Well, here goes my first official blog entry and what better way to do it than with a weekend update.
I'm not going to lie, this weekend was pretty fantastic. I got Thursday and Friday off which is my boss's way of saying thanks to everyone for putting up with what has been going on at work.
For those of you who don't know, my job has been a bit iffy lately. About a month ago, three of our employees got laid off and we had an emergency company meeting that basically said there isn't enough money to get the company through the summer and if we don't figure out how to fix it, more people will be losing their jobs. One of the solutions was to have everyone take one unpaid day off a week. Although it would be great to have a three day weekend every week, James and I can't really afford to be missing 20% of my income. So in order to keep my paycheck the same, I will be working 6 hours of unpaid overtime a week. It kind of stinks to be working more hours instead of less, but at least we'll be making the same kind of money.
Back to the weekend . . .
On Thursday my old roomies came to see the new house and have breakfast before Martha officially moves to California. It was fun to see them but the real highlight of the day was the three-hour nap I took in the middle of the day. I tend to appreciate naps a lot more these days. James and I celebrated Friday and Fourth of July Eve by going to his Barbershop Quartet practice (which was pretty impressive) then to the cheap movies. I want to say dollar movies, but the sad truth is that even dollar movies no longer cost a dollar. Now the cheap moves cost three dollars, which is a steal considering it costs about ten dollars to go to a regular movie theater. We saw 21, which is a pretty cool movie except now I have aspirations to quite work and run to Vegas to make millions counting cards. But considering gas prices these days, I'll probably just stay in town.
We had our ward July 4th celebration bright and early Friday morning. James and I had to be there by 6:45 so he could practice with the quartet and I got roped into helping tie up some helium balloons. I'm a little afraid of the time when the ward discovers I'm a balloon twister and face painter because from the looks of it, our ward goes all out for everything. We had a fire truck, the Mesa Police and even Sheriff Joe himself. Not to mention an awesome barbershop quartet. That bass was amazing!! We took the opportunity for a nap after the ward party to rest up for the Hansen 4th of July celebration. We had a BBQ at my parent’s house which produced much to much food. It was delicious. The best part was that right before the fireworks we had a little windstorm, which blew the heat right out of the valley. In my 15 years in living in Phoenix, I have never been to a 4th of July fireworks display where it was actually cool. Mary bought a tube of 100 of the glow sticks you make bracelets and necklaces and stuff out of. After finding ways to use all 100 of them we were lit up like . . . well . . . the 4th of July.
Saturday we mostly just rested and enjoyed not having that much to do. We probably did something worth mentioning, but I can't really think of anything.
Church was pretty great. It's the first fast and testimony meeting we've been to since we've been married and it was fantastic to hear all the varied testimonies that come from being in a family ward. I do have to confess that the day started with some lovely blueberry pancakes because James and I totally forgot that it was Fast Sunday. Oh well, we'll try again next week.
We spent Sunday evening defrosting our freezer after we realized we weren't getting any cold air through. We're going to try and have someone come look at it in the following week. Our dryer gets no heat and our freezer gets no cold but both are still under warranty so that shouldn't be so bad.
For some exciting news, James and I are speaking in church for the first time on Sunday. We are actually super excited. Funny enough, both of us actually enjoy speaking in church. We were given the topic of patriotism, which leaves me a little stumped, but I’m sure I’ll think of something. Dobson Ward watch out!
Well, that's about it folks. I'm over and out!
-Megan Badger