GOD BLESS AMERICA & people from jail

Ok so i just know all of you have been dying for me to blog.. right?? ok maybe not but it has been a REALLY long time since my last post this is not because nothing exciting has happened its only because I have never been so busy with school in my entire life. The semester started out of control and hasn't slowed down since. The past two weeks have by far been the worst with midterms and practicals for my classes so to celebrate and start my spring break i decided to fly down to Washington DC to meet some friends and visit the nation's capital. ( have never been to DC, my junior high went in the 9th grade but for some reason i never went...anyway) in order to get to DC i am flying on southwest which requires taking a shuttle to new hampshire ( an hour away) well to get to the shuttle i had to travel by the T (subway) to a stop that will remain annonymous in case it is anyone;s hang out spot :) anyway while waiting for the shuttle this is my encounter with a woman who will always have a place in my heart.picture me sitting on a bench with my rolling suitcase... my designer purse my mom bought me, and my carry on bag minding my own business when my new friend walks right up to me and with not ONE tooth on the top demands a piece of gum..
new friend says "i need some gum give me a piece"
I say" ummm what?"
new friend: "I need gum. let me have a piece"
( i then proceed to reach into my purse and give her a piece of gum)
From there I learn that she literally has just gotten out of prison after serving three months for driving without a licence. she has been in a cell for 3 months with NO fresh air, and as i helped her clasp her husbands bracelet she informs me he is still in prison for driving drunk...the good news the 107 bus came she left my shuttle showed up and i made my flight and know onto the best weekend in DC!
I have always felt like a pretty patriotic American citizen and I have always loved being American and everything that goes with this awesome country and being able to make it to DC was amazing. my favorite part was seeing the white house, the WWII memorial and getting claustrophobic in the Washington memorial :) or was it seeing the hope diamond, getting drenched, finally eating real Mexican food or the people i was with....
The other high light the first day we were touring DC it started POURING rain and i am not talking just a light rain i am talking a downpour and of course i didn't have an umbrella and of course i was wearing khaki pants.... not a good combo :) it has been ages since i had been in a down pour like that it was fabulous. it reminded me of being a kid and having no worries in the world. Life is wonderful, and i am so lucky right know to be where i am in life!! as we were driving back from DC i was able to travel through Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Conn, New york, and then Mass..... i couldn't be any more blessed... which is why this post ends with God Bless America, and thank you to the men and women who serve this great country!!!

Happy New Year!

So Christmas is over, its know 2008 and I start my second semester of school in Boston in less then a week which is why i am soooo grateful for the opportunity i have had to be home hanging with the family and seeing old friends. this post is mostly for me to remember an amazing Christmas break but hopefully it will entertain a few of you as well... so here is a list of top memories
1 Playing rock band at my old young women leader's house listening to her sing, me ATTEMPTING the drums...i might add i always wanted to play the drums but my mom made me do the piano because you can't play the drums in Sac. Meeting... Boo i know!
2 Watching my dad,brothers, cousins, old friends all weight in as they start the biggest loser ( and my i add all these people are not small people.. we family owns grocery stores people its not all our faults :)
3 Playing the Wii and bowling with my 5 and 3 year old nephew who i may add got higher scores then me... every time people.... although the real high for me... beating my oldest brother in tennis and boxing... know this is great because my brother has been playing the wii non stop since we got them and i have only slightly been practicing.. i would say the best part was when he called Casey and was sooo mad he lost to me... yes!!
4.getting my hair cut!!! it was much needed!!!
5.staying up late with my friend Jeff... we have been best friends for years and he is really the only friend from high school i really see and care about....
6.staying up late and sleeping way in!!! I love that life... i tried convincing my mom into letting me quit school and just move into their basement... but she said no... bummer i know
7.laughing and laughing and laughing and smiling with my nephews and nieces... they are honestly the best people i know.. i could hang with them everyday.. i had to explain to my one nephew jackson the difference between Aunt Jo and Ant jo.... he was struggling and i will never forget. also having him zip up his coat and then tell me he didn't even have to go to zipping lessons... or watching Life with Ryan with london (5) as he tells me Tony Hawk is way better then Ryan hahah Having my Niece call every Girl with brown Hair Aunt Joanna.... including my sister in law kacey :) Watching my nephew Sherman eat everything on the floor hahah i love kids who crawl... Holding and seeing my two new nieces and they are beautiful!
9. watching my mom play santa and getting 5 wii's for my brothers and me
10.Hanging with all 4 of my brothers... these are the 4 most amazing men i know. i love them so much and am so grateful to have them in my life... they mean the world to me... some people always felt bad i didn't have sisters but when you have these 4 people in your life you don't need sisters... they protect me and cheer for me and would do anything for me... its a pretty amazing feeling.... i am soooo blessed!!!! 2007 was great and i have a feeling 2008 is going to be even better!!!

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.