Lost in Tucson

Bread=Productivity

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

I don't really know what this post is about. Monday was my day off and I was still trying to recover from my overnight shift on Saturday. I got off work at 7am on Sunday morning and slept for about an hour...After church I slept for about another 2 hours. I couldn't fall asleep later so Monday I slept longer than I planned. I had all these things I wanted to get done.

First, I was about out of bread. Awhile ago, I asked Mom to teach me the secret to making bread and since then I've tried to make my own instead of buying it. I still have to make it the old fashioned way...by hand...since I don't have a nice mixer yet to do that for me. So, making bread is sometimes a process. But, every time I make it, I feel super productive! Also, since I have to make it and work for it, I don't feel so guilty when I eat it...Bread is seriously my downfall! So since I overslept on Monday I didn't start the bread til later but what's great about bread is you can do so many other things while it rises. So, I still got some other things done and got to read some which I've been trying to do more. I get on kicks where all I want to do is read a good book and then there are other times where I'm just not feeling it. I can definitely thank my parents for that love of reading!

Second, I needed to do laundry. Laundry is something that is only nice when you have your own washer and dryer...and you're only doing laundry for one person! I have only been without a washer and dryer twice since I moved out and they were awful and miserable times! I hate having to do it at a laundromat. It takes up your whole day and I'm so grateful I live in an apartment where they provide a washer and dryer. It makes it so much easier to do this chore!

Third, I wanted to do some spring cleaning in my room. My closet was looking really full and I just felt like a had a lot I needed to go through and get rid of. My deepest fear is becoming a hoarder. You know, like the ones on that TV show. Scares the crap out of me, so I'm just trying to make sure I stay far far away from that line!

I had other things on my list buy these three were probably most important. And despite my late start I did all three. Granted the spring cleaning is a little more of a process but I got started and all in all, I feel like I had a pretty productive day!

I really think it's all due to making the bread. If I didn't do that, my day wouldn't have felt half as productive! Ha ha

NEW

2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

So let me just start by saying that I kind of stink at New Year's resolutions. I try every year and succeed for a few months before failing...A friend of mine posted on facebook about One Little Word. I've never heard of this so I read it and really liked the idea. Instead of making a bunch of resolutions this year, I'm picking one word that I want to focus on. As I was reading about the One Little Word, NEW is what popped in my head. It was kind of like those word association games where someone says a word and they want you to respond with the first word that pops in your head. Well, I feel like that works in this case.

I love this word for the year. I feel like I've become to complacent with the OLD and I'm ready to make some changes for the year. There are many aspects of my life that I feel can benefit from a touch of NEW and I'm excited for the new year and the opportunity to make some changes. I may not be making resolutions like I used to but I still have some areas that I'm wanting to change and I'm hoping that using this one little word in each of those areas will help. I guess I'll be able to tell you more about how this works next year about this time!

Anyways....HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that this year will be a happy and healthy one for each of you. I'm so grateful for all the blessings in my life and for this time of year, where we get to reflect on so many of our blessings. Despite my last post, I do love this time of year. For some reason, this year I was feeling a bit grinchy...But I'm feeling better now...my heart must also have grown a few sizes! (Just a little Grinch humor for ya)

YIKES

2011-12-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is in 2 days! This year it has really just snuck up on me..How it's done that, I'm not sure. Stores started putting out Christmas stuff in October so I should have been well prepared..but I'm not. I've got to say that this year I've been feeling like Christmas has gotten lost in hustle and bustle. Every commercial I watch is all about buying the best presents and I know it's like that every year but...I was reading an article about how Christmas has affected the unemployed. Many people have just done Christmas differently, accounting for lack of funds to buy Christmas but do simple things with their families. I read some responses from others that made me sad. They feel ashamed that they can't buy their family presents so they just don't spend any time with their family. That made me sad that instead of coming together with family in a time of need they push them away. I can't say how I might react if put in the same situation but I sure hope I would want to be with my family. This holiday is all about family and just giving....giving whatever you have. It doesn't always have to be of monetary worth but sometimes just time is a great gift. I loved the first presidency's Christmas devotional because President Monson touched a little on how I've been feeling this season. It is Christmas, CHRIST is the most important part of the season. I guess that is what I feel has been lost in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas. I saw a lady who was wearing a pin that said "It's okay to say Merry Christmas!" At first I thought it was kind of a weird thing to be wearing but then I thought about how often people are afraid of saying the wrong thing and offending someone else. Someone may not believe in celebrating Christmas or something else. But I don't think it's wrong to spread the joy of Christmas. I'm not saying it to make someone offended. I'm saying it to try and be friendly and happy during this time of year, I think that is the message to take away.

I feel like I always end my posts this way but I hope that makes sense. I'm trying to hurry and I sometimes I feel like my thoughts don't always convey well to my blog! So for anyone reading this, hopefully you can follow me....if not...sorry!

Anyways, it is the season. I do love this time of the year and I love the fact that we get to celebrate our Saviors birth. I know that He probably was not born this time of the year but I'm still glad for the celebration. I'm grateful too, that I don't have to work on Christmas again and get to see my family...even if it's a brief visit! Let's also hope that this Christmas doesn't end in sickness like last year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Delayed....And long...Sorry!

2011-11-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

So I'm a little slow to post this. It's been somewhat of a crazy few weeks. In this post is some good news and some sad news. Good news first...I'm getting a new niece or nephew sometime in April! This news was definitely a surprise and I couldn't be more happy to get it! YAY!!!

As for the sad news, on Oct. 21, 2011, the same day my family received the news of a new baby, we also found out the my mom's cousin, Robert Brinton, who has always been Uncle Robert to us, suddenly passed away. This news is always unexpected and hard to deal with. I was at work when I found out and couldn't fully process it until later. Let me just say that my family spent lots of time at Uncle Robert and Aunt Nanette's house. When we moved to Texas, every summer we would drive back to Mesa and we usually stayed there. Their kids were relatively the same age as us and we always had a blast there! I have always been so grateful for the love that he and Aunt Nanette showed to us. ...This is still hard to write.... Uncle Robert was an amazing man. I think I realized that even more so at his funeral. He did so many things in the church and for the community, but he often did it quietly. He never did it to be praised. He always was kind and ALWAYS, ALWAYS had a smile on his face. I think it was usually a mischievous smile because he like to joke around. One of the best memories I have of him was a few Christmases ago...There was a whipped cream fight with him, his daughter Heidi and my dad. I think in this instance he was just a bystander, but somehow he ended up with the whipped cream on his head. There are more stories to be told but that is my favorite! I'm really grateful that I was close enough to be able and attend the funeral. It was a great service for a great man.

A week after the funeral, my mom called again, with bad news. I told her I just wasn't going to answer the phone anymore! My grandpa Roy's brother Leland passed away. This wasn't as unexpected as Uncle Robert but it's never easy. Fortunately, I was able to see him in July at a Smith family gathering. It had been years since the last time I'd seen Uncle Leland so I'm grateful for that opportunity. Uncle Leland lived kind of kitty corner from Grandpa and they somehow shared a backyard, so there were many times that we would visit Leland and Marilyn while at Grandpa's. His kids were all grown and gone by that time but we would still run over and visit and get homemade popsicles! Oh the fun times when you're young...He never looked like Grandpa but he was always kind like grandpa and I'm so grateful for the chance I had to know him.

Thankfully, this past week was news free....at least with my family. I'm hoping it stays that way for awhile...Twice is enough for a few years right?

But, back to the good news....YAY for new babies! Next week, we'll find out whether it's a niece or a nephew!!!!

Boston Finale!

2011-09-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is the last post for Boston...Finally, I know it's taken me forever, but here it is. I can't remember which day this was but it was just Kalli, Steve and I. We went to the Boston Gardens(?) where they have these lovely swan paddle boats. It was fun to go. There were a few live swans and some ducks that kept chasing each other around the pond. We also saw a family of turtles and some ballerinas in a photo shoot. A very eventful time. We joined a class at the statue of George Washington...I think it was George... and we learned a lot about him from this class.
This is me on our lovely swan boat tour. Ignore how awful I look...It was humid and hot walking around!
This lovely picture is from our whale watching tour. As you can see it looks awfully cold right. I'm so smart and thought...I'll be ok without a jacket. I froze and quickly learned my lesson that you should always take a jacket with you. Because it was so foggy when we went, we saw no whales! We really couldn't see much because of the fog, but it was still a fun experience! Walking on the boat was an adventure and I feel like I might understand what it's like to be drunk! I thought I was walking straight but I was far from it! There was a family on our tour and oh my heck were they prepared for a sighting. There were like 5 of them and each had these monstrous cameras. It was pretty funny to watch them!

Random

2011-08-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

So, mom emailed us a copy of Grandma Bertha's journal and I was reading it today. It's been pretty awesome. I was only 4 1/2 when she passed away. I have a few memories here and there of her but not many. It's been fun to read about her life. So far she writes a lot about canning at the cannery and being with family. It also makes me feel a little better about my own journal writing...or lack of it. There are many entries where she comments on how fast the time goes between entries, but she keeps trying to do better. I guess I need to do better now. Anyway, I've really enjoyed reading about life through her eyes and getting to know her a little better through her entries.

And I know, I still need to finish the stinking Boston trip. I sure have dragged it out enough....I'm getting there, I just wanted to write about this and then I'll catch up!

Maine!

2011-08-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm finally finishing up Boston...only this post deals with Maine! And the pictures are out of order. We ended the day at Bob's Clam Hut. I had my first basket of fish and chips....and it wad pretty good. I also tried some lobster soup....it was good but I don't know how often I would have it!

This is at the Portland Observatory which was closed. It was opening for the season the week after we left, kind of a bummer!

This is an attempt at the jumping pictures...Let's just say that Kiersty is a much better photographer than I am, which is why I didn't post the pictures I took of her attempting the same...

I took lots of pictures of the ocean. I love watching it crash on the rocks! I think that out of all the places we went Maine, was one of my favorite. It is so beautiful there. I wish we could have explored some more. We did find a great outlet mall and shopped through a really amazing rainstorm!

Uh....

2011-08-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

So, I realize that I kind of lost steam in the middle of my Boston trip...but I'm still here! I'll finish someday for all those who are just waiting in agony! Now I'm really behind because I have another trip to blog about...I just can't catch a break here!

2011-06-20T23:34:00.001-07:00

The Mansions....

So there is a group of homes...mansions that have been preserved and are open to the public to see. We saw three of them, The Breakers, Rosecliff, and Marble House. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside so I just have a few shots of the outside and one of just a mansion we passed on the Cliff walk. We saw The Breakers mansion first and it kinda ruined the rest of them. I mean, they're all amazing but the Breakers is CRAZY! It really is just amazing how much time and money went into this house that was a 'summer cottage'. The whole house is just busy, wall to wall, there is something covering every inch of the house. The whole point of these summer cottages was to have these amazing balls, so each house had some sort of ball room. They also had like a type of patio that had like french doors that opened up around the ball room so people could stay in the ball room or go on the patio but the ocean breeze could come in a cool off the ball room. I liked that idea. But back to the house and it's craziness...The study had walls that were painted to look like leather walls and one of the room had platinum panels. Those walls will never tarnish, and would cost a fortune now to have. The kitchen...I loved it, it was so big and there was so much room to cook, probably because the staff was cooking for so many people usually. But I'd love to cook in a kitchen with that much room to move about! Now, out of the three houses we looked at, The Breakers was amazing, but I'd never want to live there, it's just too much. I like things a little more simple! Marble House was pretty amazing in that there were so many different kinds of marble used. Some rooms were kind of ugly in my opinion and I felt sorry for her kids. This lady had 2 sons and 1 daughter. She wanted her daughter to marry a duke so she pretty much dictated this girls life for her, how she sat, what her room looked like, who she married...not fun. Her sons almost seemed forgotten. They had very small rooms in the corner of the house and always had a nanny. Rosecliff, was a much smaller house, compared to the Breakers and Marble House. I like it though. It wasn't quite as extravagant and just looked a little more like a home. And they had this exhibit of wedding dresses throughout the tour that was fun. It was really interesting to see the different styles through the years.

This was just a pretty tree, and it looked perfect for sitting and taking pictures so...naturally, I sat and took a picture!

This is a great mystery of Newport. No one knows what this structure is exactly. Some think it's an old windmill, but it just stand there. So of course we had to see it! It is pretty interesting to go and speculate what it could be, but no one knows....da da dummm! We did a few other sights and ate dinner at a fun little pub/restaurant and then drove back to Boston. We did try and see the coast but it was a little too dark by the time we got there to really see much. I did love Rhode Island, definitely one of my favorite days!

Newport

2011-06-17T01:00:00.002-07:00

This is Newport, Rhode Island. I have to say this was one of my favorite days. It was cold but the drive here was pretty great, and I just really loved the town. This is where we started our day. Those houses are at the start of the Cliff Walk. You can walk on a trail that takes you in front of the houses and along the ocean. As you can see, it was a really gray day so the ocean blended in really well with the sky, but I still loved it!

Now this is just a classic picture! I can really see Andrew coming out in the expression Dad is making. Dad likes to make lots of faces any time we try to take a picture...This was a great shot! Dad loved the ocean. He would just stop and stare out on the water while we walked along. I think if it weren't so darn cold up there, he'd love to live near the ocean. I can understand the love of the ocean though. This was only like my 3rd time being near an ocean, and I love it. It's just so amazing to watch the water. Kalli said that the other times they had seen the water it was so peaceful but that day, it was crashing on the rocks. I think sometimes you forget just how powerful that water can be. I remember the first time I swam in the ocean, it was so awesome until that current takes you under longer than you plan. When I put it like that, I'm not really sure why I love the ocean that much...

Here are some other shots of us walking along the Cliff Walk. There were a couple places where you could walk out on the rocks, as you can see, we did walk out. I would hate to lose my balance out there, that was a bit scary!

We stayed on this trail for like 1 or 2 miles, I can't remember. We were on our way to see the Mansions. I'll save those for another day. They were pretty spectacular. I can't imagine living in some of those houses....more on that later!

Walden Pond

2011-06-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

I know all these pictures are kind of small, but I just have so many and this was an easier way to share them! Sunday after Kalli and Steve's Stake Conference, we packed a picnic and headed out to Walden Pond. Let me just tell you that we picked a heck of a day to go on a picnic. It was pretty darn cold. If you can see Mom in the pictures you can tell she was cold. She was wearing a down coat, sweaters, a scarf, a nice wool hat and mittens! We gave her a hard time because she

was always cold. But truthfully, I was also quite cold that day! Walden Pond is BEAUTIFUL! I don't know that my pictures really do it justice. We walked around the pond to the site of Henry David Thoreau's cabin. All of these houses we went to visit, were pretty amazing...because they were so small!

I wish that I could take some of the scenery I saw on this trip home with me. I'd love to be able to spend more time at some of these places. The pond was so peaceful and I can only imagine what it would look like in the fall.

After Walden Pond, we drove through the Minuteman National Park and stopped at some of the historical sites along the way. Then we got to Lexington and stopped at the Lexington Battle Green. There is a burial monument here where all those who were slain in battle are buried. I didn't get a picture of that. These pictures are all from the Battle Green. There was a nice man who works for the city I believe. He dresses up all revolutionary style and people can just talk to him about the city, about the history, or just whatever they want to...He was very informative though!

Don't Tread On Me....

2011-06-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

So this is day 3...We started out the day visiting Bunker Hill monument. Part of the museum was closed so we just wondered around outside before we moved on to the USS Constitution. I've never been on board a ship like that. It's crazy! I can't imagine climbing up all the rigging and putting up sails and whatever else has to be done on a ship...Later on this trip, we actually saw a ship very much like this one but it was a working ship, complete with many, many sailors climbing up the rigging and everything. I think it was actually a Spanish ship, I'm not sure...Anyway, we chose to do the self-guided tour so we didn't get to go below decks. It was still pretty awesome to climb aboard that ship, it's not all original. There have been a few touch-ups here and there, but still amazing to think of all that ship has seen. If I were really awesome I could've purchased a flag and have it flown on the USS Constitution for like 2 seconds....I chose not to be that cool!

After that, we went to the Aquarium. I have to say, it was pretty neat to see all the animals...fish..turtles! They had lots of different penguins to see and I kept trying to take pictures of them swimming but those little guys are fast! I also got to hold a starfish and touch a sting ray. They had little sharks that you could pet too, but I missed out on that. It was kind of nerve-racking petting the sting rays, I just kept waiting for one of them to flick their tail just right...but luckily I survived!

Now I think this was all the same night...We also got to experience Candlepin Bowling. Which is basically bowling but the pins are much thinner. Much like a candle...The balls that you use are like the ones you use in ski-ball. So, it makes it much more difficult to knock down the pins because the balls are smaller and weigh less. The nice thing about it though, is they don't clear the pins that fall so if you're talented you can aim for the fallen pins and hopefully knock down more...I got lucky a few times! Mom, took us all by surprise the first game and won! I think Kalli won the next game. It was lots of fun though! You also bowl 10 frames and you get three turns each frame. It makes the scoring a little different, that still didn't help me the first game. I did do better on the second game and I won on my lane but not all around. So, if you're ever anywhere where they offer candlepin bowling, I'd highly recommend it!

P.S. The title of this post comes from the USS Constitution. I forgot to include the flag. But the flag that flies on the USS Constitution has those words on it...for those who didn't know!

Duck Tour

2011-06-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

So on Friday we picked up Kiersty and Seth from the airport and then headed out to the Museum of Science and on a Duck Tour. Most of the pictures below are from the Duck Tour. We were Symphony Hal, that's the yellow Duck. The rainbow one is South End Sally, we just got a picture in front of that one, because it was just too good to pass up! The Museum of Science was pretty awesome. It was filled with kids though...crazy I know. There was so much to see there, we didn't make it to it all but, it was still fun. The Duck tour was also fun...it got quite chilly at the end though...Anyways, they take you all around Boston. We saw a lot of the same places we did on the Freedom Trail but lots of place we didn't see. It was still fun to hear about the history of Boston. Our tour guide was "Old Quackdonald" and he was quite funny. Kept us all entertained throughout the tour. He also had us quack at random people on the street.

At the end of the tour the Duck turns into a boat. It's pretty awesome...So at the end of the tour we went out on the Charles River and saw the Boston skyline. I got a few pictures of that but the sun kind of ruined some of them...! Again, there are so many things I could talk about in these posts but it would go on and on. So, I'm just going to stick with the basics and let you know I had fun! I can tell you this, seeing Boston and the history and beauty that the city has, made me a little sad to come back to Tucson. I mean, there are things I love about Tucson, but it is not a pretty town! Nor does it have the rich history that Boston does...And more importantly, it doesn't have the T. I was super excited to get to experience the T, Boston's subway! I know I'm a dork :)

P.S. Because most of us were pretty turned around while we were in Boston, the Museum of Science just seemed to appear wherever we were. It was always there...kinda creepy! It was mostly because we were always going to the same area of town but...sounds better when I say it followed us!

Freedom Trail!

2011-06-13T00:10:00.000-07:00

Alright, I've been back for almost 3 weeks now so I figured I should get some pictures up from my trip! For those of you reading this that don't know where I went...I went to Boston for 11 days in May. Kalli and Steve graduated so Mom, Dad, Kiersty, Seth and I all flew out to Boston to celebrate with them!

None of us except for Dad, have been that far east so it was an adventure. These pictures are from our first real day there. It was just Kalli, Steve, mom, dad and I for the first few days. This is Thursday May 19th, we went on the Freedom Trail. Thats basically just the walking tour of historic Boston. It was pretty amazing to see all of the history. I loved walking around Boston, its so old and there is so much history in the city. We started out at Boston Commons and worked our way up to the North End, which is basically the Italian district. We ate some amazing Italian food and got some wonderful cannolis from Mike's Pastries...yummm! Anyway- so this is definitely the short version, I could go on describing what all we saw and did, but it would be super long! So, my favorite part about the freedom trail? It's really hard to narrow it down. I really enjoyed it all. I think it's amazing to be in the places where our nation was born. I know that they are just buildings and it's been hundreds of years since they were used to build a nation but it's really just amazing to think about it. We did go inside Paul Revere's house and I've got to say, it sure made me grateful to not have to live back then! I can't believe how many people they could fit into such a small place. I am extremely grateful that growing up, I didn't have to share my room with like 6 other people....just 2!

Slightly Delayed...

2011-05-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

So this post is like a month overdue but what can I say? I got distracted with a new haircut! So the three of us, Sasha, Breanna and I, decided to head to Utah for conference weekend. We left Thursday with the intent of arriving at a somewhat decent hour.....those plans did not work so well for us. We didn't end up leaving Tucson til like 5pmish. Then, we made pretty good time to Flagstaff. Unfortunately, none of us had ever really driven that route and all we had to go on were google map directions. So google maps took us close to Page, Az but then sent us on an alternate route through some place called Marble Canyon. These are where the lovely pictures were taken. So, we had planned on stopping in Page and filling up because we were getting low. Only our directions took us west of Page to this lovely town with one gas station that closed early and didn't have a credit card reader. So, here we are stuck in this town with no gas available and our gas light was on and Page was like 40 miles away still...in the other direction! Fun right? So what else do you do when you're stuck in a small town that all closed down for the night and you're almost out of gas? Well, you contemplate lots of things including knocking on doors at the Marble Canyon Lodge and seeing if anyone wants to drive you to Page and then praying that the car will make it to Page on the gas that is left in the tank. Well, that is what we did, and we now know that Breanna's car will go at least 50 more miles once the gas light comes on! It's probably not really the best way to test it but...we're unconventional! Anyways, despite losing like an hour driving back to Page and then back through Marble Canyon we still got to Payson in like 12 hours...at 6:30am! Then, I went and spent the rest of the weekend with Ellen and family, Kiersty and Brittany. I would've included Seth but he was cramming for finals so, I really only saw him for a few hours! Friday, I hung out with Ellen at Dillards and then Kierst, Britt and I went and saw a movie. I'm sad we don't have a theater like that one in Tucson. It's like 1.50...or 3? for a movie and then the treats are either 1 or 2 bucks depending on the size. It was a pretty sweet deal. Then on Sat, we went shopping and ran errands and met up with Ellen and the girls for Girls Night Out. Surprisingly, we shopped more and had a great dinner from Bajios! I miss those here too. To my dismay, as we were getting ready for bed on Saturday night it was snowing! And despite Kiersty's reassurances that it would stop, I woke up to this on Sunday morning!

Thankfully, the snow melted while we watched conference and our drive back to Tucson was pretty much snow free. At least snow free on the roads. But after our lovely experience on the way to Utah, we decided to go back to Tucson through Vegas. And we never let the gas tank get that low again. I'd say we all learned pretty good lessons from this trip! And, this has nothing to do with lessons, but I finally got to see Kiersty's house-decorated! I've heard so much about it and seen so many pictures of it, but it doesn't do it justice! She did such a good job decorating it! I like to think that I was helping with it, since I was on the phone with her while she picked out so much stuff for it! Anyways, it was a great weekend, and as always, over too soon!

Short and Sweet!

2011-04-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I cut it off! On Friday I just decided, I'd thought enough about it, I'm gonna do it! So i went in to cut it and realized that my hair was shorter than I thought. You have to have 11 inches to donate so I told them to cut 11 in off.. Then I saw how short it was and got a little scared! But I'm actually really happy with it. I think I might go back and add some shorter layers in to give it a little more texture/body...Any thoughts? And should I cut bangs again or leave them long?

Help!

2011-04-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've been thinking of cutting my hair again. I need your help. This was what I did to it 1 1/2 years ago. I was thinking about maybe this length but with some more layers. I don't know if I'll do the bangs again. Right now my hair is about a foot longer than it is in this picture. So, should I keep it really long and just do some more layers or go back to a shorter cut. I love the long hair but I just get so bored with it. I'm lucky and it grows out fairly quickly but still....Help! I need some opinions friends!

Oops

2011-04-12T02:18:00.000-07:00

I realized that my last post sounded a bit dire and I should clarify that I just had some news delivered to me by a close friend that I was not prepared for at all. I am doing ok I am just saddened by the news and was still a bit in shock when I wrote that.

BLINDSIDED

2011-04-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

That's pretty much how I feel today. I was told something today and feel completely unprepared for how to deal with it. It will take some time but I sure hate that feeling. Not knowing how to deal...

30 Years Ago Today.....

2011-03-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

.....MHARI LYNAE WAS BORN!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big sister! I don't know that she will really appreciate me announcing her age but....too late! Anyway- I just wanted to give a little shout out to Mhari on her big day! I hope James spoils you on your birthday and Andrew gives you a little break from running after him and cleaning up the DVD's!

For those of you reading this Mhari is my oldest sister and she did her job well. I didn't have any older brothers, so Mhari filled that need! She helped us jump off the roof onto the trampoline....something that happened frequently after church when we raced to beat our parents home. She sat on top of us and held lougies above our faces...she instilled a deep love for pretty much all things 80's-minus the clothing! Although, the 80's hairstyle definitely was part of our lives for awhile! She's shown that ketchup and mustard paint can actually look good in a house! She has the cutest little boy that was ever born-I'm not partial or anything. She introduced me to corn dip and fritos, which is AMAZING!

I could've shared some amazing Mhari stories but I don't know that she would fully appreciate it. Instead I'll just say that again, Mhari, I hope you have a great birthday. Thanks for all the things you have taught me and for the great example you are to me. Love you and let yourself be spoiled!

My Totally Awesome......

2011-02-27T22:13:00.001-08:00

........Sunday Night!

You were all hoping for something more exciting weren't you! Mostly this post is to show Kiersty that I don't have to be at her "little Oscar party" to have fun! Haha. But....my night probably wasn't as fun as it would've been watching the Oscars drinking pina colodas! Anyway, I was talking to Kiersty earlier today and she was telling me all the cool things that they were doing at her Oscar party and I was a little jealous that I couldn't come and she was being rude and rubbing my face in it so...I'm just here to prove that playing card game and not drinking pina coladas is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo so much cooler than drinking pina coladas, eating medium mints and watching the Oscars!

Actually, I did spend my Sunday night playing games at a friends house. I've recently discovered people here in Tucson that play Nertz, it's a card game that is like group solitaire, for those of you who haven't been fortunate enough to play. I used to play that game like every Sunday back in Twin Falls, and I've missed it. So a group of us played that for awhile tonight and it's still as fun as ever. Although we did lose 2 new players pretty early in the game because they kept getting negative points....but we worked through it and still had fun! Alright, well thats pretty much all I've got for tonight. I just wanted to prove that you don't need pina coladas to have fun.....although I did think about them pretty much all night and am still craving one....Dang you Kierst!

Everything I Do - In Style Of Bryan Adams - Karaoke

2011-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Alrighty folks. In honor of my weekend attempt to karaoke, I'm posting this awesome song and want you all to stop what you're doing and sing out! I don't know about you all, but I remember LOVING this song. Especially because it was on the 3 Musketeers movie and lets face it, I had a huge crush on Chris O'Donnell, so I watched that movie A LOT!

Anyways- Lindsay, Scott and I totally jammed out to this song on Saturday and I just wanted to share the power of the song with everyone out there! So, I'm totally being serious here. STOP what you are doing and SING. Kiersty, I don't want any excuses that you're at work and you're not supposed to belt out awesome lyrics like this. DO IT. It well be awesome....and I have another post for the week!

Big Trouble In Little China

2011-02-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what to write about this week. But I said I was going to do better than last week so....

I wrote about our 80's movie nights a couple of posts ago. Well, my friend Scott came down from Tempe and we were going to continue the 80's by watching Big Trouble in Little China. I'd never seen it, but I think Linds and Scott had. Anyways, because we were watching that we wanted to do a complete asian night. We started out at the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant. It's kind of a hole in the wall restaurant close to our apartment. It was really good, but the best part was the golden dragon "portal" that you go through to get to your table. It's pretty sweet, I wish I had a picture of it! Then we attempted to go karaokeing. We tried this once last year and had the same experience this year. By that I mean, every where we went didn't karaoke on Sat. For some reason, karaoke only happens on Friday and Sunday in the great city of Tucson. We tried multiple places and were denied each time. It was pretty sad. So...our solution was to come back to the apartment and find karaoke songs on youtube. We did, and I have to say it was pretty fun! Someday maybe we'll actually get to really karaoke! We did watch the movie eventually and I have to say it was a true 80's movie. Awful, yet hilarious! And there are so many random things that just pop up throughout the movie. Like the randome big foot/yetti, the floating head, the man with no skin...Such a strange yet funny movie! We all fell asleep throughout it, so I can't say I've seen it all.

Jamie Day

2011-02-11T00:19:00.000-08:00

So this week I slacked on my goal to post more. I didn't post at all this week so here is one!

This guy in the picture is, Jamie. Today is a year since I got the phone call that he had been killed in a motorcycle accident. It's hard to believe that a years has gone by. This picture just seems to sum up Jamie. This was taken at the Air and Space museum. I'm not quite sure why he was doing this but really, it just seems normal! Jamie was like our tour guide at this museum. He told us all about the planes like he's doing in the picture below. I learned lot about planes that day. I also learned that there are probably reasons that museums have signs saying "Don't Touch". Jamie was opening compartments and things that didn't always want to shut again. It was pretty entertaining! Anyways. I don't really know what else I want to say. I just wanted to give a little remembrance to Jamie.

To Jamie,Thanks for......

Teaching that wearing fake glasses will make you look smarter

Random trips to Mesa at 5 am...complete with ransom notes to sleeping roomies

Early morning IHOP trips

Loud music in the car

Late night story telling complete with sounds and pictures!

Dance parties

Proving that mohawks do work for some people!

Loving the gospel and trying to be an example of it every day

Always being a missionary

Proving that people really can sleep Anywhere and on pretty much Anything, including one nasty dog pillow...

Re-introducing us to cherry dipped cones from DQ

There are more but it's late and I'm getting tired. So Jamie, here's to you. Hope you love flying around up in heaven. I imagine that the speed is just incredible. Thanks for everything Jamie!

Bowling Pictures!

2011-02-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Mom and Andrew. Love that they're both looking opposite ways!

The point of this picture is really Steve. His first turn he got 2 gutter balls I think. So, he thought if he stretched first it would help his game! Funny thing is, I think it actually worked!

Mom, Kiersty and Andrew

Mom bowling

the final scores! I'm pretty sure I was last

Mistake

2011-02-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

I was informed that I failed to mention KIERSTY in the list of people who introduced me originally to the awesomeness of all 80's movies! I am so very very very sorry that I failed to mention KIERSTY! Even when she calls me a dork :)

And I should clarify. For those who watched the Baby..on a Recorder link I posted, you have to wait til the end and the on click on the box that says click here to see the reply or whatever. It goes on for a few more songs! It's worth it though!

A Tribute...

2011-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

To the 80's

I was watching a movie the other day that talked about the different 80's movies and how she wished her life was a bit more like an 80's movie....I just started thinking about that and how some of those movies have been such a part of my life! I grew up with Ferris Bueller, Sixteen Candles, Better Off Dead, Real Genius, and many more! There are just so many good movie lines in them!

"It's a darn shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy."

"Do you know the street value of this mountain? This is pure snow."

"I've been going to this school for 7 years. I'm no dummy."

-Better Off Dead

"Dong, where is Grandpa's automobile?"

"Automobile? Lake. Big lake!"

-Sixteen Candles

"You'll rue the day."

"Rue the day. Who talks like that?"

"Kents name is on his license plate.

My mom does that to my underwear.

Your mom puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?"

-Real Genius

These may not make sense to everyone but thanks to Mhari and Ashely, these are part of my childhood...! For all those who know these quotes...more power to you! I know 80's movies aren't everyones cup of tea but I sure love 'em. They're just so awful and hilarious all at the same time!

Last year we had 80's movie night. There were only 3 of us who really enjoyed awful 80's movies but it was fun. We watched movies like Flight of the Navigator(also a childhood movie), Lady in White(AWFUL MOVIE!!!!), Willow, Tron(the original), and Legend(also AWFUL)!

Anywho....this is a pretty random post but hopefully some people out there will enjoy it. I know that each of my sister's will appreciate this and they could probably add some quotes to this...That is a challenge ladies. Accept it if you can!

"Baby" ... on RECORDER?!?!

2011-01-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

So...this may seem random but I thought it was pretty amazing. It also takes a bit of time because there are really like 9 different videos attached to this. But it's pretty darn creative so I thought I'd share it! And my pictures still won't upload. I'm not really sure whats going on with them. So, until I can get them to upload, you're all getting fun videos like this....or whatever else I decide to talk about!

Bowling

2011-01-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

First of all..boo for technology. I was trying to upload some pictures for this post and it was just not working with me! So I'll try and do that for the next post!

Christmas this year, was in Mesa and all the family was there for it. We had lots of big plans for the days we were together and sadly didn't really accomplish them all. On Christmas Eve we went bowling. I hadn't been bowling in quite some time. It was fun except that we got there after having looked to make sure they'd be open, and they told us they were closing in an hour. So, being the troopers we are, we decided to have a real fast game. It was highly entertaining to watch. I'll try and get some of those pictures posted. I have to admit that I came in last place or second to last. I started out strong and soon lost that lead! After our quick game we left and thats pretty much when all our plans fell apart. Kierst, mom and I ran to Costco real fast and that is where Mhari decided to leave her lunch! She started feeling sick towards the end of our game and by the time we got to Costco she was done. So Christmas Eve, Mhari was sick and Cora (BrieAnn's daughter) was also throwing up on their way down from Safford. Brie and Jake got sick later that night also. Christmas day, Mhari was feeling better (after having fainted twice), but then James was sick. It was pretty much the domino effect after that. One by one, we all got this nice stomach bug. With the exception of Steve and Kiersty. They were the only ones who survive the weekend. But because of our little sick bug we didn't really do much. We tried but none of us were really feeling that great! Even Andrew's 1st birthday party had to get cancelled. We still gave him a party but it was much different than we had planned! Good thing he doesn't know any better!

Anyways, this is getting long. In all honesty, despite being sick and not getting to do all that we had planned, we did make the most of our time together. I think we still had a fun week and a great Christmas! I'm glad we were all able to be together this year and it was so fun to have Andrew experience Christmas. He didn't quite get it but he did love some of his presents!

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts Official Video

2011-01-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here she is singing Jar of Hearts. I was shown this video and thought she did a really good job with it. It's really creative in my opinion. Anyways, hope you like it!

Winter Wonderjam

2011-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is Lindsay, Elspeth, and I at Winter Wonderjam. I blogged about this before but here are a few pics I got before my camera died on me! There were 5 artists that performed here. First was Christina Perri who sings Jar of Hearts. I love that song. I'll post the video link later. Ryan Starr also sang, Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareillles, and the Plain White T's. It was an awesome night!

Down below: Christina Perri singing

Sara Barielles jamming out on her purple/blue piano
And this was the real reason Linds came. This is Ingrid Michaelson. She was hilarious. She had a toenail removed a few days before this show and was telling the audience about it. She was probably my favorite performer of the night. I've listened to most of her music since my roommate loves her and I really enjoy her music. But, seeing her live was pretty amazing. She just really gets the audience involved and makes it fun.

This night ended at Ihop. Mostly because that is the only place in Tucson that stays open past 11pm. I love Ihop because after 11pm there are some very interesting people there. Obviously, not me or my friends, we're the normal ones! It is just entertaining watching people. Thats all I'll say on that subject. I don't think our waitress liked us very much because we probably stayed too late and kept her from getting more tables. But at least we were making memories!

2011-01-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

Alright family and friends...

I'm feeling a bit shamed that I've gotten so behind on this. For all those avid readers, I'm sorry! I know there has to be at least one of you that loves me that much, right? My sister had this great idea to write posts and have them publish like everyday. I'm feeling a bit inspired by that. I may not have something for everyday..but hopefully it will be more often than every two months!

So..now that you know the plan...I'm gonna go, and share that plan with someone else. ( Brownie points to whoever can name that movie!)

Seriously though, one of my goals this year is seriously to write more often. I need to write the events of my life down somewhere, since I'm not real great at journal writing. If anyone would like to here some specific Megan thoughts, please let me know and I'll blog about it! How much fun does that sound like? I know, I know. A whole lot of fun!

Tis the Holiday Season!

2010-12-15T23:21:00.000-08:00

Well, it's only been like 2 months since I last posted. I thought it was about time that I posted again. It's been a busy last couple of months! But can I just say that I'm super excited for Christmas. I do love this time of year and I love it even more when all my family can be together! And this year....ALL my family will be together including this cutie!

This little boy will get to experience his first Christmas ever AND his very first birthday! But, I'm also very excited to see my parents and all my siblings and in-laws! I imagine that the days we are together will result in very little sleep, lots of laughing, and tons of fun! That is what usually happens when all my sisters get together!

Anyways, I've also been trying to do some holiday baking and finish my crafting projects which hasn't been easy to do. I feel like I've got way more to do and less time to do it in!

On a different note, last weekend I got to go to like my 3rd concert ever. It was put on by a local radio station here in Tucson and the concert was awesome! The tickets were cheap and well worth it. Christina Perry, Ryan Starr, Plain White Tee's, Ingrid Michaelson, and Sara Bareilles all played and they were UH-MAZING!

After like 5 hours of sitting on the grass my butt was killing me, but it was still worth it! I'll try and post some pictures of that later. They aren't the greatest but I know who is in them!

Well, now it's time for sleep!

Back to the Living!

2010-10-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, for all those who actually read this blog, I am still alive! I realize it's been awhile since I've posted but I am still here. I did eventually finish packing and get moved. I love my new apartment, it's not quite so ghetto as the last few have been. It's a little closer to my work and a little further from town but it's nice a quiet. I don't really know that I'll catch up on the last 3 months since I've posted. Lets just say that I've been keeping myself busy. I got to go to Mesa for Labor Day weekend and see Brittany for a little while. Mom and I drove to Snowflake to get some delicious corn and see Aunt Becky and family for a couple of hours. We also picked a LOT of peaches and brought them home with us. I spent the next day shucking corn and getting it ready to be frozen. I also got peaches peeled and sliced and ready to be frozen. I was pretty proud of my work! Now I have yummy Taylor corn and peaches in my freezer as do mom and dad!

I also had the unfortunate luck to celebrate yet another birthday! I don't know why but this year I just didn't want to turn another year older! I realize that I'm really not that old, I just felt it this year and wasn't too excited to acknowledge the change!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go with mom, 3 aunts, and 4 cousins to Time Out for Women in Phoenix. For those who don't know, this is a program put on by Deseret Books and it consists of music and speakers and is geared towards women. This years theme was 'We hope for all things'. It was really amazing. The speakers were awesome and the music was great. I loved the group that sang on Saturday, Mercy River. Their music is so good. Anyways, this weekend was so nice. I live in the same state as most of those I was with this weekend and I rarely get to see them. So it was nice to get to spend a few days with family and catch up. I'm glad Ellen flew down here for it too because I don't get to see her very often either.

Well, thats a quick catch up for now. I'm sure I have pictures to post later but I've got to go to work so that will wait! It was a great weekend and I wish my sisters could've come too. I am excited to see all of them in a few months though:)

I Hate...

2010-07-21T14:42:00.001-07:00

.........PACKING

I don't know how anyone else feels about it, but it is one of my most dreaded chores! I'm happy to be moving, I just start packing and wonder where I got all this crap and why I need to keep it! Anyways...I should be packing right now seeing as how I'm moving on Friday and I still feel like I have so much to do! Does anyone want to come and pack for me? I'll be so very grateful.....

No takers? Fine, I guess I'll get back to work then. I just wanted to share my complete loathing for packing with all of you! On the bright side, I get to see Mom again for the 2nd week in a row! She loves me enough to come and help! Actually she's coming to bring me a different bed but she's so nice she said she'd help us clean! What an AMAZING Mom I have!

Ok seriously, I'm really getting back to work now.....

Funny Little Thoughts

2010-07-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

I just read this on Staci's blog and laughed at every one because they are all so very true! Well, at least for me! And since I haven't posted in a while I thought I'd share. I know I especially need #1 and I definitely have done #13 and #17 A LOT!

1. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

2. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

3. Was learning cursive really necessary?

4. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

5. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

6. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

7. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

8. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

9. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

10. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?) but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

11. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

12. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

13. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

14. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

15. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

16. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

17. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch or phone 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

Really quick, things are going well, I can't believe it's almost August and summer is almost over. This year is going by so fast. I'll post more in a little bit, I'm moving to a new apartment next week and so life has been a little crazy!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-31T16:45:00.001-07:00

So below are some of the pictures from Mother's Day. The whole family went to Austin, TX this year to see Andrew Keenan get blessed. It's the first grandkid in our family and it was also the first time any of the family, except Steve and Mom, have met him. Can I just say that he has got to be the cutest kid ever? I know you're all out there thinking that can't be true, but really he is! I'm saying this as a totally unbiased judge also. He's just so stinking cute and skinny!

Anyways, I drove down with mom, dad, grams and Brittany and the drive was killer! In the end it was totally worth it, but we left Mesa at 8am Thursday and got to Austin and 3ish Am Friday! It was a long day. But at 8am I got woken up when Mhari let the dogs out, but I got to meet my nephew so I forgave her and let the little guy steal my heart! Friday night I went with James to pick up Kiersty and Seth from the airport and that was quite an experience! At the Austin airport there are no waiting zones like they have in Phoenix and the guards there are strict! We circled the airport like 4 times, spent some quality time at the Shell gas station- where James broke the toilet....- and got yelled at by a guard to keep moving! Saturday Mhari had a BBQ planned to celebrate Andrew's blessing and so we got to meet some of her friends from the ward and such and see some old friends of ours from Lubbock. It was fun although the weather didn't cooperate with us very well. Sunday, Andrew got blessed and we saw some more friends from Lubbock and then went home and celebrated Mother's day with an awesome dinner and good company! Mom, dad, grams and I had to leave real early Monday morning. That was a pretty sad day. Kalli and Kiersty were staying til Wednesday and Brittany is living in Austin this summer so I missed some more quality time with the sisters but enjoyed the ride home with mom, dad and grams. I've gotta say that I slept a ton on the ride back. I guess the weekend just wore me out!

Now I can't wait for Christmas when we'll all be back together again and celebrating in Utah this year! I can't believe by then, Andrew will be a year old. He's not my son but I can seen how parents say time just flies!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

Andrew testing out the flavor of

his hand....seems tasty!

Mhari and James acting like they love each other!

All the sisters being goofy! And the family, minus James, after Andrew's blessing!

Catch up!

2010-03-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

So, it feels like it's been awhile since I've posted. This will be short and sweet because I'm on vacation and I should actually be working on a project that's due next Monday....

So here's whats been going on.

1. I now have 2 jobs and still going to school. I'm working part time at a law office as a file clerk, and it's keeping me busy. I like it though, I get to dress up which is fun!
2. I don't have to work Friday nights anymore which is truly amazing since I've been working them steadily for probably the last five years! My first one off was last week and it was amazing!
3. Flour bomb wars followed by water fights, are no good! We had a flour bomb war on Friday and then I made the bright idea of starting a water war when I got home with someone who wasn't covered in flour. Lets just say that i lost the war, big time!
4. I'm on VACATION til the 24th!
5. I'm back in Idaho and minus the cold, I love it! And I get to see my best friend get married in four days!
6. I saw a man trimming his trees this morning with a machete and was invited to try it! Unfortunately, we didn't have time to stop!

And Bethany is out of class now so this is all ya get!

Reflecting

2010-02-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

So as it would happen, on Sunday, pretty much all of our meetings talked about the Plan of Salvation or our Savior and I just found it so fitting. For Christmas, my mom made each of us a book for sacrament. It just has sacrament hymns, scriptures and quotes that relate to our Savior and the Atonement. Anyways, I was reading in it on Sunday and kind of throughout the week and I came across some things that just kind of struck me. I shared it in my institute class today but it's just been on my mind.

I was reading in Helaman 14: 15-17 . It's talking about how it was necessary for Christ to die so that we could be saved and be with our Heavenly Father. Then I came across this quote and it just hit me.

In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer, and like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child and has to be taken out of the room so as not to look upon the last struggles, so He bowed His head and hid in some part of His universe, His great heart almost breaking for the love that He had for His Son. Oh, in that moment when He mights have saved His Son, I thank Him and praise Him that He did not fail us, for He had not only the love of His Son in mind, but He also had love for us. I rejoice that He did not interfere, and that His love for us made it possible for Him to endure to look upon the sufferings of His Son and give Him finally to us, our Saviour and our Redeemer. Without Him, without His sacrifice, we would have [been buried in the earth and there our bodies would have] remained, and we would never have come glorified into His presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in heaven to give the gift of His Son unto men.

-Elder Marvin J. Ballard

I read that quote and love it. I am so very grateful for our Father in heaven's plan for us. There are times where I don't always know what exactly that plan entails but I know that there is a path for me to follow so that I can return to Him, so that we can all return to Him. I can't express how grateful I am to know that because He sent His Son to earth and let him be crucified, we all have the opportunity to return to our Father. And it seems that Heavenly Father knows when that time will be even when we sometimes we don't.

This is another quote I read today. This was on Jamie's wifes blog. She found this in one of his journals from a couple of years ago and I thought it was amazing. And it just goes along with things that I've been thinking of. I can't put it much better than this.

"Do not give up. Do not stop before the line, sprint past it. Do not consign yourself to apathy because a goal is in sight. It doesn't matter how tight you pulled a line if you allow slack in at the last moment. Moore yourself to the iron rod and receive all the promised blessings from Heavenly Father now, and the blessings of eternal life and exaltation in the time to come."

I think this is what we need to do to make sure we stay on that path so that when our time is here, we can return home.

Eye Opener

2010-02-12T09:05:00.001-08:00

Yesterday on my way to work I got a call from my roommate who told me that one of our really close friends had passed away. At first I couldn't even believe it. Jamie, was best friends with a previous roommate so he was always at our apartment. The first time I met him, I was actually looking at the apartment to see if I wanted to live there, and I walk in and this guy is there dressed really nice with a huge mohawk! I wasn't quite sure what to do with that, so I went shopping for hair dye with him and Elspeth. I mean how could I not participate in the dying of a mohawk? Anyways, over the course of the next couple months, I got to know Jamie really well. He and Elspeth were always up when I got home from work so I got to listen to his Navy stories and mission stories. I have a lot of good memories of him and I'm so grateful that I got to know him. I just never thought it would happen to someone so young. He just got married like 8 months ago and was so happy.

It's definitely times like these that I'm so very grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that it gives me. It is such a comfort to know that he is married for time and all eternity and that we will see him again someday. I don't always understand the Lord's timing but thats not for me to understand right now. So, I'll be happy that for a little while he was a part of my life and he made it better with his laughter. He always could make me laugh, and frequently did!

Just so you know.....

2010-02-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

.......I'm still alive!

I was told the other day that I needed to update my blog and at the time I didn't know what to write so I didn't. I still don't have a ton to write but I thought I'd do something! So....after doing some research and thinking...I changed my major. I'm in a paralegal program currently and I've got to say, I love it. I don't know if I'd say that I've always been interested in the law, but I have been for awhile. I don't really have the talent for arguing that my sister does so I didn't want to be a lawyer. This is something that really intrigues me though. I get to do research for attorneys and learn more about the law. I'm not very far into the program since I just started a month ago but I do enjoy what I'm learning. So I'll keep ya'll updated on that!

The other exciting thing is my adorable nephew! I can say that he's adorable because I don't have to put up with him crying at night and not getting much sleep! Sorry Mhari, I wish I was closer so that I could help out and let you get some more sleep! I just get to see pictures of this stinkin cute kid and he's just so easy to love! I can't wait for May when I actually get to meet him and see Mhari and James!

Ok, I mean look at this picture. How can you not just love this little guy? I don't think it's possible!

Last thing thats coming up is...my best friends wedding! In March, I get to go back to Idaho for my best friend Bethany's wedding and I get to spend 9 days away from work and school. I can't wait to see her and to be back in Idaho. I've actually been missing it the last little bit. And by missing it, I mean I miss the summer weather, definitely not the snow and cold that's going on right now! Anyways, I get to spend like 5 days with Bethany, and then I get to spend like 4 days with my sisters and bro-in-law. I'm way excited for that also! I've still got like a month before that happens, but I'm already counting down the days!

Well, I feel like thats a pretty good update for now. I'm off to bed!

Julie and Julia

2009-12-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-30T02:08:00.000-08:00

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.....

2009-12-12T03:06:00.001-08:00

....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.........

2009-11-23T23:27:00.000-08:00

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...........

2009-10-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-09-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2009-06-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-27T00:13:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

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 +

2009-05-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

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!