Oh, Tannenbaum!

A couple of years ago, I was chosen as employee of the year and given a christmas tree as my prize. This is the first year that I am setting the tree up and it looks so beautiful in our home. Some people are better at taking great pictures of stuff but that is not my expertise so if you want to know what it really looks like, you will have to stop by my house for a cup of hot cocoa and a bit of christmas cheer! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Will It Blend? Now I Will Know!

Ash and I have been shopping at Costco lately and the last time we went, they were selling Blendtec blenders. For the last year, I have been shaking, hitting, poking, and stirring the contents of my blender trying to make my morning smoothie so this purchase has been coming for a long time. Now, with a simple push of a button, I have a protein smoothie creation, a juice of the day, ice cream, chip dip, or any other fun blender treat. Even though my mom suggested I try blending golf balls, I haven't tried anything too silly yet. However, when I get brave enough to try, I will let you know.

Backpacking in the Uintahs

Over the 24th of July (notice my patriotic handkerchief), Ash and I went backpacking with one of our favorite couples. We aren't great at taking pictures and we just got the CD of the pictures that the other couple took. Here are some of my favorites.

Look at my big fish! This one was a keeper and it was a very satisfying meal!

Even though it looks like big sky country, this beautiful scenery is in our own backyard!

The beautiful sunset where we camped at Dead Horse Lake. All day and night long, we heard the most amazng rock slides going down those chutes. Some of them lasted so long that we could see the dust coume out of them and see exactly where they were going on.

I spy with my little eye a Momma Moose and a Baby Moose! This was the second of two moose couples that we saw. Although they look distant in this picture this duo was only about a football field away, across the meadow. The picture is a little fuzzy because we were hiking through some crazy rain!

The Past is Now

Yesterday, my fiance got some bad news from home. He had a friend that passed away on Thursday night from a pain pill overdose. I had the day off as did he, so we spent the morning getting arrangements made for him to go home for the funeral. After that, we decided to get out of town and head to the Uintahs for a hike.

I am always amazed by the thoughts and conversations you have with yourself when you are hiking in silence in a beautiful place. It has been said that, "Mountains speak, and wise men listen." Yesterday, I realized that the past, not the future, is now. The choices we make, the people we decide to spend time with, the things we learn, all have a way of catching back up with us.

As I was hiking, I thought about the state of the union and how the past is effecting the future. I thought about the stock market and how this punishment has been coming ever since Pres. Clinton's second term when deregulation was established and then Pres. Bush with his hope for every American to acheive the American Dream. Global warming has also been a long time coming, and we are just starting to reap the benefits of our lack of environmental ethics and wastefulness. Yesterday, we realized that the two of us are reaping the benefits of him choosing to come to Utah. We get to spend time in the mountains we love and he spend time with people that have the same ideas about life that we do. We are reaping the benefits of being raised by parents that value the outdoors and were excited and willing to help us learn to share that love.

So ask you, ladies and gentlemen, please, choose wisely because the past is now.

Snickerdoodledandy

I was feeling very domestic the other day, doing laundry, cleaning the house, etc; and I decided to do a little baking. Now, you must understand that lately I haven't been doing much cooking and especially not much baking because I am trying to loose a little weight and keep the tricycle tire around my belly under control. However, I made some snickerdoodles and I forgot how fun it is to bake! I really enjoyed them. If you need a great recipe, let me know and I'll post it.

Havin' a Good Year

I realize that New Year Reflections are a couple of months away but I was taking a shower the other day, a great, warm place to think, and I realized I am having a great year! As one year after another comes to a close, yes, 2009 is only a couple of months away, it is always nice to look back and feel like you have accomplished something. I must say, 2008 has been one of my favorites. Here are a few things that happened.

• I got engaged to Ashley, the man who challenges me every day.
  
• I got out of debt and debt free is the way to be!
  
• I got healthy. Thanks to Ash who encouraged me every day to make myself whole again I am running 20-25 miles/week now and training for my first-ever road marathon.
  
• I AM RUNNING! I forget how nice it feels to be so happy with my fitness and to be on cloud 9 every day because of my exercise.
• I went back to school and found something I am passionate about! You should hear me sometimes, my soapbox is getting very well used. Also, it feels very good to have an academic goal and a career goal after I am finished with my education.
  

Well, five things are enough to make me feel like I have really accomplished a lot this year. I love looking at my life and feeling completely satisfied. How often do you get to look at where you are when the world around you appears to be falling to pieces, and you say to yourself, "I am standing still and I am in control and it makes me happy." That is where I am right now and I am havin' a great year!

Pet Peeves

On Monday, I was doing the New York Times Crossword Puzzle and Pet Peeve was one of the words on the puzzle. Since then, I have been a more aware of my pet peeves. While watching the Vice Presidential debate, there was a string that was stroked the wrong way for about ten minutes of the debate. One of the candidates was constantly using the non-word, nucular. I'm sorry, but didn't President Bush get raked over the coals for doing this not too long ago? How on earth could someone in politics not be aware of the words coming out of her mouth? Let me just make this clear, the word is pronounced NU-CLE-AR, not NU-CU-LAR. A couple of other words you should make sure you say and use correctly, height (not pronounced heighth), farther vs. further (constantly misused in the book "Life of Pie), affect vs. effect, yes, clothes has a th in it unless you are referring to a verb describing the motion of a door, well... you get the point. I only ask one thing, if you are going to put yourself on national public television, know what you are saying to insure that you keep your credibility.

School Years

I am reading a great book right now titled "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv. If anyone wants to know what I am really doing in school, this book explains it perfectly. I joke with people about how my program is play school for grown-ups but it really does have a purpose and I love what I am doing. Anyway, I'll get off my soap box. In class and in my book we have been talking about the value of outdoors and how parents are not allowing their children to have the experiences that they treasure so much in their memories. I have really enjoyed reflecting back on my school years and remember climbing the pear tree when I wanted to 'hide' because I was angry. I remember playing in the vacant lot next door and being so afraid that I would be struck by lightning in a field, I remember going on those bike trips with Dad and learning about the relationship that we have with our Mother Earth and I hope that I can share these experiences with other people. I loved my childhood and I am so glad that Mom let me play outside as well as keep me cultured by helping me learn skills through music. No matter what, I still treasure every chance I get to go trail running. It is so fun and calming and relaxing. Next time you are feeling down on yourself, go outside and play for a while. Right now the leaves are changing and it is the perfect time to flash yourself back to your childhood.

Everyone is Growing Up

I recently had my 23rd birthday and I officially feel like I am in my 20s. It is a strange feeling to be honest. It is the first time in a while that I have actually felt older after I had a birthday. But I am still having the best time of my life. I am engaged and enjoying everything about it. I also just checked out a blog that one of my high school best friends has. She has a bunch of links to blogs that our other high school friends have created. I can't believe how everyone is growing up! People are getting married- myself included, having babies, and living life like adults. I just think it is amazing how time never stops and we all just keep going on and getting on with life. Well, I guess I better get on with it then....

The Gluelesst Card I Ever Made

For Easter Weekend this year, I attended a Bat Mitzvah here in Park City. I have never attended a traditional Jewish Worship so it was pretty interesting. If you know me and ceremonies, there is always a spectacular card involved and this time, I made the neatest card I have ever made, it was glueless! Check it out. The Green strings are holding the front placecard in place and on the inside, they are holding a check (her gift). Then on the inside I also put some pink horizontal strings to hold a message card in place. It was literally one of the coolest cards I have ever made. The best part is the person who received it loved it so much, she told her mom that she wanted to frame it and put it in yer room because she thought it looked more like art than a card. Cards by Belle.

My Super Sister

So my oldest sister has been known for her entrepreneurialism from a very young age. She has always had ideas for making money. Now that she is a stay at home mom with a very successful piano studio and two darling, genius children, she needs something more to do. She has started two great websites where she now sells her products. They are both mom/baby oriented since that is where she is in her life. Check them out at www.crownyourprincess.blogspot.com and www.yourfunstuff.blogspot.com. I am still pursuing my card career. The problem is that every time I make a couple of cards, I end up giving them away. I have a new idea though. I am going to go buy a photo album where I am going to catalog all of my cards. That way, people can order them, I can keep my ideas around, and I will have more and more good stuff to sell. For more great gift ideas check out www.ifthegiftfits.com. (Jedda, I know the woman who runs this site and she would probably be intersted in your stuff!)