Living Loving Larsen

Okay we will start with the big news...Eric and I are moving!!! I know I know we are crazy but after talking to some friends at the Memorial Day breakfast last Monday and then helping our closest friends move out it just seemed like the right thing to do. We are only moving about nine blocks which means we are still in the ward and we will be moving to 4220 Grand Ave. We are moving into an apartment that was just vacated by friends from church. We are excited because rent will be cheaper and they will pay for our heat.

Next on the list is last Friday night Eric and I did a last minute trip to Omaha for the night. We were already planning on attending the temple at 8 am and I wasn't sure I wanted to get up that early to drive to Omaha so I got on hotwire.com and found a room for $69. After we got home we researched and found out the room is normally $188 per night. Talk about a deal.





The next update is my garden is actually doing pretty well. The other day Eric brought me a Lamium from work and that is a great plant for shade so hopefully it will do well. Our new apartment doesn't have a deck or patio so we will have to be creative with where we put the plants but I think we will be able to get make it work.

One of the biggest problems with my apartment building is that for some reason when the weather gets warm people want to hang out on the steps in front and in the parking lot at all hours of the night. It happened repeatedly last year and then last night it happened again about 2 AM. Since our windows were open I could hear their conversation clearly. Last year I would get so mad and it would affect my whole day afterwards. This morning I noticed that other than being a little sleepy I wasn't all that upset. It was a great example of how I am doing better with the anxiety and the depression over the past year.

On Wednesday I used my keys to drive to and from my counseling session and then my keys disappeared. I am not the type of person who loses keys and things like that easily so I was so confused. Last night I prayed to be able to find my keys and this morning I had a fuzzy thought as to where my keys might be. Low and behold there they were. Overall it has been a good morning.

So about three months ago Eric and I went to the Winter Quarters Temple and I decided that I wanted Korean food so we found this little hole in the wall place about 20 minutes west of the temple. It was great food and I was in heaven. We were the only people in the resturant the whole time and we got great service. I was able to talk to the lady in Korean and little bit and realize how far my languge has dropped off.

Have you ever learned something from being in an argument with someone? If yes, Why?

My freshman year of college my roommate and I were not compatible in the slightest. I had morning classes so I wanted to get up early and go to bed early, she had afternoon classes so she wanted to stay up late and sleep in etc etc. We got in a few heated arguments over little dumb things but the thing I remember the most was that she couldn't tell me I was wrong if I started with "I feel/think". Ever since then I have tried really hard to avoid pointing fingers and just say what I am perceiving. I have not been perfect at this but living with her for a while really helped me learn how to deal with people in a more productive way.

Describe the role of reading in your life.

I find this question very similar to the last.

Reading is:
-always the first thing I think of when someone asks me what my favorite past time is
-how I calm myself down when I am too upset about my own life
-where I go to understand someone who is very different from me
-my way to live out adventures without worrying aobut malaria
-how I learn so many random facts.

Before we start I will admit this might sound a little sappy. I remember as a child rereading some of the books I owned/favorites (see previous post)over and over especially each time we moved. Since my whole world had just changed I would read my books and the story was the same and the characters were the same and I knew there was consistency somewhere. I also read books so often because they gave me a world of experiences that I never would have had if I had just lived my own life. With books (and with movies and TV shows also) I get very involved in the characters' lives that I forget they aren't real sometimes. I will admit I still wonder how Monica and Chandler are doing with the twins and if Rachel and Ross were able to stay together. Yes I admit it is a sick obsession. I think this is why I love books that are in a series so much-I get more of the characters I love or hate. So to sum it up books become my friends.

What is your favorite book? Tell about your favorite books as a child, teen and adult.

I have never been able to answer this question easily. I honestly don't have a favorite book. I do know that I have favorites.


I have read the "Anne of Green Gables" series about 10 times.



When I was in elementary school I probably read the "Little House on the Prairie" series over and over.



A book that I had fogotten about until recently is "The Good Master". I don't remember where I got it but I have read my paperback copy that it is falling apart.





I will also admit that I really enjoy both "Harry Potter" and "Twilight". There are just too many good books to have a favorite.

I watched the movie "Yes, Man" last night and I strongly recommend that no one ever watch that movie. There was a scene that was beyond disturbing and did not need to be in the movie at all. I know it seems silly how much I liked the Hannah Montana movie but I loved that I wasn't scarred or trying to remove images from my mind after the movie. More and more I think I am becoming a fan of the Disney channel.

What was the best birthday you ever had? Why? Honestly I think my best birthday was on my mission. It was right around my half way mark and I was having a rough time. My companion and I lived with another set of sisters and they brought me home a small cake decorated like a little puppy (a memeber paid for us to get free bread and everything from a bakery down the street). They surprised me by coming in singing and gave me presents at the end of the day when I thought that everyone had forgotten. We had a fun time enjoying the evening together and bonding.

Tell about anniversaries, celebrations, trips, and gifts that you remember.




When I read this prompt the very first thing that came to mind was a road trip I took with my mom, sister, brother, Aunt Linda, and cousin Travis when I was about 9 years old. We were going down to Knoxville Tennessee for a family reunion and we all loaded into the van and away we went. A few things about this trip stick out the most: one, my mom and aunt pretending we were on an airplane the whole ride down or the two of them speaking in accents (trust me-funny stuff). The second is my great-aunt Frannie letting me pick out a stuffed animal from a huge collection and I picked my teddy bear "Pudgy". I still have him, he is at my parents house under my bed there. The last thing is my cousin having a Jeep with the top off and I got ride around with her. It was a fun trip minus being locked out of the car near Dollywood at 11 o'clock at night for hours when it turns out that my mom had the keys the whole time.

I made a goal back in March to try and walk 10,000 steps everyday...trust me it is harder than it sounds. And yesterday I made it for the first time!!! I actually got to 10,895. I did go to the gym in the morning but other than that I don't remember doing anything all that special to get my extra steps. Now that I know I can do it I am going to try for a streak.

Tell about family traditions: Christmas, birthdays, graduations, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, weddings.

Let's start with Christmas. We used to always get new pjs for Christmas that we were able to open on Christmas Eve. Also we go out to dinner on Christmas Eve. For a long time it was to Lonestar because it was the only place open but that has changed in recent years. When we were little we weren't allowed to open presents until everyone was up but we were allowed to look in our stockings while we waited.

For the other holidays I don't remember any big set in stone traditions that we did. What I remember the most is just being together as a family. Since I moved around as a child there was always a new place to go or something new to do on each holiday.

With being still newly married it is fun as Eric and I start new tradtions together and start our own family way of doing things.

Last night Elder Bendar gave a great talk about how we as a society are letting virtual relationships (facebook, twitter, avatars, gaming etc) take over person to person relationships. I agreed with him completely. Then this morning I was watching "The View" for a few minutes before work and two of the co-hosts were talking about how they only ever tweet and text and email each other to the point when one called the other they ended up yelling "who is this?" back and forth because they rarely talk in person. I loved the timing of this. Right after Elder Bednar gave his talk people outside of the church were talking about how technology is taking over. FYI I don't twitter and I haven't been on my Facebook page in months. I guess I am an old fashioned girl who likes to email people :)

So last night after work I wasn't in the mood to just go home so Eric and I decided to go to Ryan's Steakhouse (really a buffet) since we had a coupon and figured it was something new. When we got there the parking lot looked about this bad, seriously. We figured since it was a Friday night at 6:30 it was going to be the same everywhere. Well when we went in the line wasn't too long and we waited placed our order and were seated. We realized the big crowd outside was a group for the party room and so we didn't have to stand behind them to get seated but they were at the buffet. The place was packed. I have never seen a restaurant so busy in all my life. It was actually so busy that they ran out of clean forks. We were able to get our food right away but then we had to wait to eat since we didn't have any forks. Other than that the food was really good and we had a fun time. One of the best parts was people watching. It was a fun night and Eric and I were way overdressed.

If you could have your favorite dinner for your birthday, what would it be?
I think my new favorite birthday meal would have to be ribs and meatballs. I have never had it for my birthday but I have a lot of years left. If I couldn't have that then I would want chicken and noodles, with homemade noodles. I am glad I just ate or else I would be making myself hungry right now.

After a week of posts about my past I thought I would share a few updates on my current state of being. I am healing well from the surgery. I still am not supposed to lift anything heavier than a milk jug but I ignore that one a lot especially when I am with my niece and nephew. Every now and then I get weird pains in my chest from the gas they used to bloat my abdomen but that is fading with time. I tire easily but find I sleep the best when I force me self to be up and moving around even though I feel like I could sleep standing up.

My garden is doing okay. When it was warm right after my surgery Eric put my plants outside and I was conscience enough to bring them back in so a few of them are frozen and/or drowned. But some are doing really well. Right now they are on my dining room table so they can warm up and get some light. I am not sure what Eric will think of that when he gets home from work.

Other than that life is pretty much the same. I feel like I am slowly returning to real life after my vacation and my surgery.

Describe or draw a picture of your favorite birthday present.

I don't remember a lot of birthday presents, they get all mixed in with Christmas and other occasions. I do remember when I was turning 6 I got a t-shirt with a lepord on the front that was sparkly. Now the reason this shirt was so cool was my mom had a shirt with a leapord on it that was sparkly and I always wanted her to wear it. I was so excited to get my shirt because then I could wear the sparkly leapord shirt anytime I wanted.