Up and Coming

I have always loved

photography and want to get better at it. Well this weekend, I went out with my nephews and we had some fun. Well, I had some fun... I can't guarantee they loved it, but I think it was entertaining enough. Anyway, here are my favorites.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Ok, two things happened to me for the very first time this last week and they rank on almost opposite ends of the spectrum as far as joy achieved.

First, on Friday morning, I got into my car and the radio was turned to a station I don't usually listen to and they were about to give away two tickets to a Colbie Caillat concert. They were deciding what game to choose and they picked a definition game where they give you the definition and you have to give them the word they are defining. I thought, "Hmmm, I never call into these things and I'm not very good at definitions, but I would love to win these tickets, so I think I'm going to call and try to guess it!" Then they gave the definition and it was one word...pancake. Instantly a word flew into my mind and I thought, "HA! I know this!!!" So I call in. BUSY! I had to try again. RINGING!!!! I couldn't believe it. Then, "94.1 the planet, what's your guess?" "Is it flapjack?" "It is!!!! You just won two tickets to Colbie Caillat!!!" So, that was totally awesome that I won tickets because that has never happened before and the fact that I won them on the radio was a new experience too!

The second thing that happened to me for the first time happened yesterday. I was getting ready for church and I was using one of those magnified mirrors to pluck my eye brows. I was sitting in the front room so I would have better lighting and then with a slight turn of my head the light hit my face just right so that my attention was drawn to a different part of my face. Once I focused more intently, I realized there was a fleck of color that has never been there before. I looked again, closer to make sure I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing. And sure enough I was. It was a truly dreadful moment. Reality hit - I had my first gray hair. So, of course what do I do? I pulled it out as fast as I could and examined it more closely. It was about as white as a hair can get and I wanted nothing more than to burn it! My second impulse was to call my mom and ask her how old she was when she found her first gray hair. So, it's official. I'm aged.

Better late than never???

Well, I think it is official that I am not the best at this whole blogging thing. That's ok, I'm not very good at logging on to Facebook or any of those other websites either. My self esteem can handle it. Just a quick update on my life: I am still living in St. George, UT. I am now a financial secretary at an elementary school and I LOVE it!!! I get to go to work and be a goober all day long and I get paid to do it. I love spending the whole day with kids and getting to know who the kids are and what their stories are. Yes, even little kids have stories. Plus, who wouldn't love going to work where every single day a beautiful third grader, named Miranda, tells me that she thinks I look pretty. I want to know where else you will get those kinds of results!

My sister is coming home from her mission in two months and I am pretty excited to get to spend some time with her...we are all making bets on how long she lasts at home. (She is not a home-body and likes to always be on the move!) My parents are trying to get their ducks in a row so they can go on a mission and so, that will make me the "empty nester".

My family recently joined the gym and I am ashamed to say this is the first time I have had a gym membership. But honestly, I kind of like it. I feel like there is a level of accountability or something and it pushes me to go. Plus, it helps that I have a lot of friends who are members of the same gym so I don't feel all alone in my quest to thin my thighs.

Well, for now, that seems sufficient. I will try to write more when I think of more... I cannot make any promises as to when that may be.

Stupid Technology...

GRRRR... ok, so I have a pretty new digital camera. I took many beautiful pictures with it. I took the disk to walmart to print some of the beautiful pictures. The beautiful pictures printed off just fine. I went home to download the beautiful pictures onto my computer from the disk, but my computer wouldn't read the stupid disk. I re-grouped and got the cord to connect my computer to the pretty new digital camera. The pretty new digital camera asked if I was trying to connect to a PC, I said "yes", it went to a black screen that said "One Moment". It said "one moment" for about 45 "one moments". So, I got tired of waiting for "one moment" and I safely removed the mass storage device and called it a day.

The next day, I tried to put the stupid disk back into my computer and it read the disk fine. It downloaded all of the beautiful pictures. I went to look at them. 2/3 of the pictures could be viewed without any difficulty. The other 1/3 of the pictures just show a jpeg icon. All the properties are the same as the other 2/3, my computer just won't let me view the pictures. It pops up a box that says, "Could not open 'C:\Documents and Settings\Bill Boulter\My Documents\My Pictures\April 2009\Lindsays Camera Pictures 507.jpg' because an unknown or invalid JPEG marker type is found." Everyone I ask says they've never heard of that. The 1/3 pictures are deleted off the disk now (I don't know how) and I took it into the camera store and they reformated the disk so it is now blank. So, basically, I have these picture files on my computer now that are, in fact, picture files, they are just encripted or something so I can't look at them!!! I have tried looking at them in an internet explorer window, the desktop, kodak picture viewer, windows picture viewer and I can't figure it out.... HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF THIS?!?!?!?! HELP!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

Nothing...

Ok, so it's been FOREVER since I've been on here and really, I still don't have much to report. Life is treking right along. And my life is a pretty stable routine. Sunday's is church and family. Monday is work, single's ward FHE and 24. Tuesday is work and Biggest Loser. Wednesday is work and a local biggest loser then bowling with the girls from the ward. Thursday is work, Survivor and R.S. Presidency visits. Friday is work, and relax...yay! Saturday changes, but the best part is NO WORK!!! Actually I have something really exciting going on on this Friday, but I will wait to share that for later. And I am super excited for Easter. I don't know why, but I love Easter. And I must say that I think Easter has the best candy...even better than Halloween! Oh, and this Sunday, I have to talk in Sacrament meeting. All they said was something Easter appropriate... ummm, can we say BROAD!! So, any ideas or stories or quotes, etc. would be FABULOUS!!!

My Country Tis of Thee

I generally don't like to get into politics with people because I generally am not super opinionated about it, but I am very concerned about the future of our country and who the people leading it really are and what they're doing. I love this country and the freedoms that come with living here. I love the Constitution and believe people should read it regularly to remind them what we are not only fighting for, but what we are so blessed to have. I worry about so many of the changes people are trying to make and fear they will only take us down the wrong path.

However, I also believe there are many people out there who feel and think the same way I do. People who are not afraid to stand up for basic truths and principles that this country was founded on. My Mom brought this quote to my attention. I think it is profound in many ways, but especially because it was said right in the midst of the Great Depression. Anyway, here it is...I hope it inspires you to make your voice heard so that our country can rise past the current trials.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." ~~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

And not to drag this on forever, but here is another quote my sister-in-law found by Heber J. Grant:
"We again warn our people in America of the constantly increasing threat against our inspired Constitution and our free institutions set up under it. The same political tenets and philosophies that have brought war and terror in other parts of the world are at work amongst us in America. The proponents thereof are seeking to undermine our own form of government and to set up instead one of the forms of dictatorships now flourishing in other lands. . . .

. . . Communism and all other similar isms bear no relationship whatever to the United Order. They are merely the clumsy counterfeits which Satan always devises of the gospel plan. . . . Latter-day Saints cannot be true to their faith and lend aid, encouragement, or sympathy to any of these false philosophies. They will prove snares to their feet. I counsel you, I urge you, I plead with you, never, so far as you have voice or influence, permit any departure from the principles of government on which this nation was founded, or any disregard of the freedoms which, by the inspiration of God our Father, were written into the Constitution of the United States."

Overwhelmed!

Ok, so I had a pretty big surprise this last week. Last Sunday, the Executive Clerk from my ward called and asked if I could meet with the Bishop that day before church, but since I was in Provo, I wouldn't be able to meet that day, so I set up an appointment for later in the week. Well, then like two hours later, I got a call from my Bishop! He wanted to talk to me and also asked if I could meet with him that day, so again, I explained that I was in Provo, but if he wanted to talk over the phone, then that was fine. He said that he probably needed to talk to me in person and so he would just wait until Tuesday for the appointment that I set up with the Exec. Clerk.

Ok, so after that, I was thinking, "What in the world could be so urgent??? I mean, I already have a calling and to my knowledge, I haven't done anything wrong....." So, I kept thinking and stewing over it. Well, on Monday, I saw one of my friends from the ward and asked him if there were any major changes in the ward that happened on Sunday and he said that the old R.S. Presidency was released. Instantly, I'm sure I looked like a deer in headlights because that is just crazy... I mean, yes, I am one of the more outgoing active girls in the ward, but still...that's just crazy talk! Then my friend must have seen the terror in my eyes because he said not to worry because they put in the new Presidency that same day. Pfeeew! But then I was back at square 1....no clue...

So, Tuesday came around and I went into meet with the Bishop, completely clueless. And what do you think he said?!?!....well, I will tell you! "As you may know, we just released our previous RS Presidency and called a new presidency last week except for one calling...." (I'm thinking, "WHAT?!?! That's not what Kade (my friend) said...he said they were all called....") "and we would like to extend the calling of 2nd counselor over Enrichment to you." Holy Crap! I am so clueless.... So, any help/advice/ideas, etc...would be VERY much appreciated. I don't have a clue what I'm doing and I'm sure I'll totally botch it up at some point in time! Sometimes I really wonder what the Lord is thinking and how hard he has to be laughing because this is just nuts! So, I'm sure there will be more posts to come about how I made a fool of myself in some form or fashion!