thoughts...

I took a cruise last week with a few girlfriends. We had a wonderful time! Throughout the trip, there were a couple of things that I noticed/learned/thought about, etc. and I thought I'd share...

First: I'm so grateful that I don't drink. I can't tell you how many people I saw making complete and utter fools of themselves while they were drunk. How nice to know that I'll never have to wonder or worry about what I've done while drunk. One of those blessings that comes from obeying the Word of Wisdom.

Second: Beauty doesn't have a whole lot to do with how you look on the outside. Of course I knew this, but it was reinforced as I watched a girl who we seemed to run into quite a bit throughout the trip. She was definitely beautiful on the outside, she was tall and had a great build. She had long, shiny blond hair and great features. But as I watched her, I noticed that she wasn't very kind to those around her, even her mother. She definitely seemed much more concerned about herself and wasn't very considerate of those around her. Even her eyes didn't look very kind. Just little things I guess, but suddenly, she didn't seem so beautiful to me. I know it sounds mean to say that, but it was a good reinforcement of the knowledge that what's on the inside--your attitude, how you treat others, etc.--has such a huge effect on how you look on the outside. Beauty definitely is more than just skin deep.

That's enough.

As my sister and her kids were leaving our house the other night, I was blowing kisses to my 3 year old niece, one after the other in rapid succession. She blew a few back, but after a minute held up her hand and said in a very serious tone, "That's enough." I guess she told me! :)

What's next?

So I survived the talk, I didn't pass out, and honestly it wasn't as bad as I imagined. But I am delighted to now be at the bottom of the list.

Then yesterday the nursery leader called and asked me to substitute for her. I have a great mom who joined me, and it was actually fun. Those kids are so cute and the things that come out of their mouths are so funny.

I'm just wondering what's coming next Sunday...

Glossophobia

Glossophobia: fear of public speaking; from the greek glossa, meaning tongue, and phobos, meaning fear or dread.

I think dread pretty much sums it up. I have to speak in church on Sunday and I most definitely have glossophobia. I can't think of much that terrifies me more than speaking in church, or speaking anywhere in public for that matter. I think part of it is the microphone. I'm always worried I'm going to be one of those people who gets too close to the microphone and speaks WAY too loud, or is so close that you can hear their breath. I always get up there and speak way too fast. I have trouble breathing at a normal rhythm. I do not have the presence of mind to think for myself. I have to read my talk. I do try to look up now and then, but I don't think it's too convincing. I guess I should just hope that I don't pass out right there on the stand. That would awkward since I'll be in a skirt... Wish me luck...

The Marshmallow Man (or Woman)

Back when I was at Ricks (now BYU Idaho) a few of my roommates and I ended up working in a haunted forest for a night. I don't really remember the details of how it happened, but I do remember that one night. It was COLD. So we bundled ourselves up and headed on over at the appointed time. I had a lot of clothes on, including long underwear and my winter coat. We were going to be outside all evening, so I had to dress accordingly. Well when you have all that stuff on, it impairs your mobility. I was already walking a little stiffly. Then they dressed me in a pair of white sweats and painted my face white. So now I was a walking marshmallow woman. I could barely walk...it was more of a waddle.

My assignment was to lay in a fake coffin in the woods with the lid closed. I have no idea why I agreed to that. Could anything be creepier? And I was pretty alone, there weren't any other people nearby. They gave me a cardboard knife covered in foil and told me I had to pop the lid, jump out and run after people as they came by. Just try to imagine that. First off, it's not that easy to pop up from laying totally flat and do it quickly. Secondly, I was a marshmallow woman which made it even harder. I'm surprised people just didn't bust up laughing as I heaved myself out of that coffin in white sweats and lumbered after them, screaming at the top of my lungs. But somehow I managed to scare people, some of them pretty good. I even remember a couple of brave looking guys running away from me at full speed. Despite my awkward, marshmallow-like appearance and my creepy assignment, I had a great time that night.

I'm a dork...

Today I told my sister I'd attend church with her and her kids because her husband had to work. But my parents and I had decided to drive the Alpine Loop this morning before church and I was running a bit late for her 1:00 ward. So I rushed over to Lehi, parked and hurried into the church building. I didn't see my sister there, so I plopped myself down in the nearest bench to wait for her, opened the hymn book and began to sing the first verse of the opening song. It wasn't until that first verse was over that I started looking around. There weren't any kids. I didn't recognize anyone. (I've attended her ward before and know a few people.) I thought about my drive over and suddenly realized...I was in the wrong building!!

I'm a dork.

In my rush, I'd stopped at the church down the street from my sister's building. They look the same both inside and out. So I picked myself back up, got back in the car and rushed over to the right building where my sister and her kids were waiting. Guess I should pay a little more attention sometimes...

Counting Clouds

Counting clouds with my cute niece Alyssa. How could it get much better than this?

I can't complain...

Last Friday for work I had to drive from Salt Lake up to Coalville and then over to Heber and back to Salt Lake. I had to file liens at the county recorders offices in Coalville and Heber. The lien filing takes all of about 3 minutes at each office, however I definitely can't complain because the drive is so beautiful, especially this time of year. The colors are amazing and different colors are more prominent depending on which canyon I'm in and where I am in that canyon. I follow two different rivers and pass a couple of reservoirs. And I always see wildlife of some sort. What a great way to spend a morning at work! Luckily I get to do it pretty frequently. It's definitely one of the best parts of my job!

Golf? No thank you...

Yesterday I played in my first ever golf tournament. Keep in mind that my golf experience up to this point included exactly three trips to the driving range, one of which took place maybe 15 years ago. Luckily my next door neighbor is an avid golfer so I got to tag along a couple of times when he took his daughter to the driving range in preparation for my big tournament. After the second trip I could hit the ball most of the time...

So when we hit the course yesterday it was pretty hilarious. I don't think I hit the ball even most of the time. Lucky for me it was a scramble so my lack of talent didn't matter too much. I just couldn't get over how long it took! We were on that course for almost 5 hours. By the 18th hole, I was done! But I had great guys to play with--the other credit managers at work--who were extremely patient and helped me out whenever they could. They kept telling me we were out there just to have fun. Fun? I guess so... Needless to say, we didn't win, or even place, but now I can say I've actually played a round of golf and survived. Thank goodness this tournament only comes around once a year! I just don't think that golf is my thing...

It's almost fall!

I LOVE fall. It's definitely my favorite season! I love the crisp autumn air, the smell the furnace makes when you turn it on for the first time after summer, my mom's pumpkin bread, visiting Gardner Village in the fall, the changing colors, the sounds of crackling leaves and the cooler weather, wearing my favorite sweaters and jackets, adding more and more blankets to the bed at night. I love it all!

One of my earliest memories (and there aren't many--I have a horrible memory) is of walking through thick layers of fallen leaves in the canyon with my mom and dad. We'd walk along and kick up the leaves as we went. I loved it.

I miss Indiana especially in the fall. Brown County in southern Indiana has the most amazing fall colors and wonderful winding roads leading to fabulous vistas. And I loved walking along the streets in Nashville, Indiana stopping in all the cute shops. It's one of my favorite places.

Brown County

Nashville, Indiana

The other day I had to drive to Park City for work and noticed that the colors on the mountains are starting to change. I'm so excited! Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall?

ALASKA

My parents, sister Meghan and I recently took a cruise to Alaska. We had a wonderful time, and of course, I had to share some pictures!

Before we boarded the ship, we spent a couple of hours at Pikes Place Market in Seattle. I love Seattle.

Our first stop was in Juneau where we took a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier.

After the glacier, we took a ride through the rainforest outside of Juneau. It was beautiful, so green!

I took pictures of the flowers throughout the trip. It seemed like everything was in bloom. This one is called Fireweed.

The Red Dog Saloon in Juneau.Our next stop was Skagway. We took a ride up into Yukon. The scenery along the way was amazing.

The color of this lake is caused by the silt deposited by glaciers long gone.

Instead of taking the bus back down, we took this train. It was a lot of fun and again, the scenery was incredible.

Our ship docked in Skagway.

One day the ship cruised Tracy Arm Fjord up to Sawyer Glacier. It was mighty cold and windy first thing in the morning! But it was so beautiful! So fun to be cruising through all the ice.

Our sister ship, the Star Princess on the way out of the Fjord. (We were on the Golden Princess.)

I love this picture. If you look closely, you can see the four of us standing on deck.

Can you believe how blue those chunks of ice are?

Sawyer Glacier in the distance.

Next we stopped in Ketchikan. We went snorkeling there, and all the pictures I took were with the underwater camera, so once I get those scanned I'll post a couple. We loved snorkeling in Alaska! This is a shot of the town.

Our final stop was in Victoria, B.C. We visited Buchart Gardens, but our ship didn't dock until about 7:30 pm, so we were there in the evening. I didn't get too many good shots, but took a few of some flowers.

We had such an amazing time and I can't wait to go back to Alaska. I love cruising in cool weather! I'd definitely recommend it!

Wyoming!

This past weekend, my mom and dad, sister Meghan and I traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to visit my mom's parents and brothers and sisters. My mom doesn't often get to see all her brothers and sisters at the same time, so it was nice to have everyone together. It was a little chaotic at times with all the kids running around, but it was a lot of fun. We spent time wandering through some shops downtown, made a brief stop at the Wyoming Territorial Prison (where Butch Cassidy spent some time), as you can see...and spent a lot of time eating sweets. My grandpa makes the best apple pie ever! The drive was long, but it was worth it. We had a great time. Here's the group shot...we're missing a few, but this is almost everyone.

Toe Jam

Tonight my mom, sisters and I went to the spa at Gardner Village for pedicures. Aren't our toes lovely?! Nothing better than a good pedicure! Especially after the rough day I had at work. The girls at the spa did a great job and we had a great time! The spa is so nice and had room for all four of us to get our pedicures at the same time. I think we should make this a habit...

On Saturday, my mom and I spent almost five hours making strawberry jam. It's one of those projects that sounds like a great idea in the beginning, but after about three hours, you start wondering what the heck you were thinking. It's amazing how much jam you get from what didn't seem like a lot of berries! We used just about every container in the house. But the jam turned out beautifully and we'll enjoy it all year long. And I'm sure next summer we'll do it all again. Nothing beats my mom's strawberry freezer jam!

Moose, sheep and bugs...oh my!

The other night our family had a picnic up American Fork canyon. I love picnic season! And I love that we're close enough to the canyon to go up often for dinner. The weather was beautiful and it was great to get away from the heat in the valley. My niece Alyssa had a great time as well. We were on a walk and saw a big, black beetle. We watched it for a minute before it crawled off into the grass. Alyssa spent the rest of the evening calling, "Beetle...Big Beetle...Where are you? Here Beetle!" We tried to explain to her that the beetle had gone home to go to bed, but when that didn't fly, we spent several more walks looking for the beetle. It was pretty cute! I'm glad she's a girly girl who's not afraid of bugs and getting dirty!

We drove up to Tibble Fork before heading home and saw a young moose drinking from the resevoir. Then at the bottom of the canyon we saw several big horn sheep climbing the cliffs. A wildlife biologist who was also watching the sheep talked to us for a while and told us about the herd, which was very nice of him. It was quite the picnic!

The Big Damn Band

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band was in town Monday night. As always, it was great to see Breezy and family and the show was fabulous! I took my sister Meghan who'd never been to one of their shows and we had a great time. She kept turning to me saying, "I've never seen anything like this before!" They had a huge turnout and people were going crazy! They really are so incredibly entertaining and so talented! I'm always impressed when I get to see them live (the CD's are great as well.) I even got them to play a couple of my requests. They've got a new CD coming out in August and they're hoping to be back through Salt Lake in September. I plan to be there. You all should come too!! Check them out at www.bigdamnband.com!

Another Favorite Quote

"Life is like a roller coaster. It goes up and down, makes you scream and costs a lot to ride."
--Hannah Cheatem, age 6

It's about time...

I know you've all been waiting in eager anticipation for my next entry so here you go...

My little brother Shaun entered the MTC about a week and a half ago and in his last letter told us that he loves it there. It's weird to have him gone, but we're excited for the opportunities he'll have and so happy that he's enjoying his experience at the MTC. He's going to be a great missionary!

I've fallen in love...with the express lane pass that you can purchase for the carpool lane. My dad has one that I stole for a couple of days and its great!! I love the feeling of flying by the slow traffic on my way to work. Tomorrow I'll be signing up for one of my own and making my commute a little happier...yippee!

I have a couple more books to recommend. These Is My Words is the first and although its a little sad, its a very good read. I'm currently reading its sequel, Sarah's Quilt and so far I'm enjoying it just as much as the first. I also decided to re-read some of the books I remember liking as a kid. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler is a classic. Who wouldn't want to live in a museum for a few days? I think it's delightful. I also re-read James and the Giant Peach and although I think the movie is pretty weird, the book is great.

And finally, I've successfully made jello...twice. I'm pretty dang proud.

A New Nephew

I'm an aunt again!! My sister had a baby boy on Thursday, April 10th. His name is Tyson and he's darling. Big sister Alyssa is in love with him and when she first met him couldn't stop talking about how cute he is. Amy and Tyson are both healthy and well and we're all very excited!

Mind Over Matter

"As much as I try to be an easygoing, stretch your wings and fly type...I just can't stop trying to burst people into flames with my mind."

One of my new favorite quotes! I'd love to credit the author, but I found it on a plaque in a catalog and the author wasn't named.

Some days it's just pretty dang perfect... :)

California Dreamin'

My little brother Shaun received his mission call this week to the California Arcadia mission--Spanish speaking! He'll be leaving in May. We're so excited for him and know he'll do an amazing job! And he's pretty excited about warmer weather after spending a winter in Logan!

Tag!

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago today...I was at BYU working on my Horticulture degree

5 things on my to-do list today:
(the day's almost over so here are 5 things that were on my to-do list)
1. Get to work early
2. Go to Summit & Wasatch Counties to file liens
3. Order new checks
4. Call about the sewing machine
5. Be lazy after work!

I enjoy... reading, movies, traveling, shopping, going to dinner, sleeping

What would I do if I were suddenly made a billionaire?
I would buy a new house and a vacation house somewhere wonderful, do some serious traveling and put a bunch into savings

3 of my bad habits:(Only three?)
1. I bite my lip when I'm stressed
2. I have a hard time getting to work on time
3. Obsessing about my hair

5 places I have lived:
1. Orem, UT
2. Rexburg, ID
3. Provo, UT
4. Indianapolis, IN
5. Highland, UT

5 jobs that I have had:
1. Assistant Credit Manager for Geneva Rock
2. Receptionist
3. Horticulture Intern at the Indianapolis Museum of Art
4. Call center at Nu Skin
5. Waitress

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I hate public restrooms
2. I hate folding laundry
3. My family says I have a very strong sense of smell
4. I love snorkeling
5. I hate taking naps

I tag: Jenny, Jessica & Pamela

Embarrassing Moment

I was thinking the other day about some of the embarrassing moments I've had and thought I'd share one just for kicks. When I first became an assistant to the Credit Manager a few years ago, I attended my first company wide credit meeting. Lots of people attend these meetings and they go all day long. A big deal when you're new. After the morning meetings, we headed for lunch at a nearby chinese restaurant. All the credit managers were with us along with a couple of vice presidents and the president of the company. I sat down and started to look at the menu...suddenly I had a very dramatic sinking feeling and for good reason. The two back legs of my chair had buckled and next thing I knew I was on the floor and the president of the company was running around the table to make sure I was okay. I just stared at the ceiling for a moment with all these men looking down on me trying their best not to laugh. They helped me up and all I can say is I'm glad I wasn't wearing a skirt! We did get a free plate of wontons as compensation though. What more can you ask for?

Tidbits

I figure tidbits are a good thing...my mom always comments that pineapple tidbits are harder to find than say crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks, so...tidbits must be in high demand and here you're getting a whole list...must be your lucky day!

Jello:
I can't make Jello. I just tried again last week and instead of adding 2 cups of water I mistakenly added 3 cups. Oops. My wonderful family humored me and slurped up a few spoonfuls of the watered down mess, but the rest went down the drain. The only reason this concerns me is that I figure any self-respecting LDS woman should be able to make Jello with her eyes closed and her hands tied behind her back. I can't do it while reading the instructions...

Snow Day:
They actually cancelled church on Sunday. The last time I remember that happening I must have been around 6 or 7 and we lived in Orem and they cancelled church so everyone could shovel the snow off their roofs. This past Sunday we got about a foot and I guess they figured some people wouldn't have even been able to get out of their driveways, so they cancelled it! Really, I'm all about church, but there's just something exciting about such a rare event...

Darling Alyssa:
I know I'm a bit obsessed, but I'm pretty positive she's the cutest niece anyone's ever had! And my new favorite thing is when she says "butterfly"...her version comes out "futerfy" with oodles of enthusiasm. I ask her to say it over and over and honestly I hope she never learns to say it correctly (horrible I know). I also really like it when she says "mmm, dewicious." It's just pretty dang cute.

Book Review:
I just finished reading The Book Thief and it was a great book. So sad, especially at the end but very good. I'd highly recommend it. Warning: lots of swearing, but its all in German, so it doesn't seem so much like swearing... Today I started reading 44 Scotland Street...I'll let you know how it goes.

So...I started a blog. I was feeling a bit left out without one...Not sure how often I'll post anything, but we'll see how it goes. I do have one item of note to share though. I just got promoted!! I'm pretty excited about it, it'll be a good change. I'm now the Assistant Credit Manager over the Park City area and the Construction division. So I'll get to spend a bit more time in Park City, which I can't complain about. So yay!