Vacation and Family

To my thousands of avid fans out there, I apologize for the delay in posting. I know you all wait with baited breath for news about me! Well, here we go...

So, I graduated from BYU with my MSW (FINALLY!!!!) It was great! Here are some pictures. NOTICE THE HOOD!!!! That, along with the black robe! (It's very Harry Potter-esque...don't you think? I do!)



Anyway, that was a lot of fun. Shortly after, I took my licensing exam...AND I PASSED!!!!! I then applied for a CSW license (Certified Social Worker) in the State of Utah, which came in the mail shortly afterwards. Now, I can start looking for a job without being denied because I don't have a license (which is what happened, and was a great source of annoyance and frustration!)

After graduation and testing, the fun began! I went to NC to see my sister and brother-in-law. I absolutely love NC! It's green, with trees everywhere, and on the east coast! I had a great time. It was great seeing my sister and her husband and spending time with them. I am still waiting for them to move back to UT (or for me to move out to NC, whatever comes faster!)

In NC, we went to Duke Gardens (I have to go there everytime I'm in NC. I never get enough of it!), New Bern (I guess it used to be the capital of NC. It's an older town and had some of those amazing old houses!!! Also, we went to the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola and had a pepsi!), and an air show. I had a blast!!!! My sister had that new Dyson vacuum (the one that moves on a ball in the center). I begged her to let me vacuum. She relented and I had fun! Plus, her carpet is the best kind to vacuum!

When I got home, we had family who were up for a baseball tournament. We had a houseful, but it was so much fun to see them! I had my first taste of IHOP, which was better than I expected! We also watched the final American Idol (and yes, I still chuckle when I think of the showdown between Kara and DBG!)

I then hopped on a flight to NM to see my brother and his family (we went down to see my niece blessed in church). I had A BLAST!!!!! My oldest sister and her family drove down, along with my youngest brother and his girlfriend and my parents. We had a full house that was overflowing with energy, laughter, and good times. However, we still were not complete!!! My two other siblings were unable to attend.

The next week, it was time for me to head to DC. I was quite anxious about it because I was starting an internship. As most of you know, I have a tendency to worry/freak out/stress/etc over anything that happens. Luckily, after getting to DC, I was able to calm down. Washington, DC is my "Disneyland".

Anyway, I was able to escape from campus every once in a while to see some sights. Unfortunately, my camera was not able to escape (no worries, it now goes with me everywhere!) I did manage to get some photos of the "white house". Here's an eye-feast!!!!!




(And yes, I took them myself!)

Well, you are all up to date. However, things change quickly and I will try to keep you informed. I have many places to go here in "Disneyland" and many photos to take. So, stay tuned...!

My Favorite American Idol Moment

I have to say, I absolutely loved the moment when Dumb Bikini Girl (DBG)was trying to sing "Vision of Love" as Kara DioGuardi came out singing. DBG's face was priceless--thinking she had the stage. I loved seeing her trying to find out where the other voice was coming from. And then, when she saw that it was Kara, her face was dripping with fury and loathing. And yes, Kara was much better singing than was DBG! Oh it was fabulous!!! Kara got the upper hand!!!! Now if only Adam was not on American Idol, it would have been a great series finale!

Spring!

So, I had Stake Conference in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square (it was so fun having church on Temple Square! I felt like a pioneer!) Since the weather was so nice (it had rained the night before and the morning of), I decided to take advantage, so I took my camera with me so I could wander Temple Square and take pictures of the grounds. The weather was perfect--not too hot, not too cold. It also smelled WONDERFUL because of the tulips and the lilacs. Holy Cow!!! Here are some pictures...enjoy!

The Suspense is Over!!!!

To my avid fans out there...the suspense is now over and here you have a new post! :)

So much has happened. To begin with, I GRADUATED!!!!!! I now have a Master's Degree (MSW) and am quite happy to be done with school. I had a great time at the Commencement Exercises where President Uchtdorf and Elder Nelson spoke. The procession was a great experience because we were able to walk past President Samuelson, President Uchtdorf, Elder Nelson, and the faculty. It was a different, but nice, experience compared to the last Commencement Exercises when Vice President Cheney came to speak (although I highly enjoyed that speech!!)

Convocation was great as well. We sat on the front row and Elder Christoferson was attending. As my name was read and I crossed the stage, I was able to shake hands with him, as well as Dean Magleby and Vice President Tanner. All in all, it was a great graduation time!

Sad moments that came with graduation were few, but huge. My internship at the American Fork Hospital came to an end, which was bittersweet for me. It was nice to reach the end, but I had forged some great frienships there and was enjoying what I was doing. In addition, it was hard to become unemployed in this wonderful economic time period we are experiencing, thanks to some highly selfless people. Luckily, I do have a summer job that will help me to enjoy the summer while having some sort of income. Hopefully when I return, employment opportunities will be more abundant (especially now that I have a license!)

Which brings me to my next point...my licensure exam. I was very nervous to take this (and quite the basket case--highly unlike me!) I started studying a week before my test date and took my first practice test, on which I scored a 60% (I need a 70% to pass on the real test). I continued to review, then took the second test on which I scored a 62%. At this point, I started to get somewhat frustrated. I took the third test, 64%, and was about to give up. However, thanks to my determination and my mom's persistence, I continued studying and my scores finally reached into the low 70's. I went and took the test and was very nervous as I hit the "Quit" button. After going through a short survey (which seemed extremely long), I was told that I had PASSED!!!!!! Oh, it was a very exciting day. If you heard someone shouting, it was me! I can now register for a license and then am able to get a job. Oh, happy day!

Now, I prepare for my US tour and am very excited! East Coast, Southwest, East Coast again! In addition, I will plunge into the Harry Potter saga, finish the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series (I highly recommend it!!!!!) and the Leven Thumps series ("The Ruins of Alder" is taking forever to come out!), and read book 4 in the Fablehaven series. After seeing the trailer for "Angels and Demons", I now want to read the book in anticipation of the movie. The best part is...I have no papers to write, textbooks to read, or professors to deal with (although, I do now have a job to find).

Well, that is the extent of what has been occurring in my life. Things are exciting, unknown, and great (except for the unknown part...I hate not knowing!) I hope all is well with everyone! Take care :)

Happy Easter!

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter Sunday and that we can all remember the reason for the day!

My Pensieve

This post has been years in the making (even before I started my blog)...

As my good friend Babs sings it, "Memories light the corner of my mind".

Just the other day, I came across two cd's I bought quite awhile ago (although, I like to think it wasn't too long ago). I decided to rip them on my computer and put them on my "relaxing" playlist on my ipod. Then, I started listening to the songs and it was like a dam of memories breaking in my mind!

The cd's were the two soundtracks released for the movie Titanic. Now, before anybody stops reading the post due to the word "Titanic" (as I would do myself), please let me explain. Of all the movies I have seen, there has never been one that I have become so overly annoyed with or one that I have truly regretted seeing (ok, just kidding, there have been many other movies I have regretted seeing). But I cringe every time I hear Titanic (mind you, I still really enjoy My Heart Will Go On for one obvious reason!) That being said, I must confess that I really enjoy a good love story, and Titanic portrayed an amazing love story (but I recognize it could have done with some changes and deletions).

Now, by this point (if you are still reading), you may be asking what in the &@*# does this have to do with memories? Titanic came out while I was in high school (1997). It is also connected with three memories (oh, what I would give for a pensieve)! Anyway, here are the memories:

1. My first date (yes, yes, my first date)
2. My sister
3. Celine Dion

My first date was with a friend I had grown up with. We lived in the same neighborhood and went to elementary, junior high, and high school together. My first memory of her was fifth grade. She was always a great friend. So, obviously, by bringing back my memory of this friend, it opened up even more memories about school (elementary, jr high, and high school) and other friends that my friend and I had in common. Even though the movie was a disaster, the date was a lot of fun. We did go have ice cream afterwards and had a great conversation. A great regret I have is that I have not stayed in contact with her and I do not know what she is up to now.

My sister was willing enough to go with me on my first date (she and her boyfriend, me and my date). Once again, a memory of my sister opens up many thousands of memories dealing with school, friends, and family! (Needless to say, I have been swimming in an ocean of memories for quite some time!) Anyway, I love my sister and I remember I was very glad she was there with me. I tried to act completely independent but having my sister there made me feel more comfortable and, hopefully, it prevented me form acting as socially awkward as I was at that time in my life. Moving on...

Memory number three...Celine Dion. Ok, it is common knowledge now that I really enjoy Celine Dion's voice (as does anybody who recognizes and appreciates good music). What most of you probably don't know is that my first experience with Celine Dion (placing her name with the song she sang) was "Because You Loved Me" and I LOATHED that song! Everytime it came on the radio, the station quickly changed (unless my mom or sister were in the car, then I was forced to endure). However (and you can all thank my sister for my quick education in recognizing and enjoying good music), the tables quickly turned. My sister mentioned that she wanted Celine's Falling Into You album. One day, I was at the store with my mom and, there it was. I pointed it out to my mom saying "that's the cd [my sister] wanted." I knew I was condemning myself to torture because my sister would then have that dreaded song!

Anyway, my mom gave the cd to my sister and, as I expected, my sister loved it and listened to it a lot. While she was cleaning the bathroom one day, she put it in the stereo in the front room and turned it up. The song I heard was amazing! I had to find out what it was (I did not know it was the Celine album my mom got my sister). So I ran upstairs and asked what was playing. To my surprise, it was the album (the song was "It's All Coming Back to me Now"). Since that time, I have been hooked! And yes (I know you're asking...) I do enjoy "Because You Loved Me", very much!

It's funny how one soundtrack had this huge effect (and yes, the soundtrack is still very nostalgic--every time I listen to it! And it's almost addictive...I keep having to listen to it!)

Anyway, I have only given you a "stream" of the memories that I have been entertaining. Some have been happy, others not so much. The overall sentiments have been bittersweet. I miss the days of growing up and having all of my family under the same roof. However, the new additions that have been added to my family little by little are people that I am greatful to have in my life and I would never trade them for anything. Also, the experiences I have had since my growing-up years have been priceless. I miss the care-free days of elementary, jr high, and high school--days hanging out with friends, worrying about what's for dinner, buying whatever you want because money from your job never had to go towards rent, groceries, utilities, or car payments. I even miss the care-free days of college (undergraduate) when I went to class, went to work (both on campus) and hung out with friends. All those arguments I had with my parents; the nights lying in bed (when my parents were able to stay up), wishing I could be a grown-up so I could stay up until I wanted to go to bed. Now, I wish I could be the little kid who had to go to bed by 8:30 and sleep until 7 on weekdays! (Side Note: if kids really knew what was ahead of them in life, I don't think they'd throw such fits when it was time to take a nap or go to bed...I wish I could take a nap or go to bed early!!!!!)

Ok, anyway, this "stream" is slowly forming a small "river". I have left one official side note and about a million unofficial side notes. If you have read with me until the very end, thank you! If this post seems like a jumble of words, you nailed it on the dot...it pretty much is. But then again, isn't that what memories are?! A blessing? A curse? I wondered for a bit, thinking they were curses some times and blessings at other times. Now, I like to recognize them as blessings...even blessings can be painful, but they always have a special meaning or purpose. Memories can only be a curse if we dwell on them too long without moving forward.

I could go on, but it is late and my eyes and body are screaming at me to go to bed. Thank you for reading as I ruminated. It has been fun!

What would I do with $1,000,000.00...no, really!

So how many times have you heard the question "What would you do with a million dollars?" Well, I have 500 times too many, so I am now answering that question so the next time I hear it, I can actually give a real answer. I know, I'm so responsible :). Don't be jealous of me for too long.

1. First, as always, tithing! That would be $100,000.
2. Second, I would invest (in the bank...absolutely NO stock market for this money!) That would be $150,000
3. Next would be the best car in the world! That would be $16,640
4. $50,000 to the LDS Church's Humanitarian Program
5. $5,000 for clothes
6. $400,000 for a small home (4 bedrooms, three bathrooms, dining room, kitchen, front room, family room, study/office, sun room, front and backyard).
7. $10,000 to landscape/fix landscaping in the front and back yards
8. $50,000 for a grand piano that looks something like this
9. $160,000 for a tour of Jerusalem, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Eastern Europe, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, and the UK
10. $20,000 to pay off student loans
11. $5,000 to pay off my car
12. The rest ($33,360) to travel to see my siblings and their families

Well, there you have it, how I would spend $1,000,000 if I had it. Now the question is...what about you?!?!?!?!