The Eric & Ragan Jorgensen Family

Complaining......

2010-02-12T19:55:00.002-07:00

I just want you all to know before hand that this post has a lot of complaining and poor me....poor me.... talk but I just wanted to get it all out.

I feel that I have been doing a lot of complaining lately. Eric and I have been having rough times lately. We are barley making it and I do not even know how we get the bills paid. I know that paying our tithing has helped us make it this far but it hard to have faith that we will be able to make it much longer. We have been working hard to get to the temple so that we can be sealed and I think that if we can make to that point that we will be ok. Right now it just feels that we are not going anywhere and that we are stuck in our dead end jobs. Eric has been so frustrated lately especially. He has applied to so many jobs that we cannot keep track and no one has even considered him. I just keep telling him that that job must not be what is right for us at this time. We have both been praying and reading our scriptures and know that if we continue to do the right things that something will work out for us but right now it is just a matter of time and we can hardly wait.

I am so sorry for complaining to you all but I just had to get this all off my chest so that I was not complaining to Eric. He is so supportive and I love him very much! He is also so patient for putting up with me and I am not an easy person to talk to because I am so shy, I am used to bottling everything up until I explode with all the pressure and take it out on him and we have to sit down and talk through it. I love him for always being there for me.

Also, before I leave I just want to say that I am sick and tired of not being able to have kids. I see all of these young kids that are still in high school and are not married and that do not even like the person that is the father and they are having children left and right. Or even those parents that neglect their precious children that do not deserve to be in that situation. I know that there are several women out there that agree with me like two of my sisters as they are also having trouble having children of their own. I know that I will have children in due time but it is getting very difficult waiting for the time to come.

Well I hope that I did not scare you all off by being so forward. I thank you for checking in on us when we don't post for a while...

Regs

Its a New Year!

2010-01-21T13:06:00.002-07:00

Wow I can hardly believe it is a new year. It seems like 2009 went by in a flash!. Eric and I had one major accomplishment in 2009, along with a few disappointments. We finally bought a house. That was our goal for 2009 and we did it. We love our new house and our neighbors and especially the ward. This year we have a long list of accomplishments that we want to happen. I am not going to to go into them right now but I am sure that we will be able to achieve them all.

Well yesterday, after finally feeling better (Eric and I both have been sick the past few weeks). We finally took down all of our Christmas decorations. Now our house feels so Empty! I loved having up our tree and all the wonderful decorations it made our home feel cozy. Now I look at our empty front room without the tree and feel like I need to buy more furniture just to fill up the place. I wish!

We look forward to this new year and we wish our family and friends the best in 2010!

Sorry.....

2009-12-05T19:13:00.003-07:00

Ok so I know that I have not posted anything in a long time like I promised. We have just been really busy. And I am not one to post everything that I am thinking for everyone to see. I keep to my self a lot. I don't really mean to be so shy and reserved but I guess that is just one of my quirks.

Well since our last post, Eric and I moved in to a house in Taylorsville and we love it very much. The neighbors are really nice and one good thing is that my little sister, Kelsie and her husband Zach live right around the corner. Literally I can see the back of her house from our upstairs window! It is really nice to have her so close. She is one of my best friends.

This past year has been so wonderful! Eric and I have had our ups and downs but we are really enjoying our life and enjoy being together.

Keep posted for more from us! For real this time!

June, 2008 - Camping Trip to Smith and Morehouse - More Pictures

2009-02-27T11:39:00.014-07:00

Here are more of the pictures of our camping trip to Smith & Morehouse camp ground in Utah. Scroll down to our earlier post for the peach cobbler extravaganza!

Did you see the picture of that bird I took? (scroll up a little and you'll see it) I took a video clip of him with the camera. He was quick and kind of hard to keep track of! Here's the video..

June, 2008 - Camping Trip - Peach Cobbler -- Yum!

2009-02-27T10:25:00.030-07:00

This is to prove to those of you who have had a bad experience with peach cobbler that we actually DO know how to make proper Dutch-Oven Peach Cobbler without burning it! It turned out great!

First: Get a 12-14 inch dutch oven. Put aluminum foil in it. Oh.. And probably get some charcoal going in that fire back there. I like Kingsford.

Second: Spread some vegetable oil around the bottom .. to prevent sticking.

Third: Pour in a large can of peaches. Then get yellow or white cake mix from the car and spread it evenly (on top of the peaches) in the oven that is of the dutch kind. Some people prefer to stir in the cake mix with the peaches. But that's peach cake - not really peach COBBLER.

Fourth: Pour in one can of lemon-lime soda. Any brand will work just fine. We chose a no-name brand to save a little cash.

Fifth (I'm just going to say 'NEXT' now) : Get your goofy husband to reach into a blazing fire and pull out some charcoal to cook the cobbler. Luckily I had some tongs! I burnt a few arm hairs on this one. The fire doesn't look that big but it sure was hot! ... Fire? ... Hot? nawwhh!

Next: Have your same goofy hubby put the oven of the dutch kind onto about 12 hot coals. Then you put about 12 more coals onto the lid after placing it on top of the oven.

Next: While waiting for the cobbler to bake, take random pictures of your camp site ... just to kill some time. ... But first, you need to dispose of the trash you made while getting the cobbler ready. The Pillsbury Dough-boy met a horrible fate ...

Now continue with a few random pictures while waiting for the peach cobbler.

The tacomeister! -- He looks hungry and bored. He's waiting for some cobbler too!

MMMM ... Apple beer ... No camping trip is complete without this sweet nectar of life. Non-alcoholic of course. I don't think it even comes with alcohol in it anyway.

Finally ... The cobbler is complete! Here's how it SHOULD look!

See! It's not burnt to a char. It was most excellent!

We invite you all to a challange!

2009-01-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Alright, ready ... set ... go... We would like to invite everyone that reads our blog to give us suggestions on what to post. We are finding it very difficult to come up with something to post. I guess that we are a little boring. I don't know!

But, since in the past we have not been very good at updating our blog. We would really appreciate advice and suggestions on what everyone wants to read about. If you could all just give us a few ideas and suggestions we will try to incorporate them into our future postings.

Thank you all so much!

We are still here!

2009-01-19T08:24:00.003-07:00

Ok everyone! We are so sorry that we never update our blog. We are slackers lately and I don't want to admit it but we are kinda lazy! Well I am going to change that right now. I am sure that every one has stopped checking in on us by now but if you are still out there we are sill here!

For a brief update me and Eric are doing well. I had knee surgery in October 2008 because I tore my ACL in August playing soccer. Thats what I get for being out of shape! I just finished physical therapy unless my doctor changes his mind. I am hoping that he doesn't because I am getting tired of going. Eric has two months left in Reserves and I know that within a few months after he is finally released he will think about joining again because he will miss it too much.

Well I know that this is not a complete update but I am at work right now and I probably should be working. I will keep you all updated more often.

Ragan's View of Seal Beach

2008-06-21T21:21:00.000-06:00

Hey it's me, Ragan, you know Eric's Wife! Well this is my first time posting anything on our wonderful blog! But as I was reading Eric's last post about our trip to San Diego (the complete story is Below) I realized that we did actually have a few pictures that we could post. We took a few pictures while we were visiting Seal Beach. The Seals were so fun to watch as they wiggled their way up out of the water so they could lounge on the sand and large rocks and let their baby seals take a break from swimming. They had a large wall that curved around the beach to allow you to view them easier. The wall was also there because they did not allow anyone on the beach so the seals could not be bothered. The Seals were really stinky but they were really fun to watch, especially the baby seals.

Also, I included a few pictures that we took of the beach and the waves on the other side of the wall to Seal Beach. The water was kinda cold and the sky was a little gray but it was way pretty. I can't wait to go back to San Diego when we have some more time to explore the city.

I hope that you enjoy the pictures!

Seal Beach Pictures

2008-06-21T21:12:00.003-06:00

San Diego Pictures

2008-06-21T20:42:00.005-06:00

Finally... a new post!

2008-06-20T19:43:00.007-06:00

I finally got some time where I could update the blog so here goes. So... what has happened since ... FOREVER ago when we last blogged? eh.. a few things that I can think of! January, nothing much to report there. February, we had ourselves an AWESOME four-day weekend where we decided to pack up the car and drive down to San Diego! Problem is, the pictures I took are all on regular 35mm film and have not been developed yet. :( I know.. I'm a little lazy when it comes to this stuff!

Our trip to San Diego totally ROCKED! But we got off to a bumpy start. Our itinerary was to leave SLC at about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, get to Las Vegas and stay the night. A week or two before our trip, we purchased new tires for our little Mazda 3 so we could have good tires for the trip. The whole time I thought, "ahh, we'll be fine. Just got new tires, everything should be tightened down just right!" ... couldn't have been more wrong!

Our drive down couldn't have gone any better. So now you think, how the heck is this a bumpy start? Just wait, the plot doth thickeneth ... a little. After we got off of the freeway in Vegas, I put the windows down, heard a little "squeek, squeek, squeek" as the tires rolled across the pavement. I didn't think much of it. We were staying at Nellis AFB in their lodging so I had do go through the main gate. After I turned the corner to head toward the main gate for Nellis the squeeking got a little louder and more annoying. We got onto base and were parked at billeting. I looked down and guess what ... a stud on the driver-side rear tire had snapped CLEANLY off! I thought, how the heck did this happen!?!? If you don't know what a stud is, I'm not referring to a good-looking dude. The stud is the threads that you twist a lug nut onto to hold your tire onto the axle. Plain and simple.

After we had checked into billeting, Ragan and I drove down to the BX to get ourselves a lug wrench and some other supplies we forgot. We went back out to the car and I started turning each of the remaining four lug nuts on that same tire where the stud broke. I could get a full two turns or more on EACH of the remaining un-broken studs on that one tire. Being from an aircraft maintenance background I couldn't believe the people at Goodyear would have missed something simple like this. Especially since that's all they mostly do! Goodyear ... tires. That includes taking tires off, and putting them on. Along with the occasional tire-rotation, etc. Simple stuff.

Anyway, after I tightened down the lug nuts and another one on a second tire it was kind of late and everything was closing on base. I figured we'd be good to go explore a little bit. Come to find out, Las Vegas is kind of a dirty and dingy town outside of the strip. But that's a completely different story. We got up at about 7 or 8 the next morning; packed our things, and headed over to the base auto-shop. At this time I didn't know that the thing that broke on the car was called a stud. I was an aircraft mechanic, not an auto mechanic. So I tried my best to explain the situation and just stopped myself. I said, "Ok come with me, let me just show you." I'm not a word-smith and don't speak-a de langelly (jargon) of a seasoned mechanic. I felt like an idiot. STUD! Couldn't be a more simple and obvious name! We told the guy that we were on the way to San Diego and didn't want to drive too far with a broken stud. He said he could fix it in an hour or two. So we handed over the keys and walked over to Burger King.

After our muy deliciouso BK value meal we headed back to the shop. We had originally planned on leaving Vegas by 9 or 10 am at the latest and being in San Diego before night-fall which was about 6 or 7. We weren't trying to set any land-speed records or anything. It was about 10:30 am by now and we found out that they didn't have a stud for an '05 Mazda 3 on hand. They pulled out the phone book and said "start calling". I had called about 7 or 8 dealerships in the area and NONE of them had such a simple little part! You'd think that a city the size of Vegas would have something so simple! After about 30 minutes of calling place after place after place, I finally found a dealership with the part we needed. However, it was WAY on the other side of town. Small-town folk complain about driving 1-2 miles to get to the other side of town. ("clear across town" as some Brigham City people might say) They have no idea what "clear across town" actually means. This place was; no joke, CLEAR THE FLIP ACROSS TOWN! About 12-15 miles or so. We hopped into our car and drove out to this dealership. Bought the part and returned to the base. By the time we got the part installed and back onto the road it was bout 2:00 pm so we decided to head off toward San Diego! It felt like an eternity!

Anyway, after a brief stop in Barstow, CA and then San Bernadino, CA we finally made it to San Diego at about 9 or 10 that night. We ate some late dinner/breakfast at a restaurant by the hotel we stayed in and went to bed. We had one whole day to spend in San Diego and didn't waste any time getting started that Saturday morning. We first headed up to the San Diego Temple. That temple has got to be one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever been to at least. We took a few pictures there then headed over to Seal Beach. Spent an hour or two there, took more pictures. Walked on the beach. Seals stink ... pretty bad actually! Then headed to downtown and went past the San Diego Zoo over to the Air Museum! All the airplanes there were one of the highlights of the trip for me! Plus we got in FREE because of my Military ID. ROCK ON! After the museum we headed down to Coronado. I wanted to go there because the bridge to get there was so cool looking! Kind of plain at first glance, but the thing is way tall, and CURVES to the north as it leads you to Coronado. I've never been on such a big bridge, let alone one that curved before. It curves in the middle of it, not at the ends. I thought it was neat at least.

After this we just drove around a bit then headed back to the hotel for the night. The next morning, it was already time to head back to Utah. Cold, wintery Utah. We had to make the whole trip in one day because we couldn't get the next day (monday) off from work. We left San Diego at about 8:00 AM. Almost got blown off of the road by the Santa Ana winds up west of San Bernadino and battled the wind all the way to Vegas. We got back to Vegas just in time for the Thunderbirds to do their thing for the opening ceremonies for a NASCAR race that was in town that sunday. I couldn't believe how many people were there just for that! We even had some family down there for the race. We left Vegas at bout 2 or 3 after another stop to the Burger King at Nellis AFB. Mmmmm, another muy deliciouso BK Value Meal with onion rings. PLECK!!! We cruised through Mesquite for a quick break. That drink I had at BK went right through me. We made our next stop back in Beaver, UT just in time for sunset. We made the final pull back to SLC and got home a little after 10:00 that night.

Ok. So I'll never drive that far in one day ever again unless I ABSOLUTELY have to!

I'm sorry for not having any San Diego pictures on here just yet. But they are coming soon, I promise! I just really don't have time to do this when I'm at work, then when I get home I don't even want to touch the computer. SORRRRRYY!!! But I do have some new pictures to put on here. They're pretty flippin sweet!

If anyone actually CHECKED our blog to see if it's been updated, I'll be completely suprised. I'll be even more suprised if you read this whole story all the way to here! I must be a good writer! Or you're just extremely bored. ...

Anyway that's our story about our trip to beautiful San Diego! So that takes our currency on the blog to about ... looking at the calendar ... March 02, 2008! Yay! Three more months to talk about! I'm way excited. But that'll have to wait til next time.

Funny Video

2007-12-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Since I'm pressed for time, I decided to upload a way funny video that Ragan and I found online. Sit back, and enjoy!

We're Still Here!

2007-12-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

We're sorry about the complete lack of postings onto our blog! Ragan and I have both been busy with our jobs and stuff. Yes, I did say jobs with an 's'. I have now started a new job with Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah! yay!

Due to recent inquirys, I have decided to post a little more often than once a month. There's more to come! Check back soon!

Thanks!

Trip to Yellowstone - June, 2007 - Part 2

2007-11-02T10:48:00.000-06:00

Trip to Yellowstone / Grand Tetons - June, 2007

2007-11-01T18:07:00.000-06:00

Since we really didn't have anything new to report today, we figured it might be nice to share some pictures. (The pictures are partly here by popular demand ... thanks to our many viewers.) So here are some pictures we took on our trip that we made to Yellowstone early this summer for our Anniversary. Let me tell ya, I had a WONDERFUL time scanning them! Since our digital camera only holds 10 pictures at a time, that wouldn't be adequate. So, I had to make do with my little 35 mm snap-shooter. Not bad for a 14 year old camera! We'll be posting additional pictures in several parts each day. Anyway ... enjoy!!!

Trip to Yellowstone - June, 2007 - Part 1

2007-11-01T17:53:00.000-06:00

Taco? ... Bueno!

2007-10-31T13:49:00.000-06:00

As previously mentioned in my last post, we were interested in a dog that is a German Sheppard/Chihuahua mix. Just after I submitted our last post yesterday, I received a telephone call from the owners of the fore mentioned dog. As soon as Ragan got home from work last night, we both hopped into her little Mazda 3 and set out for the 30 or so mile trek to Tooele to see this particular German Sheppard/Chihuahua mix aptly named, "Taco". The name kinda makes you want some Mexican food eh?

Upon arriving in Tooele, we greeted the owners of Taco and they retrieved him from their basement where he was sound asleep. Taco happily greeted us, tail wagging, and with a warm lick to the face when we took our turns holding him. Happy to be held, and having a very loving personality he took to us quite well! To our surprise, he was a lot smaller than his picture led us to believe! But that's what we were looking for. Since our place isn't that large, a big dog wouldn't be a good fit for us or our condo. After getting to know the dog for a little bit, we stepped outside to talk amongst ourselves and ultimately came to a decision.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, we now have a new addition to our family! He poops, he pees, he doesn't drool all that much, and is a "Mexi-German". He is whom we call Taco! His picture makes him look a little bigger than what he really is. He's about 3/4 of the size of either of our cats. Yet he isn't afraid of anything. Him and our second cat Champ are getting along just fine. However, Sox (Our other, and first cat) growls and hisses every time Taco gets near him. Sox is very uneasy to change. But I think if we give it some time, they'll get along just fine. Taco surely isn't afraid of either of the cats! If either cat decides to try and run away from the dog, Taco will immediately give chase. A lesson hard-learned by Sox.

All night last night, I was practically sleeping with one eye (or ear) open. Just waiting to hear something crash, hear the dog whimpering, or hear the cats hissing and growling. However the night was uneventful, and things settled down without a hitch. Today, our new little dog has been happy to have me there to play with him. He almost looks like a puppy German Sheppard. He has been hanging out with me all day where he fell asleep on my stomach and is now sleeping by my feet as I type this entry. We've also had our moments of playing fetch, a little rough-housing, and then every once in a while I'd have to try and keep Taco from terrorizing Sox. But that should be natural. ... Right? ... Dogs chasing cats? ... I think so. If either of our cats had their wits about them, they'd realize they're bigger than Taco and it would be the other way around! I'm sure that may happen someday. Sox and Champ have both taken a swat or two at Taco.

The Trials and Tribulations of Starting a New Blog

2007-10-30T13:37:00.000-06:00

Come one, come all! Come experience this new wonderful thing that we habitually call our blog!

After many attempts and persuasions from our friends, and family, we have finally decided to start our own blog! ... yay! ... Needless to say, our page (blog) is finally here! At last! When starting a blog I (Eric) have had many afflictions, trials, tribulations, brain cramps, (or whatever you choose to call it) in deciding on how to start the blog, or even what to say!

So after many trials and tribulations, I have decided to ramble incoherently about the creation of our new blog. First off, Ragan and I needed to create a new email address which is ( ericandragan@gmail.com ). I know what you're thinking. ... You're thinking "WOW, now THAT'S one heck of a creative Email address!" ... We thank you for your positive thoughts. -- Please send your thousands of compliments to the above listed Email address. -- Or just post a comment. It's probably easier that way.

Since this is a new blog, I guess it is customary to begin with a brief description of ourselves. Ragan and I have been happily married since June 19th, 2004. Ragan and I both originate from Northern Utah where we will always call it our home. Ragan was born in Ogden, and I was born in Brigham City. We currently reside in a rather small, but adequate two-story condominium in southern Salt Lake City.

Our family consists of the two of us and our two cats, Sox and Champ. We've had Sox since about October, 2004 when he was a kitten. We adopted Champ earlier this year so that Sox would have a friend when we were away. Champ was nearly full-grown when we adopted him. Ragan sure loves animals! We're now looking into adopting a peculiar dog named "Taco". He is two years old, and is a German Sheppard/Chihuahua mix. ... This should be interesting. ... How is this a possible breed mix you say? Well I would suggest looking into information about, "The Birds and the Bees" a subject commonly attempted to be properly taught by many parents worldwide.

Well if it isn't obvious by now, you can tell that we like animals. I commonly suggest we should turn our humble little condominium into an animal shelter. But that usually doesn't go over too well, and often draws a chuckle, guffaw, or a rather upsetting glare depending on who it's said to. That's okay because I'm not serious about that anyway!

I guess I should go and continue my search for a new job. Please feel free to post a comment. We will be adding more to the blog shortly.