8 Years

Still at the same job... 8 years later. Who knew that would happen? Not me. Kind of crazy. Thankful they have treated me well enough that it has made me want to stay. 5 Minute commute is great, my co-workers are pretty great too. :)

Cally Jean

Last night I was over at my Cousin Dave's house. Whenever I go over there (which isn't super often) their kids get so excited. Especially Cally. I don't know why, but Cally decided she loved me from the moment she met me. She put me up there with her love for Lisa... who is her actual Aunt. I'm just a cousin of her dad. Maybe it is the middle name connection? Cally Jean, Lisa Jean & Tracy Jean. I don't know.... but when I am there she loved talking to me about my travels and is the little hostess to me. Makes sure I have something to drink and a snack if I want one. She is the sweetest.

When I was over there I asked Heather why her kids treat me like I'm royalty since they didn't grow up seeing me all the time and don't even see me that much in general. She told me... they love me and think I'm cool. I don't know why... but I'm flattered and I will take it because I think they are great. I mean, I love my nieces and nephews, but I love my cousins kids a lot too... especially the Anderson cousins.

The next day I was tagged in a post on Facebook by Heather. I thought... what could she have possibly tagged me in? After reading the post, it made me smile. Totally made my day. Thanks Cally! Love you!

Valentine Card Making

Kristy has decided to do cards with us every month. January was Winter themed, February is of course Valentines themed.

Here 's how mine turned out. Pretty cute. Funny activity with my mom and sister. I like this new thing Kristy has started.

Sundance Snowshoeing

Lacey had never been snowshoeing before, so I told her I would go with her. It is a good thing she asked me a good month after my last snowshoeing trip to the yurt... because after that trip, I was ready to put my snowshoes away until next year. That trip was tough! Thankfully this snowshoe experience wasn't that difficult, just a little colder than I expected or wanted.

I was excited to explore a new trail that I had never done before. They have a yurt up there just for renting snowshoes and cross country skis and have their own trails. They said you could see Stewart Falls from one part of the hike, so we were excited for some good views.

The trail looped around and I think was only about a mile. It was pretty going through all of the trees... but both Lacey and I were hoping for better views of the canyon. Every time we got to a point where there was a good view, it was pretty much covered by trees. Regardless, we had a great time chatting and catching up and enjoyed time outdoors in the beautiful mountains.

Also found a place to hang my hammock for a little rest. Never a bad idea to hammock.

Fun Saturday activity with a friend... but I am hoping this is my last Winter activity. I'm ready for Spring. I know it is only the end of February.... but I'm ready.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 363

 Well.... I already blogged about the weekend.... Stacey's ice cream flavor at Rockies and my adventure weekend in Snow Canyon with Kyle and seeing my BFF Lolly at her Cabin. There isn't really much else to say that hasn't already been written about.

Tuesday my boss was sad and even though she was not at work because she took some time off to do some early spring cleaning... I asked her if there was anything that I could do to help her with her sadness. I know she likes to see movies, and it was Tuesday... which meant $5 movies... so I suggested seeing a movie. She was excited and told me she really wanted to see John Wick Chapter 2. I had never seen John Wick .... but if that is what she wanted to see, I would see it with her. So I met her at the movies later that night and saw her movie. I HATED it. Way too much violence for me. I spent half of the movie looking away. She likes that kind of stuff though... so if it made her happy... whatever. I don't recommend it and I will absolutely never see it again.

Wednesday, Stacey called me and asked me what I was doing. Of course I wasn't doing anything...  I'm usually not. So we went to Beto's. Why? So that we could talk about Cancun and his Europe trip. It had been a while since we had gotten together to catch up and we have started a tradition. Our tradition is eating Beto's while talking about our trips... the good and the bad. It is a fun tradition that I enjoy. Besides the random people that come up to Stacey and want a picture with him because of his fame. Ugh. It would be nice to go out and not be bothered by other people.... but he is cool about it, so I should be too. Anyway.... we stayed up super late eating Mexican food and laughing at stories from our trips and having a blast as we always do.

AAAAAAAANNDDDD..... that is it. Guess I am still recovering from the weekend. Also, I have told myself that not all weeks can be jam packed with excitement. It is ok to have normal weeks that are relaxed and routine. Just not too many weeks in a row. :)

Photo of the Week 361

A shot from my weekend in Snow Canyon State Park in St. George, Utah.

Lillard Cabin in Cedar City Canyon

The same weekend that I was in southern Utah with Kyle, my BFF, Lolly, was at her cabin with her family in the mountains of Cedar City. It is a little out of the way, but would seem silly NOT to stop by and see her and see her new cabin on my way home. So I told Kyle we were making a pit stop. Kyle is totally go with the flow (one of the reasons why we are such great adventure buddies) so we made our way there.

It was amazing how much colder and how much snow there was as soon as we started heading up the canyon. It got to the point where I felt like I drove to a different state. It was crazy. Thankfully I have All wheel drive, otherwise I don't know if we would have made it all the way to their cabin! Tons of snow up there.

Once we got up there, we stayed and chatted for a couple of hours and I got a tour of the cabin. Such a great cabin! I told Lolly that we were going to have to meet up there in the future. It had been a year since I had seen Lolly. SAD! I know! So I was glad that I stopped to visit. Even if it was only for a couple of hours. We talk so much all the time that it doesn't seem like that long since our last visit, but it was. I need to be better this year about visiting her. She is the besets of best friends that one could ask for. Thankful we make time for each other. SO great to catch up with her. Perfect end to my weekend trip.

Snow Canyon

Kyle and I drove over to Snow Canyon in hopes that we would be able to camp there. As we entered the park we were told that there were no camping spots left... even though I just wanted to sleep in my car. We paid to get in and thought we would figure out a way once we got in there.

So we decided to get a hike in while we figured it out and before it got dark. We hiked to the Lava Caves. I had never been before and it sounded pretty awesome to me... so I was excited. I love exploring new places and I love that I continue to find new places to explore in Utah. I have seen so much here, but there is still so much to see. Anyway... we headed to the Lava Cave. We explored the Lava Cave.

While in the Lava Cave, we met some cool people. We took some cool pictures for them and while taking pictures talked about Instagram and became Instagram friends. Then Kyle brought up that we needed to find a place to sleep that night because they told us there were no camping spots left. They told us that they were camping in the park and most of their group didn't come... so there were plenty of spots and that we should join them. So.... we took them up on their generous offer. It pays to be friendly and chat I guess. We didn't know where we were going to sleep... made new friends. Problem solved.

So we followed them back to their camp site and we set up camp ourselves. For me... that just meant turning the back of my car into a bed. I have an air mattress and memory foam and blankets and pillows and I even brought my twinkle lights. I was pretty cozy that night. While everyone else was cold in tents out in the rain... I was nice a cozy in my car. I slept great. ha ha. My new favorite way to camp. We made dinner and hung out with our new friends. There were a lot more of them at the camp then who we met on our hike... so we got to know all of them before going to bed.

The next day, it was still raining a little, but when it stopped we decided we go for another hike up White Rock. Such a rad view of Snow Canyon. Kyle and I had a blast with our new friends from Utah State in Logan. They made us feel like we were part of their crew.

The view at the top was awesome... so we took our time up there.

We also decided to do jumping pictures. I think we decided to do this because we thought because we were already up so high that it would look super legit if we were jumping? I'm not sure. All I know is that I suck at taking jumping pictures. We tried SOOOO many times before we got any good shots. I don't know why it is so hard for me to jump... but we got a good laugh out of all the attempts.

A picture of the Kyle and I were the ENTIRE group of our new friends. So glad they let us join with them. What an awesome and fun group we met.

It was a little wet and a little cold, but Kyle and I were so glad that we went. We had a blast. Plus, it is always great to get out of town, explore a new place and make new friends.

Kanab Road Trip

Kyle and I wanted to get out of town for Presidents Day Weekend. We had all of these ideas of where to go and decided on Kanab. Why? We hadn't really explored there and there was a hot air balloon festival there that weekend. Plus it was raining pretty much everywhere that we wanted to go... so might as well stay somewhere near by just in case we want to bail and go home.

So early Saturday morning we headed that way. I was doubtful that hot air balloons were going to happen because it was rainy the entire drive there. When we arrived, I was right. The hot air balloons were cancelled for the day, but there was still a festival. So Kyle and I went to check it out. I ended up buying a beanie (the one I am wearing in the picture) and some bamboo pillows and a 10 ft phone charger cord and some yummy grub. There was also a band competition of some sort happening so we listened to music while we ate food.

It was fun for a couple of hours... but then it was time to move on. We needed to come up with a plan B since the balloon festival was a no go. We decided to head to St George and go to Snow Canyon.

Stay tuned...

Tastey Stace

There is this awesome Ice Cream place near Center Street in Provo that is somewhat new called Rockwell's. Stacey had told me about it a while ago and told me it was his favorite ice cream and wanted to take me... but we never got around to going. Apparently he goes often enough that they asked him if he wanted to create his own flavor for the store. I mean... it helps that he is also a Utah celebrity... but whatever. So he accepted and created his own flavor and the opening night was tonight and he was going to be there helping to serve up ice cream to promote his flavor.

Pretty cool right? Yeah, so Lindsay asked me if I wanted to go with her to support Stacey. Of course I said yes. We also ran into some other friends that also went to support Stacey. Stacey later told me that they didn't keep the ice cream flavor that name... it was just for him that night. Pretty lame. Why do it at all if you aren't going to keep it? Oh well... still cool that they asked him.

Good ice cream and friends isn't a bad way to spend your Friday evening. Oh and that ice cream is super good. I will be going back for sure.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 362

I already blogged about painting pots with MacKenzie and our night of craft fun... so I will begin with Saturday. I was mostly doing chores and running errands, but I did watch the sunset at Utah Lake. It's my favorite. It's so close. After the sunset I had a date. WHAT? And a date that I was actually excited to go on. This is a guy I met online. His name is Ian... but it is pronounced Eye-N. I know... weird. We went out 4 months previous... but he pretty much stopped talking to me because he got back together with his ex girlfriend. Not a new story in my life. Anyway... they ended and we reconnected and he wanted to go out again and so did I because our first date did go well I thought. Great time, lots to talk about, similar personalities... he is a gentleman and all around great guy. Positive, sweet, considerate. All of these things I am just dying to find in a guy that is also attractive. The biggest problem we had before and now is that he lives in Ogden when it far enough away that it sure doesn't make things convenient when you want to hang out to spend time together to see if you even like each other enough to want to invest in the person. He drove down last time we went out and I told him I would go up to him this time, but he said... no... it's a long drive, I will come to you. So he did and he took me out to dinner and we had nice conversation and went back to my place and cuddled while watching a chick flick (he wanted to watch a chick flick) I know... this guy is great. It was a great date and a great evening. Would I like to go out again? Absolutely! Will we go out again? Who knows... maybe in another 4 months after he gets back with his ex again? That is more what I am expecting. Not to be a downer... that is just how dating goes for me, so I can never get excited or else I would just be disappointed ALL of the time. We will see how long he keeps in touch before he stops talking to me again. You would think Ogden was in a different state the way people treat the distance. Sure, it is kind of far, but I could easily take turns driving to see each other and meet half way during the week if I was super interested. I guess not everyone feels the same way.

Sunday I met my cousin's wife's brother who I met through instagram but later found out the connection. Over Thanksgiving Brandon was with his wife's side of the family. He told Dave that he would like my Instagram and should follow me and was like, oh hey, I already follow her. Then he messaged me and told me the connection and I was like... hey, we should adventure together sometime (because we are doing similar hikes and such) and when I said adventure I meant like a hike.. but because he follows me on Instagram and knows I travel, he brought up that he really wanted to go to Iceland. I told him that is where I wanted to go next as well. So he came over Sunday for us to meet and plan a trip to Iceland. I know... I am crazy traveling with people that I hardly know. I figured it would be fine because he is kind of like family. Rachel is the sweetest, so I can only imagine her brother would be the same. So we chatted for a couple of hours. Then it was time for family dinner.

After family dinner I met up with another guy. We met online but he messaged me and told me he recognized me from Facebook because he had seen pictures of me with a mutual friend and remembered me because he thought I was pretty. Anyway... he bugged me enough and convinced me to let him come over even though it was kind of late on a Sunday night. We talked for a while. He is a funny guy. Turns out he is good friends with my friend Lyndi that I met at the gym through the personal trainer because he is good friends with her boyfriend. She also set him up with Hillary a while ago, so he went out with Hillary and now going after me. Kind of weird... but whatever. I figured out pretty quick that as nice and fun as he is... he is not someone I would ever be interested in dating and is FULL of issues just oozing out the surface. I mean... I guess it is pretty unrealistic to think I will find a guy without issues at this stage of life, but some I think are more doable than others. Anyway... who knows if I will see that guy again. But that is the case with 95% of guys that I meet online.

Monday was awesome because my work team did a "ski day". Yeah...  we didn't ski, but we did take half the day off as a team and I think that is great team building. So I got some time to get things done and chill at home. Later that night I put on my first Mid Singles Home Evening (my new calling) and we decorated and ate Valentine's sugar cookies since Valentines day was the next day. Still not thrilled about this calling... but I am doing it.  I was quick to hurry out of there and head to MacKenzie's house to watch Bachelor with her and her roommates. A fun Monday night activity.

My Valentines day was pretty nonexistent. Valentines day as a single person is kind of the worst. Out of all the guys I have dated, I have only had a boyfriend once on Valentines day, so I know the difference of how fun I can be. I know it shouldn't matter and not everyone does something super romantic or sweet... but at least everyone that is married or in a relationship has someone... it is just a reminder that I still don't and don't know if I ever will. Yep... depressing. My team lead did make Heart cookies for everyone with their names on it though... That was thoughtful.

Wednesday was just work... nothing exciting.

Which leaves me with today. After work I decided to take a trip to Scheels. I went on a search for crampon's for my shoes for hiking on ice and such for when I go to Iceland. I found a pair. Hopefully I will find reasons to use them even after this trip. Now that I think of it... there are times that I wish my snow boots had more traction. Well... now they can. I also got a few other things there. That store is amazing. They even have a Ferris wheel in the store. It's nuts. I geek out over outdoor gear though, so I could spend hours in that store. Right next to Scheels is The Habit AND FreeBirds (almost like I'm back home in Santa Barbara) so I stopped to get something to eat on my way home.

And that is it for my week. That's a wrap!

Photo of the Week 360

WHAT?!! Another sunset pic from Utah Lake? I'm not surprised. You shouldn't be either.

14th Birthday Party for Reanne!

Can you believe Reanne is 14? Yeah... me neither. She is growing up fast. We had a little family party for her tonight after dinner. She was thrilled about everything. She was just as excited for every present she opened no matter what it was.

Sierra was sweet and kept the Bourgeous Birthday tradition alive and decorated the Birthday Chair for Reanne. She of course LOVED it. Mostly because Sierra included Reanne's favorite thing... Anime.

Then we ended with her blowing out the candles and eating cake that Kristy baked for her.

Happy Birthday Reanne. You are turning into a beautiful and talented young woman. I love that you are passionate about what you like and don't like and that you are a rock star in your school band. You are so fun. Can't wait to take you out for your birthday treat.