SNOW DAY!

I was just about ready to leave for work when Rowdy called and told me to take a snow day! There is some snow on the ground and it just started coming down again here. He said St. George is getting a load of it so he didn't want me driving in to town with all the crazy people who forget how to drive when there is snow involved. Well...OK!!! I don't mind one bit except that my camera is at work so I can't get a picture of Zion. It was looking pretty amazing with huge black clouds all around and covered in snow this morning. Just take my word for it, BEAUTIFUL!
So now I think I'll get back in my sweats and chill. I reported a dvd lost with Netflix and weeks later it showed up in my mail box yeterday, better late than never, now I have Bewitched and maybe some hot cocoa to make my snow day complete! It is a novilty to stay home totally healthy, I'm so going to enjoy it!!!

Called to Serve

What a weekend! We left Thursday afternoon for Bountiful. It snowed bunches during the night so we woke up to a pretty white world, I forgot how much I liked snow since I've taken on the snow bashing attitude of my fellow southerners who are above dealing with snow and cold weather. I actually enjoyed it and in the spirit of it all I even bought myself some snowboots. Well, I kinda had too, I only packed sandals!

The missionaries ran lots or errands, I decorated Micheles kitchen and watched lots of movies. Sunday morning I went to a college ward at the U with Coree. I felt like I was trespassing. The lesson in sunday school kept veering towards dating, I caught myself thinking I don't need this, but really, I guess I do! How weird. I was having a hard time relating and just felt so out of place.
Sunday night we filled up the basement room with the 10 of us and chatted about everything and anything, mostly just enjoying each others company. I couldn't possibly soak in enough time with my parents.
The hardest thing about the weekend was the feeling like time was counting down. I was making the most of my parents being around and kept getting the crazy urge to hold onto their ankles and beg them not to go! I was glad saturday night when Tony asked if my parents wanted Priesthood blessings. Of course they did and when they were finished my dad said I was next. Authority. OK daddio. I would never pass up an opportunity for comfort. It was good to feel reassured and I think it made it a little easier the following morning when we had to say goodbye.
I'm not saying it was easy!! But it was quick and I tried to look at it like the bandaid method, Just rip it off! As I was leaving I took a picture for another couple going in. They were on their way to Russia and they didn't even question why my face was soaked. They were probably too excited to notice, I know my parents were crazy excited! I am too, below the missing them.

Processing...

That's what I've been doing a lot the last day or so. Processing my thoughts and shifty moods. Mom and Dad were set apart yesterday so it's now Sister Mom and Elder Dad and as I sat watching my dad fix his tie and laugh with my mom about his too gelled hair I couldn't help getting a little emotional. Of course I'm proud to death of them but the people in Africa can't possibly need them like I do!! (Selfish aren't I?)
It's been so nice being with them every day it'll be a bit of a transition coming home to an empty house AND cooking for myself once again (maybe now would be a good time to ask for the hundredth time if I can have a pet? You know, pity for the lone child and all?)
Other things I'm processing are my options for what comes next in my life. I'm thinking about going back to school at LDS Business and while I can think of at least 10 reasons why that would be great, I can come up with 10 (OK well, maybe 3 or 4) good excuses to stay here in my sunny desert and keep on keepin' on until I really know what the heck I want.
Could someone please just make up my mind for me, big decisions make my brain melt.

fun and laughing in saint george

We have some visitors this weekend, Michele and Grandma are here for some fun. {WE MISS YOU VICKY!} We've played our requisite bunches of Rummycube games. I do have to mention one game in particular where I won in a single turn late in the game {It IS my blog, so I can brag as much as I want!}

Today we cruised around Zion National enjoying the warm weather. Grandma took a bunch of photos so I scrounged some off her so I could share them.



After we took in the park we went back to Springdale to wander around the shops and galleries.









We found this ranch type petting zoo place in town with lots of stinky animals to pet.

Here dad and Elk check each other out. Wonder what they are thinking about each other? 'Strange one, that chap with the two legs!' (yeah, livestock always talk like British people in my head. It makes them sound more intelligent than, well, hamburger.)



Of course I couldn't just look at the animals. I wanted to feed them too. Especially when this dude walked up to the fence and looked at me with his big brown steer eyes and sent me FEED ME signals.




This guys tongue stunk something nasty! He wasn't too skilled at eating out of a hand, you'd think he'd have learned by now with all the free hand outs. But he was pretty good at picking his own nose with his stinkin' purple tongue.

We stopped for lunch at Oscar's, a great burger place with an outdoor seating area where dad enjoyed asking all the bikers questions about their bikes. {he really needs his own bike don't you think?} While we waited for our food we passed the camera around and took pictures of each other. Tourists!

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day all! I don't know about you but I love this holiday {single or not} It's still a great holiday. Chocolates, flowers, jewelry, who wouldn't love it?
Rowdy, my other boss, {not only do I work for Jana, I do her husbands office work for his engineering company} called me and sent me on an emergency mission for him since he won't be home until late tonight. I normally have full reign of his holiday shopping anyway so I already knew what she wanted and I found myself in Costco for the second time this morning the with flocks of men out to buy flowers for their valentine. I laughed to myself as I walked back to the flower cooler. It was completely surrounded by men looking baffled and lost. I was one girl in a sea of clueless men. Entertaining for sure! A couple more stops and I've got Rowdy's shopping done and now I'm back at the office for a minute before Jana and I head out for a decorating project.
Signe just came over with a vday chocolate for me, so I scrambled and made up a card for her. It's a self portrait of my chaotic shopping spree today - glam'd up of course because really, who shops with a cat? They just don't have the patience that is required.

Twin Set

Our last big project for 2006 was a suprise for our thirteen year old clients. Their mom decided getting their rooms and bathroom decorated would be the perfect birthday present for her twin daughters, Shayla and Lexi.
Shayla's room was a breeze, her new hobby is liking boys and spending lots of time on the phone, or infront of the mirror her mom told us with much teasing. We put a lot of attention on her desk aka jewelry depot and makeup center.
Lexi's room was almost identical to her twins only instead of a purple/turquoise color scheme, hers was pink and lime green and her favorite little pixie, TinkerBell, was the main event in the decor theme. She has loved Tink since she was tiny and hasn't yet outgrown her and probably never will. The last family vaca to Disneyland had her in happy tears when Tink made her appearance in the parade.
Lexi found paintings on Disney.com of Tink much like the ones above, but with a price tag of almost $600 each it was giving her mom pause, tho not completely out of the question. But when Jana, my boss, was called into the whole production she dropped in her favorite line, 'My girl can make u something similar.' And so I did. On about a 48 hour time limit I spent close to 24 hours on these two 'easy' projects. And I guess they would have been pretty easy had I not chosen the nastiest type of canvas (I loved the square shape tho!) instead of something easier to paint on in a regular rectangular shape. Lesson learned.
If I would have been charging my normal rates for mural work on these I could have easily met the price tag price but tis the season, I still have yet to be paid and I'm not sure I'll like the price Jana asked for on them... but such is the life of the no hassle artist. And it totally was a labor of love in the end. Lexi is adorable. When I went back to finish up a few details on the rooms she told me she'd cried when she saw them and that they are her favorite thing about the whole big birthday extravaganza. So cute.

meet Poncho

Not having much else to do today Mom and I decided to make the drive out to Best Friends to volunteer and possibly get in a walk with my dogs. It was a beautiful day for a drive and when we got to the sanctuary we were put to work in an area called The Fairway. It's two buildings with 14 dog runs with 3 to 6 dogs in each and a couple other runs where solitary dogs are kept because they don't play well with others. We met 44 dogs today, changed their water, did some poop scoop'n duty and dished out lots of love.
We walked an older gal, Kaylan, she had to be coaxed around the trail because she is a total loafer. Then, the next dog Poncho, who has a torn ACL but you could never guess it, took me for a run. He was absolutely hilarious! Such a spaz, he would run full speed kicking up dirt with his speed, then stop abruptly, stand completely still, then do a head to toe shake and off we went again. Must be the drugs he was on! He is on his way to Vegas to see a specialist for a surgery to fix his leg. I fell in love with all of them, they all want attention and we were happy to give it to them. It was a totally great day. The best part was when we were walking down to our area we passed another area called The Garden and who should I see? Gibson. He was running with his new buds and when we saw each other, he stopped running, and I said HEY GIB! He did his high whine howl and a little prance and followed us as we walked by. It was sooo good to see him! I wanted to forget why we were there and hang out with him all afternoon.
While we worked at the Fairway I could hear Gib above all the other dogs, his crazy dog howl is higher pitched than any other dog and just so different. I liked listening to him as we worked.
After we were done we stopped and talked to his caregiver. She said he was doing great, he's fallen in love with a puppy in his run and she says he takes care of him. Max is in another area called the Clubhouse, I didn't get to see him but next time I go up I'll know where to ask to be put to work!
I swear I'll start writing about other stuff besides animals! As of late nothing much more has been going on. I could rattle on about the Forex investing I'm trying to learn, but I think dog stories are much more fun.

Ain't nothin' but a hound dog

I told you before I check the best friends website a lot right? Well, I'm reading a book "A dog's life" and it made me miss my pups so I got online to see if they've been featured anywhere on the site, AND THEY ARE UP RIGHT NOW!!! Making me proud, they are featured in the Best Friend News this week!!
I started crying the minute I saw Gib with his ever so soulful eyes, and Max aka Mel (the trainer told me they'd have to rename him since I'm sure there are probably 57 other Max's living there with him) and his goofy, lovable grin....I'm a wreck still, but so so so happy that they are happy!
Here's what the article said, in case you don't want to leave my awesome blog to go check it out ;)

Meet Mel and Gibson, a couple of hound dogs who could teach the old King of Rock n’ Roll a few moves. One of their most impressive is the soon-to-be-patented “leap tackle.” Maybe not your typical stage move, but inspiring all the same. It’s a delicate maneuver, and each attempt requires about the same amount of energy as would be necessary to run Vegas for three and a half nights. Muscle energy, of course. Not raw electric current. You see, most hound dogs are not exactly couch potatoes.
Here’s how their move works. They clear out a spot of runway, charge across the yard with enough momentum to topple a redwood tree, then launch into the air directly at your chest.
It’s charming. Really, it is.
Then, if by some minor miracle you are still standing, they figure that somehow or other they miscalculated the move. As such, the only possible solution is to try again. And again. (Alright, so maybe they like to jump up a bit! Nothing a little training wouldn’t solve.) Mel and Gibson came to Best Friends when their family broke up. But they don’t seem to hold any grudges. In fact, they’re equal opportunity playmates for whoever drops by! No fear, no aggression, just play. Lots and lots of it. So. Anybody feel like burning a few million calories?


I taught them that move! No really, I didn't. I did everything in my power to stop it. See what happens when your talent is underappreciated? Now they are the stars they should be! I couldn't possible be prouder of them. Good job boys!

Your Future Horoscope

Horoscopes, believable? Not really. I mean, I could cover up the names, pick one at random and make it fit to my life. I just tried it, I could be a Gemini as much as I'm a Scorpio. But then what about the personality traits that come with the time of year you were born? I've had a couple of people (fruitcakes, really) say to me 'Oh you are such a Scorpio.' What does that mean? I do like my Scorpio sign tho. If I were that tattoo type girl I think I'd get some artsy scorpion type something on my foot. Even tho real life scorpions scare me to death. (I've tried having one as a pet once, I never did trust it, thought it was scheming to sting me.)

But I always read my horoscope when flipping through a magazine, u know, just to see what I have to look forward to in the upcoming month.

This months Harper Bazaar tells me:

"Now is the time to look truth in the eye. If you have avoided confronting issues either at work or at home, make a change. Illusion or delusion need to go, and life will be better for the purge. However, you are rarely defeated, and you will strive for romantic adventure, which is hard-won but rewarding. Retail therapy is not the wisest course of action at the moment."

Well, guess I have been spending a little too much time on the tiffany&co website, my wish list is a page long. And as for the rest, I could take or leave it. :)

Confessions of a TV junkie

It's a quiet day for a decent blog so I thought I'd make a confession. I LOVE watching tv. I do. It's good fun. I don't watch just anything though and not a lot of it. I wouldn't say I'm a full blown couch pototato, maybe just a tiny tatter tot?
I get really excited about the shows I do watch. First on the shortlist is Grey's Anatomy. It's my favorite and for some reason I don't like to tell anyone. Maybe because it's high drama and basically a nighttime soap? But I've seen every episode since the first season (thanks to netflix) so I am totally hooked. Last week is still cracking me up. Callee O'Maley! (You'd have to watch to care I suppose, so I won't even begin to rattle off the details.)
The next best is CSI. I haven't been watching this season because Grey's is on at the same time. (Decisions! Decisions!) I like the syndicated stuff that comes on every night on Spike. Vegas is my top pick, Miami is growing on me too (I couldn't stand it until I watched a marathon one day and I got used to David Caruso's 'acting') but if I had to pick between the two, it'd be Vegas. George Eads...need I say more?
Heroe's has caught me by surprise too. I like it a lot! I'm totally into heroes in general, like spiderman, x-men, superman, batman..those guys. (Hanging out with Devin and Dillon must have rubbed off on me some!) so it just makes sense that I would fall for this show.
Then there's The Office. Steve Carell makes me uncomfortable, he's such a social cripple, but I think that's part of the appeal of the show. Awh, TV! Good stuff.

Vegas, baby!

Back from Sin City after Market Week. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, shopping is hard work! Especially when we had more than 4 million square feet to cover! Can you imagine? The first market I went to I was in awe. Everything was AMAZING! I couldn't take it all in. Now everything starts to blend together and very little impresses me (what a snob right?). I put the different exhibitors into categories in my mind to keep me entertained as we shop and shop, AND shop. Categories like 'Sellable' 'Ugly as ugly' and 'I would decorate my house with this stuff! Can we pick up this line please!!' are the top three, but there are others like 'Who would buy this?' and 'What is that exactly?' and 'That's actually the wholesale pricing?! Who pays that?!'
I look forward to Market every 6 months. It's fun to see the new lines, buy great new items for the store and it's entertaining. It IS Vegas afterall! They would never do anything that wasn't to the top! And getting out of town with Loni and Jana is a good time no matter what. Even when we were being stalked by a serial killer. Ok, maybe that's a little judgemental but after we saw him in the parking garage twice, in the lobby lurking about, and in the hallways 3 times as we pretended to not know where our room was, (we didn't want him to know where we were sleeping!) we were a little suspicious!
I wasn't too concerned. I was more excited thinking about the CSI's coming to trap our killer with their scientific genius sweet moves! YEAH, I LOVE CSI! While Jana fed quarters into the dollar slot at the vending machines because she was too invloved watching out for our killer we made friends with some off duty cops (or so they say) who told us drunkenly that we could call them should we find ourselves in danger (right, like we were going to fall for that one!) I won't tell you that Loni set up a booby trap inside the door to alert us of our deaths and that we laughed ourselves silly locking down the place and I scared them with different endings on how the CSI's would solve the case. Instead I'll tell you that thanks to our cunning wit and calm assertive survival skills, we made it home alive by the skin of our teeth.