Halloween with the family

Last Saturday I was able to go home and spend time with my family. I went home early to help set up. Sidney and Dad were hard at work decorating. I did my part, then got ready for the party. I got to speak with Jordan and Josh before the party, but Jordan had to go to work. Everyone else was able to come though. The costumes were great. Dad took this picture of me and the kids:

I haven't the slightest idea what all the kids are looking at. I apparently think something is funny though. After pictures we played pin the nose on the pumpkin, throw the candy in the jar, and find the ghosts. We then went in to eat. It was crazy since I was sitting at the kids table with Lauren, Wyatt, and Isaac. Sadly, they were all pretty distracted. After eating, we went into the front room. Lauren, Wyatt, Sidney, and Isaac ran around in circles while I held Ava and watched from the sofa. It was actually pretty funny. I got so distracted that I forgot to take dinner to Jordan, and Alison had to run it down. I eventually headed home. I would have stayed over but I had to teach the Relief Society lesson the next day. It was all about putting more meaning into your prayers. It end up being a pretty good lesson. My favorite picture that I took from Saturday is this one:

I love this picture of Dad and Ava. You can see the love on Dad's face for his newest grandchild.

It's a sickness

Many of you know about my obsession with books. I've often said that it's a sickness. One of the other things I truly love are musicals. I recently went to see Aida, which I thought was great. Tonight I went to see it again. I know, I know....I'm strange. I even saw it alone. Unlike the last time I saw it, there were different leads. Radames was played by Darick Pead and Aida was played by Josephine Scere. About half-way through the performance I realized why Josephine looked so familiar. After some thought, I realized that I had seen her in a production last summer. In June of 2007 she played the character of Sarah in Ragtime. Sarah and I went to see it at the Scera Shell. Once again, Josephine was amazing. I felt envy, then amazement. The male lead was also excellent, although I admit that I think I preferred Greg Hansen. They were both great though. I would highly recommend Aida to anyone. It runs until November 22nd.

A new job

Almost three weeks ago I had an interview at another company. It wasn't the usual interview, as it seemed to be as much about my personality as my work experience. It did, however, give me a chance to learn more about their company. With the collapse and then getting a cold, I didn't have much time to think about it.
I've been thinking about my job and it's future for the past few months, but I wasn't sure what to do. When I received a phone call from a representative of CR on Tuesday afternoon, it was the answer I had been looking for. The CFO of the company e-mailed me an offer letter and I decided to accept. My first day at CR will be on Tuesday, November 4th. (For those of you who are confused as to why I am not naming the company, I will explain later. For now, I will use the initials of the company.)
I am really excited for this new opportunity and will be performing both HR and Executive Assistant duties. My biggest concern now is getting my current HR group ready for my departure. Yesterday, I spent over three hours training. Over the next week, I will most likely have to do 7-12 more hours of training, as well as continuing to do my own work. I will most likely work until 7 or 8pm every night for the next week. I have learned a lot at Prosper, but I have to say that what I will miss the most are the people that I've met. I have made some really good friends at Prosper.
In other news, Sarah and her family will be leaving for DisneyLand tomorrow and will be gone for a week. I will be going up to my parent's house for a Halloween party today, and can't wait to see all the kids in their costumes.

Thriller

On Saturday, I was able to do two fun things. In the afternoon I saw Isaac and Aaron. Alison came down to Orem for a book event at the mall and I took Isaac and Aaron to the library. We saw the boat, read a book, rode several elevators, and ran up and down the grassy hill outside. We had a lot of fun. Aaron sat at the bottom of the hill and Isaac and I ran up and down. Every time we ran down, Isaac would laugh hysterically. It was so much fun and Isaac didn't want to leave. At 5pm, Alison took the boys home and I drove up to Salt Lake to meet Ryan. I hadn't seen Ryan in person since the early spring, so it was nice to see him. He and I ate at Paradise Bakery. Afterwards we went to see Thriller on the U of U campus. It was great, as usual. I found some great pictures online of the performance here:

As usual, Odyssey Dance Theater did a wonderful job. My favorites were The Curse of the Mummy, Jason Jam, Salem's Mass, and the River of Blood Dance. If any of you can get tickets, I would highly recommend it.

Afterwards I got to see Ryan's house (or where he rents a room.)

This week

This week has been a little strange. On Monday I went to work as usual, but it was a very long day. There's something called the team list; it's a bear of a project that happens every week. This Monday it took a very long time and caused me considerable stress. On Tuesday I went to work with a sore throat. I felt so awful by noon that I decided to leave at 1:30 and take a quick nap. I was planning to return to work after an hour and a half. I ended up sleeping until 7:30pm, despite setting my alarm. When I awoke, I felt horrible. I was so cold that I was wearing pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and socks and I had two blankets and my heavy quilt on me. I probably lost two pounds in sweat alone (sorry for the gross details.) According to the digital thermometer, I had a temperature of 102.5. I went back to bed at 9:30 and slept until 11am the next day. I then went to a car appointment and to work. I was so behind that I worked until 9pm on Wednesday night and I was at work by 10am on Thursday. I had 76 new e-mails in my inbox to deal with. At 6pm I remembered that I had tickets to Aida at the Hale Center Theater. I called Sarah and planned to meet her to go. I ended up going home at 6:30, so she and I enjoyed a quick dinner of cereal, followed by a ten minute showing of the house to prospective buyers.

As for Aida, it was pretty good. The first time I saw Aida was at the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake. I drove down from my job by West Yellowstone, Montana, to join my parents. I loved it and took the CD back to Montana. I would listen to it as I closed up shop every night. I was so excited to share it with Sarah. My review is as follows: it was pretty good. The main male character was excellent. Greg Hansen was a lead in another play I saw this year, She Loves Me. The female lead struggled. I wasn't sure if it was a talent thing or a voice thing. By that, I mean that she may have been loosing her voice but I'm still not sure. After talking to a co-worker today, I think she may have been loosing her voice. According to the Broadway-loving co-worker, she is usually an excellent singer. Of the supporting characters, my favorite was the man who played Mereb. His name is Jared Young, and he apparently played Nephi in the Liken the Scripture series (which I haven't seen.) In the small, theater in the round style I thought that sets and choreography would suffer. For as small a space as they had to work with, they did a good job. All in all, I would recommend it, especially for those who have never had the opportunity to see Aida before.

Today I am feeling a little better. My nose isn't running as much and I am almost back to my normal self. I expressed another strong opinion at work, for which I may or may not get in trouble for on Monday, but I was still able to get a lot done. After feeling so rotten most of the week. I decided to take off at 3pm today. Now, I sit at the computer. Tomorrow I am looking forward to watching Thriller with a good friend of mine. Man, who's ready for a nap after such a week as this?

A visit from Lauren and Jen

On Saturday morning Jen and Lauren came down to visit. At 10am on the dot, a little girl in a red coat and her mother were on my doorstep. We first drove to Springville to go to the museum. Lauren had fun finding the horses, camels, and other things in the paintings. In one of the rooms were drawings from Utah illustrators. They were all from children's books and I recognized about 2/3 of them.

On the way home we stopped by Gloria's, an Italian restaurant off University Avenue in Provo. I highly recommend it. Lauren ate like a pro and I liked my pasta as well. We then stopped by the Orem library so Lauren could see the boat, ride the elevator, and I could pick up some books. She got to sit at a little table that was just her size. We then returned to my place and Lauren and I went down for an hour nap while Jen read. When Lauren woke up, she and her Mom came to wake me. Jen and I then talked while Lauren played, then I realized I needed to go to the store. After we got home, it was time for Jen and Lauren to go home so they could get home in time for Lauren to get a shower before bedtime. I had a lot of fun with both of them.

Pictures

It occured to me today that I really like pictures of my nieces and nephews. Above my desk at work are calendars. The current month is in its holder on my desk, but the old months are above my desk. (In case anyone is wondering, the little calendars were made by Jordan and Alison as a Christmas present last year.)

Last year, Sarah let me have a frame that she wasn't using. I filled it with pictures of my kids (at that time, we only had 6.) We now have 8, so I had to combine two. This frame is on the wall by my mirror where I put on my make-up and do my hair. Every morning I get to see my kids and their beautiful faces. I would like to thank my dad, brothers, brother-in-law, sister, and sister-in-laws for taking almost all of these great pictures which I enjoy so much.

On a side note, I wouldn't say no to a birthday or Christmas gift of a frame with 8-12 spots for pictures. (Too obvious?) :)

Nichols Park

Fall is coming. I love the leaves when they change.

Sidney in the woods.

A little hut in the middle of the woods.

The culvert that brings water from the mountains under Highway 89. We considered going in but there were spiders in there.

Words of wisdom by the culvert. The real question is: what has the world been connected to?

Sunday in the outdoors

On Sunday I was awakened by Lauren jumping on my bed. She told me, in her sweet voice, to come downstairs for breakfast. I went downstairs and had a great breakfast with my extended family (minus Josh and his family.) My parents really outdid themselves with fruit, omelets, sweet rolls, peach crisp, muffins, and bacon. We watched Conference, with most of the kids playing downstairs. Lauren, Wyatt, and Isaac had lots of fun playing downstairs on the slide and with the toy kitchen. After Conference, Jen, John, and Lauren went home while the rest of us went to Nichols Park so that Jeremy took pictures of Jordan, Alison, Isaac, and Aaron. I did my part by making Isaac laugh by pretending to sniff, almost eat, and be totally grossed out by a rotting nut I found on the ground. Afterwards, Sidney and I explored the ravine (or whatever it is called.) We took lots of pictures and had fun talking about the water cycle, deer, and life in general. After a phone call from her Dad telling us it was time to end the adventure, we headed back. Jordan found us after a while and graciously helped Sidney up the steep slope. Jordan and Alison took their kids home to take a nap and Sidney and I played on the playground for a little while. Eventually we returned to Mom and Dad's house, where I consumed yet another sweet roll and thought about heading home. We watched the last of Conference, then Aaron woke up. He is such a cute boy. He was especially cute when he was trying to take his father's glasses off his head while all of them were on the couch. I stayed too late talking to them, then I drove home. I took a quick shower, then went off to Hayleigh's blessing. I missed the actual blessing but stayed to eat and talk with Diane, Mom, Dad, Sarah, and Heather's great-grandpa. Afterwards, I went home to unpack and realized that I had left all of my toiletries in Kaysville. Luckily, I had a travel toothbrush and toothpaste at home. I watched Brothers and Sisters on tv, then got ready for bed. I wasn't very tired until I started thinking about what I needed to accomplish at work the next day. Suddenly I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open. Oh well, such is life. The pictures from the park are in the next blog post.

Rainy Saturdays aren't so bad

On Saturday I drove up to Mom and Dad's house. The rain was pouring down so I had the fun experience of hydroplaning twice. I got a late start and didn't end up leaving until the end of the first session of General Conference. By the time I got there, Tanner had gone down for his nap so I regaled my parents with stories from work and my life. Tanner woke up, we played a little, then Josh and Brooke came home from the hospital. I couldn't believe how great Brooke looked after having a c-section. They let me hold Ava, who was sleeping soundly. She is so darling. It is always strange to hold a newborn since they are so small and generally are asleep. I love the way that they curl into a ball and snuggle into you. Anyway, after a diaper change, Josh, Brooke, Tanner, and Ava were off. I listened to General Conference while I was on the computer, then Mom and I went to dinner at Crown Burger while Dad went to the Priesthood Session. It was nice to talk with Mom about everything. At night, Mom taught me how to make cinnamon rolls and I stayed up a little too late.

Welcome baby Ava!

I would like to announce the birth of my newest niece. Ava June was born on Wednesday morning. She weighed 6 lbs and 14 oz and was 19 inches long. While I haven't seen her in person, the pictures show a dark-haired beautiful baby. I can't wait to see her. Congratulations to Brooke, Josh, and Tanner.

911 fun (it's a long story)

Tuesday was a stressful day at work. Since I took Friday off, I was playing catch-up after staying late on Monday night. After 5pm I went upstairs to talk to Emily, and discuss a new wrinkle in the sales department. After I came downstairs, I sent an e-mail and printed off a piece of paper. After going over to the printer, the next thing I remember is laying on a stretcher in an ambulance. For an explanation of what happened, I actually had to talk to Ben, the Facilities Manager. Here was his basic explanation:

Ben was looking for me because he wanted me to send an e-mail. He passed by the HR area but didn't see me. Then a sales manager, Patrick, came in with some paperwork and found me on the floor. Apparently I was sitting upright but immersed in a cold sweat and complaining of chest pain. I then fainted. They stretched me out so I was laying flat. Ben called 911 and members of IT came out to help. Because Ben's phone wouldn't get reception inside the HR area, he went out by the door. More than one person formed a line from me to Ben so that he could relay information to the 911 operator. Someone said that I wasn't breathing although I don't know if that's true. I was told that I then gasped for air and when wheezed. By the time the EMT guys came, I had regained conciousness although I don't remember that. I apparently told them to call my roommate and cousin, Sarah. I also apprently told someone to lock the HR area and make sure the door was closed. I don't really remember any of that.

When I came back to the world, I started making conversation with the EMT guys while they drew blood and hooked up an IV. My chest really, really hurt and I couldn't feel my legs, feet, arms, hands, and my face. As a precaution, they gave me Asprin, which tasted like rancid Tang. They took me to the hospital in Provo. They eventually took me in a room that was decorated in a Finding Nemo theme. They ran some tests including a EKG and an X-Ray. Sarah and Aunt Diane met me at the hospital. They had called my parents, who I then talked to over the phone. After about an hour and a half, I finally regained feeling in my legs, but not my feet. I also could feel my hands unless I raised them at all. At that point, they would loose feeling again. They cleared my chest, which felt much better after two hours. Eventually they released me, with the words that I should probably start doing yoga or meditation. Apparently stress, exhaustion, and a panic attack is enough to lay me out for the night. My parents eventually took me home, after a quick meal. I went to bed after talking to Sarah for a few minutes. I woke once, at about 3am. That's when I realized that I had fallen asleep with my light on. I slept until about 2:30pm, when I woke up I had some food, took a shower, and then decided to run some errands. I went to the bank and post office, then to work to make sure it hadn't blown up without me. Everyone was pretty worried about me (it's nice to know that I'm loved) and I only stayed a little while. Since then, Sarah and I have been watching episodes of Bones. We also watched the season debut of Private Practice.

Anyway, I'm feeling better although I am still a little tired. As a side note, Prosper sent me some great flowers (see picture above.) Also, I received my acceptance letter to Utah Valley University.

The fridge

So today I wanted to marinate some chicken. I looked for Italian dressing in our fridge but all of them were expired. I started looking at all the salad dressings and noticed that most of them were from 2007 and 2006 so I threw them away. I ended up marinating it in spaghetti sauce.

I then got out the eggs to make some cornbread. On a whim, I tested them to see if they were still good. Turns out that all the eggs in both cartons were bad. I started pulling out containers of food and kept finding rotten and moldy food. After thinking about it, I realized that it's been over three months since I cleaned out the fridge. Every week I try to empty the garbage's, vacuum, and clean the upstairs bathroom but I totally forgot about the fridge. Anyway, by the time I was done, I had thrown away a fourth of everything in our fridge. I didn't actually end up making corn bread. (Maybe next weekend.) Here's an example of what I found:

I would encourage everyone to take a look in your fridge and see what's growing. You never know what exciting things you'll find.

Grandma's Enchanted Yard

What do you think? It kind of reminds me of The Secret Garden, halfway through the transformation.

Ready for triplet 2-year-olds? Probably not.

First, I would like to tip my hats to all the parents out there. How people can keep up with two-year-olds is beyond me. I'm tired just thinking about this weekend. On Thursday I left the office early and drove to Salt Lake. I met Mom, Dad, Jen, John, and Lauren at Alfornos. We had an excellent meal with mediocre service. Afterwards, I took Lauren to Mom and Dad's house while the other adults went to Pioneer Theater. Lauren cried a little when she realized that Mommy and Daddy weren't coming home with her, but she soon brightened up when we sang Do Re Mi. We ran around the house and she finally collapsed at 8:30pm. She ended up sleeping late the next morning. Mom brought her down to wake me up and we then went up to wait for Dad to finish making scones. Then Alison, Isaac, Aaron, Britnie, and Wyatt came over. Mom, Jen, Alison, and Britnie canned peaches and tomatoes while Dad and I wrangled the kids in the yard.

After a lot of running and several games of hide and go seek, Dad and I decided that it would be fun to to take the three kids to the fire station. Lauren was a little scared of the trucks up close but eventually warmed up to them. Isaac and Wyatt had a great time sitting in the fire truck. Wyatt made the fireman pretty nervous since he was reaching for all the buttons. The kids had a great time looking and touching the fire trucks. When they discovered that their yells were louder because of the acoustics, we realized it was time to leave. Before we left, one of the firemen gave all the kids stickers. After the fire station, I pulled Isaac, Wyatt, and Lauren to the park in the wagon. We got a quick drink at the Library, then played at the park until Mom called. She reminded me that the kids needed lunch and naps. We went home and fed the kids. After naps for Isaac and Lauren (Wyatt wouldn't even try,) we had hamburgers and milkshakes. Jeremy was able to take a dinner break and join us. All the kids had fun and they probably slept pretty well that night. By 9pm everyone was gone and I was exhausted. I can't believe how tired I was running after Wyatt, Isaac, and Lauren. I was in bed by 10:30pm and slept until 10am on Saturday.

Dad woke me up Saturday morning and we went to take Grandma Johnsen to lunch. We went to Plates and Palates in Bountiful. Afterwards, he mowed the lawn and I watered her pots and walked around the yard. I've always loved the enchanted look of Grandma's yard. I couldn't help but think how the kids would love running around and in the ivy and up the hill to the tool shed. I took some pictures of her yard and will show them in the next blog post. After returning from Grandma's house, I decided I should think about going home. On the way home I took Legacy Parkway. It was a nice detour off I-15. I also stopped by OfficeMax to buy a USB memory stick, the post office, and the grocery store for milk. It was great to see all the kids (minus Tanner) this weekend and I can't wait to see everyone again. Once again, hats off to any parents who run after little children every day.

With my eyes closed

Walking with your eyes closed can be seen in two ways: having faith in being led or being really tired. On Monday morning, I was walking down the hallway when I closed my eyes. I was really tired and I thought that I could easily walk a few steps with my eyes closed. I was incorrect. I stepped off my shoe, tumbled, and fell. I landed on my right knee and and left hand. I went all the way down. I was lucky enough to only have one witness to this sad mishap, an employee of the company that we share the building with. He asked if I was ok. I replied that the only thing that was really hurt was my pride. As I sat up (in a skirt no less,) my co-worker came around the corner. She laughed and asked if I was ok. I replied that I was, but that I really enjoyed the perspective from the floor and would stay there a while. All in all, an interesting experience. My knee was a little skinned and I ended up with a small bruise on my hand and a slightly sore shoulder. I would recommend that everyone walk with their eyes open.

On another note, I have applied to attend Utah Valley University and hope to being accepted and enrolled for the Spring 2009 semester. I will probably only be able to go to one evening class a semester or do two internet classes because of work. We'll see. It is a leap of faith because I know it's what the Lord wants me to do, but I'm unsure of how I'll do. I guess that's where faith comes in.

Yeah for family!

Ok, so it's no secret that I love my family. I especially love my nieces and nephews. So, when I was able to go home for Sunday dinner, I was extremely excited. The fun began with helping my mother cook. Then, the kids started to arrive (with their parents in tow.) It was great. As you can see, we had lots of fun.

Tanner didn't know what to make of me for the first little while. It had obviously been too long since I saw him.I actually read like this too. I'm glad Sid likes to read and sing.

Lauren was really excited to eat her chocolate dessert.

Wyatt liked the cake too.

It was funny to see how Wyatt and Lauren liked the musical birthday cards that I got for Mom and Jeremy. (Oh right; we were celebrating birthdays, not me getting to see everyone.) I can't wait until this coming weekend, when I will get to see my family again. On Thursday night, I will be able to babysit Lauren while her parents and mine go to a play.

Tagged again

Lindsey tagged me with this meme so here goes:

4 places I go over and over
Work
Grocery store
Library
Home

4 places I like to eat
Bombay House
Macaroni Grill
Mimi's Cafe
Shoots

4 places I would like to be right now
In bed-sleeping
In a big comfy chair-reading
In the arms of someone I love
At the library

4 tv shows I like
CSI: NY
Grey's Anatomy
How I Met Your Mother
Life

3 joys
My nieces and nephews
Finishing a long project and know it was done well
Chocolate

3 fears
Snakes
Dying of dehydration
The death of a loved one

3 goals
To go back to school
To get married
To always make sure I think before I speak

3 obsessions
Books
Chocolate
Checking my e-mail and/or blogs once a day

3 surprising facts
I'm self conscience about the ridges on my fingernails
I have tried to figure out what I would do in every possible hostage situation should I be in one
There are 300 species of turtles alive today (none of which I own)

Work barbecue

On Thursday we had a company barbecue at the Corporate office. It was fun, but it is always a lot of work for the HR and Facilities departments. Erin and Ben did most of the prep work and Travis and Bradley did the cooking. Sadly, I was in charge of small talk and clean-up. I actually left after the food was set up and went back to work while people were waiting for their food. As must as I love my co-workers, I couldn't justify making small talk when I had 40 e-mails waiting. I came back a half an hour later and helped clean up. It was interesting to see my boss standing at a grill in a baseball hat (note the picture.) I wish we could have had a bigger grill but such is life. I hope we do more in the future.

TV shows

I was talking to someone about tv today and I realized that most of the stuff on tv isn't worth watching. That being said, there are a couple of shows that I like to watch. Here they are (along with the days they usually are seen on):

• How I met Your Mother (Monday)
• House (Tuesday)
• Fringe (Tuesday...I've only seen only episode but I like it so far)
• Pushing Daisies (Wednesday)
• Private Practice (Wednesday)
• CSI: NY (Wednesday)
• Grey's Anatomy (Thursday)
• The Office (Thursday)
• Life (Friday)
• Numb3rs (Friday)
• Cold Case (Sunday)

While this may seem like a lot of shows, please note that I don't feel that I must see each of these shows every week. I would like to, and at some point I may see the back episodes. What are your favorite tv shows?

Do I need a support group?

As I was cleaning my room yesterday, I noticed something. Let me show you:

Does anyone else see a disturbing pattern? I have four almost full bookcases in my room and still have the urge to buy more. All this, and I still manage to go to the library once or twice a week. Do I need a support group for this problem? On one hand, I haven't resorted to stealing or even debt to support my obsession. On the other hand, I am slowly running out of room to store my books. It is a quandary.

Friends from work

As much as I complain about work, I really have made some really good friends there. One of them left this week. Natasha worked for Prosper for almost two years as the Executive Assistant. She was a wonder-woman; working miracles for the Executive Committee on a daily and weekly basis. On Thursday, Emily, Sherri, and I took Natasha out to lunch to say goodbye. I then took a big card around for members of the company to sign. It was hard to say goodbye on Friday. The two things that make me feel a little better is knowing that she is going to a great new job and that I will be able to contact her via phone and e-mail.
Another friend from work, Lindsey, had her birthday party on Saturday night. It was lot of fun. I met a couple of nice new people, talked with some people from work, and had some great food. The funniest part was when we tried to break open a pinata. It kept falling down from the balcony and then lost it's head. I can't believe how tough it was. Thanks for inviting me Lindsey! (I can't believe I forgot to take my camera to your party.)
My friends at work make my life so much easier. They listen to my problems and I listen to theirs. We share jokes, frustrations, food, and a building for 8-10 hours a day. Thanks guys.

Calls from Kids

I have had two great experiences with the phone in the past two days. On Wednesday, I answered my phone to find myself talking to Wyatt. While I didn't understand all that he said, I did understand my name and that he was a Nana's house. He also told me that his mom and dad were at work and that he liked Isaac. He talked a little more about being at Nana's house and then abruptly hung up. Luckily, Mom warned me about that an abrupt hang up might happen so I didn't call back to make sure that he was ok. My co-workers were looking at me like I was insane. When I told them it was my 2 and 1/2 year old nephew, they nodded understandingly. (They know how much I love my kids.) I couldn't stop smiling.

Today I heard my cell phone vibrate, which is a rare occurance when it is in my purse, which is kept in my desk. I answered it to find my sister and her daughter on the phone. What a treat to hear Lauren talk about riding a "horsey" at the fair and hear her say "chocolate milk." When she said my name and that she loved me, I misted up. I had a stupid grin on my face for the next hour, which was commented on by more than one person at work. It's amazing how the sweet voice of a child that you love can lift your heart. I am one lucky aunt. I can't wait to get together with my family to celebrate September birthdays.

Fried peanut butter sandwich....yum

On Friday night I left work at a reasonable hour and went to Salt Lake to the Utah State Fair with Angie, Alisha, Tiffany, Sarah, Alexandra, and Tiffany's boyfriend (sorry; I can't remember his name.) The fair was a lot of fun but had a touch of tragedy to it. I discovered that the battery for my camera had died and was unable to take any pictures. While it wouldn't be a tragedy for most people; it was for me.
I'm actually surprised that I didn't die from a massive heart attack from all the fried food that I ate. It was excellent. I had heard on the radio that there were deep fried peanut butter and jam sandwiches at the fair. I like deep fried food and I like peanut butter and jam sandwiches. After a brief group search, we finally found the stand. I bought a fried sandwich and a fried Twinkie. The sandwich was amazing. I found a picture of it online but it doesn't really do it justice. I would highly recommend it to anyone. The combination of the warm fried bread and melted peanut butter was amazing. I actually wished that there wasn't any jam in there. Once again; it was awesome. The Twinkie, however, was a huge disappointment. It actually was pretty disgusting. All in all, I had a fried peanut butter and jam sandwich, half of a fried Twinkie, a cup of ice cream, part of Sarah's Navajo taco, and a few bites of a funnel cake. By the end of the night, I was full but happy. We saw a lot of art, which included a very large statue made completely of butter. I bought a cute wrap skirt at one of the boothes and we didn't get home until past 11pm. I hope you all get a chance to go to the fair (it goes until Sept. 14th.)

Monkey Portraits

Last week I read, or rather looked at, an awesome book. It is called Monkey Portraits by Jill Greenberg. Jill, a photographer, decided to take portraits of various primates. Many of the monkey's that are used in her book have also been featured in movies or tv. Other than the foreward, there is very little text in the book. I was struck not only by the clarity and lighting in the pictures but by the humanistic expressions on the monkeys. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend taking a look at this book.

Poll results and a thought

First, I would like to thank everyone for voting. Here are the results:

Book reviews: 8
Stories from work: 3
Memes: 1
Stores from my life: 13
Pictures: 12
Polls: 2

From this I can assume that people are actually interested in my life and that I need to take more pictures. While I am still reading, it didn't really occurr to me to discuss the books and what I like about them. I will endeavour to do as my readers wish (but I can't promise anything.)

On another note, I was thinking about what makes me special recently. (No, it wasn't an exercise in ego-boosting.) Someone posed the question of what would be interesting about a biography about me. I think there are two things that make me interesting: my dreams and my personality. My dreams tend to be vivid and I usually remember one or two a night. Personality wise, I think my blunt honesty and quirky humor is something to be loved (or at least something to smile and shake your head at.) While my personality is fused into my blog entries, my dreams are not. I'm wondering if my readers would be interested in occasionally reading what I'm dreaming about. What do you think?

Seeing family (and a museum)

Today I got the chance to spend some time with Alison, Aaron, and Isaac at the Springville Museum of Art. To be honest, I found out that Alison and her Mom were coming down to Utah County by accident and managed to invite myself along. I'm not proud of it, but it remains a fact. After a quick trip to the library, I drove to Springville. Isaac and I spent quality time in the gift shop looking at fake ice cream magnets. It was pretty funny to see him making a joke about licking a plastic ice cream cone. He so enjoyed my laughter that he laughed himself, and then made the joke five or six more times. Isaac and I also entered a drawing to win a free quilt. (As a side note, I also entered a few of my family members into the drawing as well. If anyone gets a call saying they won a quilt from the Springville Museum of Art, it's my fault.) I wrote on the papers and folded them and Isaac put the papers in the container. Isaac was full of energy today. His zest for life is astounding and his ability to constantly move makes me jealous. As usual, Aaron was as cute as ever. He is quite the wiggle-bug.

The museum was having an exhibit on quilts. They were pretty impressive. I did notice that two quilts were made by a neighbor of my parents. I always knew that Mary Tibbitts was a quilter, but I had no idea the true talent she possessed. I spent two glorious hours in the presence of beloved family members. It ended with Issac showing us the statue of St. Francis of Assisi outside. In fact, he even sat in the statue's lap and put something in his hand for him to read. It was pretty cute.

It seems like forever since I've spent time with any of my siblings or nieces and nephews. It's only been a month since I've seen everyone but I miss them. I'm so glad that Alison and her mom let me tag along for the afternoon.

Dirtball of doom

When we turned the air conditioner on, I noticed something in one of the front room ceiling vents. Sarah and I took the vent cover off and the following dropped onto the floor:

Frightening? Yes. It freaked me out a little so the next night I started prying other vents open. All the vents in the ceilings and walls of our place are painted over so I used a razor blade, screwdriver, and a hammer. They were all pretty gross inside but there were no other dirtballs. I can't help but wonder what else is in our vents that I can't reach. I plan to take the vent in my bedroom off next and then the one in the bathroom.

Anyway, just in case everyone thinks that I am exagerating at the size, here is a picture of it next to a pair of sissors.

A poll

So, like my brother, I am interested in what people think. I have a poll on my blog so that I might better serve my readers. If you would be so kind as to participate, I will do my best to be considerate of the wants and needs of others. On another note, the air conditioning is working at my place again. The only problem is that I think we need to clean the ducts. Both Sarah and I woke up with horrible allergies this morning. When I slept with the window open and the wind blowing, I wasn't as stuffed up. One night of running the air conditioning drove my nose and lungs crazy. Hmmm, I think I need to take all the vents out and vacuum.

A hasty heart and wet lungs

Yesterday was not a good day for me at work. It started out well but ended in a mess. I was given a spreadsheet of some missing paperwork by a member of the Executive Committee. Being the proactive person that I am, I immediately started e-mailing managers and directors for the missing paperwork. Sadly, most of the managers and directors that I e-mailed had no idea what I was talking about. I got seven e-mails, three phone calls, and a personal visit from a confused manager. It turns out that my zealous nature had not given some Executive Committee members time to talk to their directors and managers about what needed to be done. I was concerned about what the person who originally had given me the project would think since some of the managers were pretty unhappy with me and was kind of freaking out by the end of the day.

When I arrived home, I told Sarah the problems of the day. Until late in the day, I had forgotten that I had tickets to a play the The Hale Centre Theater in Orem. Sarah and I went and had a pretty good time. Actually, Sarah enjoyed the whole play while I enjoyed it until half way through the second half.

First, a brief explanation of the play: The Hasty Heart takes place in 1945 in a British military hospital in Burma. There was a wide variety of accents including Scottish, Irish, English, Australian, Georgian (as in the state,) and a New Zealander. It reminded me a little of MASH but sweeter. It was a good play and I would highly recommend it. I plan to rent the movie from the library as soon as it comes in.

Now that the play has been explained, let me continue with my story. I bought a bottle of water during the intermission. Halfway through the second act I took a big swig of water just as a very funny line was said. I started to laugh, tried to stop, and proceeded to spit half the water out while swallowing the other half (although it helps to swallow water into your stomach and not your lungs.) I immediately gagged and coughed. Being the ever polite person I am, I tried to do so quietly. For a minute, I couldn't breathe and panicked. At every audience laugh, I coughed loudly so I could clear my lungs. I then coughed most of the night and didn't get much sleep. By the time I awoke from a very interrupted sleep, my throat and chest hurt. I wouldn't recommend trying to drown yourself buy inhaling water at a play.

At work today, I continued my coughing spree. At this point it hurts to breathe, but I seem to be coughing less and am hopeful for a complete recovery by tomorrow morning. I'm told that breathing dry, warm air will help. That, at least, can be done in my house since the air conditioning is still at a standstill. The parts have been ordered though, and it isn't as bad as I might lead my readers to believe. I also watched the news last night and the trusty weatherman assured both Sarah and I that this weekend would be cooler than this past week. Anyway, thus end the story.

Warning: a religious post

In regards to the title, I thought I should give a warning to any blog readers that have no desire to read about religion. This is about what happened at church today. In Sacrament Meeting, Jerica talked about making sacrifices for the Lord. It was an interesting talk since I watched the movie Legacy last night. While I am not asked to cross a prairie like the main character in Legacy, I am asked to have a contrite spirit and obey the Lord's commandments. I have to wonder which is harder, to physically endure or to resist temptation and choose the right in this modern age. There was a beautiful flute/piano duet, followed by a member of the high counsel who spoke on testimonies.

In Sunday school, our class had a discussion about the Millennium. For those who are unaware, the Millennium is the period of time after Christ returns to the Earth. It can be hard to discuss something that is going to happen in the future. The general idea is there, but the specifics are not. For example, we are taught that once the Millennium begins, disease will not plague the human race. Does this mean that those who are suffering from disease, even terminal ones, will be automatically cured when Christ comes? Also, in Doctrine and Covenants 101:29, it says that we will have no sorrow. But we are taught that without sorrow, we can't really experience joy. Hmm; it's an interesting dilemma. Luckily, I don't have to worry about the details of Millennium. I know that once I die, my questions can be answered.

Anyway, the Relief Society lesson was a hard one. It was #14 in the Joseph Smith manual which is entitled "Words of hope and consolation at the time of death." I was ok until the teacher began talking about children who have died. I couldn't sit and listen with memories of Caleb pressing against my skull. While the pain lessens through the years, I don't think I will every be able to hear a lesson like that without feeling a little pain. I took a little walk to clear my head and then returned to Relief Society.

All in all, I really like going to church. When I was younger, I will admit that I went because my parents took me. But I go now for myself. Even when Sarah isn't here and no one would judge me, I still go because it make me feel good. What I learn at church makes me a better person. Thus ends my little soapbox sermon for the day. I wish you all a good Sunday.

Hello from the center of the sun

Ok, so it hasn't been quite that hot in my house lately, but it's been a little warmer than usual. While Sarah and I were watching the Olympics on Tuesday night, the air conditioning went off. We could hear the motor running but no cool air was coming out of the vents. Sarah turned down the temperature but nothing happened. After a call to her parents, she checked the air filter. It was almost a solid mass. It isn't surprising since we had many fans in here two weeks ago to dry off the from the flood. Sarah changed the filter but still, the cursed monster gave no reply. After another call to her parents, it was hypothesised that it had frozen up and we had to wait for it to thaw. (For those of you who know anything about air conditioners, you will know what I mean. I don't have the technical terms to describe it.) Sarah went to sleep at her parents house and I stayed to guard the home front. It actually hasn't been so bad. I just open my bedroom window and Sarah's and let the cross breeze do it's thing. Between that and the fan, I actually got cold last night.
Aunt Diane and Uncle Larry came over last night to take a look. It turns out that there is probably something wrong with the motor and it will have to wait until at least Monday. Luckily, the weathermen say that it won't get above 85 this weekend so I am sitting pretty. Sarah will be staying at her parent's house so I will get to walk around in any state that strikes my fancy. Oh wait, did I say that? Whoops. ;)

On another subject, I am feeling almost 100% and work is going pretty well. I hope my few readers are also feeling well.

Olympic (and health) update

The last few days have been pretty good for Olympic watching. Between swimming, diving, and gymnastics, I'm probably not getting enough sleep. Sarah and I were both incredibly excited when the USA men won the Mens 4x100 relay in swimming. After all the trash talk from the French, it was awesome when we won. The US is killing it in the swimming events in this Olympics. The last time I checked, Michael Phelps has 3 goals and is in position for a few more. While I'm sure he is sick of the comparison, he really reminds me of watching Thorpe swim for Australia.
We also could barely take our eyes off the Men's Gymnastics team as they won the Bronze medal last night. We stayed up until almost midnight. After the loss of the Hamm brothers, a lot of people didn't expect the US to win a medal at all in this sport. I thought they were especially impressive on the high bar. While I love the US, I have to say the male Chinese gymnasts were amazing. On another note, we took all the medals in women's fencing.
As to my health, I'm feeling ok. My cough is almost gone and my runny nose is slowing down for now. I'm tired; but that could be because I stayed up watching the Olympics. Right now, Sarah and I are watching the Women's Synchro diving.

Watching the Olympics while sneezing (or not)

Right now I am watching the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. I always love the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I try to watch it every two years (both winter and summer.) Right now I have stopped sneezing. For the last week I have had a bad cold. It was so bad that I have been going into work late this week and leaving at a decent hour. I may get close to 40 hours instead of my usual 45-55. In fact, there's a chance that I may have only worked 39 hours. I can only hope that I feel much better tomorrow. If I don't, I won't be able to go up for the family dinner on Sunday to celebrate Jen's birthday. I plan to go to bed early, drink a lot of water and orange juice, and watch the Olympics tonight and tomorrow. I already feel better than I did yesterday and the day before.

I am really looking forward to the Olympics this year. While I like the actual sporting events, I am far more interested in the political and cultural coverage. The running of the Olympic torch alone has been fraught with controversy so it should be interesting. China is so different from the United States when it comes to politics, culture, and even ways of thinking. For the next 17 days, the west will meet the east. Who else is excited?

Sidney's baptism

On Saturday morning I arose early so I could drive up to Sidney's baptism. It makes me feel so old to know that I have a niece that is old enough to be getting baptized. Anyway, I drove up North and had a great time. Sidney looked beautiful and I couldn't have been more proud of her. I couldn't help but remember when she was born and how small she was. I loved babysitting her, singing to her, and making her laugh. Anyway, I teared up twice and made an attempt at giving a short talk on the Holy Ghost. Sidney was baptized first of the three kids there for the occasion. After the two boys were baptized it was time for Sidney to be confirmed. It was wonderful; luckily, the fire alarm didn't go off until after her confirmation. Apparently a small child not related to us pulled the alarm.
After the confusion, we all went to Sidney's house for food. All the kids ran around and the adults watched the chaos. After the party, Sid, Wyatt, Taylor, and Easton went to the Treehouse Museum. I was so exhausted that I didn't join them. Instead, I went to my parents house to rest. Two hours later I got a phone call from a friend and headed down to Orem. By the time I got to Lehi, my plans were canceled. I spent the night shopping, cleaning, reading, and surfing the Internet. All in all, it was a good day (the best part being Sidney of course.)

Carpet padding

Yeah! We now have carpet padding and our front room is back to normal. Now if I could just get over my deep nagging feeling that I need to shampoo the carpets