2011

Let's just skip over the fact that I've totally neglected my blog (again) and get right to the good stuff. Last year about this time I posted a list of memories from 2010 and I think this should be a tradition of mine.

Finishing school
"secret" interviews
Getting my Mazda fix, FINALLY...
then wrecking it again
"Just sayin..."
Adele
A dog named Hercules
Teaching a friend how to order a virgin drink....
... then watching her order a "virgin sex on the beach"
Transformers at Midnight
Don't You Wanna Stay - Jason Aldean/Kelly Clarkson
Wrecking my Mazda again.
Learning that Craftsman is THE BEST brand of tool
Christmas Party at the Grand America
My first kiss under the mistletoe
Being named an honorary Mexican
"Nailed it!"
Keith dropping the chili just like Kevin on the office
Moving to Sandy
Buying my sexy new Elantra
Keys on Main
Just A Kiss - Lady Antebellum
Starting a new job
Girls trip to St. George
Volleyball
Texas Roadhouse
Lashes
Kelly Clarkson
Learning how many Whoppers I can fit in my mouth
My first Christmas tree
Thriller - Michael Jackson
What Women Want Show
"Aunt Jessie.... I yuv you"
Crime scene cubicle
Bee's games
Learning to let go
The stripper pole
Creating a honey-do list
Locking myself in a mentholated hot box and getting sick anyways
Carving pumpkins
Panda Express
Davis High Football
Hanging out at Murdock Hyundai
Trying to teach a 3 year old how to play Hide and Seek... and failing due to giggles
IKEA
Learning to trust again
Creating a more cuddle friendly LoveSac
Learning to french braid my own hair
Falling in Love

It has been an amazing year and I am SO grateful for all the people who have come in and out of my life. One of THE MOST important things I have learned (or re-learned) this year is that my Father in Heaven loves me and is very aware of me and my needs and struggles. There have been so many little moments of tender mercy and love. I have had so many prayers answered, some in ways I didn't expect but all in ways I needed. I have become closer with my family. I have made new friends. I have let go of old friends. I have seen heartache. I have had love. I AM SO BLESSED.

Thank you all for being a part of my life!

Fun lately

It's been a fun, busy week! I'm super excited that Halloween is getting closer and I promised I would keep all 5 of my readers updated on those adventures so... here we go.

Update on the Cubicle
We are making excellent progress on our crime scene. It has turned into a kind of interactive display... people walk up and say "you know, you should do this..." and usually we accommodate. One of my favorite suggestions (that I'm ashamed to say I didn't think of before this) was some bullet casings. Problem is... I still don't own a gun despite the fact that it's been on my new year's resolutions list for the past 3 years or so. Luckily I know a cowboy that frequently talks about and carries guns so a quick call and trip later and I had some shot gun shells and a few 9mm casings. WE ARE SO GOING TO WIN THIS CONTEST :)

Sorry the pictures aren't great... I had to sneak them. No cameras allowed at work. Another interesting development, one of our attorneys is a little freaked out at the "chalk" outline and is very careful about stepping on him. Even named him Phil.

Halloween Costume
I'm totally lame at remembering to take pictures but I got to reveal my costume at the Stake YSA Halloween Carnival and it was AMAZING. I put together a 80s era Rogue X-Men costume and I totally love it. Promise I'll get pictures eventually.

Halloween Carnival
Speaking of the carnival... I don't remember if I mentioned that I was one of the 3 in charge of that project and MAN! I am SO glad that is finally over. My ward planned a flash mob of the thriller dance that was a big hit it was a blast. I was very impressed with some of the Halloween costumes! Sadly, this year was no except to some weird guy using the costume to hit on me... "I was going to be Gambit, no joke. That would have meant we were boyfriend and girlfriend. *Creepy Smile*" EVERY YEAR! Moving on....

Pumpkins!
In a desperate attempt at avoiding a haunted house I suggested pumpkin carving and really... I'm a genius. We had so much fun picking out and carving pumpkins. I'm a little ashamed at my lack of creativity but I didn't have much time to plan so also keep an eye out for a more exciting creation sometime this week.

And you have to see the side shot of Steve's pumpkin... poor thing's amazing stem broke in the back of the truck but we put it to good use.

Stay tuned for more Halloween adventures!

Creativity

Anxiety is part of creativity, the need to get something out, the need to be rid of something or to get in touch with something within. 

I found this quote and it struck a cord. A lot of my posts lately have mentioned or implied stress and anxiety... understandable, I think, with all the changes in my life. It's all self imposed but there has definitely been some anxiety. I read this though and it just makes sense.

Over the past 6 months or so I've felt this weird surge of creativity.
I say weird because, let's be honest, I'm a left brain person. I'll be the first to admit that.
I'm a nerd.
A science geek.
I have a weirdly retentive memory.
I rarely do anything creative. Well, I rarely FINISH anything creative.
I usually give up half way through when I run out of creativity juices. If I even make it half way.
I see my friends post things that usually go something like this "This inspired me and this is what I came up with." I'm 100% amazed 100% of the time.

But lately... I have this weird urge to create.

I've wanted to do sowing projects. I've done crafts. I've learned how to make little cutesy things. I painted my bedroom... with an accent wall. Actually the entire vision for my room has come together. My bedspread matches the walls, and accessories, and there's even a painting on the wall. I'm going all out decorating my cubicle for Halloween (and while one could argue it isn't creative because I'm drawing from my nerdy science side for inspiration... it is actually creative!) I've taken more pictures. I've followed through.

The point is... it feels really good. It feels good to FINISH something, and, even when it isn't perfect, be able to look at it and go "Hey, I made that. I'm awesome!"

I may even have the courage to dig out my old unfinished T-shirt quilt and finally sow it all together. Just in time for winter :)

CSI

So I post A LOT about my  job. What can I say? I like it. It is interesting. I like the people I work with. It's a CONSTANT challenge. AND we get incentives :)

This month, thanks to some amazing fellow Halloween lovers, the incentives are less work related and more holiday related. We are having a pumpkin carving contest, a costume contest, and a cubicle decorating contest.

Costume contest, in the bag thanks to an amazing group costume idea that I'm totally stoked about
Pumpkin carving, one of my most unusual but awesome talents
Cubicle decorating... ?

I share a double cubicle with my team leader. Which is awesome because we have a lot of space, and we get a long great. Last week everyone started putting up decorations (aka spiderwebs). There's skull light strings, and fake spiders, and cutesy little pumpkins and candy corns. Fermina and I just didn't want to follow the crowd, so we brainstormed and... LIGHT BULB.

Over the next few days our cubicle will slowly transform into an active crime scene! As of now we have clearly marked the crime scene with yellow tape and have a chalk (or masking tape) outline of a body. Soon to come, evidence markers and bags, a weapon, fingerprints, and BLOOD!

Can you tell I'm excited. Everyone has already started commenting on our creativity and we are having a lot of fun.

The only downside, it has made me a little nostalgic. I miss the nerdy lab work and puzzling out a tricky fingerprint or two .... or ten. I pulled out all of my old school work to flip through for ideas, and it made me excited. Maybe finishing up my degree is still in the future for me (as scary a thought as that is), maybe it isn't but it has been SO MUCH FUN to pull out some of that old knowledge and flaunt it a little bit. I think I'll go look at some fingerprints (NERD!!)

Pictures to come!

<3

I'm Back

It's been awhile....

I had some friends that dropped out of the blogging scene when they starting dating amazing guys.
That's not what happened to me... just to clear the air.

Things got (and still are) very busy. It's been a good busy though.

I guess the busy has just taken up so much though that my usual ramblings don't ever have time to condense into something worth writing. For awhile there I had a WHOLE LOT and now we're just back to the routine of things. It's a happy "driving on with cruise control" kind of feeling (even if the speed feels like its set at 100 MPH) Sure there are the bumps in the road but I feel like I've left the rock slide behind me and now I'm just zippin along.

Things to look forward to (and that will provide plenty of material to blog about)

Halloween - including an amazing costume in the works, Halloween carnival planned by yours truly (complete with what will prove to be at least what should prove to be a shining moment in Halloween Festivity History --- video to come), Halloween Party (also hosting), decorating, playing, carving pumpkins, candy etc etc.

Weddings and Baby Showers

Big changes at work

Mini vacation next month

New books and movies and music

I'm going to get back into the swing of my blog so --- don't disappear dear friends. I'm back.

Unwinding

This week has been a tough one. Luckily it has gone by really fast! My parents decided they needed to go to Hawaii for some unknown reason and asked me to stay with my 16 yr old brother Collin to keep him company and make sure he feeds himself. My mom offered me gas money and access to her food so I can't really say that's a bad deal, but an extra 30- 40 minute commute in the morning reminded me why I moved to Sandy.

I've taken on a lot lately and I'm still adjusting to some changes.... but maybe this week's exhaustion was really only because I'm not even near the realm of "morning person". Who knows.... but like I said, tough.

I came home (to my parents') today knowing I had the night off. BUT step one, clean the kitchen. Done. Quite thoroughly I might add. Step two, got check the garden, which I have neglected all week. Needless to say there was a GIANT zucchini and about a billion tomatoes (Ooops). Step three... food. So I sat for a minute staring at a billion tomatoes. TOMATO SOUP!

So... here I am an hour and 1/2 since I walked in the door. The kitchen is clean. There is a delicious smelling MADE FROM SCRATCH soup simmering on the stove. I ran to Harmon's for some delicious looking bread that is about to be turned into a nice melty grilled cheese sandwich (I gotta say... grilled cheese is somewhat of a specialty) and I feel REALLY good about myself.

Yes, I'm still exhausted. Yes, I plan on eating then turning on the most boring looking movie I could find at Redbox (The Conspirator) and promptly falling into a semi-comatose state. YES, I'm totally impressed with myself. (Yes, I'm awesome). Yes, you can tell I'm tired. BIGGEST YES OF ALL... I have achieved enough in the last hour to unwind and feel marginally better about my more than marginally crappy week.

Like I said, I'm awesome :)

Never Forget

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild

By Thomas S. Monson

Badge from fire helmet discovered in the debris post 9/11/01. (Ira Block)The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001.

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.

The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.

It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.

Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This article was copied from the Washington Post. There are articles there written by leaders of many faiths that are amazing as well. Go read them and remember. As you remember the sadness and tragedy, remember the hope and love that surrounded that time. Remember the heroes. Remember the sense of unity. Most importantly, remember YOUR faith. Remember to have hope and courage. 

I know that I forget those things... constantly. I look back on 9/11 and I want to be better.

What better time is there to remember and try again? 

<3