My Life is Based on a True Story

Winter, Holidays, New Year, Birthdays

2011-12-29T14:25:00.002-07:00

First off... It is the end of December. 55 degree weather is NOT acceptable. I tolerate 80 and 90 degree weather just so I can get to the 20 and 30 degree weather. Now where is it?? All I want for my birthday (other than a date :)) is COLD weather and snow. It is only 2 weeks away and so far the forecast is not looking good.
Secondly, I love the holidays. I love any excuse to hang out with my family, and the holidays are great for that. However, the older I get, the more reality hits when the holidays roll around. The reality that oh hey, you're still single. I've always been the first to joke about me still be single and hardly going on dates, but secretly, it isn't so easy. I just decided that it is better to joke, laugh, and be happy with what I'm blessed with than to dwell on it. Especially when I just realized that I'll be spending New Years with my parents and/or aunt. What 25 year old wants to do that? Really, I'm just grateful that my parents will hang out with their 25 year old daughter.
And Lastly... 2012 could be "My Year". The year I find my dream job or at least find out what my dream job is. The year I find that man to spend eternity with. There is so much to look forward to in this new year. So Happy New Year to you all!

Um...

2011-11-01T16:23:00.001-06:00

When people say "stat", what does it mean? Where did it come from? For instance, "I need to milk a cow stat."

"I'm Cruisin"

2011-10-20T13:43:00.023-06:00

It has almost been two months since my cruise! I am sad that it has been that long. It was an awesome vacation. I have finally posted some pictures. We made lots of memories.

We dressed up nicely and had delicious food with strangers. I ordered ribs on the wrong night...

We posed for pictures on the fancy staircase...

We got to do one of our favorite things ever! Danced to Michael Jackson. Thriller to be exact. We were pros thanks to our Wii experience.

We went on some shore excursions. The first one we saw some Mayan ruins and flamingos.

The next one we went snorkeling and kayaking. Snorkeling was a blast even though I struggled with my goggles. I kept getting water in my eye. I even saw a swordfish!

We took pictures while we were supposed to be listening to instructions... oops.

We were almost the fastest kayakers in our group. They had a head start, so that is our excuse. We got to kayak by the dolphins. It was sweet.

Harvey ordered hot chocolate at dinner. It was 85+ degrees and she ordered hot chocolate. Apparently 'no thanks' really means 'yes, please' because I got some hot chocolate too. After this night, we were served hot chocolate with dessert the rest of the trip and we didn't even ask for it. *side note* The humidity did amazing things for my hair and my skin.

We asked this man if he would come back home with us. He really wanted to, but then he would have missed his chance to go to his home country. So then we asked if we could hide in his room. He had too many roommates, so we sadly said goodbye. His name is Mohammed. He is from Indonesia.

We watched Bingo... Really, who watches bingo on a normal night, let alone on a cruise?! We got the best seats in the house for the shows because we watched bingo :).

We met this man. He was our cruise director, Tex. He has some awesome dance moves. Our favorite was the sprinkler, shown above.

Bruno was our head waiter every night. Pretty much because we requested him every night. He and Mohammed serenaded us each night at dinner. The wait staff all do a dance or sing a song at some point during dinner. Bruno is from St. Vincent.

I got my fresh fruit for dessert most nights. Along with a scoop of sherbet, usually. I got teased by all the strangers who sat by us. Apparently it is weird to not like cake.

We had awesome towel animals on our bed each night. Most of the time we couldn't figure out what animal it was supposed to be, but they were still CUTE.

Again, we watched Bingo...

Our head housekeeper left us a cute heart on the last night. Special :)

We spent a day in New Orleans. We attempted to find real Cajun food. I'm not sure if we succeeded, but whatever we had was delicious. We also had an awesome cab driver. We should have taken our picture with him.

I'm already looking forward to my next vacation! I would love another cruise. Sleeping on a cruise ship is the best thing ever!

Water

2011-08-24T13:35:00.002-06:00

In about 48 hours, I'll be in an airplane for the first time since I was 10 or 12 (I don't remember pre-high school very well). This time it will be without my nervous mother. I'll admit, though, that I am the nervous one now. I'm not nervous about flying. I'm nervous about forgetting to take my pocket knife out of my purse. I'm nervous that I'll pack things in my carry-on that I'm not supposed to. I'm nervous that I won't get to the airport on time. I'm nervous either Harvey or I will forget our passport. I am sure everything will go well and my fears won't come true. But I am my mother's daughter.
I will experience quite a few "firsts" on this trip. My first time in an airplane without my mother, first time on a cruise ship, first time snorkeling, and first time kayaking.
I'm nervous about the snorkeling. I swim okay. I'm just worried about the breathing part. As far as the kayaking, well, I just hope Harvey and I don't paddle in circles.
Despite all the worries/fears, I am incredibly excited. It is going to be a great adventure with my best friend.
On another note, I just happened to notice that, even though I am right-handed, I drink with my left hand. Even when I am drinking out of a water bottle, I use my left hand. Weird.

Checking Back into the Blogging World

2011-08-04T13:16:00.010-06:00

Lately I have been given the "parties all the time and needs to get serious with life" label. Well, I have finally finished school, I bought a car, and it is summertime. Therefore, I take advantage of having a reliable car and the freedom to go places and see new things. Here are just a few pictures of my adventures

I've been on a few awesome 4-wheeling rides. This one was right before Brother left for his mission.

Celebrated my two favorite holidays (4th and 24th of July). Shared the experience of the Redmond parade with Harvey.

Took my 3rd trip to Havasupai! It was as awesome as usual. I even got to go to church there.

I met this man and look forward to more fun with him.

Sent Brother on his mission. Sometimes I miss him so much. Yes, both my older sisters are pregnant in this picture. Liz's baby was born July 10th and is very beautiful. Amy's baby girl will arrive in October.

A few other things of note:

I had my first true boating experience this summer
I get to go on my first cruise in only 22 days!
I've started the job application/interviewing process
I have my first post-college interview today actually
I live with a Chinese woman who cooks me awesome food all the time.

Blessings, Birthday, and Boots

2011-01-06T15:50:00.005-07:00

Today I realized I am so blessed. I have an awesome family, a job, the opportunity to get my education, and friends.
My favorite day of the year is coming up. My birthday. I love surprises and presents and the attention that comes with birthdays. And I love that I can eat at my favorite Mexican place and eat my favorite dessert. Secretly I have always wished somebody would throw me a surprise party, but it never happens. I can still hope for that dream to come true, right?
Also, I look forward to one day owning a pair of these boots.

Sincerely Me

2010-11-02T14:55:00.004-06:00

Dear Texas Rangers,
Thanks for showing up for the World Series...
Sincerely,
Me

Dear College Football,
Isn't it time to implement a playoff just like every other sport? I think so.
Sincerely,
Me

Dear Brett Favre,
Just call it quits already. You had a good career, but know when to stop.
Sincerely,
Me

Dear Campaign season,
I'm sick of you. I don't want to watch anymore commercials telling me who to vote for. That doesn't work for me anyway.
Sincerely,
Me

Dear Southern Utah radio,
I don't care who is running for Senate in Nevada.
Sincerely,
Me

Random

2010-09-23T13:23:00.007-06:00

I was driving to work today (late since that is how my day started) and came to a 4-way stop. I got there at the same time as another driver who was going the opposite direction as me. He was going straight, I was turning left. So, as the rules of 4-way stops suggest, I was yielding to the other driver. He sat there for what felt like forever until I finally got annoyed enough and took my turn. I wish people knew how those things work!!!! I think 4-way stops send some people into a panic.
I recently realized that I wish I could remember the "Annie Bangs" song. Oh and the Gooseberry song too.
I love swimming.
I am getting so fast at sudoku. Perhaps it's a sign I have too much time on my hands?
I discovered a new puzzle similar to sudoku. It's a mix between sudoku and crossword puzzles. It is called Kakuro. Check it out! http://www.krazydad.com/kakuro/books/KD_Kakuro_15x15_s2_b002.pdf

Food on My Mind

2010-09-07T13:50:00.004-06:00

I recently got a couple melons that look like those pictured above. I was excited because I thought I was going to be eating honeydew. Then I cut into them. Well, I found a cross between honeydew and cantaloupe. For me, food is a big deal and when I try new things, I have to mentally prepare for it. I have been trying to mentally prepare myself to eat these things since yesterday. I still haven't tried it. How bad could it be? I love cantaloupe and I love honeydew, so it could be the perfect combination. They call it the orange flesh melon or the temptation melon.

Also, I recently discovered that I actually enjoy shrimp. After mentally preparing for a meal consisting of shrimp and salmon for a few hours, I found seafood isn't really that bad. I liked the shrimp even if it is weird looking/smelling and the texture is kinda weird too. In the end, a good discovery for me.
On that note, some other foods I find weird are mushrooms- slimy and not so appealing to the eye. I still wonder who decided to eat fungus. Sardines- do these actually taste good? Hot dogs- I don't need to go into detail about how these things are made... all we need to know is that it is weird and yucky.

Too often restaurant experiences become quite stressful for me. Deciding on something from a menu with far too many choices is stressful. For this reason, I very rarely try new things. Does this happen to other people? Or is it just me? Maybe it is because I know either me or someone I am with will be paying for my meal so I better eat it and if I'm going to eat it, I better at least kinda like it.

HAVASUPAI

2010-08-05T14:09:00.005-06:00

We had a great trip to Havasupai this year! We stopped for our "last meal" of the week in Kingman Carl's Jr. It was there we found out that Aly is the only normal one.

After our hike through the night, we camped in the village for a few hours until the tourist office opened. I managed to sleep 0 hours that night. We checked in and then made our way to the campground. Above is a newer waterfall that was created from the flood 2 years ago. It is so amazing!

At the campground, I found two trees right next to the creek where I hung my hammock and slept for as long as I possibly could! That felt so good!

We played in the water everyday and every chance we could. It felt so good in the heat of the days. We even played some ultimate frisbee in the creek. I'm not sure how well it worked out, but it was still fun.
The monster I promised myself I would never climb down again. Well, I climbed down it. It was not nearly as bad the second time!

This is just before the hike out. I really was faking the smile because I was secretly in pain. It turns out during our adventure one of the days, my foot was overworked. I thought it was a dehydration cramp, but it never got better and continually got worse. My foot was swollen, but I thought it was probably just from the heat. Well the pain never quit and as we hiked the two miles from the campground to the village it put me into tears. At the village we inquired about a mule or a horse to take me out of the canyon. Well, there were no more going up the trail that day. My only other option was a helicopter ride. I'm not gonna lie, it was kinda exciting. My friends got me a seat on the helicopter and gave me a few things to make their packs lighter then went on their way. There was nobody to take pictures of me getting on the helicopter, so I took pictures of the view and the pilot's face. The ride was really an amazing experience. Being able to see the Grand Canyon from that view was AWESOME! Though I will admit, there were times I was way scared. There was a storm blowing in and thus it was extremely windy up at the top. Well this made the helicopter drop suddenly a few times. Oh man. Anyway, it was a good experience in the end.
I was able to get a picture of the trail I didn't get to hike up. At least I can say I've done it once before. And now I can say that I experienced it from a helicopter as well!
And this would be the awesome ride. It carried me and five men. One very large man too. I didn't get to go up with the ladies.

Summer Hiking (so far)

2010-06-22T11:02:00.007-06:00

This was my trip to Kolob with John on free National Parks weekend. I've done this hike before, but never saw the waterfall. It was beautiful and I had good company.

Wish Me Luck

2010-06-04T14:51:00.004-06:00

I am preparing for the first interview I've had in 2 and 1/2 years. I'm nervous. I don't know what to expect in this interview. All I can do is be as impressive as I can possibly be. I mean, who wouldn't want me as their coach.

Graduation and stuff.

2010-05-27T15:38:00.004-06:00

So my baby (ha) brother graduated from high school this week. This means, I have been out of high school for 5 years and still haven't graduated from college. Well that will happen soon enough. Anyways, after the last high school graduation for a while, I made a vow to send letters and maybe even hold a community meeting about semi-formal events. It sickens me that people have no respect and no dignity. People walk in to graduation in holey jeans and flip-flops like they just came from the beach or the homeless shelter. Rude? Maybe, but really people should show some respect. Also, screaming children!!!! One of my biggest pet peeves. Teach your kids when it's okay to scream and yell and run around. It is definitely not okay at a graduation or when you are eating dinner at a restaurant next to me. It wasn't even just the screaming children. Adults were having conversations with each other, and not even whisper conversations. And not just one or two, nearly every person in that place was having a conversation. Where has the respect and dignity gone?
On a lighter note, I look forward to having my brother close so I don't have to eat pasta and egg sandwiches all the time :). Since that is all Aly eats that is all I generally cook.
I'm glad that my mother is not like oh so many other mothers I know in this world who wear the mom pants. I vow to never wear mom pants. Yay for my mom's awesome taste in clothes :)
I applied for a job that I want so much and am waiting for a call to get an interview. The wait is making me anxious and nervous. The job closes today and they are busy with graduations tomorrow, so hopefully I get a call early next week :). I also found another job that I want even more that I am applying for. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Ever Wonder

2010-05-13T10:41:00.003-06:00

where those random scratches and bruises come from? Maybe it happens while I sleep or at some point during the day which I forget about.

Summer

2010-05-12T13:13:00.003-06:00

Other than the heat, I love summers. Actually, it doesn't even get very hot in Cedar City, so it could be worse. I love that I have so much more freedom to play. I love that I have a few months with no homework. I love that I always meet new friends in the summer. I love that I get to go hiking as much as I want/can. I love that I can go camping. I love that co-workers give me a hard time about my idea of dutch oven potatoes. I love fresh fruit. I love summer holidays. I love that my parents go on trips without me (ha). I love eating outside. I love being outside.
With that said, I don't love working full-time. I don't love that allergy season lasts 5 months for me, which means constant itchy eyes, congestion like crazy, and I sneeze more than normal. And sometimes itchy skin and itchy throat.
So, though I love summer, I look forward to fall. Fresh vegetables, no more allergies, less time at work, and football.

Facebook and Stuff

2010-04-15T13:37:00.006-06:00

I ran out of gas for the first time ever. Luckily, my car was at my house and not on the side of the road somewhere.
So far, I'm 8 pounds lighter. :)
I vow to never do the following: Call my husband "hubby", talk to babies on the phone (once they can talk back it will be different), and profess my love to my significant other on Facebook.
When I get tired of water (which is very rare), I love a Propel. Lemon is my favorite but are the hardest to find, so I've found that Kiwi Strawberry is delicious as well.
Good cole slaw is hard to find. I've decided that homemade is always the best.
I had a dream the other day that my roommate cleaned the kitchen and I was shocked. Well that same day, she actually did it in real life. The most shocking thing is that it's been clean since that day. WHAT?!?!?!?!
I love winter, but it's been a super long one this year. Summer cannot come fast enough (more hiking and popsicles).
It's super annoying when people constantly complain about the weather on Facebook. Mostly because after all these years people have lived in this state they should know that Spring weather is unpredictable and should just get over it.
I must be easily annoyed by Facebook. Time to stop using it?
I love tests that take 8 minutes or less. Except when it's in my first class of the day.
I wish there were as many opportunities for softball as there are volleyball.

Stuff

2010-04-08T18:11:00.003-06:00

-I've decided, after being on Facebook for a while now, that the bad spellers jump out at me. It's really not that hard to spell, people! And the improper use of their and there, your and you're, and so on gets very annoying. Oh and DEFINITELY!!! Sound it out if you must.
-Dear Mrs. Anonymous, you've known me for a while and are very much aware of my fashion sense, why do you still insist on wearing a BLACK top with BROWN pants. Gross.
-Engagement photos: If you insist on kissing in your pictures, please keep those pictures off your announcements. Nobody wants to see you kissing, people want to see your faces. Please don't put them as your profile picture on facebook. Same reason. I want to see your face.
-Dear roommate, when you go shopping, please put your groceries away immediately and not four days later (sometimes it takes longer).

On a lighter note, it is a beautiful day and hasn't snowed since Monday/Tuesday.

I played in a volleyball tournament in Vernal. Super B Chamions! Woot! (there were four divisions for tournament play: A, Super B, B, and C).
I have started to try harder at eating breakfast. Must start my day off right!
Day four: No Sweets! I even said no to a lemonade last night.
I'm going back to the Grand Canyon!
Three weeks til school is out for the summer :)
I have some pretty cool friends.
I get to move to a new apartment in three weeks.
I still get to live with Aly.

2010-03-25T16:58:00.001-06:00

Remember Skip-its?

1990s

2010-03-23T12:39:00.001-06:00

Remember Pogs?

Lonely?

2010-03-15T21:41:00.003-06:00

It's Spring Break. Night #1 by myself in my apartment. Sometimes I wish I could live by myself so I won't have to worry about roommates and can have a clean kitchen without having to clean up after anyone but me. Though it would be so nice, I think I'd be lonely. Maybe that is because not only are the roommates gone, but so are all of my friends. So maybe I wouldn't be lonely and would actually be able to be by myself when I don't want to talk to people. I guess I won't know for sure unless I try it... *sigh*... Maybe someday.

Lately

2010-03-14T21:54:00.003-06:00

Lately, I love school. Crazy, I know. I am excited that I finally love what I'm doing and now have so much more motivation to finish! There are some things I just didn't get to do when I was in the classroom listening to lectures all the time. Things like swimming, line dancing, pickle ball, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, football, and the list goes on. It's so much fun!
I just wish that I felt the same about work. At least I know that my current job won't be my job for the rest of my life.
City league volleyball... New team, new season, new outcomes! We are winning!
Latest pet peeves:

Public Display of Affection... Yes, again. It is very disturbing when sitting down to eat at a restaurant and a couple in your line of sight is making out for a good 20 minutes. Gross
People talking during church. I'm easily distracted, so when people all around me are whispering to each other I can't pay attention very well to the lessons.
When guys I don't want to go out with ask me out and the guys I do want to go out with won't ask me.
Especially when I don't have time to come up with an excuse to not go with the guy I don't want to go with.
When the toothpaste is squeezed from the middle instead of the bottom.
When the toilet paper goes under instead of over like it's supposed to.

Guaymas!!!

2010-02-04T20:58:00.010-07:00

So this post ended up being longer than I had planned, but I didn't want to leave any pictures out. I did though. The pictures are in order from the end of the trip to the beginning of the trip! So the one above is the day we left Mexico. Sad day. Especially since the air down there was awesome for my hair...
This was just a laundry chute at the hotel. Shalie wanted to push me down there. It really was just a big hole.
A tender moment with Shalie at the beach. Let's just say it was one of oh so many moments together that week. :)
We wrote our names in the sand. How cute.
I love this picture!
The convenience store OXXO. Yes, I have a bottle of gatorade between my legs. Don't ask.
Fiesta! At the Elementary School. So fun and good food!
Cute little dancers and Shalie! The girl on the right was the best booty shaker I've ever seen. The little girl on the left was pretty good too.
My little friend. She was so cute. I didn't know what she said to me most of the time, but that's okay.
This picture just captured so much of Mexico. It's amazing.
Proof of the hot dog pizza.
This was one of the many many great meals we had. This night we ate at 1000 Tortas. I ordered my oh so delicious enchiladas de pollo all by my self! I was so excited.
Hard at work or hardly working. Eh either way, we got so much done at the orphanage!
The first night of good food! This was at Papas Locas. Well that's not really what the place was called, but we all got papas locas to eat. MMMM crazy potatoes!
This was the first day in Mexico. At the beach. Shalie thought it would be cute if we ran into the ocean holding hands. So tender.

Oh My Guaymas!

2010-02-02T10:34:00.007-07:00

I've been back for a month, but I still want to post some pictures from my amazing trip to Mexico. It was such a great experience! My first time out of the country, but definitely not my last. It was definitely a culture shock for me. The worst part of the days was when I had to order my food. It stressed me out so much. I don't know Spanish at all and since we weren't in a "tourist" area of Mexico, the people didn't speak English. So I was always so stressed that I would accidentally order the wrong thing and end up eating fish. You don't wanna eat fish in Mexico... But I had help and all went well. I even ordered enchiladas de pollo all by myself one night. Oh the food was delicious! I miss it so much! Nothing here is as spicy as that food! Tortillas. MMMM. Around the town, there are many trucks or cars that drive around with big speakers on the top of them (like the ice cream truck) selling tortillas. The 'song' was so catchy and if I knew Spanish, I probably would remember it.
The children... They broke my heart. They learn at such a young age that white people=money. So we were constantly asked by small children for pesos. Oh and 30 gringos walking down the street in Guaymas stick out a lot... We spent 3 and a half days at an orphanage, cleaning up the playground and just playing with the ninos. I was there on 2 different days for half the day. It was such a good experience. I realized that it didn't really matter that I couldn't talk to them, as long as I let them sit in my lap and hug them. The boys loved to play soccer against the gringos. Only cause they could beat us. We played a lot of soccer. The girls loved being spun around in circles. It was heartbreaking when we had to leave. The kids never wanted us to leave.
The Elementary School. That was so much fun. I went there the second day in Mexico. We painted desks. I think the teachers quit fighting with the kids to keep them in school once we got there, cause there was always kids around trying to tickle us while we painted or kids wanting to help paint. And that got a little messy. It was so fun though. The principal was such a nice lady. She paid for lunch for us that day. What was for lunch? Hot Dog Pizza. I did eat a slice of it, well most of a slice. A girl can take only so much hot dog... I went back to the elementary school the next day for their fiesta. All I can say is that Mexicans sure like to dance... Dirty dance. We played some games with the kids before they all went into separate classrooms. We judged a dance contest, we had races with kids on our backs. One little girl pulled me into her classroom where we spent pretty much the entire time. I've never seen such little girls dance so dirty. The hot Mexican teacher wasn't much help, cause he was a pretty dirty dancer too. Shalie decided at one point we were listening to a song about getting naked... based on the teacher pretending to take off his shirt and then all the kids pretending to take off their pants... It was also pretty funny to see us white girls try to dance. We had a break for lunch... we got real Mexican food and one of our friends a few rooms down got Dominoes Pizza. Haha.
The Soup Kitchen... Humbling experience. I went there the first day. We helped clean up after breakfast and spent oh so much time cleaning off chairs... So Many Chairs. We went back to the motel for lunch and so then we were able to go back to the kitchen to help serve lunch. Most of the people who came for soup were men. We learned that most of those men were too drunk to take care of their families and end up leaving their families. I'm pretty sure if I understood what they were saying to us, they were hitting on all the girls. One man wanted me to buy him some tennis shoes. I was pretty proud that I figured that out. Then a mother with 2 children would come through the line. It was such a great experience. The ladies working at the soup kitchen were some of the hardest workers I've ever met. The pots of soup they cooked day after day was oh so much. The pots were big enough to fit a person inside.
Some things this trip made me grateful for:

Our sewer system. Be grateful you can flush toilet paper.
That I was able to go to a school that didn't have bars on windows and doors.
That I can go to a church that doesn't have bars on windows and big fences to keep vandals out.
That I live in this country, where we have laws that help keep the places we live clean.
My family, my mom and dad.
Good examples in my life: friends, leaders, teachers.
That I've never had to beg for money.
That parents can't just drop their children off at orphanages when they don't want them without getting serious consequences for it.

We had some fun while we were there also. We went to the beach a few times. We were there in time for the sunset each time. It was so beautiful. The last day in Mexico we went to the market and bought a few things and then went to the beach. When we got there, we got to watch some dolphins jump across the ocean. SO COOL! When we were walking through the water, one of the girls got stung on both her feet by a manta ray. They wouldn't let us get in the water after that :(. One night we ran into the missionaries when we were on our way to Dairy Queen. They needed a ride. It just so happened that only one of them spoke English and he was from Utah! Awesome! Some things that I hope I always remember:

There were random shrines on the side of the roads, everywhere.
A couple had a romantic moment on the side of the road... It was just weird
OXXO stores are everywhere, like Maverick is in Utah.
The ocean was warmer than the pool at our hotel.
The man climbed the palm tree (somehow, mind still blown) to clean off dead branches.
The crosswalk signals... So entertaining. Instead of a boring man and then a blinking hand for our crosswalk signals, we should have a man running, and as time runs out he gets faster and faster!
The green light blinks before it turns yellow.
The police pretty much do nothing except direct traffic with their whistles. If someone runs a stop sign, all they do is yell at them through their speakers.
Traffic is crazy! And so are pedestrians.

So here are a few pictures!

Mexico

2009-11-09T22:18:00.003-07:00

I just thought I'd let those of you who read this what we'll be doing in Mexico for a week. This winter, about 25 SUU students have the opportunity to visit an orphanage in Mexico to do some much needed repairs and improvements. At the orphanage this year, the nuns have requested that we paint the insides of the girls dorm and babies dorm. Another project requested is to fill in a hole with a retaining wall where a ground-level trampoline exists. Since there is not always supervision on the playground, it is dangerous for the toddlers when it rains and the hole fills up with water.
Also, to improve the overall appearance, we are also going to be painting their metal playground. These are just a few examples of some projects we will be able to do.
San Humberto's Ranch of the Child was founded in 1971 by Hermanas Missioneras del Nino Cristo in Empalme, Sonora. The foundation was created in 1964 by Lucas Carbajal Lopez, a Catholic Priest from Guanajuato and two nuns from Mazatlan, Sinaloa. They were deeply concerned about the unwanted children who lived on the streets. Many of these children were orphaned, while others were abandoned by drug addicts, prostitutes and parents with other social and financial problems. SUU has been taking groups of students to this particular area of Mexico for quite a few years and has been wildly successful in improving the basic standard of living, including homes for three needy families.
I am so excited to be a part of this project this year.
If you feel that you could help our project, we would be very grateful. If you'd like to donate and have questions, please comment and I'll get with you for more information. Also tell your friends about this great opportunity for service!

Random Pictures

2009-11-09T21:50:00.007-07:00

Here are just a few pictures of what we've been up to so far this semester:

Supporting our SUU T-Birds! The first home game of the season. We're showing you our game faces. The good news is that the T-Birds were victorious... It doesn't happen too often in football for them.
The Iron County Demolition Derby. It was pretty much awesome. There were so many people though so we didn't get any seats. We kept ourselves entertained during the down time though.

Homecoming 2009. We went to see the mentalist and yes he did play with our minds. So crazy.
We decided to run the Homecoming 5k. This picture is proof that I did it. See I'm wearing a number... It was a good experience and I'll probably do more of them in the future. Of us three, I did come in last. I claim it is because Aly and Shalie both have longer legs that I. Yes I am the shortest.
Waiting for the race to start, just hangin out with Thor. Yes Thor is the name of our mascot.

A few other things we've done:

Took Shalie to Aurora for a weekend. It was a good weekend and had lots of fun showing her where we grew up. It also included an NSHS football game. Classic. Oh and we couldn't miss out on a slush with ice cream from the Ideal Dairy!
A couple triple dates. Good times with good friends.
Celebrating Aly's 21st birthday. That was a great day! It included a treasure hunt, destroying a pinata, laser tag, Olive Garden, and the temple.
I had yet another season of city league volleyball come and go. It is always fun.
College football, my favorite
Watched Elf on Halloween. It was our way of getting away from the Halloween festivities that are so dumb.
I signed up for a trip to Mexico. My first time out of the country and I'm so excited. I got my passport and am ready to go!
Oh yeah and I've also been going to school... Yay for classes and homework and tests.

The World is Full of Probabilites

2009-09-28T15:44:00.011-06:00

Have you ever thought about how often probabilities affect your life? Me neither. Because I'm taking probability and statistics, I see probabilities everywhere. In fact more than I ever cared to. As I come to a stop sign, I wonder what the probability is that the other cars approaching the intersection will stop. I don't really care what the probability is, but yet I'm thinking about it constantly. I hate the class and I don't understand it most of the time. I do the homework without understanding exactly what I'm doing. I suffer through it EVERYDAY. With that said, I am extremely proud of myself for my 93% on test number one. That means I understand it more than I think I do!
Other recent thoughts:
I have decided I really do like to run more than I thought. It's more the feeling of doing some physical activity and having a routine, I think. Also, I'm opposite of Aly. I like running early in the morning for a few reasons. One, I get out of bed and therefore go to class everyday. Two, there are less people around to see me running. Three, I'm tired early and therefore get to bed early. Four, I can run further in the morning.
I find myself thinking alot about how to prove something with things that are already known thanks to yet another math class. Really, who cares why we can say some things are the way they are? Well it is fun to think about really.
It's always so awkward when you have been singing along to a song for a long time and the whole time singing the wrong lyrics. Nobody wants to admit that they thought the lyrics were, "you're turning me on." When really the lyrics are, "you're telling me you're"...
Brian Regan is doing a show at Tuachan in May. I want to buy tickets so that I definitely get them. Is 8 months in advance too early?
I love going to church looking for answers and everything said in every meeting is exactly what I need to hear at that time. It seems that it is things I already know, but it is a good reminder at the right time.
I'm excited for General Conference this weekend.
I was finally released from my FHE calling two weeks ago. The biggest stress in my life is now someone else's stress. I enjoyed the calling for the most part, but towards the end it wore me down.

August 2009

2009-08-22T15:07:00.003-06:00

August isn't even over and I've had so much fun! The next three posts are the big highlights of the month so far, including pictures! Enjoy!

SUBWAY

2009-08-22T14:44:00.016-06:00

The last week before school starts we decided to squeeze one more amazing hike into our schedules. Aly, Shay, Dan, and I hiked 9 or 10 miles of beautiful amazingness. I did things I never thought I'd do on this hike. I jumped or slid down big boulders into water. And it was the nastiest water ever too. I swam through a hole under water. I climbed down a hole underneath a giant boulder not being able to see what I was doing. I swam through some pretty narrow places in deep water and got stuck. I got down a 20 foot cliff using a piece of webbing and my arms. I slid down some natural water slides and had to land on my bum every time. And I only fell once the whole day. The Subway part of the hike was SOOOO cool! In more than one way. Pictures were limited because we didn't have a waterproof camera and had to put our cameras in a dry pack so it was too much of a hassle to get it out all the time. Next time I'm so taking a waterproof camera. Nevertheless, here are some fun pictures! Oh and Yes we ate at Subway on our way home!

It's just so pretty!

Shay pushed Aly down. They actually had to push me down many times at different points of the hike to get me to just go and not think about it. We all slid down this rock from the top. The spot is just out of the picture.
One of the swimming spots! So cool and so COLD!
Just before the descent. That climb down was pretty easy after Havasupai!

More Hiking! In ZION

2009-08-22T14:36:00.009-06:00

The day after I got back from Havasupai, Aly wanted to go to Zion and do some hiking. As long as she didn't make me do any Angel's Landing or other strenuous hikes I said I'd go. We ended up hiking Emerald Pools which was pretty easy, but going up those little hills were pretty rough. Here are a couple pictures of that hike:

Candid moment! haha.

I'm so happy I live in Utah for reasons like this. It's so pretty and I don't have to drive hours to see things like this!

Havasupai

2009-08-22T13:54:00.013-06:00

This trip was basically one of the best experiences ever! I've always had a desire to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon because I knew there was so much I couldn't see from the North Rim. I finally had the chance! The whole time we were hiking down, I kept thinking about how I couldn't believe I was actually in the Grand Canyon doing something I've wanted to do for so long!
We left Cedar City Monday around 3 PM and arrived to Hualapai Hilltop (pronounced wallapai) between 11 PM and 12 AM. We got our packs ready and began our descent sometime around 12 AM. The first mile and a half was downhill switchbacks (I didn't get a picture because we hiked in and out during the night :( ). A couple times on our way down the switchbacks, we had to get to the side of the trail to make way for some horses and mules. The animals were not accompanied by any people at all. Very interesting.. Eight miles and four or five hours later, we arrived at the Supai Village where the Havasupai Tribe lives. That was a cultural experience for sure. They had their cows and horses at random places in the middle of all their homes. It's kinda weird to be walking next to a fence at 4:30 in the morning and see longhorn cows right next to you. And their horses were not always tied up. They pretty much roamed free with the dogs. There were SOOOO many dogs. We found some stone benches and slept there til the village opened up their shops at 7 AM. The people were friendly and the children as cute as can be. I did hear them speak their native language quite a bit which was pretty cool. Out of respect for the people, I didn't take any pictures of them. When we finally made it to the campground, we set up camp, relaxed, and ate. That day we hiked over to Mooney Falls (named for a man named Mooney who tried to climb up the cliff behind the falls and fell to his death). The falls were so beautiful. It's a good thing too because of what I had to climb down. It was a good 200 ft descent with tiny footholes and a few random chains to hold on to. We saw a kid fall the last 30 ft or so. Luckily he wasn't hurt too badly. I spent the most time at Havasu Falls. It was definitely my favorite place and was so amazing. The water was so blue. When we hiked out, we went through the village during the evening and so we were able to see so much more. They have an LDS branch down there and a little church building. Awesome! The hike out took us about 7 hours.. Ok not really because we spent a lot of time in the village. But we did stop an excessive amount. We were all exhausted after, but it was so fun. We met quite a few people including some men from Canada. I hung out with them at Havasu Falls while the rest of the group hiked an extra 6 miles to Beaver Falls. Here are a few pictures from my trip! Enjoy!

This was a random diner on the road where we stopped on the way home for breakfast. It looks kinda iffy, but it was definitely the best breakfast I've had in a while!

Here is the little LDS Church building! YAY!
These falls are called Rock Falls. They were formed just last year after their big flood. The Havasupai advise people to not go down to them because the ground is still unstable down there.
This is the monster I had to face to get to Mooney Falls! If you look close you can see a couple ladders and there are some people at the top to kind of give you perspective.
This is the amazing Havasu Falls. The water was super cold at first, but not too bad at certain times of day.
Mooney Falls. This is from just before we climbed down. So pretty!

The Havasu Creek. We were camped just to the right of this picture. I totally took a bath and washed my hair in this creek! That was one of the best parts of the trip... Gotta love clean hair!

July 2009

2009-07-28T13:27:00.003-06:00

This hike is so much fun!!! Aly and I randomly decided one Saturday to go for a hike. We started at about 1 and got back home at about 5. I still don't think the hike is that long, we just had lots of fun. Well at least I did for sure. The first time I ever did this hike, I wasn't about to stand under the water falls or go down the rock slide. I did it this time though and it was so fun. So cold but so fun. I think next time, I'll go up the second waterfall. The ladder in the picture above is awesome. Scary but awesome!

More July highlights:

Camping over the 4th of July with the family. Lots of fun! And Dad made dutchoven potatoes!!! My favorite
The Salina Rodeo... It's always fun!
My first time eating at Rusty's Steakhouse... And the guy took me on his motorcycle so that was a plus for sure.
I also tried smoke trout the first time at Rusty's. It wasn't too bad.
Sunday dinner... Some of you know what I mean (it was just really funny now that I think about it)
Going to Harry Potter
The Redmond Road Rally... We took 2nd place!
4-wheeler ride west of Aurora... My new favorite place
Oh yeah and after the hike, Aly and I went to St George for some dinner and a little shopping!
Playing catch at 1 AM... Good times
The Lady Antebellum/Due West concert... It was super hot, but good music. Too bad certain company had to complain the whole time.
I bought my first pair of Chacos. I'm loving them already! According to a friend, I am now a "follower"... hmmm

I hope I didn't miss anything! I've been having so much fun and am looking forward to Park City with my sisters and mom this weekend and then Havasupai next week! We are also going to hike the Subway in Zion in a couple weeks! I'm cramming as much fun as I can into the next few weeks before school starts again!

Summer '09 so far...

2009-06-23T13:40:00.005-06:00

I guess if I tell Aly she needs to update her blog, then so must I. The summer seems to be going a little too fast for me. I guess that means I've been having too much fun. Here are some quick highlights of the summer so far:

Las Vegas with my family. It was short, but fun.
A day trip to Sand Hollow with some friends, even though I got super super burned!
Playing volleyball in the Summer Games. It was fun even though we didn't win very much
My first GOOD Cedar City rodeo with Aly.
Many many girl's night out with Mikala! I'm gonna miss her.
My sisters and I surprising Mom. She had no idea!
Walking through walmart one night with Aly and seeing a group of people dressed as pirates. I made her follow them with me so I could get a picture, but they were moving too fast and then eventually left. Also a friend and I decided we should get dressed up in a certain way and go around town to see what reactions we will get from people. What would you dress up as?
FHE attendance going from 8 or 10 people to 30 or 40 people! It's awesome!
Seeing Night at the Museum. One of THE funniest movies ever.
My "ah ha" moment.

I think that covers most of the highlights that I can remember. I'm looking forward to many more awesome times to come.
Also just a quick side note, I have decided that I want to go on a trip to Boston, MA. I have made some goals that I have to accomplish in order to let myself go which will help me get finished with my education. I decided that immediate incentive is what is going to help me most. Not that getting started with my career and getting off Dad's insurance soon isn't incentive, it is.

This picture was taken in Vegas in between the Belagio fountain shows. Daniel looks so thrilled.

Interesting Day

2009-05-14T12:03:00.002-06:00

I pulled up to a gas station pump to fuel my car earlier today. As I parked and was getting out of my car, a woman and her young child (probably 3 or 4 years old) came walking out of the store. I didn't see exactly what happened, but somehow the woman tripped and fell to the ground. She rolled a couple times, nearly rolling over the top of her child who was on the ground at that time. When I saw this, I thought, "I should go help her up and make sure her and the little girl were ok." I got out of my car, just as five or six other people ran to their aid. At that point, I decided against going over to help, cause I knew if it were me I wouldn't want all those people hovered around me. I watched as a few people, including an employee, helped the woman to her feet and as another woman helped the young child. After a few minutes, the group went into the store, perhaps to get some ice for the woman or something like that. As I have been thinking about that experience, I am so grateful that others had the same thought to help the woman that I did. So amid all the hate and bad in the world, we can remember that there still are people in the world who care about each other.

Just as a side note, I successfully went a full day without my cell phone. I thought it would be a piece of cake, but it kinda drove me crazy. However, I noticed this morning that I forgot I had my phone with me today. Now I know that my phone is not really a basic neccessity for me.

Just Some Thoughts

2009-04-21T17:58:00.003-06:00

I'm down to three days of classes and then finals week of year number four. I'm getting to the end, just a lot slower than most people. One big research paper and four tests. That's not too bad, especially since two of the tests are PE tests! Piece of cake. I think if I leave my cell phone off tonight, tomorrow, and Thursday, I should be able to conquer the research paper without any distractions... Well except my ability to focus for long periods of time doesn't exist, thus I'm blogging.
I've found so many things to keep me busy. Sometimes I think too many things. Family Home Evening is going to drive me to drink some days. Last night we had our last big tri-ward activity. So much work was put into it and I was exhausted by the end. I just hope those who came enjoyed themselves. Next week is our last big ward activity. We're doing some dutch oven and just hangin out. I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited that it's almost summer and thus we'll have less stressful activites. The one thing that discourages me the most about the work I put into FHE is the lack of participation. Our church leaders have told us how important Family Home Evening is, right? So why do so many single adults make everything else a priority on Monday nights? We try so hard to make our ward feel more united and more like a family.

Hahahaha

2009-04-01T14:12:00.004-06:00

All I can do is laugh. When I got to work today, I knew to expect something for what I did. I walked in the office and my office door was closed with the light off, which is very strange considering the copier is in there and everyone else had been at work for three hours. So I cautiously opened the door to see what was going on. All my office supplies, my mouse, phone, and chair were saran-wrapped. I just laughed. It got even better when I realized my keyboard had bee replaced by a piece of paper with a picture of my keyboard with the following note: "Ransom- You must repair the damage that you have done if you ever want to see this again!" Well I couldn't do any work without a keyboard, so I just unwrapped all my stuff and then asked what I had to do to get my keyboard back. The nice people I work with requested frostys from Wendy's. A little while later, a manager came in and asked me if that picture on the front door was my engagement picture. I was so confused, then I realized there was a picture of my face on a big body with the ugliest dress. (The second pic) They had put this picture up all over the office. It was sooooo funny. I haven't laughed that hard in so long!

April Fools

2009-03-31T23:23:00.003-06:00

My apologies to all those who believed me and now hate me for it! haha...

I had only one person question whether I was really engaged or not. I think that is pretty good. It was a success I think. I made up the date and the supposed proposal story on the spot. Kudos to me! hahhaha.

It was interesting to see and hear different people's reactions. Word got around pretty fast thanks to facebook. Friends hundreds of miles away knew within a few hours after I announced it on facebook. Anyways, sorry again but it was fun! hahaha

Oh and that fake ring turned my finger green. And nobody noticed!

Natalie's Pet Peeves

2009-03-26T19:53:00.004-06:00

Lately a few things have been getting on my nerves a lot. These things have always bothered me, but I'm starting to notice them more and more.

1. The word definitely is not spelled D-E-F-A-N-A-T-E-L-Y........ There's not much more to say about that other than, "get a stinkin' dictionary"....

2. People should not text and/or call people while they are in the bathroom. WEIRD! Sunday evening I'm sitting on the couch at my lovely home as all my roommates come home. The last one to come home walks in (very loudly as usual) and walks into our awkwardly placed bathroom. About one minute later I hear her talking to someone and then realize that she placed a phone call while she was using the toilet. Awkward for both parties I think, and also the roommates listening to her talk on the phone knowing where she was. The cell phone does not have a place in any restroom or bathroom.

3. Public Display of Affection. There is a time and a place for this people... Don't make-out while you are waiting in line to ride a go-kart. Rude. Also church is not for sitting on your special someone's lap. Yeah, sadly enough that happens. Its the main reason I don't go to firesides. Hold each other's hand, that is totally normal. But you DON'T have to have contact at ALL TIMES. All I ask is that you respect the people around you. Not everyone wants to see you be all kissy all the time.

Everyone's Gettin' Married.... Just Not Me

2009-03-08T15:52:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, my friend Shay and I went down to St George for our friend Kelsey's bridal shower. It was fun to see her and spend a little time with her. She is getting married next weekend along with one of my best friends, Olivia. I'm excited for them and their men (they are also my friends). Someday it will be me...
After the shower, Shay and I made a few stops. I wanted to stop at the Nike outlet store, so we did and then stopped in to Tuesday Mornings which is right next door. Here are a few of the fun pictures we took.

As Per Request

2009-02-17T20:59:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Haha what a dumb holiday. I will always call this day "Forced Romance Day". That doesn't mean I won't want flowers or a diamond of some sort on this day, just that it is really dumb.
Anyways, February 14, 2009 is officially the first Valentine's Day of my 22 years that actually had a little meaning. Well other than the cute gifts Mom liked to give us, I always did like those. After spending a day in St George with Aly, I came home to find a dozen roses and a few balloons with my name on them. I was so surprised and happy. Honestly I never thought I would ever enjoy receiving flowers cause they just die after a few days. However, I have enjoyed them in my house the past few days. They are so beautiful! They smell good too. I took this picture a little late though cause you can see one flower already wilting... Poor thing. They are still beautiful anyways. Yay!
It was also the first Valentine's Day I ever gave a guy something. It was fun though I didn't know what to get him. It worked out great though.

4th Folder, 4th Picture

2009-02-14T19:31:00.003-07:00

Here are the rules:
1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on the computer
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 4 people to do the same
5. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc)

I actually cheated a little with this. The fourth picture in the fourth folder had no people in it, so it was kinda boring. This is number six (cause it was the same as number fivc, just better). Last year for Easter, Mom, Dad, Daniel, Aly, and I went out to the San Rafael Swell for a day. This picture was taken at a place with pictographs. I can't remember the name of it exactly, but I think it had Sinbad in the name somewhere... I'm forgetful. Anyways, I made Daniel get uner the rock and pretend he was lifting it. His face is pretty good I think.

I Can't Come up with a Clever Title...

2009-01-28T20:15:00.003-07:00

I have a couple of tests coming up and have been studying, but it seems I can only focus for about twenty minutes at a time. After that it becomes meaningless because I'm not taking anything in. So I decided to take a quick break and blog. Since nothing terribly fun or interesting goes on, I thought I would just point out some of my favorite times this January (so far).. So basically the highlights.
1. The morning I left to go to class/work and found a rose on the windshield of my car.
2. The weekend before my birthday. I got to see some old friends and enjoy good old el Mexicano twice :)
3. My birthday, of course. I don't think I will ever not look forward to my birthday, no matter how old I get.
4. Skiing with my sisters. Thanks, Amy and Aly!!! I managed to only crash once...
5. This year I can actually say that my New Year's eve/day was one of my favorites. What could be better than playing volleyball for three hours and seeing one of my favorite people?
6. The Utes playing in the Sugar Bowl and....... WINNING!
7. I guess I can't leave out my weekly volleyball game. It is always a highlight of my week.
I think that's about it. My January, excluding the 'lowlights'.

Help

2009-01-14T15:30:00.003-07:00

I have made a goal for myself to strengthen my abdominals and back muscles and also to increase flexibility. I am looking for a wide variety of ab workouts so that I don't get bored of the workout so quickly (which seems to be my problem when doing certain exercise routines). If anyone has ideas or know of good exercises, let me know.
Also I have discovered that my resting heart rate is a bit higher than I would like it to be. I hate running, but I need to incorporate some cardiovascular exercise in my life. So if you have favorite exercise programs that are not running, I would like to hear of those as well.

Dot Dot Dot

2008-12-30T17:16:00.003-07:00

Nothing new and/or exciting has happened. Christmas was good. My break from school is going by way too fast. Here are a list or two or three of things to come in the life of Natalie.

Things I am not looking forward to:
1. School starting next Monday
2. Loads and loads of math homework
3. School

Things I am looking forward to:
1. The Utes playing in the Sugar Bowl
2. Turning 22 (I guess, I'm always just excited for my birthday)
3. Starting school (just so I am that one step closer to being done!)

Things I hope for:
1. A date for my birthday, a date with someone new! haha
2. A not so tough school schedule
3. Fun plans for Spring Break!

Finals

2008-12-09T15:22:00.002-07:00

Three more days and I will have made it through semester number eight (if I count the summer semester). Soon the end will be in sight, I hope anyways. One semester at a time from here on out!

NKOTB Concert Again!

2008-11-17T22:22:00.003-07:00

Yes, this is a great shot of Joey's behind ;) hehe. I am obviously a Joey fan. Olivia is a Danny fan, which I honestly don't get. Though Danny has some great dance skills.

The wait was driving us crazy I guess!

NKOTB Concert

2008-11-17T21:54:00.004-07:00

OMG! I don't think words can give that experience justice. All I can say is that I loved every minute and wished it never ended! The whole day was pretty good, and ended great. So great, in fact, that the parking ticket did not put a damper on anything. I was so happy I got to see my good friend Heather and we ate some great food at the Mayan. Thanks, Heather!

Olivia and I started to make our way to the concert at 6:30 so we could be there at 7 when the doors opened. Well that was an adventure in itself. I ended up getting on the freeway on the carpool lane and our exit happened to be immediate once we got on the freeway. Well needless to say there was not way I could get across all five lanes of traffic that quickly, so we missed the exit. I ended up taking the next exit hoping that eventually we would get to Redwood Rd, and sure enough we did! There was even a sign that said E-center this way, so we knew we were going the right way! Well we made it, parked, got our signs ready and made our way to the entrance. Once we got there they took our signs away. How rude... I kinda figured they would but I was secretly hoping they wouldn't because we had so much fun making them! At least we were able to wear the shirts we made!

Anyways, once inside, Olivia and I fought the crowds of women to buy t-shirts! We each bought a t-shirt and I bought a key chain as well. Now all that was left was waiting for the show to begin. There were two opening acts. First was Lady Gaga. There really are no words for what we saw with her. It was definitely not appealing to a female audience. That is all... Natasha Beddingfield followed and she was quite amazing actually.

Finally, the men of the evening took the stage! After months of waiting for this day, they were finally there. Let me just say that the wait was more than worth it! Joey McIntyre is gorgeous! They sang every song we wanted them to so what more could we ask for? I have honestly never screamed so much in my life! My throat still hurts, two days later. Also I made sure I sang every word to every song (with the exception of two songs I didn't know). Olivia and I never sat down once NKOTB took the stage.

Some of the highlights were: Danny Wood break-dancing, some woman throwing a "I 'heart' Mormon Girls" t-shirt to Donny Wahlberg (which helped him introduce singing "Cover Girl"), being able to see their beautiful faces up close, Olivia and I being the only two in our entire section who knew every word to all of the new songs, Joey McIntyre wearing the same jacket he wore in the 90's, Olivia and I reacting the exact same way when they performed "Twisted" (our favorite song and again the only two dancing and singing along in the entire section cause everyone else sat down), and pretty much just Joey all around!

NKOTB, Here I Come!

2008-11-10T22:47:00.003-07:00

If there were words to describe how excited I am for my New Kids on the Block concert, I don't think it would do it justice! I bought the tickets in July for my friend's birthday in August. So I had to keep it a secret that I bought the tickets for over a month and needless to say I wasn't very good at that. Well when her birthday finally got here, we started getting so so excited. NKOTB came out with a new album and we were one of the first ones to buy it September 2nd. Not only do I love the old NKOTB, but the new NKOTB is amazing as well! There's nothing better than New Kids' "Twisted"! Except maybe "Step by Step" or "Cover Girl".... Oh what am I saying, there are way too many good ones. The wait is finally coming to a close. The concert is Saturday Nov 15th, only four days away!

Side note: One of my biggest pet peeves lately is when people hear me listening to NKOTB and ask why I'm listening to Backstreet Boys or NSYNC..... How rude. They don't even sound the same at all, and "The Block" is officially the coolest boy band ever. Joey McIntyre is definitely so much cuter than Lance Bass or Justin Timberlake.

FYI

2008-11-04T19:13:00.003-07:00

My mom asked me who all the famous people were I put in my lucky 7 tag. Well surely everyone knows who Garth Brooks and Ellen Degeneres are. The other five (Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood, and Donny Wahlberg [brother to actor Mark Wahlberg]), however, most people would know by The New Kids On The Block. I am one of the biggest NKOTB fans and am super super excited to be able to go see them in concert on November 15th. YAY

Random Random Random

2008-11-04T18:52:00.006-07:00

I guess this is our idea of fun... Just sitting around talking posing for pictures here and there!
My hand is the claw, and the finger belongs to Shalie!

The best part is we never told each other what we were going to do in these pictures, they just kinda happened.

hehe

Oh dear. That is all.

Halloween Gingerbread house?

2008-11-04T18:23:00.006-07:00

My mom stopped by the day before Aly's birthday and dropped off this kit to put together some gingerbread and icing. It included all the candy we used. Aly and I had quite a bit of fun putting this thing together! The best part was the weird ideas we came up with to use all of the candy and most of the icing!

We ended up putting a whole bunch of icing in the center of the house, covering the whole base! Then we put all the candy on there anywhere we could, including bats and skulls on the inside of the walls!

So the icing was ridiculously messy. We tried at first to not make a mess, but that ended pretty quickly! Also the black icing stained our hands for a few hours. It was so great. Eventually we had black icing coming out of both ends of the plastic bag it was in.

Tagged

2008-10-20T11:56:00.003-06:00

Lucky #7

7 Things I can do...
7. I can blink
6. I can facebook
5. I can multi-task
4. I can bake
3. I can cook
2. I can drink gallons of water daily
1. I can go through two or three tubes of chapstick each month.

7 Things I can't do...
7. I can't watch movie after movie after movie
6. I can't say no to texting
5. I can't resist a new pair of shoes
4. I can't focus on homework for longer than one hour
3. I can't stand sitting in lecture classes.
2. I can't wait till I no longer have roommates
1. I can't wait to have a kitchen all to myself

7 Things I LOVE about CEDAR CITY...
7. The weather (when it's not windy)
6. The size
5. The people
4. The red mountain in the east
3. The location
2. The fun
1. The weather (yes again, I love the snow here)

7 Things I say the most often are...
7. No I'm not bored, I have plenty of work
6. Lame
5. I miss you
4. I'm hungry
3. I'm cold
2. I can't wait to see you
1. He's so sweet :)

7 Celebrity Admirations...
7. Garth Brooks
6. Ellen Degeneres
5. Donny Walhberg
4. Danny Wood
3. Joey McIntyre
2. Jordan Knight
1. Jonathan Knight

7 Favorite Foods...
7. Cheesecake
6. Brownies
5. Cole Slaw
4. Cosa Vida
3. Tacos
2. Enchiladas
1. Fajitas

7 People to tag...
7. Amy
6. Liz
5. Aly
4. Heather
3. Kara
2. Olivia
1. anyone else :)

Who I am

2008-10-08T22:30:00.003-06:00

I am avoiding going to sleep and don't know why, so here I am blogging.

Who am I?

I am: laying in bed.
I want: my back fixed.
I have: the bestest family and friends.
I wish: for good days.
I hate: filing paperwork.
I fear: falling on my face while walking down the sidewalk and breaking my nose. Ya, my nose of all things to fear breaking.
I hear: myself almost yelling at me while taking a test. My self talk gets really really loud in rooms that quiet.
I search: for a Mr. Right
I wonder: if I will ever finish school.
I always: put off homework when I shouldn't.
I usually: sink my five foot putts.
I dance: when i feel like it.
I sing: only when others can't hear me.
I never: find the right words to express myself. Words and Natalie just don't go well together, I would much rather speak with symbols.
I rarely: think before I speak. Bad habit for sure.
I cry: when I have death by orientation and intense math tests all in the same week.
I am not always: the first to admit I was wrong.
I need: shoes, shoes, shoes, and more shoes.
I should: sleep and most definitely should prepare for a night of studying.
I dream: of tall men.

Um What's the Word? Nerd?

2008-09-29T15:59:00.003-06:00

You know you are a minority in an area of study at a university when you get an email such as the following:

Dear Math Majors,

We are holding a dinner in your honor this Wednesday, October 1. It is our Fall Semester Math Department Social; you'll pardon, I'm sure, the oxymoron that your associates in the lesser majors would easily identify in this title....

For all the tuition money you, your parents and your bankrupt (fiscally and morally) government are spending on SUU; for the countless hours you devote to homework instead of going to parties to which your major ensured you weren't invited anyway; for the fact that you burn more midnight oil than your roommates drink beer; for all your dedication to this beautiful subject of math and for your patience with us, your sometimes more, sometimes less-beloved teachers; I say, for all of this, we would like to feed you some meat.

But further, the Math Department faculty would like to have you come so we can get to know you on the social plane, that proverbially higher level in communal three-space that we are unable to reach in the ordinary classroom setting.

The dinner will be served in the ELC Conference Room, 4th floor, at 6 p.m. Please come just a few minutes early if you are bringing foodstuffs. We will provide ribs, chicken, potato wedges and drinks with the best in paper wares and plastic utensils. If you would like to bring along a salad or dessert to share, so much the better for all of us.

Weather permitting, those that would like to can take their food out to a lawn and there burn it off with maybe some Frisbee (oops - "novelty flying disc"), tossing of a football or two, or maybe even playing leapfrog and tag if the party should get as wild as we hope. Bring along some your favorite outdoor game if you'd like and wear some appropriate clothing if any of this is of interest to you; frog costumes are fine and even smiled on.

Please feel free to bring along your special other and - as I've hinted - something to share should you have any money left after Fall tuition. (Yes, yes, Top Ramen is fine - but please prepare it so that it can stay bounded on one portion of a plate.) At the risk of pushing redundancy to previously unknown levels, "please RSVP" to Robin (archibald@suu.edu) to let us know if you're coming and what, if you can, you will bring to share. Also, if any of your fellow majors are not reached by this email, we would greatly appreciate you letting them know about the social as well.

Thanks in advance for your company and for letting my team win in Ultimate Frisbee,

Hahahahaha! Most definitely a nerdy department I am in! Only math majors get such emails. Also I received another one similar a couple of weeks ago which included the following sentence: There have been a few changes in the Math Department over the summer (adding & subtracting professors and using the commutative property to change offices). The best part is how he incorporated the commutative propert! Bahaha, pure genius! lol

Now only someone who likes math as I do would find entertainment in such emails, but I came to the sad realization. The realization that perhaps I really am a nerd deep down inside somewhere. Though I don't show it like 5/6 of the department, but still it is there. But please feel free to disagree with me! I am completely okay with being told I really am not nerdy!

Tagged

2008-09-28T22:30:00.003-06:00

I'm officially a conformist... haha

8 Random Things!

8 Things I'm Passionate About: 1) Softball, 2) Family, 3) The Gospel, 4) My Girls (Shay, Olivia, Heather) 5) Not eating later than 8 PM, 6) My filing system at work (sometimes my co-workers think I am too protective of it!), 7) Volleyball (I play two or three times a week so I guess it had to make the list), 8) Not eating hot dogs and cake.

8 Words or Phrases I Say Often: 1) What the random, 2) For real?, 3) I win, 4) Um, 5) Why?, 6) IDK 7) Sweet, 8) What.

8 Things I Want to do Before I Die: 1) Go to culinary arts school, 2) Coach a state-champion softball team, 3) Have my own custom designed kitchen, 4) Go hunting, 5) Hike Kolob arch (only 14 miles, anyone want to join me?) 6) Finish college! 7) Leave the country (to go anywhere except where it's 90 degrees or warmer) 8) Have a family.

8 Things I Have Learned From My Past: 1) Weak things become strong, 2) Don't sit back and wait for life to happen to me, 3) Forgive and Forget, 4) Take in the good times, and learn from the bad, 5) Without the trials, I wouldn't be as happy as I am now, 6) School is expensive and not a waste of my time, 7) When things get hard, press forward 8) Dating can be frustrating but fun at the same time!

8 Places I Would Love to go See: 1) Wimbledon, 2) Washington DC, 3) Nashville, 4) Any European country, 5) Jerusalem, 6) The Narrows, 7) Africa, 8) The Moon.

8 Things I Currently Need or Want: 1) A Bachelors degree, 2) a Teaching license, 3) Shoes, 4) a Diamond (in ring, necklace, or earring form), 5) Milk, 6) Yogurt, 7) A new pair of pants, 8) a personal assistant.

I tag: Liz, Amy

2008-09-17T17:57:00.009-06:00

The last couple weeks have been so much fun, as I said before! I managed to post this in order of how it happened!
So as crazy as it may seem, a small town girl like me had never been horse back riding. Well this is no longer the case for me. My friend Carrie (in the green pants) knew a cowboy (Andy, the only guy in the pic) who would be able to take us riding. Aly was invited to go, but i think she ended up going home for a long weekend, so my roommate Sondra came with us. I did well for my first experience on a horse and was able to do it without having to touch the horse!

The weekend of Labor Day, our 'summer fling' Jeremy wanted to go camping before he moved back up to Provo for school. We went up to a place called Yankee Meadow at about 9:30 at night. It was a really really cold night, but definitely memorable! Anyways, there was this giant cow in Parowan and Jeremy just had to get a picture of it. The cow fetish kind of has a story of its own.

On Labor Day a bunch of us went down to hike Angel's Landing. It was so much fun, and I can finally cross that one off my to do list!

This is the kinda scary part of the hike. Good thing time and stuff has worn foot holes in the rock!

When we got to the top, Aly said that our Aunt has a good picture of her family on Angel's Landing. Well this is the best we could do since we were the only ones of our family!

This last weekend, a bunch of us escaped to northern Utah for a couple days. We left Saturday morning, well at least my car did which included me, Aly, and Jake. We stopped and said hi to some of Jake's family in Springville and then stopped and said hi to Amy and Jarom at their new house. After that, Jake and I killed some time before dinner with Heather at Jordan Landing. We then met up with everyone else and went to the Colors concert, which was the point of the trip. The concert was pretty good. We stayed at my friend Bubba's parents house and went to church with them Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon they fed us lunch and we finally got on the road around 4:30. On the way back Shalie joined my car (the girl in the picture with me) and we stopped in Aurora to help Daniel with his math and then a friend's parents house in Monroe for dinner. We had so much fun, even if we didn't get home until 10:30 that night.

At the beginning of the concert, Aly and Emily were playing with the camera, taking pictures of themselves. Every time, I either got my head in between them or I got a hand in at the top of all the pictures. So they decided to really include Jake and I, since we were sitting right behind them. We never manage to get everyone doing the same kind of faces, so we get a mixture.

Before the concert started, Bubba was snapping pictures. Shalie and I posed for this one and she said thoughtful face and apparently I was thinking sad! Anyways, this one is probably my favorite picture from the weekend!

Epiphany (at least I think this is the proper use of this word)

2008-09-16T16:34:00.004-06:00

About five minutes ago as I am doing the usual making copies and filing paperwork and typing reports at work, I started thinking about how much fun my life is. Though it is really quite busy most, if not all, of the time, I have so much fun. This thought led me to wonder if I will have as much fun when I'm married. And perhaps it will be a different kind of fun. I probably won't be having random shirt making parties with a bunch of people and all the other crazy fun things I do. So as I think of those my age who have so recently tied the knot, I feel so happy that it is not me, especially right now. This great realization came at a great time, as I have been wondering if the marriage thing will ever happen for me. Well right now I don't really care. Dating and being single is way too much fun for me right now! I hope to post some pictures and tell a little about the recent goings on in the life of Natalie soon (as long as homework is finished before) to show just exactly what I mean about how much fun I'm having!

Family Home Evening

2008-08-23T16:12:00.005-06:00

I have a new calling in my student ward now. They call this particular calling Family Home Evening "Grandma". Pretty much this calling is in charge of planning family home evenings and getting fhe groups together and things like that. It is going to be pretty fun and I am excited! So that is just an unpdate and a little background on the video!

So this video.... Well last Monday, the fhe activity was volleyball and slip 'n slide. With my latest back issue, I decided not to participate. So while everyone was getting ready for the slip 'n slide, I grabbed my camera. My friend, Jeremy, and I decided to make some videos of everyone going down the slide. Jeremy tied the camera to the camera bag strap and his belt so that the camera was in the middle and we held it across the slide and each stood on one side. This was the second attempt at video making. This first attempt, we tried to run down the hill with everyone, but the camera went all crazy like! So this is just a glimpse of what goes on at Family Home Evening in a singles ward. Well or even just a glimpse of me and my crazy friends!

To My Dad

2008-08-13T14:28:00.010-06:00

I might be biased, but I must say that I have the best dad in the world. I'm so greatful for him. Not everyone can say that they were able to spend countless evenings in the backyard with their dad. I remember when I first told my dad I wanted to be a softball pitcher. There was no joking about it at all. Not only did he do all the research he could on the internet, but he also went to some coaching clinics, spent money on the best tools to make me the best I could be and even was my catcher so many times. I can't thank my dad enough for those memories and for all the pitches he may have taken to the shins.
Not only did he help me with my passion, but he has always been there for all of his kids. I think the only time he has ever missed anything we have been in was when he had to go out of town for work. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing dad who loves his girls as much as he does. I guess he loves that boy too, but duh... what parent doesn't absolutely adore the baby of the family, especially if the baby is the only boy?
It's almost his birthday, and I don't think anything I can get him will ever be enough for all he has done for me. I only pray that I find someone to marry that is just like him. Though my mom says that we will be looking forever cause there is only one of him.
I also love his sense of humor. A friend of mine here in Cedar City who has met my dad told me once that my dad is probably one of the funniest guys he has ever met. I totally agree, however, Mom wishes we wouldn't encourage him so much! Anyways, I just wanted to do a little bragging on the best Dad in the world. I love you, Dad!

ME

2008-08-12T12:57:00.014-06:00

Thought this was fun so I decided to do it! It was kind of interesting to see what images would come up for each thing!

FIRST NAME:

So I had no idea that if I put my name in google images that such inappropriate pictures would come up. Interesting!

MIDDLE NAME:

Don't have one!

LAST NAME:

This is the Hales Coat of Arms. Found on the Hales Family History Society Page!

AGE:

PLACE I'D LIKE TO VISIT:

FAVORITE PLACE:

COLLEGE DEGREE:

Not yet, but working that way!

GRANDMA'S NAMES:

Anna

This is Anna Kournikova for those not so savy on tennis! It was either this or Anna Nicole Smith... Yuck.

Thelma

A PET I'VE HAD:

This one is staying blank. I am not going to claim any of the family pets over the years. Though I did have a pet rock once!

FIRST JOB:

FAVORITE COLOR:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW:

HA HA HA HA HA! Right, working hard! I just don't feel good, that is my excuse!

BAD HABIT:

Kind of ironic...

The new place

2008-08-04T10:56:00.003-06:00

What a weekend! Friday I was able to take off from work about 2:30 or so to get started on moving. I got quite a few things moved over and then the rest packed up until some friends asked if they could come help (Aly was working all day), so I sat back and relaxed a bit and waited for my friends to get there to help me move. It took the four of us about twenty or thirty minutes to get all my stuff moved over. So one of my friends stayed with me and helped me get Aly's things moved over. I don't know if she appreciated it or not, because I had to pack most everything. And I am definitely not the best packer ever. Things were put in random places, but at least it all got moved. Anyways, I didn't even take time that night to unpack anything. We went to a movie and then danced the night away at the institute dance! (not really though).
Saturday was the craziest adventure ever! After a morning of organizing the kitchen and living room, Aly and I took two friends (Bubba and Seth) up to Aurora for the day. We stopped at the annual Hampton family reunion for some lunch and then went back to Aurora to ride Mom and Dad's new toys, 4-wheelers. Seth and I rode in the hills west of Aurora for oh about four hours and got Mom and Dad worried about us cause we got separated from the other two and they got off the mountain an hour before us. Oh it was so fun though! After we cleaned up as much as we could, we headed off to the Demolition Derby in Richfield. It was not the best derby ever, but it was pretty good and Bubba was a first time derby goer.
Anyways, after an exhausting day, we made it to Cedar City about 11:30 that night. Needless to say, we fought to stay awake the next morning at church. After church, I baked some cookies and got dinner ready for a birthday celebration for Seth. Some other friends came over as well and we had dinner and cake and ice cream. After we ate, (this might be totally random, but oh well) we had a coaster fight. My friends and I definitely have some crazy random fun when we get together and that is why I love them so much!
I will hopefully get some pictures of the new place posted soon (we don't have internet yet). Also some pictures of the crazy party our friends hosted last week with a cow. Ya, I know how that sounds and that is why it is so funny!
It sounds like Aly and I will be having a house warming party this weekend (her idea), so those who would be interested in coming, holla! We just need to get the place in order and decorated a bit! It is quite fun, we are definitely going to like this place

July

2008-07-29T13:20:00.003-06:00

I want to thank my sisters and mom for a great Saturday! We enjoyed the mountains, the heat (haha), shopping, the temple, and of course the highlight of the trip, Les Miserables! I am so glad we started this girls only tradition and look forward to many more in the years to come. I was also glad that when I suggested a play at Tuachan my sisters were more than willing to come down to my end of the state!

I spent my first Pioneer Day somewhere besides Redmond, UT. I must say that I really was quite disappointed in the events here in Cedar City. The parade was just ok, I'm pretty sure Redmond's parade had more floats than Cedar City's. And the most disappointing part was the lack of a fireworks show. I guess Summer Games take all of Cedar City's firework budget! Though it did turn out to be a great day with friends! Some of my friends doubted my ability to be in charge of and host a potluck dinner, but it turned out really well.

Well July is winding down, which saddens me. I now only have three full weeks of play time before the studying begins on August 25th. For sure, my friends and I will make the most of the summer days we have left with things like volleyball (as often as possible :)), hiking, parties, and whatever other crazy ideas we come up with.

Alyson and I are moving the end of this week. I think I am more excited for this move than any other move ever! After living in a house full of ten girls for an entire year, I can't imagine anything worse. I am actually looking forward to only having four or five roommates (I never thought I would say that). And the best part of this will be having room for my food in the refrigerator. Sad as it is, I have been unable to have food in the fridge without it getting lost or eaten in about a year. I definitely will be posting pictures of the dump I live in now compared to the place I am moving into! I cannot wait.

Pictures....

2008-07-17T17:17:00.005-06:00

Oh Adam! He looks happy now, but ten minutes later.... I was definitely on his 'bad list'! It was great though!

This would be Olivia, Zane and I chilling at Cedar Breaks. We had this plan to do something fun and crazy that night. Well Aly suggested we go up to Cedar Breaks to watch the sunset. Jeremy was captain, so he decided we would do this. Hmmmm, quite the sunset it was all covered with clouds... Anyways, we had fun anyways even if it wasn't the crazy adventure we had hoped for! Olivia and I dumped some water on Adam, but yet he only retaliated on me :(

This was supposed to go up with a post a while ago. Anyways, this is Tanner and I playing catch at Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's house! Good times :)

Weekends!

2008-07-11T11:43:00.004-06:00

The weekend is finally here! Wahoo! Actually, I am beginning to think that the weekends come too fast, which makes the summer go by way too fast! I'm not ready for school, yet is is just over a month away. Anyways, Friday at the office.... Again I am left alone to hold down the fort (office). Opening up a house in St. George required Stacy to go do orientation with new staff (I'm so jealous since one of the new staff is the best eye candy ever!) and Tyler had to go make sure everything is taken care of. So with stacks of paperwork, and it being payday, I had to stay behind. Sad times! Though good times since it is Friday!

I have signed up to be a high school volleyball official. I think I would like the extra money, but not so sure I would like coaches being all up in my face. I guess they probably aren't too bad, but surely worse than those softball coaches. Especially since the floor official is so close to the benches. It only worries me a little. I am pretty sure I will be able to hold my own. After all, as long as I know every rule there is and pretend to know the ones I don't and go about it with confidence, no one will dare question me!
Since the summer days are going by too fast, I rarely go a day without finding an adventure, or a car to wash! Though as school approaches, so does that day I put on a cap and gown and receive a diploma. So happy day!

Procrastination

2008-07-09T11:47:00.003-06:00

I was looking at my blog and noticed it has been a while since I posted new pictures! Well that is for good reason. We haven't really done anything too exciting and haven't taken very many pictures. I mean I'm not saying my five days in Aurora weren't exciting, well maybe I am a little! The Fourth of July rodeo in Salina wasn't the best rodeo ever! I guess the clown was pretty good, but the cowboys.........not so good! The stock definitely won that night! The firework show afterwards, however, I think was the best they have had.
I guess I did wash my car last night. I should have taken pictures of that for proof, but yet... I did take a picture of Bubba washing his car. That was the first he had washed his car in quite a while. Since before our trip to Kolob Reservoir where we got stuck in the mud! I honestly thought his car was tan, but it turns out it really is silver.

Here I sit at work, all alone. Stacy is sick, and the boss went down to St. George today. The monotonous duty of going through old paperwork and sorting through it is wearing on me. It is a good thing I get a break here and there to do something different. For example, yesterday I did new employee orientation (which I am an expert at since I have done it so many times!), and today I sat in my first interview from the employer side of things! Pretty soon they are going to have me doing my own interviews! Haha, just kidding (hopefully). Anyways, I am doing a pretty good job at avoiding the things I have to do today. I guess I would much rather blog than file and file and file and file and file. Hmmm, procrastination is a funny thing! I guess I can finally get to my point of this post! haha. Actually, I am not really sure the point, so never mind! haha. Look forward to some pictures soon though, hopefully!

To Be Young Again

2008-07-01T13:40:00.003-06:00

The family reunion went ok, I guess. There will always be a lack of participation from some people and that is ok. But thanks to everyone in my family who was there. We get points for the most participation I think. After everyone had left and we got the park cleaned up, we found ourselves at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was a nice day, so I stayed outside in the front yard. My mom started playing catch with my cousin's boy, Tanner. Well of course my mom got sick of it and so she volunteered my time to play with Tanner. Tanner wouldn't let me play catch with him without a glove. That was one day my stash of softballs and gloves in my car came in handy! That three year old little boy has quite the arm! We played catch for a good hour and a half to two hours. When we finally got to put our gloves away, Tanner decided to be the hero of the day and hunt bad guys. By this time Tanner and I were the only ones left outside so I decided to be Tanner's sidekick. I had let my imagination take over and Tanner and I defeated all the bad guys we found! Well Tanner defeated them, there was only one he couldn't get to since this bad guy was in the tree. After three or four times around the house and once back to the shed and twice inside the house, we were finally done and free of bad guys and monsters. Thank you to Tanner for a great afternoon of baseball and bad guy hunting!

Family Reunions

2008-06-27T11:09:00.005-06:00

This Saturday (tomorrow) is the annual Heaps family reunion. Grandma had a great idea. She asked for one representative from each of her daughters' families to help with activities and such. My mother had an even better idea; she picked me to be her representative. Now the thing is, family reunions are not always the most fun, especially with all those people you don't even know. Well that changes tomorrow! For those of you going to the Heaps reunion, be prepared for some amazing fun! Oh, but in order to have such fun, you MUST PARTICIPATE! The activities I've planned are designed to get everyone involved, which means they aren't all physical but of course highly entertaining for everyone. I guess you could say I'm actually looking forward to a family reunion for a change! So I will now always say, "go with the best attitude and be open to whatever may be thrown at you among family!"

2008-06-25T12:58:00.004-06:00

One thing about growing up and becoming an adult is that I now have to make life changing decisions. Such decisions are where to live, what to do (work or school or both), what to study, who to date (which I don't mind that much :) ). Since I graduated from high school, I never really questioned what I was doing with my life. Now, after completing my third year of college, I am questioning whether it is for me. I'm not so sure that these doubts or thoughts are strong enough to make me quit, but enough to not want to go back to school come August. I think I have this idea that I should like school if I'm going to put myself through it. After talking with my sisters a little this past weekend, I've decided to approach school with a different attitude. I've gotten this far, so there is no turning back now, and definitely no changing course of study, no matter how demanding and intense mathematics can be. Thus far in my education, I've only taken required classes and have yet to allow myself a relaxing, fun class in my schedule. That is going to change or I will never get out of my slump. A fun class is something that I'm going to require in my schedule so that those rigorous math classes don't rule my life. So for those of you who are wondering about me and school, here is your answer.... School, here I come! (It better be worth it! But don't expect that masters degree from me until maybe ten years go by or so!)

Excitement

2008-06-20T11:26:00.004-06:00

I asked my friend Heather what I should blog about, and she told me I should blog about my excitement for this weekend. So here it is! I think the last time I saw my Heather was October. Way too long ago :(. That is about to change. Tomorrow morning, I am making my way up to Salt Lake City. I have been trying to get up there to see Heather for months now, and finally I just decided nothing would stop me this time! My girl is getting married the end of July so we only have so much time before she is moved away by the military. I cannot wait and words cannot describe my excitement. Today I think is going to be one of those days that just seem to drag on and on forever!

Heather is practically my twin sister. Knowing me implies that you know Heather. We like alot of the same things (except the color purple) and think the same way. All my random thoughts that nobody else understands and makes people think I'm just crazy are the kind of thoughts Heather appreciates the most. So I'd say Heather and I are meant to be besties for ever! I love ya, Heather!

2008-06-19T18:24:00.002-06:00

This is just everyone waiting for Carrie at the top of the waterfall. Well everyone that made it that far. We left three at the bottom of the first waterfall and three at the bottom of this waterfall. I think I would have been more excited than Bubba is in this picture, had I made it to the top of that thing.

This is Carrie climbing up the waterfall I wouldn't climb up! She was amazing. I think if the ladder had been more stable, I would have. I guess I have a fear of rope ladders.

Crazy Life!

2008-06-19T14:32:00.006-06:00

One of the things I love about being young and single is being able to just go do anything, anywhere, anytime! Having a very flexible job helps in that as well. If I need to take off early on a Friday, I just work a little longer each day the rest of the week. And having every weekend off is oh so nice! Last weekend, some friends and I decided to go camping for a night. We went up Friday night and came back Saturday morning. The overnight trip was so much fun and full of adventures. We slept in the car hoping to get away from the bitter cold of the night. It didn't quite work out how we had hoped, but it was still fun! Saturday afternoon, after a two and a half hour nap, about 10 of my friends and I hiked Kannaraville Falls. It was so pretty! There was a trail for the most part, however, we chose to walk through the water instead for most of the hike. There were two waterfalls on the hike. I climbed up the first one on a ladder/log. I think going down that thing was a lot worse than going up it! The second waterfall, however, was a different story. There was no way to get up it without getting completely wet, and I most definitely would have died! Ok so maybe I would have just fallen or something, but I wasn't about to risk it. I think I did pretty well on the hike, only falling once (acquiring a very nice bruise and two lumps on my shin!) and getting one cut (from the ladder). It was another great weekend in the life of Natalie! (I will post more pictures when I get home from work!)

Kalai Concert

2008-06-11T17:26:00.003-06:00

My second concert experience ever was definitely memorable! It was Kalai, with some other bands that aren't as cool. The concert was held at a farm in St George. It was literally a farm. We sat in alfalfa fields to listen to some amazing music! I guess you could say the itchy feeling still hasn't left yet. Having allergies like I do, I'm surprised it didn't hit me til today. And it all came at once. Itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, itchy throat, etc... Oh and the fact that there were grasshoppers and ants galore in those fields. So the feeling that something is crawling on me all the time from last night hasn't left yet. Anyways, it was my first time ever even hearing about Kalai, and all I can say is wow. Amazing! Not only can he play the guitar, his voice is good as well. The bands before him were not the best ever and took up way too much time. I say if you start a concert at eight, don't have three or four opening acts before the main attraction. Especially outdoors in Utah because you never know when the weather will turn for the worst. Pretty much we got blown out. The wind got to be too much so Kalai ended it early. We stopped at In and Out before heading home, and I must say that it is just food. I don't understand what all the hype is about over that place.

2008-06-05T22:49:00.008-06:00

Jonny and Bubba, from above, and yes Bubba is flexing!

Aly posed for a cute picture!

Jonny was laying down on the same rock, but his face was in the sun so I left him out!

Yes, another one of Aly. I had the camera most of the time, and didn't see the need to take pictures of Jonny and Bubba all the time!

Bubba, just chillin on the rock pondering.

This one is probably my favorite with Jonny's head sticking out of the boulders! I'm not sure how he got in there nor how he got out, but he did!

Adventures of the Random Drive

2008-06-05T09:47:00.004-06:00

Last Saturday, a bunch of friends and I decided to go on a hike. We met up at about one o'clock and were going to hike Kanarraville Falls. We were all ready for the wet hike we were about to go on. Then one person in our group told us we really needed a truck to drive the road up to the hike. So that plan went out the window. From there we just decided to drive up Cedar Canyon and stop somewhere to explore. Well our drive took us up over the mountain to Kolob Reservoir. It was about sixteen miles on a dirt road and along the way we came across a some cowboys herding their cows. The two drivers were from the city, so they didn't really know how to get through the cows quickly. Well eventually we made it out of the cows and continued on our journey to Kolob. About half a mile before the reservoir, we came across a miniature Pride Rock. Yes, it looked so much like the Lion King! So we had to stop there for pictures! Jonny, Alyson, and I posed for our band's magazine cover! We really only took this picture just in case. After driving around the lake for a while, our adventures led us to a beautiful sight. It was Kolob creek, and the canyon was amazing! Words cannot describe it, and pictures only say so much. To really appreciate the beauty, you need to experience this place for yourself.

Well we explored the area a little bit and then decided we were all hungry. We hadn't planned on such a long adventure so none of us brought food. On our drive back to 'civilization', we stopped at a Zion's National Park view point. That view was amazing as well. And to think that if we had gone back the way we went up we would have missed all the fun! The road back was longer than expected but full of amazing views and natural formations. Eventually we ended up in Virgin so we decided to just head on down to St George for dinner since we were so close. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays. After our eight hour adventure, we made it home! What a great day it was!

Cutest Grandpa Ever!

2008-05-26T20:48:00.000-06:00

This is without a doubt the cutest picture of my dear grandpa Hales ever! It was a spur of the moment picture after a very nice dedication of the new veteran's memorial in Redmond. Grandpa had the opportunity to present the memorial the the Auxillary and I got to catch him for a picture after the program. The dedication happened on Monday, Memorial Day. It was definitely an unforgettable day. About fifteen minutes before the program began, the sunshine had disappeared and on came the ten minute hail storm. Ok, so maybe it wasn't ten minutes long, but it sure felt like it. I was not prepared in my shorts and pretend Crocks for shoes. Nor would anybody let me under their umbrella. So I sat by myself just waiting for it to end. Actually, it really wasn't that bad. It was the kind of massage I needed on my back. Though it didn't fell quite as good on my legs. Well the program began on schedule. The speakers fought wind throughout, and in most cases, the wind came out victorious. It was, in my opinion, fairly pleasant.

During this dedication, some thoughts came to mind. The first one came to me when the lady next to me got a phone call on her cell phone. She didn't ignore it, but rather she answered the call and spoke to the person on the other end at quite a loud decible. The call was not short either. It probably lasted 4 or 5 minutes. So my thought was, do people not have any respect anymore? We were there to honor war veterans of the past and present. It is very disrespectful to even have a cell phone on during such special programs. It might help if parents taught their children how to be respectful at these kinds of occasions. Another thought was how grateful I am for the service men and women who protect our rights to have those cell phones and be able to answer them however disrespectful it may be. I am especially grateful for those service men closest to me, past and present. Thank you Grandpa Hales (WWII), Grandpa Johnson, (Korea) Uncle Ed (Vietnam), Uncle Wayne (Iraq), and Jay(Iraq).

Chrysalis

2008-05-24T15:05:00.001-06:00

Many people ask me what I do at my job, and my answer usually leads to describing more about the company than my actual job.

I work as a receptionist/secretary at a company called Chrysalis. The company is a state-funded provider for people with disabilities. We currently only have programs in Utah and Nevada. My office is in Cedar City. The people we provide services for are generally adults with mild retardation or acquired brain injury. Monday through Friday, those who do not have jobs come to the Day Program where they are supervised and learn job skills in hopes that these people can learn to live self-determined lives. Evenings and weekends, the people are supervised and learn skills for everyday life. These skills include personal hygiene, social skills, and money management.

As the secretary, I, along with the office manager, make the program run. We hire staff, make sure they are properly trained, file paperwork, data entry, and much more. Without the office staff (which now currently consists of two people), we would not be able to provide adequate support for the people we serve.

The people we serve in Cedar City are all male and make everyday a new experience at the office. Whether it be a conversation I have with them, or a piece of art they love to share with me. Also, rarely does a day pass when one of them doesn't ask me to be his girlfriend. They are awesome people and I enjoy being able to work with them.