Tagged by Cait

Jobs I've had:

1) You Scream Ice Cream

2) Pottery Barn

3) Nursery Leader - in charge of 8-10 two & three-year-olds (much of the time on my own while Scott had to work)

4) Nanny for 22 month-old little girl (Kennedy) & their dog (Jake). Jake sits in between Kennedy and me when I'm trying to play with her. He wants the attention, so he attempts to sit on my lap & cuddle with me while Kennedy pulls his fur and screams at him from the other side because he's in the way of our most current game.

Jake's a little big to sit on my lap, but somehow he manages

Places for weekend getaway:

1) San Francisco/Danville

2) Monterey

3) Utah to visit my sister (and her family) & my friends

4) Tehachapi (w/ a side trip to Disneyland)

Movies I can watch over and over:
1) Jane Austen movies - Pride and Prejudice; Mansfield Park

2) Dirty Dancing - "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

3) French Kiss - Meg Ryan & Kevin Kline - I think it's hilarious

4) Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movies

Guilty Pleasures

1) my mom's desserts - berry cobbler w/ homemade ice cream; baked fudge; chocolate chip cookies; strawberry pie; bread pudding (how do you pick one?)
2) spending a day reading a great book

3) buying a lot of clothes and then returning most, if not all of them (this gets shopping out of my system while still keeping money in the bank)

4) making lists of all the things I need to get done, & then feeling so satisfied w/ just completing the list that I don't need to do anything on it

Places I've Lived:

1) St. Louis, Missouri

2) Diablo, California

3) Roseville, California

4) Provo, UT

What I thought when I first saw my significant other:

1) I'm free (I was watching a movie with my boyfriend at the time (Brad) when I first saw Scott . . . I lost interest in Brad by the end of the night)

2) BYU has a racquetball team?

3) I like his sweatshirt (a firefighter one)
4) How will I get around Mandi, so I can flirt with Scott and not get in trouble. (Mandi was my roommate & a lifetime friend of Scott's family . . . she was protective of him)

Places I've been on vacations

1) Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

2) road trip from Cyclone, Missouri to Nauvoo, Illinois, then to SLC, UT & home to California

3) Dominican Republic

4) New York

5) places w/ Showbiz (Hawaii, Florida, D.C., Mexico)

Favorite Foods

1) BBQ pulled pork

2) nectarines

3) mom's dessert

4) chocolate Silk

IF in a "jam" with spouse, tactics used to get out of the doghouse:

1) Dance like Steven, my brother (he (or his wife Amy) made me a book teaching me how)

2) Go on a walk with him

3) Feed him
4) Married people stuff

Websites I visit daily

1) blogs

2) You Tube (sometimes)

3) I don't go on the Internet that much

First kiss locations:

1) outside of a stake dance (I was dancing around my car in the typical Liz fashion while Emily was dancing on top of my car in her typical fashion. My boyfriend at the time randomly surprised me with our first kiss . . . it was really awkward and a little gross)

2) Provo Canyon

3) in my Landcruiser

4) outside my Spyglas apartment in Provo

Places I'd rather be:

1) in Diablo

2) touring western Europe: England, France, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Spain

3) at home, but with Scott here with me (he's working)

4) visiting family and friends (in UT, SD, WA/OR, CA)

4 people I tag are...

1) Susan

2) Emily

3) Mindy

4) Candace

Ode to Santa Cruz

Yesterday, my parents, Rich & Becky's kids, Steven and Amy's family, Coleman, and Scott and I went to Santa Cruz (Brandon couldn't go because he was sick). We played on the beach, swam in the water with the seals and seaweed, and went up to the Boardwalk after 5:00. (being a Monday night, all the rides were 1 ticket (75 cents), and hot dogs, cotten candy, and sodas were each 75 cents as well.) The best ride was one that swung back and forth like a pendulum and spun in circles at the same time. It got so high that it felt like you would fall out head first.

Scott and I were in charge of Spencer and Chase while at the Boardwalk. When we were in line to go on this swinging, spinning ride, Spencer kept trying to talk his way out of going on it. When it was our turn, we had to force him into his seat, (he ran away a few times (once with one shoe on and the other thrown over to the cubbys)) and pin him down until they could lock his saftey bar down. He was so freaked out, so I got him to release his fear by yelling as loud as he could when the ride started. (My exaggerated yells soon turned into real screams as the ride got higher and higher.) I also had to convince him to keep his eyes open, so he wouldn't get sick. It was the best ride of the night. I was shaking when I got off it.

Spencer and Zach before going to the beach.

Scott and my dad took turns being the umbrella stand.

Cole and Kailee dug holes and played in the water.

Chase playing a game with Steven and Amy.

Timmy while in the middle of playing catch with Scott and Spencer. He's so broad-chested.

Lily's loving the beach. She would stand at the edge of the water and run away crying when the water came towards her. Then she'd go back for more.

Now I need to describe a few people I saw in Santa Cruz that day:

1. A girl (probably in her 20's) walking on the beach with her boyfriend while wearing a white string bikini and black patent leather high heels. First of all, why was she wearing a white bikini? Secondly, why wear patent leather high heels in the sand, or with a bikini at all? She then commenced to take off her heels, SKIP to the water, bend straight over, and scoop water in her hands and put it all over her chest (I think she was trying to be sexy). Amy, Scott, and I just sat there laughing with surprise and a little disgust.

2. A man walked out of a shop on the Boardwalk, and I assumed that he must be an employee wearing a costume . . . until I took a closer look. He had long dark hair and a beard and moustache. He was wearing a black cowboy hat, black cowboy boots, a black button-up cowboy shirt, and of course black leather cowboy booty-shorts. I don't even know what else to say about him . . . we were all shocked when we saw him and tried our hardest not to stare or point too obviously. I wish I got a picture of him, but I put my camera in the car before going up to the rides.

Oh Santa Cruz . . . I need to go there more often (even with a few weirdos hanging around the place). The rides and the overall atmosphere were so much fun.

A Dance Favorite - So You Think You Can Dance

This dance is so amazing. I can watch it over and over again.
Lacey and Kameron - Contemporary

Oh Asians

I have been trying to find this video forever. I saw it years ago and finally found it again. I really wish I could be friends with these guys, especially the one on the left. It's not a great picture, but I think it's hilarious! P.S. I encourage anyone to learn their moves for the next dance you go to. You'll have no problem making friends. Heck, you don't even have to be at a dance--you'll look cool wherever you are.

Faith

While I sat in church yesterday, I realized that I hadn't consistently felt the Spirit in a long time. I wondered why, then thought perhaps not attending Seminary or religion classes at BYU anymore, as well as being in Nursery for 7 months might have something to do with it. I also thought about how attending a more liberal school has made it more difficult for me to relate my scholastic studies to the gospel. I decided throughout yesterday that I needed to make a change. I need to be more diligent in making spiritual matters a part of my life.

While going for a walk with Scott last night, I recalled a time when I ardently declared that everything happens for a reason, no matter how big or small. I had so much faith as a child--I prayed numerous times for Heavenly Father to help me or comfort me in times of need, whether it was needing to feel peace and security after Sarah's death, or simply wanting to know where I had misplaced a favorite toy. It seems so impossible that the Supreme God of the Universe would care enough to be in every moment of my life, even the seemingly trivial ones. God knows the details of my life, and I need to remember that everything happens for a reason. God shows us his tender mercies every day, but we need to have the faith and humility to recognize them. We need to make it a habit to remember Christ and to share his love with others whenever possible.