Alison's Absolutely Will Nots...

Okay so this past week I've realized that there are some really lame and/or ridiculous things that I absolutely WILL NOT do, for no apparent reason. Things that most people won't think twice about doing, but I refuse. Chalk it up to being borderline OCD, or just plain wierd, I just thought I'd post these things for kicks.

1. I absolutely will NOT go through a revolving door. We went to the Salt Lake City library the other day, and they have this HUGE revolving door. I made Scott and I walk around to find a door that pulls open. At Scott's old work they ONLY have a revolving door in the front of the building. Once he left his phone in the car when I dropped him off, and instead of going in, I made the security guard come out and get it for me. These are just two of many revolving door stories I have. Oh yeah, once I went out an emergency exit to avoid a revolving door, and was stopped by security who just laughed at me when I told them why I had done that.


I've always thought this picture was awesome. It's a Scott Mutter picture!

2. I absolutely will NOT step on a shower drain. I will avoid them at all costs. This may or may not go back to a trip we took to Cabo when I was 13 when a scorpion crawled out of the drain in our condo. But even before then I didn't like drains. This also goes for drains in swimming pools, hot tubs, etc etc etc. Once I accidentally stepped on the drain in our shower (which is kind of hard to avoid but I've gotten really good at it) and I was so creeped out I jumped out of the shower before I was even close to being done.


3. I absolutely will NOT eat a hamburger or sandwich or, well, anything for that matter - from front to back. I always have to eat all the way around it, saving the middle for last. This goes for burritos, tacos, cookies, and yes, even donuts. Although I haven't had a donut for a REALLY long time...


4. I absolutely will NOT eat onions, peppers, tomatoes or sprouts. One time when I was 16, my friend took me through the drive-thru of McDonalds and got me one of their new Big and Tasty burgers. It was dark, and I was tired. He handed it to me, and I unwrapped it and took a big old bite. I couldn't figure out what the squishy, nasty tasting substance was in my mouth but I knew I had to get it out of there. I rolled down the window of the car and proceeded to hurl all over the side of his car. He pulled over and when some light came into the car, I saw a big fat tomato on the burger. Figures.


Those are 4 of my many will nots. I will also not sleep if there are any open closet doors or windows, I won't sleep if there are things on the floor in our bedroom that shouldn't be there, I won't wear shorts under any circumstances, and I won't go to Sizzler. (Although to be fair, there IS a story for the Sizzler issue, but I will only tell that one upon request. Because once you hear it, you won't go to Sizzler either.)

Just a quick life update for ya while I'm at it: Scottie started a second job today at the Salt Lake County Juvenile Detention Center. He's really going to like it, especially because he really wants to be a parole officer someday. He's chosen Law Enforcement as his field which is a wise choice, because he is a fantastic Security Officer and he loves to do that kind of stuff. And he looks awesome in a uniform! Woo hoo!

I start my job with DCFS on June 2nd, so until then I am doing some serious spring cleaning in our house. Yesterday I cleaned out our storage closet and went through boxes and boxes of things - Scott and I both have huge boxes of stuff from our missions, and that was fun to go through. I read through a HUGE pile of letters I got from people (thank you to those who wrote to me, you have no idea how much I appreciated it!!) and looked through some old pictures. I organized the Christmas ornaments and wrapping paper and all kinds of things, as well as our camping gear, and it made me just that much more excited to go camping this summer!

ANYWAY...I also will be starting the Masters program for my Masters in Counseling this August! My sister Amy and I are doing the program together! I am SO excited, because I want so much to be a counselor someday. I'll be done with that in May of 2011. Yay! I feel like I'm growing up now! haha

When It Rains...It POURS! YAY!

Just a little life update for you all!!

Okay so the past two months I have been searching desperately for a job. A good job that will pay well and provide good enough benefits to get me through the next few years while I go to grad school and while Scott gets his undergrad finished. I applied EVERYWHERE. I can't even count how many jobs I applied for. I was constantly on monster.com and careerbuilder, as well as the state site, IHC, etc etc etc.

I kept getting turned down, and then last week I got two great job offers - one at La Quinta Inn as the Assistant Front Desk Manager, and one at Delta Airlines as a customer service rep. I wasn't sure which one to take, so I decided to start the training on both and see what happens. Delta wasn't supposed to start till May 19, and I started the job at La Quinta today. Well, on my way home from La Quinta, I got a call from the State.

Back in January I took the State Caseworker Test and passed. In Feb I had a first interview, and they sent me on too DCFS in March for a second interview there. The job would be to conduct home inspections and interviews and to determine whether or not child removal would be the best option. A hard job, but one in my field of study, and one that would pay awesome, and have fantastic benefits (State benefits ROCK). Well after about a month of hearing nothing from them, I gave up all hope.

Well the call from the state was to offer me this job - and after 2000 hours I'll be a full fledged State Social Worker and they'll help pay for my masters if I choose to pursue it. Does that ROCK or WHAT?!?!

So as of June 2, 2008 I'll be a caseworker for the Department of Child and Family Services!

YAY!

I'm SO excited. The starting pay is higher than anything I've ever had by FAR, and the benefits are going to be awesome! Although I feel terrible about leaving La Quinta after working there for just one day, I can't pass up this amazing career opportunity.

So we have some big plans in our future that are now going to be realized! That's to own a house, a new couch, new washer and dryer, and above all....ADOPTION! I can't wait!

Wahoo!!!!

That is all.

The 100 - Finally Complete!

I started doing this on March 5, 2008. I finally finished it tonight. You can all thank my insomnia while you read this ridiculously long post.


1. My name is Alison Marie Boulter Warner. I wasn't named after anyone. My mom heard the name Alison and liked it. My dad liked the name Marie. Therefore I was named.

2. I was born in Heber City, UT during a huge snow storm. I was the only baby in the hospital and they let my mom and me stay for a week so the nurses would have something to do.

3. Both my parents graduated from Brigham Young University and hoped their kids would all go there. None of us did.

4. I have two sisters - Anne and Amy. Yes our names all start with A, but it was an accident. So was the fact that it goes one syllable (Anne), two syllables (Amy) and three (Alison), and that it's backwards alphabetically (Al, Am, An). Craziness.

5. I married a man who was everything I never knew I wanted. And I thought that only happened in the movies.

6. I have yet to decide what I want to do with my life, career wise. I have a Bachelor's degree in
Psychology, but unless I get a masters, my options are ridiculously limited. I just returned to school as of today, and oddly enough, I'm happy to be back! Life will be better with a masters.

7. The one issue I've had consistantly throughout my life is my weight. Even when I was at my thinnest, I wasn't really thin. It's a mortal obstacle I will never overcome, but I'm getting better at accepting it.

8. I have two dreams. One is to become a famous singer. The other is to be independently wealthy. I think if I obtain the former, the latter will fall into place. I also think they will both stay dreams forever. And that's ok.

9. I am incredibly allergic to rabbits. I am also allergic to walnuts, pecans, anything made by Neutrogena, bleach, and as of 2004, dairy products.

10. I once tried to teach myself to be ambidextrous. I would make myself spend a half hour a day writing sentences with my left hand. It lasted about a month, actually, and I started to get pretty good at writing with my left hand. But I've lost that ability now. My left hand is once again useless when it comes to writing.

11. When I am 30 years old, I am going to try out for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Possibly before, but that's the age I chose.

12. When I'm around someone a lot, I tend to pick up little words and phrases they use. It is annoying to myself but so far no one else has told me it bothers them. Although it probably does. But I can't help it. I'm only human.

13. When I was 5 I used to catch ants and put them in a cup with water. They would float to the top, and when I had enough I would scoop them off the top with a spoon and eat them. My mom didn't approve of that. I also had a pet daddy long leg spider that I named Ross the Friendly Spider. I even had a song for him. I'll sing it for you if you request it.

14. When I'm nervous, I bite my cuticles. Not my nails, just my cuticles. It hurts.

15. When I was 4 years old, my dad lost his job. That year on Christmas Day someone delivered two big boxes of presents for us, including a stuffed Kermit the Frog for me. I cherish that frog and still have him. And I've never forgotten the feeling of gratitude I had even at such a young age. It gave me such a sense of the real magic of Christmas. Plus that was the same year my sisters told me there was no Santa.

16. My first big injury was when I was 3 years old. I was running through the house and turned to go into my room, but turned too late and hit my head on the wall. I got stitches on my forehead and have a lovely little scar.

17. I never really applied myself in school. I think if I had more self discipline I could have had much better grades and possibly more scholarships and honors. But at the same time I wonder if that all would have mattered.

18. Before college I made a promise to myself that I would never take out a school loan. And I didn't. I paid for a lot of it myself, and when I was eligible, I got financial aid to pay for the rest. And I am SO glad I did.

19. I think my parents are two of the smartest people in the world. I know that's something little kids say about their parents, but it's something I will always believe. I have learned so much from them, and I will always look up to them.

20. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger. I studied the space program for 2 years and at one time I could have told you all the parts of the rockets used during the Apollo program, when man landed on the moon.

21. Speaking of man landing on the moon, someday I will have Heather believing that it's true.

22. I also wanted to be a cheerleader for the Bulls, a tractor driver, and a teacher just like my mom. I had some great ambitions as a kid.

23. I still think Disneyland is the most magical place on earth. Especially during Christmas time.

24. When I was young, I was really shy. In fact, I wouldn't even talk to my extended family (my aunts and uncles or cousins). But my dad kept encouraging me to be more outgoing, and eventually I overcame that.

25. I've always gotten along better with guys than girls, although I've had 3 or 4 really close girl friends in my life and I still consider them good friends of mine. (You know who you are!)

26. Technically my first kiss was a dare when I was 14. But I only count one kiss as my first kiss, and that's the first time I kissed someone that I had true feelings for. And that first kiss was with Scott.

27. I'm really grateful for the values I was raised with. Without them, I think I would have led a VERY different life. And I know I wouldn't be nearly as happy.

28. I do my best thinking at night right before I fall asleep, but I never write anything down.
Maybe I should.

29. The most important event of my life so far was my wedding day. It was THE most perfect day in this history of weddings. From the ceremony to the luncheon to the reception, there's not a thing I would have changed.

30. My first actual job was at a video store. I thought it was so cool because I got to watch a lot of movies. I still watch a lot of movies.

31. I feel like Scott was the only person that believed I would actually graduate college. Other people may have believed that I would but I never felt like they did.

32. The best decision I ever made was to serve a mission. I didn't really WANT to go on a mission, but I couldn't deny the answer I got when I prayed. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I had so many amazing experiences, and I met Scott there.

33. When Scott and I first met, we couldn't stand each other. I thought he was immature and annoying. He thought I was stuck up and judgemental. At the time, we were both right. Somehow, though, we were brought together and fell in love. If I believe in fate at all, it's because of this.

34. I plan on traveling the world someday. I at least have to visit New York City and London before I die.

35. My biggest fears are bees, fire, and poverty.

36. My most embarassing moment happened while I was a missionary. We were at a big birthday party for a new member, and there were at least 50 people there, 20 of them other missionaries. As my companion and I went to leave, I slipped and fell down a full flight of stairs. I ended up at the bottom with my skirt over my head, and a line of heads leaning over the railing looking down at me. Only my pride was hurt, though.

37. I often wonder what it would have been like to have a little sister or brother. Or a brother at all for that matter.

38. I don't believe in aliens or ghosts. But I do believe there's life on other planets, and spirits among us. If you'd like to hear my definitions of both, feel free to ask.

39. I once threw a rock at my best friend when I was mad at her. I was 11 and she was 10 and it hit her square in the back. I felt so bad about it that I wrote her a letter and bought her candy with my own money, and took it to her house. She moved a month later and I didn't forgive myself for it for years.

40. I used to love the winter. Now I love the summer. I hate being hot, though.

41. I had a cat for 15 years. Her name was Splash. She died the night I graduated from Seminary. She had cancer.

42. Speaking of cancer, I have a brother-in-law who has had cancer 3 times. He was given 9 months to live at one point. That was 2 years ago. His life is a miracle, but I know he is supposed to be here to take care of my sister and nephew. He's a great person.

43. I used to HATE politics. Suddenly this year I took an interest in them, and realized that I have some VERY strong opinions about things. Who knew?

44. Scott has made me happier than I ever thought a person could be. I am amazed at how easy marriage is. And people said it's hard work...Sure we have our little arguments, but I can never stay mad at Scott. He is such a naturally happy person, that he radiates that happiness and I instantly forget why I was mad at him.

45. Spiders don't scare me. They make me MAD. What right do they think they have that they can come into MY house and crawl on MY things? Seriously. They make me angry.

46. I feel VERY strongly about abuse. I feel that people who abuse innocent women, children and animals should be locked up and tortured. If I could build a huge house and take in all the abused women, children and animals and care for them, I would. It breaks my heart to see that, and yes, I cry during the ASPCA commercials.

47. When I was 14, I designed a homeless shelter/halfway house. It had 30+ rooms, a library, a rec room, an employment center, and a fitness center with a pool. It is still my dream to have that built. I still have the plans!

48. I want nothing more than to be a mother and have children, but I have only a 15% chance of ever getting pregnant, and even lesser of a chance that the pregnancy would be free of complications. But I am also very much excited to adopt a few children. I will love them as if they were my very own.

49. At the same time, though, it breaks my heart to know that Scott and I might never have a child of our own.

50. My biggest weakness in life is a good cheeseburger.

51. One time I went to a Catholic church out of sheer curiosity. I have never felt more out of place in my life.

52. I am only now starting to see what my natural hair color is. And I don't think I like it.

53. I see myself as a very agreeable person. But if I'm crossed, betrayed or deceived, I'm not one to be messed with.

54. However, I don't hold grudges for very long at all. I have tried. I just can't do it.

55. Scott is the one person in my life that I can tell ANYTHING to. Absolutely anything.

56. In high school, I was never a part of any one "group". I kind of floated around inbetween groups. I had friends that were jocks, nerds, wanna bes, cowboys, and other such stereotyped friends. But I had one solid best friend from the time I was 12 until now. She knows who she is.

57. When I was 14, someone told me about how they slaughter pigs for the meat and how they treat them before that, and I didn't eat a pork product of any kind for 2 years.

58. My first boyfriend broke up with me for another girl. And then broke up with her a month later for a guy. It really opened my eyes to the world of homosexuality and how it must feel to be a severely persecuted minority.

59. I am 1/564th Choctaw Indian. In fact, we are able to qualify for grants and scholarships from the Choctaw tribe, and we get birthday cards and newsletters from Chief Pyle every year.

60. My favorite color is silver. Always has been. Although I do love a nice forest green or pastel pink. My wedding colors were pink and silver.

61. I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for 3 months. I also volunteered at the Women's Crisis Center and they were both VERY rewarding experiences.

62. I love to go target shooting. Someday when we have money, I am going to buy the little gun I've had my eye on. It's a silver 22mm pistol. It's super cute.

63. Oddly enough, though, I'm afraid of guns, and I won't go near the gun safe. So who knows if I'll ever buy that little pistol or not...

64. The first funeral I ever went to was my Great Grandpa Patterson when I was 5 years old. I remember so much about it, and I remember asking my dad questions about death. He answered them so well, that I never thought twice about it.

65. I have terrible separation anxiety. I had a very hard time leaving my parents when I left for my mission, I had a very hard time adjusting when Scott started working nights, and I've had a hard time letting my Grandmother go since her death a month ago. But I always get through it.

66. I went to a formal dance with a boy who was 6'7" when I was in high school. I'm 5'5". It was awkward.

67. When I'm unhappy with a business or service, I like to threaten that I'm going to write a strongly worded letter. Because I think it is funny.

68. I get random laughing attacks. When that happens, I sound like a psychotic chimpanzee.

69. Apparently I've had asthma most of my life. I had no idea how it felt to actually be able to breathe well until this past year when my doctor diagnosed me with it and gave me some inhalers.

70. I'm legally blind in my right eye. And can't see out of the other. And one time I drove from Salt Lake to Heber without my contacts in. That was really stupid.

71. I believe that the Spirit really does protect us when we are in danger. One time I was following closely behind a trailer with two four-wheelers on it. I felt a super strong feeling to slow down, which I did, and I watched in horror as one of the four-wheelers flipped off the back of the trailer and landed right where my windshield would have been. I was so incredibly thankful for that.

72. I was in the play Saturday's Warrior that my ward put on while I was in high school. My part was "Pre-existent Singer". I thought that was funny. All I did was sing the theme song a few times throughout the play, during the most dramatic scenes.

73. I love going to concerts. My first concert was Jewel when I was 16. Since then I've seen Weezer, Dashboard Confessional, Yellowcard, Gwen Stefani, Black Eyed Peas, Blue October, Soul Asylum, Hoobastank, 30 Seconds to Mars, The Used, Vertical Horizon, Nine Days, MXPX, and many many many others.

74. I totally love Missbimbo.com, even though it's so wrong.

75. My favorite shows of all time are Friends, Full House, The Simpsons and CSI.

76. I can't sleep until my house is clean and all the cupboards, closets and doors to all the rooms are closed. I also have to sleep with earplugs every night because I will wake up to every little noise. I've had to do that for years! It's annoying.

77. My favorite job I ever had was working at Taco Time when I was a senior in high school. It was just so much fun, and I was actually sad when I had to quit!

78. I absolutely love going to Las Vegas. Scott and I go there whenever we get the chance. Although we never gamble in Vegas, but I can rock the blackjack tables in Mesquite with the best of them!

79. On the drive home from Vegas after our honeymoon, Scott and I started talking in this really funny Mexican accent, and we talked that way for 5 hours straight. We couldn't stop. And we laughed so hard.

80. Scott and I were almost on The Biggest Loser couples edition. We made the final call backs but they wanted us to fly out to LA the next day for filming, and we couldn't just up and leave our jobs, so the next person in line got to be on the show. It would have been a life changing experience!

81. My career goal is to be a high school counselor.

82. I'm always really jealous of the girls that have babies and then go back to being a size 2 the next day. That's just wrong.

83. I get REALLY annoyed by people who KNOW EVERYTHING. There was a lady in the ward I grew up in who was one of those people. She even had a T-shirt that said, "Those of you who think you know everything are really annoying to those of us that do." I couldn't stand her.

84. I really wanted to learn to play the guitar, but I was having a really hard time holding the guitar and forming the chords the right way. So Scott bought me a baby guitar, that not only is ridiculously cute, but it is so much easier to play! Although I only know 2 songs - When You Say Nothing At All by Alison Krauss and Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

85. I only had to have braces because I never got any eyeteeth and had a HUGE gap between my front teeth. I could fit a whole smartie in there. Sideways. Pretty gross, eh?

86. I also have a rare genetic flaw where I lost all my teeth twice. I kept all my money and all my notes from the tooth fairy in a fire proof safe, along with all the birthday cards I'd ever been given from the time I was born till I was 17. Now I've lost the key to that safe. I'll find it...someday.

87. Once in college I locked my keys in my car 3 times in one week. And the same police officer came and rescued me all three times. The third time he asked if he should just meet me there the next night, same time. I told him it would never happen again. And it never has! *knock on wood*

88. I have been pulled over a total of 14 times for speeding. Well, one was for street racing and my friend got pulled over at the same time. But somehow our ticket got lost in the system and we sat through 3 1/2 hours of court proceedings only to have the judge tell us they had no record of the ticket and just to slow down and drive carefully. I've had only 4 tickets in my life, and none of them ever went on my driving record.

89. I don't speed anymore. Very much.

90. I am a "Certified Secretary". It's cheesy and lame, but I took a bunch of business classes and have a certificate and everything. Most people just look at me funny when I tell them that, but it's handy when I'm trying to get a job that requires secretarial work!

91. I took College Algebra 4 times. I only passed the 4th time because the teacher felt sorry for me. I didn't miss a day of class, or miss one assignment, and even though I totally bombed the final, she gave me a B, because she said a person can only take so much math before they go insane. Then she told me it's a good thing I chose Psychology as a major. Because you don't need math for that. I told her she was my hero.

92. I love to go camping. But I'm afraid of bears. So I'm VERY peculiar about how things are set up, and I know it drives Scottie nuts. But he's so very patient with me. Thankfully.

93. Someday I'll own my silver mustang.

94. When I was a kid, my mom used the word "fronts" to describe a woman's chest. We thought nothing of it until one day my oldest sister came home from high school and said, "Did you know that NO ONE calls these fronts? They call them breasts!" When we asked my mom about it, she simply said that's what she was taught, and she thought it was the most proper thing to say. Now when we go out to dinner, we order chicken front sandwiches.

95. In high school, my room was wall to wall movie posters. For some reason I thought it was so cool.

96. I love to write. No one really knows this, but I have journals and journals of things I've written. I am kind of embarassed to show them to anyone, though. I did share a poem I wrote as a missionary in my homecoming talk. I'm pretty proud of that poem. Perhaps I'll post it as a blog someday when I have a bout with writer's block.

97. I whistle and sing when I am happy. I scowl when I'm mad. I randomly do the running man in the living room when Scott is least expecting it just to make him laugh. And somedays my eyes are green instead of blue.

98. I dream a lot. And I almost always remember them. I try to apply any meaning they might have into my life. I once had a dream that I was turned into a mint frosted brownie by a serial killer. I decided that I eat too much sugar and watch too much CSI.

99. I am head over heels in love with Scott, and can't imagine a better husband. He always opens my car door for me, he does the dishes and helps me with the laundry, he always takes the trash out, he keeps me warm so we never have to turn on the heater, he works extra hard at his job to support me, and he is so very patient with my selfishness and neuroticism. And every day he tells me that I'm beautiful, which means more to me than I think he'll ever know. He's perfect.

100. I love to pat Scottie. It's one way I show my affection for him. It's a genetic trait I picked up from my mom. Sometimes Scottie gets annoyed by it. But it's hard to not pat him. I just love him so darn much!

YAY! It's finally complete!!!! Thank you for taking the time to read this! And if you haven't posted this one yet, PLEASE do!!!

I Dreamed a Dream...

I'm sitting here at 4:45 am in the sleep lab, waiting for 6:00 to come around, and as I do, I have a plethora or thoughts running through my head. I just can't seem to get them to stop. So I'm glad I'm working, and not attempting to sleep, because I wouldn't be very successful at that right now. So I figured, I'll put my fingers to work and just type out everything that's in my brain. Because once it's out, I might just be able to chill the freak out.

I had a really crazy dream the other night. Not just crazy, but disturbing and ridiculous and sickening and frightening and funny all at the same time. I'm not going to tell you the dream, but I will say that when I woke up in the morning, I had the worse feeling. I was sick, but slightly amused. I wanted to throw up, but laugh at the same time. I couldn't put into words exactly what I felt at that very moment. Even now, two full days later, I still remember every vivid detail of the stupid dream. Now if you know me, you know that I don't just disregard dreams. All my life I've remembered most of my dreams. I've written many of them down. I've had many of them interpreted by people who are talented in that area. I've even read many books on the subject of dreams (Thank you Carl Jung and of course, Freud) and I have a dream directory that sits next to my bed and is cracked open pretty much every morning. The people I did tell the dream to just said things like, "Well your subconsciously stressed and your mind and body are trying to make sense of what's stressing you..." or "It's just nothing. Dreams are wierd and don't mean anything."

But what if they do?

When I was 6 years old, I started having a reoccurring dream. It started out on a dark, rainy night, and I was 22 years old. I was riding shotgun in a car, with a brunette behind the wheel. She was someone I knew and trusted. Of course in waking life, I wouldn't have known her from Adam. We're driving down a winding road, and all of a sudden there's a screeching sound, then the sounds of metal crunching and glass breaking all around me. The dream then shifts to an omniscient view, and I realize that I am looking at my dying body from many feet above the wreckage. At first in the dream I would wake up before I died. But as I got older, I would die in the dream every time.

I had that dream at least once a week for the next 16 years.

I'm 22. I'm a missionary in the great state of Wisconsin. My companion is this fantastic girl that I got along with beautifully. She is a brunette. And she is the designated driver. One night we were running late getting back to our apartment after a dinner appointment. She was going a little faster than normal, and she decided to take a short cut. As she turned onto a new road I'd never seen before, it began to rain. It was already dark. Suddenly the dream sequence wasn't a dream anymore. It was actually happening. That same road. The same car. The same driver. The rain.

My heart started racing and it felt as if it might just beat right out of my chest. My fingers were wrapped so tightly around the door handle that they lost all feeling. My breathing quickened and I closed my eyes and began to pray as I prepared myself for what I had seen coming since I was only 6 years old.

Now you can probably imagine that the dream didn't QUITE go as had been played in my dream for all those years. It actually turned out to be a pretty amazing experience. As I kept offering up my plea to the Heavens, I actually felt like I heard someone say, "Not this time."

When I opened my tear filled eyes, we were no longer on the road. We were turning into our parking lot. That night I prayed so hard with thankfulness bursting out of my heart.

I can't help but ask myself what it all meant. I've had similar experiences, as I'm sure you all have, where you have a dream and find yourself experiencing the dream in waking life - the detail just as clear as it was in your dream. Once I had a dream I was riding my bike in a skirt on a college campus. There was another girl riding a few feet ahead of me also in a skirt. My first area on the mission was Madison, at the campus of the University of Wisconsin. The dream was replicated exactly in waking life, not one single detail out of place.

It could be that I am just thinking too much about this - blowing everything completely out of proportion and making things into something they're not, but I just don't know. How are we even to being to know the truth about things like this? We can't comprehend it - our silly little human brains just aren't capable of it. Someday we will, and it will all make perfect sense - as if we had been told it every day of our lives. I just imagine us sitting with the ones we love, slapping our foreheads for being so silly as to forget such simple and insignificant details.

That's one of the amazing things about this life experience. We're so clueless! We're here, with words, people, experiences and histories to follow, and we can choose everything that we believe. We can decide to follow the teachings of any church we want. We can choose to be any kind of person we feel so inclined to be. We can choose to interpret something as silly as a dream to mean something incredible in our lives. But it's 100% up to us. We've been given the tools. It's up to us to start building. What you build and how you build it is totally up to you. We all have different tools, in fact. So not one life experience is going to be even remotely the same. How could it be?

Okay, well I think I've rambled on enough for the time being. I do feel better after writing all this down. It's so very theraputic. Perhaps I should start a dream blog - typing up the dreams I have and leaving them open for discussion. Maybe I dream so much and so vividly for a reason...who knows?

A Tribute to The World's Best Mom!

My mom's birthday is coming up next week, and I've been giving a lot of thought about what a wonderful mother she is! So this blog is dedicated to this AMAZING person!

My mother gave birth to me during one of the most treacherous winters of the decade. The doctor didn't want me going outside until he felt it would be safe, so I ended up spending a whole week in the hospital with my mom. And since I was the only baby there, we got extra special treatment! I feel like that gave us a super close bond that we wouldn't have otherwise.

As I grew up, I always thought of my mom as the most spiritual person I knew. She took every opportunity she could to teach me a principle of the gospel, and bear her testimony. For me, being disciplined felt more like a learning experience than a punishment. I remember one time in particular she had found out that I stole milk from the cafeteria. I was 7 years old. When I got home from school, she called me into her room, and she was sitting there with her scriptures. She had me read some scriptures in the Book of Mormon (Alma 34). It talks about how you shouldn't procrastinate the day of your repentance. She then explained to me what repentance was, and she then had me kneel down and pray out loud and ask God to forgive me. That was my first experience with repentance, and it was something that stuck with me all my life. I remember that experience so vividly.

Along with being spiritual, my mom is also VERY funny! Of course, she doesn't try to be, which makes it even more funny! My favorite funny thing my mom said happened one night while my sisters and I were watching TV. It was already past our bedtime, and she was getting frustrated with us. She kept telling us to go to bed, and we'd say, "Okay, Mom, just a sec!" After about 4 or 5 rounds with the same conversation, she'd had enough. She said, "Alright girls, it's REALLY time to go to bed!" We of course answered, "Just a sec!" She looked at us firmly and said, "No! No more secs!!" Without missing a beat, my dad responded with, "She's been telling me that for years!"

We all had a good laugh as we made our way off to bed.

My mom playing Guesstures on Easter (March 23, 2008)

My mom has always wanted us all to have good educations and be successful in our studies. She wanted us also to have culture in our lives. When I was four, I remember sitting around the kitchen table with my sisters as my mom taught us Spanish. The first word I remember sticking is Rojo (red). She taught us how to count and ask questions etc. When I took Spanish in school, it was an absolute breeze, due to the lessons I'd had as a child. Of course the trips to Mexico helped out a lot as well! She's always been very supportive in our choices for what we've studied, and has always made sure we know how proud she is of us. That is such a motivating factor - I want nothing more than for my mother to be proud of me!

Something unique about my mom is how she's always been clever in how she's raised us. Whenever I did something wrong, I was given a choice of punishment. For example: if I swore, I could choose between washing out my mouth with soap, or eating a teaspoon of tabasco sauce. I chose the sauce. That was a mistake. I won't touch it now! Another choice was either going to my room, or staying in the room with the family, but having to sit on a chair NEXT to the TV, so I couldn't see it. I wasn't allowed to participate in whatever was going on, but I always chose that over going to my room, because I didn't want to miss anything!

My mom has been an English teacher for as long as I can remember. She is such a great teacher! When she retires, the Wasatch School District will be losing one of the best teachers to ever grace the hallways. She knows her stuff, she doesn't take crap from punk kids, and she makes sure that no kid is left behind. She has a way of teaching things so that they're easy to understand. And she doesn't ever make anyone feel stupid for not understanding something. I really appreciate that about her.

She is incredibly sensitive. I have always felt like I could go to my mom about anything I needed help with. Even if it was an embarassing problem, I wasn't embarassed to talk to my mom about it. She's so understanding and always has the right words that just replace frustration with comfort. I love that about my mom. She's always just a phone call away!

There is so much more I could say about my mother. She is without a doubt the most amazing, perfect mother a person could have. A lot of kids say that their mom is the smartest person in the world, and then eventually grow out of that, but I still think my mom is the smartest person in the world, along with my dad. I feel SO lucky to have been born into a family with such great parents!

Mom, I hope you have the best birthday EVER! You definitely deserve it!

I love you!

My mom and her sister Carole at Sea World June 2007


My mom and her mother at the Mayan, March 8, 2008

The Things I Just Can't Live Without!

Earlier today I was wiping something up with a Clorox Wipe and it got me wondering...

Just what did we do without these things?

So this blog is dedicated to those modern day inventions that aren't really necessary, but yet I can't seem to get by without them.

1. Clorox wipes, of course!

They make it SO easy to wipe up a mess, clean off the counter, wipe down every surface in the bathroom or kitchen, and then I can just throw it away! No icky sponge that collects germs and rots and smells, no using 3,000 paper towels at a time, and no worrying about harmful chemicals that might hurt my bitties or my skin! They're just simply AMAZING. What a great time to be alive!

2. The internet. Absolutely could not live without it! I look back to when I was in middle school, before the internet was what it is today, and I think...did we REALLY write research papers with library books and a pen? Wow. It all seems so primitive. And I suppose, when you put it into perspective, that it IS primitive. And now the internet is EVERYWHERE. Granted, there are some downfalls, (i.e. perverts and people who use it for evil) but you can seriously find anything on here. And the best part is keeping in touch with old friends and people through blogs, emails, facebook, etc. And you can get phones with the internet! How crazy is that?

3. Speaking of internet on phones....my CELL PHONE!

Imagine this: You're driving down a long, dark road. The radio's playing, the cool wind is in your hair, and suddenly....you run out of gas!!! What do you do?

Luckily you have your cell phone.

You can take it anywhere - anyone you need to talk to at the touch of a button. You can check your email. You can play games. My phone has a music maker where you can build a song with bass tracks, drums, keyboards, etc. It can also teach you how to play guitar or piano.

My favorite feature of my phone is the step counter. It has a built in pedometer, so I can know how many steps I've walked, and how many calories I've burned every day. It's a beautiful thing.

4. My Kitchenaid Standing Mixer

My first year of college, I didn't own any kind of mixer. Not even a handheld little mixer. If I wanted to mix something, like cookie dough or whatever, I had to do it by hand. By HAND! Gosh it made my hand sore. And it wasn't always mixed all that well. And the cookie dough wasn't light and fluffy.

But the kitchenaid is simply perfect. Not only is it so much easier to mix things, but everything is always perfectly mixed. The dough is light and fluffy. Cookies turn out like little drops of Heaven.

All I do is turn on the mixer, and start adding ingredients. The mixer does the rest. If you don't have one, GET ONE!!!!!!!

5. Last but not least (although I have a million more on this list, but don't have that much time) would be Egyptian Cotton Sheets.

I first heard of Egyptian Cotton Sheets when I saw the movie Uptown Girls (one of my fav movies). Of course REAL Egyptian Cotton Sheets are ridiculously expensive. Luckily for me, Bed Bath and Beyond started making a much less expensive version of them. Instead of 4,000 thread count, their like 400, but they're still just wonderful. Once you start sleeping on Egyptian Cotton, you won't ever go back to regular sheets.

Those are just 5 of the many modern day inventions that I just can't live without. I'll probably make another blog like this one in a few weeks - highlighting some more wonderful things I just love!

NEVER TOO OLD

ITS ME SCOTTIE
YOU WILL KNOW MY POST BY THE CAPSLOCKEDNESS AND THE LACK OF PUNCTUTION OH AND THE DISSPELLED WORDS HAHA

ANY WAY
I WENT TO A CONCERT ON THE 8TH OF APRIL AND I SAW

LUDO
THE BROBECKS
THE BRAVERY
AND STORY OF THE YEAR

I TOOK MY BROTHER BECAUSE ALISON SAID SHE WAS TOO OLD TO GO TO CONCERTS LIKE THAT
I SAID WHATEVER
SO BIG E AND I WENT TO THE CONCERT AND SPENT THE WHOLE TIME KICKING SOME BOOTIE IN THE MOSH PITS IT WAS GREAT!
I NOTICED THAT BECAUSE I AM A BIGGER GUY PEOPLE TARGET ME MORE
I GOT HEAD BUTTED IN THE EAR
I GOT MY FOOT STOMPED ON ( I SWEAR THAT PERSON WAS WAIRING CLEATS)
I GOT PUNCHED IN THE NECK
I GOT ELBOWED IN MY RIGHT ARM
ALL THIES ARE BATTLE WONDS THAT I AM PROUD OF

WHEN ALISON FOUND OUT THAT I WAS IN THE MOSH PIT SHE SAID I WAS TOO OLD FOR THAT STUFF
I SAY NO WAY DUDE!


THAT IS ALL I WANTED TO SAY