Sorry it has been so long

I am finally moved in and starting to feel somewhat settled. My sister and I were able to take a 6 day trip to Montana first stopping in Bozeman to see family and friends. We then headed off to Missoula making a quick stop in Butte to visit another cousin and her family. In Missoula we were able to visit with family and friends. We had a great time but by the end where ready to be home. We made a day trip to Rexburg to see another cousin and some of Taresa’s old college roommates. Taresa introduced me to some of her favorite eating spots. Especially G’s dairy. I had Gorilla Munch Icecream which consisted of Banana ice cream with oreo’s and peanut butter served in a homemade waffle cone. It was extremely delicious but really rich.  We also made a stop and Brolims grocery store.  They were having a case lot sale.  For all of my Cali friends, a case lot sale are where they sell cans of food in increments of 12-24 cans. We are trying to stock up for winter. We bought a lot of food and on our way out someone offered to help us but me being to proud said “no thanks” because I could do it on my own. As we walked out of the store I hit a bump and tipped over the whole cart. Cans went everywhere!! Taresa was so mortified and I told her someday we will look back on this and laugh. Sure enough after the embarrassment had worn off we laughed about it.

                We arrived home on Thursday night with the car packed and our eye’s exhausted.  We went straight to bed leaving the work for the next morning. We were planning on sleeping in but our neighbors kindly sounded there music at 7:30am. We awoke to our house shaking with low rumbles from the bass outside. We soon got up, got the car unloaded and started cleaning and putting away stuff as best we could. We bought buckets to store our flour and sugar in, (we bought 25lbs) but we were unable to figure them out. GO FIGURE. My mom told us to put our knee into it, and well she was right. Mother always knows best.

                After all the unpacking we headed into town which is 40 minutes East from us. We had to go out and get more food before we start to settle into our long winter naps. I enjoy shopping at Costco here because it is never busy. When walking into Costco I realized I needed an eye appointment to get new contacts and they got me in right away. It was amazing. We were able to stalk up on all the food we need for the next 2-3months and the lines to check were no longer than 1 person. I just maybe able to get used to this small town living.

                Taresa and I are doing great.  We seem to really balance each other out at times. Some of my strengths are her weaknesses and some of my weaknesses are her strengths.  She helps to keep me in line and even though she doesn’t really know it, she helps to motivate me in small ways and reminds me of the way I should be living my life. She has been such a great blessing to me and none of this would have been possible if she hadn’t taken the leap of faith first.  We feel truly blessed at this time in our lives. We will see how blessed I feel when the snow and ice hits=).

                Tomorrow is Sunday and I am looking forward to finally meeting the people in her branch. It is going to be a good change of pace. Taresa says she is the most stylish person there, and I dress her half of the time.  Work starts on Monday.  I need to call the head person to find out where and when I am suppose to report to. The secretary at the school gave me his home phone number. It feels a little invasive but I guess that is the small town way.

                Tonight for dinner we will begin to use our 20lb bag of potatoes that we bought. We will most likely be eating potatoes every night of the week for the next little while. Tonight I am going to make potato fries to go along with our grilled cheese sandwiches. I need to start to look at more recipes for potatoes because we have a lot of them to eat up.

Saturday,

We decided that Saturday was going to be a day at home for us. We were just going to stay home and focus on things around the house. Well as we started to focus on things around the house we realized how much more we really needed. So ANOTHER trip into town had to be made. We headed off at 2pm and didn’t arrive back home until close to 7pm. The whole “going into to town” concept is defiantly something that I am going to have to get used to. It’s funny how after everytime we go we swear that there is nothing else that we need and won’t need to go in for at least a couple of weeks. Sure enough as soon as we walk through the front door something else will pop into our minds that we seem to not be able to live without. Our weekends will be fun adventures of going into town.

Sunday

Sunday was a good day. Church started at 11:00am. It takes us about 30min to get there. Everything is done backwards. Sunday school is first, followed by Relief Society and then Sacrament. I am so used to Relief Society being last I was excited for when it ended but was bummed when I realized we still had a whole other hour. The branch is small, but it will do.

Monday
My first day of work was exciting and stressful. The teachers have placed a lot of trust in me and within being their for 20 min I taught the math lesson, and managed the class while the teacher was at lunch for 1 1/2. I love the class that I am working with. Each one of the children is so sweet in their own unique way. They have embraced me so quickly. I feel as though I couldn't ask for a better class.  Tonight I made Turkey meatloaf and mashed potatos for dinner.

Tuesday
Getting back into the swing of things is harder than I thought. I am exhausted after working only part day, but feel truly blessed to be able to work on my homework during the morning. I have successfully gotten up and worked out 2 days in a row. I am currently doing the Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump start. The first week is great. You only have to worry about working out 10min a day for 6 days. I feel like that is something that I can manage and it will help to slowly develop it into a habit. We also made it to Institute that night. It is about a 45 minute drive, but was well worth the sacrifice. We learned about the builiding up of zion and how it really begins within us. Taresa and I both really enjoyed the class and our both looking forward to going back next week.

Wednesday
Well Taresa and I feel old. Last night I made eggplant parmisian for dinner. It was really quite good. I dipped the eggplant in an egg and then in bread crumbs and baked it in the oven for 15 min. (The slices were extremely thin) I then placed them in a baking dish and covered in sauce and mozzeralla cheese. Taresa said she felt so spoiled. The feeling old part is because we ate dinner at 5:30pm and were in bed by 8:30pm. I am trying to get back on track with taking my daily vitamins especailly my B vitamins so I can have that extra boost of energy that I need.

Thursday
Thanks Heavens we finally have wireless internet up and running, and cable television. We don't have a remote yet so I have to sit next to the tv on my medicine ball (we don't have a couch either) and press the buttons until I find the station that I like. Taresa and I both get a kick out of the commercials here. They are ones that you woul never see in California. We saw one today about a hankey that goes in your shirt to reveal as little or as much cleavage as you want. Taresa and I both looked at eachother and started laughing. We have an Aberdeen Channel here, but for some reason it doesn't seem to come up.
Tonight for dinner we had shephards pie. It was really good but we have a lot of leftovers to eat. Bless Taresa's heart she has eaten meatloaf for the past three days for lunch. That is the difficult thing with only feeding a family of 2 we always seem to have an abundance of leftovers.