Conference Weekend

We were lucky this weekend and had the opportunity to attend two sessions of conference. Austin's fabulous dad got us tickets for the Saturday PM session, so we took Becky and Doug with us. The session was amazing, my favorite talk was by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, he was so funny and such a sweet old man. Below is a picture of the four of us before we headed inside...I had the old gentleman behind us take the picture and he kind of cut Doug off...oops.


Austin and I had just planned on watching the Sunday afternoon session at his house, but my mom and Mike had extra tickets to the session so we went with them. I was bad and didn't take a photo of the four of us...but I did take one of the choir and the General Authorities...including the First Presidency. Unfortunately my camera wouldn't zoom enough to get a shot of President Monson :( Sunday afternoon session my favorite talks were by Elder Russell M. Nelson and President Thomas S. Monson. We are so blessed that we live so close that we can see our prophet speak in person....

SNOW!!!!

IT SNOWED!!!! Granted it will probably melt today -- but at least it means the ski season is rapidly approaching....

Love Handles

Who would have thought that your love handles could get so sore?!?! I went and saw the evil Adrianne last night -- jk jk -- he is not evil. I actually really like going and being tortured, I always feel so much better after, plus I can feel myself getting stronger. If any of you want some killer exercises for your fat under your butt, butt and core...let me know.

I lived through another night, I got back on Thursday....I just can believe how sore my LH are...but it sure is making work on my posture. (slouching makes it more sore)

Okay that is enough complaining from me!

xoxo -- the "to be" Buff One

ER Take 3.....

This time it wasn't for one of the dogs....it was for me. Before heading to Pineview to take the dogs for a swim I had asked my mom for some Ibuprofen, I had some cramps going on and was in need of pain meds asap. Asked me how many I wanted, I always take 4 so she gave me 4...no biggie. After taking the dogs to the dam we headed back to Ogden for dinner at Austin's parents house. When we got there I realized that my hands and face were numb and I could barley stay awake. For some reason I had the realization to ask my mom if she was sure she had given me Ibuprofen, it then clicked in her head that she had Elavil (Generic Name: amitriptyline) in her pill bottle as well and had given me 4 pills of it instead. Mind you that my step father and her take a quarter of a pill to help them sleep at night. The Elavil and Ibuprofen look exactly the same, except the Elavil is a little smaller so it was an easy mistake. Anyhow, we called poison control and they said I need to go to the hospital to have my heart monitored due to the risk of cardiac problems that could arise. By the time we made it to the hospital I was so out of it I don't remember much. I remember having to drink this nasty charcoal crap, getting an IV, cold sticker things being placed on me to monitor my heart and the heart monitor on my finger falling off every time I moved while I was sleeping and someone putting it back on my finger every few minutes. Other then that it is all a blur, I don't even remember getting home. So after a long night in the ER and a day of sleeping/recovery I am as good as new! :)

Hopelessly In Love

I am utterly and hopelessly in Love....with my New Skis....I got a new pair of Phat Luvs on Saturday!!! I heart my new skis! Let the snow fly!

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday afternoon after church (yes I have been two weeks in a row!!) my mom, Mike, Austin and I decided to take all our dogs up to Pineview for a swim. The dogs had a blast! And since everyone always posts video of their kids, I thought I would post some of my "kid" :) Syd was so concerned about the other dogs being so far out in the water and not playing with her, so she would stand on the shore and bark at them -- it's so funny that she thinks she can boss them around.

And a few pictures for you viewing enjoyment....

Syd is annoyed because I woke her up...

Again she is annoyed because I am trying to make her pose for the picture

Bossing the the Goldens around...this is as deep in the water as she dared get...

Good News ---

The trainer may have kicked my butt last night -- but I can still walk to day!!!

A Goodwood Lunch

I heart my friends -- they are the best. Becky, Doug, Ryker, Mindy, Phatty and I went to Goodwood for lunch today...and just take a wild guess who our server was....that's right Austin!

Mindy and I

Becky and Ryker

Austin and ME!

The many faces of Phatty, he didn't want me to take his picture, but I did anyway multiple times! And how nice is he to carry Ryker out? Doug had to jet off to work in a rush...but is was nice to have him join our weekly lunch group!

Traitor....

Saturday I went to the BYU game with the new boy in my life...Austin. I met Austin at Goodwood BBQ while at lunch with my boss...little did I know that my boss had totally set me up and had me there to show me off to the waiter (Austin). Anyhow, I put aside the guilt and agreed to go to the game and had a fabulous time...

I'm Not Dead Yet

So I am not dead yet, although part of me kind of wishes I couldn't feel the lower part of my body. I started the ski class last night and I have a few observations:

1. The trainer guy is really hot

2. He is determined to kill me or make me cry

3. How am I supposed to concentrate with his beautiful brown eyes laughing at me the whole time?

4. I could barely walk last night -- this could be a very long 8 weeks

5. I better be in dang good shape after this voluntary torture...

6. Sitting all day is not good for the muscle soreness factor

So pretty much I hate and love that I am so sore. It means that I got my butt kicked which is excellent, but it also means my run today may be more of a limp shuffle...lol. Good thing I run where no one can see me. I am hoping it helps with the soreness. If not it is a good thing I am headed to Logan this weekend and can make someone rub my poor legs.

Training Update

So far I am proud of myself -- yes I know it has only been two days but I have run both of those days. Yesterday I ran/walked 2 3/4 in under 30 minutes...and hopefully it will just go up from there. Tonight is ski training class....wish me luck!

Monumental

This is monumental! She is actually sleeping in my bed tonight! And yes she sleeps in the covers with her head poking out on a pillow -- silly dog.

Training

So I started training (again) last night. Okay can I call it training when I only ran a mile and a half? I know it isn't far, but I am on a training schedule that I run every day for 30 days to build up endurance. Yesterday was the first time running that I didn't get frustrated -- so I think I must be doing something right. I finished feeling like I could do more...it is very encouraging and actually makes me excited to go out tonight. My one regret...that I can't carry a camera while I run! While I was out last night I saw a whole bunch of deer! Weird thing they weren't afraid of me, they just sat there looking at me run. They must have got a kick out of me because they actually even turned around to watch me keep going. So Strange. But way cool. Anyhow I will head out again tonight -- wish me luck!

On another note -- so they can't back out!!!!! Steph, Becky and Mindy have all agreed to do the half marathon with me!!!! I am way stoked! Now if I can just convince Nic to come out....hint hint! Also, Aunt Holly.....you are invited too! At this point we are still looking into which one we will do, more then likely it will be spring though.

Warning

Be prepared to hear me complain....I start "boot camp" for skiing tonight. This is what the email said as an intro to the class:

"This is a great clinic; Joel Hatch will be working on Balance, Agility, Speed, Injury prevention, Coordination and Strength (BASICS). For those of you who think you are in great condition, this guy will change your mind in a hurry!!! He will work muscle groups you didn’t know you had."

I did say I wanted to get my fat butt in shape...guess he's going to help me out with that. Also, figure I should post this so I can't back out. I am going to do a half marathon. I have too many commitment issues to commit to a full at this point. But once I do that half we will see how I feel about it. So let the training begin. And be prepared to hear my complain about not being able to sit, walk, lay or move....

xoxo -- the to be reformed couch potato

I miss Logan :(

Sunday night I hung out with some old friends. Mergs and I had planned on getting together Sunday afternoon after my family stuff (my cousin's farewell). We ended up going to one of their friends grandma's property for a fire. It makes me miss living in Logan and being able to hang out with my friends every night :( The only draw back...late night made me late for work, not so bad, but now I have to work later tonight. Boo.

Mergs and I sitting by the fire

Mergs and Justin in their matching shirts purchased at Flying J

The Group sitting by the fire

Random things for a Friday

-- I have been eating yougart for breakfast every morning this week....with a fork because I am too lazy to go to the breakroom to get a spoon.

-- I heart my new red shoes! Thank you Beck for opening my eyes to BOGO!

-- I am a looser and went to bed at 8:45 last night...who does that unless they are 82? (sorry no picture of this one)

-- I was able to hang out with one of my favorite Summit Park boys this week, and eat my new favorite obsession...brats. Who would have thought?? Such a beautiful view...and can you believe the leaves are starting to change?? It's about time to start praying for snow!


-- I was able to hang out with my dear friend Phatty this week, and we made the best Muddy Buddies ever!!! So delicious!!

A Virgin What?

Ordering a virgin drink in Europe...not as easy as it sounds. I wanted a virgin strawberry daiquiri to sip while laying on the beach...not an easy thing to explain to the waitress. At first she said I don't think we can do that. We tried to say to just make it normal leaving out the alcohol, to which she responded -- "maybe we could just put a little" -- Oh my so after some debate this is what I ended up with...mind you it wasn't the best, but it was virgin and it was cold.

Greece Wrap up...

I wanted to document my trip and my feelings before, during and after. Maybe I should have started doing this before I left...but I was so busy scrambling to get things together. I think before I left I was really just in shock, I booked my ticket 7 days prior to my departure, so I had a lot to take care of in a short amount of time between work briefings, getting extra hours in at the office, packing, packing and packing. By the time I actually made it on the plane I don't think I had come to a full realization that in a day I would be half way across the world. I have never been too far away from home, the furthest being Florida...so this was a new and slightly terrifying experience for me. I am a creature of habit, I like to have a schedule and familiar things. But with that being said I am also very random and spontaneous. Really who just buys a ticket and leaves the country in a week? (If I would have had my way I would have left 2 days later, but couldn't swing it with work) I think for the first few days of the trip I was in shock, trying to absorb as much of the experience as I could. At some points it felt like a fire hose. I would take time to just walk the streets in Santorini wandering in and out of little shop or sit on the beach with my iPod trying to process all my thoughts and experiences.

It is hard to put into words the things that I felt and realized. But one thing really sticks out, I am so blessed. I am blessed to have a great job that allows me to just take off when I feel like it. I am blessed to live in the US, we truly do not realized what we have. And I more then anything I am blessed to have such a great support system. Between my family and friends (Beck, Steph, Min) I seriously would be lost in my life. It was so hard to go a week with limited to no contact with them. It left me feeling completly exposed. Being in a forgien country with nothing familar or "safe" is a strange feeling. It was very trying for me to not be able to pick up the phone and call my mom.

I have found myself saying so many times in the past year I can't believe how much I have grown into myself, but this experience has changed me. I look at things just a bit differently. I can't really put it into words, but it would be safe to say that I feel like all the "parts" of me are finally coming together. And for the first time in my life I can see what I want more clearly then I ever have.

Greece in two words....Life Changing

Santorini

The island is beautiful. That is really the only way to put it. Breath taking. The above picture is the Red Sand beach on Santorini. Santorini is a volcanic island so all the beaches but two are black volcanic sand. There was a little hike/walk into this beach and well worth it!

This is the light house on one of the tips of the island, there were some amazing views from this point.


This is the road from the port at Santorini...the drivers there are crazy, passing on curves. I may have found it more amusing had I not felt like I was going to puke.

A view from the light house. All the white on the other side of the island is houses!

Click HERE to link to more pictures of Santorini

Acropolis

Okay I figured it was time for a catch up! I feel like I blogged about the first day pretty well already, but the pictures would not post. So attached are a few pictures.

The city of Athens, they build all of their churches on hill/mountains

My friend Tyler and I at the Parthenon, it was so stinking hot! After traveling for 24 hours and not sleeping, I was hot sweaty and tired. But it was so amazing! It is almost surreal to stand looking up at these amazing structures, very humbling.

Over looking Athens and Zeus's Temple. I just sat there for awhile trying to soak in the magnitude of it all. In one day I went from my comfort zone in Utah, to seeing things I never thought I would get the opportunity to see. It is a very terrifying yet liberating experience being so far away from friends and family.

Better view of Zeus's Temple

For all the fabulous pictures of the Acropolis link here

Lazy day...

Today was a very lazy day, I just wanted to hang out on the beach for the whole day. No touring or rushing around, just lay. It was fabulous! After the beach I picked up too many desserts from a local bakery...no I didn't eat them all...but I will by tomorrow :) So YUMMY! PS. Photo and post to come about my virgin drink...lol

Topless Beach??

Wait...they are all topless beaches. Call me a dumb american girl, but I had no idea....There is something strange about someone walking around with out a top on...espcially when that someone is a little girl. I guess between growing up LDS and living in the US this just stikes me as strange...

Made it!

So I made it to Greece -- and so did my suitcase! lol

I got into Greece yesterday at 11:00am local time after a delay at JFK. I made it from my first flight to the second in under 30 minutes, only to get out of the gate and sit on the tarmac for over an hour. I was stressing about Ty having to wait at the airport for me -- but little did I know that he had been delayed four hours on his flight. By the time I made it through passport services, waiting for my bag at the wrong carousel and figuring out how to use the phone in Athens, I only had to wait for 30 minutes until his flight got in. Upon his arrival we jumped on the metro and headed into downtown Athens to drop our bags off at one of Ty's friends houses. While there we invited her son Brian to come with us to see the Parthenon, he has lived in Athens his whole life and had never been up there....

After the hike around Athens be grabbed a quick bite to eat at one of the local out door restaurants, it was delicious. We were off after that to pick up out bags, before catching the fairy to Santorini. The fairy was a great 12 hour ride, until I woke up this morning. I was so sick and it was everything I could do to not puke. Luckily we only had 15 minutes left on the boat at this time. I was pretty sure that after I got off I would be fine. But I was wrong. Our hotel picked us up at the port in Santorini and took us for a crazy ride to our hotel. Normally I would have enjoyed the crazy drive, but my stomach was not loving it. After check in I took a nap to hopefully start to feel better, which I didn't. Finally I puked, and after that I felt great. I am thinking the reason I was so sick was due to lack of sleep and dehydration. I was up at 4am Utah time Thursday to leave for the airport and slept very little during the 17+ hours of travel, arriving in Athens at 11am local time not going to sleep until around 12:30 am...so needless to say I had a serious lack of sleep.

Since I was feeling better we took off for the red sand beach. Santorini is a volcanic island so most of the beaches are black sand -- but the red sand beach was defiantly worth the walk. We didn't spend too much time at the beach because we wanted to cruise around and the scooter and see more of the island. It is so amazingly beautiful here -- pictures don't even do it justice. Anyway enjoy! And I will try and post more later, but for now please enjoy the pictures...that won't upload for some reason... I'll have to post them when I get home.

And I'm off....

I made it through security with no complications! So in about an hour I am off to JFK and after a long 46 minutes there I will be off to Athens! I am excited, nervous and in a little bit of shock that I am actually going! Wow. I was up at 4 this morning so between that and the Tylenol PM (spelling?) I think is should sleep through most of my flights....wish me luck although I don't think I'll really need it -- unless Tyler isn't at the airport to claim me :) lol.

xoxo -- ME!

Excuses...

So I do have an excuse for being a vacant blogger -- and it isn't going to get much better until the 8th of September -- unless of course I have Internet access. I am off to Greece on Thursday morning so I have been packing and shopping like a mad women! So please forgive me! And I swear to be better when I return.

xoxo -- ME!

Pictures as Promised -- Jack Johnson Concert

Words can't really discribe...so I will say I love these girls and enjoy -- lol

I DID IT!!!! I DID IT!!!!

I booked the flights today -- I am going to Greece!!!! I leave next Thursday! Wish me luck! I'll take a million pictures!

Jack Johnson

Steph, Becky and I went to the Jack Johnson concert last night, at the last minute we all decided to get lawn seats. We had such a great time! We had a group of lesbian sitting right behind us, who quickly developed a crush on Becky stating that she was the "Wild One" and "Ring Leader" in our group. We took about a million crazy pictures. The ones posted are just a few (not the best) I took on my phone Steph has the rest on her camera -- I'll steal them later this week for posting. We also had these crazy drunk people next to us, that Beck made the mistake of telling them we would flash them when the music started -- they bugged us about it a couple times during the concert. Becky and Steph then went over and started freaking on the wife when the husband left. I think she enjoyed it a bit too much offering to let them do the same to her husband...needless to say we quickly grabbed our things and got out of there! We then spent the next forever (don't know how long) sitting in the parking lot waiting to get out of the venue. We got home late, but it was worth every minute of being tired at work today! Steph this is just one more thing to add to the list of why you should move back to Utah -- Fun late nights with Sam and Beck!

Wirl Wind Weekend

My best friend in the whole world Steph has been visiting from Chicago. She actually came out to see her cute new little niece, but was able to fit in plenty of Sammy/Becky time. On Friday I was able to go pick Steph up at her sister and brother in laws and take her for a tour of SLC. We started out by stopping to see my Rockstar Zach. (for those of you that don't know, I love Zach more then anything) He recently moved back from LA, and Steph had to meet him. We then toured around Cottonwood and Sandy looking at amazing houses. We eventually ended up at my brothers house to visit him and Nate. My brother lives in an amazing house at Parley's Summit, so of course Steph and I took the opportunity for a photo op. We then continued the journey around into Park City where we went to the Olympic Park and down Main Street. Finally taking the "back way" home to Ogden. We had a great time, with plenty of time to talk. There honestly is nothing like a best friend that you can tell everything to! I seriously love this girl to death and don't know what I would do with out her.

Saturday I headed up camping with some new friends Phatty and Jeff to Silver Lake, I was terrible and didn't take any pictures...Anyways, this is the first camping trip that I had a great time. Sure I was dirty, and it was really cold at night, but I loved it. I even slept in a tent. Who would have thought I would enjoy being dirty, cold and sleeping in a tent...not me that is for sure. I guess it is all about who you go with. We headed home early Sunday afternoon, and a promptly headed to Zach's for a nice hot shower. It is seriously so nice having him home and able to hang out with me whenever I want! We ended up going to "Tropic Thunder" with his family, it was a pretty funny movie but geared a little more towards guys in my opinion. Then we headed back to his place and bummed around on the couch till I had to head home to get my stuff together for work the next day. So all in all it was a fabulous weekend filled with great friends and good times.

She likes him more then me...

So Sydnee doesn't really like me anymore -- well at least that is the way I feel. She won't cuddle with me if my brother is around. Nor will she sleep with me anymore, she'll get up and go scratch at his door...

Is it really so bad?

Is it so bad to have an open conversation with a close friend? What I am talking about is those conversations you can have with your closest friends. Where you can be completely honest, and don't have to hold anything back. Sure maybe you say things that you don't completely mean, but isn't that the benefit of having such close friends? That you can say what you want, and don't have to worry because you trust them. Okay now let say this conversation happens over texting. Granted yes you are putting those words out there, that other people can read them, but is it really so bad?

Well I had one or two of these conversations this weekend, and honestly didn't think too much about it. Well until the person that they are about took it upon themselves to pick up my phone while I was away and read thru them all. Yes of course I feel bad that they had to read those things. But honestly I think if they had the audacity to pick up my phone and proceed to read thru the whole thing -- they kind of deserved what they got. Call me a brat -- but it was nothing that I wouldn't say to their face, I was just trying to avoid a situation where I would have to.

So tell me, is it really so bad to have an honest conversation with a friend?

In the mean time I have learned my lesson and now have my phone password protected...

Tony Grove

This weekend my friend Mergs and I went up to Tony's Grove and walked around the lake, it was so beautiful and nice to spend the day outside.

Mergs got a new camera so he played photographer the whole time -- so as he took pictures I took pictures of him :)

Today is a good day because...

1. I finished Breaking Dawn last night -- sooo good! I would highly recommend it to every single person that I know. Well at least the girls.

2. The day has passed quickly! Plus I get to leave work at noon!

3. I am getting my hair done today. I love getting my hair done. I love having someone else wash my hair and massage my scalp. If I were rich -- I would pay someone to do this daily. Plus your hair always feels a million times healthier after a cut.

4. It's not super hot outside -- can I just tell you I am beyond wanting it to snow? Yes I know I may be insane but I am ready for ski season. I am so sick of being hot all the time. But I could settle for fall...

5. I finally don't have a serious headache -- the first day this week!

6. And last but not least, I got to talk to my Steph this morning! And to make it even better...she will be making a Utah appearance in a short 7 days! I am so freaking excited! Love ya girl!

Donations Anyone??

So I have decided I am going to Greece...but I am thinking it would be much cheaper if I had Delta SkyMiles to do it... So if there are any readers like would like to donate me their miles I would be eternally grateful -- plus I would pay the fees associated with the transfer... Email me if you are interest in contributing to this fabulous cause!

xoxo -- the needy traveler

Sammy4041@gmail.com

I'm totally a Princess...

So TAMN took this "test" today...so I though I would see which princess I was!!! Which Princess are you?? Click here to find out!!!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Weekend Plans

I was somewhat depressed earlier this week when I realized I had nothing planned for the weekend. Then I had a realization...Breaking Dawn is coming out Saturday! I forgot to pre-order mine, so I called Barnes and Noble yesterday and they reserved me a copy, so fabulous. Now I have a date with Edward...should make for a perfect weekend!