a little bedtime story..

I hope you are all ready for a good laugh. Last night was one of those nights where something big/traumatic/gross/exciting happens and you only get an hour of sleep after its all over so you wake up feeling like it was all a dream. Ok, maybe I woke up feeling like I had had some kind of sick nightmare....

The worst part was that it wasn't a dream. At all. It was very much a real experience. 

Let me tell you about it.

First of all, there are all kinds of creepy crawlies here in Hawaii (cockroaches, centipedes, spiders, etc) so I have developed a very real and intense fear of stepping on something in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom. It's always been in the back of my mind that this could happen (not to mention I have always hated stepping on live creatures- ex: fish in the ocean, yuck) but since coming to Hawaii, where sometimes I feel like bugs crawl out of everything, it has become a full blown fear. I know, kind of silly. Well, wait until you hear this story.

So Anthony and I were pretty sure we had a little mouse or two in our apartment and had bought some traps to catch the buggers. We have been setting them the last two or three nights but they kept getting licked clean. I know from past experience that mice/rats/rodents in general can be very sneaky when it comes to traps so we were just being patient. We hadn't seen the mouse so we figured it was coming out at night when we were asleep. Two, I repeat, TWO bags of rice had gotten chewed open before we decided it was urgent that we get some traps. So we had the traps set with a peanut butter rice mixture and like I said, they were being LICKED (I mean completely licked) clean. Not being super familiar with rodents and honestly just not thinking much about it we never even considered the pest might be something a little bigger than a mouse.

Anyway, we reset the traps last night and I was heading to bed pretty late (11:30ish) when I thought I heard something. I didn't think much of it because I knew the traps were set and there was really nothing more I could do about it. I just prayed they wouldn't find a way into our bed. That's a whole new level of fear for me. Anyway, I went to bed and around 3 am I got up to use the restroom. Here is where that fear I mentioned above became a startling and terrifying reality. So I get up, walk out of our room towards the bathroom and my foot brushes/hits something. Something that should not be in the middle of the floor. Immediately I feel little nails/claws all over my foot. Well, you can probably guess what happens next. I obviously scream bloody murder. I did not care what time it was, there was a furry something running all over my feet. Not ok. I then flipped the bathroom light on and continued to scream louder than I have ever screamed before. There was a GIANT rat/mongoose/rodent (I wasn't sure what it was at the time because I was still half asleep and completely terrified and they have had mongoose problems in TVA) JUMPING and scurrying around the floor between the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. I jumped up on the toilet while screaming and trying to get some words out. Poor Anthony is sitting straight up in bed thinking there is another person in our house attacking me. I somehow get the words "rat", "jumping", and "help" out of my mouth and slam the bathroom door shut- leaving Anthony and the rat on the other side. hahahaha. I am laughing now as I write this, but trust me, it was one of those moments where your heart stops but beats really fast all at the same time and all you can do is scream. It was scary. So there I was, screaming, crying, and  yelling for Anthony, all while standing on the toilet with the bathroom door shut. Now Anthony was on the other side of that door thinking "I am not getting out of this bed until she opens the door and sheds some light on the hallway so I don't step on it!" hahaha and I was thinking "I am NOT opening this door until Anthony does something about that rat!" ha! Finally I opened the door only to see the rat STILL JUMPING and trying to figure out exactly what happened! Naturally, I slam the door shut again. haha! Anthony finally convinces me to open the door and I do right as the rat runs into the kitchen/living room and disappears! Now that Anthony can see, he is being paranoid about seeing the rat (I find out at this time that he has a pretty serious hatred and fear of rats). He heads out to the living room, jumps on the couch and announces he cannot see it anywhere. He has no clue where it has gone. I start to relax just a little as I watch Anthony look around (with a machete in hand I might add) searching for where the rat could have gone, both of us were thinking it had run back to its secret "safe" hiding spot. Then all of a sudden I see out of the corner of my eye and hear the stupid thing run BACK  into the bathroom where I am still stranded standing on the toilet. Again, I start to scream the same "I can't escape" kind of scream. Anthony got spooked and jumped up on a chair as I was trying to tell him between sobs and screams that the rat had crawled onto the lower half of the toilet and that I could see it's tail and that he needed to come get it before it got me. Just as I looked down, it lifted this little metal cover that covers the piping from the toilet and proceeded to crawl through a hole in the wall. I didn't hesitate a second to jump and run to the bed. I was careful to kneel on the bed with my contaminated legs hanging off though. Anthony made his way to the bathroom and back to the room while announcing that the rat was probably scared to death and not going to come back out for awhile. After a very emotional conversation about how the rat was scratching at my feet and legs Anthony talked me into building up the courage to go back in the bathroom and wash my legs off with soap. I knew I had no choice, I was more scared of the nasty diseases that thing might be carrying than I was of running back into the bathroom. After I cleaned up and made it back to bed we stayed up and waited for the rat to come back for quite awhile before I fell asleep. Anthony didn't ever go back to sleep and even went to another building to use the toilet, hahaha!!!


We woke up this morning and got rat traps to set while we are out all day. I really really hope it gets caught. Oh, also, my friend who lives below us with her husband texted me around 4 am to make sure everything was ok because she heard me screaming. I felt so bad for waking people up!! AND we went to put in a maintenance order to get the two holes in our wall fixed and our buildings RA was working. He said he got a text message about someone screaming at 3 am...oops. Our neighbors were all worried and I seriously felt like a big weenie. But it really was so frightening. That rat was a big boy. They are supposed to fix the holes today so we will see what happens. I don't know what I am going to do tonight when I have to go to the bathroom though......



Hopefully we come home to a nice, dead rat. hahaha! gross, I know. Hopefully you guys enjoyed reading this story more than I enjoyed living it ;)

Love you all!! Can't wait to see my San Diegans in 17 days! :)

The best orange chicken I've ever had!

So last weekend we had a stay at home date. I decided to try out an orange chicken recipe that our friend Andrea made while she was here. She got the recipe from pinterest, so to pinterest I went! I found it and somehow convinced Anthony that it would be fun to make it together... So that's what we did! We stayed home, made orange chicken together, ate that orange chicken, walked to the local ice cream shop, and then went down to the beach for a little walk. It was one of the best dates ever and we hardly spent any money! I'm pretty sure it was because of the awesome company I had all night ;) So back to that orange chicken....Seriously, not to toot my own horn (because all I did was follow a recipe), but that was THE BEST orange chicken I have ever had. So much better than Panda Express or any other takeout I have ever had. Even my food critic of a husband (I mean that in the most loving way) said it was the best orange chicken he has ever had! That is success if you ask me! So anyway, I posted a picture of it on my Instagram and got a few people asking for the recipe. So here it is:

Ingredients

Chicken Breading:
3-5 chicken breast
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup canola oil

Rinse chicken, trim off fat or extras and then cut into 1 inch cubes. season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken into cornstarch and coat all the way and then into eggs. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook chicken until browned. Place in baking dish. 3 chicken breasts can be in a 9x9 but 5 chicken breasts fits better in a 9x13. 

*I didn't use salt and pepper to season I just did it plain and it still turned out delicious

Sauce:
3/4 cups sugar
4 Tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Whisk until smooth. Then pour evenly over chicken. Turn chicken so the sauce gets on both sides and then put in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. turn chicken and then cook for 15 more minutes. 

 

There it is. Get ready to have your mind blown (I'm being a little dramatic. It WAS good though!)  This is the blog the recipe came from: http://madeitateitlovedit.blogspot.com/2012/03/sweet-and-sour-chicken.html

There are probably more good recipes on there, I haven't spent any time looking though.

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

A little post from the phone..

It's been awhile. I know, I keep saying I will be better at this and keep failing. Since I'm sitting in the library waiting for a file to load and it's 11:00 pm, I thought it might be a good time to update you all (whoever that may be) on our lives over here in the middle of the pacific. 

Oh, there is a good story to why I am sitting in the library at 11 pm waiting for this file to upload. But we will get to that later. 

Anyway, WE MOVED! Twice in the last month! Surprised? Didn't think so. But wait, there's a twist to out latest move. It will be P-E-R-M-A-N-E-N-T until I graduate. Hallelujah! We are done moving for a year and a half! I have enjoyed making this apartment our little home and have finally hung the pictures we have been moving around since August. Yikes. It's great to have a home to call our own and has made a huge difference in our attitude towards this place. Major blessing!

Anthony has a new job that he loves more than any job he has ever had (I'm pretty positive it's safe to say that even though he has never actually said those words). He comes home happy every night! I love it. He is working at a local ranch taking people on trail rides, taking care of the horses, and helping with manual labor around the property. I've never seen this boy happier to work! Not to mention the best thing about being married to a "wrangler" is that I can go ride with him whenever (WHENEVER) I want! Ha! So I love his job too;) for more than one reason! 

I'm still working at the library and loving it! I do sort of feel like I live in here though... My classes are great, it's nice to have a pretty easy semester before the chaos (17/18 + credits a semester) hits. We haven't been to the beach much which makes me pretty sad. Oh well, we aren't here to vacation:(!

Ok, so why am I sitting in the library so late and how did I get here?

Well, I'm here because I can't find my connector cord and needed to upload a video (of my first lesson) by midnight. The computers here have nifty little slots that are made for your SD card so you don't need a connector so I had to come in! Genius. Now why am I here so late? Well, I had class until 5:40 and got home and needed to make dinner. So I spent an hour and a half prepping and cooking dinner so it could be ready when Anthony got home. He came home, we had a nice dinner, caught up on our favorite TV show, and planned to get to bed early. Well, it's almost ten by the time he is in be and I am getting ready. I am literally seconds away from jumping in the shower when this thought comes into my head: "what time is it? Oh crap. You didn't upload your video. It has to be in by midnight. Crap crap crap. Go get dressed!!! You have no choice!" So I run out of the bathroom exclaiming to Anthony that I forgot to upload my video (he has no clue what the heck I'm talking about) and how I'm glad the library is open until midnight. At this point I'm a little upset because its getting late and I just wanted to go to bed but I was laughing, a little. How the heck did I forget to do this?!? So I practically ran to the library and then couldn't figure out what to do because none of the computers had SD slots!!! I had to ask someone (embarrassing because I work here) where/how to do what I needed. They kindly pointed me towards media services where I could rent a computer that has the slot I need. I then go rent a computer and because I have turned into a Mac-tard I cannot figure out this PC to save my life. I eventually figured it out after about 20 minutes. Now I'm just sitting here waiting for it to finish. So, that's why I am here when I would rather be in bed. 

Oh well.

I hope everyone is doing well! We love it here and are so grateful for all our many blessings from our Father above. We feel his constant love and support in our daily lives and wouldn't make it through some days without it. We love you all. I'm excited to see family in 3 weeks! I still miss everyone a lot!

Love you all. 

P&A

P.S. sorry there are no pictures on this post. Just lots of words. 

Ouch.

40 minute run + squats + calf workouts = one sore woman. It's been way too long since I last put my body through this.



Thank goodness for an awesome husband who will massage my dying legs.



What would I do without him?





Also, I started my new job today and I L-O-V-E it! I will post about that tomorrow when I have more time. I have to wake up at 6:45 for this job (not used to that) so I must get to bed before 11. Haha and when school is back in session, I will have to get up at 5:45! Eek!

Easter and Finals.

Yeah, its finally the end of the semester which means teachers are assigning papers and tests like crazy. I swear I have done more assignments for all my classes this last week than I have all semester.... Oh well, it's all part of life! Other than finals taking over all our spare time, we have been doing well. I have been really working on making dinner every night as our plan to start eating better. I always tell myself dinner is going to be a lot more work if I have to make it healthier and I always prove myself wrong. haha, classic. I haven't had much time to sew lately and, surprisingly, it's killing me. I am having withdrawals from sewing. I'm planning on sewing a lot during the semester break! I can't wait!

Last weekend we celebrated Easter with our good friends Autumn and Brad Elmer. The boys went rock climbing on Saturday while Autumn and I painted our nails, made dinner, and hid Easter eggs! It was a good afternoon for both of us! When Anthony and Brad returned we all ate together and did our egg hunts. You will have to ask Anthony how that went...hahaha! Then Sunday we had brunch with the Elmers at our house and went to church after (2 pm church time). Dinner was a bit of an ordeal- it was my first time cooking a ham....Reid, Drew, Brad, and Autumn came over and we enjoyed the evening together. We were planning on just doing Easter dinner alone, but we would have had ham for weeks after. I made A LOT of food and it was just perfect for the 6 of us. I don't think anyone went home hungry and we didn't have 3 weeks worth of leftovers... only one week :) haha. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. It was good to have Reid and Drew over since Drew is going on a mission soon and Reid was able to give him lots of tips at dinner (he's going to the same mission that Reid went to!). Oh, it was good to see them too:)



SO.....I don't know if I have said this, but I am REALLY excited to go home (San Diego) and see everyone. I'm also really excited for the Del Mar Fair. Seriously, Anthony and I went like 15 times (its 24 days long) because we bought the $24 "season" pass. That is a real steal if you love the fair. hahaha, which I do. I do not know why the heck I enjoy it so much, but I do. I loved going with Anthony and just walking around (eating everything) looking at all the booths and listening to all the music. It was so much fun. Can't wait to do it again this year ;) I don't have much more to tell...I should be working on a few finals right now but I am procrastinating. I consider myself a pro at that. Graduation is next Friday and we have a bunch of friends graduating, some of them moving away from the island next weekend. We are not very happy about that. Saying goodbye is never fun!


I am so grateful for the opportunity we had last weekend to remember our Savior and the sacrifice he made for all of us. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today, I wouldn't have the husband I have, and I wouldn't know the things I know to be true. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the peace it brings to my life every day. I hope we can all remember how truly blessed we are to have a Heavenly Father and Savior who love us more than we can imagine. I know that He lives. I know He loves us and cares about everything we do. I know these things are true because I have felt them.


I love you guys and seriously cannot wait to see and hug everyone.

Here are some lovely pictures since I know that's why people even bother looking at blogs. haha!

After the boys surprise attacked us with confetti guns.

Another Month.....

They seem to be flying by. Where is the time going??? We have 3 more weeks of the semester and then one week off before summer semester starts. We are both seriously looking forward to that week off. It's been a rough semester. We get to move again in April, luckily to one of the nicer campus housing complexes. That will be fun, as always! I am seriously done with moving, I think I am losing my mind! hahaha. I am really looking forward to this summer semester since I'm taking 6 classes but split into two blocks. So only 3 at a time:) I'm also a very happy girl because I get to be in San Diego for 4 weeks in June/July and Anthony will be there for 3! We are so excited to see everyone and even attend a few weddings;) I'm sad we will be saying goodbye to my parents for 3 years, but excited to hear about their new adventures! So many life events to look forward to!! (Oh, we can't forget about the new Thacker baby we will get to meet while home as well-that will be one of the highlights of my trip!)


Yesterday was a Hawaiian holiday so naturally we went to the beach all day! Rough life, I know. It was fun to spend a day just talking (mostly the girls) and playing on the beach with friends! Surprisingly, Anthony and I haven't spent a ton of time at the beach since moving here...between the rain and school we have been pretty busy! Today around noon (after our classes) we are heading into town (Honolulu) to meet up with our friend Tiffany and her new husband, Brent, while they are here on a cruise. It will be nice to see some friends from home and catch up!


In other news, we are absolutely loving married life! My favorite part? Getting to have a slumber party with my best friend every single night! Seriously, what could be better?!? It's been so much fun moving to a new place and trying to figure out our new life together! We've made some really awesome friends so far and can't wait to see what else our future holds! I can't believe we will be celebrating 8 months together in April. Wow. I know it's not that long, but I feel like we were just coming out of the temple yesterday. Time flies when you're having fun!:)



We can't wait to see you all this summer!!!


Seriously, come visit!

Hawaiian Adventures

I realize I haven't posted in awhile, but at least it hasn't been a whole month since my last post....Getting better one post at a time.

Last week we had some visitors here in Hawaii! It was so fun to have our first visitors come to the island! Hayley and her good friend Sarah came over for a week to explore the island and see Reid and I (Anthony too, of course). We went hiking with them, had them sleep on our floor, and just enjoyed their company. Anthony and I still had school all week so we didn't get to see everyone much during the day, but at night it was always a party. We are so glad they came to see us and are so grateful for all the kind things Hayley and Sarah did for us. Love them. I have a lot of pictures from the week, but I will do a separate post with those because I am currently using Anthony's iPad and none of my pictures are on here.

It was my birthday this last week so we did a lot of eating cake throughout the week (hayley's doing...) and on wednesday Anthony surprised me with the best birthday so far! We went horseback riding, had a picnic on top of a mountain, saw whales, went shopping, and then went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki. It was truly one of the best birthdays, mostly because I got to spend it with my best friend in the WHOLE world. It was one of the most beautiful days, which only made it that much more enjoyable:) I sure do love my wonderful husband and all the sweet things he does for me, as well as the unwavering support and love he gives me every day! This week was one of the best, since being here in Hawaii, and I can't wait to have more visitors (wink, wink).

I really do have a lot of pictures to post and I really will post them. Probably tomorrow.


Other updates on our lives:
-I am almost done with my first baby blanket (for Maren)! I haven't had much time to work on it recently so I am excited to finish it and see the final project!
-I bought fabric to make curtains for our bedroom since the curtains here are way too thin and it gets light WAY too early around here.
-Our semester is almost over and we are both looking forward to the week break between semesters so that we can be lazy and lay on the beach...maybe finally get those Hawaiian tans going.
-We have a place to live after we move out of our current apartment! (subleasing again)
-Flight prices have gone down which means I am finally going to buy tickets to come home for a few weeks this summer! REALLY excited about that.
-Our dear friends the Elmer's are moving April 12 and we are going to miss them so much :(

There isn't a lot more to update you all on, things are good over here in Hawaii. We love you guys and can't wait to see everyone this summer while we are home! Hawaii is absolutely wonderful, but no where beats San Diego. Seriously miss that place. One day we will be back for good. For now we are enjoying the journey and the wonderful people we are meeting on the way!!!


Come visit us! but don't use Allegiant Airlines to get here.....you may get stuck here for a few extra days or weeks. Just a warning. Just ask Hayley.


I will be back soon, but for now here are some wonderful pictures of Anthony and I that I found on his ipad: