101 in 1001 Monthly Update

1. Make a wreath for my front door - 10/16/11

2. Go to the Texas State Fair - 10/4/10

3. Eat a meal from a food truck

4. Go to the symphony Take Logan to a pumpkin patch - 10/16/12

5. Go 1 week without watching TV - 1/9/11

6. Finally buy wedding pictures...

7. Hang wedding pictures

8. Go to the ballet with Jed - 11/27/10

9. Tour The Sixth Floor Museum The State Capital - 8/7/12

10. Finish my T-shirt quilt I started 2 3 years ago - 3/23/11

11. Go to the Ft. Worth Zoo - 10/2/10

12. Lose 20 pounds!! - 11/3/10

13. Lose 20 more pounds!!! - 6/22/11

14. Go snorkeling again Go to the driving range - 12/30/11

15. Catch up on 30 Rock - 12/6/10

16. Eat vegetarian for a week Try fish - 12/15/11 (tilapia)

17. Go to a Rangers game - 5/13/11

18. Do a ropes course Take Logan to see Santa

19. Write in my journal every day for 1 month - 10/15/12

20. Go rock climbing again

21. Go back to school - 3/23/11 :)

22. Take a picture each day for 3 1 month - 12/14/11

23. Ride on a real train - 11/19/11

24. Bear my testimony in church - 3/25/12

25. Get my picture taken by a professional

26. Get our family photo taken by a professional

27. Swim 10 continuous laps

28. Get a dog another Russian tortoise - 9/26/12

29. Visit NASA

30. Family prayer and Personal scripture study every day for 1 month - 2/3/11

31. Visit San Antonio during a holiday - 7/4/11

32. Join a choir - 10/10/10

33. Make a sourdough starter - 5/9/11

34. Go white water rafting again Take Logan on his first road trip - 11/19/12

35. Pick up the violin again

36. Take Jed to a rodeo - 1/20/11

37. Buy cowboy boots or hats - 11/6/10

38. Get in the car and drive 2 hours in one direction with the windows down and the radio blasting - 5/25/12

39. Visit all great-grandparents' grave sites (Mom's side) - 6/17/12

40. Go to the Dallas Temple - 2/23/11

41. Take Jed to a jazz bar country concert (Rascal Flatts) - 7/13/12

42. Fly a kite - 3/6/12

43. Go to a haunted house with Jed - 10/25/10

44. Complete Couch to 5K Challenge Ride a mechanical bull - 11/19/11

45. Participate in an organized 5K! - 7/11/11

46. Get my palm read or fortune told

47. Go on another cruise with Jed

48. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house - 12/7/11

49. Make Mom's cinnamon rolls - 10/30/10

50. Make Theresa's cinnamon rolls

51. Go to Schlitterbahn with Jed

52. Buy a homeless person lunch - 3/14/11

53. Have a baby!! - 8/19/12

54. Watch the Zombie Walk - 10/16/10

55. Pay off Jed's car!! - 10/19/10

56. Go fishing with Jed - 5/30/11

57. Be 100% credit card debt-free!!! - 2/6/12

58. Ride a horse - 7/30/11

59. Go to the Dallas Aquarium - 2/10/12

60. Dance to a vinyl record

61. Take a cooking class

62. Get an SLR a video camera - 12/25/11

63. Skydive

64. Visit Gettysburg or Williamsburg

65. Make out in the rain

66. Go to Six Flags with Jed

67. File my own taxes without calling Daddy - 2/22/11

68. Make a hole-in-one

69. Take a hot-air balloon or helicopter ride

70. Change my own oil

71. Go to NYC or San Francisco Lake Powell - (6/10-14/12)

72. Take an art class

73. Jump around in a mosh pit again

74. Go to a circus - 10/14/10

75. Deep clean my bathroom - 2/10/11

76. Visit my sister, Laurel, in California - 4/6/11

77. Ride a motorcycle  Buy a house! - 3/21/12

78. Get a TX driver's license again - 9/29/10

79. Go one week three days without simple carbs - 11/11/11

80. Dance barefoot

81. Get all dressed up and go to a fancy dinner

82. Get on a bike again

83. Buy myself flowers for no reason - 2/12/11

84. Go camping in Texas with Jed - 5/6/11

85. Go camping on a beach

86. Go to the Texas beach Float the river with Jed - 7/3/11

87. Donate blood again

88. Spend a night with the lights off, watching a lightning storm - 11/15/10

89. Go to the Grand Canyon Time Out For Women - 4/13-14/12

90. Have a meaningful conversation with a beggar

91. Paint pottery again

92. Join a bowling or softball league

93. Watch a movie at a drive-in

94. Grow and eat my own vegetables - 12/1/11 (green onions)

95. Sing karaoke again - 11/4/11

96. Take the Riverwalk boat tour - 11/6/10

97. Don't eat out for 1 month 2 weeks

98. Go to the batting cages with Jed - 4/1/11

99. Donate plasma

100. Eat fried green tomatoes - 11/6/10

101. Do 1 correct push-up

My Week - Plumbing

Jed's family came in to town late last Sunday. A few people took showers that night and I noticed that the water in our master bathroom would bubble when the shower was going, or even after anyone flushed the other toilet. The water would get high, hang out for a bit despite plunging efforts, and eventually drain a little while later. Well the next morning, I took a shower and the shower didn't drain, so by the end of it I was standing in a few inches of water. As soon as I got out, before I got dressed, and before I could make an announcement that there would be no more showers, I heard the shower start in the other bathroom. I come out, make an announcement not to shower unless you feel like you absolutely have to, and go on with breakfast. My mother-in-law came up and asked me if she could shower and I told her that I wished she wouldn't, but Jed told her that the shower in the guest bathroom was fine to use, so she went ahead and took that shower. Lo and behold both toilets started to overflow and we barely had enough extra towels to soak up the backed up water (which smelled horrid, btw).

Jed had called the plumber we have to use for the home warranty to be effective and they couldn't come until the following day (Tues), but we were all leaving to San Antonio and I knew that he would be super sad if everyone went down there and we had to wait an extra day for this plumber to come, so we rescheduled for the following Tuesday (he couldn't come on the weekend or Monday) and we all headed down to San An. While we were in SA, my mom (who happened to be in town because my sister just had a baby) stopped by the house to check on things and the toilets had stopped overflowing and the water had gone back down.

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon when we got home. We knew we couldn't shower and were reluctant about flushing the toilets, but I had a bunch of dishes in the dishwasher, including all of the bottles that we took down south that only got rinsed and not washed. So I took the chance that the kitchen drain was somehow different or met up with the bathroom one past the clog and I did a quick load of dishes. Bad idea. Not only did the water rise in the toilets, but sewer grossness started coming out of both shower drains as well. Foul.

Since we can't shower or use our toilets/dishwasher/washing machine, we decided to get a hotel for last night and tonight. Luckily we just got done with a trip, so our toiletries were still packed, Logan's pack-and-play was easily accessible, etc. So here we are, 5 minutes from our house, at a hotel until Monday. It's not too bad, just feels like an extension to our Thanksgiving trip. And on that note, I am thankful for a home warranty so that we aren't out a ton of money for this plumbing job.

Thankful Thursday (Friday Edition)

I am thankful for the holiday season.
I am thankful for the cooler weather.
I am thankful for a wonderful husband.
I am thankful that I got to have two Thanksgiving festivities this year.
I am thankful for a wonderful family, immediate and extended.
I am thankful that I have a job, and so does hubby.
I am thankful for Archie and our fish and sharks.
I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and food in my belly.
I am thankful for modern medicine.
I am thankful for technology.
I am thankful for the Gospel.
I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that we got to spend Thanksgiving with one of my sisters and one of my brothers.
I am thankful that it's December.
I am thankful that Christmas is right around the corner.
I am thankful that my weight loss is on the right track.
I am thankful for Jed.
I am thankful for the possibilities that the future holds.
I am thankful for my health.
I am thankful that neither Jed nor I have any addictions or real hardships.
I am thankful for Jed's job.
I am thankful for our Church.
I am thankful for good friends whom I can rely on.
I am thankful.

Monday Memoirs - Late Style

Thursday (Thanksgiving) - We did a marathon Thanksgiving and went to three different places. First we went to my dad's side's Thanksgiving. They had a Connect Four Championship (kinda random) and... Jed won first place!! We got a one-night's stay at the Radisson! I'm so excited to use that!
Next on the list was Grams' house. She fed us butternut squash soup and brownies until our eyes popped out. It was good to see her and Walter. I'm glad we got to visit them.
Then we went to Jed's aunt's house. We talked for a few hours and it was really fun to see that side of the family - it had been a while.

Friday - Black Friday. I had a booth at a boutique in downtown Provo. I sold cookie mixes for my dad's famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I had a great time - I was sitting next to some great people who I am so glad I met. Sales weren't super high because the traffic was kind of slow - I think people went home to nap from their early morning ventures or else they were at the movies or something. We're doing another show in the spring. I think that one will go really well.
That night, I got this strange second wind and dragged Jed to the gym with me at 10pm. First time in months. It felt good to get on the treadmill again.

Saturday - After work, I met up with Jed and the Pages for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It was fun to go out with them and their cute kids. We also saw the Burkes while we were there - small world.
We went back to the Pages' house after dinner and had a game night! So fun! I think we left around 2am. :)

Sunday - I was sick, sick, sick. I stayed home from church and Jed had to do nursery all by himself. :\
I got myself a carton of OJ and some pills and went up to campus with Jed to study.
...and then I was too sick to go to work on Monday. The End.

Thankful Thursday - Thansgiving Style

I am thankful for a roof over my head.
I am thankful for my steady income, a paycheck I can count on.
I am thankful for Jed's job.
I am thankful that I live in a free country.
I am thankful for fast communication - phones, internet, Skype, etc.
I am thankful for our cars.
I am thankful that all four of our parents are alive and well.
I am thankful for all of our siblings, biological or 'adopted'. :)
I am thankful that we live close to some family.
I am thankful for modern conveniences, like microwaves, indoor plumbing, airplanes, pillows, dishwashers, etc. SO many things to be grateful for.
I am thankful for Archie, Sharky, Goldie, and our other fish. [Original names, huh? ;)]
I am thankful that all five of my grandparents are alive and well.
I am thankful for a cozy, warm bed.
I am thankful for my new clothes.
I am thankful for the Gospel and what it brings to my life.
I am thankful for my good sense of direction.
I am thankful for my ability to learn.
I am thankful that I am able to go to school.
I am SO thankful that it hasn't really snowed much yet this year (knock on wood).
I am thankful to be able to be a part of the Provo Posh & Chic Boutique this year.
I am thankful to have enough food that I don't ever go hungry.

I am thankful for my Savoir.

I am thankful that I am never truly wanting - I have everything that I need.
I am thankful for my wonderful, patient, warm-hearted husband. He is my world and I love him.

Thanksgiving

I wish I had taken the time to write about this earlier, but this Thanksgiving was by far the most humbling Thanksgiving I have ever had.

Jed and I went up to SLC to have Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's side of the family. My grandpa has apartments on his property that he rents out and he brought one of his tenants with him to dinner. Her name is Mariama Kallon and she's from Sierra Leone, West Africa. I didn't get to talk to her much at the dinner table because she was at the other end, but after dinner, we all gathered in the living room and she told us her story. It was inspiring. It was unreal. It was miraculous.

Sierra Leone was in the midst of war for a long time. In the seventh year of war, the rebels attacked Mariama's village. The rebels approached her house from the back and her family (mother, father, brother, sister, and her) ran towards the front door. Her parents never made it out of the house. Mariama and her siblings heard their parents being shot to death behind them, but they had to continue running. Eventually the rebels caught up to them and captured her brother to enlist him in their forces. (She later found out that they had chopped off his arms because he refused to join them, and he died as a result of the blood loss he incurred.)

Not too long after her brother was taken, she and her sister were captured, along with several other women. After they were raped, the women were lined up to have their legs cut off, five at a time. Mariama's sister was one of the first ones to lose her legs, as Mariama helplessly watched. She prayed to God that something would happen to stop the rebels. There were only two women in front of her when the rebels got word that the UN was coming. They gathered up their weapons and ran away, leaving Mariama with one of her legs (she didn't tell us about losing her leg, but I read it in an article I found online). She had been saved by the grace of God, and the power of prayer. Mariama's sister died from blood loss, just as their brother had.

Mariama found refuge with some friends and they invited her to church with them. There were no missionaries in Sierra Leone at the time (if I remember right, it was because they were taken out because of the war), so she learned of the Gospel from her branch president. She walked three miles each way to his house, barefooted, three times a week and was soon baptized. She received a hygiene kit from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and when her house was burned down by the rebels, she used the kit to keep herself and others clean while in hiding.

Eventually she went back to her village and decided that she wanted to serve a mission for the Church. Most Africans do not leave their country, let alone their continent. She got called to the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. She was the first African to serve on Temple Square. Mariama now resides in Salt Lake and speaks all over the country, telling her story and spreading joy to everyone she meets. She is such a sweet woman and definitely an inspiration.

We took pictures with her, but not with my camera, so I'll have to see if I can get a copy. I am so glad that I was able to share Thanksgiving with this wonderful woman. It was an amazing day and one that I will not ever forget.

Clarification

I need you all to know that just because I have snowflakes hanging in my house, that in NO WAY means that I want real snowflakes outside. Never, ever would I wish that upon myself, with only one exception. Christmas morning. And then it's gone by December 26th. But that doesn't matter this year anyways, because we'll be in TEXAS!

For those of you in Utah: Can you believe that it's THANKSGIVING tomorrow and we haven't had winter yet? I'm LOVING it! That, in and of itself, is something to be thankful for.

Last night we finished Wall-E. I love that movie. If you haven't seen it, buy for Christmas. If you have seen it, you already know you're going to buy it for Christmas.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!