Dinaco & Dipsie

My nephew is so cute. He wants a big Dinaco for Christmas.

One T-H-I-S big!

This is Dinaco. You know.....from Cars.

Last year I taught him how to say "Santa Claus" when asked "Who's coming to town?" Of course he's forgotten by now, so I'm trying to teach him again this year. But he's obsessed with Dinaco. When I ask him who's coming to town he says "Dinaco!" ....with a big grin on his face.

My niece is cute too. She wants a cockatiel for Christmas. This is a cockatiel. You can teach them how to talk.

In fact, she wants a cockatiel so bad, she made this poster and hung it in her room.

She's already picked a name........Dipsie (yes, after the infamous Teletubbies). Lucky for her, she's been pretty good this year and I think Santa may bring her what she wants.

Halloween Fun

Halloween weekend I went to visit my brother and his family. We drove to SoCal and went to Magic Mountain on Friday and the Washington-USC game on Saturday.

I was so excited about Magic Mountain! I love roller coasters and I haven't been there for over 10 years (they don't make coasters like that in Utah). I have to be careful which rides I go on though because the ones that spin make me ill (I get motion sickness). Unfortunately, on this day, I was feeling like Wonder Woman and thought I could do anything. But I soon found out I couldn't do Tatsu (check it out on wikipedia and you'll understand what I'm talking about- it made me s-i-c-k). Sadly, it was only the 2nd ride of the day. That pretty much put an end to my roller-coaster-riding-mania for the rest of the day. Every time I tried another ride it just reminded me how sick I was feeling. The good news? I didn't throw up! (although I probably would have felt better if I had). The even better news? It gave me a good excuse to leave everyone there and go trick-or-treating with my niece and nephew, which was more fun to me anyway :)

Samantha was a pirate. Mason was Yoda. My friend Rebekah's kids were there too. The big kids went off with Allan (Rebekah's husband) while Rebekah and I took Mason around.

He kind of looks like Yoda when he cocks his head, don't you think? He was so cute! He'd say trick-or-treat but he has such a quiet voice you could barely hear him. And he would say it before anyone answered the door, so we kept making him repeat it after people opened their doors.

The funniest was when one lady let her dog answer the door. It was a BIG dog and Mason is scared of dogs (unless you're holding him). As soon as he saw that thing he started freaking out. Rebekah picked him up, he got his candy, and we left. Rebekah was laughing hysterically. She said it reminded her of the scene in E.T. when E.T. started screaming back at Drew Barrymore after she started screaming at him when she first met him. He could almost pass as E.T. in his Yoda costume :)




Saturday we went to the Washington-USC game (minus the girls and Mason). My brother went to USC so he's a diehard fan (which makes me one by default). Some of his college buddies were there too. It was a total blowout! (42-0 at halftime, 56-0 was the final score). The question wasn't would USC win. The question was.....by how much? I'm sure they could have scored more points, but they were playing nice.


We all bought USC t-shirts. When we got home after the game, the first thing out of Mason's mouth as soon as we walked in the house and he saw his mom was "You got a new shirt?" What an observant kid!





Chris bought Mason a new jersey too (now they match). After he put it on he started rocking out to Guitar Hero. He's gonna be a rock star (he's already got the hair for it!) It was a fun weekend. If I don't see them every month I go through withdrawals. This visit was a month late!

Thankful

As we enter the holiday season, it's easy to remember to be thankful for our blessings. However, just HOW MUCH I have to be thankful for really hit me last Saturday.

I went to Southern California with my brother and his family for the weekend and Saturday we went to the USC football game. We parked at the LDS institute building and walked to the colisseum where the games are played. It was about a 1/2 hour walk, and as we walked I was struck by what I saw..... at every dumpster or garbage we passed by, there were people digging out plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans - anything that could be recycled for money - and placing them in shopping carts. Sometimes there was just one guy, sometimes there were 3 guys, sometimes there were mothers with their kids. I think what struck me the most, aside from the fact that I would never think to do that, was that they weren't trying to hide. They weren't waiting until no one was around watching them. They were openly dumpster diving while thousands of privileged people walked right by them.

Were they just trying to make money to buy a drink? Perhaps they needed money to pay their rent? Or to buy food for their children? I will never know. I just know that I went to a football game with 7 other people, who each paid almost $50 for their ticket. We bought ridiculously overpriced food for lunch, overpriced t-shirts, went out to dinner after the game, and went home to a safe, warm house where the kids were waiting for us, safe and sound.

I am blessed.

The Wonderful Wendy Watson Nelson

A dear friend of mine called me today and invited me to an institute "devotional" in Sandy tonight with Wendy Watson Nelson (the wife of Russell M. Nelson, one of the 12 apostles). Now mind you I'm a little "old" for this institute group, but this dear friend of mine invites me anyway, partly because I'm single I guess. But I know the main reason is because he gets "inspired" to do so. Am I ever thankful for the tender mercies of the Lord, for my friend's inspiration and willingness to follow the Spirit, because it's always something I need to hear. That was the case tonight, more so than ever.

Before tonight I didn't know anything about Sister Nelson other than she was single her whole life until she married Elder Nelson after his wife passed away, and that she was in her 50's (that's a long time to be single!) And I will admit when I saw her come in, I thought she looked a little dull and boring. Boy was I wrong! This woman has quite the sense of humor! And she's smart! She was a marriage and family counselor for years, and later a professor at BYU. She told a lot of fun stories about herself and about "dating" and being married to an apostle and about President Monson. It was a delightful evening (I sound like my mom) :)

She joked a lot about her age. She said she's old enough to be our mother, and for some of us- our grandmother, and she intended to talk to us as such. Her main message was "NOT EVEN ONCE." She had a lot of pictures to go with her stories (she has a propensity for taking photos of signs - it's nice to know I'm not the only one!) The difference between us is that she is a master at using her photos as visual aids for a wonderful and important lesson. She told a story of getting lost driving from Montana to Canada, but along the way she drove by a big barn with 3 words on the roof......"NOT EVEN ONCE." She said if she lived by that one motto alone it would be all she needed. "Forget whatever you've done in the past" she said, "and start today to say Not Even Once will I......." (fill in your own blank here).

She also said "Don't miss an opportunity to....." Don't miss an opportunity to pay a full tithing, to be kinder to someone (one of my favorite things she said tonight "unkindness is unnecessary!") to invite the Spirit into your home in full abundance, to create an environment where the Spirit wants to be, to fully and completely repent. I cringe when I think of all the opportunities I've missed in my life.

She ended with the thoughts "Be prepared to be generous (she told a story about a time when President Monson was travelling overseas and he ended up giving away half of the outfit he had on - his jacket - even his shoes - to individuals who needed them, so now he packs in preparation for giving away his clothes), and be prepared to be where the Lord needs you to be."

Am I where the Lord needs me to be? Not 100%, but I'm working on it. Thank you Sister Nelson for the wonderful words of encouragement and advice.

I'm so out of shape!

So my friend Shannan and I have decided to train for a 5K next April. I know what your thinking........next April? How pathetic......6 months to train to run 3 miles?? Well I need it! I've never been a runner, but I am determined to change that.

Shannan actually hasn't started training yet- she's 8 1/2 months pregnant. But as soon as the doctor gives her the ok she'll start training too. I decided to start now because I'll need as much time as I can get! :)

I remember my 4th grade teacher- Mrs. Allen. She was big into running, so our class ran laps every day. Towards the end of the school year, our class ran the Run For Life (a 10K). Even way back in 4th grade I was not a runner. I loved dancing, but not running. The run ended at Highland High School and all I remember is painful shin splints and crossing the finish line dead last, after they had cleaned up and almost everyone had gone home, and my mom and brother were the only ones there- waiting for me. I look back and laugh now, but that is how it's always been for me and running.

So Shannan referred me to a website that has a "Couch Potato to 5K" running plan on it and today was my first day. It starts with a 20 minute workout alternating 60 seconds running, 90 seconds jogging (plus 5 minutes to warm up and 5 minutes to cool down). The plan says to only run 3 days a week and let your body recover in between days. When I was reading it earlier today I thought to myself "20 minutes? That's easy- I can do that every day." After running tonight though, I think I'll take their advice and give my body a day to rest in between workouts :) I wouldn't say it killed me, but I was definitely ready to be done running by the end of the 20 minutes. I can walk forever, but 60 seconds of running can feel like an eternity!

So Wednesday is my next day. We'll see how it goes. I'm excited for the challenge and excited to get in shape!

I'm officially a "blogger"

After much prodding from friends, I'm starting a blog. I've been hesitant because I thought blogs were for mom's to brag about their kids and post cute pictures. But I've since discovered there are plenty of single people out there blogging their hearts out. I will now be one of them.

Anyone who knows me knows that my niece (Samantha) and nephew (Mason) are the loves of my life. Since I don't have children of my own (yet), you will be hearing and seeing a lot about them (I have plenty of cute pictures and love to brag) :) I also love to travel and spend time with family and friends- they will all be on here too!