THE SWEET LIFE

I have recently discovered a few things about myself:

#1- I really do hate tax season, every year I convince myself it really isn't that bad... and then it hits and I can basically just kiss all good days goodbye for 3.5 months! Sorry Dad, the family disease of loving accounting definitely flew right past me!!!

#2- Stress and I do not mix well. When I get stressed I clench my jaw, which not only messes up my jaw even worse than it already is, but it gives me migraines.

#3- I just need to live on a ranch. Here are a few pictures of the good life- a couple of my uncles as well as some cousins have the most amazing ranch up in Oregon. It is the most beautiful area! Imagine Utah county, only greener, with about 1/60 of the people. If that. I dont know that I could handle not have a Walmart within 10 minutes, but there is one in a town close by.

Their property is absolutely gorgeous, all of their families are so close, and those kids can work! Holy cow! I really can't imagine a better way of life, work hard, play hard. Unfotunately for them, the boys up there did get the accounting gene (they are my Mom's brothers and nephews, I really did get hit from both sides of the family and still managed to dodge the accounting gene.) I hope they are surviving tax season up there! I can't imagine trying to run an accounting firm AND a big ranch!
Anyway, last January my Grandma Roach passed away, and so this summer we had a Family Reunion up there and that was a moment in time I will never forget. Here are a few pictures from that week.


My cousin Jake, and my cousin Brenda's boy


Me, Erika, Uncle Dale (my mom's oldest brother) and my brother, Michael. Erika LOVED the horses! She always asks when she can go see "Unco Dale and Unco Awwen (Allen)"



Erika with my cousin Kelly's boy Khale- he is such a little stud! Probably the cutest little boy I have ever seen- next to my nephew Landon of course! ;)


Uncle Dale supervising us city folk as we tried to work cows. He doesn't look too mad, so that's a good sign! We must not have screwed up too bad!

Countdown!!!

Spencer and other missionaries at the Mission Home is Stockholm, he is the one on the left.


Spencer and I before Sadie Hawkins our Senior year. The funny thing is, the first school dance I ever dance was with Spencer, and my last school dance in High School, the last dance at our senior all-nighter was with Spencer.

I have officially begun a countdown- my best friend in the entire world, Spencer, is coming home from his mission on May 30th. 67 days!!!

For those of you who don't know me very well, Spencer and I met in 8th grade when he transfered to my Jr. High school and was admitted into our Yearbook class. We instantly hit it off and became good friends. We dated a few times, the typical high school relationship, but ours was anything but typical. There is nobody on this Earth who knows me as well as Spencer does. He is currently serving in the Sweden Stockholm Mission, and needless to say, I cannot wait to have my "Hansy" back. There is no better feeling than that of having somebody you love and respect so much, close to you.

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!!!

Sleeping.... How would it be??

Do you even have those nights where you toss and turn all night? Not because you can't get comfortable, but because you just cannot sleep? You aren't tired, in fact you have a lot of energy, but it is the middle of the night and you know you should be sleeping or you will regret it tomorrow? That has officially become the story of my life.

Since I was young I have been unable to sleep (Thank You uneven brain-- See previous post for details) Since this last Daylight Savings time change thing, my sleep schedule has become so much closer to utter extinction. My new sleep schedule is this, I take my sleeping pill at 9 PM- give or take a few minutes. I take a shower or do something else relaxing, and I prepare for bed. I try to be completely done with homework by this point so that i can relax, but seeing as it is tax season and I am working like crazy, that doesnt usually work out. Anyway, my goal every night is to be in bed ready to go to sleep by 11. Good goal right? I loved it the first night because I was so proud of myself for actually doing it. The problem is, the ceiling above my bed gets really boring after staring at it for 5 hours. Literally. It does not matter what time I go to bed. I will not fall asleep before 4 am- and that is the earliest. Let's just say I have all of the designs on the ceiling memorized. The worst part is trying to get my butt out of bed at 7 in the morning, or earlier depending on the day.

Since I have battled with this my entire life, I dont really know anything different. The problem is, growing up I always had my own room. So when I was awake I was awake. I could have the light on, or turn on church music, read books, maybe the scriptures (since those seem to put me right to sleep). But unfortunately, welcome to college life, I have a roommate. A roommate who snores. So I get to lay in bed from 11-4+ hearing a snore every 4 seconds- literally. Yes, I am OCD. The reason for the rant is because I had an entire weekend with my room to myself and it was heavenly to be able to do whatever in the middle of the night. Tonight, however I am back to hearing the snores every 4 seconds.

The good news is, there are 3 weeks and 2 days until tax season is OVER!!! I am hoping then that I will be able to sleep better because I won't be so stressed all the time! Hey, I can get my hopes up, right? Anyway, there is my ranting blog- you wont see those very often, but sometimes it is just necessary to get the frustration out.

The other good news I had a fabulous easter and had a blast playing with my niece and nephew, Erika and Landon. I will post plenty of pictures of them in the future. My weekend was fabulous, I mean, it's March Madness! How could it be anything short of amazing? Watching NCAA basketball on a big screen, HDTV with my best friends, what could be better?

MY FIRST TAG!!

Well, I have officially been tagged for the first time ever! So here we go!

5 Pet Peeves
*People chewing with their mouths open
*People talking with food in their mouths
*People tapping pencils or pens during a test
*People driving BELOW the speed limit... SPEED UP!!!!
*People being inconsiderate

5 Things on my List of things to do Today.
*Go to class- hopefully staying awake through all of them
*Go to work- hopefully surviving. Less than 4 weeks til tax season is over!
*Go help my mom with her computer
*Send an e-mail to my family members full of pictures of Lake Powell.
*Watch MARCH MADNESS

5 Snacks I Enjoy
*Sour Punch Straws
*Chips and Salsa
*Girl Scout Cookies
*Dutch Oven Cobbler
*Ice Cream
(that was the easiest one on this!!)

5 Places I Have Been
*Lake Powell
*China
*Singapore
*Malaysia
*Taiwan
*Korea

5 Places I Have Lived (I am not very adventurous when it comes to where I live)
*1188 E 500 N Orem, UT
*Cedar City
*548 N 900 E Orem, UT
*787 E 750 N Provo, UT
*759 N 700 E Provo, UT

What I Would Do If I Suddenly Became A Millionaire
*Buy a houseboat
*Buy a ski boat
*Buy a hybrid car
*Help my bro start up his business
*Buy a house
(Pay tithing and put the rest in savings)

5 Jobs I have Had
*Gymnastics Coach (unofficially)
*Cashier at Robert's Craft
*Gilbert & Stewart CPA
*Provo OB/GYN
*Gilbert & Stewart CPA

5 Things You Don't Know About Me:
(Jen you know all of these probably)
*I am terrified of being dunked under water- I dont know why but I seriously panic!
*I hate heights (that's a new one that I recently discovered.)
*I have an uneven brain- which cause my body to be uneven
*I collected TY Beanie Babies for a few years and have over 250 of them!
*I am a computer nerd- Being a graphic design major I sit in front of a computer all day, and then go to an accounting firm and sit in front of a computer some more! All I do is sit in front of computers!

"I always knew I was special"

So I decided I should share a little story with you that might give you a good laugh.
**Flashback 9 years ago**
My mom and I were shoe shopping at Parks Sportsman (the best store ever) for new basketballs shoes for me. The man measuring my feet said, "hey, your feet are a half a size different." Which I learned is incredibly common. Now, imagine being 11 years old and finding out your feet are uneven. I suddenly became very self-conscious of my feet. Especially when the left one continued to grow and the right one seemed to slow down.

**Back to Today**

Well over the years, this unevenness-as I like to call it- has continued to progress. My left foot is over a size and a half bigger than my right. My left leg is a few inches longer than my right (same with my arms). My left eye is far sighted, my right eye is near sided. The left side of my hair is much thicker than the right. My jaw on the left side has 40% bone loss, the right only has 25%. Literally- my entire body is uneven. Well, I recently took a trip into my family doctor. He is a very good friend and has known that I am "uneven" but we have never thought much of it. I was in seeing him about my migraines and not sleeping. I once again mentioned about my body being uneven and how my migraines are on the left. Well that worried him, he thought maybe there was something blocking my brain stem because my entire body is completely different, divided right down the middle. As he was measuring to see how uneven I was he was shocked to discover that even my muscles are different on one side- the left side is just more dense. Literally- everything is uneven.

Well I had an MRI- I was in the stupid tube for nearly 3 hours (they said it would be an hour max) and I was poked and prodded multiple times while I was in there. I couldn't figure out how it could possibly have taken that long. Well, a few days later when we got the results it all made sense. My doctor calls and says, "Well Bec I hope you are sitting down. The good news is, nothing is blocking your brainstem, you dont have any tumors or anything. BUT.... the left side of your brain is drastically smaller than the Right side of your brain, hence why your body is uneven. We (meaning the neuro surgeon and my doctor) both agree that this is what must be causing your migraines and sleep disorder." So there ya go! I have been diagnosed with a Unilateral Growth Deficiency (it is a new term- they made it up for me.... literally.) And like my sister said, "Boo- they should study you!!!"

I dunno- I thought that is a pretty cool story to tell! And hey, I have the ultimate "tell us something interesting about you" moment. I think my brain being uneven will top any other stories- bizarre.

A Long Time Coming... AGAIN

Wow- Ok so I have gotten a few hints from certain people that I should probably update my blog. And yeah, I probably should. Thus far I am averaging updating it 1.3x/year. Ok I dont know if that is exactly right, but it sounds right.

The reason I dont update all that often is because I feel like I live an incredibly monotonous life. I wake up at 7:22 each morning, ok that is a lie. I wake up at 7 but I dont roll my butt out of bed until at least 7:22. I then get ready and go to school at 8. i leave school around 12:30 and go straight to work and work until 5 or later (seeing as that it is tax season..... I will be working late a whole lot!!!) Then after work I go home, try and pick up my room and my apartment, and then I start studying. My studying usually ends when I have finished a project or when I am so sick of staring at an image that is pulled in so tight that I am manipulating 3-4 pixels at a time. Not fun. At that point I usually try and fall asleep. I am typically out cold by 3:45 AM and am wide awake again at 5:00 AM (really- it is a schedule for me) and then I fall back asleep around 6 and then wake up at 7. And then my day starts all over again. Any suggestions on that? My doctor's keep telling me to take sleeping pills but I am just not a fan of the metallic taste it leaves in my mouth.

A Long Time Coming

Well it has been well over two years since my last blog post. My sister, however, has recently become addicted to blogging and it has reminded me that blogging is actually a fabulous thing! So here' the update.... I am going to school in Graphic Design and will graduate in just over a year!!!! I live in Provo with my 3 best friends and we basically play... all the time! We are not necessarily the most effective people, but we have fun! Two of my best friends, Aaron and Josh, get home from their missions in under 2 weeks which I am so excited about! Then Thiago gets home the 17th of February! I am getting so excited for "my boys" to get home, but I have come the realization that #1- I am getting old. My friends shouldn't even be going on missions yet, let alone coming home. Yeah, I am getting old. #2- I have grown a lot over the last two years, it hasn't been easy or necessarily fun but my life has changed in so many ways and I am so grateful for where I am now. I know I wouldnt be here if it weren't for my roommates, my friends, my family, and especially my sister. Who would have ever thought 5 years ago that Jen and I would be friends? I certainly wouldn't have. I never would have dreamed that I would be calling her my best friend. #3- I can't imagine my life being much better than it is. It is a wonderful feeling to be 100% happy with 95% of your life. I certainlly can't complain. I have been so blessed and recognize every day the countless blessings I have received and continue to receive.

Wet Willies.....

Have you ever had a good friend who just loves to bug you? And do you have that one thing, just ONE thing in this world that absolutely grosses you out? Now the true question is, has that one person ever figured out that one thing that grosses you out? Unfortunately for me, I had this experience this past weekend.

While sitting at the BYU volleyball game (which BYU lost unfortunately), my dear friend Joshua discovered that when a wet finger is shoved into my ear, and twisted around at a rapid pace, I tend to act a little strange... ok that is an understatement... I FREAK OUT! Getting a wet willy is that one thing in this world that absolutely grosses me out! I shudder at even the thought of receiving a wet willy! I mean, what person in their right mind would really want somebody else's finger, which has been who knows where, covered in that person's saliva shoved into their ear? Then just in case that isn't gross enough, that person continues to twist their saliva-covered finger deeper into the victim's ear! GROSS!
As gross as actually receiving the wet willy from Josh was, the main problem, is that I was surrounded by Aaron and Trevor who also love to know what drives me insane, and they both love to use those insanity drivers against me!! Needless to say, I doubt I will EVER be able to travel back up to the good ol' town of Orem again without receiving atleast ONE wet willie....
Thanks Josh!!!! ;)

Conformity..... Isn't it grand?

Isn't it sad how we all tend to conform when all of our friends do something? Remember when e-mail first became an option for us in 7th grade, or when Instant Messanging became the lastest craze? How about text messaging?I immediately jumped right on those bandwagons so as to keep in touch with my friends which was rather pathetic seeing as there really isnt that much to talk about it Junior High, and well, in high school you see eachother every hour so texting really isnt necessary (I can't believe I just said that) but that is beside the point. Once again, I find myself conforming to the latest communication tool.... The Blog!

anywho.... just thought I would let you all know I have FINALLY become a blogger!
Love You All

ReBeCcA jOy