Oh what do you do in the [Christmas] time..part 2

I've realized that too many of my blog posts come written in parts. My life really is a book. It's hilarious. I hope this is ok with everyone. So here is my report for all of the happenings of the second half of December. Wow! What a month!

Tues Dec 16th
My brother, Kevin, started a tradition of hosting a white elephant party a few years back. I was sad to be missing it out in Kansas, so I hosted my own here in Utah. I had two different parties. The first one was in Provo, with my friends from BYU. I figured they would all be "too busy" to make the 30 minute drive up to Salt Lake, so I just had one there. It was quaint, but fun to see everyone. I came home with a yellow placemat. Some fun gift hightlights were a cracked bucket with the DVD "Moonstruck", some plastic bling bling rings, a lightbulb, fuzzy socks, and a bow & arrow set. Here's the whole gang with our winnings.


Wed Dec 17th
I attended a show called "Miracle on 42nd Street" at the Desert Star Theatre in Murray. A group of us from my ward went to support Emily,(another member of our ward) who was the accompanist that night. Let's just say she was the best part of the show. I learned very quickly that I am not a fan of melodrama theatre, that's for sure.

Thur Dec 18
I purposely left my night open to be able to stay home and watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

I love that movie! It has been a tradition to watch it in my family, well...pretty much my entire life. I remember one year during the holiday season, I think we watched it 15 times or something crazy like that. I never realized just how much of it I have memorized. Good show! I will never understand how or why people, (LIKE YOU CASSIE) despise it so much. It has an awesome message and the characters are great and it always leaves me counting my blessings. Especially at the end...it always makes me get a little choked up.

Fri Dec 19th
Can we say SNOW STORM!?!?! Utah was pounded with a major downpour of snow. It was gorgeous! It started at about noon and it didn't stop for about 8 hours. From my office window, I was mesmerized watching the snow beautifully fall to the ground all day. I, however, was also grateful to live only 2 miles from work because driving was a nightmare! When the time came to go home, it took me about 30 minutes to go those 2 miles.

That same night, we hosted "International Food night" at our place. It started as my roommate's idea with some guys in the ward to celebrate their missions to Asian countries. It soon became a smörgåsbord (that's a great word) of cuisine from all over the world. We had about 20 people from the ward there.

I made Spain food, which is always very exciting, if you ask me.

Sat Dec 20th
In the morning I went to Provo to pick up my dear friend, Debbie (from England) who had just finished finals at BYU. She's truly adorable! I brought her back to Salt Lake and we spent the day together. I always have a blast with her! We had big plans for our afternoon, but in actuality we ended up doing nothing productive. It was hysterical.

That night was my white elephant party in Salt Lake. It was fun to have some of my closest friends together in one room. There were a handful of us from the mission and it had been awhile since we'd all been together. It's always fun to see them. I have great people in my life. I consider myself to be one very lucky girl! Funny gift highlights of the night were a beta fish, a pregnancy test, a toilet seat, and an elk caller, just to name a few.

Sun Dec 21st
After church, some people from the ward got together as my friend, Kasey, hosted "Soup in a breadbowl" night at her house. I'm not sure if there is any combination that I love more.

I seriously love soup! I made homemade chicken noodle soup the day before and let it simmer all day in the crock pot. Yummy! (I say this story could actually go under the "Stuff that happens to me" section). Mid-transport to Kasey's house, the lid to the crock pot somehow was not secure and half the soup spilled all over the floorboard of my car. I was not pleased. Luckily the night was not ruined, after all, it was just spilled soup. I decided to just take a deep breath and realize I could clean it later. We played a few rounds of The Office DVD game, (Which is fun for anyone who loves The Office). Then we were all introduced to the game MAO, courtesy of Steve, one of the guys in the ward. It was HILARIOUS and I pretty much would have to say it's my new favorite game!

Tues Dec 23rd
So I must say it made my day when my roommate, Shannon, said to me "Hey I'm making dinner on Tuesday and we're going to play games, so invite whoever you want." Have I ever mentioned how much I like my roommates? I totally lucked out with those two girls! They are fantastic!..Well, I was pretty busy at work that day and I stayed later than usual (since I was heading home to Kansas the next day). It definitely put a smile on my face to come home to a kitchen full of friends and a bowl of this waiting for me!

Somehow Shannon scored the recipe for Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup. It's pretty much one of my favorites! (I sure talk about soup a lot, huh!?)

Along with the good food, we had a fun night. Matt, my lifelong best friend from Kansas, was in Utah with his Mom for the holiday. Sadly we discovered that if we didn't see each other that night, we weren't going to see each other at all (since I was going to be in Kansas while he would be here in Utah). So he came over and joined the festivities. It was another crazy game night for all of us. This time we went back to playing Nertz. I miss Matt. We've been friends since we were 7 yrs old. Sometimes when we are together, you'd think we are still 10...ok maybe 12. We always have fun and laugh A LOT! This is one of my favorite pictures of us (after a Royals game in Kansas City this past spring).

That concludes all of my festivities leading up to the actual Christmas Shabang which took place at home in Olathe, Kansas this year. The tales of those adventures are yet to come...stay tuned.....

Who would've thought?!...Part 2

To follow up with my post about my BMI situation...Other than the fact that I am convinced it was an error, I decided to join Gold's gym. I know, I know. I gave in to the man and spent the big bucks to get myself into better shape. I joined Gold's gym back while I was at BYU and it ended up being a HUGE waste of money because I rarely went. Well, I am determined this time to get my money's worth!

It seemed like everyone I talked to was a member of Gold's gym, especially the people in my ward. My roommates went regularly and I decided it would be a good time to join with such positive peer pressure around to influence me. So far, so good. So this is when the "Who would've thought?" part comes in...

#1 It's a shocker in itself that I'm willing to suck it up and actually exercise to the point of being out of breath and sweating. What a kick in the pants! I've always been rather lucky to have a good metabolism, along with being naturally hyper and active, so I've just gotten "my fill" that way-through daily life. Sadly, I recognize that I AM getting older and therefore I should start putting some effort into taking care of myself.

#2 Would you believe my workouts have been starting either at 5:30am or 6:00am and last for an entire hour. I know! I can't believe it either! My roommate brought me along for a 5:30am Monday morning weight lifting class and I liked it, so I've continued with it. Once I discovered how nice it was to start my day at the gym (and get the torture OUT OF THE WAY), I decided the early morning thing is what I like best. So I am up and at it by 6am five days a week.

I knew being home in Kansas for Christmas was going to throw me out of my groove, and one day, I even had that "I need to exercise" feeling. In fact, I got to the point that I finally went to my brother's house and used his treadmill for an hour and then played the Wii Fit.-Good times.

So I guess this is where I confess my deep dark secret...I actually am starting to enjoy exercising! (Ahh what have I become?!) Luckily there is enough variety in working out, that I can mix it up and I'm not always stuck running (something I do not and have never enjoyed!). Like I said before..."Who would've thought?!"

"Oh what do you do in the [Christmas] time...Part 1

...When all the world is [white]?!

Hello everyone! So the brackets obviously indicate that I took some creative liberties and changed a line from one of the classic primary songs that I wouldn't be surprised to find out the kids don't learn anymore. (Such a shame!)-Summer, do something about that, please.

So what HAVE I been up to here in the blessed land of Salt Lake City?! Let's just say when I returned from Sacramento on Dec 2, I don't think I had any idea just how much fun I would be having December 2008. I have been so busy! But it's been a fun busy (which is usually the case in my life).

I love the Christmas season in Kansas City. There is something magical in the air there. I don't know what it is exactly. But maybe it's because that's where I used to look out into that same bitter, I can't feel my nose, freeze your face off cold air and frantically search the night's sky for Santa's sleigh. Aww the Christmases of my childhood were so fun!

I don't think I realized how much I missed and loved Christmas time in Kansas City until last year when I was living there again. The lights of the Plaza, ice skating at Crown Center, Kevin's White elephant extravaganza, a drive down Christmas Card Lane, my family, etc ..all reminded me of what I had been missing out on all those years while I was in Provo.


So now I'm back in Utah, and can I just say I have definitely found my fair share of holiday fun around here this year! It's been amazing! I'm going to have to break this into 2 different posts for each half of the month because it's been THAT busy!
Here's a quick look at how I've filled my December calendar so far:

Thurs Dec 4th
In the daytime, I went on a field trip "for work" to see "The Nutcracker"-(tough job, I know). I LOVED it! (As usual)

Thurs Dec 4th
That same evening, I went to the Utah Festival of Trees with a group of people from the ward. It's a beautiful Utah tradition. I got a little choked up as I wandered around and saw what families had created "in memory" of their loved ones.

Sat. Dec 6th-
In the afternoon, "For work," I attended the onstage dance production of -"It's a Wonderful Life"- It was SO COOL!

(This is Violet-for anyone who doesn't know the story). In my opinion, if you are not familiar with this story you #1 should repent, and #2 go watch it...TONIGHT!
(No comments, please Cassie. Let's just agree to disagree)

Sat. Dec 6th-
That evening was our Ward Christmas party to celebrate the "Season of Ugly Sweaters". I sang a cheesy song with two other girls and stuck around at the end for some sweet karaoke.

Sun Dec. 7th
After church, I bolted down to Provo to join my best friend, Summer's extended family for the monthly dinner at her Aunt Betty's. It is ALWAYS a party! I was in storyteller mode that night. It was funny.
-Then I turned around and hurried back to Salt Lake for ward prayer festivities, where I was in charge of the spiritual thought. I actually shared my blog post called "How Life is like a rafting trip." People seemed to enjoy it.
-Then we had our usual Nertz night at Emily's house, while we "watched"/(listened to) the First presidency Christmas devotional that had been previously recorded.
Mon Dec 8th
FHE Christmas open house @ the Bishop's. The house was packed with people, food, fun and even caroling in just about every room...fully equipped with piano, guitar and violin to accompany. I sang at the beginning and end, but spent most of the night downstairs, having a "heart to heart" about relationships with Joe, one of my new guy friends in the ward. Apparently he thought I would be a good source for girl advice. Ha!
Tue Dec 9th
I went to see Michael McClean's "The Forgotten Carols" with my visiting teacher. I was first introduced to it by my freshman roommate, Krystal, back in the dorms and really enjoyed the music. We also used a song or two for the Spain Madrid Mission's Christmas program back in the day, so it brought back a lot of fun memories for me.
Thurs Dec 11th
I went to see the lights on Temple Square. It wasn't really a premeditated choice though. It was our ward's temple night, and due to the Tabernacle choir concert and a Jazz game, there was INSANE traffic downtown. I missed the last session of the night by 5 minutes. So I walked around by myself for a bit and enjoyed the lights. It worked out well, because I still was able to go do other work in the temple and meet up with the ward.

Fri Dec 12th
Shopping with Summer & Mariel in Provo. I wish I had a picture of the 3 of us. This isn't exactly Christmas related, but it was the funniest night ever. I considered it my Christmas gift to be with them for an evening, because it hasn't happened in a long time. The 3 of us have known each other for almost a decade now. We all met working at the MTC years ago! (Mariel & I met in 1999, Summer & Mariel met in 2001 as I was leaving on my mission, and Summer & I met in 2003 when I came home). We've had ups & downs and we have learned to love each other through them all and i can truly say these girls are two of my best friends! Let's just say I was almost in tears from the ab pain the evening laughter was causing me! I begged them to stop making me laugh, but Summer was right when she said "Oh please, Tiff, like you didn't know this was going to happen."

Sat. Dec 13th
I went to see the matinee of A Christmas Carol @ the Hale Center Theatre in Orem with a really cool guy in my ward. I love that show! If you are in Utah, please go see it. (You even have two Hale Center Theatres to choose from!) It's just one of those things everyone should do during the Christmas season. It was such a fun afternoon! Great show, great guy, great time!

Sat Dec 13th
That evening I went to see the annual Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert in the conference center. This is definitely my other favorite thing to do in Utah at Christmas time. It's hard to get tickets, but somehow my uncle gets them almost every year and I benefit from his luck. It was fantastic-as always!


Mon Dec 15th Are you still with me? if so-you're awesome!
This evening's festivities were something I had looked forward to for over a month. I find out about community events with my work connections and I was very quick to pass on the FHE idea to the ward to attend Larry H. Miller's Christmas Sing along @ Energy Solutions Arena downtown. It was AWESOME! Apparently it has been going on for 24 years. I have no idea how I never knew about it. Admission was totally free so the arena was packed with families and we all had free hot dogs, drinks, and received free stuff on top of that too (free popcorn at the movies, free Salt lake Bee's tickets, etc etc). We sang for just a little over an hour, being accompanied by a live orchestra and everything. They even had the Utah National Guard singing along via satellite from Afghanistan. It was so cool. I had a blast! The ward members asked me to choreograph actions to "Up On the House Top"..which I did, and when push came to shove, only a couple of others joined me on them. (They're big talkers) Well, I got on the jumbo tron-and they didn't. Ha! So, I guess that's what happens when you're not afraid to look like an idiot.

Who would've thought....!? Chapter 1

Back in the Spring, I started a section on my blog called "Stuff that happens to me." This could somewhat fall into that category, I think. It's another 2 part story, so I'll go through the background now and then share part 2 in the days to come.

So let me fill you in on the story.. It happened about a month ago. As a county employee, there is a "Healthy Lifestyles" program available to us. Basically, it works like this: Attend pre-program exam, track healthy habits for a year (exercise, routine medical exams, make nutrition goals, seat belt usage, etc) and then attend the end of year exam to "weigh in." If I've earned a certain amount of points for doing those things during the year, I receive a reimbursement check paying me for maintaining a "Healthy Lifestyle." I figured I might as well get involved, especially since I'll end up getting paid to do something I should be doing anyway, right?!

So I attended the pre-exam. Let's just say I walked away laughing, annoyed, and convinced there had been some sort of mistake! They asked the normal medical history questions, then went on to test my cholesterol, blood pressure, height, weight and my BMI (Body Mass Index). For anyone who is not familiar with BMI, It is defined as "A number calculated from a person’s weight and height. BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for people." Well on that note--feel free to check this out and play around with it for yourself. BMI

So all of my results were just fine, EXCEPT my BMI. The woman asked if I could touch my fingers together when grabbing my wrist, and then she did some funky measuring with a ruler around my elbow. Next I had a suction poky thing on my bicep and next thing I knew, I was being told that my BMI was almost 32%. How is that even possible when I had just been weighed and came in 5 pounds less than I thought I weighed?! It's not as if I've suddenly grown either. My height hasn't changed since I was 13 years old. And what was with all the wrist grabbing, suction cup ruler measurement mumbo jumbo?! According to that website, the BMI calculation process is pretty cut & dry. My BMI should be 22%. I knew 32% sounded way too high for anything I had ever measured before, however, when I pointed out what I assumed to be an error to the woman giving the test, she had that look on her face as if she had heard this debate before. Her response was "Well honey, at least it'll give you something to work on." I was speechless (for once in my life).

To be honest, even though I am about 99% sure it was an error, it still made me feel bad. I decided rather than staying mad and bitter about the whole thing, I would do something about it. I figure when it comes time for the end of year exam, one of two things will happen. #1 The error will be discovered and corrected and I'll get money for it. (I call this option "emotional compensation") or #2 If by some bizarre chance it wasn't an error, my year's worth of hard work will pay off when I will have lowered my BMI on my own...oh! and I'll get money for it! So really, either way is a win-win situation. SUCKAS!

A California Thanksgiving 2008

Last year was the first time I had been home with my family for Thanksgiving since the Thanksgiving of 1997. I generally celebrated my Utah Thanksgivings with my co-workers, and that was usually after a long day of working at the MTC or Heritage. I loved being home last year. This year I decided to continue the "being with family" for the holiday idea, and I flew to Sacramento to spend the weekend with my brother, James' family.

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning and was happy to join my friends from home in Kansas who also live here in Salt Lake City; Jeremiah, Marcie, Jimmy & Natalie to watch a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade before being taken to the airport. I love the parade! It's just an exciting tradition of welcoming in the Christmas season (hence the reason I firmly believe no Christmas music should be played on radio stations before then!!)
Plus they always feature performances from the recent musicals on Broadway, and that just makes me happy!

So I landed in Sacramento at about noon. My brother, James, is a running maniac! His family runs a 5K every year to raise money for "Sacramento's Feed the Hungry." They picked me up right after finishing the 5K. My nieces are the best! I just love those girls! James' wife, Krista, is from Hong Kong, so she doesn't do the whole "Thanksgiving day cooking" thing. For lunch we had some leftover hamburger helper, corn on the cob, grapes and tomato soup.
I guess their usual tradition is to go to IHOP or Boston Market after the race, but they came to the airport instead this time. Part of me was a little sad, but I was just happy to be with my family.

We played Rock Band for most of the afternoon. (We're the Player family-of course, we did!) There was nothing more hilarious than my 7 yr old niece knowing every word to Nirvana's "In Bloom, " as well as other songs. (I kinda got into it too!)

Well after our Rock Band party, I was pleasantly surprised when James informed me we would be joining some neighbors for a Thanksgiving dinner. I must admit I was
excited to be able to have turkey, pumpkin pie, and all the fixings after all. (The neighbors actually had fried the turkey)-that was a first for me.

It was fun to mingle with the neighbors, and play games with the kids (especially for the fact that I didn't have to document their behavior afterwards like I would at work).

FLASHBACK!: Ok so in May 2004, I went to Sacramento for 10 days to take care of my nieces while James & Krista went to Hawaii. At the time my nieces were, 9, 7, 5 & 3. The air conditioner broke right before they were leaving and there wasn't really any time for it to be fixed. I figured I had lived in Spain without air conditioning, so I'd survive-after all, Northern California in the springtime is nice. Well it was SUPER hot! (especially upstairs). So every night the girls would go to bed and the heat really worried me. One by one I would carry them downstairs after they were drenched in sweat and asleep. I'd carry the first one and put her on the couch and then put her mattress on the floor downstairs. Then I'd move the next one, and then her mattress as well. It continued until there was enough mattress room for all 4 girls to sleep down there in the cooler room. They'd wake up every morning surprised and wonder "how'd we get down here?" Now you would think it would have been common sense for me to just leave the mattresses down there rather than moving them back & forth night after night. No way! Having them all "fall asleep in the same "bed" down in the family room, that never would have happened. Well after about day 4, the girls knew they were ALWAYS going to wake up in the family room, so they begged to just sleep down there together and they PROMISED they'd be good. I gave in...(have you met these girls? you would have given in too)...and they WERE awesome about it!!! So we did that the rest of the time I was there and it started what the girls have since referred to as the "Aunt Tiff slumber party."

UNFLASH:-Back to Thanksgiving-
So we had an "Aunt Tiff slumber party"..except this time, However, now that the air conditioning is not a problem, it's turned into us staying up WAY past bedtime playing around taking pictures and pretending to be eskimos(SSShhh! Don't tell Mom & Dad, but come on-That's what Aunts are for, right?)



We crammed 4 of us onto the bottom bunk bed. It was hilarious! The girls were so good, as always. I can admit, however, that at 4am, I left and went to sleep in Lily's empty bed. I had no covers, plus Iris was sprawled across me, and Jasmine's feet were in my face and armpit somehow. Holly, on the other hand, is 13 and was "too cool" to join us-
(and I hope you read this too, Holly! LOL, I love you!)
As for the rest of the weekend, we went to see High School Musical 3. I liked it a lot! I think those movies are even more fun when I get to see them with my nieces, but apparently this time, I liked it more than all of them. HA!

Saturday we went to walk around the outdoor shops and checked out the new mall in town-We bought nothing (as is the Player way-We're not big shoppers/spenders). The weather was great!

I had planned to leave on Sunday, but instead i spent the whole day in the Sacramento airport without ever getting on a plane. 8am-6pm. yay for flying standby (you may save some money, but you sure sacrifice a lot of time). Monday morning my sister-in-law and I left the house at 5am for the 6:10am flight to SLC. Traffic, accident on the freeway, severe fog, security, holiday & Monday business travelers all made a nasty combination which resulted in me arriving at the gate just in time to see them closing the door on the 6:10am plane. I admit I actually cried a little when the gate agent told me it was leaving with open seats and they had been calling my name for 10 minutes. ARGH! I was too frustrated to sit in the airport again all day, so luckily (knowing I was running late, Krista had waited for me outside). I went back and spent another lovely day with the family! Krista and I went shopping and, of course I had to go to In N Out before leaving town.


The girls were excited when they came home from school and I was still there. We went on a bike ride to "Save Iris' homework" which she had left at school by mistake, and then I helped Jasmine with her math. Down with long division in 4th grade. (I'm pretty sure I probably cried back then as well!) it was good to have one more day with the family.

Krista took me again on Tuesday, bright and early and I got on the 6:10am flight, without any problems and landing in Salt Lake City at 8:30am with plenty of time to get to work.

Two lessons I learned this Thanksgiving
#1-I love spending it with my family
#2 I bought a REAL plane ticket home for Christmas...no more standby during the holidays

and the winner is.....

Karen!
She was the first to correctly guess "My Turn on Earth" so I dedicate this blog to her:

Karen-
Once upon a time in 2004, Karen and I were EFY counselors at KU. To be honest, I don't really remember much about her that week, because I was too busy playing with my co-counselor (who happened to be one of my closest mission friends, Brad) and Brad and I stayed pretty much in our own little world called "The Wrath to Come."

3 years later, I had moved to Lawrence, Kansas. Either the first or second Sunday in the Lawrence University ward, Karen came and sat with me in Relief Society. She walked right up and said "I remember you from EFY. You sang "These are the Days." This was a true statement and I was flattered that she remembered it as a positive experience. We were pretty much fast friends from then on. I would say, however, the actual "bonding" happened on the ward's fall break trip to Nauvoo. Now that I think about it, I was TOTALLY the third wheel and I feel so stupid for pretty much crashing Adam & Karen's road trip together, but I was indeed lucky enough to get to ride with those two. They were blissfully engaged at the time and were also using the trip to Nauvoo as an opportunity to plan some wedding details.

The car ride was beyond fun! Adam was a total sport as we talked about boys (well I did..Karen just swooned over Adam) and they told me their whole story, and I was LOVING every detail of it. You can't beat falling in love with someone you've been friends with since you were 14 years old--classic and beautiful, if you ask me!!! That was only the beginning. It was a great year together in Lawrence, where we both wish we would have had more time to spend together. In fact, it wasn't until the month before I was leaving that we spent what started as just an evening assembling a shoe rack but ended up going well into the wee hours of the morning as we were catching up on stories. I guess even though now we're apart we'll have our "STORYTIME FOREVER!!!"
So this is my ode to Karen and only the top 10 things I love about her in no particular order:

#1 Karen has amazing shoes, and graciously let me borrow a pair for Kevin's wedding

#2 Karen is the BEST bargain shopper ever. We once hit up the JCPenny sales (or was it Sears?) and totally scored! We even got semi-matching skirts out of it

#3 Karen is not afraid to embrace her inner rock star...creating homemade music videos and dancing around merrily to pretty much anything she feels like. No fear when it comes to fun-that's my kind of girl!

#4 Karen, as a true friend, allowed me to make my own mistake regarding a stupid stupid dating situation (that never should have happened) and she never threw it in my face that she had been SPOT ON with her wise advice.

#5 Karen, although married for 10 months at that point, participated in the Young Single Adults' making of the movie "Institute musical," not even needing to practice the dance because she totally knew it already!

#6 Karen loves Nauvoo, and has amazing wedding pictures taken there!

#7 Karen loves Adam, and it's fun to watch them

#8 Karen understands what it means to be a real, true and unconditionally loving friend...she gets it. A lot of people don't, so that's a unique quality. I've watched her naturally reach out to so many people and it always warms my heart.

#9 Karen loved her mission (I'm pretty obsessed with Spain, but I would say her love of England is pretty up there as well). I think that says a lot about the kind of missionary she was/(is)

#10 Karen just makes me happy, anytime I'm around her. Whether we are sick, tired, stressed, heart broken, excited, hyper, worried, content, chill, giddy, or whatever...I know I can just be me around her and she's definitely just going to be herself and that comfort in itself is exactly what makes Karen an awesome friend!

Opposition in all things-Chapter 2

"...You've got to be sick, to be grateful for your health."

(if anyone can name the play/musical that song is from, I will write a special blog dedicated to you just to rave about how cool you are.-Any takers?)

So it all started a couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday (Nov 11th) with a sore throat--as usual. Swallowing was painful, and I was constantly thirsty. I knew I was getting sick. Dang it!

I increased my water intake,

I started taking Airborne in the mornings (Pink grapefruit is my favorite) and I tried to go to bed earlier than usual. (keyword... TRIED).

It continued the next day, and the next, adding one symptom on to another, including exhaustion. I was doomed, and I knew it. By Friday morning (the 14th) people thought I was just really emotional because my eyes would not stop watering. I had one nostril congested and the other so busy running, you'd think it was training for the Boston marathon. Here's the worst part-For 2 days, all I had to stop the drippage were paper towels. OUCH! Sores started to form in the area under my nostrils, which made the whole situation even more painful.

I had plans to go to St. George with some people in the new ward and I had been looking forward to the opportunity to get to know some people better. The rides were arranged and everything, but in the hours just before I was to leave Friday evening, things took an intense turn to UNBEARABLE! I was in a meeting at work and honestly felt like a complete zombie. The pressure in my head had convinced me that for sure my sinuses were going to explode at any moment. I get frequent migraines, so it wasn't pain like that, but the intense pressure was remarkably uncomfortable. I left work and knew there was no way I could make the almost 5 hour drive to St. George comfortably, nor would I be able to enjoy myself socially. So, sadly, I decided not to go.

Katie, a girl in my new ward found out I was sick and quickly was texting me to inquire of my symptoms and needs and how she could be of help to me--soup? blankets? medicine?. At first, I declined her offer, but then I went to wipe my nose and I was painfully reminded, "These paper towels are killing me!" I humbled myself and asked if she'd bring me some soft tissues...VOILA!-They were at my door within about 20 minutes. THANK YOU KATIE!!

Oh the relief!

So that was Friday. Things pretty much remained the same, or worse for the next couple of days and I was thoroughly disappointed that instead of doing this with my friends,

I was doing this at home alone


Pretty much all I wanted to do was sleep, eat soup

and watch "The Office." So that was exactly what I did, (along with catching up on about a month's worth of "Heroes" episodes online.

I wasn't getting better. Instead, I was just starting to get annoyed. On Tuesday night (the 18th) I almost passed out during the recreation therapy group I was running at the boys group home. Luckily my office is in that building as well, so I simply walked away from the kids and said "Uhh..give me a minute." I decided to rest for a second. What is it about putting our head on our desk that somehow magically makes us feel better? I think it's something subconsciously brainwashed into us starting in elementary school. It's miraculous!

I went home right away (at about 730pm), walked into my bedroom and fell onto my bed and was OUT! My phone alarm went off about an hour later to remind me about a meeting I had at 915pm. I made a phone call to reschedule. I got up to take out my contacts, brush my teeth, put on the PJs and then I went straight to sleep at about 845pm. Speaking of opposition-THAT is the complete opposite of me!!!

Amazingly enough, I woke up the next morning and felt rested, less frustrated and a little better. Things started to improve in the next couple of days. I could actually breath again.

As for the most current health update. My energy is back, and I feel overall fine. I still have to keep tissues close by and the itching in my eye hasn't gone away. In fact-today I'm wearing my glasses because my right eye was bright red and burning last night and all day today. It will be a great day when I'm 100% again. But like I said before, "...You've got to be sick, to be grateful for your health."

Opposition in all things-Chapter 1

So it's that time again...you know, where I get to rattle off my thoughts here to the computer and assume that other people are reading them. So other than writing about my brother's wedding and giving a two week play-by-play of my happenings when first arriving in Utah, I've been told by some close friends that I seem to be "holding back," if you will. Well here goes nothing:

I have recently experienced the importance of opposition in my life.
I've decided to share just a few examples lately of how and why. I decided I will write them as a series (to keep you all in "suspense"..or to avoid from having one amazingly long post)

Chapter 1: "Being in the world, but not of the world"
I've heard that phrase all of my life and I've often contemplated its meaning for me personally. I believe it is up to each individual to assess their life circumstances and define its meaning in their own life.

A couple of Fridays ago I went to Temple Square to meet up with my long-time friend, Bill, and see the "Reflections of Christ" exhibit. www.reflectionsofchrist.org
(It was fantastic, by the way!)

As I was walking from my car to go meet Bill, I became curious (as well as concerned) by the bustling commotion I could hear growing as I approached Temple Square. I rounded a corner and suddenly it was as if I had stepped into a bizarre movie scene. I've been to Temple Square probably close to a hundred times in my life and I have always felt a sense of peace and tranquility there. Well not this time... Wow! Little did I know that thousands were swarming downtown to march past the temple and church headquarters, to protest the passing of California's Proposition 8. Now, I'm not going to use this post to express my personal opinion of Proposition 8 because I think still talking about it is starting to become like beating a dead horse, however, I will share my experience that evening of what happened to me on the inside while there was extreme chaos on the outside. It actually ended up being a great experience. I had just had a pretty amazing week, spiritually, for a lot of different reasons and believe it or not, the protesters actually added to it. Temple Square had been closed, obviously, so Bill and I had to bravely enter the "protest zone," to get to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the exhibit.
(See the picture?...YES! I walked into THAT, and I did so confidently, smiling, unafraid, and in no way feeling "shame on me" for being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

Bill and I smiled kindly at the security officials guarding the reflection pool area, and since it was obvious we were harmless, they let us through. The Joseph Smith Memorial Building is one of the only church-owned buildings with public access to the street (not surrounded by the walls of Temple Square), and believe me, the protesters definitely were taking advantage of it. The common theme was "DISRUPT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE." Horns honking, megaphones blaring, fists and signs beating against the doors as they'd march by, or the "courageous" few who would open the doors and yell slanderous profanities inside- all popular and typical behaviors of any protest. It was crazy to say the least, however, as I stood there and viewed the beautiful photographs portraying the life of Jesus Christ, I was struck by the symbolism of it all. I was watching the introduction video for the exhibit,and suddenly it hit me.

How often in life is the world screaming at us? Do we allow others to affect our overall satisfaction in life? Do we base our happiness on how others view us, treat us or judge us? It became very apparent to me that it was my choice to either focus my attention on the art exhibit I had come to experience, or to allow my evening to be ruined by the protest. I loved the exhibit and I suddenly realized the true power that comes to each of us in the battle against the adversary as we devote our lives and focus (or in this case "reflect") on the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Look what I found!

Rock band in the wedding attire! (Those are Amy's parents)

The Last Player Standing...

OK, I will warn you now-this post is unlike any of my others. Prepare yourself for some sarcasm and a slight sense of me being on a soap box. Are you ready?

After my last post about Kevin & Amy's wedding, I think it's a perfect time to finally bring this up. So let's address the elephant in the room...it's true-I will be the last member of my family to get married......uh huh...and...????

I've had more than a person or two in the past couple of months ask me how it feels being the only single person left in my family. Well, I will tell you-

#1-I can admit part of me wants to just stand there in utter amazement when they ask me that. Seriously. In a perfect world, I would just stare at them in blank silence until they hopefully would realize (on their own) the stupidity of that question. But, I'm not that lucky. So instead, I just smile and say-"Oh, we're just saving the best wedding for last."

#2-If you were to ask me growing up if I thought I would be the last Player sibling married, I'm not sure how I would have answered. First of all, it's not like I'm on the older end of the family, so I'm not sure how I was supposed to "beat" some of them to it (because we all know it's a race, right?). But I guess being the only Player girl, there has always been a certain level of bridal pressure, if you will, with the "when you get married...(insert fairy tale wedding idea here)" comments from all sides...I'm still not really sure how or why being the only girl in my family is considered to somehow be a catalyst in the process of mutually falling in love with someone???? Anyone? Anyone?

#3 Apparently someone started a myth a long time ago that any girl who goes to BYU has only one degree in mind...their "M.R.S. degree." What exactly does that even mean? I didn't even know what that was until I was already at BYU, so obviously it had nothing to do with why I had gone there in the first place.- Whatever. I must admit there was nothing during my college years that bugged me more than everyone's utter shock every time I would go home to Kansas and a "girl like me" still wasn't married, engaged or even dating anyone out in Provo. Uh...? Sorry? *shrug* (as Cassie would say). Yes, it's true-I graduated from BYU with my maiden name on my degree/diploma...woohoo! Go me! I see nothing wrong with that.

#4 I have an awesome family. My parents are amazing people and two of my best friends! I can talk to them about ANYTHING! I have 4 fantastic brothers, whom I have always loved and been close to, and now I'm lucky to have 4 great sisters (in-law) who simply just belong among us in the Player family. I can't even tell you how much it means to me to have 4 women who love my brothers. I honestly couldn't ask for more, and on top of that- I love being an Aunt! My 6 nieces are my world!


Mom & Dad (est. 1972)


James & Krista (est. 1994)[she's adorable, huh!?]


Martin & Breckann (est. 1998)


Kevin & Amy (est. 2008)


Tiffanie- Flying solo (for now)


Jonathan & Cassie (est. 2004) [This is SOOO typical of them :) ]

#5 What's the rush? I'm a good girl-it'll happen when it happens. I don't think anything is wrong with me, and I'm feeling pretty ok about how I live my life, therefore I'm pretty sure if I can trust the Lord's timing of things happening in my life-it would be fantastic if others could support Him on that as well. No, I'm NOT bitter, I'm actually just faithful (as in full of faith). I shared this quote before, but I'm going to step off of my soap box now and end this post by sharing it again as a friendly reminder to all of us.

"Having faith in the Lord, also means having faith in His timing."
-Elder Neal A. Maxwell.