Merry Christmas

I know that Christmas isn't all about what you get, but I was really excited for my present this year! I learned to play the piano in jr. high and high school, but I kinda stopped playing after I got married since I didn't have a piano to play! I decided to get a piano for my birthday/Christmas this year. I ordered it online, and it came really fast it's been sitting in the box for about 3 weeks torturing me...Mike threatened to send it back if I opened it before Christmas. Waiting to open my keyboard brought back all the excitement and anticipation I felt at Christmas as a kid, so it was fun and I love it!

We spent the afternoon at my parent's house. My brother got Guitar Hero World Tour so of course we had to play it...the drums are so hard to play!! It's a really fun game and Mike's a very good band vocalist!

We had the traditional omelette breakfast at the Terry's on Christmas morning...yummy as always. (Didn't Mike build a nice Christmas fire?) We usually do a gift exchange, but this year we didn't because we're going on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera together next week! Yay sunshine!

So that was our Christmas: relaxing, enjoying family, playing, and having fun. I'm so thankful for Christmas time and the chance it gives us to think of the Savior and his life, to think of all of our blessings, and to find ways to give to others.

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

5 Things...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Learning to drive
2. Going on my first date with Mike
3. Cheering at high school sport games (GO WARRIORS!)
4. Taking piano lessons
5. Many other silly and embarrassing things that 16-year-old girls do!

5 things on my 'To Do' list today:

1. Finish Christmas shopping (check)
2. Vacuum the house (check)
3. Clean the bathrooms (check)
4. Help Mike make something for a game at work (check)
5. Make dinner (probably won't happen!)

5 favorite snacks:

1. Yogurt covered raisins
2. Reese's peanut butter cups
3. Peanut butter M&Ms
4. Wheat Thins
5. Fuji apples

5 jobs I've had:

1. Cleaning office buildings with my dad - YUCK!
2. Receptionist at the Lifetouch office in SLC
3. Receptionist at Bryner Clinic (IHC Dr. office) - I worked all over in that building: pediatrics, internal medicine, general surgery, ob/gyn, ENT!
4. Aide to 3 SLPs in granite district - I did this while I was in school which was so great!
5. Currently - an SLP in granite district

5 things I'd do with a Million dollars:

1. Pay off student loans
2. Buy a house
3. Buy newer cars
4. Travel
5. Invest (good idea Becky and Janene!)

5 people I tag to answer these questions:

1. Melissa
2. Ashley
3. Mollie
4. Natalie
5. Michelle

Business Owner!

Well, since last summer I've become a certified SLP and I've been jumping through all the hoops to get a business license...and it's finally come! YAY! I now have a private practice and am able to work on my own. It's very scary and I'm definitely learning as I go, but it's so exciting! Now I just need to find some clients :-) I've mostly worked with kids, and would prefer to have mainly pediatric clients - but right now beggars can't be choosers! So - if you know anyone who needs a speech therapist please please please give them my info!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had Thanksgiving at my parent's house this year. It was a nice, quiet affair - good food and great company! It's hard to believe that it's the holiday season again. I've started putting up my Christmas decorations and it feels like I just took them down! But, I love Thanksgiving and Christmas time.
Lately I've been thinking of all the things I don't have or things I want to have and I need to be more thankful for the things I do have. So, here are some things I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

• My wonderful, funny, loving, supportive, creative, smart, hard-working, handsome husband.
  
• My family - all of them: parents, brother, sister, husband, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, mom and dad-in-law, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, nephews, nieces, etc. You are all so great - I LOVE YOU!
• My membership in the church, and the knowledge and blessings it has brought to my life.
• My health.
• My job. I love going to work and that's such a blessing. I hope I'm a positive influence in the lives of my students, because they are in mine.
• My cute little condo!
• The country I live in and the freedoms I enjoy.
• My friends, who I should probably keep in touch with better.

I'm a very blessed girl and I need to remember that!

Tag! I'm IT!

Well, I've been tagged and now whether you're interested or not you get to find out 7 random things about me! Hopefully they're interesting facts - cause I don't think I'm very random!

• When I was little (3-4 years old maybe) I was obsessed with Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I wanted red shoes, had a poster of her in my room and I told people that Dorothy was my name! Not sure where it came from! I'm not that obsessed anymore but when I see the Wizard of Oz on TV I just have to watch it!
• My mom has the most amazing green eyes I've ever seen and I've always wished that I had eyes the same color as hers. (Mine are green/brown/hazel but hers are GREEN!)
• I don't think I'm a picky person as far as food goes - but this week I found out that I am! At SEPs (aka Parent Teacher Conferences) this week the PTA provided dinner for the teachers and staff one of the nights. They made sloppy joes - and I couldn't eat them! (There are 2 foods that I really hate: cooked broccoli and sloppy joes.) I had school lunch at lunch time and saved my home-made lunch for dinner so I wouldn't have to eat those terrible sandwiches!
• I can never remember having a favorite color until I was in Junior High (I'm sure I had them, I just don't remember what they ever were). At the beginning of the school year my health teacher was going around the class asking students to say their name and favorite color (it helped her remember our names for some reason!). I decided to say yellow was my favorite color because it wasn't very popular with the other kids - and since that day yellow has been my color of choice!
• I've always wished I could be a ballerina.
• I have terrible eye sight. I found out last year that they're so bad corrective eye surgery can't give me 20/20 vision! I've had glasses since kindergarten and am trying to accept the fact that I will always have them!
• I love to play solitaire on the computer - I find it relaxing and could do it for hours at a time!

So there are my random facts - now you're IT: Lori, Heather, Michelle, Alisa, Jeana, Terri

Body Worlds

Mike and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit (The Story of the Heart) yesterday. I was so excited to go and wasn't disappointed! At first I felt like I was at Disneyland again - we waited in lines for almost an hour before we got into the exhibit! But it was incredible to see the things they've done with those bodies. Seeing all the veins in your body, your nerves, and the differences between healthy and sick bodies (cancer, strokes, artificial joints, effects of smoking and obesity, etc.). I've learned a lot about the body in my anatomy classes but seeing the body like that was very cool. I'm so grateful for my body and my good health. When I think about how complex our bodies are I'm in awe of Heavenly Father's knowledge, abilities, and power. I don't think I would ever be able to create something as wonderful as a human body. What an amazing gift for us to have! The more I learn about the body the more thankful I am for mine and the more dedicated I am to respect it and keep it healthy and strong.

Happy Halloween!

We went up to Mollie and Travis' house for a little Halloween get-together on Halloween night. It was fun to see the kids (and adults!) in their costumes. I was a non-threatening witch and Mike was Cornelius (he said it was the guy from Fight Club). I think he got the name tag idea from The Office - I told him to be Jim Halpert (who he kinda looks like) but he wouldn't. We ate some yummy food and had a great time!

Jenni (witch), Melissa, Mia (giraffe), Steve (Bleeker from Juno)
Connor (a baseball player who's name I forgot), Devin (Elvis)

The Mighty Hunter

Mike went deer hunting with his dad this last weekend and got a deer (oh goodie)! Now we get to have a freezer full of deer jerky to go along with all the rest of the deer and/or elk meat that's already in there. (Can you tell I love it when Mike goes hunting and actually kills something?!) I can't complain this year though, because Mike did leave me a little spending money when he left and I got to go shopping. If you want to know the gory details about how the poor deer died you'll have to ask Mike...but it sounded pretty exciting, he's quite the hunter! I think I'd appreciate his hunting skills more if our family depended on the meat to survive the winter, but we don't, so it's really just something I have to put up with and will probably never appreciate. (Sorry Mike. I love you!)

Trip to California

Over UEA (sometimes referred to as Utah Escapes to Anaheim) Mike and I along with Mike's sister (Melissa) and her husband (Steve) went on a little trip! We went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, the San Diego Zoo, and Sea World. It was such a blast! The weather was amazing, the parks weren't very busy, and the company was excellent, which makes for a great vacation!
We all love Disneyland - it never seems to get old no matter how many times we go there. Mike and Steve feel like they should write a book on how to go to Disneyland - they pretty much have it down to an art (fast pass strategies, days of the week to go, places to eat, etc.)!
We saw lots of animals when we went to San Diego. Mike and I had never been to the San Diego Zoo before and were pretty excited to go there - it's HUGE! It makes Hogle Zoo look like a joke! (Sorry Hogle Zoo!) They have awesome habitats that let you get pretty close to the animals. After a morning at the zoo went to Sea World - which was cool, I've only been there once (a long time ago) and couldn't remember much about it. I kinda felt bad for the animals, it seemed mean to make them do lots of shows and have them swim around in shallow pools for people to touch all day. I guess it's no different than a circus (or a zoo), but it just seemed weird to me!
Universal Studios was good - nothing quite compares to Disneyland though! There was a fun new Simpsons ride to go on and the good old back lot tour. It really was fun, there were no lines at all which was great!
This was an awesome way to spend my days off from work - even though I feel like I need a vacation to rest from my vacation! Trips can be a lot of work and make you tired, but they are always worth it!

In the Kwik E-Mart at Universal Studios (Note it's Duff energy drink NOT Duff beer!)

Melissa and Steve riding Peter Pan

Escaping from jail - they're so strong!

On Splash Mountain

We're so cute!

Random pictures

Jumpin on the band wagon!

Well, I've given in and have decided to start one of these things! I have no idea what I'm doing - but it can't be too difficult if everyone else can do it, right?! I'm sure I'll like it since I'm a prolific journal writer, I'm on journal #21 right now! I guess we'll have to see how it goes - more exciting entries to come. For now enjoy this random assortment of old pictures!