Thursday, January 31, 2008

Valentine Fortune Cookies


Happy Valentines day!

Emily and I found this cute idea from Martha S. and thought we would share it.

Felt Fortune Cookie How-To
1. Using fabric shears, cut a 4 1/2-inch-diameter circle from a piece of felt. Cut a piece of matching ribbon slightly shorter than 4 1/2 inches. Using wire cutters, cut a piece of floral wire slightly shorter than the length of ribbon.


2. Using craft glue, affix the wire to the middle of the felt circle. Glue ribbon on top, covering the wire. Let dry 30 minutes.


3. Fold the felt circle in half, using the wire as a guide, so ribbon is inside cookie. Next, angle the sides toward each other, bending the wire at its halfway point and forming a fortune-cookie shape, as shown.

4. Assemble the fortune cookies. Carefully peel back one flap of the felt cookie, and insert a paper fortune and a few candies. Fold the flap back over to close cookie around contents.

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Mothers who know...

Givin' a shout out to all my "girls".
this one is for you

(click on the picture to hear the song)


Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Funeral Services for President Hinckley Announced

Funeral services for President Gordon B. Hinckley, leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who died Sunday evening, will be held this Saturday, February 2, in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
The proceedings will be broadcast via satellite in 69 languages to over 6,000 Church buildings globally. Brigham Young University’s BYU Television will also broadcast the funeral internationally.
Those who attend the funeral services at the Conference Center will need to be in their seats no later than 10:30 a.m. for an 11:00 a.m. start. Seating will be restricted to the 21,000 capacity of the Conference Center. Overflow seating with large screen viewing of proceedings will be offered in the adjacent Tabernacle, Assembly Hall and Conference Center Theater.
Between the funeral and graveside services, a program profiling the life and ministry of President Hinckley titled In His Own Words will also be televised.
Expressions of sympathy can be emailed to condolences@ldschurch.org or mailed to Church headquarters at 47 East South Temple St., Salt Lake City, UT 84150.
President Hinckley’s family members have suggested that in lieu of flowers those who wish to send a memorial gift could donate to the Church’s Perpetual Education, Humanitarian or Missionary funds, or the Gordon B. Hinckley Chair of British Studies at the University of Utah.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley




Beloved Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through 12 years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97. President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since March 12, 1995. For more information, visit the Newsroom.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Will, you may want to follow in this gentleman's shoes


By the way, this goes on for another 8 pages!

The Other Party's Election

Will may be having his election ... (sorry, laughed a little as I said that with a stereotypical Chinese accent)... but our primary has been decided. On Monday morning, I'll turn my notice into Cemex, announcing my resignation effective Feb 15, 2008. My first day on the job will be Feb 18 with Northland Resources. We'll eventually move the whole family to Sweden, probably around June/July. We will live in Lulea, Sweden and my new job is Senior Manager - Engineering.

We're all excited, a little nervous, and now trying to figure out what we've done. Selling or storing nearly everything we own... we will have a house, 2 cars, big screen TV and other misc items up for sale. Let us know if you need anything! We will announce more details as soon as we know more.

More Election Coverage

Seattle turned out to be a nice city. Cold but nice. I stayed up in Bothell which is 20 min north of Seattle. I stayed just down the street from the company where I interviewed. The interview went all day again but seemed to go well. Joe, Negin and I went out for sushi on Thursday (it was the first time I had seen sushi on a conveyor belt). I didn't go see much of the city but I think I got a good idea of it.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Just another day in the life of Heather


I share this little antecdote with the people who will enjoy it the most... at my expense.

So last night I went visiting teaching and took Max with me. The lady we visited is a nice lady (actually she seems to hate me at church, but was real nice last night) who works with the Indian tribe in Reno. She, of course, wanted to hold Max immediately. As she was bouncing him on her knee she said, "I've been meaning to ask you..." Then as she made a circular motion around Max's face, "...what nationality is this??" I sort of chuckled nervously. Backtracking she said, "Well I mean, he looks very much like an Indian baby or maybe Mexican." Then she went on to explain how her baby was also very hairy and the hair just never went away, especially on her butt.

Well, we love our little "ethnic baby" (also a comment from someone at church) just the same.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

My 'Election' Coverage

So with election time here again I thought we would share our version of the 'election'. You see, it's finally time for me to find a job. A real job. Not one of those work your way through school jobs. Jessica has grown weary of my joblessness and so we're trying to decide on a candidate. So we thought we'd share our experiences as they come. Plus, Matt is doing it and he can do it...

First up... San Diego. I went down there last weekend to interview with Solar Turbines. They are a really good company who makes turbine engines for generators and such (as opposed to making them for airplanes). They are a smaller company (~3000) and are located right on the harbor in San Diego. The interview seemed to go okay and at least they paid for lunch!

I stopped off to see the San Diego temple. I met a crazy guy out front named Bill. Bill took a liking to me right away as soon as he found out our names rhymed. Bill followed me around while I took pictures and even offered to hold up some flowers for me to photograph. Good ol' Bill.



I went to the beach right after that but it was cold and windy so I didn't get near the water. But it was still nice.


Next up... Seattle.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Well, I finally made it! WHew! I thought I would never get here. There's too many passwords, doors, pages, and screens to suit my taste. Aaaanyway........, I thought I would put my two cents in. I wanted to let everyone know how fun my new job is. Being a librarian doesn't have to be a Nazi job! I have had more hugs and "love you"s in one day at Sonoma Heights than I ever got at Lowry High School. I have not had to confiscate a single cell phone nor ask anyone to give me back the computer mouse balls from their bra where they had them hidden. I did have one 1st grader hug me tight and then point out that her picture on her library card was when her hair was short because Dad had to shave it off due to lice. I keep my distance from that one. I keep busy all day long and the days speed by. I enjoy reading the children's books and especially making my voice different for each of the characters in the book. I think the kids enjoy it but sometimes they have funny scared looks on there faces. Maybe I'll go into drama and be in Hollywood some day. But for now Sonoma Heights is my game----Mrs. BATMAN is my name(according to most of the kids).

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Sympathetic..emphasis on the pathetic


I can only be sympathetic as a fellow tone deaf person. Yes, I am admitting that I know some of you have sat next to me in church and wondered what song I was singing...I know that the occassional frown from the Primary kid while I was singing is not cause he/she needs a nap, but rather in distaste for the notes I am bringing...I know that Chris is not giggling in the Family Home Evening opening song because the he is so excited to be there....
I KNOW!


Monday, January 14, 2008

Happy Birthday Joe!


Happy Birthday, hope you got my card!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Day 1 - more photos


This is the view at 1pm from the mine...notice how light it is outside!


This is where the drillers store their drill core. The area is actually a swamp that they can only drill during the winter when everything's frozen over.




This one is the view to across the street from the hotel in Lulea.


The building across the street in Lulea... notice the Swedish candles in the windows





Day 1 - Sweden Trip


Ok, well, don't have much time to post, so I copied my email that I sent to Kathy and Mom.

The trip didn't start off well, Kathy dropped me off at the airport 3 hours before my flight, but I spent 2.5 hours standing in line for my tickets. Finally rushing to the gate, turns out my flight was delayed by an hour. Once on the plane, we sat on the tarmac waiting to take off, bad weather on the approach to Chicago (thunderstorms and tornados in St. Louis) made us wait another 15 minutes. I landed in Chicago, called my travelling companion to find out that the gate was closing in 4 minutes and we hadn't pulled up to the gate yet. I pushed my way through the plane, got to the head of the line, ran across the airport from gate B1 to C37 and made it on the plane. Old fat guys aren't supposed to run that far, I worked up a good sweat and was coughing...made me really popular! The lady sitting next to me quickly equalized things by telling about how she got bedbugs at the hotel in Florida this week. Then about 2 hours into the flight, some guy had a medical issue and they sat him and the airboard nurse in front of us. Couldn't sleep due to the noise. As we arrived in London, they asked us all to stay in our places, british bobbies (not boobies) came aboard and hauled to ladies from coach class out. Don't know what they did! Didn't sleep well at all on the flight, excitement and inability to relax on a plane.

London-Heathrow airport was mainly a big duty-free shop with a couple of small rooms for loading planes. You're supposed to sit in a waiting area in the middle of the duty-free shops while until they announce your gate, 15 minutes prior to boarding. From there, you go to a smaller room, give your tickets and then wait to get on the plane. I bought some $4 bottled water, definitely better than any water in the U.S.! Flying from London to Stockholm, I started to get sleepy and drifted off for a couple of minutes. Then the large family of Swedes coming back from Calagary sang Christmas carols while the 10-yr old son kicked the back of my chair. They yelled at each other, fought, and generally were loud. The american couple next to me had twin babies who cried the whole time. No sleep there. Arriving in Stockholm, I found that my luggage did not manage to make the trip with me. Customs would have been easy even if I had baggage. No forms to fill out, no baggage inspection, easiest immigration I've ever seen. In Stockholm, we had to walk across from one terminal to terminal 4, I managed to misread the map and go the wrong way (my fellow traveler was not impressed), and eventually found the right spot. I also found my hotel that I'll be using on Friday night (Radisson Sky City) so that'll make it easier on me. Bought a $4 bottle of Pepsi in the gift shop, definitely better than any Pepsi in the U.S.! We then flew from Stockholm to Lulea, about 1 hour, short flight. As we arrived, I saw weird lights above the clouds that in the haze kind of looked like the northern lights. Then as we flew lower, I realized it was just the lights from a factory, dumb southerner! We took a taxi to the hotel in Lulea, not bad, very fancy on the outside but rather spartan on the inside. Had a mini-bar for some food. I washed my underwear in the sink and put it on the towel warmer to dry. Kathy had me load a flannel shirt into my backpack and that's what I wore today. Don't know what I'll wear tomorrow!

Couldn't see much in the evening of the town but noticed the ... don't know what to call them... Swedish Menorahs in the windows. They're EVERYWHERE!!!! Got up, had breakfast at the hotel and then met up with the local project manager. We drove around town and saw some of the sites...technical university, shopping (there are 3 McDonalds there ... oh, the airport in Stockholm had a 7-11 and a Sbarros, everything a Nevada-white trash guy needs!), and potential company office buildings. Daylight came around 9:30 and it got dark around 2:30pm. By 3pm, it was very dark outside. We drove from Lulea to Pajala, lots of trees, snow and small villages. Noticed that 75% of the homes were dark red (to be exact, barn red) with white trim, found out about the King of Sweden had a hematite mine which provided cheap materials to a paint company for red paint,... Second favorite color appeared to be yellow with white trim. We saw reindeer cross the road about 1/2 way through the trip, not particularly fast moving or interested in the car. It's no wonder there was a dead one on the road another 15km down the road.

The company lent me boots and my fellow traveler lent me a jacket, so I wasn't too cold. We went out to the project sites, one on the side of a hill just outside of the town, the other site is under a swamp that they can only drill during the winter when it's frozen over. Drove back to town, stopped at the mining contractor's office to discuss moose hunting tips, a couple of minutes at the office where the project manager named off 15 different prospective sites, each one had a different name but always had "ini" or "vara" in some combination of the name (Saharaavara?).

Now back in the hotel, I'm checking my email. The room is barely a step up from Bruno's place in Gerlach...a bed, a tv, and a mirror. Supposedly this is the only hotel in Pajala and one of the two restaurants. It's warm and a place to sleep, can't hardly complain at this point. Checked on my luggage, no updates available yet.

In Pajala, the population has gone from 12,000 to 6000 inhabitants in the last 20 years, so there are a lot of abandoned homes. That may be good for housing costs but it appears that many are now inhabitable due to poor conditions (roofs caving in, etc). Lulea seems a bit nicer.

Random thoughts:
Lulea is pronounced Luleo or Lulea, depending on who is saying, though I've heard Luleo more often
Urinals in Stockholm were tiny, like the size of small bowl....waited until someone else used one before I tried, didn't want to pee in the sink on accident!
Average/Median age in Pajala is 65
There appear to be more trees in one square km in Pajala than all of Nevada
With 8 employees, the company is 5th largest employer in the kommun
Drive from Lulea to Pajala is 223 km, just over 2 hours to drive

This is how I picture my last day....

I am not sure if you have ever had the dream of what your last of work would be like. I personally can't wait! I am not sure I will have the same connects as Billy G, but I will like to have the freedom!

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20169963,00.html

So here's to all who work hard and make a difference.

(did I ever mention that I saw Billy G while we were on our vacation to Sun Valley one year? He was pushing the stroller...what a trooper).

Request for Current Family Pic

Hi ALL!
Wondered if you could take a minute to send me a current picture of your family unit. I am working on a wall display for our new home and would like pic of each family. You can send to me via email.
lots of love
Sister Sarah

Happy Birthday Lil Dan


Monday, January 7, 2008

Cranberry Salsa

I have fallen in love with this salsa and thought I would share the recipe:

Cranberry Salsa
1 (12 oz) bag fresh cranberries
4 small green onions, finely chopped
2 small jalapeno peppers seeded and finely chopped
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 box Wheat Thins

Rinse, drain, and pick over cranberries, discarding all that are bad or bruised. Place them in the food processor and pulse them until finely chopped but not mushy. In a large bowl, mix in green onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro, ginger, lemon juice.
Cover and refridgerate for 4 or so hours.
Serve over the cream cheese block and eat with Wheat thins.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

The Next Katrina

Don't know if you have heard, but the levee broke in Fernley last night. If you ask me, it was all race related. It's just a FEMA conspiracy to get rid of all the illegals in northern Nevada... By the way, maybe Sarah and Chris want to reconsider moving to Fernley. I bet you could find a house real cheap pretty soon and the cow-pie soup smell would eventually come out of the walls.
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/13286002.html

Friday, January 4, 2008

Happy Anniversary 5 years


Weddings... Greek style


So Jessica's sister got married yesterday. The reception was at a local country club and it was relatively normal. That is until they made us greek dance. Now, to start with, I'm no Fred Astaire, but as soon as you add on an extra level of complexity from Greece, I've got no hope. Luckily, the dance wasn't too complicated; basically, you just set to the side and then kick to the left and then the right (think the rockettes but in a circle). Lets just say I need to apologized to all the people around me that I kicked relentlessly.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

New Year, Schmew Year

"It is okay to visit your past just don't bring any luggage with you"
I saw this quote and just felt it was appropriate for the New Year. Luggage comes in all sizes and can carry an amazing amount of items in all shapes and sizes. Some are like items we feel are useful. Others are items we wish we didn't have to carry, like our dirty socks. When we travel we use luggage to keep our items safe and private. Who really wants to be staring at your undies and reversely, you have to ask if you really want to see what other people have in their luggage.....

At any rate, that is my New Year's resolution: I am going to travel light. Leave as much as I can in 2007 that was weighing me down (luggage has a 50 lbs limit when traveling) and remember to pick up a few souvenirs in 2008 that I can just take as carry ons. And what I can't fit in the small bag I take, I am going to leave it behind. That way I only carry the things that matter and make sense.