Jalepeno Disaster

It has been two weeks since we moved into our beautiful American Fork home and things are really falling into place. We had our fridge brought up by my wonderful inlaws on Saturday morning and I was SO excited to fill it and start cooking up a storm as I have not been able to do much of that without a way to keep things cold.

Well this last Sunday I was called to be the Beehive advisor in our ward and am LOVING the callig so far. After church on Sunday there was a girl (I'll call her Amy) in the class that expressed a need for help with her Personal Progress so we decided that she would come over on Tuesday night at 7pm... So last night I got home from work at 6:30 and decided that it would be a good idea to put our dinner together before Amy got there so that when Michael got home we would be all ready to eat. In preparation for the throwing together of corn chowder I chopped celery and onions, threw in the corn and creamed corn, milk, etc. The very last thing I did before the doorbell rang was to mince two jalepeno peppers to give the soup a little kick. I finished just in time, threw them in the pot and hurried downstairs to greet little Amy.

We sat and chatted about Personal Progress, scrapbooking, horses, and everything else you could imagine before she started really pouring her heart out about things that were very important and special to her. While she was talking I felt something tickle my eye and reached up to wipe it away, not thinking twice about the jalepeno left over on my unwashed fingers. It took only a second before my eye felt like it was on FIRE and began watering like crazy! I tried to tough it out but the burning kept getting worse and the tears (which I couldn't wipe in fear of adding to the problem) were then POURING down my cheeks. I closed my eyes to attempt a natural flush and said a VERY fervent prayer but the burning began to take over. Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to make my resolution discrete I decided to get up to grab a paper towel off of the counter to get my face wiped off... This is when things got really bad.

I tried to open my praying eye when I realized that it was actually now SWOLLEN SHUT!! I got up out of my chair and felt my way over to where we normally keep the paper towels and realized that I had used the last one that morning. By this time my left eye was swollen shut and both eyes had started their water shows! I felt my way around the kitchen to my paper product cupboard and grabbed some left over Little Caesar's napkins from the move. Gratefully I began to wipe my face and left eye to try to get the burning to subside. I made my way over to the sink and got the napkin wet so that I could help flush the eye. In the meantime my right eye had joined in the fun and was now pouring tears just for the heck of it. With the intention of cleaning up my right eye I wiped it with a folded napkin which I didn't realize had been contaminated by my jalepeno fingers and the whole process started over again on eye #2!!! At this point I knew that I had to wash my hands before I could do any more clean up so I scrubbed them twice with Dawn dish soap and pretended like my eyes weren't both swollen shut now. It is probably also very important to note that little Amy handled the situation beautifully. She had no idea what was going on but she just kept talking and talking like absolutely nothing had happened. While I thought this was hillarious it was the best thing she could've possibly done. It would've been really awkward to have her sit there and stare at me for the 7 minutes the process took when I couldn't see her.

After washing my hands I wet another napkin and started wiping. After every wipe I would put the napkin down and get a new one, having no idea where I was setting the used napkins. After things had calmed down and I was finally able to open my eyes again I realized that I probably looked a tiny bit different from when Amy first arrived to my house. Taking a quick moment to think about what my own Beehive advisor would have done in this situation I laughed, gave a quick explanation of what had happened, and continued our conversation. I understood her quizzical expression when I went to go get my scriptures a couple of minutes later and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The only makeup I had on was between my eyebrow and crease, smeared like crazy, and my eyes were HUGELY swollen. It was quite the sight. I took a quick second to wipe off the old makeup, contemplated replacing it, decided not to, and went back out to sweet chatty Amy. The evening went so well with her and ended with big hugs. It wasn't until my sweet husband got home (with flowers for our 18 month anniversary) that I got a genuine reaction. "WOW! You're face looks a little... PUFFY!!", I told him the story, we both laughed, and then I smelled my beautiful flowers. Nothing like a little jalepeno in the eye to lighten the mood! AAHh!!

Life's Biggies Lately

I have neglected to publicize a couple of the Murdock family biggies lately! So... WE ARE PREGNANT!!! Just kidding - no we're not. Mom, stop crying.

1)Our little fish named Feast died about 4 weeks ago... then mysteriously came back to life like 6 hours later. We found out later that he had an air bladder infection and that all he needed was a good dose of frozen peas rather than his fish food. We gave him the peas and he is as good as new!

2) We bought a house!! We moved on October 30th (with the help of so many wonderful friends!!) into a home in American Fork that we didn't actually get the keys to until November 1st... but all is well that ends well, right!? We didn't get caught or thrown in jail for breaking and entering so I think it was the right decision. We absolutely LOOOOVE the house and the change it has brought. I love having a family next door with 8 kids to play with and neighbors that actually care that you moved in. We have just felt so much love and support from our ward and neighborhood. Everyone keeps telling us that the Harbor 2nd Ward is how a ward should be - like a giant family - and I believe it wholeheartedly. We should be getting new callings this coming week. AAAANNNDDD it gives me a legit excuse to buy things from DI that I can intend to paint/refinish/reupholster. It is wonderful. I'm pretty sure that I have decided to focus my decorating on a sort of french country feel and I feel really good about it! Who doesn't love wrought iron and hydrengias??

3) Nick got engaged. Kinda crazy I know! He and his fiance met here at the Y. She is from Vegas so it's nice that they have that common ground. They haven't chosen a date yet.

4) Michael (I'm not supposed to make a big deal about this but you have to be excited along the way!) got called back for a 2nd interview for an internship with Pixar!!! His first one went really well - it was here in Provo when Pixar came down to observe the animation department. The next one will be done by the hiring manager over the phone in the next couple of weeks. He doesn't know when it will be yet - he just got an email last night letting him know that the secretary will be calling to schedule a time with him. He is conservatively thrilled... he doesn't' want to get ahead of himself. I... well I'm just excited for the 2nd interview. My Michael - he is a talent! If he does end up getting the spot it would be from January to June up near San Francisco working on Cars 2!! I'll keep you posted.

5) I applied to graduate school at the University of Utah. I am not positive as to why I applied or even if I will go if I get in but I felt very strongly that I was supposed to apply - so I did! And had lots of WONDERFUL support along the way as my application was due the day after we moved! My mom even surprised me and flew down to help with the packing and cleaning so that I would have more time to write my application essays. What a blessing to have such a wonderful wonderful supportive set of parents!

6) We got Tank back!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He LOVES American Fork and having his very own backyard

Whew!! I think that is it!! Lots of wonderful and exciting changes and developments - hopefully not too overwhelming!! I am not so great at posting pics but I'll try!!

Christmas Dilemma

My husband thinks I'm crazy but I think 6 months on 6 months off is the perfect way to tackle Christmas. December 26th = relaxing while my sweet honey takes down the Christmas lights; July 1 = the beginning of Christmas shopping. If this overwhelms you, don't let it. Basically I make a list on July 1st of all of my little gift receivers and chip away at it/change it a little at a time. This being said I had all of my parents, and inlaws (10 people in total) done in September... That being said, this plan is not flawless. If you get someone something you think they'll really like there is a pretty good chance that they will think of it themselves in those 6 months and then... hopefully you saved the receipt! The bottom line - I have no idea what to do for my mom. We are having a heartfelt Christmas this year (so you have to make them something) and my mom's gift was overthrown in these last 6 months. I don't want to say what it was just in case she stumbles upon this post... though I'm pretty sure she won't, you can't chance that kind of stuff. Ideas? What can you make for a mom that really shows her that you love her? I promise that she won't know how to check the comments on this post so go for it.

Ode to My Little Apartment

Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.
-- Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) American Writer

This is such a bright, optimistic thought for the day. Change and momentum are so good but sometimes they are scary! We went and said goodbye to our little apartment last night before turning in our keys and I had a little slip of faith. I love that apartment and everything that came with it. I love the memories of Michael and I lying on the floor when we were engaged, imagining where our furniture would go. I love the wooden insert that Michael made for our guest bathtub so that we could use it for storage. I love our neighbors and all of the young married couples that we were surrounded by. I love having the park across the street and being able to always hear kids playing on the playground. I even love our creaky shower… and the fact that you can hear the neighbor’s creaky shower every morning. I am thrilled for our new house and all of the blessings it will bring. I know it is the right thing to do and I am sincerely looking forward to this new phase – but it is hard to leave something behind when it is so good and so comfortable. Really, it is a win-win situation. I just had a little moment last night/this morning that caused a couple of tears. It is important to remember that you really can’t progress without change, even when that means taking an uncertain step... but that is not always the easiest route!

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month!!

Haha!! Oh dear – as much as I laugh about my people and their need to be heard, sometimes I think awareness months are a poor excuse for extra coupons and interesting lapel pins. That being said, my weekly ‘Fruits and Veggies’ article on the topic made me think about my dear vegetable friends and why I’ve maintained my relationship with them and not their mooing, oinking, meowing counterparts. For those of you that may not have had the veggie convo with me before, it’s probably because I don’t talk about it much until I know the people around me pretty well. For some reason, announcing vegetarianism has a sort of kinship to the ‘coming out’ of a bi or homosexual… all of a sudden people get a little squirmy and don’t know how to have a normal conversation with you anymore. Typically after it is mentioned the topic passes quickly, another conversation begins, then some sort of explosive question erupts from the recent discoverer, who has not taken much of a part in this secondary conversation. Normally the questions are, “WHAT DO YOU EVEN EAT!?” or the more polite, “Why did you become a vegetarian, if you don’t mind me asking?” and sometimes they jump straight to, “If you were stuck on a desert island with just yourself and a hamburger…”

I became a vegetarian when I was 12, so it has been 11 years now. I started eating this way because my grandmother, who had always had a profound effect on my sense of health, had been a vegetarian for years and I believed her example to be a good one. As the years went on I learned about amino acids, cholesterol, vitamin B12, iron, and all of the other main vegetarian pros and cons that I was choosing with my eating habits. A couple of answers: vegetarians hardly ever suffer from protein deficiencies or high cholesterol. We do often lack some iron and all of our necessary B12. Now that I know a bit more than my 12-year-old self I am so grateful that I made this big decision when I did! Not everybody supports vegetarianism but my body just LOVES it! I really enjoy the clean feeling I get when I eat well, and feel like fruits and veggies are the perfect way for my body to do that!

That all being said, my husband and entire immediate family all love meat and I love them all dearly. I even love them enough to toss some poultry or ground beef into their portion of the meal! I am not afraid of meat – raw or cooked. I don’t mind much when it touches my food or gets plopped on my plate at a BBQ. I embrace the wonderful bottomless-pit of a husband that I have and just ask him to switch me for his veggies and we both benefit  Someday I am going to find another vegetarian out there that will want to exchange regular emails full of recipes and snack-tactics but even then, I love my meat eating friends and I love how colorful my fridge looks after an afternoon at the grocery store where the checkout person always comments on how many produce bags I have lined up on her little conveyer belt. I love when life feels fresh and to me – this is as fresh as it comes!

Pie Charts

Just wanted to let you know that the pie charts are working. We were able to anticipate where our unexpected costs normally occurred (which was my biggest concern) and have come out pretty well so far. As of week two we have had $384 in unexpected costs - which we budgetted in - and are only $33 over budget! It is nice to know this so early on in the month because now I know how to structure our spending these next two weeks and can anticipate where it will be easiest to cut the $33 from. It is also a relief because week 2 is always our most expensive week of every month! Hooray for the Murdock's Money Tree! Still alive!

Getting Organized

I don't know what happened there friends! I loved looking at everyone else's blogs for like 6 months but didn't really have much to say here... Well - the times have changed. As an update, Tank was graciously taken in by my mother-in-law and family and is so happy running around their California ranch all day! Unfortunately he recently got a little bit too liberal with his boundaries and wound up with an appointment to get his you-know-whats removed... I guess we won't be having any baby Tanks in the future! He will be back with us as soon as our contract is up at this apartment and we move somewhere that allows dogs. I miss him dearly but I am so happy that he is so loved over in Porterville. Michael... still feels like he has lost his right arm... but this too shall pass :-)

As for life in general I am on an organization overhaul kick. First I spent a couple of hours at the beginning of the week fixing up our budget so that it is back in working order. I don't know if it will work because we've never done anything like this before but let me give you a little overview of my vision. I first looked at our online banking system to see what categories they naturally give us with their budgeting tool. I then looked through our recent months' expenses and figured out what was practical and doable for each category, making sub-lists of what actually fell into each category. This allowed me to pull up Excel and make a little pie chart of my own that has all of our ideal spending amounts by category. I was so excited! Until I realized that once a month is over there is nothing you can do to improve or stay within your budget... So I got a little bit more detailed and made little pie charts for our ideal spending each week. Now the real excitement! Sure it took me a couple of hours but we are all about simple here in the Murdock house and I think that printing off one pie chart a week and comparing it to our ideal chart shouldn't be too hard! And this will give us room to fix things before the end of the month comes! Is it going to work?? I seriously have no idea - but I see potential. I was so jazzed, in fact, that this led me to another planning sesh to organize a menu for the next two weeks, go spend my allotted grocery money and prepare homemade breakfast and lunch foods that we can grab on the go! For all of you wonderful homemakers that are waiting for the climax... you missed it. That was all. I'm SO EXCITED!

Tank

If you’re not a dog lover this may not be the post for you… In January we drove through Cedar City to follow up on an ad on Craigslist for a darling teacup Chihuahua… After 5 minutes of play time and a little money exchange we drove away with this:



As hard as my mother has tried to convince me that dogs are stinky, hairy, loud animals, I fell in love. How could you not with that face! Tank has been our little pride and joy. He is bright, curious, happy, and SO FUNNY! He thinks it is great to knock his toys under the oven when you play fetch with him because then he can jump on your back when you lay on your stomach to get them dislodged. He is a crazy little ball of energy that will calm down to: eat, snuggle, or stay up with Michael all night when he has work to do.

That being said, the other night I went grocery shopping and, as per Michael’s request, left most of the groceries in the trunk for him to bring up when he got home 5 minutes later. It was a gorgeous evening so in waiting for him I left the front door open with our little doggie gate blocking the doorway so that Tank couldn’t get out. As expected, 5 minutes later Tank heard Michael’s voice as he approached our apartment and started barking excitedly for Daddy to get home and play with him… Unfortunately Michael was talking to our landlord at the time and we are not allowed to have dogs in our apartment complex (we have been hiding him since January). The landlord looked at Michael with a confused expression and Michael hurried up the stairs. Last night we got a call letting us know that Tank had to be gone by Sunday. They could have evicted us so we are grateful that they didn’t… but we are heartbroken. Poor Michael is so worried about him. We will be able to have him once our contract is up in 9 months but until then… we’re not quite sure yet. I’ll keep you posted.

Sloppy Joes, Slop, Sloppy Joes

As far as food goes, this week has been wonderful so far! We had a successful Hamburger Monday, a fun makeshift Tuesday, and big plans for... Sloppy Joe Wednesday. I apologize to Michelle, who hates sloppy joes, and to all other naysayers that may doubt the class of the tomatoe and ground beef (even if it's fake) mixture that is tossed on a whole wheat bun with the pure intention of staining beautiful faces everywhere. I'm sure I have had a sloppy joe at some point in my life but because I just recently decided to succumb to trying fake ground beef it hasn't really been an option these past 10 years. So all day I pondered as to how my face would look with a little tomatoe-based sloppy joe smile, getting more excited by the hour.

When the time came to take the plunge, however, I just couldn't find it in me to strike up the oven and lead the kitchen in its nightly concerto (performed by a beginning orchestra). I stood there in the kitchen with my favorite vegetarian cook book in hand trying every mind game I've been taught and just couldn't make myself do it! And then... I just said it. "I don't feel like making dinner tonight Honey!" It wasn't whiny, it wasn't rude, it just was...

And to that, my dormant husband sprung to his feet, delicately plucked the cook book out of my hand, set me down on the couch, and tuned the coconut cooking oil. After a matter of minutes onions were dicing and fake meat was grinding (appropriately). I smiled and watched as my sweet hubby poured extra love into the pan of mush that was perfectly simmering on our stove top.

I don't know exactly why he decided that tonight was the night to make music in the kitchen but I think he was glad he did. Something in me just lit up like a light bulb! The meal was absolutely amazing, the tomato smile was perfect, and something about him got about 2 million times more attractive. The kind of thing that made me: eager to do the dishes, prompt him to flip to ESPN, talk about computers, and... end the night deservingly. Thank you Michael, thank you sloppy joes, thank you Adam Sandler.

It's the Honey...

I have had an over abundance of love, gifts and blessings throughout my lifetime that I will never be able to repay to those that have given them to me. The biggest one: it's the honey. He sometimes says to me "so what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" It always catches me off guard because I feel like I am talking all of the time and that I don't often postpone conversations if I decided to begin them... It is those moments that he knows I've got something to talk to him about. Whether I know it or not, there is always something and he just seems to know. Just one of the many reasons I can't get enough of the honey in my life.

Simple Pleasures

So sometimes you just have to give in to life’s simple pleasures. I love fresh flowers, and the smell of babies and all of those wonderful things but today… Glee. I have NEVER had a series of my own but today is Regionals and I can hardly wait. My living room will be adorned with everyone from Puck to Emma and topped with blue slushies… You just have to let it make you happy!

Watch This:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/153716/glee-finale-sneak-peek-faithfully

Hamburger Mondays

My good friend Dani (Lewis) Stoneman and her family have a tradition of eating hamburgers every Monday night. This is a sweet weekly occurrence that reminds them that no matter where everyone is, they are all doing something together. I have always appreciated this tradition that Dani loves, though my vegetarian eating habits haven’t ever allowed me to truly participate… Until now! Many of you may have tried your lot with Boca Burgers. Whether out of curiosity or force, you have also probably discovered the unavoidable desire to spend the rest of the night over the toilet puking it out of your system. They are nasty. I hope that if you have only made one attempt at Vegetarianism that it was far from the world of Boca and close to the world of Morning Star. Morning Star vegetarian meat substitutes are a vegetarian’s one shot at summer BBQ normalcy! Just unwrap it before stepping into the backyard, have a good friend distract the man with the tongs, and slip your patti on the grill – no one will ever know! Needless to say, when I announced our family’s upcoming participation in Hamburger Mondays to my carnivorous husband last night… We’ll just say it was a good night…

Surprise Treat!

Ok!! This is going to break my 2-month streak of not posting on my own blog!! My sister-in-law (Savanna) responded to this post on a friend of ours' (Collette) blog and ended up with a homemade lemon meringue pie! After stealing a bite I decided that I needed to be one of the first 5 to respond to her post and see what she comes up with!! Here's to you!!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year. (I'll try to get it done soon)
4. You have no clue what it's going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so, and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

*Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!*

sun

Dear Sun,

Please come back. I promise to do my salutations daily and let you tan my knees.

Your Most Loyal Friend,

Brit

Progress!!!

Last time my post had a hint of discouragement hidden between the lines. I had been looking at schools all over the place and putting in job applications halfheartedly. The day after the last post, however, I got a call for an interview for a job up in Salt Lake City that I had been exstatic about. 4 business days later - I got an offer!!! I started working as an employment specialist on Monday, February 1 but mostly just took care of paperwork that day. Today I actually sat in on an appointment and did some training. I will be attending another meeting tonight with my supervisor and the rest of our team then will be shadowing on Friday and Monday. Wednesday I start full force on my very own caseload!

Just as a recap, I went to school at BYU and got a Bachelor's in social work with the intention of working with people with disabilities. Covenant Employment Services is a state agency that assists people with disabilities find and maintain jobs. My specific responsibilities include resume and cover letter assistance, mock interviews with my clients, finding possible jobs, applying for jobs, job training assistance, and job maintenance. It allows me to be very independent and self-reliant, which I love. I am so excited. Wish me luck!

A Turning Point

Being in college you hear people talk about turning points quite often. Normally during this string of thought they talk about choosing who you'll marry, your profession, where you'll live, if you'll have kids, where you'll get your education, etc. I like these kinds of subjects because it helps me to realize that things really are in my court and that we have the ability to steer a great portion of our lives. However, that can also be a little bit nerve racking! I feel like things have gone great so far. I chose the perfect guy for me to marry, he's willing to whisk me out of the cold to California as soon as we're done with school, we are excited to eventually have a family but am very happy with our decision to wait a while, and have graduated with a bachelor's degree in social work from a great university! The wonderful thing about having goals is that eventually you accomplish them... The interesting thing about having goals is that eventually they're gone and you have to make new ones.

Where I am currently facing some frustration is the big decision of 'What comes next'? In the movie Marley and Me, Jennifer Aniston had this wonderful list of things that she wanted to do and in what order. It went like this: Graduate from college, get married, get jobs, buy a house, then have kids. I love lists and the fact that Jennifer Aniston is just so adorable makes this schema almost irresistable. I think that the area where Jennifer and I differ, however, is somewhere between marriage and job (aka now). There are not many jobs for a young woman in Provo with a bachelor's degree that is only planning on sticking around for another year so... What to do? Options:

a. continue working at Heritage Makers (which fulfills the bills but not the soul) to put my hubbie through college

b. go full force into the job market and try to find something that really fits, even if the mula isn't as good

c. go back to school so that I will leave Provo with a master's degree and a cut above my competition wherever we go



My belief is that when making a big decision, your first question should always be: Well, what do you WANT to do? Want? c. More school. Lets set money aside and assume that the decision of school has been made. Next decision: area of study. Options:



a. MSW (masters in social work) - though I could complete this degree in one calendar year because of my bachelor's being in the same field, it is just doesn't feel right

b. MBA/MPA - I love business, finance, and the lifestyle that come with it. Already I have interviewed at some pretty amazing places that could not hire me because they needed more business experience. There could be some great opportunities out there to combine social work and business. Drawback... it's expensive.

c. Certificate (6 mo's) or Associates (4 semesters) in interior design. This is a really quick program that would give me a nice background/skill set in something that I love and could definitely utilize in my own home and probably part time when I do have a family.



So what do I WANT to do? That's the question. Or are there more options out there? Working on figuring this one out now. I'm open to suggestions.

A Second Branch

I work at Heritage Makers where I answer phones as a customer service agent. A challenge the company issued this new year was to create a blog on which you would post a picture for each of the 365 days of the year. I didn't necessarily want to have my personal blog linked to the company's site so I started a new one that I will post to once a week with pictures and updates on my new year's resolutions. The site is: yearofthepearl.blogspot.com. Feel free to visit to see pictures of my brother that just got home from his mission and my sweet new puppy! Happy New Year!!!

Happy Birthday!!

I had this really great detailed post about how wonderful my birthday was all written out... and my computer just erased it... so here are the bullet points:

-Mom made me breakfast in bed: chocolate Minnie Mouse pancakes to die for
-Really nice, thoughtful gifts: Parents got me really cute clothes, Joyce (my godmom) got me an awesome vegetarian cookbook and homemade garlic bread, Michael got me Julie and Julia (newest favorite movie) and a gorgeous ivory sweater (his first clothing purchase ever for someone else - did a GREAT job)
-We went to Blue Man Group: Dad got us THIRD ROW seats!! We met the guys afterward, everyone LOVED it
-Ate chocolate all day until I could hardly move (I only eat chocolate on my birthday)
-Still can't wait for Nick (my baby brother) to get home in 6 days!!!!!