Brook & Chad's Wonderland

Our cute little firm

2011-05-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from last night at the Las Vegas 51's baseball game. Tyler (my partner) and his family, and our wonderful (Queen of awesomeness) paralegal and two of her kids. So fun! I love memories like this.

Getting to Know Ryan & Amanda: WELCOME - Thanks for visiting our blog

2011-04-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Getting to Know Ryan & Amanda: WELCOME - Thanks for visiting our blog: "Dear Birth Parents, We would like you to know how grateful we are to you, for your willingness to consider adoption, and for taking the tim..."

update!

2010-11-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time! But, Tyler and I have been up to our eyeballs in work. We were blessed with wins for our August trial and our 3 week trial that just ended. I finally feel (today) like I have recuperated. It took a day of sleeping and staying in bed to do it, though.

Every time I go to blog, I stop writing what my heart honestly wants to say. It feels like it is too vulnerable of a place! My life is good. I am happy and Chad is happy. We are blessed and I am going to tuck my sweet little one into bed and say our prayers of thanks. Here are a few pics from our recent trip!

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

2010-05-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

Bee happy!

2010-03-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

That's my comment for today. I had a friend who called me heartbroken because his girlfriend broke up with him, and I am thankful my heart is whole. I know of girlfriend going through hell because her 2 year old was molested by her dad, my son is safe. I had a client telling me how thankful he was for part-time work, I have a full-time job. I may be counting calories, which means I am eating and have plenty. Sometimes we gripe about exercising, but I can walk and run and frolick because I am not paralyzed! Gas prices high? You have a car, congratulations! Upset about the wind? You can go indoors, unlike those in a tent city. We are so blessed. Bee happy!

Just a little humor...

2010-03-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Background information: every time I pick up my son from his dad's for church he has not brushed his teeth. Hello, this is so frustrating on many levels, but I digress... We didn't have time for me to turn around for him to brush his teeth, and I finally responded yesterday to it all with a mild fury while we were driving to church. Here is a conversation with my son from yesterday in Sacrament Meeting after feeling bad about the contention and my humorous effort at trying to resolve it:

Me: I am sorry that I got so mad about it. I should have been mad, but not so mad.
Son: I am sorry that I forgot again.
Me: You should be so sorry, not just sorry, and I should not be so mad, just regular mad.

Anyone else cracking up like I was/am?

Progress!

2010-03-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

I have been soooo frustrated because the blog wouldn't let me change my header picture. I had to search the web for a solution and risk losing the blog altogether to do it. But, I had success, and I am STOKED! I love doing things that are hard for me and a risk. Silly to think of this as a risk, but computers are sometimes a mystery!

I have been doing the "Ladies Olympic Challenge" (see www.ladiesolympicchallenge.blogspot.com) for the last 2 months and I am excited about it! I love the positive reward for doing it, and if any of you want to join, let me know! We are starting our next 5 days on/weekend off one tomorrow, March 22nd. If you can't find a partner, let me know. We did 2 that were 3 weeks on, 1 week off, and then this is our second round of 5 days on/weekend off. I like this one better.

MOM! I'M BORED!

2010-03-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

I am BORED! I am feeling a little antsy, and maybe it is spring fever. I don't know. But, I feel bored and not from a lack of things to do! I am quite busy! And, I don't want drama, so you can keep that far away from my world. It seems very strange to be busy and bored at the same time. Bluck

Christmas pictures

2009-12-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

Opportunity Village

(Mom, I really don't want to do this... ugh.)

My guy...

Candy land!

Dad and Madison at Chad's school play

Chad had the lead role as Santa in the school play. That meant two solos and lots of acting. He ROCKED IT!!

At Opportunity Village... What a fun place.

At Chad's choir performance at Town Square (where he also sang a solo... way to go, Chad!)

Eternal Marriage

2009-10-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, for all of you out there that don't think about how hard it is to be a single member of the church, you would be amazed. But, it usually isn't the things you would think of. I get calls or emails from people who say, "Oh I am sorry, that xxxx thing I said in church today was insensitive, or that lesson must have been hard." I usually don't even register it and I am really quite happy on my own. I try and "be content with the things allotted unto us." Truly, I do. And, I am usually so good at it! But on Sunday the lesson was on eternal families and marriage, and before it even started I turned to my mother and said, "I think I should get a free pass and get to leave on lessons like these." I have said it before, and I am usually just joking. But, Sunday I invoked the free pass after 5 minutes of realizing that I was going to burst into audible, uncontrollable sobs if I stayed. So, hug your single sisters and PLEASE THINK OF THEM WHEN YOU ARE PREPARING YOUR LESSONS!

Aida in St. George at the Tuachan!

2009-10-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

I went on a fun overnight with my best friend, Molly, to the Tuachan and saw the amazing play, "Aida." It is one of my favorite plays, and my mom and sister and I saw it in NYC about 6 years ago. I was so excited to go!

FUN with friends

2009-09-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Fun weekend with Bethany & Jeff. We went to a great restaurant and I took my friend Chris, (just a friend, my peeps!) with me. It was a BLAST! I LOOOOOOVE Def Leppard!

Some of my good friends and I at a concert in the park last weekend. It was a fun 1980's cover band called "Boogie Nights." Had a ball!

Vail Colorado

2009-09-15T11:30:00.001-07:00

I went to Vail to play with my wonderful girlfriend, Patty, and we had such a great time. Rode the gondola to the top, stayed in a super fun resort with a killer view, shopping in the village, great dinners, and the best part was GIRL TIME WITH PATTY! (Last weekend in August).

Read this

2009-08-25T23:15:00.001-07:00

Tyler and I went to a boot camp for trial attorneys probably a year ago, and met a great guy named Chris Ringer from Wyoming. The 3 of us would go and eat together while in Indianapolis for our few minutes of peace from this intense experience! Anyways, I just caught up with him and found out that his 6 year old son passed away 6 months ago, and I took the time to read the eulogy on his blog. I would highly encourage you to read it:

www.manhattanmelody.blogspot.com

Keep reading past the first entry and get to the eulogy. I just cried and cried, but I will always think of losing a cookie if I hear the word hate, and I am going to snuggle my sleeping son right now... It is worth the time.

Disney cruise! (surprise, Chad)

2009-08-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

Chad didn't know we were even going on vacation until 2 hours before we left for the airport. What a fun memory!

This too shall pass...

2009-08-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

I really like this:

"This too shall pass" (Hebrew: גם זה יעבור, gam zeh yaavor) is a phrase occurring in a Jewish wisdom folktale involving King Solomon. The phrase is commonly engraved on silver rings.

“ One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: gimel, zayin, yud, which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" -- "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust. ”

The phrase "This too shall pass" and the associated ring story were made popular by Abraham Lincoln in his 'Address Before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin' on September 30, 1859.

Chad turns NINE!

2009-07-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh! I started this blog last year and I have an entry that says "Chad turns 8." Hmmmm, I can't BELIEVE that he just turned 9. He wanted to have a smaller shin-dig this year, and so he and I and his two best friends went to dinner at the Roadrunner (his favorite because of the mac n' cheese) and Gameworks where we played video games galore! It was a fun night, and he is a great kid. I can just see these three in 10 years still being friends and going on their missions at the same time. Thank goodness for good friends.

Scuba fun and BBQ!

2009-03-20T11:47:00.003-07:00

Funny, huh! I am getting SCUBA certified!!! Starting at least! Should be certified by the end of April! Whoo hoo! A friend of mine is the scuba instructor (see the funny games below, that's him!) and a group of us are getting certified and doing a dive in Catalina at the end of April. I have two other girlfriends who are certified, too, and I am excited!

Then, we had a BBQ at a friend's house and played "silly" (fun) games after. One was called funny bones, and you can see it was silly funny!

PSI (personal success institute) Women's Leadership Seminar!

2009-03-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

At the end of February 2009, I went to Women's Leadership Seminar and it was amazing. The cool thing about PSI is that it is just a lot of experiences for you to see how you are effective or ineffective in your life in different areas. No one is telling you that you are doing something wrong or right, and there is no judgment. Just opportunities for you to look at how you want to live your life. This was focused on leadership... leadership of self and others. I loved it, but it was a LOT of work! We did community service, camping in the rain (ugh!), lots of experience based things that showed you how your communication was or was not effective, and made a lot of wonderful friends! This was all women, so you can imagine the power and energy levels that we brought to the time there! These are some pictures of my friends and I from graduation night. I really felt like doing this was a life's accomplishment and one that I treasure!

Happy for no reason

2009-03-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a million years. I have been busy with fun things! I went to see Phantom of the Opera with an old friend (we used to date when I was like 21, and no, we are not dating!, just friends)...

Then, I went to a Singles Conference here in Las Vegas that was a really awesome time! The speakers were great, and socializing was fun. I even did a karaoke song with two friends! Ohhh that was nervewracking! They had the dances and then "other activities" set up throughout the high school (yes, it was at a high school!) and in the theater was karaoke.

Chad finished his first basketball season, and his dad even put up a basketball hoop in our front yard for Chad.

Life has been good!!!

Saving you money!! (Restaurant.com)

2009-01-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

I heard of and checked out this cool new site http://www.restaurant.com/
Check it out! You can buy a $10 gift card there for $3 or $25 one for $10... there are some restrictions like you have to buy a certain amount (usually $35 I am noticing WHICH BASICALLY MEANS THE FOOD IS ON SALE FOR ABOUT 30% OFF) and you tip on the full price, but ya'll know I love to eat out and I love coupons! Yay! What a find! They have good restaurants there, too! Whopee!

Inspiring to me

2009-01-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring. He sends you a sunrise every morning Face it, He is crazy about you!

The Shoe Box (an email forward)

2009-01-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about. For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling over $95,000. He asked her about the contents. ' When we were to be married, ' she said, 'my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.' The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness. 'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?' ' Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.' ... Brook's PS: Dang, I could have been RICH!

2009-01-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

http://valeriedimick.com/

I have gone to her Universal Truths Seminar and if you are interested in taking it, it starts again soon. The fee is $180.00 and the start dates are Wednesday, January 21st at 10am, or Thursday January 22nd at 7pm. I would highly recommend it!

From her site, "My work is uniquely different from that which you will find elsewhere. I combine scientific and spiritual truth, with psychotherapeutic tools to give you an understanding of how things work, and then tools to implement that knowledge in your life, for dramatic and immediate results."

Most of you know that I am very pro-counseling, and she is wonderful. Really one of the best. This is a way to get a lot of amazing tools in much more of a seminar setting (it is NOT group counseling.) A good investment in you!

Put to shame...

2009-01-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

Chad had his first scrimmage game with basketball last night and he did a GREAT job. It is his first year for bball, so he is still learning the rules as well as skills. You can tell that some of these kids think that they are already the NBA stars. The way that they warm up, the way that they put on a show if they are at the free throw line, the way that they won't pass the ball. Chad has never been an agressive child in sports. He will do the plays the way the coach tells them and wave his hands above his head and say, "I'm open" (even when he may not exactly be open, but that is what you say when you want a turn with the ball, right?) He runs, he looks like a little man out there, and his dad bought him cool new basketball shoes. Seriously, he rocks. And, so after the game I was sitting there talking to another mom (well, griping to another mom) about the game and how I don't know if what I would tell Chad would be contrary to what the coach would tell Chad. She said, "Well, I just figure it is all about them having fun." To which I responded, "Yes, but sometimes I can't tell if he is having fun. Chad will say that it was fun, but then look at me and tell me 'but they will never pass me the ball.'" PASS THE KID THE BALL, YOU FREAKIN LITTLE 8-10 YEAR OLDS. GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO SHOOT AND MAKE A BASKET, HUH? (grumble, smack you kids upside the head.) After the game and after talking to the mom, Chad came running up to me and said, "Did you know we would have lost that game if it wasn't for me?" I was a little confused. He threw in the ball, hustled, ran around, and his form looked great. But I truly don't think he got the ball once to shoot. True we won by one point, and true he was red in the face, but how did he make it so that they didn't lose the game? He said, "If it wasn't for me blocking like I did, and I was blocking 3 kids at once during one part, we would have lost." He said this will all the pride as if he was the highest shooter. I am crying just typing this. That makes me more proud than I can possibly tell you. Yes, Chad, you are a winner and an incredible example to me. You are my prize in this life, and definitely my trophy child... I love you.

Remember...

2008-12-29T14:41:00.001-08:00

Inner Peace

2008-12-17T10:30:00.001-08:00

This is an email forward, but I loved it and wanted to share it with you! Ha! (No, I haven't taken up drinking, I still thrive on my chocolate addiction...)

CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.' So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before the morning was over I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.

NYC!!!

2008-12-15T11:06:00.001-08:00

We went to NYC and had such a GREAT time! First pic is from the top of the Empire State Bldg.

This was my second favorite musical. The first was Wicked. But, this girl's voice was amazing. And, the way that they manage the sets was incredible! So creative!

From the Trump tower....the decorations for the holidays were incredible all over!

It was rainy for a day and a half. Can you tell that I have the Statue of Liberty in my hand?

Regis and Kelly Live show! Keanu Reeves and Anderson Cooper were the guest stars. Anderson Cooper is SO cute!

How are you?

2008-12-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

I am rockstar fabulous, baby!

Christmas, Early!!!

2008-12-08T11:58:00.001-08:00

I just love to watch the kids with Christmas. We did Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa early this year because we couldn't find a time where we would be all together in Vegas before Christmas (and the grandparents didn't want to haul everything up to Provo for the time that the whole family would be together.) So the grandkids lucked out! You know how the beg all month long to open just one present? Check out the cute pics! Grandpa is cheesing it the way that Madison does, he doesn't REALLY smile that way all the time. HA!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

Hello to all! Chad and I went on a cruise for Thanksgiving, and we had a great time!

Horseback riding on the beach in Cabo San Lucas...

A trolley tour in Mazatlan (where I seriously laid into the owner for a mistake in not picking us up from one of the stops and driving us back to the pier... I doubt he has ever had a single mom lay into him that way, but he made things right.) A trolley tour in Mazatlan (where I seriously laid into the owner for a mistake in not picking us up from one of the stops and driving us back to the pier... I doubt he has ever had a single mom lay into him that way, but he made things right.)

And a small Mexican version of "Wet N Wild" in Puerto Vallarta.

I loved taking the "studio pictures" that you then get to pay a million dollars for on the cruise, and Chad hated that part! We are home safe and sound and off to NYC next week! Wow!

The cutest thing

2008-11-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

I was driving down a random street and saw one of the cutest things ever. I even stopped and did undercover camera shots to share with you. Oh, to have this kind of love and walk with your honey in your walkers around the neighborhood.

It's all in perspective...

2008-11-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

I took Chad to dinner on Tuesday night, mostly because I wanted a really good dinner but didn't want to cook it. So, I thought about what I wanted, and Japanese Hibachi came to mind since there is a PUMI'S in our backyard and we never go. Well, I forgot how expensive that Hibachi is and remembered as soon as we were sitting to look at the menu. (Obviously my tummy was ruling my world at the decision making time, not my logical wallet.) So, I thought that I would take this as a time to teach Chad about gratitude. First I thanked him for coming on this fun date with me (it was one of those "Oh heck this is going to cost a fortune so let's make sure he thinks this is a special outing instead of our normal Tuesday night routine," things.) Then, I told him about how lucky we were to have the money to come here tonight. I told him that when I was growing up it was an incredibly special treat to be able to go out to Wendy's once a month. And, when we went to Chuck 'E Cheese (Pistol Pete's Pizza for you Nevada veterans) I would get 4 tokens. Not his 25+! THEN, I told him that I wasn't saying this to make him feel badly that he gets a lot, but that he needs to think about being grateful.

PUNCHLINE:

He then told me, "Oh, mom. I am grateful. I am just SO SORRY for what YOU had to go through when you were a kid..."

Oh I wish!!

2008-11-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is me. This was my weekend. Don't I look pampered?

Nope, my cute Chad was sick and so I actually spent the last half of the weekend plopped in the family room with him. Poor little guy. But, I got a lot of work done on Saturday!

Brook's 35th Birthday!

2008-11-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, I turned 35 yesterday, and it was a fabulous day! Zachariah came over and made me an overboard, awesome breakfast that "Chad helped with..." He was so good at making Chad feel part of the team. It was all favorites of mine. I loved it! And, two dozen roses, huge balloon, snuggly jacket and awesome slippers. He made sure I played hookie from work (which is not usual for me even when it is my bday,) and we took a long nap, and then we went shooting! I actually really liked it. Cool! Something outside of the box.

Chad sawed and built me something out of the neighbor's scrap wood pile. He was intent on making me a present. Cute, huh? And, when I asked him to please be patient and stop being so persistent with me on something he already knew the answer to just for my bday, HE DID! Oh, a mother's dream.

Then, dinner at my favorite restaurant. Molly made me a huge cake (well, it had to be huge to fit all of those candles, huh?) And, I had a great night. Thanks to all of you (and you know who you are!) that bring such great, happy, unconditional love, positive energy, and support into my life! YOU ROCK! I had so many friends that made sure I had a great day, and showed up in my day in some way or another, and I am so thankful! xoxo

Halloween Fun...

2008-11-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

I fit into my top, kind of, from cheering in high school! It was quite a wriggle to get in, though!!!

Life is good at Halloween!

Halloween at Cal Adventure

2008-10-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time this weekend at California Adventure. They limit the number of tickets they sell and you can ride the rides and go through all of their trick or treating stations. Chad was Legalos (from "Lord of the Rings,") and was frustrated that everyone though he was Robin Hood. Nope. Alexa was a pumpkin with bling and Madison was a cute ladybug. One of the members of our group (to remain nameless to protect the innocent intentions,) reached into the pot of candy to pick their own piece and got a firm reprimand. And, it wasn't Alexa or Madison! Ha! So funny, and the joke of the night.

Madison FREAKED out over the Chipmunks dancing in the parade. I never knew Dale and Chip were so frigtening, but apparently they are as scary as Santa Clause! And, Madison woke up and kept saying all day the following day that "She did NOT like the parade." I was sitting next to her stroller during the parade and suddenly heard her wailing! I rescued her though and hope she remembers forever more! I didn't dress up, but I was superwoman indeed! I gotcha, babe!

Test for Mom

2008-10-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

My mom wanted to see how easy it was to post a new blog! 15 seconds, mom, as long as you don't accidentally erase half of it and have to start over. This is a test, only a test... BEEEEEEP!

OPEN WIDE!

2008-10-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Last week I took Chad to a dentist appointment on Wednesday and to the eye doctor on Thursday for the first time ever. Since I had glasses at third grade (his grade level,) I thought I should probably get on the ball and get him in! But, his eyes are great! Yay! Anyways....here's the funny story. Chad was sitting at the examination machine where you put your head into the machine and rest your chin on that little strap and the doctor uses a lens to look deep into your eye with a light (see picture to the left.) It is admittedly a bright light, and Chad was squinting a little because of the brightness. But, the point is for the doctor to be able to use his lens and see into your EYE, but Dr. Cox couldn't see through the little opening Chad was giving him to work with because he was squinting so much. Soooooo, Dr. Cox told him to "open wide!" And, my compliant, happily obedient little boy did!!! Dr. Cox found a cavity in Chad's teeth that Dr. Gubler missed the day before! Ha! (I am so laughing out loud.) So, I know that you aren't following, but he opened his MOUTH and not his eye and the eye went OFF THE MAP! Gone baby, gone. It was so funny, I was laughing for a long time. The kind of story that you think back on all day and laugh about. Then he had his normal eye exam, and Dr. Cox would say, "Tell me when the top green box is the same as the bottom red box," (or something like that.) Chad would practically burst out of his chair and say "NOW!" because he didn't want to miss his nanosecond of time that the two became the same. It was a funny day. We left and Chad said, "Going to the eye doctor is fun, mom, isn't it?" Chad, it is so much more fun with you....

2008-10-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

Recognize whatever it is that someone else puts out that upsets you...words, actions, looks, attitudes...then make note of your response, how you feel, what you say or do. Then just remember that between their stimuli, and your response, is where CHOICE lies. You choose your own response. Give yourself some alternate responses.

This is the basis of what I have been learning from various sources for years. We learn things and have to "remember" them repeatedly, and my friend from Arizona reminded me of this very concept the other day. I thought it was such a pearl that I would share it with you. But, you have to be very conscious of your own thought patterns/programs, and find a way to intervene in that nanosecond reponse time and then CHOOSE. Think about it!

2008-10-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is really cool from a Christian site. Check it out! (And, which friend did I "borrow" the flowers from??? You know who you are! Good taste!)

http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup-frame.html

Thoughts are things...

2008-10-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Thoughts are things. Did you know that? "As a man thinketh..." (scripturally, huh?) and in personal growth workshops "To think is to create" because what you are thinking and your thought processes WILL manifest themselves in your reality. So, what are your triggers for changing your thoughts? We choose our thoughts, our thoughts don't choose us. So, next time you are feeling in a funk, think about what thoughts (even the nanosecond thoughts) are preceding that. Your emotions are a direct result of your thoughts, not the other way around. What do you do to change your thoughts (I call that "shifting.") Think about yellow daffodils, daisies on the side of the road that grow wild as you drive to Utah?, put on a song that lifts you? I have a song that can pull me out of most ANY funk, so you can borrow mine if you need to! Steven Curtis Chapman's "Dive." Think about it... http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/radio/speechlessframe.htm

2008-10-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend was interesting. Have you ever stopped to think about everything that you don't know that you don't know? (Think about that) Well, I went to a seminar on persuasion for most of Friday and Saturday, but I realized that it wasn't as applicable for me as I thought. You would think since I was an attorney, the title would be perfect, right? But, it was more for sales people with actual goods to be sold and how you can sell them on the goods. Then they tried to sell us on buying their services... ha! I came away realizing the many ways that people try and sell us instead of just "persuading" us. They should have called it "sell it!" instead of "persuasion." But, that's ok. I got a few things out of it and that is good! After Saturday's class ended, I went to a movie and shopping with Zachariah and his best friend. But, then they had to get back to an appointment and so...

I decided to stop at the Bootlegger on my own for dinner. I took my book in and ordered and I was sitting peacefully when I heard a familiar voice and looked up. I thought, "Hm, is that ....? No. Or even if it is he certainly wouldn't want to be stared at." So, I looked back down and read my book (keep in mind I was alone.) I looked back up at him just as he was about to leave and he looked at me at the same time, and so I politely nodded my "hello." He walked over (he certainly must not be who I thought he was then, right?) and said something to the effect that he wondered if he knew me? (He wasn't picking up on me, seriously.) He asked if I was from here and what I did for a living. I stood up and gave him one of my cards and told him that I did personal injury law and he introduced himself as John. I asked what he did for a living and he calmly replied that he was an actor. Anyways, to make a long story short, it was John Ratzenberger (Cliff from Cheers, the pig voice from Toy Story I and II, Mack from Cars, and he is in all of the Pixar films as one of the voices.) Funny, huh! He was standing for a while and we were talking, and so I asked him if he wanted to sit down and he sat with a coffee while I splattered my spaghetti all over the place! He was a very nice man, and a gentleman. Just a funny story! His voice is so distinctive that even you probably would have known it! We were talking about his foundation that does work for children, and the charity celebrity golf tournament that he was here for, and then it also came out that he had been doing campaigning for McCain! Whoo hoo! A good guy for sure!

Then, Robert Daniel King II was blessed yesterday (Zachariah's nephew) and we had a ball all day yesterday visiting with everyone. Life is good. I don't have any pictures of this yet because Z took them on his camera. Sorry! :) Love to all!

How was your weekend?

2008-10-09T10:29:00.001-07:00

Suggested site: I really like this woman and her book "Remembering Wholeness." She is LDS and a therapist that focuses on a lot of things that I have learned about from other people, and I loved this video! Look at it and then check out her site! CAROL TUTTLE

video presentation website: http://www.rememberingwholeness.com/tuttle.html

Author's website with all sorts of cool resources! http://www.caroltuttle.com/

2008-10-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Oh, my cute kid, and my neice, Madison. She lights up (can I say it another way, LIGHTS UP) to see Chad. It is so cute to watch them, and he is so good with her, too. Lots of love!

Too bad the cakes aren't real... don't worry, though, Madison, they are real at Grandma's house!

Lasik

2008-10-06T15:39:00.000-07:00

I had LASIK on Thursday night, and I love my vision! I CAN SEE!!! OH MY GOSH!

I have been wearing the glasses for the last 2 weeks, which was not my favorite but I just “did my hair and wore great make up” to distract from it. Now I can see how beautiful all of the details are around me, but the world may not want to look at ME!!! About 5 mins before going in for the prep on Thursday, they informed me that I can’t wear eye makeup for a week. WHAT? Are you KIDDING? What is the point of any other makeup if I can’t wear eye makeup? And, I have these glorious red blood ring/markings where my blood vessels popped around the whites of my eyes from the suction for the surgery. I look like a ZOMBIE! Oh well. I CAN SEE!!! I get to look like I am preparing for Halloween all week but luckily I don’t have anything major on my calendar!!

It actually doesn't look too bad in this picture! It is worse than you can see, but oh well... I CAN SEE!!!

Privileged 9:00 p.m. TONIGHT! (Tuesday)

2008-09-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am feeling charitable today, and wanted to spare you from any regret that you might find yourself feeling for missing this super cute show! Privileged is on the CW and is so darling (so far). Don't worry! You can catch full episodes on the internet at http://cwtv.com/shows/

(Doesn't it sound like I get a kick back for advertising for them???)

2008-09-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

Did ya' wanna' know?

8 T.V. shows I love to watch:

(No judgment on these, ha!) Privileged (new on CW! Soooo cute,) Lipstick Jungle, 90210, Grey's Anatomy, Reba re-runs, Hannah Montana, America's Next Top Model, Amazing Race

8 Favorite Restaurants:

Coyotes, The Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Olive Garden, El Jefe's, Appleby's, Pizza Hut, Sammy's, Cafe Rio (I so didn't want to put that on this list, but I like their chips and guac and tortilla soup! It is just tooooo trendy!)

8 Things that happened today:

I talked to my honey Zachariah who is out of town, I went to lunch with a friend named Aubrey, I talked to a high school friend (Andrea Cox VanSweringen) who I haven't talked to in years, I worked begrudgingly, I signed up for Winder Dairy deliveries, I let Chad's friend come over after school, my house was super cleaned, and I am updating my blog with something personal!

8 Things I look forward to:

A week vacation somewhere hot this Christmas season, love and acceptance by all people in the world to all people in the world (a pageant "world peace" kind of answer, huh?) Zachariah coming back from his Principia seminar and hugging me, going shopping tomorrow, getting either a massage or pedicure tomorrow (it is a ME day!), I love this Fall season through January 2nd!, not missing Chad's picture day this year (and the make up day like last year,) seeing "Nights in Rodanthe" at the movies.

8Things on My Wish list (I am going to rename this my goal list):

marriage to the love of my life, more babies!, finding an associate to come in and do a portion of my workload to create more flexibility for travel for me and Chad, lose ten pounds, moving to a place of love for others all the time, learning to shift my perspective more effectively, a custom home, Lasik!

8 People I'm Tagging:Hmm, 8 people... you will know if you are one of them because you will be doing this without my asking!

Best Friends

2008-09-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

I just stopped to think about my best friend, Molly, and what a funny thing that we didn't even talk about getting pregnant at the same time, yet we both had boys that are 6 weeks apart that are best friends, too. Life is good. Adam just sent Chad the cutest letter in the mail this week, too, and Chad just wrote him back. Life is made so much better by good friends!

SLC weekend

2008-09-08T12:32:00.001-07:00

Oh, we had a fun time in SLC this weekend. For those of you that are in the area (Trevor we tried to stop by Sat. afternoon when we were in Provo but you weren't there!) we are sorry that we missed you, but it was a short trip and we were not staying in Provo.

We did go to Provo for a few hours to get my favorite food at Joe Vera's, and look at my cute men!

We went to BYU Law School to check things out and there was a room with a computer projection screen on and they had a ball making a shadow show for me and pretending that they were doing lectures and introducing Chad Pierce Harmon as the latest entrepeneur to start a Pokemon theme park...

It was a fun, beautiful, perfect trip! And, Zachariah is moving back to Vegas which makes me HAPPY!!! Life is great!

2008-08-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

It was just time to blog. Time to do it. Nothing interesting to say, though, huh? Nothing profoud, nothing crazy, nothing admirable, nothing phenomenal, nope.

2008-08-05T11:07:00.001-07:00

Bode was blessed on Sunday, and he is such a cutie! I finally got to hold him, and he is feather light! Wow! He is easy to fall in love with, the sweetie. I was happy to see Spring and Trevor, and their nursery is darling!

Chad's BAPTISM...

2008-07-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

What a day and what a great kid! Chad did such a great job and really loved that his Uncle Trevor baptized him. Everyone from the family came, and we had a great lunch afterwards! Thanks to everyone who came and participated!

2008-07-24T09:35:00.001-07:00

Chad is getting baptized on Saturday at 11:00 at the Stake Center on Cozy Hill. !!! Come and support and then we are having a light lunch and refreshments at my house afterwards! Isn't he handsome!

2008-07-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

Friday night was a blast! Zachariah and I and his best friend and girlfriend went to a fabulous dinner and go-karting! Z won the air hockey challenge, but I drove faster on our timed track laps! (Yikes, what does that say about me?) It was so much fun! Isn't he HOT?

Next day, (Saturday) was family lake fun! I wake surfed for the first time, and Zachariah learned to wake surf and wake board for the first time. It was crazy when he did a 180 TWICE on the wakeboard! A natural!

Then Saturday night was COLDPLAY and fun triple date. I decided to leave Bill at home (my dad's imaginary friend that he takes to the movies and lends me occassionally,) and Zachariah was way more fun on this date. These are my beauty babe sisters! Only missing one, but since she just had a baby, we will excuse her (way to go Spring!)

I got a ton of crap for always wanting to take a million pictures, but aren't they CUTE?

And, here is BODE HAMMOND! He is a doll!

Chad turns EIGHT! And Ty turned to a man!

2008-07-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Chad has officially turned eight, and I feel sad that it is nearly half of the time of his youth that I have had with him until he goes to college. And, less than half of his time until other girls become much more important than MOM. But, I treasure the time with him, and he is such a good kid. He is respectful, happy, appreciative, smart as a whip, and a good brother to his many siblings from his dad's side. The picture of his siblings is cute, huh! Can you BELIEVE that the tall, masculine man in the picture is TY? Little Ty who stole my heart as my step-son when I was married to Steve (and was age 4-6?) He is taller than ME! Chad's birthday was a huge sucess. He was spoiled by all, too!

ARE YOU A GOOD WITCH, OR A BAD WITCH?

2008-07-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

I went to a meeting this week and a woman had on the cutest bracelet. Truthfully I can't even remember what it said because she said that she had a better one that read, " Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" For some reason it hit me as so funny! I know the line is from the Wizard of Oz, and I know that the meaning isn't supposed to be so profound. But, I thought that it is funny that the perspective is that everyone is a witch and thought of how coyly Glenda the Good Witch asked Dorothy the question. So, ask yourself, "Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" Love to all the witches!!!

PSI Seminar (Personal Success Institute)

2008-06-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about this seminar system!! I just finished the basic course over the weekend, and I am posting a picture of my sponsor and I (John Hardin is now a part of my history by inviting me, and I love his girlfriend, Leslie, who I felt like I clicked with right away.) He is the coolest! Going to this seminar has changed my life, literally, and for the better. It was one of the best weekends of my life, and I would love to explain more to everyone I know! Please visit the website (http://www.psiseminars.com/) and let's talk! I may become a little birdie in your ear encouraging you to go! It was phenomenal and I have signed up to do the PSI7 (which is a 7 day experience in California and much more intense than the basic) and the Women's Leadership Course (also in California and 9 days long) and I am STOKED!!! Watch me kick butt in life! I am EXCITED!

SUPER WOMEN!

2008-06-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of my life-long friend, Heather (middle) and the other power woman that I met that night at dinner (the vow renewal that I talked about a few blogs ago.) Aren't we the threesome? I love having such strong, cool women as supporting pillars in my life!

Rockstar Fabulous

2008-06-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Be happy and go for it today! What are you trading this day of your life for??? And, tomorrow, will you have thought that it was worth it? You never know how many days that you have... Life is good! In Zachariah's words (see, I am giving credit, Z!) it is a "Rockstar Fabulous" day!!!

BRAG SPOT!!

2008-06-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

Look at this cool email I just received from Chad's teacher! Chad reads all kinds of very advanced books, but I can't tell you how cool it is to hear that he is impressing his teacher! He impresses me all of the time! Had to take a minute and share the pride!

From his teacher... I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of Chad. I just did an end of the year reading assessment with him and... he is reading AND comprehending at a 7th grade level! I'm so impressed! He truly has a love for reading and it shows! I just think it's so great! Hope you are having a good week! Mrs. Rakovich :)

2008-06-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my gracious!!! I have to laugh, hard. You know that Def Leppard song "Pour Some Sugar on Me?" I tried that literally tonight, on accident. I was trying to move a 25 lb bag of good ol' regular white sugar (food storage) in its bag that it came in from the store from one shelf up to another one way, way, way up high. Being the superwoman that I am (did you know that I am Superwoman?) I was just managing by myself, and after I got it up on the wire shelf 8 feet up it developed a serious hole on the side about halfway down. And it just started pouring down, down, down. I am laughing hard just typing this. It was like that trailer for the old animated movie "Ice Age" where the squirrel puts a finger in the ice berg because it is leaking, but it causes the leak to become bigger. Well, I had one arm high above my head balancing this thing on the wire shelf, and the other holding the hole. I thought, "Right about now it would be nice to be married." Oh it was a riot. Right below, the sugar was pouring into my beautiful pageant gowns and showering my carpet. like snow Because of the precarious balance and angle of the 25 lb bag, it was hard to pull out from off the rack, too. Oh man. I was covered in sugar, and all of my dresses were, too! I was banging velvet, beaded dresses trying to get the sugar off! Then, I was pulling up carpet after a million passes with the vacuum only to still feel grains of sugar in the threads. I finally just went and got into the shower and left it because I couldn't tell what was still coming from my hair and face and between my toes and what was in the actual carpet. It was a funny episode. Ha!!!

2008-06-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

And, the update on nertz: I was doing well for the first time ever last night! And, I said "I think I finally have this game!" Tyler made sure to point out that a happy winner is a humble winner, and I steadily went downhill. A comment on nertz or my humility? :)

WANT A GERBIL?

2008-06-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

Oh last night was an adventure! Chad was home sick and had slept in the day which meant he was up at midnight with me. Lucky for me he was up because it wasn't until then that we realized that the dad gerbil had escaped from his cage! Yikes! The mom had babies (5, but one died) about 3 weeks ago and we have had to separate them and do makeshift cages ever since so he and the mother won't fight and he won't eat the kids. (I love you, Dad!~ Thanks for not eating me!) Anyhow, he chewed his way through a plastic top last night and found sweet freedom! We found him and the hunt ensued. I left Chad to watch him in a corner under the dresser and came back to see the gerbil scamper across the hall to his bedroom. I yapped at Chad, "How did you let him escape?" and we changed our focus. We finally caught the little bugger and started to get Chad in bed. I thought my eyes must have been playing tricks on me, becuase I saw the gerbil again running on the ground out of the corner of my eye! Are you kidding??? Nope, this was the mom! I guess that I had left Chad watching the mom and the dad had run across the floor into his room. Start the game all over again! About 20 minutes later we had both the mom and the dad safely penned up, and now we have 6 gerbils to give away! Let us know if you are interested. Molly, want them back? :)

2008-06-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

I think that this quote rocks! But, we forget that to stand up, we have to fall down. So, celebrate falling because at least you are trying! Just get up!

2008-06-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Friday night was a quick trip to Laguna Beach for a vow renewal of a dear friend. This is the picture of the beach! It looks like I downloaded it from the internet! But, I took it with my iphone. The dinner was great and I sat next to two very strong, neat women. So many cool people in this world.

The big excitement for this week is my mother's newfound advice to me: I need to lower my expectations. Not with men, not with life, not with work, but with NERTZ. It is a card game we play usually weekly, and my playing is getting ridiculously worse over the last year. I can't even make it out of the negative score tally most of the time! Everyone else has 67 points or close to it and I have negative 47. It is comical! My 7 year old son kicks my bootie! So, for the things in life that really don't matter (like NERTZ) I just play and don't worry about the score. Some things in life are like that!

Life...

2008-05-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Little Timmy came more

than a week ago, and I got to be there! Molly & I have been friends mostly our whole lives, and probably before. She is a rock in my life, and you all should be so lucky to know her! If you don't we will have a "get to know Molly" party! To watch the miracle of birth and that catch in your breath that happens right as you watch him take his first breath is the most endearing moment! It makes me tender hearted just thinking about it... and, giving birth to my son is my greatest achievement that I have ever been a part of. I am thankful to be a mother!

2008-05-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

Conquering the blogspot!

2008-05-25T22:47:00.001-07:00

And, persistence pays off... I still can't figure out how to resize the photos without making them a blog insert, but so what! Look at all of the other neat things I can do! I love being a CAN DO kind of girl!!! I can do the blog!

How do we resize the pictures?

2008-05-24T12:05:00.001-07:00

All of our attempts at picture postings have turned out larger than life. How do we fix this? HELP!

Sisters

2008-05-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

Bethany & I are sitting here listening to a screaming child determined not to sleep. I wonder how many times our mother waited for us to sleep so that she could breathe for a minute. But, I am sure that Bethany & I were just waiting for nap time to be up so that we could keep playing with eachother. Now we are adults and playing for the Memorial Day weekend together, listening to life continue. Alexa knows instinctively that life is a party, and by sleeping she is missing it. We all have that feeling about something...