I love this time of year...

This is the building I work in... Boise State's campus is so pretty!

Busy Week!

I'm not one to usually lump different events into one blog post, but I've had such a packed week I decided to go ahead and just post once for the entire week.

Monday
In case you forgot, I love Chuck.  I was excited for fall because that meant Boise State football and the return of good television.  Every Monday night, six of us get together for what we have nicknamed "Chuckaholics Anonymous".  We bond together as we watch Chuck on the big screen (well my wall actually - with my projector).

Tuesday
The Bronco game was on Tuesday this week.  We played Louisiana Tech, and it was a closer game than some of the last few games.  There were also some exciting plays, including our quarterback Kellen Moore punting a ball and receiving a touchdown pass!  Here's a picture of Mandy and me at the game - it was pretty chilly... funny to think that earlier this month I was wakeboarding!!!

Wednesday
Over my lunch break on Wednesday, I volunteered with some of my co-workers at Sustainable Futures.  We spent the hour scraping labels off of old beer, wine, and liquor bottles so that they can be re-purposed into glasses, wind chimes, etc.  It was neat to participate in the mission of Sustainable Futures and to get to know some of the other staff who work on campus.

Wednesday evening was our monthly book club gathering.  We chose to eat at Bombay Grill to discuss this month's book - The Life of Pi.  I decided I really like certain Indian food... I will be back!

Thursday
Thursday evening I attended the Idaho Governor Debates in the capitol building.  I have never attended anything like this before, but I am trying to be a more involved, more informed citizen.  I wasn't sure how enthralling it would be, but I ended up really enjoying it.  I'm glad I went!  Don't forget to vote next Tuesday!

Friday
Last night was the annual BYP Halloween carnival.  We teamed up with the downtown YMCA to put on a carnival for the community.  I was in charge of the mystery boxes... ya know - where you have to put your hand through a hole in the box and try to guess what's inside.  We had old fingers (skinny pickles), intestines (cooked fettuccine noodles), witch's tongue (sliced hotdogs), dead skin (dry onion skin), spider legs (fuzzy pipe cleaners), eyeballs (large olives), brains (boiled whole tomatoes), and dragon droppings (raisins).  The mystery boxes was in the "haunted house" - the rock climbing gym with spooky music and a strobe light.  In addition to the haunted house, there was face painting, a bean bag toss, cake walk, hula hoop throw, slime station where you could make slime, spin art, a photo booth, etc.  The night ended with an apple bob in the pool (does that sound totally disgusting to anyone else???)  All in all, it was a great evening, and there were a ton of kids and families who came to enjoy the festivities.

Brett, me, Erik, & Michelle

Saturday
Today I am tired.  I was up late every night this week.  I would like to take a nap, but I need to clean my house (it's a disaster), go grocery shopping, do laundry, and prep for a Halloween get together we're having tomorrow... I'm obviously procrastinating by blogging :-)  Oh well, we'll see what I can get done before the end of the day!

Come Fly With BYP

Tonight was the annual BYP Gala, with a 1950's Sinatra cocktail theme of Come Fly With BYP.  I had fun getting ready for the event, with Savannah doing my hair and Jen doing my makeup :-)  Lance joined me for the event (thanks Lance!), which was held at Crane Creek Country Club... what a beautiful venue!  It was fun chatting with my BYP friends, getting to know new people, and celebrating BYP's 4th anniversary.  The evening was extra special because I was honored with an award - BYP Young Volunteer of the Year!  I felt humbled to have been nominated and selected for this award, as I have such great respect for so many other members of BYP.  Thanks to Michelle for the nomination and Kris for the heart-felt letter of recommendation - it meant a lot.

My Award :-)

I didn't bring my camera with me to the gala, so this phone picture will have to do until Michelle or Renee email me pictures they took with their cameras!

Me & Lance

Michelle & Me

Adventures in Glass Blowing

About six months ago, I purchased a 2-hour glass blowing workshop from Boise Art Glass through a citysmart deal.  I scheduled my workshop on the afternoon of October 8th, and I was really looking forward to it.  I received a call that morning letting me know that the furnace had been on longer than expected the night before because of First Thursday, and it wasn't going to be cooled down enough for me to do my workshop.  They offered to let me reschedule, or do a 2-hour torch class instead.  I had really been looking forward to the workshop, and I had vacation scheduled from work, so I opted for the torch class (since I didn't really know the difference anyway).

I had such a fun time over the next two hours, learning how to operate the torch, how to heat the glass, stretch it, shape it, add color, etc.  I started out by making a pendant, then moved om to beads.  I learned that beads are HARD to make!  I can tell it would take a lot of patience for me to really get into working with the torch.  None of my beads were even or the same size.  Oh well, I'm still carrying them in my purse to show off to people :-)  My amazing instructor Filip ended up making me a set of beads that matched one of my pendants so I could turn them into earrings.  I love them :-)

Filip offered to let me come back that next Saturday to make a pumpkin in the furnace for free since I didn't get to do the furnace class.  Of course I jumped at the chance.  He was so cute when I came back - he had special ordered me some colored glass because he knew I would want to make a blue and orange pumpkin!  I wish I had a picture or video of me working with the furnace to make my pumpkin.  This is where I actually got to "blow" the glass... so awesome!  I thought my pumpkin turned out pretty cute.  Can you tell I love Boise State? :-)

I don't know that I'll ever be hard core into glass blowing or torch work, but I hope to go back everyone once in a while for another workshop.  Through the process I discovered the beauty in the art of glass.  I wish I had enough money to buy one of the incredible chandeliers.  I was in love with them!  I did end up buying an absolutely beautiful piece that my instructor Filip had created.  I decided these flowers would work perfectly in my house! I need to find a good spot for this to properly showcase the beauty of the piece...

I Love the Temple

I don't often post much about my religion or my faith on this blog, but I decided to post a picture of me, Morgan, and Jen in front of the Boise temple last Friday.  Morgan was able to go through the temple for the first time as he prepares to leave for his mission to Sacramento, California.  I love going to the temple, and have taken the opportunity four times this month to attend - with one more visit planned next week.  I always feel the spirit when I am there, and I have had some especially beautiful experiences over the last couple weeks as I have spent time worshiping in the temple.  I am thankful to have a temple so close to my home.  I love the temple.

Happy Hour

Last night, several of my co-workers and I got together after work for a 2.5 hour happy hour :-)  We had a great time at Murphys eating yummy half price appetizers (nachos, calamari, flatbread, and hummus!) and chatting away.  I really like getting together with these guys outside of work - we always have fun!  Let's not wait so long until we organize another!

Face It, Boise State is Best

The title of my post - Face It, Boise State is Best - is the title of an article that was published yesterday in the New York Post.  Yes, I know that Boise State is currently #2 in the AP and USA Today polls, and #3 in the BCS poll, and that they will likely drop over the next few weeks due to "strength of schedule" or whatever, but they are still number 1 in my book (and obviously other books too)!  I love my Broncos, even if some of the more recent games haven't been super exciting (i.e. leading 41-0 at half time).  Looking forward to next week's home game against Louisiana Tech!

In the mean time, here are a couple pics from Saturday's football party.  Jen makes these really fabulous cookies... she claims they are just the chocolate chip cookies recipes (minus the chocolate chips) with frosting.  But they are always so soft and so delicious - she made this batch by my request!

Jonathan, Jen, & I cheering on the second and third (and fourth?) string players in the second half.

Crepes for Conference

The first weekend in October was General Conference for our church.  As is tradition, I had friends over for crepes before the Sunday morning session.

After a delicious breakfast, everyone got comfortable so they could listen to the messages the speakers had prepared.  I think some of them got a little too comfortable... maybe I shouldn't have passed out all those blankets :-)

Homecoming Game

Jen joined me for Saturday's homecoming game.  It was fun to be able to tailgate with my parents - we had delicious fall-off-the-bone ribs, baked potatoes, fruit kabobs, Costa Vida chips and salsa, cookies, etc.  I decided I should find people to tailgate with every game!  That's definitely the way to go...

The game itself was another blowout, with every single member of Boise State's football team playing, but it was still enjoyable to watch.  The people who sat in front of us didn't come back after half time, so we got to stretch out a bit :-)

We're still early in the season, but we're projected to win the rest of our games.  The first BCS rankings come out next week.  Mock BCS rankings today showed Boise State at #1.  I know that won't last with our strength of schedule, but it was still pretty fun to see!!

I'm Praying For You

What would be your first reaction if someone told you, “I’m praying for you”? Would you wonder why they were praying for you? Would you get defensive thinking that you don’t need their prayers, that your life is fine? Are you comfortable telling other people you are praying for them? Or asking people to pray for you?

I met Jami in 2003 when I started work at Albertsons corporate offices. We quickly became friends, and we both now work together at Boise State. I remember the first time she told me she was praying for me. It seemed so out of the blue, and I honestly felt a bit awkward. I was actually going through a difficult trial, but Jami would have had no way of knowing that. Or did she? Was I not hiding it well enough? In truth, Jami had no idea what was going on in my personal life, but I believe that she was in tune enough with the spirit that she knew I could use some extra support. And that small line, “I’m praying for you,” ended up giving me comfort, knowing that God was aware of me and had other people watching out for me.

Over the years since, Jami has offered up several times that same sentence, “I’m praying for you.” She has prayed for me when I have encountered roadblocks in my personal life or when I was working on a difficult project or when she hoped something would go my way. I’ve never told her what those words mean to me… that having her support and His help in my life are precious blessings.

I think I have learned some great lessons from Jami.

• I want to live my life in a way that I can always be in tune enough with the spirit that I know when others are in need – when they need me to pray for them.
• I shouldn’t be afraid to tell others I’m praying for them. Sometimes just letting them know that will be a comfort to them.
• I also shouldn’t be afraid to ask people to pray for me when I am in need. Jami has asked me to pray for her or her family or friends several times over the years, and I am always happy to do so. In some instances, I think we can use all the prayers we can get.

Thank you Jami...

Wakeboarding in October

Who would have thought we could go wakeboarding in Boise in October!?!  Well, several of us did just that as we took the boat up to Lucky Peak yesterday morning and spent the day on the lake.  We were set to have record-high heat in the 90's, and we knew it would likely be our last chance to enjoy "summer" before the cooler fall weather set in.  I knew the water was low, but I didn't realize just how low it was and was worried about Jared launching the boat.  Check out this picture of the launch ramp.  You can see the normal docks at the top of the ramp, and all the trucks/trailers parked below the end of the regular docks.

There was literally like five feet of the temporary dock in the water when we arrived.  Lucky for us, the Parks & Rec truck showed up and pushed the dock further into the water just before we backed the boat down the ramp.  That helped tremendously!

We all had a really great time on the water.  Everyone took turns wakeboarding, and then the guys all surfed before we headed home (I got home just in time for the start of the BSU game!).  Here are a few shots from the day:

Jen - our resident photographer

Jared - our boat captain!

Jared trying to jump the wake

Jared crashing - not sure that he would like me posting this picture, but you have to admit it's a pretty cool picture.  Plus, Jared doesn't look at my blog anyway :-)

My second time ever wakeboarding - I don't really know what I'm doing!

Jen wakeboarding

Jared's friend Jared - he got some great air!

Josh surfing