Our President

I saw an advertisement for a roofing company the other day that really bothered me. It said, “Unlike Obama, we’ve got you covered.” Not only is that not really a good advertising strategy, seeing as it excludes a part of the population, it is downright rude. I don’t care what your political affiliations are, Obama is our president and we should be supporting him. I think he has one of the hardest jobs in the world. It’s not easy to try to do what is best for the nation when everyone is constantly opposing you. It is not easy to make everyone happy. President Obama is not evil. He is not sitting on a throne thinking of ways to ruin our lives. He is sincerely trying to make America a better place. Some people may not like his strategies, but he is only trying to do what is best.

I know that a lot of people don’t like what Obama is doing. But can we try to see things from his perspective and others before we pass judgment? He wants to make this nation better, but it can only be a better place if we can learn to get along. We should also support President Obama. That doesn’t mean we have to like everything he does, and of course we have the right to our own opinion, but I am sick of people saying terrible things about him as a person. He is trying to help our country, and we aren’t helping at all. So no matter your political affiliations, we should support our president, and if we feel to oppose his legislature, we should do it in the right way.

We are all Americans and we should all be trying to make our nation better, whether Republican or Democrat or other. We should stop hating each other based on politics and try to do what is best for our country. 

I am in no way trying to offend anyone, I just wanted to say how I felt. I know some of you may not agree with me, and that’s ok. I love all my friends and family, no matter what. 

Just for fun

Some things you may not know about me:

•  I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when I was 11.
•  I have always wanted to be on Survivor.
•  I struggled with anorexia for about 2 weeks in high school.
•  I wish I could figure skate.
•  I had my first kiss when I was 5.
•  I hate the sound of knuckles cracking.
• Technology overwhelms me.
•  I didn’t learn how to tie my shoes until I was in 4^th grade.
•  I have never done a push-up in my life.
•  I love to play zombie shooting video games.
•  I love the smell of gasoline.
•  I hate the word ‘pituitary’.
• I didn’t sleep in the sheets until I went to college.
•  I can’t stand long fingernails.
• My cat died when I was 17. I still miss her.
• I hate arguments. I will do almost anything to avoid them.
• I really like British TV shows. Fawlty Towers, Monarch of the Glen, and Doc Martin are the best.
• I used to think that 8 times 9 was 89.
• When I was five, I wanted to be a mailman. Then I wanted to be an astronaut.
• My mom likes to drive in the car with the air conditioning and my dad likes the windows rolled down. When I was little, I thought they were going to get a divorce because they were different.
• I am terrified of automatic toilets.

What did you already know? What surprised you?

Funny Story

Something happened to me yesterday that I thought only happened in the movies.

We were tying the canoe to the top of the Jeep after swimming. It's a large canoe, so it hangs over the front and the back. I was helping Morgan on the driver's side, so when we were done, I needed to walk around the Jeep to get to the passenger side. I started walking around the back and WHACK! I walked right in to the canoe. I somehow forgot that it was there. Yup. I walked into a canoe and smacked my head. I'm a genius.

Allergies

are annoying.

The End

Ririe Reservoir

Last week, Morgan and I went to the reservoir not too far away. It was our first time, and we didn't really know what we were doing. It's not really ideal for swimmers. We ended up hiking around in bushes for a while before we finally found a way down. We swam out to a floating dock a ways off the shore. This was the first time I had really been swimming in natural water. Holy cow, it was cold! Morgan swam more than I did, I was too afraid of the cold. We had a good time and decided to go again.

We went again today with Morgan's brother Donovan. This time we brought a canoe so we didn't have to hike around and scratch up our legs. This is the first time I've been canoeing (girl's camp doesn't really count). The water was pretty choppy and I was scared of tipping over. We swam, threw balls, and canoed, and tanned to our hearts content.

Last week we didn't wear sunscreen and we got baked. This time we were more prepared, but after we were done my shoulders were peeling  from last week's sunburn. I feel like an onion, with my layers peeling off. But we had so much fun and we are going to go every Tuesday. I love summer!

A New Me

I have changed quite a bit since I’ve been married and moved to Idaho. Here’s a list of just some of the new things I’ve done.

I have cooked and eaten elk meat.

I have killed more cockroaches than I can count.

I have become a dog person.

I have chopped firewood.

I have raised chickens.

I go to bed early.

I’ve had to learn to make a shopping list since we only go to town about once a week.

I have helped clean out a flooded basement.

I went swimming in the reservoir.

I mowed the lawn.

I’ve had cookouts in my backyard fire pit using sticks I carved myself.

I’ve been on many hikes, more often than not without a trail.

I learned how to use an airsoft gun.

I can now cook more than just Pasta Roni.

I went kayaking.

I learned how much I love goats.

So far my new life has been pretty amazing. I am glad to live in Idaho and to be having all these new adventures (except the cockroaches - I hate those). I love being married!

Socks

It's no secret that I love socks. I have a huge collection of socks of all varieties. I especially like Christmas and Halloween socks. When I went on my mission, I had to buy some socks, not because I didn't have any, but because I didn't have normal white ones. When I go to gift shops while traveling, I usually buy socks. I really love socks. 

My love of socks started from my hate of feet. I despise feet, especially my own. I was embarrassed to ever be seen without socks. I never wanted anyone to see my feet. Unfortunately, I inherited my toes from my father, and they aren't that good looking (no offense Dad). So I always wore socks. And then I discovered how much I love them.

This picture was from a sleepover I had in high school. Notice how I'm the only one wearing socks, and they don't even match. 

Then began my strange habit of sleeping with only one sock on. It actually started because I had some sort of rash on my right foot. I would put cream on at night then let it dry while I slept. But I still slept with my left sock on because I still hate feet. Then I discovered that I could use this one sock thing for temperature control. When it was too hot, I would stick my right foot out from under the covers. Even after my rash was gone, I kept doing this. I still do it to this day in fact. But, this did not cure my loathing for feet. 

When I went to prom in high school, the boys in my group woke us up early for a surprise breakfast. I am not at all a morning person. My own date, Trevor, was too scared to wake me up, so Brent did it. When he shook me awake, the first thing I said was, "I NEED MY SOCK!" I was afraid he would see my foot. I wasn't mad about it being morning, or that my hair was messy, I just didn't want him to see my foot. That's how much I hate feet. 

Anyway, all of this is leading up to how I am changing a little. A few weeks ago, I had just showered and hadn't put on socks yet. Morgan wanted me to go outside and see something. I was too lazy to put on shoes, so I went outside barefoot. And to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. I love how the grass feels under my feet. To anyone who knows me well, this is a shock. I have actually started walking around the house barefoot. Yesterday I had to put a sock on to go to bed because I hadn't been wearing them all day. And I have started wearing sandals which I wouldn't ever do before. I don't know what happened, but I am starting to hate feet less. It must be Idaho. It's changed me in so many ways. 

Here I am sporting my new bare feet! What's happening to me?

Writing

Well, I finally decided to start a blog. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I've been too scared to do it. I have never been good with words. I really don't know how to express myself in writing, I do it better with music. But there are so many things I want to say.

My sister-in-law Nancy is a blogging queen. I love to read her blog. She is so good at writing that I can actually picture the things she is describing. I have to confess that one of the reasons I didn't want to blog is that I knew I could never be as good as Nancy. She's so witty, descriptive, and honest on her blog. That is what I want to be.

When I say I'm not good at writing, I really mean it. When I had to write papers in school, I would cry and cry until my dad would finally feel bad for me and help me (or write most of it for me). My dad is part of my inspiration for starting to write. He was never that good at it either, but his grandmother believed in him and he ended up writing a book. I love reading anything that my dad writes. He is also a very descriptive and inspiring author. I still struggle with school writing assignments, even if it's only a paragraph. My dad once told me that my problem is I expect words to come out of my head and on to the paper perfectly. He's right. I'm always afraid that my words won't be good enough. So you'll all just have to deal with my imperfect grammar and run on sentences and overuse of the word and.

This blog is mainly for myself. I want to start trying to express my feelings. I want to learn how to use words to express my love and gratitude for the things and people in my life. I have a great capacity to love others, but I wish I always had the right words to say to those I love and appreciate. So here I go. I'm starting to write. I know it won't be perfect, but I willing to give it a try. This is also a chance for me to let people understand me and the things I've been through. Since I've moved away, I haven't seen my friends and family much. This blog will let my friends and family know what I'm up to. When Andrew and Nancy were in Egypt, her blog allowed me to keep up with the lives of them and my adorable nieces. Though I'm not that far away, I still want my friends involved in my life.

Anyway, now that I've rambled on and on, I will stop now. Since everyone knows blogs are better with pictures, here you go (if I can figure out how to do it).