Beachy Music

Ok, I have found a new love. No, it's not another man. In fact, it's a woman and her name is Colbie Caillat.

I know, I'm catching the Colbie wave a little late, but now that I'm on it, I am loving every minute of listening to her songs. I know this is going to sound corny, but I have seriously been moved by several of her songs to profound realizations about my life that have either caused me to take some action or to think differently about myself/my life. In addition to profoundly moving me, I love listening to her because her songs are really upbeat, positive and relaxing. She has a similar quality to her voice as Jack Johnson and in fact, he is one of her inspirations. So, here are the lyrics to some songs that I really enjoy of hers. ps, make sure to watch the second video-it's hilarious and you'll see just how cute she is.

It Stops Today

Listen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGI9lMfDi4c

No, no, I, I, I, I, I don't want to break when I speak
I don't want to shake while I'm standing
I don't want to crawl into another hole
I don't know what I'm hiding for
No, I, I, I, I, I don't want to fall when I stand
I don't want to have to hold your hand
I just want to be the girl I use to be when I was me and worry free
I know these burnings on my own

[Chorus:]
But I can't keep on running
No I just can't keep on running away from here
I know that the only way to be is to fight my every fear
I'm not going to make it 'til I turn around and face it alone, I know
I can't just keep running, no I just can't keep on running away
So it stop today

So here I am, I'm taking my first step
Thought I was losing balance but I caught myself
I kind of like the challenge, no I don't need help
I'm going to make it past the very start
It's always been my hardest part

But I, I, I, I, I'm going to stay in control
I must admit this crutch is getting old
I am going to throw it out of my hand
I'm finally here, I understand
I know I'll get there on my own

It Stops Today

[Chorus:]
So I can't keep on running
No I just can't keep on running away from here
I know that the only way to be is fighting my every fear
I'm not going to make it 'til I turn around and face it alone, I know
That I can't keep running, no I just can't keep on running away
So it stop today

[Bridge:]
You can hide from all the pain
But it will find you anyway
Yes, I know, now I know

[Chorus:]
That I can't keep on running
No I jus't can't keep on running away from here
I know that the only way to be is fighting my every fear
I'm not going to make it til I turn around and face it alone, I know
That I can't just keep running, no I just can't keep on running away
So it stop today

Fallin' For You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV698lujkic

I don't know but I think I maybeFallin' for you

Dropping so quickly

Maybe I should Keep this to myself

Waiting 'til I Know you better

I am trying Not to tell you

But I want to

I'm scared of what you'll say

So I'm hiding what I'm feeling

But I'm tired of Holding this inside my head

I've been spending all my time Just thinking about ya

I don't know what to do

I think I'm fallin' for you

I've been waiting all my life

And now I found ya I don't know what to do

I think I'm fallin' for you

I'm fallin' for you

As I'm standing here

And you hold my hand

Pull me towards you

And we start to dance

All around us I see nobody

Here in silence It's just you and me

I'm trying Not to tell you

But I want to

I'm scared of what you'll say

So I'm hiding what I'm feeling

But I'm tired of Holding this inside my head

I've been spending all my time

Just thinking about ya

I don't know what to do

I think I'm fallin' for you

I've been waiting all my life And now I found ya

I don't know what to do

I think I'm fallin' for you

I'm fallin' for you

Oh I just can't take it

My heart is racing

The emotions keep spinning out

I've been spending all my time

Just thinking about yaI don't know what to do

I think I'm fallin' for you

I've been waiting all my life

And now I found ya

I don't know what to do

I think I'm fallin' for you

I'm fallin' for you

I can't stop thinking about it

I want you all around me

And now I just can't hide it

I think I'm fallin' for you [x2]

I'm fallin' for you

OoohhhOh no noOooooohhh

Oh I'm fallin' for you

Anyway, hope you enjoy listening to her as much as I do.

Run for your life

So, I have to brag a little here. (If you have already heard about this, please exercise patience-I know, I know, you've probably heard about it MORE than once too) Anyway, I have started jogging. Now, if you know me well at all, you will know that exercise has not been a part of my daily regimine for......well, ever-ok? there you made me say it. I have NEVER exercised regularly. But, about a month ago, I tried, just for the heck of it to jog around my block (which is just over .5 miles) Guess what, I could NOT jog the whole way around w/out stopping. And when I got back to the house, I nearly vommited. And really did vommit after a subsequent run. Well, this started me thinking about the health of my heart and lungs who would start to burn merely at the thought of running-I would wheez, caugh, sputter, gag, shake and feel light headed after .5 miles. So, I said to myself, "self, this is RIDICULOUS. You are a young, active, healthy 25 year old woman. You are at your prime-and THIS is all you can do? Man UP!" So, I am starting out small (1-1.5 miles/night). I know it's not much. My goal is to build up to where I can run at least 5 miles w/out stopping. But for now, I am pleased as punch with my steady progress in the ease of being able to run that one mile. I imagine the fat around my heart melting away as I jog. I have been very dilligent to run it EVERY night. And now, it's becoming a little ritual for me. An emotional release, where I can either talk to myself, sing, think or NOT think. I love it. I am feeling more balanced and confident in myself. I can do hard things. I just keep telling myself that. What do you guys do that you are proud of in your life that makes you feel like you can do hard things?

Tradition!

I've been thinking a lot about traditions lately and how important they are in building and keeping family/friend ties close. I think that there is something really neat about having a tradition that you do with your friends/family. It can be anything from going somewhere to eat regularly to playing games on Tuesday nights to gathering together to watch General Conference. Just anything to make you feel like you are a part of something special. I want to start making a special effort to recognize the traditions that I have and start a few new ones this season. Here are some of my favorite traditions both w/ my family and friends from over the years:

1. One semester of college, I made a new group of friends from a late night English class that we all had together. We were sort of an unlikely group of people, but somehow we bonded. And we started going to a restaurant called Coco's after class to have breakfast for dinner. It was a short-lived tradition, but really fun.

2. As a little girl, one of my FAVORITE traditions was getting to stay home from school to decorate the house for Christmas with mom. One day after Thanksgiving, mom would sneakily ask me if I wanted to stay home from school to help her decorate the house. Now, this was a VERY unusual occasion for her b/c normally if I stayed home from school-no matter how sick I was-I had to clean, just to be sure that I wasn't staying home to have fun. So, this one day a year when she let me off the hook, became such a fun day. We'd get out the Christmas boxes full of decorations, iron ribbons to hang on the tree, polish ornaments, hang stockings and listen to Christmas music to our hearts content. I just remember feeling like a little elf getting to assist my mom in the wondrous transformation that occurred when she turned our house into a winter wonderland. This is definately a tradition that I will keep up with my daughters.

3. Christmas Hike. Our family has the tradition of going on a hike on Christmas day after all the presents are opened. I never thought about how unusual this tradition is until Morgan pointed out that most places are way too cold/covered in snow on Christmas to go on a hike. So, that is a plus of being in Vegas for Christmas!

4. Emerald Salad. For as long as I can remember, a dish called Emerald Salad has been served ONLY at Thanksgiving time in my family. Now, I won't divulge the secret-passed-down through the generations-recipe for this dish, but sufficed to say, it is yummy. I look forward to having this each year and have actually inherited the Emerald Salad making duty in our family. (To all those who attended the JPM Thanksgiving, sorry it didn't set up-something went very wrong and it ended up soupy)

5. Monday Night Baseball. My senior year of high school, my friends and I had a tradition to play baseball in the fields near Sam Boyd Stadium every monday night after fhe. They boys were really good and serious about the game, but the girls were mostly there to socialize and have fun. The tradition almost always included a trip to Jack in the Box for a milkshake afterwards.

What are some of your traditions?

Mission Failed

I was less late. Doesn't that count for something? Ok, I have to admit that I probably earned a D+ on my last monthly goal to be ON TIME. I did however start to go to bed earlier and get up earlier in the morning. I was 5-10 min late instead of 10-15 with the occasional ON TIME/EARLY sprinkled in there. So, I guess I need to keep on keepin' on with that goal for December. Here we go again!

Resolutions November

ON TIME. Those two little words have plagued me all my life. As most of you readers are accutely aware, I am perpetually running late. I have this horrible disease called, underestimatehowlongitsgoingtotakemeosis. Sounds horrible, right? It really is. And despite my best efforts to counteract underestimatehowlongitsgoingtotakemeosis by setting alarm clocks WAY too early, setting clocks ahead, having OTHER people set clocks ahead, preparing things ahead of time, etc, I am STILL late. I have even gone through periods of time where I publicly proclaimed that I am not going to worry about this goal because I have way too many other things that are more important to work on first. But, alas, if I am truthful with myself, I know that it is important to be on time. And I am going to rally my efforts once again to counteract this dreadful disease. To all of you who I may have offended by my tardiness, I apologize. To all of you who may have had to partake in my shame because of my tardiness, I apologize as well. I look forward to reporting the progress I make in this constant battle. Please let me know if you have any helpful tips that you can share in how you have overcome this bad habbit.

I know it's late...but...

Just wanted to post some pics from my very fun Halloween in Delta. We dressed up, handed out candy to HUNDREDS of trick-or-treaters, went to two haunted houses, carved pumpkins and watched scary movies. It was the perfect weekend. Morgan dressed up as the Joker and I was Bat-Girl. Morgan's brother Steve and his wife Megan were a zombie dr. and her patient. They looked REALLY scary.

A kiss from an Irish man...

So there I was...at work...4pm on an average Friday...when all of the sudden, a friend called and told me that he and his family were eating at Super Mex and were sitting two booths away from Bono, the lead singer of my FAVORITE band U2! I grabbed John Paul and dragged him to the restaurant. When we walked in, I immediately identified that it was indeed Bono sitting in a booth eating with his wife. We sat down at a table and I tried to gain some composure and think of what in the world I would say to this person I've dreamed about meeting since I was 12.
I waited until he got up to make my move. I made eye contact with him before he put on his signature shades and asked him if I could have his autograph. He said, of course and began scrawling a picture of him in his "goggle" sunglasses and signed his name. He asked me mine and wrote it on the paper. I proceeded to babble on about how I am a HUGE fan of his and have been forever and that I was so excited to be going to their concert tonight. He thanked me for going and shook my hand. He turned to walk away, but then looked back and said, "thank you for being so descrete." and leaned in to give me a half-hug and KISS ON THE CHEEK!!!! he He then turned and walked away. I was stunned. I started shaking all over, and hysterically shouting, "Bono, Kissed my Cheek!" I have not stopped grinning from ear to ear since then.
On top of all this, I was able to attend their concert tonight with John and Gracie. we had a blast. And U2 did not dissapoint. They played a lot of their new songs and a lot of old goodies. I'm not really that familiar with their new album, and I confess, what from I've heard, I'm not too impressed. But, they put on one of the best shows I've ever seen. It was an awesome night.
And thank you Bono for making one of my childhood dreams come true!