Working Hard or Hardly Working

So I know I've been slacking on my postings, so let me fill you in a bit. I have been hired to work over at a local salon & spa, Studio127. Yay! I'm super excited. They have me doing everything I am licensed for, so I am happy. I get to go to work every day and have fun, its awesome. I am working hard and trying to learn a lot. Thankfully all the girls there are very willing to teach me and to explain things to me. School gave me a basic education, now is the time for me to really learn the details and the tips and tricks. I've only been working there for a few weeks, and I feel like my skills have already grown dramatically. I love the feeling of improvement. I am trying to push myself to be better and to learn more every day. And I'm proud that I have been successful. Some of the employees there have already started trusting me with their own hair, which to me is a big deal. I'm pretty excited. So that is my work update!

We don't really have any other updates to announce, other than Micah is doing really well in the EMT program at school. He is taking a small detour from his hospital administration program and is becoming an EMT in the meantime. The teacher seems to really like Micah too, he has started to ask Micah to do things for him instead of anyone else in class. I'm really proud of all his effort. We may not see each other much now, but when this is all over it will be worth it. :)
Have a great day!~Meghan

Birthdays!

Hello my friends!
Today is Micah's 27th birthday. He keeps saying that he is old (and he is) lol, but its so nice to get to spoil him a little bit! We DJ'd the stake dance last night for the youth, and I had the kids all sing happy birthday to him as a surprise. And I think for the first time in our marriage, I was actually able to surprise him. :) He also drove us up to Rye this afternoon to spend his birthday with his family and have homemade pizza. It was really yummy! Micah's mom is a really good cook, so it was pretty tasty. Our nephews Timmy and Tommy were funny because they kept wanting to bring me candy as a bribe so I would give them some too. hahaha. Smart boys, it worked. It has been so cold lately that we can't leave our puppies outside for too long, but it was warm enough we got to do it for a while today. And it was so funny when we got home, both puppies were all tuckered out and wanting to nap. They were so cute we got to reminisce about when they were all little and new. Birdie will turn 3 in two days, and Bogey is about a year and a half. I'll put some of their pictures from when they were both big and little so you can see the difference.
Little:

Little of Bogey, but Birdie is big in this one...:)


Big:
We sure do love our little puppies, they are our children. lol. Birdie has started performing Houdini tricks for us by somehow always being able to get out of her room. We put her to bed and shut the door and 5 minutes later she will be laying on the floor in the living room next to us. hahaha! We still don't understand how she can do it.
Anyway, other than that I have a small update,
I have started a job over at Studio 127 as a cosmetologist, and I am super excited. They seem to like me and I'm really happy there. I am enjoying getting to know the other girls and to learn more.
Have a great day!~Meghan

Happy Holidays

These past couple weeks we have been able to have lots of fun celebrating the holidays. This Thanksgiving we celebrated two days in a row by first going to the zoo with our nieces and nephews and then by celebrating with lots of food!! I made two recipes, my green bean casserole (a yearly tradition), and a new one, Meatballs! And my friend introduced me to the recipe for the meatballs, it includes chili sauce, and grape jelly! I know what you are thinking, I thought that same thing, but trust me, its amazing. I went to a pot luck at school and my friend made the meatballs. I couldn't get enough of them and when I asked her for the recipe that is what she told me. At first I thought she was joking, but no, she was serious! So she told me to try it at home, and I did just that. The recipe is super easy.

-1 bag of meatballs (I used frozen meatballs with the original style)
-1 can chili sauce (Heinz brand. You'll find it next to the ketchup)
-1 jar grape jelly

After a couple attempts at making it, I found it is best to premix the two sauces before you add the meatballs. To speed up the process, I warmed (not all the way, just a little bit so they weren't frozen) the meatballs in a saucepan, and the sauces in another, and then combined them in a crockpot to let simmer for about 3 hours. It soooo yummy, and adds a really tangy flavor. And I promise it is not spicy, the grape jelly seems to balance the chili sauce out. I recommend anyone who wants an easy yet filling meal to try it. And the plus side, tons of leftovers! :) I was a slacker and didn't take any pictures, but here are pictures other people have taken.

Also, we are very excited to come back to Utah to visit for Christmas. It almost didn't happen, but after some negotiating with my management at work, we are officially coming! We are both so excited to go see my family, I can't even put into words how much I miss them. It is extremely hard being away from them for so long. I am also extremely excited to finally meet my niece Isa for the first time, and also my best friend Chelsie's baby, Brylie. I hope they are both ready for tons of cuddles from me, they are in for a bunch!

Have a great day!~Meghan

Graduation!!!

I am done!!! Oh so done!!!! Phew! Glad that is over with. After three years to get my first associates, and then another two years to graduate for Cosmetology, I am finally done. This Monday we did a mini graduation party at my school because we won't be walking until May. My teachers invited our friends and family, and they did a lovely video showing a bunch of our pictures from throughout the program. It was crazy how much my hair has changed, it was long and curly, and now its straight, short, and highlighted. Everyone thought it was funny because no one recognized me at first in the pictures, its been such a change. But I was pleased that Micah and his parents came to support me, and I got my certificate of completion. My teachers took a group photo of our class all waiting to get our certificates, and here is the picture. You can see me in the third row, third from the left.


I am so glad that all the girl drama, the frustrations of learning, and the homework are done. But at the same time I will really miss those girls. When you spend 7 hours a day, 4-5 days a week, for almost two years, you grow pretty close. I could not have asked for a better experience or for better people to share it with. Congrats all grads!!!!
Have a great day!~Meghan

Silver Lining

There always seems to be something standing in my way of updating my blog. Whether I have lost the cord to plug in my camera, or even lost the camera itself, or I may just feel like I have no time. So my apologies for not updating sooner, I need to step it up. lol.

Micah and I have had an interesting couple of months. To kick it off, we have moved, again. This is now our 5th home in 4 years. But oh well, whatever works. We like it, it is in some ways the biggest place we have lived so far, but it is one of the cheapest too, which I LOVE. We live in a 4-plex, on the end unit, and we have our own fenced in back yard, which the dogs love. Its not the fanciest of places, but it is what we need right now, so we are happy. We also just celebrated our 4th anniversary this Sep, and we can't believe how much time has flown by! Its been a fun journey so far. :)

Also, for my own update, I am almost done with school. My last day of class is on Nov 14 (two weeks away!), and then I will be testing to get my license over the next month after that. I am at a strange standpoint in my life right now. I have been to a lot of places that are potential employers, but I am starting to get the feeling that none of them are wanting to hire right now. On top of that, my current employer is going through an entire change in the staffing, so everything seems to be up in the air. So I feel like I am being thrown off of my comfort bubble. Everything is about to change in the next two months, and I guess what I am feeling right now is confusion. I don't really know what exactly I want to do right now. Do I want to go back to school again and get my massage therapy license to add to my resume? Do I want to look for work in cosmetology, or do I want to just work in optical? Or, do I want to try teaching dance? I feel like there are so many choices, and I don't know quite what to do with myself. There is a girl in my class at school who applied to work at Disney and just got hired, and I am so jealous that I didn't think of it first. lol. There are two other girls in my class that are opening up their own special occasion company, which is an idea I've had to do for a long time. I am not much of a competitive person, so I get nervous competing for positions and careers. I also struggle with putting myself out there, I guess I'm afraid I will get hurt, but I think I need to really take a look at what I want and just do it. The question is, what do I want? (Once I find out I'll let you guys know.)

For Micah, he is getting into a really good place for his career, he finally got his foot in the door at the hospital, and he is really excited about it. Being at the hospital, is also putting him in the position to meet people higher up, so that next time another position opens he will already have a heads up for applying. I'm very proud of him at how hard he works.

Right now I feel that although life is crazy and busy working 12-13 hour days every day, I still have a lot to be grateful for. We are both healthy, and we are happy. All too often I see people who don't have such luxuries and I become more grateful that I do. I am married to a wonderful man who loves me and treats me well. I couldn't ask for more. :)

Last night we attended a Halloween party, and we dressed as Harry and Hermionie. Here is a pic. :)

Have a great day!~Meghan