4 brothers 4 sister in laws 4 nieces 6 nephews... lots of christmas fun!

I am just sitting her watching my second oldest brother and a billion kids play mario brothers on the Wii.... this is what i call pure magic and the best christmas ever! First i must brag about my mom for a min.... so for christmas my mom had a plan to try and get my 4 brothers and i wii's for christmas but with 10 days until christmas she didn't even have 1 bought yet... she knew best buy was going to be getting some in on sunday but sticking to her beliefs she decided to not break the sabbath and just keep waiting.... well sure enough a few days later my mom had the impression to call target and the boy who my mom had now become friends with said to be there and they would have some.... well because there is a rule about 1 wii per person so my mom calls 4 of her friends at 6 AM tells them it doesn't matter what they look like just bring the checkbook cash or credit card to target right away! And sure enough they showed up and know we have 5 Wii's in our house and it has been pure madness!!! and the best memories ever.... the day after christmas my brothers and i were soooo sore none of us could raise our arms!

But let me share the best part of my christmas... having my entire family in idaho. it has been the first time ever and it has been awesome. nothing but laughs and eating. I have decided there is nothing better then family time and i love that i have grown up with four of the most amazing brothers ever! and know i have the 4 greatest sister in laws to follow and the most beautiful nieces and nephews. Family really is the greatest blessing and i have an even deeper appreciation for Heavenly Father and his insight and importance of the family! it has been amazing. Christmas really is about miracles and i have witnessed so many this season. from friends that are willing to drive over an hour to help out a friend who is in need or a answered pray that a present for a husband will show up out of nowhere on christmas day to many many more! I love this season and this time and i am grateful for all of the people in my life!!!

passions in life....

Besides my family, friends, and of course TV I have a few other things i really love about life. That includes reading great books and downloading new music. Its funny that i love music so much because its not like i have a specific band that i love or a type that i only listen to or bands that only music geniuses know. I also have a terrible voice and only play the piano sorta and I like things that are trendy or not. It just has to touch me in some way that i want to hear that same song again. So i decided to list a few that i have recently fallen in love with....well since i am listening to it right know i better do it first.
1. Blue October 18 Floor Balcony
2. The Killers Romero and Juliet
3. Celion Dion This time, and My Love
4.Kenny Chesney Blue rocking Chair
5. Lenny Kravitz I'll be waiting
6. The Format on your porch
7.Feist 1234
8. Alicia Keys No One
9.Soulja Boy Crank that Soulja Boy
10. Matchbox 20 Can't let you go
11. Mason Jennings If you ain't got live and if you need a reason
12. One Republic Mercy and Stop and Stare
13.Priscilla Ahn Dream
14.Taylor Swift Should've said no and Beautiful
15. Rascal Flatts Better Now

Like I mentioned before i also love to read and the last few books i read were the Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse series by Stephanie Myers. I know most of the people who read this also have read those books and my friend just showed me a website in tribute to twilight so I wanted to add the link it is great and i loved it!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=C-if9FEaiok just click and enjoy I have read so many great books in my life. When i was young my mom and I spent an entire summer reading the Anne of Green Gables books and from there books have changed my life. Here are just a few of my favorites. Great Expectations. Secret Life of Bees, Wicked, Snowflake and the Secret Fan, For One More Day, and of course A Quiet heart. I am currently reading the book Remember Who You Are by professors from Harvard and MIT its a coffee table type book but its great.
Well i know this is sorta random blog but i was just sitting here looking online for books and music and decided to share.... if you have more suggestions of music or books please share as a comment!!! i would love you for it!!!

Why do they leave the guts inside???

So this weekend my roomate tristan and i had the amazing opportunity to cook our very first turkey.... (thank you marci) So the way this got started was marci had a calling in our ward for this fund raiser for needy families in the area for christmas and of course since she decided to go and enjoy the 70 degree weather Tristan and I knew we needed to step up and help out. so we promised marci we would bring a turkey between the size of 10-13 lbs to the dinner. Well to put it lightly just buying the turkey was an adventure and of course getting it cooked was well almost a nightmare. first we get to the store find the turkeys decide on one and start carrying it down the aisle way when we realize it is leaking blood everywhere so we take it back and pick out another one... then we get the metal pan... no problem ... know i have seen my mom cook a turkey every year for thanksgiving and for some reason i recall it being cooked in a bag so we walk up and down every aisle looking for these bags but can't find them anywhere.. so of course i think to myself hey my dad has grocery stores he will know what we are looking for so i call him and finally we find the bags we need next to the tin foil.... here is where the real adventure starts.... we get home know my roomate is one of the coolest people i know but lets justs say that by calling her a picky eater this is a MAJOR (in posh spice's voice) understatement. she can't cut tomatoes because she doesn't eat tomatoes. so the thought of a raw turkey was never going to happen. so we make a deal she can cut and peel the potatoes and i will do the turkey. well of course as i am cutting the bag and trying to pull the turkey out i have no idea there is going to be water mixed with blood so it starts to spill all over the counters and onto the floor. by this point we are dying of laughter. Tristan has know moved to the dinner table and i am trying to catch the turkey stop the blood flow and not fall on my face... it was a pretty classic moment... especially if you know anything about me you know i like to cook but i am no rachel ray... finally i get the bleeding stopped bleach the floor wipe the counters down and look at this scary looking bird on my counter... the entire time thinking this is how people become vegatarians... its this simple just cook a turkey.... i then start to look around and see two giant holes... one where the neck used to be and one that woud appear to be a butt... i again decide i need to call my dad and ask what the hell do i do next.... i knwo i know people this is why i am not married i get it. so i call my dad and he tells he i have to pull out the neck. what appeared to be a liver and all the other guts they just decided to leave in which brings me to the main question.... why the freak do they leave those things in??????? is crazy i tell ya. so i finally get the stuff pulled out i have tears rolling down my cheeks because it really is quite the adventure. we get it in the bag in the metal pan and ready to be in the oven. the good news today at FHE we ate it and it was fantastic. it wasn't dry it was fully cooked and i am confident no one died... well except the turkey... know the other funny thing is i called kacey my sista and she was shocked she kept saying... "you know how to cook a turkey?" over and over again... and well the answer is know yes... i swear boston has just opened all knew doors for me... last weekend through marci leaving specific instructions, IMing me the whole time on our lap tops and a few text messages i was able to make my first batch of home made chicken noodle soup.. it was fantastic. i love all the things i am learning and getting to experiance. life really is grand. and let me tell you if you need any help this thanksgiving just give me a call.... and don't worry if i don't know the answer i'll call my dad....

I never thought i'd say the words....

Ok so there are a few things in my life that i thought i would never say one is... i never thought i would thank my mother for endless years of piano lessons and of course since i have grown up i have thanked her dozens of times. BUT lately i have finally come to terms with a few choice words i thought i'd never say and that is....I HAVE ACTUALLY DEVELOPED A LOVE FOR RUNNING AND WORKING OUT.... for those of you who really know me know this is probably the craziest and most out there words i could ever say. I mostly can thank my roommate Marci for giving me the encouragement to go to the gym and well of course for splitting the bill for our gym pass. It has been the craziest development in my life mostly because i used to hate to run. know i actually enjoy it. I have decided one of the greatest accomplishments a person can achieve is to get into shape... its long and hard and takes forever. but once you get there once you can run miles without burning out it is the best feeling in the world. Know i must thank my ipod first and foremost. without it i could never have gotten in shape. and thank goodness for punk fast paced music... it has been really something amazing to get to the point where i can head to the gym run 4 miles and not dread every minute.... things we think are impossible are acutally do able.. its pretty amazing... well i have been tagged in two different blogs to do this soooo hear it goes.... and look to see who is tagged next :)

The rules of the game are the following: Each player lists 5 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Here goes:

ok so i wasn't sure how personal i should go...but then i remembered my mom might read this so i decided to leave vegas out of it.... :)

1. I have one horrible habit that i HATE... well ok i have a lot of bad habits but this one is the worst. and it is i bite my nails like crazy. I have only had long nails in my life when i have gone and gotten fake nails put on other then that they are as short as short can be... and its annoying and i wish i didn't do it but i do... its my way of destressing to be honest it really works. if i'm stressed the only answer is to bite my nails... disgusting i know but its the facts... sorry
2. I have a check off list of things i want to do in my life before i die.... a few i have accomplished: buys something on rodeo drive, see celion dion in person, fly an airplane, bungy jump, live in a foreign country, race a racecar.... some things still left on the lift. visit the pyramids of Egypt on a camel at sunset, read the entire bible, skydive, fall in love, read the trilogy to Lord of the Rings, drive a fancy sports car, visit Greece, step foot on every continent, and of course many more but that is just a few :)
3. I hate going to sleep. in fact right now it is almost midnight all my roommates are in bed and i am still on the couch writing this blog postponing going to bed because well i hate it.... i haven't decided if its because i was the youngest and had to go to bed and always felt like i was missing something or if i'm just a night person and so i like being awake at night... either way its the truth i would rather do anything then go to bed.... my old roommate Melissa understood this better then anyone because she also hated going to bed. so atleast i know there is one person who can relate..... on the other hand i love love love taking naps and sleeping in!!!!
4. I am a TV whore. I love TV. i love it. and i can admit it... I love watching shows from Ellen to the office. to extreme home makeover to gossip girl.. i have become addicted to numerous shows. The OC, i cried when it ended...Alias... i failed a chemistry test because i was too busy watching 4 seasons in 13 days with 22 episodes in each season at 43 min a piece... know that is impressive. i have stayed up long nights with my brother watching The Office. I have called people in other towns to record shows for me if i know i am going to miss them. and most recently i have found that you can watch shows online which means all the season i missed of shows i didn;t know were awesome i have caught up on for example i recommend october road, chuck, and my new love Friday Night lights... like i said before i know its a problem but what can i say thanks to DVR things seems to always work out....:)
and finally......
5. I am not a movie critic. I can probably count on 1 hand the number of movies that i have just hated. Two come to mind. the newest superman (the plot went no where and the story ended exaclty how it started) and the Island of Dr Monroe (after this movie ended i kid you not when i say a man stood up on the middle of the theatre and yelled out "what the F was that" because it was soooo horrible i have never seen so many people ready to riot.) but for the most part i love them all. in fact people will say "oh you saw that movie did you like it? oh wait i am asking jo of course you liked it" and its true. it doesn't matter how many stars they receive or how bad the acting was i am just there to be entertained and that is it. I like the thought provoking movies as much as the teen movies. i like foreign movies with subtitles just as much as the dance movies with horrible acting. i like them all.... well that is all for me know to tag a few people... lets go with Heidi Doxey, Kim Martin, Kacey Swensen, Whitney Cutler!!! you guys are it!!!

Overwhelming feelings...

So its currently 12:24 AM and i have been laying in bed trying to fall asleep because i know 6:45 is going to be here in a blink and then it will be time to start my monday but as i was laying here listening to my mellow music that i fall asleep to i just had all this overwhelming feelings that i just had to put somewhere and i thought this might just be the best place. I was laying here thinking of all the things in life that are overwhelming... like people who show overwhelming amount of courage or overwhelming amount of love or humility or friendship and these are where my thoughts took me. I went to a friends house yesterday and she showed me a picture of her mother who had passed away and i thought about my mom and what my life would be like right know if i did not have her here to share it all with and the amount of courage it must take to face life head out without a mother. And then I was thinking about my Nana who called me today because she hurt her knee and was wondering if she needed to see a Doctor right away and i thought about her life and how she has experienced physical pain for thirty some years now because her body is weak and has let her down in so many ways. and then i was thinking of my roommate marci who has shown me overwhelming friendship and has helped me in so many aspect of life from encouraging me to move out east to teaching what it means to be healthy to just being my friend. And then i think of my sister in laws with young babies and the overwhelming amount of unselfishness they show in a daily basis of being tired and wore out yet always putting their kids first and having kids in the first place. And then i thought about my other roommate katie who is one of the kindest people i have ever met and who showed an overwhelming amount of humility with one of her friends recently and was just there for her and didn't question anything. And then I thought about my roommate Triston who has an overwhelming amount of knowledge. she is one of the smartest people i know she knows something about everything and i am always in awe by her. and then I thought about my friend whitney who i called today who has shown me an overwhelming amount of support. She has been my backbone since i met her. she cheers me on in everything that i do and as long as i am happy she is always happy for me and she really means it. And my friend katie white who has shown me an overwhelming about of advice. she has been there for me from day one and always has the right thing to say to make me feel that everything is ok. And I was just laying here thinking about all these people that i am in contact withand it just blew me away the amount of overwhelming feelings i feel towards them and their examples. and there are so many more examples i could use. people in my life who show an overwhelming amount of love towards their families or strangers they meet on the street or in foreign countries. there is so much good out there and so many people just trying to do their very best in life and it just makes everything else in life fall into place. I have just felt so overwhelmed for a lack of a better word to describe what i feel today as i have contemplated what people do on a daily basis and i have realized it is wonderful thing. I know i will continue to be overwhelmed by the way people around me live their lives with courage and passion and love and faith and it will be nothing short of extraordinary.

THE BEST WAY TO WATCH A FOOTBALL GAME

Ok so tonight was one of the most fun nights of my life!!! It all started by a classmate of mine inviting me to watch the Undefeated New England Patriots play the also Undefeated Colts. Now let me set this up for everyone. My friend watches the patriots play every sunday with a group of friends that she has known for a long long time. One of her friends they met in the second grade. now from this friend the group includes her mother, father, brother, son, a bouncer a biker and some guy who flew under the radar that i don't know and the of course my friend and her husband. now on top of all these wonderful people they watch the game in a two story shed. the upstairs has a tv and the best part is on the walls are all the retired jerseys from players that no longer play for the team. Downstairs is where all the action happens. there is a tv mounted on a wall with speakers next to it and then a bar with a row of bar stools that everyone sits at... know everyone has their assigned bar stool. its great! the best part is when you need a new drink (diet Pepsi for me) you just knock your empty can and they slide a new one down to you. it was awesome. The reason this was the best way to watch a football game is all these people grew up in Mass and they have the thickest and greatest accents ever!!! and let me tell you they love love love their new England sports especially the red sox patriots bruins and everyone else. Every person had a jersey on. they even brought a hat for me to wear so i could really be in the spirit. I have never laughed so hard or enjoyed a sporting event more then sitting and hanging out with these amazing people. Ya know sometime it is really hard to be far away from idaho and from home. I can feel myself growing and really finding out who i am by being so far from home and tonight i felt like i was with family. they were so nice to me and were so intrigued by meeting someone from idaho... most of them had never met a person from idaho or a Mormon.... it was really a great experience. It was one of those experiences when you realize wow we really are all god's children and we are all tied together in this life. i love getting to know new people and being apart of their lives. We chanted "lets go patriots" "Peyton Sucks" and clapped and gave high fives! and ate and ate and ate. it was honestly one of the best memories i have of watching a sports team. being with thse amazing peopel and laughing and dancing was something i will never forget. I have no doubt that god is aware of me and that he has had a plan for me my entire life and will continue to bless me and send me on a path that will bring the most happiness to me. I am grateful for my unexpected move to boston and for all the experiences that i am having here. its has been the best ride! I look forward to many more memories and more fantastic sports memories no matter if it is with my new found friends in Mass or my family that i love in Idaho!!! I can now say i have experienced the best way to watch the patriots and for that all i can say is keep the memories coming TOM!!!!

Who knew life could get better....

Ever have that feeling life just couldn't get any better??? That is how i feel right now. I have been so blessed these last few months and I don't even have words to explain how great its been. But just a few things to sum it all up. 1st TRANSFORMERS came out this week.... need i say more... ok so maybe that shouldn't be number one but i must admit i did run to best buy to buy it as fast as i could :) and yes i have already watched it. in fact i barely make it to class today because i stayed up way too late. 2nd there are sooooo many great shows on this fall. my new favorite is Gossip Girl.. now most of my dear friends know me well enought to know that even though i may be 24 there will always be a place in my heart fro 90210 OC and now of course gossip girl... corny i know but i just live high school drama what can i say??? :) 3rd i have found a new love in a snack that consist of a rice cake covered in peanut butter. my roomate marci used to eat it all the time and i must admit i used to tease her about it.... now i am just glad she has helped me grasp the light and it just goes to show we can't judge too quickly :) 4th I have TWO NEW beautiful nieces!!!!! they are named Brooklyn Sophia and Hailey Ann!!!! they are healthy and i just can't wait to get back west to hold them over christmas!!! ok ok so maybe the first 3 were a bit shaddy so now the real reasons life has just kept getting better.

This past weekend I went to Education conference now at first i wasn't crazy about spending from 9 am to 5 pm listening to speakers, but because Elder Holland was going to be there i knew i had to be there!! and boy am i glad i was. it was incredible. It was just what i needed and every speaker did an amazing job. one favorite was by Jane C Johnson she talked about the different shoes we wear throughout our lives and how some are comfortable or awkward or sometimes it feels like we are wearing two different shoes. it was a great analogy and really hit home. But the best part was listening to Elder Holland express his love and share his testimony. My favorite part was he talked about how the closest way to draw closer to christ is by adversity and walking through flames of fire. I loved this because i know it is the times i have been praying and storming the heavens with prayers and pleading that i have felt the love of my savior the most. The spirit was amazing. I just kept sitting there thinking i am so blessed to have this knowledge and to have the Holy Ghost testify that God leaves. Jesus is the Christ and he loves me. It was really something special.

Now i don't have a digital camera so i never have pics on my blog but that is all going to change right now because of an awesome play i like to call WICKED!!!! (thank you marci for e-mailing pics) now i loved loved loved the book and i was soooo excited what marci told me she had a ticket for us all to go. and let me tell you it is the best broadway show i have seen to date. it was fantastic. i loved it. I even had to take off my heels and walk barefoot down the streets of downtown BOSTON!!!! it was crazy but much worth it!!! so enjoy the PICS!!! friends family i just want you to know how lucky i am to have all of you in my life and how much i just love you all!!!! wow this is a long post.... sorry

Red Sox Nation

I just finished watching the Boston Red Sox beat the Angels to advance in MLB playoffs and I must admit I have never had a team that I am a fanatic about except for now. I have always loved the Red Sox ever since my old softball coach loved them but I had never gotten into the magic of the red sox until i decided to move to boston and have since attened a few games at fenway park. This park is the most incredible place. i would even compare it to disney world and rodeo drive. it is so fantastic!!! the people there are awesome. it really is like a family. This season has been a blast to be apart of now living in boston and watching how crazy peope are about a sports team. my roomates included. We all have shirts and we all stay up watching the games that even go until 1 am until manny hits a homerun with 2 outs botton of the ninth. I must say being apart of red sox nation is the best. and the best part is the the hatred between us and the NY Yankees. its so fun to see all the different shirts and signs and banners bashing the yankees. As the series wrapped up today i cannot wait until friday when we open the next game at home!!! world series here we come!!

Best Decision EVER!

WELCOME TO BOSTON BABY! Its true i have arrived in boston and have loved every minute of it since i have been here. I can now understand why Marci loved it here and I am grateful for her persistance on convincing me to move out here. It is the most incredible city. I have been trying to decide if i should write about the drive across country or the adventure since i've been here. If you want to read about the drive check out my friend heide's blog she can fill you in on everything. but i'll just put my plug in that it was awesome. the states were beautiful. I got to make a stop by my old college roomates house in ohio and it was by far the best part of the drive. I'm so happy i have such great friends!!! Thanks Whit and Lane for everything!!

SO instead i have decided to fill everyone in on my first impressions of B-Town as i like to call it.
1. Downtown Boston is incredible. My school is located right in the heart of it and it is so exciting to be in class look out the window and see loads of people walking down the street, taxis, sirens, and amazing buidngs soaring to the sky all around. i love it. it is thrilling everytime i walk down the streets.
2. Driving.....ok well let me put in a plug. if you ever move out here TAKE YOUR OWN CAR. it was the best idea i had and worth every mile i had to drive to get here. last week i spent an hour and a half trying to travel a little over 20 miles to go pick up a friend who needed a ride. Then there are the tolls. everytime you get on the 90 or come back home you always gotta pay a dollar. the tolls are a pain in the butt i'll just leave it at that. now the best part about driving in boston. holy cow the roads and the people are crazy. first the roads were made from the paths the cows travelled. This means you can have 5 roads all coming into 1 road. the lanes never add up. there is ZERO order to how the roads go and NO ONE obeys any kind of traffic sign. I love it even though it makes me WHITE KNUCKLE even if i'm only going to the grocery store. its crazy and definitly a thrill everytime.
3.Riding public transporation AKA The T.... and for me specifically the green line. every morning i have class at 8 in the morning about 5 miles away. This means i have to be out of my house by 7:05 to walk 5 minutes to catch the T to then make a billion stops before arriving to my stop about 7:50. Thank goodness apple created the ipod because it is my saving grace. also people watching. there are some of the MOST interesting people on public transportation. HERE is my main story that i just love. so my roomate Katie and I were going downtown and we look over and see a man probably in his 40's riding a bike. I kid you not whith the rest of the story. HE had a NAKED blowup DOLL bungy corded to the front of his bike. it was straddling the handlbars facing foward. arms sticking straight out! now the best part is i watched this man almost get run over over and over again because he kept rubbing his fingers through the dolls nappy smashed disgusting BLOND hair!!! it was hilarious but the best part by far was watching all the other people stare and laugh as he rode by them. it was classic and probably the funniest thing ever!!! i love it.
4. decorationg my apt. I love craigslist. It has been our saving grace. my house is on the best street and has the best pink door you've ever seen. the apt is all wood floors and its just great. so far the best part of it is the pool table my roomate bought that sits in your game room. that is fully equiped with a bar also bought on craigslist that is stocked with rootbeer cream soda gatoraid and jones soda. its the best.
5. fabulous people. I have been so lucky to already have been blesssed with so many great people here. starting with my roomates. of course i already knew marci was great, but i totally lucked out with the other two. one is in dental school and the other works for sen kennedy and goes to harvard. they are so fantastic. i am also lucky to have the best next door neighbors ever! one is the most amazing guitar player ever!!! people back here have been so great its been such an answer to prayer and i feel so blessed!

Now the reason i decided i better update the blog is because Iam now getting ready to start studying for my 1st test and i thought it would be a great time to update the blog on my new life in a fabulous city with the most incredible people. I know that things always work out in our lives. we just have to push forward and be willing to take a giant leap of faith and things always come together bigger and better then what we could have ever thought. I know this because this is what boston has been for me. Thanks for reading and until next time...GO REDSOX

my saving grace

This is sort of an intersting post. Its about 1 am and its a monday night and I am curled up in my usual spot on kacey and casey's floor realizing i only have one more night here in san diego before i am off to my next adventure and i am starting to feel a bit nervouse and melancholy. Maybe i should start from the beginning.. well from the beginning of how i ended up in So. Cal.

I graduated from Utah State and moved literally that same day to Salt Lake. I knew it was the right move and thankfully i was doing it with a best friend. I had nothing but high hopes and couldn't wait for the things i would experaince. Little did i know it would be the hardest most draining year of my life thus far. It started off incredible. WE had an amazing house. normal roomates great location. the job i had for the summer was great. and I had bright hopes for the future. As time went on things changed and life became a little bit more grey every day. I had the most amazing friends at USU ones you know would max their credit card to fly wherever you needed them even if it was just for a shoulder. Ones that called up and just knew they needed to say hello. Or the types of friends that you can be doing nothing but playing darts having orange juliouses and watching flavor fav and it could make up your favorite memories. Salt lake was not this easy. It was hard to find people to relate with and find people who cared as much about me as I did them. My great job ended at the end of the summer and a new one started. I enjoyed the people i worked with but deep down i knew it could not be a career move.

I felt like i was in a funace burning and not sure if there was an end in sight. I even almost moved to idaho one day. I literally packed my entire car and drove about an hour before i realized i coulnd't give up and that was not the way i wanted to go down. so i turned around and just kept praying that i could make sence of my experiances. Now i must say I did find some really great amazing friends in salt lake ones i will never forget and always love. but It was a growing period and one that i had to do mostly alone with the comfort of pray and my savior. I won't bore you will all the details but thankfully one of these dear friends from USU encouraged me to apply to a PTA program in boston. thankfully this worked out from there i new i was headed to boston. My sister in law had a brillant idea that i could come live wiht them in san diego for the 2 montsh before i left out east.

I thought it sounded great. the beach, my 2 brothers their wives. cute boys.. why not.... I had no idea this place would heal me and rebuild me like it has and as i lay here tonight i can't help but get a bit choked up about leaving. It truly has been my saving grace. I have felt alive and refreshed. I was out of the furnace for a time and this place and these people here have been the ones to help me be sooo happy. WEll them and the tv show the office and of course hannah montana :)

I will never forget the things i learned in the year i was in salt lake i wouldn't trade those lonely days for anything because i learned who i was. i grew up..... and let me tell you it was was probably long over due and the hardest thing for me. I am grateful for the feelings of peace i have found in Kacey and Casey's Apt. I will always be in debt to them. I know wed morning ia going to be rough as my plane takes off from this beautiful place but i know i will be ok. I'm so soo happy i got to experaince all this and add another lovely chapter to my life. Thank you San Diego for bringing the smile and sunshine back.

My first ultra sound... and no its wasn't mine.

So today i just so happened to witness my first ultra sound and let me tell you it was both incredible and exciting yet a little creepy. don't worry the utra sound was not for me it was my sister is law's. my niece is due in Oct and i figured since i won't get to see her for months after she is born i might as well catch the first glimpse even if she is still in the womb. hahah and who knows if i will ever have my own ultra sound so i thought i better take the chance to see how this all works.

now the utrasound pictures that i have always seen consisted of black and white. usually more black. and some sort of blur that i was always convinced was a hoax that the OBGYN showed and not really a fetus. BUT withcell phones that you can actually watch tv on 9even though mine was stolen and held for ransom) it was no surprise to me that these things actually give you a photo of a 3D and new to me 4 D images... i've never seen a movie in 4D which means i didn't even know it exsisted.. but it does and i saw my niece in it... They even give you a DVD to prove it.

So while watching this ultra sound of my new niece Haily Ann (just for the record the Ann comes from the middle of my name) i was able to watch her not only yawn but open her eyes, suck her thumb, rub her eyes and this was as if she wasn't being crammed inside a person. It was crazy. i had never seen anything like it. you could even see whose nose she has ( we all know my nose is my best feature...but i think her lips could be hers) and how long her fingers are. it was fantastic. I was only a little alarmed at how hard the doctor pushed on my sister in law to make the baby move hahahah don't worry no one was injured.And the fact that my 3 year old nephew kept saying she looks like an alien...which was only partly true.. she still has a few months to go before she is welcomed into the world.. give her time. Being my first ultrasound i would have to say it was a complete success. modern technology.. i can't wait to see what they come up with next...

1st day as a blogger

Today is my first day as a blogger and I'm already loving it. Mostly because anyone who knows me knows I have the most interesting things happen to me on a daily basis. (well ok maybe only i think they are intersting) but other shave told me this is the blessing and the curse that comes as being a Swensen. First off i should warn everyone.. i'm a horrible speller i get it from my dad and i'm darn proud of it too. second i rarely capitlize my i's while typing... its mostly because i hate hitting the shift button while hitting the i :) i think some of you will agree.

now first things first that made me really get serious about starting a blog... i got two reason.
1. i am moving to a new city with no family and new friends (except Marci) thank goodness and I thought this would be an easy way to keep people updated.

2. and this one is the main reason because for the past week my sister in law/best friend and i have been house sitting a house that well for the most part is absolutly beautiful and very very very expensive BUT and this is a HUGE HUGE HUGE but they have indoor pets. and when i say indoor i mean the cats have never ventured to the outside world... this is just the beginning of our adventures. They also have a dog. very cute and thank goodness is allowed outside, but still has the tendency to LOOSE hair. now before anyone freaks out let me say a disclaimer... i love animals in fact at an early age i asked for a pony every year for christmas as long as i can remember. one time we had a billion cats (maybe an exaggeration but as a swensen its a must) we also grew up with dogs. but these animals were always outside and only let in on occasion. so to be surrounded by indoor never outside pets has been an adventure. NOW BACK TO HOUSE SITTING

memory number one. the house has a giant fountain that i swear was flown in from italy.. this means it is REALLY nice and apart of a REALLY nice house. its about the only thing we had instructions on.. meaning keep the water at a certain level!! so we thought we were doing a fabulous job until one day to our worst nightmare happened.. the fountain stopped running!!! we called the pool guy while we were at work... came home after work still the fountain was NOT working. that night i don't think we prayed harder hahah so next morning kacey wakes up the fountain is on... miracles do happen so of course she puts water in right away... i wake up an hour later... see the light shining above the working fountain and of course put more water in. an hour after that my brother wakes up see that prayers are answered and puts MORE water in the fountain.... next day.. fountain is not working.. and has not worked since. that is the start. it has just gone on from there... i have learned when housesitting never do it if they have a fountain... especailly if it looks like it came from italy... until next time. stay classy