Thanks be to the Indy Lady!

My brilliant plan is beginning to unfold. Even my mother (Hi, Mom!) didn't know of this plan in all of it's exactness and genius. And I have Casey to thank. I am currently compiling a blog post to detail the awesomeness of my amazing intellect. Stay tuned...

CSI: Birdland

On the next episode of CSI: Birdland...

Who was the cause of this atrocious deed? An angry acquaintance? A jealous boyfriend? Find out the story behind the sadness on the next episode of CSI: Birdland. Wednesdays at 8 p.m. CST on BVN (Bird View Network).

CrAZy DrEAmS

I know, I know. Probably the last thing you want is to log on and read about the weird dreams I've been having. BUT, when there's not much else going on, these dreams become the excitement in my reality. So, here goes.

Dream #1
Mark goes out of town on a business trip, and I fall for Kramer... from Seinfeld. This guy:

I woke up feeling guilty and really sad. Wouldn't you feel sad if you gave up my handsome fella for this guy?

Dream #2
Ok, now it's a war zone. Pretty much everybody in the world hates each other and we're in the middle of WWIII. Nuclear bombs are going off everywhere around me. Luckily, I can run really fast, and they're far enough away that they don't kill me, only knock me down. Then I see one headed right for me. I thought I could outrun it. I run so fast. But not far enough. Suddenly I'm a spirit, and I'm trying to convince some live girl to let me take over her body so I can talk to Mark. Then I woke up.

Dream #3
I helped some lady come up with the idea to put on a show - Hairspray (the musical). Except that this rendition of hairspray wasn't anything like the Broadway version. I think we only called it that so that people would come see it. It was very poorly done, and our actors were horrible. I think I snuck in and said a line somewhere in the middle of the play. My line was supposed to be funny (it was hilarious to me) but none of the audience laughed. I felt dumb and got off the stage. If I remember right, the play was about politics, and was trying to make a point/send a message. Funny thing is that in real life, I don't care much for politics and definitely wouldn't want to embarrass myself on stage just to make a point.

So, there you have it. This week's dreams in a nutshell. I hope you've been entertained! :)

Stake Conference Cuties

Today we went to stake conference in our new stake. The messages were great, but I just have to tell you about the kids sitting in front of us.

One of the little girls was drawing on a piece of paper. Turns out she was drawing the stone tablets with the 10 commandments. How cute is that?! Then, she turned the paper over and started writing... F A... "Mom, I'm trying to spell 'faith'. What comes next?" I T H. Under that, she wrote GOD LOVES ME. Under that it was I BLE... "Mom, how do you spell 'believe'?" ...I BELIEVE IN GOD. Finally, she wrote I LOVE GOD. This mother must be doing something right with her children. Also, I should mention that this little girl was drawing and writing with no prompting from anyone else - this was all her.

Her brother was also pretty cool. He first drew a picture of Jesus. Then the Albuquerque temple. Then Angel Moroni. Seriously? What did this mother do to teach her children to do these things for fun?!

Amazing. I hope my kids are awesome like that.

P.S. For anyone reading this who may not be LDS (aka Mormon): stake conference is a meeting when several wards (bodies of saints) get together and have church meetings. More info at www.lds.org :)

Dear Diary

I just got off the phone with my sister. It's been a while since we had a good, long talk about whatever. I love talking with her, because we always end up talking about members of our family and how much we love them. Specifically, we were talking about cousins who we helped raise. There's a special place in my heart for my younger cousins who look up to me. Just a few weeks ago, Mark and I stopped by my family reunion on the way to move to Albuquerque. When we got there, a couple of my cousins ambushed me (the sweet little things). They had felt bad that I couldn't stay and participate in the crafts, so they made some crafts for me. My sister was telling me about when they decided to make them. They heard I would be stopping by, and asked my sister what my favorite colors were so they could make something that I would love. What angels!!! I am just overcome with feelings of love and gratitude for the TRULY AMAZING family I was born into. I have THE BEST parents and siblings in the world. I have the MOST AWESOME aunts and uncles that anyone could ever have, and I was blessed with a lot of them! I have so many special cousins, both older and younger than me. And my in-laws are just as amazing! I wish you all had been born into my family so you could know what it is to be truly blessed.

I want to keep rambling on about how much I love my family, but I'm afraid that my language is not eloquent enough to express what I'm feeling, so I would just bore you all to death.

Thank you, Sister, for reminding me of how amazing our family is!

Albuquerque So Far

Well, my friends, my mom finally talked me into it. I always said that, "when I get to Albuquerque I'll blog more". I've made myself a liar so far, and my mother is trying to correct my evil ways. :)

Mark is enjoying his job so far. He doesn't have his security clearance yet (and probably won't for a couple more months) which means he can't really work on what he wants to work on. He's doing training and stuff, though, so that keeps him busy. By the end of this month, he will have taken 3 trips for conferences and classes. He's been to Austin and Denver, and has yet to go to Chicago.

I still don't have a job (I wish I did, but finding a job as a statistician isn't as easy as it sounds), which means that I am a stay at home wife, with no children to take care of. How do I keep busy, you ask? Well, for starters, I made some friends in our church ward who are also stay at home wives with no children. We get together every couple of days (including today, in about 5 minutes!) and figure out ways to entertain ourselves. Once a week there's a playgroup at the park for the mom's with kids, and we go crash the party. When I'm by myself, I read, practice instruments, watch tv, play computer games, play video games, go grocery shopping, clean the (small) apartment, and shop online for big ticket items that we can't yet afford. Yes, I am living the dream. I sometimes complain about how bored I get, but that's my own fault. As you can see, there's plenty to do.

Currently I am trying to learn tennis. Mark was on the tennis team in high school, so he's really good. He doesn't think it's fun to play with me (yet) because I'm really not very good. So, if you come to visit, feel free to challenge me to a tennis match! By the time you get here, I might be able to return a serve :)

Right now I'm going to set a goal: I'm going to blog AT LEAST three times a week. That means that ya'll will have to check back more and more often. It may encourage me if you left a comment so that I know you're reading.

Love and miss you, UTAH!!! (and all the people in it and wherever else you are)