Names and Blessings

My brother and sister-in-law took their daughters to church for the first time on Sunday! My parents and brothers, Lindsey's parents, and many of the Craven cousins were there to support my brother Adam as he gave his two daughters each a name and a blessing. Five years ago when he blessed his son, G-unit, I took notes to record as much of the blessing I can (my shorthand isn't great), and I determined to do the same for the girls. I did all right, but was glad to hear another lady had also taken notes and one of Adam's friends audio recorded it. I have a copy of my baby blessing, and I really wanted the girls to have theirs, so I'm glad so many people were paying attention!

The little girls were darling in their dresses -- Summer in one that Mom bought and Zoe in one that Lindsey's mom had picked out. After the meeting, the whole family trooped to my parent's house for yummy sandwiches and together time. I do love to be with these people!

Adam and Lindsey asked my dad to take some photos of his granddaughters and he was happy to oblige! The girls were mostly content to have their photos taken, both pulling faces and looking confused at all of the attention and clicking sounds. How happy we are to have these little sweeties in our lives!

Summer

Zoe

Summer and her proud papa

Zoe (the baby whose face you can see) wonders how many more photos Boppa wants to take

Sisters who seem to have the same thing in mind!

A darling little family

Thoughts on a Thursday

Just a few things I've had on my mind that I want to share with the interWeb:

1. I learned on Monday that being afraid that I won't know anyone at Family Home Evening is NOT a good reason not to go. I learned this because that was the main reason I considered staying home. I decided to go, and when I arrived at the church to carpool to the party I knew three of the five people already waiting around. I ended up being one of the last to leave because I had so many people to talk to.

I think this could apply to the rest of my life. I am too afraid of fear. I need to get over that and improve my quality of life! I am cute and fun -- even if I hadn't known anyone there, who wouldn't want to talk with me, right?!

2. Sometimes I get really morbid and start worrying about living by myself. If I died alone in my apartment, how long would it take for someone to find me? Would anyone at work check on me within three days? If I died on a Monday, would anyone in my family notice before Sunday, and even if they did would they come over to physically check if I didn't answer their calls?

This is NOT me begging for more time and attention from anyone. I KNOW this is a silly thing to worry about but still I sometimes wonder. I'm thinking like a little old lady already...except I don't want cats to keep my company...

3. I finally saw Hello Dolly! at HCT last night and it was phenomenal! It's probably one of my top 10 favorite plays I've seen there (and as a long-time season ticket holder I have seen quite a few of their shows). The dancing was great, the characters were great, the costumes were great. Dolly Levi is officially one of my new dream roles. The cast was wonderful, though sadly it turns out I know a lot more people in the other cast. Oh well.

Hi Lizzy! It was fun to see you last night! I'm excited to check our your blog today!

4. I have started watching the t.v. show Mad Men on Comcast's On Demand. They didn't have season 1, so I'll have to rent it later, but I'm five episodes into season 2 and it's awesome! I very much wish women still dressed the way they did then. I love, love, love pretty much everything Joan wears. I may not be as curvy as she, but I think I could rock those form-fitting dresses.


C'est tout!

The Search for a Swimsuit

**Note: Turns out, my camera isn't dead after all! It was just the memory card that died. Hooray!

I am in need of a new swimsuit. I don't use mine very often, but I haven't had a new one in years and the old two are getting a little worn. Trouble is, the suits in style nowadays are terrible! I don't feel comfortable in a bikini. I have two tankini's and I'm over them -- I want a one-piece. I've tried Target, Nordstrom, GAP, VS, American Eagle... and I'm not sure where else.

The Gateway is one of my favorite places in the world. Yes, the WHOLE WORLD! I like that I get to walk around outside, I like the displays, I like that there aren't a ton of middle-of-the-walkway booths, I love the selection of stores, and best of all:


The fountains are awesome. I wish I was a kid so I could run around in the fountain without raising eyebrows (next time one of you goes with your kids, will you invite me?). Once I was walking past and a bunch of high school kids started singing "Do You Hear the People Sing" from Les Miserables in the middle of that fountain. It was awesome! It's a magical place for me.

Oh, and now I'm going to rant about salesmen: After events on Friday and Saturday I am SICK of people not listening when I tell them I'm not interested something extraneous they want me to buy. Everyone from salespeople to credit card companies to my university decided to inundate me with "investment opportunities" on the same two days. I started crying during one -- man, did that girl feel guilty. I was just so frustrated and tired of it! I don't like being rude to people but they practically give me no choice! I said "No" politely four times to the guy at the GAP before I finally acted like a jerk and he backed off. Pushy people -- good at their jobs, but bad for my self-esteem.

...Anyway, just for fun I tried on some crazy bikinis at Victoria Secret. Surprisingly, I didn't look half bad. I was helped by some awesome lighting, because I went to Nordstrom later to try on suits and my legs looked TERRIBLE! But I felt good about myself at VS, though I didn't buy anything. Obviously, they are aware that people want to think they look good in the clothes they are interested in purchasing.

I failed to find a suit on Saturday. Instead, I found a great pair of jeans, shorts, a cute t-shirt, and a great swimsuit cover-up (which was on sale for less than $10 -- boo-yah!):


Long story short (too late!) does anyone know where I can find cute one-piece swimsuits?

Gratitude, Irony, and Ensign Peak

**Disclaimer: My digital camera died, and since I don't want to buy myself a new one I must wait until my birthday in September for a new one. Until then, I'll be making memories with a disposable camera, but unfortunately I probably won't post any of my own photos on my blog for awhile. I will try to find other images so my posts aren't too boring to read.

Today's photos are brought to you by ribizlifozelek on Flickr.com**


As as member of my Singles Ward's Family Home Evening (FHE) Committee which plans group activities for every Monday, I have/get to be in charge of the activities once every couple of months. Ironically, this go-around I ended up with a hiking activity. Have I ever mentioned that hiking is possibly my least favorite thing to do... except maybe wash dishes? No, actually, I would rather wash dishes than hike. Walking is fine. Walking up a steep hill... not something I like to do.

Anyway, since Pioneer Day is on Friday, the idea was to hike Ensign Peak, and then have some people talk about their pioneer ancestors and/or what Pioneer Day means to them. Cool idea, right? (I wish I could take credit, but I didn't come up with it.) This prompted me to have to talk to a bunch of people on Sunday to find some who planned to come to FHE and were willing to prepare something to talk about for 3-5 minutes. By the end, I had 3 maybes, and 2 solid "yes"-es (I only asked maybe 6 people total -- it wasn't like they were turning me down in droves). I figured even if it was just the two I'd be happy. Meanwhile, it was really fun talking to all those people. I talked to some I hadn't in awhile, and reintroduced myself to others. Plus, I had randomly decided to sleep with pincurls the night before and wear my hair in Shirley Temple ringlets, and I'm not kidding, people were coming out of the woodwork to comment on it, especially the boys. It was really cool. I already felt cute and flirty because of the hair, so the sociality was a bonus, a very welcome one. I stayed after church for the Root beer Float social and had a lot of fun. I'm starting to feel comfortable in my ward, finally!

I made rice crispy treats Sunday night and asked some members of the committee to bring non-meltable treats. I had forgotten how good rice crispy treats are and how sticky they are to make! I also bought some water bottles, in case people forgot to bring their own. We met at the church building at 7pm, and by 7:15 there were probably at least 40 people there! I welcomed everyone, gave driving directions to Ensign Peak (which I had pulled off the Internet on Saturday), passed out the water, and reminded everyone of the break-ins at the church parking lot and not to leave purses in the car. A girl volunteered to give the opening prayer, and we were off!

On the way to Ensign Peak, I really started to worry... it's what I do best seeing as I have a lot of practice. Would people find the trail based on my instructions? Would we die from the heat? Would the "lesson" part work or would people find it boring? Would we have room for all of us at the top? I only voiced the first concerns, and the other people in my car assured me it would be fine. I kind of panicked when we arrived and I saw how many non-ward people were there, but worrying wouldn't fix that either, so I just said "Let's go!"

I mentioned I loathe hiking, right? Yeah, um, this was a hard hike. Even people who are hikers said that Brother F's assurances "it's an easy hike for non-hikers" was misleading. It is very short, but it's pretty much straight up a fairly steep hill. The rice crispy treats I carried in my messenger bag were light and didn't really weigh me down -- my quivering legs and gasping breath would have slowed me down even without the added weight. I really, really just wanted to go home, but I couldn't -- I was in charge of the activity and had to rally everyone at the top! I lagged further and further behind. Then, nearing the top, I saw that some of the girls had waited for me. They recommended I drink from my water bottle, took my messenger bag from me, and offered a lot of encouragement as we approached the top. They made it more fun for me, and since some walked behind me, I wasn't the last to the summit. I am really grateful for them.

A view from the top

There was a big group of hikers from various places at the top. I still don't know a ton of the people in the ward, so gathering them all together seemed daunting. Fortunately, one of the guys in my car, Brad, knows pretty much everyone and isn't shy at all. He did most of the rallying, and the group found a spot on the hill to sit. We even had a few people join us who weren't originally part of the group. Again, I thanked everyone for coming, and said I had asked two people to say a few things. While they were talking, I passed around the cookies and rice crispy treats, which seemed to go over well.

First, Charlotte talked about the pioneers, their struggles, and what we can learn from their examples. My favorite of her quotes was "It didn't matter who got here first. The point is that they got here."

Then, my cousin Bryce told a story about our mutual great+ grandfather Simon Dalton, who I had never heard of before. Simon joined the church with his wife in New York, but when he wanted to move to Nauvoo, his wife chose to stay behind. So, Simon took his two oldest sons to Nauvoo. He was a knife-maker by trade and part of the "whistle and whittle brigade". Basically, a group of men would walk around and whistle while whittling, hence the name. Whenever someone nefarious came to town the brigade would surround them, whistle and whittle, and basically creep the nefarious character out until he left. In my opinion, that's pretty awesome. How had I never heard of this before?

It was a short but good presentation. I said a prayer to close the meeting, and then everybody just hanged out at the summit for awhile. I read a couple of the plaques, talked with a bunch of friends, and enjoyed the sunset. Since we had left the church so late in the evening, it was nice and cool at the top -- really a perfect night to make the hike. I felt really grateful that it had all worked out so well. A lot of people said it was a great activity and we had a lot of fun. I was glad I'd made it to the top, and for everyone who helped me throughout the evening. I'd prayed a lot for guidance, peace, help, and safety, and I know that Heavenly Father gave me everything I needed.

Hooray for a great evening!

Gun Un-Shy

A few weeks ago, I asked my dad, "Dad, do you own guns?" Turns out, he's had them for my entire life and I had no idea! I asked if he'd be willing to teach me to shoot sometime. It looks like it could be a lot of fun -- in a safe environment, of course. He had taught my brothers to shoot, but although he'd asked me I wasn't interested as a teenager.

So, I was thrilled when Dad called Thursday to ask if I'd want to go shooting. I didn't even mind getting up at 6:00 on a Saturday morning so we could go before the weather got too hot. He brought my brothers Peter and Aaron, his friend Vlad, and Vlad's son-in-law Andre. Vlad and Andre are both originally from Russia, so it was neat to hear their accents, answer their questions about American history, and hear about what a doctor's life and gun control are like in Moscow. (Andre's a doctor. Turns out, fewer people have guns in Russia than they do here, so he doesn't see a lot of bullet wounds. I didn't know that.)

We drove over to Utah lake and found a non-residential place up a dirt road. We weren't the first to shoot there, as evidenced by a LOT of shells and junk with bullet holes all over the place. It comforted me immensely knowing that my dad and brothers are all accomplished Boy Scouts. Peter had even brought his BSA Guns and Shooting manual to refer to.

My brothers set up targets and tin cans and some shot-up bowling pins, and my dad brought out 6 different kinds of guns, all rifles: 1) 12-gauge shotgun, 2) 20-gauge shotgun, 3) deer rifle, 4) ball-and-powder musket/muzzleloader, and 5&6) two 22-caliber rifles. He gave us a few minutes of instruction, reminding us to make sure the safety is on and not to point the gun at another person EVER. "Always treat it like it's loaded, even if you know it isn't."

I was very impressed with Dad, Aaron and Peter's skills. They hit more targets than they missed, and were very patient with me as I learned to load and shoot.

Aaron with the deer rifle

Peter with the musket

I shot each of the guns a few times, but my favorite was one of the 22-caliber rifles. It was the gun my grandpa used to teach my dad to shoot; my uncle had it for years and finally gave it to Dad last summer. I didn't think at first that I was hitting anything, so I was really surprised when my brothers presented me with my target sporting several bullet holes in it! The deer rifle was awesome, too -- the scope made it easy to hit the bowling pins.

The results of my first bunch of shots

By the end of the three hours, I was managing to knock over some tin cans, and even hit one clay pigeon out of the air by sheer luck. It was FUN! Totally worth getting up early. Always nice to try something new, eh? I'm excited to go shooting again!

Dad with a 22-caliber rifle

I love how completely kick-butt I look with the deer rifle in this photo!

Me and my expert teachers -- they are the best!

(Thanks Aaron for helping me with all of the gun designations and labeling which are modeled in each photo. We'll have to go again so I can get better acquainted with them all!)

Harry Potter Tuesday!

I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I think the characters are great and I am FLOORED by the attention to detail in the plot. When I read the seventh book I was totally amazed by references to the older books that seemed innocuous at the time but ended up being really important. There is a reason the Harry Potter books became such a phenomenon: they are wonderful! I've been rereading books 6 and 7, and I am delighted -- I had forgotten how good the writing is.

The whole phenomenon is one of the reasons I wanted to be an editor in college. Wouldn't it be incredible to be part of a project that got so many kids reading? Kids who started when the first book came out, and ten years later were excited to see how the last one ended. How many authors have that effect on people?

I am also a fan of the movies. I think the actors are great and the screenplays have enough of the details to keep me happy. They may not have been made the way I picture them in my head and some key information and great lines are missing, but how tough must it be to translate a 500+ book into a 2+ hour movie? No, the directors and especially artistic directors have done a great job. I rewatched the first four movies last week in preparation for the latest, and was reminded once again how much I enjoyed them. It was also fun to think about the circumstances of my seeing all of them:
1. I saw the first movie the first day with my brothers Peter and David at about 10 at night. I wore a cloak, and I remember thinking it was kind of cool that David was wearing his glasses, Peter has red hair, and I have curly hair, like the three main characters! Since David was the one who introduced me to Harry Potter (he even read the first few chapters aloud for me), I was glad to see the movie with him. When we took my mom to see it a couple weeks later, she was inspired to make David and I our very own House scarves for Christmas -- Hufflepuff for David and Gryffindor for me. I always get compliments when I wear mine. One girl chased me down the street to ask me where I got it. Well done, Mom!
2. I saw the second movie a few days after it had come out; I was in school at the time and took a break from studying to see a matinee. I thought I'd hate the spider scene more than I actually did... There weren't many people in the theatre, and since I'd heard there was an extra scene at the end I made sure to tell as many people as possible to stay until the end of the credits.
3. When I saw the third movie, I had tickets for a noon matinee, and took the afternoon off at work. I invited a guy friend I had a HUGE crush on (we were both writing HP fanfiction at the time), and his best friend the Brad Pitt of our singles ward. They were pretty disappointed by the film, but I liked it!
4. For the fourth movie, a friend of my Dad rented out an entire theatre on opening day, so I got to go for free. I took the day off work again to see it with my mom, and even though it was in July I took my scarf. Why not?
5. For some reason, I didn't see the fifth movie until a week after it was released. I was tired of waiting for a group of friends to go, so I went by myself on a Saturday afternoon. When I got out of the movie, I had a message on my phone from my brother Aaron asking if I wanted to see the movie with him. So I went again that night. It was so fun seeing it with someone who wasn't familiar with the books. He hated Professor Umbridge as much as I did :D

This brings us to last Tuesday, the day before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (movie 6) came out. My friends Kate and Laren had put together a group to see the film at 12:01 opening day. When they first mentioned the idea, I thought "I should invite Aaron". I had intended to do so, but the deadline to RSVP was the week I got sick and I forgot. Luckily, they had one ticket left over, and were happy to sell it to me. However, when Aaron came into town and I mentioned I had a ticket, he expressed an interest in going, as I had thought he might. A friend at work had mentioned he had tickets for 5:30 on Tuesday; I asked if there were any left that day, and he managed to get three. I bought two for Aaron and I and mentioned to another work friend, Emily A, that there was a third, so the three of us ended up going together. I had no worries Aaron and Emily would get along -- they are both the kind of people who get along with everyone.

Aaron met Emily and at work at 4, we drove to the District theatre together, found awesome seats, and Emily and I walked over to Target to buy snacks. We didn't see many people dressed up for that showing, but there were plenty waiting in the lobby when the movie was over. Hagrid, Tonks, Luna, and even one guy dressed as a Nimbus 2000 -- with a broom fitted around his neck to go over his head! It was pretty awesome.

But those costumes were nothing compared to the craziness going on at the Gateway when I finally arrived there about 11:30 that night. I am pretty sure the people with feathers were Hedwig, one guy looked like the European Father Christmas but probably was supposed to be Professor Dumbledore, and one middle-aged woman had brought a live owl. How cool is that? It was great to sit with my friends and see the movie again--

I liked the movie a lot! Book 6 is my favorite, mostly because of the contract of light-hearted humor and teenage angst vs. all of the dark goings-on and shocking climax. I wanted to like Jim Broadbent more as Professor Slughorn -- I thought he was surprisingly low energy -- but everyone else was fantastic, especially Rupert Grint and Bonnie Wright as Ron and Ginny, my two favorite characters from the series. Oh! And Alan Rickman was fantastic as Snape and I think Tom Felton is brilliant. If the bad guy in a movie stinks it just doesn't work (I could give you examples), but they more than made up for the lack of Voldemort. Good movie!

And if you want the opinion of someone who hasn't read the books, Aaron loved it too. He's going to take his girlfriend to see it when he returns to D.C.

So... go see it! Even if you already have! I'm already looking forward to the next in November 2010...

...I think I'll go to my condo pool and finish the last chapter of the novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this afternoon.

To read about my experience seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1, see this post.

Family Photos

Sunday was a big day at the Smyth house. Not only were we celebrating my dad's birthday, but it was the first day my brother Aaron was in town for a week-long visit from D.C., AND Adam and Lindsey brought the twins over for the first time! I hadn't seen the girls in weeks, and Aaron had never met them! Needless to say, there was a lot of cheering and hugs and excited chattering. I had my unexpected reunion with Aaron when he showed up in Sacrament meeting at church a few hours earlier. If I had checked my text messages I would have known he was coming; it was better this way, though. I was thrilled when Adam asked if I wanted to hold one of my nieces. I literally RAN to wash my hands and lather up with antibacterial goo! Those little girls are so gorgeous. My dad couldn't resist a few shots of him with both of his granddaughters in his arms:
Summer, Grandpa, and Zoe

Since it was the first time we'd all been together since Thanksgiving, we probably won't all be together again until next Thanksgiving, and we have new family members, we decided to take some family photos. Here are some of my favorite shots:

G-unit and Zoe (note Zoe's "baby jazz hands")

Being tough (Broadway Style, in my case)

bright-eyed Summer (also showing off "baby jazz hands")

Peter and Jordyn

The whole family

Potter Puppet Pals

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens tonight and I am super-excited. I get to see it twice today! I've had a ticket reserved for 12:01am for weeks with my friends Kate, Brandon, Laren, Stephanie J, and I don't know who else. That's going to be a blast. My brother Aaron is in town this week, and we were lucky enough to get tickets to a show at 5:30 in the afternoon today! It was totally last minute, and I have to give props to Chris H for the hook-up. Thank you!

I've been frantically trying to finish the book before the movie came out, but I still have 200 pages to go. It's probably my favorite of the series, and since I hadn't read it in awhile and have been delighted by plot twists I didn't remember. I'll still finish later this week, and I remember the ending quite vividly. Teaches me to think I could read it in 8 days with a full-time job and social life!

Just for fun, here's a short Harry Potter-themed video. It doesn't give anything away from the movie -- it's pure silliness and it makes me laugh every time I watch it.


Hope all who see the movie enjoy it. As I said, I'm excited!

Electronics Angst

Remember how my computer stopped recognizing my scanner, and I spent all of the Independence Day weekend trying to get it to work, which it still doesn't? Yeah, well, last night I logged onto my computer, and suddenly I have no IP address, which means I don't have access to the internet. Oh, and my camera died yesterday, so I can no longer take, view, or download photos. This means that all of the adorable photos I have of me holding my gorgeous nieces are inaccessible, though hopefully not for forever. I'd been planning to ask for a camera for my birthday, but that's 2 months away. I don't know if my disposable one will cover me for that long.

Meanwhile, there is a huge crack in my car's windshield (not electronic, but I'm pretty annoyed).

I'd wanted to spend the money I've saved on fun stuff, not putting out fires. Looks like life had other plans.

A Spiritual Hug and a Physical One

I haven't been to an LDS Temple Open House since the Bountiful Temple Open House, so I didn't know what to expect. My ward passed around sign-ups a few weeks again for everyone who was interested, and I put my name down. They said the church was doing it differently this time, where people don't get tickets, just group reservations. Since I hadn't been in so long, I very naively assumed that when I got to the temple I'd see my ward members gathered in a big group, and I could just go join them. With that in mind, I didn't call our group coordinator ahead of time.

When I pulled up to the parking lot yesterday, a volunteer asked me if I knew which parking lot my ward was supposed to be in. That was when I found out that information, along with the tent I was supposed to meet my ward in, were in the reservation information, and since I hadn't called my coordinator, I had no idea. The volunteer asked me which ward I was in, and when I told him he said, "Uh-oh, that's one of the new ones." Even he had no idea where I should go. He said to try to get ahold of the coordinator (which I was not able to) and in the meantime sent me to the South parking lot.

I never was able to find my ward's group. Instead, I picked a tent and watched the short video on temples and the history of Oquirrh Mountain with a bunch of young families. I felt really awkward for a few minutes and then thought, "Hey, why do I think I don't belong here? I could very well be a single sister in this family ward." It wasn't like anyone was giving me weird looks. They were more concerned that their kids might bother me, and I didn't mind those cute kids one bit.

It ended up being a really cool experience, going through with the family ward. I took my time wandering around and explored everything I had access to because, really, when am I going to get out to this temple again? I loved that there was a young family in front of me. The mother and father kept pointing out neat paintings and the stars on the windows to their two little boys and I thought, "This is what the church and the temple is all about -- teaching your children about the gospel so that they'll go to the temple, make their own covenants with the Lord, and be sealed to their own sweethearts and children one day." For some reason, that hadn't hit me until then. It made me even more excited to teach my own future children about temples!

When we reached the sealing room, where couples are married, we were instructed to find a place to sit. (But first, I tripped on the carpet and very ungracefully managed not to fall on my face. My three-inch wedge-heel shoes hadn't been a problem until that moment! Everyone in the room was gracious and grateful I wasn't hurt.) A middle-aged couple talked about the significance of the room and what it means to them to be sealed to their family for eternity. They let us sit quietly for a little while, and I took the opportunity to pray quietly. During my mission, I described feeling the spirit as an "intangible hug", and I felt one as I sat in my chair in the sealing room. Heavenly Father was aware of my needs and knew what I needed to feel at that moment. It was wonderfully reassuring.

After finishing the tour, I walked around the grounds outside the temple for a few minutes, then decided to grab my camera from my car and take some photos of the front of the building. It felt so good to be there I didn't want to leave! It would have been nice to be there with my ward, but I'm glad I was able to stay and look around.

The Open House will continue until August 1. Go if you have the chance. You don't have to be a member of the church to go inside during the open house. For more information about the open house, click this link. For more general information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, click this link.

On my way home from the temple, I realized that I very much needed a real hug. I didn't want to go home just yet. Luckily, I was driving past Stephanie M's house, so I stopped by. She is so nice about me dropping in unannounced! She gave me many hugs, and recommended that I hold her baby. She's right -- holding a baby just makes you feel good. I was stunned that as soon as he saw me, her son Wakko came over and gave me a hug. I don't think he's ever done that before and it was awesome! He and Yakko joined Stephanie and I for a little while and we talked about lightsabers, a subject on which I am somewhat knowledgeable! Thank you so much for making time for me, Stephanie. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you and your family! I'll definitely be bugging you all again... very likely with no warning again.

Relevant and Cheesy Joke

Question: Why are all the numbers afraid of 7?

Answer: Because 7 8 9! (or 7 ate 9...)

Why is this joke relevant today? Because it's July 8, 2009 -- 7/8/09.

Have a happy day!

Independence Day Weekend

You know, you say "independent" enough times in a row, and it starts to sound really weird. Independent independent independent independent...

It was a busy Independence Day weekend. After working hard for four days (well, a month and four days since the Memorial Day holiday), I was looking forward to the three-day weekend. It kicked off Thursday evening with a baby shower. My cousin Jane is about 6 months along and was given permission to travel to Utah from California so that her husband's sisters could throw them the shower. It was a fancy event (the food was so good I wanted seconds of everything... but I restrained myself for once). My mom, Gram, Jordyn, Lindsey (Jane's former roommate and the person who introduced Lindsey to my brother), Jane's sister Maddy, Jake's family, and many of Jane's friends from various walks of life were there. We played some fun games (ask me about the "gum baby" game sometime), and chatted quite a bit. But, the highlight of the party was the opening of the gifts. Granted, that's usually the best part, but Jane is the undisputed funnest person to watch open gifts! She was so excited about everything! She even opened up the packages to take closer looks at everything. You could have knocked her over with a feather when she started examining Mom and Lindsey's homemade gifts -- it was pretty cute.

That night after the party, I started a project which ended up taking the entire weekend... and still hasn't been resolved. What I'd wanted to do was start scanning childhood photos onto my computer. What actually happened was that I scanned and saved one photo, then a pop-up appeared stating that the device was no longer recognized. I spent the rest of the weekend -- any time I was home, that is, and late into the nights -- trying to redownload the drivers, and software, and trying different USB connections. I've tried everything listed on the Hewlett-Packard site and now need to take it into some shop to have them take a look at it, because the only issue I haven't addressed is the scanner itself. My warranty isn't up until September, so they better pay for it. What a pain!

Friday I worked on the computer for awhile, then decided to go shopping. I wanted a new swimsuit and remembered cute ones at Old Navy from a year ago, so I went there first. Turns out their swimsuit collection was pitiful, but I tried on a bunch of cute shirts and even bought a couple (and paid with a check ;D). I stopped by Barnes & Noble for a moment, because I've decided on what I want to buy my mom for her birthday next month and I wanted to make sure it was available there. I should have bought it, but I'd just spent all that money on shirts...

I rushed home to change and then made the trek to Weber Canyon to join my ward (only getting lost twice, but a couple of people agreed the map we had wasn't very useful). The Activities Committee had put together a weekend bash up at the cabin of one of our Bishopric members. Now, when I think "cabin" I think a log cabin that has maybe three bedrooms and is really old. What I found was a ginormous newish structure with 3 stories, at least 3 bathrooms, and bunks -- with bedding -- for at least 30 people! Holy cow! I was impressed! I arrived in time to meet up with friends and stand in line for some dutch oven cooking. They even had dutch oven peach cobbler (I'm drooling just thinking about it. I had to meet someone in line just so I could tell her how much I love dutch over peach cobbler). After dinner we all gathered into the family room for a fireside taught by our Institute instructor, Shawna Stoddard, who is both insightful and hilarious. She talked about how life doesn't ever turn out the way we planned, but it is the way it has to be. She used several examples, but the one that sticks most in my mind was Israel's wife Leah. Poor Leah, knowing that she wasn't the favorite wife, even though she gave Israel six sons. And yet, she was the mother of Judah, who was the ultimate grandfather of the Savior. It's cool and yet a little frustrating to think that things that seem such a big deal to me probably aren't that bad or at least will be worth it in the end. Even if I don't know the whole picture, Heavenly Father does. After the fireside, I played a lot of badminton, which it turns out I'm rather good at. Who knew? Then it was horseshoes and hiking and s'mores before I realized I should probably head home before I was too sleepy. I drove to Weber Canyon alone, but gave several people a ride home. Always more fun when someone else is around! It was a fun activity. It continued through Saturday, but I had other plans...

My Craven cousins have a condo in Midway and invited my family to join them on Saturday. The 4th of July is our grandmother's birthday, so we celebrated with lunch and cake and hanging out together. I had wanted to take photos, but the battery in my camera died! Mean! The Cravens are great. I particularly enjoyed Kim's oldest son telling me all of the secrets of the Star Wars movies. He really knows his stuff! (I should know, since I'm no slouch with Star Wars trivia myself, but I played dumb since it would be more fun for the both of us.) We went swimming after lunch, and I discovered my bottle of sunscreen was practically empty. Nevertheless, I didn't get sunburned until afterwards, when I put on my cover-up and sat in the backyard and chatted with my brother, David, cousins Bryce, Emily, and Jesse, and uncle Martin. It felt sooo good to just sit in the sun and talk comfortably with them. Around 5pm David and I drove home. I stopped by Wal*Mart to pick up a few things, including a new printer/scanner just in case. I haven't opened it yet, though. Then I ended up just hanging out at home by myself, watching the Washington D.C. fireworks on tv, and then Return of the Jedi on Spike TV, which was doing a "Force of July" marathon. I could hear at least three different groups of fireworks near my house, and even see some from the parking lot at Kinkos, but decided not to brave the crowds.

Sunday after church, I joined my parents, Gram, Peter, and Jordyn for dinner, then watched a couple of tv shows my mom had stored on DVR. We also got to talk with my brother Aaron who is coming home next week for a week! Yay! I am so excited! Aaron also had his new girlfriend, Shonni, on speaker phone, so we kind of got to meet her. She sounds darling, and she and Aaron were adorable on the phone. He's planning to come back next month for his High School 10 Year reunion and bring Shonni with him so we can meet her in person. Her family is in Provo, so Aaron will get to meet them, too. I'm glad to hear he's so happy :) And I'm super-excited he'll be here next week!

My family is already starting to plan activities for Aaron's visit, starting with next Sunday, when we'll celebrate my dad's birthday. Adam and Lindsey will bring the twins to the party along with Lindsey's mom and Gunner. Since everyone will be there, we're planning to take a family photo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll get to hold at least one of the babies at some point, but I suppose I'll have a lot of competition, in which case it's nice to have two babies! Looking forward to seeing them again... they're getting so big!

Today is my third day back at work and I'm gratified by the amount of work I've accomplished so far. Nothing like a good vacation to clear my mind and help me get back to real life. Better get back to it.

Cash or Check

When I bought my condo last year, I made a list of all of my expenses (mortgage, utilities, insurance, phone, cable, tithing, etc) and compared it to my take-home pay. I remember at the time thinking "It will be amazing if I can keep my expenses under budget." Since then, I've had a raise, but the cost of cable also went up. Fortunately, if I go over a little bit, 10% of my money goes directly into savings, so I can dip in there a bit.

However, I don't want to get into the habit of living beyond my means, especially since I love to see money pile up in my savings account. I love paying cash for stuff and loathe making large credit card payments. In January I decided I should start writing down everything I buy, how much I pay, and the method of payment (cash, check, credit card). I was really good about it ...for the month of January. The next couple of months I kept up all right, since I usually pay with a credit card and kept all the receipts which allowed me to keep up on the records, but the last few months I have been a total slacker. My credit card bill last month was ridiculous. Again, I have the money in savings so I can use that to pay the bill, but that's not the point. The point is that I shouldn't have to do that. I want to be able to buy fun stuff with my savings, like a washer and dryer and new windows (what? Those are fun things to me)!

So, for an experiment and in another attempt to keep better track of my finances in the hope of keeping under budget, I've decided that for the month of July I will only pay for things I actually have the money for. This means no credit cards. I'll pay with a check or withdraw money from my checking account when I need to buy stuff. The one exception to the No Credit Card rule is buying gas for my car, since I prefer to get it at Sam's Club where it is marginally cheaper and you have to use the card. The idea is to look at the money in my wallet, then look at the thing I think I want to buy and honestly ask myself "How much do I want it? More than that mediterranean cruise which is my dream vacation?" Will it work? I hope so. At the end of it, I may even decide to get rid of my credit cards... maybe.

Also, my goal is to eat out only twice a week. Last month when I was feeling so crummy I spent waaaaaaaaay too much eating out 'cause I didn't feel like cooking. That accounts for the bulk of my over-spending at least for the last month. When I ate all the food in my fridge, I starting looking through my cupboards at my food storage (which currently may feed me for a month) and I realized I have some good stuff I can cook up. I need to get back into the habit and not be afraid to go to the grocery store. Sure I never get out of there without spending at least $80 bucks (all the people with kids are totally laughing at me right now) but I must remember that it's still better than what eating out two times a day costs.

So, there I have it: pay with cash or check for everything this month except gasoline, and eat out only twice a week. That's do-able.

Happy July everyone! Can you believe 2009 is already is half over? (I mean half... full? Half to left to be experienced to the fullest? Nevermind.)