Thriller 2009

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

Friday and a missing roommate

I had a crazy day at work on Friday. On the usual Friday before new employee orientation, Joee and I would usually make sure all the paperwork was in order and call everyone to remind them about their 9 am meeting time. This Friday was quite a different story. Joee was on a business trip to Idaho, so I had to prepare for orientation alone. The owner of the company came to the HR department and said that eight new people would be starting on Monday; eight salespeople who had never filled out paperwork or had their background checks done. I had to go in and give a small speech about the paperwork. After a very long day at work, I went up to Salt Lake for dinner at Chili's with Ryan, John, Curtis, and lawyer Ryan. For Ryan's birthday, which was the next day, I got him a movie and card. Afterwards, we all went to Ryan and Bryan's house to meet with friends. I had a great conversation with bald Ryan about life and death and missing people. When I got home, Sarah was just starting to pack for her trip to Europe. Camille was out with Dave. At this point, I hadn't seen her for a day or two. I went to bed and read a little more of my book, Bel Canto. Jen recommended it to me. So far, it is really interesting. The next morning, I awoke at 6:15 am to take Sarah over to her parents house so that they could go to the airport. Diane and Larry gave me last minute instructions on how to care for Dexter, their old boxer. Apparently, his health is not good. He has a thyroid condition and liver problems. He has lost a lot of hair on his back. For the next two week it is my job to keep him fed, watered, and active. Thus started my Saturday. I miss Sarah already.

Birthday party

On Friday night I headed up to Salt Lake City to attend a birthday party. First, Ryan and I went to dinner at Paradise Bakery. May I suggest this wonderful place to anyone who is in the Sugarhouse area. It is on 21st south. I had a great sandwich/salad combo and an amazing brownie for dessert. After dinner we stopped by Wes' house to wish him a happy birthday (I don't know him that well.) Afterwards we went over to Brian's house where Ryan P. was celebrating his 30th birthday. I got him a DVD of older cartoons and a lovely card. The following pictures are of Ryan R., my best friend, with Dozer the dog in the foreground, and Ryan P. and Curtis talking about some interesting subject. I ended up staying much longer than I should have. I didn't get home until 1:15 am, where I was met by Dave and Camille watching tv. Sarah is still on a business trip. I miss her.

Isaac, Hillary Hahn, Ryan, and church

On Friday morning, Jordan and Alison dropped Isaac off at my apartment. It was my job to watch and play with him while Jordan and Alison went to the viewing and funeral of her grandfather. For over two hours, we talked, laughed, and played. He especially liked to talk to, and about, some plastic dinosaurs that we keep at the apartment for just such occasions. We also had fun getting the mail out of the mailbox. It made a lot of noise when Isaac repeatedly hit it. Jordan came and picked him up at about 12:30. I then took a shower, did some housework, and wrote part of a short story. At 4:30 pm I picked up Camille from work and we both got ready to go into Salt Lake City. Camille had found out about a concert at Symphony Hall. Hillary Hahn is a thirty-something violinist who has an amazing talent. Along with the orchestra led by Keith Lockhart, Ms. Hahn played music composed by Jean Sibelius. The music was dark, moving, and passionate. It was a great evening, and Camille's brother drove down from BYU-Idaho to join us. Even after stopping to shop on our way home, we still beat Sarah home.
On Saturday, I took Camille to the mall to get her ears pierced. Afterwards we went to the library, then home to watch a video based on a book by L.M. Montgomery titled Jane of Lantern Hill. I started a new blanket while we watched. At night, Ryan came down from Davis County and we went to dinner and hung out for a while. It was nice to see him since it had been a couple of weeks since we had seen each other. He didn't stay too long though; I had a headache and he was tired.
On Sunday morning, Camille and I got up and ate breakfast. As I was getting ready I happened to look at my cell phone. While my alarm clock read 10:15 am, my cell phone read 11:15 am. That's right, we both forgot about the time change for daylight savings. This means that I was late to church (which starts at 11 am.) Camille stayed home because she wasn't feeling well. Sarah left this morning for a business trip to Las Vegas. It will be strange to have her gone for a week. The part of church I was there for was excellent. I received a new calling: ward librarian. The Relief Society lesson was about repentance and forgiveness. After church, one of our home teachers came over to give Camille a blessing. The three of us ended up talking for almost two hours. Joe is a nice, well-spoken man who I can see becoming a good friend to both Camille and I.
Thus ends my weekend update. I hope all who read this update are doing well. Another week stretches out in front of me. Who knows what interesting things will happened this week.

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?

Wednesday through Saturday

On Wednesday, there was a going away party for me, Judy, and Suzanne. Suzanne is going to another branch to be a Children's Librarian, a job that I envy. I love childrens and young adult books and would kill for this job. Sadly, without a degree, I would never even be considered for the job despite my knowledge and experience. Such is life. Suzanne will do a great job. She is animated and enthusiastic. Judy has taken a part time job at Headquarters in the processing department. She is very detail oriented and knowledgeable and will be wonderful. Both of these great women will be missed horribly at Syracuse. I have another week of work before I leave for Orem. I can't help feeling bad for my boss Deanna. She has to find the replacements for three people and hire a new circulation person. Yuck; that is a lot of interviews. Anyway, at the going away party we had cake, ice cream, cookies, chips, and salsa. Wednesday was Judy's last day and Thursday was Suzanne's last day. Despite the sadness of the occassion, the cake was excellent and I did manage to get good pictures of both Deanna and Judy.
On Friday I had an interview for a secretary job in Provo. I must admit that I hate interviews. I know that I can do the job, but it is hard to convey this information to the interviewer. What I want to say is this: "I can do this job. If you hire me, you will be very pleased with the job that I do. You will never regret it and will be sorry when I leave for another job. Just give me a chance." Of course, you can't just say such things without sounding incredibly pig-headed and insane. Grrr.
After the interview I emptied my car of some boxes and unpacked some of my books. On my way back from Provo, I remembered that I needed to get an oil change. Luckily, the car dealership had an open appointment. After they had emptied my car of oil, they informed me that I had a rather large crack in my oil pan and it had to be replaced. Three hundred dollars and two hours later, I was on my way home with a new oil pan. Friday night I drove down to the Gateway and met up with Ryan. He took me out to dinner, then we went to the Planetarium for a light show. In the building is an amazing, complex, perpetual motion machine (pictures are included in this blog entry.) After the light show I was a little sick to my stomach so we walked around in the cold and talked. We ended up at the Skybox for a yummy cookie/ice cream dessert. I always love spending time with Ryan because he makes me laugh and think at the same time.
On Saturday morning, Dad and I went to the temple for baptisms. There were two big groups there so we only were able to do conformations. Dad and I realized that we wouldn't have time to wait an hour to do baptisms so we left and had breakfast. I got to work five minutes late and worked until 6pm. It was an insane day. One of the circulation people went home sick, so Suzy and I ran the last half of the shift. We stayed late and still left three full carts of books for Monday. There is nothing so scary as a busy library run by a skeleton crew. Because of the busy day and the fog, I got home 45 minutes late and missed the adult Saturday session of Stake Conference.

The R family on Christmas Eve

One of my favorite families, besides my own, is the R family (the initial is for privacy reasons.) When I became best friends with Ryan, they welcomed me into the fold with no reservations or hesitations. I went to see them on Christmas Eve after going to church to see Sidney sing in a Christmas program, then to see Dad sing in another Christmas program. I gave Ryan his gift (sadly, it was two gift certificates) and then took a few pictures of the family.

Among the many R family members that I love, Jason is perhaps one of my favorites. The reason for this is because he reminds me of my nephew Caleb. He was born a month after Caleb was. Since my beautiful Caleb has left this earth, I measure how big he would be and his development by watching Jason. Jason is expecting a baby sister in a few months. It is strange to think that Caleb was perfectly healthy when he was born but then left us. Jason, on the other hand, spent the first week of his life in the NICU and had more than one serious operation. It never ceases to amaze me how life turns out. At one time, I couldn't look at Jason without crying. Now, I just look at him and smile. In the picture to the right, Jason is throwing cushions off the couch just like an active little boy should be.

Above is a picture of Ryan, my best friend. After much harrassing, he finally smiled for the camera. He, I'm sure, is very grateful that I didn't put some of the other pictures that I took on this blog. They were not very flattering.

Slade belongs to Dave and Haley. He is so cute and is crawling in his own unique way. Like most R kids, he is a curious child who is very loved by his family. In this picture he is playing with his Grandpa, a back scratcher, and his Mom.

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.

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.)

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.

Continue

After work on Thursday I went to see my sister and her darling daughter. Lauren is adorable although slightly grumpy at times. Jen and John let me play with Lauren alone while they went to a wedding reception (from which they brought me chocolate.) Lauren liked some of the singing that I did. She did not like me reading to her from my book though. It seems that books without pictures do not interest her. Oh well, maybe in the future. I slept the night on the couch and had more fun the next morning. This includes making a cute video of Lauren with my new camera. The future movie star smiled, cooed, and blew bubbles at the camera. If I had the slightest idea how to load a video (and had her parents permission), I would put it on the blog. At 6:30 on Friday I left Salt Lake to have dinner with my best friend, Ryan. Afterwards, he wanted to go clubbing but I declined since I hate crowded, loud, smoke-filled places. We parted ways am I ended up renting a video and going home. On Saturday I was awakened by my oldest niece and her friend jumping on me and screaming at the top of their lungs. Grrr! Jess was a grumpy girl for a whole ten minutes. After breakfast my mood improved. Later that day, everyone met at Jeremy's house to celebrate Sid's birthday. Fun followed. After leaving the party, Jordan, Alison, Josh, Brooke, Marnie, and I ventured to Salt Lake where they attended the ReAL game (that's our local soccer team.) I took care of J and A's little boy, Isaac. After hanging out on a shady patch of grass, we ended up at Barnes and Noble. I took a picture of Isaac's hand and foot. I was elated to find that my new camera takes some great up-close shots. Later we went to see Jen, John, and Lauren. from the Fellowship Committee (which means I provided after-church meals so that bunch of singles can mingle) and was asked to be Branch Historian. I'm not sure what that entales, but am excited for the chance to do something new. I finished the books I was reading, "Princess Academy," by Shannon Hale.When the soccer game ended, I was there to pick up the group. On Sunday I was released from my calling It was a charming book for older kids.

Crazy Tuesday

Today was a fun, if busy, Tuesday. I was at my sister, Jen's, house by 9:30 so that I could go with her and her darling daughter, Lauren, to a doctor's appointment. Lauren had to get an ultrasound on her hips to see if they were developing properly. It turns out that her right one is a little under-developed (good thing she makes up for it with wonderful looks and personality :) Her doctor will have to tell her parents what he wants to do about it. Hopefully it is a "wait and see" problem instead of taking a more drastic approach. Afterwards we all returned to Jen's house and prepared to go to lunch with Mom. We ended up at the Market Street Grill where I had a very good salmon ravioli. Our waiter was fairly cute, although I think I was the only one of the four of us girls that noticed (Mom and Jen being married and Lauren being asleep.) Mom complained about a bump and pain on the side of her neck that was bothering her. She had an appointment at the dentist at 2 pm to take a look at it.

After lunch, Jen, Lauren, and I returned to Jen's house to take naps. Lauren ate like a champ and slept for over two hours. Her mom fed Lauren like a champ and took a nap as well. With Lauren asleep in my arms, I layed down on the couch and read. It was so relaxing. A sleeping baby, a comfortable couch, and good reading material; what more could an aunt ask for? After Jen awoke, we had a good conversation about dating and life in general while Lauren continued to sleep. I love talking to Jen. She is always full of good advise and a witty comment when appropriate. I couldn't ask for a better sister. (She didn't even complain when I had been holding her baby for over three hours straight.) After Lauren awoke, she ate and I took some cute pictures of her that are included in this blog. When John, Lauren's cute but tired father, arrived home I realized how late it had become. I drove home, took a quick shower, and arrived late at Institute where we discussed marriage and qualities we desire in a mate. Those were easy; I just look at my father, brothers, and brother-in-law to see what qualities I want.

After Institute I met my best friend for a bite to eat at IHOP where we complained about our jobs. Ryan is going to be changing jobs, which can be scary. After food and a hug, I returned home to a mother that was in quite a bit of pain. Although the details were sketchy because she wasn't making a lot of sense, I discovered that sometime today she had gone to the emergency room because of the pain in her jaw and neck. She was given a prescription and a shot of steriods. When I arrived home, she told me that she was taking pain medication and going to bed. Before falling into bed, she mentioned that my youngest brother, Jordan, would be dropping the green car off and would need a ride home. I was only too happy to take over this responsibility for her because I love talking to Jordan. Even after a 16 hours shift (whoa), he still has interesting things to say and is always willing to listen to the semi-boring things I have to say. I never cease to be grateful to the Lord for giving me siblings that I love and who love me in return. Well, I should turn in for the night. I will be working from 10 am to 9 pm tomorrow. A librarian's work is never done.
P.S. Did I mention that I hate getting private insurance? I guess that is a story for another night.

Mini-golfing

This last weekend I went miniature golfing. It has been a couple years since I've mini-golfed so it was fun. Brittany and Ryan went with me. In front of us was a cute family with two little girls. The younger one, perhaps of the age of 3, was hilarious to watch. It reminded me that I want to take Sidney mini-golfing one of these days. When totaled, I came in last. Oh well, such is life.
Afterwards, Ryan and I went to visit a friend of his at her birthday party. There was some smoking around and on the way home I had a hard time breathing. By the time we got to Ryan's house I was wheezing and my chest hurt. I hate how my body responds to smoke. I have never liked being around campfires or people who are smoking because, for some reason, my lungs are really sensitive. Ryan and I layed on his front lawn while my body calmed down. We talked for a little while and then I went home.
Saturday morning my dad and I went to the Bountiful temple for baptisms and then to IHOP for breakfast. After we came home I read until about 12:30. (Yes, I should have cleaned.) Jeremy, Britnie, Josh, and Brooke came over so that we could all go see "Superman Returns" to celebrate Father's Day. We figured it was better to celebrate Father's Day late because of the birth of Lauren and Isaac. Mom babysat Sidney and Wyatt while the rest of us went to lunch and then to the movie theater. The movie was pretty good. The new Superman, Brandon Routh, is pretty cute. He reminds me a little of Christopher Reeves, the Superman of the 1980's. I could see a sequel to this one, perhaps with a little superboy discovering his powers when he hits puberty. There have been a lot of movies based on comic books lately. The next one to look forward to is Spiderman 3. Sadly, we must wait almost a whole year until it is released. I love escaping into movies like these. I have often dreamed of having a superpower (besides the super-sarcasm that i now posess now :)
Today was a crazy day at work. It was strange to look up at the clock to realize that two hours had passed in a blink of an eye. Mondays are always crazy at the library. Between people coming for family night, people finishing their books over the weekend, and kids who just must check their e-mail, the library is scary on Monday. My feet hurt but it was nice that the time passed quickly. One bright spot in my day at work is that I found out that my recommendation for reading was put on the Davis County website under BookLetters staff picks. It is nice that someone at my new job thought I had a good recommendation. (For those who are interested, I recommended "Dead until Dark," a humorous vampire romance. I have tomorrow off so I get to go into Salt Lake City and play with my sister and my new niece, whom I haven't seen since she left the hospital. Yeh for days off!

"A tale of two weekends"

This weekend was an interesting one. On Friday, I went to the birthday party of John. John, “lawyer” Ryan, Katie, Kyle, Curtis, “best friend” Ryan, Doug, Monica and I went to the Skybox at the Gateway for dinner. While the food was good, the waitress seemed to forget about us. We then went to a club that had dueling pianos. It was really cool. With a tip, people seated around the two pianos could request songs. The crowd would then sing along with them. John ended up singing on the pianos for his birthday. We stayed until about 12:30 am, then went to Bryan and Ryan’s house. After eating yummy birthday cake, I began to get tired and slightly annoyed. I witnessed behavior that I hadn’t wanted to see: a very drunk person, a few people who were having a hard time making conversation that didn’t include several expletives, and some people being idiots in the front yard. (I’ll leave the description at that) After leaving with Ryan and Kyle, we all agreed that we were disappointed in the actions of friends and acquaintances. Unfortunately, I stayed out way too late and didn’t get to bed until around 4 am.
On Saturday I worked from 12-4:30. After work I headed down to Woods Cross to be in their parade. My dad drives a foam truck for the refinery every year. Sidney and I rode on the back of the truck and threw candy. It was a lot of fun. After dinner with Mom, Dad, Britnie, Jeremy, Sidney, and Wyatt, I went out with Brittany (friend, not sister-in-law), Spencer, and Michelle. We walked around Barnes Park and ended up talking until they turned the lights out. We talked about funny and serious things. We then went back to my house around 12 and talked some more. It was a lot quieter than my Friday night but not necessarily less fun.
During church the next day, I couldn’t help but reflect on the two groups of people. Both groups have amazing people in them: God-fearing, kind, loving, smart, funny people. But there was a big difference. On Saturday, I didn’t have to worry about what would come out of people’s mouths (or what would go into them.) I thought about the differences between the two groups of people that I would consider friends. I would never expect anyone to change their actions around me. Everyone should be able to be exactly what they want to be. But, I must admit, it is frustrating to see people do things that you don’t agree with and to keep your mouth shut. I would hate to be judgemental. This weekend was like like two weekends instead of two consecutive days. They were so different and yet I did have fun both nights.