Sometimes being single stinks, but not for the reason you would think. When you're a single girl people assume there is a "reason" ANY time you talk to a guy. Work, school, church, friends...it's like you can never have an innocent converstation again. There are assumptions attached to every converstation. And it's not just me. Friends, coworkers, roommates...we all have the same problem. Well, all of us who are single that is.
It's just really annoying. If my rommate texts a guy it's because they're friends. If I talk to a guy in the parking lot it's because we're friends! I wish people (and usually 'guy people') would stop assuming things. Stop looking for a story. Stop judging the situation.
Moral of the story: A girl and guy can be JUST FRIENDS! It's possible, trust me!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Shooting, Guns and Permits.
I have had a busy few weeks. Last week I went to a concealed firearms class to get my concealed firearms permit. Funny, I know. I don't really know if I plan on actually carrying a loaded gun concealed on me. I'm pretty sure I don't. However, I think it is a good idea to have a permit just in case. Now if I am traveling I can take and conceal in my vehicle a weapon. To me it is a safety precaution worth taking! Yesterday I went up to be BCI and had my fingerprints/photo taken and turned in all my paperwork. Now I just wait for my permit to come in the mail!
Since we're on the gun topic, I went shooting this weekend as well. Wyatt, me, Abderrahim, Meriam and Megan all got together and went up to West Mountain to shoot. I have been shooting 2 times before, but I like getting the practice (especially if I'm going to be an officer) and I think it's kind of fun! We shot several different kinds of guns. My favorite gun to shoot is the Glock 23. That's the kind of gun I want to buy for myself. We also shot a revolver, rifle, AK47 and shotgun. We had a great time and shot for about 2 hours. Here are examples of some of the guns we shot...
Here's a shotgun. This is a little different from the one we shot, but mostly the same.
Here is an AK47. I have NEVER shot one of these and didn't think I ever would. It was fabulous! So much fun!!
Since we're on the gun topic, I went shooting this weekend as well. Wyatt, me, Abderrahim, Meriam and Megan all got together and went up to West Mountain to shoot. I have been shooting 2 times before, but I like getting the practice (especially if I'm going to be an officer) and I think it's kind of fun! We shot several different kinds of guns. My favorite gun to shoot is the Glock 23. That's the kind of gun I want to buy for myself. We also shot a revolver, rifle, AK47 and shotgun. We had a great time and shot for about 2 hours. Here are examples of some of the guns we shot...
Here's a shotgun. This is a little different from the one we shot, but mostly the same.Here is an AK47. I have NEVER shot one of these and didn't think I ever would. It was fabulous! So much fun!!
Here is a revolver. I haven't ever shot one of these but I've totally wanted to. The one we shot was a little more "old school" but so fun!
Here is a Glock 23. This is the kind of gun I've shot the most and the kind of gun I want to buy. It's also the gun that the officers carry. I LOVE this gun and have yet to find anything bad with it. I know how to load it and shoot it and it's fabulous!
So I have had a busy week-- finding guns to buy, shooting different guns, getting a firearms permit. Busy, but worth it. Who knew I would love guns so much?!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Crazy Times...Literally!
Today I got paid to be a crazy person! =D
In the spring of this year I attended a fabulous training at our police department....CIT training. CIT stands for Crisis Intervention Team and it teaches police officers how to deal with 'Mental Health Consumers'. A mental health consumer is a person with a mental disease or illness, cognitive difficulties, mental retardation, etc. As part of the training we had the opportunity to go out in the community and talk to mental health consumers at day home centers, and we spoke to people in the mental hospital. We wore headsets for awhile and listened to a tape of what it would sound like if we heard voices (schizophrenic) and then tried to do basic tasks like read a story and remember facts, and hold conversations with people trying to get basic information from them while listening to the voices. It was a real eye-opener as to what people who deal with mental illness actually go through and I think it was fabulous as to teaching me how to better deal with these people in police-related incidents. On the last day of class we have the scenarios. We are given a toy gun and toy handcuffs and put in police situations where we're dealing with mental health consumers and have to put to work all the things we've learned during the week.
Fast forward to today. After you go through the training and are a certified CIT officer, you can help at the CIT trainings. So today I went up the canyon to the training site at 0730 to assist with the scenarios. They have 'actors' from Orem PD (we are the training site), Wasatch Mental Health, Vantage Point, NAMI (national alliance for mental illness) and Substance Abuse. All of the actors are given a task; some are actors in the scenarios, some are facilitators, some are watching for officer safety issues as an observer and others are watching for CIT actions as an observer. Today I was an actor. Our scenario was the party house. In our scenario we had a mom who was mildly mentally retarded, wheelchair bound and high on mehtamphetamines. We had a brother who was mentally retarded and antisocial. We had sister #1 (me) who was severly depressed and intoxicated from taking pills and huffing. We had sister #2 who was borderline, histrionic and hypersexual. And last but not least we had the 2 annoying neighbors. It was quite the scene. The officers (CIT trainees) were dispatched to a noise complaint and arrived at the house to find the neighbors yelling, loud music, sister #2 dancing provacitivly in the window, the mother wacking people with her cane and purse, the brother refusing to leave the moms side and yelling at the neighbors and sister #1 (me) half passed out in a chair with 'glue' (whi board cleaner) and gasoline (lighter fluid) next to me and a pocket with a pill bottle full of 'pills' (breath mints). I know, alot to take in, right?
It was fun to act crazy. I basically got to just sit in my chair and 'pop pills' while huffing. In other words, I ate about 30 breath mints in 2 1/2 hours (talk about being a little sick to your stomach), breathed into a clean rag pretending to huff (good thing I have a gross cough to help me play the part) and talk up a big "woe is me" story while calling my brother and sister some fabulous but slightly derogatory names. (Don't judge me. It was for the good of training. We needed the scenarios to be realistic.) The officers rotated through and handled the situation as best as possible while trying to deal with the mental health consumers on a level they'd understand. After about 20 minutes they'd call the end of the scenario and we'd all get together and talk about issues and things that were done right or could have been done better. It is an amazing training and I'm glad I got to take the training and also be a part of helping to train other officers. I think it's probably the best training I've ever been to with the department (and that's saying alot because we have to do AT LEAST 40 hours of training a year).
So today I acted crazy, helped train some officers, got paid and had a really good time. Man, I never knew these types of opportunities would be available to me when I got hired on with Orem. I am more grateful for my decision to apply and their decision to hire me each and every day. I wouldn't work anywhere else! =D
In the spring of this year I attended a fabulous training at our police department....CIT training. CIT stands for Crisis Intervention Team and it teaches police officers how to deal with 'Mental Health Consumers'. A mental health consumer is a person with a mental disease or illness, cognitive difficulties, mental retardation, etc. As part of the training we had the opportunity to go out in the community and talk to mental health consumers at day home centers, and we spoke to people in the mental hospital. We wore headsets for awhile and listened to a tape of what it would sound like if we heard voices (schizophrenic) and then tried to do basic tasks like read a story and remember facts, and hold conversations with people trying to get basic information from them while listening to the voices. It was a real eye-opener as to what people who deal with mental illness actually go through and I think it was fabulous as to teaching me how to better deal with these people in police-related incidents. On the last day of class we have the scenarios. We are given a toy gun and toy handcuffs and put in police situations where we're dealing with mental health consumers and have to put to work all the things we've learned during the week.
Fast forward to today. After you go through the training and are a certified CIT officer, you can help at the CIT trainings. So today I went up the canyon to the training site at 0730 to assist with the scenarios. They have 'actors' from Orem PD (we are the training site), Wasatch Mental Health, Vantage Point, NAMI (national alliance for mental illness) and Substance Abuse. All of the actors are given a task; some are actors in the scenarios, some are facilitators, some are watching for officer safety issues as an observer and others are watching for CIT actions as an observer. Today I was an actor. Our scenario was the party house. In our scenario we had a mom who was mildly mentally retarded, wheelchair bound and high on mehtamphetamines. We had a brother who was mentally retarded and antisocial. We had sister #1 (me) who was severly depressed and intoxicated from taking pills and huffing. We had sister #2 who was borderline, histrionic and hypersexual. And last but not least we had the 2 annoying neighbors. It was quite the scene. The officers (CIT trainees) were dispatched to a noise complaint and arrived at the house to find the neighbors yelling, loud music, sister #2 dancing provacitivly in the window, the mother wacking people with her cane and purse, the brother refusing to leave the moms side and yelling at the neighbors and sister #1 (me) half passed out in a chair with 'glue' (whi board cleaner) and gasoline (lighter fluid) next to me and a pocket with a pill bottle full of 'pills' (breath mints). I know, alot to take in, right?
It was fun to act crazy. I basically got to just sit in my chair and 'pop pills' while huffing. In other words, I ate about 30 breath mints in 2 1/2 hours (talk about being a little sick to your stomach), breathed into a clean rag pretending to huff (good thing I have a gross cough to help me play the part) and talk up a big "woe is me" story while calling my brother and sister some fabulous but slightly derogatory names. (Don't judge me. It was for the good of training. We needed the scenarios to be realistic.) The officers rotated through and handled the situation as best as possible while trying to deal with the mental health consumers on a level they'd understand. After about 20 minutes they'd call the end of the scenario and we'd all get together and talk about issues and things that were done right or could have been done better. It is an amazing training and I'm glad I got to take the training and also be a part of helping to train other officers. I think it's probably the best training I've ever been to with the department (and that's saying alot because we have to do AT LEAST 40 hours of training a year).
So today I acted crazy, helped train some officers, got paid and had a really good time. Man, I never knew these types of opportunities would be available to me when I got hired on with Orem. I am more grateful for my decision to apply and their decision to hire me each and every day. I wouldn't work anywhere else! =D
Monday, September 15, 2008
My grandparents 50th wedding anniversary!!
This weekend we spent celebrating my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. It was such a fabulous weekend! My grandparents, all of their kids and all of the grandkids got together at a cabin in Sundance. It was a beautiful cabin. It was HUGE!! It had 3 stories, about 8 bedrooms, huge decks, a great view, huge areas for the family to gather and so many other fabulous qualities. It was incredible!
We all went up on Saturday afternoon. We gathered throughout the night and spent that night just talking and playing games. We also took family pictures that night, but they're on my grandpa's camera so I'll have to wait to post them. We had a great BYU catered dinner and just hung out and had fun. On Sunday, we all woke up early and had muffins and juice for breakfast. Then a huge group of us went and hiked Stewart Falls. I have never hiked it before so I was very excited and it turned out to be very worth it. The falls are beautiful! We went in the morning too so it was perfect weather and it was just great. There was a small accident on the way...actually a few. Meriam was hiking a steep part right in front of me and kicked a rock loose that fell right when I stepped. I stepped on the rock and rolled my ankle off it causing injury. It was a rough hike back out and now a fabulous looking ankle brace, but nothing too traumatic. Sami also got hurt on the hike--he was hiking down a steep part and the loose rocks we were walking on gave out and he slipped twisting his knee. He's had problems with that knee before so it hurt him pretty good, but again, nothing too traumatic. The last injury(ies) happened on the way out. I was so concerned with my ankle pain, and Meriam was so concerned with me, that we both failed to notice the stinging nettle on the side of the trail and both repeatedly ran our hands through it. We got off the mountain with "sausage fingers". Our fingers were swollen and itchy and red. We washed them really good however and the swelling and redness was gone by the end of the night.
After hiking we went back and had brunch at the cabin. We hung out with the family for awhile and then had a church meeting. My grandpa told the story about what he thought when he got cancer and some other stories from his life. It was so touching. We then gave my grandparents their presents and then played a game. It was just a huge bonding day and it was fabulous. The day ended with a hoagie dinner and then more games and bonding. It was an amazing weekend and I'm glad I was able to go. My whole family was there--all 31 1/2 (the baby-to-be) of us--33 including Aunt Elaine (grandma's sister). We were all able to get work off and spend the whole weekend together. I love my family and I'm so glad we had this chance to get together and catch up on what's been going on.
I'm so grateful for my grandparents. They love me so much. They are the best examples to me. They never judge, they love unconditionally, they put others in front of themselves, they are willing to help their family whenever needed, they taught me how to love others, they share their testimonies through words and actions, etc etc etc. Without their examples I wouldn't be the person I am today. I love them so much! Happy 50th Anniversary!!
We all went up on Saturday afternoon. We gathered throughout the night and spent that night just talking and playing games. We also took family pictures that night, but they're on my grandpa's camera so I'll have to wait to post them. We had a great BYU catered dinner and just hung out and had fun. On Sunday, we all woke up early and had muffins and juice for breakfast. Then a huge group of us went and hiked Stewart Falls. I have never hiked it before so I was very excited and it turned out to be very worth it. The falls are beautiful! We went in the morning too so it was perfect weather and it was just great. There was a small accident on the way...actually a few. Meriam was hiking a steep part right in front of me and kicked a rock loose that fell right when I stepped. I stepped on the rock and rolled my ankle off it causing injury. It was a rough hike back out and now a fabulous looking ankle brace, but nothing too traumatic. Sami also got hurt on the hike--he was hiking down a steep part and the loose rocks we were walking on gave out and he slipped twisting his knee. He's had problems with that knee before so it hurt him pretty good, but again, nothing too traumatic. The last injury(ies) happened on the way out. I was so concerned with my ankle pain, and Meriam was so concerned with me, that we both failed to notice the stinging nettle on the side of the trail and both repeatedly ran our hands through it. We got off the mountain with "sausage fingers". Our fingers were swollen and itchy and red. We washed them really good however and the swelling and redness was gone by the end of the night.
After hiking we went back and had brunch at the cabin. We hung out with the family for awhile and then had a church meeting. My grandpa told the story about what he thought when he got cancer and some other stories from his life. It was so touching. We then gave my grandparents their presents and then played a game. It was just a huge bonding day and it was fabulous. The day ended with a hoagie dinner and then more games and bonding. It was an amazing weekend and I'm glad I was able to go. My whole family was there--all 31 1/2 (the baby-to-be) of us--33 including Aunt Elaine (grandma's sister). We were all able to get work off and spend the whole weekend together. I love my family and I'm so glad we had this chance to get together and catch up on what's been going on.
I'm so grateful for my grandparents. They love me so much. They are the best examples to me. They never judge, they love unconditionally, they put others in front of themselves, they are willing to help their family whenever needed, they taught me how to love others, they share their testimonies through words and actions, etc etc etc. Without their examples I wouldn't be the person I am today. I love them so much! Happy 50th Anniversary!!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Please Remember. September 11
I hope we all remember the sacrifices made on September 11. I hope we all remember to be grateful every day for what we have. I hope we remember those serving our country and sacrificing everything to keep us safe and to make sure our freedoms remain ours. Thank you!
God Only Cries For The Living
On an icy road one night
A young man loses his life
They marked the shoulder with a cross
An' his family gathers round
On a piece of Hallowed ground
Their hearts are heavy with their loss
As the tears fall from their eyes
There's one who'll always sympathise.
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are left to carry on
An' all the angels up in Heaven
They're not grieving because they're gone
There's a smile on their faces
'Cause they're in a better place than they've ever been, oh
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are so far from home.
It still makes me sad
When I think of my Grand-dad
I miss him each and every day
But I know the time will come
When my own gradnson
Wonders why I went away
Maybe we're not meant to understand
Till we meet up in the Promised Land.
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are left to carry on
And all the angels up in Heaven
They're not grieving because they're gone
There's a smile on their faces
'Cause they're in a better place than they've ever been, oh
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are so far from home
Yeah, we're so far from home.
God Only Cries For The LivingOn an icy road one night
A young man loses his life
They marked the shoulder with a cross
An' his family gathers round
On a piece of Hallowed ground
Their hearts are heavy with their loss
As the tears fall from their eyes
There's one who'll always sympathise.
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are left to carry on
An' all the angels up in Heaven
They're not grieving because they're gone
There's a smile on their faces
'Cause they're in a better place than they've ever been, oh
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are so far from home.
It still makes me sad
When I think of my Grand-dad
I miss him each and every day
But I know the time will come
When my own gradnson
Wonders why I went away
Maybe we're not meant to understand
Till we meet up in the Promised Land.
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are left to carry on
And all the angels up in Heaven
They're not grieving because they're gone
There's a smile on their faces
'Cause they're in a better place than they've ever been, oh
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are so far from home
Yeah, we're so far from home.
Crazy Night!
Tonight was such a crazy night. We had so much fun! Nicole, Megan and I were home all night together. Abderrahim and Meriam also stopped by to visit. To start the night we all went to Red Robin to eat...Ryan works there so we went to support him and let him serve us. I had never eaten there but it was fantastic and we had a great time! After we came home and the cousins left we got a little crazy!
We decided to take pictures of ourselves...because we all look so cute... It's kind of a sideways picture because I was laying on the couch behind Meg and Cole who were sitting on the floor.
And then we got silly. We are NOT serious for very long. It is very rare to not have someone laughing in our apartment. We are all just so funny...
And then not only did we get silly, but we got crazy. We were supposed to make funny faces. Cole looks mad, Meg looks like a fish, and I don't know what I look like but it's not pretty!
Megan trying to make us feel bad for her...I don't remember why. She is pretty good at the pouty face though, I'll give her that much!
Meg put her face right in front of the camera and wouldn't move, so what did I do?? Take a picture. This is Megan up close and personal!
Megan and Nicole hated this picture, but I think they look so cute! I love my roomies!
They finally decided to take a normal happy picture. I was luckily the photographer so I saved you all from having to see what I looked like today...not pretty, trust me!
And as soon as the serious picture was snapped this happened. I told you, we're not serious for long! So funny.
We decided to take pictures of ourselves...because we all look so cute... It's kind of a sideways picture because I was laying on the couch behind Meg and Cole who were sitting on the floor.And then we got silly. We are NOT serious for very long. It is very rare to not have someone laughing in our apartment. We are all just so funny...
And then not only did we get silly, but we got crazy. We were supposed to make funny faces. Cole looks mad, Meg looks like a fish, and I don't know what I look like but it's not pretty!
Megan trying to make us feel bad for her...I don't remember why. She is pretty good at the pouty face though, I'll give her that much!
Meg put her face right in front of the camera and wouldn't move, so what did I do?? Take a picture. This is Megan up close and personal!
Megan and Nicole hated this picture, but I think they look so cute! I love my roomies!
They finally decided to take a normal happy picture. I was luckily the photographer so I saved you all from having to see what I looked like today...not pretty, trust me!
And as soon as the serious picture was snapped this happened. I told you, we're not serious for long! So funny.After all of our photo shoots, we were wondering what to do. We were going to go watch a movie when the guys came adn invited us to go night swimming. It was SO FUN! I love the guys we're friends with. They make up the funnest games and we had a blast. Swimming, hot tubbing, "I'm in the middle", Marco-Polo, whirl pool, and foam beards. It was a fun night, but very, very crazy!
Monday, September 8, 2008
I love my family!
I love my family. I don't ever see enough of them due to work and church activities and sleep etc, etc, etc. I have noticed more and more lately (and especially in this last year that I've been living on my own) how much I love my parents, and how much they do for me and how much they love me. I haven't always gotten along with my siblings, as I'm sure most people have experienced, but we're friends now. I am lucky enough to live with Jessie and I love it. I am just really grateful for my family!
We took family pictures last Thanksgiving. I know I've posted a few of the pictures before, but I think all the ones today are new ones that nobody has seen yet.
I really love this picture. I think it turned out really well. Jessie and I took quite a few pictures together (the first ones we've taken in about 5 years) and I love them. I am so lucky that my sister is my roommate and also my best friend!
Here is another picture of Jessie and I. We were trying to give "come hither" looks. My look turned out not so good. I was trying not to laugh. But Jessie looks amazing. I seriously think this is one of my favorite pictures that we took!
Another picture of us with my dad. This is like the only one where we were all actually looking at the camera. Don't mind that my dad isn't smiling. We were freezing and caught off guard.
My mom is amazing! And I love this picture. I think she looks beautiful! And Jessie looks so good in this picture too. I wish I looked better in these pictures. But standing next to these two hotties helped me to look a little better!
And here is a picture of me with my siblings. Rickey and Russell look less than amused to be having their pictures taken. But I think that us girls look pretty good. Don't mind how long and unmanagable my hair is. It got even longer than this before I cut it off this spring. And for those of you who haven't met/seen my sister-in-law Mari, she is the one sitting between Jessie and I. (As you've probablu figured out.) These were actually the first family pictures with her...they'd been married 2 1/2 years at this point...but we are all so busy. I think it's a good picture of us. I have some great friends in my siblings!
We took family pictures last Thanksgiving. I know I've posted a few of the pictures before, but I think all the ones today are new ones that nobody has seen yet.
I really love this picture. I think it turned out really well. Jessie and I took quite a few pictures together (the first ones we've taken in about 5 years) and I love them. I am so lucky that my sister is my roommate and also my best friend!
Here is another picture of Jessie and I. We were trying to give "come hither" looks. My look turned out not so good. I was trying not to laugh. But Jessie looks amazing. I seriously think this is one of my favorite pictures that we took!
Another picture of us with my dad. This is like the only one where we were all actually looking at the camera. Don't mind that my dad isn't smiling. We were freezing and caught off guard.
My mom is amazing! And I love this picture. I think she looks beautiful! And Jessie looks so good in this picture too. I wish I looked better in these pictures. But standing next to these two hotties helped me to look a little better!
And here is a picture of me with my siblings. Rickey and Russell look less than amused to be having their pictures taken. But I think that us girls look pretty good. Don't mind how long and unmanagable my hair is. It got even longer than this before I cut it off this spring. And for those of you who haven't met/seen my sister-in-law Mari, she is the one sitting between Jessie and I. (As you've probablu figured out.) These were actually the first family pictures with her...they'd been married 2 1/2 years at this point...but we are all so busy. I think it's a good picture of us. I have some great friends in my siblings!Blessed with friends!
I have some of the best friends ever. We have been so blessed the past few semesters to have amazing people in our ward and living in our apartment complex. We have never been lacking friends and it's fabulous. Now that I am on day shift I have been able to take even more opportunities to hang out with my friends. Just last night we hung out, played games, ate brownies (mmmm...) and just had fun. I borrowed a few picutres of my friends off Jessie's facebook. These are from when they went to the Owlz game...I wasn't there because I was working my last grave shift.
Here is Cordell, Aaron, Brad, Megan and Jessie. These guys are seriously so funny and always good for entertainment. They are also very good friends and would help us with anything! (They also make VERY good brownies! =D)
This is Kevin and Marc. We've known Marc for a few semesters but this is our first semester being friends with Kevin. They crack me up and are such good guys.
This picture is of Aaron, Marc, Kevin, Cordell, Jessie, Megan, Hailey, Hailey's friend (I don't know her name) and Brad. (All of these guys live together except for Brad...but he used to live with them. They've kind of switched back and forth the past few semesters) We seriously do have amazing friends and I am loving every opportunity to hang out with them!
Here is Cordell, Aaron, Brad, Megan and Jessie. These guys are seriously so funny and always good for entertainment. They are also very good friends and would help us with anything! (They also make VERY good brownies! =D)
This is Kevin and Marc. We've known Marc for a few semesters but this is our first semester being friends with Kevin. They crack me up and are such good guys.
This picture is of Aaron, Marc, Kevin, Cordell, Jessie, Megan, Hailey, Hailey's friend (I don't know her name) and Brad. (All of these guys live together except for Brad...but he used to live with them. They've kind of switched back and forth the past few semesters) We seriously do have amazing friends and I am loving every opportunity to hang out with them!Saturday, September 6, 2008
Birthday Celebrations
Yesterday we celebrated Meriam's and Selea's birthday. I know, I know, you are all thinking what a great cousin I am. Here's the part that makes me a little less great than you're thinking...Meriam's birthday was in June and Selea's was the first week of August. Yes, I know this is the second week of September. I was a little delayed in celebrating. But I took them out to dinner last night at Pizza Factory and we had a great time! I always love spending time with them and it was fun because Selea is driving now so that brings a whole new load of stories! I'm glad I was able to spend some time with them and just hang out. Very fun!
So slacker me forgot my camera at dinner, but I did find these picutres of Meriam and Selea that I thought were cute so I figured I would post them. We had girl sleepover with these 2, Jessie, me and Marren (our 8 year old cousin) in January and had a great time. This picture was taken in my car just before I sold it. I think they look so cute!
Here is Selea who was willing to pose for any picture! That's one of the things I love most about her...she definately isn't shy. She is so outgoing and so funny. And now she's 16 and driving and a junior in high school. I seriously can't believe it!
Here's the best one I had of Meriam from that day. I know I have a ton more of her but I couldn't find them. Meriam is kind of opposite of Selea in that she's pretty quiet until she knows you and sometimes she likes just hanging in the background. I remember the day Meriam was brought home from the hospital and how excited we were. We were waiting at my grandmas house and right away all Jessie and I wanted to do was feed the new baby. I'm so glad that we are such great friends. And Meriam is a sophomore in high school this year. I can't believe it! She's studying to get her driving permit and she's going to football games and dances. It's crazy!
We had such a great time, and even though I was VERY late in celebrating I do love these girls and wish them the best year ever. I'm glad that we are cousins and I'm even more glad that we are friends! P.S. Jessie would have been there and would have celebrated with us, but she was buying a new car...so she was slightly occupied. But we love her too! =D
So slacker me forgot my camera at dinner, but I did find these picutres of Meriam and Selea that I thought were cute so I figured I would post them. We had girl sleepover with these 2, Jessie, me and Marren (our 8 year old cousin) in January and had a great time. This picture was taken in my car just before I sold it. I think they look so cute!
Here is Selea who was willing to pose for any picture! That's one of the things I love most about her...she definately isn't shy. She is so outgoing and so funny. And now she's 16 and driving and a junior in high school. I seriously can't believe it!
Here's the best one I had of Meriam from that day. I know I have a ton more of her but I couldn't find them. Meriam is kind of opposite of Selea in that she's pretty quiet until she knows you and sometimes she likes just hanging in the background. I remember the day Meriam was brought home from the hospital and how excited we were. We were waiting at my grandmas house and right away all Jessie and I wanted to do was feed the new baby. I'm so glad that we are such great friends. And Meriam is a sophomore in high school this year. I can't believe it! She's studying to get her driving permit and she's going to football games and dances. It's crazy!We had such a great time, and even though I was VERY late in celebrating I do love these girls and wish them the best year ever. I'm glad that we are cousins and I'm even more glad that we are friends! P.S. Jessie would have been there and would have celebrated with us, but she was buying a new car...so she was slightly occupied. But we love her too! =D
Friday, September 5, 2008
Car Show
Last week we went to a car show at the One Man Band in Spanish Fork. My uncle owns the resturaunt so we always go out to support his events. We had a great time. Tons of the fam was there and we played and ate and just enjoyed ourselves. Great food, amazing cars, fun music and prizes. If you've never been to the One Mad Band I would totally recommend it. (Shameless plug, I know.) It's just a fun diner experience!
Here is a picture my dad took of Jess, Meriam and me at the dinner. Don't worry about how awful I look. I had just gotten up-- I had worked a super-long grave shift and then went to the doctors so I was lacking a little sleep. I think it's funny that we are all wearing whi/red. We didn't even plan that. I guess great minds think alike!
Side note...after the dinner was over I came home and had to go meet with the Bishop. I was given a calling and I'm now the Visiting Teaching Coordinator. I'm not quite sure what that means I'm supposed to be doing, but it's not a Sunday calling (I work on Sundays) so I guess that's good.
Here is a picture my dad took of Jess, Meriam and me at the dinner. Don't worry about how awful I look. I had just gotten up-- I had worked a super-long grave shift and then went to the doctors so I was lacking a little sleep. I think it's funny that we are all wearing whi/red. We didn't even plan that. I guess great minds think alike!
Side note...after the dinner was over I came home and had to go meet with the Bishop. I was given a calling and I'm now the Visiting Teaching Coordinator. I'm not quite sure what that means I'm supposed to be doing, but it's not a Sunday calling (I work on Sundays) so I guess that's good.
Birthday Pics
So these are only a month late! Here are the rest of the pictures from Megans birthday lunch.
In case you didn't notice the arm on the side of this photo...I cropped myself out! (Trust me, it's better this way). In the picture is Nicole, Megan, Brenda and Jessie. All but Brenda are my roommates!
Here is the whole group. Ladon, Jed, Abderrahim, Emily, Seth, Nicole, Katie, Aaron, Me, Megan, Brenda, Bekah, Jessie, baby Shad and Heather. We had such a great time!
Here are the boys and Bekah. It was fun to see Bekah because she left for school in California just a few days after this.
Here is Heather. She lives in Cedar City so it was great to see her too! Also, just a little tid-bit...Heathers dad is the Chief of police...aka...my boss! It's kind of funny to me.
Another cropped picture. This one's better without me too! Here is Megan, Brenda and Jessie. I love that Jessie makes non-serious faces in SO many of her pictures.
The birthday girl and Brenda. Aren't the so cute?
And last but not least Jessie, Heather (and baby Shad's arm). We had such a fun night getting together with old friends and just enjoying ourselves. I think overall Megan had an amazing birthday! And I have to say I had a good time too!
In case you didn't notice the arm on the side of this photo...I cropped myself out! (Trust me, it's better this way). In the picture is Nicole, Megan, Brenda and Jessie. All but Brenda are my roommates!
Here is the whole group. Ladon, Jed, Abderrahim, Emily, Seth, Nicole, Katie, Aaron, Me, Megan, Brenda, Bekah, Jessie, baby Shad and Heather. We had such a great time!
Here are the boys and Bekah. It was fun to see Bekah because she left for school in California just a few days after this.
Here is Heather. She lives in Cedar City so it was great to see her too! Also, just a little tid-bit...Heathers dad is the Chief of police...aka...my boss! It's kind of funny to me.
Another cropped picture. This one's better without me too! Here is Megan, Brenda and Jessie. I love that Jessie makes non-serious faces in SO many of her pictures.
The birthday girl and Brenda. Aren't the so cute?
And last but not least Jessie, Heather (and baby Shad's arm). We had such a fun night getting together with old friends and just enjoying ourselves. I think overall Megan had an amazing birthday! And I have to say I had a good time too!Monday, September 1, 2008
Labor Day
I love holidays...sometimes. When I don't have to work holidays aren't so bad. When I do have to work they still aren't so bad, I just gear myself up for a busy shift. Some holidays are quieter than others, but holidays like Labor Day are usually very busy. (Lot's of traffic!) I came to work today at noon (working until 10pm) and it has been SO SLOW!! I can't believe it. I didn't bring a book or magazine or movie or anything with me. I was expecting to not have time to enjoy it and now I'm stuck here with nothing to do other than blog. (Hence this being third post today...=D)
I am happy to be on day shift though. Because of our shift change (mine being from grave to day) I had 6 scheduled days in a row. Now many of you make think that isn't too bad...most people work 5 days in a row, but I work 10 hour shifts...so 6 10 hour shifts in a row is alot. Trust me. And the first half were graves and this second half "early swings" so I am definately feeling a lack of sleep. Today I have been almost grumpy just due to my lack of sleep and slight annoyance at being at work again. (Eating did help me feel better though! =D)
So here's my labor day. I hope you all were able to get out and do something fun. Labor Day is always a fun holiday because it usually means camping or family barbeques or something fun! The weather seems perfect--not too hot and not raining. I wish I were outside to enjoy it. I'm just looking forward to my 3 day weekend coming up (my "weekend" being Wed-Fri). I'm definately going outside and going to enjoy myself and this beautiful fall-like weather!
I am happy to be on day shift though. Because of our shift change (mine being from grave to day) I had 6 scheduled days in a row. Now many of you make think that isn't too bad...most people work 5 days in a row, but I work 10 hour shifts...so 6 10 hour shifts in a row is alot. Trust me. And the first half were graves and this second half "early swings" so I am definately feeling a lack of sleep. Today I have been almost grumpy just due to my lack of sleep and slight annoyance at being at work again. (Eating did help me feel better though! =D)
So here's my labor day. I hope you all were able to get out and do something fun. Labor Day is always a fun holiday because it usually means camping or family barbeques or something fun! The weather seems perfect--not too hot and not raining. I wish I were outside to enjoy it. I'm just looking forward to my 3 day weekend coming up (my "weekend" being Wed-Fri). I'm definately going outside and going to enjoy myself and this beautiful fall-like weather!
Cynicism...
The more I've been thinking about my friends (I don't know why they've been on my mind so much lately) the more I've been thinking about one group of friends. Has anyone ever been friends with a police officer? I have a few officers at a few different departments that I'm quite good friends with. There is an officer I work with currently who I've known and been friends with long before he was ever an officer or I was a disaptcher. Our families are friends and we go way back. My brother and his brother hang out, I've hung out with his family mulitple times etc.
My friend is an officer now and I work for the same department in dispatch. I've noticed lately that it's like he doesn't trust me 100%. Am I offended by this? No. I find myself, moslty due to my line of work, doubting everyone--even people I know are trustworthy. I am critical, judgemental, doubtful and unconvinced of sincerity all the time. Alot of times I'll hear a story and I immediately start to discredit it. (If I've ever been like this to you, I apologize. I really do blame my work for this.) I question everything. And I know the officers are the same way. I don't think it makes them (or me for that matter) bad people, it's just how we've grown to be because of our work.
Another thing I've noticed is that there is no middle ground. Another of my friends that is an officer is either always afraid to say what he thinks because he's afraid it will offend someone, or he says exactly what he thinks all the time and doesn't care who it offends (usually it's the second). They never assume that things will be accepted for what they are.
It's a weird line of work we're in. It's different from most every other line of work. I start out assuming the worst about people and make them prove to me that they deserve my trust. I never used to be this way. I never believe a story after just one side or take anything at face value. I know there must always be another side...and probably you won't get the truth about that either. I know this post has made me sound completly cynical. I'm not all the time. I try to not discredit or judge people until I know their story. I try to not get bugged by everyone. I try to give people a chance. I do have to say that it's much more difficult now that I work where I do.
My friend is an officer now and I work for the same department in dispatch. I've noticed lately that it's like he doesn't trust me 100%. Am I offended by this? No. I find myself, moslty due to my line of work, doubting everyone--even people I know are trustworthy. I am critical, judgemental, doubtful and unconvinced of sincerity all the time. Alot of times I'll hear a story and I immediately start to discredit it. (If I've ever been like this to you, I apologize. I really do blame my work for this.) I question everything. And I know the officers are the same way. I don't think it makes them (or me for that matter) bad people, it's just how we've grown to be because of our work.
Another thing I've noticed is that there is no middle ground. Another of my friends that is an officer is either always afraid to say what he thinks because he's afraid it will offend someone, or he says exactly what he thinks all the time and doesn't care who it offends (usually it's the second). They never assume that things will be accepted for what they are.
It's a weird line of work we're in. It's different from most every other line of work. I start out assuming the worst about people and make them prove to me that they deserve my trust. I never used to be this way. I never believe a story after just one side or take anything at face value. I know there must always be another side...and probably you won't get the truth about that either. I know this post has made me sound completly cynical. I'm not all the time. I try to not discredit or judge people until I know their story. I try to not get bugged by everyone. I try to give people a chance. I do have to say that it's much more difficult now that I work where I do.
Friends
My friends are interesting. I have friends at work (my current job and old jobs), friends at church (most of them are in my apartment complex), old friends from school (high school and college), friends from old wards, friends in my family and friends in my apartment. I think it's so interesting to see how different they all are. I have such different friendships with them as well. I'm sarcastic with some, I'm more open with some, I have fun with some, I turn to some for comfort, I am the comforting shoulders for others. But I love them all. I'm glad I know them all. I would do anything for any of them and feel like they would do anything for me.
I was talking to one of my friends tonight and I realized that I appreciate when they're honest with me. I appreciate that they feel comfortable enough to "call me on the carpet" about certain things. I'm grateful that they love me enough to pull me aside sometimes and tell me I need to work on certain things and why. I'm grateful that they don't want to offend me but give me constructive criticism to help make me a better person. I'm grateful that we can share our opinions about things, as different as they may be, and still be friends after. I also like it that maybe gain a little appreciation from the others point of view. I appreciate that we don't always have to agree.
I'm also grateful that they let me help them the same ways they help me. I would do anything to help my friends be happy and sometimes I feel like that's to tell them what I think about a certain situation, even if it's not something they want to hear. I don't force my opinion on them, they don't force theirs on me, but I share it with them in hopes of it helping them.
I'm just grateful for everything (and everyone) I have in my life and for everything I've learned from my friends. I feel like I'm a better person because of them. So thank you. Thank you for loving me and for being my friends. I appreciate it! =D
I was talking to one of my friends tonight and I realized that I appreciate when they're honest with me. I appreciate that they feel comfortable enough to "call me on the carpet" about certain things. I'm grateful that they love me enough to pull me aside sometimes and tell me I need to work on certain things and why. I'm grateful that they don't want to offend me but give me constructive criticism to help make me a better person. I'm grateful that we can share our opinions about things, as different as they may be, and still be friends after. I also like it that maybe gain a little appreciation from the others point of view. I appreciate that we don't always have to agree.
I'm also grateful that they let me help them the same ways they help me. I would do anything to help my friends be happy and sometimes I feel like that's to tell them what I think about a certain situation, even if it's not something they want to hear. I don't force my opinion on them, they don't force theirs on me, but I share it with them in hopes of it helping them.
I'm just grateful for everything (and everyone) I have in my life and for everything I've learned from my friends. I feel like I'm a better person because of them. So thank you. Thank you for loving me and for being my friends. I appreciate it! =D
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**A few of my favorite songs**
**Uplifting Songs**
