"Hot Date" with the Marvelous Miss Em

The Marvelous Miss Em at Barnes & Noble playing with Thomas the Train Set

Getting her very first manicure

Her very first pedicure

Feeding the ducks and geese at the Greenbelt

She's got quite the arm!

Afterwards, she was exhausted!!

April's new and different was a little off the beaten path from what I've normally been inspired to do. This month, I decided that it was high time I took my sweet niece Emmie out on her very first Aunt Heather Date. Her older brother is very well versed in the famous Aunt Heather Date, but Em's only just over 2, so we had to make sure she could really appreciate it.

I picked her up at about 10 and we immediately went over to Barnes & Noble to play with the Thomas the Train playset they have set up. There, Em learned how fun, though a tad challenging, it is to play with other children while trying to carve out her own space on the train table. She actually didn't want to leave! She did so great playing with the other little kids and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next, we went down to my favorite salon in the mall and Em got her very first mani/pedi. The lady who helped us was really nervous when we first walked in because she knew how much little kids squirm. Boy did Em prove her wrong! She sat completely still the entire time, entranced by the hot pink and turquoise nail polish being applied to her fingers and toes. Then, just for added measure, the sweet Korean lady painted a white flower on each of Em's thumbs and big toes.

Then, when her fingers and toes were dry, we headed over to McDonald's where she was able to eat quickly and play on the enormous playplace. She kept running through the maze, sliding down the slide and screaming, "Do it again!" as she raced around to go for another. She loves McDonalds! :)

After lunch, we headed over to the Greenbelt to feed the ducks and geese. And I have to say, my little sweetie pea has an amazing arm. She threw the bread so hard, she actually pelted so many of those geese before they could turn around and scramble for the bits of bread. I'm going to have to convince her mom she needs to put Em into softball when she's older. But, Em's favorite part was when she would hold out a long piece of crust and the goose would come right up to her and take the bread directly out of her hands. She would giggle and jump up and down.

Once the bread was gone, we went back across town and went shopping. Em was finally ready for her very first purse... And in the purse, we loaded her up with makeup, a mirror, a comb, new sunglasses (with Tinkerbell on them, of course!), a cell phone, bracelets, rings and two different kinds of chapstick. She was stylin'!

Of course, at this point, we were into our 5th hour of our Hot Date, so we decided to head home. It had been a long day. On the way out of town, Em sang songs to me (most of which had words I don't think the English language has ever officially recognized) and promptly fell asleep. :) She truly is the Marvelous Miss Em.

All in all, it was the best new and different so far. I love my little sweetie pea so much. When she was born, I didn't think there would ever be a way I could love her as much as I love her older brother. But, I honestly think that your heart grows. It's not like she shares my heart with him, it's like I've grown a whole other one, just for her. I'm grateful each and every day that I get to watch her grow up and love her this much. I'm the luckiest Auntie in the world.

The Real Game

The Stadium The Salt Lake Real vs the LA Galaxy

Our view of the field from our seats. (Right in the middle!!)

The crazy Real supporters

The crazy LA supporters

David Beckham.... MMmmmmm!!!

Beckham warming up

Me.... waiting for the game to start and trying not to freeze!

For the month of March, the opportunity came up for me to attend a major league soccer game with my mom, sister and sister's friend. I, never having been a major soccer fan (other than just loving David Beckham, which had NOTHING to do with soccer), wasn't really interested. But, I figured that it was something new and different I've never experienced before and, having turned down the opportunity twice before this, decided to make a go of it.

When we arrived at the stadium, it seemed there were thousands of people in a sea of red, navy blue and gold and I felt very out of my element as people clustered around talking about famous soccer plays and dropping players names. But, I knew it was just part of the total experience, so I just smiled and nodded where appropriate.

We finally got into the stadium and found our seats and I was surprised at how big the stadium actually was. I didn't think it was going to be. I was also surprised at how COLD it was! Within minutes, we were freezing! Thank goodness we remembered our winter coats, hats, gloves and some blankets!

As the game started, I immediately recognized just how good the SL Real actually were. I was impressed. But, I was more excited that I was actually getting to witness David Beckham running around the field! By half time, however, I was beginning to think that the LA Galaxy were not doing so well. The Real were winning, 2-0.

The second half proved to be much of the same. The Real were definitely on their game, where the Galaxy were not. However, I DO have to note that the Galaxy scored one goal during the second half and I was the only one on the entire side of the stadium who stood up and screamed and yelled and jumped around for joy. Yes, I made a fool of myself in my elation, and got booed. I was booed at a major league soccer game. And when the drunk guy in front of me turned around and started singing the Real chant, I started chanting "LA Galaxy" right back at him. It's not that I'm an LA fan as much as I'm just a Beckham fan. Had Beckham been playing for someone else, I would have been cheering them. I don't think the hundreds of Real fans surrounding me knew that though as they booed and yelled at me. Of course, I was nonplussed by this and continued to cheer for Beckham throughout the rest of the game.

I need to say though, at this point, my mom leaned over to me and said, "If Galaxy wins, you cannot brag as we leave the stadium. You will get jumped." :) Turns out... she had nothing to fear. Real beat Galaxy 4-1.

My opinion: I don't think I'll be going again. Don't get me wrong, it was fun enough. But, unless Beckham is playing, I don't have much interest. And the only other time he'll be playing the Real again will be in LA.

So, March's new and different: It was fun, but won't be on the instant replay anytime soon!

Great Quote

So, I heard this quote the other day and it made me smile because I really feel like, given the things happening in my life right now, this is such a great inspiration.

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see."

I don't know who said it, but WOW! It's pretty great, eh? I have a lot of things going on in life right now (most of which, I can't or won't discuss here) that are really difficult. So, this really helped me to pull myself up by my bootstraps and get back on the horse. I know that everything is on the Lord's timing, it's just hard when you're hit with so many trials at once to remember that the blessings will come, just when the Lord has decided you are ready for those.

And if these trials are any indication, boy am I in for some great ones here pretty soon!! There is a silver lining!

1 Week Facebook Sober

I've been off of Facebook for a week as of tonight. It's been an interesting week.

I have had so many different people coming to me via email, blog comments, texts, etc. telling me how amazed they were that I have been strong enough to leave Facebook behind. They have said that they "wished [they] could be brave enough to do it" themselves. I'm actually blown away by those responses. I'm intrigued that those people don't think that they can do it themselves.

For those who are thinking of unplugging, let me shine a ray of hope for you...

I've been asked on a couple of different counts what I've been "filling the time spent on Facebook" with now that I've been gifted that extra time in my life. Well, I've used some time to blog, read more, spend time with my family, paint, sleep!, be more efficient and thorough at work, accomplish more at work, the list goes on. I've actually made plans to go out and see a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a long time because we kept up mainly on Facebook. This week, we are going to go see a movie... in person! And I'm going to lunch this week with another friend who I haven't seen for awhile, but it's been so long overdue! Face to face contact is going to be so much more rewarding.

It has been worth it to be off of Facebook.

Have I missed it? Sure, I'm not going to lie. But, no where near the extent that I had imagined and prepared myself to endure. There have been plenty of times where I have, without thinking about it first, gone online to get onto Facebook and realized that my instant go-to is no longer there. But, I only mourned that loss for a moment and I was quickly, and happily, back to doing whatever else I could to fill that gap of time.

Also, there was a day early on last week where I was worried about a friend of mine who was in the hospital and the only way that I've been able to keep in contact with him was through Facebook. I realized that day that I wouldn't be able to find out how he was doing any other way. So, I will admit, I had someone get online through her account and look him up for me to see if he was ok. However, in my defense, if I had had any other ways of checking up on this particular friend, I would have taken that avenue. I just didn't at the time.

So, to wrap it up, for those of you pondering whether or not you could actually delete Facebook and be FREE.... try it. You will be impressed at the amount of other things you are able to get done. You will be proud of yourself for having the willpower to overcome your addiction. And you will find yourself connecting with important people in your life that you have, even without realizing it, kept at arm's length because you didn't have to make an effort anymore.

It's been an interesting week. BUT, it's been a very rewarding one.

Snow Shoeing Like A Pro!

Me strapped into my snow shoes and ready to go! I was so cold and I wanted to get moving!!

The next photos are the Henderson Clan headed back down the trail and Aunt Heather and her favorite kiddos, Nate and Em. Next is Maren and I. Following that is Nate, then Em and the Hendersons one more time.






This was our view on the trail at Kelly Canyon! It was so pretty!!

So, for the month of February, I decided that I needed to continue with the idea of doing something outdoors. See, when I was younger, I never wanted to do anything outside when it was cold. I always thought, "there's just nothing fun to do out there and you just get cold!" Boy, was I wrong!

Maren, Andrew, their kiddos and I went up to Kelly Canyon and went snow shoeing! It was more difficult than I thought it would be, but mostly because I didn't realize how much it would work my hips and leg muscles! I think part of that was because the trail we decided to go on was uphill and we never did make it to the top. It just kept going!

But, it was so much fun! I think I would definitely do it again many times, although, I don't think I'm quite ready to go out and purchase a pair of shoes of my own yet. This was a slow paced activity and it wasn't as instantly addicting as the snow machining was. So maybe I will admit I'm a little addicted to speed and the adrenaline rush... so?! :)

It was fun to be with my best friend and her wonderful family. It gave us time to talk, to laugh and to enjoy one another's company. The best part was watching Nate tromp around in his snow shoes that were shaped like bear claws and hearing Em yell "Yay!" as we headed back down the trail in her special sled. At one point, we had to hold onto her pull rope from behind and it looked like Maren was "walking her" like she would have walked a dog! Hilarious!

Anyway, the activity was a success and I really enjoyed myself. The drive up and back was a little scary. I'm still not quite calm when driving on icy, snowy roads, but the SUV had really great tires. Plus, we (meaning the kids and I) got to watch Mulan on the way there and back! Bonus! And we decided to head up to Swan Valley afterwards to get a square ice cream cone! Double bonus!

I'm definitely learning that you can be outside in the winter and have a fun time. There seem to be just as many activities to do outdoors in the winter in Idaho as there are in the summer. It reminds me just how glad I am to be home here in SE Idaho.

Next month.... I'm thinking a trip through the Salt Lake City Temple and a Real Salt Lake Game. They are playing the LA Galaxy team. So, guess what that means... Beckham!!! Yeah buddy!

The End of Facebook

Hello, my name is Heather Wilson, and I have a problem. I am an addict. I am addicted to Facebook.

The rumors are true, I am quitting Facebook, and many have been asking why. There are several reasons, one in particular I will not discuss, but I felt like I wanted to talk a little bit about it.

As always, I love lists....

-I spend far too much time on Facebook, even while at work, diminishing my valuable hours of daylight that could and should be spent doing worthwhile things. I have so many essential, necessary and recreational things that I need and can do, that wasting quality hours in my day under the employment and slavery of Facebook seemed ludicrous.

-I realized through a conversation with a friend of mine the other day that while Twitter is all about narcissism, Facebook is all about being nosey into other people's business AND narcissism. I have 275 friends on FB and how huge is my ego to think that they would all want to keep up with my life enough to check out my photos, read my statuses, or peruse the novel that was my Info page? And truly, how nosey am I to think that I have all these friends, most of which I haven't spoken to in years, just so that I can go onto their page and Facebook stalk them? It's ridiculous how I have bought into the narcissistic and intrusive allure that is Facebook. P.S. I'm not now, nor will I ever be on Twitter either.

-I found that I was able, and OTHER people were able, to say things over Facebook that would not normally be said in front of other people. I was able to be as sarcastic as I wanted to be, but also be somewhat truthful in not so nice ways. Don't get me wrong, I was also able to be super sweet to people and say things that I would normally blush to say to that person to their face. There is good and bad to all things. I just feel like this is one of the reasons that I need to be done.

-Also, in my quest to find happiness and fulfillment and balance in life, I realized that going onto Facebook and reading up on everyone else's lives was not helping in that. Some people's lives had me feeling covetous of the life they had. Some had me feeling so overwhelming sad for them and for the lives they were choosing to lead. Some, made me feel like I was so inferior because I simply could not be and do all that they were and did. Facebook rarely bolstered my spirits and encouraged me to be all that I can be or to be happy.

-I had begun to think of things in terms of "this would make a great Facebook status!" or "Take this picture of me so that I can use it as a Facebook profile picture!" Does that not seem hilarious and so sad at the same time?

So, I need to be done. And like I mentioned before, there are many other reasons, but those were the main ones that I felt I could reveal. I have been a member of Facebook for 3 years now and to lose that instant go-to will be like losing a friend in a way.

I have very much enjoyed conversations that I've had with people I've found through Facebook. I have found friends through Facebook that I hadn't been able to find for years. Like a kid who had been one of my very best friends in junior high and then he moved to a different district for high school. Or the kid who I'd gone to school with all the way through until graduation and now lives in Romania. Or the girls who didn't ever go to school with me, but through mutual friends, I've grown to love and appreciate having them as part of my life. Or even those family members who I don't get to see very often at all, but I love them and miss them all the time. I truly hope that somehow we can all find a different way to keep in touch. Honestly I do. I don't want to lose people through this effort at regaining some privacy for myself and others. But, it's something that needs to be done and I feel good about.

I know that the people who have truly wanted me as part of their lives will continue to do so, even if it means finding a different avenue for it. And I know that I will have to make more of an effort to email, text and call people who are important to me. But, that is what I am willing to do. And like I said, I feel good about my decision.

So, I'm signing off. I'm Heather Wilson, and I'm no longer addicted to Facebook.

Wreckin' and Ridin': My Weekend in West Yellowstone

Wes and I cooking dinner at Eino's. FUN!

Ask Wes to smile... this is what you get. Oy!

Getting ready to go out on the sled.

When I said that I was going to do something new and different every month, I had something different in mind than what I ended up getting. I ought to be a little more specific in my goals and expectations for this year, eh?

For the month of January, I had the opportunity to go up to West Yellowstone and go snowmobiling. On my way up, I was excited and feeling really upbeat. The roads can be pretty scary, but the sun was shining and I was feeling good. I wasn't going fast, just going with traffic, which happened to be about 40-45 mph.

The car in front of me hit their brakes, which led to me tapping on mine and suddenly, I found myself sliding into oncoming traffic. I corrected, but overdid it and slid the other way. I tried to correct again and ended up spinning a 180 and was facing the car that was originally following me. I slammed into the snow drift on the side of the road and my Expedition tipped over.

I was wearing my seat belt and was very lucky. Very minor damage to my vehicle and only minor bruising to myself. I finally arrived in West Yellowstone about an hour after I had originally intended, my vehicle had been impounded by the wreckers and I was pretty shaken up. But I was fine.

I don't have a photo of this "new and different" experience because I was a little too worried about my vehicle. But, having never been in an accident before, it was an eye opening experience.

The next day, I had the opportunity to do the "new and different" activity that I had planned to do: Snow machining!

My friend, Wes, is a snow machine guru and took me out on the sleds. What an adrenaline rush! It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again!! It's definitely something that I want to get better at and continue doing. It's an expensive hobby, or seems to be, but it's one that I could definitely get into. Loved it! I'm hoping to get to do it again in a couple weeks. Eventually, I would really like to get to the point that I can ride one on my own. Wes drove the one we rode and that was fine since I had no clue what I was doing.

We went out to a steakhouse about 8 miles from the sled shop. It's called Eino's and it was pretty good food. When you order, they slap your steaks, raw, on a plate and let you go back to a grill and cook them yourself. It was awesome and so much fun!

All in all, minus the wreck at the beginning, it was a fun weekend and I can't wait to do it again!

January's "New and Different"= Huge Success!!