Well, it's official...I've decided to move to Hawaii! When I saw Amanda in church yesterday and she asked if I was going, I just decided right then that I definitely wanted to go. I am so excited! No more winter, no more snow, just beautiful 80 degree paradise........and bees. I'm not so excited about that part, but I think that I can handle it. I think that I can handle ANYTHING to live in Hawaii for 4-6 months! I leave in just about three weeks! There is so much to do to get ready to go but I know that I can do it. It's still hard to believe I'm actually going, but my motto in life has always been: "Don't just exist -- live" and that is what I am doing. Jump on every opportunity you have because you rarely regret taking them, it's the missed opportunities of your life that haunt your future. And this is one opportunity that I just could not pass by!
What Have You Done? To participate, just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. It's kind of fun!! 1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band (does marching band count?) 4. Visited Hawaii (leaving in three weeks to live there...I'm counting it!) 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (they won't allow you to do this anymore so it's not really a fair choice...but I've been there twice...) 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train (not the best experience...not recommended!) 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the EiffelTower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (hoping to in Hawaii...but not yet) 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching (now this one I should have done in Boston...darn it!) 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Pacific Ocean. 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person 101. Learned to play an instrument
So today at church I sat next to a girl that I sort of know from school (She graduated a year ahead of me from the interior design program at BYU-Idaho) After Relief Society (which was first) she asked me how the job hunt was going. I told her that it wasn't and she said that she has been having problems as well. Then she said that she found a job in Captain Cook Hawaii (on the big island...google it) breeding queen bees and she was looking for someone to go down with her. (Her family owns a bee business so this wasn't such a stretch for her.) Intrigued, I asked for more details and this is what she told me: She said that if I went down with her we would live in one of three, newly remodeled, fully furnished, three-bedroom houses on the property (including dishes and bedding). Rent would be $1200 for the entire house, so $600 each if we went down, $400 if we can find another person (Anyone interested? No experience necessary!) Also the owner would provide internet and some sort of car for us to purchase while we are there, then sell back when we leave (to avoid liability issues). The pay is $10 an hour, and we can work as much or as little as we'd like (preferring 40-48 hours a week). But he is very lenient and will let us off when we want to go exploring or take a weekend to go to another island or something. It would only be for 4-6 months, though we could leave earlier if we don't like it, or stay later if we do.
I hardly listened for the rest of church. I just kept thinking about it and if I should do it or not. I know it is weird, being a beekeeper and all, but to live in Hawaii for 6 months, during the rest of the winter, sounds FABULOUS to me! And why not go? I have nothing holding me here. It's basically like what I did in Boston, pick up and move somewhere for four months with nothing but my suitcases....so I know I can do it. It seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in Hawaii, enjoying paradise and learning a lot of new things (beekeeping, sailing, diving, etc.) I'm still debating if it's really the right thing to do or not (any opinions and advice are welcome), but my adventurous heart has been longing for something new and this just might be it...
So this year there was a theme to my birthday celebrations...and that theme wasfood. Only my friend Ehu can truly understand what it is like to celebrate your birthday with food, and had I done this all in one day it might have been a repeat of her 23rd birthday...that fateful day on the mission when we ate a weeks worth of food in one day. But luckily for me, my celebrations were spread out over three days. Not only did this make my birthday last much longer than most, but it saved me from an awful stomachache! Here's the run-down on my celebrations:
Thursday Dec 11th: My actual birthday. My manager ordered in lunch for my coworkers and I from my favorite sandwich place: Gandolphos. She also brought a cheesecake sampler for my birthday cake. The real celebration was that we all got to sit and take a break together, which rarely ever happens around there!
For dinner I had an Enrichment Christmas dinner at church. We had chicken cordonblu, potatoes, salad, and three desserts...YUM!
Saturday Dec 13: After a long and interesting day (It started with getting ready by flashlight because the electricity was out, and consisted of running from one place to another decorating for a wedding, then a Christmas party, then tearing down the wedding, and delivering a funeral in the middle...) I went to my best friend Kyle's house for my birthday celebration with him. He wouldn't tell me what he had in mind, he just said it would be low-key but he had some things in mind he knew I would like. Boy was he right! After playing a few games on the Wii we went upstairs for dinner and this is what I saw:
The Pie is the BEST pizza in Salt Lake and we eat there literally EVERY time we go down there together. This time he had asked his boyfriend to bring it up with him when he came to visit for the weekend. He also bought our FAVORITE salad dressing from Buddy's in Pocatello and he made me his homemade cheesecake -- the YUMMIEST cheesecake ever (I even like it better than Cheesecake Factory). It was the most delicious meal I could have imagined. Thanks to Kyle and Tory for going to all the trouble to put my favorite foods together in one meal! On top of all this Kyle also bought me a present, beautifully wrapped of course: It was a sweater from Banana Republic. I NEVER shop at the Banana because I can't afford it, so this was a special gift for me. It is beautiful, and warm, and it fits PERFECTLY. THANK YOU KYLE for being the best friend EVER!
Sunday Dec 14: I finally had time to celebrate with my family. I wanted to wait until the boys were home from school for Christmas break. We had biscuits and gravy and homemade hash browns for dinner, and then Mississippi Mud Cake for dessert...YUM! I also had presents to open...a shirt from BYU-I that says "Class of 2008" which I was super excited for because I never bought myself anything like that before I left; and two of my favorite movies: Pretty Woman and Drive Me Crazy. And that was it. Three days of eating and celebrating and I loved every minute of it. Thanks to all who made my birthday so special this year, I hope I can repay the favor some day.
I just wanted to write a short note to thank everyone for the love extended to me on my birthday. Through texts, this blog, facebook and chatting I received over 35 birthday wishes in seven different languages! How lucky am I to know so many wonderful and diverse people? This has been the best birthday I've had in several years. What a wonderful way to jump start what I'm sure will be a fabulous year!
Wow, I need to be better about updating this thing. It's just that my life is so boring I can never think of anything to write about. But tomorrow is something so exciting that I couldn't help but mention it....it's MY BIRTHDAY!!! Most years I'm not too excited about my birthday. Well, secretly I am but on the surface I try not to be because I usually end up disappointed. My birthday is just a bad time of year. Two weeks before Christmas, everyone is partied out from all their holiday parties. It's also right during finals week, so for the 6+ years I was in school no one had time to do anything on my birthday but study. In fact, most people are so busy that even my best friends and family forget to call. I'm also usually depressed about getting another year older, realizing that I am not at all where I thought I would be in my life when I reached this age. But this year, I'm putting all that aside. I'm going to be excited about my birthday. I don't care that I am turning 27, I'm living at home (temporarily), and I'm not dating anyone. It's my special day and I am going to celebrate! I have so much to be thankful for in my life that there is no reason to be sad. I have a best friend who has planned something special for me on Saturday, I have friends at work that are going to buy lunch so we can celebrate, and my family will be getting together Sunday for another party. I have a house to live in, a job to pay the bills, and everyone I know is healthy. I am happy that I have lived another year and look forward to MANY more to come!
My absolute FAVORITE holiday of the year is Halloween. I just love everything about it! I love that it's suddenly ok to put a graveyardin your front yard, and hang skeletons from your door. I love being able to decorate for something creepy and dark and so completely opposite from normal life. I love being scared. This year I went to three different "haunted" places around here, one of them twice. The adrenaline rush you get when something unexpected jumps out in front of you or follows behind you is worth every penny. I love dressing up. I LOVE the fact that one time a year you can be ANYTHING you want to be! And I love that this one time a year I can glue on crazy eyelashesand wear dark eye makeup and no one will say anything about it. It is just the best and I am sad that it's over for another year! Here are a few pics of the things I did this year and have done in the past to celebrate this time of year...
FOOD Yes, I even celebrate with food. These items have become tradition for me the past few years that I hope will continue on for years to come... (Thanks Michelle for the meal in a pumpkin! I've passed it on to generations of roommates after you!)
DECORATIONS Two years ago, in an effort to win a decorating contest, my roommates and I turned our living room into a "dungeon" using only butcher paper, paint, and luck. (I would say artistic skill, but I'm thinking luck had more to do with this.) We loved the effect so much we did it again last year. It always got a great response and it's the best idea I've had so far when it comes to decorating big on a tight budget. The exterior pictures are of my parents house this year. My favorite part was the graveyard with the red light glowing on it, casting a creepy light and shadows on the house as well.
PUMPKINS I'm really enjoy using patterns for my pumpkin carving. It may not be creative or original, but it's a challenge for me and I enjoy the difficulty, especially when the end result is so cool! COSTUMES I was first a vampire a few years ago, then I switched to a witch when I bought a "genuine" witch hat from Salem, MA. This year I recycled the vampire outfit but bought teeth that actually attached to my teeth, so they were much more realistic, and much easier to talk with! And of course, my favorite part of any Halloween costume...fake lashes!
This weekend my family and I went up to Rexburg to hear my brother Dallin do a stand up routine at Sit Down for Stand Up. This isn't his first performance - he did Sit Down for Stand Up last winter and has made fun of the family at more than one family reunion. He's always funny...but I thought this was his best performance yet! Enjoy!
I got this email from my aunt and LOVED it...any idea how to get Washington to agree??
I LOVE THIS PROPOSAL !!
I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide adults in the U.S. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family? Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved. Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads Put away money for college - it'll be there Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car - create jobs Invest in the market - capital drives growth Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive. If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work." But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .
And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
I consider myself to have somewhat sophisticated taste when it comes to entertainment.I like Broadway shows, orchestra concerts, art galleries and museums.So it may surprise some to know that my all time FAVORITEthing to do during September inIdaho is attend the demolition derby.
For as long as my family has lived in Blackfoot we’ve gone to the derby associated with the Eastern Idaho State Fair.Some may say that this is a redneck activity, and they would be absolutely right, but until you have experienced the thrill of a derby, you just wouldn’t understand the appeal.Those of you who have never been to one just can’t see that it is more than cars crashing into one another until only one is running.That is a large part of the excitement, of course, but there is so much more.There is serious drama--i.e. when two cars get stuck together and can’t get apart...you wait with baited breath until they finally pull free or another car comes to their rescue; or when your favorite car stalls and sits for several minutes until it is about to be eliminated and then, out of nowhere, the engine comes to life again.The audience is actually very involved in what they are watching, there is yelling at the stupid cars that “showboat” around the arena avoiding all hits, or the referee who eliminates a car that hasn’t had enough time to get started again.There is cheering at the hard hits or the last minute rescues.It’s an emotional rollercoaster, happy one minute, angry or anxious another.You get a break from the craziness in between each round, when tow trucks have to come remove all the non-running cars from the arena, and then it all starts again.In the end there is one winner, going home with a rather sizable cash prize, and hopefully the cheers of the audience.It is really something you just have to experience.This year I went to three different derbies, three Saturday nights in a row.The BEST was in St. Anthony, mostly because the competition was less structured than at the fair.Girls drove in the same rounds with the boys, there were passengers, they didn’t wet the track as much and they gave prizes for the hardest hits, which meant some EXCELLENT crashes.They even had a round of pickup trucks!I also saw the truest rednecks there, mullets and Wranglers included.If you ever get the chance to go to a demolition derby, please take it.I’m not promising you’ll love it like I do, but I do promise you’ll have fun, and life is too short to pass that up!
So I LOVE having friends that know about computers! During an innocent get-together I mention that my computer has been running S...L....O....W and my friend says "let me take a look at it. He downloads some free cleanup programs, updates my Firefox, and suddenly...it's running fabulously! It pays to have friends who know how to do things. Thank you Zach!
So this weekend a group of friends and I went to Palisades, Idaho to go camping and boating. We had a fabulous time, with no major mishaps at all. We drove up Friday afternoon and got the last campsite in the canyon (which was luckily near the bathroom...and by bathroom I mean outhouse). We set up camp, ate, and tried to keep warm by the fire. The whole camping experience was a good one. No one got burned or broke anything, everyone got fed, and though I FROZE most of the night, I did manage to get some sleep. Then the next morning we met my roommate's dad with the boat and we went tubing/skiing. There were ten of us and only four or five would fit in the boat at a time so we spent most of the day on the beach, with no shade. Regardless of the fact that we constantly put on sunscreen we all ended up really, really red. It didn't seem so bad when we were out there, but as the night went on we felt it more and more. The night was miserable, and today has just been painful. Regardless of the pain we had a fabulous time and I would totally do it again....but this time I would use a higher SPF!!
Last night I watched The Bucket List. What a powerful movie! It really made me think about what I would do if I knew I only had a few months left to live. It's a sad and scary thought. It also made me want to update my "bucket list" of sorts. I've had one written up for at least six years now but I call it my "Lifetime To-Do List". Here are a few of the items I hope to do before I "kick the bucket":
Go Skydiving Visit all 50 States (not just drive through but actually do SOMETHING in each one) Learn French fluently See Phantom of the Opera live Go to the Woodland Park or San Diego Zoo Become a certified diver Go snorkeling/diving in Hawaii Send my parents on a trip to Australia Learn massage therapy Ride an Elephant in Tailand See first-hand all of the amazing architecture I learned about in school Kiss a special someone in front of the Eiffel Tower Become a mother
So I have this friend who has been nagging me about blogging more often (you know who you are). I try to tell her that no one wants to hear about me getting up and going to work (which pretty much sums up my existence at this point) but she insists so here I go. This is for you...
I love summer! All winter (and in Idaho those last for 7-8 months) I wait and wait for the day when it is warm enough to go outside in capris, to sit under a tree in the park and read, to sleep with my window open. When it doesn't get dark until 10 and it's light when you wake up in the morning. Summer is heaven for me. So I am pleased to announce that after nearly 10 months of winter (literally...snowed in Sep, snowed at least once a month until June) it is finally here! It is finally above 50 degrees in the morning and that is thrilling for me!
So tonight we celebrated the warm weather by attending a Luau put on by the students at the college. It was really fun! Good food (including a HUGE roasted pig) and fabulous entertainment by the Polynesian dancers. They were amazing! They performed dances with fire sticks as well as a variety of dances from each of the different Polynesian islands. I especially enjoyed the Tahitian dances. I wish I could get my hips to move that fast! I'll bet it's a good workout! Maybe I should try it ;)
It's hard for me to believe that I am actually graduated from college. I graduated from high school 8 years ago (yes you read that right...8 years). Subtracting the time for my mission it took me 6 1/2 years to get a bachelors degree. I feel a bit like Chris Farley's character on Tommy Boy (Tommy: "a lot of people go to school for seven years" -- Richard: "I know, they're called doctors"). But at least I finally finished! It was a LOT of hard work, 18 hour days at the Clarke building, all-nighters, projects that seemed to never end. The bright side of it all was the friendships I developed with my classmates. We bonded over late-night drafting, studying for ridiculous tests, and complaining about certain teachers (you all know who I'm talking about!). So thanks to any of you who are reading this, for your friendship and support through the years. Good luck with all of your future pursuits and please keep in touch!
