11 of 2011

11 from 2011

1. I moved from St. George to San Diego the first weekend of the new year and lived in a hotel for 2 weeks.
2. I got an awesome job that I loved as a program director for a non profit organization called SAY San Diego.
3. Moved from the hotel/storage to an apartment in San Diego
4. Two months later I moved from that apartment, that I hated, to a new apartment closer to my job.
5. I turned 28 (yuck) and got to spend my birthday weekend in Arizona with my family (and my 2 year old niece Lucy that shares my birthday)
6. I drove back and forth from San Diego to Arizona 4 times this summer for baby shower, the birth of a new niece Lydia, baby blessing, and General conference weekend.
7. I was called to work as an Ordinance worker in the San Diego temple... AMAZING!
8. I got to serve as the young women's secretary for a quick stint before I moved... loved it!
9. I got laid off from that job at the end of October due to state budget cuts
10. I filed for divorce three weeks shy of our three year anniversary... big decision, big life changes
11. I moved from San Diego to Gilbert Arizona... best decision I've made in a while!

12 for 2012

1. Get a job... there has to be one out there that is perfect for me somewhere in the 115 that I've already applied for.
2. Move into a new home with a yard for Kobe and a washer/dryer inside... no more quarters EVER!
3. Attend the temple at least 2 times per month. The new Gilbert temple is being built 4 miles from our house!
4. Sign up for classes... I want to do a dance class and a cooking class of some kind
5. Attend at least 1 NBA game... Suns vs. Lakers or Mavs... so fun!
6. Take ONE great vacation trip... excluding family functions.
7. Get a more practical car... good bye SUV hello great gas mileage!
8. Breed Kobe... he needs a girlfriend in a BAD way... and I need some money please!
9. Have a good attitude... don't be negative unless I have a {good} reason (just being practical)
10. Plan an epic party or event! Theme it up!
11. Read one new book a month
12. Journal, blog, and scrapbook regularly... keepin up and catchin up

I want the season to LAST all year round!

I definitely think this year is one of my best Christmases ever.

Its just the best... this season. We didn't do anything super extravagant or amazing which is maybe why I just loved it. The whole month being with my mom and sisters enjoying shopping and decorating. We had some fun activities... Grinch Night, Ward Christmas party, Temple lights, Scrabble night, Bethlehem, Christmas choir concert, Christmas eve minute to win it... but really we just enjoyed being together.

The best best is being able to be together with ALL of my siblings. I hadn't seen my brother Scottee for OVER a year. Myself and three sisters went to pick him up at the airport and spend an afternoon together... just us 5 original Conner siblings... it was awesome and so special. 

Also my dad and his wife were able to drive down from St. George on Christmas night and spend a day or so with us. It was the first Christmas in a long time that I got to be with EVERY single member of my family in one day. I loved it! That's what Christmas is all about. Remembering our Savior and cherishing our blessings and our families. 

Such a special Christmas season that I will never forget!

Kobe went CRAZY for his stocking!

Christmas morning breakfast... a tree!

My niece Lucy getting spoiled like crazy... as usual

Melissa always gets Kailey crazy presents... hence the straw glasses

What a cute baby brother I have...so precious

PS crappy phone pics... is that all I took?

Project time!

You can't have the Holiday season without doing at least one homemade crafty thingy. 

I've been wanting to make Richard a T shirt quilt for a while. He always had this pile of T shirts that he didn't wear anymore but refused to get rid of. I told him years ago that I would make a quilt but I never got around to it.

When I was packing our things up before the big move, I found these shirts and decided that I would FINALLY make it happen and surprise him for Christmas.

I love it yay!

Thanks to my crafty mother, it didn't take too long. It took basically two or three afternoons, maybe 5 hours total. If you haven't made a T shirt quilt ever, I would highly suggest it. Its such a great way to keep those memories from high school activities, or concerts, or family reunions. Whatever things you have hanging around. Richard even had a pair of boxers he wanted to hang on to that I just sewed the material  into a square.

Such a great Christmas gift and a walk down memory lane. Plus its nice fleece on the back so it will be warm and hopefully last a long time!

Let me know if you want the instructions!

Baby it's Cold Outside!

Arizona had it's first cold day of the season last weekend. I kinda loved it cause it was just 50 degrees and overcast. Perfect winter weather if you ask me! {none of this snow and frozen stuff for me thank you}

It was the PERFECT day for a nice soup and hot drink.

Time for some WHITE CHICKEN CHILI!

The first time I made it I accidentally may have put diced jalapenos instead of chili's... don't make that mistake unless you want to burn your tongue off {sorry Chris!}

I got this recipe from my cousin Bria.

 It's DELICIOUS! and super simple. It doesn't take long to cook either which I love.

White Chicken Chili:

1 rotiserri chicken and pull it apart.
2 cans of great northern beans
2 small cans of diced green chili's
1 can of chicken broth
1 medium onion 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregno
half tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
 
Simmer all that for 30 minutes then at the end add 1 cup of sour cream and a half cup of whipping cream, and serve right away!
 

Try it and let me know how it goes! And if you have any recipes for yummy stews or soups let me know!

'Tis the season!

Love at first sight!

Have you seen my niece Lydia?

Isn't she darling?

When she was born, I got to spend her first night in the hospital with her. It was important to me to be able to bond with her since I lived far away and wouldn't get to see her often.

I cherish those moments when I just held her and watched her sleep. Such a precious new spirit. 

I've been in love ever since. 

One of my favorite parts of being in Arizona is the opportunity to be around my nieces and watch them grow and get these quirky personalities. 

Even the puppies love the baby, they cant get enough!

And since I don't have much else going on in life... you're gonna hear a lot about them. I'm officially obsessed. 

Bargain Hunters

We all know that I've had an extensive retail career working on Black Friday {of death}. BUT I have never actually shopped the madness {mostly cause I thought those people we're crazy!}

This year I decided to join in on the fun. We were in St. George for Thanksgiving and since Target was opening at midnight it was thunk to be a wee bit easier than previous 4 a.m. experiences. They had a T.V that I wanted and some other good door buster deals {think Christmas presents!} so we got all pumped and prepared for a long night.

We headed off to Target around 7:30 p.m. It wasn't too cold yet and there were probably like 40 people ahead of us in line. Since Kailey had to work at Hollister at 4 a.m. she decided to pull an all-nighter and bring some friends along for entertainment.

Sitting in line wasn't all that bad. We made friends with our fellow line mates and banned together the last hour when people started showing up and trying to cut into that line. We got pretty rowdy there towards the end {SERIOUSLY people, don't think you can show up at midnight and get in on those deals we waited in line 4.5 hours for! RUDE!} Chris was the enforcer and got in some peoples face... that was the best part!

While I didn't get the TV that I wanted, we got some other great deals and were out of there by 1:45! Overall success! The things we do to save a few bucks... totally worth it!

We did go to Kohl's later that day around 3 p.m. and waited in line for over an hour... not worth it. But with Black Friday shopping and then Cyber Monday shopping, I can proudly say that I'm DONE with Christmas shopping! Yippee! Now I can just enjoy the Holiday, highly recommended.

Little Slice of Heaven

When I moved in with Chris and Melis, I decided that my contribution to the household would be making dinner every night. Those two little worker bees work all day, the least I can do is have a delicious meal on the table {and by table I mean coffee table} when they get home.

I've been trying out new recipes. Last week I made French dip sandwiches {Id say they were a hit!} for the first time and a couple other recipes I found on Pinterest... check em out.

So Melissa was asking for Chicken Parmesan which I've never attempted to make before... therefore I put it off for a couple of weeks, hoping it wouldn't come up again... j/k but seriously... finally I found a recipe that looked pretty easy, so I decided to give it a shot.

Looks great, tastes great!

 You should try it, its SUPER EASY and quick. The ingredients aren't anything weird and you probably already have the stuff for it in your kitchen.

Here ya go... the website even has a video tutorial!

Try it and tell my how it goes!

Bestest Besties

The last couple of weeks in San Diego were pretty lonely for Kobe. I would take him to work with me every day {at a middle school, he stayed in my office no big deal} but one day he broke free and ran all over campus terrorizing the Somali children {apparently in their culture dogs are demonic animals and they are not allowed to touch them... who knew} the rest of the kids thought he was great... the teachers did not... 

So I had to leave him home alone all day every day for a couple of weeks. Poor boy. By the time I got home from work I had SOOO much to do {packing and such} the poor pup didn't get much attention.

But all of that changed when we got to Arizona. 

My sister Melissa has a puppy named Hooshie who is Kobe's bestest friend/cousin. They are in LOVE with each other. 

Every time they are around each other they play and wrestle and love non stop. 

Now that they are together 24/7, you'd think that they would settle down... NOT A CHANCE! They wrestle and play and chase each other around ALL DAY LONG... 

I love it. They couldn't be happier. 

Oh those pups...

{am I a crazy dog lady yet?}

If You Dont Know, Now You Know

It was just time...

I have been very hesitant about writing too personally on my blog mostly to protect the privacy of people other than myself. I can sometimes be pretty cryptic in my descriptions of events and such. People ask questions, and I don't blame them... I am curious when I read other people's blogs too.

 I am pretty confident that the few people who read my blog are either complete strangers OR close personal friends and family. I don't have any enemies that I know of, so I'm sure people wont desecrate my personal stories. With that being said, I think I'm ready to finally tell you all what you already think you know. I'd rather have you hear it from the horses mouth (me) rather than through the grapevine (gossip)

Here we go...

Richard and I have decided to end our marriage. 

And by decided, I mean, we did actually end our marriage... about two months ago.

My parents were divorced 10 years ago, and I have stated time and time again that I would never never NEVER do that, never even consider that. I take my temple covenants seriously. I take my word and my promises seriously. I would not give up like they did, there is nothing that is bad enough to break those covenants... NO MATTER WHAT!

I've always believed that. I believed that the day I was married, and a year after I was married, and I believed that until the day we walked into the court house. 

Gosh I love that man. I love him with every cell of my body. I will always love him, there is nothing in the world that could happen to make me stop loving him. Marriage isn't just about love.

You hear people say, "as long as you love each other, you can get through anything." It's not true.

Richard and I were together for 51 months and married one month shy of 3 years.  Neither of us wanted to get divorced, but it was the right thing to do. I can't explain it... and I don't have to... this is a decision that is so so personal to us, no one else needs to understand. 

Just for sentimental sake... lets remember the simple times...

Just know that we still love each other so much. We respect each other and we only want the best for each other. We are confident that this new chapter in our lives will bring us both happiness and be the opportunity that we need to fulfill our missions here on earth.


Thank you all for all your love and thoughts and prayers. We have felt it big time and are so grateful for your support.

Am I Too Late?

SO.................. I may or may not have been taking a sabbatical from life for the last week or so... oh well, I had a BIG life change and I deserve some time off... 

With that being said, I moved to Arizona! Arrived Saturday night, unloaded and unpacked Sunday, picked up my sistie and BIL (brother in law) from the airport... and got right to work!

We decided to throw a Halloween slash birthday bash for our Mummy on Monday night. Mel and I do nothing half way. This party was a themey amazingly spooky event. It was A LOT of work, but absotutalootly worth it.

The food (thank you Pinterest!)

Seven layer dip delicious GRAVEYARD

Pumpkin face veggie tray

Puking pumpkin guacamole

Mummy dogs 

Spider webbed Pumpkin pie and puddin dirt cups

Not to mention Mom's homemade chili!

Complete with Witches brew punch!

Games:

We had SO much fun... and AMAZING prizes for the Grandchampion

And Halloween is not complete without a costume contest:

The Bat Family... Hooshie

Chris, Melissa and Hooshie

Mom and Scott

Inmate and Pilot

The Lotts- Christie, Daniel, Lydia and Lucy

Katniss, Honest Abe, Lady Bug, Snow White

Me and Kobe

A cow and a Cowgirl

The group!

What a fun night! Happy Birthday Mummy!

I'm On OVERLOAD!

Literally... I dont think all my crap will fit into the Uhaul...

So it's my last week of work... wrapping up an entire program is quite an undertaking, there is A LOT to do, and A LOT of reports to write... not cool.

Oh, AND I'm moving in 4 days! Packing and cleaning and purging and going insane, thats pretty much my life right now.

Real food has not been seen in a while cause Im not trying to shop so its onto cooking everything already in the pantry, but I already packed most of the dishes so it's getting pretty creative.

I'm throwing everything away, and what ever is left is squeezing into a 6x12 Uhaul... and my car... haha, in my dreams! Luckily I have my mom and Richards brothers to do all the moving and squeezing for me... other wise I might loose my cool at any second.

Im combustable... dont mess... Mom, are you here yet?

Hair Cut

Kobe is a Yorkie... and Yorkies dont shed, horray!

But his hair does grow, and fast! He got a hair cut like 3 months ago and he is lookin scruffy!

So... time for a hair cut!

Here is the BEFORE pic

and the AFTER! You can tell he feels all clean and fresh! I have them cut him really short so that I dont have to pay $45 every month to cut him, that adds up!

On a funny note... I got Kobe a cow costume for Halloween and I tried it on him...

Funniest moment of my life! I cant stop laughing when I look at this picture... he is SO TICKED! He would not move at all or put his head up... he sat like that until I took it off... BWAHHHAHAHAHAH!

He hates it, but he is still going to wear it on Halloween... I think its adorable...

Just look at the picture above it, and how happy and normal he is... then scroll down and look at the cow pic... ahahahahahaha! I cant help it!

Do you dress your pets up for Halloween?

Movin On

Those of you that read my blog often already know that something always happens in my life, right around every year...

its that time... time to relocate...

I'm MOVING TO ARIZONA!

Since I graduated college in 2006 I have moved-

Rexburg- Sparks Nevada

Sparks- El Cajon California

El Cajon- La Mesa California

La Mesa- City of San Diego

San Diego- Sumner Washington

Sumner- Bonney Lake Washington

Bonney Lake- Kent Washington

Kent- back to Bonney Lake

Bonney Lake- Saint George Utah

Saint George- hotel in San Diego (for 3 weeks)

Hotel- 1st Apt. in San Diego

1st apt.- Current La Mesa apartment

La Mesa- Gilbert Arizona

This will be my 13th move in 5 years.

Not to mention 7 moves while I was in Rexburg

and at least 9 moves in my life before that.

NO, I DO NOT LIKE MOVING! I hate it, its stressful...

Every moved that I have made is for a reason, as is this current move from California to Arizona.

Who knows... maybe this move will stick?

Baby nieces... mom... sisters... I'M COMING!

(P.S.- if you live in Arizona, close to Gilbert, let me know and we can be friends again! I didnt even realize how many people I know in the area... Im excited!)

My family (ahem... my dad) does tend to move a lot,

it's semi normal in my life

Fellin the Groove

It's a rainy yucky day today which actually fits my mood perfectly... I took Kobe to the dog beach and let him run around in the rain and get completely soaked and yuckied up... he loved it and I loved it

These songs are making me cry right now...you know when you just need a good cry and an entire bowl of cookie dough? I just love the songs... listen and LOVE!

Taylor Swift- Breathe

Sara Barellis- Gravity

Someone like you cover- Charlie Puth and Emily Luther

(my friend posted this cover on Facebook and I fell in LOVE- they were on Ellen today and just got signed to her label! Im buying their CD)

Food for the Soul

I love this guy... did you know that I met him and had lunch with him {me and 200 other people but whatever} at BYUI before he was an apostle? Elder Uchtdorf, Elder Bednar, and Elder Scott have a soft spot in my heart... I cant wait to see what they talk about at General Conference this week...

Here's a spotlight from the Women's conference:

You are not forgotten.


Sisters, wherever you are, whatever the circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you, with an infinite love.

—President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Monday Rants

Blogging doesnt count as media does it?

My church is doing a media fast this week to get ready for General Conference.

We are supposed to go the whole week without TV and Internet and Music and Texting.. Im dying and its only been 24 hours! So I decided that blogging doesnt count.

It's Monday and I hate it. So here is what is annoying me today:

1. When you buy sparkly nail polish cause the picture looks like its saturated, but in fact its like clear with sparkle flakes... stupid

Exhibit A- this is annoying

Exhibit B- this is what I was going for

2. Annoying people outside stores. I hate when I'm walking up to a store {It was Target today} and some guy with a clip board asks me if Im a registered voter... none of your business, I just want to go into Target... if youre cute and you have cookies in your hand, feel free to sell me some...otherwise leave me alone!

3. People that are lazy and expect everyone to cater to them. Example- in June we started telling parents that their kids had to have a whooping cough shot before they could come to school in the fall. Fall came around, 200 students showed up without the shot. We gave them a 30 day extension... go get the shot. Today 20 parents calling and yelling at me cause they have 4 days to get the shot and their doctor doesnt have an open appointment... not my fault, and not my problem. "but my kids gonna get kicked out of school and I dont have day care!" well you should have gotten the shot 4 months ago when I told you to in the first place. Take some responsibility people!

4. When its 60 degrees in the morning and over cast, so I wear a {light} sweater and boots, then by noon its sunny and 80 degrees... seriously people make up your mind!

 

5. When job descriptions dont tell you how much they pay. Its annoying and why does it have to be a secret? Obviously I dont want to take the time to apply for a job that doesnt pay enough for me to live off of.


6. Everything pumpkin flavored. The second fall rolls around its pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies and pumpkin rolls, etc. I dont like pumpkin stuff, so please lets include some chocolate flavored recipes. Thanks

7. Having to wait until THURSDAY to see my sisters, my mom and MY NIECES! Longest week of my life... why cant I just call in sick the rest of the week and take off to Arizona today?

Why does every Monday suck?