It Tis the Season

This is just a recap of Christmas. This was a great holiday. Many contributing factors need to be noted.

~ Idaho
~ Homemade ottoman
~ New baby, Logan, so perfect
~ Not going to Sunday School because some dear friends were back at the Osgood Ward
~ Fiesta Ole
~ Hong Kong Chinese - some things never change
~ RANDOM story about placenta, ew.
~ Grandma doing a little toast to the thought of our family drinking
~ Quoting Home Alone 2 with Bryce
~ Talking to some favorite people in Kenya...last Christmas without them!
~ Sitting by the fireplace
~ Games with the family
~ Analyzing with the family
~ Renewing the Circle of Trust
~ Potatoes & pot roast
~ Not stepping one foot into Wal*Mart
~ Seeing a friend from Kindergarten
~ Cheering at an Alumni Basketball game
~ "Sorry Guys"
~ Playing basketball with the nephews and wishing so bad that I had skill but being so proud that I actually scored several points
~ Bridger streaking
~ Reading all the love notes that were written for my sister by my family
~ Doing the traditional family home evening with the sister, brother & sister-in-law where we each shared an experience of coming closer to Christ, our goals for the next year of coming closer to Him, and bearing testimony of Him & His life. I realized I love Christmas Eve the best because of this experience. We've done it for years, and I am so grateful for it. It recommits me for the next year, reminds me to be better throughout the year, and gives me accountability at the end of the year. It also helps me realize my belief in Him as my Savior & Redeemer.

There are so many wonderful things that contribute to the Christmas season every year. I'm glad I get to experience them. That I get to share them with family & people that are near & dear to me. I hope that I remember the life of Christ more this year and that I can draw nearer to Him! Merry Christmas!

The Dating Race

I have a few friends who have entered into a friendly battle. Check it out at http://www.thedatingrace.blogspot.com/

I am excited for the results. If you have any suggestions for the competition, let the contestants know. I have already composed a few lists.

Yahoo for New Year's Resolutions!

Merry Christmas To Me

I believe it is necessary to buy yourself Christmas presents. This year, I took a trip to San Francisco & went to WICKED...and got some really great seats...with 8 great girlfriends. This is what makes me proud to be single. I can do stuff like this :0) Megan had buddy passes, via Kevin, and so we all flew standby. I left on Friday night. The 4 of us that went this night took the bus downtown, walked around town, singing Christmas songs, ate at Rain Forest Cafe, slept in a nice hotel, and giggled a lot.

The next morning, the other 5 thankfully got on the flight. After eating a world famous breakfast, we met up and ate again. The Ghiradelli store provided us with some delicious peppermint bark...a few times. It helps when no line exists :0) The clam chowder in a bread bowl was delicious. I watched a gang of seagulls steal a hot dog from a lady. We saw Santa running with no shorts on. The cable car was so fun. Walked to Orpheum Theater, enjoyed WICKED...it is well worth it to get expensive seats :0) I could see Elpheba's nail polish. Then we booked it back to the bus station, and made it to the airport, only to find out that we weren't going to make the standby flight. Naturally, we rented a car. A 12 passenger van named Brigham. And off we went.

The 12 hour drive went by quickly for me. I was in a van with some of my dearest friends...and I had all their attention. And even though I had a failing voice, I sure talked the entire time. What a great present! Every part of the trip was necessary and perfect. Even stopping on the side of the road for a little break, running to McDonald's to satisfy my craving for their fries, changing the heat in the car, sharing a bed with Megan, spilling water, finding sixlets, enjoying the sun, seeing everyone walking down the streets of San Fran. I have been deeply blessed. It was a great trip, but I have some stellar friends.

Thank You

You have just benefitted from a kind gesture of any sort...an answer to a question, a ride, a gift. You say "thank you." The person on the receiving end says "thank you." What does that even mean? What happened to answering "you're welcome"? Did I miss something? Is it actually against protocol to say "you're welcome"? So many times I wonder what I did to them that would merit an expression of thanks. I guess it was nice of me to say something. It was nice of me to sit in the car while they drove.

The word gracious has come to mean a lot to me. It really is accepting the thanks or even the compliment that someone has given you. I tend to pray "dear gracious Heavenly Father." Why? I don't know, it's just something I've picked up, but I know that he accepts my gratitude. And aren't we trying to be like him?

I appreciate the gratitude that I feel and that I usually remember to express it. And I appreciate when others accept these expressions. It fulfills me in a way that lets me know that what I've said is heard & taken and appreciated.

I hope that I can be more thankful & gracious and that I can give others reason to be grateful.

Torn...

Another illness is upon me, and I'm torn...do I do my best to get better or just let it ride out. I ask this question because this illness has caused me to lose my voice. I LOVE losing my voice. I love the sound of lost voices, on anyone. I don't know why, but it just is kind of magical to me.

I find myself not fully clearing my throat, just to help keep the sound there, I don't want to upset the balance that has been created.

But yes, I do want to get better. It's no fun watching people pull away from you like you have just cursed their family, rather than just coughing in their proximity. So, I'll just keep drinking my hot cider and lemon & honey water and hope that the airplane I'm going on today doesn't increase the symptoms.

The Travelling Shirt

So there's this girl that has basically the same name as me. We'll call her Jan. We get along great. Probably because we have such similar names. Well, we have this problem. We like to shop together. And when we go shopping, we tend to find the same clothes. Or we'll make the same comment on an article of clothing. Like the stirrup pants at NY & Co. She saw them first, but didn't say anything, knowing that I would. Sure enough, when I walked passed the pants, I made some kind of comment. But really, I do love stirrup pants.

A few weeks ago, we were at ShopKo. It's actually a great place to shop because no one is ever there. The risk of seeing someone later with the same outfit is minimal. As we were looking, we both happened across this extremely cute shirt. We both grabbed one to try on and when we came out of our dressing rooms, it looked phenomenal on both of us. So, we bought one, joint custody. Back and forth it goes, from one to the other. This travelling shirt has been on some good dates, and has been around a lot of fun people. It is well worn.

Fast forward to our last shopping trip. We were at Forever 21. Just looking around, we happened across these shrugs. Yes. We both got one...different colors of course. Then, I found a coat. It was a white pea coat. I have been craving one of these since finding one for my sister in October. It was perfect. Well, there were some other colors. The blue one caught my friend's eye. She tried it on. Perfect. Needless to say, we now have matching shrugs & coats. So whether we share the item of clothing or just get the matching item, we have impeccable taste.

It is icing to the friendship cake.

Christmas Tree

I have never stepped foot in a tree lot. Sure, I've seen them, walked passed them at the grocery store, but there has never been any reason to go in. At home, we always had a nice fake tree. I remember one year mom putting a pine tree air freshener on the tree. That was fun. But the smell didn't mean much to me. I am here to confess that I'm growing up. I really do like the smell of real Christmas trees now.

My roommate was adamant about getting a real tree this year, so after work, we headed over to Cummings Trees & made the purchase. We had to take a picture next to it to see if we looked good with it. We did. It came home with us. We also took a bunch of boughs home with us. No one else wanted them. I think I may make that part for sure a practice for my future.

I also attended the Festival of Trees last night. It was fun. I think the ambiance would be increased greatly if they turned down the lights so you could see the magical Christmas lights. Maybe when I'm in charge.

Now I have a lovely Christmas tree next to my bedroom door, and I'm enjoying it. Ahhh. (that was me smelling) If only I wouldn't have opened my Christmas presents earlier this week, I'd have something to put under the tree :0)

Wigs

Confession: I like wigs.
There is something so enjoyable about tucking your hair into a net that then allows beautiful sythetic hair to adorn your head. They just crack me up.

Well today, I get to work, and a co-worker informs me that the older paralegal has dyed her hair again. She has quite thin hair (her scalp is almost entirely exposed), and a few weeks ago, she went from almost white, to brown. Interesting. Oh, and she's 60. I was proud of her for taking that chance. So, knowing that she had dyed her hair again, I was beyond surprised when I saw her with a wig. What!?!? She's using some great volumizing shampoo! Apparently she wears it and calls herself Chrissy when she does. She doesn't keep it on a styrofoam head, just on a hanger in her bathroom, which no longer gives her a scare when she goes in there at night. And she might be buying another one. It will be white. But this wig is really full and is a lot darker than the her hair was yesterday. Who does that? Everytime she walks past my desk, I just giggle. In our meeting, she kept confessing different things about it. It's all too odd.

A lady that I knew in Cincinnati had quite the array of wigs. It was confusing for the first few times meeting her. Then, she showed us her collection. And yes, we tried them all on and took some great pictures.

I think I'm missing out on a lot of great experiences by not having a wig...a good wig, that cost more than $20 at the Halloween store. I think I might actually do some researching on the phenomenon of wigs, it's so intriguing.

Craisins

I love craisins. They are delicious. I had no idea! I'm still not sold on cranberry juice, gross. But yay for craisins!!

Phones

Last week, I got to work and realized that my phone was not working. I was absolutely ecstatic! I hate answering the phone, yet it is a big portion of my job. I answer the phone for everyone. I get all the roll-over calls from my 8 co-workers. Plus, my own line. Plus, the outside line (which is the only number listed on lds.org). Plus, the reception line. Basically, I answer phone calls all day long. So when my phone didn't work, I didn't stress out, at all. Then I remembered that my manager was gone and he told everyone to call me. Small stress. So they fixed my phone quite quickly, but it wasn't set up the same as before. Totally fine. We're getting a new phone system in a month. I can deal with it.

Fast forward to Thursday afternoon.

I have been swamped with work and actually been able to get through it all with hardly any distractions. I was really enjoying this thought, when suddenly it dawned on me...I've been getting a TON of voicemail, but don't really think I've purposefully ignored the call, or even heard it ring. Why? So I hurriedly emailed the lady in charge of phones, and sure enough, my line for the reception & outside calls had not been ringing. She activated that and viola! The phone was blissfully ringing steady for the rest of the day, and my inability to complete a project in a timely manner returned. Glory.

Do I feel bad? Well, yeah, kind of, it is part of my job after all. But it was so nice to maintain concentration and get so much accomplished. So back to answering the phones, back to being service oriented, back (sorry, the phone just rang) to life.

Brothers

I just want to give a little shout out to my 3 brothers. I've been thinking a lot about them, so here goes.

1) The Giggler: He is funny. He makes others laugh. And when he starts to laugh, it's usually this giggle that is so contagious. Plus, he's a hard worker and does it with a smile. Such a good nature! And he has the cutest little relationship with his son (and the next one is going to benefit, too). I recently read "The Great Brain" and realized that me and this brother fit perfectly into this scenario. I think he swiddled me out of money, etc., but I just think he's the greatest. A total hero in my book.
2) The Baker: Really, he makes the best cookies. Ever. And he was kind enough to bless me with some when I visited him in Maine. Plus, he's just fun. We used to play mariokart for hours. And he'd pull out candy and share it, always. His kids know that he is the source of all fun, and they just fawn over him. And he's really smart. Who else would read encyclopedias for fun?
3) The Traveler: This brother just completed the biggest & greatest family vacation in the history of the world. 8 people to the other side of the world for 2 weeks. That is no easy task. Plus, he totally drove in Kenya...a lot. Not a desirable task for anyone. I'm proud of him for doing that, relieving some stress on my dad's part, and not having any accidents. Wow. Plus, all family members showed love, even at the end of the 33 hours from Nairobi to SLC. That is a gift. This brother just bestows a lot of love on everyone. And he built his own house.

I just admire my brothers in so many ways. Just thinking about it makes me realize how little I actually know about my brothers. But I konw I love them and they love me. And I know they don't read my blog, so it's not like I'm getting cute little sister points for this. I am grateful that they are the priesthood representatives in my family that live in America. They are noble.

Eyes

Today I'm grateful for my eyes.

They hurt like crazy and have huge sensitivity right now. I keep having to take breaks to give them a rest. It's probably because of the lack of sleep :0) I just hope the cold didn't move to my eyes. Yuck.

During all this "grief," I realized how grateful I am for my eyes. They do so much! My life can't be done without them. I'm always afraid of going blind...could be that I have horrible eye sight and that's actually possible. But that's a huge fear in my life. I don't want to miss seeing anything. I have seen some incredible things in my life, things that a camera will never do justice. And what an amazing experience that has been.

Colors are incredible, people are beautiful, and this world is majestic.

Yes, I am very grateful for my eyes.

"My favorite color is blue, like the ocean, and my eyes...would you like a swim?" ~Delicate

Elevators

I work on the 18th Floor. I ride the elevator a lot. Today, when my co-worker was surrounded by other riders, unnecessarily, I realized how amusing this part of the day is to me.

There are a few methods to riding an elevator:
The single rider...stand where ever you want. Just don't adjust anything, there are cameras.
The double rider...stand on either side of the cart.
The triple rider...line up on the back wall OR if you get on at different times, there may more of a triangle shape.
The Crowd...cram as many people as possible.

Tips:
Avoid eye contact.
All conversation must end upon entrance.
Always face the door...not the lovely people who are already in the elevator.
Space...it's all about space. The law of "splitting the difference" ought to be applied.
If there are people in front of you who are getting off on your floor, let them get off first.
Don't risk your life by sticking your arm out to keep the doors from closing, just wait for the next elevator.
Always make sure you are pushing the right button. It does no good to get in an elevator and push the current floor button. Just saying.
Cell phones aren't guaranteed to work while in the elevator. End the conversation before entering the lift.
If you're only going one floor, just use the stairs. It's actually faster.

Any disruption to these socially acceptable methods causes discomfort & anxiety to other riders.

I'd like to meet the lady who provides the voice for the elevators. She seems nice.

Little Pieces of Heaven

Right now I am suffering for a horrible cold. I tried to avoid it, and then encourage it, and now I'm ready to be done and have a normal breath back. Here are a few pieces of heaven that I'm enjoying while I'm sick.

~ Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with mint, compliments to my brother Rob, and cheers to me for not scarfing them on the flight home from Maine.
~ Pajama pants & t-shirts. I wish I could wear this combination all day, every day.
~ Emails from Kenya. Moms always have just the right thing to say to make you feel better.
~ Disney movies.
~ Letters. I just got one that had a picture of my nephew. Love it.
~ Seeing dear friends. I made it to work today, and had a conference in Provo. While waiting for it to start, I turned around and saw an old mission companion. She totally made my day. Then in the meeting I got bored, so I texted another friend and she came to visit during the conference. Icing.
~ Yoga. There is a pose called, "little piece of heaven." Doesn't really fit my definition of it, but I still enjoy yoga.
~ Benadryl. Which I will be taking shortly.
~ Yummy smells. Like cinnamon and home-made stew.
~ Eye masks & ear plugs. Thanks Jet Blue for providing this.

Live in Thanksgiving Daily

I love this month. I was reading in the Book of Mormon, and it says "Live in Thanksgiving Daily" (Alma 34:38) I wish I was better at this. But in this month of November, I'm going to focus my thoughts on what I'm grateful for.

~I'm thankful that hymns make me happy

~I'm thankful for hiccups. The guy next to me on trax today reminded me of it.

~I'm thankful for airplanes. I am in awe at the capacity of them, that they get me around the world to see my family, and it allows me to see the grandeur of this earth, both on land and in the sky.

~I'm thankful that I don't like snakes.

~I'm thankful for the gospel and the direction it has given me. That sounds so broad, but I know that happiness is a direction, and by living the gospel I have found great happiness, and that happiness will continue.

Forward Messages

Today at work I got a forward email from a lady from another department. Figuring it had something to do with Intellectual Property, I opened it. Nope. Not at all. I don't know why she sent it to me and the other paralegals.
So what exactly is the protocol for forwarding emails? I know the big rush of forwarding isn't as big as it used to be, maybe that's why I'm still confused about the whole situation.
So really, I have no idea why I felt the urge to write this. Sorry.

Oh, and I had a wonderful time in Maine. wow. I am fully prepared to move there, or at least have a summer cottage there.

Continental Breakfast

My sister is in town for some job training, so of course I stayed at her hotel. I think hotels are more fun & appealing when I know I don't have to share the space with my dad, the loudest snorer in the world. One of the joys of hotels is the free continental breakfast. When I left, oh so early, this morning, I stopped in the lobby and snagged a little danish, some juice, an omelette and some yougurt. I think tomorrow I'm going to plan on leaving earlier so I can make some waffles.
Recently, I started eating breakfast again. It's fun. But I think my life would be complete if I had continental breakfast at my house, where I could grab what I want without having to cook it. Where could I hire out for that type of service? Would the food stay warm enough if I made it the night before? If I did that, I promise to never make bacon. It's incredible how that smell permeates every part of everything. Ew.
Which also reminds me...I called the meal at 12:00 "Dinner" today, and was mocked by my co-workers for calling it that. Turns out, according to wikipedia, that calling "lunch" "dinner" is typical of English, German, Canadian, & industrial cultures. And then supper is the closing meal of the day. So it wasn't weird that I called it that at all. In fact, in other research I've done, I learned that the "lunchlady" doesn't exist in England, she's the "dinnerlady."

Hampster

Lately, me and the friends have been watching scary movies. Which apparently do nothing for me, but are enjoyable nonetheless. Last night as I left "The Sixth Sense" I think I ran over a hampster. I know. Weird. What is a hampster doing out at 11:30? I refuse to go back & check. When I get out of my car, I notice something moving across the ground. I absolutely freaked out, because I think it's a rodent at my feet. ew. It wasn't, just light as I shut the car door. Rodents gross me out in every way possible. Why was I effected by the rodent, but not the scary movies? Right now, I'm sitting on the floor, and I'm starting to get worked up, thinking a rodent is going to get me. I hate mice. I still am very resentful to the mouse that stole my cookie during lunch. But I'm grateful for strong friends that are diseffected by the mouse business. They keep me sane. I'm also grateful that I can seperate life from make believe.

Happy Sunday!

Indecision

I don't know about this.

I'm not Hawaiian, but I love Hawaiian Haystacks. I think it's pretty typical of my life. Jack of all, master of none. Yes, I think I'm great at a lot of things, not at one thing in particular. I guess I need more than the normal dose to satisfy me. Odd. I realized that not one thing identifies me. Nothing was more stressful than trying to figure out a name for a blog that I will be known by. (Not that anyone will ever really notice the name, just that my name is associated with the posting.) [Maybe that's why I'm not married, that would lead to children, and to more indecision on what to name them :0)] I do know that I love hawaiian haystacks. I eat them every Thursday. It's a little piece of heaven. So, I'm going to work on figuring out an identity. Good luck, right?