Christmas, The Jazz, and Skiing with Bobby

Christmas this year was celebrated 4 days early in order to have the entire family together. It was tons of fun to have everyone together. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures because my camera was taking crappy pictures. Anyways, here are a few from the day......

Ashley enjoying her present from her favorite Aunt Jen (her new princess dress and the Snow White book.

Sienna enjoyed opening every present she could!! Look at the excitement on her face.

Ashley and me (not the cutest, but all I have)

The day after Christmas I was able to benefit from the big x-mas day storm and went snowboarding. I went with two girls I used to work with and it was SO much fun. We stayed until 3:30 which is way longer than I normally stay but the snow was AWESOME and the sun was shining (most of the time). Besides the snow the best part of the day was skiing with Mr. Robert Redford. Okay, okay so he may not have known we were BFF's and skiing together, but we were! He got on the lift right in front of us so naturally once we were at the top I needed to see how he skied (not very well I might add). We followed him down the mountain and even snapped this picture of him (I promise it is him!). Anyways, it was fun to chase him around for a bit since I've never seen him in all my times at Sundance and I really love him. He is not quite as good looking as his younger days....he is an OLD man now, but still a little sexy :) I have to say at 70+ years old I'm impressed he can ski at all.

Mr. Redford is on the right (with his infamous orange boots)
**Picture taken with a crappy phone camera. Why didn't I have a better camera on me???

Then later that night my Dad and I went to the Jazz vs. Dallas game. Considering most of the Jazz players were hurt I was impressed they pulled out the win. It was tons of fun to go to the game with my Dad even though somehow they forgot to plow the roads on the way to SLC so we had to drive home pretty slow!

Sad Day...Mallet Finger returns

So over the past week my supposedly repaired mallet finger has continued to droop more and more. It doesn't hurt or anything, but it definitely doesn't look normal. I thought I'd better check back in with the hand doctor before I just live with it and sadly it appears I'm not like the other 95% of mallet finger patients who have a finger that repairs itself. I'm in the 5%. He told me I probably will need surgery, but I have to wait 8 weeks to get into the hand surgeon so I might as well wear my brace for the next 6 weeks while I wait for my appointment to see if it helps any. Surgery? Seriously? This can't be true.

So I have my brace on again until Feb 2. At least I'm seeing the "best" hand surgeon in the state. By then I will be going on 5 months with a splint. I should have just had surgery to begin with!

All for an iPhone....next time I'm letting it drop!

Bye, Bye Mallet Finger

After 12 LONG, LONG weeks I no longer have a mallet finger. I now have a very stiff, slightly swollen pinky finger that still appears a bit droopy, but I guess that is as good as it gets according to the doctor.

Don't worry, I will be extra careful when I pick up my iPhone....I know it is very dangerous and I have learned my lesson.

My mended pinky will be put to the test as I attempt to play the piano at Madi's baptism on Saturday. If I mess up I'm SURE it is the pinky's fault (LOL!!!).

Thanksgiving, Twilight, and shopping

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love being around family and of course EATING. This year all of the girls did Thanksgiving dinner since my mom just had hip surgery and it was delicious! Scott actually BBQ'd the turkey and honestly I don't think I've tasted a better turkey. It was so, so good. Now Scott will be in charge of the turkey every year (sucks to be him).

The rest of the day was spent playing guitar hero (being "boo'd" off the stage), watching Ashley and Sienna dance, putting up the Christmas decorations and just chatting. It was so much fun.


Here is Ashley in her new princess dress from Aunt Jen (aka...the favorite Aunt!!). Not the best picture, but believe me she LOVED it.

Then on Friday night my sisters and I went to see Twilight. Lara & I LOVED it, Stacy & Amber had different opinions than us though. I guess since I openly admit to liking High School Musical I know that any teen movie will be fine with me. Even though Edward was not the Edward I pictured I ended up liking him.

After the movie we went to Red Robin to eat and then shopping. We haven't all 4 shopped together in years and it was really fun (and hilarious) to all be in the dressing room together laughing as we tried on various good and bad outfits.

How do you know your old??

So how do you know your old? Oh well I'll tell you.....I've found it happens at age 33 when your birthday plans consist of the following:

- A phone call at 12:10am from a well-intentioned friend wanting to be the "1st to wish you Happy Birthday" wakes you up from a deep slumber & you try to not be upset as you attempt to fall back asleep.
- An early morning meeting at work, forcing you to get to work earlier than normal (remember #1 above.....)
- A very, very busy day at work with a million meetings and a million things to try & get done.
- A GMAT prep class from 5-9pm...good times, good times.
- Going to the gym after your class
- Watching "The Office" on TV (Okay, this is actually why I look forward to any Thursday)
- Going to bed early so you can get to physical therapy the next morning at 7am.

Yeah, the list of birthday fun above reminds me more and more that I'm an adult and not turning 16 anymore. The worst part about it is that I honestly didn't care about any birthday plans. I now understand how my parents didn't care about their birthdays growing up.

I did get to go to Chick-fil-a for my birthday lunch at work which was of course delicious. I enjoyed it even more since I get rejected daily when I suggest Chick-Fil-A for lunch. For some reason I'm the only one who thinks it is delicious.

I do want to say thank you to all my friends and family who called to wish me a Happy Birthday! Sorry I couldn't talk to everyone of you.....many of you called during the most exciting part of my day.....my GMAT prep class.

Logan

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but life has been super busy. Two weekends ago I finally made it to Logan to meet my new nephew, Andrew. I love going to Logan because it is always a low key trip, Amber & Scott feed me SO well and I have to admit that Ashley just makes me laugh these days.

Highlights of the too short stay included:

- Playing "superman" with Ashley and subsequently having "superman" (me) tweak her back. As Ashley kept saying "Superman broken!" Yes, Ashley superman was broken.
- Teaching Ashley that I also wanted to talk to Amber as she continued to say "Momma bye-bye" everytime Amber walked in the room & wanted to "play" with Ashley & me. Apparently she thought mom was going to ruin her fun.
- "Harmony Bear" (a Care Bear I brought Ashley) coming EVERYWHERE with us, including the bathroom.
- Watching movies with Amber and staying up too late!
- Ashley actually realizing that Scott made fun of her at the breakfast table...."Daddy make fun of me." We of course burst out laughing which made Ashley cry.
- Holding sweet little Andrew
- Eating, Eating & more eating - Such good cooks those McAllisters are!

Other than having to work for 4 hours while I was there the weekend was wonderful!

Here is a picture of me, Ashley & Andrew

"I know I can't dance".....but I'm happy others can

Back in my "glory days" I had no trouble putting on a short skirt and dancing for the entire student body at Orem High. These days I wouldn't dream of dancing in public on any level, let alone on a stage in front of people. I can't even bring myself to go to the hip hop aerobics class at the gym (mostly because I feel twice the age of the teeny boppers in that class). Let's face it I should have played sports, but instead I chose cheerleading....oh the lame choices I made.

Even though I have lost all dancing skill I once claimed to have, I still LOVE watching other people dance so I jumped at the chance to attend the "So You Think you can Dance?" tour. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, it is a reality show with judges where real dancers showcase all different types of dance (ballroom, hip hop, contemporary, broadway, jazz, etc.). Once the show is over the Top 10 dancers go on tour and you can see your favorite dancers from the show perform live.

I went with Jenna and her friend Jennie from California. Our first stop was the Cheesecake Factory which I haven't been to since in opened in Murray. Dinner was of course delicious. Then we headed to the show. We had great seats (phew! I was nervous since I was the ticket coordinator). The show was awesome and lasted 3 hours. I couldn't believe they performed that many dances with pretty much no more than 1 minute breaks in between dances. I was pleased to see everyone of my favorite dances and many times I was flat out in shock with the sheer ability of these dancers. I can not believe what they can do with their bodies. Amazing. I can't dream of doing the splits anymore, but one of the dancers had no trouble leaping and being caught in mid-air in the splits. Seriously??? These dancers are amazing. It was a great evening and I can't wait to go again next year!

Me and Jenna at the show. Yep we took our picture in front of the sign along with all the teeny boppers.

My streak is over.....

This weekend marked a sad day in my life. My streak of 18 straight years of never missing a BYU home football game came to a screeching halt thanks to Monavie's convention. I had to sell my tickets and work at convention instead of going to the game (So SAD!!). Thankfully the Cougs didn't seem to miss my prescence and still won 44-0! Here are some of my favorite games or moments (in order) that I have witnessed at Cougar (I mean Lavell Edwards) Stadium.

1. BYU's win over #1 Miami in 1990 - This was the year that my dad got 6 tickets instead of 3 because we were all fighting over who got to go to this game (I "called" it in 1989 because I saw the next years schedule in the program). I have probably watched this game over 100 times in my life. (I'm retarded I know)
2. BYU vs. Utah 2001 - It was cold, but BYU won the game with a Luke Staley option play & an interception to seal the deal. It is always fun to beat the Utes but especially to remain undefeated.
3. BYU beating Utah 2007 - 4th & 18.....The best way to beat the Utes is to make them think they have won and then rip their hearts out!!
4. Going to Cougar Club luncheons with my Dad in the stadium (even now that I'm older)
5. Lavell's last game when President Hinckley renamed the stadium. I was near tears.
6. Finally becoming a student so I could sit in the "super fun student section" that I had long to sit in for years (now I'm back to not wanting to sit in the student section).
7. Winning - that is what the Cougs do at home. Any win is always fun!

There are many, many more, but I can't document them all. I just love football in the fall (even if it is roasting hot or freezing cold, rain or snow)....even if I have to sit by myself.

I will start a my new streak on Oct 11th....

The Pinky Update

I finally got in to see the hand surgeon today and there is good news and bad news.

Good news = No surgery (for now) and my splint is not up to my elbow!!!

Bad news = I have to wear this splint (or keep the top knuckle of my completely finger straight 100% of the time for 8 weeks (sorry about the picture, not the greatest I know).


I am allowed to shower with this splint on & I have to take the splint off 2 times a day so my skin doesn't get "gross," but when I take it off I absolutely can not let my finger "droop" or else I have to restart my 8 weeks all over again (boy did they drill that into my head!) If I follow their plan then my severed ligament (it is completely severed) will just re-attach itself to the bone (95% of the time). The fact that it can just re-attach itself to my bone is pretty amazing if you ask me.

Apparently surgery is only necessary 5% of the time & usually only when a person doesn't wear their splint 100% of the time & the ligament can't repair itself so the finger permanently droops. I plan to not have surgery.

I can do anything I want as long as I don't let my finger droop, which isn't too bad, but does mean no more softball and I will have significant trouble typing the letters A, Z, & Q, although "A" is the only "real" letter used. Also, I should be fixed prior to snowboarding season (unless I have another iPhone accident....LOL!)

And for those of you keeping score, so far it is
Internet 1 (8 weeks in splint)
Instacare 0 (surgery)
......When looking for treatment plans for hand injuries. Also....I'm still not sure why Instacare felt I needed a cast up to my elbow.....that should be worth negative points for the them :)

Warning!!! iPhones can be hazardous to your health!!

Thanks to my new employer, Monavie I have a new iPhone 3G. I am amazed at how helpful it is to have & how addicting it is. I have loved checking the traffic, playing games, getting my email, etc. However, I never thought it would lead to this.....

NOT Normal bending of the pinky finger.....



or THIS......


Yesterday at the BYU football game I was sitting near the portal and didn't want my new iPhone to fall out of my pocket and over the railing, so naturally I went to transfer it from my left pocket to my right pocket. While doing this I lost a grip on my phone and subsequently dropped it (it is okay), but my pinky finger ended up bent oddly. I thought it was jammed or dislocated & even had my co-workers try to pop it back into place. This happened prior to kick off and I did stay for the entire game (can't pass up the Legacy seats!!!). I decided to take a visit to the Instacare as my finger just didn't look right.

I became "that weird injury" at the Instacare....mostly for how I busted my finger up. Seriously the doctor laughed out loud and then brought in all the other doctors & nurses, a video camera and 2 other patients to laugh at me (ok, with me as I was laughing really hard).

Verdict = "Mallet Finger" or baseball finger, a ruptured tendon in my finger = possible SURGERY to repair the ruptured tendon. I will find out for sure on Tuesday as I was told to "immediately" see a hand surgeon ASAP. Surgery? Seriously? How embarrassing. Although on the internet it seems surgery is not the first option, but the doctor at the Instacare said surgery so we shall see (i sure hope the internet is right...it is like gospel right???).

I now have this lovely bandage and splint on until Tuesday which makes showering really fun and lets me get to tell my retarded story to everyone that sees me. Luckily it is my left pinky finger, which is probably my least important finger, but I have found in the last day that Heavenly Father created all fingers for a reason.

Until Tuesday when I get the real verdict......

GO COUGS!!

Yesterday I was privileged enough to sit in the Legacy seats at the BYU football game (Thanks MonaVie). These seats are like sitting courtside at a Jazz game. They feed you before (ribs, meat, everything possible), give you great seats and then feed you again at halftime & bring you ice cream in the 3rd quarter. Needless to say I ate alot!! My favorite was the fudge....they a whole table full of it and I LOVE fudge!!! Plus here is where my seats were....





It was great except for the finger (next entry) and BYU started their "quest for perfection" to go undefeated and a BCS bowl game.

The Half Marathon

The BIG half marathon was this past weekend. All of my months of training had come down to this day. I felt prepared and most of all ready for it to be over. Nicole & I woke up much, much too early to get on a bus & go running (4am!). Seriously, there must be something wrong with us. After boarding the bus we then waited for an hour in the freezing cold canyon for the race to start. Again, craziness.

Once the race started I was feeling good. I was doing well & was on track to beat my time from last year's half marathon.....by a good 10 minutes. Then came the last 3 miles where the following happened:

1. We exited the canyon and still had 3 miles to run.....so we ran around the Riverwoods for 3 miles. We kept running near the finish line and then turning around and running away from teh finish line. Not fun when you just want to be done.
2. There was no water station between mile 7.5 and mile 12. I needed water around mile 11 and literally had to stop because I couldn't breathe my mouth was so dry. This had never been a problem and I think mentally I really started freaking out that there was no water. It was a scary moment, but I'm glad I didn't pass out.

I crossed the finish line in 2:11 which is 3 minutes faster than last year (2:11), but I still felt I was doing much better than that before the last 3 miles.

I wouldn't really recommend the Provo River Trail Half Marathon. It was poorly organized and the course was not fun. Hobble Creek was much better (and much more downhill). This one was flat (except the first 2.5 miles) which is very boring!

Anyways, it is over and I may be retired from running (at least any distance over 6 miles). I am definitely retired for the next week....LOL!! Here is a picture of me & Nicole (post race, not our best photo!). Nicole is SPEEDY fast. She ran it 20 minutes faster than me (1:50). I can only dream of going that fast.

I was also happy that my parents came again to cheer me on. It was great to have someone cheering for you at the finish line!

One More 10K

A new tradition began this year....Jenna, Amanda & I ran the 24th of July 10K. I was happy Amanda was able to do the run....seeing it was her idea. Amanda's mom is dying of cancer so she spent most of the evening with her, but was able to join us later at the hotel & run the 10K. Jenna and I spent the evening eating most of the Olive Garden (at least it sure felt like it) as well as PB M&M's, Tootsie Rolls, and Sour Patch Watermelons. Needless to say I was happy when I got to run off all of those calories in the morning.

We woke up at 4:53.....WAY too early to be running. As you can see it is still kind of dark outside and we are about to start running. Are we crazy? We may just be.....

The race went really, really well for me....in fact I sent a PR (personal record). It probably helped that the first 2 miles were downhill. I had my own timer and thus I know that the "official" time was not correct (even though we had a chip on our shoe). I think the chip only recorded when we crossed the finish line. Anyways, my watch said I ran it in 56:31.....5 min faster than my 4th of July 10K (61 min) and a 9:05 min mile. My "official" time was 57:10.....I'm going with my watch! Needless to say, I was shocked myself at my time. I was hoping for "under 60 min."

It was a fun race and I felt good pretty much the entire time (including my knee). I was a little sore this morning when I woke up and then I ran 10 more miles (still training for my half marathon in 2 weeks).....needless to say I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk tomorrow....I'm already feeling it!

Here we are post run.....looking beautiful as always (thanks Jenna for the pictures).

Jenna, Me, Amanda

A new niece - Sierra Louise St. Felix

I now have one more niece to become the favorite aunt (although Ann Marie is going to give me a run for my money with Sienna & Sierra)! Sierra Louise St. Felix joined the St. Felix family this past week. She was a big baby (9 lbs. 5 oz). I love the times when they will actually cuddle with you & sleep on your chest. How cute is Sierra.....

Maintaining the Favorite Aunt Status

Tonight Nicole & I took Hannah & Madi to 7-peaks. It was "Patient Appreciation Day" from my dentist (seriously so nice!). So we all went to 7-peaks for free. We had pizza, soda & went on all the big slides. Madi and Hannah especially liked the two tube run slides, especially the one that was in the dark. They also had a great time on in the "big kids" pool and the wave pool. Unfortunately the waves never came on....I guess they were broken or something. Madi even rode a "big, big kid slide" (she was exactly 48 inches tall). It spits you down a tube & then you go round & round until it sucks you out the bottom. We were sucked out backwards on our tube which freaked me out, although Madi thought it was the best slide ever!

Here are some pictures of the event. Needless to say with 7-peaks & Hannah Montana in one week it is going to take some serious effort by the other aunts to even come close to competing with me!

Champions!!

As usual, our NuSkin team is the upper division City League Champions. We have won 3 (or more, I can't remember) years in a row. However, this year we decided to make it interesting. We were undefeated in the regular season, but lost the first game of the tournament by 1 point. We had to play up through the losers bracket & beat the same team twice in order to win (3 games in a row tonight), but we did it!

Unfortunately my batting didn't help the team to win today. I hit the ball to the pitcher 5 times....yes the pitcher. Seriously I don't know what my problem was. I had been hitting really well this year, even better than previous years, but apparently I'm reverting backwards now.

Anyways, here is a picture of the champions. Be sure to insert a picture of Jenny Fowler in there as she played all season, but is in Oregon today so she wasn't there. And what is with the YELLOW champion shirts. Is it to make sure everyone sees us when we wear them?


Hopefully I can still play next year even though I don't work for NuSkin anymore..

Happy 4th of July!

This 4th of July was one of the better ones I've had. I'm so sick of the "mid-singles social scene" and trying to pretend like watching the fireworks with a bunch of single friends is still really fun at 32 (note....it isn't). Thankfully this year my new employer, MonaVie, sponsored the Stadium of Fire and they gave us each tickets. With Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) as the headliner I found the perfect "date" for the evening.....7 yr old Madison.

To begin let's just say that Madi was OVERLY excited for this event. Earlier in the week she came to Jenny & my softball game & couldn't stop talking about it. It made me happy that she was so excited. When I picked her up I could hear her excitement before the door opened. She had also been working on her "You Rock" sign she planned to give to Hannah Montana (obviously this was her first concert).

First we went to the MonaVie BBQ where Madi entertained everyone with her charming personality & super excitement to see Hannah Montana. She would tell everyone who we were going to see & showed them each the sign she had made. Once we finished eating it was off to the BYU baseball field for our instructions. Since our seats were on the field, we were also part of the pre-show. We walked on the field with a lot of military troops.....but first we could make a poster if we would like. Since Madi had already made a "sign" to give to Hannah Montana entitled "You Rock" it was obviously assumed that we would just make it bigger and better. I think the signs were supposed to be for the troops....however, I suppose "You Rock" could be for them too although Madi informed me several times she wanted to give the sign to Hannah Montana.

So here are some pictures of Madi coloring the poster (note the original she made in the upper right hand corner, we were copying it as she had put a lot of thought into it, especially the music notes & the star)

I was in charge of coloring red..... (note all pictures taken of just me were taken by Madi....she did a way better job then I thought she would).


The final product (complete with a rainbow AND a rainbow exclamation point...Madi's extra touches). I also saw many, many "You Rock" signs so this must be an important sign to Hannah Montana. Miss Madi knows what she's talking about :)


Here we are waiting to be cheered onto the field as part of the show...LOL! They told us we may be on TV (big screen) to which Madi said "I'm nervous, what if I forget to smile?" Not to worry.....when she saw how many people there were cheering for "her" she was all smiles and informed me that she "can't count how many people are here!"


Here is Madi with the crowd behind her (we had pretty good seats compared to them). Also note the "corralled" kid dancers behind the blue barricades. They were seriously squished in there like a mosh pit and all freaking out the entire time Miley Cyrus was performing.

Here is a video of Madi dancing. There were better "dancing" times during the night, but this one you can see her better as the spotlight keeps hitting her. It isn't the best video as it is dark and sometimes has some focus issues....but it is cute (about 1 1/2 min long)



When Miley Cyrus left the stage for the first time I told Madi if she held up her poster Miley just might come back out and sing again. Here she is....cheering for an encore. She was thrilled that her sign persuaded Miley come back out for a few more songs (he he!)



This last video I post only because it shows a bit of the chaos that was going on with all the little girls (and some adults). You will also see the mosh pit of the corralled dance girls I talked about earlier. If you listen closely (or not so closely) you will hear 50,000 little girls that know every word to the song "See you Again!"

Also, if you listen extra closely you may also hear one "hip" adult named Jen that knows some of the words (the only song I know and only because we do aerobics to it....LOL!). I'm up with the times!!!



And finally it was time for fireworks. Madi really enjoyed how big and loud they were....that was until a bit of ash fell in her eye. Then she was scared and kept shielding her eyes from the big fireworks. Luckily she got tired about 2 minutes after the show ended......it was a slow walk to the car (especially when stupid Jen parked far, far away to avoid traffic!).


It was the best 4th of July I have had in a long time. It is a family holiday and I loved having family to share it with instead of lame "mid-singles." Especially someone as sweet as Madison. She seriously told me thank you about 10 times throughout the night. Really, does it get better or sweeter than that?

Oh and one more thing.....as I drove home I was also pleased that my house was NOT on fire since when I drove up my street there were 8 (yes 8) firetrucks (some were the smaller trucks), 3 ambulances & I don't know how many police cars (barricading the road). The park behind my house had caught fire and the trees were shooting flames everywhere. They even had the big ladder out on the trucks and were fighting the fire from above the trees. Cool to watch from my deck (until 1am), but glad it didn't jump the street to the townhomes right there. Luckily they got it under control in about an hour. Sadly now the park has some partially burned trees....stupid fireworks!!

1 Run Down, 2 More to Go....Unfortunately

For the 2nd straight year I celebrated the 4th of July by getting up at 6am and running the Freedom Run 10K (seriously, what is wrong with me?). This year I wanted to run it faster and I was on track to do so. I was running about 9:30 min miles (normally I'm 10 min or above) all the way through mile 5. My left foot was asleep and my left knee was really, really sore, but I was doing well. Then we had to finish our last mile UP HILL. I knew it was coming, but my pace really slowed down. I ended up finishing only 1 minute faster than last year (1:01 vs 1:02). That last mile seriously drug me down!!! Laura, Sharon & I all went together, however they are speed demons so they were there to cheer me on at the end (believe me I needed it!).

For some reason I decided this year to do another half marathon (Provo River Trail this time). Again the goal is to be faster, but I have recently hit some physical hurdles (seriously sore knee) so we shall see how this goes. I have one more 10K on July 24th (with Jenna & Amanda!) and then the half marathon on Aug 9th. With my new job & subsequent 40 minute commute, let's just say that I'm not really looking forward to my early, early morning training runs (6am....BOO!). Too late to back out now....I've already registered, plus I'm already half way through with training.

Here are some pictures of the runners (I only wish I had make up on......remember it was early)

Me & Laura

Sharon & Me


Me & the Gardner clan! (Joe, Julianne, Laura, Me & Sharon)....Post-race with our "medals."

My own high school reunion

I haven't attended one of my real high school reunions and don't plan to attend any in the future. In all reality I have no desire to see most people I went to high school with. I don't really look back on those years super fondly. They were great at the time, but life is much better as you get older.

I do stay in contact though with my best friends from high school. We had a little mini-reunion with a few of us last night at Chilis (minus Amy who was in Hawaii....so lucky!). Shatie, Becki, Stacy & I all went to dinner. Let's just say our waitress was not pleased with our 3 hour dinner....but we had a lot of catching up to do. It was so fun to be back with friends that you have known for close to 20 years. I had a great time.

Here is a picture of Shatie, me & Becki. Stacy really was there, but she had to take the picture........you all know what she looks like anyways and she is probably pleased to not have her 8.5 month pregnant body all over the internet!

So Long, Farewell!

Yesterday was my official last day at NuSkin. It was not as sad as I thought it was going to be. I really thought I would cry. Maybe it was because I was the LAST person to leave from my department....man I'm a dedicated employee (even though I did leave at 3....LOL!). The past week has been busy trying to transition my stuff as well as all the parties! In the last week we had a good-bye lunch at PF Changs (so good!) and also had a little dessert party on this past Wednesday.

Anyways, so long NuSkin


.....on to MonaVie. Monday morning I start my new life . Seems like I'm going to be pretty busy, especially coming up to speed. I haven't been a "new employee" for 10 years. Anxiety I'm sure will set in but not yet!!

The "Still" girl no longer!!!!

Lately I have realized that I am the "still" girl. STILL single, STILL at NuSkin, STILL going to aerobics, STILL on my floaty at the pool, STILL going to Jazz games....Still, Still, Still. Now all of these things don't need changing (especially aerobics & the Jazz!) but some definitely do! I've come to the realization that my life is roughly the same now as it was 10 years ago which is not necessarily a good thing.

Thus after 10 years at NuSkin, I will be forcing a change in my life. I have accepted a new job at MonaVie as a Project Manager. It is a MLM juice company, but the BIG change is that it is in SLC (106th South). It is a great opportunity & I feel that I will be able to grow personally and professionally there. I'm sure I'll love the commute....we will see how that goes.

I'm sure there are more blog entries coming with this big change, but I wanted to let everyone know I am no longer "STILL" at NuSkin (well after July 3rd...LOL!)

A New Calling

Well I received a new calling today. It is my first calling since I've been in the family ward and it is in the nursery. Today was my first day and I have to say I don't understand why people hate it. Cute kids play around you, you read them stories, feed them treats, sing songs (that part is hilarious!) and teach them a lesson (today we learned that we taste with our tongues and eat with our mouths). Maybe it is because I don't have kids that having 16 kids for 2 hours a week doesn't seem rough. It is almost a welcome break from the boredom of my life. It also gets me out of our Sunday school lessons that often include comparing the Book of Mormon to various movies (Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Star Wars, GhostBusters (seriously), etc).....

It was also my first day....I may learn soon why it is so bad.

Summer is finally, finally here!

So two posts in one night! I had to finish one I previously started. Anyways, finally, finally summer appears to be on its way here. It hasn't been roasting hot yet, but it is definitely warming up. I haven't made it to the pool yet, but I'm sure that is coming soon! The past few days have been EXCELLENT and here are the top 10 reasons why (in no particular order):

1. I was able to run outside in the mornings in shorts without freezing
2. My double-header softball game on Wednesday did not involve me wearing a beanie or a sweatshirt. I was able to wear shorts & not freeze!
3. I BBQ'd a steak & a hamburger for dinner (separate nights of course!)
4. I got to go roller blading up the canyon (although I also learned while roller blading that the kids these days do not roller blade anymore. They long board or bike (road bikes). There were sadly only 2 other couples roller blading).
5. Laying out in my backyard, getting a real good tan & actually sweating (time for the floaty in the pool).
6. Sunday walk after sunset - WONDERFUL
7. Reading a book on my deck in the evening (finished Pride & Prejudice)
8. Washing my car (and hoping it stays clean)
9. Going to the Parade of Homes - okay, not necessarily summer, but we did go & saw some beautiful, beautiful homes.
10. Driving with the A/C on for more than 2 seconds.

I sure hope summer is here to stay! This winter weather was here way, way too long! Seriously, it was the longest winter ever!

I'm in love!

So I haven't really posted much lately, this may be because I have fallen in love. Now I'm sure a few of you have fallen off your chairs.....let me explain.

Since winter has been staying around much, much longer then it should have (seriously, snow on Memorial Day???) I have been forced to spend my time watching other's lives on TV. This is where the falling in love comes into play. Nicole & I have spent the last 2 months watching a TV show called "House." For those of you who don't watch it it is very cleverly written & not a show you can watch casually or while you do other things. If you don't dedicate the time to watch it and pay attention then you will miss the humor (just ask Amber who I tried to have watch an episode, but I could tell Ashley was not allowing her to concentrate and thus Amber thinks it is "stupid.") House is a show about a doctor ("House") with a brutal bedside manner, but a brilliant man. It has won several awards so I'm not the only one who likes it (see Amber!) Anyways, I have fallen for "House" who in reality is a 49 yr old British man. Apparently I need to expand my dating age group because I would completely date him tomorrow if he came to my door. Here is a picture of him so you all know what to start looking for for me. I think it is the facial hair & the beginnings of "old man wrinkles" that have me hooked.....oh & possibly the people who write his character on the show (LOL!).

Tag by Laura!

I was tagged by Laura and I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing about the Jazz since that is the only thing I post about these days (and is a tad depressing right now). So here we go....

A- Attached or Single?- Unfortunately, very, very single.

B- Best Friend? – Stacy

C- Cake or Pie?- Pie for sure. I HATE cake unless it is partially uncooked and gooey in the middle or if I can only eat the frosting.

D-Day of choice?- Saturday for sure!

E- Essential item?- Cell Phone (who knows why, it rarely rings, but I have to be ready if it does :)).

F- Favorite color?- Pink (usually with brown)

G- Gummy bears or worms? Neither, I don't like gummy things

H-Hometown? Orem, UT

I- Indulgence(s)?- I have a lot...let's see cadbury mini eggs, girl scout cookies, massages, eating out.

J- January or July? – July for sure, on my floaty in the pool!

K-Kids?- None, I prefer to be the fun aunt who gives the kids back when they get cranky.

L- Life is incomplete without?- Family, Friends, Gospel....oh and TIVO (it has completely changed my life).

M- Marriage date?- I'm not sure what year it will be although I'm hoping soon, but the date will be December 24th to please my mother of course :)

N- Number of siblings?- 3 sisters, no brothers

O- Oranges or apples?- Apples for sure. I hate peeling oranges and they make my hands sticky.

P- Phobias or fears?- Currently I fear going to the grocery store & the shelves being empty and then starving to death. Oh and I fear Mice, Wasps, & Bees. I HATE them all!

Q- Quotes?- "Whatever!" Nicole says I say that way to often especially when dealing with boys.

R- Reasons to smile? - Summer weather, my floaty at the pool, not being at work, little kids that make me laugh (specifically Madi, Hannah, Allie, Ashley & Sienna)....sorry Jenny, Jack is too young to be funny.

S-Season? - Summer for sure!

T-Tag 5 people?- Jenna, Carrie, Heather, Amy, Brooke

U- Unknown fact?- I'm somewhat superstitious, but I try not to be. I worry a lot which makes me over think lots of things sometimes.

V- Very Favorite store?- GAP for sure, oh and Cafe Rio.

W- Worst Habit?- Used to be biting my nails, but I have almost kicked that one. New habit is probably sleeping until 8:30 (yes I do have a job)

X- X-ray or ultrasound? – x-ray I guess. I've never had an ultrasound.

Y-Your favorite food?- Cafe Rio pork tostada.

Z- Zodiac?- Scorpio, but I don't really care about Zodiac signs. Maybe it is because my horoscope always seemed to be crappy when I read it in "Teen" magazine....LOL!

Bring on the Lakers!!

Finally the Jazz finished off Houston! Last night Stacy & I went to Game 6 with my parents. The game was SO exciting and it was fun to see D-Will take over the game. I LOVE him. Trade anyone else, but if we lose D-Will I will cry. Boozer on the other hand is very quickly loosing my love. He needs to be aggressive. We'd better be on our A-game against the Lakers. Oh how I HATE KOBE!!!
















The night was full of fun, but some of the funnier times included Dad being "Dad." It was classic "Dad" face as he realized that drinks at the game are not $.50 cents. This picture is him with his beloved Diet Coke. Stacy won the contest by saying "Get the camera ready, Dad is going to come back and say "Gasp!"

Dad came back and stated....and I quote "$3.75 for a Coke.......GASP!!!!" as this picture was taken. Dad is just so predictable.

A great, but LONG day!

Well yesterday was a long, but very eventful and fun day. Okay, really the day was pretty easy and very fun.... just a few events that had me up early and to bed late.

First of all I ran the 5K with Jenna and Amanda. It was their first 5K & they did great! I was also pleased that I ran it in under 29 minutes (I don't know my exact time). I was very pleased since that is faster than I have ever run a 5K. I've never been under 31 minutes! Here is a picture of the runners (after the run)!


Then the rest of the day was full of errands, chores and a brief 30 minute nap in the sun! Although it was only 60 degrees, it felt warm!

Then Stacy & I were off to the Jazz game (8:30pm start). We went to Cafe Rio first and then did a little shopping at the Gateway (well I did). Luckily this Jazz game went much better than Thursday's game. Although we STILL tried to give it back to Houston at the end. I nearly had a heart attack when we were up by 9 and then only up by 2 in a matter of 30 seconds. Luckily the Jazz pulled it out. Here's hoping they can close it out on Tuesday in Houston!

Here is a picture of Stacy & I at the game. I much prefer my own Jazz shirt in pictures as it actually fits me.

One team, one dream (aka nightmare!)

Stacy & I went to our first playoff game this season. I was so excited, had dreams of a sweep.....The Jazz were going to win the NBA championship if they won. I walked in the arena, got my free XL "one team, one dream" T-shirt & was ready to cheer my hear out.

Alas the Jazz yet again got me all riled up & then cut out my heart with their bare hands. Why do I allow them to do that? In fact they acted like they didn't have to really play hard because they were at home. Apparently on your home court there is no need to rebound or make free throws.....at least that is what Boozer thought. (I still LOVE Williams although I wish he could have seen Boozer wide open for that final dunk like I did!)

I assume that Mother Nature's SNOW she delivered yesterday also played a part in this & caused the Jazz to think they needed to play basketball like they did in December.....when they lost 11 out of 13 in one stretch!

I know, I know it is just one game & I still expect the Jazz to win the series, but seriously....why make it harder than it is? I have little to live for & the Jazz winning brings joy to my life....(I'm kidding, sort of)

Also, here is a photo that Stacy begged me to put on my blog! I believe she wanted it posted because and I quote "I (Stacy) look so thin" :) Be happy I cropped it Stace, it could have been worse...at least you are pregnant & the shirt sort of fits you..... Apparently we are all size XL to the Utah Jazz.

Are you kidding me? Enough already!!!

Dear Mother Nature,

It is April 24th & I have a Jazz playoff game to attend. I normally wear SHORTS to these playoff games. Enough with the snow!!! It is springtime!

Seriously! Enough already!!! This picture was taken out of my window at work. (Thanks El for the camera!)


And while I was typing this post I had to take a 2nd picture!

Welcome Back to my fake friends!

Well my 27 layer haircut post is now the most popular post I have ever made (at least comment wise). Thanks to everyone for your comments and continued friendship after seeing that picture. However, I can't have that ugly picture be the first thing I pull up when people look at my blog. Thus on to new posts!

It has been a long, long, looooooooooooong winter. In addition to freezing for much longer than I wanted or expected to (still freezing I might add), I have also not had the company of my television friends thanks to the writers strike. It has been a long hard winter & needless to say I am counting down until real TV returns. I can't wait until Thursday night when my friends return. Friends named Jim, Dwight, JD, Turk, and one day.....McDreamy & McSteamy.

In the meantime, I have found a new favorite show thanks to Jenna. She has introduced me to my newest boyfriend....Eddie Latekka on October Road. I probably love him because on the show he loves the fat, ugly girl & all girls can related to the fat, ugly girl (at least mentally), but seriously look at him & what is not to like?

27 Layers....oh the memories

Many of you may remember the now famous "27 Layer haircut" I received at age 19. I have tried for 13 years to put it out of my mind, but the damage this haircut may have done in my life is immeasurable. You go in to get your haircut & ask for a few layers....when did 27 and a "few" equal the same thing? I mean really I'm 19 and I look like I'm 40.

As I was recently getting my haircut, my dear friend and hair dresser Brooke does not believe that this hair cut was really as bad as it was. I've told her the stories, tried to describe it, but really you just have to see it to believe it. So I promised her I would post a picture of it so that she could see the proof. If by some chance she thinks this is a good haircut for me I may be forced to find a new hair dresser. However, I have learned from past experience that you should never, ever have someone over 50 at JCPenneys, cut your hair unless you yourself are close to 50 (or at least desire to look 50+).

I've come a long way since this haircut (I hope!). Unfortunately having this type of haircut at age 19 (and the subsequent "growing it out" period) didn't help the dating scene. Really, who wants to date someone who looks like their mother? Maybe someone who cooks like their mother or something, but not someone who looks 50! I can't blame them. As Kramer on Seinfeld once said "Look away....I'm hideous!!"

So there you have it Brooke. I have posted the ugliest time in my life for you and the entire internet world to see. You can all laugh (and should laugh) at how ugly I was. For those of you who have remained my friends through this haircut I consider our friendship priceless as our friendship is obviously built on more than what I looked like.....or perhaps I was just your "project" at the time and then you found out I was SUPER COOL too....LOL!

P.S. Becki should be happy I cut her out of this picture. I didn't have her consent to post a picture of her back then nor do I think she would be pleased with viewing it :)

P.P.S. Also FYI....this picture was taken as Becki & I did the "NuSkin half time shoot out" at the BYU vs. Utah basketball game. At the time, I won a ton of NuSkin haircare products for making a layup, free throw, & 3 pointer. Who would have known I would have had NuSkin everywhere in my house & didn't need to showcase the 27 Layer haircut to the entire Marriott Center.