Smiling at the small stuff....

Have you ever been in the middle of doing something (usually something that needs to be done, but truthfully isn't all that exhilerating) and had a mini-epiphany that something you see all the time and that most people would find mundane, makes you smile? I realized this week that there are several of these types of phenomena in my life, so I thought I'd share a few with you....

1. Dish-Soap Bubbles.... About once a week (usually on pasta night when we use the giant pot that's just ridiculous to put in the dishwasher) I wash a dish in the sink. Having been raised in a home where we always had a dishwasher, I never learned the proper amount of dish-soap to use for just one big pot... This type of ignorance usually results in those tiny little bubbles that float up and out of the sink and seem to linger in front of your face, just to make you smile!

2. Reading... since I have finished school, I discovered that I have OODLES of time to read! I have been reading, nay, devouring books that had been sitting by my bed for MONTHS in the "I want to read it, so I bought it, even though I have about 50 other books by my bed that I haven't read" pile. Here's a short list of the books I've read in the last 5 months:

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn (those ones were easy, done in a weekend), I never promised you a rose garden, The Lord of the Rings (all three books in the "trilogy"), War and Peace (again), Eat, Pray, Love (again), Family: the ties that bind (and gag), In Our Defense, Until I Find You, The Full Collection of Robert Frost and Hamlet (again). I hope I get to the bottom of my pile some day... at this rate, it should take me.... about another year!

3. Ice crunching underneath your feet. I hate ice, and it's definitely not good for me to be walking on (see previous post re: my bad knees) but I LOVE the sound of ice just as it crunches under your feet. Whenever I hear that sound, I can't help thinking to myself "ha ha ha, take THAT winter!"

4. The face I get every night, when I get in bed, this I love most of all....

I'm not kidding, every night, this dog gets in bed (he sleeps with us... yes, the 99.7lb dobie sleeps with us) snuggles right up next to me and lays his nose directly across my chest. I am usually trying to read (see #2) and this annoys Hades, something fierce. So, he nuzzles his nose underneath my book and pushes it up, up, and away. He's usually not content until he hears me sigh, not-so-begrudgingly roll my eyes, place my bookmark in the pages and set the book aside for tomorrow. Then, he gives me this look and waits patiently for me to pet him.

Those, my dear friends, those are the small things that make me smile, all the time! What are yours?

And in not-so-recent news….

So... To recap the last few months I have a bunch of pictures... Also, work is going well, I still love my new job and am learning something new every day!!!

Craig (pictured on the right) is an AMAZING designer who works for 1-800 CONTACTS… Every year 1-800 does a Halloween Trunk-Or-Treat. At this last one, Craig put up this incredible spook-alley! It was really awesome! And because it was divided into "extra-spooky" and "not-so-spooky" Craig needed two different witches. He found his good witch easily enough but apparently could only think of me when it came to his scary witch… gee what a compliment! (Just kidding, I love dressing up like this for Halloween) So, even though I don't work there anymore, He called and asked if I would participate, I said that would be great!
Me and the "Good Witch" – I loved her tights!

Here are our pumpkins from this year… Jared isn't very into carving pumpkins, but I love it! Guess which one is Jareds?

And lastly for October… I just couldn't help doing this, even though I know it probably wasn't very fun for him….
November… aka Thanksgiving…
Jared and I had a BLAST in Idaho. We went up for Thanksgiving, two of his sisters live up there. Here Jared is dancing with one of our beautiful nieces!

My nephew Branden played piano while we cooked Thanksgiving dinner. I am amazed at how musical all of my nieces and nephews are, Branden is an especially accomplished pianist.

And of course, the Thanksgiving Day Nap!

The Great Spoons Tournament!

And Last but certainly not least… Christmas….
So, this first picture requires an explanation… About six months ago, while I was mopping our kitchen floor, my knee (the one I've already had surgery on) dislocated. No, I was not slipping, no I was not running, I was just standing… and out it went. So, I went to see a doctor at TOSH (The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital) who told me that I shouldn't walk anywhere more than 100 feet without wearing knee braces and that I should actually refrain entirely from running, skiing, tennis, basketball, hiking, soccer and soft/baseball. For those of you who don't know, I've had knee problems for 10+ years and had surgery on one to fix the constant dislocation issues I was having. During that first surgery, my surgeon noticed that I had scarring / osteoarthritis. So, when I saw the doctor at TOSH he said that although surgery is an option to fix the dislocation, nothing short of a complete knee replacement will fix the arthritis. The only thing that can help are pain meds and certain types of exercise to slow the spread / worsening of the arthritis, although nothing will make it improve, maintaining the damage that is already done is the best I can do… So… the doctor said that Swimming was better than an indoor bike, indoor bike was better than the elliptical, the elliptical is better than the treadmill, the treadmill is better than hard ground. SO… Jared got me an elliptical for Christmas… the rest of the pictures are pretty self-explanatory!

Here's my Grandma Ruth and Hades, I love that she was SO scared when we told her we were getting a Doberman, but now she just pats him on the head and calls him a "sweet dog!"

My nephew Ian and Hades, Ian LOVES Hades, he gives him hugs!

And for New Years, Jared and I stayed home and watched some movies, we just wanted to enjoy some time alone. But, my resolution is to lose some weight, use my elliptical at least 3x a week for 30 minutes each. And, a friend of mine (Kateka) had a wonderful blog post about all of her favorites and memories from 2009. One of the things she wrote about was things she was hopeful for in the new year…. I know it is depressing, but I am REALLY hoping that I won't have to go to a funeral this year. I've had at least 2 funerals a year for the last three years! I could really go a year without losing someone I care about… that would be nice. So… that's it… that's my long over-due blog post! Love you all and hope your holidays were great!

Quick Update

Sigh... again, I slack! I've been meaning to update for a LONG time, mostly because of all the changes and events.... but with all these changes and events, it's been hard to find the time.... Okay, a quick update and I promise, a more lengthy one (with pictures) soon. What's been going on:

1. I left 1-800 CONTACTS. The timing couldn't have been better. I started my new job the DAY after my internship ended. I love and miss my old co-workers, but am THRILLED to finally be doing something I am genuinely good at. I now work for a law firm called Witt & Associates.... Four weeks ago when I got hired, it was Witt & Anderson. Long, long, long story short: One partner decided to leave (this happens a lot in law firms for those who aren't familiar with the business). Thus, we've had to re-arrange our entire company. This means that new paralegals get thrown into the deep end without swim lessons. In the words of Andre the Giant: "I only dog paddle." So, while it has been a nerve-wracking experience, I have learned a TON! I love the job, the work and the people. But, most of all, I LOVE knowing that I am REALLY good at what I do! (I know because my new boss reminds me all the time!) And, I really go home satisfied, knowing that someones life is genuinely better because of the work I am doing.

2. We had Jared's brother and his family stay with us during BYU education week. This reminded us of two things: a) how much we miss JR and Rebecca and their kids, we love them to pieces and wish they were closer! b) how NOT ready we are for children. Jared and I have become very accustomed to doing what we want, when we want and taking our sweet time doing it. Having my neices and nephew here reminded me that when I am a parent, my decisions will no longer be based around what I want and what is best for Jared... my entire universe (not just my decision making ability) will be based solely on how things will affect my kids.... Call me selfish, but, I am not ready for that. And, in the words of Elizabeth Gilbert: "The decision to have children is like making the decision to tattoo your face.... YOU REALLY NEED TO BE SURE IT'S WHAT YOU WANT, BEFORE YOU DO IT!!"

3. I finally read all the Twilight books... and yes, I am now an obsessed fan.... Sigh.... I love Edward!


Well, that's all for now, more later w/ pictures. Hope everyone is well, love to all!

Birthdays and Reunions

My Grandpa D's 80th birthday party was this last weekend. It was fun to have the whole family together to celebrate! On Saturday, we had the annual Watson reunion, I took lots of pictures since I was the only one who remembered a camera. We had tons of fun!

Me and my "little" brother!

My Mom and her favorite (aka only) grandson:

All of the boys in my immediate family:

My Grandparents! Happy Birthday Grandpa D!

My gorgeous sister and my nephew:

My little sister also had a birthday, she turned 22! Where does the time go? To me, she is still 12 and my little brother is still 6! Sometimes when I see my brother at my parent's house, it still shocks me! Here are some pics from her birthday party:

And, last but not least, my Mom and sister and I went to get pedicures on Thursday. When the nail technician asked me if I wated something (and I quote) "Parrotic." I was SOOOO confused, then she said "You know, fo fowth of Jewry." Then, in an effort to seem like I understood, I just nodded and smiled politely. So, she set to work... it was after she started adding the poka dots that I realized she meant "patriotic" and "Fourth of July!"

Sigh....

It's been a while! What an odd few weeks it has been!! Okay... News...

I've started my internship with the Legal department at 1-800 Contacts and I love it! The people are great, crazy at times, but great! In order to better manage my sanity (aka eliminate a LOT of drama in my life) I decided to leave Marketing and go back to the Call Center for 30 hours a week and I'll continue my 10-15 hr a week internship with Legal. Sigh... I loved the Marketing department, especially the people, but the drama and stress was truly taking a toll. (I'm pretty sure work shouldn't make you cry on a regular basis... am I right?)

Second... Jared and I have been doing some spending... We've been wanting a new bed for quite some time, mostly because we have a 3rd party in bed with us... our 90lb doberman! Jared also takes up a lot of room, but with the three of us in a queen size bed, it was a little crowded!! So, we got a new King Size TempurPedic bed... We LOVE it! So comfy! I highly recommend them! We also got a new grill and a new book case! These two items we should have purchased a long time ago, but oh well, they're done now!

Third... And more depressing... About a week or two ago, I found out that our favorite babysitter growing up passed away. Our families have been close ever since I was really little, her Mom would babysit us when we were in half days for Kindergarten and Lindsay, their youngest, and I were good friends growing up. It seems that Nicole's death was attributed to a complicaiton of a pain patch that she was wearing, the FDA is investigating these patches as there have been many odd deaths related to them... So, please, if you're wearing a patch for chronic pain... PLEASE TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR! It broke my heart to see her family and how upset they all were! Nicole was such an amazing person, she really and truly had an infectious, lively personality!!! I will always remember her amazing stories and fun activities. And watching the three amigos will never be the same! I love you Nicole & will always remember you!

Well, that's about all the news for now, I will post pictures soon of other stuff... TTFN!

Bittersweet moment...

I took my very last "final" today. The last one I will ever take... knock on wood. The sun was beginning to set as I was walking to my car after the last test (I took two today). Knowing that it could be my last time on campus as a student, I turned around to look at the school. As I stood there, in a semi-cathartic moment, I thought: "Sigh... What an odd feeling to have this chapter in my life ending."

I am honestly a little sad, I loved going to school, learning new things, getting to know my professors and their idiosynchrisies. It sounds very nerdy to say but, that school has sort of become my second home. I feel like I know every inch of that building and a good number of the people working in it. As I turned to go back to my car, I felt like I was leaving a part of myself behind. It felt as if I was saying "goodbye" to a huge phase of my life.

You know, for about the last year I have felt like I am in a tunnel, with no light at the end. Then, all of the sudden, my final finals crept up on me! It feels surreal to think that I will never have to buy textbooks, sit through seemingly endless lectures about legal ethics or register for classes again. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with my time after work and on the weekends. But, I can't wait to find out!

And, every once in a while, you get attacked by a police dog....

We had a guest speaker from a K-9 unit speak in my Law Society class tonight. When the speaker asked who would like to put on a sleeve and be attacked, I immedeatley volunteered. It was AWESOME! Afterwords he laughed and said that I was officially a first (I figured it was because I was the first girl to volunteer so quickly) he laughed again and said "You're the first person to ever be attacked in high heels!"

It was sweet!!!