I Feel Like a Traitor.

When I read the Twilight books, I was ALL about Edward. I know, pretty much everyone was - with a few exceptions. I have a friend at work who liked Jacob better in the books. I wondered how ANYONE could EVER prefer obnoxious Jacob over beautiful Edward.

Now I know.

Seriously, can I switch my 'Team Edward' shirt for a 'Team Jacob' shirt??

Obviously I saw New Moon over the weekend, and while it was over-the-top cheesy and dramatic, I came away with a (dirty-old-lady, as Mug puts it) crush on Taylor Lautner. He's all I hear about when I hear people talk about the movie, and OH MAN - so worth it. But, as my sister Kate reminded me, I am 15 years older than the kid. (Thanks for the reality check, Kate.) He's still fun to look at, though. In the books he was whiny and obnoxious and Edward was selfless and beautiful. They kinda swapped roles in the movie, I thought - Edward was whiny and dramatic, and Jacob was... *drool* I almost want them to change the movies so Bella picks Jacob instead of Edward.

Almost.

So Over It

Good grief, is it the middle of November ALREADY??!? It's Thanksgiving next week, I can't believe it!! Guess I better get busy making apple pie filling!

I have SUCKED at life today. No, I take that back, I'm just really annoyed. And there is good reason for it - the Panguitch police are out to get me. (Or it's just PMS.) While travelling home from Phoenix last month, I got a speeding ticket going through Panguitch. My speedometer said I was going 38 in a 35, but the stupid cop said he clocked me at 45 in a 35. Well duh, the speed limit was 45 coming into town! When I saw the sign that said 35mph, I began to slow down; apparently not quick enough, though. So he gave me a ticket, not even listening to my reasoning, and I sat and bawled for ten minutes after he left. (My poor parents didn't know what to do, I was a wreck.) I decided to call Prepaid Legal (BEST SERVICE EVER, if you're interested let me know), and an attorney there went to bat for me at the Panguitch Court. She called and tried to file a Plea & Abeyance (which means I'd pay $50 extra, and not get any traffic citations for 3 months, then they'd wipe the offense off my record); but I found out today that the judge denied my request, saying that I had to have a clean record for three years before he'd consider a plea, and I'd gotten a speeding ticket in SLC about 6 weeks before (which I deserved, I admit). The attorney reasoned that before that, I hadn't gotten a speeding ticket in over NINE years. But the judge still said no, he "saw a speeding pattern emerging" and wanted nothing to do with me. Damn you, you money-grubbing Panguitch bast - uh, jerks! (Pardon my language, I was really upset.) So, I'm stuck with another $90 ticket and more points marked on my record, and zero respect for Panguitch Police and Courts.

SO OVER IT. I'll follow the wise advice of my brother Mike, and not waste any more mental energy on it, and just hope that all that happened for a reason.

ANYWAY, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of my Halloween costume from this year - one of the best yet!

PIRATE! Not bad, huh? This was compliments of my good friend Holly, who is an amazing seamstress with an awesome imagination - and a VERY good friend to lend me this amazing costume. So much fun. Mar, Muti and Dan came for the festivities at my office, and they brought Addie with them. She is such a character. I baby-sat Addie for a few hours last Saturday night, and she seriously cracks me up. She combed my hair, watched Surf's Up with me, and played hide-and-seek with me. Apparently, one of her favorite places to hang out is under the end-table by the couch:

I told her to say "cheese" and that's the shot I got. She melts my heart! I'm such a sucker for this kid, seriously. She makes me forget all about the Panguitch nut jobs and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Aawwww...

This Calls For a Celebration!

WARNING: Long rant ahead!!

Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with an old acquaintance from when I was growing up. She asked where I was working these days, and I told her that I worked as a Case Assistant for a law firm in Downtown SLC. She asked the usual questions - what was the firm called, where is it located, do you know so-and-so, and then she asked how long I'd worked there. I've been thinking about my reply ever since.

7 years. 7! SEVEN! S-E-V-E-N.

This is a big deal to me, because I've never worked ANYWHERE longer than 3 or 4 years. In high school I worked at a Chinese fast-food place in the mall for all of 3 months, and then at a dry cleaner for about 6-8 months. I worked at a Deseret Book retail store for 3 1/2 years, and at their corporate office for 6 months. I worked for Franklin Covey as a receptionist for 2 years, and then as a Certification Coordinator for two years. Then I came here, to my current job at a law firm, and... I'm still here! And I have no intention of leaving anytime soon. Partly because of the current job market, and partly because... well, the more I look elsewhere for jobs, the more I realize how good I have it where I am. I've had my ups and downs - anyone that knows me knows that I've looked for other jobs the past few years because I was feeling kinda "stuck" in my current job. So I went out looking for greener pastures. But the closest I came was a field with a few green weeds. Nothing could really compare to my current job's benefits and compensation programs. Not to mention the fact that I ADORE the people I work with (I don't know what I would do without my Emily friends at work), and my current supervisor is WONDERFUL.

So - I think I will stay here, until they decide to kick me out, or until a miracle happens and I get married and my spouse moves us out of state.

Another reason I'm celebrating is because, FINALLY, I am a few short days away from finishing my (extremely restrictive) diet program. I know the last post I mentioned my weight loss on, I told you I'd lost around 22 pounds. Well, the grand total (depending on the type of scale I'm on) is... *drum roll*

38-40 pounds. GONE. Adios. Buh-bye. And GOOD RIDDANCE.

I feel no awkwardness in telling you all (well, those of you who don't already know) now that my diet program is the HCG Injection diet. If you want to read about it, click here. I went through a clinic, and met with a physician and nutritionist. I went in for weekly weigh-ins and vitamin shots, and made sure I wasn't losing structural fat or muscle. Now, in a few short days, I will re-introduce cheese and a little bit of bread into my diet. (Pictures of me to come soon, I promise.)

I learned SO many things on this program. Firstly, I was not eating as well as I thought I was; I took a good look at the "nutritional" value in most things I ate, and - no wonder I was chunky, I love junk food. (Who doesn't?!?) Granola bars, diet soda, 100-calorie snacks, and oatmeal are not as healthy as the vendors want you to believe. Secondly, I learned that I drank WAAAAYY too much of soda. I've not had any in over two months, and guess what? I don't miss it. At all. I may let myself have it two or three times a year (special treat on my birthday, Christmas, and maybe once in the summer), but that's it. I witnessed what I let it do to my body, and it will never happen again. Third, I learned that I have self-control - a LOT of it - buried under my cravings for food. I just have to let it out. I also learned that the things I thought tasted so good don't actually taste that great. After months of eating only fresh and natural foods, I cheated a little on Halloween and had one fun-size Snickers bar. Oh, I enjoyed every little bite. Then, the aftertaste took me by surprise... it was GROSS. The candy tasted so processed and chemical-ish... I don't think candy will be that huge of a problem anymore. (I hope.) I think my taste buds have changed.

SO - after all that, my reward was a Cafe Rio salad. Of course, I've only eaten the lettuce, chicken and pico - and not even so much as a little nibble of the tortilla - but it is still delicious. Such a great way to celebrate.

MMMM. Cafe Rio.

Halloween and the Road Trip from...

A week ago, I went to Arizona with my mom and dad, because dad had a work conference to attend, and I thought it might be fun to take some time off work and goof off with mom for a few days. We drove, taking my car, to save on airfare costs, and next time - we're flying. If there is a next time. It was a loooooong drive, and toward the end, I started to feel like Richard from Tommy Boy - my car came home with a big dent in the back, and two cracks in the windshield, not to mention a stupid speeding ticket in small-town Utah. (I refuse to pay it because it was so ridiculous, I'm SO fighting on this one.) If I have the heart to, I'll post pictures of my poor banged-up car at a later date.

We stayed at a Hilton Resort Hotel that was nice, but a little outdated and nothing to really write home about. But what I (in all my Halloween geekiness) loved most about the room was the room number:

Muahahahaha!! (I know, I'm such a nerd.) What are the odds we'd get room number 1031? I'm convinced it wasn't a coincidence. Hehe.

Arizona was beautiful - perfect weather, around 85 degrees. It's always fun to see different kinds of cactus. Even better is cactus with the ever-glorious palm tree.

The drive TO Arizona was AWESOME. The scenery was so gorgeous, I took tons of pictures through the windows, since we didn't really have time to stop much. This is a shot of Lake Powell from Page, AZ.

We went to church on Sunday, and Monday mom and I goofed off in Phoenix and Mesa. We went to the Outlets at Anthem to shop a little, and then we headed into Mesa to find the cemetery where several of our ancestors are buried - looking specifically for my great-great-grandfather, polygamist Benjamin F. Johnson. When we found his grave site, we discovered that wife #5 was buried next to him - Sarah Melissa Holman, who also happens to be the wife that I am descended from. So, here is me with Benjamin F.

After we were done looking around the cemetery, we went and found the Mesa temple to take pictures of. SUCH a pretty temple - although, I have yet to see an ugly temple, let's be honest. Anyhow, we had a fun time exploring Phoenix and Mesa a little!

The drive home was just as pretty as the drive there - we got into Southern Utah at sunset, and I couldn't resist a picture or two - through the bug-spattered windshield.

When I got to work on Thursday last week, it was time to dive into preparations and decorations for Halloween. Like I said in an earlier post, our floor's theme for decorations was a graveyard. Mug did a GREAT job with these gravestones (that we were supposed to write our own epitaphs on):

It was so fun. Spooky, cobwebby, creepy. LOVED it. When I walked into the office, I saw what people on our floor had been up to - they did such a great job with our Stoel Rives Cemetery!

That is the always-fabulous Mug, creator of the awesome gravestones, standing in the doorway. Everyone should have a friend like her, she ROCKS. Anyhow, the decorations were fantastic - the other floors were phenomenal. The Candy Land decor turned out to be awesome, and one other floor made their floor look like a pumpkin patch. SO fun.

The Halloween party at work was a hit, and I'd say Halloween itself was pretty successful. Fun weekend, all in all.

And now - it is NOVEMBER. Time to gear up for a Thanksgiving feast! The Holidays are upon us, people - let's enjoy them! :)