Why I love Wolverine...

...but who wouldn't?

10 Things I'll Miss About Harry Potter

10. Harry, Ron, and Hermione

9. Magic

8. Excitement & Anticipation of New Books and Movies

7. Amazing Creatures

6. Epic Battles between Good and Evil

5. Quidditch

4. Unforgetable Heroes & Villians

3. The Romances

2. The Wizarding World

1. Hogwarts

Jumping in Head First...

So last Labor Day weekend I did it. That's right. I attended a Mid Singles Activity.

My awesome Houstonian friend posted awhile back about how her foray into the Mid Singles went and I quote:

"I was wanting to meet people I would have more in common with. Maybe I went to the wrong type of activity?"

Well, taking courage from her, and a bit of en-couragement from others here in Bothell, I signed up for and went to a Labor Day Weekend campout. I jumped in head first. Instead of a mild 2 hour time investment, with quick escape route, I chose to go camping. You read that right, I spent 72 of the planned 96 hours involved with this activity.

Now I am able to say that I met quite a few interesting, fun, and humorous people. In fact, it may not even be my last activity with them. What is most interesting to me is that I clicked quickly with one gal- then found out she was there with her single father on their way to him dropping her off at BYU-Idaho :) figures! Guess I am not as old as it has been feeling lately in the Branch here. So Booyah...to me.

...and my "Kiss Me I'm Irish" sweatshirt was a big coversation starter...

So am beginning to wonder what is in store for this summer.

Mosaic Flickr

The Questions To Answer:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What college did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Where You are from?

Here is how you can play too:

• Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search
• Using only the first page, pick an image.
• Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

1. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
2. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
3. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
4. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
5. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
6. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
7. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
8. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
9. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
10. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
11. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=
12. http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=

Ash Cloud...

...didn't stop me. I made it to, through, and from Europe; despite Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano's best efforts to prevent it. I will be posting pictures and stories asap... please to enjoy the visual spoils to come.

My itinerary:

Day ____

1. Barcelona, Spain
2. Barcelona, Spain
3. Day in the Mediterranean Sea
4. Naples, Positano, Sorrento, Pompeii, Italy
5. Rome, Italy
6. Pisa and Florence, Italy
7. Nice and Eze, France
8. Cassis, France
9. Barcelona, Spain & Paris, France
10. Paris, France
11. Paris, France and London, England
12. London, England
13. London, England
14. London, England
15. London, England and Seattle, Washington

(in which the pictures and stories will be organized by day/location)

Contents of Pickpocketers Wallet

1. $0.99 Perlina wallet from Goodwill
2. 2 LDS Pass Along missionary cards
3. Personalized note to lucky winner
4. Receipt to return wallet, should one want to do that
5. Some "Silver" in coin (Canadian), card (Jeans tag), and bill (Honduras) form
6. Chinese fortune cookie message...(hey some people pay to get their fortunes read...or a cookie)

"You will soon be involved in many gatherings, parties, and communications"

I knew I liked these guys...

I have really respected how these cousins have been working this season. Rather than tear others down these two have supported and built each other and their competition up. They want to have those that challenge their workouts surrounding them rather than taking the easy route.

Go Koli! Go Sam!!

Take that Pickpocketers...

One warning that Rick Steves' guide books states about many of the places that I am planning on visiting: "Remember, pickpocketing attempts throughout Europe can be expected unless you wear a moneybelt under your clothing. Smart travelers leave wallets at home and store their credit cards, passport, paper money and rail ticket(s) in a secure moneybelt." Well as a smart traveler I have my money belt ready to use. But as I was thinking about this phenomenon, I decided that I would like to see some of these performances. So I went out and purchased this:

"fake pickpocketers wallet"

I am going to put a note or some such in it and hope that I will not be coming home with it again...

Europe Finally

It has been a dream of mine to visit Italy one day. In 5 days I will board a plane that will hopefully make this dream a reality. Hopefully volcano eruptions will hold off to allow me to do this. On my To Do list this week?

1. Enjoy the week with the kids I nanny for


2. Decide what clothes/accessories/shoes will fit into a single carry-on


3. Pack winning clothes/accessories/shoes into said carry-on


4. Print up traveling documents


5. Double check that my passport is with me- ready to go


6. Pick the perfect reading material to keep me occupied for my flights


7. Make it to the airport on time :)

To Italy, Spain, France, and England I go!

Happy Earth Day

I went bike riding on the BertGilman Trail today. The weather was just about perfect - not too hot but not so cold that your nose begins to run in the cold air - As I was pedaling along the water and enjoying the sounds of nature I came across a person standing on the side of the path. I rode past him and as I did so he stepped out to hand me a dandelion and proclaim while smiling -

"Happy Earth Day!"

So I am here to pass the sentiment on to you, take a moment to breathe in and appreciate our Earth today.

Luck Changes

I am looking to do for 2010, a resolution per se, to "change my luck". I want this year to be different, and I have realized that in order for this to happen...I have to DO something different. So here is my promise: I am going to do things out of my comfort zone, things I would typically shy away from- and I will report them here.

Starting with New Year's Eve.


Scene: LDS Singles Dance...enough said. TBA.

Scene: Mo's, Katy, Texas. Along with some gal pals go out dancing, real dancing, a la country and live band dancing. The moment I walk into the place I notice the tall clean cut cowboy, a white cowboy hat that is about 6 and a half feet off the ground. Perfect. All evening I keep an eye on him. I heard somewhere that eye contact is key. Well, last song of the night, I just do it. I ask him to dance. It was good. Thanks Robert, another chance to change my luck as this was something I would have shied away from.

Scene: Cruising. I went on my first cruise back in 2006 with Bonnie and Jen. We had all recently or were planning to be done with college within the past year. So thanks to Bonnie's connections and planning we met in Florida to leave on a cruise to Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico. Now from this experience I learned a few things, but most of all, the fact that I LOVED CRUISES. Along with this I went with my parents on a "Birthday Cruise". Had another fabulous time. But the one I am looking forward to is the Meditteranean Cruise come May. 5 ports in Italy, 2 in France, and 1 in Spain. Europe here I come. I will have to report on how things go. But a little advice to others. DO NOT use Piper Weston through Toscana Travel to book a cruise. It has been nothing but headaches.

Happy Almost New Year

1. Saw my very first 3D movie, stylish glasses and all. My dad and I went to see Avatar- what a colorful movie! Originally I went to see it for the 3D experience, but was looking forward to the story as I had heard numerous great reviews about it. Well, I would have to agree that the movie held my attention for the entire 3+ hours. In fact, I was able to appreciate the entire movie from the best seats in the house. Right in front of the metal bar in which to rest ones feet comfortably. I really did like this movie (once I got past the strange looking characters).

2. Found a floor length, black, formal dress (that fulfilled all my requirements) for $29...what a steal!

3. E.L.F. Makeup. I do love their eye shadow brushes. http://www.eyeslipsface.com/

4. Being kicked out of a bar. Let me explain. For a friend's wedding she planned a bridesmaid weekend for all her girls. We checked out the wedding location, decided on those lovely "dresses" we all get to wear, began putting together wedding announcements/invitations, and eventually we sat around eating some dinner- the group decided that we needed to go out and have some fun. I am not a drinker, but everyone else is. I went along as a DD and we tried to find somewhere that didn't have a cover charge. Obviously I was no help in this planning, but we ended up at a typical dive, except that it was packed full, for unknown reasons. We stood around a bit waiting for a table or a few chairs to open up. No such luck, so we were on our way out. This is when I spotted a table and motioned everyone over. We got enough chairs around a table meant for less than us, but it worked. Until the waitress told us we couldn't stay- huh? We left (not happily) and ended up at a place that did karaoke. Yes. I did it. But yes, I was kicked out of a bar.

5. Shot the Moon in a game of Hearts against my computer. Nerdy? Yes.

6. Looking for a good book to take along on my cruise...any suggestions? On my first cruise, I read The Devil Wears Prada. Which, 1) I enjoyed reading, 2) Is still on my bookshelf...and 3) Still has a slight "sunscreeny" smell to it from an unfortunate incident on aforementioned cruise.

7. I found this website... http://itmademyday.com/

*Caution there are some entries that are on the

questionable side. But it certainly makes my day

reading about good things that are happening to people.

Here are some of my more favorite ones:

• As we were exchanging gifts on Christmas day, my sister suddenly stood up, cheered and yelled "I got a snuggie you wear backwards!" It was a bath robe. IMMD.


• In class we were doing an "alchemy" lab in chemistry- one of the steps was to say "abra cadabara". Instead one boy shouted "AVADA KEDAVRA" and got sent to the corner, with a sticky note that said Azkaban. IMMD.


• I was ordering from a local calzone shop online and under the special instructions section, I put "make it with love". When my calzone was delivered I opened the box and on the inside of the lid it said "With Love, From Bill". IMMD.

8. Anyone out there who hasn't seen the advertising blitz for Snuggies recently? Well, I always have a good laugh when I see the commercial or a box of one at the store. Who would buy a backwards robe? Seriously, if you stood up, your entire backside would chill. Then one day, I overheard a lady behind me, inquire whether they had any more of the "Pink snuggies, as there are none left on the shelf." I walked away wondering who was receiving the non-pink snuggie this year under the tree...

9. LOST...soon...so soon.

10. I finally opened and watched, Kung Fu Panda. Bought the movie on Black Friday before seeing it and was surprised with it- 'skadush' - sometimes this buying before seeing does work.

11. New Year's Eve as a LDS Single...summed up by a non-single.

"On New Years Eve I was asked to run a photo booth for the Regional Singles dance in Seattle. Matt and I had a great time seeing friends and laughing about how lucky we are to be happily married and OUT of the singles ward :)"

12. Started a new holiday tradition. We celebrated Christmas with the extended family the weekend before Christmas...and then a quieter one here at home. That way extended family is not rushing around trying to fit visiting everyone in on the Eve or the morning of. I kinda liked it. I vote it in to stay.

13. Ever go to your bookshelf in search of a loved, specific book, and then not been able to find it?? Doesn't happen to me often, but the other night I found a hardback copy of the first Sisters Grimm book, Fairy Tale Detectives, at Half Price Books (at a steal!) and I began reading the books again. This series is a quick read, and before I knew it I was trying to find my copy of the third in the series, The Problem Child. Could not find it anywhere. So spent the next day looking for a public library that had both the 3rd and the most recently published, 7th installment, the only library being one not too far away. Now all I'm worried about is, 'Where are my copies of these books?'

14. Nothing beats a cold winters evening, slipping into bed with sheets that are soft, fuzzy, and warm- and even better? Flannel Sheets for $15!!!

Working Hard

15. In completing my present wrapping I decided to create my own "cards / tags" this year. I have lots of scrap booking materials...

along with bits o' pieces of cards that I have saved

because they were just too beautiful to throw away

... glue 'em together ...

...and viola!

16. Today I have officially been working out with my trainer, Sanny, for 2 months. Some Monday's are harder than others to get out of bed to work out- But I always feel better after the workout is over. That and we have finally had to add free weights to our workouts, meaning we have improved enough to have to step it up in order to continue working it. But question- is it alright for one to make comments such as "gee you sure are sweaty" to other patrons at the gym..?

17. Teagan Note: Who & How else are you suppose to enjoy the

Puyallup Fair

than with one's Auntie and ice cream all over one's face?

Who You Gonna Call?

18. Certainly not Ghost busters. But maybe if the right conditions are present, you can call MissHPLuvr and the 3 Cat-chers. Let me explain. Last night about 11:25 pm my Mom yells down the stairs for me to bring Ronald up. Ut-oh not again. But no, Ronald should not have been up to no good, as he was quietly snoozing snuggled up next to me. So after inquiring 'Why' Ronald was being requested, I found out that Uncle Snickets (a chicken in cat's clothing) had brought in a furry little Mickey when he was let into the house. My Mom, being the brave soul that she is, brought all three of the house cats into the master bedroom, and proceeded to be squeamish all around the bedroom. I had yet to see the Mickey, but believed him to be there, as all of Uncle Snickets attention was turned onto one side of the dresser. Ronald was sure something was up, and soon was not disappointed as the little devil scooted out from under the dresser and squiggled behind the bathroom door. Not to be outdone, Ronald followed the little guy around the door and chased him back out under the dresser. For being fast enough to catch the bugger outside, Uncle Snickets sure was letting him have the run of the house. It was a while before the mouse squished himself under the bedroom door and across the hallway to Teagan's room. This was all the motivation I needed- I was going to have to step up my skillz or be forced to chase ineffective cats following a free moving mouse around the house all night long. That or else be forced to lose the mouse, not knowing where he was, and then try to go back to bed with thoughts of a wild mouse running around all night long.

Anyway, after a couple of laps around the baby's room...and a few climbs up the crib and toddler bed legs, Ronald was nearly always one step behind and batting the poor thing around. You know, only enough to terrorize him, not do away with him. But he was a tenacious mouser. My Mom -a chicken in Mom's clothing when concerned with anything smaller than her cougar cat- was advancing on the mouse's position, until she actual saw it wiggle it's whiskers at her and she would scream and dance around, blocking all possibilities of capture...it was then decided that I would have to bring in my highly professional capture equipment.

How else was this escapade ever going to end?

It suffices me to say, that 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 hallway, 2 orange cats, 1 broom, 1 robe, 2 towels, and 1 MissHPLuvr later... we had ourselves a trapped little mouse. But- I only capture. The mouse had to wait until Dad got home before any sort of removal happened.

Afterwards Ronald roamed the house like a cat that got the cream...or mouse.

19. Two years ago Brandon Mull visited Santaquin Elementary and talked to the kids about how writing and being an author is a way to turn your imagination into a "reality". I remember sitting there listening to this guy make the entire audience erupt into giggles and uncontrollable laughter. I was thinking to myself how familiar he looks, when it dawned on me. "Hey, he used to be in Diving Comedy, on BYU campus my freshman year!" So that day after school I looked him up and lo and behold- Gandolf the Great -in the flesh. As if I wasn't already into the Fablehaven series he had begun from reading it aloud to my 4th graders. I appreciated the humor he had infused into the story he had written. I would recommend this story to many who completed the Harry Potter series and wondered to themselves...what next? There are four books out, with the fifth and final installment of the series due out in March 2010. My Mom came across this news article and passed it along to me, knowing of my interest in his works.

Utah Author Grants Wish For Dying Boy
Thursday, Dec 10, 2009 @11:11pm CST

Brandon Mull has never met 14 year-old Chase Autrey, but on Thursday night he granted his dying wish – even though Mull lives in Utah, Chase lives in Texas and the two have never met.

Brandon Mull is the author of a popular book series for teens called “Fablehaven”. Chase is a boy who is dying from Cystic Fibrosis. Mull’s 5 book in a series is due out in March. Chase is a huge fan of the book and according to his mother Olive, has been waiting anxiously for the release of the new book. But March will likely be too late for Chase whose lungs have all but failed.

On Thursday, Mull surprised Chase with a phone call to his hospital room. It was made possible by a group called “A Wish With Wings” which grants wishes to terminally ill children. When Chase answered the phone call in his room, surrounded by family he said, “Holy Crap!” Then Mull proceeded to do something for Chase that he would never do for any other fan: He told him the top secret plot to the fifth book. “If I tell you this, you have to promise me to keep this secret….it’s between us,” said Mull to Chase via phone from his house in Utah County. Chase promised and Mull proceeded to tell the plot in detail. For a few moments Chase escaped the harsh realities of his life in the hospital.

“It was great to see him be the focus of attention in a good way,” said Chase’s father Patrick. “He’s endured things others have never endured.” Chase has been in hospice for a year and a half. His mother said he gets headaches often and is in a lot of pain. “His body is breaking down,” she said.

Mull became teary-eyed toward the end of the phone conversation when Chase’s family yelled out “thank you” over the phone. The 35 year-old father of three said he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a child in the hospital with a terminal illness. “The idea that my books could help distract him is way cooler than anything,” said Mull holding back tears. “It is way beyond anything I hoped my writing would do.”

And to him I say- 'Thank you Brandon Mull for sharing your talents with others.'

More Updates

Tis the time...for more happenings.

20. More photos of my cutest nephew. Teagan has been busy learning about some traditional family activities. For as long as I can remember my sister and I were subjected to an annual visit to the Santa Claus photo courtesy Country Village. I remember harboring this deep dark secret from friends and classmates alike. Especially in those junior high years where it was so uncool to still be going to visit Santa. But I will admit (but deny if asked) that it is fun to see the same Santa scene each year, with us growing up over the years. Anyway, a year or two ago, my sister and I protested enough so as not to be subjected to dressing up and getting that picture taken. Hence, Teagan's first year to meet the Jolly Big Guy. He is so much cuter at it than I ever was.

For your viewing pleasure.

Not afraid of Santa...seemed to be very in tune

with the camera taking their picture.

21. As to some of the more new traditions. We are a game playing kinda family. It has turned into "Reindeer Games" during the holidays. This means that as soon as the Thanksgiving dishes are washed and put away, the card table comes out and the board games take up a temporary residence in the living room. Games that have made a recent jump in popularity: Blokus, Triominos, Roll the Bones, and TriBond. The tradition continues on so that new "members" of the reindeer game club have to wear The Antlers; so as to further entertain other members of the reindeer game club. Hence the fascination with reindeer...

-Visiting the Reindeer Farm-

22. and making Christmas presents for the family...

23. This past weekend my parents attended my great aunt's Hanukkah celebration. This has become an annual party for my mom, and this year she brought my dad along to dance, eat, and Spin the Dreidel. This party is potluck, and among the traditional Jewish dishes, my mom typically brings a fruit salad or some other non-denominational dish. Until this year. As I was baking cupcakes for my birthday-movie night, I offered to bake some extras for her to decorate and take. The issue was that I would need an additional box of cupcake mix to do this.

*Fast forward 30 minutes*

After pulling out the necessary ingredients like eggs, water, and oil, I went to pull out the box of cake mix from the plastic shopping bag. Leading me to wonder- Is it faux pas to bring German Chocolate cupcakes to a Hanukkah Party?

24. For my birthday celebration I rented a projector and set up the family room in a Theater configuration. I had put out a facebook invitation for "Movie & Cider Night" and was expecting anywhere from 10 - 15 people. I researched online for the best projector price and went on to order one to be shipped and received by December 11th. Happily the projector was mine for the entire weekend, for the price of 1 day. Bonus. And as I was reading the contract for the projector, I came across this:

Security Deposit

...If you return the equipment on time with no damage, your security deposit will be fully refunded.

If you return the equipment with damage, you will lose your security deposit (or the cost of repair, whichever is less). If the equipment is lost or stolen, and/or you do not return the equipment at all, you are responsible for the full value of the equipment and we will attempt to collect that balance from you. Deliberate or fraudulent damage to the equipment is not covered, and may be prosecuted as vandalism.

Examples:

The viewfinder breaks off the camera, and you return the pieces to us. You will lose the security deposit, and will not incur any additional charges.

Someone drops the camera in the ocean during your rental period and you cannot find it. You are responsible for the full value of the equipment.

The camera is stolen from your hotel room. Your are responsible for the full value because you have nothing to return.

The camera is run over by a bus. Sweep up the pieces and send them back. You will lose the security deposit, and will not incur any additional charges.

I was also able to return projector on-time and all in one piece. No sweeping up of pieces or deep ocean diving to retrieve said projector was necessary. Should you be in the market to rent a projector, I recommend this company: http://www.atsrentals.com/ As a result, 20 party attendees enjoyed watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where Harrison Ford was larger than life in all his archaeologist glory.

25. I tried something new for the birthday. Instead of serving cake...which is a delicious favorite of mine...I baked cupcakes.

Almost too cute to eat...almost

Courtesy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, I came across the idea to make them into Christmas ornaments.

26. Now 'How to' serve those Ornament Cupcakes? A quick search on Google lead me to directions on How to Make a Cupcake Stand from this lovely little website. I used scrap booking paper and ribbon. Which gave the movie munchies table a bit more flair than the typical refreshments table. At least in my opinion:

Cupcake Stand filled and tempting

Just beware of how impossible it is to find the cake dummies. I went to 4 different stores looking for them. For those uninformed (such as I) cake dummies are simply cylindrical styrofoam pieces that cake decorators use to practice decorating on. I ended up using graduating tins instead...and they worked beautifully.

Summer Happenings~

27. The latest and greatest Harry Potter movie was released this past summer. My dad and I had tickets well in advance and planned a group dinner and movie night. The dinner at Claim Jumpers was okay...while the conversation was much better. Of course my nephew is being introduced to the wonderful world of Harry in his custom onesie:)

28. Reaching further back to this spring, Ronald and Teagan's trip to Utah was uneventful. Teagan travelled like a champ.

In fact it added some new excitement to the travel time. Ronald has always been an excellent traveller...whether by plane or car. It was interesting to watch him adjust to our newest little traveler. He wanted to be as close to me as possible during the drive. When I was holding Teagan he had to settle for the car seat while my arms were full of Teagan, but Ronald's transition back into my arms after putting Teagan back into the car seat was a tad lost in translation.

Cat as the Hat

...until next time...

I'mmmm Baaackkk!

I have seriously been slacking on the blogging thing. So here is my promise- I am going to write in a few posts about 39 things that have happened in the past few months. (39) because then I will have at least one more post than last year.

So:

29. Saw the movie The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock. Loved, loved, LOVED it. See it! Which brings me to a confession... one of my HUGE beefs is with people that are at the theater to watch a movie, but instead have their cell phones on/out, texting and sometimes even TALKING on them. If that is your priority, step out of the theater and allow others around you to watch the movie sans your brightly shining screen and clicky clicking texting. Hence the situation today. As we are about 2/3 of the way through this amazing story, the guy in front of and one seat to the left of me, pulls out his cell phone (with a screen nearly as large as a small portable DVD player) and clicks to read a text. Fine. Read the silly text, I'll give it 30 seconds...especially as my eyes are trying to focus in a dark theater on your bright cell screen. This is when he goes on to lean over to his friend, discuss whatever important discussion needs to happen, and THEN, proceed to begin texting BACK. Really? Which is when I kicked the guy's chair. Kinda on purpose. I expected him to look back. Nope. But that text message? Was quickly completed and cell phone/portable DVD player was put away. Cautionary Tale. Definitely. You go to the movies, text, call, conduct an interview before, after, or outside of the theater. Don't ruin the experience for those around you.

30. I became an Aunt earlier this year. Teagan was born February 9th at 9:14 pm weighing in at 8 lbs 8 ozs and 21 and 3/4 inches long and has been a great source of entertainment these past few months. He is just so sweet he makes my heart melt. What a hoot it has been to watch him achieve each new milestone. At the Puyallup Fair this past September, we were soaking in the Fair experience when we realized that Teagan was making "Sound Effects" to keep his stroller strolling...

There was SPIT involved in this adventure

31. Finished my second successful year in Santaquin Elementary's fourth grade department. My goodness there was more expected as a "veteran" teacher on staff. I was put into the Team Leader position, we had 2 interns in the grade level, was in charge of the Faculty Staff Christmas Party, was the school's Science Fair Coordinator*, and had a wonderful and positive experience with a student teacher in my classroom. Want to know how to get over a fear of "performing for coworkers"? Have someone there all day, everyday, critiquing your skills... You will have to become confident in what you do...and why you do it that way

32. *Became an official Science Fair Coordinator guru by completing the requirements. There is a surprising amount of them! Besides attending coordinating meetings-

I had to order enough participation ribbons -

ever spend more than $100 dollars on ribbon?

I have

but I also edited informational packets that students needed to fill out and complete in order to compete in the science fair, coordinated community judges, ordered tables to display projects, and awarded prizes. What was so awesome about the whole experience was that we had a couple of students go on to compete in District Science Fair up at BYU.

33. Completed my official "Move Across the Country" by moving up from Provo, Utah back to Bothell, Washington. It is an interesting challenge to move from whole apartment into a single Bat Cave, but it has been very nice to be back with family and old friends once again. Plus...I do not have to worry and get angry about the ever increasing costs of traveling with Ronald- because I am already home for the holidays. As for moving across state lines? No plans to do this again in the near future.

34. European Soap Seller Extraordinaire. Yanaj hooked me up with a spring and fall sample soap sale. I now know more about soaps, body butters, lotions, body balms, bath confetti, soy candles, and working some swinging deals for a warehouse sale that I enjoyed working more than you might have guessed. Other friends ~ also proud owners of lifetime supplies of soaps and lotions.

35. My dad turns 50 this year. 5-0! So a few of us are counting down the days until we leave on a 7 day cruise to Honduras and Mexico. We have reading homework about the Mayan ruins we are going to explore on a tour at the Cozumel port, pictures and everything. We will be leaving from Galveston, Texas, and I will be flying in a few days earlier in order to catch up with some "old" friends. Double Excitement!!

36. So with an international trip on the near horizon, I applied for and received my very first passport. How exciting. I now have the proof that yes I am Miss HPLuvr...all they needed here was my birth certificate, social security card, driver's license, blood type, dental records, shoe size...and some other forms of identification all to pay them $75 dollars and wait 4-6 weeks for my very own passport booklet! Seriously!! Although- I did save some money by taking my own photos instead of paying (Kinko's $13 or the Police Department $16) wahoo for me.

37. Had my identity stolen. I was notified the first week of September, by mail, that my driver's license was going to be suspended for failure to respond to an infraction on July 6th. Hmmm, interesting, considering that I have never been issued a ticket in the state of Washington...EVER! Also, the driver's license was neither the current Utah license I was using OR my old Washington license back from high school. How was I suppose to respond to a ticket if I did not know I had been issued. My problem, as I was repeatedly informed by the employees at District Court, the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, 2 different lawyers, Utah Driver's License Bureau, and the Washington State Special Investigations Unit. There is not much out there to help people who have their name drug through the legal mud hole. I do not think that I have cried so much or so hard as each time I had to think about and try to wade myself forward in clearing my name. For anyone that has had this happen to them or is in the middle of it my heart goes out to you, here are some of the things that I did that helped me (and should you need additional help please let me know!!):

• Found that Wilma from the Identity Theft Resource Center at 1-888-400-5530 was hard core in her advice and help. As she gave me the advice to call the courthouse and request a hearing (something I had tried to do 3 times already) she told me to take a deep breath and to focus...and proceeded to tell me a list of things that I needed to do in order to clear my name.


• Great advice from my friend Krissy- keep a journal of everyone you speak to, including the content of the conversation, date and time.


• You can request an identity hearing to get onto the court docket. All I needed was an opportunity to be in front of the judge to tell him "It was not me".

38. Joined Canyon Park Fitness gym. My Dad, Mom, and I decided that we needed to be ready for Mayan ruins and keeping up with Teagan :) Once a week, my Mom and I meet with Sanny - our trainer - and try to keep up with each other. And so far moan about muscle groups hurting that we did not know existed. It is worth the pain, I am already noticing a difference in the amount of work I can do in the gym, and the amount of energy that I have outside of it.

39. On the other hand, Ronald has a few pesky holiday ounces creeping up on him. He has always been on the skinny side of things, so it has been with great surprise that after 3 years he is finally looking as though he might one day match his paws.

Breath of Life

So my friend texted me earlier this evening...

"Do you wanna go to yoga at 9?"

I contemplated just what else I would be doing at 9 (sadly, the plan was to be laying on my couch reading my current book Peter and the Secret of Rundoon) and so I figured- what the hay, I'll give it a try. Especially considering that we have been trying to go to the gym together for the past 2 weeks. That is ever since we discovered that we are members of the same gym. So I texted back telling her that contrary to popular belief, I had yet to try this activity.

Would I need to bring anything special?

Thinking yoga mat...some flexibility genes...that sort of thing. Well guess what my gym offers? Besides 9 pm yoga classes- yup flexibility genes :) or yoga mats to be more accurate. So an hour later I found myself sitting on a squishy, purple yoga mat, in the middle of a fairly empty aerobics classroom, gazing through a set of windows out at the rest of the gym members working it out on treadmills, stationary bikes, and stair steppers. Seeing the worried expression on my face, my friend reassured me that they dimmed the lights at the beginning of class, making it difficult to see into the room. That and the fact that she just about picked the most perfect spots in the entire room helped to ease my pre-yoga jitters. You know the spot- those special spots where you are A) Not right up front breathing all over the instructor, or B) Not in direct eye line with ANY of the humongous wall mirrors- so that you do not have to watch yourself workout.

I will admit a few things about the whole experience. It was a relaxing way to let the day's worries go and I wasn't too concerned about trying to keep up with the rest of the class, experienced or not.

That is, until I am standing up, bent forward at the waist, feet as far away from each other as possible, hands grasped behind my back...leaning as far forward as possible while stretching my hands as far up behind my head as they will go. Awkward- no? Not awkward by half until the instructor comes up behind me (yeah, great view I am sure) takes my hands and helps to push them even farther forward. And nothing in yoga goes tremendously fast, so he is there for at least a full minute before offering the praise "great release" and moving on.

I spent the rest of the class trying to forget that if I wasn't pushing myself hard enough I would be "treated" to more one-on-one help. I sure hope I didn't stink! Rather I tried my hardest to just follow his instructions to keep breathing loud enough to be heard by your neighbor.

Overall I was invigorated by the experience, and would be apt to try it again. Maybe I will be able to stretch a little bit further next time and save myself the up close and personal experience. That, and I would definitely remember to bring a water bottle- who knew one could get so thirsty doing the Warrior Pose?

For those unfamiliar - this is the Warrior Pose. Very exciting stuff.