The Tuesday Ten

In honor of Thanksgiving this week, here are 10 things I'm grateful for:

1. A wonderful, kind, patient, hard-working husband
2. Citizenship in a free country
3. Membership in the Church
4. Not having to worry about food on the table, clothes on my back or a roof over my head
5. Wonderful friends
6. Good health (even with my current bought of hives, I have it good)
7. My puppy dog
8. A job where I enjoy my co-workers and feel like I'm contributing to something meaningful
9. Getting to work with the young women in my ward and hopefully becoming a little less selfish in the process
10.My education

The Tuesday Ten

Ten Things That Currently Make Me Happy:

1. Sleep!
2. The consistency with which I have been having good hair days lately
3. Bryan
4. Having more than half of my Christmas shopping done
5. Scrapbooking
6. Mac lipstick in Desire
7. My favorite Coach bag
8. PB&J sandwiches
9. That my iPod is no longer MIA
10. That it's mid-November and I still haven't had to wear a coat

(Because I've been a bit of a slacker on posting lately, I stole the idea of "The Tuesday Ten" and figure at least once a week I can come up with a top ten list about something!)

A Hobby Rekindled

Around 10 years ago I was introduced to scrapboooking when my friend Mary Lou had a Creative Memories party at her house. I had never been particularly crafty, but I loved photos, so I quickly got hooked. Over time however, work and school and many other demands on my time prevented me from pursuing this little hobby.

A few months ago, Bryan was looking at the scrapbook I put together back in the day. “Why don’t you do this with our pictures?” he asked. Good question. I’m still busy but not to the extent I used to be, and to be honest I’ve been feeling a need to have a hobby. So I pulled out my old scrapbooking supplies, bought some new ones and got to work. The good thing is that every since we’ve been together, I’ve put all of Bryan’s and my pictures in an album, in order and with notes about the dates, places, etc so it’s been pretty easy to get going.

This past weekend I went to a fun crop with my friend Wendy. We were there from 6:00 to midnight and I got a ton of pages done. It’s fun to have a hobby again!

Doing My Civic Duty

I love election day. Weird, I know, but true. Here in Arizona there is an interesting policy where in addition to being able to complete an absentee ballot, you can also go down to the elections office a few weeks prior to election day to cast your ballot. I see how this is convenient (it is definitely Bryan's preferred method of casting his vote) but for me there is something patriotic about going down to the polls on election day.

This morning I headed over to my polling place and after about a 45 minute wait, I did my thing and voted on the longest ballot in Arizona's history. I dig the ballots here in Arizona--you use a marker to complete an arrow that points to how you want to vote. Pretty much idiot proof. No hanging chads here.

Anyway, if you haven't yet voted, make sure to get out there today!

Time Flies!

Yesterday was Bryan's and my 2 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been two years already!

I always say that marrying Bryan was the best decision I ever made. He evens me out, keeps me from taking life too seriously, and can always make me laugh. He humors me when I need to be humored and isn't afraid to lay down the law when necessary. Pretty much he is my perfect match. I'm a very lucky girl, and I try to always remember that.

Last night he had to go to a meeting, so we had a quick dinner at Outback, but tonight we're actually 'celebrating.' I have no idea where we're going (well if I were to guess I'd guess Melting Pot, so we'll see...) but we have reservations at 8:30, so I'm looking forward to that...

Yay for being happily married :)

(and yes, those are the flowers he sent me yesterday. he has fabulous taste...)

My Favorite Time of Year

October is an interesting month in Arizona...at the beginning, there are still days with triple digit temperatures, prompting me to wonder if Mother Nature failed to get the memo that summer is in fact over. And then, right about this time, it turns nice. Temperatures in the 80's during the day, in the 60's at night. Last night I came out of the temple a little before 9:00 p.m. and I was chilly. I think that's the first time that has happened since April or so. I loved it.

We're now only 13 days from my favorite month. Perfect weather, my favorite holiday, and my anniversary.

Life is good.

Hometown Huddle

Every year, all of the United Way's in major cities team up with their local NFL team for this fun event called Hometown Huddle. In addition to completing a major project for a local agency, some of the players and cheerleaders come out and do a little mini football and cheerleading camp for a group of kids that tend to be on the lower rungs of the socioecomonic ladder. Anyway, Hometown Huddle was yesterday. It was a nice break from the office and we all had a great time.

The photo is of me, some of my fellow marketing department divas and Deuce from the Cardinals...

Babies, Babies Everywhere

This past weekend I went up to Sacramento for my best friend's baby shower. It seems like everyone is having babies! I love it! Anyway, the shower was seriously the nicest baby (or any other) shower I've ever attended. Everything was picture perfect.

The best part though, of course, was spending time with Christine. The only thing I dislike about living in Arizona is the distance from my friends. But little visits here and there defininitely help.

In addition, I got to help her get everything organized for the nursery, which I totally loved. Maybe I should have taken the Professional Organizer career track...

Birthday Fun for Bry

October is a crazy month for us, so even though Bryan’s birthday isn’t until the 10th, we took his birthday trip this last weekend. Day One was spent between Disneyland and California Adventure, which was fine, but since it was our 3rd time in two years, we just weren’t feeling the ‘magic.’ However that night we had dinner at the Blue Bayou Restaurant (inside of Pirates of the Caribbean) and the food was spectacular, which made the whole day worth it. Day Two was spent at Universal Studios. It had been years since either of us had been there and we had a great time. That night we went to Bryan’s favorite restaurant, Rockin’ Baja Lobster where his Bucket O’ Meat was the highlight of the trip for him! Day Three we met up with my friends Katherine and Rob for brunch before heading home to Arizona. All in all it was another fabulous weekend trip, which will hopefully keep us geared up throughout the month!

Recollections of 9/11

On September 11, 2001 I had lived in San Francisco for a little more than two months. I got up that morning as usual, showered, dressed in black pants and a lavender ¾ length sweater, and proceeded to get ready for work. My roommates and I rarely interacted in the morning, for no other reason than our own preoccupation with our individual morning routines and the accompanying effort to get out the door on schedule. So when I came out of my bedroom that morning and saw Katie and Kelly standing in front of the TV in Katie’s room, I knew something was up.

I walked into Katie’s room, and no one said a word. I think they were in shock. After a few moments of viewing the horrible images that flashed across the screen, I was, too. We continued to watch for a few minutes, wanting to look away, but somehow unable to.

One by one we eventually tore ourselves away from the TV so we could proceed to work. When I got onto MUNI that morning, something seemed strange. Usually people occupied themselves with newspapers and books and their blackberries as the Express worked its way through traffic toward the Financial District. After a few minutes someone started a conversation—addressed to no one in particular—and astonishingly, everyone began chiming in with little bits and pieces of information that they had gleaned from various news sources that morning.

After we reached my stop I walked the three-or-so blocks to my office in a fog. When I walked into the office, one of my co-workers was sitting on the couch crying. She had family that worked in the towers. Within minutes our main office in Utah called and told us all to go home. My co-worker Katherine’s boyfriend picked us up and drove us back to the other side of town. As we made our way through the Financial District and the Civic Center it was like a ghost town. Very eerie for a Tuesday morning in September.

By the time I returned to my apartment in the Richmond District, both of my roommates were home. We parked ourselves in front of the television in our living room and wondered out loud whether the reporter’s speculation about terrorists targeting the Golden Gate Bridge could actually happen. You could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the balcony of our apartment.

The very last plane in U.S. airspace that day was to land in San Francisco. We watched with baited breath as news cameras captured its touchdown at SFO. The three of us breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Within a couple of weeks the inability to sleep had set in. The horrible nightmares followed soon after. I don’t remember exactly how long they lasted, but Tylenol P.M. and a meditation-type CD my mom sent me helped me get through the weeks and months that followed.

Eventually I was able to get a normal night’s sleep—uninterrupted by terrible images flashing through my mind—on my own. But the memories of the fear I felt during that time will always remain.

That day could very well be the reason why the city life which I had always wanted to live became something that I truly abhorred…