Thanksgiving Thoughts

As I sit here my last night at home, about to embark on the next great adventure in my life, a lot of thoughts are running through my head. Thanksgiving has long been a favorite holiday of mine. I think even more than Christmas, slightly less than the Fourth of July. I have so much to be grateful for, and I love the entire holiday dedicated to pondering on my many blessings. I have been privileged to get to see a lot of the country for my job. I must say that no place has struck me quite the way Washington DC did. Not the great city of New York, not the pristine beaches of Southern California, and not the magical wood and water lands of Seattle. I'm sure many of you are surprised to hear this. It was absolutely indescribable to be in the place were the history of our great nation has been and is being written. To visit the cold stone monuments and memorials to those who authored the history of our country when they were warm alive and vibrant. And most of all to walk somberly through the rain soaked grounds at Arlington where the very essence of what the country stands for lays to rest; the place where valor rests. I have been fascinated wit US history since I was in 5th grade and read the book Johnny Tremaine. From the Revolution all the way up to the present day ...I love it! I have often even thought that I would love to go back to school and get my masters in US history. Honestly it's a pipe dream, and will likely never happen, but in the meantime I pacify myself by delving into every piece of historical literature I can get my hands on, fiction and non.

You're probably wondering what all this has to do with Thanksgiving. Well, I am enormously grateful for my American heritage, but that's not why I was thinking about history this Thanksgiving. I have been waxing philosophic about the way we are writing our own pages on the books of history lately. I have spent a lot of time in the last few months wondering why things happen the way they do, and why we are prompted to do certain things and take certain paths. The only thing I have been able to come up with is that I don't know. But I do know in whom I have trusted. I know that the Lord has a plan for me and that his plan is perfect, and it does me no good to be a backseat driver and whine over where I think we should and should not have turned. Every moment of every day is a day in history. It is a day that we won't get back. Each decision we make is a different thread in the fabric of the quilt that is our lives.

Four months ago I left Seattle for New York City. It was a decision that I knew was right, but it still caused me all kinds of inner turmoil. I had never felt more at home in my life than I had in Seattle. I love Logan, and I love my family more than you can know, but I must admit that on all my journeys I have never once been homesick for Utah. I've missed my family and I've missed my friends, but not a single ounce of homesickness for Logan. Seattle was a different story. I loved New York, and I wouldn't trade the experiences I had and the friends I made for anything in the world. I have no doubt that I was supposed to be there. I have no doubt that I am supposed to go back to Seattle tomorrow, but why? I don't know.

So I sit here on the eve of the next page in my history book. I love being at home. There is a lot to be said for sleeping in my old bed, doing not a darn thing but whatever I want and chillin' with my awesome family. No matter where I go, this place, here, my parent's house, will always feel right. What am I the most grateful for? You might say that it's everything I'm leaving. Go figure. I like to think that I'm not leaving what I'm the most grateful for. What I'm the most grateful for stays with me always. My parents are always my parents wherever I go. My brother and sister are always my brother and sister wherever I go. I am the same person wherever I go. Who I am, what I am never changes. And that is what I'm grateful for more than anything. I'm grateful for the ability that I have to write my own history. I'm grateful for the ability I have to change the world. My world, and in some small part the greater whole of the world. I'm grateful for all that have gone before me and are at rest in Arlington National Cemetery and in unmarked graves and battlefields throughout the world so that I can have all that I have today. I'm grateful for the legacy I have from my family. I'm grateful for the support of the greatest of all friends and family. The things we are the most grateful for should not change. So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And happy history making!

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Therefore, I'm not going to type them. I apologize to all my faithful readers *rolls eyes* (wink-wink) but I have just not felt up to updating my blog. You KNOW how hard it is to get me to do something that I just flat out don't want to do. And I suppose that it's not that I didn't want to update it, I was just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of topics that I felt obligated to cover. It's been an absolutely chaotic and wonderful last few weeks. I'm home in UT at the moment, and it was so chaotic the last few weeks, that all I did for the first three days I was home was sleep and hang around the house, enjoying time with my family and food cooked by mom. I literally didn't venture outside until yesterday. Now that I'm done with the bulk of decompressing, I'm feeling bad for not writing. I just can't do proper justice to all that I've seen and done and felt over the last little bit. I ended a wonderful stay in the greatest city in the world, left behind many great friends and coworkers, visited our cations capitol and saw EVERY monument and memorial and gift shop and sidewalk that there was to see, I entertained four separate groups of fabulous friends and family from home and played tour guide around the city (three times), and FINALLY completed my list of things I wanted to do in the city (the monstrous list I'd been working on for 6months and two weeks of living there) oh, and I was still working full time nights. I have compressed all this into the last three weeks. Each one of these subjects deserves a novel unto itself. I'm a big believer in the philosophy of not doing anything that you can't do right --perfectly. Then a familiar phrase came to mind as another wave of guilt washed over me about not blogging my many adventures and feelings. A picture is worth a thousand words. I have kind of a picture taking sickness, in that I am addicted. I take an average of 1,200 pictures a month. More if I'm vacationing with friends/family. I have a photographic detail of nearly every minute of my life the last few weeks, so for the most part I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. I have 6 complete photo albums that I've uploaded to facebook in the last three days, and I'm not going to upload all 360 pictures here. So I'm going to further narrow down the ones that I already narrowed down to the "bare minimum" to put on facebook. So if you want to see more (and I humbly submit that you do :) ) Check out my facebook or myspace pages. Or you can email me if you don't have those and I'll see if I can send you the link. So here we go.

My Mom, Aunt Pam, Me and cousin Kelsie (clearly at the statue of liberty :) )

My mom and me in Central Park

at the Fire Museum --coolest place ever ...you just have to go


ex-roommate Kirsten and I in Central Park


At the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village --the biggest Halloween Celebration in the US

Danielle and Me at the Bronx Zoo -- I love zoos!!

My favorite Gorilla at the zoo

My first Knicks game

Me and Danielle at the game

Central Park South

Central Park South looking at the Plaza Hotel

The gang from work at my 'last weekend in the city' party

Jill and Me in Brooklyn

Me sleeping on the bus to DC

So Mike says, "Just bring your luggage to meet me at the white house and I'll keep it there in my office." We weren't sure about walking up to the white house with our luggage, but we didn't get arrested :) (note Starbucks cup :) 3 hours of sleep on the bus was not enough!)

The President's motorcade, for which a bystander near by where we met Mike thanked us for the opportunity to witness. :)

WWII Memorial 'Here We Mark the Price of Freedom' There are no words.

Jill and Me at the Lincoln Memorial

Korean Memorial

Again, no words. Korean Memorial

Jill and Me at the nurses monument at the Vietnam Memorial

Jill Mike and Me on the White House front lawn waiting to see the President and First Lady take off in the Marine One helicopter. Are you seeing why I can't describe everything that has gone on lately?!

Me and Jill on our own private tour of the West Wing of the White House



Me and Jill in front of Marine One. That's a big freakin' helicopter!

Indescribable

On the wall outside the Holocaust Museum. This says it all.

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Arlington

Iwo Jima

Jill and Me on the Jonathan Larson bench at the Life Cafe back in NYC

My favorite doorman, Rupert. Every day I'd walk in and say, "Hello!" and he'd respond with a cheery, "Okay!"

And that's my life the last few weeks. Thanks to those of you who shared it with me and to everyone who made it possible and incredible. Memories impressions and feelings were created that will not be forgotten after a lifetime.

Double 0, double 0, double double double 0!

That was a ridiculous cheer that we used to do where each class would repeatedly shout the year they were graduating and try to be louder than the other classes. I don't know. Weird stuff was cool in high school :)

SKY VIEW HIGH SCHOOL 2000

1. Did you date someone from your school? I went on dates with a few people, but no one serious.

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? Uh, no. I used to think that I would have to marry someone from high school, because then we could reminisce about the good old days and keep in touch with the entire rest of our class. Then I grew up :)

3. Did you car pool to School? Yeah ...a few different carpool groups, depending on when people moved/graduated. Bus rides were mixed throughout --holla!

4. What kind of car did you have? '97 Nissan Sentra --Her name is Nellie.

5. What kind of car do you have now? Nellie is being driven back in UT by my bro, because right now my car is the subway.

6. Its Friday night...where are you (then) Hmm. Depends on the season. At whatever sporting event was going on then at a friends house for movies and hanging out or playing night games if it was warm. Or in Jamie's RV with friends telling scary stories.

7. It is Friday night...where are you (now)? Well, depends on what season it is. JK --I can still be found at whatever sporting event may be taking place nearby, but I am frequently working or going out with friends, or spending time in my favorite place --bed --being grateful that I'm not at work.

8 What kind of job did you have in high school? I had a summer job at the SnoShack making snow cones, then the spring of my senior year I got a job as a phone surveyor at Discovery Research --shoutout to the DRG and the ol' Q-crew! lol!

9. What kind of job do you do have now? I'm an RN in the Emergency Department at St. Lukes -the level 1 trauma center for Harlem, NYC :)

11. Were you considered a flirt you think? Yeah, I was all talk though :)

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? None. I was in choir in Middle School.

13. Were you a nerd? What do you mean were? I still am!

14. Did you get suspended or expelled? Nope.

15. Can you sing the fight song? We're loyal and true to our white and our blue, fight on you bobcats! So let's give a cheer for the team of the year, let's go, let's win, rah, rah, rah! We are the best and we'll beat all the rest, down with those _______! So let's win this ballgame and build up our school's fame! Let's have a victory!! I can do the school hymn too --Where the mountain peaks meet the starry sky, where the green hills meet the blue ...ok I'll stop.

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)? Mr. Mullen --AP Chemistry, although I cried in his class a couple times cuz it was so hard! Mr. Fife --AP Calculus, I was always good at math, even though I hated it. Mrs. Parkinson --Medical Anat & Phys. Mrs. Cole --US History. Mrs. Falslev --Human growth & development.

17. Where did you sit during lunch? With friends in the hallway my sophomore year, my junior year in the student center with friends, and my senior year it varied depending on who I was hanging out with for the day. I remember a few lunches in the library with Kristy eating chocolate discussing what the way we disposed of our Hershey kisses wrappers said about our personalities.

18. What was your school's full name? Sky View High School

19. When did you graduate? June 2000.

20. What was your school mascot? Bobcat

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I loved every minute of it while I was there, but I don't think I'd redo it if you paid me.

22. Did you have fun at Prom? Yeah. It was actually really cool! We had it at the ballroom at USU, and our pics were on the terrace --so pretty!

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? Well, he lives 2,000 miles away and is married, and I believe has a child, so we don't see each other a lot, but when we're in the same state, we usually run in to each other and chat for a while. Usually at Lee's -the grocery store :)

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? Nope. It hasn't been long enough that I miss anyone all that much yet. I see the people I care about still.

Here's me and my 3 bff's from HS at Jenny's sisters wedding reception this August --Jenny's holding her daughter, Kristy and I are holding her twins and Becky's boys are getting food with their dad.