A Season for Change

With the intent and desire to have a blog more about us and less about me, I have a new blog address to update the happenings of all of my family, not just me....Hopefully, there will also be other writers than myself on the blog but time will tell.

Our new blog will be private so invitations will be going out give you access to our new account. If you get missed in the invitations, 1. I apologize and 2. please leave a comment here with your email address and I'll send you and invitation. (Do not worry, the comments are emailed to me before posting here so your email address will NOT be public.)

Thanks for the following here, hope to see you at our new address:

happinesswhereeverwego.blogspot.com

HAVE A SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN!

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Love the Horrocks Family!

Random Ages

Here's an idea. I've not seen it on any other blogs so I'm taking credit until someone else says they've thought it up first....

Instructions:
For each year of your age, list a random thing about about you. For example, if you are 30 then you would list 30 things about yourself. Simple really. No catch like they all have to start with the same first letter or each number must be a random thing about you at that corresponding age or anything. Just list the same number of random things about yourself as you are old. Now whether or not you are honest with your age is between you and your conscience.

You are welcome to copy the "instructions" onto your blog (or facebook page if you want) then make the necessasry adjustments to the number of items on your list. At the end, you can tag who you'd like to see doing it as well. Have fun!

1. I was born 3 weeks after my due date.
2. I won a 3rd place city sponsored bicycle safety fair when I was in 5th grade.
3. I have driven a ton of coal (minus 50 pounds) across 5 state lines.
4. When crossing state borders I hold my breath and lift my feet.
5. I have lived in California, Illinois, Utah, and Idaho, as far as I recall.
6. I have driven, or been driven, from Chicago to Utah, and back, several times since I was about 8 years old.
7. K-12 was in California, Utah & Illinois before I graduated from high school.
8. Thus far, I have only atteneded my 20-year High School Reunion.
9. I didn't get married until I was 39 year old.
10. Other than in utero, I never visited Yellowstone National Park until I was 39 years old.
11. I have hiked the back of Mount Timpanogos in Utah once and don't expect to ever do it again.
12. To my recollection, I have never seen the Grand Canyon.
13. I have yet to own a house.
14. I didn't buy a car until 2006.
15. I remember 2 dresses that I sewed for myself.
16. Now I don't remember how to hem a skirt!
17. I have taken a midnight train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Russia and from St. Petersburg back to Moscow.
18. I have flown completely around the world.
19. I have visited Armenia.
20. I was in a sorority when I attended the University of Utah.
21. I took a storytelling class several years ago.
22. I took ballroom and folk dancing classes while a student at Brigham Young University.
23. I took the driving portion of my driver's license exam on a stick shift vechicle.
24. I've had a driver's license issued to me from Illinois, Utah, California, & Idaho.
25. I have never been to New York City.
26. I have never been to Hawaii.
27. With the exception of Russia and Armenia, I have not traveled outside the continental US.
28. Two of the 3 cars I have owned were white.
29. I started collecting video tapes before I owned a VCR.
30. The first video I bought was Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
31. More often than not I will choose to read a children's book.
32. I have listened to Harry Potter book one and half of book 2 but never read more than 1 chapter of book 2 yet seen all the movies so far.
33. I can count on 1 hand the number of full episodes of "American Idol" I have watched.
34. I am the only girl in my family with green eyes.
35. As a growing up I was in the following plays: Aurellia, Cheaper by the Dozen, Wizard of Oz, Guys and Dolls, Grease, and The Music Man.
36. My sister, parents, and best friends from high school threw me a surprise Sweet 16 birthday party.
37. I picked out my engagement ring and my husband helped me pick out my wedding band.
38. It's a race between my husband and me to say "Happy Anniversary" on the month anniversary of our wedding date.
39. I have developed an allergy to watermelon.
40. My husband is 11 inches taller than me.

I tag anyone who wishes to do this.

A quiz....

Ok, two truths and a lie.

I will post 3 statements about myself. Two are true and one is a lie. In your comments state which you think/guess is the lie. Have fun!

1. I have seen the Chicago skyline from the observation deck of the John Hancock Building.
2. Cindy Crawford (yes, the model) and I have same job in our work history.
3. I attended 4 colleges or universities.

I will let guesses take place until the end of September. Good luck and let the guessing begin. :)

Feel free to do the same on your blog....Just a fun and random way to get to know each other better.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

After I was laid-off, I decided I'd better go get my Idaho driver's license. Yes, it is way past due, I just haven't had time to get it taken care of since I was working the same hours as the DMV is open.

Try 1, September 3:
I went through the county's security entrance and headed into the DMV office. I had everything, or so I thought....I didn't have anything with me showing my proof of residence.

They stated that I was welcome to use the insurance card in my car. So I headed out to get the card.

Try 2, September 3:
Back through the security entrance with the insurance card. However, the card didn't have my name on it so it wouldn't work. Even with a copy of my marriage certificate...

Try 3, September 4:
Another day and third trip through security...I was starting to feel way too suspicious by now...with a copy of my cell phone bill addressed to me. I pulled out all of the documents and they stated the photocopy of my marriage certificate was not enough, I needed the certified copy from the county.

They kindly offered to let me change my license but couldn't change my name. An option but not helpful enough since I have a flight later this month and my married name is on the ticket.

Try 4, September 4:
Back through security now with my cell bill and CERTIFIED copy of my marriage certificate. The previous 3 trips I waited a maximum of 5 minutes before I was helped. Of course this time, when I was all ready, several people were in line ahead of me. Not to worry too much, I came prepared with a magazine and began to read.

After a couple minutes I noticed the sign stating check or cash only. Yep, you guessed it, neither were with me, just the debit card.

I left the line and proceeded home without much success...again....

Try 5, September 8:
Hopefully this was my last time through security! I headed into the DMV office and brought everything with me this time, Utah driver's license, certified copy of my marriage certificate, proof of residency, AND checkbook.

Another piece of evidence I live in a small town. When I went to the counter, the employee asked how many trips I'd made. She also stated that she suspected that I'd studied and she was right, 5 trys to get my license was 4 too many.

As I left that last time, I walked out with this in my purse:



About time, in more ways than one!

Quick Update

I have tons to be doing today & right now but thought I'd do a fast update on the last few weeks. (Sorry no pictures since I haven't downloaded any for awhile.)

• Thursday, September 3, returned to work from lunch and found out I was being laid-off effective immediately and would be paid through Friday. Not too stressful since we'd been discussing when I could quit. We went out to dinner and a movie that night to celebrate.
• Applying for a new job.
• Went to the SE Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot, ID. Can now say I've been to Blackfoot and not just driven by on I-15.
• Packing boxes-our move is only a few weeks away so I'm trying to get a jump start on all the preparations. (Dan works for Biomat which is a blood plasma donor center. He will be finished with all of his training-9 months of it!-in about 1 more month so then we'll go to a center where he will work as an assistant manager for 6-9 months. Then we'll most likely transfer again where he will be working as a manger. Ugh, 2 relocations in about 1 year's time, not something I'm looking forward to!!!)
• Preparing for our trip to Chicago and drive west. We fly on Sunday, September 20. Load the truck on the 21st and start our drive on the 22nd. We plan to make a vacation out of it. We have the time and the miles so why not? Nauvoo, Carthage, Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Liberty Jail, & Independence in the first 2 days. Then just driving the next two to Denver and onto Cedar City where the unloading of the truck will begin before we return on the 26th to Pocatello. Excited about the trip, except for the 5 days driving in a 16' moving truck.
• Notified Amanda & Sid of our tickets to the Scarlet Pimpernel. We purchased them in April for September 19th, which has finally arrived! Both kids are super excited about the evening's events. Dan and I are looking forward to it too.
• Purchased 8 birthday cards yesterday! Have September-January birthday cards purchased, with one exception in January.
• Trying to get things in place for 1 more show before we leave Pocatello. After a week of nightmarish challenges, we realized the right decision was to not do another show.
• Helping Dan get ready for his work trip to Kennewick, WA. He leaves Tuesday, September 29th. Good thing we return on the 26th from our trip!
• Deciding if I will drive up for part of Dan's time in Kennewick.
• Was released from the Primary the end of August and put in as the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women's. No more quarterly sharing time activities. That's been replaced with weekly young women's activities....not sure that's an even trade-off....

That's all I can think of at the present. Have to get a move on attacking my growing To Do list for today...gotta run...

Looking Forward + Embracing the Present ...part 2

Another thing I'll miss in our next place....which I can't believe I forgot!!!!....One HUGE advantage of a smallish/smaller town is that everything is close, including our places of employment to our homes. When our schedules match (meaning Dan is not working until close), Dan and I will meet at home and have lunch together. Definitely something that will be greatly missed in a bigger community. It's been fun to have that mid-day connection giving us both the motivation to go back to work for the rest of the day. Maybe we'll be lucky enough that that can continue to be possible in future locations...not sure that it would be wise to hold my breath though....

Are You Kidding Me?!

Last night after work I went to Target to get the group wedding gift for a co-worker. I left at 5:40 pm and arrived approximately 1 HOUR LATER! No it wasn't crazy, random Idaho rush hour.... Target is really, truly 45 miles away!!! Just one of many stores which are much, much too far away from me, in my opinion. I sure hope this isn't the start of something I will have to grow accustomed to in our next place of residence.

Legal, No Legal...Is Grey Area

Step 1:

Tie empty soda bottles to rock,

be sure to leave plenty of rope to pull the rock back in:

Step 2:

Make sure the knots are secure:

Step 3:

Put dry ice into the bottle:

Step 4:

Get water:

Step 5:

Pour water into bottle with dry ice:

Step 6:

Quickly screw the caps onto the bottles:

Step 7:

Throw into the water as far as you can:

Step 8:

Watch and...

Wait...

...gather others to watch and wait too...

...Oh, oh, oh...the waiting about to pay off...

Lie down (or sit) on a bridge for a better effect as the bottle floats underneath....

Step 9:

Clean up your mess and gather more supplies so you can start the whole process again!

That was fun! Do it Again!!!!
(Warning: Do NOT do this without proper adult supervision!)

(If you do this and get into trouble, you didn't learn it from me.)

Looking Forward + Embracing the Present

We knew when we moved into this apartment that it would most likely be temporary. We signed a year lease and that is almost up, can you believe it?! Thankfully we can remain on a month-to-month lease until Dan's transfer comes through sometime before the end of the year.

(This post is dedicated to the anticipation of our transfer and move....now if we only knew when and where exactly!)

Our apartment is spacious and cozy, however, certainly not perfect. As such, when our transfer comes, there are several things I won't miss...

Using stairs to enter and exit our home.

Not having a doorbell

Confusing neighbors with how to find us

Sharing a mailbox with the upstairs neighbors

No real windows on one whole wall!

Having a fireplace for looks only

Having to listen to the upstairs neighbors's parties, tv, fights, music, 11 pm vacuuming....

Not having the whole house to ourselves, our family, and our guests

It's great to have a washer and dryer, FINALLY, but we have to invade the upstairs neighbors to do our laundry

Our use of the garage limited to a little storage

Water gurgling up through the kitchen sinks and drain in the kitchen floor while the washer is draining

Being able to do laundry only on certain days

Our own personal pond in the middle of the kitchen floor when using the washer

Our dishwasher and disposal...

(nope, you're not missing anything, we don't have either!)

(Dan's nephew, Matt, came in the kitchen looking to put something in the dishwasher. I said he could, if he could find the dishwasher. He looked around and asked where it was and I answered that we didn't have one! He kept looking for the green dishwasher he was sure he'd seen here before...nope 9½ years without one!)

Limited room for guests

Staring longingly at the empty garage the girls upstairs get to use but don't

Sharing the backyard (we've both been told it's ours and yet, we rarely seem to be about to go out and enjoy it....)

Having to clear our use of the backyard with the upstairs residents

Having to watch where we step in our yard!

Listening to the dogs (yes, there's more than 1 upstairs) yap and bark at everything that moves, including us

The view (or lack thereof) from our kitchen window

Small master closet, currently without one door

No master bath/suite

Having to flip the fuses often when the space heater and microwave are on at the same time

Upstairs neighbors with control of the thermostat and not understanding how it works! (Hence the space heater being on)

Bundling up inside on hot summer afternoons

Freezing in the summer and winter

Using a space heater year round

Limited kitchen counter space

Our Pepto bathroom

One bathroom

No tub

and some things I will miss...

Sid living with us

Amanda's visits

A new fridge we didn't have to buy

A clothes line (retro, yes, but great to use...weather permitting of course)

Doors, doorknobs, and keys that remind me of Grandma and Grandpa Hafen's home

Lots of storage for a basement apartment

Being only a mile from work

Having a yard but not having to do the yardwork

Hearing Dan come down the stairs when he gets home, especially when he surprises me and gets a ride or comes home early.

A spacious living room area

Living half way between West Yellowstone and Salt Lake

Telling people we're a great place for a potty stop on the way from Salt Lake to Yellowstone

Sleeping in a pitch black bedroom

Living a couple blocks from the church

Being able to say we live on Colgate Street, "that's spelled just like the toothpaste"

The great people we've met here in Pocatello

Being no more than 15 minutes from any point in town (of course everyone in Pocatello can say the same thing)

Watching community parades and knowing, not just recognizing, several people in the parade

Easily parking 4 cars in the driveway

Driving or walking through town and getting Horrocks Family Stories at various locations

Our first place together as husband and wife

All the memories associated with our first place

I know, I know, I know...

I've been torturing myself for months now when I look at other's blogs (and Mom's given me at least 2 guilt trips) and remember mine has been so neglected for such a long time. It's like so many other things, I do really well for awhile and then life gets busy and I slack. Then I get so far behind that it seems overwhelming to ever catch up. I take pictures and funny things happen that I think, I need to blog this...the title would be...the pictures would have the following captions...then I just don't get it done. Between work, spending time with my cute hubby, church, facebook, emails, producing plays, preparing for a patriotic celebration, laundry, time with Amanda & Sid, and anything else that comes up, more time has gone by and my blog still sits there neglected. Not sure how exactly I'm going to solve this dilemma but I'll do my best to improve. I just have to figure out how I can keep up on this, and everything else, and not feel like I'm neglecting anyone, especially my husband.

So, even though I started this MONTHS ago, I'm going to move ahead with the story of Dan & I. It needs to be recorded somewhere so in years to come (who am I kidding, anytime in the next couple hours is very possible) I have proof enough to say, "I told you so, Honey." :)

One of the biggest things on our to do list was to find a place to live. We searched the paper for listings of places that were available. Based on what was in the classifieds, I was very hopeful we'd find something great with more space and pay as much or less than I paid for my 1-bedroom in Salt Lake. We narrowed down the options and set a few appointments, then headed out to look at the places...suddenly I felt very hopeless about our prospects.

The first place we looked at Dan was really excited about but I wasn't super thrilled. The landlady lived across the street from us. Not a big deal except that during our tour she commented on how we'd need to sweep the porch weekly to keep to free of debris. Well, I'm not exactly the most obsessively clean person, but I'm also not some teenager who needs mom to hang over my shoulder telling me how to clean and I suspected that's exactly what would happen. No way in my opinion.

We went to a couple more places and suddenly the first place wasn't looking so bad and the picky landlady seemed livable. The other places were trashed, small, dark, low ceilings (a 6'6" husband requires high ceilings in the whole apartment), smelly and way overpriced for what we were seeing and what they were asking for.

I was beginning to get a little nervous since I only had 1 day in Pocatello and it was looking like we weren't going to find much success on our trip with time ticking away very quickly.

We looked at the place we later chose but left still somewhat unsure. We headed back to Dan's sister's place so Dan could go back to work in West Yellowstone. I visited a bit with his sister and nieces before I returned to Salt Lake. Before Dan was far on the road and I left, we both called each other saying we needed to take this place:

The kitchen

Living Room

Extra bedroom

(All of these pictures were taken the day we looked at it. Not our things.)

Now began the process of packing up 8½ years of stuff in my 1-bedroom unit to sort, give away, toss, keep, pack and move to my new place in Idaho...

My old kitchen; mid-move

Living room; mid-move

Bedroom; mid-move

Current/Temporary bedroom, yes, it's in the living room.

(I gave way my bed and the bedding so I had to use what was still available.)

My stuff in our new place, safe and sound (living room).

More of my stuff (living room).

Yes, even more of my stuff (extra bedroom). Now which box to begin unpacking...

Well, time for FHE, guess that's it for right now....

Can I please have a do-over today!

This has not really been my morning. We'll be heading to Logan shortly for the USU/LSU game (Amanda & Sid gave us tickets for Christmas). I thought I'd make some Rice Krispy Treats. We don't have any Rice Krispies so I thought I'd use Cheerios instead. I start to get things together and realize the only butter I have is still in the freezer. Oh, well it has to be melted anyway, it should be fine. I turn on the burner and keep gathering things together...well the burner on my electric stove starts to sound funny and I realize that I turned on the rear and not front burner. Not a huge deal except the marshmallow packages were on the burner. Whoops. I try to quickly clean up part of the mess and get the right burner going. I add marshmallows, those not fried to the now open package, and since they are a little old, they just keep lumping together. It never really melted quite right. As if that wasn't enough. I think I had way too many marshmallows and not quite enough Cheerios. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

Now, had I had a gas stove, which is my personal preference, this problem never would have happened! What's with everyone thinking electric ones are so great. I have never liked them and continue to find reasons why my dream house will have a gas range!

P.S. anyone know how to clean burned plastic bag off of a flat electric burner????

Way past update time...I know...Part 3

Ok, so the talk is over and went well, thanks to those who have asked. Plus, Dan's having a "man date" (Gilmore Girls reference here) with his son which means that I have a little time to try and get more of an update posted....so here goes...

After a few weeks and a visit or two, Dan and I were able to shop for my ring. He'd suggested I go look at settings and then narrow down the selection. I had it down to 4 then went back a couple weeks later with to look at them. I altered my selection by eliminating a couple and adding one or two more. When Dan and I talked on the phone I mentioned that one setting kept coming to mind for me. Even though he'd not seen it yet, he said to go ahead and set that one aside. When we went into the store together, we settled on the one I'd kept thinking about. I'd always wanted my wedding band to look ok by itself and we looked at those together. I wanted Dan to help me choose part and so he helped with the final selection of my wedding band. Now that the selection is complete and I've had them both on my finger for a few months now (3 since yesterday to be exact) I find that I'm often looking at both as I'm working. I still admire them so I suspect that means I've picked the right rings.

We spent several visits, after everything was official, getting to meet and know each other's families. We were able to attend a family reunion for my mom's family and one for his siblings.

Picnic with Kevin, Nathan and Cameron to meet Dan.

Singing the Horrocks Family Song at the family reunion. Broadbents, we CAN NOT be outdone!

The Chicken Song performed by Dan, Mark and Andy Horrocks

with Sid Horrocks on the guitar.

We even celebrated our first Christmas together in August!

Sid and Dan after opening their Christmas gifts for Playmill Christmas.

Throughout the summer I would periodically send Dan cards or notes in the mail. Sometimes I would leave them at his place so he'd find them after I'd left for home. Going to the post office for Dan was often a surprise throughout the whole summer.


At least one of us got some mail this summer! :)

The Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone, Montana, Dan's place of employment the summer we met and got engaged. Many hours were spent here during our visits. We were able to watch all three shows they put on, See How They Run, Oklahoma!, and Hello, Dolly!

This is where Dan was the first time I walked into the Playmill, and many visits after. In fact, we could often both be found in the box office when I was up visiting.



Dan and Sid were roommates for the summer while they both worked at the Playmill. They resided in an older hotel which all of the Playmill cast lived in. Not much but they had a good time.

Well, Dan's back home and the hour is quickly getting late. Guess I'll have to sign off here. So...To be continued....