It's late July & feels Great!

(Sigh) It's extremely frustrating not being able to log into my blog. That's happened to me so many times. 

I almost gave up and started an entirely new blog.. which would be my third time doing so.

Thankfully I've figured it out and here I am typing another post. :) Woo!

Some Updates:

Big News, Big News!

James got promoted at work. 

He loves his new position and is doing very well.

The raise is nice, especially with us moving next year.

I finally applied to start working again. 

(This is a huge step for me.)

I like being away in my own little world (apartment) away from the crazies.

I'm actually excited though. Making some more money for our little family will be a huge help. It's hard having to depend on a payday so much. 

We look forward to the day when payday comes and we think 

"Oh, it was payday? Sweet! Extra Cash!" 

instead of 

"Only two more days till payday.. We can make it!"

(Just in case any family members are worried, we're doing fine.)

----------------------------------------------------------

To be Honest:

I'm soooo excited about our future. I wrote above that we're moving this next year. James graduates this December and shortly after we're hoping to move on to our next adventure together. If all goes the way we're hoping then we'll be moving to Indiana. For over a year I had been researching different areas in the U.S. for us to live. We finally found a place in Indiana and it seems to be the best place for us right now. We're hoping we can settle down there and in five years buy our Home.

To friends from Facebook: As you most likely already know I just recently deactivated my Facebook account. I am now sharing an account with my Husband so he can let me know if anyone's trying to get in touch with me on there and if any big events are happening. I spent too much time on Facebook and i'm trying to get myself to spend my time a little more wisely.. to have healthier habits and avoid unhealthy habits. You can see what's going on with James and I on this Blog. I'll be updating!

Hey, it's May!

It's been a while... So here's an update:

Last month I helped my Mom & Siblings move to AZ.

It was a long road trip.

Around 27 hours of driving.. Pretty crazy.

It was fun & hard. I was really missing my husband, James.

This trip was our first time being away from each other since we have been Married.

He couldn't come because of work. 

I stayed in AZ. for almost a full month hanging out with the family.

It's so hot there but definitely beautiful.

I loved the Palm Trees & Mountains.

❤

I was really missing muh MAN so it was a good thing I came home when I did. :)

❤

 Soon:

 I'll be getting my Wisdom Teeth out.

I'm pretty nervous but I'll get over it.

I'm about to start working again & earn some money!

It's been a year since I last had a job and I'm feeling ready to get back out there.

Pretty Soonish:

James is Graduating next Semester! Yay!!!!

That means we'll really be searching for where we'll go next. 

I'm hoping we go to Washington or Oregon, 

both would be BEAUTIFUL.

Since I'm having some Medical Issues with my body and can't get pregnant at the moment I'm seriously considering going to College sometime after James and I move. 

I really enjoy learning and feel like I'm more ready to go to school than I was a year ago.

I might like Hair School. 

I've recently learned that cutting hair isn't as easy as I thought. 

haha oops. ;)

So besides James Graduating soon..

Us moving & I possibly going to College,

 not much else is going on.

Just saving, Saving and SAVING as much money as we can.

Because living life is expensive.

Anyways.

Till next time!

I love you.

-

.Alicia.

I wish..

I wish... 

to never have to pay a bill ever again.

It can be so stressful. Especially when you're broke already and then receive the letter saying you owe money.

A lot of money that you don't have.

mmmm. :(

Thankfully there's such a thing called payments.

So I don't have to worry too much and can just pay it off little by little.

(It's not like it's really a TON TON of money.. but it's a Medical Bill and medical bills aren't cheap.)

I'm very glad I was covered by Insurance, otherwise I would really be stressing.

So lately I have kind of been in this depressing mood...

Not just about money but medical issues and thinking about our future.

Money:

I know I need to get a job. But honestly i'm a little scared to go out and be interviewed. Silly, I know.

I want to get a job that I will be able to do physically and work somewhere that's not so busy.

Medical:

I have Ovarian Cysts which sometimes give me bad pains. It hurts. 

Going back to money, I can't afford to keep going to the Doctor and I worry if that will be a bad thing if I don't keep going.

Also, I learned that someone close might have a serious condition and that worries me.

The Future:

James and I only have a year left in Marshall and we need to soon find out where we will be heading.

I need to start working so we can save as much money as we can. 

I think we'll have to put off having kids till we can financially afford it, which makes me sad.

Emotionally:

I miss my friends.. I have a few really close friends but they live everywhere i'm not.

I have my best friend, James, with me everyday :) but sometimes you just need that close girl friend.

&

I've been really bored.

I'm in my apartment all the time now and it's Winter so I can't just go for a walk outside without freezing.

Things could definitely be worse.

I'm glad it's not. 

I'll get through this.

April, 

Please come fast!

Oh, January.

January is almost over.

...and that's a good thing for me.

BECAUSE that means my Mom is coming HOME!!

She has been in Utah for the last three weeks helping my sister, Cassie.

Cassie had her baby boy, Jameson, Wednesday January 16th.

He is such a handsome little guy!

Isn't he?

Yes, yes he is.

So a BIG reason I'm excited for my mom to come home is because I've been helping Josh with his Home Schooling and it's not the easiest thing in the world.

But also because I miss her. ❤

____________________________________________

February 

❤

-The Month of LOVE-

I'm very very excited for!

❤

Valentines day.

& 

My nephew, Nathan's 1st Birthday

&

Brother in law, Thomas' Birthday

& 

One month closer to Spring & SUMMER!

I don't like the cold.

____________________________________________

Sometime last week James and I put together a "Hale Monthly Bills & Budget" Sheet.

It looks awesome. 

Thanks to James and Excel.

We made it so we could take better track of what we're $pending our money on and to help us get a better idea on how to save more each month.

I think it's going to work well.

We then made a "Weekly Menu" sheet.

This is to help inspire me to cook better meals instead of freezer meals all the time.

So far, it's been working.

Last night I made these Double Baked half Potatoes. 

I don't know the name.. but this name pretty much sums it up!

Sooo, this is how I did it:

I cut the potato in half, then put it back together and wrapped it in foil.

(I do this with multiple potatoes at a time.)

Put it on a pan and let it bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

Then take it out, unwrap the potatoes.

& Throw the foil away.

 Then I start digging out the middle of the potatoes with a spoon.

You have to spoon out the potatoes gently or the potato will rip.

Don't spoon all of it out though. :)

I then put the potato that's in my spoon from the potato I just spooned out onto a plate 

& keep it to the side.

I use it soon after.

I added seasoning to the potatoes. (Garlic Herb and Sea Salt.)

I then put strips of Pepper Jack cheese in each potato.

The cheese melts.

Then I added some ripped up lunch meat (roast beef). yum.

& add bacon bits and shredded cheese. Lots of shredded cheese.

  

The next thing to add to the potato shells (spooned out potatoes) 

are the potatoes that were set to the side.

Before I or you do that.. some seasoning need to be added to those plated potatoes and then they need to be mashed with a spoon.

I used Garlic Powder for the seasoning.

Then I put those potatoes into the potato shells and added more cheese and bacon bits to the top.

The next step would be putting them back into the oven.

You can use the broiler to make the outside crispy..

but I just let it bake at 400 degrees for another 20 minutes.

They're delicious.

It's James' new favorite meal.

Oh and sour cream!

They taste better when you have some. :)

Tonight's Meal is sliced potatoes & Meat..

Super excited! I love meat. ❤

Hey look, it's a new year!

2013

It's a new year, ladies & gents!!

.................

And I'm so glad it is!

2012 was a better year than 2011 but I'm excited for this year.

      ♥

______________________________________

At night I tend to get all the energy i've been missing during the day.

So I will usually clean right before I go to bed.

(I like waking up to a clean home.)

The only problem is that it's already pretty late by the time I start to clean.

I think it might drive James a little nuts buttttt he loves me anyway. :)

Instead of cleaning two nights ago, I started to read my journal from the past two years.

I start laughing because of something I read and decided I should read it to James too.

I end up reading the whole Journal along with part of my other Journal from this past year.

We stayed up till after 3am!

________________

James got to hear 
some silly things &
about heartbreaks and tough times.

It wasn't easy reading it and reliving some memories.

BUT

then we got to the good parts.

♥

Good parts being:

When I met James, "The funny Guy".

10/21/11

The hour(s) long phone calls.

Our first date.

11/11/11

Getting Engaged.

12/20/11

Getting Married.

03/03/12

Living day to day with each other 

& falling in love more & more.

I'm glad I read the last two years of my life with him.
It helped me see that I can really make this new year better than the years before.

Yay for 2013!
♥

December ER visit #2

In my last post I mentioned James had a high fever of 102.  

The next day he had a fever of 100.8, he was coughing hard and constantly being too hot or too cold.

I was really getting worried seeing him so miserable.

He got to a point where it was hard for him to breathe. SCARY.

Sooo,

my mother in law, Sheri, came over and gave him a bunch of natural remedies/stuff to help him feel better &

They actually have been helping a lot. Some of it tastes nasty but works.

It's now the day after Christmas, his temperature has gone down and he's slowly getting rid of the cough and runny nose.

Thankfully he only has to be at work for half the day today.

Actually, he just came home. They're giving him the next two days off! :)

I think I might be catching the flu that he had. I'm trying my best to stay healthy.

Hopefully I don't get it.

On Christmas Eve James got a blessing and we decided to get him to the HyVee Clinic in town and after seeing her she sent us to the Emergency Room at the Avera Marshall Hopital to get a 

Chest X-Ray because he was wheezing after every breath.

James was miserable. Extremely cold, coughing, his nostrils felt like they were burning. 

We were relieved to find out he didn't have Strep but was diagnosed with Viral Syndrome.

Basically: A really bad flu.

All you can do is stay hydrated and rest.

So that's what we've been doing the last few days.

________________________________________________________________

James and I actually had our Christmas on Sunday night.

He wasn't feeling good and instead of watching a movie we wanted to open a present from each other.

We were planning on only opening one. When I say "We", I really mean me.

But we were so happy we ended up opening them all up.

♥

After getting home from the Hospital on Christmas Eve I went downstairs to my parents place and we exchanged & opened our Christmas Presents and ate yummy dinner.

Then on Christmas Day James' parents came over and we opened presents with them and ate some more yummy dinner.

MmmMmm.

♥

Now that Christmas is over... we're getting closer to the New Year!

So excited!

Till next time.. have a wonderful day and think nice things. ♥

Sick Day

James is sick, unfortunately.

With a fever of 102. At least he was last night.

I know he'll get better thanks to all the prayers. :)

I never really thought about what you're supposed to do when someone gets sick with such a high fever. After I took James' temp. I felt a little scared and... dumb.

How could I not know what to do?

Then I thought about it and came up with this excuse.

"I'm used to being the sick person not the 'other' who takes care of the sick one."

So, Thank You Mom for answering my late night phone call!

Now I know what medicine to give him, and know to keep him hydrated and that he shouldn't force himself to eat but to have him eat little bits when he's feeling like he can. Otherwise, he'll throw up.

This is good training for when I'll be a mother someday. :)

    YAY! haha

So I'm not going to be at Church today.. I'm taking care of my husband and I don't want to bring the sickness with me and get my little sunbeams sick. 

Thank goodness I have at least one more week with them till they'll be switched and off to the big kid classes. ♥

______________________________________________________________________

So I was wanting to share something I saw on Pinterest and and actually took the time to make.

It's called the "Bored Jar".

When you're bored take out a slip of folded paper from the Jar.. read it & do it.

It might say, "Netflix" as in go watch some Netflix! 

or

"Give him a big smooch!" (by him I mean, James. or maybe my little brother's cheek.)

My Bored Jar is just a glass jar. Simple. 

 

It took me about an hour to write out random things that I would do instead of being bored.

Some have to do with exercise.

or better posture.

Some are about service. (helping, cleaning or babysitting.)

Going on date nights.

Writing nice notes anonymously. 

Cooking.

Rearranging.

Organizing.

Music.

even flossing.

It was a lot of fun coming up with my own ideas instead of copying someone else's ideas.

Random Fact: That stuffed animal was given to me by my daddy the day I went to the ER and learned about my ovarian cysts.

It's special. ♥

Till next time.. have a wonderful day and think nice things. ♥