Moments In Time

Youth and Wisdom

2012-01-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

Many times in my life I’ve heard sayings like “youth is wasted on the young” or “wisdom is the price of old age”. Last week, while I standing at a funeral, I was again reminded of both the resiliency and beauty of youth and the joy and pain that come with wisdom. Standing there I realized that at 31, to some there I was ancient, and to others I was still a youth. Some days I get up and feel so old and wonder what the point is, haven’t I learned enough yet and can’t I be done? Others days I would give nearly anything to still be a child whose parents had the power to make everything better. However, for this one moment I stood there and was so grateful for both my youth and my age. I was wise enough to look around and realize how grateful I was that I had more time left I my life, and young enough to momentarily see all the possible roads I could still travel “someday".

The Youth there had the benefit of the impermanence of life. They may be sad for a moment but in the way of children they will then laugh and play and be happy. In this way I envied them, and yet perhaps youth is not wasted on the young, for if they completely understood how long life is, could they truly enjoy the happy moments the way they seemed to. On the other hand, the truest peace and happiness I have seen on earth are those who appreciated the life they lived and were content with the choices they had made in earlier times. I desperately wanted at this moment find a balance between these two parts of myself: The youth and the aged adult.

As I contemplate this balancing act I again appreciated TIME! Time is the commodity that can never be truly captured, and it makes memories fade whether we wish them to or not. Looking around I made myself a small promise, I would take enjoy using some of the precious time I have now to reflect on some of my own youth. Looking back through the past to miss and appreciate times gone by. ”. Looking in a mirror I never see the little changes occurring, daily to myself and those around me. However opening an old photo album I could look back and see the changes. I realized how lucky I am to have had three amazing grand-parents.

Grandma Joan is still alive and staying spunky, this summer she will be 80! If I live to be her age then I am just about 3/8 the way through my life. Looking at this old picture I realized that here she would have been just a year or so younger than my mom is now. As a child my mom was old, yet now she seems so young to me. And in my mind my grandmother has not changed at all. She still has the same smile, the same hug, the same attitude; but if asked I know she would tell me that she has changed in the intervening years!

My Grandma Neibaur died in 1994 at the age of 72. If I live to be as old as her I am about ½ way through my life. One of my happiest memories of my grandma was the summer I was eight. My family (those born anyway) and my Grandma and Grandpa Neibaur went to Hawaii for a vacation. Only small pieces of that experience still are with me, but I remember being happy and having lots of fun with them.

Grandpa Neibaur died in 2000 at the age of 89. If I live to be his age then I am just over 1/3 the way through my life! Grandpa was a fighter and I remember sitting and listening to his stories of his youth and being fascinated but in some part of my childish mind these stories were real in the same way the stories my dad read to us a night were. Wonderful to imagine, but so removed from my reality that they must have been invented by him. Looking back now I can only be amazed by his life and grateful I had the opportunity to know him!

On this little journey through my memories I realize that I would be wise to acknowledge that you can’t really count on any more time in your life, that you never know what will happen with the next breath. But, my youth gives me the optimism to remember these three wonderful people and hope that someday when I get to the end of my life it will be a life as full as theirs are and were. That whether I have a day, ½ my life, 5/8 of my life, or 2/3 or more of my life yet to live, I couldn’t do better than these three for role models. For these insights and more I am grateful for the opportunity I had to stand with I love at the funeral. I hope that as others go about their own lives they might find some moment where they too can be both the young and the old.

January Again...

2012-01-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in my holiday letter, which hopefully (fingers crossed!) is now visible to anyone who would care to read it, I am going to try to post at least twice a month during 2012. This is the first post to start off January.

Michelle Argyle wrote a post last week, it is in part about not comparing yourself. And I realized that this is one of my major problems in life. I keep comparing myself to what I think I should be, how I assume other's expect me to be...I am not exactly sure how to figure out what it is that I myself really want, and what it is that I think others want me to be. But that is not really what this post is about. :) (Or maybe it is, because usually during editing I would have read this, wondered if it really fit my theme, and probably ended up cutting at least part of it!)

This post is my first of the year to say YAY ME! I don't have to be at some eloquent best to create a post, or share some pictures that I don't think are good enough (because I love my sister Alyse dearly!; but, having a professional photographer in the family has made me feel inadequate and hesitant to put up pictures and also let's face it Photoshop really does scare me :p). Or even worry about if anyone else will read or like my posts. This year my blog is going to be truly for me, a way that I can remember the everyday and fun things I see and do, without all the stresses and excuses for why I can't and haven't blogged. I am embracing this season's Biggest Loser motto, well for blogging anyway: NO EXCUSES!

If no one reads this or comments I will be fine! Yup! I am determined to be okay with this...well at least trying to not be as insecure. I also did my first review of a book today on Goodreads and am looking forward to attempting to enjoy both of these sites to the fullest this coming year.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A very interesting commentary on "humanity" and "human rights" set in an engaging and endearing science fiction world. Fun character development throughout, with a protagonists you can't always decide if you love or hate (though I do have to say I would take the dog any day!), but enjoy watching his reactions regardless of his personal morality.

View all my reviews

Happy Holidays

2011-12-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

December 29^th, 2011

Hi All My Wonderful Friends and Family!

Wow another year has run away! For lots of reasons I didn’t get to mail out Holiday Cards this year. However, I am posting this on the blog in hopes that some get to read it. It has been a year of lots of ups and downs. Overall, I am pleased to announce we are alive and I think ending this year on a happy note.

Scott continues to work at his investing and at Wal-Mart. He is also doing lots of great drawing and I really enjoy the evenings that he invites me to take a look at the sketches he was working on that day. He is still such a blessing to me, I love living with my brother and we seem to have fun most of the time. This summer we took a driving trip with Erik, Matt, Kiaya, Mom & Dad to California and he got to attend Anime Expo. I think he really enjoyed the first break he has taken in a while and enjoyed the guy time he got with his brothers. (Though I know they missed Shawn in their mischief making J )

Some of the wonderful ups this year for me included traveling, one of my favorite things to do. The driving trip with the family was a fun one, as well as my amazing world adventure with Mom last spring. I could write a book on all the amazing things we saw and did on that trip. I have hundreds of pictures, videos, and other memorabilia. Hopefully this year I will actually get some updates from that trip posted on my blog. I also had the blessing of spending some really great time with both Mom and Dad and just talking and driving and seeing parts of the western US. I am so blessed to have such an amazing family and I hope they all know how much I love them.

This spring I ended my time as manager at East Bay RV Park. It was a great experience and part of me will really miss the people I had the chance to interact with, both my staff and the wonderful customers. The park was sold, and after a lot of soul searching I decided that I needed to take the chance to move on in my life. After some frustrating job hunting and life evaluations I am again a full-time student at UVU (as opposed to the ongoing never ending one-or-two classes a semesters while working) and fingers crossed will be able to actually graduate with my bachelors in the spring of 2012.

Life seems to keep me busy in one way or another. I am sure next year I will look back and once again be amazed at how the time seems to fly. I am making an actual 2012 resolution to post at least twice a month on here, so keep checking back! I hope everyone has a wonderful 2012 and I look forward to seeing what is in store.

Engaged Learning

2011-10-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Going back to school full time is a lot more work than I remembered! While some classes confuse me and at times frustrate me, overall I am enjoying the experience. One class I love going to is my Wednesday night Digital Marketing Class.

We’ve been discussing social medias, the marketing do’s and don’ts for those, and the changes in marketing trends in the last decade. Part the “homework” for this unit was creating profiles, if you didn’t already have them, on Facebook , Google, Twitter, YouTube and a few other things. So yes…I did what I swore I never would and opened a Twitter account. Another thing we had to do was create a YouTube video (3-5 minutes). The professor said to make it funny and “sell” a message, but not a product; this was not to be a sales pitch or formal advertising, but rather an exercise in simple YouTube videos.

This Wednesday she announced we would be watching the group YouTube video and voting on how original they were and how well they fulfilled our criteria. To our surprise our group won! Our prize: a Halloween bag full of candy. :D So I have lots of whoppers if anyone wants some! Just remember this movie is addressed to the too literally minded business students.

A Spoonful of Sugar and Swords

2011-10-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, August 27, 2011, Laura Bedore was speaking to Talon Ackerman, the young man who plays Michael Banks in Broadway Across America’s Mary Poppins. She announced she had an extra ticket and told the listeners to write in if we wanted to go see the play with her, and why. I wrote her an email and on Monday she wrote me back to tell me I had been selected to come see the musical Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theater in SLC with her and a small group.

So, on Thursday, September 5, 2011 I had the wonderful evening out. First I met my “dates” at the Rodizio Grill at Trolley Square for a yummy meal. It is very similar to Tacano’s and the food was well prepared with lots of great variety.

We then proceeded to the Capitol Theater to meet the rest of the group (only five of us came to the dinner, we met up with the other 3 at the theater). I had brought my binoculars assuming that we would be seated in the top balcony, just excited I had a ticket. However, when we were handed the tickets I was blown away; we had those amazing seats that you never see for sale! In this case 5^th row (E) center, just far enough back to be able to see the whole stage without straining your neck, but close enough to see everything!

All of us were so excited to be there and our mutual adoration of musical theater made for great discussions while we waited for the curtain to rise. As soon as the play started I was transported to London and into the lives of the Banks Household. I love live theater there is really no experience like it. Everything from the set design to the staging to the costumes were top notch. One really fun thing is they did not try to retell the movie, they used the books and some of the music but retold the story so there was never the comparison problem. It was definitely an experience that made me remember that “anything can happen if you let it.”

I can’t say enough thanks to Laura Bedore from Showtunes Saturday Night and Elizabeth from Broadway Across America; I had the most magical time and I am so grateful for the opportunity of going to see the show and having such wonderful company.

AND THEN…

Adam Argyle emailed and asked if I wanted to come see The Three Musketeers at the Covey Center! So on September 16, 2011 I had the wonderful experience of enjoying the theatrical adaptation of Dumas’ satirical and witty drama.

Once again I had fabulous seat and with all the discounts, (thank you Zion’s Bank and Adam’s Comp tickets) I got to go with about ½ my family, amazing seats and less than $7 a ticket!

Naturally there was lots of flashy sword work, perfectly timed lines and one truly amazing set. I still am awed thinking about how they could move two separate set pieces and keep repositioning them to portray all different types of places. Adam was absolutely fabulous in the role of Aramis, very witty and our fathers I’m sure were proud of all his flashy sword work! Talk about an amazing month of theater! I am so grateful I was given the gift of enjoying the experience of live theater that is unlike any other activity out there.

I hope y’all take the chance to go support your local theater. It is truly an art form like no other. While I love television and film, there really is no business like the live theater’s show business.

PS. I want to say I also have the most amazing siblings! Thank you Alicia for helping me get my computer set up so I can do all the online stuff again. And thank you Shawn for fixing my stubborn computer and printer/scanner/other accessory devices so they will talk to each other and I can now blog with pictures!

Confectionary Art

2011-08-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

I actually remember how to do this!!!! I still want to go back and catch-up on some travel and event posts, but I thought I would share my sweet fun from today.

Mom invited the girls over today to play cake decorators with her. Growing up she always made us the most amazing birthday cakes. We had Mom, Alicia, Alyse, Kiaya, Aryn, Sophia and me all playing with the rainbow colored frosting. It was lots of fun and tasted yummy too!

I first practiced a smiley face on a cupcake, but gave it to Dad to eat before I got a picture of it. I did get pictures of my Bumble Bee and Butterfly.

Alyse took off before I got pictures of the complete set, hers are great and we will need to look on her blog for those, but here are the rest! Thanks again to my family for a fun day (and making me forget about how mad I was at my computer with this great distraction).

Technical Difficulties!!!

2011-04-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is just getting silly! First there was a slow/non-existant internet, then we could not even access the blogger site because of regulations/censors, and now the picture wheel just keeps spinning in circles and not loading! Although if this actually posts we will be one step closer than we have been so far in weeks.

We spent about 3 hours this morning trying to get any one of our blogs to work. That was including (and after) having to sort through nearly 6,000 images; because when trying to import the photos off mom's camera for the last bit of the trip, we somehow took ALL the images on any open windows too at the time (this included all mom's facebook stuff, her account had been open in another tab, like albums and icons from the games, as well as just random stuff). So we finally threw up our hands and just went out.

Good news, we found the world's largest Apple store in Covent Garden today and they said if we still have problems in the morning we can take mom's laptop in and they will try help us. They actually seemed impressed we somehow figured how to mess the import process up so much. :D

So please be patient, we are really trying to keep our blogging promise. It has just been a comedy of errors, hopefully nearing to end of its' run.

2010 Year's End (Part 3)

2010-12-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

I thought this got posted last night but apparently it only went to draft...so it is a day late!

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTIONS

One of my favorite relaxation things is to go see movie in the theater. I love being pulled into a new story and being able to forget about my own life for a few hours. I have seen LOTS of great movies this year and really can’t name just one I loved.

Of course Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) and Eclipse have to top any list I make. If for no other reason than the fun events I attended in conjunction with those releases. But those are different stories to be told another day…

Today we are going to see Tron so I will have to report back on that one later. Hmm, earlier this month I saw Burlesque for a second time and loved it and want to see it again so it will have to make the list. I wouldn’t recommend it for teens and it is pretty racy so Alicia wouldn’t like it.

Several fun animated shows were released this year. Topping this list for me were Tangled, Toy Story 3, and How to Train Your Dragon. But, also enjoyable were Megamind, Despicable Me, and Alice in Wonderland (though was this really animated? Not sure how to categorize it),

In the chick flick category Bounty Hunter was zany and lots of fun, Dear John was wonderfully heartfelt (though technically I didn’t get to see this one till it came to video), Valentine’s Day was cute (especially since I went with Scott, Mom and Dad on Valentine’s Day to see it!), and both The Last Song and Remember Me made me cry and laugh at the same time, one of the best kind of chick flick movies. I also found Date Night hilarious, You Again a good thought provoking story about making life work and Letters to Juliet simple but sweet.

Action movies were also enjoyable this year. I really enjoyed Iron Man 2 a lot more than I ever thought I would. Does Knight and Day go in this catergory?, well I am putting it here, along with Inception which had some of the most mind bending plot twists and special effects I have ever seen.

WOW!!! Okay when I started this post I didn’t mean for it to get so long. I didn’t really realize how many movies I did get to see this year. And yet, as I was going though an online list of movies released this year I made a list just as long of titles to add to Netflix…well they were all enjoyable and I would recommend most of them to others! Guess it was a great year for me at the movies!

2010 Year's End (Part 2)

2010-12-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

Candlelight Massed Choir and Processional
at Disney World's EPCOT

Last Night (Dec-20-2010) I went to the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT. This is one of my favorite Christmas Programs. There is a reading of the Christmas Story from the Bible, interspersed with gorgeously arranged music.

The music includes “Shout for Joy”, “O Come All Ye Faithful”, “Il Est Ne”, “O Holy Night”, “Angels From The Realms Of Glory”, “Away In A Manger”, “Rejoice With Exceeding Great Joy”, “What Child Is This”, “Do You Hear What I Hear”, “Silent Night”, “Joy To The World”, and “The Hallelujah Chorus”. The music is played by The Walt Disney World Orchestra and sung by a choir consisting of The Walt Disney World Cast Choir, The Voices of Liberty and Guest Choirs (mostly high school students) from all over the US, Canada and they even had a choir from the UK this year!

Trace Adkins was the narrator we listened to this year. His deep bass voice was hypnotic and gorgeous to listen to. It was a really fun night to share with Mom, Dad, Erik and Matt. I am so blessed to be able to listen to such a beautiful Christmas program.

2010 Year's End (part 1)

2010-12-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

Look! There the year goes,
Oh how it flies by.
So much still to tell,
It could fill a pie.
The posts I could do,
It almost makes me cry.
Daily I will come,
To share all the whys.
You know what to do,
Just come back on by.
To hear Holly’s tales,
Before year’s good-bye.

Oh the things I could tell
If I just had the time.
Spent yesterday in SuessLanding
Now I’m talking in rhyme!

Same Old Questions

2010-10-24T02:04:00.000-07:00

Here I am another night (or early morning depending on how I count it), awake and stressing over the future and what I am suppose to be doing. Every few weeks someone will still ask me one of the following questions, or some variation on these, “what do you want to be when you grow up”, or “what do you want to do with your life”? Getting these questions can really frustrate me. I have been working at my job for three years next month, I like my job 80 percent of the time (which I figure is pretty good!), and I am good at my job.

No, working as a small business manager in hospitality is not what I pictured myself doing as a kid. I thought I would be a great musician, or a doctor who would changed lives, or some rich and powerful CEO. Yet, looking at my little piece of the world I don’t regret my small contribution; even though my life is nothing like I pictured it would be, I am okay with this. I had a conversation with my mother a few weeks ago about this very topic, and while I know the people who asking the questions only want to be interested and loving it can be hard to feel like the path I have chosen is not good enough. Maybe that isn’t what people mean by these questions, but that is often how I feel.

While I was thinking about this again tonight I remembered a song I came across last week after listening to Showtunes Saturday Night. "I Stand" is sung by Idina Menzel and re-listening to it tonight, the very beginning of the song just struck a chord. I’m not sure if it makes me feel better, or just less like I am alone in my frustrations, when I think about these lyrics: "When you ask me, who I am:/What is my vision? And do I have a plan?/Where is my strength? Have I nothing to say?/I hear the words in my head, but I push them away."

PS. This week, from Idina’s youtube page, I heard about and then got a chance to watch the DVD of Chess in Concert: Live from Royal Albert Hall. That was a wonderful set of performances and I would recommend it to anyone! I could really relate to the feeling of being a chess piece in someone else’s game and just trying to find the best ways to live in the situation you find yourself in.

Cookies!

2010-10-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of appreciating moments…this last week I made Scott cookies (well I actually ate at least ½ of them, so I guess technically I made them for me too!). He is even pickier than me about desserts. He doesn’t like desserts at most places or store bought stuff, like cookies. So I decided to surprise him, while he was at work, and have fresh chocolate chip cookies for him when he got home.

I had forgotten some how much I love the simple act of baking, and how much yummier my cookies are than say, the chips ahoy ones. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures, maybe next time. Only bad part…we ran out of cookies yesterday. :( So now I am craving home made cookies! Maybe brownies will have to be on the schedule tomorrow. Hmmmmmmm :D

Moments

2010-10-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

I started this blog as a place to record and share those special moments in my life. Along the way, I started thinking that my life is just the same day to day. I had nothing "big" going on so I had nothing to really add here. Then, as life got busier, I didn't even take the time to add in the fun, big events I did have.

Driving home from work, earlier this week, a song came on the radio. It struck a chord in me and had me tearing up (not the best thing to do when driving). Listening to it I thought, "I want to find out who sang this song and share it on my blog". Yet, instead of getting on here when I got home, I got caught up in "stuff" again and somewhat lost the message of sharing my thoughts the song provoked.
After a busy and productive, but relaxing, day today; I was getting ready for bed and for no reason the chorus of this song popped back into my head. So tonight sleep gets to wait. I decided that sometimes the best thing I can do for me is to pause and realize how special moments really are before they slip away again.

So here it is, the song that got me to write on here again. And hopefully more often. One of the most powerful influences in my life has always been music. When I can't find the right words to say what I am feeling and thinking, I am able to find a song to express myself through. I am so thankful for the blessing of music in my life.

The Breath You Take
Sung by George Strait
Songwriters: Beathard, Casey Michael; Dillon, Dean; Dillon, Jessie Jo

He looks up from second base/Dad’s up in the stands/He saw the hit, the run, the slide/There ain’t no bigger fan

In the parking lot after the game/He said, “Dad, I thought you had/A plane to catch?”/He smiled and said, “Yeah, son, I did”

Chorus: But life’s not the breath you take/ The breathing in and out/That gets you through the day/Ain’t what it’s all about

You just might miss the point/Tryin’ to win the race/Life’s not the breaths you take/But the moments that take your breath away

Fast forward fifteen years/And a thousand miles away/Boy’s built a life, he’s got a wife/And a baby due today

He hears a voice saying, “I made it son”/Says, “I told you dad/You didn’t have to come”/He smiles and says, “Yeah, I know you did”

Chorus: But life’s not the breath you take/ The breathing in and out/That gets you through the day/Ain’t what it’s all about

You just might miss the point/Trying to win the race/Life’s not the breaths you take/But the moments that take your breath away

Just like it took my breath/When she was born/Just like it took my breath away/When dad took his last that morn’

Chorus: Life’s not the breath you take/The breathing in and out/That gets you through the day/Ain’t what it’s all about

You just might miss the point/Trying to win the race/Life’s not the breaths you take/But the moments that take your breath away

(one of the places I found the lyrics is: http://www.metrolyrics.com/breath-you-take-lyrics-george-strait.html)

I'm Late, I'm Late for a very important date!

2010-05-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

What is it about me that makes me always late! Even when I meticulously plan things out and am very careful about estimating how long things take and plan very carefully I still somehow manage to be late!

The Summer Semester at UVU started today and so I am going back to school. (But the end is finally starting to be in sight!) I knew if I left work 1/2 hour before the start of class time I should be able to park, find the classroom, and get to class on time. I really wanted to start the semester right, work towards my new year goal of time management and arrive on time.

However, five minutes before I was to walk out the door four guests walked in the door swamping Pat. And of course they all had complicated problems that she didn't know how to help them with. So I ended up having to stand at the desk fixing reservation extensions (that clash with someone else's reservation), an incorrect billing to an extended stay guest, and some other problems.

In the end I was nearly 25 minutes late arriving to class! It is so frustrating that no matter how hard I work, something always seems to conspire against my being on time. I can't ignore the customers and their needs and yet I can't skip class! Is there some cosmic joke that means I will never be able to be on time! (sigh)

Customer Service & Quotes

2010-04-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a wonderful couple pulled in off the road, in the middle of the monster storm (brrrrrr it is too cold to be the end of April!); they had barely made it in because one of their motor home's windshield wipers had completely shredded and they couldn't see a thing! They were so glad they made it into our park and we got them registed to a site.

They only have their big motor home and couldn't go out to pick up a new wiper blade. The little store at the park doesn't stock wiper blades, but we figured we would just call the Sears Auto Center or the Les Schwabb. Maybe they could deliver or I told them I could run up the road 5 minutes and pick them up...thus embarked a great adventure in customer service.

Apparently 32" wiper blades are pretty much impossible to find in Utah Valley! First we called the close places, they either didn't have them in stock, and it would take like a week to order then in, or several of the stores told us they didn't ever carry blades longer than 28". Then i called our two suppliers for our RV Parts store. I figured we could get them shipped in by tomorrow, but both places were back ordered in their warehouses and said it would be a while before they got anymore in.

More phone calls ensued, while calling every auto parts dealer in Utah County and looking through the yellow pages i noticed that they place quotes in little random boxes! I had never noticed this before. The two I liked the most and that seemed to fit the circumstances were by Thomas Jefferson, "In matter of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle stand like a rock" and by John Wooden, "Don't let what you can not do interfere with what you can do." I especially liked the second cause it made me think, that while i might not be able to find the wiper blades at this one store, I will keep calling and I can find some somewhere else.

Reading all the quotes as I sat on hold and had different clerks looking for these blades made me wonder though, who picks the quotes to put in the automotive section of the phone book? Why did they put those quotes in? Did they know how frustrating it can be to call one automotive shop after another asking the same question over and over?

So after many calls and good quotations read and 2 hours later I had finally located 2 32" wiper blades (that the technician assured me would fit in their motor home) in Draper at Camping World. (I think I may have found the last two in all of Northern Utah!) So when my front desk clerk came on for her afternoon shift off to Draper went I. By the time I got back to the park and gave the blades to the couple I had exhausted nearly all of my day.

The couple were very grateful and gracious about the my going out to find them these blades and came in periodically throughout the day to say how grateful they were for all we were doing to help them resolve their problem. It felt good to know that they will tell everyone they talk to how our park went above and beyond to help get them back on the road and make their trip a bit less stressful.

Thinking back I wonder though if I would have been so nice and helpful if I had known how big a job it would be. I would like to think I would have exercised my customer service skills to help them out, but I really don't know. I guess that is the good thing, about not knowing how big a job a small problem might turn out to be in the beginning, and being too stubborn to quit when I couldn't find what they needed at a close shop.

Fire and Photos

2010-01-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

As most of people have heard the Hawkins house was destroyed by fire on the 14th. Rosie and the kids all made it out fine but they did lose all their stuff and two of their dogs. Rosie has been busy trying to make lists and figure stuff out for the insurance company.
Their local paper did a story on the fire.

While we have all been offering to help there is not much we can do for her right now. HOWEVER!, there is something that we can do that no insurance company can re-buy, pictures! So this is my request for everyone to get me copies of any pictures you may have. I am going to be putting together picture frames and photo albums and such. Even if you just have one old picture, added to someone else’s one picture we can fill in some of the missing holes in their collection. If you can scan and email them or mail them to me I will try to compile them all into order.

Thank you in advance for everyone’s help, working together I know we can make a difference to their family. Please pass on my request to anyone you think might even have just one picture somewhere!

Loves, Holly

PS. On a different note, I saw that I only saved and didn’t post my Christmas Blog, so I am posting it up too…(the entry just below this one)

Holiday Letter?

2009-12-31T22:49:00.001-08:00

I had great intentions at the beginning of November to get my Christmas Cards and Letter out early this year. I even had it written early thanks to my Old Wise One and the urgings of my big sister Lisha. I was so glad that I was ahead of the curve...then Thanksgiving flew by....followed by Christmas...and now we are at New Years Eve!

So this year I am cheating and just posting it here. If you still want one mailed I will be happy to send it on….but it could take months!

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2009

(Click letter for full size.)

On the Jay Leno show the other night there were two girls, Garfunkel and Oats, who sang their opinion of Christmas Letters. I personally love reading all the letters sent out, but this was hilarious so I couldn't resist sharing it with my Christmas letter.

Have A Fabulous 2010!!!!

A New Obsession...or an extension of one at least...

2009-11-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

So I am so crazy, I really don't have time in my life for anything else...but I found a new book series anyway! Does that make it a new obsession in itself or just an extension of my love of books...not really sure. (Also, I wanted to share something on my blog, so you know I am still alive!, and since I am using it as a premise to write a paper for my Organizational Behaviors class I can also do a blog about it.) :)

So what book you may ask...first let me say, no vampires, werewolves or any kind of science fiction creatures, and it is not a romance novel either! I guess it is considered Young Adult Science Fiction since it is set in the unknown future where the world has evolved in a intriguing way. The best analogy I can make right now, it makes me feel like I did the first time I read "Holes" by Louis Sachar; wondering at first why I am reading such a depressing book, then just intrigued by the ideas of humanity; what would I do if I was raised in this world? how far can you go to save yourself? if it is survival, is it murder? and what makes a culture accept things that I consider completely barbaric? and yet there are things like that in our real world today...but a completely different posting would have to be written for that.

Perhaps all the ideas I am currently studying, of how people behave in organizational setting, is also influencing my love of these books. It is an easy read (unless you keep stopping like me and contemplating the characters and situations...lol) and definately written to the young adult genre. I hope if you do decide to give it a shot, make sure you get past the first few chapters and let me know what you think. Good reading!

Light Headed

2009-07-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

I nearly had a panic attack today trying to dry my hair....but maybe I should go back a few days...

On Tuesday morning I met Alyse and Aryn in Provo and put myself into Mandy's very capable hands. Or rather my hair into her hands anyway...

And just in case you didn't know; yes, my hair really was getting to the point where I was nearly sitting on it and after shutting it in my car door last week due to wind, well you get the point...

so there is now 17 inches (I just remeasured to make sure it really is that much...yikes)

waiting to be shipped off to "locks of love" where I know they will put it to great use...

Thanks to several hours of pampering and her wonderful hard work

Mandy gave me a great new A-Line cut...

Thanks again Alyse for being my moral support and documenting all this for me. I truly am a bit light headed from the weight loss and from the emotions...but overall I am very glad I got it cut.

Redemption

2009-06-16T22:03:00.000-07:00

Scott and I just finished watching one of the hardest movies to view, at least for me, in a long time. That said it was one of the most touching, profound, amazing shows I have seen in a long time. Mom and Dad warned me it was not light and they weren't even sure if I would like it. Honestly I am so emotionally torn, I loved it and don't know if I can ever watch it again.

One of the real questions in the movie is what is the price of forgiveness? And what is the cost to forgive one's self? And what is the worth of life? Having experienced some of the same feelings, though not to this extent, of the main character made me very introspective. I don't pretend to really have the answers to these questions. Or to think about all these things perhaps as often as I should. Yet, watching this movie made me once again gratefully for my life, and the fact that I am relatively healthy and have a wonderful life.

I think I would recommend Seven Pounds; but, with the codicil that it be watched if you are willing to think and not expect the classic happy feelings. But rather to feel that introspection and love of life. I hope if you watch this or have seen it you let me know what you thought of it too.

A Bit More Than A Day...

2009-06-04T02:43:00.000-07:00

So apparently not only do I have to find two minutes to take the camera out and take a few pictures. But then, I have to download them, crop them, and get them posted here. Needless to say it has taken me a bit longer than I thought it would to get them up…but here are a few! (Please forgive my very amateurish photography.)

Here are some of my flowers popping up all over.

This is the salad set! We have peppers, tomatoes, spinach, to name a bit.

This is my herb garden! Chives, parsley, rosemary and more. Oh My.

So can't see it as well but all around the edges and down the middle are onions. So if even half of them live I will have more onions than I will know what to do with. Plus melons, pumpkin and more.

And finally we have an example of the dwarf fruit trees (this is a peach) and the rubber mulch! Lots of work, but looking pretty nice if I do say so myself.

A Bit of Advice

2009-06-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

1. Always wear sunscreen.
If you are not going to wear sunscreen, do not garden in the middle of the day.
If you do get sunburned put on lots of aloe and try not to touch the burn.

2. Always wear bug spray.
If you are not going to wear bug spray, do not garden when the mosquitoes are out.
If you do get mosquitoes bites put on lots Cortisone crème and try not to scratch the bites.

3. DO NOT get mosquitoes bites on top of a sunburn (or vice versa).
If you are going to...well just don't do it!

PS. Actually, as I was writing this post it reminded me of a speech I heard a few years back. It was by Baz Luhrman and fittingly entitled, Wear Sunscreen. I think his advice is some I should remember more often!

A Labor of Love?

2009-05-30T21:17:00.001-07:00

Well at least a labor of love for good food! I spent the whole day (literally from when I woke up at 8:30am till after 10pm) in my yard. Thankfully mom can and helped me several times. Firstly we finished planting and weeding the west and south sides of the house that have the planters, then we laid weed barrier around plants and topped it all off with the rubber mulch. Looks nice if I do say so myself!

We even planted a walnut tree so hopefully someday there will be shade and yummy nuts!

Then we went on errands to find garden plants! We ended up getting tomatoes, beans, peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, pumpkins, lettuce, spinach, onions, assorted herbs and I am sure I missed something. A few things like strawberries and peas it is too late to put in this year, but I will look for them in the fall and get them ready for next year.

When we got back I learned how to use Dad's edger and edged my lawn (which Scott was so sweet as to mow on Wednesday) and then got to work on the garden! I spent another five hours tonight tilling the soil (literally!) and planting! I am sooooooooooooo sore, but I am excited to start getting yummy food to cook with and do fun stuff with. Scott helped me to some shoveling and then I went after it until way past dark.

Now I am going to treat myself to a long soak in the tub with chocolate and a good book, followed by some yoga stretches in the hopes that I can still move in the morning. I will let you know about that tomorrow.

(I will be adding pics in the morning; they don't really work now in the dark!)

TV vs Computer

2009-05-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

As Scott and I were watching Jay Leno the other night, the funniest commercial come on. Not only did we actually watch the entire commercia,l we rewound the recording and saw it a second time. It was halarious. I am not a Connan O'Brian fan at all, but this was too funny to pass up.

And yes, I thought the irony of sharing this on a blog was too good to pass up too.

Hope it makes you laugh.

What To Say?

2009-05-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy lately that I don't always know what in my life is really worth blogging about....

I am still loving my work, even though it stresses me out much of the time. Otherwise much is still the same in my life, day to day, not much seems notable. Scott has been a huge help this spring mowing the grass every week! He so spoils me, I am extremely lucky to have such a great brother and roomie in him.

However, when thinking on events I would like to share I had to make not of a wonderful event I attended with much of my family. On May 12 I got to go and see Celtic Women in concert in SLC at the E Center. Matt and Heather and I actually even did dinner on the way, and had a great chat carpooling together.

I cannot describe how beautiful the music and staging were. I have been to several concerts but this will be on the top of my list for quite some time I am sure. After much sweat and tears (and several hours I wondering if my time should be better spent) I finally figured how to post to YouTube videos here to share. So here it goes, two I really like that show just a smidge of how amazing the show was.

This one is sort of a highlight of the show

This one was written especially for the Celtic Women and is a wonderful example, showing off their vocal ranges and as well Maidred's fiddling.

Big Sisters!

2009-05-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

So this is suppose to be about me...but I have to be a big sister and brag about my great brothers occasionally too. As requested, I didn't go to Shawn's robot competition this last Wednesday. But, he did so great! They took second and so didn't have to take the final! Cool huh!
Fox 13 did an interview with Shawn and his group. They were the only ones to make the long distance shot! So here is the link to the news article if ya want to check it out! His robot is the big red one that makes the long shot, he worked lots of hours and stressed lots about this; in the end a great result...so great job Shawn your big sis is so impressed.

Snow and Sand

2009-04-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

This week has had some wild weather. As I sit composing this post it is 65 degrees outside and I am going to go play in my garden! Okay, it actually can't be called a garden yet, but hopefully in the coming weeks it will deserve that name.

I actually started this post last Thursday but life happened, : ) as it so often does. However, I decided to go ahead and make this post anyway...
Snow is great when I get the chance to go up in the mountains and enjoy the skiing. But, this winter has seemed worse than normal and continues to drag on and on. Perhaps memory has dimmed past winters...either way the winter seems determined to continue to attack Utah. Waking up on Thursday I saw that the snow monster had struck again! Though the sun was out, the ground was once again snow covered.

Sulking I looked out my living room window dreading the day. However, as I looked across the landscape my perspective shifted. I was struck again by the beauty just outside my back door. Looking at the clouds floating around Mt. Timp reminded me why the mountains are considered so beautiful. I truly am blessed to live in such a gorgeous place. I don't take the chance very often to stop running from thing to thing and just admire this beautiful world.

That said I actually did get a few day break that was absolutely amazing last month. I got to go to Carmel California and meet with Lynn Lupetti! OMG!

Talk about dreamlike moments. I have grown up loving her work and had the chance to meet her several times before. However, this trip was all about getting to know each other so she can paint a portrait of me! I got to stay at her house with her and Ed, tour her studio, do a photo shoot and just spend a wonderful two days with her. We even watched AI together and I got to explain some of the music lingo to her.

One of the best things was the opportunity to take a few hours and walk on the beach! I have missed the ocean so much and am so glad I got to relax there.

Course Dad could have warned me about the big wave about to attak me...

Mom & Dad took a driving trip and met up with me when I flew in.

We ended the trip with a fabulous afternoon in San Francisco.

Followed by dinner at the fabulous House of Prince Rib. One on my favorite resaurants in the whole world.

All in all the whole time in California was fabulous. I was reminded that whether it is the sandy beach or the snow topped mountain the whole earth is beautiful and has something to offer me.

God...Fate...Karma...Kismet?

2009-03-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Do you believe in a cosmic power that controls our lives? Whether that power is God, Fate, or something else?

Some days it feels like the world is conspiring to make you do or not do something. Is this some amazing power or just life? And if it is a higher power, are all the problems in life road blocks detouring us to another path? Or are they barriers we are suppose to work around to better appreciate the end goal?

Today I had a really fun, great opportunity to go to Las Vegas and hang with friends. A last minute invite that I felt guilty taking because I worried about walking away from all my duties. Yet, I talked to my dad and he said he hoped he had taught me not only responsibility but also enjoyment of life. So I decided I was going to go. Take the weekend and play.

I am single, have a good paying job and a stable life. I should do something for me, who knows if an opportunity like this will come again! Or if it does, if my life will be in a place where I could take the opportunity like I can now. (No kids, no pets, nothing to stop a weekend away.)

Yet, from the minute I made the decision to go to Vegas, things seemed to go wrong. Several things came up at work that have to be dealt with before 10 am Monday morning. Also, I got an email about my saturday class indicating something that I should not miss. Lastly, when I got online to tell my friend I was coming down, within two minutes of logging on, the entire "ning" network went down and I couldn't coordinate the trip!

So are these all hurdles to overcome or things to stop me? Am I weak because I took everything as a sign that going is not the right decision afterall? Am I not working hard enough? Minutes after that my decision the network came back up (it was offline for over three hours!).

And why would some higher power go to such extremes to stop me from having a weekend to myself? Is life really coincidences or some greater planning? And is it egotistical to assume that some huge thing like an entire network going down is a sign to me? Or am I reading too much into my situations?

Conversation!

2009-03-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

So this last month I have had amazing conversations in several forms...

I had lunch at the Olive Garden with LoriAnn yesterday and got to hear all about her crazy life and the guys in it. (And yes we were there when the gun went off!)

I love sitting down and talking with my family. We get into all those taboo subjects and usually end up laughing at the end. When mom and dad were out of town last month Erik came over and we talked all about how silly Scott and I are, John Stewart and much more.

I finally am getting into facebook and laughing with people there.

I am starting to understand how Alicia and some of my other siblings can spend hours chatting online (through their games). I joined a forum and could spend all day talking to these hilarious ladies. We can vent and talk about families and twilight and all our obsessions.

I got to see Becky and pick her brain about all things Australian. Well at least scratch the surface. :)

I could go on and on; school, work, reading blogs... I love communicating and all the great conversations. I just realized that I wish I had written more of them here so I wouldn't forget them! So I wanted to take a minute and at least say thanks to all my friends and family for the wonderful conversations in the last month!

I Am A Normal Consumer?!?

2009-02-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

I hadn't seen many movies in the theatres in the past couple years. But, this last month I have enjoyed the short escape of the movie theatre and seen more movies than I had the whole previous year.
Then this morning, as I was working on a current event assignment for a class I found this article on KSL. So apparently I'm normal in my desire to go escape at the movies.

Movie theaters doing well in down economy
February 6th, 2009 @ 9:06pm
By Randall Jeppesen
The economy might be slowing down, but that's not keeping people from heading to the movies. Many haven't just been going to the movies; they've been flocking to see films.
Megaplex Theaters spokesman Jeff Whipple says the theater chain had a record-setting January in ticket sales, up 26 percent from January one year ago "I think people are realizing life goes on, and so we still need to entertain ourselves. We need to find a way to escape the commotion of the regular world. People have realized that movie and popcorn is a pretty good value," Whipple said.
He says Hollywood, in general, had $1 billion in ticket sales in January for the first time ever, and that's without any major blockbuster movies out at this time.

Now if I they had all been good movies, that I enjoyed, maybe I would feel better about the high January ticket sales. Yet, tomorrow I am going to see another movie, so I apparently live in hope of finding good movies at the theatres.

A Good Book

2009-02-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

So, as many of you know I am a huge fan of books on tape. I love listening to stories while I drive to and from work, or when I am at work and alone in the front area. It is a way I can multitask and enjoy it. Actually I am blogging and listening to a story now. :)

This week, on the recommendation of a great librarian, I listened to Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes.

This is a fairly short YA book about a 12 year old girl named Martha Boyle, she goes to her grandmother's for summer holiday and has some interesting, simple experiences. The book made me remember some simpler times in my life and also think about what is really important in my life. It is an easy read, but definately worth your time.

I hope you are all reading fun books yourselves. Have a wonderful weekend. Loves.

What Not To Watch...

2009-02-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I was stressed from life and needed some time out. So, Scott and I thought we would go and see a movie. I actually went on Fandango and read reviews and looked at what was out there. That is not my norm.

In the end we decided to go see Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I wanted my money back and more importantly my time. It was suppose to be funny but most the time I just groaned wondering why I was sitting there watching this. The few times I did laugh, the little voice in my head was asking "why is this funny and what does it say about you that you are laughing at this?" not really what I want running through my head while I laugh.

By the time we left we were in some ways more down then when we entered the movie. So now what? Well of course I could not just cut my losses. So back to my comp we went. After looking around again we decided to try a dollar show instead and go see City of Ember at Movies 8. Firstly did you know there is no more dollar show? Kids and students and matinees are $1.25 and normal tickets are $1.50. Inflation at work. *sigh* I liked this one better, at least I didn't want my money back. :) But, there were lots of plot holes. I really wasn't sure the driving factors in this story. Maybe, if I had read the book it would have been better.

On the way home I asked Scott which show he liked better. He said "neither". When I pressed him and asked if he had to recommend one which would he tell people to see, "I would tell them to save their money and find something better". So all in all a disappointing "unwind" day. Ah well. Back to life.

PS. We did see Marley and Me a few weeks ago and I really liked that one. So when that is at the dollar theatre go see that.

Comments

2009-01-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much commenting on the comments you all make on my blog. But I wanted to say thank you atleast once for all the the comments so far and the ones I forget to thank you for in the future. I love reading what you are all thinking and knowing you enjoyed my thoughts too. So, Thanks and Loves.

Higher Education?

2009-01-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

education n. The act or process of educating or being educated. The knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process.

So first let me qualify this post by saying that I know I am so lucky to get a college education, and if you don't want to hear me complain about that very thing then don't keep reading!

I love learning. It is so fascinating to find a new piece of information that makes another piece of information fall into place, etc. I trully believe that we are learning everyday. Today I learned about plumbing and pipes freezing. Yesterday I was learning about electrical wiring and very glad that I am not an electrician. I also learned about MIS and Globalization and Effective Presentations and the GOP and on and on.

But school itself is a very frustrating process to me. I am sitting in my Principles of Information Systems Management class. It is interesting and boring at the same time. There are some new things but most of it so far is repetitive and long. We are doing some projects that just seem to eat up my time and are repeating lots of the work I had to do in the pre-req course for this course! Yet if I don't do these assignments I will not pass the class. If I don't pass the class I will have to retake the course to get a piece of paper that says I sat through many hours of sometimes pointless classes.

That is what really frustrates be about school, it is often more about how well you can complete assignments than how much you are learning. Yet we call school higher education and higher learning. Some classes I come out of them feeling like I learned alot; but much of my education just seems busy work that has no real defined purpose. Now I know the real world is often busy work too, but that atleast has an end purpose and will hopefully further the business. Doing "problem sets" just feels repetitive. I don't know. This frustration is why I have such a hard time with finishing school in the first place. Learning-Yeah! :) Actual school classes-Maybe :(

Playing with Blog

2009-01-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

I will be trying out different layouts and fonts and colors in the next few days. I am attempting to really learn how to do this blog thing. So, if you see something you like or don't like let me know. However, the site will be changing lots as I play so please be patient. Thanks!

A Beautiful Reception

2009-01-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

Last night I got to celebrate with Alicia and Jesse at their reception. Mom did a beautiful job decorating the house and Alicia and Jesse looked blissful. Here are a few pics. The first one is especially for my Old Wise One. Alicia took the flowers from your bouquet and kept them with her so you would know she was including you too. Loves.

Mom made lots of yummy food for all to eat and Jesse Sr. made a special cake for them to cut. A family traditional favorite. They are so cute. Alicia insisted on forks! :)

Alicia and Jesse kicked off the dancing with Grandpa and Aryn close behind.

I have lots more pictures of people hanging out and chatting. If anyone wants to see them just let me know.

Wedded Bliss

2009-01-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

Alicia did it!! She made it through the wedding and is now off somewhere, I hope having a fun honeymoon. I got to follow Alyse around, playing pack mule, while she did picture for Alicia and Jesse at the temple. So my pictures are not going to be very good compared to hers but I hope you enjoy them. :) My only excuse for not getting them up faster was Rosie made it in town and I had to enjoy my time with her and then catch-up on all the little detail yesterday. The first is them coming out of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.

It was really cold and windy! But many people hung around to take pictures and congratulate the happy couple.

I never did get a post up about the bridal shower either but I wanted to share some of my pictures from that evening. Thanks again to all who came and made it a fun night. I really appreciated the support, and sorry about the lack of communication to some of you. I promise to communicate better in the future.

12th Day of Christmas

2009-01-13T17:06:00.001-08:00

Hmmm….so I am going to have to make sure I really am posting and not just drafting. Maybe part of that will be not trying to blog when I am nearly asleep. Well I was going to make comments on Alicia’s wedding but first I will publish the draft saved from the 12th Day of Christmas.

The Magic of the Sun is something that I have come to appreciate in the last month. I don’t really consider myself an outdoor person and I rarely go outside to just sit in the sun, no matter what time of year it is. Even though, I work in an office and don’t spend much time in the sun I have come to see that the days the sun is out I am usually in a better mood. This is an interesting thing to me because I don’t remember having problems when I was living is Washington. Although it seemed to me, the sun was still around, just diffused through clouds. So maybe is wasn’t really a lack of sun. ;)

I think part of it is that in Utah the cloudy skies accompany bad driving conditions. The snow has been beautiful, but I am so tired of having to worry about my car sliding on icy roads or the low clearance causing my car to get stuck. I also think the sun signals warmth to me. And right now I am tired of being cold! So the sun…I am glad it is up there. :)

11th Day of Christmas

2009-01-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

I was trying to figure out what to write about tonight and my wonderful sister Alyse gave me a great suggestion. So thanks for the idea. :)

We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. ~ Immanual Kant

I spent the first three Days of Christmas talking about my family; but, I missed some crucial members, our pets! Boris and Tasha are some of the most spoiled, wonderful puppies. :> When I get sad or melancholy they are always there willing to give unconditional love. On and off my whole life we have had pets. Cleo was a wonderful cat who adopted us and lived a full life with our family. Phantom has made the notion of communication between species through body language truly real. There is a magical love that comes from pets; a simple, uncomplicated thing that allows the complex stresses of life seem smaller. So I am grateful for the pets who have been in my life, and maybe in soon I will get one to make my home a pet home too. But, for now, I will make do with my parent's pets!

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. ~ Anonymous

10th Day of Christmas

2009-01-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

I spent nearly all the day, again, taking down Christmas decorations and I am still not done. Mostly it has taken so long because I am unwiring the tree I got at the Festival of Trees and they put lots of wires on it. These wires hold on the ornaments, lights, and just seem to be there! This is the sad part of Christmas to me, taking it all down and putting it away. It is not really more work than putting it up; but, when I put it up I am excited for the season so it doesn't seem so bad.

So what am I glad for today? I am glad for my memories. I love scrapbooking and looking at photo albums and reading old journal entries. I don't seem to be very good at keeping up any of these things. That is a recurring New Year's Resolution, maybe this year I will be better. But, remembering the good times makes the hard times worthwhile. Hopefully this blog can be another way to keep memories fresher. But, even when I don't have the concrete things to help me remember, I am grateful for the imperfect thoughts I am able to keep in my head.

9th Day of Christmas

2009-01-04T23:03:00.001-08:00

So I got this all typed up and thought I got it posted yesterday, but instead it got saved as a draft. Oops. Ah well, I am still figuring this out.

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate. - Linda Grayson, The Pickwick Papers

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…CHOCOLATE; One of life’s greatest pleasures at least for me :> In thinking of the things that I enjoy, I have to put chocolate up there. Yes, some would call me addicted, but I just call it great enjoyment. That is one of the best things about the holidays, I can eat lots and lots of chocolate and nobody thinks anything. Of course, that means that I have lost that excuse now, but no worries I will come up with a new one J.

Chocolate is a serious thing! - Counselor Deanna Troi, Start Trek: The Next Generation

8th Day of Christmas

2009-01-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

To Good Friends.
I was listening to LeAnn Rimes tonight and one of her songs just struck home. I spent a wonderful afternoon with Alyse on New Year's Eve and hearing this song made me think about that day and reminded me how gratfeul I am for really good friends.

A good friend and a glass of wine

Someone to say it's going to be alright

A good friend and a glass of wine

A little pick me up to get me through the night

We talk trash and we laugh and cry

That kind of therapy, money can't buy

Every now and then, every now and then

Every girl needs

A good friend and a glass of wine

We seem to do okay with Martinelli's instead of the wine. But, either way the sentiment is the same. So thank you to all my amazing friends and all the wonderful moments so far. Whether we are hashing out the stressful or laughing together, the time is precious. As we enter into 2009 I hope this year brings us all many more moments with good friends.

7th Day of Christmas

2009-01-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO 2009!

If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters. ~Author unknown, attributed to Jim Davis.

Hmmmmmmm sounds good to me. Today I am being lazy and slept in late. While lounging in bed contemplating what to write about today I thought I would comment on one of my other favorite pastimes. Sleeping! :) Sleep is a great friend to me. Like any good friend we get along most of the time; however sometimes we have disagreements about what time it is suppose to leave me alone for the day. But, this evening we are friendly and enjoyed our time together catching up today.

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. ~Charles Caleb Colton

6th Day of Christmas

2008-12-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

By Alyse Neibaur

I just finished up teaching piano for the week, working with those wonderful kids inspired me to comment today on one of the most meaningful things to me music. It can reach in and touch my heart in a way nothing else can. It has the power to heal and express emotions I at times cannot say any other way. Berthold Auerbach said it best, "Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Whether it is rock, classic, country, pop, gospel, or any other kind of music you prefer the magic is still the same.

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done

5th Day of Christmas

2008-12-30T21:41:00.000-08:00

When I was in Nashville last month for the ARVC Convention I saw a poster that made me think. (I have looked all over and can't find a copy of it :( ah well.) It showed a freeway with many exit and road signs. But as you looked at the words on the signs they did not make any sense. It was a poster for the Literacy Campaign and the words on the bottom half of the poster talked about how over one in five people in Nashville are functionally illiterate. This percentage just blew me away. I figure I spend at least 25% of my life reading something, whether it be a book or a work ad or emails or blogs; to not be able to do any of those things........

Some of my oldest memories are sitting by my dad listening to him read to us at night. Reading has always been an escape for me. It is one of my greatest joys and I cannot imagine what it would be like to not be able to read. There is always at least one book on my bedside table, one in my car and several scattered around the house. This last year I have also taken to listening to more books on tape/cd while I drive in the car or work around the house. But, I always consider these as a supplement not the only way to get a story. So I am very grateful for growing up with a love of reading in all its' forms and the ability to indulge it.

4th Day of Christmas

2008-12-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

So, I stepped funny on my right foot yesterday and now it is killing me. I am desperately hoping that I didn't break my toe, (it made a funny popping sound at the time). This, in conjunction with seeing the Body Worlds exhibit in SLC yesterday leads me to my 4th Day of Christmas.

I went with Dad, Shawn, Alyse, Scott, Erik and Grandma to The Body Worlds exhibit. It is plastination of real human bodies so you can see how the body functions. It was absolutely fascinating. If you haven't seen it yet I suggest you take the time. http://theleonardo.org/bodyworlds/index.php As I explored this exhibit yesterday it made me appreciate again how complex and utterly intriguing my body is. Even though I have had many medical problems in my life I still take things like my heart beating for granted. I am awed by the miracle that is my body and so happy I am fairly healthy and can enjoy doing physical things like skiing, running or even shoveling the snow.

3rd Day of Christmas

2008-12-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

The post is a bit late, time wise, today. I am in recovery mode from the last week. It was fun, but tiring. Still, thank you to everyone who came to Alicia's Bridal Shower last night. My camera was being weird so she took most of the pictures. (Yes, Alicia was behind the camera, it was somewhat frustrating. *Big Grin*) I will try to get the pictures from her tomorrow and make an additional post then.

In celebration of the 3rd Day of Christmas I want to stick with the theme of family for one more day. On Christmas Eve I got a very special gift from my dad. We were sitting around discussing family and he was asking which of us kids had recently read his dad's (my Grandpa Neibaur's) autobiography. He thought us kids each had copies, he went up stairs to his office and found 3 copies with dedications to Alicia, Shawn and I. (My dad is not trying to scan one in and find the other copies.) In the font is a dedication to me which reads in part, "May God ever bless you. I love you." Having this message from my grandpa, who has been gone for many years now, was incredible touching. I miss my grandparents who are gone but this holiday season is full of wonderful memories and I am so grateful I lived close enough to have so many memories of them.

This Christmas Grandma Joan (my mom's mom) is in town for the holidays. She is so strong and has so much experience I don't tell her often enough how much she means to me and what an inspirational lady I think she is. I had a wonderful time playing cards and just chatting with her this last week. All together I have truly been blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful family. I know many people do not have families like mine and I want them to all know how much I love them.

2nd Day of Christmas

2008-12-27T13:07:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I had the privilege of going to my friends Dustin Parmley and Nicole Mullen's wedding. They got married in the LDS Logan Temple and then had a dinner and dancing at a wonderful small house a few blocks away. We got up there just a bit late for the dinner but they were very understanding about our tradiness. She was gorgeous and they looked blissful. They are wonderful together and I wish them all the best. However, if any of my friends again decide to get married in Logan in the winter I will wish them all the best and say have fun without me. :-) It took us over 3 hours to drive the normal 1 and 1/2 hour drive up and about that long coming home. The freeway was frozen and I decided that I am not that happy to be driving on ice in my little Prius. Thankfully we caravanned with dad in his Toyota Tonka Toy and so I knew if anything bad happened they would be there to help.

This leads me to my 2nd Day of Christmas. Since I talked about the women in my family I am sure you can guess what I am going to talk about today. My Men! Dad was a sweetheart yesterday and danced with me at the reception. He always wants me to be happy, even though he is not sure how to help with that, he does his best to "fix" my problems. He is so supportive of his children and I am so blessed to have him as my father.

I have four wonderful brothers and one almost brother. Shawn is working so hard to be a great father and husband. When I look at him I am so proud of the adult he has become, he recently finished his degree at UVU before going to UofU this winter. I hope he knows how impressed I am by him. Scott is my sanity. I am so grateful to have him in my life. I was joking with Alicia the other day that the man I marry someday will not only have to compete with my dad but with Scott as an ideal. I am trying to make a mental change when I look at Matt and Erik. Matt is still one of the sweetest most loving people I know and watching him be an adult with a family is an amazing experience. Erik is so mature for his age and he is so intelligent. I love talking with him and getting to know the adult he is becoming. Jesse I am still getting to know. But, I love him because he makes Alicia glow. I hope as the years progress I will get to know him better and come to love him for himself.

Thanks to all the men in my family for loving me and making me a better person.

1st Day of Christmas

2008-12-26T08:51:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Holly by Alyse Neibaur

So the Christmas scenery was great; however, whenever I think I want a white Christmas I am going to try to remember this year. :) We have over two feet of snow on the ground and my car doesn't like it. :( I keep having to watch the low clearance, I have never had these worries the three previous years I've had my car. I spent several hours yesterday shoveling the stuff my dad's four-wheeler couldn't plow. I am a mite sore today. Ah well.

Christmas was wonderful, and I will do a post with pictures and details in the next few days. But, I wanted to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas by doing a special blog every morning. So on the first day of Christmas the thing I'm grateful for is the amazing women in my family.

My mom is my best friend, she so strong, caring and all around wonderful. Rosie is an inspiration to me even though she is so far away. I miss her and hope she knows how proud I am to be her little sister. Alicia is so patient and thoughtful. I know I sometimes get frustrated with her when she wants everything so planned out. But really, that is one of her great strengths. So, sorry about my lack of patience sometimes. :)

My other sisters I acquired through marriage and love. (So while my little brothers can be little brothers at times, I have to be grateful for the women they have married! :) ) Alyse is so talented and I know she doesn't always realize it. She's a wonderful mom, a great wife and an amazing artist. (Thanks again for letting me put up your Holly Elf.) Heather is a wonderful person so fun and willing to talk to me for hours. I am excited to continue to get to know her better. LoriAnn is my sister through love and experience. Thanks for always being there to listen.

I am so blessed to know such amazing women and to call them family. I hope the first day of Christmas is great for them too.

Dancing!!!

2008-12-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

I love Dancing with the Stars! Okay, so I know that I am a bit behind in this. But I am recording the last season (season 7) off the DVR and onto DVD. I just saw, again, Brooke & Derek get their first 10 in week 3 and Cody & Julianne do a great I Love Lucy inspired routine. There is something so fun about watching the stars progress and become great dancers. I am so spoiled to have a DVR and I watch way more TV than I used to because of it. But, I am glad I have the ability to watch shows like this again. I can't wait for the new spring season, I am sure it will be fun.

Wonderful Orlando Part One

2008-12-20T21:42:00.001-08:00

So I took my first vacation days in over a year this last week. I went with mom to Orlando and it was lots of fun. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the time with no work commitments. First we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. They had some really great holiday specials; there was a live stage show of Grinchmas. Unfortunately I forgot that first day that I had my camera so I have no pictures of that show. The music was done by Mannheim Steamroller and the show was hilarious. We also went on the water rides and got soaked. Luckily, it was fairly warm for December so it wasn't that bad to be wet.

The next day we went to Universal Studios Orlando. They had several of the floats from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was lots of fun.

My favorite float was this central park float. The skater was really on ice skates and she was skating to Christmas music while the float moved. I was really impressed.

Wonderful Orlando Part Two

2008-12-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

The second half of our time we spent at my favorite place, DISNEY WORLD!!! Yeah! :-) Our first day there we spent the morning at Downtown Disney and playing in Disney Quest. That evening we did something new for us; at the Magic Kingdom they are doing a holiday special event where they close the park early and you need a special ticket to come in back in. It is called Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. They had some special shows, a fun parade and lots of the rides open! One of the shows was Mickey’s Night Before Christmas.

The best part was the warmth, the weather cooperated and they also had free hot chocolate and cookies (or cider and apple wedges for the health conscious), so we could be out and enjoy the evening. Also, even though the park was open until midnight, the time change let us enjoy it without being tired. They even decorated The Castle for Christmas. Wow!

The next day we went to all three of the other Disney parks. In keeping with tradition, while at EPCOT we ate a yummy meal at the Nine Dragons in the China Pavilion at Epcot followed by the Candlelight Processional and Massed Choir at the American Pavilion. The guest narrator for our show was Monique Coleman; she was a really good orator. Than we hopped over to the Hollywood Studios and saw the Osborne Dancing Lights Show, it was a very busy day.

We also went to the Blizzard Beach on Tuesday morning. That was so wonderful because it was in the seventies! It was weird and wonderful to get to go to a water park in December. Sadly, when we got off the plane that night it was in the low twenties. Talk about a change in the weather! All in all I had lots of fun and really enjoyed the down time.

Giving In :)

2008-12-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

So I joined facebook last week and I am going to try this blogging thing. However, I will not promise how often I am going to update this. I am trying an experiment and if you want to come along with me than feel free to read on and check back occasionally.