Changing

I just saw this quote on my co-workers computer. I LOVE IT! It really hit home for me and experiences I have had in my life that have led to change! Its so true!

"Change is what happens when the pain of holding on becomes greater than the pain of letting go...."


I can relate to this all too well! I am so greatful that as human beings heavenly father allows us the ability to change and progress in any and every way we desire! Although change can be painful and uncomfortable at times, the outcome of positive changes, brings joy beyond measure!

Fun...Fun...Fun!!

What a fun weekend! I arrived in Utah Wednesday night and the fun never stopped! Dad was coming in from San Francisco and luckily our flights got in at the same time! We met up and had a great car ride home. Mom was there to greet me with a bowl full of yummy strawberries... we chatted for a while and then went to bed. Thursday started with kick boxing and running with my mom and then racing to get ready for Crystalyns wedding. I some how calculated the time it would take for me to get ready incorrectly and ended up sprinting shoes in hand down north temple in order to make it on time for the sealing. Since it was my first sealing besides my own I didn't know how early you had to be so I was so nervous I was going to miss the event! I made it with time to spare! The sealing was wonderful! Crystalyn looked so beautiful! Her dress was amazing! It makes you hate your own dress, because it is so beautiful! :) That night me, jac, mom and dad drove down to the reception which was lovely. It was so fun to see friends and visit and get to see Crystalyn and Rob enjoying their special day! It really brought back memories of our wedding day and how wonderful it was! Friday was so much fun too! After a long run, Jac and I soaked in the hot tub and hung out. Then Jared, Carlie, Jordan, Trev and the girls came over for the birthday party! Trev went to run errands with dad so I got to play with the little girls. They were so much fun...and so easy to watch. No crying, all playing, lots of giggles, and the cutest smiles ever!! It was so fun to play with Kam and Kylee! They are both so happy and so stinking cute! Kamryn is getting so big and is so smart! She is so cute to watch! Kylee is the happiest smiliest baby EVER. If she makes eye contact with you, she smiles, you don't even have to say anything. She never cries and is just an angel! I loved playing with them!

We celebrated Jac, Jer bears, Carlie, and Jordan's birthday all in one. We had an amazing dinner with wonderful dessert and then hung around and talked and laughed! Dad, jac, Jared, and I all went on a walk later on which was a lot of fun too! We came back and hung around and talked and then went to bed...fun times!! Thanks so much for all the hard work mom and dad!!



I got my hair highlighted on Saturday and rushed back and went to visit Nana. She is so cute. We brought her some groceries and visited for a while and then headed to the Gateway.

We met up with Trev and Erin and played around at the Children's Discovery Museum. We then all went to eat at Market Street Grill...mmmmm!! The night ended with the Jazz game, Juno, and treats! I LOVE MY FAMILY! I had such a great weekend! Thanks so much everyone for hanging out and planning such fun things! It was so fun to see everyone! I headed back to Portland Sunday morning very excited to see my little honey! It was so fun to see him after not being together all weekend! We had a wonderful day, watching movies, and cuddling! Thanks again mom and dad for taking care of me and for the wonderful dinners, the fun talks, letting me use your car, feeding me, the pillow gifts..... and everything! I can't wait to see you guys again...oh so soon in HAWAII! yay!! If anyone can prove they had a better weekend than me.....i'll give you a million dollars!!

ps..even though she looks like she is crying in this pic, shes not..she never cries!!

What a woman!

I just finished 50 minutes of kickboxing and 1 hour of walking/jogging...it was a great workout...ya know who else did it too?...MY MOM! Thats right...she was right by my side...she is amazing! She is seriously in such good shape, I am amazed! She is 55 years old and was working her butt off! I even had her do my abs workout and she did them all, without complaining or giving up! Way to go mom...YOU ROCK! I hope in 30 years I can keep up with my daughters like you keep up with yours! Just wanted to give her some kudos!! good job mom!!

Plane ride + PhotoShop =

1 hour 23 minutes

Dave dropped me off at the airport, 1hr and 23 minutes ago.....lame as it may sound i really and truly already miss him...i really do, its because i know i wont see him for 3 days. I am sitting in the aiport waiting for my plane to board, and i am all the sudden feeling a bit down... :( i miss you honey.. gotta go, boarding!

homeward bound

I having been counting down the days…waiting for TODAY! I am going to Utah today! I am really excited! I am excited to see my family, I am excited to sleep in! I am excited to not cook…I am excited to be pampered by my mother. I am excited to hang out with my brothers and sisters! I’m excited to go to Tony’s. I am excited to see all my cute friends and see Crystalyn get married! I am excited to do any and everything that has to do with me coming home! It is so fun to come home when you live away…its one of my favorite things to do! I literally count down the days! I am so blessed to be able to visit so frequently…its been a month since I was last there, even though it feels like an eternity! Since we live away when we come home we really get spoiled and it feels wonderful! The only sad thing about me coming home this time is….DAVE IS NOT COMING WITH! DANGIT! His friend from Illionis is coming in town tomorrow so he stayed to hang out with him while I go home for Crystalyn’s wedding! This will be the longest we have been apart in year. In the past year we have not been apart for longer than 6 hours…those 6 hours are spent in the same building mind you… It’s true, I am addicted to my husband, and can not live many hours without him. I hope I can last the next 3 days! I am really lucky that my family is so amazing, if not…I don’t know what I’d do!
PS… Monday and Tuesday Dave and I cleaned the house like never before getting the guest bedroom, bathroom, and everything spic and span before Dave’s friend comes…and MAN do I have a wonderful husband who is more than willing to any and everything for me! I merely mentioned that I was stressed about the housework and getting it done before I left…and he was on it! He asked what he could do to help and geeze he was so helpful! He did more than 50% of what I wanted to get done… cleaning the house, vacuuming, organizing; scrubbing…dusting…..fixing….he did it all…he is wonderful! (you are wonderful)

how it all began

I wanted to share the story of how dave and I met, fell in love, and started our life together!

July 4, 2006
Dave was living in Seattle working for Boeing. He had recently (7 months prior) been baptized. He was dating around trying to find his eternal companion and failing miserably! (me too!!) He went to a bbq with some close friends for the 4th of July and met one of my good friends from high school, Annie Boswell (Iverson). They met and talked... and bless her heart, she thought of me. She told him she had a single friend in Utah and that he should email her... Embarrassing as it may be, the first communication between my little honey and myself was through MYSPACE…ha! Since we all know how myspace works and how guys try so hard to hit on girls all the time, it is a miracle I even opened his message. I believe he wrote something about Annie in the subject prompting me to open the message and read. He told me how he had met my friend and she had told him to email me and la la la. We emailed back and forth a few times but I was kinda dating someone at the time and the even the thought of a relationship with someone from a different state did not sound fun or the least bit promising. About a month later and no response on my part, dave emailed again to check up on me…(he know tells me, he wanted to see if I was still dating someone, since he noticed my pictures on myspace had changed to eliminate the individual I was dating the moth prior). When I got his email I thought…what the heck, I’ll write him for fun. We emailed back and forth that day and the next two days about three or four times, he was so funny, and his pictures were very fun to look at as well!! After two days of emailing, the time had come for us to speak on the phone.



September 8, 2006
It was a Friday night around 11pm when I heard for the first time, the voice of my sweetheart! We talked that night until 5:00 in the morning, after amazing conversation filled with lots of laughing we forced ourselves to end that nights conversation so we would be able to function the next day. We texted all day long the next day and continued this routine of texting, emailing, and talking, hours and hours a day (I’m talking 3-5 hours a day) for the next 21 days.



September 30, 2006
On day 22 I met who I knew to be my future husband. He flew down to Utah so we could meet and spend conference weekend together! What a weekend it was! I was so nervous to meet him. I had seen many pictures and had truly fallen in love with this “voice” over the phone, but I had never met him. What if he was weird, ugly, freaky or just plain annoying? There were so many things that could ruin this ideal person I had created in my mind. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep the night before, both because we talked until wee hours of the night, and because my stomach was filled with butterflies and anticipation. As I came down the escalator at the airport and our eyes met….. I knew the weekend would be a success. If you know me well you know that I am not one to get nervous or loose their cool, I don't act nerdy or fumble around in nerve racking or awkward situations…..but let me tell you! After I made it to the other side of the terminal we met up said hello and hugged! Immediately after, I froze. If you would have asked me my name at the very instance I would have looked at you with complete and utter confusion…I honestly could not tell my head from my bum! My heart was racing and my nerves were sky high! As we began to walk towards the parking garage, dave asked me where I had parked and my mind went blank. I couldn’t think, speak, or act even somewhat like a normal human being. I told him I was really nervous and I needed to stop for a minute to get some air. I put my face in my hands, closed my eyes, then laughed at myself as I realized what an idiot I must look like. I then took a breath and told myself to CALM DOWN. After a minutes or two, I came back down to earth and I figured out where I was parked and turned back into my normal self!! Man…that feeling is something I will never forget! No one, not one person, has ever had that effect on me. The weekend was everything I wished and hoped it would be. We spent time shopping, seeing an Imax, hanging with my fam, eating the oh so famous “conference breakfast” with my family, and going to the after noon session of conference! The spirit was so strong, and as we sat hand in hand listening to the prophet and apostles, it was like we had known each other for years. (this is not meant to be cheesy..this really happened, and it really was how I felt!!) The weekend ended with intense emotion as Dave flew back to Seattle Monday afternoon. The days to follow were better than the ones that had past. Each day continued to be more and more exciting!




October 12, 2006
I flew to Seattle to attend a Gala in which Dave was being honored for his creation of a 3d animation movie that is displayed in the Boeing Future Flight Museum in Everett, WA. We had to dress up like we were going to the prom. He wore a tuxedo and my cute friend Lindsey let me borrow a great dress! The evening was amazing and was followed by a fabulous weekend! Love was in the air! When he dropped me off at the airport he told me he was “falling in love with me”. That day was our 8th spend together in person. I left Seattle knowing we would not see each other again for a full 10 days! It was so sad to leave each other!



October 19, 2006
Oops….we couldn’t wait, although we thought about driving 7 hours each and meeting up half way between Utah and Seattle, we decided it would be a better use of time if I just flew up there again. The truth is….we couldn’t wait another week to see each other. So 2 days after leaving Seattle and another $200 we spent another 7 days in bliss. Things just kept getting better. It was like my life, my “oh so boring” and what I thought to be bla life, had turned into a romantic fairy tale, and this story continued to get better second. This time when dave took me to the airport, it would only be a day and ½ before we would see each other again! He was coming back to Utah for Halloween! We had now spent 15 days together and counting……



October 29, 2006
Halloween party at Gaga and Grampa Mikes! A day and ½ after our last goodbyes, Dave flew to Utah for the annual Halloween party! It was a blast! That night, as we lay by the fire, we said “I love you” for the first time! (although we had been doing this little thing where we would squeeze each others hand 3 times silently saying “I love you” for weeks now)....this was the official…I LOVE YOU moment. And man was it magical…yes magical…corny word? Nope, it was magical! The weekend was amazing!!



November 9, 2006
After litterally hundreds of emails, long hours on the phone and agonizing distance, Annie and Mark told me I could stay at their home in Seattle for 2 weeks while they went home for the holidays! Hallelujah! (Thanks so much guys!) I immediately packed up my car and made the 12 hour drive in 9 hours. (not safe, nor recommended, but I had to see him!) I stayed at the Iverson’s for two weeks and luckily found a bedroom that I could rent only a few minutes from Dave’s condo. We both decided it was important for us to live in the same place and be able to get to know each other even better, on a day to day basis. We learned so much about each other, more than I think we both had expected. We thought we knew each other inside and out, but were surprised to learn that vacations spent together can be a bit different than everyday living. November and December brought…lots of traveling, lots of experiences, lots of love and lots of fun....dave + natalie = fun!



December 28, 2006
Dave got a job in Portland, Oregon . We rented a Uhal and single handedly packed up all my clothes (since that was really all I had) and all of daves stuff and moved to Portland! I rented a CRAPY apartment across the street from Dave’s town home. My apartment had nothing in it but clothes, bathroom supplies, and a blow up mattress (ANYTHING FOR LOVE!)where I slept surprisingly comfortable each night! Our new city was amazing, we began going to a family ward and met some wonderful people! We continued to grow and become even closer, we only had each other, which brought us closer and closer together. We loved being able to spend every minute together!



March 28, 2007 5:12 am
As I lay in bed sounds asleep, I think I feel something touch my finger. I then felt a sharp pinching sensation on my had, and this time I know i'm not dreaming. As I tried to concentrate enough to wake myself up and figure out what was going on, I felt pressure on my left ring finger. I began to open my eyes and wake up…only to see dave kneeling down beside me. Somehow I realized what was going on and pretended to be asleep. After 10 seconds of gentle pushes, he shoved the ring up and over my swollen knuckle and into place. He then leaned over and whispered in my ear…will you marry me?.....my heart burst out of my chest and I whispered back…YES! I had to wait 3 hours before I could even call and tell anyone since it was it happened so early! Haha…he said he wanted to propose when I was least expecting it! 5:00 am….You did it honey! Way to go!



May 31, 2007
Dave and I were able to take out our endowments together in the Bountiful, Utah temple. Dave had been a member for a year as of Dec 2006 but he wanted to wait to take out his own endowments so we could do ittogether! What a beautiful day!
June 1, 2007
Our wedding day! What a beautiful, magnificent, lovely, perfect day! Dave and I were sealed for eternity at 8:30am in the Bountiful, Utah temple. We had a reception that evening at the Weber State Alumni Center. The day was absolutley magnificent! The weather was amazing! Everything went better and more perfect than I could have ever hoped for! We have been Dave and Natalie Shaw ever since!



April 19, 2008
10 ½ months later, we are still living the dream...or our dream, and we love it! Life is wonderful, full of bliss, we couldn’t be happier! I am so thankful for every minute that I have with my little honey! It just keeps gettin better!! I love you pookie!

ps... I tag everyone to share their own love story!

the weekend

cheesecake factory..target..tennis..saturday market..naps....fabulous

b o r e d o m

whose bored? am i the only one who has nothing better to do than write about how bored i am? am i the only one who gets excited when my cell phone rings and gives me an excuse to step away from my cube? am i the only one who takes their sweet time in the bathroom, hanging out and reading magazines just to pass the time? am i the only one who counts the textured dots on the ceiling? AHHHHHHH in hours, days, and months like this i like to think about why i work here.... and why it is i wake up at 5:00am only to sit and stare at a computer screen for 8 endless hours...day in and day out... I then remember that this morning just like every other morning I was able to drive to work with my best friend, who sits merely minutes away from me all day long, i get to spend my lunch hour eating and talking with my sweetheart.. and then when our work is over we get to spend 30 minutes driving home together. all in all, i get to see my hubby for an extra 3 hours a day...
QUIT COMPLANING NATALIE..this 3 hour gift is well worth 8 hours of intense boredom. here's to the drive home and my sweet little honey!

Photoshop

My wonderful husband is teaching me how to use Photoshop, so needless to say, I have changed my background about 50 times…and counting! Photoshop is so fun to use! There are so many cool things you can do with the software........I’m having a lot of fun playing with it! Anyhow, until I exit the beginner stages and get more comfortable…. I’m sure my background will be changing quite frequently…at least until I get the outcome I desire!

Just a few thoughts…

1st...I just want to say that i love oatmeal, its true. I love it! I know I already posted about it love last week but I just can’t believe how much I really love it. When I finished my banana bread oatmeal this morning, I looked down and my empty bowl and thought…I LOVE OATMEAL…I do! Its so good! Funny thing is I haven’t always loved it…it kinda grew on me. I started to eat it everyday when I started getting to work so early (6am). I choose it Oatmeal for breakfast since it is easy, convenient, and healthy with only 160 cal /7grms protein/ 6gms fiber…I look forward to my oatmeal. Mmmmm it’s just so tasty.

2nd...did anyone watch biggest loser last night? Talk about inspirational. These people are amazing. I can’t get over the transformation they have had. Especially Ali!! She has a perfect body! No joke, you would never believe in a million years she had ever been a drop over weight. She is so pretty, so in shape, so toned and so confident. My eyes seriously teared up when I was watching the show. I know that most females struggle with their weight whether it be 10lbs, 20lbs, or 100+….Battling weight loss sometimes feels like it will never end…but seeing these people take control of their life and their bodies makes me even more excited to continue to do it for myself. I have been trying to tone up and loose a little weight the past six weeks and this show seriously inspires me to keep going and try even harder….if they can loose over 100 lbs in 4 months….why can’t I loose 5 or 10lbs? I can…and I will! Ha…may sound corny, but seriously….I loved the show last night, it was so motivating. I got chills several times during the show! I want Ali to win because I think she has done an amazing job and has shown that anyone can do it. When Ali started on the show she was 230+ and last night she hit 135! She looks amazing!


When I first started watching the show I never thought she would change the way she has and do what she has done. It’s really unbelievable. She is so competitive and I seriously think she can win it! There will be three finalists, Ali and Kelly for sure, and the third finalist will be chosen by at home voters. I voted for Mark to be the third finalist…ONLY because if Roger makes it to the finals, Ali will have a lesser chance of winning since Roger still has quite a bit to loose. Anyone can vote by going to http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser_5/vote/register.shtml
Anyhow, enough about that, I just love the show and am so motivated by it!

3rd...My sister and I were talking about blogging the other day and how we really enjoy decorating our page, (which bye the way, one day I’ll keep the same background, but not until I find the right one..) and how it is fun to write about our thoughts, post fun pictures, and keep up on each other and our busy lives. She told me about a post she had read on someone elses blog talking about journal writing and blogging. The post referred to a talk given by President Spencer W. Kimball. He counseled the following, “Do not suppose life changes so much that your experiences will not be interesting to your posterity,” President Kimball explains then suggests recording “your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations, … your impressions and your testimonies,” your “experiences of work, relations with people.” Your journal is your autobiography so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life. There may be a flash of illumination here and a story of faithfulness there; you should truthfully record your real self and not what other people may see in you.” (Kimball, “The Angels May Quote from It,” p. 5.)
This got me to thinking….How fun would it be if our parents had been able to keep a blog? Wouldn’t it be great to read about their life, and the times they shared together? I would love to read their posts, look at pictures and know what they were thinking, doing, enjoying, and experiencing at different stages of their life? I want to use my blog as journal, to tell stories, talk about life, share experiences, keep photos, or just post thoughts that I may be having or feeling. I have never been good about keeping a journal, so I am going to keep a blog instead! So…if you are reading this blog or other blogs and you yourself don’t have a blog, get one. I’m sure I will be thankful to have an online journal and scrapbook with commentary to share with my children one day. I am aware that blogging has been around for quite a while and that I am late to jump on board, but I am glad that I have. Happy blogging!

"Love"/Hate

Dave and I decided we wanted to add some fun new things to our life and tennis is one of them, and as excited as we were about starting we almost forgot about our first lesson! So late Friday night we rushed to Target to get some rackets and balls. Since I know nothing about the sport, I didn't have anyway to judge which racket was better than the other, so after looking at all my options, I made my decision based on color! I now have a cute pink tennis racket!!

Our first lesson was Saturday and it was a lot of fun. My forearm and wrist are a little sore, but all in all it was really fun! We learned how to hold the racket, the correct way to swing, where to stand, and how to move around the court. We also learned some new vocabulary. I have a question to those familiar with tennis scoring and the lingo...who the heck made up the word "love"? And how does the word love have any correlation with the meaning ZERO POINTS? Who's idea was it to say that? I really don't like the way it sounds, in fact I feel like an idiot having to saying "love" "love" when you start the game. Or after a point having to say "love", "fifteen", or whatever the score may be. The word just annoys me when used in that context. I guess I can add it to the list of words that I don't like to hear....like panties, (ahhh, sorry for even mentioning it!!) or when people pronounce the letter H silently,... like Uge for huge or Uman for human....hello!! THE H IS NOT SILENT! That really BUGS ME!

Dave and I went to the tennis courts later that day to play and I pleaded with him to say, zero in place of "love", and being the sweetie that he is, he complied.....and I really liked it better that way!
I don't mean to be overly dramatic, but its just the way it makes me feel when I hear it.....kinda like the screeching sound Styrofoam can make, or getting the chills just thinking about cotton balls....

When I got to thinking about it, I thought...maybe this "love" word bothers me because I have never played tennis before and am not used to hearing it...NO, No No, NO....it bugs me because it is silly, makes no sense, and is really really stupid....ha ha ok just kidding..kinda, I'm not THAT bugged by it, ....It is just something I won't participate in saying! :)

False Prophecies

I have been informed that the "Snoop" story below is a hoax.
FALSE! IT IS FALSE! FALSE! FALSE! I AM A SUCKER! DANGIT.....I loved the story. Dangit! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted! Sorry for the false info! I still think what I said about member missionary work rings true....every member a missionary!!!!
http://alexkoritz.wordpress.com/2008/04/02/rapper-snoop-dogg-converts-to-mormonism-hilarious/

Every Member A Missionary!!

Snoop Dawgy Dahh eeeyy aww eey ahg! Brothers and Sisters….. If you haven't heard, SNOOP DOGGY DOGG has converted to Mormonism. I could hardly believe my eyes when I read my friends blog this morning (by the way, I’m stealing her post!) I quickly opened up a new web page to CNN to confirm her posting: http://cnnentertainment.co.nr/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/01

Apparently Gladys Knight invited him to a Family Home Evening activity and a concert and since then he's been hooked to the Book of Mormon and says, “Listen, the haters will say what they will,” Snoop Dogg said. “I can only do what I feel is right.”I loved his description of FHE! “I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”And he really seems to have had a change of heart, addressing his former lifestyle of smokin, drugs and alcohol: “Y’all know me,” he said grinning broadly. “There were just certain things the old me -- the "natural man" -- needed to do. And these young guys are telling me that God’s not down with disrespecting ourselves. But it’s cool now.” As soon as I finished reading about Snoops conversion, I went straight to Dave’s desk and said, “You will never believe who got baptized………..SNOOP DOG!” His response cracked me up, “baptized into what?”….. “THE CHURCH", I said……"THE LDS CHURCH!!!” ha ha

This story got me to thinking about missionary work. How many of us limit who we share the gospel with because we “know” who will and will not accept it? Who would have thought Snoop Dog would accept the gospel? This story makes me want to be a better missionary and share the truth with everyone!! We are so blessed to have the knowledge and truth that can grant us eternal salvation! We need to share it with EVERYONE! I never thought there would come a day where I was inspired by SNOOP DOG! Thanks Snoop!

APRIL FOOLS!

I wanted to post my favorite April fools prank! This memory takes me back to Marlon Hills Elementary School (third or fourth grade). I can’t quite remember how this prank was devised or exactly who was the mastermind behind it, but Lindsey brown was the receiver and Amber Rich and I were the executioners.

Lindsey and I were regular cafeteria food eaters. We had our own lunch numbers… We used the green trays, the dirty silverware; we drank from the milk cartons…that was us. We were always jealous of the kids who brought their own lunch. Amber was one of them. She had always brought her lunch… It was perfectly packed with just the right things. Not a day went by where were we did not long to eat her lunch and the goodies inside.

When April fools came around Amber and I devised the perfect Prank…and we knew just who to pull it on! The night before the big day, we went to Pick n Save and bought just the right thing to make Ambers lunch even more desirable.


We filled her lunch with all kinds of wonderful things…a tasty sandwich, yummy chips, and lots and lots of sweet treats! I made sure to sit next to Amber and her fancy home made lunch. As we began to eat lunch, even Amber herself began to drool over the endless supply of goodies that kept coming out of her bag. The final treat she pulled out was a bag full of mini snickers and dog biscuits (which had all been strategically sprinkled with powdered sugar) All our anticipation had built up to this very moment…. Amber asked Lindsey if she wanted some “snickers” she willingly accepted and dove in. As she ate the first dog biscuit, we bit our lips and hoped to not let out a squeal. Between biting our lips and trying not to smile we somehow asked her how her "snickers" tasted. She replied with an enthusiastic grin “It's great… really crunchy” and then reached for another! We could not contain ourselves…..we burst out in hysterical laugher, pointing fingers, clapping hands, screaming....the whole nine yards! When we finally calmed down enough to tell her what she had just eaten and pronounced “APRIL FOOLS” upon her, she stormed out of the cafeteria not to talk to us for several days!

I will never forget that prank! I remember it every time this day rolls around! This story may not mean much to those who weren’t there, but to me its a keeper!