Problem

I have a problem....a very serious problem. It's not something that you would notice or know about unless you really know me....unless you've spent time with me. It's not something that is physically visible on my body in that it is not an appendage. You probably wouldn't know this about me unless you have seen my personal living space. I try to keep it confined to the four small walls of my closet but usually it tends to seep out into my day to day life and general living space.

Okay...are you ready? This is a big step for me. I am admitting I have a problem.

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Are you ready for it?

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Are you sitting down? Okay. . . . . . .here goes... I have a serious.....shoe problem.

whew, I said it!

I love shoes. It doesn't matter if they are pumps, sandals, flats, espadrilles, peep-toe, strappy, sling-backs, boots, slippers, flip flops, patent leather, suede, cotton, velvet, leather, canvas, furry....I don't care. I love them all. If we could just all wear sweat pants/yoga pants/comfy pants and a white t-shirt with fabulous shoes and great bags, I would be perfectly satisfied. A good pair of shoes will make the outfit. It can take you from cute to sexy. Trendy to classic. Sloppy to presentable.

If you're having a bad day, a cute pair of shoes can turn that frown upside down! Every woman needs to own at least one pair of red shoes. I have three. Heals, ballet flats and espadrille sandals. Every woman should also own at least one pair of boots. I also have two. Tall boots (up to the knee) and short boots (up to my ankle).

The song, "New Shoes" says it all....

Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
It so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
But long on time,
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
And i'm running late,
And i dont need an excuse,
'cause i'm wearing my brand new shoes.

I.LOVE.SHOES!!!!

Can someone please enlighten me?

I don't understand the strange rationale that is my head sometimes. Scary, right? Even I don't understand me. For example, say all of your friends were invited to a party and you weren't. So all your friends are going. Now, you don't really like the person and aren't really friends with the person that is having the party and wouldn't go if you were invited but still you're just the tiniest smallest bit hurt. Why is that? I don't really want to go but I want to have the choice not to go.

Run for the hills....a Democrat!!!!!

Like I have said before in previous posts, in the past I have tried to keep my mouth shut about politics and religion, something that I have very firm opinions and I know inspires extreme reactions from different people. I have found that it is generally safer to keep your political opinions to your self for fear of offending someone and igniting a firestorm of objections and arguments.

Having said that, I have always been something of an activist deep down in my heart of hearts. I found an outlet for that in College by attending a Women's College that focused on and fostered awareness of women's issues and minority issues. Several times during my college career there were events that reminded me that not all is right with the world. Social injustice, bigotry, hatred and violence were still hard at work. I attended the rallies and colloquiums but it never transferred over into the sphere of politics and political activism....until this current election.

There is something about what is happening with this election cycle that is, to me, extremely exciting. Some people may say that it is because of who is running. To start with we had the potential to break 3 very big milestones: first Mormon President, first woman President and the first African American President. And yes, these are all very exciting achievements but I don't think that is the source of my excitement and interest in this election.

Our country is at a very serious crossroads and we are balancing on the edge of a very uncertain future. I'm a self proclaimed history buff and were we are as a country reminds me of every great civilization and world power in history when they fell into second or even third place on the world stage. England rose to power after defeating the Spanish Armada, the old world power. Great Britain was the leading world power from the late 14th century and Queen Elizabeth I until the end of WWII when the US came to the rescue, fighting the Nazi's and Japan. Russia collapsed after the Cold War to the mighty US.

Look where we are now. We're outsourcing jobs to Asia, we're borrowing billions of dollars from China, our military is weak. We're a joke to the International Community. We're alarmingly close to giving way to a more powerful country. I don't think that by electing McCain or Obama or Clinton we are forever dooming our nation to second place status to China and India and I don't think that any one candidate has all of the answers and will never make any mistakes but I do think we have become complaisant as a country and we are ignoring the issues and changes (good and bad) that are occurring within our borders.

We have a wonderful opportunity here to make a change. We have the chance to rebuild the American Dream and American character. To rebuild our international reputation. It's no secret that the rest of the world thinks that we are arrogant, self-assured (not in the good way), condescending and self righteous, among other things. We need to go back to what made us great. It wasn't the widening gap between the social classes and it wasn't the skyrocketing interest rates and price of college tuition and it wasn't the sad state of our public school education system. Our country has changed and I don't think it has changed for the better. But the glorious, wonderful thing about our country is that every four years we have the chance to change it. To reinvent ourselves. We have a chance to make this country great.

How did I get here?

Rewind one year:
Active social life- spending all weekend out with friends and most weeknights.
Serious romantic prospects.
Working overtime (loved job) = lots of extra cash to do fun stuff.
Involved in Ward


Fast forward to Present:
No social life- spending weekends at home - decided what movie to watch tonight and ordering pizza?
OR babysitting for brother and sister (but do love the wee babies).
No romantic prospects.
Working "full time" -hard to focus on work (disinterested)
Moved away from old ward-new ward not as good and starting to attend old ward.


Does anyone get the feeling that I've taken two steps back? Because, I sure do!

This is me

1. What is your occupation? Academic Services, Team Lead

2. What color are your socks right now? Flesh...no socks

3. What was the last thing that you ate? I'm currently sipping a Jamba Juice, Strawberry Surf Rider with a Calcium boost...the breakfast of champions!

4. Can you drive a stick shift? Pat has tried to teach me in the past but I'm not very good.

5. If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why? not sure...green, blue...light soothing tones.

6. The last person you spoke to on the phone? Allen Clarkson from West Virginia. He suggested that we put all the snow in Park City in Tankers that will then explode after all the melted snow then freezes again and expands...killing 3 teenagers in a tanker explosion. Doesn't make sense? don't worry, Allen is a little odd.

7. Who is the person who sent this to you? Kind of swiped it from my mom and Annie

8. Favorite drink? Depends...half Dr. Pepper/half Diet Coke is good (don't knock it, till you try it!)...OJ with Sprite or lemonade... water

9. What is your favorite sport to watch? I don't really watch sports unless you're actually there, then it's fun.

10. Have you ever dyed your hair? So much so, that I'm not entirely sure what my natural color is. I've been shades of blond, i dyed it shades of brown myself that somehow turned into black in college, then I went back to the blond and now i'm back to Brunette...Frank is the master.

11. Pets? No.

12. Favorite food? Again, depends. Love Chinese, pasta, PIZZA from the Pie...oh so good. OH! and their cheesy pull-a-part bread...to die for!

13. What was the last movie you watched? The Philadelphia Story with Sarah...Carey Grant....so wonderful.

14. What do you do to vent anger? Friends, family....i don't really have a filter. I tend to say things that I don't really mean....I think out loud a lot.

15. What was your favorite toy as a child? Nothing really stands out in my memory. I played with dolls and legos and Linkin' Logs...those were pretty cool.

16. What is your favorite season fall or spring? Fall.

17. Cherries or blueberries? I don't like Blueberries...why would you? They dye everything blue. I like the flavor of cherries but not really the fruit itself.

18. When was the last time you cried? I've cried a lot in the months since my surgery...but i'm not sure that really counts because my hormones were out of whack and i had absolutely no control over it!

19. What did you do last night? I was trying to pay attention while the GMAT instructor talked about independent clauses and dependent clauses, phrases and modifiers, prepositional phrases and dangling participles. I was hit with a huge ADD fit and could not pay attention. I then went home and watched the last half of Pleasantville on TV while eating some ice cream. It was a long night.

20. Favorite smells? Baby, rain, ocean

21. What inspires you? My sister and her cute little family. They're wonderful.

22. What are you afraid of? SNAKES! They just creep me out. I watched Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel and it was about catching and studying water snakes....i had dreams about snakes - not good.

23. Favorite dog breed? I'm partial to the Siberian Husky. Misha was the perfect dog.

24. Number of keys on your key ring? One for my apartment, one for my car, one for the mailbox, one for my parent's house and one for the office but it doesn't actually work and i've never actually needed to use it. So, that's 5.

25. Favorite day of the week? Friday because it's the last day of the work week and I have the whole weekend to look forward to.

26. How many states have you lived in? 2: Utah and California.

27. Favorite holiday? Any holiday that I don't have to work and I get a paid day off, is a good holiday. I normally say Christmas/Thanksgiving but right now I am so done with the snow and cold that I don't even want to think about November/December.

28. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? I've been on a motorcycle and driven wave runners and a motor boat...that's pretty heavy, right?

29. Ever left the country? Yes.

30. Favorite kind of music? Anything with a good beat, melody and/or harmony and anyone that has a good voice.

31. Last book you read? I have a pretty large stack on my night stand of all the books that I am currently reading: The Screwtape Letters, Elizabeth & Leicester, We Survived, The Odyssey, Zipporah, The World is Flat, The Historian, The Pillars...it just depends on my mood but I'm always reading something.

Middle Child...sorta

Your Personality Profile

You are nurturing, kind, and lucky. Like mother nature, you want to help everyone. You are good at keeping secrets and tend to be secretive. A seeker of harmony, you are a natural peacemaker. You are good natured and people enjoy your company. You put people at ease and make them feel at home with you.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

I even went to the concert!

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: Who Will Save Your Soul by Jewel

Who will save your soul when it comes to the flower Who will save your soul after all the lies that you told, boy Who will save your soul if you won't save your own?

What's Your 1996 Theme Song?