charity: water

"Do you ever feel like there's so many people to help and so many things to change that you might as well just not do any of it because you won't get it all done anyways? I think about this often. About looking outside myself, trying to help, making a positive difference... they're daunting thoughts, honestly. Its easy to make excuses, or put things off, waiting. Until next month. Until you have more money. Until you have more time. But it's clear that the world is in need and we can't keep waiting to help. Too many people are thirsty, starving and homeless. I've learned that the best thing to do is begin where you are. Start with the knowledge you have and grow from there. Give of your time, money, ideas and your whole self. And you'll come out of it a thousand times richer than when you started."


This is a snippet from Lindsey's blog "MoreThanMeGlobal."  This fall Lindsey is sponsoring a charity organization called charity: water which is working to bring clean water to people in developing countries.  Please visit her blog to learn more about how easy it is to help.

When Two Worlds Collide

Most of you know that my commute to work now includes an hour long drive on the freeway to Provo.  At first, this was a little difficult, but it is now starting to become routine.  However, sometimes that hour-long drive can be a little boring and the endless black road can make me a little sleepy.



So, to spice up my drive, I rented an audio CD from the library - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Book number 7.  I picked it mostly because it was the longest and could keep me entertained for weeks.  But it was a great choice!  I am absolutely engrossed in the book!!


Perhaps, a little too engrossed...

You see, I am the part in the book where Harry, Ron and Hermione are in hiding along the country side looking for Horcruxes.  Ron is constantly worried about his family and the others back at home.

Last night, a funny thing happened.  I knelt down beside my bed to pray.  It was late, and I was tired.  But I was trying my hardest to pray sincerely.  I think I must have been drifting into unconsciousness or into my imagination because I quickly jerked back to reality when I realized that I had just thanked Heavenly Father for keeping the Weasley family safe from Voldemort.



'Engrossed' may not be a strong enough word. :)  But at least I can say that I was sincere.  I really am grateful that their family is okay.  I love that little red-headed clan.  Heck, I would be a Weasley if I were a wizard...or witch or whatever.

Just thought it was too hilarious not to share.  :)

Love ya!

Habits - the good and the bad

I make funny humming noises when I sleep.  It's inevitable.

I still bite my fingers nails a little when I am nervous or bored.  Don't tell my husband.  I stopped when we got engaged and I have been SO much better lately!  But sometimes I slip up ::insert sheepish grin here::

I love being with people.  It doesn't really matter what I'm doing, as long as I'm doing it with someone.

I talk to myself all the time.  Sometimes at work, when I'm reading an email, I will have a conversation with the email as if the sender was right there with me.  This often confuses my coworkers who think I'm talking to them.

My toenails are always painted.  Period.

My favorite number is 13.  And I absolutely love Friday the 13th.  My birthday is October 11th and I always loved when I could throw a birthday party on Friday the 13th.  I would include every superstition I could think of - putting a ladder in front of the door, black cats, broken mirrors, you name it.  I love it all.

If I'm not wearing earrings, I feel naked and incomplete all day long.

I listen to one CD over and over again for months, until I'm finally sick of it.  CD of choice this month - Mormon Tabernacle Choir's "Showtime."  It's awesome!

I am a chronic over-reactor.  Ask my husband, he knows.  If things go a little differently than I always expected, you can expect an overreaction from me.  I'm working on it...slowly.

I am an obsessive snuggler.  I love snuggling!!  Anytime, anywhere...

I require a blanket when watching a movie. Doesn't really matter how hot it is.

I automatically love anything with Gregory Peck in it.
 
When I am thinking I twist my hair in my hand and tie a knot.  Then I undo it and do it over again.

I only eat homemade Italian dressing and homemade maple syrup.

I save all my leftovers {even though I don't eat them all the time.

I am a country music girl all the way.

For my entire dating life, my door scenes have all crashed and burned.  That is, until I went on my first date with my now husband.  That was a great door scene.  Except for the fact that it was Halloween and a girl dressed up as something like Pippi Longstocking was huddled under the stairs crying.  That was a little awkward....

Well that was a fun exercise!  Thanks Linds for the idea.  I think I'm going to make my husband do it now! 

The end of the Honeymoon Saga

You know, I'm going to have to stop counting the days of our honeymoon.  They are starting to blur together. :)  

But I want to preserve the feeling of happiness, laughter, togetherness, and love that we felt that week.  We made so many good memories, regardless of which day they happened.

So here are a few of them...  

Chris and I took a "hike" down a small trail to watch the waves crash against this ancient, volcanic rock.  

The waves were so much fun to watch, even if it was pretty cold.  Chris got a little nervous as I ventured closer and closer to the edge.  Just as I was assuring him that I had the footing of a mountain lion, I lost my balance and teetered.  Needless to say, Chris wouldn't let me get too close to the edge from then on. 

Chris had a blast tide-pooling!!   And he was good at it too.  We went tide-pooling at least three times while we were there.  Chris knew exactly where to look to find all the cool sea creatures.

This tide-pooling adventure was near Seal Rock.  Apparently, hundreds of seal are occasionally spotted lounging about these rocks.  Unfortunately, we did see any on our trip.  But the rock formations are gorgeous, not to mention the man standing in front of them. ;)

On our drive out of Oregon we visited this gorgeous waterfall.  It is apparently a very famous waterfall; so famous that there were so many people, we didn't even want to climb to the top for all the traffic.   So we just enjoyed her beauty from below.

If you know what this picture means, enjoy.  :)


We had such a blast on our honeymoon.  We are so happy to be married and sealed to each other forever.  We will never forget the promises we made to each other and to God.  

Yay marriage!
(In the words of Grandma Brough)

Day Two - Part II

Okay, it's already 10:10 so I better work fast!   My brain is going to stop working in approximately 30 minutes.  :)  


Day Two...continued...
So the game park was not the end to the surprises of the day.  After we spent the morning petting zoo animals we drove back up the coast for about an hour.  

Our next stop....The Dunes!

I have never been to any sand dunes before and this was definitely an awesome ride.  The dunes would curve their way upwards and then drop off at a sharp angle when you reached the top.  We had to be careful and watchful so we wouldn't go careening off an unexpected drop.   

We also drove the four-wheelers out to the beach to race the waves and chase the seagulls.  (Don't worry, this is the only "kissing" picture you'll see from the honeymoon.  I just couldn't resist the hilarity.) 

The dunes were definitely a highlight of the honeymoon.  If we had known how much fun we were going to have, we would have ridden those quads all day!

Day Three

Kite 

Flying 

on 

the 

Beach!

We bought some small kites at a local store in Yachats.  They said these were "famous Oregon kites."  I'm pretty sure they're the ones you can get for a dollar at a grocery store in Utah.  But what they hey, they flew well and we had a ton of fun.  

If you have read The Kite Runner then you will understand what I mean when I say that Christopher and I had a kite war.  For those of you who haven't read this amazing novel, in Afghanistan there is a tradition to build miraculous kites with thick strings coated with shards of glass.  During kite wars you try to control your kite to dive down and slice the string of another kite, making it fall to the ground.  Yes Christopher and I had a kite war.  And yes, I did slice his kite to the ground....twice.  Need I say more?

Despite the fact that Christopher's pride was wounded by losing to a girl, we had a really fun time.  We even tried to swim in the ocean, but that lasted all of about two minutes because the water is FREEZING!

Well, you guessed it, it's 10:35 and this time Chris is falling asleep.  

To be continued...

Hello Oregon!!

Well, I just blogged about my perfect wedding.  Now it's time for me to brag about my perfect honeymoon!  Christopher planned a lovely week-long vacation to the Oregon coast.  It was seriously perfect - a week of 70 degree weather, a beach house, the ocean, and a handsome husband.  Who could ask for more???  We did so much and had so much fun that I don't know if I can capture it all.  But pictures are worth a thousand words, so hopefully these pictures will help me tell the story.

We drove from Utah to Yachats, Oregon which turns out to be about a 16 hour drive.  We had an awesome time.  We forgot to bring a book on tape or much of anything to do, but we had the best time just talking and getting to know each other.  We ate our road trip food (graciously provided by Chris's sisters) and listened to music for hours.  Good times.

Once we reached Yachats, we began our search for the beach house.  Because of a few bad directions from me, we came to a tiny, rundown house that looked like some creeper just moved in.  I was seriously beginning to be afraid that we were going to spend our honeymoon in a two-foot shack with Jack the Ripper.  Luckily, Chris took the directions from me and instantly saw my mistake.  In a few short minutes we arrived at the right place.  Our beach house had a large kitchen surrounded with huge glass windows that looked out toward the ocean.  It was beautiful (and a big relief from what I thought we were going to experience! :)  

The first day we simply explored the city, drove up to Newport, explored a Lighthouse and ate Tillamook cheese.  The next day, Chris planned a surprise day outing for me.  I had no idea where we were going as we headed out on a three-hour drive down Route 101.  The surprise?  A "game park," also known as the largest petting zoo I've ever seen.  It was hilariously fun.  I played with the strangest animals, including the ugliest donkey I've ever seen and a scary-looking sphinx llama.  I was too afraid to go near the llama (they spit) but I dared Chris to go touch it.  He's truly a brave fellow. 

But the best part was playing with the cats. That's right...the big ones.  The game park had a baby leopard and a baby tiger.  Because the leopard was so young we were only able to pet him as he walked past us on a leash.  Those are his hind quarters you see in the picture.  That was about all I could catch as he ran by.   

 However, we were actually allowed to go inside the pen with the baby tiger.  She was a little older and was drinking a bottle half the time, so she was content.  We could pet her and play with her a little.  It was pretty exciting to be near such a normally dangerous animal.  I just prayed that we wouldn't experience another Siegfried and Roy episode...

Unfortunately, it is 10:40 and I am falling asleep at my computer.  Time for bed...  But this is only Day Two!!  Stay tuned for all of the other exciting things we did on Days Three - Seven!