MURDER

Mama Rosa and Father Alfredo at the Roni's New York City pasta parlor, La Sperenza, which means hope. Mama Rosa's husband, Pepi Roni was murdered a few nights ago. Father Alfredo came to give comfort to the family.

But one of these persons is not an innocent mourner, but a MURDERER! Is it Mama Rosa's son Marco, or Mama Rosa herself, or her brother-in-law Rocco or his young fiance, or Mama's daughter Angel, or her boyfriend Bo? DAH DAH DAH....!

Okay, as you may have imagined from my lovely subtitles, we were invited to join in a murder mystery last weekend. It was a blast! It was really fun to dig through our closets and find things to dress up in. And we got to eat Italian food, and "wine", and act our parts out as we tried to figure out who killed my husband. Before the night started, Josh and I had decided that it was me, Mama Rosa, and him, the priest, because we were having an affair and wanted the money to ourselves. We thought it was funny, even if it wasn't true.

Life, as you can probably tell from my previous entries, is not exactly easy right now. But we're somehow getting by. I got a new job working at Trade Secret, a hair salon, in the mall (I'm a Beauty Adviser) to help pay the bills. It kinda bites because it's retail, so I have to work a lot, including a sunday occassionally and Christmas Eve, etc. But whatever helps right now. I also got a new calling, so I'm not teaching anymore. I'm the 2nd Counselor in Young Womens. And it's a small YW, We have a total of three active girls, one of which is my Beehive. So it'll be a little (ah heck, who am I kidding? a lot) different than the YW I grew up in and am used to. But it should be a lot of fun. A lot of work, but fun. Josh still has not been sustained or set apart. The Stake Presidency is taking their sweet time on these names... hopefully this Sunday?

School is going alright... I think we'll both pass our classes. The weather is colder... but still not wintery yet (YAY). And.... that's basically it. We go to class, clean the house when we can, go to work, and crash every night. Then do our Sunday duties... that's life.

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Things are starting to look up. Josh and I realized that the only way we could get through the next few months would be either for him to quit school and work full time (unacceptable), or for me to get a job (physically taxing on an already taxed body and mind). So, against both our wishes, I started looking for a job. My friend Sariah, mission comp, is a manager at Trade Secret in the mall. She just had an opening, interviewed me yesterday, and I start Tuesday. I'll be a Beauty Advisor. It's a salon that focuses mostly on selling hair products. So, that's what I'll be doing until end of Spring Semester when Josh can work full time again. I'll be tired, but I always am these days, I won't have to quit if I get pregnant again, and Josh's schooling is the most important thing right now so that he can have a real job in the future and provide for our family. We'll be able to pay our bills now, and pay our debts some too.... YAY!

Angels All Around

Things keep piling on us, and it's really hard to keep a smile on our faces. I just wish that bad things would stop happening to us! I honestly can't handle what's going on right now (I just try to ignore it) and won't be able to handle anything else. Even Josh is getting depressed, and that's really hard for him. We are just grateful for other people. When Dan and Evelyn came up for the BYU vs USU game, and watched the first session of conference with us, we had a really great time. Yes, BYU beat us, I expected that. But I did not expect the fact that we would score! Go Aggies! (And go cougars for Josh...) And then last night, after another long day of tears and stress and everything, we went to dinner with a couple that used to live in Reeder, and we had a lot of fun! They made this italian chicken stuff over rice, and I made a really yummy apple crisp for desert. Then we played games. We really haven't smiled that much in a long time. We both commented on how we needed it.

Life happens

So, it's been a while since I've written. I've had a few things to update about, like how I made homemade bread and can't cut it straight and cut it really thick, so Josh has to do that part for me, but it still tasted good! And how I've started decorating for the fall. I love this time of year! The leaves are so pretty! Josh is finally getting his new calling. They called him to be the new Elder's Quorum President. When the Stake President called us in for it, Josh just sat there staring at him, not really knowing what to say. I answered most of the Stake Pres' questions for him. To say the least, he's a bit overwhelmed, but will do a fantastic job! Then we thought we were pregnant, and waiting for a for sure positive result from the doctor to announce it. But then again, we wanted to wait until after Ammon and Nicole's wedding so that they could have the spotlight like they deserve it. But then I miscarried earlier this week. So no worries about spoiling anything. And then we got a call about a car accident I was in almost a year ago, that further stressed us out because they want us to pay for one of the cars, when we don't believe I was at fault (and we don't exactly have the $2100 they are asking for). So needless to say, we've been having a lot of fun, and have been spending a lot of time comforting each other lately. Honestly, I think the Lord is just making sure I understand the next lesson I have to teach the week after General Conference- Joseph Smith Teachings #19: Stand fast through the storms of life. Very funny, Heavenly Father, I think we get it. We're not going less-active anytime soon. And we're still saying our prayers and reading our scriptures and everything! But this way the Relief Society might finally get to see me cry as I teach a lesson (I never cry in front of people, I'm too proud or something silly like that). But we're starting to do better. Evelyn and Dan are coming upthis weekend to see BYU crush USU, and watch Conference with us. So it's going to be nice. And if you haven't yet, take a ride up the canyons! We need to do that, too. The colors are so pretty!!