March Madness

This is a momentous day--- the first time I have ever filled out a March Madness Bracket. Too bad I'm loyal to BYU, and am already losing :(

Question of the Day

For those of you who were around me at this time last year, I began what I like to call, Question of the Day. It's really as simple as it sounds. I wanted to get to know my friends by asking them random questions each day---to see how they would respond. So, for those of you who don't gchat me daily, feel free to respond to the question below with a comment :)

What would you describe as your perfect day?

Feed My Starving Children



Last weekend Ryan and I had the opportunity to put together dry-packed meals for starving children in developing countries. This non-profit, based in Minneapolis, collaborates with local CPGs, like Cargill and General Mills, to create these meals and send them out to over 60 countries throughout the world.

Volunteers are invited to come to one of the FMSC packing locations, and put together the meals. The hairnets, pictures in front of the map (coming soon to this post), and working side by side with friends and strangers, eating a sample of the meal after; are all part of the FMSC experience. We had a great time, and heard some great Minnesota accents :)

PIZZA! FRENCH FRIES! PIZZA!!

Although these words usually connote lunch ... for me on Saturday they were my only saving grace to get me safely down the mountain.

My roommates and I decided to teach ourselves how to ski. Or at least that's what they told me. In reality, they had all at least grown up going skiing at least a few times---so I was the true novice at the sport. You can notice in the pictures how comfortable I feel with two 5' pieces of wood strapped to my feet on the side of a mountain.

In all reality, we had a FANTASTIC time. The weather was gorgeous. The company was incredible and luckily I was able to offer some entertainment as I screamed down the mountain and occasionally found myself stuck in a bush, or face planted in the snow (see pictures below). I look forward to future skiing adventures where I can actually show off the skills I gained after just one day at Park City Ski Resort.

Too excited -- we can barely contain ourselves!


Ok, Here Come The Individual Shots:
Jess


Holls


Janelle


ME


Brookie


First time on Skiis


Ready to Rock and Roll


Look at that Form!


And there's me ... face-planted on the side of the mountain. The girls LOVED this. (It made the picture of the day)


These are the "Beginners" I was with:


We Love Skiing!




On the Lift


Pizza was only appropriate for lunch


Such a great day.

Belize Travel Log...

The purpose of this trip was to observe a medical training for my field study project. Ponseti International is a non-profit who trains doctors throughout the world on a non-surgical approach to treating club-feet. This is an amazing method, and I have found myself becoming a 'missionary' for it. Go to www.ponseti.info/ for more information.

So here's what I was doing in Belize:

Observing.


Helping children (observing).


This is #1 of 5 casts to make her feet normal.


By now she should have had all of her casting, and her feet are NORMAL. She will be able to run, jump, play, walk--everything.


Daily Living.


Fresh Coconut.

After the medical aspect of the trip, we were invited to go to Ambergris Island (also known as San Pedro) and live the resort life:

Which included a boat ride to the island at sunset.


The Island.


Our "villa".


Morning Kayaking rendezvous off our dock.


Yup that's me, lying in a hammock.


Church.


Our last picture on the island.

We had a valentines party. It was a huge success. I'm going to let Kristin tell the story:


Kristin's Blog

UNBELIZEABLE

Totally unbelievable that I got invited to go to Belize for a school project. Note: I found out about this on a Saturday, booked my flight Monday evening and left early Wednesday morning. CRAZZZY!

Since I was in CA (for meggies wedding and some interviews) and my passport was in Utah (where I live) -- I had to enlist the help of a friend to Fedex it to me. Isnt it amazing what FedEx can do for us? 24 hours later -- passport in hand, I head to LAX. I stayed the night in LA and woke up at 3am in order to catch my 6am flight. Who knew that LAX doesn't even open until 4:15? I spent my few minutes of downtime after checking in to read the newspaper...something that doesn't always happen in Provo.

After that I hopped on a plane to Dallas, grab lunch in Dallas and catch a 3 hour flight to Belize. Such a quick flight. So as I land in Belize -- it just looks like jungle down there. The airport is tiny and the best part is when we landed...and then turned around on the airstrip to head back and park. I walked off the plane (where do you get to do that anymore?) and into warm humid paradise (kinda). My group met me there at the airport and we headed to the hotel.

As we pull up to the hotel, we realize we are located on the ocean. It is beautiful! (see below). Our room looked over the Caribbean Sea and we were pretty sure we landed in paradise.

Meggies Wedding!!

So there was the first... and her name is Megan. The first of my girlfriends from High School to get married. Now, here is just a little shout out for my girlfriends from Stockdale High. I moved back to Bakersfield my senior year of High School, and became fast friends with a group of amazing girls. Megan is such a gem and the sweetheart of our group. She is so kind and giving and caring of others -- you can't find a person that doesn't adore her. So we weren't surprised when an amazing man fell in love with her and wanted to take her to the chapel.

Luckily I was able to travel home to attend her wedding and dance the night away with Brooke, Karah and Nicole. The ceremony was beautiful (her dad presided), and we loved the video Artie (meggies husband) made for her---especially since we saw ourselves in a few of the pictures :)

Here are some pictures of the event...

MIA

I know, its been a while since I've blogged, or been on g-chat, let alone in class or called any of you. I'm sorry things got a little crazy over the last few weeks.

I took off to CA for my girlfriends' wedding, then I got sick, then was traveling with pops for some networking/interviews/meetings, and THEN I got invited to go to Belize! Crazy, right? So between the logistics of getting ready to leave the country, and being out of the country, I've been MIA. I can't wait to catch you all up on my excursions---esp the pictures of tropical paradise.

FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!

So I've had my laptop for 4 years now. A good stint for a computer, I think. Although I've faced many computer woes in the last few months, luckily I have some great friends who have helped me and helped my computer hang in there until I'm done with school and (hopefully) get a job, and can afford a beautiful new piece appendage of my body... aka a new computer.

In addition to the wear and tear my computer itself has taken over the last few years, also my laptop cord has also suffered some normal wear and tear damages. I noticed on Tuesday that the cord wire was frayed. I remembered this happened a few months ago to my brothers computer, and that my dad had fixed it. Assuming that "fixed it" = slapped some electrical tape around the fray, I asked my friend Spencer to wrap some electrical tape around the wound.

As I held the cord steady, smoke seeped out of the cord. A small stream of smoke quickly lead into more and more smoke, which lead to a FLAME. Yes, folks, a FLAME. Of course I screamed, threw the cord across the room, and then proceeded to be mocked by my friends. It was a great time.

Needless to say I'm taking the cord back to my Dad to fix (apparently fix=more than electrical tape) and if he can't fix it, I'll pay the $80 for a new cord.

Sigh.

I almost don't know what to say to this:

http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20090107/LAW03007012009-1.html

Apparently everyone is jumping on the congress bailout bandwagon?!

WEATHER REPORT: SNOW

Pretty sure it hasn't stopped snowing since 1:00pm yesterday afternoon. I've had to scrape the snow off my car at least 3 times now. And when I say scrape snow, I mean at least 4" each time. This morning was the worst.

After spending 10 minutes getting the snow off my car, I tried backing out of the parking spot and GOT STUCK. Like seriously, stuck. This nice man got out of his car and taught me how to get out of the mess I had gotten myself into.

After finally getting out of my parking lot, it took me 30 minutes to go the 3 miles to school. Needless to say I regretted getting out of bed at 7am for class this morning.

I thus declare it a SNOW DAY. (oh did I mention it hasn't stopped snowing?)

Deliberating over the perfect gift? No need to look further: The Keyboard for Blondes (click on picture for larger image)



Click Here to purchase.

Watch an incredible video about this season and sending joy to everyone throughout the world.

Joy to Everyone

CLICK HERE to see momma on local tv for dustins diner...

For any of you that think it's cold where you live right now...just look at this forecast and know that I'm in the tundra.



note: keywords -- "dangerous" and "bitterly"

DUSTIN'S DINER

When people ask me about where I'm from, or what my neighborhood is like, I often tell them it's like a neighborhood you see in a movie---but that no one thinks exist anymore. The Haggin Oaks Neighborhood includes 4th of July block parties, Halloween parades and DUSTIN'S DINER.

I'm pretty sure Dustin and Daniel Kilpatrick didn't realize when they were 9 and 11 years old that their simple idea would become a tradition for next 15 years--- and raise over $140,000 (nearly $20,000 each year for the last few years). Although it originated at the Kilpatrick's beautiful home on St. Cloud, as of a few years ago, it has been held at my parents house on Haggin Oaks Blvd/St Cloud.

I feel so blessed to be part of DUSTIN'S DINER each year, and since I've been away at school, I always look forward to coming home and helping sell cookies and hot chocolate--it isn't Christmas without Dustin's Diner.

E. B. White said it perfectly:

"I arise in the morning torn between the desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."

Papa.

13 Years ago today my Papa passed away. Needless to say I miss him--especially his humor, and all of the fun adventures we went on. I have fond memories of vacationing in Utah as a young young girl (4 years old) with Papa and Grandma Barbara. Those few weeks I stayed in Utah, I remember Papa teaching me how to catch butterflies and pester animals at the zoo. I also remember going on camping trips, and my only recollection of going fishing was with my Papa (again, as a very young girl). It wasn't too long after that that Papa got really sick. Although I didn't quite understand how the cancer was taking my grandpa from me, I still remember distinctly the day that he left us. Every year on December 5th, I think of him. The years that I'm not living in Bakersfield, I wish I was so I could take some flowers by his resting place.

Although he's not here now, my Papa will always be a part of my life, and I'm grateful for the memories I have with him.

Purchasing my First Christmas Tree.

Monumental! My roommate, Holly, and I purchased our first real Christmas Tree. I never realized what an investment this would be. There are so many issues that have to be settled before making a deal. And not to mention that those tree lot guys are at a total advantage that it is COLD outside---therefore, buyers just want to make a purchase and get their tree home already. Also, most of us haven't brushed up on our current market research on trees... so negotiating is pretty tricky too.

After asking about 300 questions, we bought our tree. I'm pretty sure we got fully taken advantage of, but we are confident it will be the most beautiful tree ever.

Merry Chrsitmas!

(as always...pictures to come)