small three course meal...oh so fun. I'm supposed to start on the 25th but it's kind of falling through. But, I have a lot of friends that want to be included so at least I have a following.
As most know, I just graduated from the CCA and I'm very excited about that. It was so great to have family here to support me. It was so nice to see their smiles and know they are proud. Michael was especially proud. I thought about my year while I was at the ceremony and realized how much Michael played a role in my time there. I really wish there was a way for me to express into words the love and appreciation I have for him...I also wish I would have told him thank you more through out the year. It's amazing how much your spouse supports you with out you even realizing it. :) Anyway, I was really proud of myself. I didn't really realize my accomplishment until I went to that ceremony.
California is treating us pretty well. The weather has been great...summer is on it's way. Right now there is some serious wind going on...they are closing a bridge as we speak...but it's pretty warm. We really enjoy where we live but we are pretty ready to get to the next step in our life. We have a year..ish left and we can't wait.

FedEx...oh how I hate them

I just want to say that if I could I would pooh on FedEx. When Michael worked there it was the worst. To start off he would barely have time to come home right after leaving school and driving through traffic, to stop by home to have me drive him to work so that I could go to my crappy job and pick Michael up after he was done. He was scheduled to be done at 10:00 (I think) but I would fall asleep in the parking lot and he would usually get in the car by midnight. The poor boy was under worked and under paid. He was told he would be getting paid more than he actually was. He was so worn out and I was working two jobs so that we could get in a place where he could actually quit. He worked there for about two or three months and it was the worst. I had never seen someone so worn out and so tired....ever.
Well, Michael got the sweet relief when we moved to Emeryville. After a couple of weeks of waiting we traveled all the way to Benicia to get his paycheck. "Oh we are sorry we just put your paycheck in the mail. Even though today is pay day we didn't know if you were coming." Ok, so that is kind of valid but because of the stupid post office we didn't actually receive this MUCH needed check until about a month later.
Now, it's almost the end of March and guess what...we still have yet to receive his W-2. They sent us some lame thing about a small settlement to our right address but can't seem to send our W-2 to the right address. We have tried calling number after number. It took a long time, but we finally reached the right person. We called her several times and left messages. When Michael finally, actually, talked to her all she could say was, "oh I was planning on calling you back. Your W-2 should be to you in 7-10 business days."
GRRRR.....Michael is supposed to have his FAFSA done by April 3rd but it's hard to do it without taxes finished. a;sdfkha;sdkfjadsi;ohga;woeighaw;eiogh is the only way I can describe my frustration with FedEx.
Oh, and next time you think about sending a package with them let me tell you this...Michael said that pretty much everyone he worked with enjoyed throwing and stacking the packages extra hard that said fragile.