t h a n k f u l (times 6)

I'm not doing a very good job in keeping up with my gratitude. But I can just keep trying. To catch up here are six things I'm grateful for (in no particular order).

1) I'm glad that my work is too cheap to have a work Christmas party. That way I won't do something foolish like Harvey (see below cartoon for details)...without the alcohol of course. I don't even need alcohol to do and say stupid stuff.

2) I am SO glad that I only have 30 hours of work left before going to BRAZIL for Christmas. I have never ever been so excited to have a break from work or to go to a foreign country. And other than my two mission Christmases I haven't ever spent Christmas outside of the USA so I'm excited for something different and am ready for some warm weather! And most of all I'm excited to see Al and Mil and to hang out as a whole family for the first time in six months.

3) I am grateful that I now have 7 of the 10 suitcases we are taking to Brazil packed. They'd better not lose our luggage this time or I'll be SUPER MAD since packing this stuff for Brazil has been the focus of my life for the past 2 months. And special thanks to Blog Leeches Myrlann and Aunt Ramona for your help in getting stuff together to go to Brazil...and to Russell, Lee, Kim and Ty too and anyone else I've forgotten to mention. Thank you, thank you.

4) I'm so glad that gas is cheaper than ever because I went to Idaho again this weekend...partially to get a couple more of the suitcases packed and partially for moral support (due to job stress) from my good brothers and sister-in-law and grandma.

5) And I also got a fabulous haircut from Audrey. I always feel better about myself after a haircut from Audrey. Partially because of the actual cutting of my greasy mullet and partially because of the talk that goes on during the haircuts. Many haircuts end in watching some little clip from Oprah, So You Think You Can Dance, or Dr. Phil...you know...whatever came up in conversation that day. Always therapeutic.

6) I'm glad for blogging. Because it too can be therapeutic (even if everyone who reads your blog thinks you are a bipolar weirdo because you write every little detail about everything and always give TMI...too much information). And I'm grateful for the friends that I otherwise wouldn't have or wouldn't know too well if it weren't for blogging (even if some of them are leeches). Love you all!

t h a n k f u l

December 10, 2008... Today I am thankful for WATER. I love water. It is my drink of choice. Pretty much everywhere I go my SIGG bottle full of water goes too. When I'm at a restaurant 99.9% of the time I order water. Not to be a cheapskate or health nut but because water really is my favorite beverage. Water is calorie free and usually costs nothing. Water is great. If Al Gore is right about this Global warming thing then we should have plenty of water in the near future with all the ice melting. California will probably be covered in it. But we'll have plenty to drink (yum, yum) as long as the temperature doesn't get too hot and it all evaporates. But if that happens then it will rain and we can gather the rain to drink (they do that in Australia even now). So either way I think we're all okay. Unless of course the world's population grows too fast...you know the human body is about 60% water. Good thing China has pretty strict population control. And...most of us are extremely blessed enough to have clean, running water in our houses, places of work, stores, churches, etc. We even have both hot and cold water. We don't have to walk long distances for water and then carry it back to where we live on our heads. We can take a hot shower. We can wash our clothes and dishes. We are so lucky. In places on the earth where people aren't so lucky they spend a big part of their days in the pursuit of water. Walking to get water, purifying water, and heating water. And if they don't have clean water they spend a lot of their time sick from waterborne illnesses. I'm glad that I have easy access to clean running water but I am also glad I've met people who don't...that way maybe I won't forget what a blessing it is. But if I do...there's always the occasional power outage to remind me. Yay for water!

t h a n k f u l (times 5)

I'm not ungrateful, just really busy, but I'm five days behind on gratitude so here's a list of five things I'm grateful for. Sorry for the gratitude overload. In no particular order... 1) GAS PRICES...Holy crappoly I paid $1.41 for 88 octane gas (that is usually considered mid-grade) this weekend when I was in Idaho. For some reason I think gas is cheaper in Idaho (probably because everything is better in ID) so I haven't seen prices that low in Utah, but hey, anything under 2 bucks is good as far as I'm concerned. So yay for China and India (and everybody else) cutting back on fuel usage big time. We need to get those guys to always cut back. 2) THE AWESOME NEW TREADMILLS WITH INDIVIDUAL TVs THEY JUST GOT AT MY GYM!...So now I can channel surf while working out. And since I don't have cable at home I now no longer will miss out on watching shows such as: Pregnant and Paralyzed, Mermaid Girl, shows about dwarfs, shows about fat people, shows where trashy people yell at each other, shows where people yell at each other while cooking, some wedding show with a host who looks like Sloth from the Goonies, cheesy Telenovelas (Soaps) in Spanish, ETC! I flipped through the channels a couple of times before I realized that watching Seinfield, Simpsons and Everybody Loves Raymond was my best bet for not feeling more stupid and sad for Americans everywhere then I did before starting my workout. SERIOUSLY, what is wrong with TV these days? But hey, I'm super grateful for the individual TVs on the treadmills. 3) I'M GRATEFUL THAT THIS WEEKEND I WAS ABLE TO GET 3 OF THE 10 SUITCASES WE ARE TAKING TO MY PARENTS IN BRAZIL PACKED. Yay for me! This weekend I was thinking about how much fun it is to bring my parents stuff from the US and how much easier it is to shop for my parents for Christmas now that literally to them a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup could be a legitimate and appreciated stocking stuffer...and I started to wonder why it seems so much fun to pack all this stuff for them (even though I'm super busy and stressed with school, work, finding a new place to live, finding a new job, etc.) And then I realized...in some way taking stuff to my parents in Brazil feels almost like sneaking contraband to someone in prison and sneaking equals exciting. No offense to Brazil or anything but life there is different and they are missing a lot of staple foods, like chocolate chips for example. And although I can't change the reality my parents being in Brazil for 2 and a half more years it sort of feels like sneaking them contraband in the form of peanut butter, root beer extract, taco seasoning, marshmallows, cheddar cheese, and American candy, is the best thing I can do to help make their stay more comfortable and fun. 4) IDAHO. Need I say more? Okay, I will. I LOVE Idaho. I went there this weekend to visit Lee, Kim, Russ, my Grandma and others, and let me just tell you...the second I crossed over the border the headache I'd had for the past week went away, I suddenly stopped grinding my teeth, I felt excited about life, etc! In Idaho I have: no job, no school, no stress, no hate (just love and peace), lots of family...it is wonderful! I'm just a different person when I'm in ID. Oh how I miss it. And now thanks to number 1 on today's gratitude list I'll be able to afford to go to ID a whole lot more! Yay for recessions! 5) THOSE NEW PEPPERCORN RANCH SUNCHIPS. They are delicious. Basically it is like Cool Ranch Doritos breeds with Original (plain) Sunchips and now we have one more yummy snack.

t h a n k f u l

December 4, 2008... Today I am grateful that: a) Tomorrow is FRIDAY (because work is dragging me down into the pit of misery and endless woe) and... b) Due to the awesome skills I developed as a youngster, by messing around with the Microsoft Paint program for hours on end, I was able to fuzz out the full male frontal nudity on the above cartoon so my blog can stay at a PG-13 rating...just bad enough to stay interesting but good enough you can watch it (or read it) with your mom.

t h a n k f u l

December 3, 2008...

Today I am thankful that the luggage I've been eying at Dillard's for the past couple of months is now 70% off! And who said that recessions were all bad?

P.S. It isn't the luggage in the picture...the luggage I've been eying is this cool blue-green color. Hopefully if I buy this new luggage my lost luggage curse will leave with my old red stuff. Only time will tell.

t h a n k f u l

December 2, 2008... Today I am thankful for the lessons and council given to us by a wonderful man who passed away last night. I know, I know... just last night I was thankful that the B.O. smelling car wipes I bought were cheap and tonight I am actually thankful for something serious. I guess I'm just a person of contrast...that's how I roll. ANYWAY, I just have to say that I love, love, love Elder Wirthlin's most recent conference talk. It for sure was my favorite talk from this conference. And his April conference talk was pretty sweet (as in cool) as well. He's always been one of my favorite apostles (and yes, I'm pretty sure it is okay to have favorite apostles as long as you still listen to the council of your non-favorites). He was just such a humble, quiet, and kind man...basically my complete opposite, which always made me intrigued by him and made me like him. Anyway, I'm sad to see him go but am happy for him. Oh, and by the way, I just for the first time paid attention to Elder Worthlin's middle name...just like President Hinckley. So I did a little research and found out that both Elder Worthlin's mom and President Hinckley's moms were Bitners. So were they sisters...cousins...distant relatives? What's up with that? Anybody know?

t h a n k f u l

December 1, 2008... Today I am thankful that the Four Peaks Protectant Wipes I bought to dust my car's interior with only cost me $1.98. I am grateful that they were so cheap because then I won't feel as bad about throwing them away after only using them once. Why would I throw them away you ask? BECAUSE THEY SMELL LIKE B.O.! My car has gotten a little dusty lately so while I was at Walmart tonight I decided to get some interior car cleaning wipes. Unfortunately I made the mistake of buying the cheap brand. Right when I got out to my car I opened up the pack and started cleaning. Then all of a sudden the image of a sweaty guy in a wife beater walking out of Gold's Gym came to my mind. Oh and by the way the guy was spitting too. I don't know why the guys leaving the gym are always spitting but they are so that was in my little vision too. And then I wondered why all of a sudden I was thinking of gross, spitting, sweaty guys in wife-beaters. That's when I realized that the smell of the protectant wipes brought that imagery to my mind. Great. Now my new car smells like B.O. But, in keeping with my thankful attitude I'm glad the wipes were cheap!