Unbelievably Blessed

I didn't forget to write about this in my weekend recap, I just thought something of this measure deserved a post all to it's self. My family has always been pretty close and very supportive of each other in all of our activities. It was just always understood that if you could reasonably make it someones game, recital, race, or whatever that we would always be there to support each other. Well promenade is a pretty big deal in Moab an so in an effort to support my brother I went down for the weekend. Valerie also wanted to be there for Spencer and so she planned to leave Cedar City and drive to Moab Friday night after she got off work. Mom, Nichole, Joshua, and I were in the middle of planning Spencer's prom day activity when Valerie called to tell us that she was just leaving Cedar about 8:45 pm. A few minutes later she called to ask what the road conditions were because it was snowing a little just 20 minutes into her 4 hour trip. Mom hung up with her and then called road conditions. The forecast? Snowy, Snow packed, and icy. We called Valerie back to give her the report and as soon as we started to say snowy and slick, the conversation was interrupted. What we heard on speaker phone on the other end of the line sitting at the kitchen table in Moab went something like this:

A lot of static and scratching

Then a very panic-ed, "Mom"

more static and scratching

a very frightened, and tearful, "MOM! Mom! I'm okay. I just wrecked. I'm okay, but... I'm upside down."

Before I go any further, let me just say that Valerie is perfectly okay. She walked away without a scratch! Back in Moab however, that was the most utterly helpless feeling I have ever felt in my life. As soon as she said "I'm upside down," I immediately thought the worse and felt completely dis-empowered to do anything. Within moments (although it felt like much longer) someone had arrived at the accident and helped her out of the car. The police and EMS arrived within 5 minutes and checked her out and confirmed that she was okay, no back or neck injuries. Over the next couple of hours we were on and off the phone with her and also trying to get in touch with some of her friends and her bishop in Cedar City to be with her when she got back to her apartment.

I guess that it was snowing pretty bad where she was driving, just north of Parowan. She was switching lanes and got caught in the slush in the middle and somehow, started sliding, spinning, and ultimately landed upside down, and facing south in the median.

Now a few days later, I keep thinking about that night and I realize how incredibly lucky my family is. And how much worse it could have turned out. The more I learn about the exact location of the accident, the terrain, and hear statistics about car crashes on the interstate I realize that we were playing against the odds. As soon as I heard Valerie say she had wrecked the only thing that I could think to do was to pray in my heart. I think my mind was so blank and so confused about what was happening, that I couldn't actually say a composed prayer. All I could think was "Heavenly Father, please be with her." It is unbelievable to me that we were on the phone with her the entire time, and even while spinning Valerie never dropped the phone and the connection was never broken. Maybe it was so that someone was with her. There was immediately a familiar voice other end of the line for her to hear. I don't think she ever got the names of the people that stopped to help her before the police arrived but they were undoubtedly those angels that dwell among us showing up at the right place at the right time.

In any event, I am grateful for the tender mercies of my Heavenly Father who extended a hand of protection over my sister. I am also thankful for the knowledge I have about eternal families. That our family unit will extend beyond this life and into eternity.

Weekend Recap

It was the Junior Prom in Moab last weekend and so I made the trek down to watch Spencer promenade. Friday night about 7:00 Spencer and his group still weren't sure what to do during the day, so Nichole, Mom, and I came up with this great idea to send them on the "Amazing Race" around Moab. We had to do a little convincing with the four other guys in his group to let us plan this activity for them, but once we said it won't cost you anything, and you don't have to do anything, it was no surprise they were sold.

So the three of us plus Joshua spent the next couple of hours making clues and riddles. We had such a fun time and then come the next morning it was even more fun to hide the clues around town and then watch as the 5 groups 'raced' around town, solving riddles to be the first ones to arrive at the end destination. Just because we had so much fun making them, here are the ten clues we came up with. For those of you familiar with Moab, see if you can figure out where these clues were located...

If performing is your favorite art
Then you would have a ball
The next clue in your search
Is hidden at _______ ______

If you’re looking for a Rhino
Or something of the sort
The best place to find it is at
_________ _______ _______

If you want to see the view
You’ll have to climb the hill
Your next clue it hidden
At the ________ ________

We recommend you pray
To help you in your search
Your next clue is hidden
At the ________ __________

If you’re in the mood for popcorn
And feeling kinda groovy
Go to the place
Where you would see a movie

This next one is quite easy
There’s no need to despair
Just go to the place
Where you would buy a chair

This next one is a dead give away
It isn’t very hard
You’ll find your next clue hidden
At the entrance to the __________

If you saw the circus here
You’d laugh like a hyena,
You’re next clue is waiting
At the __________ _________ ___________

One of the funnest things to do
Here in the Moab Valley
Is to go a get a strike
Down at the _________ __________

You’ll see a World of Wonders
Tonight when it gets dark,
For now your journey ends
When you reach the Rotary Park

Answers: 1. Star Hall, 2. Moab Power Sports, 3. Sunset Grill, 4. The brown Church, 5. Movie Theater, 6. Knowles, 7. Graveyard (Cemetary was harder to rhyme), 8. Spanish Trail Arena, 9. Bowling Alley.

We had and official stop watch going th entire time and gave them one 'free' phone call if they needed help but any additional hints meant minutes added to their final time. The best part of the entire morning though had to be when Spencer was on his clue that was supposed to lead him and his date to Sunset Grill. Since he works there we thought for sure that he would figure it out right away and be the first one to finish the "Amazing Race." Then a few minutes later he called as asked "You're talking about the Sand Hill right?" We just busted up laughing! As we were writing clues we it never occured to us that some the the teams may have thought to "climb the Sand Hill", and not climb the hill to see the view at Sunset Grill. Turns out he was already half way to the top, and it had been raining all morning so it was really a big mud hill. Whoops! :) All in all I think it turned out to be a success and all the groups had a fun time.

I didn't take any pictures from the activitiy but here are a few pictues of the dance that night...

Juniors getting ready for their dance

Spencer and Olivia

Me and Spencer

Spencer and his 'ladies'

Promenade partner Megan, Prom date Cynthia, and Girlfriend Olivia

The guys in his group

V-Day (A Little Late)

We wanted to have big plans for Valentine's Day this year, start the morning off with breakfast and then think of something really fun and special to do for the rest of the day. But come Valentine's Day morning we still weren't sure what. Zeniff did come down for breakfast but by the time we actually cooked, ate, and cleaned up was already 1:00 p.m.! We still hadn't thought of anything spectacular to do so we headed down to the gym to work out for awhile. It was so fun to go with Zeniff since I always have to go to thy gym alone. In fact I have to beg him to come work out with me at all! By the time we got back from the gym and actually got ready for the day it was almost dinner time, and now we were both too tired to want to go anywhere or do anything. We ended up making dinner at home, exchanging gifts, and then watching TV for the rest of the night. Nothing spectacular, but it turned out to be the perfect day!

Valentine's Day Breakfast

Heading to the Gym

We tried something a little different this year for our gift exchange. The beginning of February we decorated valentine's boxes, just like in elementary school and then we gave our decorated empty boxes to each other. Then the rules went as follows:

1. Return the box to the other person, filled on February 14.
2. Stay under the $5 limit, including supplies.

It was a little challenging, but so much fun!

Zeniff's Gifts included:

• A couple of his favorite candy bars, wrapped in a valentine's motif
• 10 'Love Coupons', for back massages, cookies, etc.
• 220 pieces of paper with different reasons why I love him, which I made him read
• Me playing the guitar and singing "1234 by the Plain White T's"

Natalie's Gifts included:

• Bouquet of Tulips
• My favorite candies - individually wrapped
• An oil painting of a field of daisies (one of my favorite flowers), which he painted
• A photograph of a piano that Zeniff took in college, which I have been practically begging for a copy of for 3 years!

Mexican or Arab? You Decide.

My boyfriend and I have been dating for 3 1/2 years now and it never ceases to amaze me that every time I mention his name to someone for the first time, I have to repeat it twice or even three times. If we ever have to put our names on a waiting list somewhere, we always use my name just for simplicity sake. When he's picking up an order and they ask for the last name, it's "J-A-S-S-O" pronouncing the letters only, not a word. His name? Zeniff Jasso. Generally speaking, when ever I have introduced him to someone, the next question always follows: "So Zeniff, is that right? Were is he from?" Zeniff is from Mexico. He has lived most of his life in Dallas, TX but was born and spent the first 8 years of his life in Mexico. I see it. He looks hispanic, we eat a lot of tortillas, beans, and rice, and he speaks mainly spanish with his family. Once a few years ago someone asked me where he was from. I answered Mexico, and they said "Mexico really? I was thinking that he was from some Arab nation." Arab Nation? I see Mexican, but I don't see Arab!

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I finally began to see where my friend was coming from. We went snowboarding and were taking a break, goofing around in the lodge with the camera. Later that night, when I looked at the pictures I finally began to see what she had been seeing all along.

I only wish that I had a picture of him in a sombrero to compare this to! And for those of you still wondering how to pronounce his name, go back to your high school spanish class and say this: Zeniff Jasso "[Suh-neef] [Haw-soh]"

Not Your Typical Accounting Equation

+

=

DISASTER!!!!!

(Yes i'm speaking from experience)

Goals for 2009

It has been a few years since I have officially made new years resolutions and acutally wrote them down. I have decided this year is as good as any to change and that publishing them on my blog will hopefully motivate me a little more to accomplish them! One of my goals this year is to be more well-rounded, so I've tried to set goals in 4 different areas: Physical, Educational, Social and Spiritual.


Physical: This was probably the easiet area to think of something as I think most new years resolutions have a tendency to focus around our phsical well being. I had a lot of grand ideas and actually had to narrow it down, but I have committed to run 350 miles in 2009. At first I was considering something a little more lofty like 500 miles, but when I did the math, I realized that I might be being a little overly optimistic! 350 miles in a year, averages out to just over 6.5 miles per week.


Educational: This was a little more difficult for me because when I thought education, I immediatly thought school. But then I realized that education can be gaining more knowledge in about any area of study. Refelcting back on my college days, I realized that I had become quite proficient at the piano about the time I graduated, and sad to say, I haven't learned a new song since my senior recital. In 2009 I would like to learn 2 new piano pieces. Not just learn and stumble through them, but actually learn and memorize them as I would for a recital. I'm nost sure which pieces yet but I'm toying with the idea of either Beethoven's Sonanta Pathetique or Moonlight Sonata (all three movements of each).


Social: Probably my weakest area. I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to anything too drastic like meet one new person every day or turn into a "social butterfly," but I've managed to come up with something that will hopfully enlarge my social circle. One of my biggest weaknesses is keeping in touch with old and new friends. I'm horrible at emailing or calling, and silly as it sounds, I get nervous asking someone to 'hangout." I definatly have a tendency to sit around and wait for the phone to ring. So for 2009 I plan to strengthen relationship with old and new friends. Maybe give them a call to hang out once in awhile or have lunch. So if you're one of those 'old friends' reading this.. you can hopefully expect a phone call or at least and email from me within the next 11 months! :)


Spiritual: I have to admit, my spiritual goals are a little to personal to be publishing on my blog, but basically they include strengthening my testimony of specific gospel priciples and attending the temple.


I hope that 2009 will be a succesful year full of many acheivements!

Designated

All my life my parents have always encouraged me to get as much education as possible. That was probably the driving force that actually made me finish school and get my degree. Since graduation, Dad has still encouraged me to continue my education and has specifically mentioned adding as many "letters" behind my name as possible.

For the last couple months I have been working on a couple of self-study courses and have officially become "designated." In October I completed a Professional Bookkeeper (PB) course, which was specifically designed for someone to open their own accounting service from their home. Something that I am looking into doing once I have a family etc., or maybe even sooner. The course ended up being fairly simple, and mostly a review of my undergraduate classes. I managed to finish in just over a month and scored a 99% on the final exam! (I don't think I ever even got that high on an actual college exam. Amazing what practical "real life" experience can do!)

I took a short break after the Professional Bookkeeper course before I started working to become a QuickBooks Specialist (QS). QuickBooks is an accounting software. I was under a time constraint to finish both courses before the end of the year if I wanted my work to pay for the tuition, but I did it I completed the QuickBooks course in 10 days!

So there you have it! My official professional title is now "Natalie Tangren, PB, QS."