Influence

Life has been a bit hectic to say the least. Two weeks ago Sunday my grandmother passed away. She is a wonderful lady and will always be cherished by those who knew her. I know that she is in a better place doing wonderful things. She is with family and friends and will be there to greet my family when we pass from this mortality.

My heart aches for her on most days, but has done so for a long time. She battled with Alzheimer's disease in the last years of her life and anyone who knows about or has experienced this disease in their life or family knows how challenging it is.

I would like, however, to dedicate this blog to my precious grandfather. His work ethic is uncoupled, his generosity and spirit of service is magnificent, and his love for me means everything. He never left my grandmother’s side not even for a moment during her affliction. He took care of her and suffered with her to the very end. That is in itself a heroic act, but also the epitome of long-suffering, eternal love, and honoring sacred covenants. I am amazed at his strength even now after her passing. Their love for one another is of the sweetest, most respectful I have felt.

Because he has loved his wife, his family, and his neighbor my grandfather has served the Lord his whole life. I have never witnessed greater testimony, acute faith, and inspiring love. Thank you grandpa for all that you teach us through your humble example. He is so tender to me and every time we speak on the phone or we visit I feel uplifted, strengthened, and an eagerness to continue on in my life in such a way that would always make him proud of me. Take today for example, he is dusting the house and doing so with a cheerful heart, blest with work. I am reminded of my dirty house and my previously begrudging attitude towards my duty to clean it and feel grateful now to have a change of perspective.

Forgive my continued rambling, but…

I think that many of us are in search of "making a name" for ourselves, or doing something truly great that will in turn be our little bit of immortality to leave behind in this world. I recently heard a speech in which the orator discussed this very topic: influence.

She spoke of those who we deem to be the most influential people in our society. Some of her categories included winners of the Nobel Prize, those who carry the title of Ms. America, Heisman athletes, Presidents of the United States, Great War generals, and others. Then she posed the question to us, “Do any of you remember the names of these individuals?” Do we remember the names of the last 10 people who won a Nobel Prize, Ms. America? Can we even list the names of our last 10 presidents? No? But these are our most influential people, right?

Wrong.

Our most influential people are those we know, and those who know us. They are friends, teachers, bishops, mission presidents, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, mothers, and grandparents. Whether these individuals have been a positive pebble in our pond of self-worth or a deadly drought set to destroy us, they are still those who have the greatest power to motivate; our most influential people.

Can we today reflect on just one of these individuals? If this person was a righteous influence in our lives, can we thank them personally? Not by email, or in our hearts, or a text, but an actual phone call, or a real letter? If this particular individual caused us pain or hurt, can we forgive them and pledge to be positive influence for change? I believe we can. We can be that righteously influential brother, teacher, sister, friend, wife, mom, son, husband, or grandfather to those who matter most to us. We can also be that Nobel Prize winner or the lovely Ms. America, but none of that will matter if we are not first and foremost the reciprocator of the service, love, encouragement, and tenderness provided to us by our most influential.

I am so thankful to these many people in my life. They are so precious to me and I am rededicating myself to be more like each one of them.

What stays in Vegas?...

Everyone's heard the old adage, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", but does anyone really know why that statement is true? Jon and I found out this last weekend as we ventured down to "Sin City" to check it out.

First it must be said that I come from a Vegas-Hating-Type family. Anytime we drove past or even got remotely near Vegas it was always, "Drive right through." and "Kids look down at your feet." In fact, the only part of Las Vegas I had ever seen was the 7-11 outside of town and even then we couldn't even think about touching the slot machine outside the store. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating, but that's how I remember it in my little kid mind.

Aunt Becky and Uncle Mark live in North Las Vegas and were kind enough to let us stay with them for the weekend. Jon and I needed desperately to get away from the stress of school and work so we packed our bags and got out of dodge.

It was a wonderful weekend! We got to see family, I got to catch up with the Whitakers (my most favorite missionary couple in Ecuador), and we hung out with Chang and his family too!

Mark and Becky are great hosts and even treated us to a night on the strip, which brings me back to the introduction of my blog. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas because no one is sober enough to remember what happened! Everyone is too drunk to remember anything at all from their Vegas vacation. As Jon and I checked in to the Excalibur on Friday night, we walked through the casino to get to our room and the first thing I saw was an old guy on a motorized chair run over another man and knock him off his stool at the slot machines. I couldn't help from giggling my socks off about this! Picture it... old man in motorized chair rams into another gambler knocking him off his stool! Classic.

Anyway, that was only the beginning of the antics we witnessed on the strip, but I will spare you details and keep my blog G-rated. I love people-watching and since I don't gamble, Vegas is really good for a lot of laughs at others' expense.

Later that night after a delicious dinner at the Elephant Bar (not on the strip, locals only please) in Henderson, we took a stroll down the Las Vegas Strip.

I have always wanted to see the Bellagio Fountains, and let me tell you it was spectacular! We watched a show to the song "All that Jazz" from the musical "Chicago". Absolutely wonderful! The water really does shoot up higher than the hotel itself!

We also saw many other well-known luxury hotels like MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Luxor, Wynn, Trump Tower, Caesar's Palace, just to name few. We also went on the New York New York rollercoaster and did lots of shopping near stores like Harry Winston, Gucci, Armani, and Saks Fifth Avenue where not even a food court is considered respectable enough to be a "real" part of the mall. Can you feel the glamour? Can you smell the stench of credit cards maxing out?

Fact: People on the strip are nuts.

Fact: We saw a modern day version of the great and spacious building encaptured in Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville outside restaurant where guest beckon and mock onlookers and passersby.

Fiction: People will not be held responsible for acts committed in Las Vegas just because the slogan says so.

Fact: I don't think that I was really missing much all those years in my childhood and I've proved it with two exceptions the fountains and a rollercoaster.

Much more meaningful to me was the time spent with family and friends. We even got to spy on Chang's mom while she was on a date. She and her date were great sports! I got to hug Elder and Sister Whitaker which means the world to me after all the love and support they have given me and I was able to get to know Uncle Mark and Aunt Becky better. (Let's just say that the Galbraith men have some distinctive traits that run in the family.)

Hears to great weekend in Las Vegas and the best part is that I remember every bit of it!

Tag of Unspectacular Quirks

The rules are:
* Link to the person who tagged you .... Amy and LeShel
*Post the rules on your blog
* Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

1. I don't ever wear two socks that match.
2. I have to clean my ears out everyday with a Q-tip, even though everyone says not too and there is a warning on the package.
3. I cannot fall asleep with the door closed and I have to be facing the open door just in case some one comes in to kill me and I need to be ready for a frontal attack.
4. Jon and I never saw a movie in the theatre until after we we're married.
5. I hate beets. They taste like dirt.
6. I can move my left eyeball without moving my right eyeball.

***I now tag: Mom, Jackie, Jana, Julie, Mindy, and Emily!

Why I love being married to Jon...

On Tuesday night, Jon had some work to complete in Salt Lake. We drove down in the evening and while he worked, I shopped for a bit with my mom. It was a lot of fun. I finally found a frame for the little piece of crafting I did at Enrichment Night 3 weeks ago. It's an absolute injustice that Logan does not have a Target.

Anyway, before we drove back to Logan that night we decided to pick up some goodies to help keep us awake. Jon was in need of more "seeds" as he calls them. No, he doesn't grow anything, he likes to eat sunflower seeds. In fact, when I ask him to drive safe and if he'll be okay late at night driving he always answers, "Yup, I have my seeds." He says it's all he needs to keep him awake and I found out why.

His very special way of eating them is... shoving a bunch in his mouth all at once. He then proceeds to extract each seed from its shell, spit out the shell and save the seed inbetween his gum and upper lip! He does this with each seed until all the shells are out and then eats all the seeds at the same time.

I decided to try this and while it may sound easy I can testify that it is not. I only got about 10 finished before I started running out of room in my lip area. I luckily finished 21 seeds but Jon lost count somehwere around 24 and kept on going for about another 5 minutes. I predict that he had close to 50 seeds! here are our seed cups from the drive. He is so much fun!

We also found out that we share an addiction! I bought one of those Chex Mix bags, the ones that you get because they are so salty and delicious. I told Jon that I really only get them because of the little, round, brown, bread-like ones. These are my favorite and it turns out his favorite too! He told me that you can even buy just a bag of the brown thingies! What a strange thing, no? We are two weird peas-in-a-pod.

After the Honeymoon....

Jon and I had a wonderful summer. He kept on working hard and I did an internship with Beneficial Financial Group. It was the best job I ever had, I have never cried on my last day of work from anywhere, but I cried all the home on the trax train. I know it's pathetic, but I really loved my job. We also spent our summer trying to play as much as possible. Here are some pictures from hiking with our friends, the Coopers!

We also went into the Uintahs with my Dad, Wyatt, and Martin. It was Jon's first time up King's Peak. Luckily for me, I hit my "wall" before we got to Anderson's Pass. It made the last hour of boulder climbing quite enjoyable. It was a really great trip. Martin kicked everyone's butt.

Habitat for Humanity is a great foundation. We went to a charity black tie ball at the Capitol Building. Okay, so we knew about 4 days before that we were going to go. Renting a tux is a fairly easy process but trying to find a modest formal for someone older than 15 that won't pay more than 50 bucks is truly a feat. I found one though and we had a great time with everyone from Envision Lending Group. I especially enjoyed the moments when Jon and I were the only ones on the dance floor! It felt like Junior Prom all over again.




Next update... "Katrina wins Monopoly against the money master", "Lost on the 4th of July", "The Galbraiths go to the zoo and turn into turtles", and "Camping in the house!"

Tulum, Mexico

Jonathan and I were fortunate enough to be able to honeymoon in Mexico thanks to some dear friends! We had a blast!
Tulum is a little beach-side village 2 hours south of Cancun. We got there late at night but had a friendly shuttle driver and we just enjoyed how warm it was. I am a huge fan of humidity and had been missing out!
We stayed in a hut! This hut had no electricity but did have running ocean water in the shower. I loved taking salty showers and enjoying the sunsets in the beach with candlelight! Also, it didn't have walls, but glass-like windows. No privacy, but no one else was there and it was awesome to fall asleep to the sound of the waves and wake up to beautiful sunrises. It was the perfect adventure for us. A few little animals resided with us, baby crabs, some iguanas and another little critter that a ate a hole through one of our bags (the material and the zipper!)
Cabanas Copal is the name of the hostal where we stayed and it was the best one on the beach. We were about 30 steps from the tide in front of us and 2 steps behind us was the jungle!
The people in town were friendly and we enjoyed authentic food and entertainment. Speaking of the food, we miss it and now eat tacos about twice a week!
3 of the days we were there we had a little scooter and went all over the countryside on it. We went to ruins and cenotes. Jon even got me to go snorkeling! I was so scared but it turned out to be the best ever! Even better than the off-roading we did on the scooter!
We headed to Chichen Itza in a PT Cruiser on our last day. I loved Chichen Itza it looks like something out of a movie set. I hated the PT Cruiser, what a silly car. Sorry to anyone who drives one.
Only one time did we get eaten alive by mosquitos and that was not Jon's fault but mine for wanting to go exploring in the marshland ruins. Duh?!
I also found that people in Mexico who say that they speak English actually do speak English, unlike Equatorianos who say that they speak English but really only speak pickupline. :)
We were sad to come home but will definitely be going back. And we would recommend to anyone that thinks they want to vacation in Cancun, to get out and keep heading south. Cancun is fun for shopping and nightclubs, but if you want real relaxation and natural beauty away from the crowds and tourists and you aren't afraid to "go native" for awhile, Tulum is the place for you!
Check out the slideshow there's lots o' photos!

HUGE UPDATE COMING!!

Okay, for anyone who may still be checking this pathetic blog wanna-be...

We are starting the huge update!

I will be participating in time travel, it's very dangerous and the whole process is very risky, but it works and I can take you with me!

We shall start on May 28th, 2008 and travel up at high velocity rates until our "past selves" meet up with our "future selves" and become our "present selves". Did that make sense to you? Yeah, me neither. :)

Basically, I want to catch everybody up on what's been going on in our lives! I'm going to start with May and pick out the big stuff through the past 3-ish months until we are on the same page again! It will take place in bits though, over the next week or so.

You and I know that this is the blog-marathon event of the year! Don't miss out!