Vacation!

I was FINALLY able to take a nice long VACATION! I do not remember the last vacation I took. I guess six years of college will do that!

This year I decided to take one. I was heading to Dallas, TX for a convention for work (Which was REMARKABLE!! I LOVE MY JOB!!!) Since, I was headed south I decided to see my Grandparents (my mom's parents) for a few days. I wish to be able to do that yearly now! They are so great! My Poppa took me to the 'new' river walk in San Antonio. We had a great time walking around and riding on the river. We also went up into The Tower of the America's and had lunch. I have lots of pictures, but this post isn't about pictures. It is about what I learned on vacation.

Being away from home and worries about life, opened my eyes to some trees I couldn't see through the forest.

I have the BEST Husband EVER

Fort Walton Beach has not changed in 12 years...

Some people are just rude as sin!

Some people are nice as pie!

My mom needs to tell us more about her childhood

My Poppa still believes!

Some people are blinded by love

When sealing/closing a water bottle at a low pressure (sea level) and opening at a high pressure (not sea level or on a plane...) will lead you spraying your self and the person asleep next to you on the plane...

Getting picked up from the airport by some one in full police uniform it REALLY fun! Especially when it is a cousin you haven't seen in years!

Traveling alone with 2 heavy carry on's is HORRIBLE!

I hate automated toilets, faucets, and towel dispensers!

Try to save $100 and not checking any bags was NOT worth my SANITY!

You shouldn't try to shift an automatic while trying to pass... as if you were driving a manual...

Some people should not have offspring

Some people should worry less about their children

Some people should have thought more about the changes procreating would create...

I do not like long flights in bad weather.

I HATE airport security.

I actually like small towns!

My Husband is THE BEST husband EVER!!!

So vacation was good, but I am glad to be home!

A New Year, A New Life!

Happy New Year!!! I can not believe it is 2011!!! I remember when it turn from 1999 to 2000 and everyone was concerned about Y2K and all of the computers and banks were going to crash... Ah the good olde days...

I was listening on NPR today and now the new worry for this year is information, Cyper warfare. OOOhhhh! I am so scared! Honestly, though people! Be smart! Don't post your address on Facebook, your vacation details, your phone number, mothers maiden name, last for of your social... The list goes on. WE have all heard of phishing, and know that WE are supposed to protect our personal information. So, then why put on the internet, all your personal information!!! Because we are 'social networking', LAME!! Have you heard of the telephone? Call your friends and tell them that you are going to be in the area and make plans. Your friends don't answer there phone? Send a PERSONAL email! Is your society really this daft?

NPR was also talking about mobile banking. I see how this is a great convenience, honestly if I could just snap a picture of a check and have it instantly in my back account, I could save a lot of time, money, and gas!! I have looked into for my business, but to have it I have to get a credit card for $50,000!!! That is the about amount I have paid for my B.S. in Material Science!! Which, is in loans, which means I already have that amount in debt, so why would I want a CARD worth the amount of my engineering degree?!?! Also NPR talked about how some phones store all of your information needed to hack your account... Lose you phone... Lose ALL you money, your identity, your life... I think I will stick to going to the bank, plus I like the tellers. Go to the same back often, and the teller knows you by name, and that is always nice.

After all the troubles of a new year, comes all the goals and resolutions people make. I have made a few, some of the classic ones, lose weight, get out of debt, etc... I have also made some resolutions to better life! I have read a few books during this vacation (no traveling = time to relax = time read non-text books!). They all had underlying messages about how to get a hold of your life, finances, health, weight, whatever. And so I decided, one day I want to own a house, have no debts, and go on long vacations, so why can't I?! This year we are working to achieve that. And we are starting will our waistlines and wallets. I never really ever correlated the two, but oh my are they!

Christmas!!

This is our second Christmas together! We can not believe that we have been married for one and a half years!!!  So much has happened! Lets see, we have gone skiing, had a few trips to the hospital and one emergency room visit, Brody started school, I am about to graduate, we started a business, and have been having tons of fun enjoying life!

This year we had to get another Christmas tree... It was very said when the potted tree we got last year died. If any of you have been to our house you know that I have many many plants. Most of which I have nursed back to health, but for some reason I killed an EVERGREEN!!! This year we saw a Newfolk potted Christmas tree and decided that we would try again. He is a small little guy but, is just the tree for us! It took us a while to decorate it (we actually had gifts under it before I was able to decorate!). Here he is, with his red and gold decorations!

This year we will be doing Christmas in Palouse!! Which translates to, NO TRAVELING!! I am done with traveling across the state for a while! We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

Paying it Forward

In light of my last post I decided this one should start out with a story about the good in the world!
Today, I went to print and bind a final report for one of my classes (the report was actually due a week ago, I just have not had time to go to the campus printers...) I had to print this 24 page color document and get it bound. The guy at the shop let me look though it before it was bound, and good thing!! Some how during save the word document as a PDF document it messed up the table of contents for the appendix. The guy let me fix it on the shop computer, and then after printing out the wrong page twice, only charged me for the 4 pages with color on then and the rest as black and whites, and NOT for the wrong pages!!! The guy was so nice, I had left my thumb drive there too on accident and he run me down in the CUB to return it! I am so glad he did because my senior thesis is on there along with all my research!!!

A while ago I heard about paying it forward, and thought it was a weird saying that did no make much since. More recently, I have been thinking of ways to help those around me. I started a business selling jewelry and have meet some absolutely wonderful people. This group of women that I have joined are the most caring and selfless people I have ever met. Most of them are way older than me, and I sometimes feel like a the teenage daughter a mom brought to girls night out. One of the women I have become close to, is trying to adopt, and another women, who has recently adopted, started an organization, to help this first woman and others trying to adopt. What kind of people, just start organizations to help one family and others because they found so much joy in adopting?! These women are so amazing! I do not feel like I am giving them the proper dues here.

I do not have a lot of means right now in my life, and monetarily helping someone is out of the question, but I have decided that we should donate the random food he get to try and never do, or volunteer  at the food bank, help someone when their car gets stuck in the mud/snow. These little acts of kindness those are the ways Brody and I can help those in need around us. How can you Pay it Forward and help some one around you?