Mother Nature's Light Show Spectacular

Arizona Monsoons bring with them some of the most dramatic of Mother Nature's spectacles. Tonight She's putting on an AMAZING light show. For more than over an hour the sky has been filled with lightening and when I say filled, I mean FILLED. A single minute has not gone by with out a flash of lightening. It's almost like having a giant strobe light in the sky. I tried to capture some of the lightening occuring just outside of my apartment.All this entertainment and it was free!!

Flashback Friday -- "It Was 1980 Something"

This week has been crazy busy. I really haven't had anytime to sit down and post anything and it was all because of enrichment last night. We had a RS luau and I volunteered to make all of the teryaki chicken, for 60 people. So Monday I went shopping. Tuesday night I made the marinade and put the chicken in to marinade over night. Wednesday night I spent 3 hours in front of my parents grill, grilling all of the chicken. And last night was the luau. I'm happy to report that the chicken was FABULOUS! But with the famous Malo family chicken marinade recipe, fabulous chicken is a given. I will admit to being happy that it's done.

Anyways, the flashback today is from 1988, or at least somewhere around there. I'm sort of limited in my flashbacks to photos that I have scanned in. I think this next week I'll have to take a trip to my parents house and borrow their scanner so I can scan in some new "old" photos. This photo is a shot of Kiki and my friends from back in the 80's. For some reason, a free coupon or a discounted coupon, my mom took us to Olan Mills for a photo of us and our friends. I am very grateful she did. We really don't have too many nice photos of us with our friends.
My good friends in this photo are Stacey Edmund, Meredith Neal, and Susan Stott. The 4 of us were friends all through jr. high and high school. I have not seen Stacey in a few years, but I know that she still lives here in AZ. Meredith Neal now lives with her husband and kids in TX and I only rarely get emails from her. Susan Stott and I are still the best of friends. And if you'll check out the posting I did about my recent trip to Flagstaff, you'll see her in some of the pictures.

No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth. -- Robert Southey

Flashback Friday - Girls Camp 1987

Do you remember your first year of Girls Camp? For me it happened in 1987 and I was 12 turning 13 in October. Meredith Peterson and Becky Leathem and I were the only 1st years. We went up to R-C, the Boy Scout camp along the Mogollon Rim. I vividly remember pitching our tent at the bottom of a hill and not digging a trench around it. That first night there was a horrible rain storm and I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to feel water splashing around my sleeping bag. I just so happened to be sleeping on a giant piece of foam which acted like a great big sponge. There was no getting back to sleep after that, so my tent mates and I scrambled up the hill to make our beds in the spider infested addies. Boy did we have a lot of fun. Here are a few of the photos that captured that fun.

We competed against the other wards in a cake decorating contest. Left to right (as best I can remember)...Becky Leathem, Michelle Powell, Katrina Ritman, ?, Carrie Thompson, Me, and Katrina.
To pass our first aid certification we had to participate in a first aid day. I love this photo because Calli epitomizes all-things-fashionable in 1987 -- Big bangs with big hair bow. buttoned up shirt all the way to the collar with a broach at the collar, pegged pants, slouched socks that are the exact same color as the shirt and white keds. Gotta LOVE it!!!!
Left to right -- Stacy Edman, Heather Hillier, ?, Me, Calli Jorgensen.
I built some last friendship with the girls in my ward back then. They made my teen years thoroughly enjoyable, completely fun, and always interesting. Viva la YW of Alma 2nd ward!

Taking a stab at digital scrapbooking

So I've decided to try my hand at digital scrapbooking. I'm a neophyte when it comes to using this medium for scrapbooking, which is oh so different than making things likes flyers, cards, etc. It's been a learning experience. I'm not that good yet, but I thought it would be pretty safe to post a few of my first few projects here.

Tagged!

So I was "Tagged" by my good friend Heather. I normally don't do these types of things, but I've found that they actually make pretty good personal history records, cuz I sure-as-shootin' haven't written any of this stuff anywhere else. Apparently I'm supposed to answer the following:

20 years ago...

1. I was 13 and couldn't wait to be 14 so that I could go to the church dances.
2. My family moved from 1642 W. Plana to our "new" house on Kiowa.
3. I spent most of my weekends babysitting and earning about $1.50 and hour.
   

10 years ago...

1. I had been home from my mission 8 months.
2. I was getting ready to head-off to BYU to start my degree program in Anthropology.
3. I thought that I would probably be married in the next year or so.
   

5 years ago...

1. I had just finished my Master's degree in Anthropology/Archaeology the year before.
2. My father just hired me to work at Schaub Financial, Inc.
3. I hoped I would be married in the next year or so.
   

3 years ago...

1. I took a trip to England and Italy with my aunt and uncle.
2. I served as the education counselor in the University 6th ward RS presidency.
3. I figured that I need to be happy regardless of my marital status (without giving up hope).

1 year ago…

1. I talked my mom, Kiki, and sister-in-law Rachel into going to England with me and had a BLAST!
2. Joined the entire family in, what was to be one of my favorite vacations ever, a five day trip to Sea World and Disneyland. (We stayed in the Paradise Pier at Disneyland and loved the entire time spent in Disneyland.)
3. Decided that I need to do something about my health & weight and started working out with a personal trainer and lifting weights. I found that after much work, sweat, and pain, the reward is worth it.

So far this year…

1. I’ve quit my job, been unemployed for 5 ½ months, and found the job I’m supposed to have.
2. My great grandmother, Eva Malo, who was 99 passed away. She was to turn 100 in October and we were going to go to Hawaii to celebrate with family.
3. I spent an amazing week in New Mexico getting reacquainted with my Johnson relatives and white-water-rafting down the Rio Grande (AWESOME)!

Yesterday…

1. I spent the entire day holed up in my room because I had a really bad cold. (I’m feeling better today, thanks.)
2. I watched, and cringed through, the women’s gymnastic routines in the Olympics.
3. I had to find someone to play the piano for my in Relief Society, because I’m the RS pianist.

In the Next Year…

1. I’m going to the New Kids on the Block concert with my favorite NKOTB companion, Heather!!
2. I will continue to improve my health and physical well-being.
3. I will continue to find joy in life (and opportunities to scrapbook it).

Catching up & Flagstaff

As you can tell, I didn't do a flashback last Friday, sorry! My Friday was a little harried. I've got myself a lovely cold and ended up leaving work early Friday. Which is fortunate, because I had a few last minute things to throw together for my little Olympics Opening Ceremony shindig.
I hope all of you saw the Olympics Opening Ceremony, cause it was AWESOME!! And now I'm tuned in for the next 16 days to the Olympics. A little something about me...I LOVE the Olympics. I love watching people who have worked, and worked, and sacrificed, achieve their goals in such a dramatic way. I get teary-eyed every time I watch an American Olympian step up to the podium to accept their medal. I LOVE being an American!!!

Anyways, just a recap of something I did fun two weekends ago. A few of my friends and I went up to Flagstaff to stay at another friends house. Marie and her husband have a house in Flagstaff which sits along a beautiful golf course. It was such a fabulous weekend. We were able to leave the 115 degree temperatures (I'm not exaggerating. It was actually 115 when we left town.) and head up to the cooler temperatures of the mountains. Sheila, Jolene, Susan, Marie and I had so much fun just hanging around, reading, playing games, visiting, watching the stars, shopping, and eating. What a perfect girls weekend. Here are a few shots:

We woke up our first morning and decided to take a walk around Marie's beautiful neighborhood, to enjoy the cool weather. Please note that under duress, everyone agreed to pose for this shot. No one was allowed to do their hair or put on any make-up, so we were all "o'Natural".

Here we are walking among the hills and the pines. :)


While out on our walk-about we found a fun little park next to a miniature golf course. I just couldn't resist.We found a mediocre Italian restaurant where we grabbed a bite of lunch while we did some shopping in old town Flagstaff. Here is a pic of Marie and I.
Here are four of us as we begin our shopping adventure.