The Little Little Sister

Back, Back to School Again....

2012-01-28T00:17:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right people, I just applied to go back to school through BYU-Idaho Online! I figured that my life wasn't nearly as much fun as it could be, so why not take on one more adventure?! I'm hoping to start the online program in Business Management in April. To be honest, I'm totally freaked out by this....hopefully I haven't forgotten how to study ;)

What is that I hear???

2012-01-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

I can hear it...it's coming...it's change...dun dun dun. Walking out of the office tonight my Boss asked me if I would be interested in taking on another responsibility. You know what? I think I am.

Hmm...overdue for an update....

2012-01-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

So I went to California, and then Washington 3 times and Las Vegas for my very first time with a group of great friends and then on an amazing cruise with my amazing roommate Kelli, all before the end of the year! 2011 was a very good year for me when I look back at it. It included many adventures and wonderful time spent with family and friends. We were also blessed to add 2 more babies to our family in 2011. I love being an Aunt and I love getting see my siblings families grow. Granted there was enough hard times and tears spilt and stress added to remind me that life is not all roses. I feel really good about 2012. I haven't made any resolutions, or goals, yet, but I feel like this year I could make some big changes.... So keep your eyes peeled, it could be anything :)

Getting ready to zipline in Costa Rica!

It's a crazy life!

2011-07-08T10:45:00.000-06:00

This is just a quick little update as I'm actually on my way out the door to go to California for the weekend! It's a crazy life, but someone's got to live it :)

Things are going really well right now! I moved to Cottonwood Heights in May, in with my old roomie from college who is AMAZING! I'm so lucky to live with her!

I went to Seattle a couple of weeks ago and ran in the Seattle Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon for the 2nd year. LOVED IT!

And I'm still trucking on with the healthier life style. While I fudge a little here and there I'm doing pretty good at being consistent with my diet and exercise. Here's a recipe that I tried last night and it was delicious - enjoy!

Dari's Picante Chicken (From the Biggest Loser Cookbook)
1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup mile, medium or hot picante sauce
4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of visible fat
6 tablespoons light cream cheese from a block, softened
1/2 cup (1oz.) finely shredded Cabot 75% light cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1/3 cup of the picante sauce in the bottom of a 13"x9" baking dish. Set aside.

Lay chicken breasts on a cutting board and use a meat mallet to pound the chicken to a uniform thickness. Spread the chicken evenly with the cream cheese and place, cream cheese side up, in a single layer in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining 1/2 cup of picante sauce over the top. Cover the dish with tin foil and cook for 15 minutes.

After the first 15 minutes sprinkle the cheese over the chicken, recover, and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 198 calories, 4 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat (3 g unsaturated), 83 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 591 mg sodium

What will you have left?

2010-09-27T17:23:00.000-06:00

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about not being “silly” women. This took root in my mind yesterday when we were learning about some passages from Isaiah. Specifically we were discussing Isaiah 3:16-24 which says:

“16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,

19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,

20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

21 The rings, and nose jewels,

22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,

23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.”

There is going to come a day when we are stripped of all the worldliness and all the things that we think define us. My question to you, all my faithful readers (HA!), is this: What will you have left? What will you have made of your life? What will define you? How will people know you without your “costly apparel”, jewelry and your fancy or non-fancy car? Will you know yourself? Have you developed your character in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, in a way that he can look at you and be proud?

I can honestly say that I’m not sure what would be left of me. I don’t look in the mirror everyday with pride and recognition. Some mornings it’s more like, “what the crap?!” So what is my game plan? I don’t think that I have one, but you can bet that I’m going to find a plan. I’m pretty confident that the Lord knows the plan, and I just have to be willing to learn it. Are you?

Little Things that make me HAPPY!

2010-09-20T15:28:00.000-06:00

This morning I woke up to a...well, we'll say wonderful, text message. What made that text message wonderful you may be asking since it did wake me up? It was from a hot hot hot boy! I'll never complain about the hour of his text messages since he is so adorable! From there the morning really just got better. You see he got me out of bed, but my new running shoes got me on the go! It's just like when I get a new can of tennis balls. I just can't wait to crack that seal and smell the delicious smell new tennis balls! YUMMY! If you don't play tennis you probably don't understand that, just like if you don't run you don't get why new running shoes can get you out of bed on a Monday morning, but having that new cushioning under your feet making your knees & back feel all good just makes you want to run longer. HEAVEN! So here are my new running shoes---beautiful!

I also bought some more hot shoes (apparently "hot" is my word of the day), but I couldn't find a picture of them, so I'll have to toss that up later :) BUT there are a couple of other things that make me happy right now. The fact that my lesson went really well yesterday made me happy (that and the fact that it's over....) and knowing that a dear friend has started a relationship with a girl that makes him really happy makes me happy! So fingers crossed that the "Wake Up!" texts from the hot boy continue and that the love of running in new shoes continues as well! YAY!

Firehouse Car Washes-Fundraiser!

2010-06-07T13:28:00.000-06:00

Hey all you local Utahans--it's that time of the year that you finally WANT to have your car washed! Firehouse Car Wash has teamed up with me to help me reach my fundraising goals for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'm selling 4-Alarm washes for $30 & 3-Alarm washes for $20. Firehouse Car Washes are seriously AMAZING!!! You won't regret this donation for a minute! If you'd like to buy a wash, or two or three, leave a comment or text me or call me or facebook me :) and I'll set your voucher aside.

4-Alarm: Voted "Utah's Best Wash" by Utah's best customers! The 4-Alarm gives your car added shine with water-whisking Weatherguard Protection. We'll shine and protect our dash with conditioner, too. We guarantee you'll leave delighted.

3-Alarm: Now you can cruise I-15 with pure confidence! Get the mud off the bottom and enjoy the shine of Weatherguard Protection. Be a superstar with tire shine and clean rims! We'll throw in an air freshener - you're welcome!

Race for the Date to Date for the Race Silent Auction--Spread the Word!

2010-06-03T14:33:00.000-06:00

I'm Auctioning off Dates with my friends! Yep, you read that right! You can be the lucky "owner" of a night under the stars with one of 14 AMAZING people!

The date will take place on either July 22nd (Forever Strong) or July 29th (The Goonies). We will be doing one big group date (28 people in total) where we'll be going to the Utah State Capital for their "Movie Under the Stars" series and some other activities that night that will be announced later.

The Auction itself will be done on Facebook through messages. All dates start at $25 and increase in increments of $10. Two people will be auctioned per day, one guy and one girl. A "day" will be from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm.

To make a bid send me a message with either a current bid or with your maximum bid if you're not going to be around to make additional bids during the day. The Winner will be announced & messaged by 8:30 pm every night.

If you are the lucky winner you will have until the auction opens the next day (10:00 am) to issue payment online at http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/rnrseatl10/mwootton or make arrangments with me to bring me a check or cash. If you do not meet the deadline the next bidder in line will receive the date.

The Auction will start on Saturday, June 5th and will conclude with the last people being auctioned on Friday, June 11th All proceeds will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and are 100% Tax Deductible!

I'll be posting a list of the participants later today and tomorrow, so keep your eyes open!

*If you're married you can't win the date for yourself, but you can win it for your single friend or family member that lives in Utah and would be available on the day of the date.

** If you don't live in Utah but do know people who do, please invite them to the Auction, the more people that know about it the better the results will be!

The Story of a Journal

2010-05-27T13:24:00.002-06:00

Last night at my ward’s Relief Society Meeting we learned how to bind books. It was great fun! Well, to be honest, at first the books and I didn’t really get along that well, but we worked it out ;) I got there late (shocker!), but the Sister that was giving the message told us about how her Mom died when she was really little and her Dad died a little over a year ago. Her Sister (or Sister-in-law, I can’t remember which) put together a book for the family comprised of her Mom’s & Dad’s journals from when they were dating and newly married. There were entries that weren’t big or over the top, just about what happened that day, how work was, the weather, how much something cost. There were also the entries about their dates and how he proposed, what she wore at the wedding dinner. Did they know how much those things would one day mean to their kids? Most likely not, but what a wonderful blessing it will be for them and for future generations. After our discussion last night I’ve decided to recommit myself to being a journaler (I know, not a real word, but you get it!). Hopefully one day my journals will mean a lot to my kids. You never know, right?

"People often use the excuse that their lives are uneventful and nobody would be interested in what they have done. But I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations. Each of is important to those who are near and dear to us - and as our posteriety read of our life's experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted." - Spencer W. Kimball, "Presidnet Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals," New Era, Dec 1980, 26.

My Book :)

A Beautiful Weekend with Beautiful People!

2010-05-23T21:35:00.000-06:00

I had the honor to attend my cousin Jon's wedding this weekend. He married Holly Stansbury, a beautiful loving person. I only met her for real on Friday at dinner, but I was immediately impressed with how happy and caring she is. Granted, I'm sure that some of that happiness may have been caused by the fact that she was getting married the next day, but from what I heard from our family and hers, she's always happy!

On Saturday Jon & Holly were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple for time and all Eternity. It was a beautiful ceremony and I loved being within the walls of that beautiful and sacred building with my family. Holly & Jon looked so good!!! We kept comparing them to other couples in the area and Jon & Holly definitely won the prize for being the most classy couple there! On another note, can I just say my family is awesome! I had so much fun hanging out with my cousins and my Aunt and Uncle after the ceremony. They are hilarious!!! Plus I saw some traits in them that I see in my immediate family all the time! Too much fun.

Congratulations Jon & Holly!

Have you ordered your Mother's Day Gift yet???

2010-04-05T17:12:00.000-06:00

I found this cute store on a blog site and loved all the products! So I ordered my Mom's gift today, sorry, I'm not telling what I ordered just yet, in case my Mother decides to read my blog this week...:S Anyways, if you're looking for a great gift idea for your Mom, or maybe for yourself, check out this site! Enjoy :D

http://www.thevintagepearl.com/

Another Favorite Thing

2010-03-24T10:45:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful way to start my day. I got to work this morning and as I was picking up my purse from the floor of my car I heard a little tap tap on my passenger window. There stood Stephanie, one of the other Exec Assistants here at Overstock.com and in her hand was a beautiful bottle....this bottle....

It's one of my favorite perfumes, DKNY Be Delicious, and it was just for me! My old roommate Jeanna brought me a bottle back from one of her cruises a few years ago and I LOVED IT! It's a perfect perfume for Summer time and it goes perfectly with Bath & Body Works' Tahiti Sweetie lotion, one of my favorite lotions :D It's just a favorites kind of week!

A New Favorite Thing

2010-03-23T16:15:00.000-06:00

So I purchased this on a whim this weekend and I absolutely L-O-V-E it! I'm not big on having my finger nails polished, but I am digging this color. It's very sassy and fun and makes me feel like SPRING! YAY for Spring! It's called "Stolen Kisses" in the Nicole line of colors by OPI and I picked it up from Walmart. Enjoy!

Sunday Ponderings

2010-03-22T14:48:00.002-06:00

Have you ever noticed how you can wear the same size jeans as someone else, you can be the same weight or the same height as them but the jeans won’t look the same on you as they do on them? The same principle applies spiritually. You can hear the same lesson, sit through the same sacrament meeting, even study the same scriptures, but the lessons you learn, the teachings that prick your heart and who you become spiritually will not be the same as the person wearing your identical jeans. We are all unique, we all learn differently; we all reflect what we learn differently. So there really is no point in comparing ourselves to those around us.

At the end of last year President Belnap came to our ward and had us all “pledge” to not partake in any self destructive behaviors. I would venture to say that that includes spiritually as well as physically and temporally. The only one you should compare yourself with is you. Continue to better yourself every day, but don’t allow yourself to be too self critical. Build yourself up through personal worship; through scripture study, temple attendance, personal prayers & service. Get to know you, not the worldly you, but the Child of God that is your true self. Only then can you truly understand your whole potential.

A Working Girl's Dilemma-UPDATE!

2010-03-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

So I responded and agreed to lunch, but I pushed it off until next week due to a busy/unknown work schedule. I also had some stuff happen with a friend last Friday and I think that it started to really hit me last night and today I've been feeling pretty down about it. So I'm sitting here at work, just doing my thing and I get a call from the front desk, "Come get your flowers!" "Flowers?" "Yeah, you got flowers." "Ok, I'll be right up." As I'm walking up the stairs to collect my flowers names flash through my mind of who would possibly send me flowers. I get up there and see these:

Beautiful!

And yes, they are from the co-worker. (I think that I need to come up with code names for all of these people....suggestions?)

A Working Girl's Dilemma

2010-03-01T14:11:00.002-07:00

Dilemma….guy asked me out….guy I work with….don’t know what to do….

I hate it when I have to take the time and look at everything from both sides. Or rather when I don’t “take the time” but just have all sides of a situation hit me all of a sudden. I’ll be brushing my teeth and all of a sudden I’ll see where I could be in 3 weeks.

So, back to the dilemma. Somehow I turned a simple shopping trip at our company store into a lunch invitation from a co-worker that I recently met. I’ve been down this road once before with a coworker. I went out with him, we kept it all hush hush at work, and then it ended, and then it was awkward, ok, it still is! Here’s what went down: I picked up some items for a charity event from him last week, our first meeting. He told me that I was not what he was expecting; he was expecting a “older” woman. We laughed and then I headed out. Friday I went to our company’s associate night at our store. I got there about 45 minutes before my friend showed up so I looked around, tried on LOTS of shoes, found a new pea coat that’s adorable and will make me get rid of the blue one that I’ve had since 8th grade that comes nowhere close to fitting and then just hung out by the door waiting for Rebecca to show up. He saw me waiting, came over and talked for a little while. He asked who I was waiting for; when I said a friend he immediately asked if it was a guy or girl. I didn’t really think about it, except for the fact that Friday night is supposed to be only for associates and family members, but I responded that it was a girl. I was relieved that he didn’t seem to see a problem with this. So Rebecca got there and she had her niece with her, we started looking around for some bedding and he saw me wandering with Rebecca’s niece and was very accommodating when I asked for a place to put our stuff so we didn’t have to haul it all over the store with us. We got done shopping and went to check out and who should check us out but this particular guy…go figure huh?! We chatted about the charity items and he made some remark about me not responding to my e-mails and I said that I do, I just sometimes take longer than other people. So in all my wisdom as I was pulling into the next stop for the evening I responded to his last e-mail that he had sent two days prior and just said thanks for helping with the charity items. About 2 hours later I got a response from him asking me to go to lunch with him this week. Uh…possibility?

So these are the scenarios that flash through my mind. #1. Our lunch goes really well, we laugh a lot, we have a good time together. We become friends. Not awkward, it’s actually ok. #2. Lunch is great, he asks me out again, we start seeing each other…and then it doesn’t work and it becomes awkward cause he’s my contact for Charity items. #3. Lunch is HORRIBLE, I feel weird, I don’t know what to talk about and then it’s just odd from there on out. #4. I decline his lunch invitation, hurt his feelings and he acts weird from there on out. #5. I decline his lunch invitation and miss out on any opportunities with him. The problem with seeing all of these possibilities is that it inhibits me from making a decision either way. I basically freeze. I just don’t know what to do. I hate making decisions like this. Do I go, do I not go? Other co-workers would say “Run the other way, don’t personalize work!” Some would say, “What could it hurt? One lunch doesn’t determine anything.” So I ask the universe the question…what should I do?

Dating...Utah Style

2010-02-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend a few friends and I had the opportunity to partake in an adventure! The adventure by name is….SPEED DATING! Yep, that’s right. For our Multi-Stake Activity we went speed dating. It was pretty entertaining. First sign that we live in Utah-WAY to many girls! They had long tables set up on the sides of the gym and they told the girls to sit on the insides of the tables and the boys to sit on the outsides of the tables. Well, the tables filled up with lots of girls, filling every seat. In the end Kristy and I sat at a round table at the end of the gym and the boys would rotate through. Now, on the boys’ side of the tables there at most 3 guys to a table of 4-5 girls. So it was one big poligadate! (P.S. My boss informed me today that he learned a new word from my status on Facebook. That word was nothing else but Poligadate, and he decided that it doesn’t sound very fun!) Kristy and I stuck together and for the most part it worked well for us. We were able to protect each other from MOST of the crazies. One snuck through at the end of the night though when as we were walking out of gym and into the foyer he chased after Kristy to ask her when they were going to carpool to Oregon together. Keep in mind that we had a. talked to a lot of boys that night and b. talked to this particular boy early in the night, so Kristy was having a hard time remembering who we talked to about what. She somewhat went along with this topic of conversation as the rest of our group stood back and just laughed! He went on to ask her who she liked better, him or his brother, who we had also apparently talked to. (If you say so!) She was very diplomatic I felt in her response of, “I liked you both the same.” His response… “Well, can I make out with you first, I don’t want sloppy seconds.” SAY WHAT?! Yep, that’s right, he doesn’t like sloppy seconds. Okay, first question in my mind is what girls are you dating that will a. date BOTH brothers and b. MAKE OUT with both? Second question, why do you think that Kristy is the kind of a girl?! Really??? You obviously didn’t pay attention when you were talking to her!

My last “date” of the evening was a young man who by commenting on how cold it’s been lately informed me that he’s a newspaper delivery boy and he never graduated high school, that he had his own house at 18, but lost it, and is now so far into debt and has so many bills that he can’t save up $65 to pay to take the GED test. Yep, that’s what the weather led to! Oh, but he would still like to take me out sometime…. Yeah, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I almost wrote him a check to go take his GED test! He did, however, loudly announce that Kristy and I were BEAUTIFUL women, so point for him!

Our friend Jason who was also participating in the activity reported that all the girls were either Bonnie or Jen or Jenny! He did say that Kristy and I were the most “normal” ones of the bunch.

All I can do is look back at that evening and laugh. The joys of the life of a YSA….

2010 Thus Far...

2010-02-16T14:43:00.002-07:00

Ok! There is so much to write about these days that I’ll have to admit, I’ve been keeping away from writing. 2010 is such a fabulous year! I’m loving it! Since I wrote my goals for 2010 I’ve already hit the 10 pound mark! I’m down (as of Friday) 12.4 pounds, good enough to take 2nd place in Overstock’s Biggest Loser competition. WOHOO!!! Now just to maintain... I have been having some problems with my knee the last couple of weeks, so running hasn’t been happening as much lately, but I discovered Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred and I LOVE IT! I’m totally addicted to it. I try to run for a little bit before doing it, but even if I don’t run the work out kicks my butt! I’ve also been trying to get back to Yoga on a semi regular basis. I went last night, but can’t tonight or tomorrow  So I think that I need to get BL’s Yoga workout so that on the nights I can’t get to class I can still do it at home! For anyone looking for some new work outs I highly advise getting the 30 Day Shred and getting into Yoga! You’ll love it after the initial shock!

As for the Temple attendance goal….3 down, 10 to go! Look at that train get a move on! It’s been awesome! My friend Kristy is doing it with me. It’s been a wonderful experience to share with her and it’s helped to make our friendship that much stronger. We went to St. George on January 23rd (right after I ran my first ½ Marathon of the year, ouch!) and then we went to Mt. Timp on January 26th for our Stake Temple Week and on February 6th we went to Oquirrh Mountain, it was gorgeous! Still to come this month is Provo and Jordan River. I’m so excited! I’ve felt that I’ve grown in my spirituality so much already this year, but I’ve also noticed that Satan has upped the ante! He’s trying to tempt me so much more now, and I just have to remember to crush him! Tonight is our ward temple night for the month, so I’ll be attending Timp again :D

To be honest, I haven’t really started on my personal training certificate yet, BUT I am working with a girl to help get her started on weights and I have two more people in my life that have started running, so I feel like I’m influencing people for good. :D I’m absolutely loving running (don’t worry, that only took 3 years!) and pushing myself to shatter my self-imposed limits.

Overall I’m feeling really good about life right now. I feel like 2010 is a year of so much promise and a huge opportunity to grow and to make my relationships with my loved ones stronger. There are a few other things that I have on my goals list for this year, but I don’t want to share them just yet, gotta keep a few things in my pocket for some surprises later in the year!

2010 Goals

2009-11-19T14:26:00.001-07:00

So I know that it's a bit early for New Year's Resolutions, but these are some things that I've been thinking a lot about lately. So I decided that I had to write them down and get them out there or I'm sure that I'll forget ones as the holidays swing into full gear, plus it just makes me excited for new beginnings! So my first goal for the year 2010 came to me during Sacrament meeting one Sunday and then that evening it was reaffirmed to me during a fireside that I attended with my friend Tiffany. I've decided to travel to and attend a session in every temple in Utah. That means 13 Temples in 12 months, that shouldn't be too difficult. I'm actually really excited to do it! I have a couple of friends who are going to attend with me, but I just realized that one is leaving in July, so we might have to do it in 7 months….oh dear.

Goal Two is really the same old goal that everyone has every year…loose those excess 10 pounds already! We're actually starting a Biggest Looser session at work tomorrow that runs until February 12^th, so just enough time to get serious about excising and eating healthy again. Under this goal would of course include things like running another ½ marathon and two 10k's. It's time to get my butt back in gear and make it smaller :D

Goal Three is one that I tried to start this year, but failed to really get it going. I'm going to get my Personal Training Certificate before the end of the year. I know, that gives me a long time to do something that shouldn't take that long, but I'm being generous with myself. Realistically I'd like to do it in the first three months of the year and then be able to start working with individuals, but we'll keep the time line as the end of the year.

I'm sure that there are more goals to come, but for now, these are them :D

Inspirations

2009-09-15T21:19:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here watching The Biggest Loser Season Premiere and I can't believe what I'm seeing! It scares me how big these people are and how much baggage they are carrying. I'm so glad that this show started again tonight cause it's always such an inspiration to me. This season it's three fold for me, I'm excited to get up in the morning and get my butt to the gym tomorrow (since I did miss this morning!). I'm also feeling the need to get in gear on my studying to get my training certificate so that I can get out there and help people that are in the same situation. I'd love to have it by the end of the year, that's my goal anyways! The last reason that I'm so excited about this season is because I'm sitting here with both of my parents watching this and just hoping that it inspires them too! They are doing awesome though right now, getting themselves to the gym and eating healthier. Hopefully we can all continue on our quest to be healthier. Happy Biggest Loser Season everyone! MWAH!

Flexing Your Muscles

2009-07-06T13:27:00.001-06:00

You've heard the saying that practice makes perfect, and you know by experience that lacks of practice leads to a deterioration of talents or skills attained. For example, if you work out for one month, 5 days a week, you'll notice that your endurance will increase. You can run further and faster, life more weights, swim harder, bike faster, the hills aren't as challenging, but you know you could push yourself harder and not want to die mid hill. After one month you stop going to the gym you go back to your old habits of grabbing McDonalds or ordering Pizza instead of that salad and you live a relatively sedentary lifestyle. One month passes and you feel the desire to return to return to the gym sparked by the 5 pounds you put back on. You try to pick up where you left off and mid work out, you actually want to kill yourself for taking off that time. You've lost so much of the progress you made. Your form is shaky, your breathing is harder, you sweat more and your muscles hurt more! That basically describes what I'm up against in the dating world. One of my friends made the comment that she didn't know how to flirt anymore, and I'm right there with her! After taking so much time to define ourselves and to figure out our jobs, our roles in our families and in our wards we seldomly flirted just to flirt. Now that we're at a point in our lives when we really need to have exercised and perfected that skill, we're basically back to where we were when we were 16 and just starting to date. Hopefully this skill is more like riding a bike than like trying to lose those freshmen 15 and we can recover with some time to flirt with Mr. Wonderful before it's too late!

Inheriting Traits

2009-07-06T12:57:00.001-06:00

I don't cry very often, especially in public, but this weekend of July 4^th I found myself near tears a couple of times as I listened to and participated in singing some of our Patriotic songs. I had the sudden realization Sunday morning that this is a trait I've inherited from my father. You see I've only seen my Father shed tears a handful of times in my life, while my mother on the other hand could and would cry at the drop of a hat! I remember sitting in church singing a hymn and noticing my father wiping away tears. I didn't understand than that he was being moved by the Spirit. Now that I'm older and understand the workings of the Spirit I'm always touched when I notice my Father crying, and it's usually always while a song is being sung or performed. I have a deep love for music and there are a few that move me to tears on a regular basis, but it's through the Spirit that I truly hear and feel the words of a song as a prayer of the heart. My Father is an incredible man (as a man with 5 daughters has to be!) and sharing this trait with him is something that I will always treasure!

Yummy Yummy Dinner!

2009-06-09T11:39:00.002-06:00

Tried this last night, not only is it easy, but delicious!

Pecan-Crusted Chicken

1 large egg white
2 tablespoons minced toasted pecans
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 small (1/4-pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of visible fat
Low-sugar, low-fat honey mustard salad dressing or dijon mustart to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a small nonstick baking sheet with olive oil spray.

In a small, shallow bowl, beat the egg white with a fork.

In a small bowl, combine the pecans, parsley, and salt. Spread half of the mixture on a sheet of waxed paper. Dip 1 chicken breast into the egg white to coat. Place the smooth side of the breast on the nut mixture. Press to adhere. Place the breast, nut side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the second breast and place on the baking sheet, not touching the other breast.

Bake for 20 minutes or until no longer pink. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve with honey mustard dressing for dipping, if desired.

Makes 2 servings

Per serving: 183 calories, 28 g protein, 1 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat (less than 1 g saturates), 66 mg cholesterol, less than 1 fiber, 379 mg sodium.

Pillars of Strength

2009-05-10T23:56:00.005-06:00

Today is Mother’s Day, and while it is almost the end of Mother’s Day, I wanted to write down the feelings that are currently whizzing around in my head. I thought a lot about my Mom today. This is the second Mother’s Day that I haven’t seen her in a row now. I’m excited for her to come home soon! She taught me a lot over the years. She taught me how to walk and talk (even though I still managed to screw that up for a number of years until a professional was brought in to fix it!). She taught me how to make Sunday rolls (drool worthy!). She taught me how to juggle a million different things while making my friends and family know that they are things that really mattered. She taught me how to love and how to respect people. She taught me how to drive (okay, with a little help from Dad!). She taught me how to love the Savior and how to serve him. She taught me to relax every now and then (diet coke with my feet up—I prefer Mountain Dew, but again, Dad had to be sprinkled in there somewhere!). My Mother is a pillar of strength in my life. My Mother is an amazing Woman, but I have been blessed to have many other examples of amazing Women in my life.

This weekend I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Salt Lake City. Three years ago it was my first 5k, now I’m training for a ½ marathon! However, this is still one of my favorite races. You don’t run this race competitively, you run it united. The Susan G. Komen Foundation is a foundation for the research of Breast Cancer. This year there were 18,000 participants at the event, many of them were survivors of Breast Cancer. My family has a strong history of Cancer, lots of variety even, but this year while I was running this race I was thinking about my Aunt Wendy. She’s another amazing woman in my life. She recently fought breast cancer and every time that we talked about it she came across as “no big deal, I can handle it”. I’m sure that behind closed doors she had her moments of doubt and worry, but when it came to the people that she loved she didn’t want us worrying and stressing about her. Aunt Wendy has always been someone that I looked up to. She was always on the move. She has become a very successful Real Estate agent in the Seattle area and loves to Travel! While battling her cancer she went on a cruise! (My kind of woman right there!) She’s my Dad’s baby sister, but I know that he respects her. I remember her coming over for dinner on Christmas and just taking a genuine interest in us. She always impressed me as being strong and determined, but knowing who she was and also showing those around her respect. She is a pillar of strength in my life.

I got to spend some time with my sister Shannon last weekend. She married her adorable husband Erik almost two years ago and they frequently invite me up for dinner. They are always willing to share their dating/marriage wisdom with me, but it isn’t what they say that really impresses me. It’s how they treat each other and how they both lived their lives before meeting each other. Shannon was 36 when she married Erik and had lived most of her adult life in Utah, part of the time with roommates and part in her own place in Bountiful. I was still very young when she went away to college, but I knew that she loved me and I missed her. It wasn’t until I was in college in Idaho that I really started building a friendship with her. I would occasionally get to come to Utah for a weekend here and there and I’d spend most of those times with Shannon. If it wasn’t for those weekends when I could run away from college life I probably would have gone nuts! We didn’t even do things that were that spectacular, but I always had a good time with Shannon. She showed me how to be happy even when life wasn’t what you had expected. She showed me the importance of having and exercising faith. She’s still teaching me about forgiveness and unconditional love. I know that she is going to make a wonderful mother and that her kids will never have to wonder if they are loved or who to turn to when they need help. She is a pillar of strength in my life.

When I was in college my sister Dani was diagnosed with Leukemia. I remember feeling so helpless and honestly, angry with the Lord. I didn’t understand why he would let something like that happen to someone so good and who still had so much to do in this life. At the time her youngest was only 6 months old. Looking back at the situation now I know that she is the only one that could have endured that with the kind of faith that she did. It was through this traumatic situation that our family became closer. We finally realized that we can’t take each other for granted and that we would be willing to do anything for each other. I’m more like her than I think that she knows. We share some of the same passions. I actually was studying from the same teachers that she had studied from at college when she was diagnosed. She used to be very firery (if that’s a word, but anyone who knows Dani, especially when she was younger, knows what I’m talking about) and full of…well…fight. Growing up with Dani around I always knew that she would fight for what she knew to be right, and she wouldn’t give up on it either. While marriage and family and health have quieted her some, I still know that if given a reason to fight she will, and she’ll win! That’s how she beat the Leukemia and that’s why she’s a pillar of strength in my life.

My sister Nicole is one of my best friends (I think that all of her sisters would say this!). She was always there for me when I was in high school and college. I can’t tell you how often we’d talk. She definitely got Mom’s nurturing side. She’s still the one that I talk to constantly and that I miss all the time. I was lucky enough to be there to help her when she had her first baby, Tyler, almost 10 year ago! Then I was there when she had Nick, almost 6 years ago, but then when she had Zoe she had to do it on her own. We had just moved to Utah a year before and she is still in Washington. Zoe was born premature and I remember hearing my Mom talk to her on the phone. I could tell that she was scared, but I knew that Nicole would figure it all out, and she did. I think that going through that alone was something that she had to do. I believe that it showed Nicole that she can do anything, it made her stronger. Yes, Mom was just a phone call away, but through that experience Nicole became Mom to her sweet little family and an example of strength and faith to me. Her love of life and practicality of each situation is refreshing and encouraging. She is so much like our Mom sometimes it’s scary! (I’m sure that she’d say the same of me!) Nicole’s faith in the Lord and her ability to overcome any situation is why she’s a pillar of strength in my life.

I have not always gotten along with my sister Suzanne. When she was in high school we fought all the time! What are sisters supposed to do that are that age right?! When she went away to college is when I finally started to recognize all of her amazing gifts and talents. I regret not getting to know her better when we were younger, but yeah, I already covered that. She recently referred to herself as a jack of all trades, master of none, but she’s isn’t totally correct in that. While yes she is extremely musically talented and very creative, she is a master mother! Her little boy adores her (so does her Husband!) and he is so intelligent and insightful. Sometimes I just have to stand back in awe of some of things that he does and says. Suzanne has an uncanny memory and her little boy has inherited that. You can tell him something and he will remember if forever! On her birthday she wrote that she didn’t picture her life as a mother with a full family. She pictured it singing Opera and travelling. While she would have been an amazing Opera singer and could still be, I know that she is right where the Lord wants her to be. She is an example to me of having the courage to try new things and to reach outside of the box while continuing the work set out for you. She doesn’t really let anything stop her from exploring new territory! She’s done music; including the French horn, tuba, drum major, opera singing, broadwayish musicals, choirs and instructing voice lessons, become a digital scrapbook designer, makes and sells children’s clothing and is a budding photographer, to list a few. I do believe that she inherited our Father’s need to learn new things and put them to use and to just figure out how things work. Suzanne’s drive to expand her horizon while being a fantastic Mother and wife is one reason why she is a pillar of strength in my life.

There have been many more women in my life that are examples of faith, courage, strength, honesty, love and respect to name a few. To all of those women, and to these women in particular, thank you for making me who I am today and the kind of wife and mother that I hope to be in the future. I love you all!

Feeling Good!

2009-04-21T19:37:00.003-06:00

My sister Shannon has bought me a new purse for my birthday for the last two years and they have been FANTASTIC! I was so excited that I'd almost made it another year with the same purse when low and behold, it started ripping! :( So off to Target I went today in search of something cute and I found this:

I'm so happy with it! It's totally springy and light and cute! It's not as big as it looks, but I adore it! Happy Spring shopping! :D

Southwestern Chicken Pileup

2009-03-20T10:15:00.004-06:00

This is from the Biggest Loser Cookbook. I love it! It's soooo good!!! Makes eating healthy worthy it! Enjoy!

1 teaspoon salt-free Mexican or Southwest Seasoning
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 small (1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of visible fat)
1 Whole-wheat pita (6 ½ “ diameter) -if I can't find the regular pita bread I use the pita pockets
2 tablespoons hummus, preferably red-pepper flavor
2 tablespoons no-salt-added canned black beans, drained - I forgot to put these on the first time and it's actually been really good, less calories I guess :D
Several red onion strips
Several red bell pepper strips
2 tablespoons chopped tomato
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons finely shredded cabot 75% light cheddar cheese - I just used regular mild cheddar cheese since I already had it at the house!
4 teaspoons guacamole or fat-free sour cream (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Preheat a grill to high heat (I use a George Foreman). Sprinkle the seasoning and garlic powder evenly over the chicken. Place the chicken on the grill rack. Reduce the heat to medium. (if it is not possible to reduce the heat, cook the chicken away from direct heat - I don't really worry about this, I just throw it on the George Foreman and let it go.) Grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until no longer pink that the juices run clear. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the pita on the grill rack (I just put it in the oven for a couple of minutes at 450 degrees). Cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until lightly toasted. Place the pita on a nonstick baking sheet. Spread evenly with the hummus. Top evenly in layers with the beans, the reserved chicken, onion, red pepper, tomato, cilantro, and cheese.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate. Slice into 4 wedges. Top each wedge with a teaspoon of guacamole or sour cream, if desired.

MAKES 1 SERVING

Per Serving: 356 Calories, 38 g protein, 38 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat (1 g saturated), 68 mg cholesterol, 8 g fiber, 489 mg sodium

It's Difficult

2009-03-09T21:01:00.003-06:00

So I'm trying to recommit myselt to being active in my own ward vs my friends wards. That includes all Ward Activities, FHE, Enrichment and all Sunday meetings. So tonight I head off to FHE for our movie night, fantastic activity I must say, but 16 girls and only 5 boys. So remind me why I want to be more active? The hope of meeting someone at an activity with those odds are very slim. Then you factor in that most of the guys there are younger than me, bonus points for me! Oh yeah, Utah singles wards are amazing!

I remember when I lived in Sammamish and girls would move to Utah and everyone would say that they'd be married within a year. HA! I've lived here for 4+ years and I can count on one hand how many dates I've been on. Okay, that might be exaggerating a little bit, but add my other hand and it's totally covered! I guess that's just the hand that life has dealt me, oh well.

Suggestions Please!!!

2009-01-23T16:56:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I just got a new iPod Nano and I'm so excited! This is strictly for working out, so I need LOTS of motivating songs. Not motivating in the way of makes you feel so good on the inside, but the kind that make you move faster! So friends and family, starting letting me know what you listen to when you need to get up and move!

Single and Free

2009-01-07T16:32:00.001-07:00

Whoever longs for their glorious days of singlehood needs to be slapped upside the head! Obviously they have forgotten about the nights that they sat alone watching tv, the days that they cursed themselves for “drunk dialing” or in our case desperation dialing. They have forgotten about the emotional roller coasters that they went up and down so often that they didn’t even realize they were on them half the time. As much fun as I can have being “single and free”, it sucks! I don’t want to go on vacation alone. I don’t want to go to the movies with the girls….AGAIN. But then, you meet a nice guy. The guy that you know your family would love and that your friends all think is fantastic, but wait, one small problem….no attraction. That’s right, you’re not attracted to him at all, he’s just not your type. You remember how people have said that once you get to know a person they become more attractive to you, but nothing has changed for you yet. So you’re taking all of this in stride and continuing to see Mr. Pseudo-Perfection when he straight up stands you up! There just went the Perfection Persona! So what do you do? Do you cut him out, do you continue to see him occasionally? That is the dilemma. So welcome to the fabulous world of “single and free”.

New Zealand Jingle Bells

2008-12-11T09:43:00.002-07:00

In the spirit of me spending my first Christmas abroad and on the beach, here's a little carol for you! :D

Vocabular: Tog's are swimmingsuits and the other language is typical kiwi (or NewZealand native talk). Tea is afternoon and morning snack (not necessarily 'tea' and sometimes it means dinner). Have fun.

Dashing to the bay,in a Kombi campervan,

Christmas at the beach-the family's master plan.

Dad is at the wheel and Mum sits by his side,

we kids are squabbling in the back as we go for a ride.

Choir: Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in New Zealand on a sunny summer's day, ay!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Oh what fun it is to have a Kiwi holiday!

We stop off at the shops, to load the chilly bin.

hokey-pokey ice cream soon dribbles down my chin.

We jump into the van, heading for the shore,

Dad fiddles with the radio to hear the cricket score.

Choir

Soon we're at the beach,our rellies shout "G-day!"

We swap our Chrissie pressies. A boogie board-hooray!

We change into our togs,and to the sea we run...

what a joy to splash and swim, summer's so much fun!

Choir

The grown-ups call us in, they've laid us out a spread:

lunch is fish 'n' chips, and cherrios in bread.

L&P to drinnk,pavlova, pud and pie

Anazc bikkies, choccy fish-it's cracker Kiwi Kai!

Choir

The kids are keen to play, but the Dads all want to nap,

the suncreen starts to fly, as Mums go slip-slop-slap.

We race out to the sand,to play a game of touch,

but all the cuzzie are too slow,because they ate too much!

Choir

The barbecue heats up,the sun begins to sink,

our tea's as good as gold,we've scoffed it in a wink.

It's nearly time for bed,we've had an awesome day,

celebrating Christmas time the real New Zealand way!

Choir

Overstock.com $50,000 Family Bailout Plan

2008-11-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm sending this to you because you are either family or a friend. I work at Overstock.com based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Today we rolled out our $50,000 Family Bailout Plan. Yes, it is a sweepstakes, but there is no purchase required. Essentially you enter to win $50,000 that will be used toward your debt. No, the money won't actually go to you, but it will go to qualified creditors of the winner or the winner's immediate family . Qualified creditors are limited to credit card companies, mortgage lenders, medical creditors, student loan creditors, and car loan creditors. There are a few other restrictions to the "debt", but please, visit the official entry page for that information.

If you are members of MY immediate family or if you live with me, sorry, you can't win :( BUT you can send this onto your family and friends that may benefit from something like this or who might know of someone who could.

Press Release: http://pitchengine.com/free-release.php?id=1636

Offical Entry Page: https://www.overstock.com/?page=sw_entry&id=78 Good luck!

HOT!!!

2008-11-13T17:00:00.007-07:00

Okay, I’m admitting it, I have a problem. Yes it’s true…I am a shoe addict! I do not have room in my closet for a man and that is why I cannot get married, unless I get a bigger closet. :D This is a pair of my most recent shopping adventure! (I was looking for a pair of jeans and come home with two pairs of shoes, good thing my Dad doesn’t live here right now, he always harassed me about buying shoes!)

Yeah, pretty much they are HOT shoes! I've gotten lots of compliments on them today at work! I can't quote some of them since they aren't appropriate. LOVE THEM!

Baby Lola

2008-11-06T21:15:00.003-07:00

Volkswagon has recently come out with a new vehicle, the Routan. So Ari and I spend some time online tonight at the RoutanBabymaker3000 site. It was hilarious! But here is my little girl Lola Diggs---

Isn't she ADORABLE??? I think so ;) Ha ha ha!

New Times of the Year, New Things!

2008-11-05T16:27:00.006-07:00

I'm so excited about these:

I just ordered them from Target.com. Got them on clearence! What motivated this you might be asking. Well....two days ago I took these pictures on my way to work:

Note how the leaves are turning colors and you can see the field and the Utah Lake, and yes that is snow in the mountains. Looks like fall, beautiful, fresh fall. Then today we get this:

Yep, lots and lots of snow! Well, as much as I love winter, I wasn't ready for this much snow just yet. In fact, my normal boots, you know the kind that have heels and zip up the side and that just make you look hot, aren't really walking around in the snow boots. So at lunch while I run out to pick up meals for nine people my toes are FREEZING and I'm trying not to fall while also trying not get hit by any cars in the parking lot of Zupas. Upon returning to the office one of the girls that sits near my desk has these adorable boots next to her. These are the first "rain" boots that I have ever liked, so onto Target.com I go! Hopefully they'll get here before the next snow storm!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-23T13:30:00.005-06:00

I went on a lunch grab today to this really cute Cafe in Holladay, it's called Normandie Cafe. We love ordering from there for different events at work. Their food is amazing! Janet's desserts are spectacular! Anyways, when we got inside Janet has all these cookies and cakes out for halloween. So cute! But on a big table in the corner is this ginormous gingerbread house. Usually when you think gingerbread house you think Christmas right? Well, this one was all decorated for halloween.

She has skull & ghost suckers and eyeballs on it. It's really very very cool!

Curly???

2008-10-17T13:02:00.003-06:00

So I'm not a normal girl....I don't go get my hair done every six weeks. For me, it's more like every 6 months. When I do get it done I usually do something drastic, but still safe, like last time I got it chopped off and colored it blonde and red (I've been blonde since 7th Grade artifically). So this time I had lots of input from family and friends that I needed to keep it long and not color it. So I just went in for a trim. 40 minutes later I came out with the trim...and curly hair! Yeah, apparently I now have curly hair. What the heck?! I'm trying to welcome this new change to me...but I'm lost as to what the heck to do with it! So to all the women out there that once upon a time wished that your hair was curly or straight (or in my family's case, thinner), be careful what you wish for. It might come true and you'll have no idea what happened!

(don't judge: this is after working three 12 hour days going on 4 and having only 5 hours of sleep oh yeah, and apparently I'm sick.)

Fall Prime Time is Back!

2008-09-30T10:47:00.002-06:00

So life as a young single adult is not as much fun as you might think it is or remember it being. Trust me! But there is one good thing that I can think of right now. PRIME TIME! We are LOVING it at our house. We get to watch new episodes every night while we work, do church stuff, grade papers, clean, do laundry, work out, etc. So we have our favorites, pretty much at least two a night! Thank goodness for Tivo and online viewing! The world of entertainment has come a long way in just a few years. Here are our favorites in case you haven’t gotten started yet:

Sunday
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
The Unit (CBS)
Army Wives (Lifetime)

Monday
Gossip Girl (CW)
One Tree Hill (CW)
Heros (NBC)
Chuck (NBC)
Life (NBC)

Tuesday
90210 (CW)
Privileged (CW)
House (Fox)

Fringe (Fox)
Biggest Loser (NBC)
NCIS (CBS)
The Mentalist (CBS)

Wednesday
Bones (Fox)
Private Practice (ABC)
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)

Knight Rider (NBC)
Lipstick Jungle (NBC)

Thursday
Ugly Betty (ABC)
Gray’s Anatomy (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
ER (NBC)

Friday
The Ex List (CBS)
Numb3rs (CBS)

I am a Child of God

2008-09-22T16:19:00.003-06:00

I was sitting in church yesterday dwelling on things that I probably shouldn't have been, you know, the day to day stresses of being single and trying to make it through life on my own, when we started to sing I am a Child of God. Now we sing this song a lot. We learn the words when we are very young and the melody, we learn the harmony and the decant part even! But it wasn't until I was sitting there, pondering my life, that the words really hit home with me.

"I am a child of God, and he has sent me here,

Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear.

I am a child of God, And so my needs are great;

Help me to understand his words before it grows too late.

I am a child of God.

Rich blessings are in store; If I but learn to do his will I’ll live with him once more.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday."

It wasn't until I was wondering about how I got to where I am and how I'm supposed to move forward that I started to really listen to these words. I am a child of God. I do have parents kind and dear, and an entire family who I know would do anything that they could for me and me them!

My needs are great because I am a daughter of God, the Master of the Universe. Wouldn't you expect the child of Royalty's needs to be great? I'm striving to understand all that I can, before I run out of time, right? Do I really understand that I could run out of time? Do I take advantage of the opportunities that I have to learn from my family and my friends, from the very people that the Lord has put into my life at this time for a reason?

Rich blessings are in store! I had the privilege of attending the CES fireside at the Marriot Center in Provo a few weeks ago. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was speaking about trials. (You can see the entire fireside here: http://lds.org/broadcast/ces/0,7341,538-1-61-1521,00.html) Near the end of the fireside (01:00:10) he said something that slapped me in the face. He said "I testify that bad days always come to an end, that faith always triumphs and that heavenly promises are always kept." WOW!!! I know that it's hard to always have the amount of faith that we think that we need, and sometimes it's easier to just give up, but where would that leave us? The Lord has made endless promises to us. Some of them apply to all of us as a whole and some have been made specifically to us as individuals. Let us all strive to do the Lord's will, so that we can live with Him again.

You are a child of God, and he has sent you here!
He has given you an earthly home with parents kind and dear.

You are a child of God, And so your needs are great;
He'll help you understand his words before it grows too late.

You are a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store; If you'll but learn to do his will you’ll live with him once more.

He'll lead you, guide you, walk beside you, He'll help you find the way. He'll teach you all that you must do to live with him someday.

Celebrating Life with The Biggest Loser

2008-09-16T21:25:00.001-06:00

The new season started today and I’m so excited! We just finished watching this week’s episode and I am amazed at the progress the contestants made, but I have to admit, I have a favorite for this week. The yellow team: Coleen and Jerry.

Coleen is 23 years old and works as a receptionist. Her father Jerry is 51 and works as a Police Sergeant. Jerry can only work out for 30 minutes a day per the doctors on The Biggest Loser. So in order for them to stay on the show Coleen has to work out even harder than anyone else. For their first challenge they had to go on a hike and get their prize off of parachutes that had landed on the top of the hill. Coleen booked it up the hill and grabbed the Immunity prize for her and her Dad. Even with Immunity they both rocked the scales! It just goes to show that when faced with the challenges of life we can still rise above and succeed! I love when Biggest Loser is on! It always motivates me when I see other people taking risks and reaching out to change their lives.

My two bits!

2008-09-15T21:52:00.000-06:00

It’s amazing to me how much we take for granted. As stupid as this may be, but I just finished watching a show where they were honoring the life of a young man. While the show was fictional, it touched me and reminded me what was really important. This young man had reached out and had made himself an example to those around him. We never truly know how powerful we are. We will never see the influence that we have had on people. While we are told by our friends and families of our example and our worth to them, we still wonder. It’s our human nature to wonder, but we shouldn’t waste our time on wondering. As long as we have the courage to believe in ourselves, nothing else should matter. While it is wonderful that people think highly of us, like beauty, it is fleeting. I learned a few hard lessons in the last year. The first of which is that you can’t make everyone happy all at the same time. It is inevitable that someone will always be disappointed in us. It’s something that I had to learn to give up. I couldn’t try to please everyone all the time. Well, I did try, and I just about drove myself crazy!

The other lesson that I learned recently is that while they say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, I think that you should keep you enemies far far away and you friends at arms length. Not all of your friends, but the ones that are fleeting. Your real friends, the ones that you can count on through all the good times and the bad, the ones that have seen you at your worst and instead of critiquing you on your every mistake have loved you through it all, the ones that could be counted as family, keep those ones as close as possible.

So there are my two bits for the day! Take them as you will.

Getting to Know Me!

2008-09-15T15:43:00.001-06:00

Have fun!

Directions
Now, here is what you are supposed to do...
Copy, paste, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then post it on your blog! The theory is that you will learn a lot of little-known facts about those you know.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Nope!

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Oh, I'm sure it wasn't that long ago, after all, I am a girl.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING

Sometimes, depends on my mood and how quickly I'm writing.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

Deli Selects Oven Roasted Turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Nope!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Of course! What a silly question!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
If you know me, you know what sarcasm is!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
yep!

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

I'm thinking about it, but I think that it might hurt....

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

Marshmellow Mateys or if I'm being semi good then Frosted Mini-wheats strawberry delights

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

Nope, the sooner I can get them off the better!

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

YES!

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

Cold Stone Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberries and graham cracker crust OR Chocolate Fudge Brownie!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Eyes and Hands

15. RED OR PINK?

Red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

Well...if I can only pick one ;) I would say my thighs...but we're working on that!

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Um...My parents, my best friends, my family who doesn't live around me, my grandma

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Pants: Dark Denim Shoes: Brown

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Oh Snap! I'll admit it, a cupcake! Dang Costco cupcakes!

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Co-Workers talking about...surprisingly enough...work!

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

JADE!

22. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Natual smell: Rain Cologne: Aqua Di Gio Perfume: Beyond Paradise Airfreshener: It depends on the day, but usually coconut lime verbena or mandarin mango or maybe it's mango mandarin...whatever!

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Kirstie

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Tennis or volleyball or football or basketball or baseball. Okay, I like a lot of sports!

25. HAIR COLOR?

Ok, I finally had them change it on my Driver's License....Brown.

26. EYE COLOR?
Hazel

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

Nope! Thank goodness!

28. FAVORITE FOOD?
Mexican

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Legally Blonde 2! Ha ha! It was on last night!

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

Green sweater with brown shirt underneath

32. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer

33. HUGS OR KISSES?
Depends on who from! Girls and Family Hugs! Boys kisses of course!

34. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Ice Cream Cake YUM YUM!

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Eclipse working towards Breaking Dawn

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

Some vendor issued mouse pad :D Gotta love work!

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Army Wives (Nicole MUST start watching this!)

38. FAVORITE SOUND?
Stephanie playing the piano

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?

Beatles

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?

Nauvoo, Illinois (that's really sad! But I'll take care of that this Christmas!!! New Zealand bound!)

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Maybe....but if they're special than I need to keep them a secret!

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Redmond, Washington