Virginia Oak: 2008

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Alta Club 5K

It's finally over!!! What a relief. It was starting to be a source of great stress in my life, but in the end it turned out to be a screaming success. The past 2 years we've had a committee to help, but this year everyone was just too busy. It's a huge project, but also a great experience. I'm getting to know the in's and out's of event planning quite well....sponsors, permits, registration, promotion, budget, cones, port-o-potties, food, T-shirts, medals, etc. Big job. Here are some pics from the event. I had some friends show up to support me. It was so nice to have them there. Thanks for coming!

The beginning of the course.

Monday, April 28, 2008

This is where it all began....

This is the house where my dad proposed to my mom. He lived here when he was going to BYU and my mom lived kitty corner from him in some apartments. Even though they lived so close to each other, it's a wonder they ever ended up together. They are so different, but they were definitely meant to be. I mean look at their kids! No accident folks. ;)

Friday, April 11, 2008

Happy Birthday, Sweet Rachel!

My niece, Rachel, turns 11 years old today.

I can hardly believe it. She is an angel and has been a huge blessing to our entire family. She is so kind, smart, helpful, sensitive, loving, not to mention beautiful. She's a great little cook and is a reader extraordinaire. She is talented and so sweet with her brothers. She holds a special place with all of us as she was the first niece/grandchild on both sides of her extended family. I love and adore her.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Rachel!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

To bring you up to speed...

A Sign of Intellegence:

I had the priviledge of meeting our new prophet last week. No kidding. I was standing in the

doorway of my boss's office and glanced over to see a man holding the door open as his lunch group exited the Alta Club. I looked over again thinking he had a striking resemblance to President Monson. Sure enough...it was him. I walked over and asked if I could shake his hand. He said, "Yes, and I wanted to tell you something." I said, "You did? What?" He said, "See the dimple in your chin?" I nodded. He continued, " I have one too. You know, it's a sign of intellegence." I said, "Great, then I'm set!" I thanked him and he joined the rest of his party outside. I think I literally skipped back to my boss's office. I was pretty happy. Cool experience. And I can tell you right now....he really is the prophet. He just looked like the prophet and felt like the prophet. ;)

Movie Review:
I've seen some good ones as of late...

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Really liked it...a lot. I loved Frances McDormand and Amy Adams in it. It's light and funny and I would even consider purchasing it when it comes out on DVD. I think it's one you could watch repeatedly.

21. AWESOME. I was totally looking forward to this one and it lived up to my expectations. Still don't get the counting cards concept, so I guess I'll have to just stick with my normal job instead of taking up Blackjack in Vegas. Oh well. It's crazy though, and based on a true story. I love true story ones....they're my favorite. So yes...go see it.

Kite Runner. It's a serious one and a little disturbing, but oh so good. The kids are so, so cute in it. Particularly Hassan. You need to see this one. I never read the book, but I've heard some say that the movie was better than the book. ? That never happens.

Game Plan. This one's for all you moms out there. I watched this one at the gym in the cardio cinema room. I only planned to workout for 45 min, but just decided what's another 45? Not that it's that gripping of a plot-in fact the only gripping going on during this show were my hands on the handlebars of the stationary bike. It's just a cute kid/Disney movie. Nothing special, but I was entertained.

Dan in Real Life: PAINFUL to watch, but so good. Maybe it's just cause I'm still single. ? It was just so real. And sad. And depressing. But great! And it totally makes me hungry for pancakes just thinking about it. Except for the ones under Steve Carell's face...those I probably wouldn't eat.

August Rush: This was a GREAT movie. I'm not gonna lie though..it needed 5 more minutes at the end. I could've written a much better ending, but I guess some people liked it. (?) It's one of those where the credits start rolling and you're like, "Hold up. Did the DVD player just skip? Is there an alternate ending in the deleted scenes feature?" But no. Maybe no one else felt like this, but I did. That being said, I still loved it. And don't worry...I did try to play my guitar like he does in the movie. It totally works. Sounds so cool. Not as cool when I do it, but still...the concept is there. The music was great. Definitely see this movie.

"Nurse?!"

My friend, Chad, and I went to a friend's wedding reception, followed by a play at pioneer theatre called "The Heiress". My clients gave me tickets and met us there. It was so fun! Fun besides the fact that both of Chad's ankles were totally swollen and he could hardly walk. Sad. And everything seemed to require A LOT of walking. I picked him up and dropped him off as close to the entrances as humanly possible, then would park the car and join him. We were running late to everything, so I was doing a lot of running-in three inch heels. : / By the time the play was over, Chad could barely put any pressure on his feet. I felt so bad. I was doing my best to support him while we walked out of the theatre, but he was still in a lot of pain. That's when I had my "brilliant" idea. "Hey Chad. Jump on my back. I'll give you a piggy back ride." I said it kind of kidding-so I thought, but then he said, "Seriously?" So I'm thinking maybe I could do it. "Uhhhh, yeah. Hop on." Well, Chad couldn't really jump so he awkwardly attempted to jump on my back. That's when I realized that my 3 inch heels might create a bit of a problem. I think that realization came as I was launching forward reaching to catch myself on the ground....and Chad was following suit, right on top of me. There were multiple gasps from older couples walking by us and some rushing to our aide, until they realized I was laughing. The laughter was stemming from the comedy of it all, but more because of the embarrassment. I mean, I'm not She-ra by any stretch, and while I do quite well at running in three inch heels, piggy backing is a whole other story!! And then the fact that Chad had to land on his already swollen ankles while falling didn't really help the matter. Good thing I know Chad so well, so I didn't feel as dumb...just felt bad about the extra pain on his feet that I had caused. I ran and got the car, picked him up, and spent the next several hours taking care of him at my house....heat, ice, elevation, compressioin, and a little TLC. He returned a few days later for more. Poor Chad...and he's still in pain. :(

Just Passing Through:

Matt, Suzanne and family drove through Salt Lake on Saturday on their way up to Idaho. (Matt just accepted a position at St. Luke's Hospital up there.) I was so happy to see them. It's always great to have family here. We met for dinner at Costa Vida and spent about an hour together before they hit the road again. The kids were so dang cute! I'm so excited to have them closer. ( Pictures below...oldest to youngest: David, Joshua, Nathaniel. My brother Matt is holding Lydia and Nathaniel. Such cute kids!!)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

It's becoming tradition....

Barbie cakes were a popular birthday choice in my house growing up. My mom taught us the art of cake decorating at a young age. She was the master at it...trust me. She has an impressive portfolio. So years later...without the large cake decorating kit my mom had, or the small skipper doll that was the perfect size for the barbie cake, I've brought the tradition back. I've made polka dot barbie, bride barbie, party barbie, lavendar princess barbie and now to add to the list produce barbie and pioneer barbie. I made the first one for my friends birthday a while back and now it's become tradition within my group of friends. It's pretty fun. I was surprised to learn that most of my friends had never seen a cake like this before. ? I figured everyone had. Anyway...here are my latest two.

Produce Barbie: Created for one of my clients that I train. Why produce? I can't give a client an unhealthy dessert and act like it's okay. So...produce barbie brought a healthy offering-a bundle of asparagus. We'll just call my unhealthy offering job security. ;) If you're wondering why I made a client a cake-it was her birthday. I found out through her husband, who is also a client of mine, that she was home sick. These clients are like family to me. So there you have it.

Pioneer Barbie: We had our Relief Society birthday celebration last night for enrichment and although I am no longer the enrichment counselor, I thought it would be fun to contribute to the evening with a pioneer barbie cake. I had to do it kind of fast so it's not perfect, but it was fun to do. Everyone loved it. ;)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

I'm Kuku for Coco Butter

Okay, so I was stretching one of my clients the other day and kept getting whiffs of this delicious fragrance. I was sure it wasn't my client, lying there in his own pool of sweat. I had no clue what I was smelling, but I finally figured it out- it was my new deodorant. Has this ever happened to you? I was so pleased that I actually told my client of my discovery. He started laughing for obvious reasons-who tells people about their new favorite deodorant fragrance...besides me? Comments from me of this nature generally don't surprise people too much. It's the simple things in life that bring me such pleasure. I love being me for that very reason. I might be a little "kuku", but it keeps me entertained.

So my current deodorant of choice? Secret Platinum: Kuku Coco Butter
And you?

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Kris has a birthday, Shout Hooray!

(Scot, Ethan, and Kris....rockbed in Tetonia)

Happy Birthday Kris!!! Two of my sisters were born 3 days apart. Luckily for my mom it was 6 years and three days apart. ;) Kris and I have been said to be the most colicky babies of the bunch....and grew up to maybe be the silliest/craziest of the bunch. We have always had so much fun together. When I have a funny story to tell, Kris is guaranteed to laugh the hardest-I love that about her. She makes me feel so witty and clever-even if I'm not. She's the only person that will willingly play the noseblow game with me. We're actually co-creators of the game and if you don't know how to play, you should ask her to teach you....just don't ask her to teach you first thing in the morning. : / The game inevitably turns into us in a pile on the ground, laughing ourselves to tears. Here are some other things I love about Kris.

-Kris has such a tender heart and is so sensitive to others.

-She is and has always been so protective of me. Ask my friends Heather and Meagan from elementary school. She busted into my sunday school class to tell my two buddies that they were rude for leaving me out. Which was great until she left and I had to sit through my class with them. "So, you guys want to play barbies this week still? hahaahahah..." (that's my awkward laugh). But I loved her for it. She made me feel worth the trouble.

-She had the coolest clothes in High School. Well...let me rephrase that- I thought she had the coolest clothes in HS. I would beg to borrow her clothes for "special" days that I wanted to look really cute. These have now proven to be some of my more embarrassing moments. Kris enjoyed shopping at the Chess King-a mens store as I recall. They did rayon patterned shirts with the best of them. Honestly, she was cool. The key to those shirts? Accessorize. Just throw a chiffon bow on top of your head and call it good. I watched her and thought, "now there's a girl on the cutting edge of fashion". So I'd borrow the shirts she'd buy too big for herself and just make some adjustments. May I remind you that Kris has close to 5 yrs on me, so I was sportin' this stuff as a small middle schooler. She assured me that rolling the sleeves 4 times looked fine AND if I just tucked the shirt in and puffed it out the shirt would fit like a glove (or a tent. one of the two.) All the extra fabric tucked into my pants wasn't the most comfortable and probably added a good ten pounds to my appearance, but I felt cute because they were Kris's clothes. She was always sweet to share and made me feel like the coolest 8th grader ever. Great acting skills, Kris. I think she liked dressing me up, though.

-Another thing I TOTALLY love about Kris is she lets me make fun of her and she laughs about it. It almost makes me want to do it more because she laughs so much. I really love it. She is such a good sport and such an easy target. Oh...there I go again. I'm kidding. She just laughs with me about everything. I love laughing, so this bodes well for me.

-She'd sneak food onto Angela's and my plates that she didn't want to eat in our growing up years. I also liked drinking milk out of the jug when I was young (did I think it was cool? I don't know.) , so she'd sell me on drinking the luke-warm 1/8 of a gallon remaining, so she could break open a new ice cold gallon from the fridge in the garage. I'd be sitting there drinking until I actually thought I was going to throw up....that or grow utters myself to relieve the pressure in my stomach. And that one time where she was fake punching me in the face...when really there was nothing fake about it. She thought she was surprised when her fist met my face...imagine how I felt. Shoot. This is a list of things I like about her, right? Scratch the last few. ;) Ahhh the memories. We had fun growing up.

-She is an adoring mom of her little Ethan and will be an amazing mom to her new and coming little one.

-She has a solid testimony of the gospel.

-She is kind and generous-motivated by her love for people.

I love you, Kris. You, too, are one of my best friends! I've just been blessed with amazing sisters. (AND sisters-in-law for that matter!) Thanks for being such a great and supportive sister and for always being there for me. Hope you have the best day ever!

(Me, Kris, and our niece Rachel)

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Happy Birthday Camille...a Day Late.

(Camille and me on the Snake River in Jackson)

My oldest sister's birthday was yesterday. I love my sister, Camille. I always wanted to be just like her when I grew up. I was going into 7th grade when she went on her mission to Austria. I decided to take German, not because it was the popular thing to do....it wasn't-but I was sure I'd be fluent in the language by the time Camille came home and figured we could talk in German together. (? Why I thought that, I don't know. I think I was able to sing her a couple songs and thats about it.) I wanted to be an attorney, just cause she was. AND it seemed like my aspirations would change as hers would. For a while there, I wanted to go into broadcasting and journalism-thats what she did her under-grad in. Didn't seem to have a mind of my own back in the day. I just thought she was so smart, and beautiful, and cool. Turns out I still do....times 10. She really is one of my best friends. We are ten years apart, but I feel like we're the same age....which makes her really immature or me wise beyond my years. We'll go with the latter. She's an incredible person. Quick list:

-She's an amazing mom.

-She is constantly doing things for other people and always the first to volunteer her time to help someone in need. She hardly has time to accomplish the things on her own list...so she stays up late, late, late just to get it all done.

-She is an incredible teacher. Wish I was there to hear her lessons, but she shares stuff with me throughout her preparation stages and I'm always wowed by her insights.

-She is a great listener and never judges me for my stupidity.

-She is honest with me and doesn't sugar coat things...and yet validates my feelings.

-I love laughing with her, crying with her, and most importantly, shopping with her. She is a magnet for great deals.

Thank you for being such an amazing sister. I love you, Camille.

Friday, February 29, 2008

When I grow up I wanna be....

...a man. What I'm about to tell you was cute at one time and now is just kind of embarrassing. I never said I wanted to grow up to be a man, but a woman wrote a book about me and my siblings when I was a little girl called when I grow up I want to be a man, or something like that. Dedicated to me...Sarah Virginia. The book was basically about all of my siblings wanting to be all these different cool things when they grew up and they all thought it was so funny that I wanted to grow up to be a man. (Again, this is fictional.) The point was that, in the story, I'd watch my dad doing all these nice things for people and I wanted to grow up to be just like him. Yes, cute message, but in this day and age we like to keep that little book somewhat hidden away. Heaven forbid anyone thinking that book was inspired by true events. It wasn't. I wanted to be a dancer-which is a very feminine choice. ;)

Which brings me to my next topic...totally inspired by my cute sister-in-law, Becky. She did a list of occupations she'd want to do without jumping through all the hoops to get there and assuming you had the smarts/ability to do so. I'm following suit.

1-Farmer. I love working hard. Manual labor kind of stuff. Anything that works up a sweat.

2-Cowgirl. Yes, maybe cowgirl should be combined with farmer. The My old roommate, Cort, married a real cowboy. They herd cattle in the fall every year and for the past two years they've invited me to come and herd with them. I think I will try to this year. This is the same friend that was teaching me how to barrel race. She is fulfilling all sorts of dreams for me. :) AND, correct me if I'm wrong Cort, but don't you guys grow potatoes too? This girl does everything. Maybe one of my occupations should just be Cortney. She even has her CDL.

3- Singer/Dancer. These could be together or separate. Broadway. That would be so fun. Or a hip-hop breakdancer....I guess for music videos because where else do you get paid to do that kind of stuff-besides on a street corner....

4- Photographer. I'd love it. I think it's an amazing art and would love to be better at it.

5- Gardener. Again...love working hard. AND I love seeing the results of my hard work. So satisfying.

6- Interior Decorator.

7- Wedding Planner. At least with a job like this I'd get to plan at least one wedding. ;)

8- Sports/Recreation/Tourism anything: Including, but not limited to personal training-just involving the outdoors more. Using recreation to train. Wouldn't that be so amazing? Travel all over the world to accomplish different physical tasks. Ski the Swiss Alps, River Raft the Pacuare River in Costa Rica, Climb Mount Everest...(actually, this one isn't as appealing-maybe it's to do with the multiple deaths.?). You get the idea...but train them before we go on the trip. Hmmmm....the wheels are turnin....

9- Chef would be cool. Food critic would be great.

10-My dream job pays a 6 figure salary where I get to work with people, laugh a lot...and as loud as I want, work outside, travel some, free car, free perks (clothes, handbags, shoes, etc.), flexible schedule, and where I'm doing something active. Does anyone know what job I'm describing??? Please post it if you do....I really want to figure out if a job like this exists. A girl can dream....

That's all for now....just cause I have to go. I'm sure theres more. Oh...a musician-I'd love to be amazing on the guitar. Better start practicing more. Okay...done for now. Actually...I think I'd also like to be a seamstress/fashion designer. Or I'd love to judge competitions for singing or dance or clothes or anything really or be in charge of a casting call. Honestly...I'm done. For real this time.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Weiser Ski Team

(Chad, me, Tad...at Jack-in-the-Box. Tad bought us these hats...just because, so we decided we'd just tell people we were on a ski team. )

Feb. 16th-18th: Chad, Tad and I went up to Weiser, ID for the weekend. We had such a great time...at least I did. We basically did a lot of errands and spent time with both of our families. We had dinner with my family (Jared/Becky and family, Ang/Roy and family...and my parents of course-fun to see all of you) and stayed there in Boise Saturday night. Sunday we went to Chad and Tad's nephew's Eagle Scout of honor. It was fun to meet their family-they were so great. We stayed in Weiser that night and hung out on their farm on Monday. I tried my hand at chopping wood, but after making 10 or so dents in one piece of wood with no splitting to speak of, I left the chopping to Chad and I took care of the wheelbarrow. So glad I went. I felt right at home...I've got country roots, you know. ;) Our trip's pics:

We had to make a stop in Burley so that Tad could use some credit he had at a snow and water sport store. While Tad was shopping, Chad and I found this awesome suit. I don't even know what it's for....fly-fishing maybe???? I don't know, but I begged Chad to try it on....at least the top half. It took some convincing, but he finally did it. Oh wow- I was laughing SO hard. I'm talking tears just dropping out of my eyes. I could barely see to take these pics. A big thanks to Chad. He was complaining about a lack of air when the gator was over his face...really nervous that he wouldn't be able to get it off...and then felt like the circulation was being cut off at his wrists and neck. I start laughing just thinking about it. His commentary was priceless. I love laughing that hard.

(Chad and I on an old-school ski lift)

So these pics don't even represent how many times I took a swing at one of those logs. I actually did get some splits, but Chad kept grabbing different pieces of wood (that looked weaker...) so I could

actually make some progress for all of my effort. Chad took ove

r and split the logs on his first swing. I was convinced he just got really easy pieces of wood, so I'd try again. Yeah...pretty much not the case. So I took my place behind the wheelbarrow while Chad took the axe. :( At least I could lift the axe ...that thing was HEAVY!

But let me tell you, balancing that wheelbarrow was no easy task. (I'm just trying to make myself feel better.)

Walking on sunshine....or deep snow. You can't tell, but the snow is deep-it just happens to be hard enough that you could walk on top of it. You just had to walk lightly. See what fun you can have with a camera timer? ;)

Chad posing with this old radio they have in their barn. It's really cool. Crazy how it's the size of a tv. Tad was gone doing some stuff for his business, so he missed our photo shoot. Maybe next time. Ummmm, that's it. We left that evening...had so much fun!

Virginia Oak