Jordin Sparks

Getting excited for the concert

On Wed night, Richard and I went to the Scera Shell in Orem to see Jordin Sparks in concert. Although I don't know a lot of her songs, Richard knew how much I liked American Idol so he got the tickets for my birthday. The opening act was pretty lame, it was a band called 4real from the show Create Your Group and it's basically just 4 young girls from Utah who have too much attitude for their own good. However, Jordin was exactly the opposite. She was so cute and down to earth and a lot of fun to watch. In the middle of her song "Tattoo", she stopped the band (who looked very confused) and said, "I've never done this before... but does anyone think they can sing this song with me?" She pulled a girl up from the audience and let her sing the song, only coming in when the girl told her to. How cool is that?! The whole time she looked like she was having a lot of fun and had tons of energy. Even though she did very well the whole time, my favorite part was when she sang "Fallen" by Alicia Keys. She sounded amazing and I actually thought she sounded better than Alicia! After the concert, Richard and I decided it would be fun to stick around and see if we could see Jordin (I know, pretty pathetic, right? Especially since we were surrounded by teenage girls!) She hurried and got into her car and we were disappointed that she wasn't going to wave or anything to the crowd. However, she popped out of the top of the car and started snapping pics of the crowd with her own camera. Who would have thought a celebrity would be the one taking pictures of those crowding around her car?! She was so nice and friendly and I'm really glad we got to go!

Here are all the crazy fans waiting for her outside her dressing room

This picture would have been perfect if it wasn't blurry!

Stick with the good stuff

I have been told that I was a very picky eater when I was young. However, my dad always said that when I "matured" I wouldn't be so picky. When I got to college, I became more bold at trying new things and felt like I was expanding my diet to include new flavors. Then I got married. To a boy who eats EVERYTHING. I never realized I was still such a picky eater until I sat down to eat with Richard and have to put half of my dinner on his plate because I don't want to eat it. I used to tell people I liked just about everything except seafood and tomatoes. And now I have to admit that I like everything except seafood, tomatoes, pineapple, coconut, pickles, fry sauce, mushrooms, most salads (macaroni, pasta, frogeye, etc), sprouts... the list could go on and on. There are even silly things that are more specific than that, such as: I hate mustard unless it's on a hamburger or I love all kinds of nuts unless they are in brownies or ice cream. I guess I'll just have to stick to good ol' steak and chocolate to keep me alive until I find some other foods that can satisfy my taste buds!

Dizzy Spell

A long time ago, I remember my sister telling me that she fainted one time when she went to do sealings at the temple. I remember feeling bad for her but also thinking, "wow that would be embarrassing!" I didn't quite get to the point of fainting, but I was close enough that I can now sympathize with her perfectly! I went to do sealings for the first time on Saturday night with Richard. We thought it would be a fun way to celebrate our one month anniversary that had happened earlier in the week. And it was fun... for the first half!! Then, half of our group was excuse for one reason or another and we started to participate in more and more sealings since there weren't as many people in the room. The room was SO hot and I felt myself getting more and more lightheaded. It probably didn't help that I hadn't eaten for a while either. Finally, our sealer said there were only four more sealings to do and he was going to try to do all four of them with Richard and I. The first one I started to get so hot and lightheaded that I wasn't sure I was going to make it through. The second one, Richard said he watched all the color drain from my face and he knew he was losing me. He gripped my hand extra tight and stared at me, willing me to not pass out. I tried to look up to catch his eye and couldn't see anything because my eyes had started to black out. Even before the sealer finished saying Amen, I jumped up on my feet, startling everyone else around me. My breathing was very quick and short and I was sure I was going to pass out. Richard ran to grab me and took me over to one of the chairs to sit down and rest. To my embarrassment, the sealer decided that was enough for the night and excused everyone else. He brought me a cold glass of water and some orange juice and allowed me to sit there for about 20 minutes until I felt better. I didn't completely faint, but that episode left me feeling pretty weak for the rest of the day!!!

PHEW!!!

I am so happy to announce that I am finally done with all the thank you cards I needed to write for both my birthday and the wedding. There were a million to do, but I wanted to get it all done before my one month anniversary and I did it with two days to spare. The only reason I was able to get them done that fast was because I have nothing to do all and was able to write them at work, and I'm so glad that I could! That is a big weight off my shoulders, even though it's something I wanted to do to show everyone how much I appreciated their kindness. Thanks everyone for all you did for us!!!

Smile List

My good friend Hal Pal mentioned that whenever she feels down, she makes a list of things that make her happy to try and chase away the blues. While I'm not necessarily down, it sounded like a great idea to try myself. So here we go!

Some of the things that make me smile:

1. My hubby!

2. The rainbow I saw on Monday that was the most beautiful one I've ever seen

3. Decorating my new apt

4. Changing my name to Henricksen

5. Running in the rain

6. Getting packages/letters in the mail

7. Reading my new set of Narnia books

8. Getting longer lunch breaks on Fridays

9. Having a clean house

10. Back massages

11. My family!

12. Watching Lord of the Rings for the first time

13. Reading other's blogs

14. Little kids who come steal candy from work every day after soccer camp

15. Walking to and from work with Richard every day

16. Hosting parties at my house

17. Getting money for returned wedding presents

18. Finishing Thank You cards

19. "Hey, what're you doing?!!?" (inside jokes)

20. Listening to Brian Regan at work

21. Logan saying things like "Ewww bugs" and Lily's big cheeks

Tender Mercies

Sunday was our first week in our new ward. I was excited to go because the ward we went to last week (which we thought was our ward) had been so welcoming and loving. I am ok meeting new people and being in new places if I have Richard there with me. However, as soon as Richard left to go to Priesthood and I started the slow walk towards Relief Society, I started to get really nervous. It's not that I can't meet new people, it's just that I'm usually terrified to start up the conversation! Luckily, Heavenly Father knows me so well that he sent an angel to take care of me during Relief Society. Her name is Diana Graham, she is at least 65 years old and my new best friend. She noticed me standing alone while we waited for the R.S. room to empty so we could go inside. She invited me in to come sit by her and proceeded to tell me everything I needed to know as if I had never been to church or lived in Provo before. She drew a map of all the streets I needed to know, including where the ward boundaries were, we chatted about how both of us are always cold in church and have to bring jackets even in the middle of the summer and she told me she was so excited to meet a fellow "sweater-wearer". She told me the best way to get involved in the ward activities and who I needed to call for visiting teaching. She put a big smile on my face when she said, "Here's my number, you can call me if you have any questions at all. We can even go to Enrichment together until you get your own circle of friends. But I hope we can be friends too!" She took such good care of me and I really needed that until I can force myself to get out of my shy shell again. After thanking her and getting up to leave I couldn't help but laugh as she shouted after me, "Stay warm!" This cute little old (er) lady will probably never know the huge impact she had on my first Sunday on my own and I will forever be grateful for her kindness!