Christmas Favorites: Christmas Day Traditions

Hmm. I'm not entirely sure we had a lot of Christmas day traditions, but I'm going to give it a shot.

1. Waiting to come down the stairs - Mom and Dad made us wait at the top of the stairs while they took pictures, and did who knows what while we sat there FOREVER!!! Finally, one of us would be allowed down the stairs and the other two had to continue our wait while we could hear she-who-was-luckiest gasp with excitement. At last the anticipation turned to glee as we flew down the stairs to see what Santa had brought. I miss that tradition. It's hard to carry it on, however, when I'm the only kid at home on Christmas, and Mom and Dad usually have to wake me up on Christmas morning now.

2. Taking turns opening gifts - Some might find this tradition tedious and frustrating, but I secretly enjoyed it, because it prolonged the excitement of opening my gifts. We still do this, and I'm glad! Now I enjoy opening my presents, but I can hardly contain my excitement as each family member opens the gifts I have put so much energy and thought into.

3. Bubble Ring - Yes, this gets two posts. It is a favorite food and a favorite tradition. It would NOT be Christmas without Bubble Ring for breakfast after opening gifts. The best part of being the only kid at home on Christmas morning? More bubble ring for me! :)

4. Stuffing stockings - This is a fairly new tradition. A couple of years ago I decided it would be fun to sneak a few little gifts into my parents' stockings after they went to sleep. It was so fun to watch their faces the next morning as they were surprised by gifts they weren't expecting and knew they hadn't put in each other's stocking. It's not such a surprise any more, but I still enjoy doing it.

Christmas Day traditions, anyone?

Christmas Favorites: Christmas Eve Traditions

This will be an easy list. I like tradition. *cue Tevye singing in my head*

1. Christmas lights - My family used to pile into the car and listen to Christmas music as we drove around looking at the Christmas lights people had on their houses. It was so much fun to see the ones that were especially festive. There was a house down the street that resembled the Griswolds'. In case you aren't familiar with it, this is the Griswolds' house in the movie "Christmas Vacation".


My friend lived next door. She said it was hard to sleep with all the lights shining in her window, but we loved to go see that house every year.

2. Family Dinner - For several years, my extended family got together on Christmas Eve and ate chili or Aunt Susan's famous (and delicious) clam chowder. It added to the excitement of Christmas Eve to be together with our cousins, and it helped the time pass quickly until we could go home and crawl into our beds in anticipation of Santa's visit.

3. Christmas Eve Presents - Each Christmas Eve before we went to bed, we were allowed to open ONE gift. It was always a new pair of Christmas pajamas. I really miss this tradition. I had to buy my own last year, and this year I can't even find any cute ones. Sad.

4. Christmas Goodies and Stories - We would all sit around the Christmas tree and munch on treats from the neighbors while Mom read the story of Christ's birth from Luke 2, and also "The Littlest Angel". It's just not Christmas Eve without them.

What are your Christmas Eve traditions?

Christmas Favorites: Christmas Food

Now this will be a hard list to narrow down. Here goes:

1. Pretzels dipped in White Chocolate - I don't normally love white chocolate, but there is something about the way the white chocolate combines with the salt on a pretzel that makes a little bit of heaven for my mouth. I love it when there are a few white chocolate pretzels on a goodie plate from a neighbor.

2. Carmel Rolls/Bubble Ring - It just wouldn't be Christmas without Carmel Rolls. They have been a traditional breakfast staple on Christmas morning for as long as I can remember.

3. Melbas - Mmm. My mouth waters just thinking about them. A friend of my mom's opened a chocolate shop when I was young. The Melbas were our favorite treat from her store. When she went out of business, she was willing to share her recipe with my mom, and now we have Melbas every year. A Melba has a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth fondant with milk chocolate covering the outside. You should try some! I recommend them without nuts. They're the best that way.

4. Mom's No-Fail Fudge - rich, fudgy goodness. Who could ask for more? Oh yeah, it contains hershey bars and marshmellows, so it's pretty much perfection!

What are your favorite holiday treats?

Christmas Favorites: Christmas Stories

As much as I don't like Christmas, I love Christmas stories. This could possibly have something to do with the fact that I LOVE reading. Seriously. I would choose a good book over almost anything. These are my favorites:

1. Tale of Three Trees - It's not really a Christmas story, but I read it every Christmas, so I guess that qualifies. This is such a beautiful tale and has several applications. It chronicles important points of the Savior's life, and it also shows that even though your dreams may not be accomplished in the way you planned, they are still important and lead you to where you need to be in the end.

2. The Littlest Angel - My mom read this story to us each Christmas Eve, so I love it not only because it's a great story, but because it takes me back to Christmas as a child. It is the sweetest story about a little boy angel who is trying to figure out what gift he can give to the baby Jesus.

3. The Last Straw - If you have siblings, you will be able to empathize with the boy in the story. The Last Straw is a great reminder of how we should celebrate the Christmas season.

4. Trouble at the Inn - This story touches my heart. That a young boy was willing to do for Mary and Joseph what none were willing to do on that night long ago when the Savior of the world was born in a stable.

What are you favorite Christmas stories and why?

Christmas Favorites: Christmas Places

My favorite places to go at Christmas:

1. Temple Square - Even though it's always really cold, I love to walk around Temple Square and look at the lights. I also love that Temple Square is a little bit of quiet in a crazy busy world.

2. Doug & Emmy's - I have been to this little restaurant lots of times, and most of them weren't at Christmas, but when I think about going to breakfast at Christmas, I always think of Doug & Emmy's. I'm so sad that they're closing! I hope I can make it there at least once more before that happens. Anyone want to go?

3. Disneyland - We went to Disneyland right after Christmas one year, and it rocked!!! Disneyland is one of my favorite places anyway, but it was especially fun when it was all decorated for Christmas. And it was so warm. I love wearing a T-shirt and no coat in the winter!

4. Jimmy's - I used to work there, and it's fun for me to go back and visit at Christmas. I love to see all the different tree decorations, and the flower arrangements. I have really fun memories of working there at Christmas, and it's fun to go back. It feels like home.

Where do you like to go at Christmas?

Christmas Favorites: Christmas Decor

More favorites...this time decor.

1. Red/Green/White - Traditional Christmas colors. While I appreciate the visual appeal of other colors in Christmas decor, I don't think that I could ever stray from the traditional set in my own decorating.

2. Snowmen - I love many different styles and I generally lean away from the cutesy, but for some reason, I love snowman decor. Seriously. Love it! My Christmas decor is probably 90% Snowpeople.

3. Christmas Lights - They're just so darn pretty. And festive. I like the ones you can see from miles away.

4. Nativities - I love looking at all the different versions. Is there a stable? Are there wisemen? Is the baby Jesus in a manger, or in someone's arms? Do they do a festival of nativities like the Festival of Trees? I would totally go to that!

How do you like to decorate?

A Little Giggle...

I know this is a break from my Christmas favorites, but I just had to share. During Sharing Time in Primary , the Primary President was teaching about the Savior's birth. She started to read from Luke 2..."And it came to pass that in those days..." That's as far as she got before one of my little boys started yelling "Hey! That's in my scriptures!!!" I thought he must mean that the Christmas story is in his scriptures, so I asked "Does your family read the Christmas Story every year?" I was about 3/4 of the way through that sentence when he yelled "My scriptures say "And it came to pass!". Funny boy!

Christmas Favorites: Christmas Movies

Today wasn't any better than yesterday. So I continue with trying to focus on the good parts of Christmas. Tonight...movies. (Just so you know, the numbers have absolutely no significance. I just like to make nice, neat, numbered lists. It's an illness.)

1. White Christmas - I love Bing Crosby. I love Danny Kaye. This movie is funny and heartwarming all at the same time. And I really want one of those red cloaks trimmed in white fur like the sisters wear at the end.

2. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer/Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - It just wasn't Christmas until we watched these movies when I was little. I especially remember one year when Mom made tomato soup with dumplings for us to eat while we watched Rudolf. Yummy!

3. Elf - Hilarious!

4. Mr. Krueger's Christmas - This movie makes me think of Chorale. We watched this once at a Christmas activity and my friend Derek could say "would you like to come in for some chocolate?" just like Jimmy Stuart. I must have made him say it 4,000 times that year. I especially like the part where Mr. Krueger is in the Nativity. It makes me cry.

What are your favorite Christmas movies? I'm sorry if you get annoyed that I keep asking for your favorites. Get over it. I like to know what you think. I already know what I like. ;)

Christmas Favorites: Christmas Songs

It's been a long day. And I'm sad. And it's really cold. And I don't love Christmas. I'm sorry. I know that Christmas is the favorite holiday for most people, but it's not mine. I am trying to get into the Christmas spirit this year, so I've decided to post my Christmas Favorites. Tonight's list will contain my favorite Christmas songs and why they are my favorites. So here goes:

Sacred:
1. O Holy Night - This one is a favorite for several reasons. I have happy memories attached to this song, and each time I hear it I am transported to a beautiful December night about 12 years ago. I think it is beautiful. My favorite part of the song is where it says "fall on your knees". I can picture the shepherds falling on their knees to worship the Christ Child. And I can imagine myself doing the same thing when I meet the Savior someday.

2. Stille Nacht by Manheim Steamroller - I have loved this song since the first time I heard it. I've always liked Silent Night, and this arrangement is so peaceful and reverent. I imagine that would have been the mood there in the stable that first Christmas.

3. Candlelight Carol & Angel's Carol by John Rutter - These are together because I like them for the same simple reason...I love John Rutter's song arrangements.

4. Still, Still, Still - Good memories associated with this one as well. It was the best when my high school choir sang it accompanied only by the bells. So beautiful.

Secular:
1. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - I remember my dad singing this to us around Christmas time when we were arguing, or whining. "You better watch out, you better not cry" always makes me think of my dad.

2. Must Be Santa - We sang this in Elementary School. I can still picture Mr. Tams frantically flipping the pages of the big chart and pointing out the words as we sang faster and faster. Christmas was still fun back then.

3. White Christmas - I was in "Meet Me In St. Louis" my senior year of high school. It was really fun and this song makes me think of that. And I love the movie.

4. Sleigh Ride - more good memories. When I was in High School, my choir class sang this song. Our director didn't think it was appropriate for a bunch of High School students to sing about passing around coffee, so we were trying to come up with other words to add there. Someone suggested water and we all thought that was pretty funny, so that's how we sang it for the rest of the season.

What are your favorite Christmas songs and why? Leave them in the comments so I can see. :)

Conversations in Primary

The following conversations occurred between me and my primary kids today.

This first conversation came out of nowhere. We were talking about prophets at the time.
A: "I don't want to get baptized."
Mish: "Okay." (I know, I know. Bad teacher moment. I have little to no patience with A. She's very difficult.)
A: "Well, why can't I wear goggles?"
Mish: "Because we don't wear goggles at church. But you can close your eyes really tight."

The second conversation came during sharing time while we were playing "Guess the Prophet".
E: "Once there was a prophet who stole money from the rich people to give to the poor people."
Mish: (making a valiant effort not to laugh) "Well...he wasn't a prophet, but he did try to help people."

I learn something every week. I'm just not always sure the kids do. :)

September 11, 2009

Remembering today. Hoping loved ones have been able to move forward. Grateful for those who have fought and continue to fight for freedom. Wishing for world peace.

If you want to know what I was doing on 9/11/01, go here.

Confessions of a Tomboy

Growing up, I was a serious tomboy. I hated dresses. They were uncomfortable and not functional. After all, it hurt my bare legs when I slid down the railing in a dress after church on Sundays. And I couldn't do flips on the monkey bars in a dress. I liked playing with cars. I liked sliding down the weed-covered gravel hill at school on my knees. My mom patched the knees of a LOT of jeans. I liked playing with the boys. They ran, they played with snakes, they got dirty. Girls were prissy and boring and played with dolls. In fact, I was such a tomboy that I was really bugged when we'd play Thundercats or Voltron (now you know I'm old!) and the boys made me be Cheetara or the Princess. Ugh.

Now, don't assume I didn't like the boys, just because I was a tomboy. Oh no. My first crush was on my four year old bestie, Jeff. And I've never stopped likin' the boys since. Well that's not true. Now I like the men. But I digress.

Here's where the confession comes in. When I was in the 5th grade, I had a dream. A goal. And a lofty one at that. This dream was a direct result of being a boy-crazy tomboy. We started to learn how to play touch football in P.E. I loved it! I especially loved it when one of the two boys I had a crush on insisted that the ball be passed to me for the touchdown. Anyway, I had this newly discovered love of football. Playing, watching college games on T.V. I got really into it for awhile. The two boys I was crushing on loved football, too. And so, a dream was born. I was going to be the first-ever female college football star.

Dreams change. But it still makes me laugh. In honor of the upcoming season opener, and to annoy my brother-in-law: Go Cougars!

Sunday Sunset

I've been in kind of a funk most of the weekend, so I decided I needed to go for a drive. The weather was pretty nice. It was hazy (anyone else tired of wildfire smoke blowin' into town and stickin' around?), and sort of cloudy, but it was warm and peaceful feeling. So I hopped in the car, dropped the windows, opened the sunroof, and took off. I didn't really have a destination in mind. I just drove.

I went up the canyon. It was a little cooler up there, about 82 degrees. I love that it is almost September and the mountains are still green. I've tried to get a good picture of this, but it hasn't worked out. (See the "hazy" issue referenced above.) I went a little past the reservoir, then turned around and pointed my car toward home (South! I thought I was going West. Go figure.). As I got back into town, I could see that the haziness, mixed with stormy-looking clouds was making a really interesting picture as the sun was going down.

I was able to stop in a couple of different places that afforded a great views. I'll share them with all you home-bodies who were lounging indoors on this fine Sunday evening. Enjoy!

Oh, and here's a random question to ponder whilst you enjoy the sunset: Why is Sunday part of the weekend, when it is actually the beginning of the week?

I think this is my favorite. It's the first one I took.

This was taken from a lovely neighborhood above the local university.

I took this from the parking lot of a trail head. On a cliff.
It was really high. And I was nervous. I was holding
onto my car, lest one of us should venture off the edge.
I thought we should go together.

Little Thing = Big Difference

Not a great day. Started out rough. Not enough sleep. Had a headache. And someone decided that the freeway doesn't need it's top seven layers, so if you drive on it, you are at serious risk of an accident or a shattered windshield. Of course, I remembered that just as I was about to get on the freeway this morning. So I quickly detoured and went through town. My 12 minute drive took 30 minutes.

The day continued steadily down hill. Work was stressful. People were grumpy. Didn't cross anything off today's To Do list. Was too busy putting out other people's fires.

Then...driving home. Ruminating over all the yuckiness of the day. My phone rang. I answered. My friend from Seattle is in town. Just talking to him made me happy. And he's supposed to come by later tonight to say hi! Can't wait.

Just one little two-minute phone call, and it made all the difference in the world.

Complete Randomness

I thought about finally posting some of the highlights of my Montana trip, but I can't string two coherent thoughts together, so instead I'm subjecting you to the ramblings of my mush-brain.

* I can't figure out why I am such a typical middle child, when I was the oldest child at home for more years than the middle.
* My mouth hurts.
* It's really hot upstairs, but if I go downstairs, I'll be cold.
* I wish I didn't have to miss card night.
* I wonder what my IQ is.
* I'm hungry, but nothing sounds good.
* Why do long weekends go faster than short work weeks?
* I think it's funny that I live in a place I swore I'd never live...and I still don't love it.
* Why is it that certain famous astronauts believe that now is the time to ask for billions of dollars toward space exploration when we are in an economic crisis. No offense intended you outer space buffs, but I'm a little more focused on things closer to home at the moment. Oh, wait. It's cuz they heard that Obama will give money to anyone who doesn't need it.
* I'm still hungry...and hot.
* Someday I'm going to have the prettiest buckskin horse you ever saw. And if you're nice, I might let you ride it. :)
* I should really be cleaning my house, since I have family coming to visit. If only I didn't feel like tearing my head right off my body every time I move.
* It was fun visiting extended family for a few minutes the other night. I'm sad the visit was so short.
* I love central air...especially when it finally kicks on and drops the upstairs temperature down to 108.
* I miss being a kid. Summers were way more fun when I could play all day.
* It's hard being a tomboy when you're surrounded by girliness.
* Why was this suburban girl born with a need to live a country life?
* I'm doing random math in my head right now. Does that happen to any of you out there?
* It's definitely time to go find some dinner, so I'll stop subjecting you to my randomly spouting thoughts.

Good night!

Brittish Weekend

It was completely unintentional, but Heidi, Betsy and I ended up having a theme weekend a couple of weeks ago. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was the last show of our Broadway season, so we headed off to Salt Lake. Heidi was already there, and Betsy met her early for some shopping and dinner. I met them at Elizabeth's Tea Shop, and had a delicious chocolate cake. Then it was over to the Capitol Theatre to enjoy the flying car. (Truly Scrumptious was truly annoying. She went all opera on fun songs like Toot Sweets. Dumb! Other than that, it was a very fun show!) Driving home in the pouring rain, through Lake Road Construction was super exciting. I was grateful and amazed to arrive home unscathed.

Notice the sign for Chitty. That's the only picture I got.

Saturday, Heidi and I met Betsy at the Scottish Festival and Highland Games at Thanksgiving Point. We watched the games for awhile. It was entertaining to see the girls try to toss the caber, and we were sad that none of them were able to get it over. We also watched weight over the bar competition and the sheaf toss.

Best female attempt at caber toss.

Sheaf Toss

After watching the games, we had worked up quite an appetite. We were surprised to see booths for Navajo Tacos, Smoothies, Hot Dogs, etc. We wanted to go authentic, but I couldn't "stomach" the idea of Haggis (ha ha...get it? Stomach. I crack myself up!), so I went for a meat pie. Steak and mushroom. It was delish! Way better than it looks in the picture.

My meat pie. Mmm Mmm.

After lunch we walked around and checked out the booths. I was delighted to find out that I have a clan. Thanks to my Grandma Olsen, I am part of the Drummond Clan. I even got a picture of my tartan. Yay!!!

All about the Drummond Clan

We watched some cute little dancers, but quickly grew tired of listening to the piper play the same song for every dance. We stood in a really long line to get some root beer in fancy bottles (the root beer was not good), and just after we got our drinks, the sky opened up and the rain fell in buckets. We made a quick dash for the car, and by the time we got in, there were rivulets of water running off my arms and legs. Thanks to the heated seats in my car, I was all warm and toasty by the time I got home. It was a WAY fun weekend. Thanks for helping me get in touch with my roots girls!!!

I've Come To A Conclusion.

I live a very boring life. You see, it's been forever since I've posted. Partly because 80% of my focus has been on work (craziness happening there!!!), 15% has been focused on my primary class (I have a very difficult one this year, and I just lost my team teacher!), and 5% has been focused on my family (cuz I don't want to cut them out, but unfortunately they only get what's left). The few things that were worth posting about, I haven't had time to post.

So for any loyal followers (if I have any left after my long absence) here is what's new with me over the last couple of months.

My new niece, Hadlee

Hadlee and her proud big sisters!

Three little nieces sitting on Aunt Misty's legs

My new baby...loving the Hybrid!!! Doesn't have a name yet, any suggestions?

My nephew's H.S. graduation (and my birthday!)

I got to have my birthday party/picnic watching the Thunderbirds!!!

I think that sums up the exciting parts. Now you're caught up...at least until I go to Montana next week!!! Stay tuned for daily rundowns of the trip. (Don't feel obligated to read them, it's just the only way I actually ever record my trips, so I put them up here.)

Life...

Most of the time I'm pretty content with my life. In fact, most of the time I like my life. But every once in a while I have this feeling of complete discontent. You could call today "every once in a while". I don't really know why, I just don't like my life at the moment. I just came home from being with my family for several days. My sister just had a sweet new baby girl. I got to spend lots of time with my nieces. It was a good time. But driving home this evening, that feeling of discontent fell over me. I feel like I'm not doing anything important with my life, and I need to change something, but I don't know what. Usually when I feel like I need a change, I cut my hair (it's probably the easiest thing to change), but I'm growing my hair out and can't even do that. Ugh! I hate these days. I am glad they don't happen very often. And they don't usually last very long, so hopefully things will look brighter tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!

For The First Time I Feel...WICKED!!!

That's right friends. After almost two years of waiting, I finally saw Wicked on Friday night. I bought season tickets (along with Heidi and some friends) this year so I would for sure get to go. Then my mom and sisters decided we should all go together, so we bought tickets for another show. That was about nine months ago. Little did we know that Mandy would be pregnant, and her due date would be the day before our show. Dilemma!

Well, my sweet roommate, Heidi, offered to trade Mandy tickets, so that Mandy could go with me Friday night, and Heidi will go with my mom, Dayna, and I in a couple of weeks.

We started with dinner at the Lion House Pantry, then we headed over to the Capitol Theatre.



Three words to describe the show. A. MA. ZING!!!! Seriously. It was incredible. Definitely my favorite musical, and that's saying something since I love muscials. The actors were fabulous, the singing was great (except Fiyero got a little nasally on the high notes...but that was my only disappointment), and the scenery was fantastic.

I can't wait until I get to go again. And I've decided that I need to see it in other cities as well. I don't know when or how, but I am going to see it in New York, and I'd love to see it in L.A. and Chicago as well.

So, my final review is not two thumbs up, but a very enthusiastic two fists raised high in the air and shouting WOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!

The Link That Made My Day

It has been a cold, snowy, cloudy, ugly day.

Then I saw this video and I'm feeling much better!

Oh, how I wish life were more like a musical. Singing and dancing at the drop of a hat. It would definitely make life more fun!!!

Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k and make sure you turn up the sound.

Heroes

No, no. Not the T.V. show, although I did watch the first season.

I have a lot of heroes. Some of them have done big, huge things, and some of them have done really minor things. Today, my hero is my brother-in-law, Erik. I knew that today was going to be a crazy stressful day. So I made sure that my iPod was all charged up and ready to help me through a long day of prepping for audits, trying to pull together a staff meeting/training for tonight, plus attempting to keep up with my regular job duties. I think the iPod had been on for about ten minutes when it froze. That happened once before on Christmas Eve, and Erik was able to reset it for me. When it happened today, I couldn't remember how to do it. Luckily Erik was able to walk me through it over the phone, and I had my iPod back in short order.

As expected, my day was totally insane, but I had the very calming Pride and Prejudice soundtrack playing all day, and I was able to make it through. So tonight I raise my iPod in honor of you, Erik! Thank you , thank you, thank you for helping me maintain my sanity (for the most part) today. You're the best!!!

Happy Monday!

I do not like Mondays. I usually can't sleep on Sunday nights, because I am stressed out about work. Which causes me to start my Monday grumpy and stressed out. And things don't usually go very well for me on Mondays. But occasionally I have a happy Monday. Today was one of those. Here is why.

Happy #1: I slept really well last night. I didn't sleep long enough, but that's okay because usually my Sunday night sleep is riddled with dreams/subconscious obsessing over work, and last night, I didn't have any work dreams. Just sleep. So nice!

Happy #2: Had a pretty decent work day for a Monday. Nothing horrible.

Happy #3: Even though the weather was cold and windy all day long, this evening my good friend Mr. Sun peeked out from behind the clouds for a quick hello.

If you look closely, you can see Mr. Sun shining on the building at the right.

Happy #4: Card Night. I love card night. To borrow the slogan from the Training Table, it's "good food, good friends, and fun"! We went to Pennyroyal Cafe. It's this cute little cafe in downtown Provo. They have really ugly couches, but really tasty food. Unfortunately, Heidi's salad came with spinach leaves which her stomach does not like, and I only got a sandwich (the "My Grill"...highly recommend it), so when we were done, we were still kind of hungry. Which leads to...

Happy #5: Maestro's. Heidi and I decided to venture around the corner to Maestro's for a treat. We both ordered the Sour Cream, Brown Sugar, and Fresh Strawberry Crepe, and a Chocolate Latte. I had raspberry flavor added to mine. One word. DELECTABLE. I always leave Maestro's feeling a little pampered and a lot full!

Our pretty Chocolate Lattes (Don't worry. No coffee. Just chocolate.)

Mmm. Doesn't that make you hungry?

Happy #6: Happy Birthday, Mandy!!! My baby sister turned not-so-very-young-anymore today, and for the next two and a half months, we will only be two years apart, instead of three! Hope you had as good a Monday as I did, Mooks. LOVE YOU!!!!

Oooh. I hope Tuesday is as good as Monday!

I'm Still Here

Due to the lack of attention my poor blog has received from me lately, you may think I have disappeared. I haven't. I'm still here. I've just been really busy with work, and haven't had time to post, let alone had anything to post about.

I did have a very busy but fun weekend. I had Friday off of work, so I was able to get a little cleaning and some laundry done. That was nice. Then in the afternoon, I headed up to my parents' house. We took Dayna's family to dinner that night, then I "helped" mom and dad pick out a new T.V. (Okay, so really I just wandered around and occasionally pointed out other options.)

Saturday morning I went with mom to her Stake Women's Conference. It was really good and worth getting up early on a Saturday. After the conference, mom and I did a little shopping, then we went to Mandy's house. I knew Mandy was trying to get some things done around the house, so I decided to bake and decorate cookies with Kambrie to keep her busy. We had lots of fun, and surprisingly we didn't make too big a mess.

Saturday night we had tickets to a Young Ambassadors show. It was entertaining, but I was a little disappointed in the quality of the singing and the dancing. I really liked the numbers from Wicked, and it made me really excited to see it...in 40 days!!! I can't wait!

Now, I love Daylight Savings Time, but I do not love it when I go to bed at 12:30am and have to get up and drive home at 6:00am. It was still pitch black when I left mom and dad's house, but it was fairly light by the time I got home. The sky looked really pretty as it was starting to get light, and I wanted to take a picture, but figured that trying to pull my camera out of my purse at 75 miles an hour when I wasn't entirely awake was probably not a good idea. So close your eyes, and picture a sky in varying shades of dark blue covered by a black mountain silhouette. There. Now you know what I got to see early this morning. Enjoy!

Winter Rant

I am SO done with winter...and snow...and grey, ugly days...and the cold...and everything that comes with winter. I am NOT a winter person. I am a spring and summer person. Once Christmas is over I am ready for spring. I did have a happy moment today when it was 52 degrees outside, and it did kind of smell like spring. Unfortunately, I hear we are in for another snow storm tonight.

PLEASE! Can't it be spring? Now?!?

Goodbye Stranger

This was a tag on Facebook, but I found it pretty funny, so I thought I'd post it here for those of you not on Facebook. Enjoy! (Oh, and feel free to do this on your blog. I'd love to see your answers.)

Rules:
1. Put your music library on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song title as the answer to the question, no matter how silly it sounds! Most of the time they seem to work though, strangely enough.
4. Ok, go!

1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK?" YOU SAY?
Wrong--Coolhand

2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Bottle It Up--Sara Bareilles

3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
First Time--Lifehouse (Oh dear!)

4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Assassins--Muse

5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
The Longer I Run--Peter Bradley Adams

6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Mercy--One Republic

7) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
The Freak Parade--Big and Rich (LOL...sorry Mom and Dad. Love you!)

8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Voice On The Radio--Marie Digby

9) WHAT IS 2+2?
Tender Mercies--Shawn McDonald

10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Who Are They?--Carter Burwell

11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Uninvited--Alanis Morissette

12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Never Think--Rob Pattinson (I'm sure some people would agree.)

13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Stuck in the Middle With You--Michael Buble (Ooh...I hope you're hot!)

14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE
Breakdown--Not Too Shabby

15) WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Angel--Natasha Bedingfield (Is this right, guys?)

16) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
One Less Day--Jeff Foster

17) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
More Time--Needtobreathe

18) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
American Boy--Estelle (No comment!)

19) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Vegas--Sara Bareilles (I guess what they say is true...)

20) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Still--Matt Nathanson

21) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Goodbye Stranger--Lili Haydn

25 Random Things

I got tagged with this both on a blog, and on facebook, so I guess I have to do it. You will now all know for sure that I am extraordinarily weird. Here goes.

1. I have to have my clothes hung in a very specific way (translate that as a very OCD way) in the closet. They are hung by style, then by color within that style. They all have to be facing the same direction, and I like for the hangers to be evenly spaced.
2. I've posted a bit about this before, so it won't be a surprise to some of you, but I can be an over-achiever and a perfectionist. Sometimes this makes my life more difficult than it needs to be.
3. I am an intensely patriotic person.
4. I love to watch fighter jets. I love the sound of them, especially when they have the afterburners on. And watching the USAF Thunderbirds fly is one of my very favorite things to do. (I hear they might be coming to Hill AFB this summer. I can't wait!!!)
5. I am one of the best car-packers you will ever meet. I have an obsession with making things fit like puzzle pieces, and I can get more into the trunk of one mid-size car than most people can get in an entire car.
6. I like to be prepared. In fact, some people might think I'm over prepared. I like to be ready for anything, and I like being able to take care of/help other people, too. My sisters make fun of me for this, but they are usually the ones benefiting from my preparedness. (Except when it comes to food storage, Dayna holds the title on that one, and I'm going to her house in a disaster!)
7. I am an extremely family oriented person. I will turn down almost anything, if it means I get to be with my family. I love my extended family, and even though I don't see them often, they are still some of my favorite people. I even have pretty close relationships with most of my second cousins.
8. I love cars. I like to work on cars. I find it fun to change oil, change and rotate tires, etc.
9. I'm very analytical. I like to know why things work the way they do, why people act the way they do, and I love trying to solve mysteries in books, movies, tv shows, and even in real life before the answers are revealed.
10. I like math. Really. Nothing weird like theorems or cosigns or anything like that. (See number 9) Sometimes when I see numbers, I have to do mathematical equations with them. For no reason. I also like to do math in my head, and get annoyed with myself when I have to use paper.
11. I love ghost stories, even though I'm scared of ghosts! I bought three books about reported hauntings in Montana when I was there last summer, and going on the ghost tour in Virginia City (a ghost town) was one of the most fun, and most scary things I've ever done. I think this is pretty weird considering that I'm a very logical person. This is one thing I love, despite the fact that I can't explain it.
12. I can't stop in the middle of things. In choir, when the director would stop us in the middle of a phrase, I had to finish it quietly. If I'm working on something, I can't stop until it's done. It's almost physically painful for me to stop in the middle of something, and if I do stop, I have a hard time getting back to it.
13. I love horses, and dream of having a ranch someday.
14. I hate book learning. I hate reading instructions and I don't read self-help books. I much prefer to learn by experience, and/or figure things out by myself.
15. I love to read more than anything (mostly mysteries, ghost stories, and suspense books), and I always have. I used to hide behind my bed or in my closet and read when I was supposed to be cleaning my room, then if I heard my mom or dad coming, I would hurry and pretend like I was cleaning out the closet or cleaning under the bed.
16. I love to sing, and will catch myself singing along with songs I hate just because they're playing. I want to be on a CD someday. I don't even need to be a solo artist. I would be happy to sing in a group, or even sing background vocals. I have a dream of being the singing voice of a movie character.
17. I have a weird way of eating meals. I have to eat all of one dish before I can move on to the next. Let's take lunch for example. If I had a sandwich, fruit, and potato chips, I would have to eat all of the sandwich, then all of the fruit, then the chips. (It doesn't have to go in any certain order, and I don't have to finish the dish, but I eat all I want of it before moving on, and once I've moved to another dish, I almost never go back.)
18. I've always been really good at spelling. I won the third grade spelling bee at my school, and took fifth in the district spelling bee that year.
19. I have an innate sense of rhythm. It is literally impossible for me to sing, dance, etc. off the natural rhythm. I can do something on an off beat, but I have to really concentrate to do that, or I end up getting back on beat. If there is music playing, and I am walking, I walk to the beat. I can't help it.
20. I love kids, and I am pretty good with them. Most little kids are drawn to me, and some people have referred to me as the pied piper.
21. I like to iron.
22. I don't mind being alone. It doesn't bother me to stay alone when my roommates are gone, or to house sit by myself, in fact, I kind of like it.
23. I love music and poetry. Good lyrics speak to my soul.
24. I love being outside, and for some reason I especially like being outside at night. I like fishing, and camping, and rappelling, and other outdoor activities, but I hate hiking.
25. I am a very jumpy person. I don't like to play hide and seek, because it scares me and I scream. If I am hiding from someone and jump out at them, it scares me worse than it scares them. And I almost always scream when I get startled. Just ask the unfortunate UPS guy who had the misfortune to walk into my yard when my back was turned. I think I scared him worse than he scared me!

I tag everyone who reads this. Except Mandy since she already did it. :)

Lava Hot Springs

My parents have a time share in Lava Hot Springs, and every winter we spend a weekend laughing, eating, shopping, and playing games. Oh, and we watch the Super Bowl. But I REALLY don't want to talk about that. Anyway, we had a great time, even if I was sick for part of the weekend. My Friday was taken up with packing, loading the car, going to work for a meeting, driving, loading my parents' car (no one can pack a car quite like me!) and more driving. We got to the condo, had dinner, and then Erik and I went to sit in the hot tub before going back to our rooms to go to bed.

Saturday is our traditional shopping day. The girls always drive into Pocatello to go shopping. Usually it's just the adult girls, but this time we took the little girls, too. That made shopping a bit more exciting than I was planning on, and of course I got suckered/guilted into buying things for Breklin and Kambrie. After a long afternoon of shopping, we headed back to the condo to have dinner, celebrate Breklin's birthday, and then Erik, Mom, and I went for a hot tub soak again.

Sunday brought a relapse of the flu I thought I was over, so I mostly just lounged and read a book. (In case you were wondering, I read "Makeover" by Shannon Guymon. It was cheesy and predictable, but I enjoyed it anyway.) In the evening we played some games and watched the Super Bowl, which for us this year meant mostly the commercials. LOVED the Doritos commercial with the snow globe. I think it was my favorite.

Sadly, as it does every year, Monday came too soon. After breakfast, a shower, and a delicious lunch, all the kids hit the road. Mom and Dad got to stay for the rest of the week. They are so lucky. On the positive side, we all made it home safely. Overall, it was a good weekend, and I have plenty more to look forward to this year, so stay tuned!

Mandy and Kambrie hanging at the condo.

Breklin driving a semi at the mall.

Kambrie driving a jeep. She only enjoyed it as long as Grandma was holding her hand. When Grandma let go, she wanted out!

Breklin and Grandma making cookies.
They ended up being our appetizer for lunch today.

Long Awaited Update

So nothing very exciting has been happening for me lately, at least that any of you would like to hear, so that is the reason for the lack of posting. I did do a couple of fun things last week though, so here goes.

On Monday, (Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Civil Rights Day) I was off of work. Dayna had gotten some tickets for the Draper Temple Open House, so Dayna and her family, Aunt Janet, Uncle Steve, Mom, Eldine, and I got to go. I was supposed to pick up Eldine on my way to the temple, so I left my house early. Good thing, too, since it was pretty foggy. Eldine and I met my family at a church near the temple where we watched a movie explaining the significance of temples to the LDS church. Then we loaded onto buses and rode to the temple.

Janet, Steve, and Dayna on the bus

We were able to walk through the temple. It is so beautiful, and there is amazing artwork hanging on almost every wall. We had to hurry back to the cars when we were done, because Steve had to go back to work (sad) and Eldine needed to get home for a lunch appointment. Because we were in such a hurry, we didn't get to walk around the temple and take pictures, so I had to take them from the bus as we were driving back to get our cars.

The Draper Temple

After retrieving our cars, we went to lunch at Zupas to celebrate Aunt Janet's birthday. We had a great time, and I have to add this picture because it makes me smile.

My nephew, Jantz, being silly with a strawberry. He is so darling.
I can't believe he'll be going on a mission in a few months!

It was a great day (even if it was really icky and smoggy outside)!

On Saturday, Mom came down to see me. We went to the Provo Temple and did an endowment session, then we went to lunch at Kneaders. You may see a pattern developing here. All I can say is: Mmm. There's nothing better than soup and sandwiches on a chilly day.

Thanks Dayna for getting the tickets and letting me crash the party, and thanks Mom for coming down to see me, and going to the temple with me. I have a great family!!!

A Look Back at 2008

In honor of the outgoing year, I thought I would post some of the best things about 2008. (In order of when they happened.)

1. Annual family trip to Lava Hot Springs
2. GNOs (Girls Nights Out)
3. Trip to Montana
4. Teaching my nieces to ride a horse
5. Breaking Dawn release
6. Lagoon with Mandy's family
7. Education Week with the girls
8. Family Reunion/Trip to Idaho Falls
9. Colors Concert
10. So You Think You Can Dance Tour
11. The Rat Pack (my first official Broadway Across America show)
12. California Trip
13. Twilight movie release

At the very end of 2008 (two days after Christmas) my family had family pictures taken for the first time in 20 years. Here's the pic of the whole fam.


Overall, 2008 was a pretty good year, and I can't wait to see what 2009 holds. I hope 2009 is a great year for all of you!!!