REALLY good news!

It's true. Not a ploy people.
Steve got a job!!!!! It's with a company called Fusion IO. Don't ask me what they do because every time he's explained it to me, it's gone way over my head. But it's genius related. Anyhow, we are super excited and grateful. He starts Tuesday! Plus the pay is pretty good too.
BUT, (there's usually one of those "buts" involved isn't there?) it is a contract job. No benefits. He will be on contract for 6 months, and if they like him, they hire him for good. Sounds good enough to me.
Yippee! We are off to celebrate.

Really bad news

I got an email today from someone I don't really know. I get emails from this individual occasionally and they are strictly informational ones. I read them occasionally too. This time I read the title: "Really bad news". I say to myself, "I am not gonna waste my time with that right now." However, curiosity got the worst of me and I opened it. She begins by stating that it isn't really bad news but she wanted to get my attention. She's actually got a promotional offer... I delete it and feel bugged for getting sucked into the trap. Just as I am doing to you now. There really isn't any really bad news. Sorry guys.
I do however have mildly bad news. I lost less than 1 lb this week after all my hard work. How is it that someone can be as active as I am (I ran 4 miles today and walked another 2 miles; plus did a little weight training,) and eat as healthy as I do (also limiting my calories to 1200/day,) and still have a big huge fat butt?! I guess I wasn't blessed with a super model body no matter how hard I work. So all you who are in my support group, this week I need you to help me to stick with it. Besides, exercise is something I truly enjoy regardless of my big fat butt. I am determined to shed a few pounds this next week! Help me stay motivated.
On to other news, we have had 3 offers on our house in just one week and the 3rd offer just fell through today. Bummer. But we are at least encouraged by the amount of action going on and are hopeful it wont be much longer.
Still no job offer for Steve, but it sure is nice getting to spend all this time with him. He is incredible.
Becca had her first day of kindergarten on Monday. She is so much fun!
Her siblings wanted to get a photo with her on her first day. These guys love their little sister so much. She's a lucky girl to have so many adoring fans.

This post wasn't much fun was it?
I'll do better later.

Family Fun Day

This weeks F.F.D. was a lot of fun. Once again we got to spend it with the Butlers. We took a hike up in the canyon to a little waterfall. We think we hiked close to 3 miles total.

(Steve, Becca and I did about a mile more thanks to being misled by an unnamed individual.)

Steve carried either Becca or Eden on his shoulders for much of the hike.

When he threw Becca up there she said to her Daddy "You're my new best friend!" This is the view I had from behind Steve. A little plumbers crack.
The view from down below.
The wild ones.

The view from above.

The waterfall.

I had to include these photos of my birthday cake. I came home from lunch with Anna, Dana, and Natalie on my birthday and Steve had bought this cake and placed 30 candles on it.

It was a regular bonfire.

This is Becca trying to shield her face from all the smoke after I blew out the candles.

Thanks babe. It was a great day though.

Well it's happened, I'm 30 now.

I was about to put Tim McGraw's "In My Next 30 Years" on my playlist and couldn't bring myself to do it. I decided I had to go with this little number playing now to celebrate my 30th birthday because I can't hear it without wanting to do a jig. It's such a happy song!
But I am looking at this birthday as a new start. What I truly want this year is something special. I want from myself a commitment to be a much better person from here on out. I want from my husband and children a commitment to be a better family. This has been something I have been cooking up in my mind for months. . . a desire to be and do much better. So I insisted every time Steve asked me what I wanted for my birthday that I didn't want anything that he could buy. Finally a week or two ago, I dropped the bomb. I told him how I wanted his help in leading our family in some new goals. (Of course I've got a specific plan, but who of you would be interested in getting your pants bored off of you by hearing it?) Well, this morning he hands me this
I open it and it's one of those music cards that sings to you when you open it. The lyrics sing out "Every road that I've been down, the only truth that I have found, there's only one thing I can't live without: You."
Inside he tells me all kinds of gloriously sweet things that make me want to cry. Among them he says "I'm going to work hard to make and lead the 'better' Bishop family." Yay! I got what I wanted. I'm excited and happy.
It's gonna be a great day, a great year, a great rest of my life. I'm so blessed.

First Day of School

Yeah, the first day of school was Monday, but I have been preoccupied with other things and haven't gotten around to posting about it until now.
The day went pretty well and the kids seemed happy enough. So far their teachers seem good and the school too. Becca starts Kindergarten next week. She cannot wait.
Here's some images of the first day.
Celeste. 4th grade. Eden. 2nd Grade.

Jonah. 3rd grade. He is THRILLED!!!!

Jonah insisted on wearing his sandals... and socks with them. He learned this fashion diddly from his big man. Thanks Steve.

We ran into the Butler kids in the cafeteria. Can someone pinch me please? I still can't believe I live so close to my sister and her family! It's strange. I am so elated by that fact! I've wanted it for so many years, I can't believe it's actually happened.

Hayden, (Mr. Cool) above and Micah and Jonah below.

Also I kind of did a little "back to school" myself this week. I am attending Education Week at the Y. It is AWESOME!!!! Steve is seriously such a great and supportive husband to let me. I attended 7 classes yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. I attended 5 classes today. I've learned a great deal and my biggest concern now is retaining all this new knowledge. I want to attend every year now.

As an update on Steve, no job offer yet. However, he did have three job interviews last week. He's had one so far this week and another tomorrow. Hopefully he'll have a job soon!

For an update on my diet.

Week one is over and I have lost 3 lbs. Not great, but it's something. For those of you joining my support group, comment here and tell me how your week in food went. Did you lose or gain weight? Here is also the time where you give me lots of pats on the back and tell me I am looking HOT and to keep it up. ..bla, bla, bla. Got it?

My Munchkins

This post is a 3 part one.

First: My kids are joining the blogging world.
Celeste started her blog a few months ago, but hasn't done much to it until now. When they saw their Butler cousins blogging they wanted to also. I didn't want to deal with it. Even Becca was begging for a "dot com" of her own, as she called it. She hasn't gotten one yet, because the girl can barely come up with a full sentence. After seeing Kennedy and Sarah's blogs, I got nagged more by my kids and finally gave in. Celeste typed up her last post on her own and I think she did a pretty good job of grammar and spelling, not to mention the topic she came up with was kind of sweet. Check it out http://annas-tiki-room.blogspot.com/

Here's Jonah's http://jonahinthewhale.blogspot.com/

and Eden's http://mylittlehappyroom.blogspot.com/

I let them name their blogs whatever they wanted and put whatever they wanted on them; background and content. I actually think this will be a good thing for the kids. If they post frequently it should help them to improve their writing skills. And I can print them for their journals to see when they're grown.

I'm trying to let go with my kids more. I took them school shopping Friday and told them they can pick out one new outfit for their first day of school this year. It was really hard to let them pick their own outfits! Especially when a couple of them were picking ugly, poorly made clothes. I have to say that it actually made the shopping experience a little more fun in some ways though.

Second: Our first Family Fun Day in our new stomping grounds

We took the kids to the zoo along with Amy and her kids and Anna and her kids. We counted this as our first FFD. It was a nice zoo and we all had a great time! Take a look.

Almost all the kids. They all love being with their cousins. I don't think I ever enjoyed my 2nd cousins the way mine and Anna's kids do. Amy, your kids are great! I don't think I even know the names of my 2nd cousins.

Part Three: Things I was thinking I was grateful for at the zoo.

My feelings of self worth were increased by our visit.

I don't have a freakishly long neck like this guy, and someone else I know. Anna and Amy, you know who I'm talking about ;0

And I am far enough back on the monkey line to not look as funky as this lady.
My skin isn't as dry and cracked up as this guy.

And I don't look much like this little guy who will be a subject of upcoming nightmares.
Well, that's about it for now folks. School starts tomorrow! Yippeeee!!!!

"8" Tag

Amber tagged me in honor of the Olympics 08/08/08.

(I'm not going to list these in order of preference.)

8 TV Shows I love to watch
For 10 years I've never even had 8 channels on our TV. Currently we've only got maybe 2, so TV isn't a big one for me. Thanks to frequent visits to Anna's house, I'm able to see a few here and there and she keeps me somewhat current on pop culture. But I can't name 8.
1- American Idol
2- So You Think You Can Dance
3- The Office

8 Restaurants I love
1- A Great Salad Bar (Sizzler, Sweet Tomatoes, and the like)
2- Applebees
3- Jason's Deli
4- Olive Garden
5- Costa Vida
6- Panda Express
7- Subway
8- Red Lobster

8 Things That Happened Today
1- Ran 2 miles
2- Took the kids school shopping and grocery shopping
3- Read up on the kid's teachers and learned about the school district, etc...
4- Polished my resume and researched dance studios for possible teaching opportunities
5- Ran through interview questions with Steve before he headed off to another job interview
6- Rented a couple of movies
7- Paid bills
8- Kept the kids happy and fed all day without losing my temper. This is the biggest accomplishment of all considering we've now completed our 10th week of Summer Vacation and hearing "I'm bored!" for the millionth time

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1- School Starting!
2- Being settled (ie: The house unpacked & orderly, a schedule in place for the family, etc...)
3- Growing old with my husband and serving a mission together
4- Myself going back to school some day
5- Going to bed tonight
6- Date night with Steve
7- Losing weight
8- Seeing my sibs again

8 Olympic Events I Want to See
How long is the Olympics going to be going on? I've caught very little of it at Anna's. I'd enjoy seeing:
1- Gymnastics
2- Swimming
3- Beach Volleyball
4- Running
5- Diving
6- Pretty...
7- Much...
8- Any of it.

8 Things On My Wish List
1- For Steve to have a job
2- For our house to sell
3- To have another baby
4- To have Jonah stabilized
5- New couches
6- To be thinner (That doesn't jive with #3 does it?)
7- To have my house stay cleaned for more than 1 hour
8- To compete in a triathlon

8 People I want to do this
Anyone on my links list.

Wednesday

Happy Birthday to a few men in my life.
First my Dad who I call "Bess"...long story...
My big brother Sherod who turned 33! Super cool guy.
Our nephew Cooper who is also a super cool guy. The big TEN for him.

So I started running again today after too much time off. Holy hills! There is hardly any flat running around here. It's good for me though and I love the views of the lake from our neighborhood. I am dreaming of getting a gym membership too, but it probably isn't a good idea right now being unemployed. I'll miss that. I love working out.

I also started dieting. After losing our baby in March, I decided I wanted to get pregnant again soon and so I haven't dieted. But here it is August and I'm not pregnant and extremely tired of weighing as much as I did back in March. I can't take it anymore. The fat has got to go! I hope I can stay motivated and stick with it. Can I get a support group rounded up? Anyone interested?

Tuesday

Happy Birthday Mommy! I love you and am grateful for the life you gave me. I am counting on Dad to spoil you and I hope you are enjoying every minute of it.

As a side note, I seriously need a therapist now. Thank you Stephenie Meyer. I'll send you the bill. "RenEsme". Come on! (I'm still not finished with the book because I am only letting myself listen to it when I am doing house work and I am a lazy bum these days.)

I also rediscovered my little brother's blog last night. I had somehow missed it the last month. Check him out. He's got some pretty great videos on there that he's done. There's one of Molly's wedding I liked. Talented guy

Monday

Today was a better day. Thanks for all the nice comments and encouragement everyone! I just need to buck up and move on.
So today was a good day. I got to hang out with Anna for a few hours. I also got some essentials done.
Steve had 6 interviews with the Church today and he said it went quite well. They asked some pretty tough mind twisters that he told me about and I could not figure out. But he did pretty good with them. We are really hoping he gets an offer! We think they'll let us know next week. Please pray for us!
I got sick of Becca screaming bloody murder every time I brushed her hair. Blythe got her haircut last week and it turned out so cute that I decided to cut Becca's hair. I have always cut everyone's hair in the family. Steve insists on it. But I am not that good at it. I'm pretty comfortable with Steve and Jonah's hair and doing trims on the girls. But this haircut was out of my league and it got a little out of hand. I went a few inches shorter than I had meant to. It will be a lot easier to brush, but I regret going so short. I even had to get the clippers out for it. Yikes. It was a bit stressful. Tell me what you think. Honestly.

Soliciting Friends

I am having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to our new area. I remember this happening when we moved to Idaho 7 years ago too. Our new ward is not the most friendly and I am not the best about meeting new people.
This is kind of a tough time for our family. We have so many things that we are dealing with and I need a friend! What I really could use is a good therapist, but unfortunately money is one of those things we are dealing with.
When I was a little girl, I remember going door to door in search of a friend. I would knock, then clasp my hands behind my back and rock back and forth on my heels in a little happy dance. When the door opened, I would ask in a really cute voice "Do you have any kids that can come out and play?" I didn't know any of the people and I had no problem doing this. I don't ever remember really making any friends doing this. But I still walked away with an ego completely unscathed.
Should I try that now?

Normal Occurrences

I am going to the bathroom and Becca barges in. I ask for some privacy please. Becca says "Ok" and walks in and shuts the door.
Typical.

I tried to post a funny YouTube video on my blog last night and for some reason it never showed up. Weird. I just wanted to change the mood. Just so you all know, I am not really mad about the house thing now. I've cooled off and things aren't as bad as I had originally thought. We did a little research. The house is still for sale but if it sells our contract transfers to the new owners. If they want us out, we have to agree with it and be compensated. We'll just be rolling with the punches.
Have a great weekend!

No flippin way!!!!

Tonight our Bishopric was supposed to come over to visit with us. So I worked really hard getting the house all cleaned up and things unpacked so that our house was presentable. The doorbell rings and it's two men in suits; but not the Bishopric. It was 2 realtors coming to inform us that the owners of our home we are renting here have decided to list the house for sale! We have been here for a total of SIX days! I can't believe the nerve of the owner to not even give us an indication of their intentions until 6 days after we move in. The thought of moving again completely overwhelms me. There is already a for sale sign in the yard and everything. We are supposed to keep the house in viewing order so that people can come and invade our privacy at various times and decide whether or not we are going to be kicked out so they can purchase it. I just hope it doesn't sell anytime soon.
I CAN'T BELIEVE OUR LUCK!

Becca turns 5!

I love this shot of her.
Today Becca turned 5. I am so completely enjoying her right now. She has been at the best phase. I think I would be perfectly content if I spent the rest of my life with my little Becca frozen at this age. She makes me incredibly happy and I love her to pieces!
Today she and I had a Mommy Date to celebrate. She got her photos taken and we went to Build a Bear. Very fun.

Some happenings here

So here is a boring post for you. But I guess there isn't anything fun on my mind right now.
I am listening to the final saga of Bella and Edward while I am working on unpacking and setting up our new home. Boy is it NUTS! I wont ruin it for those of you who haven't gotten around to it yet. (Sigh...can't wait to finish it and then have a good therapy session with another finisher.)
Well, to the other things on my mind.
Our move was a bit stressful. We spent well over a week packing like mad. We would get up super early in the morning, and stay up super late in the evening (or sometimes into the next morning,) working our butts off. But we made it and it would have never have happened if we hadn't have had the many people that came and helped us out with it all. We had thought we could do it ourselves, but we were (to put it simply) STUPID! We hired some moving company here to help us unload our truck and it was money I was perfectly happy handing over to them when it was all said and done.
I also had 7 ladies come over and help me clean up our house before we listed it for sale. I was shocked and profoundly grateful! Thank you Elli, Megan, Pam, Kindra, Heather, Marilyn, and Connie!!!!!!!! You know I love you all don't you? They were amazing and the house really cleaned up well. Especially after the carpet cleaner came the next day. He worked a miracle on our carpets! For only about $159 and in less than an hour he made our carpets look almost new. I swear he was one of the three Nephites. Only an immortal could have worked a miracle like that.
Here's some shots of our house that Amy took. She's our realtor and also one of the most wonderful cousins a girl could have.


Bonus Room

Living Room

The kitchen

Another view

So there it is. Get the word out people. We want this house to sell asap. The market totally stinks right now so we'll have to take a loss on it. Hopefully the loss isn't too painful. We ended up asking less for it than we had originally planned. We are hoping we won't have to keep dropping it.

Another thing on our minds is Steve's unemployment status. Being the extremely smart and talented guy he is, I honestly am not really worried. He has already had some new leads since we've been here. In getting our Internet set-up and phone service too, he got in conversations with those people who both caught on to how smart he is. He was inquiring about specifics of their services and they asked him for his resume. He also has a day of interviews scheduled with the Church on Monday. So we are really praying things fall into place quite soon.

Finally, there is a boat load of little things I need to take care of as soon as possible. Getting a drivers license is done! I had to get that so I could get out of jury duty in Idaho and my gym membership there too. Also I've been working on our health insurance and finding doctors and such. And there is so much more. I wont go into all the boring details.

So hopefully that gives you guys a sufficient update to satisfy all those fans out there. I'll try to give you a more fun post later. But don't count on it. It's hard to be creative when you've got my "to- do list".

Out of the Office

Yeah, I've been "Out of the office" lately and this is a post just to let you know that we officially have internet now! Just got put up tonight. We are in our new home and we are good and busy. I am now relaxing to an evening of playing catch-up to all your blogs. (64 new feeds to read.) I'll be enjoying that. I am gonna apologize ahead of time for not commenting on your blogs. I want you to know that I'll be reading them though. I just don't have the time to comment. I'll be sure to start up again soon. Be waiting for a new post here coming soon.
Laters.