In Gratitude

I passed yet another course. I am slowly but surely making my way towards a degree. Sometimes I wonder how I actually pass some of these classes because during them I feel as if my brain is to the class material and information as the concrete side walk is to a rubber ball. Nothing sticks just bounces around. What bliss and shock I feel when I get my grades and find that I will not have to retake a class!


So with this said I feel I need to thank those that make it possible. For with out you I would not be able to do it.

Diet Coke never let me down when I needed a little surge of caffeine.

Sour Patch watermelon chews always gave that party in the mouth, got to eat something or else I will go crazy comfort when I ever I needed it.

Thank you, for with out you I question my abilities to study and pass any class.

single with a few extra pounds

Spent last weekend visiting Oklahoma. My brother Adam blessed the newest addition to his family- Baby Brooklyn. Most of the family was able to go so it was a pretty good time. I got a lot of baby holding time in- it fed any baby hunger I had. There was also a lot of baby crying that fed any baby hunger I had. (5 little ones under age 2)
Saturday night we took the kids to this sweet little Farm. They have a petting zoo, a carousel, a train ride, and PONY RIDES!! I was excited about those. But blast! There was a sign saying no one over 100lbs could ride the pony. Boo. Now, I am not saying that I am actually over 100lbs but lets just say IF I was... like 35lbs or more over 100lbs. Why cant those little ponies carry a bit more?! Sheesh. Whats a few extra pounds?
Most of the time when I am visiting family out of town I sleep on the couch. It is like they think married people ALWAYS have to sleep in the same bed or something. :) This trip I opted to go to the hotel with my brother Jed and his wife Valerie. I ended up on the other bed with my 2 year old niece Ashlee. Ashlee was a bit congested so when she fell asleep she was snoring. Yep, 2 year olds DO in fact snore. (who would have thought??) I wasn't worried though, her snoring was kind of sweet. Sweet until her dad chimed in! I awoke at 12am to a snore-a-thon. Yikes it was brutal. My sister in law was sleeping through it so I thought I would give it a try. After 20 minutes I decided I could handle no more and went and shook my brother till he woke up. I begged him to give me some earplugs (he just happen to have some) and put those little gems as far up my ears as they would go. You know, those things actually work?!?! I was able to finish up the night with out the symphony of snore.
Lesson I learned here? I am VERY single. Yep, I love my own quite bedroom with my own comfy bed. And in my single world all ponies can carry and will carry those of us.. er those out there that weigh a bit more than 100lbs.

Grateful

My mom and her family have always been wonderful cooks. Through out the years I have been blessed with delicious home cooked Thanksgiving feasts. This year my brothers were all away with their families and so it was with Auntie Kay's girls too. So we did something out of the ordinary and went out for Thanksgiving dinner. We arrived at Little America at 11:00am to find a very long line of hungry people and waited...And waited some more... (Mom and Auntie Kay)
still waiting...

And then we ate. A lot. Turkey, prime rib, crab legs, potatoes...


Yes, it was worth the weight. Er I mean wait. :)



After dinner we went and saw that adorable movie Enchanted. We loved it. We had great time together and I am so grateful for these three wonderful people who mean so much to me. They each do so much for me, and I hope they understand that they are staples in my life. I can't imagine not having them. But with that all said, I really missed my brothers and their families today. (missed my cousins too) It just isn't the same with out the excitement, the conversation and even the noise. I would have loved to watch my sweet nieces and nephews eat and play with one another, I would have loved to talk with my amazing sister in laws, I would have loved to watch my brothers push each other around, I would have loved to just laugh with everyone and even would have liked to see my family argue a bit.(although me and the parents did some of our own :) )

Every year our family goes around and says three things we are thankful for. With all our Little America excitement today we didn't go around and share. I will not let the tradition die. Here are my three:

1. I love the history of the first Thanksgiving. Grateful for the pilgrims who sacrificed so much. 102 came over on the Mayflower and only 52 survived that first year. They didn't give up when it was hard. They had a dreams of freedom and now we are blessed to have that valuable freedom.
2. Grateful for the modern conveniences that allow me to be able to keep in touch with my family so easily. Having them all so far away is difficult, and I miss them constantly but I am grateful to be able to call or email them any time.
3. Grateful for having the Lord in my life. What a sweet peace this gives to know that some one else has a greater love for us all. How fortunate I am when I stop and look, and recognize all the blessings he sends.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Eve

Today in honor of one of my dearest friends Rachael, we celebrated her 25 years of life by going to the restaurant she loves... Carrabas. Rach, Brad, JD, Matt, Riley(Matt's daughter) and me enjoyed a lovely meal. The best calamari, superb steak and delicious chicken. I washed my meal down with several slices of bread soaked with oil and vinegar and of course 3 diet vanilla cokes. It may seem like a bit much the night before a holiday dedicated to eating and being grateful. But I say, why only one meal?? Let the gratitude begin!Rach, Brad and Riley (Not quite sure what Brad is looking at.....)




Matt, JD and me (thanks for buying my dinner too!)

Rach and I met years ago when we both were working in the back stockroom of Mervyns Department store. Oh the lovely memories of working retail. We have been friends ever since. Thanks for being born Rach!! Love you!

Confessions

So I need to get a few things of my chest. Uh hm...

I absolutely hate Wal-mart. I think they are trying to take over the world and it kind of creeps me out. BUT sometimes I still shop there. It is convenient sometimes?!

For most of my life I have been very adamant about hating country music. Through out the years I have become more open to it, and in the last few months I have grown to love it. There I said it.

I always use the handicap bathrooms. They are always spacious, often cleaner and many of them have the sink in the stall- so that means I can check my teeth and hair in privacy. Is that so wrong?

I feel much better. Anyone else need to unload a few secrets?

Boogies

So my brother Jake called me tonight and shared a story about my little nephew Luke. I guess earlier today they caught Luke picking his nose. My brother said he was digging deep(up to his knuckles deep-eww). He and my sister in-law Carolyn began talking about how disgusting, gross and bad it is to pick your nose. A few seconds of silence from Luke and then he said this:
"OK Mommy, I will put the booger back in my nose."
hahahahahahaha
I laughed so hard. It is completely gross BUT it made my night.

comfort food

These lovely gals are my best friends from high school. In September (should have posted a LONG time ago) we all met up and went to lunch and did some shopping. The two on the right- Suz and Becky still live in Pocatello. Emily and I now live here in SLC. We don't get together very often so it was a welcome treat. We all are at very different stages in life- Becky has been married for 5 years, Emily married with a baby and Suz and I are stilling living the singles life dream. It is pretty fabulous we have managed to stay good friends.

It is like comfort food(analogies with food I get) when we do get together. We were so silly and giggling that one of us probably peed our pants. Yes, Emily is flipping off the camera- we were all acting VERY mature that day.

Hooray for old friends, hooray for new friends, hooray for friends! :)

One of my favorite things...

Matinee movies. Cheaper tickets, always get a good seat, and only a few people in the theater with you, so you are free to laugh as loud and obnoxious as you please. My friend Mel and I saw "Dan in Real Life"(think that's the title) on Tuesday afternoon and loved it!

Demons

Friday I was drawing an eight year old boys blood. He and his family have been in several times before. They are always well behaved, quiet and polite. I was trying to chat with the boy and this is how the conversation went:

Me: So, do you know what you are going to be for Halloween?
Boy: We don't celebrate it.
(I knew then of course they were Jehovah's Witnesses and did not need any further explanation and was not going to press the issue)
Mom of the boy: We DON'T celebrate the DEMONS. (stern voice, stone cold face)
Me: (awkward silence)
Me: (awkward silence)
Me: (finally) Oh, so you guys get to eat lots of candy every day instead of one day a year!
What I really wanted to say was:
Me: Celebrating the demons is lots of fun you guys are missing out.

I of course didn't because I respect ALL religions even if they are fun haters. :)

This pic is of my friends Christa and Mel later that night celebrating the demons at a Halloween party.

Top 10 reasons why I loved my weekend in Zions

On the weekend of October 4th I went to Zion’s National Park for the first time. Here are the reasons why I loved it (in no particular order):
10. As much as I love camping, (I really do enjoy every now and again) it was a girl’s weekend and there were babies there. SO we stayed in a sweet hotel right next to the Virgin River. I must say it was nice to take a soak in the hot tub every night after you hike a bit.
9. I started and finished the book Eclipse while there. Loved it lots!
8. The bathroom in our hotel room had a bidet. I love those things.

7. Me, cousin Lisa and Auntie Kay hiked the Narrows. It was fabulous. There are a few pictures to prove it.

6. The BEAUTIFUL scenery.... I fell in love with the place.

5. Hiking in the Virgin River- Me and the river a bit alike... both virgins.

4. While we hiked we wore some sweet get ups. Dry pants that could make any girl look chic, special boots and we had walking sticks.

3. While hiking in in the narrows I had to pee. So I dropped my drawers on the side of the river and took care of business. I do not know why but it was sort of exciting.

2. Word to the single gals, I saw ALOT of eye candy in the man department.

1. I was there with my Auntie, my cousins and their kids. It was all girls. They are too good to me.

Good times were had by all.

PS- So I have not yet mastered how to post pictures on here in an orderly fashion so it looks a bit messy. Sorry- I'm new!

Does this make me domestic?

A few days ago a lady I worked with brought in some curious looking crackers. I of course needed to try one. Turns out those curious little crackers were tasty! I ate a few more than I would like to admit. Anyways she gave me the recipe and I made some the next day. So I am passing the recipe on. I will pass it on with words of caution-These are not for the health conscious. Do NOT eat more than 4 at a time, you are guaranteed a belly ache. Make these, eat a few and then ship them out to the neighbors, you do not want these hanging around in easy access.

Line a cookie sheet(you have to use one with sides on it) with Keebler Club crackers ( I used reduced fat, as if that really helped...).
Boil one cube of butter, one cube of margarine and a half a cup of sugar for 2 1/2 minutes.
Pour syrup over crackers and then bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. It will be bubbly.
Sprinkle with 1-1 1/2 cups of chopped nuts. (your choice)
Remove from pan and put on wax paper to cool.
Yum.
So, does this make me domestic?

Before you pee in the dark....

Yikes! This woman in NYC found this big snake in her toilet! I mean not just a garden snake but a 7 foot python!! If going to the bathroom at night didn't scare you it should at least creep you out now.

P.S. She ends up giving the snake to a friend of hers who decided to keep it as a pet! Why would you keep that thing around?!

Jack of all lanterns!

Go here for hours of Halloween fun!

Reminisce

This was me two years ago. Yep, I have been home for 2 full years now. I miss this place I am standing in front of. I miss not caring so much that my hair was terrible, and my clothes a bit too tight. I miss serving people full time and I miss the way being a missionary made me feel. I am home sick for NY.

Toesies

I love getting pedicures. When ever my sweet momma comes down from Idaho we almost always go and get a pedicure. I converted her to the world of manicured toes. She was down on Tuesday so my mom, Auntie Kay and myself got pedicures. I am a regular pedicure girl. At least every month. It may sound a bit high maintenance BUT if you have experienced the joy of pedicures you too are addicted.

This is why I love them:

You pick your own nail polish color. That is lots-o-fun. The colors are from purple, pink, red, brown and everything in between. They don't just call the colors pink or red. The names are like "Jewel of India", "Mauvelous", "La Paz-itively Hot", and "Cha Ching Cherry". Who gets paid to name nail polish? I want in on that.

You sit in on a throne that also bathes your feet and massages your back. Seriously fabulous.

They clip, scrub, trim, file, clean, massage and paint. For those of you with extreme callus they razor it off! Those lovely people do all the great stuff that no one likes to do themselves. And all the while you are catching up on your Hollywood trash magazines. They even put your flip flops on for you!!

So many people are embarrassed about their ugly feet, afraid of what the person my think or say. Well guess what? Most of the time even if they do think you have hideous disgusting feet they wont talk about it in English. My experience is that they will talk about it in Vietnamese. Really I love the sweet people at VN Nails. Been going there for a few years, I recommend them to all. Granted I have no idea if they are saying wow girl, you have long skinny toes that look more like hands or if they are talking to each other about the weather. I do not care. They smile, treat my feet great and are nice and sweet to me, so they can say what ever they want in Vietnamese. I just love them. (go and see them, they will be good to your feet)

P.S. The above photo does not include my hand like feet. I think these feet belong to my cousins and Auntie.

Should I believe everything my cheese tells me?

I have a love for string cheese. It is a yummy and healthy snack that I can have on the go. I don't usually peel pieces off and eat it in the string form but just usually bite off a chunk. This snack makes me happy.


In the recent month I have been eating Sorrento Stringsters.

On the outside of every string cheese there is a trivia question. When you unwrap your snack there is the answer. I love it. It almost makes me want to eat it just so I can learn a piece of trivia. But as I have consumed many I began to wonder if I should believe every thing I read on a cheese package. For example:

What was the first National Park in the U.S. ? Yellowstone National Park 1872

What animal can not stick its' tongue out? A Crocodile

How long does it take to make a jelly bean? One Week!!!!

After reading the jelly bean one I knew I better double check the facts. And well folks, Sorrento isn't foolin. It is true. A whole week to make those little treats. I don't even really like them unless they are the star burst flavour. Just seems wrong to put so much effort into a candy treat that doesn't have chocolate. Decided to be thorough. All the other facts are true too. Crocs really cant stick their tongues out. Apparently their tongues are attached to the top of their mouths making them incapable of sticking it out. Weird.

Moral of the story. Yes, you can believe everything your cheese tells you.

Jett

This is my 7 year old nephew Jett. No, that is not a watering hole here in Utah... That is in Puerto Rico where my brother and his family live. So today while I was in a boring classroom or when I am slaving away at the hospital, my brother and his family work and play on the beach surrounded by palm trees. I just talked to them on the phone and they went to this AMAZING ice cream shop in Ponce. The coconut ice cream there is a wonder of a treat that I crave continuously. Basically I wouldn't mind picking up and leaving Utah in pursue of an island adventure. Why again is it necessary for me to get an education and do grown up things?

My nephew is the man. He is pretty fearless and will do just about anything if his dad does it first. On top of that he is dang sweet, AND he says I am his favorite Auntie. Pretty much one of the greatest kids I know. (of course along with all my other nieces and nephews.)

The Tube

This post is a bit belated. I was excited for the season premiere of The Office this last Thursday night. There were chuckles and I had a great time watching... BUT I was a bit disappointed. Not really that funny. The part that made me laugh the most: Andy's chaffing nipples. They actually bled, even after he put bandages on them to protect them. I have never known of any one bleeding from the nipple while running or doing any kind of activity. I really feel for all those poor people who along with Andy are forced to bandage their nipples to hide any kind of bleeding that may occur. Press on, press on, all of you and your sensitive nipples.

And Dwight putting Angela's kitty Sprinkles in the freezer alive. That was fabulous.

I still heart you Office.

Zumba!!

Last night I went to a Zumba class with my good friend Emily. Zumba is aerobics with a Latin flair. So you are jammin out to a high tempo music and feeling like your at fiesta!! I had a good time, burned a lot of calories but was made very aware of my "whiteness." Not necessarily the color of my skin but my inability to move my hips the way Latins do. Emily and I are the girls in the back that try to look like they know what they are doing but with out a whole lot of success. It was a great energy though. Lots of fun. AND I am sore this morning so that it fabulous!
Zumba!!

I want to buy a piggie

Saturday night myself, Megan and Mel went to the Utah State Fair. Yahoo! Megan is an Aussie and had never experienced the Utah State Fair or another State fair for that matter. Mel and I had never been to the Utah Fair. I was holding high expectations because I come from the great state of Idaho where our fair is legendary. The UT Fair did A-OK.
Highlights:
Fair food- scones and root beer (it made my tummy ache so I couldn't eat a funnel cake, the real reason you go.)
Pig Auction- How exciting was that? These old guys talking so fast and people raising there hands to bid. With all the excitement I was sooo tempted to bid on one of those lovely little piggies.(going for about $400) Until we saw one going to the bathroom and another lick his piggie bum as he relieved himself. eww.
All animals especially the baby ones- I love baby goats!
Sculpture of a bull made out of butter- They said it was made with enough butter to butter 19,200 pieces of toast!
Handwriting analysis- For the small fee of $3 I signed a piece of paper and a machine told me all sorts of wonderful, believable truths about myself. I plan on saving that.
Mullets (business in the front, party in the back)-oddly enough we only saw about 6. Disappointing? Yes. I had high hopes of seeing mullets in the double digits.
Who doesn't love the fair? Not me, I love the fair.
Megan posted a pic and also wrote a little ditty about the fair. Check it out.

Should I be offended?

So last Thursday I was on my way to class when I ran into an elder who served in my mission(we will keep his identity secret but call him "Joe"). We talked for a brief moment and I went on my way to class. Later I called my friend Mel and mentioned to her that I had run into Joe. (she is good friends with him) She said that Joe had text her after running into me. Here is how it goes....
Joe: I ran into Anna. She is nice.
Mel: Neat.
Joe: I saw her from behind and thought I recognized her.
Joe: She is actually attractive, I am surprised.

Uh, what is that suppose to mean? Does this mean that before hand he had only really looked at my backside because that's how he recognized me? He must not have liked it because he said I was surprisingly attractive. Mostly this just makes me laugh. How random. It is good to know that maybe after being home from the mission for two years that I have finally lost all of my frump. Suprising.

I'm in LOVE

Last week I finally caved in and read "Twilight." Now, if you are unsure of what book this is, all you need to do is ask any other girl, young or old and she will tell you. Her voice will turn to a higher pitch and she might just squeal with delight. I read the book with in a 24 hour span of time. Keep in mind that half that time I was busy at work. Any free second I had my head was in the book. Stoplights, between helping patients, in the bathroom, and late into the night. I became obsessed! I could not get enough of this vampire story! (I know it sounds silly, a book about a vampire but REALLY its fabulous!!) Edward is the vampire who I have fallen in love with. He is described as "inhumanly beautiful, with a breathtaking crooked smile, looking more like a Greek god than anyone has the right to." Edward is so charming and the narrator Bella is some one you can relate to. There are already two more books in its following but I have had to stop myself because I have a test next week and I know that if I read them my little world will shut down and I will not be able to study. *Sigh* You all must read these books. One last confession. When I was done, later that weekend I almost missed reading about them. I missed Edward, and maybe had convinced my self that Edward missed me too! hahaha

WOW.... So I was reading over what I just typed. You might all be assuming that I am a lonely girl that has to fantasize over fictional characters to keep her company. Well not completely true. But I am a big nerd. Read the book.

Tahitian Nights...

I had the privilege of serving with an amazing Sister from Tahiti. Sooo fabulous. She got married last month. This is her on the big day with the family.

You can't really see in this picture but the girl has this amazing long Vidal Sassoon hair. She taught me about a tradition they have in Tahiti. When it is a full moon her dad would trim her hair (he is the guy left of her). Legend has it that if you trim your hair on a full moon it will grow faster. She would take it seriously too! When she was living in France she had her boyfriend trim her hair for her on the full moon nights. So now that lucky guy (guy to the right) who has just become her husband will trim it for her. This is a very interesting tradition... I am thinking that I need to quit paying for expensive hair cuts, get a boyfriend and let him do the cutting on full moon nights! I wonder what other lovely traditions could the Tahitians teach me?

Bloggerific...

So this is my first ever blog. I decided to go ahead and do it because I was blog stalking so many others. High time I reciprocate! Hope this little blog-o-mine will add to the enjoyment of others. One thing- my grammar skills are terrible. Go easy on me.