Well, another week has gone by. I can’t believe how fast time flies. Monday was Labor Day and we didn’t do much. I watched some YouTube videos about our troops and it really touched me. I have always been very patriotic and I really do appreciate all of the things they do for us. I am also very grateful for my liberties which I have been blessed with in my life, and I love and support my great country.

This week was really good, and we finished it off with a Pool Party/Halo Fest at Paul & Nikki’s house. It was a blast! Next week we are planning on going hiking at Bryce Canyon with Chris & June and Paul & Nikki. It is going to be a lot of fun, and we are all excited about it. Most of us have never been there, so it will be a new experience.

Tyler came down for the weekend and it was really great to get to see him again. He recently cut his hair really short so it looked strange at first, but now we are all used to eat. Mom cooked a nice big meal for him and also cleaned up Chantelle’s recently vacated (and EXTREMELY messy) room for him to stay in. It was great having him around.

Sharon and I taught our first lesson in Nursery, and it went pretty well. It is always exhausting looking after 10-12 kids, but it is fun too.

Well, that’s about all I can think of, and it’s getting late, so enjoy this movie:

Well, the first week of school is now over. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Sharon and I both finalized our schedules this week, and got things taken care of. I am taking 18 credits this semester, and am trying to test out of two of the classes. I already tested out of one of my classes, and am going to try to test out of the other one this week.

I am working on getting a Bachelor’s Degree with an emphasis on Visual Technologies. I am taking Visual Technologies 1300, which is mostly about design principles and strategies. It is pretty fun and I am learning a lot about why Ads are set up the way that they are. I tested out of Visual Technologies 1400, which dealt with XHTML/CSS Web Development, something that I have been doing professionally for the past couple of years. I am trying to test out of Information Technology 1100, which deals with the hardware and operating systems of computers. I am going to have to study a lot this week to be able to test out of it. Another class I am taking is Information Technology 2400, Introduction to Networking, which deals with the hardware and software of computer networking. It is interesting. I am also taking Computer Science 1410, which is a follow up to Computer Science 1400, a class I took 5 years ago at Dixie. The problem is that when I took it, I learned C++, and they have since switched the language to Python. So I’ve had to do a lot of catch-up to get to where the rest of the class is. But now that I’ve caught up, I think the class will be pretty easy from here on out. Last but not least, I am taking History 1700, which deals with American History. It is a 2.5 hour class every Monday night, so it is quite a grind. In addition, since there are so few classes, we have to read a TON between classes. I had to read 115 pages this week in the history book. Each class deals with 2 chapters in the book, including the first one. Tests usually cover 4-10 chapters each. We have to do 30 chapters this semester, with only about 12 classes. But I suppose it is better to take at least one hard class this semester.

I am also trying to work as much as I can during the week. I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off (all of my classes are MWF), so I try and do my work on those days.

Sharon and I are also trying to finish things with the USCIS Adjustment of Status we are working on. There are more and more difficulties, and they keep wanting more evidence of my ability to financially support Sharon, which is difficult to prove since I am self-employed. Any prayers would be much appreciated^^

Sharon and I are both happy that school is here and we are busy again (well, I was busy before too, but she wasn’t so busy). I will be sure to keep everyone updated on our lives, working on my Sunday blog posting goal.

Wow, I really can’t believe how fast the summer went by! We did a lot of things, but it still seemed to go by so fast. Now the time has come for me to start school. Sharon is also returning to school with me to get a Certificate for Visual Technologies. I am going to be working on my Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science: Visual Technologies Emphasis. This is basically right up my alley, since most of the classes are dealing with Web Design and Development, along with Marketing, Programming, and Computer Design. I am really excited for this new degree that is offered at Dixie.

Sharon and I will have two classes together, so we are both really excited about that. We can help each other study and do the homework. Sharon can make sure that I don’t procrastinate my schoolwork too much as well. I will still be working as much as I can while going to school, so I put all of my classes in the mornings and early afternoons of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This leaves Tuesdays and Thursdays open for me to work, as well as evenings of the rest of the weekdays. It will definitely be busy, but I think we are both ready for a change of pace from the lazy summer days.

It rained last night, which was a pleasant change from the usual dry heat we’ve been seeing. Summer is still here, but Fall is just around the corner. We are both excited about the changing weather.

This week we went to Chris and Jieun’s new house to hang out with them and check out their new house. It was very nice! It has a nice pool and jacuzzi in the center of the complex, and the apartment is spacious and nice. We swam, ate and played games with them and Paul & Nikki.

Another random thing that happened this week was my tire blew out on the way to St George on the highway. We were going to Sharon’s first Ballet lesson, but we had to turn around and go home when it blew. Luckily, only the surface of the tire came off, and the metal mesh underneath was still intact. The tire still held air, so I was able to drive the car home slowly. The next day, I took it to Tire Pros and bought two new tires for the front (the other one was starting to fray as well). Then I went down to St George to get the Alignment done (it was out of alignment). All in all, it only cost about $240 for everything. It is good we got it done now though because we will be driving a lot more to and from school. And after the alignment and new tires, the shaking that would happen at higher speeds has stopped.

Yesterday, Sharon and I decided to head up to Springdale to see the various shops there. We looked at a few gift shops and some art galleries. There is some really amazing arts and crafts up there! Sharon and I really had a blast looking at all the cool things there. We ate lunch at Sol Foods by the entrance to Zion National Park before heading back. It was really nice to take an afternoon and just stroll down the street and enjoy nature a bit as well. We felt like tourists even though it was only about 30 minutes away.

Well, that was pretty much our week in a nutshell. I am excited about tomorrow, although I’m not excited to wake up so early (our first class starts at 8, and the school is a 30 minute drive away). I’ll be sure to post next week with all the details of our first week of school!

Well, it has been a long time, and I have been really busy, but I really don’t have any excuse for not posting for so long. My apologies to friends and family who have been visiting. Here is an update on my life.

School starts on the 24th for Sharon and I. We are both really excited. Sharon is going to be getting a Certificate in Visual Technologies or something, and I am going to be working on my Bachelors for Computer Science. Sharon wants to get her Masters Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), so we are planning on heading up to Provo to attend Brigham Young University next Fall 2010. We are excited about that.

The days are getting shorter and (slightly) cooler, and Sharon is excited for Fall’s approach, so that she won’t have to be so hot. I keep telling her that once she sees how cold it is, she will be wishing for Summer again, but she doesn’t believe me (yet). We will see what happens.

We are still waiting to hear back from the USCIS on the status of our Adjustment of Status application, so any prayers you could offer in our behalf would be much appreciated. We had to go down to Las Vegas twice already for Finger Prints (the first set weren’t legible).

This last Friday, we were invited to St George to eat lunch with Uncle Toby and Aunt Carrie, who were driving through town. It was really nice getting to see them again and hear about their lives and stuff. They treated us to IHOP, which was delicious.

We are planning on a few trips this year, but still have to better plan them. Among them are:

• Bryce Canyon
• Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Balloon show in October
• Salt Lake City for a Mission Reunion in September
• Boerne, Texas for a Family Reunion during Thanksgiving

We’ve had an eventful summer, taken a lot of trips, and done a lot of things, as you can see if you go read Sharon’s blog (while you’re there, check out the new butterfly in her signature, done by yours truly^^). I have been staying busy with work, doing a number of projects, including launching a new personal project site, MoneyScripts.net, which is a place where I can sell my Drupal Modules. It has been fun, and I’ve been working on it on the side for the past couple of months. I hope to keep adding more modules to it as time goes on this year.

Well, that’s our lives in a nutshell! I am making a goal to start making weekly entries again (on Sundays), so stay tuned for the next edition!

Another week has come and gone, and here I am again typing for my blog. For those of you who have been following along, I have been working on my portfolio recently. I need a good portfolio since I am often getting new clients, and it would be nice to show them my work showcased on a nice website. So I’ve been working on www.wildkatana.com for the past couple of weeks, and now it is really shaping up. It is built on the Drupal platform, and it lets me post portfolio projects, testimonials, and anything else I want. I heavily customized the system of course. I still have a lot more things to do with it, namely making a blog there for my business (and moving the posts from here to there) and a few other things as well. Go check it out if you want to see what it’s like: WildKatana Design.

Sharon started her Photography Class this week at Dixie College, it is a part of the Community Education Program. She is WAY excited because in her heart Sharon is a student. She would go to school her whole life if she could. Sharon and I also did some fun things this week, like on Friday we went up to Provo with my mom to watch my brother Kendall play Tennis for State, and she wanted to meet up with an old friend, Vicki. Tyler came to watch Kendall play too, so it was good to see him again. Afterwards he gave us the grand tour of his apartment and his new (to him) ‘85 BMW. We went to see a movie (Taken) later with my mom at the $2 Theater. We also had a nice meal at Panda Express.

Sharon and I also went out Saturday. We went to eat at IHOP (I LOVED IT) and then went to play Miniature Golf at the Laser Tag place. It was cool because it was all in a black-light room, and it had lots of cool art work and fun things. We also got to see a Classic Cars show and then went to a movie (Watchmen, it was so bad we left half-way – seriously no plot and bad language and violence, if you haven’t yet seen it: don’t).

I had to give a lesson in Elders Quorum this morning, and it went pretty well. It was about ‘The Power of Forgiving’. Many people had good comments so it went by very smoothly and I was only able to get half of it done. It reminded me of when I used to give trainings to Missionaries on my mission.

Well, I suppose that’s all for this week. I’ve been working hard and things are getting caught up with my work, which is a big relief. I also have been working on the Adjustment of Status forms with Sharon, and we are getting close to being ready to send them in. Hopefully Tuesday or Wednesday. It will be a huge relief once we get those in as well. This summer we are planning on doing fun things with my friends, Paul, Nikki, Chris, Ben and June. Fun days are comin’! And Sharon is going to Hawaii in June to visit her friends there before they graduate.

We still haven’t sent any Thank-You cards, which is really sad because Sharon does have a lot of time during the day >.> I’m looking at you now Sharon with a strange look on my face, you’ll know why later when you read this! I am probably spelling things wrong because I’m not even looking at my keybiard or screen.

Random Pictures for this week:

Sharon and I at Weeping Rock

Is she really that sad to marry me? Haha. I love u babe~

Paul got his Associate’s Degree! Congratulations!

Sharon is a natural!

I love nature!!

Fun in the Park

Go Fish is an intense game

That’s enough for this week, to see more cool pics of the Picnic and hike and other stuff, be sure to check out Sharon’s Blog, it is always much better than mine^^ Until next time~

Well, this week has been nice, since I was able to get caught up with all of my clients except one now, so I’m not so stressed out from work, and also because I got to go over to Paul’s house twice, once on Wednesday to play Age of Empires 2 (Sharon actually liked it!) and then again on Friday night to play Magic: The Gathering and Munchkins with some of my friends who I haven’t seen in a while. Joe Wasden, Justin Williamson and his girlfriend, Chris Lambert, and Ben Wilsterman all came to Paul’s and we had a lot of fun. I ended up winning both games, though the first one was a team game so 3 of us won that one. It reminded me of old times, and I wish we could do it more often. Now that summer is here we are going to try to do things every week with as many people who can come. Sharon is being a good sport even though she is often times bored (and my friends are usually too preoccupied with cards to be polite and talk to her haha). I made it up to her on Saturday when we went to the St. George park by the Library to have a nice picnik together. Sharon made some delicious sandwiches and devilled eggs and we also had yougurt and strawberries. It was an excellent lunch. Some cute kids came and made friends with us, we shared our lunch and bubbles with them and they shared their laughter and smiles with us, both parties profiting thereby. Sharon had a lovely little bird leave a lovely little doodoo on her head, so I guess she was really lucky that day. After playing in the water there at the park and taking lots of pictures, we went over to the Red Cliffs Mall to do some shopping. Sharon was really mad at me for not taking her there sooner (I thought I had), because there are some stores there she really liked but she didn’t know they were there til yesterday. We bought some shirts at Hollister and some more shirts at American Eagle. It was a lot of fun and we came home feeling tired but happy.

Sharon made some Bak Kut Teh for dinner while I weed-eated the lawn. The Bak Kut Teh was really tasty and smelled delicious. We also went over to my Grandma’s house to take some pics and ended up getting a tour of the property and a nice wedding gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

Today was Mother’s Day and we had a really nice program during Sacrament Meeting. Sharon and I got up early (for us) at 7:40 and made my mom breakfast in bed, following a family tradition. We also sang ‘Mother I Love You’ (well, I sang it solo since Sharon didn’t know the words). Kendall was at Mission Prep (crazy they even have it on Mother’s Day). Now we are all back home and getting ready for dinner with all of the extended family over at our house to celebrate Mother’s Day.

In other news, I’ve been working on my business website, which will serve as a place for me to showcase my work and give information about my business. It is http://www.wildkatana.com. It is not finished yet, but you can check it out anyways if you are curious. I am also looking into getting a Business License and registering my business officially, so I can start cashing my checks which are made out to my Business name (WildKatana Design) rather than my name (already a few people have done this ><). I’ll report on that next week.

Sharon and I are also working on getting the Adjustment of Status forms ready to send in (like 6 forms with multiple pages each, plus lots of other supporting documentation and photocopies of records, etc). It is a complicated process, and costs $1010! Anyways, we will be happy when it is all settled.

Well, it’s been a long time since I updated this, so let me apologize first. I married Sharon Ting Ee Wen on the 15th of April, 2009 in the Bountiful, Utah Temple. It was the happiest day of my life. It snowed after we came out of the temple, so it was amazing and gorgeous. Sharon actually said she wanted to get married in the snow, so she got her wish! I had lots of my family and extended family come, and many of Sharon’s friends came as well as her mom and her sister, Ivy, and her friends Doreen and Vicky. It was all really nice.

That Saturday we had a reception at the Lichfield Pond. It was really windy but that didn’t stop us from having a killer time. We rode the bumper boats, had a slideshow and danced to some of our favorite songs played by the DJ. It was a really beautiful setting, and we had a lot of fun there, and some good food. Oh yeah, for pics of all of these happenings, please see Sharon’s New Blog which she has put a lot of work into the designing of. She has been really diligent and good about posting tons of pictures and commentaries, so I would definitely recommend checking it out. Ee Wen is her Chinese name, so her new website is www.eewenstales.com .

Thanks to all who have sent gifts, we are still trying to get to sending the Thank-You notes, but they will come, I promise!

Since the wedding, I’ve been pretty busy trying to catch up with my work (since I was gone for the better part of a month, the work just piled up!). Things are going well, I went rock-climbing with Paul, Nikki, Chris and Ben, so that was a blast. I’ll re-commit to writing on this blog at least every Sunday again now that things have quieted down a bit. I love you all!

Yay! I am back in the USA! Those of you who faithfully read my blog (Granny, I’m thinking of you~) probably noticed that I missed posting last week. First two days late, and now missing a whole week. Well, it was because I was sick, and I didn’t want any of you guys to catch it, so I decided to wait til I was better first. Isn’t that considerate of me? I thought so too. Here’s the scoop on what’s been going on:

We had a super long trip coming back to the USA. We went from Miri -> Kuala Lumpur (9 hour layover) -> Tokyo (10 hour layover) -> San Francisco (2 hour layover, just right) -> Las Vegas -> 2 hour drive to Toquerville. All in all, it was over 40 hours of traveling. I think in that much time, I got less than 3 hours of sleep. And since I was still recovering, I had a relapse when I got back home (Monday and Tuesday I was pretty sick). The good news is, I’m feeling much better now.

At Kuala Lumpur, we watched a bunch of movies on my laptop at the McDonald’s while we waited. I LOVE MARLEY AND ME! Wow, it is really such a good movie. I really cried like a baby, and that is saying a lot because I hardly ever get teary eyed, and here I was actually sobbing in a McDonald’s with people walking by. It struck a chord in me when I thought of all the good dogs I’ve owned or been associated with over the years (Little Black Sambo ;;).I highly recommend that everyone go see this great movie.

At the Narita airport in Tokyo, we tried to meet up with one of my good friends who is currently teaching English in Japan, Nathan Godfrey. He spent $200 and came to Tokyo via the Bullet Train, but unfortunately we weren’t able to come out of the Airport to meet him, because we had already gone through security and had our boarding passes. So that really stunk. Thanks Nate for coming, it’s the thought that counts, and you’re a really great friend for coming. We’ll have to meet up next time we are in Japan (hopefully in a couple years).

For more details of the trip, I suggest reading Sharon’s blog.

Next big news item: Sharon and I bought a car! I found it on Craigslist for $1000, and Sharon and I split it. It is a 1995 Ford Taurus, in decent condition and running smoothly. Some of the parts are getting old, like the doors, but we feel blessed to have found such a good car for such a good price. We have been grateful every time we drive it. I bought insurance through Geico for it the other day, but I still have to send in the papers for the title and go get it registered under my name. Maybe tomorrow…

This coming week is going to be very busy for Sharon and I, since we are getting MARRIED! (Finally!).  But before I get into that, let me finish last week. After healing up from my sickness and buying a car, I’ve been trying to get caught up in my work (Wildkatana Design, my web-design business). I got a lot accomplished but still have a lot to go. Paul invited Sharon and I to go rock-climbing with him and Nikki, his wife. We decided to go and had a lot of fun. It was the first time for Sharon and I, so we were a bit scared but we made it up our first climb! Paul and Nikki let us use their gear and we found a good cliff and started climbing. Sharon did really well, and we have some nice pics. I’m sure she’ll post some on her blog. I held my own as well, and besides bumping my head made it up relatively easily. Afterwards we learned how to play Texas Hold ‘Em with them (another first). We also went and got a membership at Costco’s and bought some stuff for the Reception. Also, my Grandma Stratford threw a Bridal Shower for Sharon on Friday after we went to get her Endowments at the St. George Temple. We had it at the Golden Corral, and had some relatives and friends come. Lia, Sharon’s friend, came, and so did Paul and Nikki. It was a lot of fun.

Today (Sunday) is my Birthday! I turned 23. It is also Easter, so we had a good Church program. After church we had an Easter Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Stratford. I got stuffed, it was really good. After that, we had cake and ice cream and I opened my gifts. Sharon gave me a really nice watch, which I’m sure is because I always ask her what time it is, haha. My mom gave me a nice shirt and some cool shades, which is also good since my old shades which I loved got ran over in Malaysia. They will come in handy tomorrow when we drive to Las Vegas to pick up Sharon’s mom. After the gifts, we watched an old recording of my 3rd Birthday Party. Tyler and I were the only ones on the scene and it was really fun to see how we were back then. It also had the Christmas of 1992 on the same tape, so we actually got to see Chantelle and Kendall too, along with younger versions of the Rita and Allen family (everyone was there).

I also got to speak with Tyler, Chantelle and my dad on the phone, who had all called to wish me a Happy Birthday. I will see them all this week at the Wedding/Reception, so that will be nice.

Sharon and I are just settling in to our new life here in the USA, and we are using lots of Chap-stick (Malaysia is very humid, while Utah is notoriously arid). We will undoubtedly have a lot of pictures to post after the wedding and reception. We sent out the Invitations last week so hopefully everone has one now. We are going to be very busy this week getting everything ready, but we are very excited about it. Until next week, Jumpa Lagi!

Today is Kendall’s birthday, but we celebrated it yesterday. I went outside to play Tennis with Kendall for a little while, then invited him in to play Age of Empires 2 with me. We started when I started complaining that I was starving, and that we should go get Wendy’s or something. He was also hungry, so he offered to pay for me if I drove him there. I went to ask mom if we could borrow the car, and she agreed as long as we had it back by 8.
So off we went. We paused our game first. Then when we got there, I told him I would treat him but we had to go inside to sit down and eat. So we went in, ordered some Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers (my last Wendy’s I’ll have in a while) and some Frosty’s, then ate. When we were on our way back, I called mom to ask her if I should pick up some cereal. She said we had some already, so I told her we were almost home. Then when we got home, Kendall and I walked inside. The lights were all off and there was a cake on the counter. When Kendall was almost to the kitchen, tons of kids jumped out and dumped balloons and confetti on him while yelling ‘Surprise!’ You should have seen the look on Kendall’s face. He was totally shocked! He was like, what about Age of Empires? Haha. We had cake and ice-cream and sang to him and then he played outside with his friends. We also gave him his presents. I was the accomplice to get him out of the house so that his friends could come over. He fell right into the trap. Later, he asked me, “What if I didn’t want to go to Wendy’s, what would you have done?” Yeah right, he always is up for Wendy’s ahaha. We all had a lot of fun. Happy Birthday, Kendall!!

Saturday I drove up to Salt Lake City with my brother, sister and grandma. We went to see my Mom as she competed in the Pageant for Ms UN International. The drive was long but we got there fast. The theatre was on the Utah State University Campus. They had categories for Miss Teen UN International, Miss UN Internation, Ms UN Internation (my mom’s category), Mrs UN International, and Ms Elite UN International (for old ladies). It was long but it was fun to watch. They had lots of people from Singapore and Malaysia. My mom ended up getting 4th runner up to Ms UN International. We decided to drive home that night rather than stay with my Aunt in Salt Lake City (my great aunt is on a mission there at Temple Square, and she stays in the apartments across from the Conference Center with all the Sister Missionaries). We stopped by to see them then we drove on home. My sister drove most of the way home while I talked to her to keep her awake. We got home really late.

Here are some pics: