This is old news, but for history's sake I will put it in writing.....

We are moving to Utah!!

(I wrote this before we moved but never posted it)

I like to think that I deal with change well. I've always been the fairly laid-back, go with the flow kinda girl. When I plan on spaghetti for dinner but then realize I have no ground beef in my fridge, I try shredded chicken instead. (Ew.) Or when I go to the pool with friends but forget half of my swim suit, I stop and buy the cheapest one I can find whether it matches or not.

But when my whole world changes in a matter of 3 days, I think I'm entitled to a slight meltdown, yes?

About 2 months ago we put an offer on a house that we were very excited about. It was a short sale, and we were warned it would probably take months to hear anything. I was patient, but eager for an answer. In the meantime, Kyle's boss/good friend/mentor/reason he loved the office left the company, leaving Kyle wondering if he wanted to stay. Realizing it would give us time to make a decision, we decided the waiting process on our house would be a good thing. Surely we wouldn't hear back in just four weeks.

Wrong.

Our realtor called the very next day with "good news" that the bank had accepted our offer. We had to tell her we weren't sure if we wanted it any more, leaving her waiting on us instead.

Our goal has been to move back near family when the opportunity arises, so we decided we better take action. Kyle called the Merrill Lynch office in Salt Lake and asked if he would be able to transfer. They had him fly there a week later to interview. Kyle's family thought he was just there for an appointment, so it was fun to call them later and surprise them with the good news. It is also fun to see my husband so excited. I want him to be happy, and this is definitely where he will be happiest. Don't get me wrong, I am excited! But I'm also overwhelmed. In the same week we turned down the house (really not a big deal, just stressful) and decided to pursue a move to Utah, we found out that my dad's cancer was probably back. That was devastating in itself, but what made it worse was that we didn't know where it was located or how bad. Between that bad news, and packing up and leaving a job, town, and friends that I have come to really love, poor Kyle has had to deal with a pretty emotional wife these last few weeks. I may have had to leave church early one day because I couldn't stop bawling....

As for my dad we finally have results. The cancer is back in his liver, where it was the last time. Although we were hoping for better news, it could have been much worse. We are grateful it is localized in his liver and it looks like they are able to operate. His surgery is set for July 1st at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I am flying there the 28th and then will be driving to MI with them after. We are praying that the surgery will go well and that they will be able to remove all of it.

As for leaving Cali.....I'm not sure yet how that's going to happen. You know when people ask you what kind of super power you would choose? I used to say that I would want to be able to eat whatever I want without gaining weight. But I have a new one. I wish I could live in three places at once.

:( :(

Finally!

I was feeling caught up after I did 5 posts in one day last month. But it is now March and I realized I haven't even done Christmas, let alone everything in between. Our camera was dead when we were in Utah and instead of charging it I just kept trying to take pictures on my phone. Which, of course, never turns out that great. Needless to say, I am disappointed in the lack of pictures we have of Christmas. I will post the ones we do have once I figure out how to upload the pictures on my camera. But we did have a great time. I definitely had the post-Holiday blues after being with both sides of our family. Kyle helped cheer me up by booking me a short trip back to MI in February. I am lucky to have such a sweet husband who understands my need to see my family. I can tell he has been a little homesick as well. We both had President's day off last month so we decided to surprise his family and head to UT for a long weekend. I think we ended up being a little bit of a disappointment, however, as most of them thought the reason for our unexpected trip was to announce we were pregnant. Sorry....

However, I do have some good news. I am officially certified to do eyelash extensions! An Eyelash Extension Specialist is what they call it. It may be a long while before I don't feel guilty calling myself that-I am hardly a Specialist after applying only one set of eyelashes. After about 15 minutes, however, I did stop wanting to pull my hair out and actually felt like I was getting the hang of it. It's pretty intense-you have a long, sharp tweezer in each hand, and with one you single out an eyelash by separating other eyelashes and holding them apart for several seconds, while, with the other hand, pick up an extension, dip it in glue, apply it to the eyelash, and wait for it to set for a couple seconds. In the beginning, it will take me about 3 hours for a full set. The goal is to get down to 2 hours. I am still trying to decide what to charge. The place I went for training charges $220 for a full set.

As most of you know, my sister-in-law Stacy has been doing this from her home for about 6 months now and she's a rock star. She put them on me in November and I loved loved loved them. I started checking into doing them myself, and got really excited about the idea of having something new to do. Long story short, (because I am not a licensed cosmetologist or esthetician, I was told I may not be able to become certified) I found out a couple weeks ago that I could, and went to training in Orange County on Friday so I'm all set. It was really fun and I can't wait to start. My plan is to practice on most of the girls I work with (there are about 15) and hopefully start booking appointments in a couple weeks. I feel like this could be my big break. It has been over a year, and although I have several returning clients at work, they haven't kept me as busy as I would like to be. I am really excited about eyelashes and have just the motivation I need right now.

Kyle is doing well, he is still enjoying his job. Our annual Disneyland passes expire in a few days and we aren't planning on renewing them (unless anyone is planning a Disneyland trip this year, and then surely we may change our minds!) so we are going tomorrow night for one last hurrah. They have an amazing Aladdin show that is comparable to Broadway and Kyle hasn't seen it yet so I'm excited. I could watch it every day.

I've started training for a 5K. Running is not on my list of favorite things to do, so we'll see how that goes.

We love and miss everyone!

Quick update

This last month has been so fun. My sis and her family came to visit the end of October, and Kyle's brother Ryan and his family came and stayed last week. We had been looking forward to their visits all year and are both bummed that they're gone, but are excited to see them again in MI for Thanksgiving and UT for Christmas. I LOVE this time of year, and I'm finding it is easy to get into the holiday spirit as it is getting chilly here in the evenings. I started listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween and Kyle's a good sport-he had it playing on Pandora the other night for me. Kyle's last day of student teaching is tomorrow! He has enjoyed it but is also ready to be done. I'm so happy for him, and glad for both of us that he won't be so busy! I have been keeping busy working on several different crafting projects. Work has picked up a little this week-fingers crossed that it stays that way!

I am going to post pictures of the Prosser's and Haskell's trips soon, just haven't had time on the computer yet to go through them all.

Update

Kyle came home with great news last week. His career is taking a turn as he was just offered a job with Merrill Lynch! The interviewing process didn't take long and was a little overwhelming for us because in just a matter of days we had to make the decision of whether or not to stay in California for now. We hope our family and friends know we didn't take that decision lightly. We miss you all so much and it isn't easy being away from you. That being said, it is an amazing opportunity for him, and after talking and praying about it, we decided if he was giving the offer he wouldn't turn it down. The next thing we knew, Kyle was taking tests and meeting with the head honcho in Palm Desert who offered him the job on the spot! I think it sounds like the perfect job for him. One thing I've learned about Kyle over the last couple years is he is always up for a challenge, and loves to take on and learn new things. Like everything else he excels at, I know he will put forth the effort needed and will have fun doing it. It sounds like the training is pretty intense- he will have to study and take several test in order to get all of licensing he needs. They're putting him to work already in a few weeks. He'll start studying during his "free time". I'm so excited for him, and proud of all of his accomplishments. And I am especially grateful for our Heavenly Father's Hand in this. It was neat because we fasted a few weeks ago for more success with work, and he happened to get his first interview that week. It is definitely a huge blessing in our life right now, especially because we will receive full benefits starting right away.

On a duller note, I'm still not feeling up to par and my job is not getting busier like I was hoping it would now that fall is here. I've been thinking about looking for something else, but the idea bums me out. I really like the spa that I'm at and was hoping to build a steady clientele. I don't like giving up, and I'll feel like a failure it I do so. At the same time, I'm not making much money and that's not so fun. If I were feeling better I would just look for a second job and do both, but I think I need to focus what little energy I have on just one job right now. One nice thing about the spa is that we have several different ways of marketing. I've been going to LA Fitness every other week and doing complimentary seated massages and handing out business cards, and I'm a part of a few different networking groups that meet together and help each other refer business. These things are in the evenings and it would be hard to get another job while trying to get more business at the spa. Also, I'm not sure where to look for a job. I'm afraid it would be hard to get flexible hours at a restaurant or store during the Holidays. We're going to MI for a week for Thanksgiving, and to Utah for 5 days for Christmas.

Between the lack of work and the low energy, it has been easy to get pretty down. I'm taking several supplements packed with different vitamins and I have noticed a slight increase in energy. Today was the best so far, so I'm really hoping it continues to get better. I decided I needed some projects to keep me busy and make me feel better, so I've been making crafts with a couple friends, and I've also started piano lessons! It's something I have always wanted to do, and I decided there won't be a better time than now. Our Stake Relief Society President is in our ward and we are trading lessons for massages. I have a keyboard I borrowed from my brother (which I'm hoping he doesn't want back anytime soon) so I will practice on that between lessons. I love it so far- my goal is to be playing Christmas music by December. I've also started couponing with my friend Lindsey and we are having a blast doing it. We have added a lot to our food storage and most of it was free or practically free. I've been saving between 50% and 90% on my grocery trips. The other day we went to Rite Aid and got 10 bags of candy for a $5 profit. Love it!

One thing that is helping me get out of bed in the morning is knowing my sister and her family are coming to visit in just 9 days!! I'm sooo looking forward to that. I can't WAIT to take my niece to Disneyland and meet princesses for the first time. We are also anticipating a visit from Ryan and Stacy's family in November which we are also soooo excited about.

And last but definitely not least, we have a new niece! Tabitha Amy Haskell. She was only 5 lbs 14 oz and she's so adorable! We haven't seen her yet (and it's killing me!) but I stole this picture from Stacy's facebook. :)

Update

Kyle starts his student teaching next week! He has had meetings all day this week so the"madness" has begun. He's been getting up at 5:30 in order to make it to the gym, come home from work and make phone calls, etc. for work, is at the school from 8-3, then works until 8 or 9. On top of that, he has 2 online classes and will have lessons to plan for teaching. I'm not sure when or how he's going to do that, but he never ceases to amaze me with his productiveness. Is that a word?

I have been quite the opposite. Besides not having a lot of appointments at work, I've been really fatigued. Those that are sick of hearing me talk about it can skip this paragraph. I feel like I haven't been the same since I had mono in December. I used to be somewhat like Kyle-I was pretty productive and I rarely just sat around. I think I wore my parents out when I was in high school because I was constantly busy and always on the go. When I was living in Provo I worked 40 hours a week, and for a year was working 45 or 50 and would spend my spare time cleaning or doing something fairly active. It's frustrating for me to have changed, I feel like a different person because I don't have the energy I used to have. A couple months ago it got a lot worse, to the point where I had to fight to stay awake every time I got in the car, and I could no longer finish my aerobics classes at the gym or at least without taking a few breaks. A couple times I even started blacking out and had to sit down. I finally went to a doctor (it took me a while to get a good recommendation) and he ordered blood work to check my thyroid, liver, iron, and blood sugar. Everything came back normal, which made me more frustrated because I was hoping for an answer. I went back and he decided he wanted me to go to a sleep study. He thinks I could have sleep apnea. He had mentioned it before, and said if my labs came back normal this was his next guess. He also ordered more blood work to test for pregnancy (this was my idea-everyone here thinks I'm pregnant because of how I've been feeling and I wanted to be able to tell them I'm not, once and for all) and also Epstein-Barr Virus. This is something a couple people have that I know and their symptoms seemed to match mine. I had thought it was something you can get from having mono, but the research I've been doing says that EBV can cause mono. When I went back to the doctor a third time, he told me I did test positive for it, but that it's dormant. He seemed to think it could still explain why I've been feeling the way I have because that often causes Chronic fatigue syndrome and he thinks it's likely that I have that. But he still wants me to go to the sleep study place. Anyway, long story short, I'm confused because I don't really understand what is wrong with me or how to help it. My doctor said to take it easy at the gym and gradually try to build to where I was before. Even just walking on the treadmill wipes me out so it's easy to follow orders to take it easy. The problem is, I don't have energy at work and I definitely don't have energy by the time I get home and the last thing I want is for Kyle to have to worry about cleaning when he has enough on his plate. I don't like people worrying about me, and I don't like asking for prayers for myself, but I could use them right now.

On a brighter note, Cancun was amazing!! We had a blast and I'm going to post pictures eventually. We have so many and I want to figure out how to make collages so that my post isn't 15 pages long. So until then....