Ensign Peak, State Capitol, & Memory Grove

Photos I took today:) I think that they turned out pretty good.

Seer Clothing/Kyle Korver Foundation

Hello my friends:) As you may or may not know, I'm a HUGE sports fan. My favorite team, until the day I die, is the Utah Jazz. I've grown up with that team (they came here in June 1979 and I was born in July 1979). My dad and I have shared this bond since I was a wee babe:) I do have a point with this post:) I'm a huge supporter of charities and helping anyway I can (Human Society, Paralyzed Vets of America, downtown homeless shelters etc.) so when I saw that Kyle Korver (he is a forward/guard for the Utah Jazz) had his own foundation I jumped on it. They raise money by selling tshirts (I have 4 of them so far!). The money goes to help underprivleged children and those in need. There is a great article here that was written back in January. The shirts cost $24.99. It is well worth it to buy a shirt and know that the money you spent has gone to a worthy cause such as building a wheelchair ramp at someone's home. The shirts do run a bit small, so get a size bigger. At least take a look at them:) Thanks, hope you all are having a fantastic day:) On another note, I'm going to Game 3 on Saturday against the LA Lakers. :) GO JAZZ:) :)

It's spring time:)

I got a new camera and have been trying to get as many pics as I can:) It's a Nikon D5000 and boy is it sweet:) I'm trying to get my self back into photography and painting and all the artsy stuff I can, it's good therapy:) Anyway, here are some photos I took in my front yard of our Tulips:)

Hollow and broken

Isn't it odd how a single phone call can change the rest of your life? I got such a phone call on March 5th. Everything was a normal day (well sort of). I was on my way to work when I got a phone call from my mom's boyfriend Don telling me that she had taken her life. What? What do you mean? You are kidding right? Is she alive? She's not dead right? I was in an utter state of panic and on the verge of hysterics. He told me she was gone. I didn't know what to do. Who do I call? How do I go on with the rest of my day? I have to say that the day was the worst day of my life. I'm grateful that I was able to have one last conversation with her in the wee hours of that morning. Such a shock. I'm devastated. Having been her only child I've had to take on the task of arranging everything. I've had to talk to the tissue donor people (12 hours after her death), I've had to talk to the funeral director, I've had to close out all of her accounts, I had to write up her obituary, and I had to clean out her stuff from the aparment she shared with Don. It's been weird, and I've had to present a death certificate with all her information for the world to see to all these people that shouldn't know her business. If I didn't have Scott as a support I don't know what I would do. He has been so amazing. Everyone has been great. I'm bugged though. I know that I will have my days, right now I'm still really numb, but this is a grief that most people can't understand. This isn't my first loss of a loved one. I lost my maternal grandmother when I was 11. She died of lung cancer so it was something that we could at least be a bit prepared for. My great grandmother died when I was 18. I lost my maternal grandfather when I was 19. He died from kidney failure after having a heart valve replacement. My Aunt Suzi followed shortly after this, passing away from liver failure. Then my paternal grandmother died when I was 23. The thing with all of these deaths is that they were expected. We knew it would be happening. But with my mother, I had no idea that she was thinking at that moment suicide. I mean, there had been times where she had told me that she was depressed and times where she had cries for help. But this one she did none of the above. She just did it. No note, no nothing. I'm grateful that people can understand that i'm grieving, but grieving a death from suicide is completely different. I have so many questions...what was the last thing she thought about? Why did she decide to do it? Why did she decide to do it the way she did? Did she know that I loved her more then anything? I personally do not have any guilt from this, because I know that this was her choice. She just couldn't take the stresses of her life and thought she had no other way. I believe that she did this hoping Don would find her in the middle of it and save her. I'm always going to have so many questions. It breaks my heart that I couldn't have tried to do something differently, but I know that it could have just prolonged the inevitable situation. I appreciate the support from everyone though! It's an amazing feeling to know that if you need anything there are people there that will help you. I'm just not sure what to do from this point on. I can't pick up the phone and call her, I can't go on our shopping trips anymore. It's a weird, surreal situation. I will heal, and I will be okay. I won't always feel this hollow and broken. It's going to take time, but my life has been forever changed. I appreciate this little rant and I appreciate the support. :)

Long time no post!

So I saw this fabulous giveaway on the twilight moms website and thought I would repost:) I know I haven't posted anything for a long time, and I'm really sorry. Life just gets in the way of my computer activities:) Anyway, check out the giveaway:)
http://www.twilightmoms.com/2010/02/giveaway-romantic-marriages/

Goodbye 2009...Hello 2010:)

I don't know about anyone else, but 2009 has been the most interesting year. It has had ups and downs but, as always, has been an adventure. We took the kids to Disneyland for their first time, the kids got a year older (and unfortunatley so did I!), we aquired a new kitty named Emmett, and of course New Moon hit theaters this year (which was AWESOME). This year has been pretty good to me. There have been so many other memories (I did find my Cousin Terra on Facebook after not seeing her for over 25 years) that I wish I could list, but I'll skip it. I'm super curious to see what is in store for 2010. I'm going to make this post short and sweet. I sincerely hope that next year is an AMAZING year for everyone with little to no drama:)

Downtown SLC at Christmas Time

Scott, the kids, and I went downtown on Saturday to check out the Christmas lights at Temple Square. Ethen and Marley have never been (a travisty I know) and it was the perfect temp. I think it was a nice balmy 40 something degrees. Totally a change from the nice single digit temps we have had. Here are some of the pictures I took :) It inspired Scott and I to have a date night on Friday. Super excited. :) Love downtown.

Super Slacker!!! New Moon Experience:)

Sorry I haven't updated for awhile. Things have been so busy! We had the New Moon Experience going on (which was so much fun!) and then Scott's birthday and Thanksgiving followed a week later and now we are heading into the chaos of Marley's Birthday and then Christmas. CRAZY!!!!! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving:) Here are some photos from the New Moon Experience:) There is Bella's Truck, Bella's birthday cake, the Cullen's living room, a very cool cake that was made by one sweet slice, Alice's yellow Porsche, and the Jacob (Michael Martinez) and Edward (Daniel Jackson) look alikes. I'm also a little late posting them cause our computer at home is still not working. I also will throw in a photo that I took when we went to the Jazz game on Thanksgiving. It was so much fun and we had amazing seats! I love Basketball! I think Kyle Korver is dreamy:) Okay enough about that here are some photos:)

Ella Fitzgerald - Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Because I love Ella and it's December 1st:)

Feeling a bit sentimental...

I feel the need to be sentimental and maybe a bit defensive (but I will get to that later). Almost 1 year ago today I went with Scottward and a bunch of my friends to see Twilight on opening day. What an amazing time! My friend Jill had turned my on to Twilight. She kept telling me that I had to read it (so was my sis-in-law Melanie who told me that they were amazing and I had to read them and now she thinks I'm crazy for really liking it). I think that was about August or Sept of 2007. I thought to myself "why do I want to read a book about vampires written by a Mormon author. Really?". Being from Utah I was born and raised Mormon (I really don't go to church anymore, maybe once in a while), so I have nothing against the religion. In my Jazzy little mind I was thinking "what is the big deal with this book called Twilight?" or "is Stephenie Meyer having the vampires do church activities?". So I gave in and decided to give it a chance. I read it and I couldn't put it down. And then I found myself thinking about the book and the characters all the time. It wasn't one of those books where you can read it and forget about it. I kept obsessing about them. I would look at people and think to myself "oh she would make an awesome Alice" or "I wonder if people like Edward really exist". After Twilight I delved into New Moon and Eclipse. Jill and I would sit and talk about them all the time. Then I started to discover websites about the book. I started reading TwilightMOMS and the Twilight Lexicon. Then we found out a movie was going to be made. Wow. We sat and talked about who we thought should play Bella and Edward. It was great. Now here we are with just a few days (I think 6 and some odd hours) until New Moon is released. I'm volunteering my time to help with an event planned in Salt Lake City (www.eventsbyalice.com). It's going to be huge and fun and worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. In all honesty I didn't really know how big Twilight (the book) really was. I mean, I knew it was huge, but I didn't know that it would totally blow up after the movie. Which it has. I can honestly say I've been on the band wagon from the beginning for this lovely series of books. I LOVE them! You can call me a freak show, or you can tell me I'm too old for it. I truly don't care. I'm in this, and I'm fine with it. It wouldn't be my first time getting made fun of. I'm sure it won't be my last! If you want to debate about my Twilightitis bring it on. :)

Looky what I got in the mail today...

I have been patiently waiting (okay, really? Who am I kidding. I've been having Marley check the mail box for me every day for the last week) for this mag to find it's way into my mailbox:) And yesterday after a very bizarre day I opened the lid and there it was! I'm totally digging the photos. I think my favorite is him sitting at the piano. Maybe it's all the fan fiction I've read:) He is so pretty cleaned up (but leave the stubble, me likey) and styled. I'm going to be honest...if I had to choose between Rob and Kellan, I would probably pick Kellan. Don't get me wrong I think Rob is handsome and I love him as Edward, but I also have worked in an environment where homeless drunk guys (not saying Rob is homeless or a drunk) and meth heads that don't care about their apperance and just stinky nasty people in general are brought in for public intox (or possession or DUI or whatever else) and they haven't showered for who knows how long. That smell is FOREVER in my brain. So when I see Rob wearing the same clothes in some photo that some paparazzi took and he looks all greasy it sends me into PTSD! Haha. I'm totally digging the mag though. Scottward was not thrilled when I showed him. I come bouncing in the house all excited and then when I showed him why he just rolled his eyes and continued getting ready for work. He did make the comment that "he doesn't shower and probably smells". He has to work around all those smelly people, so he knows the smell also. But you know what, Rob you clean up well and I heart your accent. You are an amazing actor and you have a long career ahead of you. Digging the mag, cheers to you!

Halloween 2009

So I decided to dress up like Jane from The Volturri:) I think my costume turned out really well. I didn't have red contacts, but I lined my eyes with red. What do you think?

The Kimballs

I LOVE how these photos turned out. I've known Deborah since she was 6 or 7. Her family is so cute. We went up to Memory Grove and it was beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. Thanks for allowing me to take your photos! I hope that you love them:)