Fall Fun

I've decided that Fall is probably my second favorite season, coming in right behind Spring. The colors are amazing and its host to my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. This fall has been a ton of fun, especially because my sister and her daughter were able to come down and visit us for a week just before Halloween. We went to the strip of course and got an amazing pastry from the Bellagio bakery called Jean Philippe. My mom and sister got a carrot cake.

Doesn't it look A-MAZ-ING? We love treating ourselves there every once and a while. I highly recommend it. We also got to go to a pumpkin patch with the whole gang. The kids got to play on these bungee rides that were set up and Chase LOVED it.
Its too bad that we all live so far from each other. I used to think it didn't matter that our family was only able to get together once or twice a year, but since we've been able to get together a little more often and since all of my nieces and nephews are getting older, I've realized how much I really wish that we all lived within a few miles of each other. . .Maybe it will happen someday. :)

The Move

The last 2 weeks of my life have been lived in fast forward it seems. I have moved from an apartment in Cedar City with two roommates to a house in C.C. by myself. (Thanks Scott and Shirley!) I traveled to Missoula, MT, packed up a friend there and we drove down to Las Vegas in the span of 4 days. (Janes, why did we not take any photos?) While in Montana I went tubing down a river for the 1st time, where I discovered that I have a severe aversion to floating down a river, on a tube, at sunset, when there are rapids (even if they were very small ones) and partially submerged logs. I'm sure this activity is normally very relaxing and fun, I just found out that it's not very fun when the sun has almost completely set, its cold and there are bugs flying everywhere. Though on a side note, we did see a lot of white-tailed deer and even a beaver. :)
Once I drove back to Cedar City (the same day we drove from Lehi, UT to Las Vegas mind you) I still had to unpack from my move to the new place and be at work at 6 a.m. the next morning. Granted I ended up not going into work until 11. (I know. . . I'm a slacker.) But you try driving over 1700 miles in 4 days and then trying to work that early. Honestly though, the time in the car went by relatively quickly. Thank goodness for books on CD and great friends! Definitely a first in my book. . . I don't know how truckers do it.
And now I am adjusting to living by myself. This is the first time I've ever lived all alone before and its taking some getting use to I have to say. There are definitely some perks: no one to disturb with loud music, having to close doors for privacy or fighting over what to watch. But it is hard to get used to the silence and no late-night conversations with roommates. I guess this means I will be getting more sleep, right? ;P Or at least I should be. . .
Well I guess that's enough of me rambling along and struggling with my typing skills as well. I guess now that I have a lot of time to myself I'll be able to blog more.
Aren't you all lucky?

Update...Finally!

So I was looking through everyone else's blogs and noticed that it has been an entire YEAR since I posted anything about my life. . . I've been keeping busy this summer with catching prairie dogs up here in Cedar City, UT. Its been a lot of fun, we've seen some crazy prairie dogs this summer including one that had 2 giant tumors in her stomach...She looked like a frog. I wish I had had my camera that day. Monsoon season started really early here, we've had afternoon showers almost every day. There's nothing like risking electrocution while releasing prairie dogs out in the desert. :) I have the best job! I can't believe the summer is almost over already.I was able to go to Yosemite National Park for the first time ever this summer as well.
It was so beautiful! As you can see:

It was a crazy trip . . . Let's just say 3 out of the 4 people on the trip came down with the stomach flu. Enough said. Well, actually not. . .One of that number had to be carted down the mountain on a modified gurney. There, now enough said. I was also able to attend a Shakespearean Festival Show last night. Macbeth. So good! It was awesome. I don't know why I waited so long to go to one of these shows. I've also been able to see the Green Show three times now. I know, it sounds excessive, but hey, its free and you get to be outside. :) So I guess that's really it for my summer news so far. I promise I will try to post way more often from here on out.

Maundering

I don't know why, but I have this insatiable urge to collect "things". Don't ask me where I acquired this trait, but when it comes to collecting, buying and saving things, I just can't tell my brain "No." For instance, I will sometimes drive down to Kohl's and simply wander around the Clearance section just for the off chance that something might catch my eye. A funny shirt, a cute skirt or a camisole of some variety (I don't think a girl can have enough cami's) that I might be able to purchase for just a fraction of its original cost. Other times I will be walking through Target or Wal-Mart and they have the most wonderful set-up in their store: Clearance shelves at the end of their aisles! Is there anything more glorious than that? It doesn't seem to matter whether or not I need the item -- just that, once again, I am able to purchase it for 30, 50, or 70% off! And that is my sad little secret, I cannot resist the word clearance. So you might imagine that I have accumulated quite a bit of stuff, just from my "can't resist a bargain" gene. On top of this addiction, I also struggle with the thought that "I don't have any use for this now, but I may have need of it someday." Let me tell you, it adds up and rather quickly too. . . And last but not least, I suffer from being a packrat which equates to trouble when it comes to sorting through my belongings on occasion. It rears its ugly head as I contemplate objects in my closet which I have not used in weeks, months, or even years in some cases. The thought still crosses my mind: "I might need this sometime soon, I better keep it a little longer. . ." For example: When I changed rooms in my house last month, I had to try and get rid of some of my accumulated wealth because the room I moved into is smaller than the one I was previously occupying. I did myself proud I think because after 9 years of toting around my rollerblades I finally gave them away. Now this may not seem like a big accomplishment, you may be imagining that I got a lot of use out of those things over almost a decade, but I'm here to disabuse you of that notion because I received those roller blades as a gift for my 16th birthday and I don't remember wearing them above 2 times in the years I've owned them. How's that for thinking "Maybe one day I will get in to roller blading."

The Bane of My Existence

Imagine for a moment, if you will, a warm, freshly baked cookie from Otis Spunkmeyer. I think most people agree that that Company knows how to create some delicious bakery delights. Now imagine working in an office that bakes a fresh batch of cookies in at least 3 different varieties every morning and they look like this:

and where do you suppose this tray of cookies rests? That's right. . . directly in front of my side of the desk! I have the privilege of not only doling out cookies to patients all day long -- I also get to enjoy the delicate scent of the cookies wafting to my nose all day long. And woe betide to me if I skipped breakfast because that only seems to amplify the enticing power of these delectable cookies. I figure that I eat approximately 8 of these ridiculous cookies a week - a grand total of 1400 calories or so in my diet purely from these cookies. So I think you can understand why they have become the bane of my existence for the last year. . .

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

So, I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday. It was not what I expected that's for sure. My bottom two teeth were not completely removed because I was at high risk for nerve damage. The groove in which the nerve in my jaw is encased runs right next to the roots of those teeth and if they had removed the roots it would probably cause numbing, affect my sense of taste and/or paralysis of the facial nerve. So when I get the chance, I will take another pano and show how they took the crown off each tooth and left the roots. Dr. Holtzen was great at explaining everything and the surgery went off without a hitch. He hopes that the bone will heal right over the roots and I won't have any more problems. And this is what I looked like an hour or so after surgery.............................

Thank goodness for Loritab, though I didn't start feeling too bad until late last night. I will post more pictures as my recovery goes on. And if you haven't taken your kids in to get their wisdom teeth out: Look into it! Dr. Holtzen recommends that you get them out around 15 years of age so you don't have to worry about the roots interfering with the nerve like I did!

Tee Time Anyone?

So I was invited to go golfing for the first time in my life on Saturday. . . and suprisingly I had a good time. : ) My friend Amber went for the first time too and that was one of the only reasons I agreed to go. Unfortunately, I have this strange habit of thinking I need to do really well at something the first time, or I don't enjoy it too much, but after scoring a 12 on a 3 par hole and having to stick out for another 8 holes, I have to say - golfing was fun, in a challenging/frustrating sort of way. But seriously, I've been to the driving range 2 times before in my life and there is nothing like having 3 people in your own group waiting for you to get your rear in gear and other golfers on the course behind you to make you really concentrate on doing a good job of hitting that tiny golf ball. Not that it seemed to help my technique...You will notice the straight legs in this picture. . .

Apparently it helps to keep your knees bent. But I'm definitely going to give golf another try. I actually hit a couple of good ones. I got a 68 on a 27 par course --Feel free to laugh (guys especially), but keep in mind, I've only hit a golf ball like 6 or 7 times in my life up until Saturday. So I'm happy with it. Amber shot a 55! She is such a talented athlete! I'm so impressed with her. : ) All-in-all, I would say it was a very good day.

I know. . . I need a tan. . .