Tulips Make Me Happy :-)

I think tulips are some of the happiest flowers. I have wanted to grow tulips for a while now, and finally planted some bulbs in the fall. I decided to plant them along the walkway to my front door so that everyone who came to visit me would see beautiful flowers. I got a little nervous after I planted them because I realized my sprinklers don't hit along this narrow strip, so I was overjoyed when they started blooming. I have been faithfully checking their progress daily, and they finally all opened up! I hardly ever use my front door because I go in and out through the garage, but I think I'll have to start making some detours as seeing these tulips really does put a smile on my face!

Leathers!

I couldn't get a new bike without getting new gear! My old gear was powder blue, and that definitely didn't match my red bike, so I splurged on some new Harley Davidson leathers :-) I only intended to get a leather jacket, but the chaps matched the jacket and I thought they were so cool that I bought myself an early birthday present! The chaps are a little long, but the Harley shop will cut them to the right length for me for free... I got insurance yesterday, put the license plate on tonight, and I'm ready to ride! I've gotta get a few more accessories added to my bike (saddle bags, helmet lock, etc.) and it will be perfect :-)

Isn't It Beautiful!?!

I got a surprise call from the Harley dealership yesterday that my bike was here and ready for me to pick up! Wahoo! I wasn't expecting to get my bike till closer to the end of the month, so I was stoked. I totally love my new bike - the sound, the power, the color, everything! I only got to drive it the short distance from the dealership to my house (I was headed out of town so didn't have time for a ride) but I think I had a smile on my face all night. I am so excited for warmer weather. I will be riding this beauty all summer long!

First Bloom

My flowers are starting to bloom! Well, one flower at least :-) I was so happy last week when I saw that this daffodil had bloomed... now I'm just waiting for the others! I can tell my tulips are almost there - I'm hoping that they'll start opening up within the next week.

One Gallon!

I reached a milestone in blood donations today - I got my one gallon pin! I've still got a long ways to go to catch up to my dad (he's working on gallon THIRTEEN!), but I was excited to see my progress. It'll be at least another year and a half until I can get another gallon pin (you can only donate every other month), so I figured I'd better blog about this now!

The Squeak is Gone!

For the past couple months, my Blazer has squeaked. At first, it mostly squeaked as I went over bumps, but it got progressively worse to where it just squeaked almost constantly as I drove down the road. And I'm not talking about a quiet squeak, but one that was so loud I was embarrassed to drive my Blazer. I decided I had had enough and took it into Les Schwab on Broadway to have them take a look at it. Turns out that one of the bushings or something (I don't remember exactly what it was - I'm no mechanic!) had a clog, so it hasn't been oiled any time recently. They unclogged it, oiled it up, and the squeak went away. The best part was they did this free of charge! Thank you Les Schwab!

Sad Day

I have mixed emotions right now, but mostly I'm sad. I just sold my Honda Rebel motorcycle. I think it may just be the cutest motorcycle in existence, and I have loved riding it over the last two years. The worst part is that my new bike won't be here for another couple weeks and it's sunny and 66 degrees outside right now! Also, I had a ride planned for tomorrow - it's supposed to get up to 77 degrees!!! So even though I know I needed to sell my bike and will put that money toward my new bike, it's still super sad.

De-Stress Night

Last night a few of my co-workers and I "de-stressed" from work by having a Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Guitar Hero party. It was a blast! I love DDR. I always thought it looked kind of dumb until I actually tried it. I have seriously thought about buying a PlayStation just so I could play DDR. If I got one, I rationalize to myself, I could even get rid of my gym membership because I get such a great workout playing it :-) Anyway, we'll see... I may still break down and get one someday. I'm actually waiting to see if one will come out for the Wii - I would definitely get a Wii if I could play DDR! Guitar Hero was lots of fun too. I had to stay on the easy level, but I did pretty well for my first time. I can see how it can be addicting! Anyway, I thought it was kind of funny that a group of us ranging from 27 (I was the youngest) to 40 sat around having a blast playing video games! They're not just for kids :-)

Thursday Nights are Back!

Can I just say that I am happy that The Office is back on Thursday nights!?! I sure have missed this show, and am looking forward to another funny season. I had a countdown on the side of my blog for the last month or so in anticipation of the season premier. Is it really a new season since the show was interrupted in the fall due to the strike? Or is it just a continuation of the fall season? Either way, wahoo!

Goodbye, Hello

In approximately 8 days my brand new Harley Davidson Sportster 883L motorcycle will be shipped to Boise :-) Yep, that's right, I bought a new bike! I am so excited. I have absolutely loved riding my Rebel the past couple of years, but I decided it was time to upgrade. I wanted something a little more powerful than my Rebel. So, a few weeks ago I set out on an adventure to find the perfect bike for me. I went to different bike shops and tried out several bikes. I really had no plans on getting a Harley, but none of the other bikes were as comfortable to me as the Sportster. Needless to say, I'm stoked to get my new bike. I'm going to have so much fun riding it this summer! And I got it in my favorite color - red!!!

So goodbye to my Rebel. I'm really going to miss it. It is a great bike! (It is for sale by the way!)

And hello to my beautiful new red Harley Sportster!

General Conference Message

I had the opportunity this weekend to watch part of General Conference. I wasn't able to watch all sessions, so I'll have to catch up on those when they are out online later this week. I thought I'd share part of Sister Susan W. Tanner's talk that really touched me. She talked about Abraham and how when he was taking his son Isaac to the alter to sacrifice him to the Lord, that Abraham had no idea Heavenly Father would provide a ram to sacrifice in Isaac's place. He obeyed in faith, trusting in Heavenly Father's plan. Sister Tanner went on:

"We are each in the middle of our earthly path, and we don't know the rest of our own stories, but we, as Abraham, are blessed with miracles. I delight in the Lord's mercies and miracles. I know that His tender mercies and His miracles, large and small, are real. They come in His way and on His timetable. Sometimes it is not until we have reached our extremity."

I add to Sister Tanner's testimony, in that I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and does have a plan for us. I believe that if I have faith in His plan, and endure through my trials, that He will provide miracles and I will be blessed.

Beat Pete 5k

This morning I ran the Beat Coach Pete 5k. Coach Chris Peterson (BSU's awesome football coach) agreed to donate $5 to student scholarships to anyone who beat him in a 5k race. He finished in around 25 minutes. Needless to say, I didn't get the shirt that said "I Beat Pete"... I got the one that said "I'll Beat Pete Next Year"! Oh well... what was I expecting? Not only do I hate running, but I think I've only been to the gym once in the last 2 1/2 months :-( I definitely need to get back into an exercise routine! Anyway, the great thing is that there were 322 runners that beat Pete, so that's over $1600 Coach Pete will donate to scholarships (in addition to donations made by race participants). Oh, and I have to give a big shout out to Campus Rec for doing such a great job of organizing this event! This is a brand new event - they were hoping best case scenario to get 500 runners. Last I heard, over 750 people had registered!