I haven’t done this in awhile.  So, I went through until I found one that had to do with Christmas.  If you want to join in on your blog, feel free to!

*            *          *              *                  *                   *

Describe getting a Christmas tree with your family as a child. How did you decorate it? When did you put it up? Etc. We went out every year and cut one down. It was so much fun. We would usually go out the day or two after Thanksgiving to cut it down, and we would always have donuts and hot chocolate. After we got home it would sit in a bucket of water in the back yard for a day or two before we put it up and decorated it. Mom has an eclectic assortment of ornaments. A lot of home made ornaments that we made as kids, ornaments that were my grandmas, ornaments that she was given and different ones from different vacations. We always used colored lights on the tree and had a star that would blink. I loved laying under the Christmas tree growing up. As an adult, this is one tradition that I have carried into my own family. The first year that Bryan and I were married we went out by Delta (we didn’t draw out at our first choice area), but the maps weren’t very good. There wasn’t snow, just a lot of sand. We ended up lost and then the truck got stuck. We had to walk out. We walked for about 8 miles before some random guy just happened to pull up and offer to drive us into town. Well, as it turned out he was going to Orem (we lived in Orem at the time) so he took us home. We eventually had to get a tow truck to get the truck out. What a mess it was. We ended up using a two and half feet tall fake tree that year. We had much better luck all the other years!

What did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be a writer. Or a high-school teacher or someone who work with at-risk youth. Being a writer stands out the most in my mind. I wrote a lot of stories, and poetry and have always dreamed of writing a book.

*Where did you live as a child? (City, country, suburb?) Technically it is a city. I grew up in Provo. It is bigger now, but in the ‘80’s it wasn’t what I considered a ‘city’. It felt like the country to me. Down the road a 1/4 block was a dirt road that ran alongside a ditch that we played at. We would catch water skeeters, built a tree house and soaked our feet in it on hot days. Right next door to our house (to the west) was a barn with horses. We would go over and pet them and feed them sugar cubes. I got kicked over once. I never told my mom though because we weren’t supposed to be over there! Behind our house (to the south) was a cow pasture/horse field. Occasionally cows would get out and we would have to chase them out of the yard and back into their field.

Do you have a special high school or college memory? Describe it. I don’t know if this is “special” but I remember my homecoming date telling me that my green velvet dress (that I felt pretty in) was ‘awesome.’ It all went down hill from there. A note to my boys: DON’T TELL A GIRL THAT HER DRESS IS ‘AWESOME’. Try something like: pretty, nice, or beautiful.  Trust me on this one.

 Now how about you?  Share your answers!

*If you could be an animal, which one would you choose and why? I would totally be a bear – They are expected to be hairy (no more leg shaving), they are expected to be fat (no more dieting) and they are expected to sleep all winter (sounds great to me!)

*What are some places you went with your mother?I would go grocery shopping with my mom. She has shopped at the same store (Allen’s in Provo) for as long as I can remember on the same day of the week. I always thought that it was fun to grocery shop, especially there because they have the most random stuff that you wouldn’t expect to find at a grocery store. We would also go to the Cotton Shop in Provo for fabric. She always sewed us dresses and pajamas and quilts, so we would go and wander the fabric aisles. As we got older, we both enjoyed Los Hermanos Mexican Restaurant on Center/University in Provo as well. We would go there for lunch occasionally. A couple of months before Christmas we would go to Shepherd’s candy store because they always did a big chocolate sale and my mom makes the best homemade chocolates and candies at Christmas time. It is a recipe passed down from her mother and I make it now too.

What special things did you do with your father? Dad and I are both sports fans so I remember him taking me to different sporting events. We sat on the front row at a Jazz playoff game, and went to BYU football games. Dad always came to all my sports games for church or city league and watched me try out for highschool basketball. Dad would always read the books that I was reading to, regardless of what it was. As we get older, Dad and I like to do a puzzle together, and the whole family enjoys getting together for games.

It has been forever since I did my journal jar entry.  Here are a few questions from a new list I found.  It is aimed at higher than YW age.

What church callings have you had? Which did you enjoy the most?

DH and I were called to be nursery leaders, then sunbeam teachers, then teachers of CTR 5.  I was then called into YW and served as Beehive Advisor, Secretary and President.  I probably enjoyed being YW Secretary the best.  I didn’t have to go to activities if I wasn’t up to it, and I got to rotate between the three classes and get to know all the girls.  I also like making calendars/phone lists.  Currently with out a calling and enjoying the time I get to spend in Gospel Doctrine and Relief Society.  My dream calling is the ward bulletin/newsletter.  That is something that would love!

What was the first piece of furniture you bought?

When Bryan and I got married he was 27, so he had a lot of stuff all ready.  His parents gave us a piano, and a kitchen table when we bought our first house.  The first piece of equipment we bought was when T was a toddler.  We bought an entertainment center.  One that put the VCR & DVD player out of his reach!  It is big, and has shelves on both sides of the TV and cabinets beneath the TV.  I can hide all sorts of stuff in there!

So, how about you?  Share!

Tell about your dad’s job.  My dad is an attorney.  He has been self-employed for as long as I remember, so his schedule has been pretty flexible.  He was always able to go to my sporting events and to different activities with us.  He doesn’t do family law…he always said working with people getting divorced was to depressing.  He does do the occasional adoption though, and he helped us with ours.  He does mostly collections and that type of work.

What is my favorite sport or activity?  I love to play volleyball.  Growing up it would have been basketball, and I still like to a little bit but I would rather play volleyball.  Last year I played relief society volleyball and our ward won the region competition and then I played on a city league team which was a blast.  I love to watch gymnastics and bull riding.  I played on a bowling league at one time in my life, and would love to do that again.  Someday…when my kids are older, right?

Now how about you?  Share!

I have neglected my journal jar over the last several weeks so today I am going to do three questions.  Here goes:

Tell about your favorite friend and why they are special to you. My favorite friend is my husband.  He is smart, compassionate, daring, funny, understanding and patient.  He loves me and never doubts me.  I can’t imagine my life without him.  Kind of sappy, I know, but it’s true!

How many are in your family? Do you wish you had more brothers or sisters and why? We had 7 people in our family: my parents, three older sisters and one older brother.  I am the youngest.  I never wished that I had more brothers or sisters.  It was perfect for me.  I some times wished that I wasn’t the youngest though.  I am sure that my brother wished that there was more brothers so he wasn’t the only one.  We had a happy childhood and I am close to each of my siblings now.

What is a favorite board game or computer game and why do you like it? My favorite computer game right now is Minesweeper. I am a little obsessed with it.  Always trying to beat my last time.  I LOVE to play board/card games.  My favorite card game is probably Carolina Rummy.   My favorite dice games are Yahtzee and 5,000.  My favorite board game is probably HuggerMugger, but the only other person that I know that likes it is my dad and we are always outvoted so we never play it.  I like Scattergories, too.  I am a list person so this one works for me!

Tell about the house you live in.  Have you lived anywhere else?  If so, do you remember the addresses or phone numbers?

We live in a split level home that is 2400 square feet.  It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms upstairs (and a linen closet).  On the main level there is a kitchen/dining, laundry, office and living room.  Down stairs is a large family room, my salon and a bathroom.  There is also storage underneath the kitch that is accessible from the downstairs.  I love this floor plan.  It works so well for us. 

I lived in the same house from when I was born to when I was 15 and we moved to the house that my parents still live in.  When I was 18, I went to Weber State and lived in the dorms, before moving into an apartment for a few months.  I then moved home and when Bryan and I got married we lived in a condo in Orem.  We sold it seven years ago and moved to the house we still live in.  I remember the addresses for the first two homes (my parents have the same phone number still), but I haven’t got a clue what my addresses at Weber State were.  I could figure out the address from Orem if I tried, but I don’t really care.

 How about you?  Leave your comment and let me know you were here!