Friday

I am sitting on my couch right now with a cute pup, a smoothie, an almond chocolate apple, a Harry Potter book and this computer of course, which to put things back into perspective, has my powerpoint for my prospectus presentation. That has been my project for the day, and I am about halfway done. I plan on finishing it tomorrow and then having Nate fix it up a bit. My powerpoints look like a 4th grader made them. Maybe even worse, but Nate is a powerpoint pro -- as you know if you have seen the board games he has created....

Today was a great day. Took a nap with the boy and the puppy. We went on a run. Started my new years resolution to read Harry Potter. I got the porch clean, Hannah's nails cut (that is a feat, let me tell you) and now my boy tells me he is done studying for the night. He acts like he has all the time in the world for me, but it will cost him. I warned him. I told him how fast time flies and that boards are practically next week but he doesn't listen.

Nate's friend complained to him today saying "I don't know where to start to get everything done" and Nate said, "Hire Sabrina as your manager". Nate explained to me that if I was his friend's "manager" I would spend more time on his friend and less time nagging him. Rude! I never boss Nate around. I try every once in a while, but it doesn't work. Nate is a nice one, but tends to disobey me. More times than not I find Nate watching ESPN or playing baseball on his itouch.

Speaking of games, I am 2 wins away from winning the money in our dating bank. Unfortunately Nate is only one win away. We keep track of how many games we win with each other and first 1 to 50 gets the pot of money, which can range from 7 to 200 dollars. I have no clue how much is in there right now. Last time I won, I got like $185!! I chose to go to Beauty and the Beast down in San Diego which was a success. Wish me luck on winning any games we play tonight.

So nice.

I thought I was livin' the life before. Having class a few times a week and working from home was just great, but now, I am done with all my classes! And it is so nice! Can't tell you how wonderful it feels. When it comes to school, I like to stay ahead of the game. Each semester, at the very beginning, I look at syllabi from each class and I do everything I can right away, just so that I can keep my head above water the rest of the semester. Now, I don't have to even worry about that!!!! It is so nice having NO assignments. No projects. Nothing. I love it.

My life has been way too rushed the last 6 years or so and finally it is just pleasant and enjoyable and calm. Blissful, really. Ahhhhh..... so nice.

So now I can focus on work. Stuff I care about. Achievement days, cooking, cleaning, playing with my dog, watching a movie, and talking on the phone are no longer activities that threaten my time or stress level. I LOVE this. I feel so free!

Having said that, I am going to go peacefully make my bed with no rush, take Vanessa to the dog park without speeding through the school zone, and just enjoy the rest of my day until I can calmly make dinner for my man and go to the basketball game tonight. SO NICE!

Loyalty

Tomorrow I am going to a basketball with Nate. I have been to one other basketball game in my life, and it was quite fun. Nate has wanted to go to one for a while, but we always seem to miss the games that are actually worthwhile.

So tomorrow UNLV plays BYU. And, as I was getting my free ticket today, I thought about how I am going to wear my BYU shirt and cheer and be in the presence of other cougars, and then I started thinking about how much UNLV has done for me and I was somewhat torn on where my loyalty lies.

BYU is where I met Nate, but if it wasn't for UNLV I wouldn't have married Nate. BYU is where I got out of college debt free, but UNLV is my employer now and pays tuition and benefits. BYU was much harder, but I have appreciated UNLV's ease (minus that thesis project...). UNLV is preparing my husband for his future career, and let's be real, that is super important, but BYU prepared Nate so that he has been successful.

I do have my opinion of which school is the better school, but the question of where my loyalty lies is still unresolved. Any way there can be a tie in basketball? I think I will wear a UNLV shirt with a BYU sweatshirt.... Okay Nate is finally home. Time to eat.

Break

I couldn't really organize my thoughts so I decided to write a poem. A quick one but here it goes:

The last two weeks, were super fun.

I already miss our family a ton.

We hung out with my mom, brother and dad,

Vanessa was naughty, but not that bad.

The start of the break was less than ideal,

We said goodbye to Grandpa Theron as he passed through the veil.

His family was there, right by his side,

His presence with Grandma will always abide.

After the zoo, aquarium, and trips to the mall,

Christmas time came, presents and all.

A GPS system and jewelry from Nate,

Treats for the puppy and gift cards for dates.

We drove down to Carson, a city that's lame,

But had a blast with Nate's family and tried out his game.

Delicious meals and games on the Wii,

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by 2-year old Hallie.

With memories made and miles traveled, 

This Christmas break has sadly unraveled. 

We are home safe in Vegas tonight,

The groceries are bought and real life is in sight.

Christmas break has come to an end,

And sympathy to Nate, I do send.

He has school now from 8-5,

I hope by May he is alive.

With long school days and boards coming up,

There will be little time for the girl and the pup.

But after that's over, we will have time to play,

With minimal tests and clinic every day.

So to that time, I look forward to glee,

When we will go to San Fransisco or Yosemite.

But time will be limited, even then I know,

So back to our family we will probably go.

We are stuck in Vegas, and I don't mean to fus.

I am simply saying you should could come visit us.

The city is great, we have a dog who's fun,

Let us know when your coming, and we'll consider it done!

Dates and Dresses

Right now I am in Utah with my parents. When I got engaged a year ago, my mom cried like a baby every time she talked about it. She thought she wouldn't see me anymore, but let me tell you, that has not been the case. I am with my parents all the time. Always it seems.

So the thing is, Nate comes up tonight. His finals are over in just a few hours (thank goodness, poor boy) and then he is driving up here. I am assuming he won't get here until late, but I can't tell you how excited I am for him to get here! He acts like he has all the time in the world for me, which of course I appreciate it, but I know it's not really true, so during finals I tend to just go out of town. Just to give him some space, you know what I mean?

So my tasks today are to: (1) keep up with work stuff, (2) go to lunch with my mom's friend (she is my friend too actually), (3) run some christmas related errands and then (4) I am going to plan the best vacation ever for Nate. He deserves it so much! There isn't much to do in Utah with all the snow, but I am determined to plan some really fun dates for this week. Let's just say, the two awesome dresses I bought yesterday will have their debuts asap.

Oh and I should probably take Vanessa on an outing today so that she stops running around with Cowboy Todd's ball like a maniac. That is a sacrafice for me considering how much I hate the snow, but as you know, Vanessa is worth it.

Vanessa and Me

Vanessa and I were made for each other. I love this dog. She follows me everywhere and always has to be right exactly next to me, or on me, all the time. She is so funny! She chases the vacuum, and drinks the sugar water from the Christmas tree, and chases "mice" in our bed. She walks around and tries to hide her bone in the funniest places. She whips her tail around like a little valley girl and hides every time we pull out the fleece jacket that my mom made her. She sneaks in our bed at night. She knows all the tricks in the book. She's just a super sweet and fun dog and I am so glad that we got such a good puppy. Now you might be thinking "wow I wonder if she is going to gush this much about her children" and the answer to that is probably not. Our kids will likely be pretty average, but Vanessa is no average dog.

Dilemma

When I started college back in 2004 I made a 5 year plan. Within those five years I accomplished a lot. I got two degrees, traveled the world a bit, did a study abroad, served a mission, you know.... good times. Then, when I got home from my mission, I made another 5 year plan (of sorts). But this time I have just been filling it in as a go. So I guess it is not really a plan but a list of things I have done the last year or so. Not really the same thing, but I've always had direction. Until NOW! I have no idea what to do!

So my boss just came over here while I was typing this out. Solved all my problems. At least for now... Guess I can fill in a few more months on my life plan. Love him by the way. Awesome guy.