Fire truck in Hole

I remember hearing about this on the news. It was seriously just a few blocks from our apartment. My only question is: Does he really think that if that fire truck begins to fall down he'll be able to stop it from crushing him?

Naked at the airport?

Okay, so by now we all know that a guy tried to blow up a plane going to Detroit. Now there are even more security checks happening. That is just going to cause longer lines and more irritation to travellers. I don't really care because I'd rather be safe. I was thinking about it the other day though and I remembered hearing about these advanced X-ray machines that could basically see through clothing. And I then wondered why we don't have these in all the airports to keep us safe. Here is an article answering that question. Apparently people don't like it because it's too invasive and embarrasing. They don't want someone to see the shape of their body. A member of the ACLU (an organization that I don't think too kindly about) said that it's like performing a "virtual strip search". Well, wouldn't you rather it be virtual than real? Seriously, I don't like my body either, but I'd rather do that and make sure everyone else on my plane is going to be safe rather than worry about the x-ray operator seeing my roles of fat. Seriously, are we so vain that even our own lives aren't as valuable as looking good and not being embarrassed?

Is it okay to shoplift? One priest thinks so!

I saw an article on MSN today saying that a UK priest was preaching shoplifting. At first sight I was disgusted. How could someone who considers themself a man of God recommend such illegal behavior? However, as I read more I started to agree more with him than everyone else. He was specifically recommending it to those who had nothing or had been left without options to feed themselves or their families. He would rather them steal a can of ravioli than turn to prostition or more violent crimes. If we as a people choose to ignore charities or the most vulnerable around us, then we deserve to pay the consequences. He only recommended stealing from chain stores because the cost of stolen food would just be past down to the rest of us.

I'm still completely against theft of any kind, but I agree with the idea of it all. We shouldn't be ignoring the people who are really in need. We need to take care of each other and do more to help those in need. We can donate to charities. Find individuals in our lives that need our help.

I love that his sermon was so provocative because it reached me clear on the other side of the "pond" and got me thinking. This is a good and healthy dialogue and hopefully it stretches us all to do a little bit more for someone else.

I do not believe God will bless those who do not bless the lives of his other children.

Pictures from Disneyland

When we first moved out here we went to Disneyland for 3 glorious days. Eric had never been so I really wanted to take him. Below are some of the pictures we have from that day. Also, some others when we went earlier this year.

These were on the jungle book ride.

This was on Space Mountain. I didn't ride this much as a kid, but now it's absolutely one of my favorites. The wind in my eyes and the screaming make my eyes water. I always look like I'm crying when I'm done with this ride.

This is the little Bug's Life ride in California Adventure. It's was simple and quick, but still fun.The entrance to the River Raft Ride in California Adventure. Total blast to ride, but you will get soaked. This is on California Screamin'. I love this roller coaster. Probably the best coaster I've ever been on. It's smooth and fast and so fun. However, they do manage to take your picture at just the moment when you look like crap.

This is on Thunder Mountain. This is a ride I've loved since I was young. It's fast and crazy. Lots of fun!So, I love Disneyland as you might have noticed. We're always up for anyone else going with us, especially if they've never been before. So please, let us know if you're visiting or even if you live around here and just want to go. We'd love to be your guide!

Disneyland Part 2

Okay, so after we changed we went back to our car to put our wet clothes away. When we came back to the park we felt renewed and ready to start the rest of our day. We were late for our fast pass tickets to Space Mountain but we tried anyway. It turns out that you can use them late. We rode and this time was much better. It went faster and was just crazy fun! I still kept my eyes closed most of the time, but it was great. After that we hopped on the monorail and went over to Disney's California Adventure Park. We went straight back to California Screamin'. It's probably my favorite roller coaster ever. Also, I think it was the first ride I ever went upside down in. Anyway, the line was kind of long and we could get fast passes and then go ride Toy Story Mania. Seriously, this is like the best new ride ever. So, we wanted in line for about 45 minutes. Talked to my brother, Adam, on the phone while in line. That helped the time go faster. So then we did Screamin' which was probably the best time I've ever had on that ride. I'm not sure what was so great, but I just totally enjoyed it and the freedom I felt on the ride. The day was starting to shape up into a splendid time. We checked out the line from some other rides but didn't want to wait or come back so we went back to Disneyland. We had fast passes for the Indiana Jones ride. This is where the afternoon got interesting. While on our way to the ride I noticed some sort of paper laying on the ground. It kind of looked like money, so I picked it up to see. It was definitely cash, but I didn't know what to do with it so I gave it to Eric for safe keeping. Once we discovered it was more than $50 the conflict began. What do we do with the money? We agonized for quite awhile and asked several park employees. Eventually we turned it over because I knew I'd feel too guilty if I didn't. We watch the fireworks that night and rode Thunder Mountain. It was a crazy, but pleasant day. Seriously, it was like a full week of vacation packed into one day. I love Disneyland so much and can't wait to go back again soon. I need to work there I think; or something.



Notes if you're going to the park:

1. Use the Fast Pass feature! Don't wait in really long lines, there is no need for that.


2. Just have a blast!


3. Use a map to move around the park if you're unfamiliar.


4. Ride your favorite rides as many times as you can.


5. If you need any other tips or have questions feel free to ask me. I love this place!

Two Weekends: Disneyland vs. Universal Studios

Can I just how great it is living in the Los Angeles area. We can literally be from our apartment to the gates of Universal Studios in 15 minutes. We can get to Disneyland in 45 minutes. On October 10th we went to Disneyland since we had free passes.
We wanted to be there at 8am when the park opened, but it was hard to get up early enough. We left around 7:20 and stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. The drive through took forever so we didn't end up getting to Disneyland until about 8:30, but it was still a great, but totally insane day at Disneyland. So many adventures were had that day. There were times it was not going well and then it turned out great. It was just a totally insane day for us. Let me tell you all about what happened once we got there.

We wanted to to do Space Mountain since it's one of our favorite rides but knew also that it would be a packed day since it was busy and they're all set up for Halloween. We got fast passes since the wait time was 45 minutes, but after we got our passes the wait time was only 25 minutes so we just went ahead and waited in line. It wasn't so great. They had weird ghostly images during the ride, but not much else. I just kept my eyes closed so I hardly noticed it and Eric said it wasn't that scary really. It also felt like the ride was going in slow motion too. Not a great first ride.

We rode some other stuff around there and then made our way over to Adventureland. I believe we rode Pirates of the Carribbean first. The line was short and it's a ride you have to go on everytime you're at Disneyland. The first big fall is my favorite part of the whole ride. After that we looked around the area and tried to find Club 33. We actually walked right past it and then came back around to find it again. It's just adjacent to the crystal shop, if you know where that is. Club 33 is an exclusive club for members at Disneyland. You should look it up. I hope I have the opportunity to go there sometime. The images of it are absolutely amazing. Take a look at this website to see more about it. After we found that and took a picture of the door we went to see what the line was like for the Haunted Mansion. It's all decked out with stuff from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is one of Eric's favorite movies so we had to ride it. The line was like an hour long, totally insane, so we got fast passes for that too. Then we were debating on splash mountain. Eric loves the ride but I wasn't sure about getting wet on a barely warm day. While we were deciding we rode on the Winnie the Pooh ride. It's nothing fancy, but it's fun at least. After that we found a little treat shop. Eric saw this huge cupcake and had to have it even though I advised against it. Check out his blog for pictures.

So, he ate his treat and then we got in line for Splash Mountain. We didn't realize until we were in our log that they'd put 4 adult men behind us in the boat. So we're talking about a log that now weighed probably over 1000 pounds. Insane huh? Totes! We got soaked. I tried to just roll with it and have a good time. After we got off Eric was not feeling well from his cupcake. We ran to the nearest bathroom. He was texting me about how miserable he was from being wet and that he wanted to buy a new shirt. I agreed. We ended up in Downtown Disney at a Quiksilver store. He got a new shirt, shorts and dry socks. I got a new shirt and dry socks for the day. It sure did help our moods to be reasonably dry again. But next time we're taking a change of clothes with us.

Wow, this post is long enough now. I'll have to post more later about all the crazy happenings tomorrow. Come back later for more or you can check out Eric's blog about it.

Sassy

Yep, that's what I am. Check out the definition: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sassy. If you scroll down enough it gives 3 defenitions for the word.

1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent.
2. Lively and spirited; jaunty.
3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat

I get called "sassy" an awful lot. My whole life has been that way, and since someone sad it at work to me yesterday I figured it was time to look up the defenition. So, then I read this and thought, "Gee, I really hope I'm not rude and disrespectful." I know that sometimes I fit into that category, which is a bummer and I'm working on it. Hopefully though I'm much more lively and spirited than anything else. I want to be a friendly happy person so I need to do more to have people see that in me. I know that I'm "sassy". That will probably never go away. I just want it to be endearing to people and not push them away.

What kind of sassy do you think I am?

My husband's Blog

I just wanted to let you know all about a very hilarious blog that is much more consistent than my own. You should read my husband's blog. He's very funny and a great writer. You can check it out here: http://produce-er.blogspot.com

Read it, leave comments, but most importantly enjoy his blog. Let me know what you think.

2 Questions

Again, I read another article . This time it's an article done for Oprah.com from a discussion with Steve Harvey. He lists out 5 questions women should ask the men they're dating to make sure their goals and plans much up. You can ask these questions at any point in the relationship to see that you're both still on the same page and make sure you're understanding each other the way it actually is. I think it's a good suggestion to make sure you're both on the same page. Hopefully though you know this information without having to ask. Communicate throughout your whole relationship so you know what's going on and that nothing is going to suddenly surprise you.

I have two questions of my own that I think every woman should ask a potential husband. Perhaps don't say this too early on in the relationship, but don't be afraid to ask. Here they are:

1. Are you gay?
2. Are you addicted to pornography?

People usually laugh when I tell them to ask these questions. They think it's silly to ask a guy these questions, because of course you'd know if you spent lots of time with him before he proposed. Well, that is most likely true, but when there is a lot of shame (especially in religious communities) about those two things that guys might lie to themselves or just simply try to hide it. You don't want to get married and then discover during or after the honeymoon that he's got a whole bag of other issues you didn't know about. I've also had several friends get married and within a year it fell apart because of at least one of those issues.

Of course, if you get a yes to either of those answers then you have to decide how you'll proceed or if you need some sort of of ocunseling. Neither of those is an absolute destroyer of your relationship if you go into it knowing the situation. You just don't want to be deceived.

Religion and Homosexuality

So, I read a Newsweek article this morning that I found very sweet and considerate. It was about a religious man who was once filled with hate and ignorance for homosexuals. He thought homosexuals were all sinners and bound for hell. At the encouragement of his mother he looked into what his real beliefs were and what Jesus Christ would say about that. Over a period of a few years he changed his mind. He saw that homosexuals are created in God's image just like the rest of us. It was even to the point of him joining in rallies for "gay rights".

What his story reminded me of was the view of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on people who are homosexual. This is the church I belong to, more commonly known as "the Mormon church". Often times when people think of my church and homosexuality they envision a religious group that hates homosexuals, their lives and their existence. This is not true. Of course, there are individuals who are confused and judgemental, but that's not the official stand of the church. Elder Oaks (member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles) said, "The distinction between feelings or inclinations on the one hand, and behavior on the other hand, is very clear. It’s no sin to have inclinations that if yielded to would produce behavior that would be a transgression. The sin is in yielding to temptation. Temptation is not unique. Even the Savior was tempted."

At the end of the day we do believe homosexuality is wrong and a sinful behavior. However, the feelings and inclinations are not wrong or sinful. It's what we do with those feelings and temptations we're given that determine whether we're living correctly or not.

The main reason I wanted to bring this up was to say that I don't hate homosexuals or think of them as less than me. I might not agree with what they're doing, but I'm opinionated. I don't agree with a lot of things other people are doing, but that doesn't change things. I love all people and want them to be happy. There needs to be a lot more love and compassion in the world.

The "Pill"

Wow! MSN is on a roll with interesting articles today. I just read this one. It's about how the pill affects your hormone levels, which in turn affects the guys you're attracted to. During ovulation women are generally more attracted to the sexiest, strongest man in the room. The rest of her cycle she's more likely to be attracted to a less masculine type. They even go so far as to say a man with more feminine features, but that's probably not the word I'd use. Anyway, I just found the science behind this totally fascinating.

It made me think too about the time I met Eric. I wasn't on the pill. I was full of my roller coaster hormones making me attracted to all sorts of guys at different times. However, Eric fit in all parts of the roller coaster. Anyway, that's not important. Just thought I'd bring in to everyone's attention. Now for the single ladies out there: next time you think a guy is hot first consider if you might be near ovulation. If so, then run the other way. He wouldn't make a good father so don't waste your time. Just imagine him when you're with your non-ovulation time boyfriend. ;-)

Mom's the problem?

So, this article is totally fascintating. It's about an 18-year old kid who has been breaking into businesses and homes and just fleeing. Eighteen months ago he escaped from a half-way house and has been on the run ever since. The police have not been able to catch him. It's now at the point that he's stealing and then crash landing small aircraft. Oh yeah, he also does most of this while barefoot.

They interviewed his mom and she was actually quite proud of her son. Seriously. She even advised him to wear a parachute the next time he steals a plane. She wants him to escape to a country that won't extradite him. Again, seriously? It's clear as you read the article that he lacks any sort of positive parental influence in his life. He's like a Peter Pan in the modern world. Just playing and doing what he wants. This is a problem. I know he's committing crimes, but his mother committed the biggest one of all by being an absolutely crappy parent.

The Primetime Emmy's!

Yeah, I went to the Emmy's this year too. Big year for me living in Los Angeles. I went to the Oscars in February and just this past Sunday I went to the Emmy's. When I say that I went, I really mean that I worked at the Emmy's. I worked in the Emmy's Press Room. This is "backstage" where all the winners come in and the media/press ask them frivilous questions. The picture to the left here is of the female stars of Mad Men in the press Room. This was the stage and background where the winners stood while a large room of people asked them questions. We were at the back of the room handing out headsets for people to listen to the show during the interviews. The room probably sat over 100 press people. Plus in the back was all the equipment for AV stuff. We also did all the TVs in the room that were playing the show live for us al to watch. Pretty exciting stuff. The wall to the right of me had a buffet of food for us all to eat. The food arrived at 4:30, which was 30 minutes to show time. It was pretty good, but the chicken was horribly dry. They had pork rib meat. So delicious. The mashed potatoes were really good too. It was free so I really can't complain. On the left side of the wall they had a Coca Cola area. They provided drinks for everyone. They had Smart Water bottles, but also Classic Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero. The best part about these was the bottle the sodas came in. They are cans in the shape of bottles. They have a twise off lid and everything. I just thought they were so adorable. They're super light weight. You can see a picture on the right of what they look like. They eventually ran out of these bottles and then just brought in cans of the stuff. But I still have two of these at home. The other cool thing about this adventure was the bathrooms. Seriously, I'm easily impressed it seems. Well, let me first explain where we were. The Emmy's were held at the Nokia Theatre across from the Staples Center. There is a parking structure behind Nokia where we parked (which seriously, we got lost and all the streets were blocked off. It took us like 20-30 minutes to get to the right place) and then took an elevator up to the top of the parking structure. On top they have an air conditioned tent for all the press and stuff. So, you can't really have bathrooms in a tent. They set up what I believe would be considered a "Honey Wagon". It's a large porto-potty. It's so nice though. The toilets are like those you'd find in a motor home. It was probably a 30-40' long trailer with both a side for women and one for men. Seriously, I was totally impressed. I found two pictures that show what it looked like inside. On the left is what it would look like if you looked to your right when you walked into the women's side. There were 6 individual bathroom stalls and 3 sinks. There was never a line, which was great. The coloring on hours was more of the platinum look like the picture of the sinks on the right. Other than that the show was alright. Not very many of the people I wanted to win did, so that was a little bit depressing. I really wanted Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory to win. It is a brilliant show that I love. If you haven't seen it then you should watch it. He is absolutely brilliant and hilarious in this show. I really wish he'd won because then I would have been in the same room as him. Maybe next year they'll get more nominations and that'd be great. Mad Men is one of our favorite shows and they won so that was pretty cool to see them all standing around waiting for their turn to be interviewed. I suppose it goes as they say, you win some, you lose some. There is always next year!

Racism, really?

I'm frustrated right now that so many people are being called racists because they happen to disagree with the president who happens to be black. Are we seriously racist for not having the same ideas and opinions of people of other races?

Read this article and see what you think.

Former President Carter is saying that Rep. Joe Wilson's remarks come out of some sort of racism. Why does it have to be from racism and not something else entirely? I'm wondering if the outburst had more to do with being heard than anything else.

I will agree that some situations, rallies, tea parties, etc. have gotten out of hand at times. People have been less than polite in their anger. Perhaps though they're sick of not being listened to.

As quickly as someone says something bad about healthcare; the whitehouse, media, or whoever is turning it into just a racist response or a lunatic's bellowing.

People should be able to dissent and the president should at the very least listen to what the people are telling him. He needs to stop assuming that he knows best for this country and that it's okay to ignore the populace. This is the same thing that President Bush did and it didn't make us too happy then either.

Let's stop calling people racist and really discuss these issues going on.

The Price is Right

We did the Price is Right yesterday with my parents, aunt and her friend. It was a very long, but fun day. It was our anniversary so it was great times! We've been married for 4 years now. Here is what went down yesterday:

• We had to get up early to get in a line to get our “order of arrival” tickets. This would help us later when we were in line. We were in Hollywood at 6am. At this point we just got our tickets and were told to come back at 12:30 for the “interviewing” process and what not.
• We went to Denny’s in Burbank to get breakfast.
  My hair was looking ridiculous from the humidity in Hollywood so we drove back to my place where we chatted and then my aunt’s friend fixed my hair since she’s a hairdresser.
• Finally we headed back down to Hollywood. We managed to have some extra time so we drove down Rodeo drive and then to Wilshire.
• We had to park at the Grove, so we got there around 11:15. We kind of just meandered through The Grove shops, checked out the Farmer’s Market area. Finally, we walked to CBS and arrived around 12:15 and just sat down.
• Within 30 minutes we were called in order of our numbers to sit on a new bench. We probably waited there for an hour. At least they had bathrooms and snacks nearby.
• While we waited there we were given new numbers, name tags and info cards to fill out. We put our number below our name tags and returned the info card with some interesting info about ourselves.
• Oh yeah, Eric and I were wearing shirts that said, “It’s my anniversary”.
• After everything had been filled out and what not they took our pictures.
• Finally we got “interviewed” in groups, but it was so fast and kind of boring. We thought we were finally getting close though.
• Next stop was security. They checked purses, bags, etc. You had to pass through a medical detector. No cell phones were allowed so they took those if you had them and put a number on them. It was kind of like a “coat check” but for cell phones. They also took Eric’s key chain pocket knife.
• It was after 2pm when we were seated on more benches. The taping started at 4pm. We thought maybe they’d seat us in the theatre while they went through the other people (we had low numbers so we got to do everything first and then waited for everyone else), but nope. We waited a good hour or two sitting on the most uncomfortable benches. Turns out though the girl sitting across from me got called up and won a car. The girl next to me got called up, but never made it on stage.
• After nearly two hours of waiting on these benches they finally started letting us into the audience of the set. I was shocked by how small the set was. It looks really large on TV, but it’s not. There are only 3 sections of sliding doors, but they only used 2 yesterday. Everything looks like it’s from the 70s. Everything is just so close. Even the audience seating doesn’t look that large either. It’s a small auditorium compared to how big it looks on TV. Rich Fields came out and pumped us up. It was fun and loud. They got the show started very quickly.
• Most everyone lost, but a couple of cars were won.
• This episode will air on November 23rd.

Let me know if I left anything out or you have questions. All and all it was fun and I'd be willing to do it again, but I'd need to take the next day off too.

The Book of Mormon Changed my Life

If you’ve kept up with my blog you know that this past year has been very challenging for Eric and me. He has continuously looked for work to no avail. This economy is just completely beating us up and it’s been very painful and frustrating at times. As 2009 progressed I sunk deeper and deeper into despair and borderline depression at times. I had no hope that anything would work out. We continually prayed and did what we were supposed to do; whatever that means. Anyway, I felt like Heavenly Father wasn’t even hearing our prayers anymore. I started to question if anyone was even there to hear our prayers or if I was just saying them to make me feel better. My life was collapsing around me and my faith was going along with it. I tried to put on a happy face and really listen to the messages at church, but rarely did anything get through. There were a few happy moments, but nothing really significant during that time. I eventually decided sometime in July that I couldn’t just give up on the church without putting in a full effort to see if things were true or not. Throughout the year I had tried reading the Book of Mormon, but I was only at 1 Nephi, chapter 6. Clearly, I hadn’t put much of an effort in to read it. I decided I would read it every day.

At first I was tired at nights when I was supposed to read so that made it particularly hard to do it everyday. Suddenly, one day while at work I got a brilliant idea. I realized the scriptures were all online and I could read them during the slow parts of the day at work. That first day I started at 1 Nephi, Chapter 7 and probably read about 15 chapters. I literally couldn’t stop myself from reading. I was addicted. The old stories that I knew so well were comforting and exciting. The next day I probably read another 15 chapters. Eventually I slowed down how much I was reading everyday and now I’m down to one chapter a day usually. But it is now my goal to read at least one chapter a day. Reading this book has changed me completely. I don’t have so many doubts and I generally live in a place of hope and not despair. I have faith and hope for our future again. I believe things are going to work out for us even if I don’t know how or when. We’re surviving and things are going better for us than should really be possible. Simply reading this book has made my life easier to live and enjoy. Nothing is as hard as it used to be. My prayers are more meaningful and answers are coming to us on a regular basis.

If you need comfort, counsel, peace, direction or whatever I suggest you pick up the book again and start reading from page one. If it could change my life so quickly than I truly believe it can change yours if you let it.

LA Fitness Killer

I don't know if you heard about this guy or not. Today I read some of his blog. Because of some things his preacher taught he believes that he is going to heaven. This I don't necessarily agree with, but I'm not going to judge since I have no say. That's judgement is in God's territory. However, I'm grateful to believe that it's not just about our faith, but our works too that make a difference where we end up in the after life. I believe that what we choose to do in this life good or bad really does matter and we're being watched and recorded closely.

Jesus Christ did pay for our sins, but there is still justice in the world. To be forgiven of our sins and have the atonement actually work we must ask for it's application through repentance and prayer. The atonement is a free gift, but it's not a coverall for our choices. We can be forgiven of our sins if we're truly repentant. Comitting sin knowingly against God's laws is wrong and makes remorse and true repentance difficult.

We must always watch where our faith and testimony in God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ is. But also we have to make sure that our actions (works) are in line with His teachings. We have to do our part in this life. It's not right to leave it up to one guy, even if He was perfect.

Prayer

I just wanted to do a quick post about the power of prayer. I've been struggling with something lately, not a huge thing, but it's been bugging me. The other night when Eric and I were saying our prayers together he prayed that the problem would go away or at least be improved for me. Then, yesterday at work his prayer was answered. It doesn't always work out that way, but then it did and that made me very happy. I know that prayers are answered and sometimes we just have to pay attention to how it's answered. I'll just keep praying and see how things go from here.

Advice Column

I am now in the process of preparing the launch of my new advice column. I would like to have some questions (with my response) put on there when I start. However, I don't have any questions to answer. Can you guys give me some questions to answer regarding relationships (of any type)? I want to talk about marital, sibling, parent-child, teacher-student and all other kinds of relationships. If you're not sure just ask anyway. This can be all anonymous so you're not stuck to questions just for yourself. Even make up a question if you want. Give me what you've got and I'd love to try to answer it.

I will let you all know how to access my website when it's finally finished and up. Thanks so much!

Heat!

I just wanted to let everyone know (for no real good reason) that I hate the heat. I would much rather be cold than hot. I'd probably rather freeze to death than burn to death. Here are a couple of things I think about hot weather and the heat.

• I think it's ridiculous that in this day and age that not every building (including our apartment) has central heating and air. I need better AC than an ancient machine.
• When it's cold you can always bundle up and get under blankets, but in the summer you can only take so much off.
• I get annoyed when people complain that the AC is too cold when it's nearly 100 degrees outside. Bring a sweater if you must because the rest of us would not like to melt.
• I get annoyed when weather people think that the weather/temperature is better when it gets closer to 100 degrees.
• I feel claustrophobic in the heat. I just can't escape out of the situation.

I think I should just move to London one day where it is much cooler and it rains a lot. Now that, I can handle. Good luck to all of you who are trying to stay cool out there!

Healthcare "Reform"

I am so not happy with the new ideas for health care in our country. I'll go point by point so that I don't get muddled in what I'm trying to say.

• They are talking about an "individual mandate" which is absolutely offensive to me. Part of the beauty of America is that we are free to choose, but if they require this of us then it is no longer a choice for all of us. I understand that when someone becomes seriously ill or injured, but has no insurance it hurts the system as a whole, but then find a way to make them pay for it without punishing me.
• They are setting an income limit for being able to afford your own health care. This like most other government programs is a poverty program. If they set the maximum at $16,250 then people will strive to make $16K when they could make $17K or $18K. In the long run they'll save money by letting the government and other taxpayers carry the burden.
• What about all the illegal aliens that use our health care system without insurance. They won't be legal citizens so by law they don't have to have insurance. Also, they'll probably make less than the maximum so we'll pay for it anyway.
• Those of us who have decent jobs and wages will end up paying more in taxes for many people who are capable, but unwilling to work harder to pay for their own medical care.

I am not opposed to health care because I know I've needed it in my life. However, I worry about where the money will come from and what this could do to our outrageously high national debt. I want people to be taken care of and perhaps we could find other ways to make it work. We're a young country with many new ideas, so let's get to work and use them.

Change of Plans

Original Plan
When we moved to LA in late 2008 we decided that I would work full-time while Eric interned. After interning for about 2 to 3 months then he'd get a full-time job in a mail room of a talent agency or a production company. Then, he'd work his way up to a desk (being an assistant). He'd be an assistant for one to two years. After that he'd continue to work his way up until he could finally start producing the movies he wanted to produce.

Reality
We moved out here and I found a job while Eric interned. During that time the economy took a nose-dive. Once Eric had completed his internships he looked so hard for work. He's been looking, applying and interviewing for over 6 months now and nothing has come of it. Things in the economy have possibly gotten worse. He's had to do temp work and other things that he doesn't care to do. Our financial situation is often scarier than I would like to think. While Eric has had the time at home he has written one script that he is now working on re-writing, but the story is really good and interesting. Plus he's working with friends to hopefully produce a piece that they've written.

New Plan
Eric is going to continue to look for permanent work that was mentioned in the "Original Plan" however we're moving on to Plan A.1. In this plan Eric will spend the majority of his time focusing on his own projects. He will finish re-writing his own script so that he can sell it to bring in some income. He'll also work toward getting scripts completed with his friends and colleagues so that he can produce those on low budgets down here. Basically, if no one else is going to give him a job he'll just have to make one of his own.

My Feelings
At first this kind of made me nervous to think of no consistency of income, but anymore I feel pretty okay with it. I think it will be just fine. We're going to move forward with faith and so far that is already paying off.

Fathers and Marriage

I read this article today and it really touched me. The article does include a sad and tragic story, but it's so much more than that. We do in our society think that fathers are insignificant to our lives and the lives of our children. Marriage and divorce is treated as lightly as middle school romances. Marriage is a sacred covenant we make with our spouse. It should be regarded as a serious contract to not be broken. If it becomes absolutely necessary then it can work, but all other options must be eliminated first. On the subject of father's we should all do better. A father is a huge influence on a daughter's self-worth and on a son's sense of male responsibility. The way a father treats the mother of his children will illustrate how man-woman relationships should work.

As adults we should all try harder to be responsible for the ourselves and the children we bring into the world. How can larger institutions (ie. companies, government, etc.) function when the smallest of them all (families) are crumbling. We need to do better!

Immigrants and the Economy

I was reading an article today about how hard the economy has hit immigrants, in particular illegal immigrants in this country. I am not opposed to immigration and I'm often more liberal in my acceptance of "illegal" immigrants. They are trying to better their lives and do what is good for their families.

However, the article was pointing out how much they are struggling now too because of the economy, but that they don't want to go back to their home countries. One even said that Mexico was a third world country. I can understand not wanting to go back to that because I wouldn't want to either.

I'm mostly upset that this article is trying to get me to feel bad for them or to show how horrible their situation is. Well, I'm in a pretty hard situation too. My husband has been looking for work for at least 6 months, if not longer. Still, he has found nothing. As much as he wants to work, there isn't really work to be had.

I just don't want to feel bad for people who walked into this country illegally and are having a hard time. I won't feel bad for that. I'm even trying to not feel bad for my own situation. It's hard, but eventually things will improve.

Fat

So, I want to know why doctors don't just tell those of us who are overweight that our excessive pounds is likely the cause of our medical problems. Dealing with infertility issues I knew in my heart that it was because I was overweight, but not one of the doctors I spoke to even mentioned that. In fact, they were giving me medicines and other things to help me get pregnant. They didn't even consider that it would be unhealthy to get pregnant at my weight. As much as I want children, I know that I have work to do on my own health to make that possible. Different individuals in my family have had various health concerns/problems. Never do doctors really say that they need to lose the weight or that their problems could be related to the obesity that tends to run in my family.

Of course, no one wants their doctor to say, "You're fat! There is no hope for your medical condition." But maybe a gentle reproach with some guidance. Why don't they send you to a dietitian or at least help you lay out a plan for losing weight? So many medical problems are related to weight, yet doctors are too afraid to say anything about it. Is it some sort of job security? If people stay fat they'll have to keep coming to the doctor.

Tori and Dean

I totally saw Tori (Spelling) and Dean (McDermott) last night. We were going to see Up at the Arc Light Theater at the Sherman Oaks Galleria and right before we got on the escalator Tori and Dean were in the midst of a conversation. It was just like any other couple you might see standing there. They weren't filming for their show and no paparazzi were around. At first I wasn't sure if it was Tori because she had huge sunglasses on, but then when I saw Dean it was for sure them. I didn't want to stare so I just looked quickly and kept going on my way. This is my first celebrity sighting while I was just out and about since I moved to LA. I thought it was cool since I watch their show and think I'm a lot like Tori in some ways.

Advise or not to advise?

So, after talking to a friend last weekend I've decided I would like to start a website/blog/column to give people relationship advice. This will range from finding someone to be in a relationship with, to marriage to family relationships. I'm still in the preparatory stages, but I wanted to know if you'd read it or even think it's something I should do. I'm just throwing this out there to see if I should move forward. Thanks!

Integrity

I've been thinking a lot lately about integrity. There are two things on my mind:

1. I learned what integrity was long before I knew what the word was. My father is a man with great integrity and I believe that's how I learned it. He was never dishonest for his own gain. He didn't cheat people. He is honest in his work. And I can say that it hasn't always been easy. Because of his integrity he doesn't cheat anyone out of a fair wage even if he can barely afford it or has to go without, he might not get the promotions or credit he deserves at work, and people may not realize how valuable he is. However, he has extraordinary value and character. He is very loyal due in part to his integrity. I'll just share one experience that has always reminded me to have integrity in my life. When I was 17 I was trying to find a car to buy. After looking for awhile I found the cutest car. It was perfect and I wasn't too short in it either. The cost ended at $700. The lady even said that she'd write down the sale price as lower so I could pay less in sales tax when we registered it. I thought it was a great deal, but my Dad in his quiet way declined that offer because it simply wasn't honest. I didn't mind since I had enough money saved. That happened 7 years ago now, but it means everything to me. To know that principle was more important than my self interest taught me so much.

2. At work there is a project they're doing with another company and the other company has completely lacked integrity out of greed. They want the business and the money, but they don't necessarily have the know how. Every time it has been brought up that they don't know what they're doing or what not they just try to hide from it or deny it. It has now reached a point where some individuals could be fired or required to reimburse us. It's really bad. In this economy can people really afford to lose their company money or their own jobs? I don't think so. A little bit of integrity in knowing your own limitations was all that was required. People are much more likely to forgive a humble and repentant person than a greedy, arrogant SOB.

So, let's all take a clue from my father. Let's leave the self-interest to lobbyists and do everyone a favor and behave with a little more integrity.

Los Angeles

I frickin' live in Los Angeles! I live here! I have an apartment, a job and even a parking space here. I know it's been about 8 months, but I'm still totally in shock. When I was younger I always thought it would be cool to live here, but I never thought I would. I imagined myself marrying some accountant or engineer and moving to the midwest. That just isn't how it happened, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I live in a really awesome city with cool new things going on all the time. I feel like I'm in on all the inside jokes on TV and in movies. Sometimes I just look out our front door to see the Hollywood Hills and all the lights just in awe that I actually live here. It hasn't been easy, but it's totally been worth it. There is plenty here to displease, but there is also something magical about this place. I love that I still get excited about living here. It's just so cool and with my husband being in film it's only going to get more exciting. Things are just great!

My hubby!

Something got me thinking today about if I could survive without Eric. Not necessarily if he died, but we were separated by time, distance, parallel universes or whatever. At first I thought sure I’d be fine. I could take care of myself. It would be a little sad when I wanted a kiss or a hug and he wouldn’t be there, but I’d survive. Then, I thought about how hard it would be when I was sad or having a bad day. It would be hard to not have my support system there, but again I would survive because I’ve done it all alone before. Then, I had a scary thought come to me. If we were separated, but I knew Eric was hurt, sad, depressed or whatever I would go insane. Just thinking about it made filled me with frustration. I wanted to reach out to him to make it all better, but I couldn’t. If we weren’t together and he needed me I would feel so powerless and out of control. I always want to be there for him to pick up his pieces. I realized as I was going through these emotions that I really do love Eric. Not like I didn’t know before, but this was a clear indication that I love him completely, more than I love myself. I can struggle and hurt, but never in a million years do I want him to struggle with anything.

Privacy

So, I read this article today. It’s about how people are more likely to give up information about themselves as they see other people do the same. It made mention of sites such as Facebook where many of us share our lives with people. Often we share more than we should or more than we thought we wanted to. Essentially as we see people share very personal secrets we are willing to do the same. The secrets don’t have to be the same, but as the level of secrecy increases in other peoples’ sharing so does our. Their example was to say that when other people admit to cheating on their spouses we might feel more at ease with admitting to cheating on our taxes. Reading this made me think of a few things.

1. I think it’s better that we’re sharing because we stop feeling so alone knowing that we’re not the only ones with certain secrets. We aren’t the only ones who make mistakes, but just as they pick up and move on so can we.
2. This constant sharing and knowing that others are doing the same can give us a false sense of security. We start to feel that the “bad” things we’re doing can’t be that bad if so many other people are doing the same. It kind of makes bad choices acceptable because they’re normal.
3. It’s interesting to me that so many people have so many BIG secrets. People tend to hold onto secrets because they are painful to share or they did something wrong. Perhaps if people didn’t so many inappropriate or immoral things they wouldn’t have so many secrets to keep.
4. The people who commented on this article did not read the same article I read. They all went on about how much information we’re giving away like our names, email addresses, etc. Sure, it’s important to protect our privacy from those who might do us harm, but I’m fairly certain that wasn’t the point of this article; at least not for me. We are giving away far more important personal information than that. We are confessing our sins to the world and not to God anymore. We are trying to find absolution by the easing of our conscience when we admit wrong-doing. That however, is not the way for us to find forgiveness from the ones we’ve hurt or from God.
5. Perhaps, this shredding of privacy is a sign of distancing from God in our society. If we lose those intimate relationships in our lives we seek for them elsewhere. Part of intimacy is sharing the deepest part of ourselves with someone else. Without an intimate, close relationship with God perhaps we’re seeking it with the open world. I don’t know, but I thought I’d throw the idea out there.
   
   Okay, those are my ideas on privacy. What are yours?

Outrage

Last night at the gym I was just watching Larry King Live while I pushed myself on the elliptical machine. Then, there was a commercial about a couple with this completely wretched husband. The kind of guy you see a grandma smacking with her purse. Anyway, as he leaves the wife winks at this guy at the restaurant bar. Then, the product is named. It's for a website with the slogan, "When divorce isn't an option." I'm not going to list the website because it's absolutely disgusting. I couldn't believe what I thought it was, but I saw it again tonight. I checked it out when I got home. It's absolutely a website for married individuals to find someone else to have an affair with. It's in complete promotion of extra-marital affairs.

I'm just so appalled that someone saw a need for that "service". It's more appalling that they are doing enough business that they can afford advertising. It just can't even express in words how unbelievably angry that website makes me. People should not be having affairs. I think if there is a problem in a marriage the couple need to try to work it out and not add onto the problems. There are all sorts of moral issues that I won't even get into here. I suppose also I just hate how people these days feel like they can just escape their problems but doing whatever pleases them. As the adage goes, "Two wrongs don't make a right."

The Economy

For many of you who read my blog this probably isn’t your thing, but it matters to me. I read this article this morning. For me it was frustrating to see that our government had been foolish in spending all this “bailout” money. You can’t just throw money at the problem to make it go away. I’m a fiscal conservative. I don’t believe in big government or big government spending. I really believe that money should have gone into job creation. I mean just look at the infrastructure of our nation. It’s completely falling apart in some ways. I’m not an expert, but I think there were better options for how to heal this economy. People need to feel stable financially before this economy will stabilize. The only way for people to have financial stability is to get them back to work and have them working in jobs they aren’t afraid to lose. Until people have the money to pay off their debts and what not the banks need to continue to be scrupulous in their loaning of money. It’s not going to be easy, but giving more money to banks is not the answer. It is not the most efficient way to put money back into the economy.

WB Lot

So, in the continuation of my time with my mom I also took Friday afternoon after early this week. (Read the previous post for what we did earlier this week.) Anyway, through his internship Eric was able to get my mom and I passes onto the WB studio lot. It was seriously so much fun, but I wore the wrong shoes which made it a bit more difficult for me. Anyway, once we got there we decided to have lunch at their cafe. The food was really good and not too expensive at all. From there Eric took us exploring. We saw the old exterior for ER. But eventually we also found one of the old sound stages that was open. We walked through the "ER". They had a warning up though that the set was under surveillance because too many items were being taken as souvenirs from the show by people who worked there. We didn't take anything, but just had a look through. We also saw some cool people while we were on the lot. On the right is Simon Baker from "The Mentalist". In the center is Ryan Stiles. I only saw the back of him, but it was definitely him. He was guesting on "Two and a Half Men" and on the right is Johnny Galecki. He was walking out of the "Big Bang Theory" sound stage. That is a show that Eric and I really love. If you recognize him, but not from that show it's because he used to be on Roseanne too. He was actually really good looking in person, not like the nerdy characters he plays. We didn't talk to him since he looked like he was in a hurry to leave. We didn't even talk to any of them, but really it was just cool to see them wandering around minding their own business too. It was just another day of work for them.

While on the lot we hit up some of their little shops. It was fun. They sell cheap DVDs, souvenirs, Jamba Juice, etc. It's like a little world unto it's own. Our last stop on the way out was the WB museum. The whole second floor is for Harry Potter items. They had a lot of original outfits and creatures from the movies. Biggest spider I've ever seen. The best part though was the original sorting hat and stool from the first movie. We were actually all sorted. I was sorted into Hufflepuff, Eric of course was Gryffindor and my mom more surprisingly ended up in Slytherin. It was so cool to see the real stuff, but we definitely couldn't touch anything. It was the kind of museum that was hands off. Besides Harry Potter they had other cool costumes for us to look at it. Lots of different movies.

Anyway, it was a really fun day. It was just super cool to be there and think that as Eric works on his career he might be able to get us onto other studio lots and see stuff there. I feel so privileged to be married to Eric and be able to enjoy this very exciting and surreal life here. You couldn't ask for much more!

Crazy Monday

So, my mom has been in town for the past week. I need to write about the fun we've had. On Monday and Tuesday of this week I took the afternoons off and we just went wild. On Monday when I came home from work we went out to In N Out for lunch. The classic Californian burger. After that we headed up toward the Hollywood sign. We got some cool pictures there. Eric found this cool path one day and so we walked a little ways up and took pictures. Eventually Eric and I will walk all the way up. I just need to wear more sensible shoes next time. It's a cool picture to have and we like it.

After that we drove down to Hollywood Blvd. We saw Grumman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre and the stars on Hollywood Blvd. We didn't actually get out of the car though because it was pretty crowded. So, we drove on and ended up at the Beverly Center so Eric and my mom could go potty. It was fun being there, but we didn't have any money for shopping so we paid our $1 for parking and moved on.

The next stop was the La Brea Tar Pits. Really, it's more like just one Tar Pit. It's this place where anciently tar was bubbling to the surface of the earth and lots of animals' remains were stuck there. Now, it's been filled with rain water and stuff so the pit is more of like a really dirty pond. Lots of dinosaur fossils have been found here. It's still a very active place. Methane continues to bubble up. Randomly big bubbles would come to the surface of the "pond" and it smells kind of bad. Tar is even coming up in little spots along some walk ways and across the street on the curb. Just a cool place in history right in the middle of Los Angeles.

After we went there we drove up Wilshire Blvd to Rodeo Dr. We definitely didn't get out there because we can't even afford to get out of the car on Rodeo Drive. It was fun to see the stores there though and dream of what life could be like.

We headed up through Beverly Hills after that and saw some pretty cool homes. We ended up on Mulholland Drive and saw some spectacular houses down below. We even stopped at some of the look out points. There were amazing views of downtown LA and the Valley depended on which side of the road you were on. To the left is a picture Eric took of downtown LA. It didn't look as smoggy in real life. It was actually really beautiful. Everything just goes on forever. It's cool to be part of something so big. I really like living here. We live near some cool stuff, but also it's just super fun.

After we went there were came home and had dinner. We all nearly fell into bed we were so tired and it was only 7pm when we got home. Just so much to see around here

On Tuesday we had a little time and just kind of chilled out around home. Then in the afternoon we headed to the WB to watch a taping of the run through for Kelsey Grammer's pilot of his new TV show. The current title is "The Pryor's". I liked it and I think it will be fun to watch, especially with your family. You should be able to see it this fall. Kelsey looks really good and fresh. It's a different character for him, which is nice to see. It was a really good time to see them work through things and start some scenes over. Since it wasn't the official taping of the show he still used his script at times, but it was still great. I recommend going to a taping for anyone that comes to LA. It's just so much fun!

I'll write more later for the other things we did this week. It was just tons of fun!

Why we might re-think Obama?

Nothing I’m about to say is based on any facts or solid information, just my experiences as an American. Right now, the economy is in bad shape; even my family is struggling with some of that fall-out right now. In the media though we continually see President Obama making speeches about what he’s doing to “fix” the economy. He’s doing very well in the polls, which is great for him. But it reminded me of President Bush. Back in 2001 after the events with September 11th America embraced President Bush. He was dedicated to protecting us and getting rid of this horrible of terrorism. As time went on we stopped liking what he was doing so much and his numbers greatly declined in the polls. I don’t want us to lose hope that what President Obama is doing might actually work and get us out of this situation, but realistically it might not and then we’re going to hate a man that is only doing what we are currently so desperate for him to do. We should watch out what we ask for.

The Oscars

So, as many of you know, I worked at the 81st Annual Academy Awards (The Oscars) today. The company I work for does the press room for the event. They allow people from the office to come and run microphones and hand out headsets to people. All this happens in a big room at the Renaissance hotel right next to the Kodak Theatre.

I arrived around 1pm. The room was pretty empty. There just a bunch of chairs, tables ant TV screens around. My coworkers and I went to our table where the headsets were waiting to be picked up. The headsets are used by the press to listen to the show when their is someone being interviewed in the room. At the front of the room there is a stage with 2 Oscars statues on it. It's elegant, but not over the top. There is a microphone in the middle of the stage for the winners to answer the interview questions from the press. Anyway, as the afternoon went on the room filled up with different press people. There were about 350 people in the room.

Once the show started the four us that were mic-runners got into place. One in each corner of the room. The press people all had a paper with a large number written on it. When the winner came into the room they would hold up their numbers signifying they wanted to ask a question. The moderator would then list off some numbers and we would run to those people and give them the microphone. Pretty simple stuff. Now for specifics.

Overall it was enjoyable, but my feet are so sore. I should wear more comfortable shoes if I do it again. I was very happy that Slumdog Millionaire won so many awards. Anyone who had an Indian Accent said, "Filum" instead of "film". I thought it was adorable. I love their accent. For the rest of the foreigners a lot of the press questions were asked in their native language so I didn't really know what was going on.

Kate Winslet was beautiful. I was probably within a foot or less of her at one point. Strangely enough it didn't feel any different than being that close to anyone else I don't know. She's beautiful and talented, but she's also just a person. She was very funny while being interviewed. She is a charming woman. I'm happy that she won.

I wasn't too thrilled with Sean Penn. I've found him quite annoying for many years now. Tonight he mostly talked about gay rights and how people who supported Prop 8 are all filled with hate. I don't know, I just don't agree with him and I don't think he's very attractive either. I really wish someone else had one.

They tried to get Hugh Jackman to come up to the press room, but for some reason he couldn't. That was just too bad. I would have loved to have seen him.

The last to come in was the producer, Christian Colson, and director, Danny Boyle, of Slumdog Millionaire. They were also very charming to listen to. They really do make you think dreams can come true. Danny Boyle is a great director. I recomment Slumdog to anyone. It was amazingly good. He also directed a movie called Millions. That is a good movie as well.

One last note, the Oscars are incredibly shiny in real life. Like, not just a little bit, but bright gliming gold. Pretty cool to see in real life. I'll post pictures later with this as they become available.

Family

Today Eric and I went to his grandpa's funeral in Mesquite, NV. Strangely enough I cried, Eric didn't. (Well, that's not strange since Eric never cries. He has emotions, but doesn't express them through tears like I do.) Anyway, I just wanted to say how moved I was by the service. I'm saddened that I didn't have more time to know Grandpa Hughes. He was a good man, but from the memories that were shared of him he was clearly a better man than I ever understood.

As I sat in the congregation feeling the love of his family I just felt so blessed to be part of it. I didn't know it when I married Eric, but I know now how lucky I was to marry into this family. There is just so much love and support for one another. It's not that my family isn't great, but it's just different with this family. They are unbelievably loving and kind. From the moment Eric and I were married I was part of the family. This drove me nuts at first because they were all strangers to me, but now I love them as though I've known them my whole life too. I'm grateful to have the rest of my life to know them and be embraced by their love.

Thank you Eric for letting me a part of your family!

Gray Skies

Today is a gray day in LA. It started raining late morning yesterday and hasn’t really stopped. Sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s just a misting. The thing is though that I like it. So many people around here, Native Californians mostly, absolutely hate this weather. They are just so used to the sun shine. I however, love this weather. It’s a nice break in the monotony of all the sunshine and busy chaos. Does like this make me feel like I can just get warm and cozy with the one I love. It’s a nice feeling.

In another way this gray weather is kind of an example of our lives right now. We are working hard to survive and pay our bills. However, it’s not so easy. Like the rain’s blessing for the current drought conditions I have a good job that makes it bearable, or better yet survivable, for us to live out here while Eric finds a job. He’s had some decent leads but nothing has really come to fruition. I’m starting to feel very desperate for him to get work. It’s taking a lot of faith and prayers to get us through this. We’re sure he’ll find work, but it’s hard to keep waiting, especially with the economy being what it is.

The one thing though that gray skies have taught us in years pass is that they change. One day gray and the next the prettiest blue. When it rains here the air is actually clean the next day. So, maybe all this difficulty for us and for Eric to get a job is just preparing for something greater and better. I suppose we’ll have to wait out the storm to find out.

Friends

Eric and I went to Utah this past weekend. It was much too fast, but it was so enjoyable. Everything was perfect. We were able to see so many of our friends. Seeing them has made me realize what I'm so homesick for while living out in LA. I miss my friends and being able to see them. Starting a new life is hard especially without the support system of friends. Of course, Eric and I have made some friends out here, but it's not the same (yet) from friends you've known for years. I want my friends in Utah to know that I love them and they really do mean so much to me. For those of you we saw I'm so happy that we could work out the timing to get together. For those of you we missed I'm really sorry. Next time we'll plan more time so that there is enough to see everyone.

The Office

I found out the other day on accident that The Office is filmed in some actual office buildings behind the one I work in.


If you look at the picture to the left you can see the arrows I have drawn. The green on is pointing to some set pieces from the show. The blue arrow is pointing to the building I work in. That part of the building is our warehouse, but I still work in that building.





If you look at the picture to the right you can see the green arrow pointing at a sign that says, "Scranton Business Park". Below is a close up of the sign. I can assure you though that this is not in Scranton. In the wide shot you can see some of the cars for the parking lot. They're all covered to keep them nice.


Anyway, I just wanted to share with you all about how random it is to work and live in the LA area. Everything can be used for films or television. I just love this show so it's way cool to have it so close to my work. I'll let you know if I end up seeing anything cool.

California vs. Utah

Eric and I have lived in California for 4 months now. It seems though it has been much longer than that for us. We're comfortable here and it's home now. One thing I have found interesting since being here is that every time someone finds out we moved from Utah they ask, "So, do you like it here?" The thing about this is that it's usually preceded by a comment about how different California and Utah is and what a shock it must be too live here. I don't know if they expect us to say that we don't like here or that California is so much better. I usually just respond that they are so different you can't compare them. And it's true, nothing about Los Angeles and Provo are the same, but they both have so much to offer. However, we are very happy here. This is where it seems that our life really begins. Just to show that there are good things about both places that are so very different from each other I will list my "Top 5 Pros" for each location.

Provo

1. Mostly everyone was the same religion. It made an instant connection with other people.
2. It was smaller, so it felt like a cozy place to live.
3. I lived there for 5 years, 3 of them with a local, so I knew my way around.
4. Parking was always free and pretty easy to find.
5. We lived near family.

Los Angeles

1. We can see the Hollywood Hill from our front door and the beach is only 30 minutes away.
   
2. It's so big that there is always something to do or another place to go. No boredom!
3. Eric is able to work in the field he loves and we get to do so many cool things.
   
4. My skin looks way better here. That's always a good thing.
   
5. We will start our family here and this will be our home for years to come.

I could go on and on about how great both places our, but L.A. is the right place for us to be and we are so happy here. It is always hard to let something go that makes you feel comfortable, but that happens in life. The possibilities here are endless and I can't wait to see what is going to happen for us.