sorry

it is 7:38pm and i am still at work. ugh!!!! i'm sorry, but the post of my vacation is going to have to wait one more day. but i promise, it will be worth the wait!

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALEY!! thanks for being the greatest sister-in-law ever! love you!

Sneak Peek

I'm back! Honestly, I would much rather still be on the cruise or hanging out on the beach, but I had an amazing trip and so much to tell ya'll about. I don't really have time at the moment, so I'll just give you a little sneak peek. Enjoy and anticipate my return with fun stories and pictures of my adventures!!

I'm out.

Well, the time has finally come. I am leaving this crazy Utah weather and heading south of the border. We are leaving really, really, reeeaaallllyyy early tomorrow morning to drive to LA. We will get there Saturday afternoon and then see Wicked that night. Sunday we are going to spend the day visiting the LA temple visitors' center and going to church with my friend Ty in Huntington Beach. Monday morning we will drive to San Diego, board our ship and set sail to Mexico for 5 days of fun in the sun!!

I just got completely caught up on everything at work so I don't leave my Judge completely helpless next week. Now I just need to go home and get a couple things finished there and then I'm out of here!

See ya'll in 9 days! Don't let anything too exciting happen while I am gone!! Hasta luego!

Tender Mercies

I had an incredible experience yesterday that can only be described as a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. I don't want to go into too many details, but I saw someone that is very dear to me and my family. I've known he has been in some trouble, but I haven't personally seen him in about two months. He has constantly been in my thoughts and prayers. (especially because I work at the courthouse and know the kind of trouble he is in...) I love this kid so much and just want him to be happy and to be doing what he knows he should and to be taking care of himself.

I really believe that I was supposed to see him, not just for him, but for me as well. I needed to be able to give him a hug and tell him that I love him and remind him that I am always here for him. And in the process I feel like the Lord reminded me of the same thing. He is always there for me and loves me unconditionally. He wants me to be happy and be doing what I should and taking care of myself. I love how the Lord teaches us.

And of course the talk The Tender Mercies of the Lord by Elder Bednar came to mind. These are a couple of my favorite quotes from that talk.

"God does not have a list of favorites to which we must hope our names will someday be added. He does not limit “the chosen” to a restricted few. Rather, it is our hearts and our aspirations and our obedience which definitively determine whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen."

"The Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord’s timing that enables us to recognize and treasure these important blessings."

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

How grateful I am for the tender mercies that the Lord shows me every day!!

WHAT THE...????

Who watched American Idol last night? Well I did, and I am appalled!!

First off, I loved the theme this week. I am definitely a Broadway/musical theater girl and Andrew Lloyd Weber is the King of Broadway. So this week was really fun and exciting for me. I wish I could sing Andrew Lloyd Weber songs all day!!

Anywho, I really enjoyed most of the performances on Tuesday night. There was actually only one that I was really not a fan of. Let's review...First up was Syesha. Wow! I think this was her best week yet. She would be absolutely incredible on Broadway!! She was sassy and really got into the song. It was awesome. I was very impressed.

Next was Jason. (i think, i don't remember the exact order...) Definitely not his genre. But the fact that he didn't know ANY Andrew Lloyd Weber songs is appalling!! I think Jason is good when he can be all acoustic, but I don't think he is good enough to be the American Idol. I think the only reason why he is still on is because of the girls that are voting for him. I will say that he has beautiful eyes, but seriously dude, get rid of the dreads!!!!! yuck! I definitely thought he would be in the bottom two.

Then there was Brooke. I love Brooke. Probably a lot because she is Mormon and she is from Mesa! But I also really like her voice. I think it is very distinct and different and gorgeous. I was sad when she had to start her song over, but I think she just followed her gut and we all realize that no one is perfect and we all make mistakes. How horrifying though to all the sudden forget the lyrics on American Idol! I would probably just start crying. Anywho, I think Brooke did a wonderful job, but I was pretty sure that she would be in the bottom two.

Then came all the teenage girls favorite...David Archuletta. I also really like David. He is just so normal and sweet and humble and again he is Mormon and from Salt Lake!! I was surprised at how much he changed the song, but I really enjoyed it. It was a gutsy move, but it worked. Actually, it more than worked. It was awesome! And the cute little girls who all wanted to hug him cracked me up!

Next, Carly. Wow! I don't really like the show Jesus Christ, Superstar, but it does have some fun music. It totally fit her. She blew me away with the song. And my goodness she is beautiful! I was so happy for her when Simon told her that she was amazing. And the t-shirt...hysterical! I definitely thought Carly would be safe and in fact, I really thought she would be in the top three.

Last, but definitely not least was David Cook. Who knew he could sing Broadway like that?!? It was incredible. I loved that he stuck with the song for the most part, but threw in a few little loops here and there. A-MA-ZING!! I think he is my favorite. My prediction is definitely a David/David final two.

Then last night happened. And seriously my only reaction is WHAT THE...?????!!!!!! I couldn't believe it!How did this happen???!!! I was so shocked when she was put in the bottom two. When that happened I was pretty sure that Syesha was going home. (Not that she deserved it this week either, but between those two, I thought it would definitely be Syesha) But why was Jason not in the bottom two? His performance was horrible and he should have been the one to leave.

I just can't get over that Carly is gone. She was so fun to watch and I thought she brought so much to the show. It just goes to show that we are definitely getting to the end and anybody is vulnerable.

Well, anybody except the Davids. ;)

Did I mention...

...we are going to see WICKED while we are in LA this weekend?!?!?! I absolutely love this show and am so excited to see it in Los Angeles!!! I saw it last June in Denver with my sister and some friends and it was incredible. Even though we didn't have great seats it was amazing. So it's even more exciting to see it in LA (I've heard it is the best cast...) and we have awesome seats!!!! I just can't contain my excitment! Only 4 1/2 days until Wicked and 6 1/2 until the cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (can you tell i'm a little excited to get out of provo? :)

Can you hear me now??

Unless, you are standing within 12 inches of me, you probably can't. I have been really sick the last couple days and it has completely zapped me of all my energy and my voice. It is completely gone. Apparentely I sound like I'm about to start crying. (three people have told me that in the last two days...) It doesn't hurt very much, I just can't talk. Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed home from work since I had no voice and a really bad sinus headache and couldn't breathe through my nose. Not fun.

I'm back at work today, but keep being made fun of for my quiet, raspy, man-voice.

And there is so much to catch up on. Even though I have been sick the last couple days, quite a few things have occured...

Monday
I went with my parents and my sister to the Jazz game. We rode Trax up to Salt Lake and saw the Jazz stomp the Rockets. Hopefully they continue the same pattern of beating Houston as they begin the first round of the playoffs against them this weekend!! Go Jazz!

Tuesday
Tax day!! I know so many people look forward to this day all year long! But I'm not one of them. I like to get my taxes done as soon as I get my W-2's the end of January. So by now, my tax returns are all spent! Can't wait until next week when I get to head to California and board the cruise that I spent part of that tax return on! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS!!! Tuesday was my dad's 49th birthday. He pretty much had a 4-day birthday. We celebrated with dinner and a play at Hale on Saturday. Birthday cake and ice cream with the fam on Sunday. The Jazz game on Monday and then he and my mom spent the day together on Tuesday. Yup, he is pretty spoiled. ;) I hope you had a wonderful day dad! I love you!!! (sorry I didn't actually call on Tuesday, but you wouldn't have been able to hear me...)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMMY!!! Tuesday was also Tim's 27th birthday. It was kind of sad to be lying on my couch all day sick, with not much to do and constantly thinking about Tim. We have had some major fun on his birthdays the last few years and being sick definitely didn't help with the waterworks that formed as I lied there watching Oprah. I wanted to call his mom, but again, there is no way she would have even been able to hear me. They are having a birthday celebration for him this weekend in Mesa and I really wish I could be there. They are putting the headstone on his grave. I definitely need to head down there soon. Love you Timmyman! Still miss you!!

The Biggest Loser Finale!!!!!!! Wow! It was amazing!! Go Ali! If anyone didn't watch it, you can see it on NBC.com. I cried. That's all I'm going to say about it for now.

Wednesday
Oh, it was exciting, let me tell you! This is what I did all day...
Sleep, The View, sleep, drink half of a Jamba, What Not To Wear, sleep, Oprah, drink other half of Jamba, Gilmore Girls, sleep, American Idol, read, sleep.
It was a pretty rigorous schedule friends!!

Latter Day Sounds

I have had the incredible blessing the past 8 months of being a part of a wonderful group of singers called Latter Day Sounds. We rehearsed for a few months and have been doing firesides this semester and I just have to say how much I love each member of our choir! What an amazing group of people that have come together to all share our testimonies through music. We are probably going to be recording a CD soon and I will be sure to share our program with each of you.

This year, our program is "The Life of Christ". All the words and music are devoted to the birth, life, atonement, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is so hard for me to bear my testimony because it is something that is so personal, but it seems to be so much easier through music. I feel that music carries that Spirit so much stronger and penetrates deeper and it is the best way for me to share my feelings. I love music and especially good music that brings the Spirit of the Lord to the room.

Thank you to my Latter Day Sounds family. I love you all and am so grateful for each of you!!

My Vote

Mark.

This was such a hard decision! I ultimately voted for Mark because I want a girl to win. I don't care if it's Ali or Kelly (I think either of them can do it and are both very deserving of it!), but I want a girl to pull it out. I think Mark has lost pretty much all the weight he can without looking like a Holocaust victim, so he is less of a threat. Mark is a great competitor and I'm sure could pull some magic trick and win it all, but I think with Mark in the game, the girls have a much better shot.

I really, truly like both of the guys and Roger just seems like such a big teddy bear, but he still has weight to lose and is such a threat to the girls. Apparently we are supposed to find out within the first 5 minutes of the finale who is the last member of the Final 3. Should be exciting!!I am really looking forward to Tuesday to see how everyone looks. It's fun to see those who were voted off earlier in the show come back and show off their hard work and great bods! I'll be happy with whatever happens, but I think this has been the best season of the show and it's going to be an amazing finale. (And I am pretty sure you are all sick of me talking about it and ready for me to move onto something else!!)

Ultimately, I'm just really excited to see the first FEMALE Biggest Loser crowned!!!

GO ALI & KELLY!!!!

VOTE NOW!

I'm not going to tell you at this moment who I voted for the last of 3 finalists on The Biggest Loser because I want you all to make your own intelligent decisions. But the voting does end tonight at 8pm mountain time. So click here and vote now!!!

And if you wouldn't mind posting a comment on who you voted for and why I would appreciate it. I will post my commentary of who I voted for and why tomorrow after the voting has been completed.