Real and One Republic

Last Saturday AJ and I went to a Real Salt Lake soccer game mainly so we could see One Republic perform after the game. I gave up the big BYU vs. U of U football game for this (which turned out for the best since I would have just been frustrated watching us hand the game over to the other team). This is my second adventure watching a live soccer match and it seemed to move more quickly. I attribute it to understanding the game more. Actually, I think I just decided to go with the flow of the game and not focus so much on the calls. Good news- Real won!

After the game we found seats closer to the stage and settled in for a long concert of five songs. Yeah, five songs. It was like getting a sample scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins and walking out without ordering. They canceled their earlier appearance this summer so I have been anticipating this concert for awhile and just wished I had more to enjoy. But I can’t complain because I do love their song “Secrets.” I find myself watching the film Sorcerers Apprentice anytime I see it on TV just to hear their music.

Luckily next month The Airborne Toxic Event is coming back into town with Panic at the Disco and Neon Trees. Can’t wait!

Back to School

I love film history. I know it is not a surprise to any of you. If I were able to have my dream job, I would be a film historian or work with film preservation. At times I get antsy wondering why I am not doing what I love and start looking at film schools. During one of those times this past fall I found that UCLA’s Film School offers online courses during the summer. So I took the plunge and I enrolled in Acting and Performance in Film II. The class focused on the challenges actors face in performing in different genres like mystery, drama, comedy, etc. I enjoyed the lectures, the books I had to read, and the majority of the films I had to watch (I still hate Doctor Zhivago). This week they posted our final grade. Drum roll please . . .I got an A+! Brace yourself I’m going to brag a bit more – an A+! Of course I want to send a big thank you for MN in helping me edit my papers. But it really does make a difference if you love the subject you are studying. So after successfully completing one course, I will be registering next summer for another class and hopefully this will help tame the film lover inside me. But I may have just wakened the beast.

Braces

Yes, you read that correctly. After years of waiting and saving I have finally gotten braces. Everyone who knows me knows I need them, except for my nephews. When one of my nephews found out I was getting braces, he asked why because he didn’t think I needed braces (This is why you have nephews. They love you unconditionally and build your self esteem.) So I will not be getting a house any time soon since I took a big chunk out of my down payment savings to pay for all the prep leading up to and including getting my braces. It was selfish on my part to get them and not get a house but I have been wanting them for years. I just decided that enough was enough and I was going to do something about it. Most people know that I do not like getting my picture taken, and really it is because of my smile. So in three years, I promise, get your cameras ready!

Occupational Hazard

So, I just had a blonde moment that I had to share. I was calling my credit card company to activate my replacement card and the representative asked why I was calling and I said to activate my library card. Yep. I actually said that. I corrected myself by saying I mean my credit card. He then asked me did you just say library card? I said yes. He laughed and said that is funny. After completing all my verification he concluded our conversation saying with a chuckle, now don’t go using it at your library because it is not going to work. I just became the topic of conversation at that call center today. I just know it.

Let There Be Music!

Back in June my car stereo system decided to start acting up without my permission. It would decide when it wanted to work and when it wanted to take a break. By November my CD player completely gave up on me and retired. For someone who is in their car a lot, I grew dependent on listening to books on my commute to work. The problem was I just did not want to dish out hundreds of dollars to get it fix. But luckily I have connections. AJ’s brother was so kind to do all the research on what new system I needed to purchase and install it for me for free (though I had to give him a small thank you, I would have felt guilty otherwise). All this week I have had a smile on face as I once again started listening to a book my car (It really does make the commute go faster). So thank you AJ and her brother for helping me out because I am one really happy camper!

Oh, plus AJ gave me some other great news this week, Airborne Toxic Event is coming to town!

Primary

I have been called to teach Primary. I will admit it is not my first choice in the calling category, but it is defiantly not the worst on my list. I will be teaching the 9 year olds. As I have mentioned before I have only substituted in Primary on occasion so this is new territory for me. I will have to get a Primary Songbook because (I’m dating myself here) the “new” songbook came out the last year I was in Primary so the majority of the songs are new to me.

Today I got a quick crash course in teaching. I was in Sunday School when the Primary secretary came in and got me and asked me to substitute in Primary today for the 8 year old class since the teacher went home with a sick child. So I was handed the manual, pointed to the classroom, and had 40 minutes of class time to fill. Luckily the lesson was on Jesus’ baptism so I could wing it. I think today was to show me gratitude for the class I will be teaching in two weeks and be glad I will not be teaching this class of very rambunctious boys.

One More Sleep 'til Christmas

To quote Kermit the Frog from The Muppet Christmas Carol (love that film, mainly because of Rizzo the Rat) only one more sleep ‘til Christmas. The older I get the less magical it seems to be. I have not really even been in the mood to watch my favorite Christmas films this year. What it comes down to you really need to have little ones around all excited about Santa Claus and the season to get you all excited about it as well.

I have decided that next year I really need to do more service to bring the true spirit. One of my favorite Christmas’ was when I was a senior in high school and I was a volunteer Salvation Army Bell Ringer. Every Friday night and Saturday day I rang the bell (actually I sat next to the bucket while a little musical bell played Christmas songs) at the local mall through the Christmas season. It was so fun to see the little kids come up and put pennies in. Ever since I was a little kid I loved doing the same thing and I can not pass a Salvation Army bucket and still not put money in today. Even though my family participated in a Sub for Santa project this year I really need to focus more on the Savior. So if anyone can think of a great service project let me know.

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and to quote Bing Crosby from White Christmas that at this time of year may we “count our blessings instead of sheep.”

Merry Christmas!

White Christmas

No, this post has nothing to do with the weather. Every year as part of our Christmas gift my parents treat my oldest sister and I to a Christmas performance. This year we went and saw White Christmas at the University of Utah’s Pioneer Theater.

The film, White Christmas (1954) starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye is one of my favorite holiday films that I watch every year. So I pretty much know the film by heart and love it. But I still enjoyed the play. The sets were top notch, the choreography fun (I do love tap dancing), and the actors did a descent job (a nod to Tally and Kaitlyn). The script was a little different and so were the characters but I kept an open mind. I’m so glad that they kept the “Sisters” routine that the guys perform it’s one of my favorite scenes.

Just a few observations: John Shuman who played Ezekiel did a great interpretation of Pa Kettle. Mary Driggs who played Martha was more Ethel Merman than Mary Wickes but the character worked. I also thought it was interesting that they threw in “I love the Piano” which is from another Irving Berlin film Easter Parade.

I’m glad we have this new family tradition now that we are older it always helps me get into the Christmas spirit. Plus, we stopped off at Baskin Robbins for a nutty coconut shake afterwards. I do love those shakes.

Christmas Open House

For the last nineteen years my parents have opened their home the first Monday of December to the neighborhood and ward to come celebrate Christmas with them. I think it is a magical event, even though at times it can seem a little chaotic with over 150 people, majority of them kids, in our downsized home. We may go a little overboard with the decorations but the kids love it and it sets the mood for the evening.

The first stop is the candy shop- the dinning room hutch with several glass jars of candy to fill your treat bag. Then comes the reindeer food (Santa’s reindeer are well feed in our neighborhood). The best moment is when the children come around the corner and they see the toy shop (the kitchen table filled with dollar store toys) and their eyes light up and they literally run to the table. Of course it takes time to pick the perfect toy and you might have to trade once or maybe five times till you get the right one. But after the big decisions are made, you can celebrate the victory with lots and lots of food. The last stop of the evening is you pick up a family Christ center gift that we have put together because that real reason to gather friends together to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

So after weeks of planning, cleaning, and decorating the evening comes to an end. We discussed that maybe next year will be our last open house, but then we realized that we would really miss it and it would not be Christmas without it. So here’s to next year and the years to come.

Happy Halloween!

My favorite part of Halloween is passing out the candy and looking at all the costumes. My favorite this year was this little Yoda who was brave enough to come to our door even though there was a bunch of teenagers there at the time. Our family likes to not only give out candy but something else. We have given out play dough, big plastic rings, mazes, etc. This year it was little game cards with Disney characters. We decided to let the kids choose which one and it was so much fun having them tell me why they picked Cinderella over Sleeping Beauty and such. I like it when I am passing out the candy and saying wait a minute I also have a game for you to choose and their faces light up and they say “cool” or “awesome.” I hope they think of our house like I think of the lady who lived behind us when I was a kid and she gave out nickels. I thought that was the best thing ever to get at Halloween.

Halloween also means lots of decorating, just not at our house. For the past couple of years my family has been in charge of decorating the attic at the library for our Halloween program "Scary Stories in the Attic". It is fun and my family really gets into it. It took us three Saturdays to set it up this year but I think it was worth it. This year we had a mad scientist lab to loosely go with our teen book festival yesterday that had a steampunk theme since Scott Westerfeld came along with 19 other teen authors. Yeah, our library rocks! I left my camera in the attic but I will post pictures next weekend of what you missed out on.

Primary Program

Is it just me or is the Primary Program your favorite Sacrament Meeting out of the year as well? Where else can you hear a child sing loud and proud and out of key and think it is so adorable?

Got Milk?

I know I do! I was reading an article that says that the average American consumes about 30 gallons of milk a year. That is more than any other country. That started me thinking about how much milk I consume. I can sit down at dinner and have 2-3 glasses. So I calculated that I probably go through 2 ½ gallons of milk a week, averaging 130 gallons of milk a year. That is 4xs the average (I never like being average). It could also be that my favorite snack/meal is cereal so that plays in my milk consumption. But I really do love milk. My favorite? Really cold 2% Cream of Weber. I am a milk snob. I can taste the difference between milk brands. Do not get me started on cloudy water (that is skim milk to the rest of you).

When we lived in PA there was a local convenient store by our house and the employees would joke about how our family would come in at least twice a week and purchase five gallons of milk at a time and commenting on our love of milk. When my sister and I went off to college the store closed. Our family joke is that happened because we were not there to keep them in business with our milk consumption.

Face Lift

So I took a chance and updated my blog template, color and arrangement all by myself without asking anyone how to do it, just by playing around with it. Little things like that make me happy. So what if they are baby steps, they are my independent baby steps!

Why did I choose the mountain scene? Because there was no John Wayne. Just kidding, it was for the rain droplets. I love rain. I like nothing more than just sit outside on the porch and watch/listen to a thunder storm. I especially love the wind that comes just before the storm. I miss those here.

Making a List, Checking it Twice

I like making lists- things I need to pack, what I need at the store, and most importantly what I need to accomplish that day. In fact I have a yearly list, a monthly list, a weekly list, and a daily list of things to do. Each Sunday I evaluate my monthly list and write out my weekly list gathering all my loose notes that I have written down to do. Then each night I look at my weekly list and break down to what I have to do the next day. I like to be organized-- says the women who can not find her desk at work or does not believe in making beds (really what is the point when you are going to get back in it in just a few hours, besides I do not like my sheets tucked in).

Anyways, if it does not appear on my lists I forget to do it. That is what happened this week at work. I took on an assignment and I forgot to transfer my sticky note to my list. And guess what happens? I totally forgot. I feel like an idiot. In the back of my mind I felt like I was forgetting something but I kept reviewing my lists so I doubted my uneasiness. Then yesterday at work when I was asked about it, it dawned on me what had been nagging me and now it was too late to do anything about it. I felt like I let the team down, let alone me.

So the list system can fail with human error, but nothing is more rewarding than crossing things off that list. I will admit I will add things to the list at the end of the day I did do just so I can cross it off and feel I accomplished something. It helps me feel better when I am transferring items I keep ignoring from one list to the next.

Regional Conference

I like how Regional Conference has become a mini General Conference. It was great today to hear from Elder Snow, Sister Beck, Elder Holland, and President Packer. I learned a lot and enjoyed their talks. I wish they would publish their talks so I can have copies instead of just my notes.

I remember living back east and driving 2-3 hours to an arena to hear a general authority speak. My mother would pack a huge lunch to feed the family and the three sets of missionaries serving in our ward. Then any missionary she ran into she would make sure they had somewhere to eat and if not they would join our tailgate party. Yeah, that just does not happen here.

I Ran a 5K!

I ran a 5K (that is 3.1 miles). You read that correctly. Yes, the same person who doesn’t believe in running unless there is a basketball hoop at the other end has actually entered a race. Yesterday I ran in the Nestle Art City Days Family Fun Race with 2,000 other people including my friend AJ who has been training with me since January. She stuck by me even though she could have had a much lower time than my just shy of 40 minutes (personal best). All I can say is that I am very pleased with myself. Okay, actually I am very proud of myself. I woke up at 5:30 am to run a race. Putting two things I hate the most together- early morning and exercising. But now I can cross it off my list of things I want to accomplish in my life and I love crossing things off a to do list!

Snow

When I woke up this morning I was planning on a little rain, which is fine because I love rain. So I was a little surprised walking past my window, so much so that I did a double take, that it was white outside. I thought I must not be seeing things clearly since I hadn’t put in my contacts. But no, there was snow on the ground and huge flakes falling from the sky. Would someone please tell the weather man that it is almost Memorial Day and we are done with snow!

Strawberry Jam

I love homemade strawberry freezer jam. This past weekend my mom and I made three batches worth and after all the hours you stare at the end product and think, boy, I am going to have to ration that out to last until next spring when I can make more. In reality you can’t just have a freezer full of jam, pity. The reward after all the hard work is to spread the fresh warm jam over homemade scones. It is like heaven. Then again after seeing how much sugar it takes to make it, I can see why.

Primary

So for twelve weeks I have been asked to substitute in Primary during opening exercise while the teachers of the four year old class go to Teacher Development. One week down and I do not know how I am going to make it for the next eleven. Don’t get me wrong. I love kids, especially my nephews; it’s just that I have not been in Primary since I was in Primary. I may have substituted three times over the years but all my callings have been with teenagers (which I feel the most comfortable working with) and adults.

The four year olds have so much energy. I have six boys and sitting in the middle does not help the ones on the end behave. Luckily my arms do reach to tap their shoulders to have them sit back down in their seats to their dismay. I also feel like I am on display. I can see their mothers in the Primary Presidency looking at me and thinking, why did we ask her? Actually the Bishopric suggested my name to them since I do not have “other responsibilities” (I already have two callings, that is their way of saying, she is not married have her do it). It would be better to substitute during the class period time when I can feel more relaxed because being quiet is not really emphasized, then have their behavior on display for all to see during opening exercise.

Straight Out of a Romance Novel

So last night MBC, one of my past coworkers got married. Why, you ask is it like a romance novel? Here's why. She quite her job at the library last summer to tour Europe for four months and along the way found a man in Scotland (technically he is a Canadian living in Scotland).

It is all those teen girl books (that I really hate) of the girl who goes on vacation with her family and meets her summer romance. Also think of any 80’s sitcom and their family trip to Hawaii. Seriously, I think everyone went there for a special two part episode- Growing Pains, Full House, you name it.

It is also those romance films of the single woman leaving America to find romance- Rome Adventure, Three Coins in the Fountain, Only You, (funny those all happen in Italy not Scotland)- of course never come true in real life until last night. To top things off, MBC will be living in Scotland. That lucky lass!