Freeze Frame

ANOTHER YEAR!!!

2011-01-20T06:54:00.001-08:00

I was browsing a couple of my cousins blogs and thinking of all the lovely things family life has to offer, and I thought, 'ANOTHER YEAR!! I get another year!!!' Nearly a year ago, I was blessed to live through a wild car accident. Hooray for the joyful year that came after! So back to the future... this year there are birthdays, holidays, sunny days, snowy days, rainy days, work days, project days, vacation days. Sundays, family days... so many days to plan and look forward to. Especially, I look forward to my brother Gordon's return from his mission to Mexico! What a guy! What a blessing. Oh boy, oh boy!!

6 Months X 2= 2010 Accomplished

2011-01-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

Here we are a New Year on the calendar and here I write again.. after half of 2010 passed without a post here. My new blog with my new and darling husband is spencerheathergreen.blogspot.com. You will find there a link to our wedding pictures and future posts from both of us. Quick update for the 2nd half of 2010....

In Utah at the end of July, Spencer proposed! He made chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered nuts and chips, and ring finger covered Heather. Cascade Springs offered us plenty of beautiful moonlit paths to roam that sweet, sweet night.

In August from Utah, Spencer and I drove to Pennsylvania in my Pontiac. We hearkened to the squeaking from the engine and pulled off to get the nearly shredded belt and pulley replaced in Nebraska. We were blessed to pull right in to a garage and get the help we needed to continue safely on our way with not much time lost. Scott, Nancy and Anne welcomed me lovingly into their little apartment.

In September, I started working for a Hearing Aid Center, and suddenly I am studying to be a licensed fitter of hearing aids.

In October, Spencer moved into our future married apartment. We made Mr. and Mrs. Potato costumes for Halloween, and went to Jordan and Amanda's wedding in Zion.

In November, Spencer and I went to the Provo temple to be married! That was the best. THE BEST! I love him. Absolutely. So grateful. And so thankful to everyone, family, friends who helped us enjoy such a lovely celebration after.

In December, we enjoyed getting ready for Christmas and getting things situated a bit more here and there in our home. It was so fun to get a real tree and decorate it and hang up our picture of the Savior. We spent Christmas in PA. I got a 24 hr stomach virus on Christmas morning, so did Nancy and Anne. Spencer took care of me and we enjoyed some restful time together, then played games at the Ellsworths.

END OF 2010 we drove up to NYC and spent the holiday with Natalie. Spencer came down with the virus this time. Sad. But he has recovered and it has been confirmed that the Coconut Creme Doughnut from Doughnut Plant is the best doughnut known to the Greens. So luscious.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Oregon Coast, Carson City, LA, NEW ZEALAND, Las Vegas, St. George

2010-06-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

First stop: Oregon Coast with Cort and Tammy's family. We really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and our time with their sweet kids.

After the Oregon Coast, we made a stop and visited my Dad in Carson City. It was a nice half way point on our way to LA and good to have a little visit and a chocolate malt.

This is the view from our WWOOFING host's, James and Victoria, home. The gardens in the foreground were a part of their property and quite lovely. To the left is where we did our work digging plots for a veggie garden.

Here, Spencer and James are distributing compost on a partially dug up plot.
Don't be deceived, I wasn't the only one wielding a shovel.

We took a day off and drove up to the Coromandel from Katikati, where we stayed with James and Victoria. We had clear skies that day and enjoyed hiking and kayaking to Cathedral Cove. Our kayaking guide told us stories about the Maori people who first settled in that area. Turns out, if an area of land resembled a leader's body part from any angle, they could claim it for their people.

This picture below is of a gathering of people at Hot Water Beach. Hot water fills up pits we dug out of the sand at low tide. AMAZING!After our time in Katikati, we took a hike on Mount Maunganui and then took our car down to Rotorua. There we explored an old Maori village and got welcomed into their tribe in their meetinghouse with a bus load of school children.

Next, we explored the Waitomo Caves where we abseiled, tubed, crawled through small spaces, and admired the ceiling full of "glow worms".

We topped off our stay in New Zealand checking out the Hamilton area. We went to the temple, and to the West coast with all its black rocks and the Hamilton Gardens. They were fantastic and free. Double fantastic. Our stay with the Mason family was a treat. Good good women, like family.

LAS VEGAS

Bellagio Garden with Suhaila

ST. GEORGE

Mr. & Mrs. Jamie and Clint Gardener

More St. George: Spencer's hand next to his daddy's little boy hand print... I'm not sure how little.

Spencer took me on a quick hike before we headed out of town... A delightful rock and hard-place.

We also enjoyed spending some time with Spencer's siblings, Tara and Jordan and Jordan's fiancee Amanda. What fun we have!

Philly, Hershey, DC, Baltimore, NYC, DC, SLC....Coming Soon: Oregon Coast, Carson City, LA, New Zealand Oh My!

2010-05-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

With the loads of unforeseen travel accompanied by wonderful traveling mates (and a very special one). Its about time I posted some pictures.

Spencer picked me up from the airport and we grabbed some Philly cheese steak sandwiches from PAT'S king of Steaks.Then we roamed around the town. We saw ourselves some liberty bell, enjoyed some of the spring blooms and mysterious ally ways.
Spencer/ Spider Man... love him

Me trying to be as cool-not quite getting it.
Lovin Anne more than Hershey's chocolate and hoping she feels the same.
Bee joined us on the drive to the temple. Its always so fun to see her.
Mother and daughters at the Washington D.C. LDS Temple. Beautiful.
Spencer took control on the ship we toured in Baltimore's inner harbor. "Bravo! Bravo! Well, done!" With applause of course.

"We all live in a yellow submarine"-- Well we like to tour them in Baltimore, even when they aren't yellow.

NYC held some delicate treats and unique aesthetics- crochet covered bike? It was quite the adventure. Spencer's car was towed. We didn't have to ride this bike around (probably couldn't have if we had tried). We joined the audience of the Late Show with David Letterman, saw Kristin Chenoweth in "Promises, Promises". Met up with good friends and Spencer's sister. some must tries while in NYC: The Doughnut Plant, Max Brenner, and Jacque Torres.
Beth and I made a quick trip to the District and Northern VA. Here we are at Mt. Vernon where I finally got my money's worth for the annual pass I picked up last year. It was a lovely lovely day for walking the grounds.
Lavender Moon Cupcakery could not have been a more welcome on our route to Thai Old Town in Alexandria.
In my book, these beat out the majority of cupcakes in NYC. (Belgian chocolate, Blood Orange Berry, Thyme Black Berry, Lemon Custard )

Even Better

2010-04-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Stay Tuned

2010-03-15T12:16:00.001-07:00

HELLO SPRING!!!! OH, these blossoms are so refreshing. They get me every time.

The guesses began a few weeks ago... and a few days still remain before my call arrives... so leave your guess in a comment or send me a message if you want to be eligible for a special prize if you are closest.

I got this skirt for a dandy little price at the GAP.

I have intentions to build a purse out of it..... with all my free time. So, Time, have at it, and my Tee-shirt quilt.

I planted these tiny seeds out in my Grandparent's garden last week.

LOOK! They started sprouting up. Welcome precious little sproutling!

My little peach blossom.

Tony The Tiger

2010-02-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

On a quick trip to Vegas, we gathered a fun group and rode the Big Shot at the Stratosphere. I really like roller coasters and prefer them to "car-coasters". It was quite thrilling and different than I had remembered. This time I could keep my shoes on. I guess I felt slightly less vulnerable.

Randal, Kody, cousin Trevor, Moi, Ashlee, McKenzie

We were all the way up there on the red tip.

After our high in the sky adventure, we enjoyed a delightful treat here. Mom took us there a few times in high school and its apparently quite famous for being a small stand tucked away behind a gas station off of Las Vegas BLVD... I ordered a Jr. Western Special... hot fudge, caramel and pecans-so good. I get it most every time. I enjoyed a few rich bites while sitting on the corner with Randal and Trevor when a scraggly old street comfortable man came over with a grimy vase full of fake flowers. He set the vase in front me and basically asked all three of us, "What can you spare?" Randal made it known that we didn't have any cash leftover and so I extended my custard bowl and said, "Sorry, but you can have this if you like."

He just about lit up like a Christmas tree and said something along the lines of, "Oh boy! Really?! I like ice cream even better than I like women! Thank you! God bless you." And so we traded. He also declared that if anyone bothered us he would take care of them.... He only gave me one of the flowers, but I think it was priceless.

Before we left, Randal asked him his name and got more of his stories.

What is your name?

-Tony the Tiger..... You know what they call me around here? The Godfather. I have 309 Godchildren.............

Oh dear. Typing that out, I find it a bit creepier than I did in the moment. There is more, but that may be Randal's story to tell. I could fill you in if you are really curious and want to call me.

Turns out Tony was handing out flowers even after we left... Suhaila got one with her date for a dollar. We just missed each other at LUV<3>

A Favorite Baby Trick

2010-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

My niece Anne keeps busy and entertains herself, me and now you with her fun lip buzzing!

I love babies!

Tumble Weed Truck

2010-01-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

At about 5:40 AM on a foggy, wet I-80 East, Randal and I were about 3 miles out of Kearney, NE (we didn't know that at the time) on our way to the DC area to visit our sisters (his in Boston, mine in Hershey). Randal was driving at this point and we were both awake and chatting a bit. We were passing a semi-truck when mid-semi Randal felt some slippage toward the truck on the wet roads and over corrected. Off we went across the grassy median and west bound highway. We rolled over a few times at least and gratefully we didn't hit any other cars. I remember seeing the headlights of a semi as we were flailing out of control over the other highway. I guess we were going fast enough to miss its path. I think it was the driver of that truck that pulled over to call 911 and came down to assess the situation.

I was too late with the camera action to get a picture of the truck how it landed sideways. In this picture you can see the driver's window that we crawled fairly easily out of after unbuckling.

Most all of our luggage bounced undamaged onto the grass or was secure and uncrushed in the truck. The Sherif who came out to report the accident even found my cellphone in the grass. Even my ipod that was attached and playing at the time

I almost feel silly posting this picture but if you look closely at my right hand you can see that one finger nail is not as long as the others. That one broke during the roll over. One broken nail, a couple of bruises on my left leg and some soreness/stiffness in my shoulders and neck= happy day after a wild car wreck.

This was taken at the tow yard. Sad truck, but happy alive passengers. Thank you trusty truck.

So maybe everything happens for a "Riesen"

We did manage to scavenge some of our travel snacks (yogurts, chips, candies, string cheese, celery, summer sausage etc.) from the wreckage at the tow place.

I feel so blessed and grateful to be alive and to see more of the miracles that the Lord has in store for His children. I always want to be in tune with His Spirit and live worthy of His many blessings.

October is...

2009-10-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

almost gone...

Some things I have loved about this month...

GENERAL CONFERENCE

President Thomas S. Monson

There was so much goodness and truth shared with the world about families, choices, faith,

LOVE, service, CHARITY, hope, virtue, GOD, and Jesus Christ. All can be viewed, listened to and read again and again in so many languages right online!

http://lds.org/conference/languages/0,6353,310-1,00.html

The beautiful leaves changing colors!! I observed some youth doing a project where they used rocks to pound leaf prints into fabric squares... very cool- I will try this!

SUHAILA reunion + HONG KONG friends + Emily Hillstrom's wedding= HAPPY

Suhaila came to town! It has been 1 year ++ since we parted in Macau! It was so fun to have her around and all the friends that were gathered for dear Emily's wedding!

Suhaila denies trampling some youngins to be the winner of this prize! (She should deny it, because she didn't really, but sort of... she made an exerted effort at least! And we all celebrated with her!)

The Harvest

2009-09-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

My friend Matt and I carved this last year... we made up our own stencil.. Guess who?

Driving around the neighborhood, I am reminded of the approaching season with all the Pumpkins I see popping up! I could have caused an accident by the way I was startled by the size of one of these pumpkins on my drive home from church the other day.

I have also been so fortunate to live back in the Steele neighborhood. They have been very generous with peaches and tomatoes! And others have imparted squash and zucchini and Asian pears! I love it all and I am so grateful! I will have garden when I grow up and learn the art of canning! Hooray for the Harvest and General Conference this weekend!

Home on the Wasatch Front

2009-09-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

After my D.C send off,

my friend Bee from Thailand at my apartment complex in D.C brought back some pastries to share from her trip to NYC the night before my bus to Hershey, PA

I spent a week with Nancy, Anne and Scott at their apartment doing baby things and job searching...

Nancy and Anne took me to the airport in Baltimore, MD so we checked out the Inner Harbor before my flight to UT. It was a HOT day. Little Anne got to sport her hat and we waited a little bit for the fountains to come on, but they had some technical difficulties and we had to head out by the time they got them working.

I flew to UT on good 'ole Southwest

Sometimes its the small things that really do it for me.... the honey roasted peanuts have been a staple flight snack that sadly disappeared for a time. Another great thing about this trip-Julia Olson was on my connecting flight! What a joy to share a flight with a friend! We did the Jumpsart program together in D.C.

My first weekend back I got to hike Mt. Timpanogos with some friends from a former ward and Jesikaa.

Jensen, Danny & J.J.

We started our hike in the middle of the night so we could catch the sunrise from the peak. It was fantastic.

We had some great little finds while descending from that giant peak...

THIS photo gets me every time I look at it. 100%Miracle, 50% chance, 30% camera, 10% my finger (obviously those don't add up).. just enjoy...

The daylight added some amazing sites to our long hike.

I tried to think like these pro-hikers, " I am a mountain goat...".

Natural Design

Jesikaa and I naturally collapsed after 13 hours on the mountain.

My knees were in slight disrepair for the next week, but they got the hang of walking again and have even agreed to help me give tap dance another go.

Lovely Things

2009-07-30T17:56:00.001-07:00

from the garden next to the Hirshorn Museum in DC

The Palmyra, NY Temple

A lonely flower on a rock at Niagara Falls, NY

Berries near the falls.... yum!

Another flower near the Hirshorn Museum

Bug Bites and Metro Losses

2009-06-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

I don't mean for this post to be depressing, but I just wanted to share with the world some of the small inconveniences that I have met while in D.C. (I find them humorous). My first week here I left a blue sweatshirt on the Metro and have yet to find it. I figured it was gone for good. One less thing to pack around with me at the end of the summer. I did however spot a lost and found sign at the end of one of the lines on my way to the temple last week.... maybe I will look into the possibilities of finding it if I have extra time...

I got some mysterious bug bites on the tops of my feet the other night. I noticed a bunch of red spots on them the next morning. I had spent some time in a park in the rain with open topped shoes on that night so I think it was some ant or chigger or something? Any anti-ich remedy suggestions? Thanks for sharing.

Life is wonderful.. really I'm not just saying that. It is.

I LOVE to see the temple

2009-06-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I road the metro and a bus to meet Nancy and Scott at the D.C. Temple. It was so wonderful! The area was breath taking. The bus driver let me off just a short walk down a winding tree lined road. I came around a corner and finally knew for sure I was headed in the right direction.

Painting

2009-05-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that I enjoy painting. I have only done a couple over the past 4 years or so, but I find it rewarding, relaxing and rejuvenating!
This is the latest work in progress inspired by my Southeast Asia sail boat experiences. I loved the orange sail in this picture and it was so fun to paint the water. I think I will add more green and touch up some things and call it good.
This is a painting of a picture of my cousin Trevor on a bridge in Yosemite. I would love to go back to Yosemite! What a gorgeous place! I started and finished this one about 3 years ago.

My Delayed Blogging Life- Purging

2009-05-14T14:54:00.001-07:00

Please excuse the title... Although, I think its a pretty accurate description of my blogging habits... The following are a pinch of the fun I've been having post Winter semester-Spring!

This is a picture of my Winter Semester roommates at Ashley's (the glowing one in white) wedding reception! How I adore these girls! We really know how to have a good time plus Ashley's reception was super classy and very much an Ashley + Larson celebration! They had a super sweet candy bar as a thank you gift too.

girls from the moon

The following are photos of a couple of my cousins' darling kids- they seemed pretty comfortable with photo shoots so while we waited for Blake and Michelle to emerge from the Salt Lake City Temple as husband and wife we took a few shots among the flowers-

Cute cousins- Lauren and Jordan- "princesses" really- according to Lauren. I imagine Lauren is a princess whenever she pleases-except when she is a "step-mother". She and Jordan snagged a coveted bench where couples were snapping photos. After they had been there for some time, I suggested they let others have a turn on that particular bench. I commented that a princess would be kind and share the bench with others. She replied in her sweet little proper voice that she was a "step-mother" now and that they were there first and there were other benches. I didn't mess with step-mother Lauren after that. funny girls :)

This Cannon man was just happy to get up and try his walking skills on all the different textures around the temple- the grass, the cobble stone...

Will found his own orange flower to pose by after he saw his sister Lauren do a similar shot.

Hooray for hikes! Adrianne and I hiked to the Y! We had planned on a hike with some other friends but plans changed as things got pushed back so we did our own hike up the switchback mountain. We had a genuinely hilarious time! Plus we didn't talk ourselves out of going all the way even with a few sprinkles and ominous clouds. The overcast weather made it quite nice!

REFUND 100% + Babysitting

2009-05-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Just got a 100% refund on an Amtrak ticket I don't need anymore. I was very pleased! Also, I am available to babysit for you... Yes you with children and a need for a break... you can call me or email me. I am pretty flexible. Also, I can be hired for cooking, cleaning, and yard work.

Graduation Walk

2009-04-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I walked for my graduation at BYU! My mom stayed out in Utah after we sent Gordon off so she could be there. We had fun spending time together. Adrianne, Brad, and so many other friends walked as well. I enjoyed meeting everyone's family members who came out to support them. I still have some classes that I will finish up by December- instead of this Spring because I got an internship with Jumpstart in D.C!! Hooray! It all happened so fast and I am very excited for the opportunity!

Missionary brother

2009-04-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Gordon > ELDER STEELE---Gordon is a missionary now! My Dad and Mom both came to town and we were able to take him to the Missionary Training Center on April 15th. He will serve in the Mexico Tuxtla Gutierrez Mission. We are so excited for him. He came out a couple of days before he went in so we enjoyed some JDawgs

and Smart Cookie, a pizza night with the Steele family

and some good old Skype bonding with Nancy and Scott! What a send off !

Onion Plant

2009-03-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

One of my roommates (no one will fess up, and to be honest, I may be the responsible party) kept a yellow onion out on our counter top for a couple weeks which began sprouting into a plant:I found it fascinating! It was a special little experiment to have an onion plant growing taller each day right in your kitchen. Well, sadly one roommate did not share my sentiments, so photographs are the only remains of this beauty.

Peanut, Peanut Butter, and Jelly!

2009-03-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last night, Brad and I dressed up as peanut butter and jelly with bread capes for his friend Cassie's 22 birthday party! Her party was full of cleverness and delight! It was a doubles, twins, pairs, couples theme. Her invitations included copies of her glasses for us to cut out and wear to match her! Brad assembled our glasses-they look pretty real... My sister, Nancy, gave me the peanut butter and jelly idea, and we ran with it. We had fun making our labels together and taking fun pictures. Brad introduced me to this fun PB&J rap on YouTube. What fun we have!

Dinner Group

2009-02-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

So I am a huge fan of dinner groups! At school at least, they are definitely the way to go for good, inexpensive meals, and great company! Four nights a week-- Monday-Thursday-- dinner is ready around 6PM. We take turns cooking. I cook Thursday nights every other week. I enjoy cooking anyway, but this way it is really exciting to get to think up a dish to serve and get ideas from group members. Tonight, I made a Thai Peanut Chicken Recipe I found online, and it turned out pretty well! I DOUBLED the recipe served it with rice and broccoli for some balance. I put some of my numbers together and with all the parts of ingredients I used I was able to feed 4 grown men and 4 grown ladies with about a meal and a half left over.. so lets make it about 10 servings (because some had seconds) for less than $1.50 a person... I like that! I like that very much!

Birthday fun

2009-01-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

So Todd turned 23 yesterday and we got to do some exciting things to celebrate. To start off, some of his mission buddies came over for a good surprise on his birthday eve (because we had planned to be in St. George on his birthday over the long weekend). I got him over to my house under the pretense of watching a movie and the party crew camped out in the kitchen. He got here and wasn't thirsty like I had hoped and so I went to get myself a drink and he finally decided to follow me in... We had lit the candles around the time we thought he would be there... but when the wax started getting super dwarfed we decided to blow all 23 candles spelling Todd out and light one candle that we stuck in the "o" when he knocked. Well, he says he was surprised. Then on his real birthday we went up to Soldier's Hollow where we tried cross country skiing! It was a beautiful day and we had a blast... even when we fell down :) luckily there were just enough people around who we could spy some tricks of the sport from, tricks like how to connect your boots to the skis! It was a great work out with some fun rides in between. We had a blast too! And we got a free water bottle for filling out a survey of our Wasatch recreation experience... For dinner we picked up mighty tasty ribs and whipped up some more of Todd's favorites mashed potatoes and salad. To top it off we went to another birthday celebration for my friend Audrey where we played Mafia. I was a pretty sneaky mafia and Todd was a pretty effective last word investigator. What a Happy birthday!

Wouldn't ya know

2008-12-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

So, my brother-in-law, Scott, was checking out Jericho Road, an LDS man band (they are hardly boys), on their site and he stumbled on a little music video and spotted Nancy and I in it.... A few years back my cousin recruited us when they were filming... I hadn't even seen it and figured it just didn't get anywhere. Turns out I was wrong and we made the cut. haha check it out if you have a minute, we are just in the first few seconds.