The Articles of Faith Wordle

My US Constitution Wordle

St. George with Amie

Amie and I needed to get out of town. Have a day away from Las Vegas for the day and just forget about the worries of school and life and everything. It was so relaxing. We did a little bit of shopping at the smallest mall in America. We ate ranch burgers at Arctic Circle and enjoyed one of their yummy shakes. On the way back I found out that the road construction on the southbound 15 through the gorge was still going on. We took the other way around through Santa Clara. Super cute little town. On the way, we found this little cave (could be big, we didn't get in it, and we couldn't see the back) it smelled like urine and there was broken glass on the ground. There was also all this graffiti that dated back to the 70's.

Stampin' up Fall Card Crop

 

 

 A few years ago, a good friend Staci took me to 
St. George for a Stampin' up card crop with Jill Olsen. 
A few times a year Jill (a Stampin' Up Demonstrator) has a card making day where we work on several cards throughout the day, there are prizes, and lunch. 
Its a really fun day where we get to use new product and learn new techniques. This year we also made a Halloween Subway 8x10 piece, and 13 cards.

As our gift for coming we all got a lolly pop witches broom.

Dreams, CRAZY, CRAZY DREAMS!

I haven't remembered my dreams consistently for a few years. That is until this past week. Out of the last 7 sleeps, I have awoken and remembered 3 very vivid dreams. They all are totally crazy and they all completely confuse me!

Since this is a rare occurrence

-my remembering dreams- 

I am going to share them with the world.

Tuesday morning when I woke up, I had to run to the mirror and check on my teeth. I had gone to the dentist the previous day and at the end of the cleaning and check up, my dentist said "no decay, gums looking great, keep doing what you are doing" while all of that is good, it has taken me over 2 years of obsessiveness about my dental care to hear that. Normally there is something that he has to say to me that I can improve on. Back to the dream. I had to check my teeth when I woke up because I had a nightmare about one of my molars on the upper right side. This is the one tooth that I have had the most problems with in the past. I got a filling in college and then last year I had to get the filling redone. In my dream, I was making out with someone, when all of a sudden I got a sharp pain in that area and then my mouth was filled with sharp chalky pieces. My tooth had crumbled! Turned to dust!

Since Tuesday morning, I have been obsessing even more about that tooth. What if my dentist ( who I love- Dr. Kim at Pointe North Dental- I recommend him!) was wrong?

 What if that tooth has a problem and it is going to just disintegrate in an instant?

I know it was just a dream, but it still freaked me out!

Friday morning I was really confused by the dream I had the previous night. I am not even all that sure about what was happening except that I was at school late one night working and this other teacher at my school- the one that I am actually trying to NOT be friends with, but he is cordial to me every time we see each other at school, came to my classroom and just started talking to me. It was actually a really nice conversation and then all of a sudden we were at a Italian place on Paradise called Mr. B's and we were sitting in the back corner- MAKING OUT!
This is not a man that I am attracted to! He is much older than me and he is married! What is going on in my dreams?!?!?

Just now on Sunday morning, I awoke from my slumber to the memory of a very strange dream that I had last night. This is the one that really confuses me.
I was living in a house just like the one I used to live in on Normandy Ln, but the backyard was only the middle 3rd of the real yard. I had a white (girl) rabbit named Snowball. One night a guy who looks like Michael Weston (from burn notice) came and knocked on my front door. In my dream, I knew him so I invited him in. In my dream his name was the same as one of my former students. For the sake of privacy, we will call him DB. As DB walks into my house I see that he has a pet carrier with him, I inquire about it, and he tells me that he has a gift for me. A black (boy) rabbit. I thanked him, we decided that Midnight should be its name and then we let the black rabbit loose into the backyard to live with my white rabbit Snowball.
When DB had knocked I was just about to start making dinner so I invited him to stay for dinner, we made mini pizzas and then watched The Rocketeer. (This little fact is significant because that is what I did on my first ever date in real life). We played the card game War, and talked and laughed for a few hours.
When it was time to leave I walked him to the front door, where he leaned in for a kiss. He left and walked back to his car. When he got there, (I was no longer living my dream in the first person, but now just witnessing it as if a ghost, because no one could see me) I saw in the passenger seat of his car, his actual girlfriend. She had been waiting in the car the whole time. She looked to mad and she yelled at him for making her wait in the car for hours while he was inside.

That is when I woke up- I don't know why she was waiting, why she would wait for hours, and what he was doing kissing me when they are clearly still dating? It's all very confusing and now getting fuzzy/hazy/hard to remember the details the longer I am awake.

That dream had so many weird crossovers from all different parts of my actual life, parts that have never actually mixed.

I used to be sad that I was unable to remember my dreams as vividly as I had been able to when I was in HS and college. But if this is what they have been like, maybe it's been a blessing in disguise that I haven't remembered many of my dreams over the past few years.

I would love to hear all of your opinions on these dreams, maybe a interpreter of dreams would like to tell me what they all mean, or IF they have meaning. Or you can, and probably should, just tell me that I am a crazy person.

          Hoping for a dreamless sleep tonight!

Creepy Decorations at Michaels Crafts

I was shopping the other day at Michaels Crafts for glue and ribbon for a gift that I was making someone, when I came across this amazing, creepy, slightly strange- Halloween decoration.
I was totally creeped out by it at first, but the longer I looked at it the more I like it. I want to buy 2 of them and make them talk to each other. If I was the wreath making type, I would nestle them into a fall leaf and twig wreath and then, every time I saw them perched there, this is the conversation that I would assume they were having.

"Buzzie: Hey, Flaps, what we gonna do?
Flaps: I don't know. What you wanna do?
Buzzie: I don't know, what you wanna do?
Flaps: I don't know, what you wanna do?
Buzzie: So what we gonna do?
Flaps: I don't know. Hey, now don't start *that* again!"

Ten cool points of you know what I am referencing here. ;)

Red Rock, Bellagio Garden & Ethel M's Adventure With Dad

In early January of 2012, my dad came to visit for a few days. One of the many adventures we had was driving up to Red Rock, just west of Las Vegas, to take a look around, look at the petroglyphs, and to see the beautiful bright red rock piled on top of the white sandstone.


I know that  my dad doesnt really like the parts of Las Vegas that most people like, but I knew that he would like the Musical Bellagio founatins and the Bellagio Gardens.  He really liked the unique fall display they had up.



The day of my dads flight we stopped by the Ethel M's chocolate factory and cactus garden. We had a free sample and then got a chocolate/carmel covered apple to share while we walked around the cactus garden.

Romney Rally 2012

MITT ROMNEY

I have no idea why this didn't get posted right after I did this, but.... here it is. Only a few months later :)

Back a few months ago I was made aware of the fact that Mitt Romney was going to be making an appearance at a shipping center in South West Las Vegas. I was talking about my attendance with my visiting teacher when she told me that she was actually working for the company that was setting up the event. She then told me that if I ended up going to let her know and that she would try and get me into the back room after the rally to possibly meet Mitt.

After the Rally I made my way over to the edge of the room where she was able to let me into the back room. There were several Las Vegas Republican leaders with their families and then me. Mitt finally came back and spoke a few words and then we were all able to go up and meet he and Ann. I met Ann first, she asked me about myself and what my name was, then she turned and introduced me to Mitt; relaying all of the information that she had just learned about me to him. He asked me about being a teacher in Las Vegas and what my job is like in this economy as well as the challenges we are facing in education. We spoke for a few minutes longer then took a few pictures and then said farewell.

It was so AWESOME!!!!

Paris Convention Center

So awhile ago, Amie and I decided that we wanted to have more adventures. We were hanging out at the Paris when my roommate Shanna took us on a behind the scenes look at the Paris Convention Center. Amie danced and cartwheeled in a massive empty ballroom. Can you say that you have danced inside a giant empty ballroom? We also took in a few songs at The Dueling Piano Bar located inside the Paris Casino.

The Girls Are Back In Town! - Aug 2012

Roommate Reunion August 2012

 We made a pact during this reunion. "If no one gets married in the next 5 years, thus pulling us together for that celebration. The next reunion time that must happen, with no excuses is in 2017 - 5 years from now."

  Hopefully we wont have to wait that long to see each other again!

The weekend started with a meeting at Ikea with lunch and a stroll around the store. Always love seeing the new styles and ways  to organize and the new color combinations. Followed by heading over to BreAna's house where we spent the next few hours catching up and visiting while we waited for Amy to get off work and join us. Alton came home from work and then proved to us how amazing he is. Without anything being said he made us all smoothies.  Such a sweet guy! Then after a few more hours of talking and laughing we decided that we needed real food and we drove over to Cafe Rio for dinner. So yummy!

Pam watching BreAna's girls while we got pedicures.
Krystal and BreAna got theirs first and then Leslie and I.

After our pedicures at the Aveda salon school we were all craving some yummy Arctic Circle.  Yukon Gold fries, fry sauce, delicious shakes, and ranch burgers. I would have a problem if I lived near a Arctic Circle.  Good thing the closest one is about 2 hours away. While we ate, an employee came over and gave BreAna's girls a courtesy cone - little baby cones for free. How fun!

After lunch we went and walked around the Provo Mall, BreAna and her girls went on a ride on the train around the mall while Leslie shopped for Mormon girl clothes - apparently they are hard to find in Albuquerque.

This group of girls will always be so special to me.

Posing by the creek inside City Creek and inside a really fun store.

L-R Merika, Leslie, Pam, BreAna, Amy and Krystal.

City Creek is a really cool place, I can only imagine the construction mess it was to create. The end result is beautiful. This is just a taste of that it really holds.

These girls are so amazing, I really feel like they have become such awe inspiring women.
BreAna is such a good mom and wife. Seeing her with her girls... she is super mom! I love how dedicated to family she is. She is still one of the most beautiful people I have ever known, inside and out. Her husband Alton really puts the bar high for amazing husbands.
Pam is so strong, she has really blossomed into a fantastic person, over coming challenges, taking risks and making differences in the lives of the kids she meets and teaches. I am so glad that she has put up with all of us for so long. She may have been better than us all.
Amy is just as kind and funny as ever, I really look at her and see an amazing joyful brilliant girl who some guy is missing out on. I am so glad she stuck with me after my freshman year together. I know I am not the easiest person to live with and she put up with me the longest.
Leslie is so classy, so put together, this girl has style in spades! I love the care and concern she holds for all the things and people in her life. I really feel like Leslie is so kind and good. I can't remember a time that she spoke a mean word to someone.
Krystal is fantastic. I am not sure I have ever had a friend who has known me and my struggles like this girl has. I think that we have had some similar struggles and that is a huge part of why she gets me like so few do. The second night in the hotel, we were all tired and I am so thankful that she stayed up with me and talked, listened to me cry and told me about how she overcame some of her own struggles. her stories gave me a little bit of strength and the support that I needed. I hope that Krystal sees in herself, the person that we all see in her. Strength, intelligence, woman of God,kind and most likely the funniest person I know.

After walking around City Creek we decided that with the SLC Temple was closed the next closest was the South Jordan Temple. We drove over and then the girls all went in for a session. We were able to grab someone coming out of the temple to take a picture of us. I chose to use my time reading, grabbing a snack, perusing facebook and taking a short nap. The nap was really needed! I had a very difficult time sleeping during the first night in the hotel.

 After the temple we met over at the Cheesecake Factory a few miles away. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. We ate, chatted, laughed, smiled, bonded, and then shared some amazing cheesecake.

I could not ask for better friends than these!

"See You Later"... "Goodbye is Unnaceptable."

Saying "See you later!" because Goodbye is unnacceptable! This is my best friend Staci. She is so amazing and over the course of our friendship she has been able to get me to open up like few ever do.  I dont cry, like really cry very often, and very rarely in the presence of others. In the words of Anne of Green Gables, we are "bosom buddies". This summer she got a new job back in Kansas and in a span of 2 weeks she accepted it and packed her house and was moving. She is such a go getter! I wish I could be more like her. She sees a chance at happiness and she takes it!
We went out to Lindo Michochan on DI and Eastern for the farewell lunch with a few girl friends; Ginger, Melissa, and Amie. The waiters sang to her in the tune of "Happy Birthday to You", it turned into "Con-grat-u-lations to you." Then they gave her a free shot of Tequila and churros with carmel sauce. So Yummy!
After lunch she told me that she really needed a picture with the back of the vegas sign where is says "Thank you for Visiting" and then we saw this cool mural and decided that she needed a picture in front of it.

STACI YOU ARE MISSED!!!