Sugar & Spice

the cost of creativity

2011-02-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

now that I so intelligently quit my job right before i get married I have a ton of free time to do a bunch of crafty wedding things! This post card is actually the seating place card. I purchased the paper, stamped it, cut out the little pieces of paper, stamped the heart, fastened it on the left side and used the right side to address the place card. And yes we are doing table letters....

Because I had some time I also made a scrapbook which will be our sign in book. I love it!!

and below we have the table letters i made too. Instead of numbers there will be letters and i made these too! It was so much fun. I pained the wood, glued the letter on and tied the bow on each one ;)

so i may not have a job and may not be able to make rent once we get married, but in the meantime we will have the cutest wedding ever ;)thats got to be worth something right?

i love saturdays

2010-12-05T16:31:00.001-08:00

...family pictures...
......christmas shopping.....
...dinner with mom and dad....
....no work and all play...
....people i love....

pictures of the stokes : Kristi Winn
pictures of Kristi and David : Jolie

repeating myself

2010-08-30T08:56:00.001-07:00

i have this thing for repetitive injuries.

For example, when i was little I broke my right arm. When i finally got my cast off I went over to the Slaugh's house to play and came home crying that "the puppy fall me over". Lo and behold I had re broken my arm. And it isn't limited to bone breaking either. I was born with a black eye, got another one at the pool when I was young, and got another (along with a concussion) while trying to run down our hardwood floor in socks trying to beat Jarom downstairs to get my first pick of Sunday dishes. Then, as a senior in high school I tore my left ACL. no big deal, down for the count, out for the year but we got it fixed no problem. The week after I finished 4 months of physical therapy I was playing basketball in the pool and turned too sharply apparently and tore it again. My word! This knack for repeating myself has led to repetitive injuries as well as repetitive surgeries that require no injury at all. Who else do you know that has surgery to fix an injury that hasn't even occurred?? Me, obviously. So I had two reparative knee surgeries for my Left knee in consecutive years that hopefully cured me of my desire for recreational activities.

...or not.

Then I broke my collarbone playing soccer and had surgery to fix it. But obviously one is not enough so I had ANOTHER surgery a few months later to remove the hardware so recently put in thus proving that I cannot injure myself in an area without needing at least two surgeries to fix it.

Which means I am only on the uphill side of a double sided hill. Soccer was the culprit, again, only I believe I am making progress because this time I tore the ACL in my RIGHT leg...either that is progress or i am destined to repeat history on the right side of my body now, which i hope is not the case. But even if it is not, personal history has shown that this is not to be my only right acl tear. In fact I'm due for another in about 4 months or so.

3rd ACL tear

5th knee surgery

8th surgery in 5 years....

i feel like I'm just repeating myself

in good news though, the nurses keep getting cuter every time ;)

mahalo

2010-05-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

the few...the proud...

2010-05-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

Jolie and I attempted exercising the other day and ended up being rescued by Uncle Sam.

no joke.

so there we were.

it was a snowy May day in Provo, weather confusion and foggy atmosphere typical of our Zionist bubble, and Jolie and I decided to go for a walk. of course given that we live in the promised land we live at the base of a giant mountain, but of course, given that we also live in the desert land, the base of the mountain is more mountain than base. So, we decided to walk a ways before starting our jog- come run up the hill we live on before you judge what is actually a very intelligent, if somewhat lazy, decision.

As we were walking I was chatting on the phone with my friend Tory and Jolie took my arm as we leisurely wandered at a slow pace up the hill...and next thing you know...

Uncle Sam drives a tan mini van.

All of the sudden this mini van pulls up to the side of the road ahead of us, figuring he needs directions to a nearby church building or day care center I pull the phone away from my ear and Jolie and I stop to be helpful citizens...too late, position filled. Much to our surprise, out steps a fully uniformed United States Marine. He walks over to us, "Are you all right?" Of course we look at each other quizzically..."yes of course...are you?" He looked slightly shocked and not one bit amused when he replied, "Of course. I just saw the two of you walking so slowly and I saw her (Jolie) leaning on your arm while you were on the phone and it looked like she might be hurt."

note to self- do not exercise outside since it apparently looks so bad that strangers will happily pull over to assist what is clearly such an injured person. I could not stop laughing! Jolie was more amused than offended by the insinuation that she walks like someone needing medical attention which I figured was a better attitude to have than the latter. But I guess, in good news, she looked injured enough that a uniformed marine couldn't help but stop and assist. And hey, next time she is injured wont that be helpful?

way to go Uncle Sam.

we are building an army full of overly paranoid marines concerning domestic affairs. but hey, if the occasion ever calls for one, they may be few and they may be proud, but at least they'll be on hand.

and at least now we know not to let Jolie exercise outside

dont quit your day job

2010-04-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Jolie, Rob, Reed and I decided to quit our jobs and make a new living as artists.

the process was far more labor intensive than we initially realized and Jolie and I were less than helpful and the boys had to figure out how to blow up all of the balloons and fill them with paint. Jolie and I tacked them to the canvas though so that was at least slightly helpful...

we got a little bit messy :)

notice Rob managed to somehow get paint on his face
and Reed washed his hands before we could get his dirty hand picture

Reed didnt want me to get paint on his jeans :)

...but i accidentally popped a balloon and got paint on mine :(

and here are the videos...the boys were not very good at hitting their targets but they got better with practice, thankfully

i think i'm an adult...

2010-03-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

My entire life has completely turned around in the past few weeks. I am three weeks out from surgery today and I feel amazing! I am working with my personal trainer who has relatives in the Armenian mafia (not joking- his last name is Gewondjan) and he is helping me get back in shape and reconstruct my body since I have this awful habit of repeatedly destroying it. Though every time I see him I cannot understand why I pay for this kind of torture when apparently he has relatives who hand it out for free in exchange for answering a few questions. I have heard it termed torture but I assure you, if the alternative to paying for it is simply to summarize a myriad of useless information I am obviously in with the wrong members of that family. But, my ability to withstand torture aside, I also have this incredible talent of accumulating never-before-heard-of injuries such as tearing my ACL under water in 2005, developing a blood clot at the age of 19, and not to be out done at my last check up with my shoulder I learned that I had a hematoma under my scar which was something my doctor had "never before seen with a clavicle repair". Go figure. I am kind of amazing- I impress myself. I will never be out done, it seems, even by me.

Aside from the swift recovery, I am also now an employed member of society. I got a job at the Marinello School of Beauty where I work as the full time receptionist. It is an environment I am comfortable in and I still get to work in the industry while my shoulder heals without stressing about building my own clientele or re-breaking my bone which would certainly happen mid-haircut I am sure for no other reason than my body simply decided to fall apart on me. I really love the work so far since I havent yet become overrun with student body drama, and as part of the staff I am strongly encouraged to remain neutral in all girl problems. Believe me, nothing could be closer to my own intentions.

I feel like I live the most charmed life. I spend my free time with my friends and hanging out with my girlfriends who I still keep in touch with from school- we do lunch every week and I love keeping up with their lives. As I consider how my life has changed in the past few weeks I cant help but think about how blessed I am for my wonderful friends and family, my job, health and education. I love my life! And look at me- I have a full time job, I live away from home, I have finished school forever, and I do lunch with my girls once a week. :)....I think I'm an adult...

...go figure....

a few loose screws

2010-03-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my semi-annual health update blog. As should come as no surprise, my yearly surgery was due sometime in 2010 and I thought I'd get a head start on it as one of my new year resolutions. Why postpone until summer what can be done in March? Catchy new motto is it not? And thus began the year for me. I finally completed my 2000 hours for cosmetology and sent in my paperwork and a crisp sixty dollar check in the mail to the wonderful state of Utah, hoping in return for some small recognition for the grueling and repetitive hours I spent earning my cosmetology license. A week passed by...the second week dragged on in intense anticipation and I kept preparing myself for that beautiful diploma-like certification that I could display proudly on my bedroom wall beside my BYU degree...Finally the envelope came. Enclosed was the most depressing little i-printed-this-off-my-home-computer-buy-your-own-license-online piece of paper I have ever seen. It was probably one of the most anticlimactic moments of my life.

But I suppose it doesn't matter since, for the time being, it's rather useless anyway...much like the far more impressive looking BYU degree I also earned that Mom and Dad also paid for. It's like a really expensive and time consuming hobby for the three of us. And in celebration of universal health care I wanted to be sure that no matter what happens in the coming years, I earn my health insurance coverage every year. So, when my shoulder started hurting over a month and a half ago I scheduled an appointment with my ever beloved orthopedic surgeon and we discussed the options to make my current always-in-pain situation something of the past. And lo and behold, it demanded a surgical treatment. So, the metal plate and seven screws we put in last May to pull me back together, as of yesterday we removed. And I got to keep the hardware for any upcoming home improvement projects.

And so, I am a newly licensed cosmetologist and hair extension specialist who now gets to, once again, sit at home and recover from surgery before being able to go out and conquer the world. Jolene is going to be able to get a job as a nurse in a surgical ward by the time I am 22. Hm... Perhaps my parents and I should think up a new hobby?

Amateurs

2009-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

In the ever competitive industry of ...hair I guess we should say there are several different avenues you can take upon completion of the 2000 hour courses and hopefully the passing of the state board exam. Ironically, the majority of licenced stylists, about 80%, never use their talent at all. I can only imagine the horror thousands of fathers must go through when their child finishes up with a costly educational program only to walk a different path...Not that mine would know anything about this...twice... I am about halfway through my program now and since I began I have been working on one of the areas I have become very interested in since beginning school. I will likely go on to work in a salon or a hotel somewhere without ever making it to the creative Hollywood or New York City scene where editorial fashion is pursued- however, I have begun and have since found that I love doing photo shoots. The below are three different shoots I have done where I was the creative director (in charge of makeup, hair, and costume) and although there are more I have participated in and more to follow, I have one tomorrow even, I thought I would post a sampling of what I have found I LOVE to do.

Shoot 1:

model: Jolene Ehlers

makeup:Kristi Winn

stylist: Kristi Winn

costume: Kristi Winn

photographer: Kristi Winn

theme: rockstar

Shoot 2:

model: Lori Myers

stylist: Kristi Winn

makeup: Lori Myers and Kristi Winn

theme: 60s with a modern twist

shoot 3:

model: Jolene Ehlers

Photographer: Karla Ehlers

stylist: Kristi Winn

makeup: Kristi Winn

theme: pin-up

I have done one other that was a Mr. and Mrs. Smith photo shoot but the pictures aren't back yet and tomorrow I have a hippie shoot going on so I will post those when they turn out. Hope you like the flash into my world...

Shoot #4: Hippies

models: Megan Fillmore, Megan Pulham, Kimmy Bramble

Makeup and hair artists: Kristi Winn, Anna McBride, Kalie Pearson

Photographers: Kristi Winn, Jolene Ehlers

Costumes: Kristi Winn, Kalie Pearson

...jiggity jog...

2009-07-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Home again home again...

and for nate...dont look at me

okay so it isnt technically "home" but seeing as how it has been my place of residence for about 80% of the last four years of my life, returning to the glorious city of Provo had it's moment of beauty...

...which passed.

quickly.

I always thought as a kid that growing up would be this amazing adventure and I would get out into the real world and love being a full time student or a working woman...And now that I am here the easier it is to see that growing up really isnt all that glamorous and in fact if it was going to be described in a single word it would be on the opposite end of the positivity spectrum. On the far end you have something along the lines of 'wonderful' and it's many colorful and highly inspiring synonyms. But on the other end I linger near the word 'reality' which only has one synonym as far as I am concerned and it is 'tiring'.

But being tired is a blessing because it means that I am keeping busy and there is absolutely nothing I hate worse, as i have learned as the patient of multiple physically subduing surgeries, than remaining stagnant. And thus, I move on! So welcome to my world.

I spend the days currently attending Dallas Roberts Academy of Hair Design. It sounds all glorious and fantastic and I assure you that it is. It is also the most ridiculous thing I have ever done in my entire life with the most amusing people I have ever met. The entire experience has in fact reminded me how much I miss the opportunity for intelligent conversation with women above the age of 17 and the ever important addition of 9 months (I think once you hit that somewhat anticlimactic age of 18 you realize those additional months only tack credit onto your AGE not your maturity or credibility), as well as members of the opposite sex. Men are scarce and the most we see of them are those who, in the delightful words of one male client are only in here "to check out which of you guys are hot and single." Inspiring isnt it? And yet, despite the insanity and the abounding immaturity, I find myself in love with the art and the tiring schedule of arriving at 8 am and not leaving until 5 pm, spending more time sitting in an air pump chair than i ever thought I would before the age of 94. We do ridiculous projects like recreate movie scenes and practice photo shoots, and yes, for the first time since I skipped school for senior cut day, we went to an amusement park instead of going to class. Only this time it was legitimate.

(Jolie, Me and My friend Kalie at Seven Peaks for School)

Ah yes, and then the clock strikes five and I am off to my second pursuit of vanity. My father remarked that there is nothing but an ever present urge to improve my looks that shapes my day and I must admit he is correct. I spend all day at beauty school where we discuss little beyond the elementary realm of hair and makeup and then I rush off to my job from 5-10:30 where i work at a tanning salon. But in all honesty, I have found not one single soul on earth who disagrees with my golden theory: tan fat is better than white fat. But, alas, all of this must change. I have been graduated for over a year now and have done nothing to pursue the degree I received in history...until now. It is odd enough but the mundane and vain appearance of my present life have propelled me to pursue a greater cause- or perhaps just made me insane in the course of my repetative days and thus I return to continue my education.

jiggity jog. And back to byu we go. Starting in september I will be returning to BYU for night classes to start a long journey to the even longer road of earning a masters degree. The programs I am leaning towards are primarily located on the east coast since I have an affinity for early American, i.e. Revolutionary history and surprise to none the west hardly distinguishes between Maryland and Virginia much less offers masters programs of such specificity. The goal will be to apply by fall of 2010, sometime before then obviously taking hte GRE and perhaps bribing the administrators to let me pass, and then attending an upstanding, or perhaps just plain standing, university in the fall of 2011. A long term goal and quite a process but it leaves me something to look forward to. And of course it leaves my dear father wondering why on earth he helped me through byu when all i wanted to do was go to beauty school...and then helped me through beauty school which only made me want to go back to college.

And working at the tanning salon only made me want to return to my old job. So, September will be a new beginning for me. I will still be attending Dallas Roberts full time but I will also be returning to BYU for night courses and I will be working again for BYU independent study and attempting to reunite my brain with the concept of historical courses after over a year of absence.

And thus I remain in the heart of the bubble and so I will remain for another two years. Please forgive my bittersweet moment of both excitement and depression. Any who have tried to live in this amazingly beautiful town can attest to it's ridiculousness. And yet it seems that everyone who lives here is like a bug to a light- you cant stay away even though it literally kills you to be here. So to pass the time I spend my weekends working and taking trips. My most recent adventure was over Independence Day weekend. I drove up to Boise via Pocatello (obviously not the most direct route) but Jolie and Rob needed a ride and for the amount that they pay me to hang out with them I really cant tell them no. I did negotiate a raise however which will be coming along in the next month if i continue to befriend them. I stayed with Darin and Angela for a few days playing around before driving back to Shelley for the fireworks and then driving home the next day. I used to think I liked to drive but once you spend 13 hours in the car within three days you begin to rethink things.

the ever reliable (which I could NOT have been more grateful for) Nerdmobile

brothers Beach and Kip who could pass for twins
Jaden and Perry

Jaden and Myself

But I dont rethink them too hard. Because then I have great experiences like shopping with

Perry for an EFY dress because she is 15 and boy crazy and adorable, and finally getting Jaden to smile at the camera after trying to become his best friend for three days, and watching fireworks with Rob's family in the middle of nowhere Idaho where the town swells to twice it's size as hicks arrive from all over "the valley" to attend...and with all this I realize that it is well worth it.

home again home again jiggity jog...

But not to be out done by the fabulous getaway weekend was the event we celebrated upon our return home. I skipped school on monday the 6th and Jolie and I took Jamie shopping for a birthday outfit that included a good pair of jeans and a bright colored shirt- two items which every woman in the world will boldly declair make or break an outfit. And lets be honest, a perfect pair of jeans in a dark was will 1. never go out of style and 2. always make you feel better about going out. After a delicious dinner at my bachelorette pad where I live grandly in a four bedroom apartment without roommates, we played a mean game of scategories where I am sad to say Jamie preformed poorly- not that she did not score mind you, but perhaps her mind was too wrapped up in the loss of the King of Pop and the week's media and horribly irritating repeats of "Thriller" at fifteen minute intervals got the better of her judgement. at the age of 22 she could not honestly say that she was "wiser too". She wrote down Michael Jackson as an answer for professional athletes...Many things he was and perhaps if the category had been "famous creepers" or "race changing addicts" her answer would have worked well. But I do believe Jamie and with all the love in my heart I correct you and suggest that perhaps the name you were looking for was Jordan.

Hailey masquerading as a ...bear?
the Grant family on Jamie's birthday

and so i end where i began but perhaps in a different light. where once I believed the adult life to be exhausting, and while i doubt any human in their right mind would disagree with that description, I now see that perhaps the far end of the spectrum where 'reality' was once only synonymous with 'tiring' holds just one other word that describes it. Sure the other end would be 'glorious' and I must admit that only in rare moments do we ever reach such ends. But in the everyday hum dum of 'reality' i have found that in my own personal dictionary such a life is can also be summed up in one word: "beautiful".

Humpty Dumpty

2009-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

There is a horribly irritating and yet extremely popular song by Alanis Morissette in which her twangy vocals sing out about life being ' a little too ironic'. I suppose she can be excused since it is not her fault she has the musical ability of a dying frog swallowing a banjo and of course her business prowess must be complimented since she has made millions by sharing her talentless ability with the world- but I digress. I suppose the real issue I have to make is not with her as a person, but with her songwriter. Every imaginable undesirable situation is mentioned in that song-

red lights when you're late

the perfect man who is already married

rain on your wedding day

the list goes on. you would think that there is nothing that could possibly be added to a 3 minute and 40 second definition of "irony". But alas- I have found the missing verse that would likely only have added to her popularity-

it's like tearing your ACL, again and again, and finally upon the glorious return to sports after a four and a half year absence, injuring yourself in the first fifteen minutes of the game.

I suppose I should feel blessed that the injuries are now moving up the body instead of remaining in the same place. Soon i suppose they will move so high that they are no longer in my body at all. My first thought as the ground came nearer to my face was, ironically, that i should duck and roll to avoid injury. Unfortunately for me I cannot actually put a complete sentence into action so I only completed the first half of it successfully. It was not a glorious injury that won me the respect of all players and spectators such as would happen if i were to nearly die scoring the winning goal in the last three seconds of a tied game. No, I was not so lucky. Instead, I am doomed to blame none but myself, just as I did four and a half years ago when I tore my ACL while backpedaling with no one around me. This time however I was running forward instead of backward so I suppose from this we can deduce that injuries are directionally related. If you run backpedal you will injure your knee but if you sprint forward it is the shoulder that takes the hit.

In my defense however I do nothing in half measures. Not only did I tear my ACL but I tore it again for good measure and then after a few years of complications I receieved an additional double bundle graft so that if I tear it again there will be another one in there just in case. So it is with my shoulder. Not that I plan on breaking my collar bone again, but perhaps i am learning. Because not only did I break it, I broke it in two places, thus I skip the intermediate rehabilitation and get both surgeries done at once. And so continues what I am debating putting on my resume as my career: perhaps it will no longer be "student" and instead I will write in "professional patient". It is a hard earned title to be sure and I am beginning to wonder if there should not be a disclaimer in our insurance policy such as 'buy six surgeries get the seventh free'. I've certainly earned it (sorry Dad).

I have taken the past years as a sign from heaven that I am no longer meant to play competative sports. But all things considered, who else can make a broken collar bone look so first class?

Sincerely,

Humpty Dumpty

My B.A. worth B.S.

2009-03-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

Since it's been nearly a year I thought I would update my blog. The world can finally release it's held breath. Not to worry, nothing worth mentioning in the interrum has occurred. The biggest news I suppose is that I am now in beauty school. My hard earned three year Bachelor degree in History from the reputable Brigham Young University hangs ever so prettily on my wall. I pass by it as I walk to the shower, rattle it slightly as I close my dresser drawers, and give it a slight wink as I walk out the door toting my 20 pound bag of hair supplies to school. Interesting though it may seem, and slightly contradictory, school has actually been somewhat demanding in terms of time. But, as we all expected in the back (or front) of our minds, it is far less rigorous in terms of curriculum. I spend 40 hours per week in school, half of my day creating new looks for clients who have determined that even though the haircut only costs a mere five bucks, they cant exactly afford to spring for a tip of even three dollars. The other half of the day is spent, ahem, "studying" our textbook chapter for the week. We contemplate difficult subjects such as curling irons, client consultation, and yes, there is even a chapter dedicated to us as stylists staying physically fit, attractive and up in the fashion industry. The entire week prepares us for the Friday afternoon test- some girls tremble and shake and say that 50 questions is far too difficult for one person to do alone. I simply laugh. Perhaps you'd like to know why? - We are required to pass each test with at least an 80%. However, if this doesnt happen on the first try, we are permitted to retake it as many times as possible until such a high rate is achieved. What I dont understand is the lack of common sense these females have. I expected it, and have come to terms with it, but i still do not understand it. All it takes is attendance the day before the test to pass. Why?- because on such days the actual test itself is read aloud, the multiple choice options are given, AND the correct answer spoken for all to see AND write. Please let it be noted I have, since beginning Dallas Roberts, received a higher GPA than in my entire life- it's a 10.0- 100%. (Even better than Natie's 97%)

This is my life. For school we play dress up- literally. The first was a contest for the senior class in which my friend, Emily, chose to create a mock ad for a tatoo parlor she named Swaink.

Dont worry, I may look like a slut but it was all worth it- we won first place. The following week our class participated in an internal makeup competition where our inspiration had to be taken from a magazine. My group chose a fashion show in which it was apparently advertised that large floral prints are coming back. Scary flashbacks of our old brown couches with dark blue flowers bigger than my head swimming all over them came to mind. But we took our inspiration and ran with it resulting in the following creative if not juvenile attempt to mimick a flower/hippy theme.

The thing on my eye was indeed intentional. You will notice it is a flower and it is connected by the long green stem that is actually eye shadow. We also earned first place for this contest- mostly because we bought little green butterfly clips and we bribed the teacher by giving her one. To be honest I was nervous it would make us come in last but apparently it was endearing.

So, half of my week I spend at school playing hair. The other half I spend at work, at the tanning salon. I love my life! It's unbelievable. Seriously. I get to play dress up all day and then go help people tan at night. I suppose on the surface my entire life is filled with vain pursuits, but I feel fantastic about it. The future after this is over hangs in the balance but that comes when it does. And in the meantime, the degree still hangs on my wall. I suppose someday I might actually use it...

Oh what do you do in the summertime

2008-08-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

oh so bored

I have discovered, courtesy of my summer employer, that there is only so much you can do while at a desk four hours a day. One of them is create paper clip chains...but there comes a point when you run out of paper clips and your frequent trips to the mail room to increase your supplies becomes suspicious. Another is surf the Internet...but with every website appropriate for entertainment blocked by the company's foregone conclusion that all websites of value prohibit employees from focusing on productive tasks, it becomes a short and ultimately unsatisfying venture. The third thing you can do is raid the break room refrigerator...but how many cans of sprite and bottles of water can you really drink in only four hours? My record is six but it was an all time high and it was an experience never to be repeated since I couldn't sleep that night because every twenty minutes or so, right at that invisible yet extremely tangible line between consciousness and bless-ed rest, I awoke attributable to the 27 gallons of liquid I had consumed that day. If there is one thing I have learned from Duane Morris...

...there is only so much you can do with a staple remover.

Despite my college degree I find this job too intellectually confusing for my level of intelligence. Of course it is not my tasks that boggle me. Instead, it is the constant state of boredom that even my wildest imagination cannot compete with that leaves what I had once thought my highly educated self to be, grasping for a few moments of physically, or intellectually stimulating relief. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that an incoming fax is received with overwhelming joy because it provides the opportunity for a brief exercise of pen, recording it's receipt, and requires a break from the mundane desk maintenance for those ten glorious steps from my desk to the fax box. I also find it troubling that at the completion of this employment I will have the most impressive looking experience on my resume, and yet under my bold caption of "RECEPTIONIST" for Duane Morris LLP, under responsibilities or acquired skills I will have the equally bold caption of "NONE". However, I suppose I could put my creativity to good use and attempt to embellish my responsibilities:

"Schedule and authorize interoffice and clientele appointments"

aka- write down when the conference room is in use

"Personally receive and relay all incoming information to appropriate sources"

aka- answer the phone and transfer the call

"Coordinate and supervise all outgoing and incoming parcels"

aka- sign for UPS when he drops off and picks up

And now, when I return to Provo for the coming fall semester of, oh let me see, work, there will be an expanded resume and it's accompanying memories of how to fill hours void of responsibility with at least some form of amusement. No doubt a 'skill' to be acquired only in the summertime.

My Chance

2008-07-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

Jesus Christ is a being for whom I have the utmost regard and gratitude. None other has given so freely and completely of all that he has for the benefit of those who may never thank and may even reject his timeless gift. He is my Savior and my King and he forgives the unworthy soul who comes to him in humility and meekness. He asks for nothing more than what we can give and I know he came to this earth that we might all be redeemed through his willing sacrifice of blood. I pray that i may live worthy one day to see his face and fall before him because I recognize him. I want to know him and have him know me in such a way that he can say my name with pride, rather than with the censure i know i too often deserve.

My Chance

I shy away from others as I see their robes of white
The dress I wear is scarlet red, my eyes widen in fright
I bear, just as others do, a jar, filled to the brim
I whisper so that none can hear “Oh why’d they let me in?”

He stands ahead, his hair in light, it seems he shines as gold
I slowly move, not wanting to but then feeling I should
A man beside me rushes by, his jar spilling a drop
I kneel upon the ground to see its color and I stop

No longer can I make my feet move forward toward the man
Instead I run the other way as fast as my legs can
I trip and spill a portion of the liquid in my vase
I cry as then the red that pours stains the beauty of this place

I use my robe and wipe the blood up off the golden street
My dress is red so no harm done, I rise, my task complete
The man whose jar had spilled a drop pauses back to glance
His eyes are fully of pity as he whispers, “You’ve no chance.”

He continues on ahead as once again I stare
His liquid, as compared to mine, had been perfect- crystal clear
A moment I stood rooted my gaze fixed upon my cup
And then I heard my name said softly and it forced me to look up

In closer vies his hair was white, not gold as I’d once thought
His perfection bold, his eyes were kind but it was his smile that made me stop
I’d seen him somewhere once before, I knew, I could have sworn
As if reading my thoughts he said, “I am He. Your sins, I’ve born”

I gasp and look down at his hands and suddenly recall
Those hands were there to hold me the night he stopped me from my fall
His lips had spoken words too kind and wonderful for earth
It was He who had so christened me upon my second birth

And here He is, once more standing right before my eyes
I shudder as He whispers down to me, “My dear, it’s time.”
My heart is screaming “No!” but my hands act against its cry
The clay jar tips, the liquid falls, and I begin to cry

The blood will stain his perfect hands, the red will mar his white
The spatter of the drops will be in everyone’s plain sight
Yet I cannot stop the action as he moves his hands below
His hands are bathing in my blood, on white, it starts to show

My piture pours but as it spills a miracle occurs
His hands outstretched, it touches skin and sears into his scars
The tears that stream along my cheeks soon mingle with his own
I look into his loving face and cry, “The blood is gone!”

He smiles at my wonder and again I take a glance
I marvel as I contemplate that it is HE who is my chance
The blood I’d poured, the sins I’d bore, upon hitting his hand-
Instead became as drops of sweat and now I understand

His power’s used to heal, not judge, and mercy he applies
He bore the sins, the guilt, the hate of a world filled up with lies
His garden sacrifice was made that those like me could win
And that is why, though dressed in scarlet robes, He let me in

My piture is now empty and the puddle on the floor
Beneath his hands, beside his feet, shines clear forever more
My knees are weak and I collapse and kneel before his feet
Where once my blood had bathed his skin, now tears the act repeat

He hunkers down before me and his fingers brush my skin
And suddenly I look without as I now feel within
My dress becomes a golden white and it was while still in this stance
The truth was clear, the joy o’erflowed as I sighed, “Thou art my chance.”

- Kristi Winn

With Love, from Jolie

2008-06-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little unusual but I just wanted to be able to get Kristi a video of all the kittens that the Ehlers have at their house before they all get too big or get given away. So here they are! There are nine of them total and they are so cute! I wish you could all be here to play with them every day like me. They are adorable! I miss you Kristi! And I wish you could be here to play with me and the kittens!

It's a Girl Thing

2008-06-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

I dont think boys understand chocolate like girls do. Of course, there are a lot of things that, due to their sex in general, males dont understand. The glories of midol for one. The necessity of a mall. The inexpressible delight that comes from tasting even the smallest morsel of chocolate. And why is it I wonder that the men of this world cannot begin to appreciate the simple beauties of life? Perhaps they wonder the same question, only instead of monthly over the counter medicine they instead find stress relief and refuge in a game of golf. They are more interested in the cars filling the parking lot than the magnificence that lays waiting inside the mall itself. All of these I can understand. Basketballs certainly become a more worthy investment than an adorable shirt that shrinks after the husband accidentally places it in the dryer. But the one thing I cannot comprehend is the utterly ridiculous ignorance of men to the craving, the pure, mouth watering need after every breakfast, lunch and dinner, of chocolate. For some reason God made women smarter than men in that regard. I'm not sure they even know what they are missing. Perhaps it's luck- more for us. Or perhaps, the simplest answer of all- it's a girl thing.

2008-06-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

And then there was one

2008-06-09T17:27:00.001-07:00

I swore I was never going to have a blog...I swore a lot of things. But, things change and today seems to be a day for changing so I will go with the flow. Out of the seven children in our family, I am the only one left at home. I have never been by myself before with just my parents and I am definitely drawing a blank about what to do. Any suggestions?
In all honesty this blog is starting not because of any desire on my part to update it nor is it the result of me subscribing to the current popularity of bloggers. This blog is all because of my twin Jolie. I made her a video after she left and I had no way of getting it to her. Thus the blog was born.
I had a three brothers and three sisters all leave home for their respective significant others. It's like they say (whoever "they" are)...and then there was one.