the clements

my 6-month-old :-)

2012-01-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

Austin's baby blessing

2011-09-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

We had Austin's baby blessing on Sept 4. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures but here are a few I do have.

Ok, so my internet is being incredibly slow and my baby is waking up from his nap, so you only get one picture right now!

Austin update: 2 months

2011-09-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Austin is 2 months old! and no, life is not "back to normal" yet. I still feel sleep-deprived pretty much every minute of every day; my house is usually a disaster area; we are living off of frozen fish sticks from Costco and other foods that my wonderful mother brings to us; and the only clothes that actually get put away after being washed are Austin's--and no I don't fold them, I just shove them in a drawer. :)

Anyway, we had Austin's 2 month visit yesterday and he is now 10 lbs 10 oz! I can't believe that some people have actually have newborns that are almost 10 pounds..wow. He is 22 inches long and "has a temper". That is literally what his pediatrician wrote about him in his medical record. And it's true! He hasn't exactly been the happiest baby--most likely due to a food allergy which we have not successfully diagnosed yet. I have cut out diary, corn, wheat, eggs, soy, and nuts and nothing seems to make a huge improvement in how he feels. We have tried formula and he isn't much better on it either, so we are probably just going to have to ride the waves until he outgrows whatever is bothering him. He also got his immunizations yesterday...which has not helped to make him any happier.

But, despite all the grumpiness, we love him to death!! And he has managed to give us a few smiles now and then. Things he loves: taking baths, the sound of running water, being bounced, being held facing out so that he can look around, my hairdryer, being outside, any toy that makes noise. Things he hates: going to sleep--he will fight it with all the strength his little body can muster, getting dressed, his baby swing, his carseat, sitting still. Honestly I think that a lot of his unhappiness comes from being a baby. He is such a curious little boy--wants to constantly be moving and wants to be able to see things. I think he will be much happier when he can move around a little and learns how to grab things. Thinking of that stage of life makes me a little nervous...

Mamma's little man :)

2011-07-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

My little boy is here! Austin Daniel was born July 12th at 7:21 a.m. He weighed 6 lb 5 oz and measured 18.5 inches long.

He is such a cute baby, even though he has definitely messed up our sleeping schedules. At his 2 week pediatrician visit we were told that we should start training him to be awake during the day more by playing with him and stuff and that should help him sleep more at night. Problem is, he isn't old enough to care about playing. Eat, sleep, and poop are really his only interests right now.

At that visit, he also weighed 6 lb 14 oz and measured 20 inches long, so all that sleeping and eating is going to good use! Enjoy these pictures of my little man!

Cool quote

2011-06-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

I was just blog stalking (aka wasting precious time when I should be cleaning my bathroom) when I ran across a quote that I really like. This comes from Christian Nielson, the husband of Stephanie Nielson, both of whom were burned badly in a plane crash in 2008. Anyway, he put this on his mormon.org profile in response to a question about why he was Mormon:

"I say I was born and raised a Mormon, but there's more to it than that. What that means is that I have had the privilege of being taught principles of happiness and hope in my childhood, tested them as a teenager, and forged them as an adult."

Good explanation of things, I'd say. I've always felt like saying I was born and raised as a member of LDS church leaves room for somebody to assume that I am just following in the footsteps of my family, without my having tested the principles the church teaches and come to a deep conviction of them myself. And that simply isn't the case.

I'm pretty much just putting it here because typing it into my blog is easier than finding a pen and paper right now. It's probably less likely to get lost if I put it here, too.

3-D Images

2011-05-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Here is my baby boy at 29 weeks. Do you think Austin Daniel Clement is a good fit for this face? Because of all the names we have talked about, Austin is the one that seems to be sticking.

And here is a profile view of him with his toes resting on his forehead. I knew babies were crowded in there, but I guess I never realized he could be this flexible!

What have I been up to lately?

2010-10-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

I bet everyone out there has just been dying to know what I've been up to lately. Right? Well, here are a few recent pictures. We have been:

Celebrating this kid's birthday.

My mom and dad both have september birthdays too we just had one party for them and Peter. We went bowling and ate dinner at a park. None of the bowling pictures were that good, but my niece (the center of attention in this picture) killed us all!

The next day we got with Peter's family for his younger brother's eagle court of honor.

This little guy is definitely the life of the Clement family parties. And with all those uncles, he sure gets his fair share of torture! I love this picture of him with those classes. He he...

And the glasses made it around to all the grandkids and some point during the evening.

Family picture taken by the camera's timer. They always turn out interesting that way.

Right before the saturday session of general conference, Peter decided we needed cinnamon rolls. I haven't made them for a long time and don't really have a good recipe. Peter has been craving cinnamon rolls that his professor's wife made so we called her about ten times that day for advice. Hope that doesn't adversely affect his grade... We really liked the way the dough tasted, but we need a better recipe for both the filling and the frosting. If you have one, please share!!

This one looks like a butt. I think Peter gave it to his younger brother.

During the Sunday morning session we decided to drive the Nebo Loop because everybody says how pretty it is this time of year. And it didn't disappoint.

We came upon some cows in the road. I took a picture because that's not something you see everyday growing up in Sanpete. Oh wait, yes it is. I don't know why I took this picture then.

More pretty leaves

The End.

Not because I don't have more pictures but because I have to go pick Peter up from campus now. And this time I will not let him talk me into doing something illegal that results in us getting pulled over by BYU police. But that's a story for another day.

Oh, and I also chopped five inches off my hair. I tried to take a picture in the mirror but it didn't work out. However, I love short hair!! Even if winter is coming and it means I have to actually do my hair everyday---I still love it!

Ok, that's it. I'm out. Like a fat kid in dodgeball.

Words to live by

2010-09-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

We recently had a regional conference here in Provo and we were privileged to hear from four amazing people: Elder Steven Snow, Sister Julie B Beck, Elder Jeffrey Holland, and President Boyd K Packer. All talks were wonderful!

At the back of the notebook I was using to take notes that day I found a list of one-liners that I had started. One-liners are great because they contain a message about the kind of person I would like to become and it is packaged so neatly in an easy-to-remember form. I suppose that most of these won't have much meaning to anyone else who reads them, but each has a memory/feeling associated with it that makes it important to me. Here is my list so far:

"Never suppress a generous thought"--Sister Camilla Kimball

"Give the Lord equal time"--Elder M Russell Ballard

"Cultivate an attitude of gratitude"

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."--President Thomas S Monson

"Pain is inevitable, misery is optional"

"There is only one Plan of Happiness. All the rest is multiple choice misery."--Elder Neal A Maxwell

"When you face temptations, remember it is not just about you."--Elder David A Bednar

"The Lord is voting for you. The devil is voting against you. But it is your vote that counts."--President Boyd K Packer

"One is not truly converted until he wishes for others what he wishes for himself."--Islamic saying

"Be obedient, not creative!"--Sister DePaula, Brasil CTM

"The delay of our dreams does not mean that they have been rejected."--Sarah Ban Breathnach

"No success can compensate for failure in the home."-- President David O McKay

"Our greatest goal in relationships is to be a light, not a judge." --Steven R. Covey

"Without hard work nothing grows but weeds!"--President Hinckley

"It is a greater honor to be trusted than to be loved."--David O McKay

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens"--Jim Hendrix

"In matters of style, swim with the current; In matters of principle, stand like a rock."--Thomas Jefferson

"Be happiness itself."--Buddha

Produce drawer : full!

2010-09-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

I went home for an appointment with my eye doctor on wednesday (my eyes changed again. Boo. I'll probably be blind by the time I'm 30) and stopped by my parent's home to spend some time with my mom. Before I left she said I could pick some peas from the garden to take with me. Those are my favorite-fresh, homegrown garden peas eaten straight from the pod. So delicious! Anyway, I ended up taking home a lot more than just fresh peas:

(note: picture is a small scale
representative of a much larger
quantity)

As I have been savoring all these wonderful fall vegetables, I have decided: one day (when I have a house of my own and I have stopped moving from place to place) I will have a vegetable garden. I, too, will grow yummy fruits and veggies.

Now, to share a memory that just came into my head---we planted a garden every year when I was growing up and to make it fun for us kids, my parents would give us each our very own row in the garden! They would buy us each a packet of "mystery seeds" and we would plant it and weed it and water it and it was so much fun to see what grew! Sometimes flowers, sometimes veggies-you wouldn't know unless you really cared for them and helped them to grow. So fun.

Thanks mom and dad, for teaching me how to work and for sharing your harvest with us!

Summer Vacation :)

2010-08-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Since we had a week after moving out of our old place and before moving into our new place (which we hope to be doing tonight!), we decided just to go on a trip somewhere! So, we visited Portland and Seattle and saw some sites in between. All in all, we had a good trip. It was my idea to go to Seattle since it is only a few hours from Portland, but I think if I could do it over, I would have just spent the whole time in Oregon. It was cool to see Seattle, but we didn't do much there because we only had one day and because by that time we were kind of sick of site seeing, plus there were some things in Oregon that we wanted to do but didn't because we didn't have enough time. Anyway, here are some pictures:

Me in front of the Twin Falls, ID temple:

Peter in front of the Temple (we have double of most of our pictures, and I don't think we have any pictures together. I guess we could have asked somebody to take one....)

Me in front of the Boise, ID temple:

Driving alongside the Columbia River:

Oregon's Multnomah Falls:

Cheese tasting at the Tillamook cheese/ice cream factory. Peter was so excited when Winco stores finally came to Utah because that meant he could finally buy Tillamook Ice Cream. He served his mission in Oregon and got addicted to it there:

Feeding some ducks with a family from Peter's mission. We went to this pond in the hopes of viewing a nutria (it's real-google it). A nutria is a cross between a beaver and a rat and it only lives in oregon. It was introduced into Oregon from South America in the fur trading era. Also notice the adorable baby ducklings:

The beach at Seaside, OR (cold pacific waters + windy day= barely put my feet in):

The Column in Astoria, OR. It has 180 steps inside that you can climb up for a view of the surrounding area. The outside of the column is covered in murals depicting the history of Oregon:

Here is a view from the top of the column. Also, a picture of a little restaurant near the beach that we ate at. It is old fishing boat that now sells fish n chips-and they were good! I have never liked fish and people have always told me that if I tried fresh fish I would like it. This stuff was super fresh and really good!

And this is Beaver Falls. It's a hidden waterfall near Rainier, OR. One of Peter's mission friends took us there; you can hike down behind the waterfall. It was cool :)

In Seattle, we did the underground city tour. It was fun to learn the history of Seattle, but not worth the money the tour costs. We also saw the space needle, of course. We were going to go up it, but like I said earlier by this point in the trip we were pretty much done sight seeing and so we just took a picture of it instead:

(I don't know why the space needle picture didn't rotate and I don't really care either. Sorry.)

We did get to see the Seattle temple, but it is being renovated so we didn't get to go inside:

And then we drove for 14 hours to get home....

I have a favorite scripture.

2010-08-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I have many favorite scriptures, but today it is this one. Actually, this scripture became a favorite on my mission. We would show the short restoration DVD to people and I loved the scene where little Joseph saw a toy wooden horse that he wanted in the store, but they were too poor to buy it. Then, his dad carved one for him. Cute dad. Like my dad. So, the movie quotes the last part of this scripture when his dad is giving him the toy.

3 Nephi 14:8-11

"For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone?

Or is he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

It's beautiful, isn't it? I think this scripture refers to our trust in God. When I was a child, my parents took great care of me. I trust them and know that I can count on them for anything at any time of day or night and at any stage in my life. But they aren't perfect; they aren't God. Why is it sometimes hard to trust God and to trust that the things he allows to happen in our lives are for our good? Perhaps because his isn't tangibly here every day like my mom and dad are. And perhaps there are things that have happened in my life that I have yet to understand how they were for my good. But the scriptures contain countless examples of the workings of God in the lives of men that I can rely on.

And if the Savior himself tells me in the Book of Mormon that the Father gives good things to them that ask him, I can trust that. I can trust that everything in my life will work together for my good.

Even when I have to leave the ward and the primary class and the neighbors that I love.

Even when I have to pack up my entire house and store it all in my in-laws basement for four months.

Even when I have to be homeless for two weeks. Ok, not homeless really, just I won't be living in my home. And one of those weeks will hopefully involve a road trip to Oregon. And that I'm excited for!

Spring!

2010-05-25T16:30:00.001-07:00

Here a few random pictures of our spring so far:

This is a tree near our house! I think it is so cute; it's like a cross between two different kinds of trees and it makes me smile every time I see it :)

And these are our first daffodils of the season-unfortunately they are all dead after the recent snowstorm.

Hogle Zoo: Mama elephant with baby Zuri

I'm alive!

2010-01-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, so I haven't blogged since October... You would think that with all the time that passed I would have plenty to say, but I find that everytime I think about blogging I don't do it because I have nothing to say. So, my life these past months...

My younger brother, Jake, got married the end of December in the Oquirrh Mt temple, so Peter and I are no longer the newly-weds! It was a snowy day, but lots of fun and we love Melinda!

Coming out of the temple

Waiting for them to come out (cold!)

Dad and Grandma Roxey congratulating the newly-weds.

the ball-and-chain that Brad and Nicole's table made for Jake and Melinda out of their baked potato foil (Whose idea was that anyway? I can see it coming from several people who ate at that table....)

Christmas was great-we spent the day with my family because Pete's family wasn't getting together til a few days later-his sister and bro-in-law were studying abroad in Hungary and we waited for them to return before the party. Peter gave me a "flirty apron" I think he hopes it will motivate me to cook more so that he doesn't have to survive on frozen dinners :)

Lizzy (always the life of the party) examining the contents of her Christmas sock

Scott, Em, and Amy in their Christmas jammies. Cute! Yes, my mom still gets us all matching jammies to wear on Christmas eve. :)

Peter holding up the game we got from my parents. They also gave us a tent-so, you will know where to find us once the weather warms up enough!

The digital picture frame we all gave to my parents (thanks to Brad and Nicole for coming up with the idea and picking it out!) We set it up for her the next day and I could tell she thought it was fun to have shuffle through the pictures on her memory card because she just sat in front of it for a while watching it-and commenting on how she takes so many pictures but never looks through them after that.

He's home :)

2009-10-20T07:29:00.001-07:00

Well, the last Washburn made it...

Nostalgia

2009-09-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

I am feeling very nostalgic right now. And it doesn't help that Peter is in bed sleeping and all is quiet. I attribute this nostalgia to several things-school starting and me not starting with it (which I am not feeling sad about, it's just kinda wierd), going through all the junk I have stored at parent's house, and a sharing time lesson I gave last week on journal writing that ultimately prompted me to find all my old journals and get them together in one place. Of course, I also ended up reading a few entries along the way. My favorites are from when I was a wee kid. My dad would sit down with each of us on Sunday afternoon and we would dictate to him while he wrote. The things I thought were important back then are so funny. And my dad would literally write every word we said, so some entries have a lot of "um, let me think"...this is a tradition that I want to do with my kids someday too. And then my high school years....if my posterity learns anything about me from those entries it will be simply that I was boy crazy!
Part of my newly-sparked enthusiam for getting all my journals together and stuff comes from finishing "The Undaunted". It was a great book, and I am always impressed with the faith and willingness to sacrifice that the early pioneers exhibited. I love reading of their experiences. I think that for me, they are some of the greatest motivators because they help me realize that my trials aren't any harder than anybody else's and they remind me that I have something (the gospel of Jesus Christ and my testimony of it) that is precious beyond measure.

Gripes (just one really)

2009-08-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

I am really grateful to have a job--and it is an excellent job; the company definitely respects and values its employees. My gripe tonight is only about the dress code. I can't complain about anything else right now because I have week off and that is exciting. Anyway, the other day, we were in a meeting and I happened to be sitting across the table from a girl wearing a tank-top kind of shirt and one of the "sleeves" was slippping off her shoulder and she didn't ever bother to fix it so I was stuck looking down at the table for two hours. Our dress code talks about wearing nice, professional clothing to work-we aren't allowed to wear shirts with graphics or phrases because they could offend somebody. The dress code even mentions that bad breath and body odor won't be tolerated at work. Sidenote: Could a company fire you on the claim that you showed up to work with bad breath? And how would you explain that in your next job interview? But why, in a professional environment, is there no code in place for modesty? I know, it is just the world we live in, but it drives me nuts.

On a happier note, I checked out Gerald N. Lund's new book "The Undaunted" from the Provo Library and started reading it. I bet nobody can guess what I will be doing with my week off....

Also during the past week, I became addicted to an internet-radio show on the mormon channel (located at www.radio.lds.org). This program is called conversations and has a show host interviewing somebody of prominence in the LDS community-they just talk about their life experiences and conversion stories, you know. Anyway, I find other people's life stories fascinating and have learned so much about people such as L. tom Perry, David A. Bednar, and my favorite so far...Herbert Klopfer-he is on the church music committee (wrote the hymn "Home Can Be A Heaven on Earth"), grew up in Germany during Hilter's reign and just has some neat stories to tell. I put these podcasts on my i-pod and it helps me pass the time at work.

Kids will be kids...

2009-08-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Peter and I teach the valiant 10 class in our ward. We enjoy it most of the time, although I can't say that I feel like we really get a lot of spiritual in because we are constantly discplining the kids (things like, "don't step on the scriptures," or, "We don't stand on chairs in the Lord's house,") but the five kids in our class are all good kids and we are learning to love them-and just maybe they are learning to love us, too. Anyway, today we had two visitors-twin brothers-and they were absolutely the cutest boys! We were teaching about Adam-Ondi-Ahman and about the Millenium. After I explained about how people won't die during the millenium, one of these little boys exclaimed, with the biggest grin I have ever seen, "You mean we can just keep making babies?!" It was SO funny. Peter and I couldn't help but burst out laughing!

back to reality

2009-07-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I love my family vacations--they are so great! But it always feels nice to be back home. We spend the week in Cortez, Colorado, visiting several sites with ancient indian dwellings. It was pretty amazing to see the cliff dwellings built back around the year 1200 in Mesa Verde national park. It was pretty hot, but it felt good to get sweaty and gross while climbing up mountainsides and 32-ft ladders and through tunnels. We always have so much fun!

New Camera

2009-07-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

So...I am looking for a new camera. Mine has never worked well and I just got a bonus at work so I have starting looking around, but I am curious: what kind of cameras do you all use? And what do you like or dislike about your camera? Leave me a post!

Finally!

2009-06-12T17:24:00.001-07:00

I got a few wedding pix off my grandma's digital camera..here is a sneak peek:

Life...

2009-06-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I still don't have any pictures from the wedding. I am just feeling a lack of motivation when it comes to contacting people about them. I do want to see the video that my friends did, though, but they are in Oklahoma for a while. So here is a brief list of happenings in my life as of late:

-My apartment is still a mess--we are slowly unpacking boxes as we need the items in them.
-I love strawberries! Hmmm..can't stop eating them.
-I officially have three weeks off work because I broke my arm. And at least it happened on work property and while I was on the clock so worker's comp will cover it.
-Peter and I are addicted to the Chronicles of Narnia. Books on CD are great for a one-armed someone who can't do a whole lot and doesn't have much motivation anyway.
-I am almost finished with wedding thank you notes.
-I am excited for the weekend: a Kelly Clarkson concert tonight, family get-together tomorrow night, cattle drive on Saturday. Maybe I will get pictures to spice up this blog a little.

No time...

2009-05-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'm now married!! Mrs. Clement! yay! I have so much I wanna write and pictures I want to post, but just no time!

Seven Days

2009-04-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight is kind of a wierd-feeling night for me. That said, I am sure next Thursday night will be even more wierd, thinking that when I wake the next day I will getting ready to get married. But back to today--I spent the day packing up my room and then this afternoon Peter and his brother came and loaded everything into cars. They drove off with a pick-up truck full of furniture and a car loaded down with boxes. My packed car will be leaving with me tomorrow. How on earth did I accumulate so much stuff?? The crazy thing was when I was packing the food from my kitchen shelves I realized that a lot of it I had hauled up with me six months ago when I moved from St George. Those are obviously items I shouldn't be buying. Tomorrow morning we are moving all my stuff plus all our other furniture (which is being stored at Peter's house) into our new hang out. I am definitely excited to get it all situated and looking like OUR house. That will be fun. Although, I am not very creative so here is a shout out requesting any cute decorating tips!!
After packing, we went to The Pizza Factory. Our bill came to about $30.00, but in the end we only paid a little over $5. Why? Well, we had a buy-1-get-1-free coupon, Peter used a gift certificate he got from getting 2nd place in an ice cream bar eating contest, and then we called and took their company survey for an extra $5 off our meal. Cool. :)

Here is Peter, eating away at his ice cream. It's blurry cuz I took it with my cell phone.

Bridals

2009-04-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

I had an emergency bridal photo session today. I had it scheduled for next week, but due to a forecast of rain, rain, and more rain clear through the end of April we moved things up. I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked to have been but I think things went ok anyway. We had pretty good weather, but with quite a bit of wind. And it was a good run through of what things to be prepared for on the actual wedding day-like bringing tons of bobby pins and safety pins and making sure to fasten my slip tight enough so it doesn't fall off. Anyway, here are a few of the shots. Thanks so much to my sister, Em!! I couldn't have done it without her!

My favorite part of the whole experience was all the little kids oogling me. The little girls: "Mama, did you see the princess?" "She looks just like Gizelle!" "Is she a statue or is she for real?"

Early morning thoughts

2009-04-20T01:14:00.000-07:00

May I just tell you all how much I love listening to Elder Eyring? Of course, I love them all, but I just got done listening to his most recent general conference address from the Saturday morning session and it was fantastic! I figured since I have to be up at 2:00 am addressing envelopes, I may as well be productive with my time and re-listening to general conference is one of those things that hasn't made it off my to-do list yet. Just a question though--what general conference address from a few weeks ago touched you the most?

Say Cheese!

2009-04-06T12:24:00.001-07:00

Announcement pictures today at 4:30 pm! It is a beautiful day and I am so excited. the only problem is that I have NO motivation to shower and get ready...no good. But I'm still excited. :^)

"Bridal Bliss"

2009-04-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

Today I had my bridal shower. My mom invited over 70 people. They didn't all come, thank goodness. Anyway, it was a lot of fun but I don't have any pictures yet because my mom took her digital camera but forgot the battery. I will have to get some from my grandma and sisters to post later. This week, I also made my way back to St George for the first time since I moved. I spent some fun time with my cousins and saw a few friends from the hospital. Sorry to those that I didn't see (Marci, if you even read this blog anymore).

Save Money!!

2009-03-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hey, I don't know if any of you are coupon clippers or bargain shoppers--- I have tried to be every now and then but after today I am taking this quest more seriously. One of my co-workers showed me this FREE website that she and some friends set up,

www.pinchingyourpennies.com.

The website is set up for the sole purpose of helping people save money on their grocery bill by taking advantage of sales and coupons. Every week, somebody goes over a list of the weekly store ads and lists them on this website, along with whatever coupons have come out recently for the items on sale. That way, you can combine store sales with coupons. My co-worker once got $100 worth of groceries for $22.00 and $105.00 worth of Christmas toys for $7.00! I want to try! Anyway, you just go register on the website. To get the weekly deals and stuff you go to forums, then find the forum called "screaming deals by state" and then click your state. She showed me a ton of stuff the website has--printable coupons if you don't take the newspaper, promotions codes for online shopping, printable grocery lists that match the specials that week, etc. Anyway, who doesn't want to save some money, right?

Jennie-ology

2009-03-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry, all my creative juices have gone into wedding planning so you get another facebook copycat.

***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice? Italian-o

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Spaghetti Factory

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Beans and Rice-I ate it for a year and a half straight. or Shellroni.

What are your pizza toppings of choice? Pepperoni and Olive

What do you like to put on your toast? Just butter

Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate. All the best things in life are chocolate.

When is the last time you ate peanut butter and jelly? a few months

Do you like pulpy orange juice? yep!

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

How many televisions are in your house? one

What color cell phone do you have? one silver and one gray

Do you have a laptop? yes

***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right

What have you had removed from your body? wisdom teeth

What is the last heavy item you lifted? Chemical reagents at work.

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? nah, I do like some surprises.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Hmm, nothing.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000.00? no thanks!

************DUMBOLOGY******************

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? three, I think.

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? before my mission when I rolled Jake's tracker.

Last person you hugged? P.J. He gives good hugs, too.

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season? Spring!!

Holiday? General Conference weekend.

Day of the week? Monday or Tuesday, depending on the week.

Month? Right now? May, of course!! May 8th to be exact.
***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

Missing someone? yes

Mood? bouncy

What are you listening to? the washing machine

Watching? nothing

Worrying about? I'll give you one guess...wedding plans!

***************RANDOMOLOGY****************

First place you went this morning? To the cookie jar :)

Do you smile often? I try to.

Sleeping alone tonight? Yes. :(

Do you always answer your phone? No...

What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? When I go I always just get the Cherry Limeade.

Do you own a digital camera? Yes

Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes. I have three right now!

Favorite Christmas song(s)? O Holy Night

What's on your wish list for your birthday? I can never think of things I want for my birthday.

Can you do push ups? Yeah, I think so.

Can you do a chin up? I doubt it.

Does the future make you more nervous or excited? depends on what part of the future I am looking at.

Do you have any saved texts? yes

Ever been in a car wreck? yep.

Do you have an accent? Maybe a small sanpet-er one but I try to keep that in check.

What is the last song to make you cry? Ben Folds Five song that I don't know the name of.

Plans tonight? work, work, and then sleep.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? several times

Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Subway sandwich, and that's it! but I did get paid yesterday. :)

Have you ever been given roses? yes

Met someone who changed your life? yes

How did you bring in the New Year? Working, blah.

Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? sure, just for fun, tho. I don't think i would change anything, unless it were to be nicer to people.

Have you ever dated someone longer than a year? Actually, most of my relationships have been longer than a year.

Do you have any tattoos/piercings? My ears. Stupidest thing I ever did cuz now they are always infected.

Does anyone love you? I hope so...

What songs do you sing in the shower? I'm too busy making wedding plans or being late to sing in the shower.

Ever had someone sing to you? yes

Do you like to cuddle? yes

Have you held hands with anyone today? no.. probably not til tuesday.

Who was the last person you took a picture of? uh, I really can't remember.

What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? probably whatever my mom listened to.

Are most of the friends in your life new or old? mostly old I think.

What is something your friends make fun of you for? let's just ask them...

Have you ever ridden an elephant? No, but maybe one day.

Do you like to play Scrabble? sure, but only wth people aren't very good cuz I'm not.

What are you saving your money up for right now? the wedding.

It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? Peter. but at that time of morning it isn't just a text, its a phone call.

If you could change your eye color what would it be? I don't want to. I like me eye color.
Current hate right now? wedding plans.

What song represents you? depends on the day.

What were you doing 12 AM last night? listening to the Clark Howard show on my drive home from work.

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I should go tanning today. nah, I should go back to sleep.

And if you actually read this whole thing to the end, then TAG!! Post this to your blog and share more about YOU!

Our first pet

2009-03-06T21:58:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid Peter and I bought out first pet today. Actually, we bought three of them-little $.28 goldfsh at Wal-mart. Peter is keeping them at his house and so who knows exactly how long they will last. But he already seems quite attached to them-one in particular that I have no doubt will be in our home if it is still alive by then. We bought them because we are going to have goldfish bowls at our reception. Peter was so funny in the store, picking them out just like a little kid. I think he inspected every fish before choosing the three he wanted. And he kept worrying about whether the biggest one was going to eat all the food before the other two got some. Personally, I am glad he is keeping them at his house because I think fish are nasty.
Oh, and I made him come see Twilight with me tonight now that it is in the dollar theater. I just can't justify spending 6-7 dollars on a movie. Not worth it. But back to Twilight; it was good but I really think I liked the book better. I guess I just get into books more than movies. But I did think Emmett was pretty cute in the movie. Peter kept asking me if it was almost over(again, like a kid), but afterwards he admitted to enjoying it more than he thought he would. And tomorrow we are going to the Draper Temple open house! I'm excited. :)

My apologies

2009-03-05T20:42:00.001-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. It is because I am either too busy or when I actually have a few minutes (like right now) I have nothing to say. But at least the rest of you are still posting so that is nice for me. My time is mostly spent house-hunting, flower-shopping, and experimenting with different ideas for table centerpieces. My current dilemma is what kind of guest book I want. Something traditional that would require no work on my part other than picking it up at the store? Or something unique and creative that would maybe turn out cute if I put a lot of work into it? I think having a wedding scrapbook would be fun, but I don't know if I could really get it done.

Facebook copycat

2009-02-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

So on facebook there is the thing going around called "25 random things" that you list about yourself. Since I went to all the mental work of doing it on facebook, I figured I might as well post here, too.

1) I have been thinking for a few days about what i could write here and I already can't remember anything I came up with.

2) My work with infectious diseases gives most people the heebie-jeebies; but I love it!

3) I weigh the same as I did in 6th grade. Luckily, I grew taller so I am not so chubby-looking.

4) I have the absolute worst hair in the world.

5) I grew up in a home where 8 people shared one bathroom. How? I don't know...

6) When I get old and retire, I am SO moving to St George-I love it there!

7) The person who invented mint chocolate chip ice cream is my hero and deserves a standing ovation.

8) Celestial Kingdom or bust!

9) I am a book worm- when I was kid, my mom used to ground me from books so that I would have to do other things. Maybe that is why I was a chubby kid, cuz I was so inactive.

10) My favorite sport is Tennis and my least fav is volleyball.

11) My favorite flowers are lilies and daffodils.

12) Any day is a great day if I am wearing fun socks-none of that boring, white stuff. But no toe socks either.

13) I went skinny dipping once in a swimming pool in the middle of Salt Lake City.

14) I would rather not take a shower than have to take a shower in cold water. No thanks!

15) Brasil is my second mother country.

16) Cold weather is the bane of my existence.

17) That said, I love Rexburg, Idaho! But mostly just because it has Ricks College and fun memories.

18) I am actually having more fun writing these than I thought I would :)

19) I am a blog-stalker. So everyone send me blog address so I can stalk you!

20) I flaunt the fact that my family owns a bunch of horses, yet I don't think I could saddle one by myself and, quite frankly, horses scare me anyway.

21) Kids are cute. I want some.

22) My favorite cartoon strip is Calvin and Hobbes. Ha! It cracks me up just thinking about it.

23) I really don't like make-up; I only wear it so that my mom won't nag me about improving my appearance.

24) My morning vitamin pop includes a multi-vit, odorless garlic, and a horsetail herbal supplement.

25) Yesterday I subscribed to the Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I'm wierd.

Colors

2009-02-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

One more post. Real Quick. Choosing colors has definitely been the hard thing for me. I have seen so many cute things that I absolutely love that I have changed my mind everyday. But I think I have it.

This isn't a very good shot, cuz it is a composite of different tuxedo vest colors, but maybe you can get the idea. I wanted the blue because Peter and I both have blue eyes and I think a blue vest will look great on him. Then I chose the coral and yellow because it will Spring and I think they will be great colors for my bouquet flowers. I think I will have both the moms in a blue dress, with yellow corsages for the moms and grandmas; the dads with a blue vest and a coral bout...uh, flower; all the boys in both familys with a coral-colored tie, and all the girls in both families with a yellow shirt and either a white or black skirt. Feedback? Ideas? Thanks!

I found it!

2009-02-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

After looking at four different stores, and trying on a million dresses-ok, maybe that's an exaggeration- I finally found MY PERFECT WEDDING DRESS!! Best day ever! It was a little more expensive than I wanted-but just a *tad* and it really is perfect for me. Love it!

And the best part is that it hardly needs altered at all. Really, it fit so perfectly. They may hem it depending on what shoes I decide to wear. And I had them sew in "push-up cups" so that I don't have to buy a $50 Victoria's Secret bra. Other than that-done! I spent Saturday at the Provo Bridal Fair and decided that:

1)Bridal Fairs are great ways to win free stuff if you talk to all the vendors and participate in all the contests. Someone won a free photo booth at their reception. How cool is that! It wasn't me :(

2)A Bridal fair is no place for somebody in a wheel chair (sorry Amy, for dragging you there)

3)I like all the free food and good deals. We got a 20% discount from the bed and breakfast we booked for our first night; and we rented all three tuxedos for only $150.

4)Utahns are very weird and obsessive over this whole wedding thing.

I'm Sorry :(

2009-02-03T22:21:00.000-08:00

Dear driver of the tan-colored car;
I'm sorry I hit your car today on the freeway. I tried to stop, and then tried to swerve really fast, but all to no avail. I had forgotten that it was the middle of rush hour traffic and that there would be so much stop-and-go traffic. But at least we were both barely moving anyway and so all I did was scrape your bumper. You may not even know yet that I did, unless you see red paint there. Anyway, I pulled off to the side of the road and tried to motion you to come over too, but you just took off and so I have no way of redeeming myself for the damage done. I really did not want to be involved in a hit and run but that seems like what happened. Anyway, mr. driver of the tan-colored car, if you are out there, I would like to make amends with you.

Sympathies,
Driver of the red car.

A Washburn Family Christmas

2009-01-30T11:06:00.001-08:00

Despite my best intentions, I will probably never get around to doing a "real" post about my Christmas, so I will just post a few of my favorite pictures from the holidays.

My sisters, brother, and I. No, we did not sleep this way, but it is how my mom found us on Christmas morning. I love that Christmas these days is more about being with my family than about findng my Christmas loot, like it used to be. And it is kinda funny how we used to wake my parents up so early on Christmas morning, and now they have to come wake us up! Or at least drag us out of bed.

My dad, his mom, and my mom holding the quilt they made me for Christmas. They made one for all the kids, plus Liz, making six in all and they started in October. And it was a complete surprise for all us! By far, my favorite Christmas gift and the inspiration behind me getting a sewing machine and making a goal to make a quilt for my kids for Christmas sometime in the distant future.

My cute grandma with the temple-bag-on-wheels that my parents gave her. She was so excited about it because she works at the Manti temple and has been saying how cool she thinks these bags on wheels are.

My dad in the leather jacket my mom got for him. Looks pretty good! And definitely the best dad ever!

and here is my new hot tub, er, mountain bike! Which I am very excited for, and plan to use a lot when the weather gets warmer.

Here is Peter, with Conor(the boy he mentors), making a gingerbread house. Actually, it turned out to be a graham cracker army base. Conor is nine years old and he is a boy in every way. I bought a bunch of colorful candies to use in decorating but Conor refused to use them because "army bases aren't colorful-that would help the enemies see them!" and then after we finally got it finished and a few pictures taken, Conor wondered, "Do we get to destroy it now?"

So--that is my Christmas in a nutshell! It was a lot of fun and now that I have posted about it a month late I can finally move on with my life.

My new project

2009-01-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

So I bought a sewing machine a few weeks back from Wal-mart.com. It was only $129.00 for the sewing machine and a sewing table, so it sounded like a good deal. I don't know if the brand of sewing machine is top of the line, but for my first one, that's ok. I picked it up at Wal-mart the other day and opened it up just to look at it. Now, who wants to teach my to sew?

I got it...

2009-01-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

Just to inform all my avid blog readers(ha.) I did get my kiss in the snow!! More because it was snowing when we said good night after a date, but still. And I guess the secret is out...I am getting married! And we finally found a date: May 8th at 11:30 am. First it was April 24th, then the temple called me to tell me they had decided to have that be their maintenance closing for the year. Then it was May 1st, then my sister-in-law, my cousin, and my videographer couldn't make it because of final exams and college graduations, plus one of my co-workers decided to go on a crusie, making it difficult for me to get more than a few days off. Now it is May 8th, and if you can't make it don't tell me cuz I don't wanna know!!!
I have Christmas pictures that I have been meaning to post. Maybe that will come later today or tomorrow. I did have appointments to go look at wedding dresses and meet with a florist tomorrow, but those plans changed when my mom called me this morning and told me that my little sis was in skiing accident in Logan last night and broke her pelvic bone in two different places. I guess they are spending today talking to her teachers and then they will take her home for a few weeks until she can walk with crutches. That poor girl seems to have all the bad luck. And I feel bad for all the boys that take her on dates and end up calling my parents to say that the date ended when the ambulance came and took her to the ER. Anyway, I am going home today to spend a few days helping so my mom can work and so my sis won't go crazy with boredom.

Clarification:

2008-12-23T10:50:00.000-08:00

Just to clarify one point from my last post:
Um, that kiss hasn't actually happened...yet. Everytime I see the snow falling I think it looks so romantic to be out there kissing in it. However, my BF (who spends all day out in the snow) doesn't think that the "romantic-ness" would be worth the cold. He is probably right. BUT he is taking me to dinner at Tucanos Brasilian Grill tonight AND it is snowing today so maybe, just maybe, I can trick him into it!

See? Doesn't that look ROMANTIC?

Ahh, cute!

And this one is called "kissing trees"...I don't know...

Christmas is Coming!

2008-12-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Santa,
First of all, thank you for last year's gifts. I have tried hard to be a very good girl this year and I am sure you will agree that I have done very well, although I admit I could keep my bedroom a little less cluttered at times. Now, I know that I previously wrote to you requesting a moutain bike for Christmas this year. Riding along bike trails with my friends sounded like a lot of fun, plus I figure it is a good thing to add to my exercise routine, which is virtually non-existent at this point. I mean, a mountain bike has got to cost a lot less than a double-bypass heart surgery for clogged arteries when I am ninety, right? So I was very excited about my mountain bike. However, several large snowstorms over the past few days have caused me to doubt my original decision. There has been so much snow here lately that I am thinking of buying a snow shovel to scrape my windows after work. And I will soon need a good pair of ice skates if I want to walk anywhere without slipping on the ice and breaking my neck. The one bright, shining light in all of this (besides a good, long kiss while being held tight in the arms of a cute boy with the snow gently falling all around us) has been the electric blanket that I get to come home to every night!! I love it and don't know if I will ever be able to sleep another night without it. So, back to my Christmas wish- I have decided that instead of a mountain bike this year, I would rather have a HOT TUB!

Yours Truly,
Jen :^)

Christmas Tag

2008-12-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

I have had people tell me I need to post more, but honestly, I have drawn a blank as to what I should write about, I stole this tag from a friend's blog:

Christmas tag
1) Candy canes-peppermint or cherry? definitely cherry- or any other yummy, fruity flavor.
2)Gingerbread houses-from a kit or homemade? kinda both, I guess-we just use graham crackers with homemade frosting that never really holds together well.
3)Most annoying Christmas song? I won't lie, they are all starting to annoy me.
4) Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night or I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
5) Most memorable present you received as a child? um..probably the nintendo. that's the one we would have used the most anyway.
6)Most materialistic thing you are asking for this year? weight loss-in the form of a mountain bike!!
7)Favorite Christmas movie? "You'll shoot your eye out!"
8) When do you start listening to Christmas music? Whenever the radio starts playing it. I guess after Halloween, but only as a last resort if every other station is unacceptable.
9)Do you believe? That Christ is the reason for Christmas? yes. In Santa? No, but I did when I was a kid and I think it is fun for kids.
10)Do you open presents in PJs or get dressed first? Of course is PJs!! Always have, always will. that is what makes it Christmas!
11) Black Friday? I have done it before, but I'm not obsessed with it.
12) White lights or colored lights? White for the outside of a house and colored for the tree.
13)Ever been to the nutcracker? yep. My parents took us one year and my dad complained about the men in tights the whole time.
14) Does Santa leave an orange in the toe of your stocking? Yep :) and it makes me happy!

Quick Whine:

2008-11-30T22:04:00.000-08:00

I know I just posted, but I need to whine about something real quick. I wish temples were open on Monday. It's the only day that I can go this week and, of course, all the temples around me are closed. Well, ok, Provo is open until ten. I guess I better go to bed so that there is at least a slight chance of me turning my good intention into a reality. Good night!!

Twilight

2008-11-30T21:58:00.000-08:00

No, I have not seen the movie. Yes, I have read the books. I did enjoy them but also felt like I was wasting my time because there was so much repetition about Bella swooning over her handsome boy. I liked that at first but thought the author could have cut a lot of that out and still made her point. Anyway, whether or not I actually go to the movie remains to be seen, but in the meantime I stole this link to a hilarious screen adaptation from a friend's blog:

http://www.ericdsnider.com/snide/my-rejected-twilight-screenplay/

Chocolate Milk Rumor

2008-11-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

After my last post about chocolate milk possibly being contaminated, my brother decided to put the rumor to the test by looking it up on snopes. com. Find out for yourself at:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/chocmilk.asp

tag: an effort to increase my blog posts

2008-11-15T10:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I was tagged and it is probably my fault that I got tagged because I never post and when I do they are usually boring. Maybe this one will be a little more interesting to somebody, who knows.

So...Basic rules....List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts, and then tag other people. Leave a comment for the people you tag so they know they have been tagged

3 Joys
1-Sunshine- warm sunshine, that is. None of this "it-looks-warm-but-it-isn't" stuff.
2-Blankets and sweaters- mostly electric blankets that I turn on before I get into my bed so that it is nice and warm for me. :)
3-When I go visit my parents and my mom sends me home with millions of tupperware containers full of ready-made meals! Ah, it is so much better than trying to come up with things to take for lunch day after day.

3 Fears
1- Messing up somebody's life by turning out wrong lab results- don't worry, we in the lab take many precautions against this and most doctors treat more on their own instincts instead of lab results anyway.
2-Being married for the rest of eternity
3-Being alone for the rest of eternity

3 Current Obsessions
1-Learning how to cook new things-yes, you should feel sorry for my roommate and my boyfriend; it isn't always pretty.
2-Searching the weekly grocery store ads for good sales-that's what helps me decide on new kitchen experiments.
3-Wearing cute socks-okay, this isn't current. It has been a life-long obsession and it makes for easy birthday or christmas gifts for me. I used to wear cute underwear too, but underwear is now a thing of the past for me. (TMI? Sorry...)

3 Surprising Facts
1-I used to wear cute underwear; now I don't wear any at all.
2-I don't like milk-I do put it on cereal, but only barely enough to cover all the cereal so that I don't have any milk left over that I have to drink plain. Chocolate milk is a different story, it's okay. Until my boyfriend told me that after the cows have been milked, the last bit of their milk has some blood in it and they make this into chocolate milk so that they can still sell it. I don't know if that is true or not but I am taking a break from chocolate milk for a while.
3-I get free monthly issues of the "American Baby" magazines and free cans of baby formula from almost every brand on the market. I have no idea how this all started and I keep thinking it will stop soon because I have never paid anything, but it has been almost a year now. I do donate the baby formula to a pediatrician's office so at least I know somebody gets some use out of it.

And I tag...Abby, Mena, Jen Jackson, Mary, and Brad!

Another GA story

2008-11-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

I will spare you all the details, but Elder Oaks showed up in my singles branch on Sunday-out of nowhere. Apparently he lives close by and when he has no othe assignments on Sunday he likes to get out and visit other wards. He stayed afterward and talked to all of us for a while, which was neat cuz the branch is so small. He also attended our Relief Society. And for those of you who know my good high school friend, Michelle Blackham-she was lucky enough to be the teacher! And she did a great job. My favorite moment was when he raised his hand to make a comment and, with a horrified look on her face, she said. "What's wrong?"

More Sunday Goodness

2008-10-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

After posting about how much I love Sundays, I checked facebook and noticied that there was a fireside at BYU that night for the Brasilian community. Elder Richard G Scott had been invited to speak to them. And, yes, he does speak Portuguese. Anyway, I called my brother who also served his mission in Brasil and asked if he wanted to go. I also invited another friend, who doesn't speak Portuguese but went hoping to get the chance to shake Elder Scott's hand. The fireside was to be held in a large auditorium on BYU campus and by the time we got there (and we were about half an hour early) the whole place was packed! All the seats were taken and the people standing were jammed in. They had also opened another auditorium where the meeting would be broadcast but all the seats were taken there as well. So we just started wandering around trying to decide whether to stay and fight for a seat or just go home. As we opened the door to leave the building, we found ourselves face to face with Elder Scott on his way in. He said hi and asked how we were doing and then went on in. We just stood there and stared after him. It was pretty funny to us, especially since we didn't even stay to hear him to speak.

Sunday!

2008-10-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love Sundays! They are always so relaxing and peaceful. And today was such a beautiful, sunny, warm day. After church I came home, stuck a roast in my crock pot-I was planning on putting in before church so it would be done for lunch but that meant getting up too early-and put a sleeping bag outside on my lawn for a nice nap in the warm sunshine. I know that I have few days left to enjoy warm weather so I want to take advantage of it. Anyway, I am pretty much settled in up here in Sugarhouse now. My job is going well, although it is frustrating at times because there is so, so much to learn and I hate feeling helpless and needing to ask a million questions about everything. I bought a laptop last weekend, which means that I will probably be blogging a lot more just so I can use it. It is so much fun! And I have some pictures to post, but I need to figure out what is wrong with my camera first.

Ever had a day like this?

2008-09-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

I love Calvin and Hobbes!!

Changes

2008-08-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Wow..I'm not very good at this blogging thing. I seem to have plenty of time for reading other people's blogs but just never enough time to write on my own. Maybe that is because writing on my own takes more creativity and brain power than just reading somebody elses. Anyway, many people have been nagging me for months to move back up north to be closer to them and I have finally decided to make the change. After working at Dixie Regional Medical Center for a year and a few months, I went in Tuesday and told my boss that I was quitting. Of course, he and everybody else have here has been trying to bribe me into staying somehow. We decided that I will stay until the end of September. I am starting to get excited for a new job, new roommates, and new adventures-expect for the part about moving to Salt Lake right before winter hits. But I am also very sad about leaving St George. I love it here. I love my hospital and my job and the weather and all my friends. I will miss them very much!

p.s. I was going to post about something I did last weekend but never got around to it. I finally went horse-back riding again! And I did it voluntarily, because I wanted to, which is a huge victory for me because I am pretty much deathly afraid of riding horses. :)

New Favorite Quote

2008-08-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

"Heavenly Father is not too big to hear the smallest of prayers."

-www.maraadams.com

I have the spent the last few hours pouring over the details of the life of six-year-old Mara Adams. She is my friend's niece and was diagnosed last year with a very rare form of cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma or DPIG. There are only about 200 cases diagnosed per year and the median rate of survival is about 12 months with treatment consisting of chemotherapy and radiation. The disease is a result of a braim tumor that grows on the brain stem and prevents normal development of certain nerves and muscles. There are several other websites that highlight the lives of other children and their families and their fight against DPIG. It is amazing to me to read these stories and learn about the strength and faith of both parents and cancer victims, as well as all the good that other people in the world have done to help ease their suffering. I suppose it also makes me contemplate the role that I play professionally since many of the laboratory tests that I perform on a daily basis with dictate the course of treatment for many people. I hardly ever interact with patients so it is easy to forgot that each sample I run is from a real person. Learning about real people and their experiences in real life helps me to not become complacent in my job but rather to do my best each day so that I can have a positive influence on somebody somewhere.

Alma 32 Insights

2008-07-20T14:05:00.001-07:00

I guess since today is Sunday I should post something gospel-related. So I will post an insight on Alma 32-you know, the chapter about planting the seed in our heart. But I cannot take credit for this insight because it was shared with me by a co-worked. He just walked up and said, "You know, in the scriptures when they talk about the gospel being a seed, it could be plural-seeds." Then he explained as follows:
He loves gardening. And mostly he plants things that he will harvest and use to make salsa. So he plants many different seeds-onions, tomatoes, different kinds of peppers, etc. that will become parts of the whole in a few months. But if he were to make salsa out of just tomatoes or just onions it would not be salsa. So, he reasoned, let's say the true gospel of Christ is like salsa-made up of many different kinds of vegetables, or doctrines. If all the doctrines aren't present, it cannot be the true gospel. Other churches may have some true doctrines; so they can make something out of that, but they can't make salsa because they do not have all truth, or all the ingredients.
I don't know if I explained that well enough to be understood by anybody other than myself but I thought it was pretty insightful. And I told him that he should bring chips and salsa to his sunday school class next week when he teaches the lesson on Alma 32. :)

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-05T13:27:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it's true that the 4th of July is over, but that is what I am going to post about today. I drove up to Provo on Thursday night and stayed with my sister, Emily. We went and saw the movie "Emma Smith: My Story", which I highly recommend. I learned some new things about Emma's life and just enjoyed being able to watch a good movie without ever worrying about the content of it. There should definitely be more movies like that.

But the best part of my weekend was, of course, Friday! And that is because my little sister, Amy, got home from her mission. She flew in from Boston around 10:30 on Friday morning, so we all went to the airport dressed in typical freedom colors. I brought my camera so that I would have pictures to post, but the battery died before Amy even got off the plane. I guess I should have checked it beforehand. One of these times I think my family will be banned from picking people up at the airport because we always bring a big group and we always seem to get some annoyed looks and a little reprimanding from airport officials about not blocking doors and walkways. But, we always have fun. Besides, my family only has one more missionary to pick up so they can be patient with us through him. Anyway, it was fun to see her again! Then we went to my aunt's house and had a huge family BBQ and introduced Amy back into Babylon by teaching her to play Guitar Hero and other games on my cousin's wii. Later, we did fireworks at our house. Mostly we made fun of all the fireworks because for some reason they aren't quite as exciting as they used to be. All in all, it was a fun day and I am pretty much convinced that I have the greatest family in the world.

Elder Russell M. Nelson

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

Today I started reading the biography of Elder Russell M Nelson. I am only a few pages into it but I can tell it is going to be so good! Right now I am reading about his ancestry and how his family came to join the Church in the 1800s and came to America. His grandpa was even born and raised in Ephraim, Utah-near my home! Anyway, I just wanted to share a story from the life of one of his great-grandfathers named Johan Andreas Jensen. Johan was was living in Norway when he first learned about Christianity and he believed the teachings so much that he spent many years distributing his wealth to the poor. Even before he learned about the LDS church he would preach repentance in the streets of Norway and he even published an article calling the King of Norway to repentance. Of course, for this, he was thrown into jail. Six weeks later, he recieved roommates there-two Mormon misisonaries who were also jailed because they were caught teaching repentance! These two missionaries spent their time singing hymns, praying, and reading the scriptures. In the end, their actions served as the foundation of Johan's testimony and it was during his time in prison that he felt that the Church was true.

To me, that is a perfect example of how the Lord works in mysterious ways. Many times, when things do not happen according to our plans we seem them as negative events, but maybe they truly are blessings in disguise-things that the Lord will use to further His purposes later on down the road!

Medical Breakthrough: Stool Transplants

2008-06-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

WARNING: this post contains information that is NOT for the weak of stomach!

Yesterday I attended a physician's seminar about Clostridium difficile, a bacterial species that causes very severe stomach cramps and diarrhea (a disorder called colitis). The disorder occurs mostly in elderly people and is commonly acquired after a long hospitalization.

Here is what C. diff looks like (a) under a microscope and (b) growing on a culture plate:

Okay, so usually the infection is treated with antibiotics and this is pretty effective. However, some antibiotic-resistant strains are starting to develop. For these, doctors often administer yogurt drinks that contain a lot of healthy bacteria. But this doesn't usually cure the patient completely. There is, however, one other method of treatment that has a 100% success rate since it was put into effect last year - A stool transplant!! I had no idea what that was until they explained it. You see, these doctors look at our waste products as organs and so here is what happens: doctors take a stool sample from a healthy donor, blend it up with some water or saline to form a "smoothie" and introduce into the patient's digestive system through a nasogastric tube. Here is the explanation again in layman's terms: the patient drinks somebody else's poop!

The idea of it makes complete sense: replace the bad bacteria that's causing disease with good bacteria so that the bad stuff can't survive. Even so, I'm not sure I could do it if I were the patient. But the FDA is working on a way to form capsules that can be swallowed instead of the liquid drink, which sounds a bit more bearable. So, my next money-making scheme? Sell my waste products to be made into pills! How is that any different than donating blood or selling plasma....

And if you are still reading...

"No hay rosa sin espinas; There is no rose without thorns"

2008-06-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

I used to read all the time. But, with school and work taking up so much of my time, it has been a while since I have really just picked up a book and read for fun. A few weeks ago, a friend got me hooked on the Twilight series-those crazy vampire stories that everybody talks about. But, now I am finished with them and to satisfy my craving for another good book, I decided to read one of my mom's recommendations- called "Esperanza Rising". My mom is a T.A. for Fifth Grade and her class read this book, so it is definitely written for a younger crowd, but I like it. Here is the storyline:

Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a young girl could want: fancy dresses; a beautiful home filled with servants in the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico; and the promise of one day rising to Mama’s position and presiding over all of Rancho de las Rosas. But a sudden tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. There they confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. When Mama falls ill from Valley Fever and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must relinquish her hold on the past and learn to embrace a future ripe with the riches of family and community.

Go UPS!

2008-05-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

Somebody emailed this to me and I thought it was hilarious....

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe
sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The
mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form,
and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never
let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some
actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS ' pilots (marked with a P)
and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.
By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had
an accident.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement .
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK , except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

And the best one for last..................

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget
pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

Friday the 13th

2008-05-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

I've never really been a suspicious person; you know, believing in seven years of bad luck for not forwarding an email or something, but I think today may have convinced me that all those "Friday the 13th" rumors just might be true. I know today's calendar day is Tuesday, but it is my Friday. That is because it is the last day of my 7-day work week. And it has been crazy. It probably started with me not being able to sleep last night until about 3:30 am and then not being able to wake up this morning. Everything else went fine this morning, until I got to work and then it all started. I spilled a glass of water all over the break room floor, I kept dropping my gloves, I gave myself an enormous papercut, I spilled somebody's plasma all over the benchtop-don't worry I cleaned it up with bleach, I had to re-run about 25 patient samples because my co-worker didn't do controls on the test. And now that I am getting ready to leave, we have a problem sample that needs a lot of extra work and a lot more time until it can be resulted. Good thing it is Friday!

Anyway, there was one bright spot in my work-day: the Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream that SOMEBODY brought me for dinner!! Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream can fix just about anything! And so can wonderful friends! :)

A few pix of my new Alero...

2008-05-01T20:11:00.001-07:00

Cruise Pics

2008-04-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

I have started adding pictures of my cruise. I just decided to add a slideshow of some of my pictures. It is hanging out there on the sidebar. If you want a closer look just click on the picture! And while you are looking at the pictures, you should seriously consider taking a cruise yourself...

My "already-loved" car :)

2008-04-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

So I did it! I bought a car! But I don't have it yet. It is in Wales with my parents awaiting license, registration, and insurance fees. More to come...

The problem with vacations...they always come to an end

2008-04-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

In case anybody noticed I haven't added anything to my blog for a while. There is a reason for that-I have been on a cruise!! My sister and I and a bunch of other friends did the Baja Mexico 5-day cruise through Carnival Cruise Lines. And it was a BLAST!! We stopped in Cabo San Lucas (beautiful coast!) and Ensenda (definitely Mexico, it reminded me of Brasil). In Cabo we went snorkeling, kayaking-and I almost killed myself, and parasailing-600 feet above the water, it was great. In Ensenada we did a "taste of Mexico" tour and learned how to make a bunch of different kinds of mexican food. The funniest thing was that we-and a few other Mormons-were the only sober people on the ship and yet most of the time we acted crazier than the drunks. I doubt anybody really believed we were sober...but we did have some good missionary moments with the cute people that we met. Oh, and I ran into a girl who was in the MTC with me. We haven't seen each other since 2004 so that was way fun! I have pictures, too-millions of them-but I don't have my cable with me so I can't download them yet. Now I am back to my life. blah. And I am looking at buying a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero. It has 53000 miles. But it has a V6 so it doesn't get the best gas mileage. Does anybody know anything about Aleros? Should I buy it? I just don't know...

Countdown to Conference!

2008-03-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

General Conference is in ONE WEEK!! Woot!

New Easter Traditions...

2008-03-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

I really am not very good at this blogging thing. But anyway, I just wanted to share something way fun-and crazy-that my way fun-and crazy-family did for Easter. Like most people, we have colored eggs every year. Now my mom and my niece are about the only ones that care about coloring them anymore. So on Saturday, we were all home and we had a lot of hard-boiled, colored Easter eggs. My mom has been saying for years that she wants to have egg races down a hill. So we all got the 4-wheelers and headed up to...the church! It has some great hills and don't worry-we cleaned up all the eggshells for Sunday. Anyway, it may sound...crazy, but it was so fun! We each picked an egg in the color of our choice and just raced them down the hill until eventually all we had left were egg yolks. It is also fun if you take the shell off before rolling the egg because then the egg lands upright! I will post pictures as soon I can find them...

My Niece

2008-03-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

I decided, once again, that I have the cutest niece ever! She is four years old and so, so much fun. And she is incredibly smart. Last night I drove up to Cedar City to visit my brother and his family and it was great. We played some games and mostly just watched Liz-she is very entertaining. I loved watching her try to hula hoop and do the chicken dance. And it was great to read stories and have her begging for my attention the whole time-it is great to feel wanted and kids are so good at making people feel that way!

Musings of my mind

2008-03-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

I am afraid that this post may sound either like a personal journal entry or like something my mom would say. I have been reading President Hinckley's biography and every time I open it I read something incredible that amazes me. Today I am amazed at the incredible growth of the church is such a short amount of time. I was reading that the first area conference in the United States was in 1979 and the first General Conference to be satellite broadcast was in 1980-that really wasn't that long ago!! But now satellite broadcast is used for everything from temple dedications to stake conferences and it is worldwide. Isn't it great? I love it!

because everyone else is doing it...

2008-03-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it does seem that everyone is starting to blog these days. I really do enjoy reading the blogs of my friends but I don't know that I actually have much to post that would be to exciting to anyone-including myself. So that is why I haven't made any real efforts to blog. But, since I am at work and there isn't much to do, I decided well, why not blog? So here goes...