BYU Wins!

Normally Phil doesn't care what I post on "our" blog, however, he has taken a special interest in this one and threatened me if I post anything bad about his precious Utah team, my background will be gone and he will post mean messages on my friend's blogs...so beware! Haha! Phil and I have a big rivalry between our two schools and we have never gotten to go to a game where they play each other. But, on Saturday my mom called us up two hours before the game and said she got two extra tickets for us! There was a lot of trash talkin' on the way down, but I am happy to say BYU came out victorious! I thought we had lost when Utah scored the first touchdown of the entire game with 1:40 seconds left in the 4th quarter (It was a pretty boring game until the last couple minutes). But, the true school prevailed! Phil thought it was funny that the BYU fans rushed the field, it wasn't like we were just invited to the Rose Bowl, but oh well, we won! Go Cougs!

Ultimate Install

Here are some photos from the press release.

A couple of months ago Phil's company entered a Microsoft contest for a home automation install. They didn't think much of it, since it was a national contest, it was for the best job in an entire year & there would be a lot of competitors that have been in business for years. On Friday night, Tyler (my brother & one of Phil's business partners) got a call from Microsoft announcing they had won the "2007 Ultimate Home Install!" Can you believe it! This small little group of guys working out of a home office and a truck, beat out all the competition! A Microsoft competition! Yeah! There isn't a monetary reward, unfortunately, but they will get flown out to Microsoft headquarters in Seattle, get national recognition & be published in a lot of electronic & home magazines. Most importantly, it gives there little company recognition and credibility. I couldn't be happier for them. They have worked really hard for a long time & it is starting to pay off! If you want to read a full copy & photos...link to this page.... http://www.cepro.com/article/the_ultimate_media_center_installation_revealed_imperium_smart_systems/

or check out this one from Microsoft... http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2007/nov07/11-07UltimateInstallWinnerPR.mspx

or if you already didn't get enough from CNN Money (which I'm sure I'm the only one who could read more)... http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQW12707112007-1.htm

Mommy/Daughter Day

This Saturday we a had some Mommy/Daughter time (Even though we missed Ashley who is up at school & Rachel who had a baby shower to go to). I always loved those events growing up, when it was just me & my one parent. I always felt so special. Now, I love it when the whole fam is together. When we had 3 kids on missions & scattered all over, it really makes me appreciate when we can all be together. Allthough I still do love some girl time! We had a lot of fun! My mom had some tickets to the Want Women Want Show at the Southtown Expo Center, so we went there & to lunch. Jamie got her underarms lasered... I had a bad experience with laser hair-removal, so I opted out of it. My mom had this anti-wrinkle demonstration done on one side of her face. Jamie & I were really skeptical about the whole thing, but the results were a lot more than I would have thought! Within 30 minutes there was pretty drastic results. Under her eyes was less puffy, her skin was firmer. It was weird. We tried to convince them to do the other side, but of course they wouldn't because they wanted her to get the product. Maybe for Christmas...it was pretty amazing, even though you are already beautiful Mom! We went to Rumbi for lunch. I highly recommend the sweet potato fries...sooo good! It was some much needed girl time!

80% of Life

I bet you are probably wondering why I have a picture of this guy on my blog...well, I am a big Oprah fan. Watch it about everyday. This week there was one that really made me stop & reflect. They had a Carnegie Mellon professor on the show who is suffering from pancreatic cancer and basically has 3 months to live. Professors usually give a "Last Lecture" before they leave. He literally had to give his last lecture last month & now it is one of the most popular downloads on the Internet. He basically talks about all the important things in life: people not things, family, pursuing your dreams, etc. Sad to know he is pretty young and leaving behind a wife & 3 kids under the age of 5.

Anyway, a point he made that really hit me was his little theory on life. He sees life as being 10 percent white, 10 percent black and 80 percent gray. He said, "You can go through life and say, 'Gee, that 80 percent gray part, that's black, and life is a bad thing,'" he says. "Or you can say that 80 percent gray part's part of the white, and it's the goodness and the light. I want to view life that way. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. That 80 percent in the middle really can go either way, and if you decide you want to make it go good, not bad, you have a lot more power to make that happen than you might think." He said even though he is dying, he wants to look back at this time in his life and have it be happy. This really rang true to me because I look back on my life and it's true; there are some really good times and some really hard times, but most of it was how I wanted it to go. I like this theory because it places the power & decision with us, not our circumstances. I mean I don't think there could be any harder time in life than facing death and you wouldn't believe how composed and positive this guy was. But, like he said, he is making a choice to live life the way he wants. So, I like to think that with the 80% of my life that's gray, hopefully, I can turn most of it into the happy part of my life. I am going to try and create a link for anyone who wants to listen to his lecture: Watch Randy's famous "Last Lecture." Maybe it will work...

Tagged..

Jess tagged me awhile ago & I'm supposed to post 6 things that people wouldn't know about me. I really couldn't think of 6 interesting things, so I'm going to post 6 of my current favorite things.

1. Tivo. I think this has to be the best thing to happen to TV. I love to be able to come home from work & watch Oprah w/o commercials. Pretty great! It could also can be kind of a bad thing though b/c I end up justifying watching more shows b/c I'm saving time not watching commercials. Great justification. Anyway, I love it!

2. Piano. One of my highlights every week is on Wednesday when I get to go to my piano lesson. Jen Stagg's sister, Wendy, is my wonderful teacher. I always got out of going to piano lessons when I was growing up & now I regret it so much. So, I figured better late than never. I just started a couple of months ago. I am improving, but I think I'm still pretty bad. For example, one night when I was practicing at the church, I had a dad & his son wander into the room where I was playing and the dad said, "Oh, sorry, I thought there was a 5-year-old in here playing!!" Yeah, that really blew my self-esteem, but whatever I still love learning!

3. Haircut & color. I think only a woman can appreciate the feeling of a new haircut & color. For weeks I had seen my roots coming back in & I felt my hair always looked so bad. Finally, this week I got it done & I swear it is one of the best feelings to have it looking nice & fresh. Such a good feeling!

4. Less than 30-minute commutes. I really don't like the drive to & from work in traffic. It always takes so long & I get pretty impatient waiting. It is always bound to happen though b/c there is no easy way to get work w/o traffic (I try to avoid I-15). Anyway, I think 3 times this week I got to work in less than 30 minutes! This is pretty amazing b/c usually it takes me a lot longer! I love when I don't have to try & fight traffic. I was pretty happy when I had those easy drives!

5. Colbie Caillat. I just got her CD & I can listen to it non-stop. It puts me in a good mood. She reminds me of a girl-version of Jack Jackson. I like listening to "happy" music, so I really enjoy her.

6. Free fish burritos. Lone Star Taqueria is a wonderful little place in the Ft. Union area by my work. They have the best fish burritos! I mean I am not a big fish or burrito fan, but this burrito is so good, I think I could have it everyday. And, my boss likes it too, so if I pick it up, he buys...I got 2 free ones this past week! Yes!

Weekend at Sundance

This weekend we went up to Sundance for my brother, Tyler's B-day! My parent's friends have a beautiful cabin up there that they so generously lend to us. Phil and I went up after we were married. Anyway, it was really pretty with all the leaves changing color. Also, the fresh, clean air of the mountains! Ahh, I love that smell. Usually when my family gets together we are a loud, noisy bunch. However, I think this was the most quiet we have ever been around each other. One of my family's friend from Virginia was in town, Terryl Givens and him & his daughter came up to the cabin with us. He is a theological scholar, most known for writing "By the Hand of Mormon" and was recently on the PBS Documentary on Mormons. We would just ask him question after question. I couldn't believe the depth of knowledge he could effortlessly recall on every subject! It was amazing! I feel like such a baby in the things I know compared to him. I just know so little. It was a fun, enlightening trip!

Addiction

I think addiction is the best word to describe my obsession with the Twilight series!! I heard about the books from a lot of different people, then last week Jessica let me borrow her copy. Let's just say Phil didn't have a wife for all those days I was reading! Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I would stay up pretty much all night reading, think about it all day, read in my car at red lights, dream about it...I could not stop thinking about it!! But, now I'm finished and my life can start again, which is probably a good thing for my marriage. It stinks to have to wait a whole year for the 4th book to come out. Anyway, if you are reading this and by some small chance you haven't read these books...pick it up, read it, then call me because now my favorite thing to do is talk about the book since I'm not reading it!!!