Quotes from work:

"You are so kind! You will get many blessings for this!" (Says the lady who had the ring I complimented and then maybe wished a little bit that I hadn't, because twenty minutes later I knew every last detail about the ring. Or would have if I could keep up with her super fast talking and oriental accent. :p)

"People your age talk too fast, and roll your eyes more than you used to." (Says the grumpy older gentleman who probably just needed a hearing aid but didn't hesitate to blame his misunderstanding everything on my age. :) So I talked slower than most geriatrics, and kept firm eye contact. ... I think he at least felt nicer after that, despite the fact he still had to ask "What?" at least three times.)

"I love you! Um... I... beautiful eyes!" (This petite Korean(? totally spit balling on nationality. But it sounds fitting...) woman didn't speak English very well, so not only did she compliment my eyes, but I also found a bosom friend apparently. She loves me. :) So there.)

"Oh bless you! You're doing right by us, we'll remember that won't we, Jerry!" (I can't even remember why she decided to bless me, but that was so sweet of her to say. She was a cute older woman traveling all the National Parks with her husband, Jerry. He was a quiet, smiley gentleman with salt and pepper hair and giant glasses. I love older people. Usually. Some of them forgot to take their nice meds.)

Also, the past few weeks I've made it my goal to find ways to share my testimony with those I meet at work. (I figured missionaries are so happy from sharing so it ought to work for me too!)
Bryce Canyon is a very uniquely scenic area, and so I've found that's the easiest way to bring up Heavenly Father in casual conversation. (Casual... haha so they think. ;) )
So many people tell me how blessed I am for living in an area so beautiful, which is when I get to tell them they're right, and I'm grateful to be able to see so many of Heavenly Father's creations, and Aren't they amazing? (Sneaky, right? Probably not... now that I type it all down it sounds rather quite conspicuous.)
Yesterday, a woman in a wheelchair commented on the canyon's beauty, and so when I expressed being thankful for Heavenly Father's creations she told me how happy she was to hear me say that. "Too many people forget who they should say Thank you to." She basically shared her testimony back to me, and I realized that most of us at least have that in common.
Working at Bryce has been financially rewarding, of course, because it's higher wages, more hours, and a fun staff to work with; but it's also been spiritually rewarding. Having a set bedtime routine with studying has been so good, and my testimony of our true identity as children of a loving Heavenly Father has been strengthened from working with such a diverse public. When I thought about everything I've been so blessed to learn here, I realized I could have been learning that all along at my other jobs, I guess I just needed my behind kicked into gear to learn it at all. :p
One of the biggest things I've found from working here, is it truly is easier to be optimistic than to be grumpy. (Def. easier: better feeling. :) It's not always 'easy' per-say to get on top of being grumpy, but I feel like you accomplish so much, and enjoy it more if you're trying to be positive. It truly is up to you how you feel about life. So why not decide to be happy?)

Definition Epic:

My date yesterday afternoon.
Just saying.

:)

(Ok, ok, no need to beg, I'll tell you!)
So he (he being my pretend twitterpation victim) picked me up and walked over to his side of the car. I was thinking, "Seriously? He didn't even open my door? Well I'm done with this one..." :p but then he hurried and opened it from the inside. Guess the door's broken from the outside haha. So we'll forgive him on that one, right?
We were originally planning on playing Frisbee Golf but then we didn't have frisbees, and (does anyone besides me think that word is looking painfully incorrect?) so then plan B was playing golf with a little kid, plastic golf set on campus. But alas, Wal-Mart doesn't carry any of those. We even asked a man who's name I've forgotten. So we did the next best thing, and that is buy nerf guns and declare duels in the library! (Only on the second and third floor of course because there are no adults supervising up there with a pitiful sense of humor to throw us out. :) )

Seriously, I love random stupid things I think, because that was possibly the most fun date I've been on in a looong time! After I slaughtered him in the library, we had a target practice contest in the hall of the food court building place. (I have no clue what anything's called at SUU.) He may have won that time, only because he stomped me on the south paw round. The tie breaker was a duel in the middle of a lot of people in a foyer. Two guys were cheering for me the whole time, which is probably why I won that duel too!
He took me to Krave for frozen yogurt, and they have plexi-glass on their walls and one of the tables so you can draw on them with dry erase markers. That means you're obligated to have art contests, right? Don't worry, I won that one too. :p
He's kind of obnoxious, but it was a really fun date!

(But now it pains me to say I need to finish getting ready, and hit the road so I can go work and pay for my cute car that I might be feeling some buyers remorse for. Only because of the bills... my car is too cute for me to regret buying otherwise of course. ;) )

You is kind. You is smart. You is Important.

I'm perfectly aware I'm well beyond the pumpkin hours, and my glass slippers are shattered and all but I couldn't wait another second!
I had a date tonight!
Although, it wasn't actually part of my "raining men" streak. ;) Erin and I went on an adventure to a spinny park (to be discussed later. Maybe if I remember.) and then went to The Help.

(By the way, I'm absolutely in love with these fictional characters. I want to go visit them, and give them both a hug over a slice of pie. :p )

I had to tell you about it before my warm fuzzies wore off. ;)

It's sort of a phenomenal movie, and you all need to buy tickets right now! (I'll wait.)

... 

Anyway, now that you've got fifteen minutes to spare before you head out the door to see for yourselves, 

I adored this movie. It's so heart wrenching, yet hopeful and touching all in one giant tear jerking movie. It's about a woman (Skeeter) who wants to write, and interview the black maids to show the world their perspective. It takes place in the 1960's, when Martin Luther King was making his mark on society. To see the way some people treated their maids was honestly thought provoking, I'd never stopped to realize that's how it worked back then. This summer has been especially prolific in my testimony of who I am, and who each of us are as children of a Heavenly Father who knows us individually, and loves us perfectly. Those who were being mistreated in the movie were the ones who caught my attention, and it truly makes you feel so tender for what minorities have gone through, and still face sometimes, but what caught my attention was those who were mistreating. I was so riled up with how they spoke down to their 'help' and how everything was about how they appeared in society, but as I thought about it (while brushing my teeth, which is when most epiphanies happen ;) ) I felt just as tender for them. Because they didn't understand, genuinely, who they were, and it struck me how wonderful a Gospel that helps me love mean people is. (I just sounded really corny and rambly, but isn't the gist of that true? It's absolutely mind boggling to me how some people survive without having The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in their lives. It brings so much light and understanding and hope to every aspect of my life, so that when I'm sitting in a theater next to a large man spitting pop-corn kernels I still feel touched by the spirit. And that's sort of beautiful to me. :) )

Anyway. I'm off my soap box and off to read Mr. Montana's letter (remember that guy from the VC?) Well we're pen pals now. This is letter number two! (Which makes me presumptuous to use the term "pen pals" so casually, doesn't it?) And considering it's now officially Sunday, and I may possibly have a date tomorrow for real, and officially one for Monday I best get some beauty sleep...otherwise...

I'll be lookin like this when I answer the door. And we can't have that, now, can we?

The Maiden Voyage! (Squeal of delight)

So... I drove my cute BLUE car to work today! I felt much more cautious, funny how signing your life away to pay for what your driving seems to make you that way. :p
I'm sure you're all dying to know that I sang Adam Lambert for the first official drive in 'Agent Booth' (No, I'm not obsessed with Bones at all! And that name is subject to change if inspiration strikes. Just so ya know.)
and for lunch some of the ladies from work, and I drove to Ruby's to get a celebration treat!
I've decided that ice cream in cute tiny cartons tastes better, purely from the cuteness factor!

 (You know those blue bunny ice cream tubs that are kind of oval shaped? Um, they have babies! They're seriously the cutest little ice cream containers I have ever beheld! ... Is it sad that I'm so riveted on 'baby ice creams'? Oh dear. I need a life maybe.)

In other news, I took a two hour nap today. I highly recommend doing that every once in a while... it was sort of heavenly! However, I highly discourage balancing your checkbook when you're feeling rich. It nips that feeling right in the bud! (And then sends you into panic mode.)

Dinner Tuesday evening was fun, we went to Sonny Boy's in Cedar which was pretty good. It's a BBQ place where Bajio's used to be. I approve of the change. :p Then we got a redbox and watched it at his apartment and visited. ...Once upon a time I was good at staying up late, but since I made the goal to get to bed at 10:30 and wake up at 6, staying up later has thrown me off so bad! (Hence the two hour nap.)

Oh! I remember why I was blogging in the first place, (good thing I don't have A.D... ooh, did I tell you about...? :p)
Last night the cutest little girl with big eyes, curly hair and a pacifier came in the Visitor's Center. I was sitting on one of the chairs behind the counter, zoning out in hopes of time randomly skipping ahead an hour or two, when I noticed her staring at me over the counter. So I did what any rational human being would do, and started making funny faces at her. :p She didn't quite know what to think at first, but then a little grin started spreading from behind the pacifier. Pretty soon she was ducking behind the counter, and then popping up, to see my startled reactions every time. Have I ever mentioned how much I love the sound of little kid giggles? Seriously, try having a bad day while listening to that. It's impossible!
Her mom noticed our peek a boo game and came over saying something in French, and smiling. She picked up her daughter and started walking toward the back of the store, but those big eyes stayed locked on the front desk. So I waved, and she waved... and I waved and she waved and I waved... are you catching on? There was lots of wiggly fingered 'jazz hands' going on. She kept smiling and waving and peek-a-boo-ing until her mom rounded the corner and she couldn't see me anymore. There I am, grinning and chuckling to myself. The rangers thought I'd lost it probably, and after that day of work... I had! ;)
Eventually the little family came back to the front to pay, and the little girl caught my eye and started singing a song with actions (that contained playing peek a boo. Surprised? I think she likes that game.) I think I melted into a cuteness puddle right then and there! So when the little girl said "thank you" from behind the pacifier, I attempted my high school french skills and told her, "Je vous en prie!" (You're welcome.) I thought she was going to burst she was so excited! Then her mom told me how to say "Good evening" so I told the little girl that one too, and she giggled. Obviously I need to work on my accent. :p
The best part though was when I got feeling brave and told her, "Tu est tres belle!" (You are very pretty) and her whole face lit up! Her parents seemed pretty pleased with my Utahn accented attempts to talk to their daughter. (Or maybe they just thought she was cute. Or maybe both!)
Seriously, it made my whole day! Moments like those, are why I love my job. (That, and when former flight attendants tell me I'm gifted with people and she appreciates how friendly I am. Haha, and right when I'm feeling semi not happy to be at work and I'm working my bum off to be nice anyway. I love how there are always tender mercies like that in life. Even at work, or when I'm driving and hear something on the radio, or in a store... it really makes you realize that God is everywhere. So let people try to separate church and state, but they're going to fail because I've felt the spirit and Holy Ghost in classes that have nothing to do (per say) with religion! Take that, politics!)

And now, the moment I've been dreading. Running and unpacking my stuff. (Only to pack it again tomorrow to go home for more of this 'Storm'. It's raining men! ;) )

Just because I know you're dying...

We went and got snow cones and walked down the Canyon Park trail. And he maybe scared me to death pretending he saw a person sitting on a rock by the stream watching us. No worries, I'm not gullible.
And while I did not bake cookies so he doesn't even know how domestic I am, but it's ok, because it went well and euphoric eating would've made me not fit into my new jeans as well.

... He's taking me to dinner tonight. Just in case you wanted to know that as well. :p

I wanna buy a hat, adopt an accent, and become a newsie!

(Disclosure. The title of this post is mostly entirely random. Minus the part where I spread news. Because that's what I'm about to do...)

So I'm dressed in my new jeans that shouldn't cost as much as they do, and my little sisters shirt(s) and shoes. (Angie, I just spent like five minutes trying to get the shirts to layer just right, and that made me think of your first date with Klane. Which might be creeper. But I just thought I'd let you know! (At least I think that's what it was... I know I read something about layering shirts just so...) )

Aaand I still have like. Two hours til the date. (Sigh. What now? Maybe I'll bake to seem more domestic or something. ;) Then when the house smells good he'll be impressed, and I can eat it emotionally when I get home if the date is bad, or eat it euphorically if it's good! See? I'm not so unintelligent after all!)

I was semi tempted to snap a picture and give you an inventory list of how I'm ready for the date. Is that sad? Does that mean I've been in a dating dry spell for the summer and miss social interactions with the opposite gender? (The answer is a resounding yes, my friends.)

... I'm pretty sure I had something I was going to blog about besides ramblings while I wait for two hours to pass. (Or however much time it is now. :p)

Oh!

I'm hot stuff, is what I was going to blog about. (Well, not really. But... you'll see.)

So. The title of this story is called:

 "Trekking and partying with (Hey!) Mambo Italiano's"

Once upon a time I worked a double on Saturday. Toward the end of the shift, when I was feeling mildly grumpy and REEEally ready to go home and crawl into bed, the cute Italian man with the pretty eyes and wavy hair came to my register. Again. (You're thinking, "Now what's wrong with that? He sounds dang good looking!" And you're right. He was. Incredibly so. Complete with an attractive 5 o'clock shadow and of course the accent! But, he'd been to my register three times before that with his entourage of staring, laughing, and talking-in-a-foreign-language buddies. You'll understand if you've ever been looked at by laughing foreign speaking people. You feel like the but of their joke. Which is a marvelous thing to feel, I assure you.)

Mr. Mambo smiled at me and asked, "Do you know where we can go trekking tonight?" 

"Oh, I don't know very much about the trails, you'll have to ask the rangers. Sorry," (See how I smoothly evaded talking to a person when I could get out of it? :p I'll give information if the interps are busy, but it was dead in there. So I'm just giving them job security and stocking my section. As it should be.)

"Oh, no... like drinking and partying." (Said in accent so that drinking still sounds like trekking.)

Confused look on my face for a moment of silence...

"Oh! Drinking! Um, I think Foster's sells alcohol..." (gives directions, blah blah blah)

"Ok, thank you." Smiles mischievously, "And," bigger smile, "what are you doing tonight?"

"I am going home." (Said firmly, but not in a way that would be too rude.)

Mr. Mambo is still staring at me expectantly. As if this was an invite for him. As if I was waiting for a sexy tourist like him to sweep me off my feet to the nearest pub, seeing how I'm under aged and depend on sexy tourists to buy me margaritas. 

I was forced to stoop to a slightly more rude level, you see. So I added another key word to my previous statement: 

"Alone."

Mr. Mambo's smile finally started to fade. Poor sexy tourist man.

"Oh." (Clears throat) "Ok, goodnight."

Really?? Haha, do I look like I'm easy? Or like I really want to be a fling for people on vacation? (I just thought of a whole slew of comebacks, but none of them are very lady like and you'll all think me inappropriate if I say they've got services for that... Oh. Shoot.)

Truly, the things that happen at Bryce... (shakes head disapprovingly.)

However. I have a date! Tonight! In slightly more than one hour!

(And you want to know a vain sounding, braggish secret? I have a second date! Next week. With my pretend twitterpation victim!)

So now I'm going to go sing in a hairbrush in the kitchen, or something equally mature and random.

(But since posts are insanely boring without pictures...)

(I apologize for the immodesty. But...He's the stinkin cutest squint!)

Oh my gosh. I have to go watch Bones now.

Remember the blues?

Not just the musical kinds, but the color I felt when car shopping recently.

Well. Let's just make this situation a little more literal, shall we?

I am the proud new owner of (drum roll please)













(still drumming?)


A BRIGHT blue Saturn Ion! It's so cute, you'll drool. (That's not a threat, it's a promise.)
It's still being finished up at Kennedy's shop, so I don't get to drive that little beauty again until next week.Ish.

(And that's not all, folks! There's a story that goes with this!)
It's called: Mountain America Escapades, and it goes a little something like this.

Tuesday evening, Erin pulled a fantastic prank on me. She had me totally convinced that both my parents had lost their marbles, and that she was an impulsive moron who gave up education for wheels. (Translation: She told me that my parents co-signed on a loan for her to buy a Toyota Camry that was too expensive for me to buy. Truly, I thought "My goodness, they're all idiots!")
Wednesday my dad took me to Mountain America to start (wait. That seems not right...) the loan process. (Which is because it isn't.) 
Wednesday I went to Mountain America, and dragged Erin along with me, and asked for Tyson (the guy who helped us when my dad took me to Mountain America in the first place, a few weeks ago.)
He wasn't there, so we talked to a girl named Alexys. (Am I getting a little free with my information giving out? Should I be giving everyone code names?)
Tyson came in half way through everything, and stopped to visit. My mom was there at that point, to bring some more papers for verification.
Wednesday we were going to drive to Spanish Fork to look at a cute red Dodge Neon, but then we found out it was a salvaged title, and my dads gut feelings disagreed with us galavanting (is that not a word?) up to look at a car I most likely wouldn't buy anyway. So we went to Marysvale instead. Kennedy showed us a few of the cars he was working on, and all of a sudden BAM! I knew. It was love at first sight.
"The keys are on the floor of those cars, go drive them and then I'll show you some others we're working on."
The blue car left that lot, and we bonded on a little back road where we saw three really nice deer. (Isn't that the most romantic line you've ever heard? I'm so going to be the next Anita Stansfield with that one. ;) )
So, a man  behind a desk wrote down some numbers and letters which make sense to some people, and we headed home.
Thursday we went back to the credit union, and Tyson was there so we sat at his desk, and looked up book values, and percentages and... (by we I mean he...) five thousand signatures later, that little beauty was mine! (The car I mean. Tyson is still very much his own. ;) )
My dad co-signed the necessary co-signage, and went to class, and my mom left for PTA.
Tyson finished handing me way too many papers to keep track of and explained the payment system stuff.
"There's just one last thing you need to do before you go."
Great. Another signature. "Ok?"
He slid a piece of blank paper toward me, "You need to write your number down, and say you'll go on a date with me."
Blushes madly, "Sure!" I then wrote down my number, in what had to be the worst handwriting I've had since eighth grade. In my defense, I was a little flustered at that point.
So. I've got a date. Eventually. Someday when I get time off, besides the time off that I'm using for a date with my pretend twitterpation victim. I'm moving to Tropic and taking out loans more often! ;)

(Picture me driving really fast through some deserted really gorgeous in the middle of nowhere place like they do in all the commercials. Then picture me crying over the gas bill I just ran up.)

the extras: pictures that didn't make it yesterday.

Well. Here we are. :)

... in all our obnoxious glory.

And speaking of obnoxious glory, guess who's pretended to be twitterpated with victim contestant came into the visitor center and visited for an hour! Oh yeah. That'd be mine. He's rather attractive. I might have blushed the entire time.  Don't even worry about it.
Also, I've got tomorrow off and I'm sort of already counting down the hours until work ends tonight so I can feel like I'm on vacation. :p It's been so fun to stay in Hatch this week, I'm telling you guys, this place is theraputic!
(And so has been belting Lady Antebelum, Foriegner, and Lesley Roy at the top of my lungs!)

If you feel like life overwhelms you...

Then here's what you need to do:

• Make a banana split at your grandparents cabin
• Take said banana split to the porch swing in the back
• Watch the moon rise over the mountains and through the clouds.

Tada! Life feels a little more beautiful, and a little more do-able. The reason being the chocolate syrup. :p

No, on a more serious note, it truly is amazing to see the world through eyes that aren't in a rush to get to the next job on the to-do list. When you stop a minute and take in the beauty of the world around you, and just breathe,  Heavenly Father seems a little closer. It's kind of marvelous, you should definitely try it. :)

Also, my sisters and I might be a wee bit retarded. (I mean that in the most flattering way possible.) ;)

My family got tickets to see the music man last Thursday, and so we went to dairy queen (wait. Did we go to dairy queen that time? Or is that a whole different story?) and hit the greenshow, which we gracefully ditched. :) The gift shop is far more entertaining.

(Technology is not currently cooperating. More pictures to come after work!)

So I've discovered a secret....

And that is, pretending to be twitterpated very well might be more fun than actually being twitterpated!
Reasoning:
Your victim love interest never has to be aware that he is a love interest,
Zero drama because nothing actually exists(!)
You can pretend that the one fleeting glance you got was something infinitely deeper, and make up all sorts of sub stories to accompany said look.
Your 'love interest' doesn't even have to stay the same person for more than five minutes! (Five seconds even) :p Find a better one? (Oops!) Drop the last one. See? So convenient.

And thus, my pretending to be twitterpated. Falsely filling voids that I'm forever ignoring.









Also I have a confession of a new(ish) guilty indulgence....

But you have to promise to keep it a secret. Cross your heart?


I may have a new love of reading (past my bedtime no less) with a flashlight in bed.
Does this make me sound like I'm eight years old again? Hiding the beam when I hear footsteps so my mother doesn't find out and scold me? You betcha! I like this finding my inner child.
Wanna know the best part? It's a ridiculously stupid book. Honestly, I struggle sometimes if I let my brain think it's intelligent and decide that my nine year old sister could out write the author. But it's a romance, and it's feeding my fake twitterpation of late. So on with the indulging guiltily past 10:30! (Scandalous. I know.)

Did I ever tell you I love Sister Hinkley?

Let me show you why:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"There are some years in our lives that we would not want to live again. But even these years will pass away, and the lessons learned will be a future blessing."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

(A personal favorite :) )
"How did a nice girl like me get into a mess like this?"
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"The thing about growing old is that when you wake up with a new pain, you can just about count on it becoming a permanent part of your life!"
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"Just Save the Relationship"
from the book Glimpses, Sis's Hinckley's advice to her grandaughter when she needed to know what to do about the fits her daughter was throwing. Just save the relationship."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"...the beautiful thing--perhaps the thing I love most about the gospel-- is that everything we learn we can use and take with us and use it again. No bit of knowledge goes wasted. Everything you are learning now is preparing you for something else. Did you know that? What a concept!"
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley (Small and Simple Things)


See? Isn't she just the sweetest little woman you've ever known? (Or known of I guess. I feel like she's so loving and personable that we're friends or something. :) And I'm sure we were, or will be eventually, because who could not love her?)
Today was one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. My co-worker had a Dr.'s appointment and so I worked the front alone for the better part of the day, I made a mistake but didn't realize it until I'd practically argued it out with the little asian woman, who I couldn't understand, in front of everyone in the visitor's center and finally had to get my boss to come mediate, my friend was rather temper-mental and I just wanted a friend, and I discovered my newest car possibility was a liar and overpriced. (Although I suppose I should clarify that the car itself wasn't a liar, just it's seller. Cars usually don't lie. They run if they're in good shape, and they don't if they're not. See? Not too difficult to determine.)
So I came home, I ate an apple dumpling, plopped down on my bed and pulled up the covers. And then I do what we all do when our day stinks.
I called my mother.
She probably gets tired of my whining about how my life stinks, but she listens and loves me anyway. Which is one reason I love her a lot!


Institute tonight was ironic (though not coincidental. Never coincidental):
Learning to willingly accept and even seek correction.


I'm telling you, the gospel is true. There are too many "coincidences" for it to be just another theory. :p
And I'm so grateful that it is true! Because how in the world would I survive without the love and guidance Heavenly Father gives me through the gospel? 


"Though it is often difficult to endure, truly we ought to rejoice that God considers us worth the time and trouble to correct." :) Happy hard times everyone!

Mondays are happy days

Especially when it's your day off! :) I slept in (sorta. If you count until seven sleeping in. :p Which I do...)
I finally got to clean my car out! (Erm... and by my car I mean the one that my parents own but let me borrow. Slash Erin's future car.)
I cleaned my room and organized and threw away the crap that needed throwing away...
And I've finally written out a tithing check (side note, just stay caught up with tithing. It's far less shocking number wise that way.)
And cute boy who came in and got my number that I don't actually think I told you about texted me this morning to say good morning. Warm fuzzies? Possibly. ;)

Also, did I mention I finally sent a letter to Montana man? Because I did.

Yesterday I had to work, and I forgot how hard it is to work on Sundays. I don't like it feeling like any other day of the week, so I hummed hymns while I stocked my section. :p People looked at me funny, but that's ok, I was determined to have a good sabbath anyway!
Have any of you had to work on Sunday? What do you do to help yourself remember it's a Sunday and try to keep it special?

Also, remember the trip to Mesa Verde? We finally have pictures. :)

Grandpa and Uncle Tom

"Rear End Only"? Ok! 

Grandpa always wanted to hop onto a train and be a hobo... :p

Scary, but gorgeous drive over part of the Rockies

I'm moving to Colorado. I found such good looking men there! ;)

(So did Grandma apparently ;) )

We don't look anything like tourists!

Cutest little display in the mini electric train... display. (Wow, send me back to AP English. I learned nothing.)

Good looks run in the family. (Practically gallops!)

More cute tiny stuff from the electric train display

We're still working on reading comprehension...

Cliff Palace. (The one with that interesting ranger woman who reminded me of a dinosaur who's been drinking too much tea and coffee. Also side note, "Shawn Duffy, Park Ranger (insert ninja sound effects here)" works at Mesa Verde in the winter. ... Figures. :p

I'm seriously going to put one of these in my basement someday! I'll have a whole room of tiny cute stuff that serves absolutely no purpose beyond my entertainment. 

This was like coming home... :p (Such good treats!)

Anywho. I'm going to go read a book, and write a check and take a nap or something else totally unproductive. (Because it's my day off!! :D)

One word:

Blast.

Stupid high mileage. :(

Truly though, I've come to the conclusion that car shopping and shoe shopping are in entirely different realms.
Why can't cars be like shoes anyway? You go and browse, find something cute, make sure you can afford it, and then if it fits right, you buy it and take it home that day! None of this mileage crap, or years or branded titles... Just cute, fun shoes.

(Sigh.) Off to the bridal shower and receptions!

Two words:

In. Love.

So last night I dragged Megan with me to "Squal Mart" (and wondered who's work it was nick naming that place...) and then after we took the 'scenic route' home. :) It really was so much fun to talk to Meg and sing with the radio and drive in Cedar where there are stop lights and actual turning lanes so I don't accidentally drive in the wrong side of  traffic when I turn. (Sorry Tropic!)
The highlight of my evening on the superficial-ish side (because the good, blog worthy highlight was making smoothies (aka "sthmoothieth") with my sisters and spending quality time with my familia ;) ) was seeing that car in the used car lot. I've heard a lot of good things about Nissans, and the Altima is kinda really cute! (Especially with a sunroof!)
Today (hopefully) my dad and I are going to go look at it and see if anyone's there we can talk to. I just need to know mileage, and test drive that thing, and I'm sold! Even though it's not a stick shift. Which is kinda a huge bummer. But I'm slowly being (converted is the wrong word. Manuals will always kick bum!) ... reacquainted(?) with automatics, since Beuler is one, and he's one heck of a car when I have to pass slow tourists. So... I could deal with the automatic bummer fact.

Also, my family loves me and listens to my phenomenal ideas (and probably the begging of my sisters) :) because I came home to this note from Bri: "Shan says on her blog that she and Maycee played the fat loser wii game. She'll flip when she finds out that we have it! When is she coming home?" Haha cute huh.
So my mother bought us fat loser so she could watch us fatties lose! (We love that around here, you know. And if you don't know- it's a great story. For another time. :p)
So. I'm going to go do some yoga, and then have an avocado smoothie, because I totally splurged and bought some avocados among our smoothie supplies last night. (I've been craving one of those for the past month!)
Mmm. Perfect Saturday morning. :)

Happy Weekend to all!

So I've gotta type fast...

But I just had the sudden urge to blog. (Good thing I'm not addicted or sit and think of what I could blog about when I get home from work. Not pathetic at all. ;) )

The Mother/Daughter party was so much fun, Aunt Marie, and Anne Marie met us there, and then afterward I went to Anne Marie's house to have a 'secret circle' visiting party. On the floor. In their basement. Complete with Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke. (Sweet Summertime!) It was seriously so much fun to just sit and talk about everything! Which made me think, "Crap. I'm turning into a dull adult!" :p (When I was little, I could not for the life of me understand why my parents wanted to sit around and just talk. Where's the fun in that? They definitely needed to build forts and play huskies downstairs with us. Something more entertaining than just talking blech. :p)

Last night, guess what I did with my best friend, Moo?

Yup, The Biggest Loser on the wii is totally on my wishlist now. Who knew that watching your alternate reality fat self work out with Miss fit Jillian could be so fun? Last night we did a core workout (which we decided was pretty much a lie. Plyometrics isn't as core as we wanted it to be.) and then two 'challenge' activities. The first was 'skate or splash' and you had to do side steps and 'skaters' fast enough so that your fat self didnt' fall right off the treadmill into a pool. Hilarious? Indeed.
The second was a cycling one where you alternate between 'tire drills' and 'football drills' at ridiculous speeds. For eight rounds.
Needless to say, we were sweating like pigs, so we decided to re-motivate ourselves by watching Step Up 3.
I'm now determined my destiny was to be a dancer. It spoke to my soul. :p
(But now I've gotta run to work!)

I have so much to say!

But I might be too lazy to say it all. :p

First of all, remember my future husband from Montana? :p Well, I lost his address.
But I found it again! So I'm taking a poll. Do I write him first? Or wait for him to write to me?

Secondly, JUSTIN IS HOME!! It was such a great weekend, driving up with Grammie Marilyn, Grandpa, and Cherene my aunt, and then seeing nearly everyone in the family (including Kaylie for the first time ever in her whole life) was kind of perfect. It was just a warm fuzzy weekend, ya know? You could just feel love and happy vibes everywhere! :p Just did such a good job in his talk as well, it made me cry a little. (But that's sort of nothing new I guess. I decided that runs in the family. We're excellent at many things, and crying is near the top of that list for sure!)
Aubree and Jay got to come down for the homecoming too, so the "three musketeers" were re-united. :) Which was definitely bitter-sweet. I love those two with all my little heart, but it's a little sad to see how much things have changed. One thing will always be true though, and that is that we're family and we love each other!
I had so much fun just talking with everyone and catching up. I miss when we were little and didn't have our own agendas getting in the way of getting together! (Angie, it was so fun to see you p.s! I decided I love blogger to pieces because I feel like we're great friends through blog stalk-age. :p)

Third, work is still going, and I still love it, but sometimes reality kicks my butt.
Like today, I was exhausted and flustered and short on patience.
The cool thing about that, though, is that there are always tender mercies at times like that. (Yesterday I was honestly contemplating running away to the bathroom to say a prayer to get me out of my grumpy mood, and a woman came through my line before I could make my getaway. I was thinking "gee thanks lady" and pasting on a not very genuine smile when she started asking about my plans for my future. So we visited for a few minutes, and she just told me that I seemed like a very put together girl, and complimented me for working hard and being kind. Just what I needed! Seriously, I don't think I'll ever get tired of how Heavenly Father works. Speaking of which, I'm gonna jump back and tell you one of my favoritest things Justin said in his talk. And as a disclosure, I'm probably quoting it wrong. He said, "Christ loves everyone, no matter where you've been, where you come from or what you've done. It only matters that you're here, and that he loves you." How beautiful is that? Again, just what I needed. It seems strange that working at a register is what makes me think of a lot of spiritual things during the day, but I've truly seen that manifested every single day I work there. Today I watched three little boys playing, air punching complete with sound affects. The two younger ones got in an argument over who hit who, and the oldest of the three was such a little peace maker. He couldn't have been older than 7. It was so touching to watch and to realize how powerful their little spirits are. Children always amaze me.

Anywho.
I've just been informed that there is a mother/daughter get together tonight for the Tropic ward, and I'm totally going with my grandma! :) I love this summer. :)