Thursday, July 31, 2008

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


Mwha-ha-ha...I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS!

What Makes a Person Good?

This morning, while blow drying my hair, I was pondering on the question: What makes a person good?

This thought came to me because of several life examples through family, friends, and acquaintances. Let me give you two of them to better illustrate my inquiry. (Keep in mind, I mean no harm. I still love BOTH people mentioned, no matter what.)

1. I have a friend that attends the temple every week with her husband. She attends church regularly, reads her scriptures, I assume she prays. She has and executes her calling exactly, doing the best that she can. She and her husband constantly volunteer to do service and work for other people. She is very wealthy and often helps family members and friends in need. She sounds pretty good, right?

Well, she is also a gossiper...and not just a little bit. She talks poorly about other people all the time. BUT, she does it in a nice tone, because we all know that if you say something rude, but with a sweet voice, it doesn't count as being mean. She is also unbelievably fake and judgmental. Sometimes I can't even stand to talk to her or her husband when they approach me, or the opportunity is presented, because I can just feel that they do it out of pretense and don't really care. Even Cody, without me mentioning anything to him about it, noticed after 30 seconds of meeting them.

2. I have another friend that is not active at all in anything religious; she was raised LDS. She doesn't really like god because of certain life experiences. She is 'promiscuous' and got pregnant right out of high school. She drinks like a fish...haha. She does not read scriptures or even care. Why would she? She uses vulgar language. She is very brash and politically incorrect. She has a tattoo. She has done drugs. She has no real problem with occasionally watching inappropriate movies or looking at inappropriate magazines (you know, with people wearing no clothes).

She is also one of the most caring people I know. She would do anything for me, willingly and without a second thought. She rarely speaks negatively about friends or family. She is sensitive to people and their life situations. She never judges. She always remembers my birthday, haha. She is incredibly forgiving. She makes you feel good about yourself when you are around her. I love her very much.

So now the question begins...What makes a person good? Is religious activity and service a measure? What if you only do it so that other people see or out of obligation? If you do things out of obligation, are you still considered good? OR does it count more if you act from the heart and not obligation? If you break commandments of god, does that make you a bad person? Out of those two examples, who is the better person? Why?

I am sure these questions have no concrete answer or the answer will change depending on the person, BUT I am still curious what you guys think.

So tell me...What makes a person good?

Exxon Mobil

This is what I heard while listening to NPR on my way to work this morning...


Exxon Mobil just received their quarterly earning report. They made a RECORD SETTING amount of 11.7 billion dollars in the last 3 months, and they were DISAPPOINTED. They had expected to make A LOT more.

This record amount came despite the fact that they paid millions of dollars to a law suit for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and after a productivity loss in other countries (such as Venezuela).

I know I may sound repetitive, but seriously DOES THIS BOTHER ANYONE BUT ME?

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Demolition Derby

These are pictures from the Demolition Derby in Kamas. We went with an old roommate of mine, Melissa, and her husband, Matt.











It was awesome.











Although it did rain a little bit.











The destruction and demolition was very entertaining.

Packing

These pictures were taken our last night at Motel 6 (a.k.a. our apartment).













Cody was so excited to move he started dancing and playing the air guitar. Cute kid.

The Dog

This Thursday we will be picking up our first family dog. It is a mix of a lab and a retriever (I could be wrong on that, Cody is always correcting it...haha). It is all black and a girl. For all of you out there reading this that know me at all you might be thinking, "Hell must have frozen over." I do not love animals, not even a little. I know, I know, what a horrible person I am.

To be honest, I think that they stink. They leave their stench everywhere they go. They carry diseases and sick insects. They are a lot of maintenance, time, and money. They are loud. They get in the way. They are always chewing on something that they shouldn't. They can be mean and dangerous. And, they live relatively short lives, destroying the heart of any owner that comes to love them. So explain to me all of you animal lovers out there, what is so great about them?

I have come to the conclusion, however, that my husband doesn't feel complete without a dog. So, because I love him very much I am accepting it. This is something I swore I would never do. I just hope that one day it or they start to grow on me. Who knows, I might even be the one wanting the next furry little creature...just as long as it never comes into my house.

A Busy Weekend

Well, this past weekend was super busy.

We...
*packed up and moved into our new house (by WE I mean mostly Cody and his brothers).
*took out the wave runners, twice.
*attended the Mink (which is my mother's maiden name) Family Reunion.
*went to the Kamas Demolition Derby.
*attended our new ward (which turned out to be a very positive experience).
*planned our up-coming weekend get away to St. George (technically Sand Hollow).

I would say it was a pretty productive weekend. I have pictures of most of these things that I will post later on. Be really excited...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Triple H

As a child I was quite the thinker. Being the youngest, I was always left alone with my thoughts and imagination. One day, after contemplating greatly on my name, Hanna H, I came to a conclusion that I just knew had to be true. So, I ran to tell my mother.

This was our conversation:

"Mom, when I grow up I am going to marry someone whose last name starts with an H. I know that I will."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because Hanna H. just wont go with anything else. It wouldn't make sense."

My mom agreed and then told me that maybe I should go write my epiphany in my journal, she was really big on keeping journals, so I did. Then I forgot all about it. That is, until I started dating someone whose last name started with H. My mom just happened to remember my childhood wish and told me about it, thinking maybe he was the one to fulfill it.

When that didn't work, I thought it was a lost cause...a childish dream of alliteration. Then I met Cody.

Now, years later, look where I am. A real Triple H (as my locker said in permanent marker all 3 years of high school). Isn't it funny how sometimes things really do work out exactly as you always thought...just maybe not in the exact way.

(An interesting side note is that Cody's dad's real father had a completely different last name, but later in life Cody's grandmother remarried. Cody's dad then took his step-father's last name...crazy huh??)

My Frustrations

I don't know if this is just a problem for me, but lately the gas prices have gotten really out of hand. While driving through Nevada and California this last weekend there were times where the cheapest price we could find was $4.60 a gallon. What a freaking rip off!

The worst part is that there is nothing I can do about it. I have no control...if I still want to drive around my car that is.

I guess I have contemplated writing letters to my senator, but I am sure he is getting filthy rich off of my money and probably wouldn't care. Oh, and I am writing an article for the paper on it if anyone has any information or anything they would like to say...please feel free.

All of this anger and unfairness has led me to look at other problems. What is wrong with our economy? Inflation is out of control, while wages are staying almost (yes, they have raised ever so slightly) the same. People in my generation are screwed...forgive the language. We work all day (at least I do), get paid almost nothing (considering the cost of living), and then have no where to go. We just get stuck in this stupid cycle.

We can't buy houses because we can't get loans. And the people that have bought houses end up foreclosing because in the end everything is too expensive. My mom, as a home builder, has empty houses all over the place that she can't sell, because no one can get a loan. There is property just waiting for a buyer, and people living in horrible conditions, and no way to bring the two together. It is a stupid vicious cycle and the people that actually can make a difference just blame it on...well...who knows, it changes all the time. I think they need to take a look in ward.

I do despise, however, (and I am going back to gas prices) when they blame the outrageous cost on "supply and demand." Tell me again, has the accessibility and limit of oil gone down? No. And what was the profit increase in the oil industry last year?

Anyway, I could rant more, but I wont. I just wanted to get some of my thoughts and frustrations out. I guess I can't complain too much, I have been pretty blessed, but even then we barely make it. Sigh. What will we ever do?

Monday, July 21, 2008

San Diego

Well my friends, Cody and I are back from San Diego. We took Jacob, a friends little brother, with us. He was the funniest kid ever....seriously.

We left Wednesday night, making a stop in St. George to sleep, and arrived in San Diego Thursday around 1 in the afternoon. We got to go to the beach, swim, play, eat lots of hamburgers, be around friends that we love, watch the new Batman movie (which gave me a really creepy evil feeling), and then come home.

Although the trip was not all fun and games (we got a ticket because someone in our car wasn't wearing a seatbelt...thanks Jacob...haha) we were glad to get away for a few days.











It is apparent that I do NOT have the best camera on my phone...also, I don't think we had showered for a few days. Forgive our ugliness.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

You MUST Read This

Read this post.

You really must. It partially spawned from a conversation I had (I take credit where I can...haha). These are some of the very thoughts I have possessed, written out in another person's blog.

The Slip

My husband just called me and said these exact words...

"How do you buy a slip?" (then there was a pause) "I'm scared."

ha ha ha ha ha...ha ha ha...

We went to the distribution center the other day and I had mentioned that I needed a slip. So today he went to get me one.

He is so freaking cute. I love him very much.

Kelsey












I just really love my nieces and nephews.
Cody and I hung out with them yesterday.
Meet Kelsey and her up-side-down Wall-E mask.

Independence Day

Here is one of two pictures we took on the 4th of July. It really doesn't show much of what we did, but it shows who we did it with!

Caleb is priceless in this picture.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

New Job

So, I applied for a job in the PR department at UVU and I GOT IT!!! I was so excited.

I'll be in charge of writing press releases for the university as well as helping put together all sorts of events (media and otherwise).

I was really nervous because several people applied, but extremely grateful when I got the news...although I am still not sure how I even pulled it off.

I start the end of August.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Passion

When Cody and I first started hanging out (I still had a boyfriend at this time) he asked me what my passions were. I thought for a minute, then after having no real response I just kind of sat there.

I mean, Cody loves snowboarding. He likes to build things. He has an opinion on most matters. He has passion, and I have...well, I am mainly just nuetral with everything.

Ever since that day I have contemplated over this. I want to be a person with passion. How does one accomplish that? As a missionary I was very passionate...maybe too much...so I have that, BUT I think we can all agree that it isn't really the same thing. Also, I like to write. I have my own column in the newspaper and I often contribute a news article a week, but even then it is more of a pastime.

I have always been kind of a monotone person, with a monotone lifestyle. My friends were the wild and crazy ones with things they loved and did, which I enjoyed being around, while I was just kind of in the back ground. I have always been okay with that, I don't love being the center of attention, but now I am just thinking that it is boring. I am boring.

So, in the end I have come to the conclusion that I NEED A PASSION. The only problem is, how do I go about finding one? Can one even be found or picked up? Or am I just without luck and a passion is something that you must innately inherit through your own life and experiences?

P.S. Thank you Cody for your contribution. I especially appreciate that all of our Star Wars watching came out in that last sentence. haha. You are the best husband I have ever had.

Friday, July 11, 2008

New Baby...

OK OK OK, I'm back...


Hanna has been giving me crap for awhile now because I never post on "OUR" blog, and the other morning Chris Pierce did me in by posting on their blog. Hanna called and informed me that he had done so and that I needed to follow his example. I will never hear the end of it now if I don't post, so...


The newest thing of note is my new truck... so here's to you...


My padre has had numerous Toyota trucks over the years and I have always loved them. Everytime I see them I think of long trips to California in the back of an old blue 2-wheel drive toyota pick-up that we called the blue burner. Or there's the blue tacoma that I drove to California with my old buddy Robbie to pick up my dad's stuff and help him move to Utah. We jammed to music the whole time, and that trip is up there near the top of "the best roadtrip" charts. That same truck was wrecked several times, 3 I think, and we named it "Rex" as in "Wrecks". But these trucks just keep on going and going and going. They last forever and I like the size of the smaller pick-ups. I never had a need for the huge full-size trucks.


So, needless to say I love them and they're perfect for my lifestyle, nevertheless and notwithstanding, I have never owned one. I could never afford or justify it, so I settled for my next favorite, the Subarus, which I still love. BUT, now I'm officially a truck owner and I'm kind of in love with the sound of that... Toyota truck owner... See. Sounds good.


So I just wanted to inform everyone that dreams DO come true and this is me with my new baby... Still trying to think of a name if you have any ideas... PEACE be with you.


Cody

Thursday, July 10, 2008

I'm Just Saying...

I would just like everyone to know how much I HATE the word prego. Sick. Just say pregnant. I am not one for abbreviations or word nicknames anyway, but that one in particular makes me cringe.

Wal-Mart Disaster

Yesterday I had a job interview. To prepare for this interview I had to create a portfolio of some of the articles and press releases I have written for the College Times. In order to do this I headed to Wal-Mart to get one of those folders that has the plastic paper covers already in them.

After I had found what I needed, along with some mascara and a laundry basket, I headed to the self checkout line. For some reason I always think these lines will go faster, but I forget how incompetent most people are.

I got in a line behind an older lady...one person can't be that bad, right? Wrong. This lady had apparently never used a self checkout before. First she removed some stuff from one of the bags, which automatically sets off the weight sensor. We had to wait for like 5 minutes until the worker came over and typed in her little code. Then, 3 seconds after the worker left the woman set her purse on the weight sensor, causing it to go off again and another 5 minute wait. After the worker came for the second time, the woman leaned against the sensor...by this time the rage in my head started to build. It was added upon by the man behind me who kept sighing LOUDLY to make sure that we all knew he was annoyed. Finally the worker showed up for the third time, the lady bought her stuff and then it was my turn. Yay!

I tried to go as fast as I could. I mean, I am pretty much a self checkout pro. I scanned my first two items then got to the folder, my main reason for being at Wal-Mart, and there was no bar code...what the...I looked it over like 5 times, thinking that I was just missing something, then heard that man behind me sigh again. For some reason when I know the people behind me are agitated, it flusters me and makes things worse. So I just thought screw it, I wont get the folder and went to pay. I had a 20 dollar bill, which the machine denied 3 times. I then tried my brand new debt card that I had just activated, and of course forgot the pin. The man behind me raged even more. I then used my other debt card and was off.

As I was leaving the store, I seriously contemplated stealing the folder. It was only $2.57 (I remembered), such a small amount to the giant store, but then as I headed for the door I felt guilty and walked back to the worker at the desk helping all of the self checkout lanes. I figured I would just tell her really quick and pay for it. There was no way I was going to wait in line again. The last lady cost me a half hour with her stupidity. As I was walking up to the workers little desk, some woman with a cart full of groceries totally cut me off. It wasn't a big deal until I realized that she was wanting this worker to check her out. Freaking a, just wait in line woman.

So, once again I had to wait behind another incompetent person. The worst part about this lady was that, not only did she cut me off, but she had a cart FULL of fresh produce. The worker had to type in each code and weigh each item. BUT, her little desk didn't have the right equipment, so I had to wait for her to go boot up a near by register and do it all there. By this time I was the one sighing loud to prove that I was pissed off. I just wanted to get out of there. I contemplated stealing the folder again, Wal-Mart deserved it.

By the time the lady was finally checked out and had paid for her stuff, she realized that her daughter was holding a bag of bananas, which also had to be weighed, but the worker had already shut back down the register. She then had to re-open it just for the stupid bananas. AHHHH!!!

By the time it was finally my turn, 30 more minutes later, I was fuming. The lady then scanned over the folder just to realize that I had indeed told the truth, there was no bar code. She then asked me if I remembered how much it was. I did in fact remember, I am so cheap that I remember the price of almost everything. I told her that it was $2.57.

She then began to argue with me saying that she thought it cost less. What?
Are you serious? Even if you did think that (which I knew for a fact was wrong) just take the freaking money. She was so certain that it cost less that she wanted to go have the price checked. Me, trying not to strangle her, said, "Listen, I know that it was $2.57, I just waited in line for almost an hour to buy this. I don't care what price you think it should be, will you please just ring it up for me so that I can leave." She did as I asked, thankfully.

As I was walking out I just kept thinking, "I should have just stole it." haha. Although I never really would.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Inspired by Taylor

This story was inspired by, and is now dedicated to, Taylor and her sticking her foot in her mouth story that got such great reviews. Mwha ha ha.

So today I was having a discussion with a friend of mine, for her sake we will call her Gretchen. She was looking at/reading me some stuff on MSN and came across the daily "how to". It was on "How to date." When she read me the title, I instantly got reminded that last night I had a dream about her.

I then said, "Hey, I had a dream about you last night." (go figure I would have said that) Gretchen said, "Oh yeah, what was it about?"

I then told her that I had a dream that another friend of ours had called and told me that Gretchen and her boyfriend had broken up. I remember being disappointed that she hadn't told me. And that was it...that was all I could remember.

After I recounted my night time vision, I looked over at her and noticed her looking down at the floor as if something strange was going through her head. She then said, "We actually did break up a few days ago. I didn't want to tell anyone."

Whoops. What do you say back to that? I just kind of laughed at the irony of it all and said sorry.

Anyway, I am sure Gretchen will eventually read this an laugh, but I truly felt like an idiot. I wanted, if I were that flexible, to stick my foot in my mouth...

Truck Owners

We have officially joined the truck owning club. Aren't we just the coolest kids on the block.

We had been looking for a while. Cody wanted something better suited for work and I just supported his dream. haha. Every morning when I got to work, I would check the various car sites. This last weekend, while celebrating the 4th of July at good ol' grandma Pat's house, I came across a Daily Harold. I decided to search it for truck listings, and there is was, exactly what we had been looking for...only we didn't know it right away. Cody decided to call on it, and it turned out that the old man selling it lived just down the road. Cody hoped in the civic and a few minutes later I got a call, he had found exactly what he had been looking for.

Now this picture isn't the exact car, it is one I borrowed off the internet, but they are identical twins.

Monday, July 7, 2008

On My Mind

Lately I have had a lot on my mind. For starters, Cody and I are moving. It might not seem like a big deal to some people, but to us it is huge.

We are going to have our own house...our OWN house...and it is nice and beautiful and way bigger than we need (at least for the next 8 years or so). I feel very overwhelmed, but grateful at the same time. Is that normal?

Our responsibilities are increasing like crazy. I don't think us younglings realize what it takes to maintain a house...well, I guess I should just speak for myself. I am learning more and more that I know very little of what some people refer to as the "real world". I mean, I have to actually take care of a yard now. haha. I just keep asking myself, "How are we going to make this all work?"

To add to it all, we live in a not so rich area of Provo. I love my little apartment and our neighbors (they are awesome), but I do feel bad for some of the people I come across. I see single moms with 3 or 4 kids living in tiny apartments like ours, and it makes me feel guilty that I get to move on to bigger and better things, while they (being equally or even more deserving than I am) are stuck there. What a trip huh.

This world and this life baffles me sometimes.

Also, Cody is planning on buying a truck today. It is a Toyota Tacoma and beautiful. In the meantime, we are trying to sell his car too. So if anyone knows anyone looking for a 2003 Honda Civic, please send them our way. You'll get a dang good deal, because we just need to get rid of it.

The list of my mind's interests is longer, but I'll stop there. While this blog is mainly for me, I like to keep some stuff private ;)

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Sneak Preview

Here are a few pictures of our house. It comes with the furniture, but we have a few ideas of how to change things.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Riddle Me This...

Cody and I have a long running debate, and I must know what you people think...

Here goes...

Do you consider a sandal to be a shoe?

Some people think that a shoe must cover your entire foot, while others view it more as a general term. Tell me then, what do YOU think?

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The CD Player

Okay Kelly, here is the story you requested...

Its REALLY REALLY long...

On Saturday, Cody and I headed with Caleb to Seven Peaks. We decided that having to pay 5 dollars to park each time we go is a rip off (plus I know the owner, and he is a cheap skate like none other I have met), so we parked at the Peaks Ice Arena next door. We stayed at the park for a little less than 3 hours and once we had been on all the good rides, we decided to leave.

When we got to the car Cody opened my door for me, I got in, and then said something to the effect of "Cody...you're gonna be mad..."

His CD player was missing (this is the 5th time this has happened to him FYI). The funny thing is that the people took the time to lock back up the doors. And luckily they didn't break or damage anything.

While Cody got in the car to check things out I had an "impression" to go to the other side of the parking lot. I didn't know why, but I followed it. When I got out of the car I noticed two people getting into a truck and I ran after them. When I got to the side of the truck they started to pull away. I didn't know what to do, or why I was "impressed" to go over there, so I just did the first thing I could think of...I banged on the side of the truck to get their attention. They tried to drive off, very forcefully, 3 times while I was in the process of talking to them. I finally got the chance to ask for a jump, the car battery had died in the thieving process.

The people in the car were acting weird and the driver, a young girl whispered, "What should we do?" The boy then whispered, "I'll take care of it. I'll just go in my car." HELLO, I am right next to your window. I can hear what you are saying. By all of this sketchiness and attitude I got the "impression" (haha) that they were the ones who had stolen the CD player, but said nothing. I mean, what was I going to say...really?

The boy then got out of the truck, which was already running and in perfect position to drive to our car to help us, and got in his car to help us. Which I thought was so weird. Why wouldn't you just take the truck you were already in? Suspicious, I tried to get a glimpse into the backseat of the truck, the girl saw me, and peeled off...then just stopped a few feet later.

When the boy got to our car, he wouldn't make eye contact with us. Cody was trying to say thank you for the help, but he wouldn't look up. Then Cody noticed that the kids hands were shaking like crazy and in a matter of about 3 minutes, he went from being perfectly normal to being soaking wet with sweat, it was pouring down his face.

Meanwhile, as I sat in the car I noticed the boy look in at me and see the center console where the CD player once was. I made a face and shrugged my shoulders, as if to say "Sucks huh." He just looked away.

When Cody's car was started and ready to go, I got out and went to say thank you. I then heard Cody say (remember that I did NOT tell him about my "impression" that the kid was the culprit) "Did you steal it?" The kid said, "What?" As if he didn't know...pppfff. Then Cody said, "My CD player, did you take it?" There was a pause. You could see the guilt in his eyes. It was intense that both Cody and I could tell without a doubt that he had done it. He then replied, "No." (another pause) "If I had taken your CD player, I wouldn't be here helping you." And Cody said, "I don't mean to accuse you, you just seem REALLY nervous." The kid didn't know what to do, and neither did we.

Realistically, if I were just put on the spot like this kid was, I probably would have denied it to. It is hard to be honest and say, "Yeah, that was a total a-hole thing for me to do. Here is your CD player back."

He then quickly got in his car and drove back to the girl in the truck. As we got into our car I told Cody about my "impression" as well. It was kind of frustrating that we had to just let him get away. I mean, what cop is going to arrest someone because you feel like they took your CD player? So, we got in the car and we just so happened to be behind them.

We noticed that the girl in the truck was staring at us in her rear view mirror and then turned out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell (haha, I just like that saying). We were also headed that way, but she must have got scared and thought we were following them because at the next light she tried to do the 'fake like I'm going left, then at the last minute swerve and go right' trick. After that shenanegan we decided to take down her license plate number and call the local police department.

In the end, the police didn't do jack. They rarely do. He just wrote up a report and told us that there was little chance we would get it back...no duh, you idiot. So we went home and showered and got ready for our night time events that we had planned.

While I was in the shower, Cody decided to type the boy a note. It was a nice and very well written note saying something like "We don't want to get you in trouble, we just want the CD player back." Cody wanted to put it in the boy's car. Remember, he had left it in the parking lot.

An hour after we had left the scene, we were on our way back and who do you suppose we saw walking down the street? The boy himself. haha. We, mostly feeling bad for the kid and his poor life decisions, pulled over and ask him if he needed a ride back to his car. He didn't notice us right away, but when it finally clicked. You could just see the shame in his eyes. He said no to our offer, and we drove away. We did, however, leave the note in his car. It had our phone number in it. He never called.

There you have it, that is our story. The end.