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.)