Just a quick birthday shout out to my one and only brother-in-law, Chris, a.k.a. Topher. I hope you have/had a fabulous day! Thanks for all the laughs. Happy 27th Birthday!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Being Adventurous
Last weekend was Fall Break which meant I didn't have any classes on Friday. Thursday after classes, Colette and I headed to West Valley to pick up Patrick and then headed on down to St. George. Colette has family there that was kind enough to let us stay for a few days. Aunt Linda made some delicious food. Cousin Jake came shooting with us. Cousin Sara kept us up late playing games. Uncle Tim was kind enough to entertain us for a few days.
It was an adventurous trip for me because I went 4-Wheeling for the first time, I ate cracked-wheat cereal for the first time, I ate tin foil dinners for the first time, I helped saddle/bridle a horse for the first time, I shot guns for the second time; and so each experience was an adventure for me.
Patrick and I playing on the little thing you that ride on. Colette was so kind as to make an obstacle course for our entertainment.
My First 4-Wheeling Experience (if you look closely, you can see my hand sticking awkwardly out of Patrick's shoulder)
We rode the 4-Wheelers to a massive rock. We climbed up to a little cave...(Notice the plastic bag on CoCo's hand. She broke two fingers at Tuesday night football last week and she was trying to keep the splint as clean as possible)
...and looked at some petroglyphs.
Patrick decided to climb underneath the large, fallen rock.
Patrick was much more adventurous than the rest of us.
The rock we climbed contrasted with the beautiful blue sky
Enjoying the scenery together
Taking a little nap before heading out
I didn't realized that 4-Wheeling was such a dirty past time. I was cleaning dirt out of my eyes until the next morning.
On Saturday, Uncle Tim was kind enough to take us shooting.
All prepared with ear protection
Shooting the .22 Rifle
Shooting the shot gun. This can definitely be a painful process if you don't hold the gun just right.
Patrick shot the revolver. CoCo loves this picture because you can see the smoke from the gun.
After we had some lunch, we went horseback riding!
Getting acquainted with the horses that we didn't ride.
I really enjoy riding horses.
Colette and Cousin Sara
We finished off our Saturday by heading over to the temple to take a few pictures.
I had seen the St. George temple before last weekend, but I couldn't remember it at all.
It was an adventurous trip for me because I went 4-Wheeling for the first time, I ate cracked-wheat cereal for the first time, I ate tin foil dinners for the first time, I helped saddle/bridle a horse for the first time, I shot guns for the second time; and so each experience was an adventure for me.
Colette and myself enjoying the homemade teeter-totter
Patrick and I playing on the little thing you that ride on. Colette was so kind as to make an obstacle course for our entertainment.
My First 4-Wheeling Experience (if you look closely, you can see my hand sticking awkwardly out of Patrick's shoulder)
We rode the 4-Wheelers to a massive rock. We climbed up to a little cave...(Notice the plastic bag on CoCo's hand. She broke two fingers at Tuesday night football last week and she was trying to keep the splint as clean as possible)
...and looked at some petroglyphs.
Patrick decided to climb underneath the large, fallen rock.
We ventured around the large rock. (This picture reminds me of a cartoon-if she takes one wrong step, she'll fall into the cacti)
Patrick was much more adventurous than the rest of us.
The rock we climbed contrasted with the beautiful blue sky
Enjoying the scenery together
Taking a little nap before heading out
I didn't realized that 4-Wheeling was such a dirty past time. I was cleaning dirt out of my eyes until the next morning.
On Saturday, Uncle Tim was kind enough to take us shooting.
All prepared with ear protection
Loading the magazine with bullets. I never thought I would ever load a magazine to shoot a gun.
Shooting the .22 Rifle
Shooting the shot gun. This can definitely be a painful process if you don't hold the gun just right.
Patrick shot the revolver. CoCo loves this picture because you can see the smoke from the gun.
Uncle Tim taught us a little bit about this hand gun. I didn't shoot this one, but looking at it made me a little nervous-if you can't tell...
After we had some lunch, we went horseback riding!
Getting acquainted with the horses that we didn't ride.
I really enjoy riding horses.
Colette and Cousin Sara
We finished off our Saturday by heading over to the temple to take a few pictures.
I had seen the St. George temple before last weekend, but I couldn't remember it at all.
Over the weekend I learned:
1. 4-Wheeling is a lot a lot of fun; however, it doesn't trump snow mobiling for me.
2. I love shooting guns. If I marry myself a man who owns guns-BONUS!
3. I enjoy riding horses, but I am too passive to be good at it. I get nervous and so I am not controlling enough to make the horse go where I want it to go.
4. The St. George Temple comes in as a close second to the San Diego Temple (which is my favorite).
1. 4-Wheeling is a lot a lot of fun; however, it doesn't trump snow mobiling for me.
2. I love shooting guns. If I marry myself a man who owns guns-BONUS!
3. I enjoy riding horses, but I am too passive to be good at it. I get nervous and so I am not controlling enough to make the horse go where I want it to go.
4. The St. George Temple comes in as a close second to the San Diego Temple (which is my favorite).
It really was a fabulous weekend. It was so nice to have a break from work and classes and homework. The weather was beautiful and the company was fabulous. Couldn't have asked for anything more!
Happy Birthday...Just a Wee Bit Late
A few weeks ago, I was talking with the Mow Crew about mothers in general. I started thinking about my mom and the relationship I have with her and I declared, "When I am a mom, if I can be half the woman my mom is today, I will be content with my life." And then we proceeded to share stories or things about our moms that make them such great people. Here's a sampling of what makes my mom so great...
Mom can wash dishes with water at the hottest setting. There is something about mom hands that I just can't quite figure out. It's like they have a tough shell that can handle anything, yet they're still so incredibly soft.
Mom is about tough love. She's never been a "nice mom" (that may sound horrible, but she knows what I mean). When Julie started school, she used to cry all the time. My mom would kneel down in the hall at school, plaster a smile to her face and in a very fierce voice say something to the effect of "Julie, if you don't stop crying and walk in that classroom right now, I will spank your bottom right here in front of everyone." There's nothing better than a mom who will push you to do the hard things just because she knows that it's good for you.
Doing one of the things she does best: Grandma-ing
Mom listens to my ridiculously detailed stories-at least I think she does. If she stops listening at some point, she's good at pretending to listen. I know I can call her and talk to her about whatever happens to be on my mind.
Mom answers all of my cooking questions, even when it means she has to answer the phone at least five times. I like cooking, but I haven't made everything in my recipe book. If I am making something on my own for the first time, I call my mom for initial instructions. Then I call about ten minutes later because I have a question about measuring something. Then I call about ten minutes later because I am unsure about an ingredient. Then I call about ten minutes later because my oven doesn't cook right and I don't know how how my oven should be or how long I should cook it. Then I call when it is done cooking to make sure it looks okay. Then I call after I've eaten it so that I can tell her how it went. And she answers the phone every time!
I appreciate her and I'm sorry that it took me so long to acknowledge her. Happy belated birthday, Mom!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Hangers and Endings
So the end of my work experience is getting closer and closer every day. This job with the city has been the most favorite job I have ever had. I love being outside, I love working with my hands, I love the people that I work with. It is really just a winning situation for me. However, the grass is going to stop growing here pretty soon and the leaves will finish falling and winter will be in full swing. I think they will keep me around for a few more days (hopefully at least one whole week) but then I'm done. I guess all good things must come to an end.
As tribute to my wonderful experiences this summer, I thought I would take a few moments over the next few days to reflect on some of my favorite experiences over the summer. Let's start with the second most embarrassing (since I have already shared the first most embarrassing).
As part of my job, I am supposed to drive around town to all of the parks and lock the bathroom doors. We take turns locking up so that the same person doesn't do it every night. We are told that we should leave as the sun begins to set behind the mountains. It takes about an hour and a half and it is one of the easiest tasks required of me.
It had been a few nights since I had my turn to lock up, so I had forgotten about it. Usually I would leave my house around 8:45 and be back by 10:15. Well, one particular Wednesday, I didn't remember my duty until 10:15. It can be pretty scary heading out alone, especially when it gets late, so I called Colette and begged her to come with me. I convinced her that it was her duty as my friend to keep me safe while performing this task. She made the sacrifice (since her usual bedtime is 10:30) and rode along with me to lock up.
We made it to all of the parks without any problems. We pulled up to the last park, a little delirious because it was so late, and I got out of the truck to go lock the doors. As I stepped out, the truck started moving forward and I thought "Hmmm. That's funny. Why is that happening?" And then I realized "I didn't put the truck in park! WHO DOES THAT?!" The next few seconds were absolutely ridiculous as I tried to decide if I should jump back in and slam on the break or dive in head first and just use my hand while Colette did the shifting. I decided to jump back in, slam on the break, and put the truck in park. After a good round of laughter, I locked the bathroom and we headed back to the Service Center.
"Good thing we're done because I gotta pee." Colette told me as we drove back, still giggling about my blond moment. I parked the truck outside of the Service Center and reminded Colette to lock her door. I opened my door, locked it, and grabbed the keys. I shut the door and as I went to place the keys in the hiding spot, I realized I had grabbed the wrong keys! "Oh, boy, Jalayne. Really, you forgot to turn off the truck. Get back in and get the right keys and get outta here!" I thought to myself. As I reached for the handle I remembered that I had locked the door. Colette looked at me with an unforgettable expression of disbelief. "Colette..." I said, trying to laugh about my stupidity. "I locked the keys in the truck...and the truck is still running."
We laughed and laughed and laughed. Then through a fit of laughter I was able to say, "Who does that?" We continued to laugh and I answered my own question with "The same person who forgets to put the car in park when getting out!" We then laughed even harder.
After a good few minutes, we finally realized that we really had a problem and tried to decide what to do. "Who could help us?" we both wondered. Colette suggested our friend David, so she gave him a call. Once she explained what happened and they had a good laugh, Dave suggested calling the police. Luckily, I keep a phone book in my car so I called the police station and was informed that police officers no longer carry the equipment to unlock cars. David willingly drove down to the Service Center to help us out.
In the meantime, Colette reminded me that she still need to pee so she found herself a secret spot on CITY PROPERTY and relieved herself. After we had a good laugh about that one, David showed up. By this time I think I was pretty close to having lost all sanity. Dave looked at the ring of keys in my hand and asked "Isn't there a key on there that can get you into the building where there might be a spare key?" DOH! So I let myself into the building, into my boss's office (I was so nervous I thought I was going to pee my pants) and looked for a spare key. There wasn't a spare key to be found, so I grabbed a hanger from the closest and locked the door behind me. Once I was back to the truck, we looked through the tool box and found this:
Who would have thought that this little hanger could save me so much trouble?
So maybe it's good that this job is ending and I can stop having embarrassing experiences. Maybe I'm better off sitting in a chair watching a movie or studying while a machine sucks out my plasma. It's a quick thirty bucks and I can't embarrass myself while doing it.
As tribute to my wonderful experiences this summer, I thought I would take a few moments over the next few days to reflect on some of my favorite experiences over the summer. Let's start with the second most embarrassing (since I have already shared the first most embarrassing).
As part of my job, I am supposed to drive around town to all of the parks and lock the bathroom doors. We take turns locking up so that the same person doesn't do it every night. We are told that we should leave as the sun begins to set behind the mountains. It takes about an hour and a half and it is one of the easiest tasks required of me.
It had been a few nights since I had my turn to lock up, so I had forgotten about it. Usually I would leave my house around 8:45 and be back by 10:15. Well, one particular Wednesday, I didn't remember my duty until 10:15. It can be pretty scary heading out alone, especially when it gets late, so I called Colette and begged her to come with me. I convinced her that it was her duty as my friend to keep me safe while performing this task. She made the sacrifice (since her usual bedtime is 10:30) and rode along with me to lock up.
We made it to all of the parks without any problems. We pulled up to the last park, a little delirious because it was so late, and I got out of the truck to go lock the doors. As I stepped out, the truck started moving forward and I thought "Hmmm. That's funny. Why is that happening?" And then I realized "I didn't put the truck in park! WHO DOES THAT?!" The next few seconds were absolutely ridiculous as I tried to decide if I should jump back in and slam on the break or dive in head first and just use my hand while Colette did the shifting. I decided to jump back in, slam on the break, and put the truck in park. After a good round of laughter, I locked the bathroom and we headed back to the Service Center.
"Good thing we're done because I gotta pee." Colette told me as we drove back, still giggling about my blond moment. I parked the truck outside of the Service Center and reminded Colette to lock her door. I opened my door, locked it, and grabbed the keys. I shut the door and as I went to place the keys in the hiding spot, I realized I had grabbed the wrong keys! "Oh, boy, Jalayne. Really, you forgot to turn off the truck. Get back in and get the right keys and get outta here!" I thought to myself. As I reached for the handle I remembered that I had locked the door. Colette looked at me with an unforgettable expression of disbelief. "Colette..." I said, trying to laugh about my stupidity. "I locked the keys in the truck...and the truck is still running."
We laughed and laughed and laughed. Then through a fit of laughter I was able to say, "Who does that?" We continued to laugh and I answered my own question with "The same person who forgets to put the car in park when getting out!" We then laughed even harder.
After a good few minutes, we finally realized that we really had a problem and tried to decide what to do. "Who could help us?" we both wondered. Colette suggested our friend David, so she gave him a call. Once she explained what happened and they had a good laugh, Dave suggested calling the police. Luckily, I keep a phone book in my car so I called the police station and was informed that police officers no longer carry the equipment to unlock cars. David willingly drove down to the Service Center to help us out.
In the meantime, Colette reminded me that she still need to pee so she found herself a secret spot on CITY PROPERTY and relieved herself. After we had a good laugh about that one, David showed up. By this time I think I was pretty close to having lost all sanity. Dave looked at the ring of keys in my hand and asked "Isn't there a key on there that can get you into the building where there might be a spare key?" DOH! So I let myself into the building, into my boss's office (I was so nervous I thought I was going to pee my pants) and looked for a spare key. There wasn't a spare key to be found, so I grabbed a hanger from the closest and locked the door behind me. Once I was back to the truck, we looked through the tool box and found this:
We used the flat edge to pry the door partially open so that Dave could slip the hanger through the door and pop the lock. We had ourselves a good laugh and headed home. Once home, I praised my little hanger and was a little worried to share the story with my boss the next day.
Once at work, I looked for the opportune time to tell my boss about my moronic experience. He looked at me like I was a complete idiot and then showed me where the spare keys are kept. I ruined a hanger, but I certainly got a good story.
Who would have thought that this little hanger could save me so much trouble?
So maybe it's good that this job is ending and I can stop having embarrassing experiences. Maybe I'm better off sitting in a chair watching a movie or studying while a machine sucks out my plasma. It's a quick thirty bucks and I can't embarrass myself while doing it.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Yellowcard
Last night Julie, Jessie, and I had the opportunity to go to the Yellowcard concert at the Spectrum. It was an acoustic concert, which I have never experienced before, but it was very enjoyable. We had a wonderful time. It was Julie's first concert experience and Jessie's first non-country-music concert.
Patiently waiting for the doors to open (Yup, you counted right. I have five neck rolls in this picture)
Sportin' the general admission wrist bands
Attempting to hide the neck rolls
Our legs got too exhausted and we had to sit for a little while
Allred was the first act. He took a number of popular songs and put them all into one. I didn't know any of his original stuff so it was fun to listen to/sing along with the song combination.
Enjoying ourselves in between acts
Jason Reeves was the next act. His final song was "Someone, Somewhere". I hadn't heard any of his stuff before, but he wasn't too bad.
Jessie and I pondering the idea of "someone, somewhere".
And finally, YELLOWCARD!
Rockin' out between all the strangers
The music was awesome. I really enjoyed the acoustic versions of Yellowcard's music.
It was a hot, sweaty, squishy, loud concert. Being pushed up against strangers for three-four hours is quite the experience. I got conked on the head a few times by crowd surfers. I even got knocked to my knees at one point; but that's concerts for ya and experiences like those won't keep me from attending others. I enjoyed all of it and I hope Julie and Jessie enjoyed their experiences, too.
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