SURPRISE!

Imagine every spot on the street you can see from my house completely lined with cars.
Imagine my mom a week before her 70th birthday showing up to my house expecting a small "family dinner" and finding 90 unexpected friends and family members.
Imagine the planning and logistics of this party and more especially the gift given being a central part of my life for months, and I couldn't even mention anything about it on my blog in case my mom saw.

Last Sunday was the celebration of my mom's 70th birthday. I was more surprised than she when I realized that the secret of her party had been kept... no one gave it up (though we heard stories that night of a few who caught themselves just in time).

This is the day my sister and I had been waiting for-- not for the party itself, but to present my mom with this special gift we had been working on for months.

So, to begin: Here's the picture as the "SURPRISE" was yelled out














(my nephew Alex was a little traumatized by all the people in the house so he hid out in my room after this for much of the night... there were moments I wanted to do this as well. It was crazy. :)


And here's some of the food we enjoyed:













































Since my mom's birthday gift was the central part of the evening, here's the story behind it:

Last July my sister called me with an idea for my mom's birthday: we (meaning she) would make a quilt put together of squares contributed by many of my mom's friends and family. The squares people submitted could contain a simple quilting block, pictures, memories, quotes, or messages to my mom. I handled the logistics -- the inviting, collecting, etc, while Val did the creative part--the piecing together and quilting. Sadly we couldn't include ALL of her friends in the quilt as my mom is a very social person and knows far too many to include everyone, and I didn't have all her friends e-mail addresses. But we got a good sampling. We did end up with 70 squares representing her 70 years to this point.

The following pictures show her reactions as she opens the gift















Above is the "I'm just overwhelmed at how many people are here" reaction.















I guess we were having a good time.

And the gift is: (drum roll)...















(above) Getting a little emotional (not unexpected from my mom) as she realizes how many people have participated and what was done for her.















Finally realizing... "Why am I crying? This is a good thing."















Everyone else wants to see, too... They helped make it, after all.
















The quilt looked awesome. Val and the 69 others involved did an amazing job to create the gift of a lifetime... literally. Celebrating the central moments and many of the central people in my mom's life.















Alex loved the quilt too... but I don't think he quite understood the concept as we were folding it up. (No, Alex... it may look like one but it's not a Hammock)

And at the end of the evening we went bowling. (just can't get my mom away from those video games ;)











Happy Birthday, mom.

When Fall comes to New England...

Goal #27: Visit Maine in the Autumn. Check.




















Above: Nubble Lighthouse: Cape Neddick, ME















(This picture taken from the tower at Mount Auburn cemetary)

Several of my friends have moved to Boston over the past 5 years. Two remain, and I finally bought a ticket to visit them and the region of the United States that I have been most passionate about seeing. The result: A sudden understanding of why people are drawn to the area. It's beautiful! ...A city of history, education, sports, museums, beauty and good people. Though it's a big city it doesn't feel as crazy as New York or LA. There is an endless supply of places to visit and things to see, and it only leaves you wanting more. If my work allowed for a leave of absence (which it doesn't), I would probably move out for a few months next year. I guess I'll settle for a week-long visit again... hopefully next fall. It was the perfect time to go.

Dre (Andrea) and Shells (Shelly) took time out of their packed lives to spend the weekend with me. We went to Salem, Walden, Mount Auburn, saw some of the Head of the Charles rowing competition, and went to Trader Joe's (sure, it's a grocery store, but when I don't have one where I live it becomes my own idea of a good tourist trap). I saw all but one the main sites on the famous FreedomTrail in Boston (but didn't have my camera) and also went to Concord on my own.




















Shelly, Andrea, and I in front of (though you can't tell) the Boston LDS temple




















A slightly better picture of the temple















Dre and I in Salem with the customary Sox fan in the background
















Me at the Head of the Charles rowing competition















Walden Pond. I voted this my favorite spot of the year.

















I joined up with a couple new friends yesterday. Christie is Andrea's wedding photographer who was out here taking Dre's bridal pics, and I was reaquainted with Jen whom I had originally met when we both lived in Sugarhouse. We went to a beach town in Maine (Ogunquit) and another beachtown in Massachusetts (Rockport). The drive was amazing. The autumn colors were breathtaking, and we topped it off with a great lunch at a waterfront restaurant.





















At the beach in Rockport, MA

Thanks to Dre and Shells for taking me around and giving me a place to stay on a very comfortable air mattress. It was a fantastic and refreshing vacation.

Good times and more good times

I haven't posted anything here for a bit mostly because I haven't been online too much... so here are the key updates:

Last Saturday (September 27th) was a packed and fantastic day... I went to the farmer's market, then to the Bodyworlds exhibit downtown at the Leonardo. That was an amazing exhibit and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to gain a greater appreciation for just how miraculous the human body is. It was literally awesome. Then we went to eat at Settebello's, an authentic Italian pizza place downtown. It was excellent. Follow that with the General Relief Society broadcast including one of my favorite talks ever: the one on Happiness by President Uchtdorf. And last we had a combined birthday party for me, Christian, and Heidi and Loni (our birthdays are all within 5 days of each other). It was a great day. Here's the one picture I have from the day:















This weekend was general conference. I love conference weekend. I treat it as kind of an oasis. Sure, it's 8 hours of talks, but I don't have to get dressed up or go to church. I can hang out at home and listen to the talks. It was a very inspiring conference listening to the words of the prophets and apostles. I truly enjoyed it and was actually sad when it ended knowing it wouldn't happen again until next April. At least I can re-read and study these talks in the meantime.

A quarter, a nickel, and two pennies

Back in 2000-2002 I lived in the white house. Not the one in D.C., the one in Provo, UT. It was so titled because it was white... outside and in. White siding, white carpet, white tile, white cupboards, white walls.... WHITE. My time in the white house was awesome largely due to the amazing roommates I had there. One was Stephanie, and she taught 2nd grade at the time. She would explain to her students how old they were monetarily, in coins. So, when they were 7 years old, they were a nickel and two pennies, on their 8th birthday they were a nickel and three pennies. I turned 25 when I was there and she excitedly exclaimed "You're a quarter!" The sad aftermath is that every birthday since I've pointed out to myself how old I am in coins. Today I turned a quarter, a nickel, and two pennies. Not worth much... but it's a good life just the same.

It has been a very fun birthday so far, beginning with my roommates making an awesome breakfast for me, and then going to Red Robin for lunch (I love those fries, the bleu burger, and that birthday mud pie!), and I've received many happy birthday wishes, largely due to what apparently must be a birthday reminder on facebook (I'm going to have to sign up for that one). So, thanks everyone, for helping me to have such a great day. I don't expect much out of birthdays at this stage in life, so it's been a pleasant surprise to have such a good one.

Spending habits

I'm guessing that most people who know me and my spending habits consider me frugal and a bit of a saver (translation: cheap). I think they're right. Oh, but I do prefer the word frugal over cheap because really... I don't buy or like cheap stuff, I just save and don't buy anything until I can find something of the quality worth the money they're charging... AND it has to be a good deal.

Well, I just went through a few months of really being low on money and not purchasing much beyond the necessities because of 1) not receiving as much rent money because a roommate moved out, and 2) yardwork, high water bills, and other related summer expenses. So on August 1st I got a new roommate and a raise at work, and now that I'm starting to see that bit of additional money I've gone a little wild this week. I bought an eliptical machine (at below the retailer's cost though), ski boots (which, incidentally were only $9, regularly $385), and a Nintendo wii & wii fit (regular price... how did that happen? :( ), among other items.

Most people that know me are probably a little concerned right now. That's not typical behavior for me. But I assure you I'm doing all right, and I am well committed to going on a spending diet starting now! Really, I have nothing left to buy... I just got it all.

Jump!

I have no pictures to document it, no testimonials to quote that confirm it, but I finally successfully landed my first jump on a wakeboard last Saturday. Now, let's not go into the details of how high it was (or wasn't)... Let's just glory in the fact that I jumped on the wakeboard. And now all I want to do is go wakeboarding again to get better at it, but alas': it's the end of the season and sadly isn't too likely to happen again this year. :(
Oh, but the other good news is I also went wake skating for the first time. All in all it was one of my favorite boat trips. The water was so smooth. Thanks Mer and Mike for being so generous with your boat.

Back to Sane

My freshman year at Utah State University I was in a "career exploration" class. One of the class assignments was to take and be evaluated on a personality test. I remember taking the test and one of the results it specified was whether I was an introvert or an extrovert (meaning whether I get my energy from being alone or from being with other people). According to my answers I was smack in the middle. So, here's the deal: I definitely have to have time alone to collect my thoughts and simply do what I want at that moment. I enjoy this time. I derive good energy from it. And yet I also derive good energy from being with others... I absolutely love and need both (and either one in too much abundance can be draining at times).



So I've pondered today about how some people find enjoyment packing every minute of their lives full of things to do. Others prefer and do quite the opposite. It's always my intention to be somewhere in between the two extremes... Like, right in the middle wouldn't be so bad. Balance is what it's all about, right? Looking back at my Introvert/Extrovert test it makes sense.



My problem: Too often for my tastes I end up not making enough time for the simple moments of relaxed enjoyment, or the times when I can spontaneously do something because nothing is scheduled in its place, and I find myself doing a little more than I really have the energy for. It was interesting, though... This week felt completely packed. Between meetings, time with friends, service projects, errands, and boating trips, I didn't get home or done for the evening one day in the past week and a half before 10 pm. Yet I had the energy somehow to enjoy every bit of it. But now as I sit down today and realize that it's the first day in over a week that I've been able to take time to simply relax, I'm grateful. Glad for this time. So, I'm taking today to get back to feeling sane and finding the balance, and still reflect on a fantastic but busy week.



Below are the only two pictures I have from a fundraising event for the American Lung Association that some friends and I volunteered at on Thursday night. My roommate Cherissa was in charge of the major annual event. It's called "Night with the Stars" and is held at La Caille. It went quite well. I had a great time, and the food and location were fantastic. Oh, and at the silent auction I bought a gift certificate to go Tandem Paragliding. Hmmm. I guess I found my next adventure.

















So, as a side note I just looked back at my career exploration test results for the first time in many years. According to this test my interests were most in line with those who were satisfied working in the following occupations : Banking (Yep, I think that would be fun), Credit manager (check), Medical records technician (I'm good with that), Accounting (almost went into this), Bookkeeper (sure), Farmer... What? Wait a minute. Where did that come from?