Merry Christmas!

I am so thankful that it's Christmas time once again. I love this time of year so much. I came to my parents' house a couple of days ago and have loved being with family. We've laughed a lot and spent lots of quality time together. I am, of course, breaking in my new lense. I took the above photo about 2.5 minutes ago and am pretty stoked with how cool it looks. There was only a lamp on in the living room so I broke out my tripod and played a little.

This holiday break has been pretty eventful. The whole fam (except Kyle and co - I miss them!) is here and it's been pretty chaotic. And, last night around ten as we were getting the kids to bed and the Christmas morning stuff put together, the power went off for a few minutes. It flickered a few times then went back on for about 15 minutes before going out for almost 12 hours. Did I mention that it was 4 degrees below zero at that point? Welcome to Idaho! It was actually an okay thing - aside from brushing my teeth and washing my face. I did both - it was just a lot more work! Thank goodness my parents have 2 wood stoves and a fireplace. We would have definitely been really cold without them.

This year, we slept in until 5:15 - and that's only because Kyle wasn't here. He usually starts texting us around 4:30. We actually had to wake the kids up this year. It was fun to open presents in the dark. We lit various candles and had flashlights and head lamps. It was quite the adventure. I pretty much knew all that I was getting for Christmas. That's part of being grown-up, I guess. However, about 1/2 way through the unwrapping frenzy, my nephew handed me a long gift-wrapped box with a card attached. A couple of weeks ago, a friend has asked me what I was getting for Christmas. I told him that I really wanted a Red Ryder BB gun. I had totally forgotten about that when I opened the box and saw that he had gotten me a BB gun. It wasn't a Red Ryder - it was better! It was PINK! It's so cool! And funny. I've laughed about it all day. In the card, he told me not to shoot my eye out. Good times.

I also got a guitar. I have wanted to play for a long time so I'm really excited. I'm going to have friends/siblings show me the basics, then I'm going to take a class, then probably take private lessons. I can't wait! The picture of me playing it turned out really dark, so here's one of Jordan playing. It's pretty, huh?

Tonight, a few of us saw Sherlock Holmes and it was amazing! I am so, so in love with Jude Law. In real life, I've heard he's not really a great person, but he sure is fun to look at! The movie is terrific. I highly recommend it.

But, more than family, friends, food, movies and resting this time of year, I am so thankful to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It's so easy for me to get caught up in all the excitement and parties at Christmas and to forget the real reason for this holiday. I am thankful for Christ. He is my Savior and knows and loves each one of us. He paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can all find peace and happiness here and forever. I love Him.

Crazy Weekend

This has been such a good/crazy weekend. Here's a re-cap:

I had to work all day Saturday and catch up on my home photos. If I haven't written about this side job of mine before, I take photos of homes we insure in Utah County. I also do an inspection to make sure we know what we're insuring and there's nothing wrong with the house like damage, rottweilers or meth labs. You know, the usual. Since it gets dark around 5 p.m. everyday, the only day I can do them is Saturdays so it takes me all day which is really hard. People are generally nice, but I get the occasional jerk and/or creep. All in all, it's a good thing because I get paid per house, so it makes it well worth it. Sometimes, I really, really don't want to go and it sucks when it lasts all day long, but - again - the money is good, so I'll keep it up.

The funniest thing happened on Saturday. I was nearing the end of my photos and went to this house in Orem. A guy answered the door and I gave him my spiel. I'm supposed to take a photo of the back of the house/backyard too, so I asked for the best way to get to the back and he invited me to walk through the house. I hate going into people's houses but there were other people there, so I wasn't in danger or anything. I went through the house, wading through children as I went, and got the photos I needed. As I walked back through the house to leave, I thanked them for letting me do my job and smiled at this little boy standing in the hallway. He was like 2 or 3 and pretty dang cute. I walked down the hall and into the foyer. All of a sudden, someone poked my butt! I turned around to see that the little boy had followed me to the door. The guy said, "Jonah!" It was so funny.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Jonah, you don't do that to people!" (Mr. Homeowner)

"It's okay. It happens all the time." (Me)

Then, I quickly left - laughing pretty hard. Who does this happen to? Seriously. So embarrrassing.

I had a ton of errands to run which included a trip to Walmart. I hate Walmart - I'll just put that out there. Especially on Saturday evenings in Utah County. It's a madhouse, but a necessary evil. I especially hate Walmart during the holiday season and I was there at prime time. However, I did score some serious rock star parking. Yep, first spot. It was so cool. Here's proof:

Oh, but hold on. I almost forgot my favorite part of the day! I got a new camera lens! Yay! I have been waiting for FOUR years to get a new lens and I am so, so excited. I know that Christmas time isn't about getting stuff for yourself, but it was such a good deal and I just couldn't resist it. Also, I don't have a husband to buy me stuff so I have to fill the huge void in my life by buying things. This purchase is justified. I'm already so in love with it.

So, what better way to break it in than to take it to an Allred show! There just happened to be one last night. My pal Jen and I went to The (lovely) Velour and caught John's Christmas Show (I also hate Velour). Like 40 people opened for him, so he didn't even go on till 10:30. We didn't get to stay for his whole show, but thoroughly enjoyed what we did see. I felt like such a creeper/stalker with my paparazzi camera, but I was so excited to use it that I couldn't resist taking it. Here's what he can do (my lens, not John - well, I guess John too)

The coolest part is that I was really far from the stage. I love that this lens is telephoto, but also a little wide angle. I'd better love it, it cost a lot! It's going to take stalking to a whole new level!

This is a really cute nativity I got in New Mexico. Is it sacreligious to have a mariachi band instead of wisemen??? It was too cute to pass up.

And, finally, due to the economic hard times (and the fact that I just bought a really expensive camera lens), I have decided to make a lot of my Christmas presents this year. I have the most adorable nieces (I would plaster pics of them all over this blog - I have thousands - but it's too public and I want to keep them safe) whose family I happen to have this year (we take turns buying for each other) and I made them tutus. They turned out super cute! Here are some pictures of Jordan and her friend Bryce modeling them.

Our Ray Of Sunshine

Here's what happened within my first hour of work today: One of my very first calls was an annoying agent whining about some injustice he had experienced and how it was my primary responsibility to fix the problem. I don't generally like whiny people, but I have a special aversion to them before 9 a.m. So, in typical Cali fashion, I hung up the phone and yelled:

"For crying out loud! He is so annoying!"

(Uh...speaking of whining)

I heard my co-worker get out of his chair and walk toward my cube. When he turned the corner he said,

"How can you be annoyed when you're wearing such a cute sweater?"

Ok, so now you're thinking 'Wow Cal, I didn't know you had a gay co-worker." Well, the funny thing is that I don't (at least I don't think I do). JC is in his 40's, married, a father of six and a grandfather of one. Oh, and he's just a little crazy.

He lives in Goshen (Google map it and you'll know exactly what we're dealing with), has quite a few chickens and is country to the core. Oh, and he likes to wittle wood. (He actually makes these really cool pens).

And...he's alway, always happy. I don't quite understand it because I am so not happy a lot of the time. It's actually a breath of fresh air and work is never boring when he's around. And, he would do anything for anyone which is awesome. We make fun of him a lot but he truly is our ray of sunshine. I really need to figure out how to market him in pocket size.

And, in his defense, I was wearing a really cute sweater.

hee, hee

I love this.

and this too.

Heart Attack

I literally just almost had a heart attack. I have wanted a Tiffany Elsa Peretti Open Heart Necklace for awhile and, since I haven't quite got around to saving up for one, or getting a boyfriend who will buy me one, I did the next best thing and stole my little sister's. I have been wearing it everyday for a few weeks and completely love it.

So, just now, I was getting ready for bed and about to wash my face. I took out my earrings, then reached behind my neck to undo Jordan's necklace. I don't know if I had a small seizure or a mini stroke or just one of my coordination attacks, but - very suddenly - the heart flew off the chain, across the bathroom and right into the far sink. I may or may not have screamed and said a bad word (maybe more the one, or the same one twice). I ran over to the sink and saw it teetering on the drain stoppy thing. Hallelujah! Prayers are answered...well, not quite. Because, you know exactly what happened next: as soon as I reached to save its life, the lovely Elsa Peretti Open Heart penant plummeted to a very untimely death. Pretty sure I screamed more and said more bad words...or just the same one more times. My neighbors probably think I got attacked (although no one has come over...rude).

I had visions of the poor heart sinking down to the bottom of the sewer, never to be seen again. What would Elsa Peretti say? (I don't actually even know who that is). I called my dad in an absolute panic. He actually laughed (rude!) which, surprisingly, calmed me down. He asked if I had a bucket handy. It just so happens that I keep my cleaning bucket under that exact sink. I felt very on-top-of-things. He then started throwing out plumbing words like coupler and elbow and stuff. I had no idea what he was talking about but, apparently, I'm a quick learner of all things plumbing because I loosened 2 couplers, pulled out the elbow part and found an absolute treasure - that ended up in about 2 inches of the foulest smelling brownish water I've ever encountered at the bottom of my red bucket. Ew.

I am so, so relieved and pretty excited that now I know what to do in the event of any precious thing falling down the drain. In college, my adorable roommate, Jeni had just gotten engaged to her perfect man, Ben. (They seriously are the cutest people ever). Jeni was so excited about her ring and wedding band that she wore both right off. We teased her and told her that it was bad luck to wear the band before the wedding. One day, I heard a blood curdling scream from her bathroom. I ran in to see who was attacking her and saw her leaning over the counter, peering down the drain. I leaned in to see what was going on and saw her wedding band balancing precariously on a thin bar that spanned the width of the drain. I really thought she was going to pass out because she had literally stopped breathing.

Thankfully, a guy from our Natural Disasters class had just come over for a study group and he was very handy with a wire hanger. He had it out of the sink in no time. Whew! Had I known then what I know now, there would have been no stress. I'm totally putting this under the special skills section of my resume.

Thank goodness for a great dad.

Weekend Movie Review

So, I have to admit that I used to be a closet Twilight lover - until I confessed it to my friend Jen, who was also a closet Twilight lover and we decided to come out of the closet together...(but not in that sense. We're both totally straight). So, I was a lover of all things Twilight...until about half way through the first chapter of the second book. That's when it all started going downhill for me. First of all, I don't think that Stephenie Meyer is that great of an author. I think she had a fantastic story idea but had crashed and burned well before the fourth book (which, to be honest, was just ridiculous). I also believe that Mrs. Meyer is a good salesman (woman) and pushed her story on to the masses. But, since I live in Utah and since it is expected of every Utah woman to be somewhat involved in the Twilight hysteria, I have participated in book releases and movie premieres - mostly hoping that the love story of Edward and Bella would reach the potential I saw in the first book. I have yet to have that hope fulfilled. It was definitely not fulfilled by the Twilight movie. I think that first went wrong when they cast Robert Pattinson as Edward.

Really? Was no one else available? The character of Edward should be played by someone who is dang near perfection. That's how he is in the book...that's how he should be on screen. Robert Pattinson is not good-looking, has horrible hair, stutters, is not confident and basically has no acting ability. So, obviously, I have an opinion about all this because I'm still rambling. I'm just saying that they could have put a little more effort in finding a more suitable Edward.

So, last night, I saw New Moon with some friends and I'm still a little on the fence about it. I was entertained and don't feel like I wasted time or money but the whole Edward thing still chaps my hide.However, the one redeeming quality in the movie was Jacob. He's so adorable - especially when they got rid of that awful wig. Jay Leno said that this is projected to be the largest grossing movie of all time. Again...really? My least favorite part of the movie experience (aside from ugly Edward) was the reaction of some of the women in the audience. They would gasp in horror/shock when things went wrong. Seriously? Pretty sure you've all read the book at least once. So, to re-cap. This was my favorite part of New Moon. If I were Taylor Swift, I would never let him wear a shirt.

So, needing to cleanse my movie palate, I went and saw The Blind Side tonight. I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for awhile and I was definitely not disappointed. I loved it!

I seriously want to give Sandra Bullock's character a hug (and Sandra too for playing her so well). I laughed and cried for two hours straight. It was awesome. My friend Anna summed it up well when she said, "It makes me want to go out and do good things." I highly recommend it. It was cast well (with actual actors) and it is a fantastically motivating story. Brianne - you'll love it because Tim McGraw is absolutely adorable. Enjoy!

Is The World Coming To An End?

I went to Logan last night for a concert (more on that later) and on the way home, I was dropping a friend off when all of a sudden the sky got really bright like it was the middle of the afternoon. It was 12:07 a.m. and it happened so fast that it took my brain a few seconds to make sense of what had just occured. I actually backed my car up to ask my friend if he'd just seen what I'd seen or if I was so exhausted that I'd imagined it. He confirmed that, in fact, I am not crazy (at least not at that exact moment) and that a meteor had just shot across the sky over Salt Lake. Jordan was driving about 5 minutes behind us and she actually saw the meteor and said it was pretty much the coolest thing she's ever seen. I was just off the freeway and the 7-11 and the on-ramp were blocking my view, dang it. When she called me, she was all panicked that the world was ending. She's funny. Here are a couple of videos that people got...

Pretty cool, huh?

The Land of Enchantment

This past weekend (plus 3 days), my co-worker Erica and I hung out in Albuquerque, NM. Our bosses sent us to take an insurance certification class (CIC for you insurane geeks). I wasn't super excited about the class, but was glad to get away. I will be completely honest and say that the class absolutely sucked. So bad, in fact that half way through the 2nd day, I was in the corner in the fetal position sucking my thumb. Okay, not really but it was so painful. We covered a 500 page book on insurance rules and regulations in 2.5 days. Not really my idea of a good time. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for the opportunity and the fact that my bosses wanted to invest in me and my insurance knowledge, but I have never, ever had to endure anything so boring - or so long. And, to add insult to injury, after they tortured us for 20 hours, we had to take a test. It's not that I have to pass the test to keep my job or anything, but how embarrassing would it be if my bosses paid for me to go to New Mexico for 5 days just to fail a stupid test? I feel like I did pretty well but I really have no idea. The test consisted of 20 essay questions and I won't find out the results for like 6 weeks. Good times. Erica and I were sure to have the results sent to our houses so we can keep them confidential if needed. Don't ask, don't tell. That's our policy.

Before we left on our grand adventure, we looked up things to do on the Internet and the most talked-about places in Albuquerque were restaurants. The reviews raved about fantastice food and we were not disappointed. My body is currently in shock now that I'm only eating lettuce and water, but I have to make up for all of the super yummy food I had this weekend. Here's a photo montage of our eating experience...

Rudy's was my favorite place. I had eaten there abouut 4 years ago when I visited my brother and his family in San Antonio. It's completely white trash and so awesome. It's smoked meat and a bunch of sides and it's so, so good. The smoked turkey and the ribs are absolutely amazing. We went twice and love it both times.

Our last day, we went to the aquarium which was so fun. They have a really cute restaurant so we stopped for lunch before we headed to the airport. It was so awesome sitting in front of the huge aquarium! I just love under the sea stuff.