Memo to Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature,
It is with utmost respect that I am writing you to remind you that winter is over! I'm wondering if maybe you celebrated a bit too much at the Spring Equinox and are still recovering because you are neglecting your spring duties. I woke up to this today-
which did not make me a happy girl. I do not want to wake up to snow again until next winter. Am I making myself clear?

From now on this is what I would like to wake up to-

I feel that I have been very patient through this very snowy winter. I have not bad mouthed you once when you made it snow every other day. I enjoyed the beauty of it and was thankful for the moisture. But even I have a breaking point- Enough is enough! I'm done!!

Thank you for your attention. I trust that you will comply with my wishes quickly. I will be watching for follow through.

Sincerely,
Amy

p.s.- Please to not skimp on spring this year. In years past you've only given us a taste of spring and gone straight on to summer. I don't enjoy being hot so if you could make spring last a while I'd appreciate it greatly.

Short and Sassy

My hair has been about the same length for a long time. I've had trims but nothing too drastic. I've been really bored with it lately.


So the other day when I went in for my cut and color I was feeling a little adventurous. I don't think adventurous is a very good thing to be when it comes time for a haircut- It's a little bit shorter than I planned when I went in-

Now that I've had a few days to adjust I kind of like it- it's short and sassy, just like me! (yeah, right!) Now if I can only make it look as cute as my hairstylist does.....

(I know the self-portrait is scary- but it was the best of the bunch- sorry!)

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What does the color dark green make you think of?
A forest, Christmas, my bedroom in college (I had a dark green bedspread)

Soup
How many cousins do you have?
7 first cousins on my Mom’s side, 6 first cousins on my Dad’s side- I’m not even going to attempt to go past first cousin’s because I’m not sure I can count that high.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?
I’d say about an 8. I think we all tell little white lies- “I love your new haircut!” “No those pants don’t make you look fat.” “Of course the Easter Bunny is real.”

Main Course
Name something that is truly free.
I am. I am free to make choices for myself and deal with the consequences myself.

Dessert
Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.
Some people really irritate me with their negativity and greediness. (That was harder than I thought it would be!)

Seriously?!?!

How on earth did Chikezie get voted off before Kristy Lee Cook and Ramiele?!!?!? How did those two avoid the bottom three? I'm so confused!

I will miss Chikezie. He wasn't the best singer in the competition but he had so much personality. He added a lot to the competition. It wasn't his time to go.

Here is his best performance- "She's a Woman"

Happy Birthday little brother!

Today is Leif's birthday. He is older than me by 20 months so he's not really my little brother, it's just a nickname. He gives me a hard time to about getting older but the wonderful thing is that he will always be older than me!

Leif is a great brother, father and husband. He has 3 boys that are adorable. He and his wife are having a baby this spring and they are finally going to get a girl!! Wahoo!! It's about time!

Happy Birthday Leif! Love you tons!!!

The song of the righteous...

Ok, you need to know 3 things about me before you read any more of this post-
1. I don't like country music. I went through a phase when I was living in Cedar City where I listened to it but I've moved on from that dark time in my life.
2. I am not a big fan of LDS music. I think that 99% of it is sickeningly sweet and sappy. I think I'm just too cynical for it. I do love the BYU Men's Chorus and a few other instrumental cd's that are mostly hymns.
3. Music is my favorite form of worship. My strongest experiences with the Spirit have always been through music. I envy people that can create that atmosphere with their talents but I am so thankful that they do. My life would be very empty without their talents.

I blogged about my first experience with the Nashville Tribute guys here. Here's the highlights, just to refresh my memory-
"Last March my Aunt and Mom bought tickets to a show in St. George and told me I had to come down. I didn't really know much about it. It was a country music group singing about Joseph Smith. I wasn't too excited about it, I'm not a huge country music fan, but I went anyway just for something to do and to make Mom happy. The show changed me in ways that I can not put into words. I've always had a very firm testimony of the Prophet Joseph. It's the one place in my testimony that never wavers. This show solidified that testimony in ways I didn't realize were possible. I was touched beyond description."
Last summer the Nashville Tribute Band released a second cd that is called Trek: A Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers. I bought it but hadn't really listened to it very much. When Tuachan published their Spring concert series I noticed they were having the NTB guys back to perform Joseph one night and Trek the next. Mom and I immediately planned a weekend in St. George so we could see both shows.

Friday night was the Joseph performance. I was once again blown away by it. I was moved to tears during several of the performances. I can't choose a favorite song. They are all so strong and poignant in their own way. I had someone mention that they weren't interested in listening to this CD because they think that we "worship" Joseph Smith more than we should. That is not what this CD is about! It focuses on different people that were involved in the restoration of the Gospel. There are songs about Joseph, Hyrum, Emma, Porter Rockwell and others. It is their journey from the First Vision to Nauvoo. It helps me take a different look at the Restoration and have more respect for everyone involved.

Saturday night was the Trek performance. I had listened to the CD a couple of times so I was a little bit familiar with the music but not much. The setting was perfect! Sitting among the red rocks under the stars seemed to be the perfect place to pay tribute to the pioneers. After one narration mentioned that the temperature was twenty degrees below zero I even quit complaining about how cold it was. My tears flowed freely and goosebumps appeared more than once. I've always been proud of my pioneer heritage but listening to their stories through song made my respect and love for them so much deeper. I was reminded that they had faith to walk into the unknown. They were literally walking to destinations unknown and did so diligently and faithfully. I am not literally walking but I'm still headed into the unknown and their examples of faith are there to help me if I will let them. If they can tackle the plains I most certainly can tackle Primary.

It was a wonderful experience to go to both of these concerts. I didn't even have the chance to attend church on Easter Sunday due to our travel schedule but I was spiritually fed this weekend. These cd's and concerts go above and beyond typical LDS music and country music and touch a place in my heart that I can't describe.

If you ever have the opportunity to see these guys perform take it. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, just go straight to the concert!

You can go to their website and become part of Porter's Posse to be on their mailing list.

~For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads~ Doctrine and Covenants 25:12

Weekend Getaway

This weekend my Mom, Dad, Aunt Kathleen, Uncle Scott, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mark and I all met in St. George. We had tickets to Tuacahn for Friday and Saturday night so instead of driving to Panguitch and back a couple of times we stayed in St. George for the weekend.

It was so nice to be someplace warm!! I couldn't believe how warm and sunny it was. I've been without it for so long I had forgotten how wonderful it feels. It was about 70 degrees during the day which is perfect for me. I hate to be hot so I'm glad it wasn't too warm yet.

We went to the concerts, (which will be getting their own post when my brain is a little less fried) shopped at the outlet mall, wandered around the art festival that was going on downtown and just enjoyed the sunshine. It was so fun!

Here are a few snapshots of the weekend~

The Perfect Peep

How to create the perfect peep in 4 easy steps-

• Step one- Purchase a package of your favorite color peeps the first day that Easter candy goes on sale. Mine were purple this year.
• Step two- Remove cellophane from the package of peeps. DO NOT eat them at this point.
• Step three- Place the uncovered package of peeps in the cupboard and forget about them.
• Step four- On Easter remove the package of peeps from the cupboard. Check to make sure they have hardened enough. You may have to try a bite to help determine if the proper amount of chewiness has been achieved. If they are properly tough and chewy- ENJOY!!!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Birthday girl

Today is Lyn's birthday. Lyn is married to my cousin Ben. She's an amazing wife, mother, sister, cousin and friend! She's always positive and always has something nice to say. She's one of those people that is just great to be around. She's also a very talented musician. She has the voice of an angel. Lyn and I have similar taste in music so she always listens to me gush about whoever my current favorite is and doesn't think I'm crazy. Well, at least she doesn't tell me I'm crazy even if she is thinking it.

Happy Birthday Lyn! Love you!!!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?
I'm a city girl 100%. I don't mind visiting the country since my parents live there but I don't think I could be happy living there.

Soup
Who is the cutest kid you know?
Ok, I'm going to take the easy road on this one and say that every kid is cute in their own way. I know that's kind of cheating but I can't pick one!

Salad
Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.
I couldn't believe it when I heard that Super Dale is running for governor- can he get any crazier?!?!

Main Course
If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?
I don't know. I do know that it would have to be a radio commercial because I do not want to be on tv ever.

Dessert
What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?
I don't take any thing on a regular basis. I always have good intentions but I'm only diligent for a couple of days and then I forget.

Awwwww...

Last night all of my Young Women showed up at my door bearing gifts. They brought me Easter treats and a thank you card. It was so sweet!! They are amazing young women. *sniff* I miss them!

A Guilty Pleasure returns-

I hated the writer's strike! It made me crazy! Wanna know why? Because I haven't had a new episode of Bones in months!!!!! It is such a great show.

Oh happy day!! I learned today that we will have new episodes starting April 14th! It's about time! I can't wait to see what my favorite squints are up to!

Google

This is so me!!!

Morning calisthenics

My Mom got home from Germany this weekend! Yay!! It is so good to have her home.

My parents stayed here Friday and Saturday night. Yesterday morning while I was getting ready I could hear Erin and my Dad in the other room talking about something. There was some moaning and giggling too. I was intrigued and had to find out what was going on. When I went into the living room I discovered that they were doing their morning exercises. It was so funny! Erin wouldn't let my Dad stop. I think they were doing sets of 25. Dad only made it to 60 but Erin did well over 100. Obviously it was Dad doing the moaning and Erin doing the giggling. Nothing slows that girl down!

This morning before they left I asked Dad if he was going to do his morning calisthenics, he laughed and said he didn't do those on Sunday- Wimp!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?
I have terrible handwriting and it just keeps getting worse and worse. I think it’s because I do 99.9% of my writing on the computer. I would rate my handwriting at about a 4. On a good day if I really slow down and pay attention to what I’m doing it might reach a 6.

Soup
Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers. I do not like taking baths at all. I hate sitting in my own dirt! If I am going to take a bath to relax I have to take a shower first.

Salad
What was the last bad movie you watched?
10,000 BC wasn’t very good. I don’t know that I would really call it bad but it’s the most recent movie I’ve seen that I didn’t really like. Don’t get me wrong the eye candy was wonderful. Steven Strait was the reason I wanted to see the movie and he made the weak plot worth it.

Main Course
Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.Diet Coke- I know that caffeine is part of the addiction but I really like the taste too. I love the feeling of the carbonation hitting the back of my throat. As for how it affects my life… I’m not sure it affects my life that much. I do always have it stocked at my house but if I run out I just face the day without it. I tend to be not as awake and a little bit grumpy but I manage.

Dessert
Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?
The male voice- does that count? If I have to pick an actual instrument I would say the piano- have you heard William Joseph play?!?!? The boy is a genius!

Fangirly Scream!!!!

Ok, some of you out there who are not as obsessed as I am might not know that Stephenie Meyer has a new book coming out on May 6th. It's called The Host. It's not young adult literature like the Twilight Series. It's science fiction, which I don't usually read, but if Stephenie writes it, I will read it. I can't wait.

Anyway..... her book tour dates were annouced today and she has two stops in Utah! Yay! She's going to be at Highland High School on May 17th and I have a ticket!!! My dear friend Meg called as soon as they were open and got me a ticket. I'm as giddy as a school girl! I get to meet Stephenie Meyer- how cool is that?!?!!?

I'm just a little bit excited- can you tell?

A to Z of me

A is for age: 33- yikes!!! How did I get to be that old?
B is for beer of choice: None- yuck! Even if I did drink alcohol it would not be beer.
C is for career right now: PACS Application Systems Specialist (good luck figuring out what that means!)
D is for your dog's name? No dog. I do have a cat names Socks though.
E is for essential item you use everyday: My computer
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: American Idol
G is for favorite game: Freecell
H is for home town: I don't really have a hometown because I grew up all over. I was born in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; I guess that counts as a hometown.
I is for instruments you play: I think I might be able to play Hot Cross Buns on the piano.
J is for favorite juice: Passion Fruit
K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: I can't think of anyone at this exact moment.
L is for last place you ate: Upstairs at the dinner table
M is for marriage: Yes, please.
N is for your full name: Amy
O is for overnight hospital stays: I think 4 nights total in my life.
P is for people you were with today: My co-workers and family
Q is for quote: "Savor the moments that are warm and special and giggly." Sammy Davis Jr.
R is for Biggest Regret: Not finishing school when I was younger
S is for status: Very, very single
T is for time you woke up today: My alarm went off at 6:30 but I didn't get of bed until about 7:15
U is for underwear you have on now: White
V is for vegetable you love: Broccoli- raw or steamed (but is still has to have a crunch)
W is for worst habit: Procrastinating
X is for x-rays you've had: I'm not sure. I'm gonna guess 6.
Y is for yummy food you ate today: Steak and Baked Potato for dinner
Z is for the zodiac sign: Sagittarius

Who thought this was a good idea?

Obviously the person that came up with the idea for Daylight Savings did not have 9:00 am church!

I've never understood the reason for the time change. Don't get me wrong, I love that it stays light longer but why can't we just stay on this schedule all year? Why does there have to be a change at all? If it wasn't so blasted hot I'd go live in Arizona so that I wouldn't have to put up with it!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?
I'm gonna go with Salma Hayek. Who wouldn't want to look like her for a week?!?!? The woman is gorgeous!!! Plus she seems to be a genuinely nice person and isn't involved in some sort of scandal every other week.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?
I’m not a big fan on talking on the phone, which is funny because I never go anywhere without it. Of course it does depends on who I’m talking to but I would say I average about a 6 on the scale.

Salad
Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).
LDS Church, United Way, McKay-Dee Foundation (payroll deduction is so convenient!) I would like to donate to and participate in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Every year I think I’m going to walk in their 5K and I never do. I really need to just do it!

Main Course
What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

Dessert
Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?
Nope (knock on wood!)

My top three....

Ok, so they have some amazing talent on American Idol this year. I'm very, very impressed. I've already got my favorites. These are my top three. Love them!!!


David Cook- a rock version of Hello? Is he crazy?!?! Watch and be awed.


Michael Johns- I've loved the Aussie boy from day one. He's amazing!


Carly Smithson- This is actually last weeks clip of "Crazy on You" because I think it's more her style than tonight's "I drove All Night".

Thought of the day-

"You need not feel guilty about not being able to keep your life perfectly balanced. Juggling everything is too difficult. All you really need to do is catch it before it hits the floor."

~Carol Bartz, high tech CEO

A Fine Frenzy

This is what I can't stop listening to-

It's One Cell in the Sea by A Fine Frenzy.

I don't usually really like female singers. There are a few that I enjoy but for the most part I prefer male voices. I lurve my singing boys!! My friend Jen gave me a CD the other day that had a couple of songs by A Fine Frenzy on it and I fell in love with her voice. I had to run to I-tunes and download the whole thing. It is amazing!! She has such a gorgeous voice! I just found out they will be in Salt Lake for a concert on April 1st. I'm going to see if I can get tickets.

Anyway.... if you're looking for something new I would definitely recommend this CD.

Overwhelmed and Underqualified

***Warning*** The following post is a rambling trip into my fragile and insecure psyche. It may be more than you want to know about me. If you're looking for something a little less serious I do highly recommend viewing the next post down- The Hawaiian Chair- it's hysterical! Consider yourselves warned...

Last Sunday I got a call from the executive secretary about meeting with a member of the bishopric. I knew that couldn't be good. I had just spoken that day so I knew it wasn't about speaking. That can only mean one thing...... a new calling. I've been the Laurel advisor for about 2 1/2 years so it wasn't really shocking to me that I would be getting a new calling. I was petrified as to what it might be. I knew that they need help in the nursery so I was pretty sure that was where I was headed. Ugh! Anyway I went to my meeting on Tuesday fully expecting to be called to nursery. I had decided that I wouldn't tell him no, no matter how badly I wanted to. I was not prepared for what he said. I've been called to be the 2nd counselor in the Primary Presidency! Excuse me, WHAT!?!?!?! I actually laughed at him, I'm not sure he appreciated that. Of course I told him that I would do whatever they needed me to do. My Patriarchal Blessing specifically tells me to never refuse a calling so I don't.

I'm still in shock about it. I don't really think I can do this for the following reasons-

1. I have no experience!! I've served in Young Women, Relief Society, Sunday School, Activities and I've even had made up singles ward callings but I haven't served in the Primary since I was 18. Right out of Young Women I was called to teach the Sunbeams and that was a complete disaster. They were hellions and made me cry every week. That is the only experience I've had in Primary. How on earth can I contribute to a presidency with no experience? I'm not familiar with the programs, the songs, the lessons- nothing!!

2. The 2nd Counselor is over the scouts. That actually makes me laugh. I have no clue what to do with a boy scout! I think I kind of know what a merit badge is and I know they tie knots. Once again- no experience!!! I'm going to be a fish out of water.

3. This is the big one. This is the one that explores my insecurities so you can stop reading now if you don't want to take that leap. I really struggle with being single and not having children. I would give up just about anything to be married and have a family. I teeter on a very narrow ledge of sanity when it comes to kids. I love my nieces and nephews with all of my heart. They are so wonderful. But there are times that I simply can not be around them. I can't take the heartache. I have to hide in my apartment and try and convince myself that I'm ok and that I'm not a failure. It is one of my biggest challenges in this life. The thought of surrounding myself with other peoples children every Sunday is just about more than I can handle. To make matters worse, while trying to be comforting my someone said to me "Maybe you're one of those women that is here to teach other peoples children." Gah! That is not helpful!!! I don't know how I am going to do it.

We're always supposed to learn something from our callings, right? I'm going to hope I learn my lesson quickly so this calling won't last that long. Wish me luck!!