Magical

When I was three years old my parents introduced me to the slopes and I started skiing. When I was a little girl I loved skiing through the trees. I loved the bumps and I felt like was going into my own little secret space. Sort of like a fort or a tree house, where only certain people can ski. As I got older and my skis got longer the bumps and quick turns of the trees began to be a little more difficult to navigate. I started to hate the trees and wondered why my little brothers always wanted to take me on the tree runs. This last week I had an awakening of my love for skiing through the trees. I found a run where my skis fit and didn't get caught so easy. It was amazing. Initially, your out skiing on the wide open slopes and you see and hear people all around you. Then, you ski into the trees and you can't see our hear anyone else and it is so peaceful and magical!

I love to ski! One of my "long-term goals" is to ski when I am 80. I have such a blast. This last weekend was no exception. I went to Grand Targhee with my family (we missed you Rich) and had a sweet ski trip. By the end of the 3rd day the powder was up to our knees and I had come to grips with the fact that my sisters are CRAZY! (I feel like an old lady watching them do their jumps, attempt flips and go SO FAST--I keep thinking "oh no they are going to get hurt") I can't even explain how much fun I had. The snow was amazing, the company was fantastic and the workout for my quads was beyond comparison. Every time I think about it I get really giddy and excited. Moral to the story: I am considering becoming a ski bum. Anyone want to join me?

Hold onto your green

Circuit City and this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad economy (I think I'll move to Australia)

On Friday night Rich and I read about the closing of Circuit City. The coorporate headquarters are in here in Richmond and it hits close to home. I know that on Monday (or maybe over the next few weeks) I'll see patients who come in with anxiety and depression about the loss of their jobs. I keep hearing about all the companies that are closing and I think it is sad and then move on. With circuit city I have been thinking about it more and wondering when it is all going to stop. I hate to be a pessimist, but I don't really see anyway that Obama will be able to fix it all. I hope he does, but I am nervous about the future.

Then I went over to Circuit City to see if they had a super deal on a TV with the liquidation sale (they didn't, which is good I really should be saving instead of spending). The place was PACKED I couldn't find a parking spot and the lines to the cash register where black fridayesque. I felt sort of guilty going there and seeing all the employees (who will be jobless in 2 mos). It reminded me of the part on You've Got Mail when she is having her going out of business sale and the place is packed (my favorite line: "let's bomb Fox Books"), and you wonder where were all these people before it was going out of business.

Also, while I was standing in line at the cash register there were these two 19ish emo guys behind me in line having a philosophical discussed about need vs greed (filled with colorful language to demonstrate how they really felt about it). They said they just wanted to go back to Bleeping native american teepee times where there wasn't all the bull*&^%. They were concerned with Americans bleeping building too much bleeping stuff just for the sake of building and it just went on from there (I can't remember everything else they said). I had to laugh at their conversation, because they were ALSO standing in the check out line to buy things that I am SURE they "needed" and there was no greed involved.

Week One

Richard begrudgingly reporting:

Well, we just got through the first full week of January, and it's been pretty busy already. I guess technically we've been through 11 days of the month, but whatever. So to start the week off right (last saturday) we finally bought our Subaru. Awesome! We love it, and it will last us for many years to come. I started school again, and it's going to be crazy busy. But it's looking pretty fun, too. Basically this week Heather and I went about business as usual, but this weekend we were pretty busy. On Satuday, Heather had a primary activity, which I've been told was quite enjoyable. I had a meeting for stake basketball, which we start next week. Luckily, I didn't have to do anything but watch a couple of cute little girls. Heather also washed her car, and it was a sad experience, because the thing only sprayed half the car with water, so she ended up with a soapy mess. Lucky for her, it rained later in the day. Then last night, we went to Yes Man, which was hilarious, but one that I cannot recommend in good conscience, because of an extremely dirty part. Anyway, I realize this is a boring post, but I would like to point you to my opening statement. Haha!

Nasal Discharge AKA Snot and Boogers

Two things on Nasal discharge:

#1 I have been wanting to post this for quite a while, but I am just barely getting around to it. There is a scene on Elf where Buddy asks Jovie to eat and he says, "you know the code." Everytime I have a patient say to me "I have green mucus," I feel like they are saying, "you know the code, this means I need an antibiotic.(with a wink to go along with it)" I would like to take this opportunity to say GREEN does not equal antibiotic. The only thing green means is that there are eosinophils and neutrophils in your mucus that have had time to sit. This could mean MANY different things...viral upper respiratory infection, viral sinus infection, bacterial sinus infection, or allergies. I post this as sort of a public service announcement to say: next time you have green mucus, give it some time, your body probably will be able to fight it off on its own (which will save you the cost of an antibiotic and future antibiotic resistance).

#2 When I was in Kindergarten I noticed that sometimes people in my class wouldn't stand by me in line or would only talk to me on certain days. I never understood why. Then when I was in 6th grade one of my friends (who had been in my kindergarten class) explained to me that everybody said I had cooties. I had allergies and always had green boogers and nobody wanted to catch my cooties. Luckily my parent shelled out the cash and I got allergy shots. I don't think I have cooties anymore.

Beautiful Utah Sun rise

My Brothers and Cousin Steven at Breakfast the day we left

Garrett Serenading Us

I was one of those obnoxious people that wakes up early on Christmas day and expects everyone else to be awake and cheerful.

This is the area at chicago that I thought we would spend Christmas eve.

Hey Sista!!

Lauren found this awful bike.

Christmas Eve

Dad

My sister, Lauren, and brother, Braden and Garrett on Christmas morning.

My mom and Dad Christmas Morning.

My Grandpa

Grandma and mom

The whole family (plus my cousin Steven) as breakfast, just before we loeft.

Jennie, Jordan and Lauren

Rich and i Christmas morning.

Just before we went skiing

White Christmas

When the nursing supervisor at might office came to me in October and told me they didn't have enough nurses to work the day after Christmas and they needed me to take the day off, I decided it was a Christmas Miracle (I didn't think there was anyway that I would be able to go home for Christmas the first year at my new job). Then when we made it through our layover in Chicago with only a two hour delay on Christmas eve, I decided it was Christmas miracle. Then I woke up to to snow on Christmas morning, I decided it was a Christmas miracle. So there are a lot of those going around this year.

We had a great time going to two family reunions, Celebrating Christmas Eve and Day with my family, shoveling snow at one of my dad's apartment complex, EATING, EATING and EATING, Skiing, going to the movies, and getting a GIANT pair of underwear from the family white elephant party and going to breakfast with my family the day we went home (since Jennie and Jordan were in Honduras this year for Christmas, this was only time we had together with the whole family.

Colonial Christmas

The week before Christmas we went down to Williamsburg with Richard's Parents. We stayed in the Williamsburg lodge and it was cool to see how they tried to make the rooms as colonial looking as possible (with still having the things you would want in a hotel room). They have candles in all the windows of the houses and hang fruit wreaths on the doors (which I learned is not actually a colonial thing and didn't begin until the 1930's, but it was still neat.)

They have lots of colonial type activities

We went to the illumination where they light the torches in front of all the houses.

This is the burning of the Yule Log.

These are the pieces holly that you touch to the yule log to wipe away your cares for the next year.

Then you burn your cares (or the Holly).

One of my favorite parts of the trip was hearing this guy speak.

He was the Pastry Chef at White House for 25 years. He told some of the funniest stories (some people just know how to tell a story well). He said that every president that came in to office said, I don't like sweets, but by the end they were always requesting his desserts. Then yesterday I was watching the today show and they were talking about the chef's for the Obamas and they said, "the Obamas hate sweets." Well if the new pastry chef is anything like the old one they will get over that in the next four years.

He really was fascinating, to the point that we bought his book of memoirs.