I Never Said it Would be Easy... I Just Said it Would be Worth it.

And oh boy, was it! Not only worth it, it was downright delicious!




Happy Chocolate Cake Day 2010!

Is Your Toilet Running?

Dear Maintenance Man,

When you said that there is nothing wrong with our toilet, did you actually mean you just don't know how to fix it? Because there is definitely something wrong with it. It ran on and off all night long, and due to that I got very little sleep. Your honesty would be appreciated.

Cordially,

Alyssa

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

7:00 am - wake up, realize that you've only been asleep for six hours and for heaven's sake it's Saturday, go back to sleep.

10:00 - 11:00 am - wake up again, curse yourself for not setting an alarm, take shower, get dressed.

11:15 - 11:45 am - pick up some donuts for breakfast, arrive at mechanic, ask how long an oil change and safety and emissions test will take, thank goodness they say only an hour and a half because you've got places to be, hand over key, walk over to Tanner Building.

12:00 - 1:30 pm - eat donuts, study, study, study, discuss deep findings in education, study some more, wonder why the mechanic hasn't called yet.

1:45 - 3:00 pm - walk back to mechanic, see car in the process of its oil change, believe it's almost done, sit down in mechanic lobby, study some more, read some magazines, start to get antsy about the prospects of the car getting done any time soon, see mechanic drive car over to parking spot, pray that car is almost done because you were planning on being in Park City by now, see woman pull up in her own car, walk over to your car, knock on your car's window, then see mechanic get out of your car and go help entitled woman for 20 more minutes, ask mechanic manager if your car is almost done, see manager tell other mechanic that the owner of the 4runner is here and can see everything you're doing, watch mechanic say a swear, get a discount from the manager for your patience, plus a lame excuse about how social mechanic is, finally get car back.

3:15 - 4:15 pm - go home, pack, leave for Park City, complain about lack of professionalism from mechanic, give thanks for discount, resolve to still go to that mechanic because they are so convenient and actually do good work, albeit slow, but not ever again when you're in a hurry.

Old Age and Dying

If you're 104 years old, the way you expect to die is not by being hit by a minivan. Even if you are the strongest man in the world.

Truthfully, though, that'd be the way to go. But only if you're that old.

Extra-Strength Awesome: 2009

Well, it's a new year. A new decade, in fact. 2009 ended in a whirl wind and 2010 has gotten into full swing, particularly with the new semester. Ugh, the new semester. I'm so over school. Although, to be fair, I really did enjoy my classes last semester, and it looks like I'll be enjoying them this semester too. It helps that I got straight A's. Well, okay. Straight A's and one A-. Boo freaking hoo.

Anyway, I was reflecting on all that happened over the past year and it made me think of what I would write if Lewis and I sent out an end-of-year letter like you know how some people do. Of course I would mention our accomplishments such as making it through a whole year of marriage together (and doing so quite successfully, if I might add) or me completing my internship. I would like to say that I graduated like I was supposed to, but I'm happy with how things turned out. True, a whole other year of school wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but so far getting my teaching certificate has been something I've enjoyed. And I feel safe in school. Sounds silly, but just try to see if I care. I like it.

Lewis was busy this year in school as well. He finished absolutely everything except for his student teaching, which he just started yesterday. Oh, and a religion class. But such is the life of a future BYU grad.

Speaking of the future, and graduating, Lewis and I will both graduate this April. Even though I'm graduating with a degree in marriage, family, and human development, I'm going to walk with the education peeps so family members can be there for both of our graduations. Of course, two days after graduation, I will be back in school finishing up the last few classes for my teaching certificate. Then Lewis will start his first year of teaching and I will start my teaching internship (hopefully) in September. Basically, 2010 looks pretty darn bright and sunny from here.

Wow, we sound like nerds with all this education talk! We had lots of fun besides school in 2009 too. We spent several weekends up in Park City at Lewis' parents' condo. It's very cozy and nice up there, so we love spending time there. It's not a very far drive to get away for the weekend or something like that. Other traveling escapades included a trip to Idaho to spend Easter with the Hirschis, another (very brief) trip to Idaho for the Hirschi family reunion, and an absolutely fantastic journey to Disneyland where we celebrated our first anniversary. Plus, during the summer, my family came to visit so we got to spend a lot of time with them, and they even survived the shenanigans that come with staying in our tiny apartment (such as when the kitchen table caves in on itself just in time for Sunday morning breakfast).

Overall, we found ourselves very blessed in the year that was 2009. We are very happy together and we have two wonderful families that have our backs no matter what. I couldn't be luckier.

So like I said, I would probably write something like that if I wrote an end-of-year letter. It would probably be more interesting if we had kids and/or I didn't send out a weekly letter to family members/blog. Plus it would probably just sound braggy cause my life is so awesome. I'm a fan of it, anyway.