all two stop lights of it..

We spent last weekend in Kanab.. hiked the K-Hill and did some other things too. I'l post more pictures and details when I get a chance. For now, here is us at the top of the K-Hill.

by the way... There is NO TRAIL to get to the "K" and a high chance of seeing a rattle snake (or so I've been told). The trail that we decided to blaze, happened to be STRAIGHT UP. It was like that dream where you climb and climb and climb and your feet keep sliding out from under you so you never get to the top.. except it wasn't a dream. It was REAL. It probably took double the amount of time it should have to get up, but the view once we got there was awesome. I'm glad we did it, even though getting there was lame. Turns out there was a small trail (not very prominent) on the other side of the hill. We couldn't see it from where we were, but once on top of the hill, where you can see all of Kanab (all two stop lights of it) we found the trail. Let's just say getting down was a LOT easier than getting up.

More about our adventures to the sand caves and graduating and loving the free time I have later... adios.

p.s. did you know that on predicted text, lanab, Jamba and Kanab all use the same keys to type them. For some reason, that makes me smile. Probably because I spent a few too many years working for Jamba and I married a guy from Kanab. Both great things. =] lanab is just a lame word that comes up before both of the other options. It's really just in the way.

Bachelor of Science... What up.

Written after my last final exam: August 10, 2011.

So, life is officially GREAT. I am done with my undergraduate degree and I never knew how good this would feel. It's INCREDIBLE! For anyone who is contemplating finishing, stop debating and go do it! The time/money/tests/stress/papers/walking in the snow to class is TOTALLY WORTH IT! I can't imagine how my sister feels after finishing her MA degree. She's even more incredible than me. Anyway... I just want to make a little shout-out to all the people who helped me through this:

Thank you to my PARENTS. They always encouraged me to keep going even when I wanted to give up (which was most of my first two years). Their support emotionally (and financially) made getting my degree possible. Thanks for always pointing me in the right direction and being great examples of faith and endurance. I love you both.

Thank you to my HUSBAND. Ben has been so supportive as I finished up my last year of college. He has set a great example to me of patience, kindness and service. When I was doing loads of homework or finishing a late night quiz, he'd be there listening to me study or doing the dishes so I wouldn't have to come home to a dirty kitchen. I love him so much and am so grateful for his help. Now it's my turn to be the supportive, patient and kind one as he finishes up his last two years... I'm really working on the supportive and patient part. :)

Thank you to my SISTER who helped me with signing up for classes, studying tips, encouragement, criticism (the good kind), love, support and all that other sisterly stuff. She and Kendall both helped me to rediscover my love for school and enjoy my time at BYU while it lasted. Halie also helped me find/get my job as a secretary in the COMMS Dept. where I have been able to work the last 2-1/2 years. It was so great to sit by her at graduation and walk across that stage with her back in April. I miss her so much, but I think we get along better now that she's in Texas. :)

Lastly, Thank you to my friends and teachers who have helped me through life (all the way back to Ms. Billstead, my kindergarten teacher). I have enjoyed learning from everyone and have come to love everyone even more (well, most everyone, 7th grade history was a rough year).

I remember when I got into BYU and Dan and Janay Hunt (my Sunday School Teacher and Young Women's leader) came and sang the cougar fight song on my door step. THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH and HECKA LOUD! I had no idea what was going on at the time, but it is a great memory. I have had so many great examples in my life, the Hunts being one of them, and have been very BLESSED with so many people supporting me throughout my trials/experiences. This post is for you guys. THANK YOU.

Bachelor of Science... What up.

Locked Out

So... I decided to go home a little earlier than usual so I could cook ben dinner. nothing special, just having food ready when you get home is really nice, and I wanted to be nice. So I'm walking home and about 6 houses before I arrive, I start digging for my keys... Guess what? They weren't there (not much of a guessing game since I titled this post "locked out"). ANYWAY... Apparently I should have thought about the whole, coming home early/making dinner plan when I was getting ready this morning because I left without my keys.

So... when i got home THREE HOURS before Ben was expected to get home, I texted him and told him how badly I had FAILED again (yes, this was the second time) and how diner would not be ready when he got home. He offered to come and unlock the place for me but I was enjoying a nice conversation on the grass with my landlord so I said, "oh, it's ok... I'm just chatting" But he came anyway... What a great husband. He probably realized that we may run out of things to talk about over the course of THREE hours. so, I'm in the house now not wanting to make dinner. but I guess I should, shouldn't I?

Better go get started!

p.s. I applied for my own job today. Yes, you heard me right. I applied for MY OWN JOB today. I'll keep you updated. :/

Free at Last!

"Free at Last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, We are Free at Last!" So, I hope it's not too horrible of me to quote that (b/c it says "god" and it's something that represents the equality of blacks and whites), but that's kinda how I feel... FREE! I just spent the last two weekends (yes, only like 5 or 6 actual days) doing my independent study class (ENGL 312, Persuasive Writing). I started back in April and completed all the easy stuff (5, 10-question quizzes) and then just waited to do all the big readings and essays until I had the time. I soon realized that it was now August and I will NEVER have the time to write 48 pages and read 300 pages of text, so I should probably just do it ASAP. So I did. I worked on it during the weekends for the last two weekends and just now got it done (5 minutes ago, Sunday 8/7/11). I definitely did not read those 300 pages, but I did write those 48 pages and it didn't become horribly agonizing to complete until the last page and a half. I was 500 words away from finishing and I had a complete road block and my mind just went blank. ANYWAY... that doesn't matter...

(Although the deadline to complete it to ensure I graduate on time was the 22nd of July, I don't really care because I got it done!!! 2 weeks, 2 shmeeks, it's done!)

I still have to do a 25 question final for this class and an 80 question final for ECON 110 which will be complete agony (the 80Q, not the 25Q), but after that I will be a college graduate. Now I can move on to bigger and better things, like getting an official job so I can get Ben through college (debt free, that is). He's going to finish, but without a job, we just might have some debt. So start praying... I know I am. I'll be sure to keep you updated (who "You" is, i'm not sure, but i'm ok with that).

The last note before I go to bed... I was wanting to wait to post this until I was for real, FREE AT LAST, but that won't happen until wednesday and by then i might be so sick of typing on the computer that I won't touch it for a week! (yeah, right..) But I'm also not one of those people who can write blogs and not publish them. I feel like I would go back and feel embarrassed about what I wrote days before and then I'd never write anything. So, I am writing/publishing/finishing this post. Just like I did my class (almost).

Sorry this was so long, if anyone gets through the whole thing and isn't asleep, and lives in the orem/provo area, I'll buy you a $0.99 frosty (the best kind of frosty). p.s. I also just watched "you've got mail" and LOVED IT. but i'll talk about our movie habits in another post (with pictures) We've been watching a lot lately. ok, ok. for real. that's all. goodnight!

-Natalie

don't want to be crabby anymore.

I've been really swamped with school (I'm in the middle of a four-page paper as I type this) but I've been trying to work a little less and make time to prepare dinner every night for Ben and I because if I don't, we end up not eating (and are crabby) or we eat crap like a plate full of deep fried zucchini & green beans with parmesan cheese and ranch dressing and call it a meal (and end up being crabby because it's not a meal). So, after deciding that we don't want to be crabby anymore we started planning and shopping for meals.

$150 shopping trip and 18 straight nights preparing the planned meals (sides, veggies and all) later......

we were trying to plan for the rest of this week and Ben says, "It doesn't have to be gourmet every night." My initial response was, "I know, but still, we have to eat something!" Then I thought about it for a second and asked, "Wait. Does that mean my meals are gourmet?" To which he laughed and responded with a "Yes." It was one of my prouder moments in life. Not that I'm amazing or anything, (because sometimes anything you don't have to cook yourself is gourmet), it was just nice to know that my husband thinks I'm a good cook. It's things like this that make planing and preparing meals rewarding.

Here are some of the things we've made the last few weeks (links provided when available):

Cajun Pasta Fresca w/ Cajun Chicken, Salad and French Bread (yes, I made bread!)

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Buffalo Chicken & Ranch Wraps

Feta & Bacon Stuffed Chicken w/ Onion Mashed Potatoes

Skillet Dinner (Draper Family Tradition/Favorite)

Pizza (chicken/tomato/spinach/alfredo)

Hamburgers (with lots of Lawrys and grilled onions)

Navajo Tacos

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas w/ black re-fried beans

Spinach Tomato Tortellini (about two months ago, but it's REALLY good)

Thin Mint Crackers (Dessert for a double date)

and LOTS OF LEFTOVERS! (I'm still learning to cook for just two, instead of 6 or 8... or 12.)

There were more, but I don't have my calendar of meals in front of me... Guess that just means another post will be coming with more recipes!

Try some of the stuff I listed or if you just want to come over, call me and invite yourself. I love having people over for dinner. :)

Guess What?

It rained again yesterday. Just as I was heading to the bus. No hail this time. Just thunder and lightning galore (and rain drops the size of Texas). I was again in a skirt and flip flops, but this time I had checked the weather before I got dressed. I figured 86 degrees and 20% chance of rain was in my favor. I figured wrong.

Today, I don't care what the forecast says, I brought an umbrella and am wearing pants and closed toed shoes. I also brought flip flops just in case I have to walk through puddles or something. My bag is heavy enough without an extra pair of shoes and an umbrella. With it, it's like lifting weights every time I pick it up. I need to learn to live with less stuff.

10 bucks says it doesn't even rain.

True or False...

True or False it looked like this when I got ON the bus?:

True.

True or False it looked like this when I got OFF the bus?:

TRUE.

But don't worry, instead of walking home in it I just sat and waited for it to clear. 20 MINUTES LATER I started my walk home from the bus stop. No rain, just massive puddles that went up past my ankles that I couldn't avoid because of the 40mph cars that were passing me and giving me a little mist of their dirty tire water. Sounds yummy right? WRONG. It's super unpleasant and while I usually enjoy the cool relief of rain, I also love being inside while it pounds to the ground. That's all for now.

Oh! did I mention I was in a skirt and flip flops? there are pros and cons to it. Pros: not too worried about stepping in the puddles (other than the gross oily, tire/dirt water that got all over my legs). Cons: Hail really hurts when it hits your bare feet. It's cold too.

Well, I'm off to fix something for dinner. I'm thinking leftovers sound good. But that defeats the purpose of planning meals for two weeks and spending over a hundred dollars on groceries in one trip. oh well. :]