Meadows

Snowboarding

2009-02-22T20:32:00.004-07:00

Today I went snowboarding for my very first time. I was super nervous and wasn't sure that I even wanted to do it, but I did it because not only did Derek's family buy me all of the gear, but I know how much it would mean to Derek if we could do something athletic together. After falling on my butt a lot and getting snow down my pants, and falling getting off of the ski lift, I have decided that it was totally worth it! I think that I am a boarder for life!

I ended up staying the night at Derek's house and getting up early so that we could beat the crowds. We headed up to Brighton and I started my class at 10:15, with Igor, the snowboard instructor. Igor was pretty cool, he is from Brazil and has been an instructor for a few years. We started off learning how to do the basics, like putting our feet in our bindings and doing the 1 foot in the binding and one foot out thing. We went down this little hill like that, and I honestly couldn't do it! I was getting really frustrated and nervous because the next step was heading up the ski lift. I am a wimp when it comes to riding the tram thingy at Lagoon, so I was pretty scared going up in it, luckily I was the odd person so I went with Igor. When getting off, I totally ate it! I was able to get up quickly though and get out of the way, which was a relief! My first time down was pretty scary and frustrating, I pretty much ended up going down on my butt the whole time!

After lunch we all headed back up to the bunny slope and Derek ended up giving me great tips and encouragement, which meant a lot, because I wasn't feeling very confident in my new abilities! I told Kevin and Cheryl that they could do their own thing because I felt like I was cramping their style, and after that I started doing pretty well. I fell really hard near the bottom and I bruised my butt really hard! After a few more times going down I started to get the hang of it and crashed a lot less and not nearly as hard!

It was a wonderful day and a wonderful experience. I can't wait to head up the mountain again once I heal! Below are some pictures that Kevin took for me.

Before my Class

Getting ready to fall

Doing pretty well, but I fell right after that!

Yep, I fell, but I had a great time doing it!

My B-day

2009-02-19T19:09:00.002-07:00

So, it has been about a month since I last posted anything. A lot has happened, and school has been keeping me pretty busy, so hopefully I can keep posting at least once a month!

My birthday was great. I got a lot of cool clothes, as well as a snowboard, boots, bindings, pants, helmet, goggles, gloves, and lessons from Derek and his family and my family. I am excited to learn how to do it, I'm nervous that I won't be very good at it (I have terrible balance on flat ground, let alone in the snow), but Derek says that he will help me out as much as he can.

I also received a basketball case to place my personalized Paul Millsap autographed basketball in, as well as a D-Will jersey. Since I am a HUGE Jazz fan, it made me super happy!

My Birthday was awesome and it was great going out to my new favorite restaurant called the Green Papaya and spending time with family.

School has been pretty chaotic this semester, all of my tests are pretty much at the same time, and all of my papers are due at the same time, so needless to say, I have been a bookworm! I do have a favorite class, it is my Science Methods class. We are learning fun ways to teach science to our students and to broaden the thinking. We get to do fun science experiments and come up with one for a science fair.

One bad thing has happened. My wonderful digital camera got stolen from me. I think it got stolen at the Gallivan Trax stop, but it could have happend up here at school. It really sucks, I had awesome pictures on that camera.

Other than my camera getting stolen, it has been a great month!

It's Been A While...

2009-01-18T20:22:00.002-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since Dec. 11th. I have been fairly busy lately and there really isn't much to post about, but I guess I'll catch you all up on what little I have been doing!

I had fall final's the week after Dec. 11th. They went pretty well, I ended up with 3 B's and 1 A- and ended the semester with a 3.1 GPA so luckily I am still on the Dean's list.

Christmas went pretty well. I got snowed in and hung out with Uncle Daren & Aunt Terry and the doggies all day. The next day I went up to Derek's grandparents and his whole family ended up going back up there and gave me a Christmas that I'll never forget.

New Year's was uneventful. Derek and I ended up going back to his house and watching movies all night. It was nice having time with just the two of us, we rarely get to be alone in the same room together, so it was really relaxing just having it be us.

I just started a new semester of school. I have 5 classes this semester, so I am pretty sure that I will be stressed out! I have a Law class that seems like it will be cool. I also have a Science Methods class where I actually have to come up with a science project and do research and present it at a science fair. I'm really excited about it, but I have no idea about what I want to do it on, so if anybody has ideas for me I would appreciate it!

I am also getting ready to officially apply for the education program. I have to gather letters of recommendation and write an essay about why I want to be a teacher as well as get a background check.

Needless to say, I am pretty busy so if you don't here from me as much, you know why!

Picture Taking

2008-12-11T14:57:00.003-07:00

I haven't really had the time to get out and practice my picture taking skills, luckily Cody & Amy (my brother and his wife) asked me if I would take some family pics of them and their dog Twig so that they could send them out with their Christmas cards.

We had a great time, we went to Murray Park to take the pics. The ones posted are my favorites.

How we Met

2008-12-11T14:36:00.007-07:00

I am sitting here in the library up at the U and I read someone's blog where they tell how they met their spouse. Granted, I am not married yet, but I think dating Derek for as long as I have pretty much makes him my spouse! So here is my side of the story of how we met:

I met Derek during fall semester of our senior year in high school. I had just broken up with my ex and I was really depressed and so I had changed my schedule around so that I could be Mrs. Duncan'[s T.A. for her Lit. through Movies class. I also had signed up for Mrs. Neilson's Food's Class, just because it sounded like fun. It was in Mrs. Duncan's class where Derek and I were introduced by a guy named Billy Yang. I instantly thought that he was super cute. He had spikey blonde highlighted hair and wore a leather jacket and had the most gorgeous eyes and smile that I had ever seen. I instantly had a crush and in food's class I started flirting with him and stuff. I probably looked like nerd, but I didn't really care! One of my favorite moments was in food's and Mrs. Neilson had Derek and another guy transfer crisco from a box to a bucket and Derek thought that it would be funny to try to get some of it on me. He also tried to throw me into the garbage can's in the locker banks. But my absolute most favorite thing was that he stood up for me when someone was being a jerk. It was at that moment that I really wanted to date the guy.

I waited for Derek to ask me out, but he didn't, so I took the initiative and asked him to the Sweethearts Dance. I have to admit that the date kind of sucked. My friend was having troubles with her boyfriend and spent the time crying in the bathroom. So we didn't really even dance or hang out or anything, it was kind of lame. Luckily, Derek asked me to Prom a month later and we had a great time, and I think our first kiss was when we were at the after activity at a Gymnastics gym in one of the foam pits.

Derek is a wonderful guy and has stood by me in good times and bad, and I love him and appreciate him more and more each day and I can't wait until the day that we are married and will spend the rest of our lives together.

(The picture is of me and Derek in 2006 when I took him to see Pearl Jam in Vegas for his 1/2 Birthday.)

I'm Stuffed!

2008-11-28T15:04:00.007-07:00

Thanksgiving was pretty good this year. I spent the day with Derek and his family which was pretty cool. I slept a lot and ate a lot, then slept some more! All in all it was a pretty good day. Now it's time to start planning for Christmas. I don't have any ideas on what to get Derek, if you have any ideas on what to get a baseball, cartoon, x-box 360, music loving guy, please let me know!

I didn't take any pictures of Thanksgiving but I did promise to post a picture of my Giant Cupcake. It was pretty fun to make, and Derek was awesome and helped me frost it. I made the cake for my friend at work and it turned out to be a hit.

Some other fun things that have happened since I last posted was that the Utes beat BYU! It was an awesome game and now my wonderful Utes are going to a BCS game again. We didn't get tickets to this game, instead we had a get together with Derek's family and watched the game at his house. It was a lot of fun, we had yummy food and spent a lot of time together, which I love. Below is a funny video that we found on YouTube. Check it out, it's pretty funny.

I went and saw Australian Pink Floyd again. Thanks to Derek, I absolutely love Pink Floyd, and since they are no longer together we go see their cover band who is awesome. They did the complete "Wall" album which was really good, but I prefer "Dark Side of the Moon" because it isn't so dark and depressing to me. Derek is the opposite and prefers the "Wall".

I also went and saw Twilight. I jumped on the bandwagon thanks to my sis who gave me the books for my Birthday and after some hesitation (the books sounded lame to me) I started reading them and got addicted. I went to the movie with my friend Kim. The great thing was that we went in the morning and got the matinee price. I'm glad for this because I didn't think the movie was all that great. It was okay, but it could have been better, so hopefully when they do the other books the effects won't be so lame.

I have a lot on my plate this week. You have to love the final push of the semester where teachers decide to pile on the work and give you huge papers to write and final exams and stuff, so needless to say, I'm going to be really busy!

It's Thursday Again

2008-11-13T11:33:00.002-07:00

Many of you may have noticed that I pretty much only blog on Thursdays, the reason that I do this is because I have a wonderfully long day at school that has 2 hour breaks in between classes, so it's pretty much the only free time I have during the week.

I currently have a lot on my plate, I have 2 huge tests next week as well as a couple of term papers, on top of that I have to write and essay and get letter of recommendations so that I can apply for a scholarship and also apply for my entrance into the Elementary Ed. department. (those of you who went to elem. school with me, Mrs. Schmitt is a teacher up here and I will have classes with her starting next fall)

On top of the wonderful school stuff, I decided that I am feeling really crafty and that wanted to make a quilt for Derek's grandma and for my favorite uncle that so kindly let's me live in his house! Derek's mom helped me pick out great fabric and I can't wait to start making them. They are fairly simple quilts, so it shouldn't take me too long to make them.

I also decided that today I am going to make a giant cupcake for a girl that I work with. Target has awesome cake molds and one of them happened to be a giant cupcake. I also plan on buying pastry tips and bags to make the cupcake look pretty cool. Hopefully it turns out cute so that I can take a picture of it and post it for you all to see.

Things have been going pretty well. I went to the TCU-Utah game last Thursday and I had so much fun. We ate dinner at the PI that is at the bottom of Pres. Circle and then walked up to the stadium. The game was a lot of fun and I am really happy that my Utes are 10-0. I can't wait until the BYU-Utah game it will be awesome when the Utes beat the Y and go onto a BCS bowl game!

The New Pres.

2008-11-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that I am really excited to have Obama be the next president. I think that he will do a great job and hopefully will be able to fix our economy and get us out of this lame war that nobody wants, or wanted in the first place.

I Got Tagged

2008-10-30T15:57:00.002-06:00

So, My Aunt Karen tagged me, so here are 7 random/weird things about me.
1.) When ever I eat Skittles, M&M's and such, I have to sort them by color, then amount.
2.) I enjoy reading, I can't put a book down until it is finished....I don't eat, drink, or do anything pretty much until the book is done.
3.) I love being creative, but I don't have much time to do crafts and things. I love making blankets the most. I would like to learn how to quilt, but I don't have much time.
4.) I love baking things. I wish that I had my own place with my own utensils and such so that I can do it more.
5.) I love the news. I check news websites daily, probably 3 or 4 sources. Let's just say that I like to be informed!
6.) I love watching sports. I love watching Sports Center and listening to local sports radio shows.
7.) I am completely musically challenged. I am super tone deaf and I can't hold a beat if my life depended it!

So, I guess I'm supposed to tag people, but I won't. If you feel like doing this, then have fun!

The Ray LaMontagne Concert

2008-10-30T11:50:00.002-06:00

I went to the Ray LaMontagne Concert on Tuesday with Derek and his family. It was awesome. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is kind of an underground(unknown) folk type singer. He is really good and I love listening to his voice. He is a wonderful singer/songwriter, and he just released a new album called "Gossip in the Grain." I'll post a YouTube video, but you should check out his music on either FaceBook or on Myspace, because he kicks butt!

This is him performing "You Are The Best Thing" from his new album. It's not really a video, so just take a listen to it.

This is him performing "Forever My Friend" from his 1st album 'Trouble."

Halloween Festivities

2008-10-30T11:31:00.005-06:00

Derek and I are not really into holidays and such, but I try to do something for each major one to help us get into the spirit. So, every Halloween, I make him carve pumpkins with me. We usually do 2 each, but Derek is awesome at carving and does the harder ones that take a lot of time, so now he just does 1. This year, we went a little political with our pumpkins, so don't be offended if our views are different from yours. Derek did the George Bush "Worst President" pumpkin. It honestly took him about 4+ hours to do. I did the Obama 2008 pumpkin as well as the University of Utah "U" (I have to show my school spirit)!

The Praxis

2008-10-23T11:00:00.003-06:00

So, it's been a while since I have last blogged, but I have been really busy lately, and since last week was fall break, I didn't have time to update my blog at school like I usually do.
The past weeks have been pretty chaotic with tests and papers to turn in, but good news, I did well on all of them!
Last week I spent my fall break studying for the Praxis Exam, which is a huge test that has 3 parts (reading, writing, and math) that you have to take in order to apply for admission into the education department.
This test is a pretty serious test, it costs $130 to take and the score you get is part of determining whether or not you get admitted. So, naturally I was freaking out! I had a lot of people tell me that it's super easy, and then I had some that told me that they have taken it several times, and still haven't passed it. So, after spending my fall break studying for it, I went in and spent almost 4 hours taking all three parts without taking a break. The good thing was, was that it was a computer based test, so I got some of my results that day. I scored a 172 on the math, which is on the second tear of scoring, so I consider it at about a B average, and I scored 180 on the reading, which is on the top tier, so I think that it is about an A or A- average. I didn't get the writing score back because they actually have to read it and assess myg skills, but overall, I feel pretty confident in the results.
Next up is writing my entrance essay, getting a background check, and getting 3 letters of recommendation.

Weekend at the Cabin

2008-10-09T15:34:00.007-06:00

I spent last weekend at Derek's cabin, and can I just say that it was really cold! We headed up on Friday night and spent the weekend inside the cabin, because it rained pretty much the whole time! We did go out so that the dog's could go to the bathroom, and of course get burr's stuck to them. The great thing about Sumo is that they just fall of off him, so I don't have to brush him every 5 minutes to get the burr's out.
Sumo was pretty funny on this trip, he kind of reminded me of a monkey. Derek's dog Tucker who is a Keeshond, has really poofy hair and it is a magnet for the burr's. Sumo was so cute, and he would go sit next to Tucker and pull the burr's out of his hair for him! We were all shocked that not only did Tucker let him do it, but that he knew how to pull them out with his teeth without hurting him.

On Sunday, there was a break in the rain, so we decided to head to the lake. The roads were really muddy, but the lake was gorgeous.
It was definitely a great trip, I wish I was going again soon, but I guess I'll have to wait until next spring to go.
Below are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. I took them with my Nikon Cool Pix point and shoot, and I didn't have a change to Photoshop them yet, but they are still pretty cool...

Pretty Funny

2008-10-03T16:55:00.004-06:00

My friend, Kim, sent me this and I honestly thought it was hilarious!

After watching Palin at the debate last night, I can't help but laugh, because this is so true!

Water Aerobics

2008-10-02T11:15:00.003-06:00

So, recently I took up going to a water aerobics class. I have been unhappy with my weight for some time now, so I decided to be proactive and try something new. Running and working out on treadmills and ellipticals is very unmotivating for me, and I am not coordinated enough to take a kickboxing class or a regular aerobics class, so I thought that I would try doing the water aerobics thing. I know that it has the stereotype of being for older people, but I have noticed a lot of people my age taking it up.
I started doing it about a month ago and I find it really motivating, and it definately kicks your butt, plus nobody can tell how uncoordinated you are underwater! Derek thinks that I am funny because after I get done and head to his house I'm super happy and excited. He's really proud of me for sticking to a schedule and actually trying hard to be healthy, and honestly, I'm proud of myself for keeping it up. I have a really short attention span, so if I'm not interested, I just quit!
I started off going by myself to the Murray Rec. Center, because it was close to my work ,but I decided to switch and go to Gene Fullmer because it is closer to Derek's house and because the class are at better times and work well for my schedule. I even got some old friend's from the old neighborhood going with me. It's been great catching up with them while getting a great work out!
If anybody is interesting in going, I go to the 7:30 class on Monday, Tuesday's, and if I don't have too much homework, I go on Wednesdays.

Studying Does Pay Off!

2008-10-02T11:10:00.002-06:00

It has definitely been a chaotic week, not only at school, but at work as well. This week, not only did I have a 6 page term paper due, but I also had 2 huge tests. Ahh, gotta love stress! The good news is, I took the advice from my previous Procrastination is Bad post, and I actually studied a head of time, and I finished my paper on Monday, when it was due today. The tests that I took were fairly easy, and I think that I probably got an A or B on both of them. There is nothing like the sense of relief when you get the first round of tests and projects completed!

An e-mail from an old friend

2008-09-20T09:51:00.002-06:00

So, my best friend and next door neighbor growing up, Jennifer Frandsen, left me this wonderful e-mail about my dad that I wanted to share.
"Hey Mysti,
Just thought that I would share something with you. I want you to know how grateful I am that we lived next door to each other and that we where able to share our family's. I guess I never knew the extent of how your dad touched my brother until last night. Kevin and his wife got a house back at the beginning of the year, He has spent all summer fixing up the yard like he wants it. Putting in a coy fish pond, flower beds, trees, and bushes. I went over to his house last night to look at all the work that he has done, the whole time he was showing me his yard he kept saying "this is how mark had his yard, this is the way that mark planted his lilacs and bushes." He is designing his yard in the way that he felt your dad had his or would have it. Your dad was such a positive male role model for my brother when no one else was. He touched my brother in more ways then I think any of us realize.
Your dad will not be easily forgotten, we all have too many great memories with him.
Thank you
luv jen"

This e-mail totally made my day! It make's me really happy to know that my dad had such a positive influence on Kevin. He's such a great kid, and to know that he is carrying on the tradition of my dad's beautiful gardens make me feel great.

Procrastination is BAD!

2008-09-18T14:34:00.002-06:00

So I am known for being a procrastinator, especially if it is something that deals with writing. I honestly don't know how I get the grades that I do, because I wait until the absolute last minute to write my papers for school. I don't do revisions or anything, I just hurry and type it and then print it out. I don't even read them after I print them, so usually I don't even know what I handed in to my professors! I must be fairly good a winging it, because I pretty much have straight A's.

Well, I did my procrastination thing again last night. I had a 3 page paper to do and I waited until 11:30 last night to start it. The problem was, I just didn't know what to write it on. My professor told us to just pick a random article and write a 3 page paper on what we learned. I need more specifics than that, I know that writing a 3 page paper is super easy, but when the assignment is random, it is really unmotivating for me! So as usual I procrastinated. I was up until 1:00 getting it done. So I got to my first class this morning and my professor told us to hand in our responses (this is for a different class by the way). I about died, I knew that I had a paper due in that class, but I forgot to write down the due date on my calendar, so needless to say, the paper didn't get done. I talked to my professor after class, and luckily he is a pretty nice guy, because he told me that it was okay and that I could e-mail it to him today after class.

So, here I am at the wonderful library on campus finished with my paper, (it was only 2 pages and completely opinion based so it only took me about a 1/2 hour to do) wishing that if I wouldn't have procrastinated, then I wouldn't have had to deal with all of that stress!

Well, I guessed I learned my lesson, I should get my work done sooner, and I should pay better attention to my calendar!

Go UTES!

2008-09-12T22:50:00.004-06:00

Derek and I went to the Utah/UNLV game last Saturday and watch the Utes clobber the Rebels. What a great game. We are kind of bummed that we can't go up to Utah State and watch our team dominate Utah State, but at least it will be televised.

This is a picture of U mountain

This is a picture of me at the game

These are pictures of the lights changing colors because we won. (Sorry about the poor quality, I was walking and taking the pic. at the same time.)

I created a poor quality highlight of the game using my Window's Video Editor for the first time and it wouldn't import my Utah Fight song that I downloaded, so you if you watch it you get to listen to a song that gets somewhat irritating after a while!

Twilight Series

2008-09-06T10:03:00.003-06:00

So. those of you who read my blog know that I am a huge fan of the Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Book series. I recently checked out her website on the advice of one of my co-workers who is also a fan and I was surprised to find that she has put up playlists that correspond with each of her books. The songs correspond to certain parts of the book and it is amazing to me how well they fit. So if you are a music lover, as I am, and also a fan of these books, I recommend checking out the site. I don't know how to add a hyperlink so just Google Stephanie Meyer! I also learned that the Twilight movie that was due to be out in December has moved to a Thanksgiving opening, so if anybody wants to go see it with me, just give me a call!

New Shoes

2008-08-28T10:35:00.002-06:00

Last night Derek's parents surprised me and bought me 3 pairs of new shoes! They went to J.C. Penny's and saw that they were having a really good sale on shoes and they decided to buy me a couple pairs. I honestly haven't had a new pair of nice shoes in ages, it just isn't in my budget to by them anymore, and having them do this for me makes me feel so good, wanted & loved. I didn't take any pictures of them, but I promise that they are all super cute and super comfy! I'm surprised that they could find any shoes (let alone 3 pairs) in my size (midget feet run in my family!)

Antelope Island

2008-08-20T18:11:00.003-06:00

Derek, our friend Ryan, and I all decided last minute on Saturday to head out and go camping.
We decided to head out to Antelope Island and hit the camping grounds and in the morning head to the Ranch house where Derek's Grandpa Max grew up (if you want more info, just let me know, it's a pretty cool story).

We had an adventerous evening involving jumpstarting 4-Runners, broken flashlights, mosquito's and camp fires, or the lack-there-of! Let's just say, that next time, we need to prepare better!

We had a great time and it was awesome to have Ryan back from Texas, and home to stay. Below are some random pictures that I took.

New Hair Cut

2008-08-20T18:06:00.003-06:00

This is a week late, but I got a new haircut last Wednesday from my usual guy Yancey at Hairwaves. He is super talented and has won several awards and is an instructor at SLCC on the side. I have been going to him since he started and I have to say that he kicks butt! Posted are some pics that Derek took of me and my new hairdo.

Thank You!

2008-08-18T16:28:00.004-06:00

I just want to thank you all for reading my last blog and making me feel better. Thank you for your encouragement and the great words of wisdom that you passed along to me.

Lack of Pride

2008-08-12T13:34:00.002-06:00

On the previous post, I blogged about being on the Dean's List at the U. For those of you who don't know, the Dean's List is kind of like being on the honor roll. I have more than 2 Semesters (at total of 14 - 18 credit hours) where I received a 3.5 grade point average. It took a lot of hard work and constant studying, plus working full time on top of it for me to do this well in school.

It's funny how you can be so proud of your accomplishments and it only takes one person to bring you down and make you feel worthless and that what you have accomplished doesn't mean crap.

It's hard to believe that with everyone that I have talked to is proud of me, like Derek and his family and Uncle Daren, Aunt Terry & Aunt Karen (to name a few), but the one person that I continually try to have be proud of me, never is. You would think that I would be used to it by now and that it doesn't really matter, or shouldn't matter, what this person thinks of me, but it's hard to push those feelings away when you care about that person.

I'm sorry about this really depressing post. I'm sure my future ones will be more positive!

School

2008-07-28T19:26:00.005-06:00

Ahh, school. It seems like I will never finish! It has become my personal goal to be the first in my family (on my mom's side) to get a Bachelors Degree. I'm not only doing this for me, but I'm doing it to prove to my family that it can be done, and that I'm not stupid for following my dream. I recently found out that I am only 8 classes away from entering the Elementary Education Program and starting the co-hort and my student teaching. I also found out that I am on the Dean's List for having had 2 Semesters, so far, of having a 3.5 GPA at the U! This just motivations more and who knows, maybe I'll graduate with honors!

Summer Reading

2008-07-28T18:59:00.012-06:00

I am one of those people who absolutely loves to read and just doesn't have the time to do it as much as I would like to. I had almost a whole week off of work, so I decided that I would spend it doing what I like best and that was read. I read a total of 4 1/2 books in one week. I know, that's pretty pathetic! Once I start reading, I can't stop! Here is the list of the following books that I have read:
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer (this took me about 1 day to read)

New Moon - Stephanie Meyer (this also took me about 1 day to read)

Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer (yeah, 1 day again)

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (this was a hard read for me, it is about 1/2 the length of the Twilight books, because of the way it was written).

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer I started reading this one because Derek keeps on bugging me about it. I think that it is one of the only books that he has willingly read, and so he started giving me crap about it. So I'm reading it so that he will let me read whatever I want from now on! So far it is okay, I'm told it gets more exciting the more you read.)

Books that I plan on reading next:
Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyer

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austin

Persuasion - Jane Austin

Weekend Fun

2008-07-28T18:53:00.003-06:00

On Saturday we had a Barbecue at Uncle Daren's and Aunt Terry's house (I guess it's my house, too). We had delicious barbecued lamb, elk, and pork. We also had yummy salads and pies to eat. After we finished eating, the guys decided to put up the Tee-pee. 8 guys and 2 tries and the tee-pee still isn't up! It was quite the entertaining event!

Memories

2008-07-21T19:29:00.001-06:00

Everybody is doing this so I thought that I would jump on the bandwagon!

Here are the rules:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! If you don't have a google ID you can post a comment and click anonymous as your identity -- just make sure to sign your name so I know who you are!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It should be 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 (or if you don't have a blog I will e-mail you my memory!).I've done this on a couple of my friends blogs and it is fun to see everyone's memories! Please, take the time to comment and write a memory of us!

SUMO!

2008-07-11T19:11:00.003-06:00

I have noticed that almost everybody writes about their kids on their blog. Well, I don't have any kids, but I have my wonderful little doggy, Sumo.
I took over caring for little Sumo when my brother wouldn't/couldn't about 4 years ago. He rescued him from some guy, and decided to name him Sumo. When my brother stopped taking care of him, my mom wanted to take him to the pound. I didn't want that to happen to the poor little dog. It seemed like nobody wanted him, which is probably why he acted up a lot. I took pity on the little guy and decided that he was mine. I took him to the vet and got him his shots and got him fixed, and then I went through the pain of getting him trained.

The things that I have gone through or that have happened to my little dog:
1- he has chewed up numerous amounts of shoes, hats, wall corners, and even 2 leather couches... I'm really glad that he got over that and doesn't do it any more!
2- he has been hit by a car. The meter reader didn't shut the gate and Sumo got out and ran out onto the street and got hit by a car. This all happened while I was at work, but the neighbor kids let me know what happened, thankfully he didn't get hurt.
3- he has been weed whacked. I took him to Derek's house to play with Tucker & Cash, and Derek's dad was in the back yard trimming the lawn edges with the weed whacker, Sumo got curious and got a little close and got a cut on his little leg. I also was a work when this happened, but Derek's parents took good care of him and got him fixed up.
4- he has been rat poisoned. This also happened at Derek's house. They were having a mouse problem a couple of years ago and his dad decided to put some rat poison under the deck. Not even 5 minutes after he put it out, Sumo decided to get under the deck and see what it tasted like. He came in the house chewing something, and we instantly knew what happened. We had to take him to the doggy emergency room and get his stomach pumped. He ended up being okay. I felt pretty bad for Derek's mom & dad, they felt really bad, and were really nice and wouldn't let me pay for the vet bill.

I have been through a lot of good and bad things with Sumo. I love him more and more every day. He helped me through my dad dying, and my mom kicking me out, and he is always there for me, no matter what. He may shed a lot and sometimes bark a lot, but he has turned out to be the best dog a girl could ask for.

Done until Fall

2008-06-26T21:52:00.002-06:00

Today started of pretty bad. I got pretty much no sleep last night, because it was really hot and because I was stressing over my final that I had today. I got some lunch and headed to Derek's house and had my hands really full of stuff and I reached up to close his garage and Derek's Lemonade spilled all the way down my white shirt, my jeans, my flip-flops, and of course, all over the inside of my purse. I was so mad! Some how I managed to open the door to the kitchen and I yelled for Derek to come and help me. Seriously, I haven't been so mad in a while! He just looked at me and could tell that I was really upset and he was so sweet! He got me one of his shirts to throw on and threw my shirt in the dryer, and he helped me clean out my purse and get un-sticky! He cracked a little joke, and of course it made me smile and get out of my mood! We ran to Smith's Market Place and got me a couple of cute new shirts (my soaked one ended up stained) to wear, so I wouldn't look retarded wearing a Pearl Jam shirt that was way to big for me! He ended up making the day even better by buying me a Snowshack, knowing that sugar makes me happy and that I absolutely love Snowshack!

After that I headed up to campus and got a good 4 hours of extra quiet studying in for my final. I think I did pretty well on it. There were only a couple of questions that I had to guess on, so I'll probably end up with an A- or a B. I'll find out in a couple of weeks exactly how well I did this semester. Hopefully, I will still be on the Dean's List.

The best part of the day is that I am officially done with school until fall semester! I actually get most of the summer off to enjoy and have fun!

I Finally Figured It Out!

2008-06-26T21:50:00.002-06:00

So, I've been looking at other people's blogs and noticed how cute they were & I wanted a cute background like theres. So a couple of weeks ago, I tried it out and it didn't work. I don't know why, I just think I'm retarded! So, tonight I checked out a different place and came up with this one. I think it is super cute and it has my favorite colors on it, so I'm happy!

Salt Lake Bee's

2008-06-23T16:14:00.004-06:00

Derek and I made a last minute decision on Saturday to go the the Salt Lake Bee's game. It was so much fun. I don't think I have seen so many people at a Bee's game that didn't have fireworks afterward, so it was pretty neat that a lot of people were out at the game supporting their team.

At every game they have some sort of promotion going on such as Weinershnitzel Wednesday and Thirsty Thursdays, but on Saturday they had the Famous Chicken. For the most part, the Famous Chicken was pretty lame, but after the third inning he did this cute little chicken follow the leader thing with these little kids that were dressed up as baby chickens, it was so cute!

The game was pretty exciting. We played the River Cats and ended up winning the game 12 to 5. We had 16 hits total to win this game. It was pretty cool to see the team dominate the River Cats.

Father's Day

2008-06-16T18:25:00.009-06:00

Ahh, Father's Day, I have to admit it's not one of my favorite holidays anymore. It get's me thinking about my Dad and how much I miss him. I have found that really random things get me thinking about him so this post is dedicated to some of those things.

1. Handi-Snacks Cheese and Crackers- My dad would always bring me home random treats from the grocery store and one of them were Cheese and Crackers. A couple of months after he died, Derek & I were walking down the Isle at Smith's and I saw the Cheese & Crackers and I started crying, Derek was sweet and cheered me up by telling me some random joke to get me to laugh.

2. Country Music - I only listen to Country Music at about 11 o'clock at night when I am missing my dad. I love the Country Classic station because it plays random songs like that 'You & Me Fishing in the Dark' song.

3. Harmon's Grocery Store - I find my self frequenting the stores that he used to be a Store Director of, usually the 7th street store, just because I miss him. I used to go see him once a week or so at work just to leave him cute notes on his desk telling him that I love him.

4. The saying 'Life is Good' - My dad used to always say that to us kids & I think that it was his life's slogan.

5. Tulips & Lilies - My dad had the most gorgeous tulips & lilies in the neighborhood. He had a way with making them last a lot longer than they should have. I love the spring because of the Tulips, they make me feel a little bit closer to my dad.

6. Carmel Apples - My Dad was a committee member of the Granite Education Foundations "Invest In Futures" board. He would donate time and money to the schools and won Business Cheerleader of the Year at the Foundations annual Partner Solute. My Dad had me come along to the "Apple Wrap" and help tie bows on delicious Carmel apples to put on the tables at the Partner Solute. He also took me to several banquets, and I honestly felt like a princess when he introduced me to important business and school leaders in the community.

7. Beer - My dad would always kick back with 1 beer every night after he got off of work. He would grab a beer out of the fridge and go sit on the couch and relax for a minute.

8. Ties - Very rarely did you see my dad without a tie. He loved ties, he like the nice expensive one's, he liked the cheap silly one's. He had a different tie for every holiday. He honestly had around 100 ties that he accumulated over the years from me, my brother, my sister and my mom. I miss going to the store and picking out a cool tie that I know he would like.

9. Perry, Utah - Every time I head up north, I have to stop by in Perry to see the fruit stand that was were his first job was. He was so proud of that job and living in Perry. He would take me up there on random trips and we would check out his old house and the fruit stand and he would tell me fun stories about growing up. We would stop off at this antique store every time and take some cool random thing home and put it with the rest of the treasures.

10. Bowling - My dad would bowl every Friday Night on a bowling league. My dad was always in charge of Strike it Rich and would go around gathering tickets and money from the people who wanted to participate and then before the 3rd game started he would draw the tickets out and call the names. What I loved the most was that he would let me help him pull off tickets, count the money and also draw the tickets.

I have so many great memories of my dad most happy and some sad and this post doesn't really do them any justice, but it feels great getting them out and sharing them with people.

Stone Temple Pilots

2008-06-12T21:49:00.002-06:00

For Derek's Fake Birthday (His family celebrates his 1/2 b-day instead of his real one because he is a Christmas baby) I got him tickets to see one of his favorite bands the Stone Temple Pilots. I was kind of dreading this concert because I saw Scott Weiland (their lead singer) when he was with Velvet Revolver. Velvet Revolver has to be one of the worst concerts that I had ever been to, so needless to say I didn't think that I would enjoy myself! Boy, was I wrong!
STP had a local band opening for them called Royal Bliss. Royal Bliss was actually pretty decent for an opening band. I was a little disappointed that Wolf Mother didn't open up for them like we heard, but Royal Bliss way pretty decent.
What was great about the concert was that Derek and I were able to score front row seats on the left hand side of the stage. Scott Weiland and his bass player kept coming to the side of the stage that we were at and we were literally 15 feet away from them.
Scott Weiland was very entertaining and STP played all of the songs that I absolutely love.
Overall this was a great experience and is up at the top of my favorite concerts list after Pearl Jam who has to be my #1 favorite concerts of all time!
Anyways, here is a quick clip of STP in action.

Timanogos Cave & the Alpine Loop

2008-06-09T19:52:00.011-06:00

Derek and I decided to take a hiking trip to Timpanogos Cave on Sunday. He knows one of the Rangers that gives tours of the cave and she suggested that we come up and check out how cool it was.

(Here are a couple pictures of me & Derek outside a small tunnel).

We hiked 1-1/2 mile long paved trail that has a 1,160 feet elevation gain. Poor Derek had to keep stopping and waiting for me to catch me breath because I am so out of shape! But our frequent breaks made it possible to catch the breathtaking view around us.

Even though we had frequent stops, we ended up making it to the top in about 20 - 30 minutes where is pretty good for how steep the trail is. Our tour was scheduled for 11:50 and we got to the top at about 11:25. When we got there we were greeted by Derek's friend Nancy. I just have to say that Nancy is the coolest, nicest person I have ever met. I would make that hike several times a week just to talk to her! She greeted us with hugs and was way excited to see us.

We went on the tour and learn so much stuff. Nancy pointed out the shapes that the Stalagmites and the Stalactites make and how they formed over time and stuff. It was really interesting and fun to learn about.

After the tour was over, Derek and I hiked back down and decided that we wanted to see more of the canyon so we ended up driving the Alpine Loop. It was so beautiful and peaceful! We just drove without knowing where we were going and we ended up at Sundance. We were going to stop and check it out but we both decided that we were really tired and wanted to head home. We ended up taking the long way and headed towards Heber and Park City, but it was worth it!

It was definitely a good day. Something that both of us desperately needed!

Golfing

2008-06-09T19:43:00.005-06:00

On Saturday I went golfing for my cousin's Bachelorette Party. I am so glad that I don't do this all the time. I dislike golfing. I totally suck at it! I don't even know why I have golf clubs! Take these pictures for example: This is a picture of my team: Me, Laurie, Alyssa and Cheri.

This is a picture of me trying to hit the ball. If you look close enough, you can see that the ball is still there!

We had a best ball tournament and I thankfully got put on my mom's best friend Laurie's team. She is a great golfer and was very patient with my suckiness!

At the end of the day my team ended up taking last place, but only by one stroke. It was great being able to hang out with all of my cousins and friends that I have seen in ages.

Funny News Story

2008-06-03T16:43:00.002-06:00

I read this news story yesterday on KUTV 2's website and the headline caught my eye!

Woman Calls Orem Police To Free Her From Her Locked Car

Last Update: 6/02

Automatic car features are supposed to make life easier for motorists, but they may be leaving some people without the know-how to do things the old-fashioned way. That’s what happened to a driver in Utah County who became trapped inside her own car.

A woman called Orem police Friday afternoon needing help because her battery died and she was locked inside her car.

When police arrived, they found the woman sitting in the car, unable to get herself out. She couldn’t hear the officers instructions through the rolled-up windows so she motioned to them to call her on her cell phone, according to police.

Once officers were able to talk to the woman on the phone, they were able to tell her how to manually operate the slide lock mechanism on the inside door panel to open the door and free herself.

This story made me laugh, what is embarrasing is that she if from Utah and that it actually made the headlines!

It's Been A While

2008-06-03T15:53:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since I last posted anything. I have been pretty busy with summer classes, softball games, mini vacations, horse back riding and concerts!

Derek plays fast pitch and slow pitch softball each week. He usually plays 2 fast pitch games and 1 slow pitch game on Tuesdays and 1 fast pitch game on Thursdays. He also plays "Old Man" baseball as a sub for one of his friends teams. Needless to say, I'm pretty busy watching him play!

For Memorial Weekend we went to Derek's cabin which is located at Hidden Lake, near Smith & Moore House. We had a great time. I went hiking with his mom on one of the trails, and let's just say that I am out of shape!

Last Wednesday I took Derek's mom to the Matt Costa concert. The tickets told us that the concert started at 6:00 and the seats were all general admission, so we got there at 5:45 so that we could find a decent seat. We honestly stood out side the Avalon theatre until 7:00. We were kind of mad, but at least we had some nerds who set up "Rock Band" in the trunk of their car. It was pretty entertaining. Once we got into the concert we had a pretty good time. There were 2 unknown opening bands that played which were pretty decent, but the highlight of the night was definately when Matt Costa came out. He played for a good 2 hours and played a good mix of his first album and his new album. I have his music video for the song "Sunshine" which is my favorite song posted for you to check out.

This weekend I went on a short pony ride with my Uncle Daren. I got to ride my horse Pokey (he is actually my mom's horse, but she never comes up to ride him or anything so I claim him as mine) for the first time this year and it was so much fun. I took a lot of pictures, but I don't have them with me to post. Pokey did really well for his first time out.

I have a fairly busy week ahead of me. I have a huge midterm on Thursday as well as a Wedding to go to. I also might be going hiking at Timpanogos Cave on Sunday with Derek which should be a lot of fun.

Happy 80th Birthday Grandma Merle!

2008-05-21T16:55:00.003-06:00

My favorite grandma turned 80 yesterday. My sister and I planned to go out the the Cheese Cake Factory, but unfortunately is was closed (we learned that it was because they had a fire in their kitchen). So instead we headed to the Olive Garden and enjoyed a great lunch.
Last Saturday we had a huge Birthday Party for gram and her twin sister. It was a blast. I was asked to take photo's of the event and I have some of my favorites posted. I had a great time hanging out with my cousins and eating my Aunt Karen's yummy desserts!

Campfires

2008-05-20T12:45:00.003-06:00

There is something about having a simple campfire in the back yard to help you feel relaxed.

Derek and I decided to build a fire in his firepit that he has in his backyard last night. Initially I didn't want to because I was watching a pretty good show on t.v. and because I didn't want to go home smelling like campfire. He decided to make one anyways because he wanted to marshmellows, so I ended up joining him.

I'm really glad that I did. I was feeling really stressed out with school and with other stuff that's going on and now I feel a hundred times better.

There is nothing like sitting next to the fire with someone you love and roasting marshmellows like we are little kids again!

Head Crusher

2008-05-15T14:49:00.001-06:00

Here is the Head Crusher. I guess the other one didn't work :)

2008-05-15T14:45:00.001-06:00

Kids in the Hall plan their tour...

Kids In The Hall

2008-05-15T14:31:00.003-06:00

On Tuesday, Derek, his brother and sister-in-law and I went and saw the Kid's in the Hall who are on tour.
The Kids in the Hall are a hilarious comedy group from Canada. They had a comedy show on HBO in the late 80's and early 90's. I became familiar with them by watching re-runs of their show on Comedy Central. The group consists of 5 guys: Dave Foley, Bruce McCullah, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. These guys are seriously hilarious.
They did a bunch of their favorite skits on stage using a couple of chairs and a projector screen as props.
For their encore they performed one of my favorite skits which is called "Head Crusher". They completely ad-libbed this sketch and I was honestly laughing so hard that I was crying.

I have a video from You Tube that is one of the Head Crusher Sketches.

Back to School....Again

2008-05-12T17:46:00.002-06:00

It's a new semester of school and most likely the hardest because not only is it Summer, but I am exhausted! It's hard to stay postitive and be happy when you work so much and go to school so much and don't have time for the people who matter the most to you. I'm just happy to have a supportive boyfriend who has a very supportive family that helps me through all of my troubles.

New to Blogging

2008-05-06T11:44:00.002-06:00

So, I am currently new to blogging. All of my friends are currently doing this and so I thought that I would give it a try.