We're Moving Back!!!

(Bentonville is in the very top left hand corner of the state)

If any of you haven't heard yet, Tony and I are moving back to Arkansas for a job offer he got from his internship this summer.  He's going to be a computer programmer on the global transportation team he was on this summer.  The good thing about this is that he already knows the people he's working with and will have a pretty good handle on what goes on, even on his first day.  We're very excited but sad to leave our families, but then again it is ONLY 20 hours away and family car trips are so much fun so I know my family will be visiting us often :) At least we hope!  

Finding housing in the Provo/Orem area was such a nightmare for us so we decided to post our apartment early so that someone might be able to avoid the craziness of finding an apartment right before school starts.  After 3 days of posting we had probably 15 responses and showed the apartment to four couples.  We have a couple that are filling out the applications for our apartment this weekend! So we're pretty sure we have sold our contract.  Such a relief.  Because school starts the beginning of January, our move out date in January 3rd.  It is going to come so fast.  

I definitely never pictured living in Arkansas but I really like the area we'll be in.  Funny story about that, last week I was flipping through channels on TV and COPS was on.  I've never watched that show but on our screen it said they were in Little Rock, Arkansas so I stopped to see what was going on.  Two guys, shirtless, holding cigarettes AND beer cans (in the same hand) were being arrested.  Nice.  I was busting up laughing telling Tony, "this is where people will think we live!!!"

Besides that little episode on TV, I'm very excited to move to Arkansas!

 

Money Smarts

My dad has shown me how to balance a check book multiple times but I honestly never did. I always had good intentions...but I always just spent my money on whatever. I never had any debt and always paid my own rent, etc but I never saved my money or kept track of where I spent it. It was bad.
Well, I can now say that I have "money smarts" but I learned it the hard way.
When Tony and I set up bank accounts together (right before we got married) I was given a debit card but because we weren't married yet, it had my maiden name on it. We also got a credit card but that one had my new married name on it. No idea why. Long story short, when I got my cards in the mail I called to activate them but the bank wouldn't let me activate both because I had a credit card in my married name and a debit card with my maiden name. They would only let me activate the credit card. So I had a credit card, that I knew I wasn't supposed to use for random things, and a debit card that I couldn't use.
Then we moved to Arkansas. They don't have the bank that we use here in Utah there so we had to set up an account at a new bank. We went through that whole process and I was able to sign up for a debit card with my name on it. When the mail from the bank came, Tony got a debit card but mine never came! I went to the bank a while later and by the time one would be sent to me it would practically be time to move back to Utah so I just let it go.
It has now been five months and I haven't had a debit card. Because of this, I haven't spent ANY money on clothes, food, etc without planning it out beforehand.
Two days ago I FINALLY got a debit card with my name on it and it actually works!!! I haven't spent money on little things for so long that now I don't have any desire to. Sad to say but I think this was the only way I could've learned how to be smart with money!
So I'd like to thank Wells Fargo for assigning me cards with different names and the Bank of Arkansas for losing/never sending me my debit card.

You May Call Me Ms. Domestic

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself right now. I made chicken pot pie from scratch today and it turned out awesome! I put on my cute apron and even watched Oprah while I made it :)

Whoo Hoo!!!

I know I've complained about my math class quite a bit but today I am loving it! Wanna know why? My math professor has been sick since last Thursday. I feel bad that he is so sick (he came into class on Monday to tell us class was canceled and he looked awful) but at the same time...I'm taking advantage of this while I can! We would've had a test here in the next little bit but now it has to be postponed AT LEAST one week. Seriously, I think the heavens are blessing me.

Five Months

Tony and I have been married for five months! Best five months of my life!

Five things I love about Tony:
1-He's just a fun person to be married to--he's so funny
2-He gets up with me every morning, puts my lunch together and irons my clothes if I need it
3-his dark hair and freckles
4-He listens to me and remembers what I say
5-He loves me

I LOVE YOU TONY

If Pottery Barn was free

I have the pottery barn catalog sent to my apartment every month. I love, love, love to browse home furnishing stores and catalogs. I like to go through and pick out everything I would have in my house (if I could afford anything). Well, the PB "Inspired Seasonal Decorating" catalog came last night so I've spent the day tediously looking at everything in it. Figuring out what stuff I could re-do of my own to make it look like some of the things they sell, etc. (I really want to paint and upholster some of the furniture I have but I don't have any time or money to put into that right now, so I just imagine what I would do and hopefully I'll eventually do it). Here are a few of my favorite things!I love this chair and I LOVE the fabric of it. It is gorgeous, don't you think?

I love this one too!

I'm in love with this table. I love the chairs with the arm rest..for a closer look...

...these chairs! Aren't they beautiful?!
I also really like this bed!
If I posted everything I loved this post would go on forever so I'll leave it at this for now.

Book Club

The Relief Society in my ward started a book club! I'm so excited! I've always wanted to be in a book club, it just seems like a chic thing to do :) Besides, I thought it would be good for me to get to know the girls in my ward a little bit better. We're reading, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It's a puzzle mystery and is a winner of the Newbery Medal. It definitely isn't a book I would've picked out myself but I started it today and am completely captivated by it.

Book Review

If any of you don't know the author Shannon Hale, you should get one of her books! She is such a wonderful writer! Her stories are so creative and beautifully written--It's hard to find books like that.

Just a little bit about her, she began writing when she was ten years old and is now the New York Times best-selling author of five award-winning young adult novels, including the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy (which I haven't read an am dying to). She served an LDS mission in Paraguay, graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Utah and also with a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. She currently lives in Salt Lake City with her husband and two children. Don't you just love smart women?!
Me, my mom and sisters went to her book signing at Barnes and Noble, in Orem, last year. It was really neat to meet the author of a book I had read. (I've always wanted to do that). I was surprised at how funny she was. Just a really nice, down to earth lady.
I read two of her books last week (I had a lot of down-time at work), The Goose Girl and the sequel, Enna Burning. I had read both last year but I loved them so much that I read them way too fast so I couldn't remember everything that happened in them. I have a bad habit of doing that. I just get so excited and I have to know what happens next! Shannon Hale has a few more books that I'm anxious to read, I just need to get a hold of them!

*Have you read any of Shannon Hale's books?