Plans

Neil and I had great plans to catch up on some movies during our break. But as usual those great plans did not pan out. We have a Fandango giftcard that we planned to use to see a few movies. However, we found out this morning that Logan does not have any participating movie theaters. It figures. I think Logan hates me. I already have to go to Salt Lake just to use another giftcard. As most of you know, I have struggled a bit living in Logan for exactly that reason.

Since those great plans did not pan out, I'm sitting here trying to decide what else to do with my precious time off. I am of course sulking as well because nothing else sounds as good as going to the movies. I am the type of person that when my plans don't work out, I don't take it very well. I don't like change. I don't like changes in plans. I don't like not being able to plan. I need to have plans. I need to have control. Unfortunately, I have learned the very hard way that no matter how much we want to peek at the play book, it just isn't possible. So I am giving up planning. At least until I think of a really good justification for driving an hour just to see a movie.

Holiday Musings

We had a good Christmas holiday. But what is even more wonderful is not only did we enjoy Christmas but we are enjoying the time off from work and school. I love having this much time off of work to actually do the things that I want to do, which is mostly nothing. I rarely get time to do nothing. This year has been even better because I have been able to spend the time with Neil because for once his work shuts down over the Christmas break too. So we have big plans to do absolutely nothing and see as many movies as we can before life starts up again on January 5.

Speaking of Christmas, we had an interesting almost fatal drive home the night of Christmas. Yes, we knew there was suppose to be a HUGE storm. Yes, we shouldn't have tried to make the drive home anyway. But it wasn't snowing when we left so we decided to risk it. Oh and did I mention we were driving MY car, which was NOT meant to drive in snow? That will become important as I continue. We left my parents house around 6:30 PM and about 5 minutes into our drive it started raining. We decided rain was fine. About 5 minutes after that it started snowing. Did I mention that the wind was blowing very hard? That becomes really important as I continue. About 5 minutes after that the rodes become snow packed and we are traveling at 20 MPH because the roads and wind were really bad. We hadn't even made it to Ogden yet. Neil said if were going to turn back we needed to do it now. I insisted that we could make it and usually Sardine was plowed really well, so as long as we made it to Brigham we would be fine. So we passed the point of no return and it just got worse. The roads had so much snow on them the 3 three lane freeway came down to one because the snow drifts were too high on either side of the road. By some miracle about 1 hour later we made it to Brigham. I told Neil maybe we should just stay in one of the motels in Brigham but then once again we decided to press on. Did I mention that was really stupid? Oh yeah, that was stupid. So we preceeded into Sardine against all reason. We somehow made it up the very first hill and as we were coming down the hill several cars were stuck on the side of the road or more like the middle considering we had to go around them. Oh and did I mention there was at least 2 feet of snow covering the roads? We should have realized that was a warning. This is where my car becomes important. My car is a sports car and only sits about 8 inches off the ground. Yep, not good when you are driving through that much snow. I thought my "snow tires" would kick trash but when your car is acting like a mini snow plow, "snow tires" don't do much good. Luckily, we were able to follow the treads of a truck in front of us. At this point, I am asking where in the world are the 4 snow plows I have SEEN plow the canyon before. We consider pulling out and waiting for a snow plow to follow but we are afraid if we stop we won't get going again. So we proceed. Now, the blowing wind I mentioned comes into play. The snow is coming down so hard and is blowing from East to West that it was covering the driver's side windows. So the only visibility we have is through the windshield. So we keep our windshield wipers going but they are building up ice and are starting to freeze. We were only about half way through Sardine. Then, the unthinkable happens. Two TRUCKS suddenly just stop in the middle of the "road." So we have to go around them. Well, around them is very tall snow drifts and we were going up a hill. So Neil drives into the snowdrift to go around the trucks and my wheels just start spinning but we are going no where. We were stuck. The snow was too deep and we weren't going fast enough when we went off to the side. I start thinking it was a good thing I brought two coats and had a blanket in the trunk because we were going to be camping in the canyon. Somehow, through sheer will we were able to get unstuck. That was the worst of it. Let's just say I probably kneeled down and kissed our garage floor when we finally arrived home two and half hours later.

Tales of a Walmart Shopper

I was forced to go to Walmart today. During this time of year I try to avoid Walmart at all costs. But the University decided to be mean and instead of electronically depositing my travel reimbursement they sent me a check. The closest bank happens to be in Walmart. I also needed to buy a new snow shovel for Neil because it is snowing and ours broke on Saturday. So I ventured to Walmart and I secretly hoped it wouldn't be as bad as I imagined it would be. But it was worse. It started in the parking lot where cars were everywhere and parking spots were sparse. Then, I couldn't even get into the store because one set of doors were broken, creating a long line of crazy people trying to go in and out the same set of doors. Then, the aisles were so crowded it was impossible to walk without hitting someone.

To make a long story short, I did eventually make it out of Walmart. Interestingly enough, I felt much better once I had the snow shovel in my hands. And for some reason it was easier to make it through the store with the shovel. I think I will try that technique next year too.

Christmas Ramblings

I haven't had much time to blog lately and now that I have time, I have too many things I want to write about. So this may be a little random. First off, I know I said that I wasn't going to post about our Christmas tree but I lied. So there it is.



Some may ask why would I want to write about our Christmas tree. Well, this is Neil and I's third Christmas as couple but this is our first Christmas with our very own tree. Needless to say we were very excited to put it up and enjoy it this Christmas season. It is a hand me down tree from my sister. All of the decorations were bought 75% off at an after Christmas sale last year. It also has a flaw that has been driving me crazy but not enough that I've done something about it. If you look closely you will see that there is at least a two foot gap between the last strand of lights and the second to last. I guess I didn't buy a long enough strand of lights. They are kind of unique lights, so I am afraid I will never be able to find another matching set (and yes they absolutely have to match!). We probably could have spread out the lights better but that is actually a funny story. Since this was our first tree, we have little experience with the actual stringing of the lights. Neil insisted there was no technique and just started wrapping the lights around the tree. Thus, the two foot gap. It gives it character though and I love it. I also have a beautiful angel to top the tree but it was too big for the tree. So I guess it will have to wait until we upgrade trees.

Next topic. Christmas cards. We have been receiving beautiful Christmas cards in the mail over the last few weeks. I love reading Christmas cards. I love reading everyone's year in review and seeing pictures. However, I have yet to send Christmas cards myself. I'm not sure at what point you should start sending Christmas cards. Do you send them at a certain age? Do you send them out when you are married? Do you send them out when you have kids? Do you send them out when your life is actually work reviewing? I'm just not sure. What do you think?

Last topic. Christmas traditions. This morning Neil and I had an interesting talk about Christmas traditions. It has been fun over the years to introduce Neil to my family's traditions and it has been fun to learn new ones with his family. I love hearing about holiday traditions. We would like to create our own but we haven't come up with any great ideas. Here is what our families do. On Christmas Eve my family has a "Jerusalem Dinner." We try to eat traditional foods that Christ would have eaten but over the years the fish has turned to chicken. We eat in candlelight as well. Then, the kids act out the nativity. We have all the props and everything. The evening ends with opening one present. Neil's family gathers at his grandmother's house for dinner.

On Christmas morning my family opens presents and then has a big breakfast with cinnamon rolls, eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, you get the idea. Then we lounge around and enjoy the day, ending with a delicious turkey dinner. Neil's family opens presents early in the morning. Each person also gets a box of pop tarts for breakfast. Then, we go over to grandma's for brunch and then we exchange gifts with the cousins and play games. What are your traditions?

I've always loved this time of year with the decorations, music and family gatherings. Merry Christmas!

New Project at Work

While attending a staff retreat back in September it was determined that our office needed some sprucing up. So over the divine dinner at the Melting Pot, a new project was approved. We were given permission to paint the new co-directors office. Yes, we could have hired painters but we happen to have a pro painter in the office and we decided it would be a fun project to paint and decorate the office ourselves. After the director saw the finished results, we were given the okay to paint the rest of the office. After trying a few things we finally settled on a professional yet modern theme. Each office will be painted white with one color accent wall. We each had a choice of several colors and which wall. I took some before and after pictures. My office is quite small, so it was hard to take pictures but it is an office no less with a window!
Before:


Before or After:

After:





Anyway, it is hard to tell how cool it looks just in the pictures. But I am really happy with it. It is a big improvement from the purplish/pinkish walls that they were before. I can't help the office furniture though. I would also love to redecorate but I just can't bring myself to spend money on decorations for my office when I don't even spend money on decorations for my house.

The best part about this new project is getting to paint instead of sitting at a desk all day. I have also enjoyed the socializing that comes with painting with my co-workers. I think they probably think I am certifiably insane because I tend to give people a hard time (like who doesn't dust behind their desk? Because I sure do.....) and I try to keep things light. An office needs at least one crazy person right? I blame it on the paint fumes.

Survived

I meant to post this a lot sooner but unfortunately life just goes on even if you don't have time for it. I last posted while I was in Kansas City, Missouri feeling bad for myself because I was all alone. Things really didn't end up being that bad. The meeting was a smash hit. I always get intimidated working with the advisory board for my project because they are more educated and have higher positions than me. However, it certainly was a confidence boost to get glowing compliments and remarks for all of my efforts that went into the meeting. A lot of good came out of the meeting as well. Whenever I am asked what I do, I have a hard time explaining. Usually, it comes down to what don't I do. In any case, the entire mission of the center I work for is to improve special education. My part is so small but my particular project is doing a lot to help children who are deaf or hard of hearing to receive a good education and at this meeting we came up with even more solutions to improve their education. I feel like I've done some good and I couldn't feel better about that.

On the first night of meetings we went to dinner as a board. I was terribly nervous because like I said before I am intimidated by this group and I am also at least 20 years younger than the youngest person there. I wasn't sure I quite fit in with the group but it actually went really well. I got to know several of the board members quite a bit better and I am just so impressed by everyone's kindness and friendship. They actually treat me like I'm one of their kids, I think. Seriously, the first night I got in my director called my hotel room just to make sure I had gotten in safely and had gotten something to eat. Then, several volunteered to go look around the plaza with me because I think they didn't want me out by myself.

We also did a really fun warm up activity at the meeting. We each brought a favorite book and exchanged it with another person at the board meeting. I agonized over which book I should bring because I wanted to look well read and smart. I finally decided on "The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. I ended up getting "The Christmas Sweater" by Glenn Beck. It was fun to see what books were brought and why.

Here is my one picture from my trip. It is of the country club plaza that is famous for the lights at Christmas. My boss told me how cool it was but he hasn't seen Temple Square at Christmas.

I intended to do more sightseeing but I literally worked until after 8:00 every night just to make sure everything was taken care of.

Anyway, I am relieved that the meeting went so well but I can't even explain how wonderful it was to come home and see Neil. I think that definitely has been the longest we have been apart in the last 3.5 years. I would have packed him in my suitcase but he was laboring away with his finals. So honestly, I guess it was the best time for me to be gone. He even surprised me with tickets to Voice Male that we went to yesterday. Speaking of Voice Male, it was a great concert. They were very entertaining and talented.

Reality Check

Growing up I always thought it would be glamorous to travel for business. I thought it would be awesome to have a job that would require travel around the world, so I could see new places all on the company's dime. I thought it would be glamorous to have my company pay for posh hotels and extravagant meals.

I am sitting in my posh hotel room in Kansas City re-thinking the glamour of business travel. The reality has set in and it just isn't what I always imagined. I have actually made several small trips for work over the last year to exoctic locations such as Midway, Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. This is my very first official business trip out of the state.

Reality check time. It all began weeks ago with serious planning to put together a more than amazing meeting (I have a reputation to maintain). Then, last week is something I am trying to black out. It was full of finalizing plans and creating materials and handouts. I barely finished everything before the weekend just to come in Monday morning to find that my boss has decided to include additional handouts that I had to create. Let's just say I almost quit. Then, I was off to drive to the airport in the first snowstorm of the season (perfect timing). The reality set in that I was traveling alone. I've never traveled alone before and it is lonely. There was no one to talk to. Then, I had to sit by a stranger on the plane that took up more than his fair share of the cramped space. Then, once again the reality set in that I was on my own to navigate myself through an unfamiliar airport. Once I finally got to the hotel, I realize that even though there are dozens of delicious restaurants in the area and my work is paying for it, I still have no one to go to dinner with. So I opt of out dinner and snack on the gift basket I recieved.

The reality set in that even though I have been extremely impressed with the hotel staff who have bent over backwards to be helpful, I realized it wasn't that they were being nice to me it was that I was paying them nearly $8,000 for this meeting I planned (Technically, I'm not paying for it but my project is and I manage the budget so I feel like I'm paying for it). So no wonder I am the guest of honor. I got a beautiful view of the famous plaza and a gift basket but I'm pretty sure I've paid for it somehow.

I know that most people wouldn't mind have a few nights to themselves but I would rather be home with my Neil. Business travel just isn't what I was expecting.

Feeling Mean

I like to think of myself as a nice person. Not a mean person. I also like to think that I am fairly good at keeping my cool in most situations. However, I have noticed a trend in my niceness scale. I am nice when I am healthy but mean when I am sick. I am battling yet another cold and I feel miserable. So I feel like I am on a mean rampage. Luckily, I don't have to deal with the public that much and if I do it is mostly through email. Today I received one too many dumb emails from dumb people about dumb things that could have been avoided if they weren't so dumb. So I snapped. Instead of editing what I wanted to say like I do 99% of the time, I said exactly what I felt like saying. This usually results in one of two ways. First, either the dumb person gets really defensive about their dumb question or they profusely apologize for their dumbness. I hate defensiveness because if people just owned up to their dumbness and stopped being dumb then the world would be a better place. On the other hand, when I got the email back after I snapped with an apology, I felt bad. The mean streak in me says "serves them right" but on the other hand if I had kept my cool then I wouldn't have made someone else feel bad too.

Now, I am feeling like a really rotten person, so I will get defensive here. I really wasn't that mean. I just pointed out to someone that I had already given them the information they were requesting instead of just giving them the information AGAIN.

Am I the only one with a fluctuating niceness scale?

Noteworthy

I have been slacking. I just have not been in the mood for blogging. My title is deceiving but yet it is a description of what I am not going to write about. I have bloggers block. I could have written the usual posts about how we got most of our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. I could have showed what a grateful and humble person that I am and posted a touching tribute to all that I am grateful for on Thanksgiving (but on the other hand I probably should have because now I feel like I am too prideful). I could have written my reviews on the new James Bond movie, Twilight and Transporter 3. I could have documented what a wonderful break from work and school that we had. I even could have made a Martha Stewart post on the putting up of our designer Christmas tree or just a post about how we were lame last year and didn’t have a tree but this year we have one and I love it and it is nothing close to designer. I could even have written about how I have another cold and I am starting to forget what it feels like to be healthy. I could even blog about how my blog is going private. (Isn’t that the cool thing to do now?) But, I just don’t feel like it. I am waiting for that moment when I actually feel like something is worthy to be considered a soliloquy.

Changes

I made changes to my blog as promised. But I am not sold. I don't love it. I painstakingly spent hours searching for a new template. I found templates that I kind of liked but nothing that jumped out and said "Pick Me!" Which brought on a lot of unnecessary self-reflection. I hate changes. Just ask Neil. I don't know if it has something to do with my OCD personality but I have patterns and routines and if anything interrupts that, I break down. So changing my blog was a lot harder than I expected. As I looked at template after template, I just kept thinking "but I like what I have now." I am also not one to "try new things" very often. However, I may have to keep changing my blog until I like it. On the other hand, I love blogging not because I am trying to show how cute and amazing I am but I just love to write. I love to be able to write my thoughts and feelings and have people read them. I don't even care if they know me. So why should the design of my blog matter? It shouldn't but I guess on some level it does. Interesting. I guess I have some more self-reflection to do.

Results from Photo Shoot

I feel a little vain saying here look at all of these amazing photos of ME!! But I am really happy with how the pictures turned out. I absolutely love the shots with the Polaroid picture. Thanks again Meg, you do fabulous work.

Rivalry Week

I just cannot contain my excitement any longer. Today is Day 1 of “Rivalry Week” and I seriously feel like a kid counting down until Christmas. Maybe I should invent “Rivalry Week” advent calendars. This week is a historic week for those of you that are not avid BYU or University of Utah fans. Today marks the day when serious trash talking begins. Today is when the statues that are all over the BYU campus will be wrapped in giant saran wrap to be protected from “Rivalry Week” pranks. Today is when students will begin to camp out on Y Mountain to protect it. I am sad to not be right in the middle of the action. This upcoming game on Saturday is often referred to as “The Holy War.” I love it. I love anything that has to do with a major rivalry. Back in the day when I had friends that rooted for the other team, we bombarded each others email accounts with trash talking each others teams. I actually received a hilarious joke through that. Sadly, it makes fun of BYU but it is hilarious. So I will share it. But anyone that can provide me with a joke that makes fun of U of U will win a prize.

“An Aggie, a Ute and a Cougar came across a genie in a lamp. The genie granted one wish to each of them. The Aggie quickly asked for fertile land in Cache Valley for farming. Then, the Cougar thought for a minute. Then he requested that a wall be put around Provo to protect them. Finally, the Ute thoughtfully asked about this wall around Provo. After the genie listed the dimensions and details, the Ute responded, fill it with water!”

I love it. The game is always intense; so full of emotion and excitement. Fights break out on and off the field. Usually, the game is very close and you are literally on the edge of your seat until the very end. I have already started gathering everyone’s score predictions. But I will not be posting them in advance because the last time I did that, things didn’t go so well. I am very superstitious. However, for fun I would love you to post your predictions. Go Cougars!

Peramore Photography

So once upon a time, I decided that since Neil and I have almost been married two years that it was past time that we got some updated pictures of us. Then, my fairy Godmother granted me my wish and along came Peramore Photography. Check it out. Meg seriously has found some fabulous locations for fabulous pictures. I am terribly self-conscious of how I look in pictures but you have got to see her amazing work. Then, you have to email her and set-up your own photo session so you can have amazing pictures too. Her prices are very reasonable. I will be posting some pictures when I get them. I will even put some in the place of our wedding pictures on this blog. Which might even lead to a face lift of this blog.

On a side note, I do have to gush about my lovely husband. He did not complain once about getting these pictures done. I guess he knew how important they were to me and he just went along with it. He didn't complain when I told him what he had to wear. He even put gel in his hair for the special occasion. He didn't even complain when I got him up at 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Note to Self

So at one point on my blog I mentioned that I needed to cancel the almost daily emails that I was getting from one of my very favorite clothing stores. I would link it for you but I can't find it. So I guess I never said that. Anyway, I never did cancel those emails, I still have been secretly getting them. Today, I received a coupon for 30% off. I haven't had that good of an offer in a long time. So I decided it wouldn't hurt to peruse. I even was good and only perused the clearance items, at first. Then, I may or may not have added them to my virtual shopping cart. I then may or may not have coveted the items in my virtual shopping cart. I may or may not have applied my discount code just to see how much my virtual purchase would be. I am proud to say that my Visa did not suffer in any of this. I did come up with all sorts of justifications like I will need nice outfits for the upcoming holiday parties. I haven't bought new clothes for awhile. Christmas is coming up..... Who couldn't use a nice silk shirt in their wardrobe or a comfy yet pretty dress?

Anyway, whoever does advertising for my favorite online shopping stores should get a raise. They are doing their job and they are doing it well. I may have resisted this time but next time I may or may not resist.

Note to self: Cancel those email advertisements!

Diary of an Insomniac

I have suffered from insomnia for most of my life. I am extremely jealous of people who can sleep. I have no idea what it is like to fall asleep shortly after going to bed and not waking up until morning. It sounds wonderful though.

Getting married and now having a sleeping a companion has been wonderful for me but probably not wonderful at all for Neil. Because I am awake for most of the night, it gets boring, very boring. So I talk to Neil. He talks back. Sometimes he is awake, sometimes he is not. I have always been fascinated by dreams. So Neil has become my test subject. Throughout the night I ask him what he is dreaming about. I get all sorts of responses like school, math, computers and sometimes he even dreams about me. The other night I asked him what he was dreaming about. He responded, "You." I then asked, "What are you dreaming about me?" He responded, "I can't find you." I said, "I'm right here." Then, he said, "Oh." I have to admit I really haven't found out anything interesting about dreams except that Neil dreams a lot about school. Poor guy. Maybe it is more like nightmares.

We have very interesting conversations as well. I blame it on the sleep deprivation. We live near a stream that has lots of frogs. Neil has told me before that he has heard them croaking. I didn't believe him. But one night, I heard one. So of course I yell, "I heard one! Did you hear that!?" Neil replies "No." Then I start asking him a million questions about frogs. Which he answers in his sleep. Then I get concerned that the frog will freeze to death because it is cold outside. I think Neil's sleepy self had enough of me so he told me to go outside and find it. I told him I would, if he would come with me. Needless to say, he stopped talking to me.

I feel terrible, I probably ought to let Neil sleep in peace but it is just too tempting to fight off the boredom by talking. I've tried it all trust me. I even counted cows (I figured that made more sense than sheep because cows live in our backyard).

I do promise to try to not turn Neil into an insomniac too.

Warning: Seriousness to Follow.......

I was inspired by a friend who made a goal to read so many books a year. I realized at the time that I rarely read a book for pleasure. Growing up I read all the time. In fact, I read so much I consistently won reading awards every year up until I was in Junior High. I read to escape. It was so much fun to pretend to solve mysteries right along with Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden.

Over the course of this last year, my scope of reading has expanded ten fold. I admit that in the past I made a goal to read at least one classic a year but in between I read popular murder mysteries. This year I have read so many inspiring and beautifully written novels, that I truly feel that it has enriched my life. It has been so amazing to expand my reading genre from a cheap murder mystery thrill to inspiring words of wisdom. Even better is that a dialogue has opened up between those who have joined me in this new reading journey. I have thoroughly enjoyed having endless discussions about each book and what meaning it has in my life. I am about to start a book written by a Nobel Prize winner in literature. I know that it is not necessarily a privilege because let’s face it, anyone could read it. But I never would have picked this book up last year. Even though I have only flipped through the book, it just makes me feel more educated having it in my possession. I can’t wait until I have a few quiet moments for me to open “The Double” by Jose Saramago.

I challenge you to read a book that you would not ordinarily read. I even challenge you to enjoy it and let it have meaning in your life.

Lately

The last two weeks have been crazy and very strange at the same time. I have actually missed blogging some very important stuff but what's a girl gonna do when life just gets too busy? But I decided in order to update all 10 readers of my blog, I will list a few things that have happened lately. Things have been so busy lately that I seem to be making all kinds of lists.
1. BYU has won their last few games but just barely. It is not looking good. It is looking like I am going to have to eat my words.
2. Our random newspaper deliveries have stopped. At first I was more than extremely annoyed but then those Sunday papers came in handy. I actually kind of miss them.
3. I had a major health scare. I never go to the doctor. I just go once a year for the routine check-up. This time I came out of that appointment with the worst news any person my age would want to hear. So that led to another appointment that same week but luckily that one went much better and I'm not going to die. I know I'm being vague but I don't want to talk about it. I know I just did but I am going to be one of those people that refers to something but then doesn't elaborate. I hate that. Let the gossip run wild!
4. I got cast into a movie. It may just be a movie that my work is producing/developing but I am going to be so famous. It was an interesting experience. It took nearly an hour for a 7 second scene. I don't think I will be making a career change anytime soon.
5. Neil got a job as an intern for Northrop Grumman in their re-entry systems division. He is thrilled to finally get to work in his field. I am thrilled because I get to buy him a whole new "business casual" wardrobe. That may be vain but I love shopping and it's the best excuse I've had all year.
6. We only have 4 more performances to go to for Neil's class. I can't believe that we have already attended 16 events. We are going to be bored next semester.

Bad Monday

You know that Monday is going to be extra bad when.......
1. You lied awake all night feeling like a failure because your 6 year old primary class terrorized you. Six year olds should not make adults cry. I shouldn't feel all that bad, it's not like they are actually my kids.
2. You wake up with the worst headache ever. All you can think of is when you will have time to break into that ibuprofen bottle and take the maximum dose.
3. You spend a half hour waiting for your stupid computer to run it's stupid protection programs.
4. Outlook crashes the first time you open it.
5. When you finally get into Outlook you have not one by three messages marked "high priority" saying your mailbox is too full.
6. You already spent half an hour on Friday trying to clean it out. But you ended up keeping most of the emails because you work with people that can't remember things and you need physical proof.
7. You forgot to proof-read your husband's paper over the weekend that is due today, so you feel like a failure as a wife.
8. You wish instead of changing your clock at work an hour back, you could change it an hour forward, so you would be that much closer to 4:30.

I thought High School was over with

So I never get tagged. I haven't updated my blog in a bit, so thanks to Alyssa for the open ended tag!

1. Did you date someone from your school? Technically no. I went on dates with people from my school but my high school boyfriend went to another school. What can I say, that was the "cool" thing to do. And I was just that cool ; )

2. What kind of car did you drive? A 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS. I still drive that car and love it. My parents tried to teach me that things don't make you happy but my car still makes me happy!

3. Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? Yep. I actually took my test on my 16th birthday, so good thing I passed, or that would have made a lousy birthday.

4. Were you a party animal? Define party animal. I wasn't wild and crazy (unless you were in dance company with me, then you know about our parties after performances, wink wink) but I did like to have fun.

5. Were you considered a flirt? Absolutely.

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No.

7. Were you on any varsity teams? So this tag totally discriminates against dancers. I was on the Dance Company. I didn't have time to do anything else.

8. Did you get suspended/expelled? No. But I probably should have been. I might have skipped class a lot my Junior year but I still got all A's, so it was okay, right?

9. Can you still sing the school song? No. Which is sad because apparently I am related to the guy who wrote it through Neil's family. In fact, our family song is to the tune of the DHS fight song. Yes, they have a family song and it is awesome!

10. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. Ashton and Kim King. Mrs. Ashton taught Psychology and that is what made me decide what I wanted to do. Kim was the Dance Company coach and was so much fun to work with.

11. Where did you sit during lunch? If I didn't go out, then wherever my friend's were--in the cafeteria or by the vending machines.

12. What is your school's full name? Davis High School.

13. School mascot and colors? Brown and gold. We were the Davis Darts. Lame, I know. Apparently, we were named after a runner. He ran like a dart. Get it? Ha Ha. Honestly, being a dart wasn't that bad, it was just the colors.

14. Did you go to Homecoming? Sure did.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Probably not. I absolutely loved high school and have wonderful memories but I like being a grown-up now.

16. How many people were in your graduating class? I think around 700-750.

17. What do you remember most about graduation? I felt weird. I actually only went to DHS my sophomore and junior year because I went to Weber State University for early college my senior year. So I showed up for graduation after not seeing everyone and being a part of the "high school experience" for a year. So I don't remember any hilarious moments.

18. Were you in any clubs? Maybe this is where dancers fit in. I wouldn't consider Dance Company a club but the school probably did.

19. Have you gained some weight since then? Seriously? Did you really just ask that? I bet you want to know how much money I make now too, huh? I thought it wasn't polite to ask people how much they weigh. Obviously, I have issues and yes I have gained weight. I danced at least 4-6 hours a day between Dance Company and my other teams, so when you stop exercising like that, it is bound to happen.

20. Did you have a job while in high school? Oh, don't remind me. Yes, I worked at Taco Maker.

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Probably not. Refer back to question 17. I don't think anyone would remember me. Plus, most of my friend's were in the grade ahead of me.

Rise and Shout

I am beginning to think that I am a bad luck charm for BYU. The game was a nail biter. We were literally tied the entire game. It was so close up until the very ending when we were finally able to stop UNLV's offense. But it was still so much fun to actually be there and not feel ridiculous cheering and singing the fight song in my parent's family room.

I Voted

Did you?
Took advantage of early voting.
Wanted to avoid long lines.
Glad to be an American.
Can't wait to find out the results.

In other news, my last post was my 100th. So this is 101. I should have had a cake made congratulating me for my 100 posts. They do that for TV shows. So why not for blogs? Realizing I have now written over 100 posts makes me reflective. What I have written about? Has it contributed to society? What could I possibly have come up with for over 100 posts? Why do I blog? Some days I really reconsider this whole blogging thing. What's next?

Lessons Learned

I can’t believe that I am publicly going to admit my stupidity but I figured we could all use a good laugh at my expense. Last year was my very first fall season in Logan and my co-workers informed me of a Logan must see, The Pumpkin Walk. In an effort to take advantage of what Logan has to offer while we are here, I told Neil we HAD to go. Well, every time we planned to go something came up, so we didn’t make it. Well, good thing we are here for another fall season, so once again I insisted that this time we HAD to go. I am not one to do something on the spur of the moment, so I meticulously planned our schedule of when would be the best time to go. Which happened to be last night. We had something come up that kept us in North Logan all afternoon and since that is where The Pumpkin Walk is, we decided that would be the best time to go. Along with my meticulous planning I even looked it up on the internet to get the exact address. I perused the website and even read the warning that it gets crowded and if you come after 6:00 you will need to take a shuttle to the park. Well, we got there just before 6:00 and had no problem with parking. In fact, there weren’t any crowds. So we figured we hit the jackpot. Well, as we start walking around we noticed that people were still setting up. I was confused. I thought it was an all day thing. I also began to notice that we were the only ones walking around. Then, I became irritated because half of the displays weren’t even finished. We even were asked to help hold up some pumpkins while someone finished dressing her scarecrow or something. We were like, “You should have been done hours ago.” So we left not all that impressed. I decided that maybe it was just an evening thing and we came too early. But I was still confused because the website seemed to indicate they were open before 6:00 PM. It turns out we were an entire day early. I thought The Pumpkin Walk went through the month of October. It turns out it is just a limited time thing. I feel a little stupid now that while checking their website I didn’t notice the dates but at least we beat the crowds!

The Solution to Exercise

As I grudgingly finished my exercise routine last night, I thought it would be so much easier if exercise resulted in immediate results. I think that America would not have such a problem with obesity if the result of exercise were immediate. I struggle with exercise because I don’t have a lot of time to exercise let alone the desire and energy. But if after only one or two days of exercise I actually lost some weight or if my stomach became flatter than I would be much more motivated to exercise. I also have this problem that when I get depressed about something the solution is to eat ice cream. So it is just not working to exercise daily but then get depressed by the lack of results thus resulting in the need for ice cream. Therefore, I am considering saving up for liposuction and a tummy tuck. Those results are immediate. I’m all for taking the easy way out.

Feeding the Addiction

I have probably made it very clear that I like BYU football. Some might even say it is bordering addiction. I recently told some friends that I would seek help but after the football season of course! I have not had the privilege of attending a game this season which has caused some major football blues. So to help me out and feed my addiction, my Dad was able to secure 4 tickets to the BYU vs. UNLV game this Saturday. I've already done my research on the other team, they have lost more games then they have won this season. They have not beat us in years (and yes, I include myself as part of the team). I am still recovering from last Thursday's loss but I am hoping that this Saturday will make me feel better. I am so excited to go. It will be a perfect fall football game.

First Stages of Bargaining

I am highly superstitious. Well, I do things “just in case.” So I am trying to figure out happened to my football team. I start blogging about how awesome they are and some harmless taunting with the director at work and I find myself wondering, what happened? Was I too overconfident? Perhaps. When I came in this morning the director asked me how I was. I answered, “Good, so far.” He looks at me puzzled and says, “Even after last night?” Then, the horror that I had tried to block out came rushing back. Then, I remembered that in fact I was not good. I am depressed about Cougar football. I didn’t get to watch the game but I heard the final score. Then, I read the news reports about the game which had titles such as “Worst loss since 2005” and “Winning streak over at 16.” I should have called in sick. How can I come to work and face the Utah fan director of mine just after I left him some BYU memorabilia in his box telling him I would only take it back if BYU lost to Utah (with a side note stating that was very unlikely). I don’t want to give up hope yet but it’s not looking good.

Primary Day 1

Neil and I spent a couple of hours over the weekend preparing an awesome lesson on reverence for our primary class. We probably put way more time into it then most people would think necessary but I wanted it to be perfect. I even enjoyed coloring pictures for a lesson activity and Neil got to find items for a game. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to teach our lesson because we didn’t have any kids to teach! I was so nervous to teach but I put so much time and effort into the lesson that I at least wanted to give it. We ended up “helping” the sunbeam teacher. We didn’t really even need to do much, so we just got a lesson on reverence aimed at 4 year olds. However, the sunbeams did not disappoint me. I knew they would give me some good material. Here are a couple comments they made:

Context: The teacher was showing pictures of various bugs doing different activities. The children were asked to say which ones were reverent and which ones were not.
Little Girl: My Dad ate grasshoppers when he was in Thailand.

Context: The children were peering in the hallway waiting for their parents to pick them up.
Little Boy waves and says hi to another little girl who passed the classroom.
Little Boy: I was just saying hi to Eva. I am going to marry her when I am a Daddy.

Meet Kirby

Neil and I are harboring a criminal while my parents are enjoying a cruise. Kirby is my Mom's African Grey Parrot. African Grey Parrot's are considered the most intelligent species of bird and I would say of any animal. Kirby talks and asks for the things he wants. For example, he asks to come out of his cage, he asks to be petted and asks for spaghetti (his favorite food). He even sings and makes up songs. The cutest thing he has done so far is that he keeps calling for Gizmo (my dog but my parents have custody). I guess he misses him. Neil has decided to teach Kirby to say "That's what she said" (from The Office), so my parents will have a pleasant surprise when they get him back. So far he hasn't had much luck. I just hope I don't kill him.

Drum Roll Please

I was very pleased with your contributions and humoring me in the speculating process. It turns out that Alyssa guessed right. And Megan and Adrienne, I know it would have made for good blog material to be called to the same thing for the third time but I am sure glad you were WRONG!

In order to keep the drama to a minimum, Neil and I have been called as “Primary Workers.” We will be teaching the CTR 6 class. I just have to say, that I am so relieved. I am even excited but very nervous at the same time. I seriously had the thought, what if they don’t like me? What can I talk to a 6 year old about? I even asked Neil if 6 year olds still color. This sure is going to be an eye opening experience.

I am the youngest in my family. So my experience with kids was kept to a minimum. I have a dozen nieces and nephews and they are great but I don’t see them on a regular basis. I am keeping the hope that Leonora is right, that I will like my own (my mom assures me of that too). I do plan on having kids, someday. Because I am an extensive planner, I made sure to study child and adolescent psychology in college. I figured since I planned on being a mother that would be the best way to go. But now that I am facing the reality that I will be teaching six six-year olds each Sunday, it just might be useless. I could tell you all about how they are supposed to develop and think. I could name countless study after another about children and teens and how they should react in various situations. I could go into great detail about how neural patterns are developed in children and how to stimulate neural growth but will that do me any good? Probably not. I even studied attention spans. I can at most get 15 minutes (if I’m lucky) of their attention. How is that going to work when 40-45 minutes is set aside for “lesson” time?

Keeping things on the bright side, I am almost positive that those kids will provide a lot of excellent blogging material along with my fear of those kids.

To Speculate or not to Speculate

Earlier this morning I got the call. I’ve been waiting for it and had almost given up. Two weeks ago our ward was split for the second time in 16 months. I guess that is what happens when you live in a new development area. Even changing wards twice we still have managed to be called as the “food storage specialists” twice. I have to admit it has been a great calling for us because we have diligently been working on our food storage. But after the last few months of canning the entire ward’s orders ourselves because no one thinks it might be polite and responsible to help out, we’ve been wanting a change. So with the announcement of the ward change, I have anxiously been waiting for the call. We are meeting with our new Bishop tonight at 6:50 pm. I immediately called Neil and left him a message and hoped he would call me back so we could speculate. I love speculating. But, I was once again reminded that men think much differently than women. Neil got my message, put it in a box in his brain, and went on thinking about engineering stuff, with no desire to speculate about what the outcome of our meeting would be. So when he FINALLY called me back hours later, I had to check and make sure he got my message. Because if I got that kind of message, I would have at least called to talk about it but oh yeah I am working with a man here. After receiving the confirmation that he indeed did get my message, I asked him what he thought. But before he had a chance to speculate, I had to give him MY ideas because I’ve had hours to think about it. In which his response was, “We’ll see tonight, won’t we?” Then he wanted to talk about engineering stuff. But I wasn’t done! I wanted to know what he thought. Because I am a woman and can’t let things go, I ambushed him 30 minutes later, demanding why he wouldn’t speculate and his response, “I don’t like to speculate, I would just rather wait and see. I am either going to be right or wrong, so speculating is just a waste of time.” Well, I KNOW that..... but speculating is fun. Speculating lets me go through all the possibilities so I will be prepared for the outcome.

Since I can’t get anywhere with my man, I thought I would speculate here and maybe you can speculate with me. But you will have to be fast as my fate will be decided in nearly 4 hours. I am 85% sure it will be nursery. I don’t know how we have avoided it thus far. It is inevitable. I was just hoping since we weren’t contributing to the bunch we could fly under the radar. Plus, I am terrible with kids. I am embarrassed to admit it because I am suppose to ogle over babies and such but I couldn’t care less. Seriously, I was that girl who when my mother-in-law tried making me hold a baby once, I actually refused. I wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe she thought it would be inspire me or something. In any case, unless I can talk intelligently with an individual and as my brother says “they can go the bathroom by themselves” then there is a problem. Neil on the other hand loves nursery. He is great with kids and knows how to talk to them. Our three year old neighbor girl has a huge crush on him because of his charm with kids.

Anyway, if it is not nursery, then we will probably continue our sentence as “food storage specialists.” Honestly, I would love a calling in the Relief Society. I would be good at that. But that is why it is probably nursery. Somebody needs to babysit all 60 kids on Sunday.

Did I say that out loud?

I've learned my lesson. Never publish your football score bet on the internet. Never. Even if you want to, just don't do it. I think that is why the Cougars fell apart. It has become a long standing tradition that my Dad and I both predict the score and put imaginary money on it. When I got extremely in debt with my imaginary money, we stopped betting imaginary money. But we still like to predict the score. I thought it would look cool when I posted my bet and I actually would be right and then everyone would think I was amazing. Here is how the predictions went last night:

Me: 65-0
Dad: 44-13
Neil: 42-0
Mom: 56-3

As you can see my Dad won (the final score was 34-14). Lame (which is my new word, just so you know). I also think our extreme confidence in the Cougars led to the infamous downfall. During the first quarter we just laughed because BYU only possessed the ball for like 3 minutes and 14 seconds but had already scored twice. Pretty pathetic for the Aggies, right? Well, 12 penalties later (a loss of 128 yards), a sacked quarterback (first time this season), and a missed field goal and well, the score speaks for itself. I will give credit to the Aggies, they played hard. They must feel great that they were able to score against BYU's defense when UCLA and Wyoming could not. They must feel even better that they were able to take down Max Hall for the first time this season. But in my defense and to make myself feel better, the score would have been much different if BYU had been on their "A" game.

I've learned my lesson though. It will just be less dramatic when I report that I won the bet after the fact. Lame.

GO Cougars

So I know this is totally unoriginal but today is GAME DAY and it just feels more exciting because the Cougars are in town. Plus, I took a chance and wore my BYU shirt to work. I am putting my bet in for 65-0.

Throwing Caution to the Wind

Because Neil has to write 20 papers this semester, I have become his official proofreader. As I have been proofreading paper after paper, I have become happier and happier that I am done with school. I no longer have to take tests. I no longer have to write papers and I especially love that anything I write does not have to be submitted for a grade. I am thrilled that I no longer have to follow MLA or APA guidelines each time I write. I also can start my sentences with “And” and “Because” and I can be very generous with my commas (I love commas!). Honestly, the rules about writing change every few years, so I don’t even know what is correct or incorrect these days. Once upon a time you were not allowed to use “I” in a paper and it was the ultimate taboo to start a sentence with “And.” And I don’t know why. I think it is so cool. But I have also realized that sometimes it was nice to write a paper and be validated by having it returned with a big red A+. I even further realized that because I have thrown every writing rule out the window with this blog in order to contribute some humor to the world, some might find my writing down right atrocious. So I offer my deepest, sincerest apologies to those who find my blog appalling. To those who don’t, I sure wish I could get that big red A+.

Therefore, my point is that I have no point and I just needed to take a break from thinking about Neil’s papers.

Old Ephraim

 

(Photographs courtesy of my Mom)
Yesterday, my parents brought up their ATV's and we drove to Temple Fork in Logan Canyon. Then, we rode the ATV's to Old Ephraim's grave. If you don't know who Old Ephraim is, check this out. Ever since I heard the story of Old Ephraim, I wanted to visit the grave even though it's not really a grave, it's just a marker. We had a blast on the ATV's, the scenery was beautiful, and it was well worth the trip!

Two Mister Rogers and a Sesame Street

When I was little my mother would help me quantify time by telling me it would be two "Mister Rogers" and one "Sesame Street" before it was time for this or that. It was so simple but somehow that made the time pass by easier. Lately, it seems like I need another simple way to quantify time other than staring at a calendar and clock. Although, today that might be a little more complicated. I might have to measure time by one two-hour season premiere of the “Amazing Race”, one “The Office” and one “Grey’s Anatomy.”

I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been living life by just trying to make it from one event to the next and not really focusing on the day to day living. I would never dare to get philosophical on this blog but my new goal is to find good moments in each day without having to look forward to find the good. The deep-rooted pessimist in me says that I can’t do it but at least I put it in writing.

Seriously. Part 2.

I just don’t get it. I want to get it but I don’t. I just don’t understand why customer service has declined. I feel like I am qualified to complain about customer service because I worked in the customer service industry for nearly 8 years. I have learned to not expect much in the customer service area but I do demand competence. I seriously just had this conversation with Office Depot. Well, I must begin by saying that I first had to survive the “dial this for that menu.” I hate those. I just want to talk to someone.

Customer Service Agent: Hello, thank you for calling Office Depot. Can I have your name?

Me: Cheryl Sheffield

Customer Service Agent: Okay, Shirley, how can I help you?

Me: I have a corporate account with you and I need to get a quote for custom pens.

Customer Service Agent: I will have to transfer you to our department that handles promotional products.

Me: Okay.

I get transferred after being put on hold.

Customer Service Agent #2: Hello, thank you for calling Office Depot. Can I have your name?

Me: Cheryl Sheffield

Customer Service Agent #2: Okay, Cheryl, how can I help you?

At least he got my name right this time.

Me: I have a corporate account with you and I need to get a quote for custom pens.

Customer Service Agent #2: What is your corporate number?

I give him the information.

Customer Service Agent #2: Your account is actually handled by a different department. I will give you the number and transfer you.

He proceeds to give me the number I had called originally. At this point I became disgruntled. I told him that I already called that number and they transferred me to him. But he insisted I had to talk to the other department that already wouldn’t help me. Seriously, I just need a quote on one particular pen! He assured me that when he transferred me they would help me. Yeah right.

Now, you can just re-read my first two conversations but just insert Customer Service Agent #3 in the appropriate place. I am finally asked the product number of the pen in question. Then, I am quoted the exact same price that is in the catalog before any discount is applied. I mentioned that to Customer Service Agent #3 but she just keeps quoting me the same ridiculous price. Did I mention that I ordered pens from them last year and received quite a significant discount? Let’s just say I am taking my business elsewhere.

Shut Out

In a very last minute decision, Neil and I decided to make the trek to Kaysville and watch the BYU vs. Wyoming game yesterday. It was well worth our trip. BYU shut out a second team in a row 44-0. It was a great game and I was relieved that BYU didn't have any fumbles. I know that I live in Aggie territory, so I should be careful with what I say, but I hope that BYU gets a third shut out in two weeks against Utah State. It would just look bad if BYU was able to shut out UCLA and Wyoming but not Utah State. Too bad I will not be able to see the game. Sigh.... Football is just so much more exciting seeing it in person than watching it on TV.

After the game we had to rush back to Logan so we could attend "Nunsense." I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was a traveling anniversary tour and Sally Struthers was headlining. I will admit that seeing the name, I had no idea who Sally Struthers was until I read her biography. She has won an Emmy and Golden Globe award but I wouldn't have known that or cared. But when I read, "and the CW's highly acclaimed, "Gilmore Girls."" I got really excited. I was a huge fan of Gilmore Girls and couldn't wait to see what character she played. When she came out on the stage for the first time, I still couldn't tell who she was (she was dressed like a nun). But as soon as she spoke, I knew immediately that she played Babette on Gilmore Girls. Anyway, "Nunsense" was hilarious and the actors/singers were amazing. It was definitely a good performance to attend.

The Black Hole

Last night on my way to my dance class, I thought I would quickly run into the library, grab a book, and make it to class on time. I did my research ahead of time and made sure the book I wanted was available. When I got to the section where the book should be, I quickly scanned the titles looking for the book. It wasn’t there. So I scanned the books near and around the section in case someone had trouble with the alphabet. No luck. Because I was short on time and I absolutely needed a book and couldn’t remember the other books on my “to read” list, I went to the circulation desk. I explained the problem and asked if the book could be anywhere else (namely sitting in the drop box or something). I suppose the library worker gets this all the time and made the assumption that I was an idiot and didn’t know the alphabet. She proceeded to take me over to the section that I had already checked more than once, to check for herself. Then she admitted that it could still be on a shelving cart. In which she proceeded to check all 15 carts. I appreciated the effort but I was short on time. Still no luck. The book has been lost in the library black hole. So I settled for the CD version because I still couldn’t remember what other books I wanted to read. As I drove away from the library, I wondered how many books are lost in that aforementioned black hole. Can you imagine how many books could be lost by just placing them one or two bookshelves away from its predestined location? Some books may never be found again, while others may be happened upon by some unexpecting library patron.

In summary, I want that book. I want it now and I can’t believe someone lost it.

17 more to go

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I think Thumper from Bambi said something similar to that. I think it was Thumper. In any case, my mother quoted that statement to me many times when I was a child and I have to say it was success because it has stuck. Therefore, I have neglected my blog a bit because I have been super busy with not many nice things to say about what I’ve been doing.

In the last few weeks Neil and I have attended 3 out the 20 events that he has to for one of his classes. I warned all that I would be reporting on them. But remembering the advice from Thumper, I have withheld my comments. I love the performing arts! I love going to a concert, play, or musical and walking out of it feeling like my socks just got knocked off or inspired or at least wanting to buy the soundtrack. So far the only event that made me feel inspired did not require actors. It was a lecture about photography. I was not thrilled about attending a lecture but you do what you have to do, right? But I was pleasantly surprised by the intellectual stimulus and inspiration that it provided. The lecturer discussed how photography is the bridge between art and science. It was very good.

Now you are curious aren’t you? You want to know what else that I have seen but refuse to comment on, don’t you? I will say the “Celebrate America-Aloha USO” show was interesting. We also saw “High School Musical” last weekend. That one had an interesting message to teens— you can do anything you want to do, as long as you fulfill your stereotypical obligations first.

I think it will have to get better from here. It has to.

Bizarre

The last few nights I have had some very interesting dreams. So the psychologist in me forces me to contemplate and analyze what my dreams mean. I will not go into detail of my exact dreams but I have listed below some symbols in my dreams and what they "represent."

Dream Meanings - SNOW
To see snow in your dream, signifies your inhibitions, repressed/unexpressed emotions and feelings of frigidity. You need to release and express these emotions and inhibitions. You may also be feeling indifferent, alone and neglected. If the snow is melting then it suggests that you are acknowledging and releasing those emotions you have repressed. You are overcoming your fears and obstacles.

To dream that you are playing in the snow, indicates that you need to set some time for fun and relaxation.

Dream Meanings - SLIP
To dream that you slip on something, signifies that you are forcing yourself to do things that you do not really want to do.

Dream Meanings - LAKE
To see a lake in your dream, signifies your emotional state of mind. If the lake is clear and calm, then it symbolize your inner peace. If the lake is disturbed, then you may be going through some emotional turmoil.

Dream Meanings - ELEVATOR
To dream that you are ascending in an elevator, signifies that you will quickly rise to status and wealth. You may have risen to a higher level of consciousness and are looking at the world from an elevated viewpoint. Descending in an elevator, denotes that misfortunes will crush and discourage you. The up and down action of the elevator may represent the ups and downs of your life go emerging out of and submerging into your subconscious.

To dream that the elevator is out of order or that it is not letting you off, symbolizes that your emotions have gotten out of control.

Dream Meanings - ROWBOAT
To dream that you are in a rowboat, symbolizes hard work and perseverance. You are coping with your own problems and emotions in your own way and at your own pace. Consider the condition of the water.

Wow, interesting stuff. It sure makes me sound like I have a lot of emotional problems. I've always had really weird dreams.

Anyway, on to better and bigger things. It was pointed out to me that I wasn't dedicating enough time on talking about how awesome the Cougars are doing. So BYU just won their 13th straight game yesterday. To make things even sweeter they shut out UCLA 59-0. I remember the days of being their in person to witness such glory. Sigh.....

Finally, in other news, it looks like the newspaper littering bandit only works on weekends. We are now only receiving our 4 newspapers Friday through Sunday. At least I can get the coupons and comics in the Sunday papers. Plus, Neil and I don't have to share the comics because we get two copies of each paper. I also think I will take my Mom's suggestion and go into the pinata making business. Does anyone need confetti or a pinata? Come Cinco de Mayo, I will be ready.

Unsolved Mystery

I decided that I needed to follow up on “the newspaper situation” and yes, it has been upgraded from a “minor irritation” to a “situation.” On Friday, August 29 at approximately 8:30 AM, I first reported my minor irritation with the delivery of duplicate copies of two different major Salt Lake papers on this blog. It began sporadically for the last few weeks but then for an entire week straight we received the unwelcome deliveries. When I finally decided to catch the newspaper littering bandit in the act and woke up early enough to catch him, we stopped receiving the deliveries. I was relieved because it saved me from having to make a phone call to complain. But as soon as we thought we were in the clear, the papers showed up again last Thursday and Friday. So on Friday, I made the dreaded call. Luckily, the customer service representative I spoke with was competent and spoke English (which is fortunate these days). She asked for my name, address, and phone number and confirmed that we indeed did not have a subscription to either paper, let alone two for each. She insisted the delivery agency just must be delivering them to the wrong house. I agreed but I still question the logic in whoever is delivering the papers to our house. I consider myself a fairly logical person. I also try to give others the benefit of the doubt and assume they are logical people as well. So here I will begin a study in logic. Please correct me if you find any errors in my logic.

1. Our house is the only house on our block that faces north. Therefore, there are no other driveways in proximity to ours. Thus, the confusion on which house to deliver the papers to should be significantly reduced.
2. Perhaps, the delivery person has dyslexia and has the wrong address. However, I don't think the reverse of our address exists.
3. Wouldn’t a red flag go up, if you were delivering 4 newspapers to one house? And then maybe a huge red flashing light go off if you were delivering duplicate copies to the same house? If it were me, I would check a master list of my delivery route. Just an idea.
4. Isn’t there someone or several people missing their papers??? Shouldn’t they be the ones calling demanding to know where their paper is? They are actually paying for it. So I am assuming someone has been reporting their missing paper(s), so don’t you think someone would try to figure out where they are going wrong with the delivery?

Now, I will end my study in logic to continue with the exciting conclusion of the “situation.” I was told by the customer service representative for the papers that they would contact the manager in charge of our area to let them know of the problem. Whew. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to clean papers off my driveway every morning anymore. Then, we went out of town and came back to 8 wonderful surprises. I tried doing the right thing by calling and reporting the problem but what am I supposed to do now?

Why?

Why is it that when you need to make a good impression with an important person that you end up making a fool of yourself and/or completely do the opposite of making a good impression? Today would have been a good day to make a good impression with an important person but instead I showed up to work looking pretty much how I feel. Speaking of how I feel, I feel pretty miserable. I think because I am feeling so miserable all of my amazing natural wit and charm left me. Neil gave me a cold over the weekend. He went back to work and school on Tuesday feeling better and I got to begin the work week feeling sick. Why does that always happen? Not that I enjoy being sick over weekends especially holiday weekends but I think it is worse to be sick at work. Speaking of being sick, why do I have a hard time taking sick leave? I almost have 2 weeks worth of sick leave but I’m saving it for when I get really sick. Is that weird? Speaking of sick leave, what qualifies as really sick? I don’t know what I’m waiting for.

Forewarning

I thought we were busy this summer but our calendar is quickly filling up with fun and not so fun things. The last few weekends we have been so busy that I have been longing for a weekend in which we have no plans. But I know that as soon as we have a weekend with no plans, I will be longing for plans. One of the very fun things that fall brings is the college football season. On Saturday, Neil and I were able to catch the BYU vs. Northern Iowa game. We don’t get to actually attend any of the games this year. But that is a sore subject for me, so I will leave it at that. In any case, my parents throw awesome football parties, so practically every Saturday through November is booked with a game.

In between the football games, Neil and I will be catching 20 performances before the semester ends in 14 weeks. Neil is finishing his last GE requirement. I will not even claim to understand the ridiculous GE program that Utah State has, let alone the classes. But that is a sore subject for me, so I will leave it at that. Basically, he is taking an Art Symposium that requires him to attend 20 performances and write 20 papers. At first, I was excited for this because I thought it would be fun to go out more and see fun things. Now, after seeing what is being offered and required, I’d rather stay in. I suppose this is a forewarning of things to come on this blog. You will probably read way more about BYU football than you would ever want to read. By the way, way to go Cougars with the first win of the season! I expect much better ball handling in the future and for the energy to be kept up in the second half. You may also be forced to read my very honest critiques of the 20 performances that I will attend with Neil. First up, we are going to a Celebrate America show tomorrow.

Then, in between football games and around 2 performances a week we have life. You know, the day to day things that you like and/or have to do. Like working, running errands, cooking, cleaning, and paying bills. I will still be taking my modern dance class on Thursdays and an African dance class on Tuesdays occasionally to mix things up. Neil will just do school and work. We also make monthly canning trips for our church calling. We also have to fit in those required family events that may or may not be fun. But such is life and consider yourself warned.

Free Newspaper, anyone?

For the last few weeks we have been receiving not one but four newspapers delivered to the edge of our driveway. It doesn’t happen every morning but at least a couple times a week. There are a few things wrong with this. First, we don’t have a newspaper subscription, let alone four. Second, does our driveway look like a dumping ground for newspapers? When we got the first batch of papers a few weeks ago, we figured it was a mistake. But now weeks later, it keeps happening and we keep depositing them in our recycle bin. This morning we discovered we were getting duplicates of the two major Salt Lake based papers. I got all fired up this morning ready to call the newspaper and tell them to stop dumping papers in our driveway or I would report their littering. Well, okay, I wouldn’t have said the latter but I was irritated. But when I thought more carefully about it, my complaint would sound dumb. I suppose some people would look at this like an awesome free gift but I prefer to read my news on the internet. But it also begs the question what paper delivery person in their right mind would deliver two copies of two different newspapers to one house? Maybe, I will get up early tomorrow and catch the newspaper littering bandit right in the act.

Acceptance

Neil is back in school. Summer has officially come to an end even though I feel like we got cheated out of a summer. With Neil going to school this summer it really put a damper on the usual summer festivities. But good did come out of Neil’s hard work in school. We recently received his “official” acceptance letter into the professional program. It was inevitable but having that “official” piece of paper just makes it feel more real that just maybe the end is in sight.

I'm It

A - attached or single: Very much attached.

B - Best friend: Definitely Neil. We seriously started out as just friends for like 5 years and I married him because I decided I couldn't live without my best friend! Alyssa is my best girl friend. She is one of those people that I'm not afraid to tell her anything! So we talk about anything and everything. I seriously go through withdrawals if I don't get to talk/write to her.

C - Cake or Pie: I'm not good at making decisions. So I'm going with both. They are both different and it depends on what mood I'm in.

D - Day: Saturday. I usually don't have to get up at a certain time and I usually get to spend the day with Neil.

E - Essential Item: Probably my cell phone. I seriously can't handle not having it with me at all times. I'm not sure why......

G - Gummi Bears or Worms: This one is easy. Gummi Worms. They are bigger.

H - Hometown: Kaysville. I don't mean to brag but Kaysville was seriously the best place to grow up.

I - Indulgences: Chocolate and naps.

J - January or July: I'll go with July. It is during the summer and it has two holidays!

K - Kids: Is it just me, or has this question been coming up a lot lately? Geez, hint taken.

L - Life is incomplete without: Neil. I don't know what I would do without him.

M - Marriage Date: March 9, 2007

N - Number of Siblings: 5 sisters, 1 brother, 2 sister-in-laws, and 7 brother-in-laws.

O - Oranges or Apples: What is with all this "or" stuff. I like both, just depends on what mood I'm in.

P - Phobias or Fears: How much time do you have? Spiders, snakes, germs, death of loved ones, sickness, small doors, clowns, strange food, embarrassing situations, children, and burglars.

Q - Quote: Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep. Fran Lebowitz. I know you were expecting something earth shattering. I was too. But that was all I could come up with for now.

R - Reason to Smile: Neil makes me smile everyday. He is just a wonderful bright spot in my life.

S - Season: I love Spring. I love that it is just warming up and flowers and trees start to come back to life. I guess I also love the fall when it starts to cool down and the leaves changes color.

T - Tag Three Friends: I think all of my blogging friends have done this but if you see this and haven't please share.

U - Unknown Fact about me: I have a few because it depends on how long you've known me. I was a competitive figure skater for about 3 years. I am a certified advanced scuba diver. And I've only really broken one bone but I sure broke an organ several years ago (how many people can claim that!?)

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: When you put it that way, definitely vegetarian. Yes, I have issues with meat and it doesn't help when people make animal sounds while I try to eat it. But seriously, have you heard the phrase "eat meat sparingly?" I live by that!

W - Worst Habit: I am the world's greatest pessimist.

X - X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds are by far more interesting in my opinion.

Y- Your favorite food: I have a few but I can't pick a favorite. I love lemon chicken (yes my only homemade dish), Pizza Hut pizza, cordon bleu pasta at Firehouse and fettuccine alfredo with salad and bread sticks at Olive Garden.

Z - Zodiac sign: Aquarius

Photographic Documentation

This is my first time creating one of these collages so the photos are all out of order. But you will see pictures of the Air and Space Museum, one of Neil in Vegas, the Hope Diamond, architectural features in the Capitol, Library of Congress, National Art Gallery, Neil in jail at Fort McHenry, memorials, Gettysburg, and the Washington DC temple along with other random pictures.

Washington DC Days 5-8

Surprisingly, we actually made it home from our trip. But I will touch on that later. After we left Washington DC we stayed in Gettysburg. I am not much of a history buff but it was very interesting to drive through the battlefield near Gettysburg, PA. We took a driving tour that guided us through the park and took us through the events and locations of the historic three day battle. It is a fairly large park that is now scattered with monuments. We stayed in the actual town of Gettysburg for a night and I loved the town. It is small with a main street that is lined with cute restaurants and shops. We also took a ghost tour the evening we stayed there. We didn't see any ghosts but it was fun to walk around the town and hear ghost stories.

After we left Gettysburg we headed to Baltimore. We first visited Fort McHenry which is a unique fort due to its star shape design. It survived a 25 hour attack during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner after seeing that the American flag still survived after the assault. It was really neat to see the American flag displayed there. Next, we visited the National Aquarium. It was a really neat aquarium. It had a shark walk where you walked into a room and were surrounded by all kinds of sharks.

We had such a fun trip. It was so exciting to see so many neat things as well as remnants of history.

On Saturday we ended our trip and headed home. I was worried sick about having more flight problems but each flight we had left on time and arrived early with no problems. But I will never fly JetBlue again. Never.

Washington DC Day 4

Today we were busy! This morning we took a tour of the Capitol. The Rotunda was absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to post pictures. I was very disappointed by the tour. We didn't have to wait too long but the process of actually getting there was ridiculous for the amount of time we actually spent on the tour. After the Capitol we toured the Library of Congress. The art and architecture in that building was amazing. Jefferson's library is housed there. After that we went to the American Art Museum. That was actually a very interesting museum because of the variety. It had modern art, folk, portraits and special exhibits such as portraits of hip hop artists and a hall of heroes. I also got to see several Georgia O'Keefe pieces that were beautiful. Next, we went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was seriously the best museum I have ever been too but the most somber. The museum takes you through history starting with the events that led up to the Holocaust through what happened to the survivors. It is such a depressing and horrific part of history. Then, we took a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Once again it was neat to get a glimpse into how money is printed but the tour was extremely disappointing. They print something like 680 million dollars a day but 95% of that is to replace worn or damaged currency. So much for free tours.

We ended the day with seeing the Vietnam Memorial. I have felt like we have been so busy but we still missed a lot of really neat things. Tomorrow, we are driving to Gettysburg and will be there until Friday. Sorry to keep things so brief but I've been so exhausted that I don't even know if my spelling or grammar is correct.

Washington DC Day 2 & 3

Yesterday we took it pretty easy in DC. We visited the Washington DC temple visitors center. Then we walked around the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, and the World War II Memorial. We actually walked around them in the late evening, so it was so neat to see them lit up.

Today, we visited the National Gallery of Art. I was so excited to see more "famous" paintings that I've studied in my art history classes but have never actually seen in person. The gallery even had a whole room with Monet's. Impressionistic art is my favorite! We also the the Museum of Natural History. My favorite section was the gems. We got to see the Hope Diamond and many other amazing stones and gems. Then we headed to the National Archive to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. It was really neat to see. The Declaration of Independence is really faded almost to the point that you can barely read it. So I'm glad I saw it now. Interestingly enough the room which held it looked nothing like the one in National Treasure, just in case you were wondering. We ended the day with the National Air and Space Museum. It had very different exhibits then the one we saw on Saturday. I am exhausted from all the walking we did but I'm glad to have seen so many neat treasures. I am also relieved that it hasn't been too hot. We heard it would be very hot and humid but so far it hasn't been too bad. It is definitely hot but not too bad.

Also, in case you were wondering, I've decided to update my blog at least daily so I don't have to write a huge long post in a week. The hotel has a computer so I decided to take advantage.