You've been Tagged!!

YES ON PROPOSITION 8 in California
You've been tagged. PLEASE READ THIS no matter what state you live in.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.
Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches. The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs. Including adoption agencies.
A YES vote will not hurt gays. In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.
For your information:
On Friday, October 10th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness a lesbian wedding in California. Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.
A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his twin kindergartners were taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boys out of school.He was taken to jail. Click Here for the story.
A Catholic adoption agency In the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws. The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules. Click Here for more info.
Earlier this month judges in Conneticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalized gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. We voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote…and we need to fight back. That is what this Proposition is about. This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote. So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends. Please pass this on as it could eventually have an effect on everyone!
"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service and our hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord." --Thomas S. Monson
Click Here for excerpts from the Broadcast given by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton.
A good resource mentioned in the broadcast: http://www.preservingmarriage.org/
October 20th: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot if voting out of state. Click Here to get one.
October 27th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail” Click Here for info.
November 4th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm. Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.

YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED...Here's what you do: In the broadcast we were asked to "go viral on our blogs, etc" by Elder Ballard. This is my way of going viral. If you feel this is an important issue I ask that you copy and paste this post...and post it on your blog. PLEASE keep it at the top of your blog through November 4th. which you can adjust each time you post under the "edit post" option. The internet knows NO STATE LINE. You know contacts in California that I do not...as do your friends and their friends...and so on. Please do this. If not for your own children and the effect it could have on them some day...for mine! After you have posted this...email this to your contacts and TAG all your blogging buddies to do the same. THANK YOU! PS: Anyone can copy and paste this information.

My Addiction!!

Ok...He is not necessarially my addiction, although he is hot! (Not as hot as you Dan!).
This show is my Addiction...

I love it. The people on this season are not my favorite, so I'm having a hard time picking who I want to win this time. But it seems that every episode gets me all teary eyed. It's such an inspiration to watch these people. Especially when you start seeing before and afters. (That's when the show starts getting really good!) It makes me want to watch it at the gym and work out with them. (But I could only work out with Bob...Jillian would make me cry).

At the end of each episode, someone gets kicked off and then they show how that contestant looks today. And they look awesome! This season, it seems that the people that are getting kicked off, and going home, are looking so much better than seasons before. Maybe I just can't remember, but this season...they look great!

Well....Tune in, Tuesday Nights from 7-9pm and then you can have something else (or something at all) that you can talk to me about. :) I should have a Biggest Loser Club. Not the kind where you lose weight together, but one where we can sit and watch the show together and eat snacks (probably should be healthy ones so we don't feel guilty...Or...Maybe Not! We could eat cookies and no one would yell at us! Sweet!) Is anyone else as addicted as I am?

What is it I NEED???

Thank you to all who cried with me yesterday. Just wanted to give a shout out to my dear friend who led the way for me and set such a great example to me and to MANY other people! You are our shining "STAR"!

There are times in our lives when we get what we don't really want. How do we handle those times? It reminds me of one of my favorite songs:

I knew all the answers
The way my life should go
And when I used to say my prayers
I would tell God so
It seemed He wasn't listening
I thought He didn't care
But lookin' back
It's plain to see
He was always there

'Cause I prayed for strength
And I got pain that made me strong
I prayed for courage
And got fear to overcome
When I prayed for faith
My empty heart brought me to my knees
I don't always get what I want
I get what I need!

I guess how we handle those times is to try and figure out what it is we need.
HERE I GO....Want to come along???

Crazy Eights!

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1. Biggest Loser
2. What Not to Wear
3. Trading Spaces
4. Take Home Chef
5. Criminal Minds
6. CSI: NY
7. Law and Order: SVU
8. Bachelor


8 Favorite Places I Love To Eat:
1. Zupas
2. Cafe Rio
3. Sizzler
4. Wendy's
5. The Old Spaghetti Factory
6. Magleby's Fresh
7. Applebee's
8. Chili's


8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Watched the Debates
2. Watched Biggest Loser
3. Read
4. Ate free Pizza at work
5. Went to Pump Class
6. Talked on the phone
7. Went to work
8. Market dropped


8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Getting Married
2. Having Children
3. Never working again
4. Christmas
5. My Birthday
6. Talking to Dan on the phone
7. Watching the Biggest Loser
8. Curtains on my Sliding Door


8 Things I Love About Fall:
1. Sweaters
2. Fall Leaves
3. Haunted Houses
4. General Conference Weekend
5. Thanksgiving
6. Cool Weather
7. Drives in the Mountains
8. Warm Blankets


8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Trip to Australia
2. Sleeping next to a man
3. Full hours at work
4. Financial Independance
5. Learning photography better
6. Trip to Boston
7. Trip to Europe
8. Kids


8 People I Tag:
1. Becky
2. Katie
3. Kate
4. Marlyse
5. Gina
6. Heather
7. Cindy
8. Camille

Happy Trails...To You!!!

Dan invited me to go Horseback riding up Sundance. It was so much fun. It was the PERFECT day to do Horseback riding. It was warm, but not hot. The leaves were changing colors, so it was really pretty up there too.

So we get there and the guy tells us to come on in the "pen" (i guess that's what you call it), he just had to go out and grab the "stray" horse that wandered out of the pen. (Notice the horse in this picture).



Then they gave us some simple instructions and started assigning horses. Dan got Hank. Hank is a good horse, but doesn't like other horses right on it's butt, so they put us in the back, with Dan bringing up the rear.
Here is Dan and Hank.



Then they asked who wanted to ride Willy. Dan spoke up and said "Oh, Val would love to ride Willy". The guys both stopped and said...What is your name? And I said Valerie. And they said...Oh...You have to ride Valerie. haha They had a horse named Valerie. The one guys said. Here, let me go get her (again). She was the "stray" horse that kept wandering outside the pen (sounds about right. I don't want to be penned up either). They asked me if I was as stubborn as this horse. :) No comment. Then when we got back they tied up the horses inside the pen, but they said "We can't tie up Valerie or she'll tear the fence down". haha Don't try to pin us down. Let us run free and do what we want! haha

This is me and Valerie! :)

Me and Dan in front of Stewart Falls...

Me during the ride...



This is me trying to stop her from eating. I'm trying to teach her that eating is boring and there are so much more exciting things to do. Ok...Just kidding. We were stopped for a minute, so I let her eat some grass. Now it's time to go. Do I look like I know what I'm doing? :)

All in all, it was a very fun ride. It was beautiful up there. I just wish we could have gotten a little closer to Stewart Falls. (And I wish my saddle didn't slide so much). But other than that it was a blast. Again...Everyone should do it! haha

Park City and Sundance

A few weeks ago I got invited to go up to Park City to ride the zip line. I've always wanted to do one, so I was really excited. Of course the pictures didn't really work of me going down, cuz Dan (taking the pictures) was also going down. :)

It was dark, so I'm not sure if that makes it MORE scary or LESS scary. Anyway, it was a lot of fun to do. Everyone should do it!

Here I am waiting for them. You put your feet straight out in front of you and then they release the door your feet are on and you start falling (zipping).


Here I am going...

Here I am getting out. The guy helping me out was laughing at me cuz I tried to jump out of the swing because I didn't think it was going to stop. I thought he said "stop" and it freaked me out cuz I didn't know how. But it stops itself. He said "I said hold on, not jump out." We all laughed.

Heber Valley Retreat!

I just remembered I went on a Retreat and didn't write about that. It was a LOT of fun. It was a Hollywood theme, so they had the Red Carpet with people interviewing the ladies as they walked down the red carpet. Complete with the top poparatzzi (sp?) we could get to come for the price we could afford to pay them!

Then before dinner we had a special guest speaker. He told us how great women were and we should love ourselves. Or something like that! :)

We had some gentlemen friends come and cook dinner, Serve dinner, do valet services, and check the ladies luggage. They did a wonderful job.

We had a wonderful dinner and then a talent show that was awesome! We had some very good acts. Here are a few ... Very funny!

We also had a movie premier, presenting US!! We had the ladies submit 4 pictures: 1) Baby Picture 2) Childhood picture 3) Highschool Picture 4) Post-Highschool Picture and then we took current pictures as well. Then it was put into a movie. It was a lot of fun trying to figure out who each of the "stars" were.

Then we went to bed so we could get up for an early morning hike. It was pretty. The leaves were just starting to change. We even saw a group of deer.

After the hike we had a class on Self-Defense. That was interesting to learn about and also now makes me more nervous. They said someone dropped a friend off and was waiting for her to get safely into her house when a preditor got into her car! Sorry whoever rides with me in the future. I will no longer be waiting for you to get safely into your house. I will however, say a quick prayer for you as I'm speeding off for my own safty!

(This is her mother...Good thing, or that could have potentially been VERY awkward!)

And last, but definitely not least, we had a great Testimony meeting. It's always fun to sit around a fire (well the fire pit in our case...no fire) and share your testimony (or listen to others share in my case). It was a very fun weekend. Just want to give a shout out to those who put SO MUCH time and effort into making it great! (You know who you are!) Well done!

Teaser!

I know! I need to update, but I like to blog when I have pictures and they are coming. I will be getting some pictures of a few things I've done lately...

Horseback riding and the Zip Line at Park City. They were both very fun. As soon as I get the pictures I'll post.

I did go hike Bridal Veil Falls the other day. That was fun.

Stay tuned for me on Horseback and on the Zip Line. (hope the pictures turned out! haha)