My New Favorite Thing

Hello Blogging World! Long time no post.

This is going to be short because I'm already exhausted (and it is only 9:15).

I have this app on my Google home page that give me "Art of the Day" even though it refreshes and gives you a new piece of art whenever you leave the website. ANYWAY, I saw this and froze. She is gorgeous. The lines and the colors - not to mention the texture the piece (oil on canvas is one of my favorite mediums).

The piece is Boreas by John William Waterhouse, painted in 1902:

When I first saw it, I thought it looked vaguely familiar, but I knew I had never seen this before. So, I googled John William Waterhouse and figured out why this looked familiar. You may recognize this beauty:

Lady of Shallot. (This always reminds me of that scene in Anne of Green Gables.

Once I googled John William Waterhouse, I found SO MANY pieces that I love. I don't want to post them all, because that is ridiculous, but here are just two more that I wanted to share:

My Sweet Rose

and, finally, Ophelia

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. A great find.

2. I'll be blogging about my recent trips to Seattle. Someday. Soon. Ish.

3. Seeing Blue October in concert yet again. Chelsea and I sat down and figured out that we've been seeing them every 6 months for the last 2 years. I hope we can keep it up!

4. I bought a MacBook Pro and I LOVE it.

5. My new ergonomic keyboard for work. HEAVEN.

Naomi Anne

For those of you who didn't hear the spectacular news - I have another niece!!

Naomi Anne was born on 12 July 2011 at 3:30am(ish). She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long! From what I hear, everything went well!

Congrats to Dan, Ashley, Hannah, and Rachel! I can't wait to meet you, Naomi!!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. All of my nieces. I can't stand being away from them.

2. Mary Martin's Peter Pan. Holy cow, I love this movie. I'm watching it now and can't stop laughing.

3. I'm surrounded by pictures of people I don't talk to anymore. Must remedy this.

4. Maureen O'Hara. She has to be the most beautiful, classy woman ever to grace Hollywood.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the book and the movies). Seen it twice and can't wait to go again!

Skipping Through the Rest

Before I start giving you all the last day's activities, I did promise an update on the cemetery - it is St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Leytonstone. MILLIONS of graves (at least, that's what it looks like...). See?

Day Seven

Our last full day in London. How depressing.

Once we got into central London, we headed to the British Museum and skipped around. We didn't have a ton of time in the city and I wanted to see the museums - as much of them as possible within the one day we had. We stopped at the Rosetta Stone and the Egyptian History sections, then headed over to the Greek and Roman bits.

And then we found the clocks. My life will never be the same.

Once I was able to be pried away from the clocks, we headed over to the National Gallery and worshiped the likes of Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Durer

. I got to see Madonna of the Rocks by Michelangelo and good ole Arnolfini.

I can't get over the sensation of being within touching distance of multitudes of pieces of art that you dedicated 5 years of your life studying (I was a humanities minor with a penchant for artwork in particular).

I could smell the paint, see the brushstrokes - admire the ludicrous amount of paint that Van Gogh insisted on having on his brush at all times.

When I die, I want God's vocabulary.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Apparently, the National Gallery doesn't let you take pictures inside anymore. Woops.

2. One week of no cell phones.

3. Reading an entire book on the flight home. And watching a few movies.

4. I don't understand how I get homesick for London, but I do.

One Wicked Day

Day Six

We left Francis and Trevor's house and Surrey all together and made our way over to Newbury Park in London for the remainder of our stay in England.

Newbury Park doesn't LOOK far away from central London on the map. Guess what? About an hour's train ride outside the city. Luckily, our hotel there was quite nice and the train ride was fairly interesting because of this one cemetery. In fact, I'm going to try to Google it and see if I can find pictures or something online. You'll have an update tomorrow.

Anyway! Once we figured out how to ride the trains with our massive suitcases and got settled into our room in Newbury Park, we made our way into downtown London. After discovering that the two different sets of directions we got from the Receptionist in Newbury Park were dreadfully wrong, we found what I was looking for: the original Hard Rock Cafe. There was a crazy wait, but it was worth every juicy bite.

After our VERY late lunch, we headed to Portobello Road for souvenirs and so that Mum could watch Bedknobs on Broomsticks and say she'd been there! Another tip if you ever plan on traveling to London: do all of your souvenir shopping on your last day and do it on Portobello Road. Blocks and blocks of street vendors selling everything imaginable at fair prices (for fairly good quality) - most vendors will even haggle with you and are more apt to haggle the closer they are to closing down (5PM). You're welcome.

I bought presents for practically everyone in one stop. Among the gifts: scarves for 6 women, 1 pair of earrings, 2 different pendant watches, 1 necklace, and a magnet for Lizzie.

Once our shopping was done, we headed to the Apollo Victoria Theatre right outside the Victoria Station (right next to Buckingham Palace) to see Wicked!! I have no words to describe the show. I had chills from the moment the show began until the very last person stopped clapping at the end. The show was riddled with understudies and it was still that mindblowingly stellar. It is coming to LA in December, but I doubt it will live up to the high standard the London cast set.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. I'm in love with the guy who played Fiyero; what a twirling, singing, stud.

2. People watching on the Tube. 'Nuff said.

3. Shauna. You are one amazing person.

4. The best thing about being a nerd? Randomly finding other nerds through your nerdy shirt collection.

It's a Tudor (and Pirate?) Life for Me!

Day Five

Linda left early in the morning. It was NOT fun saying goodbye and was really hard to watch Mum say goodbye. These women are practically her sisters and she never gets to see them.

Francis always needed a day off the day after we had been out and about, so she stayed in Surrey while Mum and I headed to Hampton Court - home of Henry VIII and his insane court and later to George II. The place was quite exquisite, actually.

There are two different palaces on the grounds at Hampton Court - one was the original structure (Henry's palace) and the other structure was built several hundred years later by King George on the grounds. It looks a bit weird having structures from two different periods, but they were both beautiful!

Henry's Palace:

George's Palace:

There were period actors walking around the grounds to help you imagine you were in Henry's court. There were different areas to teach you about each of Henry's wives (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived) and living in Tudor England.

George's palace should look familiar to anyone who saw the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean film.

I had fun taking pictures - the weather was perfect and the grounds were immaculately kept. As if Henry would tolerate it any other way - even in death!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Skyping with Peter (aka: Harrison Ford).

2. Snowdrops.

3. My aunt was Queen of England after Henry VIII died for 9 whole days.

4. Horse-drawn carriages.

Chaucer, Fudge, and Romans, Oh My!

Day Four

When I booked this trip, I had lots of grandios ideas about traveling to other cities around London to see some of my favorite sites. Alas, we didn't make it to all of them, but we did make it to CANTERBURY!

Francis, Linda, my Mum, and I drove passed Hever Castle (heave a brick at Hever Castle!), out to Canterbury to see the Canterbury Cathedral. There are no words. I love St. Paul's (still my favorite), but there is something almost other-worldly about Canterbury. This place is MASSIVE and was originally built in 1070 (it has had some work done - the most recent major work was in 1834). The stained glass, stone carving, and intricate sculptures are amazing. I think my favorite part, though, are the graves. Yes, I'm weird. Make peace with it - I have.

Francis and Linda had been to the cathedral a few weeks before, so they shopped while we toured the cathedral. I always love to see Edward, the Black Prince's tomb!

The thing about Canterbury is, there's this fudge shop. I have been dreaming about this fudge shop since 2005. I said I wanted to find it as a joke while we were on the way up. I honestly didn't think it would be there. IT WAS!! So, I bought some fudge. :)

Turns out that there is a Roman village underneath the city of Canterbury. (I do not remember this being here before, but it must have been!) There's this strange hole-in-the-wall of a museum with some interesting artifacts (most of which are NOT from the area, oddly enough) and even the remnants of an old house.

Pretty neat!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Free fudge.

2. The fudge shop ships around the world!

3. I got to Skype with my Mum's other cousin, Chaz, whom I've never met. He seemed very kind - I wish I could get to know him more!

4. The delivery boy at the restaurant where we had lunch set off the fire alarm. It was LOUD.

Touring London

Day Three

Mum and I took off on our own our third day in London. We caught a morning train to Victoria Station and I fell in love British public transportation all over again. Seriously, America - what is your deal?! The trains and buses in Europe are all well-maintained and affordable - nobody drives! I wouldn't dare ride a bus anywhere around here! Anyway - I digress.

I owe an apology to my mother. I am not a patient person and I'm afraid I was curt with my mother more than once while trying to teach her about the trains/buses/tube systems. Sorry, Mum!

When we got off at Victoria, we found a group of French school children. My advice to anyone traveling to England: find a group of French school children and FOLLOW THEM!! Their schools go to England every year and they know the fastest routes to all of the tourist traps. You won't regret it. Plus, they're fun. We followed our group to Buckingham Palace, but the guards were doing a trial run for the royal wedding and it was even more insanely crowded than usual. So, we took a hop, skip, and a jump through Green Park to the side opposite the Palace and hopped on a Red Bus. Another piece of advice if you're going to England: TAKE A RED BUS! That had to be the best decision of our trip. We saw EVERYTHING and if you get on the original Red Bus Company, you can hop on and off whenever you like along the way throughout the day.

The buses are terrifying if you sit up top. We sat on the top, in the first row and I had to hold in my gasps of terror more than once. Motorcycles and smartcars disappear under the bus like you would not believe. At one point, I decided to stop paying attentiong and try to focus on what the guide was telling us (our first guide was AMAZING) and taking everything in.

We hopped off first at a little pub for some fish and chips and then headed up the street to St. Paul's Cathedral - my favorite place in the world (that I've been to). Another apology to Mum - we spent a tad over 2 hours in St. Paul's. SORRY!

After St. Paul's, we hopped back on the Red Bus and had the worst tour guide ever. Everything he said was complete bullocks and even I knew it. What a load of pork pies! I ignored him as much as possible as we wound our way through downtown London over to the Tower of London so that we could see some family history! Our great-great-great-great-aunt, Lady Jane Grey, was held prisoner and beheaded in the Tower. We saw the site where she was actually beheaded and the glorious monument erected those precious few who were beheaded within Tower walls. We walked through the building she was held prisoner in and saw her name etched in the walls by her ladies in waiting. Then, we went in the chapel where she is buried, also within the Tower. I had been to the Tower before and never knew that I was related to this woman from the past. What an experience!

We spent so long in St. Paul's and the Tower that we didn't do much else, except complete the cycle of our tour. We saw all of the highlights of the city, but didn't alight from the bus for all of them.

It was a great day!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

2. Authentic fish and chips. YUM!

3. I wish I had words to describe standing at the grave of your beheaded relative. Talk about moving.

4. Pasties. :P

5. I think I'm the only person in the world who enjoys British food.

The (London) Temple

Day Two

The London, England temple is not in London. Actually, it is quite far from London considering it is called "The London, England Temple". The temple is actually in Newchapel and is farther from London than Surrey.

Regardless, it is breathtaking, as are the grounds. I wanted to go inside SO BAD, but, I'm not endowed, didn't have a limited-use recommend, and the temple was closed that day. Also, my cousins are absolutely NOT religious.

I was so moved walking the grounds that I had to wipe away tears more than once. There is such a strong Spirit at church sites in England; I'm not exactly sure why. It is definitely something I wish that everyone could experience.

I think I'll let the pictures speak for this post:

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Francis and Linda can be a bit catty - even with each other. Poor Francis was constantly being compared to a pirate by her sister!

2. I bought a dress in Surrey this day - it is SO cute!

3. We went to the park in Surrey for a bit also. The schools were off for Easter break while we were there and the weather was actually quite hot, considering it was England.

4. Magnum bars.

Woops!

It has been ...quite a while... since I have blogged. *shame*

So, when last I left you lovely people, the mean folks over at LDSPlanet were trying to encourage me to no longer a be a disappointment to my mother. That has not changed. (:

I did, however, go to England! (This post actually takes place BEFORE me being a disppointment was brought to light, but in case you haven't noticed, I am not the best blogger these days.) I'll break this up into a few posts so that I don't overwhelm people TOO much.

Day One:
Mum (haha) and I arrived at Heathrow airport in London a bit later than planned and Francis and Linda were worried that we had missed our flight. Luckily, they waited for us outside of Customs and there was a happy reunion in the middle of the walkway for a moment - until we realized we were in the middle of the walkway and then moved. I hadn't seen Linda in probably around six years and I don't recall ever meeting Francis, although, I know I have. None of that mattered though - instant best friends and close family.

We drove out to Francis' house in Surrey, completely in awe of the beautiful countryside. I don't know that I will ever get over how absolutely gorgeous England is. And of course, Francis and Trevor live in this beautiful little suburb that has a country feel to it with a quaint little downtown. When we got to the house, I met Trevor (again - I know I've met him before, but I don't remember). He has to be my favorite person ever - he has that naughty, cheeky Brit thing going for him and he looks kind of like Mick Jagger. Anyway! We visited for a bit and then off to bed (I didn't sleep at all on the flight over and I don't know that Mum did either).

The next day, we hung out at the house with Francis and Trevor's sons and their families. I have never met Mark or James - let alone their wives and kids (or soon-to-be kids). I was pretty shocked when I saw James; he looks A LOT like Josh. And then Mark looks like a mash up of Jereme and Josh, with more Jereme. It was REALLY funny. I love their families, too! James' wife, Meaw, was a bit sick, so we didn't visit much, but she is very sweet and keeps her kids in line like only a good mother can. She was a bit hard to understand because she's from Thailand and has a British accent on top of it all. James' wife, Eva, is from Slovakia and wonderful! She's expecting their first child and was very loving.

After a while, Francis, Trevor, and Linda took Mum and I to my great aunt and uncle's resting place - this charming little memorial park in the center of town. It is beautiful and very peaceful there.

Alright - that's it for this post. More to come!



Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. The guys on the flight to London who played cards THE ENTIRE FLIGHT. I kid you not - the ENTIRE FLIGHT from when they were first seated until we landed and they HAD to put the deck away.
2. James is almost as cheeky as his dad!
3. I think I watched 3 movies, 2 episodes of Big Bang Theory and one episode of IT Crowd on the flight over.
4. Trevor making everyone a cuppa before visiting the Land of Nod.

How to Not Disappoint Your Mother Any Longer

For those of you who can't read what the e-mail says, allow me to illuminate: "How can you make mom happy this year? Meet a special guy."

Because you can't make your mom happy without a special guy.

Gee, whiz!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Pleasantville. I LOVE this movie.

2. Magnum bars. Yum.

3. The sound of my nieces' voices. They are SO precious.

4. A day with my family in my home ward.

5. Movie quotes and Wii.

6. Pain happens for a reason.

Vacation - FINALLY!

I'm taking a real vacation and I can't believe it. I know, I know...I went to K-Town to visit my Stella in September, but that only involved ONE DAY of no work. (An AMAZING trip, but not really a "vacation".) A few amazing things about this vacation, though. Are you all ready?

1. I'm going with this wonderful woman:

MY MOM!!

2. We'll be gone from 08 April though 18 April.

3. We're going here:

LONDON!! (AKA: Home <3)

4. And quite possibly, here (for one day):

PARIS!! ('Cause Momma's never been and I wouldn't mind a delicious gyro from that one place that Andrew and I ate at every day we were there. And yes, I still remember it is and how to get there).

"I love Paris in the spring-time..."

la-di-da-di-di-da...

5. My work loves me, so they're giving me and my mom tickets to see ANY STAGE SHOW we want while we're there, which means:

WICKED!! (At long last!) - Not just Wicked - FREE Wicked! IN LONDON!!

6. Family. We're staying with my mom's cousin, who lives just outside of London, in Surrey. I have only met Frances once and am SO excited to see her again, and meet her husband and the kids of hers that I have not yet met. AND my mom's other cousin, Linda, is coming from Germany for a few days, as well!

I am SO STINKING excited it isn't even funny!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Uh, this ENTIRE post. Happy 25th birthday to me!

2. Shauna's home!!! Congrats on a mission well-served.

3. My 2 countdown widgets for my phone.

4. Replacing those 2 countdown widgets pretty much the day they expire with other exciting things!

5. SALISBURY, HERE I COME!!!

6. Portobello Road.

7. Oxford.

8. A glorious 9 days free of work.

Stunning

I love art. If I could, I would spend the next 5 years of my life (at least) visiting museum after museum in country after country. I always wished that I could draw, but learned fairly early that somethings must remain a dream.

I saw this painting today and it has stayed in the recesses of my mind all day.

I hope that you all know the story of Icarus. Icarus was the son of Daedalus, a great architect in ancient Greece, for King Minos. Daedalus failed Minos one day, and he was imprisoned in a tower, with no escape. Daedalus managed to construct two sets of wings, one for himself and one for his son, Icarus. Being such a brilliant architect, Daedalus understood that he would need feathers of all sizes, some of which he secured with string and some with wax.

When both sets of wings were complete, Daedalus instructed Icarus not to fly too low as the moisture would damage the string and feathers and not to fly too high as the heat from the sun would melt the wax. Icarus was eager and flew too high. The wax that held his wings together began to melt and feathers began to fall off of the set of wings. Icarus panicked and flapped his wings faster, causing more feathers to fall. His wings destroyed, Icarus fell to the sea and drowned. Daedalus found the boy's body and buried him, naming the place Icaria.

Herbert James Draper painted The Lament for Icarus in 1898. Isn't it breath-taking?

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Art of the Day by Google.

2. Gil telling me all about the shots he had to get in his butt. Everyday. For 3 days.

3. The world's longest Alias marathon.

4. Chubby men. I LOVE me some chubby men.

5. The shoe is on the other foot.

Nicole's Bridal Shower

Nicole is getting married on January 8 (holla, KP!) in the LA temple to Ben Hansen. Heaven help him!

Chelsea threw Nicole a very relaxed bridal shower/get together. And what is a bridal shower without a stripper? ENTER BRYCE! (I was excited.)

A picture is worth a thousand words, so you go, a few thousand words:

I also have a video, but it's too huge to upload. One day, I'll figure out a way to shrink it so the joy can be shared!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. Skype-ing with Kyle all night long. He's the best friend I've never met.
2. Jereme and Christy just brought me 2 three-packs of my favorite gum from Missouri! They're the best!
3. I made pan cookies. I miss Shauna.

SQA Christmas Party

...Are you noticing a theme here? The company I work for LOVES holidays!

Our Christmas party was at Terranea Resort on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. (Click the link. I dare you. You'll be jealous.)

Everything was GORGEOUS! The party was ridiculously expensive (Chelsea is the assistant office manager; she told me a ball park) and it showed. We filled their largest ballroom, overlooking the ocean. The food was delish as well.

Unfortunately, I only have the one crappy picture of me (thanks, Chelsea!) and then a few of the view from my room.

I live about 15 minutes from the resort, but we got discounts on rooms (nearly 50%) and I knew I would never get a chance like this again, so Chels and I split it. All I have to say is: Worth. Every. Penny.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. I bought myself the HTC Evo 4G for Christmas. I'm still figuring out everything it does, but I LOVE IT!

2. I bought my parents one day park hoppers to Disneyland. Now that I've thought about it, I should have just bought them the lowest level passes. They're only like $50 more a piece. BLONDE MOMENT.

3. Nicole is getting married on Saturday. Stay tuned for another post tomorrow. Quite possibly my favorite post...

SQA Halloween Party

Ok, ok, I know. Halloween?! What is the matter with me?? The answer: I'm a horrible blogger. This will just be quick because I'm pretty sure I've already at least mentioned the SQA Halloween festivities.

I was Batgirl and my geeky friend from work, Ted, was The Green Lantern. His ring even glowed!! Ted is a blast and I'm glad I have a fellow geek to be weird with.

Mayu and Sarah were ninjas (from Naruto for all of you Manga/Anime freaks out there...anyone? Bueller??) Sarah hand-made the ninja costumes and they were AMAZING. They even won a prize for them!

Christy was V from V for Vendetta, John was Mr. Incredible (biggest lie EVER), and David was Venkman from Ghostbusters. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of these guys...

SQA has a horrendous tradition of walking from our office to the Starbucks a block and a half away that is located inside a rather crowded mall. I LOVED it!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. I have no concept of time. Or consideration for my few readers who don't care about Halloween now that it is January.

2. Jereme and Christy come home today from an 18-day vacation to see her family.

3. I love picking up a favorite book and spot reading all of the sections that make me feel whole.

I Have a New Sister-in-Law

Jereme got married on 20 November!!

It's been crazy having all of my family here and trying to juggle seeing everyone and working and trying to squeeze in time to see Nicole while she was here (didn't really work...).

The wedding was great! They were married in the San Diego temple and it was RAINING on Saturday!! Christy and Jereme were troopers through the rain and were all smiles. Right after they got out of the temple we all headed back up to LA for the reception, which was GORGEOUS!

You know I love my brother because I was DANCING. IN PUBLIC!!

I'm so glad that Jereme and Christy picked each other. She's amazing and I'm grateful that she is my newest sister.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Having all of my family here (minus my brother-in-law, Dan). We missed you Dan!!

2. Bonuses from work.

3. Staring at my computer screen for around 7 minutes, trying to think of the third thing to put on this list since I decided I would always have at least 3 things.

Work Update

It's been so long since I've blogged, that I figure I have to dedicate at least one whole post to work.

*collective groan*

(This isn't work - it's from when I was in Oregon. I just think it's a FABULOUS shot of us. Plus, I love my outfit/shoes.)

There is no other way to put it: I am a workaholic. That is ALL I do.

I was recently made manager of our newest (and largest EVER) Client. The day before I left for Oregon, Nick (the manager of the program I manage - It makes sense, just trust me) came to my boss, Christy and closed her door, which never happens. She came in a few minutes later as I was closing up for the weekend and told me that we had to change my signature in my emails. She changed it from "Content Associate" to "Content Manager" and then said, "Congratulations." It was great! I was so overwhelmed for quite a while there, but after last week (this update will come in a minute...keep reading) everything took a turn for the better.

When I was in Oregon, John called me to tell me that he had an interview and test set up for my department the Wednesday I came back from vacation. That was quite an experience. It was super weird hearing him in an interview and then seeing him for the first time in almost one year. I don't think there are words. Christy and Mayu both loved him in the interview and then his test was surprising in a few ways. He didn't use "track changes" correctly - he did it the hard way - and he got REALLY far. He's been with us for almost 2 weeks and is doing really well.

Thursday, 14 October was our all hands meeting at work where they do all the major updates for the past 2 months and announce the employees of the approaching 2 months. Mayu was announced as one employee of the month and then Christy kept talking and announced the second employee of the month was yours truly: ME! I was so touched by the things she was saying about me. There is no better feeling than hearing how appreciated you are by your co-workers (and superiors). I'm so greatful that I could make her proud and ease some of her stress at work. I love her and the leadership she brings to our department.

Ok. I think that's it for the work updates for now.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. I told you all that John would be in more posts, more frequently. Maybe one day I'll even put a picture up or something.

2. Chelsea is getting to know John a lot now because she works with him, goes to church with him, and John lives with one of Chelsea's closer friends. She is constantly telling me how John is NOT AT ALL what she pictured. hahahaha. I never said I had good taste or that I was only going to date the popular kid.

3. I have 2 new books to read. ...I just need to find the time.

4. Along with employee of the month came a bonus. I'm putting toward my next big purchase.

5. John sings in the choir that I joined with my boss. He is EVERYWHERE.

Trip to See a Friend

I needed to take a vacation before work spiralled out of control. So, I packed up and flew to Klamath to see my Stella!

I flew right in to Klamath and guess what? NO ONE WAS WAITING FOR ME!

*guilt trip*

It turns out, my flight arrived like half an hour early. So really, I was only alone for approximately 3.8 minutes and then Alli and Nic were there to get me. With a sign. Hahaha!

I cannot thank Alli and especially Nic enough for letting me come and crash at their place. I don't think that Nic knew what he was getting himself into when he agreed to let me come for the entire weekend.








We went hot tubbing at Alli's parents house.

Nic had coupons for free 15 minute fabulous water massages (I don't think I've been more relaxed since before Gramps died).

We, of course, made treats, treats, and more treats.

This is just scratching the surface. Needless to say, I was SUPER depressed to come home. I can't wait to go back one day.

Thank you again, Nic, for letting me steal your wife's attention for a few days. I love you both!!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. United screwed me on my flight home. BUT, I got a $150 certificate to use on any flight in the US. Now, I just have to decide if I want to use it to go to Shauna's homecoming (HOLY COW she'll be home soon) or go to Seattle to see my sibs/nieces.

2. I love having my sister-in-law (future) live with me. She's a constant buddy and I adore her. She fits right in with all of us. And John commented on how close we are last night. (Yes, John is back...brace yourselves for future posts.)

3. I've started going to choir practice with my boss from work and I am in HEAVEN. I can't comprehend how it is that something as simple as singing is relieving so much of my stress...

4. I have so much going through my head 24/7. I can't think...