A Blast From the Past

This is going to be a short blog. I'll update all of Christmas later. But one big highlight from my trip home was the chance I had to see old friends, some of which I haven't seen in years. I feel like I have always been blessed with good, true friends. I can't think of a time in my life where I wasn't surrounded by them! When I was in 8th grade on, I had a big group of friends, there was 17 of us. And I could say that I had I 17 best friends at that time. Some of them I had known since elementary school, and some just joined our group that year. Those were some of the funnest times I have had. There was a party every week, usually a sleepover. Lots of good memories. Anyway, my friend Kim and I decided we wanted to plan a reunion at Christmas time when most of us would be back in Utah. There were 9 that came, due to bad weather, and other holiday arrangements, the other ones couldn't join us. It was so fun to catch up with everyone and see where they are at in life now. All but 2 of us are married (me being one of the 2 single :) ), and all but 3 of us have at least one child, or one on the way. Some have 3! It's crazy to see where we have all ended up. But I'm truly grateful for this group of friends that I had and what they each taught me at that crucial time in my life. I went home after that night, feeling so blessed for friends. I'm very grateful for all the friendships I have been able to be a part of, and look forward to new friends that I will continue to meet along the way.

Ugly Sweaters=Good Times!

I went to my first ever Ugly Sweater Party, and let me tell you what, I can't wait to go to more!! When I went home to Utah last weekend, I snagged a sweater from my mom. It was given to her by my grandma, who got it from my Great Aunt Ann after she passed away. (PS, I absolutely LOVED my Aunt Ann. She had the greatest laugh I have ever heard.) It is HUGE! Well, you can see what it looks like from the pictures. There were some pretty awesome sweaters at this party. It makes you wonder who came up with the sweater designs, and why in the world some people would buy them. But you know what? It's a great thing ugly sweaters were invented, so that Ugly Sweater Parties could exist. There was some great food and great entertainment. My personal favorite, besides everyone's sweaters of course, was the Charlie Brown skit. Haven't laughed so hard in a while (wait, I laugh hard all the time. But this was harder than usual).
My BFF Jared had the awesome glasses that I am wearing. Aren't they the best? They said that I looked the best out of everyone that had tried them on. Not sure if that's a compliment or not, but I'll take it. It was fun acting like an old grandma for a night.

This picture cracks me up. I totally look like an old person, sitting back and enjoying what's going on around me.

Macquel and I. I love how she's holding her drink. Love this girl!

The Roomies! Jessica made her sweater, and Hil got hers at Christopher & Banks. I really love her turtleneck. She also has a Santa pin, and you can't see it, but she got an awesome hair bow..if you click on the picture and enlarge it you can see the sweaters better. (And an added bonus: The height difference in this picture. Hilarious!!)

Stephanie and I showing off our sweaters. I think hers is cute, opposite of ugly!

Jared showing off his sweater and glasses. They look better on me, huh?!

Model pose!

Meggan's Graduation

This blog entry is dedicated to one of my most dearest and closest of friends, Meggan. I am SO proud of her! She was able to accomplish her goal of graduating from college. I flew to Utah and surprised her for her graduation day this past weekend at Utah State. It was an honor for me to see it and spend that time with her on her big day. Meggan, I love you and respect you so much for finishing, even when times got tough. You will be an amazing teacher and I look forward to seeing where life takes you. I look up to you so much, sister, for so many reasons! And thank you Laci, for picking me up at the airport, and driving to Logan with blizzard conditions!

Before, During, and After Work Joys

I've been pondering lately some things that I get to experience on a daily basis on my way to work, during work, and on my way home from work. So I thought I would share a few with you!

Before Work:

• I love in the mornings while I get ready, having that time to myself. I really enjoy getting ready in front of the TV. I prop my big mirror next to the TV and watch a good episode of Arthur, or the news while doing my hair and make up.
• Traffic can get pretty bad in the morning, so I have to leave about 45 minutes before work to get there on time. But I actually don't mind the drive there, driving anywhere from 10-45 MPH (Speed Limit is 45-65, depending on what road I am on :) ). I enjoyed this when I taught in Tremonton but lived in Logan..I loved having that time to get myself mentally ready for the day, listening to music, and just again taking that time for myself.
• The parking garage at work is about a 10 minute walk to my building. I see the same people every morning, and there's one person in particular that I look forward to seeing. The University campus is huge and spread out, so they have drivers that drive golf carts around that people can choose to ride to where they need to go. One driver is my fave. I see him every morning. We always wave to each other. One of these days I want to ride with him just to talk to him. It's weird how a complete stranger can be so fascinating. I don't even know him, and I feel like he is one of the nicest people ever.

During Work:

• A guy that I work with says the funniest things every day! The funny part about it is that he doesn't even know that it's funny. I laugh at him all day, he cracks me up!!
• If you know me, I used to have a HUGE fear of elevators. I still do, but I've come SO far in it. I used to never ride them unless it was like 50 floors up (like my hotel room in the New Yorker). My work is on the 4th floor so I try to take the stairs as much as I can. But a lot of times I'm delivering things, or in a hurry so I have to take the elevator. I love these elevators because they talk to you (Going up, going down) with the best accent. Also, I've talked to a lot of interesting people in the elevators. Great way to meet people, I tell you what!
• Doing some challenging projects, feeling like I'm being of use, and needed and that I'm accomplishing something. And I love my interactions with the doctors.
  
• I've had to deliver a lot of things, or pick up things for doctors and I always get to converse with a wide variety of people. Not that Utah isn't diverse, but it's diverse here!
• I get to see the place I was born everyday, and usually go inside once a week. I love that. It makes me feel right at home there. My dad told me I was born on the 3rd floor, so one of these days I would like to go explore that floor. :) Just for kicks and giggles.
  

After Work:

• I have decided that Colorado has the prettiest sunsets I have seen. I don't know if it's the cool cloud formations, or having the mountains in the far away distance or what, but they are so beautiful. And the cool part is that I leave work and drive home at the perfect time and get to see it everyday. It's one of my favorite parts of the day. Each day it's so different, I just want to take pictures of it and post it! Maybe I'll try and do it with my phone..I'll experiment :)
• Again, traffic is really bad on the drive home. Sometimes when I'm in a hurry to get somewhere it can be frustrating, but most days I don't mind it because it helps me to wind down from the day and reflect on it, and have that me time again. I love to play music really loud and jam to it, people in cars around me probably point and laugh, but I love it. Especially this time of year to Christmas music. Nothing better!
• Today I was walking to the parking garage and started randomly chatting with a lady who was also walking that way. We have never talked before but we had the best conversation in the short 7 minutes! It made me excited to talk to her again..I love the interactions I have had here with strangers, be it a minute or 10 minutes. There is some amazing people in this world.
  
• Again, talking about traffic...but it's cool because everyday that I drive home and I'm merging on to the highway, a space is always open for me to just merge right on in. It's so cool! I know that sounds lame, but it's a little joy for me.

So there's a few things I enjoy during my working days here. Simple but true joys in my adventure!

People love to tag me...

My dear friend Stephanie, here in Colorado, decided to tag me for her first tag ever, so of course I have to do it! Love your face, Stephanie!!

Five Shows I love to Watch:

Gilmore Girls

One Tree Hill

Grey's Anatomy

The Biggest Loser

Arthur (I watch it in the morning when I get ready..either that or the morning news)

Five Favorite Restaurants:

Olive Garden

Chili's

Red Robin (for the fries and campfire sauce)

Bluebird in Logan, UT (for the Bluebird Chicken)

Taco Time in Tremonton, UT (It really is the best, I'll take you there sometime if you haven't been there :) )

Five Things That Happened Yesterday:
I went Christmas shopping-alone! It can be scary when I shop alone because I can talk myself into buying almost anything...

I got a chip and dip plate set at my work Christmas luncheon. I had the cutest scarf but we were playing the trade in game and someone decided they wanted it so they stole it from me! Not fair!

I got to talk to a friend that I haven't talked to for a while-Miss you, Curtis (Bob).

I read more out of the Secret Life of Bees..I absolutely LOVE to read and lose myself in the book...it's so comforting to me for some reason.

I went to bed early! The best thing ever that I've done for myself in a while.

Five Things I Love About Winter:

Dressing up for the weather (ie: Cute sweaters and coats)

Christmas music

Christmas movies

My birthday

Spending the holidays with my family

Five Things On My Wish List:

A new iPod

Taking a trip to Maine

Seeing my cubbies play in Wrigley Field

That everyone could love and accept each other just the way they are

Owning my own house

Five Things I Look Forward To:

Spending time with my family over Christmas

playing with my nieces and nephews-the times I feel the most joy are with them!

Having my car paid off next month! Yay!!

Visiting friends in far off places...

Getting my butt in shape to run the Boulder Bolder

Five People I Tag:
Anyone that wants to do it..Kelsy, you are great at tags!

Surprise!

I decided over a month ago that I wanted to surprise my parents and come home for Thanksgiving. I had talked to my mom on the phone and told her I wouldn't drive home, I would stay here. But my mom knows me really well, that when I set my mind to something, I don't back down. She didn't ask me from that phone call on what I was doing for Thanksgiving, and so it had me wondering if she knew I would come home. My sister, Kala and brother in law Josh, told my mom that they were going to go to a late movie, and then they came and picked me up the night before Thanksgiving. I can't even tell you how excited I was to come home! My flight came in at 11 PM, so by the time we got to Tremonton, it was past midnight and my parents were asleep. So I decided to surprise them in the morning. I snuck in my sister Katrina's bed (she wasn't happy with me at all for waking her up, it's pretty hilarious when she gets that way.
The next morning, Katrina went out first, and then I followed her. Everyone was in the kitchen area. My mom was at the counter making something, so I just walked in and said, "Hi!" Her face was the best thing ever. I wish I could have taken a picture of it. She was like, "How did you get here?! What are you doing here?!" My dad was in the other room at the computer so I went in and he just kept hugging me. I asked my mom why she hadn't asked me about what I was doing. She said, "I knew you would either drive here and I didn't want to worry about you, or you would stay there, and I didn't want to know if you were having a miserable time alone." It was such a fun day with my family. Lots of good food, games, good laughs over home videos, and just spending time together. I love my family so much. I have thought many times in my life how I chose to be with them, and how they really are the best fit for me. I love what each of them brings to my life. And the most favorite people in my life are my nieces and nephews. Any time I get to spend with them are times that I feel the most joy and most peace with myself. They love me so purely and fully, and I love them that way. We went around the table and said what we were thankful for. The kids answers were the best. They were thankful for animals, flowers, bikes, friends and family. I said I was thankful to be alive, literally. I finally told my parents about the shooting at my apartment. If you don't know the story and want to, give me a call. I still don't feel ready to blog about it. :) What an adventure though!
I was able to go to an Aggie football game with my good friends, Meggan and Jenna. Man, I miss those football games, and miss those girls. We even won, 48-2! I said it was because I was there. It was good to catch up with my dear friends, I wish I could have seen more but hopefully at Christmas I can! I also enjoyed getting my haircut (Thanks Jenny!), eating lunch with Jackie at Firehouse Pizza (LOVE their bread), going to Twilight (I LOVE Edward), and eating Bluebird Chicken at Bluebird with the girls in my fam, and even doing the day after Thanksgiving early morning shopping craziness with my sister and brother in law.
I truly enjoy coming home to Utah now, I appreciate the people there that are so important to my life, and growing up there, what I was taught. I'm loving Colorado, it is the place I was born, but Utah is the place I call home, no matter where I end up.

Jenna, Meggan and I at the Aggie game. Go Aggies!

The kid table at Thanksgiving, minus Libby and Abbie. That's my favorite table, I secretly wanted to have my plate there along side my favorite people in the whole world!

Don't Tell Me What I Can and Can't Do

I was told a while ago that I couldn't eat a large pizza by myself. Now, if you know me, I have a huge problem with people telling me what I can or can't do. I like to prove people wrong. That's probably not a strong point of my personality, but it is what it is. So I told this person, "I'll prove it to you that I can." This turned into a food eating contest. We found a place called CheeBurger CheeBurger that sold 20 ounce hamburgers. That's equal to 5 quarter pounders! You could get your picture taken at the restaurant if you ate the whole thing and it would be posted on a board in the restaurant. So I said, "Bring It On!" We found a few more people to join us in the contest and we were ready to go. There was 6 of us total, 5 boys and me, the solo girl. We ordered the burgers (called the Pound Burger) and waited for them to come. They came plain but I decided to put ketchup, mustard, pickles, and lettuce on mine, nothing too much. While we waited, I examined the board of all the people who had accomplished this big task. Not kidding you, there was a total of 2 females! Pretty pathetic if you ask me. That just made me want to do it all the more. When they finally came, I about died at the size!! But I dug right in, cutting the huge hamburger into pieces and shoving it in my mouth. About halfway through it, I got SO sick of chewing beef! But I wasn't going to give up! I finally finished it, beating out 3 boys who couldn't even finish theirs. The 2 other boys finished before me, one eating his so fast he could have eaten two of them! I was pretty proud of myself for doing it..and I wasn't even that full!! I decided to get a shirt that said, "I ate the pounder!" After I asked this same person if he thought I could eat a large pizza now, and he said, "Oh I know you can!" So there you have it. Don't tell me what I can't do!! :)

This is my ready face! I was so excited!!

If you click on the picture, you can see how huge the hamburgers were!

In the middle of the burger. I got so sick of chewing!!
The picture of the 3 of us that finished: Lucas, me, and Nathan. Don't you love the hamburger we got to pose with for finishing?!