All those years of piano lessons got me HERE!?

Fact: I play the piano.

Fact: The piano is NOT the same thing as the organ.

It's a simple enough concept, right? Try telling that to our bishopric who called me to be the ward organist in September.

I think they were desperate.

It's been a learning process. The first couple times I had to play I had emotional breakdowns in the middle of sacrament meeting. I am now to the point where I can play without crying. That doesn't mean I don't want to. I still don't really know all the buttons mean. It looks like a spaceship control panel.

I'm getting a little better, but I still don't consider myself an organ player. In my next ward, if anyone asks, I have no musical ability whatsoever. They can put me in the nursery.

Things Marriage Has Taught Me

1. Netflix is the greatest thing ever. Before marriage, I rarely watched movies because I have this philosophy that when groups of people get together, they should interact with each other rather than sit around watching movies. I also never watched movies alone because that's just sad. Plus, I need someone to answer my questions when I am confused with the story line (which is all the time...). But now that I have a built-in movie watching buddy, we watch movies all the time!  I am finally watching all those movies that EVERYONE except me has seen. Hopefully now I will stop hearing, "What? You've never seen that??" 

2. I like to cook. This one surprised me because I've never had a reason to cook before. During the last three years of college I've survived on grilled cheese sandwiches, cereal, pasta from a box, and chicken nuggets. I didn't see the point in spending all the time and energy to make a nice meal for myself. Now that I have someone else to eat the food with me, cooking has suddenly become fun. Ben usually helps me. Not only is it rewarding to successfully follow a recipe, but it has been a great bonding experience for Ben and I. Yes, there have been several nights where our dinner was not edible and we ended up at Subway, but that happens to the best of us. We're still learning. 



3. Financial Aid is the greatest thing ever. No explanation needed.


4. A messy house isn't going to kill me. Injure me, maybe. But not kill me. I always assumed that I would marry a clean freak just like me. Just come look at our living room floor and you will see that this is not what happened. I try to remind myself that no one's house is perfect and the mess doesn't matter that much. But then I decide that it does matter and I clean it up. Maybe I'll get lucky and my kids will be clean freaks. Probably not. One of these days I'll have to get over my clean fetish, but that day is not going to be today.


5. The world does not revolve around me. Before marriage, I only had to worry about myself. Suddenly now I have to learn to put someone else's needs ahead of my own. And as much as I love Ben, it's hard to get over that "I am the most important person" mentality. I guess this is good practice with putting other people first before we have kiddos. 


6. Getting married does not suddenly make you a grown-up. I still feel like a kid who doesn't know anything about anything. But I'm learning. Isn't that what life is all about?

Random Thoughts and an Update

I have come to find out that writing a blog is like writing in your journal.  You set out wanting to write everyday or at least once a week or every other week.  But that doesn't happen.  What do you write about in a blog?  How do you keep people coming back and back to read?
 Well, October is flying by just like September.  I am involved with football coaching a team that has a lot of talent but we have ended up on the losing end the last two weeks.  If we are to make it into the championship game at the end of the season we have to win out.  I think that we can do it.  I have confidence in this team.
 This month Cali and I went to a haunted corn maze outside of Rexburg.  I was confident that I wasn't going to get scared or scream.  I mean October of last year, I went to a Haunted House in Oklahoma City and i laughed the whole way through.  This maze made me scream.  The "scary" people were popping up around corners and that totally caught me off guard.  This week we plan on hitting up a haunted house in Idaho Falls and A Haunted Mill.  It should be fun.  October is a good month to get scared.
I really don't know what else to say.... I need to get back and do some homework.  Homework is calling my name and I feel like I need to get caught up for the rest of the week.  So I have to do only a minimum amount throughout my busy week.  Oh by the way, Cali and I are doing great and can't wait for Halloween to come and go and then on to Thanksgiving for a feast.