Oh Wow

I just read an extremely sad story, although it has a miraculously wonderful ending. This is a long read and will make you cry but wow. For those of you who don't read it, please do not leave your kids alone in the bathtub. So scary!!

http://stakerzxposed.blogspot.com

The Year in Review

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? I was a maid of honor at my sisters' wedding

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Some yes, I slacked at the end of the year though. Yes I will make more...i do better when I do them every couple of months

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Sandra had a baby girl-Savannah and Devynn a baby boy-Truman.

4. Did anyone close to you die? my nephew Truman passed away just before he was born. He is a perfect little angel who is greatly loved.

5. What countries did you visit? just America.

6. What do you want in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? I want to have the courage to make the changes I need to make.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? April 20- Savannah was born. June 20-Valerie and Scott were married. November 21-I learned about the loss of Truman...The weeks afterward will also stand out in my memory with the birth, funeral, and everything.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Nothing really compares with last year since I graduated college in 2008, but I won a basketball tournament at the beginning of the year and just all around have grown in a lot of ways this year.

9. What was your biggest failure? Not being the person I should be at times.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had a stress fracture in my foot and had to wear a boot but nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought? plane tickets to see my family and concert tickets.

12. Where did most of your money go? rent, food, car payments, clothes, plane tickets, concert tickets

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My new niece and nephew, my sisters' wedding, seeing family and friends

14. What song will always remind you of 2009? anything Lady GaGa or Taylor Swift, they were both huge this year. Also Miley Cyrus-Party in the U.S.A.

15. Thinner or fatter? same as always I'd say

16. Richer or poorer? same...

17. What do you wish you'd done more of? Saving money, helping others

18. What do you wish you'd done less of? worrying, being scared, eating out

19. How will you be spending Christmas? I worked on Christmas and then went to my cousins' house.

20. Did you fall in love in 2009? nope

21. What was your favorite TV program? Prison break!!

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? no but there is one fellow I very much dislike now.

23. What was the best book you read? this is my favorite question...A few that I remember most are: A Thousand Splendid Suns, Freedom Writers, Jesus the Christ, The Ultimate Gift, Night, The Last Lecture, and a few good/sad Holocaust books.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery? I rediscovered my love for Keane in a whole new way after their concert.

25. What did you want and get? I kept my job, family, and friends; I went to several amazing concerts

26. What did you want and not get? a few things

27. What was your favorite film of this year? a few I liked: New Moon, Star Wars, The Proposal, and I KNOW Blindside would be my favorite but I still haven't seen it!! ;(

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 23- I worked like 15 hours and also had a great time celebrating thanks to Kristen. We had crepes, cake, presents, and a LOT of friends. My sister and Scott came to town. Also, we went to Olive Garden 2 days after to celebrate.

29. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying? moving to all day shifts in September

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? cute but casual and comfy. I embraced new things like skinny jeans and boot cut jeans

31. What kept you sane? family, friends, the gospel, music, writing

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Jacob from New Moon! haha and also Ryan Reynolds

33. What political issue stirred you the most? not sure...

34. Who did you miss? my family

35. Who was the best new person you met? George Clooney...just kidding but I bet that would be cool

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: Don't worry be happy.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I have to quote 2 song lyrics, both from Mat Kearney:
"We'll never be ready if we keep waiting for the perfect time to come..."

"On and on and on we pray, we can break into a brighter day
Nothing worth anything ever goes down easy
On and on and on we go, I don't understand this windy road
Nothing worth anything ever goes down easy
And we'll keep on, keep on climbing on down this narrow line,
So we can see the other side..."

Happy 2010!

Wow it is 2010!! I am getting OLD! Where to start?? Well I guess I will summarize the year like so:

This year was a good year overall. There were road trips to St. George and Colorado. I went to Atlanta for my nieces blessing, Memphis for a wedding, and Indiana/North Carolina for a funeral-unfortunately. I played sports and won a basketball tournament early on in the year. This fall, my football team made it to the semi-final game. We ended up getting 3rd place. I survived job cuts at work and was ever VERY blessed to work weekdays for a few months at the end. I had a visit from my sister in January, my friend Kayla in February, from my sister and her husband Scott in August, and my Mom in October. I made new friends, and tried to keep in touch with old ones. I missed my family a lot this year, but we all grew closer together in a lot of ways. I now have 8 nieces/nephews including the one my sister will have next year. Holy cow, they are the best!! Well this is just a quick summary for the year. I suppose it is time for me to write some new goals, which I try to do every couple of months. I am excited for 2010!!!

Slogging or Blacking? You Decide,

Hey world!

I don't even know how to begin this blog entry other than by saying that I am a slacking blogger (see title). I guess that ever since I stopped working graveyards, I lost the will to blog. It's not that I don't have the time, I just am not insanely bored in the middle of the night anymore. Anyway, I figure it is time for an update, so here goes....

This fall has been fun so far. Since you last heard from me, I have been working, playing, dating, and all that fun stuff as usual. I go to football games, go on road trips-Colorado and St. George, and just have a lot of fun friends.

The past week however, has been really difficult as my family had some very sad news on Sunday. I found out on Sunday that my nephew had passed away. My sister-in-law was almost full-term and for one reason or another, my nephew was sent back to heaven. He was named Truman Virgil and we are having a memorial service and burial for him next week. It has been really difficult for my brother and his wife, as well as the rest of the family. This was totally unexpected and just left us in complete shock. We know that God has a plan, and that everything happens for a reason, but it still is difficult. It is especially hard at a time like this to be so far away from family. I hope to move closer in the next year but I guess I still need to figure things out. Anyway, my precious nephew is in heaven with his Uncle Nathan and so many other family members. I know it is all part of the plan, I just wish I could have met him.

Other than that, life is good. I had a fun Thanksgiving at work. I love my job. I will have a hard time leaving it someday. It has hard days of course, but I really cannot imagine working anywhere else right now.

Well that is my update, brief, but an update nonetheless. I am really excited to see a lot of my family next week. I just wish it was under happier circumstances but it will be nice to be together in the town we grew up in for a bit. They are the best.

And here is a song that makes me think of little baby Truman. It is a lullaby but it makes me think of him...

Dragon tales and the "water is wide"
Pirate's sail and lost boys fly
Fish bite moonbeams every night
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

The rocket racer's all tuckered out
Superman's in pajamas on the couch
Goodnight moon, will find the mouse
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

God bless mommy and match box cars
God bless dad and thanks for the stars
God hears "Amen," wherever we are
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Godspeed
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

The Dixie Chicks

Las Fotos

The mushy love birds




Love This One


A few good friends...


The Cake

I'm Old

This last week has been crazy but great!! For starters, tonight is my last night of working graves (regularly at least). I start my new schedule on Monday and am SO excited!! Getting up before 5am is going to be hard but it will be so worth it-plus I have weekends off now! On Sunday I turned 23. Yuck. I seriously had a mild depression about it, but I am adjusting. I had an amazing birthday, even though I worked about 15 hours of it. I came home from my night shift to find my room decorated with balloons and signs. Then I woke up in the morning to friends and some delicious homemade crepes with strawberries, blackberries, bananas, whipped cream, and Nutella. They were delicious! Then I opened presents from my friends. After that I had to head back into work. When I got off of work I came home to more decorations and a yummy cake and lots of friends. My sister and her husband came into town last minute for my birthday so I got to see them that night. I also got a card and money from my parents and grandparents. Then on Tuesday we all went out to Olive Garden for my birthday dinner. We had a pretty big crowd and my best friend from middle school came and spent the night. It was such a great birthday and was nice to actually celebrate this year. I feel kind of weird celebrating my birthday but I can't deny that it was fun. Even though I had to work on my birthday it was fun and the kids were good. Kristen is the birthday goddess. She is just amazing at getting things done! I will try to post pics later from my new camera.

When Val and Scott were here we went canoeing and to Temple Square. It was so fun but I felt bad I had to work two of the days they were in town. I still felt like we got to spend a lot of time together though. I am so glad they came! When my sister asked what I wanted for my birthday I told her I wanted a visit. I was spoiled this year! OH and my mom will be here in less than a month and is staying for a whole week! I cannot wait!

Thanks everyone for a great year!!

Life is Good

This summer has been more fun than I could have ever imagined. This past winter was really boring and lonely as Melani and I felt like we never had anything to do, and just missed having a close group of friends like we have had in the past. Well this summer has been non-stop fun and I have become closer to a couple of friends and made a lot of new ones. We have had some fun and crazy times so far including: concerts, rope swings, photo-shoots, water park, free-pie night, night games, night swims, CRUD, bonfires, camping, basketball, eating out, all-nighters, and so much more. I have the best friends. I love warm summer nights when we can be spontaneous and crazy. I have a couple of busy weeks coming up but I am excited! This weekend I get paid to go camping for work. Then, I move in a week and will be in between apartments for 10 days. I started a new volunteer program this week and I have been doing training for that and am so excited for this opportunity. Plus in case you haven't heard....I am moving to ALL day shifts!! Not only that but I will work weekdays! I have Sat and Sun off which is virtually impossible in a 24/7 facility. My prayers have really been answered. This may be a temporary switch as our schedules are constantly changing but I will take it for as long as I can. I am so happy!!