Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, Thanksgiving was totally low key with just my parents and I. I loved it! My Mom got out her wedding china, which I don't remember ever using, and it is just gorgeous!

One of my quirks is that I love to take pictures of the things I cook and especially the fancy tables! Today was no exception:

I even made my parents listen to Vivaldi's The Four Seasons as we enjoyed our yummy feast (I admit that I got the idea from watching an NCIS Thanksgiving episode ☺)



My Mom and I baked a delicious apple pie for dessert! Pretty proud of it.

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day with family and friends!

6 years!

Even though I've moved on with my life ;) there are still some years when I recognize this day as the day that I returned home from my mission!!

After I ran through the "finish line" my family made outside the house

It has been six years now, but I often have a memory or thought that brings me back to my days in Connecticut. <insert cliche phrase here> ____ .... it really was one the best and most challenging experiences of my life! In addition to that, (more cliche, but true) I loved the New England area. There is so much diversity, I felt as though I served in tons of countries! I loved teaching and making new friends from Ghana, Korea, India, Estonia, Brazil (and many more that I can't remember now) while also geting to know and love them and their cultures.
Say what you will, New Englanders may be gruff on the outside compared to us Westerners, but once you are "in" with them, they are deeply loyal and dedicated...and in some ways, even more considerate drivers!

It was so beautiful there, I couldn't stop myself from taking pictures of the gorgeous scenery I'd always see going down those streets:

Spring Blossoms

and yes...I even did this...

meadow of daisies on the side of the road

Oh, there are plenty more where those came from! What can I say...I love New England! It was a privilege serving a mission there, I cannot even begin to describe how much it has changed me. There were many life lessons learned that I still apply to my life even today:

• Do it anyway, regardless of possible negative outcomes
• Charity is expecting the best of eachother
• Lose yourself in the moment, some opportunites come only once
• Some days, the only thing you feel you accomplish is simply showing that you are out there working and ready for when the right situation does arise.

I'm glad I served in the Connecticut Hartford Mission and look forward to a visit someday!

How Many Roommates??

I've been thinking about all the places I’ve lived and roommates I’ve had…and I was surprised at what I’ve accumulated over this last decade:

Howard’s Trailer Park (“Paradise Villa”) – 7 total roommates for both Trailer #5 and #12
Now that was a great place to live back in those long past EAC days! It was like its own little neighborhood community. We knew everyone in all the trailers, due to "Trailer Hopping" and all were invited to the parties. Looking back, I can’t believe how many people we’d always cram into our front rooms to play games, watch movies or just hang out.

Goodman’s Apartment #2 – add 3 more roommates
There were only a couple apartments and small houses filled that summer, so we all became good friends and did everything together. Goodman’s and the Institute were the places to go if there was any fun to be had. We’d all hang out in the big parking lot, or our apartment or go sit up on the roof and star gaze and laugh and talk.

The Town House – add 3 more roommates to the mix (with 2 repeats)
This huge old house on the highway had a big window in the front for all to see the craziness going on inside. We loved to play the card game “Scum” and continue to cram as many people we could in the (now bigger) front room for parties, dances, and movies…and always got in trouble with our neighbors because of too many cars parked out front.

Mission Companions in the MTC and Connecticut – 6
Of course I’m going to add my mission companions! We spent 24/7 with each other as we worked and taught. I learned many things about life, myself and others that I couldn't have learned otherwise. I have great memories with each of them.

Baronnessa Apartment D8 (Date…get it! Haha) – 17 total…geeze!
Throughout my two years at BYU-Idaho, I lived in the same apartment. I loved it (not just because of the name). There was always 6 of us (typical of BYU-I housing). Crazy, but we did it and each semester we all became great friends. We’d even take roommate pictures together! In warm weather, we liked to buy cheap couches to put outside on our porch…which of course looked trashy and we’d get in trouble.


Burger House (no idea why it was called that) – 2 (plus one repeat)
A college roommate convinced me to move to Jackson Hole for a semester and work with her…which was an adventure for both of us! For a bit, we had the HUGE house to ourselves, but then added 2 girls that moved to the U.S. (from Kazakhstan and Brazil) to work with us...this wasn’t my first experience, since I had a roommate from China at BYU-I. But it’s still worth noting for someone like me with my small town background.

Love Shack #6 – 2 (plus the same repeat)
Most who worked for the Jackson Trading Company lived in the Love Shack employee housing. It was like an instant social group and family and I enjoyed it. Whenever we had a day off, we’d invite anyone else who was also off and go for a hike, bike ride or go on some adventure in this outdoorsy tourist town.

The Aspens – 2
This condo outside of Jackson was in a sweet area: close to Teton Village (Ski Resort) and an entrance into Grand Teton National Park. It was fun driving through the park in the evenings to see the elk. We also had a neighborhood moose and lawn chairs for furniture!

The Willows – 1, plus 1 repeat
After moving back to Arizona (and having a nice break from roommates) I now live in the sunny city! I feel as though I’ve come full circle, since both roommates are old friends from EAC days. Here's to more good times!

GRAND TOTAL # OF ROOMATES….43!! (not even counting the repeat roommates!) Shocking isn’t it? Awesome roommates are hard to come by and I feel lucky to have had these experiences.

How many roommates have you had??

My last semester in D8