Answering Questions

Such a fun weekend with Channy and Erin in town!! Chandice and I were able to go to our friend Amy's wedding on Saturday...it was such a beautiful wedding at the Provo temple. The only thing that could've made the day better was if it wasn't raining and snowing! Oh well, Amy made the best of the situation and everything turned out so beautiful. More pics from this weekend later...still trasferring photos!

Until then, some random questions and answers for your reading pleasure:

• First thing you wash in the shower? Shampoo my hair.

• What color is your favorite hoodie? Brown. It's probably going on about 5 years...it's been so good to me, but I'm afraid it's about time for it to retire.

• Do you plan outfits? Depends...sometimes I'll think about a church outfit, but not so much for work!

• How are you feeling RIGHT now? Happy and so ready for bed.

• What's the closest thing to you that's red? My phone.

• Did you meet anybody new today? I did...two people, actually! Adam and Mitchell (?) I think...

• What are you craving right now? Amanda (my roommate) made brownies tonight and I can still smell them...brownies are my weakness!

• Have you ever counted to 1,000? Yes, actually. I remember baby sitting for someone (back in the day) and the daughter had to count to 1,000, so I did with her.

• Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Usually bite into it. I wish I didn't.

• Do you like your hair? Most of the time, yes. I like going between straight and curly.

• Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Umm, yes. I'd be really nervous, but I would do it.

• What are you listening to right now? iTunes: Only You, by YAZ. Currently on repeat.

• Would you go sky diving? I'd go sky diving before bungee jumping.

• Do you like cottage cheese? When it's with pineapple or fresh strawberries, yes.

• Do you rent movies often? Sometimes...Monday nights at Albertson's, you can rent Redbox movies for free! I love Redbox!

• Have you made a prank phone call? Oh, yes. Pre-caller ID days were the best.

• Brown or white eggs? I don't think I've ever bought brown eggs for myself before, so white.

• Do you have a cell-phone? Yes

• Do you use chap stick? Burt's Bees is the best! I love when you lips kinda tingle a little bit when you use it

• Can you use chop sticks? I always try using them when they're available, but I can't quite figure them out, so I usually give up and just use a fork.

• Who are you going to be with tonight? Earlier we had an American Idol Results Roommates Party...Roommates + Adam and Mitchell + Matt = fun times.

• Ever have cream puffs? Yes and I l.o.v.e. them...especially with chocolate!

• Last time you cried? I think the last time i cried was the other night when we watched Marley and Me.

• Favorite time of the year? End of spring/beginning of summer and end of summer/beginning of fall

• Do you have any tattoos? Nope...but I've had a henna tattoo. Funny story behind that one.

• Have you ever walked into a wall? I don't know that I've walked into a wall, but I've walked into glass sliding doors. Not fun!

• Is your hair curly? Yes...

• What was the last CD you bought? Not off iTunes: Coldplay, Viva la Vida

• Do you like your life right now? Life is good...I think I'm about 95% satisfied right now.

• Do you sleep with the TV on? I love falling asleep to it...I find that this happens quite often and I end up turning it off at about 2 in the morning.

• Do you have good vision? I do now...I used to wear glasses, switched to contacts, and now my eyes are perfect!

• What are you wearing? I'm ready for bed: Wicked shirt and black shorts...so comfy!

• What is your favorite animal? Dogs...and I kind of wish that I had one right now!

• Can you hula hoop? I haven't hula hooped in for.ev.er, but I think I can still do it. It's like riding a bike, right?

• What was the most recent thing you bought? A new flat iron, but I don't like it...I think I need to return it and try a different one!

Good Friends = Good Times

*Slightly* excited for the weekend! Two of my very best friends will be in town and that only makes for some good times! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather!

Dear Elder Marshall Bowerman...

My little brother's mission call came this afternoon...finally!


Dad, Mom, Sarah and Elder and Sister Hawks (a senior missionary couple serving in my parent's ward) were able to Skype in and watch Marshall open his call. He will be serving in the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission and reports to the Brazil MTC on August 26th! I couldn't tell if Mom was happy about the whole Brazil MTC thing...I think she was kind of planning on the Provo MTC. Oh well! :)
(Above: Marshall patiently waiting to open his call. Marshall reading his call. Showing Mom and Dad on Skype his mission call!)

Before Marshall opened his call, the boys were trying to decide if Marshall was going to cry or not...but no tears from Marsh! Everyone was so excited! The only tears came from Claire (who you can kind of see in the video in the background)...all the screaming when Marshall said, "Brazil" scared Claire!
We're all so excited for Marshall and know that he is going to be an amazing missionary! Congrats, Elder Bowerman!!
Wikipedia always has good reading...here's info on Porto Alegre, Brazil.

No Can Do.

Ward closing social tonight. I got called up with 3 other people to volunteer for something (that 'something' was unknown at this point). Found out it had something to do with kissing...I could feel all the blood drain from my face and I know I went pale...I can't believe I didn't faint! Turns out it was a cherry stem knot-tying contest. *phew*

I learned tonight that I can't tie a cherry stem in a knot in my mouth. No can do. I almost had it, but couldn't quite finish it off.

Lovin' Me Some Sun.

Good weather = time outside! Couldn't pass up the beautiful weather we've been having, and decided that the best way to enjoy it was to go to Bridal Veils. I tricked Katie (and Claire for that matter) into going with me and we highly enjoyed our "hike" to the falls!

"God was testing my character and faith"

I didn't watch the Miss USA pageant last night, but I've sure heard a lot about Miss California today! I've been impressed by her confidence in answering the Q&A portion of the contest. Perhaps not the most eloquent answer, but her stance on gay marriage was clear.

When asked in an interview, "How are you feeling today?" Miss CA responded, "Honestly, happy. This happened for a reason. By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith. I'm glad I stayed true to myself."

She could have answered the way that the judges wanted her to answer and she likely would've won the competition. It's sad and kind of disheartening to see the mixed response to the situation, especially from the judge (Perez Hilton) who asked the question. Why couldn't and can't he accept the fact that she answered honestly and has a different opinion when it comes to gay marriage?

To Miss California, you did the right thing.

Seriously...

I have a major hard time 'appreciating' spiders. Why do they have to exist?? I don't like them; never have and never will. In the last week I've had two too-close-for-comfort encounters with a huge, black, gross spiders...one just landed on my laptop five minutes ago as I was typing and last week one landed on my lap as I was driving (so not a good experience...). I think someone is playing a majorly twisted joke on me...

...and it's not funny any more.

No picture for this post.

Snowy Night

I went to bed last night thinking that most of the snow was over, but woke up to another 7-8" of thick, heavy, wet snow (not to mention the 5 or so inches that fell during the day)! So crazy. Broken branches were strewn all over the road on the way to work this morning...it was kind of an obstacle course to get out of my parking lot! I kind of secretly like extreme weather. Everything looked so beautiful draped in fresh snow! The day after a storm is always serene--the sky seems extra blue and everything kind of seems to move in slow motion.

April 15

27th day of Spring.

Current view of the parking lot at work. 2" of snow. Good thing I still have my snow brush/ice scraper in my car!

I love...

...this little girl! I can't get enough of her! She has the most contagious laugh and you can't help but be happy when you're around her.

and p.s...Katie and Joe, I think you need to get her a puppy. I know where you can get one!

Sorry, Little Worms

Just got back from a *brief* run outside in the rain...it was nice to run outside sans snow, but with the rain comes bazillions of worms! At first I thought I could dodge them, but it got to the point that for every worm I "dodged," I stepped on two more, so I gave up on the dodging thing. I think a few snails were mixed in with the worms. Oops. R.I.P., little worms.

Dream Big

Please enjoy this video while I continue looking for my camera cord. I've always loved this song, and I love it even more now! Proof that it's never too late to dream big.

Susan's story, here.

Easter Sunday

("He Lives" by Simon Dewey)

It somehow seemed appropriate that after the stormy weather we've had over the last several days here in Utah, that on this Easter Sunday we would have a beautiful and (semi) sunny day! My thoughts have been turned to the Savior and His life and how He so willingly gave his life on my behalf. As I was getting ready for Church this morning, I was listening to Elder Holland's talk from General Conference last weekend (probably one of my favorite talks from conference), and was so touched by his thoughts on the Atonement. Parts of his talk were paired with words and music and it's worth taking a couple minutes to watch it.

(Grandma Bowerman and Grandma Huber)

This weekend also marks 10 years since both of my grandmas passed away. A lot has happened since their passing, but it hardly seems like it was 10 years ago! My dad's mom--"Grams"--lived with us for her last 6 months. I was a freshman in high school and would come home from school and spend time in grandma's room...chatting, doing her nails and hair, watching tv. We'd typically watch 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' and she learned all the words to the opening credits ("in West Philadelphia, born and raised...")! I'll never forget when she wanted me to take her to the market across the street so she could buy some Spam!

I didn't know my mom's mom as well, but I could always count on a beautiful, handmade card (with pressed flowers on the front!) every year on my birthday. It was easy to tell that a lot of love went into each card that she sent. I think I inherited my love of handmade goods from her. It seemed she was always working on something when we'd visit, from painting to sewing to making cards.

What will happen in the next 10 years? 20 years? I wish I knew the answer! :)

Keepin it Kosher

(yes, cell phone quality. my apologies.)

I found myself thinking about Passover and kosher food this afternoon...weird, I know. (Side note: we had lunch with one of our manufacturers at work today who is Jewish...who had a pork salad...I think this is what got me thinking about kosher food.) I was at the grocery store tonight and headed over to the OJ section to get my Simply Orange OJ (it's the best). I noticed that the sticker on the lid read something different than normal: "Kosher for Passover." I just smiled to myself and I think I even laughed a little bit (out loud), grabbed my kosher OJ and went on my way.

Easter Greetings

It's Easter season again! I love Easter and Spring and everything that this season represents; it really is a beautiful time of year! I also love Easter candy...it's kind of one of my weaknesses! I've had a stash of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs at my desk for the last week...they're just so good!

Last year was the first Easter Candy Giveaway and I have to keep it going this year! SO, be sure to leave a comment on this post with your most *favorite* Easter Candy and you'll be entered in the drawing! Comments close Friday morning and 3 winners will be chosen Friday afternoon. 

Oh...and that freaky picture of the dancing bunnies in eggs?? Don't let them keep you from leaving a comment! If you have an extra minute, google "vintage easter cards" and you'll find some pretty crazy old school art...everything from little (human) babies being hatched from eggs to baby chicks writing on chalk boards and baby ducks painting easter eggs.

Rain

I'm listening to the rain and the wooden wind chime outside my window as I'm catching up on emails/reading blogs/starting to fall asleep and I love it.

Change o'Plans

Crazy-fun weekend! We ended up at Arches National Park/Moab instead of Goblin Valley which was totally fun because I'd never been to Arches! Cast of characters for the weekend:
Before heading out of town, Brittany was determined to get a copy of Twilight so we could watch it on Saturday night. We stopped at a few every redbox in Provo with no luck and finally found a copy of it at Blockbuster--their last copy! 

After driving through all of Moab trying to find a campsite (spring break = tons of people = not too many open campsites) and a 4 wheeling excursion in the Sonata, we found a site we all liked and set up camp. First things first: tents. Second: fire. Brittany loved gathering all the wood!

Saturday we headed over to Arches for the day. The weather could not have been more perfect--not too hot, not too cold. First hike was up to Delicate Arch where we got our picture taken with the park ranger...we think he had a little thing for Carly...

Carly and Rachel made their own Delicate Arch...it's really only about 3" tall. Isn't it cute? We ended up going on a couple other small "hikes" around the park. Last hike was to Broken Arch where Carly inspired all of us to do a little yoga.
Saturday night, we found ourselves in front of a huge sheet-screen that Rachel rigged (held together by duct tape) watching Twilight. I don't think Brittany could've been any happier! Twilight is kind of an odd movie, but it was fun to watch a movie on a big screen while camping! I'm sure all of our neighbors loved it...

After photo:We survived! No makeup (except Carly!), puffy faces, tired eyes, stinky girls. Sunday morning we woke up to a wind storm at about 4 a.m...our tent was going crazy and there was no way any of us could sleep through it. We all just laughed about the craziness of the situation. We got up when the sun started to come up, packed as quickly as possible and were headed back to Provo by 7:45. 

Memories from the trip:

• "Everyone blow your nose--I don't want to hear any snoring!" -Carly

• "That looks really bad." (About the Rachel's marshmallows) -Me

• Brittany: "There are some foreign people over there." Carly: "What?! Some deformed people??"

• "Linds! Come quick! There was a cougar here last night! Look at the tracks!" -Carly (They were just dog tracks)

• Man at the info desk telling Carly and Rachel that the camping ground he was recommending was very primitive, meaning no hot water and no showers.

• Guy on his mountain bike flipping off his bike right in front of us (*slightly* embarassing) and an older man riding by telling him that it happens to the best of us

• Rachel and Brittany vs Carly and Lindsay...Survivor Man debate

• Conducting surveys

• While we were at Delicate Arch, a mom was taking a photo of her husband and two little kids. I asked her if she'd like me to take a picture of the whole family together and she was super happy that I had offered. She handed me her camera, and the little boy was so confused and said, "Hey! That's not your camera! That's my mom's...give it back!"

• Wondering if the petroglyphs were real or not

• "We checked out the campground and we decided that we'd like to camp!" -Carly

• Rachel laying on the ground in the dirt while watching Twilight until a spider crawled on her

• Brittany deciding to run the last part of the Broken Arch trail

• "Sausage fingers"

• Hair getting stuck in the zipper in the tent

• Saggy,  "camping jeans" 

Next trip: Goblin Valley.