Firsts

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? - Dave... something.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? - Nope

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? - never had one

4. What was your FIRST job? - Newspaper carrier

5. What was your FIRST car? - Ford Taurus

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? Lisa

7. Who is the FIRST person you talked to this morning? Brian

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? - I can't remember her name

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? - California

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? - Jessica Bush. And only occasionally through blogs. sad.

11. Where was your FIRST sleep over? - Probably Jessica's

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? - my cousin Amber's.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? - snoozed the alarm.

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? - Backstreet Boys

16. FIRST tattoo? - Don't have one

17. FIRST piercing? - Ears. (They were also my second piercing as they closed up and I had to get them done again.)

18. FIRST foreign country you went to? - Bahamas

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing? - Cinderella

20. When was your FIRST detention? - never had it

21. Who was your FIRST roommate? - Heather Threlkeld

23. If you had one wish. What would it be? - To not have to worry about money

24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance? - How to make cute scrapbook pages and cards

25. Did you marry the FIRST person to ask for your hand in marriage? - Yes

26. What was the FIRST sport that you were involved in? - Junior Jazz Basketball

27. What were the FIRST lessons you ever took? - Piano lessons

28. What is the FIRST thing you do when you get home? - Turn on the air conditioner

29. Where's the FIRST place you'd travel if you had unlimited time and funds? - Italy and then the rest of Europe. :)

Pay it Forward

I've avoided doing this because 1) I'm not creative & 2) I'm not creative. But I really want to get some cute stuff from some other fabulous people so I'll have to do it myself.


The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something, handmade or homemade, from me!


However there are some restrictions and limitations:


1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.


2- What I create will be just for you.


3- It will be done sometime within a year from now.


4- You have no clue what it's going to be.


5-I have to know you so that I can customize the gift!


The catch is if you choose to do this, you must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog!

25 Random Things About Me

So I already posted this on Facebook, but I've been told it was depressing. I blame it on the snow and the fact that I'm falling asleep at work because no one else is here. So, here is the "happy" version of my 25 Random Things. (Just for you Megs.)

1. Brian and I were married on St. Patrick's Day.
2. I love to embarrass our younger siblings by being schmoopy with Brian.
3. I would eat ice cream for every meal.
4. I make awesome chocolate shakes. (I learned from my dad.)
5. I have really great crafty ideas, but I can't seem to make them come to life. That's why I married Brian. He's much better at making ideas into reality than I am.
6. I have a special bond with my younger brother Brad. I think it's because we both have "Joker" smiles.
7. I am the oldest in my family, the oldest grandchild on my dad's side, and I'm older than Brian.
8. I love to be the first at things. Getting married, graduating college, etc.
9. I'm really competitive, in life and in games. Brian doesn't like to play with just me because of this. (But he'll play with other people around, so don't think he doesn't like games.)
10. When I'm really smiling, you can't see my eyes. I get this from my mom.
11. The joke in high school was that you could hear my laugh from the other side of the school. I love my laugh.
12. I have loved my husband since we were 16.
13. I love to read. I want to have a library like Belle in Beauty & the Beast.
14. I'm a big planner. I like to have things all planned out for my entire life.
15. I had braces for 3 years (6th, 7th, & 8th grade.) My dad jokes about how much my smile costs. I love my smile.
16. If I knew nothing else about Brian, I would've married him for his eyes. I hope my babies get his eyes.
17. I love to get new shoes, but I wear the same ones to work almost every day.
18. I want to be a better cook. I think this will be closer to happening when I have more than 2 ft. of counter space. :)
19. I made Brian's Christmas stocking, and I plan to make stockings for all my children.
20. I love to workout with my Wii.
21. I love family reunions/get-together's. Family is the most important thing in my life.
22. I want a house with secret passageways. That's why I married an architect. One day it will happen.
23. One day I want to go to New York, Europe, and Hawaii.
24. I want to do something so important that more than just my family and friends will know who I am.
25. (Insert your own Random Thing here. (well, really in the comments.))

Obviously, I'm bored at work today...

I found this on another blog, and thought I'd do it too.

The Big Read, an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts, has estimated that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed. How do you do?

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible. (Not the whole way through, yet)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare-I've read most of them and took a class, that counts right?
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot .
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh.
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (in progress)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi -Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce Someday.
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince- Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams.
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

What have you done?

Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done with your score. I got 30 out of 99, though I starred the ones that are currently goals of mine. :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii*
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*
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France*
20. Slept on an overnight train
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 (Does Bear Lake count?)
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 Eiffel Tower in Paris*
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
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
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 (- been published in 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 Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

On This Day In History: 10/28/06

Two years ago on 10/28/06 Brian and I got engaged. I didn't have time to post about it, because last week was craziness for me at work, but I wanted to acknowledge this wonderful event in my life. It was a long time coming. We were friends since 2001, had dated for 8 months officially, and had been talking about it for at least 4 of those. I'm so happy Brian just made the decision and surprised me with the proposal, because I think if he left it up to me, it would've taken even longer. He's made me the happiest woman in the world, and I know that I'm so lucky to have him.

I love you babe!

Because I am catching up on posts, I'll include this tag on this one.

Hubby Tag

Answer the questions about your sweetheart…

*What is your husband’s name: Brian Paul Glad

*How long have you been married? 1 year, 7 months, 17 days

*How long did you date? We dated for 8 months officially after his mission (3 months unofficially before) and were engaged for 4 1/2 months

*How old is he? 24

*Who eats more sweets? Me, he's a pretty healthy eater

*Who said I love you first? Him

*Who is taller? Him

*Who can sing best? Him

*Who is smarter? Depends on the subject

*Who does laundry? Both

*Who pays bills? Me

*Who sleeps on the right side? Me

*Who mows the lawn? The apartment guys

*Who cooks dinner? Me, but I really like Marci's arrangement

*Who drives? Him

*Who is first to admit they are wrong? Both

*Who kissed who first? He kissed me first

*Who asked who out first? Well, we did a lot of "hanging out" before dating, so I'm not sure. We'll just say he did.

*Who wears the pants? I like to pretend that I do sometimes, but I will always follow him if he feels something should be done a certain way. But he's pretty mellow & lets me do things how I want. :)

I Am

I am... ready to go home

I think... about babies a lot

I know... I'm supposed to be with Brian

I want... to not have to work

I have... the best husband ever

I wish... I could write the next great American novel

I hate... that I can be so outgoing sometimes and so shy at other times

I fear... not be able to have children of my own

I feel... the keyboard

I hear… nothing, the office is pretty empty today

I smell... toast. Someone had breakfast at work

I wonder... if I'll be a good mom

I regret... not trusting myself when I knew that Brian loved me

I love... Brian, and ice cream.

I always... want to be a better person

I am not... very patient with those I love, unfortunately

I believe... that everything turns out OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end.

I don't always... shave my legs

I lose... track of what I'm thinking because I think about a million things at once

I never... became a "True Aggie"

I listen... to books on CD

I am scared of... losing Brian

I read... as much as I can!


I dislike... fish

I miss... my best friend Val

I crave... ice cream and chocolate

I cry... over the same thing over and over

I usually... avoid working out because I'm too lazy

I search... for good books to read

I care... for my little family

I always... try to make Brian happy

I worry... about Brian when he's mountain biking

I remember... the exact moment I knew I was supposed to marry Brian

I dance... only when I'm hyper

I sing... at church, and to myself

I argue... with almost anyone. I'm very stubborn

I write... about whatever comes to mind and whenever it hits me.

I win... as much as I can. I'm very competitive

I don't understand... why I have to be at work when my boss isn't

I can usually be found... at work or at home. I lead an exciting life

I need... to be doing actually work, but I'm worn out

I forget... to enjoy the moment instead of worrying about the future sometimes

I am happy... because I am blessed, even when things are hard, I feel very blessed

Tag

Rules of this Tag:
1. Answer the questions about the list of friends and/or family on your blog.
2. If you don’t have 18 names answer the question about the next name that you have not had a question for on your list.
3. Tag other people.

When did you first meet the 1st person on your list? Well, Adam is my older cousin, so I probably met him at whatever family function happened first after I was born. Kandis I met at a dinner at Grandma Barlow's house.

What do you like about the 3rd person on your list's blog? Bendi! This is my cousin & her husband. I think that Wendi is such a fun person to be around. She's got so much energy and can always make you smile. And I love Ben because he makes her happy, and because he's got a great sense of humor. Brian and I love hanging out with them.

What do you like best about the 5th and 6th people on your list? Britt is my "deep" cousin. I swear she should be a therapist. She always has such great insights in to what makes people tick. She has a great laugh and we always have such a great time together. I don't personally know Chris, but I've known Amy since she was little. I admire her for taking on some tough things in her life and pulling together such a cute little family.

How long have you known the 9th person on your list? I have known Greg & Jaime since we moved into our ward in November, so... 8 months. They are a very cute family & I love their two cute children.

What impresses you about the 11th and 12th people on your list? What impresses me most about Jason & Brooke is their ability to get along with just about everyone. They're both pretty quiet but they are so fun to be around. What impresses me the most about Jessica is her creativity. She makes blankets, and quilts, and clothes, and does digital scrapbooking. Everything I wish I could do.

What is a memory you have with the 16th person on your list? Wow, where to begin. I've known Meaghan for almost 6 years now and we've done so many things together. Late night movies, Vanilla lemonades, just plain being crazy through college. I guess a memory that sticks out most is when Megs & I were sharing a room & her fiance, now husband, Kyle was over. It was Sunday afternoon, so I had gone in to take a nap & I guess they came in later to do the same thing. I woke up to kissy-noises & jumped up to get out of there. Awkward then, but very funny now.

Say something nice about the 18th person on your list: Emily is awesome! We lived across the street from each other when we were little & I was best friends with her little sister. But when we were fighting I would hang out with Emily because we were both the oldest, and girls, and had long hair. It was our bond. :) Emily's way creative & so artsy.

Tagging: Anyone who wants to.

Sweet

Take the Quiz

K, Susie I'll fight you for him.

Tag

Two names you go by:
1. Melissa
2. Lissa

Two things you are wearing now:
1. My newly cleaned and sautered wedding ring
2. My new sandals

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Be with Brian
2. Read good books

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To go home early from work
2. To be done with school

Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. I've never had any pets
2. And I don't think I ever will

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Whoever wants to
2. or whoever has time

Two things you did last night:
1. Made dinner for the fam
2. Watched Grey's in between reading chapters of my book (Brian said his mind would explode if he tried to do that at the same time.)

Two things you ate/drank today:
1. Pretzels
2. hm, maybe I should eat something more for lunch...

Two people you've talked to today (other than the people that live in your home):
1. My boss
2. Customer service people at work

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Going to school
2. Hanging out with Brian cuz it's his day off

Longest Car Rides you've been on:
1. St. George to San Diego
2. San Diego to St. George, in a van with no air conditioning, during the heat wave a few years ago. We passed through Death Valley at 12:30-ish. Yeah, it was pretty bad.

Favorite holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Fourth of July (I love the fireworks)

Two favorite Beverages:
1. Raspberry lemonade (Only if it's fake, I hate the chunks)
2. Root Beer Float

I tag anyone else that wants to play or is bored like me.

Tagged

I will post about recent events, but I'm waiting on some pics from my mom, so I thought I'd respond to a few tags first.

First from Suzy:

3 Joys
My husband/family
Writing
My church

3 Fears
Walking alone in the dark
Bugs
Being left alone in the world

3 Goals
Catching up in my journal/continuing writing in a journal
Writing a novel/being the next JK Rowling/Stephenie Myers
Raising a strong family

3 Current Obsessions/Collections
Finishing school
Wanting to read all the books on my ever growing reading list
Trying to plan & make dinners every night

3 Random Surprising Facts About Me
I was published in a poem anthology when I was 15
The name I want for my first son is based off of bad grammar by my BFF & myself
I think I'm a little psychic because I can sometimes predict what people are going to say, even if it's a random comment in the middle of a different conversation. (especially with Brian, though I'm sure most wives say this about their husbands).

Next from Wendi:

It's supposed to be 7 interesting facts about you, but I'm only going to do 4 because I just did 3 above.

1. I have never broken a bone, or been stung by a bee, and the only stitches I've had were for my wisdom teeth and the two moles I had removed from my back.

2. If it were healthy, I'd have ice cream for every meal. Not WITH every meal, FOR every meal.

3. I have always thought I have a higher pain tolerance than a lot of people, (though I may not look like it). Because of this I want to have a natural birth for my first child, just to see if I can do it.

4. I am a control freak about certain things and like to have things done my way. I'm just lucky I found Brian and that he's so laid back to handle how I am. Plus, he knew a long time before, what he was getting himself into. :)

Tag

I thought this looked kinda fun, and I really don't have anything new to post anyway. So here goes:

List 16 things about yourself, goals, dislikes, or whatever.

1. It has taken me a little over 5 years to finish college, but come August I'll be done!

2. I have known my husband for over 7 years and I love him more every day.

3. I've been married twice, so when I tell my husband he's the best husband ever, I feel guilty that he'll think I'm comparing him, even though I'm not.

4. I like to go shopping if I have money to do so. If I don't you can't get me anywhere near a mall.

5. I didn't like to buy tall shoes before I got married, but Brian thinks I look sexy in them, so we go shoe shopping together, which I think is great.

6. Brian likes shopping for me more than I do.

7. I wish I were more crafty than I am. I want to work more on my digital scrapbooking once I graduate and start up cross-stitch things and even make knit beanies for premie's at the local hospitals. I have lots of crafty goals that I don't think I'll ever get around to finishing.

8. I hate that my house isn't decorated still. We've lived there 5 months and have hardly anything on the walls. This goes back to my crafty goals, but I want to have a cute house.

9. My husband comes from an immediate and extended family of mostly boys, so everyone keeps saying we'll probably only have boys. I desperately want a girl.

10. I want a baby more than I can explain to anyone. I know that we've only been married a year, and I'm still not done with school, and Brian still has at least 5 more years left of his schooling, so we "should" wait, but I really want one. I try to explain this desire away by the fact that we've known each other for so long, so it seems like "it's time" but in all honesty, I want to be pregnant and have a baby.

11. In the past 6 months, every time I find out that someone I know is pregnant, even though I am truly THRILLED for them, I cry.

12. I'm so excited to be done with school, because then I'll have more time to devote to my writing. I want to write a novel or novels someday, so why not start now?

13. Some people get cravings for food, for a TV show, for clothes, for shoes.... I get cravings to write. It just hits me and I want to write anything. The feeling of pen to paper is best, but even just typing on a computer works. Right now I don't have the time to write, not even in my journal, so I resort to making lists or writing letters to missionaries.

14. I am currently writing in my 20th journal.

15. During my divorce, a lot of people told me stories of friends that fell away from the church when they got a divorce. This thought never even entered my mind. Without my faith and family I never would've made it through. I attribute my deep faith to the faith of my parents. They taught me to be so strong and faithful, so when things like that happen, I know where I can always turn.

16. I truly believe that Brian is the best husband ever and he is my blessing after the trial. He washes dishes, cleans the house, takes out the garbage and even helps make dinner sometimes, all because I'm struggling to make it through these last 2 semesters. He looks at me every day in a way that lets me know how deeply in love with me he is and he does small things all the time to show me as well. I know that we're meant to be together, and I've known it since high school.

I tag anyone else that wants to do this. Have fun!

Tagged

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
I was in the middle of 8th grade
Anxious to get my braces off (after 3 years)
Totally boy crazy, excited to be able to go to the dances
Being silly with friends all the time
Just barely starting to gain some confidence

5 Things on my "To Do" list:
Get all my reading done for my classes ahead of time
Make a menu for the week
Go grocery shopping
Talk to my boss about shortening my crazy hours
Write in journal

5 Snacks I enjoy:
Cookies - any variety
Ice cream - also, almost any variety
Popcorn
Better-than-sex-cake (Skor cake)
Anything sweet, especially at the moment since I haven't eaten anything all day

5 Things I would do if I was a Billionaire:
Pay off all our debt
Pay off our parents debt
Quit my job so I can work on my books
Travel to Europe & Hawaii & Australia &.... everywhere!
Invest it & live of the interest

My bad habits:
Biting my lips
Wanting everything done "my way" (this is an Oldest Child trait, not my fault)
Being too hard on myself

5 Places I have lived:
Salt Lake City, UT
Taylorsville, UT
Logan, UT
That's all for now

5 Jobs I've had:
Newspaper - delivery person
Skool Lunch - food prep
Utah State University - Resident Assitant, Receptionist, Summer Team Leader
Secretary at Insurance Company

Christmas Stuff

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial - I don't know if we're allowed to have real trees in the apartments.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Well this year we put it up the first day of December. Maybe it's a new tradition, maybe it's just that we didn't have a tree to put up the day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Probably around New Year's

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes, we love it! I add Sprite to it to give it a little kick

6. Favorite gift received as a child ?
I got tons of wonderful gifts when I was little. I liked a game called Dream phone or something. I can't remember, but my friends and I played it for years to come. Also a tracing/drawing/clothing design kit that my best friend and I even used in high school.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No, but I would love one. I really want to inherit my mom's because I think it's so pretty and classic.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
Brian and my dad

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Dani

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
We haven't done the Christmas card thing yet. Maybe next year when I'm only working instead of doing school & work

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don't think I've ever gotten a bad one

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
White Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
After Thanksgiving

14. Ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Brownie pudding

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song ?
O Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Usually the farthest we go is my grandma's in Bountiful

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yes

20. Angel on the tree top or a star ?
Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
only Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
the cold

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color?
My favorite ornament is a tie between my "Melissa's first Christmas 1984" and my precious moments that my parents got for me when I was born. Each child got one. Mine is a little girl sitting in a bubble bath. One of my siblings broke her head off one year but we fixed her and you can't even tell. I always hang them in the front of the tree at the top.

24. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I would really just like to have some time to relax and spend with Brian. But anything is welcome. :)

Past, Present, Future

So, my cousin(-in-law), posted this on her site and I thought, what the heck? I'll do it too. Also, my boss is out of town this week, leaving me with very little actual work to do.

What I was doing...

11 years ago: I had just turned 12, finishing up sixth grade. My best friends were Mikelle, Sydney, Heidi, and Val. I spent most of my time playing or babysitting my new little sister Dani. And I wanted to be a writer.

6 years ago: I had just turned 17, finishing my junior year at Brighton. I was dating Tony, and thought I was madly in love. I had just met Brian, which started the doubts of whether I was really in love with Tony. I had just made it into A Capella and Ladies for my senior year, and I was totally excited to be in high school and didn't really want to think about what I had to do after high school.

2 years ago: I had just turned 21, and after attending USU for 3 years, I was now at SLCC. And, after dating, marrying, and divorcing Craig, I was just beginning my relationship with Brian. I was finally happy again, and much stronger than I ever thought I could be. I was finally back to my original goal of being a writer, and I was set to start at the U in the fall.

Yesterday: I was still getting over a little cold I've had, but went to work anyway. Just a regular day, not too busy, not too slow. I paid some bills, I made a list of things I want to get done while my boss is gone, and then I drove home. My wonderful husband Brian got home and we ate dinner and then went to bed. (He gets home around 8:30-9:00ish.)

Today: I got to sleep in a little with my great husband. I love waking up next to him. We got ready and carpooled to work. He's finally rearranged his schedule so he can drive me and pick me up and we can save money on gas as well as get home around 7:00 so we actually have time to do things together during the week. I'm sitting at my great job, which is way flexible and the pay is worth the drive from Bountiful to Salt Lake every day, and back. I've only got two more semesters of school left and I'll finally have my degree, and I'll be able to take time to write my book. I'm loving life, and so completely happy. My marriage is way better than I ever even pictured marriage could be, and I'm so grateful for Brian. He makes everything better.

Tomorrow: I'll get up and go to work again, and not do anything really different, but life is still so good.

Ok, now I'm challenging whoever wants to do it too. Have fun!