So many things

1. General Conference - As I prepared for conference, I really wanted to go into it with a specific question. The problem is - the question/concern that has been on my mind is so NOT specific. But I prayed about it anyway. And even though the thoughts of my heart were not specific, the answers were very specific and very direct. I love conference! I am thankful for my testimony of the gospel. I am so thankful I can listen to the prophets and I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayers (even when His children aren't quite sure exactly what they're praying for)!!

2. Family time - I ended up in St. George this weekend. I've really missed my mom! I have loved spending time with her. I'm thankful she is feeling better! And I'm thankful Jared and Wendee and the kids are here too!!

3. The sun - I love the sun! We spent a good chunk of the day outside at the swimming pool. It was so warm and sunny! I even got a little bit of color. I'm thankful that summer is not too far away!

4. Lobster and shrimp - We went to Red Lobster for dinner tonight. It was super delicious! And again - I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with my family.

5. Rocky Mountain Chocolate apple pie carmel apples - yum! I'm thankful we didn't die when we crossed a very busy street to get there!!

I love days like today. Some days it's really hard for me to think of something I'm thankful for (that I haven't already written about). Not today. Today there were too many things to pick just one!!

The word turd

Because really, what else could make a car full of 3 adults and 4 kids laugh hysterically?

A UTA pass

I don't love public transportation. I would probably never buy a UTA pass with my own money. But I get one for free from work. I haven't used it a ton - usually just a few times a year if it snows really bad and I don't want to be on the roads. But with gas prices on the rise, I decided I should probably take advantage of that free pass I have. I can take the train and trax and get within a few blocks of my office. It definitely takes longer, but I'm thankful for the option I have to ride UTA and save $8 a day on gas!! I'm going to try to choose that option 2 or 3 times a week...assuming I can continue to tolerate the crazy people who ride UTA!!

Carter

This is Carter.  Today, Carter turned 8!!  He is such a handsome little man!  I love his red hair (it's a darker red than the rest) and his little grin melts my heart!  He loves monster trucks and legos.  Of the four C's, he is the only one who will cuddle!  He is all set to be baptized next month and I am so proud of him!  I love him to pieces and I'm thankful he was born 8 years ago today!

Dinner with old friends

Old friends = friends I've had since 4th grade. Adrienne (who is married, has 3 kids and lives on the other side of the country) and Laura (who is also married and has a child) came over for a BBQ tonight. It was fun to chat for a bit. Adrienne's family came. Her kids are adorable and did a pretty good job keeping us entertained. We Introduced to the kids to root beer floats (my dad would be so proud). I'm grateful that we all still stay in contact. And I'm thankful for the time we got to spend together tonight.

Older brothers

I'm thankful I get to be the youngest. That means I have older siblings to look out for me. Tonight Jared came over to my house and set my TV up. It's not just any TV. It's connected to a computer that talks to another computer and allows me to watch recorded TV in my room without having to pay a monthly fee. It's pretty sweet. I'm thankful for the equipment that Aaron gave me and I'm thankful that Jared was willing (and knew how) to make it all work! Brothers are great! I'm thankful for mine!

Tiny babies

I got to hold two tiny babies tonight. There is something so calming and peaceful and perfect about cuddling a sleeping newborn baby. Maybe it's knowing they just came from heaven. Maybe it's knowing they are completely dependent. Maybe it's because they are still so perfect. Whatever it is, it's good for the soul. I'm thankful I could go to the Packard's house tonight. And I'm thankful for those little baby boys!!

The 1st day of soccer

The first day of spring soccer is probably one of my favorite days of work. I love it. There is so much work that goes into organizing youth sports. The pay-off happens when I get to see the kids at their games - the games I scheduled, with the friends I made sure they got to play with, in the uniform I ordered for them, and the referees I hired and trained to help them learn the rules. It's very satisfying. Their smiles are priceless! I'm thankful for days like today, which help me to be thankful for my job.

Willing employees

There are about 40 people who work for me. I got to interview them, hire them, and train them. While most of my employees are pretty good, there are a few who are exceptional. There are a few I can count on to step up when we're in a bind. There a few I can count on to do hard things. It is so comforting to be able to trust the people on your team! It makes me want to strive to be more dependable myself!

Midnight movies!

We went to a midnight movie tonight (...last night...this morning...I haven't gone to bed yet so I still consider it "tonight"). I actually don't love midnight movies. I usually can't stay awake through them, so I usually don't enjoy the movie. And I always hate my life the next day. But this movie (Hunger Games) was different. I stayed awake through it and I definitely enjoyed the movie. And I am thankful for all the friends I got to see the movie with! I'm pretty sure I'll still hate my life tomorrow (or, I guess later today). But I'll deal with that tomorrow!

Jokes in the Celestial Room

Tonight was ward temple night. I love the temple. After the session, we chatted with our Bishop in the Celestial Room. Krista told him about how we went to the Kelly Clarkson concert last night and our cars got towed. We told him how ridiculous the whole situation was. Without skipping a beat, the Bishop quoted Kelly Clarkson's current single and said, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" We just about died laughing!! It was just too classic!

John

John is Mary's husband. Mary is Krista's co-worker. Krista is my roommate. Tonight I went to the Kelly Clarkson concert with Krista, Krista's sisters Michelle and Heather and Heather's friend Stephanie. The concert was great. We all had a blast. Until...we walked back to the parking lot to find that the two cars we came in had been towed. The 5 of us girls were stranded in West Valley City at 10:30pm. This was NOT an ideal situation! After arranging to have someone meet us at the tow yard, we had to find someone (with a car that could seat 5) to get us there. Krista called Mary. Mary sent John. While I am definitely not thankful for the situation, I am thankful that John was willing to go out in the middle of the night to rescue us! We'll have to make him some cookies or something!

Busy weeks

Today is the first day of a crazy busy week! It will be busy with work things and fun things. This morning I made a chart. I had to organize my time. I had to plan for the things that are most important to me. I am thankful for busy weeks. I operate better with a little bit of stress in my life. I love having to organize my time and set priorities! That's pretty nerdy...but it's true!

Alarm-free mornings

I LOVE being able to sleep in until my body is ready to be awake. I can't help it - I'm selfish of my sleep time. I hate waking up to an alarm! This morning I woke up (a little too early for my liking) on my own, without an alarm clock. I'm actually even thankful that I woke up early. It makes me feel like my body is finally getting out of the funk I've been fighting through for a few months! I can only hope!

An awesome long run

I'm running a half marathon in May. I know it's still a couple months away, but I've been getting nervous because I haven't been very dedicated lately. Wendee and I went out for a six mile run this morning. It was hard. It was very windy. But I felt pretty darn good! I was very encouraged when we finished. And now I'm not so nervous about training for the half!

A conscience

Today I opened my car door in a parking lot and the wind caught it. My door accidentally hit the car parked next to me and it left a mark. I was pretty it wasn't a big deal so I decided not to worry about it. I went into the store, left the store and drove about 1 mile before I flipped a U-turn to go back and leave a note. I ended up meeting the owner of the car. I told her what happened, we looked it, and we were actually able to rub the mark right off. It was mostly just dirt. I felt so much better. While I know I should've just left a note in the first place, I'm thankful I listened to my conscience (AKA The Spirit) and went back. And I'm thankful the owner of the car was still there so I could make it right.

It's kind of ironic that this happened today because I was also on the reverse end of this story today. Someone hit my car while it was in the parking lot at work. It left a significant gash in my back bumper. And it most definitely cannot be rubbed right off! I'm upset that someone could hit my car (and they had to have hit it pretty hard) and be okay just driving away!! I know I wouldn't be able to live with that. I'm still holding out a little bit of hope that someone will fess up and pay to get it fixed!!

Cold cereal

Cereal is probably one of my favorite foods. I'm a little bit sad because lately I have found that cereal just doesn't cut it for me for breakfast anymore. I've had to go with some other options so I'm not starving at 9:30am! I had to work a 12-hour day today. It was long. I packed a "dinner," but ended up having to eat it super early. By the time I got home my tummy was growling again. I didn't really have many other options so I went with a bowl of cereal to quiet my stomach enough for me to go to sleep. I love cereal! I'm thankful that there are a few kinds I can eat! And I'm thankful that I can eat cereal for dinner...or a bedtime snack!

My BBQ

I bought a BBQ grill last summer. I debated about it for a long time. At the time, I didn't know how to BBQ anything. But I finally decided to invest in one. I'm so glad. I'm definitely not an expert, but there are a few meals I REALLY enjoy cooking on the grill, one of which I made tonight. Yum!

Big-O in Sandy

My car has had a problem. The weather stripping on my drivers side window is loose, which means it flaps when I drive faster than 20 mph. It was super annoying. Today I finally went in to the Big-O and they fixed it! And they didn't even charge me! No more flapping!!

Daylight Savings Time

There are a lot of people who hate daylight savings time. There are a lot of people who feel its simply unnecessary (and they're probably right), but MAN I love driving home while the sun is still shining! I love getting home and feeling like there's more left of the day! I love that the weather seemed to change hand in hand with daylight savings time this year. I'm sure we still have a few snow storms left this season, but I plan to enjoy the warmer weather while it lasts! And I plan to enjoy the time change! I feel an after-work run outside in the sunshine in my near future...

My own bed

I love going on vacation. I have loved the past week. It was fun to get to hang out with my mom in St. George. And it was fun to get to go to Disneyland with part of my family. But there is just nothing like sleeping in your own bed with your own pillows and blankets. I'm excited to wake up tomorrow in a familiar place! I definitely believe that part of the fun of going on vacation is coming home!

Tennis shoes

Yesterday I wore flip flips to Disneyland. I was grateful to be in wether that was warm enough for flip flops, but by the end of the day my feet hurt!! Today I went with the tennis shoes. My feet are still super sore, but not nearly as bad as they were yesterday!!

Disneyland

I spent the entire day in "The Happiest Place on Earth." It was delightful. It was a beautiful day!! My phone said it was 90 degrees at one point, but it didn't feel that hot. Everyone had a great time and the kids did so well!! They only complained a little bit. I really do love Disneyland and I'm thankful to be able to visit with my family!!

Our big family breakfast

By big - I mean 12 of us, including 5 kids. My mom took us all to Denny's this morning. It was loud and it was fun. Our waitress took all 12 of our orders and didn't write one note. She didn't get everything just right - I had to send my breakfast back because it came out with pancakes instead of hashbrowns. No good. But I was surprised the she got just about everything else right.

New highlights

I did it. I've been thinking about it for a long time. I finally broke down and highlighted my hair. I highlighted my hair once in high school and decided not to do it again because I didn't like the grow out. But I found a new technique that (supposedly) doesn't require a lot of up keep. It's only been a day, but I love it!!

New jeans

I have a very hard time finding jeans I like. I have really long legs and I like my jeans long!! Most of the time, even "long" jeans are too short for me. I'm also cheap. I refuse to spend a ton of money on a pair of jeans! I've been looking for some new jeans for a few weeks now, with no luck. But today I found some. I bought 2 pair. I love them. And I paid a whooping $30 for both!!

Dr. Christian

Dr. Christian is the first regular doctor I've had since my pediatrician. I ended up going to him a couple years ago because of my roommate Emily - she works at his office. I've been going to him ever since. Today he diagnosed me and started treatment for sub-clinical hypothyroidism. I'm grateful for Dr. Christian's care for his patients as people. If he looked only at the numbers of my current lab work, he could very easily say, "Everything is fine." But he didn't. He asked me lots of questions. He listened when I told him about my symptoms. He understood that my symptoms were not normal for me! He told me sub-clinical hypothyroidism is a hard diagnosis because most doctors only look at the numbers. But Dr. Christian knows that "normal" is a range and just because I fit in the "normal" range, doesn't necessarily mean I'm at a normal level for me. So we're testing a treatment. I sure hope it works! I would love to not feel tired and foggy every day!!

Draw something

There a new game on my phone. It's called draw something. Its basically pictionary you can play with your friends on your phone. It's more entertaining than it should be. Today, while I struggled through church, I kept myself quiet by drawing and guessing my friends' drawings. I probably should have just left because I wasn't paying attention. But at least I was quiet!!

New fill valves

I bought my house new. The builders were cheapskates - and that's putting it nice! The toilets they put in my bathrooms are the absolute bottom of the barrel. For the past few months two of the toilets have been continuous running water. But today that changed. I went to home depot and chatted with the plumbing expert. He told me all I needed was a new fill valve and assured me I could do it myself. Krista and I spent almost an hour figuring out the first one. After that, we had the other two in in less than 20 minutes! And now the water in the toilet tanks actually stops running when the tank is full!! I'm so handy!

Fridays

I actually really like working. I have a good job. I work with good people. I think one of the things I like the most about working is the appreciation I've gained for time off. Even though I like my job, I'm thankful for Fridays. I'm especially thankful for this Friday because I have all of next week off - 9 days of no work (and lots of play)! TGIF!!

The end of Jr. Jazz

I get the joy (please sense the sarcasm) of organizing the 9-12th grade boys Jr. Jazz leagues.  They are NOT my favorite.  Those boys are horrible!  That's probably  not fair - I know a lot of those boys are great, but the ones who are not great are horrible!  The league is hard to run.  I deal with a lot of upset coaches, parents, and players.  Today I am thankful that the 2011-2012 9-12th Grade Jr. Jazz season is OVER!!  They played their very last games tonight.  I feel like it's Christmas!!