The good and the bad times-we've been through them all

I miss them! I just can't flock by myself!

I have beautiful dreams I can spin you

Last night I had a dream that I saw one of my best friends for the first time in a couple of years. We ran into each other in the store, and he was not happy to see me. He gave me a hug anyway. It was the most awkward hug ever because he had grown so tall that I had to stand on my toes and he had to pick me up a little bit. He was waaaaay tall.

I think I'm worried that he's grown and changed so much that he won't want to see me or be friends anymore. *sigh*

I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Maybe my dream was incorrect-with any luck, I will have grown almost as tall as him over these years. Hopefully.

Best weekend ever!

This past weekend was amazing. It just was.

It started with a wonderful drive down the beautiful canyon. Then I picked up my darling sister and we had lunch together. *Sidenote: I had a Bajio "Ensalada" salad (which is actually the Flauta salad under the guise of a new name).

Next, I went up to temple square to see the Joseph Smith movie, courtesy of my Best Friend Josh. I love that movie. Last time I saw it I was in Nauvoo, which is hard to top-but Josh pulled through and I loved the evening! I love having a best friend.

Then this morning the family all went over to Grandpa Murray's house to help him clean up the yard a bit and plant some flowers. We had lunch together and it was great being with the family. Nate and Nicole were there (along with Indiana, of course) and it was nice talking with Grandpa. I'm glad to see him in increasingly better spirits.

Now I'm back at work and off to the opening show. The weekend has ended as fast as it begun, but it was a really good weekend.

Like the 50s

Don't we all look so perfectly cheesy? This is a great picture. Except I think I look afraid of the boys. Oh well. We really are all friends, I promise.

Aspen Grove staff pictures

So, I know this guy

And his timing really is impeccable. It seems like every time I make a certain decision, he pops right back into my life! He must have some strange sixth sense that tells him when my resolve is strengthening. Hmmm.

PS: This is post 333. Yehaw.

I miss the MTC!

It was so easy to be happy there. I didn't even have to try.

Oh.

It's 2008 already. It's just now beginning to sink in.

A couple of things

If you want to experience a really odd feeling, try clogging in a moving elevator. Weird.

I feel like I'm turning into Grandpa Elison. I have so many "very best friends". I just love everyone!

Rochelle and I were stumbling today

And I came across this quote. I think I should remember this and apply it to my life.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."
-Douglas Adams

I think that attitude will be a good one to have in the coming weeks. Because really, who knows what could happen.

Another one:
"Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which every man has some."
-Charles Dickens

A few odd bits

I should probably start wearing sunscreen to sacrament meeting.

Whenever someone wears a real shirt (instead of just the usual staff T-shirt): A. It's a Sunday
Or the more common one:
B. Everyone will say to that person, "Ooooh, you look nice! Are you going on a date?" And the answer is usually yes.

Peanut butter on everything.

Getting used to everyone knowing everything because-privacy? What's that? If you're in the girls side of the dorm, you hear everything that is being said no matter what.

Getting good at reading lips and understanding signs.

Also getting used to being teased because everyone knows everything :)

Being part of a huge family. It's unexpected, but we're connected now, I feel.

I need to call Hannah

Too bad she's on a mission for a few more months. Ahhhhh. Okay, I can do this. But it's just so soon...I had planned for something different. But I can deal with change. Yes. Here we go. I'm going to hit the ground running, and everything will be alright. Nothing has changed.

Except me.

Time's a funny thing.

Running on borrowed power

I must be running on power that is not my own, because I am so ready for a weekend after two very long weeks-I feel like I am going to die. Or something less dramatic.

Not only am I running on borrowed power, Aspen and Emerald were running on generators for awhile. The rest of the camp (and canyon) remained powerless. This wreaked havoc with our Point of Sale system. Really. And then we kinda had an accidental flood in the store. And arts and crafts was crazy. Oh it's been a long day. But it's over, and tomorrow is the last day before we can relax for 24 hours and then do it all again...


Okay I guess I should say something positive about today. Let me think. Well, Kyle bought a composition notebook for our novel! Now we don't have to write it on those small yellow legal pads anymore. Oh, our book is already amazing, and it's long. By the end of the summer...it'll be great. I'm sure you're all jealous. The title, in case you were wondering, is "A Dissertation on Love (random thought from a demented mind)-The Aspen Grove Store Novel".

Another positive thing about today is that I bought myself a Milky Way. They don't really feed us chocolate up here, and I'm having a little bit of a difficult time with that.

A terrifying moment

Last night, I was looking for something in the store. I went over to a drawer and opened it normally-not with undue force or anything. But the drawer flung itself off its track and landed, contents down, on top of my booted foot with the toes exposed. Too late, I realized that this was the drawer that held big knives for preparing fish to be eaten. I stood there for a minute in shock, the drawer blocking any possible damage from my view. After a little while, I realized that my foot felt fine, so I moved the drawer to survey the damage. Luckily, my foot was just fine, so I started laughing. A shocked kind of laughter. Brandon turned to me and called, "You think that's funny? You really could have been hurt!"

It was terrifying for a split second, but it was mostly hilarious.

Also, it is currently snowing.

Scarlet Pimpernel describes my life

The musical. The music describes emotions I always feel. I love it! I love listening to Pimpernel and thinking, "Yes! This describes my life exactly! All of it!" Ahahaha.

Snow? Really?

Yesterday it snowed. I kid you not.

Today, Young Women's was great. I absolutely loved it. Granted, I didn't have to teach-I teach next week, but after today I feel so much more prepared and at ease.

A day in the store

Oh, we have way too much fun in the store. Yesterday, Ryan and I colored (also, we are both waaaay too sarcastic, so it's never boring. We may end up going crazy, or killing each other. Something Ryan tried twice this evening). Today, we started a novel. And we have a competition going-we have sold way more twig pencils than they expected we ever would just because we're competing against each other.

And here's a good quote from Brandon. He was trying to scan me with the little scanner.

Me: Okay Brandon, how much am I worth?
Brandon: [long pause]...9 cows.

I told him that I'm adding that to the list of things I'm looking for in a spouse. I want my spouse to think that I'm worth nine cows! He is my absolute hero for saying that.

The good, the bad, and the ugly...not neccessarily in that order.

I just left a very strange conversation that was going on in the lounge. I left because I didn't feel like arguing anymore, or listening to people argue about random things. Also I wanted to read in silence. However, that is proving to be difficult, as I can still hear their conversation from my bedroom. It's okay though, it's slightly humorous and very pointless, in my opinion.

So, this morning was probably the most miserable morning ever. I'm sick of walking around in the mud and rain, soaked to the skin, freezing, and with a bad cough. Luckily, I don't think I'll ever have to do it again. And it really wasn't that bad, just annoying.

But some happy news is that I am going to be the first counselor in the Young Women's presidency up here! And Alice is my advisor, which is going to be great. So...it's good.

LL Bean

Lately I have been feeling like backpacking. This may be due to the fact that we were going to be in the Grand Canyon this week, but oh well. I'm thinking that I need to start training for future backpacking trips. Luckily, Aspen Grove is the perfect place to do that. As soon as my foot heals, I'm set! Except that I need my dream backpack. So I've been looking, and this is what I found from LL Bean (granted, they're the only place I've looked so far, but I trust them).

It's the women's White Mountain expedition pack. It has the internal frame that I prefer, a hydration sleeve, an "innovative adjustment system", tons of room, and plus it comes in that nice blue color.

I'm starting a "Natalie's new backpack" fund.

Healing

A summer of healing is what this is.

Yesterday, Abby and I went to Grandpa Murray's house so we could go on a walk with him. He and I have been planning on going on a nice outdoor walk since his accident, and yesterday was such nice weather and he was feeling great, so we went. It was the first time he's really been outside since he left the hospital--and it's been awhile.

First of all, he was walking really fast-faster than I could walk with my boot on (funny story about Grandpa: In the hospital, just a few days after breaking his neck, the nurse came and got him to do some walking. They were walking up stairs and Grandpa was just booking it. The nurse couldn't even keep up. That's Grandpa for you).

Second of all, I'm sure we looked a fantastic sight. People probably had a hard time telling who was helping who-Grandpa, with his neck brace, was holding Abby's hand. I, with my boot, was holding Grandpa's arm. It probably looked like Abby was our physical therapist or something.

Anyway, it was funny, and I am grateful that Grandpa is doing so well. He is an amazing man, and I'm so blessed that he's my grandfather. Every moment we spend together is a teaching moment-he has helped me so much. I love him.

Quotable

So, I just thought I would share a couple of funny things that were said today.

*We were talking about invisible friends at breakfast (not really sure how we got on that subject, but whatever).
Steve: Growing up, I had an invisible mom...that made my real mom jealous.

*Later, we were cleaning cabins, and Blaine was up in the loft. He threw something and it made a loud noise.
Paige: It sounded like something just popped up there.
Blaine: It did.
Paige: Okay, then what popped?
Blaine: My kidney.

Okay, well...they were funny. Maybe you had to have been there.