dream a little dream...

this picture was taken tuesday evening
just after shoveling our (forever long!) driveway
in gale-forced winds that chilled us to the very core
[THIS WAS 5 DAYS AGO]

aaaand here we have hawaii
(hello from diamond head!)

methinks we chose a most excellent time
to bid adieu to north-of-zion
and say ALOHA to the pacific!!!

my dad's stronger than your dad...

It's been ridiculously cold in ID lately. Yes, winter has made itself known...

Today I was about to throw my luggage in my car, but didn't actually get very far because my back driver's side door wouldn't budge. Blame it on the elements, cause that door was frozen shut!

I got home (to my parents' abode in Zion) and asked dad to help me out.

He pulled slightly on the handle, and then...it...well, it broke off. The handle is no longer connected to the door.

See?

Dad was less than thrilled about the situation, but I couldn't help but laugh...

hello, monday...

This is the view from my office window:

It seems the elements are keeping my clients at home. I can't say I blame them...

It's all good, though. In two days I'll be in Zion chillin' with my family. And in three days, I'll be chillin' with my family and eating Thanksgiving dinner! And in four days, I'll be wingin' my way across the Pacific, where I'll perch my little self on lovely, sunny beaches in Happy Hawaii!

Bring it, Monday! (Famous last words...?)

Update (5:46pm)...
All of my clients canceled today.
Every. Last. One.
Because of the nastiness of the weather.
In the meantime, I worked on my "what to pack for HI" list.
Also, I went down into the crawlspace for Chris.
Because of the nastiness of the weather.
Chris is cold, and I found her winter gear.

BEHOLD:

I should've counted all her scarves...

(Can you tell Chris likes pink?)

splendiferous...

I'm a speech-language pathologist. I work with children at a private practice.We talk about a lot of things.

Lately, I've been asking my clients if they're getting excited for Thanksgiving, and do you know what? Most of them said NO! In fact, all of my clients under the age of 12 openly admitted that they are not even kind of psyched for the upcoming holiday. (They said they were excited for the "no school" part, but only after I brought it up.)

What the WHAT?!

Thanksgiving is such a splendid day that it's, like, the second best day of the entire year! (It's second only to Christmas, people!) Thanksgiving, you see, combines my two favorite things on Earth: family and food.

Thanksgiving it magnificent, y'all!

*Question to my Momma: Was there ever a time (in your memory) that I wasn't ever downright thrilled for Thanksgiving? (I really want to know, Ma...)

So...I don't understand why my young clients don't adore the Second Best Day of the Year. I just don't get it. However, I'm going to focus on what makes Thanksgiving so stellar.

As I said before, the reasons are twofold: great home-cooking, and my amazing family.

It's interesting, you know: we don't get to choose our families; it's something we're born into. (Duh, right?) But here's another interesting little fact: There is no one in the wide world that I'd rather spend time with than my family. We're not without flaw; heaven knows we haven't always gotten along admirably...

No, we're not perfect...but we're really dang perfect for each other. They're perfect for me. And they're MINE!

Look what we've been up to the last two weekends:

Janiekins being her cute self...

Aaron and Emmett...
(You kind of want to kiss Emmett's cheeks off, don't you?
They are pretty dang exquisite...)

Kayleebug!

Me and Abby (on our way to see POTO at BEHS)

Seth and Marshall
(@ Chuck E Cheese for Marshall's bday party;
Marshall was sweet and asked for a candle for Seth's cupcake too)

Me and Jackson
(I kinda love this picture, all fuzzy in the background;
Jackson has autism, and I sometimes wonder if that's how his world seems...
especially at a place like Chuck E Cheese, where overstimulation reigns)

Brothers Seth and Jackson slumber...
(I stole this pic from Amy's facebook album)

This kid is so darn handsome, isn't he?!

Grampa and Kaylee J...

Emmett and Amy...
(I stole this one from her too...)

Marshall and his vampire teeth...

Dad and Aaron playing basketball at Chuck E Cheese...

Abby and Jane getting ready to go down the slide...

I'm so thankful that I live just a few hours north of My People! (Yep, that's why I call my location "North-of-Zion")

I'm so excited to spend Thanksgiving with them next week!!!

I love you, family!

*UPDATE (11/22/10, 9pm):
Mom has reassured me that I've always loved Thanksgiving. She also doesn't understand why kids these days don't seem to appreciate the delectable holiday.

magical monday...

If you know me, it's no secret that I'm no fan of Mondays. I try and I try, but Monday proves itself a real stinker more often than not. (Much, much more often than not, truth be told.)

But today? This Monday? It's not so bad. Read on:

I started out this fine day working out with good old Stephen. (I feel quite certain he's out to get me, by the way. My, oh my...I'm in for sore legs and shoulders the next couple of days is what!)

As soon as I finished my workout, I high-tailed it to WalMart and met up with Lindsey dearest to purchase Illuminations. We walked with swiftness and determination to the music department to grab our CDs. Aaaand then we were greatly disappointed to discover WalMart didn't have said album. Anywhere. And there wasn't even a WalMart-worker anywhere around to harass about it. (I didn't want to buy the CD from WalMart anyway! For realsies.)

So. We made our way to Barnes & Noble (knowing full well that it wouldn't be open at 7:30am). Barnes & Noble wouldn't open until 9am...but that didn't stop us from looking through the windows for a Josh Groban display. (We totally saw one, taunting us that it was, in fact, being released today...)

Lindsey and I parted ways (she: to work; I: home to shower and get on with my day), agreeing to purchase said CD at some point on this Monday, to listen to it as much as possible, and to meet again tonight to discuss.

I got ready in a hurry and rushed to Target, only to discover they didn't have Josh's album out and about, either.

Then I rushed to work only to have have my first client cancel 2 minutes after I walked through my office door. (Ugh! So annoying! But wait: this means I can run to Barnes & Noble to make my purchase!)

I made my way to Barnes & Noble and bee-lined it to the music section. And do you want to know what? ILLUMINATIONS WAS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN! I searched that music department meticulously, to no avail! (Gah!) Finally, a kind sir asked how he could help me, and I said (a little desperately?) that I couldn't find the new Josh Groban CD. This fellow said, "New music comes out on Tuesdays." I said, "Sir, I know that new music usually comes out on Tuesdays, but not this one. You even have a display (somewhere in this store!) that says it's available today."

Kind sir went back behind his register and pulled out an Illuminations album from a hefty box-full and tried to ring it up. And do you know what happened? It scanned! Because it's November 15, and that's exactly when it's supposed to be available to the public!

Kind sir said something like, "Well huh. I guess I'll set up the display this morning." And then he totally sold me the CD. I smiled at him with more love than he was probably comfortable with, and I purchased my very own copy of Josh's new CD.

Why on earth didn't any of the retailers in IF know about this? Why did I have to be the one to tell them about it? I didn't think I was a Freakishly-Freaky-Josh-Groban-Fan; am I?

Well, you're welcome, Mr. Groban. Because of me (and my stubborn self), you made some sales here in North-of-Zion on November 15th (instead of TUESDAY, like they all thought).

But I digress...

The hunt was totally worth it. His music has a different ring to it than his other albums, but I like it. (He could probably sing kiddie music and I'd love his stuff, because of that rich, gorgeous voice of his...)

Also, my friend Annie has spoken before of a tasty treat she loves. I remembered her talking about it, but all I could remember was that it was some sort of hot chocolate. So I texted her this morning and asked her what it was called and where it could be purchased. She sent me back to Barnes & Noble (where there resides a Starbucks) for a salted caramel hot chocolate.

Holy crap, this is some ever-so-tasty hot chocolate! WOW! Who knew that salted caramel would be such a stellar idea to add to hot chocolate? Thanks, Annie!

Such a lovely Monday after all...

32* fahrenheit...

It snowed on Monday. All. Day. Long. And it was a wet, heavy snow, too. Not my favorite thing in the world. Alas...I'm not even depressed about it! (I am, however, quite cold.)

This cold front, I think, is gonna make my upcoming trip to Hawaii even sweeter. (We're just outside of two weeks away by now!)

Also: on Monday, Stephen (my personal trainer) really worked my calves. If I thought they hurt yesterday...well, today's been a special kind of torture. (Who knew that wearing heels would be the best option? I mean REALLY!) I'm okay, but just barely.

Aaaand now I'm headed to the Temple.

PS Last weekend (with the fam) was stellar! More on that later...

Location:North of Zion

welcome, november!

It's November, folks. Seems nutso, frankly. But I'm not complaining! HECK NO! I'm thrilled it's November, and here's why:

-Well, let's start off with today: today is Abby's birthday, and I really love that girl.
-Marshall will have a birthday next week. (Happy #4 to him on the 11th!)
-The weather is pretty much awesome (for the next week-ish, so says my local news station). It's November, and we're enjoying weather in the 60s! (YESSSS! Fall is my favorite, and North-of-Zion has had a terrific one this year!)
-Goose and Janel get sealed this Saturday! And Kaylee will be sealed to them as well! (Happy first anniversary, you two!)
-Kaylee gets blessed this Sunday.
-As a result of the two aforementioned thingies, I get to spend time with my family all dang weekend!!!
-Josh Groban has a new CD coming out this month!
-Thanksgiving is in 23 days...and I LOVE Thanksgiving!
-I'll be HI-bound in 24 days, people! November is the month of Hawaii!!!

I'm certain there's probably more that I can't think of...but this list is just off the top of my noggin. (It's a pretty great list though, isn't it?)

Hawaii count-down paper chain...