Out with the old...and leeches

Hello world. Sorry, I have been on vacation for a while. This is what has happened in the life of the wizard since the last post...

Got all kinds of good stuff for Christmas. Did not see the ex while in New Mexico and I am kinda glad of it. Came home (flight was delayed 2 stinking hours!), was still sick (coughing and coughing and coughing), parents came out the next day, new roomie moved in the day after, new wall put up in master suite (now is two bedrooms, yay for more roommates), parents have cooked and cooked all kinds of stuff, have enough food for the next month I think...need to freeze it or it will all go bad, hosted a spaghetti and meatballs party for a bunch of the family, cleaned the house, busy busy busy. Going down to Casa Grande in a couple of hours to bring in the New Year.

Have any of you ever been to an ear, nose and throat doctor? I have been real concerned about this cough I have had, because besides coughing I feel right as rain! Went to the ENT and told him I was concerned about my vocal cords cause it feels like there is something on them and that that is why I am coughing. He stuck this freaking long black thing UP my nose to look at my vocal cords.
Now imagine what it would feel like to swallow a branch. Yeah, that's pretty much how it felt. Except the branch came from the general direction of the nose. Blech! One of the vocal cords is inflamed, but he didn't see anything to be concerned about. He gave me three prescriptions...one for the nose, one for the cough, and an antibiotic. I feel better, but I still randomly cough.

My new roommates Mom has been staying at the house as well (6 people staying at this house...I miss my privacy!) and we went to go see the Temple lights together. This guy comes up to me who I recognize from when I used to live here. Red flags were flying...where do I know this guy from. Then he mentioned the country dances. Of course! He is the leech of the country dances.

What do I mean by leech? I mean the guy who doesn't understand personal space, invites himself to tag along, doesn't get a hint that you are not interested. Gah.

He says right after he reintroduces himself to me "you know, you are really pretty". Okay, someone needs to learn social skills. I mean, thanks for the compliment, but...ah! That is not how you flirt. That has DESPARATE written all over it. I promise you, I was not pretty last night. I had some mascara on, but the hair, face, clothes were not 'pretty'. I went comfy last night.

We find out we are related (of course, I am related to every LDS member who has any sort of ancestry coming from Utah), and says, well, if we are 4th cousins or further we could get married. WHAT!!??!?!?! Did you come from Mars or something?!?!?! BLECH! Sure, and if you were a worm and I were a hook, we would go together quite well. My WORD!

New Year's Resolution: gain some faith that there is a somewhat attractive man out there somewhere who is not related to you, Mormon, taller than you, is driven, incredibly spiritual, has good social skills, can sing, something of a scriptorian, intelligent, handy, wants lots of kids, likes watching movies, ...

I know, picky. :)

Christmas Eve traditions and Urgent Care part 2...and talk

What my family does on Christmas Eve:

• Frantically buy all the gifts for each other
• Wrap said gifts
  
• Drive down to Old Town Albuquerque
• On the way there and back sing EVERY single Christmas carol known to man (Daddy joins in some of the time)
  
• Look at all the luminarias
• Buy hot chocolate and drink it after holding it for about 15 minutes because they make it too stinking hot EVERY year
  
• Buy homemade tamales from the same vendor every year
• Drive down Rio Grande Blvd (which goes along the Rio Grande River :) ) and drive into the old neighborhoods that have their homes, streets and practically everything else lined and decorated with luminarias
• Get home and eat said tamales
• Emily and I open one gift that Santa left early for us...which happens to always be new pajamas
• Emily and I go and put on pajamas to model for Mom and Dad
• Dad goes to bed
• Mom for some reason stays up way later than Emily and I do...tonight she said that she had some business to discuss with Santa...(I checked, we don't have any mistletoe, so there won't be any hanky-panky)
• Emily and I sneak out really really late to check out everything that Santa brought us...

Okay, I have to stop there, because the last thing doesn't really happen anymore. We sleep in. Are you kidding, waking up REALLY REALLY early to see what Santa brought (yes, we still get Santa stuff) when we could sleep on our day off and see what he brought later? HA!

It was much warmer this year than last year (although being that Warren and I were dating and he tagged along I didn't notice the cold that much last year). I was grateful that it was warmer, I enjoy the experience much more when I am not FREEZING!

I LOVE family traditions. Daddy went to bed, and Emily went back to the master bedroom and forced him to come back out so that Emily and I could open up our one gift. :) We have a tradition where Daddy has to read who the Christmas gift it to and from...otherwise it doesn't get opened.

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Went to urgent care AGAIN...she (Physician's Assistant, who by the way did a much more thorough job of checking me than the doctor did!) said that it was probably a viral infection. So, no antibiotics yet. She (unlike said MD from last visit) gave me a cough medicine (who would've thunk, cough medicine for a cough!) prescription. It works a lot of the time, but for the last hour or so I have been hacking pretty good...

ALLERGIES, hah!

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope everyone is much healthier than I am, and even if they aren't, I hope that after tonight's sleep they will be much better. My heart and love go out to all of you. I know that for some of you, this may be not so happy of an occasion for many different reasons. I pray and hope that you all may have gratitude and joy in your hearts for what you have.

What a wonderful thing to celebrate, the birth of the only Begotten Son of the Father...even though it is on the wrong day. (He was born in the Spring, NOT in December, December 25th was a hedonistic holiday to celebrate the sun...read up on it...um....hang on, let me google it....here . You can find better places to read up on it I am sure, but this was first one I found that was semi reputable. (History Channel website)

Enjoy dreaming of sugar plums and all the such. :) Take lots of pictures of all the jolliness tomorrow morning, I want to see!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good night!

Cuteness, cough and Daddy

Have you ever had this happen?

The mother and father of this really cute single Mormon guy who is probably my age are talking with me one day...and they ask me do you know of any cute girls we could set him up with?

I AM STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!!!

Hmm...makes me wonder about my appearance very much. :)

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Went to Church today, coughed through the whole thing. Allergies the doctor says. I say fooey to that. I very much doubt this is allergies. I don't feel like I have them! I just all of a sudden, 5 days ago, started coughing and I CAN'T stop. Go to sleep coughing, wake up, don't even sit up and I start coughing. :) Yay for being sick. Makes me grateful for being healthy.

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My Daddy just knocked, open the door, asked me what I was doing, and then closed it. He is a funny guy. I love him. :) When we (sister and I) got home from Church, I walked straight to my room to change. He thought I was mad because they left me behind. :) Funny Daddy.

And yes, his name is Daddy and my Mom's name is Mommy. :) It's not Dad or Mom, although I think I tend to use the names Mom and Dad when we are in public. :)

I'll be home for Christmas...

I am so excited to be home! Yay for Christmas. It is my favorite time to be here. Granted, I don't think anything could beat last year. I was happy with Warren at that time. We were 'officially' dating Christmas Eve, which is his birthday. I had a great time with my family. I had 2 weeks or so at home. It was wonderful! It will be difficult to beat that. Nevertheless, I am very happy to be home. Christmas in New Mexico is wonderful.

And cold...although it got pretty chilly today in Phoenix...It didn't make it to 60 today...yes, I am a wimp!

I love my family, so I will deal with the cold in order to be with them for Christmas. :)

Last night I went to a University 6th ward party. It was a lot of fun, saw a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time. Most importantly I saw our old Bishop. Right after I moved to Alabama his wife died. I was devastated. I couldn't believe it. I felt so much like I needed to be there for him and the ward and such. He is a good man. I have been wanting to set him up with my Aunt, but it sounds like he isn't at all in the market. He has a long ways to go before he will start dating again. He hasn't even moved her clothes out of the closet yet. Isn't that just heart breaking. He has an amazing family, and all of us U6ers still keep tabs on him, so he has a wonderful circle of support. The best thing the stake president did was leave him in his position as Bishop. The 6th ward really was very much a Zion ward...we all fulfilled our callings, we were happy, we knew each other really well. Problem: we were such good friends, dating didn't happen very often.

Anyways. I am going to be playing in a future recital soon along with a number of others who are or were in the ward. His daughter is a professional opera singer, and we have tons of great musicians that are affiliated with the ward. It should be a great event. We are going to do a tester recital to see how many people show up. First we will perform at his house. If we do it again and there was standing room only, we are going to find a larger venue. It should be a fantastic event.

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Guy who is hitting on me at work:

Mohawk...
constantly is wearing Bad Religion black sweater.
walks around with one pant leg halfway up to show off his tattoo
drinks like crazy (alcohol)
and worst of all...he is the one that is the ex-fiance look-a-like.

Sounds perfect! :)







(JK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It really isn't perfect)










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I have a nickname! First time I have been given one. I have been christened:

Phoebe

as in the character Lisa Kudrow played in Friends. :)

Why? Tall, blonde, musician, and they said it just seems to fit SO well for whatever reason. :) So every time I go by, I hear "hey Phoebe" or "smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?"

:)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Do Cough Drops have an Expiration Date?

Yes, I know, I am weird.

But seriously, do they? They are basically hard candy. I did a google search using the title of this blog, and the second hit was a blog of some guy who had acquired 50 year old cough drops. He was thinking about trying one out, but when he received them they had a white film on them. Quite entertaining blog entry and comments actually.

I know they have a shelf life, but do actually become ineffective?

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I played for my works Christmas party today. I was part of a band. We played Bad to the Bone, Country Roads, Lean on Me and 50 Ways to Leave your Lover.

It was a memorable experience.

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I think I just landed a roommate. Some of you know her, she was at Alabama with me. She is from California, working on her undergraduate, got a full ride scholarship to ASU for track (she does hammer throw, shot put and I think discus...she is totally buff).

YAY! Yay for less expensive monthly bills now that I have someone who is going to pay for them partially. Now all I need are two more roommates and I will be set! Yay! Any takers???

I won't be alone anymore. That will be the best benefit of all. However much I LOVE the solitude and independence, I will ever so much more enjoy actually having someone in the house with me. Hooray for that.

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Do you ever wonder if people are reading your blog that you don't know...or that you do know, but they aren't fessing up that they are reading it...hmm...

Apostles and my Heart

Elder Ballard (an Apostle of the Lord, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the second highest governing body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) here on the Earth) spoke to the graduating class at BYU-Hawaii and urged the students to use the 'new media' that is out there (ie blogs, comments on news stories, etc.) to correct mistakes and inaccuracies and carry on conversations about the Church. With the multitude of news casts, radio shows, etc. talking about the Church the governing bodies and official representatives simply do not have the means to comment on each. While we as regular members of the Church do not speak on behalf of the whole Church (the only one on Earth who has the authority to do that is the Prophet), we can stand up for it, quote scripture and speak with the power of the Holy Spirit. :)

It is so easy to correct inaccuracies that are out there about the Church. The Church websites have many links where you can direct people. If someone would like to know about how we think of Jesus Christ and His nature and divinity, you can lead someone to www.lds.org and have them click on the icon that will display The Living Christ, which is the testimony of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on that very subject.

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This was going to happen eventually, but I didn't think I would have this severe of a reaction.

My Mom and I were having a usual and ordinary conversation tonight. We talked about what we were getting other people in the family, what I will be doing when I get there, how I am doing, how she is doing, chit chat. Then she said: "Warren came and said hello to me last night."

Have you ever had that feeling in your heart, very literally in your heart, where you hear something or see something and it burns, leaps? Now, have you ever felt what it is like to have your heart broken and it feels like it is quite literally torn in two and bleeding?

My heart leapt, broke and bled at hearing her say his name.

I am not over him. Dang it, I thought I was doing SO good!

She said he came up, shook her hand, said hi and left. My Dad thought he looked sad. My heart broke again. I don't want him to be sad. I really don't. He should be happy. I want him to be happy,dang it...cause however bad things were, last Christmas was simply amazing, we were good friends, we were in love and really and truly happy with each other at one point...and I care about him.

Am I ever going to get over him?!?!?

And here I am, a week away from probably seeing him. Gah.

There are moments when I really am afraid of falling in love again. It has happened to me twice, and both ended in bitter heart aches. My goodness, I don't know how Heavenly Father is able to stand it when His children break His infinitely good heart all the time. If I am to become like Him, I have a long way to go, cause I can't stand heart breaks at all. I literally get quite sick.

I question my choice in men, I question what is wrong with me, I question and falter in so many ways.

Don't worry, I don't wallow in those thoughts. They come and go. I have faith, hope that things will work out in the end.

Tonight, I will probably cry myself to sleep. It needs to get out. I haven't done it in months I believe, so perhaps this needed to happen a long time ago.

Christmas

There is my Christmas decorating for the year. I have a few decorations out and one strand of lights around the porch. Pretty pathetic actually. I will not be here for Christmas, so I haven't put any effort into decorating. I don't have the money to buy new Christmas lights or any other decorations. I don't mind most of the time. I get invited over to see friends and family enough to enjoy the beautiful decorating jobs they have done. Perhaps next year.

I do miss having a Christmas tree. There is one in the garage, but it's not very attractive. I have standards when it comes to evergreens. The temptation to go and buy an authentic Christmas tree is very much present, but there isn't any reason. Without working Christmas lights, ornaments and a star for the top, it would end up being rather expensive. I never have had a real one, we always had fake ones growing up. I love the smell that comes with live Christmas tree, They have these small ones at Sam's Club, but...I could use the money on more important things like gas and Christmas presents. :) And bills...and car repairs...and house repairs...oh, and food.

Perspective

A dear, sweet friend of mine has lost her sister-in-law in a tragic car accident. After reading her blog entry, I went to put a note on it, and noticed that one of the notes from a friend of hers said something to the effect of "I know that this may seem small, but thank you for sharing this with us, it really puts things into their proper perspective." How true that is.

I looked at my last blog entry, and all I did was complain. About what? Petty things. Her brother and nephew are without wife and mother, her parents have lost a daughter in law that was a real blessing to their family, etc etc. The things I complained about are petty compared to the pain they are going through. I should be thankful for what I have, and I am, but not enough. I have work to do.

Friends, family, look at your own families. Love them. Make sure they KNOW they are loved, don't just assume that they know. I know personally that they will question whether you do or not if your actions do not lead them to believe that you do. Saying you love them is NOT enough by any degree, especially if it sounds like it was an afterthought. Working your head off to make sure they have everything they need and want in life isn't enough, I have discovered. It is of course appreciated, admired, respected, but...they would rather miss out on luxuries, be dirt poor and know that you love them than have that XBox and question your love. Take time to find something you like about them and let them know that you like it. Pray for them. Hug them and hold them. Make it feel like they are special. They need it.

Sick of it all!

I am soooo sick of being sick! I swear, I have been sick for 3 weeks now. First it was the sinus infection and when I was finally kicking that off, I get what? ALLERGIES! yes, allergies, in the wintertime. Crazy but true. With all the rain we got last weekend, everything decided to share their joy with everything else, so I get allergies. I have tried EVERYTHING on the planet to get some relief and nothing is working. I threw in the towel today.

I hate breaking the Sabbath. It is the worst feeling. You can ask my family, I hate eating out when we are on vacation when it is the Sabbath day. I can't stand it. But when the ox is in the mire...you go to Whole Foods and get whole food and some natural remedies that you can take in addition to the regular medication. I will write a review of whether or not it works in the near future.

I played my cello for Sacrament meeting today. When I got up this morning and said my prayers, I was rather grateful that I hadn't agreed to sing cause my voice sounded more like a frogs croak than a female voice. :)

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What else am I sick of? My internet. It is fantastic for the most part, but sometimes it totally freaks out and won't work at all. Last night was nutty. I was doing some blogstalking, and my Firefox window wouldn't work. I tried opening Internet Explorer but that didn't work either. Bah!!!

It seems to be working now. I turned my system off completely and left it off until just now. Hopefully it will work appropriately.

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I hate the fact that I can't get any roommates. Seriously, I have advertisements everywhere. ASU, CGCC, EVI, some of the wards and even a website for lds housing. And no bites. I had a few calls a few months ago, but I haven't heard anything from them since. The problem I think is that I live in Chandler, where most people moving in here that are looking for roommates are wanting something closer to ASU campus. Anyone wanting to live in Chandler probably can afford their own place. Oh well.

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To be honest, I really do miss Alabama. I had really good friends there. I have some friends here, don't get me wrong, but I am having to start all over again, where I already had good and established friendships there. Yeah, I know, some of you probably think I am crazy, and I am, but...I didn't have anything to do Saturday night. Guaranteed, if I was in Alabama, I would've had something to do. I always did. And it was great! I loved it.

Maybe after a year has gone by things will be better. I am six months into it...we shall see how this goes. :)

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Alright, there is my pity party. :) I think I am going to eat some whole food goodness now that I am all drugged up on antihistamines and immune system boosters and then take a good and long Sunday nap.

Good news, good news and good news

Okay, so of course the real good news is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But...I have other pieces of news that I would like to share.

First:

This is a picture of old town Albuquerque at Christmas time. I don't think there is a better place to go than old town Albuquerque Christmas Eve. It is so beautiful, the luminarias glowing, the people enjoying each other's company, the caroling, the HUGE Christmas tree that is impeccably decorated.

Well, I was the first one on the waiting list to get Christmas Eve off. NO one is going to give up their Christmas Eve off that already had it off, and it isn't worth flying home Christmas Eve night and flying back Christmas day. I was the second one on the waiting list for the 26th of December.

I was bummed. In fact, I was REALLY sad and depressed yesterday. I actually cried. This would have been the first time I had not been home with my family for Christmas EVER. I am single, I am 25, I am NOT ready for that yet. Even though I have lots of wonderful and loving family around here, a great ward, lots of friends, I was not ready for that. I LOVE waking up at midnight to see what Santa brought me. I LOVE going to Old Town, getting hot chocolate, freezing to death, walking around the shops (window shopping) and then buying a bunch of freshly made tamales, taking them home and eating them (helps to thaw out) and driving around to see all the luminaria displays.

Most importantly, I love my family. I miss them. And even though I was home for Thanksgiving for the first time in 4 years, I still want to see them again. Even though I would see them just a few days AFTER Christmas for the New Year's gathering, I just know that Christmas wouldn't be the same.

So we get an email at work today which says the following:

We have decided to offer an option of working either the Saturday or Monday before the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Therefore, you can elect to work Saturday, December 22 in lieu of December 24. You can also elect to work Saturday, December 29 in lieu of December 31.

I am flying home Saturday evening and flying back Christmas day. :) YAY!!!!!

The other good news is:

I auditioned about a month ago for the Mesa Easter Pageant which occurs every year. I decided to go for an angel part, which required an extra audition (you have to dance as an angel). I got a callback (first callback EVER!!!), did another audition and...I am going to be an angel!!! SO excited. I can't believe it. I mean, I took ballet when I was, what 5 years old. Maybe a little older. Besides a few workshops and the Church dances that I have attended over the last 11 years (bless the wonderful black young man in my stake in Albuquerque when I was in youth for teaching me how to dance) I really am not much of a dancer. I do, however, have a fairly good sense of rhythm and can be graceful (emphasis on can). Twice as many girls auditioned than they could take, so I must have made a good impression. I blew away the panel when they did the vocal audition (I can hit all of the high notes easily...they never have had that before). Hmm...perhaps I should go into show business...:)

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I trimmed the tree in front of my front door. It has been driving me nuts. I need a chainsaw to finish the job. The thing is lopsided, and it just looks horrible. At least you can see underneath it now. I also trimmed up the bouganvilla and I pulled a lot of the weeds that were overcoming the poor rosebushes out in front. I am afraid I may have killed them. I haven't really watered them regularly, but roses are resilient and this is the time of year to cut them back anyways.

Next are the two citrus trees up front. They need a bit of pruning. The fruit on one is starting to turn orange. Some actually are deep orange. I think I am going to pick one as I drive off in the morning and see how it is. I hope it is good. I need to fertilize them I think. :) A trip to the nursery is in order I do believe. I need to cut back the roses as well, whether they are dead or alive. I did a pretty deep watering tonight, and it is supposed to rain again this weekend so if they are alive that will give them a bit of juice.

That's all. Good night. Nursing a splitting headache at the moment, so I really hope I wake up without it.

Happy Hanukkah! and books and work

Well, Hanukkah just began here. Did you know that it doesn't officially start until the sun goes down? Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish readers!

History lesson: Hanukkah started around 160 BC when the Jews had reclaimed the temple in Jerusalem. They cleared out all the idols that had been in there. After cleaning everything out, all they could find to light the temple was a small container of oil. Miraculously, the oil last 8 days. Thus began the celebration of Hanukkah.

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A friend asked me to suggest some good "light and funny" (as he said) audio books that he could listen to on his trip up to Utah. I drew a blank. The only light and funny books I could think of were rather girly too. I then ran across a Roald Dahl book called "Danny the Champion of the World". I started this book just before I moved here, and I have yet to finish it, but I remember being highly entertained by what I had read. For those who don't know, Roald Dahl wrote classics like James and the Giant Peach, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and the Glass Elevator). This is the 'other' book, one that isn't as well known, but it is quite as good as the others.

Any suggestions from the crowd for 'light and funny' books? I tend to go heavy and kinda dark with some funny in it. :) Believe it or not. I do enjoy light books, but I finish them too quickly.

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They want me to sing at the Christmas luncheon at work. What the heck am I supposed to sing? It needs to be light, not overly religious, and it doesn't really need to be Christmasy. But I don't know what to sing, and it is stressing me out. GAH!!!

Readability and Food

My cousin found this website to check your blog's readability level. Hers was at an Elementary school level, which I find hard to believe. Anyways, I checked mine, and this is what I got. :) I think that's pretty good. I some some big words I suppose.

I have food! I went to Sam's Club today. I am good on food for a month now I think, except for milk. I have missed food. Good food that is. I have been eating the stuff that I don't particulary like.

I decided to buy a package of good hot chocolate. There are 8 different types and 48 servings. I am going to take them to work along with a nice mug. I have gotten into the habit of going to Starbucks and getting it there. Why should I do that, when I can make it for SO much cheaper.

I also decided to get some packets of good oat meal to take with me to work. That way if I don't get breakfast in, all I need is a bowl, spoon and hot water (which is provided for me) and I have breakfast! The packets are pretty low in sugar, so hopefully they have a lot of flavor and taste good.

Anyways, I think between the two above mentioned items, I am going to save myself a good bit of money. I am also going to try and take my lunch with me to work more often to save money. I actually held myself back from buying a DVD today from Sam's Club. They have a bunch of them that I want. Like the Fox and the Hound!!! I love that movie! And Peter Pan, Pocahontas (yes I am a Disney nut) and a bunch of others.

RAIN!!! and the Office

My goodness, this is probably the longest rainstorm in Arizona history. Seriously, there is going to be some major flooding in some parts here.

You see, Arizona dirt isn't dirt...it's sand. Sand does not absorb water very well at all. That is why we have these natural things called washes or arroyo's depending on where you are. They are very short lived streams and rivers of water that can get to be very deep, very wide and very dangerous. And cause things we call flash floods. Really smart people here in Arizona think "I have four-wheel drive, I can make it over that". Man the fire department gets more action from idiots who get stuck in the water than at most other times. I love it, these big, lifted, decked out trucks get knocked over by the water. Water is a very powerful thing, yo!

It rained this morning before I got up and then has gone steady since about noon I think and it is still going strong. It kinda really stinks, cause they have been working on paving the major road by my house for a really long time now. It's going to take a little longer I think...

Below is a link to see the total amount of rainfall we have gotten in the last 24 hours. Consider this: our average YEARLY rainfall is 8.5 inches of rain.

Current rainfall count in last 24 hours

This is a lot of rain for this area. :)

And of course guess who wore a white shirt to work and did not bring her umbrella...yeah, not the brightest one in the bushel, huh? I figure, it's not going to rain. It never rains here. Ha!

Went to an "Office" party tonight. All we did is eat heart stopping food and watch episodes of the Office. It was fantabulous! I am gaining more and more appreciation for this show. And I have decided that Stanley is my favorite character on the show. :) It was fun, except most of the guys there were with a girl. PDA was kinda rampant. But that's okay, I focused on the good stuff: The Office. :)

Trials and Photoshoots

I love the fact that Heavenly Father knows me and He knows exactly what I need.

I had a major trial today. I could have gotten incredibly angry, frustrated, irrational as a result of it.

You know what I did instead?

• Took a breath and called my best friend. She listened, we talked.
  
• Texted my sister, and she poured out her love and her advice to me.
  
• Had a great day at work, very productive. Way over productive actually.
• Discovered I am getting paid tomorrow (NOT next week, yay!)
  
• Went to institute, and the lesson was tailor-made for me in my situation. Go figure!
• I HAVE SOMETHING TO DO THIS WEEKEND!!! YAY! With friends who will stay with me and who I can trust.
  

Am I ever grateful for the people that Heavenly Father puts in my life, because that is how He blesses me. :)

Okay, so I got pictures done by an AMAZING photographer names Mike Schiffler, and seriously, he does wonders with a camera. Anyways, here are three of my favorites.

I think this first one is my favorite one of all. I just, yeah. I think it shows ME the best at least. Any of you look in the mirror, see one person, and then look at photographs of yourself and think you don't look like the person in the picture? I know, I am weird, but I really see someone different in the mirror than what I see in pictures. Well, this first one I think actually looks like the person in the mirror.

I like this one a LOT.

This one...I don't know, I just think I am glowing in this picture. Perhaps it is because I am white. :) (And no, the whiteness of my skin in this picture isn't any trick of the camera. That is the actual color of my skin. I have tried a tanning salon, and all I got out of that was burn after burn. I gave up on tanned skin at that point. So I will always glow in pictures. :) )

That's all. I have TONS more, but I really like these. Should I use one of these for my profile picture?? :) If you want to see the rest of them, come on over!

Airports

Albuquerque Sunport Updated their internet service! I am so happy. Last time I was flying out of this airport, I tried several times on this very computer to connect to their wireless service and failed. It really is a good way to pass the time while waiting for your flight.
Southwest Airlines has this new thing where you still have boarding groups, but you are assigned a number in the boarding group. It is kinda like the old way of doing things, when they had those plastic vouchers that they passed out to everyone (who knows how many colds were passed around because of those plastic passes). Anyways, I kinda like it, cause now you don't have to sit on the floor for an hour waiting for the plane to start boarding.
Actually, this is the first time in a long time that I am boarding like a normal person. The last year and a half I preboarded because of my lovely knee. I had to get the front row to accommodate the fact that I couldn't bend my knee completely and the fact that I needed to stretch it out.
At the Phoenix Airport, they have these internet benches where you can put your laptop on it and plug it in. It is a nice concept, but they all need to come with chairs to sit on. And they need to make the benches big enough to accommodate as many laptops as there are plugs. Keep trying! :)
I like flying. I have had very few experiences where I didn't like flying. Once it was because of the weather. Flying into Dallas is never fun I have decided, and at all costs I am going to avoid ever flying into that airport again. Once in high school (first time I was flying without my parents) my flight couldn't land because of the weather, and then our plane was running out of fuel, so we had to land in Lubbock (another airport I would rather avoid) forced us to stay on the plane while they refueled and waited for the okay to fly again, and of course by the time we landed in Dallas I had missed any sort of connector to Washington DC. I had to stay in a hotel, get 2 hours sleep, make the majorly early morning flight to DC, and then play an audition that day. I got LAST chair in the cello section. LAST!
Otherwise I heartily enjoy it. In fact, I often know one or two people on my flight now. On my flight from Phoenix to Albuquerque, I ran into my high school senior year student body president. We had a really fun time catching up on all the people that we used to know. I knew more than he did. I reprimanded him for not doing a five year reunion (he had NO idea that he was supposed to at least have a small gathering) and informed him that the ten year reunion was not an option. :) I can't wait to inform a bunch of my friends that I saw him. He is living in Phoenix now. We swapped numbers, so we will be in touch. I betcha I am going to be roped into helping plan the ten year reunion. :) I wouldn't mind actually. It would be really good to see what has happened to everyone. A lot of people are married, have kids. A lot have their degrees. I for one look a TON different. I used to weigh a ton more than I do now, and really, I didn't look very good. I didn't do my hair, makeup, anything until I hit college actually.
Well, happy flying! I will be in Phoenix in about...2 hours and 7 minutes...hopefully. :)

Movie Review: Enchanted

Girls, go and see it. The first 10 minutes, as my sister said as we were walking out of the theater, is comprised of an hour long Disney Princess movie in cartoon...which then moves into real life actors. It is totally cute and funny. Evidently my Uncle Kent actually liked the movie, so guys, you may want to check this movie out as well. Young and old will enjoy this movie.

Plus, McDreamy is in it. What else could you ask for??? :)

Warning: like all good Disney Princess movies, you will have a bunch of new songs in your head, but they are totally cute.

Thankful

I am thankful for:

• A loving Heavenly Father who knows everything
• A loving Savior who suffered everything
• The Holy Ghost who guides and directs me, comforts and encourages me
• My Mom and Dad
• My sister, Emily
• My Aunts, Uncles, cousins (whether first or second or third cousins 5 times removed) who are all a part of my life
  
• My friends!!!!
• My education
• Food
• Chocolate
• The chance I have to serve others
• Blessings of all shapes and sizes
• Being home
• My trials
• My talents
• My strengths
• Living oracles
• MUSIC!!!
• Trees, flowers, animals, the things that make this world so beautiful
• Antibiotics
• Ellipticals
• Day after Thanksgiving sales
• okay, you get the idea. I am just plain grateful. Good night, ya'll!
  

directing you............

Here!

IF by chance you don't see what should catch your eye (meaning something new shows up on the website)...just scroll down a bit. You will see it.

Intimidating and traveling

Today at work I discovered that I am intimidating. Why? Because:

(Drum roll please).....................................................

I nearly have a master's degree in Music Theory.

Yes, this is why I am intimidating.

Yes, I, Elizabeth, am intimidating.

I would have expected because I am seriously a giant when it comes to females (I am all of 6' baby).

The guy at work who said I was intimidating is a member of my Church, is even taller than me (he's married, so no! Becky) and is an electric guitarist. When he found out I was a classical musician, and that I nearly have a Master's degree in Music, I guess he about died right there. You see, I agreed to perform at the company Christmas party as part of a group. (Reva, where can I get a good electric hookup for my cello??) We are NOT doing classical music, it's all country and, well, Barry Manilow, Queen, kinda random songs actually. Not Christmas songs. It's really a New Year's party and they just don't know it. :) It's to celebrate all the wonderful things the company has done. Anyways, I am intimidated by the repertoire, cause I really haven't done much of anything outside of classical and sacred music when it comes to my cello. And there won't be any written music. I am rather dependent on the "written word" so to speak, so this may get interesting...

Update on sickness: I feel better, although I got progressively worse at work. Not bad enough to go home. I don't think I have a fever anymore. Ears are plugged up, and I am just praying that that will change by tomorrow night.

You see, I am going home for Thanksgiving for the first time in 4 years. Last year I was with Amber

for Thanksgiving, and the year before that I was with ex-boyfriend Mark

for Thanksgiving (I originally was going to post this AWFUL picture of him, but I decided to be kind...most of the pictures I have of him somehow were misplaced in the recycle bin...but I found three more, I suppose I will keep them) and the year before that with Lindsey (unable to locate digital picture of her, will add picture ASAP)

Unfortunately, I am stuck in Arizona for Christmas. I would rather have it the other way around. But, rules are rules, and although I am the first in line to have the Eve of Christmas off, they won't let another person go. The only way I could get the day off is if someone on my team that already has the day off changes their mind...fat chance of that happening.

I am not really stuck though. I have lots of family here, so it won't be horrible. AND my family will be coming over for New Year's just a few days later. Too bad they can't spend Christmas here. That would be awesome.

Anyways, I will have 5 (really, 4 1/2) glorious days away from work and with the fam. Who hoo.

sick and crazy

I went to bed REALLY early last night (Sunday) so that I could wake up early, go to the store, and make Green Chili Chicken Enchilada casserole...Becky's amazing recipe! Made it, took it to work (it barely made it there, I am still mad at the Pontiac Vibe that made me slam on my brakes!), it was a big hit. Well, I woke up feeling pretty good. Got to work feeling good. Then about an hour into work, it hit.

It was like I was instantly hit with sickness. Why? WHY? The week of Thanksgiving, it had to be this week. Seriously people, I was freezing cold, chills galore, achy, major headache, and I could hardly breathe. Of course, I forgot my inhaler today. Of all days, today. So yes, the whole nine yards. Seriously, I don't know how I made it home. I called my visiting teacher, bishops wife, good friends who live in the ward just north of me, found an urgent care center, got a priesthood blessing, got meds, and I slept for 1 1/2 hours...kind of. It was more...I need to get over the chills, so I lay there freezing (wearing sweater, long sleeve shirt, sweat pants, socks, and like 3 thick blankets). There I was shivering to death. Finally, I started feeling a little more normal. So here I am, writing a blog.

Oh, it's a sinus infection that went to town. He said I also have ... pleurisy, which is when the cartilage around your ribs gets all inflamed and they hurt and it is hard to breathe. He gave me antibiotics that are for both sinus infections and pneumonia...just in case. It was the fastest trip to Urgent Care I have ever had. Seriously, I was in and out in 20 minutes. It was great.

At least my food was a big hit. I hope I didn't get anyone else sick from it. One of my coworkers said she has been feeling like that for a while, so I don't think I did. Anyways, they all went downstairs and nuked the food to get it piping hot, so that should have killed everything.

Hopefully.

Family

I am SO grateful for family. I really don't know what I would do without them. I love my family so much. They are so wonderful. They all want the best for me. They build me up when I need it, and in return I try and do the same. It is days like today that make me so grateful to know that I am sealed to these people for time and eternity.
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Thought for the day: If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear. This is true. My car has this rather not so lovely coolant leak that I discovered today. Well, I had to drive to Casa Grande and back today. So I put a ton of water in the back so that if my car really did start overheating, I would at the very least have water to put into the car and move it a little further down the road. Now, I didn't need to use it, but I was not afraid of my car breaking down, because if it did I would be able to take care of the situation.
Now...how I am getting to work Monday morning may be a little more tricky, as I am in stop and go traffic most of the way. My car is fine if there isn't a lot of stop and go traffic, but if there is...well, hopefully a good number of people are taking the whole week off and I don't have to worry about traffic. :) Yeah, wishful thinking right? :)

I am a girl

So, I am getting really nice pictures done today, so I take a sick day, and what do I do to prepare?

1. Eyebrows waxed (had to do it early, so they wouldn't be red and swollen this afternoon)
2. Shower
3. Makeup done by Lancome artist at Macy's (it looked fabulous...in fact, I haven't washed it off yet...)
4. Manicure
5. Hair styled
6. Opinions from cousin and Aunt on what to wear

Yes, I am a girl. :) But I was a good looking one today at least. I haven't pampered myself like that in a long time, especially a manicure. I got French tips. Never had that done before, I kinda like it. Good option for when you are a cellist in demand and have to have short fingernails.

I LOVE my new hairstyle. You will see it soon enough. LOVE it, thank you soooo much Janel!

sick days and non-photogenicness...

I am going to be *cough cough* sick tomorrow. :) I get to run all kinds of errands, and I can't wait, cause they NEED to get done. Gonna work out in the morning, wash my car, get house cleaned, institute that night, AND my friend Mike from Alabama is going to do a photo shoot with me in the afternoon! So excited! He offered, he is in town and he is amazing at what he does, so I just couldn't say no...

I am just afraid I might break the camera. I really am not photogenic, and when I am it's just luck, but perhaps this will change my mind. Maybe I just over analyze. Here are some examples of photos of me: (Granted, they are not professional by any means.)

I just look...weird. See. Granted, I have a bunch of finger things on my fingers. They might even have been rings that were to small actually. But see the face. See that gumline??? Yeah. I look old in this picture.



Here I am with one of Aimee's daughters. Now, this is, I admit, a good picture. BUT, check out that smiler...you see what I am talking about? For this being a "Hey, hang on a sec, smile at the camera" picture, where I am holding the camera, this is a dang good picture. Seriously, I took the picture a second after she turned around with me down beside her. Pretty nice, huh? Maybe that's what I need, no prep. :)



Okay, this one is just plain bad. No makeup, 4 hours sleep. See, Becky, she looks great, but do you see me?? Yikes!


Here I am with cousin Kent and the newlyweds (at the time) Scott and Penny . Am I trying to be a giraffe or something? I am sticking my chin out like crazy!


I think I am on drugs on this one or something. This was last Christmas/New Year's at cousin Kent's wedding reception. You see the eyes? That happens a lot. I DON'T UNDERSTAND! Why? Why do my eyes go all retarded? To the left is my cute Mom. Yeah, I dwarf her. :) Actually, I was wearing heals that night, and they killed. I was dating Warren at the time. In fact, he was on his way to meet me there in Arizona at that time. :( That was when we were crazy about each other.


I do have to admit, the hair was working it that night in that last picture! :) I had just gotten it colored and cut. Pretty fab, I think.
But again, the smiler. Much straighter than they were pre-January of 2005, but still, that gumline! Gah!
Here's to having a good photo shoot tomorrow...
(anyone notice that I figured out how to use the hyperlink thingy? Yeah, discovered that tonight)

Sabbath

My Sunbeams were just as crazy as usual. Each one is soooo different. I had 5 today. I am getting 5 more often than not now, where when I first was called I averaged 3, so that's a good sign. I discovered today that although the craziest of my kids is bouncing off the wall the whole time and making it very difficult for me to teach the other ones anything, he really is listening. We talked about being reverent today. The story from the scriptures we used was Moses and the burning bush, and how Moses was commanded to remove the shoes from his feet to show reverence. To see if they had actually heard the story amid all the craziness of one the Sunbeams, I asked the question "So how did Moses show reverence?" and "Why did Moses remove his shoes?" Well, the one Sunbeam who just is so full of energy, he stopped, looked me in the eye and answered both of those questions like a pro. I about cried for joy to know that he heard the stories, and I have to believe it wasn't anything I did, but that it was the Lord.
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Another cousin joined the crew of bloggers. She is actually my second cousin, Marla. My Mom and her Mom are first cousins (for the cousins who check in on my blog, it's Pat's daughter). She is totally awesome and cool, especially right now cause she is IN Israel doing all kinds of cool stuff like doing an archaeological dig, going on a boat on the Sea of Galilee, seeing all those sites that we read about in the Bible. Yeah, she is pretty much the coolest person in the world right now.
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Spirit said move your records into the University 6th Ward. So come January 1st, 2008 I will be leaving my family ward and going to the singles ward. It's changed a lot, there are some oldtimers still around but a lot of the people in the ward are new. New Bishopric, although the first counselor was in the old Bishopric when I was there. It will be good I think.
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Should I take a sick day tomorrow? We will see how I feel in the morning. I am not sick, but I am sick and tired of the commute, the gossiping, etc. I have been put on a couple of 'special projects' lately, so that is good, and I think I may be put on another this week, but...I mean, I still get paid if I take a sick day. :) Eh, maybe next week.

blahblahblogging and squishyness

:) My sister and cousin are the new ones on the block for blogging. :) Yay! Really, I think blogging is wonderful. I love it at least.
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I didn't go on a road trip this weekend. Was going to, but I had SOOO much I needed to do, so I didn't go. I did all the stuff I needed to do rather than wanted to do. Such as getting my car into the shop, getting the oil changed, tires rotated, new air filter, etc. Very important on a vehicle that is about to reach 200,000 miles. Yep, I have put nearly 140,000 miles on this sucker. I still can't believe how well it is running right now. I promise I will take a picture when it reaches 200,000 miles. Even if I am late to work, I will pull off the side of the road and get a picture. :)
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I am going to play laser tag tonight. It's been years, and I have to admit...I love playing laser tag. It seems no one else does though, including my friend who invited me and put the whole thing together. I just think it's a lot of fun. Like paintball...except you don't have any welts afterward.
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Met this rather lovely guy last night, 28, from California, works for some big computer company, totally ripped, taller than me, named Mike. Seriously, the man was hot. Weirdest thing, and it will take a bit to explain the weirdness, so bear with me: By the end of the night the group of us had gotten to know each other pretty well, so we all hugged when we were saying goodbye. Now, I am used to hugging cause I LOVE to hug, and I especially love hugging guys. Go to hug him and...his muscles were rocks! Now, I am used to a little squishy or a lot squishy. I am even used to skinny, no squish, but you know, ribs sticking out. He is not squishy at all. Seriously, this guy was all muscle. (That was what was weird, yeah I know I am weird for thinking that that is weird) Now, some girls might find that really attractive, him being all ripped and all, but I have to say, after that hug, I really don't find that attractive. I much prefer at least a little squishy. It was kind of an awkward hug anyways, so maybe that was the problem, and if we were better friends maybe it would have been a better hug.
Although, I did very much admire his arms. :)
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FYI, I worked out every day this week. EVERY day! Aren't you proud of me? :) No weight loss, but hopefully with the muscle gain my metabolism will kick in a little more.
Oh, and I can FINALLY do a real sit up. Embarrassing, but I have never really been able to do a sit up...ever. I would have to get some momentum to get myself up. Well, my abs are now barely able to pull me up. LOTS of shaking, but at least that's something, right? I tell you what, my abs and back sure get sore. I do all kinds of sit-ups and core strengthening exercises as well as a standard sit up. Not for too long though, cause that wouldn't help anything I think. Moderating my exercise. I am starting to notice a difference. I am holding myself a little differently. Kind of exciting.
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That's all, folks!

ode to friends

"Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours."
- Ludwig van Beethoven

Two of my best friends called me tonight, and we really talked. It wasn't one of those quick conversations that get interrupted by normal proceedings of life.

One friend called me. She asked me some questions about music theory to make sure she was right(just like old times). She talked about her life. And then she asked the key question: How are you doing? And she pushed it. You know what, I answered truthfully, and she really listened. That is a mark of a good friend. Near the end of this conversation, my other friend called. I called her back, and we talked as well. And I listened to her, and she to me.

I NEEDED THAT TONIGHT. Talking makes a HUGE difference. That is why counselors are really good to have. Just to talk to. No matter what profession, what calling, what situation, everyone needs someone to report to who is either experienced in your situation or is in tune with the Spirit (preferably both). We become better when we are called to repentance and truly listen to and heed counsel. We are better when we know that someone else knows, is listening, and wants better for you and is cheering you on.

That is why prayer is so important.

All through grade school I didn't have one truly good/best friend. Maybe once in Lompoc, CA. But really, I didn't have someone I could just talk with, hang out with, you know...just be buddies with. Never had a best friend. I realize now I must have been REALLY retarded in high school.

I prayed. I asked for a friend. I asked for just one really good friend ever since I realized I really didn't have any. I asked to help me to be a good friend. I tried to be a good friend to others, and I think towards the end of high school I made a tiny bit of progress...but still, no friend.

Then I moved to Arizona. Still, no best friend. Freshman year of college, I kinda knew a few people, could call some of them, went to some things. Got invited to a party, that was cool.

Sophomore year is the magical year. I didn't just get one. I got three. THREE! I was truly blessed. The two that called me tonight are among those three. Thanks to them, you have what you know as me. Seriously, they worked a number on me. Introvert became Extrovert. Fashion deficient went to...well, I would dress REALLY well if I had more money, but I do all right. No make-up went to being a self proclaimed make-up artist (see Halloween picture). Self-conscious went to...I mean, I kissed a guy that I am not dating the other night...self-conscious? Whatever! :) I learned so much from them, and still am. They never cease to amaze me with their insight, their amazing powers, their abilities, etc. I am the musician, the woman, the latter-day saint I am today partially because of these women. One of my most common repeated phrases in my prayers is "Thank thee SOOOOOOO much for my friends." I am sincere EVERY SINGLE TIME. What I would do without them...I don't know.

Thank you, my friends.

people pretending to be musicians...

So I got on the Arizona teacher testing website where you get certified to teach in the State of Arizona and are tested in specialized areas. I look at their music section, and it gives a sample test. One of the questions, they show 6 TRIADS and ask which one is in third inversion. PROBLEM: they are triads. To have a third inversion, you have to have MORE than 3 pitches in the chord. For a triad, there is root position (triad stacked in thirds, root, third, fifth in ascending order) , first (root above fifth) and second (root and third above fifth) inversion. IDIOTS!

THEN there is a very interesting question:

To evaluate how effectively a composer
has established a motive in musical work,
it is most important for the listener to
consider the composer's use of:
A. repetition.
B. contrast.
C. variation.
D. sequence.

I would very much like to know what their answer is. THEY ALL establish the motive, and you can use ANY of them to establish it. Of course, repetition would occur, but you have to change in up to keep things interesting (Beethoven's fifth, du du du duuuuuuu, over and over and over again, but they are different!), play off of it, create variations, and then make a sequence. For example, the OTHER movements of Beethoven's fifth. Everyone, take out your mp3 online server of choice and listen to, say, movement 2 of Beethoven's fifth. The motive is there, just listen. It is just a bit different. You would be amazed how many pieces actually pay homage to Beethoven by using this motive. Anyways, I suppose their correct answer would be repetition, but seriously people!

This one made me laugh:

Which of the following exercises would
be the most effective way to keep the
percussion section of a middle school
band effectively engaged while other
sections are learning their parts?
A. hum the part that each section
practices
B. listen for errors made by each
section
C. read their own parts while each
section plays
D. perform as the metronome for each
section

:) Any drummers out there? :)

FYI, I am better today. Got 2 hours of overtime, went to institute, and that was fabulous, saw friends, and came home in a much better mood. AND I got another call for a roommate today. She is coming by Sunday...hopefully this will turn into something good!

Going to bed. Night!

lonely

I hate being alone. At least tonight it is really bothering me. Halloween is usually a really fun holiday for me. The weekend was fun, but the day is usually fabulous. The trick or treaters came, Janel, Denise and Aunt Dianne came with the kids to the door and that was fun.

Then I went to this party that wasn't an LDS sponsered activity, (didn't know that until I got there). It was "clean" meaning no drugs and alcohol, but I saw a group of them drinking in the parking lot, so a lot of good that did. The costumes were okay for the most part, but some people...why were they wearing anything? I mean...well, anyways.

I went to this party alone figuring some of my friends would be there. Well, they weren't. Probably because they are smarter than I am. I was there for 1 1/2 hours looking for people I knew. I tried once or twice to talk with some people, but it failed. One guy was wearing a Bama cap, and that was cool...but that was about the only highlight of the night. So I left. I did this stinking amazing makeup job, (way better than the other night...no pictures, sorry) and all for nothing. Oh well.

Sorry, I am just not enjoying being alone tonight. I am ready for a date. Just one would be great. Or even better...a new friend. Qualifications: single (a must, I have LOTS of married friends, I need to branch out, and all my really good single friends are living outside the boundaries of this state except for just a few, and one seems to have fallen off the planet or something, I haven't heard from her in such a long time, hope she is okay), male or female (doesn't matter), around my age and stage in life, and ultimately forgiving. I will be the first to admit I am not a fabulous friend. I fall flat on my face a LOT. But when I do and I realize that I do, I try to make it up 4 fold.

I just...I drove home tonight by myself to this empty house (which I am trying to fill). I need people!

Ah well. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, enduring this makes me stronger and will make me soooo grateful when I am with somebody, and just get over it. Okay. I will.

Eh, that's all. Good night.

...in shock

Okay, I can't believe I did this last night. But I did, and it is blog noteworthy. All of you should be kind of shocked.

I kissed a guy last night.

Story: Took ALL day getting ready for the Halloween parties, did an amazing makeup job:



(Woodland Fairy, NOT a butterfly)

And Hair job:
(Leaves, pearly things, and messy messy hair with LOTS AND LOTS of glitter)

Went to THREE parties last night. Haven't done that in like 3 or 4 years at least.

Get to the first one (am with Kristin and her friend Hector, if he was only 4 inches taller....)

They have set up a bunch of booths and food, there's music, etc. I am walking around, admiring costumes, saying hi to friends, etc., and I see this big box. Go around to the front, and this guy dressed up like a kissing booth. I think, very creative. He's a friend of mine so I say hi and give him kudos. Well, the photographer for the thing is there, and she asks if I will kiss him for a picture. I say sure, and look like I am kissing him. She takes a picture.

***********************************************************


THEN she says, "What was that??" And I say, oh, so you want a real one? I turn to him and ask, "Would you mind?" Yeah, that was a stupid question. So I do it. Right smack on the lips.

************************************************************

She took freaking forever with the picture!!!

So he has lipstick on him now, and I try to clean it up a bit, and he's all "NO!!! Don't do that!"

So there it is. Number four.

1. Curtis
2. Mark
3. Warren
4. Mike

I don't really count Mark, he would just do these short smacks. But this one definitely counts. That was a long kiss. I still can't believe I did that. It's so weird, because I am not into this guy at all, where the other three I was into at the time.

_______________________________________________________________

In other news, I may have a roommate come January. She seems to be really sweet, and guess what?! She love music theory!!! In fact, she was thinking about getting her Masters in Music theory, but she is going for a Masters in flute performance and then a PhD in music theory. Maybe I could just wait around for her to finish and we could go together! That would be awesome. She loves the Office, watches it online, just like me. Gosh, there are a bunch of totally random things that we kept coming across when we were talking, it was like we were meant to be roommates. I hope she decides to move in. She will be calling me in a few days with her decision. Prayers are appreciate. :)

Loves!

life

Life is good and busy. Lots of stories to tell:

The Office: I love this show, but I have a few things that have happened at work that would work nicely in the show, and all from this week.

1. Today I was the Support Assistant of the day, which means I am the one that gets all the random stuff to do that just comes up, like printing labels, sending in tickets to get the copiers, faxes, printers fixed, updating special things for the Benefit Examiners, and some really weird and random stuff. Well today one of the people on the team next to me gets an email from our San Antonio office. This guy faxed something to a providers office on October 15th, which they received...but they keep getting it...over and over and over again on a regular basis. Ten days they have been getting this same fax over and over again. We had no idea. Called in a ticket, they laughed, guy came up, said we needed to call another department, called them, they laughed, guy came up, laughed again, and erased the memory on the fax machine. Hopefully that took care of the problem.
2. So we get this email about a health and wellness fair, and we can sign up for free massages (occurred today, I was the first one that signed, and it was fabulous, first professional massage) and we get other free stuff too. Of course like most email applications, there is an option to REPLY or REPLY ALL. One smart person hit reply all to the email and requested a massage...which ALL of the Phoenix personnel read. Now, this isn't a small company by any means. :)
Now, that would be funny enough on its own...but then another person did it, saying "Thanks, but I already had a massage yesterday, don't need another one". :)
Then another said "Please take me off the list"
Then another "How do I get a free massage"

Oh, it just kept going. And the rest of us are roaring. :) It was pretty fun.

I had another bit of a missionary experience. Told my coworker about Joseph Smith's vision, pretty fantastic experience. She doesn't seem to be at all interested, but it was great for me. Speaking of Joseph Smith, the actor who played the role of Joseph Smith in the Restoration...he spoke at out Institute class tonight. Kinda cool, he has a real sweet and tender testimony of Joseph Smith, and who wouldn't, being that they really did film that amazing section in the Sacred Grove. He told of his experience with the auditions, preparing the part, how the Lord had His hand in the whole production. Evidently it wasn't til the final edits of the film that the First Presidency announced that it needed to be shown around the world. It was originally to just be shown in two visitors centers. After watching the film, they said that the Spirit in the film is just absolutely amazing. I agree.

Okay, I think I figured out what I am going to be for Halloween...and I get to do an amazing makeup job for it. (Have I mentioned, I love playing with makeup!!!) Nope, not telling, you will see pictures soon enough. I have to go buy the costume now.

Cellist+Mormon+Arizona=

Did you know that if you are a cellist, you play in stake conference once and you are friendly, the word gets out like a wildfire in Southern California with the Santa Ana's blowing, and you get booked for every weekend. I am going to have to start saying no soon I think. AND when you go home for vacation to take a break from the wacky world you get the opportunity to perform there as well. I am seriously getting rather booked here. I was blessed with these talents though, and I need to use them to serve the Lord, to give back, ya know. Plus, who knows, I may get some students out of all of this. AND it's an opportunity to play, and I LOVE playing.

I am actually using the scheduler on my phone so that I can remember what I am supposed to do the next day. I might actually pull out the freaking nice PDA that I have that I rarely use and start using it. :)

I just figured out where this really cute, tall, slightly red-headed guy goes to Church, and guess what!? He goes to the singles ward that I am in the boundaries for and used to be a member of. Hmmm...do I REALLY want to give up teaching Sunbeams??? I love my Sunbeams. I will stay til the end of the year at least, but that is real incentive to move my records right there. Seriously, this guy is quite good looking.

Speaking of Sunbeams, they are doing opening exercises next week in Church! I am so excited! They will do so well. I think I will actually bring a treat for them to take home and eat AFTER Church in addition to the lesson. Next weeks lesson is on how to be a good example. I am cutting out footprints for them to follow. :)

GAH!!!

I give up. Will someone PLEASE explain to me why once it looks like the video has uploaded, it won't finish? Is it supposed to take FOREVER on here? It is the right format for wiki. Gah!

I have had the busiest but rather rewarding day. Got to work, did a lot of work, went on a lunch date, details below, did more work, left work to go to institute while juggling phone and food cause both were demanding my attention, got to institute and tutored this lady on how to write a canon in the style of Bartok and got paid $60 for it!!!! YAY!!! I like this, I need more students! Finished at 8:00pm (pacific) and drove home. BUSY! I say!

Date: we split the check. He's off the list. But he did open the door every single time. That was good. He's an old friend (Paul, he says Hi Becky). Barely my height. But it was CPK, and I haven't eaten there in a LONG time, so it was lovely just for that. And it was nice to take a long lunch.

Tutoring: Loved every moment of it, and the most rewarding part was she left saying "I didn't know writing like Bartok could be fun!" Man, it was worth it just for that. And I got paid $30 an hour. I was floored!

AND she is like the most wonderful hook up. She may be able to:

• get me a position teaching music theory in the public schools
• get me a roommate
• get me more private students
  

Like, seriously. This is awesome! I love it. I am so blessed and am so grateful.

Oh, and it's my half birthday. :) yep, 25 1/2. Old woman, I know. JK!

Organizing and Institute

I organized the linen closet!!! Yay! I found some of grandpa denture stuff in there. :) I laughed.

And I have a firm testimony that Institute is one of the best things EVER! Almost missed it tonight. Seriously, drove home from work EXHAUSTED. I wondered if I was going to make it home, I was so tired. I was really working hard to stay awake. Got home, and went straight to bed. Didn't really sleep, but I was definitely totally zoned out. Woke up at ten til seven (institute starts at seven) and decided that I would regret not going, so I got up, brushed hair and left.

And as a treat, I got In N Out afterwards. They make the best shakes! Usually the fries are excellent, but I wasn't really feeling them tonight.

And now that I have been awake for 2 1/2 hours after eating, I am going to bed. Night!

I found it! Picture time!

Okay, so of course after the last entry, I find the cables for my camera. Explained further down, but it's not a very interesting story. Just enjoy the pictures. I had to edit them a bit in Adobe Photoshop, so they really look kinda strange, but better than they did before the editing, so, here ya go. These are pictures of my cousins kids who were all over at my house for a slumber party.This is Monique and Sadie. The only girls at the party besides me. And yes, Monique is enjoying her green beans. I have never seen a young kid more excited about having green beans than pizza before. Aren't they beautiful! You know, we are all part of the Raisor family, and we are very sharp!
This is Brett playing Cade's mandolin. He knocked out his two front teeth. Isn't he adorable??
This is Wyatt. He LOVED the pizza, and that chair. In fact, when I was putting all the kids to bed, he was upside down on the chair asleep. It was so cute.
And it wouldn't be a Raisor gathering without the boys wrestling. This is everyone else. David, Dayton, Tommy...
Cade and Cooper. I have a video of them wrestling. Perhaps I will upload it later.


Alright, alright, so after that last entry, of course the Lord had a tender mercy to hand out, and then he handed it to me. I know, silly, right? But seriously, I have been looking for these things for forever!

Long story short, in the move from Alabama to New Mexico, and then from New Mexico to Arizona, I was able to keep track of said digital video camera but not the USB and TV cables that I could use to hook it up to my tv and computer. I was just being stupid and might I say a little bitter about the fact that I indeed lost quite a few little but important things on that move.

So, I found the cables yesterday after cleaning up the guest bedroom a little more (it's amazing, the slumber party was what, a month ago, and I am STILL finding beads all over the place).

Kids have an amazing knack at getting into everything. Well, it was a blessing this time, because I look under the bed and there are the cables for my digital video camera. Hope you enjoyed them. I am going to play with the camera some more. I think I need to have more exposure when I am taking indoor shots in this house. The lighting is enough to see, but not really the best for pictures. This thing is cool by the way, I can take night shots with it! :)

Night!

The game, AZ fans and randomness

Well, we lost, but you know what? Grandma and I were just happy to be there, and I can now say that I have been to a post-season MLB game. I will take a picture of my outfit once I get a camera that works or a way to connect my digital video camera to my computer...long story, don't really feel like explaining why I don't have a connection to my computer right now.

Anyways, I have decided that AZ Diamondback funs totally stink. Seriously, they do. Now, granted, I was at an Alabama football game a few weekends ago, and college football fans in the South are unlike fans of ANY kind of sport I have seen in the West (been to Dodger, Padres, Diamondbacks, ASU football/baseball/soccer/basketball/swim meets/ultimate frisbee (club sport) and BYU football games).

THEY WERE SITTING IN OVERTIME IN AN NLCS GAME!!!!

There was maybe one inning when I thought the place actually sounded like a baseball game. They weren't yelling, screaming, getting involved. Okay, they did, but only when the freaking ump at second called our guy out stealing second when he was totally safe, and when we actually scored a run. But for crying out loud. I was bothered by that. And then I would get over it and be a good fan, and everyone would look at me funny, and I would look right back at them funny. COME ON PEOPLE! AH!!

I can't believe Grandma made it to the end of the game. I took her home at midnight. Way to go, Grandma. She was a good fan. :)

======================================================

I am the kind of person that when I don't know something, or I hear someone say something and I think they are off, or that I might be wrong about something, or whatever, I look it up. I don't like to waste time mulling over it if I have the resources to verify the information. So I have all kinds of random facts in my brain. For example:

One of my colleagues at work mentioned silent movies, and she wondered if there were any still played in the theaters. She has some coming on her NETFLIX lineup, but she would like to go see a live one.

So I open up my browser, type in www.google.com, and google silent movie showings az. So I get around to this:

http://www.reelclassics.com/Links/bigscreen.htm

which leads me to this:

http://www.silentsundays.info/orpheum.aspx

They show silent movies on certain Sundays with live accompaniment on this amazing restored wurlizter organ! How cool is that?! Yes, it is on a Sunday, but how awesome is that, seriously?

Up until last year there was a silent movie theater in LA, but it has been changed to where they have showings on Mondays and special occasions.

And while looking it up, I learned all sorts about silent movie stars. :) Very fun!

****************

another example, and this one is short. At my job, one of the things we do is update provider files in our database (check licenses, make sure they are accredited, etc.). Sometimes we get an MD that also has PA after his name, (obviously, an MD would NEVER put down PA being that he is a physician and NOT a physician's assistant/PA) which businesses sometimes use as part of their name. I had never looked it up, so I googled, and of course wiki came up, and out of all the uses for PA, the one that made sense in this case was Professional Association. So, now you know.

It's amazing all the cool little things one can learn online. :) And dang it, I am curious.

Happy learning!

I LOVE MY DIAMONDBACKS!!

I WON TICKETS TO TONIGHTS NLCS GAME!!!!

To say that I am BEYOND excited doesn't even cover it. All of you who know me, know how I get when I am excited, and this is majorly beyond description excited.

I had plans to participate in a music party, where a bunch friends of my friend were getting together to perform, which I was excited about and I put something together for cello and orchestra (orchestra being performed by a pianist),

and then this happened.

How it happened:

I went to the D-Backs website to see about ticket prices and stuff, cause I had promised Grandma Connie that I would take her to a game...and I hadn't yet, and the D-Backs are in the post season now. Well, ticket prices are, well, pricey, so I found a drawing for World Series tickets, and entered myself (the drawing is to be able to buy tickets, not to win them) and then I saw a thing for winning tickets to one of the home games of the NLCS, and I entered myself in that, thinking, naw, there is no way I am going to win this, but if I don't enter myself, it won't get me anywhere. So I entered myself.

I then get a call this morning from someone in New York, so I take it...and this guy says, hi, my name is so and so and I represent Major League Baseball, and you have won two tickets to tonights NLCS game. :) Now imagine what I am doing. Yes, jumping up and down, and having to restrain myself from SCREAMING at the top of my lungs. I was so excited. I had to run out to the hall to take the call. Oh my gosh, I couldn't believe it.

So, we have FANTASTIC tickets on the 3rd base side. Watch the game, I will wave at you! :) I am buying some lipstick, a hat and a jersey for the occassion. Yes, that's right, LIPSTICK! Good thing I work right next to Scottsdale Fashion Square (very very very nice mall in Snobsdale, AZ). :)

EEEEEKKK!!!! :)

I am so grateful for little sweet things like this. I have been feeling really really bad that I hadn't taken Grandma Connie to a game yet, and here we are, going to a game! I am so happy. Perks are that she has a handicap parking pass, so we will have FABULOUS parking as well. I am so beyond excited!

I do feel very bad that I will not be attending the music party tonight though. I think it is a fabulous idea, and I was excited to go. Perhaps I will host another one to make up for it. I have really been enjoying working up a piece, since I really haven't done that in a long time.

EEEEEEKKK!!!! :)

Baking

K, so I finally went to the store and bought the following:

Yeast
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Eggs

All key ingredients for what is commonly known as baking.

I made chocolate chip cookies...they weren't gooey, so something went awry, but they tasted good, so that is all that matters.

I am currently waiting for 2 loaves of white bread to finish baking. I hate waiting for bread to rise. So you know what I did? I blog stalked and practiced my cello. I used the time wisely!! :) How about that, huh?

I am going to have homemade bread. I am seriously ready to pull it out right now...but I just put it in 5 minutes ago, so that wouldn't be good. But it already smells SOOOOOO good!!!

:) I am eating a midnight meal...I don't care what everyone says about eating late. If you smelled what I am smelling at 11:06pm, you would eat it too.

By the way, I have lost 5 pounds. :) 15 more to go, and my BMI will be just below 25, which is the threshhold for being overweight. :)

I was sick, that is how I lost it. I don't recommend doing it that way. It seems that is the main way I lose weight though. I used to be 225, but I lost 40 pounds after having mono. Lost 5 pounds a week until I got to 185. I gained 20 in the last few months, (205), am now to 200. So, 15 pounds, here I come.

After I finish eating 2 loaves of WHITE BREAD right out of the oven. :)

Okay, I will only eat...2 slices of it. I will restrain myself.

Maybe I will take the other loaf to work. That would be nice. :)

Conference

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENT EYRING AND ELDER COOK! IT IS SIMPLY WONDERFUL.

I tell you what, since I have been studying the conference talks from April Conference, I got SO much more out of this conference. Most of the talks the brethren gave last conference tie into the talks they gave this conference. Seriously!

Elder Eyring's talk was spectacular. I have watched it twice so far (yay for www.byu.tv) and listened to it again in my institute class just tonight.

The Prophet was wonderful. I have watched it twice as well, and have taken more notes the second time around, and I already had lots of notes.

Dear Elder Wirthlin. What a wonderful talk about charity, and there was Elder Nelson being a good example and good doctor, holding him up so that he could finish his talk. He needed to finish it. He was in earnest to give it. Someone needed to hear that talk. Going to watch it tonight before I go to bed.

Guys, watch it. It was wonderful.

Watch Elder Cook's talk, talking about section 50. I swear, I don't remember reading this section, and I know I have because it has the scripture that inspired the name of Preach My Gospel, the new missionary book (which is AMAZING, and if you don't have it, let me know and I will buy it for you cause you have to have it and use it for scripture study and family home evening cause it just teaches you to do good). But anyways, that section is amazing. I read through a lot of it that he didn't touch on in his talk, and there are scriptures in that section that I needed to read.

Okay, that is all. If you want to talk conference, call me. I seriously spent most of the institute class talking tonight. I need someone to talk to and with so that I can continue to learn and grow and remember. :)

Good night. :)