Holy Colee!

Today, I got to spend my night with one of my favorite people in the world. How many people do you know that get to say that about their realtor? Clark is freaking amazing. Even though I am crazy, he'll never say it. He just puts my weird house choices at the back of the list. He answers all of my random questions, and let's face it there are a LOT of them. I am pretty clueless when it comes to this. He lies to me and tells me I am not high maintenance. He helps me look for stuff good and bad about the houses we go to. We make lots of u-turns, but he always finds where we're going. He is fun to talk to, and I trust him, which is important to me as this is the largest investment I have made in my life so far.

We had a pretty good go of it tonight, from my perspective. There are a couple of places that I liked a lot. It was much more positive than the last time we went looking, and I think I have a better idea of what to scan for as I search.

After the houses we went for dinner. I'd never been to the Market Street Grill. It was different than what I expected. Good different. The highlight though, was where we went for ice cream. There is this little store in the avenues that is owned by a family of midgets. Dwarves? Little People? What is the PC term these days. Anyway... Quite possibly the best ice cream I have ever had. Huckleberry icecream and midgets, does it get any better than this I ask you????

Today is Dav's birthday- YAY you're old :):):)



For me, today was a good day. Work was good, we got some wins with our client that we had been working for for a while, and it was excellent to finally get them granted. Now I just need to come up with a plan to maintain the things we won.
Also, I got something I have never gotten before in my 8+ years with this company, a monetary thank you. I am still in awe. I am actually pretty sure I am going to frame it.

Tonight at family home evening we had a BBQ with the stake. I actually met someone from my new ward, so it will be good to have a familiar face when we go there. Of course, there is more than a handful of folks that are coming with us from this ward, so really, it should be good times.

Because I know you are dying to find out what happened - Our CEO did show on Friday. I also decided I should probably meet him. So I did. He won't remember me, but it doesn't matter. He's not nearly as intimidating with out his suit.

Saturday I went to visit my grandparents. I got to hang out in their garden for a while and just visit. They sent me home with enough tomatoes to make a girl giddy. Also, my grandma asked me to go thru the afghans she has made and stored to give away when she dies and pick mine now. I am not really sure how I feel about it, but I love that she wants me to have it, and it is absolutely beautiful.

Saturday night we went to a farewell party. We ditched it to go to an institute dance, but we found out very quickly that we have officially hit the age where we are too old for anything that doesn't say 24-30. I am not sure when we hit that age, but it happened. It felt illegal just dancing with those little boys. We went back to the party.

Today we found out that they are splitting our ward. And we are in the portion that is getting cut off. It caught me off guard at first, but now I am actually looking forward to it. We'll see.... we'll see.

Have I mentioned I like it when people come into town? Today I got to have dinner with my friend Stephanie. I tried to pretend like we didn't work together, but it didn't work long. Talking about shift bids is a pretty quick way to kill a good time ;) We had fun anyway.
Then my hometeachers came over. I am not sure it was very gospel oriented, but it was fun to have them visit. They are good kids. I always look forward to their visit, and they come EVERY MONTH :D
Last but not least, tonight was bowling night. I scored a 106 and a 98. Not great, but for me - not too shabby!

Tomorrow we get to go to a semi annual business meeting. Apparently all of the uppity ups are supposed to be there. Last time the CEO ditched us, so I guess we'll see if he decided to show this year. I know you can hardly wait to find out, don't try to hide it.

Well then, it's been a pretty quiet week. Sunday I turned old. I spent the day in church and some friends came over after to help get rid of the leftover party food. If you can't count on boys to get rid of your food, what can you count on?

Monday my friend Lori took me to lunch for my birthday. It was also buy one get one day for CVG employees at Noodle's and Co. Really, I am a pretty cheap date.

Tuesday I spent the evening with James and Heather. And, I called my favorite real estate guy. It's official. I am house hunting.... again.

Today I had lunch with my Jeremys. They don't work with me so much anymore, but I like spending time with them. Moon wins the favorite person of the day award for saying I look like I've lost weight... Flattery will get you everywhere with me. I'll admit it. Personally, I think someone tipped him off, but I don't care so much. He is actually looking pretty fantastic himself, so maybe getting away from our program is just what he needed ;) (Oh, and Chris, he says I shouldn't believe she's real with out picture proof ;)and we are really looking forward to getting together when you come to visit.)

After work I got to have dinner with my friend Michael who is here for work from Houston for a couple of days. As always, a great deal of fun.

Now you know... Life is good. Quiet, and good.

Let me tell you why today was fantastic. First of all, I woke up before my alarm, even though I had only gone to bed 5 hours earlier. 2nd, when we got to the church to help clean, someone else had started the bathrooms, so all we had to do was the windows. Then I came home and finished my Windows XP class, there's 25 hours of my life I can never have back - but hey, free laptop. Then I got my nails done, did a little grocery shopping, picked up my favorite Cafe Rio salad for dinner and came home to watch a movie. Funny movie, by the way - Fun with Dick and Jane. Yes, I am a little behind, but well, it's how I work.
Then tonight, we went bowling and people actually showed up. I was a little worried that they wouldn't and that it would just be me and VeAnn pretending to have a birthday party, but they did. It was fun. Captain Ron, as we call him, who runs the bowling alley we frequent gave me a free mug shaped like a bowling pin and a free pass to come back to Cosmic bowling (and a hug, is that legal to hug the patrons?). Then we all came back and my fantastic roommates had the house decorated and made cake and had treats and it was just fun. I may be a simple girl, but I would be content if all birthdays were like today, and technically, I'm not 28 for like 5 more hours.....

Here is the question weighing on my mind today. It's the kind of question that if we could find an answer to, I am pretty sure we could achieve world peace. Why does a take home box from the restaurant always make your car smell like butt? It matters not where they came from, ethnicity of food, or amount paid.
We went out with some new friends last night after bowling (which I do NOT want to talk about this week) to the only place we could find that was open. We had a lovely time, and I am pretty sure I haven't laughed that hard for quite a while...How can one not laugh when you are being told a story about naked golf? Anyway, I was too busy laughing to eat, so breakfast had to come home with me... I live about 5 blocks from the diner, but that's all it took. When I got back in the truck this morning, it still smelled of leftovers. Now, the left overs did not taste like butt, so why, why must they smell like it?

So, I have decided I may be easily excitable this week, but tonight was good night. Even the fact that I spent an hour with a dentist's drill in my mouth couldn't rain on my day. I had a good day at work, went to the dentist, and came home and had dinner with my friends.
I love dinner group. I couldn't even pretend to eat with the rest of them, but I still couldn't cancel it. I just like spending time with them. As an added bonus, Matt is actually in town this week. He came over, too, YAY! I love having people around that make me happy. We started to get caught up on our Strongbad, but I am afraid I have been out of touch for too long.

Also, people from my past have been creeping out of the woodwork this week. Mostly people from work who have actually managed to break away, and only a couple of them were Birthday Party RSVPs. The rest of them were just random popups. It's been great.

Oh, and I think I may have convinced my roommates to move in with me when I buy a new house... super awesome plan, if you ask me ;)

Clark, we need to talk.

First of all - a big thank you to Dav for changing up the blog's look. I like to change it up every so and again. Someday I may have him teach me how to do it myself.

So then. I saw Memoirs of a Geisha this week... GOOD FLICK. Definitely a chick movie, but worth watching. Other than that, it has been a pretty quiet week. Monday night was Family Home Evening. We built cardboard boats and floated them down the creek in Murray Park. Our little boat did ok, until it got caught on a rock. We just weren't able to make up the time.

Yesterday I cleaned my room... yup, totally exciting evening. I find that my room is a good indicator of my mood. The messier it gets, the more frustrated I get. I think it might actually be time for a complete overhaul. In fact, maybe it's time to move for real.

Today was an exercise in frustration. I have been waiting since March for my VP to decide if I was moving. Well, that's a lie. My VP actually approached me about moving, I was getting ready to buy a home and he asked me to hold off. But then, before it could be finalized we changed VPs. The idea got lost in the shuffle of responsibilities. I finally got my managers to sit down and rediscuss the idea last week. I am just not very good at leaving my life on hold while other people forget to decide.
Well, today I got the results of that conversation. Sadly, I don't feel any better about the situation. They kind of handed me back the ball and said, if you want to pursue the option, we can look at it again in 2007. Yes, you heard it "IF" and "2007". So, now you know... I still have NO idea what is going on with my life.

I think I may give up planning entirely.

If I could magically learn to play any instrument in the world, it would have to be the mandolin. However, I went to a concert with some friends last night and now the banjo and violin are now nearing the top of the list. The concert was Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band. If you like bluegrass, check him out. (Shupe.net)The band is a lot of fun, and they are a great story of a local band making it big. I have been watching them since they started about 10 years ago at little gigs in Logan and it was awesome to see them now after they are actually nationally recognized. I don't know that they are HUGE, but they are on the radio and CMT and stuff, so they are certainly in a different place than when I first saw them. And even though they think they are big time, they still played my FAVORITE Shupe song... yes, The Corn Dog Song! I'll be singing it in my head for a week :) Anyway, it was great fun. I am such a groupie that I had to stay after and have them sign my CD. Seriously, I am almost 28 years old, you would think I would get over it.

After the concert Chris came over with "Firewall." OK flick. Not my new favorite, but worth watching.

Overall a good Saturday... of course, how bad can a Saturday be when you don't get out of bed until after 2 pm? It was a long week. I was actually awake for hours before I finally moved; I just couldn't seem to find anything worth actually getting up for.

Today I am celebrating 2 things.
#1 - I bowled a 136 last night! Yay for my second best score ever ;)
#2 - Since starting my better eating program (it's not a diet, diets fail) I've lost 20 pounds. Yeah... so it's really not that much, and no one can tell, but it still makes me happy.

Now you know...

Tonight I get to go to my Free Laptop Class..... Man I love tuition reimbursement.

Well, bowling won out. I did better than I've done in a long time. I bowled a 110. What does that tell you about how the last while has been going for my game? Anyway, I figure I'll try again tonight and see how it goes.

So I also watched what might be the most pointless show I have seen in a long time. It's called "Noises Off." If you haven't seen it, don't waste your time. It has an all star cast and absolutely no point or plot. I like Michael Caine a lot, and even with him this movie just didn't make me care enough to keep watching it.

Here's a shout out to my little bro! He gets to be the same age as me for 11 days. It's his little taste of being as cool as I am ;)

Happy Birthday!!!

Monday night I did something I haven't done for probably 10 years... We went to a baseball game for FHE. It was actually a lot of fun. I don't PLAY ball, but I can watch and understand it. And we won by a run, so that's always fun. Now, they lost handily to the same team the next day, but we won't talk about that too much. Anyway, the game was a fun way to be out with friends.

Last night I had dinner with James and Heather. They were so excited to introduce me to the newest member of their family. She is a 6 week old calico named Lily. It's too bad animals don't stay as small as they are when they are 6 weeks old. I might be persuaded to get one. As is, I am glad they have her and I don't.

Tonight we are either going dancing again or bowling.... any suggestions?

This morning I was able to attend the sealing of my cousin and his wife. I LOVE the concept of eternal families. It just makes sense to me. It was a fantastic time to be with my family.

Tonight I went to my 10 year class reunion. It was actually a lot better than I expected. It was fun to see who had changed and who looked the exact same. There were a lot of both. Only about 3 people I really had to think about before I knew who they were. I happen to look a lot the same. Not exactly, but a lot. In a class of 116 people who have been together since 6th grade, it’s hard not to know most of them. I enjoyed the fact that we all seem to have grown up enough to know that who we were in high school does not make us who we are today. I must admit, walking into the pavilion, every insecurity I had in high school did come flooding back over me, but fortunately I think I have grown up a little, too, and I didn’t let them stay long. I talked to some people tonight more than I did in the 10 years I went to school with them. There is some affirmation in seeing the boy you dated has gotten chubby, and the boy you had a crush on for years isn’t nearly as cute as he used to be. And that THE boy (you know who I am talking about) is now bald :) I could tell you that the prom queen and cheerleaders were old and saggy too, but that would be a lie. They just look a little older, and a little more tired from chasing the kids around.
Anyway, I had a good time. It was good to meet everyone’s wives/husbands/kids and just see where life is taking everyone. Good times… Good times.

It was decided that if mom and I were going to make raspberry jam this weekend, we needed huckleberries to put in it, so I was told to stop in the canyon on my way home and go huckleberry picking with my aunts. They have been camping/ berry picking since Wednesday.
For those of you not familiar with huckleberries, they are a sweet/tart berry that are worth their weight in gold. Ok, probably not gold, but something similar. They sell for about $30 a pint. If you can get someone to part with them, that is. Huckleberries are little. The biggest ones are about the size of a pea, and those are few and far between. They grow only in the wild (all transplanting efforts have failed) under the leaves on bushes that are about 1-2 feet tall, and are only in season for a couple of weeks.
The fact that they grow only in the wild prompts some very silly behavior. Little old ladies go to the grave with their huckleberry patch locations. I picked for about 2 ½ hours before my attention span was completely gone, and I got about 5 cups worth of berries. Seriously, 5 cups! The sad part is that is a respectable amount of berries compared to the time I spent there. Now you know why my aunts have been there for 3 days.

All I can say is that if someone gives you something made with huckleberries that they picked – they are in love with you. Either that, or they are sadistic. It could go either way, really… I am pretty sure my back is going to hate me for days.

Tonight mom and I made raspberry-huckleberry jam. Yeah, I’m a canner…I am cool like that. The rest of the berries are getting put in the freezer to be used later in cakes, cobblers, and other assorted berry needing items.

I am rather proud of the jam though, so next time you are over, ask me for some toast and you can try it :)

So far this week is shaping up pretty positively. Monday I had to have a chat with my boss about where my career is taking me... that was not fun, but it was informative. Monday night was FHE. It's been 100+ degrees here for the last 3 weeks, so they planned water activities in the park...yeah, it rained. We still had fun, cuz you know, you can't go wrong with water balloons.

Tuesday was dinner group. The new recipe kind of let me down, but the rest of it was good, and my cheesecake turned out. Plus, Ryan came up to visit. We don't see him much these days so it was a pleasant addition to our little group.

Last night I went dancing with my roommates. There is a new dance club in town. Wednesday is the over 25 night and ladies get in free... one might think that an abundance of girls would increase the boy attendance, but one would be wrong in this case. First of all, there were only about 20 people there. And I am pretty sure the 3 of us were the only ones who were young enough to remember the Spice Girls. Don't get me wrong, we had a good time, but we're gonna give it a while before we go back. VeAnn assures us, it is busier on Country Nights, but I have my morals ;)

Tonight is bowling night - woo hoo :) and then I am going home for my 10 year highschool reunion... I am sure you will hear more about that.