A slacker (sort of)

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
  

Busy, busy girl

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.) :)

An Owlz game

Tonight, I went to the Owlz game with Jen R, Angie, and Alisha. It was a lot of fun even though the Owlz lost. Afterwards we went to the Iceberg Drive-in.

Jen's wedding shower

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

IHOP

About two and a half years ago, my best friend and I started going to IHOP together on Tuesday nights. Faithfully, we would meet every week and discuss our lives and what was happening. Sometimes different people would join us but the core would always remain the same. Sometimes we would talk about how work was going or any other unimportant topic. Sometimes we would have deep discussions about life and where we wanted to end up. If either one of us was upset about something, we knew that we could go to IHOP on Tuesday and talk about it. Tonight was the last IHOP night. Because I'm moving to Orem, Ryan and I won't be meeting up every Tuesday from now on. It is a depressing thought. So tonight we ended how we started: just the two of us in a booth in Layton. When Ryan told the waitress it was our last night, I started to cry. The waitress was suprised since she has been working there for almost a year and remembers us each time. Her name is Jessica. Before she started serving us, one of our regular servers was Shawn. Our first regular server was Karen. Sometimes, she would sit down and talk to us. I have so many wonderful memories of sitting at IHOP at 9:30 at night and eating breakfast with friends. I have a feeling that when the next Tuesday comes around, I will shed a few tears in memory of a wonderful two and a half years eating with my best friend. Have I ever mentioned that I hate change?

Curtis is home!

After work on Thursday, I went down to the airport to welcome home a friend from Iraq. Curtis left in September and I have been praying for his safe return for months. Along with Ryan R., John, Ryan P., Kyle, Katie, Drew, and Doug, I welcomed home our conquering hero. His plane was almost an hour late. Luckily, we ate candy and drank soda pop to stay awake. I made friends with other people waiting for the plane, one of which took our picture once Curtis got off the plane. We were surprised because he left the plane in civilian clothes after an 11 hour layover in Minneapolis, MN. Because of the long layover, he was able to go to the Mall of America and buy some civilian clothes including the grey sweatshirt, jeans, and red shirt he was wearing. Curtis had been awake for two days after flying from Iraq to Qatar, then to Germany, Ireland, and then across the Atlantic Ocean to our grand country (I think I left out a stop or two, but I can't remember which ones.) After getting his lovely green duffel bags, we headed out to the parking lot. While almost everyone else took Curtis out to celebrate, I headed home because my nose was running and I had been sneezing all day. I am so excited Curtis is home safe and sound.

Party at Jen's house

On Saturday I headed off to work. Wow, the day before Christmas Eve has got to be the slowest day at libraries across the land. After work I went over to Jen's house for a get together. I got some great pictures of everyone. After munching on food and talking, those with kids had to leave. Brandon, Erin, Jen, and I ended up watching Elf. After Brandon left, the three of us girls watched episodes of Greys Anatomy and talking until 2 am. It was a lot of fun.


<--- Ben and his son Caleb

Lyns and Caleb ---->

Rayanne, Ryan, Boston, and Grant (the boys were very shy at first, but then warmed up to all of us scary grown-ups.)

Jen

Brandon
and Erin ----->

Boston and Grant blowing out candles

Ye long week...

Well, finals are over. Yeh!!! This past week has been insane. After a final on Tuesday, I went to work. I babysat Wyatt and Sidney on Wednesday because Mom went to Idaho to help with Grandma R. I don't know how mothers around the world do it. Attempting to entertain and feed to kids and get anything done is impossible. The only reason I managed to get dinner on the table is because I started it before Wyatt arrived at noon. I ended up making chicken crescent squares.
On Thursday I took my last final. I was one of the first ones done with my Victorian Lit test, which included a matching part, short answer, and essay. I hope being the first student done isn't a bad sign. I feel ok about it; not necessarily really good or bad. After my final, I went home, changed, and then drove to Provo for an interview at the Provo City Library. I had a hard time getting any feedback from the two women who interviewed me. After the 1/2 hour meeting, I drove the hour back to work and slaved away until 9pm. I was so tired after Thursday I went to bed early.
On Friday, Dad and I went to work at the cannery. We then went shopping and fielded phone calls from Grandma J, Mom, and Aunt Peggy. Dad took me to lunch at Tony Roma's after I got a phone call from the Provo Library asking me to come in for a second interview on Monday. I did some laundry and Jordan and Isaac came over for a little while. When it was time for Isaac to be fed, Jordan and I took him to see his Mom in Ogden. By the time Friday night was over, I was pretty tired.
On Saturday morning, Dad and I went to the temple and then to see Grandma J. at the hospital. She was still pretty upset that she hadn't been moved to the rehab center on Friday. According to a nurse, she had found Grandma on the floor of the bathroom the night before. Grandma doesn't remember anything about it. Apparently the nurse had given Grandma a sleeping pill and left her alone. Grandma then woke up and decided to go to the bathroom by herself. The nurse figures that Grandma fell asleep on the toilet and slid off. Nothing is broken or even bruised though. After a brief chat and blow-drying Grandma's hair, Dad got me home in time for me to get ready for work. I worked until 6, then went to Sherma's house for a party. All the old Kaysville City Library staff were there. It was nice to catch up with people I haven't seen in months. Erica is pregnant with her second child, Nikki is looking for a house, and Mike is getting ready to move away to college. Sadly, Karen, Jo, Eric, Hillary, and Kim couldn't make it. The food was wonderful. I got home at 10ish but ended up staying up much later on the computer. It was nice to know that Mom was finally home after a week of being in Idaho.
Sunday was a nice day of rest for all. Church went well with a Relief Society lesson on unity. The rest of church was equally as interesting, especially the three musical numbers from the choir. I had tithing settlement, then made dinner: pasta, marinated chicken, and salads. The pasta was way too spicy but the chicken turned out perfectly. It was strange on Sunday night to realize that this was the first weekend in months that I didn't have to study for a class on Monday. Dad helped me get the Christmas Tree up and put on the lights. I then decorated it. I decided to put some photos of the family on it and I think it turned out to have a simple and homemade look.
On Monday I had my second interview at the Provo City Library. It went well and the director along with two other librarian's seemed to like me. I went away with a positive feeling. I then picked up some food on the way to work, where we had perhaps the slowest Monday night ever. My co-workers demanded a recap of my interview and gave me their opinion's on the situation. After work I went out to IHOP with Ryan, who I hadn't seen in a while.
My Tuesday morning began with a phone call from the Provo City Library saying that I hadn't gotten the job. It ended up being a contest between me and two other people. Sadly, I didn't win out. I lay in bed thinking about what my next move would be when I heard someone enter the house. It turned out to be Jordan and Isaac. Jordan presented me with a belated birthday gift and then made me a wonderful lunch of pasta with red sauce made from scratch. I got to play with my darling nephew, talk with my wonderful brother, and forget my problems for a while. Without them being there, I suspect I would have sobbed. Anyway, after they left I took a shower and waited for my parents to come home. Dad came home late and almost immediately we left for Salt Lake to pick up Mom. I told Dad about not getting the job and started to cry. Thankfully he let me cry in silence and pretended not to notice. After picking up Mom, the three of us then met up with Jen, John, and Lauren for dinner. The food at Rinos was good although a little expensive. Mom, Dad, Jen, and John then went to see a play at Pioneer Theater while I babysat Lauren. Lauren and I read books, played with toys, and looked at the Christmas tree. Lauren touched the branches and needles but then wanted to eat it. We discussed it and decided that it wasn't a good idea. (Actually, I won out on the argument because I am the bigger of the two of us :) It was dinner time so I warmed her bottle and let Lauren eat her fill. Her night ended with pajamas, another book, and a song from her Aunt Jess. She was asleep by 8:20 pm and I watched a movie since I had left my book in the car. I had forgotten how much I like the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Driving home with Mom and Dad, I couldn't get Monday's interview out of my mind. It is strange to have such a wonderful interview and not get the job. I guess the person they chose must have been amazing. Anyway, it has been a while since I have had a week that has been this crazy. I am hoping this week will be a little less insane. Thus ends the week report.

Old siblings and friends

On Friday night I went over to Jordan and Alison's house to have some fun. Jordan fed us some wonderful pasta, we watched Practical Magic, and then were joined by Josh and Brooke. We played a fun game called Abstract. Brooke is getting that cute pregnant belly and Isaac was adorable (except for the brief moment that he spit up on me.)

On Saturday I got together with some old friends. In my first years of college I belonged to a sorority. Lamda Delta Sigma was a big part of my life. This group of people that also belonged are still important to me even though I don't get to see them very often. We met at Dave and Suzie's house. In attendance were the following: Dave, Suz, Jen (and her date Dan), Ryan, Jacq and Travis, Brit, Toffer and Michelle (and their two girls). We were hoping to see Hali and Marc but they were out of town. We ate, talked, played games, and had fun. While most people left by 11 pm, a couple of us ended up staying until 2 am. It was nice to see everyone.

A fun Friday

Well, it's official: I have had the funnest Friday ever. I slept in until 9:45 am. I picked up my cute niece, Sidney, at 11 am and we went to the Treehouse Museum. After some initial confusion about where it was, we finally arrived. The whole drive to Ogden was filled with "guess what's" by Sid. Her favorite conversation is that phrase. I find it adorable and did my Auntly duty by saying "what." We paid to get in and spent the next two hours running around. I think one of the coolest things about the museum is the huge tree in the middle. It has one flight of stairs in the middle of the trunk and another going around it. In all, I think I counted going up 30 flights of stairs. (I am paying for it today; ouch!) We went to the different stations that included: the medical clinic, the store, the school house, the native American section, the music area, the medieval area, the many different country areas, the Utah area, the American history area, and the dinosaur area. I took a few pictures but Sid never kept still long enough for a good one of her. I guess I was too busy to take very many. She did manage to take one of me in the mock-oval office. After two hours we were hungry. We ended up at Wendy's, were Sid had a kids meal and I had a bacon burger. Yum. After wards, we went to Petsmart. Sid loves to go around and look at all the animals. The fish were interesting and I had to read what each one was. She took particular interest in the crabs, who had brightly painted shells. She also loved watching the hamsters and mice. The birds were also interesting. I managed to take a picture of her with the hamsters, where we spent at least 20 straight minutes. After stopping for bagels, I realized that it was time to take her home. I stayed and played with Wyatt for a few minutes while I talked to Britnie. I drove home to find Jordan, Alison, and Isaac. My cute nephew spit up on me twice. He did it with a smile on his face though. I got ready and rushed out the door with only a brief hello to Mom, who had just arrived home.
I picked up Ryan by his work and we ran to get food at Noodles and Co. in SL. Ryan and I had tickets to see "Thriller" performed by the Odyssey Dance Theatre. Even though parts of it were quite dark, it was still amazing. I would really recommend it. (No, I didn't take the picture, I got it from their website.) Afterwards, we went over to Bryan and Ryan's house for a little while. Ryan, Mikey, and I then went to Chilis for dessert. Our waiters was very odd, yet amusing. They were out of my favorite dessert, Chocolate Moulton Cake, so I settled for a chocolate chip brownie thing with ice cream. Afterwards we returned to Bryan and Ryan's for a little more fun before I drove Ryan to his car. (I finally got lawyer Ryan to let me take a picture of him, even if it was with a dog.) I got home at 12:30 am and slept well. I had so much fun on Friday. I am now ready to face any giant or problem. Today I got a haircut and have a Halloween party later. (I should probably finish my costume.)

The Luau

In my annoyance over the my last blog, I forgot to write about the Luau on Saturday night. After work I went home and relaxed a little. Then I went to a Luau sponsered by the Bair Canyon Branch. It was a lot of fun. The food was good, the professional dancers were amazing, the canoe races were exciting, and the limbo was a sight to behold.
I was out of the limbo contest by the second round. The finalists were one girl and two boys (pictures of all three are included.) It was amazing to see them move their bodies to get under that (eventual) three foot pole. The professional dance troop had a couple of the Branch members dance with them. Yes, it was an excellent time.

Over a week

Well, it has been over a week since I have posted. I guess that is what happens when your life gets busy. During the week, I went to school and work. On Thursday I raced from work up to Ogden to see Tricia's reception. She and Kim looked so happy and I wish them all the best. I got there in time to hug her, eat a piece of cake, and see them off although I still have their gift in my bedroom. On Friday, I went to dinner with Ryan and then to Barnes and Noble. There was an author and illustrator signing books. I bought a copy of their book and had it signed and the illustrator drew a caricature of me in the front. It was really cool. If any of you want to know, the book is May I have the first dance? by Sonja and Paul Linsley. They are a mother/son team. Ryan and I decided to make it an early night so I stopped by Albertsons to pick up some cough drops. While checking out, a guy from my high school days stopped me. It is strange how eight years can changed people. We looked familiar to each other but it took us a minute to figure out where we knew each other from. Jon and I ended up talking to each other for a half an hour in the parking lot.
On Saturday Mom, Dad, and I went to lunch with Josh and Brooke. Brooke and the baby are feeling well. It was nice to see them (and Josh.) Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble where Brooke and Mom bought a copy of May I have the first dance? and had it signed by the author/illustrator.

Sunday was a busy day. Church was interesting. Because of a directive by the Stake Presidency, young single adults of the Stake are now having their records automatically transfered to the singles ward. Because of this, there were three times the normal amount of people at church on Sunday. Sunday school was combined and taught by the Branch President. It was strange to see so many new faces. Hmm, new dating material. Oh wait, I mean new people to befriend. After church I went to a get together of the Laser/Reid clans to celebrate the blessing of Keaton. It was nice to see everyone and I got some good pictures of Haley, Stefanie, and Maureen Laser holding babies. After leaving there, I went to Lisa and Andy's house to celebrate the blessing of their twins. Braden and Ellie are darling and it was nice to see friends that I haven't seen for a while. Jacqueline is as funny as ever and I had a really interesting conversation with Suzy about mutual friends and how complicated our lives are. I hope to get together with some of them this weekend. Afterwards, I finally went home and got to talk to my parents for a little while.
On Monday, I went to school as usual. In Literary Criticism, we are reading The Merchant of Venice. In Victorian Lit, the class discussed the grumpiest critic ever: Ruskin, and Saint Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas Aquinas were the topic of discussion in the History of Christianity. After class, I went up to the student union to see a Jeopardy challenge between the Social Science teacher and students. The teachers won even after a huge deduction on one daily double challenge. From school, I went straight to work where it was a usual Monday. Sometimes we were running around, then a few moments of calm would desend. Tonight I am babysitting Lauren while Mom, Dad, Jen, and John go to a play. I haven't spent quality time with Lauren for at least a week so I am looking forward to it.

Thursday and Friday

On my way to visit a friend in West Kaysville, I noticed a lot of smoke coming from the mountainside to the north. I pulled over and took a picture. It turned out that a woman had decided to burn some dead debris and it got out of control. 400 acres and an arrest later, the fire was put out by firefighters and a lot of help from buckets of rain. I went to work on Thursday night and did homework after coming home.On Friday, I went to school amongst rain. Literary Criticism was its usual excitement. The discussion of "Jane Eyre" was finished in my Victorian Literature class. I love my teacher, Dr. Rogers. He has good insights and a good sense of humor. In my History of Christianity class we discussed the popular rise of hermits and the first monastery. For those interested, St. Anthony was the first famous hermit. The first man to build the first monastery was Pachomius, who lived from 292 - 348 AD.
After school I came home and did some reading for school. Alison dropped by with her darling son. She and Jordan left Isaac with Mom and I while they went to see a movie. Isaac and I read the paper together before he fell asleep. Mom made chicken pot pie (yummy) and Josh, Brooke, Jordan, Alison, and Emily (Alison's sister) joined us for dinner. I only ate a little since I knew that I would be going out to dinner with friends. Still raining, Ryan and I ventured out to Paces DairyAnn for food, then to John's to eat. Then John, Lawyer Ryan, Best Friend Ryan, and I went down to Bryan and Bald Ryan's house in John's car. (I think I know too many people named Ryan :) We stayed until a little after midnight but took a long time getting home because of the weather. There's nothing like hyroplaning on the Interstate to really get your blood pumping. I was glad that I wasn't driving. Ryan really kept his cool and got us home safe. All in all; a good night.

The weekend

Friday started out with another exciting round of classes. In Literary Criticism, we discussed poetry terms. In Victorian Lit we continued with our discussion of "Jane Eyre." According to my teacher, "Jane is Harry Potter." Some of the members of the class decided that this saying is going to be our catch-phrase for the semester. What the teacher meant is that the similarities in being an orphan, who is treated horribly by relations, and then goes to school is very strong. The Victorian novel is a prime example of "uppity teens," which are still written about today (think David Copperfield, Elizabeth Bennet, etc.)
In my History is Christianity class, we had a class discussion about Plato's influence on the writings of the early Christians. While they didn't live in the same time period, the idea of logic was still important when the early Christians (think 150 AD) were trying to figure out doctorine.
Ryan and I started Friday night by visiting his new nephew at the hospital. Steven and Stefanie are the parents of a darling boy named Keaton Laser Reid. Born on Thursday, he weighed 7 lb, 11 oz. I took a picture of he and his uncle. Afterwards, we went to a birthday party for Big Kyle. We started the celebration for my cute Air Force friend by eating at Iggy's in Layton. Eating together are (from the left side) Ryan, Bree, Corey and his wife, Kyle, lawyer Ryan, John, Katie, Tanya, Caleb, and I. Afterwards, we went to his apartment for cake and presents. Then we went out for some more fun. A couple of friends from Salt Lake didn't make it up and were missed. When I got home, the power was out. It was a planned outage because the city was working on the power grid west of I-15.
On Saturday, we all got ready for a visit from Aunt Linda and Uncle David. They had flown in late on Thursday night. I love these relatives but I don't get to see them that often. A big family dinner followed with some interuptions from some cute babies. We were not only celebrating a visit from Aunt Linda and Uncle David, but Jeremy's birthday. For his birthday, I decided to give him the gift of time. I decided to babysit Sid and Wy on a Saturday to let their parents take an evening for themselves. A gift for my brother, although I think that it was a little selfish of me. I love spending time with my nieces and nephews.

Seeing friends

It's always nice to see friends that you don't get to see all the time. After work on Wednesday, I went to see Brittany for her birthday. My usual Barnes and Noble money card was her gift because she and I are both readers. Spencer, who looks like the lead singer of Rascal Flatts, was there with a funny shirt on. He was exploring the wonders of Brit's new laptop. Boys are so funny with electronic toys. When I looked at the picture of the two of them, I thought they either looked like cousins or a romantic couple. I couldn't decide.On Thursday night I studied for hours at the library, an odious chore, and then met up with some friends for sushi. I haven't had sushi or seen Aubri and Chris for months. Aubri and Chris were married two years ago and I don't see them very often these days. Strange how you can live a few miles apart but not see each other on a regular basis. They are moving to Texas in late October or early November. Brittany came in with her family when our meal was ending. It was strange to see my two friends try to ignore each other. Once upon a time they might have been friends, but too much drama has happened. Oh well, such is life. I guess not everyone is meant to be friends; only civil acquaintances. Anyway, it was nice to see my friends this week. I should be getting to bed so I can be bright and chipper for school tomorrow morning.