2012 Garden

For Christmas my parents gave me some gardening bags that are supposed to be used on a deck or porch. Hopefully they will work better than the pots I've been using for the past few years because my gardens haven't been the biggest success story. Today I went out and bought some dirt to put into the gardening bags. It seems pretty weird to me that I have to go and buy dirt in order to plant a garden. But I guess that's the city life. I planted some cucumbers, peas, lettuce, broccoli and started some tomato and zucchini seeds. I also finally planted the Plumeria bush that my friend Shana brought back from Hawaii for me in October. For now at least the bags add some color to the porch. I have a few more bags to fill but underestimated how much dirt was actually required to fill them so have to get back to Anawalt to get more dirt.

Good luck 2012 garden!

I signed up for another Triathlon. So far I've convinced 3 other people to do it with me. Good thing Memorial Day is still a couple of months away. I've got a lot of training to do!

Deep Sea Fishing

A few months ago a bought a TravelZoo deal with a couple of friends for deep sea fishing. This past weekend we finally found a time when most of us could go. It was so much fun. There were 6 of us in our group and probably 50 other people on the boat fishing with us. We started bright and early from Newport Harbor so it made for an early morning. But it was a beautiful day and it was great just to spend the day outdoors. Sadly not many fish were actually in season right now but I ended up catching 12 perch. The limit was 10 so I only kept the biggest ones. I took the easy way out and let the guys on the boat gut and filet them. But I did take the bones out myself. The gulls and pelicans were following the boat in swarms while the fish were being gutted.
                                       
 It was pretty fun to watch them diving into the water for the fish scraps. After some advice from more advanced fishermen I cooked up some of the fish last night for dinner. It was pretty amazing. If all fish tasted that fresh I could eat it every day. Even my roommate who doesn't like fish said that it was good! Good thing there is more in the fridge for dinner tonight.

Christmas Pictures

Christmas pictures as promised. It was a glorious week at home staying inside and spending time with the family. Everyone was home except Carolyn and Nathan. The weather was even nice to me and the first couple of days it didn't rain. Susan so kindly cleaned out the hot tub which kept me warm all week long.

 The Christmas tree was a little late going up this year due to the house remodel. But it was all beautiful by the time I got home.

 Apparently you can make your own vanilla extract by using vanilla beans and vodka in some contraption Carolyn gave Mom and John for Christmas. John looks a little too excited about that bottle of vodka though.

 Mom and Dad with the blanket I crocheted for them.

 David before his basketball game. He still hasn't learned how to smile for pictures.

 Kitchen remodel is complete. It looks really nice. I guess the mice thought it was nicer in there than outside in the rain because we had a couple of them join us in the kitchen one night. Good thing we have mouse traps handy all the time.

After Christmas I got together with some old friends from Loma Rica that all live up in the Northwest now. It was so fun to see them and catch up.

Christmas came and went. New Years came and went. And somehow it's almost February already. Where does the time go? I got to spend some time at home in Oregon for Christmas. I'll have to put some pictures up when I have more time (don't hold your breath, it might be a while). Work has kept me really busy during January. There seems to be a never ending supply of children who need occupational therapy services.
A couple of weeks ago I was pretty excited when the 1st counselor in the bishopric told me they were releasing me from 2 of my 3 callings. For three whole days I was just the Mid-singles rep in the ward. Then I got a call from the stake presidency that immediately started my brain racing. I'm sure just about every calling I could have been called to went through my mind. Luckily I was only in suspense for 1 day as I went and talked with President Vargas the next day. So just when I thought I was getting the hang of everything I got called as the 1st Counselor in the Stake Young Women's Presidency. I'm excited to work with the girls and get to know them but I'm sure it will be a lot of work. For now they threw me right into things and I'm in charge of the Service Auction, the fundraiser for Girl's Camp and the Pioneer Trek (yes I get to go to both this year). So never a dull moment in my life.

Creative Wardrobe

This winter weather (60 degrees or less) has been tough on me. Not only does our lovely Greenfield not have functional heating but my office is freezing. While we've all taken to wearing our snuggies and turning on the fireplace while at home I can't exactly do that at work. This week I've spent a lot more time than usual at the office since the schools are closed. When I get there in the morning it is about 55 degrees outside and even colder than that inside. It's pretty bad when you open the doors and windows to let the heat in from outside during December at 9:00am. So I've taken to wearing t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, vests, jackets, gloves, ski hats, and bringing a blanket to work. And when we're lucky no one is in the waiting room and we can steal our 1 space heater and bring it upstairs to the office. It gives me a whole new appreciation for the sunshine and the warmth it provides. I'd take the 90 degree heat over the 50 degree ice any day!

Martini has a new owner

As of this week I officially own Martini, my 2009 Corolla. It'll be wonderful to finally have her fixed after the rainy day mishap where the Escalade hit me. Then I can really celebrate Martini being all mine!