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?