Random...

So...I never posted anything from my trip home in August. So I will just post some random pictures from the event now. I know, I know retrospective posting...

Brynna

Nick--crazy hair

Brett & Alissa

Brett--Zoolander

Keyan

Tracen pudding

Tracen pudding

Christmas Time!

So...it's been since September since I've blogged. Definitely a record! Woohoo! Anyway, my life has been insanely busy--hence the lack of blogging! Things have been crazy with school, work, and boy drama...haha (nothing good, don't worry)! But let's see, I have no idea where to start. The semester is almost over, I just have one more final to take, and I am so glad to be done! It has definitely been my most difficult/worst semester ever! But oh well, grades aren't everything, and who cares I am almost done, and then I'll be going home for Christmas! Work has been crazy too. Things have been busy, and it's been tough to work 24 hours and go to school full time, but maybe I'm just a wimp...either way...it's been tough.
Well, enough about that. In other news, my roommates this semester have been great! We've all been having a good time together. In fact we decided to have a roommate Christmas before everyone left for home. So last night/ this morning we ate crackers, summer sausage, and cheese, drank eggnog, and opened presents by the glow of the Christmas tree! It was super fun, and made me even more excited to go home. Speaking of home, I'm a little bummed because I have to work on Christmas Eve, and therefore don't get to go home until that night. But I should totally be grateful because at least I get to go home. I know other people at work who were not so lucky!
Oh yeah, I cut my hair again. Basically I just trimmed it. I get bored with it pretty quick...so yeah. Hmm...I don't have much else to say...so I guess I will wrap it up. Hopefully I will post again soon, but it probably won't be from Missouri because my parent's internet is horrible. But here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas--be safe and happy--and remember the reason for the season!

Tag, You're It!

THE RULES:

1. link the person who tagged you

2. post the rules

3. tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours

4. tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them

1. Katie Hansen Walker

2. See above

3. Quirks:

• I find most condiments absolutely disgusting; ketchup, mayonnaise, miracle whip, sweet relish, BBQ sauce, fry sauce, most salad dressings, etc. I do, however, love mustard!

• I hang up my clothes on hangers according to how much I like the article of clothing. I hang my favorite items on the hangers I like the best, and vice-versa. I will even re-hang clothes if I notice they're not on the “correct” hangers.

• I've recently been breaking this habit, but whenever I park my car I have to put it into reverse and re-park it, even if it's perfectly in the lines the first time.

• I absolutely detest wearing pantyhose. I can't stand the feeling, especially when the seams in the toes are crooked; consequently I avoid wearing them.

• The first thing I do when I wake up; in the morning, from a nap, whatever, is pop my back. It sounds like I'm firing a semi-automatic weapon.

• Mice and rats are my absolute biggest fear. I'd rather be faced with a snake, a tarantula, a bear, perhaps even an ax-murderer. I seriously hate them, and become hysterical when in contact with them. In fact, somebody once tossed their domesticated rat on my lap, and I about soiled my trousers. It's a miracle that rat lived beyond my visit.

4. I tag: Kristin, Lanae, Rebecca, Aimee, Alissa, Ashley.

As If I Don't Already Have OCD

A recent article by the Wall Street Journal investigated the compulsions of people who do what I do everyday, fold clothes. Sadly, I had enough of these crazy compulsions for perfection and order before I began folding clothes for eight hours every day. I think the funniest thing about this article is that only a month or two into my job I actually caught myself folding clothes at the Gap, but even after I realized what I was doing I couldn't stop until I had folded the entire stack of disorderedly clothing!

Excuse Me, Do You Work Here?
No, I Just Need to Fold Clothes

Thousands of Neat Freaks Picked Up The Habit as Clerks at the Gap

By JENNIFER SARANOW
July 9, 2008; Page A1

On those rare occasions her husband, Brad, folds the laundry, Joanne Ross-MacLeod can't keep herself from refolding it. She recently undid a pair of leggings he had bunched up into a small square. She folded one leg onto the other, brought the bottom up past the knees, then the knees up to the waist, in the manner she had learned 20 years ago folding jeans at the Gap.

The 39-year-old fabric-product developer didn't tell her husband. But he's used to it. Folding is a subject on which the Kenosha, Wisc., couple agree to disagree. "I need therapy," Mrs. Ross-MacLeod says.

She isn't the only one. The ranks of obsessive folders have swelled in recent years as a generation of Americans has done stints as clothing-store clerks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual nonsupervisory employment in clothing and clothing-accessory stores grew to nearly 1.3 million workers in 2007, up nearly 20% from 1990. Gap Inc. says it has trained "hundreds of thousands" of Gap store employees in the art of folding since the late 1980s.

Along the way, legions of retail grads have spent countless hours neatly folding T-shirts and jeans and stacking them on tables and shelves. Now, their peculiar idea of perfection is straining marriages and leading to bizarre behavior ranging from buying clothes based on an item's foldability to straightening up sloppy displays while shopping.

Thirty-six-year-old Sadaf Trimarchi stopped doing laundry for her husband two years ago, she says, after he complained that she had folded his undershirts so tightly and stacked them so neatly in his drawer that he couldn't tell which were V-necks and which were crew necks.

"He had no idea what he was talking about," says Mrs. Trimarchi, of Leonia, N.J., who learned the basics of her folding technique at Gap during the 1989 holiday season. Her husband, Jeff Trimarchi, 34, says she caught him refolding and he explained his frustration as nicely as

possible. "I imagine she took offense," he says.

'Programmed'

Like military veterans who just naturally fold sheets with hospital corners when they make beds, today's retail refugees say they can't help themselves. "It's been programmed into me," says Marcos Chin, a 33-year-old free-lance illustrator in New York, who folds his jeans the same way he did in the 1990s when he gave folding seminars for clerks at Gap.

QUESTIONS FOR MARKA HANSEN

Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, discusses how the clothing retailer is marketing its brand and how it's returning to its roots.

Phil Walmsley, 24, of Vancouver, still uses the plastic folding board he stealthily slipped into his

backpack on his last day of work at Club Monaco five years ago. "I like the idea of having a perfectly folded closet," says the graphic designer. "It's kind of like my own little retail store."

Michael Jenike, chairman of the scientific advisory board for the Obsessive Compulsive

Foundation in Boston, says he has treated people who have folding compulsions but doesn't recall whether any of them had ever worked at clothing stores. He says compulsive folding becomes a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder only if someone is spending excessive amounts of time doing it, doesn't want to do it but feels compelled to and the behavior is causing distress. Otherwise, it's just a harmless habit.

The folding craze at Gap began in the 1980s when Millard Drexler, who as a boy had sorted

towels at his uncle's towel-delivery service, took the helm as president of the Gap Stores division. At the time, most store clerks hung clothes on racks because hanging merchandise was far easier to maintain. But Mr. Drexler and his team put tables in Gap stores and had employees decorate them with piles of folded shirts and sweaters. The goal was to better emphasize certain items and color choices and make it easier for customers to sort through clothes. Shoppers found the displays inviting -- but displays needed constant attention from clerks.

Other chains trying to mimic Gap's success soon adopted the look, and clerks everywhere were spending hours folding. "Over the past 10 or more years, the trend has definitely been to more folding," says RoxAnna Sway, editor-in-chief of DDI magazine, which focuses on retail design and

display.

Romey Louangvilay stopped working at Abercrombie & Fitch three years ago but it was only last October that he was finally able to go shopping without automatically spending 10 or 15 minutes

refolding messy T-shirt piles in stores. The 22-year-old assistant account executive for a public-relations firm in New York forced himself to kick the habit after growing tired of having to awkwardly explain himself to other customers asking him for help. "I still kind of have the urge to do it," he says.

Mr. Louangvilay's friends notice his folding tendencies, too, and sometimes jokingly mess up his neat, color-coded piles. "Everyone makes fun of Romey for his folding habits because it's so weird," says Mandella Dwayne Lambert, a 23-year-old mutual-fund accountant in Brooklyn,

N.Y. "Everything in his drawers looks like a store layout."

Over the past decade, former retail workers have invented a slew of folding-aid products with names like FlipFold and Mobilefold, many of which are bought by former clothing clerks. Jeff

LaPace, president of Customer Minded Associates Inc., maker of the nearly $300 Mobilefold, a portable folding table meant primarily for retailers, says the company has received so many orders from people who used to work at stores like Gap that it's rolling out a less-expensive

consumer version later this year.

Some clothing-store alums are letting folding dictate their clothing choices as well. Tychelle Mc Laurin, 35, hasn't bought a sweater or a shirt with wide bell- or cape-like sleeves since she worked at J. Crew in 2004. That's because the compliance officer in Jersey City, N.J., can't easily and neatly fold the sleeves using a "trifold" she perfected after working at J. Crew. "I don't think those styles look attractive folded," she says. "They are difficult to fold -- like folding a batman cape."

Wrinkle-Free

For traveling, Lauren Smith, 24, avoids duffel bags and sticks with hard, rectangular suitcases. They better hold and maintain the uniform, rectangular piles Ms. Smith stacks her clothes into when packing, using the folding technique she learned working at Gap when she was in high school. The packed clothes "look like they would be sitting on display," says Ms. Smith, an interior-design saleswoman in Atlanta. She says her packing technique keeps clothes

wrinkle-free.

It isn't clear whether the next generation of retailers will produce so many compulsive folders.

Today, more stores, including Gap, are receiving their merchandise already folded. Other chains like lululemon athletica and Hollister Co. are encouraging employees to make merchandise look

messy or wrinkled. Within the past year, mainstream retailers, including Banana Republic's new Monogram concept store and even Gap itself, have begun hanging more merchandise, whether to emulate a sparsely merchandised high-end boutique in the case of the former or to emphasize unique styles and details in the case of the latter.

"In women's, we are hanging more because there is more fashion there and more detail that gets enhanced with hanging," says Felicity McGahan, vice president of store visuals and experience at the Gap brand. Finding the balance between hanging and folding, she says, "is something that we've actually put a lot of time into in the last 12 months."

No Good Stories...

Ehh....so I don't really have any good stories right now. I did have an interesting experience getting a scalp treatment at Bon Losse the other day, but I'll tell you about that later.

Hmm...so I've been working a lot. Oh yeah, never shop at Costco the day before a major holiday like Independence Day! Yeah...that was probably the worst day of my life. No, just kidding, but seriously.

Oh yeah...I had a vial of my blood taken the other day. First of all, I have super junky veins, they're terrible and they've always been that way. So...the lady stuck my right arm, and no blood came out. Apparently my right arm doesn't do a very good job of bleeding. Anyway, so then she poked my left arm, and I bled, and everything was fine. I had two lovely pieces of gauze, and that super sticky tape that tears flesh when it is removed on my arms, but no big deal. But the next morning when I woke up, my left arm is insanely bruised. It's a pretty fantastically ugly bruise, that actually looks like it's getting bigger...should I be worried? Yeah...probably not. Anyway...that's about all I've got at the moment...hopefully I'll post more before next month!

Weird Times at Costco....

So I worked yesterday. Yeah, I know, what else is new? Anyway, a series of bizarre, or at least uncommon things occurred. First, I got to work, clocked in, and was walking back to the lovely clothing area, and a fellow employee told me that he had a dream about us folding clothes together. Not sure if he was joking or serious, but either way, kind of strange.

Then after I had been folding for 5-10 minutes a five year old little boy, named Jackson came crying over to me because he had lost his grandpa. So we walked around the store for a few minutes and finally found him. It's weird when kids get lost in Costco because they're generally terrified and crying, etc., etc. and their parents generally don't even realize their kid is missing. It's pretty sad. In fact, one day this eight year old girl was lost, and was so upset, and when we found her parents, they were going through the check-out line, and didn't seem the least bit worried. It actually irritates me quite a bit. Anyway, back to yesterday.

Next, I was sent up front to help out because they are always short-handed. Which is another annoyance of mine, but I'll save that for another day. Anyway, I was up there helping load someone's cart and I smashed my finger between two ginormous cans of peaches. Don't worry, I didn't scream profanities, in fact, I didn't say anything at all, but it hurt. After a little while up front I was "sent" back to clothes.

So a little while later I was answering some clothing questions for this old couple, and the old man gave me a piece of candy. Kind of creepy. First off, I'm not even supposed to accept "gifts" or "tips," but what was I supposed to do? And no, I didn't eat it. Sickos.

A few hours later, this little boy who was probably a year and a half old came trotting towards me saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" At first I just shrugged it off, thinking I was probably wearing something his mom had that day. But then his dad said, "Yeah...she does look like mommy, but I'm doubting it's her." Okay, that's not awkward at all!

TAGGED

1. What I was doing 10 years ago.
   · Let’s see…I would have been 9 turning ten, so that would have been the summer following my 3rd grade year. I'm sure I was just beboppin' around and getting ready for my brother Nathan and my sister-in law Tegan's wedding.
   

2. Five things on my to-do list.

· Shopping

· Laundry

· Find something to make for lunch

· Send health information release

· Write a letter to my friend Jimmy

3. If I were a billionaire I would…

· Start my own business

· Invest my money in high-yielding CDs or mutual funds

· Begin saving college funds for my future kids

4. Bad habits

· Impatience

· OCDness

· Grumpiness when tired

· Sleeping a lot

5. Five places I've lived.

· Aurora, MO

· Park City, UT

· Chino Valley, AZ

· Stark City, MO

· Provo, UT

6. Six Jobs I've had.

· Cleaning up the Safeway Center

· Cleaning house for Orba Pearce

· Selling produce at our stand

· Typing pages of a nursing home manual

· BYU Creamery on Ninth

· Costco

Terrible at Updating!

Alright, alright, I know I'm the world's worst blog updater! In fact, Aimee just recently talked to me about my blogging failings. I do mean to post more frequently, but I don't really have any fascinating stories to tell. Perhaps I will have to begin fabricating some...

I recently began working at Costco again. It's nice to have a job, but it's not exactly the one that I've dreamed of having. I basically just stand around for eight hours and fold clothes. At first I loathed my job, positively hated it, but after a while I learned to turn off my brain and just run on automatic. In fact, I think that's why I despised my position at first. There's nothing particularly challenging about folding clothes, which gives me eight hours of time alone with my thoughts. Who wants that? Not me! So, currently I've been spending the time reciting things to myself. Sadly, it's mostly been poems, and SNL sketches that humor me. I've begun "The Raven" I don't know how many times, but I can never get beyond the 1st or 2nd stanza. And I must say that while the "Van Down by the River" or the "Gore vs. Bush Debates" are humorous, they're not very funny after the 4th or 5th recitation in an hour. So, when those cease to humor me, I begin singing. I’m generally forced to stop fairly quickly though because of the awkward glances I receive from nearby ‘members.’

Hmmm…well that’s pretty much my life in a nut-shell. Not too much is going on, but I’m staying busy, and I’m making money, so it can’t be all bad, right?

99 Balloons

I just stumbled upon this video and found it quite touching and inspiring!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Study Links Preemies, Long-Term Risks

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

The largest-ever study of the long-term consequences of premature birth finds that children born early have higher death rates in childhood and are more likely to be childless in adulthood.

Experts called the research significant because it followed 1.2 million Norwegian births over decades. It also raises questions about future risks for even tinier babies saved today by modern medicine.

New drugs and therapies first used widely in the 1990s now save smaller and sicker babies. So the babies in the study may have been healthier, on average, than children born premature in recent years, experts said.

"Are we improving their survival but at the expense of significant problems down the road?" asked study leader Dr. Geeta Swamy of Duke University Medical Center.

Most preemies grow up to have good health and normal reproduction, but the researchers found heightened risks compared with babies born at full term from 1967 to 1988. The findings add to known consequences of prematurity such as lung problems, disabilities, mental retardation and school delays.

U.S. rates of premature births climbed steadily during the past two decades reaching an estimated 12.8 percent of births in 2006, government figures show. More than 540,000 babies were born premature that year. Fertility treatments that result in multiple births and older mothers contributed to the rise. (The rate of premature births in Norway that year was 7 percent.)

"In the United States, there is an epidemic of preterm birth, and prevention is absolutely critical," said Dr. Alan Fleischman of the March of Dimes. He was not involved in the study.

Fleischman said prevention efforts include hormone treatment for women with a history of giving premature birth, avoiding inducing labor unless medically necessary and reducing the number of embryos implanted at one time during fertility treatments.

In the study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 60,000 Norwegian children were born premature, about 5 percent overall. Only single births were included.

As expected, babies born early were more likely to die during the first year of life compared with babies born at term.

Surprisingly, their increased risk of death persisted as they aged.

The children who were born five to nine weeks early (28 to 32 weeks into the pregnancy) showed a doubled risk of death from ages 1 to 5 compared with children born at normal term. (The overall risk of death was low: 33 of the 5,880 children in the premature group died.)

When the researchers looked at boys and girls separately, they found a stronger link in boys between premature birth and higher death rates in childhood.

The causes of childhood deaths are still being analyzed, but birth defects and childhood cancers played a role, Swamy said.

In adulthood, other differences showed up. Prematurity was linked to lower levels of education and more childlessness in both men and women in a subset of more than 580,000 births from 1967 through 1976.

Women who were preemies had a higher risk of giving birth to premature babies themselves. The risk of next-generation premature births increased with the severity of prematurity in the mothers.

The study didn't examine reasons for these greater risks. Possible culprits include genetic differences, birth defects, economic factors and social obstacles, Swamy said.

As in other studies, there were more premature births among single mothers and those with less education.

The research was based on data from Norwegian birth, death and other records.

Norway's homogenous population and its universal access to medical care make the findings a "best case scenario," said Dr. Wanda Barfield of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She co-authored an accompanying editorial in the journal.

In the United States, premature birth rates among black mothers are higher than among white mothers, she said.

The findings suggest people may want to tell their doctors if they were born early.

"That may help doctors to manage adult health and reproductive conditions for future generations," Barfield said.

It's Easter Time!

Hmm...well I haven't blogged in a long time! Mostly because my life is fairly uneventful, and I don't have any good stories. So, I guess I will try to fabricate some now.

I cut my hair off. It had been bugging me for a while, and finally I just made an appointment to have it chopped. It was weird because I generally go in with several reservations, and I am super nervous because I don't want too much removed, or too drastic a change. This time, however, I showed her a picture, but let her take artistic license with it. She did a good job, and I like it, although it is a bit shorter than what I had initially desired or anticipated.

My roommate, Heather, and I threw a St. Patrick's Day party! We held it on the 14th, which was actually the eve of St. Patty's this year. For those of you who don't know the Pope moved the holiday this year from the 17th to the 15th as not to conflict with Holy Week. Regardless of the change, several people did not believe me, and pinched me the 17th because of my lack of green attire. Yeah...kind of annoying. Anyway, the party was fun! We had lots of green food, listened to some Irish music, and played some fun games. The adorable rainbow cookies were made by my good friend Kristin, who couldn't attend the party, but volunteered to bring something delectable anyway! Oh yeah, and Heather made an amazing Leprechaun out of balloons for one of our decorations! Thank you both for your amazing skills! Anyway, for some reason 'States' was a very well-liked game, and we ended up playing it for most of the party. It got pretty intense with the amount of people, and I may have become a wee bit violent...

In other news...this week is going to be insane! I have 3 tests, a quiz, and a huge paper I have to complete by Wednesday! Haha! I know, I'm totally laughing at myself because I am in no way prepared. I still have no idea how it's all going to work out, perhaps I'll just have to stay awake for 40+ hours like I did another week earlier in the semester!

Anyway, I can't believe today is already Easter! It's crazy how early it came this year! In fact, I got to go listen to a talk by Bruce C. Hafen on Friday, and he said that the last time Easter was this on March 23 was in 1913, and that the next time it would fall on that day would be in the year 2228! Crazy huh?! I thought so. Anyway, listening to Elder Hafen was great. He gave a talk about Discipleship and Scholarship which was rather inspiring. In it he told several stories, some about his own life, and several about Elder Neal A. Maxwell's that encouraged me to do better.

Tonight I had the opportunity to attend a spring concert for the BYU Singers and the BYU Concert Choir, of which Nicholas is a part. Again, another great experience! They sang an interesting collection of songs, some fun, and others more chorally challenging. I enjoyed them all and was reminded of the reason for Easter. It was also nice to be accompanied by Brandon and Ashley!

Well...that's about all I can think of for now. Life is good, but busy. I'm doing all of the fun things that are associated with the end of a semester; finding housing, finishing off schoolwork, and making work decisions! It's definitely a fun time! Hope you all are doing well, and enjoy and celebrate Easter with the resurrection in mind.

A Very Long Night...

So last night a friend came by around 10:15 P.M. and asked me and my roommate Heather and our friend Emily who was at our apartment if we wanted to go with a group of people and go to the "Tumble Gym." For those of you who don't know, the "Tumble Gym" is every kid's dream place, or at least mine. It's filled with spring boards, trampolines, foam pits, blow up toys, etc.! It's amazingly fun, but apparently it's amazingly easy to get hurt. In fact, you have to sign a waver upon entry for legal purposes (ahem). Anyway, so Heather and I ended up going with the group of kids! It was a blast! We were having a great time, jumping around on the trampoline, doing tricks into the foam, and playing on giant blow-up teeter-totters, and hamster wheels.

Around 12:30ish, it was time to leave, but Heather wanted to jump on the trampoline one more time. Well, she did, and it was definitely the last time. As she took off from one trampoline to jump to the other she twisted her ankle, and felt her leg snap. As she explained, her foot was "flopping" as she flew through the air, and then landed on it on the other trampoline. As soon as she hit the trampoline, she started yelling out in pain. She was definitely hurt. I ran over there to see what I could do. She was pretty upset and kept moaning and groaning. After using a few "choice" words (hehe), she struggled to prop herself up to examine the damage. She reached down and used her hands to pull her knee and lower leg off of the trampoline. As she did so everything from about 4 inches above her ankle fell. It was awful. It just simply flopped, a clear indication that the bones were completely snapped in two! Well, after she yelled at the owner of the gym about 6 times to call the 911, he finally did. At this point, I was doing as she asked and holding her leg together. Not the most fun thing to do. Imagine trying to hold a person's leg in place to prevent things from moving, as well as to prevent the bone from coming through the skin. Yeah...it was pretty intense. As we waited for help to arrive, a couple guys were able to give her a blessing.

About 10 minutes later a couple fire trucks pulled up to the scene. They came in and asked her some questions, and made her wiggle her toes about 10 times. I'm guessing it was pretty painful because she didn't seem to keen on continuing doing so. Anyway, then they took some vitals and managed to place an air cast on her leg, as I held it in place. They placed a sheet under her, lifted her from the trampoline, which was also painful because her leg was continuously jostled, and set her on the stretcher. They got her outside, where it was conveniently snowing, and placed her in the firetruck. I climbed in front, and then we took off to the hospital. Surprisingly, at least to me, firetrucks don't drive very smoothly. As I guessed, and was told later, it was kind of a bumpy, painful ride for Heather.

We arrived at the hospital a little while later, and she was examined and x-rayed, another uncomfortable process. Let me just say, wow! The x-rays were pretty crazy, bones shouldn't snap like that, but they do. She was pretty lucky though that the bone hardly penetrated the skin. She just had a little tiny bit of blood on the surface. Anyway, they didn't splint it or anything because they wanted to get her right into surgery. So, they suited her up, AKA put her in a sheet with a hole in it for her head, and prepared her for surgery. Because her family wasn't there, I got to go with her and meet the Orthopedic Surgeon, her Anesthesiologist, and wait with her in the "holding" room until they took her in for surgery.

All of it was pretty exciting, but she was a total trooper! She seriously handled it all so well! She was able to answer all of their questions, and remember significant things like her birthday, etc. I was totally impressed. I think if it had been me I would've been in shock! Anyway...they got her ready and took her in for surgery.

From there, I'm not sure what happened, except that they put her out, inserted a catheter, and an air-tube down her throat. Then they made an incision near her knee shoved a titanium rod down into the tibia, and made two more incisions, one at the top and one at the bottom to screw it into the bone! Apparently, the surgery went perfectly, so that's good news.

Anyway, while Dr. Bacon was performing the surgery, Heather's parents arrived and we sat in the waiting room together and just chatted. After a couple of hours the surgeon came out and described the process to us, and told her that she was waking up. After 20 or so more minutes we were able to go see her. She awoke, and they moved her to recovery. After getting her settled in, I left around 5:30 AM. It was quite the night!

She's now recovering in the hospital and will be there until Sunday or Monday. She will likely be on crutches for the next 3 months, and will not be able to drive. She broke the left leg, but she has a stick-shift car, basically making it impossible! Anyway, at least things went well with the surgery, and she'll be able to heal properly, but things are going to be a bit different for her for the next little while! Anyway...a fun time was had by all...or not.

Funny/Embarrassing Stories

Let me just preface this post of short stories, by saying, I’ve had several hilarious and or embarrassing things happen to me in my time, and felt like recording some of them before I forgot, so without further adieu…embarrassing moments of Ashlie’s life…

Open Mouth…Insert Foot

A couple months ago I had a highly embarrassing experience while working at Costco. I was sick one night, and needed to buy some cough drops. Well, Costco closes at 8:30 and I had to work until 11:00, and I was unable to purchase them during my break, so I had to wait until I got off to do so. Anyway, since it was so late, all of the cash registers were turned off, requiring a cashier to log back into the system. So, I approached a supervisor, whom we’ll call Theresa*, who happens to be lesbian. I said, “Hey Theresa*, will you check me out?!” As soon as the words had escaped my mouth, I realized my mistake and felt humiliated! Luckily, she didn’t see the embarrassment on my face because she was currently working on the computer, and had her back to me. After a moment, she replied, “You mean…help you buy something?” “Yes, yes!!” I responded and quickly left the room. I died laughing afterward, but at the moment I pretty much felt like a prize-idiot for making such a faux pa!

Watch That First Step, It’s a Doozie

So the other day I was hurrying to catch the bus in a parking lot neighboring my apartment complex because I was running late (surprise, surprise)! Well, as I was briskly walking, I was rummaging around in my purse looking for my bus pass. As you might know, quick forward movements aren’t generally advised if you aren’t looking ahead. Well, as I was searching my purse, and didn’t slow my pace, my knees and shins suddenly collided with a bright yellow slab of concrete! The effect was pretty amazing, as I fell forward on my face my feet flew out from under me, and the backpack that was previously on my back, landed on my head! Okay, so while I would have loved to watch it on film, and I cracked up at the time, I had to retain some kind of dignity, so I rushed to my feet, looked around quickly for any bystanders, brushed myself off, and continued on my way.

Anything Else?

My sophomore year of high school I went on a date to a Mexican restaurant called El Charro. Everything was going fairly well, we were seated, decided what to order, ordered, and we were waiting for our food to arrive. After a few minutes our waitress returned with our food. After she gave us our respective dishes, she addressed me with a phrase I couldn’t understand. She kept looking at me and saying what I thought was, “Any good news?” I was totally confused, and sure she was speaking Spanish because I couldn’t understand her at all. She repeated it a couple of times, and I kept wondering why the heck she would ask me if there was any good news! I didn’t know the woman, why would she ask me that?! So, after I asked her what she was saying a couple times, and continued to stare at here with a completely perplexed look on my face, my date finally spoke up, thanked her, and told her we were fine. Apparently she was saying, “Anything else?” Let me tell you, I felt pretty darn cool! Well, as if one mortifying experience for the night wasn’t bad enough, I managed to make another blunder. After we finished eating, my date got up to pay for our meal, and I went to the bathroom. Well, coming out of the bathroom, I got a little turned around. I started walking out, but couldn’t figure out which direction to go. So I looked around, found the exit sign, and started heading towards it. Well, at this point, the restaurant was basically empty, and as I was heading towards the exit sign I saw a group of employees sitting at a table folding silverware into napkins, for the next day. They all looked up at me, grinned, and began chuckling, when I finally realized it was an employee only exit. Again, I felt like a prize-idiot, but to make matters worse, as I turned around to find the correct door, I saw my date looking humored, as he just viewed the entire spectacle. Yeah…I know, sometimes I’m pretty cool!

We Are Siamese If You Don’t Please…?

Okay, so my senior year of high school my friend Jimmy, my little brother Adam, and I had a brilliant idea for “twin day”. We decided we’d spice it up a little bit and we dressed as Siamese triplets! So, the night before the big day, Adam and Jimmy took a pair of each of our jeans and stitched the pant legs together. This proved quite the feat because Adam was 5’ 10” or taller, Jimmy was over 6’, and I was a meager 5’ 2”. As you can imagine, walking also proved difficult! Anyway, so the next day after Seminary, we dressed for the occasion, the only problem was, I still had to drive to the school. Somehow, the three of us slid into the front seat, and by some miracle I managed to drive to school without accident, with Adam’s left leg and foot attached to my right one! Well, we thought we were pretty much hilarious because this was one of the best ideas ever, especially because none of us really had any classes together! And, I might add, it was probably one of the most rebellious things I’d ever done as well! Anyway, so we showed up to school, but surprisingly nobody appreciated our humor as much as we did. Few people “got it” and those who didn’t initially understand, didn’t really find it funny after we explained, but I guess that’s the way it is with any joke, it’s not quite so funny when it has to be explained to be understood. The other shocker was that our teachers and administrators didn’t find much humor in it either. Perhaps that was because we didn’t, as our vice principal put it, “attend our classes.” Well, regardless of what they thought, I found it funny!

A Little Dumpster Diving?

Winter semester 2007, my roommate Kylie had a little problem. As she was cleaning her room one day she threw away a box that contained an earring set she had recently been given. Well, by the time she remembered, and realized what she had done, our trash had been taken out to the dumpster behind our building. Not only that, but she was dressed and ready for church, which met before my own. Well, since I wasn’t dressed up yet, I got to go look for the box she had thrown out. Let me tell you, it was quite the experience, but perhaps not one I would repeat! However, we did find it, so I guess, all’s well that ends well!

Christmas in Retrospect

This Christmas was nice, and fairly uneventful. Nicholas and I headed home on December 21^st after completing our finals. I was so ready to go home and relax! We arrived home, and Nathan, Tegan, and family followed us a day or two later. It was lots of fun getting to spend time with everyone, minus the bought of stomach flu that was shared among us, and then with Aimee, Peter, and Megan when they arrived on the 27^th. Everyone took a turn being sick, and only three of us were lucky enough to escape the vomiting. While the Christmas festivities were somewhat disrupted by illness, and some traditions were put-off until everyone was feeling somewhat better, Santa still managed to make his presence, or should I say, presents, known.

Aimee and Peter opening presents

Kate posing by the Christmas tree

Makenzie taking a nap on Uncle Brett

Kenzie using Brett's bum as a pillow

Dad looking rad in some huge sunglasses

Mom looking stylish while eating at Jim Bob's BBQ

Dad and Mom looking excited about her new scriptures

Sammy and Grandpa lying down for a nap

Adam and Brett being as funny as ever

Brennan showing off his culinary skills decorating cookies

Brett and his masterpiece candy cane

Kenzie spreading frosting everywhere

Sam and Brennan playing with Lego's

Tegan showing off her new watch

Nathan trying out his new racquetball racket

Uncle Nick and little Sam

Makenzie and Aunt Ashlie

Tegan looking cute as always

Nicholas and Adam excited about Ratatouille

Looking semi-drugged or at least sleep deprived on Christmas morning

Brett looking giddy while Dad's passed-out on the couch

Megan opening presents without the help of cousins Kenzie and Kate

Meggers yelling about something

Sammy-Sosa posing for the camera

Somebody's a grumpy little princess

Princess Kate