Manly Men

Today, I discovered something about Isaac.

If you don't know Isaac very well, let me be the first to tell you that he is the type of person who loves asking for help. That may sound weird, but really, it's true. For example, he'll ask the guy at best buy "Ok, so will you tell me everything about this computer, just so I can understand it better." He loves involving people in a decision he's making, and I think he just loves to let others help him learn. Sometimes, it can even become a crutch for him because he has such a hard time just doing things on his own; he just likes others' input. But anyway, today... was a different story.

I don't know how many wives, girlfriends, or sisters out there are familiar with this place:

 But it is seriously like a different world. Upon walking through its doors a typical woman will find that every husky, working man is "just there to help if you need it" and every woman working there is annoyed by you. In the few times I've gone, I've learned to expect this, and honestly, I use it to my advantage sometimes. ("Hey there, Mr. Handsome, you wanna come over here and find me everything in the whole store that I need? *giggle*)

But today, no, today was a different story. Today I went with Isaac to Home Depot. Isaac is building some shelves in our laundry room for storage. He's been working on this project for a few weeks now, and it's kinda his baby.

And this afternoon he ascertained that we needed "just a few more things" to get these shelves up and running. I was already out and about with him, so I went along. I stayed in the background once we got to Home Depot, knowing that Isaac knew what he needed and where to find it. As we got to the isle, though, Isaac was unsure of something to do with the screws he needed. For 5 minutes he went back and forth, thinking through everything. Twice he was asked by a worker if he needed help, and he said no. I looked on in wonder. This was not the husband I knew!

Then it hit me.

In this magical man-world named Home Depot, no respectable man asks for help! Shouldn't knowledge about wood, tools, and screws just be inherent for the manliest men? *Insert manly grunt here*

I watched for a while, smiling inside (but definitely not outside, I couldn't let him see I was enjoying this) and eventually, I realized what I had to do. I walked up to a worker guy (across the isle, far enough away from Isaac to look like I was on my own). I smiled and sweetly asked "Hi, I just need a little help knowing what to do here, do you think you could help me?" To which the husky man with tattoos eagerly replied, "Of course!" All during the time that the man was helping me, Isaac stayed on the other side of the isle. I was kinda laughing inside at this point. He was being pretty adorable about the whole thing. But eventually we got what we needed and headed out.

So here's the ultimate discovery I made today. Home Depot changes people, and no one is exempt from this. Even my husband fell under the stereotypical spell of sheer "manliness," cast on every poor man the moment he walks through the Depot doors. Men become "manlier", and women... we just become "helpless", or so they think... (tell that to Mr. Husky!).

Overall, the trip was successful and he's finally gonna get those shelves done. And I'm still smiling just thinking about the whole thing.

We love our ward

  Isaac and I love our ward (church organization) here. The ward is full of a ton of genuine, friendly people, and the lessons are wonderful. So far, we both agree that we've never felt so welcomed. Each Sunday we've had at least 2 or 3 people come and say "hi" just because they are super excited we're there. There's a lot of leadership in the ward, so it's not like the really "need" us, but even all of the leadership goes out of their way to say hi to us. I feel like every ward should be like that.

  Anyway, so seeing as today is Sunday, Isaac and I went to church. We both enjoyed all of our lessons. Isaac is loving his Elder's Quorum. He says that they actually talk and participate in the discussion, which he's never experienced before. I guess today was about home teaching and things got pretty animated. Isaac, during a particularly tense part of the lesson raised his hand and said, "One of the blessings I received through home teaching is my wife!" I guess everyone gave a chuckle at that.

  My relief society lessons are always good as well. I feel like they are somewhat the "typical" relief society, so I have to let myself give into it a little. But I've found that as I let my guard down and stop judging so much, these Relief Society ladies have a lot to offer. Today, our lesson was about gratitude. It was accompanied by homemade refrigerator magnets complete with the phrase "Gather here with grateful hearts"

Yes, there was also a floral center piece, the doily table cloth underneath them all. I was somewhat disappointed because 2 weeks ago, we got treats as well. I guess because it's Fast Sunday, they didn't want to mess with those.
   So, though the Relief Society is really as stereotypical as is can get (I'm hoping for an ice sculpture centerpiece next week!), it's also pretty great. Today, I was just chilling by myself (I'm not the most naturally outgoing person. Why force it, you know?) and a lady who was already sitting somewhere else just came over, sat next to me, and starting talking to me. She was completely genuine, and it was nice.
   So that's our ward. We're really excited to be here. Also, we went to choir practice for 2 hours tonight for this annual presentation. It looks like it's kinda a major thing. We're singing the Halleluiah Chorus and stuff. It should be pretty boss, and Isaac and I are very excited to participate. 
   Anyway, so that's all for now. Just a wonderful Sabbath Day full of a bunch of wonderful people.

Symposium Video

Here's my symposium presentation. I felt like it went pretty well. I think I said "um" a little too much and needed a bit more enthusiasm. Also, half way through the guy at the back held up my time, so I got distracted. Other than that, I felt like I got my point across. :)

Fall Fun and Regular Life

So life has started to calm down, which is nice. Last week, Isaac and I drove all the way to Utah and back so that I could present at this symposium.

This banner was tied up in downtown Provo. It made me feel pretty special to see a banner for something that I'm presenting in. It was a really neat experience. We heard many different speeches from lots of different people, all about Strengthening the Family. It felt neat to be apart of such a great cause that is so needed in today's world.


We made it back (with no car problems!!) late Sunday, and on Monday we went to a Stake trunk or treat. It was a bunch of fun. Isaac and I went with a Wizard of Oz theme, and both of our costumes cost less than $10. :D

I think the best part of Halloween is seeing all of the little kids dressed up in their various costumes. At the trunk or treat all of the trunks were decked out in different decorations. We even came upon and "Occupier." Haha this family had set up a tent, instead of a trunk, and had signs saying things like, "Occupy Trunk or Treat." and "Everyone deserves free candy!" It was pretty awesome, and I'm kicking myself right now for not taking a picture of it.

Beyond that, our lives have finally fallen into a nice routine. I'm looking for a job still, and Isaac's job is going well. I'm also finding that homemaking is like the best thing ever. It kinda makes me sad that I have to find a job, because staying at home and making it pretty every day is lots of fun. Just recently I bought a shelf with some left over wedding gift cards that looks like this:

I'm very excited to put it up. I decided that in the 4 little picture things I wanted to do the word "love" in the alphabet photo letters like these:

  But as I scanned through the internet to see if I could find any to copy and print out, all of them were the wrong size or had watermark copyright on them. So I got an idea! What if I just took random shapes around our apartment, and made my own letters. I did that, with Isaac looking at me like I was crazy (he didn't know why I was taking pictures), and I was very excited about the outcome:

The "L" is my least favorite letter, but in general, I think it's gonna look cool!

Anyway, so back to regular life for Isaac and I. I'll try to post a video of my presentation at the symposium on here soon. :)