Hats off to all Moms

I have a 4 year old pug, Missy, who I had to leave in AZ when I moved to Utah. She is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known, but last night she I and I had a few words, and I remembered how much I appreciate all of you moms. I have always had a weak stomach, so last night when my Missy started to throw up, so did I. I hate throw up, everything about it. When I smell it or see it, I start throwing up as well. Needless to say it has been a long night, and a long morning.

Merry Christmas

As I am sitting here tonight I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I have decided that it doesn't matter all of the things I forgot to do, the cards I didn't have time to send, the carols I didn't sing. What is important to me this Christmas eve is that my Savior and older Brother was born in a humble stable, that he lived a perfect life, and that he suffered for my sins, my pains, and my heartaches. He knows the pains and the temptations that I deal with, and he has not left me alone. He has cried my tears and shared in my successes. Through Him miracles are performed, through him I find my greatest hopes, joys and peace. May we all spend a few moments this week with thoughts of the miracles that have blessed our lives. I hope that as you enjoy your Christmas that you are able to feel the love of our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas ~ I love you all

Which Lady from Twilight are you?

So I took a quiz(I know I am supposed to be writing a paper, but Heidi said I had to have a little bit of fun today :))Anyway it was to see which Character you are most like in Twilight. This was my result, and can I just say I am not happy about it. Any personal coaching would be greatly appreciated! But on a positive note she does end up with the guy in the end right?


Isabella Swan



Bella is very pale with long, straight, and brown hair. She always had few friends and is incredibly clumsy, which leads her to avoid all sports. She also loves hiking, cliffdiving, and motorcycling, but hates parties. She drives a Chevrolet Truck, since she doesn't care about fanciness and speed. In relationship, her lack of self esteem sometimes took her long to make her realize that she's actually worth it to many guys. She also tends to maintain a smooth, romantic relationship.

Another Thought

Two thousand years ago, two fisherman left their nets and walked away from everything that would hold them back from coming to know Jesus Christ. Heeding his invitation, they followed the Savior and were blessed to experiance incredible events, which burned an undeniable testimony upon their souls. If we are willing, we too can find opportunities that will allow us to come to know the Savior Personally. - Emily Freeman



My desire today is for all of us ... to have more straightforward personal experiences with the Savior's example. Sometimes we seek heaven too obliquely, focusing on programs or history or the experiance of others. These are imporant but not as important as personal experience, true discipleship, and the strength that comes from experiencing firsthand the majest of His touch - Jeffrey R. Holland

This week as I have tried to determine what I have filling my nets or what I allow to hold me back from having a better relationsip with the Savior I am reminded of how human I am, but as Isaih teaches (One of the only things I comprehend from Him) even when I fall short and seem to be discouraged, or as I continue to sin that the Lords hand is stretched out still. The invitation to us is the very same one He gave to the fisherman long ago:Come and See (John 1:46) I have realized that the more I come to him the more I am able to see.

Invitation

I have decided that this year I am going to spend more time focusing on Christ and giving then the commercialism of Christmas that I normally focus on. I feel like I am so blessed to have the knowledge that I do, and that I can celebrate his birth. I saw this video tonight, and after having a very wonderful experience I thought I would share it with you. I hope this finds you well and happy, and that it warms your heart and reminds you of the love that our Savior has for each one of us.

Zion's National Park

Yesterday I had to go to Southern Utah for work. The group that I was fingerprinting was at a resort in Zion's, and I went the long way to get there, so I decided to take a shortcut through Hurricane to get home (Expensive Shortcut). It was a very pretty drive, but today I wish I would have slowed down to enjoy it a little more. It probably would have helped if I had not been driving, and the guard rails are a block wall that is maybe a foot tall (Like I couldn't drive over that) The worst part of the whole drive was the tunnel - 1.2 miles with absolutely no lights in it. I hate driving through tunnels anyway, but this tunnel had curves in it. I guess I made it out alright! It was a really pretty drive, makes you thankful for the beauties of the earth.



This week was another long week with a lot of traveling, but it's all part of the job I guess.

A few weeks ago our stake had Young Women in Excellence night. We had decided that we were going to have our Young Women help with the moving of the cannery here. Well it worked out that that didn't work out so instead a sweet couple in our ward taught us all how to do pottery. Sheila (The lady in the video) taught the girls. We are all like clay in the Lord's hands, and if we all let them He will do more with our lives than we can.

This is the video that we put together for our presentation. I get to work with amazing young women & leaders. I am really blessed!

Hooray for me

Ok - so I know that I haven't blogged for a while and then all the sudden bam - Like 12 new blogs, but I just had to share this (poor people that I work with had to hear it at least 3 times today, I was so proud of myself). Because of my major procrastination (Signing up for classes the day before they start) I ended up with a 7am biology class. I know that I have whined and complained about it the whole semester, but I decided this week that I am really going to buckle down and finish the semester strong. It had been a few weeks since I had even been to biology, and I had never been to it when I wasn't trying to keep myself awake the entire time. So the exiting news! Not only did I make it to Biology this morning, but I stayed awake the entire time. - Big accomplishment for me!

Happy Birthday Holly

Two years ago if someone had told me that there were still good times ahead, that broken hearts do mend, that pain gets easier in time, and that there are people who are placed in our lives for a special purpose I probably would have laughed at them. After making the scary move to Utah I met one of my dearest friends Holly. Although I was supposed to be her visiting teacher she did more of the teaching. I don't know how she always knew when I was having a bad day, but I always got a phone call just at the right time.






Holly - Thank you so much for always being there for me, and helping me to see the sun behind the clouds.

~ Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same ~

I hope you have a happy birthday, Wish that I was there to share it with you!

Halloween @ Pinnacle

Sorry - I am having technical difficulty, you have to read the epistle post below to get the slideshows. I tried to add them as a video in the post, but it didn't work. Sorry!

Mount Rushmore

I am alive

So I have been a little busy lately, actually been on the road a lot lately. I made it to 5 states in 6 days. I have a ton to post about, but between traveling and school I just haven't had time, so I am really really sorry for the long post.

Trip 1: Montrose, CO - 596.44 Miles 10/24 - 10/26

I went to visit my brother and his family, and to see his kids in thier primary program. I had so much fun, and I can honetly say I have some of the cutest nieces and nephews in the world. I wished I had more time to spend with them. On Saturday Morning I got to watch Hunter while everyone else was gone, and Debbie called and said that she needed help with the her practice for the primary program so I was hurrying to get ready to go and I asked Hunter to get himself dressed. Pretty soon he came up the stairs dressed.

I had to laugh, he had his shirt on upside down, but He was so proud of himself, and told me "I look like Rustin Huh" I just giggled. It turned out that Debbie's help showed up so Hunter and I went on a treat run. He had to drive the car cart. Let me just tell you I am shopping cart retarded. It was like driving a bus down a one way street, but luckily we made it out of the grocery store with no major mishaps, of course when we got up to the checkout there was a few extra items in the cart that were at Hunters level and he decided we needed. I won't lie, I am a softy and wish I could spoil these kids more. After the practice for the primary program we had a trampoline rodeo complete with bulls and broncs. I think we had a special appearance from Red Rock "Wes" and Rough Rider "Rustin". Ryanne and I got to be the announcers. They were a lot of fun.




Trip 2 - Rexburg, ID 577.14 Miles, 10/30/08

In August our company purchased an electronic fingerprint machine, which has been a wonderful help to me. It allows us to fingerprint people one time and keep the fingerprints on file. Since all of the states that we work in require it just helps us out a lot. It took a lot of smooth talking to get this machine, since the setup cost over $23,000, but once we got it they decided they liked it so much that they allowed us to order 2 more - one for our Rexburg office, and a mobile one that I can take around the country to fingerprint people. So Anyway... On Thursday morning I left at 3:30 am so that I could make it to Rexburg, train them on how to use the machine, help them do a few livescans and make it back for my class at 6 pm in Spanish Fork. Guess what... I did it. Call me crazy, not my funnest trip, but I made it. (Of course I think I dozed through most of the class). I just hope that it helps to make my job easier.

After class that night I ran back to Pinnacle and helped them decorate for Halloween. This year we did an Alice of Wonderland Theme. Amber Tilley did an amazing job making everything perfect. Of course we won the contest for best decorations. Because of my hate of halloween I took the day off, but they did a really good job.




Trip 3 - Casper, WY, 875.06 miles 10/31 - 11/2/08

I have been wanting to go see Holly since she moved, and I finally made it. IT IS A LONG WAY UP THERE!! It was a nice drive though, I got to pretend that I was a race car driver for a few hours, which is always fun for me.

I made it up there in time to go to the ward party. Of course they had a really fun ward, where Holly's chili was a huge hit. The carnival was really cute and then they wen't trick or treating and they both got pillowcases full of candy. It was crazy, but I had a lot of fun.



Trip 4 - Casper to Mt. Rushmore - 462.32 Miles 11/1/08

This was a fun drive. It was nice to be able to have some time to visit with Holly & Kennen, even if Kennen did make fun of me. (10 months is a long time Kennen) Thanks to my dad I have always wanted to take a trip to Mount Rushmore, and even though we made it after it was dark it was still amazing. I loved every minute of it. Thanks guys for taking me.



Last week has been a very busy one with school. I had a couple of tests, and have a couple more this week. I can't believe the semester is almost over. Hopefully I can pull some good grades out of it. I am a little worried about Biology, but I haven't given up on it yet. - Note to self, don't take 7am classes again.

Hope you guys are all doing well. Let me know if I can do anything for you.

Corn Belly's

Cornbelly's Corn Maze

Last night a few friends and I went to the corn maze at Thanksgiving Point. I think Halloween is my least favorite part of fall. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have to make it creepy, or involve spiders in any way, but they do. I let them talk me into going through the Haunted Corn Maze. The whole time I kept thinking that this will be over before you know it. Just not my idea of fun! The worst part of the whole maze was the guy chasing me with a chainsaw. I felt bad later, but I think I almost took out some little kids running from him. I guess it didn't kill me, but definatly not something I want to do again any time soon.

The coolest part of the whole night was the jack-o-lantern tower. Somebody has some amazing talent for sure. There were a ton of really cool carvings, including President Hinckley's face. Sorry Stef - I didn't get a good one of Jack Sparrow :(, but it was cool anyway.

The ABC's of Me

Disclaimer -

I am really not that interesting. Just giving you the heads up now!

The ABC's of Me:




A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Single - Unless you count being married to my job (I am working on it Holly)


B. BEST FRIEND? I have a lot, Many Fabulous people have touched my life for good.


C. CAKE OR PIE? Cake


D. DAY OF THE WEEK? Sunday - No work, No School, a lot of sleep!


E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Unfortunately my Cell phone or Ipod (I know I have a pink phone, call me crazy. I do everytime I see it)


F. FAVORITE COLOR? Blue


G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Worms (Especially the sour ones)


H. HOMETOWN? Shumway, AZ (it even shows up on some maps now!)


I. INDULGENCE? I love music & Chocolate


J. JANUARY OR JULY? I love January, but July is good too?


K. KIDS? Not That Lucky I am really grateful for friends who let me enjoy thier kids.) (Love my nieces and nephews try to be the favorite Aunt, but my sisters have me beat by a long shot.

L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? A good laugh everyday.


M. MARRIAGE DATE? When will the millennium be here??


N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 5 brothers, 4 sisters (Wouldn't trade it for the world)


O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Depends on the mood, I eat more apples - just because they are easier to eat.


P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? I HATE SPIDERS, THEY SCARE ME TO DEATH!!!


Q. QUOTE? You only live once, but if you live right once is enough.


R. REASONS TO SMILE? People who care about me, Crazy thoughts going through my head.


S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Superman


T. TAG 5 PEOPLE? Mandi, Zonnie, Audra, Beth, Stephanie


U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? I wanted to be a famous barrel racer when I grew up.


V. VEGETABLES? Anything except tomatoes


W. WORST HABIT? Inpatient and Not A good listener


X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? It really doesn't matter.


Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? It totally depends on my mood, Tonight Dad's Chile sounds really good


Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Sagittarius

Jon Schmidt Concert

Last night a friend and I went to the Jon Schmidt concert. If you ever get a chance to see him in concert do it. He is not only very talented, but a great entertainer as well. He really gets into it, using everything to play including his head and feet. He turns over and plays the piano upside down, and plays better that way than I can normally. He had me laughing hard, but had me in tears at one point (I think it is because the lack of sleep these days). Check him out @ www.jonschmidt.com He has all of music there to listen to as well as video, and you can actually download his music. ***He will be in Snowflake October 29th!

Pottery Night

A FUN night at YW

Tonight for YW we went to a couple in our wards home to make some pottery. Sheila & Denny are wonderful people, who are both very generous and patient with us. I have really come to love them since I have been here. I think the girls all had a good time, and we all left with smiles. If you ever get an opportunity to do pottery I would definatly recomend it.

Tagged by Mandi

(Only a week later)

8 T.V. shows I love to watch:
(I don't watch T.V. anymore, but I used to love:)
Extreme Home Makover
Trading Spaces
Law & Order
Something about designing on a budget??
Clinton & Stacy's show? - Man this is really bad, I can't remember anything - Oh yeah - What not to Wear
Deadliest Catch
NBC Dateline
Smallville


8 favorite places I love to eat:
My favorites depend totally on my mood
Bajios
Panda Express
Olive Garden
Eva's - I haven't found a GOOD mexican food place here
Red Lobster
Kneaders
Pizza Hut
Nielsen Family Kitchen

8 Things that happened yesterday:
(My life isn't that interesting, I don't have that many things)
Biology - 7am - Yuck!
Work
Class
Homework
Wyatt's Homework
Reading
Journal
Sat on hold with the credit agency for a long time, didn't ever get a live person (gotta love it!)

8 Things I look forward to:
Tomorrow
December
Christmas break -
The weekend
Having millions so I can visit people all over the world
Bieng done with school
Happily Ever After
Bieng a Mom


8 Things I love about fall
(I absolutly love fall)
The colors
The Smells
The Cooler Air
The leaves changing colors
Playing in the leaves
Fall baking (Not that I can bake)
The Moon is prettier in the fall
Cute fall decorations

8 Things on My Wish list:
To be teaching by 2010
Happiness for everyone
More hours in the day
To be able to stay awake during biology
Instant Travel - Blink your eyes and your there
To be a little girl and be able to run free like a wild child and not care what others think about me.
Learn to play the guitar - for real, not the little stuff I do now.
To have fun while trying to find Prince Charming - He has to have a white horse.

8 People I'm Tagging:
Holly
Audra
Zonnie
Stef
Kris
Shell
Heather
Sarah

The Race

A year ago on the 15th I ran in the Top of Utah Marathon. After a little over 500 miles of training, I was as ready as I was ever going to get. I think the training was much harder than the actual marathon. I learned to run among the pain of a bad ankle, soar feet from blisters, and losing toenails. (I lost 5 by the time I was done). Since I had never been a runner this was a whole new experience for me, one that taught me a lot in many different ways. Even though my Marathon was hard, it definitely has not been the hardest thing in my life. One of the most important lessons that I learned is that I am not alone in this life. We all have hard struggles in life. Some have lost jobs, homes, children, spouses, dreams. At mile 13, or in our darkest hour when we fill like giving up I learned that if we call out to our Heavenly Father he will bless us with the ability to keep going, and send people to run along with us. I know that our Father in Heaven knows us each individually and he loves us. He knows we can succeed, and he is waiting for us to cross the finish line of life. I am so thankful for the lessons that I learned from this. Thanks to all of you who helped me not only with my marathon, but with the challenges of life that we all face. If there is anything I can for you please let me know.
~

(I know this isn't a good picture, but I had just ran 26.2 miles, and the guy in front of me fell and turned his face into hamburger)


Last Year the Young Women Presidency asked me to speak at Young Women in Excellence about the running my marathon. Their theme was Life is Like a Marathon. My sister Heather wrote the following poem for my talk.
~
The Race
One last run, one last mile, I race tomorrow, one last smile one more joke with my brother & friend until I see him again at the end.
Lining up at the starting line, my goal is not to make the best time but to finish the race as I started it. Spectators line up to cheer me away. See you at the finish Father and Brother say.
The starting gun, off like a shot in a strange course that I forgot. Stumbling on until checkpoint 1, my guide sends me on with directions to run. Continuing on I stumble and fall- get up cries my Brother and Lengthen your stride. Limping along I regain my speed and pause to help others in their times of need. I must stay on course I can’t deviate. To stray from the path might make me to late for the chance to triumph and win. To be with my loved ones once again; careworn, weary I must stop to rest I have to give in to the feeling deep in my breast. I am not good enough, I should not have tried I will never complete this race I cry.
My spirits are low, I weep in despair. Then I look to my side and in answer to prayer. There is my Brother, my hero and friend, running beside me till I reach the end. Cheering me on, though his race is through; he is trying so hard with all he can do to help me complete the course he has run. He knows my trials, he will help me o’ercome he will help me complete the race I’ve begun. He will run alongside, I just have to ask. Then as I cross the line and finish my task He will be waiting in Glory and Father and Son will embrace me with joy and proclaim job well done.

Labor Day Weekend

My idea of a perfect Labor Day Weekend includes a good camp out (even if it does rain every day), great food, fun games, and a weekend with Family. That is just what I had this year! I was able to go to my Goodman family reunion this year. I love them. I can count on two fingers the number of times I have missed it. As always we had a fabulous time this year - even with the bad weather. I love spending time in the dirt with my family. I love the traditions of the reunion. I love that every year I get to help fix breakfast for everybody, that every year Todd is going to give his Famous "Ragged Ol Flag", but I have to say, I missed the Goodman song & Pancho Via this year. It was a special treat to have Jeremy & his family there this year, but I also got to see Troy’s kids - Justin & Shaina and Jeff’s boys - Lane & Colton. Please don’t judge us by the pictures - We were camping! I was sad to have to leave. I think I owe a lot to my parents for teaching me to love being outdoors so much. I just love spending time in the forest, I love sleeping in a tent with the rain coming down, and I love star gazing. The stars in the forest are amazing! One night while I was there, I wrote in my journal that I would love to be a frontier woman in the old days and live in the woods, but then I remembered how much I loved showers and flushing toilets. Good thing for camping! I can’t wait for next year.



On a side note - I started school last week. Yuck! I am only taking 12 credits this semester, but I think I will probably stay busy with School, Work, and Young Womens. We shall see if it causes me too loose my mind.

I think I have lost my mind

I really need to be working on my YW lesson or the talk I am supposed to be giving tomorrow, but I had to share this! Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely hate heights with a passion. Although I have joked about skydiving being on my list of things to do before I die, I never really thought that I could actually do it. Today I went to lagoon with some friends from work, and earlier this week we were joking about riding the sky coaster, a ride that tries to give you the same effect as sky diving. Well, I kind of played with the idea, and said yes that I do it, but I knew I could always chicken out. Well Melissa & Caleb didn't let me. Before I could talk them out of riding it, they had my ticket. I was so completely scared out of my mind, I was shaking while they were suiting me up, and then to make matters worse they told me that I had to pull the cord to release us. Basically they pull you up pretty high and then you pull the cord and you free fall and swing for a while. The whole way to the top I kept thinking I was going to pass out or hyper-ventilate I was so scared! Pulling the cord wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, because I knew when the drop was coming.I was really nervous about it, but I am so glad that I did it. I am still on an adrenaline high. Guess what! Sky diving is defiantly back on my list of things to do! Defy Gravity!

Youth Confrence

Last week I got to go to Youth Confrence with my Young Women & Young Men in my ward. It was so much fun & such a good experiance to me. It was a testimony builder of the strength of todays youth. They are truly special spirits from our Heavenly Father. The weekend included a lot of good food (Thanks Amy), Baptisms for the dead (Thanks Brother Olsen & Wolfe), Bowling at Popin Pins (Napolean Dynomite bowled there) (Thanks Jeremy), A fabulous fireside by our youth (Thanks Travis, Courtney, Stephanie & Ryan), A service project, Floating the bear river (Thanks Jake & Jeremy), and shooting. I did a lot better this round bowling. I think my better game was like an 84 or something. Even with all the trials of the week before, it was such a wonderful experiance.