Remember Me??

Wow, nine months is a long time to go without blogging! Life has been a bit of a roller coaster, but I realised today while I was reading my old posts that there has actually been a lot that has happened over the last nine months...some great things, some not so great things and I really should start blogging again. It was really interesting to me to read posts from when I first started this little blog and notice little things about myself that have changed and a year from now I'd like to notice more things about myself that have changed. So while I'm not going to make any promises about how well I will do, I will promise to TRY to blog more...hey thats something right? I'm not sure how much I want to blog about some of the "not so great" things so I think to get myself back into the routine of blogging I'll just post some pictures and stories of some of the "great things" over the past months. Look at me, I'm back to rambling away already! :) hhmmm...where to start.....

Happy Birthday To Me

Twenty-Seven today. Here I am wearing the birthday scarf that the Pags got me and holding the box of gifts that my parents sent. Thanks everyone for the warm wishes.

A Brave New Adventure...

I can't really believe that this is happening, but it is...On or about July 11th I am going to take myself, a large chunk of my possessions, and my one-way plane ticket to the airport and I'm going to move my little self to the other side of the country. WOW! My darling friend Stephanie has been a nanny for a wonderful family in Connecticut for the past year, but its time for her to move home. When the mother of this family asked her to start thinking about who would replace her she called me (thanks Steph). I was hesitant, (who am I kidding, I'm still hesitant!) but intrigued. I have thought for quiet a while now that it was about time for me to take a step forward in my life, so I talked to Steph, I talked to the family in CT, and I decided to take, not only a step but a giant leap (a leap that spans about 2,000 miles). I'm having a mixture of emotions about the whole thing, the most prominent ones being extreme excitement and paralysing fear...ok, maybe I exaggerated just a little on the fear part, but its a pretty damn scary thought! I'm moving to the other side of the country very soon. Wow, what a brave new adventure this is going to be...

Welcome to California

Wednesday was a bad day. I don't have a good reason but I wasn't happy. So I thought to myself 'I just want to run away.' On Thursday I told a coworker and friend, Lauren, that I wanted to run away and we did some wishful talking about going to the ocean. We were on the verge of actually doing it when I called her Thursday night and said, "This is a silly idea, lets not go to California." The next day (Friday) I got to work and this is what was at my desk.

Lauren had set my little bamboo plant up to be a palm tree, and my little Zen Garden up to be the beach, and attached a little note that said "Welcome to California!" It made me so happy! I told her she forgot about the ocean, which I happen to love with a passion that I can't describe, so we decided to set my water bottle next to the beach. Oh if only it were true...

BUT WAIT! THAT'S NOT ALL!!

Friday was a slow day at work and by about 10:00 am I was all done with everything I needed to do. I took that as a sign, and by noon, Lauren and I were on the road on our way to the ocean! Yay!! We drove all day Friday, played all day Saturday, and drove again all day Sunday.

At this point I need to apologise to my wonderful family that lives in California, because I was SO CLOSE! If I would have had even just a little more time, I would have come by for a little visit. Please forgive me, I'll take another spontaneous road trip sometime soon hopefully and I'll come visit then.

Anyway! I wanted to share a few pictures from our little jaunt to Half Moon Bay (see, I told you I was close, Half Moon Bay is only about 30 miles south of San Francisco. I also hear that this is one of Aunt Catherine's favorite places. Understandably so, it's BEAUTIFUL!)

Yay, for spontaneous road trips! It was just what I needed!!

Way To Go!

This morning I was sitting at my desk working when the Honda Representative for our region (which includes two dealerships in Nevada and all of Utah except St. George) walked in and gave me this VERY pink hat and told me WAY TO GO for being the best Warranty Administrator in our region. I assumed it was just something nice he was saying but he was quick to correct me on that. He told me that he had the numbers and statistics for the region and of all the Warranty Clerks in all the Honda dealerships in our region, I was the doing the best job! It felt so great!! Yay me!!

Bob Dylan

I found out on Friday that one of my all time favorite artists was coming on Sunday to play in Park City. And even though there were minor obstacles in the way, like that I had nobody to go with and the fact that the show was actually sold out, I HAD TO GO! So, Sunday afternoon I loaded the trusty Subaru, hoped in, and took off in hopes that I could somehow get into the concert. Finding a ticket was no problem but lets talk for a minute about the rain. IT RAINED A LOT. I just heard on the news that it rained more yesterday than it did in the months of June, July, and the rest of August (all but yesterday) combined. Did I mention that this was an outdoor concert? WE GOT SOAKED! I can't remember the last time I've seen it rain so hard or so much!! It was totally worth it though. He played some great songs and I had a great time even if I was very cold and very wet

Bob Dylan

Park City, Utah

Deer Valley Resort
August 31, 2008

1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob on keyboard)
2. When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob on keyboard)
3. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again(Bob on keyboard)
4. Not Dark Yet (Bob on keyboard)
5. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Bob on keyboard)
6. Million Miles (Bob on keyboard)
7. Desolation Row (Bob on keyboard)
8. The Levee's Gonna Break (Bob on keyboard)
9. She Belongs To Me (Bob on keyboard)
10. Honest With Me (Bob on keyboard)
11. Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob on keyboard)
12. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
13. Queen Jane Approximately (Bob on keyboard)
14. Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
(encore)
15. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)

It doesn't mention it on this set list that I found on the Internet, but he also played the harmonica on a few songs which was awesome. What a great time!

I want to go fishing too...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. EVERYBODY PLAY! I want to see what memories are out there!

20 Things about me in honer of my 20th Post

In no particular order:

1. My dream is to travel. I want to see the world
   
2. I want to see the U.S first. I live in an amazing country!
   
3. When I was 2 years old my dads cousin J.R. talked me into throwing my pacifier into the fire. It broke my heart. And my pacifier habit
   
4. I am very passionate about music and I love to turn it up as loud as I can stand while in the car by myself and sing along
   
5. I think its funny when when the people in the car next to me at stoplights look at me funny for doing the above mentioned
   
6. One of my favorite jobs was when I worked at Baskin Robbins Ice Cream in Bountiful. Yay Free Ice Cream!! While there weren't any customers my coworkers and I would take turns closing our eyes while the other person gave us a sample of one of the 31 (actually there were usually more) flavors of ice cream and we would try to guess what kind it was.


7. I LOVE a road trip
   
8. My favorite of the Disney "princess" movies has always been Sleeping Beauty
   
9. When I was young my good friend Jeff Hansen gave me a stuffed monkey for my birthday that I named Merry Weather (she is one of the good fairies from Sleeping Beauty)
   
10. Also when i was young Jeff and I used to use sticks as our "guitars" and play Randy Travis songs on them
    
11. I am amazed that I have only done 20 posts on my blog
    
12. I HATE the word "blog"
    
13. Whenever I typing anything, I always rely on the computer to capitalize things for me. I almost never capitalize "i" and usually have to go through and fix them all when I'm done...sorry if i missed any :)
    
14. I really hate that sideways smiley face but use it quite often in texts...not usually on the computer though
    
15. As a little girl I really liked to make "witch's brew" it usually consisted of dirt, water, sticks, and whatever other random berries or leafs I could find
    
16. My favorite number has always been 16
    
17. I used to have an invisible friend named "Photo Feeto" I have no idea where that name came from
    
18. I started this list while I was on my 16th post cause I thought it was a fun little idea but I was afraid it would take me forever to think of what to write. I also copied this idea from someone elses blog who did 100 things for her 100th post. 100 was too overwhelming of a list for me but amazingly enough, once I started typing silly and random things about myself it wasnt as difficult as I thought.
    
19. In high school I hated history but now at the ripe age of 25 I find it very fascinating
    
20. I have been vegetarian for approximately 12 years
    
21. I have been Diabetic for approximately 17 years
    
22. When I was about 12 I wrote a letter to my pancreas telling it how pissed off I was that it quit working (making me diabetic) I mailed it and I would be willing to bet $100.00 that my mom still has the un-deliverable letter in a box somewhere
    
23. My first kiss was when I was 15. It was at diabetic camp with a boy named Forrest
    
24. I'm slightly obsessive compulsive, but only on some things...depending on who you ask
    
25. I'm on number 25 which is 5 more than 20...I guess I was on a roll

Spectacles

I was trying to remember the last time I got new glasses. I think I was 14 or 15 years old. What that means is that it has been about ten years and approximately half a dozen prescription changes. The glasses that I would put on at the end of the day when I just couldn't stand to have my contacts in anymore allowed me see a total of about five feet in front of me (but it was kind of blurry) and were literally held together with dental floss (one of the screws was lost, and the threads were stripped out so i just tied it with floss...hey, it worked) Not to mention that they were, um, cute challenged? unappealing? Nope, there isn't a nice way to say it, they were ugly! But all that has changed! Yesterday I picked up the brand new pair of glasses that I had ordered and I am thrilled! Yay for new glasses!

Any Day Now

Missy Higgins - Any Day Now

How long, how long, how long
Will we take to come undone
If you know the answer tell me now
And I'll write at the calendar for our countdown

'Cause what if what we see is all, is all we've got
Well say you've kept some fire aside
To set alight to me some surprising night
And say you've locked some fire away
To set light to me some surprising day

Any day now

How come, how come, how come
I'm now on a road holding out my thumb
If you know my destination please
Well find me the fasted car and throw me the keys

'Cause what if what we see is all, is all we've got
Well say you've kept some fire aside
To set alight to me some surprising night
And say you've locked some fire away
To set light to me some surprising day

Cause finger by finger we're losing grasp
And I'm questioning the reasons
Why nothing beautiful does last

Well say you've kept some fire aside
To set alight to me some surprising night
And say you've locked some fire away
To set light to me some surprising day
To me some surprising day

Any day now

Moving Out

Well its official, I no longer have my own place. I moved my essentials over to my parents basement about a week ago, where I will be temporarily residing. I have been spending my spare time packing up the stuff I wont be using while at my folks house and cleaning my apartment. Yesterday I turned the keys to the apartment into the landlord. I am excited about starting down a new path in my life, but I couldn't help being just a little sad about it too. That little one room apartment was the first place I've ever lived on my very own. It was a good little apartment.

Don't be Afraid to Dream

A few days ago (or maybe longer), our wonderful little Steph put a post on her blog about some of her dreams for the future. I loved it, and it made me think of a somewhat profound thought (profound, at least, in my simple way of thinking). Are you ready for it??
DREAM!!!
What is it going to hurt? I think, and I know it sounds silly, but I think, that for quiet some time now I have been just a little bit afraid to dream. Those damn what ifs get in the way!! What if I try and fail? What if I'm not as good as I should be?? What if it hurts my little heart and soul when I aim high and fall short??? I've been through a lot in my life lately and I'm afraid of hurting more than I already do. But Stephie got me thinking (the wonderful girl that she is, I LOVE her!!) that if I don't dream than I'm just holding my own self back. I don't necessarily have to go for the dream right now, I can take baby steps away from this irrational fear of mine, but at least dream the dream. That way I can try when I am ready...or not, but its not going to hurt anything to think about it in the mean time

Changes...or the lack thereof

Yesterday when I came home and got the mail there was a nice little letter from my landlord. Basically it said that my year lease is almost up and I need to either sign this line to extend it, or sign this line to agree to be out of my apartment by May 1st. This in itself is not that big of a deal to me; however what it does mean is that it has been almost a year. A year!! I moved out of my house and made some huge life changes March 25, 2007 and I knew that it would be hard. I planned on being emotionally messed up, and I have pretty much done a good job at that. But a year?!! I’m having a hard time not being a little distraught that it feels like my life is still all up in the air and crazy. How have I not DONE something in the past year? How do I not have some sort of plan about where I want to be and what I want to do?? Why do I still want to just go home and crawl into bed every night instead of going out and making some sort of effort? Instead of changing my life for the better? Making new friends and meeting new people, experiencing new things? Shouldn't I at least be a little bit ready and willing to move on by now? Not necessarily move on from Jon, just with life in general. If in a year I haven't done any of these things how long is it going to take?? A year?? Wow…

Dandelion

There is a book I read once upon a time (actually it still sits on my shelf and I read bits and pieces of it occasionally) called Peace is Every Step, by Thich Nhat Hanh. In this great book he makes reference to a poem a friend of his wrote:

I have lost my smile,
but don't worry.
The dandelion has it.

He goes on to explain that if you have lost your smile but you are still capable of seeing that a dandelion is keeping it for you, the situation is not too bad. You still have enough mindfulness to see that the smile is still there.

For whatever reason, this hit me hard. (so hard, in fact, that I decided to get a dandelion tattooed to my leg) It is so simple. Even though things may suck right now they can’t, and they won't, stay that way forever. Just hang in there and keep in mind that a dandelion is guarding your smile and keeping it safe for whenever you’re ready to use it again.