VACA 2006, Round 2

We had yet another successful round of VACA 2006. This time we became a little more well acquainted with the central most point of downtown SLC. Some of my favorite highlights were: oatmeal-flavored taffy, our personal belhop, gleaning good luck from the wedding tree, X20, the elevator situation, the missing recommend, hidden pathways, extra lemony lemonade, 'Are you alone?', and nudging.

I'm a superstar

So we had our ward Christmas party last weekend, and we had a white elephant gift exchange. I thought it would be hilarious to bring this T-shirt I got at work that says, 'I'm a scrapbooking superstar!' It was from our big Scrapbooker of the Year contest. Anyway, I was so hoping that someone with a sense of humor would get it....and seriously I couldn't have asked for a better recipient than Garrett. He opened it up, took one look at it, and exclaimed in delight...YESSSS! He then proceeded to put it on and wear it for the rest of the night. It was perfect.

This weekend, we went to the Texas Roadhouse for Scott and Laurie's birthdays. They have one of the best restaurant birthday celebrations I've ever witnessed. When we told our waiter that we had some birthdays, he wheeled out this giant horse saddle mounted on this wooden rolly thing, and made them sit in the saddle while the whole place gave them a big Yee-haw! It was fabulous.

P.S. I have officially dropped out of "the club". Those who need to know will understand what that means.

P.P.S. Today I received one of the best compliments ever that totally made my day. Someone called me an "elf at heart". I love it! She was talking about it in reference to this contest I'm running on my website at work where people tell us their Christmas "wishlist" of scrapbooking supplies. Then I pick a winner and grant them their wish. Fun! I love trying to make other people happy and doing festive little behind-the-scenes things, so if that makes me an elf, just give me some pointy little shoes and call me Trixy.

2006 in review

Here is my annual Christmas newsletter. 2006 has been quite an interesting year for me. A lot of cool stuff has happened, and I've had a lot of cool opportunities, but it has also been a tough one for me. I'm grateful for all the opportunities in my life--both the hard and sometimes not-so-enjoyable ones, as well as the happy and exciting ones. They all make me who I am, and help me to see who I can become.

Still have some work to do

Your Travel Profile:

You Are Extremely Well Traveled in New Zealand (100%) You Are Very Well Traveled in the Western United States (63%) You Are Well Traveled in the Southern United States (54%) You Are Well Traveled in the Northeastern United States (43%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Australia (25%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in Canada (20%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in Latin America (13%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in Southern Europe (13%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in Western Europe (7%) You Are Untraveled in Africa (0%) You Are Untraveled in Asia (0%) You Are Untraveled in Eastern Europe (0%) You Are Untraveled in Scandinavia (0%) You Are Untraveled in the Middle East (0%) You Are Untraveled in the Midwestern United States (0%) You Are Untraveled in the United Kingdom (0%)

How Well Traveled Are You?

This is no surprise, but I've still got a lot of work to do!

Tis the season

Here are some pictures of the annual singles ward outing to Temple Square. It's one of my very favorite holiday traditions. When I was in Argentina, everyone told me I had to go and enjoy it every single year since they would never be able to. I feel so blessed to live so close to church headquarters. It really does provide a lot of blessings that I take for granted. My friends in Argentina would give anything to come and experience Temple Square first-hand. It reminds me of when my friend Nicole from Hawaii came to Utah for the first time. I took her to Temple Square, and she took one step inside the gates, looked around in amazement, and the Spirit just hit her, and she said 'The church is true'.

Yes, it is and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.


This is one of the ornaments we made at work to decorate our office Christmas tree. Every year during the first week of December, we do the '5 Days of Christmas' at work, where we do festive and creative things like make ornaments and Christmas cards. (We gotta use up all the free paper they keep sending us! :)

Thief!

So yesterday I discovered that someone had broken into my dad's truck that I've been driving while my car was in the shop. They stole the stereo. The truck was just sitting in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Stupid thieves. So now not only did I have to pay $800 to fix my own car, I have to buy a new stereo for my dad's truck. At least it wasn't a very nice stereo.

Other than that incident, I am very happy in my new place. Loving it. That's all. Have a nice day.

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling...

Happy December everyone! I just love Christmastime. Even though I hate the freezing cold, it's one of my favorite times of year. I love all the fun traditions...some of my favorites are:

-Going and seeing the lights at Temple Square
-Getting and decorating a Christmas tree
-Ice skating at Gallivan Plaza
-Making gingerbread houses and Christmas cookies
-Curling up in a cozy blanket and watching some Christmas classics like It's a Wonderful Life
-Walking in the falling snow
-Playing Risk with my bros and sisters on Christmas Eve
-Going to Granny's on Christmas with all the cousins
-Dad's tortilla Christmas morning breakfast
-Going to Christmas concerts and listening to Christmas music
-Playing in the snow
-Sitting by the fire with a yummy cup of hot chocolate or herbal tea
-Finding the perfect gifts for all my loved ones
-Driving around and looking at all the Christmas lights

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

Speaking of Christmas music, what are your favorite Christmas songs? I love them all, but some of my favs are:

-Sleigh Ride
-O Holy Night
-What Child Is This
-Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
-Away in a Manger
-Winter Wonderland