ROCKBAND

Santa brought our family a WII for Christmas - and naturally, he HAD to bring ROCKBAND to go along with it... :)

My family has had so much fun playing the WII (for hours and hours) everyday and last night we finally 'unlocked' all of the music tracks on our Rockband game.

Our band's name is Stat!c Confession Band mates: Dad - Lead Singer, Ashley - guitarist extraordinaire, Allen - heaven sent drummer.

We have so much fun - so if anyone wants to come on over and rock out with us - call me!

お帰りなさい (Welcome Home)

One of my best friends, Ben Cook, gets home from serving his mission in just a few short days! I cannot believe how fast time has flown by (2 years...where did it go?!)
Anyway, I just wanted to share a little bit about this guy, he is the sweetest and kindest person you will ever meet! He has always been such a good example to me! We went to Jr. High and High School together and have been friends for many years!

Ben is very dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ and is one of the most caring people I know! For anyone who knows Ben, you can honestly say that he has made an impact upon your life. He is a great person! :)

I am so proud of him and am grateful to have him in my life! Ai Shiteiro Yo! WELCOME HOME BEN!!!! お帰りなさい!!

Temple Square at Christmas Time

Temple Square at Christmas time is absolutely GORGEOUS and it is a definite MUST to go and see. This year was a little bit different, instead of going up as a group of chicas, we decided to just invite whoever could make it!
Sam, Dave, Bryan, Ashley and myself all headed up on TRAX to go see the lights.

Riding Trax up was an adventure in and of itself...we met this guy who was totally incoherent (drunk and drugged...? I think...) ha anyway, the boys had fun talking to him - and the man kept telling us the funniest things, such as "Lay it down man", "capture the Canadians", "Can you give me the whole earth", "Far out man".
Needless to say, our trip was a blast! haha

We got up to temple square and enjoyed walking around for awhile, it was not crowded at all (thanks to the storm earlier in the day)! We took plenty-o-pictures and even ended the night with a midnight Denny's run! Woot! :) Gotta love late night adventures!



Waiting for Sage (Dave's mission comp) to get to the station...BRRRRR!!!

Dave and I have a very special place in our hearts for JAPAN!!

The girls on the infamous pedestal!

The whole crew at temple square - kinda blurry, but you get the idea! It was a gorgeous night!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

All of us gal pals decided to start a new tradition...Gingerbread Date Night!
It was such a fun night - everyone came over to my house! We had pizza/salad for dinner, and then we got to work! Each couple had a house to decorate - and it was quite the adventure. Some couples work really well together as a team, others like to do their own thing...it made an interesting night!! :) But everyone's houses turned out great!
After the gingerbread making was over with, everyone gathered round and watched The Holiday (not the best movie to watch with guys I decided...) and then everyone went on home. It was such a fun night, and is a tradition that I would like to keep going each December!

Workout Blues?

I tend to get bored easily with the same old workout routine...

It's especially hard to keep up with workouts during the winter, due to all the hazardous ice that can hinder outdoor running...bah humbug!

I say it's time to get reacquainted with the gym or your at home fitness equipment!

I cannot take credit for the following (thanks active.com): I loved this idea for a new workout, and I am going to try it during my workout today!

Run to the Rhythm
Prepare a CD or tape or iPod playlist of your favorite workout songs first. You can adjust the suggested length by adding or removing music; the key is to pick songs with varied tempos. Then, while running on the treadmill, punch up or slow down the speed to match the song tempos you've recorded.

Kick off the mix with 10 minutes of easy listening, then insert a five minute interval at a medium pace. An optimal stride rate that minimizes stress and injury risk is one of about 180 footfalls per minute; use this as your guide for medium tempo.

Next, put five minutes of music at a fast tempo, followed by eight minutes at a medium tempo. Go fast again for eight minutes worth of music, and finish off the mix with 10 minutes of slower songs to cool down. You'll find the up-tempo numbers can help you sustain the faster programmed speeds. Total running time: 46:00.

It should make for an interesting workout - or just take songs on your iPod and run to their tempos, you tend to burn more calories when you switch up your runinng pace, as opposed to running for a half hour at 6.5 mph (my fave).

Ring in the New Year...by running into it??

I was looking on active.com (a neat website) because I am looking for 5ks, 10ks, even half marathons that I could tackle in the near future!
I came across the SLCTC Beat the New Year 5K.
This is such a fun idea - ring in the New Year, while running. The race starts at 11:30 PM on January 31, 2008.

What better way to kick off your New Year's health resolutions, eh?

Heck, give this run a shot and try to run the 3.2 miles in less than a half hour (hence the title, "Beat the New Year")!

It sounds like fun, maybe I will incorporate this into my New Years Eve festivities. :)

6 Quirks

Six Quirks...

#1 - At work I am the total germaphobe! I've become a joke around the office. Everyday before I go home, I have to use Cavi wipes (these bad boys kill just about EVERY germ/disease you could imagine...strep/hiv/tuberculosis/etc) I LOVE them! And I also have to go around and Lysol everything - all the door handles in the office, my chair, the light switches, the lobby door, kids table, the children's reading books, chairs, etc. The gals I work with have grown accustom to my habitual cleaning rituals that sometimes occur more than once daily...

#2 - Whenever I take a shower, I have to make sure the door to the bathroom is locked. I cannot shower without the door being locked. Even when I am in the shower, I will peek out of the curtain to ensure that the door is tightly locked. I guess I watch too many scary movies - I have a fear of being stabbed in the shower (like in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho).

#3 - When I workout or go running, I ALWAYS have to be chewing gum. It drives me crazy and I freak out and will not workout unless I am chewing gum. It drives my friends nuts too - Brooke and I went to the gym the other night and I had to run outside to my car and get a stick of gum. She rolled her eyes at me and laughed! :)

#4 - When I get into bed at night, I have to wrap my feet up in my blanket - almost cocoon like, then pull my covers up to my face to make sure I am snuggled up. But not too tightly or else I feel a wee bit claustrophobic. I also have to fall asleep on my left side with my left arm up...I am weird, OK? No need to tell me!

#5 - I have have have to make sure my closet door is shut all the way. I cannot go to bed with it slightly cracked open. It has to be shut all the way!

#6 - Without fail, every single night I have to wash my feet. Not just a quick wash in the tub, I mean literally scald my feet with hot hot water - to the point where my feet turn bright red. It helps calm me down and helps me get to sleep quicker. It's always something I look forward to! he he

Alrighty, there you go, now you know more about me - are you sure you want to still be my friend???

TAG: Jan Balls, Teresa Warner, Dani Talbot, Denisha Oldroyd, Amanda Brown, Caitlyn Andrus, Makenzie Carter, Missy Lires, Shayla Egan, Amelia Gray, Carissa Rasmussen. Get to it ladies!

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin passed away on Dec. 1, 2008.
He was such an influential man and such a great example. I love him! :) He will be missed, but he is in a much better place with loved ones and Heavenly Father.

This is an excerpt from his last talk in the October 2008 General Conference "Come What May, and Love It"

"The first thing we can do is learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim?

There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh....

...I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now, I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today.

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

What a great example he is and was. :) Come what may, and LOVE IT!! Terrific advice to live by.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

It's CHRISTMAS TIME!! I love this time of year!!
There are so many favorite things for me this time of year:
when the snow starts to fall outside, when I get a chance to snuggle up by the fire, drink hot chocolate and read a good book, decorate my house up and down with Christmas garlands and lights, shopping for the perfect gift for friends and family members, making gingerbread houses, christmas kiss cookies, sledding, making snow angels, staring at the christmas tree, temple square trips to see the lights, acting out the nativity scene on Christmas eve with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, egg nog, Williams-Sonoma peppermint bark, apple cider, Christmas music, watching my favorite Christmas movies, cinnamon pinecones, listening to 'Last Christmas' by Wham over and over again, christmas light cookies, driving around town to look at everyone's lights, and spending time with loved ones.

I love this time of year - everyone seems to be so happy and in good spirits. It's also a reminder to all the world of a special birth - the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

"Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. To us He has said, 'Come, follow me.'

As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. We shall learn to forget ourselves. We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others" (Thomas S. Monson, "In Search of the Christmas Spirit," Ensign, Dec 1987, 3).

I really do love this time of year - and hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

So close...

"Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will..."

This quote made me really happy as I read it tonight - I thought I would just share it with all my fellow blogging pals! :) Have a great evening!

Happy Thanksgiving

This year Thanksgiving was at OUR house! It was so much fun! We had lots of good food! And the tables looked gorgeous (way to go mom!) and it was fun to be together as a family!!

Pretty table #1

The Kids Table

Gram zonked out after eatin all the turkey and pie!

Mom, Shiela, and I being silly with our sassy Turkey Aprons! :)

metro.station.concert.

sooooo Shippen, Allen and I headed up to SLC for the Metro Station concert!

They had some pretty awesome bands play before them: The White Tie Affair, Cash Cash, and Tyga. It was an interesting experience and we had fun taking photos and seeing all the interesting concert goers....hmmm :)


I felt bad for Allen cause he got sick during the concert...poor guy!
All in all we had fun jamming out to music on the way up, eating at Costa Vida, walking by some crazy dudes on the street, seeing Mason/Trace from Metro on the street, dressing up indie/emo, and singin and dancin!

"the greatest thing you will ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return..."

"Be deliriously happy. Or at least leave yourself open to be. Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. I say fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love -- well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived." -Anthony Hopkins in Meet Joe Black




I love this quote! It is so true - what meaning does life have if we have not shared it with someone? What joy can we truly experience on our own? If we do not have anyone to share our life with why even live at all? I don't care if you're single, dating someone, married, divorced, a widower (well I actually do care about you...but)...whatever circumstance your life takes on, don't you want people or a person whom you love to share it with? Regardless if it is a special someone, a spouse, a friend, a brother, your parents - whomever it may be, it is a comfort to know that there are people in life who love you and want the best for you!!

Life is so wonderful and I wanted to share this quote with my bloggin buddies!
Be happy! Be grateful for this day you have to live! Live life to the fullest and look for opportunities to make the world a better place! I love you all - thank you for being my friend. I hope that I have been a good friend to you - if I haven't, I hope that going forward I can redeem myself and make it up to you. I love you!

Fit for LIFE

OK, I need to get into better shape! So I am going to be blogging weekly about my progress with my new exercise routine.

Day 1: I am going to the gym tonight with Shiela! I plan to run 3 miles tonight...

And in addition to a more rigorous workout routine, I am also going back on my "hyperinsulimic" diet once again... So this should be an interesting week. Wish me LUCK! :) I will keep my progress logged online - to give me more motivation since the world wide web is going to be able to see this... yikes!! :)

Congrats Allan Family

Allie and Jeff Allan were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mt. Timpanogos LDS temple on November 6, 2008! It was so fun to share their special day with them. It was kind of an emotional day too - I started to get a little teary in the waiting room in the temple, but it's a joy to know that we are blessed as memebers of the LDS church to have the priviledge of being together with loved ones forever. :)











CONGRATS ALLIE AND JEFF!!! I am so excited for you!

The Miracle of Life

My mom and I watched this the other day on Oprah. I thought this video would be silly, but I was bawling after I watched it. This will touch your heart. I promise. Take the 6 minutes to watch this video. You will not regret it. :)

Preach My Gospel

Have you ever had the chance to use Preach My Gospel with your personal scripture study? Or have you ever taken a Preach My Gospel Sunday school class? Well currently I am taking a Preach My Gospel Sunday school class and I have enjoyed it immensely!! I just thought I would share the lesson we had in class today!

We were assigned Lesson 4:The Commandments and were told to give an easy three minute lesson on OBEDIENCE. It kinda freaked me out to have to prepare in just a few minutes time, but I did my absolute best and I thought I would share my mini-lesson plan! :)

Obedience:
Keep in mind that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has given us commandments for our personal growth and benefit. In 2 Nephi 2:26-27, "26-And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
27-Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they aer free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."
So why does God give us agency? Because He loves us and wants us to be free to choose for ourselves. Which is why when we choose to obey, we are choosing obedience to God. When we are obedient to the commandments the Lord has given us we are blessed with peace, comfort, and happiness. So what blessings come from being obedient? As I mentioned earlier, we are blessed with peace, happiness, and comfort. In John 4:15 God says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." So we prove our love to God by keeping the commandments.
If we remember that God knows us individually we know that He is understanding of our trials, our needs and all that we go through on a daily basis. Having the knowledge that God knows us and loves us, and that he only wants the best for us then it makes it easier for us to have the desire to be better. To have the push to work harder and to be obedient to the commandments we have been given as children of God. :)

I love the church and the simplicity of the gospel. The church is true! If you haven't read preach my gospel, I would strongly suggest trying it out. I promise that you will have things come to light and you will be blessed to notice what God wants you to be aware of in your life.

scary movies all weekend long

Pretty much my family (dad, allen, and myself) are all really really into scary movies! We especially rejoice during Halloween time when we get the chance to watch scary movies on TV, because they are edited for content (the ones that are rated R) and so we have recorded all these scary movies on our TV! Hooray! We had a grand ole time wathing Jeepers Creepers, Psycho, The Grudge, The Ring, Darkness Falls. Anyway, if anyone wants to come to our casa, we have all these movies on our tivo! Come and get scared! :) woo hoo!

halloween...mapleton style

Some photos from a Halloween party the sistahs threw pre-hallows eve!

Allen and His Friends


Its the She She's


Like mother, like daughter...arrr matey!


Cute sisters!

memory book

So I made Elder Ben Cook a photo/memory/quote book for his birthday! :) It was lots of fun to make for him! Hopefully he likes it! Happy Birthday on October 29th!

bachelorette party

We had fun at Allie's bachelorette party/dinner on Saturday night! She got a lot of fun gifts and we shared some laughs! Congrats to Allie and Jeff who will be married on November 6, 2008. I wish you two the best in life - and I will be a frequent visitor to your home!

Fall Break 2008

For the UEA fall break weekend the family went up to the Brown family cabin! We had a lot of fun eating food, playing card games, fishing, hiking, exploring the mountains, listening to hunters fire off their rifles, going to the cave, and just enjoying family time. The Gibsons came up and stayed with us and the Parkin family came up for the day on Saturday. We always have so much fun together! :) love you guys!

Tagged...again

My Top 8

8 Favorite TV shows

1. Law and Order
2. Prison Break
3. The Today Show
4. 24
5. The Office
6. America's Next Top Model
7. CNN
8. SNL

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Magleby's
2. Cafe Rio
3. Subway
4. Foundary Grill (at Sundance)
5. Wendy's
6. Tahitian Noni Cafe
7. California Pizza Kitchen
8. Happy Sumo

8 things that happened yesterday

1. Went to work
2. Ate Lean Cuisine for lunch
3. Got an email from one of my favorite people :)
4. Went to the ROCKBAND LIVE concert with Dashboard, Panic!, The Cab, Plain White T's
5. Bought a really cute T shirt
6. Jammed out to Metro Station with Shippen
7. The Dow Jones plummited 700 points or so
8. Went to bed at 1:30

8 Things to look forward to

1. Cabin Trip and the long drive all ALONE
2. Bachelorette Party!
3. Winter
4. Thanksgiving with the fam
5. Halloween (and getting to wear my costume! sassy pirate)
6. The return of a dear friend from Japan
7. School in January
8. Ward temple night

8 Things I love about fall

1. Taking a drive up in the mountains to see the changing leaves
2. General Conference time
3. Sweater weather
4. Homemade chicken noodle soup and sugar cookies
5. Haunted Houses
6. Scarfs
7. Pumpkins/Thanksgiving
8. The "smell" of FALL air

8 Things on my wish list

1. New eye glasses
2. Tuition? anyone wanna pay it for me haha
3. Makeup
4. New running shoes
5. A fun apartment with GOOD roommates
6. A tape in the mail...
7. Health throughout the fall
8. To be better at working out!

People to tag
1. Jan Balls
2. Mom Warner
3. Denisha Oldroyd
4. Carissa Rasmussen

Bachelorette....party?

bach·e·lor·ette-[bach-uh-luh-ret]: An unmarried woman
Well now that we have THAT cleared up, the definition of what a bachelorette is...lets get down to the nitty gritty.

So...one of my best friends is getting married on November 6, 2008 (shout out to ALLIE) and since that only happens once in a persons life (hopefully..hehe jk) Miss Shippen and I decided what better excuse to have a party then this joyous occasion.

Well, if all goes according to plan we are going to be having a little dinner party at the Pizza Factory on Saturday night - and I am so excited because it is going to be a ball. We have a cute table cloth, cute name tags, and even "bride-to-be" party favors. Just thought I would write about this fun party that will be going on. And show off the cute name tags! <3

Forever a Boston Red Sox Gal...

"Rookie Jed Lowrie's walk-off single in the ninth powered the Red Sox into the AL Championship Series against the Rays. The Sox, who look serious about defending their World Series title, beat the Angels for the 12th time in 13 postseason games." -Ian Browne/Mlb.com

Last nights game was AWESOME! For all of you baseball fans out there, hope you caught a glimpse of this game! It was really intense in the 9th inning it was 2 - 2 when Lowrie hit a ball to first base and Varitek from the Angels caught the ball... the next batter hit the ball and they scored! It was AWESOME! I love baseball and this game made me remember why exactly baseball is such a fun sport to watch! GO BO SOX! Onto playing the Rays next...

Conference Weekend

This has been by far one of the best weekends in awhile! To start off...
I went to the Hobblecreek Elementary school carnival on Friday night for a bit. Then I made my way over to O-town and Shippen, Allen, and I went to dinner at Magleby's! (yummy by the way) Then we went to Target and shopped for a bit... Then Ashley and I drove up to Sandy and we went dancing at the CONFERENCE WEEKEND dance! We had so much fun 'walkin it out' and 'shake shake shake shake shake it' We had a blast!

Saturday was enjoyable as I was able to be with the fam and watch both sessions of conference! I loved the talks given and have much to work on with all the council, but I am excited to get going and improve myself and help others around me!

Sunday after the first session of conference we went up to Grandpa and Grandma Warner's house to eat lunch with them. We made homemade chicken noodle soup, salad, rolls, and even traditional pumpkin shaped sugar cookies! It was fun to get to visit with grandpa!

I loved conference weekend and look forward to improving myself with the messages and counsel I was given this weekend!