Just call me Jones.... Bridget Jones.

First: I have a cute niece moment..... My sister and Mom took Sadie (my almost 5 year old niece) to the mall and she told them that she would like to work at a store someday. Kim asked her "Oh really? A clothes store?". Sadie looked at Kim with a confused look on her face and said "No... an open store!". It took everyone a moment to realize that she thought Kim had said "A closed store". Too add to the cuteness... she doesn't say open right, she adds an "h" noise to the beginning of it. (ie: a "hopen" store).

Second: Christmas was lovely this year... nothing too exciting happened, just spent Christmas eve w/ the family singing songs around the piano, ate a yummy dinner, opened a bunch of gifts (including an external hard-drive, cook book, mixing bowls, an awesome faux fur blanket, an awesome framed painting that I wanted, clothes, an illustrated hymn book, etc.)

Third: I'm quickly becoming the American version of Bridget Jones. Last night I had a dinner party with two of my best friends and their newly acquired lovers. Also at the dinner were a married couple. And, then me. Just me. I was the first one to show up at the marrieds house, and came straight from doing my visiting teaching, and was thus still in my church clothes (stilettos included). As I started up the driveway, I noticed how icy and snowy it was. I decided to be extra cautious. Then, I hit a patch of ice. I slipped a little, but recovered. Sigh. Next step wasn't quite as graceful, and as I stepped, I started to slide backwards. I knew I was about to get hurt, so I leaned forward and threw my hands and purse onto the ground to stop the slide. It did nothing to stop my momentum, and I slid backwards down-dog style in a dress and high-heels about five feet. Of course, that is the moment when someone drove by. The nice man in the SUV pulled over and rolled down his window: "Need a hand?". Of course I just laughed and said that I had it covered. (btw: What in the h was I thinking!? I didn't have anything covered!) As he drove off, I steadied myself and stood up, took one step, and fell again. I finally realized the shoes were impossible to walk up the driveway in, so I took them off and cautiously walked through the ice and snow up to the front door, threw back on my shoes (so now ice and snow were inside the shoes too) and knocked. Luckily Husband wasn't really that observant and didn't notice that I was covered in snow and that my knee was all reddish from falling.

Dinner was a-ok. Until we sat down and the couples on either side of me were mushy gushy: "Oh, I don't mind being crowded next to you!!" Giggle giggle. Ok, seriously, I was happy for them, but I'm just not that romantic, what can I say?

Then, I needed one of the boy-friends to walk me to the car so I didn't repeat the great driveway massacre of 2008.

I drove my baby home through all the snowy roads, and then as I was pulling into the back ally to get to my garage, it happened... the Mini got stuck. I had to call my Joshy to come and push the car out of several inches of Utah's finest powder. Luckily, the Mini isn't too heavy so we were able to get it out after only a few pushes.

But, it seriously felt like someone should have been filming the whole thing for a movie!!!

Oh me, oh my!

Let's rip this band-aid off quickly.... I'm not going to London/Paris any longer. Dear Mr. Woodford has decided that he just isn't up for a long distance relationship, so why even do the trip. So... back to the drawing board. Another one bites the dust! I'm sad that it failed so quickly, but I can't lament something that I can't control. So.... onward and upward I suppose. :)

Anywhooooo....... It's the day before a holiday, so I'm going to take off from work a little early! Later!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

How come everytime you come around, my London Bridge fall down?

Ok ok ok.... update! I am GOING TO LONDON/FRANCE for New Years. What? I'm crazy? I know. ;) I will fly out to London, and Mr. Woodford will pick me up and woo me for 7 fantastic days. I imagine that things will go well, but who knows. We're going to spend a few days in London and then will take the tunnel under the channel to Paris for the weekend. Then, back to London for the last few days. I am still stunned each and every day by how wonderful he appears. It's scary how perfect things are on paper. But, if I was married everytime things looked good on paper..... don't know how to finish that one? Ignore me.

So, in the meantime, I'm waiting at 11:41pm for work to call me in for a press check. I was meant to have it at 10pm and then another at 6am, but I haven't heard yet that they're ready for me. Which means that it'll be late tonight, and then probably super early tomorrow. Here's hoping it gets me a get-out-of-work early card! Haha.


AND: some friends have a suite at the Venetian in Vegas and they really want me to come, but I'm really a fan of sleeping on the weekends... and being in Vegas isn't condusive to sleep!! And, speding 12 hours in the car doesn't sound that ideal either. But, who knows... maybe I'll go, I could use a little getaway!

And, I just

Oops, I did it again. Maybe?

Ok, so anyone who knows my romantic history knows that I have had one real, great love in my life-- an englishman named Steve that I met while he was visiting his brother and sister-in-law in Utah for Christmas in 2003. We met in church and it began a 12 month long trans-continental romance. It was a wonderful experience, all except for the long times apart and then the heart-breaking day when we decided (or, he decided really...) that we weren't meant to be and the tale suddenly came to an end.

Fast forward 5 years-- I'm oh so much more wise. Or, am I? Last week my friend Nathan came up to go to my ward Halloween party with me. I met Nathan through Steve, they served missions together in Zimbabwe. Nathan is from South Africa, but moved here to go to school. He brought his friend Luke who was visiting from South Africa for a few weeks. Immediately, I noticed Luke's outgoing, fun personality, which impressed me. The next night they joined some friends for a "Pumpkin carving with power tools" party. As I flited and flirted about at the party (I had too! We had more men than ladies...), Luke pulled me aside to help him get some hot chocolate. Then, he told me about these girls at the party that were flirting with him like mad and how they wanted to see him on Thursday, but he couldn't go out with them because he had a date with me. Being dense, I of course thought he was kidding! It wasn't until he said "So, uh.... can I take you out on Thursday?" that I got it.

Needless to say (ya'll know where this is headed), Thursday was an AMAZING night. I didn't expect to connect the way that we did, and I didn't expect him to be as great as he seems to be. I'm impressed by many of his qualities, and I can't wait to get to know him better! Sadly, after staying up all night talking and having an amazing night, I took him to meet up with his friends and go to the airport at 6am. But, he is moving to London at the end of December, and its starting to look like I may end up on a plane out there for New Years.

Anyway, since I usually post some pretty dull things, I thought this might be a nice pick-me-up for all of you devoted readers. See... maybe there's hope for me yet. ;)


The man himself.

Holy Weekend!

So, I had one of the busiest weekends, but it was SO much fun. Friday I took a half day to help my bro and his wifey move to their big new beautiful home in Sandy... everyone was SO excited and I'm so happy for them!

Then, after helping them move I went over to my dear Brynner's house for a little "sleep over", although around 4am we all went to our houses to sleep in our own beds. haha. But, it was a great evening. It's amazing how lucky I am with some great, uplifting and FUN girlfriends. I am blessed to have such fabulous women in my life!!!

Saturday morning I got up and went for a run (I know, I know... hip hip hooray, Kelsey finally worked out! My muscles were happy for the exercise!) and then did a little halloween costume shopping and some Costco shopping. Then, it was off to Lagoon for what could be the final trip of the season. What made this particularly sad was that this is the last year I'll have a pass w/ Kim and Mike because they are moving away and we may never live in the same place again... let alone in Utah during the summer so we could get passes together again! So, it was a lot of fun to spend some quality time with them in line for rides (which were longer than I'd EVER seen them! There were a lot of people there!)


Just me and my Rooskie on the chair-lift ride.


We be scary monsters... arrrrggggghh.


Awww... tender.



Cutest couple!! Love these two!


Then, from Lagoon i busted home and got ready for a Halloween party.... which, was fun and all, but honestly.... I am SO ready to be done w/the single scene. Its getting frustrating to go to parties where I feel like I know most of the guys already and know that NONE of them are my future man. *sigh*. Thats ok, I've got friends who're in worse spots than me... I'm only 26. I need to do my time... I know that in the end I'll be grateful for it and will be SO happy I waited because my guy will be just that awesome that he was worth the wait!! And,. who knows... maybe I already know my man but the timing just hasn't been right... only time will tell. :)

Me the Witch Doctor with my boyfriend.


Just had to post this one of Brit's LOVELY Sunglass-burn. Haha. Thats what he gets for being a Utah fan! (jk jk)



Some of me and my lady friends voguing it up...

Let's all laugh at me together

Don't you love how I was so resolved to be a better blogger? And yet, 22 days have past and I haven't posted a darn thing. I suppose this is a good insight into my personality. I am one of those people who every single weekend commits that MONDAY will be the day when I start the fitness rampage, when I will do something bigger and better with my life. And yet, Monday comes and goes and not much changes. So funny. If anyone has some good affirmations I can use to keep me focused on the "goals" I set, please share. Maybe I need to put post-its up around my house or something.

Anyway, things are well with me, not much has changed. I'll have to go into further detail on the work situation later (I know some co-workers read this thing, so remember--- what is said on the blog STAYS on the blog!!) but things are pretty much the same, aside from our building has one less mouse (because it decided to eat its weight in poison and then die in my cubbie).

Keep your ear to the ground... more will be coming from me soon. I'm turning over a new leaf ya'll... one where I actually keep the promises I make to myself!

Beginning the new age of my blogging

Ya'll better hold on, I'm back and ready to start blogging again after taking a brief hiatus. Work's been busy, and I've honestly been a little lazy. Not anymore! I'm in this to win! haha.

I'm a bad blogger...

So, here's a quick updateroo on me. After pondering a move to Arizona, I've decided that now isn't the time. Even though the mini would love the AZ winter infinitely more than the Utah winter, I can't make decisions based on the happiness of my car. ;) haha.

Anyway, I spent the weekend before last in Cedar City with my mom, dad, and sister. We were celebrating my mom's birthday by going to the Shakespeare festival. We went to "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Cyrano DeBergerac". Both were amazing, even though the latter wasn't a Shakespeare play. We also saw "Mama Mia" and since mamma just had total knee replacement surgery a couple months back, she wasn't up for much hiking or activity and we went for a drive in the mountains to Cedar Breaks... a mini version of Bryce canyon.

Here are some photos of the weekend:


Giving a little love to Will- he's just so talented, I couldn't help myself!!


The group of us overlooking the canyon!


Me and my sis. What a view behind us!


Cedar Breaks


Remember the Oland Mills photos? This is a tribute.

Then, we had my nephew Boede's birthday on Sunday.

Here's a pict of the birthday boy enjoying his cake... maybe a little too much!


So, what was funny about this was that he started with just his little fingers in the frosting. then he realized how yummy it was and started shoveling fistfulls into his face. When he got full, he rubbed it all over his belly. haha. What a nut.

I wish I had the photo of the best part of the day... my brother has those, and I'm not sure if he'll share! Anyone who knows my bro knows that he's a major University of Utah fan. I, and the rest of my family and his in-laws, are BYU fans. BIG BYU fans. So, he gave his son a bunch of University of Utah apparel. Everyone started to boo. I'm not sure if it was all the Utah Red or the booing, but Boede starting screaming and crying... he was really upset. So, we got a photo of him looking at all the U of U gear balling his head off. What a great photo... he's a smart kid, he knows he doesn't want to be a Utah fan. ;)

Ta-DUH

Ok, so I did something really dumb and awkward today. Someone from my new Relief Society Presidency called and said they wanted to stop by and visit Kim and I. I called her back to tell her that I wouldn't be home. I was driving home from work with the top down on the Mini. Just as I got her on the phone, a loud semi-truck went by. Not wanting to sound snobby (ie: "Oh, I'm so sorry for that loud noise... the top is down on my brand new, gorgeous convertable. ") I tried to apologize for the noise by saying:

Kelsey: "Sorry for the noise, my top is down......."

RS Girl: no response

Kelsey: "Uh, on my car! Don't think it's my shirt top! Nope, I am for sure wearing one of those!!! Just the CAR top is down"

RS Girl: no response

Kelsey: "Um, ok...well, I gess i'll see you around...."


Golden. Best moment of my day. Almost better than when I fell over for no real reason while standing in the IT department's doorway.... I'll save that story for another day. ;)

Estoy Muy Blessido

Si. Estoy muy blessido. That is spanglish for: Yes, I am very blessed.

I just finished up with a little bike ride around my neighborhood in the warm summer air. I heard children laughing, dogs barking, fire crackers popping, crickets chirping, and birds twittering.

I rode past the new temple. I rode over the bride overlooking the lake and saw all the lights from the neighborhood, as well as the silhouette of the new Angel Moroni they just put on the temple spire against the mountains. Wow.

I also had a fabulous weekend. I went up in the mountains and saw a huge herd of sheep, rode a horse, roasted a hot dog over a bonfire, heard an old cowboy reminisce, layed out by the pool, went to a baseball game in a suite with good friends, went to a couple barbecues, and saw a movie. I went to church on Sunday, and it was so enjoyable I couldn't help but be happy to be there.

Yes, yes... I am lucky, blessed, and really have SO much to be grateful for!!

Interesting Food Information....

I'm not sure if all of this is accurate, but certainly, medical science has confirmed some of the functions of these foods and the rest does make sense.

Sounds just like something the Creator of the Universe would do.
Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.


A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.


A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.


Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.


A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.


Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.


Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocados and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of s perm as well to overcome male sterility.



Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.



Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries



Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.


Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes

Relationship Resolutions

I read this posting online a few years back, and its really stuck with me. I used to only apply the rules to dating relationships. However, I've realized recently that I should apply these rules to most relationships: especially friends and coworkers! Some of you may realize that one of my strengths is my insane loyalty. However, this is also a major weakness as I remain loyal to people who aren't that kind to me, simply because they were at one point and I see their potential. So, I put up with a lot of "abuse". It's good to realize that I don't have to do that... that sometimes respecting myself and not putting up with it will also help them in the long run to be better friends. So, take a look.... remembering that its just some guidelines to take control of how you're treated and what your relationships with others will be!

I will learn to say "next!"
Plain and simple, the world is full of men. Everywhere you turn, there's a man. Look - there goes one now! A wise woman once told me that men are like city buses: If you miss one, there will always be another. I decided that, from now on, I would not assign any man too much meaning too early on. I am not going to worry that I won't find "it" again. I will not worry that I'll end up in a rocking chair surrounded by cats and empty wine bottles. I will remember that there will always be another.

I will expect more and tolerate less
Not all men are self-loathing, egocentric, cheating bastards. In fact, most people have a lot more good to them than bad, and by and large, will live up to the expectations you set for them. Not since junior high have I worried that a friend would hurt or disappoint me. But with men, it's been a constant fear. I realized that this was all because of expectations. If I did not expect - or even demand - that a man treat me right, he probably wasn't going to. I'm not talking about princessy stuff here, like buying me dinner or calling by Tuesday if he wants to see me on Saturday. I'm talking about basic good treatment. Like following through with plans. Or being aware of my feelings. Or not leaving his cell phone on another girl's nightstand and telling me he'd lost it. You know, common consideration. And when common consideration is breached? Next!

I will get busy
Because men are wired differently and may as well live in a different time zone, playing the "why hasn't he called?" game is a guaranteed express trip to Crazytown. Why hasn't he called? Who knows? But I do know that I should be too busy to worry about it. Untapped potential was like my emotional saddlebags - unattractive even if no one noticed it but me. I resolved to make plans, resurrect my hobbies and spend my time doing and thinking and being. If he calls, great! If not, I will be way too occupied with all my fabulous self-fulfillment to notice.

I will not play it cool
To keep myself from feeling exposed and vulnerable, I'd gotten very good at using the phrase "that's okay" when it was really, really not okay. There were so many times I didn't get angry when I should have, for fear of coming off as too emotional or unhinged. Well, you know what? Unhinge this! If the situation calls for it, and the difference between sucking it up and having a bit of a blowup could be months of festering in a foul mood, I'm going to let him have it. The same goes for positive emotions. If a man does something to delight me, I'm going to act delighted. Forget cool sophistication! And if he gets weirded out by all of my emoting? You guessed it: Next!

I will lighten up
The pursuit and maintenance of coupling may have made me do surprising things, but even more astounding was what it made me forget. I am pretty damn awesome. I am funny and talented, and I look pretty smokin' in jeans and stilettos. Getting caught up in the worry of trying to please a man, and working overtime to postpone an inevitable breakup is a huge time-waster. And a killjoy. A man's opinion of me is not more important that my own opinion of myself, so I shouldn't take it so seriously. I will remember to laugh more, worry less and like who I am - man or no man - and to redirect some of that energy into pleasing myself.

10 Things You May Not Know...

Ok, Adrea tagged me in this "10 things people may not know about me" request.

So, here goes!

10. I have the strongest fingernails EVER. They grow crazy long.
9. My "wingspan" (hold your hands out to the side and measure from longest finger tip to finger tip) is three inches longer than my height (it should be the same). This is because I have really long fingers and hands, and perhaps gorilla-like arms?
8. I could probably fit a few extra teeth in my mouth and be a-ok... I have a big mouth and small teeth (but, you probably already knew about the big mouth part. hehe)
7. I got in trouble in the 4th grade for saying "cherio good chap" to a classmate from England, and he beat me up.
6. I am THE MOST FAVORITE aunt ever. Seriously, those kids love me. ;)
5. I don't need a mug to tell me I'm the queen of everything. haha. jk 80, I won't take your title!
4. I've never broken a bone
3. I have a serious addiction to chips and salsa, shopping, and relaxing
2. For being a social butterfly, I can be VERY anti-social. Guess thats just the Gemini in me!
AND FINALLY......
1. I have a goal of owning a horse one day, traveling around the entire world and visiting all sorts of cool places and studying the people there, getting my masters degree in Social Anthropology, teaching at a university, owning my own consulting company, and writing a book.

TA DAH!

Ok, Kimbo and Allyoop.... your turn!!

4th of July Weekend!

Ok, so I decided to take Thursday off of work to go to the lake with my family. But, plans changed and we ended up changing that to today. So... I kept Thursday off and then just got today off as well.... hello 5 day weekend! It was awesome, especially because things at work have been less than ideal!

SO, anyway.... Thursday I slept in, went to the pool and lunch with my dear friend Brynnly, and then had a little hangout at Christina's house. Friday was the 4th of July... slept in again, went down to Provo and spent the afternoon with my family just hanging out. We then went to Stadium of Fire and saw MILEY CYRUS (all the pre-teen girls can scream now). It was SO fun. I can't tell you how stinkin cute my nieces are.... and, how fun my brother, his wife, and my sister are!

The funniest part of the night was when I took a picture of me and Avalee and Sadie. Sadie was making a really funny face.... so, I told her I was going to take another, and asked her to make a cute face. She said ok! Here are the pictures....

First Picture... with Sadie being silly.

Second picture with Sadie making her "cute" face.

So, yes..... that is her cute face. haha. She's such a silly bug!

Stadium of Fire really was an awesome event, and it was just a simple reminder of how good we really have it... but it also reminded me of how very fragile it all is. We need to remember to keep trying to be a righteous people, because when we forget God, thats when we start to lose the blessings that we sorely need in order to stay a free country. 9/11 wasn't that long ago, and people are already biter towards our leaders and our government. We need to remember how in those days following that tragic attack how our country turned to our Heavenly Father.... its amazing how quick we are to forget!

Then, the rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with friends and cleaning the house.

Until today, when I went to the Jordanelle resevoir and spent the day jetskiing with the family. I loved it!! It just takes a few easy going days in the sun to really clear my head and realize where my priorities are and where they should be, and that I shouldn't let work ruin my life. haha.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the weekend! I'm recharged! Although, not quite ready to go back to work. ;)

Relay Recap!!!!

It seems that in the past, I’ve used this blog almost as an online, very non-private journal. It’s probably time that I use it as a real update tool!

Anyone that’s spoken to me in the past 10 months knows that I was involved in planning the Salt Lake City Relay for Life. The Relay is an all night campout team walking/running relay. Teams band together before the event, raise money, and then come to Relay and take turns on the track, all night long. Some events are a full 24 hours. Mine, thanks in part to the weather, was about 14 hours.

The reason we Relay all night is because it symbolizes that while cancer never sleeps, neither will the fight to stop cancer. It is also very symbolic of the fight against cancer. As a cancer patient is getting treatment, there are times where it would be just so easy to give up, to stop fighting. However, people battle on through that and beat cancer. So do the teams keep walking at 3am, and in the case of my Relay, in rain and 39 degree weather.

Here’s the recap of the event:
First of all— who would have guessed that June 6th would be so cold!? The weather was definitely a huge set back. We were setting the event up at 11am on the day of the Relay. The entire week had been cold and rainy. We’d all hoped and prayed that the weather would decide to cooperate. It was decent until about 3pm, when temperatures dropped suddenly and the wind began to blow. Then came the rain. This weather lasted about 20 minutes. Then, it suddenly cleared up. We finished setting up, just in time for hundreds of people to join us at This is The Place Heritage Park. By the time we kicked off the event, with cancer survivors starting the first lap, we had at least 1,000 people there plus several media stations. I did about 4 live broadcasts for KUTV and one non-live for channel 13. I also did an interview with the Deseret News (too see what they put together, please visit: http://deseretnews.com/photo/slideshow/1,5587,5046,00.html?archMon=200806). We had great entertainment, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Until about 3am when the heavens opened and the weather no longer cooperated with us. It rained for the next 3-4 hours, with the temperatures somewhere in the high 30’s, low 40’s. It amazed me how many people stayed on the track during this time!!! But, at about 6 am, I realized that no one would come back next year if they all died because of exposure to the weather! So, we wrapped early. At the end of the Relay, we’d made about $50,000. And the money is still rolling in. The money goes to support cancer research, support programs, and advocacy efforts within our government. We're still taking donations, so visit www.saltlakerelay.com if you'd like to donate some money online. :)

Anyway, it was so inspiring to see all of the people that came out to support the teams and all of the people who have been lost because of cancer and the people that have or are beating it. Everyone who came had a connection with cancer, which isn’t surprising since statistically one in every two men will get cancer in their life, and one in every three women.

Probably one of the most rewarding moments was when I was doing a TV interview, and we were talking about the Luminaria Ceremony. This ceremony is really the heart of relay and gives everyone an opportunity to reflect back on the people they’ve seen suffer because of cancer. As I was talking, the camera man zoomed in on a bag that was written for my grandmother. What made this especially touching is that my mom wasn’t able to come because she recently had full reconstructive knee surgery. But, I knew she was watching the news. And, I knew that she would see the bag we’d made for her mother. My mom, who wasn’t able to come, was still able to join us in remembering her mom.

Anyway, all in all, it was a great event. I am so happy that I was able to be a part of it!!!