K-Rey

And America's Next Top Model Is....

2010-05-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

KRISTA!

It was pretty obvious that she was going to win... she had "photo of the week" the last 4 shoots and won basically every challenge. I liked her, and I really liked the runner up Raina. (I'll be honest... I think Krista was more talented, but Raina had better raw material to work with). With that being said, Krista shoulda been my favorite. I like it when people get things by going after them, not by being naturally blessed w/good looks....

Raina

Not sure if you guys watch this show, but it is one of my guilty pleasures.

I know it's really dumb and filled with drama, but here's what I really like about the show:
1. I love all the crazy photo-shoots they do.
2. I love the makeovers and the outfits they get to wear
3. I love that most of the girls are from some pretty hard backgrounds/small towns and that the odds are against them succeeding in the fashion industry
4. Mostly, I love that these girls are so focused and passionate about what they're doing. I envy that. I don't think I've ever had a focused goal like that...

It inspires me, which is super nerdy. But, I really am just so jealous that they are so passionate about modeling, and it makes me want to find my passion. Modeling deffo isn't it, which is lucky because I'm waaaay too short, too old, and too chubby to be able to do it anyway! It's cool kids... I'm realistic!

You're Still Out There!?! Wow!

2010-05-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Ok.... so, I am shocked (and honored) that some of you out there are still attuned to my blog (with the help of modern technology, of course)! Thanks friends! You are all so fabulous, and I've been lucky to have each and every one of you in my life!!

10 life lessons you should unlearn

2010-05-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

Very cool article my friend posted on good ol FB...

some pearls of wisdom are in here.... enjoy.

I will expound with some commentary on my next post. :)

By Martha Beck, O, The Oprah Magazine

May 5, 2010 11:49 a.m. EDT

Expert: Problems can be challenges to learn new things

Failure is NOT opposite to success, but a path to success

Erase effects of bad events by thinking of 3 reasons that belief about event may be wrong

To attract something you want, become as joyful as you think that thing would make you

(OPRAH.com) -- In the past 10 years, I've realized that our culture is rife with ideas that actually inhibit joy. Here are some of the things I'm most grateful to have unlearned:

1. Problems are bad

You spent your school years solving arbitrary problems imposed by boring authority figures. You learned that problems -- comment se dit? -- suck.

But people without real problems go mad and invent things like base jumping and wedding planning.

Real problems are wonderful, each carrying the seeds of its own solution. Job burnout? It's steering you toward your perfect career. An awful relationship? It's teaching you what love means. Confusing tax forms? They're suggesting you hire an accountant, so you can focus on more interesting tasks, such as flossing. Finding the solution to each problem is what gives life its gusto.

2. It's important to stay happy.

Solving a knotty problem can help us be happy, but we don't have to be happy to feel good.

If that sounds crazy, try this: Focus on something that makes you miserable. Then think, "I must stay happy!" Stressful, isn't it? Now say, "It's okay to be as sad as I need to be." This kind of permission to feel as we feel -- not continuous happiness -- is the foundation of well-being.

Oprah.com: Why can happiness feel so unhappy?

3. I'm irreparably damaged by my past

Painful events leave scars, true, but it turns out they're largely erasable. Jill Bolte Taylor, the neuroanatomist who had a stroke that obliterated her memory, described the event as losing "37 years of emotional baggage." Taylor rebuilt her own brain, minus the drama.

Now it appears we can all effect a similar shift, without having to endure a brain hemorrhage. The very thing you're doing at this moment -- questioning habitual thoughts -- is enough to begin off-loading old patterns.

For example, take an issue that's been worrying you ("I've got to work harder!") and think of three reasons that belief may be wrong. Your brain will begin to let it go. Taylor found this thought-loss euphoric. You will, too.

Oprah.com: How to finally move on from that awful thing

4. Working hard leads to success

Baby mammals, including humans, learn by playing, which is why "the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton."

Boys who'd spent years strategizing for fun gained instinctive skills to handle real-world situations. So play as you did in childhood, with all-out absorption.

Watch for ways your childhood playing skills can solve a problem (see #1). Play, not work, is the key to success. While we're on the subject...

5. Success is the opposite of failure.

Fact: From quitting smoking to skiing, we succeed to the degree we try, fail, and learn. Studies show that people who worry about mistakes shut down, but those who are relaxed about doing badly soon learn to do well. Success is built on failure.

6. It matters what people think of me

"But if I fail," you may protest, "people will think badly of me!" This dreaded fate causes despair, suicide, homicide.

I realized this when I read blatant lies about myself on the Internet. When I bewailed this to a friend, she said, "Wow, you have some painful fantasies about other people's fantasies about you."

Yup, my anguish came from my hypothesis that other people's hypothetical hypotheses about me mattered. Ridiculous! Right now, imagine what you'd do if it absolutely didn't matter what people thought of you. Got it? Good. Never go back.

Oprah.com: How to fix the broken record in your head

7. We should think rationally about our decisions

Your rational capacities are far newer and more error-prone than your deeper, "animal" brain. Often complex problems are best solved by thinking like an animal.

Consider a choice you have to make -- anything from which movie to see to which house to buy. Instead of weighing pros and cons intellectually, notice your physical response to each option. Pay attention to when your body tenses or relaxes. And speaking of bodies...

8. The pretty girls get all the good stuff

Oh, God. So not true. I unlearned this after years of coaching beautiful clients. Yes, these lovelies get preferential treatment in most life scenarios, but there's a catch: While everyone's looking at them, virtually no one sees them.

Almost every gorgeous client had a husband who'd married her breasts and jawline without ever noticing her soul.

9. If all my wishes came true right now, life would be perfect

Check it out: People who have what you want are all over rehab clinics, divorce courts, and jails. That's because good fortune has side effects, just like medications advertised on TV.

Basically, any external thing we depend on to make us feel good has the power to make us feel bad.

Weirdly, when you've stopped depending on tangible rewards, they often materialize. To attract something you want, become as joyful as you think that thing would make you. The joy, not the thing, is the point.

10. Loss is terrible

Ten years ago I still feared loss enough to abandon myself in order to keep things stable. I'd smile when I was sad, pretend to like people who appalled me.

What I now know is that losses aren't cataclysmic if they teach the heart and soul their natural cycle of breaking and healing.

A real tragedy? That's the loss of the heart and soul themselves. If you've abandoned yourself in the effort to keep anyone or anything else, unlearn that pattern. Live your truth, losses be damned. Just like that, your heart and soul will return home.

Oprah.com: Are you living your best life? Take the quiz!

A year in the life...

2010-05-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

So, it's been almost a year since my last post. Which, pretty much ensures that no one is looking at my blog anymore. Which, is fine... I should start over anyway! New layout should help w/that!!

Maybe I should find some new subject matter too... I have a friend who's lost a ton of weight, and she blogs about it. I don't think I'd mind that... I need to have something to keep me accountable. I've been pretty crap about dieting lately, but that is mostly because I'm so stressed. So, I'm stressed, which makes me fat, eating crap, which makes me fat, and not getting enough sleep, which, yes.... that's right.... makes me fat. :(

Argh.... Sounds like I need a plan, eh? Ok then, little bloggosphere... you got it. I'll put together a plan. And, I'll blog about it.

I'll talk about my sad little work-a-holic life too, with the hopes that I can break out of my crazed work self enough to find some boys to have crushes on and date!

I think I might try a dating experiment too... my dad's idea. He wants me to assign friends and family a couple weeks a year, and they are responsible for setting me up on dates on their assigned weeks. Yay.

I was going to try to get skinnier before doing that, but it's almost June. I need to get on it1

So... to all those out there in the www.... I will be back. With ideas. And plans... and hopefully some great stories.

Tah-tah!

2010-04-27T17:05:00.001-07:00

Testing posting from phone

Relay! Really!!

2009-07-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the big event that I have been planning since September 2008 happened, and I need to tell the world! Haha. Ok, well, maybe just the handful of people who read my blog. ;)

The Relay for Life of SLC 2009 was June 12-13 at This is the Place Heritage Park. If you ask most people who were there (aside from me, because I was soooo heads down in the details I saw every little thing, and some of the big things, that didn't go as planned!!), the Relay was a huge success. We had more teams than ever, we honored more cancer survivors then ever. And, we raised a lot of money despite the horrible economic times. However, we once again were plauged with some pretty rediculous weather. Rain? Check. Thunder? Check. Lightening? Check. Insane winds, that were probably around 40-60mph? Check. Cold temps? You betcha! haha. But, despite it all, we had people on the track the entire time. Everyone braved some of the most random June weather seen in years to stay on the track and do all they could to honor the people in their lives touched by cancer.

The reason the Relay for Life event goes all night is to symbolize that while cancer never sleeps, neither will our fight to stop cancer! So, it was awesome to see so many people really take that message to heart and do all they could to withstand the dark, cold, difficult hours, because thats what cancer patients do. They fight, no matter how dark things seem to be. I can't tell you how touched I was to see so many braving it. When I lost heart, they gave me a reason to hope and keep going, knowing that people will keep fighting until we find a cure!

Here are some pictures:

Some of the committee members. None of the Relay would have been possible without them.

Cancer survivor adding his handprint to our survivor banner.

Balloon arch on the track.

Cancer survivors honored at our Survivor Dinner.

Two kids playing on the inflatables, with the monument at This is the Place Heritage Park behind them.

My glamor shot. Haha.

Person walking on the track past luminaria bags before the sun set.

Our "hope" sign, covered with Luminaria bags, to help us remember those we've lost to Cancer, and celebrate those that have survived. The people standing behind the letters are a young survivor of brain cancer, a young survivor of lukemia, and some of their family.

Blurry picture, but cool. It shows the screen where we displayed names of loved ones that have been touched by Cancer, the rain drops, people watching, the monument at This is The Place Heritage Park, and then lightning stricking the mountain!! We had the craziest weather!!

Memorial Day Marvelosity

2009-05-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! I'm pretty sure I'm still recovering.

So, it started on Friday night with a trip to dinner with a couple friends, hanging out in a backyard, jumping on the trampoline, etc. Then, I went up to This is The Place Heritage Park to pass out flyers for the Relay for Life to high school kids. It was amazing... kids lined up to get our fliers! There was a girl there passing out info on another dance and she kept getting mad cause the kids liked ours better... there were WAY more of hers that ended up on the ground! haha! Sucker! That's what she gets for being a beasty!

Then, Saturday morning, my sister and I were able to take our nieces and nephew to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Since we live in Daybreak, we were allowed a special sneak-peek tour! It was gorgeous, as all Temples are. I'm pretty sure this is the Temple that I will someday be married in. It was so amazing to feel how strong the Spirit was there, even though it hasn't been dedicated yet. Temples truly are the House of the Lord... it made me really start to be excited to go to this temple as much as I can once it's open!

Isn't it gorgeous? And just steps away from my house!

After that, I packed my bags and met up with some friends to head up to Pineview Reservoir up Ogden canyon. We rented a huge house in Eden and it was a blast.

While we were up there, we went to a local LDS ward and had the opportunity to hear from several Vets from the Korean War, Vietnam, and even some stories from WWII. It was great to listen to such wonderful stories and pay tribute to our soldiers, especially those who have given their lives, to defend the freedoms we enjoy! We also heard a hilarious youth speaker who told a story about two girls who walked in on his friend going to the bathroom... and related it to sharing our testimonies. What? Yeah. I miss youth speakers!

Here are some photos from the weekend:

I be a shootin woman! Except I didn't hit a dang thing. ;)

Don't mess w/us! We'll bust a cap ya'll!

All the muddin peeps... after shooting we went up the mountain and drove around, getting stuck in the mud, etc. It was a blast!

And, it was gorgeous up there!

Post softball game... what a blast!

All the single ladies! Loved driving to and fro with these ladies!

Mamma Mia

2009-05-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

So, Mother's day was over a week ago. As was my "blogging blitz". But, I thought it was high time that I posted pictures from Mother's day, which also happened to be the day we celebrated my brovers birfday.

My attempts to become a photographer. Cute Avalee!! Can you believe she's already 8!? Rooskie... remember when we was born? Back when we were in the dorms!! Crazy!

Little Miss Sadie. Recently she got in trouble for mixing some play dough together and ruining the colors. When her mom asked why she did this, she said that Boede did it, which was obviously not true. So, then when she was caught there, she went to the next logical step... she blamed it on a ghost! When her mom told her that ghosts weren't real, she said "Yes there are! Mom, it was the Holy Ghost that made me do it!" haha. Um, they have their hands full with this kid. Love her.

Boede getting ready to go for a walk.

Boede... he's a lady killer ya'll.

The two best mother's in my life: my Mom and Adrea. Sadly, the other best mother I know was unable to come. We missed you Grandma Reynolds.

My "cake" that I cooked for my brother. Don't judge the book by it's cover... what it lacked in beauty, it made up for in tase. ;)

I was being a creative photographer. Needless to say, these kids know what will happen if they misbehave when Aunt Boo is around! haha. KIDDING!

Grad School!!

2009-05-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

So, I think I found where I want to attend Grad School!!! It's in a little city called London, England. :)

The name of the place is Goldsmiths, London University (which means it's in a sub-college of the University of London).

Listen to what it says online about their Masters in Anthropology program:

Are you interested in a career in anthropology, but haven’t studied the subject before? Have you studied anthropology in the past, but need to consolidate this experience before moving into anthropological research? This MA offers students from all disciplinary backgrounds the opportunity to build a solid base in social anthropology, its theoretical foundations, methodology and ethnographic diversity.

Um.... did they write that SPECIFICALLY for me!?!?! It felt like it as I started reading it last night! Wowzers.

If I go full time, the program will only take a year. Even bigger wowzers!

And, as I thought about this last night, I think I realized two areas that I would like to specialize in: "Greek mythology and it's impact on social ethics, religion, and morality in modern culture", and "American media influences on society and government."

I woke up thinking about then Greek Mythology this morning. My main thought is that most western religions deal with moral "rights" and "wrongs", and God is meant to serve as a moral compass. But, one of the earliest civilized cultures on our planet did not us the idea of God in the same way. The Greek Gods killed, were adulterous, and drank way too much. I think we see some impact from that culture on today's society. As people move away from traditional theory's and beliefs in God, we can see more of the Greek ideologies taking hold in our culture. Obviously, I haven't done any research or anything, but that was my idea.

As for the American media idea, I really do think that television and other media influence shape our culture and government more than we realize. I was watching something on the history channel yesterday: while the US never really lost a battle in Vietnam, we lost the war because of the American people's perception on the war and all of the protests over here. Another thought that I think has some real bearing: On the tv show "24", President Palmer, a black man, was a strong, intelligent, moral, and wonderful President of the United States. I believe that he paved the path for a black man to become President. People saw that Palmer was a wonderful President, and I think they associate him with Barrack Obama. Just a thought. :)

Here are some pictures of Goldsmiths campus:

Convertable Casualty

2009-05-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

I forgot one of the downsides of convertable ownership....

...Bad tan lines. :( Starting off the summer w/a farmer's tan is not my idea of a good beginning!

Don't be hatin!

2009-05-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so there are a few things I'm good at, and blogging certainly isn't one of them. So, please stop hatin on me for sucking peeps! haha.

I don't think I've shared this story yet on my blog, so for your entertainment, I will tell this self deprecating tale.

Anyone who knows me should be perfectly aware of two things:
1. I don't wear flats very often. I'm a high-heeled girl.
2. I am not athletic. I have made attempts. I "played" soccer in high school and even coached for a rec team (5th and 6th grade girls). I've tried to become a runner. I've tried to become a skier and a wake boarder. I'm really not good at any of these things.

So, this story really shouldn't come as a shock.

It was winter in the year 2009. I was at work. Some friends and I decided that it would be a great idea to head up to Park City, Utah (about 30 minutes away) to see an Aerial Ski Jump Competition. I've been to plenty of sporting events, none of which were winter sporting events. So, while I was expecting a nice, paved, snow-cleared path up to some bleachers, I was oh so wrong. Instead, I found an icy, snowy ski hill that we had to hike up. Which, wouldn't have been a huge deal aside from the fact that I'd come right from work, and was wearing a dress and high heeled boots with no traction. I knew I was in trouble.

So, I asked one of the people working the event if there was any other way to get up the hill. They said a snowmobile would take me if I faked an injury. My friends just said "Kels, don't worry about it, we'll help you get up to the top!"

45 minutes later, they weren't so happy about it. haha. They basically ended up dragging me up the hill. Every time I tried to take a step, I'd slip and almost pull everyone down the hill with me. So, I tried using my heels like ice picks. That helped a little until we hit more fluffy snow. So, finally, I just dug and, and they walked and pulled. Unfortunately, in process, I pulled my butt muscle! I ended up walking with a limp the rest of the night. Good thing was, I ended up taking the snow mobile down the hill.

What a night!!

So, other than that, things in my life are good. Work is fine, the weather is steadily getting more spring like, which means summer and heat is just around the corner... yay!

As far as the boys go, I'm still sort of on my self-imposed dating break. Until I find a guy that I'm really excited to get to know better, I'm holding back. Some of the same boys are still prowling around waiting for me to decide that I don't want to date a Mormon boy, but that I'm fine with settling. Jokes on them! Kelsey don't play that! ;)

More blogs to come, this year is full of plans already! Oh, and Relay is just over a month away! Eek!!

Happy Talky People Talk.

2009-01-23T13:04:00.000-08:00

So, I had the WONDERFUL opportunity to speak in church last week, and I thought that you all would totally benefit from my intellect, wit, and research. So, here it is! The topic: Self Mastery. Enjoy. :)

Good afternoon. My name is Kelsey Reynolds, and I know for a fact that you should be careful what you ask for! I asked the bishop if he knew of any good books or talks regarding the subject of “Self Mastery”. He smiled at me and said “interesting that you should ask… would you like to give a talk on that subject?” I was sort-of hoping that he would just point me towards some existing materials that I could just study instead of asking me to add to the collection, but that isn’t the Bishops way! Hopefully I can meet the Bishop’s expectations and share with you what I’ve learned about the subject!

I’m a “who, when, where, what, why, and how” kinda gal. So, I would like to walk through the 5 W’s (and H) of Self-Mastery.

The “Who”, “When”, and “Where” are pretty easy to identify: every single person should be striving towards greater self-mastery at all times, in all things, and in all places.

I really want to spend most of my time talking about the “What”, the “Why”, and the “How”.

What:

James E. Faust told the men of our church in a priesthood conference that “self-mastery is the ultimate test of our character” and identified it as “doing those things we should do and not doing those things we should not do.” According to the priesthood manual “self-mastery is the power within us to control our desires and actions.” Yes, it is a tall order. But, this is our opportunity to learn how to put our mind over matter, our spirit over our body.

Why:

We know that there are several reasons why we are here, and one of these is to prove ourselves by overcoming the natural man and drawing closer to our Savior and Father in Heaven.

James E. Faust used this example to explain why we need to gain self-mastery: Arabian horses are highly trained for use in some important tasks. As a result, they are trained to listen to the guidance of their masters. As a final test to deem how obedient they are, at the end of their training the horses are locked in a paddock close to water, but no water is available to them to drink. The master waits until the horses are extremely thirsty and then open the paddock gate. As the horses race towards the water, the master blows his whistle. The horses that immediately turn back to their master, despite their intense thirst, are used for the most important tasks for they have proved their obedience and ability to overcome their physical needs to do what the Master asks. Those that drank the water first are used for less important tasks.

According to the priesthood manual, the power to control our desires and actions is necessary to return to live with our Heavenly Father. It allows us to take control of our lives and be better prepared to make correct decisions when faced with trials. This life isn’t meant to be easy and for us just to coast along. Often, in this time in our life, we have a tendency to be a little selfish and keep our eyes focused on what we want. However, developing self-mastery requires that we look outside of ourselves and follow the promptings of the spirit, which usually contradict what our natural man is interested in pursuing. However, by making these “sacrifices” we learn that we aren’t making sacrifices at all, and the rewards of greater knowledge and light are worth any of the worldly things we’ve given up. We become better, stronger people, and are more able to do the work our Savior and Heavenly Father want us to accomplish.

How:

As with anything, the “how” part is certainly the toughest. As I have pondered what I was going to say in this talk for over a month, I have thought several times about examples of self-mastery that I have seen in my life.

The first two examples I thought about are people who run marathons or compete in similar physical races. I spoke to Scott Kunz in our ward. For those of you that don’t know him, he’s a maniac. He has run many marathons, and at least one 100 mile race. I can’t imagine a circumstance where you need your mental power to push you past physical discomforts more than in a 100 mile race. Scott mentioned that during these races, he spends his time setting small goals like: make it to the next rest station, make it to the next mile marker. By setting these small goals, he steadily works towards his primary objective: reach the finish line.

My best friend from college has also run several marathons. Her first marathon she trained well for… Over several months, she read books, and physically readied herself for the race. However, she didn’t prepare as well for the second marathon, so as the race drew near, she knew that she would need some mental power to get her through the 26 mile marathon. So, she wrote a list of 26 things or people in her life that she was grateful for. She then dedicated each mile of the race to one of those people or things. As she ran, thinking of the love and gratitude she has for each person or thing on the list overwhelmed her and helped her to push through the difficult physical strain of the race.

Another example that my thoughts turned to are a group of people that are close to my heart. I do some volunteer work with the American Cancer Society, planning an event called the Relay for Life. It is an all night team relay event that celebrates cancer survivors, remembers people we’ve lost to cancer, and then fights to stop cancer. Thinking about self-mastery, I couldn’t help but think of the cancer survivors that I have come across because of my involvement with the Relay. These people all had one thing in common: they wanted to live. They took each day at a time, each treatment of radiation or chemo-therapy, and looked ahead with a positive and determined attitude that they would beat this disease and not let it slow them down.

Or, who can forget the story Aron Ralston, the hiker who was trapped in a remote canyon in southern Utah when an 800 pound boulder shifted, crushing his arm, and pinning him. After being pinned for six days, Ralston realized that if he wanted to survive, he couldn’t wait for help any longer. Rather than perish in the mountains, he chose to cut off his arm with a pocket knife and hike back out to safety.

All of these people had one thing in common: they set specific goals, and then worked steadily toward them, not giving up when things got hard. They did this because the goals they set were important to them— more important than stopping, resting, or giving in to the physical pain that they were experiencing. Stephen R. Covey put this concept beautifully into words. He said “How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.”

We can apply this to all the different facets of self-mastery. When we really know who we are and who we want to become, we do not let anything sidetrack us.

Referring again to the priesthood manual, there are three things we can do to gain self-mastery.

1. We can know ourselves. By knowing who we are, children of God, we know that we have the potential to do great things. One of my favorite quotes says “imagine what you could do if you knew you could not fail.” This knowledge gives us power to remember that we can’t waste our time on activities or with people that detract us from becoming who we can be. We know our strengths, and we know our weaknesses and, with help, we can strive to overcome those weaknesses and become stronger and more able to do the things that are asked of us.

2. We need to set righteous goals. By doing so, we focus on the wonderful opportunities that lay ahead of us. As a man thinketh, so he becomes. Elder Robert E. Wells stated: “We are the keepers of our minds. We can control our thoughts. Our minds are like computers—garbage in, garbage out. We will be judged for letting garbage in instead of beautiful, uplifting, inspiring thoughts that edify our minds.” When we set righteous goals, we allow those beautiful, uplifting, and inspiring thoughts to enter our minds and kick-out the unworthy thoughts. That is when we start to gain power over the natural man and truly draw closer to our elder brother, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father.

3. We need to rely on the Lord though prayer and scripture study. “It takes faith in Jesus Christ to overcome our temptations and achieve our eternal goals. Regular prayer and scripture study promote this faith and help us gain the strength to overcome our problems” (Priesthood manual) James E. Faust said “I believe reading the scriptures is the best washing machine for unclean or uncontrolled thoughts.”

Of course, this is not a simple process. It is a life-long struggle we will all face. We must remember to do our best, but that we will also have moments of failure. I felt impressed to encourage all of us to forgive ourselves for our short-comings. Satan loves to see us punish ourselves and loves to see us give up once we’ve stumbled and fallen. Oftentimes, we are our own most vocal critics and we can do more to halt our own progression than anyone else we encounter. We need to remember that we have a Savior and a Father in Heaven who love us, and that the price has already been paid for our repentance. We must simply be humble, prayerful, turn to our Savior, and be prepared to forgive ourselves.

We also must remember that we are not restricting ourselves, but liberating ourselves from addictions and unclean thoughts that will surely detract us from becoming the best versions of ourselves. I read a great example of this philosophy in the Gospel Principles book. It says: “Imagine seeing a sign on the seashore that reads: ‘Danger—whirlpool. No swimming allowed here.’ We might think that is a restriction. But is it? We still have many choices. We are free to swim somewhere else. We are free to walk along the beach and pick up seashells. We are free to watch the sunset. We are free to go home. We are also free to ignore the sign and swim in the dangerous place. But once the whirlpool has us in its grasp and we are pulled under, we have very few choices. We can try to escape, or we can call for help… but we may drown.”

As we are entering a new year, we all have resolutions we’ve set to become better people. However, the crowds at the gym will soon fade, the drive-through lines at McDonalds will soon grow, and road rage will soon be on the rise again. I’m not sure all the psychology behind why resolutions do not last long, but I think it’s because we see them as such a definite goal, that the second we slip or stumbled, the resolution is broken and we revert to old habits. I hope that we won’t give up that easily. I pray that we will be able to sit down and spend a little one-on-one time with ourselves a little more often, and ponder the areas in our lives that need improvement. We can then set worthy goals and work towards becoming masters of ourselves.

Remember to make a constant effort to read your scriptures and pray and resist the natural temptations by reaching deep within yourself to persevere. Remember to set smaller goals and then to keep perspective of the greater goals you’re working towards. Remember to be easy on yourself when you slip, and keep going. With diligent effort, help from our Savior and Heavenly Father, and forgiveness from ourselves, we can steadily work to become the people we have the potential to be. We all have greatness in us, and we all can become better people than we are now. I pray that as we continue to set goals and resolutions this year, that each time we look in the mirror we see a bit more of greatness and strength looking back at us.

I know that this is possible through the Plan of Salvation that has been provided to us, and that we can accomplish any righteous goals with the help of our Savior and Father in Heaven and our constant efforts.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Just call me Jones.... Bridget Jones.

2008-12-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

First: I have a cute niece moment..... My sister and Mom took Sadie (my almost 5 year old niece) to the mall and she told them that she would like to work at a store someday. Kim asked her "Oh really? A clothes store?". Sadie looked at Kim with a confused look on her face and said "No... an open store!". It took everyone a moment to realize that she thought Kim had said "A closed store". Too add to the cuteness... she doesn't say open right, she adds an "h" noise to the beginning of it. (ie: a "hopen" store).

Second: Christmas was lovely this year... nothing too exciting happened, just spent Christmas eve w/ the family singing songs around the piano, ate a yummy dinner, opened a bunch of gifts (including an external hard-drive, cook book, mixing bowls, an awesome faux fur blanket, an awesome framed painting that I wanted, clothes, an illustrated hymn book, etc.)

Third: I'm quickly becoming the American version of Bridget Jones. Last night I had a dinner party with two of my best friends and their newly acquired lovers. Also at the dinner were a married couple. And, then me. Just me. I was the first one to show up at the marrieds house, and came straight from doing my visiting teaching, and was thus still in my church clothes (stilettos included). As I started up the driveway, I noticed how icy and snowy it was. I decided to be extra cautious. Then, I hit a patch of ice. I slipped a little, but recovered. Sigh. Next step wasn't quite as graceful, and as I stepped, I started to slide backwards. I knew I was about to get hurt, so I leaned forward and threw my hands and purse onto the ground to stop the slide. It did nothing to stop my momentum, and I slid backwards down-dog style in a dress and high-heels about five feet. Of course, that is the moment when someone drove by. The nice man in the SUV pulled over and rolled down his window: "Need a hand?". Of course I just laughed and said that I had it covered. (btw: What in the h was I thinking!? I didn't have anything covered!) As he drove off, I steadied myself and stood up, took one step, and fell again. I finally realized the shoes were impossible to walk up the driveway in, so I took them off and cautiously walked through the ice and snow up to the front door, threw back on my shoes (so now ice and snow were inside the shoes too) and knocked. Luckily Husband wasn't really that observant and didn't notice that I was covered in snow and that my knee was all reddish from falling.

Dinner was a-ok. Until we sat down and the couples on either side of me were mushy gushy: "Oh, I don't mind being crowded next to you!!" Giggle giggle. Ok, seriously, I was happy for them, but I'm just not that romantic, what can I say?

Then, I needed one of the boy-friends to walk me to the car so I didn't repeat the great driveway massacre of 2008.

I drove my baby home through all the snowy roads, and then as I was pulling into the back ally to get to my garage, it happened... the Mini got stuck. I had to call my Joshy to come and push the car out of several inches of Utah's finest powder. Luckily, the Mini isn't too heavy so we were able to get it out after only a few pushes.

But, it seriously felt like someone should have been filming the whole thing for a movie!!!

Oh me, oh my!

2008-11-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

Let's rip this band-aid off quickly.... I'm not going to London/Paris any longer. Dear Mr. Woodford has decided that he just isn't up for a long distance relationship, so why even do the trip. So... back to the drawing board. Another one bites the dust! I'm sad that it failed so quickly, but I can't lament something that I can't control. So.... onward and upward I suppose. :)

Anywhooooo....... It's the day before a holiday, so I'm going to take off from work a little early! Later!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

How come everytime you come around, my London Bridge fall down?

2008-11-12T22:39:00.000-08:00

Ok ok ok.... update! I am GOING TO LONDON/FRANCE for New Years. What? I'm crazy? I know. ;) I will fly out to London, and Mr. Woodford will pick me up and woo me for 7 fantastic days. I imagine that things will go well, but who knows. We're going to spend a few days in London and then will take the tunnel under the channel to Paris for the weekend. Then, back to London for the last few days. I am still stunned each and every day by how wonderful he appears. It's scary how perfect things are on paper. But, if I was married everytime things looked good on paper..... don't know how to finish that one? Ignore me.

So, in the meantime, I'm waiting at 11:41pm for work to call me in for a press check. I was meant to have it at 10pm and then another at 6am, but I haven't heard yet that they're ready for me. Which means that it'll be late tonight, and then probably super early tomorrow. Here's hoping it gets me a get-out-of-work early card! Haha.

AND: some friends have a suite at the Venetian in Vegas and they really want me to come, but I'm really a fan of sleeping on the weekends... and being in Vegas isn't condusive to sleep!! And, speding 12 hours in the car doesn't sound that ideal either. But, who knows... maybe I'll go, I could use a little getaway!

And, I just

Oops, I did it again. Maybe?

2008-11-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so anyone who knows my romantic history knows that I have had one real, great love in my life-- an englishman named Steve that I met while he was visiting his brother and sister-in-law in Utah for Christmas in 2003. We met in church and it began a 12 month long trans-continental romance. It was a wonderful experience, all except for the long times apart and then the heart-breaking day when we decided (or, he decided really...) that we weren't meant to be and the tale suddenly came to an end.

Fast forward 5 years-- I'm oh so much more wise. Or, am I? Last week my friend Nathan came up to go to my ward Halloween party with me. I met Nathan through Steve, they served missions together in Zimbabwe. Nathan is from South Africa, but moved here to go to school. He brought his friend Luke who was visiting from South Africa for a few weeks. Immediately, I noticed Luke's outgoing, fun personality, which impressed me. The next night they joined some friends for a "Pumpkin carving with power tools" party. As I flited and flirted about at the party (I had too! We had more men than ladies...), Luke pulled me aside to help him get some hot chocolate. Then, he told me about these girls at the party that were flirting with him like mad and how they wanted to see him on Thursday, but he couldn't go out with them because he had a date with me. Being dense, I of course thought he was kidding! It wasn't until he said "So, uh.... can I take you out on Thursday?" that I got it.

Needless to say (ya'll know where this is headed), Thursday was an AMAZING night. I didn't expect to connect the way that we did, and I didn't expect him to be as great as he seems to be. I'm impressed by many of his qualities, and I can't wait to get to know him better! Sadly, after staying up all night talking and having an amazing night, I took him to meet up with his friends and go to the airport at 6am. But, he is moving to London at the end of December, and its starting to look like I may end up on a plane out there for New Years.

Anyway, since I usually post some pretty dull things, I thought this might be a nice pick-me-up for all of you devoted readers. See... maybe there's hope for me yet. ;)

The man himself.

Holy Weekend!

2008-10-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

So, I had one of the busiest weekends, but it was SO much fun. Friday I took a half day to help my bro and his wifey move to their big new beautiful home in Sandy... everyone was SO excited and I'm so happy for them!

Then, after helping them move I went over to my dear Brynner's house for a little "sleep over", although around 4am we all went to our houses to sleep in our own beds. haha. But, it was a great evening. It's amazing how lucky I am with some great, uplifting and FUN girlfriends. I am blessed to have such fabulous women in my life!!!

Saturday morning I got up and went for a run (I know, I know... hip hip hooray, Kelsey finally worked out! My muscles were happy for the exercise!) and then did a little halloween costume shopping and some Costco shopping. Then, it was off to Lagoon for what could be the final trip of the season. What made this particularly sad was that this is the last year I'll have a pass w/ Kim and Mike because they are moving away and we may never live in the same place again... let alone in Utah during the summer so we could get passes together again! So, it was a lot of fun to spend some quality time with them in line for rides (which were longer than I'd EVER seen them! There were a lot of people there!)

Just me and my Rooskie on the chair-lift ride.

We be scary monsters... arrrrggggghh.

Awww... tender.

Cutest couple!! Love these two!

Then, from Lagoon i busted home and got ready for a Halloween party.... which, was fun and all, but honestly.... I am SO ready to be done w/the single scene. Its getting frustrating to go to parties where I feel like I know most of the guys already and know that NONE of them are my future man. *sigh*. Thats ok, I've got friends who're in worse spots than me... I'm only 26. I need to do my time... I know that in the end I'll be grateful for it and will be SO happy I waited because my guy will be just that awesome that he was worth the wait!! And,. who knows... maybe I already know my man but the timing just hasn't been right... only time will tell. :)

Me the Witch Doctor with my boyfriend.

Just had to post this one of Brit's LOVELY Sunglass-burn. Haha. Thats what he gets for being a Utah fan! (jk jk)

Some of me and my lady friends voguing it up...

Let's all laugh at me together

2008-10-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Don't you love how I was so resolved to be a better blogger? And yet, 22 days have past and I haven't posted a darn thing. I suppose this is a good insight into my personality. I am one of those people who every single weekend commits that MONDAY will be the day when I start the fitness rampage, when I will do something bigger and better with my life. And yet, Monday comes and goes and not much changes. So funny. If anyone has some good affirmations I can use to keep me focused on the "goals" I set, please share. Maybe I need to put post-its up around my house or something.

Anyway, things are well with me, not much has changed. I'll have to go into further detail on the work situation later (I know some co-workers read this thing, so remember--- what is said on the blog STAYS on the blog!!) but things are pretty much the same, aside from our building has one less mouse (because it decided to eat its weight in poison and then die in my cubbie).

Keep your ear to the ground... more will be coming from me soon. I'm turning over a new leaf ya'll... one where I actually keep the promises I make to myself!

Beginning the new age of my blogging

2008-09-22T10:34:00.001-07:00

Ya'll better hold on, I'm back and ready to start blogging again after taking a brief hiatus. Work's been busy, and I've honestly been a little lazy. Not anymore! I'm in this to win! haha.

I'm a bad blogger...

2008-08-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

So, here's a quick updateroo on me. After pondering a move to Arizona, I've decided that now isn't the time. Even though the mini would love the AZ winter infinitely more than the Utah winter, I can't make decisions based on the happiness of my car. ;) haha.

Anyway, I spent the weekend before last in Cedar City with my mom, dad, and sister. We were celebrating my mom's birthday by going to the Shakespeare festival. We went to "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Cyrano DeBergerac". Both were amazing, even though the latter wasn't a Shakespeare play. We also saw "Mama Mia" and since mamma just had total knee replacement surgery a couple months back, she wasn't up for much hiking or activity and we went for a drive in the mountains to Cedar Breaks... a mini version of Bryce canyon.

Here are some photos of the weekend:

Giving a little love to Will- he's just so talented, I couldn't help myself!!

The group of us overlooking the canyon!

Me and my sis. What a view behind us!

Cedar Breaks

Remember the Oland Mills photos? This is a tribute.

Then, we had my nephew Boede's birthday on Sunday.

Here's a pict of the birthday boy enjoying his cake... maybe a little too much!

So, what was funny about this was that he started with just his little fingers in the frosting. then he realized how yummy it was and started shoveling fistfulls into his face. When he got full, he rubbed it all over his belly. haha. What a nut.

I wish I had the photo of the best part of the day... my brother has those, and I'm not sure if he'll share! Anyone who knows my bro knows that he's a major University of Utah fan. I, and the rest of my family and his in-laws, are BYU fans. BIG BYU fans. So, he gave his son a bunch of University of Utah apparel. Everyone started to boo. I'm not sure if it was all the Utah Red or the booing, but Boede starting screaming and crying... he was really upset. So, we got a photo of him looking at all the U of U gear balling his head off. What a great photo... he's a smart kid, he knows he doesn't want to be a Utah fan. ;)

Ta-DUH

2008-07-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I did something really dumb and awkward today. Someone from my new Relief Society Presidency called and said they wanted to stop by and visit Kim and I. I called her back to tell her that I wouldn't be home. I was driving home from work with the top down on the Mini. Just as I got her on the phone, a loud semi-truck went by. Not wanting to sound snobby (ie: "Oh, I'm so sorry for that loud noise... the top is down on my brand new, gorgeous convertable. ") I tried to apologize for the noise by saying:

Kelsey: "Sorry for the noise, my top is down......."

RS Girl: no response

Kelsey: "Uh, on my car! Don't think it's my shirt top! Nope, I am for sure wearing one of those!!! Just the CAR top is down"

RS Girl: no response

Kelsey: "Um, ok...well, I gess i'll see you around...."

Golden. Best moment of my day. Almost better than when I fell over for no real reason while standing in the IT department's doorway.... I'll save that story for another day. ;)

Estoy Muy Blessido

2008-07-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Si. Estoy muy blessido. That is spanglish for: Yes, I am very blessed.

I just finished up with a little bike ride around my neighborhood in the warm summer air. I heard children laughing, dogs barking, fire crackers popping, crickets chirping, and birds twittering.

I rode past the new temple. I rode over the bride overlooking the lake and saw all the lights from the neighborhood, as well as the silhouette of the new Angel Moroni they just put on the temple spire against the mountains. Wow.

I also had a fabulous weekend. I went up in the mountains and saw a huge herd of sheep, rode a horse, roasted a hot dog over a bonfire, heard an old cowboy reminisce, layed out by the pool, went to a baseball game in a suite with good friends, went to a couple barbecues, and saw a movie. I went to church on Sunday, and it was so enjoyable I couldn't help but be happy to be there.

Yes, yes... I am lucky, blessed, and really have SO much to be grateful for!!

Interesting Food Information....

2008-07-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if all of this is accurate, but certainly, medical science has confirmed some of the functions of these foods and the rest does make sense.

Sounds just like something the Creator of the Universe would do.
Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocados and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of s perm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes

Relationship Resolutions

2008-07-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

I read this posting online a few years back, and its really stuck with me. I used to only apply the rules to dating relationships. However, I've realized recently that I should apply these rules to most relationships: especially friends and coworkers! Some of you may realize that one of my strengths is my insane loyalty. However, this is also a major weakness as I remain loyal to people who aren't that kind to me, simply because they were at one point and I see their potential. So, I put up with a lot of "abuse". It's good to realize that I don't have to do that... that sometimes respecting myself and not putting up with it will also help them in the long run to be better friends. So, take a look.... remembering that its just some guidelines to take control of how you're treated and what your relationships with others will be!

I will learn to say "next!"
Plain and simple, the world is full of men. Everywhere you turn, there's a man. Look - there goes one now! A wise woman once told me that men are like city buses: If you miss one, there will always be another. I decided that, from now on, I would not assign any man too much meaning too early on. I am not going to worry that I won't find "it" again. I will not worry that I'll end up in a rocking chair surrounded by cats and empty wine bottles. I will remember that there will always be another.

I will expect more and tolerate less
Not all men are self-loathing, egocentric, cheating bastards. In fact, most people have a lot more good to them than bad, and by and large, will live up to the expectations you set for them. Not since junior high have I worried that a friend would hurt or disappoint me. But with men, it's been a constant fear. I realized that this was all because of expectations. If I did not expect - or even demand - that a man treat me right, he probably wasn't going to. I'm not talking about princessy stuff here, like buying me dinner or calling by Tuesday if he wants to see me on Saturday. I'm talking about basic good treatment. Like following through with plans. Or being aware of my feelings. Or not leaving his cell phone on another girl's nightstand and telling me he'd lost it. You know, common consideration. And when common consideration is breached? Next!

I will get busy
Because men are wired differently and may as well live in a different time zone, playing the "why hasn't he called?" game is a guaranteed express trip to Crazytown. Why hasn't he called? Who knows? But I do know that I should be too busy to worry about it. Untapped potential was like my emotional saddlebags - unattractive even if no one noticed it but me. I resolved to make plans, resurrect my hobbies and spend my time doing and thinking and being. If he calls, great! If not, I will be way too occupied with all my fabulous self-fulfillment to notice.

I will not play it cool
To keep myself from feeling exposed and vulnerable, I'd gotten very good at using the phrase "that's okay" when it was really, really not okay. There were so many times I didn't get angry when I should have, for fear of coming off as too emotional or unhinged. Well, you know what? Unhinge this! If the situation calls for it, and the difference between sucking it up and having a bit of a blowup could be months of festering in a foul mood, I'm going to let him have it. The same goes for positive emotions. If a man does something to delight me, I'm going to act delighted. Forget cool sophistication! And if he gets weirded out by all of my emoting? You guessed it: Next!

I will lighten up
The pursuit and maintenance of coupling may have made me do surprising things, but even more astounding was what it made me forget. I am pretty damn awesome. I am funny and talented, and I look pretty smokin' in jeans and stilettos. Getting caught up in the worry of trying to please a man, and working overtime to postpone an inevitable breakup is a huge time-waster. And a killjoy. A man's opinion of me is not more important that my own opinion of myself, so I shouldn't take it so seriously. I will remember to laugh more, worry less and like who I am - man or no man - and to redirect some of that energy into pleasing myself.

10 Things You May Not Know...

2008-07-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, Adrea tagged me in this "10 things people may not know about me" request.

So, here goes!

10. I have the strongest fingernails EVER. They grow crazy long.
9. My "wingspan" (hold your hands out to the side and measure from longest finger tip to finger tip) is three inches longer than my height (it should be the same). This is because I have really long fingers and hands, and perhaps gorilla-like arms?
8. I could probably fit a few extra teeth in my mouth and be a-ok... I have a big mouth and small teeth (but, you probably already knew about the big mouth part. hehe)
7. I got in trouble in the 4th grade for saying "cherio good chap" to a classmate from England, and he beat me up.
6. I am THE MOST FAVORITE aunt ever. Seriously, those kids love me. ;)
5. I don't need a mug to tell me I'm the queen of everything. haha. jk 80, I won't take your title!
4. I've never broken a bone
3. I have a serious addiction to chips and salsa, shopping, and relaxing
2. For being a social butterfly, I can be VERY anti-social. Guess thats just the Gemini in me!
AND FINALLY......
1. I have a goal of owning a horse one day, traveling around the entire world and visiting all sorts of cool places and studying the people there, getting my masters degree in Social Anthropology, teaching at a university, owning my own consulting company, and writing a book.

TA DAH!

Ok, Kimbo and Allyoop.... your turn!!

4th of July Weekend!

2008-07-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I decided to take Thursday off of work to go to the lake with my family. But, plans changed and we ended up changing that to today. So... I kept Thursday off and then just got today off as well.... hello 5 day weekend! It was awesome, especially because things at work have been less than ideal!

SO, anyway.... Thursday I slept in, went to the pool and lunch with my dear friend Brynnly, and then had a little hangout at Christina's house. Friday was the 4th of July... slept in again, went down to Provo and spent the afternoon with my family just hanging out. We then went to Stadium of Fire and saw MILEY CYRUS (all the pre-teen girls can scream now). It was SO fun. I can't tell you how stinkin cute my nieces are.... and, how fun my brother, his wife, and my sister are!

The funniest part of the night was when I took a picture of me and Avalee and Sadie. Sadie was making a really funny face.... so, I told her I was going to take another, and asked her to make a cute face. She said ok! Here are the pictures....

First Picture... with Sadie being silly.

Second picture with Sadie making her "cute" face.

So, yes..... that is her cute face. haha. She's such a silly bug!

Stadium of Fire really was an awesome event, and it was just a simple reminder of how good we really have it... but it also reminded me of how very fragile it all is. We need to remember to keep trying to be a righteous people, because when we forget God, thats when we start to lose the blessings that we sorely need in order to stay a free country. 9/11 wasn't that long ago, and people are already biter towards our leaders and our government. We need to remember how in those days following that tragic attack how our country turned to our Heavenly Father.... its amazing how quick we are to forget!

Then, the rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with friends and cleaning the house.

Until today, when I went to the Jordanelle resevoir and spent the day jetskiing with the family. I loved it!! It just takes a few easy going days in the sun to really clear my head and realize where my priorities are and where they should be, and that I shouldn't let work ruin my life. haha.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the weekend! I'm recharged! Although, not quite ready to go back to work. ;)

Relay Recap!!!!

2008-06-28T00:32:00.001-07:00

It seems that in the past, I’ve used this blog almost as an online, very non-private journal. It’s probably time that I use it as a real update tool!

Anyone that’s spoken to me in the past 10 months knows that I was involved in planning the Salt Lake City Relay for Life. The Relay is an all night campout team walking/running relay. Teams band together before the event, raise money, and then come to Relay and take turns on the track, all night long. Some events are a full 24 hours. Mine, thanks in part to the weather, was about 14 hours.

The reason we Relay all night is because it symbolizes that while cancer never sleeps, neither will the fight to stop cancer. It is also very symbolic of the fight against cancer. As a cancer patient is getting treatment, there are times where it would be just so easy to give up, to stop fighting. However, people battle on through that and beat cancer. So do the teams keep walking at 3am, and in the case of my Relay, in rain and 39 degree weather.

Here’s the recap of the event:
First of all— who would have guessed that June 6th would be so cold!? The weather was definitely a huge set back. We were setting the event up at 11am on the day of the Relay. The entire week had been cold and rainy. We’d all hoped and prayed that the weather would decide to cooperate. It was decent until about 3pm, when temperatures dropped suddenly and the wind began to blow. Then came the rain. This weather lasted about 20 minutes. Then, it suddenly cleared up. We finished setting up, just in time for hundreds of people to join us at This is The Place Heritage Park. By the time we kicked off the event, with cancer survivors starting the first lap, we had at least 1,000 people there plus several media stations. I did about 4 live broadcasts for KUTV and one non-live for channel 13. I also did an interview with the Deseret News (too see what they put together, please visit: http://deseretnews.com/photo/slideshow/1,5587,5046,00.html?archMon=200806). We had great entertainment, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Until about 3am when the heavens opened and the weather no longer cooperated with us. It rained for the next 3-4 hours, with the temperatures somewhere in the high 30’s, low 40’s. It amazed me how many people stayed on the track during this time!!! But, at about 6 am, I realized that no one would come back next year if they all died because of exposure to the weather! So, we wrapped early. At the end of the Relay, we’d made about $50,000. And the money is still rolling in. The money goes to support cancer research, support programs, and advocacy efforts within our government. We're still taking donations, so visit www.saltlakerelay.com if you'd like to donate some money online. :)

Anyway, it was so inspiring to see all of the people that came out to support the teams and all of the people who have been lost because of cancer and the people that have or are beating it. Everyone who came had a connection with cancer, which isn’t surprising since statistically one in every two men will get cancer in their life, and one in every three women.

Probably one of the most rewarding moments was when I was doing a TV interview, and we were talking about the Luminaria Ceremony. This ceremony is really the heart of relay and gives everyone an opportunity to reflect back on the people they’ve seen suffer because of cancer. As I was talking, the camera man zoomed in on a bag that was written for my grandmother. What made this especially touching is that my mom wasn’t able to come because she recently had full reconstructive knee surgery. But, I knew she was watching the news. And, I knew that she would see the bag we’d made for her mother. My mom, who wasn’t able to come, was still able to join us in remembering her mom.

Anyway, all in all, it was a great event. I am so happy that I was able to be a part of it!!!

Angry....

2008-06-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

I just spent an hour writing a post and adding pictures, blah blah blah. Stupid blogger error!! IT LOST MY POST!!! ARGH! :( I'm sad.

Dream Big

2008-06-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been reading this book called "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. He is a computer science professor at Carnegy Mellon University. What makes this book interesting is that Randy is dying of cancer. Anyone who knows me that I've thrown myself into volunteer work with the American Cancer Society because I believe this disease affects many more people than it should. Not only does it affect them, it kills them. Painfully and efficiently. Anyone that has witnessed a cancer victim in their last months, weeks, or even days, knows that this isn't something that anyone should have to experience. I saw my grandfather about a week before his death from cancer. It was probably one of the most painful experiences in my life, to see a loved one who was so strong, fun, and energetic not able to walk or even speak. He probably weighed about 90 pounds.

Anyway, the point of this blog isn't to talk about death. It's to talk about life. This book, The Last Lecture, written by a dying man, is about his life. He dreamed big as a child and met almost every single childhood dream before his premature end. He wanted to experience zero gravity as an astronaut does, he wanted to become a Disney Imagineer, and many more.

What are our dreams? I don't know about you, but I think more often than not, we lose our dreams in the day-to-day getting through life stuff. We don't focus on the fact that today was once our tomorrow... what are we doing to make this life the most extraordinary life that we ever could have lived? Are we growing in our faith in God? Are we becoming better friends, better lovers, better children, better parents? Are we experiencing the things in this life that really matter?

My last post was a checklist of "things I've done". But, to be honest.... most of those things on that list in bold aren't that important. They're things that just kindof happened. Here's hoping that I can really figure out what I want out of life, and then figure out how to make it happen! We never know how long we'll be here on this earth, so let's live! This may sound cheesy... but CARPE DIEM! Live for today. Dream big dreams. And then make them happen.

Let's Motor!

2008-06-19T22:50:00.001-07:00

Alrighty, I know I kind of make fun of those people that are obsessed with their cars. However, this isn't about my car... it's about my baby!

Everyone.... meet the Mini. Mini, meet everyone. :)

It really was love at first sight. I can't tell you all how worried I was that I wasn't going to feel like it was mine, but when I saw the baby for the first time, my heart did a little flip flop, and I knew... we were meant to be together. :)

Now.... I'm just a little concerned that I'm more excited for the adoption of my baby than I was about any dates I've been on in the last year. I'll work on it ya'll, I promise. ;)

Oh, and the baby needs a name. Taking suggestions............... now.

List of Things I've Done

2008-06-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

All the things I’ve done in my life are marked in bold. My friend Amber and her hubby Carl put this on their page, and I thought it was pretty dang cool. So, I filled it out too! I think in 26 years I've done a lot, but some of the best things are yet to come!

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days (No, but I went without going to the bathroom for 3 days! Even more impressive, I think!)
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep

105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe (pshhha, ALL the time. hee hee)
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band (holler... ROCK BAND YA'LL!!)
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

All You Need is Love

2008-02-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok.... this may be a little cheesy. but, I watched the movie "Across the Universe" last night. It was an oddly inspiring movie. I say oddly inspiring because there were some parts that were just plain bizzare! But, then again, it is a movie based on Beatles songs... and they did have their drug years! Anyway, there is one part where Jude is standing on top of a building with a microphone, and starts to sing. He is singing to his lost love who is somewhere in the streets... not aware that he is nearby. He sings without any music... just a simple melody with words that I've heard but never really listened to before. All you need is love. Here are the lyrics...

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time
It's easy.
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

I hope that you can read them with new eyes and be reaffirmed that the possibilities in life are endless, as long as you live it with love!! Sorry Scott, I am still your semi-hippie sister. As you once said, you can take the girl out of Ithaca, but you can't take Ithaca out of the girl. ;)

Rabbit's Foot

2008-02-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

It's official.... I might as well be a rabbit's foot. It turns out that almost every roommate I've ever had, and almost every boy I've been "in a relationship with" gets married or in a serious relationship within 6 months of living with/dating me. This reminds me of the movie "Good Luck Chuck". While I haven't seen it, I understand the concept is pretty much the same, except he sleeps with women and they get married.

I wonder what it is that creates this phenomenon. Am I just a good luck charm? Or, is it something more? And, honestly... why can't I find someone like me to live with? haha. Seriously.

Trubute to Gordon Bitner Hinckley

2008-02-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

Passing of a Prophet

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,

Yes, running, not waving his cane.

I see him embracing his father and mother

While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,

Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.

Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service

That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior

While Father says, 'Good and well done.

So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome

My noble, most excellent son.'

I then hear the ripples of laughter

As he says the reception's just fine,

But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two

Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness

At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,

Have faith and move for ward... there's work to be done.

President Hinckley would want it that way.

-Anna M. Molgard, January 27, 2008

President Gordon B. Hinckley. Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for most of my life, and the Prophet of my formative years, passed away Sunday, January 27, 2008. I had the opportunity to go to his viewing and pass by his casket. I watch his funeral and the procession and grave-side service. I have shed many tears at his passing, not because I am sad for him or am worried for him. I have cried because I will miss him, and I do not feel that I have made him proud. I have cried out of joy for his reunion with his sweet wife. I have cried because this great man will finally have an opportunity to live again without the confines of his elderly mortal body. President Hinckley. I will miss you. But, I am grateful for the years of service, the impact you left on the world, the example you have sent. But, more than that, I am grateful for the words and teachings you left and only hope that I can do better in obeying council, that I will stand a little taller and Be more like you. I would say rest in peace, but let's be honest.... he's not the type to rest, even in death. As the poem says... there is still work to be done!

Welcome...

2008-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, I assume that most of the people that are going to be reading this will be my family. Maybe some random passer-byers too. In either case, I'm not sure if I need to introduce myself.... but it feels appropriate! I'm a 25 year old very single girl living in Salt Lake City, Ut. Yes, I fit the stereotype of SLC and am Single. Yes, I am still single. Why? Because I haven't found anyone worth marrying that has asked! So, now that we have that out of the way, we can get on to the important stuff. (At least what I deem to be important...) This blog will be a nice way for my family to see into my life as well as a place where I can vent and send my thoughts out into the "universe". Sometimes its nice just to get things off my chest, so be prepared for that! Ha ha! I'm a pretty happy person, but to be honest, I am super bored with my life right now. It's time to look for something to bring a little excitement my way!!!