Thanksgiving Dinner Confessions

I apologize now for taking so long to post. I actually thought maybe I will do away with the whole blog thing because what do I have to write about but the movie Julie and Julia made me realize there are all kinds of things I can write about. I just need to do it.

I'm sure your thinking get to the confession. Give us the good stuff. This Thanksgiving it's just two of us. Jessica and I are the only ones around without in-laws to visit and with no parents we are orphaned this Thanksgiving. We have had at least 15 invites but we decided that we wouldn't go anywhere unless both of us felt comfortable. Since we live in different wards/stakes this left very few places to go. I can say I wasn't too crushed because it would be nice to have a quit, relaxed holiday where there was minimal cooking, minimal dishes and a lot of nothing. Nothing sounds delightful when there is always something going on. Okay I'm finally getting to the confession. I/we have purchased three turkeys this Thanksgiving, plus I already have one in the freezer. Let me explain. I offered the one in the freezer to someone who would need it more than me a few weeks ago. I figured why would we want to cook such a big bird for two of us. We purchased bird number one last Friday. A little 6 pounder. On Monday I had a customer up and I was able to charm him into smoking the turkey for us. Turkey one was eaten for dinner tonight and it was delish. Tuesday night I went and purchased another small six pounder. I proudly thawed that bird today in preparations for tomorrow and guess what, there are no wings or legs on the little guy. It's all breast. My sister prefers the dark meat so we are refreezing the second little six pounder for either smoking when my dad is home or a big pot of soup. Whichever comes first. Tonight (Wednesday) at about 10:00 pm Jessica and I again returned to the store and paid big money for a larger bird that had all it's parts and is thawed so that it can be cooked tomorrow. Wowzer and to think I really don't even like turkey that much.

Girls Camp

I'm happy to say that Girls Camp is over. This year I was the camp director for my ward with my regular calling. It really didn't seem like that much work to do, especially since I had great assistants however the week before and the week of camp end up being extremely busy. Girls camp went really well. I had 20 girls, 2 with disabilities and 1 who takes on a disability when around her friend. I was very lucky because my girls are great. We don't have to deal with much contention, they love each other and serve each other very well. The last night was the "Faith Walk/ Bishop's Dinner". The girls love this night and it ended up being amazing. The Stake Staff built a replica of the Salt Lake Temple complete with lights. We then ended with a ward testimony meeting. I'm so proud of my girls. We were very blessed to have the spirit so close the whole week. Unfortunately camp ended with a major car accident. Kim one of my assistants and a very close friend, caught the water just right around a curve and hydroplaned which then sent her into the side of a mountain. I am so grateful for the comfort and guidance of the Holy Ghost. I was just a mile or two behind her and I kept feeling the prompting to slow down. It was almost like I knew that when we turned the curve that she would be on the other side because I was going way slower than I normally would. Luckily the spirit was there to attend us and we were able to all we could to help her while we waited for the Paramedics. Being as far out as we were it took about 30 minutes for help to arrive. The police sent everyone away and told me I would have to go to the hospital and wait to get information there. However the Lord had something else in mind because before I could get everyone else on their way the paramedics offered to let me ride with them. Yes, my first and hopefully last ambulance ride. The paramedics were awesome and kept me informed so I could in turn keep her parents part of the loop. 32 staples and 6 stitches was all it took to get Kim back together again. The police, EMT etc. are amazed she is still alive however we know that it was the will of God that she still be here. Let's just say emotionally I'm worn out. I'll post a few pictures as soon as I find my camera in all that stuff.

Phia Black Sand Beach
Keep watching eventually I will post a little of all the main places we went.

More Pics

No pictures again. I took the pics in a high resolution because I am making a blurb book with them. The higher the quality the better the print so they don't download very well. I will try again later when I have faster internet.

To answer a few questions
No
*I didn't get scuba certified
*We didn't get to snorkl. I will attach a picture of the snorkl beach. There was no sand but large boulders. It was quite windy and the waves were really beating upon the boulders.
* We didn't skydive. The weather didn't cooperate very well. It rainy and windy all but two days and those were the days that we had to stick around town because my sister had to work.
*We didn't bunji jump. I wasn't going to bunji jump but they day the weather was nice and they were going to jump from the harbor bridge we had a leak in the radiator. This was caused by the large, ragged rocks they use for their road construction. The rocks have to be 1 - 1 1/2" and very ragged.

Yes
*We went to the polynesian spa. One of the worlds 10 best spas. It was delightful. You go about an hour before and soak in 1 of 4 hot tubs. Each time you move up hot tubs the water increases in temperature. I than had a mud/kiwi wrap and massage. There were great parts of this spa and some things lacked compared to other spas I've been to. I would go again because I'm becoming the spa type of girl.

*We got to visit a lot of interesting sites one of which is a hot water beach. Two hours before low tide you dig a hole in the sand and the water boils up creating a hot tub. The steam literally rises from the sand the water is so hot I couldn't sit in it for a long period of time.

*We went to hahei beach and rented a cabin just off-shore. The beach was beautiful and unpopulated. From here we went to catheridal cove. You can only get to the cove one of two ways either by hiking about an hour or kayaking. I would have loved to kayak it however I can't paddle a boat to save my life. This was the same day as the snorkling beach so the water was extra rough making it not worth the money to kayak. We did hike to the cove and enjoyed it's beauty.

This trip was well worth it and we will probably go back next year with a short visit to Fiji or another tropical paradise on the way home.

Keep looking for pics. I will update them when I have better access.

Vacay Pics

Auckland -- This is the city my sister lives in. Her apartment is about a mile from this hill and a 10 minute drive to the harbor. My favorite places to go when at her house were the Chinese Market which had great produce at amazing prices and the bakery (1 block walk). Needless to say I gained 7 pounds due to the eclairs and crumbles. Yummy! I do have to say I ate a lot of fruit and vege's as well. This is the end of the growing season so we had watermelon, strawberries, the best coconut ice peaches, apples, pears etc. We also ate our share of fish and chips. It's the best when it's fresh from the Harbor. Can I say I enjoyed the food!!

Moeraki Boulders --

We got there during low tide and within 10 minutes of being out of the car it started to pour. These boulders are unlike any other. The compare them to how a pearl is made. They are not formed from the river and waves but are formed by an irritating shell, bone fragment or piece of wood creating a core and like a pearl it continues to forms up to 3 meters in size. These were amazing.

I will post more pictures tomorrow.

New Zealand Pic's

Just got back from New Zealand hours ago. I think coming home with a Sunday in between was a big mistake because Sunday typically is my lazy day and I've had a hard time making myself stay awake. Can I say major jet lag. I had non going but as soon as we got there we were busy. Here are some of the things we got to see and do....

**** Blogger won't upload the pictures right now. So maybe it's time to take another nap because I'm not going out in the snow. Look for pictures this week.

Movie Review

Marley and Me Review

My little (Marly) Jimmy Chew

(He is exhausted after a 2 mile walk and playing in the park. Here's to nice days!!)

I went and saw the movie "Marley and Me", I loved it. This movie was very personal to me. It reminded me of the many dogs in my life. I had dogs previous mission life however it was the time I lived in the "House of Dogs" that started my love affair. Nephi is the onlyof the four dog's names I can remember but I have great memories of these dogs. I will never forget my first experience with these dogs. Erica (Squire) was saying a prayer after dinner before we left (we didn't live there yet.) During the middle of the prayer Nephi jumped up and knocked her chair to the floor. It was hillarious. There was also a time when the can of dog food froze in the car Erica and I tried to thaw the food by warming it on the stove so we could feed the big boys. No one ever warned us that dog food stinks when it is warmed up. I will never forget losing the large white spotted dog because the meter man left the gate open and I let him out. It was a very unfortunate event and I can truely say I didn't understand how Sister Hill felt until just recently. Oh and one must never forget to never chew gum while in the presence because he will tackle you to the ground and take your gum with his tougue. Yuck!

Bandit with his McDonald's Hamburger

Dog number two would be Bandit. My family brought Bandit home while I was a missionary. It didn't take long for him to be a part of my life. There are several things I loved about Bandit. He loved McDonalds. In fact we would have loved to teach him to bark the theme song of McDonalds because he could smell McDonalds five miles away. He knew were they were all located and he probably could have walked there if we would have let him. Bandit died a little over a year ago. I cried and cried and cried it was a sad day and we should have received grievence pay and a few days off. It took me a long time to get over not having him around however it was better for Bandit to leave this life and no longer have the daily seizures. It's a good thing all dog's go to heaven because I can't wait to be around Bandit again. (I better go to heaven.)

Skeeter Dancing

Skeeter is the next dog. He is Jimmy Chews partner in crime. Skeeter is hillarious because when he gets jealous he will dance on the table. Something that we don't usually let the dogs do. It's his way of showing Jimmy Chew that he is cooler. Skeeter loves to go on car rides and will get in anyone car who leaves the door open.

Jimmy Chew Christmas Morning

Last is Jimmy chew. He goes everywhere with me, making me the "Crazy dog lady". He hates Sunday's and Wednesday's because those are the only days that he has to stay home alone. In fact today he was in the car ready for church before I had all of my things loaded. I literally had to drag him across the seat and dispose of him in the house before I could leave. Jimmy Chew has become part of my life and he is SPOILED ROTTEN. I can't imagine my life without him.

So now for the movie review I give it four stars. I laughed and cried and cried some more. The movie was very personal for me as a dog lover. If you don't have dogs or can't relate to all the little things they do than I'm sure you won't like it nearly as much as I did and I would suggest waiting to see it until it comes to the Red Box. Enough said.