Blond Redemption

I have been like one giant pity party lately. It's getting to the point that I'm annoying myself, and we can't have that! Poor Caleb has been walking on eggshells around me. One second I'm happy and laughing and talking about how thankful I am for all that I have. The next second, somebody posts some complaint about their pregnancy, then Dega runs away even though he's been so good about coming back inside, and soon everything has spiraled completely out of control. And I mean, I'm eating cake because that always solves everything,  Dega is locked in his kennel because I'm mad at the little stinker, and I'm about two "I'm sick of morning sickness" posts away from blocking any girl who is or ever has been pregnant, but I know me, and I know the best way to feel better is to write, and to write about something else completely!
Besides, this is a story everyone needs to hear.
We'll call it, Blond Redemption.
A few months ago I was sitting at work when this older man, probably in his 70's or 80's, came up to my station. The first thing he did was look me up and down, roll his eyes dramatically, and say, "Great, I have the blond helping me!" He then looked down the row and noticed one other blond and two brunettes and somehow came to the conclusion, "I don't have any other choice! Do you guys only hire blonds?" I would also just like to point out that my hair is currently like 83% brunette, so whatever, dude.
Trying to stay professional, I simply laughed, ha ha ha aren't you a riot and asked what I could do for him. He pulled a debit card out of his wallet, tossed it at me, and continued to address the entire bank. "Did you hear about the blond who..." I don't remember the joke, because it wasn't that funny. But the ending of this story is.
Everyone laughed politely at his rude and unnecessary joke, and meanwhile, I couldn't find his account in our system. "Sir, I can't seem to find you. Is your name spelled differently than it is on this card?" He ignored me and lit up as he realized he had what was probably an endless plethora of blond jokes all stored up and ready to go. He was going to be here all day.
After two more blond jokes, he got a call. He turned to me and asked what our address was. I told him, "98 South Main" then quickly corrected, "I mean North Main! Sorry!" Oooooooooh did he get a kick out of that. "Look at this girl! She can't even tell the difference between North and South! How on earth did a blond like you get a job at a bank? Did you hear the one about the blond who..." Finally, getting really irritated, I tried interrupting him.
"Sir, I'm really not finding your account. Do you have another form of ID on you?" He rolled his eyes and, in the most patronizing way he could possibly muster, he pointed to his card and said, "See those numbers, sweetie? Type that in to your computer, there, ok?"
By this point, I was about done with his attitude. I was chanting the mantra respect your elders over and over in my head, but man what I would have done for a good old old-man grey-haired joke right then. But instead I took a deep breath and said, "I can't look up your account with this card, this is from Wells Fargo." The man took his card back and his face went white as a sheet.
"W-what bank is this?" he asked.
"This is Zions..." I said, unable to help the huge grin that was forming on my dumb-blond face.
Just then, his two sons (the ones who had called him earlier) walked in the doors, looking confused.
"Dad? What are you doing here? We've been waiting for you at Wells Fargo for 15 minutes!"
I might be blond (sort of) but HE WAS IN THE WRONG BANK.
Karma never felt so good.

The Month of Being Thankful

Have you ever had one of those times where things are just really hard, and it eats at you all day long? And you finally get to sleep, and the next morning when you wake up, there is just a moment where you can't remember why you have that gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach, but you know it's only a matter of seconds before it all hits you again?
These last few days have made me realize that I do not want to be alone. The minute Caleb leaves for work, I'm a giant train wreck without anything to distract me. So I try to avoid the empty house as much as possible. But one thing that helps, (and I'd be willing to bet there's a Primary song about this) is to think of all the things I have to be grateful for. And besides, tis the season, right?
First and foremost: HIM
I don't know where I would be without Caleb. He is absolutely the perfect husband that every little girl dreams she'll find one day. And not only that, but he's my best friend in the world. He can always make me laugh, and he brings out the very best in me. Every day I am grateful that he walked into my life 2 years ago!

FAMILY
It's great to have a support team to stand by you no matter what! I love my family so much, and I've been so blessed to marry into such a great family too! They help us out so much, and it's always nice only living a few minutes away. :)

GOOD FRIENDS

I think now that I spent a lot of my time growing up searching for true friends. I've definitely learned a lot from them and I am SO grateful for the ones I have! 

THIS LITTLE GUY
Cause who couldn't be happy seeing that face every day? He has got to be the funniest dog alive, and he is so cute, he just always makes my day! 

OUR HOME
We waited for what felt like forever to end up where we are, and every time I pull up to my cute little house I am even more grateful for it! I love it down to every last plumbing problem, chipped paint, and spider. (Ok, I lied about the spiders.)

THE GOSPEL
Deciding  nearly 5 years ago to get baptized has forever changed my life! There is not a day that goes by that I am not completely blown away by the miracles and blessings in our lives. Even during the hardest times, it's great to have that safety net to know that everything is ok. 
It has brought people into my life that I will never forget, and changed me in ways I never thought possible! 















WRITING
And all my hobbies, really. I am not a girl who likes to sit still long, and I love that my hobbies all seem to be new ways to express myself!
Plus, it never stops being cool seeing your book on a shelf. (Or on the best sellers table, where I move a stack of them every time I visit the Hastings in Ogden. It's called marketing.)

Even when 100 things go wrong in one day, I still have so much to be thankful for, and way more to focus on than just the bad things!

Through Good Times and Bad

I like to have a plan.
When Caleb and I happen to have a day off together, I love crawling in to bed the night before and thinking, "Tomorrow, we can do absolutely anything we want!" But for some reason, by the next morning, that feeling has completely changed. Suddenly, I need to have the entire day planned out. I'm kind of like that with life in general. When I decide I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it! No one can stop me! That's when Heavenly Father likes to remind me that I have absolutely no idea what's going on and sometimes I need to sit down and trust him. It's always worth the wait, so I don't know why I fight it.
But right now, I have no clue what the plan is.
I made a decision to go to school, and I was dead set about going. Then, some major things changed, and after a lot of deliberation, we decided now wasn't the best time for me to go back. Then, the very next day, things completely changed again. I know we will end up exactly where we need to be, but is a road map really too much to ask for?
It has been one crazy year, full of one big change after another. We've had to make huge, life-changing decisions almost every day since we've been married. But this month has been by far the hardest.
One thing I'm grateful for is that Heavenly Father blessed me with Caleb. Even at my saddest, he's right there  making me feel better or telling me a joke. He never seems to think about himself, and I think that's what makes him so exceptional at this marriage thing. Another thing I'm grateful for is that, somehow, Heavenly Father is always showing me how strong I am, despite how weak I like to think I can be. 
These last few days have been some of the most emotionally and physically painful of my life. It has been a rollercoaster for both of us, and I have a whole new respect for people who have gone through this before. And yet I know without a doubt this is exactly how things were meant to happen, and I feel so blessed to be trusted that I could handle something like this. It has made me even more grateful for the gospel in my life. There is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for my temple marriage, and for my strong testimony that I will be with my family forever.