Color Me Mine

On Thursday night, the Relief Society members of my new ward went to a business named Color Me Mine. It is a place where you can go and paint pottery. They then fire it. We had such fun. For my first time, I did alright. Next time, and there will be a next time, I will change some things. Here are some before and after pictures of a plate I made. For my first time, it went pretty well. I think I will do a geometric design and more coats of paint for my next plate. I invite you all to come and try it.

An official employee

On the 20th of June I became an official employee of Prosper, a financial coaching company. I am an HR Assistant. I help with new hire orientation, maintain the employee databases, maintain the employee files, and help with special projects. After being a temp for two months, it is nice to finally be an official employee. My job has so many interesting aspects to it. Right now is a crazy time, especially since the director of HR just had emergency surgery. The HR department, which includes Erin, Joee, Susan, Travis, and Jeff. Jeff is the director, Joee is the recruiter, Susan deals with compensation and benefits, Erin is the communications specialist and Travis is an HR intern. They are a diverse bunch and interesting to work with. Because I am in the middle of a big project, I have been working about 45 hours a week for the last month. This week should be very busy but I think I am up to the task.

Goodbye Camille

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

Father's Day and two birthdays

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

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

Political cartoon

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

New skirt

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

Ragtime

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

Who wouldn't want Carl on their answering machine?

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

Saturday with part of the family

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

Summerfest

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

A to Z's of Me

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

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

Lagoon

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

Friday

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

My plants are growing!

I am so excited; the tomotoes and peppers that I planted in pots are growing. The flowers at the front of my house are growing as well, although not as well as the vegetables. I recently discovered that the neighborhood cat has been using my flowerbed as a bathroom. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop this? I once heard that spreading chili powder by the flowers would stop a cat. Is that true? Anyway, here is a picture of my potted plants. Thanks to Mom and Dad for teaching me how to garden. Now I just have to wait for them to sprout something edible.

Memorial Day

Despite only getting about three hours of sleep, I had a great Memorial Day. I had breakfast with some of the members of my singles ward, at which I was mocked for some silly things I had said at Ward Prayer the night before. (That's what I get for joking that I lust in my heart after men on motorcycles :) After the amusing breakfast, I returned home to shower and get ready to leave for Kaysville. I arrived early and so got to visit with Mom, Dad, Jordan, and Alison before I was sent to pick up Grandma Johnsen. Almost a half an hour later after I arrived, Grandma was ready to leave. We had a wonderful dinner made by Mom (and some grilled by Dad.) We had an even better time watching and playing with the kids. Wyatt took two steps, of which none of us got a really good picture. When we all started clapping he stood with his arms raised like a politician accepting our praise. Even though Lauren hadn't had a nap, she was in good spirits, especially after her Grandma gave her a flower. Isaac wanted to play croquet with the big kids. Tanner slept then woke up to visit and complain about his new shoes. All the kids were darling. Josh beat myself, Alison, Jordan, and Sidney in a game of croquet. (Sidney kept hitting my ball with hers :) Britnie, Dad, and the wind blew out the candles to celebrate birthdays. I didn't leave until about 8:30 so I missed Family Home Evening. It was ok though since I had some excellent quality family bonding time in Kaysville. Here are some of the pictures I took:

Myspace in The Onion

As I am filling in for the receptionist this morning because of a dentists appointment, I found myself reading "The Onion." It reminds me of when I worked at the Syracuse library. There were kids who came in after school and stayed until 7 or 8pm. Most of their time was spent on Myspace. I never saw them talk to anyone in the library.

MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless

full finished skirt

I finally finished my skirt last night. It didn't turn out the way that I thought it would, but I think I will keep it. The small flowers are made of beads that I sewed on. It goes to my knees and is fairly comfortable. I however, realized that I may have bought a size too big. Oh well, such is life. I wore it to church and got more than one comment on it. Yeh!

My new skirt

While I am down filling in for the receptionist today, I thought I should tell my loyal blog readers about my new skirt. I am bored with my clothes and cannot find a skirt that I like. So I went to Wal-Mart. Now before anyone (ie my siblings) yell at me, I needed to find a cheap skirt that I could feel good about throwing away if I hated it. I bought a plain light brown skirt that reaches just below my knees. It has two darts in the front. I then bought dark brown embroidery thread and some very small beads and have been making a design on it. I don't have a picture of the work in progress yet but I drew the following picture so that all of you would get the general idea. (Please ignore the color scheme of the paint program. The colors I used are not available.) If it turns out pretty, I have a skirt that cost me $10 and ten hours of work. If I hate it, then it only cost $10 and I won't worry about it. Plus, this is one way to have a skirt with a design no one else has. I will try to post a picture of the finished product. I also bought a white skirt that will most likely be decorated in blue, green, red, yellow, and black.

A visit to the doctor (and Jen)

Last Wednesday, May 16th, I left work at 11:15 am to go to a doctor's appointent in Salt Lake. Dr. Katz is really nice, for an opthomologist, and I really like the new Moran Eye Center. He said that my eyes are progressing at a little faster than normal but it will still be a couple of decades before I go blind. Yeh! We did the regular eye exam, a visual field test, and a pressure test. I took a picture of the sign in the waiting room but it didn't turn out as well as I would have hoped. Before my appointment I had lunch with Jen and Lauren. We went to an excellent bakery, of which I cannot remember the name of. We then sat on the grass and talked a little. I love talking to Jen. She can comfort me when I am upset, give me good advice, or make me laugh. It was also a joy to be around Lauren. With her lovely blue eyes and wrinkled nose, you can't help but smile at her. She was charming people in the bakery. I took a couple of pictures of them before I left. Lauren wouldn't look at the camera because cars and grass are more interesting. I didn't get back to Orem until 4:15pm. I was so tired that I just went home. Even taking off most of Wednesday, I still managed to work 42 hours last week.

Jessica the receptionist

I have been a receptionist for an hour now. The usual receptionist for the front desk, Connie, had a doctor's appointment and forgot to ask one of the other receptionists to cover for her. Thus, my current position. In this temporary spot at the front desk, I am unable to do my own work. Thus I am reduced to keeping myself busy by other means. I hope all of you are having a good day. Yesterday, Monday, was a fairly busy one for me. I worked for 9 and a half hours in order to make up some time I am taking off on Wednesday for a doctor's appointment. I went home and ate some dinner, then drove Camille and myself to Family Home Evening. Afterwards, I went to take Dexter for a walk. We went around the park and around the block, which is farther than we usually go. He must have been feeling spry that night. I then returned home to empty the dishwasher, clean some pots, take the garbage can out for pick-up and take a shower. I was in bed by 10:45 pm and asleep by 11:15 pm. I think that is some kind of record for me. It usually takes by an hour to fall asleep.

Happy Mother's Day

I would like to wish my mother a Happy Mother's Day. She is a wonderful woman whom I love very much. Despite our differences of opinion, I deeply respect her and wish that everyone could be as lucky as my siblings and I in growing up with such a woman as an example.

Babysitting Lauren

On Tuesday, May 8th, I got the chance to babysit Lauren. On Sunday, my mom had reminded me that she, Dad, John, and Jen had a play on Tuesday and that I was to babysit Lauren. I made a mental note to be off work early so I could make it on time. I went over the the Larry and Diane's neighbor on Monday and asked if she would be able to take care of Dexter on Tuesday night. She said that she would be happy to do so. I had to work until at least five but promised myself that I wouldn't work a minute past that time. Five o'clock rolled around the people started to come and ask me questions. I explained the situation and then ran for the door. I met Jen, John, Lauren, Mom, Dad, Michael, Shannon, and Katie at a restaurant at the Gateway. They had ordered me an appetizer and some water. We ate a very good meal, then split up. I took my parents van back to Jen and John's house and they took my car to the play. On the way home, Lauren and I stopped at Barnes and Noble to buy Dad his birthday present. We then made our way home. We played on the grass for a little while and watched cars go by. I am not sure why but Lauren seems to love being outside. Maybe it is the fact that there are so many things to look at and touch. Afterwards we went inside and she showed me how she can take the star-shaped rings off her toy. She also tried to climb me when she realized that I was holding a camera. It was pretty cute. We sang, read some books, and she was in bed by 9:15pm. I watched Jane Eyre. When Jen and John came home, I left for home. It was a fun night.

Tanner's blessing

On Sunday, May 6th, my newest darling nephew was blessed. Tanner Cole was blessed by his father, Josh. I sadly missed it. My story starts at 8 am in the morning when I arose, had breakfast, and dressed for the occasion. I then went over to Diane and Larry's house to take care of Dexter the dog. I unlocked the front door, set my keys on the dining room table and then gave Dexter his medicine and food. Afterwards, I went out the front door and put him in his kennel. When I returned, I found the front door locked. Since I had unlocked it fifteen minutes earlier, I couldn't understand what had happened. I went across the street to the neighbor's house to ask for their key and no one answered my repeated doorbell rings and knocks. I then went around the tried every door and window on Diane and Larry's house to see if any were unlocked. Fort Knox would have been easier to break into. I returned to my car, which I had mercifully left unlocked and called Larry's cell phone. I hated to bother them in Europe but I had no way of getting home or into their house. I was hoping there was a hidden key somewhere. Alas, it was not to be. He called his son's wife's sister and she brought a key over. In the meantime, a nice neighbor who was walking her dog kept me company. I will have to take her some cookies some day. By the time I left Orem it was 10:45. Since the blessing took place in a sacrament meeting that began at 11 am, I knew I wouldn't make it. I cried a little then resolved to make the best of a bad situation and drive 75 miles per hour the whole way. I got to the chapel after the blessing but still got to sit with my family. After Tanner's blessing, we all made our way to Mom and Dad's house for a great meal and wonderful company. The weather had cleared so we were able to have it outside. The babies, Lauren, Isaac, Wyatt, and Tanner kept us all entertained. I left Kaysville around 7pm in order to get back for ward prayer. I made it back to Orem a little early and went to take Dexter into the house. When I went to the church for ward prayer, there was no one there. They had canceled it. Such was my Sunday.

Caleb's birthday

On Saturday morning, I drove up to Bountiful to see my oldest nephew for his birthday. Caleb would have been three years old

on Saturday. The family met at the gravesite. In attendance were my parents, Alison's parents, Emily and Erin, Jeremy Lowe and his girlfriend, Me, Jen and Lauren, Josh, Brooke and Tanner, Jordan, Alison, and Isaac. I stopped by the store on my way and bought a balloon. I made a card and expressed my feelings towards my beloved nephew. We met, sang happy birthday, and had some cupcakes. It was hard but theraputic. We would have stayed longer but it was so cold. I still really miss Caleb. I cry less and don't think about him constantly, but I still wonder if he would be walking and talking. My consolation is that he isn't in any pain. He is surrounded by love and happiness. When we all left, I sat in my car for a moment and cried.
The rain started coming down so the Johnsen side of the group went up to Grandma Johnsen's house and talked for about an hour. Lauren and Isaac crawled around. They are so cute. Tanner was darling although he got al ittle crancky after a while. I managed to calm him down with some old Frank Sinatra songs. Afterwards, we went to lunch at Plates and Palates. They always have such wonderful food. After everyone else left, Mom, Dad, and I went up to the hospital to see Grandma Johnsen. It seems like I only see her there these days. I wish she wasn't so sick. I drove back in the evening to take care of Dexter. I was so tired by the time I got home that I took a nap. When I woke up, Camille was home. She was soon picked up by Dave. I spent the night cleaning and watching tv. Such was my Saturday.