It's beginning to look a lot like....

CHRISTMAS!

Autumn Festivities...

This past Tuesday I had teh day off of work so I decided to have my Autumn celebration day... The day consisted of going to the pumpin patch, picking out 3 pumkins and a gourd, sipping hot cider, eating a spiced donut, going to a haunted house, carving the pumkins, and roasting the pumpkin seeds. Here are some pics to document the evening!

If you're a man who wants to live a long and happy life...

I have a car!

So over 3 weeks ago, I was involved in a hit-and-run... I was the victim. We were able to follow him and obtain his license plate number and call the police with his location so he ended up being apprehended. The driver was a drunk illegal immiagrant who happened to have insurance...? Anyway, so my car is not drivable (the alignment is way off and there is something off about the steering column) and it took the insurance company 3 weeks to approve a rental for me. Needless to say it was a headache... Between trying to find rides/cars to borrow for work, church, and doctor's appointments, I was thrilled to have my own wheels! And it's a nice one too! A 2009 Corolla... with only 500 miles on it. :D

Celebrating the 4th!

I ended up working at the Gap on the 4th (which I'm totally okay with). Holiday pay! Woot woot! I love working holidays for some reason. There is just a totally different atmosphere with tons of energy! Bummer side... missed any parade of any kind. What is the 4th without a parade?!

After I got home and had a quick nap, we were able to go out front and lets the "red rockets red glare!" We were out with the neighbors... ya know... the ones that you wave at but don't talk much to. It was great to actually put names with faces.

The best moment of the night: I looked over at mom who was holding a stick with a red glowing tip. I asked her, "Mom, what are you doing?" "I dunno but it isn't very exciting." Dad then looks over and laughs, "Diane, that's a punk. You use it to light the fireworks." Classic.

The Gunnell Family Reunion

So yes... the reunion was about 6 weeks ago... but I have yet to update you about it. I went the weekend before and spent it with the Bairds (thanks again) Had a glorious Father's Day with them. Spent both hours of Sunday School and Relief Society helping Ang out in nursery. That was a bit overwhelming. Lol. And I don't recommend watching "One Last Call"... the trailer alone scared me.

We headed up to Bear Lake and stayed in this AMAZING house with the entire family. I was assigned to the Teenage Girl room... at that point I didn't know whether it was a compliment (because I looked so young) or that it was a punishment of sorts... Adult supervision... yay. But it was fun sharing with Lisa, Julian, Jodi and Ali. the best moments was when I would walk into the room in the middle of the afternoon and they each were reading either Host or one of the Twilight books. *sniff* They make me so proud!

Much time was spent out on the boats at the lake. First thing Tuesday morning, I mastered the tube... and walked away with a sore neck from whiplash... I blame my dad for that one. It was interesting the next couple days as changing shirts became painful and the only place that I could sleep sitting up happened to be on the couch in the most popular place for the family to be. Joy.

We also had a great time with kareokee, Luau, family dance and just overall being together. These are a few of my favorite moments:

• Grandma Gunnell winning Aloha Bingo Blackout
• Riding in the boat with Macie resting on my lap, Reid sleeping next to me, and Lizzie sitting in the front of the boat screaming.
• Macie (from the above moment) reaching up from under the towel to carress my check and say, "I love you Aunt Melissa" with a deep sigh.
• Riding with the older cousins on Horseback. Rekindled my dream to live on a ranch.
• Cops crashing our kareokee.
• "The Grand Pooh-Bah" Uncle David with his official ladle
• Watching Walker bust a move on the dance floor in he Lightening McQueen undies.
• Mary in her wonderful seashell bra at the Luau.

Afterwords, I crashed at Danny and Mary's until I came home. I saw Jules Hoehn, one of my best friends from high school (soon to be engaged... to Kimber who is a babe!). Lost horribly in Ticket to Ride. Played Horse with Reid. Enjoyed Sacrament Meeting with Macie, yet again on my lap with the occasional carress on the check and "I love you Aunt Melissa." Can being an aunt be much better than that?!

Oh, to be a 4 year old...

On Monday, I called my sister, Ang, just to chit-chat. However, her oldest daughter, Lizzie (4 1/2) answered the phone. This is the just of ther conversation:

L: Hello, Bairds!
M: Hi, who is this?
L: Elizabeth.
M: Hi Lizzie! What are you doing?
L: Waiting for my uncle to come play.
M: Which uncle? Uncle Paul or Uncle John?
L: Uncle John.
M: Why is he coming over?
L: Cause my dad needs to go check on my mom.
M: Where is she?
L: At the dentist.
M: Where is you dad?
L: He's home from work.
M: Where is Katelyn?
L: On the counter.
M: Where is baby Cassidy?
L: My dad just put her down for a nap.
M: Okay. What did you do today?
L: (something about her friend that lives behind them) And guess what?
M: What?
L: She wears a bikini?
M: Oh. Do we wear bikinis?
L: No.
M: Why not?
L: Um... guess what Aunt Melissa...
M: What?
L: I can do a cartwheel all by myself?
M: You can?! You must be almost five years old.
L: Aunt Melissa, you must not know when my birthday is. It's October 30th.
M: I know that. It right by Halloween. Macie turns 5 first and then its your turn.
L: Guess what Aunt Melissa...
M: What?
L: I'm going with a friend to go ride ponies. I can go because I'm 4 but Katelyn can't. She isn't 4.
M: Oh. Do you want to know what I want to do when I grow up after I'm a mom and all my kids are grown up?
L: What?
M: I want to buy a big house on lots of land and get some horses.
L: (long pause) Melissa... can you say that part again. I was watching my friend out on her lawn.
M: Um... *chuckles* okay... when I grow up after I'm a mom and all my kids are grown up I want to buy a big house on lots of land and get some horses and be a cowgirl.
L: That's what I want to do!
M: Really?!
L: Yeah!
M: Well then, whoever gets to be a cowgirl first can let the other person come over and ride their horses... how does that sound?
L: I bet you will be first, cause guess what?
M: What?
L: You are bigger.
M: Oh. Well, we'll see.

Alien Romance...?!? Part II

About 10 days ago... I couldn't get to sleep and the cover of The Host was staring me down. Not to mention that I had spent the evening watching the preview for the Twilight movie (December just cannot come fast enough), I decided to give it one more chance.

After 2 pages... I WAS HOOKED!

I stayed up until 1 or 2 that night reading... slept with the light on... took it to work, read it during every possible break... stayed up until 1 or 2 that night, slept with the light on, and last Sunday I finally finished it. I had thought all along that it wasn't going to be until the end of the book that she finds Jared and Jamie... low and behold... on that second page on that night 10 days ago, she sees him! Oh my goodness! Talk about intense! Plus, let's be honest... Ian is a much better catch. I TOTALLY would pick him over Jared. But that is besides the point... All I have to say is.... the first 120 pages or so are kinda hard to get through... but after that IT IS WONDERFUL! Mel... you have to read it... I will bring you my copy at the reunion!

Which Jane Austin heroine are you?

Take the Quiz here!

I'm feeling a bit water-logged...

Honestly, since I've moved to beautiful green Oregon in September, I think that its rained only three times.... each lasting about 3 months. On rare occassions, we do get a sunny day (I have managed to get a sunburn a couple of weekends ago). But how much rain can there be? Honestly?!? I felt like I had my fair share 6 months ago. I don't care about the arguements on how clean the air is, or how green everything is... I would much rather kinda see the sun through smog than not see it at all through the gray skies. And when the pavement is green? That is a bit too much. I laugh to myself when the temperature gets above 75. EVERYONE complains about how hot it is. Mind you, I grew up in Texas and in Ohio. 78 degrees outside is nothing. Especially when there is only moderate humidity. But when the lifelong, tired and true Oregonians start complaining about the rain... it makes me wonder if I should start putting in my order for gopher wood....

Preaching to an Aetheist...

So our Home Teachers came by last Sunday and shared with us Elder Oaks' talk on Testimony. And over the past couple of days I have reflected on that talk and what an impact that has had on my life.

For the majority of last summer I had a number of friends from work that were aetheists. They were great people... just confused. It was almost fascinating to me to hear the reasoning that they had behind everything around them. It was so different from what we believe in. In fact I loved having debates with them... not so much that they were yelling screaming and in your face kinda arguements... "more of why do you believe this when" debates. They were so enlightening and it strengthened my testimony as I tried to explain with reason why I believed what I believed.

Part of Elder Oaks talk reads as follows:

What do we mean when we testify and say that we know the gospel is true? Contrast that kind of knowledge with “I know it is cold outside” or “I know I love my wife.” These are three different kinds of knowledge, each learned in a different way. Knowledge of outside temperature can be verified by scientific proof. Knowledge that we love our spouse is personal and subjective. While not capable of scientific proof, it is still important. The idea that all important knowledge is based on scientific evidence is simply untrue.

While there are some “evidences” for gospel truths (for example, see Psalm 19:1; Helaman 8:24), scientific methods will not yield spiritual knowledge.

I've reflected much on last summer with this in mind and although I don't think that I could ever convince them of this simple truth, it was the downfall of them. And funny enough every single one of them had been raised in the church... but for one reason or another, they determined that it was no longer true.

But I love how Elder Oaks finishes his talk:

We all act upon or give obedience to knowledge. Whether in science or religion, our obedience is not blind when we act upon knowledge suited to the subject of our action. A scientist receives and acts upon a trusted certification of the content or conditions of a particular experiment. In matters of religion, a believer’s source of knowledge is spiritual, but the principle is the same. In the case of Latter-day Saints, when the Holy Ghost gives our souls a witness of the truth of the restored gospel and the calling of a modern prophet, our choice to follow those teachings is not blind obedience.

Its so true!

I'm Belle!

I knew it! Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

So not funny...

I watched the much anticipated season finale of Bones last night, and I didn't get 5 minutes into it before I wanted to turn it off and vow never to watch it again. The show starts off with everyone trying to convince Dr. Brennan to go to Booth's funeral! Shut up! So after a calming reassurance from Mom and phone call from a friend, I took a deep breath and continued sourly to finish the episode. Turns out they faked his death so that Booth could capture a guy from an earlier case (pre-Bones) that had gone underground. Faking the death brought the guy out and they were able to arrest him. Dr. Brennan totally punched him in the face for not telling her and I only wish I was there to do the same.

The rest of the episode was only so-so. They were able to find and kill Gormigon (sp?) who is the cannibal guy that they have been chasing all season. Turns out the Zach, Dr. Brennan's assistant was an accomplice or "The Student". I'm happy to not be thinking about people eating human flesh anymore.

And much to my dismay, there wasn't a whole lot of sparks flying between Brennan and Booth this week. It's a little disappointing.

Bones

If I had to pick a TV show that I would say I was devoted to, it would definately be Bones. Perhaps it's my facsination with the human body and interested with forensics that just draws me into this show. Plus I think that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth have an enthralling relationship. Their relationship is perfectely compiled. She is book smart almost to a fault and he is definately street smart. The compliment each other so well and its great to see them work together. Plus I love how as a viewer it is never outright said that they like each other. But there are so many moments when you see them look at each other and you just know that there is a lot more that's deeper than just a partnership. Dr. Brennan is just too rational to allow it and Booth knows that and doesn't bother to persue. They both are satisfied with the relationship that they have now even though there is this unspoken yearning for more. Ah! I love it!

Last night left me crazy craving for next week. CAUTION! SPOILER! So at the end of last night's episode, a guy was murdered and during the investigation, they questioned a girl, Fat Pam (that was her nickname...) who was OBSESSED with the victim. Anyway, now that Todd, the victim, was dead, Fat Pam turned her obsession to Booth. It was kinda weird. But at the end, the case is solved and the wold team is at some joint for open mic. Dr. Brennan is up singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (which is a little out of character for her... but she did great!). Fat Pam shows up and sees Booth laughing and enjoying Dr. Brennan performance, gets upset and pulls a gun. She fires a shot at Dr. Brennan but Booth jumped and took the bullet (it was in his right upper chest... totally survivable if he got to a hospital in time), Dr. Brennan then turns and fires and kills Fat Pam with one shot (with Booth's gun). The episode ends with Booth laying on the floor bleeding and blacking out as Dr. Brennan is there applying pressure to the wound and pleading with Booth to "Hang in there!"

So... I'm freaking out just wondering if next week they are actually going to open up and actually consider a relationship... I mean, he took a bullet for her and almost died! There's got to be some amount of emotion going on! AHHHHH! I can't wait!

Alien Romance...?!?

So, I loved reading Stephenie Meyer's Twlight Series and I am totaly stoked for her fourth book to come out the end of this summer. I was kinda excited about this past book that she published, titled "The Host". The "back cover" reads something like this:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.


I never would have thought that I would fall in love with a vampire romance so I thought hey, an aliene romance can't be that bad. Well, it isn't that good either. I dunno. Edward just seemed so believable. Perhaps I could relate to Bella so much better than Melanie or Wanderer. I did move from a desert to a swamp just like she did. All in all, I don't care too much about this book. I don't feel bad the next morning when I realized that a fell asleep reading again. I'll probably finish reading it because I did start it. But unless X-files are your thing... go ahead and wait for the fourth Twilight book.

My blonde little dog Part 2...

Just to demonstrate... here's a video...

Ask Her... I don't think we are in Oregon anymore....

After 7 continuous months of gray drizzle, we FINALLY have a sunny day! It was a glorious day! After church we drove down to the temple and enjoyed the sunshine, tulips, and the ducks.... yes... the ducks.

These flowers reminded me of Jackson and Walker. Don't ask me why...

Wacky Wendy's

One of my favorite places to go for lunch is Wendy's. I love their spicey chicken sandwich. 99 times out of 100, I order a #6, Large, with a Root Beer (of course). It's great.

Today was a different experience. I went with a co-worker of mine, Steve, to Wendy's today. It was shortly afternoon and fairly busy. I right away noticed that there was a new employee (it's a sign that you eat somewhere way too much). He was an older gentleman. Assisting him was a younger manager, who seemed to be 6 months pregnant. It was our turn to order and stepped up the the counter to be assisted by this new employee. I ordered first, my number 6... and patiently waited for the next question "Medium or Large?". It took a while for him to navigate through the screen. It took so long that Steve started ordering. The man and I both look at him and were like, "I'm not done yet." Meanwhile, not 1, not 2, but 3 different sets of customers (yes it took that long) came up and complained about their orders. "I'm missing a drink." "I thought I order a different sandwhich." "We need another set of fries." At one point the store manager came over and just gave out a few extra things of fries just to appease these customers and to allow this manager to continue assisting with this new employee. Finally our order was ready and I looked at the tray and noticed that we had an extra sandwich. I said to the manager there, "I think that we have an extra sandwich." She looked back at me and said, "No you don't." Steve steps in and says, "No, we ordered a spicey chicken sandwich, two stack attacks, and two crunchy chicken sandwiches. This third Stack Attack is not ours." It went back and forth a little bit.... not that either of us cared that we got the extra sandwich, we just wanted to make sure that they were aware. Once again the store manager stepped over and just told us to take the sandwich (which should have happened in the first place). I grabbed our tray with the drinks and french fries and just made a polite comment to the store manager like, "A stressful day?" and he smiled back and said "Yeah, just training a new employee." Totally understandable. Problem solved.

Well, I walk around the corner to where Steve is sitting and right behind me is this prego manager. "Sir, I need that tray back; it's the next gentleman's order." Oops. I guess Steve didn't see that I had grabbed the second of out 2 trays and while I was chit chatting with the store manager grabbed the tray that wasn't ours and went and sat down. I laughed and sat down and we did the whole... my sandwhich, your drink, my fries, etc. Steve stood up and went to go get napkins and straws. He came back a little preturbed and sat down. Not too far behind him was the store manager. He appologized and offered to get us a frosty or fries or anything. Steve declined and the manager walked away. I looked at Steve and was like... "What's up with that... we already got a free sandwich." He said, "No, the other manager accused me twice of ripping them off!" Apparently, when Steve was getting napkins and such, he overheard the pregnant manager complaining loudly to the other customers and employees that he tried to rip them off and steal fries and a drink. He walked up to the counter and confronted her about it (you know how guys are) and told her, "No, it was a mistake."

The rest of lunch was awkward. Mostly because the store manager checked up on us every five minutes and Steve was angry. Before we left, I went and got a refill on my Root Beer and once again was approached by the store manager who appologied profusely. I reassured him that everything was ok and that it was just a misunderstanding that was escalated because of stress.

I do not mean to dis Wendy's or anything of the sort. I will go there again... most likely next week and won't think anything of it.

I guess the moral of this story is... if you walk into Wendy's and there is a new employee the being trained by someone who is 6 months or so pregnant, you might want to go to Taco Bell.

My blonde little dog...

I love my dog. But honestly... she isn't that smart sometimes. Allow me to illustrate:

She has had a bark collar since, I dunno, October of last year. And yet... she still barks. And every now and then, we hear a bark followed by lots and lots of yelps. I just shake my head and mutter to myself... stupid dog.

Following Buster's wonderful example, Ask Her has learned to mark trees. Yes, my little dog, will go up to a tree, sniff it, take a few steps and lift one leg and put it on the tree and continues to do her business. Mind you, at first she did not put one foot on the tree, but try to raise one leg. That was kinda cute just because she could only lift it a few inches, if that.

And finally, we all know that Ask Her is part doxen. What we didn't know was the other part was deer. When Ask Her is running anywhere, she periodically throughs in a leap or two with the perfect form of a white tail deer. Yesterday I took her to a nearby walkway with open spaces and took her off the leash and she was just running and leaping all over the place. Run run run BOING run run BOING BOING BOING run run run run BOING run run run BOING BOING etc. It actually is quite cute and I can't get over it sometimes. It's especially funny when she pounces on the dandylions and continues to thrash them, the bringing it to my feet with her tail wagging.

I love my stupid dog...

Date Night with Lisa

So I finally got a Friday night off and I went on a date! with Lisa! We went over to Bullwinkles and did the go carts (Lisa had the fastest cart there), played a round of laser tag with some of her school friends that we ran into there and goofed off with some tokens. Our prizes? A whoopie cushion that lasted 2.7 seconds and some annoying lip whistle things. We had fun though!

All done up...

So, Ask Her got her first ever "store bought" bath and brush yesterday. My mom doesn't care for pets in the house... even for a bath. Up until a few months ago, I was able to spend a couple hours over at Amy and David's apartment for some suds. However, times have changed and Ask Her was getting smelly! She was so excited to go in until they tried to pick her up. Then she wasn't quite sure how she felt about everything. Then after a bath, brush, massage, nail clip, and teeth brush, she was ready to leave! My favorite part was when I went to go pick her up and she had a cute little PetSmart bandana on. How adorable!

Can I plant my Tulips next to yours?

For FHE this past week, we went to the Tulip Festival near Woodburn, OR. It was beautiful! The weather was a bit... well... Oregonish... but we made the most of it. Mom liked the 2-toned tulips and dad liked the deep red... as usual. Lisa was excited for the swings! I got a few good shots (the overcast actually helped with the lighting). Enjoy!

Ah.... Tender!

Birthday Memories

So, back in the begninning of February, I treated myself to a weekend in Utah to be with my siblings and nieces and nephews and boy what a trip it was! It was a whirlwind trip for sure... spending less than 24 hours at each house and cramming in as much fun as possible. There was President Hinkley's viewing and funeral, a drastic hairstyle change (donated 12 inches to Locks of Love... again...), Boondocks, homemade pizza, lost car keys, Bingo, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, singing time in Primary, Cream Chicken and rice, Busterscotch Pudding delight, Sardine Canyon Blizzard, birthday cak and floats, kisses from a long lost boyfriend (aka Dozer), leftover Super Bowl goodies, visitng the grandparents, Show-N-Tell, Chinese New Year Celebration, and last but not least, my birthday! Whew! Thank you so much to everyone for letting come spend time with you all!

Pre hair cut with Lizzie and Kate....

...and post haircut!

Waiting for the funeral procession with our canes.

This picture is such a sweet picture... I love the teaching moment that it captured.

Me with the Baird girls at Boondocks!

Jackson and Walker in the shrits that I gave them.

And super cutie Cade!

Happy 1st Birthday Brylie!

My long lost love, Dozer... it didn't take him long to remember me and whiz everywhere...

Grandma and Grandpa Korth... and bonus Davis...

Grandma Gunnell... she rocks.


Sweet little Reidy...

Macie was so excited that I came for a visit!

I MISS YOU ALL!

For Katelyn

For those who know... my adorable niece Katelyn turned three a few weeks ago. For her birthday I set her the new Enchanted DVD (the new Disney Princess movie), which I highly recommend (I watched it at least 12 times the week I got my own copy). I have the soundtrack as well and listen to it frequently at work. My co-workers were quite observant and I have since found these few items as the wall paper on my desktop... oh so funny!

It's my turn!!!

So here we go... All of my married siblings all have blogs for their families. A couple of weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law were talking to my parents and through the course of the phone call realized that they didn't know that a)I started working at Xerox(which I had for about a month at that time) b) I was planning on staying in Oregon for 6-12 months longer than I had planned c) I had called it quits with love interest Casey and d) that I was still working at the Gap. The funny thing was that I pretty much knew everything that was going on with them! It was Mel's up-to-date and oh so cute blog. (Don't down-play it Mel... it is AMAZING!)

So although I can't promise much with this blog, I at least hope to be able to keep my family in the loop as far as what job I'm working at and what Ask Her is doing. Happy Blogging!