Just Words

Hello everyone! Here's a little update to let you know that we haven't melted {yet} in this dry Arizona heat!

Like I said, it is VERY hot here.  You Idahoans that are complaining about 100 degree weather? Girl, please. Try a LOW of 100 degrees EVERY DAY.  Then, and only then, can you complain.  Try getting in your car after an 8 hour workday and having the sheer 150 degrees melt your face off.  Seriously. I feel like my face is melting.

We kind of like it here.  I mean, it's good. We live in a really good area of Mesa, we have a super fantastic ward, and everything here is so accessible, but it's missing a few things. Like mountains.  We have a few but they are SO far away, and made of rock.  Ok, I know that ALL mountains are made of rock, but the ones back in Idaho look like they are made solely of trees.  We miss that. It is so so flat here.  Not really a lot to look at.  We also miss all the fishing spots.  There are a few places here, but it's so hot, you can't get outside to do anything.  One day we were at Wal-Mart and Brennen was telling the cashier that it was supposed to cool down.  Being the witty person that I am, I piped in "YA! In December!" Seriously.  SO HOT.

Brennen is doing really well in school! He studies about 6 hours a day, not including the time he spends at school, and it shows!  He did a FANTASTIC job on all of his midterms.  He is really loving what he is learning, even if it is hard and requires a lot of work.  He has to practice physical exams, and who better to practice on than your lovely wife? Last night he did a bunch of stuff.  The worst is when he shines the bright light in my eyes for about 10 minutes and then I can't see afterwards... the best is when he feels for the lymph nodes (i think?) at the base of my head...feels like a massage.

I hate working at the plasma center here.  I'll just throw that out right now.  I dread waking up in the morning because I know that I have to make the 25 minute drive to work.  And I'm terrified of driving on the highway.  I know that earlier I said it was fun, but that was before a highway patrolman pulled me over for no good reason and threatened to give me a $1000 ticket and made me buy a new windshield.  I guess as soon as you get a job here you are considered a "resident" and have to change over your license and plates and stuff.  Pfft. No thanks.  I'll just try not to get caught next time.  So when we come back up to visit, we'll be spending time in the DMV transferring the tiles and registration all into Brennen's name.  Since he's a student, he doesn't have to change anything.  So at least if I do get pulled over, I can't claim the vehicle as mine. Mwahaha.  Anyways, my hobbies nowadays consist of loading the dishwasher and watching TONS of TV.  It's awful.  Because after I get home from work I'm too dead to do anything besides mindlessly stare at the television.  My favorites right now are TLC (Toddlers & Tiaras, and Bride-day Friday) and the Bachelorette. I was hoping to come home with a sweet tan, but it's too blasted hot to even step outside, let alone lay in the sunshine.

One of the hardest things for us out here is making friends.  There are a bunch of people our age in our ward and that live in our complex, but they already have their little cliques and don't need anyone intruding.  So Brennen is working on finding some friends from school, and I'm working on getting together with some people I already know down here.  Friday, my friend from the Rexburg Biomat Brittany and I have a craft date!

Speaking of friends, Saturday we drove down to Tuscon to spend some time with one of Brennen's friends, Nathan.  He had us over for a BBQ and then we went swimming and to the mall.  After that Brennen and Nathan played some COD while I took off to visit one of my best friends from college, Melissa and her adorable little boy.  It was really good to see her and catch up on everything.  They will be moving back to Rexburg in August.  On our way home from Tuscon, we drove through a massive monsoon!  It was so scary!  The rain came down in sheets!  I would say it was scarier than driving through an Idaho blizzard.
But the best part was getting back into Gilbert and seeing the nearly finished Gilbert Temple against the backdrop of the most amazing lightning storm I have ever seen!

Well, that's all for this month!  Maybe I'll post again before August?!  Maybe.  So here's a little recipe for all my girlfriends that I discovered last night that is pretty much amazing.  I was looking on Pinterest, and when I do, I don't search for specific things.  I usually just find the category "Everything" and scroll through and pin things I like.  I stumbled upon this jewelry cleaner recipe and thought I'd give it a try.  And it's a good thing I did! It was amazing, especially on my sterling silver CTR ring that had about 8 years of dingy on it.  Girls.  Try this out, then comment on how amazing it is! Seriously.  You won't regret it.

Jewelry Cleaner:

Line the bottom of a bowl with aluminum foil.
Place:
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 Tbs Dish Soap
on the foil.
Pour 1 cup of hot water (I just heated mine in the microwave) over ingredients.
Drop jewelry in and let soak for 10-15 mins.
Use a toothbrush to loosen up any leftover gunk, rinse under cold water.

I will definitely use this instead of taking my ring to the jeweler to get cleaned! It looks just as good as if a pro did it.