In Nuce

4th photo in 4th folder in 4th folder

2008-10-19T10:50:00.004-06:00

This is a tag where you go to your pictures folder and select the 4th folder. Within that folder, you select the 4th picture and post it online. Well, my organization of my photos required that I selected the 4th folder one extra time. So I went to 2005 (the 4th folder in my photos), then to Aug (the 4th folder in 2005) and this is the 4th photo that I found:

This is the San Antonio temple. I went to visit my my friend Ede who was having back surgery in San Antonio, and to visit my ex-in-laws (they were not ex at the time) who live in San Antonio. I decided to take a detour through a really fancy area of San Antonio to see the temple. I took lots of pictures and this is just one of them. I did fix it up in photoshop of course, and I cropped it a little. I hope that is not against the rules of the tag.

Well, now I get to tag some people. They are:
Booklogged
Katie
Candleman
Framed
Cassie
Julie

It's an easy tag to do, so I hope you will all participate. :)

Independence Day

2008-07-05T19:08:00.011-06:00

I went home for the 4th of July and had a great time. We had the annual barbeque at my parent's house and about 35 people attended (from both sides of the family). After the fireworks, we decided to have some fun with my parents camera and take some cool sparkler pictures. Here are a few of the pics that turned out.

Kristi and Ronnie

Me, Cassie, and Katie

Then we decided to try and see what it would look like if we used a long shutter speed when moving around a neon necklace. The camera wouldn't focus on the necklace, so in an attempt to get a shot, I put my face inside the necklace so the camera would focus. Cassie hit the shutter button, and I moved back and started moving the necklace around. The results were awesome, and we spent half an hour taking alien pictures, that's what I called them for lack of a better name.

Katie

Cassie

Jeff

Brinli

Eric

Hope everyone else had a wonderful Independence Day weekend!!

May and June Recap

2008-07-03T12:47:00.000-06:00

Sorry these are kind of late...especially the May one. These two month can be summed up as busy.

1. Go to school
2. Go to work
3. Do homework
4. Repeat

That's about it. I did go home to visit my family the first weekend in May, I went to a friend's wedding in Idaho in June, and I went out to dinner and to see Laughing Stock with Cassie for her birthday, also in June. Jenny, John, and the kids came out to attend Megan's dance competition at Lagoon in May. They stayed with me, but I had to work the whole weekend, so I saw them very little while they were here. My friend, Denise, had her baby, Alexandra Mae, on June 10th, and she is such a cutie. I'm going to take some pics of her with my parent's camera (which I stole for 2 weeks...with permission), so I'll post a few of those when I get a chance. I think that's really all that has happened in the last two months.

Car Woes

2008-05-06T20:47:00.002-06:00

I decided it was time to visit my family this weekend; since I hadn't been home since Christmas. On Friday, after I got off work, I drove home. My car has been acting a little funny, and the people at Les Schwab told me that I needed to get the sub-frame (or engine cradle depending on the mechanic) replaced. I was told it would cost $1500-$2000 to get it fixed. Since my car was not worth that amount, I decided to not get it fixed. I didn't think it was too bad, so I thought I should just start looking for a new car. I was used to the weird way it would jerk every once in a while, and I was able to compensate for this strange jerking motion when it happened.

On Saturday evening, Kristi and I ran to the store and she was terrified by my car. She suggested that I should have Nate look at it. We stopped by Nate's house and his conclusion was, "You're not driving this back to Salt Lake". Oh brother!!

I spent Saturday night and Sunday deliberating about what to do. Nate found the part I needed online for $381. I still wasn't sure if I was going to fix it, or try to find a cheap car to buy. On Monday morning (I took Monday off work before I went home), I went to the junk yard to see if I could get the part used. Hallelujah, they could get it for me for $250 (btw, they called the part the K-frame). Only problem, I was suppose to be back at work on Tuesday, but the part is scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday. I called in to work and told them I would be missing work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but that I should be back on Thursday. I hope that my part actually arrives tomorrow and that Nate can replace it for me. And...I'm really hoping this fix will keep my car going for a couple more years. Everybody cross your fingers for me!!

April In Review

2008-05-01T12:40:00.002-06:00

Highlights:
April 19: My friend Denise had her baby shower. It was a lot of fun, and Lavynder (the host) had a lot of fun games planned. I won the word search game and got some good smelling Bath & Body Works products.

April 25-26: Park City Digital Scrapbooking Retreat. This was so much fun and definitely that best part of my month. Read more about the retreat in the previous post.

April 29: Took my Physics final and finished school for the Spring semester. There's more about this in the previous post as well.

Wow! I felt like I was so busy this month, but there aren't really very many highlights. I hope I haven't missed anything. Mostly I was just working, studying, and getting ready for the retreat. Work is going good so far. I like it for the most part, but not so much that I'm excited to go to work or anything. :)

Books read/Listened to:
Bartimaeus Trilogy: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Bartimaeus Trilogy: The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Scrapping Retreat & Finals Finished

2008-04-30T09:49:00.007-06:00

I know that it is the last day of April, and tomorrow I will be posting the April in review, but I still wanted to announce that I took my last final yesterday!! I actually had my Physics final and my Physics Lab final yesterday. They both went well, and I know I have a B for sure in that class...it might be a B+, but we'll see.

On the Physics final we had to answer 10 out of 12 questions; our choice of the 10 to answer. I had to laugh at the las question which was: No doubt you have really studied a concept that didn't appear on this test. Make up a question about this concept and answer it. I thought it was really nice of her to give us a freebie. I decided to make my question about equivalent resistance, and after class I found out that my friend did equivalent capacitance.

The other thing I wanted to mention was the Digital Scrapbooking Retreat this past weekend. Digital Scrapbook Memories hosted this event at the Marriott in Park City. A few months ago, April, the owner of DSM, contacted me about teaching at the retreat. Of course I said yes because the deal included not having to pay to go to the retreat. I wanted to go so bad, but couldn't afford it, so this was perfect.

I got a little stressed out trying to finish all my projects while working and going to school, but it was all worth it. I had so much fun! I arrived on Friday at 3:30 and checked into my hotel room. Talk about an amazing room! Here's a picture of half of the room; there are actually two beds in the room, and yes that's a down comforter.

I spent the next two hours painting recipe boxes for one of my classes. April helped me paint, and we had a wonderful conversation. It was really fun getting to know April better.

Cassie came up to be my roommate and she was able to go to the classes as well. She arrived just before the classes started...that's her knee in the bottom corner of the picture above.

After classes on Friday night, a group of us stayed up in the Lobby until 1:00am. Quick note: many of the people at the retreat are active members on the DSM message boards, so we know each other pretty well. I have met some of the girls before this weekend, but this was the first time meeting others. After the late party in the lobby, Cassie and I headed back to our room and ended up talking until 2:00am.

I had to teach the first class in the morning on Saturday, so I called for a 6:00am wake up call. The wake-up call was unnecessary, because I woke up at 5:00am...wide awake! What was up with that?

At 8:00am I had my first class; a bonus class on decorating recipe boxes. You can go to this link to get a template and instructions. My second and third class were both for matchbook albums. It was split into two classes, one for beginners, and one for more advanced digital scrappers. You can go to this link to get the template and instructions for this project. And, in case you were wondering what they looked like:

The retreat ended around 6:30 on Saturday, and I headed home...exhausted. It was such a fun weekend and I am so glad that I went. I wish I would have had more time to hang out with Cassie and to chit chat with my DSM friends, but I did enjoy every minute of the retreat!! Here's a picture of the whole group.

Fours

2008-04-06T21:51:00.000-06:00

I was tagged to do this meme by my friend Kelli. I also received this (or something similar to this) as an e-mail from Katie & Kristi, so I figured I better do it already. I'm not going to tag anyone. If you want to do this meme, feel free!

4 Jobs I have had
Air Force - F-15 Avionics Technician
DOD - Contracting Squadron receptionist
Forest Service - Program Support
Staples - Copy & Print Center

4 movies I could watch over and over
Pride and Prejudice
Emperor's New Groove
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Empire Records

4 places I have been
Italy
Germany
Tijuana
Saudi Arabia

4 places I have lived
Lakenheath Village, UK
Wichita Falls, TX
Salt Lake City, UT
Goldsboro, NC

4 tv programs I watch
Chuck
Heroes
Lost
Take Home Handyman (I love Andrew Dan-Jumbo)

4 radio shows I listen to
104.5
92.3
X96
Hmm, there is another, but I don't remember the actual station numbers...it's #3 on my program buttons

4 favorite foods
Pizza
Brownie Fudge Sundaes
Thanksgiving Dinner
Pancakes

4 places I'd rather be
Visiting my family
Traveling
Visiting friends
Somewhere warmer

Hawaii Chair on Ellen

2008-04-04T21:58:00.001-06:00

Oh my goodness!! I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. You have to see this...

March In Review

2008-03-30T23:58:00.006-06:00

I'm 30!! I guess that's the big news for March. I lot more happened this month than in February.

Highlights:
March 4: My parents decided to come visit me on their way home from Arizona. They took me out to McGrath's for a birthday dinner (we invited my friend Denise to come along) and stayed the night. It was really nice getting to visit with them and see them for my birthday.

March 5: My birthday!! I decided to skip class since it was my birthday. Dad went and picked Grandma up from Aunt Carol's house and then came back. We all visited for about half and hour before they headed home.

I went out for 20 minutes to pay my rent and pick up some lunch. When I got home there was a cake and balloons on the counter. I was a little freaked out that someone was able to get into my apartment when I wasn't home, but not too freaked out since I figured the "intruder" was Cassie. The cake was beautifully decorated and Cassie's the only person I know that decorates cakes so wonderfully. I decided to take a picture of the cake before lighting the candles and pushing play on the tape player sitting next to the cake (these were the directions on the cake). In my delay to follow the directions, I started thinking, "what if someone is still here". I glanced through the apartment briefly and almost went back to the living room when I heard someone's keys. That's when I found Cassie in the spare room. I kind of ruined the idea she was going for, but I was still surprised and it was a great birthday present...and the cake was delicious!! You can read more about it at Cassie's blog. (Cake count: 1)

That night Cassie and I went to a digital scrapbooking get-together with some of the girls from the DSM forums. The plan was to work on our own individual projects while chit-chatting, etc... Well, I got no digital scrapbooking done, but it was a lot of fun getting to know some of the girls better. They even had a cake there for me, and sent me home with a quarter of the cake. (Cake count: 2)

I received a lot of birthday wishes too!
Phone calls: Denise, Jason, Kellie, Kristi, Ronnie, Ede, Julie, and Jen and family.
Texts: Tori, Daryl, Naomi, and Mike
E-mails: Katie and Matt
MySpace message: Randa

It was a good birthday, and I'm surprisingly okay with being 30.

March 7: My friend Denise invited me over for a slumber party (no, we are not too old for that). We stayed up late and most of the time just watched The Office. I've always heard great things about The Office, but had never watched it before. I have to say that it is hilarious!! I will definitely be tuning in from now on. Denise and Lavynder made me a cake for my birthday. (Cake count: 3) They tried to send the left overs home with me, but I conveniently forgot it.

March 8: Went out with Cassie and my friend Kellie. We went out to eat at California Pizza Kitchen (excellent Hawaiian pizza) and went to Laughing Stock. Laughing Stock was hilarious, even though our favorites weren't there.

March 10-14: Spring Break...a woo-hoo!! Actually, I spent the week concentrating my efforts on finding a job. Filled out a bunch of applications and only got one call back. Job interview scheduled for the 19th at Office Depot.

March 19: Got another call-back for an interview at Staples. I was offered this job, and decided to take it. I didn't go to the Office Depot job interview because they couldn't really offer me something better.

March 21: Started my job at Staples...its Easy (get it?). I'm working in the Copy and Print center on the evening shift, part time. I will definitely be continuing my job search, but this job should do for now.

March 28-30: Julie and Cassie came up to stay with me for another cousin's weekend (I've lost count of how many we've had now). We went to Red Robin on Friday and Julie treated me as my birthday present. It was definitely our most lazy cousin's weekend yet. We hung out, talked a lot, and watched movies/tv. It was nice though to just be able to relax. I think Julie appreciated the relaxation the most because she has been so busy with life lately.

Books read/Listened to:
Inkspell by Conelia Funke

February In Review

2008-03-01T17:32:00.004-07:00

Well, nothing too exciting happened in February, but I'll still go over a few of the things that happened.

Highlights:
Katie moved home so I'm back to living on my own. I miss Katie, but I'm enjoying not having a roommate again.

I decided to drop my Chemistry class. I now only have Physics this semester.

I am currently looking for a job...if anyone has any good jobs they know about, I'm all ears.

I took my friend Kellie out to dinner for her birthday and we went to see a movie. It was nice catching up with Kellie again. It's been a couple of months since we have had a chance to hang out.

Books read/Listened to:
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Movies watched in Theater:
Jumper

January In Review

2008-01-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I said I was going to try and do a monthly review, so at least I'm actually doing it for the first month. Hopefully I will keep it, but no promises. :)

Highlights:
New Years (Jan. 1st): I started the new year off at Grandma Rae's house with some of the family. Katie and I stayed in Vernal until the 3rd and then came home so I could try to get some stuff done before school started.

School started (Jan. 7th): Christmas break was not nearly long enough, but I guess there's nothing I can do to change that. I'm back to the grind of classes, labs, and homework. I'm only taking 10 semester hours this semester (with the hopes of having some extra time to get a part time job). I'm taking Physics for Scientists and Engineers 2, and Principles of Chemistry 2.

Cousins Weekend (Jan. 11th-13th): Julie, Katie and I all met up at Cassie's house and spent the weekend talking and eating way too much. We also went bowling and to Laughing Stock (our favorite local improv show). If you want to hear more about this fun weekend see Cassies Blog post about it.

Scrapbooking: I was asked by April Oaks, owner of Digital Scrapbook Memories, to make some layouts for her new CD that is coming out in a few weeks. I received the kits from the new CD for free in exchange for my layouts. She announced the CD a couple of days ago, so now I'm at liberty to show off my layouts. She also asked me to create some layouts for her Beginner Series. Check out my 8 new layouts on my scrapbooking blog (it will be updated soon if it isn't already). I was very excited and honored to be asked to create layouts that will be used to display her products.

Books read/listened to on my new iPod:
No Graves As Yet by Anne Perry
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
Someday maybe I'll update my book blog and you can read my review of these. It's not going to be today though, so if you're really dying to know, tough. :)

New movies watched:
none

Places visited: (I may leave this category off in the future because Vernal and SLC will probably be the only two places most months)
Vernal
Salt Lake City

2007 Year-In-Review

2008-01-14T12:44:00.001-07:00

I wanted to look back over the year and try to remember anything major (or not-so major) that happened in my life this year. I like the idea of blogging about it, because it's been too long since I've posted anything, and it makes a nice place to refer back later if I can't remember something that has happened.

Monthly Review

January:

I went to visit my friends in Idaho. On my way home my car broke down in the middle of nowhere on a really cold night.
Tori, one of my best friends from High School was visiting her family and a group of us high school friends got together for lunch.

February:

Jenny and John celebrated their 11th anniversary.

March:

Julie, Cassie, and I had a cousins weekend in Salt Lake City.
I turned 29, YUCK!
The Manwarings came to visit from Ohio for Anna Marie's baptism.
My parents and Katie came to visit. My dad took my mom and I to Antelope Island; it was my first time going there, and I was amazed at how big it was.

April:

My immediate family, plus Cassie and Grandma Rae, dyed 10 dozen eggs for Easter, and Cassie, Jenny, Katie, and I made our parents hide eggs at Grandma's, like they used to, so we could have our own Easter Egg hunt.
Rachel Denzer got married to Dan.
Jenny, Megan, and Jeff came out to do some shopping and stayed with me.

May:

Jenny turned 32.
Katie turned 18.
Julie, Cassie, and I had another cousins weekend in Cedar City.

June:

Dad retired from UPS!!
John's birthday...I'm not exactly sure of his age, but I'm thinking 40 (I'm pretty sure he's 8 years older than Jen).
A big group of extended family went up to Red Canyon Lodge, and we enjoyed Flaming Gorge, and spending some nice time up in the mountains.

July:

My parents went on a 5 week vacation all the way to Newfoundland and back.
My dad turned 57.
Katie came and spent two weeks with me while my parents were on vacation.
Cassie, Katie, and I spent the 4th of July with Jordan's in-laws in Orem.
Shaneen, Cassie, Katie, and I went to Lagoon (I haven't been there for years).
Went to the Liechty reunion up on Grizzly Ridge.
Eliza was born to Joseph and Tynelle (cousins).
My parent's basement flooded while they were on vacation. Poor Jenny and Katie got stuck with the job of clearing everything out (with lots of help from friends and family).

August:

Kristi and Ronnie took my dad, Katie, and I on a river trip through Split Mountain...it was so much fun!!
Helped out Digital Scrapbook Memories with a booth at a Women's Expo. Started doing the private tutoring for DSM to make a little extra money on the side.

September:

Lincoln Clark was born to Jordan and Stacey (cousins).

October:

I got a new roommate, who happens to be my little sister, Katie.
Jeff turned 6
Megan turned 4
We finally got family pictures taken for the first time since before Megan was born.
Katie and I went to Joseph and Tynelle's annual Halloween party. Katie dressed up as pirate, and her costume was amazing!
Mom retired from teaching!!

November:

Kristi turned 31.
Shane Broderick married Holly.
Lucy was born to Abe and Andrea (cousins).
I had lunch with some of the girls from the Digital Scrapbook Memories forum. It was nice to get to meet some of them in person.

December:

My parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in December
My mom turned 57.
Mike finally sent me his old PS2.
I had an excellent Christmas!! I got an iPod from my parents and Kristi and Ronnie. Plus, I bought myself Guitar Hero.

Remington was born to Christina and Wes, but I'm not exactly sure of the date. I hope I didn't miss any of my cousin's babies, but I probably did. It's so hard to keep track these days. If anyone knows of any babies I missed, please let me know so I can add them to the list...thanks!!

What's up

2007-12-16T14:27:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a while since I wrote a post about what is going on with me, so here's a quick update.

School

Last week was finals week, so this semester is finally over. I took my last final on Thursday and I think it went pretty well. I have basically the same schedule next semester, so it doesn't really feel like the end of a semester...just a break in the middle. I really enjoyed my Physics class, but I didn't like my Chemisty class at all. I also took Technical Writing online, and that class was pretty much cake. I have the second half of both Chemisty and Physics next semester (different Chem teacher though), and I haven't decided what other class I will be taking. I need to figure it out soon!

New roommate

My little sister, Katie moved in with me the end of October. It's been pretty fun having a roommate that I can hang out with and that I get along with. I don't think I mentioned that on my blog before, but everyone who reads this probably already knows that Katie lives with me.

Work

I'm still not working at any steady employment, but I think I will be getting a job soon. I need to start saving money before I run out of financial assistance money. I have been doing some digital scrapbooking stuff. I occasionally help out the owner of Digital Scrapbook Memories by teaching at her free classes, doing private tutoring, or sitting at her booth at a convention. It's been a lot of fun, and it pays well. It's definitely a nice way to make a little extra money whenever she needs some help.

Weekend

This weekend, Cassie came up to have a baking day. Really, she baked and I didn't. :) I'm not sure my little kitchen would have been able to handle two people baking. Cassie, Katie, and I went to see I Am Legend yesterday at the new megaplex in Ogden. That theater is wonderful!! You can reserve your seats and buy the tickets online, so there is zero waiting in line on opening weekend. Plus, it's stadium seating (so no trying to see over the person in front of you), the seats are very comfortable, and the theater is digital (not that I could really tell the difference between digital and regular, but it's the same price).

I Am Legend was an excellent movie!! It was one of those "on the edge of your seats" type of movies. Will Smith did an excellent job portraying the lone survivor of a plague that wipes out the human race. I found it interesting that he watched videos of the Today show in the morning while eating his breakfast, and it was hilarious when he quoted the entire scene in Shrek right after Donkey and Shrek meet. It was sad, scary, jumpy, creepy, and funny...a great overall movie. You can check out the opening scene of the movie here.

Well, I guess that's about all that's going on with me right now. I'll try to be a little more diligent about updating my post in the future.

Payback

2007-12-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hehehe! This is payback for the video my dad made with me in it earlier this year. I used all the guys in the family for two reasons...it was fun to use only the guys, and in the family photo of us making funny faces, they had the best ones to use. So here it is. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1377537723

Neat Photo

2007-12-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

I clicked on a link today that took me to an awesome photo (link below).

Light Speed Escalator

The photographer also has a video describing how he achieved this look. You should all check it out. I'm going to try it someday...hopefully soon.

I was tagged by Rachel

2007-11-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Getting ready to go to Basic Training
2. Working at Inkey's Photo Lab
3. Living at home with my parents
4. Wanting to move out of Utah
5. Imagining what my life would be like in 10 years

5 Things on my T0-Do List today:
1. Do my Physics pre-lab and homework assignment
2. Do my problem sets for Chemistry
3. Laundry
4. Scrapbook
5. Finish getting Kristi's b-day present ready

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Buy a new car
2. Help out my family financially
3. Travel the world
4. Visit friends
5. Buy a house

5 Things I'll never wear again (or have never worn):
1. Pegged jeans
2. Neon colored t-shirts
3. Bikini
4. MC Hammer pants
5. A size 2

5 Favorite Toys:
1. My laptop
2. My Playstation (whenever it gets here)
3. Guitar Hero (I don't own this yet, but it's so fun!!)
4. My digital camera
5. My parents digital SLR camera

5 People to tag:
1. Katie
2. Booklogged
3. Framed
4. Julie
5. Cassie (I know you won't do this, but oh well)

Over 2 years of blogging

2007-09-27T17:42:00.000-06:00

I just realized that I've had this blog for over 2 years!! (2 years, 1 month, and 17 days to be exact) That's pretty crazy! I am still alive for all of you who were wondering. I know I haven't posted anything in a while, but life has been crazy busy. This semester of school is really stressing me out and it's only the end of the 5th week. (BTW mom, my semesters are 15 weeks long...not 10 or 12) I guess I'm a third of the way through and that's encouraging!! I only have 3 classes, physics, chemistry, and english/technical writting, but two of those classes have labs involved and those things kill me! They take up so much time and aren't usually very helpful. I guess the weekly physics assignments that are extremely difficult, and the daily chemistry assignments that are mostly just time consuming, don't help either.

I made the mistake yesterday of starting to listen to Twilight on CD while I drive to and from school. I call this a mistake because all I want to do know is go drive around, and not do homework...okay I never really want to do homework. I've decided that I'll have to either go buy the book to read this weekend, or bring the CD in from the car. If I don't do one of those two things then I'll probably be wasting a lot of gas this weekend.

I actually have an English assignment due tonight at midnight (it's an online class) so I better make this post short and sweet.

Weekend at Home

2007-08-13T22:45:00.000-06:00

I've been visiting my parents/family all weekend. It's been a lot of fun. On Saturday, Kristi and Ronnie took Katie, my dad, and me on a river trip. We started at Rainbow Park and ended at Split Mountain. We all had a great time. The temperature was perfect for most of the trip, and when it got a little too hot we jumped in and floated for a while.

That evening was Jordan and Stacey's baby shower. Shaneen hosted the shower in the backyard of Grandma Rae's house. Shaneen made the most adorable diaper cake.

I thought the idea was so wonderful. We ate dinner, played a few games, and watched Jordan and Stacey open presents.

I got some sad news on Friday morning. Mike's dad passed away on Thursday. Mike called to let me know. He had been having some medical problems for the last few months. A couple of months ago he collapsed at work and the doctors discovered that he had an aneurism. He needed surgery, but had been back to work and doing better. He was a really awesome man. The first time I met him he gave me a big hug and told me, "We hug in this family". He and Mike's mother were divorced, but had remained best friends. He was extremely generous and loved his children and grandchildren very much. He was also a hard worker with an excellent work ethic; which is where Mike gets it I'm sure. He will be sorely missed by everyone who had the opportunity to know him. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Finished

2007-07-25T14:29:00.000-06:00

I finished Harry Potter on Sunday night. It was excellent and that's all I will say. Wouldn't want to give anything away. Katie and I actually read it together. We stayed pretty much at the same point and that way we could call each other every once in a while and compare opinions. I actually gave something away to her because I thought she was a little further ahead. Sorry about that Katie. She was only a paragraph away from reading that part anyway, so it wasn't too bad. Well, happy reading for all of you who haven't read it yet and are planning to.

Harry Potter

2007-07-21T04:58:00.000-06:00

I actually went to Wal-Mart with my friend Denise at quarter to midnight. The line was horrendous!! It went from the electronics section, to the front of the store, around the checkout lanes, and almost all the way to the back of the store again. We DID NOT stand in line to get the book. We were stupidly hoping that most of the fanatics would go to Banes and Noble, or that Wal-Mart would have all the checkout lanes open in anticipation of the crowds. We were hugely mistaken. Everyone at Wal-Mart had to purchase the book at the checkout in electronics one-at-a-time. We wandered around a bit, and decided to sit down and look at pattern books. The line wasn't moving nearly fast enough and Denise was exhausted, so we left.

I'm a night-owl, as most of you probably know, so I went home and worked on some scrapbooking for a couple of hours. I headed back to Wal-Mart around 3am. The store was nearly empty, so I was able to walk straight up to the electronics counter and buy a copy of

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I've read the first chapter, and I'll probably read a couple more before I head to bed. I'm sure I'll be reading most of the weekend, so I'll let you know how I like the final book by Sunday I'm sure. I'm sure part of my motivation of getting the book tonight was to have my copy before Katie gets hers. Mwah Ha Ha Ha!

Red Canyon Lodge

2007-07-08T12:11:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, while I was in Vernal, a big group of us went to Red Canyon Overlook and then ate lunch at Red Canyon Lodge. Katie and I took tons of pictures (most from after lunch while hanging out by the duck pond). Here are some of my favorites...there are more that I really like, but I tried to limit the selection for the blog. (All of these were taken using my parents camera referred to in the previous post)

Now I Want One!!

2007-07-03T16:37:00.000-06:00

Well, I've actually always wanted one, but now I want a digital SLR even more. I went home this weekend and played around with my parents' new camera. I loved it, and I loved the telephoto lens too! I think the lens is 75-200mm. Anyway, that lens lets me take amazing pictures right in the action while sitting back a ways. Here are a few of my favorites of Megan and Jeff in my parents' backyard. (and a close up of a lily also)

Sunglasses and Rain Showers

2007-05-23T15:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day! In the afternoon I went out to run some errands. While driving to the post office, the view of the mountains was breathtaking. The clouds were crawling over the mountains, with wisps of white translucent clouds showing the gorgeous peaks just behind them. I couldn't believe that I didn't have a camera! Of course, the picture wouldn't have even compared.

On the way to Wal-mart, it started to rain. It was a medium/heavy rain, but the amazing thing was that it was so sunny that I had to wear my sunglasses. There is something about rain showers when the sun is shining that feels even more cleansing than normal rain showers. While I was walking into to the store, I glanced back toward the mountains. There was a full rainbow, and actually portions of a second rainbow just below it.

The evening brought a fiery sunset. There were large clouds, outlined in reds and oranges, lining the horizon. In the foreground were little puffs of clounds, also outlined in reds and oranges. Blast it again that I left my camera at my parents' house!!

I love days when nature pours out it's bounty!

Spreading the Ninja Love

2007-05-22T02:00:00.000-06:00

Ask A Ninja is a website I learned about from Cassie. On the website, people ask the ninja a question and his answers are extrememly funny. I thought I'd post one of them here to give you a sample. This one is called Omnideuce which is a sequel to Omnibus. In this podcast he answers a bunch of questions, but usually he only answers one question per podcast.

To check more go to www.askaninja.com or click on one of the links below for some of my favorites.

Thr33
Mirrors
Ninja Dates
How to Kill a Ninja

Cousins Weekend 7

2007-05-21T13:58:00.001-06:00

I think it's my turn to write about our cousins weekend; though we didn't actually discuss it, so you may get more than one account of the most recent one.

Cassie and I drove down to Cedar City on Friday night. We arrived at Julie's new apartment around 10:00pm. She recently moved to a cute studio apartment, so the first thing we did was take the tour. It wasn't a long tour, but Julie has set up the apartment nicely, arranging the furniture in a pleasing way to separate the areas of the apartment into a living area, dining area, and bedroom. We did our usual talking, and almost made it bed by 2:00am, but then we got going again and finally went to sleep around 4:30am.

We woke up the next day around 11:00 (I think). We all got ready and headed down to St. George for the sole purpose of eating at Samuri 21. Julie loves Samuri 21, and has always wanted to take us there to try it out. Cassie was a little aprehensive because she doesn't really like Oriental cuisine, but she was willing to give it a try. Samuri 21 is a Habachi and Sushi restaurant. We went for the Habachi, but Julie also got Sushi (which I shared), and she convinced Cassie to try the California rolls (cooked crab meet, avacado, and cucumber). We are so proud of her!! And she actually liked them. I think the other sushi was called Philadelphia rolls (raw salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber). It was the first time I tried real sushi with uncooked fish. They were delicious, as was the teryaki chicken I had. Cassie had the habachi steak and loved it as well.

After eating, we all wanted to go to Cold Stone for ice cream, but we needed to let our lunch settle a bit. We decided to walk along the stores near the restaurant. We came to a store with nice leather couches and decided to go in (with only the intention of looking around). There was only one lady working when we went in and she talked to us briefly, but mostly let us wonder around on our own. Everything was way out of our price range even if we were couch shopping. We were on our way out and had stopped briefly to look at one last couch suite (do they call them suites in the US, or is that only in the UK?).

We were almost out the door when we were accosted by Guido, a salesman who looked like he wasn't even working that day. He was wearing shorts, a t-shirt, an FBI ball cap, and $3.49 hiking boots. He honed in on Julie since she only lived an hour away. He started showing her different couches and we all ended up sitting on one set (suite) for a good 15 minutes bantering back and forth with him. He was actually quite amusing and at some point accused Julie of turning him into a used car salesman named Guido (and that will forever be what we call him). He put his feet up on the ottoman and that's when Cassie discovered the price tag on his boots, which he was embarassed about, and which explains how we know they only cost $3.49. We finally left with a friendly, "We'll see you later" and a reply from Guido of, "Will you? Will you, really?" We went for ice cream at Cold Stone and then headed back to Cedar City.

No, Guido we really won't.

That evening we went to Corey & Audree's house (Julie's brother and sister-in-law) for a birthday get together for Julie (her birthday was this past Tuesday). Julie opened presents, we ate cake and ice cream, and then played games. We played frisbee golf, frisbee tag, Fists of Fury, and six-dice. We headed back to Julie's and went to sleep around 2:00 (I think that's a new record for us).

On Sunday, Susan (Julie's mom) joined us for breakfast at IHOP. After breakfast we headed up the canyon for a hike along Bristle Cone trail. It was a short hike, but ended in a beautiful view which included parts of Zions National Park far in the distance. We did more talking and ended the weekend with dinner at Appleby's with Susan, Corey, Audree, Porter and Brooke.

It was a wonderful weekend and we're already looking forward to the next cousins weekend. We also discussed having a cousins party for all the Rasmussen cousins. If anyone else is interested in this, let us know and offer up some suggestions.

Interview

2007-05-06T11:25:00.000-06:00

Booklogged from In Season sent me these interview questions. Just a way to learn some intersesting things about me that might not come up in normal blog posts. (by the way booklogged is my mom)

1. Is there any food you could eat every day without getting sick of it?
No, I think I would get sick of any food if I ate it everyday. I do really enjoy Cafe Rio and Arby's, but I couldn't eat there every single day, or eat the same thing every time either.

2. Are there any brands you are loyal to? Car, computer, food products, shoes, etc.
I wouldn't exactly call it loyalty. There are brands that I prefer, but I wouldn't feel guilty if I bought a different brand. Here's a few items (that I could think of) that I prefer to buy from a particular brand, and I most likely wouldn't buy the competitors' product.
Chocolate syrup - Hershey's
Raspberry jam - Smuckers (of course this is only if I can't get homemade)
Peanut Butter (chunky) - Skippy
Tomato Soup - Campbell's
GPS device - Garmin
Digital point and shoot camera - Sony
Banking & Insurance - USAA
Toothpaste - Mentadent
Deodorant - Secret

Things I am loyal to, but aren't brands. My family, the LDS church, my friends, the military (in general), the Air Force (in specific), and the USA.

3. Salty or sweet? What's your favorite craving?
I'm definitely more of a sweet tooth. I like sweets with some substance though. Things like cakes, cookies, brownies, doughnuts; I don't often eat hard candy like suckers, sugar balls, gobstoppers, etc... I can't rule out the salty either. On occasion I enjoy potato chips or popcorn, and I almost always eat Gardettos mix on road trips. I really like to combine salty and sweet. Examples: Wendy's fries dipped in a chocolate frosty or tortilla chips with a salsa/cream cheese dip. My favorite craving is probably ice cream (any flavor that sounds good at the time) or a delicious brownie fudge sundae.

4. Could you give up your cell phone use for a month?
After much contemplation and scrutiny, I do think I could give up cell phone use for a month. I really like the convenience and security a cell phone provides, but I don't use my cell phone all that much. In fact, if everyone had my home number, it would probably be even less. I wouldn't enjoy not having a cell phone because I've gotten so used to it, and I really like the ability to call a tow truck when my car breaks down in the middle of no where on the way back from Idaho, but I think I could cope.

5. If you could travel back through time and view any moment, what would it be? And why?
This is a tough one. I've thought of many important moments in church history or during the life of Christ that I would love to witness, but I think it's better for me to rely on faith to confirm those moments to me. I've thought of important breakthroughs in science, human rights, religious freedom, and many others that would be amazing to witness, but I don't think I could pick only one. Therefore, I've decided to chose something a little more personal. Something most other people wouldn't even care to go back and view. I think I would love to witness my dad proposing to my mom. I think I would be laughing, crying, and excited. Plus, it would be interesting to see if the way they remember/recount the event is any different from how it actually happened. It's a humorous story that you might have to ask my mom to tell on her blog someday.

Well, that was fun, I hope you all enjoyed it as well. If you would like me to interview you, leave a comment saying "Interview me". If I don't know you're e-mail address make sure to include it or e-mail it to me. I'll send you 5 questions that you can answer on your own blog.

"Television is a vitamin"

2007-04-18T18:05:00.000-06:00

*note* I started this post almost two months ago, but I'm just now finishing it. Therefore, some of the time frames mentioned (i.e. "a few days ago") are not accurate. Also, the magazine is the March issue.

While at Walmart a few days ago I picked up this month's O magazine. Now, I don't usually buy magazines, but the lines were outrageous on this particular day (3 cashiers and at least 20 people with full carts standing in line), so it was either look at magazines, or get angry about the fact that the assistant manager kept strolling by without doing anything to help the line situation. Who am I kidding, I did both!

Anyway, back to the O magazine. In the magazine is an article titled Martha Beck's 5 Best Pieces of Advice. I really enjoyed some of the quotes in one part of this article, and wanted to share them with you.

Piece of advice #3: Television is a Vitamin

Martha points out that it is through TV that we learn about the pop culture of our world, as well as see things we may otherwise never have the chance to see. She tells about her first 12 years of life (without TV) and how she was out of the loop and teased for quoting Shakespeare (her main form of entertainment). She does not advocate unlimited television, but thinks it is a vital part of life...I agree.

"I think TV is like a vitamin: toxic if taken in large quantities, but also essential for social and personal well-being."

"Television is a piece of furniture that lets us see the top of Everst, the Crab Nebula, the funniest and smartest and most athletic people in the world, [and] a talking sponge in pants!"

"I know I function much better when I get my Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin TV."

Maybe I just liked this article because it justified my television watching habits...see tv isn't bad for you!

History Meme

2007-04-17T11:46:00.000-06:00

I was just tagged by Framed at Life's a Picture with this history meme.

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birth date only -without the year.

March 5

2. List 3 events that occurred that day:
1770 - Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including a black man named Crispus Attucks, and a boy are killed by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War five years later.
1991 - Iraq releases all Gulf War prisoners.
2003 - Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks provokes controversy in the U.S. by stating that the band was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

3. List 2 important birthdays:
1133 - King Henry II of England (d. 1189)
1936 - Canaan Banana, first President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003) (I just really like his name)

4. List 1 death:
1953 - Joseph Stalin, Georgian leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1879)

Now I tag five other bloggers.
Booklogged
Myke
Katie
Cassie
Mes Bijoux

I know Framed tagged some of you already, but I guess that means you're killing two birds with one stone if you do the meme.

Meal or No Meal

2007-03-25T20:48:00.000-06:00

I found this funny game today. It's funny and kind of fun. Enjoy!

New Scrapbook Blog

2007-02-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Yet another blog, I know. This one is for my scrapbook pages. It's not actually that new. I've had it since November, but I never told anyone about it. I was trying to decide if I wanted to share it, but mostly I was trying to decide how I wanted to organize it. I have finally figured out what I wanted (I think). I have some other ideas for this blog as well, but I haven't implemented them yet.

Check it out at:
Alyson's Scrapbook

Enjoy!

Catching Up (part III)

2007-01-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

I better finish this catching up thing, or the rest of posts from now on will be new parts to "Catching Up". I'll try to keep it short and sweet, but even as I'm typing this I'm thinking, "Yeah right!"

New Years was spent at Grandma Rae's with the whole family. We played games and had loads of fun until Midnight. Then we all went in to watch the ball drop and yell "Happy New Year". My favorite part was chatting with grandma after almost everyone was gone. With so many people in the house, it's usually hard to have a nice conversation.

Cassie, Cassie's roommate, and I went to a Brian Regan show on the 5th. It was hilarious and we couldn't stop talking about all his funny jokes. If you haven't heard of him, you should definitely check him out! He is one funny comedian, and his jokes are all clean.

I started school on the 8th and I'm taking more than a full load this semester. The classes I'm taking are: Calculus I, Java, Electronic Communications, and PC Board Design. I think the PC Board Design class will be my favorite. We are designing and building a video baby monitor from square one. We have to work in groups, which I usually abhor, but we get time in class to work together so there won't be too much out of class get togethers.

I went to Idaho the weekend of the 12th to visit my friend Ede along with other people I still know in Mountain Home. Poor Ede had Strep throat and so we stayed at her house most of the time watching movies and catching up. I did have to take her to the ER on Saturday morning because her left tonsil was the size of Texas, but that just gave me a chance to do some homework (something I otherwise wouldn't have done). My car broke down on my way home Monday in between Burley, ID and Snowville, UT. If you know anything about the area, there is nothing for miles and miles. It was freezing, the middle of the night, and a little spooky; but the sky was beautiful. I had to wait for two and half hours for the tow truck to get there, so I got pretty cold, but I survived. I had to stay the night in Burley until the next when I could get my alternator replaced.

Last night, Kristi, Ronnie, and I went to the Jazz game. We were way up in the nose bleeds, but it was still exciting and fun. Charity, Budd, Trevor, Cooper, and Dayson were there too, but they were on the other end of our row, so we didn't really get to talk to them. In fact, I didn't talk to Charity at all, but I saw the rest of them down by the concession stand. It was a close game, which made it all the more exciting and got the crowd really pumped up. The Jazz beat the Nuggets by 5 points (116-111)!! I'm definitely going to have to go to another game; maybe I can sit in the lower bowl next time.

Yeah! All caught up!!! And it wasn't too long.

I'm in Heaven!

2007-01-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Earlier this evening I realized that it was getting close to Feb. 14th. I don't look forward to this day because even when I had a boyfriend/husband on this day, it was actually a day destined for a fight rather than romance. And of course, for us single women, Valentines Day really means I'm a Loser Who Doesn't Have a Boyfriend Day. The only reason I mention it here is because Baskin Robbins has a special flavor of ice cream they release around Feb. 14th each year. It's called Love Potion #31 and it is heaven!!

I found this heaven in Saudi Arabia of all places. I had a neighbor/friend in England who happened to be in Saudi at the same time I was. We would always run into each other in Baskin Robbins (I was in there a lot...you have to find ways to pass the time when you're in the middle of the dessert and can't leave the base). One day he came looking for me to tell me about a new ice cream they had. It is vanilla ice cream with raspberry jam swirls and little chocolate hearts with raspberry filling he said. I love raspberry anything (except raspberry emergen-c), so I went right over to try it. My friend, Corey, and I went in everyday to get some until they ran out. Then we went in everyday to see if they had received a shipment of it. Corey and I didn't always go together, but I would usually see him there. One day I walked in and started looking through the case while I waited for the other costumers to be served. I didn't see it anywhere and was ready to be disappointed again, but the Indian man (he's from India; not Native American) who worked there held up a finger for me to wait. You see, I was there so often that he knew my name and knew that I loved that particular ice cream. When he was finished serving the other customers, he came over and told me that he had my ice cream in the back. He never did put it in the case, and Corey and I, and a few select friends of our's ate the entire bucket of Love Potion #31. Do you think I'll go to Hell for being selfish with my heavenly ice cream??

It has now been three years since I last tasted this delicious piece of heaven; there were no Baskin Robbins near me for those three years. I was excited to discover one only blocks away from my new apartment when I moved in. As soon as I had made the discovery of the current date's proximity to Feb. 14th, I made a bee-line for Baskin Robbins (pretend you don't realize it's Sunday...oh no, I am going to Hell) and asked it they had it. I was ecstatic to find out they did, so I order two scoops. It's just as wonderfully sinful as I could possible remember.

Moral of the story: if you want to go to heaven, don't ever try Love Potion #31...it might make you think you're already there.

Catching Up (part II)

2007-01-19T01:11:00.000-07:00

This post will mostly consist of a few pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma Rae's, as is the tradition, with all the extended family.

On Christmas Day, the immediate family all woke up and went to Jen and John's to watch the kids open their presents. Also, since Jen & John had Katie this year, she opened her guitar at their house.

After that, we trekked through the backyard to my parents house to open presents there and eat our traditional Christmas breakfast. I was planning on posting a few pictures from my parent's house, but the pics take too long, so you only get one...sorry.

Catching Up (Part I)

2007-01-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy that I don't exactly know where to start. Christmas seems as good a place as any. I finished fall semester the second week in December. Finals were tough and to add to my stress level, a large group of family came to Salt Lake to visit the weekend before finals. Not that I consider family stressful (usually), or that I wasn't excited and happy to go and hang out with everyone, I just felt overwhelmed by all the studying I had to do. Two aunts, two cousins, two sisters, a brother-in-law, a nephew, and niece all came from out of town. Some of us went to a digital scrapbook workshop on Saturday and we all went to the mall for at least a little while. All the out-of-towners as well as those of us who live near the city got together to eat dinner at this wonderful Mediterranean restaurant called Cafe Med. It was a great time, but I came home exhausted and had to take a nap before studying. I ended up studying all night long and it paid off. I got two B+s and an A-. Actually, I don't think those are great grades, for me, but I was pretty concerned about a couple of those finals, so I'm okay with them.

The next weekend my other sister and her boyfriend came out and stayed with me. They had tickets to see a Jazz game, which I was jealous of. It turned out I wasn't feeling well that day anyway, so I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the game if I did have a ticket. Plus, they are coming again the end of January and we're going to a game then. The three of us went shopping and had dinner. It was a nice visit, and much more relaxed for me since I was finished with school for the time being.

I spent the next week Christmas shopping, since I had done none of that up to then. It was pretty hectic trying to find the gifts I wanted to get for the people on my list. I luckily did find everything I needed. Cassie and I headed out to Vernal on the 22nd. On the 23rd the family had their annual progressive dinner. It was the 2nd time I was able to attend. It is normally earlier in the month, so this year some of the out-of-town families were able to make it. It was Mark, Davis, and Eric's first progressive dinner. For those of you who have no clue what a progressive dinner is, here's a quick run down. We all meet at one house for the first course in a meal. We then caravan to the next house for the next course, and so on until desert. It's a great way to get around to see every one's Christmas decorations and spend some time with family.

This year we had Salad at the Rasmussen's (Ryan & Julie), then went to Shaneen's to see her decor., then to Grandma's for the main course, then Kristi and Ronnie's and Jenny and John's to see their decor, and ended up at my parents house for desert. (Usually there are more courses, but they opted for a little simpler event this year) Desert was sugar cookies and all the stuff to decorate them ourselves. It was a fun idea for a desert, and to give credit where credit is due, it was Jenny's idea. Here's a couple of pictures from the desert portion.

Look for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Part II of Catching Up. Coming soon to a blog site near you!!

My Aristocratic Title

2007-01-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

I promise to write a more personalized post about my Christmas Break...or lack of break soon, but until then I hope this short post will appease you. I got this idea from Framed's blog.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Imperial Majesty Alyson the Woebegone of Bumpstead under Carpet
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I thought this was so funny that I tried it a second time. This is the other title I received from Lady Fortune the Absurd of Greater Internetshire.

Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Alyson the Capricious of Ofsted in the Bucket

My First Digital Scrapbook Page!!

2006-11-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today Cassie and I went to a digital scrapbooking workshop. We learned all kinds of cool tips and tricks, so I had to come straight home and try some of them out. This is my first page. It's not the best page ever, but mostly I was just messing around trying to learn Adobe Photoshop and see what cool things I could do. I had a lot of fun, and it's amazing all the neat scrapbooking things I'll be able to do with this new medium. I still have to get my membership to Costco so I can print these out at the 12x12 size for really cheap, but I'll be doing that soon. Thanks Cassie for going with me and getting as excited as I am to get started on this fantastic new way to scrapbook.

Happy Birthday Kristi!

2006-11-10T01:29:00.000-07:00

It's Kristi's birthday today and I wanted to take a minute to tell her how happy I am that she was born! She is one of my best friends in the whole world, and I couldn't be luckier than to have her for a sister. She is funny, outgoing, and a little crazy sometimes (in a good way). She keeps us all on our toes and always has us laughing and smiling whenever she's around. She is also kind and thoughtful. Last time I went home she had a suprise for me. She remembered that last year I went to Pennsylvania and fell in love with these wonderful chocolate covered pretzels. She made a whole batch of them just because she knew I loved them. I ate way too many, and they were every bit as good as the ones in PA, if not better! That's the kind of person Kristi is. She's attentive, thoughtful, full of energy, beautiful, courageous, loving, and one of the best sisters ever!! She lights up any room when she walks in. I love you Kristi and I am grateful to have you for a sister.

Blessings

2006-11-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a little down in the dumps right now, so I thought I would try listing my blessings to help cheer me up.

1. My wonderful family
2. Great friends
3. A nice apartment
4. The gospel
5. The chance to go to school
6. My memory (as in the ability to remember things well)
7. Good memories (as in good things that have happened in my life; maybe this should be a subcategory...refer to end of list for more on this blessing)
8. Technology, and all the cool gadgets I own in order to use that technology (this could practically be it's own category as well...we'll see)
9. Finding a major that I really enjoy
10. On Demand TV so I can watch some of my shows whenever I want. Maybe I shouldn't be thankful for that because it kind of impedes my homework at times.
11. Heat...it's getting pretty cold these days and I'm glad I can stay inside where it isn't cold.
12. Pictures
13. Family traditions
14. Books...intersting, fun, educational, all the different kinds of books, and the authors who write them
15. Blogs that help me keep in touch and get to know my family and friends more intimately.

Well, I feel much better, so I guess it worked. I've decided to save the list of good memories and cool gadgets for another post. That way you'll get more new posts from me in the next few days. Plus, I have a funny story about my microwave that I'll probably blog about in the near future. That's at least three new posts coming soon; don't let me forget.

I really need to mention one other thing. I am NOT thankful for pre-calculus homework!!

Halloween

2006-10-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Katie, mom, grandma, and framed came out to the city this weekend. They came up to see my apartment and left Katie with me to go to a Halloween party. My cousins threw a costume party, so I went as Maleficent and Katie went as a Princess. The first thing we did at the party was a photo scavenger hunt. Katie and I our cousin's roommate Ambry were on a team. We had a lot of fun driving all around town doing crazy things. The picture below is Katie and I in front of Albertson's (we had to find a bail of hay).

After the photo scavenger hunt we played Body, Body! It's a really fun game where you turn off all the lights and have to make your way around the house looking for dead bodies. One person is the killer and goes around killing people. When someone finds a dead body, they yell Body Body! and you turn the lights on and try to figure out who the killer is. I was never the killer, but I really wanted to be.

On Saturday everyone went to the Salt Lake City Book Festival. Katie and I went for the end of the festival to hear Shannon Hale speak. She's a local author and she was very funny. She's written four books; a companion series of The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets, and another book called The Princess Academy. These are all classified as Young Adult fiction. I have yet to read them, but have heard nothing but wonderful things about them. They are some of Katie's favorite books. I did buy a copy of The Goose Girl to have her sign. I bought the hard cover which is no longer in print, and it ended up being an odd print (no copyright page, and the title page was missing the author's name and publisher's stamp) and it was a first or second edition. Shannon also talked about the first adult fiction she wrote (which is coming out soon) called Austen Land. It's about a woman who is obsessed with Mr. Darcy as portrayed by Colin Firth; this immediately peaked Cassie and my interests since we have this same problem along with Julie (okay maybe it's not an obsession). Anyway, this woman goes to a resort called Austen Land. Most people go there for vacation, but she goes for therapy. It sounds very interesting and fun.

That night we went to Olive Garden. After waiting an hour and a half to be seated, and an hour after placing our order, the waitress came over and told us that there was a mix up with our order and it was just now being started. The manager came over and offered to pay for our meal, so we all ate for free. The free part was nice, but not really worth the almost 2 hour wait. Now I'm back at my apartment doing what I do best; procrastinating my homework.

Unique

2006-10-18T15:02:00.000-06:00

I'm the only one!! Check out your name and see if there is anyone else with your name. I already know some of you will also be the only one; in fact some of you may not even have to check out this sight to know that (you know who you are).

HowManyOfMe.com

There is:
1
person with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

The Greatest Laptop Ever!!

2006-09-19T10:52:00.000-06:00

Okay, maybe not ever, but it sure has impressed me. In my previous post I mentioned that I bought a new laptop for school. It's the Gateway Convertible Laptop. It opens just like any other laptop, so you have the keyboard just under the monitor. But, and here's the cool part...the monitor spins around and lays down over the keyboard, turning it into a tablet PC so you can write right on the screen. It's great for taking notes in class and all kinds of other fun stuff.

Before I purchased this laptop, I was talking to a friend about buying a laptop and she mentioned all the disadvantages that she could think of about having a laptop to take notes on. She said she would love to type her notes because she types faster than she writes, plus they would be neater, but it would make it harder to go back to something the teacher was referring to, and she couldn't draw a line between things in her notes. Also, if you needed to draw a picture, diagram, figure, etc... it would be impossible. This laptop does away with all those problems. If I'm typing my notes, I can also draw on the screen. If I'm writing my notes, I can add extra space between lines, or to the margin if I need to go back to something previously talked about. I can also convert my handwritting to text (with, not perfect, but amazingly good accuracy). I can also perform a search for specific word or phrase, and the computer searches all typed and handwritten notes. One of the things I love when taking notes, is that I can change pen colors easily and I can highlight (with tons of different colors) things that I think are important, or that the teachers mentions multiple times. I also have a teacher who posts all his notes on the web and then I can just save a copy and write/highlight on his lecture notes. It saves me the time of writing down everything he says, and that way I can concentrate better on the lecture. Plus, it makes doing assignments for my online electronics course so much easier. I can type the question, and then draw the associated schematic diagram, and then write or type my answer. All of that can then be forwarded to my teacher as an attachment.

That's not all...there are so many neat things this laptop can do that I probably won't list them all.

1. There's a wonderful program to organize all my notes. It's called Go Binder, and it's like a planner/organizer all in one. It keeps track of all my appointments and class times, and it has different folders for each class.

2. There's a snipping tool that allows me to cut and copy, email, or save anything that is on the screen. It basically creates an image out of whatever you cut around. It's fantastic for saving just a portion of a webpage.

3. There is a sticky notes program that pops up whenever I turn on my computer. I write any important reminders on the little yellow sticky note, and then each day I can flip through all my sticky notes without cluttering my desk with them.

4. There's an equation writer that is great for my pre-calculus class. It contains all the crazy symbols you need for math. I don't know if you've ever tried to type an equation; I've found it's quite difficult...just try typing the square root of x (without writing it out like I just did). This lets me write the equation, and then if converts it to text. If the conversion is wrong, I just click on a button and it gives me all the symbols I might need so I can pick one.

5. More note taking stuff. While taking notes I can change the stationary. I can have grids, wide ruled, college ruled, blank, etc... The grid is especially good for my math class and when I need to draw a schematic diagram in my electronics classes.

6. It's fun to play games using the pen instead of a mouse.

7. Tons more that I can't remember or haven't discovered yet.

I will try to post some pictures later, but right now my wireless connection isn't so great.

On My Own and Back To School

2006-08-31T02:56:00.000-06:00

I am finally on my own again!! Out of my parents house, and no offense, loving it! I love being in a bigger city as well. All these great restaurants and TARGET!! I have almost any restaurant I could want within a 10 mile radius of my apartment. With so much selection I'll never have to eat at home again! Just kidding.

Classes started on Monday, and I hate my Monday/Wednesday class. It's precalculus, which might not be so bad, but it's 2 1/2 hrs longs. That's too much math is one sitting. Plus, my math teacher has a bad accent, so she's hard to understand sometimes. It took me half of the class to figure out she was saying second line; it sounded like sea-cant line. She definitely knows her stuff, but sometime she's too technical. She gives us the facts about math without concentrating on making it understandable. I'm doing okay so far because we haven't covered anything I didn't learn in college algebra.

My Tuesday/Thursday class is Digital Fundamentals. I've only been to one class so far, and it seemed much better than my math class. It's only 2 hrs long and much more interesting. Of course, it's electronics, which is the field I'm majoring in, so I already knew I was interested in studying it. I was so excited to buy my circuit card kit...I know call me a nerd, but I don't care. I can't wait to start building circuit cards. I worked with electronics for 6 years, but we didn't usually deal with component level circuits and I've never built one from scratch. I know you're all probably bored with this, so I'll move on.

My third class is online, and since I had to have special permission to get into that class, today was the first day I actually had access to the class online. In other words, I haven't done really anything in that class yet. It's a class about AC and DC circuits. I hope I have the tenacity to sit down and study enough to do well in an online class.

That's all the update for now. I haven't made much progress in the unpacking area, so I'll be concentrating on that this weekend. Anyone want to come help? I'll let you play with my cool new laptop (I'm saving the details about the laptop for a post all it's own).

Common Place

2006-08-23T02:40:00.000-06:00

I found this little quiz on a friends site. I thought it was kind of fun and figured you guys might enjoy it. According to what is written below, the average person gets 7 out of 25 correct. I don't know how true that is because I got 17. Maybe I'm just really observant. Anyway, I'll post the answers in the comments section, so make sure to write all your answers down before going to the comments. After you're done let me know how you did.

There are 25 questions about things we see every day or have known about all our lives. How many can you get right? These little simple questions are harder than you think-- it just shows you how little we pay attention to the commonplace things of life.

Put your thinking caps on. No cheating! No looking around! No getting out of your chair! No using anything on or in your desk or computer!

Can you beat 15?? It is nearly impossible for any normal person to get higher than a 15 (The average is 7). Write down your answers and check answers (on the bottom) AFTER completing all the questions.

REMEMBER - NO CHEATING!!! BE HONEST!!! That means no looking at your phone or anything on your desk...

LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE. - If not, just
have fun!

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

2. How many states are there in the USA? (Don't laugh, some
people don't know)

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup label?

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by
them?

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left
leg? (Don't you dare get up to see!)

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?

11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run?

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?

13. On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?

14. Which way do fans rotate?

15. How many sides does a stop sign have?

16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left
side?

17. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?

18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?

21. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark?

22. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts
the opening between the slats?

23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits?

24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

My New Apartment

2006-08-13T12:55:00.000-06:00

Well, I went back out to Ogden this weekend to look for an apartment. I looked at a few, and had it narrowed down to two. One was really beautiful, came with a garage, fireplace, washer/dryer in the unit, and had vaulted ceilings. Of course, most of these things added to the cost. It was only one bedroom, which is fine because I don't want a roommate, but it doesn't leave the option for me to get a roommate if I need to. So, I opted for the other apartment. It is also really nice, but doesn't have a garage, fireplace, or vaulted ceilings. It does have two bedrooms and is slightly cheaper than the one bedroom, so I decided I better make the "budget-wise" decision rather than the "live in the lap of luxury with no money left over" decision.

My apartment is two bedrooms and one and a fourth bath. You ask, "What is a fourth bath"? I asked the same question and discovered it's one of the things I really like about this apartment. It is a vanity with a sink in a nook in the master bedroom. I think it's a wonderful idea because if I get a roommate I can still get ready if she's in the bathroom. If I don't get a roommate, I can keep my bathroom cleaner for guest by keeping most of my toiletries on the vanity.

Here's the floorplan, it's 1064 square feet.

And here's a picture of the outside of the apartments; I live on the bottom floor.

I am extremely excited to have my own place again, and to get my stuff out of storage (thanks grandma for letting me use your garage). I've almost forgotten what I own. I want to invite all of you (the people I know who read my blog) to come and visit anytime.

**The real reason I chose this apartment is because they have delicious cookies in the lobby**

My Answers to: You Have 2 Choices

2006-08-09T19:17:00.000-06:00

I've marked the correct answer in bold letters. I love to hear how you did if you played this game without posting your answers.

Choice A......................................................... Choice B

1. Light purse, heavy heart..........................Great Talkers, Little Doers
2. Home grown...............................................Store bought
3. Romance.....................................................Mystery
4. New York City ..........................................San Francisco
5. Garnet.........................................................Sapphire
6. Better slip with foot than tongue.....Well done is better than well said
7. Texas.......................................................... Alaska
8. Star Wars....................................................Lord of the Rings
9. The Cat in the Hat......................................Horton the Elephant
10. Bats in the Belfry......................................Lost your marbles
11. Bronte....................................................... Austen
12. Hugh Grant...............................................Colin Firth
13. Walmart....................................................Target
14. England .................................................... Australia
15. Foggy........................................................ Blazing heat
16. Casual....................................................... Meticulous
17. Washington .............................................. Lincoln
18. Elvis ......................................................... Beatles
19. Coincidence.............................................. Planned
20. Myth......................................................... Parable
21. East........................................................... West
22. Dictionary.................................................Atlas

You Have 2 Choices

2006-08-09T18:55:00.000-06:00

This idea was taken from this post by Framed. It's a game she brought over to play the other day. In the game you each have three cards that each have two choices. They can be anything like: Coke/Pepsi or Mountains/Ocean. You have to decide what one person is going to say between those two choices. If you get it right you get a point. Here are 22 choices; pick the one you think I will pick. Let's see how well you know me. Post your answers in the comments and I'll let you know how well you did. I will post the answers in a week or so. You don't have to type out each answer; you can just answer with an A (for choice A) or a B (for choice B). Hope you have fun!

Choice A......................................................... Choice B
1. Light purse, heavy heart..........................Great Talkers, Little Doers
2. Home grown...............................................Store bought
3. Romance.....................................................Mystery
4. New York City ..........................................San Francisco
5. Garnet.........................................................Sapphire
6. Better slip with foot than tongue.............Well done is better than well said
7. Texas.......................................................... Alaska
8. Star Wars....................................................Lord of the Rings
9. The Cat in the Hat......................................Horton the Elephant
10. Bats in the Belfry......................................Lost your marbles
11. Bronte....................................................... Austen
12. Hugh Grant...............................................Colin Firth
13. Walmart....................................................Target
14. England .................................................... Australia
15. Foggy........................................................ Blazing heat
16. Casual....................................................... Meticulous
17. Washington .............................................. Lincoln
18. Elvis ......................................................... Beatles
19. Coincidence.............................................. Planned
20. Myth......................................................... Parable
21. East........................................................... West
22. Dictionary.................................................Atlas

Copy this a put it on your blog, then we can see how well I know you.

Scary Credit Bureaus

2006-08-08T21:20:00.000-06:00

I'm really confused as to how any bank can trust the information found on credit reports. I recently applied for a student loan. I was told that I was denied because I had something bad on my credit such as a collection, foreclosure, repossession, etc... I said that couldn't be right because I had just checked my Experian credit report and nothing like was on my credit. Well, the bank didn't use Experian Credit Bureau; it used Trans Union Credit Bureau.

I got online and downloaded my free credit report from Trans Union and sure enough! (brace yourself and try not to scream) There, under my car loan, the car loan that I paid off almost 3 years ago, the car loan that I made every payment on time, the car loan for the car I currently drive and own, was a derogatory comment. I clicked on the link for the comment and it said my car had been repossessed. Go figure! I must have really outsmarted that repo man. He went all the way to England to repo my car and got outsmarted my a girl!! Amazing!

Here are some other problems I found on my credit report (last name not included to protect the innocent):
Names: Alyson K. ********, Jr. (do you know my real mother; you know the senior Alyson K?)
Kim ******** (when did Kim become my first name?)
Accounts: Three accounts that belong to my husband and supposedly I'm not on anymore. One account that he opened after we separated and I'm sure he didn't put me as an authorized user.
One account listed twice even though it's the same account!!
Current Employer: On Trans Union - Target, and on Experian - 7 Eleven...both WRONG!
Car Loan: Experian has my original lien holder and not the more current lien holder, and Trans Union has the more current one repeated twice (one of those is the one that shows my repossession), but doesn't have the original lien holder.

Okay, I think I'm done complaining. I'm sure there's more inaccuracies, but I'm tired of thinking of them. I seriously suggest you each check your credit report. You never know what you might find!

Cinco, Funf, Go, Cinq, Five

2006-08-05T22:30:00.000-06:00

Five Things...

In my fridge (not technically my fridge): Milk, cheese, yogurt, ranch dressing, and mold I'm sure.

In my closet: Uniforms (3 different kinds), empty boxes, laundry basket, clothes, and towels.

In my cute new purse: my cute new wallet, receipts, camera, cell phone, and chapstick.

In my car: CDs (some country, some R&B/hip-hop, some others), a towel because I left my window down and it rained, fingernail clippers, kleenex, and probably a lot of garbage under the driver's seat (unfortunately that's where I stuff trash).

Five People I'm tagging: (some are repeats) Julie, Cassie, Frogtracks, Furious, and Cyndi

I liked this list because it was quick and easy!

Apartment Hunting

2006-08-03T23:00:00.000-06:00

If you've already read "What's the secret" then you've read this post. I just changed the title and deleted the first paragraph.

I guess I better fill you in on what I've been up to this past weekend. I drove out to Salt Lake City on Thursday and stayed the night with my cousin Cassie (Cassie - thanks for letting me crash at your place and hang out with you for a few days). On Friday I drove up to Ogden and did some necessary stuff for school. I spent that afternoon driving around looking at places I had writtendown on my big list of possible living arrangements. Boy, there's a big chunk of Ogden that is out the realm of possibility for me because of it's questionable atmosphere (i.e. ghetto). I left Ogden about 2:30 to drive up to Mountain Home and visit an old friend. I got to Ede's apartment (which happens to be the apartments I lived in while in Idaho) and hung out there for the afternoon. Ede was at work until 10:30pm, so I took a nap and watched some TV and just recovered from a long day of driving.

The entire weekend was spent staying up late reminiscing and being lazy. In fact, I think I was in my pajamas more than I was not, because we practically didn't ever leave her apartment. "I'm sure glad you can just make yourself at home and you aren't high maintenance" Ede said on Saturday night when we realized it was 7:00 and we were still in our pjs. I said, "Don't ever move to Paris, because it might be a different story". Really, it was a great weekend; nice and relaxing, and I only went there to visit Ede anyway.

On Monday I drove back to Salt Lake and spent the evening with Cassie. We went to Cafe Rio for dinner, and I was still extremely impressed with the amazing food there. I spent the next two days looking for apartments. Again the dilema of ghetto vs. too expensive crept into the mix. I finally got frustrated and headed to Vernal with thoughts of foregoing school for a semester or two. Those thoughts are being forcible shoved away now because I really don't want to lose my Pell grant, and I really want to start school. Everything except a place to live is taken care of, and having a place to live is overrated, right? I'm contemplating a trip on Saturday to look at more places closer to the Hill Air Force Base; hopefully there will be good news in my next blog.

Just call me Charlie Brown

2006-07-25T22:18:00.000-06:00

I've been a little wishy-washy lately. That's the reason for the title. As many of you know, I decided about 4 weeks ago to go back to school. It took me a long time to make the decision, and it wasn't an easy one. I had already applied to school back in February as a just-in-case thing. I had finally made my decision when I got a little not-too-sure about having enough money and all that. Plus, I found out that most of the classes I needed were online.

...this is a good time to tell you I'm going to study Electronic Engineering...

Anyway, back to the wishy-washy. I started thinking maybe I should stay here; just for one or two semesters. I would be able to have a good job and go to school; thereby saving up more money and paying off more debt before moving out to the city. If I did this though, I would definitely have to move into a place of my own...with a roommate (all apartments in Vernal are too expensive for me to afford on my own). I found a couple of possibilities, and just when I was almost sure I would stay in Vernal, I found out all the online classes only have 6 slots and most were already full. And there I was trying to decide again if I should move.

...this is a good time to tell you I'm going to school at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah...

I'm pretty sure that I will be moving, but this next weekend will help me firm up that decision. I'm going out to Ogden to look for an apartment (hopefully without a roommate) and to finish up some school paperwork stuff. I'll let you know if my decision changes, but for now you can count on me living in Ogden starting August 21st, or sometime close to that. Wish me luck, because I'm going to take 17 semester hours my first semester.

...this is a good time to tell you that you can stop calling me Charlie Brown...

Independence Day Fun

2006-07-08T11:34:00.000-06:00

What a week it's been. I took three days off work (plus the 4th) because I had a friend from Arizona and a friend from Heber coming for a visit. Monday I went out to Salt Lake City and picked Leslie up at the airport. Then we drove through Heber and picked up Sarah. The three of spent the 4th in Vernal. We woke up early and...

Went to the parade...

And the Dinosaur Museum...

Had a blast at the annual family barbeque...

And went to watch fireworks with my cousin Kevin, Cassie's friend David, and David's brother James.

The next day we woke up early to go to Provo because Sarah had classes. We hung out in Provo doing some shopping and taking a nap while we waited for her to get out of class. That afternoon...

we went to Bridal Veil Falls...

Ate dinner with Sarah's mom Sue and brother Dan...

And went to visit her sister Maria's family in Alpine (picture to be posted at a later time).

On Thursday we went to Salt Lake City. We ate at Cafe Rio...my first time as well as Leslie's first time. I loved it and will definitely be frequenting there whenever I'm in Salt Lake City or Provo. I couldn't believe how in love with that burrito I was!! After lunch...

We went to see the temple...

The Joseph Smith Memorial...

And the Conference Center.

By the end of the tour at the Conference Center, it was time to take Leslie to the airport. A sad goodbye after a fun filled few days.

Where are all the Firework stands?

2006-06-27T21:30:00.000-06:00

I'm just saying, 4th of July is one week away, and there are no firework stands in all of Vernal. Katie claims there is one in Walmart's parking lot that's been there for a week, but I was there on Saturday and there was no firework stand. She also swears that the white tent in front of Smith's is a firework tent, but how am I suppose to know that. There are no signs telling me of the great fireworks within, and besides, a white tent is not the same as the big stands like the one pictured above.

I'm not even the biggest buyer of fireworks. My tastes are farely simple. I like a few sparklers, some ground bloom flowers, and some lightning flashers (you definitely don't want to look directly at the flashers, but I love them because you can do silly things in slow motion in front of the flashing and it looks cool). But today I wasn't looking for any of those. I was looking for those little bags of powder you throw on the ground to make popping noises. I think they are called poppers, and they are by far my favorite "firework", if you can call them that. I just love to those little things, and I really wanted to take some to my niece and nephew as well. I guess the quest will continue tomorrow.

I still think it's weird that there aren't at least 4 or 5 firework stands in Vernal by now.

Lists, lists, and more lists

2006-06-23T22:20:00.000-06:00

These are not in any particular order. I just typed them as I thought of them. I tried to be creative, but it was hard when there were a lot of good things on everyone else's lists. (See Julie, Framed, Cardine, CJane and still to come Katie)

Things I want to do before I die:
1. Go to every continent (I've only got four more to go)
2. Go to all 50 states in the good ol' USA (click here to see my progress so far)
3. Get a doctorate degree
4. Go parachuting (yes I want to jump out of a perfectly good plane)
5. Go to the temple
6. Learn how to invest my money wisely (hopefully that comes sooner rather than later)
7. Get a scrapbook layout published in Creating Keepsakes magazine

Things I cannot do:
1. Speak a foriegn language fluently
2. Keep a regular exercise schedule (I'm really trying to work on this one)
3. Save money
4. Keep up on my journal
5. Wake up the first time my alarm goes off
6. Go to bed when I should
7. Make a scrapbook page in less than an hour

Things that will attract me to my future spouse:
1. Sense of humor
2. Physically attractive (now before you think I'm shallow; most of the boyfriends and the one husband that I have had were not attractive to me until I got to know them, but then they all became physically attractive because of thier personalities)
3. Quirky in a good way
4. Willing to admit when he's wrong & willing to say I'm sorry
5. Outgoing and open (not shy)
6. Enjoy trying new things; including food, activities, and seeing new places
7. A great smile, and using it often (good teeth are an essential part of this one)
*Note: Mr. Darcy would do just fine* :)

Things I say often:
1. Sweet!
2. There's no smiling (to my nephew and niece to get them to smile)
3. ______ National Forest this is Alyson
4. You're mama

Books currently reading/in my reading queue:
1. The Book of Mormon (just finished Jacob 5...man I love that chapter)
2. The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto
3. Refer to my to read list

Movies I could watch over and over:
1. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
2. Emperor's New Groove
3. A&E's Pride and Prejudice
4. Pretty Woman
5. Empire Records
6. Friends (yeah, I know it's not a movie, but whatever)

Things I'm afraid of:
1. Gaining weight (and yet, I'm not afraid of eating/food...weird how that works)
2. Living with my parents forever
3. Spiders
4. Strange noises at night when I'm alone
5. Chronic diseases
6. Losing a loved one
7. Getting a divorce

Update on Pipecleaner

2006-06-22T17:38:00.000-06:00

I know you all got sick of looking at this post for so long, but I had to tell everyone. There is new stuff posted to the pipecleaner page. There are more songs to dance to, and more dance moves; plus you can not control the pipecleaner with your keyboard. There's also a human dancer also, but I enjoy the pipecleaner a lot more. Here's the link so you don't have to scroll down to the previous post.

Pipecleaner Dance Updated

WHAT?? Firefighter? Me?

2006-06-19T20:25:00.000-06:00

I know you all can't believe it, but yes, I went to fire school. I am trained to fight forest fires. Now, before you all get overly concerned for my safety, I won't be fighting fires. I'm not actually a fire fighter. For one thing, I didn't pass the pack test: the extremely difficult physical test for fire fighters. The other thing, I didn't go to fire school to become a fire fighter. My boss just wants me to be able to work in other functions during a fire (i.e. purchasing, payroll, etc...). In order to work on anything during a fire I have to have fire training. It wasn't my favorite week, but it was kind of nice to be out of the office. We had two and a half boring days of classroom learning. Then we went up the mountain to the Firefighter memorial up by Flaming Gorge. After the memorial we went over to BLM land (since the BLM was in charge of fire school this year) to campout. I don't know of any BLM land that isn't flat, brown, and ugly. Okay, that's a bit of exaggeration, but this campsite was pretty pathetic. There was sagebrush, pinion, juniper, dirt, rocks, no picnic tables or logs to sit on, and to top it all off, a gigantic thunderstorm with lots of rain. The upside, we did have a nice view of some beautiful cliffs and Red Fleet. It's also probably a good thing we got so much rain, because with all the lightning and sagebrush around we might have had first hand experience fighting a fire; except we didn't have any tools until the next afternoon. We were suppose to "fight" a controlled fire on Friday, but we had an unstable atmosphere; they wouldn't want the fire to get out of controll. Luckily, that meant we got to come home a day early...WAHOO!

Oh, I almost forgot about the fact that I had to buy $150 fire boots that gave me the worst blisters ever!

Happy Birthday Jenny

2006-05-16T05:21:00.000-06:00

Jenny turned ... well I better keep that number a secret in case she doesn't want anyone to know ... four days after Katie's birthday. We had a nice family get together for her birthday. Since she is always the one who makes the cake, I had to resort to buying her a cake (since I know my cake wouldn't have turned out so great). My mom made a delicious pasta salad, one Jen's favorites. We thought we didn't have any candles for the birthday cake, so we just sang happy birthday to her without candles. Right after Jeff announced that we needed candles and my dad said we did have some (I guess those two weren't in on our no candles discussion earlier), so we went and found the candles and sang happy birthday one more time. We had a fun night hanging out with just the family.

Jen, we're all glad that you are part of our family. I'm glad you are always there to keep us in line :). You do so much for the family and I want you to know that I am grateful for everything. I know I don't always show my appreciation as much as I should, but I do appreciate it. It is so much fun having you in the house right behind where I live. I like that I am able to walk over any time and visit with you. Happy birthday! I hope you have a wonderful year!

*Note- This post was written at a later date and then back dated to Jen's birthday.

Happy Birthday Katie!!

2006-05-12T22:42:00.000-06:00

This is my little tribute to my little sister. That makes sense right...little tribute/little sister :) Anyway, it's her birthday today. The whole family went out to Chinese for dinner to celebrate...Chinese is her favorite. After dinner we all went to the park to have cake and ice cream and homemade rootbeer. It was a nice small party with only about 25 of her closest friends ;) It was a great turnout! After she opened presents, the family all went home and Katie and her friends stayed and played night games - one of Katie's favorite pass times.

Katie is 17 today...which means I'm really old! Katie, I just wanted to let you know how happy I am to have a little sister. There may have been a time when I was upset that you took my place as the youngest, but that was short lived and about 17 years ago :) Of course, I'm kidding. I was never really upset. I love you and hope you have a great 17th year of life! Here's to all that it has to hold!!

The Graduate

2006-05-07T00:30:00.000-06:00

My cousin Julie graduated from Southern Utah University this weekend with a degree in Economics. My mom, grandma, cousin, and I went down for the ceremony and the after party (get together at the park). It was tons of fun to be there to support Julie and spend time with family. I took lots of pictures as usual...here's just a couple.

Easter

2006-04-14T23:36:00.000-06:00

Easter was really fun for me this year. For the past, probably 8 years I've been away from my family and I haven't done anything traditional for Easter. It was great to dye eggs again and go up to Red Fleet with my family (Red Fleet is actually a Winkler tradition - my Aunt Verona's side of the family - but sometimes we tag along). I dyed Easter Eggs twice; once with my niece and nephew, and once with Cassie, Shaneen, and Katie. Here are some of my favorite pictures from that weekend.

Footloose

2006-04-03T17:15:00.000-06:00

This is awesome! My friend Rachel sent this webpage to me. Give it a try. Make sure you move your mouse over the thumbnails to the side to the beat of the music.

Pipecleaner Dance

The Little White Man

2006-03-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you're all wondering what in the world I'm talking about (except Julie, oh, and Cassie who heard about it last weekend). Back in 1997, when Julie and I were roommates, we were walking downtown and one of us mentioned the color of the crosswalk man. I can't remember who mentioned the color first, but the other one disagreed. I thought/know that the crosswalk man is white and she thought/mistook that the crosswalk man is green. As YOU can see in the picture to the left, I am right. Actually, this post is not about who is right or wrong; it's really about the funny arguments we had about the color of the crosswalk man. Every time we saw a crosswalk sign we went into a long list of things that were and weren't green or white. I would say, "Is that grass white?" Julie would say, "Is that Utah license plate green?" I would say, "Is that leaf white?" And Julie would say, "Is that cloud green?" It went on like that for months.

This past weekend, Julie brought it up again and we laughed and laughed. In her defense, I found a picture of a green crosswalk man. However, this crosswalk man really IS green, but Julie might disagree.

Good Food and Great Company

2006-03-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my cousin's blog, I spent the weekend in Salt Lake City with my cousin Cassie and Julie. I drove out to SLC on Friday afternoon to do a little scrapbook shopping before we all met up (neither of the others are scrapbookers, so I thought I'd save them the torment). Julie didn't leave until after work, so she arrived around 9:00. Cassie and I went to eat at Olive Garden because I was craving their wonderful Chicken Castellino. It was amazing as always!! Right on time, at the end of our meal, Julie called and said she was just driving into the city. We met her at Cassie's house and spent the whole night talking. We attempted to go to sleep mulitple times, but the chit chat continued. The chit chat was my favorite part of the entire trip.

After little sleep, we all got ready and went to eat at McGrath's. McGrath's is a fish place that I had tried a few times in Boise. I was really hoping that they would have their wonderful Salmon with a Raspberry glaze, but I was not in luck. It is a special item, and not always on the menu. For all I know it was only on the menu the one time I tried it. I had the stuffed halibut instead. It was good, but a little to rich. Cream cheese was one of the stuffing ingredients, and (while I love cream cheese) I ended up having to scrap out the stuffing half way through to be able to finish the fish. Cassie had the shrimp and Julie had the steak and shrimp. We went shopping for a while after dinner trying to shed a few pounds (from our wallets, if not from our hips).

We went out to see our cousins' Jordan & Stacey's house. It is beautiful and well decorated. I may have to hire Stacey as my decorator (whenever I get a house of my own). We visited there for a while and then went to Johnny Carinos for dinner. Their Italian sodas are awesome and they give you free refills, so I drank three (of the raspberry variety). I had the pot roast, which was good, but not good enough to ever buy again. Plus it was nothing compared to my dad's pot roast. I also tried Julie's tortollini which is what I will be getting next time. Cassie and Stacey had steaks that both thouroughly enjoyed. Jordan got a seafood pasta with mussels and many other seafoods mixed in. That is what I almost ordered, but wanted to try something new (I mean who's ever heard of an Italian pot roast?)

We ended the night with a movie at Cassie's house and take home dessert from Johnny's. Julie and I sat on Cassie's 5 foot Love Sac (that's my next big purchase; I may need a loan though). We watched Connie & Carla which is about two girls who are hiding from some gangsters. They pretend they are drag queens in LA, so they are girls pretending to be guys dressed as girls. It has some very funny parts, but the ending is a little weird.

We went out for breakfast the next day, and then to Baskin Robins (as I always told my mom when I was a kid, there's always room for ice cream because it can melt and fit in all the cracks between the food in your full belly). Unfortunately they did not have my very favorite flavor. Love Potion #31. It only comes out around Valentines and I haven't had it in 3 years. I was in a decent size town in Texas for the last two Valentines Days, but Texas is overrun by Braums and therefore no other ice cream store can survive except in the largest cities (I miss Braums too). Some final shopping was interrupted by phone calls by concerned family about the condition of the roads. Julie and I decided we better leave earlier than expected. The roads ended up being mostly good, and never horrible. Julie reported the same for the roads on her way home. I had a blast, and can't wait to do it again. Thanks to my beautiful cousins for such a great weekend.

New Blog

2006-03-12T00:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, I created a new blog. Check it out! It's called Fifty Books and there's link to it on the sidebar. It's not a very creative name, but it serves it's purpose. Don't worry, that one's just for books, so I will still be posting on this blog (I know that was a big worry for all of you).

Goodbye Roller Grills, Coffee Bars, and Soda Machines

2006-03-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

It's official! I no longer work at 7-11. Hallelujah! I will never clean another roller grill (that had to be the worst part of the whole job), wash another coffee pot, or change another box of soda syrup. I am on to bigger and better things; like wearing dresses to work, worrying whether the fax goes in face up or face down (I won't worry too much), working a regular M-F schedule, and learning how to work with Lotus Notes (only for a year until they finally catch up with the rest of the government and start using Microsoft Outlook).

No more wearing my mom's Sketchers (thanks mom) so my feet don't hurt as bad. No more Katie sneaking out in the middle of the night to come and visit (I wish I could have gotten away with stuff like that). No more Kristi coming in to buy a Rock Star because that's the only time we ever got to see each other. No more calling my dad to ask if he delivered the pay checks yet (he's the UPS man). No more crazy sleep schedules because I had to stay up all night for 3 nights, then have 3 days off, then work the afternoon schedule.

HALLELUJAH!!!

Well, that's all this post was going to be, but now I have something amusing to add to the story. While trying to figure out how to spell Hallelujah, my little sister came out of her room. I asked her how to spell it and she told me something like this. H-A-L-E-J-A-H. I said, there has to be a least another 'L' in there because with out it, it looks more like Hal Jah. We both cried because we were laughing so hard. When I said Hal Jah, it sounded like I said Hell Yeah! Which, by the way, would also have represented the way I feel.

Great Lines in Country Songs

2006-03-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

I know there's always the age old joke that all country songs are about losing your house, car, spouse, job, dog, etc..., but there are some really good/funny lines in some country songs. These are a few that I really like (in some cases I don't like the song, just the line).

"Keeper of the Cheerios" -She's Somebody's Hero by Jamie O'Neal.

"Stand out in the front yard and cry all night long; go ahead and water the lawn." -My Give a Damn's Busted byJo Dee Messina.

"I hope you both choke on a pickle; well that would tickle me to death." -Do You Want Fries With That byTim McGraw.

"When you said I'm down with that, well it meant you had the flu" -Back When by Tim McGraw.

"You've had some of the best times you'll never remember with me." -Alcohol by Brad Paisley.

The other side of the coin:
Horrible lines that almost ruin a good song.

"If there's life after this, I'll be there to meet you with a warm, wet kiss" -Making Memories of Us by .

Yuck! Come on, that doesn't sound romantic; it sounds gross. What's wrong with a long, sweet kiss or a warm, sweet kiss or anything besides a warm, wet kiss?

"Your uncle and I made quite a pair flying F-15s through hostile air. He went down but they missed my by a hair." -Something To Be Proud of by Montgomery Gentry.

Okay, so this one probably wouldn't bother anyone else, but being a former F-15 maintainer it really bothers me everytime I hear it. Now you have to hear why (unless you chose not to continue reading). We'll ignore the fact that it would have been highly unlikely for the singers father to fly an F-15 in combat (since the first time was in 1991; excluding use by the Israeli Air Force) and go to the more obnoxious fact that and F-15 has NEVER been shot down by an enemy aircraft. Hmmm, weird. They could have said F-16s, that would have been much more believable. I could go on for paragraphs about all the military mistakes in movies, but I won't since this is a post about country songs.

27...The Year that Wasn't

2006-03-05T02:10:00.000-07:00

For some odd reason for the entire past year I have told people I was 28 (only when asked), and then had to correct myself because I was only 27. I guess it's better to think you are older rather than younger than you actually are. Maybe something inside me knew that my 27th year wasn't going to be the best and I was subconsciously yearning to be 28. Well, I finally made it, and I'm glad. 28 years old!! Who ever heard of someone being happy to turn 28? I can understand 16-driving, 18-not a kid anymore, 20-not a teenager anymore, 21-drinking if that's your cup of tea(or glass of wine), and even 25-now you can rent a car, but 28? What advantages does 28 have over 27? The answer is, nothing! But I now have a new year full of possibilities, and hopefully better things than the last year.

27 wasn't....
A happy marriage
Keeping a wonderful job
Visiting family (not living with family)
Continuing my education in Radiology
Having a baby
Getting a new car
etc...

I do have plenty to be grateful for, and there were good things about 27; it just wasn't my best year. Future events will most likely change my perspective on 27 and I will eventually look back and say, "27...the year that was".

P.S. While not the ideal situation, I like living with my family, and I am grateful for there hospitality, generosity, and help through 27.

United States Forest Service

2006-03-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Wondering why I'm writing about the Forest Service? Well, it's because I have just been offered a job there!! I will be a program support clerk so I will be working in an office...not in the great outdoors. I'm starting on the 20th of March and I'm so excited.

I am currently working at 7-11, which I hate and only took as a temporary job. Luckily it was a temporary job since I only worked there a little over a month. I gave my boss my notice today and she was disappointed, but I wasn't in the least. Anyway, I'll be making way more money at the Forest Service, and I'm positive I'll like this job 1000 times more; better make that 100,000 times more.

A word of warning for anyone looking to get a government job...IT TAKES FOREVER!! I applied for this position in December! It's not just this job that took that long either. I worked for the Department of Defense and that job took me 4 months to get. Even the Air Force took it's own sweet time (you would think they could move things along faster since they send recruiters out to sign people up). Actually with the Air Force, I knew right away that I "had the job", but I waited 5 months before I left for basic training.

Well, I wanted to let everyone know what is going on in my life. I know I've been a little dormant on my blog lately, but I think that's all going to change. Afterall, I'll be sitting at a computer most of the day!

My Red Countries

2006-02-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

I decided to post which countries I've visited. You would think that I would have been to more place in Europe since I spent 3 years in England, but I haven't; I have a have no good excuse. Anyway, if anyone else want to try this out the webpage is World 66. It's a pretty neat website.

I've visited 8 countries. In order they are: United States, Canada, Mexico, Iceland, United Kingdom, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and German. I've come to the conclusion that I really need to get out and see more of the world. I really want to go to Japan, but maybe I should try China and Russia first. That way it would look more impressive on my map.

My Red States

2006-02-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

How much fun!! I read this idea in Cassie's blog, who I guess got the idea from Cardine, who is a friend of my cousin Julie (I think). Anyway, I've wanted to figure out all the states I've visited for quite some time, so this gives me a reason to do that, and a good post idea since it's been months since my last post. I only need to visit 18 more states and all my states would be red. Anybody want to go with me to Hawaii?

An e-mail to my 47 year old self

2005-11-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

I found a place where I could send an e-mail to myself in the future (an e-mail time capsule). It's set to be sent to me in 20 years. I have to have the same e-mail address, so hopefully yahoo doesn't go under before then. I guess that means I better keep that account also:). Here's the website, in case anyone else would like to try it...e-mail time capsule. Also, I stole the title for this blog from my cousin Julie. She recently wrote a post titled A letter to my 8 year old self. Well here's what I wrote in my e-mail.

Wow! You're almost 50!! That's pretty crazy. I hope you are still in good health and loving life. I hope that you have accomplished many of your goals and that some of the visions I have for you have been realized. Let me start by reminding you what I was going through at the time I wrote this letter.

I have just moved home to live with mom and dad. It is difficult, but I'm sure I'll make it. It's not difficult becuase of the family, because I love them just as much as ever. It is difficult because I'm so used to being independent. I am separated from Mike and we are getting a divorce. What a tough time it is going through this. Some days I don't know how I will make it through, but others are filled with hope for the future. I hope you are reading this and thinking how much of a blessing these times were. I hope you are also thinking about how wonderful your life has become because of the trials you endured at this time. I'm sure that you are. It is still difficult to think at times that my 7 year old self would never have pictured things being the way they are right now. I would have never imagined 20 years ago that I would be married and getting a divorce, or that I wouldn't already have children. I hope you have children, and if you don't, I'm sure you've come to terms with it by now.

I'm also unemployed. I hope I find a job that I love soon. Maybe by the time you read this, you'll be close to retirement. I hope that you are close to that wonderful time that you get to spend doing whatever pleases you. I also hope that you have found a wonderful man to share that time with. I hope that he is worthy to take you to the temple, and I hope that you have become and remained worthy of that wonderful blessing. I hope that you have chosen wisely in the man you will spend the rest of your life and eternity with. I hope that you don't have to go through the pain of divorce ever again. I hope that if you haven't found the man of your dreams, that you have enjoyed life to the fullest anyway.

I would also like to tell you a little about the family at this time. I really love to spend time with all of them. Mom and Dad have been so supportive of me. Dad is still driving for UPS; probably about 10 years away from retiring. Mom is still teaching High School. She's been teaching for over 10 years now. Jen, John, Jeffery, and Megan live in the house behind Mom and Dad, so I get to see them often. It's such a joy having them close by. I love to walk through the backyard and see those cute kids anytime I want. Kristi and Nate live about 3 minutes away, so they are close also. Kris and I go get a soda together almost everyday. She is still be best friend and I'm happy to be close again, so we can spend more time together. She is always such a good listener and lets me talk about all my problems. I hope I do the same for her. Katie is a Junior in High School and very active in drama and choir. She is going through those difficult teenage years and loving/hating every minute of it.

I love to spend time scrapbooking with all my sisters and my mom. I also love to play games (right now my favorite is Chainz 2 on the computer). I am reading the Book of Mormon and loving every bit of it. I'm in Chapter 6 of Helaman and plan to finish by the end of the year. President Hinkley challenged all the members of the church to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I decided I better get to it, since I've never really read the entire thing before. What a testimony builder it is. I am half way through with school and taking a break before finishing the rest. I hope to have a degree before I turn 30. I hope I haven't left that for you to accomplish before you turn 50.

I hope that your life is better than I ever imagined it to be. I hope you are successful in whatever you have done. I wish I was the one receiving a letter from you. This letter will act as a nice walk down memory lane for you, but the reverse would serve as a warning/guide for me. I guess that would take all the faith and wonder out of life. I guess, for your sake, I hope I do a good job at living this life, and by the time you read this, hopefully you'll know if I have.

Love,
Alyson (age 27)

Utah

2005-10-28T21:48:00.000-06:00

I know that I've been absent for awhile. It's a lot of work packing and moving half way across the country. Okay, maybe it wasn't half way, unless you're counting North to South. The trip was a little tiresome, and I've been trying to recover from it all week. Getting stomach flu last night didn't help the recovery process.

My dad arrived in Texas on Friday. We went to dinner with the sister missionaries and the Evenson family. The Evensons invited us to their house for cookies afterwards, and we ended up visiting with them for over 2 hours. I really needed to get home and do some more packing, but it was really nice to just visit for a while and not think about packing. I stayed up until after 3am trying to finish up all the packing.

Bright and early on Saturday, the sisters came over to help us load the trailer. My dad and I had already loaded my car in the trailer. Yes, the car and all my stuff went in the trailer. My dad had borrowed a friend's 26 foot long trailer to come and get me. We had planned on getting everything loaded and get on the road by noon. We wanted to try to make it to my cousin Wes's wedding reception in Topeka that night. Well, we didn't get on the road until 2:00pm.

When we got on the freeway the trailer was a little off balance, and was rocking the car a lot if we went over 45MPH. We stopped and ate lunch and tried to figure out what to do. We took some of the heavier boxes from the back of the trailer and put them in the back of the Yukon. That seemed to do the trick, but we still could only go 55MPH tops. That made for a really long trip. We stopped that night in Wichita, KS. On Sunday we drove 14hrs to Cheyenne, WY. On Monday we drove the rest of the way to Vernal, and pulled into my parents house at 6:30pm. In total, I think the driving time was 25hrs. My dad and I were both ready to be done with the trip. We spent that evening hanging out with the family.

Last night I got extremely sick with what I think was the stomach flu. I spent all day today sleeping and resting. I was finally able to eat something, and keep it down, this evening. I think I should be back to normal by tomorrow. I'm hoping to get the rest of my stuff unpacked tomorrow, and then I'll be ready to start job hunting on Monday. I'll try to keep everyone updated on how the job hunting is going. I hope to find something quick, because I hate job hunting.

Top Five

2005-10-12T14:45:00.001-06:00

I thought I would do a light hearted post since my last two posts were a little more serious. There are a few of my top five favorite things in a few different categories. Actually, I didn't spend too much time thinking about any of these lists, so I'm sure they are not completely accurate as the top five, but they are at least an representation of what I like. (The #1 one of each category is accurate.)

Movies
5. Princess Bride
4. Empire Records
3. Goonies (that's just a classic)
2. Top Gun
1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Cartoon Movies
5. Toy Story I & II
4. Beauty and the Beast
3. Robin Hood (childhood favorite)
2. Monster's Inc.
1. The Emperor's New Groove

Novels
5. The Lord of the Rings Series (by J.R.R. Tolkien)
4. Harry Potter Series (by J.K. Rowling)
3. The Children of the Promise Series (by Dean Hughes)
2. The Work and the Glory Series (by Gerald N. Lund)
1. A Prayer for Owen Meany (by John Irving)

Television programs
5. Law and Order: SVU
4. Will and Grace
3. Medium
2. The 4400
1. Friends

Being Prepared

2005-10-05T07:58:00.000-06:00

Note: what follows is my testimony of the beautiful, amazing things that the Lord provides to me. If you don't like beautiful and amazing things :) or just anything religious, you are welcome to skip this post; however, you may enjoy my testimony and I invite you read about these important things in my life.

A couple of nights ago I realized something amazing. I realized that over the past few months (since around March) the Lord has really been preparing me to handle the events in my life right now. I always try to see the hand of the Lord in the things happening in life, but this specific realization had elluded me until the other night. I knew that what was happening probably had a purpose, but I hadn't thought about how I would have not handled things nearly as well only a few months previously. Basically what I'm getting at is: the events of the past 6 months had a purpose, and that purpose was to help me when times got rough (I'm sure there's more purposes as well, but this one purpose is the one that stands out right now).

Let me go into a little further detail. In March two missionaries came to Wichita Falls, Texas. Their names are Sister Leslie Young and Sister Sara Villella (that sounds like Vanilla, only with l's in place of the n's). BTW, for those who don't know anything about missionaries, the Sister at the front is a titled that women missionaries go by while on their missions; men's title on a mission is Elder.

Well, Sister Young and Sister Villella starting coming to visit me on a regular basis. They are two of the most wonderful people I have ever met. They showed so much love and kindness to me, that I couldn't help but become fast friends with them. Because of them, I started going to church again, started reading my scriptures again, and started saying daily prayers again. I have grown so much in faith and strength in the gospel because of all of these things. I owe a lot to those two sister missionaries. They have both been transferred since that time, and I miss them dearly.

Well, now on to how these things have helped prepare me for the trials that I am faced with at this time in my life.

Church uplifts my spirit. I never come away from church on Sunday feeling bad, only feeling full of good things and ready to face another week; whatever it holds. I have relearned all the things I knew as a child growing up in the church. I have discovered new things that I didn't know, or maybe they are just things that are more profound now. I have also found a group of people I can lean on when I need some help. (I know I've always had family and great friends for this support as well, but the church gave added support and has been my support in Wichita Falls.)

Prayer has given me a closer relationship with God. I feel more thankful with each prayer I offer, and I know that I have recieved added strength and support for things I couldn't do on my own. I especially like taking the time each day to concentrate on the things I am grateful for. It helps me see the tender mercies of the Lord in each day of my life.

Scriptures are an essential part of my life now. They are most often the way I get answers to my prayers. Something could be bothering me all day long, and each night while reading I find comfort, peace of mind, or a verse that screams "This is what you need to do". I know that these precious books hold the answers to all the worlds problems. I've been concentrating most of my scripture study in the Book of Mormon. I've never really read it from cover to cover, and decided it was time to do that. I love the quote by Joseph Smith, "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” It is truly another testiment of Jesus Christ. It testifies on every page of his ministry and his mission. It is an amazing book, and I love the feeling I have while reading it. I know that no one can read this book with a real intent to discover if it's true, without coming to the conclusion that it is in fact the most true book ever written.

I am so grateful for all of these things. I know that Jesus has made it possible for every person to return to live with him in eternal happiness. No person can do it by themselves; it is only through the Redeemer of the World that we have any chance to accomplish this. I know that without all these things; which have added strength, comfort, and support; that I would have a much more difficult time dealing with the circumstances I am faced with today. I know that God knows each of us, and he knows the challenges each of us face, and he helps us along the way so we can do the best we can. I felt it was important for me to write about these things, because they have brought happiness into my life, even when tragic things are happening.

Decisions

2005-09-30T07:58:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had to make a decision that you wish someone else would make for you. I've come across one of those decisions. It's not even a decision I would like to make at all, but it seems inevitable, and out of my control that this decision must be made. For the past 8 years the Air Force has been making this decision for me, but I guess it won't be anymore.

Wondering what this decision is? Well it is where I will be living. I have a few options, and I just can't decide what the best option is. Here is my options and therefore my dilemma.

I could stay where I am. Wichita Falls is not a place that I would have chosen to live (Air Force and husband brought me here); however, I have a wonderful job here. It's such a wonderful job that it would be the reason I would stay here. I mean, I just don't think I'll ever find another job that pays me while I'm doing my homework.

I could move home to Utah. I love my family, and have always wanted to move home; or at least closer to home. This would be a great option, but I don't know if I could find a good job in Vernal, Utah. I joined the Air Force last time I was in Vernal, because I felt a little bit like I was stuck there. This time around I won't have that option, so what if I start to feel stuck again? Of course, the biggest pull of this option is being close to my wonderful family, because I really would love that.

I could move to Chicago. My friend, Rachel, lives in Chicago and has always thought I should move up there. She has offered to let me come and stay with her for a little while to see how I like it, and if I can find a job. That sounds like a great option, except I'm not sure if I can handle the winters in Chicago. Plus, the cost of living is a lot more expensive up there, so that might be a problem.

I could also move to Mountain Home, Idaho. My friend, Ede, said I should come up there to live. I said to Ede, "If you didn't live in Mountain Home, would you come back?" And she said, "No." Plus, if I didn't think that I had many options in Vernal, I know I have little to no options in Mountain Home. That one is probably not going to happen; sorry Ede.

All this is a little hard to figure out for me. I don't really know what to do. And the worst part about it, it's a decision I really need to make in the next three weeks. I'll let you all know what I decide when I finally decide. I sure wish this decision wasn't even necessary, but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to.

Break-fast

2005-09-26T08:14:00.000-06:00

I decided to break my fast yesterday, with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It's the only thing I had on hand that I thought would be good to eat when breaking a 4 day fast. I didn't want to shock my system too much with really heavy or greasy foods. I couldn't even eat the whole bowl of soup.

I didn't walk away from this experience completely empty handed.
Good things from my fast:
I appreciate food more
I quit drinking Mt. Dew
I lost 5 lbs.

I'm sure there's more, but those are the ones that come to mind right off. Plus, I'm sure I detoxified my body somewhat, or at least my digestive system. Maybe the psyllium husk was the reason I started feeling so hungry again, or maybe my body was just ready to eat again.

I'm still proud of my four days. It wasn't the 15 I had aimed for, but as the saying goes "It's better to shot for the stars and missed, than aim for the manure and hit."

Day Four

2005-09-24T12:22:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm officially into day four (as of an hour and twenty-two minutes ago). In case you've only read my previous post, and not the comments attached, I decided to start the juice fast at noon on Wednesday, September 21. That means that I've been going at this for three full days now.
It's true what they say, I'm not even hungry anymore. I really don't think I believed that would happen. I do still crave food, but not all the time. It usually only happens when someone else mentions food, or I'm around food of any kind. I guess my love of food is driven by more than hunger.

I've decided that I should try to take my juice fast up a notch, thanks to C Jane's comment (she's the one who gave me the idea to do this in the first place) about trying an intestinal cleanse. The website I referred to in my last post mentioned using psyllium husk. What do you know, my husband happened to have an entire canister of the stuff in the kitchen cupboard. He has tried to get me take it before, but I never would since it's labeled "Colon Cleanse". Talk about scary sounding, I don't want to be in the bathroom all day!! Well, since it's the weekend, and I'm trying to cleanse my body at this point in time, I figured I would give it a try. I hope I don't regret it; especially tonight at the General Relief Society Broadcast (those of us outside of Utah actually have to go to church to watch that). I also realized that I might need to up my water intake a little more. I have tried to drink plenty of water, but I could probably improve on that aspect.

As for feeling sick, that stage has passed. I'm pretty sure that my sick spell on day two was more the lack of Mt Dew in my system than it was the lack of food. I guess that really goes to show you how bad that stuff can be. It was always one of my goals to not start drinking it again after the fast, but I'm even more dedicated to that goal now.

I'll keep you guys posted. Just look for new comments under this post for now. (I got sick of scrolling to the bottom of the comments page to read new comments from the last post.)

Juice Fast

2005-09-20T12:07:00.000-06:00

I haven't decided if I'm crazy or not, but I'm going to try a juice fast. I read about it in another blog (a friend of my cousin) and really started thinking about all the benefits it might have. A little description of juice fasting:

First, this is a good webpage to refer to:
http://www.falconblanco.com/health/fasting.htm
Juice fasting is similar to regular fasting, except you are allowed to drink juice and water. It is preferable to drink all natural, fresh fruit or vegetable juices. The point of the fast is to cleanse your body of toxins that have built up in your body from bad food, and from the chemicals in food, etc...My cousin's friend did the fast for 20 days the first time, and this year is planning on just a 10 day fast. I really thought about how long I wanted to try this, and I think my goal is going to be 15 days. Everything I've read says that after 3 days your hunger subsides and you have more energy and mental clarity. I think the hunger part will be the hardest, and if I can make it past that, then I might as well try to get the full benefit of fasting for a longer period of time.

Some of the benefits that have persuaded me to try juice fasting:
Mental Clarity
Weight Loss
Increased Energy
Need less sleep
Organs are revitalized
Ease of movement
Breathing becomes fuller
Become aware of what you eat
Digestive system is rejuvenated
Body is detoxified

Well, that's just a few of the benefits. You should check out the webpage and read more about it. It's an interesting read, even if you don't want to try the fast. You may think I'm crazy, and I may think I'm crazy on day two or three, but I'm going to try it anyway. I'm starting this fast on Thursday, September 22, 2005. My cousin has decided to try this fast as well. We talked about it last night, and decided to post our comments to this blog. I'll be interested to see her reactions, and how they compare to my reactions. I'm sure I'll write a post about the whole experience after I'm finished. BTW, my last day of fasting should be October 6, 2005.

In-Laws

2005-09-14T10:04:00.000-06:00

Well, I thought, since I wrote a post all about my family, I should write a post about my in-laws as well. No, it won't be a post about how crazy they are (even if they are, just kidding). I really love my family on my husbands side. I recently went to San Antonio, and visited some of Mike's family. I came back with some pretty cute pictures of my nieces and nephew; some of which are included in this post.

We'll start with Mike's mom. Fay is Philippino and has a wonderful way of serving all of her kids whenever they are around. She is always cooking delicious Philippino food and will bring you a huge plate, with way too much, if you don't get up and get your own. She loves her grandchildren as well, and spoils them rotten with candies and treats.

Mike's dad, Ulysses McMullen, Sr. (yes Mike's first name is Ulysses) is a wonderful and caring man. He lives close to his mom, and is always around whenever we are down there. It's wonderful to see that his parents can still be great friends, even though they are no longer married. He has an over abundance of generosity and has a very strong work ethic; it is easy to see where Mike gets that from.

His oldest brother is John. John and his girlfriend Jenny have raised Jenny's granddaughter, Leslie, since she was small. They have been excellent parents to Leslie. There concern and love for their family shows in their actions and thoughtful words. They are always volunteering to bring some food over to help feed everyone, or help out one of the family members in a time of need.

The next brother is Joe. Joe and his girlfriend Heather are the two that we spend most of our time with when we're in San Antonio. They are proud parents of three adorable kids, Abrianna (Boosh), Michael (Booty), and Syndney (Hootie). They never cease to amaze me with all their energy, and the amount of things they get done in any given day (that is referring to all five of them). They are huge Spurs fans, which explains the cute picture to the right. Heather and I get along like we're sisters, and it's fun for us to compare and see how exactly alike Joe and Mike are.

Mike is the third child, just like me. He is a wonderful man, and I love him with all my heart (oh mushy). He has an impeccible work ethic, and ends up taking on more than his share of the duties. He's also very humble about it, because if you tell him he is the best Military Training Leader on the base, he says "we all work hard." He is a generous person, always trying to help out those in need. He has the best sense of humor and is always cracking jokes about everyday things. You can't help but smile at his crazy view of life. I know I'm a little biased, but he's definitely the cutest and most wonderful of all his brothers :).

His next brother is Chris. Chris lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa. I've only met Chris once, so I don't know him too well. It's been over two years since that meeting, so forgive me if his paragraph is lacking a little. Chris is the youngest, and is 6 years younger than Mike, and he is a ham. That probably comes from having three older brothers.

Well, that's the in-laws in a nutshell. I know that I didn't do them justice. They are a fun bunch, and I'm glad to be a part of thier family. They've all made me feel so very welcomed.

P.S. I wish I had pictures of the rest of the family, but they are all on my home computer. Maybe I'll upload them later, if I remember. Also, sorry it took so long for me to post a new post :).

My Family

2005-08-25T15:11:00.000-06:00

Well, I figured that it was about time that I write a post dedicated to my wonderful family! I was born and raised in Vernal, Utah, and the rest of my immediate family still lives there. We'll start at the obvious starting place; my parents.

My dad is Myke, and he was born in Wyoming, but lived in Utah for much of his growing up years. He works for UPS as a driver, and is active in the branch of the LDS church that serves the detention center in Vernal. He is a wonderful listener and helps with my problems all the time.

My mom is Cheya. She was born in Nebraska and moved around a lot because her father was in the Army. She is a high school Biology teacher, and chef of the year (at least in our house). She loves to read, and is always taking time from her books to read to my cute little niece and nephew. She is a fun, loving, and caring mother and really can cook excellently.

Both of my parents are the most wonderful parents anyone could ask for. They have been supportive of every endeavor I undertake. They stand by me and keep me positive, even when I'm being negative.

My oldest sister is Jenny. She was the only sibling born outside of Utah. She was born in San Diego, California while my dad was stationed there with the Navy. She is the red head of the group and always the responsible, but fun, one. She is married to John Couture (for 9 years), and they have two wonderful children, Jeff (3) and Megan (1). She loves to be a mom, and is a wonderful one. Last year they moved into the house behind my parents, and have a gate between their backyards. Their two kids are spoiled to death living so close to Grandma and Papa, and Aunt Katie.

The next oldest is Kristi. She was born in Provo, Utah. She is the character of our family and always keeps us all on our toes. If Kristi's around, you'll always have a smile on your face and probably you'll be laughing at all her wonderful antics. She also lives in Vernal, with her boyfriend Nate Bingham.

I'm the third oldest, and I was born in Vernal, Utah. As I said earlier, I'm the only one that doesn't live in Vernal. I live in Wichita Falls, TX with my husband Mike McMullen. He is stationed here with the Air Force. I also served in the Air Force, and now I'm going to school; currently working towards a Bachelor's in Business Administration.

Katie is the youngest, and she is youngest by 11 years. She is a Junior in High School and is active in everything having anything to do with drama and singing. She is in the school's acapella choir, and performs in most plays that the school produces. She is very talented, and is an inspiration to all of us.

That's the immediate family, but I couldn't end without saying a little more about cute little Jeff and Megan. Jeff is almost 4 and has an amazing passion for trucks. He loves to learn about them, play with them, and talk about them. He knows everything a 3 year old could know about trucks. He also loves to read and play in the water (any water he can find). Megan is almost 2 and is full of expression. She can portray all her feelings just by the look on her face. She is a performer. She loves to be in the spotlight; entertaining people, and making them laugh. (Jenny was still pregnant with Megan in the above picture) We all get such a kick out of both of these two, and they bring so much joy into our lives.

Well, that's my family (in a nutshell). I love them, and wish Mike and I could live closer to them. My most fond memories are of times spent with my family.

Geocaching

2005-08-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine called the other night and asked me what geocaching is. (In case you didn't notice, that is listed in my interests.) I didn't have time to explain it to her, and I started thinking that others might have the same question. So here's my post on geocaching.

First off, here's the link to the geocaching site: http://www.geocaching.com.

Second, a short explanation that is hopefully understandable. Geocaching is basically a treasure hunt where you use GPS coordinates to find a "treasure". Now, it's not some big time treasure that's worth a lot of money; it's usually just little trinkets that people have left in tupperware containers at the listed coordinates. The fun is really in the hunt, and not in actually getting a treasure. On the webpage, you can look up any of these hidden "treasures" that are close to your location (by state, zip code, etc...) and then put the coordinates in a GPS receiver and go hunting. These "treasures" are called caches and are hidden all over the country, and all around the world.

There are some interesting & fun variations of this concept. Virtual caches use the same idea in that you are going to the listed coordinates to find something, but the thing you are looking for is usually a landmark, view, place, etc... In other words, the "treasure" is just the location of the cache. To claim a find on a virtual cache you usually have to answer a question listed on the webpage for that cache (on geocaching.com).

There are also things called Travel Bugs (TB). This is one of my favorite parts of geocaching. Travel bugs are items that move from cache to cache (with the help of the geocachers who visit the caches). You have to purchase a TB dog tag at the geocaching website and attach it to an object. Any object is okay, but usually TBs are small so that they are easy to carry and fit in other caches. I have quite a few TBs, and each has a different goal. I'll use one as an example to explain a little more. My TBs, Tracker #1 and Tracker #2 (twin Ty beanie dogs), are in a race to get from Vernal, Utah to Wichita Falls, Texas. One is in New Mexico and one is near Dallas, Texas. I placed them in a cache in Vernal, and then other cachers have moved them to different caches to help them along the way. It's fun to watch them move around and see which one will make it first. The goal of a TB can be anything. I have TBs who want to go to every state, and one's who want to see the world.

There are plenty of other aspects of geocaching, but those are the three main ones I wanted to touch on. Any fellow geocachers out there are welcome to put your two cents in: tell me what your favorite part of geocaching is, or just let me know anything important I forgot to mention.

The Peacegiver

2005-08-19T12:03:00.000-06:00

I've been reading a book that my dad gave me. This is actually the second time I've read it, and I think it's even more amazing the second time around. The book is The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes by James Farrell. Anyone who hasn't read it, I highly recomend it! It is an amazing book that has taught me so much about myself. It is a story about a man and wife who are having difficulties, but, as the preface says, it could be about father and child who aren't speaking, or neighbors fighting over property lines, or basically anyone and everyone. The first time I read it, I learned a lot, but I think circumstances in my life weren't just right for me to get the full meaning of the book. Who am I kidding, circumstances are different now then when I first read it, but in a few months I would probably get totally different meanings from the book for the circumstances that are taking place then. And I'm sure that there is no way that I will ever fully understand the meaning of the book. Anyway, I wanted to share a couple of parts that I really liked.

The first one stuck out the first time I read this book.

It is no accident that the Atonement will begin, as did the Fall, in a Garden. And it is no accident as well that the individuals in those gardens were each sinless, or that the events in those gardens centered on their exercise of agency - for Adam, whether he would partake of the bitter fruit, and for the Savior, whether he would partake of the bitter cup. The Savior and Adam faced a similar choice: If they did not partake, they would become lone men in paradise. Both partook that man might be. And by partaking of that bitterness, Adam came to know good and evil, and the Savior came to know all of the good and evil that had and would traspire in the hearts of men through all generations of time.

Part IV, Chapter 22, page 170

And this one suck out to me during the second reading, which I'm still in the middle of. These are the lessons that can be learned by reading the story of David and Abigail in First Samuel, Chapter 25.

First, [...] remember that the Lord has taken the sins of others on his own head. Second, remember that he has atoned for those sins and that our failure to forgive is therefore in essence a withholding from the Lord. And finally, remember that if we grant this forgiveness in full, he atones in full for the pain and burdens that have come at others' hands. He blesses us with his own love, his own appreciation, his own companionship, his own strength to endure.

Part 1, Chapter 7, page 70

Well, those are a couple quotes that I really liked, and helped my understanding and made me say WOW.

Seattle/Tacoma

2005-08-18T10:39:00.000-06:00

I recently found out that my husband may get transferred to McChord Air Force Base in Washington. It is located near Tacoma and, needless to say, we're very excited about it! My parents, especially my mom, is also excited. She's probably more excited than I am. Well, we don't know for sure if we're going, but if we do, it will be Dec. 2005 or Jan. 2006 when we get there.

I've been doing some online searching about the area; mostly looking for apartments. I've found out some wonderful things, and will probably have Mike and my schedule completely filled before we leave.

I already have a list of things I want to see & do. It's a very crude and quick list, which I plan to add to a lot in the next few months. I'm sure my parents could double it at least in five minutes. Anyway, here it is:

Pike Place Market
Space Needle
Mount Ranier
Redwood Forests
Snoqualmie Falls
Chihuly Bridge of Glass
Museam of Glass
Olympic National Park
San Juan Islands
Whale watching
Mount St. Helens

And I'm sure there's plenty more, including lots of things in Canada that I haven't even looked into yet.

Cockroaches Can Be Funny

2005-08-11T09:09:00.000-06:00

The other day I saw the funniest thing. I was in a briefing - for you non-military types that is just a meeting where people get up and explain something to you - and we were introduced to our first briefer. He was a large, body-builder type Master Sergeant from the Inspector General's office. He was briefing us about the role of his office in the base's mission. He was standing in front of a small platform stage, and I was sitting on the front row, just feet from the briefer. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a cockroach run along the stage and fall off just to the left of the briefer's feet. I immediately think, "please don't run toward me, please don't run toward me". Well, luckily it didn't run in my direction. Instead, it ran over the briefer's foot and up his leg!! Inside his pants!!

I didn't know what to do! I was torn between laughing hysterically and trying to warn the poor guy, neither of which would be completely appropriate during a briefing. I'm sure he would have appreciated a warning, but he might not have appreciated everyone laughing as he tried to shake the cockroach out. I ended up just sitting there trying not to laugh at the thought of a cochroach crawling up his leg, or squirm at the thought of a cockroach crawling anywhere on me. It took him a couple of minutes before he even realized anything was crawling on him, and then he ignored it after trying to swipe it away one time. I would have loved to hear the story of when he actually realized there was a cockroach in his pants.

In Nuce

2005-08-10T14:17:00.000-06:00

This is the start of my blog. I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't know what I'm going to write, but I'm giving it a try anyway. It took me a few weeks just to decide on a name, because I knew I would end up changing it a million times, or leaving it and hating it forever, if I didn't take some time to find something creative and fun. Anyway, now I'm writing my first entry and I guess I'll leave it at just an introduction to my blog. Welcome to my world "in a nutshell".