I thought I'd give an update on our life since I realized it has certainly been a while since we last posted anything. Life has been busy as always but we've been having some fun too. School started again in January and I'm already looking forward to the end. Who doesn't already know that I'm ready to graduate?! Luckily, I only have one semester after this which I will be taking next winter semester after deferring this fall. Because there are certain classes that I have to take which are only offered during certain semesters, I thought it would be better to take all of what I have left at once rather than taking a few credits one semester and a bunch the next. For the time I won't be in school, I will be working full-time at my new job. I recently started working at a dental office in Orem and am loving it. I work mostly at the front desk, filing charts, greeting patients, scheduling appointments, etc. occasionally working in the back charting perio, but the best thing is that I get to use my Spanish-speaking skills a lot. The job, along with my calling in our Spanish-speaking ward, has helped me to get a lot more experience and I've definitely seen myself improve. I love being able to work with people from all over Latin America. I've finally come to terms with the fact that I can actually say I'm bilingual. It's pretty cool to know that I can communicate well in two different languages and it's a great feeling of satisfaction. Manuel is currently working on his paperwork to become eligible for a work permit and to get his residency. I have a feeling that it's not going to be that easy but it will be nice when he can finally have more opportunities once he's able to work off-campus. As of lately, Manuel has decided that Chiropractics isn't exactly what he wants to do after some careful investigation and shadowing with a chiropractor here in Provo. Now he is leaning more towards pharmacy or optometry. Either way, I know he'll do great at whatever he wants to do and I'm proud of him for having the ambition and determination to continue studying and working towards a successful career. After all, we know that's not me! Manuel and I also recently celebrated 6 months of marriage. Some days it feels like we've known each other for forever and other days, I can't believe how fast these 6 months have gone by. I am truly grateful for Manuel--he is such a wonderful husband and I honestly couldn't imagine a day without him. I'm grateful that we help each other and balance each other with our different strengths and we're able to get through our challenges by making sure we put each other first. One of my new favorite activities has been cooking. I absolutely love it! I don't know what happened to me but when I first moved to college, I hated cooking. I wasn't used to it and I didn't know how to do it so I usually ate out or made whatever was easy. Thanks to my all-day Saturday marathons of Food Network, I've picked up a lot of great tips, and love experimenting with several new recipes. Manuel's dad made a comment, however, that he really enjoyed a meal I made but too bad he wouldn't be eating that again...that's because I almost never make the same thing more than once! Aside from school and work, Manuel and I are really big movie buffs. We mostly rent them because by the time Friday night comes after we're done with school, we're so tired that we end up losing any motivation to actually go out and do something. It's also been hard with all the snow and cold weather. We've been wanting to go bowling for a while so hopefully we will go one of these days. I can't wait until it gets warmer in the spring and we can have picnics and do more things outdoors. We also hope to be getting an additional car someday soon which will likely allow us more opportunities to get out of Provo once in a while. I especially can't wait until we can visit our niece and nephew more often because I miss them like crazy!
