Happy Valentine's Day...in Lehi!

Well, I know this is a day late but Happy Valentine's Day! I was planning on having a pretty low key Valentine's Day. I didn't have very much planned for the day. The few plans I had were changed because of inclimate weather.

This story all starts on Wednesday (the day before Valentine's Day). I made plans to go to Lehi for the afternoon to spend time with my friend Hilary and her family. I knew it was going to snow but being in Utah for the past month and a half, I thought, "What else is new?" I was tired of trying to plan my life around the usual snowfall. I just wanted to get to Lehi before the snow began to fall. I did! I got to Lehi about an hour and a half to two hours before the snow began to fall. Yea!

I visited with Hilary for a few hours before her daughters came home from school. We had a great visit. We got snacks ready for the girls when they returned from school. As soon as the girls came in, they started asking for me. (They were tipped off by my car sitting in their driveway!) We ate snacks and they told me all about their lives since I had been to their house last (which was probably in September or October last year).

Since it was the day before Valentine's Day, we worked on their Valentine's for their classmates. Then we played fast food drive through and anything else we imagined. At one point, I was sitting in an oversized chair along with three of the girls. We were a close bunch! At one point, the three year old told me, "Yeah baby! Stop buggin'!" That seriously cracked me up! The snow continued to fall and blow. As dinner was ready, we received a call from Hilary's husband. who was stuck on the freeway. He was literally sitting in his car on the freeway going nowhere. He decided to wait out the storm (once he could finally get off the freeway) at a family member's house. That didn't look good for me to get home. I decided to wait a few more hours for the roads to be cleared of the snow and all the commuters to go home.

I enjoyed a mini concert from Hilary in her living room. She shared two of the songs she was working on with me. They were beautiful! I helped the girls clean their rooms. We ate ice cream and watched American Idol. (That's a great combination!) We watched the early news at 9 and that's when we received the news that I probably would not be returning home that evening. The road that leads from Hilary's house to the freeway was closed because of snow drifts. The freeway was still a parking lot. Hilary's husband had still not returned home yet. Hilary invited me to stay at their house for the night and I accepted her offer. The girls were ecstatic! (Even though they spent a lot of time persuading me to stay the night.) Hilary's husband finally arrived home at 10 PM. Wow! A five hour commute from Sandy to Lehi is a bit excessive!

Valentine's Day began with cartoons and art projects with the girls. (The girls' school was delayed until 10 AM because of the snow.) We ate a DELICIOUS breakfast of waffles, strawberries, syrup, whip cream, eggs (with and without cheese), and bacon! Wow, what a feast!! Hilary is an excellent cook!

Even though the road from Hilary's house to the freeway was still closed, I still headed home on the backroads about 10 AM. Wow! That was a trip! A huge thanks to the Weeks' family for putting me up (and putting up with me) for the night! I had a blast with you! You made my Valentine's Day.

The rest of Valentine's Day was pretty much like any other day. I enjoyed being in the temple. Oh yeah, as I was walking into the temple, I ran into my mission president and his wife. That was another fun surprise for the day. It was great to see them! I hadn't seen both of them for a long time. They work in the Jordan River Temple. My mission president is a sealer in the Jordan River Temple.

I was going to watch a movie that night, but I was so tired that I crashed about 10 PM. Pretty exciting, huh?! That was my exciting story for the week. HUGE THANKS to the Weeks' Family! (I promise I won't come visit for quite awhile. I will wait until there is no threat of being snowed in again. At this rate, it might be August!)

The Weeks Family on Halloween (Sorry, it's the only picture I have of you!)

In Memory of a True Leader

To say I was shocked when I found out President Gordon B Hinckley passed away would be an understatement. Granted he was 97 1/2 years old so it shouldn't have been totally unexpected. I guess I was just hoping the day wouldn't come when we wouldn't see the unfailing smile on his face.

President Hinckley is a wonderful example of eternal optimism. He knew that life had its difficult moments but he was always smiling. My favorite idea President Hinckley spread was that we don't need to worry so much about things in our life because things always work out. The sadness and despair we sometimes feel doesn't last forever. There is a plan for our lives. If we get to worrying too much or meddling too much in our lives, then we might miss out on some wonderful opportunities.

It just brings a HUGE smile to my face to know that these two lovebirds are together again never to be separated. I can't even imagine the joy these two felt when they were reunited again. They were truly not complete when they were apart.

President Hinckley is a great example of faith, fun, wit, and wisdom. I am grateful to have lived during the time when President Hinckley was the prophet on the earth. President Hinckley helped to build and strengthen my testimony by his testimony and example.

Rather go to the Dentist!

Last week, I finally summoned enough courage to get my annual haircut. I absolutely hate getting my haircut. It always is very traumatic and often leaves me in tears. I have decided for long hair because I hate getting my haircut. The "stylists" never seem to get it right. They must not understand me because what I end up with is never what I ask for.

So last Tuesday was the big day. I drove to the hair stylists and got right in. She asked me what I wanted. I told her, "I just want my hair trimmed. Even up my hair and make sure that it is straight when you are done. Take a little bit off the ends so I don't have any more split ends." Those were the directions, but that was not what I ended up with. The girl got done cutting my hair. Then she showed me the mirror so I could see the back which looked fine. I drove home thinking that was pretty painless and went relatively well.

I come in the door and announce to my parents that I had gotten my haircut. My mom took a look at the back and asked me if I had told them to cut all of my hairs or just specific sections. She took me to the bathroom and pointed out many clumps of hair that did not get cut. I looked like I had given scissors to a 2 year old and told them to go at it! It was horrible! I asked my mom if she would go back with me so she could point out the horrible job they did. She didn't have time that day but she would go with me the next morning. Luckily, I didn't have to leave my house the rest of the day.

The next morning, my mom and I showed up at the hair cutters bright and early when they opened. My mom barely had to show the girl all the places that were missed the day before because she could see it right away. Luckily I got a different girl that actually knew how to cut hair. By the time I left my hair was about two inches shorter than when I had started the day before but at least I didn't look like my hair dresser was a toddler! See how traumatic it is to get a haircut! That is why I would much rather go to the dentist and have a cavity filled than get my hair cut!

2007 in Review

I am the ultimate slacker since I returned from Nashville, TN. I haven't really done anything since I got home. I rarely know what day of the week it is. The only day I know is Sunday because that is the day I actually have to be somewhere at a certain time. I was writing down the highs and lows of 2007 for a friend the other day. When I sat down to write, I just thought that 2007 was one of the hardest years I had lived through! So many bad things happened last year. Then as I started to write down the bad things and the good things, the good things outweighed the bad things. Some of the bad things actually turned out to be good things because of what I had gained. Here's the abbreviated (and edited) version of 2007 just for you!!

January, I traveled to Denver, CO for about five days to spend time with my cousin Vanessa and her family and my friend Suzanne. I had a blast with all of them. I enjoyed being part of my cousin's family. They were so much fun! I loved spending a few days with Suzanne because it had been at least 10 years since I had spent any quality time with her. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with her.

January brought the absolute worst job I have ever had! I worked at one of IHC's Clinic for nine months. I really struggled working with unreliable people, having doctors yelling at me and wanting me to do things certain ways for them, having patients yelling at me and wanting me to practically move mountains for them. I learned that people that are in discomfort are not the nicest people you will come in contact with. This job taught me patience and perseverance.

In June, I went on a Southern Caribbean cruise to Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas leaving in and out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. My parents and I had quite the adventure just getting to San Juan. We decided to be bumped from our original flight for some free vouchers. Then flights were canceled, tickets were not issued, flights were full, etc. You know the drama. Gratefully, we made it before the ship sailed and that’s all that mattered. My favorite port was Aruba because it was totally different from what I had expected. The landscape was more desert than lush, tropical island. I loved it! I enjoyed being on vacation and spending time with my family!

In July and August, I was able to take a few friends to Lake Powell with me and my parents. We had a blast laying in the sun, swimming, jumping off cliffs, looking at the stars, and spitting cherry seeds into a bowl. Oh how I miss the warm weather!

I had my 10 year high school reunion! Where does the time go? We all pretty much looked the same. It was hard to imagine that 10 years had gone by since we had hung out everyday in the commons. I enjoyed talking with classmates that I hadn't taken the time to keep in contact with. We were all at different places in our lives-single, married, student, employee, mom, dad, etc. I had a great time! There was a table set up with names of classmates who had passed away over the past 10 years. I counted that there were six classmates listed. (There were probably more that we just weren't aware of.) Wow, six! One of the names really shocked me because she was one of the first friends I had when I moved to West Jordan High. We had a lot of fun in AP History and Seminary together. I had no idea that she had passed away.

I lost my best friend (not the friend in the previous paragraph) in August with no apparent warning. That was devastating and took a long time for me to accept and get over. I no longer had someone to talk with who (I thought) understood me completely. I learned just how strong and independent I am. I realized that I have a lot to give and a lot more people to give it to. I finally realized that my energy would be better spent on the relationships I did have and making new relationships than trying to revive a relationships that was obviously dead and not going to be resurrected any time soon.

I made two great friends at my horrible job-Ashley and Gwen. Ashley, Gwen, and I had a blast when we had a girl’s Wicked weekend in LA in September. They left their husbands in charge of their children for a short 36 hour getaway. I loved getting to know these ladies better. I thank their families for sharing them with me. Have I mentioned this before?! I love WICKED!

October was NYC!! Need I say more? If you didn't catch that trip, you can read about it in a past post. It was amazing! I had the best time and was able to see all of my friends that live there. I saw Wicked a total of four times last year-twice in LA, once in Denver, and once in NYC. Too say I am obsessed would be a total understatement.

The end of October through December, I was employed by Radio City. My job as Santa's elf just can’t be matched. I didn't really make any new friends this year. I had fun keeping in touch with two friends who were also doing the show but in New York City and Chicago, IL/Des Moines, IA. We had such different experiences. They each had a lot more demanding schedules than I did. I was grateful to return to Nashville and the easiest schedule out of all the cities.

In November, my dad went in for a routine hernia surgery. Not only did the doctor find a small hernia but he found a lot of cancerous cells in my dad's body. This news has changed our family’s life. There aren't any doctors in Utah that specialize in the type of cancer he has so he has to go to San Diego, CA for treatment. If you want to find out more about how my dad's doing, you can check the blog my mom will be updating at http://davewinn.blogspot.com. Your well wishes, kind thoughts, and prayers are much appreciated. It was hard for me to deal with at first. I am grateful that I have such wonderful friends to turn to in difficult times like this.

That was pretty much 2007 in review.

I just can't wait to see what 2008 has in store for me. So far I don't have any grand plans. I will audition again in May for the Christmas Spectacular and hope I can do the show one more time. My mom and I are already starting to plan our annual trip to NYC. We just need to get my dad's health under control so we can go. That's all that's on the calendar so far! I will definitely keep you posted on the highs and lows of 2008. Hope your year is filled with love and happiness! I love to read your blogs. They inspire me to keep mine up-to-date.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I'm sure that most of you spent the day surrounded by family members, food, and presents, which is how I used to spend the day. Being away from family and friends on Christmas day takes some getting used to, but I have found what works for me.

Let me share with you my Christmas day. I slept in until around 9 AM. I then got up and did my usual morning routine-exercised, showered, ate breakfast (which was a special treat, waffles!). My friend Matt called to see if I wanted to see a movie. I said sure, and he informed me we were leaving in 10 minutes! I scarfed down my waffle and grabbed a banana to go. Matt and I saw the movie "PS I Love You". It was a very good movie! If you want a movie to lift you out of a sad or depressed mood, this is NOT the movie to see. Matt and I both really liked the movie because it had a realistic ending. We both don't like movies that have everything worked out in the end because that doesn't happen in real life!

The first part of the day seemed like any other day off from work. The second half of the day was much more Christmas-y.

I received many text messages and phone calls from family and friends. Most of the texts were from friends that I least expected would think of me on Christmas. Isn't that interesting when that happens?

I spent the rest of the day by myself. It was SO NICE!! I lined up all my cards and wrapped presents (which were 3) on my fireplace mantle. I was going to open my presents but people kept calling me. I finally opened my presents while I sat in bed (that's a tradition) around 7 PM. I received two books and a game. That was fun! Then I lined up all my opened presents on the mantle and took a picture.

For dinner, I ate a turkey frozen dinner. I admit that was the only disappointment of the day. I missed feasting at my grandparents' houses. The turkey dinner left much to be desired, but it did have turkey, stuffing (soggy croutons), and mashed potatoes. What more could I ask for?

Then I spent the rest of the evening concentrating on the real reason for Christmas. I read the story of the birth of Christ from the scriptures and actually took time pondering and really feeling what it must have been like to be the different people in the historical accounts, wondering why the Son of God was born in a dirty, smelly stable surrounded by unsanitary animals, and realizing just how good I have it because the Son of God was born, lived an exemplary life, atoned for my sins, and died so that I could live again and have hope for so many possibilities.

Then I read and listened to the Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean. I really enjoyed being reminded to have more charity in my life and share the love of God that He has given each of us with the world (or more specifically, the people we come in contact with each day).

Anyway, I had a great Christmas! I hope that you had a Merry Christmas too! I wish you all the best for the upcoming year, 2008!!

Celebrity Sightings

The latest rumor floating around the dressing rooms at the Grand Ole Opry a few nights ago was that Carrie Underwood was in the audience. I have asked around but I have not been able to locate a witness that actually saw Carrie at the show. My dresser says that when she left about a half an hour after the show, there was a limo parked outside. In my mind, I wouldn't think that a celebrity would take a limo to the Christmas Spectacular. I would think that an 8 year old girls birthday party would take a limo to the Christmas Spectacular. You make the decision.

Last year, I saw with my own eyes Clint Black, his wife Lisa Hartman Black, and a little girl with them (a daughter or niece?). They were backstage before one of our shows. Then they watched that show.

Last year, Dolly Parton was backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. I don't think she saw the show but was backstage to film something in the TV studio at the Opry.

Two years ago, LeAnn Rimes was backstage at the Opry but didn't see the show as far as I know. She was also filming something in the TV studio at the Opry.

Two years ago, Pam Tillis saw our show during our invited dress rehearsal. She has her own show going on in the theater behind ours.

The big rumor two years ago was that Martina McBride came to the show. i didn't hear of anyone that actually saw her so take it for what it's worth. I absolutely LOVE Martina McBride so I like to think that it's true. Martina is an amazing performer and even better person.

If you don't know who any of these people are then you need to spend some more time listening to the country stations on the radio. Remember, I am in Nashville.

I am still waiting for Kenny Chesney to come to the show. :) And to think that that little Bruce is the hottest thing he has ever seen! With 18 Rockettes in the show, I doubt that last statement will ever happen! I also doubt he would come to the show. A girl can dream, can't she?!

Unpredictable is Predictable

I am happy to report that I am all better. The stomach bug that took over my life for the past week has finally packed up all of its belongings and moved on. The only remains I have of my sickness are bottles of Sprite and some extra space in my clothes. (I lost about 5 pounds over the past week! I would not recommend this diet to anyone!) I am sure the space in my clothes will be replaced by me in no time. (Especially if I keep up with eating tempura chicken at midnight like I did last night!)

After being a hermit for the past week, I finally went out last night with members of the cast. After the show, we went to a bar called the Tin Roof that has live music. Some of us just weren't feeling the live music so five of us left and went to Verago's (a sushi restaurant). That's where I ate the tempura chicken at midnight! It tasted great! (But then again, everything sounds great after a week of toast, bananas, Sprite, and apple juice!)

The thing I love about Nashville this time of year is the weather. Yesterday, it was a balmy 76 degrees! I loved it! I spent as much of the day outside as I could. I read magazines and made phone calls outside. I loved going outside in shirt sleeves and not being cold. It was even warm when I left for the theater at 7 PM. If only this nice weather would stay. Today is only about 55 degrees.

Let me see if I can find a picture to include with this post.

This picture has nothing to do with anything in this post. This picture was taken on opening night to show my parents the flowers and balloons they sent me. This picture is taken in the dressing room before I went on stage. Hope you enjoy!