My Dad

A few weeks ago after a hard week at work (which I wrote about earlier) so many of my thoughts led to my dad and all that he has taught me. Driving home after one really bad day I thought about my dad the whole way home and I was filled with appreciating and admiration for him. I got home and decided to write down some of the things that I admire the most about my dad. There is no way that I could write down everything I feel for my dad but these are some of the main things.

Things I admire about my dad...

1. How he taught me how to work hard and always do a good job the first time

2. His faith, I have my testimony because of his faith

3. Waking up every morning and seeing my dad in the living room reading his scriptures (EVERY morning)

4. His determination and commitment

5. Confidence in himself, he can do anything

6. How successful he has been in his life

7. All the kind things he does for others, and they are almost always done in secret.

8. The way he taught me to get through the tough time, sometimes just by gritting my teeth

9. He doesn't worry what other people think about him, something I need to learn to do

10. His Father's Blessings every year before school starts, or whenever needed.

11. How proud he is of his kids.

12. How much he secretly loves social gatherings and telling stories.

13. The strong-minded, strong-willed attitude he gave me.

There are many more things I admire about my dad and I know I am who I am today because of him and the father he is to me. I love my dad so much and I am so grateful for the example he sets for me.

*This is one of the most recent pictures I have of my dad, and I like it. His black eye makes me laugh.

The Best Things in Life

I was playing in the internet and came across this list of someone's list of the best things in life. As I read through the list it made me realize how much I love the simple pleasures of life. I enjoyed this list so much I thought I would share it with all of my readers (all 3 of you). I have added my own comments and changes in Green and highlighted my favorites in Blue.
The Best Things in Life

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts - and your stomach
3. A hot shower - and then crawling into bed.
4. No lines at the Super Wal-Mart.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside - especially a thunder storm
10. Hot towels out of the dryer.
11. Finding the sweater you want is on sale for half price.
12. Chocolate milkshake - From Sonic or made with vanilla and chocolate syrup
13. A long distance phone call.
14. A bubble bath.
15. Giggling.
16. A good conversation.
17. The beach.
18. Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter.
19. Laughing at yourself - especially when you are the only one who thinks you are funny
20. Midnight phone calls that last for hours
21. Running through sprinklers
22. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
23. Having someone tell you you are beautiful
24. Laughing at an inside joke.
25. Friends.
26. Falling in love for the first time.
27. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
28. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours to sleep
29. Your first kiss - with each new person and the anticipation for the first kiss
30. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
31. Playing with a new puppy.
32. Late night talks with your roommate that keep you from sleeping -or your sisters
33. Havings someone play with your hair
34. Sweet dreams.
35. Hot Chocolate.
36. Road trips with friends.
37. Swinging on swings.
38. Watching a good movie cuddled up on a couch with someone you love.
39. Wrapping presents under the Christmas tree while eating cookies and drinking eggnog.
40. Song lyrics printed inside your new CD so you can sing along without feeling stupid - or singing along anyways even when you don't have the words
41. Going to a really good concert.
42. Getting butterflies in your stomach every time you see that one person.
43. Making eye contact with a cute stranger
44. Winning a really competitive game - why do we all love this?
45. Making chocolate chip cookies - or chocolate cookies with Aiden and Andrew
46. Having your friends send you homemade cookies!
47. Spending time with close friends!
48. Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends.
49. Holding hands with someone you care about.
50. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
51. Discovering that love is unconditional and stronger than time.
52. Riding the best roller coasters over and over.
53. Hugging the person you love - Hugs are the best!
54. Watching the expression someone's face as they open a much-desired present from you.
55. Watching the sunrise.
56. Getting out of bed every morning and thanking God for another beautiful day.
57. Having friends you know you can cry on or talk to about your deepest problems

I think this list could go on and on. I hope that we all realize all the good things we have in our lives. I know I tend to focus on so many negative things but this little list reminded me of all the little things in life that are so exciting and make me so happy!

The Napping House

The past couple of nights my room has been transformed into "The Napping House." On Thursday night Aiden and Andrew snuck out of their room after going to bed and came down stairs. They watched TV with Mom and Dad and then they came to see me and ended up crawling in bed with me. We all fell asleep and had a fun little sleepover. The next night James and Josh came to spend the night and they needed a place to sleep so they shared my bed. By this morning Aiden had come downstairs to sleep with us as well. So it was me and three little boys all sleeping in my bed. When I woke up and looked at all of us in bed the image of the book "The Napping House" filled my mind.

I can't think of anything better than cuddling with my cute nephews! I love them!

Waiting for 5:30

I don't think I have ever been more ready for a weekend. You would think on a short week that I didn't have to work Monday and Tuesday the week wouldn't be too bad. But when you come back from Christmas and work is as busy as ever, the week seems to be endless!

Happiness

I have the wonderful opportunity to live with 5 of the cutest litttle kids and it is so much fun. Everyday I get to see how exciting life is when you are little. The smallest things bring them such happiness. I love watching their excitement when someone gives them attention or they get to help make cookies or share your drink. I love to hear them laugh when they play and the way they talk to each other. Kids are such a blessing to be able to remember what joy can come from the small things in life. Little kids are able to spread happiness where ever they go and whoever they are with (most of the time). I think I am so lucky to be able to spend so much time with them and watch them discover the world.

12th Day of Christmas

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two personal skillets that allow me to make my favorite treat! You bake a big cookie in the skillet and then put ice cream on top. I love it! Accompanying the gift was a water bottle from Old Navy filled with candy. I know that it has to be someone in my family and I am going back to my original guess of Heidi, but it could be any of the girls in my family. If I never find out I hope that who ever did it knows how much I appreciate it. It was so thoughtful and the gifts were all things that I liked. I appreciate the thought, time and kindness that was put into this gesture. So if my Secret Santa reads this, THANK YOU!

Christmas Eve Breakfast

This morning part of my family when to Market Street Grill for a holiday breakfast. You would think by going to a nice restaurant you would have a good experience, but let me explain what happened. When we first got there we had to wait just over 30 minutes and while waiting in the waiting room an employee one by one came and took the chairs we were occupying. Then when we sat down we waited for about 15 minutes for our waitress to come take our orders. We placed our orders for our drinks and then she wanted to take our orders for our meals. She was like a high pressure salesman, pushing you to make a decision. She wasn't very patient and often rude. We waited another 15 minutes before she finally brought out my watered down Diet Coke and cold "hot" chocolate. Needless to say our food was a little bit longer and waiting for the check was fun too. Although it wasn't the best customer service, we had excellent food and I would defiantly go back.

I know I complain about this waitress's service, but I myself am in customer service and regardless of having a bad day or bad customers, you still serve them the best you can. I had no patience for her and I guess that is my fault.

10th and 11th Days of Christmas

This morning I received my gift for the 10th and 11th days of Christmas. For the 10th day of Christmas I got a little desk gift which contained a notebook, address book, pencil, and picture frame. For the 11th day I got a calendar for next month. I am back to square one of knowing who is doing this for me. I thought it was Heidi, but she claims its not her... Do I believe her or not?

8th and 9th Days of Christmas

Yesterday on the 8th day of Christmas I had a box of Reese's Peanut Buttercups sitting on my windshield. I almost didn't see it given that I didn't get out to my car until about 6:00 and the storm had been going for about an hour. And today, on the 9th day, I got a cute red candle with greenish-silver snowflakes on the side. It was way cute. Can you believe it is almost Christmas? I almost don't want it to come so I keep getting such fun gifts!!!

Working Out

Today I got off work early because I had to go in early today. I made a goal that I was going to stay and work out every night this week. Do you know how hard it is to get off work early just to go work out? I don't know how I managed to muster that much self control but I am happy to say I actually stayed and even did a longer work out. I know that you never finish working out and wish you hadn't done it, but I am really glad I stayed. I am kind of being counter productive because all I do is eat junk, what is working out going to do me if I just consume all those calories I just burned? My work needs to stop bringing treats and buying lunch out!

7th Day of Christmas

Today, on the 7th day of Christmas, I received a cream scarf. It is so soft, I love it!

Santa's Workshop

The other day my sisters and mom got together to put together some Christmas chocolates. This was not a little task, my sisters were all out chocolatiers. It was like Willey Wonka meets Santa Claus. They made shaped chocolates, chocolate covered pretzels with different colors, sprinkles. It was like artwork. My sisters have a joke that once you have sex you get creative. I guess this is why I was just an observer in this activity...

6th Day of Christmas

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....

3 cute sets of clear stamps (if you scrapbook you know what I am talking about.)

Christmas in San Francisco

At the beginning of this month I got to go to San Francisco with my mom and sisters Heidi and Jamie. It was so much fun. One of the funnest things of the trip was that the city was all decorated for Christmas! In Union Square there was a HUGE Christmas tree, Macy's had huge wreaths in every window, Saks Fifth Avenue had big snowflake lights all on the front of the store, Neiman Marcus had a huge 7 story Christmas tree inside, large ornaments filled building courtyards, every where you looked it was Christmas. I loved it!

3rd and 4th Days of Christmas

Today when I got home from work my parents had come to visit. With them they brought presents for days 3 and 4. Day three was bath fizz and a notepad and day four was stamps and an ink pad. They were left at my parents house late Saturday night. It adds a whole new piece to the puzzle. Whoever is doing this nice task knows where my parents live and are probably closer to there than my house in Bountiful. Whoever it is, it is one of the nicest things anyone has done for me. I really appreciate the effort and thought this person is putting into this.

5th Day of Christmas

Today is the 5th Day of Christmas and today my true love gave to me... body lotion, shower gel, and a loofah. The identity of my secret Santa is still unknown. I am very intrigued and hope they know how much I like this gesture.

Jacob

Tonight I was checking my e-mail when my brother Jacob IM me. I was surprised and happy as we started talking. Our conversation progressed and we were able to talk about a lot of things and a lot of things of the heart. As I was talking to him I was overcome with emotions and started to cry. I thought at first it may have been what we were talking about, but soon realized it was because of my abundant love for him. Jacob is one of the people that has always impressed me. I have this amazing admiration for him and think the world of him. He is my big brother and that could be part of it, but he has always set such a good example. He is smart, spiritual and is just one of those people who is "cool" without even trying. I don't know quite how to explain everything I admire about Jacob.

We haven't always had a close relationship but I feel like I have a special connection with him. As we talked tonight I felt so blessed to have him in my life.

Good Night

Tonight was a good night.

Bake Day

Every year at Christmas my family gets together for what we call "Bake Day." Most would gather from the name the nature of this day, but few realize the extent of the baking. Bake Day consists of all my girl cousins on my dad's side getting together and making lots of Christmas cookies. And when I say lots, I mean lots. Today was the blessed event and let me describe the events...

First we have to prep for a whole day of baking, about 5 hours of cookie making. Most would think this isn't a outrageous amount of time but when you have 9 people working you would think it wouldn't take as long. This 5 hours should be impressive because after years of Bake Day and hours and hours at Dodee's house, we have got a system down and are able to accomplish quite a bit in these 5 hours (which I think is a record). Countless bake days have lasted much longer than 5 hours and we were determined to cut it down. So after 5 hours, 4 different kinds of cookies and over 1500 cookies later, we finished the day and called it a success.

2nd Day of Christmas

Today is the 2nd day of Christmas and I got two bead kits. The package was delivered by a fellow co-worker who said it had changed hands several times. The identity is still unknown This is so exciting!

Christmas!

I love the Christmas season! I love the lights, the decorations, the snow, the excitement, pretty much everything about Christmas I love! I know that giving gifts is fun, but its also fun to receive. I had such a fun surprise on my desk this morning when I got in from school. There was a gift with a tag that said "On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me..." and inside was a package of pens (which I love) and some lip gloss. I thought it was the best! Part of the fun is that I have no idea who it is from and it is so thoughtful. It's so nice to be thought of.

Stupid Car People

Friday I went out of my way to get my snow tires put on my car. I drove away from the car place and on my way back to work (2 hours later) my car started to shake and make funny noises, like the tires were rubbing on something. I let this go on until last night when the noise and shaking made me want to pull over and walk home. I knew that the tires just needed to be aligned and balanced. So I took my car in this morning and sure enough, that's all it needed.

As I drove away I started thinking, That is so stupid that I, being a girl and not knowing anything about cars, knew what was wrong. Who puts new tires on a car and doesn't balance and align them? I hate taking your car in to get something done and you come out with more problems, it wastes my time and I don't like it!

Happily Ever After

Tonight I went and saw "Enchanted" with my family and I LOVED it! I've always known I am a hopeless romantic, and I realized that even more tonight. This movie is how I want my life to be. I want to always believe that one day my prince will find me and it will be love at first sight and he will sweep me off my feet and of course we will live happily ever after.

I know that life won't always be perfect like the fairy tales but I want to make every day the best, especially when I do find my prince. I want to show him how much I love him each and every day, even if it isn't by singing and dancing everyday.... but I wouldn't be opposed to that either.

Let it snow!

I would have to say that this past snow storm is probably the first snow of the season. I know it has snowed before, but I think it is here to stay now. I have always enjoyed the snow when it first falls but I soon get sick of it, but I think that this year could be different. Last night as the snow was falling I fell in love with the snow. I have always thought it was pretty, but it really was beautiful last night. I felt like I was in a whole different world. When everything was white, including the roads, it felt so peaceful. With the comfortable temperature, it wasn't freezing like it can sometimes be, and the fluffy snowflakes falling softly down, instead of a blizzard, it seemed like the perfect weather. Its nights like this that I love living here in Utah.

You always hear the analogies of the snow being like a "blanket" or it being a "winter wonderland," but people parallel them for a reason. The snow covered everything like a big quilt keeping the earth warm from the storm. And the winter wonderland is exactly what it is. It felt like the movies when the right music is playing and perfect snowflakes are falling down, and in most cases a romantic love scene is about to start. I've always wanted my life to be like the movies with everything picture perfect and all the right music playing and last night was almost better than the movies.