Our 4th of July Vacation

We started our vacation by having a combined yard sale at our house with my sister, sister-in-law and best friend Annalissa. I decided to put all my Scentsy inventory out on a table to hopefully get rid of some of it because it was outgrowing the book shelf I store it on, well by the end of the day I had sold about 90 percent of my inventory on top of everything else we sold. At the beginning of the day I figured I would make about 100 bucks but at least I would be rid of a bunch of the junk we have been storing and moving for years - it was quite a shock when we tallied everything up at the end of the day and I had managed to bring in $581.00! I couldnt believe it! Granted about 75 percent of that was Scentsy, but hey, tha'ts alright - more money to spend on our vacation!

We didn't have a whole lot planned for our vacation this year, we just needed some time together away from work and all the stress, so we decided to go camping! Yes, that's right, the two least outdoorsy people in both our families, went camping! We bought a Coleman instant tent, sleeping bags, the works! The first "camping" trip we went on was just the two of us and the dog. We drove up to Riverside campground in Island Park, found a perfect spot and set up camp. We got up there about noon and it was so stinking hot all day! We walked down along the river, took a nap, read books, played cards, and just hung out all day. It was really nice and relaxing except for the stifling heat. Around 7:00 we decided to start roasting some hot dogs for dinner so we gave the dog a bone to chew on while we were busy with dinner. Before we knew it there were bugs all over her! We tried swatting them away but they kept trying to burrow down in her fur. Then we noticed some big red circle bite marks under her chin, and then on her stomach, and then her legs and her armpit and then around her eyes. Turns out they were fleas! I felt so bad for her and was worried they would make her sick or infest us and all our stuff so we picked them all off her, put out the fire, packed up camp and drove home at 10:00 that same night! We bathed her with flea shampoo, gave her a lemon bath, and sprayed her down with flea spray. Thank goodness we got all the fleas off before we came home, but she still wound up with about 20 - 30 bites on her little Shi Tzu body. :(  So camping trip #1 was pretty much an epic fail but at least we got to enjoy the great outdoors for a day.

Over the next couple of days we spent time with each other and family, we took my niece and nephew to Rigby Lake to go swimming, had a movie marathon, ate some good food, wound up having to buy 4 brand new tires for car, and eventually wound up at camping trip #2.

For the second camping adventure of the week we went up to Moody with my parents and my sister Amanda and her three kids. It was so much fun! We had my parents big trailer to escape from the heat, and 4-wheelers to ride plus great company, good food and lots of laughs! We finally got to sleep in our brand new tent and sleeping bags and I have to say it was a success! We had a ton of fun, but man were we happy when we finally got home and took nice long showers!

Here are a few of the lessons we learned during our camping adventures:

• 1. Don't go camping before 5pm at the earliest unless you have something to keep you busy. It can get VERY boring. 
• 2. Don't camp where there are only Lodge Pole Pine trees. There will not be any shade. 
• 3. Maizy needs her own chair - She is kind of prissy and refuses to lay in dirt, and most grass, so unless you want her in your lap all day, she needs her own chair. 
• 4. Coconut scented sunscreen defeats the purpose of bug spray. 

Then on Monday, our last day of vacation and the 4th of July we went down to the Freedom Celebration on Memorial Drive and checked out all the vendors and food trucks. We didn't really have any plans for the day except to watch the Idaho Falls fireworks, so when we got a call from my brother Justin inviting us to Rigby Lake for swimming and hamburgers we welcomed the idea! We donned our swimming suits and went to Rigby Lake for the second time this week and had a blast with my brothers family and then ate some delicious burgers my brother made for us! Later that night we met up with my brothers family and some other friends on the greenbelt along the river to watch the fireworks - which were awesome and we had an amazing view and plenty of room to spread out! Minus the hour it took us to get home afterwards, normally a 15 minute drive, I would say it was an amazingly fun vacation and 4th of July! I love spending time with family and it was great to have so much time off from work! I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to take such a long vacation together and I can't wait for the next one! 

Well that was akward.....

So Mike and I went to church today for the first time in a while thanks to my previously sucky work schedule and boy was it an interesting day to make our return appearance.
We were sitting in Sacrament Meeting as they announced that a new family in the ward would be the speakers today. So up walked a girl about the same age as Mike & I who took the stand and began to introduce her & her husband and their 3 young children. A few seconds later Mike leaned over to me and whispered, "Um, what did they say her name is?". I proceeded to tell him her name is Tiffany, just as she was telling the congregation how she was attending ISU about 6 years ago when she met her husband. Then, Mike leaned over again and said, "I thought she looked familiar...I'm pretty sure I dated her right before we (Mike & I) started dating....Yep that's her...for sure..." So FANTASTIC! My husbands ex-girlfriend/fling is now in our ward. We tried to steer clear of them for the rest of the day, but I'm sure that akward greeting is looming somewhere in the near future. So yeah, that was akward situation #1.
After Sacrament we moved on to Sunday School and all was going well until I heard the back door open and I looked up to see who it was. Lo and behold it was the cop that pulled me over last week for expired license plates! He is apparently in our ward too! He came and sat with his wife directly in front of us for the rest of the meeting and then when it was over he turned around to introduce himself to us and I was like "Yeah, we've met...I'm pretty sure you pulled me over last week for expired license plates..." Then he asked us our names and we told him and with a look of surprise he proceeded to tell us that he is our new home teacher and would it be ok if he came by this afternoon?!? Um....sure Officer! Yeah...akward situation #2 On the plus side that's that first time we have been home taught since we moved into the ward 1 1/2 years ago! And both of our home teachers are really nice guys. It's good to know we've got a cop at our beck & call...maybe we should tip him off about the suspicious drug activity our lovely new neighbors have brought to the block...but thats a whole nother blog post....
It was definitely an exciting and eventful few hours at church today but I am really glad we were able to go and I'm hoping that this new managers schedule will allow me to go more often...

Just a little update...

So not much has been going on with us lately, but I figured it was high time for an update and since I have just been sitting here surfing the internet, I may as well... Not much has happened for us lately, we are just hanging in there, same ol, same ol.
I have been working and studying really hard to get a promotion to supervisor at work and it looks like it's finally happening. I still have one more interview, but it's really more of an HR formality than an actual interview since the two hiring managers have already signed off on me and I'm already on the managers schedule for June. When I started working for Ross part time in 2009 it was supposed to just be a temporary job, but I really do love the store (and the discount) and I have easily been able to work myself up into management in just over a year and I have to say that the benefits and pay are definitely worth it. :) I'm really excited to be able to learn more and gain more experience, plus having that "manager" title on my resume won't hurt at all either. :)
Mike is still the Sales Manager at Merlin's TV and he is doing great there! He is almost done with his Bachelor's Degree in Business Marketing and then hopefully he will be able to find a bigger and better job (cross your fingers...and your toes)! He wants it so bad and I do too and we believe that it will happen, so I know it will-we just have to be patient and wait for the right opportunity.
We were both able to take some vacation time off work at the end of this month and while we aren't planning on taking a big extravagant vacation this year, we are planning on going camping - yes, that's right- Mike and Shanna Myers are going to venture into the great outdoors and pee in the woods for a few days...It's still hard for me to believe too, but I'm excited. First things first though, we need a tent. And sleeping bags, cooking stuff, and pretty much everything camping related. The only camping related items we own are camp chairs! It will be good to disappear for a few days though and just disconnect from the rest of the world. We are really excited and we were able to work it so that we have the 4th of July weekend off too so we will be able to enjoy all the festivities together this year, unlike last year when I had to work. :(
Well I guess thats about it for us right now, just living one day at a time. I guess I will update you again after our staycation and will hopefully have something much more enthralling for you and perhaps some pictures too! Until then......

Sad Little Obsession

Over the past few months I have quickly become obsessed with Blowfish Shoes. They are the cutest most adorable and comfortable shoes ever!
One of the many perks / drawbacks of working at Ross is that I get to see ALL of our inventory...everyday....We get freight in every day, Monday through Friday so there is a constant flow of things I want / need. Not the best environment for a girl with a slight shopping addiction so thankfully I have such an understanding husband! hehe (read with as much sarcasm as possible.)
So a few months ago I discovered this shoe at Ross for 13.99. With my discount (another perk / drawback) it was only about 11 bucks. It was love at first sight. Mine are a light gray color and I wear them all the time!

Well, about a month ago I found another pair of Blowfish shoes fresh off the truck just waiting for me in the stock room. I quickly snatched them up and brought them home and I love them as much as the first!

Yesterday I discovered my 3rd pair when I saw them in someone elses shopping cart! I ran to the shoe department, snatched up a pair in my size and thanked my lucky stars they were still there! I really love this pair because they are open toe, perfect for summer time! :) 

I am super excited for my next pair of Blowfish shoes! Oh yes, there will more.... I love the shoes and I love the fact that I can get them for 11 bucks instead of the original 40 or 50 bucks. I just have to be patient and buy them one at a time. :) There are so so many pairs I want and I often find myself at their website looking at them longingly...sad, I know...If you love Blowfish Shoes as much as I do, you can enter a drawing at Blowfishshoes.com to win a FREE pair of shoes! They are giving away a pair a day for an entire year to celebrate their anniversary. Spread the word - Blowfish Shoes will rock your world! :)

Finally Doing It!

Ok so Mike and I have both packed on several unwanted pounds since we got married 3 1/2 years ago and it is finally time to do something about it.
Our lovely sister-in-law Chris introduced us to Myfitnesspal.com. It's an amazing website that helps you keep track of every thing you eat, every calorie you burn, weight lost, etc. It's pretty awesome if I do say so my self. I was a little leery about trying it because I have used websites like this before and not had much success. I think my biggest problem is that it is such a pain to get on the computer every time I eat and if I dont do it right away I will most likely forget and eventually get frustrated and quit. Well since Mike and I got our fancy new androids we were able to download the My Fitness Pal app which has seriously changed my life! It lets me search for pretty much any food there is out there, including restaurants. I went out to lunch with sister at Chili's the other day and I was able to search the menu items on my phone so I could make an informed decision about what to order. It's amazing! It also has a bar code scanner, so anything I eat with a bar code, I just scan it and it brings up all the nutrition info on my phone, I tell it how much I'm eating and it adds to my foods for the day. I love it! It's kind of disgusting how bad for you many foods are. And FYI Red Robin foods have the most calories of any restaurant I have searched so far....even their "healthy options" menu is terrible for you.
I have also been doing the Biggest Loser Wii workouts every morning and they are amazing too! It's a really tough workout but it's something I can do everyday. I love that I can do it at home and the workout is different every day, so it doesn't get old like the workout DVD's of the past. It's like having my own personal trainer without having to pay for it. It's awesome!
So I started this journey on February 28 and Mike started a couple days later. After one week of diet and exercise I proudly lost 4 pounds...and Mike lost 8. After the second week of diet and exercise I gained one pound and Mike lost one. Totally not fair since I get 600 calories a day less than him and I have been working out every day and he ate a cheeseburger and fries for lunch one day! Ok so I was a little bitter. I had a little meltdown and cried for a few minutes but then I got back up, wiped away the tears and told myself it's ok.  I'm not perfect and I can't expect my weight loss journey to be perfect either. I am still learning and I will make mistakes and have bad weeks, and that's ok. I just can't give up.
I have a very long way to go and it is frustrating that the scale is not going down as quickly as I think it should, but I have noticed other differences. My body is changing, my stomach is flatter, my arms are smaller and my pants are baggy. So I've only lost 3 pounds in 2 weeks, I just need to remember that it's ok. It's not about the number, its about getting healthy and feeling good about myself. The important thing is that I am doing it. I'm finally doing it! I feel good about myself; I can look at my body in the mirror without being disgusted by what I see. I am so excited for the future and for the future, healthy us. I just need to remember that all good things come in time.

New Year Resolutions

As the new year begins Michael & I are really excited for everything that lays ahead of us this year. Michael is on track to graduate with his bachelors degree in Business Management this fall and we are both so excited for him to start his career with a new company. Normally the change from one year to another doesn't really phase me all that much, but for some reason this year feels different. I am so excited for this year and for all that it has to offer. I know that this is going to be an amazing year for us.
We decided on 3 new year resolutions that we can work on together. The first is to become more financially responsible and prepare financially for our future family. The second is to get healthy and shed the unwanted pounds we have both been packing around for much too long. And the third is to attend the temple at least once a month. We were married in the temple almost 3.5 years ago and it seems that as time goes by and we get busy with school and work our daily lives the temple seems to fade into the background and we have been missing out on the blessings that come from regular attendance.
So there you have it! There are many many many more things I want to work on this year as I strive to become a better person, but I don't want to set myself up for failure with too many things to work on. I think that these three things will be our yearly goals to work on together but I also plan on setting monthly goals just to give myself something to work on and feel good about.
We are so excited about 2011 and the changes that lay ahead of us and we hope that as the year unfolds we are able to achieve our goals and work towards a better life together. We wish all of you a happy and healthy 2011 and we hope that you have an amazing year too! :)