The Stove That Blew Up

BECKY: Two weeks ago our stove blew up. Well, sort of. There was a big spark and I consider that to be an explosion. I am dedicating this blog to the exceptional appliance this avocado stove and oven was.

This was the first oven that I learned to bake bread in. My first loaf of bread was still gooey inside, but this was not the fault of the oven. This was purely the fault of the baker. I also have made dozens of delicious Symphony Bar Cookies in this oven. I can still remember the big spill in the bottom of the oven from multiple foods that have completely boiled over. I can't help but be grateful that I will not need to scrub that thing till my arm is numb before we move out of apartment. Even though it is about 45 years old, it still cooked evenly! They just don't make things like they used to.

Onto the stove. I used this thing a lot. the knobs were a little stiff, but they always turned on, well all but one. I also experimented with new foods on this stove and most of them were delicious (according to Jarred). We made many a yummy breakfasts on those burners. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash browns...those poor hash browns. That's what I was cooking when the stove blew up.

I was just enjoying a lovely, lazy Sunday morning making breakfast. I started with the hash browns and sausage because they took the longest. The hash browns were starting to smell yummy, but then I could smell them starting to burn a little bit. Confused, I turned down the knob to medium-low, yet the burner kept getting hotter. Pretty soon my lovely hash browns were turning black! I was so frustrated so I turned the knob to the lowest setting and hoisted the skillet off the stove to start turning the taters over. As I was about to set the skillet back down onto the burner, there was a huge loud spark that shot out from under the knob. It scared me so much that I even screamed. Jarred was still in bed, but didn't bother to come save me when I screamed because apparently I scream quite often when I cook. After the spark, our house was flooded with the horrible smell of an electrical fire. I don't know if you have ever smelled this before, but it makes you want to throw up. This smell lasted for about 5 days. This is the result of the stove. It isn't a huge burn mark, but you can see the black on the right side of the oven door.



We will be without the use of this delightful appliance for at least another week because apparently they make stoves a little bit bigger these days and the bottom drawer will need to be cut out since buying a drop in style is extremely expensive. So, our little apartment will be getting a little renovation. It will be sad to see this one go because that means we will only have one thing left in our kitchen that matches the color of our dishes exactly: our sink. The avocado fridge went out the day we moved in, now the stove/oven is leaving us, and our land lord is now spreading rumors about replacing the sink to match the rest of the kitchen. Sad day, our kitchen is losing its charm.

Catching Up

JARRED: To the very few who may semi-often check our blog, may we apologize for our lack of writing. There are a thousand reasons why we have not posted in over a year. But, really only one that perhaps made it impossible. I forgot our login information! I know what you're thinking, it just goes to whatever email address is on the account. Well, I forgot which address it went to. Turns out it went to an address that Becks hasn't used in quite some time. Needless to say, I finally figured out her old password and was able to retrieve the necessary information to log in and author this post.

The last post written was a venting session over a class that I am very happy to report is over! A lot has happened since last July. Becky's little brother, Matthew, left to serve his mission in San Jose. He has faithfully completed one year of his two year stint. We welcomed a new nephew into the family. Weston, son of Joe and Megan, was born in September 2008. He just had his first birthday, and made it known to all that he thoroughly enjoys birthday cake and blue frosting!

Becky continues to make new born babies cry. This is due to the fact that she is the best medical assistant in Provo! She loves being around the kids, especially the babies! Dancing was a big part of Becky's life while growing up. She has been able to take up her life long hobby once again as she started dancing at the studio where she once was a student and eventually a teacher. She also has followed in her mother's footsteps and started her own piano teaching studio. She enjoys teaching her students, and seeing them progress and become better piano players.

My story has yet to change. I am, and seemingly forever will be a student at UVU. Although, there does seem to be a faint flicker of light at the end of the long, long academic tunnel I call school. I'm hoping to finish my study of communication in the next few semesters. Meanwhile, I am still doing my part to make sure the cars are clean and straight at the car dealership I'm employed at. Right now my time consists of work, school, more work, and finally homework. With the little free time I have, and when I'm not writing blogs, I am cheering on my beloved Cougars. Although I am sad for their loss this past Saturday, I hold out hope that they will rebound and reload. Go Cougars!

Well, there you have it. A brief written summery of our life up until now. We'll try to keep posting!

The Wrath of Math

JARRED: For the past three years I have been plugging away at my college education. Semester after semester I check off requirements that enable me to earn a degree that still seems so far in the distance. Nevertheless, progress is being made.

There is one course, I'm very sad to say, that I have not made as much progress in. Math, like for a lot of people, has always been a daunting subject for me. The anxiety that I experience when I even think about it is tremendous. I remember spending hours on homework in high school trying to figure out the answer to a problem, and never being able to do it quite right. Needless to say, it was very frustrating and frankly didn't make me want to pursue any higher education in the course.

But, the time has long since come to where it is the only general education class I have left. I am actually a good way into my major, but have been avoiding this one particular class like it was the bubonic plague. So, my better half and I decided that this summer was the time to finally get it over with and be done for good.

Due to the horrible rumors and bad reputation that UVU's math department has, I decided to earn my math credit online through a small community college in Kansas. There is a tutoring business here in Orem that will work with you, and make sure you understand the material. So far it has been great because there is only five other students in the course. A lot of them have been avoiding math to the point where it is the only class they need for their bachelors degree.

The class is going pretty good so far. I do not have as much anxiety as I used to have. But, I have learned that math is still the most time consuming subject that I have taken thus far. Math has always been a gigantic mountain right in the middle of my college path. But, thanks to the help and encouragement of my lovely wife, I am finally scaling it and slowly but surely making my way to the top. Thanks Becky! I love you!

"Yes, we have them..."

JARRED: My younger brother is entering the bonds of matrimony this coming Thursday. His Bride-to-be, with whom we love, was having a bridal shower tonight which Becky attended. Before the shower Becky wanted to do so some last minute shopping for her outfit she will be wearing to the reception. We spent hours on Saturday going from store to store attempting to find a shirt or skirt or dress that would even come close to the colors the Bride picked for the event. Finally, we found a very nice summer dress that pretty near matched one of three colors to choose from.

Tonight was the night we set out to find the "perfect pair of shoes." Luckily for me, Becky really only shops for shoes at one store. She purchases her super high heels, as she calls them, at Forever Young Shoes in University Mall. We go in, looking for what I call "shiny white" high heels, which has a glossy finish. We find the pair she wants, but the store did not have the right size. The hardest part about shopping for shoes is finding the right size in the style you want. The salesgirl was nice enough to call another store to see if they had the style and size we needed. To our surprise South Towne Mall had the pair we needed.

With the wedding in two days, there was not enough time to have them inner-store transfer the shoes down to Orem. So, I told Becky that I would drive up to Sandy and pick them up while she went to the bridal shower. On my way up to Sandy I was thinking to my self, "I sure hope they have the right shoes." They couldn't have the wrong shoes, I mean they called up and confirmed they were there. Well, the confirmation was too much to hope for. I got to the front desk and opened the box they had waiting for me. Low and behold, it was the wrong pair of shoes! I couldn't believe it. I drove 30 miles to find that they had the same shoes the Orem store had! My self-fulfilling prophecy came to pass.

The one lesson I learned from this experience is that double checking the details will save you time, and in my case a whole lot of gas. So, before you set out on such an adventure, make sure that what you expect to be at where ever you are going is really what you are after.

TOE TAG

I guess i've been tagged by Lois. hopefully i can make it as interesting as she made hers!

How long did you date?

Jarred and I dated for about 9 months, 3 of which we were officially engaged. I think thats rights, i'm terrible with dates. The worst part of it was that for most of our dating relationship we had to do the long distance stuff. I was in Rexburg going to school and he was down here in Provo going to school. That was not fun! But, we don't have to worry about that anymore, thank goodness!

Who eats more?

I think its me. It seems like i'm hungry a lot more than he is, so i eat a lot of little meals, but when he does eat, he eats a ton, but i still think i eat more. maybe not. i don't know. what kind of question is this?

Who is taller?

Definately Jarred. I'm about 5'8" and he is 6'1 or 2" i think. This is great because i love to wear high high heels. (yup i meant to write high twice, the higher the better). I can wear really tall heals and he is still taller than me! i love it!!!

Who is smarter?

Well this is a weird question. do they mean book smarts or street smarts. if it is book smarts, i might be smarter, but jarred is definately more street smart. It just seems like the stuff i don't know very well, like cars, jarred knows a lot about. Then theres stuff i know that jarred doesn't know as much about. We make a good team.

Whose temper is worse?

I think mine is for most things. I always have a hard time keeping my anger in control for some things, especially when its something about jarred. But, jarred isn't perfect either, the things that i'm patient with, he sometimes isn't. We are like opposites, its weird.

Who does the laundry?

We both do it, but its mostly jarred that does most of it. He can't stand to have things left undone, so when we have our dirty laundry sitting around he somehow fiinds time to do it. I try to help with it as much as i can, but i'm usually too much of a procrastinator. But, i definately fold the laundry better than he does, he even admits that.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

What does that mean? do they mean the right as in direction, or is there a better side to sleep on? I think jarred sleeps on the better side of the bed because its not next to the alarm. But thats probably a good thing because he doesn't even hear the alarm. i have to wake him up every morning after the alarm jolts me awake. I have no clue how he doesn't hear the stupid thing.

Who pays the bills?

Jarred pays most of them, i just pay our health insurance because he has messed it up twice and made us pay double. thats not fun when your budget is so small. he is always so organized and bordoring obsessed with paying the bills. This is good because we never get late fees for any kind of payment. With my kind of absent-mindedness, i would be making us pay late fees all over the place, which reminds me i think our health insurance is due soon! i better pay it after this post.

Who cooks dinner?

I always do. Thankfully we are in a supper club and so i'm not cooking every night. But, i am glad to cook because that means we will usually eat something good. jarred does the dishes after i cook, which is so nice of him to do. He doesn't always like it, so i offered to switch jobs and have him cook, but he never accepts because he knows he's not a very good cook. I'm always glad he doesn't accept the offer because then i don't know what the heck we would be eating!

Who drives when you are together?

Jarred definately does. A few time i have driven, but its most likely jarred and that doesn't bother me because he's a good driver.

Who is more stubborn?

I am. i have a really hard time admitting i am wrong about something and so i will be stubborn just to not admit i was wrong, but usually i will finally admit it.

Who kissed who first?

HUH? we kissed at the same time. its not like i kissed him while he was passed out or something. this is a weird question.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?

It totally depends on the situatioin. if we were both in the wrong, i am usually the one to admit it first, but if its just me thats wrong, i take a while to admit it.

Whose parents do you see the most?

I think its about the same, thats what we try to do. Our parents live about 3 blocks away from each other, so its not too hard to give them the same amount of attention. it just is hard on holidays because we don't get to spend the entire time with just one family so we miss things from both families on those days.

Who proposed?

jarred did. i am not the kind of girl that would propose to a guy. and speaking of this, if i would have proposed would i have picked out his wedding band or something and offered him that or would i have just bought my own ring and put it on myself when he said yes? this is too weird to think about.

Who is more sensitive?

i am. jarred is sensitive too, but i am usually much more sensitive. theres usually some kind of waterworks going on with me, but that might be also due to the birth control.

Who has more friends?

i don't know, maybe me because i show that i have more friends than him on facebook.

Who has more siblings?

jarred does, he has 2 brothers and 3 sisters. I have 4 brothers.

Who wears the pants in the family?

we both do. just only on sunday i wear a skirt and he wears slacks. what a silly question, we are in the 21st century, everyone wears pants now, mostly jeans i think.

Do you have a song?

we have had a lot of songs, the first one was Ocean Avenue by Yellow Card because when we were chatting online while we were dating we were both listening to this song, so it was our first song.

now i tag anyone who reads this if they haven't done it yet.