Julie and Julia

I don't know how many of you have seen this movie, Julie and Julia, but I love it! I got it for Christmas and watched it today while I recovered from working the graveyard shift! I was feeling in the cooking mood, I made bread today and some yummy cheese tortellini soup and I am happy now! Anyways, I do really like this movie and while I don't think I'd really like to cook a lot of the French dishes like they did in the movie, I would like to experiment more! Well, I just thought I'd let you all know that you should watch this!

Christmas!

So, right now I'm working the graveyard shift at work and feeling extremely bored. It's also like 3am so I'm getting a little tired because I was enjoying family and didn't want to sleep before I came in. I thought while I was bored it would be a good time to catch up.

I have had the past two Christmases off so this year it was my turn to sacrifice and I worked Christmas Eve and Christmas. I was prepared to work it but it was still kind of hard. I prayed that I could have a good attitude and still enjoy Christmas even thought I was stuck in Tucson without any family. Well, on Christmas Eve I was invited to a co-worker's house. She and I work together every week and she's a little older than my parents, so all of her kids are grown and she was minus her family this year also. She and her husband moved here a year ago and all of her kids are in Utah. Anyways, we were both missing our families and so we helped each other out. I spent what was left of Christmas Eve with her and her husband and the Christmas morning. It was really nice to be adopted for a day so that I wasn't missing my family so much. I did work on Christmas but it went by quickly and overall it was a great day!

I got to go home Saturday night after work and spend Sunday, Monday and most of Tuesday with Mom, Dad and Brittany. It was really nice. We celebrated a late Christmas on Sunday. It actually started early that morning. We got a phone call from Mhari and James, my oldest sister and brother-in-law, around 8:30ish saying Mhari was on her way to the hospital to have her baby. We were all pretty shocked and excited. He wasn't due for another 2 weeks, but we were still way excited. This is the first grandkid in our family so......he's going to be spoiled rotten! So, little Andrew Keenan was born Sunday afternoon and it was probably the best present ever. My parents are so happy that they now have a grandkid, and a bonus, he's the first natural born boy in our family too! Mom and Dad tried and they just got 5 girls Now there are 3 sons-in-law, and a grandson! I'm very happy to be an aunt though and have a nephew. Mhari thinks now that she has a baby, no one will want to see her, they'll just want to see Andrew. She's wrong, we want to see both! Andrew is just more adorable! (just kidding Mhar- luv ya!)

It was great to be home though and spend time with everyone. Mom didn't have to work Monday or Tuesday and Dad didn't work Monday so we had fun. We got to see one of my grandpa's sister and her husband which is always fun. She cracks me up, and I haven't seen either of them in years. I was also reminded again of how much I take after my dad's side of the family. My aunt looked at me and said I was the spitting image of her mother. I've seen pictures of my great-grandma but only of when she was older. Apparently, there is a picture of Grandma Agnes when she's like 18 and I look just like her. I wish I'd been able to meet her. I wonder what kind of woman she was and if I'm like her in other ways. I look forward to the day I can meet her.

Also, recently I decided that I want to learn how to do more things. I've taken to cooking more and learning how to bake more things. I also have been wanting to learn how to sew. It's funny that at some point in my childhood, Mom tried to teach me these things and I thought I'd be fine without them. Now that I'm getting older and wiser-or whatever-I really have been wishing I listened! So, Mom attempted to help me sew. I've been wanting a bigger bag for Sundays that I can take all my stuff in so Mom concocted a pattern and we sewed it today. She sewed the majority of it because.....I wanted it to actually hold things! I did help her though! Kiersty and Kalli will probably faint when they read this, but yes- I DID SEW! Mom also had this like, 5 foot Santa fabric that's supposed to be a doorhanger but we are going to make a Christmas quilt! I'm excited to learn how to quilt and to have a Christmas quilt for next year! I'll have to post pics of all this later!

Holiday Fun.....

....With Cooking!

12-13-09 Disclaimer: If you are hungry, looking at this post may cause anger! ( This is for you Colton!)

Let me just start out with this: This year I have loved cooking! I don't know what changed exactly but this year I have really wanted to broaden my horizons in the kitchen. I made my very first pie from scratch, dutch apple, and I thought it was pretty darn good. Mom taught me how to make bread, at my request. Now let me just say that homemade bread is so D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! I am so happy that I can make it now. And I actually haven't bought a loaf of bread since October. I have bought lots more flour bread dough rising than ever before though!

My loaves of bread, fresh from the oven

I also had my first canning experience besides corn. I went home in October for like 3 days or so and I learned how to make bread and then Dad helped me can beans and apples. Peeling the apples was quite the chore but having homemade apple pie filling is worth it! Then because I'm baking bread more I've just experimented with the leftover dough and I've made cinnamon rolls and just plain rolls. This may not seem like a big deal to those of you who've been cooking for a long time but I'm just happy I'm learning more. Then with the holidays here I've been experimenting more!

I work with one lady every Friday and Saturday and we've been pretty bored lately, so we look up recipes and then try them out. We were looking at Christmas candy and so we both tried to make a easy toffee recipe. We tried different ones and I'm sad to say that I made mine twice and they were disasters-I thought! But third time's the charm so I gave it one more try and it worked much better.

It was interesting because you use saltine crackers to make the toffee but it is tasty! After that I've been doing other experiments for Christmas goodie plates. I made something similar to peanut butter balls and then tried Oreo balls. The other day I discovered the Pioneerwoman blog that Kiersty loves and I found a recipe on there that looked amazing. So, since I made bread tonight and had leftover dough, I made it. It's called Monkey Muffins or something like that, we used to make Monkey Bread when we were growing up and that stuff was awesome so... I made them and they're pretty amazing, I had to to sample one tonight just to make sure they were okay! I've also found plenty of other recipes that look amazing on that blog that I'm definitely looking forward to trying. I'll let you know how those turn out!

This is the Monkey Muffins, they look so yummy!

It's about TIME.........

for and UPDATE................

So....I was told the other day that it's been a long time since I updated my blog. And it was almost 2 months ago so I thought I'd work on that.

I don't have a whole lot new to share but I've been reading all these other blogs about being thankful and that's got me thinking. Since Thanksgiving is in a few days, I thought I'd list some things that I'm grateful for.

1. The church. Thats kind of a blanket one because there is so much about the church and this gospel that I am thankful for. I'm thankful to know that I have a Heavenly Father who know me personally, He loves me despite my flaws. I'm thankful to know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that He suffered for me and He knows all of my pain and sorrow, all of my happiness and joy. I am thankful for the knowledge that families are eternal and that life continues after death. I'm so thankful for the opportunities I am given to serve and to give of myself to others. I am thankful for wonderful leaders, a prophet who loves us and who loves the Lord. There is so much more that I could say about the church but I'll stop there!

2. My family. I just read a post by my sister about being homesick for family and I would have to agree with her. I live only a couple hours from my parents right now but because of work and school I don't get to see them very often. All of my siblings are now out of the state and I'm missing them. This isn't the first time I've been away from family but it doesn't seem to get easier. I'm so thankful for my family and I'm grateful that I get to spend Thanksgiving with my parents and little sister. I can't really imagine being born into a different family. I am thankful for wonderful parents who have taught me so many things. They love me, and I know that I wasn't the easiest child to raise! I'm so thankful for them and their love and patience in raising all of us. I'm so thankful for such awesome sisters. We didn't and don't always get along but...I think we finally learned to accept each other and be friends. Now that we don't live in the same house, it's easier to get along I guess! All joking aside, I'm very thankful to have 4 sisters that are my friends. I wish at times that we lived a little closer to each other so that I didn't have to wait once a year to see some of them. And I have to add that I'm very thankful that in a few months I will finally have a nephew to love an spoil rotten! I'm also thankful for 3 awesome brothers-in-law. They are all such good additions to our family and I'm so thankful for them. I guess it was worth waiting all those years for brothers! I may not have liked them so much if I grew up with them! Just kidding, I'm very thankful for each of them and the wonderful examples they are to me.

3. A job. At this time, I am very thankful to have a job that I like. There are definitely days when I wished that I didn't have to go to work and there are days where I get frustrated. But, for the most part I really enjoy my job. I love being able to talk to people and learn about their lives even if it's very brief. In this economy, where many people have lost jobs, I'm very grateful to have one that I'm good at and that I enjoy.

4. Friends. I am truly thankful for the friends in my life, both past and present. I have been blessed in my life with really great friends who have helped me at different parts of my life. I'm so thankful for the people that Heavenly Father sends into my life and for the blessings they always bring. I am so thankful for the wonderful friends that I have around me. They are amazing and are such a blessing to me.

5. lots of others.... I could keep naming so many more but it's getting late. Quickly, I'm thankful for the chance to get an education and to learn and grow. I'm thankful for an apartment in a less seedy part of town. I'm thankful for a car that gets me to work and school and everywhere I need to go. I'm thankful for learning new skills and finding new talents and hobbies. I'm thankful to live in the desert, not everyone appreciates it but I love it. I'm thankful to not have to drive in the snow. I'm thankful that my parents instilled in me a love for reading. I'm thankful for music. I could go on and on about this one. Music is just so amazing to me, I love the spirit that a great song can bring. I love singing, I love listening to music, I just love music. I'm thankful for rain and thunderstorms, I think that they can be so beautiful.

Well, there is a little update. Maybe after Thanksgiving there will be more to share. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are. To my family that I won't see- I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving. I know that you all wish you were in Arizona with me and Britt because we will be have a Parent Trap movie marathon and who wouldn't want to be around for that? Now I'm sure everyone is jealous.......

And drumroll please...........

This is May and June, The Before Pics:

This is October, The After Pictures:

As you all can see, I finally cut my hair last Saturday. I'd been thinking about it for awhile. It was just time to cut it. This is me, a good 12 inches later. I still can't believe I had that much hair to cut off and still have this much left! The girl who cut my hair was a little nervous to cut off so much. I did donate 10 inches to Lock of Love! Now someone else can walk around with my hair! I do like the cut, it's so much easier and faster in the mornings. My head feels so much lighter too. For those of you who don't know, I have pretty thick hair and it weighs a ton when it's long! I know there aren't a lot of pictures posted, but I at least got some posted for you Kalli!

If You're Happy and You Know It.....

So I don't know how many people have heard of these different sites like fml.com and stuff. I hear about them from people at work. This particular site is dedicated to all the crappy things that happen to people each day. I've never really wanted to visit the site. Anyways a friend sent me the link to a site called mylifeisaverage.com and it was a funny site that wasn't vulgar and just clean fun. From there I discovered mylifeisg.com. I really fell in love with this site. It is all the good things that happen to people and I love reading about good and happy things! It's amazing how reading about other people's good experiences can just uplift your day! I was also feeling kind of like there wasn't a lot of good being done ( I know that there is but, sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the bad), and this site just helped me realize how much good is still out there! So, there's my little spiel! I'm more determined to recognize the good things in my life. I know that I am blessed and I'm so grateful for all the wonderful things in my life. I have a great family, the gospel, wonderful friends, a place to live, food to eat...there are so many more! I just am so happy for my life and for all the wonderful things I have been able to experience. There are so many things that I look forward to experiencing. I just want to share with anyone who reads this that My Life is Great and I pray that all of your lives are just as good. Please know that you have each blessed my life and helped me to have a great life! Thank you all.

Remembering

I can't belive that it's been 8 years since the attack on 9/11/01. I was at work last night talking with co-workers about that day. I still remember getting ready for school when Aunt Tomie called and told us that the towers had just been hit. I remember driving to school that morning with the radio on listening to the news; trying to figure out what was going on. The news was playing in pretty much every class I went to that day. I don't remember really anything else that went on at school that day. I feel like in some ways I wasn't affected that day because I didn't personally know anyone in the towers or on the planes. I know that sounds mean. It did affect me though, I realized how much hate and anger can destroy people. I never knew that there were people out there that hated our country and Americans so much that they would kill so many innocent people. I guess you could say the rose colored glasses came off that day for me. I may not have known anyone personally that was injured or killed during that attack but we are all citizens of the same country, they were my neighbors. It took me awhile to realize that.

I remember when war was declared. I know that President Bush may not have done everything right during his terms but I feel like he handled that crisis as best as he could. For just being in office under a year and having that major of a crisis, I felt that he did what was needed. He helped unite us as a country and remember that we're all in this with each other. We are brothers and sisters and I feel like he was definitely the man we needed at the time. There are many different opinions out there regarding that, this is mine.

Today I watched a Mormon Message from Youtube. It was the story of a man who survived the attack. He was in one of the towers and made it out alive. His story was how he found God and meaning in his life that day and in the days and years after the attack. It was just amazing to know that no matter what situations life brings, God is always there to help and give hope. I can't imagine what this man or any of the survivors have gone through in their lives since that day. I just think it's amazing what happens when we let God in our lives and how He can help those trials and experiences change us for the better. This is a side note, but if you have the September issue of the Ensign, read the 'Lessons from Liberty Jail' talk by Elder Holland. I read it a couple of days ago, and writing this I'm just recalling a lot of what was said in that article. It's amazing and will probably change your life!

I think that's all for this post. I feel like it's kind of scattered and who knows if it makes sense, but thats just how my mind works! In all seriousness, it's been 8 years and I can still remember what I was doing when I heard the news, what I wore that day, and how I felt that day. I can remember the days following the attack and seeing the country pull together. I hope that we don't forget that we are the United States of America. We need to remember that and not let things divide us.

I am so grateful for the men and women serving in the armed forces. For the sacrifices they have made since that day and for the things they have witnessed. I'm so grateful that they are willing to fight to preserve the freedoms we enjoy. I love this country and I'm so thankful to have been born in this land that allows us the freedom to choose how and who we worship. There are so many other freedoms that I'm thankful for but that would be my top one. I love that I get to choose, I'm not told what I can do and what I can't. Thank you. Thank you to those fighting now and those who have fought over the last 200+ years. This truly is a blessed land. Those who fight against it will not win.

My Soapbox

So recently I've been feeling this barrage of political turmoil in my life. It's not so much my political feelings as much as I feel like I'm constantly being attacked with other peoples opinions. Normally this probably wouldn't be a bad thing, I just am tired of it. I have a hard time making up my mind about how I feel when I'm constantly having other's share their views with me. I don't want to turn this into a rant so I'll get to what I wanted to say.

I just started reading Pres. Hinckley's book, Standing for Something. I know that this is an older book and has been published for awhile but this is the first time I've ever read it. Already I love it! I loved the forward by Mike Wallace, the respect he had for Pres. Hinckley is just so amazing to me. I remember when the 60 Minutes interview happened and I remember wondering if it would be a good interview or a bad one. Looking back, I don't know how it could've been bad with Pres. Hinckley being the interviewee! He always handled everything so well. The introduction to the book just really hit home though especially after all that I've been feeling with politics and the division that has occurred in this country since the last election and before that. The introduction talks about America and how great this country is. We are so blessed to have been founded in the manner we were, with God in mind. I know that the founding of this country was inspired by Heavenly Father and it is that inspiration and guidance that has let this country prosper for so long. The fact that He used to be publicly recognized also made a huge difference. It saddens me more than I can say, that God is not longer allowed in public places. He has been taken out of public school and there are people trying to take God completely out of our lives I feel. This country most definitely was divinely inspired, God was at the helm and I can not agree with those who feel that it is offensive to hear His name and want it taken out of the pledge and oaths said in the courtroom. It offends me. In the introduction, there are two scriptures quoted that I liked. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Psalm 33:11-12 says, " The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." I really like these three verses. I just think it puts things into perspective. Pres. Hinckley said, " Can we expect peace and prosperity, harmony and goodwill, when we turn our backs on the Source of our strength?"

I know this is kind of scattered and I apologize. Let me be the first to admit that I am not the most politically educated person in this world. To be perfectly honest I have shied away from politics most of my life because there has always been such conflict and I don't always know how to get an unbiased education. I have felt the need more recently to become better educated on what is happening in the world and still feel unable to find that unbiased education. I have both sides coming at me all the time and it's hard to know which to believe. I am definitely more conservative in all things. This last election was particularly difficult because I felt there was not a good solution in either candidate. Again, those are just my feelings, I don't have anything to back that up, other than the fact that I didn't feel either man had the countries best interests at heart. I know that Bush made mistakes in his two terms as president and that no man is perfect. I did however feel that Bush tried in the beginning to make the right choices for the country. I have not had that feeling with Obama and again, it may be my ignorance on the subject. I do believe that education on the facts isn't everything though, you also need to feel, through the gift we have been given, what is right and wrong.

I'm sorry again, if this doesn't really make sense to any one. I've just been feeling overwhelmed by everything that is going on around me and then reading this book was just what I needed. I know that this post kind of did turn into a rant and I'm sorry to those of you who don't like my opinions. I just feel very strongly that rather than argue about Republicans and Democrats, we should be focusing on fixing a struggling nation. A nation that, with God, will continue to be great. I feel like that is the fight we should be fighting, to have God acknowledged for the great blessings He has given us. Maybe I'm just preaching to the choir and everyone already knows and gets this, I'm just a little slow I guess!

Anyways, that is my speech on my little soapbox. Sorry again if it's all jumbled and confusing, it's been a long week and I'm tired!

Small Updates

I feel like I haven't posted in awhile so I'm just writing to say I'm still alive here in Tucson. I still haven't taken any pictures of my new apartment, so those are still coming. It's mostly all set up, I just keep forgetting about it! I do like it though, it's weird to only have one other roommate, I've always had at least 3 or 4 other roommates. Its quiet, sometimes really quiet! I'm just staying busy with work and I honestly don't know what else keeps me so busy, but this summer has just flown by and I don't know where all the time went! I do know where part of it has gone, I now have a pool at this apartment and I love swimming. I'm usually there most mornings before work. So this summer I'm going to have a nice tan at least! I mean I live in Arizona, I've got to have a good tan, right?

Anyways....I just wanted to give a little update. I'm still here and wishing that this summer wasn't so close to being over. Its been fun, but all good things must come to an end!

Movin' on Up

To the East Side....

So, this past weekend, I moved into a new apartment. No more ugly purple ghetto apartments! It was an incredibly tiring day. We were running on pretty much 4 hours of sleep and the day started about 8:30am and ended at 2am! It was quite a day. We were also without A/C for about 4 hours and Saturday was pretty warm. I am pretty proud of my roomie and I though. We had a couple of guys coming to help us move but by Saturday all of them had to back out except for one! So, poor Tyler was the only guy helping us move all of our junk! For the most part, it was just the three of us loading and unloading stuff. We were all pretty tired by the end, but I think Tyler definitely was more tired than me and Lindsay. He pretty much carried a couch and a heavy dining room table upstairs by himself. He's CRAZY! But we were definitely thankful for him and his superhuman strength on Saturday!

Our new apartment has a swimming pool, which I'm very thankful for! I don't know why this summer seems so much hotter than last summer but.... I went swimming this morning and it was GLORIOUS! There was no one at the pool and I loved it. I'll try and put up some pictures when we get everything unpacked. Right now it doesn't look too bad, but it's still not quite finished. We have this lovely stack of empty boxes by our front door that we have yet to take out!

Grateful

I know, I know, this is like my third post this week! Just bear with me, I'm sure I'll stop sometimes soon.

I'm not really sure how to start this post other than it's something I've been thinking about for awhile. Can I just say how truly blessed I have been in my life. Every day I am amazed at how much the Lord loves me. With that said, I've been thinking of the different ways I have been blessed and one of the most obvious is the people He has put in my life. I have an amazing family, I know that wasn't what I thought growing up but I have definitely learned to appreciate them in my life. I can't imagine having any other two people be my parents. They are amazing and I know that no other two people could've raised me the way they did, and taught me to be the person I am today. I love them for all that they've done and all the do in my life. I wish I had understood that as a kid! My sisters, four biological and numerous adopted, I can't even describe how grateful I am for them in my life. Again, I didn't understand how much they meant in my life until after we were older, but I'm very grateful for them. This is the second time I've lived in a city by myself, with no family. My parents are a lot closer this time but my schedule usually doesn't allow a lot of trips. So, once again I'm realizing just how much I need my family. My sister's mean a lot to me, they are amazing examples to me and I'm so grateful for them in my life. And even though my brothers came way later in my life, I'm so grateful for them. They are all such wonderful examples to me and even though they came later they are still great at being good older brothers. I always wanted one, and I was blessed with 3 awesome ones!

Both of my parents come from somewhat large families so I also have a ton of extended family which I'm also so grateful for. I've met people who don't know their cousins really well and it seems so weird to me. I grew up knowing all of my cousins and 2nd cousins and so on. I can't imagine not knowing them. It's a little different now that we're all grown up and moving and our lives are busy, but I still get to read about their families and hear about them from my parents. I'm just so grateful for the support system I have!

Lastly, I have been so blessed with great friends throughout my life. Sometimes those friendships are short and sometimes they last years and years. No matter what the time frame is, I have truly been blessed to have amazing friends. When I have been without family close by, I've had wonderful friends who let me be a part of theirs.

Sorry, I know this is long again, I just wanted to say Thank You to all those who have blessed my life by being a part of it. I hope you know how grateful I am for all of you. I'm sorry if I don't say it often enough. I'm so, so grateful for the people that the Lord has placed in my life at one time or another. Thank You so much for all of your examples to me.

Picture Time!

Ok, so here are some pics to go with the ridiculously long post a couple days ago! Most of them are self-explanatory. I didn't post any pics of the animals from the museum because there were a ton and it would've taken forever! Most of the pics on here are while we were at the zoo or leaving it though. We were really bad at taking pictures throughout the week. While we were leaving the zoo, we stopped at this pull-out area to take some pictures and we stepped out of the car and stuck to the tar! There were no signs saying it wasn't dry. I don't know if the heat was just too much but my poor little flip flops just stuck to the asphalt! At least is was a beautiful view. The other funny pic from the zoo was the ice-cream cones! I don't know if the guy making them was just dazzled by our beauty or what, but the things were huge!

Catchin up!

Well, I've gotten behind on this whole blogging thing. I'll have to play catch-up I guess. I can't believe that it's already July and how fast the summer is going. My vacation is over and I'm already ready for another one! My vacation was fun. I didn't go anywhere exciting but there was eleven blissful days where I didn't have to go to work. And seven of those days, I got to spend time with one of my best friends, Bethany! She flew down from Idaho to see me and it was awesome. We didn't plan a whole lot of stuff but just kind of took it easy and had fun. We did got the Sonoran Desert Museum which is basically a zoo of all desert animals. It was actually a lot of fun! I've lived in Tucson for two years and have never been there. I work at a hotel and I always recommend that people go there, I just hadn't gone yet. The drive out there was amazing. It reminded me why I love the desert so much. The view driving in and back out was just so gorgeous. We also had amazing Mexican food as much as we could! There just isn't anything in Idaho as good as in Tucson (at least in the way of good mexican food)!

I'm getting kind of out of order. So Bethany flew in on Monday at like 8am! I was going to drive to Mesa and stay with my parents on Sunday night so I wouldn't have to drive 2 hours that early on Monday. I didn't make it to Mesa however, I only got halfway there. So, I still woke up unbelievably early on Monday so i could get to the airport on time. I left way too early though and spent like 45 minutes in the cell phone parking lot waiting for her flight to land. I got a nice nap though! Anyways, we went to the temple on Monday just walked around and watched the Joseph Smith movie at the Visitor's Center. I always cry in that movie, it's just so amazing still! There was a sister missionary there from Guatemala, which is where Bethany served her mission so we talked to her for awhile. I mostly just listened, because I don't understand Spanish at all! I also introduced her to Bahama Bucks which, for all of you uneducated people out there, is the best shaved ice place EVER! I don't know why it is so amazing, but it truly is. Unfortunately, there are very few places that have them. Mesa is lucky and there are a couple there, I go there whenever I'm in Mesa. Bethany told me before she came that this trip had better result in a good tan for her, so Tuesday we went swimming to try and help her out! It worked out real well for me, I just got a darker brown, she and Lindsay on the other hand turned a nice shade of red! I found it funny, I don't think they did though. Wednesday, we did some shopping and then went to my new favorite restaurant, Guadalajara's Grill. It was even more amazing this time! Whe had DELICIOUS food, and we ordered virgin margarita's and usually they come in a pretty small glass, they're only $2, but the bartender was feeling generous that night and we got huge glasses! They were delicious though, so we didn't complain, and they still only cost us $2! Thursday and Friday we hung out with some friends in Tucson, we went and saw a new movie and played games and just had fun. I cut my hair, as you know from my last post. Then on Saturday we went to the Desert Museum and had more good Mexican food. Sunday, my stake had like an emergency stake conference. Elder Neil L. Anderson came down for this. I was in the stake choir so I had to sit up on stage while we were told that they were splitting our stake to create a new one and then they also re-did our boundaries. The choir couldn't hear like anything that was being said though. That kind of stunk, just bad acoustics in the building we were in. Oh well, I did get to meet Elder Anderson and shake his hand, that was cool. Bethany was a sport and sat with a couple friends of mine since I was in the choir as were all of my roommates. We had fun the rest of the day, it was weird being done with church that early, we are usually at church until 4:30pm. We mostly just enjoyed the afternoon we had free. Monday we had to drive back to Mesa so she could catch her flight back. We stopped at this restaurant there and they apparrently have this kids night every Monday where they have a guy that does balloon animals and stuff and this lady paints faces. We really didn't look like little kids but the guy still offered to make us balloon animals and I can't resist an offer like that. I didn't get an animal though, he made me a balloon hammer, which was pretty awesome, and Bethany got a love monkey, which is a monkey with a huge heart on the end of her tail!

Sorry to bore you all with those details but this has kind of taken the place of my journal so I wanted to remember what we did! It was a really great week! It went by too fast and I wish Bethany could've stayed longer. It's so nice to see old friends and just have fun! I'll post pics later. This is already too long!

Ch Ch Ch Changes!

So, last Friday, I decided I was ready for a change in my hair. This picture is what my hair looked like before I went and got it cut. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with it so I talked to the lady at the salon. She talked to me about donating my hair for locks of love. She even got a ruler out to measure and everything. Turns out, I have a lot of hair, and could donate 10 inches and still have a lot of hair left.

But, I decided that I wasn't quite ready to lose that much hair, so I just got a trim and added more layers in. So this is pretty much what my hair looks like still. I have some shorter layers and I got my bangs cut again, but that is all the change I did this time! What can I say, I love having long hair.

Vacation!

This weekend has been great because I started my vacation on Thursday! I don't have to go back to work until the 23rd! I started out my vacation going to the dentist, which has never been a favorite of mine and then i cleaned my room! I'm moving into a new apartment at the end of July and so I want to get rid of all the crap I've collected!

Friday, I fed the missionaries. I have to say it was a pretty good meal! I made chicken enchilada's and homemade caramel dutch apple pie! I was impressed with myself and I thought the meal tasted pretty good! The enchilada's were a little on the dry side but they sat in the oven for like an extra 40 minutes because the missionaries last appointment went over! But overall it was a delicious meal!




This is a picture of the apple pie! It was so delicious, especially with BlueBell ice cream on top! Yum!







Today, Saturday, I went for the first swim of the summer and it was great! My roommate Lindsay and I met up with an old roommate and her husband and we had a bbq/swim party! It was lots of fun. Sadie is our old roommate (old like a month ago!) and she married one of my good friends Abe so it was fun to see them again! We got so used to seeing Abe everyday at our house, so it's been weird without them. I've forgotten how much swimming and just being in the sun can drain you, especially if you're already tired, so after we got back from swimming I just had a lazy afternoon! It was GREAT! Usually I'd be bored at work, now I'm just bored at home! I'm just way excited for Monday morning! I get to go pick up my friend Bethany from the airport and hang out with her for a week! I just hope the week goes by very slowly because then she'll go back to Idaho, and I'll have to go back to work! BOO!

LiViNg in the GhEtTo!

I know that after my post yesterday, you are all dying to see what my ghetto really looks like! So... I took some pictures of the HORRIBLE paint job and our beautiful, taped coffee table! Okay, I should clarify that the paint job was not HORRIBLE, the paint job actually looks very nice. The COLORS our landlords picked however, are HORRIBLE!

This is what I see coming home everyday!





This is the building next to mine, but now you can see more of the paint job!




This is our Lovely coffee table. You can see how one corner of it was already broken, and someone fixed it with duct tape. We are not as prepared and did not have duct tape to fix it this time. Instead we had this awesome blue tape and looks so good holding the glass together! It kind of looks like the start of a tree to me. Maybe we should just make a tree out of blue tape and then no one will ever know that it's broken.






As a complete side note to this story, I just want to say that I tried spinach smoothies this morning! My cousin Kylie posted these on her blog a while ago, and last night I was at the store and decided that I was going to make them this morning. For all those laughing at the thought of putting spinach in your smoothie...don't! It's actually really good. You really can't taste the spinach at all, and they're really good for you!

Complete BOREDOM!!!

So...I'm at work right now, and I'm dying of boredom so to fill the time, I thought I'd post something new! Maybe I should just make this a journal and tell what has happened in the last week.

Last Sunday we played games out my apartment. A whole bunch of people came over and we played a couple of different games. It was pretty entertaining especially when our coffee table got broken! First of all, let me describe my ghetto apartment. They just painted the outside of them like a tan, brick red, and PURPLE! No one has any idea what inspired that awful decision on their part. We hate it. Although, I think we now fit in better with our neighborhood. My neighborhood is pretty ghetto and before we kind of stood out. Our apartments were nice looking. Now we look like little Mexico and fit in well with our surroundings! That's the outside of the apartment, the inside is a mixture of lots of people's old furniture and some new. This coffee table was donated to our apartment and half of it is glass, which was broken already and duct taped back together. Well, on Sunday, it was cracked in half, but it didn't shatter it, so we now have blue tape holding it together! So the inside of our apartment is starting to look as ghetto as the outside!
I was supposed to go to a concert this past Wednesday in Tempe with my roommate Lindsay. We didn't think it would get sold out, so we didn't buy our tickets ahead of time. Tuesday night was still looking good. Wednesday before we left, they sold out! So instead of going to Tempe, we stayed in Tucson instead and went to an amazing restaurant! If any of you reading this live in or near Tucson or will ever visit, I highly recommend Guadalajara's Grill! I loved it. A lady made our salsa right at the table, and she made it however hot we wanted it! Then, they had a mariachi (?) band playing. And the food was just DELICIOUS! So overall, it was a good night even if we never made it to the concert! Saturday, was my old roommate, Sadie's wedding reception. I had to work until 7 that night so we were a little late getting to it. It was a lot of fun to see her and Abe. We took some fun pictures with her, but they're on my roommate's computer so maybe they'll get posted another time!
This Sunday was kinda crazy. I was up til like 3am preparing a lesson and then woke up around 8am to finish and get ready for my meetings. I woke up feeling so nasty. I was afraid I'd be too sick to go to church and then I wouldn't get to teach. I went back to sleep for just a little bit and was feeling better, and I was only 30 minutes late for my meeting! Anyway, I taught in Relief Society and was a little nervous at first. I always get a little nervous that no one will follow my train of thought, but I think it went pretty well this time. I'm in the stake choir and we have stake conference in 2 weeks, so we had practice from 7-9ish, got home taught and then went to play games! I talked to mom and dad before I went to games and they were amazed that I was going that late. They told me I should be going to bed! I was going to go to bed but games just sounded like more fun! And they were, I didn't get home until after 1am. Oh to be young and not have to go to bed! That pretty much catches me up to today! After Family Home Evening yesterday we watched a movie called Forever Strong and I also recommend that movie. It's about a rugby team from Highland, UT. It's just one of those feel good movies!
I'm done now, and still completely bored.....

Memories..... like the corners of my mind...

This is the main house at the Ranch.

So, this past week my roommate went to a family reunion and was telling me how crazy it was with all 28 members of her immediate family and most of her extended family and I thought back on all my family reunions... For those of you who read this that aren't family, I come from quite a large family. My dad's family is huge! There are 8 kids in the family and all of them have children, one has 11 children so those family reunions were quite a gathering! My mom's family is a little smaller, there are only 6 kids and not all of them have quite as many kids. It was just funny to think back and remember all the craziness that we had with that many people.

When I was like 9 we had our first huge reunion on dad's side at the Ranch! I loved those reunions, I loved the Ranch. The Ranch was built by my mom's grandfather and is still in the family. I never got to meet my great-grandfather and only remember small things about my great-grandmother. But being in the place that he built was always a great feeling. It's a great place to go and escape from everything. When we were younger, it was amazing just being there. I remember as a kid, we would play games in the main house like cowboys and indians or card games. Then outside there was the cinder pit, which is a tall red hill that you slide down! We used cardboard boxes or whatever we could fine. There was an old rusted hood that sat at the bottom of the hill, I think that's what my mom used to slide down on! We tried that hood though, and it didn't work well for us, if I remember right.

The cinder pit, I think that is Jeff climbing up it

I also remember going into the woods and building houses out of pine needles and whatever trash was around. I think we found a toilet seat once and who knows what else was around. There was always a couple of us doing that and we would each make our own little house with separate rooms and everything. That usually kept us busy for hours! I remember coming back the next year, and trying to find those 'houses' that we had built the previous summer! Oh to be young again! I have so many memories from the Ranch and should write them all down but that would make for a very long post! I did just want to write some of it down though because I was missing the Ranch. Every Memorial Day weekend whoever from the family can go, goes up and opens the Ranch for the summer and they kind of 'clean house'. There are a lot of repairs that need to be done because the buildings are old and it just needs love. Anyways, I haven't been in 2 years and I really wanted to go this year. I went the year that I moved back to Arizona and that had been the first time I'd been back to the Ranch in so many years. It was so good to be back there and just be with family working and taking care of the place that has been loved so much since it was built! My mom would tell us her memories of being there with her grandfather and how much she loved the time she spent there. There have been so many generations of his family that have been lucky enough to enjoy the Ranch. I'm glad I've been lucky enough to have made the memories I have.

This is the water tank that you fill up to supply the house with running water. As a kid, I loved going to fill that up. It was usually the middle of the summer and the water that was being used to fill up the tank was so cold! Plus we usually got to stop at the little general store on the way back!

Well, these are just a few of my memories! I hope that next year I'll be able to go to the Ranch and make more memories!

Just some of the beauty that is there!

BitterSweet

This is Bethany and I last year in Idaho

So today I got some really exciting and happy news! One of my BEST FRIENDS is coming to see me in like 3 weeks! I'm so excited to see her. It's been just about a year since the last time I saw her and I think that's too long! She is going to fly out from Idaho and stay with me in Tucson for a week, and I know it will just be so much fun! Anyone who has been around Bethany and I know that we get a little crazy when we're together. So Bethany+Megan= CRAZY FUN! I still don't know what we're going to do down here, ( I should have a lot of ideas since I work at a hotel and give tourist information all the time...) but I'm sure that whatever we end up doing, it will be fun!





She'd probably kill me if she knew I posted this!


The sad news is that I won't be able to go to Idaho this summer. I was planning to go there for a couple of days for my friend Kellie's wedding but plans change. I'm sad because I don't get to see everyone up there and it's been a year since I've seen all of them also. I keep trying to convince everyone up there to come visit me here in Tucson but so far no one has listened! That's going to change next month but still! For all those in Idaho that read this, I'm sorry and sad that I won't get to see you this year! I really wish I could! I'll say it again though, ya'll should just come see me!

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

Right now I'm sitting in my living room listening to the sound of Rain! I must say that it is one of my favorite things to do! I love Arizona rain. I remember when I was younger and living in Mesa, when it rained it would flood the church parking lot down the street! We used to go play in that parking lot for hours, or as long as the flood lasted.

I'm surprised how much it is raining right now though. They predicted that it would rain, but this is Arizona and that doesn't always mean anything. In fact, the last three days I think there was the same prediction, but it never happened. It smelled like rain, tempting me, but it never followed through! I'm happy that it finally did, and I can't wait for monsoon season to be here. That is definitely one of my favorite times of year! I love the rain and the amazing thunderstorms that happen during that season here in Arizona!

Thirty +

For all those wondering, this is my parents wedding picture! I know you have to love the 70's. Only then would a yellow tux and a perm be acceptable! So, today is my dad's birthday, when I called to wish him Happy Birthday, he calmly told me he doesn't celebrate birthday's anymore so he isn't an old man now! So this is for dad who is 30+ years old today. This year is also the thirtieth anniversary of my parents getting married! I know I'm a little ahead of myself, since their anniversary isn't until August but...what can I say, I'm an overachiever! That was actually part of why we had our family reunion a couple of weeks ago, to celebrate mom and dad's birthdays, mother's day, and their 30th anniversay! So happy birthday dad, you are still young at heart! I'm grateful that some things have changed over the past 30 years, like the perm!

Here are the top 5 things I love about my dad:

1. His sense of humor
2. His love for his family, his wife, his children, his siblings, and so on...
3. The fact that he looks a lot like me!
4. His dedication to the gospel
5. That he has almost consistently refused to smile in any photograph! Many have tried to change that and few ever have!

There are so many more things that I love about dad, but I just thought I'd post a few! Thank you dad, for all you do for your family. Have a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

All Alone and Short One Pillow

So, right now I'm doing really well at actually writing and posting blogs but I don't know how long that will last!

Yesterday, I was left all alone in Tucson. Kalli and Steve, with the help of Steve's parents, left Tucson and are on their way to Boston. They will be there for two years in grad school, and I'm here by myself now. It was pretty weird to say good bye, mostly because it doesn't really seem real. I'm sure it will hit in a couple of days that they're really gone. Steve would tell you that it doesn't matter because they rarely saw me anyway but that's not true! I saw Kalli a lot at school! I didn't get to see Steve as much because of my work schedule and things like that, but it was nice to live in the same city as them for almost two years! Kalli and I had a pretty interesting relationship while we were growing up. Basically, we just didn't get along at all! That mostly changed as we got older but the last couple of years have been really good getting to be better friends with my sister! I'm going to miss her here, but now that she's in Boston I have an excuse to visit her there! Yay for vacations! We have already talked about going out there in the fall and I'm really excited.
I know everyone is really curious about the pillow, so I will explain. Kalli and Steve stole my pillow and have taken it to Boston. This is hard for me to talk about since I loved that pillow very much and they have taken it from me but I will survive! Actually, I think i got the better end of the deal since I still have Steve's nice pillow top mattress. I told them they could keep the pillow and I'd keep the mattress! I actually left my pillow at their apartment on Monday after we got back from Mesa and then forgot to get it back on Thursday when I said good-bye so...I guess it's really my fault and not theirs!

Phoenix Zoo Pics!

Mhari refused to participate in this picture! She hid behind James rather than make tiger faces with the rest of us! I don't know why?
These are the orangutans that thoroughly entertained us at the zoo!
This is one of the splash pads that we enjoyed while at the zoo!

Well, I'm trying to still figure out how to do this. Here is just a sample of the pictures! I didn't really want to post all 150 pictures that we took, that is just to much work for me tonight....

Finally got on this blogging train!

Well, my family had a little reunion this past weekend and part of the discussion was blogs. I've been asked quite a few times why I don't have one and I always said the my life isn't interesting enough right now to blog! But after this weekend I thought I'd give it a try, and since I'm horrible at keeping up with my journal, maybe this will be easier for me.

So, this past weekend all of my family, minus one brother-in-law, were all here in Arizona! It was our last get together before everyone moves and things change! Kalli and Steve are the ones really changing this year. They are moving to Boston for all those who don't know and I'm quite sad that I will now be alone in Tucson. It was fun to see all my sisters again and the brothers-in-law who were here kept us pretty entertained! Mhari, James, and Kiersty all flew in to Tucson and then on Friday we drove down to Mesa to be with Brittany, Mom, and Dad. We didn't get to Mesa until about dinner time so we didn't do much on Friday. Saturday our plan was to get up early and make it to the Phoenix Zoo when it opened because it was supposed to be over 100 degrees. Our plan failed and we didn't get to the zoo until 11:30am. Despite the heat, we had a fun day at the zoo. We were there for almost six hours walking around seeing all the animals. I must say that the orangutans were the best. All the other animals were being pretty lazy because of the heat and the orangutans were the only ones that gave us a show! At the Phoenix Zoo, there are two splash pads, probably meant for younger children, but that didn't stop us! We loved the splash pads and used them pretty much every chance we could. It helped us with the heat for about 2 minutes. We left them soaking wet and within what seemed like minutes we were already dry! Thats the Arizona heat for you! That was probably the most exciting part of the weekend. The rest of it we just enjoyed being with family.
We did have one final excitement before everyone went home. Sunday, James had been feeling sick all day but we just thought it was dehydration from the zoo, it was not. We drove back to Tucson about 10:30pm and he still wasn't feeling good at all. After calling one of those nursing hotline things he decided he better go to the ER. I dropped he and Mhari off at the ER and then we waited.... They finally got to leave the ER about 1:30am! It was quite a fun night for them, especially since they were both dead tired and wanted to go to sleep at 11pm.
Well, that was my exciting Mother's Day weekend! I'm really glad I was able to spend it with all my family and when I figure out how to put pictures on this I will post them. Right now I'm still trying to figure out this whole blogging thing. But for those of you who have been asking where my blog is....here it is!