State of the Union Address

Last night I got to watch the State of the Union Address. This is the last State of the Union that President Bush will give. I hope you all watched it, but probably many of the people who read my blog don't like to watch something like that. I encourage you to all read it though. You can find it at www.whitehouse.gov. It was a great speech. My favorite was when President Bush was talking about taxes. He said, "Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm. I'm pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders." I encourage everyone who likes the idea of raised taxes to send their checks in because personally, I do not think the government needs more. If they can't budget what they have now, then why should we trust them with more. One of the huge reasons I support Mitt Romney is because he was able to balance the budget in Massachusetts and ended his term as governor with a surplus. I'd like him to have a shot in Washington D.C. too. If there is one thing we Mormons know how to do, it's budgeting and provident living. And now I will get off my political soap box.

All About Today's Holiday

Good Evening! I have great news to share with everyone! The sun came out today and it was so blissfully warm! The snow even started melting and I can see the grass! I'll miss the snow though, and am sad to see it go. The other big news is that... I'm getting married!!! I know I should have told more people, but I didn't want to make a big deal about it if nothing was going happen. Anyway, Peter is in my single's ward, and I'd finally convinced him that it is okay to date someone in the branch. We started dating just after the new year and things have gone really well. Before institute, we went to dinner up in Ogden. It was an enjoyable evening, and we got to talking. He told me that he is ready to committ to a relationship, and that I'm the only person he could ever dream of being with. Needless to say my heart was beating wildly. Anyway, he proposed, I accepted. Today we went and bought a ring. I'm sorry I kept is so quiet. I didn't want to say anything till we had bought a ring. I'll post a picture of it as soon as I get it (it is being sized). We are thinking of getting married in June, and are not sure if we will be doing it here or Utah or going to Washington. Anyway, I'll let you all know everything more when things happen! I'm so excited!!!


editors note: (Today is Opposite Day. So Happy Opposite Day!!! I hope that there won't be too many of you who are dissappointed that none of the above is true, but Stepha just wanted to have some fun! Today is also "Fun at Work Day" so I hope you all had fun at work!)

So Many Holidays, So Little Time!

I looked online,(the source of all knowledge that is true), and there are so many holidays today! I thought that instead of choosing just one, I would talk about all of them! Today is "Spouse's Day", but really, I just don't think that I will celebrate that. It is also "Find your Roots Day", so take a little time out of the day, and do a little family history. I will celebrate this by going to the temple tonight. Okay, so the trip has been planned for awhile now, but I think that fate has put it on the same day as "Find your Roots Day". Another of the day's holidays is "Cold Cold Cold Day". It was on this day in 1971 that the coldest temperature in the United States was recorded in Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska. It was -79.8 degrees F. I don't know about you, but I'll never complain when it is 12 degrees again! It makes me shiver even to think about being that cold. Today is also "Measure your Feet Day". I think this is an important holiday. You never know when your feet are going to grow! I measured today and my feet are 9 1/4". I don't know what that means exactly, but I'm thinking that that is a good measurement. It is also "Compliment Day". I would like to tell everyone who has made it this far in reading my ramblings that you are all excellent readers. I'm very proud of you. And you all have really nice arm hair. And if you are still reading, I really like your middle toe on your left foot. (If you don't have a middle toe on your left foot, I'm sorry, and I'm sure I like something else about you.) Well, I hope that you have a great day with so much to celebrate!

Happy "National Hugging Day"!

Tomorrow, Monday the 21st, is "National Hugging Day". What a wonderful holiday! I encourage everyone to get out there and find someone to give a big hug to. Maybe find someone that you haven't hugged in awhile, and tell them how much you appreciate them while you give them a squeeze. I really don't know what else to right about for this post, so I'll just say goodnight and give you all a virtual hug right.... now. Oh and by the way, if you haven't seen the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie yet, you MUST see it. It is the cutest movie I've seen in the last... well it was a really cute movie. I also recommend "Enchanted". Anyway take luck!

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Talmage

I think that my nephew Talmage (who is 4) is one of the smartest people I know. He is constantly teaching me new things. One of my favorite movies is Mary Poppins, and Talmage saw it for the first time this last weekend. He was talking to my mom and I on the phone on Saturday telling us about it. His favorite part was the penguin dance. He said that it was "hill-LAR-ious". I didn't know 4-year-olds could say such big words. I asked him what hillarious means, and told me, "It means 'hill-LAR-ious'!" I guess I should have known that that is what it meant. The other thing I have learned from Talmage is to not say "stupid" because it isn't a nice word to say. Yesterday is Sunday School we were comparing Laman and Lemuel with Nephi. I had made the comment that Nephi was open-minded when it came to leaving Jerusalem. He was willing to pray and gain his own conformation that that was the right thing to do. Then I tried comparing Laman and Lemuel to them. I said that they just thought Lehi was a visionary man and that his idea was...and I was going to say stupid. In mid-sentence I saw Talmage in my mind, and I couldn't say "that word". I sounded not very smart as I stated, "Laman and Lemuel thought their dad had a not very smart and not good idea." Yeah, so I didn't sound that great, but I got my point across and I didn't say any "not nice" words. So thank you Talmage, for helping me to be a smarter and better person.

Happy "Festival of Sleep" Day!

Wow! Doesn't that just sound like a fabulous day to have or what? Festival of Sleep. I know I could use some more sleep. After a week and a half off from work, I had to go back today. It was all fine except for the waking up in the morning part. I didn't get the memo until too late that I was supposed to be sleeping. It's a good thing I get home so early so that I take a nap! Actually this is my last week to do that because I got a new job! Now before you all get excited that I am going to be a full-time teacher, I'm not yet. I will still be at LifeLine part-time, but I will also be working at R&L Vinyl Fence. I worked there over the summer, and they need extra help. I won't be the receptionist again, (I don't know if I could go back to doing that) but I will be processing orders. Anyway, the extra money will be nice. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on everything, and even save some money for future purchases like DisneyLand, or a new car. Anyway, as soon as I get the video thing figured out, I'll post a video from Christmas Eve at my house. I'll also get a couple pictures posted soon too, but for now, I hope you are able to get some good sleep today, and I'll talk to you later!

Cookie Baking Day

I don't know if this is the national Cooking Baking day or not, but I decided to bake cookies today. It sure was a process. This is the first time that I have done it on my own. Mom is still recovery so she slept during most of the time that I was baking, and although Lindsey is back from school, she wasn't feeling very well today either. I couldn't have our family go without cookies at Christmas so I decided to just make them myself. I made the usual sugar cookies and also spritz cookies. I also made Chocolate Candy Cane cookies, which turned out fabulous if I might say so myself. Then I made Peanut Butter with a Hersey Kiss in the center of the cookie. The last time I made Peanut Butter cookies, I was a lot younger. I misread the directions and used 5 Cups of milk instead of 5 Tablespoons of milk. Needless to say the cookies were ruined, and we got to eat peanut butter cake. Although this happened when I was about 12, the memory still haunts me, especially as I attempted the infamous cookies today. Don't any of you worry your little heads, the cookies turned out this time, although I still had to add extra flower to the recipe in order for it to be the right consistency. This might be my last post before Christmas, so I wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May you find joy as you spend the day with family and friends!