Brenda's World

Our Future New Home

2011-11-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

We are moving! The house we are currently renting is being foreclosed on December 23rd. So we have to move. We love our ward and didn't want to move out of it. We have been praying we would find a house we could afford to rent in our ward. And our prayers have been answered!

We were at our Ward party and our friend Heather mentioned she was going to rent out her house, I asked how much and it was not in our budget. She then told me about this house! The family used to live in our ward and due to a job opportunity they moved and rented out their house. Their current tenants gave notice and are moving out at the end of this month! And it is in our budget!! We get to slowly move in after December 10th. We can't afford to pay utilities on 2 houses so it might be a fast move in and not so much a slow one.

The back yard is HUGE! We want to get a big fire pit and some backyard furniture. Our bedroom is the blue room. We will be painting it to match the rest of the house. Brown and Pink don't look good with blue :(

How going to the Movies is Heavenly!

2011-11-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

David and I like to splurge once and a while and go to the movies. We usually go to a Regal Cinema down the street from us. I have been a Regal Cinema club member for years now and have earned free popcorn, movies and drinks numerous times.

Several friends told us we should check out the new AMC Theater's located in Lakewood. Lakewood is the next town over and is where WalMart is located. So we decided to check it out and go see the new Footloose movie. We paid for our tickets and the gentleman asked if we would like to become a AMC club member. I said yes if it is free like the Regal Club. He informed us that it is not free, it is $12 but they were having a special making it only $6! We declined and told him that we live closer to the Tacoma theaters and we were just in the neighborhood. He said okay but he guaranteed he would see us after the movie to sign up. I thought that was very arrogant of him but, hey he is confident in his job.

Once we walked into the theater we were SOLD! The seats are not seats but leather recliners!! You push a button and can lay almost flat if you want to! They are big and oh so comfortable! Even when you have your foot rest fully extended people can walk past you if need be without even touching you! It is heaven! I think David would agree that we could watch a 6 hour movie in that theater sitting in those recliners!

(David has a white aura lol!)

The arrogant theater gentleman was right. . . we joined the club!!!

Happy Birthday David!

2011-10-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

David turned 29 on Monday! So now we are the same age! We have been celebrating all month. I got him a laptop computer and other gifts which he got as they arrived. On Monday we went to see The Three Musketeers in 3D! Then we went to dinner at Black Angus. David had top sirloin, loaded baked potato, green beans with bacon. I had prime rib, crab legs, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli with Parmesan cheese.

The movie was great and the food was good. However, I will be taking David to Jak's in Issaquah the next time we want to celebrate by having a nice steak. No one makes a better steak in my opinion!

I am looking forward to spending more special occasions together! Life is so much better when you spend it with someone you love and loves you!

Thank you for your interest but we have chosen someone else!

2011-10-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am so tired of being turned down for jobs. I had applied at Comcast Cable. I had made it through all 4 steps of the application process. I thought I did really well at the interview but apparently I didn't because I just got an email stating I was not chosen. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. Not only am I disappointed but I am scared beyond belief! Will I ever get a job? I just got notice yesterday that my unemployment will drop to $300 a week in 5 weeks. That is below minimum wage! We can't live off that! The only reason we are surviving now is because the house we are renting is in foreclosure so we are not paying rent. We can live here rent free until January 1st then we have to move.

I have been applying for jobs that pay $10 and up. I have yet to even get an interview. I am 1 of 600 people applying for 1 position. That is no exaggeration! I cannot stand on my feet for long periods of time so fast food and retail is out of the question. I have no idea what we are going to do or how we are going to survive. We will just have to have faith that the Lord will take care of us and continue to pray for employment. My heart goes out to people who have run out of unemployment all together and have nothing. I pray I do not become one of them!

New Glasses

2011-10-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

David and I both got new glasses this weekend. I am still deciding if I like mine. Getting old sucks. What does that have to do with my new glasses you ask? Well with my old glasses that are rimless, I could look below my glasses to read. It seems the minute I turned 40 I could no longer see to read. Now I have these new, cute glasses however they have rims and I cannot look below the glasses to read and it is driving me nuts! I am too vane and to young to get bifocals!! But David looks hot in his glasses!

I want to start Blogging again!

2011-09-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to start blogging again however I haven't because there is so much that has happened since I last blogged I felt overwhelmed. So instead of trying to get caught up I am just going to start from here!

The last job didn't work out. They laid me off after 3 months due to a decline in their business. So I am still unemployed. I do have a couple of leads on some jobs and advancing on the application process but I don't want to jinx anything so I am not going to talk or get excited about it yet.

Some of you know that I recently got married. . again. I became Mrs. David Lassabe on July 21st, 2011! It came as a shock to many of my friends because it seemed like it happened so fast. What many did not see or know is that David and I have been friends for a while. We met in May 2010 at a church service project. We hit it off and became friends. We started hanging out together, going to church activities , he would come over to my house once a week and take my trash to the curb and do other manly jobs around my house, we would rent movies together, he would come with me to run errands etc. We were seen together at most of our ward activities and at church. Many church members would ask me if we were dating. I of course told them no because we weren't. I would just tell them he was my substitute son. He is much younger than me and closer to my son's age then mine. I could not see my self dating him because of the age difference.

Gradually things started to change and we became close friends and then before you know it we decided to get married. He is my best friend and I cannot imagine my life without him. I feel like he has always been a part of my life. I love spending time with him. He makes doing even horrible things fun! We clean house together, go shopping (he loves to shop and I hate it!), dishes, yard work. No matter what the task he seems to have a positive outlook and finds ways to make it fun for us.

David loves me unconditionally and he treats me like a Queen! And this might come as a shock, he does not let me control him no matter how hard I try. I don't like that I am controlling and I do not do it on purpose. He really doesn't need to be controlled because he makes wise choices and we like most of the same things. He knows how to handle me and my controlling behavior as well as my mental illnesses! :^) When my brain tumor starts acting up or my heart attack comes on he knows just what to say and do to calm me down without making me feel crazy. He laughs later at the fact I am a hypochondriac.

When I am feeling down on myself he talks me up. He makes me a better person. He claims I make him a better person. I guess we are good for each other! I am counting down the days that we will be sealed together forever!

My first day at my new job!!

2010-11-29T21:02:00.001-08:00

Today was my first official day at my new job. The weather last week was crazy and due to the weather and then Thanksgiving we all agreed it would be best for me to start today.

I think I am going to love this job as much if not more than I loved the last one. They are very similar in so many ways. I mostly just got acclimated to my surroundings today and filed out new employee paperwork. But I loved it!

I am looking forward to getting ramped up and becoming a productive asset to the company. What really made my day special is I got not one but two deliveries today! I am so lucky to have such an amazing friend. Joy'ce had flowers sent as well as a gift basket of edible goodies for me to share with the office. My marriage didn't work out but I gained one of the best friends in the world because of the marriage. Joy'ce has been such a blessing in my life and now I cannot imagine my life without her!

I was let go my first day on the job!

2010-11-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

For the day because of snow!! So it is snowing like crazy here. I went to work, got the tour of the office, met 2 agents, read the employee manual then was sent home. The snow was really falling and the Fed Ex guy was having a hard time getting out of the parking lot. My 20 minute commute home took 1 1/2 hours! NO one on the freeway was going more than 10mph. I passed a couple of wrecks. Decided to take this picture of a nice BMW that slide off the road and hit this pole that was in between the freeways.

This is my house when I got home. I hope I am able to go to work tomorrow. I am so excited to start and want the newness of it all to be over with so I need to actually be able to go to work! I am so thankful to have a job!

Never thought I would say this, but. . . .

2010-11-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

I got the job!!!

I am now the Executive Assistant at Barrans Realty. I start November 22nd! Click Here to see some of my co-workers and my bosses. I am so excited I can't stand it. Now I pray I will be more than they were looking for in an employee! My first project when I start is to plan the company Christmas party!!!

TGIF tomorrow!

2010-11-11T14:50:00.001-08:00

So when you are unemployed and you hear someone say "TGIF" it really has no meaning. But tomorrow I am thankful that it is Friday because I will hear if I got a job that I was called to interview for twice. I interviewed with one brother/partner then was called back to interview with the other brother/partner and also the wife/agent of the first brother partner. Originally I was called back to just interview with the other brother/partner but the wife of the first inteviewer joined us.

I emailed everyone thanking them for their time and that it was a pleasure to meet them, feel free to contact me with additional questions. . yada, yada and this was the wife's reply. . ."It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Bill (not his real name) had shared some of his time with you so it was good to meet you in person. We certainly will contact you if any additional questions come up. Thanks!" Based on this email I got the feeling that her husband was impressed with me and wanted her to meet me as well and that is why she joined in on the second interview.

This isn't just any job. It is almost a mirror image of what I did at my last job. And I loved that job! I was an office manager for a real estate investment company. The job I applied for is executive assistant for a real estate company.

I feel that both interviews went really well. But I don't want to get my hopes up because it is so depressing when I don't get the job. So I have been telling myself that I don't want the job. And in fact I fear that if I was chosen I would not do a good job. Again, my self confidence has been damaged. Funny thing is that when I have interviewed for other jobs during my current unemployment I thought that the job was perfect for me. When I read this job description I knew I was the perfect person for this job! I sure hope they think so too and I also hope that I will gain my self confidence quickly if they hire me.

Being unemployed SUCKS!

2010-11-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

So I have been unemployed since February 12, 2010. I have on average applied for 8 jobs per week. Still nothing. I miss the good old days where you would look at the Sunday job opportunities in the local paper and either email or fax about 10 resumes and by Monday would have at least 3 interviews scheduled for that week. Now I send out my resumes and apply to jobs online and am lucky to get 1 interview in a month! Not to mention how no one wants just your resume anymore. Now you have to go to a website and complete their online application. They are so detailed and take about an hour to complete. And no two are alike. I feel like I am back in school writing research papers and book reports on myself!

I have been runner up to a job that I felt was the perfect job and after going through the interview process and waiting weeks for them to come to a decision have been told they chose the other person. URG! It is so depressing. Then I applied for a job with the city. I was so excited to get a letter asking me to come and test for the position. I arrived to the building to see about 150 other people there to take the test for this one position. Then after signing in was told we were the last group out of 4 to test for this job opening. Everyone is ranked based on the scores on the test and they will only interview the top 1 to 10. After taking the 3 hour test I was confident I did well. I left praying I scored in the top 10. I got notice the following week that I ranked 17. Yes 17 out of over 600 is a great score but not good enough to be interviewed. Disappointment again! Oh and one of my favorite was receiving an email after sending my resume that just said . . . NO!

I have had numerous phone interviews, some have told me I am over qualified, others say they cannot pay me what I need to live so I do not advance to the in person interviews. So I don't think I am being discriminated because I am obese. They can't tell I am fat over the phone. I am obese but I am not LAZY!! I want to work! I stay busy by doing service in my church. I have worked at the Deseret Industries, babysit kids in the ward, help at the bishop's storehouse, go to the temple about twice a month, give rides to investigators and new members, go on church tours with the missionaries, help make humanitarian projects with my good friend Bettie and anything else I hear of that needs to be done I volunteer.

I am to the point now that when I look at a job opening I doubt my abilities and qualifications. I am suppose to go to an interview and convince the prospective employer that I am the perfect person for the job and that I will do an amazing job. But I leave wondering if I can do the job. I fear that if they hire me I won't be what they were hoping for and that I am not that amazing person who joins the team and takes them to the next level.

My ego and self confidence is damaged. I fear I will never work again and if I do I won't do a good job and will be let go. I have worked most of my life. I got my first job when I was in middle school. The longest I was unemployed was 2 years but I was a new mom, going through a divorce and trying to get my life together. I went on welfare and worked the system as it was intended. I took advantage of all the programs. They had a program where you worked for your welfare and I signed up. I got Pell grants and went to college. Before long I was hired on at Nellis Air Force Base where I was working for my welfare and my career started from there.

I hope that I can find employment soon and restore my self confidence while paying bills and treating myself to such things as getting my eyebrows waxed and pedicures. Oh and going to the movies would be oh so nice.

So if you are employed and you complain about your job, be grateful you have one! It may suck but not as bad as being unemployed!

My life is Under Construction!

2010-11-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

My divorce will be final December 22nd. I will start posting again soon. Besides being unemployed at the moment, I am happier than I have ever been in my life! Now if I could just get a job!

Wedding and a Funeral

2009-10-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Me, Randy, Grandma Richins, Grandpa Richins

I am so bad for not posting in such a long time. I love reading other people's blogs and enjoy blogging however life is crazy busy now that I am happily married!

Randy and I got married on July 6th in Rocklin, California. It was a beautiful wedding. My good friend Amy Hansen and her son Dane drove to California with me and Amy took a ton of wedding pictures. My mom, Trent and Trina and kids came as well as Kendra and Morgan. My sisters surprised me by making bridesmaid dresses. Randy's Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jerry hosted the wedding and did most of the preparations. It was just beautiful. We went on a honeymoon to a bed and breakfast. It was just a magical time in my life for so many reasons.

We drove back to Washington and started to settle in to our new lives as husband and wife when Randy's grandma Richin's passed away. She was 93 and the day we were packing the car with Randy's belongings from her house she fell and went down hill from there. Randy spent the last 6 months living with his Grandparents and helping them out. On July 15th his grandma passed away. So Randy and I returned to Gridley California to attend her funeral and spend time with family. I am so grateful that families are forever!

Life is crazy busy! Still love my job, I love my church callings and will not go this long to post on my blog again!

For more wedding pictures click here and more here!

How could I not love this man?!?

2009-06-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

Randy and I send each other videos on our phones daily in addition to our daily phone call. This is my favorite that he sent me last week (I got his permission to post this on my blog). How could I not love him? He has the biggest heart, is so compassionate and asks for nothing in return! I am so excited to be his wife and make him as happy as he makes me!

This is the gorgeous wedding ring he bought me. It is being sized right now and I won't be wearing it until he places it on my finger at our wedding. He said that he chose this ring because it represents our life, the center stone is the God Head and he and I are the other stones on each side. I have a feeling his aunt Joyce helped him pick out the ring.

I am not only so blessed to be marrying such a wonderful man but also into such an awesome family! His aunt Joyce has become the best wedding planner and is turning this wedding into the wedding of my dreams! I have never had a nice wedding so I am nervous yet so excited.

The days are going by so slow. I am flying down on the 19th for the weekend to spend time with Randy. I am looking forward to it. I will be staying with Aunt Joyce and her husband Jerry. I am almost as excited to see Joyce as I am to be with Randy! I said almost :)

Here comes the Bride!

2009-06-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

Yep I am getting married! Randy and I have been talking non stop ever since we reconnected and he asked me to marry him. I fasted, prayed and talked to my bishop and got confirmation many times. He is in California but will be moving out here to be with me once we are married. We are getting married at his aunts house in California and then a year from now will go through the Vegas temple to be sealed. Our families are very happy and supportive. One of his aunts, Joy Trotter was my mutual teacher growing up.

The wedding is July 6th at 7pm in Rocklin California. Anyone who would like to attend is invite just let me know in advance. Our colors are pink and dark brown. His Aunt Joyce has been so gracious and is planning the wedding. She goes above and beyond the call of duty and is so sweet!

He is the man of my dreams and I should have married him the first time 23 years ago when we were dating. However we both had things to learn. I will post pictures of the wedding! It does seem crazy but trust me it is right. If I posted a list of all the ways the spirit has confirmed it to us and how we both have been being prepared by our Heavenly Father to be together it would give you goosebumps and it is a long list!

I am Twitterpated!

2009-05-27T09:31:00.001-07:00

I love Facebook! Through it I was able to reconnect with an old boyfriend. He is not on Facebook but his cousin is and I emailed her asking for his contact information. Long story short we have been talking, texting, emailing back and forth none stop since we reconnected!

I met Randy Couch in Moab when I was 17. I kept in touch with him when I moved to Las Vegas and he came and stayed with us in Vegas for a couple of months. I was young, he was older and little wild and things didn’t work out and we went our separate ways.

Our lives have been very similar. We both have been married 3 times and he has only a son and so do I. We both were inactive in the church for many years and we are both back to being active in the church! I am further ahead in my journey but he is making huge progress.

It is weird how it was so long ago that we were dating but now it seems like yesterday and we have started right back up where we left off. We are taking it one day at a time. But we both want a temple marriage and feel that if we base our relationship around the gospel we will create a strong relationship and/or marriage. No matter how far it goes we will always be friends. But I love the feeling I get when we talk. It is so exciting and gives me something to look forward too. I just might have found my happily ever after!

I love my new to me car!

2009-05-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

My Dodge Intrepid has been on its last leg for a while. The car was a lemon from the get go and I had to replace the engine 2 years after buying. Chrysler does not stand behind their product so I had to pay for it. Any ways the newer engine is about to go out, the brakes were shot and the a/c went out. I hate the car!

So my parents are downsizing and were telling me how they were going to get rid of their Pathfinder and I said I wanted it! And would take over the payments.

It is so funny how somethings just fall into place and are suppose to happen. I was trying to figure out how to get the car from Vegas to Washington when I saw a friend on Facebook that used to live here but had moved to Vegas. So I added him and a couple days later his status said he was coming to Washington from Vegas to meet his new grandbaby. I contacted him and he drove it up here!

I love it! I love riding high. I was playing with the stereo today and figured out how to make the display on the stereo PINK!! Now I am really in love!

I am so blessed. I have a great job with 2 awesome bosses, I live in a really cute house, have a great new to me car, and have great friends and family. Life is good!

I am not just the crazy cat lady, I am a dog sitter was well!

2009-05-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of watching Barkley for my friend Rob while he and his family went on vacation. We had Barkley for 10 days! He is the best dog ever! He is trained to ring bells that hang off a door knob when he needs to go outside. He is well behaved and only poops once a day!

Barkley slept next to me, he loves to cuddle and he went to work with me. Any time I would leave to go some where he wanted to go. The cats did not like him at first but they didn't mind him by the time he left. My cat Rat (short for Ratatouille) however loved him. Rat would follow Barkley every where and play chase with Barkley in the house. They were buddies! I miss Barkley and look forward to watching him again in the future.

Death

2009-04-22T12:44:00.001-07:00

I hate it, I fear it, I wish it didn't exist. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about it. I know it is all part of the plan and I do believe in life after death. However I miss those who have died. I miss my Grandma and Grandad Dickerson, my Grandma and Grandpa Branscom, my good friends Jacqui Looney and Jana Walls.

I mourn the death of those I have never met! Princess Di, Pedro from the Real World, Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger. It takes me about a month to get over someone's death to where I don't think about it every day and that is just for those I have never met. It takes me much longer to get over death when it is someone I care about. I am sad when animals die.

I hate getting older. I just started to learn how to enjoy life and I feel that mine is now about half over! And it freaks me out that the first half went by so fast. I fear the day I lose one of my parents and I think about that every day. I could not imagine life without them. I have about 20 more years to have my parents, if I am lucky. That is how old my son Colin is and it seems like yesterday he was born! The time goes by so fast.

I have started to reconnect with friends from high school and regret not keeping in touch with them. It is hard to comprehend that we are in high school 4 short years however they seem to have an impact on our entire lives. The friendships made during those years carry on with us for a life time. At the time high school seemed to last forever.

When Christ and Satan presented their plans in the preexistence I am sure I was one of the people on the fence. To me Satan's plan sounded good because we would just come to earth to receive a body and return. I am assuming the veil would not exist so we would remember the preexistence. I would bet that my family had to remind me why the Saviors plan was the right choice and pull me to the Saviors side.

I don't want to die! I don’t' want anyone close to me to die. You would think that I would take better care of myself and become healthy so I could live longer. However, when you are an addict you don't think of the consequences of your actions. You just feed the addiction.

The house is finally put together!

2009-03-24T16:02:00.001-07:00

It took forever it seems but my house is finally put together! I love my house and I think Colin does too. Although the bedrooms are smaller than we are used to, it is so nice to have such a large kitchen, living room and tons of storage. Our cats seem to like the house as well. It took them a while. Some of them hid for a couple of days.

I feel so blessed to have such great friends, awesome bosses, great job, and a beautiful house. I am now looking forward to having friends over, planting a garden and just enjoying life!

I miss my friends in Issaquah and I hope they come visit. I would love for anyone to come visit anytime. I now have a home I am proud to let others in.

Additional photos

Happy 20th Birthday Colin!

2009-02-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

Tonight at 6:30pm Colin will officially be 20 years old. He was born in Las Vegas at the no longer Women's Hospital. He was born by C section after I was induced for almost 24 hours! The first thing the doctor said when he pulled him out was "wow look at the size of balls this kid has". He was talking to the other doctor and he must have thought I was too out of it to pay attention.

Colin weighed 9 pounds 12 oz. He came into this world very stubborn! The nurses in the nursery would call me and ask if I could take him because he was throwing such a fit in the clear plastic crib thingy that he turned himself sideways. The nurses would constantly wrap him up in a blanket and cover his arms. He hated it and I finally told them if they would leave his arms free he would stop throwing fits and I was right.

It is hard for me to believe life has gone by so fast and that my one and only baby is 20 years old. I feel like it was just yesterday that he was born. I remember every detail. I love you Colin no matter how angry I get at you. I am not the best mom in the world. I know there are things I could have done better when raising you and because I didn't I am sorry. But I only wanted and continue to want the best for you in life. Just know that there is no one else in the world that will love and support you as much as your mom will and does so try to remember that when you get angry at me.

Love you Colin and Happy Birthday!

I hate moving! But love my new house!

2009-02-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

So I am moving this weekend to Tacoma Washington. I am moving into a cute house that the company I work for owns. Yes Colin is moving with me and we are very excited to be living in a city again. I love Issaquah but I am ready for a change. I finally changed my name to Dickerson on my bank accounts, utilities and drivers license.

It amazes me how much crap I accumulate in such a short time. I have lived here almost 7 years. Moving is a great excuse to get rid of stuff I know I will never use or need. It is a lot of work however. And once you start packing and moving things around in your place you have lived in for a while you see all the dirt! My current apartment is so dirty it is freaking me out. I am going to have to clean it before my friends from my ward come over to clean!! I am very overwhelmed but trying to take it a day at a time and by Friday night if everything is not done then I will panic.

Good thing about the new house is I have a ton of storage space. There is a garage and lots of closets, pantries, etc in this house and the kitchen is 3 times the size of the one in my apartment! Who knows I might start cooking a lot more now that I will have the room. I also have a huge back yard and a great place to plant a garden!

I will post pictures once I get my house put together but here are pictures of it empty.

I am sad I will be moving out of my ward and will not be close to a lot of my great friends but I am looking forward to meeting new friends and a fresh start. I have heard from several people that the single adults in my age range are a very large and active group down in Tacoma! I have joined a group for them on Facebook and am shocked at all the activities they plan and do.

I love you my Issaquah friends and I am so grateful for knowing you. I will not be a stranger! You will see me often I promise!

Change has come. It is a good day!

2009-01-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-22T15:39:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And now we have 12

2008-11-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

Sister had another litter. This time she had 6! I love them all. She had 4 white ones, 1 orange one and 1 black with orange one. I know I am crazy. I love babies. I don't care what kind. A baby frog, baby worm, baby elephant, baby human, baby dog, baby lizard, baby snake. . . you get the point.

Lady's two kittens are almost ready to go to their new homes (my friend Heather and her family and my friend Stacey and her family). They are my favorite kittens so far. So we have a total of 12 cats in our house. Piglet recently had his manhood removed, so ends the kitten making factory.

What is your Vampire name? - Stolen from my friend Stacey

2008-11-21T19:51:00.001-08:00

Your Vampire Name Is...

Guinevere of Persia

What's Your Vampire Name?

Co-Workers

2008-11-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

I find that I work better and am happier at my job when I like and get along with my co-workers. I have 2 great bosses but my new co-workers can be very lazy and don't seem to want to do anything. They are very demanding of my attention and the only thing they seem to get accomplished in the day is making sure their hair is nice and pretty. They even demand that I get their lunch! I have 4 co-workers and 1 of them has her kids at the office! Yep, I am now working from home. I was worried I would not be disciplined enough but I seem to work more hours now and get a lot more accomplished during the day. I am really liking it actually but I am getting a little stir crazy so I have to make sure and leave the house from time to time.

I am Proud to be an American!

2008-11-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! This is a great song to help celebrate click here!

God Bless the USA!

Facebook addict

2008-10-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Yep I am! I love it. I have reconnected with friends from my past and share photos with friends and family. It is awesome! So if you have not joined Facebook you need to and then add me as your friend. It is not just for kids.

Temple, good food and ducks!

2008-10-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

Amy Hansen and I on the bus going to the temple, Nate Jenkins sitting behind us!

Saturday I started the day by hopping on a bus to the temple with my ward. It was awesome! I am just going to say that I love Jean Nye and Amy Hansen and thank you both for helping me! Jean is a temple worker and usually helps new brides on Saturdays. This Saturday she made special arrangements to be a worker at our session so that she could help me. I had shared with her on Wednesday that I was nervous to do a session because it was my second time and I can't remember what to do. She told me I would do fine and not to worry. I show up and she lets me know she will be there to help me! Then Amy sat next to me and helped me remember what to do and when. I have awesome friends!

We all then went back to the church and ate pulled pork sandwiches. Mark Griffith smoked the pork all night and it was yummy! Everyone brought either a salad or a dessert.

I then went with Nate and Amber to go look at a house that my company has purchased. I knew that there were ducks at the pond so I brought bread so that Morgan, Evan and I could feed the ducks. The ducks were so friendly and walked right up to us to beg for the bread. The kids thought it was great and the bread went really fast. If there is a next time I am going to bring bags of popcorn.

Evan and Morgan Jenkins

It was a great day!

I am the cat lady!

2008-10-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

So last Sunday we gave away Sister's baby kittens to a loving home. The father of the babies was a stray cat. We don't let our cats outside however Sister was going to get outside one way or another so we finally threw her out.

Lady is our other cat and she had babies the same day we gave away the other two. They are so cute and our black cat Piglet is the father of these two. One is solid black like Piglet and the other is white. Lady and Sister are real sisters and so when Lady had babies Sister was there to help! In fact she thought since we gave away her babies that she would just share the babies with Lady and kept taking the babies and tried to hide them.

So I have 4 cats. Sabrina we have had the longest and she is a white big fluffy cat. Then there is Lady and Sister that came from the same litter and then Piglet that the Jenkin's found in the parking garage and I hand feed and wiped his bum along with his 2 brothers, Pooh and Tigger. Pooh and Tigger now live with my friends the Finnigan's. I just could not bring myself to give away Piglet and have him all alone so I kept him. Don't tell the other cats but he is my favorite!

So here are pictures of all my cats. We of course will give away the lastest babies once they are old enough to give away. So if you want one let me know! Next month Piglet will be getting his manhood cut off and then I will have the girls fixed soon thereafter. I do love these babies!

My divorce is final!

2008-09-20T18:23:00.001-07:00

After being separated for 2 years my divorce was final yesterday. It is sometimes hard to believe it has been 2 years. So many good things have happened since that day yet the first year was very emotional for me. Had I been the one to initiate the divorce I do not think it would have affected me as hard. I had kicked him out several times but would take him back. I think in order for me to grow as a person I had to experience the pain of him leaving me.

It was a bitter sweet day for me yesterday. I am sad my marriage ended yet happy that it did. There are things I miss and things I am glad are gone.

Things I miss:

* The excitement of him coming home from work
* Tuesday night date night (usually dinner and a movie)
* Intimacy
*Being a two income household
*My best friend
*The thought of someone loving me
*The man I made him out to be in my head

Things I do NOT miss:

*Wondering how many women he was flirting with on the Internet that day
*Trying to guess if he wanted something or wasting my time doing it and he not want it. Which ever I chose was wrong. If I made breakfast for him he didn't want it. If I didn't, I was a lazy wife.
*Cooking for him because he never liked what I fixed
*The Porn in my home
*Worrying that he only married me for a greencard and would leave once it came
*Having to do all the housework without any help at all
*Having him get upset with me for letting a coffee sit for weeks in our bedroom instead of throwing it away (why he couldn't throw it away is beyond me)

There are days I miss him and then I talk to him on the phone or get an email from him and it only takes a few words from him to remember why I am glad we are no longer together.

I have been tagged!

2008-09-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

20 Years Ago....
1. I was pregnant with Colin
2. I was working at Pic – n- Save (Now BigLots)
3. I was married to Eddie Puckett
4. My grandma Dickerson was dying of cancer

10 Years Ago....
1. I was married to Luis Velasco
2. Colin was in 5th Grade
3. I was working at the America Gem Society
4. Still living in Las Vegas

5 Years Ago....
1. I was married to Sonny
2. Living in Issaquah Washington
3. Became addicted to shopping on Ebay
4. Was working for the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce

3 Years Ago....
1. Was working at HouseValues in sales
2. Went to Vegas on vacation
3. Colin was going to Bellevue Community College
4. Enjoyed going to dinner and a movie every Tuesday with Sonny and Colin

1 Year Ago....
1. I was teaching the 4/5 year olds in Primary and loving it!
2. Became great friends with my neighbors the Jenkins (Nate, Amber, Morgan, Evan and bun in the oven
3. Colin learned to drive
4. Landed an awesome job as office manager for the Finnigan’s business, Homevestors!

So far this year....
1. I became secretary in Young Womens
2. I went to the Las Vegas temple and received my endowments!
3. I filed for divorce!
4. I turned 40 :(

Yesterday I.....
1. Worked.
2. Went grocery shopping
3. I went to Young Womens and avoided playing capture the flag
4. Played with my cute baby kittens (hopper and whitey)

Today I.....
1. Woke up
2. Took a shower
3. Got dressed and ready for work
4. Went to work and drank a Mtn. Dew

In the next year I'll.....
1. Try and lose weight
2. Attend the temple a lot
3. Try and go to Vegas for a vacation
4. Persuade Colin into getting his GED and drivers license

I tag Laurie Huemann, Susan Robinson, Amy Hansen and Heather Chamberlain

Your Son might be gay if. . .

2008-09-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

*He puts his bath towel on his head pretending it is long hair and tells you he is Tabitha.

*He loves to do your hair.

*One of his favorite things to do is going shopping at the Boulevard Mall with his aunts.

*He prefers to play with the girls instead of the boys

*The majority of his friends are girls

*He spends the night at his Aunt Candice's house and he wants to give each other pedicures and paint each others toenails (Aunt Candice's contribution)

*The Bodyguard was his favorite movie ever. (His aunt Kendra reminded me of this one)

*He loves the young Obi-Wan Kenobi and not for his acting abilities. (His aunt Candice provided this one)

* He adores Gwen Stefani, it started at an early age and he has a shrine of her in his bedroom.

*He tells all your friends and family that when he grows up he is going to marry your friend Steve Mitchell pictured above. (His aunt Trina reminded me of this one)

So for those of you who think being gay is a choice, I am here to tell you that it is NOT! Just like a child is born with blue eyes, or green eyes, or brown hair, blonde hair etc, a child is born with their sexual orientation. As the proud mother of a gay child I can tell you this for a fact! Everyone who knew Colin growing up could tell. So when he finally came out last year it was not a shock to any of us who truly know and love him.

Art by Morgan Jenkins

2008-09-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share my favorite picture drawn by Morgan. She knows how to spell my name all by herself! This is my favorite picture she has given me so far! Can you tell who the picture is of?

Sunday is my favorite day!

2008-08-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

So today in Sacrament the Young Women sang the song "Steadfast in You" and since I am the YW secretary I had to sing as well. Being in front of a crowd is not my favorite thing to do but the girls stood in front of the leaders so it wasn't that bad.

Today also was my Sunday to give the lesson in YW. It was on community service. The young women in my ward are so awesome and teach me more than I will ever teach them.

After church Sean, Jaime, Brynn, Chase, Shea and Ella came over to visit the kitties. Sean just so happens to also be my boss. I get to hang with Jaime a lot with church activities and when she organizes girls night out! We have a lot of fun together and I love their kids!

I then took a little nap and then it was time for me to babysit for Nate and Amber as they went to a wedding of a co-worker. Of course the kids wanted to come to my house and play with the kitties. I had some laundry to fold so after they had enough with the kittens I put them on my bed and turned on some Disney shows while I folded laundry.

Morgan and Evan love to come to my house and Morgan will often draw me pictures so that she can come over and deliver them! My fridge is beautifully decorated with child art by Morgan.

Nap time is my favorite time of day too!

2008-08-16T17:20:00.001-07:00

Holy moly I am 40!

2008-08-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

So Sunday was my 40th birthday. I have been dreading it all year. My visiting teachers and my great friends all pitched in to throw me a 40th birthday bash on Saturday night! It was so much fun! Heather Chamberlain and Eleanor Currit came up with the idea and Eleanor coordinated it and she did an awesome job!

Thank you to everyone for making my 40th birthday a memorable event! I am truly blessed to have so many awesome friends. Thanks to all who helped and brought food, performed music, sang, danced and attended! It was a blast.

Click on the links for additonal photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28354011@N05/sets/72157606692921355 and http://www.flickr.com/photos/niffgurd/sets/72157606658916345/

I am a Grandma!

2008-08-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

Yep my baby had babies! I have had sister for about 4 years now and she had her first liter today! She had them in my closet while I was at work. She is such a good mom. She purrs the entire time she is with them. One is all white and the other is a dark tiger striped. I love them!

My new Friend

2008-07-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

So this little guy comes to my balcony every night wanting to harass my cats at my sliding glass window and beg for food. He is so cute! He comes every night anywhere from 9pm to 3am and he will come and knock on the window!! Once I open the door to come out and give him some food he jumps off the balcony and waits for me to come back in the house and close the door before eating. He will come up to the window and stand on his hind legs to thank me. He will even come up to the screen door but he is too scared to be near me if the door is open.

I know I should not feed him and he is a rodent but I love him! I know you think I am the cat lady but if I were allowed to have other animals in my apartment I would! One day I will have my own house with a yard and have cats, bunnies, dogs and any wild life that wants to visit!

Wow what a week!

2008-07-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday July 9th I flew down to Las Vegas to go through the temple and spend time with family. Colin stayed home to take care of our 4 cats and the house.

The time flew by fast and before I knew it I was home again. I spent a lot of time just hanging with family. On Saturday I went to the Las Vegas Temple for the first time! It was amazing!! My mom was my escort. The following friends and family met me there and went through with me:

My mom and dad (of course!)
My sister Katrina and my brother-in-law Trent Nielsen
My great friends Nate and Amber Jenkins from Issaquah, WA
My uncle Vere and aunt Shauna Dickerson from Moab, UT
Good friends Diane and Wyatt (Bishop) Banks, Las Vegas, NV
Good friends Marvel Ririe and Val her daughter, Las Vegas, NV

I didn't think to ask anyone to stay for pictures after until my Dad and my aunt and uncle had already left. So here is a picture of the rest of us at the temple after the session.

Pictured above from left to right (yours not mine lol) are Amber Jenkins, Nate Jenkins, Mom, Me, Katrina (Trina) and Trent.

After we all met at my parents house for a nice BBQ and swim party. We had pulled pork sandwiches which were awesome! We also had my favorite costco cake with the best frosting!

Those in attendence were:
My brother Dennis (bald guy behind me)
Trent and my sister Trina and Syd, Kailee, Spencer, Christina Nielsen
Jack and my sister Candice, and Anthony, Andrew, Aden and Jackson
Erich and Kendra Schueler, and Alex, Nick, Morgan
Aunt Anne
Wyatt and Diane Banks, Chaniece and Rigden (if someone knows the correct spelling of their names please let me know)
Travis Johnson, Amy and Ryan
Nate and Amber Jenkins and Morgan and Evan
Dan and Tiffany Jenkins and their cute kids
Vere and Shauna

It was an awesome day! Click here http://www.flickr.com/photos/28354011@N05/ to see all my pictures.

I went to church with Trina and her family on Sunday and chatted with JohnnyFaye Blood who is also from Moab and went to school with my dad. Made me cry because she made me think of Moab and both sets of my grandparents that are no longer alive (but I am sure both sets of grandparents where with me at the temple, shocked and proud).

On Monday I drove down to Kingman to see my sister's Candice and Kendra's homes there. We had a BBQ that night that was so yummy. I got to pet all the animals on the Weidner farm (smelt them before seeing them).

I spent 2 days in Kingman. It was great to spend time with my family. I do miss them but I don't think I could leave beautiful Issaquah for hot Las Vegas. I thought since I lived there for 16 years the heat would not bother me but man was I wrong! I forgot how hot it gets and I am no longer used to that heat.

I am going to start saving money soon so Colin and I can go to Vegas for Christmas.

+

New Church Calling!

2008-07-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a bitter sweet day. I was sadly released as the Primary teacher of the 4/5 year olds. I love my class and will miss them greatly. I am working on getting a picture of them and will post it on a later date.

I have been called to be the secretary in the Young Women's! I am very excited to get to know the young women and looking forward to working on my own personal progress!

My Claim to Fame!

2008-07-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

My great friend and neighbor is Amber Jenkins. Amber's maiden name is Morgan. Do you know who else has the maiden name of Morgan? Stephenie Meyer author of the Twilight Series of books! Yep, Amber and Stephenie are first cousins! Can you see the family resemblance?

Bridal Shower, Primary, Birthday Party! Lots of Fun!

2008-06-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a very fun and busy day. I attended a bridal shower for Jessie Smith at 10am. She is in my ward. We all ate crepes that were so yummy and the soon to be bride opened gifts. Stacey Griffith threw the party at her house and they have several pets. One is a snake named Rosie. I of course thought it was cute and wanted to hold it! Most of the other ladies freaked out.

Then at 2pm was the Primary Summer Activity and since I teach the 4/5 year olds I had the pleasure of attending. A good time was had by all!

Then at 6pm was Stacey Griffith's 40th birthday bash at the Church. We had pulled pork sandwiches and ribs. The Bishop's wife brought some 80's music so we danced a little after dinner. I totally want to do that again!

Goin' to the Temple and I'm NOT getting married!

2008-06-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

I am going to the temple on July 12th in Las Vegas. I am very excited and happy with how my life is going right now. I just wished life was not going by so fast. I do not like getting older. The years are flying by. It seems like yesterday I graduated high school. Wow!