Just a reminder...

I don't know how many of you on here know my brother and his family. This is Pat and Angie, along with their boys, Ryley, Zach, and Trevor. Pat called me at work on Saturday night to tell me that his family had been in a crash near their home in Spanish Fork. "This is our car after getting rear ended at 65 mph. Everyone walked away with minor cuts and bumps, and we are all very sore today from the impact. The driver of the other vehicle was also uninjured. Everyone was in seat belts and boosters in our car...for those of you who know, I've already had one major car accident so I'm a firm believer in seat belts. The boys were quite traumatized, but seem to be doing much better today. Thanks for all the calls and messages.

The point of this post is just a little reminder for us all to wear our seat belts."

This is my chance to echo his message. Wear your seat belts, please. If you are reading this, it is because you know me. Chances are, if I know you, I care deeply about you and want to keep you around!!!

We are firm believers that seat belts save lives.

(I just wish we didn't have pictures to prove it!)

Pay it forward...

I saw this on Jenny's blog and it sounded like fun! The first three people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me within the next year. You don't get to know when or what it is, but before you comment, you have to do a post like this and offer 3 gifts to the first three comments on your post so we can share the love. What do you think? Hurry, post and then comment!! Can't wait to share the love!!!

A very busy week...

but I got pictures!!!

Midterms are finally over, so I can breathe again.... unfortunately, that means that finals are right around the corner! (I know, shut up, Sarah, quit complaining)

Here are some fun pictures from my spring break. It was very short but much needed.

Hannah's dance studio did their class pictures on Wednesday. It is the first time this semester I have been able to take her to class. She looked so adorable I just had to take my own pictures.

And of course, she had to pet Momma Kitty on the way out the front door.

Hannah and her good friend Samantha. Aren't they just adorable!

We decided to take a quick up to Montana and see Heather and her family. We didn't have a lot of time to do much, but the kids got to play. Hannah loves to trim her toenails, and apparently, so does Tori. It was much more fun than watching videos.

Hannah forgot her swimsuit so we had to make a quick trip to K-mart. You can't stay at a hotel with a pool and not take advantage of that. I am a little concerned with this pose, though...
And a pose from TJ... these kids don't like the camera at all, do they?

Heather convinced Hannah that it was time to get her ears pierced. Hannah had avoided it because my Mom has told her over and over again how bad it would hurt. Well, I suppose Heather won...
Marking up the ears, they better be straight...

One down... Breathe, Hannah!

All done. Not so bad, huh?

Dad waited in the hall the whole time. Thanks for the moral support.

One more for the road.

We made it back in time for church, then slipped out early to go to Ryleigh's blessing. Kara and Jared are pretty much family, so I just had to be there.

Here is some of the family. Freddie and Tom (Kara's parents), Jared, Jared's mom, Kara and Ryleigh, Uncle Glenn and Dorena.

Hannah and Ryleigh. Such cute girls.

Well, this was a blog over-load. Congrats if you made it to the end!

Something to think about

I just completed an assignment for my ethics class, and thought I'd share with you something I read. There is an essay from some philosopher that is all about men and women and how they feel about love and marriage. She is basically saying that all women want in life is the "happily ever after", a.k.a.: Marriage.

She then lists these "promises" that come along with it:

You will have someone to make you happy.
You will be loved and cherished.
You will be cared for and protected from all the dangers of the
world.
You will have sexual intimacy and satisfaction.
You will have someone to understand and support you.
You will have companionship and safety from loneliness.
You will have a father for your children.
You will be socially secure as a part of a couple.
You will have a place in this world, a meaning, and you will love it.
You will gain status and prestige as someones chosen wife.
You will not be an old maid.
You will be financially secure.

You will be happy.

Um, okay...

Marriage does not guarantee happiness.

There. I said it.

And why can't you have those things if you aren't married? Here goes my response...

I don't need anyone to make me happy. That is my job. If I make others happy along the way... BONUS! but that isn't any ones job but my own.

I am loved and cherished. My family loves me. My daughter thinks that the Sun sets and rises because of me. She also thinks that I can make coins disappear, then magically reappear in her ear! She also thinks that I am the best artist, a world class chef, and my kisses can heal the biggest hurts. She can't sleep at night until she has had a hug and a kiss or told me that she loves me.

I am loved.

I will be protected from the world... man, that is a good one. Doesn't she realize that we can't be protected from everything? Crap is gonna happen. No man or husband will keep me from getting hurt. What I can do is make good choices and try to live in a way to avoid things that I know are going to cause me heartache. And what if I do get hurt? Well, I will do as I have always done, and I will try to learn from my mistakes and make myself better for what I have learned.

Sexual intimacy? Satisfaction? Seriously? I know a lot of married people who can't say that they have that... And for the record...you can live without it, trust me.

I have people who support me. Understand me... well, that is another topic! My friends and family are amazing and would do anything for me. There are members of my ward who have shown me great acts of service and love. Just this past year a large amount of money appeared on my doorstep just in time for Christmas...then shortly after that, an anonymous gift was also left on the door. People are so thoughtful. I also have one good friend who calls me just to tell me she is thinking of me.

No one can be safe from being lonely. It can happen when you are in a room surrounded by a hundred people. I will admit, sometimes the loneliness creeps up on me and takes me by surprise. That is when I surround myself with good things and amazing people and I chase all the bad away. Sometimes it is harder than others, but I know I can deal with it.

I have a father for my daughter. He doesn't live with us, but he is still her father and loves her. I always wondered how it would work out, but he and his wife have stepped up to the plate and are wonderful. I just don't tell them enough. Hannah also has the most amazing Grandpa in the world. He stands in place for her dad because he isn't here everyday. He is an amazing example to her and it has been wonderful to have that male influence in our lives.

Someone has to kill the spiders, right?

Being socially secure as part of a couple...ok...I have never felt socially secure as part of a couple... I could go deep into this one, but I'll leave it alone.

My life DOES have meaning. I have a place in this world... I may not love all of the details right now, but one day I will have fine tuned this life of mine to be what it was meant to be.

I AM an old maid. Deal with it. Does that make me a bad person? Just because I am attracted to losers? OK, had to throw that one in... But really, am I less of a person because I don't have a husband?

An old friend of mine doesn't have any children, so is she less of a person because of that? I don't think so. I love her anyway.

I admit, I am not financially secure, but is anyone right now? I know some people have saved and planned and have nice incomes, I am happy for you, I really am. That is something I am working on, and hopefully before I am done with my degree I will have it mastered.

"You will be happy"

Who ever said that I wasn't?

OK, so I know that was a long, drawn out post, and I am sure my brother is rolling his eyes at me, thinking that I am bitter and jaded. But I just had to throw that out there... I want you to not feel sorry for me for "being alone" if that is how you want to refer to it... Hey, World, this is me, and I fully intend on being happy no matter what you throw at me.

Bring it on.

Correction...Walk Like MADD!!!

If you notice I have a cute new link next to this post! I am a virtual walker for the Walk Like MADD campaign! No, I am not headed to Denver for the walk, it is just the closest city to put down for my registration. I'm not on here to ask for donations....hint, hint, but if you would like to help out, just click on the link on the right.

Oops, wrong number!

I just had the cutest phone call! It wasn't even for me and I am still smiling!
I'm just sitting here at work trying to stay awake and the phone rings... The cutest, tiniest voice said "Hi momma, I love you! I miss you!" That's when I realized it wasn't my child! So I asked her, is your dad there? Can I talk to your dad? I just wanted to let them know they called the wrong number, then the little voice says, here's so-and-so, and another even more tiny voice comes on the line... "Hi momma love you!" Then some chatter about lunch and grandpa, this one had to be well under two... Anyway, eventually I heard a loud, grown up voice holler..."Quit playing on the phone, hang up!" And it all ended. It was cute anyway!

One day at a time

Two posts in one day, wow, I am on one. I just received this thought in my email and wanted to share it with you all.

"One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and
grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future,
for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it
will be worth remembering."

Ida Scott Taylor1820-1915, Author

Wow.

That's about all I can say about this week. Wow. Midterms have never been my favorite thing in the world, and I'm sure I've voiced many complaints on this topic. I am just glad that they are over.
School is still stressing me out. I feel like a big failure in the mothering department, and my job is so dead end that it makes me roll my eyes. Now don't get me wrong, I am lucky to have a job with some great people and it is very flexible... I am just needing to vent and complain a bit.
Last week I had a pretty big meltdown over it. I realized that due to my lovely work and school schedules, and the fact that I can't let Hannah stay up and wait for me to get home at midnight, that last week we spent a total of 6 hours together. And that wasn't quality time, either. It was a lot of "Get up, we are going to be late!" and a little of "Yes, you ARE taking a bath before you go to bed!" I think I was pretty mean this week. Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that something has got to change. I contemplated just dropping out, but then reality smacked me in the face and reminded me that I am halfway to my degree and I would be a complete idiot to stop now. Even worse, I am planning on changing schools this next fall, and I am a little unsure about where we need to go. Salt Lake has crossed my mind, I even considered Minnesota for a brief moment... Like I said, this week has been something else.
Well, to make a long story short, I need to be a little bit nicer to my daughter. When I come home at the end of the day, I need to leave all the craziness back at school or at work. I just have to learn to relax! I need to work on that thing called "quality time." Hannah is going to be home this Friday night, so I think we are going to have to plan ourselves a fun date. If you have any ideas as to what I can do to make up for being such a beast, let me know.

Ashlee's night on broadway...

I have been meaning to do this post for over a week now, but with the craziness of school and midterms...well, I don't need to explain any more. Anyway, here is our fun from last weekend...

We got the chance to go and see Ashlee do her dance/singing performance last weekend down in Pleasant Grove. Angie and Charley were there with the boys and Aunt Bev came down also. Grandma Boren was going to go with me, but she got sick so she didn't make it down. We met up with everyone at Melisa's house and had some dinner and then headed to the school. After the performance we all went out for dessert to celebrate Josh's birthday. We had a really good time and Hannah loved spending time with the cousins.

Ashlee has on the orange hat and the green scarf... sorry the pic's aren't very good.

Hannah wanted to bring Ashlee a flower for after her performance (Hannah loves to get flowers from her Dad when he comes and watches her dance recitals)

Melisa and Ashlee, so adorable.

The cousins: Hannah, Ashlee, Josh, Corey, and Dallen...(love Dallen's pose!)

How much I have changed in...

So I was tagged on facebook, but since I am blog-less I figured I would post it here...
Here goes nothing...
HOW MUCH HAVE YOU CHANGED IN 15 YEARS?
****15 YEARS AGO (1994)****
1) How old were you? 17
2) Who were you dating? Scott Stokes (well, we did prom but weren't actually dating...I was pretty shy)
3) Where did you work? Timp Freeze
4) Where did you live? Heber
5) Where did you hang out? Dragging Main
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? no
7) Who was your best friend? Jessi Bennett, Nancy Lee, Melisa Berg...
8) How many tattoos did you have? none
9) How many piercings did you have? Probably like 3 in my ears, it was cool back then
10) What kind of car did you drive? A HUGE grey Chevy Caprice Classic...it was hot... lol
11) Had you been to a real party? No way
12) Had you had your heart broken? A dozen times at least...
13) Were you Single/taken/Married/Divorced? Yeah, I was 17, so I was single.
14) Any Kids? No, but around here, I knew alot of girls my age (and younger) with babies.

***10 YEARS AGO (1999)***
1) How old were you?22
2) Who were you dating? I don't remember! That is pretty pathetic... He must have been a loser...
3) Where did you work? The Hub
4) Where did you live? Heber
5) Where did you hang out? At the Hub, and Denny's, and Deer Creek (in the summer)
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? no
7) Who was your best friend? Kellie Bell, John Briggs, and Geri Dahl
8) How many tattoos did you have? None
9) How many piercings did you have? The same...and my tongue
10) What kind of car did you drive? A blue VW Fox... another HOT car... lol
11) Had your heart broken? Always.
12) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Still Single...
13) Any Kids? no
****TODAY (2009)****
1) Age? 32, but it feels like 82 today...
2) Who are you dating? No one worth blogging about
3) Where do you work? Holiday Inn
4) Where do you live? Heber
5) Who is your best friend? Hannah. And Geri, Becky, Tawnya, and Cherle
6) Do you talk to your old friends? Sure do...Thanks to Facebook.
7) How many piercings do you have? Just the ears
8) How many tattoos? none
9) What kind of car do you have? My old beater Civic... 278,000 miles later... love this car!
10) Had your heart been broken? Just keep rubbing it in...
11) How many kids? Just my Hannah
12) Are you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce? Single and happy!

OK.... Now I refuse to tag anyone... but if you feel like wasting some time, go for it!