Are you watching this foorball game???

Holy cow... Overtime!!! my husbands team is on carolina of course... 2nd down, 5 seconda left, fieldgoal running on the field, spiked ball with 1 second left!!! full field, more than 11 players on field, penalty but one second to kick! tied it up!!! Overtime, he is in heaven:)

The day after..

This week is weird, i felt like yesterday was sunday, today i feel like it is saturday and it's crazy that is three days i will be 24! then 3 days from that a new year will be here... this new year i already have so many new things planned out... in my mind!!! I am not ready for this year to close because i know one of the hardest parts at the bank is to start writing 2011 instead of 2010. I am a tad bit excited to sit down and actually right out all these new years resolution things i have in my head and share them with no one but andrew:) haha- This year has been a great one for us, we truly are blessed depsite all of our iniquities! We have been so laxed with the things that we should be doing DAILY! sometimes i have to stop what i am doing in that very moment and just thank heavenly father for what we have and what we are able to accomplish. the question to start our family has been weighing on our minds lately but we thought we would wait until the new year to make our final decision on that one too... so as for now we have stopping drinking soda, not making my lessons same day and decide wether to continue in my career,which by the way is going so well i am even surprised myself!... or to start the family... decisions decisions....

I can't believe christmas is here and i don't want it.

I have been so consumed in this crazy world lately that i have no time to breath, think, etc. It is Christmas! yes let me say... CHRISTmas! but i think they should change the name to presentmas because that is all most people think about. dont get me wrong, i like presents especially if they are surprises, but working at a bank this year is showing me just how much people really do spend on christmas... get this... one girl opened a credit card for 8 THOUSAND dollars and she said she had just spent it ALL!!! I also had one little old lady take out 3700 in cash just to give to one of her daughters who she "owes" christmas too- it just makes me sad, it seems the inly thing that matters anymore is just who can get the best and most expensive new cool gadget. This time of year always humbles me. This year as so many people have lost everything that they worked for, some not by choice and others let theirs go, but when i take a look at what i have in my life, i should be NOTHING but thankful for. I have a home! WE have a home, at age 23 Andrew and I OWN a home and with a good payment we can pay withough draining us every month, we have not one car but 2! We have awesome families with lots of fun kids in it to play with and have as examples around us... I have been reading the work and the glory books and realize just how hard it was for the saints to even go to church! I have the church with the sacrament and amazing ward friends i can go to any time! I HAVE the gospel, the most important thing that got me to the point that i am now. I cannot really express where I would be if i had not converted 9 years ago!!! On top of all this I am working on an awesome career. I am truly blessed and i am thankful for what i have been blessed with. This season me and Andrew decided to have familly time, some with his, some with ours and some to ourselves, no need for presents that accompany debt:) Nothing like a christmas vacation movie and some hot cider on christmas day! Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this, and who does not read this. I hope no one takes offense to what i said- not all people who buy presents are BAD- take this the right way. Christ was A gift to us, A gift to give is good:)

Gratitude

This holiday season has brought much fun and joy to me! I spent thanksgiving with my in laws mainly because my mom had to work so my family did not get together this year. I was sad to miss my moms cooking and my sisters pies but it was nice not having to rush to get from one dinner to the next. Hardly nobody from the Crandell side ended up coming up this year, it was different than i have ever seen up here, usually there is not enough beds! Well to say the least i did not want to go to church on sunday. My mother in law told me to force myself because thats when i NEED to go. I was so glad i did- wellt o sacrament anyway:) the talks on gratitude were very humbling and it made me think about all i complain about and other people not having. The stories had statements like, be grateful you dont know everything for it give you an opportunity to learn- this concept applies to EVERYTHING in life. I always complain about the most petty things in my mind after i really thought and devoured what the talks were about. I complain because my cell phone sucks but i am not grateful that i can afford one and that i have a job to be able to have that luxury. I complain that my clothes are not what i USED to buy, but at least i have clothes and shoes and money to buy any- the luxury to buy them and not Make or Sew them... I could go on and on. I take so many things for grantid without giving thanks and being grateful. My husband is such a good example of this. He always tells me i need to be more grateful. He is so great and keeps his patience with me, which sometimes i lose very quickly with things and people- He is always grateful for whatever i do for him, cook for him or make for him- even if the food is not good which i have made (just) a few bad- not so tasty dishes. In this new year- yes i am already starting the things i need to work on for my NYR- hopefully not to break on january 2nd! I want to be more grateful and thankful for what i have and what i am able to do. i have legs, i need to walk/run more. I have talents and i need to use them. I am grateful i was even able to spend thanksgiving week with my family, to andrew and Daniel who are teaching me how to hunt AND showing me patience. I will post more about my hunt later:)

so i have decided....

Since my blog with all my photos died i decided to do a different one- I could not figure out what happened to it... It is mcmfotographi.blogspot.com- it is under my family tab- i am updating it now with all my old stuff but have plenty new stuff to add so stay tuned for that- I am going up north for the thanksgiving week because i got drawn for bull elk so i will be doing a lot of blog at night- wish me luck to kill a big elk because i have never done this before!!!! eeeeee!!!! Ha[[y thanksgiving! be sure to give thanks!

one more note to add

I found out today that in the working world, you have to be a smoker to qualify yourself to get multiple breaks in a day. I can't beleive we live in such a stupid world full of dumb people who smoke cigarettes!

I need a break

Sometimes life is a blur, I get that. I hear parents a lot saying, when did they grow up? or how did they grow up so fast. Well now I understand just a little. 2 monthgs a go i started a job at wells fargo. a month and a half ago i hated my job at wells fargo. Let me emphasize the word hate to you. I did never want to go and when i was there i could not wait for the clock to hit the time that i was supposed to be off. My feet hurt because i was standing in heels for 8 hours a day and my legs hurt because my feet hurt and my head hurt because i would not stop complaining and moaning and groaning about how I hate my job but dont want to give it up because i have sundays off and blah blah blah. on the other hand... I love my job at the casino. I don't know if it is just the aroma of coming home every day smeling of old lady cheap perfume and cigarettes or if it the old nasty "7 star" people i have to deal with on a daily basis who expect you to pretty much wipe their butts for them! But i just like it. Boy do i sound so negative right now! getting to the point now. I love both of my jobs now... i have always liked the casino despite the crazy hours, no holidays or weekend off... but now i love the bank too. I am doing SO well there. Better than i ever have thought myself to do. I have confidence when i walk through that door and the people there now know that i am a force to reckon with... but can i keep it up? STRESS!!!! beginning of the month is always so tough because we are pushed to set appointments and get accounts. You would never know that a "teller" is a sales position but beleive me, it is not a walk in the park! so next time you go to the bank, be nice to your teller-0 the job is the hardest i have EVER had! it's crazy. so here is my rant. I don't know what to do! eeerrrr. The casino has full time openings that i could apply for and as of now i am an on call employee- oh please help. Casino... do i quit you and just focus on WF? or do i keep you and WF as i am doing now, squeezing my daily doings in with my picture taking that i enjoy so much.... oh the choices...
HEY!!!! does anyone need an account? :)

empty feeling and life changes

some time back I decided I wanted a change in my life- not like a different hair style but a change in my feelings. I felt empty. I had no emotions at all, although from time to time i would cry for no good reason. For almost a month and a half we thought i was pregnant and i did not know how i felt about that either. I have always been one to know and say exactly how i was feeling but i couldn't, i was just Blah- I decided that it was just where we live, andrew hates it because there is no woods, i hate it because there is no life and we both hate it because of the heat. I will admit that i am not the worlds best prayer but i decided it was time to do just that. Andrew and I made a list of all the spiritual things we wanted to do and be better at- i will not list all of them but one of ours was not watching any rated r movies. I will admit it has helped and i feel so good that i have been able to conquer it. I took a trip with my sister in law caroline and for their privacy i wont share the story but i went and was able to see Fred, my brother in law. I could not beleive that it was him. He was a blessing to me, and it was EXACTLY what i needed to help me on my way. It made me see all the things in my life that i take for grantid every single stinkin day and the other things that i should hold so dear to me i almost dont even care about. the main example was my scriptures. I have a set of scriptures, i have books and the ensign and church literature at my fingertips at ANY given moment but i don't take the opportunity to read It instead of watching TV. I let my everyday duties and stuff (satan) tell me that i am too busy to pray, to read my scriptures and to attend church, institute, even FHE. The world is so fast paced that for these things i dont even think twice about doing and it is pathetic. I am pathetic to have such good things in my life and to not even give them a second thought. Andrew and I decided that couples prayer was something we would do morning and night- it helps! I can't beleive what it does for me, us! Fred's countenance had made me cry, made me think about how i would feel if all the sudden the world was taken from me and i had nothing to do and could do nothing about it. It really made me realize how blessed i am and how stupid i am for abusing it all so much! I WANT the spirit in my home daily, but yet i dont invite it in daily. I WANT to attenc church every week and fulfill my calling, but yet i HAVE to keep my second job and not go. I love love love visiting teaching. I never really did it in singles ward or when i lived in Heber but now that i go and do it, i love it- honestly it is the highlight of my month! I just can't beleive that i hit that "bottom" to where i needed to be woken up by someone ( i guess it happens to us all) to see what i truly want. I am so thankful for moving to heber when i was young and having all those religion battles with Brian and Brandi, otherwise i would have never joined the church. It all seems crazy to me to look back and see what i have been through and lean on that as a crutch, no more of that crapola. I need to feel my emotions whether it is sad or depressed, happy or sad, I just am not happy with this empty feeling and just being here. I would not have chose to be a part of the 2/3 that want to come down and i know Heavenly father would not have given me a body if i had no purpose. There are so many things i want to and need to accomplish in my life by myself and with my husband. I think about my sister in law azure who died and have a peaceful feeling knowing that she without a doubt of my mind will make it to the highest glory and that is what i want to feel on a daily basis if anything should happen to me, and right now i pretty much feel like i would go to hell! well i feel better now then i did 2 months ago:) But this is just my honest and raw emotion. Change can only start with me.

another missionary transferred.

The pictures are always taken in front of whitey- andrews first deer he shot.

Since we moved into our house a frequent guest of ours are the missionaries. we made good friends with the first pair and it has been that way ever since. They will stop by on their way home and we try to feed them often, another one of our favorites just got transferred a few weeks ago, we always get a picture with them when they do- Since the missionaries have come over now that we have our own house, every time they leave in my mind i challenge myself to do a little better. Me and andrew have not been the greatest about sticking to every counsel like we used to do. I will post on this later bbut here is a pic of the missionary who left.

Fourth of July- Late

we always go up to Heber for the 4th of July celebration. This time My father in law is running in te senate so we were in the parade, which i did not get any pictures of dang it, and we all had a Chester Crandell shirt on. Since there was so many people at Alice and chester's house we stayed at my moms house since she is living down in the valley now- we had a lot of fun. we even left the dogs at home with my mom this year. I forgot to take any good pictures really because we were so busy, maybe next year. I hung out a lot this time with my nephew Eric. My brother brian bought a snow cone machine and he had a booth set up so we got to eat snow cones everyday! Andrew was being a bad uncle and getting eric to say freaking with every sentence. Eric, andrew, and I were walking back down to the high school and every truck eric would see he would say who, what a big freaking truck! Andrew asked eric if he wanted to go freaking swimming and eric said, " No, not freaking swimming, just swimming!" it made me laugh.

That is the big "freaking": truck

A year has come and gone already...

here it is finished, they look exactly like our dining table, i love them and tehy were cheap!

All i have to say is thanks babe.

September 1st was a year that Andrew and I have owned and lived in our home. It is so crazy to think that the time has flown by so fast. As i stood in my home the other day looking around i made a list in my head of the things i STILL need to get done, here it is
*Finish painting the 18 foot walls-
*DECORATE our huge upstairs loft- We have was retro vintage (ugly) couch and chairs up there,that andrew has agreed to get rid of:) and NOTHING on the walls but paint- solid color. I take that back we have an elk up there and blinds in all the windows, but NOTHING else. We bought a projector because that is going to be a theater room but we have yet to put it up, paint the wall for the screen or get new furniture:)
*Paint our master bedroom- or any of the other 2 for that matter.
*decorate the master bedroom and bath, or ANY of the bedrooms and bathrooms. The downstairs one and the upstairs bath have a few things in them but nothing compared to where i wanted them to be in a years time.
*patio furniture for out back- we did finsih landscaping the backyard however.
*choose what i want with my kitchen, it was red and now it is beige, but i want it something else.
* Finish stenciling the laundry room. I painted it green and started to stencil but after i put the stencil down i did not finish.
*find window treatments for the dining room/kitchen windows.
*Finish grouting the kitchen after the flood
*Finish the cabinet filler in the kitchen after the flood
and then everyday i feel like it is not clean enough.

The good accomplishments are....
* we have never been late on a payment, even after i lost my job at verizon!
*we have been able to actually help out family when they come down with a place to stay-that's always fun
*we have had the joys and blessing of making our house a home and feeling the spirit here. It is so different being able to "invite" the spirit into your home when it is YOUR home...:)
* we have made a truck load of memories with the work we have done here that can never be taken away or forgotten
* I came home to Andrew staining my wooden bar stools i picked up at a garage sale for 5 bucks! pictures to follow.
*we have our own rules, for the most part aside from HOA- No apartments and we don't live WITH anyone in their home so we get to do whatever we want. It is so fun coming home and being loud and not worrying about waking anyone up, or leaving the house a complete mess if we want to!
*We got our house for an AMAZING deal, even if the market never picks back up again, we are happy with what we picked and what we chose for our money! thanks to an awesome realator Kevin!

oh the list can go on and on if i let it. Andrew and I are so happy and proud or ourselves though with what we have been able to accomplish since we have gotten married. we both have really good jobs, we were able to become debt free, we own a house, 2 cars, we can pay our bills, we have an awesome ward with good friends, 2 cute dogs, a great strong friendship which makes for a healthy marriage and we are doing great. We are missing a few kids and i am missing my degree but that will all come in time! Thanks for all the love and support our friends and family have shown throughout this wonderful year or home ownership and almost 2 and half years of Marriage!

Photos!

I am doing my own little photo blog instead of putting the pictures on this one. I names it crandellography.blogspot.com. :)

A Scorpion slash- bite? WHA?

Have you ever hurt yourself and can NOT for the life of you figure out how you did it? Well i did,- Here is the scoop. A friend of mine from my ward is pregnant, so yesterday i did her photos- we were on the train tracks and i cut my RIGHT toe on a cinder rock or however you spell synder---- i looked down at it, said ow, then kept on my journey. Not kidding- like 45 seconds after that my LEFT foot- whole thing started to hurt, throbbing pain so bad that i could not walk, then it became numb and all i could do was barely limp to my car. Rachael and her husband were lokking as if i were nuts and could not understand how my left foot hurt if i cut my right one- Me either. I continued on with the shoot, crazy pain every time i stepped, i could barely even get up on my couch to take a picture of her below me. my foot became on size-parallel on both sides to my toes without any definition and it became numb, but still soar- how that works i don't know. I called the doctor, i have a close doctor friend who i ask all my doctor questions to, sent her the pic and told her the way i felt-adament that is a scorpion bite! Now before i called her Andrew- my dear husband who is working up north told me to look for bite marks or a bite mark because it sounds like i got bit by something. I could not see anything, but now, i see a little bite mark or a "sting" mark and my flesh is peeling away at that same spot to. So... it is Monday at like 10:30 am and i have been downstairs on my couch in the same spot since SAturday night since like 6- with my mom waiting on me hand in foot because no joke i can BARELY even make it to my backdoor to let my dogs out. It is terrible. I had big plans this weekend too, i even had to give up my money making good shift at the casino! ugh, so here is a note to the little scorpion who bit my poor little foot (not that it was not my fault because i had flip flops on) and who made it numb with horrible shooting pains up my whole entire leg, nausea in my stomach to the point of throwing up and a headache... I will kill you if i ever find you, and if i dont find you i will kill any other scorpion that i come across- Love, your victim- Mandy.

Danielle dress fitting cont....

I have yet to complete all the photos that i want to finish editing for my dearest friend Danielle. She is getting married in December and I am soooo super excited for her. If I only had more time in each of my days to get them ALL finished at once!

The last of the Crums...

so... here is the last of the crums- It took me forever- sorry caroline. I need to stop working two jobs, neglecting my homely chores, laundry and cleaning altogether, cooking and sleeping and take some time to myself... sad thing is... andrew is at work until like 6 am so i am using all the time i can possibly get on the computer doing photos now so i dont have to hear him telling me to get off of the computer later:)

Will you help a family in need?

I know we all hear the many many stories about all the kids in the hospital and the struggles they face everyday to keep their lives. The prayers are AWESOME-so don't forget to pray but I need something else from you. The other day I was told by my cousin that a friend of hers baby is in the phx childrens hospital and has something to the effect of an "adults" equalcy of muscular distrophy- A baby needs the body to function right in order to grow and progress and this little baby is doing the exact opposite. Only heavenly father will sort out the determining factor of how long the baby has on earth at this point but we can all help- if you can. Along with the surgeries and hospital care the bills are piling beyond the point of ever seeing light at the end of the tunnel. They will be holding a silent auction but i thought it would be easier to auction or sell this decor below and give the proceeds to the family before the auction. If you have ANTYHING you can either donate, have to sell or auction, a package you can put together, make or donate if you are crafty or have your own business, let me know or leave me a comment and i would love to add you to the mix and trying to help this family! the decor below is not "priced" all except the one white mirror... I would like this to be a donation that can help the family so please keep that in mind- Thanks so MUCH!!!!

wedding dress fitting...

I had the pleasure of going with Danielle to her dress fitting. This woman is a hoot and I love her. She is getting married at the end of the year in Detroit Michigan and I won't be able to make it so we are doing all we can here to celebrate for it! Pictures and more pictures. We will even do MORE photos when she gets back AFTER her wedding because I can't be there to be her photographer! (tear) So today she tried on 6 dresses and knew which one she wanted when she put her third on... it made me a little teary eyed to see that look in her face when she just knew which one that she wanted- I still remember that feeling. I am glad i could capture some of her feelings through photography on this special day of hers-

some more pictures of the crums...

Caroline and I decided to try to get some better pictures than i got while in texas... we set out in the 150 degree weather and decided after about a half an hour and sweat dripping down everyones face that we should call it quits... I have some other pictured- same day but different location that i cant wait to get up but it will have to wait:)