On the mind

I have a really good excuse for not blogging lately and I want you to know that it's not you, it's me! Well, it's kind of you. I mean, I did it for you. See, all I've been thinking about lately is Christmas, and I didn't want to annoy you with it. All I've been thinking about is Christmas yet even I am annoyed that so many stores already have all their Christmas stuff out. I mean, it's made it easier for me to find the things I've been looking for but I still feel like it's too early!...for them (the stores) but not for me, of course.

After all, only 63 days until Festival of Trees opening day!!! And I'm so excited! I've done so much already and I still have a thousand things to do but I'm having so much fun doing it!

And I just got a new calling! (And just as I was finally getting all those primary songs down.) I get to work with the Young Women now and I'm thrilled. I have no clue what I'm really doing yet but I'm having a blast doing it!

The only other thing I've been up to lately (besides work, of course) is day-dreaming. I've had to order a lot of stuff off the internet lately, some for festival, some personal, and I am always fascinated by the path that my packages take to get to me. Recently I've received packages that were shipped by such exotic places as:
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Pompano Beach, Florida (sounds fabulous, right?)
- Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Sparks, Nevada

All places I've never visited. Wait, I might've driven through Sparks. Maybe. I have a co-worker who has a daughter who lives in Sparks. She told me this joke:
Reno is so close to "h-e-double hockey sticks" you can see sparks.

Get it? Cuz Sparks is right outside of Reno.

Please forgive this post. I woke up at 4:45am this morning to go with the Young Women to the Temple to do baptisms. It was wonderful, and amazing, and I am utterly exhausted and ready for a nap!

Let’s be bad together!

That’s what a co-worker said to me after word spread around the office that someone was giving away cake. I’d previously decided that I’d be good and wouldn’t go get a piece but that line drew me over the top. So, here I sit, eating cake!

But, just so you know, I’m not enjoying it. I mean, what’s a good piece of cake without milk? So, really it’s like I’m practically gagging it down. That must count for something, right?

On a completely unrelated note, I can’t believe summer is winding down! It’s been one heck of a summer, though. I played my little heart out…as evidenced by the lack of blogging I’ve been doing. And while typically things start slowing down for me in the fall, that won’t be the case this time. Festival of Trees activities are starting to heat up. I’ve been shopping ‘til I’m dropping (not really!) over the last week try to gather up all the stuff I need to make crafts and decorations. Now my focus is to surround myself with craft-savvy people and not getting overwhelmed by my inadequacy at making super cute crafts and decorations. Applications are now being accepted! :)

So, I hope all is well with you! I’ll keep you posted on my upcoming adventures and try to fill you in on some of the adventures that took place over the summer!

TTFN!

Festival Craft Ideas!!

Hi!

For those of you that are regular readers, this is one blog post you may want to skip.

As you hopefully know, I have the opportunity of serving this year on the Festival of Trees executive board which benefits Primary Children's Medical Center. I have some WONDERFUL friends and family members who have decided to help me on this endeavor and make some awesome crafts to donate. So, this post is just some of the ideas I've seen that could help them out...

Glass tile pendants/magnets

http://lazydaisyglass.blogspot.com/2009/02/tutorial-glass-tile-pendant.html

T-shirt Pom Poms

http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/01/t-shirt-pom-poms-tutorial.html

Ruffled Bags

http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/02/big-announcement-introducing-ruffled.html

Leather Hair Accessories

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/faux-leather-ahem-vinyl-hair.html


Satin Flower Headbands

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/blog-post.html

Many of these items can be adjusted to more Christmas-y colors/themes which might help them sell better. You can also take the basic item and turn it into other things so start that crafty mind a-turning!!

And, if you have any other ideas that might help us out please feel free to post links below in the comments!

Thanks!!

Marsh Lake - June 2011

So, not as soon as I'd hoped, but here's the first video I mentioned in the last post! Enjoy!

Where I been?

So, yeah, life’s been…busy.  I’m sure you know how it goes so I won’t drag on about it.

My new roomies moved in.  They’re…well,…ok. 

Just kidding!  I LOVE THEM!!  My sister and bro-in-law have decided to come mooch off me for about a year while they save up to buy a sweet mansion.  But in all reality they’re not actually mooching.  Anyone who gives me money every month, mows the lawn regularly and keeps the fridge full of food is welcome to come “mooch” off of me!

And one of the biggest miracles of all is that we all still love each other!  There was a few awkward moments when my sister made me donate half of my wardrobe to DI but we worked through it. 

(And by “worked through it” I mean “I dragged her to Kohl’s with me for a little bit of a shopping spree!”)

But my new roomies have been living with me for almost 4 weeks now and it doesn’t seem nearly that long.  I guess that’s a good sign, right?  Of course, we’ve hardly been home.  We were gone camping for 2 weekends, one of which also involved boating (yay!), and then to a family reunion another weekend.  I’m actually excited that I get to stay home this weekend and get stuff done around the house.

So, coming soon to a blog near you (in fact, the blog is so near you’re actually reading it right now) I have camping pictures, boating pictures, 4th of July pictures, house fixing-upping pictures, and maybe a few other random things thrown in.

And they’ll be soon, I promise, so stay tuned!  And, for now, here’s a sneak peek!

It’s so good to be back blogging again!

Spring Fever!

Hi!

Sorry!

I've been a bad, bad blogger.

And I know it!

But as a way to make it up to you I present 2 videos. One is the aforementioned Lake Powell video from March. The other is a slideshow of the side trip we took to Goblin Valley on the way back from Lake Powell.

So, here they are:

Snowshoeing

Usually this time of year I'm itching for warm weather. And I have an extra excuse this year as to why I should be doing so, but I'll talk about that later. I've had such a wonderful winter, though, that I'm almost sad to see it go. I asked Santa for a pair of snowshoes this last Christmas so now, after years of renting, I finally have my own. My first adventure out on them was with my good friends, Teresa and Mandy. We took little roll-up sleds with us so that we could do some sledding, too. I highly recommend sledding/snowshoeing adventures, we had such a blast!

And the reason I can't wait for summer...:

The family and I took it down to Lake Powell a month ago for some fishing. It was awesome! The lake was deserted, it was 70 degrees, and we had a blast. I'm putting a video together that I'll post soon!

Life is tough

Why does going back to work after a three-day weekend always feel like a punishment? Am I being punished for playing too much?

As I sat down at my desk and was putting my keys in my purse I found the to-do list I’d made last Thursday. And although I could tell it was my handwriting it honestly took me 3.5 seconds to realize why I would’ve put item number one on the list.

I mean, I plan to figuratively do that at some point pretty much every weekend, but I’d never need to put it on the list to make sure it was accomplished. And then it hit me: I literally wanted to put feet on my couch. Couch feet, that is.

My couch has been sitting directly on the floor since I got it and I decided I wanted to raise it up a bit, you know, make it taller. So, that’s what I meant.

You may also note that a trip to IKEA was on the list which means there’ll be some remodeling posts in the semi-near future.

Exciting stuff is happening, now I just need some more three-day weekends to get it all done.

Well, a girl can dream. And on Mondays, that’s all I’ve got to keep me going sometimes!

Warning Underwear

Yes, it's me! And yes, I know I'm a bad blogger. My sister reprimanded me this week for not posting anything for over 3 weeks. I pointed out to her that is has been over a year since she posted anything. Judge not, that ye be not judged, dear sister! Anyways, I want to talk about 2 things today: Undergarments and car insurance. First, undergarments. I found out recently (don't ask how) that I'm not the only one who has a set (or two) of "warning underwear." You know, that underwear you don't really like but you keep around for laundry days. In my case, I'm not good at paying attention to how long it's been since I did laundry so I know when I come to my first "warning underwear" I have 2 days (cuz I have two warning undergarments) to do laundry. It works out well for me and keeps me in clean underwear! Sorry, is this too much information? But do you do that? Or are you one of those people who just watches to see how empty your underwear drawer is, thus notifying you when it's time to do laundry? You think that procedure would work for me, seeing as how I'm a "noticer" (right, Katie?) but it really doesn't. My theory is that it takes me a good 1.5 hours from the time I roll out of bed until my brain actually turns on. So, when I go to grab clean undergarments in the morning I don't realize that I'm on my last ones. Ok, moving on. Second, some idiot almost ran me off the road this morning. But because of my quick actions I foiled his plan. And in instances like this I believe we should be allowed to call our insurance company and say how lucky they are that I am a terrific driver and was able to avoid an accident that other drivers (not you, of course) would probably not have been able to avoid. And we should get a discount for every time we avoid an accident. Now, I understand that would never happen as fraudulent non-accidents would increase out of control. But sometimes I feel like my insurance company should know what a good driver I am. Oh and one more thing... Third, I just survived another birthday. It was a hard number to take. And since a lady never reveals her age let's just say... I've been driving for half of my life. That's so weird! Well, that's all for now. I have a few trip videos (and photos) from the past couple of months that I'll post soon. And as spring fever sets in I'm looking forward to a spring/summer full of fun adventures! Hope you're having a wonderful day! Talk at ya later!

You too can travel Southeast Asia!!

So, the wonderful group that I went to Southeast Asia with back in June of 2007 is doing another trip this year. If you're interested in going you can check out the link I shared on Facebook. (If you need more info I can tell you other ways to contact them!)

I posted a bunch of pictures and information about the time I spent there and here is a collection of links that will take you through most of the trip:

Introduction

Bangkok - Part 1

Bangkok - Part 2

Vietnam

Sadly, I never finished posting the rest of the pictures but it was all equally amazing. I'm so sad I can't join them this time but I hope to go again in the future. It was the trip of a lifetime!!

I like ‘em topless!

I AM IN LOVE!

For years I've secretly had a crush that I don't think I've ever shared with a single person (or a married person for that matter).

I've envied the merchandise from afar and given it the once over much more than once.

But last week I finally got to partake of the forbidden fruit, and, oh, was it sweet!

And now I've fallen...and I don't think there's any coming back.

And I just can’t take it anymore.  I have to let the world know!  I want to shout at the top of my lungs…

I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!

We met last Wednesday when I arrived at LAX.  It was love at first sight. I mean, I’d dreamed about meeting for years.  I’d made multiple checklists and all of my necessities were fulfilled…

Well, except one.  But one flaw ain’t bad, right?

I mean,… I prefer topless, but I would’ve been a little chilly. 

(See, I can be a realist when the moment calls for it!)

Alas, the relationship was short-lived.  But my life was forever changed and I will never forget our time together. 

And I hope we can be together forever… someday.

(OK, maybe not as much of a realist as necessary!)

High Expectations

<This post was written on Wednesday, February 9. It is being posted now that I have returned from the trip mentioned below.>

I left the house today with high expectations. Today, those high expectations had to do with my socks.

Yes, socks.

I'm wearing cute socks today. This isn't an uncommon occurrence, I often wear cute socks. But there was a special reason I wore cute socks today... cuz I knew other people might be able to see them. I'm flying to California today (for work, not play...bummer) and as I was getting dressed this morning I made sure that I put on my cute socks so that others could admire them when I had to take off my shoes to go through security at the airport. You see, people don't often have the opportunity to see my cute socks, leaving me the only one that can take joy in their cuteness.

But today as I got dressed I thought, "With this one simple act I could brighten someone's day! I could make them smile!"

I didn't realize at the time how much pressure I'd put on my socks considering they only had about 2 minutes to change the world.

But, I left the house with high expectations.

----------------------------------------------------------

The topic of expectations has been on my mind a lot lately and it all started with a grapefruit.

This one to be exact:

It had come hand-delivered to me straight from Arizona. It just doesn't get any fresher than that this time of year. And it was one of the biggest grapefruit I'd ever seen. It smelled wonderful.

I cut into it, so excited to taste my first grapefruit of the season and was extremely disheartened to see this:

Don't get me wrong, I still ate the thing, but at the time I felt like I'd been duped.

It was, though, one of the sweetest and best things I'd ever eaten.

And it was because of this experience that a realization came to me. Just because God doesn't bless you with the wonderful things you expect doesn't mean He isn't going to bless you with wonderful things.

Some of my dear friends have had really hard and trying experiences over the last few months, though, and I think about them all the time. We, as a people, expect that we won't ever lose our house to fire, or that every toddler will grow up to be a grandparent. We expect to be loved and we expect to give love in return.

But just because God doesn't bless us with the things we expect doesn't mean he doesn't bless you in ways you never could've expected.

So, I'm trying to remember that as challenges come and go. As opportunities come and go. As the good, the bad, and the ugly comes and goes.

And as cute socks come and go...

And remember, sometimes those with the thickest skin have the sweetest centers.

Snocross 2011

A little while ago (10 days, to be exact) I was invited by the lovely and talented Mandy (yes, that's what she prefers to be called... probably) to go to Snocross down at Rio Tinto Stadium. We bundled up and headed out. Here's a short video of some of the events. I apologize in advance for the camera shake. I had to take my hand out of my glove to take video and it was freezin' cold! Also, I was taking the video on my phone so... it is what it is.

Enjoy!

Work Hard, Play Harder

Going back to work after the holidays is SO tough. I mean, seriously, this 3 day work week nearly killed me! I think I need another 12 days off.

Wouldn't that be the life?!?

Anyways, I was looking through some video footage I took at a family Christmas party about a week before Christmas and I came across some footage I took on Christmas day. I meant to be on top of my game and get this video edited and up within a few days of Christmas but... let's be real, I was on a mental vacation... and I completely forgot about it.

But here it is now, in all it's "glory"!! Merry Christmas!!

A Match Made in Heaven in Twenty-Eleven

I tried to act cheerful as I headed out of the house on my way to work for the second time this morning. The first time around I was about halfway to work when I realized I’d forgotten my ID badge and my laptop, two things considered necessary for me to actually work. Number one being to get into the building, and number two to actually do anything productive.

I should’ve known right then it was going to be a roller coaster day. I was coming back from the break knowing that I was going to be overwhelmed by a project I have to complete by the end of this month. About 3 hours into my day, however, it was starting to look like my job was already done for me. About one hour after that thought crossed through my mind, though, I find out I had no such luck and was once again back to the starting line with this project. So, I took it upon myself to render some of the work unnecessary (a fact which I have yet to inform my boss of) thus making this project somewhat manageable.

In other news…I’ve set a few goals for myself this year. One is to blog more and to be funnier when I do. (Starting immediately after this post.) I’ve had a hard time adding diagrams to my blog lately but I’m going to try harder. Another is to lose weight although I still have to set a more specific goal. And another has something to do with the title of this post but, once again, I need to determine the specifics of how that is going to come about. I have figured out step number one, though: talk to a boy.

We’ll see how that goes.

I truly hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that the new year is treating you well!

Oh, and I spent part of my holiday in the Las Vegas area and will post pictures and video soon!