The Keeper of Old Flowers

So, I've been motivated recently to go through all my stuff and throw away the things I don't need.  I found in one shoebox under my bed a bunch of dried flowers that I have been keeping for years.  Each flower (usually a rose) I had dried and saved to remind me of a person or event in my life.  Most of them were from ex-boyfriends.  WHY ON EARTH AM I KEEPING FLOWERS FROM GUYS I DON'T TALK TO ANYMORE?  So, I took a picture of them, and threw them out.  Part of me felt like I was betraying them by throwing out these last keepsakes from them.  Why on earth was I feeling guilty?  Clearly they weren't the right guy for me.  It is just silly the little things we hold on to.  As a tribute to all the ex-boyfriends...here are your flowers!

I also threw away the dried bouquets from my friend's weddings that I've caught.  The dead flowers haven't brought me luck so far...it was time to take their pictures and get rid of them as well.  I even texted Kathy telling her I was sorry, but I was throwing away her bouquet.  Her reply, "I completely support that. No more catching bouquets for you...just throwing them!"

 

 

 

 

Golden Birthday

When I was five, I came across my mom preparing a care package for my oldest sister Barbara who was in Ecuador on her mission.  She was packing it with all these different kinds of candy.  To a five year old...candy is the world.  I asked her if I could have some candy and she said no telling me that it was for Barbara's golden birthday.  'What does that mean?" I asked.  Mom told me it is when you turn the age of the day you were born.  I asked her when my golden birthday was and she asked me when my birthday is.  September 29th I said.  Mom told me that my 29th birthday will be my golden birthday.  WHAT!?!?!  I remember two distinct thoughts running through my head.  First, I was going to be SOOOOOOO old when I was 29.  Second, 29 was SOOOOO far away.  Well...this year was my golden birthday (and yes I got a big bag of candy).  I decided to celebrate in style by going to Disneyland with my family.  It was just as fun and magical as I had hoped and this birthday will count as one of my favorite birthdays of my life.  Next year is my big 3-0.  What should I do to celebrate that right of passage?

Rhonda Got Married!!

There is something very special about attending the wedding of a close friend.  One that you stayed up late at night crying to about stupid guys.  One that you counseled with each other to hold out for the right guy and not settle.  There are few things more special than seeing her all dressed in white walking down the aisle, knowing what a long journey it has been to get here.  I was honored in being one of Rhonda's bridesmaids and to share that special day with her.  Here are some pictures of that special day and the reunion with my Westin friends.

San Fran with My Sister

Sometimes you just need a vacation, and my sister Karen...NEEDED A VACATION.  So I took her to San Francisco and Monterrey over Labor Day weekend.  We visited my friend Josh and saw all the sights.  Driving was very stressful for me, but I am a firm lover of the GPS system on my phone.  Monterrey was just as enchanting as I remember.  It is still one of my favorite places on earth.  Here are some pictures of that awesome weekend!

Nothing Between The Ears

I had an obsessive music day today due to the AMAZING concert I went to last night at the Sandy Amphitheater.  It was just some local bands, but they were good.  I was in the front row, the stage was perfect and the night was perfect.  There is simply something magical about live music on a beautiful summer night. Hence living so high on the perfection of music, I was listening to a little Benton Paul at work with my earphones.  I needed to call another admin for a quick expense question, so I took one of my earphones out, dialed her number and held up the phone to my ear.  Please note that the other earphone was still in my ear singing delightful music to me.  As she answered the phone, I found myself with two separate streams of sound coming in my ears...and what was the first thing that came to mind?  "I hope Marilyn can't hear the music."  Yes folks, my instant reaction was that my head was hollow and Marilyn could hear the music streaming in my other ear.  I bowed my head in shame as I took my earphone out so I could concentrate completely on my conversation with Marilyn.  IDIOT!

Motocycle Trailer

On my way to work today I passed a motorcyle with a little cargo trailer and I thought to myself "Really?  JUST BUY A CAR!!!"

Pioneer Trek 2010

I've been on two pioneer treks before back when I was a teenager and both gave me very rewarding experiences.  This trek was different though.  Maybe because I understand more about what the people of the Willie and Martin Handcart company went through.  Maybe because now I've been through the temple and have made the same covenants that gave them the strength to sacrifice everything for the church.  Maybe it's because I've learned more about my family history and have now made the complete journey of the Campkins from Biggleswade England to Perry Utah. 

Although this trek experience was threatened by people's shortsightedness and lack of faith in callings, I choose to remember the good things and the lessons I've learned.  My first of the big take aways came from Martin's Cove.  The wearied travelers had little food, thin clothing and were hit with an early snowfall.  When they were just about to perish (and many of them did), the rescuers came.  But their trial wasn't over.  They weren't life flighted to SLC nor did the rescuers come with a Thanksgiving feast.  They were given strength and reinforcements, but the trial wasn't over.  They still had to endure the cold and walk almost 300 miles to get to their destination. They still had to hang on and fight for their lives.

The second big lesson I learned came on the morning of our last day.  The previous day we had trekked 15 miles which included going over Rocky Ridge and through mud bogs.  We were tired and sore and beat up.  We slept at Rock Creek Hollow that night...the site where the Willie Handcart Company sought refuge from the same early winter storm.  When I work up at 6:30am, it was 37 degrees and we were freezing.  When the Willie Company camped there, it was -11 degrees.  On my trek, we were fed really well, had plenty of water, had good warm clothing and great sleeping bags and tents...and we were still cold.  It's true that the Willie company lost 15 people that night...but the real miracle is that they all didn't perish that night.  What a humbling realization in the morning of the last day.  I'm very grateful for this trek experience and all that it taught me.

Bubblicious

I realized something very odd this morning...the Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction lotion I was putting on...smells like strawberry Bubblicious.  I've always thought that Love Spell smells like Hawaiian Punch, but I never realized that Pure Seduction smells like Bubblicious.  What message does that send?

Randy Jackson

Now that I'm starting to pay attention to the little things I learn each day...I'm finding I have so much to learn!  Even silly things...like...Randy Jackson from American Idol fame used to be the bass guitarist for the band Journey.  What?  Really?  I looked like a total idiot in front of the home teachers when I learned this.

I've also learned that sunlight breaks down Hydrogen Peroxide and that is why it comes in that dark brown container. Huh....didn't know that.

Boiled Chicken

I don't really believe in boiling a chicken, but the awesome curry chicken and broccoli casserole recipe I was using called for it. I learned two things from this experience...

1) Chicken breasts float when they are completely cooked through (now, I haven't checked this with Rachel Ray or anything, it was just an observation)
2) The sight of the water that has just boiled a chicken almost makes me vomit

TheOatmeal.com

Top three (and a bonus) comics you should check out:

1) http://www.catswhothrowupgrass.com/kill.php
2) http://theoatmeal.com/comics/customer_service
3) http://theoatmeal.com/comics/printers

Bonus:   http://theoatmeal.com/comics/volcano_name

Lessons Learned

So I was talking to my friend Coulter at work today about some simple lessons I've learned the last couple of days.  I was toying with the idea of creating a Lessons Learned journal.  I have a gratitude journal, why wouldn't I have a Lessons Learned journal?  Then, Coulter suggested I write it on my blog.  I kinda like the idea.  Thanks Coulter! (And special shout outs to Jackie, Erin, Coulter and Drew who read this blog while we're at work.  I heart you guys!).  My only hesitancy of posting things that I learn is that everyone might realize how clueless I really am in life.  Please don't judge.  Don't be haters!  You don't know everything either!

Yesterday's lesson learned:  When testing out your new headlamp, it is wise to turn out all of the lights in your room.  It is NOT wise, however, to look at yourself in the mirror while the headlamp is on.  I got a quick slap of 43 lumens in my eyes that left me blind for a couple of minutes.  Yep...lesson learned!

Today's lesson learned:  In cell phones there is a little moisture strip hidden inside the phone or inside the battery casing that changes color if it gets wet.  This is for the manufacture to know if your phone has been dropped in water or if it legitimately wasn't working.  Sneaky little moisture sensor!

Milk vs. Melk vs. Malk

One of my newest favorite youtube videos.  It's a little dark at the end, but I dedicate this video to all my friends that say melk instead of milk.

BABIES - Official Trailer

I went with some friends to watch this movie a few weeks ago.  It was hilarious.  If you ever get a chance to see this movie, take advantage of it.  It's amazing to follow the journey of these four babies for the four corners of the world as they experience life and new things.

Headlamp

I am now a proud owner of a headlamp...which means, I can now get married.  Apparently owning a flashlight isn't good enough for these guys in Utah.  All joking aside, I did buy it with a legitimate purpose.  I was going to have to set up a tent at 10:30pm in Wyoming...and I wanted both hands free.  Wa-BAM...now I have a headlamp that will help me do that.  Is it fancy?  Of course not!  Why would I spend a lot of money on an item that makes me look ridiculous and I only will use a couple of times a year?  Then again, maybe I should have invested more money in this.  The better the headlamp = the better the husband.  Hmmm.

I braved a whole new world to find this new treasure.  I went to a store called Sportsman's Warehouse.  Talk about a place where I felt completely out of my element.  I walk in and everything is camouflage and there are dead animals of every kind mounted on the walls and kiosks.  Where are the headlamps?  Two aisles down from the giant moose head but not quite to the stuffed pheasant. Oh...ok...thanks.

The End Of An Era

Today I learned the tragic news that my beloved Don Antonio's Pizzeria was now closed.  I couldn't believe it?  How could this be?  Their food was such quality.  Their restaurant was always full.  What happened?  I fondly looked back on many happy memories of their 7 cheese pizza and their legendary ranch.  It was worth every calorie ingested.  Whether with roommates or friends, Don Antonio's opened their doors to us and never left us disappointed.  A warm, full feeling always hugged your insides after you left.  It was some of the best pizza of my life.  What now?  Where do I eat when I visit friends in Vegas?  What do I do?  Nothing makes sense anymore.  Oh Don Antonio's...

It's Too Heavy Sometimes

Sometimes I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders.  I know things.  People tell me things...and I carry them in solitary silence inside of me.  Friends that I love so dearly.  Friends that can't see the consequences of their actions and how they affect others...how they affect me.  Weight that is so overbearing at times that I physically can't breathe.  They aren't even my sins but I have to feel the godly sorrow for them and the pain of the missed opportunities.  My life would be very different if these people could only see the big picture and have faith in what they once believed in.  They don't have to lie to hurt me (though they do), the truth stings enough.  So many lost opportunities.  So many different endings.  Why can't they see?  Why are they so foolish?  Why can't they just believe?

Maybe it is a glimpse of understanding what our Savior went through.  We all are stupid and make mistakes.  We lie to ourselves and others.  We don't see how our actions affect others.  I only carry the weight of sins and secrets of three others, when He carried the weight of the whole world.  He carries MY weight. He drank that bitter cup.  He gave us the opportunity for a happy ending.  He is the source of hope.

Greatest Office War Video Ever

The Great Office War from Runawaybox on Vimeo.

Go Karen!!!

My sister bought a house today...and I didn't have to die to enable her to do it.  That is good news.  I'm way excited for them.  Too bad I will no longer live just a mile away from them...they will be on the other side of the valley.  Alas...I'm happy for her.  Congrats Karen!

Shades

I realized today that I am an idiot when it comes to sunglasses.  I struggle.  Luckily I don't think anyone saw me today in Kohl's.  I'm apparently not coordinated enough to take a pair of glasses off the tree, try them on and put them back without hitting five other pairs.  Praying that I didn't break them when I heard them crashing to the ground, I bent down to pick them up...with my purse hitting a couple more.  I'd like to say that this only happened once tonight.  I'd also like to say that this is the first season that the has happened.  The truth is I do it 2-3 times in each store...every year. But...I did find a pair. (These aren't them...I'm just into including visuals in my blog now).

I also don't believe in paying more than $15 for sunglasses.  They just break.  They break if they are expensive, they break if they're cheap. They break if you love them, they break if you are indifferent to them.  They break when you drop them, sit on them, leave them in the car all summer so the plastic turns brittle...THEY ALWAYS BREAK.  The only time they won't break...is when you lose them.  Because of this fact, I refuse to ever buy nice sunglasses

I'm Not Cliche'

It sounds so cliche to tell people I broke up with my boyfriend.  I feel like everyone does it and therefore people are numb to what it really means...to what it potentially means.  The usual response is an "Awww...I'm sorry (sympathetic rub on arm)."  I don't feel like my breakup was the usual though.  I've experienced the end of some of my relationships that hurt for a couple of days and then I got over them (I've also experienced the complete opposite).  But this one was different.  This wasn't some fun little fling with a convenient partner.  It didn't end because we grew apart or he did something wrong. It wasn't because of fighting or not feeling understood by each other.  We had a pure love...a very real love.  Josh honestly was my best friend and my other half.  Someone who knew me so completely and still loved me.

We knew we were doomed from the start.  We knew we couldn't be together in the end due to our mutually exclusive religious views. We consciously chose to start something...and it was three of the happiest months of my life.  He filled me up.  He made me feel so complete.  I felt like I could handle anything the world threw at me as long as he was by my side.  But autumn came too quickly on our beautiful summer home in Denial-Land.  And now there is a void in my life.  It's been two months since the breakup and I've come a long way.  I started this post back on April 4th but decided to finish it today.  I'm grateful for the path that I've taken and for the lessons I've learned.  Most of all, I'm grateful for the memories I have. The song lyrics from Wicked come to mind:

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

I have!  Thank you Josh! 

He Must Kill Spiders

It's days like today that make me wish I was married so I could work side by side with my husband doing the landscaping.  I love to work in the yard.  It is very rewarding work.  But my task today was passed my skill level.  I'm reclaiming the front flower bed from the wild grass to plant some lilies I bought.  But like all things in life, I never just do the task I set out for.  It opens up so many other things that need to be done, and if I'm going to do it...I want to do it right. This summarizes my train of thoughts:  Project #1: weeding the flower bed.  Project #2: replacing the wood that is the perimeter of the flower bed. Project #3: weed the wood chip area between the flower bed and the house (and remove useless broken cinder blocks. Project #4: seeing that the leaky faucet has turned the wood chip area into a disgusting marshland, think about replacing all the wood chips.  Project #5: seeing that the wood chip area is on top of a tarp like thing, realize I need to replace the tarp.  Project #6: drudge up all the marshland, wood chips, and tarp and start over...all over.  But what kind of tarp do I use?  How much are wood chips?  Why won't the faucet STOP running? Why does it insist on starting to rain?  Why do there have to be so many bugs in this area? Why am I so deathly afraid of spiders?  Why did God make RED spiders? Centipedes still exist? Why is this honey bee insisting on hanging out by the faucet and chasing me? How many times must I scream and run away from the flower bed like a crazy woman?  Why does this take so long to do?  Why am I the only one that cares?  Why don't I ask the landlord to help me and pay for it?  Why didn't I think of that earlier?  Why can't I do this on my own?

But the reality was...I couldn't do it alone.  The job is left undone.  Partially because I didn't want to spend all the money for materials, partially because I didn't know what I was doing and was afraid I would do it wrong, and partially because I was so terrified of what lurked in that wood chip marshland.  Worms = fine, potato bugs = no problem, red spiders = AHHHHH...pause, squirm, hit it with the shovel. Giant white spider = scream, start crying a little, squirm, then hopefully kill it when I keep stabbing that area of the ground with the shovel.  I'm going to have nightmares tonight.  I just want a guy that will kill spiders for me.  I don't care if he likes dogs or cats or whatever...he must kill spiders!

Always A Bridesmaid...

Someday a bride!

My dear friend Rhonda is getting married in September and has asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.  This is will my first real non-LDS wedding that will have all the rehearsals, formality, favors, professional hair, etc.  Being that Rhonda is a professional meeting planner/wedding planner, you know this party is going to rock! Rhonda has chosen red and silver as her wedding colors and for the bridesmaid dresses chose a special designer for the dresses.  Understanding that every is blessed with different body types, we are not all forced to wear the same style dress.  The only guidelines that she gave were that it needed to be an Alfred Angelo dress, floor length and the color cherry.  This is the dress I found.  I also bought a red satin jacket to accompany it. I've never owned a red dress before!  All I need is a black grand piano to lay on and I'll sing for you. And...here are the silver shoes I bought for only $9!  Que buen suerte!  I needed a sweet shoe sale considering I had to sell my left kidney to buy the dress!

Glass Half Full?

I was dressed like a female cop today.  I wore the fitted blue button up shirt tucked in to my black slacks.  I also had my hair pulled back.  All I needed was a gun and Law & Order SVU here I come! So my friends and I were walking over to Ogden city park to get dirty tacos...after all...it is 2 for $1 Wednesdays!  To get to my favorite taco stand, we have to pass through the crowd of Ogden's Crazies that are there loitering and waiting for the bus.  There is always a little anxiety walking by the bus stop crowd.  I took my eyes off of the end goal for two seconds to look a man in the eyes that was standing there.  Bad idea.  The consequence of this was him feeling impressed to talk to me and say, "Aren't you a tall glass of class? Mmm."  I chose to ignore him and keep walking.  I looked at my friends a few steps down to see if they heard it too.  "Did he just..." "Yeah." "Gross."  "I hate Ogden."  "Me too."  "Tall glass of class?"  "Maybe it's his best line?" "Unbelievable!"

Windows Down

Spring reminds me of an important little fact about myself every year.  I love driving with the windows down.  For some reason it makes me feel so alive.  I'm not one of those people that roll all the windows up and turn on the A/C once I get on the highway...oh no.  That is reserved for the people that have good air conditioning  in their cars...something that I would know nothing about.  I feel bad for my passengers because I keep the windows open.  Not fully open blasting you with wind, but cracked about two inches on all the windows...just enough for a pleasant circulation.  Ahhhh...it's delightful.  Thank you for FINALLY arriving spring!

A Secret Fear

I have a secret fear of farting at the chiropractor's office.  I'm not really a gassy person, but I fear that one time when I'm being twisted and bent in all directions, one might escape. Awkward!  So far so good, but it is a fear that has been in the back of my head every Monday and Thursday for the last seven months...especially because one of my chiropractors is ridiculously cute.

I Love Mondays

This guy at work changed my perspective about Mondays.  He says that Mondays are his favorite day of the week because it is the furthest day...from next Monday.  Though I've never known him to be a funny man, or one that even smiles much, we have a genuinely fun time wishing each other Happy Monday with a smile.

The truth is, I don't mind Mondays because I enjoy my job and love the people I work with.  I have an amazing boss and consider him and my other co-workers genuine friends. Is my job something important, difficult or something that changes the world?  No, but I like to think I make my little sphere of influence a better place.

Evelyn Marie Is Here...and Finally Named!

My sister Karen had her baby a couple of weeks ago.  Little Evelyn Marie.  I was lucky enough to hold her just an hour after she was born.  I've never touched something as soft as her skin.  She is the sweetest thing ever and just melted my heart.  Yeah...I have some serious Gerber fever now.

Celebrity Look A Like

I love that right now on Facebook everyone is posting pictures of the celebrity they look most like.  I've actually been told I look like a lot of different celebrities.  Here are some pictures of the ones that stand out to me:


TINA FEY:

 

SARAH PALIN:

 

JENNIFER GARNER:

 

PRINCESS LEIA:

 

KATHERINE HEIGL: