I keep this moment by and by...

I love Christmas. It's such a joyful time.
It makes me happy to see people trying to spread love and joy.
I love being with my family and friends.
I love thinking about the first Christmas.
I love the music.

This is kind of a melancholy thing to write about, but I am so overwhelmed by this one song, that I have to share it.

Wintersong, by Sarah McLachlin has such a profound effect on me.
I can still remember the first time I heard it, a year after my Grandpa Hiatt died.
I was listening to Sarah's new Christmas cd while I was putting up the Christmas tree.
The song started and I got chills, and as I listened I sat there
on the living room floor and sobbed.

The melody is beautiful. The message is sad, but so beautiful.
I couldn't help but think of my Grandpa.

I envisioned Grandma and Grandpa together in their younger days, and all of the Christmases they shared together.
I thought of my sweet Grandma and
how much she missed my Grandpa - how much we ALL miss him.
The further it went into the song, the harder I cried, and then...
...I couldn't help but smile.
As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like the spirit of my Grandpa touched me that day.
It was a moment I cherish.

It was so hard to lose Grandpa so close to Christmas. It still makes me sad, and I miss him so much...

...but I think in many ways it was a gift.
When Christmas comes we all miss him.
But we are reminded of how much he loved us, and how lucky we are to have each other.


I love my family. I love Christmas.
I love this song:

Dust Bunnies and Poker Faces

Hi everyone.

I suck at blogging.

But I'm still here!

Since the end of summer with everyone going back to school, I am bored out of my mind. I'm home all day most days. Boooooring.

I've finally gotten around to making sense of my house. That was supposed to be my first order of business once I quit working. Ha ha.

I listen to daytime t.v. and music while I sort, toss, and rearrange everything. And let me tell you what, my house was home to waaaaayyy too much dust.

I don't really miss working, but I really, really, REALLY miss people. I'm starting to think of Lady Gaga and Ellen Degeneres as close, personal friends of mine since I hear them every day.

I promise, I'm not crazy. :)

But seriously, I never thought I would ever, EVER listen to, let alone like, Lady Gaga.
She's fun to clean house to.

Anyway, a summer recap with pictures coming up soon.
Also, some new projects I'm working on.

Time? What time?

So...a lot of things have changed in our lives lately.

Well, really just one major thing: I'm not working anymore.

It was just time. I had been at Nu Skin for 10 years and I always regretted not finishing my bachelor's degree. So it felt like the time was right to leave my job and go back to school.
Of course, I left myself what I thought was plenty of time to get things done at home.

I have so many things that have been pushed to the back burner. Every room of my house needs to be seriously cleaned, sorted through, and have things thrown out or donated.

And it is completely overwhelming.

Since my last day of work on July 9, I have been to New Mexico, had the flu, helped my Mama sort through things in my aunt's classroom, run errands, etc...

...but nothing has been done in my house.

Sigh.

I started sorting through the mountains of mail that have been piling up for the last few months. So I guess that's a start.

And I'm caught up on laundry, so I guess that's something.

I've added tons of music to my iPod. See? I have priorities. ;)

So, I guess what I mean to say is, I thought I would have so much time to get everything done, and more time to blog, scrapbook, send letters and cards, finally finish a quilt, yadda yadda yadda...

So far, nope.

And time is running out.

And August promises to be much busier than July.

Dang.

But, I still have to say...I LOVE being a housewife! I really am getting small things done around here, just not to the scale I had hoped. So there really is progress. My visions of grand accomplishment have not been met yet, but it will come.

Now, if we can just get that budget figured out and actually stick to it...

If I May...

Once a month’s not bad, right?

Since it’s June, I guess I better catch up on May.

Not much happened in May. It was nice to visit with our Mamas and families on Mother’s Day. I have the cutest Mama and the cutest Mama-in-law EVER! I love them both so much. They are both so supportive of Cam and me.

I celebrated my 10^th anniversary at work. It was a weird day. I never thought I would work at Nu Skin as long as I have. But it’s a great place to work, with great people to work with. I’ve had some fun times and made some good friends.

Probably the most exciting thing to happen in May was the day Jake came home from Afghanistan. He had been in San Diego at Camp Pendleton for a week or so, and he rolled into Camp Williams on the 29^th. It was very exciting. I had to work the day that Russ came home, so this was my first experience with the military homecoming. The whole place was buzzing with excitement, and everyone’s emotions were running high. It was fun to see all of the Marine’s families hanging out and visiting with each other.

Once we saw the buses coming down the lane toward the crowd, it got real hectic real quick! Everyone rushed the buses, and we could see a Marine on the first bus forcing the door open to get off. Everyone was hugging, crying, laughing…it’s just an awesome experience to see the Marines reunite with their families. A few of them even met their children for the first time! Imagine being a world away when your first child is born. I can't even imagine.

I’m thankful for Jake and I’m glad he’s safe at home again. A few things went wrong, and not everyone was as lucky as we are to have their Marine home safe and unharmed. That is a truly humbling thought, and to say that I am grateful and relieved is really an understatement.

And...that’s our May in a nutshell.

Catching up

So...it's been so long since I've written anything, I don't really know what to say.
We're kinda boring, Cameron and I.
We do fun stuff sometimes, but mostly it's just work and all
of the boring daily activities that everyone else is doing.
So, nothing to write home about.

Here are a few things though:

We finally saw Muse and Silversun Pickups!
It was like Christmas.
We were both so excited, it was ridiculous. I still get giddy thinking about it.

We hiked up Little Wildhorse Canyon with my Ma and Pa.
It was beautiful spring day with blue sky and fluffy clouds.
(the first time I typed that it said blue clouds and fluffy sky.
I get a little mixed up sometimes.)
I have hiked in some beautiful desert canyons in my life, but
nothing quite as narrow as this one!

I think everyone needs to see How To Train Your Dragon.
It was such a cute, fun film.
I liked it even better than Avatar - the 3D was amazing!
My stomach did little floopty-loos (that's what Cam calls it)
when Hiccup rode his dragon for the first time.
That is some pretty good 3D, I would say.

I found a new book series that I absolutely LOVE and I would recommend
to EVERYONE!
The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
is a lot of fun.
If you like Harry Potter, Eragon, Percy Jackson,
and books like that, you will like it.
Even if you don't like those other books, you might like it.

So...pictures of our adventures soon.
:)

Women's Conference 2010

"Women's Conference" this year was a blast -- as usual!

Can't wait until next year.


I don't think we look anything alike.


The sisters:

Come Next Monday...

So there's this old (ha!) country song from 1990 that I've always really liked.


Come Next Monday
K.T. Oslin

Come next Monday
I'm goin' to bed early
I won't talk dirty for a week or two
Goin' on a diet
Just like sugar, honey
Come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you

X-rays show some
Excess baggage
Too much work for a little heart to do
Self-denial
Is never easy baggage
But come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you

Ain't gonna call you
After a day or two
Ain't gonna miss you honey
An even if i do

I'll never tell you
You'll never ever know
How hard it is
To let you go

Come next Monday
I hope I'm a little bit stronger
Some of the Mondays that I've been through
Temptation Tuesday
Might be sorry
But come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you

Come next Monday
I'm goin' to bed early
I wont talk dirty for a week or maybe two
I'm goin' on a diet
Just like sugar, honey
Come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you



This song was running through my head this morning.
While I was singing it to myself I had a revelation,
and while it should be painfully obvious,
it just dawned on me why I like this song so much:
It's about me!
Hello!
My name is Marie and I am a chronic procrastinator.
I need to go to bed earlier.
I should really quit cussing.
I really need to eat better and exercise more.
Among (many) other things.
And I am soooo good at putting it off until another day.
*sigh*
So I guess what I'm saying is,
it's time to start.

Now, and not Monday...

Fabulous February

Since the month is quickly drawing to an end
I decided that I had better squeeze in a February post.
So far this month has brought us

fake, early spring
a visit from my NewYorker BFF
contacts for Cam
glasses for me
the return of LOST...
and many more lovely, if everyday things.

Oh, and...

Yes! I am going! June 3rd! Woohoo!!

January's always bitter...

Oh, boy.
January has come and gone.
Can you believe it’s February already?
I can’t. Where does all this time go as it flies on by?
Is it just because I’m getting older that it seems like time has sped up?
Anyway.

Totally excited for this (First episode was amazing. I'm still a bit lost, of course. But it's Lost, so...yeah.):

Totally digging this guy:

Totally excited to see these guys...

...who are on tour with these guys...

...and will be making a stop in SLC on April 5th.I seriously can't wait. I look at my tickets, which are magneted to the fridge, at least once a day and get all giddy.

So...what's up with you?