Blast from the past

So I ran into some old pictures I haven't seen in a long time, I thought I would post them so when I print this off my posterity can see some of my awkward phases in life...although the "Allen" round face/chubby cheeks are a permanent thing, so maybe whoever lucks out with that gene can find comfort in knowing that they aren't alone. Don't worry, it kinda grows on you :)

My mom tried keeping my hair down with everything, including lotion- but failed at every attempt.

My first formal dance...I look like I'm 12!!!

My first little boyfriend, Steve

Our first experience at Lake Powell

So those awkward phases I was talking about... here ya go! There were more but they wouldn't download, probably for the better. Hope you have a good laugh!

Sincerity vs. Pity..?

So earlier this week I was talking with a co-worker. He's an older man in his 50's, and I walked in the room and this is what he said to me, "So I just got done talking to Ralph telling him that since you graduated from BYU unmarried, there must be something wrong with you." I kinda just laughed and thanked him sarcastically. I think he realized how that sounded because the next time I walked in the room he had me sit down and have a chat with him. He asked me if I was outgoing at all. I told him the truth, that I am initially shy until I get to know people, but even if I were interested in someone I would never pursue or talk to the person cause I worry that they would be thinking, "ugh, why is she talking to me." or because I was out of their league. Then he tried to tell me his theory...that I am intimidating to the guys because of my silence and being "very beautiful" ha ha ha. I laughed in his face of course.

Then today at work I walk in and he proceeds to tell me that he showed his son my profile pick. He wants to set us up even though he is 3 years younger than me. He then said, "I want you to date my son, you should take that as a compliment cause I don't suggest just any girl to my own children."....so yeah, do you think he went a little overboard trying to make me feel better about the previous work day? Yeah, me too! But I still thought it was funny. I love it when guys think they totally offend you and they feel like they have to make it all better.

Need Running Motivation?

I know I already posted something today, but that was early this morning since I couldn't sleep(having 3 HORRIBLE, realistic nightmares didn't help either, & after I woke up from the third I decided sleep wasn't worth it anyway).

Moving right along... you are probably wondering what the heck I'm doing posting such random, ridiculous pictures. Let me expain, and give a "thanks" to these artists! This summer I used to run a little over 6 miles 4-5 times a week. I was getting pretty good and increased my time each time. However, once the snow came and work started- running ended.

After ongoing holidays and feeding my face, I decided this morning that I was gonna try running on the treadmill (which I hate because it is so flaming boring!) I was dreading it, because nobody likes seeing how much they've digressed- and I knew I was just gonna plain suck it up. BUT- thanks to Jesse McCartney, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, and many more (I wasn't gonna find pics of every artist I listened to) I was actually able to stay motivated to their beat. So if anyone is my height (around 5'7") and like running a speed around 6.2 (or faster depending on the song) these artists have songs with a beat that goes exactly to my running pace. I'm sure you can adjust your speed depending on your height, but seriously I did a lot better thanks to them- and a lot of pent up energy.

Guest Annual THEME PARTY

(more pics below)

Every year our family puts together a Theme Party. It's usually the week after Christmas so people can make it from traveling to other family members (I just finally loaded the pictures so sorry for the delay). We have been doing this for years and have had quite the themes. We've done themes like German, Mexican, Hawaiian, Western, Sponge Bob, Mardi Gras, Rock Band, and others I just can't think of right now. We come up with the ideas and then let our family know what the theme is so they can dress accordingly. Last year's Rock Band theme was one of my favorites because a lot of people got into it. We also eat foods according to theme, and we decorate the house to go with it as well.

This year was a Pajama Party theme. We decorated the tables with different cartoons (cause every kid always wakes up in the morning for their cartoons!). We had a table for the boys with the Superhero Squad, we even got masks and the old-school army guys and helicopters to put as table toppers. We had a table for the little girls with all the Disney Princesses, which was topped with princess necklaces and rings. The other table was for the younger kids who like Whinney the Pooh (I personally can't stand that bear...seriously, he teaches kids to steal. Stealing honey is NOT ok! Dumb bear! :) ok I don't care so much about that, but he still bugs me- and sounds gay like he has a crush on Christopher Robin).

Everyone came in their PJ's and we ate breakfast-type foods like quiche, pancakes, swedish pancakes, grandma's famous rice pudding, fruit salads, cinnamon rolls, muffins, doughnuts, etc. It was quite a feast, and quite a mad-house. There were so many people and kids running around (and not every family even made it!). It was a lot of fun and I got to see some of my cousins I haven't seen in a while.

After we ate we had the traditional White Elephant gift exchange. People brought some creative ones this year. It was funny how into it the kids got. I got some Mickey Mouse binochulars, and my cousin was coveting them so bad. Needless to say I came out of the party empty handed, and a boy left with a huge smile on his face. I think I instantly became his favorite cousin. Hey, if that's all it takes I will do it! :) Anyway, these pictures are just a few of what I have, and they are kind of small but maybe you can get an idea of how the decorations and PJ's turned out this year.

(P.S.- Look for a little girl holding a doll with a Spider Man mask on and her side-kick Hulk pushing a stroller...I saw that and busted out laughing. It was so flippin funny. By far my favorite picture of the night. Oh, and if you are wondering- YES, you better believe I'm wearing a onesie!!!)

In Loving Memory

This evening my family was informed that a good family friend has passed away. She has been fighting stomach cancer, which spread to her Liver. I'm just glad their family was blessed enough to get to spend one more Christmas with her.

What makes this harder for me is that just a little over a year ago her daughter, Lindsey, passed away. I grew up with Lindsey my whole life and became good friends as the years went by and especially as we carpooled to High School together. She was very friendly, musical, artistic, and athletic so we shared a lot of similar interests. She happened to pass away while serving her mission in England. She was out running with her companion and dropped dead. The autopsy found no cause of death. My heart goes out to the Spjute family. Both women were truly amazing people and great examples of service.

Times like these make me pause to reflect on my own life. Why was I not the one to die? What is it that I haven't done yet that I'm supposed to do? Will I ever measure up to anything close to these amazing people? Today while sitting in class a girl speaking asked about our purpose here in life. My one sister leaned over to me jokingly and said something along the lines of "good question." I responded to my sister's comment saying, "I seriously don't even know what the point is for me." We brushed the comment aside, but I was left really thinking about it and seriously meant what I said. I guess I find my life kind of in limbo right now and like my life is never really going to make a difference like the two women mentioned above. Sure I'm a granddaughter, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, and friend. But in all honesty those positions can easily be replaced with the many other women in my life. If I were to pass on I can honestly and sincerely say that after the initial shock and mourning were over, life would go on without me without much second thought.

Ok, so that paragraph took a turn and it sounds like I'm suicidal. Rest assured that I am NOT. I'm just trying to make a point that I feel like the Spjute women had so much here on Earth with so many family members relying on them. She had 5 daughters and 1 son, with many grandchildren she could have lived for to help teach and love. I, myself, don't have that to offer for anyone at this time, nor do I feel it in the near future. I realize the Spjute women are probably busy and have work to do past this life at this time. I just wish for the remaining Spjute family that it could have turned out differently. I know our will isn't the same as God's will, but it doesn't make it any easier to accept sometimes.

Anyway, who knows when your time is gonna come up to leave this world. It's a good reminder for me to make every day I'm blessed with count. I've got a lot of work to do!!!

New Years Eve

I can't believe another year has gone by. It's ridiculous when you are talking with people and say, "that was 15 years ago" and you actually REMEMBER clear back 15+ years!

Anyway, for New Years Eve this year my friend, Cara, invited me to come to her celebration. She made quite the feast, so of course I was automatically in heaven. It was her first attempt at making a turkey and she passed with flying colors.

After we all ate we played a few different games like Uno, True Colors, then a tournament of Speed Uno until 3:30am while staying awake with the help of soda, candy, and chips (and every dip imaginable to go with it...I think I ate a whole bag myself!). When it came to the games- don't worry, I lost the tournament...what a waste of sleep eh? JK, it was a lot of fun and the time flew by. As for True Colors- I don't think I won many of the majority votes for the questions. There were a few though, one being if someone were to go to a high fashion party I was chosen as the person they would come to for advice...apparently the crowd I was playing with doesn't see me on a daily basis! And if I were to give someone a compliment I was the one person they would believe. I can't really remember the others, but some of the questions were kinda funny. Don't worry, nobody got offended so it was a success.

I took a few pictures but somehow most of them got deleted. I was able to save a few from my cell phone I took. This cute little girl is Cara's daughter. We've become good little friends and she is just so cute. Once I walked in the door she was standing right by my side as I sat in the chair so she could show me her game. Then when she was finished with her game she continued to stand by me and chat away, these pictures give you an idea of what she kept doing (showing me she could climb up on the arm-rest and smile. I took one picture, then she kept posing and telling me to take another. Oh the good old days when you liked having a camera in your face).

All-in-all it was a fun night. Thanks again Cara for putting that party all together! I hope this new year treats everyone well. Happy New Year!!!

Eventful Wedding...to say the least

Yesterday my cousin got married, and guess who got to watch these two little girls in the picture above? You guessed it, the unendowed one! These are my cousin's two daughters, and they are way cute. The younger of the two walked up to me and came into my arms without any coaxing involved (this was a shock because I've only seen her a few times in her whole life). They were both very quiet, well-mannered girls yet they still taught me what mothers go through all day. I can't imagine what a "terror-child" would be like for me if these two were giving me heart burn enough...I'd be self-medicating that's for sure! I was in charge of getting their hair done as well (try getting an elastic in when they are constantly moving!), and after I put all this time and effort into making them so cute (I'm kind of a perfectionist- I can't help it), they rolled on the couches in the waiting room and messed it all up leaving all sorts of static going on. I've never seen children eat gold fish and graham crackers as fast as they did either, you would have thought they had been starved for weeks. I've never been so grateful for books either (and those of you who know me, you know reading isn't the first thing I would choose to do in my spare time! Thank you Dr. Seuss!) Needless to say, I was again reminded of the work mothers put forth for their children and had a renewed respect for them all.

Anyway, there was huge FLOODING going on in the temple as well. We first got there and the floors were soaked with a good inch of water, and more streaming down. It was on the second floor and gushing down below. When maintenance opened one door it looked like a waterfall streaming down the class windows. I felt so bad, but they were doing a good job at keeping it localized. But as I was sitting on a bench with the girls (who had covered their head's because they thought it was "raining inside" when it started dripping through the ceiling as well) I turned my head to see...ELDER HOLLAND!!!He was about 8 feet away from where we were sitting, the closest I've ever been. Not that I have favorites, but I always look forward to his talks at Conference and am never disappointed. He was talking with a few men and kept a smile on his face the whole time. He just beamed even though there was a crisis with all sorts of noise from vacuums and all sorts of other commotion...man, what would it be like to be such a perfect example all the time? Needless to say it was quite an eventful morning!

Best Christmas Gift Ever

I'm sure you are deep in suspense as to what I got for Christmas with a title like that. However, I'm gong ot spare you the "show and tell" list of gifts I received because quite frankly I'm sure you don't care and I don't feel the need. I had a great Christmas and got gifts that were pleasant surprises, but the best gift was getting to talk to my brother, Steve. He is currently serving in Des Moines, Iowa and has been gone for 6 months. Everyone has been saying how fast it has gone by, but that couldn't be further from the truth for me! So if you were wondering who that flippin' cute little boy is to the right, that was my brother about 14 years ago. About his head shot picture- he randomly wrapped rubber bands around his ears one night and that was the result.

If you have scrolled down through the pictures already, by now you can probably tell that he has a great sense of humor. He is by far one of the funniest guys I know. I'm not just saying that because he is my brother, those that do know him say the same thing. A boring setting can easily become humorous and full of laughter when Steve walks in. He is also very shy so only a few select people are priviledged enough to experience the true Steve, which is unfortunate. I'm hoping that serving and being forced to talk, more people will finally get to know him. (This scout picture was taken because my mom never got around to getting one when he got his Eagle, so this is the pose he chose...we had some good laughs)

The second half of this year has brought all sorts of new changes in my life (too many if you ask me!). This has required a lot of adjusting, and I am still trying to learn how to adjust to many of these changes, which still isn't easy for me. Steve leaving has been one of the harder adjustments. We have had a connection and bond between us since he was born that my other siblings don't share, so not having him around leaves me feeling kind of empty and isolated at home sometimes. He isn't here anymore to make my day, jog with, vent to, or help joke about my struggles to make them feel lighter. I serioulsy could have used him a lot these past 6 months, that's for sure.

I know this is starting to sound like some kind of Eulogy for him, but I think people (and my posterity) should know how amazing I think he is. He is so patient and kind to everyone. There isn't a mean bone in his body (unless shooting paint balls or throwing snowballs at deer is considered mean). He is so smart and has a memory like you couldn't believe, yet he is so so humble. He is a great friend to all he associates with and includes everyone. Steve has always chosen to do the right thing under any circumstance. If only there were more guys out there like him, the world would definitely be a better place! He is by far the best example to me, more than I could ever be for him. I am so grateful to have him in my family, and would give my own life for his because I know he could do far more better things for this world than I could ever dream to accomplish. I love you Steve!

(The last picture is right before he left, hence my makeup was still in tact...I won't mention what I looked like after :) )