SO GOOD! SO GOOD!! SO GOOD!!!

The night that we've been waiting for...

Could I be any more excited?!

He did not disappoint...

This 67 year old heart-throb had me giddy as a school girl!

I can't wait until he's back in town!


Thanks again for a great night CJ! I love you!

ARGHHHH!

Oh man... I have actually have access to a working computer this afternoon and I can't get stupid blogger to upload any pics!

So... some updates with pics to look forward to...

• Grandma's Cookie Bake Christmas Party with all my nieces and nephews.
• Benihana Christmas Party.
• Kitchen countertops and most of the appliances now functioning!
• NEIL DIAMOND CONCERT that I have been anxiously awaiting! Its TONIGHT!

For now... I'll just share my wish that I sure hope Santa brings the J's a new computer this year!

Christmas Traditions

Okay, being that we still don't have a functioning computer at home... I am just about the last to blog about this, but I wanted to document it anyway. If you'd like, you can read more about this amazing and treasured holiday tradition here, here, here, here and here!

These are my lovely and amazing friends from high school and this is our amazing, ridiculously fun, always entertaining, laugh out loud funny, "how did we ever get so lucky" annual Christmas party. We started going up to Sari's cabin when we were sophmores in high school to sleepover and exchange Christmas gifts and the tradition stuck. Now, as we are all older and busy with our own lives, it is the party that we all look forward to with much anticipation each year. It is amazing to come together and know that you are surrounded by true friends who know you, love you and support you in spite of (and sometimes because of) all the dumb things you've done in your life. Although we're all in different places in our lives and have different social, political and religious outlooks and views, we all genuinely really LOVE to be together and have so much fun acting like school girls again. We eat, exchange gifts, talk, laugh, reminisce and stay up until the wee hours of the morning. (I'm pretty sure Jill and I saw daylight before we finally dozed off)

I always leave feeling so very lucky and blessed . I really, really love these women and the examples that they have been in my life!

The annual group photos are always one of the most entertaining parts of the evening.



Then it's just time to hang out...




Beckie, Miss and I




Sari...modeling her super cute new hat and scarf.


The annual 'Pregnant Girl" Picture.
There were 4 this year - Jill, MaryJane, Melissa & Rachel!
Someday, I hope to be able to make it into this freaking picture...
...someday. *sigh*


Ahhh...this is the life! This is really what we do best...lounge, eat, laugh and enjoy!


This is the insanely adorable and whimsical snowman that I got to take home with me (among other treasures)- Thanks Shan! I LOVE him!

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And for good measure and fun... just a little reminder of what we all looked like around the time we started this fun tradition! Oh, how far we have come!

Holly and Sandy--- we missed you this year!

XOXOX

update 101

sorry, no pictures. computer is broken. need a new one.

a sampling of the highlights of the last 2 weeks:

Family Pictures with the whole Nelson clan. that's a lot of people.
Jazz game with the Mister. love him.
Long awaited dinner with the Sherry's. always so fun.
Wedding #1 - Lindsey & Brandon. so cute together.
Niece Ashley's Birthday Party. all about princesses.
Twighlight Midnight Movie with my favorites. loved it. love them.
Wedding #2 - Brooke and Steve. beautiful night. beautiful couple.
Slumber Party @ Hotel Monaco. last night of eternity being a single girl for my aimo. love her. miss her like crazy.
Wedding #3 festivities - Amy & Mike. a-m-a-z-i-n-g! thanks mike for making her so so happy. she is so lucky and you are even luckier.
Finally a day of rest.
Decorating for the holidays. love having a new house.
The first (but not last) limited edition peppermint ice cream of the season. yum.
Seeing Twilight AGAIN with all the YW and teenage girls I know. so fun. loved it even more the 2nd time.
Thanksgiving. one of my favorite holidays of the year.
Sleepover with Mom. always a delight.
Black Friday shopping with all my best girls. fun tradition that I look forward to every year.
Another very needed day of rest.

looking forward to:

Friends Christmas Party/Sleepover with all my besties. love this tradition.
Christmas lights at Temple Square. wouldn't be the holiday season without them.
More Christmas lights with extended family.
Neil Diamond.
More peppermint ice cream.
Maybe seeing Twilight, yet AGAIN.

hopefully pictures and better updates to come shortly. stupid computer.

and the FORTUNE COOKIE says...

I just hope they are good changes.

No Tomorrow...

It has been 10 years since my beautiful Grandma Leah passed away. As this anniversary has approached, I have found myself thinking of her a lot and all the things that she taught me. I have so many amazing memories of her that I will always cherish. I loved being with her. Sleepovers at Grandma's with my cousins were the best! We would make sugar cookies and she would cut out our hand prints in cookie dough for us to bake and decorate. Sometimes we would make popcorn balls, but no matter what...we would always make a mess. Grandma would always let us play dress up and wear her nightgowns, fur coats, jewelry, purses and heels and we would pretend that we were princesses, because that's the way she made us feel. She LOVED to travel and she had this incredible guest room with a huge hawaiian beach mural on it. We all loved the "Hawaii Room" because spending time at her house really was like a vacation. She would tuck us in at night and tell us stories and sing songs until we fell asleep. She had a beautiful voice and she knew the funniest, clever old folk songs that we all loved. I have an old cassette tape of her singing all of my old favorites and I still throw it in every now and then and think about her and her amazing influence on my life. She was so beautiful, I never remember a time that her finger nails and toe nails were not perfectly polished. And she almost always wore pearls and heels. If she wasn't in heels she would be in bright, fun keds that would perfectly coordinate and match her outfit. She always wore bright lipstick and I never remember her not smiling. She was the kindest and happiest person I have ever known. She was the only person in my entire life that ever called me Kimberly (not even my parents) and she always called me Kimberly, never Kim. Still to this day, I don't like anyone else to call me by my full name...I get a little sad. I kind-of feel like it was her special thing and no one else is quite good enough to call me that. Wow, do I miss her. I have always prayed that I would someday have a daughter that I could name after my beautiful and beloved grandma. It continues to be my prayer, today.

4 generations...

Me, Mom, Grandma and Great Grandma Martha- not too long before she passed away at age 96.

My cousins Alicia, Wade and I, playing dress-ups on the beach at Grandma's house. Oh my goodness...what wonderful, happy childhood memories those are.

Of all of the things that I learned from my grandma... her love of life, her kindness and service continues to be what I cherish the most. I remember many times going out to her garden and helping her pick some of her beautiful roses or dahlias and then heading to a nearby nursing home and asking if there was anyone who was lonley or could use a visit. She was always serving others, only it didn't feel like service because it was just who she was. She was visiting others, delivering treats and brightening lives until the very day she died.

Today, I feel incredibly

thankful

for her love and legacy and for the example that she has left for me.

Grandma also wrote beautiful poetry and as I was going through some stuff recently, I came across one of her books of poetry and found one of my favorite poems that she ever wrote. It perfectly captures who she was and the things that were important to her, the only difference is that she DID do these things, all of them... regularly. This poem reminds me of all she taught me and continues to teach me and wow, do I have a long way to go.

I love you, Grandma!

NO TOMORROW

I promised myself I’d begin anew,
By doing the things I had neglected to do.
I’d mail the cards I had meant to send,
To the sick and the lonely, the forgotten friend.
To the one pressed with sorrow,
I’d visit tomorrow.
I’d speak kind words, I’d take his hand.
I’d let him know I understand.

My crippled friend was lonely and sad.
I’d pay her a visit and make her heart glad.
The boy overseas was depressed and alone;
He longed for a letter from folks back home.
I loved my mother, I was sure she must know;
But just to make certain, I’d tell her so.

My thoughts were noble; my intentions were good.
I really meant to do as I should.
But the days passed by like a swift moving stream,
And lost in the current were my aims and dreams.
When I hadn’t kept faith, excuses I’d borrow.
I kept telling myself I’d do it tomorrow.

Then one day, as I paused to regret.
I received a call I shall never forget.
The words that were spoken were harsh, but clear.
My crippled friend was no longer here.

What remorse filled my heart; I had sealed my own fate.
I had waited too long; it was now too late.
What help does it give the heart that is broken,
If the words that could heal were never spoken?
Maybe the card I didn’t send could have brightened
the life of my crippled friend.

Will you be found guilty, will you be to blame,
For that longed for letter that never came?
You can dream of your deeds and the good they will do:
But they’ll remain only dreams if they are not carried through.
A good thought without action, no pleasure brings.
It stands without motion, like a bird without wings.

In this world of ours, it is plain to see,
Time will not wait for laggers like me.
As I reflect in sadness, my heart seems to say,
There is no tomorrow, there’s only TODAY.

~Leah Pyne Rowley Meldrum~

one of those months...

{OH MY GOODNESS}

Here's a sampling of things already filling the November calendar...

and we aren't even a week into it yet!

However... keeping with my "November Thankful Theme"

*

I am very thankful for friends and loved ones' upcoming occasions and the opportunity to celebrate

GREAT and happy things!

tHaNkFuL

It's the perfect early November day and I am
feeling a little

INTROSPECTIVE

ˌ{in-trə-ˈspek-tiv}: a reflective looking inward : an examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

and also very...

today.

I hope I can remember to stop and feel this way, not just during this month of gratitude, but throughout the year!

Just a few of the many things I am thankful for: down comforters, hot chocolate, democracy, giant snowflakes outside my window, clean sheets, phone calls from loved ones, leftover Halloween candy, fluffly slippers, steam cleaners, diet coke, warm towels, good neighbors, the mister, my health, funny emails, my friends, pictures of my nieces and nephews that always make me smile, fall sweaters and boots, my parents, half eaten tub of cookie dough in my fridge that I bought from my nieces school fundraiser, good books, pretty packages with beautiful ribbon, quiet and solitude, crossing things off my to-do list, the soft lighting of lamps on during a gray & gloomy day, fresh smelling laundry, my "i voted" sticker, leisure suits, my sisters, days off from "work" work, the crackling of the leaves beneath my feet when I walk outside, the extra hour of sleep this week and mostly just having another day to face the battles.

{Happy} November...

be GREAT & be thankful

Friday Funny

a little holiday humor for this political season...

*hApPy HaLLoWeEn*

I wonder...

I wonder how much longer dinner will look like this?

or this?

I wonder how many more nights Chris will eat Trix in a styrofoam bowl for dinner, while sitting on the floor?

(Sorry about the blur...not sure if its me, or my camera)

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I wonder if I will even remember what to do in the kitchen?

Is it like riding a bike? Will it come back to me?

Will I enjoy it even more after going without for so long?

So many wondering questions.

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In the meantime...

I am thankful for amazing neighbors who bring us warm, pumpkin chocolate chip bread to remind us of all we're missing out on.

...if we could just get them to us some bring proteins and veggies,

we'd never have to finish our kitchen!

Hah!

TAKE THE TIME...

I have read several blog posts about this kind of thing lately, but I think it bears repeating...

HUG YOUR LOVED ONES...

TELL THEM THAT YOU LOVE THEM...

...EVERY SINGLE DAY!

I recieved a heartbreaking call yesterday afternoon that a friend and co-worker of mine and her husband were involved in a terrible car accident on Saturday night. He did not survive. They have been married less than a year, just purchased a new home and were expecting their first baby. It is so devastating and my heart breaks for her. I saw her on Saturday and we talked about our husbands, how she was feeling with pregnancy and our "Saturday Night" plans. Just over 3 hours laters...her world was turned upside down, in ways that I cannot imagine. It is so tragic. This is just one of many things these last few weeks that have reminded me how fragile life is. Never take one single minute for granted. And please... Slow Down and Wear Your Seatbelt!

Just what I needed...

It's been one of those weeks.! {period, exclamation point}

...so, imagine my delight to open my front door this morning to 3 people I love standing there with this:

and this:

Thank You!

I needed this little "pick me up"...

I love you!

It's a date! Me, The Mister and Neil

Saturday morning found the Mister and I out running errands bright and early, making final selections for our still not finished kitchen. As we were on our way back from the west side, enjoying the drizzly weather and just being together, CJ starts mumbling/humming what sounds a little bit like Sweet Caroline, but the words are all wrong. He does this sort of thing often... usually he doesn't actually know the words to the songs he sings... he just makes them us as he goes.

"WHAT!?!" I yell, clearly annoyed..."HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THE WORDS TO SWEET CAROLINE?!?IT'S ONLY THE BEST KARAOKE/SING ALOUD SONG EVER WRITTEN!?!"

My frustation, embarrassment and disappointment was hard to contain. I scrambled quickly with my IPOD to see if I had any Neil Diamond that I may have downloaded at some point for a "mixed tape" and there it was... we blasted Sweet Caroline as loud of the stereo would play. I tried to help him with the words... I needed to ensure that this kind of embarrassing exchange never happened again. So there we were, driving across town in the rain, singing at the top of our lungs... (neither of us any good, mind you) and CJ still making up words as he pleased. We sang and laughed hysterically as I teased and made fun of him for not knowing the words and he teased and made fun of me right back FOR knowing all the words. As we drove, I couldn't help but to think of how much I loved this guy!

End of Story, right?

Wrong!

Last night, as I was getting into bed, I pulled the shams and decorative pillows off the bed (see previous post) and there was a piece of paper laying there on my pillow with a very sweet note from the Mister. As I looked closer, I realized what it was...

A receipt for 2 tickets to see Neil Diamond LIVE in Concert on December 19th!

So, there you have it! We have 2 months to practice all the words and be ready to belt them out!

I never could have imagined that I would ever be going to a Neil Diamond Concert! It's so random and funny that I can't stop smiling!

What on earth will I wear? How about CJ? Is his trademark sweater vest appropriate or does he need a true "Leisure Suit"? What kind of people will be there? Who goes to Neil Diamond concerts anyway, besides the crazy Johnson's? Will he sing all my favorites? Do I know all the words? Will we be prepared and ready? I mean, he is an american icon after all.

No matter what, I have a feeling it's going to be an insanely fun night....just me, the Mister and Neil!

Thanks CJ! I love you!

...and this is what we woke up to Sunday morning.

...and it's still coming down.

I wish I could have a sick day from church and all my meetings so I could just stay inside and watch it snow, snuggled up with a hot chocolate in hand and football blaring in the background.

Ahhh....if only!

The Mister and I got up early this morning and headed up the canyon for breakfast at one of our favorite places and by the time we got there, the rain had turned to big beautiful flakes of snow. Although I'm not quite ready for the snowy weather...it felt just a little bit like the perfect Saturday morning!

FRIDAY FUNNY

One of my all-time favorites.

Poor Chris...I know he can relate to this insanity.

HOWEVER, after a year and a half, I {almost} have him trained.

(This classic Dave Barry column was originally published July 29, 2001.)

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"SHAM ON YOU!"

I received a letter from a reader named Dick Demers, who relates a shocking story:
It seems Dick and his wife had driven a long distance to visit his wife's sister. To refresh himself, Dick went into the guest bathroom, took a shower, then dried himself off. That's the story. Pretty shocking, huh?
Dick's wife thought so. She was horrified.
''You used the GOOD TOWELS!'' she said.
And he had. It's a mistake many guys make. A guy will be in a guest bathroom, dripping wet, and he sees a towel, and for some insane reason he thinks it was put there for guests to dry themselves with.
In fact, as Dick's wife angrily pointed out to him, the towels they were supposed to use were NOT in the bathroom; they were (of course!) in the bedroom. The towel Dick used was intended solely as decoration.
Here's a similar bonehead error that guys often commit in guest bathrooms: They see soap on a soap dish, and they use it to WASH THEIR HANDS. This, of course, ruins the guest soap, which is defined as ''soap that guests are not supposed to use.'' Its purpose is to match the guest towels.
In his letter to me, Dick criticized this kind of thinking by comparing it to a hypothetical situation involving guys. Suppose, he wrote, that a guy is working on his car, and he asks you to hand him a 9/16 wrench. You go over to some wrenches hanging on the wall and start to take one, and the guy yells, ``NOT THOSE! THOSE ARE FOR DECORATION!''
Dick, when you put it that way, the concept of purely decorative towels DOES seem silly. But there's actually a very logical explanation for it: Women are insane.
No, I am, of course, just kidding. There really is a good reason. I just don't know what it is. What I do know is that the practice of providing guests with conveniences they cannot use is not limited to the bathroom. The guest bedroom is usually equipped with decorative candles that you must not burn, because that would ruin them. Also you must never throw any waste into the decorative wastebasket, which has never contained any waste and may have been waxed just before your arrival. If, during your visit, you generate waste, you should hide it in your suitcase and take it home.
But the trickiest thing is the guest bed. Oh, it may have attractive pillows on it, and a comfy-looking quilt, but you are NOT supposed to use these. You're supposed to take the pillows-which are called ``shams''-off the bed and replace them with the REAL pillows, which are hidden somewhere, generally in the closet, which is where you're supposed to put the quilt, which is on the bed solely to match the shams and should NOT come into contact with your disgusting oily guest body.
If your hostess subscribes to Martha Stewart Living, the guest bed may be so massively fortified with decorative objects that it can be deconstructed for sleeping use only by a licensed interior designer. I'm talking about a bed that is surrounded by a dust ruffle and buried under a complex, towering arrangement of approximately 46 shams and other decorative pillows, which are on top of the quilt, which may be encased in a ''duvet cover'' and further accessorized by (these are real decorator names) a ''soutache.'' In extreme cases, the entire bed will be surrounded by a giant net, as if to protect it from vampire bats (which will be dyed to match the duvet cover).
If you, as a guest, encounter such a bed, do NOT approach it. Back slowly out of the room and sleep on the lawn.
Of course, you won't encounter these problems if you're a guest in a household run by a guy, because he won't have fancy guest bedding. In fact, he won't have a guest bed. You'll sleep on the sofa under a Batman beach towel with stains dating back to the Reagan administration. In the morning, you can use this towel to dry yourself after your shower. Feel free to use the guest soap, which you can assemble yourself from ancient shards of Dial on the shower floor.
But to get back to Dick Demers' letter: Dick, you make a logical point about the towels. But this is not about logic; this is about etiquette, and too often we males forget the basic underlying principle of all etiquette, which is: We are scum. So I urge you to apologize to your wife's sister, and henceforth show proper respect for her good towels by not treating them as if they were towels.
And for heaven's sake, do NOT blow your nose on the shams.

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GRATEFUL FOR THE RAIN...

Living the gospel does not mean the storms of life will pass us by, but we will be better prepared to face them with serenity and peace. 'Search diligently, pray always, and be believing,' the Lord admonished, 'and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly.'

Joseph B Wirthlin

* Today, I am grateful.

* For many, many things.

* For the fact that there is no one I'd rather be than me.

* For the fact that there is no where I'd rather be than here.

* For the fact that sometimes He lets it rain.

* And most of all... for the faith to know it will always pass.

A good night's sleep and some comfortable shoes.

IS IT JUST ME??

I have never been a good sleeper in my adult life. I don't usually have a hard time falling asleep, but I have a horrible time staying asleep. I wake up easily and once I wake up....my brain starts going a million miles a minute and it's over. (the night, that is)

It seems like it's getting worse...and if this pace keeps up, pretty soon....there will be little point in going to bed at all.

What I wouldn't give for:

a GOOD NIGHT'S {SLEEP}...

and I mean a REALLY good night's sleep

Here's the other deal. I like fashion as much as the next guy. Okay, maybe not quite as much as the next guy (or girl)... but I like to think that I am still hanging onto the fashion train, albeit it's more of a white knuckle cling these days. With Fall upon us, and the need to put away the flip flops and squish my piggies back into shoes... I just can't seem to bear the thought of having to "keep up" with something like this:

...when what I really want...

...is something like this...

some good, SENSIBLE {SHOES}!?

okay, okay, okay... maybe not quite THAT sensible!

But come on...

!Good Sleep and Comfortable Shoes!

THAT is what really floats my boat as a "thirtysomething"


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(...admit it though, those little brown beauties ARE pretty sweet, right?)

UH-OH

oops...

.

Phone

+

Toilet

=

BUMMER!

.

I'm so sorry it had to end this way.

Thanks for the memories.

"Finding ourselves"

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Gandhi

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
Edmund Burke

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
Ann Frank

Service, to be acceptable to the Savior, must come from willing minds, ready hands, and pledged hearts.

Thomas S Monson

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.
Mosiah 2:17

There truly isn't a better way to keep life in perspective than to serve others. I had the great opportunity to take a few of the YW from our ward and spend the day today at the LDS Humanitarian Center doing just a little bit to help make the world a better place. We recieved a call from our Stake President a few days ago that there was a somewhat urgent need to help assemble hygiene kits, based on the huge demand in recent weeks due to the hurricanes and other disasters worldwide. It just so happens that their was no school today for our students and these amazing YW were willing to give up their day off to serve. These girls never cease to amaze me.

Each hygiene kit includes:
2 towels
2 bars of soap
1 tube of toothpaste
4 toothbrushes
2 combs


We had a pretty good little assembly line going...

Sure, maybe they would have rather been home sleeping or hanging out with friends, but they didn't stop smiling (or working) all day...

The familiar primary song certainly seemed to be true today...

when you're helping, you really ARE happy!

We filled kit after kit and box after box...

...and pretty soon our stacks were taller than us!

If our calculations are correct, nearly 10,000 hygeine kits were assembled during the shift that we worked today! Isn't that incredible!?! I continue to be astounded and so incredibly proud of all that the church does to serve humanity. What an awesome thing to have such a tiny hand in.

The shift coordinator told us that most of the kits that we assembled today will be sent to Haiti, Cuba and the Gulf Coast where they are still trying to recover from the recent devastating hurricanes.

We all left pretty humbled to think that our efforts today could be in the sweet, innocent hands of people like this by next week!

For more information on the LDS church and these humanitarian efforts, you can visit here or here

Mr. J

I {really}, {really} love this guy...

He's been working really hard lately

and I don't tell him enough just how lucky I feel to be his

{MRS}

Love you, babe! Thanks for all you do!