When it rains...

...it definitely pours. But - to complete the idiom with another idiom - in every cloud there is a silver lining. Boy, if I haven't learned this lately.

Okay, so my favorite saying over the last 3 weeks is that my life is like a country song: I was sick, my dog died, and I lost my job. All I need now is a pickup truck so it can break down and a boyfriend so he can dump me! (I find that facing things with humor really eases the tension, baby.)

All of this obviously needs a little explanation, so let me see if I can do a quick recap for you...

March 12-15: Went to Seattle for business trip. Family came too. Played with family on down time. Stood in a booth at a golf show for three days. Ate Nando's chicken. Went on Underground Tour. Went to ballet. Played Settlers of Cattan in SEA-TAC Airport. Lost.

March 18-22: Went to Disneyland for 3 days with family. Loved every minute of it. Sat in the front on Splash Mountain. Got soaked. Ate a corn dog, Dole Whip, 3 churros, and Blue Bayou. Won 3 beavers. Used single rider pass again and again and again and again... Hated to leave.

March 23: Had inexplicable hives on arms. Itchy arms all week.

March 26-31: Hives spread to entire body. Had to take cold baking soda bath. Completely miserable and whiny. Just ask the roommates.

March 31: Sugar, beloved family dog, dies. Almost 14 years old. Had a ruptured disc. Couldn't walk. Had to be put down. We love and miss her.

April 1-3: Hives under control. On constant Benadryl. Sudden unexplained dizziness, nausea, and fatigue on Thursday afternoon. Stayed home Friday. Sent in job application for Western Wyoming Community College - Vocal music position. Wondered if I really wanted that job. Slept.

April 4-5: Most needed and timely General Conference ever.

April 6: Laid off from job due to downsizing (in a company of 5 people). Still working through May 15th - one silver lining. Pondered the irony of already having applied for another job. Silver lining number two. Called everybody and reveled in the shock of it all.

April 9: Set up appointment for interview at WWCC. Only 5 days away. Couldn't help thinking how quickly everything was happening.

April 11-16: Great time at home with sister and parents sewing, watching movies, playing Yahtzee. Love being at home. Hives finally disappear...for now.

April 14: Interview day. Goes well. Feel a good vibe. Wonder if I can actually move back home...

April 17: Get the call. Got the job. Felt so good about it. Accepted it. Continue to feel shocked - and completely blessed.

I think that's it in a nutshell! A very very small nutshell. My life has significantly changed in the course of two small weeks. Yes, it can happen to anyone. I am here to testify.

But with all this radical change has also come the best feeling of peace and acceptance, and I know that's not coming from me. It feels like it should be a trial, and yet, isn't one. This is what Heavenly guidance looks and feels like, and no doubt about it. And I couldn't be more grateful.

Thanks to everyone who has been there to support me through these last few rough weeks! I love you all!

And thanks in advance to everyone who's going to help me make the most of my last few months here in Vegas before moving to windy, wintery, lovely Wyoming. It's party time people!!!

I'm in the army now!

Hello!!! Time for me to recover from my long absence with a quick blog...

So, I don't know if anyone knows this, but I absolutely love reading! (Duh!) And easily my favorite genre is fantasy...with a little sci-fi thrown in to make things interesting. We're talking LOTR, Dune, Shannara, Ender, and many, many more.

But perhaps one of my favorite series is "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan. I love the world, the characters, the conflicts...basically everything about this series. Yes, some of these 11 books tend to drag on (5-10 anybody?), but it's all part of a cohesive and extremely complicated story.

My admiration for everything WoT-related was jolted back in 2007 when I read that the Creator (heh, heh) of this series, Robert Jordan himself, had passed away while working on the final book. Fans the world over mourned for the man, but also for the death of an incomplete series until, thankfully, a new writer was commissioned to write the concluding book (which will now be 3 books). His name is Brandon Sanderson and he's gallantly stepped into Mr. Jordan's shoes and is doing his utmost to stay true to the world of the story, for which I commend him highly.

Anyway, he's created some cool opportunities for fans of the series, which I have gladly taken part in! As in all good fantasy, there's a great conflict between good and evil in this series which has led to many an exciting battle scene. In order to do battle scenes, you need armies, and Mr. Sanderson (or should I say "Bro. Sanderson" - yes, he's Mormon too!) has come up with an interesting way of creating one of these armies for the last book. He's gone through a charity called Heifer International, which nobly helps fight hunger across the world, to organize fans to donate. Whoever donates to this general fund joins the army that will be featured in the final book! He says it's not going to be obvious to the readers who this army is (there will be a lot of them in the Last Battle) unless you're looking for it, but by donating, you're effectively going to be immortalized in print - in fantasy!

So naturally, I signed myself up! That's right, I'm going to be fighting the Dark One in Tarmon Gai'don!

I bet you all wish you were as cool as me.

You're So Vain...

A few weeks ago, I decided to take the plunge and become an official Nevada resident. I've lived here for about 4 years, but up until now I've been relying on my good old Florida driver's license to get by. It's been good to me, but it's days of CDL glory are long past.

So, on Valentine's Day I got up and ready and to the DMV just as it opened. The whole process took only 20 minutes and I was thrilled! Plus, I made sure to look extra cute that morning for the photo.

I have a long and distinguished history of always looking great for my driver's license photos. From Wyoming to Utah to Florida, I've somehow managed to get a nice picture that I gladly display upon any request for photo ID. That is, until now...

I just got my Nevada license a couple of days ago and it. is. awful. I look partially-stoned, chipmunk-cheeked, lazy-eyed, and over-rouged. Ugh! It's embarrassing... really...

But that's not even the worst part! I've always been told that I'm pretty photogenic, so I was expecting something that followed along the usual trend. But when I opened that envelope and took my first gander, I was instantly depressed. The same feeling comes back every time I glance at it to see if it really is that bad (and yes, it is). I was in a bad mood from that moment on, and, I admit, rather shocked about the effect it had on me.

Come on now. Am I really THAT vain that I'm depressed by one bad photo on a driver's license (which are characteristically known for displaying bad photos in the first place)??? Up until this week, I would have said no way.

But I guess now I know better. Talk about a reality check!

Anyone else have bad photos? Or vanity issues? Maybe we can commiserate.

January Adventures - Part III

January Adventures Part III brings us to the end of a very eventful month. In this final installment, Nicole plays host to her sister Camille in a whirlwind weekend of fun in Las Vegas. The girls' activities include going to the Temple, movies, and shopping up a storm! It all ends with a slam-bang finish with a birthday celebration and country dancing. The adventures continue!

So, this might not qualify as an adventure in the true sense of the word, but Camille and I are two fun chickies and love getting together. Every time we do, the fun abounds! Plus we're stinkin' cute. I mean, just look at this photo. Don't we simply scream fun? Yeah, that's what I thought...

Anyway, not much to elaborate on here. We went to the movie "Inkheart" and enjoyed it. We also went to the Temple, and shopping for something very exciting which I can't write about until next January. No...it's not marriage-related, so don't ask! If you really want to know I'll tell you, but you have to ask me. I also accept bribes...

No, the real adventure was celebrating Amber's birthday. We always try to do fun things for birthdays (Amber and Kate took me to see the "Tournament of Kings" dinner show at the Excalibur!) and all Amber really wanted was to go to Stoney's for country dancing with all her friends. We had a nice dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe in the Palazzo first and then danced the night away at Stoney's. What a blast!!!

Possibly the best part of the night was that I got to wear my cowboy boots! They're hand-me-downs from my mom because they're a bit too small for her now, but I love them. Vintage 70's baby! Good stuff!

Another little highlight was the awesome volleyball cake I made Amber for her birthday. It turned out great! Amber's reaction was the best! She was talking on the phone and just started laughing as soon as she saw it - wish I would've taken a picture. Oh well... These will have to do.

The Birthday Girl!

January Adventures - Part II

Next on Part II of January Adventures, join Nicole, Amber, Jason, Ryan, Tanya, and Amy as they traverse the wilds of the Nevada desert searching for the ever-elusive natural hot springs...in the dark! Will they find success, or will they spend an eternity wandering off trails, climbing solid rock walls, and discovering the innate ability of sand to enter their seemingly well-made sneakers?

That's right, folks. Rocks and sand in shoes. Never a good idea. And there for a little while, we wondered if this hike was a good idea. None of us had ever been to these hot springs just south of the Hoover Dam, and we didn't get started on the trail until 8:30pm. But no one can ever call us wimps, because we did it and lived to tell the tale! Granted, we didn't get back to the car until almost 2am, but that's beside the point... Look at us in this "before" photo. We look so hopeful and innocent. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into...


After hiking for about 45 minutes, we came to a large body of water (which was not the hot springs...or Lake Mead, for that matter) and decided we'd better find the correct trail. So Amber and Ryan promptly started to climb over a mountain. What choice had we but to follow? After careening down the other side of the mountain over the piles of loose gravel, we found some people sleeping in tents who kindly gave us the correct directions, and finally (after getting lost yet again) we came to the hot springs. Boy, that was a pleasant sight! And soak! They were really cool (I mean, hot...) - right in the middle of a narrow wash. We lit some candles and relaxed for a bit.

When it was time to head out, we climbed over some rocks and followed the trail back to our car...kind of. We lost the trail a few times and were just seeming to be on the right path, when suddenly a huge wall of rock loomed before us. Using our newly-regenerated muscles, we scrambled up and started moving along again, when what should appear? An even larger, more-impenetrable wall of rock. Ryan was the only one to attempt this obstacle - the rest of our group had to go back and find another way. What was the other way, you might ask? To climb up a different wall of rock, of course. Needless to say, by now we realized that there was no possible way that this was the actual trail. At that point we just gave up altogether and wandered in what we knew was the right direction. Thank you, o North Star!

Perhaps the most hilarious moment in this escapade came when we finally reached the highway and our car was nowhere to be seen. I can just imagine it in my head like a movie: we reach the highway and six heads look up the hill to the right, then back down the hill to the left, then at each other with perplexed expressions. "Which way is it," we're all wondering. Amber courageously volunteered to jog down the hill to the closest mile marker, and I can only imagine what the passing cars were thinking at the mysterious appearance of this random Navajo girl jogging down the highway at 1:30 in the morning. Much to our joy, we weren't far from our car - just another 100 yards down the hill.

Even with all of my (slight) exaggerations, the hike was definitely a blast! This adventure was a great way to open 2009, but hopefully it's not a portent for things to come or I'm going to need some serious flashlights this year. And maybe a compass...

January Adventures - Part I

I know what you're thinking... "You had adventures in January? But the New Year has just begun!" Or maybe it's more like... "Finally! It's taken you long enough to get around to posting. What's wrong with you? You have all this free time now, the least you could do is maintain a blog!"

Okay, so maybe that's just me talking. In any case, here I am, ready to regale you with tales of excitement and adventure in this cold first month of 2009! Get ready to laugh, sigh, and yes, even cry as together we peruse this narrative of bold adventure, thrilling suspense, and daring deeds!

Our first tale takes us to the snowy climes of Brian Head Resort, where Nicole and 15 of her closest friends while away the short, cold days with hours of doing absolutely nothing. And eating.

We stayed in my boss' cabin next to the ski resort and had an amazingly good time. This was the 2nd annual Brian Head trip and this year we decided to try something new - tubing! Last year we had a few slightly successful runs down a hill we found at random. That was interesting and extremely tiring because the snow was easily hip-deep. This year there wasn't quite as much snow, but we opted for the resort's tubing hill. It was really great! I always ended up going way faster than I wanted and actually ran into the barrier at the bottom a few times, which you're really not supposed to do. I'm such a rebel, I know. Probably the greatest thing about it was the tow rope that pulled you straight to the top. No work, just play - it was a fantastic weekend!

While we were there, we also spent some quality time playing games. We played golf (with cards), scum, Harry Potter Clue, LOTR Trivial Pursuit, Whoonu, scum, Office DVD Trivia, Singstar, and even started a 1500-piece puzzle! But we didn't finish it...oh well. Camille and I also taught a few select individuals (i.e. the people who were interested) how to play 4-handed pinochle. It was great and they caught on pretty quickly. It's a difficult game but they made Camille and I proud!

All in all, the weekend was a great way to prolong the holidays and have some good bonding time.

Here are the girls...and Adam.

Hello 2009!

Well, now that it's been over a month since the last post, I guess I'll revive my blogging hobby. A few updates are in order...

I spent a wonderful week-long Christmas holiday in good ol' Green River, Wyoming. There really is no other place I would rather be for the holidays than home with my family. We had such a great time - as always! It was incredibly relaxing (perhaps a bit too much) and I think I left the house a total of 3 times the entire week: once for church, once to look at the luminaries on Christmas Eve, and once to go to Taco Time (which exists only in two locations very far from me in Las Vegas). My activities consisted of these:

- watching movies
- eating Christmas goodies
- playing Rock Band 2
- watching my brother play a crazy Japanese game on his PS 2
- crocheting
- eating Christmas goodies
- playing games including Yahtzee, pinochle, The Farming Game, ratscrew, Disney Scene-It, golf (with cards), and Whoonu.
- reading a book
- eating Christmas goodies
- playing (sort of) the guitar
- a short (too short) spurt of Mario Cart on the 64
- eating home-cooked meals

So, as you can see, it was a very relaxing, sugar-filled holiday. Which brings me to my next subject - New Year's Resolutions! No, really, I probably gained 5 pounds in that one week. Oh well, it was worth every sugary, chocolatey, ice creamy bite!

In all seriousness though, I am making a few small changes that I think will help with the extra insulation I gained this winter. I've started planning my meals every week and it's actually been a cool experience. I make sure to plan things in there that I actually eat, like cold cereal... :) It's cool to know exactly what to shop for and have a plan set up. I'm such a plan-oriented person that I'm surprised it's taken me this long to get going on the meal-planning thing, but better late than never, I guess.

Another cool thing I've discovered is SparkPeople.com. It's a free site designed to help you change bad habits to good ones. My favorite tools on it are the Nutrition Tracker and the Fitness Tracker. Plus there's tons of good articles, blogs, forums, and other materials to keep you motivated. It will even design a menu and fitness plan for you based on whatever information you enter. It's an all-in-one health plan! (Wow, this is pretty good - I really should be in Marketing or something... Oh wait... I am... yay golf...)

I've also started getting lots more sleep and resumed my morning walk/jog. It's amazing how much better I feel when I exercise! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants more energy, not to mention stronger muscles and added flexibility. Even in one week I've seen improvements! I'll be doing the splits before you know it! Watch out Kerri Struggs!

Of course, the true test of making resolutions is in the keeping of them. I have the best of intentions, as do we all, and then Easter comes around... Those little Cadbury Mini-Eggs get the best of me every year - not to mention those delectable Peeps! But I say "bring it on!" Me and my action plan will be waiting.