Christmas Time

I decided that since it was now officially after Thanksgiving I can start celebrating. The season is just not long enough for my taste so I "Christmas-ed" up my blog in celebration! Now all I have to do is all of my shopping...

Thanksgiving

So since it's Thanksgiving today I thought "what would be appropriate to blog about today?" and decided naturally it would be nice to list a few things that I am particularly thankful for this holiday.
These are listed in no particular order.... (I don't think "A" is better than any other letter, I just had to start with one of them.)

A. My family. I know that my whole life has not been easy for them, dealing with me, but they've always been there. I love that as we have all gotten older how much closer we have become. I never thought I would be as close to my brothers as I am. I love my little niece and nephew so much. They bring so much happiness into our lives. My parents - there aren't enough words to really express all I feel for you... Thank you so much for all you've done for me. I am also very grateful for my extended family. They are so supportive and caring. I don't know where I'd be without my family.

B. My friends. I have friends from high school, friends from college, old roommates who are now some of my best friends, friends from work, friends from church, friends from everywhere.... I love you all and am so happy that we've still kept in touch and you all mean so very much to me. I love to see how your lives are changing and how happy you are. I am so grateful to have your listening ear and that even though I'm still "single" and haven't a clue with what to do with my life, you still care.

C. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. The last few years have really been a time of growth for me. When I was seventeen I was diagnosed with Bipolar. It explained so much but it took years before I found the proper treatment for me and that wasn't easy. It was then that I really developed a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. Through Him and my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I have been able to find my self-worth and my reason for enduring through this life. It hasn't been easy and I know it'll continue to be tricky for the rest of my life on earth, but I know I can do it. Everyday I wonder how it's going to turn out and what I'm doing with my life, but it all works out. Even the bad days work out. I'm so thankful for the testimony I have of Jesus Christ and for all He means to me and does for me.

D. Shoes. I know it sounds a little ridiculous that I would pick shoes to be thankful for, but I really am. First of all, for the very reason we have shoes. To protect us from the elements, keep our feet warm and safe from the world. Second for the fact that no matter how much I weigh or how discouraging a shopping trip might be, shoes always fit. It's even better when I can find a fantastic pair of shoes that not only fits but is a great price. I do have a lot of shoes, but when you're looking you can always find a great deal and that's how I work.

E. My Body. That might sound crazy too, but let me explain. Yes I have things I would love to change about myself, but I mean the Human Body in general. I had the chance to go see the Body Worlds Exhibit last month. If you don't know what that is, its an exhibit where human bodies that have been donated to this cause have been artistically displayed. It sounds so morbid, I know. But I learned so much from this exhibit. I'm amazed at all that the body does just to survive. How it creates and sustains life. The heart is so central to the body. Not only is it absolutely necessary to survival, it is the emotional and mental starting point. I always just thought it was my imagination when I could feel things in my heart whether love, happiness and joy or sadness. I learned that there is an actual physiological reaction to these emotions and it starts at the heart. It helped me understand how incredible the body is. Everyday when I get the chance to go to the gym or just run or walk, cry, laugh, talk, see, taste and feel... I feel alive. I love to hear my own heartbeat as it is evidence that I'm still alive. I can still do anything. It gives me hope.

F. The Four Seasons. Every year at the change to a new season I feel so much excitement. I love Spring and the newness of life on Earth. Summer, the heat and it brings so much passion for life. Fall, the fantastic painting of colors that Heavenly Father gives us. The crisp freshness after a long, hot summer. And winter, I can't forget winter. Even though I sometimes complain about the cold, there is nothing like fresh fallen snow. Bundling up warm and playing in the snow, coming back for Hot Cocoa (the Cocomotion is yet another thing I am thankful for) and the charming warmth of family and friends close. Every time we get close to another season, I get butterflies in my stomach because I get so excited.

G. Flowers. Whether in a bouquet coming from someone, in a garden or just wild, I LOVE flowers. They are so beautiful. No matter how hard the world gets, the flowers just keep coming in all there beauty. I love it when wild flowers just come up from seemingly no where. I love driving along the freeway and seeing multitudes of sunflowers randomly peeking their way along the road. I think I like sunflowers so much because they remind me of myself. They're random and bright and beautiful. They do what they want, when they want, but they are still loyal and they are there every year without fail. You can always count on it.

Well, for now I will stop my list because I know you don't have all day to just sit and read about what I'm thankful for. Thank you for reading it and for caring. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope it's everything you hope it is.

One busy Saturday

Saturday was quite the day. The movie Twilight came out and my mom and I thought it would be fun to go. We invited some of the people I work with to come and we decided to meet first for breakfast (the movie was at 11:30 a.m.) at Village In. It was also the big BYU vs Utah game that day so most everybody came dressed for their team. That was pretty fun! After we ate we headed to the movie theater and saw Twilight. I thought it was an okay movie but obviously left out a lot of important pieces to the story. I recommend reading the book first to fill in the gaps. After the movie my mom and I went to my Aunt and Uncle's house to watch the big game. Unfortunately BYU lost, but Utah deserved the win, they actually played really well, so I'm okay with it. Then after all of that my friends invited me to watch a movie... I only made it about half way through before I fell fast asleep! Oops! I was exhausted though! These pictures are from the morning festivities. By the way... aren't my shoes fantastic??!!

WoRmS....

It has been a bit rainy here as of late and it brings a sort of anxiety to my life.... let me explain. This is something I wrote a little while ago but deeply describes my feelings and I'd like to share it with you.

Scholeciphobia. It’s a real word. It means “fear of worms.” I have that. To many citizens of this great planet we live on, my very real fear of worms is amusing. To me…. It is not! It’s not just that they are “yucky” or “squirmy” or other wise immaturely described, it is an actual phobia. I’ve never been more afraid of anything that I’ve encountered than that of a worm. I understand the reasons for such a creature to exist here, however I do not believe that it is necessary for my personal survival to ever have to come into contact with the creepy crawlies. Unfortunately, I have been unable to avoid the little dirt lovers my whole life. The following are examples as to why it’s not a good idea to expose me to encounters of their kind.
1. Just picture it, I’m at the very fragile age of fourteen. As a part of my free ride as a member of the Elmer family, I’ve been assigned chores! The whole family is outside weeding and mowing and otherwise caring for the lawn. I’m minding my own business with two pairs of gloves on (to avoid any and all contact with the aforesaid worms) my beloved brother Ellis decides that the most appropriate thing to do with the large quantities of worms he’s collected is to bring them near me. He managed to make me quite skittish to see the little things coming near me and wiggling through his fingers. That was not the goal however, what is the fun in seeing someone become edgy around a bunch of harmless creatures? No fun! So Ellis proceeds to throw the handful of worms down my shirt. (If you’ve never seen anyone throw an actual conniption fit this is the very definition of it!) Unfortunately, I was a blossoming young women and was wearing the under attire of such … okay forget it, I was wearing a bra! The worms had somehow become stuck in my bra. Front and back! I ran inside with no regard to anyone around me and haphazardly ripped my shirt off my body. Of course I couldn’t just let them wiggle around in my under things. I had to remove the worms. I had to actually TOUCH them and pull them away from my body. Mind you I’m still screaming and crying hysterically at this point. Somehow I managed to remove the offending organisms and cast them around the room (I didn’t care where they went as long as they were no longer on me!) Fortunately I put a shirt back on before I went outside and proceeded to run after my sniveling brother to get even. It was pointless though because there was no way to adequately return the gesture. Moral of the story, I would never survive on the show Fear Factor.
2. My friend invited me to go fishing with her family. I didn’t mind fishing. I usually bring along a book and get a suntan. Now and then I would cast a line to TRY to catch a fish that I had no intention of actually keeping or let alone eating. One of the prerequisites of the trip was that I had to bait my own hook. “Okay,” I thought, “No big deal… I’ll use that cheese or marshmallow stuff.” When we got to the lake, I realized that the only bait they brought was, you guessed it, worms. I tried to act nonchalant (I didn’t want everyone to find out about my Scholeciphobia) and that I no longer wanted to fish. But I felt like I was being ungrateful and rude to not fish on a fishing trip, so I adorned myself with big gloves and some wire cutters (that’s all I could find to pick up the worm) and a hook. I grasped the little guy with the wire cutters gently as to not cut him in half…. Snip. Oops, now my one worm is now two halves. Oh well. I’ll just pick up one of the halves, snip again. Ooop. Now what do I do? Just try to be more gentle this time with the…. Snip again. OH NO! Now the poor little worm is cut into about 19 pieces. That’s okay. I laid all the pieces on the ground and threaded my hook through all of the miniscule parts. There, I did it, I baited my hook with a worm. I was so proud. However, my happiness was dampened by the looks of pure horror on the faces of the fishing party. I had mutilated it to an unrecognizable extent. Now, looking back, I feel bad for the poor little guy. Oh well, the fish was just going to eat it anyway, right?

Halloween 2008

This year for Halloween I dressed up as a Vampire and it was pretty fun. I found some fangs at a Beauty store so I went to town. I even had spiderweb nylons... it was great!
Ellis and Katrina came over to visit and show us the little kids costumes. Hailey was a Pumpkin and Aiden was a tootsie roll. I'm sure that you can figure that out on your own looking at the pictures, but just in case...
I later went to a party with some friends. It was a lot of fun. Games and a scary movie. I feel bad because I don't do well with scary things and so there were a few times I screamed really badly at a dumb part and scared everyone around me. Oops. I did warn them though that I don't do well. Not my fault.
It was a great holiday. I love Halloween and usually I don't get to do much for it, but this year was different. I just can't believe that it's November already. My oh my, how time flies. I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!