nothing says christmas like...

christmas 2008 at the petersen household was pretty laid back and i loved it! as i reflect and ponder on the particular day i am caught up in the joys of the experience my family and i had. nothing says christmas like:

• pulling into cache valley and seeing the snow capped mtns.
  
• coming home on christmas eve to dad running to the store for something mom needs for her baking frenzy.
  
• walking in the door and feeling the warmth of home and seeing mom in the kitchen creating one of her oh-so-tasty masterpieces.
  
• running gifts around with dad to the smith's, white's, bryan's, and burnsides. so much fun to visit with them.


• shrimp sauce and ritz crackers - memories of grandpa meacham.


• it's a wonderful life coming on t.v.
  
• trying to watch elf with the family, but falling asleep about 15 minutes into it


• sleeping in until 8:30 am on christmas morning and coming upstairs to the whole family waiting for me.
  
• lance getting salami and sparkling cider in his stocking
  
• me getting laxative herbal tea in mine - i know christmas shouldn't be about gifts, but if it was, i'd have to vote for that one as my favorite.
  
• mom writing what we got on the back of of the gift tags.
  
• cinnamon pull-a-parts for breakfast
  
• remembering that we forgot to drink egg nog and sing "twas the night before christmas" to the tune of "on top of old smokey" on christmas eve in memory of grandma della.
  
• helping lance move into his new place on christmas day. hmmm, what an interesting tradition.
  
• spencer not wanting to open my present to him. i wonder if i need to use better wrapping paper next year, or maybe a bigger box...


• a blizzard that dumped a foot of new snow in cache valley on christmas night.


• the petersen family party - finger foods, games, uncle larry running the show, little gromlets running around like hooligans, catching up with cousins, and playing a game of kickball in the gym. just so you know, dad totally laid uncle dale out on the floor and i nailed him with the ball. oopsy, i guess competition overrode the christmas spirit.
  
• suzette, sandy, and i reminiscing about our low, medium, and high impact aerobics show and contemplating a sequel


• cousin andrew, just home from a mission, giving me a hard time about not having a boyfriend at the festivities.
  
• me winning the dreidel championship
  
• the little children around my knee as i shared a christmas storybook.

this christmas i definitely had the luxury of enjoying my family, a picturesque place i can call home, and the feelings of my Savior's love.

snowshoeing

mostly i wanted to write about this activity because i think the pictures of me and stacie are so hot. oh, lance and enz make a cute couple too. don't ya think?

the parts i loved most about this snowshoeing trip were the fact that lance broke a snowshoe and, like a real mountain man kept truckin' along without snowshoes, there was so much powder that when we tackled each other in the snow the landing felt like a featherbed, and my feet finally warmed up when we were about three fourths of the way done. i really need to do something about my feet circulation problems. if you have any suggestions, let me know...

the irony of consistency

consistency:

1. a degree of density, firmness, viscosity

2. steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form

3. agreement, harmony, or compatibility, esp. correspondence or uniformity among the parts of a complex thing

4. the condition of cohering or holding together and retaining form;

solidity or firmness.

i am one who appreciates consistency in life. i like the idea of things working together smoothly and being at least somewhat predictable. however, the consistency in my life, as of late, has not been something that i have really been appreciating. you see, the check engine light in my car has consistently been lighting up for the last four months. which translates to the fact that i have to keep shelling out the cash to get my car fixed. it has been "steadfastly adhering to the same course and form" by lighting up. (see #2 in the definition of consistency.) however, that pretty little light has not been "agreeing, harmonizing, or being compatible, especially in correspondence or uniformity among the parts of a complex thing". (see #3 in the above definition.) it seems as though my car has not been "cohering or holding together and retaining form". (see #4 of definition.) i find the irony of the patterns of consistency in my life somewhat frustrating, but pretty humorous too. my check engine light came on again two days ago. i keep consistently ignoring it, but it isn't going away. it's off to the mechanic to find out what is going on now. if i don't laugh, i'll probably cry. so, at this point, i'll opt for laughter.

little brother

love this boy....

high on a moutain top, or at least close...

ben lomond peak was the adventure we had scheduled for this saturday. we didn't make it to the top, but we figured we wouldn't. there just wasn't time. it was a beautiful day to be out with friends on the mountain. something about the mountains makes me breath easier. my mind becomes clear, and life starts to make more sense. odd how that changes the moment i step back into the hustle and bustle of things. maybe i should just be a mountain woman. it's something to think about...

ni hao zhang lao

mission reunion:

andrew taylor,

erin petersen,

and stephen frandsen

can you say shui ge? translation = cadet taylor and the new yorker. after six years of being home from taiwan i am still nothing but smiles when i'm able to get together with andrew and stephen. they are just so stinkin' funny. it was a pretty amazing evening of indian food, frozen yogurt, andrew and stephen fighting, and $1 movies. i really don't know what else to say. they leave me speechless...

Tribute to My Mother

Dear Mom,

I have decided to write a blog entry specifically for you. It is full of capitalization, correct punctuation, and breaks in between paragraphs. To the best of my knowledge, all the words are even spelled correctly - a real tribute to you. I suppose this, along with my participation in the yearly Black Friday Extravanganza, can count as an addition to your birthday present. I must disclaim that just because this is happening once, does not mean it will ever happen again. However, I am willing to make minor changes for short periods of time to put a smile on your face and help you realize that your dear, sweet daughter does have the capability of conforming to your wishes and desires for short periods of time. I am only willing to do this because I love you so much, Mom!

Sister Wilcox wanted me to give you a shout out as well. She wants to take you out for falafel next time you are in Salt Lake City. When this event occurs, I will be sure and wear an outfit that is coordinated by color and style that you would approve of, as a second tribute to you.

I love you, Mom!

Yours Truly,

Erin Gale Petersen

love

my dad loves hallmark movies. i always pretend that i don't even like the blasted things. however, when they are on, i am generally drawn in. i always end up crying at the end and learning something new and insightful. tonight as i've been on the computer trying to work on a few projects, there has been a hallmark movie playing in the background. it has me thinking. is it harder to love, or not to love?

quoting steve carrell from dan in real life, "love isn't an emotion, it's an ability." i've been thinking about this too.

mahatma ghandi said, "where there is love, there is life."

my thoughts - yes, opening ourselves up to love can be a daunting task. if it has failed, it's hard to imagine trying again. it is easier to harden ourselves to the vulnerabilities. really though, if love doesn't work out, does that mean it has failed? it seems to me that failure comes when we let something defeat us. if a lesson is learned then there is no failure. lessons bring opportunity. i think love begins as an emotion. when that emotion starts to hurt, we can allow that to impede our progress, or we can open our hearts to the process of healing, mending, and the ability to feel the emotion of love in a deeper abundance. continuing to open our hearts to love makes life full. to love may be harder than not to love. it takes more of a risk, i know that much. however, i think it ends up being the better choice. allowing ourselves to develop the ability to feel the emotion of love and give our love to others creates a life that is full. the risk empowers us and creates an inner strength that can positively affect our lives and the lives of others. it's true, "where there is love, there is life."

for the record, the hallmark movie is ending and i am crying...

thanksgiving

"this corn is like an angel." -steve carell

it really is though. i know the thought of creamed corn makes a lot of stomachs churn and gag reflexes go off. however, i believe it has a lot to do with the fact that they have never tasted this "angel corn". it is one of my favorite thanksgiving foods. how can you go wrong with half and half, parmesan cheese, and cayenne pepper?

now on to the day of thankfulness. i love the nostalgia of this season, specifically the nostalgia of this blessed day. thanksgiving dinner was at the petersen household. mom, in her oh-so-endearing way, went over the top with food and fun. kip, ginny, chelsea, and jocelyn came on wednesday night to help out and spend the night. it was so much fun. we stayed up until 1:00 a.m. preparing for dinner the next day, gabbing, laughing, and decorating napkins. the napkin decorating turned into a lot of fun. mom wanted us to stamp the napkins and make them real pretty. that worked for while. however, kip got a hold of a few markers and he and i started having fun. he drew a few cute cartoons of turkeys with captions saying things like, "how about some chicken?"

i loved just being home and enjoying the presence of my family. there is something special about my parents house. the moment i walk through the doors i feel at ease. life seems simplier. happy times are happier. trials seem easier to face. the spirit of love is definitely felt. don't get me wrong - we don't have a flawless family. we definitely have our vices. things aren't always perfect at the petersen's. however, home is a haven. i think both my brothers and i would agree that home has always been a place that we know we will be loved, even when we do stupid things. mom and dad have really created an enviroment of peace and comfort. i love being home! i love the feeling, i love the smells, i love the voices, i love the work that needs to be done, i love the feeling of acceptance. it's a good place to be.

something to note - i moved up from the kid table to the grown-up table this year. it has taken 29 years. i think it was by default, nonetheless, i feel it a rite of passage. i feel like i'm kind of a big deal now....

arizona

i recently went on another work trip. this time i hopped on the plane and landed in phoenix, arizona. although we enjoyed the familiarity of a late night in-n-out run, it wasn't a typical work trip. this time around was a staff retreat. the wealthcounsel and advisors forum staff flew in from both ends of the country to meet for a lot of team building, personality profiling, and just plain fun. you'll notice from the picture above, we really were in the middle of the desert for the team building exercises. as you see, i'm not afraid of a little port-o-potty. i've seen a few of these in my day.

the team building was a great experience. there were a lot of people from the wealthcounsel staff who don't know the advisors forum staff and vice versa. we played all sorts of games and had to really open up and rely on each other to make it through the games. we played games that really made us think. at the end of the day we participated in a ropes course. it was inspiring to see how everyone rallied together and really wanted the others to succeed. i felt like there were a lot of relationships forged. it was fascinating to watch so many different personalities work together and succeed. i really saw the strengths of a team working together to make things happen.

our second day included personality profiling. this activity was fascinating to me. i've thought a lot about it since and have been trying to incorporate it in my day-to-day. before the retreat, we all took a personality profile test. it is called the DiSC profile. it reminds me a lot of the color personality test. you know, the red, blue, white, and yellow personalities. the personality profiling helped us recognize how we communicate and how we react to the way others communicate with us. we had a speaker explain to us his understanding of what works and what doesn't with each of the profiles. the breakdown of each category in layman's terms is as follows:

D = dominant

i = incessant talker

S = steady

C = calculator

my personal profile is really high in C, S, and i. i hardly have any D. the realization that this combination is not right or wrong, it's just one of many combinations that works was interesting and effective.

the speaker ran us through a few exercises and analyzed how we reacted. it was fascinating to watch as the dominant people finished the exercises and felt like they were wasting time waiting for the calculators who didn't seem to have enough time. we found that we all have elements of each of the categories, but there are usually one or two that we are strongest in. understanding our own style is only a part of successful communication. understanding other's style is key to adapting and strengthening relationships. in the end, the speaker talked about how important it is to be certain that we are aware of other's feelings and needs. if we have offended, we need to recognize and express sincere concern. showing interest in how others feel and what they need increases our capability to be strong as an organization. this principle rings true. it is so easy to get caught in the trap of thinking that the world revolves around me. i continually face the harsh reality that it doesn't. it's so refreshing when i personally recognize that all the planets aren't circling around me before it needs to be pointed out.

some of my favorite memories of the trip include:

• jonathan mintz pulling up to the airport in a 14 passenger van.
• jim hillhouse asking me all about my mission in taiwan as we were at the chinese restaraunt. he was making me feel like such an expert.
• the success of making it across the high-wire/tight rope with lori berry. we felt like we'd conquered the world!
• kelly rees teaching pat fleming to text message.
• jonathan graciously letting me take his first class seat on the trip back home.

all in all, i'd say it was a successful trip. i'd take another one of these work trips in a heartbeat!

my little dup-a-dup

spencer always makes me smile, even when he is more excited about the "where's waldo" book than spending time with his auntie erin. something about this child brightens my life. i love his big bear hugs, his kisses, how excited he gets to play ping pong, his sweet laugh, and the way his face lights up and he runs with his arms open for a hug when he sees nana and papa. the innocence of a child give me a feeling of joy that is so different than any other feeling. his little spencerisms are amazing- one of my favorites is when he starts singing, "dup-a-dup-a-dup-a-dup..." i have no idea what it means, but i love it and i love him.

one world

comfartable crisp fall weather, a 12 mile run, finding deals at the d.i., and lunch at one world cafe http://www.oneworldeverybodyeats.com/ filled my saturday a few weekends ago. enz, stacie, and i decided we wanted a day of physical exhasution followed by delectable and healthy whole foods. we were all extremely pleased by the events of the day. one world was not just good food, but a thought provoking experience which i have referred back to many times since. when we walked into the cafe, a nice man asked us if we had been to the restaurant before. he could probably tell by stacie and my deer-in-headlights look, that we didn't really know what to do. he proceeded to tell us that they will give us an envelope to put our money in. it was up to us to decide how much we felt like the meal was worth. he was sure to address the fact that he sometimes we can do more than other times, but it is the idea and hope that everything will even out as we all give what we can. as they served up the food that i wanted and as i sat at the table and ate, i was very humbled. my ideas turned to the thoughts of wants and needs. how much do i want vs. how much do i really need filled my head. i also started thinking about how much i could give vs. how much did i want to give. the idea of how much it was worth morphed into an idea of not only how much was the food worth, but how much was the time of the people preparing the food and the work to grow the food. the whole experience reminded me that we are all in this together. there are so many differences in this beautiful world, yet so many similarities. it reminded me of time i spent in taiwan, when i battled the feelings of culture shock - everything and everyone seemed so different. as i began to assimilate into the asian culture and society, the process of recognition of my similarities and commanalities with all the people and things around me became apparent and tangible. i recognized in such a real way that with all the differences around us, we as a human race live in this world together. if we strip down the differences, the recognition of physical needs are there for each of us. our experiences shape and mold us into different people, however as i came to open up to the people of taiwan, the realization that we all have love inside of us, and all of us want to share that love with others is there, sometimes we just don't know how to share it. as i have been working through this thought in my head, the idea that has stuck is that the best way to share love is to give love in the way those around us need it. figuring out how people around us need it and then giving in that way is then the challenge. so, while i had $7 to spend on my meal at one world that day, my feeling was that the experience was priceless.

viva las vegas

viva las vegas baby! that is were i was oct. 30th - nov. 2nd. in all honesty, i don't love vegas, in fact, i don't really even like it. the irony of that statement is the number of times i have been to las vegas. i am not even going to figure that out - that would be like trying to figure out the number of guys i have kissed, way too hard. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge...just kidding mom! that was a joke.) one of the reasons i am not a huge fan of the place has to do with the strip. luckily, i only made my way to the strip once on this trip. it wasn't too bad either. i just drove straight to the restaraunt, which was probably a little frightening for the passengers, but i didn't hear any complaining, because they asked me to drive. i was in las vegas for work. seeing all my co-workers was wonderful. i don't see them often enough. they are really great. i love the time i get to spend with them...even if it is in las vegas. a few highlights of the trip (as you can see in the pictures above) include talking to elvis, pounding burgers from in-n-out after a delightfully expensive sushi dinner, and getting together with old friends. the picture of me and $93.47 worth of in-n-out food in the back of a vehicle is proof that we were inundated with in-n-out. knowing about this tradition that is so affectionately called "dessert", i was really careful during our sushi dinner. i had to prove myself by eating an animal style protein burger. i figured the burger minus the buns would be doable. but alas, i still had a hamburger hangover in the morning. i spent halloween in vegas, which everyone says is crazy. i wouldn't know because i was sooooo tired that after the events of the day, i just went to my hotel room and slept. although i don't love las vegas, i was reminded that you can find good people where ever you go - not only did i have the pleasure of seeing my colleagues and some of my clients, i also had the chance to spend most of sunday with my friend from logan -reggie whitaker, and his cousin and my mission friend - andrew taylor. they are dental students at UNLV. i had a tour of their pad, reggie and i picked andrew up at the airport, we were all able to go to church together and snap some pictures afterward. if any of you know andrew and my history you would know, it consists of 14 long years of embarassing pictures. i'll see if i can find some of the pictures and write a separate post about it. i can promise it will be entertaining. after the trip, i was really happy to be in viva la utah - home sweet home...

whirlwind weekend

i don't even know where to begin. i just had one of the best weekends ever! okay, so really it was a few weekends ago, i have just been real lackadaisical in my blogging efforts. the thing is, i have really wanted to blog, but i just haven't made the time to do it - it's all about priorities, right kids? this blog entry SHOULD have been a top priority, because it was a weekend of fun, fun, fun. let me just get into the meat of this entry. oct. 24th through 25th were the dates of the said events. friday after work, julie mckinnon, enz crane, and i took a little trip up to logan in julie's silver bullet. we were headed to the land of logan to attend a special event - the premier showing of wizardry. wizardry has been a masterpiece in the making for the past year or so. enz's brothers, chad and travis, along with a few other helpers have been working on this movie for awhile now. i have been living vicariously through enz. (she has been on the set, and even helped control the fog machine.) she has been telling me step by step, piece by piece about the making of this movie. i was elated when enz told me the premier was going to be in logan at our alma mater - utah state university. we got there and met our dates. i know, i know - this is a big event, i had a date! even better, my date was taking me to the usu homecoming dance. in the 5-6 years (give or take) i was at utah state for my undergrad, i never once went to the homecoming dance. this was like a dream come true! i felt like cinderella at the ball. the best part about it was that there were no pretenses and it wasn't some big planned out event. our friend, levi wanted to take enz to the dance and i was coming up to logan as well. i think levi twisted our other friend eric gardiner into taking me. i had no shame. when he called me at the last minute and told me to bring a gown for the dance, i was all about it! we all watched the movie - which was AMAZING! chad and travis have talent. the movie was a 18 minute non-fiction film about dungeons and dragons. there were warlocks, gnomes, flying cheetos, and amazing one liners. it was very napolean dynamitesque in the most non-cliche way ever. there were points that i was laughing so hard i was crying. i loved it. as a side note, i ran into an old high school acquaintance. come to find out, he did the whold soundtrack for the film. (this is where, if we had audio, the "it's a small world" theme song would start playing.) julie, enz, and i parted ways. julie....well, i'll let you ask her where she went. the only information i am willing to divulge is that our gal jules had a pretty exciting night. the dance double dates headed back to the boys apartment to get all dressed in our prom date get up. it was so fun to get to wear my dress my "black tie event" dress again. i purchased it for a work event, and don't get that many chances to wear it. eric and i went to my parents house so he could meet them. (in all reality, eric just needed to borrow my dad's staple gun.) he didn't only meet the parents but 3 other couples that they are friends with. talk about baptism by fire...eric was up for it though. did you see that picture of him up above, with a fedora like that wouldn't you be up for it too? after meeting the parents, enz, levi, eric, and i were, in the words of steve miller, off to "dance, dance, dance all night long." what an enchanting evening it was. as cheesy at it may sound, eric really was a prince and he REALLY did make me feel like cinderella at the ball. the night was filled with all sorts of great dancing from big band swing, to waltzing, to some crazy hip hop jazz. in retrospect, i realize how patient eric was being. i don't really dance well, but we were just having fun and laughing every time i fell off my high heels or stepped on his toes. usu homecoming '08 was the BEST dance ever. what a night. the awkwardness of trying to be impressive and cool, like we all dealt with at high school dances wasn't there. you know why, because we didn't have anything to prove - we were confident in our coolness! it was also so pleasant having doubling with my best friend and one of the funniest guys alive. the fact that we didn't have to come up with some sort of creative way that included goldfish and hershey's kisses to say yes to the invite to the date was really refreshing too! not having to spend 12 hours of the day with our dates playing laser tag, having a picnic at willow park with sand volleyball and taking time to look at the peacocks and monkeys, spending 2 hours getting ready for the date putting sequins in my updo, going to dinner at the coppermill where all the old people in town could stare at us, then going back to the boys pad and watching "back to the future" and wondering if my date was going to hold my hand was a very pleasant thing to NOT have to do. it was just the right amount of everything. the next day was jam packed with fun too. stacie and i woke up super early on saturday and went on a little joggy jog. i wanted to do something active and know i wouldn't have a second later on in the day to do it. it was my old roommate, melissa petersen's wedding day. melissa and nolan johnson were finally tying the note. melissa and i lived together the last year i was in logan and we got pretty tight. we had a lot of late night talks about relationships and i think we pretty much had the world figured out by the time i moved out of the ole' blvd. house. melissa and nolan dated for a really long time. off and on for about 5 years. i learned a lot from the two of them and am so thankful for the friendships i have been able to create with the two of them. i recognize that they taught me a lot about two good people working hard to make a relationship work. they taught me about love and the importance of different aspects of it. it was such a sweet thing to sit in the sealing room at the american fork temple and see that love so vividly as they made covenants with God and sealed their love and marriage for time and eternity. recently i have been feeling a lot of turmoil inside because of the state of our nation and the world - so much wickedness is around us. however, as i watched and felt the love in the room as melissa and nolan got married, i was reminded that the world is going to be alright. my heart was at peace. the realization that good people are commiting to each other and to their future families to live good lives, to support and strengthen each other, to have faith in a power greater than themselves, and to bring children into this world in an enviroment where they can be nutured and grow in goodness, is a beautiful thing. after the wedding i headed to the luncheon. meagan wade latimer, who was another roommate of mine and melissa's, and her husband, scott, were there. they are another absolutely admirable couple. to my surprise, my new relief society president in my salt lake ward, andrea dawson was there. apparently she and melissa were roommates in logan before melissa and i were roomates. (it's a small world theme song...) after the luncheon i hurried to thanksgiving point. i met my parents, ryan, rachel, spencer, and jack. we went to cornbelly's. it as a little halloween/autumtime family play place. it was so much fun to just hang with the fam. (although, i was missing lance.) there was a pumpkin princess pageant with all sorts of little girls dressed up in princess dresses. if i'd have know ahead of time, i would have brought my prom dress from the night before to compete. alas, i just had to let the other little princesses enjoy the limelight. spencer raced rubber ducks with a water pump, we watched pigs race, papa and spencer roped fake bulls and we just soaked in the warmth of the sun. i drove to logan again after our little family event at thanksgiving point. i got to melissa and nolan's reception a little later than expected. melissa looked so beautiful. i loved seeing nolan's dad again. he is the coolest, toughest rancher cowboy. that kind of man is far and few between in our world today and i just like being around them. as i was trying to leave i kept running into people i knew. it was super fun. my favorite was when cute, little hannah whiting came up to me and tapped me on the side. when i looked down at her and saw who it was she jumped up into my arms. i sure miss those darling whiting kids. then hannah said, "sam, it's erin. remember, she used to live by us?" her little brother sam, just gave his sweet, little grin that is all too familiar. after the reception i raced to the ellen eccles theater to meet my sweet friend brenda sun. brenda has been trying to get me to go to a play with her since april to thank me for helping her with an art show she did. we were finally able to do it. i was a little late for the play, true to form, and brenda was sweet and gracious about it. we were both so excited to see each other and catch up. the play was wonderful. it was little women - such a sweet story. brenda was even more wonderful. it was so exciting to hear about her life. she recently got engaged to "the love of her life". it is such a sweet thing to see her in love. wow! what a weekend - dancing, weddings, family, friends - the important things in life!

millcreek

it seems as though one of my favorite activities is going to soon come to an end for a short time. sadly but surely, i am going to have to retire my bicycle in the near future...and i'll tell you why i know this. it is getting brrrrrrreathtakingly cold. okay, so that is a bit of a stretch. normal activities during the day time hours are totally doable. however, riding down a shaded canyon on a bike is not. i know this because i did a little science experiment. the bitter cold won! i went on a real fun bike ride yesterday - well, the first half was fun. i rode up millcreek canyon. it is a great ride. brighton and tyson, my new salt lake biking buddies who claim to ride a tandem in their speedos, blazed the way for me. (please note, they were not on a tandem or in their speedos for this ride.) i slowly followed behind. tyson was full of great biking tips that i am sure have already made me a better biker and stories about falling off lots of mountains. (wait a minute, why am i trusting this guy?) my new found friends were really encouraging and nice. they almost had me fooled - acting like i was keeping up with them. however, i figured it all out when i saw them riding in circles at the top of a hill. they told me they were just practicing a technique. come on boys, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you were waiting for "the girl". when we made it to the top my legs were spent, my feet felt like frozen creamsicles, and i was ready to be done climbing. at the top of the canyon b-tone, t-bone (as they so affectionately call one another), and i swapped treats like elementary school kids during lunchtime. we traded hammer gel shots for sports beans and sports beans for powerbars. the assortment of energy foods made for a well rounded meal. i knew the descend was going to be cold, but i didn't realize it was going to be frigid. i was positive i would be braking and shaking a lot more than the boys so i shewed them ahead. i was so cold on the way down that my whole body was shaking. i thought it might help to stop and warm my hands up when i hit a patch of sun. however, the chill in the air with the wind coming at me like bullets of stinging nettle about did me in. the cold air was absolutely disabling. i just kept trying to think grateful thoughts. thoughts that the leaves looked really beautiful and that i was thankful brighton and tyson rode ahead and couldn't see how ridiculous i looked with my body in it's convulsive shaking state. at the bottom of the canyon, when i turned up the road to brighton's house, i realized that i have never been so grateful for a hill to climb up and warm me up. please note the pictures at top. picture #1 is what millcreek canyon looked like as we started our ascend. picture #2 is what millcreek canyon felt like as we descended. (i spoke to the boys during a team meeting after and they too were freezing.) super fun memory! however, it was a little disheartening to be a part of this precursor event - my bike being attached to my trainer for the winter months. thank goodness for cross coutnry skis. they'll get me through...

conference weekend

conference weekend is almost like a holiday for me. i love the relaxation of conference weekend. it is a serious spiritual recharge for me. there is nowhere i would rather be than watching it on tv or actually attending a session in person. the opportunity to listen to a prophet and apostles of the Lord counsel me individually and the body of the church collectively as we seek for inspiration in understanding how it translates into our personal lives is absolutely priceless. i drove to park city on friday night to stay at a condo with steph and clay. steph outdid herself again. she made a fantastic baked veggie pasta. when we were ready for dessert we went to my favorite fancy dessert spot - maverick. pumpkin fro yo was on the menu - a sure sign that fall is upon us. we fro yo'd it up and headed back to the condo.

saturday was a day full of watching conference and relaxing. we had planned on mtn. biking between sessions. however, it ended up raining. it was cold rain, which meant disaster. there is no way steph or i would have survived. our hands and feet turn into popsicles in the cold. add the speed of biking to that equation and it equals frostbite or hypothermia. sadly, we opted out of the mtn. biking plan. we drove up the canyon to take a gander at the changing leaves, and play photographer. it ended up snowing while we were snapping shots. i'll be grateful for the moisture, but it did make things rather chilly - especially since the only shoes i brought to park city were sandals.

sunday i drove to logan to spend the rest of conference weekend with the fam. it is always so nice to be home and feel the warmth and comfort of familiar surroundings.

one of my favorite bits of entertainments during all the sessions of conference was the intensity and focus steph, clay, and my mom had during the performances of the mormon tabernacle choir. it is usually during their songs that my focus dwindles a bit - i take bathroom, and drink breaks, and stretch my legs. not so for these three. dr. hicken, the dr. my mom works with, is a member of motab. apparently met a 29 year old member of the choir who might just be "perfect" for me. he stands close to dr. hicken when they perform. i told steph and clay about it, just because i thought it was entertaining. you better believe they were on the watch. my mom was the informant to me of the whole idea, so she was very focused any time the choir sang. i am sure we saw this mystery singer at some point...i just don't know when that was. it definitely kept thing captivating during the music portion of the broadcast.

my institute teacher suggested that we focus on the speakers at conference, and remember that as they speak, it is if the Lord himself is speaking to us. this is a principle i have known in the past. however, her challenge made me think about it differently and keep a much better focus on what each of my church leaders had to say. it helped me receive inspiration regarding what they were saying and what i can do in my life to be better by following them. some exciting news announced by president monson is that there are five new locations where temples will be built - one of which is rome, italy. he also petitioned us to pray that the countries who have not yet open their doors to the gospel will do so. miracles will come of our prayers. doors will be open, and God's children who have not yet had the chance to choose truth will be given the opportunity. of course, when i hear these kinds of things, my thoughts turn to my brothers and sisters in china. i know there are people there who are so prepared for truth...

it seemed there was an underlying theme of the conference. this always seems to happen. Heavenly Father really knows how to hit a point home by inspiring mutiple leaders to speak on essentially the same topic in a plethera of ways. the them being - challenges are abundant, times are tough, trials are rampant, and as we trust in an omnipotent God who can show us the way through His Son's atonement, things will all work out for our good. all the speakers said just the right thing at just the right time. one of the talks that really touched my heart specifically and in a very poignant way, was that of elder jeffrey r. holland. he spoke of the reality of angels in our midst, both those angels we can see and those who are unseen. he said that "not all angels are from the other side of the veil". he reminded us that God never leaves us alone or unaided in the challenges we may face. his words regarding angels took my thoughts a few different ways:

1) i felt so blessed that I KNOW there are angels in my midst who are watching me and who recently helped make certain i didn't take a wrong path and make an ill choice.

2) i was reminded that with faith as a child, i can be a part of miracles - it takes a little specificity and a lot of love for the Lord. i can pray for angels to be round about me and around those i love.

elder holland also mentioned, that in the process of praying for angels to attend us, may we all be more angelic ourselves. all the talks in conference were thought provoking and inspiring. i just thought i'd share a little about this one because it stuck in my mind. if you didn't get a chance to watch or listen to conference or would like to know more about it, you can log on to http://www.lds.org/ to find out more about it.

all in all, it has been an amazing weekend that helped me both mentally and physically. happy conference!

baby jack

"a baby is God's opinion that life should go on." -carl sandburg

jack thomas petersen decided to make his grand appearance sept. 29, 2008. weighing in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. and 19 inches long. he is a little cutie pie. he seems really calm and rather developed for being a newborn. that might be because he decided not to visit us until a week after we all were expecting him. rachel seemed to be doing really well and has that new mother glow about her. ryan is beaming, just like a new dad should be. last but not least, spencer seemed alright with the fact that he has a new brother. we tried to make sure he received plenty of attention. nana brought him a gift - a box of thomas the tank engine band-aids and a cars book. he loves lightning mcqueen! you can imagine that he was happy as a lark with these new toys. he asked me to put one band-aid on each shin as soon as he got a hold of the box. after the band-aids were applied, and without skipping a beat, he was sitting in papa's lap being read to. even with a newborn around, spencer still has us eating out of his little hand.

the event of a new little baby being born into our family has had me thinking about how amazing life is. a tiny, helpless, little baby was just sent straight from heaven. the miracle of creation and life almost leaves me speechless. but c'mon - it's me. i like to talk too much to be speechless. i'll just say that i feel absolutely amazed by the fact that God trusts us enough to have the power of creation within us. the fact that he trusts us to take care of His children for a short time while we are on this earth, creates a feeling of peace, responsibility, and love in me. i'll watch this miracle from a distance now, let his mom and dad take care of the late nights, spit-up, messy diapers, and look forward to when it is my turn.

**saturday adventures with stacie

one of the reasons i started a blog was the camera factor that i wrote about last post. the other reason is stacie stevens. stacie recently started a blog and loves it! she has been talking me into joing the blogging nation since i moved in with her...and she succeeded. don't ya think, stace?

since we moved to salt lake we have been planning crazy and wonderful adventures, then participating in these insane, portentous activities. one of the reasons stacie succeeded in her persusasions has to do with the fact that i have had the opportunity to create some pretty cool memories during this single life of mine. why not document them, right? i am going to back track a little on this post. i figure i should share the fun i have been participating in each saturday as i have been in salt lake. saturdays are most often filled with some sort of interesting escapade we have created. just be aware, i don't expect you to read this, it is rather lengthy. however, it doesn't even compare to the unabridged version of les miserables. (the book i've been reading on and off for over a year and a half.) let's start from the beginning:

OCT. 30th - BIKING IN THE PROMISED LAND
the stevens family invited me to join their ménage for a saturday of biking, food, and byu football. we headed up provo canyon on our road bikes, splitting up into our own mini peletons of about two riders per group. stacie and i ended up on the same team. (we make a great team, ya know?) as we rode through the canyon i was loving how the mountains looked. however, as we kept at it i was becoming more and more frustrated. traffic was terribly busy, the road was not smooth and was littered with exorbant amounts of junk and hazardous materials, and because of the busy traffic it was super noisy. stacie and i climbed a few hills, saw bridal falls and took some pictures. we discussed the fact that it wasn't our favorite ride in the world. stacie called her mom and we discovered, to our pleasant surprise, we had missed the bike trail. we went on a hunt and found the X that marked the spot. it seemed as though we'd hit the jackpot. the trail was so nice. the road was smooth, the air was clean, the scenery was really nice, and the pollution of noise seemed to have disappeared. stacie and i voted and it was unanimous - we'd been led to a much better path. in our late twenties, we are slowly but surely learing to listen to our parents. when the trail ended we were forced to jump back on the busy road for just a bit in order to make it to the offshoot of the canyon which led us up to sundance. the ride to sundance wasn't very long, but it was steep and narrow. speed was not my ally. by the time i made it up to the resort, my legs weren't very happy with me. as i slowly pedaled up the hills, i continued bargaining with myself to make it to the next tree or just around the next corner. the bargaining worked and i made it! riding down was definitley a more pleasant experience. we made it back to provo city, cleaned up a bit, and went to the brick oven for the best salad bar ever. we made our way to the byu football game when dinner was done. after all was said and done, stacie and i ended up falling asleep on the grass outside the stadium. it felt so good, and we looked so good!


SEPT 6th - MTN. OLYMPUS, AVENUES STREET FESTIVAL, DESERET INDUSTRIES, AND A DINNER PARTY TO BOOT!
stacie and i woke up bright and early and headed for the mountain. we were so excited to climb to the top of mtn. olympus. the hike was full of great conversation, beautiful scenery, a gourmet lunch of pb & j at the top, and the enjoyment of being with a good friend. we loved looking out across the city after we had summited. there is something indescribably satisfying about standing on the top of a mtn. we also really enjoyed some of the interesting characters we met along the way. there was a really funny family we ran into that kept things intesting and entertaining. the hike took the better part of the day. we were pretty beat by the end of the hike. however, that didn't stop us from taking a trip down to the avenues street festival for some prime time people watching. an overzealous salesman tried selling me a garage door and we refused to sign a petition. it was a good time. after a little walk through we decided it was time to make a trip to the di to purchase the junk of one person that became our treasures. stacie and i felt fulfilled with our finds. our treasures included a lamp for the front room, colorful plates and vintage looking decor for our kitchen, mismatched flatware, and a set of shoulder pads for enz. (ask enz's dad and he'll tell you that every women needs a good set of shoulder pads and and ankle bracelet.) when stacie and i arrived home from our shopping adventures, enz was preparing egg rolls to please our palates. what a day!

SEPT. 13th - RIDE BIKES, WALK DOGS, AND PARLEY'S CANYON BBQ
we decided it was time for a looooooooong ride. the night before this event, enz, stacie, and i stopped by rei for some cliff bloks, sports beans, and lube for our bikes. stacie and i joined a bike club while we were at it. the morning of, we prepared by lubing our chains, packing our jerseys full of energy food and money for lunch, lathering up on the sunscreen, and making sure we had our best looking spandex on. as we headed up 21st south we ran into a little problem. a broken bottle ended enz's ride within 3 minutes of starting it. it was crazy. we tried to change her tube and found that the glass had slashed her tire. she took one for the team and said her farewells to stacie and i. we headed southbound. near the point of the mtn. there was a red light that wouldn't change - but there was no traffic, so stacie talked me into running it on our bikes. i felt like such a rebel. there was also a wicked headwind. (now that i think about it, maybe that was our punishment for not following the laws of the land....hmmm) we muscled through it though. our destination - the subway across from lehi roller mills. the $5 footlong sandwiches we ordered tasted as good as pumpkin pie at thanksgiving! i kept thinking we might run into kevin bacon - i mean he did spend alot of time at the roler mills, right? our ride home was uneventful until i got a flat on our way up a hill in draper. we could have fixed it, but we let a nice man who stopped and offered be blessed by serving us. i know, i know, we are way too nice. he changed the flat in no time, gave us some great tips for the lotoja, and told us that his daughter was labor with his first grandchild. he was one of those people that helped restore my faith in mankind. after that, we rode home as fast as we could.

stacie and i had a service project to attend to. without even taking a shower, i changed into something other than spandex and we headed down to the animal shelter service project we signed up for at church. we found our friend daniel, from the ward, and were assigned the coveted job of pooper scooping - something i have never wanted to do. it wasn't near as bad as i thought it might be. stacie and daniel are great conversationalists, and i was able to blame the stench on something other than the fact that i didn't shower after a 70 mile bike ride. when the scooping was done, we were able to take some little twin dogs on a walk. they were the funniest dogs i've ever seen. i think they had some sort of disorder. they were super hyper most of the time. they didn't really walk - mostly they just jumped around and fought with each other. after a bout of hyperactivity and taking a few pictures, the dog i was walking just lunged foward landing on it's stomach. it wouldn't move for quite some time. after some coaxing we got the little guy back to his kennel. it was one of the most entertaining service projects i have ever been involved in.

next up was a shower and a BBQ up parley's canyon. stacie's friend, grace, was the host. we tossed a great salad, i ran into an old acquaintance from logan, ate some really great food, and sat by a fire talking to some new friends about biking.

needless to say, i was ready for bed at the end of the day.

SEPT. 19th & 20th - WEEKEND IN LOGAN
a weekend spent with my mom, dad, and lance is always a good thing. enz came with me to logan. friday night was so much fun. i hadn't had a chance to attend one of my mom and dad's famous cookouts all summer long. nicole and jeremy white and their kids joined in the events. it was really good to catch up with the white's - it has been so long since i have been able to REALLY catch up with them. the kids were really cute too. jt was loving the grapes i pulled off the vine and the tootsie rolls also became a favorite right away. i think that kid had a serious sugar high by the end of the evening. the most entertaining conversation that evening was between lance and noah. noah is probably about 4 or 5 yrs. old. the conversation went something like this:
noah: "do you play basketball?"
lance's puzzled response: "no, why?"
noah: "well, what is that?" as he pointed to the tatoo on lance's wrist.
out of the mouths of babes, huh?! lance found the conversation rather humurous. kids see what they see, and say what they see.
it was a great night sitting around the firepit, catching up with family and friends, and watching dad perfectly roast marshmallows for all to partake.

the next morning was an early morning of making cookies, cleaning up messes (i am so good at it that my mom always asks me to take are of that portion of the "cooking"), and putting together a salad for the petersen family reunion later that day. after our fun in the kitchen, enz and i headed over to steph's house. we all drove to green canyon. enz went on a run and steph and i went on a mtn. bike ride. it was SUCH a great ride. i loved it. the air was crisp, making it extremely comfortable when we started climbing. the leaves were changing from shades of green to yellow, orange, and red. there was a canopy of leaves covering the single track and the leaves that had fallen dusted the floor of the trail. it was just the right amount of climbing with no loose rocks. the fact that we didn't run into a moose, like our last ride up that canyon, was also a real relief to steph and i. even though we had bike helmets on, a moose left us feeling a bit vulnerable. on our way down the trail, i kept feeling overwhelming comfort, peace, and graditude in my heart. i kept thinking how blessed my life has been with absolutley amazing people. every aspect of my life, from family, to friends, to co-workers, is filled with phenomenal people who love me, watch out for my well being, and continually answer my prayers by just being the amazing people they are. it was one of those times in my life when i felt completely content and at peace with nature and myself. is that what some people call a state of zen? i have always called it feeling the spirit. whatever you call it, it is one of the best feelings i have ever felt in my life.

the petersen family reunion was the next event of the day. enz joined us for the first half of the reunion. steph and clay met me at the park to pick up my bike, and when my parents saw them, of course they invited them to join in the food and festivities. my extended family had the chance of meeting some of my amazing friends. i joked about how i may be single, but i just invited all my friends to prove to my family that i am really popular!

steph, clay, and enz jumped shipped after lunch and when it was time for the games. if you know me, you know i'm not a gamer. i was feeling rather content talking to my dear cuz sandy and my cute little cousin michael. there weren't any places to hide, so sandy and i were recruited to be on our mom's relay team. the relay ended up being a blast. it was entertaining to watch and to participate in. my favorite part - i ended up licking shaving cream off of my hand because i thought it was whipped cream. the shaving cream came in handy after the race when my uncle steve decided to smear it on lance's moustache, just to "help him out". while, i still do not profess to be a gamer, i did have a rather fun time sticking my had in a pie and participating in the egg toss portion of the event.

steph and clay graciously had me over for an amazing dinner of salmon, santa fe salad, and peach shakes. steph is becoming quite the chef. at the rate she is going, i may need to pass my chef hat i earned while catering stacie's brother's wedding to steph if she keeps things up. my plan was to fill my car up with gas and run a few errands as i drove away from their house into the midnight sky. i ended up accomplishing those tasks, but i also ended up on the bench by the temple with an attractive young man. i'll let your imagination run wild with what else may have happened that evening...

SEPT. 27th - MTN. BIKING IN AMERICAN FORK CANYON
pituresque: visually charming or quaint, as if resembling or suitable for a painting. that is the word i would use to describe american fork canyon last weekend as the leaves were changing from their usual healthy green color to the vivid splashes of orange, yellow, and red. the moutain ridges were distinct against the clear blue skyline. the contrast of the quakies and the pines looked unreal. i felt like i was inside a special edition national geographic book - and that was just the drive up to the trail. steph, clay, and i rode the ridge trail up and then headed down tibble fork to the lake. the leaves were amazing along the entire trail. it was fun to ride with both steph and clay. i believe it would be accurate to say that steph and i are similiar in that we want to go as hard and fast as we can and get done. we are often worried about how high our heart rate is and whether or not we are getting a good workout. it was good to have clay there to stop us every so often and remind us to look at the mountains in the distance and to take pictures. (compliments and copyright to clay for providing the pictures of the trail on this post.) the trail was fun. there were challenging ups and downs. we came across quite a few loose rocks and big drops. it was never too consistently up or down hill....until the end. at that point there was a lot of down hill. there were times were all i could do was pray that i could continue holding my brakes because i was afraid of the speed i would gain if i let go, and my hands were cramping up in a major way. my prayers were answered and i finished the trail. steph and clay were smiling at me from the lake as i slowly came down the last little bit. after the trail ended we had to make it back to the car, so we road down the road, and up the road. the downhill was super fun, and then the uphill came. we rode a little way and clay's persuasive intitmidation to a truck driving by won him a ride up to the top to get the car. steph and i opted to keep riding and have clay drive down and get us. we wanted to extend our workout just a little longer. it was a long ride up, but it was worth it. just being outside and enjoying the beauty of the canyon made it worth the fatigued legs. with about two miles to the top, we saw clay. we got our bikes all situated and drove down the opposite side to see the scenery from a different angle. my hands were a little sore the next day, but it was well worth sore hands to see the beauty of God's creations while on my bike.

that night was the general relief society women's conference. the whole conference was filled with goodness. president dieter f. uchtdorf's talk particularly stuck a chord and has been resonating in my head since i heard it. he spoke of how we worship and know a God of compassion and creation. we should work to possess these characteristics. i felt with intensity what he spoke of after just witnessing the beauty of God's creation in american fork canyon. God DOES love each of us so much. His compassion for us is beyond our comprehension. i feel his compassion at different times and in different ways - when i am among his creation, while i worship at church and/or in the temple, as i spend time with family and friends, at times when i am able to serve, when i am in an unfamiliar enviroment among people i don't know and i recognize that they too are children of Him, and sometimes just when i am walking down the road and see a single dandelion growing among the blades of grass. compassion and creation - elder uchtdorf said it, and i believe it. he also said something to the effect that, in the end it may not matter so much how many prayers we said, as how many prayers we answer. i've been the recipient of so many of those answers. people who have created situations of compassion for me to help comfort me and assist in my survival, learning, and growth.

until the next adventure, ladies and gentleman. don't worry, you won't have to wait too long...

say cheese

on monday september 29th, matt croft, totally made my day. i won't bore you with all the details, i'll just say that i ended up feeling very encouraged and i now have my very own digital camera. keep in mind that the last time i was given a camera, was right before i left for taiwan, in october of '00. i'm not even sure if i can figure out how to use this new fangled gadget. no use in fretting. my very competent and technologically advanced brother, lance, is going to give me a crash course on how to use my canon SD 1100. needless to say, matt made my day. he is one of the reasons i have been able to begin my life of blogging. some of you may be grateful to him, others may not. i, might i add, am very grateful.

taking the city by storm...

well, i have been in the big city for approximately 8 weeks now. to be honest with you, i wasn't sure if salt lake was going to know what hit when i rolled into town. the irony of it all....

let's just start by talking about the things i love about salt lake:
1) my lovely roomies, stacie stevens and enz crane - they are just a delight
2) being able to attend the salt lake temple and feeling such a special spirit there
3) emigration canyon - smooth pavement, huge shoulder for biking, and the leaves look amazing
4) our big screen tv...if you don't believe me, come and check it out
5) fro yo runs to maverick and the shop n' stop on 17th and 17th
6) living on redondo avenue by a freeway entrance and really close to sugarhouse park - such a
prime location!
7) being closer to ryan, rachel, spencer, and baby jack*
8) my institute class - we are studying the doctrine & covenants and my teacher, sister pam
parkin has an infectious testimony and brings such a beautiful spirit to our class
9) living so close to my katies (gildea and white) - i LOVE how much i get to spend time with
these lovely ladies
10)family dinner with taylor perkins, ryan campbell, and the roomies
11) saturday adventures with stacie**
12) having a bike to help me through a few crisis moments
13) the mountains
14) the fact that i work from home and don't have to deal with a commute and traffic everyday
15) my new church calling - ward missonary it is
16) shorter commute to the airport
17) sunday evening calls from mom and dad
18) sunday visits to mark and candy crane's and gary and maggie stevens' - they always make
me feel so welcome, just like part of the fam
19)riding dry creek and the bobsled with ryan campbell and running into, possibly the largest arachnid i have ever seen - it felt like we were on the discovery channel

things i don't love about salt lake:
1) living further away from my absolutely amazing mom, next-to-perfect dad, and cute, little
lancie poo
2) the fact that i had to get my emissions test done to register my car and found out i had
$2,646.98 in repairs. can you say catalytic converter, fuel sensor, fuel pump, and lower ball
joint, and probably a few more things?
3) traffic...ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4) the tight feeling i get in my chest from the smog when i run or bike in the city
5) living further away from my wonderful co-worker kelly rees and cute little ava jane -it
makes it a little more difficult for me to stop by kelly's house for a work meeting and a
chance to watch muzzy with ava, have her show me her princess room, and tell me how
much she likes my boots
6) the fact that everything in "the city" seems to take longer and cost more
7) 3 parking tickets in 4 days - it seems i have a knack for that kind of thing


as you can see, the good outweighs the bad. there have been a few rough spots, and i haven't necessarily taken the city by storm, but all in all, i feel so blessed to be here in the city we call salt lake. through all of the small challenges i am facing, i really feel like Heavenly Father is breaking me down to build me back up. in the past couple of months i have found myself having minor breakdowns and shedding a few tears, realizing what an amazing support system i have, and recognizing and remembering that i have a Heavenly Father who is watching out for and taking care on so many different levels.