Labor Day Weekend

Well, I took absolutely no pics of the family during our wonderful escape to the cabin this weekend. See Kelly's blog, I bet she'll post some :) We played Settlers and Ticket to Ride and ate and walked and talent showed our guts out. I did sneak away for an evening at Ginger's beautiful wedding, and though I didn't get any pics with the bride and groom, I got one with the guest of honor... All the way from California. It was an awesome weekend with my delightful family and I got to see my bestest friend!

God is good.

I just have to say it: God is very good to me. I believe the theme song for this week comes from the Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers that states the same sentiment. If I knew how to attach an mp3 to my post, I would do it so you could know what I am talking about...

God is good, yeah God is good
We’ve come so much farther than we thought we could
Keep walkin’ now…God is good, oh God is good
One more mile behind us hey God is good

This week isn't over yet, so there are two more days of the Madness that is the first week of school. However, realizing that it's only Thursday is what has helped me come to this realization. There is NO way that I could have made it through this week without divine intervention. Seriously. Something much greater than I has been carrying me. And I'm not GOING to make it through the next two days without more of the same. So, thank you. Thanks to those people who love me enough to include me in their prayers, and thanks to God for carrying me through the explosions of chaos that (under common circumstances) should have sent me into a spiral of insanity, madness, and possible tears of exhaustion.

CALIFORNIA!

Okay, so I love to travel. I love to travel anywhere! But mostly, I love to travel out of the country, to go camping up north, or to my beloved birthplace, California. Luckily, my bestest friend and her new hubby live in my favorite state AND my MTC companion was getting married there this weekend, so I had two excuses to go "home."

I wanted to have a car while I was there, so Mom was nice enough to take two days off of work, one to drive up with me, and one to drive back with me. I dropped her off and picked her up at the airport in between :)

I got there and was delighted to find my darling Becca friend in her darling house being a darling homemaker.

We played games, ate, and walked through cute shops by the beach. They even took me out for some yummy bread bowls and soup at Boudin Bakery- I got to pretend I was back in Northern California. Thanks Mike and Becca! They had a fun date night ahead of them, and I had a beautiful wedding reception to attend, so I headed out for Del Mar to see Sister Smoot and her new hubby and join in the celebration. I have a really cool brother who let me borrow his gps and it saved me on more than one occasion this weekend. However, this adventure was not one of those times.... No one told me that that little panel on the top is actually an antennae, so I had it down the whole time. It took me to Del Mar, but then brought me to the top of a pitch black mountain filled with thick trees and well gated homes and said, "you're here!" Well, I wasn't there. I was on the top of a eerily empty mountain wondering what kind of depressed and unstable rich people lived in the dark homes behind those tall gates. So to avoid a scene from a horror movie, I tried to go back the way I came. Thank goodness for cell phones and Daddys. He talked me into putting up my antennae and trying again... After a little more driving and having to check my name on the guest list (I know, cool, right?) I made it in time for some of the festivities and to congratulate the beautiful couple- what an adventure!!!

Saturday we played some more Risk and went to the beach. A hungry gull found the fishes. But they were OURS! We tried to fight him off, but ended up giving our fish to the birds... :)

Mike braved the waves and did some boogie boarding, I even went for a swim-- It was cold! We had lots of fun and Rebecca and Mike began building their newest kingdom. Rebecca told me to do something with the mound next to her castle, I don't think most kingdoms have a giant turtle, but ours did! Mike built a crazy awesome set of moats and defense structures. I was pretty impressed. I guess the turtle was meant to be extra backup in case of an attack...? The cutie couple went out to sea while I stole Becca's chair and studied my GRE vocab.

On my last night there they took me to the beach again for a nice walk It was so beautiful!

Did anyone need further proof that my hair is straight? I had it in ringlets and it turned totally straight after 5 minutes in the ocean air! No curls to be seen :)

I love the beach! It's so beautiful and peaceful. Becca asked me this weekend, "what is it that makes you want to live here? Is it just the weather and proximity to the beach that draw you?" My question in response was, "what else is there?"

Utah!

It's always so nice to get away from responsibilities for a little while! My family and I all headed up to Utah for a family reunion and for Chelsea's wedding. She's so pretty! Not only did we get to take part in these delightful activities, but we also went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House, hiked up to the caves in Mt Timp, and swam and played to our hearts' content. It was such a nice vacation, got to hang with the fam and see good friends. Ooh, I was also there over the 24th of July and so I even got to participate in some fun family festivities and fireworks!

Book Worm

As a child, my head was always stuck in a book. I loved the lives I got to peek in on, I loved the worlds it created, and the visions it put in my head to read a good book. I would lie in bed reading all night and shut off the lights quickly around 3 in the morning when Mom or Dad would come check on me. I would read all day and Mom would plead with me to put down the book and go outside to play. "Please stop reading!" was the ironic phrase I typically used to describe her desire for me to live life outside of those books.

Somewhere in high school, I stopped reading what I wanted, and began reading what the teachers asked me to. While I usually found these tales equally delightful, the novels, plays and storybooks gave way to textbooks and other dryly penned works of nonfiction.

One year ago, I struck gold in a college classroom: I found a textbook I actually enjoyed. The author was witty, sincere and honest, telling stories and once again bringing to mind images of what was and what could be. This experience, reading "Black Ants and Buddhists" sent me on a quest. I decided it was time to rediscover my love of reading. It has not been so easy as I imagined. I have tried to read the books that I should; hoping, rather than truly believing I would enjoy them. I began "Infinite Atonement" and was awestruck by its depth, but found it fell to the wayside. I tried "3 Cups of Tea" and while it seemed to be keeping my attention, I found myself in the same chapter for 3 months. I went to the library and picked up an award winning novel, "Cold Mountain." I discovered that when it comes to violence, I have an incredibly vivid imagination and an incredibly weak stomach.

I asked a friend, Maureen, if she could suggest any books. She gave me a list a mile long off the top of her head. Many of them she dubbed "fantasy" and I was suspicious. I took the leap however and checked one out. "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan. I. CANNOT. PUT. IT. DOWN. For the first time in years I find myself clinging to my book, trying to read it at red lights and while waiting in the drive-through. I find myself trying to skip ahead in excitement to find out what's coming, and then realizing that I don't want to miss a word, so rewinding and rereading just to get every delightful detail. This is not to say that everyone will love this book, some may be more taken with "Cold Mountain" or "Three Cups of Tea," but the importance lies not in what I am reading, per se. The key to this story is that I once more remember the happiness that a good book can bring. I have rediscovered my adoration of the written word. Yay for loving to read!

And So It Begins

Well, today I went to work and my employers began a discussion amongst themselves about my current "situation." Seeing as how we work in a 200 sq. ft. office, I am perfectly able to hear the conversations that take place in our office, no matter what corner I stand in...

So one employer says to the other, "darling, Brittney needs to get out of the country." Well, I know that the office space is small, and that my wit can, at times, be overwhelming, but come on! A simple day off will not suffice? Perhaps some electrical tape down the center of the room to mark off our territories? No, it's time for me to leave the country.

The conversation continues, and employer #2 says, "well my love, I don't see why we shouldn't work something out to help get her to New Zealand or Japan." My mouth is now ajar, and I'm beginning to drool onto the keyboard on my desk. (Perhaps this visual image is why they could desire my absence)

A few hours later, a decision was made. Rather than send me out of the country, they're going to more realistically help prepare me for life in the real world. Employer #1 states, "Brittney is planning on moving to Costa Rica in January." Employer #2, "well she can't very well move to Costa Rica unless she is scuba certified. Love, that is what we will do for her." And so, after a long days work, we've come to the next new place to explore. I'm going under. And I have the coolest employers ever. Ever.