Ring My Bell

Come With Me!

2010-12-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Friends, it is time.

Time to close down this blog.

Time to start a new one.

Entitled, "Little Red."

So, come over to my new space, I will keep updating, probably as much as I do now. Hee hee. I would love to see you, and share my thoughts, randoms joys, awkward moments, and adventures!

www.nicoleriding.blogspot.com

See you soon!

-Nicole

Dirty Little Secret

2010-11-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Want to know my dirty little Halloween secret? (OK, it's really not that dirty, but I just like saying "dirty little secret"). I will tell you. Put all the nasty candy on top, and give that to kids before anything else. Case in point:Whoppers, Almond Joy, 3 Musketeers (the dumbest candy bar ever invented), plain M&M's, and Kit Kat. I will take the Reeses' PB cups, the Snickers, Milky Way, and Twix, and proceed to eat myself into oblivion. Thank you.

Our actual Halloween celebration had nothing to do with being dirty, or little, and was not secretive in any way. But again, it's the phrase. Be honest. The innuendo is fun. Anyway...
We had our first official cousins' party, and it was a success! We all decided it was totally stupid that there were a bunch of us Ridings within 1 hour of each other, but we NEVER get together. Truly. So, this is the first changing of that tide. Complete with yummy soup and bread bowls, as shown here by my lovely assistant, Emily, as she samples the feast with grace. Laura brought some pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, and I may or may not have eaten half of the 9 x 13" pan.
OK, so, not the cutest of me, but what can you do when it is a self-taken picture? You know you all have them. I love cousins. This is Kelly and Dan, and I like us. A lot. (Does my face look fat to anyone besides me? Don't answer that. I blame the pumpkin bread.).

Super Inappropriate...

2010-10-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

I had a really inappropriate moment today. I was in the temple, and a lady that I was interacting with looked just like she could be Amy Poehler's mother. She even made some of the exact facial expressions. I swear, it was like Amy Poehler in 30 years. So, all I could think about was Saturday Night Live and the movie "Baby Mama" in an environment when that was NOT OK. And try really hard not to laugh. I don't know how successful I was. Sorry.

Fall!

2010-10-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. I made applesauce with my mom last Friday, which I have not been around to do in a long time, and that, combined with the yummy fall weather and pretty trees outside, made for a great fall day. I just love the change in seasons, and Halloween is part of that. I kind of think of Halloween as the day that really starts the party that lasts the rest of the year. I am super excited because this weekend, my cousins are all getting together (with cameo appearances by my parents and aunt and uncle) for a party on Sunday. We all live within an hour of each other, and never get together. We are finally doing something about how crazy that is. I also love costumes on children. For some reason, I am not one to be very eager to get in costume myself. I think it takes too much of my small supply of creative juices to think of anything, and to actually put it in action. But still think everything about Halloween is super fun.

These are pictures my dad took outside our windows. Beautiful, huh? I love it.

This morning, as I drove to work, I saw that the crossing guard at the elementary school by my house was wearing a costume. I remembered that on Monday I noticed she had a witch's hat on, and today she was a princess. I was really impressed that she wanted to make the whole week really fun for herself and the kids she helps across the street every day. I don't know, maybe she just gets really bored. But I prefer to think she is just a really cute lady who wanted to get into the spirit of the holiday. I wonder if at Thanksgiving, she will come dressed as a turkey.

This is a picture my sister in law Becca took last weekend on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. I almost can't look at it, I am so jealous I was not there seeing it. But, you know? Utah is great in the fall.

It snowed this morning; I am not quite ready for winter. I just stopped wearing flip flops a couple of weeks ago, and I would like some nice in-between weather before settling in for the duration. But I love fall in general. I have to say I am in a much better mood about the seasons since I left Las Vegas. Can you tell?
Actually, these are pics I took to wish Becca a happy birthday, because I am obnoxious like that. But I thought they were applicable to today's post as well. Happy Fall!

Trio Sings Telephone by Lady Gaga in Concert

2010-10-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Awesome.

2010-10-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

I've been absent. I keep meaning to post pics of my awesome South Carolina reunion with my fam, and I keep forgetting. I promise I will get there. But I am still alive, I just don't have much to say at the moment. So, in the meantime, enjoy the above video of some amazing HIGH SCHOOLERS. I died when I saw this.

See you soon!

Things that make me happy.

2010-08-21T20:18:00.001-07:00

These are just some pictures from the last year of my life that I love, in no particular order.

The alley next to my apartment in Clinton. Pretty cool, huh? My photographer friends, eat your heart out. A great location. Never saw anyone using it that way except me and my sis-in-law Becca, however.

Below is the Harmony House, in said alley. Come commune with God and a cup of coffee! Works for me...? I love the South.
My niece Ainsley at McDonalds. And yes, that is her bib on her head. Not some cute head scarf.

My girl Steph. It has now been 10 years since we met, the two youngest company members in Les Miz. She was 19 and playing Cosette, I was 21 and an Eponine cover. She is still one of my dearest, most loyal friends. I adore her, and it was SO good to see her in March.

Sibs. The two oldest, Gary and Carolynn, and the two youngest, Dave and me. Not a combination that happens often, but so fun. Sibs make me very happy.

Some artsy pics Dave and I took on our cross-country drive. This was all on the side of the road in some random town in New Mexico. We loved it.
Even the garbage trucks are fancy in Vail. The phrase at the bottom of the truck says, "Satisfaction guaranteed or your trash back!"

Lincoln's fifth birthday made me happy. And I think the crown that covered half of his head made him happy. It sure did me.

My girls at the Eclipse premiere make me happy. Jenkins, Dean, Tater, Meeks, Boyd, Roch, and Emily.

My cousins Kelly and Andrea at Bryce Canyon. Just ignore the weird angle of my body.
A square dancing tour group busting into a spontaneous square dance whilst singing "Singin' in the Rain" after a storm at Bryce. So precious.

Bryce Canyon again, as a really cool thunder storm came in. Summer storms make me happy.

Also, my cute cousins Jay, Brad and Danny doing something super random but really funny at the family reunion talent show makes me happy.

Old cemeteries in Charleston make me happy. (More on my fabulous vacation in my next post.)

Random servicemen who have the courage to ask to take a picture with us at Patriot's Point in Charleston make me VERY happy. I feel bad, I didn't even get his name, but I am grateful for his service to our country!

Doing Girls' Night with Grandma and Megan and Rachel. While the video rewinds, (yes, rewinds), Grandma plays the piano while they dance in their princess dresses with their painted nails and make up. I don't think they are fighting....

And, lastly, Dairy Queen makes me happy.

What?!

2010-07-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

So, last night was my second night of insomnia in a row. I don't usually have insomnia, but my mind will not slow down this week, for some reason. Anyway, this morning, I woke at 3am, and immediately, my brain started going, and I knew it was going to be a long night. At 3:45am, still valiantly trying to go back to sleep, I felt a small crawling on my arm. I turned on the light to discover the largest spider I have seen for a long time, especially inside a house, in my bed. On my pillow. Next to where my face was. It is a good thing I am not a screamer, because I would have caused some civil unrest. I just did the jump-out-of-my-bed-run-to-the-other-side-of-my-room action. With a healthy gasp, I am sure. I am also pretty sure there was a "you have GOT to be kidding me" thrown in there as well.

I stared, and it sat. I knew I had to take care of it, which is sooo not my style. But even in situations like this, I am more grossed out killing a spider than I am just taking it outside. Luckily the little sucker was very slow moving, so I put a cup on top of it, picked up my pillow, and went outside into the black night. I geared up for an explosion, and dropped the pillow on the ground, and ran. It still sat on my pillow, although on the underside this time. This spider clearly had no fear. I almost left my pillow on the back porch. Truly. The only reason I went back out for it was I thought it might rain, and didn't want to ruin the pillow. Luckily, the spider had crawled off on its own by then, and I went back inside. I am washing the pillow case. Gross.

Then I added the fact that my skin was crawling to the many reasons why I couldn't sleep. And I sure didn't sleep.

New Obsession

2010-06-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. I loved them. Katniss kicks butt, and I love Peeta. I need Katniss to love Peeta. For any of you who do not know what I am talking about, you just need to read the book. Third and final installment comes out in August. I might die of anticipation.

I love Peeta, and not just because his name reminds me of one of my favorite nicknames, Peetal.

I just love him.

Happiness is...

2010-05-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

Happiness is going to BYU Womens Conference with your sisters and mom, going to the concert at night, and looking over to the left during a set by Michael McLean and seeing women with glow sticks. Like they are at a rave. In the Marriot Center. No joke.

Super Random...

2010-04-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

So, I have really weird dreams. Often, the kind of dreams that are so weird that I wake up with huge relief. Luckily, I don't put much stock in dreams being a reflection of real life, or I would be one messed up lady.
Last night, I had a dream that I was dating someone. Who would that person be, you ask? I will tell you, and my hometown girls may know this name. The man in my dream was none other than the boy I "went with" for, like, a day, in 7th grade, Mark Robilliard.

I'm sorry, WHAT?!

Huge relief. Seriously.

Still There...

2010-03-14T20:52:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to share that there is still a gaping hole in my ceiling. REALLY?!

A Few Randoms....

2010-02-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

I went to New York City a few weeks ago, and had a total party. This is me and Jenny Lattimer, my fabulous friend. Please forgive all the pics in this post- they are all from my phone. But this was us at Don't Tell Mama's, a piano bar we went to. Originally we went to a separate room for some comedy show- it was painfully bad, and offensive, so we walked out after the first act. I am pretty sure that waitress hated us. But I don't care. The piano bar part was really fun; I love listening to live music! There were, however, some very nice middle-aged women at the table next to us. One of them, as she got more and more inebriated, kept pouting and trying to get us to sing, since it was open mic. I may have wanted to punch her, by the time we left. Maybe. We laughed so hard all weekend. I love that girl.

We also had a singing party with all my friends who are still in the City- it was so fun to sing with my old friends again! I know such talented people...I have not laughed like that for a long time; I may have cried a few times.

This is my cat Jack. I love him. He is pretty naughty. Always playing with our blinds, and scratching on our couches. We have tried spray bottles, and now we just shut him up in the pantry, like a time-out when he is bad. We are such good parents.
Jack has yellow eyes that show up green in pictures. He looks a little like a demon cat. This bag is his favorite toy.

Jack, I am sure, is looking at something very interesting.

Finally, it snowed this weekend! Quite a lot, apparently, for this area. This is the view out our bedroom window. It was so pretty, it made me happy.

Ok, I decided I am not quite done, sorry. When I was in Texas over New Years, I went shopping with my mom, my sis Carolynn, and my niece Amy. We had so much fun! I sure love that little Amy. She is 11, super cute and smart, and I am really looking forward to seeing the great things she does in her life.

Amy's little sister Kathryn is a little bit hysterical to me. She got hold of one of the drums my parents brought back from Ghana, supposedly for my nephews Caden and Gavin. However, on New Years Eve, that sucker was all hers. She is even holding it correctly, with the rope over her shoulder. She knows what's up, and she will let you know she knows. I died many times that night just watching.

Well, now I guess I am done. Again, please excuse the poor quality in pictures. My desktop computer is still on the fritz, and that is the only computer my camera will upload to. Boo.

Rain, Rain...

2010-02-05T16:47:00.001-08:00

When I left Las Vegas, I was so rain-starved I swore I would never complain about the rain. Ever. I still won't do that. But I just have to say, it would be nice if the rain stopped for long enough that my roof would dry and someone would come fix the still-gaping hole in my ceiling. It would be nice.

There is a play called "Absent Friends."

2010-01-17T17:03:00.000-08:00

And I am one of them. It is true. I have not posted for a long time. Our desktop computer is down, so I can't really even post any pictures. Sorry.

Life has not been too exciting lately, so I will just give a quick run down of the holidays, now that it is the middle of January.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Cristian and I went to the Charlotte, NC area and spent the day with the Cheney family and all their glory, and also my brother Dave and his family. It is always great to be with Dave and Becca, but it was so fun to see old friends again after so many years. We were welcomed and taken care of. Cristian was a really good sport about all the reminiscing going on with the Cheneys. I swear, they remembered things I did that I don't remember. Maybe that is a good thing.
We also helped Dave and Becca pick out a Christmas tree the next day, and that was so fun. Then Becca, Nellie and I saw "New Moon." I am admitting right now that I am a fan of the books, though I have only read them once. I am not a repeat reader. I enjoy the movies for what they are, so it was really fun. It was a great weekend.

For Christmas, Presbyterian College completely shut down for 2 weeks. That's right. I got 2 weeks paid Christmas vacation. It was truly a Christmas miracle. The first week Cristian and I just hung out; we made cookies for a few people and went to Greenville to the Festival of Trees downtown. We spent our first Christmas without any family nearby. We just stayed home, the two of us. It was a very nice, relaxing day, complete with a yummy ham dinner and a viewing of "Star Trek" that C got from my brother Gary and his family. What a great gift.

The next day, my Mom's birthday, C took off to Florida for a stage combat workshop. At the same time, I took off to Texas to see my oldest sibs and their families, and my parents, who were also there for the holidays. They just returned from their mission in Ghana in November, so this was the first time I saw Mom and Dad since coming home. It was so fun! I love my family. I took a few pictures with my phone, but I don't know how to upload to a computer from my phone, so I don't have anything to show for it. But I had a great time. Some of the highlights- sitting in on my sister-in-law Melissa's Sunday School class, (she was awesome), shopping with my mom, my sis Carolynn, and my niece Amy. Amy and I walked around this accessories store doing running commentaries on all the jewelry. It was great. Love that girl. Loved going to the temple with my parents and Carolynn, then meeting Tim for lunch afterward. Seeing Pat and Jerry, Cristian's parents, and of course his brother Brett and sister-in-law Lisa. I love the family I married into. I am lucky. Talking to Melissa, anytime. Talking about BYU with Jen, my niece who is the cutest Freshman you have ever seen. Doing a puzzle with my dad and Caden and Tristan. Watching Gavin, Caden, then little Kathrine play the drums Mom and Dad had brought back for the boys. Seeing Allison and Jen with their friends. Celebrating NYE with all, eating fondue and other yummy treats until I thought I would die, doing a count down at 9:20pm, then being in bed by 11pm. Happy New Year.
I flew back into Charlotte and spent the night with Dave and Becca before coming home. I love talking to them, and we stayed up late doing that. My favorite quote of the whole trip actually came from Emily on the way to their house after Dave picked me up from the airport. She said, "Aunt Nicole?" What, Baby? "When we get home, I want to show you my moves." Awesome. She is a funny little 5-year old. Of course, her current favorite song to dance to is "Dead Man's Party" from Oingo Boingo. Then Caleb got into it by doing his head stands while Emily rolled and shook and writhed around him. How much do I love this family? So much.

It was a great trip, but I was ready to come home. Life marches on, somehow.

I am optimistic about 2010. I have no idea what it will bring. But I am optimistic. Cristian and I are lucky- we both have jobs, we live in a great little town that we love, we have a great ward, and callings with the youth. Even though I am sitting in my apartment (which is another blessing) listening to water drip through a hole in our ceiling into the cooler that C placed underneath, I know life is good. Water drip or no.

Miracles

2009-11-28T17:44:00.000-08:00

My wonderful college friend Eldon lost his wife Heather this morning to breast cancer. I have no words to describe the sorrow I feel for him, and I only met her once. But she was the love of his life. She battled for a year, always full of faith and hope and perseverance.

Last Saturday, Eldon knew she needed a miracle. So he put on their website that he would fast and pray on Sunday for one; sort of a last-ditch effort for healing, then maybe on to trying to accept whatever may come. So I, and many people who love them, fasted with him for that miracle. It was a great experience, feeling close in spirit to so many for the same purpose.

Monday morning I received word that Eldon and Heather (in one of her less-frequent lucid moments) knelt in prayer together to ask for a miracle. They both felt very strongly it would come, and therefore, just asked us to pray that her healing would come quickly so she could raise her three small children. I was so happy I cried, and prayed my thanks.

All week I waited and wondered what was happening, how she was doing. There was one message this week indicating she was slipping. This afternoon I received the email-notification that a journal entry had come in. I quickly opened it to find the message that she had passed this morning. Again, I cried. I cried for my friend. I cried for his sweet children. I wish for nothing more at this moment than to fly to Colorado and just be there.

I grieve tonight for a loving wife, mother, sister, daughter. Heather is healed; she is whole. But that is small consolation to a grieving husband and children. So I will ask for another miracle- for the healing of a family.

In Homage to my Favorite New Show:

2009-10-25T17:41:00.001-07:00

For those of you who watch "The Office:"

PARKOUR!

For those of you who don't, and even those who want to feel the joy again, please, PLEASE watch the clip in the post below. Seriously.

Hardcore Parkour!

2009-10-25T17:40:00.001-07:00

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

WARNING: Eternal Posting

2009-10-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

This is an interpretation of what my life has been for the last 2 months.

Sorry, this will be long. In my continual habit of needing to play catch-up, I have waited too long and now have much to share. Feel free to skim.

Mostly this will just be a lot of pictures. First of all, some pics of our last days in the Las Vegas:

This was our POD- the container in which we shipped all of our stuff. It was crazy how they dropped it off. The only word I can think of for that kind of truck was, HUGE CONTRAPTION.

I love these women with all my heart (and the men they come with, but, sorry, only the girls made it to the blog). These are my cousins, Emily Montague and Brooke Duke, and my Aunt, Ruth Pooler. I think it is pretty self-explanatory why I love Emily...we tend to take pictures the same way. I miss them like crazy.
Our good friends Brandon and Kelly Albright. I went to college with Kelly, and Brandon and I were in Aida together last summer. Great people, and we miss them too. Good luck in the NYC, you guys!
This is Rochelle Hendricks, and she is one of my favorite people, and it was really hard to say goodbye to her.... and I quote from a famous film named "Legacy:" "If we ever meet again it will be Zion to me!"

The last day arrived... so weird.

We towed my car the whole way. So glad we bought that truck a year ago!

This is our home. I miss that house. Sigh.

About halfway, we stopped in the Dallas, Texas area to visit family on both sides. Cristian solidified his title to Favorite Uncle even more by playing video games and Monopoly for hours on end with my nephews Tristan, Gavin, and Caden. Awesome. Caden loved him, and in fact totally snubbed my sister Carolynn in favor of always holding Cristian's hand when we went to the Aquarium! They were buddies. We had a great time with Cristian's family too, and didn't really want to leave. But, alas, we were needed elsewhere. Like South Carolina.

We stopped in Vicksburg, MS for a night. Vicksburg is the site of a pivotal battle in the Civil War, so it had a lot of really cool history. Like the Military Park, with a full run down of the Battle of Vicksburg on a CD that we listened to as we drove through. I don't remember what states these memorials were for, but we liked them. Cristian looks pretty sweet.

We also saw the USS Cairo, and ironclad warship that sank in the Yazoo River during the battle. It was found and brought back up a few years ago (like, 10 or 20 years ago) and restored. It was cool.

Of course, leave it to me to find something humorous on a landmark location....and to take a picture of it.
Sometimes I think I am Eva Peron. ("Evita" reference, for the non-theater peeps) Actually, I am just standing in the spot where Jefferson Davis (the President of the Confederacy) gave his last public address after being released from prison after the Civil War. This house is called Anchuca, and it an antebellum home built in 1830. It survived the War, and even served as a hospital at the time. It is now a lovely Bed and Breakfast, and Cristian and I stayed there.

When we got to Clinton, my brother Dave and his family came to see us for a day. Emily and Caleb helped Cristian put up our Bowflex, then felt inclined to test it out for themselves. They can pull some weight, I will tell you.

Then we went camping. In August. In South Carolina. It was hot.

In the month of August, we just gradually moved in ($$$, Holy Crap!) and got all the business that moving entails squared away, like insurance, etc. I visited Dave and Becca at their home in Charlotte, a mere two hours away. I also reunited with my friends Tiffany and Nellie Cheney, who I have not seen in years! So excited to see them more often. Cristian started work at Presbyterian College the last week in August, and after a job search of my own, I landed a position myself at PC. I started work Sept. 7. I work in Administration, and I enjoy my job. It is really nice to be employed again; although, I was really getting used to the unemployed state; it is not so bad at all. Cristian's parents stopped by for a weekend on their own move from NY down to Texas, and it was so fun to see them.

Sooo, in September, I flew to Newport Beach, CA for a Girls' Weekend! It was amazing! We all turned 30 this year, and we wanted to celebrate it, dang it!
This is some of us on Balboa Island. From left:
Me, Katie Hill, Jen Jacobsen, Kristi Christensen, and Beth Rustand. Chalyce Bohne was not there yet, and Kristin Andrus had to be at another obligation that day. We went shopping on Balboa Island. I have not laughed so hard for a really looooong time! By the way, we were cute in high school, but we are all cuter now. Love what getting into the prime of your life does for you. The only person we were missing was Nellie. Boo.

Freakin awesome. We all went to high school together, and some of us have known each other since we were 2 years old. That is friendship.

Jen is a photographer, so she was all over the photo shoots. Mostly of Beth and Katie. Kristi and I didn't make the cut. So we drowned our sorrows in candy, what else would we do?

Well, can you blame Jen? Look how cute Beth is!
What a Hot Mama.

Again, leave it to me to find the most random thing and get a picture. Don't you remember when these horse rides were in front of grocery stores? You pop in a quarter from Mom, and your day is made. They were the best! So I reverted a litte, don't judge. It was a fabulous weekend, and I love those girls to pieces, and can't wait for our next trip, whenever that may be.

The last thing I will mention happened this weekend.

Squealin in the Square.

Laurens County hosts this BBQ competition every October, and people come from far and wide to compete and enjoy. We found ourselves on Main Street in Laurens, eating a huge smoked turkey leg, french fries and funnel cake. We listened to one of those rock bands that you would never buy a CD of, but they are so fun live and in a festival atmosphere. I was dancing and loving it. It was our first real community experience here, and so fun and so tasty, as evidenced by Cristian.

So, there you go. At some point I will talk about a few things I did last summer before we moved. But not tonight.

We are really liking it here. We are grateful for our jobs, and the people who have been so kind to us. We feel really lucky to have landed at a college where it is ok to talk about and worship God, where the values are very similar to our own. It is beautiful in South Carolina, and I have found a love for this small little town of Clinton already.

Until next time I have to catch up on something. If you have made it this far, I salute you. You are a true friend. Told you it was long.

We are Here!

2009-08-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

And by here, I mean Clinton, South Carolina, our new home town! We arrived a week ago yesterday, safe and tired. We got the keys to our apartment and set up shop. After two really expensive trips to Walmart, our day was done. Moving is expensive, and moving IN is really expensive! All the food staples we have had to replace, and home "things" like shelving and bins for stuff that we don't have an obvious place for. We are using what we already have, and then some. I guess every place you move into you have to adjust to that space. Well, our 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apt is actually pretty spacious, but we are still needing to get creative a bit. I guess that is what happens when you leave behind a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house. Plus a large storage unit.

Anyway, Tuesday our POD arrived with all our belongings, and some men from our new ward (and a few sons) drove all the way out into our little town, at the edge of the ward, to help us unload. It was incredibly humbling that they would do that for us when we live a half hour away from the church, let alone their own homes, wherever they are. I guess I am just used to smaller ward boundaries so I was concerned no one would come so far. But they did, and were a huge help, even going with Cristian to the storage unit to fit everything in there. Thank you, Simpsonville 2nd Ward!

We are still in boxes for some things, and it may be a little while until things are really coming together. But the bathroom and kitchen are organized, we have our internet and TV, and all of our stuff is somewhere in the vicinity. That is all we can ask at this time. I really will post some pictures of our cross country drive, I just have been a little too busy to download everything.

We live in a little town, and it is kind of an adjustment for me being so far away from a suburb, let alone a major city. But I am getting used to it, and I like the quiet. We have been introduced to a really cute cafe called the Village Cup that I am in love with (they serve lunch) and we have been to an ice cream parlor and I went to the Farmers Market yesterday morning. Those are the things I am going to love about Clinton. I will get used to driving 30 minutes to a Target or Lowes, I promise.

So Far, So Good

2009-07-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, we have left Las Vegas. We took off on Thursday afternoon and arrived yesterday evening for a pit stop in Dallas, TX. We are half way to our destination of Clinton, South Carolina and thought we would stop to visit family here. I have a picture of Cristian and I in front of our house right before we left, but I will post that another time.

This week was crazy. We arrived home last week from a vacation in Utah just in time for Cristian to get the stomach flu. We lost a very valuable day to sickness. Poor guy. Then, the weekend was just really busy with packing, last minute home projects, and final social engagements with friends and family. ( I know, I make us sound so popular). Monday brought drama for Cristian's truck, so it was taken into one shop in the morning, then another in the afternoon, just to have that service delayed (long story) so we ended up taking the truck back and forth to the dealer every day this week, and FINALLY getting to pick it up, job completed, on Thursday, hours before we left. Sorry for the run-on sentence. Mix all of that up with more crazy packing and an all-night adventure (literally) loading everything into our PODS container on Tuesday night so it could be picked up Sunday. 30 min. of sleep in 40 hours? Best feeling in the world.

It was an odd feeling to have the POD picked up. There was no going back. The move was very real. Cristian felt it too. Like our life is now on a path that we can't control.

I am going to miss my house. I loved my house. It was our first, certainly not our last, but we had made it our own.

I am so grateful to our friends that helped pack and load and clean. They are wonderful, and I can't say enough.

I am going to miss my friends. If I could take all my friends where ever I went, I would love it. Unfortunately, I was not able to convince anyone to move with us. But I have good friends, and am really sad to leave them. We will just have to rely on Facebook, I guess.

I am also really going to miss the family we have here. They have taken us in as their own and we felt welcome, always. We love the Pooler clan, and can't wait to see them in the future. I miss you guys already!

It was a long, hard, crazy, stressful, bittersweet week. The end of our time in Las Vegas also marked a new beginning for Cristian and I. And I am excited for that.

To Do List

2009-06-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

Here is my To Do List before I move on July 23rd:

1. Finish some projects at work so I can quit and not leave anyone hanging.

2. Pack my house.

3. Go through all of our belongings and figure out what to give away, throw away, or pack.

4. Paint some closet doors.

5. Pack my house.

6. Pass my certification test to certify as a voice teacher.

7. Record some songs for a cd my Relief Society presidency is making.

8. Pack my house.

9. Go to Utah for a week for a family reunion.

10. Say goodbye to friends in Utah.

11. Go through all the loose papers and clutter laying around our house and figure out what it actually is, if we need to keep it, and if so, where in heaven's name do we put it?

12. Pack my house.

13. Pick up Cristian in Utah since he will coming back from NY, where he is now, fulfilling his calling as a director for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.

14. Eat all the food in my cupboard and fridge and freezer, by myself, as said husband is out of town, as mentioned above.

15. Garner and organize help loading the POD here and unloading the POD in South Carolina.

16. Pack my house.

17. E-file my taxes. (Yes, we had an extension, before anyone freaks out. We are fine.)

18. Clean my house so it isn't disgusting.

19. Clean my house again after everything is out of it.

20. Did I mention Pack my house?

21. Keep my sanity. Somehow.

I will breath when I get there.

My own little vacation

2009-06-14T20:41:00.001-07:00

Last month I also took a vacation, all by myself, and went to Oregon to visit my sister Cyndi. It was so fun and relaxing, I didn't want to come home except Cristian was there. Cyndi took such good care of me, and it was so fun to see her family, my cute nephews, and my newest nephew Johnathan! It was really good to spend some quality time with my sister. She is so great. And can we talk about how much I love Oregon? We went into California to the Redwoods, and to the coast, and it made me homesick for my childhood. We used to go to the coast and the Redwoods all the time.
She was a total soldier and took that baby everywhere in the pack, even hiking. It was awesome. Her 5-year old son Adam also provided great company. He was also pretty funny. Example: Cyndi was asking him if he wanted to go to Ashland with us, or play with a few friends the next day. "What friends, Mom?" She named a couple of boys. "I think I will go with you and Aunt Nicole. I am not really into them right now." I'm sorry, what? You are not "into" them? I was laughing so hard. He continued throughout the week to talk about stuff he was "into" or "not into."

Josh, Ethan, and Seth were in school, but I loved talking to them after school and learning what they are "into" these days. Cyndi and Steve are doing such a great job with them, and they are a fabulous family, and I love them to pieces!

Graduation!

2009-06-14T20:24:00.001-07:00

So, true to form, I have put off posting until, like, a month later. Yes, well....

First of all, Cristian graduated! He now holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Technical Direction from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He was done on May 13-ish. It has been a hard road for him and I am such the proud wife! (Don't take my lateness at posting this as any indication. I really am so proud of him I could sing it from the roof tops.) This is a picture of him with his presentation of work for the year. These are pages from his portfolio, which is very impressive, by the way, and helped to land him a great job at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. So in a few weeks, we will be packin up and headin out!
We are really grateful for Cristian's education. We are also really grateful he is done!

Character Defined.

2009-04-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

I meant to do this post a few days ago, and just got busy, so I have run out of steam just a little bit. But I watched the Today show this past Tuesday, and Matt Laur was interviewing Miss California USA (Hereafter known as Miss C., since I don't remember her name) about her controversial answer to Perez Hilton's question about her thoughts on gay marriage. She stated that, in her family, she was raised with the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, and, basically, that is what she still believes. Well, she got First Runner-Up in the Miss USA pageant, and many people, including Perez Hilton and Donald Trump, speculated that the answer she gave cost her the crown. That very well may be true, we will never know for sure.

I did not see the actual pageant, just the interview two days later. First, Matt Laur interviewed Hilton by Skipe in LA and got his thoughts. He said Miss C. gave the completely wrong answer and made people feel unwelcome at the pageant, and she shouldn't have brought her politics and religion onto the stage. He said a lot of other things as well.

To him I say: YOU are the one who brought YOUR politics into the pageant by asking the question in the first place! You would have loved her and said she did the right thing if she had answered the way YOU wanted her to. She didn't bring her religion into the discussion. Nothing was said about church, God, or Christ in any way. Miss C. only stated what she believed, which she has a right to, and should not be persecuted and slandered for it. (He was shown on his video blog calling her a "dumb *&^$#." Really mature. Awesome.)

To Miss C. I say: GOOD FOR YOU! You stood your ground even when asked if you would answer differently given a second chance. You showed me there is still integrity and character in the world. I do not live in California anymore, but you made me proud of how the location of my childhood represented.

To all of you I say: To me, this is not necessarily about gay marriage, and whether I agree with Miss C.'s opinion on gay marriage. ( I do agree, but that is beside the point for the purpose of this post). It is all about someone taking a stand, in the national spotlight, for what they believe, knowing it would not be a popular one. She stated that as soon as she said her answer, she knew she would not win. Yet she did not back down. She didn't even stay neutral in order to increase her chances of winning by giving what would have been a popular answer, and what Hilton was obviously looking for. She was clear in her beliefs, not derogatory in any way toward homosexuals, she just stated her opinion about it and was done. After working so hard to get as far as she did, that would have been a very hard thing to do, and I can't even imagine that kind of pressure.

In hearing the comments from both Hilton and other judges about "staying neutral if you want to win" and other such things, I thought about how we are a generation, and raising a generation, of people who are not encouraged to stand up for their beliefs. It is really sad how we are encouraged and counseled to seem lukewarm and nuetral on issues so that no one is "offended," and we can gain an advantage by saying what people want to hear. So there doesn't really seem to be any accountability. Guess what. There are ways to disagree with others with respect for their different beliefs. Not everyone has to be unified in everything, we just need to respect our differences, and not judge. Unfortunately, Perez Hilton never got that memo.

I admire Miss C.'s courage, and I hope to have a fraction of that courage if/when I am ever put to the test like that.

Not that I have plans to enter the pageant circuit. You all would love that, wouldn't you? I can see you laughing.

But I think you all know what I mean.

Valentine's Day and my Birthday

2009-04-03T10:48:00.001-07:00

Ok, I realize it is now April and I am just getting around to posting about things that happened weeks ago. Don't judge me.

Just a short note about V-day: We had dinner with our friends Scott and Shalisse Jenkins, and went and saw "He's Just Not That Into You." Papa Johns Pizza ran a deal for heart-shaped pizzas, and we had to partake. We laughed so hard about the pizzas, and had a great time. The boys didn't like the movie so much, as was evidenced by Cristian's bouncing his knee for the whole two hours. Oh well, they were good sports about it.

For my birthday on the 20th of March, Cristian was out of town doing a myriad of job interviews. While he was off slaying dragons, I had a great day by myself, got a facial, went shopping, then went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner with a bunch of my girlfriends. It was so fun!
Pictured: Tate Hulet, Shalisse Jenkins, me, Erin Dudley, Sheri Mohlman, Nicole Boyd, Rochelle Hendericks, and Marlaina Harris. We had so much fun, and dang, that food is good. Love my girls.
We finished out the weekend the next day when some of the above girls and I gathered at my house to watch "Twilight." What a weekend.

The next weekend Cristian was home and we gathered with my family across town for a barbecue. Can I just say, I adore them all? We will sure miss them when we move.
Personally, I think Bennie is just sad that it wasn't his birthday.

Isn't he cute? Anyway, we had my favorite pie (I am not a cake person) Marie Callender's razzleberry pie and ice cream. I was so sick to my stomach from eating so much, but so happy. And it was a gorgeous day.

I am now 30 years old. Does that bother me? Did I freak out? No. But I hear that the thirties are way better than the twenties, so I am ready to be impressed.

Happy Spring!

So Confused

2009-03-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

So, I was driving home from work a few days ago and caught this bumper sticker on a nice, pretty new-looking BMW:

"Don't be Fooled by my Car.
My Treasure Lies in Heaven."

What? Is this like those "Don't hate me because I am beautiful" ads from the 80's? I was really confused about the idea the sticker was supposed to convey. First of all, bumper stickers are tacky, in my opinion. To have a bumper sticker on a nice, really expensive looking car, is extra tacky. And, of course it also had one of those "fish" icons, you all know the ones I am talking about, the loaves and fishes icons that people put on their cars.

So, tackiness aside, my confusion lies in what it is saying. It seemed to me that the sticker was saying "don't judge me that I clearly have a lot of money, and am showing it by my nice ride. I am still really righteous and will be going to heaven, because that is where my priorities lie." I thought, really? Because I am looking at the sign on your car ADVERTISING your righteousness, which in my opinion, is not very Christian at all.

As I was driving, I really was trying to find a meaning in this that didn't make the driver out to be an arrogant jerk. But any way I look at it, the saying is offensive because I think that people who are truly laying up their treasures in heaven don't have to talk about it, especially by posting a tacky bumper sticker on a really expensive car. It seemed so ironic to me.

Is that too harsh? Obviously, I do not know the driver. He/She may be a wonderful person. The sticker was just so arrogant that I wondered if it was a joke.

Anyway, that is my thought for the day. I am really not trying to be cynical, people can put whatever they want on their cars, even the fish don't really bother me, even though I would never do it myself. But this in particular bothered me because it seemed very hypocritical. Almost like the Pharisees in the Bible who talked about the Law and how good they all were. I will stop now.

The Anniversary and Other Happenings.

2009-02-06T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to do this post for two weeks, since my anniversary. Four years! Crazy how time flies.

Cristian planned the celebration this year. He took me to the Bellagio Hotel, to a VERY nice restaurant named Jasmine. It was Asian Cuisine. (Did I just say "Cuisine" in a post? Yes I did. It was that fancy.) Beforehand, we walked around the hotel and walked through the conservatory, which was decked out for Chinese New Year.

The pictures are a little dark, but it was very beautiful, complete with a spread-eagle panda bush. Edward Scissorhands must have been busy.

Of course, the night is not complete without some dumb pictures that make us look like ten-year-olds.

Don't, worry, I realize this money under the gargantuan Samurai Soldier is fake. No one be alarmed. But I was trying to steal it anyway.

Anyway, it was fabulous. The food was soooo good! And the ambience was really romantical. (I have to say it like that because I feel dumb saying "romantic." But it was.) The whole back wall of Jasmine was floor to ceiling windows, facing out to the famous Bellagion Fountains. They knew it was our anniversary, and so gave us a table with a perfect view. It was awesome. Every 15 minutes a different song would come on (very softly inside, so as not to be disruptive) and the fountains would go. We had a great time. We laughed about where we might be for our anniversary next year (no idea). There may be a small college town in our future where the "fancy place" is Applebee's.

During the evening, a woman came and asked to take our picture. I very seriously thought about saying, "no, but you can take one of us with my camera." But I decided NOT to be tacky. Of course, later, another woman came and offered us the pic in a super-fancy frame (not really, just a folded one with "Bellagio" on the front) for only $45! I almost choked. But Cristian just laid down his card and bought it anyway, being our anniversary and all. It was a good picture, and cute of him to want it.

We finished off the night with stopping on the way home at the Sonic drive-thru and getting ice cream. Super Sweet.

The said $45 picture. I like us. Happy Anniversary, Baby. I love you.

Other than that, not a lot going on besides continuing to apply for jobs after graduation. We have had a few schools express interest, so that is very encouraging. We have heard from places in Illinois, South Carolina, Iowa, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania so far, no offers yet, but interviews. It is a pretty long process. Who knows where we will be? It is fun and scary all at the same time.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

Just a little catch up, Christmas was great, Cristian got me an MP3 player so I can actually stop exercising in public with a cd player hanging from my waist. I'm a little behind, alright? I got him a really nice camping sleeping pad, which he was excited about. Nothing really to top the XBox 360 of last year, but that is ok. We relaxed at home in the morning, then went to my cousin Emily's house and relaxed some more, watching Ironman for the 2 time that day. (Santa brought it for Cristian. He was a good boy this year.) So fun. Loved it. As evidenced by the below image of C and Wyatt.

2009 is looking like a big year for us. Cristian graduates with his MFA, and (hopefully) he will be getting some great job somewhere, which will also mean a move, most likely across the country, based on the openings we have found. I feel like we are about to start life for real. No more school. It is very exciting and a little scary. But we are looking forward to starting the next chapter or our life. Cross your fingers for us.

Happy New Year Everybody!

So Thankful...

2008-11-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

I love this season. My sister Carolynn sent us an early Christmas present. It was a plain wreath with a bunch of harvest-y picks. Throughout the month, Cristian and I were supposed to take turns saying things we are thankful for and put a pick in the wreath, so by Thanksgiving it is full. It was a little rough just because C is not home much these days, but we did it and it was a great reminder to be thankful throughout the season, not just on the Day. Thanks, Carolynn, for helping us start a family tradition that I already love.

A few other things...

1. I am so thankful for my husband. He is kind, funny, hard-working, compassionate, patient (mostly with me), grounded, and above all, GOOD. He has such a good heart. I am so glad to be married to Cristian, and I am so thankful he chose me. I can't imagine my life without him.

2. My job. I work at an alternative medicine office with 3 doctors and 2 massage therapists. Cristian and I get free care, which has come in very handy since my back went out a year ago. I am now undergoing treatments for free that would cost someone else hundreds of dollars. My main concern is having a healthy enough back to be pregnant, and avoid surgery if possible, and the care I have access to here is helping me toward that goal. I also get good pay, vacation time, paid holidays, and work 4 days a week, who can complain?

3. My family. Both sides of it. I have a great family, and wonderful parents who taught me all the good things I know in life. My siblings are awesome, and I never tire of spending time with them. We are surprisingly close for such a big, spread out bunch, but we love each other and would do anything for each other. I am also grateful for the family I married into. They made Cristian into the great man he is, and welcomed me with open arms. They are wonderful people who we don't see enough.

4. My Aunt and Uncle, Tom and Ruth Pooler, and cousins Emily and Ben Montague, and Brooke Duke and her boys Connor and Wyatt. They live here and have adopted us into their circle, for which I will be forever grateful. Before living here, I saw them once a year, now, all the time, and it is wonderful. We celebrate everything together, birthdays and holidays, and other times too. We love to be together, and they have especially embraced Cristian, and that makes me love them even more.

5. The Gospel. I don't know where I would be without it. It has shaped me way beyond what my parents taught. I have long since developed my own testimony, with my own trials and triumphs to go along with that. I am grateful for Jesus Christ, who died for me. He knows me, and that brings me so much comfort I can't even begin to say.

6. Cristian's schooling. It has been hard, and a long road for us. But we are almost done, he graduates in May with an MFA. This will open so many doors for him, and for our family.

7. My talents.

8. Job Openings. Thanks goodness there are some out there. Now we just have to get hired in one of them. Just one. Please.

Happy Late Thanksgiving everyone, and remember as we step into the Christmas season, to still be thankful!

We gotta get outta here

2008-11-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know this is my third post today, but I guess I have a lot to say. Make sure you scroll down to my other posts of the day. So before we lived in our home here in North Las Vegas, we lived in an apartment on the east side of town. Some would say that area is a little bit of the ghetto, but we felt just fine there. We just had a few crazy experiences with people coming to our place in the middle of the night, knocking on the windows, etc. One time some kind of transgender/transvestite/not really sure what arrived in the middle of the night. Sweet. In our new home, we have been fine for the most part, just one attempted break-in (we weren't home) for which we got a house alarm.
Last night, we were in bed and about 3am woke up to some pounding on our front door. Of course we jumped out of bed and Cristian went to see what it was, muttering, "I thought we left these experiences at our old apartment." Let me say that when people have come in the middle of the night, it is always Cristian who checks it out, and leaves me in the protection of our home, but this time he told me to get dressed and come in case we had to desparately push our door shut against intruders. Great. I was terrified and went and got our butcher knife from the kitchen. Anyway, it was a kid, probably in his early twenties, with blood all over his head, saying he had been jumped by 8 guys and woke up in our neighborhood, could we please call 911? He was wearing a bathrobe, said he had been at a lingerie party, and he was in the Air Force. He was definitely still drunk, but also clearly in need of help. Cristian called 911. We stayed with him (whate else would we do, he was bleeding all over our front porch) until the police came. At one point on of the paramedics was talking to him and he slumped over and fell out of the chair we had brought out onto the ground. Just blacked out, whether from alcohol or shock, I don't know. I think he really was in the Air Force, because he went into military mode and answered with "Sir" puntuating every sentence as if he was being drilled. The paramedic was nice enough to clean the blood off of our porch, and we got it off the wall next to the door. It must have been from his hand. He was bleeding a lot.
I felt really bad for him once I knew there was no danger to us, but I certainly don't need that experience ever again. I am not saying that all of Vegas is like this, there are many great things about it. We just happen to attract the crazies. We gotta get out of this town.

The Hunt For My October

2008-11-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

I love Fall. It is one of my favorite seasons. But living in Las Vegas I have realized that Fall is the most frustrating season for me. It is so hot in the summer that is takes so dang long to cool off. It was still in the 80's this past week, and that drives me crazy because, while that temperature range is not bad, it just doesn't feel like Fall. No leaves happening, no cozy weather. It goes on thru November, slowly cooling down, just not fast enough for me.

So, after 3 years of futile frustration, this year I have made an effort to have a better attitude about it. After all, I can't do anything about the weather, and at least it is not still over 100 degrees, like it is most of the summer. Plus, since Cristian graduates this year and we are looking for a job, next year I may be somewhere that by this time I am already freezing my butt off, and 80 degrees might sound pretty good to me. I doubt it though, because if we are somewhere cold, at least it will be pretty with leaves and hot chocolate and soup. Here in the desert, not so pretty. All the same, I have made my peace with the Fall in Las Vegas. For now.

Note to self...

2008-11-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Nicole: anytime something in a recipe looks weird, call someone who knows better BEFORE going ahead. Ok, so we had Super Saturday this last month. For those of you who don't know what it is, Super Saturday is a big, glorified craft-making day for Mormon women. I am not crafty, at all, but I was actually pretty excited and came away with a clock that I made and some decorative tiles. There were some really cool projects this year. Anyway, so I volunteered to make cookies for the lunch. Mormon women always need to have food involved with every gathering, and I feel great about that. I decided to make some pumpkin cookies from a family recipe book. I had never made these before. So I am doubling the batch when I come to what says, "12 tsp nutmeg." Cristian and I were like, what? That sounds like a lot of nutmeg. Oh well, here we go! I am going to go ahead and state the obvious: It was a typo. Too much nutmeg. So I called my sister in law Melissa, who the recipe came from. She looked it up and said, "oh yeah, it is 1/2 tsp nutmeg. " I was like WHAT?! I was thinking it would be 1 or 2 tsp, but no, 1/2. When I told her I alreay made the dough, she laughed so hard at me. We laughed together because, what else am I going to do? I didn't want to waste everything, so I ended up making 3 more batches to try and even it out a litte. It was a long night, and the cookies still had too much nutmeg, but they actually went over just fine the next day. Cristian and I were amazed. Don't worry, I still have about 2 1/2 batches of this in my freezer. Anyone want some? The above picture is my mess of a kitchen during the whole ordeal.

I had to show a picture of Cristian carving our pumpkin the other day. He does not mess around. He busted the power tools out and everything. It did go a lot faster, which I am all about. We have a tradition on Halloween that I make some yummy soup from scratch (this year was chicken tortilla, from the afore-mentioned recipe book, no typos) then watch some kind of tv/movie while passing out candy and eating candy until we are sick. So fun. We ended up with way too much candy left over. I went a little over board. So, we are still eating candy until we are sick. Love Halloween.

Still playing catch up

2008-10-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

I think most of you know I am not a very timely blogger. So, since there are things I still want to share, I have to turn back time a little. The first, and most important, was Cristian birthday last month. He turned the big 3-4! We didn't do a whole lot that first day because he is in school and busy, but we sure did roast some smores on the fire pit I gave him. It was great. That weekend we celebrated with my cousins and my Uncle Tom. (Aunt Ruth was otherwise engaged, and we missed her.) Here are some pictures:
I lit up that cake like the Fourth of July, there were so many! Hee hee. It was pretty funny. My cousin Emily

and I were laughing pretty hard as we lit them.

So, Brooke and Emily started this tradition of the Awesome Birthday Sombrero. Luckily I have a husband who is an awesome sport. It is pretty sweet. Cristian, Happy Birthday, I love you!

So, aside from the birthday, we have planted a garden. Note to Self- never plant pumpkin plants and zucchini plants in small spaces. I am waiting for the Giant to come down from the beanstalk. Only the patch under the window is the actual soil. The rest is our patio. And yes, it the pumpkin grew through the legs of the white chair, so it is there to stay until the garden dies, which it may, since i am not a green thumb. However, we got some nice zucchinis.

I should have done this a month ago...

2008-09-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of Aida. Enjoy. I had a great time. Cristian's set looked great, and he got favorable mentions in the reviews we saw.

Prologue --->

My Boy Toy and me in the "My Strongest Suit" scene. (That's Joel. He actually wanted to be wearing a boe tie, but our director nixed it).

This is the end of Strongest Suit, after a super-fast quick change. Nice bootie shorts. Really sweaty, hot vinyl. Awesome.

After another, even faster, quick change, this next picture is the banquet with Brandon Albright, who played Radames. Sweating bullets by now.
This is Ty Lewis and I. She played Aida. She and Brandon were both awesome, and we loved working together. Then there is the bedroom scene, where I am a little excited about being married to Radames.

A little more excited than he is, apparently.

Here we go, singin about lovin' the same man.

Classic Love Triangle, with really sweet clothes to boot. Then we have my "I just realized my life sucks" song, called "I Know the Truth." Complete with an on-stage costume change. Don't worry, it was very modest and tasteful.

And, eventually, we come full circle. And yes, Brandon's abs are painted on. The power of make up. And no, those are not my real bosoms, shall we say. They were greatly enhanced. My director wanted Amneris to be endowed like his wife is. Seriously. Good thing it worked for the character.

This is Ty and I and Leigh, our amazing, prego, Aussie, kick-butt dresser. She kept us both sane and dressed appropriately.

Post-show hair. This is why I wore hats after the show. Rockin.

And lastly, the cast photo with Cristian's great set. That is me in the center, in maybe the most uncomfortable position I have ever had to hold. Painful.
One of the reasons I love theater is that I can be, can create, someone totally different from myself. I usually play characters that require me to do some heavy physical alteration, like wigs, stylized makeup, etc. That is really fun for me. I loved playing Amneris and exploring someone new. The costumes were great and helped me to physically be someone I am not in real life. This may not make sense to anyone, but it does to me, and it is what I love.

I am in love with Oregon

2008-08-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

Seriously. Specifically of the Medford variety. That is where Cristian and I went last month for the Riding Family Reunion. Hosted by my sister Cyndi, it was perfect. Fabulous weather, fun events/activities, and good company. I love my family. I already mentioned the talent show, but here are a few of the other activities we did:

Hung out at Cyndi's beautiful house. This is Cristian reading books to some cute boys. He was totally the favorite uncle.

This is what I like to call the "Ghana Grab." It is where my mom brings out her suitcase full of Ghanian gifts and we all figure out what we want for ourselves. It gets pretty rough. I think I gave my niece Jen a black eye over a hand bag. Just kidding. We went to Crater Lake, a GORGEOUS natural lake up in the mountains of Oregon. It used to be a volcano, and long story short, is now a crater with water in it.
The fam at Crater Lake. There are kind of a lot of us now.

This is Katherine. I should mention she is the last in a long line of beautiful children created by my brother Gary and his wife Melissa. I also mention this because Melissa credited her still being alive to Cristian's multiple times of steering her away from the pool. And yes, that is also her at the top of my entry with her brother Matt and the essential Children-stuffing-their-face-full-of-watermelon picture.
Of course any gathering is not complete without Sister Riding's scones!

We also visited a little park with a big model train to ride. we all indulged our inner child and rode the train, including Grandpa and Cristian.

On Monday we set out for the Treesort, a bed-and-breakfast where all the rooms were treehouses. It was so fun! Ours was the Cavaltree, You can't see it very well behind the trees on the right. But it was a tent with a bed that we used and then another treehouse above it that some of the older boys slept in.
For more information on this place you can go to www.treehouses.com
We also hit the California Coast and the Redwood Forest. It was awesome and made me not want to go home to Las Vegas even more. The weather at the beach was perfect.

This is Cyndi and Melissa, and my nephew Ethan, and of course cute Kate.

My Dad took this picture, since Cristian and I have hardly any pics together. What can I say, one of us always has the camera.

It was an amazing trip, I really did not want to come home. Only because Vegas is barren desert compared to Oregon. Compared to anywhere, really. Yea for family vacations. Cristian and I are on our own next summer since my parents won't be coming back from Ghana until November 2009. Maybe we will have our first official Bell Family Vacation and go backpacking in Bryce Canyon.

Matthew "I am 4 and3/4 "Riding

2008-08-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

My nephew Matt is so stinkin funny. Last month Cristian and I went up to Oregon for a Riding family reunion hosted by my sister Cyndi in Medford. I will post more on this later, but for now i will talk about Matt. He liked to say he was "4 1/2" until I mistakenly told him that since his birthday was in October, he is actually 4 and 3/4. Boy, did he love that. But my favorite part, of possibly the whole week, was our annual talent show. Matt decided to sing a song, and he loves the Jonas Brothers. Particularly a song from "Camp Rock" (some movie they just did). So he goes off and sings it, and I might have cried a little. No, I did. It was the funniest, cutest thing you can imagine because he fully committed, actions, vocal styling and all. It was pretty amazing. Honestly, he has a great little voice. Anyway, I added some video, so enjoy. The only problem is, I recorded it vertically on my camera and can't figure out how to rotate it. So does anyone know and want to share? Jamie B, are you out there? Also, my time limit was only 30 seconds, so I am putting 2 shots in, but it is so worth watching.

Kill Me Now

2008-08-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

I am so tired today. My show started last night, and it was pretty fun. I had some serious first-night jitters. The weird thing is, I don't get nervous until right before I am on stage. Then I want to hyperventilate. Combine that with a dress that is so tight I can barely move, and a lift lifting me up on a platform high upstage, and I am also trying to focus on moving gracefully and not tripping and killing myself. It was a little nerve-wracking. I think overall the show went alright though. The audience was really good and supportive, so that helped a lot. I truly believe that a show always gets to a point where it cannot progress anymore until there is an audience, and that was the case last night. The energy from them helped us all so much. Anyway....

That is not the only reason I am tired. Some people from the cast convinced me to go out for food after the show. I have said no many times, but this time I said yes. Stupid, stupid. I got to bed at 1 am and woke up at 5:30 this morning for work. Am I getting old? A lot of these people are younger than me, and they just go, go, go. I can't do that anymore. I have to have my sleep, and will even take the Party Pooper title in order to get it. (My husband would agree with this one). I am all about playing after a show every once in a while, but on a week night? Am I my mom?

Long, rambling, sleep-deprived story concluding, I will be taking a nap today before my show tonight. Thank you.

Shameless Plug

2008-08-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is a total shameless plug, but I would not be a good performer if I never marketed myself. I am doing "Aida," a musical with music written by Elton John and Tim Rice at Super Summer Theatre this month. It will be out at Spring Mountain Ranch from Aug. 13- Aug. 30, Wed- Sat. shows. Anyone who is in town, your support would be great, and I have to say, you would see a fabulous show. You can get tickets and information online at www.signatureproductions.net.

If you come, I will be out on Wed., Aug. 20, and Sandra Huntsman, my understudy, will be doing the show. So if you care about seeing me play the role, then just don't come on a Wed. and you will be fine. By the way, for those of you who know the show, I am playing Amneris, an Egyptian princess, on of the principle roles.

My talented husband Cristian designed the set, so it is fun to be involved in a project together.

I have not done Community Theater since joining Actors' Equity Association, my union, and it has been so great doing a show again for the simple love of it, and to be with people who are doing it for the same reason. This is not their job; it is their hobby, and they want to be there. It is very refreshing.

Anyway, come put a blanket on the grass, have a picnic dinner and watch a show, you will have fun, I promise.

Complete!

2008-07-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

Cristian is home! Yeah! He got home Wed. morning at about 6am after an 18 hour drive. The last 3 days have been absolute bliss. I don't think we will ever do a 2-month-er ever again. Worth it this time, but not again. We hope.

My long lost husband

2008-06-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

So, Cristian has been living in Tulsa, Oklahoma since early May working at a Theater. It was a great opportunity for him to get some experience in his chosen field of Tech. Direction, so we were excited about it. Two months apart, not the most fun I could think of, but no problem. I have actually always been good with alone time, as I believe I have said in an earlier entry, and I am working on a show at night, so I am pretty busy and time goes quickly. I have also gone out to see him twice, complete with sleeping in two twin beds pushed together in his dorm room on the University of Tulsa campus. Thankfully the people in charge were wise enough to give him his own room. We had a great time, truly.

But, ok seriously? It's getting really old to live by myself. I want my husband back. Cristian comes home in about 2 1/2 weeks, and I can barely stand it. I am ready for the other half of my bed to not go completely undisturbed at night, and I am ready to buy a full gallon of milk again, not just a half gallon. I am ready to see the truck outside in our driveway. I am ready to do more than one batch of laundry. More than anything, I am ready for my husband to crush me with his backside as he slides into me to say prayers at night. I am ready to not have to just talk to him on the phone every day.

I was told today by a good friend of mine that a sweet older lady in our ward (who I adore, by the way) asked her if I was married. And if so, whether my husband was a member of the Church, since she never sees him. Yikes. Fortunately, most people in our ward are wonderful and always ask about Cristian, how he is doing, how I am doing without him, and when he gets back. That has meant so much to me that people care about him.

I am so glad Cristian has had this job, I think he has learned a lot, and it has been a good thing for him, and for us. So I feel this has been worth the separation. I just really miss my man and am ready for him to come home.

Why, Hair, Why?

2008-06-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

So, my cousin Emily is in hair school. She is really talented and has been coloring my hair for a while and last week she cut it as well for the first time. I tried something a little different and told her to just do whatever she wanted. I trust her completely. She gave me some bangs and a few new aspects to my hair, and it was really cute. The next few days i enjoyed my new hair style and got many compliments on my look. Then came the dilemma that has plagued me my whole life. I had to wash my hair sometime, right?

The problem is I have a disability called Hair-Retardation. It ranges from mildly inconvenient to debilitating. I cannot, for the life of me, replicate what Emily did to my hair to make it so sleek and shiny and sassy. It has been a hard week, complete with a last minute trip to Wal-Mart for some head bands to try and salvage the mess I made. I wish I had some pictures to show, but I also kind of don't want this documented. Am I forever banned from the freedom of certain hairstyles by my disability? Can I get a handicapped parking sticker for this?

To the Jacksons

2008-05-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

I was heartbroken this past week as I heard about the tragic accident that befell some friends of Cristian and mine. Molly and Vic Jackson's daughter Lucy choked on a piece of apple and had to be life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. I don't know all the details, but she went into a coma then passed away on Thursday. She would have been 2 years old on June 11.

I cannot imagine the pain and sadness of losing a child and I salute you, Molly and Vic, for your strength and testimonies. I cried as I read your blog and saw the hope you have in a resurrection; you know this is not the end and you will see Lucy again.

Our prayers are ever with you both.

I have pictures again!

2008-04-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

We never found our camera usb cable, but we did find another one that works, so we finally were able to download pictures. I don't have anything really exciting going on right now, but I did want to post pictures from our anniversary in January. We stayed a night at the Venetian Hotel down on the Strip. It was gorgeous, and so fun. We ate at a great French restaurant called Bouchon. Yummy. I have to say, I was in charge this year, and Cristian didn't know anything until the last minute. I did a good job. I have the hardest time keeping secrets from him, but I pulled through, and he loved it. This is our room. Every room at the Venetian is a suite. I t was so beautiful. One of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in. This is us down in the Canal Shoppes, where you can take gondola rides with people who sing Italian arias to you and pretend they are from Italy. They're not. I know these things, I have friends who are Gondoliers, so don't be fooled if you ever take a ride. Sorry to spoil it for you. Also, we wanted a treat so we went to the food court and got these shakes from Johnny Rockets, you know that 50's style diner, and they were like, $7 each. What a rip off.
I just want to say how grateful I am for Cristian. He is definitely who I need to be with. He is funny, kind, hard-working, creative, handsome, and wise in many ways I am not. He has taught me more in the last three years than I ever thought I would need to learn, (but don't worry, I did, and I keep learning) and I am so glad he chose me. My life is more complete with him as my partner, and I can't imagine my life without him. Did I mention I am crazy in love with him? And, by the way, next year it is his turn to plan. He always comes up with something good.

jet-setting couple?

2008-03-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well, today I am off to LA for a Teacher's Conference for the vocal organization I am a part of. I will learn all about ways to improve my teaching, which I am very much looking forward to. I really won't know anyone, so most likely I will be playing it stag all weekend, but I am ok with that. I tried to get Cristian to come with me since he would get to see some good friends while I am in classes, and it would be fun to have him along in general. He is my husband, after all; I like to hang out with him on occasion. But he has too much going on at school and just can't get away. Such is the life of a graduate student in the Theater Arts. Always weekend work.

But I realized this morning that most of the time when we are out of town, it is either one or the other of us. We very rarely get to go somewhere together, usually because one of us is tied up at home, or we are not invited. By that I mean, for example, Cristian's 2 week internship he just completed in Denver. We probably go somewhere together twice, maybe three times a year, out of all the other times when one of us is gone. That happens to be a lot, between the two of us. Just this last month, C went to Denver for 2 weeks, was home for a week, then Houston for a week, now he is home, and I leave today for the weekend. That is a lot in one month, even for us. But this summer he will spend 2 months in Oklahoma working at a theater there. Obviously, I can't go with him since I have a job here and other responsibilities. I will go visit him a few times, and other than that, I have a few other trips planned on my own while he is gone. I figure, if he is gone anyway, I might as well make the best of it and enjoy myself.

Does this solo-traveling seem weird? We never think about it I guess because if we could we would go together, but we just do what we have to do. We are both pretty independent people, and by now we are used to it, so it's not a problem, just interesting.
Don't get me wrong. I miss him when we are apart, absolutely. The really important times, like weddings and family reunions, we go together, no question.
It just hit me today how busy we both are. I am totally rambling now, so I guess I am done.

Oh where, oh where...

2008-03-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Has our camera cable gone? You know the cable that hooks up your camera to the computer so you can download pictures? We can't find it. Poor Cristian had to go to a meeting last night about being a set designer for a show, and he had no pictures to show his work. How embarrassing. I felt really bad about it, and I looked and looked last night, but it was no where to be found. That also means I can't post any pictures for a while until we find it or buy a new one. Boo. I was going to do some back tracking and post about our anniversary in January. It was really fun, but I have nothing to show for it.
I hate losing stuff. It drives my crazy. Back in our first apartment, our favorite cookie sheet disappeared, and even amidst moving multiple times, it has never been found. I don't get it. I especially hate the stuff like that. How does one lose a cookie sheet? Ok, I want to know the most random item that has ever been lost to you. Don't be shy. This is a time for sharing.

It's true...

2008-03-09T19:06:00.001-07:00

I am super lazy. I do not blog nearly as much as I should, thank you, Beth. I need to start calling you my Blog-Conscience. I guess I never feel like I have that much to say, unless something big happens. But here goes.
Cristian just got home yesterday from a 2-week internship in Denver. Now, he goes out of town for various reasons a few times a year, therefore, leaving me home alone. I actually do just fine with this. I have always been good with entertaining myself, and "alone time," so as much as I miss him, I always use those days/weeks to watch movies I know he won't watch with me, and read good books.
The only thing I am not so good at is going to bed by myself. I am more or less ok, but I am really good at freaking myself out when I am in bed at night, and so at least one night when he is gone, I give myself a good scare. Before I go to bed, no problem. But as soon as I am at bedtime, I can go a little crazy. First, I lock myself in my room, when we never even close our bedroom door at night when we are both here. Then, as I read my scriptures, or whatever, you bet I am always listening for sounds, foot steps in the hall, etc. We even have an alarm system which pretty much guarantees that there is no one in the house but me, but I still do it anyway.
The first time he left town after we got married, one night I was so freaked out I took our butcher knife and stuck it underneath our bed. True story.
But, probably the best was just 2 weeks ago, right after he left, his parents were still in town with me and we watched this ghost show called "the Paranormal State" on A&E. I totally believe in ghosts and spirits, and after the second episode, I was sufficiently frightened of bad, angry spirits. Long story short, I not only locked myself in my bedroom, but I slept with my bathroom light on. I was very grateful that I was not alone in the house that night. Seriously, I am a 10 year-old sometimes. I need a night light.

So Busted...

2008-02-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

I went to my high school reunion a few months ago, pretty confident that I did not need to have any of those conversation/confessions of teenage crushes with anyone. Well, that was true, but then this happened to me the other day...
I got a comment on one of my blog entries from someone named Nate. He was inquiring about me because he saw another blog in which I had referenced his name and he didn't remember me. I was asked to email him and explain how I knew him and the "embarassing moments" I had talked about. It was signed by none other than Nathan Seable! The hotty in the Concord 2nd Ward we all lusted after in high school. None of you can laugh because I won't name names, but I know you all thought he was hot too. We would always talk about that hot, quiet cowboy. And most of my high school friends know I have a string of moments I like to call my "Nathan Seable Saga." He didn't say whose blog he found me on, and I don't remember.
So I had to write that email that was totally the confession of "I had a crush on you in high school." I then proceeded to tell him, in a nutshell, about the "embarrassing moments." Like how I spilled food on him at a wedding reception, or was learning to drive in the Northgate parking lot while he and his dad were painting the Broncos mural, ( and then my dad, as stake president, HAD to go say hello), then how I ran, no leapt, into a mirror right in front of him during a blackout at BYU Education Week. So painful. Now I laugh really hard about all of these experiences, but I also never thought I would have to re-hash them to the man himself. I am sure he was laughing reading this email, and I was laughing writing it.
Needless to say, he remembered me and wrote back to tell me what he is doing right now. It all turned out just fine, but wow, it is a small world and karma really does come back to bite you in the &^%.

In Case Anyone Cares...

2008-01-29T19:05:00.001-08:00

......I just got new headshots done. These were the two I chose out of about a million pictures. Headshots are always a kind of intense subject with actors. First of all, you have to find a good photographer, which I did, Alisia Packard. She does families and kids too for you Utah people; she also travels back and forth to NYC. alisiapackard.com.
The photographer needs to have the ability to make you look alive, not like you are just smiling nice for a picture. Then, what to wear? Something that shows your personality, but best to stick with classic styles for longevity purposes. And no loud prints. Please. These things are expensive and you want to be able to use them for a few years.
When all is said and done, you have to choose the BEST one, maybe two, shots. This usually comes after narrowing down, then again, then asking your husband to help and watching him throw half of the ones you actually like in the garbage. Then when you are down to just a few, you let the girlfriends you go to church with decide. That was kind of how it ended up going for me.
Now that you are up and running with the new shots, you are officially a slave to the look you currently have, so you can always be consistent with that picture. That is the worst part in my opinion. But these are like my calling card, how people remember who I am after an audition when they are going through all the headshot/resume combos of the people they saw that day. It's kind of crazy, I know. The funny thing is, I don't even audition that much right now, but I always need to be prepared for that last minute opportunity. Weird. But such is my life. Enjoy.

Wife of the Year

2007-12-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's me. You want to know why? This is why.
Merry Christmas to my cute husband and his new XBox 360 complete with Halo 3. He was totally surprised and so excited. You could say I earned a few wife points.

This is our Christmas Tree, I promised I would put a picture up. I think it is really cute, even if it is a little crooked and fake.

We did Christmas Eve with my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Tom and family. This is me and Emily and Brooke, my cute cousins, at Emily's house.
Cristian likes to experiment with the camera, hence the close up.

The next day we did breakfast with them at Brooke's house, and watched her cute boys open gifts. Then, C and I went home by noon, and didn't leave the house again. We opened gifts, watched movies, and ate. So great. We loved it. We had ham, scalloped potatoes, yummy salad, and apple pie made from scratch. Although, I am rethinking my time commitment in the kitchen on Christmas Day. It was too much. We may need to have a different tradition, like pizza, or something totally easy. But dinner was really good.

Epilogue about Christmas Traditions

2007-12-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

I just want everyone to know, that the famed Riding family Christmas Eve tape that I was talking about in my last post has been immortalized on a cd by my brother David and given to all of us for our enjoyment. My Christmas joy is complete. Not so sure about Cristian's; it may take a little more than that, but I am happy. My love for the lazy Christmas Elf Dansel will be able to re-manifest itself, and if I am lucky, my children will feel the love someday too.
Merry Christmas, people I love. I will post pictures after the holiday.

It's Christmas Time!

2007-12-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. Everything about it. We just put our decorations and Christmas tree up on Friday, and it is so pretty. We are multi-colored lights people, since that is what we both grew up on. I love the soft glow they give from the tree when all the house lights are off. I will take a picture and post it, I promise.
I also love Christmas music. So much that by the time I am done listening to it at New Year's, I am kind of sick of it and ready to put it away for another year.
I love Christmas treats. I kind of have to put away my food guilt and say, oh well. I will be good in January. I don't stop working out, but when yummy food is so prevalent at this time of year, I have to eat it.
I love the season so much that, in fact, Christmas Day seems anti-climactic sometimes. Because then you have a week of weird limbo between Christmas and New Year's , then it is over.
My dilemma is, Cristian and I have not really established any traditions yet. I know we have so much time to do that, but I don't know what to do. All I know is what I did growing up with my family, and I love those traditions. But now Cristian and I are a family, and I don't want to just subject him to my childhood traditions with no thought for his. Besides, some of mine he outright refuses to participate in, like the old-school tape recorded from a record (yes, we are talking 1960's, people) that told a Christmas Eve story so little kids would go to sleep for Santa. We would listen to it every Christmas Eve before going to bed, and it became such a cult classic in our family that even as adults those of us who are together for the holidays will listen to the tape, quote everything, and laugh our guts out. Truthfully, it is kind of dumb, but we sure love it. I am also pretty sure that none of the men who married into my family have grasped the value of this tradition. Sure do wonder why.
Anyway, the only tradition he told me about was an advent calender; so I bought one this year. It is not the home-made felt one that he had ( and I had one too) but it will do.
Any ideas, anyone? What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions that you do with your family?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-23T12:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful day and spent it with people you love. I spent mine with Cristian (of course) and my Aunt and Uncle Ruth and Tom Pooler, and their girls, Emily Montague and Brooke Duke and families. We had a great time and ate some serious food. Emily does not mess around when she plans a party, and cooks food. Seriously.
Here is my Top 10 List about why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday:

10: The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Love it.

9: No gifts to buy, just lots of food.

8: It's a relaxing day with good people, all centered around a good meal. What could be better?

7: Four day weekend, baby.

6: I love the fall season anyway, and Thanksgiving is the finale to the fall.

5: Cozy weather is FINALLY here!

4: It's a family day.

3: The food is amazing! I love eating until my stomach is tight, and not feeling guilty. Thanksgiving is for eating.

2: Fall candles. MMmm.

1: Kick off to the Christmas Season!

And with that, may you all enjoy your leftovers and watch some good movies this weekend and drink hot chocolate.

Moods

2007-11-11T18:14:00.001-08:00

I have an issue that I wonder if I am the only person who notices this and doesn't like it. I have a problem with people assuming they know what mood I am in. At the last job I had, I worked with a man who would walk into the office all the time and say "Smile! It's not that bad!" 9 times out of 10 I would be in a totally fine, neutral mood, and was just focusing on my work. But the fact that he said that, put me in a bad mood and I would want to punch him in the face. Just because I was not smiling so hard hard my teeth wanted to come out of my head meant I was in a bad mood?

I now work with another woman (new job) who I actually love to death and consider her a good friend. She, however, is an addictive personality and sees the world in black and white. I am positive those two personality traits are related. Earlier this week I walked into the break room and busted out into some song, totally out of tune, just being an idiot. She laughed really hard and said "you are in a way better mood than you were yesterday." I was like, what? "Actually, yesterday i felt totally fine."
"No, yesterday you didn't care about anything." She said.
I explained to her that I am a laid-back person and there are some days I just don't have a strong opinion about anything, but that doesn't mean I am in a bad mood. I also proceeded to let her know she is way over-sensitive to the moods of others, because this is not the first time SHE has let ME know what mood I was in. But again, since she is a Black/White person, she always has an opinion.
I am more shades of gray than that. I can be tired, neutral, happy, sleepy, or just content and laid-back, all without feeling like I am in a bad mood. I am not just good mood/bad mood, and I do not like it when other people assume they know my mood. If you want to know my mood, ask me. Anyone else ever notice this about themselves?

Now, for real...

2007-11-09T13:46:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! I am truly on the bandwagon now, i promise. First, a little update- I am living in Las Vegas with my cute husband, Cristian Bell. He is a grad student at UNLV getting an MFA in Technical Theater. He builds sets, to put it VERY simply. We have lived here for 2 years now, and we own a home we fixed up (yikes) but not so shady with a man like Cristian around. We love it. I work for a holistic medical clinic and really enjoy it, and am starting my own voice studio. Teaching is scary. I audition for theater when I can, but mostly am kind of out of the loop these days as far as that goes. Now for the update of the last 6 weeks of my life...

October was crazy. First we went to Geneva, NY, where Cristian's parents live. They celebrated their 50th anniversary, and we all had a blast. This is Cristian and I at the party. Not sure why I look pregnant, but whatever. His family is fabulous. I was asked to sing "their song" and it was really touching to see how much in love Pat and Jerry still are as they danced to it. May we all still love our spouses that way after 5o years.

Next was my family reunion. My parents are home from their mission in Ghana for a few weeks, so we all got together. 38 of us. It was insane and there is not a place I would have rather been in the world. We took family pictures, went to a pumpkin patch, and had a party in our neighbors barn (that Cristian built). The very top picture is the Bell Family Picture. At the pumpkin patch, this is Cristian with Amy, Matt, and Mark, 3 of Gary's 7 kids, and at this is Lincoln, Mike's oldest of two boys. At the barn that night, we carved pumpkins. My master designer husband drew some sweet pictures, so our pumpkins looked pretty good, I have to say. Good times.

The NEXT weekend was one I have been waiting for for 10 years. Hee Hee. My high school reunion. Since Mom and Dad don't live in the WC anymore, I have not been there for a while. I let Cristian off the hook about coming, even though he was a great sport and said he would. It was better that way because he would have wanted to poke his eyes out with boredom at all the reminiscing going on. I saw some of my best girls from the old days and have not laughed that hard for a long time.
On Saturday I went to the temple with Chalyce. Again, why the prego look? I swear there is nothing there. I had never been to the Oakland Temple, and since it was my hometown temple, I really wanted to go.

We also had to hit Yogurt Park, a fave place. Don't worry that I also brought home a huge round of good sourdough bread. Sweet Affair Bakery made the eating requirements complete.

Last but not least, the big night. Crazy. Loud music, an open bar, people who are confronting their old flames for the first time in 10 years, enough said. It was really fun over all, and I had a reunion with a childhood friend, Jenny Gerk.

What a great/funny weekend.
That is really it, I just wanted to show a picture of my pumkin I carved all by myself. I was kind of proud of it, actually.
I promise that is all I have, for the moment. Thanks. I really needed to unload. I feel so close to everyone now.

2007-11-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

So, this is my blog. I promise I will put some pictures up when I get my camera back from Cristian.