A Johnsen Christmas

Last weekend was the Johnsen Family Christmas party. This was the only time that we could all get together. Mom made three wonderful types of soup. She also made her famous bread sticks and some great dessert. Afterwards, we opened gifts. It was so funny to see the kids open gifts. Ripping off paper and then trying to help other was the name of the game. It was so wonderful to see all of my family members, Grandma Johnsen included, and celebrate Christmas. Here are some of the pictures that I took. (Shockingly enough, most of them are of the kids and not my parents or siblings.)

Jen's wedding

Jen Evans and I have been friends for a long time. So when I heard that she was getting married, I was overjoyed. I planned far in advance to be able to get off work for her wedding luncheon and reception. Last Friday I left work at 12:30 (shocking, I know) and drove to Bountiful to Jen's wedding luncheon. It was nice to see her so happy. She and Dan are so in love. At the wedding luncheon I witnessed my first ring ceremony. Jen and Dan said some really moving words that had most of the group in tears. After an hour and a half, I left and went shopping. I met Mom at home and we took Isaac to Jen's reception in Syracuse. Dad met us there. The reception was held in an old Victorian home that was very nice. Jen looked lovely and it was nice to see her parents again. Enjoy the pictures and, once again, congratulations Jen and Dan!

The Current Weather

Yesterday it rained most of the day. The snow that had come down the week before had melted away. This morning, it started to snow. It was really light and didn't really stick. This is what my front yard currently looks like.

I shoveled the front walk a half an hour ago, but there will probably be a few inches by morning. This is when I wish I had covered parking. I love the way snow looks but I wish it wasn't so cold.

Birthday

My birthday was this past weekend. It seems strange being 28. Anyway, my co-workers took me to lunch on Thursday. My parents took me to lunch on Friday and Sarah took me for some yummy ice cream on Friday night. On Saturday I went home to my parents house for a birthday celebration with the family. It is always fun to get together. Mom did a great job with the food as usual, including a great chocolate trifle. The kids were funny and I got some great gifts. Thanks for a great birthday everyone!

Recent Readings

Here are some recent readings that I would recommend:

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman is a charming teen fiction. When Julia's best friend become obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, she goes along. Along the way, she meets her own Mr. Darcy. As a lover of Pride and Prejudice myself, I identified with the young main character. I am still looking for my own Mr. Darcy.

In Another Day in the Frontal Lobe by Katrina Firlik, a neurosurgeon describes why she went into medicine and some of the interesting cases she has encountered. For a non-fiction book, I found it fascinating.

Heart of Gold by Sharon Shinn is a book of fantasy. In a world where their are races with blue and gold skin, a young man discovers that a genetic weapon. He risks his life to save a race that dislikes his own. Along the way, he falls in love. Every other chapter is written from the perspective of the woman he kidnaps to help him in his scientific quest.

Mary Roach, the author of Stiff: the curious lives of Human Cadavars, has written a fascinating book about how dead humans have helped the living through crash tests, medical research, organ donation, and other interesting ways. One might think that this book would be revolting, but I highly recommend it for the curious mind.

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan is the second in a trio of books. When a modern day boy discovers that his father is the Greek God Poseidon, all sorts of monsters start trying to kills him. With the help of a daughter of Demeter and a satyr, Percy goes on a quest. Although this books was written for the junior high crowd, I quite enjoyed it. I plan to read the third book in the coming months.

Great Books for Every Book Lover by Thomas Craughwell has 2002 reading recommendations for all types of readers. I love books that recommend other books. I find them a great resource for new authors.

Thanksgiving (a week late)

Last Thursday I was able to go home for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be with family. I ended up staying until Saturday night. We have a great meal, prepared mostly by my parents, and then a handful of us stayed up until 3am talking. I went to breakfast with friends the next morning and then spent time with my parents. We ended the night watching Hairspray. Saturday was spent hanging out with my parents and having fun with Isaac and Sidney. And now for your enjoyment, some Thanksgiving pictures:

Jen's wedding shower

Jen is getting married on December 14th to a great guy named Dan. I am so excited for her. Last Friday night I attended a wedding shower given in her honor. I got lost along the way and was 15 minutes late. It was so great to see Jen, her sister Holly, and my friend Rayanne. I stayed and talked until 11:30pm. On Saturday, I drove to Kaysville for another shower. I finally got to see Lydia, Jen's mom. I was glad to see her after hearing that Jen's dad had gone through open heart surgery the day before. All seems to be going well on that front. I got some great pictures, especially of Jen's nieces. Afterwards, I went house-hunting/looking with Mom and Dad. We then went to dinner, where I bored them with the details of my life. All in all, it was a nice way to spend a Saturday.

Babysitting Lauren

I left work early on Thursday so that I could babysit Lauren. While Mom, Dad, Jen, and John went to the theater, I had lots fun with Lauren. I left work at 4:30pm, an unheard of time, and drove to Salt Lake. We had a great meal prepared by Jen and Mom. All the other adults left and Lauren and I got down to the business of play. We read books, played with farm animals, and ran around. At one point, Lauren found a purse in her toy box. She put it over her shoulder, and tried to leave out the front door. I laughed and she then started running around the house with the purse. I finally got a picture of her laughing and holding the purse. I tried to take more pictures, but every time I took out my camera, she wanted to hold it. The picture below is her coming towards me when she noticed I was trying to take a picture. I didn't get Lauren into bed until 8:45pm because we were having so much fun. Jen and John came home before 10pm and I was on my way back to Orem by 10:30pm. I love babysitting my nieces and nephews. They are so cute and funny.

The new office

The HR team, or at least everyone but the bosses, moved into a new office this week. I love it because it has windows. The four of us each have a wall which we share with various filing cabinets and a bookcase. My desk is fairly close to the door. Here is a picture:
Yeh!, I love my new office!

Front Room

Several people have asked me to describe the townhouse that I live in. Every time I do, I never seem to do it justice. Because of this, I think I will just post pictures. Here are the pictures of the front room, decorated by Sarah, and the bookcase on the staircase landing. If anyone is wondering, the coach Sarah is sitting on is very comfortable. For some reason, people don't tend to believe me when I say that. I tried to take a picture from each corner. Anyway, enjoy.

My Halloween costume

Here is the costume and the face painting of my Halloween costume. Yes, I wore it to work. It was a huge hit. The picture of my face was taken by me, and the full body picture was taken by a coworker. While looking at this picture, I realized that I have inherited the Roberts nose.

Halloween at Prosper

One of the great things about my job is that they celebrate holidays. Here are some pictures from my work. The pirate is Whitney from Accounting, the Ninja is Travis from HR, the witch is Tracey from Accounting, the 80's chick is Erin from HR, the skeleton is Chris from the sales division, and the scary clown is Katie from payroll.

Fun Saturday after a long week

After working over 50 hours this past week, I wanted to have fun on Saturday. Luckily, I succeeded. On Saturday morning, I drove up to Salt Lake to see Ryan. We had lunch at Litza's Pizza. We then went to see Thriller, an amazing dance performance by the Odyssey Dance Company. It was at Kingsbury Hall and it was as good as last year. My favorite dances were "Curse of the Mummy," "Jason Jam," "Salem's Mass," and "River of Blood Dance." I would recommend the performance to anyone over the age of 12. Since it had been so long since we've seen each other, Ryan and I caught up. Afterwards, I drove to my parent's house for a Halloween party. I was horribly late and everyone had almost finished eating. Mom made a great meal of hamburgers, French fries, and rootbeer floats. For dessert, Sidney and Mom had made "dirt" cups. With chocolate pudding, crushed Oreo Cookies, and gummie worms, who could ask for more? Next came the games: eating donuts off strings, pin the nose on the pumpkin, and the candy toss. As I have said before, I love being with my family. I am sad that I was late and missed taking pictures of all the kids in their costumes. Hopefully my father and siblings will post their pictures of the event.