The Loco Adventures of Sarah and Andrew

Mark Twain, Goldfish Extraordinaire, 2006-2012

2012-01-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

In February 2006, I asked my neighbor Nate to the Sadie Hawkins dance at Davis High School. I think I sent him fortune cookies that had my name in them or something, saying "I would be so fortunate if you went to the dance with me!"

He answered me back, "Of all the fish in the sea, I'm so glad you picked me." And then he gave me four comet goldfish, most commonly known as feeder fish. One was dead by the time I got home from wherever I was (maybe school?) and I named the other three Henry VIII, Cleopatra, and Mark Twain. I named Henry VIII thusly because he had a dark spot that looked like a beard and Mark Twain thusly because he had a dark spot that looked like a mustache. Cleopatra and Henry VIII died in a few days, and I fully expected Mark Twain to go any day.

But he was a survivor. He continued to live.

I noticed his "mustache" was getting better. My mom had some fish medicine to help with ulcers and infections, so I put it in his tank. And he lived. His "mustache" went away and he lived.

After my freshman year, he got a new friend named Squishy. In 2007 they moved up to college with me. Mark Twain and Squishy were inseparable--mostly because they lived together in a small tank.

Here they are in their clean tank--be shocked and amazed. I really did try to keep it clean. Mark Twain is above Squishy. Mark Twain was also bigger, had a more flowing tail and fins, and was a more yellow gold color than Squishy.

And he lived with Squishy for many more years. Sometimes in a clean tank, but when I put them in the windowsill (where I like it the most) it got covered in algae.

Mark Twain on the left, Squishy on the right. This was after their sucker fish friend Zorro died and I went on vacation for a week.

Sometimes I just like to take pictures of my pets. And since these are the only pictures of Mark Twain and Squishy that I actually knew where they were saved, you will just have to look at the nasty fish tank (which I promptly cleaned--the pictures were also to document its green algae).

"Hey, you should feed us." Squishy to the left, Mark Twain on the right. They are little pig fish and love to snarf food.

I was always amazed that they had lived so long. My Mom even started calling them her "grandfishes."

Mark Twain swimming around.

And then on Tuesday, when I had the flu, I hear a fish splashing around. Andrew said, "Mark Twain is freaking out." I shrugged and fell asleep. After I threw up and did other things one does when they are sick, I checked the tank and saw Mark Twain on his side and the bottom. He was just breathing slowly. "Oh no!" I said, "I think Mark Twain is going to kick the bucket." And by bedtime he was gone. And I said a nice eulogy, flushed him down the freshly cleaned toilet, and didn't let Andrew poop for a few minutes to give Mark Twain's body time to find a final resting place.

Mark Twain in the back and Squishy in the front, checking out the view of the windowsill.

Good bye, Mark Twain. You were a good fish. You lived a long and happy life (I think it was happy). I'm sorry you hurt yourself and died from your injuries. You had the longest life of any cheap goldfish I have ever heard of. Rest in peace in the sewer.

SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

I had never heard of these pieces of legislation, The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), until today, when I hopped onto Google.com and found this:

I'd never heard of either of these pieces of legislation. I did a little bit of research and, it seemed to me, that people were freaking out way too much. The legislation seems valid and helpful, but I can see how it could spiral out of control. For my job, I cite things and the issue seems like a concern with appropriate citations, honoring copyright law, and giving credit where it is due. But, we are Americans and Americans don't like anyone to infringe on our rights. People are concerned that it will result in massive internet censorship, limiting free speech, and will hurt the economy. Therefore, several websites, such as Wikipedia, are protesting by having internet blackouts so no one can see their content, supposedly giving us a taste of what the U.S. will be like when everything on the internet is censored.

Once again, for my job, I cite lots of information and I check the citations of others. While searching for a book, Report On Indians Taxed and Indians not Taxed in the United States (Except Alaska) at the Eleventh Census, 1890 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1894), I found an online archive that had it available. I clicked on it and found this:

The website is: www.archive.org

Anyway, not happy. Thanks for helping me NOT do my job.

---Side note: This protest does not influence Congress in any way. It only frustrates their interns who are trying to find information for their Senators or Representatives. It also influences normal people, which I suppose gives the movement more support from people unhappy that they couldn't use Wikipedia to finish their report.

I don't think the legislation will pass. There is a lot of grassroots animosity toward it, plus President Obama has said that he will not support it. Censorship is stupid and keeps people from being informed*, but there are a lot of problems with illegally downloaded music, websites that stream TV shows without the copyright, and so on. These are dishonest and people should really evaluate their actions on the internet.

I had a friend on Facebook make a good point: Everyone is upset about this sort of censorship, but what should really be censored and what should Congress really put their feet down on? Pornography. It is already illegal and is very damaging. Some things, such as pornography, should be removed and censored from the internet.

For goodness sake people, try to be honest and live in a moral way. We wouldn't have these problems and huge fears about the government taking over our lives if people would just treat others the way they want to be treated.

So I still don't know where I stand on the issue. Since I've only known about if for one day, I can't say that my opinion is educated. And I would guess that most of the people posting things like this on Facebook are not very informed about the issue either. This goes right into my issue with people going along with "cool" and "conscious" companies such as Google or Toms (I read a great critique of Toms yesterday, see this article) because they think they are doing the right thing. Going along with companies is no different from going right along with the government if you are uninformed.

I'm not saying that I support SOPA or PIPA. As my experience shows, I was directly influenced by this psuedo "censoring" on the internet. I'm not saying that I oppose the potential legislation. I'm just saying that there are problems with the way people use and abuse information available on the internet.

As SOPA's name states, stopping online piracy would be a good thing. Censoring pornography would also be a good thing. Limiting free speech would not be such a good thing. People stopping to think about an issue before they brainlessly post on Facebook would be a great thing.

*Censorship sucks because some of the best books I have read are formerly banned/censored books, such as Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

Farewell Grandparents!

2012-01-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Not my grandparents, but Andrew's. They are going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they are going the Alpine Mission, which is Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, and they will be working with young adults. Sounds like a fun mission to me. You can read about their adventures at their blog, which they haven't posted on yet.

All ten of the kids were there, so they had to get a family picture. Here is the chaos of such an event:

So many people....

And I played with my boyfriend, Micheal. He is Andrew's cousins and he remembered me from Thanksgiving. He kept snuggling up with me. What a sweetheart!

The people not in the picture--also known as the in-laws and the grandchildren.

Walking with Micheal. It was like 57 degrees F outside. I could not believe this January weather!

Cousin time! Little Micheal with little Lydia. They were both wearing purple and so matching. How precious.

Elise is going to become a nurse and needed to practice taking fifty people's blood pressures. Good thing she went to this party where there were fifty people. Oh man. And here, Wesley is dying since he is getting his blood pressure taken.

Family gathering pictures... Uncle Hans with his daughter Lydia, Andrew, and Uncle Eric's tummy.

Heidi, my mother-in-law with Lydia. Cute!

Micheal with Grandma. You know, leis are really amazing things.

All the cousins loved Lydia. She is a novelty since she came all the way from Virginia!

And Hans had this cool hat. So of course, we had to try it out. I think I'll try to crochet one...

"I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK. I sleep all night and I work all day!"

And then Elise had to practice shaving people. But I wondered, do CNAs usually shave people's faces or do they shave people's butts?

It was a crazy and loud day with a ton of people, but I had a good time. It was nice to see so many people, especially the aunt and uncles that live far away!

DISNEYLAND!!!

2012-01-06T20:42:00.002-07:00

I love Disneyland. We went there on our honeymoon. We went with Andrew's family and it was fun but there were so many people. I got grumpy a lot. There are a lot of pictures so here are just a few highlights of our California trip.

The Norco Audio Family History Tour

Heidi grew up in Norco, CA, and we stopped by. This is a crazy place.

First off, they don't have sidewalks. They have horse trails. WHAT THE WHAT? Maybe in Wyoming, but not what I was expecting for southern California.

Some girl on a horse in a city in southern California.

Then we stopped at the Norco cemetery to find Heidi's grandparents' grave. We found it! It was a miracle because she had never been there.

Hannah, Heidi, and Wesley at the grave.

That was cool to be there. Heidi thanked me for suggesting it, since she had never been and being there brought her a lot of peace.

The First Disney Day

Christmas at Disneyland, where the wreaths are all Mickey-shaped and the castle has snow on it (I know, snow in Anaheim? But by now, we know that Southern California is not what you expect--snow, horses, what's next?).

Love it.

We wore a lot of 3-D glasses. They kind of give me a headache.

The Family sans me (taking the picture) and Maren (on an airplane)

And no family vacation would be complete without a picture of me coming out of the bathroom!

We rode Splash Mountain. It was great. Maren is there in the front. She and Wes are engaged now and they are so disgusting.

Our Wild Ride.

This is how Andrew feels whenever I drive. ;)

Andrew and I in front of the castle at night. How romantic.

The Day We Only Went to California Adventure

Wes and Maren about to go off a huge waterfall on Grizzly Rapids.

Andrew and some light bike from Tron.

Not a lot of pictures from that day. Oh well. I traumatized Hannah by making her go on Screamin' with me. I forgot to tell her that it blasts you off. Oops.

The Day We Went to Disneyland in the Morning and the Evening But Mostly Went to Los Angeles

Wesley and Andrew cleaning their ears. What a good brother activity.

I had never been to L.A., so it was pretty exciting.

A clear day for L.A., right?

Gas costs $5 here where it costs $3 in Utah.

And we drove past the Los Angeles Temple, but we didn't get out and walk around.

I like the palm trees. That is a pretty good picture taken from the back of a Honda Pilot, if I do say so myself.

And then we went to Santa Monica beach and we had many marvelous adventures.

Like this dog in a tree. The owner was completely chill. His dog is awesome.

And we went down to the beach and it was just lovely. I kept thinking of the Sheryl Crow song "All I Wanna Do", where she says she wants to have fun until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.

We also had another unusual sighting:

Glenn took off his shoes. Apparently this is an anomaly.

Jumping picture--me, Hannah, Elise, Maren. I didn't get the memo that we were making L shapes out of our arms.

The Day We Were the Dorky Family Wearing Matching Disney Shirts

An epic moment occurred when I became famous for screaming so loudly on Thunder Mountain Railroad. I am awesome. This guy said I was amazing and he recognized me later on, too.

And I pulled the sword out with my pinky finger.

Family picture time! You get a sneak peek at the Christmas card. Lucky you.

Aren't we cute? I like how Wes and Maren are freakishly tall in the back.

We went on Star Tours and...

I was the rebel spy and Yoda said I was vital to the rebel cause! It made my life.

Also, Andrew was a good big brother and got Hannah to ride Space Mountain--and she liked it! She even has her arms up and has a big smile on her face. Yay!

From back to front: me, Hannah, Andrew, Elise, Bryanna.

We didn't take a picture, but WE RODE SPLASH MOUNTAIN EIGHT TIMES IN A ROW WITHOUT GETTING OFF THE LOG!!! Oh yeah, we broke the family record. I'm pretty done with Splash Mountain for a little while.

The Last Disney Day and The Most Crowded One Wherein I Had A Headache.

New Years Eve was the worst day to go to Disneyland. it was way too crowded and I was grumpy. I had a headache and that was not a good thing. It was Elise's birthday, too.

I had one of the weirdest experiences of my life. We had to watch "Captain E.O." to please Glenn. Weird. So weird.

And we went on Space Mountain again!

Funny Space Mountain picture. Elise is a super hero, Hannah is pumped, Andrew is screaming and I am plugging my ears (I had a headache, remember) which is opposite of how it usually is, and Wesley is proposing to Maren (I love how she looks like she's saying, "Oh my gosh, why is it you?"

Also, we went to the Blue Bayou for dinner. Awesome. It was fun. And then I went to sleep and woke up when the huge fireworks show shook the hotel.

Then We Drove Home on New Years Day and There Was No One On The Freeway

The End.

Our Little Kidney Baby

2012-01-04T09:28:00.001-07:00

We went in for an ultrasound! It was due to health concerns about Andrew's kidneys and potential problems in there. I took pictures, of course.

Andrew and our funny ultrasound tech.
We told him that we were tired of people asking us about babies, so we were pretending this was a baby. He was all for that.

What a cute little kidney.

"It is a little too early to tell the gender!"

I was evil and posted the picture on facebook, wondering how many people would simply see an ultrasound and assume I was having a baby. I was really surprised by the number of people who did so! Anyway, I'm not pregnant and there was nothing wrong with Andrew's kidney, so the mystery continues.

Sunglasses

2012-01-04T09:11:00.001-07:00

I love sunglasses. I really do. But as cute as I am in sunglasses, I am no match for a toddler in aviator sunglasses.

Oh Kaylee, you are too darn cute. And you thought it was so funny to have those silly glasses on.

Alison's Wedding: Road Trip to Wyoming, The Ranch, Being Classy in Wyoming, and the Reception

2011-12-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

Alison now lives in Pinedale. They had a reception there, and, as the Maid of Honor, I felt it was my duty to attend. Also, I have never been to Pinedale.

This matters because Al has two uncles who live there, and that's how she met Kendall.

All my life, I have heard about what a magical place The Ranch is, and I knew that I needed to go.

Our descent into the Bear Lake area. The lake was covered with clouds and it was so beautiful!

The view at Andy's place. This is not The Ranch. This is a view I would love to have.

Wildlife! We saw a bunch of deer. And a bunch of pronghorn.

I'm on The Ranch! That's Scott in the background. He was trying to get me to ride a "horse". But it was really a bull. I am not as stupid as Scott thinks I am. I can milk a cow.

Me feeding the critters! Take your pick of names: donkeys, burros, or asses. Scott and I both prefer the term "asses."

That little ass was a pushy little bugger. He tried to eat my coat cuz I wasn't giving him the grass fast enough.

This could be on a calendar.

Dad and Scott getting into the BMW on The Ranch.

A herd of buffalo apparently live next door to The Ranch. They made me want to eat some buffalo burgers.

And now I have been to The Ranch! It was everything that I dreamed of and more! I stepped in animal poop, petted some critters, saw wild animals, and drove in a BMW on a ranch.

I am classy. But wait, it gets better!

There was a parade, so Dad and I went into town before so we would actually be able to get to the reception. So we spent the evening on the town.

Imagine: Dad in his suit, me in my beautiful black dress, driving around in the BMW in Podunk, I mean Pinedale, Wyoming.

I told you that this evening would get even more classy.

Me in front of the Cowboy Store.

Me in front of the wall of boots at the Cowboy Store.

We joined the parade. :) I waved at the people.

Alison and Kendall--happily married for two weeks.

Table decorations. Dad and I were decorators. Those lovely vases are from my wedding.

Lucy and Ariane!

The wedding party.

So us non-Pinedale people were the most dressed up. I have never been to a wedding with so many blue jeans.

Me and Lucy. She doesn't usually like me, so I guess that I was pretty enticing because I let her take over my camera.

Lucy had to take my picture by every single tree at the reception.

Donuts.

Ariane from a four-year-old's view.
Before deleting all the pictures Lucy took, I appreciated how the world looks when you are three feet tall.
I'm 5 foot 2 inches. I wonder what the world looks like for people who are six feet tall?

Lucy's shoes and my shoes.

Alison and Lucy! Such a cute picture!

Me and Alison. Such a cute picture!

Dad holding Jack again. He likes holding babies or something.

Cutting the cake, round two.

Lucy getting her piece of cake.

What a great day. I had a fun time in Pinedal. I will miss Alison because she lives all the way out there!

Alison's Wedding: The Reception

2011-12-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

The wedding reception was at the Wight House in Bountiful.

Al's colors were hot pink and black. I was in charge of the guest book, music, and bubbles at the end.

Lucy holding Alison's dress.
There are several funny things about this picture.
First, Lucy is wearing the "goth dress". She did not want to wear the dress because it was goth and goth is bad. Finally, Ariane got her into it. And she wasn't even too angry about it.
Second, Lucy holding Alison's dress. It reminded me so much of when my Aunt Louise got married. I was four and I was like Franc from Father of the Bride. I helped Louise with her dress, told her and Brent how to kiss, and on and on. So funny. Four year old girls and their aunts' weddings. So funny.
Third, Alison's face. I don't know what she is saying or who she is bossing around, but it is a great face.

Uncle Paul (the father of the bride) holding his grandbabies, Beckham and Jack.

Uncle Paul with all his grandkids. From left to right: Britain, Beckham, Uncle Paul/Grandpa, Lucy, Jack, and Brayden. They are all really cute. Uncle Paul looks so happy.

Me and Greg, looking a whole lot like a couple. Which makes me think of the picture below.

Me, baby Lucy, and Greg at the Fourth of July parade. We make such a cute little family. Too bad we are cousins and that is DISGUSTING!!!!

Now, back to the wedding.

The chaos of a family picture. Brooke and Tyler holding Beckham, Brayden and Britain in front of them; Kendall and Alison; Greg and Stacy; Scott holding Jack, Lucy and Ariane with rose in teeth.

Me and Alison!
You can finally see my beautiful dress! I love it so much.
I also love Alison. We are best cousins/friends.

Me and Alison again.

Me and the top of Al's head.

Dad holding baby Jack. He will be a good grandpa someday.

And I would have taken more pictures, and specifically a picture of me in my beautiful dress and Andrew wearing is studly and handsome pink tie, but my camera ran out of battery life. So thus ends the chronicle of the reception.

Alison's Wedding: The Luncheon

2011-12-15T10:28:00.002-07:00

So the night before the wedding, me, Alison, and Rachelle (we are all cousins) go out for our bachelorette Party. It is tradition! Even though Alison was the only bachelorette this time around, we still call it a bachelorette party. We hit up Victoria's Secret, American Eagle, and Target. It is a great time.

Rachelle and me: "Kendall! We have a present for you!"

Kendall: "Can I open it here?"

Rachelle, Alison, and me: "Uh, OK, if you want to."

Kendall with his present in a Victoria's Secret bag. You really wanted to open it here where the party is? All the little children around? Whatever. Go ahead. You explain that stuff to them.

You got leid/laid!
(Condem lei)

Kendall: "Uhh, maybe we should go out into the hall."

The girls: "Ya."

Kendall and Al with their booty (ha ha).

We give good and useful gifts to the groom.

Andrew holding Rachelle's daughter, Ellie. All of the sudden he started liking to hold babies. I don't get it.
Warning: Babies may be a side effect of the gift we gave to the groom.

And, of course, we ate food at the luncheon.

Mom eating.

Dad going to get more food.

It was a good time! Next up, the reception!

Alison's Wedding: At The Temple

2011-12-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

So here it is! I know all my lovely and faithful readers have been waiting for

The Wedding!

Alison and Kendall were married on November 26 in the Bountiful Temple.

That is where Andrew and I got married!

Hanging out at the Temple after a sealing is always a fun time.

Greg and Stacy came in from Iowa for the wedding! Greg has a typical Greg face. My mom is in the middle and then Daniel and Leslie.

Ariane and pregnant Melani

The happy couple :)

Alison with my Dad, Andrew, and Kendall.

The Bountiful Temple

My Dad stabbing the veil into Alison's hair. The veil seems to fall out at every wedding, and my Dad is just really good at stabbing it into our skulls so it doesn't come out anymore. Also, my Uncle Scott is videoing the whole thing. So classic.

Andrew and I petting the animals at the Nativity scene.

Alison being held by her brothers Greg, Tyler, and Scott.

Alison and I.

Me and Alison jumping. Greg actually took this picture and we only jumped once. I am amazed that he got it.
Also, please forgive my dress riding up.
And most importantly, please note my beard look. No shave November, anyone?

Kendall's siblings holding him up.

In front of the Temple.

Having a leaf fight.

Since I was the Maid of Honor, I assisted the photographer and videographer (my Uncle Scott is a great one, if you are looking, here is his site.) I had a lot of fun watching those two be in love.

I'm An Aunt to A...

2011-12-02T17:19:00.001-07:00

NEPHEW!!!

So that means that Frances (as I've been calling the baby) is actually Francis, the male spelling. And, Andrew and I decided we needed to call him a new name, so here is my tribute to the great Francises in the world.

Francis Fryer--the man, the legend. Here he is, singing "A Heart Full of Honey" to the men at the bar. The owner thought Francis Fryer was a woman, so had the poor guy dress up. I love this song.

Francis the Older Brother--this is Malcolm's older brother, from Malcolm in the Middle. He is at military school and had to sing this song.

In all actuality, I don't want my nephew to run around singing silly songs and dressing like a woman, but these are the only Francises I know of. So there is my tribute.

Dear Francis the Boy Fetus, may your life be filled with song and happiness. I'll see you in April and I will spoil you rotten until you pee in my face!

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

2011-12-01T11:16:00.001-07:00

Remember the Little Engine that could? That book? Remember that silly clown who rides on the engine?

Anyway...

I have read 3 of the 8 books, am plugging away on the paper due next Tuesday.

I think I can, I think I can.

My cousin Alison got married last Saturday, and I know you are all dying to see my maid of honor dress. I will post it soon. And it should be amazing.

You should mostly look forward to a picture of me and Alison jumping, and all my hair flipped into my face and I look like I have a beard. I guess, it fits into No Shave November.

I will survive this semester. And so will Andrew. And then: DISNEYLAND!!!!

From Now To December 16

2011-11-21T13:44:00.001-07:00

I have a lot to do. I'm a grad student. But last night I took a minute to write down everything I have to do before the end of the semester.

Read eight books.
Spend time researching in the archives at the University of Utah and here at Utah State University.
Write a comparative book review (five books).
Write a normal book review for a journal.
Apply for a scholarship.
Finish writing an essay for a contest.
Finish writing a thesis chapter.
Finish writing the thesis introduction.

You might not hear from me for a few weeks.

Also, I love vegetables. They are the best thing ever.

Spirit Daughter

2011-11-15T09:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday in my Institute class, we read parts from a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. It was really powerful to me, and although he targeted his remarks to teenage women, I felt some of the parts really spoke to me. I thought I would share them with you.

"First of all, I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny.¹That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Because of this divine heritage you, along with all of your spiritual sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight and are empowered through obedience to become a rightful heir in His eternal kingdom, an “[heir] of God, and joint-[heir] with Christ.”²Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines. Everything Christ taught He taught to women as well as men. Indeed, in the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman, including a young woman, occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator. You are, as Elder James E. Talmage once phrased it, “a sanctified investiture which none shall dare profane.”³ "

"I plead with you young women to please be more accepting of yourselves, including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look like someone else. We are all different. Some are tall, and some are short. Some are round, and some are thin. And almost everyone at some time or other wants to be something they are not! But as one adviser to teenage girls said: “You can’t live your life worrying that the world is staring at you. When you let people’s opinions make you self-conscious you give away your power. … The key to feeling [confident] is to always listen to your inner self—[the real you.]”⁸And in the kingdom of God, the real you is “more precious than rubies.”⁹Every young woman is a child of destiny and every adult woman a powerful force for good. I mention adult women because, sisters, you are our greatest examples and resource for these young women. And if you are obsessing over being a size 2, you won’t be very surprised when your daughter or the Mia Maid in your class does the same and makes herself physically ill trying to accomplish it. We should all be as fit as we can be—that’s good Word of Wisdom doctrine. That means eating right and exercising and helping our bodies function at their optimum strength. We could probably all do better in that regard. But I speak here of optimum health; there is no universal optimum size."

---Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "To Young Women," Ensign, November 2005.

I have been working hard to be more healthy and to lose weight this semester. It has been hard, and I don't know how much progress I have made--but I feel better. I know that our bodies are precious gifts from our Heavenly Father, and I am very grateful for my body. By taking care of my body through exercise, eating healthy foods, and having good hygiene, I am showing appreciation for my body. We need our bodies to gain eternal life, which is possible through Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father loves his daughters in a very special way. Sometimes people say that women in the Church aren't respected or that the Church is stifling to women. It is not so. If people would read the words of the modern-day prophets and apostles, they would see how much Church leaders love and care for the women of the Church. And their love and concern is only a sampling of the love of our Heavenly Father. I have felt Heavenly Father's love for me, and I know that I am truly His spirit daughter---and that is amazing! He loves me and wants to give me so many blessings. He loves all His children, and wants them to be happy and to have eternal life with Him.

I am proud and grateful to be a woman in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

Aggies VS Cougars; Athletics VS Education

2011-11-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

Since Monday, things on my walk to work have gotten more colorful. On Monday, there were a few tents outside the Spectrum, the basketball arena here at Utah State. I was shocked that people were already camping out. The next day there were more. Domed tents, spring bar tents, backpacking tents, one-man tents... Black, grey, red, blue, orange... I began to wonder about these campers. What in the world was wrong with them?

Tomorrow, Utah State (the Aggies) will play BYU (the Cougars) in basketball, and apparently, it is a bigger deal than I thought it to be. The Spectrum's crowd prides itself on being the meanest and loudest and most energetic crowd this side of the Mississippi. I have been to many basketball games and the atmosphere is fun and loud and almost hypnotic. BYU is the in-state rival, although I don't think that BYU considers Utah State their rival at all.

I don't care if it is BYU or anyone else playing at the Spectrum, this has gotten out of hand. People will camp out every game. A few weeks ago, people camped out the night before an exhibition game--what?!?! There is a tree with stuffed animals of cougars and other cats hanging by the neck--slightly disturbing. Today, I went around the tent city and there were about 200 tents with campers waiting to enter the game--don't you people have lives?!?!

And this really bothers me. These campers care more about athletics than they do about their education. If camping out for a week is more important than the acquisition of knowledge, what has our culture come to? From now on, when people get upset about Asian Indians or Chinese getting technology and engineering jobs "from hardworking Americans", I'm going to laugh. No wonder companies don't hire you! They can't rely on you to show up if there is an athletic event going on.

Knowledge is lasting. In college, you pay for knowledge. Some people only go to college for the sports. Some people like learning and learn for learning's sake. The people out waiting for the game probably think that "nerds" who like to learn are the ones who need to get lives. But hey, I'm not camping out in the cold for a basketball game. You get a life.

I've often heard people wonder how Romans could stand gladiatorial matches. "Aren't gladiators and the whole situation terrible? I would never be like that." Well, do some critical thinking and apply this principle to modern life and take a look at an Aggie basketball game, or any other athletic event. The crowds are frenzied. I can see them sentencing the losers to death--it isn't too far of a stretch from current circumstances. Think of high school, when rivals would get in fights after games and people end up seriously hurt. Think of crazy fans who act like someone killed their mom when their team is berated. Think of what programs are cut from public schools and universities first--the humanities--while athletics will stay until an asteroid hits the school.

And I like basketball, but I just had to get this off my chest. Now if you'll excuse me, I have two books to finish by the end of the week and I have some knowledge to acquire.

Happy Randoms

2011-11-02T15:19:00.000-06:00

I am quite happy today. And that is really nice. Not that I've been unhappy, but I've been quite stressed. You know, reading three academic books a week, plus trying to write a master's thesis, be healthy, and give your husband some attention can get a girl down. But today I am happy. And I have several thoughts.

So---I live in Logan, Utah. Usually it snows in September. There is a light powdering on the mountains, but it hasn't snowed here. Crazy. Not once. And it is November. It is barely getting cold. The trees are starting to drop their leaves. Some of the trees still have green leaves. The people I talk to think I'm crazy for wanting snow, but seriously? I've lived in this town for six years, and I know that the longer the weather is nice, the worse and more cold and bitter the real winter will be. If you want a mild winter, pray that Logan doesn't throw an Indian summer at you. But I am still happy. I love the way the mountains look when they just have a little snow on their tips. I also love crunching leaves. And I love walking through the trees as the leaves fall around me and hit the ground with a little ptt sound. I remain optimistic that I will live through the bitter winter and I will be prepared and everyone will complain and I will say, "I told you so."

I'm also rocking a new hair-do: The side bun. It is way cute, and it's a change from the normal lazy bun right in the back. As one who isn't much for doing my hair, and one who doesn't have much time to do my hair, this was a great way to feel somewhat stylish. Granted, feeling stylish has never been a priority for me.

Rockin' the side bun.

We had six trick-or-treaters that we know and four trick-or-treaters that we don't know come to our apartment on Halloween. Awesome. We have never had them come before. Little kids in costumes are so cute.

Andrew got a job offer from Boeing! We will move there in the spring. I will move there probably in May. We are so blessed to have a job offer, especially since so many people are looking for jobs. So, let me know if you want to visit us, cuz we would love to see your beautiful faces.

I gave blood today. I love to donate blood (what is wrong with me?). I have O+ blood, and I wish I had the problem my mom has, which is being O-, cuz then people would beg me to give blood. Anyway, I love giving blood. I went in, they poked my finger and my iron was good! This is often a problem for me, I guess I should eat more steak. Then I didn't have to wait cuz I was one of the first people there. I sit in the chair, the vampire iodines my arm, and the vampire sticks the needle in me and gets the vein right away (yay!). I go go go, as per my father's blood donation motto: "Five-minute bags." And I did so. The vampire was surprised I was so fast, and she took the needle out and put on my bandage. She made a cute little bow to match my outfit. Awesome! I'm really glad that I donate quickly and rarely get dizzy. The girl in the chair next to me started before I did and she finished way after me and then she was still sitting in the chair looking unwell when I left after eating my treats. I love donating blood. I love feeling good about helping others. I love that I don't get dizzy. I love the bow the vampire made for my bandage.

My bow on my bandage! I love it!

Did you know that adults have about ten pints of blood in their bodies? So then we donate one pint. It takes four weeks to replenish your fluids and eight weeks to replenish your iron levels. Now you know more about blood. (fact from http://www.americasblood.org/go.cfm?do=page.view&pid=12)

I am going to be an aunt! My little sister is having a baby and she is due April 15. I call my new niece or nephew Frances the Fetus. Frances is a good name cuz it could be a boy's or a girl's name. I am the best aunt already because I bought Melanie prenatal vitamins and milk to drink.

This is amazing. Watch the video. Listen to the music. Love the cello. And remember the families and soldiers who are out serving us. It's John Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nielson being awesome.

And another happy thing is that I got my dress for my cousin Alison's wedding! I love it! Here is a bad picture on my web cam of the dress. It is so beautiful and I think I am hot in it. She is getting married on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I am her maid of honor.

My dress!

So with all of these happy things, you should be happy to. If you aren't, you can just go sit out in the freezing cold until you think of something to be happy about.

Fall Break Adventure #4: Corn Maze

2011-10-31T21:44:00.000-06:00

After doing apples (APPLES!!!) we went to the corn maze in a beautiful evening of sibling bonding. Plus me who is not a sibling but is an in-law and Maren who neither a sibling nor an in-law.

I learned that in Salt Lake City you have to drive for half an hour to get to a corn maze, unlike Logan where you drive for five minutes or Kaysville where you drive for ten minutes to get to a corn maze. The big city is a crazy place.

Elise and Hannah. They led the way. Although Andrew told them which way to turn.

Me and Andrew in amongst the corn.

Maren and Wes---watch it Wes, that hand is ON her waist.

And after we got out of the maze and found all ten numbers, we had to get our pictures and Frankenstein's monster and his bride.

Elise and Hannah

Wesley and Maren

Andrew and me

What a fun time. We did not go to the haunted part cuz that would have been traumatic. And I would have peed my pants. Plus, we couldn't have had sibling bonding in the corn if we were running away from terror incarnate.

Fall Break Adventure #3: APPLES!!

2011-10-31T21:36:00.000-06:00

You may remember that each Autumn, we press apples (APPLES!!!) and make delicious apple (APPLES!!!) cider with Andrew's family. And it is so delicious.

Cutting out the bad parts.

Andrew got apple (APPLES!!!) poop on him from grinding the apples (APPLES!!!) up.

Elise, Hannah, Maren (Wes's woman), and Wesley cutting the bad parts out of the apples (APPLES!!!)

Andrew got apple (APPLES!!!) pooped on and Glenn got apple (APPLES!!!) peed on.

Andrew dripping apple (APPLES!!!) poop on Wes's neck.
Yes, an apple (APPLES!!!) poop fight did ensue.

Elise is sure to get a husband with that face.

Maren and Wes holding hands BYU-style. Since they aren't supposed to touch below the waist, they hold hands above their waists---proving yet again how awkward BYU is.

We love doing apples (APPLES!!!). And we are always shouting "APPLES!!!" in this ridiculous slurpy, singing voice, so by typing it in I have made you feel like you were there doing apples (APPLES!!!) with us.

Fall Break Adventure #2: Little Wild Horse Canyon and Bell's Canyon

2011-10-27T17:10:00.000-06:00

After Goblin Valley, we drove down the road to a trail for Little Wild Horse Canyon, which loops up with Bell's Canyon. The hike was about 8.5 miles and we did not stop once. We are strong.

Also, it was pretty much a photo shoot of me cuz Andrew had the camera. I'm so proud that he is starting to take pictures of people.

I loved the seam of red rock in this cliff.

I'm a woman and I fit in a slot canyon!
My brother Matt told me slot canyons weren't shaped for women. Granted, this is a fat slot canyon.

I'm climbing the walls!

Holding up a rock with my pinky.

The only water we saw the whole time.

The moon as we enter Bell's Canyon.

A monster rock.

Going down into Bell's Canyon.

Sandstone that looks like wood.

We've hiked 8.5 miles without stopping...

A happier version of me.

Me on a cliff.

And the "really really really real Mater." I quote Andrew. Mater lives in Gunnison.

Great hike. Really great. My calf muscles and heel tendons burned. There were a lot of families there doing the first half of Little Wild Horse. I would not categorize this as a "family-friendly" hike. We were stuck in a tiny slot canyon with a family group of 50 people and they were SO SLOW cuz they had to lift toddlers and older out-of-shape people over six foot rocks. This hike requires you to climb over these rocks. Be warned, but if you are up to it, it is great.

Fall Break Adventure #1: Valley of the Goblins

2011-10-27T16:47:00.000-06:00

For our Fall Break and Andrew's birthday celebration, we headed down to the San Rafael Swell in Utah and played at the Valley of the Goblins, commonly known as Goblin Valley.

Here is the view from the view point and parking lot. The weather was AMAZING.

Kinda looks like Mt. Crumpet, does it not?
*Reference to How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Meditation

Me with the mushrooms.

We had a lot of fun here, but only spent a few hours. I would recommend going with more than two people, especially going with kids. Also, we found out later that there are actually three valleys, but you have to hike to the other ones (the road doesn't go there), so I guess we found what we will be doing next time we go there!

All You Need...

2011-10-12T15:29:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, all you need are

Racquetballs.

These are something everyone with a small child should invest in.

We have entertained many children with them.

Kaylee intrigued by an empty tube and three blue rubber balls.

Kaylee putting the balls in.

It teaches kids motor skills.

And makes them really happy.


They'll do anything to get that ball in.

And then put the lid on...for the fifteenth time.

"GIVE ME THE TUBE!"

Isn't she cute? We have such a cute fake niece.

Ma Po Tofu

2011-10-09T14:53:00.000-06:00

1 lb. ground pork

ginger

garlic

2-4 tbl. light soy sauce (the stuff you usually get in a western store)

2 tbl. spicy bean sauce (Lee Kum Kee makes a really good one, but you might have to get this at a Chinese market)

2 tbl. sugar

cornstarch and water

1 lb. Tofu

Brown the pork. Add ginger, garlic and fry. Add soysauce, bean sauce, sugar. Add cornstarch dissolved in water to dilute the sauces to taste. Add cubed tofu. Stir gently. Serve over rice.

White Pine Lake

2011-10-04T10:30:00.000-06:00

Since we love to go hiking, we made time to actually hike! Yay! We are both very busy with school, and between that and driving to Salt Lake almost every single weekend, we really have to schedule in some therapuetic hikes.

This time we went to White Pine Lake. If you go to Tony Grove in Logan Canyon, it is one of the trails going out of there. There are several hikes in Logan Canyon, and this is the last of the "popular" ones that everyone does that I needed to do. (The hikes that everyone does are: the River Walk, Crimson Trail, Wind Caves, Jardine Juniper, White Pine Lake, and Naomi Peak--and now I've done them all!)

Me and a cow. The cow is the black thing by the trees.

Morning in the Cache National Forest and Naomi Wilderness. We hate hiking with lots of people, so we left our apartment at 6 so we could be DONE hiking by the time everyone else showed up.

One of the mountains around White Pine Lake. This one, I think, is Gog.

The lake was so beautiful! It was really clear, mostly smooth, and just beautiful. Andrew was sad we didn't bring any fishing gear.

Andrew looking dashing in his new waterproof jacket.

Me being myself in my new waterproof jacket in front of Gog.

Sometimes you just can't hold it.
JK--there was cow pies and cow footprints all over.

SO BEAUTIFUL! This is probably the most beautiful place I have been in Logan Canyon--it is even more beautiful than Tony Grove.

A grouse. We ran into a flock of them when we bushwhacked around the lake.

Mt. Magog reflected in the water. It was so clear! It was an amazing morning.

Andrew and me at the lake. We got hot and took off our new waterproof jackets.

It was a really great hike. For us, it wasn't too difficult. If you do go, be warned that you will have to climb up out of the valley on your way back. It is a steady uphill for about a mile, but the rest of the hike is very flat.

Also--I love hiking with Andrew! I am really glad that we both love to hike and that we enjoy spending time together in this way.

General Conference

2011-10-02T10:17:00.000-06:00

Andrew and I smiling and looking directly into the sun outside of the Conference center. Please note our happy grimaces.

Andrew and I were fortunate enough to get tickets to General Conference. Even though I have lived my whole life in Utah, I have never been to General Conference, and I was really excited to go. General Conference is when prophets and apostles speak to members of the LDS Church and all the world. We went to the Saturday afternoon session, and got to sustain the prophet, apostles, and other general authorities. We heard David A. Bednar, Neil L. Anderson, D. Todd Christofferson, and L. Tom Perry speak--four apostles!--along with three other leaders. A sweet Primary children choir sang the music. Thanks to my Uncle Paul, we were twenty rows away from the speakers and almost right in front of the pulpit. We could actually see the speakers' faces! We had a really great time and I felt the Holy Ghost. I'm grateful that we can heard messages from modern prophets. I felt like the many of the messages were for me.

This pioneer ensemble were outside the Church history museum. The man on the chair was playing the saw!

Welcome Home!

2011-09-25T13:26:00.000-06:00

Back in August when Andrew returned from Washington, I had a Welcome Home Party for him with our friends. We had a way fun time.

Audrey and Caleb eating their hot dogs.

Emma, Olivia, and Kaylee (this if from left to right).

Heather, Curt, and Christine

Heather, Time, Jacob, and Heather.

Mikey has triplets! Not really. Kaylee belongs to her. She was watching Olivia and Emma was just chilling.

Tasha is having a baby!! Sorry her face is whited out.

Andrew at the grill. He is so manly.

Abby, Maggie, and Spencer.

Laverna, Dan, Alice, and Eliza.

I am really glad that we had so many friends come over to celebrate with us. It is wonderful to see how blessed we are with all these friends!

Andrew's Birthday List

2011-09-22T09:52:00.000-06:00

So every year I get in trouble when my birthday comes around. The discussion usually ends up sounding like this.

Friend/Family: "Andrew, what do you want for your birthday?"

Andrew: "I don't know."

Friend/Family: "Come on, there must be something you want."

Andrew: "Well, ya, cash so I can pay for (Insert Expenditure here)."

This last year was paying off the car, but that's paid off now. So, in order to avoid this conversation again I searched high and low to find suitable gifts for people to give and am even exactly one month early. I've tried to get a variety of items so that everyone has something, if they care to. Here goes nothing...

1) Pooper Scooper. I would like a shovel that I can take on day hikes with me so that we can bury that stuff that no one else wants to see... like toilet paper! Here's what I'm thinking of. (For those of you that don't know "Russell" is synonymous with "Sarah")

2) Water filter. Sarah and I love to go hiking. I'd love to take Sarah backpacking, but we need a few items first. One of which is a filter so we don't get giardia in the back woods and don't have to boil all our water.

3) Stove. Along with the one above would be a backpacking stove.

4) Backpack. And while we're at it, we both need backpacking backpacks.

5) Backpacking tent. Its really hard to backpack with a 15 lb 7 man tent.

6) All those other fun backpacking knick nacks you find at REI. We really want to go backpacking next August and/or September just so we can go wild huckleberry picking if Boeing ever gets back to me and we end up moving there. If not, the Uintahs are just as fun to play around in.

Wouldn't this be a cool area to backpack?

7) Levis. My Levis all got holes in them in the last month. I'm down to one pair of Levis. I have other pairs of pants, so its not mandatory or even necessary, but it would be nice.

8) White shirts for church. I'm down to one good one.

9) Pair of binoculars is still on the list from last year. I would use them mostly for hunting and hiking, but would also use them for a little star gazing (at least while we're in Utah; too many clouds in Washington). Looking back at that list I sure made out like a bandit. The only thing I didn't get was the binoculars and the hoodie.

10) Asus Eee Pad Transformer. This one is for the die hards. I do have a laptop, but this laptop is kinda bulky and a pain to lug around sometimes. Plus this tablet looks pretty cool. The docking keyboard isn't necessary, but it would be cool to have too. I would mostly want to use this for road trips and not getting lost in Washington (it comes with GPS). This is a really fun item to research because it has Apple fans and Android fans up in arms and they clash on almost every review page. Some people really need a life if arguing over who has the best tablet makes them so passionate. There's people starving in Asia and Africa for goodness sake (I even have more of a life than that - and that's saying something)!

Asus Eee Pad Transformer

11) Truck. If that one is for the die hards, this one is for those who worship me... That picture above, what is it missing? A truck. The Subaru is cool, but just think how much better it would be if there was a truck in it. Haven't decided which one I want, but, you know, just in case someone happens on a million dollars overnight and wants to spend a small amount on me. Just look at these trucks. Don't they belong in that picture? And check out the colors I can get!

Toyota Tacoma - I would get the Double Cab, not the Access Cab

Chevy Colorado

12) Cash. That's right. I don't expect anything on my birthday from anyone. Honestly its not that big of a holiday that anyone needs to get anything. But if you insist and you still don't know what to get, money works fine. I have a thirsty bank account that would love to have savings added. Next year, maybe Sarah should do do this blog post again. I bet it was more entertaining, like this one, or this one, or this one.

One last comment. I just wanted to tell the world that cares that I love my wife. Even though I wipe my lips off when she kisses me with slimy vasaline lips, I really do love her and want to help her be happier. And now that I come think of it, I am SO glad that a wife is not on my birthday list.

"Sweetheart Cake" - Chinese cake literally translated to "Wife Cake" - I thought it was funny so I thought I'd throw it in.

An Argument For Intellectualism

2011-09-20T14:27:00.001-06:00

Even though this is NOT a political blog, sometimes I do get political. You may remember my rant against the Tea Party. This is slightly related. The co-editor at the WHQ, Colleen, posted this on her Facebook and I agreed with a lot of the statements the author made. You can read the article here (Between Race and Reason: Anti-Intellectualism in American Life) by Susan Searls Giroux, or just read my favorite quotes from it.

"The U.S. has the world’s best universities and attracts the world’s finest minds. It dominates in discoveries in science and medicine. Its wealth and power depend on the application of knowledge. Yet, uniquely among the developed nations . . . learning is a grave political disadvantage.” quoting George Monbiot
"It is important to note, however, that for [Richard] Hofstader anti-intellectuals are neither the 'gibbering numbskulls' nor the 'screaming ignoramuses' that Monbiot and a growing chorus of journalists, scholars, and others criticize. Rather, Hofstadter viewed them as a far more effective enemy to the educated mind and to a vibrant, democratic political culture, which requires for its very survival an abiding commitment on the part of its citizenry to critical thought, moral judgment, the capacity for self-reflection, and an acute awareness of self-limitation." (emphases added)
"The capacity for reflective, creative, and critical thought, finely honed argumentation, and public persuasion—talents one might otherwise assume well recommend a candidate for the office of president—were transformed into the gravest of liabilities," for Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1800, as his opponents targeted him.
"Historically speaking, the suspicion of intellect has for centuries spawned a variety of anti-intellectual commitments—the fetishization of folksiness, the cult of efficiency and practicality, jingoistic patriotism, militarized masculinity, and religious fervor. "
"Obama is a product of this elite system and will not push against its interests, unless compelled by an informed and active citizenry. 'Obama used hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign funds to appeal to and manipulate this illiteracy and irrationalism to his advantage,' observes Hedges. And indeed the electorate was invited to focus increasingly on the person of this potential leader—his eloquence, his gravity, his unfailing cool, even his jump shot—and a compelling personal narrative that simultaneously invoked the triumphalism of America’s beloved immigration mythology and offered a redemptive conclusion to its most egregious racial sins."
"I argue strongly for academics, administrators, teachers, intellectuals, and others to assume their responsibilities as educators who play a vital role in molding citizens who can actively and critically participate in democratic public life."
"In order to meet all of these political, economic, and spiritual challenges, the nation’s third president understood all too well the necessity of an educated citizenry. Having survived his own bitter and contentious political campaign, Jefferson had witnessed first-hand the nefarious and—as we have seen—cataclysmic danger that anti-intellectual, populist demagoguery poses for a democratic nation."
"For Jefferson, education was the primary means of producing the kind of critically informed and active citizenry necessary to both nurture and sustain a vibrant public sphere; he believed that democracy was the highest form of political organization for any nation because it provided the conditions for its citizens to grow both intellectually and morally through the exercise of these faculties."

Now, I don't agree with everything in the article. But I do agree with the main message: American citizens have so much opportunity to be informed and educated--they should use that education to critically think about current events and politics instead of getting carried away with simplistic ideologies.

Carrots

2011-09-13T20:59:00.000-06:00

I picked the biggest carrot I have ever seen in my life today.

Here it is:

It broke while I was digging it up. It took me seriously 7 minutes to get the bottom half out of the ground. It was in there so deep. I forgot to measure it so who knows how many inches it is.

But here it is with my hand:

It was a huge carrot. I texted a picture to my parents.

My dad said: "You grow them better than I can". This is significant cuz my dad is a really good gardener.

My mom said: "Wow. Beautiful carrots!" and "Maybe glen[n] can bronze them :)" (meaning my father-in-law, who owns an electroplating business).

Here is the giant carrot with some normal-sized carrots, which are also a good size:

And that is my harvest from today. In the left section, there is a green pepper, a habenero pepper, serrano peppers (the long greens), cayenne peppers, and Thai peppers. In the middle part, there is a yellow squash, my first corn of the season (!), a lot of tiny onions, and some tomatoes. On the right, you will see the carrots, green onions, and cucumbers.

Hooray for the garden!

Moving Forward

2011-09-09T11:58:00.001-06:00

Things are moving forward!

Last Thursday, I defended my thesis proposal and I passed! I'm so excited about that. I've been working more on research and soon I will get to start writing my thesis. It is really nice to see the end of the project. Even though I love history and am excited about writing my thesis, it is comforting to know that I am on my way to completing it.

Andrew is enjoying his classes. This is his last semester! He is taking a few graduate classes that will (hopefully) transfer to his master's program.

Also, my garden is doing amazing. I keep meaning to post pictures but I keep forgetting. But I have been canning my pants off. We have like 20 quarts of pickles and 22 1/2 quarts of salsa. In case of a disaster, we will be living off of pickles and salsa.

See? Things are moving forward!

Conversations

2011-08-29T13:20:00.001-06:00

I hate this conversation:

Well-meaning adult: "When do you graduate?"
Me: "I hope to graduate with my master's degree in history next May."
Well-meaning adult: "That's great! ...(silence) ... Are you going to teach?"
Me: "No. I have a job editing and I really enjoy that." OR "No. I was doing that but I decided I don't like adolescents." OR "No. I'd like to get a PhD and work at a university." OR "No. I really like research."
Well-meaning adult: "Oh, how nice."

My degree is in history. I know about five unemployed history teaching majors. You can do other things with a history degree besides teach.

I can't help but feel like some of the issue is that I'm a woman and teaching is an acceptable field for those of my sex. Also--the humanities get no respect.

But mostly, I wish that people wouldn't ask me if I was going to teach. You don't ask that question of biology, math, or physics majors. It seems to be a plague for the humanities.

It's probably cuz people think that history is useless as a degree and (because there are so many amateur historians who do a poor job) they think that anyone can do it.

That conversation is almost as bad as (and always precedes) this one:

Well-meaning adult: "How is married life!?!"
Me: "Fine."
Me in my mind: "Good. I love having sex with my husband. Do you like doing that with your husband?"
Well-meaning adult: "How long have you been married?"
Me: "Two years. It is a good time."
Me in my mind: "How long have you been married? Thirty years?"
Well-meaning adult: "You know, I'm sure your mom would love to have some grandchildren."
Me: "Yes, I'm sure she would."
Me in my mind: "I am not pregnant."
Well-meaning adult: "Is that in the near future?"
Me: "No."
Me in my mind: "Why are all of your questions about my sex life?"

I need to keep these things in mind and NOT ask them when I am a well-meaning adult. Or maybe I'll just stay cynical and grumpy and not talk to young people who visit their parents.

Happy Choir!

2011-08-22T13:00:00.003-06:00

I've been the ward choir director for a year, and I have the hardest time getting people to come consistently. I never know how many people with sing in sacrament meeting. It is frustrating.

We sang yesterday in Church. Even though we had an 8:30 a.m. throw-it-together-in-an-hour rehearsal, we had a full choir! Five basses, three tenors, four altos, and five sopranos (and me, conducting and singing what was needed). I was so happy. We sounded good and our sound filled up the chapel.

We sang "How Great Thou Art" and I got chills. It was beautiful and I am so grateful that all these people came to sing!

Sisters, Sisters!

2011-08-18T20:27:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago, my sister Leslie came to Logan and spent the weekend with me and with Melanie. On Saturday we went to Hyrum Reservoir. There is a swim area, so we hung out there.

Leslie, me, and Melanie working on our tans at the beach. This is a great picture, and maybe I will print it out.

Our bottoms (covered, of course. What kind of a blog do you think this is?)

Melanie and Ross in their raft. We let Ross come even though he isn't a sister.

Me and Leslie in the water. She has a life jacket and I do not. I was trying to tread water and make the pose. Skillz.

It was a great day spent with the sisters. You should all hang out with your sisters cuz it is a fun thing to do.

Black Eye: A Journey

2011-08-10T20:04:00.007-06:00

I had a tubing accident. It was epic and amazing. I was on the awesome fun tube (that seats four) and my face hit Uncle Paul's head. I think I blacked out and I just remember being in the water and thinking, "Oh my head kills." And then, "Oh my cheek kills." And, "Wow, I need to get in the boat." So I did.

Saturday July 30
Right after I got onto the beach and found a frozen waterbottle to ice my face with. I didn't cry. I am strong.

Later that night. Yes, I look stoned (this would be a lot of ibuprofen later). It was swelling and already starting to bruise.

Sunday, July 31
Time for Church! Oh, how it hurt to smile (please note the crooked grin).

Monday, August 1
I got a great response at work. No, my husband did not beat me. Maybe I was guarding the liquor store. My boss said he would beat us all until morale improved. I got a huge lecture from the co-editor at work about how dangerous tubing is and that I should never do it ever again. Yeah right, I'm going right back on next time the family goes.

Tuesday, August 2
Here the bruise is reaching it's best stage. My eye wasn't swollen but my cheek still was. You can see the yellow and it really was a black eye.

Wednesday, August 3
Here's another great day for the eye. I discovered why black eyes are often called "shiners"--get this baby in the right light and it reflects off the discolored skin. So cool!

Thursday, August 4
I was sad that it was starting to get better. I loved how strangers would stop me and ask what happened to me. I also have a strange fascination with bruises.

Friday, August 5
Still getting better, unfortunately. I think I bruised my cheek bone cuz it still really hurt to the touch.

Saturday, August 6
Here is a close-up. I think it is still pretty good. I went to Hyrum lake with my sisters and we had a great time. We didn't boat cuz we only had an inflatable raft and three life jackets.

Sunday, August 7
OK, so we all know that I am vain, but seriously, can I be any more babe-alicious? I'm so glad I'm hott even with a black eye.

Monday, August 8
I can smile again without pain! Now it is just red.

Tuesday, August 8
You can't really see it, but my face is classic. The bruise is mostly red and a little smaller than Mondays, and since it is Wednesday when I am posting this, it still looks pretty much the same.

I kind of wish it had lasted a little longer.

In sum, getting a black eye like that really hurts, but the beautiful colors are so worth it.

Air Show

2011-08-06T22:16:00.008-06:00

Here is Andrew's nerd blog. I went to an air show on Lake Washington. Here are the highlights.

This is a picture of two of the most famous of the WWII fighters. The North American (absorbed into Boeing) P-51B and the Supermarine Spitfire. They never told me which variation of the spitfire it was, but oh well.

They also had a tribute to the Coast Guard - Guardian style. This HH-65 Dolphin flew in and dropped in a rescue swimmer. It flew around in a few circles while the swimmer thrashed around pretending to get someone ready for hoisting up. Then got hoisted up. It was cool to see.

Next they brought in an AV-8 Harrier II. This is one of the coolest jets in the world because it can take off vertically. It can also hover in one spot and translate in two axes. They demonstrated the Harrier's ability to hover. It was pretty cool. This shows how it can hover and actually fly backwards.

It can do this because the Harrier has a thrust to weight ratio greater than one. This means that the engines produce more thrust than the airplane weighs. The thrust also gets put out through special ducts in the sides of the fuselage, wingtips, and nose in order to provide the stability necessary to keep it from rolling or pitching in weird ways. Its pretty cool. Check out the video.

And here is one of the most (if not the most) aerobatic airplanes in the world. This plane weighs no more than 1200 lbs. (about the weight of a Geo Metro) and has an engine capable of over 400 horsepower (about 100 more than a classic Ford Mustang - I would have used the example of the AC Cobra 427 GT, but I don't think that most people know what that is) (Wouldn't that be cool - a metro with an AC 427 Cobra engine in it?). This plane could hover using its prop as a helicopter rotor!

And I know what you're thinking Ross... "This is my kinda crop duster!" (Watch out Melanie, if Ross ever starts a sentence with the words 'Remember that airplane on Sarah and Andrew's blog...' - The answer is 'NO!')

Next up was one of my favorite airplanes of all time! The C-130 Hercules. I don't know why I like it so much, but it's awesome. Its a turbo prop that has a ceiling altitude of 35,000 ft. It was designed for short runway take offs. Short take offs mean less than 0.5 miles. For those who don't know, a 747 can sometimes require up to 3 miles to take off. Most cases (if not all usual cases) require over a mile. After it takes off, it can climb at an angle of 45 degrees (most airplanes that you ride on never exceed 20 to 30).

Anyway, this one is especially cool because it is the one that takes all of the Blue Angels' gear around! His (yes, I know that planes and ships are usually 'her's' for some reason, but honestly would you name your daughter 'Albert' - if you would, you should be shot) name is 'Fat Albert'.

So, the reason the C-130 was here was because the Blue Angels also did a demonstration! The Blue Angels are Navy owned McDonald Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18s. The video shows them flying in formation. Their formations force them to keep a minimum distance of 18 inches apart, but it sure looks closer than that some times.

What's even cooler is that you can see the aerodynamics at work. If you look closely you can see that the airplanes are staggered at different heights. This is because they need to stay out of each others' wing tip vortices. These vortexes are created because of how an airplane flies. The wing creates lift by making pressure differences. The bottom of the wing is making a high pressure and the top part makes a low pressure. The high pressure then pushes the airplane into the low pressure lifting the airplane up. So, when you get to the wing tip the high pressure on the bottom goes around the tip to get to the low pressure on top. This makes a swirling motion. When you're creating 40,000 lbs of lift, the vortices could put you out of control (see Wikipedia article for examples of crashes from wing tip vortices). Doesn't it make the flying that much cooler to know that these guys are precision pilots, and that inches could put them into a wing vortex that could throw their plane out of the sky?

So, now you can see that airplanes are awesome, and I am a nerd. I even left out some of the interesting details, like the eliptic planform of the Spitfire. I was also just looking through the pictures and noticed that it doesn't look sunny. Believe me, it was. I got sunburned. I guess that's what Seattle's sunny looks like.

Awesome Cool Fishing Trip

2011-08-06T19:10:00.002-06:00

So, yesterday I had one of the coolest fishing experiences ever. I was fishing on Pass Lake in a float tube. I had a bite and started stripping my line in to land the fish. I was getting pretty excited because I could feel it felt like a log. Once the fish splashed and surfaced this bald eagle swooped in from the trees. It spread its talons about 20 - 30 feet from me. It scared me half to death and let go of the line so the fish could dive to safety. The fish stayed on the line, so I kept fighting it. Everytime the fish flashed on the surface, the eagle came swooping down. I had no idea how to get this fish in without feeding the eagle. I yelled to another fisher to ask how to keep the eagle away. He shrugged his shoulders. So, by this time the fish is so tired that he can't fight anymore. I just decided to bring it in as fast as possible and hope the eagle didn't get him. I netted him and got him unhooked. The longest measuring tape I had was 18 inches, and he was longer than that, but probably not 20 inches. He was probably the biggest rainbow I've ever seen, definitely never caught anything bigger. Anyway, it was pretty awesome. The only problem was I didn't have a camera. Next time.

Chickens, Chickens, and More Chickens

2011-07-31T11:00:00.003-06:00

***CAUTION: This post contains headless chickens and chicken guts. Look away if you get queasy or if you love chickens and don't want to see where the stuff you eat really comes from.***

On July 25, I went with the in-laws to slaughter 27 chickens with the extended family.

I made a Chicken Music Mix CD, which was filled with fun songs like "Chicken Fried," "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow," "Sic 'Em On A Chicken," "Chicken Dumplings," and "C-H-I-C-K-E-N" (which me, The Dad, and Elise are dancing to), along with the classic Bill Cosby skit, "Chicken Heart That Ate New York City." Everyone said the CD was great and helped make the chore more fun.

Uncle Dan (who cut off the heads) and The Dad (who held the wings down and got covered in blood) pulling the skin and feathers off of the chickens.

Me gutting a chicken. I am crying and I almost threw up. It was still warm inside! Grandma S. was helping me. She kept saying how proud she was that we girls would have skills needed when the Lord calls us to Missouri. Sorry, when the Lord calls us to Missouri, I don't think we'll be gutting chickens, and we might not even eat meat. I guess I have these skills for when our government and economy collapse, so Andrew and I have to feed our families with what we can hunt or raise.

That's me with the chicken that I gutted.

All I can say is that Andrew really missed out. And that was quite the experience.

Friends at Lake Sacagawea

2011-07-29T19:57:00.006-06:00

We met some of our good friends in the middle. We drove from Washington and they drove from Oregon. We haven't seen them since last November, so it was great to spend time with them.

Jared fishing with N (on the lap) and J (standing). I love this picture. It is so cute.

I kept telling Andrew that this was the future. Just imagine: Andrew trying to get toddlers to fish but they just want to splash the water with the fishing rods.

Some friendly ducks. Sandra was throwing them some delicious tortilla chips.

J with his drum that we brought him from Hong Kong.

N kept sitting on the cooler and then tipping it so he would fall off. It was so funny.

After our friends left with two sleepy boys, we kept trying to fish. We fished for three hours. Andrew was determined to catch a fish. We could not leave until he caught one.

Frustrated, Andrew just started to run his lure along some rocks. This little fella just attacked the lure! Super aggressive fish can come is very small packages.

The fish.

It was a good day. I was happy and sunburned, even though I didn't catch a fish.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

2011-07-28T16:46:00.005-06:00

Andrew bought a kite. He really likes to fly it. Last Friday, we went to Mukilteo Beach to fly the kite and we had a good time.

Andrew flying the kite. He always makes me try. I did well this time! I'm not very patient so I make big moves, but you just need to guide it gently. I flew the kite the best I ever have. But, I always get frustrated cuz no matter how soft I am, it always crashes into the ground. Andrew is good at flying the kite. He is trying to learn how to do some tricks.

Andrew and the kite. It's very colorful. The model is called Jazz.

Andrew's cute girlfriend who wanted to fly the kite. Her mom said she couldn't.

The kite from Andrew's point of view.

He is very focused.

You might be able to see a few other kites in this picture. There were about six other kites up. Andrew has the coolest one! You can actually steer it cuz it has two strings. It is really fast and makes a loud zipping noise in the wind. I think Andrew just likes aerodynamics.

My Truck

2011-07-27T19:22:00.003-06:00

I'm borrowing this guy from my Grandpa. It is awesome. I love wearing cute shirts and carrying around cute bags or lugging around hot-pink polka-dotted luggage (which I LOVE) in the truck. It makes me feel... chic? awesome? redneck? Maybe all three.

And yes, I tied my suitcase down. I'm not sure how much I trust trucks to keep everything in the bed.

Remember that Dress?

2011-07-17T10:55:00.008-06:00

I'm really really hard on jeans. I go through them like tissues. I think, on average, I buy about 3 pairs a year--every year--cuz the ones I bought last year died. I just wear through them really really fast, mostly in between my thighs they just wear through. It is sad. I also really hate buying jeans cuz I have such a hard time finding ones that aren't too long, fit my thighs, and don't fall off my butt. Usually these shopping trips include tears and frustrated grunts in the dressing room.

Anyway, when people are trying to lose weight, they hold their high school jeans as their goal. That won't work for me. They fell apart years ago. As did the ones from all through college. So jeans aren't a realistic way for me to measure weight loss.'

I have to use dresses. I have a bunch of dresses (15 full dresses and 21 skirts--not including formals or the wedding gown) and should probably get rid of some, but I can't. I fluctuate so much in size, that I wear different ones all the time.

Anyway, this last year I have not been happy with my weight and size.

Unflattering Easter picture. Not happy about this.

More flattering Easter picture--but still...

So instead, I have to measure my size by which dress I fit into.

I made this super super cute dress as a freshman. It fit on-and-off well and sometimes snug over the years. I haven't been able to wear it since 2009.

Today, I tried it on. And it fit! Snug, yes, but it fit. I even think I could have zipped it up all the way, but I had no one to zip the top up for me (the sleeves were tight, I need to tone my arms). YAY! I was really really really excited and happy.

Other dresses to fit into in the future include:

My wedding luncheon dress (and corresponding underskirt so it is modest).

And this beautiful girl--which I fit into at the most athletic and toned part of my life ever.

You may think, wow Sarah, you aren't even that skinny. I do not care. I don't believe that skinniness determines health. I know plenty of 100-pound women who cannot lift anything, swim a mile, run a 5k. What matters to me is muscle and tone, which actually weighs more than fat, so if I weigh 150 pounds because of muscle, that would be awesome.

And if it doesn't happen, that is OK. But I felt so good and healthy when I wore those dresses, why wouldn't I want to aim for that state of health again?

Swimming Party!

2011-07-14T21:46:00.004-06:00

Our apartment area had a swimming party. We got into the pool for freeeeeee! Since I'm a fake-single for the summer, I went and tagged along with the people with kids.

Heather, Tim, Caleb, and Audrey were way excited to see me!

T-Roy and Kaylee. The sun was in their eyes.

Little Emma in her floaty toy.

The kids having fun! Such a great picture. I love Emma's face just peaking above her floaty. Audrey is jumping and Caleb is splashing.

Me with Kaylee, post-swim when it started to get cold. I'm such a great fake aunt.

For cutes!

If you didn't know, I just LOVE to swim. I could swim all day. I am definitely a little fish. I really would like to go water skiing and boating sometime this summer. We'll see if it happens. If not, at least I got to have fun tonight!

Andrew's Post

2011-07-09T22:28:00.003-06:00

So, my wife has been bugging me to write a post for probably over two years. So here goes nothing.

I did something amazing today. I made Eggs Benedict and it turned out great! Here's a picture.

So, my Hollandaise sauce turned out pretty good. It didn't separate at all. I halved it, and probably put in a little too much lemon juice, and I cooked my poached egg with a piece of shell in it, but all in all it was great! Doesn't it look good?

Moments that Matter Most

2011-07-08T14:24:00.002-06:00

This Mormon Message made me cry today. It was beautiful. I am grateful for the people in my life that make it so meaningful to me. I hope that each day I take time to recognize them and they other gifts that God has given me.

Wir kommen von der Bergen - Leavenworth, WA

2011-07-03T11:54:00.012-06:00

We decided to spend our Saturday in Leavenworth. It is a little German town in the American Alps (aka the Cascades), see also Washington vs. Switzerland.

We saw a cherry stand! So we had to, of course, stop and buy some.

And they were so so good.

Don't you just want some fresh Washington cherries?

Welcome to Leavenworth! It was so festive.

Even the gas station was in German script.

The Alpen Folk playing music and yodeling! This is why I told Andrew we HAD to go. Yes, we bought the CD.

A delicious pretzel and amazingly delicious mustard. (Today was funny face day for me, FYI).

Pizza und Brats - Das ist Gut Ja? Andrew had a brat and sauerkraut--both of which he said were OK (he is really spoiled when it comes to German food) and I had a delicious hot dog (I don't like brats).

Bienenstich! This is my absolute FAVORITE German dessert, which I have loved since I first tried it at one of Andrew's family parties. It means Bee Sting Cake. It has almonds and a toffee-like thing on the top, then a light cake, some creamy filling, and more light cake. I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! And I'm so glad we bought this.

Me making a Barbara Streisand pose in front of the Hello Dolly Doll Shop.

The nutcracker store.

Andrew looking smooth and sophisticated and European in front of a painted landscape.

The human and dog drinking fountain. Humans on the upper two, and dogs at the lower one.

We really should have bought this apron for Andrew to wear. Sehr Sexy, Ja?

We went on a hike near Leavenworth, called Eight-Mile Lake. It was three miles to the first lake and one more to the second lake, so the total mileage for the round trip was eight.

The mountains.

The pretty purple wildflowers. :)

Me amongst the purple wildflowers, sticking out my tongue.

The second lake.

The first lake.

The raging river of snowmelt.

Me and this tree were the same height.

Can you see me? My shirt matches the flowers!

And we were starving so went back in to Leavenworth for a German dinner.
Andrew eating Schnitzel with noodles (spaetzla). The Brot (bread) was also very good. The Sauerkraut and Rotkohl were not very good. I'm not the biggest Sauerkraut fan but I do like Rotkohl, and it was disappointing. Andrew realized how truly truly spoiled he has been growing up as a little German boy eating delicious German food.

We then got gelato and mocked the people who just bought ice cream. They had no idea what they were missing. :D

Mt. Si

2011-06-26T08:00:00.006-06:00

Andrew and I decided to hike Mt. Si on Saturday. It is about 4 miles to the top and a vertical rise of 3700 feet. So it's steep. It's also one of the most popular hikes in the Seattle area, so we felt like we had to do it.

Above and below: A misty morning.

The view from the top:

The blue jay (or something) that moved all over the place so it was hard to get a picture.

Andrew practicing his elk call. Let's just advertise it, my honey: "WE ARE REDNECKS!"

The top. We decided it was the top (you'll see why in a bit).

Singing "Climb Every Mountain!" as I climbed to the top.

Me on the top. :)

And to the North we saw this thing. It is called the Haystack, and not a lot of people climb it. I kind of get the feeling that it is kind of like Angel's Landing, only a little more dangerous. We couldn't decide if we were on the summit of Mt. Si or if that was the summit. We did not climb it.

The lovely scenery.

On the way down, we went on the Talus Loop trail. It was so nice cuz we only saw three other groups instead of thirty. Yes, it was .3 miles longer than the main trail, but the ground was soft and not as steep. Therefore, it was so so much better to go down.

Mt. Si was a good hike. Going up was really hard, as was coming down. But we probably won't do it again for a while (if ever) because of all the people. Hikes really are more enjoyable when you don't see another group all the time.

Davis High School Class of 2006

2011-06-21T15:43:00.006-06:00

Today I realized that I graduated from high school five years ago. It was sometime in June 2006. Go Darts! I was ready to leave high school, but I had a great time. I don't have any pictures of my graduation (those are all at my parents' house) so you will have to live with some senior pictures.

Me, sitting on a very cold rock.

Me being skinny. Note to self: get skinny again. (What am I doing differently? I don't do colorguard, I don't walk my dog 2 miles a day. Also, nowadays I take birth control, which I secretly suspect for my weight gain; sit on my butt for four to five hours at work; and walk/stroll to and from campus each weekday (one-way is about 0.89 mile, but closer to 1 mile if I go with Andrew to the engineering area). But anyway, this post isn't supposed to be about how plumpy I am.)

Me with my cello, trusty Sam. Can I just say that I have never seen such an attractive cello as Sam? I love that he isn't glossy like all the other cellos. I was really good at the cello as a senior. Maybe someday I'll get back into it, but we'll see if I ever have two to three hours a day to devote to an instrument until I'm 70. However, I still play. :)

Me with my flag. I think I look a lot like my mom in this picture. I was in colorguard all through high school. It was a good time, but it's a part of my life that is over. I still enjoy a good spin every once-in-awhile.

High school was a great time. Here are some of the highlights:

Being in colorguard.
Getting a driver's license.
Going on some ridiculous dates that make for great stories (involving blood and another time involving gasoline, Febreeze, and exotic fruit juices).
Having a boyfriend.
Having said boyfriend's mother think my sole purpose in life was to make her son unworthy to serve a mission. Ha ha.
Having so much fun in a string quartet.
Getting awesome bruises from my flag.
Getting a dog.
A first kiss.
Kissing two guys in one night for the fun of becoming a True Dart.
Being a Social Sciences Sterling Scholar.
Being wooed by different universities throughout the country.
Summoning the courage to tube on the lake again (but still no waterskiing)
Getting all A's and never getting all H's (on citizenship). Getting all A's and all H's is embarrassing.
Making my English teacher cry.
Crocheting through English class (different year) and making the teacher mad.
Being stung by a wasp on my boob.
Being really really really tan.
Going to band camp. Wait, that wasn't a highlight.
Passing the AP Calculus BC test with a 5!
Not having to take science classes for two years.
Being in a civics classes with brainless cheerleaders and braindead football players and having the teacher wonder how I keep doing so much better than my classmates.
Learning an awesome cello concerto.
Having way fun with my friends.
Chilling in a place we christened the "Beer Hall"--not that any of us drank beer.
Having a curfew.
Making my parents enforce my curfew so I wouldn't have to stay at stupid parties.
Founding a major weekly holiday still celebrated today (I think) called Cute Butt Day, which is celebrated each Wednesday and is a celebration of butt slapping.
And making tons of other crazy memories with my friends Erika, Monica, Nicole, Kayleigh, Becky, and Kevin.

I have done a lot of other amazing things since then, but high school was a great time. But I'm really glad it's over.

Marshmallows!

2011-06-17T15:31:00.004-06:00

Marshmallows are so good.

Andrew is a bird whisperer. Scooter (who only likes Leslie) loved him.

Matt holding baby Emma at the marshmallow roast.

Little Andrew and Big Andrew eating their marshmallows. I love this picture. :D

Chilling with Phil and Keola

2011-06-15T19:45:00.005-06:00

YAY!! Andrew came to Utah for the weekend and I was happy. We spent Saturday afternoon with our friends Phillip and Keola. They live in Laei, Hawaii. We went to their wedding.

Here, Phil uses the smallest club for the game. An old man came and tried to give Phil his larger one. He didn't get that he was being silly.

Andrew putting. He is so attractive when he golfs.

Keola got a hole in one!

Me pretending to real golf.

Then we went to Provo Canyon to see the Bridal Veil Falls. I have never been there before.

Andrew's fat picture. He bent the bench. (it was already like that, but just pretend)

The water here is A LOT colder than it is in Hawaii.

Me at the Falls.

Sticking our feet in the water. :) I love sticking my feet in ice-cold water, and I'm not kidding.

Andrew sticking his feet in the water. He was impressed with how long I could keep my feet in the water. What can I say? I'm tough.

Me and Andrew at Bridal Veil Falls!

There millions of inch worms on the trail. They dangled from the trees from threads. It was gross cuz they would get on our clothes.

What I Learned In Hong Kong

2011-06-06T21:12:00.005-06:00

I learned a lot on our international adventure to Hong Kong. Here are a few of them.

Monkeys are not cute but are scary.
Injured eyes hurt like heck, but they heal fairly quickly. (I forgot to include this in the hospital post, but they gave me some pain medication for whenever it hurt, some antibacterial eyedrops for every three hours, and some eye neosporin that I had to put on my cut four times a day.)
It's hard when you don't speak the language BUT you begin to recognize some words AND you can sort of understand a conversation based on facial cues and body language.
Interpretation is an amazing skill. So many people speak good English and helped me at Church or in other conversations.
Normal Chinese food is not what people who love you want to feed you. You will eat a lot of meat and not lose weight.
My feet hurt more than I ever thought possible by the end of the trip. Each day it seemed like it was earlier and earlier to when my feet would reach the peak of pain of the previous day, and then it would just get worse.
I don't really like shopping. Probably cuz it made my feet hurt more than walking.
Humidity makes things super hot.
Humidity is nice cuz my hands didn't crack and my nose never bled. :)
The Pacific Ocean is huge and that plane ride is insanely long. My feet swelled up and my knees ached. But I learned that an extra pillow on my low back helped my tailbone to not hurt on the ride--not once.
There are so many beautiful things to see in the world and you just need to appreciate the things around you, wherever you are. Hong Kong is so beautiful, green, lush, and the mountains are stunning, but when we got back I had an appreciate for the diversity and natural beauty existing in the Great Basin. See? Find the beauty wherever you are.
Chinese people are really nice and clean. I never felt uncomfortable on a really crowded MTR train like I have in the U.S.
Many people think we are so wealthy and lucky to live in the U.S., which sometimes made me a little uncomfortable. Being in Hong Kong gave me an appreciation for being an American, especially where I study negative things in the U.S.'s past that make me critical of the nation. But I am healthy, I have more money than most of them, I can get a college education, I have many opportunities for work.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true--and it is the same all over the world. Going to Church was really fun, and because it was all through an interpreter I had to pay more attention and I got a lot out of the meetings we went to.
I am also really lucky to have a Temple near to me. There is one in Hong Kong, but LDS members from China, Thailand, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka have to travel to Hong Kong to receive the ordinances of the Temple. (see http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/hongkong/district/)
You can come to love people very quickly.
I love Andrew and I loved getting to know a place he loves so much.
My trip to Hong Kong didn't go the way I imagined it would. I was more tired than I thought I would be. Weird situations came up that made parts of the trip downright unpleasant. It smelled funny a lot of the time. The buildings were tall and overwhelming. There were SO SO many people everywhere and a lot of noise. The weather was hot and sticky and humid and it made me cry. Andrew even said he didn't think I liked being at Hong Kong very much. Well let me tell the world: it was a lot to take in, and I was a little stunned, but I think I don't have a romanticized vision of Hong Kong. Because some bad things happened, I was able to see the good and bad parts of Hong Kong, just like any place.
My favorite thing about Hong Kong was the people we met that meant to much to Andrew. Now they mean a lot to me. I love the Chan family, the Los, Angela, and his younger friends Calvin, Dick, Elma, and Chris.

Hong Kong is such a interesting place. I am really glad that we leaped on the opportunity to go. I hope we can go back so I can have another experience there, one that will hopefully go better with less mishaps. But despite the things that went wrong, a lot of stuff went right and it was great. Plus, I got to spend a lot of time with Andrew and see him be really really happy.

Hong Kong Day 8 (Saturday)

2011-06-02T08:26:00.005-06:00

This was our last day in Hong Kong, and it sure started with a bang.

I got to go to the hospital! Yay!

Here I am, at 2-3 a.m., in pain. It was awesome. I had a corneal abrasion and it was awesome. Let me tell you, going to the hospital that early is so great cuz no one is there. Andrew thought I was a baby, but it really hurt.

In the train, we saw this awesome sign:

Makes you want to get a hair transplant, doesn't it?

These are the MTR trains. I really liked riding the train.

We rode out to Yuen Long. It is a "rural" part of Hong Kong and where Andrew spent a good deal of time.

We had breakfast with these great people. Andrew, me, Joyce, the Filipina helper's friend who kept saying I have an amazing life because I live in America, and Angela (in the wheelchair). Angela was so sweet and loves missionaries. She spoke really good English. She told us not to come back until we have a baby to show her.

And then we went to the end of the MTR line to Tuen Muen and walked around a bit. I think it was Andrew's first area.

This is the Church.

I told Andrew that if we lived in Hong Kong, I would want to live out here. I liked that it wasn't as busy and I thought the countryside was beautiful. He reminded me that even fewer people speak English here. I guess if we moved to Hong Kong I would have to learn Cantonese.

See--rural.

Those buildings in the distance are in mainland China.

That evening, the Bishop Lee of the Sha Tin ward invited us to a dinner party.
I can't name everyone, but I came to love them a lot. I would also live in Sha Tin.

Creeps

2011-06-01T21:45:00.001-06:00

Good news! Our credit card number appears to have been stolen.

This is the third time that something like this has happened to me and I AM SICK OF IT.

I'm really careful with my card and I am cautious shopping on the internet.

The first time I got a call from a debt collection agency and it wasn't my debt. This Las Vegas credit card had been opened when I was 16. I had to get a detective and everything.

The second time I got a letter from a debt collection agency and I told them it wasn't my debt. I didn't follow through with that one as well cuz I had just gotten married and was in denial.

This time, someone made purchases at Paramount Supplements for male enhancement supplements, anti aging, prohormones, and ephedra diet pill. And the other purchase was at WrestleMania. Both came out of Cincinnati.

I'm not happy. I'm sick of people stealing my identity. Get your own.

BE HONEST! for goodness sake.

Enjoy some identity theft commercials:

I feel like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VTIBlUyuqk

And this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERwnA8VfFM

And something from The Office cuz it aired about the first time my identity was stolen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC5imk9sG1M

Because seriously, am I the sort of girl who orders male enhancements and stuff from WrestleMania?

Weekend Getaway to Andrew

2011-05-27T09:51:00.004-06:00

Sorry I haven't finished my Hong Kong adventures yet! I've been away from my computer and pictures.

This weekend I am in Washington with Andrew! We will celebrate our two-year anniversary on Sunday (yay!!) and also spend Memorial Day together. We aren't sure of our plans yet, but we might go to Victoria, BC, or the San Juan Islands. Even just going to the beach and looking for creatures would be such a blast!

Since we are spending most of the summer apart, we are both trying to stay busy and productive. Andrew is taking two online classes for his general education requirements (Family Finance and Psychology) and brought his golf clubs and fishing gear. Of course, he is also working at Boeing and is doing Performance Testing (or something to that extent). I am chilling in Logan, and will soon be baking, and working at the Western Historical Quarterly still. Now I am the senior fellow. I am supposed to work on my thesis (which I haven't done too much of) and I am also trying to study Spanish so I can pass the test and get an MA. My friend Tasha and I are doing a garden plot together (pictures to come!). I also hope to hike a lot and get in shape.

But, when we are together we just enjoy each other's company. I love Andrew and I realize how important he is in my life! I can function without him, but he just brings an extra portion of happiness when we are together.

Happy anniversary to us and happy Memorial Day to you all and our deceased loved ones!

Hong Kong Day 7 (Friday)

2011-05-23T20:11:00.008-06:00

Warning: A ton of freaking amazing pictures of Big Buddha shrouded in mist are on their way.

On Friday we went to Lan Tau Island.

We rode in these cable cars. Some of them had glass floors but no one wanted to get it. It could have been cool.

That a little cemetery on the mountainside. Lan Tau is a very rural place.

Soaring over the countryside! It was exquisitely beautiful up there. I loved how we went in and out of the mist!
Andrew, me, Heidi, and Julie in front of Big Buddha.

So cool.

And now some pictures to show just how cute and touristy I am. :)

Andrew takes great pictures of flowers. In fact, all the pictures from today are his.

We climbed a huge staircase to Buddha.
Why hello there, Buddha.

High Five Buddha!

Another great picture. I think this is at the actual temple.

The ladies with our fans. :) I sure loved Calvin for giving me his fan! And then they bought matching ones at the store near Big Buddha.

Buddha in the mist again:

And then...
A random cow walked down the street. Whatever cow. Whatever.

Then we rode a bus to a little fishing village called Dai O.

Some tidal wetland.

The village.

My feet really hurt at this point. I think all us girls were happy to sit and wait for the bus while Andrew wandered around and took pictures of the village. We did look at the wetland, but we were so pooped at this point!

In the evening, we met up with Dick and Sanina (we went to their wedding reception) and returned to the Harbour for the light show.

Me and Andrew--ah, love in Hong Kong.

Dick and Sanina. :)

On the way home we saw a frog. I am glad we didn't step on him!

Hong Kong Day 6 (Thursday)

2011-05-22T18:59:00.004-06:00

Thursday was Temple Day!

Walking to the Temple and enjoying the beautiful flowers.

I'm glowing cuz I just came out of the Temple. Just kidding, it's the humidity condensing on the camera lens.

I can't decide which of the next two shots I like best. They both have things I love about them. So I decided to just post both of them. You can click on them and look at them really big.

See? Tough choice. Sometimes I take amazing pictures. I love lines.

There it is. It was such a beautiful place. The session we went to was in Thai because a Thai couple was going through and then being sealed. We all had to wear headphones. Andrew listened in Cantonese and I listened in English. I loved being able to spend time in the Temple on our vacation. I love that Andrew and I have done so on many of our trips, like the Kona Hawaii Temple and the Vancouver British Columbia Temple.

We road a crazy green bus to Stanley Market.

And we shopped all afternoon.

Then we met with Chris for food.

Andrew and Chris.

Eating normal Chinese food!

Hong Kong Day 5 (Wednesday)

2011-05-22T09:32:00.009-06:00

Wednesday was not my best day. And you will see why as this post goes on.

Andrew and I got up and went hiking to Lion's Rock.

The view from the halfway point where all the old people had already gotten to. They are all super healthy and made it up this steep mountain in way better condition than us whities.

Halfway point. Yes, that is sweat. Yes, I am posting it on the internet. I'm looking at Kowloon below me. I was really happy to get to the halfway spot cuz there was a nice sea breeze from that point on! It was so humid and I have never sweat so much in my life--not even at band camp!

I remember seeing this and thinking, "I hope we aren't climbing to the top of that." And we did.

Andrew and me at the top of Lion's Rock. You want us. Admit it.

That's the Temple from above!

I'm enjoying the view--mostly the wind.

After we cleaned up from the hike, we met up with the po pos (grandmas) and went to meet Brother Chan and his family for lunch.

We went for dim sum. Here, Andrew and Brother Chan chose what to order.

Lily and the lovely Sister Chan. Lily had way too much fun taking pictures of us on the phone.

From left to right: Josie, Lily, Amelia, Michael, and Anne. What beautiful children!

After that, we went to the Hong Kong heritage museum.

Each person on the staff made a person.

A lovely vase.

Part of the exhibit about Cantonese opera. Here is a link, if you want to watch some.

My favorite sign at the museum.

"My grandchildren are going to see this picture, Sarah!"

Then we met up with Sister Choi and Brother and Sister Lo for dinner. They took us to several things around Sai Kong.

Such as a World War II memorial. Being a historian, and one of U.S. WWII history, I was interested in Hong Kong's experience during the war.

Japan attacked Hong Kong (a British colony) on December 8, 1941 (pretty much the same time as the attack on Pearl Harbor). The colonial leadership surrendered on Christmas, and the Japanese brutally controlled the area for the duration of the war. Many people fled or were forced to leave for the mainland (see Source). Andrew said that Japanese soldiers kicked down doors and burst into people's homes and mowed the people down, so even today, the apartments have hard core metal doors.

Yacht harbor. Going here, I began to get quite carsick.

How people scaffold in Hong Kong--bamboo lashed together and then they cling to it with their legs.

We went to three temples for the fishing goddess. This was a nice scene from one of the friezes. It was cool to see the temples. It was also really nice to get out of the car so I wouldn't throw up.

Then we headed to the restaurant.
And picked out the fish, shellfish, and squid we would eat that night. My favorite quote (remember that I was really carsick) by Sister Choi: "You don't like squid?" said as if I had just said I didn't like breathing.

The worker standing on the fish pens.

Holding a giant crab. I'm not in the area cuz that is a huge crab and it didn't really smell that good in the general area.

Us at the restaurant. I'm trying to put on a brave face, and all I wanted was some plain rice. Little did I know that since I rejected the conjee I wasn't really sick in the eyes of our hosts.

Heidi and Julie enjoying their sea food.

Andrew enjoying his seafood.

Sister and Brother Lo, Andrew, me, and Sister Choi. Thanks for taking us out! I'm sure it would have been great if I hadn't gotten carsick!

The view from a mountain. Thank goodness I fell asleep in the car or else I probably would have thrown up (so said Heidi).

Hong Kong Day 4 (Tuesday) (Buddha's Birthday)

2011-05-21T08:29:00.011-06:00

For Buddha's birthday, we went with the Sha Tin ward to a barbeque. These are different from barbeques in the U.S., as will be seen. But the Church really is the same all over the world cuz ward parties are the same all over the world.

Andrew and Brother Lo (say Law) at the barbeque.

Julie and the really cute baby. We finally figured out who the baby belonged to--Amy, to whom Andrew taught new member lessons. And, happy day, her husband has joined the Church!

Heidi singing German songs to the really cute baby. I'm sure that the poor girl thought (in baby Cantonese): "This lady talks to me in a crazy language and sings to me in an even weirder one." It was probably kind of like the Chef on the Muppets.

We finally got a smile out of the really cute baby!

Hong Kong barbeques work like this: Get some coals really hot. Put sweet potatoes and corn on the cob in foil around the coals. Put meat on a roaster. Use all kinds of meat--beef, chicken wings, hot dogs, meat balls, pork, etc.

When it is almost done, glaze the meat with honey. Cook for a little longer and ENJOY!!

Sister Tsang, Andrew, Julie, Heidi, and new friend from Murray Ken.

In the South China Sea (maybe).

It was so hot. We were all just frying. I really wanted to dive in. If they had not asked us to please do not go swimming, I would have.

Feet in the water.

Everyone jump roped at the end of the activity. Even some of the old ladies! Even me!

Riding on the top of a double decker bus!

Me and Andrew on the bus.

What a beautiful place.

We were going to meet Elma and Dennis. I'm sorry I can't remember where all of these places were.

Julie, Heidi, and Elma enjoying their Korean barbeque. MORE MEAT!!

Dennis, Andrew, and me having fun grilling meat. Andrew and Dennis are mission brothers (they had the same trainer).

Andrew enjoying his durian pancakes.

Me enjoying my chocolate flavored ice stuff. It was weird but way better than durian.

Hong Kong Day 3 (Monday)

2011-05-19T19:49:00.008-06:00

On Monday we delivered love packages full of goodies from mothers for missionaries. First, we went to the mission offices to drop off one package. It is across the street from the Temple.

Me and Andrew in front of the Temple.

Then we rode the Star Ferry across the harbour (I have to write 'harbour' instead of 'harbor' cuz Hong Kong is a former British colony). This is a view of the city from the ferry.

Me on the Star Ferry. yay!

The tallest building in Hong Kong. Also in The Dark Knight.

Awesome. That is all there is to say.

Heidi and Julie on the tram up to Victoria Peak. It was really steep, and I tried to take a picture to show how steep it was, but I always felt like I straightened the camera to the ground instead of holding it level. I'm not a great photographer, so you get what you get. It was steep.

Andrew took us to the place where they dedicated Hong Kong and China for the Gospel the second time. They carved the date into the rock: 7/14/49, or July 14, 1949. This site was lost for a while, and then a few years ago the Church leaders found it. It is in a beautiful spot near Victoria Peak.

Andrew actually has some unique family history connected to Hong Kong. In 1852-1853, Brigham Young sent three missionaries (Hosea Stout, James Lewis, and Chapman Duncan) to serve in China. Chapman Duncan is one of Andrew's ancestors. They stayed in Hong Kong and struggled a lot with the language. They couldn't sustain themselves and the English-speakers were unfriendly. Discouraged, they left after two months. I don't blame them! (see "Country Information: China," LDS Church News, 28 January 2010).

I think it is cool that Andrew got to serve in Hong Kong where Chapman Duncan also tried to serve. Maybe Andrew's efforts brought Chapman Duncan some eternal satisfaction to see his descendent successful in Hong Kong.

The view from the top!

Andrew, me, Heidi, and Julie on Victoria's Peak.

Elder Jolley was so excited to get the package of goodies from his mommy!

The Wan Chai Chapel. It has like 4 chapels and the Asia Area Presidency offices there.

Andrew and his friend Calvin. Calvin took us to some beautiful gardens at a nunnery near Diamond Hill.

The gardens.

The monastery.

Calvin was going to be a Buddhist monk before he joined the Church. He wanted us to try these gooey cakes that were made specially for Buddha's birthday, which was the next day.

Happy birthday Buddha. Your cakes are gross.

Hong Kong Day 2 (Sunday)

2011-05-17T20:25:00.006-06:00

Sunday was hot and humid, but we trekked to church.

The Mom and Andrew on top of the mall.

Andrew surprised everyone in the Sha Tin Ward with his presence. He hadn't told anyone he was coming and didn't really expect people to remember him. He was there for like, six months. He was very very wrong.

Here we are with Brother Chan and his family. He was Andrew's golden investigator. His wife recently was baptized and all his children had come to Hong Kong from mainland China for good--finally! They are taking lessons and the oldest two are getting baptized in a month. We came a such a great time and Andrew was so happy!

Gotta have a cheese picture in her somewhere.

That's the church building.

Then we went to the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The hill was steep, so Heidi, Julie, and Andrew take a rest.

Lots of Buddhas.

The main temple. You aren't supposed to take pictures inside, so you'll just have to live with a picture of the structure.

Now before you start thinking, "Oh how cute, what a sweet little monkey," let me tell you--MONKEYS ARE NOT SWEET OR CUTE BUT ARE TERRIFYING. We accidentally got between this monkey and its baby and it started coming towards me. I called to Andrew, and he bravely tried to scare it off. The monkey hissed at him and showed its teeth and then started getting closer to us. Andrew went one way and the girls went the other. And we girls started to run. Julie yelled, "DON'T RUN!!!!" as she ran up the stairs. That was when I remembered that it is stupid to run from a wild animal, so I turned around and it had started to chase us. It stopped when I faced it. I went up the stairs slowly, facing it. I was prepared to kick it if necessary (I'm pretty sure it could have jumped onto my face and killed me, so not sure how good the kicking would have been). But we all lived and monkeys are not cute. I used to like monkeys but now I do not.

And then we saw this sign: "Beware the monkey attack." Thanks for the late warning.

Cool interior decoration at the mall.

Andrew drinking his Hiu Lau Shan. (fruit juice/smoothies with glutinous rice balls or jelly)

Me drinking Hiu Lau Shan.

Sha Tin in the evening. That is a river, but I can't remember its name.

Hong Kong Day 1

2011-05-17T19:44:00.004-06:00

After a very long plane ride...we landed in Hong Kong!

I am an official world traveler and have a stamp in my passport. :)

We met up with Heidi and friend Julie at the hotel, showered, and started off on our adventures.

Andrew and I at the Sha Tin Wedding Registry office.

We went to Dick and Sanina's wedding reception. They were up there talking about how they met and playing games and I had no idea what they were saying. After that, everyone got to eat delicious food!

Sanina (for whom Andrew was a zone leader) and Dick (whom Andrew got to know well in one of his areas).

This is the Church.

A busy street in Mong Kok.

We finished our day by going to the harbor. By this time, I was so exhausted, I could hardly make it home! I slept like a rock and was ready for the next day.

Journey to Hong Kong

2011-05-05T23:38:00.003-06:00

We have begun our International Adventure! Yay!

We flew into San Francisco and my brother-in-law, Wesley, was able to come from Vallejo to pick us up and take us into the city.

We went to the Golden Gate Bridge. Aren't Andrew and I an attractive couple? We are in our comfy clothes ready to fly for 13 hours across the Pacific Ocean! Yay.

Me pointing at one of the little cables that the huge cables of the Golden Gate Bridge are made of. Very impressive!

Awesome picture by me. The sun was setting when we walked across it.

Wes needs crisis counseling. He is sad and contemplating jumping cuz he can't find a wife (thus he is looking at his naked ring finger). Don't worry Wes! You will find her someday!

The Bridge at sundown.

And now Andrew and I are waiting at the international terminal for three more hours until our flight takes off at 1:35 a.m. Oh the joys of International Adventures.

You Know It's Spring When...

2011-05-04T13:38:00.002-06:00

You can't see the inversion or your breath.
The fountains around campus are on.
You really really really want to go swimming.
You debate the necessity of a jacket.
People finally stop complaining about the weather on Facebook.
Flowers bloom.
You plan many vacations.
Potato bugs (rolly-polies) cross the sidewalks.

I Can't Take You All...

2011-05-03T12:10:00.002-06:00

Since announcing that we are going to Hong Kong, I have had numerous requests to shrink people and fit them in our suitcases.

Sorry, I just don't have that kind of technology. I would love to take everyone and have a giant party in Hong Kong where we would eat tons of food and squish together on the train and sweat a ton cuz it is super humid there.

So, depending on the price of internet at the hotel, I will try to post pictures while we are gone so you can kind of be there with us. OK?

Two days!!!

Finally Friday

2011-04-29T10:21:00.005-06:00

A few things that are random that are on my mind:

My pea plants are doing awesome! I hope they produce.Good work little pea plants! Keep on growing!

Other plants are doing well. For Family Home Evening, Andrew and I talked about Alma 32 and how to gain faith, we need to plant seeds in our heart. Andrew planted summer squash in his heart and I planted broccoli in my heart. We are glad that both things are doing well.

We leave for Hong Kong in just a few days! I'll be outta here next Thursday. :D

I did not wake up for the Royal Wedding, but I did watch the highlights. I liked Queen Elizabeth's happy yellow dress and I really liked Kate's wedding dress, but not as much as I like MY wedding dress. I hope they have a marvelous day!

Kate Middleton's dress. Very nice. Source.

My wedding dress. Sorry Kate, mine is perfect. Photo by Dirk Widdison. (PS - I'm on the homepage for Dirk! I'm the one in front of the blue garage door. :D) For more wedding pictures, check out this post.

My brother Matt got his mission call on Wednesday. He will serve in the Colorado Springs mission and he leaves August 31! I'm really excited to finally have a missionary sibling. :D

(That's Matt)

My finger does not hurt as much as it did yesterday. A piece of egg shell stabbed me under my fingernail--OWWW!!!

Paper rewrites are going well but I still need to do a lot of work and probably shouldn't blog.

Tomorrow I am hostessing a baby shower for my friend Michelle and her baby boy. I love hostessing things.

I really just want to go hiking but I haven't been able to go since I went snowshoeing in Green Canyon.

All in all, it is a good day. And it will be a good weekend.