So... Guess Who Has A Little Bit of News???

Let me tell you a story...

Once upon a time, there was a boy, let's call him Alan, who worked with a lady named Brenda. Brenda had lived next door to a girl, let's call this girl Heather, for several years before Heather moved to college. Brenda had been telling Alan while the two of them worked that she knew of this girl who was cute and fun and she thought Alan ought to ask out. Alan told Brenda to get the phone number and he would call the girl.

Months went by... two to be exact and finally Alan put his foot down, "Brenda, I'm tired of just hearing about this girl! I want to meet her! Get the phone number and I will ask her out!" Brenda came to visit Heather's family to drop off a Christmas present as this was about 2 weeks before the Christmas holiday.

Three days later, Heather's mother told her that Brenda had asked for Heather's phone number and that she had given the number to Brenda. Heather was shocked that her mother would do this and slightly embarrassed that some strange boy was being given her number, but the damage was already done so she wasn't going to worry about it. Heather thought, "It doesn't matter anyway. No boy EVER calls in that sort of situation." So, she put it out of her mind and promptly forgot all about it.

Two days later, Heather was visiting at a friend's house when she received a phone call from a strange number she didn't recognize. Seeing as she didn't normally answer numbers she didn't have a vague idea might be calling, she let it go to voicemail. After the voicemail was left, and her phone alerted her to the fact that the person did indeed leave a message, she decided to give it a listen.

Suddenly, a boy's voice was on her phone telling her that he'd received her number from a Brenda that he worked with and that he would like Heather to call him back. He told her to "please call back... or don't... but if you don't... I'll just call you again." She could hear the smile in his voice at the end and she knew he was either A) A very clever stalker or B) The boy Brenda had spoken to her about.

Heather panicked. She didn't want to call Alan back. She was afraid that he might actually want to take her on a date. She was afraid that if she went on a date with Alan, Alan would decide that he liked her and want to date her some more. She was afraid that if she were to date him some more, that would lead to the inevitable! She would end up falling in love with this boy... and he would leave. Just as every other boy before Alan.

Instantly, she picked up the phone and dialed her mother, only to chew her mother out for giving out her number in the first place. Her mother and friend encouraged her to at least call Alan back, but "you never know, right?"

She did. Alan picked up right away and the two had a very pleasant conversation during which Alan told her that he was at home in a little place called Emmett, ID which is about an hour north of Boise. He had gone home for the holidays and to welcome home a younger brother who had returned from his LDS mission that very day. Heather was instantly impressed that this boy would be so adamant to talk to her when he was home with his family for the holidays and trying to also spend time catching up with his brother, whom he hadn't seen for 2 years. He actually called her.

"Interesting..." Heather thought. "But a good sign!" The date was December 16th.

Alan was to stay in Emmett for 2 weeks until just after New Year's. Over the course of that time, there were several phone calls and texts sent back and forth. Heather was growing fond of hearing from this boy, but also very nervous.

When Alan returned, Heather did not get a phone call or text for about a week and she started to grow nervous. She thought that it was a nice pipe dream, but that he was never going to call again.

Until, he did.

Their first date was about a week after Alan arrived home. Alan's car had died in his driveway about 30 minutes north of where they were supposed to meet (Orange Leaf) and he had borrowed his roommate's car to come down to town. When Heather arrived at the ice cream shop, she was informed that this car, too, was dead and would have to be started with the aid of jumper cables in Heather's vehicle.

The two spent the better part of 2 hours in Orange Leaf that night, talking and laughing and eating ice cream. Then, when they went out to start Alan's car, Heather had to open the hood of the car as Alan wasn't sure how it worked. He took it in stride and Heather giggled at him trying to play it off like it was no big deal.

As they waited for Alan's car to warm up, he was telling her about how much he loved to ballroom dance and Heather got the brilliant idea that he should teach her some dance steps. Right there. In the middle of the parking lot. At 10:30 at night. In January. When it was freezing cold.

And Alan obliged her. He taught her the waltz and a basic cha-cha-cha. Heather was impressed that she could actually dance, but realized very quickly that it had very little to do with any natural ability on her part. It was more that he lead her across the asphalt very very well.

Finally, Heather could take it no longer and decided she needed to warm up in her vehicle. So, the two sat talking and laughing some more until about 11:45 when he realized that he needed to get back to his house.

He didn't call for days.... Heather worried. But then he would call and they would go out again. This went on for about 4 weeks.

Heather was due to leave at the beginning of February to go on a family trip out of the country where she wouldn't have access to a phone to talk to Alan. She made sure to see him the day she was leaving and he seemed indifferent to the idea that she was leaving. Again... she worried.

She arrived home 10 days later and immediately called him. He was in town and decided to stop by. They caught up with what had happened over the course of Heather's trip and made plans to go out the next evening together, even though it was Valentine's Day.

The next night, the two drove over to a friend's house to attend a party there, but before Heather could get out of the car, Alan took her by the hand and told her how he felt about her. He told her that he wanted to be exclusive and that he hoped things would end up going somewhere serious. He asked her if she would be ok with all of that.

Heather thought things over for a few minutes and, though she was afraid, agreed. She had wanted this for a long time too. She had been waiting the entire time she'd known him to feel for the right time to end things with him and that feeling never came. She knew that if you feel that you are walking in darkness, the best thing to do is keep going until you find the light. This time, the light found her.

So began the courtship of two people falling in love.

On April 23rd, Alan had stopped over to see Heather because she had had a rough day and they were supposed to spend the evening together, just hanging out. Nothing really big. They sat talking for awhile on the couch until finally Alan stopped her short and told her he needed to talk to her about something important.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. He told her that he knew she was going to have a rough day because he was planning on giving this ring to her that night and he knew that because of that, all the things that could go wrong, would. He told her that he had been trying to put that ring on her finger for weeks and that something ALWAYS got in the way. Especially when he tried to plan something big. Something always came up and ruined his plans.

Instead, he looked at Heather with all the love in his eyes and said, "Can I please just put this on your finger finally? I've been trying so long and instead, can I just please put it on your finger?"

Heather smiled and said, "Shouldn't you ask me a question first?"

Alan smiled back and replied, "Heather... will you marry me?"

She kissed him and said, "Yes" about 3 times.

**************

This is normally where the storyteller would then say:

And they lived happily ever after. The End.

Except, this time, the storyteller is going to say this:

And they hope to live forever after, deciding to be happy even through life's ups and downs, sharing in one another's joys and pains, loving and arguing and loving some more, choosing to make one another their one and only for time and all eternity. And it's not the end, it's just the beginning.

The Time the Floor Beat Me Up....

So, I have this boyfriend (more to come on him later, in a different post), who's family came at the beginning of April to visit and to watch Conference. This boyfriend of mine has a sister in law who's family lives around here (and who I've known since I was a little girl) and so they all get together to play softball and volleyball between and after sessions of Conference. So, I decided that I was going to go along and play volleyball with them.

I consider myself to be pretty decent at playing volleyball and have this awesome spike that I call the "Death Spike" where I am playing on the front line right up next to the net and when the ball is set just right, I jump up and spike the ball. It's the "Death Spike" because normally no one sees it coming, except the floor. Well.... here's how it went down...

Someone had me play on the opposing team from said boyfriend. And someone put me on the front line in the corner right across from said boyfriend's father who is a tall man. And someone set the ball up just right. So... in other words, the stage was set. I had to use my famous "Death Spike". There was NO other option.

The ball came to me, I jumped up, I spiked the ball... and.... I landed with my right foot under me and came down with all my weight on an ankle that was already twisted. As I came down, I could literally feel all the tendons, ligaments and cartiledge becoming tangled up in there like spagetti.

I went down and sat for a few minutes trying not to cry, throw up or pass out. I was doing the labor breathing... no kidding. It was a mess and I knew it. When we lifted my pant leg up, my foot had already swelled and looked like I shoved a baseball under my skin. Lovely.

Here are some pics, because you know you are all morbidly curious....

This was about 2 1/2 hours after it happened.

The next afternoon. 24 hours later.

The swelling is truly a thing of beauty

About a week later

This was about 2 weeks later. The bruising was apparently on the bottom of my foot too. I couldn't see it because I couldn't twist my ankle to be able to see the bottom.

2 weeks later

2 weeks later.

It has now been just over 5 weeks since that lovely "Death Spike" and I realize now that while, yes, I DID actually score the point, it was really the floor that won. I got beat up by the gym floor. I can walk on it and move it, but it's been a slow process. I still can't twist it to look at the bottom of my foot. It's still swollen, albeit, not quite like it was. And I still have to wear a brace on it for stability.

Grr... Lesson learned.

Favorite Things: J

Josh Groban:  Every so often, a good quality singer comes along like Josh Groban. I've loved him since he first got popular. I own every CD he's ever made. His Christmas CD is my favorite right next to Neil Diamond. (You got that right, I said Neil Diamond! That's how long it's taken for me to find a new favorite. Let that be an indication here folks!) Josh Groban also does a rendition of my favorite song...

Janna: Oh my goodness how I love Nanna! She is another younger sister to me. She is, in truth, my best friend's younger sister, but I figure it might as well be the same thing. I will never forget after she had her accident back 10 years ago this fall, I was so afraid that she would wake up a different person. And actually, she did, but in all the right ways. She's funny and sweet and loving and slightly crazy... just like me. :) I'm so glad she's in my life! Love you Nanna!!!

Jim: My sweet Jim... where do I begin? Jim and I met when I was about 6 years old. He was 5 and we both were babysat after school by a lady down the street who had a daughter the same age as me. Unfortunately for Jim, we were unmercifully mean to him. We would lock him out of the house, pick on him, and (gasp!) not let him play Barbies with us!! For shame! Now, my sweet Jim is one of the best J's I could find to include on my list. He's forgiven me for all of that and our friendship has never waned since. He is one of the strongest people I know. He and his sweet family have had to endure some of life's greatest trials and they have bore them well. I don't think he knows how much I look up to him. He's got such strength and endurance. I sure love him. Wow, howdy, do I love that boy! I hope he always remembers it too.

Jewelry:  This one is slightly silly and I know that, but it's the honest truth. I LOVE jewelry. Love it. I feel like I'm not completely put together unless I have my earrings, rings, watch, etc on. Whenever I buy a new outfit, I always think in my head about the jewelry I have a home and secretly hope I don't have something to already go with the new clothes just so that I have the perfect excuse to buy a new necklace and earrings! I'm such a girly girl like that. You just don't know what a great matching set of earrings and a necklace can do for my soul!! :)

Favorite Things: I

Independence Day:  Other than Thanksgiving, Independence Day is my favorite holiday! I love the fact that it is so warm, there are always fun bbq's to go to and well... there's the fireworks! I love listening to the radio coverage of the firework display and the patriot songs they play. I love the swelling feeling I get in my chest that reminds me how proud I am to be an American. I look forward to this day every single year!!

My niece, Keyani, at our BBQ

Sister getting ready to watch the fireworks and showing off how dirty her feet had gotten from walking down to the river.

Momma at the lake earlier in the day

Laura playing with Maycee at the lake earlier in the day

Mr. Dustin getting the Stink Eye from Sister. She's a pro at it!

We have rabies!!!! Kidding... we were playing in the whipped cream before the BBQ. :)

Mom, Momma & Laura at the BBQ

Keyani and I playing at the BBQ

And don't forget the fireworks!!

Ireland:  One day, I'm going to visit Ireland. The culture, the landscapes, the CASTLES.... wow. Don't even get me started here. I love pretty much anything to do with Ireland. Their food is tasty, the hospitality is world renown for being so kind, the countryside is something to be envied... I just LOVE Ireland and, like I said, someday I'm going to go and I can't wait!



Italy: Well, there are few words here that really describe how much I want to go to Italy. I have dreamed of visiting Italy for almost as long as I've wanted to go to England. Venice, Florence, Rome, Verona, Pisa, man, the list just goes on and on. It is one of the earliest known civilizations on this planet! The history steeped there is just incredible and I would love so much to be able to walk the same paths. Someday.... someday......



Ice Fishing: I talked about this a little bit when I wrote about how much I love fishing, but I have to make this its own little paragraph. I love to ice fish so much. I look forward to wintertime for VERY few reasons, and ice fishing is one of them. It is one of the greatest memories I have of having my dad take Laura and I out fishing several years ago with a guy who was important in my life at the time. I was fishing circles around both my dad and this guy. My dad was never prouder of me in his life. Laura was doing even better than I was and caught several good sized trout. It was a great day.



I Believe In Christ: Another favorite hymn. In fact, when I die, I want it sang at my funeral. It is like my testimony of the Gospel put to music. My heart swells when I hear it and I cry almost every time. I can barely make it through. I love this song.

Sister

I was only four when my little sister, Melissa, was born, but one of my earliest memories was when my mom went in to have an ultrasound and the doctor squirted all this blue goo all over my mom's stomach and I thought she was going to turn into a Smurf. :) I didn't understand what was about to happen in my life. If I had known... I might have tried to drown her at birth! Haha. I'm kidding.

"Sister" and I used to fight worse than cats and dogs when we were younger. She was a show off and an attention stealer. She drove me crazy! She always tagged along wherever I went and always had to be doing whatever I was doing. From the moment she could walk, I had a shadow. Like I said, drove me crazy!

Now, Sister and I are best friends. We are totally crazy TOGETHER when we actually have the opportunity to get together. See, she lives in Utah now and will be getting married in a few weeks. She is in college, working full time and taking care of her future hubs, Mr. Dustin. So, she has very little time to come home for a visit. But, when she does, look out! We can sit and giggle like dorks for hours at a time about the silliest things.

For example, Sister and I can rewind a commercial over and over and over again, laughing even harder than all the times before. She causes me to have an asthema attack more often than almost any other person in my life. My stomach muscles always get such a workout after seeing her.

She's sure fun. I wish everyone got to have fun with their sisters like I do with mine.

Isn't she great?! :)

Favorite Things: H

Harry Potter:  When I was about 16, my aunt handed me a book called "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". She told me that I would LOVE it. That night, I opened it up and read the first several pages. I will normally read almost anything, even the back of cereal boxes, because I consume every bit of reading material I can find. As I was reading along, I was reading words like "muggle", "Albus Dumbledore" and "Put-Outer". I, quite literally, threw the book across the room. I'm not even joking in the slightest. I was not going to waste precious reading time on nonsense like that! Cut to almost 2 years later when my momma and Laura were sitting down to watch a movie on a Sunday afternoon and they wanted to put a movie by the same name. I disagreed vehemently with the choice and tried to get them to change their minds. They would not relent... 2 hours later, I was rewinding the movie to turn around and watch it again! I was hooked. Within the next week, I had purchased hard back editions of the first 3 books and signed myself up for the pre-order of the 4th. My love affair with Harry Potter had begun. From using the terms J.K. Rowling had created for this world in my everyday language to going to midnight book releases (albeit, never dressing up for one) to going to midnight releases of the movies, my obsession has never wained again. And I will go back and reread the entire series about once a year. I love them, just as my aunt knew I would. :)



Hello Dolly: I used to house sit for my best friend's family a lot when we were high school and they always had a plethora of older movies, especially musicals, that I could veg in front of the TV watching. This play, in movie form with Barbara Streisand, was a discovery made at that point and I've loved it ever since. In fact, once my friend and I graduated and I no longer house sat for them, I instantly went out and bought it for myself. And whenever I'm sick and in need of comfort, out comes Hello Dolly!

Hydrangeas: There isn't a lot of explanation behind this one other than I think they are really pretty in sage green and they make really great fillers in bouquets. They are pretty fun. That's it. :)



Horseback Riding: I would never profess to be skilled as a horsewoman. I would never profess to even be knowledgeable at this fantastically wonderful activity. BUT, I will profess here and now that I LOVE IT! I always wanted a horse while growing up. My dad owns property big enough that we could have, but he didn't have the time to enforce all the duties and responsibilities that come from owning a horse. I have always loved and admired horses. So, I am thrilled that Alan (more about him later  :)....) owns 2 himself and his family has a couple others. I will be able to get my fill as often as I want. And Alan is exceptionally skilled with them, so I will have a great tutor.

Heather Schwartz: Oh my goodness! I started a new job in the middle of March (one of the reasons I've veered off the blogging course for so long) and I met Heather who had started new about 3 weeks before me. She is the reason I am able to survive. It's been a bit of an adjustment for me going from a job where I was needed and vital to the workings of the office to a place where I'm nothing but a pee-on. Heather helps. She makes me laugh and keeps me thinking that I can go back each day. Thank goodness for her!!

The Momma

My momma... where do I begin...

I was given to my mother and father in December of 1983. But, in July of 1988, my momma was given to ME. She married my dad and became my stepmom. She was a gift given from a loving Father in Heaven who knew I would need her. I wouldn't be the person I am today without her.

Were it not for her, and some other helpful hands along the way, I would not be a member of the Church. Were it not for her, I wouldn't understand the value of work. Were it not for her, I wouldn't have the patience levels I've had to acquire. Were it not for her, I would have given up on so many things long ago and taken the easy road instead of the road less travelled. She is the voice in my head telling me to push myself further and hold out with patience and faith when everything in my life seems to fall apart. She doesn't have to love me because I'm her child, I'm her child because she chose me and continually chooses to love me. That is the mark of a good mother.

The greatest part of my momma is that she has taught me that family comes in all ways and we have to be willing to accept it however we are given it. Blood means virtually nothing when it comes to family. Family are those people who you can count on, who love you no matter what the circumstance, and who are there to guide, teach and love you through ALL of life's ups and downs. She taught me that just because she didn't give birth to me, doesn't mean she isn't my mom. She mothers me, therefore, she IS my mom.

And it's really great because she and my other mom (Mi Madre) get along really great. In fact, I can be on the phone with either of them and they refer to EACH OTHER as "my mom". I know it doesn't make sense to everyone else outside our world, but I'm telling you, it just works. Every Thanksgiving, the both of them, my two sisters and I always get together and eat. We celebrate together because we realize that family is what you make it. Blood or no blood. My moms make it easier on me to only have 2 houses to visit (their's and my dad's) and thereby allowing me to actually enjoy the holidays.

My momma is my hero and a gift given to me when I was most in need. And even though she and my dad divorced in 1999, she has stayed in my life and has stayed my momma. I love her so much.

Driving down to SLC Valentine's weekend 2010

We had kept her up too late the night before and she's reeeeeally tired. LOL

At Lagoon in 2009

We were doing the "Awkward Llama". Don't ask. :)

Favorite Things: G

Grey's Anatomy:

I'll admit, this one is a guilty pleasure. I shouldn't watch it and I know that. But I love it. I can't wait to see what will happen each week to each of the main characters. I watched it the first couple of seasons and then stopped for awhile, but then started up again several years ago. I hear this is the last season though, or maybe it's next season is the last. Who knows, but if it is... I'll be grateful. I'm addicted to it!



Guitars:

I love to listen to someone play an acoustic guitar and sing. Ask Amy and Spencer Anderson, they will tell you. I used to beg them to come over and play for me and sing. LOL Here they are, in fact, playing a song their dad wrote for their mom to tell her how much he loved her. So sweet!

G:

Actually, her name is Debbi Gerard, but I've called her G for the past 12 years and it's pretty well set now. She was my drama teacher and director of several plays in high school. After high school, she has remained a great friend. It is one of the greatest feelings to be sitting there and say something that makes her flat out laugh. You can't help but laugh along. And while in high school, I had a lot going on at home and she guided me through what could have been even more difficult to come out on the other side a better person. She believe in and encouraged me. She taught me how to reach into myself and really put your heart and soul into whatever it was you were doing, whether it be playing another person on the stage, being the assistant director under her, or being the lead makeup artist. You were an integral part of a whole. You felt needed and necessary to the success of the whole. She taught me lessons that I apply in my life even now, 10 years later and I appreciate her and her friendship.



General Conference:

I love to listen to a prophet of God. And I really love to hear from several apostles AND the prophet of God. How lucky we are to have a prophet on this earth today who prepares and speaks to us for our Heavenly Father every 6 months. I used to hate sitting through 8 hours of Conference every 6 months, but now that I'm older and understand gospel related things better, I not only look forward to General Conference in April and October each year, but I crave the knowledge that the apostles and the prophet have prepared for me and for us as a church.



Grammar:

This one goes along with my love of English. It makes my eye twitch when someone doesn't use grammar properly. It drives me crazy! But, when used correctly, it makes my heart happy.