Fluckiger's Come to Visit

I had dinner with the Fluckiger's and my parents tonight - my parents meeting my other mission parents. It was wonderful!! They are absolutely amazing and I just love them!

What can I say?

So today - well, first of all I did get up this morning at 5:30 and hit the gym, which was amazing and I felt great all day because of it - my stress levels were lower and I got two comments of "you look really nice today" which is always a wonderful thing. And while the morning began brilliantly...

Well, a four car pile up on the way to work, way behind at work - I need to buckle down, focus and get a lot done tomorrow - went to Provo for 24 night (after wading through ridiculous amounts of traffic due to a crazy wind storm), which turned into visiting teachers, home teachers, Allison make dinner for everyone night (which was probably the most hilarious part of the evening - First I was late. Second Costco didn't have stir fry vegetables. and Third I cooked what I thought was brown rice, but was actually red wheat), and then drove home and raced an old, small black truck - it was dark and I couldn't make out the actual make and model of the car, but I could have sworn there was a wheel chair in the back...go figure! Believe it or not he actually gave me a run for my money, at least he made it interesting.

And with all of that honestly I feel fabulous. It could not have been a better day - there is something about going to the gym and reading your scriptures (okay, its probably more this one) that just makes everything okay!

Back on a Schedule

Well, I was very grateful for my trip to Nauvoo. I was able to get energized and focused on those things that are really important and got motivation to do it!

So today, well I spent the last hour going over everything that I need to do this week - a little planning session. I needed it! It sounds silly, but I really need to do a little of it every day. Just like the mission plan for the week and then review every day to make sure I am getting everything done that I need to, yes I may be obsessive compulsive, but I am going to get things done.

So, given the fact that I have been up since 4:00am this morning, I will now be going to bed as I am fixin to get up at 5:00am and hit the gym before we have family scripture study.

Health Care Bill

I have been as confused as anyone as to what this bill actually does and when. This link came across in a tweet today, and I thought it gave a great timeline and overview of what exactly the bill does.

Health Care Timeline

The Weekend

Well, we made it to the weekend! I can hardly believe it! Although weekends can be difficult when you are babysitting because there is not a lot of structure which means the house can become a disaster area and the kids can get rambunctious, but thanks to my friend Meredith we all left after Friday night and went to Midway! She was also babysitting her cousins for the weekend, and so she invited me and the and the little ones up!

It was perfect! For one it meant that the kids had something to do and someone to play with all weekend, I could take a break because when kids are together they take care of themselves, and the house stayed clean! We had tons of fun - played lots of Beatles RockBand and got to do a little shopping around Midway. Not to mention the amazing weather! Had it been the same as yesterday with random snow storm every hour or so it may not have been as enjoyable!

Well, Mom and Dad come home tomorrow. I am very excited for them to come home, definitely less stress for me, but I am also going to miss spending so much time with Matthew, Whitney and Blake. Being the oldest I really haven't been around as they have grown up and it has been so nice to really get to know them and hang out. We will have to plan some one on one time before they move to Detroit.

Day 4 and three Zip Fizzs later

Well, after a celebration last night, lets just say morning came much too early, although the sun slept in. This whole daylight savings thing is awesome for the evenings, but the mornings... they're killing me. And in my room, which is affectionately and more commonly known around my home as 'the cave', doesn't help the situation.

As if my parents didn't already think my job was cushy, today I came in went through my emails, which have gotten backed up this week, and then everyone pulled up their chairs in front of the TV and we all proceeded to watch the BYU basketball game. All the boys, they even went to the burping extent... not something I ever expected to see at the office. I left shortly after BYU won in double overtime (woot! woot!) to go to the post office for a bulk mail training. There were four of us in the meeting, so we introduced ourselves and the companies/organizations we were with, the first lady says her name and then says, "I am with the Weber County Democrat Party". You should have seen the look she gave me when I said I was with the Sutherland Institute - as an old companion of mine said, "good thing you have a gun".

Came home tonight, ready for well another night and I find myself sitting, watching American Idol by myself - Whitney is at Willey Wonka, Blake is at hockey practice, and Matthew is ice skating. Wow, I now know why my Mom loves it when everyone is gone, she can finally relax. Noted I have to leave in 3 minutes to get Blake, but the last 30 minutes is exactly what I needed!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It is officially two years today that I arrived in Texas - what some consider officially starting the mission. It is amazing how time flies!

So, other than the traditional corned beef and cabbage - Meredith and I had to do a little more celebrating... so naturally, just at the Pottorff's taught us we brought out the pizza and beer! And of course I had to wear THE shirt. We came up with a list, A - Z of all the things we did today that we could not do the last two St. Patrick's Day. I will just name a few...



A. Staying out past 9:00 pm
B. Staying up past 10:30 pm
C. Going shopping whenever I need, even twice in one day
M. Drive a mini cooper
P. Listen to loud music

and drum roll please...

Z. sleeping in separate bedrooms!

It really is all about the little things!

Other than the celebration motherly duties do not take a day off - which I have grown a greater appreciation for my mother, and all mothers. Got home, finished dinner, washed the car, picked up Matthew from a party, dropped off his friend, got home ate dinner, finished dishes, then to Blake's All-Star Hockey game. Yes, we did get ice cream, is was waffle bowl Wednesday at Sub-Zero I couldn't help myself! Got home at 10 pm... the morning is going to be rough

Day 2 - Complete Exhaustion

I can't believe it is only say two! After school and work, I got home - got Matthew from scouts, went to Five Guys for dinner, haircut for Blake - long overdue - then to a choir/orchestra concert for Whitney, then Nielssen's frozen custard, okay that wasn't exhausting, although deserved. All that we didn't get home till nearly 9, so we did some scripture reading and off to bed. I fell asleep while Matthew was reading to me, and then couldn't fall asleep till midnight!

As we were driving home I had the distinct thought, "thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!" Ya, it is definitely only Tuesday... I sure hope I am going to make it!

Day 1 - Tired, but running smoothly

Well, day one began at 4:45 this morning. I got up did two loads of laundry, 40 minutes on the bike, family scripture study, breakfast, lunches, off to school, personal scripture study and off to work. Had lunch with Scotty and Michaela as they are off to bigger and better things in Virginia, input survey data at work, off at 4:00 pm, ran to Great Harvest and Costco to get food for the week, got home made dinner, got Blake off to Hockey, took a 15 minutes power nap and I just finished grading Matt's homework.

FHE: clean Mom's car, read scriptures.

The kids have been amazing! I forget how old they are sometimes, they really take care of themselves quite well, noted if I didn't push the homework and chores I am not sure that they would get done, but they are good about doing it with a little encouragement. I am so grateful my parents have done such a good job raising us!

"Single Mom of Three"

Well, so the chaos begins - my parents left this morning for a cruise, Mexican Riviera with the extended family, and suddenly I find myself with 3 children and a full time job. I honestly don't know how single Moms do it! It should be an adventure - and it will begin around 5:00 am tomorrow morning, as I will need to go to the gym before the kids get up at 6:30 am. It is going to be an exhausting week!

Thankfully Sunday has been quite nice. All the kids have been cooperative and quite pleasant. I even got good nap in and talked with Sis. Blickfeldt! It is so crazy that she is home! Cleaned up dinner, read scriptures, family prayer, read with Matthew, put him to bed, Whitney is making lunches for tomorrow, and I am off to bed!

Utah Junior Miss

This is probably the least likely thing you ever expected to see on my blog... well, knock it up to a cultural experience. Meredith's cousin was in it, and so somehow I got 'dragged' into it. Okay, so I wasn't totally dragged and I definitely didn't have to go, but there was nothing else to do. PLus I was already in Draper - went to the temple and shopping. I love TJMaxx.

Anyway, so this pageant thing - I mean scholarship program. It was pretty amusing. It is a world I know very, very little about. And it is just kind of cheesy. Noted there were some girls that did have incredible talents which were very impressive. And nobody said they wanted world peace, there were some tears, and generally a lot of estrogen in the room. Other than the judges taking FOR-EV-ER, Meredith and I had great enjoyment mocking.

Sister Keys!

Well, last night after having brilliant plans for two weeks everything fell through, naturally. That is usually what happens when you have plans that have been planned for weeks, but it all worked out better in the end as I was able to see Sis. Keys! (or Jeanne - it really is had to call people by their first names after the mission.

Well, i can't say I was super exciting as we just sent to dinner and then really didn't do too much - we watched UP as I told her it was the greatest movie ever - I still love it and it still makes me cry.

We talked a lot - I forgot how hard it was to come home. It is one of the most difficult things ever. I don't know if I can explain it exactly but, essentially your pre-mission life and post-mission life collide and you are stuck in the middle. You want to move forward, but everything from the past is being brought back. And the hardest part is the short period you were on the mission, nobody really understands that. And as a result you bury it, not in a bad way like you bury it and forget it. You simply bury it because it is deeply personal, and there is no one else that can really understand it, even return missionaries, while they understand much more than non return missionaries, each mission is very personal and at that level nobody can understand. And so you turn to God and realize what a blessed experience and opportunity He gave you. There is no doubt the mission will effect you for the rest of your life.

The Final Night

Well, the legislature has officially ended, with a bombshell.

As sick as it may sound to some I simply enjoy being up at the capitol with whomever else has stuck it out over the last 45 days to see the end. The Legislators are typically relieved and many jokes and pranks then ensue just after midnight. Plus being around people who are completely exhausted by this point, and the intern hook-ups are always entertaining to watch.

Well, after several hours of enjoying the intern hook ups and other such nonsense the Senate closed and the Governor with his entire entourage came to speak - it is all very silly to me. Why in the world he has to come parading up the stairs with his entire staff and give some nonsense speech is beyond me, but whatever at least it provides some good entertainment!

After talking with the Senate, he then came to the House. We stood outside, not hearing much of anything that was happening. Next thing we see is lots of tears and hugs. We were all clearly confused by what was going on.

Well, as many of you know now Rep. Kevin Garn admitted to an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Talk about a bombshell. This session was perfectly, neatly book-ended by scandals from both majority leaders in the Senate and House.

Having personally known both Rep. Garn and Sen. Killpack I have learned one thing from all of this - anyone, absolutely anyone can fall away from the church and the gospel. It is unlikely that these incidences just happened, or occurred without previous steps in that direction. If you want to make it to the end you must endure. It all starts with the little things - not reading, not praying... until...

"Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end, behold thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

One of THOSE Days

Have you ever had that moment when you get an email or a phone call with some news and you're just confused, you can't figure out how it happened, or what the person was thinking. Well, I had one of those today. I was having a fabulous day - stuffed 350 mailers in the morning, did a few things at the office and then went up to the capitol for several hours, got some soft commitments for money after the session, got into the 'den of iniquity' more formally known as the lobbyist lounge, and visited with some friends. Overall a fabulous day... but part way through I got an email, and I am still mulling over it.

What were they thinking! Politics is incestuous, everyone knows that - but really can't we be somewhat ethical, at least logical!

No, this will not turn me away from politics, and yes, I still love it! Tomorrow is the last day of the session, I will most definitely be there!

Only 2 Days To Go

Went up to the capitol today. It is officially the last week of the session, Thursday at midnight they will put us all out of our misery! Well, frankly I have not had a crazy session as those before the mission. Which I am thankful for in many ways although the 20lb weight loss is kind of nice, and I do enjoy the business of it all! So I reckon I will be spending quite a bit of time up there these next couple of days, well next two days. I figure I can be a smiling face when all their bills hit the fan, that's when it really gets fun! And hopefully I can get a free meal out of it too!

Back to Normal

Well, I am doing much better this week! I got up this morning - I read my scriptures and left for work on time! Had lunch with my Mom, which was wonderful and delicious, and hit the gym after work. I feel so much better! It is like night and day to last week. And I am blogging again! So, all is well.

The best part of the evening was with the missionaries. We recently had a youth baptized in our ward, and so we had the first on the new member discussion at our house this evening. There was such an incredible spirit there. I miss that. I miss being able to feel that everyday. It is so wonderful to have the missionaries in your home to teach, I reckon I better start looking for people they can teach then they will have to come to the house...

Testimonies, Fainting, and Blessings

What a day! Fast Sunday is always wonderful, but today's was more eventful than most.

Let's start with Church - only girls bore their testimonies, and with five minutes left in the meeting the Bishop stood up and asked that 10 brethren would bear a short 1 minute testimony. Then as we are singing the closing song, the chorister is looking like she tripped and is trying to gain her balance, and then suddenly falls over. The Bishop then stand up and tell us all not to worry, as she has heart problems, and this is a frequent occurrence, and she will be fine. We then had a closing prayer.

I then was blessed to spend the afternoon with Ashley. Since she has been engaged I have not been able to spend a lot if any time with her. Which I recognize is normal, but I still miss her. We then drove back home for Stone's baby blessing.

What a dream! Bart, how amazing it is to see people return back to the church, to accept everything and live in accordance with the gospel! They are so happy! So, it was an incredible blessing to see Bart give Stone a name and a blessing. it was short and simple, but powerful. There is not doubt he will be a strong son of our Heavenly Father.

Hitting the Bottom

Well, I moved home a week ago. Let's just say its been a rough week. I love home, but I do not function very well here. To me home is a place where I can relax and enjoy myself - I don't have to get up at a certain time I can watch TV, play with the family or whatever. So this week what did I do - well, lets start with the list of didn't do's first.

I did not...
1. read my scriptures
2. go to bed at a decent hour
3. go to the temple
4. go to the gym
5. unpack
6. or do my laundry

I did however...
1. sleep in 2 or 3 hours
2. watch Americn Idol
3. eat chocolate ice cream with all the fixings every night
4. spend mindless hours on facebook
5. went to lunch with Shay
6. and got my hair cut

So, goal for next week - be productive, please.

Dance All Night

Well, I have not been dancing since I got home form my mission, which is quite sad really. But Meredith, or more commonly known to some Sis. Walch, loves to go dancing as well, so we hit the town with another old sister missionary, Eileen Hokansen. We had tons of fun! Only in Salt Lake can you find a dry dance club, Studio 600. I always find people fascinating to watch at these types of venues - they're just well... they experience de-individuation (a psychiligy term used for why people do stupid things in big crowds that they would not normally due, given the fact that there are a lot of people doing the same stupid things, so who cares, essentially. I reckon if a psychologist read this he would not like my definition).

Meredith (my MTC companion), Eileen (an honorary mission companion), and me!

There is not much to say here - we just love Meredith!

Much too long...

Well, it has been far too long since I have written! I feel completely pathetic. You know when you stop doing something, with the excuse of I'll catch up tomorrow and then the next day you say the same thing... and so the pattern goes, and then it gets to a point where you don't even want to try to catch up. Well, today is the day I put that all to rest! Finally - it only took a month. And next week I will put my lazy have not been to the gym in 3 weeks butt back to the gym!

So much has happened and at the same time nothing has happened... probably the biggest change is that I moved back home - almost a week now. It is overall good, although I miss my social life! So, it looks like I will have to find something here, hopefully institute classes at the U of U will help.

I do have lots of pictures - so I will post those soon, and they should give a good review of the last month! I will be back to my everyday posts tomorrow!