My wonderful husband turned 25 on Friday! We had a super packed weekend full of celebrations.

Friday, we had our ward Friendship Dinner, so we went to a birthday lunch, and then after work went to our dinner. So much fun! We love getting to know other families in our ward. After dinner we were finally able to go home and open Eric's Present.

I wrapped the gift in one of his Nike shoe boxes- cause I grew up never being able to judge a gift by its box. And i wanted to through him off. He was super excited when he saw the apple tv, since he had no clue he was getting it, and he has wanted one for a long time! So far we love it!

Saturday was the usual Saturday cleaning day, plus errands, and we had been invited to our friends house for games Saturday night. I made a cake on Friday, but we hadn't eaten it yet, so i brought it over to our friends house where we played games, and sang Happy Birthday to Eric.

Saturday we also saw my parents and younger brother at the Mariners game on tv! That was kinda fun!

Love ya,
Hillary

So I am 25 today! I should say I have never been scared of aging. Maybe that will change when I turn 30. But I still feel like I am 23, and besides its just a number. Although, I know can go rent a car and not have to pay the extra fee because I am younger then 25!! I know super exciting.

So my birthday kicked off on Friday, when I went to Lunch with Eric and was talking about what to do to celebrate. Since my birthday was on Sunday, that meant we would need to go out and eat some other time. Saturday night was Priesthood session, so there when Saturday. So that left Friday. So we were discussing where to go for dinner. After throwing some ideas up in the air, Eric suggested going to The Lux. I laughed and said well thats in Chicago. I was then informed that we would be going to Chicago as soon as he got off work! I was super excited! I came home and packed, and then counted down the hours until we left.

We got into Chicago after 3 hours of driving. 1 hour of which was stuck in traffic, waiting to go the last 10 miles :( But we got to the lux, and were seated right away, which was great because I was STARVING! For those of you that dont know- the Grand Lux Cafe is an amazing restaurant. It is owned by the same group that owns Cheesecake Factory. They are best known for their made to order desserts.  We got the Molten Lava Cake, which is to die for!

We stayed at the Hilton on Michigan Ave. Which was SUPER nice! And they gave me a box of truffles for my birthday! On Saturday we started the day off right - by going to Nordstrom for our first stop. It was just what I needed! Then we walked over to Nordstrom Rack- which was about 1.5 miles away :) Then went to the Water Tower Mall- right around where Oprah lived! After that and a long day of walking the Magnificent Mile, we were exhausted so we headed home.

Chicago is so much fun, and is such a beautiful city. They have amazing buildings, places to go see and eat. The only problem- Parking is awful! From Friday to Saturday we spent over $100 on parking alone. But the trip was still worth it!

Sunday- my actual birthday, we woke up and watched conference and talked to both of our families. It was great and I appreciate all the text messages and messages from my friends and family! I truly have a blessed life, and I couldn't have asked for anything better!

Love ya,
Hill

You decided the only way to afford a house is to call your fellow alumni and offer to name a room after them if they help with the down payment.

I wonder if that would work with my parents... hmm... might need to give dad a call. 

We started studying for the GMAT today. I say WE because I read the questions while he answered, then I told him why his answer was correct or wrong. My head hurt after about 10 questions. I was so confused, by most of the questions, that I was glad my role was to just read. Lets just say that it's a good thing Eric is taking this test and not me, because I think I would score a zero. Not because I really would fail, but because I would take one look at the test and the questions and start crying. To prove to you, that this really is the case, here is a Sample Question:

Math:
If p and q are integers, is (p+q)/2 an integer?
(1) p<17
(2) p=q

a. Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient.
b. Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) ALONE is no sufficent.
c. BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement alone is sufficient.
d. EACH statement ALONE is sufficent
e. Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT suficent.

So what did you think the answer is? Does your head hurt just looking at the question? Mine does.  I don't remember these type of questions in my Math classes. Just so you know, the answer was B.

We also started his application to University of Washington. :) That was not as difficult so I was able to be much more help there! 


In other news- or maybe related... Eric has 2 grey hairs. And I, being the loving wife that I am, took pictures!

Enjoy!
Hillary

I know I have been awful at updating my posts. I still haven't shown pictures of our Brad concert! I will get there eventually.

But really quick I thought I would post this. Saturday was a semi nice day- other then extreme winds. So we drove around, and eventually decided Eric was going to go to the hitting range to hit a bucket of balls. 

He did great, all the guys around him thought so too, since they kept making comments to him about his swing, and how far he could hit.

I sat on the grass behind him playing on my phone. As it gets warmer I could get used to that, laying out while Eric practices golf.

Maybe I could work this into a birthday present!

Many of you know that for the last few years I have been in constant pain. I have gone to every doctor out there, had test after test taken, and given every pill you can think of. All for nothing. No one could figure out what was causing the pain or how to make it stop. Recently a doctor believes that I have a problem with my nerves. They fire incorrectly, which causes me pain. So at any moment different things I touch can set my nerves off, causing me hours of pain.

The pain has been so bad that i have actually been stuck at the grocery store. I had to call Eric, have him finish the the shopping for me. I spent 2 hours in the Spanish Fork bathroom that day before the pain was tolerable enough that i could drive home. Because I never know when the pain is going to hit, i am extremely paranoid about going somewhere that is far from my house.

This last week, the pain has intensified. Usually the pain will last for about 2 hours, then fade to a dull ache. This last week though, it is a constant pain. I wasn't even able to lay on my stomach. Which has never been a problem before.

Ok so you get the point that its intense pain. So this past week, I started reading this book Bryndi gave me last year for Christmas. Its call To Him That Believeth. It is all about faith, and claiming blessings from Heaven. One of the stories in the book talked about a girl that had paralyzed her arm a few day before a big Television production her choir was participating in. She was the pianist. Her dad advised her to get a blessing, and visualize herself playing the piano the day of the recording. She did just that, and when it came for their turn to play, she was able to play her piece with no problems. What faith!

So yesterday I put this into practice. I had been healthy all day. Pain was at a dull ache level, so I was excited for a birthday dinner we had with our friends. 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave however my body had a different idea. I refuse to let my body control my life, so i started praying and thought this would be a great moment to exercise my faith. So i visualized myself at the restaurant with our friends, sitting at the table, enjoying their company, and my body not hurting. I told Eric that I was ready to go, and that by the time i got to the restaurant my body wouldn't hurt. It was a brutal car ride, but i just kept praying and seeing myself at the restaurant free of pain. By the time we got there, the pain had subsided into a dull ache. I was able to enjoy our dinner and our friends company.

I know that this was not a coincidence. I know beyond any doubt that my faith really did make me whole. If only for that moment. I have a new understanding of excercising your faith. Its the same as regular exercise, if I had to sprint to the corner for whatever reason, I could.  But if i wanted to sprint for a long distance, i would need to push myself. This experience was like that, i was able to sprint to the corner. But my end goal is to be able to sustain this level of faith for an extended time. Just like the first time you sprint further then you have better, seeing results on my exercising my faith is addictive. I want to continue to push on, to see if next time i can keep the pain at bay for an entire day. Little steps until i can have enough faith to be healed. That will be an amazing day.

So after the initial fluster of finding out that people thought I was pregnant wore off,  and I thought it about it more, I realized that most of you dont know whats going on. I have always been pretty open with the fact that I cant have kids. Most of you probably know that, but I'm sure some don't since I don't talk to all of you everyday.

When I as 16 my doctor told me I most likely wouldn't have kids, or it would be really hard. At 16, I thought I new everything, and these doctors were lying and just had to say that because their doctors. Every doctor after that always brought it up. You know like it was some type of fun fact. So I am now about to turn 25 and sadly the doctors haven't changed their tune. The best option I have is fertility treatments, and I dont know if any of you have used those, or know anything about it. But the biggest thing you need to know- is they are A LOT of money, and insurance companies dont cover it. It seems odd, that they would cover birth control and even pregnancies once you got pregnant, but not actually helping you get pregnant. Also, if you use fertility treatments and have a miscarriage the doctor bills or hospital visits that occur are also not paid for. Isn't that just lovely? :)

So when I say expensive, I'm not saying like a couple hundred dollars- I'm talking THOUSANDS of dollars that you have to pay the day of the appointment. So its not like cars, where I can buy a $15,000 car and make payments every month, nope I have to have that $15,000 the day of the appointment. Do you know anyone that just graduated from college that has that kind of money lying around?

So Eric and I are on the saving money route right now. The doctors told us that my treatment plan will cost AT LEAST $12,000. So we are saving saving saving, however we also have an MBA school to save for as well. So unless we stumble upon a treasure map that will lead us to a treasure chest full of gold, or we get a miracle we wont be having kids anytime soon.

I dont tell all of you this to feel bad or anything- like I said, I am really open about this. I wanted all my friends to know- I know there are some of you out there going through the same thing, and its nice to know your not a lone.

So that is the low down on me and my uterus.  Currently Vacant

Love ya,
Hillary

Since it is Sunday - it means that Eric watches sports on mute while I play the piano and sing. Today's theme was Musicals. I haven't sung them in awhile, so it started with Wicked, then went to Les Mis, and finally ended with Phantom of the Opera. At the end of this, I wanted to watch Phantom, so I checked Netflix, sadly nothing, so Eric checked to see if it would be coming on to TV. This was our converstaion:

Eric: Do you know what year Phantom came out?
Me: Um... I was in high school, it was while I was in Vocal Jazz, so like 2004?
Eric: That is a random way of remember it.
Me: Well I can remember discussing if we thought it was good and such
Eric: You  remember the strangest things.

Ok I know that was probaly really boring to you. But here is the part where my mind is BLOWN! Eric found the movie and said, its the one with Gerald Butler right? I was like.. um... I think I would remember Gerald Butler in the movie its not him. I of course went to IMDB and looked, and Gerald Butler is indeed in Phantom of the Opera... he is the Phantom!

He is hot and he sings!!! I love him even more!! My mind is blown. I cant believe it!

So today I got the last canvas to complete my set of 4. Aren't they beautiful? 

For Christmas my family got a new family computer (cough cough) Andrew got a new computer. :) I love him though. So because they already had 2 computers, that means Eric and I also got a new Computer. :) It got here this week, and i have LOVED playing on it! Its on our dining table, because well lets face it. We only have 2 chairs for the table so its not getting used. Perfect place where I can work and watch TV at the same time!

This week, we also got our first Snow Storm in Wisconsin. I must say I am rather upset, as what classifies as a Storm Warning. Today we are going to get 1-3 inches in 36 hours, and that is a storm warning. REALLY?! That is pathetic. Anywho. Its pretty to look at but not fun to be out in. It was only 1 degree this morning when Eric went to work. And yes, that is snow on our COVERED porch.

Lastly, we got Eric's Mission Book I made. As well as some canvas' I made too.  Eric's book is AMAZING. Its a 12x12 hardbound book. I think that is all we got this week- BUT it is also only Wednesday! So who knows what other great things lay in store for the rest of the week?

I dont know about any of you, but 2011 was a tough year, and I focused a lot on the things I couldn't do. When we moved to Wisconsin, I no longer could go to school, I couldn't go to Nordstrom. Yes, it is 3.5 hours away. :( I have a long list of things that I cant do. I dont know when I decided this, but I decided I am going to start focusing on the things I CAN do. So my theme for 2012 is I CAN. I have 3 New Years Resolutions and they all are things I CAN do.

1. Run A Marathon.

And not just ANY marathon- the Chicago Marathon. Why? Because I Can spend HOURS at the gym. My dad runs marathons- he and my mom ran the Chicago a few years ago, they also ran Hood to Coast. So I decided to join them. No I have never run a marathon, 5 k, or anything like that before. But I have 10 months to get ready!

2. Become a Scriptorian.

I have always loved diving into the scriptures, not just reading them, but really understanding them. The picture above is a page from Isaiah. I am currently reading the entire book of Isaiah, and I LOVE it! Like I said, I'm not just reading it, because lets face it, who would understand Isaiah that way? I have my bible dictionary, an actual dictionary, and a book on Isaiah and Jewish culture. It is AMAZING! My next book, is Revelations. I may not be able to go to school, but I CAN make the scriptures my school.


3. Try New Recipes- Master Cooking

Eric puts in this way- I know how to cook, I just dont. I dont like cooking for 2 people. It sucks! Especially since I don't like leftovers. So I usually cook 3 meals, and then the rest of the week, I just grab some frozen dinner. I do know how to bake. I am the MASTER of baking. My favorite aisle is the baking aisle. But, if I am going to run that Marthon, I need to eat better. You should also know, that I watch the Food Network channel every single day. I feel pretty confident that I can follow their directions and make what they make. I am also accepting recipes from friends. If you have any email them to me!


So those are my 3 Resolutions. I figure if I can focus on the things I CAN do, then 2012 will be a better year, because I will have a Positive Attitude, and accomplishing things that I want to do, and will have time to really focus on them.

The last couple flights I have taken with Eric, they have had to inspect his bag, and not because they found a liquid. What may you ask would Eric carry that would need to get checked out? Well on you way home from Hawaii TSA could NOT figure out what was showing on the screen, they described it to us as a box with little chips or something in it. We thought for a moment, and realized they were talking about our Dominos.

Our flight to Seattle for Christmas, Erics bag had to be inspected again, why? Because he had a bag of Cheese in his carry on.

And finally our flight back to Wisconsin, Erics bag had to be checked again. Why? Because he had golf balls in his carry on.

Reminder to self- Eric packs interesting things in his carry on and will be stopped. Plan extra time. :)