Flashback Friday 157

Going back to 2001 or 2002. I don't quite remember. All I remember is that I tapped for a little bit in 1st grade for the first time. Then didn't do it again. Sadly. Then my sister Jamie started learning from Sister Tate in the ward. So I asked Jamie and she would teach me. I bought $10 tap shoes online and she started teaching me in the garage. We had fun.

Then the ward Talent show came along. Jamie and Sister Tate performed one of their numbers and then they were nice enough to include me on a more simple dance to another song. It was fun, I enjoy performing... but you can tell out of the 3 of us that I am the one that is least confident and doesn't really know what they are doing. Oh well. ha ha

I later moved to Utah and ended up taking tap at a studio for 2 years. Loved it. I should probably take up tap again sometime.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 210

OH. MY. GOSH! It is February and it feels like April. The weather has been AMAZING!!! I have loved it SO MUCH! I know that we need more snow.... but I don't mind this at all. I have even sat in my car on my lunch break a couple of times and just soaked in the sun.

Friday night I was watching a movie with John in my basement. The next day, I ran into this guy in my ward. He asked me what I had done the night before. Before I could even answer he said "Oh, you were watching a movie". It took me a second but I was like... umm, how did you know I was watching a movie? I don't remember telling you that AND I don't remember you coming over. He said, oh I saw you through the window. I said the basement window? How? He tells me he saw a light coming from the basement window so he looked in and saw us. It's one thing to glance as you walk by... but then he said, yeah.. I saw that you were with John cuddling on the couch and you both had intense looks on your faces (probably because we were watching an intense movie) and I was like... ummm CREEPER! Why were you staring at us through the basement window? Needless to say I have been closing my blinds since because I paranoid of people staring at me through the window.


My neighbor has a turtle. She has had it for another a year now and it has gotten a lot bigger. Sometimes she takes it outside to walk around. He always goes for the parking lot and streets... so she tied a balloon around him. Seems reasonable right? It was pretty funny to watch.

I finally got my sleeping pad! I'm so ready for summer camping. Is it summer yet? ha ha. It's an awesome sleeping pad. John has the same one and let me sleep on it one night when we camped at Havasupai. Now I am set for my Winter gear and camping gear. I plan on doing a lot of camping this summer. Super excited. I'm pretty sure I don't need anything else... unless I'm going hardcore and get a water filter or something like that. I think I'm good for now. Mini stove? Probably need one of those eventually.

Speaking of camping gear. John also helped me waterproof my tent. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gone through the trouble to do that. It will help though in case I camp in the rain or heavy dew. Veda and I want to Camp at Big Sur... so no doubt it was a good move.

I'm trying to brush up on my Spanish... my co-worker suggested using the App "Mindsnacks". It's ok. Basically it's games that help you memorize words. If anyone has any better suggestions of how to brush up on Spanish without taking a class... let me know :)

Weeds are taking over my fish tank. Today I went to Reef Runners and I bought a couple of peppermint Shrimp to help eat out the weeds. Recommended by my fish expert cousin who has a bunch of coral for me when I go to see him. Anyway... one of them is already dead! One of the fish attacked it and yep... it's dead. Dang it. Hopefully the other one survives. I also got a star fish. I will have to go back and get another one. I need to go back and get water from there anyway. This really is a learning experience for me. A fun one though. I need some other tank cleaning sea creatures though... lots of stuff is starting to grow in there. I can't tell which stuff that is growing is good and which is bad. Also there are some snails that just appeared and moving around the tank that I never noticed before. Very cool.

I read this article. It made me feel a little better about my body image and that this is exactly the reason I shouldn't compare myself to images I see online

I'm going to learn how to do book binding. I have wanted to learn how and do a couple for a while. I finally got a few people from our craft group to want to do one with me. I'm going to do the leather bound route. My friend Allison (the one I went to Southeast Asia with) is a pro at book binding and is going to help us out. She told us she bought a leather jacket a DI and has been just cutting it up and using that every time she makes another book. Way cheaper than buying leather. So yesterday Sara and I took a trip to DI to see if we could find a leather jacket to cut up and use for our books. $5 and we even split the cost between the two of us, so we only paid a couple of bucks. Can't beat that! Nailed it!

I went to John soccer game again on Monday after going to the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU for FHE. Both fun activities. John's soccer game was a little later, but they won... so that was good. His team now is more fun to watch than his last team.

Today was my 5 year anniversary at work. I already got a little framed certificate... but I got an email today (since it is the exact day 5 years ago that I started) thanking me for my services. What I wasn't expecting in my yearly email was a voucher. I clicked on this website they gave me the link to and I had a voucher for $200 to spend in one or more places. Places such as iTunes, Nike, Cabella's, Cheesecake Factory, etc.. So... I was pretty excited this morning. So I put $100 towards getting new running shoes from NIKE. I haven't decided what the other $100 will go towards yet. I have a year to use it. Thank you Novell!

On Sunday this guy that I used to like and go out with before I dated John showed up at my ward. He is a very touchy feely guy. He has come to church with me before (we actually met when he was visiting my ward in the early summer) so I know what goes down. To try and avoid some akwardness, I sat next to my neighbor Jed. He is the one that works at the piano bar and we like sitting by each other in church because we love to sing together. Jed is also a touchy feely guy. So I sat between two guys that were sitting VERY close to me and both whispering to me and so on. The one visiting tries to find any excuse to touch me and sometimes he just stares at me. Like... not even subtle about it. I always have to decide if I'm going to pretend like I don't see it in the corner of my eye or if I look at him and smile and say what? I do a little bit of both. He will just tell me how lovely I look or that  smell good and smells my hair. It would be flattering if it weren't kind of creepy. It's overboard. I think he thinks he is being pretty charming though. Don't worry... he doesn't ask me on dates, we just have these awkward encounters here and there. I keep busy though (while listening to the speakers of course). This is what happens when you sit next to me in church....

Photo of the Week 208

I'm running out of pictures! So... here is the picture of the Sunset on Sunday at my parents house in Mapleton. Never get tired of taking pictures of sunsets.

Donut Falls

About a month ago Allison and I tried to hike to Donut Falls. It is supposed to be one of the easiest hikes in Utah. The website said it was a good hike for children and the elderly. So we decided that was a good hike for us. I just called my post Winter hiking because I was too embarrassed that we didn't find the falls... since they were supposed to be so easy to get to.  I feel like they should specify that it is a little different in the Winter than other times of year.

Allison and I were determined to find the falls. How could we have missed them? This time we brought Josh and RJ with us and went earlier in the day (so we could have more light and run into other people) to grantee that we would find the falls this time.

So we started round two on our attempt to hike to donut falls. We were on the same trail... so we know we did that right. We kept asking people if we were going the right way. Everyone assured us we were. So far so good.

Then we got to the same dead end that we did before. Everyone claimed that is where the falls were. Where were they? How could we miss them? We didn't hear a waterfall. The only thing we could think to do that we didn't do before was climb the ice hill... which was scary.

Once we got a good way up the ice hill without slipping to our death (ok that is a bit dramatic but that is what it felt like) we heard voices. Voices that soon came out of this hole. This hole.... which lead to Donut Falls! No wonder Allison and I missed it before! We had no idea we were looking for a hole to climb in to.

We were so happy we made it this time. It was pretty awesome too. We were so confident we were going to find it this time that we brought donuts to eat at Donut Falls. We are awesome like that.

Once you are inside... it looks pretty rad I must say. We were all glad we made the scary climb up the ice. Totally worth it. Oh.. and the way down? Had to slide down on your butt. It was a little scary but we all made it safe. Cold... but safe.

Then we hiked back. We all had a good time. Now we need to find a new spot to adventure to. Until next time...

Utah Dining

One day I realized how many places there were to eat in just Provo/Orem alone. So many food trucks or tiny little places that you pass by without even taking a second glance. Then there are hole in the wall places that I always wondered are even any good.

I told my new wardie BFF that I wanted to go and try all of those places that I had never eaten at before. It would be an adventure. It would be funny at times. Hey! Maybe we would even discover hidden gems! She was totally in... so our journey began.

This will be an ongoing thing, so here are the ones we (or I) have hit up since we decided to take this journey.

Rocky Mountain Drive Inn - Provo

This is one that I have driven by SO many times and have wondered. Who goes there? I never see anyone there. Is it any good? Allison and I went there first and found out. Turns out they have all kinds of things on their menu... burgers, fries, corn dogs, shrimp & chips, shakes, scones and more.

Here's what we got.

It wasn't terrible. It wasn't awesome. Will we go back? Probably not.... but now I know!

MountainWest Burrito/Waffle Love - Provo

We had been hearing a lot about Waffle Love. After a hike up in the mountains we decided it was time to try it out. When we got there we realized we hadn't had dinner and the Waffles were very much a dessert thing. So what did we do? We went next door to MountainWest Burrito. I have been there before, but Allison hadn't (I think) but I love that place. So good. Everything they use is local too... which is awesome. So we ate there.

Then went back over to Waffle Love and got Waffles... to go, because that was a lot of food all at once. ha ha. Maybe wan't the best idea in the world. So good though.

LOVE both. Will we go back? Of course!

Hu Hot - Spanish Fork

This one I actually did with work. It's a Mongolian Grill. I have been to the one in Springville, but not this one. It's new. I like Mongolian Grills. They are kind of fun that you get to choose what you want and they grill it for you... you can go back again and try something else. I love it. It's good. It can be healthy (which is the route I took... veggies and meat no pasta). It is a little expensive though. Will I go back anytime soon? Probably not. I don't crave it, but it is fun and I like it.

Sodalicious - Provo

This is a little soda place. They make all kinds of yummy combo's of drinks. McKenzie and I tried this out together. I loved mine. It was a peach mango drink. I can see myself craving this and going back this summer for little drink treats.


Eggrollin - Provo

Last we have Eggrollin. I had passed by it a couple of times just noticing the stand (since I am not on the look out for places that I haven't noticed before. Eggrollin is a truck with Filipino food! I had never tried Filipino food before so I was excited. After a hike with some friends, we decided to give it a try since none of us had tried it before. Surprisingly RJ had never tried it before because he is from the Philippines.

We all LOVED it! So good. So much food for a good price. Would I go back again? Absolutely! Yum! I am loving this new challenge of appreciating and loving where I live.

Until next time!

Beards

Before John, I never dated a guy with a beard. I never really liked beards... I was always into the clean shaven guys. I think I have changed my mind now... because I obviously didn't mind John's beard at all. Now I think it depends on the guy. Some guys look good with beards and I wouldn't mind a guy with a beard if he looks good with it and keeps it maintained.

ANYWAY... I saw this and sent it to John because I thought it was hilarious.

BYU Basketball Game

Thursday night my BFF neighbor, Darrell, asked me if I wanted to go to the BYU Basketball game with him. I love time with my BFF Neighbor and going to basketball games are fun. So I said OF COURSE! Plus... it was a big game. Those are always fun.

I wore blue and white to show my BYU spirit (even though I never went to BYU) and I sang the fight song and I cheered my little heart out while having a nice chat with Darrell. We had a good time. Half time we were tied 39 to 39.

It was a close game but BYU stayed slightly ahead pretty much the entire time and guess what? BYU won! It was very exciting. I had a blast. Thanks Darrell for thinking of me and bringing me along!

Flashback Friday 156

Found this gem while going through my pictures. I think I'm maybe 5 in this picture? I'm not completely sure... but I love this picture. My sweet Grandpa Watson reading to me and my sister and cousin. I love that I have pictures like this since I didn't get to really know my Grandpa since I was in 2nd grade when he passed away.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 209

This was a great week. It was a short work week. That always makes for a great week. Would have been even better if I could have gone somewhere for the long weekend. Oh well. At least I still did some fun things and was productive. I felt like I was super productive actually. All weekend I stayed up late going through my storage closet and everything in my basement room. I got rid of a bunch of crap. Big DI pile and a trash pile. Feels so good to de-junk. Other people might not be able to tell as much, but to me... my basement is the most organized and clean and clear as it has ever been. It is actually a place a I want to hang out now.... and I have been. Now I just need to find a way to make the furniture down there more comfortable for me and everyone else that comes down to hang out. I will think on that one.

It has been a sporting event week for me. John invited me to his soccer game on Monday, so I went to see him play with his new team at a new location. Better set up for indoor soccer first of all. Second, this team is tons better (even though they still lost). It was fun. Tonight I also went to a BYU Basketball game. It was a big game and it was so fun. I will write more about that in another post.

Monday I went to a President's day party. People are so creative about their parties around here. You know me... I love a good theme party.

My computer at work has been SOOOOOOO Slow all week. It has been busy to so it has really been trying my patience. Seriously... I feel like I'm waiting for dial up or something. It's not cool. I get so frustrated at it just shutting down programs that I'm using and taking a million years to do anything. A lot of times I just have to take a walk. Supposedly I have one of the good computers too. Sad that I work for a software company that doesn't have better technology.

I got my cavities filled on Wednesday. I always forget how expensive dental work is... even with insurance. Also I always forget how long you feel uncomfortable after the dental work. They numb the crap out of your mouth, it takes them 10 minutes to do the fillings and then your mouth is numb for the next 4 or so hours. Meanwhile... eating and drinking gets real interesting...

I had dinner with Meg on Tuesday since she was down in Provo. So glad we have both made the effort to stay in touch and hang out even after she moved and got married. She is a good friend and I'm happy to have her in my life. We had a great time chatting as we always do. I can't believe we didn't get a picture! What were we thinking? Geez!

We had Stake Conference on Sunday. I thought it was great. My favorite President Sandburg spoke on putting everything into perspective of why we do everything we do in the church... having a understanding and testimony of the plan. President Heaton talked about coming back to church.... even brought up a couple of people that had left the church and came back and had a question answer thing in front of everyone. I thought it was different but cool. I like church.

Did I also mention on my day off on Monday I went on a hike with some friends (blog post to come) and we went to this food truck called "Eggrollin" which is Filipino food... which I had never tried, but I really liked! I love trying new places around town.

I have had some heart to hearts lately with friends who are going through a hard time. Either with their family or themselves... It made me realize that I need to be a better friend and reach out to other people that are struggling. It also made me realize that my struggles are not as bad as I think they are. Not that they are not valid... because they are, and it's ok to feel sad about them, but I'm glad that I find so many things and people that make me happy. Not everyone does that or knows how to do that. I'm thankful that I am a happy person because it makes getting through life easier and more fun. Hopefully I can help these couple of girls that I have talked to get there too. There is so much in life to be happy about.

When I was trying to shop around for a new nightstand and failing big time... I saw this car, so I parked next to it. ONLY parked next to is because it looked like this. It made me smile.

Photo of the Week 207

Went on another winter hike. Look at me getting out and enjoying winter.... weird.

Lily Lake Yurt Trip

A Day and a half after I got back from Arizona, I went on a trip with a few friends to Northern Utah. We drove through Evanston Wyoming to get to the Wasatch- Cache National Forest to start our snow shoe hike to Lily Lake to get to our yurt that we would stay in for the night. This is the only way you could get me on a camp out in the winter. I was not only excited to go on a little camp out, but I was also excited to use my awesome backpack again. Also to use my new sleeping bag AND my new snow shoes I bought. I had never snow shooed before, but living in Utah I thought it would be a good investment.  My snow shoes were awesome! I got such a great deal on them too.

We packed up our stuff and the cars and drove a couple of hours to our destination. We all got our backpacks on and our snow shoes and we were ready to start our adventure.

On to the Lily Lake Yurt!

The hike was beautiful and snowy. I was loving it.

Later we got to the yurt. You wondering what that set up is like? Let me show you. This is what the outside of the yurt looks like.

Outside around the yurt we have a porta potty, wood pile for the wood stove and a blocked off section of snow. This is the snow we collect to melt for drinking water.

This is what the inside of the yurt looked like. Seems pretty cozy right?

It was actually one of the worst nights sleep I have had. The bunks were super hard. I was on the edge of the highest top bunk (sharing the bunk with Allison), so I couldn't sleep super well in fear that I was going to fall off. The wood stove warmed up the yurt so much that I felt like I was in a sauna. Bottom bunk claimed to be "freezing". Meanwhile I was on the top bunk sleeping on top of my sleeping bag, not being able to take off anymore layers or I would be naked. It was terrible. This picture... the looks on our faces... it explains it all.

We ate dinner. I of course had dinner in a bag. Ellis wanted to bring back the Thailand good times and packed Jenga for us to play. So we played that.

After the horrible nights sleep we cleaned up, packed out and started our snow shoe trip back.

Sabrina and I discovered that we had the same Joan of Arctic boots! How awesome is that? I love my boots.

My favorite thing is that Daniel snow shooed in his robe and wore it most of the time he was in the cabin.

It was snowing almost the entire hike back. It was beautiful. I loved not being at work. Instead I was enjoying the beauties of winter nature and taking a little adventure with some fun people. Doesn't get better than that. I even made a little video of our fun trip.



We all enjoyed the trip. We all enjoyed the beautiful snowy scenery. It was really a Winter Wonderland!

What a fun trip. I would totally do this again (different yurt next time?). Especially since I know what to expect now and feel like I would go in more prepared knowing what to expect. What a fun group! I'm so happy that I was invited and I was able to go. Loved this adventure!