I'm Tired of Snow

I am so tired of snow. Having lived in Boise my entire life, I kind of know what kind of weather to expect. What I didn't expect this winter is how much snow we would get. It seems like it's been snowing solid since December. I've had to pull out the old shovel at least a dozen times, sometimes shoveling a couple times a day because of how much snow we're getting. They even had a snow day yesterday for all the schools in the valley (although BSU was still open). Who can remember the last time there was a snow day??? Anyway, the bummer part is that it doesn't look like there's relief anytime soon. The weather forecast shows day after day of snow...

Wahoo!

I love my job. Last January I posted that I was promoted to Assistant Registrar. Well, today I get to post that I was promoted once again - to Associate Registrar. Wahoo! It's exciting to work for an organization that recognizes and rewards people for the work they do. I absolutely love working at Boise State and the people I work with and don't plan on going anywhere else soon :-)

So as excited as I was to know I was receiving this promotion, I was even more excited to tell one of my staff members that she was getting a promotion. That was so much fun! Congrats Diana and thanks for all you have done and continue to do for our office and the University!

President Hinckley

My mom called just after 8:00 tonight and told me that our beloved prophet President Hinckley passed away this evening. President Hinckley is the fourth prophet since I have been alive, but I know him better than I knew any of the others. He was called as prophet when I was in high school and has given a life of service to the church. I truly love this man. He will be missed by millions.

I Jumped on the Bandwagon

After at least half a dozen people recommended the Twilight series books to me, I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon to see what everyone was talking about. In the last few days, I read all three books in the series (or about 1700 pages). I enjoyed the books - they are definitely the kind that make you want to keep reading. I decided it's good that I don't get into every book I pick up like I did these books, or else I wouldn't have much of a life. I kind of put everything else on hold this week - going to the gym, cleaning my house, going to the movies, even forfeiting sleep - just so I could keep reading!

Oh, and speaking of books, I thought I'd share this great way that I've discovered to keep track of my books. Shelfari is a way to catalog, tag, review, and discuss books. You can keep of the books you own, the books you've read, and those on your wishlist, as well as see what books your friends have. Let me know if you decide to join Shelfari because I'd love to see what you're reading... I'm always on the lookout for a good book!

Visitors!

I love when people come and visit me. I was super excited this morning to get a phone call from my college roommate Heidi telling me that she would be passing through Boise this afternoon and wanted to stop by and see me :-) It was a quick visit, but it was so much fun to catch up with her and to meet her boyfriend Jeff. Thanks for taking the time to stop by guys - I look forward to our next visit!

Fondue Fun

I absolutely love fondue. There is just something fun about cooking your food at the table. Last night I had some co-workers over for an evening of fondue yummyness. We started out with dipping bread in a cheese fondue (thanks Camille!), enjoyed a dinner of salmon, chicken, steak, shrimp, sausage, and veggies on the raclette grill, and then topped off the evening with dipping cheesecake, pound cake, brownies, marshmallows, pretzels, apples, oranges, and bananas in chocolate and caramel sauces. Oh my word, I was so full at the end of the night! We had a great time reminiscing about the first concerts we attended, 1980's movies and hairstyles, and more. It was a fabulous evening!

Pet Peeve

I find it amazing the number of non-handicapped people who use the handicap door activation buttons. In fact, it drives me nuts. I can understand if your hands are full, and you can't actually open the door yourself, but typically I think people should just pull the handle open. This might sound totally petty, but here is my reasoning:

• Don't the switches ever wear out? Seems like a waste of money if able-bodied people require the button to be replaced because of their laziness.
• People that work in my building use this button when entering or leaving the bathroom. Hello people, I don't really want the bathroom door open when I'm using the restroom! This is potentially embarrassing!
• I seem to constantly get blasted with hot or cold air as I walk down the halls of my building - when I look to see why all of a sudden it's freezing inside (this time of year anyway), I see that someone just pushed the handicap button to enter the building. Of course, this means the doors swing wide open, and stay open for much longer than it takes the person to walk through the door. Thus, all that outside air comes inside, and the inside air conditioned or heated air escapes outside. So not only am I uncomfortable because of the change in temperature, but it's a definite waste of energy.
• I have heard justification from people saying they don't want the germs from the door handle. Well, don't you think there are germs on the handicap button? For heavens sake, use a paper towel or your sleeve to open the door, or keep some anti-bacterial gel handy.

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant. This seriously bugs me. I have NO problem when people who actually NEED to use the button use it... It's the people that can clearly open the door themselves that get me!

Congratulations Beki!

Just wanted to give a big shout out to my little sister Beki for getting accepted into her first choice college - Brigham Young University - Idaho. Congratulations! I know that you'll have tons of fun there and do well as a student. I'm so proud of you Beki!

I Love Google Reader

Google Reader is one of my very favorite tools on the computer. In fact, with the exception of checking my home email address, I think Google Reader is the only other tool I use on a daily basis. Basically what I do is "subscribe" to my friends' blogs, local and national news sites, recipe sites, home decorating sites, etc. Google Reader constantly "reads" all of those sites and makes it easy for me to see when something new is posted. I used to spend way too much time visiting all my favorite sites even if new content had not been added. Now, I can see at a glance when there is something new. Unfortunately, Google Reader doesn't read private blogs, but it has worked for every other site I have tried.Another reason I like Google Reader is that it allows me to easily share my favorite content with other people. There is an "email" icon at the end of each post if I want to email an article or blog post to a certain person. There is also a "Share" icon. I share articles that I find interesting and that I think others that I know read my Shared Items will find interesting. I also like the "tag" feature. At this time, I only use tag to tag recipes that I want to show up on my recipe blog, but it can also be used to organize the posts.

I'm stealing this next paragraph from Sally who recently posted about Reader too :-)
To start, go to Google Reader. Sign in with your Google account. Click the Add Subscription link in the green box on the left-hand side and type or paste a blog address. Click the gray "Add" button and away you go! You can even categorize your list if you click the blue "Manage Subscriptions" link in the lower right-hand corner of the left side bar.

I know this post was pretty long, but I hope that it is helpful! I love Google Reader!

I'm Finally...

... paying it forward! My pay it forward gift is this snowman :-) Mandy got hers yesterday. Jessica - I gave yours to your mom... Lisa and Heidi, you'll get yours when I see you both later this month! Enjoy, and don't forget to pay it forward!

Snow!

I woke up this morning to a thick blanket of snow covering my lawn. It was so beautiful... but that also meant I needed to shovel my walks. I have church at 9:00 now, and I didn't wake up super early, so I didn't have a lot of extra time for shoveling. I shoveled half of my driveway and one strip all the way down my sidewalk before leaving for church. This afternoon I decided to tackle the rest of the shoveling. I got all bundled up, grabbed my shovel, and headed out front, only to find that some wonderful person had finished shoveling for me. Thank you!

One More Reason to Love a Mac