temple picture class.

Hello ladies (and gentlemen should you be so inclined to participate). I'm hosting a class. You are invited. Here's the deal:

When: APRIL 10th
Time: 9am
Where: My church building... hopefully--stay tuned for the final decision.


The pictures cost 50.00. That cost covers the picture itself and the fabulous frame. Black and Cream paint will be provided but you are free to bring your own should you want something different. The pictures are big and lovely. I have the Bountiful Temple.

For those of you who aren't so craftily inclined, DON'T WORRY! It's not hard--YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY SCREW THEM UP! Here is an example of the Salt Lake Temple:

These pictures are lovely. You know you want one. Leave me a comment, or email me if you want to come and I'll send you the finer details. My email is amberhodges22@gmail.com I need at least 10 orders to make this class happen. Help a sister out!

jiffy lube blues.

I hate changing oil.

To me spending money on the car is ludicrous. I would spend thirty bucks on a pair of shoes without even blinking, but on an oil change?

They had to basically rip my debit card from my hand.

I stopped in to the North Ogden Jiffy Lube. Nice young fellow asks what he can do for me.
"I just need an oil change." Act happy about it. At least try and be pleasant.

"Not a problem ma'am. Follow me." Young fellow leads me into the waiting room, points out the coffee that was probably brewed yesterday--not that I would drink it anyway, and invites me to help myself to the magazines while I wait. I sit down and start to watch "Get Smart" that is showing on the mini television when Young Fellow shows back up.
"Um... Ma'am?? I'm afraid we are out of stock of the oil filter your car needs. You are going to have to go somewhere else."

Super. As I get into my car middle aged Hispanic man who is missing one of his front teeth leans in toward my window like he's trying to put off the vibe and says, "If you want to go get one at Auto Zone I'll do it for you." Wink. I couldn't have sped away fast enough.

Seeing as I was going to grocery shop after my oil was changed I figured I would just go to the Jiffy Lube by WalMart. Same basic scenario, and there I was once again sitting in the waiting area avoiding eye contact with the felon-looking adolescent sitting across the room. "Ms. Hodges?" Finally.

As I'm getting all finished up and ready to pay "Steve" who I pictured eating an egg salad sandwich for lunch, I handed him my debit card and said "Credit please."

"Sure thing." He runs my card through and pushed me the pin pad. "If you could enter in your pin number here...."

"No no. I wanted credit." I push the pin pad back. Probably harder than I should.

"I'm sorry. Our credit option isn't working. Please put in your pin."
I HATE GETTING OIL CHANGES
Next time I'm making Dewy do it.

cabin getaway

For the last 2 years or so my parents have been building up a cabin in a little place called Oakley which is about a half hour away from Park City.

After I got off work Friday night I met up with Dewy and we went to his basketball game (which he dominated woot woot). After the game we packed up and jumped in the car to meet my parents and Austin at the cabin. Because of the snow, driving in is impossible, so your only option besides packing in is snowmobiles. Oh don't you worry, the blasted thing wouldn't start. Poor dad had been hiking food and things in all night. We loaded our pillows, sleeping bags, and our duffle of clothes onto a little sled and mom and I began to pull it up the mountain. Dewy and dad took over the cooler, and the last of the stuff dad hadn't gotten up. Packed like a mule, Dewy took off up the mountain too. It took us about 45 minutes or so to hike uphill in the snow, cursing the entire way, before we reached the cabin. Holy workout. Anyway.. by that time it was after midnight. We got into our sleeping bags (the cabin is still kind of under construction and has no furniture yet) after one in the morning and fell straight to sleep. Austin woke up at 6:30. Super. The next day we hung around the cabin, ate our lives away, and played games. At about 1 or so my uncle and grandpa showed up and my uncle got the snowmobile to work! Finally. We went sledding, played on the snowmobile, and around sixish packed up to head home. It was way fun. Thanks mom and dad!

crafters unite.

aight. Here's the deal...
Its my job to come up with some crafts for girls camp.
I have a few in mind that I want to try myself to see how hard they are

before I throw the girls into them,

but I'm needin some more ideas...

backup plans if you will.

HELP.

blog for brother.

I started a blog for that "Elder" brother of mine... ha. Good one. Anyway if you want to know what he is up to check out Elder Allen's blog.

I'm such a good sister.

games.

= the fights in my marriage.
I throw him in lava.
He shoves me off the screen.
My mother-in-law says we can't play anymore
unless we be nice to each other.

welp.

I have discovered ebay. crap.

I just bid on 7 different bottles of the same perfume.

And I'm the leading bidder on all 7...

oops.

sale.

Check it out. I heart these.

letter from Nick.

Got a letter from Nick today.

He said he met

{Elizabeth Smart}

(who is in the MTC prepping for her mission in Paris) and opened the door for her and her companion to which she replied

"THANK YOU"

and he

"couldn't say anything"

then as he and his companion were walking down the hall behind her

they somehow got in front of her and he

"got to open ANOTHER door for her and this time was able to muttle out a

'your welcome'."

Oh my dear sweet brother.

He then called himself a "putts."

Wow.

Hows about "putz" brother??

Little cutie.

happy new year.

Strep throat.

Sinus infection.

Ear infection.

Hot Diggity Dog.

viva las vegas.

The week after graduation Dewy and I took a little trip down south. We took a few days and stayed with Haulee and Shane in St. George and then spent some time in Las Vegas. It was a blast. I always knew Vegas was the home of the classiest people on earth, but when we took a second to sit down on a bench outside of the coke and M&M factories I was completely taken aback. A husband and wife hysterically crying--we think because they just gambled away their house and first born, soooooo many scandalous Asians that I lost count, and a wiked smoker who sat next to me and was close enough to shove her cigarette up my frickin nose. So classy. Anyway...

We went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay bay, where Dewy was completely fascinated and could have stayed all day and gone home happy. I'll admit the thing was pretty cool, but I'm almost positive that the sea turtles hated me, because they stayed in hiding the whole time. The octupus was hands down my favorite part, closely followed by the cool dragon thing Dewy is oogling over above. What can ya do?? I wish I had gotten some pictures of St. George, but my camera died. Boo. Friday we went and did sealings in the St. George temple. Neither of us had done them before, and it was really cool. The inside of that temple is so cool. The doorways are these short arches that are probably a good three feet thick with a two foot think molding around the outside. It was intense. I want one in my house. I enjoy doing a session, and feeling the spirit there, but when I did sealings the feeling was so much more real for some reason. I felt like the whole family was there, and the whole family was so grateful. Need to go back and do those for sure.

Loved it. The whole trip was a blast, and exactly what we needed. Wahoo for cheap getaways!

hmm.

I have a headband problem. Obsession really. Kaylee asked to borrow one when we went to drop off Nick, so I brought them all for her to choose from. On the way home I turned back to look at Austin and this is what I found. He looks way too pleased with himself.

He has every single one on his head.
Mom... should we worry??

he's gone. so gone.

Welp. So long brother.

Monday Nick turned 19. We had a nice little shin dig for the kid, opened presents, pretended he wasn't leaving for a second, and hung out. Tuesday Nick got set apart. Whoa. Never been to one of those. It was intense as I listened to Nick bear his testimony about his relationship with Christ. That kid is way better than I could ever even hope to be. That night we hung out at my parents' for a while, and Dewy gave Nick an African coin from his own mission. He told Nick to carry it with him and it would remind him of home and give him strength when he felt all alone because we were here cheering him on. They shared a moment. I couldn't have been happier. The next morning we got up and met at mom and dads. Its tradition that when we have family things (such as memorial day, or the day my sister died, etc) we got eat at Dylan's for breakfast. Best place in town. We hit up Dylans on our way to the MTC.

After eating breakfast, we put THE BEST TWO YEARS soundtrack in and hit the road. Nick fell asleep on the way down. So did I. When we pulled off the freeway, my heart began to pound, and immediately tears threatened. I fought them. Hard. We decided to pull up to the temple to say our goodbyes since it was curbside drop off and we didn't know how long we would get to spend saying goodbye.

Talk about torture. Nick was leaving. Right when we got to be such good friends. Nick spent a lot of time up at our house, and we loved having him around. No one has a sense of humor like he does. I was a complete wreck. Ater we took some pictures and said bye we jumped back in the van and went down the road to the MTC. We pulled up and immediately about 6 missionaries surrounded our van. They helped us out, helped unload, let us give him a hug, and he was on his way. I'm threatening tears right now by the way. Good grief. Nick held it right together and even gathered them all in for a picture before he left.

Nick's first letter however told the real story about how he missed us, and he cried for a few days because he missed his family. I felt his pain. Nick was made district leader of his district in the MTC, and he will be there until February 15 where he will ship out to Columbia South Carolina. Good luck Brother! Keep us posted.

graduation.

Like whoa. I'm graduated. Weird.
These pictures blow, but its all mom could get with my camera.


Anyhoo... the day started off at 6am (YES INDEED 6am) when I went and got my hair done. I got home about 8, kissed dewy goodbye as he left for work, and fell back asleep on the couch. My phone rang about an hour later, and it was Dewy informing me that Claudia (our landlady) was trying to get a hold of me (I had slept through her phone calls) involving someone thing about forzen pipes... Called her up and she asked me to turn our facets on to a tiny trickle of hot water and leave them on all day. Her other rental property had pipes freeze. I mentioned the fact that our heater and things should be fine since everything was right in our basement, but did it anyway. Five minutes later she called to tell me to turn them off. The frozen pipe thing was a false alarm. Oh good because the tap tap tapping in the kitchen was driving me bonkers. Fell back asleep for another hour until mom called.

Doesn't anyone love me!? Doesn't anyone care about my sleep!? I had to be to moms in an hour if I wanted a ride to graduation (so dewy and i didn't have two cars there) so I got up and got ready, sported my purple dress and black leggins--weber state, weber state, great great great--got tons of weird looks as I drove over, cause I had my cap pinned in place already, and got to graduation lickety split. During graduation all us graduates were sitting in the stands texting, facebooking, and talking. Don't ask me who the speaker was. Sure glad I cared. Truthfully I tried to run after they handed me my diploma, but I couldn't escape. After graduation we went to Pizzeria--yum. The night was fun, and I'm glad its over. Now to find a job...

friend festivities.

Time for friend night again. This time we were the hosts, and as such had to plan out dinner and an activity. I wish I had a picture of dinner.

Dewy's work gave us a big turkey for Thanksgiving, and since there was no way in heaven we would be able to finish it ourselves, I decided to cook 'er up for friend night. Thanks to everyone for helping me clear out my freezer. Anyway, I pulled it out to thaw a few days before I needed to have it ready. Called up mom (duh) to find out how to cook the sucker, and she proceeded to tell me I needed to "clean out the bird by pulling the baggies out of his neck and butt." I'm sorry what!? Why did no one warn me about this? I was basically gagging the second I tore off the wrapping. I COULD SEE THE BIRD'S NAILS!!!! His (is any one else grossed out by me calling it a he instead of it???) feet were boud tight, as is normal I'm told, and right there ready to be painted cranberry red were his freaking talon/nail/things. Sick sick sick. Then came the search for the baggies. Am I seriously supposed to stick my head up his rear? Cue phone call to mom. ME: "MOM COME DO THIS FOR ME!"
MOM: Ha, No.
ME: Please mom?? Its disgusting!
MOM: You can do it. Be a big girl. Don't forget to rub it down with butter. Bye
ME: Curse.

You should all be proud to know that I conquered that bird--nails and all--and I will NEVER cook one again unless someone does all that crap for me. Sick. Now to the fun stuff.

Friends showed up and dinner turned out great--thanks for bringing stuff friends. After dinner we proceeded to make gingerbread houses. Oh boy. The only reason I picked this activity is because my mom has wood pieces that we use to make gingerbread houses every year, so I wouldn't have to buy anything except candy. Too bad we couldn't find the dumb things... Nikki and Anthony, and Haulee and Shane made legit gingerbread houses while Dewy and I fumbled to use the frosting I made that wasn't working to hold together pieces of gram crackers.

Wow Amber. Wow. It was hilarious. Friend night was fun, and I can't wait to see what Nikki and Anthony have in store for us next month!

friday.

I graduate. Sweet sauce.
I accept

large monetary gifts
gift cards
expensive items.

etc

'preciate it.

my hero.

Today I saw an ELDERLY lady who had on a hot pink sweater that had
{lips}
embroidered across the middle of her right breast with the phrase
"Back by popular demand"
written above said lips.
So inappropriate.
So funny.

poem.

Remember when I said I wrote a funny poem? And then I forgot to post it? Here it is. Keep in mind I AM NO POET.

Twas the day before Christmas When Billie told Mom
“I want to meet Rudolph. Maybe sing him a song.
We could play for a time, be friends, have some fun
Jump hopscotch, and rope, throw a ball, maybe run. ”

“My dearest, small child” Said Mom back to him,
“Rudolph cannot be seen for his spare time is slim,
Son, his schedule is packed, he’s not a moment to spare
He’s full time up north, and you can’t go up there.”

“But no,” Cried out Billie back to his mom.
“I just want to say Hi, I won’t sing him a song”
I’ll give a high five, and walk right on my way
I swear it won’t take long, I swear I won’t stay.”

“Now Billie my dear”, Mother replied
“Rudolph barely has time to potty
I’m sure that he squats, without places to hide
As he lists off whose nice and whose naughty.”

“You mean dear old mom,” Billie asked in surprise
“That Rudolph goes poop on the ground?
He can’t even leave to go be by himself
And has to go with elves all around?”

“Could be, dear old Billie,” Mom tried to sound bright
“That Rudolph is flying, delivering toys
All over the world, in one single night
Without making the smallest of noise.”

“I see,” said small Billie
“So how do I know if Rudolph is real or fake?
If I cannot say hi, sing him a song,
Or give him a simple handshake?”

“How about, my dear boy,” Mother said with a grin
We look for his remnants instead of for him?
I’ll hang from the roof some small little stockings
In hopes of catching a few of his droppings.”

“Oh but mom,” Billie gasped
“You hate things like poop!
Things dirty, and grody send you for a loop
I guess in that way, you’re a lot like Aunt Nan
\Are you sure you can do it? Are you sure that you can?”

“Only for you son,” Mom said with a shiver
Would I do such a thing without even a quiver
I’ll hang up some stockings to get Reindeer poop caught
I even hope that we get us a lot.”

So Mom hung up stockings from the rooftop with joy
In hopes that come morning Billie would find
Them filled to the brim, fresh poop for her boy
The droppings from Rudolph’s behind.

I AM SO FUNNY.

he's cute. she's cute.

Um I love this. I love them. He better be careful. If he screws up she'll sing about him.

Oh how I love this. Taylor and Taylor. So cute.

eavesdropping.

Right now I am sitting in the student union playing solitare waiting for my class to start. A group of girls diverse in nationality just walked by and sat down about three feet from me. At first as I listened to their conversation I found it comical. Typical girl talk--clothes,shoes,hair,boys,blah blah blah. Then all of a sudden girl #1 (we'll call her sue) said that she wasn't allowed to wear the color blue. Weird. girl #2 (we'll call her mom--cause she acts like one) took that chance to tell Sue that gangs were a bad idea. How naive am I that the mention of a color doesn't trigger a gang in my brain? Mom proceeded to tell Sue that gang members may be the nicest people you have met in a while, but they will turn on you in a second. She explained that its so much better to be around people who make you work for their friendship and prove your loyalty rather than run with that croud. Girl #3 (lets call her Alice) just got a text message. "Find out what you are doing for Young Womens" she reads. Immediately I'm taken back. Young Womens??? This chick? I then immediately felt irrevokably guilty for judging her as a non YW going gal. They conversation between Sue, Mom, and Alice continued on about Mormonism and missionaries. From what I gathered, all of them had been contacted by missionaries, all of them were either adopted or in foster care, and none of them had accepted the message of the missionaries. Mom however deserved a hug or at least a high five for her comments. Alice asked the group if it was true that the Mormons were trying to make her mormon. Mom proceeded to explain that from what she knew about the Mormons, being mormon wasn't a bad thing. That Mormons were nice people who did nice things. Mom said to Sue it would do her a world of good to run with the mormons. The girls asked mom if she was Mormon to which she replied, "No I consider myself Christian." I was so sure she was Mormon! I am trying my best right now not to fall out of my chair as I strain to hear every single word. All the while arguing with myself whether to jump in and give them all a Mormon perspective or simply let Mom have the reigns... Ugh. They look scary, and one runs with gangs. I'll let mom take the reigns for now and see if I need to interject here soon...


Oh the convos you'll hear if only you try.

compliments of gentrie.

Gentrie,
i would like to take a second to shout out and tell you i how cool you are and how much i wish i could be you.. i like how you curl your eye lashes and paint your toes.

love amber (who is really gentrie)

i'm thankful for you.

This weekend was outrageous. I loved every second of it.

My family went to Disneyland, so we spent the weekend with Dewy's family. It was a blast. Aunt Tina and Uncle Brent came up from Texas, and because they were here we decided to have Thanksgiving and Christmas all in one day. It was a week long celebration. Monday we went to my in laws to welcome the travelers, and we went back on Wednesday to hang out. Wednesday night Uncle Brandon and Aunt Shelby and their kids were there to party with us. Two awesome events from that evening: Meet Coy.

1- Coy (Brandon and Shelby's two year old that I ADORE) asked if he could have a sip of my drink. As I let him taste my Diet DP he pulled a sour face and said "That apple juice is SPICY!" So cute.
2- Coy went around the room asking everyone what they were thankful for. As he got to Dewy, Dewy said, "I'm thankful for Gabe, Wyatt, and Noah. (Those are Coy's brothers) And thats all." To which Coy responded, "I'm thankful for you." Way to go Dewy.



Thursday Dewy and I slept in and made it to Aunt Tammy and Uncle Kelly's in Provo at 12pm. We went around the room naming off real things we were thankful for, and I learned a lot about the people I was surrounded by. I grew to love them even more. After we ate, we had a turkey shoot.

I was frickin L E G I T. Tina took first, but I took second after they harassed me about not knowing what I was doing. Lame. At about 4PM we busted out Christmas.
We played musical chairs, acted out stories, and then sat and relaxed for a while before heading to our sleeping arrangements. Mine and Dewy's were at the Comfort Inn and Suites--compliments of Uncle Brandon. Thank you sir
.
Here are the rounds of musical chairs. The adults were the funniest.

We had some coloring contests as well. Observe the artists.

This is Brooke, Dewy's cousin. She is adorable, and her girls are darling. Scout and Boston. Could you come up with anything cuter to name them? Of course not. And baby girl number three is on the way.

Grandpa Tuckett gave us booties and I am a huge fan. Here is Tate acting as the bootie model. Nice.

Friday morning I did indeed dare to go out into Black Friday. I have NEVER done the early shopping thing before, and I'm slightly upset about all my wasted years. We began at 4 where we went to Target. As we pulled into the parking lot, and my lovely green eyes beheld the atrocious line that wrapped around the parking lot and behind the building, I felt slightly afraid for my life. I was sitting in the car when they opened the door, and I feared for everyone else's life when I saw them all stampeding inside. Holy crap. I got a whole bunch of fantastic films for dirt cheap. Hoo Rah. After target we hit University Mall. Um super cheap hoodies from Aero and AE? Don't mind if I do! I may or may not have gotten slightly out of control waiting for American Eagle to open. The employee's kept lying to us! Gentrie and Tiesha kicked the doors, and I merely shook them a bit while getting glared at from a not-so-impressed cashier inside. Lame. Anyway... I snatched a bunch of goodies, and got pretty much all of Christmas taken care of. When I informed Dewy that he got me a hoodie and I loved it he told me "I know I'm the man."

We took pictures to keep ourselves from knocking the door down and tearing apart their Christmas tree. Here is Gentrie and Tawni and I in our sweats. Gentrie, don't be mad.

Cute.

The weekend was an absolute blast.

heres the thing.

Ok so my friend makes and sells headbands and they pretty much rock.

She seriously makes them. She can dye the fabric and everything.

You should probably buy one

...or two

...or three.

If you want to tell me what you want I can get them for you.

I wear mine like every day.

Seriously.

Check them out HERE.

job.

I like mine.However, I'm expecting to graduate in about 2 weeks (squeal) and I would really like to have a job where I could use my degree. I have a

Bachelor of Science Degree in English

The original plan was to teach, but in order to do so I need to be working toward my certificate, and I am more concerned right now about getting my darling husband graduated before I start in on another degree...

Anyway... I'm really wanting a job that will put my degree to use, or even a full time job that requires some of my mad skills. Any ideas????
No Rush.

what the...

According to FB, today is
NATIONAL HUG A MORMON DAY

Who made that a holiday? Seriously.