Goodbye Camille

A week ago, Camille mentioned to me that she was going to start looking for a new place to live for August. She needed to start now so that she could be in BYU approved housing by the time school started. "Okey, dokey" I replied. On Tuesday she told me that she was quiting her job and looking for another one. "Ok" I replied. On Thursday she told me that she had found an apartment and said she would probably move into it in a few days because she wanted to take a class during summer semester. "Let me know when and where so I can help" was my answer. On Thursday Camille told me that she was most likely moving sometime on Saturday. I said "let me know what time because I need to make a car appointment for sometime Saturday." "Ok" was Camille's reply. When I got home on Friday, Camille had moved all of her stuff out of the apartment. The dresser was empty, the toothbrush and hair stuff was gone, some of her food was gone from the fridge, freezer, and pantry, and her sheets and comforter were gone from her bed. She and her boyfriend, Dave, had moved everything on Friday afternoon to her new apartment. She is now living a block south of BYU and has a job somewhere on campus. What a difference a week makes! I went from two roommates to one. Such is life I suppose. I will miss Camille. She was very nice person. Luckily, she isn't that far away.

Father's Day and two birthdays

This Sunday was Father's Day. The entire family, including cousin Wade and his family, met at my parents home to celebrate. We celebrated Father's Day for my own father, Jeremy, John, Josh, Jordan, and Wade, along with the birthdays of Lauren and Isaac. What a wonderful time we had. We had a great meal that included garlic mashed potatoes, grilled turkey, salad, and rolls. The chocolate birthday cake was excellent. I managed to get pictures of both Lauren and Isaac enjoying the books that I gave them. Wade, Amy, Abagail, and Liam were a delight to see. It has been a couple of years since they have ventured to Utah and we were all happy to see them. I have included just a few of the pictures that I took that day on this blog entry.

On a more personal note, I would like to wish my father a very happy Father's Day. I couldn't ask for a better dad (even my friends think so.) Some of the aspect I love the best about my father are his sense of humor, artisit eye, willingness to help others, and his love of his family. (Also, before anyone says anything, I realize that I don't have a picture of Dad on this blog entry.)

Political cartoon

I saw this political cartoon today and had to laugh. Paris needs to get out of the spotlight.

New skirt

I am in the middle of working on a new skirt. Here are some pictures of the designs. Sorry the pictures are a little fuzzy.

Ragtime

Last night I convinced Sarah to go see Ragtime with me at the Scera Shell. The Scera Shell is an outdoor theater in Orem. The sets were fairly simple but the story was one of social turmoil, love, and change in the beginning of the 1900's. Since it appealed to my sense of history and love of musical theater, I loved it. The woman who played the role of Sarah, Josephine Scere, was amazing. Also, the man who played Tateh and Coalhouse were excellent. Happy joined Sarah and I and we were home by 11pm. For anyone who can get to Orem, Ragtime starts at 8pm every night and the tickets cost $10. I have been humming the music ever since.

Who wouldn't want Carl on their answering machine?

One of the coolest radio programs around is Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR. Jordan introduced my entire family to it last year. This last Thursday, the radio show came to Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake to tape their show. Wait, Wait is usually taped in Chicago but every once in a while they go on the road. My mom got Jordan, Alison, Mom, Dad, and I tickets for it. So on Thursday night, I left work a little before 5pm and drove into Salt Lake. After battling traffic I finally met up with the others at Red Rock cafe. From there we went to Kingsbury Hall and had a great time. It is amazing how fun it is to see a radio show broadcast. This broadcast took over an hour but will eventually be edited down to 45 minutes. The audience got to see the hilarious behind-the-scenes wit of Mo Rocca, Paula Poundstone, Tom Bodett, Peter Sagal, and Carl Kasell. I laughed so hard I cried. In a note of embarrassment, I actually took two pictures during the broadcast. They did not announce that we couldn't and other people were taking pictures. However, I usually have enough class not to take pictures. Sadly, I could not resist. I hope you enjoy these pictures, along with my slight guilt. Also, I would like to thank Curtis for the title of this blog.

Saturday with part of the family

On Saturday I slept in until 10 am. I then got up and did some housework while I waited for my mother to call me. Grandma Roberts had traveled down from Idaho and the Roberts sisters were meeting at Aunt Diane's house for food and talking. Sarah and I met up with them at a restuarant at 2pm, then went to Diane's house to talk and watch old family movies. It was strange to see my mother as a three-year-old toddler. She reminded me a lot of Wyatt. I managed to get Lauren to sleep for a half an hour, but then she woke up hungry. Sidney and I took Dexter for a walk. My two beautiful nieces left by 6 pm but I stayed until almost 11 pm. It was nice to see my aunts, mother, sister, grandmother, and two nieces.

Summerfest

Every year Orem has something called Summerfest. I had never heard of it before this year but saw the flier in the newspaper and heard about it from Sarah. Last Friday, I decided that it would be fun to go. When five o'clock rolled around, I decided that the 45 hours I had worked that week was enough and went home. Sarah was there and we decided to go to Summerfest. We called around to get a group together but only Jake and Happy ended up joining us. Summerfest is one of those small town carnivals that has rides, food, and boothes where vendors sell their wares. It was fun to walk around. Sarah and Happy got lost in the crowd so Jake and I wandered around, then met up with Sarah to eat dinner. (Happy was tired and went home.) By 8pm we had had enough Summerfest fun and returned to our house. Jake, Sarah, and I ended up talking and laughing until almost 12, when we all decided that we were exhausted. It was a fun night.

A to Z's of Me

What does a person do when they fill in for reception? Why a Meme of course!

A-Age: 27
B-Bed size: Twin (used to be a double; how I miss it!)
C-Chore I love: dishes (except when I have to do every one's all the time)
D-Dessert you love: Um, chocolate anything. (Just don't put fruit in it; yuck!)
E-Essential start your day item(s): alarm clock, radio, prayer, and bathroom.
F-Favorite movie(s): Pride and Prejudice
G-Gold or Silver: Silver
H-Height: 5'4 and slowly shrinking
I-Instruments you play: None (wait, does singing count?)
J-Job Title: Database Administrator and general HR Assistant
K-Kids: six nieces and nephews
L-Living Arrangements: 2 roommates in a townhouse
M-Most important things in life: Family, family, oh, and family. Maybe books and music go along.
N-Nicknames: Jess, Aunt Jess, (She who will not be named or crossed :)
O-Obsessions: Books, reading, my "kids," chocolate
P-Phobia: Tall buildings, terrorists
Q-Quotes: "No one can make you have a bad day." Quote from Mom I try to remember.
R-Right or left handed: right handed
S-Siblings: One sister and three brothers; all excellent
T-Top 3 favorite activities: reading, playing with friends/family, creating things
U-Unique thing about me: health history, being unaware that I am singing to myself
V-Vegetable I hate: Most of them but especially peppers
W-World Travels: I have only been in the U.S. but I hope to go to Europe
X-X-men; what superpower would you want: flying and being a human lie detector
Y-Yummy food you remember from your childhood: Mom's homemade bread, rice pudding, and Roberts Christmas Drink.
Z-Zodiac sign: Sagittarius

Lagoon

On Saturday morning, I awoke to a feeling of fatigue and a slightly upset stomach. After making sure that my computer was properly installed downstairs, I quickly got dressed and headed north to meet my family. I made really good time and made it to my parents house before they had left. I discovered that Jordan, Alison, and Isaac were planning on going to Lagoon-a-beach and I had forgot my swimming suit. I then decided to run over to Target and pick up a swimming suit so that I could join in the fun. (I now remember why I haven't bought a swimming suit in years. Yuck!) I made it to the Bowery in time for lunch where I was joined by my parents, Jeremy and Sidney, John, Jen, and Lauren, Jordan, Alison, and Isaac, and Brooke, Josh, and Tanner. After flat hamburgers, Jordan, Alison, Isaac, and I descended upon the water for some fun. I decided to take care of Isaac in the children's area so that Jordan and Alison could have some fun. Sadly, the water was kind of cold. Isaac, however, took it in stride and soon discovered a very fun drain to splash in. He seemed to love the sound of the drain sucking water down. After two hours, we were done and joined the rest of the family in the rest of the park. At this time, my stomach had made no move towards being calmer. I decided riding the train was about all I could handle. Dad and I took Isaac on the train and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening taking care of babies/toddlers. By the end of the night, I was pretty tired. (I've forgotten how heavy 20 lbs can be after a couple of hours :) We had a dinner of pizza, which we ate on the grass so the babies could play. (I think both Josh and Tanner fell asleep for a little while.) Sidney helped Lauren walk and Wyatt stuck his foot in a piece of pizza. Then we made our way to Rattlesnake Rapids, where Jeremy, Britnie, John, Jen, Sidney, Alison, and Jordan rode while Dad, Mom, and I played with the babies. I loved seeing my family but I was really glad to get back home. I took a shower and was in bed by 11:40 pm. I took some great pictures of the kids and the rest of the family; some of which are included in this blog.

Friday

On Friday, Sarah, Jake, Camille, Cassie, and I went to lunch at the Tahitian Noni Cafe. I had Salmon Sushi, which was pretty good. It is my hope that this can become a Friday tradition with my friends/roommates. I had a long day on Friday. I worked 9 and a half hours, not including the hour I took off for lunch, and was exhausted by the time I got home. My supervisor and I were preparing for new employee orientation, which stats on Monday morning. We also are trying to help out a new member of the HR team, Susan. This was her first week. Luckily, she is very nice and is catching on very fast. Because I was so tired, I spent Friday night at home with Sarah.