Moving, Applying for Graduation, Etc.

Chad and I finally moved into a place this past weekend. It is a basement apartment, although it is more above ground than below. An older couple owns the house; they are really nice and we got a pretty good deal... AND I have the internet! No more riding my bike to the library. :) Everything is finally unpacked and we only have two things left to do: 1) get rid of all the empty boxes in the corner (that will have to wait until the garbage man comes as the trash is already stuffed), and 2) hang up all of our pictures. Several people have asked for pictures of the place, but I'm going to wait to take some until the boxes are gone and the pictures are up... patience, patience.

I also applied for August graduation today! I'm just a little excited! All I have left to do is my student teaching and then I will be 100% completely done with college. Heck yes!

While applying for graduation it was brought to my attention that I am one class short of a minor in Psychology Teaching. Currently I will graduate with a major in Elementary Education and a second major in Psychology, but with only one more class I could also have a minor in Psychology Teaching. Hmm. Here is my dilemma...student teaching is so busy that I would wait to take the class during Spring term which happens to end at the very end of June (like a week or so before the baby is due). If the baby came early I could have some problems finishing the class, but maybe the professor would be willing to work with me. Also, an Elementary Educator license only goes up through 8th grade, but most students don't even start taking psychology classes until 9th or 10th grade. That being said, would it even be useful to have the Psychology Teaching minor? On the other hand, there might come a time where I would use it. You just never know. I should mention that out east many elementary schools actually teach psychology. While I'm not out east right now, there's no saying I won't ever be there. If Chad and I ever found ourselves living out there I might wish I had a minor in Psychology Teaching.

AHH!!! I'm not sure what I should do. Any suggestions?

Goodbye Weechee

This morning I drove Weechee to the Humane Society since we are moving in two days and can't keep her. She cried all the way there and I cried all the way home... :'(

"Is it raining?"

This is the first thought that popped into my head when I woke up around 11:30pm Sunday night. I thought it was a bit odd for it to be raining, but went back to bed. I woke up again about ten minutes later and found myself thinking, "It could be raining, but in the house?! Yeah right." I knew something was up and so I got out of bed to investigate. No sooner than I jumped out of bed did I step in a puddle of water and had water hit my head. That's right, it was raining in my in-law's basement!

A little concerned that there would be water running from the ceiling in the basement I went upstairs and found that the main level was completely soaked and leaking from the ceiling as well. I woke up Chad who then went and woke up his dad. Everyone in the house spent the next 1 1/2-2 hours sucking up water with a wet vac, mopping, and emptying cupboards so they could air out.

Why was it raining in the house? That's right, part of the upstairs toilet broke and gushed so much water that it leaked from the top floor to the main floor to the basement. Everything is now dry, but there is some pretty yummy water damage...

Jesseca's Wedding

Saturday was my sister's wedding. It was a really cold day (taking pictures outside was a blast!), but at least it didn't start snowing until after the reception was over. It was really fun to be able to attend the wedding ceremony in the Timpanogos Temple and to see all of my immediate and extended family that I haven't seen in forever. Jesseca was beautiful and seemed to be really happy. Here are some pictures that I took... Enjoy!

Hallelujah!

Thank goodness! We finally found a place to live and signed the lease on it Wednesday! No more being homeless! We actually won't be moving in until just after Christmas (I think the exact date we are moving in is the 26th and 27th - Friday/Saturday?) because another couple is still living there. I'm just glad we found a place we like and will be in it soon. The apartment is in an older couple's home - they finished off the garage and added a little onto the side and back. It has the two bedrooms we will need once the baby comes and this time we will have the internet! Heck yes! It is in way north Provo, like almost to Provo Canyon. The neighborhood is nice and I think it will be fun to live in an area with less students than right in the middle of Provo. We really like the place and hopefully will enjoy it!

The only bad thing is that the homeowners don't want us to have a cat despite how good she is (the wife is ok with it, but the husband hates cats...). Now we are looking for a good home/family for her to go live with. Sad day. I'm trying not to think about it and I know that when we actually have to give Weechee to someone else I'm going to be bawling my eyes out.

Anyway, yay for happiness and yay for things finally falling into place!

Sweet Moves

Who knew Chad and I had such sweet dance moves?!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Nightmare Continues...

Just when I thought the craziness was over, it started up again. The last thing I remember saying about our apartment situation/hunt was that we moved out of our old place in the three days given to us, put our belongings into storage, moved in with Chad's parents, and have continued to look for a new place to live. There's more... a lot more.

After Chad moved everything out the apartment complex manager called Chad and said that he needed to go back and re-clean some things. She said that she left a list of the things that needed fixed and that if Chad did that everything would be good. So Chad drove all the way from South Jordan to Provo just to clean for 20 minutes - I think a little spot on the counter that was actually paint from the remodel and NOT toothpaste and which I might add would not come off is a bit anal, especially since it was really dirty when we moved in (no one had cleaned it after the remodel), but whatever. Having cleaned everything we thought all would be good and we would get our deposit back soon. A few days later we received a call saying that before they would give us the deposit they needed to have carpet cleaners come in and use black lights on the carpet to make sure that our cat had not peed on it; understandable that you don't want kitty pee on the carpet, but Weechee won't go anywhere but her box... go ahead and waste your money if you want. :) Surprise, surprise... they didn't find anything. Ha! Since nothing was wrong with the apartment they said that we could come pick up the deposit (minus the $50 that they keep from everyone) around December 9th-ish.

We were planning on doing that until we got another call last night. This time we were told there were a few more little things that needed to be cleaned (um, I thought we already did all that for them) and that either we could do it or they would take out the cleaning fee from out deposit. The cleaning fee is probably something ridiculously steep and there is probably only a little spot on something random. Insane. Chad and I are somewhat mad about this because the apartment was a mess when we moved in, it is 100 times cleaner now then it was before, and they are bugging us over a spot. Wow.

Then there was this morning. Chad got another phone call saying that the apartment complex manager expected us to pay rent through the 18th of December. Excuse me, what?! We moved out on the 24th of November and should have been given part of our November rent back, but didn't ask for it. And now they want us to pay part of December's rent when we aren't even living there?! What kind if insane world are they living in?! Their reasoning behind this is that they don't have renters moving in until December 19 and so they want us to pay the rent until then. I'm sorry, you are the ones responsible for us leaving so soon. You are the ones that kicked us out. Is it my fault you couldn't get it rented until December 19? I don't think so.

Clearly Chad and I are not going to pay them for December rent when we aren't even living there! However, my fear is that since we don't have the deposit back they will keep that because we refuse to pay December rent. Seriously, can this situation get any more retarded?

I honestly think these people are just trying to see how much work and money they can get out of us. Maybe they think that because we left without a fight they can push us around and get extra money out of us. Well they are in for a surprise. I'm not going to let someone walk all over me, I'm not paying for December's rent, and I will get my deposit back. If they want to see the wrath of Amber, I'll let it loose. I'll take them to small claims court if I have to. It might cost me more money then I'll get, but it is the principle of the matter.

I am frustrated, angry, and just fed up with the situation. Am I overreacting? I think I'm acting the way any normal person would...

Big News!

Well, actually only one of these things is big news and the others are just, well, little news.

1) Chad and I are having a baby! Holy bananas! We are so excited! The baby is due on July 5th which Chad is very excited about since his birthday is the 6th. I know it's kinda early to tell everyone (I'm only 9 1/2 weeks), but I was so excited I couldn't wait any longer. :) This is the big news by the way.

2) We are still looking for a place to live. We have found a few hopefuls, but they don't allow cats and I really don't want to get rid of Weechee. However, I am starting to come to terms with the fact that I might just have to. Sad day. So, if you know of anywhere that allows pets and that is currently renting... please let me know!

3) I met a very grumpy man that was mean to me while driving back to Utah from Colorado after Thanksgiving. We stopped in Laramie because I really had to go to the bathroom (I know, it hadn't even been two hours, but give me a break). I went into the gas station and right inside the door - like you could have ran into him - was a really old man. He asked what I needed and I said that I would like to use the restroom. He then proceeded to tell me that unless I was buying gas I could not use the bathroom. What?! Are you kidding me?! I was thinking, "I'm pregnant and I'm about to pee my pants." He was very adamant and would not let me go to the bathroom. We ended up going across the street and used another gas station's bathroom, which by the way did not make me buy gas. Isn't that just insane? I mean seriously.

My sister and co-worker later suggested two things that I should have done when the man told me that I couldn't use the bathroom... 1) Pee my pants on his floor. (Thank you Jesseca.) Which by the way would have been very disgusting, but would have taught him a lesson. 2) Hand him a quarter and then buy 25 cents worth of gas and then go use his bathroom. I wish I would have thought of this at the time. Oh well.

*sigh*

I'm not sure how to describe my life right now except for chaos. Yep, chaos seems to sound perfect. Let me explain... Chad and I have a cat and so when we were looking for a place to live it had to allow pets. Way back in August we filled out an application for a particular apartment complex and answered the question "Do you have any pets?" in the affirmative; yes, we do have a cat. So naturally when the complex said that we were approved to move in we assumed it was ok to have a cat. I think anyone would have thought that.

Well apparently the apartment complex has problems because they randomly decided that we couldn't have a cat. Did they ever let us know? No. Did they ever call/text/stop by to see us and say, "Chad and Amber, you are not allowed to have a cat. You need to get rid of her." Nope. That being said, unless you were told, how on earth would you know you couldn't have pet? That's right, you wouldn't. And I bet you would be pretty confused when you opened the door to discover that a note had been doorbell ditched saying you had to vacate the premises in three days.

NOTE: I think it's a little unprofessional to doorbell ditch a note like that. It would have been much better to hand deliver it or have a face to face conversation. On top of that, it was after 10pm on a Friday night... three days from then was Monday. Yep, we couldn't contact them all weekend to try to fix the situation. Pretty slimy of them if you ask me. PLUS, we had never received any warnings or anything. We had no idea we couldn't have a pet until we were told we had to leave. They are also really good at communicating. :) And is it really my fault that they overlooked the fact we said we had a pet on the application? If you ask me, they should have paid more attention if it was that big of a problem.

Chad and I realized that our apartment complex had some very serious problems and decided that we would just move out. So we did. We packed up everything in three days, moved it into a storage unit, and moved out. I guess we are technically homeless, but I am in Colorado for the week and Chad is staying with his parents in South Jordan; at least we have some place to go.

So that's where we are right now... living out of suitcases at our families homes. Yay for families, but boo for stupid apartment complexes.

Student Teaching Placement

I just found out where I will be student teaching in January...

...drumroll please...

...Alpine school district! I am so excited! I don't know the school or the grade yet (it is up to the district liaison to tell me) and I don't even know how I'm going to get there since Chad will have the car (hopefully the other student teacher at my school will have a car). Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know the exciting news. :)

Halloween!

Chad and I didn't do much for Halloween this year because I was really tired. We didn't go trick-or-treating (it would have looked weird for two adults to be out without any kids) or even hand out candy (we only had one group of kids stop by so I don't feel too bad). However, we did dress up in our costumes and went to dinner. Chad was a BMW thug - what he said, not me - and I was a teacher... creative, I know. ;) After dinner we came home and watched One Missed Call. Here are some of my favorite pictures of our costumes that we took.

Carving Pumpkins

For Chad and I this is our third Halloween together, and yet we have never ever carved pumpkins together! Insane, I know. To fix this problem we carved a pumpkin together last night. We had so much fun! Even Weechee enjoyed playing in the pumpkin guts; she tried eating them but apparently didn't like the taste (sorry Mom, I was hoping to have a cat like yours). We even sorted through the guts to get the seeds and made pumpkin seed snacks. Yummy!

Chad was the lucky one to de-gut the pumpkin. Right after the picture was taken Weechee jumped down from the windowsill and attacked the pumpkin guts in Chad's hand. Lol.

Carving the face.

Our first pumpkin. :)

Weechee investigating.

Us with our glowing pumpkin.

Almost 23!

My 23rd birthday is tomorrow, but because both Chad and I are working that evening we decided to celebrate my birthday yesterday. We opened presents (Chad did a very good job picking them out) which included a $60 dollar gift card to Famous Footwear to buy some shoes that I have been wanting, "Chad coupons," a $25 gift certificate to get a pedicure (so excited!), and the Children's Songbook on cd. Chad also made me a delicious dinner and cake. For dinner we had steak, creamy mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and sparkling red grape juice. So yummy! Chad even did the dishes after we were done so I didn't have to do anything. :) Chad made the cake all by himself and it was pretty good... it was even decorated for a girl! In talking to Chad later I discovered that he had wanted to decorate it with cars and racetracks but decided not to because it was my cake and not his. Lol.

I just noticed that there are only 12 candles in the picture... is Chad trying to tell me there are already too many candles to put on my cake?! I'm not that old. ;)

Chad and I were crazy enough to go to the Haunted Forest that is in American Fork a few nights ago. We actually went through both Psycho Manor and the Haunted Forest. Having never been to anything like this before I had no idea what to expect. Let me share a bit of my experience with you...

Psycho Manor was freaky just because it was inside a building and you felt like there was no escape. There was some crazy lady who I thought was tied to a chair... apparently not. As I walked past her I felt something behind me and when I turned around she was literally in my face. Holy cow. I about peed my pants. Some parts of Psycho Manor were completely dark so you had to feel your way around which got scary, especially when you touched something that moved. The worst part was at the end where there was this giant balloon, blow-up thing leading to the only way out. The air pressure made the sides press against you and it felt like you were being sent through a clothes wringer...

...except that the two metal rollers stand upright rather than lay on their side. Definitely not cool for claustrophobic people.

Then there was the Haunted Forest. This was my favorite of the two although I think it scared me more than Psycho Manor. Pretty much everyone knows that there are guys with chainsaws in there. Knowing that you would think you wouldn't get scared of them. However, when you don't see them and suddenly you hear someone breathing behind you and then hear a chainsaw start, the first thing you don't want to see when you turn around is the chainsaw directly in your face. That kinda freaked me out and so I turned around and started walking really fast which the crazy guy did too. So I started to run and then a creepy guy with a lawn mower started to chase me. Yeah, not cool guys.

There were two other really scary parts: 1) The caves - there were probably 3-4 caves throughout the Haunted Forest. The reason I thought they were so scary was because there was no way out, you were closed in. Not that there was any way out when you were walking around the forest, but at least I could have tried to fly up if things got too scary. :) and 2) Not knowing when it would end. The forest went on and on and on so you had no idea how much longer you had to be scared out of your mind.

Aside from the scary moments and the insanely huge amounts of adrenaline that were pumping through our bodies, Chad and I had a lot of fun. Will we ever go again... maybe, but only if it is daylight outside. ;)

Proof that we weren't too traumatized... our "scary" faces.

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

October has to be the most amazing month for birthdays - not that I have a strong opinion on that or anything. :) Chad's brother Brian and his mom had a birthday about a week and a half ago. Since Brian turned 16 we put together an "Emergency Dating Kit" full of everything you might need at the last minute... Altoids, chapstick, lotion, etc. For his mom, all of the children took her to dinner at the Melting Pot in Salt Lake.


It was everyone's first time except for Chad and me. We all had a great time and everyone seemed to enjoy the food.

I just have to comment on the food for a minute. One of the cheese fondues we tried was spinach, artichoke heart, and garlic. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so amazing! I have never enjoyed cheese so much in my life! Also, I have been on the beef kick (I love anything steak-y) and so the entrees were amazing; I seriously couldn't eat enough of the beef. Lol.

By the way, my birthday is next week and guess what I want for dinner... steak!

Provo Canyon and Sundance

Chad and I went for a drive up Provo Canyon and past Sundance last weekend just to see how pretty everything was. It was a little late to see the leaves changing colors (many of the trees had already changed and/or had lost their leaves), but it was still fun. Enjoy the pictures.

Our Children Stand no Chance

I found this website called www.makemebabies.com where you can upload pictures and see what your future children will look like. Curious, I uploaded a picture of me and one of Chad. These were the results:


Apparently Chad and I are going to have the ugliest children ever imaginable. All I can say is please lie when you see them and I ask you, "Aren't they they cutest kids ever!?" Faces only a mother could love...

Jesseca's Dress

Saturday I went with my mom, Jesseca, and Jesseca's friend Amanda to look for Jesseca's wedding dress. I swear, it took all day. We ended up winning the battle and found the perfect dress for her! It is so gorgeous and looks amazing on her.

Here's the dress. It is covered in lace (I've decided that I think lace is beautiful on a wedding dress, I just don't think I would wear it myself) and has a semi-cathedral train. There is a bow that goes around the waist. In this picture the bow is in the back, but Jesseca thinks she is going to put the bow in the front and to the side and make it a little smaller. GORGEOUS!

Finally done! (well, almost...)

I finally turned in my student teaching application this week! Due to a bunch of problems it was turned in almost three weeks late (for a bit there I wasn't sure I was going to be able to turn it in). But it's done and I'm really excited. :) Now I just have to wait to find out what district I will be student teaching in; they said because I was in Wasatch for cohorts I would be closer which will be really nice. I should find out in about three weeks what district I'm in and then it is up to the district to tell me what school and grade it will be. I could find out right away or it could be the day before I show up.

Anyway, I'm super excited and can't wait! Plus, I'll get to graduate in April. Yay for almost being a real teacher and for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Happiness

I'm happy and content and it feels great! I'm not exactly sure why I'm so happy... maybe it's because it is October or maybe it's because it is Fall. I love the month of October because it's the start of the holiday season. Halloween is always fun, then there's Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. Fall is probably my favorite season overall. I love the crispness of the air, I love seeing my breath but not freezing, I love being able to wear flip flops and a light jacket, I love seeing the leaves change colors and fall. *sigh* It's not too hot and not too cold. I just love it!

Or maybe I'm happy because General Conference was so amazing this past weekend. Chad and I were lucky enough to actually be able to attend General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake. I've never done that before.

We went to the Saturday afternoon session and ended up sitting on the main floor directly in front of the pulpit about halfway back. It was a great view! One of the coolest moments had to be when the First Presidency walked in. Beforehand everyone was talking and doing their own thing, but the moment they walked in it became dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop. It was awesome to be there and be that close to the Prophet. The spirit was amazing.


I feel so blessed to live in a time when we have a Prophet and get to hear the Lord's council on a consistent basis. Listening to Conference made me feel so blessed for all that I have... my wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally and always tells me that I am beautiful, my husband's and my family and their love, a nice place to live, the opportunity for both of us to be able to get a good education, enough money to cover our needs and some of our wants, time to spend with each other, a beautiful country to live in, good jobs, the Gospel, the ability to pray to Heavenly Father, knowledge that God knows the big picture... my list could go on and on.

Yay for being so happy!

Again.

Guess what... we're moving... again. Surprise, surprise. I honestly should be really excited about moving because it isn't far away (approximately 30 yards south of where we live now) and it is so much nicer. But really, I hate moving. I hate finding a new place for everything, I hate unpacking boxes, I hate lifting heavy furniture, I hate updating my address for everything imaginable. My cousin and sister are coming to help, but that doesn't mean that I have to change my feelings towards moving.

I vaguely remember hearing that moving is a huge stress in life and so I decided to take a stress test. (I should point out that I took the test for Chad and I collectively.) Here are the results:

Your total stress score is 194

If your score totals 150 or more:
You have a 50-50 chance of developing an illness.

If your score totals 300 or more:
You have a 90 percent chance of developing an illness.

So Chad and I have a 50-50 chance of getting an illness. Just what we need. Actually, the test only let you check "change in residence" once and seeing how Chad and I will have moved four times in the past six months I think I should add the other three moves in. Ok, add 60 points to the score...

Our new score is 254! Holy cow. Apparently we have a lot to be stressed about. Oddly enough, we're quite happy and don't feel all that stressed... most of the time anyway. :)

Do you want to know your chances of getting an illness? Here is the link to the test, take it if you want.

Still an adorable couple?

I like to think that Chad and I are cute together. However, after seeing these pictures it is quite possible that I could change my mind. :)

Chad in 1958

Me in 1966

My Cat is an Alien

I have finally obtained proof that Weechee is in fact from another planet... her eyes glow like alien eyes. Plus, she sleeps on top of our kitchen cabinets.

In case you needed more proof that my cat is crazy, here it is.

Our New Apartment

As per the request of several individuals, I have FINALLY decided to post a few pictures of our new apartment. Keep in mind the following: 1) The place was a dump when we moved in; there were small holes all over the walls, the walls were in severe need of painting, the carpet was fraying in places and had lots of stains, and the kitchen cabinets were all sticky from old grease. When I first saw the place I actually cried; 2) The place is still a dump. Lol. Actually it's not nearly as bad once we got our stuff unpacked and into it. Of course we cleaned and all that, but we didn't do any major touch-ups because we are hoping to move into one of the apartments that the complex is currently remodeling.

Just FYI, when you are looking at apartments make sure that they show you the actual apartment you would be moving into. Sometimes the one you see and the one you move into are not up to the same standard. Yeah, it stinks.

The living/family room from the kitchen.

Living/family room from the window. The front door is to the left of the picture.

The kitchen. I am so excited that I finally have a table and chairs and a microwave!

Our bathroom. The toilet makes funny noises; it sounds like a frog. *ribit* *ribit*

Chad's "Man Cave." The window doesn't have any blinds so I have temporarily hung a blanket in their place.

Our bedroom. Despite the carpet I think it is pretty cute!

The other view of the bedroom.

♪♫ Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait! ♫♪

Hee hee hee... I just love My Fair Lady! Chad and I were able to go see the play at Pioneer Theater last Wednesday night. We went with Chad's family and had so much fun. It made me really want to go watch the movie (Audrey Hepburn is amazing in it), but seeing as how I do not own it I might have to wait a bit.

Random thought. You know how Eliza sings that Henry Higgins song when she is really mad at Professor Higgins? Well I could substitute Chad's name in Henry's place and sing the song to Chad when I get mad at him. He'd appreciate it, don't you think? ;)

Despain Family Reunion 2008

About three weeks ago Chad and I went to a family reunion for his dad's side of the family. We went up to Heber Valley Girl's Camp and spent a fantastic four days with family! Some of the activities included going to a park in Heber and eating at Dairy Keen (a fantastic hamburger place for those of you who have never been... they also have amazing shakes!), a challenge course with all sorts of crazy team building activities (one of the activities happened to be climbing up a enormous pole, crossing a 1' wide log, and going down a zip line - something I've never done, but will most definitely do again), family games/competitions, and a fort building contest.

I think the worst part of the experience were the cabins. The cabins themselves were actually very nice, but the beds not so much. There were eight bunk beds in each cabin that were made out of plywood. Imagine sleeping on a hard, flat piece of plywood for three nights. That's right, your back would hurt. On top of that, Chad and I forgot to bring enough padding for two beds so we ended up sharing a twin sized bed for those three nights. As much as I love him, not being able to roll over and stretch was quite annoying. That and elbows in the face aren't much fun either.

I took tons and tons of pictures at the family reunion so I will only post my favorites. Enjoy!

Chad and his brothers sitting in the kiddie train outside of Dairy Keen.

On the paddleboats. After paddling for an hour your legs get pretty tired. Chad splashed some of the yucky water on me. Apparently there was some type of gross algae in the water and we were told to keep all body parts out of it. Thanks dear.

Swinging on a rope at the challenge course. This picture reminds me of Tarzan and Jane. :)

Crossing the 1' wide log right before the zip line. Just look at my face, it says it all. So. Stinkin'. Scary.

Chad wasn't scared at all.

The sweet fort we made. We were given a box of newspaper and roll of tape and this is what we came up with... I think it helped that my father-in-law is an engineer. I'll point out that the drawbridge in the front actually flips down.

Ta da!

All the boys played laser tag each night. They loved it and stayed out until 1am most nights.

Of course there was cotton candy and lots of flavors too! Chad was so sticky when he was done. Yuck.