Positive Feelings

This day, and this week I am struggling to find the positive feelings to think about. It seems as though everyday we wake up, we receive bad news. :( The other night one of our co-workers asked me how we keep smiling everyday, and the only answer I had was because we have each other. :) So, at least I have that thought everyday. People say that hard times make you stronger, and I have the biceps to prove it. If anyone has any extra happy thoughts, send them our way.

(The picture has nothing to do with my blog, I just liked it. It does make me remember taking Tim to Monument Valley on our first trip to Blanding together, which is a happy memory, and makes me smile.)

Thankful Me.

I am thankful. I am thankful for lots of things big and small. I am thankful that I survived Black Friday for one more year, and that I have a job in this poor economy. I might not love my job all the time, but it could be worse and I have met lots of wonderful people who have changed my life for the better. I am thankful for two wonderful kids who understand when I have to send them to Blanding for the holidays and who make the best of things the way they are. I am thankful for Harley and Jack. They are the two dogs who make life interesting, but are always excited to see me, whether I am happy or not. I am thankful for the snow, and the clouds, and how beautiful they make the world seem, even on ugly days. I am thankful to have good skin. Some days, I feel that it is one of my only "body parts" that doesn't hurt. I am thankful for Facebook. It is one of the best things to come along in awhile. I do waste hours on end, but I love being able to so easily get in contact again with so many people. I am thankful for Timothy. I spend almost every minute of every day with him, and he still loves me. Thank you to all the people in my life who provide me with the small things that make me happy and glad to be here.

Memory Lane #6

This is one of my favorite scenery pics from Gooseberry, taken by Timothy. This picture was also take on the trip in July 2007.

Family History Tidbit

So, maybe I will do this "little bit" on a regular basis. As y'all know I am kind of a history/genealogy nerd, so I am going to share stories about people wherever I happen to be at in my genealogy file at the time. Today I ended on this person: Patrick de Salisbury. So here is the wikipedia entry for him:

Patrick of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Salisbury (c. 1122 – 1168) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and the uncle of the famous William Marshal.

His parents were Walter of Salisbury and Sibilla de Chaworth.^[1] Before 1141, Patrick was constable of Salisbury, a powerful local official but not a nobleman. That year, Patrick married his sister to John fitzGilbert the Marshal, who had been a local rival of his, and transferred his allegiance from King Stephen to the Empress Matilda. This political move gained him his earldom, and the friendship of John the Marshal, who was to send his younger son William to stay with him. It was in his household where the famous Marshal first learned about knighthood.

The Earl of Salisbury also minted his own coins, struck in the county town of Salisbury during the so called "baronial issues" of 1135-1153. Only four examples have survived, three of which are in the Conte collection.

Patrick married twice,^[2] his second wife being Ela, daughter of William III Talvas, Duke of Alençon and Ponthieu, whom he married in 1149. They had a son, William in about 1150^[1] and three others, including Walter and Philip.^[2]

He was killed at Poitiers, France on March 27, 1168 in an ambush by forces of Guy of Lusignan

We are related to him on Mom's side of the family. I can't find any pics of him online though.

Walk, and walk, and walk....

Yesterday was a very enjoyable day. We walked. A lot. In a lot of different places. Timothy and I didn't end up being scheduled yesterday which was lovely. So, we decided to call Trish and see if she wanted to go to Hogle Zoo. This is a favorite activity of ours 'cause we got the membership so its free. Free is good when you are broke. We met Trish at the zoo at about four and walked around there until the grounds closed at 5:30.

After the zoo closed we decided we still like hanging out so we went to Tricia's and changed into our sexy Saturday-night-out-on-the-town outfits. (Unfortunately no pics) We decided to walk down to tracks and ride it over to Gateway, which proved to be a wonderful idea because it ended up there was a Jazz game. By the time we got to Gateway we were all starving, so we ate outside at Applebee's and people-watched. (This is our favorite form of entertainment) We tried to beat the Jazz-ites before they took over tracks, but literally missed our train by 2 min. So, we opted to walk home since our trusty bodyguard (Tim) was with us. It was a 3 mile walk back to Tricia's, but there was good company, good conversation, and good architecture. (If you want to see an odd building, look at the LDS Family Services Building, very interesting.)

Wish I was asleep

I get so frustrated that I am exhausted at work, but can't seem to sleep more than 4-6 hours no matter how tired I am. I wish I could just be a lazy person today, but my body won't let me. But, I know as soon as it is time for work again, I will be tired. *sigh*

So this was a good week, work has been good, and I have a new niece! Amanda Kate Butler was born on October 8th, at 2:30-ish in the morning. She was 7 lbs. 20 1/2 in. I have only seen one picture of her on the phone, but she looks adorable! I was kinda excited 'cause I did my 'dreaming thing'. aka I dreamed the night before that my mom told me she was going to be born that night. I told Cat at about two in the afternoon, and she said wouldn't that be nice.

Dreams are weird. I have bought or checked out quite a few books about dreams over the years. I have had quite a few dreams that have come true over the years, so maybe people really do have a sixth sense. (Wish I could go back to bed and have some more dreams)

On a totally different note, I have been working on genealogy again like crazy! http://www.familysearch.org It is Trish's fault. She sucked me back in to it. I have entered almost 2,000 names in the last week. As I got going through my file, I realized I had left most of my lines unfinished. So I started at the top and have been working my way through. (I have been lost in the middle ages for two days) Genealogy has always fascinated me, so has history. I guess the two do have a lot in common. My eventual goal is to update the books I made everyone for Christmas a few years ago. I am trying to compile more family and personal histories and get more pictures. My goal is to update them again, hopefully by next summer.

Memory Lane #5

So I have yet another picture from camping at Gooseberry July 2007. (It was a really good trip.) This is a family sing-a-long. Luckily for our family we have a couple of people who are really good at playing instruments, such as the guitar. I love singing while camping. In fact, I think it is one of the few times I actually sing any more. Patricia is the one playing guitar, with Xavier, Lexi & Nicole singing along. Can't wait to be there again on Wednesday!