Last Thursday we left for Vegas. We stopped in St. George for gas and to grab some lunch. We ate at Iceberg. While we were eating, I thought I saw my cousin who goes down to school in St. George. I just saw her out of the corner of my eye. After we finished eating, I went up to the counter and asked if Natalie worked there. Lo and behold, she did! Of all the places to stop at, we pick where she works! I still think it's funny.

After lunch we headed out for the hour and a half trip to Vegas from St. George. They are widening their freeways down in Vegas, so traffic was stop and go for about 15 minutes or so. We finally got to our hotel, and checked in at about4 Vegas time. We relaxed for a bit before we headed out on the strip.

We stayed at Excalibur, and it was nice because we weren't too far from some good casinos and other attractions. I think we gambled a little bit the first night, but we took it easy too.

Friday we walked over to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay. We gambled a bit there, and I won $90 off of $7. I was excited! LOL. We then walked the strip. I think we walked about 12 miles or so that day, and boy was I exhausted when we got back. We set out to see the lions or tigers at the Mirage, but they didn't have them for us to see for free anymore, so we started walking back to our hotel. We stopped for lunch at McD's, and we shopped a bit on the way back. I got 2 new wraps that you can use as skirts, shirts or dresses. They are pretty interesting and cute.

Brian's friends who he worked with at Subway a few years back joined us in Vegas on Friday (well technically early Saturday). We had breakfast with them at the Sherwood Forest Cafe in the hotel. They treated us to tickets to The Tournament of Kings at Excalibur for my birthday. I thought that was very nice of them! Brian and I have never seen it, and I was pretty interested in it when we got there, but I thought it was too expensive. After we got the tickets we went to Mandalay Bay to see the Aquarium. Pretty interesting. I've never seen sharks up close before... We then went to a bar at Mandalay Bay. Their service wasn't the greatest, so we left to Excalibur's bar.

Chris and Lisa wanted to go see Criss Angel's show that night, and both Brian and I weren't very interested in seeing it, so we told them to go and have fun. They went and bought their tickets, and we killed some time before The Tournament of Kings dinner. It was such a good show! And the dinner was pretty good. A whole chicken! Haha. I enjoyed it all. After that, Chris and Lisa went to the Criss Angel show, and Brian and I went to our room to relax before we were going to go on the Roller Coaster at New York New York. I've never been on it, and I wanted to go on it at night, so we got on the last ride for the night. It was fun, although I was extrememly tired.

Chris and Lisa had to leave on Sunday to get back to work and their wedding planning. So in the morning, we had breakfast with them, and then we went and saw the Bodies exhibit. That was pretty cool....and weird. They then headed off for Salt Lake, and I'm sure they got better weather than we did on Monday! After a while we had lunch at In-N-Out burger. Brian's never been there, so I hope he liked it! It was a mad rush though. After lunch we went and did some shopping, and then we went back to the hotel and gambled a bit. We then called it a night.

Monday we left about noon Salt Lake time. I think we should have left a little earlier, although I don't know if that would've helped much with the horrible snow storm. We stopped in Mesquite for lunch at Popeye's and then a beer run. We checked on the price of gas in Mesquite, but they're a lot higher than Utah. So I told Brian we should wait til St. George. We made it to Cedar City though. After that we hit rain, and then snow. Brian was getting a little bit worried about the snow pack on the freeway (it was getting icy and there was so much snow), so we got off on the Mona exit. Their's practically nothing there, and I had to go to the bathroom. We tried to get service on our phones, but barely could. We were trying to access the internet to see if there were any back roads he could take. There really weren't. I called my dad, and he told us to get back on the freeway and that the roads should be clearer the more north we go because the plows would be out nearer to the more populated cities. I turned Brian's hazards on, and we set out for at least Payson. We stopped at a WalMart so we could have a pit stop. The roads were a lot better there, but still some snow on them. People drove way to fast for the conditions. We then finally made it home about 7:30/8. It was a scary drive.

On Saturday, Erika called me and told me that Nathan and Jessica had Bailey. I was so sad that I couldn't be there to see her right away, so I had Erika send me a picture of her. She is such a cute little baby! She seems to be really healthy =). I saw her last night, and she was just sleeping away. She's so tiny! I can't believe how beautiful she is. She's so perfect! I already love my niece so much! She is such a miracle.

Reflection

A friend of mine posted this as a bulletin on MySpace. I really like it. It's also made me think:

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).


I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.


I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.


I would have talked less and listened more.


I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.


I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.


I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.


I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.


I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.


I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.


I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.


I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.


Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.



When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.look at it and really see it . . live it and never give it back.

STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

For the past couple of months I've been feeling a bit regretful for what I had done a few years back. I know what I did was the right thing, but it doesn't change the way that I feel. When people in your family feel as if the accuser isn't believable, it makes you think twice about what you've done. Why would someone make up something so asinine?! Why would someone accuse someone of something of such magnitude? Why would I want to ruin a family? I've ruined a relationship within my family, and I'm not proud of that at all. I was sent into a deep depression for many years, not exposing a single thing to my family. I got to a point where I felt like my life wasn't worth anything anymore, and I was hurting myself on a daily basis.

I don't want to go into any details on here, but I just feel like I need to get this out. I never meant for relationships to be ruined. I never meant for people to resent me. I was just trying to protect the innocent that were in that person's presence. I didn't want anyone else to go through the pain that I have gone through since I was 10 years old. No 10 year old should have bouts of severe depression. No 10 year old should feel as if her life is worthless. No 10 year old should have to feel that she needs to hide something so painful from her parents. No 10 year old should have gone through it alone. My parents have told me on numerous occasions that they wish they would have known. Not to write off "the cat scratched me" excuse time and time again. But then again, I was good at hiding it most of the time.

Someone else talked to me about something that could have happened to them in the same situation. I'm glad they didn't have to go through what I did, but now they are uncomfortable with that part of the family. If I had said something about it sooner, instead of when I was 16, nothing would have been attempted. Maybe some family members would believe me. And maybe I wouldn't be left with so many scars to remind me of the horrible things I went through by myself for so long. But I can only speculate what could/couldn't have happened. I can't change the past, so I have to live with the ruined relationships, and never be able to speak to the ones that I care about again.

Saturday night we went to the Huka Bar with some cousins. We had an ok time. We're both kinda shy when it comes to new people, so we didn't move around much. I saw a couple of people I haven't seen in years! (Jon, Golden, Steve). It was crazy! Hopefully we'll go a bit more often and I'll get to know people better! We had a few drinks, but I was really tired at about 11. Sad, I know! So we left.

It's really funny having my I.D. checked! Everyone had to look at their watches to make sure of the date! At Club Allure on Friday, I got checked at the door...then a couple of cops came in, put a flashlight in my face, and demanded my I.D. again! I gave it to them, and they kept looking back and forth from my I.D. to my face, and then the other cop looked at his watch and says "2 weeks in a row!". Well, hmmm, what do most 21 year old's do for their birthday if they drink, huh?! At the Huka, I didn't have a problem at all, except when they checked it at the door. Got my birthday wishes though...lol. Then last night we went to Red Robin. I ordered a beer, and the waiter asked for my I.D. of course. He kept looking at my birthdate, and not the "Under 21 until 02/26/2009". He's like "Well, I guess my sister turned 21 last year, and she was born in '87, so that makes you 21"! NO DUH! Brian thinks I need to have them reissue me a license that's horizontal instead of vertical so I don't get questioned for the next 5 years.

Yesterday, Brian and I just had a lazy day. Partying 2 nights in a row can get to ya!

On Thursday, I turned the big 21! Pretty exciting! It was a pretty good day. Got several birthday wishes throughout the day. Brian sent me roses at work! They are so pretty! He's such a sweetheart. Dan Roberts (the Utah Jazz arena announcer who rents space from our company for his Kitchen and Bath design company) gave me a check for $75.00! He's way too generous!

We were going to go out that night for dinner, but Spaghetti Mama's was reserved for a highschool dance and a wedding! So we went out last night. Love that place! My grandparents, parents, Arianne and Erika came along with me and Brian. It was so yummy! My parents gave me a Betty Crocker cookbook because I've been trying to find one that's inexpensive, but no dice. It was actually one my mom got for her wedding, so it's nice to be able to have that handed down. She also got me a cross stitch pattern (Frankenstein), that I'll have to start this summer if I'm not too overloaded with what I just ordered!

After we got done with dinner we went home to drop off our leftovers. Brian and Kim planned to take me to a club because Thursday nights are not the best nights, especially having to go to work the next day! So we went to Club Allure last night. It was really fun! They've got pool, music, dancing and of course, it's a bar too. Started the night off with a "Fruity Pebble". Brian was asking me what I wanted, but I don't know drinks well enough yet. The bar tender asked if I liked sweet or sour. Of course I like sweet. I really liked the drink. I was bought drinks periodically through the night, all of which were good. Kimi, B.J., Kim, Travis, Travis' friend, Brian and I all went. None of my other friends could go with, but we still had fun! We left about midnight because I was feeling a bit sick. Kinda happens after 4 drinks and a shot (it was more like 3 shots in one!)!

Brian's got one more gift on the way. He ordered it on monday, and it said to allow 2-6 weeks for delivery. I don't know what he got me! I'm clueless! I told him not to get me anything since we're heading to Vegas next week. But he doesn't listen! LOL! I have such a wonderful loving hubby!

All in all, my birthday was really good! I'm getting impatient for Vegas next week. We really need a vacation!

Early this morning, we woke up to Sadie barking, and huffing and puffing (she does this every time someone knocks or rings the doorbell at the front door). Brian gets up and looks out our window wondering who the hell is ringing our doorbell at 5:10 in the morning. We weren't expecting anyone, and if we were, I'm sure they would've called us first. Anyway, as Brian's looking out the window, there's an SUV parked on the corner of our house with their lights on. The guy gets back into his vehicle and drives around to the back of our house. Brian told me to get my phone, and be prepared to call the cops. As the guy drove around our house, he backs up and faces his SUV at the back of our house with the lights on. He then starts honking. Brian told me to call the cops, and so I did. I told them that there is a possible home invasion that could happen, and we needed someone there. They ask for the description of the vehicle (it was dark, so you couldn't see much, but he knew it was an isuzu in a dark color). They asked if we could see the person in the vehicle, and of course we couldn't. Then they asked for a license plate number. We couldn't see that either. So they sent some cops over.

Brian decides to turn on the light to let him know that we are aware that he's there. The lights that we have out back are motion censored, so when it detected that there was no movement, it turned off. The guy gets out of his vehicle and walks around the side of our house. I was getting a little nervous by that time, but the cops showed up right then. The guy ran back to his vehicle, but the cops had his lights on as if he had pulled him over, and I believe another cop's vehicle was blocking so he couldn't leave. They talked to him (I wish I could have known what that guy was doing there), and they took some of his papers. They were out there for about 15 minutes or so. I don't know if the guy thought he knew who lived here or not, but I did not recognize him at all. I don't think the cops thought he was a threat because they let him go. But 2 cop cars stayed behind for a while, I think just in case.

We both tried to get back to sleep, but my heart was pounding with fear of what could have happened. Brian was also coughing up a storm, so every time I'd get somewhere close to sleep he would cough =(.

I always worry that something bad might happen. Sadie may bark at someone, but I don't know if she would ever attack. I don't think I'd want her too, though, because what if they shot her? She is part of my family, like my own daughter, and I would be distraught if anything happened to us or her. Brian doesn't believe in having a gun, and I am with him on that. People tend to shoot people they know, rather than someone who's breaking in. I told him we need to get a baseball bat though. I'm also thinking of getting an alarm system set up for my house.

Brian's been bugging me to update, so here we go...haha

I had my followup appointment the week after I had the oral surgery. They took x-rays, and he pulled out the stitches. Apparently most people dissolve them. I'm apparently not that lucky (ex. Sealant didn't dissolve from the root canal from 2 years previously, infection after infection never leaving the tooth that was a problem, yay!). All seems well, though. Said it looks like everything is healing up, and he won't have to see me til the summer just to check on it.

We hung out with Brian's sister, Kim and her boyfriend Travis, last night. We played some cards, and caught up on things since we haven't seen them since Christmas. Definitely good to see them again. Kim said that she put me in her phone as "Jenna Paulsen" and that she loved having another sister. I thought that was very sweet of her =D.

It snowed here today, and I'm hoping it's going to clear up the nastiness in the air! The rain didn't do much but create fog, and that was a nightmare! We drove home from work on Friday, and it was clear until we hit part of the freeway, and you couldn't see very far ahead. When we got to our street, you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you. Sadie loves the snow though, although she didn't like it when I took her out this afternoon. She acted as if she need to go to the bathroom, but as soon as she got snow on her head, she darted right back into the house. I took her out a bit later, and she did fine, and wanted to play in it. Maybe when it's not so dark, I'll let her play and eat it. I called her in, and she started eating the snowflakes off her back. So funny!

Brian and I have been having lazy days, although we shouldn't have. I did get 3 loads of laundry done, and I did a whole afternoon of cross stitching. Got 2 dolphins done today! We were supposed to go over to my family's for dinner tonight, but my mom called and let me know that they were all throwing up, and probably should just stay home. This inversion, I think, is making people sick. I wasn't feeling too hot last night, but I didn't throw up even though I felt like it. I try not to as much as possible....yuck!

I had a dream last night that little baby Bailey was finally here. I'm kind of excited to see my little niece even under the circumstances. I just don't know what's going to happen with her. I sure hope she is going to be born perfect. No child deserves to have health problems if it can be avoided. She's due the first week of March, but I expect her to be a lot sooner. I think she's in distress since she's already turned.

Anywho, it's 10:30, and Brian's already asleep. I should head to bed as well.

Yummy Utah Weather!

Lovely Utah....YUCK! And all these people who hate the idea of electric cars! Get over yourselves, and look what it's doing to our health!

Air now unhealthy for general public

January 21st, 2009 @ 11:24am

..

(KSL News) The air along the Wasatch Front right now is hazardous to your health.

The heavy smog that has gathered over the past few days due to the inversion has led to air quality officials to warn that the air outside is unhealthy for the general public, and not just those with health problems.

Health advisories have been put in place in Cache, Salt Lake, Davis, Utah and Weber counties warning residents to avoid heavy exertion outside.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5379152