Mable's Adventures

Point Reyes California

2011-12-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

I had intended to post about Point Reyes a little bit quicker but it was only 3 weeks ago and for me that is pretty good!

The day after Thanksgiving we got up and went shopping. There are no pictures from that but it was fun to spend the day with the girls. Maggie was really excited to go. She and I made lists of what stores we wanted to go to and tried to approach it strategically. We were going to the outlets that are right by Allison and Chris' house. They didn't have all that great of sales except for a few stores. At my last store is when I experienced true Black Friday craziness and rudeness. The jury is still out on whether or not I will venture out next year....

The next day, Saturday, we went to Point Reyes. It's on the pacific coast just north of San Francisco. It was beautiful. It took us about 2 hours to get there and we thought it would be cold and windy, as most places are on the Pacific Northwest coastline, and it had been cold and foggy in Vacaville. It was the most beautiful day. I was so glad we got to go.

Here are some pictures....

Ashlee and Paige walked out to the end of the outlook

The view from the lookout point at the parking lot. Can you see the mist coming up from the waves?

Paige running up the hill - love the look on her face.

This is the view looking back from our walk. Can you see the cows? These are the happy California cows. They had ranches all the way out to the coastline.

A cyprus tree on the side of the trail. They grow sideways due to the winds coming up off the ocean.

The girls climbed up in the tree and posed for pictures for us.


Me, Maggie and Mom

There is a lighthouse that we walked out to..


You actually had to walk down over 300 steps (equivalent to climbing 30 stories). This is the lighthouse that we walked down to. A shot from the stairs on the way

Here's a shot of some the stairway we climbed down and up.

Chris, Paige and Maggie

Dad and Mom

They had some resting spots placed strategically on the side of the stairs. Allison and I were taking a rest.

After we hiked the lighthouse, we went to a seal beach. I'm not sure what you'll be able to see in the pictures but all of the objects that look like brown rocks are actually seals.

There were a ton of seals on the beach.

Having fun in the water

This was a "happy cow" on the side of the road

Afterwards we headed to 'South Beach' to run from the waves. It was a lot of fun, but I honestly think Paige was going to give me a heart attack. The waves were so strong and she kept running towards them. She never quite made it in the water but my blood pressure kept going up!

Maggie loved the waves she was out there right on the edge the whole time.

Allison, Paige and Me

Maggie

Chris and Ashlee had their own race down the beach

Coming back from the race

Paige had a blast

Making sure

Opa didn't fair so well

Watching the waves

Getting ready to run

I thought this was a pretty picture of her

A couple of shots of how big the waves were

This is not very far from shore

Some of the scenery on the way to the beach

It was a great day and a great finish to the Thanksgiving weekend.

More to come from Hawaii....

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Don't pass out from shock.... Yes, I am actually posting something that only happened 2 days ago.

We (my parents and I) drove out to California to visit my sister and her family for Thanksgiving. Here are a couple of shots from Thanksgiving dinner.

Making the turkeys for our dinner table

The table is all ready to go

Sitting down to dinner

Babysitting Fabio and Niles for the weekend

Tickling backs before dinner is ready


We might have taken a little nap before dinner

It was a great day. Nice and relaxing with good food and great company.

Today we went to Point Reyes, just north of California. It was a beautiful day, no fog, no wind and sunshine. I will post more pictures later.

Nostalgia

2011-11-07T00:14:00.001-07:00

I was on my way to church this afternoon when I heard a song that took me back to my mission. And as I get ready to be on the road for the next six weeks, I thought about how much I miss my mission.

I loved my mission. And I have to say that up to this point it was probably the best year and a half of my life.

Today there are 2 main reasons why I miss my mission.

First, I loved having a companion. I know not everyone, ok a lot of people, really struggled with their companions, but I loved having somebody to be with all the time, even if they drove me crazy sometimes. It's been 11.5 years since I have been home. I can't even believe it has been that long. I ran into some girlfriends of mine when I got home who had also served and it had been 3 or 4 years since they had been home. I remember thinking there is no way that I can make it that long without getting married, just for that companionship. Now I wonder what choices I made that have brought me down this path and if I could have made some different choices that would have taken me down a different path. I also wonder if maybe those blessings that were given me in my patriarchal blessing were meant for another time. Anyway, I miss my mission because I miss having a companion.

The second reason why I miss my mission is because all I needed to worry about was the things 'that mattered most'. I miss that constant feeling of the spirit. Yes, things were challenging and difficult and I struggled. But I knew what I was working on had eternal significance. And no you cannot tell me that what I am doing for my career has eternal significance. In a way, I am envious of you stay at home moms. I know that things are challenging and tough and that a lot of the time you want to pull your hair out. I have no illusions of the difficulty of being a stay at home mom. But think about it, what you are working on is what matters most. And trust me sometimes it is no fun being out in the world.

So.... kind of a bummer of a post but those are my thoughts tonight as I spent most of my Sabbath working and getting ready for my travel. I hope you all had a great Sunday!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Random Post

2011-10-16T23:17:00.001-06:00

I had this dream the other night.... I was with this guy (a guy I know in real life) and we were dating. And for some random reason we were on a school bus with his dad and a bunch of other people in Alaska. It was one of those dreams where it feels so real. It felt so nice to be snuggled up next to him and to know that he genuinely cared for me and enjoyed being with me. And the feeling was mutual. It was such a great dream.

And then I woke up.....

And I swear I have been in bad mood ever since.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-04T15:19:00.001-06:00

This weekend Daniel and Miriam are in town. Daniel came into help us (Dad) lay down some pavers for our back patios.

Yesterday, I thought, was a great day. Not only was the weather perfect (nice and cool in the mornings and not too hot during the day) but it was great to have so much family around. It was fun to watch the Andrew's and Daniel's kids play in the front yard together.

Daniel, Andrew, Dad and Dave all worked in the backyard. And we got 20 something dozen ears of corn from Aunt Pat's house so we were freezing corn inside.

Beckam was in heaven all day being outside and digging in the dirt.


Alexander and Eva are so excited to be at Grandma's house.

Miriam and Carly catching up with cute little Jamison

Andrew and Daniel putting together a step

The trench Dad dug for the french drain. Can you see the drain pipe down there? It's now covered up with gravel and dirt.

David and Dad working on the drain.

Eva and Grandma inspecting the quality of the step.


Tyler, Douglas, Grandma and Tina working on the corn.

Jamison looking for any extra food within reach.

As great as it was for me, being able to spend all this time with family. The BIG HIGHLIGHT of the day was when our next door neighbor used his tractor to haul the sand up to the top of the driveway from the street.

The boys were mesmerized.


Eva tried it out for a while but the girl in her won out and she came back inside.

I'm not sure if this video will work but it does a good job showing how excited they would get.

Testing

2011-08-04T21:30:00.001-06:00

I have been having problems with my blog app so I am trying this out to see if this works!

Soccer City

2011-02-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ok since those last pictures turned out OK, I'll try another post.

On our first day we were supposed to take a bike tour of Soweto, however, it was raining so we had to reschedule and we ended up going on a bus tour of Johannesburg. That bus tour took us out to Soccer City which is the stadium where they were going to play the opening and closing games of the World Cup. It's a pretty historical stadium.

Driving up to the stadium

Cool tower in the stadium parking lot

Taking pictures outside when we didn't think we'd be able to get in

And we're in!

Getting as close to the 'pitch' as we could

I wish someone would have told me my hat was crooked

These work the same way as cattle grates - they're to deter the fans from rushing the field and if they do rush the field then these 'fences' will be sure to slow them up

View of the field from the players' tunnel

Squeezing in on of the player's lockers

One of the players' locker rooms

That's the players' tunnel right below me

Yes, there are supposed to be holes in the walls - it's for proper ventilation.

View from the top of the stadium

Photo Testing

2011-02-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to see if I can get my South Africa photos to come out any better.

This was looking out my room in the first hotel we stayed at in Johannesburg

One of the trees on the hotel property

It was raining so we took a bus tour of the city - this was a little market we drove by

Constitution Hill

Nelson Mandela Bridge

Freezing Corn

2011-01-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

For years my family has had the tradition of going up to Aunt Pat's farm near Logan, UT and getting fresh ears of corn and freezing the corn. Then you have really good frozen corn all year long. Carly (my SIL) swears it's the best corn she has ever eaten. This year I decided to take pictures of the event. If you get enough people helping out it doesn't take very long to freeze a whole truck full of corn.

The Tate Boys in action. What good form they're using.

Ready to go down to the freezer.

The ladies getting the corn detassled and cleaned.

I was in trouble for taking the picture, I think I'll be in more trouble for posting it.

Washing all the fuzzys off.

All ready for the boys to cut away.

Our little helper. We miss you Sebastian.

Putting the corn into freezer bags.

Grandma Tina and Spencer (he was supervising)

Waiting for the air to get sucked out of the bags.

Our resident air sucker. We use really fancy tools at our house. I kept sticking the straw in to deep and kept sucking up kernels of corn. But I am happy to report that none of the corn has freezer burn, all the air was sucked out nice and tight.

Snow Tubing

2011-01-12T18:56:00.001-07:00

The other night there was a big mid-singles (yes I am now too old for the young single adult program) went on a snow tubing activity up at Soldier Hollow State Park. This is one of those tubing parks where they have a tow rope to tow you up to the top of the hill. That is the only way to tube in my opinion.

I went up with Amy and we had a blast. It was freezing cold but we were layered enough that we stayed warm.

Here are some pics from the night.

Amy and me in front of the snow making machine at the top of the hill. They were making a ton of snow so the runs were a little slow.

Amy on her tube getting pulled up the hill.

Messing around on one of the tows up the hill.

Can you see me? Just chillin on the way up the hill.

Since the runs were so slow we found we had to be very selective about our tubes. The tubes that went the fastest were the ones that were a lot lopsided. If I wanted to see Amy on my way up I ended up sitting in the tube like this. Maybe you can't see, that's ok, it's a little silly.

South Africa - Carnivore Restaurant

2011-01-12T18:41:00.001-07:00

I decided that I would do a different post for each of the activities that we did in South Africa.

Our first activity, after traveling for almost 36 hours we arrived in JoBurg SA. We arrived in the evening and right in the middle of rush hour traffic. This is a picture of our group (there were about 45 of us) waiting in the middle of the airport for our bus. It was an hour and a half late.

We were originally supposed to go to our hotel first and freshen up. However, the traffic was so bad that we decided to head straight to the restaurant from the airport. We were all a little dazed.

Carnivore is a little like Rodizio's or Tucanos Brazilian grills, except for the addition of African game meats. South Africans love to BBQ much like Brazilians. However the South Africans grill on the rotisserie over coals and the Brazilian rotisserie over an open flame. Either way the meat is really good.

We had your typical meats first: chicken, sausage, etc. And then we moved onto the game meats. We had impala, giraffe, crocodile, hartebeest (which is like wildebeest) and some others I can't remember.

One of the things that I immediately noticed about the people of South Africa is how happy and polite they are. I realize that not everyone would be like that but seriously what a great people. I loved this country and the majority of it was because of how happy everyone is.

Here's the South African version of Cream Soda. I thought it was really good, despite the green color.

Leaving the restaurant, getting excited to shower and to go find a bed.

Purses/Bags

2011-01-10T18:57:00.001-07:00

For any of you that know me, you know I have a lot of bags and I like different purses and bags. In fact some of you have been known to go shopping for a purse in my purse supply.

This last week I decided that I needed another bag. I have been carrying around a lot of bags and purses lately. So I wanted to put all the stuff that I was carrying around into one bag so I wouldn't be carrying around a ton of different things. I went to four or five different stores in search of the perfect bag that I needed at this point in my life. I couldn't really find the right bag, the were either too big or too small. I finally settled on a bag that was close enough but I wasn't sold on it. Nevertheless, I dropped $30 for the bag.

So then I started cleaning out my room as part of my new year's clean on Saturday and look at what I found.

Seriously? That's a little ridiculous. And that isn't even all of the purses I own. I have a whole tupperware (large) in the basement full of bags/purses. The bags in this picture are for easy access when I want to switch out.

If you'll notice in the middle of the pile towards the back, there is a black bag that has a very similar pattern to the one I just purchased. There's one difference: it's the PERFECT SIZE!!!

Therefore I commit and promise to NOT BUY ANOTHER BAG OR PURSE in 2011.

Do you think I can do it? How's that for a new year's resolution??

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

2010 Recap

2010-12-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

If you don't post all year long, then you have the pleasure of getting to recap your whole year right? Don't worry I won't try to recap my whole year in one post. But the next several posts will be about what happened this year. It was a really busy year this year between school, work and all of my trips. I can't believe that 2011 will be here in a little more than 2 years! Has anyone else noticed that the older we get, the fast time goes?

School

Most of you may know that I am currently getting my MBA at Westminster College and that has been my excuse this year for not writing. :) I just finished a very full year of classes and one of my most intense semesters yet! I have 4 classes left and will be graduating in April/May. I've managed to scrape by with a 3.8 (stupid accounting and statistics classes) and am hoping to keep that GPA with the classes I have left. There are not a lot of pictures to post about school and I'm pretty sure no one will be interested in hearing about the theories, books and case analysis' that keep me busy. I am very excited to get my MBA and am proud of myself for accomplishing it. There have definitely been some nights when I have questioned my sanity in trying to do this.

And if anybody is interested I have booked a condo in Hawaii on May 18th for a celebration trip. I would love to do a girls long weekend! You don't have to pay for the condo just the airfare to get you out there. If you want to come drop me a line.

Work

This year at work as also been super crazy. As with most companies in this economy everyone is trying to do more with less. At the beginning of the year I took over the job of managing all the branch operations and personnel in addition to my current responsibilities of managing the marketing and internal and external sales for the credit union. To put it mildly it's been a difficult year (as I'm sure it has been for a lot of working professionals) and I am excited for 2011 in hopes that we have been able to put a majority of the bad behind us.

One of the things that I was able to accomplish was redesign our new logo. You guys said you wanted to hear from me so you get to hear about boring stuff like new logo designs.

Here's our old logo:

And here's our new logo:

What do you think? Do you like it?

Trips

I do have to say the highlight of my year was all of the trips I was able to go on. I honestly can't remember what I did the first part of this year, probably because I didn't do anything besides work and school. :) But I was able to go to South Africa in April, Denver in May, Bear Lake in June, California in July, New Mexico in October and then we had all the family come in town for Thanksgiving. I will blog about each of these separately. I did come back from South Africa with more than 350 pictures. I'm still trying to figure out how I can post some without overloading you all!

I hope everyone had a fantastic year and here's to a marvelous 2011.

Christmas Present from Geoff & Kristen

2010-12-25T12:20:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas. I'm trying out my new present from Geoff and Kristen. They gave me a wireless key board for my iPad. Now it is so much easier to type on my iPad and I downloaded an app that let's me post to my blog from my iPad. Beware you might get sick of hearing from me.

This Christmas season has been great. I finished my toughest semester at school, with straight A's I might add, and am enjoying the time off. I'll post a couple of pictures from the season so far.

Our Christmas Eve dinner last week, before everyone went out of town.

The lights with Beckam and family.

Cameron, Hannah, Roslyn and Ethan playing games at Karan's on Christmas Eve.

Getting ready to read our Christmas Eve book.

Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

The kids waiting to go downstairs to see what Santa brought

This is the glazed looks of being up at 3:30 in the morning two days in a row.

Merry Christmas everyone! I have big plans to post a bunch to recap my year instead of sending out a Christmas card.

iPad & Procrastination

2010-12-11T10:06:00.001-07:00

I have a huge presentation due for my class on Tuesday night. So instead of working on that, I am downloading apps and posting on my blog from my iPad. This is actually pretty cool. Now let's see if this app will let me post pictures as well.

It's pretty limited on how you can post pictures but at least I can do it all from my iPad. This was at the ward Christmas party last night. Amy is a blast to hang out with.

Alright, off to do some homework!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Staff

2010-08-30T23:06:00.000-06:00

Things have been really exhausting, more exhausting than my normal exhausting, at work lately. I've had to make some really tough decisions and take a lot of grief from our membership and some staff for those decisions. Needless to say, it's difficult for me to motivate myself to go into work everyday and be the example and leader that I need to be. I feel a little bit like those people slumped in the chairs.

However, one of my staff members today, who many have found to be difficult and a little negative, came up to me and thanked me for everything that I had been doing lately. She said it was really nice to see and she really appreciated what I was doing and it was helping her deal with everything. It was really nice to hear and it's the little things like that, that make me able to keep getting up in the morning, and do what I do.

Gratitude

2010-08-29T21:29:00.000-06:00

As hectic as my life is, it is almost impossible for me to blog. Besides the fact that I wonder what everyone would want to hear about in my life. Would you all like a picture of the textbook I'm studying or a picture of some of the spreadsheets I'm working on at work?

However, I have a lot to be grateful for, especially this weekend.First my 84 year-old Grandma had her appendix taken out this weekend with no complications. The lady is extremely healthy for her age and I'm grateful that she gets to stick around for a little while longer.

(This is a really bad picture of me but I couldn't find another one of my grandma. She doesn't like to have her picture taken)

Second, Daniel and Miriam welcomed their 3rd child into this world, again with no complications. I'm so happy for them! He is such a beautiful boy!

Third, Christopher, my brother-in-law, returned home from another deployment, safe. I am so grateful for the work he does for our country and I'm glad that he is home safe with his girls again.

Anxiety and Drama

2009-08-31T23:15:00.000-06:00

Today was a day. The intensity level today was running at a constant 9 out of 10. As things kept getting thrown at me, I was surprised at how well I seemed to be taking them. I thought that had I had a day like this not even 6 months ago - I would have been super grouchy and would not have handled the stress well.

It just seems that I have been able to handle a lot of the stress I have been dealing with much better over the past few months. I keep trying to think what the change in my life has been and I don't think I can attribute it to just one thing. Over the past six months or so I have really been trying to simplify my life. And as I have managed to eliminate a lot of things that were causing unnecessary stress or drama (roommates & taking care of a house on my own) in my life, it seems that I can handle the necessary stress (work and school) much better.

People always comment on how strong or independent I am. But I have to say there is such a thing as taking on too much and I have a nasty habit of not being able to say no. I want to be able to help people and sometimes that gets me into trouble. Sometimes it is nice not to be the one in charge and let someone else take care of it. But I guess that is one of the things that I get to work on overcoming in this life.

Now if I could just find the right man.... :)

Snowshoeing at North Fork

2009-01-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

FYI - I wrote this post a while ago and never go around to uploading the pictures and posting it!

Last week I had a chance to go to Wolf Creek and spend some time out of the inversion. Our air quality has been so bad that they (the gov't) has asked us not to drive if possible and not to exert yourself if you are outdoors. I have to say that that is a great excuse to not exercise! I guess you've always got the gym....

Anyway, Wolf Creek was beautiful! You could see the sun and the blue sky. You could see across the valley. And you could breathe without it killing your respiratory system. It was also nice to get out of the muck because I was right in the middle of my first sinus infection. Again, back to the clean air thing.

I had my friend Jennie come with me. She's from North Ogden, which is just on the other side of the mountains, so this area is was pretty much her backyard when she was growing up. After being pretty lazy for most of the day Monday, we decided to go play in the snow. It was so beautiful and fun. The great thing about snow shoeing is you can kind of go wherever you want, you don't have to stick to a trail. And it's usually free or you have to pay minimal prices if you're going into a state park or a national park.

I took a couple of pictures of the ice crystals on top of the snow. The sun has been shining so much that it's been melting the snow and formed this sea of ice crystals on top of the snow. It was my favorite thing about the hike. For any of you who don't snow shoe and are near a place where you can go snowshoeing, I highly recommend this activity!

Christmas

2009-01-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little past due but I thought I would post a picture or two from Christmas.

It was a very laid back Christmas this year and I very much needed it. Mom even took a nap which I don't think she can remember the last time she took a nap. I got to spend Christmas with my Mom and Dad and Daniel and Miriam and their two kids.

It was perfect because their kids are too young to get excited for Christmas so we could all sleep in but Alexander was old enough to love unwrapping the presents and appreciate all of the gifts that he got. He was the best to watch open the gifts because every time he got the wrapping paper off just enough to see what was inside, it didn't matter what was inside the present, he would say things like "wow!" or "oooh" or "oh". It was so stinking cute.The other part I loved about watching Alexander open presents was him putting all of his cars in a line. He got one big truck and a bunch of little cars. Each car was wrapped separately. So he would unwrap the car, say his ooohs and aaahs and then take the car across the room and put in line with the others. He was so stinking cute.

Alright I know I've said "so stinking cute" but he is.

It was also really nice to spend Christmas in Mom and Dad's new home. I know there has been so much drama associated with the building of it. But it really is beautiful, there is so much room for everyone and it just feels so nice and like home. The fireplace they have was the perfect backdrop to a fantastic Christmas.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

5 Gray Hairs

2009-01-10T22:15:00.001-07:00

I often look at other people's blogs and wish that they would update them more because I love hearing about their lives. Then I remind myself that I am probably one of the worst bloggers I know. And it's probably time to take the super negative roommate post off as my most recent post.

I have to admit that something I have been very prideful of, is despite having very dark hair and always seeming stressed, I have been gray hair free! Until this year that is.... For some reason this year just did me in and I now have have 5!! I have to say I am a little distraught and will resort to dyeing my hair if I get any more!

When I compare my year to others that I know, I do have to say that I have been truly blessed. So the attribution to my gray hairs is not a complaint but merely proper recognition.

I believe I have 5 gray hairs because of.....

A major heart break.
Two minor heart breaks. (I'm not sure how much rejection a girl can take in one year, but that could explain the recluse-like behavior I have been exhibiting lately)
Roommate drama - it is now a goal of mine to rearrange my situation so that I am able to live on my own. It's called the "No More Roommates!" Goal.
Having to fire a good friend of mine at work for backstabbing, manipulation, and basically trying to get my job by discrediting me. Guess he wasn't that good of a friend after all. Still, being a girl you take it all personally.
Being the Young Women's president and being in charge of girls camp.
Working with two boys who I'll call Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. If only our world could operate to their standards, then would we all be perfect. Their negativity, condescension and superior attitudes gets real old, real quick.
Coming to the harsh realization that it is a very real possibility that I may have to face the rest of this life on my own.

Now here are the reasons why I only have 5 gray hairs and not more:

My family. That is the biggest blessing in my life. Without my family, I definitely would have found a hole and disappeared.
My friends. There is nothing like a good friend with a water repellant shoulder for all my tears and a good sense of humor.
The young women in my ward. As much as the calling stresses me out, I have loved watching them grow from girls to young women as they face and overcome the challenges in their lives.
A good book. There is nothing like escape reading to take you out of this world.

Here's to wishing everyone a wonderful 2009!

Mom and Dad's House and Weddings

2008-11-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

Well there's another wedding in the family. We'll be having a wedding dinner at Mom and Dad's newly constructed home in two days. I was out there last night and thought I would take pictures to document how quickly the house will take shape.

Allison does any of this look familiar to you?

Roommate Rant

2008-10-22T22:27:00.001-06:00

One of the reasons that I don't post very often is because I feel like I have a lot of negativity and you know people don't want to hear about negative things. But I just need to get some venting off of my chest. And who knows that's what this blog could turn into. I always have good stories!

I am 32, still single and trying to be a fiscally responsible individual. What that translates to is A LOT OF ROOMMATES! Close to 45 to be exact. That is way too many roommates, individuals, personalities, drama and bathroom sharing for one girl to put up with. I purchased a home a year and a half ago and to help out with the mortgage I have 2 roommates. It's a 1900 square foot, 4-bedroom home, so there should be plenty of room for all of us. I currently spend most of my time at home (which isn't very much) locked up in my room to avoid my roommates.

So here are my questions about roommates:

Why do people not understand what the word clean means?
Why is it necessary to have a chore chart when everyone in that house is over 30 years old? That's right 30 year olds and chore chart. So moms out there if you've got good ideas for a chore chart let me know.
Why do I always attract the really needy people? Just on a side note, I think it's the same reason that I attract weirdo guys, which is probably why I'm still not married. So if anyone can seriously answer that question I will do something extremely nice for you, extremely nice.
How does someone not know to clean the dryer vent out when you use the dryer?
How does someone not know how to mow a lawn?
Why can't people do things on their own instead of waiting for me to do something. Come on people, I am not your mother!
How can someone manage to watch TV for 4 hours straight every night and not go insane?
Am I an abnormally clean freak?
Why when you open the pantry door and don't have any room to put another thing do you either buy more stuff and try to fit it in or not have the capability to clean it out?
What is the phobia about emptying a dishwasher?
What is the need to fill every single corner of space in the kitchen with crap?
Why when you've actually vacuumed up a spill in the carpet, do you leave the vacuum sitting right in the middle of the floor? For how many days? I'm waiting to see how long it will take.

Fact: The majority of these questions have come from events that have happened this week and yes it is only Wednesday.

Now I realize that I am probably a little weary and have probably run out of patience with roommates, but, honestly can you blame me? We're all over the age of 30, and I've had more than 40 of them!

Hmmm, that kind of felt good. Beware you might be getting more ranting from me in the near future. Have a fantastic night!

Fall in the Rockies

2008-10-22T22:09:00.000-06:00

Fall is definitely one of my favorite seasons. Alright I guess there is something that I love about each season, summer nights, how quiet and peaceful it is when it snows, the smell and freshness of spring. I love the colors of fall and how it starts to cool off and give some relief from the heat of summer.

Luckily I got the chance to go golfing at Wasatch Mtn golf course in Midway. We (and some of my coworkers) went in September and caught the leaves just perfect. We had a couple deer run across the fairways. It was a great day. Of course I could have golfed better but what else is new. Maybe I should take some lessons. Oh yeah, I know why I don't take lessons, they are expensive!

Here are some pics from the day. I'm not in any of them but you get to see some pretty colors.

This is Jeremy and Chris from my office. If any of you have heard me talk about work, I'm sure you've heard stories about them. Now you can put a face with the stories.

Ok this one is a little blurry. I took it from the golf cart while we were driving. It was a great day.

They Lost!

2008-10-16T21:34:00.001-06:00

I can't believe BYU lost. And not only was it a loss but it was big loss. I could barely sit through the game and I only watched the second half. I got home late from the gym and forgot to record the game before I headed out to a meeting. What a depressing night. I hate that we can never have a perfect season. Not that we need to have a perfect season but it just seems like we always do this to ourselves. We become complacent and wham. I am by no means a football expert and so hope no one will critique my commentary on the BYU football team (not that anyone really reads this blog anyway).

But I just have to say I was really enjoying this season and I am very sad about tonight's game against TCU. And on that note, I'm taking my mom's advice, having a little treat and going to bed.

Good night all!

BYU Football

2008-10-12T21:06:00.000-06:00

It seems that I am so busy these days that I hardly have time to really enjoy anything, that is until BYU Football rolls around. This season is turning out to be a great season. It's nice to see them play well without so many errors plaguing us all of the time. The games are fantastic to go to. I go with a big group of people. More specifically, Jennie, Camille, DJ and Tyler. It's a great tradition that I hope to continue for as long as I'm living in Utah. Really it's kind of ridiculous for a grown woman to get chills when a bunch of boys run out onto the football field and do the Haka, esepcially the Haka. But I guess that's BYU football for me!

Here are some pics from this season. Go Cougs!

Camille, Jennie, DJ and me

Jennie, Camille, and me

Me and Jennie

You can't really tell but the players run around the stadium and give everyone fives. It's fantastic.

Here's some of the group we go with.

Crooked Carpet and Beautiful Stairs

2008-10-12T20:57:00.000-06:00

Here you can tell that the carpet is not lining up exactly with the wall

This is a picture from the south bedroom looking north out the window. Look at all of Mom's rocks.

This is looking out the north upstairs bedroom to the south.

This is standing from the dormer window looking back into the bonus room.

These are the stairs and that's Paco up at the top.

Mom and Dad's Kitchen

2008-10-12T20:49:00.001-06:00

These are pictures of the kitchen. You can see some of the batten board (sp?) and the cupboards and the counter tops.

Update

2008-10-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

Ok that's enough pics for now. I'll maybe upload some later. Things are going well and super busy as always. Young Women's is keeping me busy and challenged. Work is really busy. We are in the middle of doing a rebranding that's keeping me on my toes. I'm applying to graduate school for my MBA (because I don't have enough to do). I've been to a couple of information sessions and have almost all of my application done for Westminster. I've got some new pics to upload, not for Mom and Dad's house but stuff that I've been doing.

More Pics

2008-10-11T22:15:00.001-06:00

In order the pictures are: Mom and Dad's bedroom as seen from their bathroom, the old chest that Mom had turned into a vanity, the den, the front room and then a view of the kitchen.

Mom and Dad's House

2008-10-11T22:00:00.000-06:00

Ok I don't know how to post pictures and work with them on the blog and I am too tired and lazy to try and figure it out tonight. These are pictures of Mom and Dad's house. There will be more.

Staying Busy

2008-07-11T21:56:00.000-06:00

I don't know which side of the family I get this from. But I have a hard time doing nothing. I seem to always pack my time full of things to do. Which is why my posts don't happen very often. But it's good, I feel like I really am getting the most out of life and taking advantage of this time in my life where I have disposable time.

I got home from girls camp Friday afternoon and had most everything cleaned up, thanks to so many people helping out, I was able to take Friday afternoon off and relax a little.

The next Saturday morning one of my branch managers had entered the credit union in her chamber's parade. Up and at them bright and early. We took a truck and hung banners all over it, filled the back with water fighting materials and lots of coolers full of water. We had a great time soaking the residents of the city of South Salt Lake!

After that I ran out to my brother's to help him and his family move their stuff into a storage unit, until they're able to move into their newly purchased home. Then I gave my brother and his wife the night off and watched their kids so they could have some down time.

Sunday I taught the Laurels class and then ran out to a 30's to 40's singles BBQ. Here's the amazing part: They were normal people!! Isn't that fantastic?

Monday brought on a whole new work week with catching up on everything I had gotten behind on while I was camping. Monday night my friend Tenille and I went to the new UVUphoria celebration and listened to Josh Gracin, someone else who's name I can't remember and Joe Nichols. I'm now beginning to see why I am so tired.

This is Tenille and me at the Josh Gracin concert.

The next night was the band practice with the videos that I posted below, Wednesday was Young Women's and then Friday I headed out of town to spend the 4th of July weekend with my sister and her family in Denver (that will be another post).

I got back from Denver Monday morning just in time to make it to work and start all over again. I have been somewhere every night this week. So tonight I am enjoying the evening off. I went to the gym, I watered my yard. Sometimes it is nice to sit. I could have gone to Jackson Hole this weekend to run the river, but I will be gone the next two weekends in a row, I kind of thought I should give myself some down time before I have some type of breakdown. My friends and family don't like it when those things happen. :)

Girls Camp from a Leader's Perspective

2008-07-11T21:29:00.000-06:00

I recently returned from girls camp as the camp director. I'm really the assistant but the actual director was scheduled to have surgery during the week of camp. She was a huge help getting everything ready, but I was the lucky one to be in charge when we got up there.

I went to girls camp every year I could growing up and the memories I have from those camps contrast starkly from what memories I have from being a leader at camp. I only hope and pray that the girls had a spiritual experience and walked away from camp feeling a little closer to Heavenly Father.

The preparation meetings for girls camp start in February and I'm sure the stake starts getting ready months before that. It is a serious production from picking a theme and creating activities for the girls to go along with the theme, to leadership training for the older girls, to planning overnight hikes, to planning and doing all the food prep for the girls and making sure all the girls have done everything they need to to get ready for camp and don't forget about getting the girls certified. Just so you know, the leaders are exhausted by the time they get to camp and then the fun begins!

This year's camp was more adventurous than I think most are supposed to be, especially for me. I want everyone to keep in mind that I am not a mother. I don't have to take care of or worry about anyone else. I have never been a mother so I don't have any practice with that sort of stuff. Sure I have lots of nieces and nephews, but they all have parents and I haven't done many overnighters with them without their parents around.

So the first night was a little stressful. I think most of my girls were just as exhausted as I was, one had not slept in over 24 hours, another had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before. So at 10:30 imagine my surprise when all the girls were in their tents being quiet, half of them already asleep. I thought this is a good sign. Oh silly, silly girl that I am.

At 4:00 am (mind you that with not being a parent also comes the luxury of enjoying lots of sleep) I hear one of the girls walking towards my tent. I am very wide awake at this point, waiting for them to play a practical joke on me. BTW - I don't do very good with practical jokes, especially when I'm tired. So they zip open and come into the outside little porch thing of our tent. Apparently one of the girls in her tent was having some major pains and wants me. I'm kind of hoping that the YW's president who is in the tent with me and is the mother of two young children would take charge. To make a very long story short after going back and forth about what to do for 45 minutes with the phrase continually being repeated "I'm not a mom, I don't know what to do." I decided to go get the stake nurse. At 5:00 in the morning that is an interesting task considering I had no idea who she was and what ward she was in, and everyone else didn't know much more than me. So after waking up everyone in the stake campsite and two ward campsites, I finally find the stake nurse.

She comes in and promptly diagnoses an appendicitis! Phone calls are made to the parents and our wonderful priesthood holder rushes her down the hospital. It turned out to be a kidney stone, thankfully. But I have to say, I'm not so sure about parenthood. I don't know how you people do it and how you all don't have ulcers by now! :)

The rest of the week went pretty good until we got to the last night. Then I had another girl get the 100 proof deet insect repellent in her eye. After trying to treat it at camp and a persisting stinging feeling, I'm sending another girl down the mountain to the emergency room.

I'm not sure but I think that's a pretty good way to get released from your calling, don't you? What parents are going to send their girls to camp if they all are sent home to the emergency room?

The picture at the top is of the last day. It's a small group. We only started with 10 girls and ended with 8. Thankfully we all made it down the mountain safe and sound and both emergency room girls are doing just fine!

Singing in an Alternative Band?

2008-07-05T15:45:00.000-06:00

The more and more of life I experience, I am always amazed at where it takes me.

I love music and I love to sing. I especially love any type of music that's acoustic, as is evidenced by my last post. One of the reasons why I like country is because I can sing along and I can sing along loud. I have been known to make sing a long cd's that I can belt to while driving alone in my car.

About three months ago, this guy, Loftin, who lives in my neighborhood and is in my ward stopped by and asked if I would want to sing in his band. I just laughed. I have never done anything like this before. He said that he had heard me sing in church and new I would do just fine. I just thought that this kid is crazy but if he's asking I might as well. I love music and this would be a great way to stretch myself.

So then I asked him what kind of music they play. He said that at this point they were covering a bunch of bands like: Cranberries, Audioslave, The Cure, Arctic Monkeys and anything else alternative. I of course had never heard of most of these bands let alone knowing any of their songs! Loftin has been great. That same night he left me a book full of lyrics for most of the songs the band is covering. Now I walk around with my little iPod shuffle listening to the music as much as I can.

Learning a song to sing in a band is so much different than just listening to good music and singing along in my car. I now listen to all kinds of music differently. I listen for all the different parts, when each part comes in, the different harmonies and rhythms. Everyone in the band is so talented. I am so grateful for their patience with me while I try to figure everything out. I am constantly amazed at the talent that is in that little room. And I can't figure out if their talent helps or intimidates me. Every time I think about it or tell someone about it, I just laugh.

So Tyler, the drummer, decided it would be fun to record it. I think I sound horrible. I'm still trying to find my right voice for this kind of music. But I thought I would post some clips of the videos we took. Keep in mind I've only practiced with band no more than 6 or 7 times so we still have a lot of work. But I thought if I'm embarassing myself in front of 3 very talented musicians then why not in front of my friends! If you want you can let me know what you think, but I think you should only put nice comments in the comment field (Daniel!).

Ryan Shupe & Banjo Boy

2008-06-07T09:50:00.000-06:00

My favorite band ever is Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. They are extremely talented musicians with amazing harmony, inspiring and clever lyrics and great music. I can listen to their music over and over. I hardly ever get sick of it. My favorite is their concerts. They are so much fun. I love going to their concerts.

Last night was their annual concert at the Sandy Amphitheater. Jennie and I went. It was a little chilly as you can tell by the many layers in our picture. They've made a new album and last night was the release of their album "Last Man Standing". If you go to shupe.net and click on the jukebox link you can listen to all of their music for free. And once I figure out how I'm going to upload some of my favorites songs so you can listen to them and learn to love them just like I do!

On a personal note. I have a big fat crush on Banjo Boy, just like half the girls in the state. He is an extremely talented musician and very cute! Here's a picture with him. I would love to be able to hear him sing everyday, he has incredible voice.

Alright enough of my obsession for Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. But I had a great time last night and I love their music.

"I Wonder Why?" - A Conversation with a 4-Year Old

2008-06-04T22:41:00.001-06:00

Children are my favorite and to me they are so refreshing. I know my perception may be a little different because I don't spend 24 hours a day surrounded by children, but they are definitely precious.

Tonight I was at the church putting together a dessert for Young Women. Yes, bribing the young women to come to church does go against my philosophy but every once in a while it's ok. So back to the story. 4-year old Hyrum comes walking by the kitchen door. I promptly offer him some brownies and says it should be ok and that his dad wouldn't mind him stopping to eat some brownies. So while Hyrum is eating his brownie and eyeing the strawberries on the counter, the conversation goes as follows:

Hyrum: I wonder why it is taking so long for my birthday to come. I don't think it's ever going to come. I've been waiting so long. I wonder why it's not coming.

Heather: Do you know what day your birthday is on?

Hyrum: Yes I do, it's on June 24th.

Heather: Well that's not very long at all. You only have 3 more Sundays and then it will be your birthday. How old will you be?

Hyrum: I will turn 5 because I'm already 4. I wonder why I've been 4 for so long? I wonder if I will ever be 5 because I've been 4 for so long. I wonder why I feel like I've been 4 forever.

Don't you just love little children?

I went to visit my friend Kristel and her two little newborn twins. She had a boy and a girl. Lily and Cooper. They were four or five weeks early and have only been home from the hospital for a couple of weeks. Kristel is a trooper and so is Nate (her husband). The little babies are so cute and so precious. Here's a picture of them and me. Of course you can't see them very well because I didn't want the picture too close to try and hide the dark circles under my eyes. :) Will I ever find a mascara that doesn't fade and sit under my eyes, making me look like a druggie?

An Update

2008-06-04T22:20:00.000-06:00

May was an extremely busy month for me. I was only in town for half of the month and playing catch up for the rest of the month. I decided I am not a very good traveler or packer. Apparently my philosophy on packing is wait until the very last minute (like midnight before the morning you leave) and then throw as many outfits, shoes, books and massive hair care products (yes I did bring a full size blow dryer with diffuser)as I can into one suitcase and just pray I don't have to pay the $80 overweight fee at the airport.

My second trip I went to Southern California where I stayed in Newport Beach for a conference and then drove out to visit Carly and her family in Temecula. My conference was great, but who wants to hear about boring work stuff. The view outside my room was fantastic. It was a beautiful country club golf course and just beyond the course was the ocean. I can definitely see what the draw is for so many people wanting to live in southern California.

Visiting with Carly and her family was great. I have to give major props to Carly and everything that she does. She is a proud mother of three beautiful children with the oldest turning four and the wife of a full time working husband who is currently getting his MBA. Carly's day starts about 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning and never really ends with nighttime feedings still going on. Aren't her kids beautiful? They are so much fun to. I finally got Sterling comfortable enough that he let me hold him and play with him while I was there. I am definitely going to have to stay longer the next time I visit so I can have some more Sterling time!

Once I got back from California my body started rebelling. I have been sleeping 8 or 9 hours a night and still taking 2 and 3 hour naps. Not to mention the massive fever blister I got on my cheek. What I would like to know is why right on the cheek? Why couldn't it at least be on my neck or something, then it might have at least looked like a hicky and I could pretend like I was getting some action! Sorry no pictures to share with that one.

Serioulsy?!

2008-06-04T22:14:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a very long time. So this wouldn't exactly be the ideal post to start my blog, but seriously!

What is it about me that attracts all the weirdos in this life? It's almost like I have a flashing sign over my head that says if you have issues and are screwed up in any way, I'm the girl for you. Maybe there is this secret society of moron guys where they share gullible girl's phone numbers back and forth.

I just have one question: Since when is it ok to get in touch with an ex-girlfriend (who has asked you not to contact her and who you were pretty serious with at one point in time)once you are engaged? Seriously!

I know I sound a little bitter but sometimes life never stops to amaze me with what I get thrown at me. Ok, enough venting for now. I'll write another post about what's been going on in my life.

2007-10-25T20:59:00.000-06:00

Vampires

2007-10-25T20:37:00.000-06:00

Ok I have to admit I'm in love with a Vampire. My new favorite series is the Twilight series. Stephenie Meyer, the author, has created the perfect man - Edward Cullen. I had a friend recommend the books to me and I couldn't stop reading them once I picked them up. They are so good. I honestly think my chances of having a normal relationship are ruined because I will be holding every guy I date to the standard of Edward Cullen! I got my cousin Sarah hooked and I think everyone should read it, it's fantastic.

My First Blog

2007-08-23T12:56:00.000-06:00

This is my first attempt at a blog. I'm finally catching up with the rest of the technology world. We'll see how it goes. Since I have so many friends and family across the country I thought that this would be a good way for everyone to keep in touch. Or at least keep updated with everything that's going on with me. I hope that doesn't sound too selfish. I'll try to post some pictures as well. Anyway I hope everyone enjoys this - it should be fun!