Christmas Eve Day

Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my most favorite Christmas movies...along with Frosty! I'm usually the type of person that has all of the their Christmas shopping done and decorations up before December even begins...usually...not this year though. So much has happened over the last couple weeks and I'm still trying to catch up. I'm not in my duplex yet...hopefully soon...so, I'm still staying with my sister. It will be fun to stay with her family for the Holidays, but I can't help but feel like I'm living out of a suit case. Last night JD and I went to dinner and exchanged Christmas presents; it was a lot of fun, just like old times, but this morning he left for Argentina. It was hard but I'm excited for the new things to come. So, now on Christmas Eve day I finally have some free time to get the rest of my shopping done. Merry Christmas!!

CRAZY!!!

I'm going crazy...I'm just waiting for the men in white coats to drag me a way! We've had a laundry list of things to finish on the house before it was official. Now that the list is complete I've been starting to pack. It's been a lot harder than I planned on, but also very therapeutic...so is the wine rack, if I drink all the wine I don't have to pack it! I keep saying I don't have that much stuff to pack, and then I open another drawer or closet and list goes on. I found a duplex in Bountiful, but it won't be ready before I need to be out of my house. So, I'll move in with my sister until it's ready. Maybe living with a couple kids for a little while will help me have some compassion for those of my dear friends with kids during this hectic season! JD is leaving Christmas morning for Argentina; traveling on the actual Holiday is saving him a lot of money. We have really cut things down to the wire: we sign the papers over on the house and then JD leaves a week later...I am truly blessed!!!! Things have just really worked out! Now, will someone please bless me with sanity!

Twilight the Movie

I went with Friends on Saturday to see Twilight. After reading all four of the Twilight saga books I was very excited to actually get to see this movie played out on the big screen instead of in my head. It wasn't a let down...but it wasn't the best either. It didn't exactly follow the same story line, but what book to movie does. It was totally low budget; the special effects were jumpy and unrealistic, and when Edward glittered in the sun it was the cheesiest part of the whole movie! AND Edward's supposed to be a millionaire, right? Then why was he wearing the same clothes through the whole movie?...a button down levi shirt?! Did the book ever mention Edward's part monkey? I didn't think so either...but he sure does climb through trees like one! Okay, enough with the bad...in with the good! James, a total HOTTIE! Edward, much hotter than I was expecting. Carlisle, WOW...I only wish he played a bigger part! Bella, great! Alice, wonderful! Rosalie, awesome! I was told by several people that you have to see the movie twice. Once to get a first impression and critique it like I did and second to sit back and actually enjoy the movie. So, I'll take their advice and I'm going to go see it again at the box office! I'll post again after my second viewing.

It's Official!...SOLD

We accepted an offer on our house. We are scheduled to close on December 17th. Now comes the hard part...trying to find a place to rent in Bountiful with two big dogs!!! Keep your eyes and ears open for me, I can't afford much...

Two Gay men and a Witch! (A flat tire...again!!)

Yesterday was Halloween and on my way to work I got a flat tire...again. I just had a flat two weeks ago and by the time I made it out of Big O Tires I had to replace two tires that were less than two years old! Why, you might ask: because that's what the tire guy recommended I do to keep the tires balanced and I did!?! So, yesterday morning I started to feel my car vibrate and I knew it was another flat tire. Praying that it was one of the new ones still under warranty, I pulled off the freeway and got out of my car. Well, I'm not that lucky! I had a flat on one of my old tires; it had a big gash in the side. So, again for the second time this month, I pulled out my spare tire and started the process. I pulled and pushed on those lug nuts and I couldn't get them to release! I took a break and tried again. Still no luck. After a few minutes a Jaguar pulled up and two men got out of the car..."Oh, Honey, let us help you change your tire". Two Halloween Angels! Well, they tried to loosen the lug nuts and when that didn't work one of the guys went back to the Jag to see if it had a better wrench than the one we were using. He returned "The Jag has the same type of wrench. See, I told you we should have taken the Armada today!" So, after a small amount of deliberation, they decided that they should both stand on the wrench and maybe both of their body weights would break it loose...and it worked! It must have been the funniest sight for cars passing; two men standing on this little wrench!! We were officially ready to put on the spare and then another car pulled up behind us and Witch emerged! Yep a Witch with a pumpkin filled with chocolate! "I've brought some treats!" The two men ran over and hugged the Witch...apparently they knew each other?!! Finally we finished changing the tire and put everything back in the trunk. "Honey, you look like you needs some coffee. You should come with us." No thanks, I said, I've got to get to work. "Oh, where do you work?" I work at Lakeview Hospital. "Oh, you really are a nurse, (laugh, laugh) we were wondering if that was your costume". I was wearing scrubs. I thanked them all for their help and we went our separate ways. What a funny way to start off one of my favorite holidays! Soon, after I learned my lesson...had I watched this Bullwinkle's How to Change a Tire I would have been prepared for this day!!!

Halloween Havoc!

It's been a long time since I've been to a demolition derby...and not much as changed! Still the same crazy people who spend hours welding and mechanic work just to take it out in an arena and smash it up in a matter of minutes. Now that's entertainment! It was a great day for a derby, good weather and a chance to see some friends I hadn't seen in several years. It's amazing how time goes by! Good times and great friends!

My Puppies!!

This is Copper. He is a 5 year old Vizsla. He loves to play ball and hates the water. I got him when he was just seven weeks; the cutest puppy I had ever seen! He also believes that he is a lap dog, a huge 65 pound lab dog!

This is Sadie. She is a 3 year old Yellow Lab. She loves everything...water, fetching, chewing. I adopted her two years ago from Utah Lab Rescue; she was abused. She hates the blowdryer and flip-flops; I think she was hit with flip-flops as a puppy, so sad! She is a big pup, weighing in at 100 pounds.

We're getting up there...in age that is!

So, my good friend Amber and I go out to see the movie "Mama Mia", which by the way is fantastic. After the movie we stop by Amber's parents house and then decide to go to Dee's for a bite to eat. The time is about 9:30 pm, yep that's past my bedtime. We entice Amber's younger sister, Angie, to join us on our late night out. Angie continues to remind us just how ridiculous we are, going to Dee's before 11:00 pm...well I guess we get the Senior discount! One early bird special for me! It's been years since I've been to Dee's or Denny's, not to mention that it was usually after midnight back in those days! Unfortunately for Angie we weren't the only ones there...someone she knows might see her at Dee's with seniors...how embarrassing!

Amber getting a sugar high!

Angie incognito!

The Windy City in July!

I went to Chicago for work in July. It was absolutely beautiful! I loved this city; although I didn't get to see a whole lot of it, I was absolutely taken by it's beauty. One of the evenings a group of us went on a River Boat Cruise which was basically a tour of the city from the river. This was such a neat experience! Talk about "SKY-SCRAPERS" it was incredible...not to mention the great shopping while I waited to catch a taxi before the trip home! And I did get to experience real, chicago-style pizza; it was great and totally filling! I'm definately going back...this time on my own time!

Seattle in June

Sorry, these pictures are so belated! Occasionally I have to do a little traveling for work. Some people say I'm so lucky that I get to travel for work...well I think that if you get excited about traveling for work, you've never traveled for work. Sure you get a little free time to see the sights, but most of your time spent is for work. I went to Seattle in June for a couple of days. I got a short amount of time to take some pictures and go on an Under Ground Seattle tour; which was pretty neat by the way, if you don't know much about Seattle's history you should read about. The orginal city of Seattle caught on fire many, many years ago and the town's people just rebuilt the streets on top of the old. So, when you walk into a building from the main street you'd think that you're on the first floor when really you just walked in through the second floor.

The Wharf

The fish throwers at Pike's Place

The first ever Starbucks!

The ride is over...

Some of you already know...to those that I haven't had the chance to speak to, I'm sorry that you have to read about it. JD and I ended our relationship after almost 8 years. It's a long story and I won't get into the little details. JD has decided to take a course to get certified to teach english in foreign countries, he'll be leaving in the early spring...and I'm not going with him. The events following this decision have just come so fast, well everything has happened so fast. Our house is for sale and we are starting to split the material items. It's not easy...in fact this may just be one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. (for those of you who are familar with my life story, I think that says a lot) JD has moved in with his mother and as soon as the house sells I'll try to find some place to rent closer to work, in Bountiful. We're still friends; I'm not sure if that makes things harder or easier. We love each other and have the upmost respect for each other decisions...but in the end you have to do what is right for you. I have a great family support and great friends! Thanks to those of you who have taken time out of your busy schedules to spend some "get out of the house" time with me!! I'm really doing good and just taking it all in day-by-day.

Treasure Hunt

Okay, this is a bit weird. Part of the remodeling on the kitchen involved the ceiling in the basement bedroom. We needed to have bigger piping ran through to the kitchen, but when we were informed about this issue the new kitchen floor was already complete. So, instead of ripping up the new floor we opted for tearing out the ceiling in the basement. JD started pulling sheetrock down, lo and behold treasure...well, someone's treasure. Tucked up inside the ceiling were two cowboy hats (one of them a Stetson) and some other personal items (junk). It kind of freaked me out. If we kept pulling down sheetrock, what would we find next? You hear about those lucky people that find thousands of dollars stuffed away in the walls...or those unlucky people that find someone/something dead (this usually starts with discovering where that odor is coming from). Lucky or unlucky, we didn't find anything else.

How I spent my summer...

So, much of my summer was spent on remodeling my kitchen. This was a very difficult task. First, the pine cabinets were built into the walls; which meant they couldn't just be pulled out, they had to be completely demolished to remove them. We got rid of the old shop sink...HOORAY! And chipped away the "beautiful" green, marble-like tile. Some of the piping and electrical had to be replaced. But thanks to several of our family and friends we were able to get the job done...and a BIG THANKS to JD for all of his hard work! It's absolutely beautiful! I have to be honest, I'm totally stoked about my new dish washer!!

Maui 2008

JD and I went to the great island of Maui, Hawaii in March of this year. We went with JD's brother, his brother's wife and some other friends. The weather was wonderful! Just the break we needed during the cold winter months. We saw lots of whales and colorful fish on our snorkeling expeditions. JD went scuba diving in the ocean...I went scuba diving in the swimming pool! We zipped through the trees on the zip lines and circled round the moutain to the top of the crater. It was a great trip!

China...Really!

For those of you who have requested that I put a slideshow of my pictures of China on my blog...your request has been granted! You may want to pop some corn, sit back and relax...I kept it really short...