My High School Class Reunion!

This year was my (ahem)th High School Class Reunion!!!


WOW! Where did the time go??? AMAZING how fast the years can fly!

The first night was an ALUMNI night and held at our old school. The Alumni night is always the funnest night because no one is worried about keeping their poor spouses entertained and kept from intense boredom!

I am one of the lucky ones that LOVED my high school days. I know there are a lot of you out there that don't share that experience, but I truly loved it all!!!


We had so much fun reminiscing about the GOOD OLE' DAYS and all the crazy stuff we used to do! What a party! And I'm not talking about the reunion!

Here we are inside the school... So amazing that after ALL those years have passed, that it still feels the same as it did then.

Kendall, Jani, Me, Robin ↓

The bottom left ↑ is me and my cute friend Debbie Welker. We both were "Miss Smile" during our Junior year. She also dated Dave about the same time I was dating him...☺

Some of us went to Denny's after. I got his cute little fish ↑ from one of my classmates. Kind of ironic that he happened to be the one I was asking people WHO he was all night. I could NOT remember ever seeing him or hearing his name in high school (we did have about 500 classmates), but there he was in the yearbook. And he so sweetly, gave ME the cute fish, making me feel even worse! Guess the mind's not what it used to be! Understatement of the century!



Here we are before we left for the next night ~~~ the one spouses "get" to attend.

Me waiting for my buds to arrive before going in.... I decided a little too late that I hate my dress!

Here they are!

Kendall, me, Robin, Jani

Enjoying the night and the reunion-ing...

We had some awesome classmates. Ed Eyestone (playing guitar below left) went on to run in the Barcelona Spain Olympics. And was a commentator for this year's Olympics in Bejiing. Pretty sure he's our best claim to fame......lol.

In many ways, I miss the good old days!

Dave doesn't look too bored.... ☺

So great to reunite with such good friends from the past. And thanks to Facebook, they are now friends of the present again as well...♥♥♥

~~~

♥“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."♥

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend."

♥"The friendship that can cease has never been real."♥ - Saint Jerome

"I count myself in nothing else so happy as in a soul rememb'ring my good friends." - William Shakespeare

♥"Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they are dead; Do not write them on their tombstones, speak them rather now instead." ♥ Anna Cummins

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Friday Memes!

Food 4 Thought Friday

Feel free to play along for some yummy fun! I will post a new one each Thursday night for those that are on a different time zone. JOIN IN!!!


Food 4 Thought Friday ~ This week's questions

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Breakfast

When was the last time you really laughed out loud and what about?

Lunch

How much time do you spend exercising in a week?

Dinner

Do you look forward to fall or dread summer coming to a close?

Midnight Snack

What is something(s) you tell yourself on a daily basis?

Recipe of the Week (instead of your recipe for life, what is it just for this week?)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
MY ANSWERS

Breakfast
When was the last time you really laughed out loud and what about?

The other day while talking to a friend. I can't even remember what it was about now! But I could barely stop laughing long enough to breath! ;o)

Lunch

How much time do you spend exercising in a week?

Well my "normal" schedule would be about 8-9 hours. I usually attend a strength training class 3 x a week and then sometimes a cardio class 1 or 2 x a week and I run at least an hour a day. Summer has not been normal and so it's about half that right now.

Dinner

Do you look forward to fall or dread summer coming to a close?

I don't look forward to summer EVER ending! I LOVE summer! It never lasts long enough for me and so I am never ready and willing for fall to arrive. Once it does get here, I appreciate it, but to me fall is just one step closer to winter and I am NOT a fan of winter!

Midnight Snack

What is something(s) you tell yourself on a daily basis?

Don't dwell on things you cannot change. Look for the blessings in every situation. Remember to be grateful is to be happy. Cherish the moments!!! You really shouldn't eat that. It will all work out somehow. Why didn't I think of that? I will get to that first thing tomorrow. Why am I so blessed?

Recipe of the Week (instead of your recipe for life, what is it just for this week?) Life is full of surprises. Don't try and prepare yourself for all of them because you can't, just take the reins and enjoy the ride!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

1. When will I learn?

2. Eclipse was the last good book I read or movie (The Proposal) I saw or tv show (a documentary on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart) I watched.

3. Everything has its beauty but even a diamond starts out in the rough.

4. Meatloaf & fresh from the garden corn on the cob and green beans is what I had for dinner.

5. I'd like your understanding in my lack of blogging lately...summer's been insane.

6. In my warm and cozy bed is where I want to be right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to attending Taylor's first football game, maybe go out to dinner after, tomorrow my plans include my long run, prepare my lesson for Sunday, taking Bryce to his new college apartment and checking it out, and catching up around the house and maybe even catching up on my blog!... and then attending our stake wide party at Pioneer Park and the pool! and Sunday, I want to be prepared for my Young Women's board meeting, attend church, teach Young Womens, make a yummy dessert, and chill!

Girl's Camp 2009~ Road to Virtue!

Stake Girl's Camp 2009!




















Our theme was The Road to Virtue!

Each ward was to come up with a car and an acronym to go with it.

Our ward was the LAMBORGHINI'S!

Which stood for:

Love And Mortality Bring Our Righteous Girls Home In Never-ending Integrity!

Say that three times fast!


To save space I collaged the photos. To view better you will need to click on them to enlarge.
Holy cow these enlarge HUGE!



























Each ward made their own banner that we raised on the mountain top calling for a return to the value VIRTUE. We sang the hymn Carry On after we all raised our own banners. It was very inspiring!


Each girl in our ward painted and decorated their own car. There were some crazy ones! We went on a Road Trip to Virtue with Pit Stops along the way where each leader had a topic to speak on.

Some were:

Sisterhood of the Traveling Lamborghinis
Personal Power Daily Pit Stop
Modesty is your Destination
Thoughtsville
Media Map
Dating Detours
Identity Tune-up

Camp was held at Cinnamon Creek Camp Ground near Porcupine. It was spectacularly beautiful!

The Relief Society was invited up for an afternoon to help with a service project where we made baby blankets for the NICU. We then had a panel of speakers that spoke on: The Road to Conversion, The Road to Temple Marriage, The Road to the Temple, The Road to Motherhood, and The Road to Happiness and Joy.

There was a bear sighting in the camp just two weeks before we were to go. We had to take extra precautions to keep them away. No food in tents. All food had to be stored in cars at night, etc. Thankfully we didn't see any of the critters! We were also told that our camp was full of snakes. Rattlesnakes included. Luckily only one rattler was seen, but many others of a different variety. I decided to be brave just long enough to get a picture of me holding a snake. I wanted to prove to my boys their mom was NOT A WHIMP! It took some doing, but I DID IT! Truly a miracle that will probably never be seen again! My friend Jen got his whole thing on video unbeknownst to me. I will add it at the bottom of the post and hopefully it will work.

The whole crew! I have the most amazing young women and the best leaders! Everyone was so great!

We had a real fun Drive In Fashion Show complete with popcorn and treats. The girl's modeled their jammies (among other things they stole from their leaders suitcases!) A fun time was had by all!

On our hike we found a cave. ↓ We couldn't leave without exploring it even though it was pitch black and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. But that didn't stop us. Not us brave peeps. We marched right in with one tiny flashlight to share between five of us until we heard our feet sloshing in muddy water. We finally turned back at that point. The photos look light because of the camera flash. Trust me it was NOT that light!

We had lots of camp visitors including Chuck the squirrel, many racoons, spiders, snakes, and sneaky little girls that tried to steal stuff from thier leader's tents. Luckily we kept the pesky critters under control.

The necklaces above are made out of washers and rub-one stickers and scrapbook paper. So easy and fun, but so cute!

We had so much fun that no one was ready to go home after four days. Myself included!

The last day.....posing for our local newspaper.

Girl's camp is one of, if not thee best, part of the Young Women's program of our church. Bonds are made, friendships strengthened, testimonies grown, and great memories that will last a lifetime are made. There is something about getting into God's beautiful country, away from cell phones, computers, television, IPODS, and all the other distractions that we have going on constantly around us each day. When we are away from all the daily chaos, the spirit is able to get through to us better and we are more teachable and open to what it is trying to teach us. This year's was unique in so many ways and life changing for many of the girls. I am so thankful I was able to be a part of it this year. It was awesome! I have the most incredible and awesome girls AND leaders! Each one is soooooooo amazing!!!! Now to start planning next years!!!

Where's the cape?

Where was this when I was growing up?

I only had Barbie with her

They finally made a real life action figure o. This is too funny...her Bio reads:


Up at the crack of dawn and working long into the night, this heroine magically creates extra hours each day juggling kids, schedules, chores and career. Navigating jungles of toys and mountains of kiddie stuff while she prepares tasty-yet-healthy snacks, tames dust bunnies and banishes stubborn stains. With an invisible third arm and a never ending pursuit of work / life balance she can help with a school project and answer an all-important business call while wrist deep in dirty diapers. Part teacher, part doctor, part chauffeur, part boss… she's all SuperMom.

CODE NAME:
SuperMom


AKA:
Soccer Mom, Chief Everything Officer, 'The Boss', Working Mom


SUPER POWERS:
Mother's love; mega-multitasking; "the look"; cure-all kisses; temper tantrum tactics; mind reading; cheerleading


VULNERABILITIES:
Sleep deprivation; child's cries; work/life balance; cute kiddie clothes; mothering co-workers; parental pampering


CATCHPHRASES:
"Go to your room and think about what you did."
"A mother's work is never done."
"Can't talk now, gotta go get the kids!"
"Because I said so, that's why."

There's more...

SuperMom's Mommy Weapons -

SuperMom is equipped with 8 accessories of mommy might:


CALM & FRAZZLED HEADS
Switch between mommy alter egos: calm / relaxed and frazzled / crazy


BABY (little angel or mini monster)
Grows bigger with food and milk, gives off gas. Comes with an anti-boo-boo bonnet



MOMMY BAG
Magical handbag holds work homework & diversions to calm mischievous mini people



CELL PHONE
Lifeline between school / daycare, home and the office. Also handy for gabbing and gossiping



SUPER LONG TO-DO LIST
Mother of All Lists, brings relative order to chaos



GROCERIES (aka Pre-Cuisine)
Nutritious items used in tasty meals that mysteriously appear on the table each evening



WORK & CASUAL SHOES
Puts foot down with authority, with work heels or comfortable mothering shoes.

I think she's great! A tribute to all the Mommies out there.



You can check it out at HappyWorker.com.

Royally Drenched

It's a tough job but somebody had to do it.

As a finalist in the Sego Lily Day Spa search for their blogger contest, I excitedly set up an appointment for a complimentary spa treatment that I would be reto blog about as my final entry.

The very kind woman on the phone informed me my treatment was to be a Body Butter Drench that was 90 minutes in length! 90 minutes??? Now, I am not sure about you, but I wasn't sure my body could handle being drenched in rich and luxurious butter for even a few minutes let alone 90! I had visions of my dry and cracking body going into shock from lack of exposure to this kind of thing. Maybe I needed to start slow... with say, a Body Margarine Drench first.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a member of some anti-butter cult. No, no...not me. I frequently drench many things in butter (i.e....fresh popcorn, hot rolls, steamy baked potatoes), after which I put them inside my body. It's just I have never actually put any kind of saturated fat outside of my body. Nope....never drenched my body in butter. Or margarine for that matter.

I immediately went to their website to read the full description of this fascinating treatment and learned they don't offer a Body Margarine Drench on the menu (probably because then everyone would be thinking, "I can't believe it's not butter!") but it did say that part of the treatment includes a full body massage! Massage too? Okay I am in!!! The deal is sealed! (or drenched or spread or whatever!)

Bring on the butta baby!

Now for someone that has only had ONE massage in her entire life (belly massages from wanna-be drill sergeant nurses two hours after giving birth - five times- DO NOT COUNT!) the word excitement just doesn't cut it! I was in a state of intense anticipation!

The timing couldn't have been better. Between the time I scheduled the appointment and the time my appointment rolled around I had been literally drenched (even smothered!) to my eyeballs in - no not butter - but stress! (this time I was thinking, "I can't believe it's not butter!" Anything but stress!) And I was more than ready to see if my first visit to Sego Lily Spa really would renew my mind, body, AND spirit as claimed.

If there was anyone to give it the test that day, it was ME! But I admit I was somewhat sceptical considering NO chocolate was involved in the process.

I entered the spa weighed down with my heavy load of burdens. I was greeted by my wonderful masseuse Nichole, who reached out and cheerfully took them from me. I handed them to her - more than willingly- fully planning to retrieve them upon my departure.

Immediately upon arrival the beautiful and peaceful surroundings made me quickly forget that heavy bag of burdens I had just unloaded. I was warmly welcomed by the Sego Lily staff and shown around by Nichole. What an escape I was feeling already! I felt I had entered into a new realm for a time. Aaaaaah.......

The exhilarating scents (aromatherapy at it's finest!) and ambiance also took its affect.

As the mother of five boys, I was not used to this. I am usually surrounded by fermenting dirty socks, smelly gym shoes, sweaty uniforms, and many other unknown fragrances, that truth be told, I prefer NOT to know what they are OR where they came from! Ignorance IS bliss when living with all boys.

No nasty aromas at Sego Lily. Not a one. Just the intoxicating scent of lavender and mint and eucalyptus permeating everywhere. It was worth walking inside just to inhale alone!

I was lead to the locker room, which trust me folks is unlike ANY locker room this mother of all boys has ever seen (not that I frequent male locker rooms or anything!). Inside my personal locker was a luxuriously soft and comfortable robe. Once that baby went on, I felt like I had just been crowned Queen and was ready to be spoiled as any royalty would expect to be. Nichole motioned for me to follow her and as I eagerly did, I spoke,

"Yes, my lady servant, I come hither. Wither thou goest I will go, for I am in much need of a frolicking pamper fest. I do fear madness will befall me if I don't receive it heretofore."

That royal feeling seeps in quick!

Even before I was inside my room, I was completely relaxed. The calming music softly playing in the background along with the serene sound of water flowing and dimmed lights made it impossible not to be. I was ready to be royally buttered pampered!

I was not disappointed. The butter cream was so luxuriating and so intensely wonderful that I swear my body just slurped it up on the spot! Honey Dew Body Butter....mmm. "Honey do more! Please! Never stop!", was consuming my thoughts! The combination of that and the massage...OH THE MASSAGE! I thought I had died and gone to saturated fats heaven!

Nichole's magic hands and fingers found all the right places my stress was hiding. Against every instinct in my core, I fell into an almost vegetative, at-ease state. I wasn't asleep. I'm not this relaxed when I'm snoozing. But I wasn't quite with it either.

After being lavishly drenched in butter I was wrapped up in a cocoon for more rapid absorption of the butter while given the best neck massage known to man woman! I emerged from my cocoon - not a butterfly- but a royal Queen Bee!

Wrapped up in my plastic while I am basting...

The Queen in all her glory. They must use Imperial....

Now I can NOT believe I am going to say this, BUT... this Body Butter Drench was even BETTER than chocolate! I know, I know....that sounds like blasphemy especially coming from me - the charter President of Chocoholics Un-anonymous. But this truly was beyond any chocolate experience I've had. Yes better than any chocolate morsel that has ever passed through my lips en route to my hips, and yet this was 100% calorie free! Whoever heard of drenching anything with butter without inducing severe guilt laden calories?

Hmm...I wonder if Sego Lily has considered doing a Cocoa Butter Body Drench too?

Now... I am not trying to butter you up but, trust me, this experience did more than fully RENEW my mind, body, and spirit! I was a new (no longer old) woman as I departed! My bag of burdens remained behind and an enormous weight was lifted! As I walked out of there I felt completely ready to take on the world again... with a crown intact no less!

Fare thee well... parting is such sweet sorrow.

Til' we meet again.... HERETOFORE!



Drenched and gone to heaven...

Dripping with butta and gone to heaven....

In a kingdom not too far away, there once was a girl....(okay a little older than a girl, but she was female!)

This girl had a blog.

In this kingdom there was a luxurious spa named Sego Lily Day Spa where the utmost in royal pampering treatments were given. This spa had a contest to select a royal blogger for their spa. The winner would become the most pampered princess in all of the land.

The girl blogger was encouraged by her dear aunt to enter Sego Lily's contest. The girl thought, "Why not? To be or not to be, that is the question. And to be is the answer!"

So the girl did enter the contest. The girl nearly tossed her royal cookies when the announcement came throughout the land that she was selected as one of the top five bloggers. This thrilled the girl. The girl worked wearily petitioning her fellow bloggers and friends to vote for her to become the new royal blogger. Her fellow bloggers and friends grew weary of the girl's constant outcries begging for support. At times they wanted to toss her into the mote. But they never let her down. They supported her throughout the long and intense ordeal.

The girl knew the odds of her becoming the royal winner were slim because the other four damsels were some of the best bloggers in the land. But she still kept her hopes high. The girl was in constant wonderment about the big day the royal winner would be announced.

One day the girl was asked to meet at the royal Sego Lily Spa for the much anticipated announcement of the lucky winner. She was told to bring her family and friends along as well. The girl was beyond excited to finally learn who would become the most pampered princess of all the kingdom.

The girl's family and friends were all taken into the back of the Sego Lily palace while she waited in the luxurious parlor to meet and talk with the fair damsel Jackie, who was to tell the girl who was chosen as the winner. The girl was a bit surprised when no announcement was made and the beautiful damsel Jackie asked the girl to come hither to the back of the palace. The girl followed her to the back and as she opened a door to enter she was greeted very loudly with party horns, confetti flying, and excited screams of "Congratulations!" by her royal family and friends and the entire spa family. A crown was placed upon her head and she was given the most beautiful bouquet of flowers she had ever seen! She had won! She was to become the most pampered princess in all of the kingdom!

She was in royal shock!

And continues to be to this day. The only thing that will bring her out of it is a few massages and a lot of pampering. Sego Lily to the rescue, once again, of a damsel in distress!

Someone pinch me! Or better yet, massage me! I still can't believe this is happening! Is it really true???

What an honor! A true honor. I feel so humbled. Each one of the other four finalists deserved this every bit as much as I did. If there was a way to share it, I gladly would! I am grateful we were able to do the TV segment in the beginning so I could meet them. Angie with her bright and warm smile. Amanda's wit and clever poster. Heather who is just as sweet as she can be. Unfortunately Robin was unable to make it and so I didn't get to meet her, but I love her blog. Each one is so gifted and talented, that I feel honored to just be in the top five with them. Thank you to each, for being so kind and gracious. You really are all amazing women.

And a huge thank you to Sego Lily for your generosity and for how wonderful and memorable you made the celebration for me and my family and friends. Everything was done with such class and style, just like your spa. I was, and continue to be, overwhelmed by your generosity and support. I look forward to working with you and getting to know you all much better. I can't thank you enough!

I feel like Miss America!

I have always wanted to be crowned as something. It started way back when I was a little girl and watched the Miss America pageant each and every year. I envisioned myself one day being handed a gorgeous bouquet of flowers while having a much too heavy tiara placed on my head and a sash wrapped around me. Then confidently walking the runway waving in the elbow-elbow wrist-wrist fashion to my adoring fans. As I make my way to the microphone to give my acceptance speech my hand begins to do that rapid fluttery thing in front of my mouth (which for some unknown reason is supposed to keep the tears at bay...but never does.) Okay, so the odds of that vision ever coming true were worse than having a heatwave in Iceland, or me giving up chocolate in the near future. But I still loved dreaming about it. That's as far as it went though. I never really thought about what I would be doing after the crowning.

But I AM NOW! Oh boy, am I ever!!!

Okay, back to earth for a bit. I know I am NOT being crowned Miss America and I also know that I am NOT receiving some scholarship or car. Not me. Not even going to appear on the David Letterman show or ride on a float in a bazillion parades. Nope.

Waaaaaaaaaay better than that!

Alright, you can beam me back up Scotty! Who wants that when they can have ONE YEAR'S worth of PAMPERING!!! Yes, ONE YEAR! 24 spa treatments! Now that's a vision that is out of this world! Miss America eat your heart out!

Is there a better dream that could come true? I think not!