I Smelled Skunk this Weekend and it was Wonderful!

This weekend Jeff and I went to good ol' Buena Vista. We left Saturday early afternoon after our dentist appointment and got to BV just after 2:30. We first went to Alexanders and hung out there for a little while with the Pences. When we arrived, Michaela was just finishing her 10th birthday party. I can't believe how big she's gotten. We ate lunch there (our own that we brought from home as the store is no longer selling food) and then went to hang out with our friends the Coopers. Boy it was so nice to see them! We hung out for a couple of hours and it was just good to be with friends and talk and laugh and watch Joshy being goofy and I got to hold baby Caleb which was wonderful. He is so sweet!! I got to hold him for awhile and rocked him to sleep.

After we hung out there for awhile, we decided to go back to Alexander's but this time with the Coopers to get ice cream. What a treat! I had my favorite that they have to offer, butter pecan. It brought back old memories of being a senior in college. Those were some of the best days of my life (but I have had many to follow those and they just keep rolling on).

Mikaela sent me a text message just as we were about to finish our ice cream, telling us that she had forgotten to feed the missionaries and that they were at the house but that we could come at any time.

When we got there, the missionaries were just leaving. We stood outside talking for a little while, but the real party began when we went inside and continued our conversation with Mikaela and Evan. It was so wonderful to just spend time with some friends who are also newly weds. I decided that I really like being friends with newly-weds. I guess it's because I have so much in common with them. It was interesting to compare lives and experiences with Mikaela and Evan. We realized that we had so much in common that it was amazing. We also have lots in common with Kristen and Bill. I think I am realizing that there are just a lot of similiarities between people at certain times in their lives. I talk to Maggie on the phone sometimes and realize that we have a lot in common with her and Ben as well. I guess it's easy to have a lot in common with someone when you are at the same phase of your life especially when they have some of the same beliefs and values and morals. Oh it's wonderful! Because it means that you can relate to them.

Saturday night, after talking for awhile (and yes, I realize there was no real lead in to this again.... I'm really tired and it's past my bed time already so I'm trying to hurry... so this may not even make much sense), we went to the Shiraki's to pick up a couple of cakes for Nate and Caleb for their birthdays. We took them to Chandler Hall to sing to them after the show was over (which, by the way, I wish we could have seen it). It was a grand time to see so many wonderful people there. And, they all made me feel so good about myself. I heard over and over again how wonderful I was (hopefully still am) :) Anyway, afterwards, and we were there for awhile, we decided that we'd go watch Hello Dolly at the Byrd's house (which is where we stayed). Neither Jeff or I had seen it before and Evan nor Mikaela had either (I hope I said that right). I fell asleep a couple of times during the movie, but stayed awake for most of it. It was pretty good. I quite enjoyed it. Oh and before that, Nate introduced us to Bonifa which was hilarious! Oh it was a good night, filled with laughter and tears from the laughter. They didn't leave until about 3 am. So yeah, we were pretty tired and then we had to get up in the morning for church.

Okay, well we went to church the next day, then came back to the Byrds had lunch, talked and had a nap. Then we went to the Shiraki's for dinner and birthday cake for Caleb, as it was actually his birthday then. We didn't leave until quarter past 8 because we kept talking, but the company was just so good! (And so was everything else!)

Well, I really need to hit the sack. I'm exhausted. One of these days, I need to write when I actually have some time so that I can write better, more clearer and just more beautifully rather than the way I've written this post.

Good night!

Oh No, it's starting!

So this morning, I got onto facebook to leave a friend a message and I saw this:

Digital School Library Leaves Books Stacks Behind


The article is about a school getting rid of their print books to make room for their digital books. I mean, really? Get rid of print? Anyway, I was pretty appalled. What is this world coming to?
And then....

Then, 10 minutes later, Jeff and I read our scriptures. We both got out our laptops, opened up lds.com and found Alma 31. We read from our computers. I feel ashamed to admit it. From now on, unless I don't have my scriptures available, I will only read from the the actual book.

Two for One

Okay, so I wanted to write about two separate things... I'll start with the first.

I was robbed of sleep last night and by Sleep itself even. And you know, it's ironic because I had been telling people that I was sleeping better lately and that I thought it was because I was working out more (and by more I really mean at all...) See, Jeff and I are training for the 10k on Thanksgiving morning. First of all, I am just not athletic nor am I in shape. Also, I really need something that's really motivating for me to keep going... when you start working out, it's really hard to see any benefits right away and so I was really excited when I started to sleep better. Then, I had to open my big mouth and tell everyone how excited I was because I was seeing some small benefits of my exercise because I was getting better quality sleep... and then last night I tossed and turned All Night Long! So what's the cause of all of this? I have no idea! Anyway, I guess I should be grateful for the couple of wonderful nights of sleep that I did have.

Okay, so anyway, this morning, I had a really hard time getting out of bed. First of all, I was still so tired. Secondly, it was nice and cozy in my bed and so cold outside of it. Thirdly, because I was tired, I could tell I wasn't in a very good mood, even more of a reason to stay in bed. I finally got out of bed, after Jeff made our lunches for the day and got breakfast ready. I decided that I needed to make today a good day and I could change my attitude. I climbed out of bed, took a shower and got ready for the day. Then I had breakfast with Jeff, we had prayer and then I headed to work.

On the way to work, I was listening to the radio, as I usually do and I heard that they were giving away tickets to the ninth caller to see the Shangri- La Acrobats. So, I called, as I usually do. I kept getting a busy tone but I kept trying and then.... then I heard a voice on the other end! He said that I was caller #9, asked me a couple of questions like where I was calling from and my name... then put me on hold. When he came back on the phone I was on the radio. He said that he was gonna stretch my mind a little and told me that he was gonna spell a Chinese word that meant good morning and asked me to pronounce it. I tried... I failed. But, I told him that it must be a Cantonese word for good morning and that I knew how to say it in Mandarin. He was impressed and asked if I knew Chinese. I told him I only knew a little and that I lived in Taiwan for a year and learned some while I was there.... anyway the show is next Thursday! I am uber excited. It was a great way to start off my morning... not only did I win tickets, but I got to speak Chinese, too!



Also, I just want to mention this.... completely random, but I am not sure when I'll get the chance to mention it again- We went to the temple on Saturday and besides my own wedding day, it was the best experience that I've had in the temple so far. Jeff and I go monthly but this month, last Saturday was our stake temple day. It was so amazing to see so many people that I know and love all in one place and to see everyone in the same way, no one above or below anyone else. It really was amazing. It was like experiencing heaven on earth. Anyway, we both had such a wonderful time on Saturday. I am looking forward to going again in a couple of weeks.

Okay, well that's it for now!



~DeAnna

Okay, well I wanted to start a blog because I like to write and I just haven't been doing much of it lately. And, I have also been really awful at keeping a journal- so I thought maybe this would help to motivate me and at least I could document some aspects of my journey through life. Perhaps no one will even read this... and that's okay. Really it's for me anyway. But, honestly, I do hope there are readers and I hope that I can write something sometimes that can be entertaining or inspiring or helpful to others. I don't always expect to do that. Anyway, so because I am really new at this, my blog isn't very exciting right now.... any tips would be wonderful. And, I know that a first impression is everything and I know I am not giving a very good first impression, but I do hope that others will check it out and come back for more.

Well, I am tired... it's nap time!

~DeAnna :)

Let's Get it Started...

Well, I decided to do it. Stay tuned for more. :)