Monday's Memory

This kid! This kid....was my bestest friend ever in high school!! He's also my brothers best friend. But we have had so many good memories together!! Our Christmas Dance, the many corn mazes we've been through, all the afternoon and early morning talks we've had. The many memorable bus rides we've had and all the weird people who've run into us and just started having really weird conversations. RuG and I couldn't look at each other or we would have busted laughing in their faces.

I have missed this kid so freaking much! And THIS KID is getting home in two days!! We have so many memories and he is getting home so soon! I am so stoked!! We're going to make more memories and have more good times! Assuming of course he hasn't gone crazy on his mission and we are still friends :-D But I'm sure we will be. I'm so excited!!!!

Factual Friday!

Did you know?


That it took Leo Tolstoy 6 years to write War and Peace?

This fact makes me feel better about the fact that it took me about 6 years to read it....

Sam-Attack and the Rockin' Tunes

 

Monday's Memory: Sisters

I am lucky enough in my life to have not just one sister, but five. I am even luckier that I am on amazing terms with all five of them and I consider them not merely my sisters but five of my dearest friends and confidantes.

With 4 of the 5 I have pretty much always been on good terms. I mean we are certainly closer now than we were in the past, but we've pretty much always gotten along. But one of them....well let's just say there was a time in the past when we weren't super close. In fact we kinda sorta hated each other. And that's who I'd like to dedicate this post to.

Pamela is the sister that closest to me in age. We're separated by my brother Thom in the line of family children, but she's the closest sister age wise- she's a mere 3 years older than me. If you want to get really technical it's only 2 years and 10 months :-D And for so many years we couldn't stand the sight of each other. We both lived in the basement, sharing bunk beds, or dressers, or just space in general and we fought constantly. I'm sure we drove our mother to her wits end more than once. We simply could NOT get along.

Then one summer, while I was up in Washington my room got transferred from the basement up to the den. There were enough kids gone out of the house that Pam could have her own room and I could have my own room. It was the summer before my 14th birthday and the summer before her 17th birthday. And something magical happened. It seemed that almost as soon as we no longer had to share anything we became best friends.

One of the many classic, pure "Pam" pictures that I've taken and/or seen taken over the last 5 years

 We started doing everything together. Well, lots of things. She worked all the time, I was in school. Then she was in college, I was in college, we both still worked. She had a boyfriend who created some demands on her time, etc.... Needless to say we were busy but we still found time to do things together. We were the only girls left at home and we decided to stick together. We decided that we needed to become real sisters and begin to love and appreciate the other for who they were.

We started sharing willingly (I can't even count the number of clothes we've swapped and/or 'borrowed' for extended periods of time from each other. Mostly shoes though seeing as how we're not the same size...) We started doing things for each other without even thinking twice. I was the only person who could get Pam to do something domestic around the house. She became one of the VERY few people who could get me to stop reading a book I was really enjoying to go and spend time with her. (I'm serious, I get intense when I'm reading a good story, most people have just learned to leave me alone...) Together we became some of the best customers that Redbox has ever had. We had so many midnight exploits up at Smiths. And so many curious glances drawn to us because we were laughing hysterically at something that only we saw, or that only we understood.

In November of 2009 Pam got her mission call to the Santa Rosa, California Spanish speaking mission. She left on December 30th 2009. I was so excited for her! She has been planning on serving a mission since she was about 12, and she was so excited to get her call! She was so excited to go! And we were both so mutually sad about leaving each other, but we counted the blessing that she was only in California so our communication would be pretty constant and assured.

Pam with one of her companions, Hermana Martinez.

And she has loved her mission. She's loved it more than almost anything she's ever done in her life. She doesn't actually want to acknowledge that it's got to come to an end eventually.

Her mission had done great things to and for her! She willingly cooks now, and makes her bed daily. She has grown in her capacity to love people and I can just tell that she's been changing and maturing so much (not that she wasn't mature before she left, she totally was- she's just more so now)

Making some sort of Spanish tasting food that she's assured me is delicious and that I will get made for me something this fall I'm sure

When she gets back we've talked extensively of all the things we'll do. I've been making lists while she's been gone, of all the movies and books and music and such that she needs to be caught up on. We're planning a marathon that will last about a week to catch up on everything. She's asked me to consider the idea of moving out of home and getting an apartment together (which would of course be more expensive than living at home, but we would have some really rocking times)

The main reason I wrote this somewhat disoriented blog post is because I know that Pam is having some hard times right now. Nothing serious, she's just a bit down and nothing seems to be going right. We've jokingly titled me her 'support group' because I keep in SUCH constant communication with her. And I know that she can't read this blog post. But I'm sure that she'll somehow feel the incredible amounts of love that I've poured into the post, and the amounts that I'll pour into the letter that I'm about to go and write her. And that's why I dedicate this post to Pam, one of my fabulous sisters (and yes, I am completely aware that I will now have to dedicate posts to my other 4 sisters to keep things fair and even :-P) I love her more than words can say and I know she'll pull through, with her natural strength and tenacity and the strength the Lord is giving her because she is doing His work. I adore and admire her with all my heart.

Roaming 25th Street!!

I met a friend. Her name is Emily. She's awesome. We're buds! We actually had met each other at the beginning of January and worked together a few times but she thought I was like 22 or 23 and I was busy doing other things and we never really clicked. Then on Friday the 11th we were casually chatting about the concert type of thing that we were planning on going to that night and she found out that I was only 19 and much closer to her age and I just discovered that I enjoyed talking to her. And we clicked!

Well that night of Friday the 11th I discovered that Emily and Alexa, another friend of mine, had NEVER randomly roamed around 25th street! Or downtown Ogden for that matter! I of course had gone to school in downtown Ogden so I'm quite familiar with the streets and I offered to be their 25th Street guide. We wandered around and had a grand time but we had to get to the concert so time was limited, plus we saw so many things that needed to have a picture taken of but we didn't have a camera! So we decided that someday we would come back. And we did! Last night.

Alexa had been having some guy troubles and so we had decided to have a girls night out to support her and talk her through the times. But of course the serious conversations we had in that regard did not keep us from noticed and doing all the fun things we'd thought of last week! Here's just a few highlights! You can go to facebook for the full set.

This was the sign that started it all! This was the sign we saw on the night of the 11th that we REALLY wanted to get a picture of. I know it's still technically graffiti but it's such creative graffiti! Totally cracks me up!

This is the first of a three part picture series. We were walking by the Lindquist Field when we saw that there was this HUGE row of green trash cans just chillin' there, not chained or anything. Just trash cans! So Emily contemplated trying to run away with one. 

Suddenly she made a split decision! She grabbed the trash can with lightning quickness!

And the getaway! Have to be honest, running away with a trash can is not the most subtle thing that you can do in your life....she was pretty obvious. We gave her props for originality though!

Alexa picked up a scary looking metal pipe. I refused to touch it. I stick by my theory that it is probably carrying some sort of horrid disease. It was pretty helpful in keeping those pesky guys away though. 

This was my favorite sign that I saw all night long!! It was on the side of the Marriot Hotel, the side that they had kept decorated like it was still the 1910's. The side that advertises open rooms for only $2 a night. Now remember all you Coke drinkers out there! Don't just be refreshed! Be really refreshed!!! 

And that's Emily with the two little men that were painted on the wall. Again, I know that it's graffiti but at least these people are original right?!

Be REALLY refreshed people!

Nothing says "We trust the people of Ogden" like two benches chained to each other....and a tree. This did give rise to one of the best quotes of the night though! Alexa: "Hey Emily, look at that pimped out Impala! You should do that do your car!" Emily: "No way! You wouldn't catch me dead in that car! Oh wait...it is Ogden, maybe you WOULD catch me dead in that car...." I laughed so freaking hard! Emily is form Plain City, I guess she's just not used to our wicked ways :-P

Ah! A crowning part of our night! We were walking by Farr's when we noticed this empty Bobcat. Emily really wanted to sit in this Bobcat and have Alexa in the shovel and get a great picture and more memories! But when she sat down an alarm sounded and she literally FLEW out of that chair (that's where the picture comes in) and jumped and landed ninja style clear out on the opposite side of the sidewalk. It was talent! Who knew that empty Bobcat's came equipped with alarms?! Not us! We sure do now though...

Friday night brings to life the fact that no matter what you're doing if you're with the right people ANYTHING can be fun! Walking around 25th street would always be interesting, no matter who you're with. But who knew that aimless wandering for hours could be so fabulous?! Of course it is possible that this was just because you had 3 girls and a camera. Always a winning combination!

Point of Clarification

I would just like to make a quick clarification about my Factual Friday (not for this last Friday the 18th but for Friday the 11th)

For those of you who were curious about how a topic of breathing the same air that Jesus once breathed could come up while watching V for Vendetta you obviously don't know how my father and I can get when we're in the same room together. Side tangents build upon side tangents. I wish I could remember EXACTLY how it happened but I couldn't follow the tangent exactly. I do believe that it started when I made a comment about how it would be hard to breathe while constantly wearing that mask at the same time that dad made a comment about the symbolism of the movie.

It just kind of went from there :-D

Factual Friday!

The particular fact for this week totally explains to me how I can get so ridiculously dehydrated, even when I'm not doing anything particularly active.

Did you know?

The human body loses half a liter of water a day through breathing-- this is the water vapor that we see when we breathe onto glass.

Crazy eh?

A 1939 Honeymoon

Monday's Memory

I know that you're not supposed to have favorites where relations are concerned, and normally I'm really good about following that rule. I don't have a favorite sibling, or a favorite niece/nephew, or a favorite parent (or if I do that information will never actually leave my brain :-P) But I must admit that I do have a favorite set of grandparents, and even this information would never leave my brain except I really don't think there's much danger of my father ever reading my blog- and if he does I think he'd understand.

My mom's parents, my Nana and my Poppa, were the best grandparents in the world. When you think of ideal grandparents (at least when I do) they are the ones that pop into my head. For a long time they lived out in Michigan and I rarely saw them but they were very good about sending Christmas Cards and pictures and whenever we did get to go and see them it was a huge treat!

And then one year I discovered that they were moving to Ogden!! They were too old to live on their own and they wanted to be closer to more kids (Of the 5 only 2 lived out east and one of those was only there for half the year) and they ended up picking out a retirement home less than half a mile from where I lived. I was SO excited!!!

Those were the glory years :-P I remember sleepovers at their apartment, trick or treating at Harrison Regent (got some of the BEST swag ever those years) I remember my Nana and Poppa having a jar full of oreos and little candies and we literally were not allowed to leave their house without taking some. But one thing that I remember the dinner.

I don't even truly remember why we were having the dinner. It was some special occasion I'm sure, and Nana wanted to have dinner with the two of her children who lived nearby and their spouses. Poppa had died in 1998 but Nana wanted to have a nice dinner. We kids threw ourselves into the idea with all shades of enthusiasm and tried to make it as wonderful as possible. For whatever reason I remember that all of our decorations were silver. I'm not entirely sure why, but that was the color of choice! We had silver bells, silver wreaths, everything that our minds imagined making a day as special as could be. And in our backyard we set up our summer tent, complete with decorations and a beautiful table set up underneath.

For some people that would have been enough. But not for us. We decided to have a waiter/waitress service available to them. The dinner was, after all, all the way in the backyard. So Thom, my brother, and Sarah, my cousin dressed up in slacks and white shirts, and practiced how we imagined truly amazing waiters/waitresses would serve.

Thom had heard somewhere that proper waiters never showed emotion (I believe he was mixing up Butlers with Waiters, but no matter. It was so hard to get a smile out of him that entire night) But here we have Sarah and Thom simultaneously removing dirty dishes while placing down pie. They really had it down...

See? We were so proper that we even had the towels over arms like real waiters do- we were determined to do it right!

Alas I don't have many more picture from that night (not ones that are co-operating anyways) when you're 11 you don't really think about the importance of taking picture. But it's still a night that will live in my memory. Trying to do something really special for our Nana because she was always doing special things for us.

Today was a Grateful Day

Don't worry, it won't be like my forever long post of things that make me blissfully happy, I just realized today that there are a couple things in my life that I am completely grateful for.

See it all started this morning when my father told me that he and I were off to clean the church building for Sunday. This isn't new for me, I grew up frequently cleaning the church on Saturdays but normally we had a couple other people to help, but today it was just me and him and the whole huge church. Which was filthy.

As I was working and thinking (with, I have to admit, some disgust) about what kind of people would let their place of worship get into this kind of state it hit me just how lucky I was that I had been raised to treat things that are important to me with respect, and to always, ALWAYS treat things that are of God with respect. Initially it was just a thought that came and went, but about an hour later as I was cleaning something else I realized how grateful I was that my parents had raised me with a good old fashioned sense of work ethic. I was grateful that I not only believed in getting the job done right, but that I knew how to get a job done right and I didn't mind the extra work that is typically involved in getting it done right. My thoughts went from that to being EXTREMELY grateful that I am physically able to work! I always feel so badly for people who would love nothing more than working and aren't actually able to. I feel so blessed that I can.

And that just kind of set off a day of gratitude. All day long I would see things and realize just how lucky I am. My friend gave me a call letting me know that she was back with her cheating boyfriend because she was just so afraid of being alone and I was so grateful that my fear of being alone never overpowered the knowledge that I was worth more. I was grateful that I knew I was worth waiting for.

I was at the store and my cashier was an extremely unpleasant person and I was just grateful that I am lucky enough to have a personality that is naturally more able to see the good sides of life and enjoy all that I have.

A friend that I've only recently met but that I already am quite certain I will adore tremendously texted me and we had a fabulous conversation that made me grateful that I get to meet so many wonderful people in my life and enjoy their company.

Today was just a grateful day! I have so much and I'm so thankful for it! Today was a grateful day.

Factual Friday!!

Here it is! My second in a row! I am so very proud of myself!

And today's fact is: *drumroll please*

It is virtually 100% certain (which means not quite 100% but past 99.9% [I know, why isn't it 100%? Doesn't seem like there's much left to go from there does it?]) that if you take a breath of air at least one molecule in that breath will be a molecule that Christ breathed 2,000 years ago. Isn't that crazy?!

Today's random and obscure fact is thanks to my father and the rather odd conversation that we were having last night over V for Vendetta. Thanks again dad!

Worn Out

Monday's Memory

Alright here goes, I've finally joined the ranks of Monday's Memory bloggers. I've got to be honest, I'm a little scared. What if I'm not a good memorist....memorist? That's totally not a word. Ah well you'll all love me anyways right?

Now since last Saturday was my last day at Jakes, I decided that for my first Monday Memory I would reminisce about my first day at Jakes.

It was November of 2007, and I had just totaled my brothers truck, which was the whole reason I was getting a job there anyways. My first shift started at 6 and I was in training. Lisa, who owns Jakes, was in charge that night and I was terrified! I walked in, filled out my forms, read the rules, put on my nifty Jakes shirt and began a love affair that lasted for the next 3 years. (Ok well it wasn't all love, there was a whole lot of frustration, anger, hurt, worry, and fear that mixed itself in with the joy and love- but isn't that like every relationship?)

I knew I was working with the owner and I wanted to be super impressive, I did the best I could to pick up on everything quickly and get along well with everybody. It was easier than I thought at before I knew exactly what had happened Lisa was coming up to me, and telling me that I had done a terrific job and that I could go home.

I walked home in a daze. That was it? I had just completed my first day on a job where I had a W-2, a uniform, in other words, a REAL job. I was so proud! I had survived!

I carried this memory with me on Saturday night, as customer after customer came pouring into Jakes and we had our first night over 2,000 for the year 2011. I kept up a mantra that if I had survived my first night I could certainly survive my last. And I did, with no bruises, no harm, and no lasting damage to my sanity.

A part of me is sad that this stage of my life is over *fingers crossed* but a part is also excited, and ready to move on! Besides, it's not like Jakes is that far away from me :-D I'm sure I'll be up there plenty in the future.

Friday's Fact

Ok so about 95% of the blogs that I follow have two things: Monday's Memory and Wordless Wednesday. I love reading and seeing these blog posts and I have been lately toying with the idea of joining in on this. But as I was considering it I realized that something was missing. I mean, when you say Monday and Wednesday right after each other the natural word that follows is Friday. And I realized we were missing Friday! Then I thought that maybe Friday felt left out, and I hate it when inanimate things feel left out in my imagination. It just hurts my heart.

So I have decided that I am going to institute a Friday Fact. Just every Friday a random fact about absolutely anything that I find interesting I will share with all of you! It's a win-win for me because now I can not only do a Monday Memory and a Wordless Wednesday guilt free but I can get to know tons and tons of useless trivia and feel smarter! And who knows? Maybe it will catch on and my name will become famous in the blogging world!

(*snorts with laughter* Yeah, like THAT'D ever happen. First off there really aren't enough people reading my blog to make it famous and secondly I'm so sure that someone else has come up with this idea before...I'm just taking credit because I'm not SURE if anyone has. I'll just be happy if one person I know picks it up, then I'll feel special. Anyways, on to the the fact)

As my fact is really obscure and odd (a little like me) let me just quick give you a little background. The Dewey Decimal System is the system that the vast majority of libraries use to sort and organize their books. In the DDS you have 10 main systems, 10 classes in each system, and 10 sections in each class. And each book is a assigned a decimal number correlating to author and title of book. Short explanation, you might be more confused than before, sorry, but I felt it necessary to let you know that before I posted my fact...so I guess you get two facts! Yay!! Ok, fact now. (Also I promise next Fridays will be MUCH shorter)

Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey Decimal category.

Moving!

I feel like I should warn you all that this post is probably going to be pretty boring. It's not a fun story or anything, it's really just an update. But it does contain some news that I am SUPERLY DUPERLY excited about!!!

Last Wednesday Mom and I flew up to Washington to help my sister and brother-in-law, Val and Jacob, move down to Twin Falls, ID. Jake got a job at the hospital there and he started Monday (late happy first day wishes Jake!!) and so all weekend we packed and sorted and cleaned out their house in Colfax, and then we drove down to Twin Falls.

Ok, I do have to interject a quick story here. So pretty much ALL of Friday I was freezing right? The door to the house had been open all day (since we were loading a truck it was kind of pointless to close it...) so the house was cold and outside was cold and I was just cold! And for some reason I never got properly warm in the U-HAUL truck that Val and I were in on our way to Twin Falls. Val was roasting but I was slightly if not more than slightly cold the entire way from Colfax to Le Grande. We stopped in Le Grande for the night and got a hotel and the first thing we did was make sure that the heater was on full blast. It was going and I was so happily warm and my bed was right next to the heater! I was in heaven. And then it like exploded!!! Ok, no it didn't EXPLODE in the traditional sense of the word, but it started heaving out heat! It was SO SO SO hot! The entire hotel room was practically molting it was so hot and I could not for the life of me figure out how to turn it down! I looked at it, turned my cell phone light on it, but I must have been extremely tired because all of the symbols on the heater looked suspiciously like a foreign language...not even a regular foreign language. They looked like a made up foreign language...like gnomic or something. So I tried sleeping on the floor but it was FREEZING down there! I mean seriously there was no happy medium between the two! So I tried the bed again and I was tossing and turning and moving and jumping and harrumphing trying to get a good spot. I think I finally found one that was pretty ok near the end of the bed, hanging a little off with my head and arms...needless to say Val and Jake chuckled when they woke up and saw me...And then the next day we headed out on the road and I was freezing all over again. Sometimes I think there is no justice in this world....Anyways, moving on...

Val and I were in one of the U-HAUL's together and we had SUCH a good time driving! We listened to the radio and mocked the stations and quoted movies and created inside jokes and played the alphabet game (silently of course, until you get to Z which you shout out triumphantly since you've just won! [Of course the other person didn't know you were playing and some people {those with ridiculously high moral standards if you ask me} consider this unfair] but it's much easier to win this way) and we also created a new version of the alphabet game, the Symbol Game. Along the same lines but much harder...and way more fun. Well, if you're with the right people.

Anyways, eventually we got to Twin Falls and we got them unloaded (I have to say, I think Val's new ward is gonna rock! No less than 5 elders showed up to help us unload the trucks. They will forever live in my heart as heroes...) and went out to dinner. Mom and I left the next day and Val and Jake have been moving in, unpacking boxes, etc...

Now, do you remember way back at the beginning of this forever long and really random post? When I said I had some news that I was SUPERLY DUPERLY excited about?! It is this! Val and Jake are now only 2 1/2 hours away from my home! This makes them the closest siblings that I have around me (Ok, that's not true, Ryan is closer but as his home changes location on a fairly regular basis and I'm never actually sure where to find him I don't really count it) and I'm so stoked!! Val and I have all these weekend jaunts planned where I come down on Friday night, we talk and giggle late into the evening, spend all day Saturday doing some deliciously wonderful thing and then I come home Saturday night or Sunday, depending on how I feel. Well I mean I have all these plans, Val will probably just accept my company graciously because, well she's a gracious lady. And I'm her sister and I'm gonna come whether she wants me to or not so she really has no choice in the matter :-D And it's gonna be so great! We're gonna go to City of the Rocks! (Multiple times as soon as the weather warms if I have my way) and we're gonna explore Twin Falls and it's gonna be so great! Who's excited?!

(Just think of it this way, even if you're not excited about Val moving because you aren't related and don't really care now I'll actually have some fun things to blog about that will be interesting and fun to read! The exact opposite of this post :-) ) Now who's excited?!