Ha ha ha ha!

Once upon a time I liked to say "I love/like cheese" McKay might remember this because she remembers everything. I learned to say it in sign language and Spanish and I think Swedish... Mostly my priority in learning other languages is just to be able to say I like/love cheese. You really only need to know how to say that one phrase and you got any language down. You can pretty much communicate everything with it.
Well lately it has changed to "I love you more than cheese." This has spread to (maybe not started with but spread to... I can't remember who started this fun) how Andrew and I speak of our affection for each other. We have taken to saying I love you more than ______! It is a fun game. You should try it. Recently I received an "I love you more than the Beatles loved drugs" and "I love you more than Elvis loved rock and roll" "I love you more than I love winter snow" I sent "I love you more than the sight of Missouri in the early morning" "I love you more than anything" "I love you more than duck tape" You get the idea. So today I was sending an I love you more than cheese to Andrew and I found this picture to accompany it...... CREEPY!!!!!!!! It makes me laugh so hard and shudder at the same time! That girl looks like she wants to eat her mom's hands!

Awesome! Some people are just awesome!

So I've decided I really love our little family ward. On Sunday we get to see more wardies than any other day with callings and ward choir (yes I caved and I go to ward choir with my husband... they are all a little more gifted than your average choir... it entertains me when we have to do warm up exercises like sticking a finger in our mouth and humming the whole song... everyone mezo piano now forte now hum now trill now make silly faces and listen to your tone... I don't know what it means... but it looks pretty funny).
I also enjoy relief society these days! I look forward to teaching my one Sunday a month. I used to hate relief society... no joke disliked it a lot. Funny story with that and my calling... I decided last fall that I needed to work on this problem. I told Andrew and I started praying about, then I got called to teach relief society. HA! Someone has a sense of humor. When I got my blessing for the calling from the Bishop he said I would have a love for the sisters... I do. I really love the opportunity to learn teach and bare testimony and hear their comments and testimonies. I have learned a lot. When I am not teaching I normally sit by my good friend Kristen, who is pregnant, and another sister whose name I won't even try to spell. We sit closest to the door for a quick get away. The cutest thing is that all the old biddies sit on the back row. Some of them can't even hear so they should be sitting closer right? Nope they sit on the very back row. They are cute.
This week before the lesson started we were all chatting amongst ourselves and I was asking Kristen about maybe borrowing her vacuum so our floors would be clean when mgmt came to deep clean them. The other sister who's name I can't spell said "you don't have a vacuum? I will get you one." Sure, sweet thought and I think your neat but ya sweet thought. Til we got a call the next night with her showing up with a vacuum with a spare belt and bag! WHAT?!? Ya, we now are the proud owners of our very own vacuum thank you to a sweet dear sister in our ward. She has two kids between newborn and 2 she has a full life... but she took the time to find a vacuum for us, she doesn't even really know us that well. I have talked to her twice and she didn't even remember my name... but I can't spell hers so I guess its fair. I was touched. How thoughtful. Really? Who does that? Wonderful people that is who.
That is my heartwarming story for the week. We are all loved. I should be better at reaching out and blessing others where I can. If this sweet sister can find time... SO CAN I!
In other news I have a little more paperwork and appointments to go to and I am back in school for spring! I am a little frustrated with how long it is taking and someone forgot to tell me a few of the steps so I have to go back a do some other dumb stuff but Andrew said its worth it so its worth it!
Also, work is considering me for another position in accounting! It would be a pay raise and a 9-5 job. My job now is 7:30-3:30 and I am not a morning person. I figure I can work this job and do one or two classes spring and summer then rearrange some things for fall. I gotta get done so that means save save save now then school school school this fall. Wish me luck. We could use the raise!

Some Days I Do Nothing

You Did Nothing For To Long,

And Now The Monster Will Eat You!!!

Ever have those days where you feel like an absolute slug and you do nothing? I have those days sometimes... This pictures sums up my feelings about those days. However, I have not actually experienced one of these glorious monster eaten days in the last week or two. Time is no longer my ally... I have no more of it to waste! Which makes me want to get eaten by monsters all the more... when before I loathed it... makes no sense.

Andrew and I decided we are going to start jogging/running (I separate the two because I jog/walk and Andrew runs/is awesomer) together in the evenings and work on our personal and couples scripture study and other such worthy causes. These wonderful goals have eaten up all my slug time. For example... yesterday evening I really wanted to be a slug and stare at the ceiling or back of my eyelids... BUT the laundry desperately needed doing and we were out of milk and butter and eggs and almost out of bread... grocery shopping needed to be done AND we hadn't gone jogging/running.

Sooo we accomplished said physical activity then I tried to be sluggish again but to no avail. I did laundry and went grocery shopping. I was so good at doing the laundry however (even with the help of my wonderful husband) that I forgot to get it out on time so Andrew kindly this morning walked across the frigid parkinglot to the other side of our complex to retrieve clean clothes for his sluggish wife.

My legs ache from jogging/walking and I want to do nothing for a year or two... it makes me feel a little better that Andrew's legs ache too except I know that he has been quadrupling the distance I walked/jogged with his crazy running/awesome skills... We are talking he RAN 3ish miles or more last night and I walked/jogged emphasis on walked maybe 2ish so I feel good because he is in pain but I feel like a sissy cuz I shouldn't be ha!

As for time I no longer have... I guess I should find it again sometime just so I can cram more stuff into it. I almost cringe when friends ask for some time to do frivolous things like play and have fun... because its my time to waste not theirs! I think I shall begin scheduling days I can waste maybe once every other month or so and then cram the rest of them with stuff that needs to be done... and occasionally let friends waste my time too.

Off Roading

Here is possibly the best ie most entertaining story of the season. The whole Stradley Clan got to go to the cabin the Saturday after Christmas. Cabin and snow equals 4 wheeling and sleds together.... It was a lot of fun. We attached a sled the a four wheeler and away we went. Loads of fun. Jaqui even came and she squealed with excitement. There were a few tip overs and some getting stuck but all in all fun.
We went back to the cabin to thaw out and Marlow wasn't finished 4 wheeling. He asked if anyone else wanted to go. I was the only one that volunteered. So Marlow and Grandpa Treglown and I went out again. I just got on the back of Marlow's bike because I knew I would either get hurt or stuck by myself. Again... "Not Shiloh! She is clumsy!" Marlow did his best to scare me and have fun with it. He kept asking if I was scared and I said not. He asked if I wanted to drive... heck no. We got stuck tons and had lots of fun. We figured Grandpa Treglown just was shaking his head at us. It was a blast.
We went to see an old mill and Marlow decided that he wanted to try going down a ravine that would lead back to the cabin. I didn't know any better so I agreed. It looked a little deep going down but we wouldn't have a problem once we got up speed... right? We must have gotten stuck 10 time going down and we just pushed her back out and kept going... why? I dunno. couldn't go back the way we came so keep moving forward right? Wrong! Grandpa was the smart one. He didn't go with us. He just stayed on the higher road and we could see him just watching us to make sure we didn't kill ourselves. Then... the 4 wheeler just stopped. I see Marlow ahead of me on the bike trying to get out of yet another snow drift and he just slumps over... uh oh. The transmission is dead. Ha ha ha awesome. We were stuck. Well, we can walk back the way we came or up the side of the ravine or keep moving forward. Marlow said the cabin wasn't far so... we went forward. It was cold and the snow was knee deep on me. Its hard to walk through knee deep snow. Marlow went in front to plow the way for me. We had to stop and take breathers... it seemed pretty far! It wouldn't have been if there wasn't so much snow. Just walking we got so hot. Taking off gloves and hats and jackets... probably dumb. Dad just fell over at one point and said "This would be a nice way to die. I hear when you freeze to death you just fall asleep. That would be nice." As you can guess... we were tired and felt pretty stupid. I couldn't stop giggling about the whole thing. It was pretty funny. I think Marlow felt pretty dumb... but we still laughed. He asked if I wanted him to carry me... no way. If he died I wouldn't be able to carry him!
Grandpa figured something was wrong when we left our bike and started walking. He went back to the cabin and got the boys. We finally got out of the ravine and all the boys went to see if they could get the wench and pull the bike up the side of the ravine. They didn't get back to the cabin for 3 or 4 hours! We were a bit worried. No luck. Dad went back a week or two later and pulled it out.
My favorite part about this whole adventure... Dad blamed it all on me once we got back to the cabin! If I was driving we never would have gone down there or if i wouldn't have agreed to his hair brained idea we never would have gotten stuck. What a guy :) It was a wonderful bonding experience and I even got my first case of frost bite! It really was a fun mishap. I'm not sure if Marlow found it that funny... but I did!

Christmas

Christmas Day was wonderful! We woke up when we wanted to and opened presents with everyone at Ma and Pa Stradley's house. Andrew and I got a lovely coffee table. Sarah found it at DI and had Steven paint it black. The top is glass and its a few inches deep so Stacey printed off pictures she had taken of Andrew and I from all the wedding festivities and put them in the coffee table. It was just lovely! Also Mom and Matthew got Andrew and I a record player!!! I was pretty excited about that! It even looks old school except for the fact that it also plays CDs and you can hook an ipod up to it! YA!!! So if anyone wants to know what to get me... records.

I got Andrew the Queen Live at Wembley Stadium DVD! He loved it... Steven even loved it. Andrew lent it to Steven and Sarah and I guess little Jaqui watched it all the way through with them. She doesn't even watch cartoons aimed at her age group all the way through. Ah teach them young in the way that they should go. She is so very much Steven and Sarah's daughter. Andrew made me a lovely coffee table book with pictures of us he didn't even know we were getting a coffee table to put it on.
We went around to visit Treglowns and Stradleys alike and enjoyed every bit of it. I really love Christmas... not for the gifts and commercialism... but for the family. I love my family (and by my I mean Stradley's too). I truly have been so blessed. The Pipkin's have been there through it all and I know if I need to talk to someone there is always a Pipkin sibling ready and willing to listen. I miss them very much and I am really looking forward to our reunion this summer!!! As for the Stradley side of my family... I could not be more grateful for them. They are truly wonderful loving exciting crazy glorious people. I really can't get enough of them. I look forward to fast Sundays with them. Also, not to play favorites... but Marlow is wonderful... we haven't had a ton of one on one daddy daughter time but he really has filled a hole I have been trying to fill for a long time. Sandra is a wonderful knowledgeable saint. She has done so much for me including raising a wonderful son. I really love her. It was just a wonderful Christmas!

A New Year A New Post!

Thank you Amber for the friendly nag... I love reading Amber's blog but I never get around to updating my own. How very selfish of me.

The Provo Stradley's had a wonderful Holiday Season! Sadly we are terrible at taking pictures so I will have to steal some from siblings... and there aren't many. Stick with me though I promise the stories are worth the read! Or your money back.

I was able to take the week of Christmas off to spend with the Stradley's. Probably not the best financial decision... but it was fun. I think I will break this up so it is more reader friendly. One story at a time.

They Stradley's took all of us skiing and it was wonderful! I hear the Pipkin clan thought I was going to kill myself. I guess one certain sister said upon hearing of my impending adventure..."Not Shiloh! She is clumsy!" Well family, I survived! Sandra was my wonderful ski instructor. We first got there and I had a problem with getting my boot on around my fat bad ankle. I had on two pairs of socks and my ankle brace. It hurt so bad but I pushed through and went down my first hill with Andrew and Sandra making sure I didn't kill myself. Andrew kept asking if I was okay... I guess he could tell my the grimace of pain and determination that something was up. I said I was fine and kept on. I really wanted to cry because my ankle was so uncomfortable... really painful. The most pain I have experienced in that ankle in a while. So I went back to the lodge to see what I could do.

I refused to give up! I was already there, everything had already been rented... and I didn't want to be the only one who wasn't skiing. Really making the decision to ski was an off and on thing for me. Just ask Andrew. One day I was going the next day I wasn't. I hadn't done anything that would put that much strain on my ankle since I broke it. So me in my stubborn fashion didn't want to be lame and wanted everyone else to think I was cool... I decided to go. Still trying to impress those Stradley's I guess. I took off the extra sock and my ankle brace and put my boot back on and said a few prayers mostly that I wouldn't permanently damage myself... and I went back on the hills.

Sandra was a wonderful teacher and I only had one really good fall. I even got off the bunny hills to the next bigger hill! Yup fun fun fun. You get really tired though. Those Stradley boys are crazy when it comes to skiing. Well they are crazy when ever you get them together. It is like they feed off each other and just do one thing after another that I would never dare do... like jumping off cliffs. I don't know if that actually happened or if it was dangerous but I heard over lunch that day that one of them jumped off a cliff. Crazy. I like them.