party party party

tonight was my going-away party.
what fun!!

kind of bitter/sweet, you know...so excited about moving and excited about my gifts and starting my new life and moving into my apartment...but at the same time sad to leave this place i've called my home for the last 11 years.

it is time for change. i am eager to embrace it!!

one of the coolest presents that i got tonight was from my mom.

yes...that is a pink vacuum!! how cool, right? so excited! the card she put with it said: "this present really sucks." i know, right?! haha. good stuff.

i got lots of kitchen things, like frying pans, and a pink strainer and knives, and measuring cups. good stuff. and lots of toilet paper, too. won't be running out of that for a bit.

the biggest joke of the night was about how i'm going to be living off of ramen noodles. supposedly i'm going to write a "pioneer cookbook" for them. all the different ways to prepare ramen noodles. so everyone was going on and on about it...and then all the sudden i opened this big wrapped box and it was a HUGE supply of noodles. oodles of noodles!! soooo funny!

it was a really nice evening. lots of laughter, a few tears, and an honest send-off for me. i feel like i've made everyone proud. they're excited for me to start my new life and expand my ministry. i had a good day! :)

picture to share...

a few weeks ago my mom took some really great shots of chris and i. i love that he's up for a photo shoot. lord knows that any guy of mine has got to be comfortable in front of a camera! :) i love him so much!

the countdown has begun....

i officially have 19 days left in omak. i can't beleive it. i'm finally getting out!!! yay! haha...everyone's dream: to leave their small little town for a big-city adventure. the cool thing is that its a spiritual adventure too. i'm getting really excited.

this saturday nanny sue is throwing a going away party for me. all the sisters from my congregation and a few from some of the surrounding ones are invited. its going to be a lot of fun. hopefullly i'll get some of the things im desperatly needing for my new appartment. i know that my mom bought me a vacuume...a pink one in fact! lol. good stuff. she says: "sorry shai, but the present i bought you really sucks..." and i guessed what it was. i am her daughter after all...20 years of getting and laughing at each others jokes. i'm going to miss that...and miss her.

over the weekend jennifer and i went to summerland for one last "good canada trip" before i move. we SO needed it. lazy days...good drinks...shopping...rice! (yay) then sunday night i got to go to a recording studio and sing a jingle for a radeo comercial that my dad needed. pretty stinkin' cool! so that was fun. it was nice to spend some real time just with jen before i leave. i am going to miss that girl like nobody's business!

service is good.
life is good.
i am a good liar! lol.
i guess its not all lies...i have so many reasons to smile.

missing chris something terrible right now. its been 2 and half weeks since i've seen him. the distance thing is really hard. harder that i thought it would be. and now i'm moving even farther away....good. jen and i are going down on sunday for band practice, so i'll get to see him then. can't wait. i miss that guy!

good night for now...good night for later. :)

thoughts on life:

"happiness at the end of the day is happiness with and because of each other."

okay folks....

there is something seriously wrong with the fact that it has been over a month and a half since i posted anything. yowza!!!

as you can imagine, a LOT has happened.

the 3 biggest things:

1. i got my hair cut and colored. nice and short and dark brown again. soooo luving it. :) i love having a cousin in beauty school! hair fun in the middle of the night in her living room. got to love it! (thx hannah)
2. katie came and stayed with me for all of the month of november. we had so much fun together. she's been gone for a week and i miss her already! i learned a lot from her and about myself during her visit. it was a special month.
3. I AM MOVING TO SPOKANE!!!! got final word on the apartment today and i start my new job at the wells fargo on the south hill on January 3rd. only a month to go. i am sooo excited. my friend lory that i met at pioneer school and i are going to be room-mates. and we are both going to become part of the American Sign Language group in spokane. this is my chance to expand my ministry and grow as a person. its just time for a change....time to move on with my life. so excited!! so thankful!!

life is going well. chris and i are doing so great. its 5 months tomorrow. i can't beleive how fast that went by. i love him so much. he makes me laugh and keeps me smiling. he is my best friend.

'till next time: may you have enough happiness each day to fall asleep smiling. love you!

i wish...

that i had my own computer hooked up to the internet. i would so be posting more often. i'm kind of sad about the fact that its been almost a month since i've posted anything. wow...how does time pass so quickly? i really don't know.

for a quick run-through of the important things:

• katie (sarah) came down from kamloops and stayed with us for a week. she's coming back the first of november to stay for awhile. luv her to death.
• last weekend (the 7th and 8th) was our curcuit assembly and i had a part on the program. dawn and i were talk #3 on the TMS. it was quite a privledge to have a share. i loved it. some people get so nervous on stage, but i have never been that type of person. lol.
• chris and his parents came up last weekend for the assembly too and they all came to our house for dinner on saturday night. it was my parents first time meeting his parents. crazy...but it was good. they seemed to get along fairly well, which is good. :P
• on wednesday chris lost his job with chim chimney. so as a surprise he drove up and surprised me with flowers and dinner to celebrate. things had been not so nice with his work for awhile now, so it was a very very good thing that he's not there anymore. he sounds so much happier now. now its just a matter of trusting in jehovah to provide for us, for chris to find a new job. things will be alright. :)
• work in going well. we lost two more people, so we've been pretty short staffed which means i've been working more. all day on tuesdays and fridays. more money=faster to spokane!
• i went to the pioneer meeting in spokane the end of last month. it was very nice and encouraging. its amazing having an entire hall full of regular pioneers. 127 to be exact. you can only imagine the singing. pretty loud...pretty incredable. things are looking good for my eventual move to spokane to be part of the sign language group. i'm excited about it.

so life is going well....chris and i are doing great. we learn more and more about each other every day. its a fun process. we've got so many plans for the future and everything. i am so happy.

'till next time...

i've been sick.
i've been tired.
i've been sick and tired of being sick and tired.

feeling a little better today. i think my body is fighting back. i've been "going, going, gone" for so long...i rested all last weekend. it was nice.

so i got a cell phone finally! yay! loving it already.

i've been metally preparing myself to jump into the scrapbook for jeff and kelly's wedding. i couldn't sleep last night so i started planning it out...papers, accents, layout ideas. it was nice even just to think about it. i've missed scrapbooking so much! i can't wait to get started. who know when that will be, but at least i have a plan!

a woman with a plan...and a mission.

a woman of action. :)

12 things to be happy for....

1) life
2) the smell of the air after it rains
3) finding little things to smile about
4) real laughter
5) hearing "i love you" and knowing its true
6) memories of white rice
7) my new "big brother" Ty and all his wisdom
8) a new cd to listen to
9) paycheck today! yay!
10) text messages
11) sleep
12) chris :)

The perfect end to the summer....

this past weekend chris, jen, and i met up with jeff, kelly and katie in kelowna. it was a beautiful day...perfect weather and good company. things kind of started off a little rocky. it was the first time my best friend met my boyfriend. things didn't really go as smoothly and i had hoped. kelly says that she just has higher standards for me. but in the end she said... "shaina, he makes you laugh...what more could i ask for?" so true kell....

we camped at a little campground called the owl's nest. it was really nice. we were the only ones stupid enough to be in tents (yes, it was freezing!!) so we had the whole section to ourselves. we had a big bon-fire down by the beach. it was so nice. chris brought his guitar, so he played for us and we made smores and talked and sang songs. made some good memories.

chris bought me john mayer's new cd in kelwona at the mall. i am LOVING it. smooth jazzy music with his amazing voice. on repeat in my car. :)

well, that's all that's new really. work is being stupid right now. i'm just back from all this training and its like i'm expected to be the best sales person in the world. having a hard time with all the pressure. i've been really stressed out about that and a lot of other things. i think my body is fighting back now, because i've been sick the last couple of days. i didn't go to work yesterday and i stayed home from service this morning. i hope that i get better soon. all the sleeping that i did should do my body some good.

well, good night for now. :)

news:

• our first kiss.... sept. 9th 2006 at the okanogan county fair.

american idol picture

here is the picture that we had taken at the american idol concert. too much fun. we had such a good time.

wenatchee....trip 2

in the morning i'm heading back down to wenatchee for the second go-round of training at the bank. this week we're doing a product knowledge course and then one thats all about diversity within the company, or something like that. should be interesting. i'm hoping that the product one will be of some use to me. its really hard to sell products that i don't know anything about...and selling is a big part of being a teller (you'd be surprised what's required of us). i'm looking forward to it. i get to sit around all day and get paid. yeah!

so going to wenatchee also means i get to spend some more time with chris. i can't wait. i haven't seen him for almost 2 weeks. then he's coming home with me on friday night to spend the weekend in omak. its the okanogan county fair this weekend, so we'll probably do that and we've got plans for service. so its going to be a great next few days. i'm really looking forward to it.

next weekend chris and i are heading up to canada. (and no, we're not going alone...cuz i know that's what you're all asking right now) we're going to be meeting up with jeff, kelly, and katie in kelowna on saturday and spending the weekend together. i'm so excited for them to meet chris. kelly says that he has to pass all her "tests" before i'm really allowed to date him. i think he'll pass with flying colors. :) so i'm excited about that too. i've really been missing kelly. we've hardly had a chance to talk at all since her wedding....which i expected. i still miss her though. a lot. so seeing her will be a nice treat. we'll get some good "kelly-shaina" time in.

anyway, i should head home...i'm at loo's just dropping off the key's after cleaning tonight. i've got to pack and be ready to go by 6am. so now i'm heading home to get some sleep.

feeling happy finally.....

what a weekend. that's all i have to say!! we had such a good time. hopefully soon i'll have other pics of us actually at the concert and one that we had done with the lifesize cut outs of the idols. i'll post those soon.

aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

in the morning we leave for tacoma to go to the AMERICAN IDOL CONCERT!!!!! yes! soooo excited! i'm spending the night at loo's and then we're off in the morning. then we're going shopping, going to the rainforest cafe, and then the concert. we'll be spending the night there and then coming home on sunday. i've been so looking forward to this weekend!

Pictures

this is chris and i at out one night after the meeting.

this is last sunday night in wenatchee. we drove up to the top of mission ridge and sat on my trunk and looked at the stars. then we danced in the headlights of my car. what a night...

this is a picture from last week in wenatchee. chris is the lead singer in a band with a few local brothers. i got to go to band practice on wednesday night. it was fun! he is such a good singer and the guys are pretty crazy. good times!

the long awaited post....

those of you who read my blog regularly have probably noticed that i haven't posted anything of any substance in quite a while. the only excuse i can give is that i've been trying to figure out how exactly to write this out.

i have met the most amazing man....
his name is Chris. we met on may 27th and pretty much knew we were going to be together right then and there. instant chemestry. he's tall, dark, and handsom...so funny...easy-going, fun to be around, and most of all...he loves Jehovah. we've been dating now for almost 2 months. the whole thing started off really rocky since he's 31 years old and i'm only 20 and still living at home. my parents were not too keen on the whole concept. my dad's still having some issues, but things are better now.

chris and i are so amazingly happy together. he just seems to "get" me. i know it sounds so cliche' and everything...but we just fit. i have never felt this way before about anyone. he makes me feel so special and beautiful and comfortable and safe. i can just be myself around him. and that is quite a special feeling.

we've got to spend a lot of time together lately. he was up in omak working for a couple weeks last month and we've spent weekends together. we went to canada for the summerland folk festival and then he came up for the omak stampede. lots of fun! and then all last week i was down in wenatchee for training through the bank. so i'd spend my days at the bank and my evenings with him. it was a pretty amazing week.

so i finally had a chance to post about my newest blessing. i've got some pictures that i'll post soon of the both of us. i'm just so excited to finally have some real happiness in my life. :)

and chris...i know you're reading this...thank you for finding me. i love you more than words can say.

g'nite all

there is so much to say.....

and i only have like five minutes during my break from work to post. its been way to long and i've been way to busy. good busy...but still busy.

highlights:

• summerland folk festival aug. 4-5
  
• omak stampede aug. 11-13
  
• and all the little moments in between
  

i've got lots of great pictures that i'll hopefully have a chance to post soon. and also something pretty special that i've been waiting to post about until i have time to really write it out. soon enough...

so until then...keep smiling. life isn't supposed to be easy.

:)

he said / she said

"he said he liked your laugh"
she said
i smile
(all i remember from that night is laughing)

"he said he thought you looked cute"
she said
i smile
(must of been clean jeans and diamond earrings)

"she said he thought you seemed nice"
she said
i smile

"i thought he seemed nice too"
i say

and we both smile

pictures :) :)

the beautiful bride and her handsome groom. the happy couple: jeff and kelly-anne bernardy.

this is the complete wedding party. left to right: alanna (kelly's little sister) crystal, me, kelly, jeff, ryland, and tyrell.

we had so much fun together. good friends. :)

this is us on our way down the isle. the wedding was in a park. it was so beautiful. except for the part where my heels sunk into the grass...

this is one of my favorite pics of the three of us. i am so glad that i was able to be a part of it.

and here is a picture of me. i loved the flower in my hair. it matched the dress perfectly...which i also loved. i felt so pretty in it. and its so cool cuz the dress is reversable (black) so i can wear it for so much. can't wait!

my mom ended up taking 468 pictures at the wedding. these are some of my favorites. it was such an amazing wedding. perfect weather and everything. i still can't beleive she's married. wow!

so much to say....

so little time.

its been like 10 days since i last posted and so much has happened. on the saturday the 8th jennifer, lyndsey and i went to penticton for the weekend. we has such an amazing time. it was one of those trips that everything worked out just as we had planned. good friends, good times, good memories. i have some great pictures from the weekend too, that i will post when i get a sec. lots of fun on the beach and eating out. crazy, crazy girls!

then on tuesday i headed up to william's lake for kelly's wedding. WHAT A WEEK!!! i really just can't believe that my best friend is married. its got me thinking about a lot of things. been quite an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least. my mom was their photographer. she did such an amazing job. i'm going this afternoon after work to get all the pictures put on cd. so after that i'll be able to post some on here. kelly was such a beautiful bride. so amazingly happy....

but for now its back to the daily grind. service and work. speaking of service, it looks like i'm not going to make my time for this year. but i guess now that i've just accepted it i can try and focus on just finding some joy in my ministry instead of making it all about numbers. i hope that new perspective will help.

anyway, that's all i have time for at the moment. hopefully i'll be able to post my pictures soon. :)

BIG NEWS!!!

lyndsey and i and her parents are going to the american idol concert tour in tacoma on september 2nd. !!!!!!!!!!!!! yeah yeah yeah!!! :) how cool is that? pam (loo's mum) surprised us with the tickets. she had this whole scavanger hunt set up and everything. it was so great. i am really excited about it.

life lessons

"Life's a party, sometimes it's just not one of those fun ones, sometimes it's bizarre, sometimes wacky, sometimes fancy, sometimes intimate, sometimes perfect, sometimes seemingly pointless, but it's never boring. Revel in it. In all of it. " -Karen Kunkel

my friend karen just sent me an e-mail that said this. i just thought it was great. i love a good quote like this. :)

the sun is too hot...

to be out in service for 5 hours. i think i'm going to die of heatstroke. i can see my life story in the watchtower already: faithful pioneer sister dies at the door. haha. it sure does make for a long day.

the tract work has been fun though. its amazing how fast we're getting through our territories. i'm impressed. :) and most people have been pretty nice about it. intrigued, i think. its a pretty special work. its cool to look at what's being accomplished in the organization and see the work speeding up as the end gets closer. i am so glad that i get to have a share in it.

this month is going to be very busy. next week i've got kelly's wedding. i can't beleive that its here already. i'm heading up on tuesday night and then spending the week with her. i'm really looking forward to it. my mom is taking the pictures, so hopefully i'll have some really nice ones to put on here. i have one of me in my dress already, but i didn't want to post it and spoil the suprise for those going to the wedding. you'll just have to see it there! i love it. my mom wants me to wear a sweater. she's silly. :)

anyway, i should go now. sleep would be a good idea. if my mind cooperates and lets me sleep.

good night for now.

;)

a month later....

yeah, its only been about a month since i've posted anything. and its not that i haven't wanted to, or haven't sat in front of the computer just thinking of typing something. i'm beginning to understand my problme.... i don't know if i want to write down how i'm feeling. words are so powerful to me. the things that can be said...sometimes i get overwhelmed at the amazing strength that the written word has. i get scared.

i get scared a lot lately.

so much has been happening. i'm feeling like everything is falling out of my controle. things that should be happy and exciting and wonderful, aren't. and what i should be doing or thinking or feeling aren't what i'm doing or thinking or feeling. i'm struggling with other people's opinons and not placing enough value on my own. i'm feeling detached and so amazingly unsure of myself.

i've got some big dicisions to make....things i need to do...things i need to say. i wish that i could just write everything out. i mean really just write. but i can't tonight. i don't know when i'll be able to. surprisingly, even just typing out this nothingness of a post makes me feel a little better. at least i've been able to pin down some of the emotions that are running through me.

i'm looking out the window watching the fireworks. little things make me smile.

i don't mind winking online at all.

Deliverance at Hand

district convention 2006!

what a great weekend. it is so amazing how jehovah always provides exactly what we need when we need it. and for me, even beyond just the information that was recieved. i was able to visit with some dear friends that have really encouraged me to keep going in my service and to stay strong.

the talks this year were terrific. very specific and to the point and direct. the end of this system is so close. it was very good hearing the encouragement to stay focused and realize just how close it is. there is so much that can side-track us or that satan can use to seduce us away. good reminders. and the interviews and demonstrations were great. they felt so real.

here are some points and quotes that i enjoyed:

• Jehovah has already taken steps to deliver us in sending his son to earth and making arangements for our ransom. He yearns to deliver us.
• we already recieve blessing from the ransom including forgivness of sins. jehovah "spot cleans" us until we can be completely removed of sin in paradise.
• "The desire we have to serve does not come from within, it comes from holy spirit." -Sterling Hedberg
• we all have a place within jehovah's congregation that we should embrace and cherrish.
• jehovah delivers us today from painful things we go through. he may not take away the problems but he sill give us the power and wisdom to deal with it.
• the angels are actively involved in the ministry work today. they are helping obedient humans to succeed.
• we have every reason to have confidence in future protection, deliverance,a dn escape from our heaven ly father. he is the "provider of escape."
• our survival depends on obedience.
• Don't please men. Seek to please Jehovah and that will please all those who love God.
• we have a share in helping others to have diliverance.
• marriage creates a oneness of purpose--always working together to serve Jehovah.
• new explanations on some of jesus' illustrations.
• the drama was AMAZING!! jeff and kelly were in it. we had special effects!! ;)
• "So many can measure cost, but not many can measure value." -Brother Jones (visiting speaker)
• "The convention is our chance to stop and re-group." -Brother Jones

i won't give away the new realease but i know that everyone will enjoy it and the talk accompanying it. i've already started reading! :) it was really just a wonderful weekend. what a true blessing from jehovah.

there is nothing that clean jeans and diamond earings can't fix!

WHAT A DAY!!! we are now moved into our house. everything is out of our 2 huge storage units. dad got a big u-haul and lots of brothers came to help and we got everything moved in one load. it is so amazing how much stuff we have. it is nice to get it all back though. its funny how you can miss things. it even smelled good. i missed our "house" smell.

we've all been working sooo hard lately. sweating and messy. we were invited to dinner at the freel's tonight, so i put on some clean jeans and my new diamond earings. it made me feel better.

the next couple weeks are going to be pretty crazy. on wednesday after work i'm heading up north to see Kelly and go to the convention in PG. i am soo excited about it. on my way up i'm stopping in kelowna to pick up our bridesmaid dresses. so i'll pretty much have a wedding in my trunk with all the dresses. haha. i'm looking forward to the drive up. about 8 hours or so by myself in the car. i'm in desperate need of some alone time, so i'm looking forward to that.

then i'll be home the next wednesday for service and work, only to leave that night to go to wenatchee. i've got a day of training at the bank there on thursday so i'm staying with hannah and caleb and making a nice trip out of it. can't wait for that.

then on friday i'll come home from wenatchee, work, then head up to summerland for the weekend. i've got a good "sister weekend" planned with megan and katrina. we're doing out age shirt thing again for this year when we get matching shirts made with all our ages on them. that should be fun. i'm missing them. they're getting so old so fast.

well, hopefully everything goes well. i can't wait! its great having a car again so that i can travel like this. i've really been missing it! :)

when all i can do is update !

i can't beleive that its been so long since i've posted. life is just crazy. but really, when isn't it?

so:

• i went to my first concert (yeah floater!!!) in spokane with nick and everyone. what a fun night and weekend!
  

• we finally got the keys to our new house. we've spent the past week or so ripping out carpet, painting, putting in tile and the new carpet went in this afternoon. it looks so good. tomorrow we're unloading the storage units. i'm looking forward to it. i got to paint my room the colors that i wanted (a dark chocolate brown and a bright garden green) and my dad put a hole in the wall so that two previous bedrooms are now one bedroom for me. it turned out pretty cool.
• got some bad news....my grandmother has breast cancer. i still don't think that i've fully grasped the fact. kind of in a daze about it. quite shocking. and i'm scared....
• i met jen's new love interest: nathan. he's hot. fun to have someone new to talk about. i'm sick of being in omak.
• work is going well. i'm headed to wenatchee in a couple weeks to do a day long training in the branch down there. that should be cool.
• i'm leaving on wednesday to go up north for the convention in PG. planning on pick in up our bride's maid dresses in kelowna and i'm taking kelly's dress up too. so there is going to be a "wedding in my trunk" ! haha. its going to be nice being up north. i've been away too long. i need some real mountains and cool breeze. i can't wait. and kelly and jeff are in the drama. cool eh?
• really hungry right now. really...

g'nite for now.... :)

i have hurt you.
unregretable emotions
led to regretable actions
that leave us....stranded....
stuck between
truely forever friends
and mere aquaintances,
i don't want you to be someone i used to love.
i think i cry more out of (fear) :
i fear the loss of your friendship
the loss of your trust
the loss of your confidance
i fear loosing you.
i am sorry....that i caused you pain.

i've been thinking....

a lot lately.

i'm having a hard time with this whole kelly getting married thing. it makes me feel old...and alone. in different ways. i feel like i'm loosing my best friend. but we did find great bride's maid dresses last saturday in kelowna. what a great weekend. fun with kelly, jeff, tyrell, and crystal. we camped and everything. that was nice.

i miss nick. really bad.

service has been really hard for me lately. last month i didn't get even close to my time and i just added everything up yesterday and its looking like i'm about 50 hours in the hole for the year. having a hard time even contemplating that. i'm loosing joy and getting frustrated and angry with myself. a lot of the time i want to give up....

i enjoy pretending to be a happy person. sometimes though, i think i might loose the battle with myself.

i really like my car. having a car is a very good thing. i still can't beleive that i went for 9 whole months without one. crazy...

we officially own our house as of yesterday at 3:00 pm. that's pretty cool. i'm excited to move in and paint and decorate and everything. i'm also looking forward to unpacking all of my boxes. there is so much that i miss. so much i wouldn't of packed if i'd known it would all be in storage for 6 months.

i want to sleep for about 12 years......

i got new glasses and i really like them. i have my own money to spend on cool things. i've always wanted to have a cute pair of glasses. now i do. yay.

i got a sunburn today. i bought a book at a yard sale this morning while in service (mom's RV was having one, so i wasnt' being bad ;) ) and spent the afternoon out on the deck reading it. completely got lost in it and ended up with one burnt shoulder. great. that will look hot in my backless halter top bride's maid dress. yessss...

i really like working at the bank. its good to have a place that i can go and just work and not think about my life. i have so much fun.

i've been thinking.....not very productive i suppose....

there was a summer storm last night!

i have been very stressed out about alot of things lately. my family seems to be a constant cause for heartache. but this afternoon was just what i needed. beautiful "summer" weather. hot sun was shining, a soft breeze, good friends, and digging in the dirt. we pulled up and re-planted a butt-load of lillies. what a job! but it was good fun. i thoroughly enjoyed myself. it was good to just get my mind off of my problems.

next weekend i'm going to meet kelly, jeff, crystal (the other bride's maid), tyrell (her husband), and alanna (kelly's little sister) in kelowna to go wedding shopping. we're hoping to find bride's maid dresses and yellow vests for the guys. i'm really excited about it! :) kelly thought that instead of having me drive all the way up there, we'd both drive about 3 hours and meet in the middle. can't wait!

i am wishing for......

• peace
• contentment
• calm
• the ablility to remember that i can't please everyone
• a life without complications
• the end of this system
• a good cry
• time to scrapbook
• more time to sleep
• less weight
• patience
• a good visit with nick
• a summertime thunder storm
• a new cd
• some new serendipity....

what a crazy week...

i can't beleive how fast this week has gone by. since i posted last sooo much has happened. here is a play by play ;)

*Thursday April 13th
i got my hair done!! blonde highlights, chunky, shaggy layers, and bangs again. i LUV it. :) i'll post some pics of that soon. i've been feeling that things are really changing...big changes. and so i decided that i needed to just embrace it. a new hair-do was a perfect idea. :)

*Special Assembly Day
what a wonderful day...so spiritually encouraging. focusing on keeping our eye simple and what that means in real life. and a really special thing happend. in his talk on the benefits of keeping a simple eye our CO used my experience about getting my job at the bank. he used me as an example of someone who put God's Kingdom first and who was blessed for it. it was very humbling to hear someone say it like that. i was really overwhelmed and started to cry. jehovah has blessed me so much. i am amazed when i just take a second to stop and think about it.

i also got to see and visit with a bunch of my friends, like nick and lory. it was so good to see everyone again. and shelby, kelsey and i got along really well over the weekend, too. :) on the way home on saturday night we stopped in Soap Lake and mom took some fun pictures of us. good times. it was a really lovely day.

*My Girls

on saturday kelly and katie traveled 7 hours to come and visit me. they were at my house when i got there, which was so special. i have missed kelly sooo badly. we had such an amazing week together. on sunday afternoon mom took the three of us down to mallot and took some AMAZING pictures of us.

i love them!!

so here are some i wanted to share. they look even better in black and white but at the moment i can't change them on the computer. but here they are anyway. (and you can see my hair too)

we had such a good time together that afternoon. what fun!

*Wednesday April 19th

I BOUGHT A NEW CAR!!!!! it is a 1990 pontiac grand prix with 80,000 miles on it. its white w/ blue interior and is in such great shape. it belonged to this little old lady who had it in her garage for the past 12 years or something. its like brand new. and i got it for $1,950. wow!!! i've gone for 9 months without a car now. its sooo nice to finally have one again.

smiles! :) :D

late on wedesday night we also colored kelly's hair. now its a beautiful dark blonde. first time she's been dark haired in 4 years or so. she looks so amazing. i luv it. we had fun doing that. stayed up until 4am.! :O

*Friday/Saturday

my cousin whitney came down from grand forks on friday after work. my dad put a stereo in my car for me. then the four of us girls: me, kelly, katie, and whitney went to grand coulee dam to spend the night. we stopped and spat into the columbia river in the middle of the night. we're so crazy! haha! we stayed at the cutest little hotel there. it had two bedrooms and everything. i had called and made a reservation before we left, so the lady from the hotel just put our door key under the matt. that was fun! then we woke up early on saturday and drove to spokane. (i love spokane)

KELLY BOUGHT A WEDDIND DRESS!!!!

it is the most beautiful dress i've ever seen. perfect for her. we had such fun shopping. i think the reality hit us both yesterday...she's getting married. holy cow. and i'm going to be her maid of honor. i can't wait! her dress will come in early in june, so i'll go pick it up and bring it with me when i got up for her convention (by the way: her and jeff are in the drama! how cool is that?) and in june crystal and i will find our bride's maid dresses. i'm so excited!

we also went and visited nick while we were in spokane. luv that guy!

and then the girls left early this morning. we had sooo much fun together. i can't beleive all that we did. what a week.

i love my kelly....

big news:

KELLY AND JEFF ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!

sad moment.......

my friend staci was disfellowshipped tonight. its a sad day...

things change every day....

i just got an e-mail from my friend katie that lives in william's lake with kelly. now she's coming to visit me too! yay! i'm looking forward to seeing both of my girls. :)

today i got to see my friend dawn. she was in town looking for a new outfit for the assembly and called me to go shopping with her. it was so nice to see her and spend some time with her again. its been way too long. it made me feel good that she called.

on that note: in the movie elizabethtown there is a quote that i felt really applied to me. "i am impossible to forget, but hard to remember." i thought that it was so true. i know so many people and i develope frienship "aquaintences" really fast, and people like me (not to sound stuck up or anything) but then once i'm gone then they don't remember about me. i don't know if this makes any sense...but i just needed to write it down. i was thinking about it because dawn did call me...that made a difference in my day.

and speaking of dawn...her brother BJ is getting married on the 29th of this month. i think i'm going to crash the wedding. personal reasons.... hehe ;)

in other exciting news: lou and i finally finished our Nancy Drew computer game. we got it a long time ago to play together and got stuck in this one spot. but we finally figured it out. it was the "last train to blue moon canyon" game. fun stuff! i know its not really a game that is included in the "cool to play" list, but i've always loved the books and have bought and played the games since they started making them. good honest time wasting! :) (and yes i was at the watchtower study today. haha)

anyway, i've got to go now. big week coming up.

so its been sooooo long since i've posted on here. i've spent the last week being sick! :( not so fun.... but now i'm getting better. just in time for life to get crazy! this is going to be an interesting month. this week in particular. i've got service and work as usual and then i have a part on the service meeting on tuesday. (demonstration) and then the memorial is on wednesday night. then bookstudy and then we head to kennewick on friday for our SAD ;) (special assembly day) i'm really looking forward to that. nick, i'll see ya there! yes! then kelly is coming the day after the assembly for a week. this will probably be the last time we spend time together without her being a married woman. i think the wedding is coming faster than anticipated. oh well. she's happy.

work is going really well..both jobs. i'm turning out to be not that bad of a bank teller. and i really enjoy working with the girls in there too. counting money is fun! :D lol.

anyway, i've got to go again. its strange how now that my life is full of stuff it seems like i have less to write about. i guess my days are pretty much the same all the time. oh well...

ps. Ice Age 2 was a really really funny movie! go see it NOW! :)

when i met you
it was like i knew you
like our souls had been entwined in friendship
all these years apart.
i still feel your laughter
even across miles of land
and country borders
your smile calms me.
ther eis something in your voice
that makes me long
for far-away memories
I crave the crisp whiteness
of those Canadian hills
and the knowing forgiveness they hold.
when i met you
it was like i knew you,
and now forever
i will know you
since your guidance
your wise words
your sincerity
and your love
will always stick with me
now there is no me without you.
*****************

the best weekend
this last weekend was one of the best ones i've had in a long time. my "little brother" nick bell was danny in the play "Grease" at his school. at first i had plans to go with staci and lou, but then that fell through and i could not find another way there. my parents were like: just face it shaina, this time the answer is no. so i spent all day friday moping around. usually i can bo okay if the answer is no, i'm not usually a pouter, but this was just way to imporant to me. i needed to be there. so saturday we went in service and then at like 1:30 my parents were like: okay, let's go to spokane. i was soooooo excited!

his play was AMAZING!! i was so impressed by nick. he is an amazing singer and he can dance his tushie off! it was so nice to spend time with him again. i got to stay the night at his house after the play and we stayed up talking for a bit. it had been way to long since i'd seen him. i just love him so much.

and i love spokane. i NEED to move there asap. it probably won't be for awhile now that i have my new job, but it should be easier to transfer within the wells fargo company.

okay......

i have been soooo busy lately. the other day at work i stopped and turned to josie and i said: "in the last 24 hours i've been off of my feet for 6!" the six hours of sleep that i'd got the night before. i go in service every morning, then i go to work at the bank, and then on monday night i clean for 6 hours and 2 hours on wednesday night. and its like even when i try to sleep, i can't cuz my brain won't shut off. anyway, so its been a long time since i've had a chance to post anything. so update for you: I AM LOVING MY JOB!!! :D anyway, night night. :)

life

things are things, you know? life is life. i am loving my new job. i'm finished with all of my online courses and i get my own cash drawer on tuesday. i'm excited about that. i was thinking about it, and thinking that this is now my career. i am a bank teller. and i think i'm going to be good at it.

so i'm facing a dilema. i don't know what i should do with my hair. april is usually my "do something different" month. i've had my dark hair for a year now, and its really long. i like it a lot, but my roots have grown out a lot lately and i haven't really had any money to get it done. but now my cousin hannah is going to school to be a hair dresser and she can do my hair for really cheap. i just need to decide what to do. at first i was thinking blonde again, but then i saw this picture that looked just like my hair but with chunky blonde streaks in it, and i just loved it. so i don't know what i'm going to do. maybe i should just go blonde; complete change for a new phase of my life. i guess we'll see....

speaking of new phases, i decided that my new job and everything was a good reason to buy a new purse. so i did! yay. (you have no idea how much i LOVE purses. im obsessed! hehe) its like a dark purple leather with lots of compartments and longer straps. very "bankerish." ;) i really like it. i'm having some trouble finding clothes to wear to work, but now i have a perfect purse. :D big smiles :)

can you say citizen's arrest?? hahahaha. stupid cop!

this is my younger sister, megan. how beautiful is she? i can't believe how much she has grown up and how amazing she is. she's going to europeon the 11th of this month for a school trip. how lucky?!! i wish that i could go.

anyway, i'm in summerland right now with the other half of my family. katrina had a skating recital today and so i came up to visit and see that. she did so great. she makes me proud.

friday was my second day working at the bank. my boss put me in the teller window and i was helping cutomers on my second day! i can't believe it! just jump right in, i guess. i still have a LOT of training and stuff to do but it was fun being in the window.

saturday was the dedication of our Kingdom Hall in omak. wow, what a program. there was a lot of history stuff and then a cool slide show of the quick build from back in june, and then our CO gave the actual dedication talk. he is such a good speaker. dawn and her family came for it and she sat with me. it was so nice to see her again, i've really missed her.

anyway, i'm hoping that my pics from the skating thing turn out so that i can post them on here. katrina looked so cute. :)

i'm heading home tomorrow (WORK!! yay) but it was nice to come up for a visit, no matter how short.

DAY ONE!!!

today was my first day of work at my new job. i think i'm really going to like it. everyone was really nice and friendly. today i pretty much just watched everyone and filled out the necessary paperwork. tuesday will be a big long day of training. i can't wait to get started. :)

quote for the day:

“Everything in life is connected somehow. You may have to dig deep to find it but its there. Everything is the same even though its different. Somehow everything connects back with your life. The faces in certain places may be different, but the situation is the same. Irony is a hidden factor that creeps around us in life, letting its presence felt only after it has left. Picture back to a year ago and the situation you were in. Look at how things are different yet somehow everything it still in someway cognate. Everything connects together to form the balance of life, to maintain structure. Change is and always will be inevitable, but everything is relative, and all the moments and times in your life will come back around again, you just might find yourself on the other side of the coin. Things are always changing, as fast as everything stays the same.”

luv it :) have a good night.

I GOT THE JOB!!!!

i'm going to be a bank teller! i went in last thursday for my interview and the bank manager at wells fargo, kim, called me this afternoon and said that they would like me to work for them! :) i'm sooooo excited. and the hours will work perfectly with my service schedule. M-T: 1:15 to 5:15 and F: 2:15-6:15. i am just so amazed at the way that this has worked out. jehovah really does provide when you do your best to put him first. and on top of that i'm also working 2 nights a week for walt doing janitorial. so things are looking up. :) which probably means that something else is going to go dreadfully wrong...but let's try to have a positive attitude! so i start at the bank on thursday. well, there is my good news for the day that i wanted to share. :)

breaking new: baby owl rescued!!

tonight i was driving lou home and we spotted something on the road. as we drove past we both were thinking: 'that looked like an owl!' so we turned around to look again. at first i was freaking out cuz it just looked like a big ball of fur stuck in the middle of the road. then lou got out of the car with me too and we walked over to it....THEN IT OPENED ITS EYES!!! so we ran screaming back to the car. then we just sat and watched for a bit. then it turned its head all the way around at us and was blinking. then it started flapping its wings too...but it couldn't move. so then i had the genius idea to go get carol downey (the local vet that is also deb's bible study, so i know her) since she lives just down the road. so we went and got her and she came with her daughter and picked the baby owl up in a towel. so she's taking it home to see what's wrong with it. i'll call her tomorrow for updates! :) lou and i have decided to name it oscar! what an adventure!!

okay, how cute is this boy?? ACE!! american idol...here he comes! so for the first time in my life i think i have an (almost) celebrity crush! ;) lol. and here's a plus: he can sing! boy can he sing! :D :D

new discovery

my pioneer partner, deb, is an amazing seamstress and designer. she was talking about fabric and things the other day and told me about this fabric designer named amy butler. deb said that her fabrics reminded her of me. so i got online and checked out her website. i am SO in love with these fabrics. they are bright and cheery and i wish they scrapbook paper! :P i'm such a dork. anyway, i just wanted to share. enjoy!

pictures :)

this is shelby, lou and me. shelby was delilah, lou was salame (the dancer at the birthday party) and i was the shulamite maiden.

this is my costume. i made it all myself. you can't see in this picture but my belt has tassles. hehe. :)

baby baby

this is my cousin sage and her new baby boy hendrix lee. how cute is he? i still can't beleive that my cousin had a baby. we're all growing up so fast.

interview #2

today i had my second interview with the gals at Wells Fargo bank. i had to go through the whole process again now that its a different job that's posted. kim, the manager, said that they have 2 other applicants, and that they'll make a dicision on friday. so, i could have a job...or not...by friday. i'm really nervous, and excited, and hopefull. so we'll see how that goes.

today was the most beautiful day....weather wise. sunshine and no wind. just what i needed. i walked down the the bank. great day for it. another thing that made today a nice day was that i started another bible study! i go back for her first study next wednesday at 1:30. it was so strange because i was so worried about going there. she is the daughter-in-law of one of my other studies, and shirly (my study) wanted me to go and meet her and see if a bible study would help her, too. it was strange cuz i didn't know what to say or anything, but i just made myself go, and she was really nice and everything worked out good. so i left her a Bible Teach book to look over and we'll start next week. yay!~ smiles about studies!

in other news: i've been watching American Idol this season for the first time. exciting stuff. i can't wait to see how it all goes. my favortie girls are Paris and Katharine and my favorite guys are Ace and Taylor Hicks. fun show...good times with lou! :)

have a good day everyone. :)

lately...

lately i've been melancholy (defenition: pensive reflection or contemplation) thinking a lot...perhaps too much. but thinking leads to writing and writing is good for me. i don't have my notebook with me right now or i'd post some of my recent poems and junk. the other day we got chinese food for dinner and my fortune cookie said: you have a way with words and should write a book. interesting.... my mom says that i already have; i said yeah, its called my life.
*now if only i could turn all of those thoughts into something more visually creative and get some good scrapbooking time in. i've really been missing that. :( i mean, its sitting right there in front of me all the time, but i just haven't been in the right mood. i get so inspired by looking at other scrapbookers online and love looking at their ideas. like these for instance :

i love them....i love looking at them. but i'm scared to try them myself. i know that sounds strange. and maybe even typing this out like this will make me realize how stupid it actually sounds...and now as i'm typing i'm seriously coming to that conclusion. maybe now is the time to just sit down and do it. :) back to the land of the scrap-happy! :D

plans for the weekend

this saturday there is a congregation bible costume party planned. last night i spent a few hours making my costume. i'm going as the shulamite maiden. there are all sorts of people that have been talking about what costumes they're going to wear, which is exciting. parties like that are always better when people dress up, you know?

in other news: i've just finished my two weeks working for lou's dad walt doing construction clean-up at the new behavioral health building in town. wow! that was quite a job. and quite a work-out i might add! ;) the building is really nice. and the guys working there were great. its been fun. i'm sad that the job is done. but walt has hired me permanently to take the place of a recently lost employee. so starting in march i get to clean two buildings on monday nights. that should be interesting. but its work and work means money and money would be nice right now. haha.

anyway, hopefully i'll have some pics of the party to post later. should be fun! :D :D

you're beautiful...like a rainbow



this was my favorite commercial from the superbowl and i found it online just today. i wanted to share it with everyone. it just makes me smile. :D

beauty
there is something beautiful about today. perhaps it was just the sunshine...or the fact that i took a much needed 3 hour nap :P even on days when there seems to be nothing going right i've tried to look for the little beauty in things. like this picture that my mom took of her roses from my dad on their anniversary. that is beauty. family is beauty. love is beauty. life is beauty. learn to embrase the little beautiful things. it will make a world of difference. :)

movie nite! :D

tonight i saw when a stranger calls. wow!! what a psycho movie. my mom, lou, shelby, roxanne, derek, dustin and me all went. fun group to go to the movies with. we were all freaking out! the whole thing was so intense. so go see it if you're up for it. ;)

lately i've been working for a brother in my hall. its lou's dad actually. he has his own janitorial business and he's got me working on construction clean-up of the new behavioral health center. i've gone two days now. vacuuming and cleaning doors and dusting and stuff. lots of stretching muscles that i havent' used in a while. pretty sore now :P but its been fun.

tomorrow i go back to well's fargo bank to talk to the manager about getting a job there. we'll see how that goes. :) :)

oh and the seahawks lost the superbowl. i was sad about that. this was the first season that i've actually watched almost every game and was actually really into it. too bad they lost. but there were some great commercials, though. that part is always fun too!

well, i should get going. i've got to get some sleep sometime i suppose. night night. hehe.

these days....

i've been feeling happy! the sun has been shining so that makes a big difference. jennifer and hannah bought me my "frumpy pioneer jacket" as a gift. what a surprise! i LUV it. :D things are better with that friend that i was talking about before. we're good now, and i'm glad. i watched a really cute movie last night called in her shoes. made me cry...but that's nothing new! :P i got some new cd's made today at lou's and kj said that she found my anna naliak cd that i thought i lost! happy about that. :D :D i got to work yesterday doing construction clean-up. it felt good to work hard again. and on monday i have an interview with Payless Shoes. plus i had a good meeting with the manager of the wells fargo bank here in town, that might end up in a job as well. i have to go see her again on monday as well. hopefully somethig works out. i've also been scrapbooking more than usual. trying to get caught up. its been fun cuz i'm trying new things and trying to expand my scrapbooking style. having fun playing around with things.

well, that's all for now. i hope that everyone is doing well. i'm sorry that i've been slacking with my e-mails. just know that i haven't forgotten you at all or anything. LUV YOU!!

cool new discovery!!

my friend lou just showed me the coolest site: http://www.blogthing.com. there are some really cool tests and quizes and stupid stuff like that and things that you can copy into your own blog. just thought i'd share that with ya'll.

i'm a 90's kid!!!

you know you're a 90's kid if......

You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE"
You can sing the rap to> >"The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"
YOU'VE WORN SKORTS AND FELT STYLISH
YOU YEARNED TO BE PART OF THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB
You use to love playing with your MY Little Pet Shop
You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude! comes from Stephanie from "Full House"
You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
You wore a ponytail on the side of your head and had fluffed bangs
You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in kindergarten
You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"
You have pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
You remember the craze then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates
You ever got injured on a Slip 'n' Slide
You wore socks over leggings scrunched down
" Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black...."
You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
You knew what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare"
You remember Alf, the little brown alien from Melmac and Vick the Robot from "MY Little Wonder"
You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
You knew all the characters names and their life stories of "Saved By The Bell"
You played and or collected "Pogs"
you owned a Skip It
You had at least one GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
You watched the original Care Bears
All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.(pencils.notebooks.binders.etc.)
You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.
You used to wear those stick on earings, not only on your ears, but at the corners of your eyes.
You remember a time before the WB.
You thought it would be so cool to be Alex Mack.
You know the Macarena by heart
Talk to the hand" ... enough said
You thought Brain would finally take over the world.


how funny is that???

"those who bring sunshine into the lives of others will not keep it from themselves."

i got this great quote from my aunty lee-ann, and wanted to share it. i'm greatful to people who share their sunshine with others. :D

sad today....

i'm sad today. i have this friend that i miss even though this friend is still around. its almost like we've both grown up apart and so we have nothing in common anymore. i miss talking to this friend. a lot. i wish this friend knew that i still cared about them, even if its hard for me to show.

i'm sad today. i was thinking about all of the time that i've missed sharing with my siblings...like having shelby and micah gone for so long. think of all the momories we've missed out on making together.

i'm sad today. its hard to explain to people what's going on in my head without saying things that i'll regret later. i think others feel that they've done something wrong...but its not them, its just me and the crazy things in my brain.

that makes me sad...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

yesterday was my parents' anniversary. we had a family dinner at our house on friday night and then tonight was the big party that i'd been planning. everything turned out really nice. last night was the first time in like 4 years that all seven of us had been together. micah came down for a few days and it was so nice to see him again. it was a pretty good visit. ashley came too. it was fun seeing her again. dad got mom a digital camera and mom bought dad a guitar. they got some really great presents from everyone. i still can't beleive that its been 10 years!!

in other news: i've been scrapbooking a lot lately. catching up....i'm only 5 months behind now! lol. but me scrapbooking means that i'm staying up way too late at night. hehe. i love it though.

i'm sorry that i havent' been able to blog much lately. but i'm at lou's again tonight. we were singing karaoke together...like old times. that's been the focus of a lot of things lately: the good old days. its nice that we do have good memories.

so far, no job, but i'm still a' looking! i'll keep you posted. :D

i know you believe you understand what you think i said, but i am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what i meant.

*** yeah, its that kind of day.

job search

so i've finally decided that its time to try and find a new job. i wanted to wait until after the circuit overseer's visit. so now its the week after and time to get on the ball. i went today to the local work source and registered and then spent some time tonight writing my new resume'. i think that tomorrow after service i'm going to go "canvas the town with my name" as my dad says. we'll see how that goes. i do know a few people in the community from working at Paige's, so that will help. i'm hoping to find something that will be afternoons or just a couple days a week. something that will work with my pioneering schedule. i just keep praying that jehovah will help me find something. i'm trying to put my service to him first, and just rely on him that "everything else will be added" to me. now its my turn to put some effort into working in harmony with my prayers.

new CK in the mail today. the special TOP 10 issue. i'm so excited about it! i just want to sit down and scrapbook in my new space for awhile. maybe tomorrow night after the bookstudy. that would be nice. i have also been thinking about seeing into making a career out of my scrapbooking. its going to take awhile and i've got to put some effort into getting name into the community, but how cool would it be to get payed for doing something that i love? we'll see how that goes. :)

things this week that make me happy.....

• my new green pea coat that my mum bought me
• talking to nick on the phone
• getting my scrapbooking things organized
• making dawn a mini-scrapbook about our Nebraska trip
• watching the new LOST episode :)
• working with and getting to know the new CO and his wife
• the sunshine for a day
• getting the Nancy Drew computer game to work
• getting a chance to post on my blog :D

i wish that i had more access to the internet and that i could post more often, but i do what i can. tonight we're hanging out with loo. she's having a bible dress-up party next month and we (kj and i) were helping out with some game things. then we went to wal-mart, exchanged the game that didn't work for one that does now, and spent the rest of the night playing Nancy Drew. yay!! now we're heading home and loo is spending the night. service in the morning, and then i have my pioneer meeting with the CO. i'm really looking forward to it. i'm going to stop by two of my studies in the morning to see if they'll come to the meeting on sunday for the talk. hopefully they'll come! :)

so ta-ta for now. :D

goal/projects

i just got my feb issue of CK and i just loved it! i especially enjoyed the STUDIO A article by ali edwards and her ideas for an album just about me. she has inspired me to try something new and different. i'm going to start it in an 8x8 album that i got recently. green...my new favorite color. :) i think its going to by a collaboration of my scrapbooking and my journal. my other scrapbooks have usually been in chronilogical order and about things that happen and what i've been doing. this one is going to be about how i feel and who i really am. i'm excited to start it.

right now mom, dad and i are in seattle. kelsey is coming in on the airplane from georgia tomorrow. she was down there for a week visiting her mother. i have really missed her and i'm excited to have her home again. we had fun on the drive over this afternoon. laughing and talking. i think its so cool that i can have a good relationship with my parents. we just enjoy spending time together. i've had a nice time with them.

i'm hoping to go to the mall and go shopping tomorrow before we get kj. its been a long time since i've been to a mall. wal-mart is all we have in omak!! what fun, eh? you betcha! ha. anyway, that should be fun.

update:

so we are now officially out of our house. handed the keys to kent on tuesday night. it is so amazing how fast it all happened. end of november he looked at the house...december 3rd mom and dad met with him and talked things over and decided on january 3rd for the closing date. i still can't beleive it. but i like the guy that bought our home. i think he's going to take good care of it and enjoy it like we did. the first night we were in that house we ate dinner together sitting on the dining room floor...all 7 of us. and then on our last night in the house mom, dad, and i did it again. kind of a farewell for us. monday was quite an emotional day, that's for sure. i signed the inside of my closet. i'm weird like that... :)

in other news: paige had a private 50% off sale at her store today so i got to go shopping!!! it was so nice. i got the carry bag that i've been wanting for so long and some other great papers and things. i'm working on a mini-book about my nebraska trip as a present for dawn, my friend that i went with. its good pretty good. we got some really great pictures. i'm excited to get that finished. tonight dad bought me some 12x12 drawers for my scrapbooking paper. i'm looking forward to getting all of my stuff organized and have a little space in our new place to scrapbook.

we're calling the house we're renting for now: "dewberry manor." well, that's what i'm calling it. and there is a wild rabbit in the yard. strange....but its black so i'm calling him soot. cute eh? :) tucker is still getting used to the new house. mom got him a couple new toys today, so he's content. he's definatly part of our family...little things make him happy too. lol!!

so next week is our CO visit. i'm really looking forward to it. its our first visit without new CO and his wife. they are the youngest couple in the country in the curcuit work. i've met them before, but i'm excited about getting to spend time out in service with them and getting to know them better. and something cool about the CO visit now is that the aux. pioneers for the month get to come to the first half of the pioneer meeting with the CO, so we have lots of support this month. it's been nice spending time with others in my hall. the past couple days in service have been really nice. i've been having some trouble lately with service...december was a rough month. so i'm hoping that this next week will be the pick-me-up i need. can't wait!! :D