Annette's Rad Rantings

Out with the old, in the with the new... year.

2012-01-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

Holy crap! It's 2012!

Just as I was settled in to 2011, it turned into 2012. Doesn't it always seem to go that way? But, that doesn't mean 2011 was not a good year for me. In fact, it really was a superb. Here are some highlights!

Milagra in our new apartment.

· I moved into my first apartment. It's rather small, but I have my dog with me, I have one of my best friends as a roommate, and it is a fantastic location.

· I lost 33 lbs, and have maintained most of that.

Milagra and I with our new bikes.

· I quit my job at Snowbird and started a receptionist job downtown at a legal firm. I love it!

· I've dated some dudes, I've dated some duds, but at the end of the year, I still knew who I was (which is more than I can say for the end of 2010).

Rock Climbing

· I took up cycling, and it is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Ever.

· I've gained a plethora of new friends and think they are great people to be associated with.

· I reconnected with some very good friends, only to find out we still get along just as well as before.

· I took up rock climbing, and went canyoneering.

· I've made it 4 months with no internet or cabled TV (just DVDs) in my new apartment.

Canyoneering

· I've been growing my hair out, and it's now the longest it has been since I was about 8 years old.

· I went to Portland/Corvallis, Philadelphia, Colorado Springs, and New York City for the first time, along with attending my first Boise Pride Festival.

· I read a lot more books than ever before, and utilized my library card very well.

Daisy and I in Philadelphia.

It's been a great year. I am a completely different person than I was a year ago, and I love it. I think it is important to realize that happiness is a decision. I don't understand how people can live their lives being okay with unhappiness. I used to, and I got sick of it. I think the major lesson I learned in 2011 is that it's not worth it to dwell on pain.

At the Boise Pride Festival

This doesn't necessarily mean that you shouldn't be upset or hurt, but I feel it is important to learn to not let it eat away at you.

There's a time and a place for everything. For example, If you are sitting alone at your apartment when someone hurts you, read a book or go for a walk. Call a friend to grab a bite to eat, or watch a movie. Don't stew. Also, friendships can help you through anything. Learning this has changed my life.

I wonder how the next year will go for me. I've come up with some resolutions that I'd like to accomplish:

· Lose 15 lbs. As I stated before, I maintained MOST of my weight loss. I never officially reached my goal weight, though, so I'd like to do that.

Ginny's Dog Food Portions M-S

· Get Ginny down to a healthy weight. She has always been a little chunky, but since I moved into my apartment, Ginny has put on some weight. Two days ago, we started going to the dog park. Next, I portioned out all of her meals for the next week with Beneful Healthy Weight dog food (with 3 meals portioned out per day), so starting today, she is on a diet. I think she has the easy part! I get to portion out her meals every single week!

· Socialize Ginny. She's never really been around other dogs very much, so my goal is to help her be comfortable around unknown dogs. Usually she has to warm up to them.

· Save up money for Graduate School (undisclosed amount for this year), or buy a new saxophone.

· Ride my bike to work 75% of the time. This might take me a little time to get started, since I’ve never commuted much on my bike (and it is freeeeezing outside), but I love the idea of this. It means I would ride to work approximately 16 days out of 20 work days a month. This also helps with my next goal…

· Don't fill up my gas tank more than once every 3–4 weeks. I hate buying gas. So, my goal is to avoid it.

· Volunteer at the Bicycle Collective regularly.

And last, but definitely not least (on the contrary; it is my very favorite goal):

· Building a new bike from the frame up. I never really knew much about bikes, and I’d really like to learn, so my goal is to build a bike from the frame up. My plan is to make a single speed road bike with a flip flop hub so that I can also use it as a fixie, if I so desire.

This year is looking to be a good one. It’ll be a year focused on bettering my life, and bettering my dog’s life. It’ll be an adventure, that’s for sure!

Portland.

Looking for Help from Instrumentalists!

2011-04-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I am currently taking a class that requires me to do a final project within a multicultural class in the community. The school I’ve been working with is Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City with their music department. I have been working with the jazz band, beginner bands and orchestra. For my project I had to come up with something that I feel would benefit the students. I have come up with three different parts of the project.

The first part of the project is to create brochures for the students. These brochures would contain a compiled list of cool tips to fix/repair instruments, instrument care, playing technique tips, etc. I have to complete this project by Sunday night, so any input ASAP would be greatly appreciated.
The second part of this project is to have a compiled list of live performances students can attend, types of music careers, and playing opportunities that would inspire Middle School students to remain in music program.
The last part of this project is to have collegiate students come to Bryant Middle School with me on Monday (April 25). The ideal time would be 10 am for their beginner band, although 9:30 could also work if more people could come. This would be the jazz band. For this part of the project, I would like to have the collegiate students demonstrate playing, have an instrument petting zoo, show how to repair instruments, and have a question and answer session.

The instruments that I specifically need are: Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Baritone/Tuba, Strings and Percussion (specifically drum kit). These are the instruments that the band members play, but all instrument input is definitely accepted!

I know this is very short notice, but with a lack of efficient communication between my teachers and I it has kind of come down to the wire. If anybody has tips, that would be great! Feel free to comment on here, e-mail me, text me, call, me, anything. The brochures need to be completed by Sunday night. If anybody would be interested in coming to the school with me on Monday, that would be fantastic! The sooner you can let me know, the better. Thanks so much!!!

Don't Know What You've Got 'til It's Gone...

2011-03-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

For WDC this year, we are all coming to Portland, OR. I decided to come up a few days to early to Corvallis via greyhound so that I could see how I like it (because I’m considering moving to Portland or Corvallis for grad school). On the bus I was pretty reserved and quiet until the end of the trip. This was mostly because I was tired and it was a very, very long trip. The people were nice, though for the most part they struck me as “hicks” (please excuse my stereotype). The man sitting in front of me boarded the bus shortly after we got into Oregon (if I recall correctly?), was on crutches, had a 3” long goatee, gray hair, a hunter’s cap, and dressed like a cowboy. Towards the end of the trip we started conversing with all the people around us. When asked him how he got injured, he informed us that he was run over by a semi… twice. Apparently he was standing on the side of the road when the truck driver dozed off and ran over him. Not knowing what happened, the driver decided to back up, running over him again. This kind of struck home to me because my sister-in-law was killed by a semi-truck driver about 11 years ago. After we arrived in Portland I didn’t see him leave, but he wasn’t in the terminal with me for the hour and a half that I waited there. I went out to lunch with a friend during the layover and when I returned he was there along with a 20-year-old man that had ridden the bus with us. He wasn’t waiting for the same bus we were, but he was hanging around the terminal because he was staying in a hotel tonight in Portland before flying to Dallas to have surgery. We were conversing and somehow we started talking about his accident. Apparently after he was struck he was in a coma for 17 days, then was taken to a retirement home for recovery. He has pins in his arms and legs, and has plates in his head. He has scars all over. He’s been wheelchair and crutches bound since he was able to leave his hospital bed. He also informed me that his daughter just recently passed away. He stated that “parents shouldn’t have to bury their own children.” I told him my mother frequently says that and that two of my siblings have had spouses die. It was hard to watch him try to cope with what happened while being there with us. I recall him also saying “I stayed alive for her, and she couldn’t do the same for me” and “after it happened, I just wanted to hurt everybody like I hurt.” How do you cope with that kind of situation? One of my biggest fears is the pain I’m going to feel when that sort of thing happens to me. Seeing the pain on his face was hard enough.

After giving him a minute to compose himself, I told him about him about how I had plans to go Snowboarding in Oregon, but that those plans were canceled. He told me he was a skier, so I asked if he had ever skied in Utah. He totally has! Not only has he skied in Utah, but he’s been to Snowbird (where I work) and Alta. How awesome is that? He then told me how fantastic the snow is, and that although most places in Oregon don’t compare most of the time (occasionally they do), there are a couple places that do. I don’t remember which places he said though, I’ve never heard of them before. We also found a ski magazine of Mt. Hood Meadows where we looked at the trail map and I compared it to Snowbird for him. We tried to explain to the 20-year-old about how if you go out of bounds you’re screwed if you get injured haha. I searched in my backpack to see if I could find a trail map of Snowbird but couldn’t. I did find my ski pass though, and showed it to him. He asked me if he could have my “Snowbird” lanyard, so I gave it to him (hopefully I can find a new one haha). I’m not sure why, but this simple gesture seemed to touch him. To me, I simply gave away my lanyard. To him, I was a girl that had a big heart. This sort of bothered me a little bit, because I feel like there is so much more I could have done for him. When I had to say goodbye, he said “thank you so much for this, it means a lot to me. Especially coming from one skier to another (I corrected him and told him I’m a boarder).” I then gave him a hug and left.

The whole experience was pretty awesome, but I can’t help feel bad in a way. This man has been through so much. He used to ride a bike tens of miles a day. He used to ski all the time. He used to do all these things, and they were taken away from him by someone that didn’t have the decency to pull over on the side of the road because they were too tired to be driving. And he lost his daughter. I can’t imagine how much that must hurt. On top of it all, he was so grateful to me for something as small as a lanyard that he can show to people. I am frustrated with myself because I didn’t do more. I should have gotten his phone number so I could call and make sure he was doing alright after his surgery. I didn’t even get his name… not even his first name. I feel so selfish. I didn’t do anything to deserve better things in life than him, and I feel like I have so much more I could have given.

I really hope his surgery went well. I wish I had gotten some sort of information so I could call and check up on him. What I do know is that his gratitude for a simple lanyard and hug will affect me for the rest of my life. To him, I was the girl with the big heart that listened and shared my lanyard. To me, he’s the man that is still fighting after all that has happened to him, and grateful to be alive even though he’s lost the ability to do the things that are most important to him. It inspires me to keep on fighting, especially because my battles are much smaller and much more manageable. If he can do it, I sure can too.

By the way, Portland is beautiful. In my consideration for places to move I am also looking at Seattle. I've driven through there once, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I've heard many great things. After arriving in Portland, Seattle has some stiff competition! Dang, I hate making life-altering decisions.

Whoo New Year!

2011-01-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

Holy crap it’s been ages since I’ve blogged on this blog! Well, ok, it’s been ages since I blogged on either blog… but the other one is definitely more up to date than this one.

Well, I’m just gonna keep it short and sweet, and hit on some highlights of the last 3-4 months!

So, overall things have been going well. As far as my running goes (which I mentioned in my last post), I’ve done really well! In all of my 5k training, I never missed a run, and I completed a 5k on Thanksgiving! I was super excited! The funny thing is that afterwards, all I could say was “oh my goodness, I can’t believe I actually did it!” It was a great feeling.

Right after my 5k

Now I’m training for a 10k, which will take place on my birthday in Midway, UT. It’s going to be soooo cold! I’m excited though! I haven’t missed a run in the entire 15 weeks I’ve been training, and last Saturday I completed a 4.5 mile run. This Saturday will be 5 miles, next week will be 5.5 miles, the week after that will be 6 miles, then the following week will be the 10k. On Mondays and Wednesdays I run also, with 3 miles on Mondays and 2 miles with weights on Wednesdays. As far as my weight loss to this point, my ultimate goal was to lose 35 lbs before my birthday, which calculated out to be a loss of 2 lbs a week. I am way off track though, and have only lost 25 lbs to this point. I only have 3 weeks left to lose 10 lbs... lucky for me I have caught up a little bit these last few days, and I’m not ridiculously far off like I anticipated. I might extend the diet until Valentines Day, but we’ll see how I feel when it gets closer to my birthday. I hope to lose another 10-15lbs to reach my ultimate goal. As of today though, I am no longer “overweight” according to the BMI, which was the one goal I for sure HAD to reach.

School has been alright, but it feels weird to not attend classes and only take them online. I can’t wait to be done and start teaching music. I miss it a lot.

The holidays went well… I had a good Christmas, and enjoyed spending time with the family. New Years was more eventful than it has been for me in a long time… probably the most eventful ever actually haha. On my boyfriend’s birthday, I made my first homemade cheesecake. It tasted delicious, even though I’m not too fond of cheesecake. Half a slice was enough for me haha… it was SUPER sweet! It looked pretty though!

Ginny has been good. I bought her a sweater for the first time ever, and when I put it on her in the mornings she gets super excited. I really expected her to hate it, but I think she loves it. It’s red, and she looks super adorable.

I got a new phone, which is a HTC Droid Incredible. This in itself isn’t really something I’d normally mention in a blog, but my reason for it was because I got the Kindle application. Since then, I am addicted to books! I’m on my third book on there, but it’s got me hooked on audio books again, and also normal books. In the last 2 months, I’ve read Harry Potter (I was reading them since August, and so it was probably only the last two I was reading in the last couple months), Pride and Prejudice, The Hunger Games, Fireflies in December, and the Lovely Bones. Right now I’m reading Eragon, Sense and Sensibility and Catching Fire. One book is a real book, one is a kindle ebook, and the last is an audiobook (which I listen to while I run). Dang I love books! My mom is also addicted to her kindle application haha.

As far as my New Year's resolutions go, I've come up a very original one! Or, maybe not so much haha. My resolution is to continue running, finish losing 15 lbs, and ultimately run a half marathon. This would hopefully be in the Salt Lake Marathon, but if I can't do it then, I'll do a Halloween Half Marathon. It would be awesome to do both though! I want to come up with one more resolution, but I can't decide. I'm thinking maybe something like taking up dancing, cake decorating, becoming a better cook, or something else that would be awesome. Feel free to give me any ideas!!! Oh, I also want to put my household on a diet :).

Well, that’s all I have to say for now… if I think of anything, I’ll add it on here. Hope things are going well for everyone!!! Ciao!

My Inner Runner

2010-09-16T18:26:00.001-07:00

So, a few weeks ago, I met this guy that wanted me to run a half-marathon with him. I somehow got this crazy idea that I would actually be capable of doing this haha. With 9 weeks to go, we needed to start training quickly, but were not able to. Then, one day, my friend Justin suggests we do this program called “Couch-to-5k.” It sounded awesome, but I still had my heart set on the half-marathon. A few days later, I had a falling out with the guy I was going to run it with (although we didn’t speak only for a few days, and we're friends again). During those few days, I decided that I still wanted to run, and that I was going to run a 5k, and that I was going to get a bunch of my friends in on it with me. So, I recruited my best friend here in Salt Lake (Andrew), Justin and a few others, and we are totally going to do it! The marathon I am going to run is in 10 weeks from yesterday, and we start the program on Monday (9 week program). The marathon I’m going to run is on Thanksgiving, and is called “The Cold Turkey Run,” and is actually a 6k. I’m pretty stoked!

So, I decided if things go well, and I enjoy running this 6k, that I am going to run a 10k in January on my birthday. This would give me 8-9 weeks to train for the 10k, which pretty much starts off where a 5k would leave me. Then, if that goes well, I want to run the Salt Lake Marathon in April, doing the half-marathon portion. I’m pretty excited!!! I’m trying to figure out what the chances are that I could accomplish this, but I’m going to try as hard as I can. I figure since I am not doing marching band anymore, I need something to keep me active, as this is my first fall in 10 years where I have not done marching band. I can imagine the pounds packing on now haha. I don’t know if I will lose weight or not, and that isn't my goal. My goal is to be active, to become healthier, to complete a marathon, and to not GAIN weight. Also, I’d like to get the definition back in my legs haha… they are looking less muscular now, and it makes me sad inside. Anyway, if anyone is interested in running the marathon with us, or at least training, just let me know! The program is set up so that really anybody can do it. If I can do it, then you can do it haha. If not for anything else, you can do it simply to say that you once ran a 5k marathon. That’s an achievement that not a ton of people can say they have, and it’s not really that hard. Plus, there is nothing wrong with being able to run for 30 minutes without stopping! So come on, let’s do this! Let’s find our inner runner!

Driving Day from Hell

2010-08-28T22:27:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday I wake up at about 11:30. This was quite a bummer, because I had had plans to do a lot of stuff, and it all kind of fell through because I had homework to do, and no book. So, after trying to find ways to get this book without having to go to the bookstore (because it was $100+), I finally suck it up and go. My plan was to purchase the book, and also buy the book for $30 off e-bay, then return the book before next Wednesday for a full reimbursement.

SO, at about 3:00, I leave to go to the bookstore. Things are going fine, and I get on the freeway. I go about 3 miles, and then find traffic completely stopped. Yes, 4/5 lanes of traffic, not moving. Then I see a sign that says "freeway closed at 600S. All must exit." So 4-5 lanes of traffic all had to exit the freeway at one exit. So, a bunch of cars start taking this little dirt path that takes them to the frontage road just east of the freeway. When I get to the frontage road, I need to turn right, and some guy decides to drive next to me so I can't move over to the right lane (forcing me to go West when I needed to go East). So, after I turn West, I try to move into the right lane so I can at least try to get back on my course, and this guy won't let me over. Finally I manage to pass him, and go North, then eventually make my way up to the U. That's not without a ton of traffic, by the way.

When I got to the bookstore I went to buy my textbook, and all they had were eBooks, which are non-refundable, and cost $65. Great, considering my homework was due at midnight, and there was no way to do it without the book. So, I suck it up, and then head home. When I get to about 500s and Main Street, and Main Street is closed. I continue on 500s and turn south on West Temple. When I get to 600S, it's still closed. And, then I get to 700S, and guess what! The traffic lights are out. So I manage to get onto the freeway further south, only to get stuck in rush hour traffic. So, when I finally get home, it's about 4:30 or 5. So, since I have plans at 7:00 to go see the Orbit Group, I try to download the book, only to run into a bunch of errors for over an hour. After an hour of trying to figure that out, I FINALLY get the homework started... and then work on it until 9:00. Afterwards, I go up to see the Orbit group, only to encounter more traffic on the freeway, and more road closures at 600S and Main Street. Good thing though, I had a blast watching the Orbit Group and at the party afterwards!!! It was a total blast, even if someone sprayed beer in my hair! Good times, good times. I'm glad I got to see them one last time, and wish them luck in the future!

Now I want to go see dueling pianos. Someone come with me! Give me a call :)

/Edit: Here is a link to an article talking about the incident that happened, which caused all the road closures in Salt Lake.

Q & A

2010-08-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Annette Whaddups (I'm not even entirely sure that's how you spell it!)

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Yesterday :/ It was a stressful day.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Nah, it's too boyish. At least it's legible though!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Ham... yummmmmmmmmmy

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Nope

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I think so... I have the kind of personality I get along with. Or maybe I wouldn't, because I'd be fighting myself for attention all the time. Or I'd fight myself for guys, or friends. Wow. Okay, I change my answer to no :)

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Of course not.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yep

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP
Heck yeah! Without a doubt!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Cap'n Crunch and Corn Flakes

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Depends on how tight they are, and what shoes they are. For example, I don't untie my tennis shoes, but I do untie my converse.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Yeah, although I've had people give me a reality check on that haha. I am stronger than quite a bit of people though.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Mint Chocolate Chip, Rocky Road, and Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Hair and smile.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red

16. WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE RIGHT NOW?
Sunny, warm and windy.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST
I'd rather not answer that...

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
If you want to.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
A Hot Pocket

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
People talking at the front desk at the Cliff Lodge... where I work :)

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
As much as I should say green since it is my favorite color, I must say Red. GO UTES!!!!!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Hm... yummy food. I don't really have any specific favorite smell, except a couple things that I try to forget.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
The last guest who called.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Of course! She's my sister!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Football and Basketball!!!

27. HAIR COLOR?
Red (out of a bottle)

28. EYE COLOR?
Green

29.. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Sometimes (I did yesterday)

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Bacon, garlic bread, pizza, burgers

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Alice in Wonderland

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
White, with a burgundy sweater vest.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Right now I say winter... in the winter I will say fall.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Depends who it is from... but for the most part, hugs.

36. CAR OR TRUCK?
I like cars, but I drive an Explorer

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Julian haha

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Whoever doesn't read my blog :)

39.. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Harry Potter V

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Just black

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Random stuff on TV

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Oh no, you didn't just ask that... Well, here goes. I love the sound of an ensemble that is so in tune, and so in touch with the music that you can't help but delve completely into it. The sound of music that is so well played that you are completely enveloped in it. I love the sound of a symphony playing a piece that touches you so much that you can't help but tear up, whether it is the first time, or the 10th time that you have heard it. I love the sound of accomplished players performing their instruments that they have spent so much time learning and perfecting, to be able to perform for others. I love... just music in general.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles.

44. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO TO NEXT?
New York... or Europe...

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Uhm... I can play the saxophone... and conduct an ensemble... but I don't know if those are special talents?

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN
Albuquerque, NM

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Everybody and anybody.

New Mexico, July 2010

2010-08-01T18:09:00.001-07:00

So, it’s been over two weeks since I was in New Mexico, but I can backtrack and point out some highlights about the trip!

I was originally supposed to go to Canada to see Rob, but given circumstances, it was decided that it would not be a good idea to go up there. Since I already had a week off work, I decided to go down to New Mexico. Here are some highlights!

Great gas mileage on Gabby’s car (excluding when I drove in D3 and wasted half a tank of gas in 90 miles) – I only had to fill up three times, and it was awesome! I also made Adrian and Jason help me clean it. SLAVE LABOR!
Dog Park – I’ve never been to one, but we went a couple times while I was there. It’s really not what I expected at all, and I hope to start Ginny to one in Salt Lake soon!
Glee – I watched all of “The Road to Sectionals” and it was excellent!
Hair Cut – I got my hair cut, and it made me happy inside.
4 Dogs – While I was there, Daisy and Ramses were dog sitting Eric’s dog, Patton. She’s a cutie, although sometimes she seems to be dumber than a brick. Her head is about as hard as one too. So, the four dogs that were there were Pepe, Darla, Winky and Patton. I wish I could have taken Ginny with me, but it would have been too many haha.
Barbecue – We ended up barbecuing 2 or 3 of the nights I was there, and oh my goodness, it was great!
Dad and Mary – I got to see Dad and Mary a little bit while I was there, and it was fun. I got to drive Dad’s Explorer around, which was interesting because 1. I’m not used to New Mexico drivers, and 2. I’m not used to an Explorer. It was super fun though, and now I have my own (at least for now, but the exhaust is smoking and so we’ll see what happens). The only bummer is that Mary got her wisdom teeth removed and she wasn’t feeling too hot.
Dion’s Pizza – Daisy and Ramses treated me to Dion’s before I left, and it was sooooo good! I really really wish that Dion's would extend up to Utah, because it is possibly my favorite pizza on the entire planet.
Shopping with Daisy – we got to go shopping, and it was nice not only to shop, but to spend time with Daisy too. We shopped for Baby Shower decorations for Gabby’s baby shower, for food, and for random stuff in general. It was nice to be able to go out and just spend time together. I was afraid that a lot of the time, she would be working, and we wouldn’t get too much time with just the two of so we could just blabber on, but we did, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Seeing Leanna – I haven’t seen Leanna (Daisy’s best friend) and Caleb since I was in High School! It was great to see her, along with her family. She has adorable kids, and I hadn’t met three of them before this trip. We had good food, and a great time. I hope she is feeling better now!

Well, that’s all I can think of off the top of my head! If I think of more stuff, I will definitely add it!

THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

2010-07-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

New Car? I think yes :)

2010-07-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

So, a year or so ago, my mom got this dodge neon, which I have been driving around since. We got it from a Ford Dealership, and the guy swore to my mom that it was a good car (after she insisted she didn't want a dodge, because they always give her issues). Well, when it hit about 80,000 miles, the transmission started giving us major issues. It would slip, and sometimes the car wouldn't even start. It would make jerking movements and not go into gear when you were driving slower, and you'd have to turn it off and back on just to drive normally. It eventually got to the point where it would slip at least once within a 30 minute drive (which was a pain going to work, and really scary when you're driving on the freeway). So, we thought of ways to work out the situation, whether it being to let the repossess the car, or just getting the transmission fixed. The amount my mom was paying for the car was somewhere between $10k and $12k, and I discovered a neon in good shape is around $5. So, she sent the dealership a scathing e-mail, and they quickly responded. While I was in New Mexico for vacation, they asked her to take the car in so they could look at it. After running tests, they determined the worth of the car was around $2k. That is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than what she was paying for the lemon. So, they worked it out, and now she is buying a 2003 Ford Explorer from them instead :). They rolled over the difference between what she paid and the worth of the car, and applied it to the Explorer, and we are paying $10,300 for it. A 2003 Explorer in excellent condition on Kelly Blue Book (with the features ours has) is worth about $12.5k. I am so excited!!! Anyway, here is a picture!

It's a nice dark green, it has 56k miles, a 6-CD changer, 3 power outlets, a DVD player, running boards for us short ladies, and a sun roof that opens all the way up :). It doesn't have third row seats, which is a bummer, but I think it does have the capabilites. Oh, and mom's major factor for buying it rather than a more economic car? It has 4x4 so I can drive up to Snowbird in the winter when it snows :). Yay mom!

Leapt. Fell. Time to get back up.

2010-07-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

So... I took a leap.

I fell.

Now it's time to get back up.

To keep things short and sweet (and less painful for me), we'll just say that things with Rob didn't work out. Our current living situations are not conducive to a relationship, and things are officially over. He is completely out of my life, at least for the time being, and we both believe it is for the best. If it's meant to work out between us, it will in the future, but not for now. I would rather not think about a future between us, because it will come back to bite me in the butt, and cause more pain. So... as I said, we'll leave it at us being officially over.

So... what do you do when you love someone more than anything, and then have to find a way to survive without them?

I guess you learn to love yourself more than you love them.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life, in it's current state. Not about my future, but about the here and now. I know I've posted before about goals, but I'm a procrastinator and always give up. But for realsies this time, I want to achieve my goals, and improve myself. Someone tried to tell me that I don't need to change myself, but this isn't about changing myself... it's about improvement. So, here are some ways I'd like to improve myself!

I'd like to improve my relationship with my dog. I mean, I walk her, and she sleeps in my bed, and we go together like PB & J, but I'd really like to spend more time with her, going out. I'd like to be able to take her to the dog park, and socialize her with more dogs and people. I'd like to be able to take her to parties and just let her run around and not worry about her running loose haha.
I'd like to start working out. Although losing weight would be a benefit, it's more of a desire to be more healthy and athletic than to lose weight. I'd like to be able to run and play sports without feeling like I'm going to die by the end of the game. This also goes hand-in-hand with being closer to Ginny, because we can go running and play at the dog park more.
I'd like to spend more time outdoors. This includes hiking, biking, walking, camping, fishing... you name it, I wanna do it!
I'd like to pick up a hobby that could potentially be very successful in my future... whether its improving my ability to knit or sew, or if it's some kind of service to people... I don't know. I just want it to be cool, and unique.
I'd like to read more books. I totally forgot how much I love to read, until I started working at my job, and gained a ton of free time. Sometimes, it's just a wonderful feeling to be sucked into a book, and imagine yourself in a place that can be left up totally to your imagination.
I'd like to improve my friendships with the wonderful friends in my life, that I have been blessed to know. I'm sorry I've been distant, it's hard without school, and with a job where I see none of you :(. But seriously, lets be friends again :)

Well, I guess these are just a few things. I'll add more as I think them up.

Please don't ask me questions about what happened between Rob and I, because I don't really like to think about it. I'm pretty happy and content most the time, because my focus is on making myself happy, and I'd rather not dwell on the pain (meaning, if I think about him, it will not be about those negative things, but about the positive things we had, and asking me would just bring up those negative things).

Let's hang out! Let's pick up a hobby! Let's write memories, and enjoy every moment of what we create :)

Love, peace, and chicken grease!

Take the leap... to Canada!

2010-04-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

So, I wrote this post a few weeks ago when I was on my way home from Canada, but I spaced on actually posting it… so here it is!

April 6, 2010

It was a year ago that I was dating a guy that I thought I’d be with for a very long time… a guy that manipulated my mind with lies and unfeasible dreams. He lived 3000 miles away, in Toronto, Canada. To make things short, we never met, and he wasted 6+ months of my life by telling me he’d “meet me soon.” Many people are wary of online dating for this kind of thing, which isn’t hard to understand. After a painful break up and months of distraught, I finally got over the situation and moved on. I dated some guys after, but not anything too serious. It’s not that I was avoiding being serious, but more that the dating never really turned into anything. Now, when I dated this Canadian, I had met him on an online game called Rappelz. It’s an mmorpg, sort of like World of Warcraft. I only intended to play the game, and not date anyone from it, but somehow he convinced me to be his girlfriend. After we broke up, I told myself I’d never date “online” again.

Now, I never fully stopped playing this game that we met in. I backed off, and even went weeks at a time without even logging on, which was easier to do than expected. Now, here comes the good stuff. After my breakup, I met this guy (Rob) in the game, and he was merely a friend. He was entertaining, and very good at making witty comebacks to my remarks, which is pretty unusual sometimes. After a while, we stopped chatting, because we kind of went our own ways in the game. Well, recently our paths crossed in the game again, and we rekindled our friendship. This was back in January. We went from chatting in game, to friends on msn, to friends on facebook. Now, just being friends, doesn’t mean I didn’t have a “thing” for him. I still remember the day that I realized I liked him… it was the day that a girl hit on him, and I wanted to strangle her… Yeah, brutal, I know. Smooth move Annette, you got a crush on another guy online. The real kicker? He’s Canadian too!

So, we kept chatting, and one day, he asks me if he can come to Salt Lake City and take me to dinner, and I didn’t hesitate to say yes. It never struck me as odd? Things remained the same from then for a while, except the occasional joking about his fund to come save me (which he really did have, and I didn’t believe him). I’m not really sure how it happened, but somehow we started to talk more, and things got more serious. We went from 10 to 60 in a week (I say 10 because we had been friends for a while). I have been very cautious about the whole situation, and there has been this understanding that I would not be his girlfriend until we met. It got harder and harder to be just friends! Well, luckily for me, right before I start work at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, he had a weekend off from work because of Easter. It started out as joking, but somehow I decided right there and then, on Thursday night, that I wanted to drive up to Canada to meet him. Sounds crazy, huh? Well, here are some pros!

To drive to Canada, round trip, would cost roughly $200, and can be done in 15 to 20 hours. The trip can also be taken on short notice. If you add in the ferry costs to get to the island he lives on, it is $26 or $140, depending on whether you take your car across. To fly on short notice is roughly $1200 to $1500. To fly in 3+ weeks, it’s about $600. Some people would say just to wait and fly, but I didn’t want to waste his money (he paid), and I couldn’t wait anymore… as crazy as that sounds. Also, he still needs to receive his passport, and I never know how my schedule looks in 3 weeks advance.

So, enough with details… on Friday night, I packed up my car headed to Canada. It started out rough, with nasty blizzards through Idaho causing me to crash my car outside of Twin Falls, to insane wind through Washington. One might think “was it worth it?” Only one other time have I had such a bad experience driving, and out of that trip I got one of the greatest things in my life… my dog Ginny. So was it worth the drive? Yes, every second. My fear of meeting Rob was that he would hate me, and that I would be stuck in an awkward situation. Yes, the thought did occur to me that I might not like him, but it never struck me as really that big of a possibility. I expected him to be great, but I didn’t expect him to be AMAZING. Well, I did, but not as amazing as he is. So, here on the ferry, headed to Tsawwassa or whatever, I sit here and reminisce about the crazy thing I’ve just done. I just went to Canada on a whim, and met the most amazing guy I’ve ever met… and I have no regrets. I hope people don’t think I’m crazy, but even if you do, that’s alright, because I’ve not only experienced meeting an angel, but I got a slice of Heaven too. Rob likes to call his hometown a slice of Heaven haha.

So how was Canada? It was so much fun! Now, don’t get me wrong, there were some weird things, such as getting used to driving km/h rather than mph, and looking at “monopoly money,” but the trip itself was amazing. I got to not only meet, Rob in person, but I got to meet his awesome best friend, Ana, and her boyfriend, James. They let us crash at their place and saved my sanity by helping to prevent another 5 hours added onto my horrendous drive. After that, we took the ferry to Vancouver Island and I got to see just how beautiful the island is. Oh, and on the trip from the Ferry to Campbell River, Rob made me hold a tiny crab, and I squealed the whole time. When we got to Campbell River, I got to meet Rob’s brother T, and their roommate/landlord/good friend Colin, both of whom I know from the game too. I thought that maybe T would hate me, but I think today we hit it off pretty well… either that, or he’s an excellent actor. If that’s the case, then kudos to him! I only met one other friend of Rob’s this trip, and that was Cody, and although I didn’t see him for long, I have to mention him cause he got me Tim Horton’s hot chocolate and it was SUPER yummy. Delicious!

So, now you all know how the “Annette is in a relationship with Rob” surfaced on facebook. I told him we had to meet, we met, we hit it off REALLY, REALLY well, and now we’re in a “long-distance” relationship, as opposed to an “online” relationship. Next stop? Rob comes to Utah! WOOT! All my friends, get ready for this action, it’s going to be great.

Logan Escapades

2010-03-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

So, since I moved to Utah I haven’t been all too fond of Logan. It always struck me as way too small, sheltered, and very “Aggie,” for lack of a better word (and by “Aggie” I mean farming, etc., not just the school). Just wasn’t my thing. This, by the way, was the mindset I gained after a couple trips up there. Although I enjoyed my time up there, I didn’t particularly like Logan.

Well, congratulations to the Loganites from changing my mindset. In the last 3 weeks I’ve been up to Logan twice, and had an awesome time both times. Check out these rad highlights (in no particular order)!

˜USU basketball games – although I'm a hard core Ute, I decided that for state days I’d be open minded and try to enjoy the USU game. It was a blast! Totally my type of crowd. With epic cheers and much excitement, I was reminded of why I love attending basketball games. With that in mind, I decided I wanted to bring some

friends up for USU’s last game to try to boost moral of our own pep band. Eric, Chandra, and Amberley came, and it was a blast! I love basketball, so it’s good to know there is a place in Utah where people love it as much as I do. Oh… and I refused to wear anything with an Aggie logo on it. Go Utes!

˜State Days meeting – although I wasn’t feeling too hot, I enjoyed attending a meeting with my sisters and brothers and hearing about all the stuff they have been able to accomplish this year thus far.

˜Aggie Ice Cream – holy crap, that's good stuff. If you’re ever in Logan, go get some!

˜Cleaning the sink – Yum. Woot Angie’s!

˜SNOWBOARDING! - I first went snowboarding 3 years ago, and decided I love it. I hadn’t gone since, although I really wanted to. So, I got to go with my friend Cody, his best friend Kinger, and Kinger’s dad. I remember why I loved it so much! It was a blast! And I made it my third run down without falling once! Cody basically just strapped my boots in and made me go for it, and I that’s what worked for me!

˜Avalanche – When I rented my snowboard, I rented it from USU. The guy that rented the board out to me told me that it had to be back by 6, and that if we couldn’t get it back by 6, to call them and let them know… otherwise I’d be charged for the weekend, since I wouldn’t be able to return it until Monday. Well, we left Beaver Mountain around 4:15-4:30 I think, and on the way down, we came to a stop, only to discover there’d been an avalanche up ahead. Now, this wouldn’t have been too bad, if I had cell phone service. So, come 6:30 or so, they finally cleared the avalanche and we were able to get down… but I hadn’t been able to contact the rec center about my board. What are the chances? Lucky for me, Cody was able to return it with no issues and no extra charges. Thank goodness!

˜Mohawk Hat – so, I was chatting with Cody and decided I was going to make a mohawk hat for him for the USU basketball game. I worked on it and worked on it, and the night before I headed up to Logan, I kind of felt like it looked like crap, and was totally worried. Well, when Cody put it on, it looked so freakin rad!!! It was awesome when he’d board down the slope cause you just saw this guy coming down the hill with a super awesome hat that totally matched his jacket. It was awesome.

˜Finding out what a “real man” is – So, when I got to Logan, I had planned to stay at another friends house, and that kind of fell through. So, with no other option, I crashed at Cody’s house, although he had to go to work. Well… if you’ve never stayed in an apartment of a bunch of guys, let me just tell you, it is very… enlightening? Of his three roommates, only two were there, and I saw both of them shirtless, I saw the guy from across the hall pantless, and I was in the room as one of his roommates walked out of the room butt naked (no, I was no looking in his direction when it happened). I have been informed that this is what “real men” do haha. I am very glad I’m a woman. Oh, and his roommates like to play percussion with knives haha.

˜Service Projects – at state days, we split up into two groups to do service projects. It was an enjoyable experience to go with sisters and brothers from TBS and KKPsi to go and fix stands, and fix/repair percussion instruments, and re-arrange the percussion room. I also heard it was awesome to work at the solo & ensemble, and my chapter enjoyed it a lot. It's nice to remember what our goals as an organization are, and to achieve them together.

˜Gringo’s door flying open – So, Gringo is the name of

Joshlyn’s car. When we got to Logan, someone accidentally locked her back left door, and so somehow (I’m not really sure how), the door broke and would not close. So, when we got to the middle school, we left it, and then later we had to move it to our brother/friend Sean’s house. Eva was driving Joshlyn’s car, and I was leading her to Sean’s house so I could pick her up, and we could head back to the school. Well, I was on the phone with Joshlyn, looked in my rear view mirror and saw one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. As Eva turned the car, all I could see was the door fly open and flop open, and I totally busted up laughing. Then I see Eva freak out, stop the car, and close the door. She had to drive the whole way to Sean’s house holding the door closed with one hand and driving with the other haha. Good times, good times.

˜Meeting so many people! - it was so awesome to meet so many people from USU. I had a blast, and am so glad to have met so many rad people. I hope I can stay in touch with all of them! I also hope a lot of them will attend convention, because convention is one of the best experiences any member of TBS and KKPsi will ever have. Yay

Ok this is all I can think of for now… I’m sure I’ll update it and put more on here. Anyway, it was a ton of fun, and I plan to hang out there more often.

If you think of any highlights, let me know and I'll add them!

Know Yourself (from facebook)

2010-02-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

How is this so accurate?

Dear Annette Bowman, below are your Personality Tests result:

Who is your true self: You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.

Your view on yourself:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You are down-to-earth

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :People like you because you are so straightforward

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both si

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You are a true romantic

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :When you are in love

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You will do anything

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Everything to keep your love true

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that pe

The seriousness of your love:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You are very serious about relationships

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :If you meet the right person

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You will fall deeply

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Beautifully in love

Your views on education:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Education is less important than the real world out there

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Away from the classroom

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Deep inside you want to start working

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Earning money

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Living on your own

The right job for you:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You're a practical person

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Will choose a secure job with a steady income

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Knowing what you like to do is important

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Find a regular job doing just that

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You'll be set for life

How do you view success:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You are afraid of failure

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you d

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous

What are you most afraid of:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :You are concerned about your image

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :The way others see you

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :It's time for you to believe in who you are

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ :Not what you wear

Here is the link: http://apps.facebook.com/yourself_btr/index.php?ref=nf

Finding a Means to an End

2010-02-16T23:15:00.001-08:00

Now that I’m almost done with school, I find myself thinking a lot about my future. I thought that through my college career I’d figure out what I want from life. Here I sit, years later, only having a little more knowledge of what I want.Yes, I’ve grown up a lot, learned many things and have matured… I am a completely different person than I was in May of 2005. Too bad being a different person doesn’t mean you knows what you want.

I’ve started to think a lot about what I want out of a career, out of a relationship, out of a lifestyle.I’ve started to contemplate what life goals I was to set for myself, and how I am going to achieve these goals. I wish it was as much fun doing what it takes to get something as it is to get it.

In a way, I feel that in the romantic relationship aspect of my life, I have taken a large step backwards. I thought I knew what I wanted. Quite frequently I am faced with the question “is that really what I want?” I’ve gone from being very picky and having a “list” of qualities “my man” should possess, to only knowing a few key points. I know I want someone who will be loyal, trustworthy, will make me feel like I’m the only person for him, has standards, and is smart. Beyond that, I’m not entirely too sure. I'm back to square one. A musician would be wonderful though!

When it comes to my career, I find myself mostly thinking about all the things I would like to do. I don’t regret what my degree is in, but the degree doesn’t stop me from wanting to do other things. I constantly have a desire to learn new things. I am pretty sure I’d like to go back to school and get another degree… the most prominent in my mind being in psychology… but I’m still not sure. Since I’m not actively attending school, I sometimes wonder if music education is really what I want to do…. But then I step into a classroom, or listen to a concert, and find myself missing the podium. I have the toughest time when listening to the U of U wind ensemble… I find myself conducting in my seat at concerts. Is that a bad thing? One thing I am seriously thinking about though, is starting my own music school. If I want to do that, I need to continue to hash out details, and figure out what I’d want the school to be, to represent, and to accomplish.

Another question I contemplate… where do I want to spend my life? Where do I want to raise a family? I love Utah, but is it the right place for me? Through my college career I’ve been to so many great places! But are those places somewhere I’d like to live, or somewhere that is simply nice to visit?

Lastly… I’ve started to think about all the amazing things and experiences I’d like to do in my life. I never really thought about the things I’d like to do until an occasion with a tarantula. While hanging out with my wonderful friend, Eric, we went to a children’s museum where he works. He introduced me to his darling little friend… the tarantula. I can’t recall her name, but I was TERRIFIED. He kept telling me to hold her and I declined, until I realized “if I don’t hold this tarantula, I will wish for the rest of my life that I had done it.” So I held that darn tarantula!Since then, I think about the things I’d like to do, whether I’m comfortable with it or not… and I have done many things outside my comfort zone. If you have any ideas of awesome stuff I should do, let me know!

So… I guess right now in my life, I am trying to find a means to an end… I am trying to find what I want to do with my life to make it the most fulfilling and wonderful I can possibly make it be.It’s great to have so many options with what I want to do in my life. I love being in a position where I can settle down, or do something crazy!

Yay for striving to achieve a wonderful life.

Turning 23!

2010-01-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, it’s been 5 months since I’ve posted on here… And to be honest, I’m posting now because I don’t want to be at the bottom of the blog list on the Valle’s blog J. Yep, such good reasoning eh?

I can’t believe I’m turning 23. I’m kind of bummed out, wishing I could stay 22 forever. In my opinion, 22 isn’t old, but it’s not “barely fully legal” either. It’s the quintessential age. Oh well, not worth wishing for something that can’t happen. It’s pretty crazy looking back at the past year. So many things happened, and completely changed who I am.

In the spring, I student taught, and it was perhaps one of the hardest, but most enjoyable experience of my life. I absolutely loved being in the classroom. Sometimes I think “do I really want to be a teacher? There are so many other great things out there to experience also.” These thoughts are always washed away when I see a music teacher in action, or go to a concert and watch a conductor conduct. I miss the podium so much, and I am so excited to get my degree in the next few months and hopefully gain a job as a music teacher soon.

This year I went through one of the most painful break-ups of my life. People always say it’s stupid to date online because it’s totally fake, and I used to believe that, but now I don’t. I think it’s something that is ok for some people, and just not right for others. I am one of those “others.” I became very emotionally involved with someone that I thought I’d be with, only to endure months of pain and heartache after we broke up, realizing I’d been manipulated and deceived. Makes me scared to get into another committed relationship, but I’m a firm believer in “what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” I went through a lot of pain, and although it still hurts sometimes, in the future I’ll look back at it and see it as a learning experience. I think the biggest thing I have to do now is learn to forgive the guy. We’ll see.

Another hard thing I had to do this year was end my relationship with the University of Utah marching band. So many people don’t understand the bond between band nerds and marching band, but it hurts to realize I’m never going to march there again. The U of U marching band was such a wonderful gift in my life, and I am so grateful for what I have been blessed with by being in the marching band. I’ve met so many wonderful people, had so many fun experiences, been to so many places (places I would otherwise probably never go to), and have had so many intellectual conversations. These “band nerds” have been my friends, family, support and guides through my college career. I hope all those people who debate on joining marching band will choose to do it, and I hope they have the same experience I had.

So many of my siblings got married this year! It’s nuts! It started with Eric. Eric’s family is so amazing! He has gained 4 adorable children, and a wonderful wife named Stephanie. At the wedding, you could just see the immense happiness in Eric’s face. I’m glad he found Stephanie J. She’s wonderful. Next is Jeff! Now, no offense to Jeff, but he has not been the best at picking women in his past, so upon hearing about his new girlfriend, I was kind of reluctant to meet her. It was a pleasant surprise when I met Gabby. I think she is a great person, and a wonderful addition to Jeff and the boy’s life. Gabby is a great gal J. And last is daisy! Oh man, what do I say about Ramses? I could tell he fit in from the first moment I met him. Oh wait, no, maybe it was when he threatened to “bit” someone up. I’m pretty sure in Ramses talk, that means “beat” someone up. Ramses is hilarious, and he is the perfect match for daisy. I never had any doubt that daisy would someday find the man she was supposed to marry, but I could never picture what he’d be like. In my mind, I couldn’t picture a guy like Ramses. Guess he’d have to be that unpredictable to be the one for daisy haha. He’s awesome though J. Yay for the family expanding this year! And with wonderful people too!

Well, those are a few of the big things that happened in my life this past year… Now it’s time to look towards the future, finish my degree, get a job, and start my life J. Maybe I’ll knock out some of my life goals!

Here’s to looking forward!

My EQ

2009-08-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

What is your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

Your EQ is 132

You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin.

You are warm and open. Even when life gets you down, you're unafraid of the world and its challenges.
You are comfortable with who you are. And you accept your weaknesses - as well as the weaknesses of others.

While you are quite stable, you don't respond perfectly to every bad situation that comes up.
But you have enough emotional intelligence to know when you need a course correction.

I think this is true, except when it comes to guys I date... BTW, this is a facebook quiz! I hope this link works!
What is your EQ?

Summer Adventures

2009-08-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

So, these last few weeks have been quite eventful and interesting for me. On July 14, my boyfriend (ex) and I broke up, so, that day, I was texting daisy while waiting to see Harry Potter (my best friend Eric invited me after he heard of the break-up), and she said “why don’t you come down here?” So on Wednesday I packed up my gear, and Ginny and I were headed to New Mexico on Thursday morning.

NEW MEXICO

My biggest fear about going down to New Mexico was how my dogs reaction would be to the situation (she’s never ridden that far in a car before, and she’s never really been introduced to other dogs or any other house but our own). Upon arriving at daisy’s house, Rebekah ran to the passenger window and Ginny got scared and jumped into my lap as daisy ran to the driver side window. Well, let’s just say they scared Ginny pretty bad… I must say, I don’t think I had ever been peed on by a dog before that moment. After cleaning up, we introduced Ginny to Darla, and although she was scared, they were best friends by day two.

In the middle of my stay in New Mexico, I got to go to Texas with Rebekah, Jason and Dad to pick up Aden and bring her back. It was pretty fun, although I must say Texas is hot and sticky, and I’m glad I live in Utah. Micah is growing up fast, and he’s insanely cute, and Rebekah thinks Rosie looks like I did at that age. I’m pretty excited for all of them to come up and see us next week.

So, after Texas I returned to New Mexico and the rest of the trip was mostly just filled with spending time being lazy. That is my forte haha. Here are some highlights from my trip to New Mexico/Texas (in order that I think of them, not that they occurred):

• Darla taught Ginny how to hump. Bad move Darla, bad move.
• Ginny learned what stickers are… she came inside the first day from the backyard and couldn’t figure out what the things biting her feet were. Poor thing haha.
• I got some awesome shoes! They are black pumps with shiny silver stars on them.

• Dad, Mary, Aden, Jason and I went to Explora, and it was pretty fun, just like always.
• We went to the lake while in Texas, and Rosie has to wear little swimmer pull-ups. When Rebekah was changing Rosie’s clothes so we could go home, she wasn’t expecting Rosie to have made a mess. So, she wraps a towel around Rosie, then pulls her pull-up down (she was still decent!), and all of a sudden little pebbles of poop rolled out and all over the place hahahahaha. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my entire life.
• I FINALLY gave Aden her piggy bank (I promised to make it for her over a year ago).
• Had some always-enjoyable Utah vs. BYU bickering with one of the missionaries in daisy’s ward. Apparently he might join their marching band… that would be mighty fun in a battle of the bands! (My band would kick their butts like always)
• We watched the Terminator, my first time… I always thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was the good guy…
• Got to spend time with Cheryl and her boyfriend Teron. It was awesome to see her. It’s funny; we’re still so much alike even though we have hardly seen each other in 4 years. Also, her boyfriend Teron knows my friend Dokos here in Salt Lake from DCI (they were in Troopers together).
• Dad, Mary, Rebekah and I saw Angels and Demons in the dollar theater… it was pretty good, although I liked the book much better.
• Ginny killed her “no-bark” collar. The second day I was there, daisy and I went shopping, and so we put Ginny out back with her collar on so she wouldn’t disturb the neighbors. Well, I forgot that there was a kiddie pool full of water back there, so when we got back I checked on her and freaked out when I noticed her standing in it. Well, I brought her in and she was fine, but later when I went to put her collar on her, I realized the batteries had fallen out into the pool. I have no idea how she did it, but my dog is a genius.
• Jason and I got addicted to a game called “Zoo Tycoon.” It’s a blast.
• I learned how to cook bacon in the oven… no more of that microwavable crap, I’m getting the good stuff!
• There was a lot of fun bickering with Ramses… he’ll be a nice addition to the family haha

IOWA

So right after my trip to New Mexico, I went on a trip to Iowa with Mom and Jesse for a 50th wedding anniversary. After a 16-hour ride there, we finally arrived at Great Aunt Garland’s house, and it was really nice to be in Bedford. Iowa always has a calm feeling to it, so it’s always nice to go there. We spent most of the time at events celebrating the anniversary, and spent most of our time with Caleb and Georgia Ballentyne, Caleb’s son Mathius, and Caitlyn Drake. They are the grandchildren of the people we were there for (we were there for Charles and Lynn King… Charles is Grandpa King’s cousin). Here are some highlights from the trip:

• I saw some vultures eating a squirrel… I’ve never seen a vulture in person before!
• We saw an owl on the side of the road on our way back to Garland’s house the first night.
• Saw tons of fireflies the first night, got some jars to catch some the second/third night (I’ve never caught one before) and they were gone L. Lynn told me they are really only out in June and July… We saw them the last night of July haha.
• On the way home from Iowa, we stopped at a gas station and I bought a kit where you can open a mollusk and get a pearl to put in this necklace it gives you. I got the pearl representing “success.”
• I spent a lot of time holding Caleb’s son, and at one point he fell asleep on me, and someone thought he was my son haha.
• We played “Greed” with Lynn and Charles, and I won one of the games. It’s mighty fun, and Charles is a blast to play with. At one point he had a roll of 2400 going (you need 10,000 to win), and I said “you should roll again” which really was obvious because he had a great chance of getting higher (he needed a 1 or 5, and he had 6 dice to roll), and he busted hahahaha. It was awesome.
• We went to Gravity to visit the cemetery, then mom took Jesse and I around and showed us where all our family lived when she lived there (about 50 years ago). Some of the houses were still there, and where they weren’t, she showed us where the houses used to be. She told us some cool stories, and it was really cool to hear.
• We got stuck for a while behind this HUGE truck pulling a silo (those big things you see on farms that hold grain) that was going really slow, and I couldn’t pass him because he thought it would be totally fine to just drive in the middle of the road (over both our lane and the opposing lane). We were only 50 miles from our destination too, so it was awful.
• We drove through Clarinda, IA, and I found out that’s where the late, great Glenn Miller was born. Did you know he was killed by friendly fire while flying in his plane? I learned that when I was student teaching last semester.

It was awesome to travel so much, but I think I’d like to take some time at home before going on another long distance car ride. In those three weeks I rode long distance in vehicles for over 70 hours and drove for over 40 of those hours. I also stepped foot in 7 states... Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa. Mom went to Missouri to pick up pizza for dinner the last night we were there. These are all the highlights I can remember for now… I hope I got most of them though! Good times, good times.

And it starts!

2009-08-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know why I didn't start blogging sooner, but I've decided it's time to start! Who knows what kind of things will end up here? It'll be quite the adventure for all of us!

And it starts...