Visiting The Holy Land

Israel? Nuh-uh.


Jordan and I spent Labor Day weekend in Memphis to pay honor to the King! I've always wanted to go to Graceland and neither Jordan nor I had ever been to Memphis before, so we had a great time discovering the city. Here is the vacation overview:

It is important to properly prepare for a trip to Graceland. This includes

1. Elvis luggage

2. Elvis decorations throughout the car
(Can't find picture...must not have uploaded it. But it was decorated!)

3. Elvis T-shirt
(p.s. I got a haircut)

4. Elvis tunes!


Jordan only mildly made fun of me. I think he was just jealous because he doesn't own one single thing with Elvis on it (I know, how embarrassing!)

The trip to Memphis was a little less than six hours. I love road trips with Jordan. He's always up for sing alongs, he's good at making fin of stuff that we see along the way, and he doesn't mind driving the whole route.

Our first night we didn't do much. We had to get gas so we took the closest exit from our hotel to seek a gas station....and ended up in Crump Avenue. Crump Ave is exactly what it sounds like- dark, dirty, and the last place I would want to be at night. Everything looked so ghetto and dangerous. Every gas station we went to has a police car with lights blaring in the parkinglot. Yikes. We finally ended up picking a station that only accepted cash, which forced us to go inside the station. It was such a bizarre feeling to be the only white people in an entire gas station, both inside and out. Everyone was black. I've never felt so aware of my whiteness since Jamaica! We also got some drive thru Wendy's in Crump. This was conversation with the drive thru employee:

*Pull up to speaker*
Emplyee: Jus' second. *pause* Whatjaorderuh?
Jordan:....Um...I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you said.
Employee: Whatjuorgherauh.
Jordan: Um...Can I order?
Emplyee: yeah.
Jordan: Ok. We'll have one sour creme and chive potato-
Employee: Don't have it.
Jordan: Oh...Ok....*ordered the rest of the meal*
Emplyee: That it?
Jordan: yeah
Emplyee: pullthejfhehfakjethgdjfheeuhf...

I couldn't help but laugh through the whole thing. But my laughing turned to hacking when I saw that the worker handling my fries wasn't wearing any gloves. Ewwww. Oh, and suprise of the century: they messed our order.

Saturday: GRACELAND!!!!
It was such an awesome tour! There were so many different state license plates in the parking lot and TONS of people. The only thing that bothered me was there were so many people on the tour that I felt as though I was being a little rushed. Still, I managed to take some cool pictures!

The living room with his famous peacock stain glass

The Jungle Room

Elvis' upstairs private quarters. When Elvis was alive, he kept his upstairs very private, so it was still private today. Although I found that respectful...I really wanted to go up there!!
The famous gold tuxedo

Elvis' grave. His parents are buried beside him.

I brought a flower for his grave. I had seen pictures of fans putting flowers on his grave, but when I got there no one else was doing anything. Plus it looked like it was against the rules so I was very reluctant to put it down. Jordan convinced me to do it, reminding me that this would be my only chance to do it. I placed it down quickly when security wasn't looking. Here is the proof that I, Sonja gave a flower to Elvis :)

I took alot of random pictures of rooms, costumes, and other things. They will be on facebook soon.

After Graceland, we went back to downtown Memphis and walked around. We saw the Lorraine Hotel- the hotel where Martin Luther King was assassinated.

We also got to go to an outdoor festival. There was a ton of live music. We watched some of it, one of which was Queen Mojo.
She was quite a different woman. Despite her beefy figure, she wore the tighest jeans I ever saw, she had explosive cleavage with big tattoos on her chest. But man, she could sing! She sang the blues. Her songs were about a "pale woman" taking her man.

We ended the day at the hotel where we watched BYU beat OU. Poor Jordan had such a conflicted heart.


Sunday: Church and Beale Street
On Sunday we went to the Memphis 1st Ward. It was such a cool experience. At least a third of the congration was black. They sang loud and proud (which is something I think white Mormons could improve on). There was also this man who sat in front of us who quietly shouted "A-MAYN" and "PRAISE God" and "Sho' Nuff!". We loved it!

After church, we hit up Beale Street. There was another festival going on so they closed off the road to traffic. Everyone was walking in the road (which was brick, by the way- so cool!) and having a good time. Jordan and I listened to more music and got some great BBQ. We also played in the fountain.

Looks like a scene from a movie :)

Memphis has so much incredible architecture.

Beale Street looked so cool at night. Tons of neon signs!

Memphis was a great vacation. A weekend was the perfect amount of time to spend there. I recommend exploring a new city to anyone! SHO' NUFF!

Words of Love

*While eating dinner*
Jordan: You are such a unique girl.
Me: Awwww, really??
Jordan: Yeah. I mean, not in a bad way but....you're really weird.

And I CHOSE to marry this person?

I'm alive! I promise!

I cringe at the thought that its almost been a month since I've updated my blog. I hate it when people let their blogs go stale and here I am doing the same thing! Ma'baaad. I have wanted to update it for a loooong time but I wanted to include pictures with my posts. However, my computer is doing this thang where it won't let me on the internet, and Jordan's computer won't read anything that is in its USB ports. Needless to say, uploading pictures on the internet is currently impossible. SooooOOOoOOoo annoying...

I will give an update on our lives at this time. In August, I went on a 2 week vacation to Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. I was able to visit all of my siblings and their families. It was awesome! It also was the longest that Jordan and I have been apart in a while. It's so weird to be seperated when you are married compared to when you are just dating. Probably because you are used to seeing eachother all through the night and what not. ANYways... the trip was great, and I was happy to come back to Oklahoma.

Since my trip, we have had some noteworthy events. I started my fall classes at school. They are... ok. I have never been one who enjoyed school. Jordan took the GRE and did a fantastico job! He was so relieved that he wouldn't have to retake it. He has finished most of his PA school applications, and is waiting to hear back from schools. Yesterday he heard back from Wake Forest in North Carolina. They scheduled him for an interview! It will be interesting to see where we end up.

And the greatest news of all.....WE'RE GOING TO SEE ELVIS ON FRIDAY! We're going on a road trip to Memphis for Labor Day weekend. Jordan and I have a BLAST on road trips so we are excited for our vacation. Plus we are WAAAAY overdue for a vacation...I mean, our honeymoon was like...3 1/2 months ago! Talk about burnt out! haha! :)

A must read

The following article from CNN makes me just a little embarrassed to be an American female college graduate.

(Attention, Universe: She does not speak for us all.)

ALUMNA SUES COLLEGE BECAUSE SHE HAS NOT FOUND A JOB

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A recent college graduate is suing her alma mater for $72,000 -- the full cost of her tuition and then some -- because she cannot find a job.

Trina Thompson has sued her alma mater, Monroe College of New York.

Trina Thompson, 27, of the Bronx, graduated from New York's Monroe College in April with a bachelor of business administration degree in information technology.

On July 24, she filed suit against the college in Bronx Supreme Court, alleging that Monroe's "Office of Career Advancement did not help me with a full-time job placement. I am also suing them because of the stress I have been going through."

The college responded that it offers job-search support to all its students.

In her complaint, Thompson says she seeks $70,000 in reimbursement for her tuition and $2,000 to compensate for the stress of her three-month job search.

As Thompson sees it, any reasonable employer would pounce on an applicant with her academic credentials, which include a 2.7 grade-point average and a solid attendance record. But Monroe's career-services department has put forth insufficient effort to help her secure employment, she claims.

"They're supposed to say, 'I got this student, her attendance is good, her GPA is all right -- can you interview this person?' They're not doing that," she said.

Thompson said she has fulfilled her end of the job-search bargain, peppering companies listed on Monroe's e-recruiting site with cover letters, résumés and phone calls. But no more than two employers have responded to her outreach, and those leads have borne no fruit.

Her complaint adds, "The office of career advancement information technology counselor did not make sure their Monroe e-recruiting clients call their graduates that recently finished college for an interview to get a job placement. They have not tried hard enough to help me."

She suggested that Monroe's Office of Career Advancement shows preferential treatment to students with excellent grades. "They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement," she said.

Monroe College released a statement saying that "while it is clear that no college, especially in this economy, can guarantee employment, Monroe College remains committed to working with all its students, including Ms. Thompson, who graduated only three months ago, to prepare them for careers and to support them during their job search."

Thompson says she has not hired an attorney to represent her because she cannot afford one. When she filed her complaint, she also filed a "poor person order," which exempts her from filing fees associated with the lawsuit.

Asked whether she would advise other college graduates facing job woes to sue their alma maters, Thompson said yes.

"It doesn't make any sense: They went to school for four years, and then they come out working at McDonald's and Payless. That's not what they planned."

Amazing, huh? Never mind that this country is in a recession and men and women are forced out of their jobs that they have had for 20+ years. Three and a half months is waaaaaay too long for this young woman to have to look for a job all on her lonesome.

Don't worry, Trina. I have a hunch that this little number you are pulling is really going to give your resume a boost.

Uh...huh.

Anyone who has ever dealt with craigslist knows a couple things:
1. Pay in cash (that's what the website always says in big bold letters under the heading "Avoid Scams")
2. Deal locally (again, under "Avoid Scams")
3. Don't say weird stuff. This makes you sound suspicious and no one wants to do business with you.

I LOVE craigslist and look at it at least once a day, just for kicks. When we were engaged, I looked at it a good 12 times a day. I searched for photographers, caterers, decorations, and TONS of wedding dresses. Now I usually look at furniture and pets, hoping that one of free puppies will melt Jordan's heart enough to let me get it (still working on that...).

Two nights ago, I decided it was probably time to try selling my wedding dress. I put some pictures of it on the post, explained that it needed to be dry cleaned, listed the size could fit anyone between a 4-6, etc. I also asked for $400, thinking that I would end up lowering the price eventually through bargaining. The next day, I got an email from a man that read:

"Hello, it is still for sale?"

I gave him the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe he didn't want to ask any more questions if the dress wasn't for sale anymore. So I responded something like:

"Yes, it is still for sale. If someone would like to come take a look at it, they can see it in the late afternoon or evenings. They are welcome to try it on too, if they wish! Just email me a day that you would like to see it."

And THIS is the response that I got in my email:

"Thank you so much for your mail.I want to purchase your item for my friend as a suprise package as soon as possible before their Engagement/Wedding ceremony which is fast approaching.. She is ok with the size also read your posting and she is really happy to buy it from you .. I will be paying you through a Bank Certified check so that you can have your cash in hand before shipping the dress...I will wait for your bank to confirm and clear the check before we proceed with the shipment to my friend home address in which i will include $100 for the shipment fund via Express Mail Service{EMS OF USPS}to your asking price. I will need your full name and address with your phone number to mail the check to you as soon as possible which will get to you 3-4 days.. Kindly delete the advert of this item if my mode of payment is accepted.."

Then he signed it with his name (which was spelled differently than the name in his email) and an address in Indiana.

Whaaaaaaat? Could this email BE any more sketchy? haha. I read it twice, laughing. Something tells me that this guy has written this type of email many a time. He's just gonna give me $100 for shipping? Awww, how sweet. I guess you have to be generous when you are creating "a supirse package for an Engagement/Wedding Ceremony"...whatever THAT means!

Needless to say, I did not "kindly delete the advert of this item". Instead, I kindly told this guy that I only accept cash and I only deal locally..y'know...like craigslist tells you to do.

Something tells me this guy's brother is a prince in Africa who needs to give you his money ASAP!! I get emails from him. What a nice family!

Friendly Neighbor Chat

Remember those episodes in Home Improvement where Wilson would peek over the fence and offer sound advice to the Taylor family? Well, those days are GONE, my friends!

When we first moved into our apartment, we noticed there was some patchwork done on our bedroom door. We joked that it was from some psycho-double-punch through the wall, and then forgot about it.

Fast forward to this week. I was in our parking lot helping struggling to carry all my groceries when my neighbor and his friend came over and offered to help. (My neighbor is a nice young guy, probably about 19-21. I had only met him once before the parking lot encounter, but I learned that he and his mom used to live in our apartment, but then moved across the hall because that one was bigger. Anyways...) As we were carrying the groceries, my neighbor explained to his friend, "She lives where we used to live." Then he started this friendly conversation:

"Hey, when you moved in, were there holes in your walls?"
"Uh....no. I don't think so. Why, were there holes when YOU lived there?"
"Yeah...there used to be... *slight pause* See, I used to date this girl, an done weekend I invited her over to stay with me. But we got in a HUGE fight and she punched me, so I like, went crazy and started punching through the walls."
".....oh....o-ok..."
"Yeah, there's probably some patches on the bedroom door if you look close. Also on the main door."
"...yeeeah. I think there are, now that you mention it."
*Awkward pause*
Me: "Well, I guess it's...cool to have some history in our apartment! *nervous chuckle*"
"Yeah. I probably shouldn't have said nothin'."

Wow. Something tells me Wilson would have never said that.

And the "Stupid Award" goes to....

ME!

Lately, I have been trying hard to improve my cooking skills...or lack thereof. I've tried a new recipe almost every night since the beginning of June. Some turn out great, most are just OK, and some make me realize my IQ just isn't what it used to be.

Take today, for example.

We had leftover chicken and a chicken carcass (from last night's new recipe attempt). My mom used to always make AMAZING chicken soup by soaking a chicken carcass in water for hours, adding veggies and spices which would result in a great broth. I decided since I was going to be home all day, I would give it a try. I soaked my carcass in water. I added garlic, basil, onions, pepper, and all that fun stuff that makes food look better. I made sure to boil it, then simmer, then stir, then repeat (This was going to be, like, THE broth). After several hours of babysitting my broth, and feeling proud of myself for making my creation for the first time, it was time to drain the broth of the chicken, so I grabbed a strainer and poured all my chickeny goodness into it.....then I realized I forgot to a BOWL under the strainer. ALL of my broth went down the sink. It happened so fast, I didn't even realize that I had done until it was over. I just stared at the crap in the strainer...the only stuff left from my morning of toil.

Well...I guess it's box macaroni and cheese for us tonight.

Fiiiiiiiiinally!!

We fiiiiiiinally got our pictures from our photographer. Check out some of my favorites! (And sorry, there are several kissing ones....)




The rest are in an album on facebook (for real this time!)

Sleeping with Lizards...

So about three minutes ago....

I was in our livingroom on my laptop while Jordan was napping in the bedroom. I heard him slowly stumbling down the hall and started up this conversation:

Jordan: Charity? (his sister's name)

Me: (laughing) Did you just call me Charity?

Jordan: Yeah...I started to, but I ...yeah.

*pause*

Jordan: Um, I wanted to ask you...uh, no. never mind. I think I...I think I'm dreaming. *walks back to the bedroom*

Me: *thinking there's NO WAAAAAY I'm letting him off that easy. This sounds too potentially entertaining* Wait! Jordan! What? What did you want to ask me?

Jordan: I thought I saw lizards in our bed, So I just wanted to ask you why you put lizards in our bed.

uh...huh.

That reminds me of another amusing Jordan slumber anecdote:

This little number happened after we had only been married about 4 days, I believe. I woke up in the middle of the night to a giddy Jordan. He was smiling and giggling, only his eyes were closed. Then he muttered something that sounded like, "heehee theresoundinglalalaROBOTS!" I turned over and asked, "What, Honey?" to which Jordan, still sleeping, turned to me, cupped my ear with his hands and whispered ,"They are talking like robots over there! heehee!"

Sure they are, Jordan. Sure they are.

He claims that I talk in my sleep too, but he has yet to back this up with any evidence, or even slightly amusing stories. He just says, "I can't remember what you say!" Well, maybe it was the lizard talking.