Guess who's birthday is today!

Happy Birthday SCOTT!

Happy Halloween

Isn't it fun to dress up?

Fall Farm-tastic Fun

Last night Brett, Sarah, Oliva, Sherri, Scott and I went to a corn maze. I haven't gone to a corn maze in over five years, and I have been wanting to! This was just perfect. (oh, except I recommend going to a corn maze when there's a little more light outside.)
We went on a hayride there, and that was a highlight. "Cornbelly's" had hired artists to carve dozens and dozens of pumpkins in recognizable images, portraits, cartoons, and they were really elaborate! It was amazing. The hayride drove us past all of them. Unfortunately, it was too dark to get good pictures.
Scott and Brett got a good workout on the jumping pillow and the pedal go-carts.
It took a little while for Olivia to get used to being outside in the dark and cold, but she warmed up to it and was such a little doll. I love her hat with the two baubles!
The cow train. Good clean fun!

Growing Up

Do you ever feel like you're still growing up? Last week was a week where I felt like I was growing up fast with too much responsibility. Here are some highlights of my week:

The week started with Sunday where I had to teach a joint lesson to all the young women about chastity. I'm sure I fretted more about this than I needed to, seeing as Scott was team teaching with me. Well I survived that, and it was actually pretty rewarding to know we did a decent job on a potentially tricky topic.

Monday I got to work and learned that the employee who I manage was still feeling sick from his wisdom teeth removal the previous week, so he wasn't there Monday or Tuesday. With deadlines creeping up constantly, I picked up a lot of his work load on top of mine.

The Young Women of the ward were planning a retreat over the weekend, and Mia Maids were in charge of dinner and an hour long spiritual class (which one of the other Mia Maid advisors was scheduled to do). I learned on Tuesday that I probably would be the only Mia Maid advisor there, our previous dinner plans weren't going to work, and I would most likely be teaching the class at the retreat. I met with my class presidency on Tuesday and arranged dinner plans for the retreat, and on Wednesday night, the girls came to my house to chop up enough vegetables for soup to feed 50 people.

Thursday at work was another crazy day with a new project decided upon to be released the next day. This required me to teach myself how to use a font program I've never used and modify, adjust and assemble a very complicated font by early afternoon because my employee wasn't able to come in until mid-afternoon and wouldn't have time to complete this project.

Friday morning I woke up and quickly assembled four crock pots of soup before leaving to teach yoga. After Yoga, I had to rush to work to reach a newsletter deadline.

When I got home in the afternoon, I discovered that two of my (favorite) soups for the retreat had overcooked and were no good. I had to leave in an hour and only had two crock pots of soup to feed 50 people.

My hero, Scott, was so helpful at this point, and ran to the grocery store to get sandwich ingredients while I threw clothes and toiletries into a bag and frantically tried to think of how to beef up a spiritual thought to last an hour.

Well, I survived the dinner (though I don't think I really tasted any of it) and my class managed to last 40 minutes, which turned out to be just right. I maybe slept four hours that night, and then it was Saturday.

After I drove the girls in my car home, I went home planning on spending the whole day working on several freelance projects that I had been putting off because of my busy schedule. Well, I decided to put them off a little longer and took a break to watch the BYU football game and enjoy my Saturday.

I see some women who live at this pace constantly and I don't know how they do it! Looking back, it was a good week, but I'm glad every week isn't as busy as last week.

I cut my hair!

Before

During After

Thanks Sarah!

My Celebrity Look-alikes

Eva Longoria? I don't think so. And 76% Brendan Fraser?!

Our Nephew Sammy

Sam is my nephew through my brother Jon and his wife Kristen. During conference he entertained us with some spontaneous spinning. Now edited for your viewing pleasure, I present Sammy Spinning.

Work or Play

I work at a company that designs alphabets for scrapbookers. These are some of my Halloween alphabets that I'm excited to release. Just thought I'd share...

(they should be transparent, but oh well. You get the idea)

Cake Master

A few weeks ago I saw this picture in the grocery store:

Looking at it's delectible frosting and delightfully seasonal colors and layout, a passionate longing to be able to make good cakes from scratch emerged within me. Since then, I have made two cakes. The first one, although tasting good, sank in the middle and looked like a mess. The second one, using the recipe from the magazine above, was a little better:

I still need lots of practice before I feel confident about my cake making skills, so now I need people to feed cakes to. Any takers?

An Adventurous weekend

Last Saturday, Scott and I went on an adventure.

We boldly went where no man had gone before... (except maybe the man who built the bridge)

We went to perilous heights...

With dangerous drop-offs...

Through deep, dark caves...that were oh, so scary... (see Scott's smile-o-fear below)
Throughout it all, we had to dodge ferocious animals...And evade the hostile natives who were following our path...
But it was worth it for the breathtaking scenery.

Thank goodness we made it out alive! What a great trip.

eight random facts, revisited

These are about me, Scott.

1. Britta tells me I "jerk" and that my body convulses immediately after or before (she's not sure, it happens so quickly) I fall asleep each night.

2. I don't believe that's true.

3. I live my life by one major maxim (and several little ones, which won't be itemized here): Never do anything which may be recorded and held against you in the future in front of friends, family, or an uncaring public, whatever the case may be. Consequently, I refuse to be videotaped while dancing in the home, tape record my voice singing, or any other potentially embarrassing display. Sorry. I have too great inhibitions.

4. I am certain I know everything, even knowing that I don't (but then I do, don't you see the meta-level there?) until someone (usually Britta) convinces me I am wrong to which I quickly distance myself from my previous error by either twisting my previous position to show I actually was right, after all, or by ignoring the fact I was wrong completely, usually by changing the subject quickly or by making a joke..

5. I have spent much of my leisure time this summer reading political biographies about George Washington, Harry S. Truman, and Abraham Lincoln (each of them HIGHLY recommended). I have fallen in love with our political and national history and now plan on reading additional biographies of John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt, and Alexander Hamilton. Next, I will likely dive into some modern political themes, but I'm holding off on that for now.

**author's note: #4 and #5 are not related.**

6. I am planning on owning three cars when Britta and I have a family and a stable career. #1. Our Hyundai. We have both loved this car. Loved it. We would buy another Hyundai in an instant. We plan on keeping this car for our teenagers to drive; so that would be at least 17 more years. (absolutely no announcement is implied by the previous statement. . . that is just the biological possibility) #2. A good family car: which may be either an SUV or a minivan . . . undecided as of yet. #3. A date car. This car will serve two purposes. a) a nice car to go to nice places together. b) motivate our children to have ambition, because they will see it but won't use it. I am thinking something like a Lexus SC 430 in British racing green or jet black.

7. One of my life's ambitions is to own a plane. I have been trying to bring Britta on board for about two years now. I think this has to do with listening to G'Pa Pete's stories of flying from back in the day. I feel that there is something romantic about the freedom of flying which draws me, as well.

8. I love to make others laugh. the end.

8 Random Facts About Britta

Okay, Sarah, here are my 8 random facts:

1. I have never retained a mosquito bite in my life. I have even watched them bite me and see their little bodies fill with blood, but I feel no itch, I get no welt, no reaction at all.
2. My nickname is the Human Radio. I can sing to songs on the radio I didn't even know I knew. I can hear a song once and practically have it memorized. It doesn't work for all songs, but many.
3. As an extension from my last comment, I have almost every nuance and breath memorized in over 125 Disney movie songs.
4. I still have two baby teeth. The dentists have said that if I take good care of them I can keep them until I'm 30-40. Ultimately I'll need implants or something.
5. In my short work life since I graduated High School, I have worked in 13 locations that I can think of off the top of my head. In the three years since I graduated college, I have persued three separate career paths.
6. I really like my feet. I think some feet are ugly, and some are just strange, but I really like my feet. Except I wish that shoe companies routinely made size 11 shoes.
7. I drink lots of water, and I prefer water to any other beverage. Of course, I enjoy a good juice or hot chocolate on occasion, but water is always top on my list.
8. Umm... I can't think of an 8. I'm wearing an orange shirt today.

Biggest Cantaloupe Ever!

This cantaloupe came from a garden on the farm. It's the biggest one either Scott or I had seen! And that's saying something, seeing as Scott was raised in Cantaloupe Capital, NV.

Olivia's 1st Cake

What's this thing in front of me?

I guess I'll eat it.

Hey, it's not that bad!

The telephone is ringing... Hello?

Whopee!

Look at me, everyone!

I know this isn't a cake one, but I couldn't resist.

Case Closed!

Overall, my time in jury duty was quite interesting. It takes way more focus than I realized, especially for a five day case. I had to pay rapt attention and take notes for ~7 hours a day, learning intimate details of the Plaintiff's life. Being wholly consumed by the information presented, it was an additional trial to not talk about it to anyone! (Not even my fellow jurors.) By the end of the week everything was reminding me of the case, I would dream about the case, I would constantly be thinking about it. After it was done I decided to type up a summary of the information presented to purge myself. If you're interested in reading about it, check here.

Here are some things I learned during jury duty:

• Judges look bored most of the time, not avidly paying attention, like on TV.
• Lawyers really are just actors who are hired to fight someone elses argument, at least in my case.
• I think I would get depressed if it was my job to convince 9 people that the witness is a pathological liar. Who would want that as a job?
• Jury duty can be really fun if you get along with your other jurors. I think our jury was exceptional. Seven out of nine had at least a college degree, or were working towards it. Everyone was friendly and talkative. Every time we had a break, we would find things to laugh about. Sometimes we would all enter the court with grins on our faces. The lawyers must've thought we were crazy.
• When focusing on somewhat depressing things for hours on end, the strangest things become funny. I had to refrain from laughing several times during very serious discussions, just because of a facial expression or a gesture, or a completely unrelated thought in my head.
• If you care anything about your health, pack your own snack food.

Court is now in session

On Monday I was called in for jury duty! There were about 40 of us in the selection process. I was juror #20. First we filled out a two page questionnaire asking general questions, and then questions about our automobiles and car crashes and our feelings about people who sue. When the judge came in, he asked a lot of questions about our biases, and our magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Then the lawyers and judge called in each juror individually to expound upon their answers from the questionnaire. All in all, the process took almost five hours. The judge reminded us that in some states (i.e. California) the selection process can take weeks!

Well, I was selected to be on the jury. The opening statements were given 45 minutes after the jury was selected. I can't say anything about the trial because I'm commanded to not form an opinion until I've heard from all the witnesses. But I can say that jury duty is kind of a neat experience. I've also decided I never want to be a lawyer, not that that was on my agenda anyway. I can also say that the jury room is loaded with junk food! Today, day three, I finally gave in and ate some... I had at least a little of each the following just today:

Skittles, Nutrigrain Bar, Red Vines, Starbursts, Werther's Original coated in chocolate, string cheese, Cheetos, cheddar-flavored Sun Chips, Triscuts, and frosted animal cookies with sprinkles.

Yuck. I plan on having better self control tomorrow.

Look, Mom, Look!

I got these new shoes yesterday, and when I wear them they make me run faster! And jump higher! They're like super shoes!

Don't you love new sneakers? They make me feel like a little kid again.

Company Loyalty?

I have had the same credit card for over six years. I've really liked the company and I haven't had any problems or complaints until now. First of all, know that I pay my bill every month. I think in the six years I've only had three or four late payments, but only one in the last four years. I always pay off more than the minimum balance. Every once in awhile I get a "notice of policy change" in the mail, but they are almost always dealing with increased punishments for late fees, blah blah blah, which don't really affect me.

I got one of these "notice of policy change" envelopes last week. It told me, basically, that since the economy was constantly changing and interest rates have been on the rise for awhile, they were going to more than double my APR--as a policy change. What? Of course, they gave the option that I could "decline these changes and close my account." I can't decline them and keep my account. Is something wrong with this? I could close my account and open a new account with the same company and get 0% APR for a year, but I can't keep my old, good credit account for less than 20% APR.

This seems to be a trend with companies lately. They give no credit to loyal customers. It's always the new customers that get the deals and discounts. Scott and I have seen it with our cell phone service, too. We like the company and have no complaints about the service. We've been with them for more than 4 years. But every so often they come out with great deals for new customers. We called once or twice to see if we could benefit from these deals, but each time we've been told it's only for new customers.

This trend also includes employees. Who's going to be a loyal long-term employee of a company when there is no pension, no long-term benefits, and the company's livelihood depends on such a changing economy that if it doesn't recycle employees, it could collapse?

I like being able to trust. I like being loyal, but it's getting harder to find institutions I can put my faith in. It's just a scary trend. So there is my little soap box.

Less than a week...

Is anyone as excited for this as me? It's Harry Potter month! Scott and I went to the midnight showing of Order of Phoenix last week and it was a visual feast. I think I need to see it again to fully appreciate it...

Independence Day

For the 4th Britta and I took our neighbor's daughter to see the hot air balloon dawn patrol for the Freedom Festival. We really enjoyed the early morning excitement and massive balloons as they were inflated, airborne, and competed in several "games". These games included a target toss and balloon jousting. Here are some of our favorite pictures.

White Enchiladas

Nettie, from one person who "lives to eat" to another, this recipe is for you. This is the one we talked about in VA.

White Enchiladas

1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
2 tbs margarine/butter

Cook these in saucepan over medium heat until onions are tender. Stir in:

3 tbs flour
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups chicken broth
4 oz. diced green chilies

Stir frequently until thick and all ingredients are blended well. Remove from heat and stir in:

1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese

You will also need:

1/2 cup more of Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups cubed or shredded chicken
flour tortillas (10-14 depending on the size)
sliced black olives (optional)
chopped green onions (optional)

Reserve half of the sauce. Roll tortillas with cubed chicken and a spoonful or two of sauce, and arrange in 9" x 13" pan. Pour reserved half of sauce over rolled tortillas in the pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese, black olives, and green onions on enchiladas. I've also sprinkled chopped tomatos on top and it was good.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

My 7 Favorites

Since apparently these lists of favorites don’t include people, I will leave them out. This is probably a good thing because people might fill my whole list otherwise.

Doing things well
This precludes everything. If I can do something well, it becomes my favorite, either temporarily or long term. And if I do that same thing at another time and it doesn’t meet or exceed my expectations, I don’t like it. Call me a perfectionist, but I love doing things well. Isn’t there a quote like “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” It’s something like that. That’s probably the unconscious motto to my life. I want to do things well, and when I can, I’m happy.

Warm Things
This one is true especially when I am cold, which is frequently. Some of my favorite warm things are cozy sweatshirts, hot tubs, slippers, soft blankets, warm husbands to cuddle with, hot cocoa, puppies, just a little bit of time basking in the sunlight, my bed, fresh baked bread… this list could go on and on.

Lindstrom
Alisha has Lake Tahoe, I have Lindstrom. My grandparents own a cottage on a lake in Minnesota which has long been the refuge of every one of their children and grandchildren for pleasure, good company, but foremost for relaxation. Being there is almost like a drug. It’s completely addictive. It has the power to make you believe you don’t have a care in the world.

Good Music
I can completely lose myself to good music, it doesn’t matter the genre. My love if it can border on obsession. I crave certain songs. When I’m listening to a particularly great song, I stop everything I’m doing and revel in the chord progression, the lyrics, the passion, the excitement. Sometimes I sing with it, sometimes I dance. It can get to the point where I’m annoyed if someone tries to talk to me during one of these trances. A few of my current favorites include: Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Ella Fitzgerald’s “Blue Skies” from her album Pure Ella, Mika’s “Grace Kelly,” Coldplay’s “Shiver,” and Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor by Tchaikovsky.

A good yoga class
Normally it’s better when I’m not teaching it so I can focus on my breathing, but I’ve had several really good classes that I’ve taught, too.

Learning
Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water because I’m not in school anymore. I have a question and the only way to answer it accurately is to research it, right? I rent books and books on random topics of the week, month, day… whatever catches my fancy. I’ve even found myself outlining essays on my topics. I’m currently enthralled with political topics. I’m reading George Washington’s biography “His Excellency,” and a textbook about the constitution, and I’m writing an essay (yes, I’ve actually started it, but my chances of finishing it are probably slim since there is no point to it but my own entertainment) about generational apathy, specifically in voting and political involvement. Yes, I’m a nerd.

Cooking
Some people eat to live, and some people live to eat. I’m one of the latter. There is so much junk out there that really doesn’t taste good. Cooking my own fresh food has become a favorite thing of mine. Sometimes I lose a little motivation when I don’t cook things well (see number 1), but I keep trying.

Comments on my blog
I know this is number 8, but I had to include this. Sometimes I write blogs just to see how many comments I can get. Our record number of comments was on one of those blogs back in December. Remember the discussion about Hollywood couple nicknames? If I have continual access to the internet after I write a blog, I check hourly to see if anyone has read it yet. Comments make me feel like people care! I’m not a very good commenter, but I’m so happy when I get them. Thank you all for your comments!

So those are my seven favorites. Now I want to hear the seven favorites of Kristen, Nettie, and Brianne, when you have time.

One of my greatest fears

On Sunday I pinpointed one of my greatest fears. It's definitely not top on the list, but it's probably in my top ten. This fear made Scott laugh, and frankly, I probably would laugh if this was someone else's fear, too. My fear is that I will cut my fingers while peeling potatoes. I want to make it clear that I don't fear peeling potatoes, just cutting my fingers while peeling potatoes. This fear results in my taking four times longer than anyone else to peel potatoes. I can do it fine, but I'm very slow and meticulous with every single peel to make sure my fingers are far out of the way.

I just thought I'd share that with everyone. In the future, if I'm at your house and you need me to peel your potatoes, just know what your getting in to.