Mistakes, I've Made a Few.

I’ve been doing some thinking about mistakes lately. Not because I’m dwelling on regrets or anything like that, but because I can’t help but do some reflection on the past year, it being the eve of my birthday and all. This past year has been a busy one for me. There’s been a lot of re-arranging, some overhauls, new beginnings, new arrivals, and some goodbyes. Reflection can be an interesting thing. It allows you to think about how you arrived at the spot you’re at and why. When I think about how I came to be where I’m at now, I think of mistakes, but in a good way. I have some feelings of regret sometimes for sure, but I’m really happy to have finally started to learn how to embrace my mistakes and be grateful for them. Man, I’ve made so many mistakes. But the good news is that I’ve really learned something from them, and the even better news is that I can start over every time. I didn’t used to think this way. My nephew, Isaac, has always been a really positive boy. When he was just a little guy, barely learning how to form complete sentences, one of his favorite things to say was, “You can do it. Try again!” He would say this whenever he or somebody else would try to do something but mess up in the process. “You can do it. It’s easy. Try again!” He would say that over and over. I love that he knew to say that at such an early age. Unfortunately, that simple concept of the “do over” is lost on some people. I know it used to be a notion that I wasn't able to understand. Luckily I have good people in my life that have taught me to appreciate the concept of the “do over.” ‘Cause like I said, I’ve made many mistakes and will continue to make them. I always seem to do things the hard way. But at least I can say I’ve learned some important lessons from the mistakes I’ve made. And I’m grateful for these lessons, big and small. I really am. To illustrate, here’s just a small sampling of my many landmark mistakes, some from this year, some from years long past. There are plenty more where these came from, but I’ll spare you from the extended version. Gosh, life is good.

Sample 1

Here I am circa 1994. I’ve made it super easy to locate me in this picture as I’m hoping the braces and Prince Valiant haircut may throw you off a bit. At any rate, this is a perfect image of myself before I stumbled upon the joys of eyebrow waxing. It is also before I realized that my secondary schooling experience would have been much more enjoyable had I been a little less into Kurt Cobain and Silverchair and a lot more into hair and make-up. Why am I the only one without claw bangs in this photo? Why am I wearing that long-sleeved plaid shirt? Why in the world did I participate in this pseudo family portrait in the first place? These are just a few of the questions my 14-year-old self should’ve been asking back in ‘94. Mistake.

Sample 2

See that utensil resting in my hand? That’s a fork. Yes, I am smiling, but what I really wanted to do was stab myself with said fork, making necessary a hasty trip to the ER, ‘cause I would’ve rather been on my way to the hospital than at that dinner for the remainder of the night. Am I being a bit dramatic? Maybe. Was my decision to spend my evening with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named at the wedding dinner from hell a mistake of epic proportions? Absolutely.

Sample 3

Question: Why did you allow me to walk around in public all of last summer with golden hair? I thought you people were supposed to be my friends. Blonde Monica = Mistake.

Sample 4

Here’s a side-view of what I look like after having spent 50 bones to wait in line for two hours only to experience the non-pleasure of viewing the shellacked insides of a rotten camel carcass. Mistake? Clearly.

Samples 5, 6, 7...

Any guesses? Only time will tell, people…only time will tell.

"Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."
- Vernon Sanders Law

Be Good for Something

Some girl with bleach-blond hair quoted Gordon B. Hinckley today. I'm grateful she shared his words, so I wanted to pass them along in case you haven't heard yet...


"You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others..."

Reunions

This week has been really great, 'cause I've been able to hang out with some old friends from school that I don't get to see nearly as much as I'd like. Spending time with good friends and going out to eat have to be two of my favorite things, so these two reunions were so much fun for me.

Celebrating Mark and Jer's Birthday. Bird and Jenny were there! Yeah! I haven't seen Bird and Jer in ages, so this was a great time. And take a look at those fried bananas sitting on the table...those were sooo good.

Emily's in town for Thanksgiving, so we decided to meet up for dinner. Here we are in Anthropologie trying on some awesome hats. Kinzie made some poor innocent bystander snap this photo of us. Ha! We're dorks. These girls are my best friends, and I loved every second I was with them. I'm so grateful for good friends, so I'm gonna have to gush for a second...Kinzie (on the left in the photo) is someone I can call anytime for anything. I usually end up calling her when I'm feeling really low, and without fail, by the time we're done talking, I feel 100% better. She's amazing. Then there's Lisa with her beautiful red hair. I don't think Lisa realizes how incredibly smart and talented she is. I've always admired her for being so calm and collected about things. She's a great friend. And then there's Emily who is so sweet and genuine. I've always been jealous at how she manages to make friends so effortlessly. Everyone loves her, 'cause she makes it so easy to do so...I wish she lived closer. Okay, sorry, I'm done gushing...for now.

Oh wait, one more thing...

Here's an old picture of Katie. I am so lucky to have this girl in my life. Katie, you were missed the other night...It wasn't the same without you.

Crazy 8's

Leesh tagged me! Yes! I’m sitting here at work, bored out of my mind, so making my lists was a good distraction from thinking about how much money I’m not making by sitting here, doing nada. You know, I consider myself a relatively private person, yet thoroughly enjoy sharing random pieces of trivia about myself whenever the opportunity arises. Hmmm.

8 Favorite Restaurants
1- Roosters
2- Union Grill
3- Hard Rock Café (for their desserts)
4- Ichiban (Their Dynamo roll is da bomb diggity)
5- Café Rizzo (only on Tamale Thursdays though)
6- Red Iguana
7- Atlantic Café
8- Caputo’s

8 Favorite TV Shows
1- Lost
2- Everyday Italian
3- Barefoot Contessa
4- Lost
5- Cosby Show re-runs
6- Dateline NBC
7- Lost
8- A&E’s Biography

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1- Woke up at 6 in the am
2- Drank a choco protein shake, compliments of Phil
3- Went to the gym
4- Tried to get through a couple articles on Layered and Differentiated curriculum. Ugh.
5- Went to work and caught up on all the latest O-Town goings on from GK.
6- Went to the Distribution Center. They hooked me up.
7- Went over to Maya’s and watched the boys for a couple hours…Maya was there, but I didn’t babysit her, she babysat me.
8- Went down to SLC and watched Eagle Eye…’ya know that one movie with the kid from Even Stevens. Unfortunately, the movie was über lame-o.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1- Finishing my paper for 6080
2- Pumpkin pie
3- Powder Mountain opening
4- Christmas Eve
5- Meeting with Carlee tonight
6- Jason, Melinda, Baby Boo, and Maria are coming to Utah for Christmas! Yeah!
7- Starting Practicum in the Spring
8- Watching Isaac, Luke, and Maya when they meet Isaiah for the first time (I already know what Baby Rock's reaction will be).

8 Wishes
1- Ruth would wake up tomorrow morning and feel perfectly healthy.
2- Phil could quit work and fulfill his dream of opening up his own gym/clinic…with Hughler as mascot, of course.
3- I could whistle.
4- I could do a back flip.
5- I could breathe underwater (without any equipment assisting me, I mean).
6- I could live in a beach house somewhere in Central America, with all my family and friends as next door neighbors.
7- I could have a pool in my backyard.
8- I could have a backyard of my own.

Mesa

I got back from Mesa this afternoon. My family and I went down there for the weekend. Our time there was short, and I wish we could've stayed for a little while longer. I was able to go through the temple for the first time on Saturday, so this trip was a special one for me. It was so great to be able to be in the temple on Saturday with my mom and dad, all my sisters, and my brother. They all sacrificed a lot to be down in Mesa with me. I love them all very much and couldn't have made this step without them. I'm a lucky girl, and my family blesses my life every day. I love the gospel. It makes me happy. It makes me work harder. I'm so grateful for the good friends and family I have. They remind me of all the goodness the gospel has to offer and remind me every day of the plan my Heavenly Father has for me. Here are some pictures from the trip. The shots I have outside the temple aren't the best. Johnny promised to send me the ones he took, so I'll be sure to post those if he was able to get a better view of the temple. Mesa has a beautiful temple. All of my extended family is down in Arizona, and a lot of them were able to be with me this weekend. I love Utah, and I've lived here for quite a while now. But I think I'll always feel like Mesa is my hometown...It definitely felt like home this past weekend.

Friday night dinner at my cousin Walt's...I love dinner table shots.

Walt trying to cajole little Cole.

Little Gracie, playing dress-up.

Maria and I with my beautiful Grandma Fidela.

Saturday outside the temple after the session. I'm not sure why Annie has one of her shoes off, haha! Jason and Leesh are missing...I missed you two!

Here I am with my my sisters and big brother.

Two of my best friends from school were there with me. I loved that these two were there! Karen's on the left...I met her my very first Summer at BYU. And Mary's on the right...I met Mary way back in high school when I was living in Morenci, AZ. Great friends.

Had to post this one of Melanie and Luke, 'cause they look so good together.

Grandma Fern with Baby Isaiah. My Grandma Fern's an angel.

Melinda with Baby Boo.

Here's Matt making his "crazy eyes" face in reaction to something someone must've said...And here is Maria's and my typical reaction to Matt's "crazy eyes" face.

Did You Know...

I'm usually in church during this time of day. But, lucky for you, today's stake conference, so I've decided to kill some time before the meeting by blogging. Here are a few little pieces of trivia that will no doubt leave you a better person after having taken them in. Enjoy.

Did you know...

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet!

I was on my school's track team in elementary school. Can you pick me out of the group?

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

Phil used to rock a stache back in the day.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

A few weeks ago, an ER nurse told me that I have what is known as vasovagal syncope. This past weekend my brother-in-law, Luke, was so kind as to let me know that this condition is also known as a blood-injury-injection phobia and is a fairly common phobia. I'm phobic!

Something else I learned this weekend--A circle around the moon means that it will snow soon.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have broken up...again. Lame.

I love to snorkel. Who doesn't, right?!

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

I used to have a pink futon in my living room.

40% of all people who come to a party in your home snoop in your medicine cabinet.

And finally, did you know that the strongest muscle in the body is the tongue?! Whoa.

T-Minus 10 Days and Counting...

Can't wait for Mesa...This trip is gonna be more awesome than 10 awesome things...Can't wait...

One of my favorite places in AZ...One of many...

Sunday Photos, Noviembre

Miss Mommy

Rocky

Taking turns with Baby Rock

Luke and Luke

Leesh

Trouble

Melanie and I...just Sunday chillin'...reading the latest engagement announcements...