Drivers of Utah

Dear Drivers of Utah:

Please be aware not I do not appreciate it when you pull out from a parking lot in front of me. I was just minding my own business when i saw your minivan come up to the stop sign. You clearly could not see me so you pulled out a little. As soon as you saw me, instead of waiting patiently, you decided to gun it. You started when there must have been only 5 feet between us.

Now you must have realized midway through this action that it was a bad idea, but at that point, there was no turning back. So you stayed going ahead. I had to slam on my breaks and hope the person behind me did not hit me. Everything in my car flew forward. I had to veer right and almost hit the curb. Lucky for you, my breaks are really good.

I would like to point out, despite the fact that your foolish act went without consequence, if you had only stopped from the very beginning, I could have easily avoided you and I would not be this angry. Next time be more cautious. My life, your life, and probably the live's of your children are at stake.

Sincerely,

an enraged driver

Breakfast Delight

This weekend Shayne gave me an assignment to do something for someone who is more stressed than I am. Well, this may be cheating because I did this for my wife, and I would have done it for her without the assignment too. But out of everyone I know, she is probably under more stress between finals, projects, teaching practicum, and work. So for me, this counts.

I woke up this morning before Heather and began making breakfast. I started with pancakes. I think I ended up making about 20 pancakes. After I got those started, I cooked up some bacon. We didn't have a lot of bacon, but I was able to make it perfect for Heather's liking -- nice and crunchy. Then I made some hot apple cider. While the cider was heating up, I set the table and then pour the drinks.

Then, full of excitement, I went and woke Heather from her slumber. She was still so tired, so I grabbed some clothes and began to dress her! It was a lot of fun. =) After all was said and done, we had an enjoyable breakfast feast. And, at least for a moment, we didn't have any cares whatsoever.

Stranded at the Landfill

On the way to Star Valley for the Thanks Giving Holiday, my wife and I heard a strange noise from our car. My wife described the sound as if something happened to the tire and we were driving on the rim. We pulled off to check our tires; however, our tires were fine. We were getting ready to get back on the road, when the engine made a horrible noise as my wife shifted into reverse. We decided to check the car out again.

This time we check under the hood. I couldn't really tell what was happening or where the sound was coming from, but as my wife shifted the engine would rock back and forth. I called my dad and he explained that it was probably a motor mount. We were still 2 hours from home, but instead of taking our car back to the nearest town my dad decided to send for a tow truck to take us all the way to Star Valley. This was so while the car was being fixed, we could spend time with family instead of being stranded in Evanston.

It was a good thing that he sent for us, because not only did we have a shot motor mount but also had a destroyed transmission. The car won't be fixed until next week. Until then, we can only hope our car will be okay.

Trafalga

Okay, so I set up a surprise double date for my wife, Heather, for yesterday morning. We were going to go to Trafalga, but she had no idea. Then, shortly before the Saturday arrived, she became very ill. I wasn't sure if she would still want to go, but she felt a little better come Saturday morning. So off we went.

My wife and the other girl, Kaylie, were talking and teasing about what were going to do. My wife mentioned that we guys were probably going to take them to an arcade or something and play games while the girls stand around and watch. Well, Trafalga is know for its arcades. =(

But all was well. We played mini-golf, played a few round of arcade games, ate pizza, and had dippin' dots. It was a fun day. Heather even won 1000 tickets on her second try at a game where you spin the wheel.

However, Heather got even more sick as the day went on. I hope she did not get sick from some snot-nose kid playing the arcade games. I love you Heather!

Scentsy Madness

I think my mom is a little bit crazy about Scentsy (not really though). She bought me a BYU Scentsy candle warmer when I was in high school. It was awesome! Then when I got home my mission, there was a soccer ball Scentsy candle warmer. i though that was pretty cool too. However, I only needed one at college, so I took the BYU warmer and left the soccer ball warmer.

Then while I was dating Heather, my mom got her a teacher's Scentsy canlder warmer for her classroom. It was a mini warmer. After we were married, we visited my parents a couple times in Wyoming. On one of those visits, my mother had a box for us to take back to Provo. She explained that there was a present for my birthday (October), for Thanksgiving, and for Christmas.

When we opened the presents, we discovered that there were three new candle warmers. The October one was a Halloween Jack-O-Lantern warmer. The Thanksgiving warmer said "Give Thanks" on it. And the Christmas warmer was a nativity scene. So now we have six Scentsy candle warmers. It is a bit extreme but we actually really do love them. they add variety to our home. And the smells are amazing.

Thanks mom! We love you!

Blessings of the Lord

This post is for all those who think the Lord doesn't answer our prayers. And if there ever comes a day when I forget the blessings of the Lord, I hope that I read this post again to refresh my mind.

These past few weeks, as I have tracked our finances, I have been sick to my stomach. Sick to know that we might not have the money to make it through college without student loans. Now I know that it wouldn't be a big deal if we had to get student loans, but I believe it would be very beneficial to my family to do all we can to go through school without debt.

Well, I had it calculated that we would be out of funds before the end of next semester. My wife and I had been praying for at least peace that everything would work out. Even if we had to take out loans, just knowing and feeling that everything would be fine was all we asked.

We received quite a surprise one day in a very unexpected way. I came home and my wife, full of excitement, was running straight for me. She even slipped on the grass. Luckily I was able to catch her. =) She had gotten an email stating that she was receiving a half tuition scholarship for next semester. Since she had already been denied a scholarship for this year we never assumed this was a possibility.

But there it was, a scholarship that would give us added peace. Plus we have that much more assurance that our Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and helps His children in His timing. We were and are so grateful!

Cycle of College Life

I start each week going to work in the morning. Then I go to class until mid afternoon. When I get home from class I begin to do my homework that is due the next day. I usually finish about 11:00 or 11:30 in the evening. At that time, I finally retired to my bed. I wake up the next day and start the process over again.

Everyday is the same old thing. Sometimes I feel like I am drowning in schoolwork. If I ever get a time to breath, I try to spend that time with my wife. There just aren't as many hours in the day as when we started courting. I even skip out on my soccer games--my favorite thing to do outside with my friends!

The worst thing is by the time the weekend hits, I finally get a small break. That's not the worst thing because that is a good thing. The worst thing is that my break is devoured by time. It is just too short. Next thing I know, I forget to blog. But life goes on.

In other news, I did a pumpkin of my wife and me. I have a picture but it is on Heather's computer. Maybe next time I will post it.

Birthday!

Friday morning my wife got up to go pee, or so she told me. What she was really doing was setting up my birthday surprise. Finally, I dragged myself out of bed and walked into the living room to see a brand new rug that matches our living room furniture. I was excited because it helps make our apartment actually feel like a home. On top of the rug my wife had placed a Happy Birthday message with sweet messages about us.

Then she made bacon for breakfast. I was being treated like a king! After breakfast, she showed me a slide show of our lives up til now. It was very thoughtful and I loved it. I have the most amazing wife!

Then she gave me a T-shirt with a Nicaraguan flag on it. She did this because I both needed clothes desperately and wanted a flag of Nicaragua. It was very thoughtful.

Then she took me shopping to get more clothes. It was a wonderful day. Best birthday ever.

Jamba Juice

So this week Shayne Clarke gave our class an assignment. We are to buy a stranger a coke. It sounds a little weird but it gets good. Essentially, he wants us to give something to a complete stranger. It can be anything we want. Well I actually got really excited about this and told my wife. She, too, was super excited. We wanted to pay for someone behind us at like a restaurant or grocery store. Saturday night I finally got my chance.

We went to the showing of Pirates of the Caribbean at the Wilk with some of her students. We decided we wanted to get some Jamba Juice. So we decided what we wanted and asked the cashier in hushed voices if we could pay for the person behind us. She said there was no way of knowing the price of what he was going to get. I was a little disappointed. Then I asked her, "Well, what if I leave my [credit] card with you?" She said that we could do that.

So I paid for our drinks and she secretly held onto my card as the unsuspecting, young man stepped up to place his order. I didn't really want to be around when he found out that I had paid, so I went upstairs to wait. I came back after a couple of minutes. He received his drink and saw me as he walk away. He smiled and said, "Thanks for the drink." It made me really happy to see him smile as he walked away.

Afterwards, as my wife and I drank ours, she explained that he looked around confused when he was told his drink was being paid for. I really liked this assignment. My wife and I have decided to try and set aside five dollars each month to do this for strangers every now and then.

Family Circle

This weekend has been one of the greatest! First of all, my parents-in-law came into town from Missouri and took us to dinner. I love spending time with my in-laws. I think it is interesting when people complain about having to spend time with their mother-in-law, or how their father-in-law will complain that "he" is not good enough for his daughter.

From these descriptions parents-in-law sound so horrible and ruin children's lives. But my experience is that my in-laws are amazing! They are so loving and kind. They are able to have fun and joke with my wife and me. They give advice and I adhere as if they were my own parents. I love spending time with my parents-in-law.

Then, today, I had the opportunity to join in on the blessing of my brother-in-law's daughter Bailey. It was such an amazing experience. The Spirit was so powerful, and I swear that Bailey knew she was receiving a blessing not only from her father Will but also from her Father in Heaven. She stayed so quiet and listened to every word as if she could understand. It was an amazing experience! Don't tell my wife, but it really makes me want to have kids soon. =)

That Person

You know who person that seems to always have everything? That person who receives money to pay for school and board from his or her parents? That person who likes to talk about his or herself? Yeah, I really don't want to be that person. I hate how they make me feel. I would hate to ever make anyone else feel like that too.

The person I want to be is that person who is slow to anger. That person who can take a bad situation and make it seem great. That person who works hate for what he or she has, yet it is always helping others as well. That person who finds joy not in having everything but in making others feel like they have everything. I would love to be capable of not feeling stressed out all the time. I just want to be at peace, to get through school, and to love my wife. Life is hard. And I know that everyone has it hard too. Some have it much harder than me. THAT is why I want to be that person who could care less about his or her situation and more about the lives of others.

I am tired. I am sore. I am racking my brain at every corner. I want to be that person though. From now on, I will try to live more like Jesus Christ. I will try to develop His attributes. Some of you may say I am being all religious and sappy, but the reality is that we all need to come closer to Christ. He is the perfect example. He is the way.

I know my wife is a shining example to be in certain areas. She gives me strength. I love her very much. And if this blog seem unorganized or nonsensical, that is okay. It is my blog, with my thoughts, and my feelings.

5 Month Anniversary

This last Thursday, Heather and I celebrated our 5 month wedding anniversary. I had a lot of fun surprising Heather. And this is what I did. Ever since I heard Elder Richard G. Scott's talk about leaving a message for his wife on 100 hole punches, I wanted to do something similar. So I took a new pack of 100 post-it notes. It was the kind where every other side was sticky. I folded them in such a way that I was able to write a message on them while still stuck together. Then I separated them and spelled "I [heart] U" over two doors and one closet in our living room.

When she saw the message, she was very excited. She started immediately to unscramble the message and put the post-it notes together. It probably took her hours, but she didn't care. When she finally finished, it read:

TO MY DOVE

I AM HERE AND YOU ARE THERE

IT IS TIME, TIME TO CARE

I HAVE SOMETHING OF A SIMPLE DARE

PLEASE SAY YES, TO BE FAIR

A DATE WITH YOU I'D LIKE TO SHARE

TOMORROW NIGHT WHEN LOVE IS IN THE AIR

-- HAPPY 5 MONTH ANNIVERSARY --

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HEATHER

LOVE ROY

Heather thought it was very sweet. So the following night we went to Spicy Thai. We order 4 entrees because the leftovers microwave so well. Our waitress couldn't help laughing, though, for how much food we were ordering. Before she even brought our food out, she decided we needed a bigger table. It was a very fun night. We very fat, dumb, and happy. =D

College Stress

How does anyone go to school and keep up a positive attitude? Last April, my wife Heather and I were sealed for all time and eternity. For those of you not familiar with this terminology, we basically are married for this life and the next. Ever since that time, I have been trying very hard to plan every important aspect of our lives. Heather will finish up her school by June and start into her student teaching. I, on the other hand, just barely changed my major to Information Systems, plus I have a desire to achieve a Masters of Information Systems Management. So I essentially have five years at least before I graduate from BYU. That is a lot of time in my mind, a lot of time and money.

Both Heather and I work on campus. She is a peer mentor for all incoming Freshmen, and easily makes 20 hours per week. I work for BYU OIT as a documentation specialist, and as such, I am required to work 18 to 20 hours per week. Sometimes I wish I could work more hours. Other times I feel too overwhelmed as it is. I just wish I had more money available to cover the cost of going to school.

This semester I am taking more credits than I ever had in the past. Also, in past semester I wasn't working while going to school. I have never had this much to do at once. Being married, should also be called to attention. I love spending time with my wife, but we hardly see each other between work and school. I just wish life could slow down for one moment. I wish we could just be kids again, without any cares in the world.

I know there are a ton of people at BYU who are in more stressful situations. Some work full time or have two jobs while going to school. Others are taking 18 credits or more with independent study courses. Others already have children. Some even have to deal with all of this. So respectively, I should just count my blessings and shut up. At the same time, i have my worries, doubts, and stresses too. They are not the same, but they are there. I just want peace. I want to know that everything will be alright. I want the future to be secure.

Home Is Where You Feel Like You Are at Home

Being a college student can be hard! Often times you are hungry, tired, overwhelmed, and home-sick. It gets a little better once you are married. By better I mean worse. You feel worried about finances, stressed about school, and hungry for lack of food, BUT you now have a home with your spouse wherever you live.

My wife Heather and I still miss the large, open, clean homes of our childhoods, but we get to spend everyday and every night together. This last weekend, though, we were able to feel what it was like to have not just an apartment but a real home, all to ourselves. The reason? My brother-in-law was out of town!

Now before you go and think we are horrible people throwing parties in somebody else's home, you need to know that we didn't. We spent a quiet, homework-free weekend in their home. We did our six loads of laundry while we watched movies on the big screen T.V. We played with the dog. I even let the dog sleep with us! I am not a huge dog person, but dogs are starting to grow on me.

I can't wait to have our very own home one day, one where we will be able to raise our family and make it a refuge from such a troubled world. As much as I would love a large home, I am content. I love my wife, I love our small family, and I love our home, whatever it may be.

Who am I?

I thought a good place to start my first blog was an explanation of who I am. But then I thought, "What about explaining all the different names by which I am known?" So I want to talk about my names and the added significance they have to me through my experiences.

My name is Roy Alan Hemmert. Everyone just calls me Roy. I once asked my parents why they named me Roy, and all they said was that there wasn't any particular reason. They just looked through the phone book, found Roy, and decided they liked it. Not very exciting. As I have grown up, however, I have come to find how much i love the name Roy. When I meet people, they think it is a cool name just because there are not very many people with that name. In fact, i have never met another Roy that was anywhere close to my age. I have met a lot of old farts with the name Roy, and I have a young cousin named Roy. That is about it. I like feeling unique.

I used to hate my middle name as well. I had only ever met one other person with the name Alan that spelled it the exact same way as I do. He was a real jerk! So by association, I hated all Alan's in the world. It is kind of silly, I know, but i really hated my own name just because of that one Alan. I have since gotten over that hatred and enjoy my name as it is.

Other names include my nicknames. And they have significant meaning based on who gave them to me and where they were used. My first was when i was little, maybe 6 or 7 years old. I asked my mom why i didn't have a nickname. She explained that i didn't need a nickname because my name was already so short. That wasn't good enough for me, because all my friends had nicknames. So, I told my mom to start calling me Leonardo (as in the Ninja Turtle). Needless to say that name didn't stick around.

In the gaming community and through out the Internet, I am known as Rahboo (I pronounce it raw-BOO). This is another name i chose for myself but this time it stuck, probably from all the Halo my friends and I would play. The name comes from my initials "rah," and then i just added "boo" to the end to make me sound scarier. Later, I modified the name to be rahboo15. 15 is my favorite number, but that is another long story.

On the soccer field I became known as Wa. This came from a soccer coach that had heard of a French soccer player named Roy, but the announcers always called him Wa. This name stuck through high school. Later this name was altered by the same coach to be "The Janitor Wa." That is an embarrassing story for another time. =)

Some of my other favorite nicknames include Roy-Al and Royal. These both come from soccer coaches as well. From time to time people still call me by these names. When my wife and I started dating, she would call me "old man," because I was nearly 3 years older than her. Plus, I would groan like an old man when i would stand up.

After all is said and done, my favorite name is still Roy. I feel unique through this name and know that I can make myself known for who I am and not for what other Roy's have done. And at the end of the day, my wife still holds me tight and tells me, "I love you, Roy!"