We got hitched!

To be perfectly honest the past month was a such a blur everything went too fast but it was amazing. We took off for Medford on November 17 and it was a very long drive, we took off at 5AM and arrived at home around 4:30pm so we definitely made good time. When we got there Jordan, Christina, Hayley & Tia were there so that was exciting. We got our marriage license on Wednesday and hung out with family, and on Thursday night Kevin, Nicole, and Noah made it out to Medford so hung out with them too. Friday was spent getting food items for the wedding reception and flowers for corsages Costco had a bit of a lacking in the cream roses area so we were lucky that found a lot of cream colored roses at Safeway. That afternoon I was kidnapped by Eden & Hanah and taken out for lunch at a really nice cafe and then we made our way over to the Brookhurst building where the reception was being held so that we could help set up. That night we went to the temple and took out our endowments. It truly is an amazing experience to go through for yourself and I don't think I will remember a whole lot about it but that is why you go back. On Saturday I woke up early to get ready and Dad made pancakes and bacon so it was just like old times (Thanks Dad). When Jordan, Hayley and Tia came over Hayley kept saying I looked different I looked beautiful...I had a new face...however, I don't remember getting plastic surgery or anything so I guess make up really does work. I got all ready and we were a little late getting to the temple. It seemed like we were waiting in the lobby forever but finally it was our turn and we went through with it. I know that you were all worried but I can now say that I married my best friend...After taking pictures we went back to my parents house and changed and went over to Aunt Jeanne's for the luncheon where Jason's parents made a delicious meal of taquitos and chicken tortilla soup and we watched the BYU vs. Utah game (I was hoping that being married that day would have created some good luck for them but to no avail they lost). The reception was really nice everything was beautiful and the food was terrific, and of course it was great to see everyone again.

On Sunday Jason and I took off for San Francisco and found our hotel pretty easily and right next door was a Sizzler so that's where we ate...I still love their cheese bread. On Monday we had tickets to Alcatraz, we just had to find a way to get their so we went looking for a gas station to drive to downtown San Francisco and the closest gas station happened to be next to the BART Station. So we got to ride BART to the Embarcadero area and then walked the rest of the way from Pier 1 all the way to Pier 33 where our ferry was waiting to take us to Alcatraz. I've been fascinated with Alcatraz since I went there on choir tour in high school several years ago and it was different then. We had our our own personal guided tour and stayed with the group. This time we were given an audio guide and got to walk around and follow our own time table and got to go anywhere. The audioguide was interesting because it had interviews with 4 previous prisoners and 4 previous guards. They had background noises like whistles blowing, people chatting, yelling, doors closing and it all seemed like it was happening around you it was kind of creepy but I loved it. After taking the ferry back we walked to Pier 39 and watched a magician light his hands on fire while juggling, we also tried finding somewhere to go for dinner but everything seemed so expensive. We walked a few blocks further to an Italian restaurant we heard about but there were no customers inside and the cheapest thing on the menu was $15 so we went back to Pier 39 and looked at something else and finally decided on Hard Rock Cafe not knowing what was on the menu...sure enough it was $15 a plate too. Oh well. On our way back to the hotel we saw a Krispy Kreme donuts and IHOP while we were on BART so on Tuesday we tried to drive to where we thought they were. We ended up driving around for about 2 hours trying to find IHOP and finally found it. We drove to San Francisco and wanted to go to the Golden Gate Bridge and got lost driving around again but quickly found our way. We walked across the bridge and then tried to make our way back to the hotel so that we could go to San Jose for the Winchester Mystery Home but no, San Francisco was more of a mystery and we got lost again. While we were lost we did find Ghiradelli Square so it wasn't a total loss...and we did make the mistake of going down Lombard street (the crookedest street) and it really is crooked...I don't think I want to do that one ever again. Eventually we got out of San Francisco but unfortunately the Winchester Mystery House closed at 5pm, next time we'll make it there...Wednesday we took off early to make our way back home in Medford and when we got their we had a game night with the family. Thursday, thanksgiving and we all know that was amazing. And Friday we took off for Utah again, it was a fast trip but I enjoyed every minute of it, it was sad to leave but I hope that everyone in the family can come together soon and this time with Brittany, Clay and Maeli joining in. We love everyone and appreciate the love and support that has been shown to us during this important time in our lives. I tried to keep the posting short but sometimes I just ramble, sorry about that.

I'll post more pictures once I get them!

1 week to go...

So the wedding is a little over a week away and I'm just now starting to update my blog. The main reason for this is that I don't have access to the internet at the new apartment...Well, I guess that's not entirely true. I have access by stealing it from someone else in the apartment complex but it's not reliable, it says its connected for about 2 seconds and then it doesn't take me anywhere...I guess that's what I get for trying to cheat and get it for free. The weeks have been going by fast which is good but at the same time I feel like there is still so much left to do. I bought a temple dress last weekend and we're supposed to go in and meet with the stake president on Sunday...yep, he couldn't get us in until then. So we go in on Sunday and then have Monday to go to the Distribution Center to pick up the rest of the items and then we are taking off on Tuesday morning to go home to Medford.

On Wednesday after I got off of work I was in a hurry to get home so that I could make a cd for Brittany and run down there to drop it off. So I did all of that but I wasn't feeling too well. I was freezing cold even and I couldn't seem to get warm no matter what I did. Then yesterday I woke up around 4am, I had a huge headache, my body ached, I was burning up and coughing every 5 seconds. I took off my covers and fell back asleep until about 6 and then decided I might as well get up and eat something so that I could take some advil. I was fine during the day and hen when I got off work again I was freezing cold so I put on my sweatshirt and took a nap when I woke up I wasn't feeling well at all. Even when Jason got off work and came to pick me up he said I felt like I had a fever. We went out bought some Kleenex and some Theraflu. I took the Theraflu last night and it was supposed to be for daytime but it kind of knocked me out anyway. This morning I got up and took some Dayquil and was perfectly fine for the 4 hours that it works. After lunch I started to cough a lot again and when it was finally time to go home I was told by my boss Christine that I looked really pale and I wasn't feeling too well anyway. I was told by someone to eat a lot of garlic and it knock the cold right out and then someone else told me to take some coldeeze so when I met with Jason we went to pick some Coldeeze up so we'll see how that goes. I just don't want to be sick for the wedding or the trip down there....and while I am typing this Jason is starting to cough too...Oh great! We are all getting sick. I'll be going home on Tuesday and can't wait to see friends and family again. I'll update you as we go along, talk you later...

I'm moving...again

I started writing this particular blog a week ago but I didn't get a chance to finish, so I'll try and keep it short but wanted you all to know that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Well the past couple of weeks have been flying by fast but that's a good thing. I think it helps a lot now that I am employed and have something to do during the day. We've just been trying to get stuff put together for the wedding in a couple of weeks. We did the invitations this week and had a bit of trouble along the way but we made it work. First of all, Jason's brother came up with a really great design for the invitations and we sent that off to Costco and picked them up on Tuesday. They cut a little off of the bottom which was kind of upsetting but what are you going to do when you are on a time crunch...That night I brought Eden over to Jason's house to help us stuff envelopes and Jason's roommate and brother chipped in which was nice. We though it would take us forever to burn through all of them but it only took about 30 minutes. I was impressed...it pays to have friends that can help you do such tedious things. We also had an idea to drip wax on to invitations and use a seal that we had found but we thought it would be a very long project to do that to all of them so we only used them on ones that we sent to family...I'm sorry if there are wax smears on the envelope...if it's any consolation, we had a fun time doing it. Jason stuck them in the mail on Friday morning so hopefully everyone receives theirs in the mail soon.

Leading up to Halloween there are a lot of haunted houses, haunted forests, haunted mazes. I had never been through one before and always wanted to. After our experience with Brittany and Clay at the haunted forest we wanted to go through another one pretty quickly and Jason's brother Daniel wanted to go too. So we find out that one of the top ten places in the country is right here in Salt Lake, naturally we wanted to go. It was called Castle of Chaos and Daniel called ahead to find out the price. He found out that if you pay a little extra they take you through additional rooms and then they also give you a poncho to wear...yep, as you walk through the people waiting to scare you will spray you with "blood", "snot", and "vomit". How exciting! Don't worry, there was no way that I was going to go through that one. We decided to go with the cheaper one and while we waited in this huge line there was a lot of cussing, cigarette smoking, and pot smoking...not by us though, just wanted to put that in there. After the guy behind us in line lit up his cigarette we decided it was time to leave and find somewhere else to go. There was another haunted house a few streets down called Nightmare on 13th. We went in and the price was much better than the Castle of Chaos and not as long of a line. Since there were a lot of people you try and distance yourself so that when someone jumps out at you, you don't ruin the surprise for the next person. This was a little difficult at times but it was fun. There were people dressed up in costumes just waiting around every corner to scare you. The first room you entered into there was a stage and things would pop out and show pieces from every scary movie. The part that scared me was they showed the video from "The Ring" and Samara came out of the well and then all of a sudden she was standing in front of the TV and then next thing you know she was flying over our heads, it scared me enough that I grabbed onto both Jason and Daniel. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again next year. Jason and I went to Lagoon last Friday for Frightmares. They have the places decked out for Halloween and have a few haunted places...ok, they aren't haunted but it was still pretty cool. In some of them you had to wear 3-D glasses and things on the wall would jump out at you. It was fun but a little too cold to be standing in lines all night.

The past month Jason and I have been trying to find a place to live when we get married. First we tried Sky Harbor and decided that it was too far away and much too small for our needs. Then we tried to get into Alta Pines which was perfect but they couldn't get us in until December 15. So we went with the first places we saw and really liked. It's called Legacy Court and we really like it, it's 710 square feet and just down the street from where I work. We went in two weeks ago to turn in our applications and they had a place ready to move in as soon as possible and they would knock $50 off the rent because the tenants before had stained the carpet, the vinyl in the kitchen around the sink, and stained the carpet in the bedroom. Seriously, it's not that bad but if they are wanting to take money off our rent I'm fine with that, we pay $625 a month and all utilities paid except for power. We were originally going to move stuff in on November 15 since that would be the weekend before we got married but my roommates already found someone to move into my space by November 1. I'll be honest, I wasn't too happy about that but then once I got talking to family and Jason I figured it would be cheaper this way. I will only have to pay one rent payment for the month of November instead of 2 and right now I really need to save my money. So I'm moving stuff in today, Jason is at work right now but I've got most everything packed up and ready to go when he gets off work. Daniel will help us move tonight after he gets off work and can bring the truck with him. I'll let you know how the move goes but I wanted to post pictures of what the place looks like now so you can get an idea.

This is the front entrance of the apartment. The kitchen has lots of storage and there is a pantry to the left of the fridge.

Another picture of the kitchen, you can see the stain on the floor from the previous tenants rug.

This is a really dark picture for some reason but this shows from the kitchen looking into the living room. The coat closet to the right of the door and to the right of that is our balcony.

A picture of the balcony taken from the storage closet outside, it's not huge but we could probably fit a few chairs on it.

The pantry, it's huge and I don't know how we're going to fill it.

The bathroom, but then again you probably guessed that.

The towel closet in between the bathroom and the bedroom.

The bedroom, it's pretty big but wait until you see.....

The huge walk-in-closet, we're thinking we might put our computer in there or something, it's big enough.

I am a slacker...

I just have to say that these past two weeks have really flown by, I didn't even realize that I had been a slacker and didn't write anything on my blog. I hope that you all can forgive me. Jason and I had engagement photos taken, his brother Daniel did them and did some really amazing things. Here are a few of them, if anyone is interested his website is: http://www.thruthelensphotography-thruthelens.blogspot.com/

Basically, I have just been working and finally making some money instead of spending it. I have to tell you that it feels pretty good to be getting a paycheck again. However, I'm starting to think that maybe I should have asked for more money since I am basically running this place...ok not really, but sometimes it feels that way. I sit behind the front desk and answer telephone calls, greet job applicants, get them started on the application, once they are done I have to enter the application and other information into the computer. Then I have to get them ready for an interview with a staffing consultant. Sometimes the whole process takes about 1.5-2 hours to complete, but in between that I am filing, verifying employment, and verifying that people are legal to work in the US. Yep, it's a busy job and I don't get to take many breaks, when I do get to it's sitting at the front desk answering phone calls and completing my online training.

First off, while I am typing this blog I am becoming increasingly annoyed at my laptop computer because my hand brushes against the mouse while I am typing and it moves the cursor to another area on the screen and starts typing there...it's just really annoying, I probably could have been done now if it weren't for having to go back and delete what I wrote and place it elsewhere. AND yes, I know that I can cut and paste.

Mom and Dad came out last weekend for General Conference and it was really great seeing them again. Friday night Jason and I drove up to Salt Lake City to pick them at the hotel that my Uncle Joe and Aunt Kelly were staying at and drove them down to Orem where they would be staying with my sister Brittany. When we got there Brittany, who is pregnant, had to be taken to the hospital since she had had a fever all day. You can read more about it on her blog if you want but while they were gone Jason, Dad and I watched TV before deciding to buy stuff for our ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE BREAKFAST (Thanks to Kevin and Nicole for starting this tradition!) We waited a l ittle while at Brittany's house just in case they came back and could tell us what happened but at Brittany's apartment complex they put a boot on your car if you don't have a permit to park there overnight and it was getting close to midnight which is usually when they do the booting.

Saturday morning Jason came to pick me up and we headed back down to Orem to watch General Conference and to start making breakfast. After the first session of Conference Mom, Dad, Brittany and I took off for Wal-Mart and the Distribution Center for a few items. It was funny though at the Distribution Center because when we had to sustain people everyone would stop what they were doing and raise their hand and then they would go back to what they were doing before. Even during the prayer everyone would stop where they were and close their eyes and fold their arms. I mean, where else would you see that? After that session Dad took us all to Applebees for dinner and that was great! And then the boys took off for Priesthood session while Mom, Brittany and I stayed home and watched Sleepless in Seattle. Then on Sunday morning we had tickets to the Sunday morning session with my family and ended up walking 4 blocks in the pouring down rain...I didn't even think about bringing an umbrella with me. It was a great session and got to meet up with the Zimmer's and Woodley's again. Then we walked back to Clay and Brittany's car for lunch, they had brought us all sandwiches. We went to the afternoon session in tthe Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the afternoon session and the seats were more comfortable too. After that I said goodbye to Mom & Dad, but only for a month.

On Thursday night Brittany, Clay, Jason and I went to the Haunted Forest in American Fork and it was a lot of fun. Brittany took pictures and I'll post some of them in a minute but I have to say I had never been through a haunted maze before but I'd love to go to another one. When we first walked in there was someone dressed up like Michael Myers from the Halloween movies and he went right up to Brittany and tried to scare her but then he realized he had easier targets in the girls standing across from us. I was lucky to have Jason there because he would walk first in line and look around if there were any people standing around waiting to scare us and I realized that if I kept pace with him and sidled up to his right side and walked by nonchalantly that the people didn't even know I was there. That only worked sometimes though. When we walked through pitch black places Brittany would grab onto my arm and then I'd feel a tightening on my other arm only to notice when we hit light again that it was Clay. It was a lot of fun and lucky to have made it out alive. Jason hit his head a few times on low ceilings but I think he'll be ok. I will admit that I screamed twice and I didn't mean to but I got scared ok... One time we were walking through and "Freddy Krueger" hit a barrel of some sort and it made a loud bang that scared me and I actually stabbed Jason in the hand with my fingernail (don't worry, I didn't cause permanent damage). All in all it was a great night. Last night (Friday) we were going to go to Frightmares at Lagoon but after eating dinner we looked up and there were thick rain clouds heading that direction and it was freezing cold outside so we decided to wait until next week or the week after when we can go through again. Hopefully the weather will be better then and then we won't mind standing in line that long. Well I guess that is all that I have for now, I'll end it with pictures that Brittany took. Love you all,

Heather is officially entering the workforce!!! Again!!!

This summer has been great but it has also been a little trying given the fact that I have been unemployed since the end of March. However, I prefer to save money than to spend money but ever since March that is all I have been doing. The money situation started to weigh on me a few weeks ago and so I decided to do something about it. I had decided that I would go into Express Personnel and see what would happen. I went through them 3 years ago right after I graduated from college and I was with the Medford Medical Clinic ever since so I figured that they might be able to help me with the current situation at hand. I walked in last Friday and did the application and the multiple tests and when I was in for the interview it was mentioned that they were looking for a front desk receptionist at their office if I was interested...which I was, since it was an opportunity to make money. So he said that he would be in touch when the branch manager came from vacation. So this Monday I got the call asking if I could come in later that day for the interview and so I met with Christine for about 45 minutes on Monday and she said that she would like me to come in for a second interview with the owner and she'd call me to let me know when that would be. I waited all day Tuesday for a call but nothing came, so I waited all day on Wednesday and finally at 3:45pm I got the call that they wanted me to come in on Thursday for the second interview so I set the time for 11:30. I was so nervous this morning but I got there on time and waited about 15 minutes for them to take me back for the interview. I ended up meeting with the owner and the branch manager for about 15 minutes and then they told me that they would be in contact later that day or on Friday but they were talking to other candidates and they'll let me what is going with that. So I walked away feeling even more nervous just waiting for them to call me back to let me know the news. I went down to visit with Brittany and Clay so that she could help me with my bridal bouquet (Great Job, Brittany!) and it was during that time that I got the call from Christine. "We have been talking it over the past couple of hours and we have come to a decision and that decision is....that you are the best candidate for the job" I was so excited, they asked me to start on Monday and they will be paying me $11.00 an hour which is great. It is professional attire so I will probably have to go and buy some more works clothes, oh well.

Last week I posted about that Sky Harbor loft that we really like but when we took in our application and paid the fees we found out that they had raised the prices about $70 so we decided not to take that one. Another apartment that we liked was Alta Pines and this one was 860 sq ft for $575 and we really liked the landlord so we started filling out the application and today we found out that the apartment she had told us would be available won't be after all since the current tenent decided to keep her current lease for another year. So we are going back to trying to find a place to live but now with my added paycheck it might make it easier to find a place in a better neighborhood or just a nicer place in general. Anyway, I think that is all that I have for now but I guess I will write more later...

I finally got to see Colors!!!

For the past 5 years I have regretted not going to Provo in 2002 to see the last performance of one of my favorite LDS bands, Colors. I didn't make it down then because my roommate didn't have the money to come with me and I didn't want to go on the bus by myself and I've felt like an idiot ever since. Even though Kevin and Nicole did get me their autograph that night, I've still regretted not being there. As fate would have it, they have gathered together one time a year to put on a concert. Last year I wanted to go but the day of the concert I was more than happy to be in London but this year I finally got to see them play and it was AWESOME! I'll tell you all about it in a minute but first, let me update you on everything else last week.

To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot that happened leading up to Saturday but on Thursday Jason and I went to check out some of the other apartments we didn't get around to the week before. We went to one that was kind of in a scary neighborhood so it was one of those we drive through the lot to check it out and promplty leave. The next one that we saw was our favorite. It's called Sky Harbor Apartments and it's near the airport but it's really nice. We drove through the parking lot and found cars that are a lot newer and more expensive than ours so we felt like our cars would be safe there. So we decided to go inside and check it out. We looked at the one bedroom first but it just seemed really small but right next door was the loft and that's the one that we are looking into. If anyone wants to see the place go here: http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/Utah/Salt-Lake-City/Sky-Harbor-Apartments/PropertyOverview.aspx?listingid=13052

This is just the floorplan but it has lots of cabinets in the kitchen and countertops which is what we wanted. Our favorite part is that it is $560 a month which is much less than the other apartment at the top of our list. Also they have one that will be available on November 15 so that will be perfect. We'll be able to move in our stuff on the 15th and then head off to Medford for the wedding so then we don't have to worry about moving the big stuff afterwards. On Friday, I went down to Orem to visit with Brittany, Clay and cousin Rachael, her husband Tyler and their son Jacob. It was nice to see them since I haven't seen them since I left Rexburg in 2005 the rest of the time was spent watching the movie Rocky with Clay and a little Will Ferrel SNL. Also this past week I have become obsessed with a show that my parents introduced me to. It's called Burn Notice on USA Network and it's just really interesting. They brought out copies of the shows for me to watch and I watched a few on my own and then Jason watched one halfway through and now he can't get enough of it either. I finished the DVD's on Friday but now we are having to go back to watch the first season since Jason missed all of those, but I'm ok with watching it again.

Saturday was the Colors concert so after Jason got off work we waited for Brittany and Clay to head up to Midvale so that we could go to dinner. We went to Chilis and then headed for the Sandy Ampitheater for the concert. It was outdoors and a little chilly but at least it wasn't raining or anything. They played a lot of my favorite songs and then a few more that I hadn't heard before. It was a lot of fun although where we were sitting we had the bars from the stairs in our way at times and people ended up parking in front of us but they left and went more towards the middle so it made it easier to see.

Sunday was our Regional Stake Conference and because I'm here in Salt Lake it was held at the Conference Center and broadcasted to several other places. We were on the plaza level and to the left of the podium but it was just really nice to be in there. We heard from Elder Richard G. Hinckley, Cheryl C. Lant, M. Russell Ballard and of course, President Thomas S. Monson. They were all really great talks and I got a lot out of it. The bad thing is coming out of there and having to deal with the traffic just walking back to the car but we were lucky enough to park somewhere where the traffic wouldn't be so bad to get back on the freeway. I don't think that I have anything else really to report but as always, I'll keep you updated on what's going on. Talk to you all later...

Busy days ahead...

Hey everyone!
I know that it has been awhile since I've updated (thanks Brittany for pointing that out). On Aug. 30 Jason and I went up to Preston, Idaho for his cousins wedding. It was nice to meet with more of his family and he apparently had kept the engagement a secret to his extended family until he could introduce me in person. I like to think that they liked me, but then again who wouldn't? (That was rhetorical, so I better not get any comments on that). We were only there for a few hours before heading back down to Provo for the BYU football game. We were making good time until we hit Pleasant Grove and then the traffic started which was not fun to get through. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the stadium from there...plus we had to walk about 2 miles to get to the stadium...parking was atrocious. We missed kickoff but that's ok, it was pretty warm out there and after walking 2 miles it wasn't feeling too good. Oh well! It was a great game and it was Jason's first college football game and he enjoyed it a lot. One thing we did find out that day was that our wedding...is the same day as the biggest rivalry game BYU vs UTAH...so hopefully people will still come to the wedding. Dad even thought maybe we could have a tailgate party or something and watch the game at the reception, Jason liked the idea but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. He's still trying to sell me on it we could have the colors be blue and red and have a football cake and cook hamburgers and hotdogs and nachos and candy...Yeah, it sounds good and all but that will cost a lot of money and frankly I'm not willing to spend that much. We'll see how it goes but I'm kind of hoping that I get my way on this...if not, I'll compromise and we can set up a room at the church for the game or something.

This past week hasn't been too eventful, we did go apartment shopping on Wednesday and we had 19 places on our list that we wanted to check out. Four of them we scratched off just by driving through the neighborhood (gang members, scary people...you know the usual). I think the first one we saw was our favorite, it had a nice layout and were really nice looking apartments. It ranges from 600-675 a month with most utilities paid but we would be responsible for heat and electricity. We looked it up on apartmentreview.com and there were a lot of complaints about the managment and one about the neighborhood but you can never tell if the people that write on these things are just bitter or not. There were a few that the management seemed nice but they didn't have any apartments for us to look at. So we will have to go back to see if we like those ones or not. I'll keep you updated as we go along. Other than that I don't have anything else to add to this blog. I'll talk to you later...