Clean house again and a dream

The garage sale that we participated in this past weekend went pretty well; Phil and I made about $100, which is not bad considering it was all on items that we were just going to donate anyway. Its amazing what people will buy, and how much they will pay. Doing the sale made me want to look for more ways to earn money from home.

One goal I have been working on is improving my sewing so that one day I can start charging for alterations. There are a lot of businesses that I would not want to run out of my home, but sewing is something I have always really enjoyed and wouldn't mind doing as more than just a hobby. I have altered many of my own clothes, and a few for friends, but I don't feel confident enough to try to advertise for "real business".

Not many people know how to sew anymore, at least not clothing. And altering ready-to-wear clothing is a whole different game than sewing from a pattern (which I am also trying to get better at). The only way to really learn is to be taught by someone, or maybe by a lot of trial and error. I have a dream that maybe one day I can work as an apprentice of sorts in a tailor shop and learn all the tricks of the trade, and then start my own small business.

Until then, I will just have to keep selling our old stuff and sewing my own clothes.

Changes for good

I have decided to go back to my old job temporarily while Phil continues to look for work. I am grateful that my managers are being so flexible with me. At most I will work for only about two months, and only three days a week, but they don't mind. I will miss being home with Luke everyday, but I will still be home more than I am away and this will allow us to earn a little extra money to help with some expenses and student loans. Phil will be able to take care of Luke on the days that I am gone, and I will be able to pump milk at work and plan to continue breastfeeding when I am home as I have been. Hopefully it isn't too big of an adjustment for Luke. It will be great for Phil to spend some extra time with him before he starts up a job full time. I am also looking forward to seeing my old friends at work.

Phil has had several interviews and contacts line up in the past week, so we are feeling confident that something will come together soon. It may be taking a little longer than we hoped, but I feel that maybe this will give him more time to find a job that he will really enjoy. As much as I thought I would be really stressed out at this point if Phil didn't have a job, I actually feel quite calm. Everything is ok. We have everything that we need, a good home, a car that runs, food on the table. We have been able to save more money than we thought we could so we will hopefully be able to pay off our loans even more quickly than we planned. Heavenly Father has truly blessed us.

With all this in mind, I really, really loved this video that the missionaries showed us when they came over for dinner on Wednesday. Life can be scary, but it is also so good. I hope that whatever comes next, we can accept it happily and gratefully.

Throwback Thursday: Us

We met at Snow College, a small town school about two hours south of Salt Lake City, in the fall of 2007. At first, I wasn't interested. Phil was pretty quiet, but when he did talk it was usually about sports. Not that I don't like sports, but they aren't really my thing. I came to the conclusion that he was just a dumb jock and didn't think much more about it.

As time went by though, we started spending more time together as friends, and before long he asked me out on our first date (a story I will have to save for another post). The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. He wasn't any of the stereotypes I had categorized him in, but instead just a really nice, really good guy.

I actually had a goal not to date anyone that semester because I would be graduating in December 2007 and then spending the next five months in St. Petersburg, Russia. I didn't want a long distance relationship. Not only that, but I had always hoped to serve a full time mission, and didn't want anything to interfere with that goal. But, I couldn't quite bring myself to end things completely with Phil. We decided to keep in touch while I was in Russia and then see how things were when I got back.

It was hard. I missed him so much, and I knew that I wanted us to be together.

After Russia I moved back up to Utah, to be close to Phil and to work and look into continuing school at the University of Utah. But my desire to serve a mission was still strong. Sometimes I tried to ignore it, sometimes I just put it off, thinking I would deal with it when I actually turned 21 (the age requirement at the time for young women to serve), sometimes I though, I knew that it was what I was going to do and I just needed to accept it.

After dating for another 4 months, Phil got more serious and one night brought up our future and marriage. In that moment I knew that as much as I wanted to be with him, I needed to serve the Lord. The very next day I started the paperwork and by the middle of November 2008 I had received an assignment to serve in Spain.

It was painful to leave Phil. My heart ached for him. I thought of him every day that I was in Spain, but I never once regretted my decision. I knew it was the right thing to do, for both of us. One of Phil's best qualities is his loyalty. I knew that he truly cared about me, but I also knew that if he met someone else while I was gone, it wouldn't just be some floozy thing. He wouldn't play around, he would be serious and it would be right. Knowing that made it only sweeter when I came home and he still wanted to be with me.

We didn't waste any time. We were married 3 months after I returned home from Spain, and have never looked back. All the time we had to spend apart has only made our time together sweeter. How lucky I am to be part of us.