Singing librarian

June 2011 update

2011-08-29T17:18:00.000-06:00

Slowly but surely I am publishing the life and times of the Singing Librarian. Here is the June 2011 update:

June sped by with lots of work. While one of my bosses went to Germany, another went to Spain. Keeping track of people in foreign countries (that are 7-9 hours ahead of us) can be difficult. Luckily, my bosses are pretty good about not calling me when it is morning for them and very late/early for me.) I was able to go to a children's book fair on June 4^th with Jen, John, Lauren, and Emily. Emily was a little shy around the book characters but both girls were able to get free books and play games. Lauren especially liked the blow up slide. We ended the afternoon at an ice cream parlor, which is always a good way to end a visit with Aunt Jess.

On June 11^th the family went to Lagoon. We went for Dad’s company summer party and were able to celebrate the birthdays of Lauren and Isaac. I made sure to take something to stop the nausea of riding on rides. Sid and Wyatt were unable to make it so I rode a lot with Isaac and Lauren. It was a lot of fun and it seems strange that Dad will be retiring soon (as we have been going to his annual work party for as long as I can remember.) Dad managed to get a picture of Emily and I on the Merry-go-round.

On June 25^th a friend (Rob) and I went up to Salt Lake to see Ira Glass, host of This American Life. He talked about radio and the impact it can have on us as well as how the radio program is produced. After wards, we (along with my parents, Jordan, Alison, Clara, and Aunt Renee ended up at The Bakery for dessert. The conversation and food were excellent.

April 2011 - May 2011 update

2011-07-22T21:02:00.004-06:00

Once again, because I am so woefully behind, here is a quick and dirty summary of what happened in April and May of 2011. Please pardon me if I have forgotten something significant to you and yours.

In April we celebrated the birthdays of Wyatt, Alison, and Brooke. I can't believe that Wyatt, the first of our "triplets" is now five and will be starting kindergarten in the fall.
On the second Sunday of April my entire ward was invited to a meeting that included all the single adults (ages 21-31) in Provo and Orem. They renamed all the wards, created single adult only stakes (3 were created,) and then explained that the boundaries and age limits were going to be pretty strict. They encouraged us not to ward hop (not really a problem for me) and that if we were over a certain age that we should go to a home ward or mid-singles ward. As a woman of that age, I've decided to go to a mid-singles ward in Provo as opposed to going to a home ward where there would be a lot less people my age. Our ward has at least 25 people over 30 who will need to find new wards by September 1st. It's been hard but I am sure that we will all eventually be better for it.
After much deliberation amongst members of our Board of Directors at work, it was decided that our current CEO would step down and into the role of CTO. A new CEO was brought in on April 19th. It was a shock to most of the company. I now have 4 bosses: the CEO (or Boss R,) the President (or Boss M,) the CTO (or Boss D,) and VP of Strategy and Operations (or Boss L.) Luckily I had two admins assisting me (but more to come on that later.)
In May we celebrated the birthdays of Caleb, Dad, and Britnie.
My work had their big yearly conference where people from all over the country came to Provo. It was held at the Provo Marriott and I had a heck of a time keeping the schedules for all four of my bosses straight. It was 3 days of non-stop work but we managed to get through it. The event coordinator was 7 months pregnant so a few of us pitched in to do some leg work for her.
The next weekend I received a Facebook invite for a friend of mine I hadn't seen in almost 10 years. We lost track of each other when she went on a mission and her parents moved away from Kaysville. Katie and I emailed back and forth and then ended up going to dinner. It was so much fun to catch up (even if we only got through about 5% of what had happened to us.) She, like me, is a biblioholic and loves music and art.
I went with a few friends to see Seussical the Musical at the Hale Center Theater. Our friend, Melissa Lindsey, was in the cast and did a wonderful job.
Boss D went to Alaska for a week in May which cut down on my workload a little.
May 21st was supposed to be the day of The Rapture according to Harold Camping. This American Christian radio broadcaster predicted that May 21st would be the day that Christ would return to the Earth, the righteous would fly up to Heaven, and the wicked would be left on Earth to suffer until October. Clearly this didn't happen. He is still living in his same house and now predicts the end of the world to be October 21, 2011. The saddest part of this whole thing is that many of his followers quit their jobs, sold their homes, and spent all their money in preparation for The Rapture and were pretty shocked on May 22nd when they had to continue on with their lives with no job, house, or money.
On May 23rd the ward came over to my house to watch Pixar shorts and have treats. We projected the dvd onto the north wall of the living room and covered the windows with blankets and sheets. It had a movie theater feel to it. A lot of people showed up and several of us ended up downstairs talking instead of watching the dvd. It was a lot of fun.
The Center Ward had a May 30th BBQ at Rob's house to celebrate Memorial Day. It was a lot of fun and Rob, Lindsey, Patrick and I ended up shooting hoops and talking.
This May was the second wettest May in Provo in the past 30 years. The temperature never got above 81 degrees Fahrenheit.

A dream is a wish your heart makes....

2011-07-14T17:30:00.000-06:00

I have a dream of having a home of my own one day. This home will include many bookshelves. A few days ago I saw this picture:

If I'm very good and send vibes out to the Universe, do you think I can have this one? Sigh.

Sub for Santa 2010

2011-07-13T19:01:00.001-06:00

In November of 2010 I was called to be the co-chair of the Service Committee for my ward. It's a tradition in my singles ward to collect money from the members and then sponsor a family for Christmas. While half of our ward is still in school, we can usually gather a least $300-400 in about two weeks. This year we collected several hundred dollars and found a family to sponsor through The United Way. We were given a family that included a single mother who was out of work and her five children (ages 12-3.) For a Family Home Evening activity we split into groups and went shopping. Thankfully, The United Way provides the gender, age, pants and shirt size, favorite color, and a gift idea list for each child (provided by the parent.) While the groups shopped, I went and picked up a gift card to Smiths for the mother. The next night my co-chair and I delivered the gifts to our family. All the kids except the oldest were in bed and we ended up giving the bags of gifts to the babysitter. It was a great experience. The next day more people donated money to the cause even though the project was over. We had so much that I knew that we could sponsor another family if there were 3 kids or less.
I emailed The United Way and received the information for another family. This family consisted of a mother and father (who was out of work) and two daughters. The paper mentioned that no one in the family could speak English. Because of this I found someone in my company who speaks fluent Spanish to call the family and let them know that I would be dropping off the gifts that evening (as it was already December 22nd.) Due to the short notice I did the shopping by myself, looking carefully at the information provided. One daughter was listed as being 9 years old and the other daughter was almost 3. Both listed Barbie and Dora as their favorite toys, which I thought was odd. I bought clothes, shoes, and a coat for each as well as some toys and books. Because there were only two children in the family instead of the planned for 3, I was able to also buy a $100 gift card for the parents. As the delivery was not scheduled to take place until 8pm, I went out to dinner with some friends. I put all the gifts as well as the gift receipts and wrapping paper into large black plastic bags and put them in my truck. I then realized that it would be difficult for me to carry everything by myself. Realizing this, I recruited Sarah and Rob to go with me to deliver the gifts
We went into a very humble looking neighborhood in Provo and eventually found the house. It was a small trailer with a ramp up one side. We knocked on the front door and it opened. A man with a kind face answered and we were ushered into a cold, dark little home. There was one light on and it couldn't have been more than 55 degrees in the house. There was no Christmas tree; only a string a Christmas lights on one wall. The father expressed his thanks in broken English and the mother expressed her thanks in Spanish. As I entered I noticed a small wheelchair behind the couch. The paper I had received from The United Way had not mentioned any sort of handicap with either child.
The parents ushered us down the hall into a small bedroom. In one corner a physically handicapped girl lay on a bed. This nine year old girl was thin and appeared to have a severe case of cerebral palsy. She attempted to speak but could not. On the other side of the room was a big bed that the parents obviously shared. As they gestured to the girl and spoke with tears in their eyes, I felt so grateful for my own life and health. Rob was able to speak to them in his own broken Spanish. They thanked us profusely and the Mother pressed a thank you card into my hand as well left.
In the car Sarah, Rob, and I sat in stunned silence for a moment. Never had I imagined that I would encounter such poverty so close to where I live. I had only seen such a humble home on tv; never in person. I was proud of our ward for raising money to help this family.

The next day I was at work thinking about the situation. I told the story to my Director of HR, describing the house and its lack of decoration. He gave me money and with a little of my own, I drove to the nearest Christmas tree lot. I bought a medium size tree that I knew would fit into the corner of their front room as well as some basic decorations and a tree stand. I paid the tree lot worker (who told me they delivered trees when needed) to deliver the tree, the stand, and the decorations to their address (which had been provided to me by The United Way.) Once again I was grateful to be surrounded by such generous people (it turns out that two of my bosses had contributed to the cause along with my Director of HR.) It was the perfect way to spend the few days before Christmas. I can't wait to do another Sub for Santa project next year.

January 2011-March 2011 update

2011-07-13T17:32:00.001-06:00

For those of you not in the know, it has been a while since I've posted on my blog. Here's a brief update of what happened in the beginning of 2011 (please excuse me if I forget anything important):

January 2011

I managed to catch the flu and get an ear infection in January. I was very unhappy and couldn't hear out of one ear for a week
January was my wards month to clean the church so my co-chair and I organized our ward to do two cleanings a week for the entire month. We were also in charge of snow removal.
Work was not as busy in January although we did have a big Board of Directors meeting.
Aaron had his birthday

February 2011

Tanner had his birthday
I started walking a dog for a friend of mine due to his crazy schedule (he's an accountant/auditor.) Although it was cold, I had a lot of fun and would continue to walk Bodie at least once a week until April.
A few friends and I went to Porter's for dinner one night. At the end of our meal the power went out. As the building was old and we were upstairs, there were no windows or other source of light for us to get downstairs by. The food was good and the almost tumble down some stairs was interesting. The outage was city wide and was caused by an insanely large thunder storm.
I went to the Springville and BYU museum with John, Jen, Lauren, Emily, Mom, and Dad. It was a lot of fun. In the bottom of the BYU museum was an interactive light exhibit that the girls had a lot of fun with. Check out the video I made of their reaction.
I gave a talk in church on The Holy Ghost and revelation. I think it went well

March 2011

One of my bosses went to China on a business trip.
Brooke announced that she was pregnant and due at the end of August. We are all very excited. This already loved child will be the 11th grandchild. As there are already five boys (Caleb, Wyatt, Isaac, Tanner, Aaron) and five girls (Sidney, Lauren, Ava, Emily, and Clara) it will be interesting to see what side this newest child will tip the scales toward.
There was a baby shower for my cousin Megan.
I attended a Jon Bon Jovi concert at the Energy Solutions Center with Angie L and Sarah. It was a lot of fun. Angie bought our tickets in 2010 and then we paid her back.

I know, I know; it's been a long time

2011-07-13T17:10:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure why I got out of the habit of posting on my blog. I think life and all its business just got away from me. As it will be too difficult to go back and post each event individually, here's a run down of the past 8 months (what a horrifyingly long time):

October 2010

Worked on getting a Visa for one an employee of my company to move to Singapore for two years. It was a painful process and took me over a month.
Had a Halloween party at my house (I dressed as a witch this year to balance the angel I dress as last year.)
Celebrated Ava's birthday.

November 2010

Saw The Scarlet Pimpernel at the Hale Center Theater. My good friend, Melissa, was a member of the cast. It was awesome.
Was called to be a co-chair of the Service Committee in my ward.
Helped organize my company's attendance at SuperComputing 2010. Two of my bosses attended.
Attended the Sara Bareilles concert in Salt Lake with Matt and Emily Smith. It was amazing. Afterwards we ended up at Marie Callendars and had pie.
Thanksgiving at my parent's new house. We were all able to eat in the same huge room. Grandma Roberts brought down some albums which I looked through and decided to scan photos from over the next few months.
One of my bosses went on a trip to Angola which causes me a lot of heartburn (knowing that he could have been kidnapped or that he might have stepped on a landmine.)
Celebrated Emily's birthday as well as my own
Got a new driver's license (after a two hour ordeal at the DMV.)

December 2010

Attended my ward Christmas, which included a white elephant gift exchange.
Attended my company Christmas party, which all 3 of my bosses were late to. I ended up throwing my Christmas bonus (cash in $20 bills) in the trash and didn't realize it until I was on my way home. I returned immediately and was let in by one of the cleaning crew. The bonus was no where to be found but he let me search through bags of garbage that hadn't been taken to the dumpster. While searching I said a prayer that I would be able to find it. After a lot of searching it was found (although the envelope had quite a bit of food on it.) I decided to use the money for a good cause and spent it spreading Christmas cheer.
Organized a Sub for Santa event for my ward where we raised a couple hundred dollars. We went shopping in groups for an FHE activity and then my Service Committee co-chair and I delivered the gifts to our family. Afterwards so many people gave us more money that we asked for another family (more about this later.)
Christmas with the family. All the kids were so cute and we were all blessed with many presents. Two of note were a wonderful pillow that Alison made to match my quilt from Brooke and an amazing necklace from my parents.
A New Years Eve party at my house

So there are the updates from 2010. I will soon post a few updates from the first 6 months of 2011. It's nice to be back in the world of blogging.

Clara's blessing

2010-10-20T17:39:00.000-06:00

My newest niece, Clara Jean, was blessed by her father on October 10^th. Clara, whose pictures is above, is a charming girl who entered the world on July 21^st at 4:59am MT. (The picture was taken by her “Poppy” on another day.) Her brothers seem to like her, especially Isaac. Her blessing was lovely. I drove up north and found their church about 20 minutes before their Sacrament meeting started. Jen and her family drove up soon after I did and so Lauren and I walked around and talked. Alison handed me Clara while the prelude was being played by Jordan. (Aaron had a bloody nose and needed to be taken out.) Clara slept through the opening hymn and prayer and all of the announcements and woke up a little just in time for her father to come and fetch her. For those who are unaware, a baby blessing is a wonderful event that welcomes a new baby into the church with a name and a blessing (see here for more information.) Jordan did a wonderful job and Clara didn’t make a peep (at least not one that the congregation could hear.) My dad mentioned that Clara grabbed his thumb and held on during the blessing. Afterwards this sweet girl was deposited back into my arms as Alison had Aaron on her lap. I was able to hold this sweet baby during Sacrament meeting and even took her out to change a diaper, returning just in time to hear her father bear his testimony.

After wards the family adjourned to her parent’s home for an excellent lunch spread. I gave her parents the bowl that I had made for her (as one of my goals is to make a gift for each of my nieces and nephews.) It turned out well I think. I ate outside with the kids and then watched over them as they ran around and played on the patio. It was a lot of fun to see all the kids interact together. I managed to make it home before 7:30pm.

As a side note, the birth of Clara evens up the grandchildren with 5 girls and 5 boys. :)

The Lion King

2010-10-02T08:30:00.000-06:00

Top 10 things I loved about seeing
The Lion King
at The Capitol Theatre in September

The opening number. It is easy to see why this musical won 6 Tony Awards the year it opened. I actually misted up at the music and costumes. Each animal/dancer moved exactly the way I expected it to move. The zebras pranced, the birds soared, the rhino lumbered, etc.
The “One by One” song in the beginning of the second act. Dancers came out into the audience with these interesting birds on poles and strings. The music sounded like an African Tribal chant and was beautiful.
The smooth way the lionesses moved and danced. It seemed like each dancer had studied a lion for days in order to get it just right. The cheetah was amazing as well.
The fact that I was able to attend with family and have a great meal beforehand. Despite the tire change by Mom and Dad, we all had a good time. Plus, a good friend, Angie, joined the group.
The occasional humor of Zazu, the bird. He provided needed humor and transitions between scenes. Oddly enough, they cut out his "Morning Report" song that can be heard on the Broadway cd.
The heart-wrenching “Endless Night” sung by Simba. Even grown-ups need their parents to guide them.
Getting so into the music that I actually had to physically stop myself from bursting out into song. The performers did a great job and I was impressed how they matched the young Simba and Nala to the adult versions. They had some similar mannerisms that were cute to see.
Even though I have seen the cartoon version several times and listened to the Broadway soundtrack more than 20 times, I was still holding my breath at the final battle scene. Would Simba win? Luckily, he did. (I hope I didn't ruin it for any of the readers of this blog.)
That there was dancing grass. The scene and costume designers were geniuses. Once again, the Tonys were well deserved.
That the minute it was over I wanted to run to the box office and buy another $120 ticket to see it again.

My new quilt

2010-08-19T18:05:00.000-06:00

A few months ago my sister-in-law, Brooke, made a quilt that I greatly admired. I have tried quilting and quickly realized that I do not have a knack for it. Brooke does. I asked her to make me one (with me providing the money for all materials.) She sent me several fabric options that she thought I would like (and, of course, I did because she has excellent taste.) I chose the fabric for the design, binding, and back, and away she went. All in all, I think it ended up being about $180. She gave it to me this past weekend. Didn't it turn out cute? (I took this while standing on a chair at my house.)Here is a close up of part of the pattern:Here is the back (I love the fabric and the swirly designs):My one requirement was that she had to sign it somehow. She did:
Now I have a wonderful quilt for my bed and something that was made by a relative of mine. I couldn't be happier. You're awesome Brooke.

A slacker (sort of)

2010-08-17T17:25:00.000-06:00

It has come to my attention that I have been a bit of a slacker during the past two weeks. It has been pretty busy in my life and I haven't been sharing all the fun. :) The following things have happened since I made my last blog post:

Went to my company party in Provo Canyon
Sent my boss on a business trip to New York City
Arranged an onsite meeting with some big-wigs (including rooms at Sundance, dinner at the Tree Room, etc)
Went to Las Vegas with three friends for a weekend
Saw Phantom of the Opera in Vegas
Went to a Jack Johnson concert
Had two roommates move out (one to Salt Lake and the other bought a house in American Fork)
Helped my roommates move and clean
Had two roommates move in (the accountant and the teacher - so far so good)
Moved my bedroom from the small upstairs one to the master bedroom
Bought a baby shower gift
Visited my parents and siblings to celebrate August birthdays
Bought a new bookcase (this officially makes 5 in my bedroom)
Made a bowl for Sidney's birthday
Sent a package to baby Clara
Started planning a trip to Hawaii for 8 people (no, I don't get to go)
Attended church and FHE
Attended a goodbye party for Cami
Attended a party for Meg
Helped a friend trim rosebushes and gave advice on doing yardwork and watering
Bought a bedside table
Worked 40 hours each week
Gave blood to the Red Cross
Had a doctor's appointment
Went out to dinner with my Wednesday dinner group a few times
and ran many errands and slept a few hours

Turning 10

2010-07-25T09:42:00.001-06:00

My oldest niece is turning 10 this coming week. I've always considered 10 a big birthday because you move from one number in your age to two. It's the same when you turn 100. Because of this, I decided to make Sid a special birthday gift. Sometime last year I decided to paint all my nieces and nephews a piece of pottery with their name on it since it's always cool to have something with your name on it. Some got cups and some got bowls (and if I accidentally overlooked any nieces or nephews, I expect their parents to tell me immediately.) As Sidney received a cup last year, I decided to make a bowl this time. Her favorite color is pink so I started with that. I then decided to do white "branches" on the outside with red and purple berries (in a minimalist way.) The inside of the bowl was an accident. I tried to make a cute heart but it turned out horrible. I ended up covering up my mistake but it ended up looking kind of cute (see below.) Here's how it turned out:This was so much fun that I may make another bowl for all the rest of the kids when they turn 10 (or much sooner.)

The Amazing Audra McDonald

2010-06-30T00:15:00.006-06:00

Tonight I sat less than 30 feet away from one of the greatest voices I have ever heard in my life. This voice belongs to Audra McDonald and I was in the Hale Center Theater in Orem. She is performing in 110 in the Shade for a limited two week engagement as a fundraiser. After hearing her voice on the soundtrack to 110 in the Shade (as well as the three other cds of hers that I own) I was blown away. She sang her first song (Love, Don't Turn away) with true heart and passion and received thunderous applause for her effort. About half way through the first act, the audio track stopped working. They stopped the show for 10 minutes and then continued with nothing but piano accompaniment. They made one joke then continued on in a professional manner. The sound came back on about 25 minutes later. My favorite songs were Raunchy, Old Maid, and Simple Little Things. Despite these words of praise, words cannot truly express how I felt and how I was lifted up by hearing her singing. My heart was full of joy. During the intermission I hummed all the music while reading through the program. After 5 minutes, a woman leaned over to me and asked how many times I had seen the show. I told her that this was my first time but I had almost all the music memorized. She laughed, complimented me on my humming abilities, and then I proceeded to gush about Audra and her other cds. She received a standing ovation at the end of the show (oh, and the other people in the cast were amazing as well.) A friend of mine, Melissa Lindsey, was in the show and did a great job.
After the show I waited by the door for her to come out and was able to get my 110 in the Shade cd signed and get my picture taken with her. As a side note, she said that she loved my necklace (Monopoly necklace as seen in the picture below) and mentioned that her daughter would have loved it as well. She was lovely and gracious as she could be. I will now have to buy myself another ticket for next week. If any of you have the opportunity to get a ticket, do so immediately.As an interesting side note, I ran into a friend of Alison and Jordan's. I have met Amelia several times (their wedding, Caleb's birth and funeral, Isaac's birth, tree decorating, etc) and we compared our love for Audra McDonald. She drove down from Salt Lake to see the show.

It's good to be busy

2010-06-24T17:47:00.001-06:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted. It seems like there is never enough time in a day to accomplish all I'd like to. In the past two weeks the following events have occurred in my life:

I regained electricity in my bedroom and bathroom
Went to Lagoon with my parents, a few siblings, and their kids (boy were my feet tired afterwards)
I lost my hat from work on Wicked at Lagoon
Did my Visiting Teaching (for those who don't know what I'm talking about, please visit www.lds.org)
Sat through a very long lesson on dating and courtship (while making snarky comments under my breath to the person next to me)
Saw Wicked Tinkers in concert
Attended the Scottish Festival at Thanksgiving Point (it rained)
Went to Summerfest (it rained)
Watched the fireworks from my back porch (it had finally stopped raining)
Went to lunch with Sherri and Emily (it had been way too long)
Delivered lunch to a coworker and his wife who were working on a Saturday to finish a project
Attended a wedding reception (it started to rain)
Went to dinner with Cameron, Cami, Scotty, and Sarah @ Gurus
Attended a very long managers meeting at the Provo Library
Bought the new Glee CD
Had brunch with Sarah, Cami, Angie, and Scotty (I provided Milk and OJ)
Visited a friend who had just gotten out of the hospital after having brain surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor (radiation starts in a little while)
Attended church, FHE, and Ward prayer (once again, see www.lds.org if you are confused)
Had a sit down with my landlord about renewing my lease and had a roommate meeting with our landlord about cleaning, leases, and construction in the basement
Listened to my roommate and gave her advice about work frustrations
Worked 8.5 hours each workday
Send my boss on yet another business trip and sent his wife a gift certificate from all the managers to apologize for all his trips.
Ate 3 healthy salads
Cleaned my bedroom and my bathroom as well as cleaning my car inside and out
Began reading a book on interviewing relatives for family history projects

This weekend I plan to get together with family, clean, and perhaps go out with friends or on a date. I hope you are having as much fun as I am.

Electricity

2010-06-06T18:33:00.002-06:00

I have not had electricity in my bedroom for over a week. On May 26th I arrived home from dinner with friends to discover that I had no electricity in my bedroom, bathroom, or the hallway outside both rooms. I called my landlord and left a message. I called again Thursday morning and Friday morning with no response. Luckily, I own an extension cord. This way I was able to have a bedside lamp that I could carry from my bedroom to the bathroom and back. It has been very frustrating. On Saturday I heard from my landlord, who reported that she had not received any of my messages but had been told my one of my roommates of my predicament. She and her husband came by to flip switches in the electrical box (as though I wouldn't have already tried that.) She said that she would call her handyman. That was a week ago. Apparently her handyman was out of town and he is the only person that she trusts. I received a voicemail from her today saying that the handyman was coming tomorrow night. This has been a frustrating experience but I have tried to be patient. Thank goodness for an extension cord, flashlight, and an battery powered alarm clock or my bedroom would be unlivable at night (as my landlord has forbidden candles of any kind.) I guess I'm just grateful that our air conditioning and power to the kitchen and family room have remained.

The last two and a half weeks

2010-05-19T17:26:00.000-06:00

The last two and a half weeks have been busy ones. Here are just a few things that happened:

I sent my CEO and President on a business trip and one of them forgot to take their cell phone.
Drove to Bountiful to celebrate Caleb’s birthday and had dinner with my family
Babysat Lauren and Emily while their parents went to the theater (Emily was in pretty good spirits considering she had an ear infection.)
Drove to K-town for a wedding reception
Spent 6 hours weeding and planting for a Mother’s Day present (I was sore but it was totally worth it)
Manned the information booth during a two day conference put on by my company (7am is not a good time for me to be in charge of giving others information)
Set up 30+ meetings for my two bosses
Painted (and mailed) a bowl for my newest niece
Organized personal correspondence from my great, great grandfather to my great grandfather (Binder #2 of family history is underway)
Printed off some new wallet size pictures of my nieces and nephews for my purse (I love that my dad and siblings have blogs so I can find recent pictures of high quality)
Began organizing two more business trips for my boss (Germany and Scotland anyone?)
Had a cold along with allergies (a whole box of tissue was used)
Deep cleaned my kitchen, bathroom, and living room
Wrote a letter to a sibling
Bought a set of Oneida silverware for myself (a woman my age should have real silverware)
Listened to three books on tape while driving and organizing letters (Sarah Vowell and David Sedaris are awesome)
Planted flowers in my small patch of ground by my townhouse (the soil was like concrete so we’ll see how they do)
Went out to dinner with friends
Did all the things I regularly do each day (sleep, eat, work, drive, etc)

Lusting after a vase

2010-05-07T01:28:00.006-06:00

I really, really want to buy this vase:

The problem is that I can't really justify spending $365 on a vase. Sure, it's interesting and unique and can fit 47 flowers in 47 little vases, but I just can't justify it. I love the artistic lines, the symmetry, and the classic all white shade. As it is made of Bisque Porcelain, I suppose it would be a bear to clean. "Sigh."

New stamps

2010-04-24T19:09:00.004-06:00

My talented brother, Jordan, has created two new stamps for me. I've always wanted a stamp with my name and I commissioned two from him. They turned out great.
The simpler one was my idea and the checkerboard stamp was Jordans. The man's talented. I'd be willing to bet he'd carve one for you if you commissioned it (his prices are actually quite reasonable.)

Swingin with the boys

2010-04-20T01:07:00.001-06:00

On April 9th I had the chance to babysit Issac and Aaron while their parents went to a dance concert. Isaac, Aaron, and I started out playing in the park. The slides and swings were the best part but running hither and yon was fun as well. After a long time in the park we went back home to eat peanut butter sandwiches, milk, and oranges. After eating we painted on poster board, then ate ice cream and watched a movie. I attempted to get them into their pajamas but it didn't happen before their parents came home. It was a lot of fun.

Emily's blessing

2010-04-19T21:35:00.009-06:00

My darling youngest niece Emily was blessed last Sunday, April 11th. I drove to Salt Lake and heard John pronounce a wonderful blessing on his daughter and welcome her into the church. After the sacrament meeting we went to Emily's house where her mother had put together a great spread of food. The kids had fun playing downstairs and outside. Sid borrowed my camera and took some great pictures.

Emily and her paternal grandmother
Of Poppy
Of Aunt Jen

Of her brother

And of Lauren

My stamp

2010-03-31T23:32:00.004-06:00

My siblings are very talented in both intellectual and artistic spheres. Each of my siblings has their own talents. My youngest, Jordan, has the ability to carve things. This started years ago. His latest creation was a commission for me. It all started over a month ago when he borrowed a book from me. He saw me write my name in a book and asked why I didn't have a book plate or stamp. I explained that years ago I had bookplate stickers to identify my books as belonging to me but I had run out. He then offered to carve me a book stamp if I gave him an idea of what I wanted. I eagerly sent him some ideas and this is what he made me:
It is carved out of rubber and mounted on a piece of wood. He did a great job (and I, of course, paid him for all the materials and his time.) Here is what the stamp looks like on paper: Thanks Jordan; you rock!

Real mail

2010-02-27T20:37:00.002-07:00

I received two letters this week. While this might not seem important or noteworthy to others, it is unusual for me. Most mail I receive are bills, junk mail/magazines, or official correspondence (from banks, doctors offices, etc.) Most correspondence I write, whether personal or professional, is via e-mail. This week, however, I received two letters in the mail from people I love. One was a card, which had a two page typed letter inserted into it. The other was a three page handwritten letter. I was pleased and surprised. I am a big fan of "snail" mail from people I love. I also love to send handwritten letters and cards to people. I think I get this from my father, who still hand writes his journal and hand writes letters to missionaries and those he loves who happen to live far away. When I lived and worked at a resort in Montana he sent me several letters which I still have today.
I am, and have been for a while, of the opinion that hand writing letter and notes is a dying art form. When someone wants to communicate with someone else these days, they generally pick up a telephone. If they don't telephone, they e-mail, IM, skype, or text.
Letters and notes used to be so important to humans. In some of my favorite books, the main characters received news, encouragement, and love via letters. How does Elizabeth realize that Mr. Darcy did not wrong Mr. Wickham? By reading a letter that Mr. Darcy sent her. How does Jean Wainwright discover who her true parents are and who killed an innocent woman? By reading through hand written notes, wills, etc. How does Anne realize that Captain Wentworth is still in love with her? By reading his letter. The list goes on and on (and I digress.) When researching historical figures, you can often find collections of their letters. Examples include Emily Dickinson, John Adams, Charles Dickens, John Calvin, and Samuel Beckett.
I love handwritten letters (or even letters that are typed, printed out, and signed.) Handwritten letters are still something that people appreciate. People send handwritten cards at Christmas, sign important documents, and many journals are still handwritten.
All this being said, when was the last time you wrote someone a note or letter and slipped it into the mail? When was the last time you received a piece of handwritten mail?

P.S. While this may seem a request for letters to be mailed to me, I assure you it is not. I just wanted to get some thoughts out of my head and onto a page, so to speak.

Cupcakes

2010-02-14T19:49:00.004-07:00

In January, we had a cupcake decorating contest for a Family Home Evening activity. I didn't decorate one but was pretty impressed by some of the people. I provided the cupcakes, icing, food coloring, and candy. The winner, decided by my one committee member, was the cookie monster cupcake.

Nurse Jessica to the rescue

2010-01-31T22:41:00.003-07:00

I've always prided myself on being fairly calm in emergency medical situations. I don't get queasy at the site of blood or vomit and I generally keep from crying or panicking if it doesn't involve a niece or nephew. My roommate, R, had surgery on her leg about a week and a half ago. She has been on crutches since. On Friday I took her to the doctor's office to have her stitches removed. The doctor said that she could walk if she was careful and could really shower. (I helped her take a shower once while sitting on a chair with her leg out of door. It was quite the process.) On Saturday I took her to the library and the grocery store. It tired her a little but her leg felt good. This morning we went to church. After Sacrament Meeting R was tired so I took her home. While walking into the kitchen, she felt something wet on her leg. Looking down, we saw blood dripping quickly down her leg. Her long incision had clearly opened. She was understandably alarmed and began to cry due to pain and fear. I ran to grab a towel, her purse, and quickly got her into my car. Off to the emergency room we went at a safe speed. All the while I told her that it would be ok and that there was nothing to fear. She was checked into a room (I asked if she could fill out the paperwork in a room so she wouldn't drip blood on the floor. They agreed.) The nurses cleaned her up and the doctor numbed her incision area, put seven stitches in, and gave her an Rx for an antibiotic. While they were working on her leg I did my best to clean the blood off her shoes while telling amusing stories about my own visits to the ER (fainting, getting a Q-Tip stuck in my ear, having a concussion, etc.) I called a friend and asked her to stop by our house and pick up R's crutches. We were then off to Wal-Mart to fill the Rx. By the time we got home three and half hours had passed. All in all it was an interesting Sunday afternoon.
As to my own life (since it's been a while since I've posted anything) I have had a cold that has lasted over a week. I am getting better but my weak immune system still hasn't recovered. Since I haven't been feeling well I haven't been very social during the past week. I missed church last week along with FHE, temple night, Sarah's dinner invitation, and my regular weekly dinner with a group of friends. This week will be a busy one at work but we will probably accomplish quite a bit. I am generally happy with my situation in life. I wish all of you a good night (or day depending on when you read this.)

Christmas

2010-01-08T22:58:00.006-07:00

I was sick on Christmas Eve, the time I had appointed to drive to my parent's house. I had food poisoning and could be far from a bathroom. It was a pathetic time but luckily I woke up on Christmas Day feeling better. I drove up North and was able to visit Sidney & Wyatt and Lauren & Emily. The was too late to visit Tanner & Ava and Isaac & Aaron. I had dinner with my parents and then had a fairly slow evening. On Saturday, the day after Christmas, my siblings came over and we celebrated Christmas again. It was a lot of fun to get together. I received some wonderful gifts and was able to spend time with almost all of my family (John and Emily were missing.)I, oddly enough, didn't get any pictures of my parents or Sidney, Wyatt, Jeremy, or Britnie. There were there but I only took a few pictures.

Sunset

2010-01-06T17:46:00.004-07:00

I was called from my desk at work to see this beautiful sunset. I only wish I had a better camera and wasn't shooting through glass. It was taken on Monday night.

Blogus Interuptus

2009-12-20T10:08:00.002-07:00

It's been a pretty busy week (couple of weeks actually.) My boss went on another two trips and this past Wednesday the managers and executives had an all day off site meeting. I arranged for all of us to leave the office at 8:30am and drive to The Homestead Resort. We didn't leave to come home until almost 8pm. I typed 24 pages of single spaced, 11 point font minutes. It was productive but we have a lot to do now.
I arranged several FHE activities from afar (as I wasn't able to attend them due to prior engagements.) They included a service activity. I attended a showing of The Forgotten Carols with some friends last Monday as well as going home for a family dinner with my parents and sibling last Saturday.
On Thursday afternoon I drove to Salt Lake to babysit Lauren and Emily (more info in another post) and then helped plan and attended my work party on Friday night. Yesterday some people from the ward came over to watch a movie as part of our ward party. I actually spent most of the time in my room catching up on some work so I could be prepared for this Monday's meeting with some people from the East Coast. Thank goodness the holidays are coming and I will have a couple of days off. Anyway, I hope to be able to post a little more frequently in the coming weeks.

The tree

2009-11-30T21:49:00.007-07:00

In honor of Caleb's 5th birthday and what would have been his entry into Kindergarten, the tree this year was labeled "Kindergarten Christmas." Alison envisioned a wonderful tribute and it came true. After much painting over the past week and few days. The painting of some ornaments, beads, a village, boxes, and boards took some time but they turned out well. After days of work, Alison and I put the combined ornaments on the tree with wire. Grandma Roberts spent several hours stringing the garlands. Here is the entire tree:

I couldn't get far away enough to include the manger/star on top. Here are some of my favorite letters and what goes with them:

K is for Kris Kringle. Alison found this cute Kris for the tree.

S is for Sled. We stained this one and then I stenciled "Believe" and some snowflakes on it.

T is for Toy. Isn't the rocking horse cute?
There is a desk and chalkboard that goes along with it thanks to Aunt Nancy and Alison's Dad. It was a lot of work but also very rewarding. Here are the letters and the items on the tree that they stood for:
A is for Angel
B is for Bow
C is for Candy Cane
D is for Dove
E is for Evergreen
F is for Family (of Snowmen)
G is for Gift (painted purple)
H is for Holly
I is for Icicle
J is for Jingle Bells
K is for Kris Kringle
L is for Lights
M is for Manger
N is for Nutcracker
O is for Ornament
P is for Poinsettia
Q is for Quartet (the four small figures where hard to wire on)
R is for Reindeer
S is for Sled
T is for Toy
U is for unwrap
V is for Village
W is for Wise Men
X is for X-Mas
Y is for Yule Log
Z is for zzz (as in someone who is really tired after along weekend)

Lauren's little sister

2009-11-19T21:59:00.002-07:00

The newest, littlest member of our family was born today at app. 9:15am. The yet to be named little girl was 7lb 12oz and 21.5 inches long despite being two weeks early. Other than being tired, she, her mother, and her father are doing well. I left work a few minutes early to drive up to the hospital to see her. I overstayed my welcome so I could hold her and explain to her how wonderful and cute she is. She is a darling baby and I can already tell that she is above average (as all my nieces and nephews are.)

A 3-year-old's perspective

2009-11-16T23:20:00.009-07:00

My sister-in-law Alison has been doing a post a day for the past week. It has been interesting to read about her perspective when dealing with a three and a half year old and an almost two year old. They are darling boys and they have a different perspective from we adults. All my nieces and nephews do. In their eyes life is good when they have their blankets, some food, and have family surrounding them. Pain can be quickly overcome after falling down and they don't stay down. Each one has learned to hop back up after falling. When does that change? I have noticed that I don't hop back up after a hurt (and I'm not talking physically.) A hurt feeling lasts a few minutes with a small child but can be nursed for hours, days, weeks, or even years by an adult. For some reason the older we get the more we seems to remember the pains that are inflicted on us, either by ourselves or by someone else. Why is that?

To go along with the theme of perspective, I give you several pictures that were taken by a three and a half year old:

I babysat Lauren last Thursday while her parents went to a play. She and I colored in our coloring books, sang, danced, took pictures, read, and then sang some more. I had a great time and I think she did as well. My camera is really simple. It has a very large viewer on the back so that you aren't required to put your eye up to a hole in order to see what you are shooting. After teaching her that she shouldn't put her fingers in front of the lens and that she had to hold the button down until the light flashed, she did pretty good. She ended up with about 40 shots but I thought these were some of the better ones. The last one I took (obviously.)

Photo scavenger hunt

2009-11-09T22:32:00.002-07:00

Tonight my ward participated in a photo scavenger hunt for FHE. The list was as follows:

One member of the group doing a handstand.
One member of the group with a boat.
Two members of the group on their cell phones.
Three members of the group by a Yield sign.
Two members going down a slide.
Three or more members forming a letter of the alphabet with their bodies.
Three members of the team with someone in uniform.
One team member next to a California license plate.
All four members of the team with blue tongues.
Two members of the team on a diving board.
All four members of the team with a sign that says "Orem" on it.
Three members of the team in a public laundromat.
Three members of the team with a member of the FHE committee.
Two or more members of the team under a bed.
Two or more team members wearing sombreros.
Three team members playing with light sabers in the toy aisle of a store.
Three team members having a picture taken with a bald man with a goatee.
One team member with a live farm animal.
One team member checking out a book from the library.
One team member ordering something from the Wendy's drive through.

They had one hour to get as many done as they could and the winning team of four people won gift certificates to a local movie theater. One team got all twenty (I know since I checked the pictures to verify.) I actually did not participate, hence the lack of pictures. I kicked the event off by handing out the lists and then I was on my laptop for an hour doing some work. Due to HP's visit to our office today I am really behind in my work. Instead of doing my usual stuff I took 23 typed pages of notes. There are many a meeting invite that I haven't responded to and I haven't even started the agenda for tomorrow's Executive Committee meeting. Despite this I am ready for bed and don't think I will stay up to work anymore.

Eggnog and The West Wing

2009-11-08T01:20:00.004-07:00

It is now past 1am on Sunday morning and I'm wide awake. I have just watched my third consecutive episode of The West Wing, a political drama from the 1990's. I love the witty banter between the characters and feel like I somehow am gaining more knowledge about how my government works when I watch it. I also just finished my third glass of eggnog for the day. I love eggnog. I am generally a fan of dairy as a whole (with the exception of nasty cottage cheese with its weird texture.) I wish grocery stores sold eggnog year round instead of waiting until November to start and then pulling it off the shelves in February. I suppose I could just make my own but I don't think it tastes quite as good as the store bought versions. I just noticed that my brother has a recipe for eggnog ice cream on his website. I will probably have to try it soon.
This past week has been a busy one. Work has been crazy as we have been preparing for a big meeting with HP at our office. My bosses son still is only sleeping in three hour increments so he's pretty tired. We are preparing for 20 employees to go to a conference in a week and a half. I have arranged for all the flights and am currently managing several conference calendars for the company. The meeting requests alone take up anywhere from 1-2 hours each day. All in all, I still absolutely love my job.
I also ordered a book and two cds from amazon.com and they finally arrived today. I am now the proud owner of Michael Buble's newest cd as well as the soundtrack to Glee, a new tv show on the Fox Network. The book is a graphic novel (my first) of, surprise surprise, Pride and Prejudice. I read about it in a magazine, which gave it a good review, and realized that I had to own it. (For those of you interested, the authors name is Nancy Butler.) I figured since I own all other version of the book I should own this one. All three purchases are great. I think I will close at this point and try to get some sleep.

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

What a weekend it's been. On Friday morning I awoke with a start at 9:15am, realizing that I had forgotten to set my alarm. I immediately called work to let them know what had happened and that I would be in to work no later than 10am. I got dressed and then realized that it was the day before Halloween (meaning that we could wear costumes to work.) I then redressed in my angel outfit. I put on my wings when I arrived at work since driving with wings is a giant pain. I worked at my desk until lunch. A bunch of us went to Wingers for lunch in costume. At 3:15 I started to put candy on desks in preparation for trick or treating by the children of our employees. We had some pretty cute kids come around and we all ended up in the large conference room for sandwiches, chips and drinks. All in all, an excellent day at work. I came home, reapplied some make-up and hung out with Roommate R, her brother, and a mutual friend, A. They were preparing for our Halloween party
We started watching The Corpse Bride while we waited for the party to start. Friend A dressed as Mary Poppins, Roommate R was Little Red Riding Hood, and her brother was Bam-Bam from The Flintstones. People started showing up at 8:30pm. We had lots of fun eating, playing Mafia, and dancing. The party finally broke up around 2am but Roommate R and I stayed up talking. I finally went to bed around 3:30am.
I woke up to 6 text messages and a missed phone call from work. With people traveling from Portugal and to New York from Salt Lake I had to iron out a few hiccups. After making the world a more organized place I got up and had some breakfast while listening to Roommate H cough up a lung downstairs. Her room is right below mine and it sounds like she has walking pneumonia. I am going to do everything I can do stay away from her germs. I cleaned up after the party and ran some errands. I came home and passed out candy, watched a movie, and caught up on a little overdue reading. (How's that for exciting?)
On Sunday morning there was some prep for a large gathering at our house. It was decided last month that we would host Break the Fast at our house this month. For those of you not in the singles ward know, Break the Fast is when everyone gets together to break their fasting from food and water (hence the name.) Roommate R and friend A had prepared two turkeys (luckily we have an oven upstairs and downstairs) and were deciding how to set up the tables for the 40+ people who would show up at 4:30pm. I went to church, including Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School, and Relief Society, then submitted a reimbursement for last weeks Corn Maze activity, and then had a Visiting Teaching interview. I came home to find the house set up for Break the Fast. About 50 people showed up. We had two full turkeys and members of the ward brought mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, and desserts. People stayed until around 6pm. Roommate R, her brother, friend A and I cleaned up and now I am ready for bed.
While I loved being so social I feel like I didn't get a weekend. I do not feel prepared for work this week but I will do my best. I hope everyone had a great Halloween (and if anyone has a good picture of me in my costume, please send it along.)

Halloween with the Family

2009-11-01T22:27:00.007-07:00

Last weekend I got to go up to my parents house and celebrate Halloween with my kids (nieces/nephews.) Most of them were there although two stayed home due to illness. We took some pictures, had a great meal, painted pumpkins, and played games. All in all we had a great time.

Thriller 2009

2009-10-20T21:39:00.002-06:00

For the fourth year in a row I was able to go see Odyssey Dance Theater's production of Thriller. Ryan and I enjoyed a dinner at The Dodo in Sugarhouse. I had a great time watching the dancers. They are always so amazing. They had a new dance dedicated to Michael Jackson and then they had new AV stuff. It was great to see Ryan again too. It has been months since we've seen each other. Thriller runs through Halloween. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes dance, music, or Halloween.

Waiting for the NyQuil

2009-10-06T22:00:00.006-06:00

As I wait for the NyQuil to kick in, I feel like I should update the world on my life. This past weekend was General Conference (for those of you who don't know of what I speak, please visit The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints link on my homepage.) Saturday was filled with spiritual goodness along with french toast goodness provided by my roommate R. I took a quick shower and then listened to the afternoon session. As soon as it was over I was off to my parents house where I ate dinner with them, helped fix my mom's blog, made an ice cream run, and basically wasted time on the computer. I went to bed too late (after 2am) and was awakened by a beautiful bouncing three-year-old. I dressed and went down to help welcome my siblings and their children (minus Alison who was out of state due to a funeral.) Wonderful food was made by my parents and I tried my best to corral the kids so that their parents could actually listen to conference. We played downstairs quite a bit. I was exhausted but I figured that was just my usual fatigue. I also had a cough but I excused it due to the fact that I had forgotten to bring any allergy medication with me. I stayed until dinnertime and then realized that if I didn't head home soon I would be too tired to drive home safely. I bid farewell to my parents, brother, and his children and headed home.
As soon as I arrived home I headed for the shower because I was cold. My throat was starting to hurt and I wanted to head off any sickness that was coming my way. I was in bed and asleep by 9pm. (I hope you didn't hurt yourself falling off you chair as you read this. I can't remember a night in the past six months when I fell asleep before 11pm.) I awoke Monday morning with a bad cough, aches, a fever, and congestion. I decided to not go into work. Luckily the other Executive Assistant and the Staff Accountant were able assist my boss, MJ. I canceled FHE that night due to the fact that my co-chair was at work and it was supposed to be at my house. Due to the wonder of modern technology all but three people got the message (isn't e-mail, Facebook, and text messaging a marvel?) On Monday I slept in until 11am and then took a nap from 2-5pm. I was in bed and asleep early that night.
I slept until noon today and then got up to eat breakfast. Right now I have no fever or aches but still have some congestion. If I am feeling ok tomorrow I will go to work. Through the magic of the Internet I have discovered that the most contagious time of a cold is the first 2-3 days. I figure I started on Sunday so I should be ok. Just to be sure I will be avoiding touching common items and washing my hands as if my life depended on it. (I know my boss with the new baby will appreciate my caution.)
Thus ends the update. I hope I am feeling great tomorrow. I wish you all a good night as I can feel the NyQuil start to kick in.

South Fork

2009-10-02T22:19:00.007-06:00

Last Sunday I went on a picnic up South Fork in Provo Canyon. Sarah, Angie, Alisha and I had a great time. While the others contributed food such as chicken salad and vegetables, I contributed Twinkies and Zingers to the meal. Afterward we all took pictures of the beautiful fall foliage.

Box Social

2009-09-17T21:50:00.002-06:00

As some of you might know I am co-chair of the Family Home Evening Committee in my ward. This means that I get to plan and carry out activities every Monday evening for anywhere from 15-50 people. When I first received the calling in August, I decided that my co-chair and I should meet and try to plan three months in advance instead of trying to pull together ideas each week. Andrew and I met and planned out activities until Halloween. While we were planning, my roommate mentioned that her ward in Idaho once did a box social. My only experience with a box social is watching Oklahoma, where Laurey’s basket of food is bid on my Curly and Judd, the two rivals for her affections. Curley even sells his saddle and horse in order to win the basket and date with Laurey.

The point of a lunch box social in the past has always been to raise money. Women would make a meal and place it in a decorated basket or box. Men would then bid on the boxes. The top bidder would then share the meal with the maker of the basket of food. In order to simplify the process we decided that it would be a dessert box social instead of a lunch box social. Also, we decided that people would bet with skittles instead of money since we were more interested in the social aspect of the situation.

We had a hard time publicizing it because of Stake and Ward conference but we did the best we could, including sending a Facebook invitation to those ward members that use Facebook and an e-mail to the entire ward. We planned to do it at church but found out the night before that it wouldn’t be available. We planned on having it outside but it rained. Despite these two bumps in the road, it ended up to be a good experience. We ended up with 28 people, which is actually pretty good for an activity that hasn’t been attempted in our ward before. 15 girls and 2 guys brought boxes. 11 other guys showed up so we were almost evenly matched. It was so fun to see how each of the boxes were decorated. Some people just used a simple gift bag but some really went all out. For example, Marne made one that looked like a box right out of a Mario game. One girl did leopard print and another used green duct tape.

My co-chair, Andrew, was the auctioneer and he did a great job. My box, with two pieces of cake from Gloria’s Little Italy, was bought by Tyson, who is friend of mine. All the couples sat down and enjoyed their desserts (although a few had three in their group since girls outnumbered guys.) People who had never really spent much time together got a chance to talk and get to know each other. All in all I think it was a pretty good activity. I totally give props to R, my roommate, for the idea.

Excellent pasta and company

2009-09-14T22:42:00.003-06:00

Have you ever wanted to be in two places at once? I did on Friday night. I wanted to have fun with Jordan, Alison, Isaac, and Aaron and I wanted to be taking pictures of it. While I did have fun, I did not take one single, solitary picture of any of us. I probably made the right choice.
Earlier in the week I received an e-mail from my youngest brother informing me that he had a few days off and he and his family wanted to come down to see me. It was decided that Friday was the best day. He and Alison decided to cook dinner and I offered to buy some ingredients for the occasion. Jordan told me what to buy, which I did that very night. At work on Friday I could scarcely think of my work as I was preparing to see my family. I originally wanted to leave work at 4:30pm but didn't get away until almost 5pm (darn that busy boss of mine; I couldn't abandon him in his time of need though.) I stopped by Gloria's to pick up dessert and then raced home. On my way there I spoke to Jordan and discovered that they were running late due to rush hour traffic. They arrived at my house just a minute or two ahead of me. The whole family got the grand tour and the dinner preparations began. All in all we ended up with amazing mushroom pasta, salad, garlic bread, broccoli, and cake for dessert.
After dinner, which was excellent, Alison went shopping while Jordan and I took the boys on a walk through the park to the library. We walked around looking at books, movies, and the various pieces of art. We also ran up and down a small hill and checked a statue's ears to see if they were dirty or. (They were. Isaac told a reference librarian who promised to clean them with a Q-Tip.) We didn't leave until almost 8:30pm, which is past the bedtime of at least one little boy. The boys were changed into pajamas once we returned to my house and began jumping on couch cushions. They were then whisked away by their parents, much to the dismay and sadness of their Aunt Jess.
It is times like these that I hold precious. My one regret living down here is that I don't get to see my nieces and nephews as much as I would like. The closest one is 40 miles away. While 40 miles is nothing to someone who lives several states away from their family, I think it a very long distance. Despite the time and effort, I think I am going to make more of an effort to visit all my nieces and nephews. What a great night.

Not quite what I wanted.....

2009-09-07T16:48:00.003-06:00

Months ago I decided to make a gift for each of my nieces and nephews. My last gift, until the next baby is born, is for Ava. A week ago I painted a bowel for her. I picked it up today but was disappointed with how it turned out.

The yellow and brown both turned out the wrong shade. I am currently deciding whether to give it to her and her parents or make a new one. I don't know; what does everyone think?

This week

2009-09-07T12:57:00.003-06:00

It's been another busy week. On Monday, for FHE, I helped two women from the ward move. Afterwards, I provided Popsicles for everyone. (Before you think I'm naturally generous, let it be known that it was my job.) It was a long day on Tuesday at work, as I was trying to prepare for my boss' trip to San Francisco and Seattle. After work, I went and ate sushi with my roommate and a friend of hers. Wednesday started out slow. Since my boss was gone I was able to catch up on a lot of work that I had gotten behind on.
On Wednesday afternoon I found out that I had to book a new trip to New York and book a different flight for my boss. I then found out that I had to switch the flight of another person. The other Exec Assistant, NJ, had to switch the flight of her boss as well. We finally got all the flights, hotels, and rental cars sorted out by 6:50pm. By that time I had missed my dinner plans with friends, so I joined some of them for a movie. I went to the theater, 5 minutes after the previews had started, and bought candy and soda to eat for dinner. I then watched My Sister's Keeper. By the end I was sobbing. The scenes in the hospital and the funeral reminded me of Caleb. I went home with the sniffles and a stomach ache.
On Saturday I volunteered at the Timp Storytelling Festival. Before everyone gets too excited, let it be known that I spent the entire time in the parking lot directing cars and telling people where they could and could not park. It was a long, sweaty volunteer shift. I didn't end up going to the festival because I was too tired. Luckily, the tickets didn't go to waste. They ended up with a coworker of mine. After I went shopping, I showered and fell into bed.
Yesterday was another excellent day at church: 3 hours of spiritual uplift and then break-the-fast with the ward. I ended up making banana muffins. Today I am home from work, although there was a slight emergency that I had to take care of. (There's nothing like receiving a IM, e-mail, and phone call from work within a few minutes of each other.) I had to arrange a hotel and car for a visitor from the UK. This week should be just as crazy as the last. We have less than two weeks until my work hosts a conference in Provo. On top of that, my boss' wife is expecting a child in a week and a half. I'm excited for them but we have a lot to accomplish before he takes time off for the birth.
Well, it's time to clean the house and then run some errand. I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day.

Reading Rainbow

2009-08-29T11:54:00.003-06:00

According to NPR, which I listen to on a daily basis, the children's show Reading Rainbow is coming to an end. The show, which helps children understand why they should read, has been on the air for 26 years. The only PBS children's shows that have run longer are Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. Farewell dear show, you shall be missed.

(If you are interested in learning more, here is a link to the NPR story.)

That's right; I'm awesome....

2009-08-25T00:15:00.001-06:00

In April I decided to make 101 goals and achieve them in 1001 days. One of those goals was to write to 10 living authors that have written books that I've enjoyed reading. I have written to five so far: Cynthia Voigt, Stephenie Meyer, Dee Henderson, Nancy Pearl and Julie Edwards. Here is my story regarding one of them:

Julie Edwards wrote Mandy in 1971. It is a charming book about an orphan who find an abandoned cottage in the woods. I first discovered it at the library when I was in junior high. Since then I have probably read it four or five times. It was reprinted in 2001 and I was able to buy a copy of it. After a little research I discovered that Julie Edwards is actually Julie Andrews Edwards, who stared in such musicals as The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has won Emmys, Tonys, Golden Globes, and an Academy Award. I looked on the internet and found an address for her fan club. I dutifully wrote her a letter explaining how much I enjoyed her book and how I wished that she had written more young adult fiction. I also mentioned how much I enjoyed the movies that she had been in. I wrote the letter in May and haven't thought much of it until I received this on Friday:

That's right; I'm officially awesome. Just in case you can't read it, here's what it says:

"Dear Jessica,

How very nice of you to take the time to write such a lovely letter to Dame Julie Andrews Edwards to tell her you like her movies, music and that you enjoyed her book, Mandy.

Julie very much enjoys writing books for young readers She is please you liked her style of writing. When she gets nice letters such as yours, she just wants to get to work and write another book so she can keep all of her readers happy.

Thank you for taking the time to write. We are sending a signed photo of Julie. We hope you will enjoy it.

Sincerely,
Kathy Juliani
Fan Mail Coordinator"

While I realize that this letter seems to be written to a girl in junior high, I was still excited to receive it and yes, I did also receive a 4x6 autographed picture of Julie Andrews. I was totally excited and have already told my roommate, a cousin, and several people at work. I don't care if it makes me a geek, I think Julie Andrews is great and I'm considering getting the picture and letter frames.

Timp Lodge

2009-08-23T13:01:00.002-06:00

On Friday night I rushed home in time to carpool up to Timp Lodge with my ward. A bunch of us went up for dinner and fun (including volleyball, billiards, ping pong, fooseball, and general merriment.) I played a couple games of pool (where I was killed each time) and a few games of ping pong (which I was even worse at.) I had a lot of fun though. The drive down the narrow, tree lined road was a little harrowing at 11:30pm but it was totally worth it.

Busy, busy girl

2009-08-12T17:37:00.001-06:00

I have to say that I'm not accustomed to such a level of social activity. On Sunday I went to church, stopped by my Grandma J's house, and then had dinner and dessert with my parents, siblings, and their children. On Monday night I attended FHE, where we played volleyball and watched Miracle. After I got home I talked to R, my roommate. Yesterday I went to work and then out to dinner with Cameron, Scott, Scotty, and Tyson. (Insert some sort of comment about me going out with four guys here.) While at the Smoking Apple, a good barbeque place, it was decided that I should go out tonight. Scotty and Tyson are being set up on blind dates so Cameron and I will be going along as the third couple. I can make conversation with a brick wall, so they thought it might be easier on everyone if there was a girl there to draw the "blind date girls" out of their respective shells. Should be fun. Hmmm, I wonder what I will be doing tomorrow night. Well, I'm off to get ready. (What does a social butterfly look like anyway? I want to dress the part.) :)

My new place

2009-08-02T10:10:00.004-06:00

Here are a few pictures from my new place:

My biggest complaint is the height of the ceilings. While it makes all the room feel nice and big, there are several burned out lightbulbs that I won't be able to reach without a 6 or 8 foot ladder. The location is great, the room is great, and my roommates are great (although one I thought was a poltergeist for the first week since I only heard her.)

The slip 'n slide

2009-07-30T20:11:00.005-06:00

My parents can create the greatest slide 'n slide in the world with a huge piece of plastic (courtesy of my brother Jeremy) and some hoses. While most slide 'n slides are a few feet wide and 15-16 feet long, ours is 10-12 feet wide and 40-50 feet long. It is completely awesome. Here are a few pictures:(The pictures don't do the slide justice since they only shows half of it.) This is how we celebrated Sidney's birthday (along with presents, dinner, fireworks, and some really good brownies.) Wade, my cousin, his wife, and four kids joined us for the fun. It isn't often we get to see Wade and his kids so it was great to have them up from Arizona. We played on the slide (well, I took pictures, cheered, and held baby Ava while others slid.) Then everyone dried off and ate dinner and had dessert. Then the little kids decided to play in the puddles left on the plastic. It was pretty funny watching Wyatt, Isaac, Tanner, and Aaron giggling and splashing in puddles. I didn't get home until 12:30am on Sunday morning but it was totally worth it.

How long has it been? - the book version

2009-07-17T21:22:00.002-06:00

I was looking for a book recommendation for a friend today and realized how long it's been since I've talked about what I've been reading. Here's a quick list of some of the things I've read in the past eight months:

A Wolf at the Door - Datlow and Windling (Retold fairy tales)
Fairest - Levine (Young Adult fairy tale by the author of Ella Enchanted)
An Ice Cold Grave - Harris (Newest in the Harper Connelly mystery series)
Quicksilver - Spinner (A recreation of the myth of Atlanta)
The Sirens - Evslin (Greek mythology)
The Sphinx - Evslin (Green mythology)
The Nemean Lion - Evslin (Green mythology)
Cerberus - Evslin (Greek mythology)
The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (Awesome Young Adult book about a boy growing up in a graveyard)
Thriving on vague objectives - Adams (Book of Dilbert cartoons)
Don't step in the leadership - Adams (Book of Dilbert cartoons)
Thirteen reasons why - Asher (Horrible, harsh Young Adult book about suicide and guilt)
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - Rosenthal (Interesting biography)
A Northern Light - Donnelly (Thoughtful Young Adult book set in early 1900 Canada)
Brooklyn Rose - Rinaldi (Young Adult book that had an incomplete ending)
Assassination Vacation - Vowell (Awesome non-fiction journey to historical monuments and other places that are associated with Presidential assassinations)
Me talk pretty one day - Sedaris (Good book of short essays)
Dead and Gone - Harris (Latest in the Southern Vampire Mystery series)
A Countess below stairs - Ibbotson (Slightly cheesy romance set in England after WWII)

This list isn't comprehensive but it is a start. My recommendations include Assassination Vacation, The Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, and The Graveyard Book.

Moved

2009-07-15T19:13:00.000-06:00

I think I forgot to mention on this blog that I have moved. It's only about seven blocks from my old house but I love it. I moved on June 30th and, as you can see, I piled a whole lot of stuff in the family room of my new place until I was able to move it into my room.

Camping with family

2009-07-12T15:39:00.002-06:00

Last weekend I was able to go camping with my extended family. The Roberts family once again had their summer reunion. This time it was at the Heber Valley Girls Camp. I left early on Friday to drive to Heber Valley, which is less than an hour from where I live. I followed various children around while other less fortunate grownups fixed dinner. It was so funny to see Tanner, Lauren, Wyatt, Isaac, and Aaron's reactions to seeing squirrels, chipmunks, and deer. It was an adventure walking along a wooded path with kids because I was constantly aware of things that could hurt them or the fact that they could wander off and get lost. After dinner, and when it got dark, we built a fire and roasted marshmallows. A lot of the adult women got together and had a baby shower for Christine and beautiful baby Lillian (and it's about time we had another girl in the family.)
Sleeping was a real adventure. Each family (according to what parent belonged to the Roberts family) took over a cabin. Each cabin had bunk beds in it. We all set up our pads and sleeping bags (and once again I made the mistake of bringing a horrible pad.) The young kids had a hard time getting to sleep. Once they were asleep, my cabin had the unfortunate luck of having two snorers. Isaac awoke screaming in the middle of the night. The poor kid eventually got back to sleep. I lay in my bunk thinking about life and such and eventually got back to sleep on the hard, hard surface. All in all, I may have gotten 3 hours of sleep. Oh well.
The next morning we had pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast and then went boating. Isaac and Aaron had a great time on the water although Aaron insisted on using an oar, which was actually kind of funny to watch. We got off the lake when it started to sprinkle. After boating we went back to our camp to have lunch and to clean up. The obstacle course was next. The huge Roberts Clan split into groups and then did different activities.
My group's final activity was the zip line. Some of my readers may know of my fear of heights so climbing a high pole and walking along a beam is not my idea of a good time. I did, however, want to go on the zip line so I braved the height. It was a lot of fun. Afterwards I was talking to Jordan and he and I realized a spiritual implications. Climbing the pole was hard, like life. Walking across the beam was scary and we had to trust the lines that were holding us and we had to focus on the end result. Both of us looked and talked to the woman at the end of the beam. By keeping our eyes on her and trusting those helping from below we were able to make it to the end. The end results was happiness as we rode the zip line down. It reminded us of our eternal journey. The pole and beam were a lot like this life with its hardships and fear but the end result of eternal life with those we love will be filled with joy. Hey, who knew such insight could be found in this situation? It was nice to cheer on other members of my family who were doing the same activities.
After the obstacle course I decided to go home because I was exhausted. I drove home, staying awake eating spicy red vine candy and singing along with the radio. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Aunt Nancy, and Aunt Renee stopped by to see my new home, which is only about seven blocks from my old one. I was exhausted so I didn't do much to celebrate the 4th of July.
I always love our family reunions even though I didn't get to talk to my cousins or aunts and uncles very much at this one. It is always great to get everyone together. One brief note for my readers: you may notice that no pictures accompany this blog entry. This is because I was far to busy having fun with kids. If you'd like to see pictures from the camping trip, feel free to visit my Dad's blog, my Uncle Mike's website, or Jeremy's website. These three gentlemen are amazing photographers.

Snake-wrangler

2009-06-30T23:06:00.004-06:00

Those of you who know me know that I am not a fan of snakes. I find them to be a bit unnatural because they don't have any appendages. Fish have fins, insects have six legs, spiders have eight, and so on. The fact that snakes do not have legs has always bothered me. I have always found them creepy.
On Sunday afternoon my roommate, W, came up and asked me what I knew about snakes. I replied "I know I don't like them." She then proceeded to tell me that there was a snake in the downstairs bathroom. She had stepped out of the shower and had found a snake coiled up on her pile of clothes. Roommate M and I went down to investigate. Sure enough, what looked like a 3 to 3 and a half foot long garden snake was in the bathroom. Roommates M and W decided to look it up on the internet to find out if it was poisonous. I decided to take matters into my own hands since I could not be easy knowing a snake was in the house. I went upstairs and found my bedroom garbage can and a scrabble board. Using the board, I flipped the snake in the garbage can and quickly covered it. Roommate M opened the door to the outside and I flung it into the canal behind our house. The question remains: how did the snake get into the bathroom in the first place? (Was I the only one who just got the shivers thinking about it?)
I'll admit that I gave myself a pat on the back for staring down my fear and getting rid of the snake. Just call me the snake-wrangler. :)

A physical betrayal of epic proportions

2009-06-25T11:16:00.005-06:00

On the whole my body has been good to me. There are so many things it does correctly. I can walk, talk, think and generally function. While it has a few quirks, it pretty much works....until this week. Now, dear reader, is the time to stop reading if you are squeamish. If you don't like reading about bodily functions and how they go awry, stop reading now. You have been warned (and I don't want to hear any whining if you don't like what you read.)

On Monday I went to work as normal. Afterwards, I stopped by a store to pick up some boxes and had dinner. I then went to get Gelato with Sarah, Angie, and Alisha to help welcome Sarah back to the United States. We talked for over an hour. I went home and packed a few boxes, then started to get ready for bed.
At 10pm my stomach started to really hurt. As some of you might know, I hate throwing up and will do almost anything to avoid it. I drank some Pepto Bismo and laid down on my bed. I then felt flush and knew what was going to happen next. I threw up. I then proceeded to throw up every half an hour or so for the next 7 hours. After the eighth time I started to dry heave. I then started to drink water so I would have something to throw up. It was pretty pathetic. I threw up in my room and in the bathroom. Luckily, I managed to throw up in the garbage cans. After the first time, I made sure that my garbage can and the bathroom garbage can were lined with plastic bags. After each time, I took the garbage bag full of vomit downstairs and to the outside garbage can. About an hour after I started throwing up, my body decided to rebel in another form and there were issues with the other end of the food/water system of the body. There were cramps and it was messy (I told you that this was a disgusting post.) I had to change my sheets and then ended up slipping in my own vomit in the bathroom. I must admit that I really started feeling bad for myself and really, really wanted to be home with my parents. At the very least, my Mom or Dad would have changed the sheets of my bed while I was in the shower. After throwing up 11 times, showering twice, and changing my sheets and clothes, I was exhausted. At 6am I decided I should probably contact my work and let them know I wasn't coming in.
All in all, Monday night/Tuesday morning was a complete rebellion of my body. It stopped working how it should. Now, Thursday morning, I am keeping down toast, water, and Coke. I am still at home, which annoys me to no end. I have missed two (three if you count today) days of work. While I have access to e-mail, my brain is so fuzzy that I can't do much with it. Luckily, my boss is in Germany so I don't feel like I've abandoned him. I haven't thrown up since Tuesday but the other issue hasn't quite ended. On Tuesday I had a fever of 100.1. Yesterday afternoon it was 97.8 (per the same thermometer.) My body has had a heck of a time regulating its temperature. I am shivering one minutes and then, then minutes later, I am sweating and wanting to take a cold shower. All in all, I am sore and exhausted. My back and sides hurt from heaving. I am grumpy and am getting annoyed.
I had planned to do a lot this week. Since my boss was going to be away, I was planning on catching up on work projects that I have been putting off. I was planning to pack a lot of boxes and move at least half of my room to my new place. I was planning on throwing my cousin, Sarah, a great coming home party on Friday (now I think I would just get all the guests really, really sick.) I was also planning on riding in a parade on Saturday. I guess I should be thankful for what I have, which is a body that is on the mend, a family who loves me (there's nothing like Lauren calling me and being concerned about my "hurting tummy,") understanding co-workers who are picking up the slack, and functioning plumbing (how did pioneers function under these circumstances?)
I hope to be able to go to work tomorrow or at least get something of worth accomplished. I so dislike being sick because of the inconvenience. Well, I hope all of you are either laughing at the patheticness of my life or counting your own blessings. Oh, and to all of you are who are grossed out: you can't say I didn't warn you. :) (Just be glad there aren't pictures with this post.)

P.S. Just in case I am not pathetic sounding enough, my tv stopped working on Sunday. The power went out for about an hour and when it came back on the picture didn't work. When it snapped off on Sunday during Music and the Spoken Word I heard a pop so I think it's officially dead. It turns on but no picture comes. I think it's just as well since I watch too much tv as it is. There is a tv in my new place on the main room. I don't really need one in my bedroom anyway.

Capes with clothespins

2009-06-24T23:19:00.003-06:00

After church on Sunday I went up to my parent's house to celebrate Father's Day and two birthdays. We had a great meal, as always. I ended up getting Lauren and Isaac a flip book/card set about bugs. Hopefully they can use them all summer long to identify bugs (or at least have pretty pictures to look at.) The weather went from cloudy, to rainy, to sunny, and then to windy. After dinner most of the kids went outside to play. When I was a kid, I used to love going out in the wind with a sheet and pretend that I was a superhero or a dancer in a flowing road. As we were running around, I thought that the three-year-olds would like to do the same. I got four pillowcases (sheets being way too long) and headed out. After showing the kids how to hold the pillowcases around their necks with their fingers we took off. After a few minutes I realize that it would be much easier to run around if the kids didn't have to hold the pillowcases on. I went back inside and found some clothespins. After securing everyone's capes and giving mine to Tanner, we took off again. Sidney joined in with her own cape. The six of us ran around the yard flying and having lots of fun. It reminded me that some of the simplest things can be the best: a pillowcase, a cardboard box, bubblewrap, etc. Hopefully one of the family photographers managed to get some pictures of the kids.
I loved spending time with my nieces and nephews. I went home a little early so that I could drop Dad's keys off to him at Grandma's house.

A quote

2009-06-16T22:13:00.002-06:00

A friend of mine, Gabe, gave me a great quote last night:

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."

-Anonymous

Isn't that great?

Grassroots Shakespeare Company

2009-06-11T22:54:00.003-06:00

On Monday night I went to Family Home Evening, which turned out to include a trip to a park to see a production of Much Ado about Nothing. I have seen it performed before and have seen the movie a couple of times. This, however, is the first time I saw it in the rain. We got to the park about 20 minutes before it started raining. Luckily, half of the ward brought umbrellas and all of us brought blankets and jackets. It rained for about half of the production and then stopped. The players kept going through it all. I thought all the actors and actresses did great jobs although my favorite was the gentlemen who played Benedict. The production was put on by a non-profit group called The Grassroots Shakespeare Company. If anyone gets the chance to catch a production by the group, I would highly recommend it.

Lagoon 2009

2009-05-31T18:22:00.007-06:00

For the past few years my Dad's work party has been at Lagoon. This year, the majority of the family went along. I left home around 9:30am and was the first to arrive. One by one, the family came along. All the kids but Tanner showed up and we had a great time. I had forgotten how tiring Lagoon can be though. Lifting and carrying the kids just made it a little crazier (and more fun.) We lucked out with the nice weather - I don't think it got above 80 degrees after 1pm, although the wind picked up in the late afternoon. The kids had a great time and the adults had a great time watching them and joining them on rides.
Now that the "triplets" are three, they can go on a lot more rides. I think Wyatt's favorite ride was the airplanes, Lauren's favorite rides was the flying animals, and Isaac just wanted to be moving. Aaron was able to go on a few rides and actually did pretty well. Sidney and I went on quite a few rides. I can't believe how fearless she is. She wanted to go on the Wild Mouse, the White Roller Coaster, the Tidal Wave, and other fast rides. We rode in the front car of the White Roller Coaster, per Sidney's request. She loved it! I think I screamed more than she did. She and I played a few games as well and she ended up winning a small duck. Mom and Dad fed us pizza for dinner and we didn't leave until almost 10pm. I'm amazed at how long all the kids lasted, especially since none of them took naps. They all had so much fun. Thanks Mom and Dad, for inviting us to have so much fun.

Camping

2009-05-25T15:01:00.004-06:00

I haven't been camping in quite a while. Oh course, I don't know if I can really call this camping. We slept in cabins with bunk beds and glass windows, there were flush toilets and running water (including showers,) and we ate food prepared in a kitchen by the pavilion. We stayed at the Heber Valley Girls camp. Despite the lack of tents and non-flushing toilets, it was good. Two other singles wards were invited besides mine.
I left work early on Friday to get ready. I bought a sleeping bag on Thursday, which worked really well. I also bought a sleeping pad, which didn't work as well as I'd like. Anyway, I ended up at the church at 5:30pm with roommate M. Even though she had hurt her back, she still wanted to go. We ended up taking Natalie, a girl from the ward, as well. It was a nice drive up. The first thing I noticed is that it was about 10 degrees cooler in the mountains. As the night went on, it became windy and colder. We had a potato bar for dinner and then listened to a speaker. After the speaker there were skits, which I didn't participate in. I went down to the fire pit, where most of our ward ended up (we all decided that we are the old grumpy singles ward.) We didn't have marshmallows but some people toasted Mambas, Starburst, and Red Vines. We talked and joked around. By 11:30 I was tired and cold and ready for bed. I tried to blow up my mattress but it didn't seem to work properly. (Let this be a lesson to everyone about testing camping equipment before taking it camping.) The cabin was pretty cold since it had cement floors and not a whole lot of insulation. It was still really nice though.
Lights were out by 1am but I tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable until almost 4 am. I was awaken at 7:30 by some girls packing up. I left my warm sleeping bag and took a trip to the bathroom. Breakfast was at 9am, by which my entire cabin was packed up and cleaned, and consisted of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and hot chocolate. It was still windy and looked like rain. Roommate M's back was killing her so we decided to leave early. All in all, it was fun. My favorite part was sitting around the campfire and tables talking to people in my ward. There is something about food that makes people talk and share things they might not when just sitting around. I didn't end up taking many pictures, but I've included a few.

May Celebration

2009-05-25T14:41:00.005-06:00

Last Sunday I went up to my parent's house to celebrate mother's day and May birthdays (Dad and Britnie.) It was nice enough that we got to eat outside. We ate a great meal and had chocolate trifle for dessert. The kids and I had a great time trying to play t-ball. Trying to teach Lauren and Wyatt to hit the ball, drop the bat, and run around the bases was hilarious. Lauren would hit the ball and run with the bat. Wyatt would hit, drop the bat, but then run the opposite direction of the bases. Sidney was able to help me teach the kids. Tanner wandered over every once in a while but was more interested in the t-ball stand than the bat. It was a lot of fun. For our Mother's Day gift and Dad's birthday, the kids decided to refinish Mom and Dad's deck. We are planning on doing it on June 13th.

Bowls for Isaac and Aaron

2009-05-19T00:05:00.001-06:00

The more time I spend at Color Me Mine, the more time I want to spend there. I was able to finish the bowls for Isaac and Aaron. What do you think?

We had more fun than Lauren's dad

2009-05-18T22:11:00.008-06:00

On Thursday I was able to drive up to Salt Lake and babysit Lauren. I arrived early and Lauren, John, and I walked down the block to buy some lemonade at a lemonade stand. Afterwards Lauren and I threw some balls around outside while we waited for Nana and Poppy to arrive. Once they did, we went to the Red Butte Cafe. The food was good and Lauren started to really worry that her parents were going to the theater. I think she was worried that her parents wouldn't be back for days. Once we got home, Lauren and I waved goodbye to her parents and her grandparents. All was well and Lauren and I left for the park. We had a great time on the playground and walking around in a little wooded area. We ended up staying until 8:30, her usual bedtime (whoops.) We walked home and put on pajamas. We read a lot of books and sang some great songs. For a three-year-old, Lauren can really hold a tune. She finally got to bed at 9:15pm (sorry Jen and John.) It was a lot of fun to spend time with her.
After Lauren went to bed, I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Overall, I think it is a pretty good book. I would give it a B or B+. While it quoted directly from Pride and Prejudice, it was still a little choppy in the transitions between Austen and Grahame-Smith. I thought the idea was very original and look forward to his next book, which is apparently a book about Abraham Lincoln and his abilities as a vampire slayer.
After finishing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which had a pretty bloody final fight scene, I started a book of essays by David Sedaris. Jen and John got home, where John expressed his dismay at the seeing Miss Saigon. I'd seen it and had told John that there was a helicopter in it and that it had some great music. I neglected to tell him about the tragic ending that might make his wife cry. The poor guy was blindsided. I left soon after John and Jen got home and I was able to get home by 11:30pm. Overall, it was a great night. I really wish I could spend time with all my nieces and nephews.

Goal #98 - done

2009-05-13T18:56:00.002-06:00

San Diego - day 4 (the end)

2009-05-12T21:08:00.007-06:00

I awoke on Saturday morning with the sad knowledge that I would have to fly home later that day. As I was getting dressed Mom called to tell me that the Sunday Mother's Day celebration was off due to her being sick, and not wanting to infect her dear children and grandchildren. I got dressed, attempted to look pretty,and met Josh, Brooke, Tanner, and Ava for breakfast. I gave them the news of the rescheduled celebration, to which they were pleased to know that they could now be included in the party to be held next weekend. They were sad that Mom was sick though.
We ended up at the Corner Bakery Cafe again where I, once again, bought a cinnamon crumble muffin and a hot chocolate. Even though I also ate eggs and potatoes, the muffin and hot chocolate were the best part. After breakfast, during which Ava had fun sitting with her Aunt Jess, we went to the gaslight district. (Every time I held Ava she had a good time playing with my shark necklace which I had purchased at the Sea Life Aquarium on Thursday.)
It was mentioned by either Josh or Brooke that the gaslight district was once known as a den of harlots (or a place where women of ill repute sold their wares.) The area has been cleaned up since then. There was a great five story outdoor mall where Tanner had a great time riding the escalators. Ava slept through most of it. I loved walking around. Afterward, we were trying to figure out something to do before I had to go to the airport. Since there wasn't anything that would fit into the slot, it was decided to drop me off early at the airport. Since I had a bunch of work e-mails to wade through and the kids were getting tired of getting in and out of the car, I thought it was a good idea. I bid my dear family adeu and went into the San Diego airport. It was sad to see them drive off, knowing that the rest of my weekend would be a big bore compared to playing with them.
I waded through a bunch of e-mails, set up some meetings, and then started listening to the book on cd I had brought with me. (I would highly recommend the non-fiction book Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, who is a contributor to This American Life on NPR.) We loaded onto the plane where I had a whole row to myself (how boring) and I watched tv. We hit some turbulence and I got airsick. I just barely managed to keep my lunch inside my stomach. By 5pm I had landed at the airport. I waited for my luggage to arrive, trying to pretend that my stomach felt ok.
I stopped by the post office and the store on my way home. The stomach ache was briefly ignored when I found that I had received three books in the mail (that I had been waiting almost a month to receive.) I started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies last night and should have it completed by Thursday. Afterwhich I will most likely begin Dead and Gone, which is part of the Southern Vampire Series. (Not to worry, I will review both books for your amusement.) Lest anyone think that I only read science fiction or fantasy, my order also contained The Complete Book of Questions. I was sick to my stomach all night and awoke on Sunday with a huge headache and fun bowel issues. My roommate, E, let me know that she had found ants in our kitchen the day before. (I guess that's what happens when I take a week and a half off from cleaning and no one sweeps, vacuums, mops, finishes all the dishes, or cleans their food off the counter.) Luckily, roommate M had at least thought to buy ant traps and put them out. I hope to have the pesky insects gone by the end of the week. I was still feeling airsick by the time I went to work on Monday morning. Luckily, I have since recovered.

Tanner's bump on the head

2009-05-11T23:11:00.006-06:00

We interrupt this San Diego trip overview to bring you two sad pictures indeed:Tanner was playing on the bed, which I was laying on, when he promptly fell and bumped his head on the bedside table. He cried and immediately formed a goose egg on his head. The poor kid was fine after five minutes but gave us all a good scare. I decided to take a picture of he and his dad a few minutes after that. Tanner is amazing in the fact that he seems to have no fear. He will swing and jump around with no concern for his personal safety and received several scrapes and bruises on this trip. Poor kid (good thing he has such a great attitude and parents that have strong, heart-attack-proof hearts.)

San Diego - day 3

2009-05-11T22:53:00.005-06:00

After the heat of Legoland, we decided to go to the beach on Friday. I dressed in my swimsuit, my new shorts, a t-shirt and flipflops and opened the door to find an overcast and windy day. Such is life. We had breakfast at a great little place called the Corner Bakery Cafe and made our way to Mission Beach. The wind was pretty stiff but we went down to the waves anyway. One foot in and I pulled out of the Artic Circle/Pacific Ocean water. Josh was brave enough to actually go all the way in while I stayed on the shore and held Ava, who looked ever so fetching in her hat. Tanner, come to find out, was afraid of the waves. He didn't like them coming towards him and he definately didn't like his father going into the ocean. He would point to his dad in the ocean and yell a horrible warning and start to cry. It's almost like he had drowned as a sailor in a former life. I got some pretty cute pictures of Tanner running away from the waves and holding on to his dad, as well as a picture of Josh sitting on the beach looking at the ocean with Tanner standing behind him (see left.)
Anyway, after hanging around the beach for a while we walked around Belmont Park and decided to go back to the hotel and go swimming in the warm pool. The pool turned out to be warmer than the ocean but still not warm enough for my tastes. I retired to the hot tub. At least Tanner and Ava were able to get in and splash around a little. Having had enough of the water and the overcast sky, we decided to find something else to do. After showers and new clothes, we drove down to the Maritime Museum, which we discovered cost $14 per person and was very stroller unfriendly. We decided to not go in and wandered the pier until we were all tired. The pier had some great sculptures (see right.) After Tanner and Ava fell asleep in their strollers and the adults were all tired we headed back to the hotel. Overall, the sights were lovely but the weather was not. Tanner actually started to say "Hess" when pointing to me, which I considered a great compliment, and Ava wasn't shy around me at all. I love being an aunt.

San Diego - day 2

2009-05-10T16:41:00.006-06:00

I decided to set my alarm for 8am since Tanner and Ava would be up by then. I awoke, got ready, and then we left for breakfast. We had bagels at Einstein's Bagels and headed off for Legoland. We arrived shortly after they opened and started wandering around. I bought a hopper pass ($73) which allowed me to go into Legoland and the Sea Life Aquarium next door. We walked around and found out that Tanner was fascinated by the miniature cities made out of legos. He would stare at them and watch the cars drive around. There was a miniature Washington DC, New York, Las Vegas, and San Francisco among others. We had to basically drag him away. I pretty sure that we could have spend two hours with the little cities and he wouldn't have gotten bored. We found a few rides that Tanner was old enough to go on. Legoland is a pretty cool place but they don't have many rides for children under 36 inches tall, which was too bad since Tanner is only app. 34 inches tall. It was a very hot sunny day and I ended up getting a pretty bad sunburn (yes, I forgot to apply sunscreen.) I was wearing pants so only my face and arms got sunburned. We had hamburgers and then went to the Sea Life Aquarium, which was nice and cool. Tanner liked looking at the fish but liked climbing the stairs even better. Sadly, most of my pictures of the aquarium didn't turn out because they asked us to not use flash photography when photographing the fish.
Back in Legoland, I was amazed at the number of statues that were made out of legos. I had my picture taken with Darth Vader. Brooke and I went on a roller coaster, then Josh and Brooke took their turn. By 4pm we were all hot and tired. We went back to the hotel and then went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. All three of us got pasta, which was good. I ended up with a piece of Godiva chocolate cheesecake which was wonderful. It was a good day but very hot. I was glad that we went to Target that day. I ended up buying a pair of shorts and sandals to wear the next day to the beach. I slept really well despite my sunburned arms and sore shoulders (from lifting kids.) I checked my work e-mail before I went to bed and dealt with an issue or two. We had planned to go to the beach on day 3 so I was excited.

San Diego - day 1

2009-05-10T16:23:00.006-06:00

I awoke at 8am on May 6th, got ready, and headed off to the airport. I, of course, missed the exit for the Park n' Jet and parked in economy parking (for $6 a day.) I met Josh, Brooke, Tanner and Ava at the gate. Tanner was pretty shy with me, as was Ava, but he warmed up to me a little after I shared my peach rings with him. We got on the airplane and took off. Tanner was pretty unhappy having to be in his carseat. After we took off and I got my drink, I was able to go up and sit by the rest of the family. Tanner got out of his seat and hung out with me. He opened and closed the window coverings and I taught him how to turn on the lights above the seats by pressing the buttons. Luckily, the row I was sitting in was empty besides me.
I never knew how hard it was to travel with small children. I have to give credit to my siblings and any other people who fly with children under the age of 3. In an airport you have to watch them all the time because there are so many people. Plus, you have to juggle strollers and luggage. All in all, I think Ava and Tanner did really well on the flight. We got off in San Diego to a sunny and slightly humid day. We caught the shuttle to the rental car place. Josh then spent over an hour in line. Tanner fell asleep on the shuttle and slept in his stroller while I sang Ava to sleep. They both slept until about 5 minutes before Josh and Brooke got the car, which turned out to be a minivan (thank heavens.) We strapped everyone and everything in and made our way to the hotel. After checking in we decided to go to LaHoya Beach as well as the beach next to it. We walked down the side and even got down on the beach (if you can call it a beach.) The first part we went down didn't really have sand, but it did have interesting rocks and tidepools. The waves would dash against the cliff and spray water up. Tanner had a great time wandering around but was a little shocked when a wave crashed up on us and got him wet. It was a lot of fun. The adults took turns staying up on the walkway with Ava and her stoller and going down with Tanner. We continued to walk down and ended up at LaHoya Beach, where we saw the seals. Afterwards we went to dinner and turned in early. (With each post I will only be showing a few photos. For a larger variety of pictures, click here. Also, I imagine Josh will be uploading many more pictures on his website when he returns.) All in all, it was a good first day.

Caleb's Birthday

2009-05-09T23:10:00.005-06:00

On May 5th, Caleb would have turned 5. Many members of his family joined together to plant a tree in his honor. His father and grandfather took care digging the hole and placing the tree and his family members, including his younger brother and younger cousin, helped fill in the hole and pack down the dirt. I still miss him so much. While the passing time has lessened the pain some, I still think of him often.

Three new bowls

2009-05-03T14:56:00.004-06:00

So, as you scanned this post, you may have noticed that there are only pictures of two bowls, despite the title clearly saying that there are three. This is because I forgot to take a picture of Lauren's bowl before I gave it to her. As you may know, dear reader, I have decided to make a gift for each of my darling nieces and nephews. I made Sidney and Wyatt cups, for which I received a great phone call this morning. (Sidney and I talked for ten minutes before I realized that I was going to be late for church. She is so funny and smart.) Anyway, back to the whole three bowl vs two bowl situation. Yesterday morning Lauren called me. She was staying with her Nana and Poppy while her parents went on a date. Due to the weather, and her extreme love of me (the aunt said humbly,) they had decided to come down to Orem to visit. After they arrived we went straight to the library, which is the hottest place in town for my nieces and nephews. It turns out they were having a Cinco de Mayo celebration with dancers, so we stayed to watch. Afterwards we wandered around while Mom called Aunt Diane and Uncle Larry to see if they wanted to join us for lunch. We ended up at Mama Chu's, a mexican restaurant. Lauren ate the chips and salsa, which were actually pretty spicy. She said that she liked it, despite her runny nose and eyes. She then ate a good amount of rice and beans.
After lunch we stopped by Jeff and Heathers to see the home improvements. Heather is such an amazing designer. I then thought it would be nice to stop by Color Me Mine to see if my newest creations were done, which they were. One was a bowl for Tanner and the other was a bowl for Lauren. A picture of Tanner's is in this post but I was not able to get a picture of Lauren's yellow and orange bowl before it was sent home with her. The third bowl, pictured below, is from a Family Home Evening activity we had last week. Our singles ward invaded Color Me Mine and we all painted on the ward's dime.
After picking up the bowls with Lauren and my parents, we strolled through the Riverwoods were Mom proceeded to have a pretty bad allergic reaction to the Juniper Trees. I had no idea she was so allergic to them. We made it down the the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, where Poppy bought us all some chocolate. We returned to my house and I received some good gardening advice from my parents and Lauren got her diaper changed. All in all, it was a great way to spend a Saturday.

(As a postscript to this blog entry, it is important to note that the order of my creation does not in any way show a preference towards one niece or nephew in comparrison to another. Also, it's important that all my siblings know that these dishes are microwave and dishwasher safe.)

Gifts for the kids

2009-05-02T17:07:00.010-06:00

So I decided to make a gift for each of my nieces and nephews. Here are my first two:

This is Wyatt's mug, which I decided to do in green. The inside of the cup is light green and speckled. I made the stripes by covering the mug with tape.

Sidney's is a light pink mug with a speckled handle and inside. I was hoping it would turn out darker but I don't think I put enough coats on. I made them at a place called Color Me Mine, which is a pretty addictive place.
Anyway, I mailed these out on Friday and I hope to finish up the rest sometime in the next two weeks. I think it's nice to have something with your name on it, especially when you're young. I hope to post pictures of the next 6 projects as well.

101 in 1001

2009-04-24T20:52:00.005-06:00

I was inspired to take on this challenge by my cousin, Sarah. I am still missing three goals if anyone is interested in suggesting some to me. To create your own list, visit the DayZeroProject website.

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie represent some amount of work on my part.)

Why 1001 days?: Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Key: bold = completed, italics = currently working on

Jess' list

Create a list of 101 achievable goals - April 2009
Eat left handed for an entire day
Donate blood at least once a year (0/3)
Send a postcard to Postsecret
Put a copy of my favorite poem up on a bulletin board
Write an actual letter to each of my nieces and nephews (0/8)
Have lunch with a friend that I haven't seen in person for a while
Visit my Grandma in Idaho
Try Moroccan food
Try Thai food - (4/18/09 Thai Ruby)
Make a homemade smoothie
Learn how to cook a whole chicken in the oven (and then do it)
Send 5 postcards using Postcrossing (5/5) - written and put in mailbox 4/26 (to Finland, Taiwan, China, Russia, and Germany)
Have at least $3,000 in my credit union savings account and in my bank savings account
Clean the oven in my house
Buy a cloth grocery shopping bag and use it
Floss every day for a week
Visit 3 art museums (0/3)
Take a multivitamin at least 3 times a week for 3 months (0/36)
Learn how to say "where is the bathroom?" in Spanish and French
Learn how to change a tire on my new car (in case it is different from my old car)
Paint my bedroom
Get a massage
Go through craft supplies and throw away any dried up markers and glue
Try cucumbers again to see if I like them yet
Read 25 new children picture books that have been published in the past two years (0/25)
E-mail my mom about any of the picture books that are worth adding to her collection
Try rock climbing at an indoor gym
Visit the battling cages and hit at least 3 balls
Visit the dentist once a year (1/3)
Have a gynecological exam - April 2009
Listen to one archive episode of This American Life on NPR each month (1/33)
Watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the theater
Read Teaching, No Greater Call and use what I read when I teach Relief Society
Recycle all magazines I receive
Read all articles in each Ensign Conference issue (0/5)
Use Anysoldier.com to send at least 2 packages to a soldier overseas
Buy a friend lunch
Babysit Lauren
Babysit Isaac and Aaron
Babysit Sidney and Wyatt
Babysit Tanner and Ava
Go on a date at least once a month (1/33)
Send someone flowers
Donate $50 to a non-church related charitable organization (0/$50)
Learn alphabet in sign language
Finish The Book of Great Books
Spend at least 3 hours per week working in the yard from May to September (0/40)
Bake a cake from scratch
Make cinnamon rolls from scratch
Take pictures in a photo booth
Attend a choir concert
Write a letter to someone I admire
Ride a horse
Write about Caleb's death in my journal
Update my journal with all my nieces and nephews birth since Caleb's death
Give any article of clothing I haven't worn in two years to charity
Register for a class at UVU and pass with a good grade
Read a book on time management
Read a book on the NY Times best sellers list
Loan Education of a Wandering Man to someone who might appreciate it
Memorize all the verses to Amazing Grace (0/4)
Be able to do 10 push-ups in a row
Attend a basic yoga class
Refrain from eating any fast food for a week
Go to one fair or festival
See at least one live play a the Scera Shell
Get an eye exam
Get my eyebrows waxed by a professional
Buy a pair of black sunglasses
Print out pictures of my family and take them to work
Buy a deck of cards and learn at least one card trick
Learn to how tie a mans necktie
Visit the beach
Read the NY Times book review at least once a month (0/33)
Take a tour of the Utah State Capital
Try Lobster
Reach 500 blog posts (0/500)
Write and mail letters to ten living authors that have impacted my life (0/10)
Try Mangoes
Try 5 new restaurants (1/5) - 1st was Thai Ruby
Volunteer at the local library
Write letter to the host of an NPR show that I like
Read The Declaration of Independence
Read The Constitution
Buy and wear a pair of red shoes
Go at least 7 days with no tv (0/7)
Go 48 consecutive hours without checking my personal e-mail, blog, or Facebook
Buy a set of sheets that are at least 600 thread count
Go to a baseball game
Donate at least $25 to Primary Children's Hospital (0/$25)
Lose 15 pounds from my weight at 4/15/09 doctor's visit (0/15)
Send at least three recipes to my cousin for the family cookbook (0/3)
Finish embroidering another skirt
Watch the entire series of Sports Night
Create a new list once I have done everything on this list
Run trough the sprinklers
Buy and wear a toenail polish other than clear or red
(Taking suggestions)
(Taking suggestions)
(Taking suggestions)

The Horror!

2009-04-23T18:07:00.000-06:00

I saw these in Target last week:Jewel-toned jeans. Why, I ask you? Why must these come back? I hated them in the 1980's and I still hate them. Whomever is responsible is going to get a nasty e-mail from me.

Utah Weather....one week apart

2009-04-22T21:42:00.004-06:00

Last week, the view from my window was this:

A week later, the view is this:It sure is exciting living in the west. On a related note, I was able to weed for a little over an hour tonight. It was fun. Sadly, the front garden is so bad that I only managed to clear about 3 square feet. Stupid grass. Oh well, it was fun anyway and I hope to weed again tomorrow night.

The Q-Tip won the a battle, but I won the war.

2009-04-16T19:08:00.005-06:00

Last night I decided to take a late shower since I wasn't really tired. I got out of the shower and went through the motions: conditioner, lotion, cleaning out my ears with a q-tip. As I was cleaning out my right ear, I was thinking about something else. All the sudden I had a strange feeling and some slight pain. I pulled out the q-tip and, lo and behold, the cotton was missing. I stuck my finger in my ear to get the cotton out and proceeded to push it farther in. I then got a pair of tweezers, which didn't help. (You'll all be happy to know that I didn't go too far in since I couldn't see what I was doing.) At this point it was almost 11pm. I sent a text message to a friend of mine to see if she still awake. She was. (She being Angie, a nurse.) I went over to her house. She tried flushing out my ear with a syringe of warm water which didn't help. She couldn't see the cotton with a flashlight and didn't want to poke around too much in my ear in fear of hurting me. After a half an hour, we gave up. Now, you might ask why I didn't just go to sleep and worry about it the next morning. The reason is that I was in pain. The pressure was bad enough that I would never have been able to sleep. I decided to go to the ER. I know, I know-it was probably a bad idea because of the money it costs, but I was in pain.
So off in the blizzard I went to the ER. I had to wait in the waiting room for almost a half an hour. By the time I got back there (around midnight,) my whole head from throbbing. I explained what happened and the doctor took a look. We started trading jokes about the situation. Soon two very attractive young men came in to help (me with wet hair, no make-up, and a stained t-shirt.) They put their two cents in. The doctor had to look around the ER for the proper instrument, which happened to be something called Alligator Forceps (see picture.) The cotton came out in three pieces. By the time I left it was 1am. All in all, I feel incrediablly silly but am very glad that someone invented Alligator Forceps and that Angie was so willing to help me late at night. Man, there are times my life seems a little bit like a sitcom.

Conference Weekend (and other stuff)

2009-04-08T19:48:00.005-06:00

This past weekend was great. I was able to go to my parent's home and see all my kids (nieces and nephews.) I drove up during the second session of General Conference on Saturday and got there just as Jordan and Alison were heading out. Earlier that week I had offered to help babysit Isaac and Aaron while their parents headed down south. They were both darling. We ate, played, and I helped put them to bed (I took Aaron and Mom took Isaac.) The next morning they let me sleep in (or my parents did.) Soon after I awoke, I took the two of them for a walk. I was pretty impressed with how far they both were able to go. I'll admit that my goal was to have them get really, really tired so they would take excellent naps and be in good spirits for later that night. The plan worked. Aaron had yawned twice by the time we approached home and Isaac was a little too quiet. We had lots of fun and the weather was great. They both went down, with Mom putting Aaron down and me putting Isaac down. I told him two stories, one where Tanner, Isaac, and Ava were cars and were driving around and the other where Isaac and Batman went about town saving those in distress (kittens, etc.) After two stories he was out like a light. I was going to take a nap, but then realized I might not sleep well that night if I did. Instead, I vacuumed the rug upstairs. The boys woke up and the playing continued.
The rest of the family arrived by 4:30pm for the birthday dinner. We were celebrating the April birthdays of Alison, Brooke, and Wyatt. The dinner was great, as was the company. I got home at a decent time. All in all, it was a great weekend although I was really tired by the end. I can't imagine how mothers all over the world do it.
In other news, work is going well, as are the other aspects of my life. Well, there are one or two things I might change. For instance, the crack in my windshield is now app. 12 inches long. When I first got the chip in my windshield, it was two inches long and came from a rock a semi threw up on my way to work. Within 8 hours, or when I came out from work, it had stretched to app. 6 inches. It is now almost 12 inches and on the passenger side. The question now is: at what point do I replace my windshield? Hmm, hard to know. Luckily, I don't have to worry about it until it affects driving or my car is inspected (which is scheduled for November.)
In other news, I had another episode today. If you know me and my stupid health, you know what I'm talking about. The numb hands and feet, the shaking, a pain in my chest, the passing out. Can a girl have more fun than that? I think not. It happened shortly before lunch. Since then I've been to the ER (which I don't plan to go to again,) taken a nap, ate some cereal, checked my work e-mail (in which I found an e-mail addressed to the entire company of 50 people updating them on my condition and an apologetic e-mail from the person who sent it,) and watched two episodes of Gilmore Girls. Other than being tired, I'm fine. I plan to make an appointment with my family doctor tomorrow because this is getting ridiculous. While I realize that this only happens once or twice a year, it is way too frequent. Anyway, I hope everyone had a great day (or at least a little less interesting than mine.)

Pizza with Lauren

2009-04-03T20:01:00.011-06:00

I got the chance to babysit Lauren last night in Salt Lake. As soon as I got there Lauren and I went outside to explore while we waited for Nana and Poppy to arrive. We discovered daffodils, tulips, and a small pile that a dog left on the front lawn. Luckily, Lauren thought to get her daddy so he could to find a shovel and dispatch the pile. (Man, she sure is smart for a three year old.) Lauren helped pick the restaurant after our first choice fell through. She said that she preferred pizza over a hamburger. We ended up at Litzas Pizza, where Lauren ate almost two whole pieces of pizza. We returned home, at a few girl scout cookies, and Lauren's parents took off. She cried for a minute and then the fun began. We danced, played hide and go seek, read books, and sang. I then got down my camera to take a picture of her. Here it is:I made the mistake of telling her to smile and she totally cheesed it up. Then she got a hold of the camera and took these (including a self portrait after she saw me do it:)
After Lauren sat on the potty for a few minutes (sadly nothing came out) we read lots of books. She started yawning at 9:15 so we sang a few songs and she went down. It was a great night, although the ride home wasn't my favorite due to the insane rain. Luckily, I arrived safe and sound at home. I'm excited to see the rest of my nieces and nephews this weekend. I am such a lucky aunt.

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned within me there lay an invincible summer." - Albert Camus

2009-03-31T22:39:00.002-06:00

Ok, so technically it isn't winter anymore but I must protest this weather. I normally don't rail against the cold and snow (unless the roads haven't been plowed) but it I find it hard to have the same cheery attitude when my furnace isn't working. "What?" you say, shocked and amazed. That's right; on Saturday our furnace stopped working. The blower worked but it would only blow cold air. I followed the directions on the furnace to restart it but it was to no avail. I finally turned it off so that at least cold air wouldn't constantly be coming into every room. Sunday was a very cold day. I called my landlord, who then called a furnace repairman in his ward to come over. He finally showed up around 9pm on Sunday. He "fixed" it. (It's in quotations since it only remained fixed for one hour.) By the time I went to bed, it was in the low 50's. When I woke up, the thermometer read 48. It took me almost a half an hour to get out of bed on Monday morning because of the cold. I returned from FHE that night to a very, very cold house and took a luke-warm shower. (Sadly, my roommates also wanted to take showers to warm up but beat me to the punch.) I crawled into bed and almost started to let a case of the grumps overrun me when the furnace repairman showed up around 10pm (he was at his real job until then.) Luckily, and I'm knocking on wood as I type this, he worked some magic and furnace has (and will) continue to work. It is now a balmy 68 degrees in the house. I feel comfortable walking around without a coat and slippers.
I must admit that, though trying as it was to be cold, it made me appreciate that we have a furnace at all. I can't imagine what it must have been like 200 years ago when only fireplaces were used for warmth. One chill could lead to sickness and death. If you wanted a hot bath, someone had to bring water inside and boil it on a stove. I don't know that I would have survived. On one had, I had a stubborn streak a mile wide. I may have lived just to cause problems for others, but I suspect that I might have died from exposure when out walking or consumption. Anyway, this experience has taught me to appreciate the modern conveniences available to me. (Hopefully I will keep this in mind the next time I start to complain about how slow my computer is or how there wasn't enough hot water for a long shower.) I am going to keep a "summery" attitude when the "winter" moments of life come up.
On another note, I really want it to warm up so I can grow something. I still haven't finished weeding my many gardens and I'm anxious to plant something.

Is it a gumball machine or something else?

2009-03-23T20:26:00.007-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, you are about to read a blog entry that will be filled with self-affirming statements. After reading it, you may want to smack the author because she is so lucky. However, I beg your patience as I give myself a pat on the back. The picture above is of a trophy. Now I know many of you are saying "How can this be? It appears to be a gumball machine." While you would be correct, it really is a trophy. A few months ago the owners of my company decided to honor one person each month. Each month we have a company lunch and, at this lunch, one person is picked from a group of nominees to win an award for going "above and beyond the call of duty." The first month it was a quality assurance manager who spent hours on the phone working with a customer. Last month it was a member of the sales team. One guess who it was this month. That's right, dear reader, it was yours truly. Considering I nominated someone else, I was shocked but pleased to be chosen. This means that some very nice and sweet person nominated me. This gumball machine will stay at my desk. People who come to my desk can bring a quarter and buy a gumball (and people actually do because it's a nice break from work.) At then end of four weeks, or until the next company lunch, the bottom of the machine is emptied and I get to keep all the quarters from the machine. It is then passed to the next winner. (I will admit that I am considering emptying out the gumballs and filling it with M&M's.) Anyway, it really made my day and I wanted to share it with all of you because I feel so lucky to work where I do. (As an added bonus, this award comes with a gift certificate of my choosing.)

The past week

2009-03-18T22:16:00.004-06:00

I have done the following things in the past week (ok, 10 days):

Waited over two hours to get my side mirror repaired. It turns out that they double-booked all the technicians.
Was able to babysit Isaac and Aaron for a few hours. We spent the entire time at the Orem library and had lots of fun. We were so busy having fun that I forgot to take any pictures. (I can see my father and brothers shaking their heads now.)
Saw a supervisor leave my company. It was very strange because so few people leave CRI. At my last job we would have people leaving and coming every week but that isn't the case at my new job. It's actually quite refreshing to have such a low turn-over rate.
Got over a cold. It was horribly annoying to have one.
Started gardening. With the great change in the weather I've started to weed the front garden. It's a complete mess but I'm excited to play in the dirt.
Donated blood. I had forgotten how much it hurts to get your finger pricked. I think it hurts more than actually putting the needle in to donate blood.
My roommate, W, left for a trip. She will be gone until next week. She's one of my favorites so I will miss her.
Bought the new Kelly Clarkson cd. It has an alternative vibe and is pretty good. My favorite song so far is I Do Not Hook Up, which can be considered a great theme song for some of us.
Bought three boxes of Thin Mint girls scout cookies. Yum.
Ripped a hole in my favorite pair of jeans.
Listened to a lecture on reptiles at the Natural History Museum on the BYU campus. Sadly, I had to leave when the lecture was over and didn't actually get to tour the museum. I'll have to go back.
Had some very vibrant and interesting dreams.
Watched Ella Enchanted on tv
Cleaned my car inside and out
Made cornbread and rice pudding
Spoke on the phone with both of my parents (on different days)
Played on Facebook
Went to Family Home Evening and church

Sorry about the list but it was this or a three page blog post that would bore the readers to tears. Have a good week everyone.

Found pictures

2009-03-10T19:42:00.007-06:00

I was looking on a USB Memory stick and found these pictures of my paternal grandparents.
They just don't take portraits like these anymore. Aren't my grandparents attractive? Now I just need pictures of my maternal grandparents and I'll be set.

On a more positive note....

2009-03-03T18:17:00.003-07:00

I think you should all take a look at Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy K. Rosenthal. (A brief warning for some of you, there are some four letter words in this book that you might not appreciate.) Other than that, this book is a gem. I finished it today. The basic premise is that this author created an encyclopedia of her life. For example: under the letter P she had Palindrome, Paris, Parking Spot, Parking Ticket, Pastries, Pay phone, Pedestrian, Peppers, Period, Phone, Photos, Picnic, Pie, Pinata, Pitcher, Plot of Soil, Potato Chips, Priest, Prison Escape Movies, Profound, and Purple Flower. Each of these topics have a personal story to go along with them. At the beginning of the book is a Orientation Almanac, which mentions facts from the beginning of the twenty-first century such as top tv shows, popular children's names, numbers that we all memorize, and common slang. She included this section just in case someone is reading this book 50 years into the future. There is also a chronology of the author's life from birth to the present. I found that book to be lots of fun. I liked it so much that, if I were an ambitious person, I would endeavour to write an encyclopedia of my own life. Hey, I may end up writing a couple of blog entries in this particular style. I have to give a great big thank you to my sister, Jen, for recommending it. Thanks.

What a day

2009-03-02T21:58:00.004-07:00

Today did not start out well. I didn't sleep well. One of my roommates played rock music until almost midnight because she was mad and apparently wanted to punish us. While I knew what she was angry about, I didn't feel like going down to tell her to turn it down. Even after she turned the music off, I still couldn't get to sleep. I got to work a little late this morning and immediately started to work. In my first meeting of the day I was given several assignments. In my second meeting of the day, I was given a truckload of assignments that used to be someone elses. Normally I wouldn't have minded receiving new assignments; it is usually because someone is sick or overburdened with work. This time it was more because they wanted the assignments to get done. They took them from one person who wasn't pulled their weight and gave them to me in order to get them done. I now have more on my plate than I can complete in 42 hours.
When this type of thing would happen at my last job, I would just work extra hours. By the end of working there, I was racking up weeks of 50+ hours almost every week. It contributed to my collapse and subsequent trip to the hospital (see the October 1, 2008 blog entry for more details.) Speaking of that trip, I received a bill on Saturday for that hospital trip. It seems that I owe almost $800 dollars for an ambulance ride. This for an ambulance that someone called on my behalf and that I didn't even realize I was in until I was on my way to the hospital. I'm a little annoyed that I have to pay this bill because it isn't figured into my budget and now throws other plans off.
Back to the story of today, I was slightly annoyed at the situation and have yet to figure out what to do about it. While I love my main boss, MJ, and want to help him by taking over these assignments, one of the reasons I took this job is that I was assured that I wouldn't be working a lot of overtime. I guess the thing to do is to prioritize things and start at the top. What doesn't get done at the end of week will have to wait until next week. It doesn't help that I have a massive meeting tomorrow that will suck almost 3 hours of my time away from my normal duties. After having more than one verbal run in with my least favorite person at work, I was pretty grumpy by the end of the day. I didn't get home until 6pm due to leaving late and dealing with traffic. I then took a shower instead of attending Family Home Evening and have been listening to a book on tape until just a few minutes ago.
It doesn't help my mood that this book on tape had some horrifying parts. I'm actually not sure why I finished it because the middle was so emotionally draining. The book I'm refering to is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. The basic premise of the book is this: A junior in high school comes home one day to find a package waiting for him. The package contains cassette tapes made by a girl who had committed suicide a few weeks earlier. On the tapes, she explains to the listening what, and who, contributed to her suicide. To hear the slide from happy freshman girl to desperate junior girl was so sad. The book was well written and the presentation was interesting, with the alternating voices of the girl on the tape and the thoughts and actions of the boy listening. Over the space of 24 hours, he wanders around town listening to the girl. While the book slightly redeems itself in the end, overall it is depressing and makes me feel like a dark knife has sliced through me. I can't decide if I would ever recommend it to anyone or not.
Anyway, it is now past 10pm and the house is quiet. I think I will go to sleep and hope for a better tomorrow.

Super powers

2009-02-21T23:33:00.002-07:00

I recently listened to an episode of This American Life from 2006 about super powers. The first story in the program was a man describing what question he usually asks at parties: invisibility or flight? At parties, he likes to ask random people which super power they would like between the two. People generally quickly pick one, then waffle back and forth afterward. They inevitably ask "can I also have super strength or another power as well?" "No" the author answers "only flight or invisibility." People generally ask other questions such as "will things I pick up be invisible too?" or "how fast would I be able to fly?" Myself, I can't decide. While flight would be helpful, since I hate to drive, I wouldn't like it without the ability of super strength (to carry luggage or other stuff.) Invisibility would be nice but if people could always hear my steps or if what I picked up floated, it wouldn't be very helpful. Also, I wouldn't be a very super invisible spy unless I was also invincible. Hmmm, such a dilemma. What do you think?

A restful day; but was it Plan A?

2009-02-16T23:28:00.003-07:00

Today was a restful day. Since I had the day off, I slept in and played around on the computer when I woke up. I then decided to be active and clean my room. As a final part of cleaning my room, I vacuumed. It was then that I discovered that my vacuum wasn't working properly. After careful study, I realized that the brushes at the bottom weren't spinning due to a broken belt. I headed off the the vacuum repair store, stopping along the way to drop off some shirts and magazines at my old place of employment, Prosper. Susan and I had a nice chat and I even managed to say hi to some of the IT department and a couple of other people. It's strange; the front receptionist had no idea who I was since she started after I left. There used to be a time that most people had at least heard my name (that happens when you work in HR.) She looked at me with scepticism and caution when I said that I used to work there.
I returned home, fixed the vacuum (which I am slightly proud of,) and had dinner. After doing 3 loads of laundry, I thought I would contact an old friend who lives in Texas and try to catch up on some other stuff. One of the things I caught up on was listening to Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me, an NPR news quiz show. It was a "best of" episode with various comedians. Afterwards, I flipped over to another NPR show, This American Life, where I heard five short stories centered around the theme of "Plan B." Now some of you may be thinking: "short stories about a morning after pill? Why?" Well, the theme of "Plan B" had another meaning. Everyone has a Plan B; this is the plan you follow or path you take after your Plan A falls through. An example would be a young man who always wanted to be a professional football player but seriously injured his knee. He takes his Plan B of going to business school and becomes a lawyer. Everyone has a Plan B because Plan A is something that you usually come up with in junior high, high school, or your first year of college. Then life interrupts, something changes, or you give up. This is when Plan B comes into play. Or, for that matter, Plan C, Plan D, E, F, or G. The only point when the planning ends is when you die. I know that I'm not still on my Plan A or Plan B. Are you? Even better, do you still want to be?

Family Rocks!

2009-02-10T12:09:00.005-07:00

On Saturday I was able to drive up to see family. I was later getting there than I would have liked due to a last minute visit from my landlord but I was able to get there before dinner was served. Since we were celebrating Tanner's birthday, he got to choose the meal. (The cute two-year old chose turkey, mashed pototoes, squash, etc.) I think he has great taste in food and was very smart to mention it to Nana. It seems like only yesterday he was born. After dinner, and for a while beforehand, many of the grownups took turns playing Rock Band. It was a lot of fun. (Thanks Jeremy for providing the instruments and the game.) The only part I did was singing but the drums looks like a lot of fun. Jordan killed on the guitar and Jen totally rocked the bass. While we played, the kids ran around and tried to kill themselves by sliding down the slide in various positions. Luckily the slide is in the basement so we could keep an eye on them and help out. I got home late (11:30pm) and stayed up another hour reading. On Sunday I went to church with Roommate W, then had Scottish pancakes in the afternoon. Roommate E made them and I'm going to try to con the recipe out of her (she said it was a family secret.) On Sunday night, Roommate E, Roommate W, and I went to Ward prayer. It was a lot of fun and I got to talk to my crush for over an hour.
On Monday morning I awoke with a sore throat and body aches. In spite of my better judgment, I went to work. After a meeting with MJ, my boss, and another manager, I went home. My boss was practically pushing me out the door. (Have I mentioned how much I love my boss and job lately.) Last night I felt like I had swallowed barbed wire, someone had punched me in the face (the sinuses especially,) and that I was outside in the cold. I was shivering pretty badly. I was asleep by 10pm and slept until 8:30am this morning. While I am feeling a little better, I was advised by my work to not come in. Thus the post in the middle of the day. I have taken a nap today and will take a shower soon. I hope to get back to work tomorrow since I find being sick a waste of time. I feel unproductive and lazy but don't feel well enough to get anything really accomplished. I've checked my work e-mail twice and have done a little work but I feel like I am in a little bit of a fog. I plan to get lots of sleep tonight and feel much better tomorrow. As a side note, Roommate E and Roommate W are also sick. Roommate M last sick last week and we all suspect that she passed it on to us. Luckily, she is feeling great now so I have high hopes this will soon pass.

On a random note, I have to say that I am incredibly lucky to have such a great family. I know it seems like a random comment, but I've been thinking about it lately. A few times in the last week I have been reminded how great my family is. Here are a few things that I am grateful for: my dad has never hit me, my mom isn't a drug user or alcoholic, my brothers are married to the mothers of their children, my sister doesn't steal from me, I grew up in a house where I was loved and protected, I had food and clothes growing up and didn't have to worry about where I would sleep, my siblings and I get along and actually like each other, I still talk to my parents, and I am pretty healthy. After hearing horror stories from others, I can't believe how lucky I am. Anyway, I thought I would put that out into the universe. My childhood could have been horrible but it was great. I would like to thank my parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins for making my life so wonderful.

Craft time

2009-02-08T18:34:00.006-07:00

Every once and a while, I feel the need to create something to brighten my world. For Christmas, my sister gave me a necklace that she bought at a boutique. It was a necklace pendant made out of a scrabble tile. After studying it, I figured that I might be able to duplicate it. Using glue, origami paper, and Mod Podge I managed to cover the tiles. It took me three tries to figure out what adhesive to use to attach a metal ring it the back of the scrabble tile. If anyone wants one, let me know. Here are pictures of my first necklace and my work station:

Holy headache Batman!!!

2009-01-27T18:13:00.004-07:00

This past weekend was pretty calm. I spent Saturday cleaning and preparing my lesson for Sunday. One Sunday I taught Relief Society using two November General Conference talks: "Come What May, and Love It" by Elder Wirthlin and ""The Ministry of Angels" by Elder Holland. They are both wonderful talks and I would highly recommend them. "Come What May, and Love It" reminded me a lot of my mom. I used to come home from my sixth grade class and say "Mrs. Noel makes me so mad." My mom would calmly reply "she didn't make you mad. No one can make you mad." It always annoyed me but truer words were never spoken. How we feel and react are things we can control, unlike many other things in this world.

The lesson went well (I think) and I even ended on time. After church my roommates and I made waffles. In fact, this is the first time the four of us have shared a meal. It was a lot of fun. At the end of the meal, Nate came over to join us (and help finish up the waffles.) As a side note, the waffles were in the shape of Hello Kitty and her friends.

Later that night the four of us went to ward prayer (which is like a huge family prayer that a singles ward has on Sunday night.) I wasn't very tired so I didn't go to bed until 11pm. I fell asleep, then woke up after having a nightmare. It took me an hour to get back to sleep and I slept for approximately a half an hour when I was awakened by another nightmare. I had a third nightmare around 4am and a fourth around 7pm. They didn't have a familiar theme or person.
All in all, I got a little less than three hours of sleep on Sunday night/Monday morning. Since I was up at 8am, I called my work and told them that I wouldn't be in. I couldn't go back to sleep so I went grocery shopping. I managed to get two more hours of sleep in the afternoon. At 4pm I remembered that FHE(Family Home Evening) for the ward was at my house and I had to give them a lesson. By then I was working on a nasty headache. I took a shower, did a little lesson prep, and attempted to make myself look good. By 6pm my headache had turned into a migraine headache and I had the distinct desire to decapitate myself. I took more Ibuprofen. At 6:55pm the organizers of FHE arrived and asked to use our oven to cook eggrolls (to celebrate the Chinese New Years.) That was when I found out that our oven and range top wasn't working. Since I had used it the night before, it was a bit of a shock. They left to cook the food at a nearby house while my roommates welcomed ward members to the house.

I gave a 7 minute FHE lesson making the following connections: this is the year of the ox in China, yokes are used on oxen to pull large loads, in Matthew 11:29 we are told to take Christ's "yoke upon us," and to take Christ's yoke upon us is to take Christ's name upon us. I then pointed out three ways in which we can "take the name of Christ upon us." After the lesson, I sat in the kitchen for while sipping water and eating enough so I could take more pain meds without throwing up. A friend of mine, Angie, went and got me some Coke to settle my stomach. I took something to help me sleep at 9:30pm and slept until 7:30am this morning. It's been a long time since I have had a headache that bad. I was nauseous, light sensitive, and exhausted.

I am feeling better now and a repair man for the oven is coming tomorrow. My biggest complaint is that I am now behind at work.

A picture of my room

2009-01-21T10:04:00.004-07:00

1. My bedroom walls used to have wallpaper. It was stripped off but I haven't painted yet. Any suggestions for wall colors?
2. Bookcase #1 was bought at IKEA. The #2 is by my Harry Potter series. I try to keep books that are in the same series together on the shelves.
3. The curtains are from the landlord. I am thinking of replacing them.
4. My awesome bedspread that came from Aunt Nancy (who, in turn, received it from Grandma R.) It is warm and very pretty. Sadly, I forgot to make my bed before I took this picture.
5. My big stuffed bunny was a Christmas present from my parents a long time ago. It has gone with me to every place that I have lived (including the one room cabin in Montana.)
6. Bookcase #2 of 4 was a high school graduation present from my parents. I love this bookcase because it fits so many books and because it came from my parents (who were smart enough to know that I wanted a bookcase instead of a bike.)
7. The Barnes and Noble classics series is black and are put together (despite not being by the same author.)
8. My collection of children's books is growing each year despite my lack of bearing children.
9. One of the four boxes I have yet to unpack (although I think I'm doing pretty well considering I have only lived there a month and a half.)
10. A picture I have yet to hang on my wall.
11. My tv remote is on my "dumping ground." I tend to dump papers and other small things on top of this bookcase.
12. Bookcase #3 is at the end of my bed while bookcase #4 is on the side of my bed (you can't see it in this picture.)

Thanks Emily for the idea of labeling pictures. It was an interesting mental exercise.

Adieu Sarah

2009-01-20T18:51:00.006-07:00

Well, Sarah has left the country. She left for France this morning and I already miss her. On Saturday night I went to a farewell party for her. (The picture is from a goodbye dinner I went to for her on Thursday.) We had crepes, a chocolate fountain, and cheese fondue while talking and making jokes. On Monday I picked her up to get for a quick gelato run only to find the gelato shop closed. We ended up at Los Hermanos where Sarah had chips and salsa and I had fried ice cream. We pretended that she really wasn't leaving for five months and that I would see her next week. (Neither of us wanted to cry and didn't know how to say goodbye.) As a tribute, I would like to list some of the memories I have of her from the last two years:

Moving into my blue room
Painting in the front room
Eating gelato in Provo
Crepe parties
A trip to Boise where we broke 90 mph
Shopping at Target
Ants in the kitchen
Having no air conditioning for week in the summer
Relationship dissections
Attending Hale Centre Theater
Building a desk
Taking photos
Buying earrings
Dinner with the Lechems and Jen
Late nights talking with Aaron
Searching for Camille
The introduction to the Center Ward
Watching DVD's on the comfortable couch
Reading Breaking Dawn
The giant dust bunny from the ceiling
Yelling about my job
A trip to the emergency room
Shoes, hats, and purses
The fouton

Sarah, I wish you all the best in France and can't wait to see you in the summer. Au Revoir!

Pictures (a second try)

2009-01-20T18:38:00.005-07:00

After my last post, which had a picture of my work space and my bedroom with comments, I was told by many people that they couldn't read the writing and when they made the pictures bigger, they still couldn't read the writing. In this attempt, I have numbered items and have provided the description below. Here goes:

1. HR books that I am not using much these days due to my Executive Assistant duties.

2. A book of meeting agendas

3. The awesome white elephant gift I received that is a tree made of cream Styrofoam balls and beads.

4. My packing tape for mailing things.

5. My water bottle. I drink at least one of these a day if not more.

6. My lotion. I have chronically dry hands while at work.

7. My many files that I keep action items in and things that my boss needs to address.

8. My food supplies (hot chocolate, crackers, and granola bars)

9. My chair/coat hanger

10. The cafe menu for the week

11. My purse (which is usually in my filing cabinet)

12. My orange juice. I am trying to keep my boss as healthy as possible by providing orange juice if he is running late to lunch.

13. The seashell. Along with being a reminder of my trip to San Francisco, it would make a handy weapon.

14. Hand sanitizer, which is very helpful in the winter when all my coworkers are sick.

15. My desk, which usually has papers on it but was cleaned before this picture was taken.

16. My filing cabinet, which is full of files that I maintain for my boss and myself.

I'm done...

2009-01-06T18:23:00.004-07:00

with winter. I know that it is only half-way through but I am done with winter. It snowed again last night and has snowed most of the day today. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get home last night because there were two accidents on the freeway. I got home, shoveled a little, got in the shower, went to FHE late, and then came home for more shoveling. As Marne and I were shoveling in the dark, I slipped on a huge area of ice on our driveway and landed flat on my back. Luckily I stopped my head from bashing into the pavement. I laid there for a minute or two and then had Marne helped me up. I went inside, took some pain relievers, and then helped finish shoveling. I used my heating pad for a little while before I went to bed. This morning I was in quite a bit of pain and I went into work late. I took more pain killers and went about my job but had to get up every half an hour to stretch my back. Since my boss, MJ, has a bad cold, he decided to leave early. By 1:30pm I was pretty unhappy about my back and neck, which I believe is suffering from a little case of whiplash. My co-worker recommended I go see his chiropractor, which I have never done before. I made an appointment and left work at 3pm to get there by 3:45. The drive wasn't too bad despite the snow. He said that I had injured my back but not seriously. He adjusted and massaged my back and neck and I feel much better although I am still stiff. I have another appointment on Thursday and will continue applying heat and cold and taking pain killers. I am also stretching my back (using the very helpful back stretches that my dad showed me years ago.)
The point of this long story is that I really dislike the winter weather this year. We had another 3 or 4 inches of snow on the driveway when I got home today (which, thankfully, two of my roommates took care of.) Our street is a mess and it is very cold all the time. While I realize that we need the moisture, I really wish it would only snow in the mountains for the next week so that some of the snow and ice on the roads, and my driveway, could diminish. The fact that it is dark so early isn't helping my mood much.
Thus ends my annoying rant. (I hope to have a better attitude about the season tomorrow or the next day when my back isn't aching as much.)

300 and 1000

2009-01-02T00:08:00.002-07:00

As a random note, I have now hit 300 blog posts and 1000 miles on my new car. Other milestones include almost 2 months at my new job, indexing over 500 of my bosses business cards, an address change, and 1 new crush (no, I will not reveal it.)

Christmas

2009-01-01T23:46:00.005-07:00

I have to say that the greatest thing about Christmas these days is watching all the kids with their presents. While I love getting my own gifts, it doesn't even compare to seeing the kids play with their toys or even the wrapping paper (in the case of Aaron.) I drove up to K-town on Christmas Eve, stopping off to see Grandma J. (For those who don't know, she is currently in the hospital with congestive heart failure and staph pneumonia.) Mom, Dad, and I went out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner on Christmas Eve and then watched Wall-E, which was very cute considering how little dialogue it has. On Christmas day we made the rounds to see the kids. We started at Lauren's house, where I got into Lauren's little playhouse. We then stopped off at the hospital to see Grandma and wish Aunt Linda and Aunt Peggy a Merry Christmas. After a brief stop at home, we continued on to Isaac and Aaron's house, to Tanner and Ava's house, and we finished up at Sidney and Wyatt's house. (Sorry, but my siblings were not the main events so they are not considered the owners or main residents of the houses.) Jeremy and Britnie made an excellent dinner after which Sidney gave Mom and I a makeover and we all played Scene It. I rocked the first game, but was thoroughly trounced by Jeremy in the second game. (He didn't play the first game.)
On the day after Christmas, all my siblings and their children came to Mom and Dad's house where we had Christmas #2. I think Josh and Brooke appreciated the meat pounder I gave them (I knew I was going to buy that for them ever since I found out I had drawn their names for Christmas.) I loved the sweater, crock pot, books, and picture boards I received. After a wonderful meal by Mom, we all opened Christmas presents. It is always funny to see little kids open gifts. One child would open a gift and all the children would then want to play with it. Sharing became an issue but everyone was very well behaved considering how late it was. It was a great Christmas. (The picture is of the pot roast, potatoes, and carrots that I made in my new crock pot. It is great!)

Plow it!

2008-12-24T22:45:00.004-07:00

Well, the snow has come again to Orem. It has snowed several times in the last two weeks. This causes me to pick on the city of Orem. In K-town, the place I hail from, the snow plows actually ventured into residential areas everywhere. While they took a while because the main roads took precidence, they always eventually got to the residential areas. In Orem, that doesn't seem to happen. The main streets, such as Center and State Street, are plowed, the residential streets are generally not. Here are the pictures from my drive-way on Wednesday, two days after it has snowed:

The empty spots on the road are where cars were parked. While my car handles the snow well, I have seen more than one neighbor get stuck in the street. This is my plea to Orem to start plowing residential areas (or even start salting.) Thus ends my rant.

My first week

2008-12-12T18:26:00.002-07:00

Well, it's been a week since I moved into my new place. So far, I like it. It has a few quirks (squeaky floors, an older furnace, and a light pink bathroom) but I like it. My roommates are very nice. While they don't know I have a blog, I will still only refer to them by their first initials. Roommate M has the room next to mine and is very nice. We both try to be very careful at night since our floors are so squeaky and are above other bedrooms. Roommate W is not home very much. She works quite a bit and is very social with her old roommates. She has a car, like me, and cuts hair for a living. Roommate E works two jobs and is usually in bed by 9pm every night. During the week she is up no later than 5am and out the door soon after that time. She has a cat, Francis, who stays in Roommate E's room for the most part. She doesn't have a car. If I were a nicer human being, I would drive her to work at 5:30am. Sadly, I need my sleep and am generally a mean person. I did drive her to the grocery store the other day though.
While we don't spend much time together, we all seem to get along. I would say our biggest problem is sharing the tv. Luckily, I brought my own (that Mom was able to get long ago from a hotel.) Sadly, it only currently gets 3 channels, but I am trying to fix it so that I get at least NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and PBS. Luckily, I have books to keep me company. Speaking of books, I am still not done unpacking mine. While I plan to paint my room sometime in January, I couldn't bear the thought of all my books staying in boxes until then. I have unpacked almost half of them.
Work is going well. My main boss, MJ, and I are getting to know and trust each other. Apparently he had some troubles with a previous assistant so he wanted to make sure that I was trustworthy and capable before giving me certain projects. I like the idea that I am helpful and make someone elses life easier. While I do miss some aspects of HR, I enjoy being an Executive Assistant. One of my latest project is working on my bosses business cards. He has over 500 that have been sitting around (one his desk, in various containers, etc.) I have been scanning them into a business card program that will allow me to export them into all sorts of other programs (Excel, Outlook, etc.) I will then be putting them into a Rolodex. Our company Christmas party is this Tuesday and I look forward to socializing with my new co-workers. Sadly, the co-worker that I am the closest to will not be there (she will be leaving for her parent's house back east.)
The new car is great. I am now driving a little more normally (I was a little paranoid for a little while.) I love the fact that I don't have to worry about my car starting when I turn the key and the fact that I can actually reach the speed limit before I merge with traffic.
Well, I should probably go since I am at the library. I still don't have the internet at my house and I feel strange using my work computer for a blog update. I hope everyone is doing well. If I'm on the ball this year, many of you will get Christmas cards. If I'm not, take my best wishes for a wonderful holiday from this post. Speaking of Christmas, I am very excited to see my family (especially all the kids) in a few weeks.

So close

2008-12-05T19:57:00.004-07:00

I am so close to having the walls done in my new place. The second layer of wallpaper is down and now I have to wash the final little bits of glue and paper off the walls. I tried to finish it on Wednesday but my arms were killing me. Last night I packed up more of my room and went to bed at a decent hour. Tonight I am packing up the rest of my room. In about an hour I will probably go over and work on the walls some more. This means that my room won't be very pretty when I move into tomorrow, but such is life. Here are some more pictures from my "work in progress" room.

I hope to paint my room later this month or some time during the first of January.

Wallpaper

2008-12-02T17:17:00.006-07:00

My new room has wallpaper, or at least it will for the next two days. Last night I went over and started peeling it off (with permission from my landlord.) I also met all my roommates (Emily, Whitney, and Marne.) They all seem really nice. Here are some pictures of what the wallpaper looks like (the room has different wallpaper on two walls with a flower border all the way around):

And here it is with half of the top layer down. (I will be spraying and scrubbing off some of it tonight and finishing on Wednesday night.)

Thanksgiving/Birthday weekend

2008-11-30T18:12:00.006-07:00

On Wednesday I was able to leave work a little early and drive up to Salt Lake. I babysat Lauren and slept over at John and Jen's house. It was a lot of fun but I was exhausted because of a cold I had (and still have.) Lauren was as cute as ever. That girl seems to have endless energy. The next day, Thanksgiving, I drove up to my parent's house. Along with 27 or so other members of the family, I enjoyed an amazing meal that was mostly made by my parents. I am always amazed at all my parents do each Thanksgiving. There was plenty of food and talk to go around. Later, a group played dodge ball and a few board/card games. I stayed up late talking and slept in Friday morning. I spent most of the day chilling out because my cold symptoms were so bad. I did manage to meet with an insurance agent and finalize my car paperwork though. Mom, Dad, Nancy, Jen, Jeremy, and Britnie went to see the plastination exhibit at The Leonardo in Salt Lake. Renee and Grandma Roberts babysat Lauren for Jen. That night, Mom, Grandma, Renee, and I watched a BBC movie and then Renee, Dad, and I watched a Jeff Dunham video. (He's a puppeteer that has amusing but inappropriate humor. My favorite puppets were Achmed the Dead Terrorist and Peanut.)

On Saturday morning, I was awakened by my mother telling me that there were pullaparts ready and that I should give some people a ride in my new car. Once I had truly awakened from my NyQuil-induced stupor, I drove them to Costco and then Mom started on dinner while some of the rest of us cleaned the house. My family arrived for my birthday dinner around 4:30. All the kids were so cute, even if I couldn't hold or kiss them because of the cold. Some of the kids were pretty tired because they didn't take naps. Mom made potato soup as well as tomato soup and breadsticks. I am always amazed at how great Mom's soups are. We also had a great chocolate cake that Josh and Brooke had posted on their blog. Renee, Nancy, and I stayed up until after 2am talking. Sunday morning brought another great meal (breakfast cake, eggs, hash browns, bacon, milk, and orange juice.) After a shower, cleaning, and taking empty boxes and my luggage to my car, I talked with everyone for at least another 2 hours. Tonight I've been packing my room and returning e-mails.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I loved seeing all of my family members and eating all the amazing food. This coming week should be interesting. I will be moving on Saturday so I want to make sure that 98% of my stuff is packed and ready to go by Friday night. All of the stuff that I will need on Saturday (clothes, bathroom stuff, etc.) will go into a suitcase so that everything will be ready for those who will help me move on Saturday morning. I don't know my roommates but I choose to believe that we will all get along and become great friends. I will have 4 roommates but each of us have our own rooms. Here's a picture of the house that I will be living in:

Thus my blog entry ends. It was a great, if not slightly tiring, weekend. I loved seeing my family, driving my car, and eating great food.

A new car

2008-11-25T19:56:00.005-07:00

For those of you who don't know already, I bought a new car. I bought a 4-door dark grey Toyota Corolla and I love it. It is awesome. I love knowing that my car is safe, getting good gas mileage, and is reliable. The picture is not exactly my car but it is pretty close.
I love it but I kind of freaked out the day after I bought it. Other than owing my parents a few hundred dollars, I've never owed people money. Yes, every once in a while I would borrow $20 or so from someone if I didn't have any cash, but I always paid it back as soon as possible. I now owe thousands of dollars and it makes me really uncomfortable. I don't know how people live with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. I have read stories about people who have $300-$400K of debt and I can't imagine how they must feel. I have since calmed down though.
Anyway, my consolation is that I know I can afford the payments and still pay my rent, phone bill, buy food, and have a little fun. I will probably still tighten my financial belt though. Anyway, I am really excited that I have a new car. Yeah me!
Now I need everyone's help to nickname my car. The old Saturn, depending on how it was running, was called The Red Devil or Big Red. Any suggestion for the new car?
(As a side note, no one gets a ride in my new car if they have food, drink, dirty clothes, or even dirty thoughts. :) Just try it.)

Frequency of posting

2008-11-20T19:48:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to warn everyone that the frequency of my posting will most likely be going down for the next few weeks. Sarah contacted Comcast and our internet will be turned off sometime tomorrow. Since I try not to do personal stuff at work (blog posting, phone calls, e-mail) I will have to do it at the library or somewhere else. I hopefully will have the internet at my new place.
In other news, one of my bosses, MJ, is returning from a week long trip tomorrow. I suspect that I will be pretty busy between tomorrow and Thanksiving. I've really enjoy my new job, especially this week. Since MJ was gone, RJ and BM have given me a lot of HR stuff to do. (Wow, that was a lot of initials in one sentence.)
I am really excited for Thanksgiving. I love getting together with my family every year. I've taken the day after Thanksgiving off so I will be able to spend time with my family and celebrate my birthday with my family.
On the moving front, I have managed to pack up 11 boxes of stuff I won't need in the next three weeks. I don't know how much more I will be able to do this week since I do have to use most of my stuff to live the next three weeks. I've decided to use this Saturday to test drive some cars.
Anyway, that's a quick update on my life.

In honor of the movie....

2008-11-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Singing librarian

June 2011 update

April 2011 - May 2011 update

A dream is a wish your heart makes....

Sub for Santa 2010

January 2011-March 2011 update

I know, I know; it's been a long time

Clara's blessing

The Lion King

My new quilt

A slacker (sort of)

Turning 10

The Amazing Audra McDonald

It's good to be busy

Electricity

The last two and a half weeks

Lusting after a vase

New stamps

Swingin with the boys

Emily's blessing

My stamp

Real mail

Cupcakes

Nurse Jessica to the rescue

Christmas

Sunset

Blogus Interuptus

The tree

Lauren's little sister

A 3-year-old's perspective

Photo scavenger hunt

Eggnog and The West Wing

Halloween Weekend

Halloween with the Family

Thriller 2009

Waiting for the NyQuil

South Fork

Box Social

Excellent pasta and company

Not quite what I wanted.....

This week

Reading Rainbow

That's right; I'm awesome....

Timp Lodge

Busy, busy girl

My new place

The slip 'n slide

How long has it been? - the book version

Moved

Camping with family

Snake-wrangler

A physical betrayal of epic proportions

Capes with clothespins

A quote

Grassroots Shakespeare Company

Lagoon 2009

Camping

May Celebration

Bowls for Isaac and Aaron

We had more fun than Lauren's dad

Goal #98 - done

San Diego - day 4 (the end)

Tanner's bump on the head

San Diego - day 3

San Diego - day 2

San Diego - day 1

Caleb's Birthday

Three new bowls

Links

Gifts for the kids

101 in 1001

The Horror!

Utah Weather....one week apart

The Q-Tip won the a battle, but I won the war.

Conference Weekend (and other stuff)

Pizza with Lauren

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned within me there lay an invincible summer." - Albert Camus

Is it a gumball machine or something else?

The past week

Found pictures