Dear SNOW in March...

YOU SUCK! I loath, loath, LOATH you. You couldn't have chosen a worse day to show up. You have officially accumulated on one of the worst days of my life, lightly falling on top of me eating a whole pizza by myself (breaking lent), bawling in my bedroom, and literally scarring my coworkers with my emotional instability. So thanks, I may not have realized just how bad things were without having to walk home in you while my ears bled from the cold.

March!

Dear March,

Thank you for bringing warmer winds, small blossoms, and lots of birthdays. I really DID feel the difference as I walked to work on Monday, and it was wonderful. I am trying not to be too terribly excited for Spring, but I sure hope you bring it to me. As a birthday gift?

Thanks again!

Rachel B

Valentines...

EVERYONE seems to be blogging about Valentines... so why not follow the crowd.

As one of my co-workers put it one I told him my plans (snowmobiling with my family), "Well that is not a very romantic Valentines weekend!"

But OH how I was able to think about LOVE. And not just lust, or all the gooby feelings I have for my Seanypoo, but honest-to-goodness REAL LOVE. And it hit my at some of the oddest moments...

As I'm getting suited up to go on my first snowmobile ride of the season, I couldn't help but be a little dis-heartened. I was assigned the weakest snowmobile that is older than poop. I'm sitting there talking out loud a little bit with my mom, OK I was complaining slightly, and I think my mom pointed out, that it would be a much nicer ride for ME when Sean was driving. Sean did not end up going, but about half way through the ride I realized that our 2 guests were on the best snowmobiles, and my dad was on one of the worst. My dad has the most experience; he also enjoys riding more than anyone I know; he should have been on the very best machine. He really was never thinking about himself, and although sometimes I may not fully understand what is going on, he is always looking out for ME and willing to sacrifice for ME. A father's love is something I was very much schooled in this weekend.


On this same ride I was easily cruising along (I really loved being on pinky and being able to enjoy the scenery) and I was REALLY enjoying the scenery. The trees were covered with snow, there was white all over, and it was just me and my thoughts. I really took this alone time to think about the greatness of God. What an amazing world He has created for us to enjoy in so many different ways. How awesome it is that He has given us a path to follow, and examples of those who have gone before us. If you have never been snowmobiling, then you have no idea how bumpy the path can be. Because you are riding on a white path surrounded by white snow, and traveling anywhere from 20-40 miles per hour, it is very difficult to tell where the path is flat and where it may be bumpy. Luckily I was second in line, and was able to see my dad hit all the bumps. As he led, it became easier for me to know when I could speed up, and when I needed to slow down. There were so many religious ties to one silly snowmobile ride, I could hardly stand it. Godly love was hard to miss.

And lastly, after the long drive home, I was flipping through channels waiting for the Olympics to come on, and chanced upon what I think was The Bachelor. In a mere 5 minutes of watching I witnessed a women decide to sleep with a man, who admittedly was in love with 2 other women, after years of dedication to only 1 man. Then I saw another women (in love with the same guy) explain how she simply could not stop thinking about him all the time, even when he was not there (aka dating other women. aka sleeping with other women!!!). Since it was just Sean and I home, I grabbed the remote and blabbed out, "That is called INFATUATION, not love." I looked at my husband, felt nothing but recognition, and realized that sometimes love is boring. Boring but so real. It was awesome to realize that not every second with Sean has to make my stomach flutter for me to know that I love him. I don't have to want to mac his face to know that he is the guy for me. And I don't have to fight for him, because he is already mine.

So all in all, no, Valentines wasn't the most romantic event of my life, but it definitely was full of love.

I've Never

Since our ward just split/changed... and we got a whole bunch of AWESOME new young women, we decided to play some get-to-know you games this Wednesday. I admit I went with a pretty surly attitude, not because of the changes or the new girls, but I had just kind of "had-it" with the day already. Of course I showed up and had a great time (like people keep telling me 80% of life is just showing up), but I was amazed as we played the "I've Never" game how many of my old standby's didn't work.

In case you've never played the game, you stand in a circle of sitting people, you say something you have never done, and anyone who HAS done that thing has to switch seats (hopefully you get one and someone else has to say something they have never done). As I played, I realized that a LOT has changed since I played the game in high school:

I've never broken a bone.......... still stands. Hope I never do.
I've never been to Paris............ went in 2004 and had an amazing time.
I've never kissed a boy..............OK I failed that one not-so-long-after my 16th bday.
I've never ridden a rollercoaster.... Devin Boyle made me go on almost everyone at Lagoon.
I've never swam in the ocean.......... I guess I've still never been in the Atlantic
I've never left the continent............ Obviously I went to Europe, and have been to Japan too.
I've never been (insert a year or two older than my current age)...... you just stop saying your age after 20, it is kind of weird.
I've never had a little sister...... still stands!
I've never been back East....... Chicago airport for 5 hours doesn't count. Still stands.
I've never killed a sibling........ not literally anyways (but this doesn't usually move too many people).
I've never not been born on Friday the 13th...... still stands but again... you just don't say your age.
I've never been skydiving........... but I watched Sam's video so that comes close enough for me.
I've never kissed a frog........... I really bet I did at least one time at Girls Camp, but I would never admit that during a game.
I've never been to Arches or Zion National Park....... Went to both in my first 2 years of marriage.

Anyways... it was rewarding to think of all the things I have done, and quite recently too. The YW came up with some that would never have hit my radar ... I've never been married; I've never had kids; I've never owned a car; I've never owned a home. It was really enabling to think on all I have done, and all the tonz of adventures I have ahead of me.

Da Bling

I LOVE RHINESTONE SUNGLASSES!!


I dunno what it is, but I think that all sunglasses look so much better with a little bling. Ok, I think all sunglasses look better ON ME with a little bling. The very first pair of sunglasses I owned were black, sleek, and had awesome rhinestones on the outside. I remember them very well because I wore them all around debate tournaments (which were inside highschools). There is something warming about that little shine that peeks out from your purse so that you always know where your sunglasses are. There is also something very re-assuring about knowing that not many people will actually try to walk off with your sunglasses. I have lived a couple years without them, but I was finally able to buy a pair with rhinestones, like the ones up above, and in some little way... I feel complete!


I think I will stick to my rhinestones, but if I ever start to get WAY out of line ---> Please let me know!

My House Won!!!

The votes are in!!! House number 3, which was MY house won with an astounding 4 votes. Dave's house was number one, it was also the one with retractable awnings and is 100% biodegradable. I think this was one of his first attempts ever at a gingerbread house so he will get the rookie award. Sean's house was house number 2. He claims that my house only won because it had a snowman... which really only means I am awesomely ingenious for putting a snowman on in my gingerbread lawn!! But because of Sean's snowman comment he receives no award, but has my undying love so that should count for something.


Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote. It really solidified my viewpoint of life.

The Wonder that is Black Friday

So I had NO idea how fun/exciting/amazing Black Friday is. Seriously. You get insane deals, you wake up early so you really aren't ruining anyone else's plans, and almost EVERYTHING you need will be on sale somewhere. People were actually really nice. The old lady at the Best Buy even told me how cute she thought my bead watch was and acted like it was no big deal to be working that morning. The lines are a little crazy and the stores always lie about when they are opening. The Target ad said 5. 5 am people! I did see a little tidbit about giving out bags to the first 100 people there at 4am (like a fool I thought we might possibly get one!!).
So we get in at 5 and I can't find the TV or the Xbox I was supposed to be buying. I was staring to think what a rip off this all was, until I found a bigger TV! I was on cloud nine even as I tried to carry a 50+ lb television with my bare hands across a bridge to the car (we eventually grabbed a cart)! Kim was a total star! Not only did she help me shuffle the TV through the 52 minute line, she was stoked to keep shopping!!! At one point I even took her car to unload so we could continue the madness at the Mall.

I think more than anything, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that there is NO annoying Xmas background music playing. It was so NICE to just sit in line, talk with people around you, and enjoy the "queue". Plus it is one of those days you can completely brace yourself for the crowds. You already know there is not going to be anyone who will help you. You already know you are going to have to circle the store 4 times to find a DVD or that special something. And you can usually bet that someone will eye the items in your cart and just maybe reach in. Plus it is early enough in the year you don't have any family telling you what they want; they just get whatever you buy that is on sale!

Maybe it was just because we were in a "smaller" area. Maybe it is because that "smaller" area has 2 Walmarts to distract the "hard-core" shoppers, but I had such a WONDERFUL Black Friday. I'm actually a little rue-full to shop on other days, the crowds are just annoying. :|

Gingerbread Contest

Please see the following Gingerbread Houses and leave a message with your votes. The creators of such magnanimous houses will remain anonymous until all the votes have been tallied (or until Jan 6). I will tell you that one of the houses has retractable awnings and is 100% biodegradable, but don't let that sway your vote!

Thanks

House 1:




House 2:



And House 3:



The whole Line-UP:


Note: all participants were give the same amount of supplies and had the same time limit (as long as you wanted!). No animals or people were severely hurt during the production of these miniature homes.

My Imperfectly Perfect Timed Vacation.

So I needed a break. If you can't tell by the fact that my blog currently focuses on a couch, my life is getting boring/work focused (cuz I refuse to blog about work... much). The swine flu has been running rampant in SF and I ended up being the grunt worker to stayed to help with what few vaccines we received at the clinic. Well by Wednesday (like two weeks ago) I realized I was going to be pretty darn close to 40 hours by like... Thurs afternoon. So Sean and I decided to pick up and head south.

Can I tell you how stressful it was to leave? And yet how perfectly timed it was for my stress level? I ended up skipping out on like 3 church events, the telephone system at work crashed while we were in the parking lot of Zions, and Sean wouldn't stop asking, " You're really going to answer your phone right now?". But it was wonderful!!! The gospel kept going, the people at work weren't even slightly miffed when I got back, and Sean and I had some really good together time. We did two awesome hikes:

First Angel's Landing. I really fun 4 mile round trip hike. You go up 22 switchbacks called Walter's Wiggles, and that isn't the hard part. I wish I had taken some better pictures, but you hold on to a chain and hike another .5 miles going up a very dangerous ridge. It is very cool but a little nerve wracking, not one you take the kids on.

Next day we went for Observation point. This is a pretty cool but not well known 8 mile round trip hike that takes you up to the rim of the canyon, and you look down on everything, and I mean everything. You get up past all the red rock into what I call the white layer and basically feel like you are on top of the earth when you are done. I'm not sure I would do it again, it was a little long for us at 3.5 hours (they estimated it would take 5 !!!). But it is fun to go through slot canyons and see some really sheer cliff face up close. Anyways, here are some pics. Angel's landing.






The Rim


Pointing out Angel's Landing from the Rim


Slot Canyon and Walter's Wiggles.

I Tried!

Ok, so I really tried to get pictures of the couch. And then I realized, RC Willey has pictures all over the web. So here is a link to our couch. Keep in mind that although it looks regular, it is 10.5 FT long! I realized just a couple of days ago we could have gotten a similar looking one for 100 cheaper which would take up less space, but oh well. Anyways we love the couch and will be keeping it when we move. If we move to Japan we will store it in SF, or we will have whoever is living in Gma's house take care of it (which makes me nervous). But I am really hoping to move soon. I know I haven't been here a terribly long time, but working full time is alot, and SF isn't exactly the most happining place. Sean has promised me that we will move next Fall no matter what, if all else fails and we don't get admitted to anything, we will pick a med school and try to get residency in that state! Really, I love a lot of things here, but can't wait to get out of this transitory state.

Which brings me to.. I think we really are going to try to move to Japan! We are looking at applications for teaching for a year and lets just say that I am super nervous, but willing to do whatever. I'm not sure it is any less of a transitory type job, but at least it is change, it is progression. We want to work in a city called Sendai because that is where Sean's family is (and lets face it, we feel good about not paying rent if possible). I think that I would be an awesome teacher in general, but am not sure how the Japanese people will take to some of my more outrageous teaching styles. My biggest concern is church. They don't have English speaking wards in this city (I mean they only have like 4 branches for over 1 mil people). Anybody got ideas of what possible calling I could have? I mean really. I wish for my own sake I knew how to play the piano, it is the only none speaking calling I can think of. Maybe the chorister... ???