Freedom

Everything in this blog is my personal opinion and sort of a journal of things happening in my life.

I never thought someone would care so much about one of my blog posts (I have two followers, one of which is my mom) but, my former sister-in-law is throwing a fit about the post I wrote last year.  Because of all the flack I felt it was necessary to do a follow up post.

First off, all the hype about the post has been heard second hand. Alba Rosy Greer will not actually call and talk to me about it but has been telling my brother to tell me to take it down. Like I have ever done anything my brother asked me to do. I have to say that I am so grateful for my first amendment right. What a great country we live in to express our thoughts and opinions freely.

Since my last post my brother has gotten a divorce and my stress level has gone way down. My brother on the other hand will have to deal with his ex-wife the rest of his life. Of course she got everything because she is a women. It seems it doesn't really matter how great of a parent you are as long as you are the mom. She was pretty much just let off of the assault charge. I believe she got a slap on the hand and some probation. That is the justice system for you.

My sister-in-law moved on really fast after the divorce and even possibly before the divorce.  Luckily, Landon has moved on too. He started dating a wonderful young lady in October. His new girlfriend is amazing. She has the best kids and her family seems amazing. The biggest plus for me is that she doesn't sit in front of me and make fun of me in another language. If she does make fun of me (which I don't think she does) she is kind enough to do it behind my back. I have always dreamed of having a sister or sister-in-law I can talk to and do things with.

I think the thing I hate the most about this whole divorce is that Rosy doesn't want my brother to have anything (When I say anything I don't mean physical stuff. I mean happiness, time with his kids). She has even tried to contact Landon's new girlfriend and let her know how "horrible" of a guy he is. Who does that? I could see if he beat her and the kids but not just out of spite. We have warned his new girlfriend just like we warned Rosy. He is not perfect but if she can put up with his crap, that is great.

Rosy is the most selfish person I have ever met. My brother is selfish too but I am surprised how little fight he put up when it comes to all the possessions. He pretty much just wants to see his kids and spend time with them. It was a real eye opener for him to think he might never see his kids again. She tries to get her kids to hate their dad. Those poor children are going to be so screwed up from all of her manipulating. Hopefully they will see through it all when they grow up.

Landon wanted to coach his kids in Soccer this last year but as soon as she found out about it she stopped taking her kids to practice. She told Landon if he gave her some money she would let them go.

Last part of my rant. The kids are also going to suffer because their mom hasn't gotten a job. She thinks she is too good to work at Wal-mart or McDonalds because she has a college degree. Bachelor degrees are about equivalent to a high school diploma these days,  It doesn't matter that she says she can not feed her kids or pay her mortgage (on the house she insisted she needed in the divorce). Where is the $1400 a month that Landon is paying in child support going? When I went to visit in November her kids had brand new $200 dollar coats. How can you afford new coats and not food? She told Landon a friend bought them. What I do not get is why the "friend" did not buy the kids food instead? The kids already had coats. I guess if they are not name brand then they are not real coats.

Divorce is the the most awful thing in the world when you have kids. No matter what you do the kids are going to be affected. It is sad. I pray it doesn't happen to my family but no one can predict the future.

Crazy People

I have not posted in a long time but I feel like I have to get some of my frustrations off my chest.

My poor brother is going through a horrible divorce. I did not think it would affect me but it has affected our whole family. My parents are stressed and so am I. We feel helpless and are worried about the welfare of my brothers kids.

The whole thing started when my brothers estranged wife would not sign a post nuptial agreeing if they ever got divorced she could not have any part of the company (the company my father built from the ground up) my parents were going to sell my brother. This might seem odd but this sort of thing happens all the time. It is just to ensure she will not run the company into the ground out of spite if they got divorced.

She refused to sign it. Why? She was planning (unbeknownst to us) all along to divorce Landon and try to take him for everything he has. My parents just told Landon if he did not sign it they would keep the company and let him manage it. I do not understand why if you are not planning to divorce someone it would be such a big deal. She kept telling everyone that she was not going to divorce Landon and she did not need to sign it. She did eventually sign it after causing a big fight between her and my parents.

Let me back up a bit and explain my relationship with her and my brother. My brother and I have never gotten along. We have never been friends. So when he married Alba Rosy Greer, I had the same relationship with her. She was rude and tried to make me upset every time she was around me. I just shrugged it off. I did not have to see her very often so I didn't really care. She hated when I cam to town because my parents gave me attention and it took it off her.

Finally, things got bad enough she filed for divorce in the hopes Landon would try to reconcile. He was not going to fall for her tricks anymore. Rosy is a master manipulator. She thinks because she is Dominican and okay looking that people would do whatever she says. I never understood how she did it. She likes to play the "I was poor and I am helpless" card.

I personally think she has had a mental break because she goes off the handle for no reason at all. Her and Landon have been fighting and one day she had enough and found Landon's hand gun. She threatened to kill him and then kill herself. Landon called the police because he was worried she was really going to do it. She was put in jail on two misdemeanor charges. To read the full account go to http://m.codyenterprise.com/news/local/article_f0cb2a88-8797-11e3-bd3b-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm.

Wouldn't one think she would not be allowed around children when she threatened someones life with a gun?

"Rosy Greer confirmed the argument had escalated and that she bit her husband’s cheek, grabbed his wrist and threw the picture at him. She was arrested and taken to Park County Detention Center. Police discovered the pistol in her vehicle," said the Cody Enterprise.

Not in the Cody, Wyoming justice system. Seems strange to me. Of course she has translated for most of the judges in the area and they seem to be a little bias.

Since this incident Rosy has done everything in her power to get Landon to attack her. She stalks him and shadows him around their house. She is trying to push him to his breaking point.

Most recently she went to the local crisis intervention (where she has friends) and said he bit her on the finger. Really? On the finger? WOW!!!! Of course her friends believe her and help her file a restraining order on my brother. He is not allowed to see his kids until a judge can hear their case.

How do people not see her manipulating ways? She admitted to pulling a gun and biting my brother but yet she is not the danger.

I just feel so bad for her children. They are the ones who are really hurting. Rosy does not care about the effects on the kids but how much money she can get from Landon. I think the only reason she even wants full custody of the kids is because then Landon has to pay child support.

Rosy only married Landon to come to America and marry a "rich" man. Well she picked the wrong guy. Whatever she thinks she is going to get out of this is all going to go to her lawyer.

Rant over.

Labor and Delivery

So I thought after having one child that it would be easier to deliver the second. In a way the labor was easier but scarier. My first delivery was very pretty easy and non-typical. Our son decided to come one week before his due date. I was only in the hospital for about an hour before I was able to start pushing. I only had  hard contractions (at home) for about two hours and the doctor had to break my water. I was dilated to a seven when I went in and progressed really fast. I was at the hospital in time for an epidural (highly recommended). It was actually a fairly pleasant experience considering I was pushing a baby through me. 

I assumed my second delivery would be very similar. I predicted he would come a week early or around then and be a nice quick delivery. The only think I was right about was the quick part. Our second son decided to come two weeks early and in the middle of the night.

I woke up around 2:30 am with a sharp pain in my stomach. I actually thought it was because I had eaten Mexican food earlier in the night. The first thing I did was go to the restroom thinking the pain would subside. The pain left for a few minutes but came back just as strong. Again, I figured I had not finished using the restroom. This time though it felt like there was a lot of pressure. I still did not think I was in labor. I walked around in our little apartment for a few minutes but the pain would not go away. All the sudden my water broke. That is when the pain really started.

I screamed for my husband Matt and scared him half to death. He immediately called his brother to come over and watch Little Matthew. It only took him maybe five minutes to get to our house but it felt like an eternity. I was getting worried we may not make it to the hospital. I even made Matt run a red light.

Matt and I arrived at the hospital at 3:10 am and my doctor came shortly thereafter. I was thinking I might still be able to get an epidural but as soon as my doctor looked at me she knew I was ready to push. I was completely dilated and having contractions two minutes apart. I can not believe how much contractions hurt. I felt like I was ripping in half. My hips were on fire. The doctor had me try and push a couple of times but our little guy was not ready to come out yet. I was crying and screaming because the pain was so intense. I do not know how women do it with out pain medicine. Lucky for me there was just enough time to get a spinal block. It worked immediately.  I would have been ready to start pushing but I needed to get a shot of penicillin and it took about an hour for it to take affect. Two pushes later we had a handsome six pound baby boy.

Biggest Fears

So I was thinking about things I was most afraid of the other day and I realized I hate talking on the phone with people I do not really know. I am not sure what it is but I avoid it like the plague. I was wondering if anyone else has this phobia? Matt gets mad at me because I always make him call places even if I should be the one doing it.

Life After College

I was talking to my friend today and it made me think about life after college. It is amazing how in grade school and high school teachers drill into us how important college is; then you graduate and there are no jobs. I think education is really important but in the end it is all about experience. No one will hire you with just a bachelor's degree. You either have to have a master's degree or 5 years experience. How do you get experience if no one will hire you?

Life is so frustrating.

This is what people really do in college:

Job Update

I did end up getting the job I interviewed for. It is doing in-house PR for Excel Eye Care Center. I start sometime next week. I will now be working two jobs trying to get us out of Matts parents house. Matt is working too but his current job will not give him a raise so he is looking for a new one.

On another exciting note.... Matt will be graduating in a week and a half. YAY!!!!!

Blessings

Matt and I have been so blessed the last few weeks. I was able to find a part time job working at Sportsman's Warehouse. It does not pay much but everything helps. While I was working a man from another company offered me an interview for a part time PR job. If I get it I will tell more. I do not want to jinx it. It is what I have been looking for. I love being a mom and I love working so, part time work is perfect for me. Then today we found out someone might be putting an offer on the house Matt is trying to sell. This will be his first since he has become a licensed Realtor. Last, my mom told Matt about a job in Salt Lake working for an oil company. This is good because my mom also works in the oil industry and has connections. This would be a great first out of college job. The oil industry pays well. We are praying this will all pan out.

The funny thing about all this is that I have been talking to a girl I work with about the blessings of paying tithing. She has a hard time paying money she. She can hardly take care of her family. I know that our blessings that concern money are directly related to paying tithing. What a great testimony it is to see such immediate blessings.

Eye Opener

I guess Matt and I got a little ahead of our selves by telling people about the baby we are expecting. As of June 28, 12 weeks along, the doctor could not find a heartbeat but she said she wanted to make sure; so she sent us down to imaging to get an official ultrasound and have the radiologist check. The baby did not make it past 9 weeks. We could see a head and limbs but he or she never had a heartbeat.

I have been devastated about it because I thought it would never happen to me. I was really naive. I thought it would be just like my first pregnancy and everything would go normal. I guess I should have never assumed it would be fine. I now know how a few of my friends have felt recently. We are just waiting now to see if my body will miscarry on its own or if I need to have a D&C done. Either way it is hard to deal with. I would never wish this on any one.

I feel like I lost a child that I have known for years. Who would have thought carrying a child for only 12 weeks would have made me so attached? I loved this child as much as I love Matthew and know I will have my chance to raise him or her someday in heaven.

I am scared and very sad but we will make it through this. I think I am still in shock but writing about makes me feel better. I guess it is the journalist in me. I just know that everything will work out in the end. I have already been blessed with a beautiful little boy who loves me and I love him.

Quick Update

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on how our family is doing. We achieved our goal in May of attending the temple every week. It was amazing and I love the feeling I get when I am there. Unfortunately, we have not been able to keep going every week. With being out of town and being sick it just has not been possible.

As for my getting in shape goal, I am going to have to put it on hold. Most of you know already that I am pregnant. I have been trying to walk with our new dog when I am not throwing up. I have even had to ask for prescription strength nausea medicine to keep me from being too sick.

I was able to visit my family over Father's Day but glad to come home.  We went boating and just spent time together as a family. I was also able to attend a good friends 50th birthday bash while I was home.

The worst part of our summer so far is that the majority of our friends have left for the summer. One of the couples we spend time with the most moved to Alaska and have no idea when they will be coming back. Our other friends should all be back at the end of the summer.

We are just planning on fishing and camping all summer. Everyone is invited to join us. I am hoping this will be a relaxing summer before we go from a family of three to a family of four.

I will keep everyone updated on the baby front. We will not find out what the sex is for a few more months but we are definitely find out. I am not patient enough to wait. 

Life Changing

We had the craziest weekend. We took a trip with friends to Matt's family ranch. The start of the trip is what made it so crazy. I believe in fate and this weekend helped confirm.

We took a different route than normal because we decided to eat at this amazing pizza place in Mt. Pleasant which took us through Spanish Fork canyon. We normally take I-15 to Nephi but my husband must have been inspired. We rolled into highway 89 having a great time and chatting with friends when...a car coming toward us flashed its lights. We figured there was a cop up ahead but that was not the case.

As soon as we saw we knew something was wrong. We pulled up to a two car crash and both cars were smashed up pretty good. We were the second or third car to arrive at the scene. Matt immediately got out of his car and went to check it out. We let Matt go alone so we would not be in the way. He is EMT certified. He comes back to us a few moments later and tells us there was a small child trapped in one of the cars and his mom was likely dead. His mom had been pulled out of the car and first responders were performing CPR. Matt rips a crowbar out of the truck and runs back to where the baby was. He and a few others had to pry the smashed in door off car to get the baby out.

In the end, the mother died on the scene and the baby had two broken collar bones and a broken leg. The driver of the other car had a few scrapes but was fine. You can read about the whole incident on KSL.com
 


I didn't even know the people in the crash but I was really emotional. I just kept thinking that it could have been us and our baby. I then thought about the baby growing up not knowing his mother. The whole situation was so sad.

The New Me

I have decided to get serious about working out again. I used to work out like crazy before I had Matthew. I have been a slacker. I am in no way thinking I am fat but I am not happy with all the loose skin from having a baby. My pants are also starting to fit tighter than they did just six months ago.  My love handles have increased quite a bit and not too attractive.

I have decided to track my progress on my blog. For some odd reason it makes me feel more accountable for what I do. Here are some before pictures that I hope will be changing in the near future.

As for what I am doing to get healthy, I have started a kickboxing class. I have been to the class three times and I am already getting stronger. I am also doing some out of class exercises since I only go to class twice a week. I have been trying to do abs and push-ups everyday.

The class includes an intense ab and arm workout:

• Sit-ups
• Leg lifts
• Scissors
• Plank (Knees to Elbow)
• Push Ups (Regular, Diamond)

After we warm up with all of that we start doing punches and kicks. We spar with the teacher and each other and then we practice on the bags. It is really fun and makes me feel tough.

Temple Goal

Matt and I have decided to attend the temple once a week for a month. It is amazing how hard it is to go regularly. We can see the temple from our house and yet once a month is as good of an attempt we have made. I am really excited about doing this and seeing the blessings that come from our dedication.

The reason for us doing this is because we are sort of lost. I am not working but I know what I want to do. Matt will be graduating in December but does not know what he wants to do with his degree. He does know that he wants to own his own business some day but not sure what kind of business. If he could fish as a job he would be happy.

I really want to work in sports. Specifically I want to do community relations for a university or professional team. I am currently doing an internship with the Arena Football League but if I want it to turn into a job we would have to move. I am okay with it but Matt needs some convincing.

If anyone would like to take this challenge with us please do. We have not decided what day we will be doing it but it will probably be early Monday morning or after 5 on Thursdays.

Ideas

I need some story ideas for my internship! I am working on three different stories right now but I need some inspiration. If you have any ideas or good blog ides please let me know. It does not have to be a long story every time.  For example I am doing a Top 5  People To Watch This Season. Anything would be great to get the creative juices flowing.

Opportunity to Hone My Skills

Yesterday I received a call from the Arena Football League following up on and internship I applied for a while back. They interviewed me over the phone for about 30 minutes and then asked me to send over some writing samples. I sent them some of the feature stories I wrote when I worked at USU. I guess they liked what they read because this morning they decided to bring me on as a beat writer. I will be going to games for the Utah Blaze and writing inside stories about the athletes. I hope this helps me get enough experience that I can eventually work full time for one of the professional teams in Utah.

I will keep everyone updated on the stories I write. Let me know what you like and do not like. Feedback is a journalists best friend.