I Thought I Had Seen It All...

Last weekend I took a trip down to Moab. I have been to Moab several times, at least every year for the last 6 years. It is one of my favorite places to go because it is an easy get-away since it is only a few hours from home but is also exotic enough with the red rock and amazing arches. Because I have been there so many times, I thought I had seen it all. In fact, I was with two of my friends (both named Emily, oddly enough) who hadn't been and I thought I was going to act as experienced tour guide for them.

A couple of different times during the week leading up to my trip I had been told about a hike to an arch called "Negro Bills". I wondered how good it could be since I considered myself such a Moab expert and hadn't ever even heard about it. Well, we decided to try it out and I am so glad that we did. It was unlike any other hike I have been on in Moab. In a place that is definitely a red rock desert, it was actually quite lush! It is not in Arches National Park, which is probably one of the reasons I hadn't heard of it before. It has a beautiful little river that you follow up for about 4 miles until you come to the back of the canyon which ends with a beautiful black arch. I guess that is why they call it "Negro Bills"...even though we never figured out who Bill was we were sure glad he discovered this arch.

No Trespassing!

Sometimes I feel myself going down the scary road...do you know the one I mean? The scary road that begins with negative thoughts and has all sorts of pot holes and blind curves that lead to nothing but trouble? Thoughts like "I am not thin enough, not pretty enough, not fun enough...just plain not enough" OR "I will be happy when I lose weight, when I get married, when my butt stops jiggling when I walk, when...(fill in the blank)?

Well, I have decided that I am going to post a huge NO TRESPASSING sign at the beginning of that scary road. Fortunately, I have good friends in my life who can help me recognize when I have started down that path and can help me get off of it quickly and back on the road of happiness and contentment.

The mind is a powerful thing and I know that for me once I let negative thoughts start to pollute my brain waves those negative thoughts become toxic and start poisioning my life. No more! I am going to live by the "No Trespassing" mantra...I think I will have some T-shirts made! Who wants one?

The Last 10 Years

So, after my last post I realized what an ugly leg I have and started feeling bad...so to cheer myself up I decided to follow some advice from my friend Rachel and think about the top 25 things that I have done or have happened to me in the past 10 years...here goes:

1. Served and returned from a wonderful mission in Hawaii
2. Graduated with a B.S. from Southern Utah University
3. Got a passport (aka a ticket to the world!)
4. Moved to Australia
5. Moved back to Utah
6. Moved to New Mexico
7. Moved to Arizona
8. Moved back to Utah
9. Realized it wasn't very fun to actually move, and decided to just go on vacations instead :)
10. Got my insurance and securities licenses
11. Started an insurance agency
12. Traveled to Egypt
13. Went on 4 cruises (3 to Mexico and 1 to the Carribbean)
14. Experienced my first hurricane on the Carribbean cruise...and was subsequently stranded in Florida for 4 days.
15. Traveled to Guatemala.

16. Traveled to Cancun.
17. Left insurance to enter the world of banking and investments.
18. Traveled to Europe (Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia)
19. Bought a condo
20. Realized I have wrecked 3 different rental cars...I recommend ALWAYS getting the insurance.

21. Lost 98 pounds...still a bit more to go!

22. Gave birth to triplets...if you are confused...see the previous post below from February

23. Am officially the last single still standing in my family...but it's ok...I have 18 wonderful nieces and nephews and 6 fantastic brothers and sisters in law.

24. Realized it's time for another vacation.
25. My passport expires next week...it's time to start again!