Over and Out

I heard on the radio this morning that Oprah must be on to something with that Gratitude journal because people who are grateful are happier, wealthier, healthier..and probably some other iers...I just can't remember exactly what.

So as I close up my blog for 2008, I'm thinking about the things that I am grateful for this year:





-My family...especially my mom who I have grown even closer to and who has been so incredibly supportive
-Cell phones and internet...so that I can keep in touch with the people who mean the most to me
-New friends...the Blanding bunch has helped me through some rough times and I so grateful to have met some "normal" people
-Old friends...people who know me and understand me and love me despite all that! I'm grateful for the people who understand that friendship is more than talking all the time or being in close proximity or surrending your own needs-friendship is loving someone and being willing to give all you have for them if necessary-it's a give and take relationship
-Internet shopping...I probably would not have survived this long out here if it weren't for Old Navy online
-A job...even though it is not the job that I thought I would have-I am incredibly grateful for the experiences that I am having and for the people I am getting to know. Living here is a great way to realize how much most of us have and take for granted.
-And most of all, I'm grateful for someone who knows me better than perhaps I know myself and who understands why I am the person I am and who can forgive me for all of my mistakes...I'm grateful for a Heavenly Father who provides for me daily and who gives me just enough strength to do the things that He wants me to do.

And I'm grateful to all of you guys! I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You'll hear from me again in 2009!

Winter Wonderland

Remember those pictures from just a few weeks ago? Well this is what it now looks like where I live...




All I can say is, hopefully Seattle will have better weather! I only have one more day of work after today and the thought makes me a little giddy. I can't wait to sit and relax and have a break from life in Halchita.

Favorite...

Christmas movies of all time:

1. Miracle on 34th Street...the old version even though I will agree that the remake was done reasonably well
2. Elf..."I like to whisper too"
3. A Charlie Brown Christmas
4. Home Alone 1 & 2...who doesn't love movies about kids who get to live on their own?!?
5. Muppets Christmas Carol...probably my favorite of all the Christmas Carol movies
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas...the old animated one not the new one (this category could also include the old animated Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph)
7. It's a Wonderful Life

Plus I always love the lifetime and hallmark and ABC Family movies that come on all season long! I can't help but love good Christmas movies!

Every year I think it would be fun to make Christmas presents...and every year around this time, I start to regret that decision. Most years, I just give up and take a trip to Target but unfortunately I do not have that luxury this year. So I am a crafting machine.

The good news-I am incredibly close to being finished with everything. The bad news-there is no way that the majority of people on my Christmas list will ever get their presents on time.

But I am pretty proud of what I came up with this year-I'll post pictures once everyone has actually received their gifts so that I don't ruin the surprise.

(Update-it is still snowing and the kids inform me that it will continue through tomorrow-why doesn't UT ever have snow days?!?!)

Snow Angels

Remember how I live in the desert and it isn't supposed to snow? Well this morning I woke up to a good 4 inches on the ground. The kids here are pumped because they never get snow but I feel like I just can't quite escape the bad winters!

At least in 8 days, I'll be on a plane to see some of my family. And I'll get to hold this sweet girl again!

Last night I dreamt that my aunt and uncle gave my mom loads of money to help her get out of debt. She gave some to me and right after I paid off my school loans, I quit my job. And I was so relieved to have all of my options open again.

I kinda wish that I was still young when anything in the world seemed possible. I kinda wish that I had unlimited resources of time and money to figure things out. I kinda wish that I didn't have to be "grown-up" and work a "grown-up" job. And I kinda wish a lot that last nights dream were real.

Sometimes when I am bored, I google random things just to see what turns up. And sometimes something amazing turns up, like yesterday when I found this picture:

That's right...a picture of me, Texann, and Eliza from freshman year in the Cannon Center. It's kinda creepy to think that there might be other random pictures of me floating around out there in the internet world.

Another hour please....

I went to bed at 8:30 last night-8:30!!!!
I was just laying around reading a book on the couch and I woke up later in the night and realized that the last thing I remembered was looking at my watch and thinking I could just close my eyes for a few minutes because it was too early to go to bed.
So why I am still tired this morning? Is it possible to be tired because you get too much sleep? But then why did I fall asleep on the couch if I didn't need the sleep? I should have just gone to medical school so I would have the answers to these types of questions.
Of course, if I went to medical school then I probably would never sleep and this question wouldn't even apply to me. Life is so confusing.

SLC Part 2

We also went to the First Presidency Christmas devotional on Sunday (we spent a lot of time on temple square). I made friends with the old lady that was sitting next to me and she filled me in on all the past Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concerts that I should buy on DVD. She was really cute. As was Elder Eyring...his tales of the Christmas pageants were so sweet. It reminded me of our family Christmas pageants with all my cousins. We still have one and every year the older cousins are still recruited to be angels and shepherds. I usually put up a big fuss but after hearing his talk it made me want to be a part of it this year. I think I could be a pretty good angel or shepherd!

I went to SLC this past weekend to do some holiday shopping and pick up my new (and free) washer and dryer. We spent most of the first day at the temple:


Me and Angie-my bff in Blanding...


That's right, we are dorks and are spelling out words...but we did come from Blanding so we can't be held completely responsible


Me, Angie, Jake, and Thomas...pretty much the only people I hang out with that live anywhere near me!

Conversation with a 10-year old

The following conversation occured yesterday at approximately 4:45 when I was pulling into Angie's house in Blanding:

(To set the scene...As I pull up to Angie's house there are two little kids sitting on a 4-wheeler in front of her house looking very concerned...I get out of the car)

10-year old: Excuse me, are you a friend of Angie's?
Me: Yeah, do you need her for something?
10: Yeah, well we lost our cow and we were just wondering if she had seen it.
Me: Did you say you lost your cow?
10: Yeah, our black one.
Me: Okay, I'll go check with her, hold on.

(At which point, I go inside, wake up Angie from her nap, start laughing uncontrollably finally get the story out just to find out she has not seen the cow and go back outside)

Me: No, she hasn't seen your cow.
10: Oh no...the thing is, she's pregnant.
Me: So what you are saying is your pregnant cow is on the loose.
10: Yeah, we think she might have run away to go see her cow boyfriend.
Me: Right-makes perfect sense. I'll have Angie watch out for your pregnant cow who may or may not be with her boyfriend and I'll tell her to call you if she sees her/them.

Next thought-only in Blanding, UT are there kids riding around on 4-wheelers looking for their pregnant cow. I'll miss that kind of entertainment when I leave.

The Hills are Alive

I realized that I don't post many pictures of where I actually live...so here it is:

Beautiful? Always

Remote? Incredibly

Awe-inspiring? Frequently

Lonely? Often


There are so many things that I love about living here...if only it wasn't so far away from everyone! Every time I look out my window, I am reminded of how much I have to be grateful for and how amazing our world truly is. Every time I go outside and am surrounded by peace and quiet, I am reminded of how important it is to take time to truly listen. And every time I see a sunset and sunrise, I am reminded of how precious life truly is. I'm grateful for these gentle reminders each and every day.

Things to be thankful for:
1. My camera is working again-as you may be able to tell from the above picture of my decorated Christmas tree!
2. My hot water is turned on again and I was able to have a nice hot shower today
3. Wal-mart online where you can download all of your pictures and order prints without ever leaving your own home
4. The internet in general where you can find delicious recipes even when you have no food left in your house (I made a yummy foccacia bread last night...which was pretty much the only kind of bread I could make without eggs and milk)

Thoughts for Today:

1. Not having hot water sucks-it makes it incredibly hard to both take a shower and do dishes which means that I am not a happy camper today
2. Those wooden mind-teaser puzzles also suck-if there are no directions, how will I ever know how to put them back together again?
3. Writing letters to the men and women serving are country definitely does not suck, in fact, it is pretty awesome-I just followed this link which made it incredibly easy to send something
4. I love pomegranate flavored things and pomegranate smelly things-I just started burning one and it is amazing
5. Since water is essential for life, why don't I like it more?
6. Seeing people who are happy to see me makes me happy-does that make me completely self-centered?
7. If you want a good laugh, read some deep thoughts by jack handey...I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair!

Bonus! More About Me

I couldn't resist...seriously, it was impossible

ABC:
A- Attached or Single? Single
B- Best Friend? Megan, Morgan, Jessica, Nicole, Angie
C- Cake or Pie? Cake...especially chocolate ones
D- Day of choice? Saturday's because I get to sleep in and do nothing!
E- Essential item? Cell phone/computer/internet/good book
F- Favorite color? It used to be either blue or green but I'm starting to move towards like maroon and robin egg blue's
G- Gummy bears or worms? Worms for sure, especially when they are part of that mud dessert thing with pudding and cookie crumbles
H- Hometown? I guess Brunswick, MD even though I wasn't born there and have been away for many years
I- Favorite Indulgence? Cheesecake...and Jane Austen marathons
J- January or July? Tricky...I like January because it comes after Christmas and I'm still motivated to be doing good but the snow kinda sucks but then July is super hot but it does include fireworks which I am completely supportive of
K- Kids? I don't have any but I usually like them (if you catch me on a hard work day I may claim differently!)
L- Life isn't complete without? Good friends, loving families, and great conversations
M- Marriage date? I'm going to go with sometime in 2010 but I have to meet the guy fist so that isn't definite!
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 1 older brother, 2 younger sisters, 1 younger brother, 1 younger foster brother, 1 younger foster sister, 1 step-brother, 1 step-sister...and throw in a sister-in-law and a brother-in-law
O- Oranges or Apples? Oranges if someone else is peeling them for me
P- Phobia and fears? Losing someone I love, heights, plane crashes, spiders
Q- Quote? For today-"Comparison is the thief of happiness"
R- Reasons to smile? An unexpected phone call, a funny movie, the Christmas season
S- Season of choice? Fall all the way
T- Tag 3 people: Nah-I don't want to make anyone else do these...I understand that just because I love things doesn't mean that everyone does!
U- Unknown fact about me: I don't know how to whistle even though I attempt it frequently
V- Vegetable? Sweet potatoes...it's my latest obsession
W- Worst Habit? Probably biting my nails, or not exercising
X - Ray or Ultrasound? Well I've never had an x-ray so I can't really compare the two but I thought the ultrasound was pretty awesome
Y- Your favorite food? Potatoes or chocolates
Z- Zodiac sign? Taurus...obviously

I have a new favorite show...right up there with Wicked and Phantom of the Opera. Aida. I went to go see it last week at the Hale Theater in Orem and it was fantastic.

The music was awesome, the choreography beautiful, and the story endearing. Within the first five minutes of the show, I was obsessed. Who doesn't love a good story about forbidden love?

Propane and more

Don't worry, I just got told by Amerigas that I was going to be reported to a collections agency for not paying for a delivery of propane that I NEVER RECEIVED! Who doesn't love getting threats first thing in the morning?

On a lighter note, I'm headed up to UT county this weekend and I get to stay for a whole week. Hurrah! I get to spend turkey day at a restaurant with just me and my grandpa (which means no clean-up which I'm grateful for) and I get to see a bunch of my friends and family.

And I didn't even mention that I get to see Twilight and Aida tomorrow! And get my hair done...which I need desparately. Which reminds me-I'm thinking bangs. How do we feel about the following?

Say Destiny, Now Spell It

I may have failed to mention thus far that I am in love with Josh Groban. We had a moment.

Last year I was lucky enough to be invited by Rachel to go to his concert. We were in the nose-bleed section (sitting up there literally made Rachel sick!) until a wonderful worker at the EnergySolutions arena invited us down to the lower bowl. I have never sat that close to an actual performer. Which leads me to the moment...Josh was singing on our side of the stage when he looked over and we made eye contact. I am not kidding you. I know that no one will ever believe me but I swear it actually happened. I'm still waiting around for him to come find me. After all, we had a moment.

The Goose is Getting Fat

Christmas is coming! Yesterday I officially broke into early Christmas mode and watched Elf, set up my Christmas tree, and worked on holiday crafts. I figured that since I am out of town so much, I have less time to enjoy all my decorations which means that I should decorate a week early!

My little house looks adorable and I am completely in the holiday spirit. I also bought my plane ticket for Christmas yesterday...I will be in Seattle on the 24th until I decide that I'm bored enough to come home!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Curls

A boy came into my office today and the first thing he said was, you must be tired today. I asked him why he thought that and he answered "Because your hair is curly today, it's always curly on the days that you are tired." Which I realized, is totally true. When I'm too tired in the morning to wash my hair, I just curl it and call it a day. Maybe I'll have to come up with a new way to do my hair when I don't wash it!

Singing, Singing All the Day

I just had a great weekend. Girls day in Farmington (where they have a mall, a Target, and a Walmart!), crafts galore, High School Musical 3, and laughing so hard it made my stomach hurt. I just got back from spending the weekend with Angie and her fam...and I had a blast.

I also managed to successfully finished 95% of my holiday shopping and plan on making the rest of my presents this weekend. This year I'm all for homemade gifts. I figure I don't have any money and I have more than enough time so I better get on it. I have also successfully finished making my scripture cover and that looks pretty adorable.

And starting on Friday, I will have 9 days to spend with family and friends in northern Utah.

It's a great day.

deja vu

Yesterday after I punched out (we are now required to punch out on a time clock which I think is completely ridiculous but apparently my opinion doesn't go for much around here), I was standing in the hallway talking to a teacher. When I had the strangest feeeling of deja vu. Like I swear (swear, swear, swear) that I had dreamt about that exact moment years ago.

I know that there are all of these scientific explanations for this happening but when you experience it-it feels so incredibly real. It threw my whole afternoon off. What if I had dreamt about it in the past? How would that change the way that I lived my life?

I seriously spent the good part of yestrday afternoon pondering this...maybe it's just a sign that I am where I am supposed to be.

PS...you guys totally convinced me, I'll get both coats and find some way to justify it!

More than keeping warm

Yesterday I got out all my winter clothes. And then I realized that I was in desperate need of a new coat. So I ordered this one from Old Navy:

But then after I finished my order, I fell in love with this one:

So the questions is: do I just keep the first one, take the first one back and get the second one, or buy the second one and keep the first one?

Thoughts?

If only...

Apparently being good at wii bowling does not mean that you are actually good at real bowling.

In my best game, I bowled a 91...and that was significant improvement from the game before. Maybe I should have taken a bowling class at BYU.

A Friend Like This

Meet Morgan...who has been one of my best friends since December of 1992 (that's right people...16 years and counting). Her nicknames are Morgo and Mick, her favorite color is purple, she loves chick rock and Anne Geddes, and she never fails to make me laugh.




I can talk to Morgan for hours or sit with her not talking for hours and still leave feeling better than when I arrived. She has been my friend through the worst days of my life and experienced the best days with me. Morgan has an enormous heart and I am grateful to call her a friend. Here is to 16 years of friendship!

A Hug a Day...

I went into the Kindergarten classroom today and I was suddenly surrounded by 19 5 and 6-year olds trying to give me a hug at the same time. I felt like a celebrity which was pretty exciting (it may surprise you but school counselors are not generally known as celebrities). It made an otherwise crazy day worthwhile. There's nothing quite like a free hug!

Enjoy

One of the things I love most about living on the reservation...

Navajo Fry Bread

• 4-5 cups flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup instant milk
• 2 cups water
  

Filling

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 can pinto beans
  

Suggested Toppings

• grated cheese
• salsa
• lettuce
• tomato
• onion
• sour cream
• green onion (whatever sounds good)

Directions

1 To make fry bread: Mix dry ingredients.
2 Stir in water.
3 Knead dough lightly; cover and let rest 15 minutes.
4 Heat 1" vegetable oil in a 10" skillet.
5 Pinch off dough in small amounts and pat dough into thin 8" circles.
6 In the hot oil, quickly brown on both sides.
7 Drain on paper towels.
8 To make filling: Brown ground beef and onion, drain.
9 Add beans and garlic salt.
10 Simmer 10- 15 minutes.
11 To Serve: Spoon filling onto frybread.
12 Top with grated cheeses, salsa, lettuce, onion, or whatever sounds good.

(recipe shared by Leta from www.recipezaar.com)

Sweet Land of Liberty

Last night was the first night that I remember staying awake to find out who had won an election-ever. I remember when Clinton was elected in 1992, I was in 5th grade and had just moved from Idaho to Maryland where politics were more widely talked about. But still, I was too young to really care about who won or what it meant. I remember voting in 2000 and 2004, and yet I wasn't interested enough to actually stay up and watch.

Then there was this election...one that I found myself disinterested in after hearing so much about. But there I was at 10:00 last night, sitting by the TV, waiting to hear what would happen. I was moved by the speeches that both McCain and Obama gave. And I couldn't help but feel excited that this would go down in history. This is something that will be widely talked about for years and years and I was here to witness it. I think that no matter who you voted for, you were still able to recognize what an exciting time it is in American history.

And it was a reminder to me that I'm proud to be American. I'm grateful to live in a country where we have so many freedoms and where dreaming big is not only acceptable but encouraged. And I'm excited about where we are headed...we may have started with slavery and persecution but maybe we will end with tolerance and acceptance.

Another one bites the dust

My camera battery is officially dead....and has been for a few weeks. And silly me, I can't remember where I put my charger. This would explain the lack of pictures on my blog lately. Nonetheless, halloween pictures have been requested so I'm posting the best ones that I have to date which were stolen from my cousin Jen. Notice that my mouth is open because I was in the middle of saying something when she took the picture...but I thought it turned out pretty cute anyway.

And I couldn't help posting a picture of the Crandall's who looked awesome as the von Trapp family. I especially love that Tyler wore his costume...you can see an even better view in the background of the first picture!

Election Eve

If we have a Halloween eve, perhaps we should also celebrate an election eve. I've been bored with the elections for about a month now, so I mostly don't have any idea what is going on. And being the idiot that I am, I had no idea that you had to re-register to vote, so I won't even be voting. But nonetheless, I think we should celebrate. I'm all for as many holidays that our calendar can handle.

And it is a pretty important day for us (at least, tomorrow is an important day)...and if I were registered to vote, I would totally be using today to prepare for it. So in honor of election eve, I will wear red white and blue (done) and eat only red white and blue foods (except most blue foods are not that tasty so I probably won't actually be eating those and I already ate a granola bar which had chocolate in it).

Happy Election eve...and remember to vote (unless you are like me and did not re-register, in which case I guess we will be unable to complain for the next four years since we didn't do our civic duty anyway!).

Happy Halloween

These are some of the reasons that I love Halloween so much:

(my cousin Tyler dressed as Napoleon Dynamite and wearing one of my grandma's old wigs!)

(The Osborne girls portraying some of Disney's best...and most wicked)

(And my uncle John wearing one of my favorite costumes ever...Elf)

Today I am wearing black fingernail polish and black eyeshadow and I've seen my fair share of witches and princesses and superheroes...and I feel happier than I've felt in a really long time. This day always brings a huge smile to my face!

So remember to take some time today and enjoy the fact that today we can be whoever we want to be and get away with it.

Today is Halloween Eve which I think should officially become a holiday. These are the things I love most about Halloween Eve:

1. My pumpkin spice candle which I have been using constantly for the past month which means that my little house now smells amazingly fall-y

2. Pumpkins that have begun to rot on my neighbors porch (which smell nothing like my pumpkin spice candle might I add)

3. Preparing for an amazing Halloween party (and preparing for the crazy costumes that my family will come up)

4. The great weather (usually this one would be said in a sarcastic tone except that this year it is, in fact, great weather)

5. And last but not least, the last minute shopping for Halloween candy because I have once again waited for the last second!

If you give a mouse a cookie

Today my wireless mouse stopped working and I'm not sure I know how to survive without it. On the same note, how did I ever survive without a cell phone, the internet, a GPS or an ipod? Technology is ruining me-one gigabyte at a time.

Simply Simple

Joe informed me yesterday that I should just get a job at his school as a counselor so that I could move back home. If only life were that simple...

Meet Joe, my foster brother/nephew soon to be my actual brother/nephew. He loves pre-K, his soccer team, any other sports, Scooby-Doo, seafood, and cars. He thinks he is way more grown up then he actually is and is always offering to work on cars or mow the lawn or whatever else he sees the "grown-up" boys doing.

Good news on the homefront...my mom is signing papers to officially adopt the kids. What would I do without these 2 being a permanent part of my life!

And good news from southern Utah...I actually did my make-up today and I honestly don't recognize myself when I look in the mirror. I guess all those make-up tutorials from you-tube really are helpful!

Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away

Apparently people weren't super excited about the pictures that I chose to use yesterday so in order to keep my friends happy, I am posting some of my favorites of these three!

Other news from yesterday:

I started my costume and it looks fabulous (plus it gives me something to do besides watch tv)

I talked to Nicole on the phone after not talking in forever...and thank goodness for friends who care about you no matter what

I made plans to go to Target

I watched like 3 episodes of Roswell and then freaked myself out during a wind storm and couldn't sleep

My dad called to say that he would be here on Friday to visit...hurrah!

All in all, a successful day interspersed with good news...I needed a day like yesterday!