Traffic Cops and Tickets

Nine years ago I lined up with more than thirty people at the old DMV in Sandy, Utah to get my driver's license. Like any 16 year old, I was pretty excited to hold the temporary paper license--even if I didn't have a car. It marked a level of freedom. From that moment on I could drive where I wanted whenever I wanted, parent's permitting.
Driving isn't fun anymore. Flashing lights and parked cars on the freeway slow me down.Stereotype would say that women never get tickets. Just pull out the "girls" or start crying and no cop will hand you that money laced ticket. I had a roommate once who told me she'd been pulled over 12 times and never had a ticket.
Now, I'm not stupid. I tried all the methods to weaseling out of fines. I've been pulled over by the flashing lights six times. Of those six times, I received six tickets. No warnings and no sympathetic turns.
Last week was rough. The week before an extended weekend at my work equals a lot of extra commercials and later nights. One of those late nights was especially long and it was snowing. You know what I hate more than driving in the snow late at night? Stupid police officers camping out on major roads.
The police officer, Officer Bueller or something, pulled me over two miles from my house. He didn't pull me over for speeding (for once).  It wasn't for "improper lane change" or "not yielding" or whatever cops pull people over for these days. He pulled me over because my right headlight was out. 
On his way to talk to me, he noticed my old license plate under my seat and wanted to check that out too. My hoarder ways makes me look suspicious. I am sure the carseat base in the backseat probably looked stolen as well. He told me to get it fixed and went on his way.
Thank you, West Valley Police Department. While violence is likely erupting less than a mile from your location and drug deals are happening in the Walmart parking lot next door; you wanted to pull me over for a dead headlight. Waste your time, waste my time and waste the city's time. But hey, for the first time in my life I got pulled over and didn't get a ticket!

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"WE ARE ALL MADE OF STORIES."

Weekend in Pictures

Cookie Train with the Hunts/Larsens is still a new experience for me. This is only my second time imagining and creating a cookie train piece.

My passenger care of Russian gummy bears was pretty awesome. I even tried to to do a Russian flag on the side. It looked silly so I slapped the wheel over it-to cover my shameful attempt.

Dave always does the train engine. It's the same every year. He doesn't have to be creative. Just there it is. Awesome and such.

After cookie train and during Cami's nap, Dave and I hit up Thanksgiving Point for lunch. Some legit reindeer were camped outside in the snow. Yay Christmas!

The tree

Oh, by the way- we finished putting up the tree. I love it because it's our tree.
It's not the one I grew up with. It's not the tree Dave knows from his mom or the one from his dad.
The brightly lit star, red garland, colored lights, matched red/silver/green and mismatched ornaments I have accumulated through my life.
This tree is the perfect combination of our childhood Christmas memories and that's pretty awesome.

Creche

Here we are! Note Cameron's tired, lost stare.

The past three years have been a rush. I try pretty desperately to keep some things and traditions the same.
One of my favorites is visiting the Interfaith Creche Exhibit in Midway. The display is only open the first weekend in December and it's usually shoved in tight at a local church.
I have so many memories of this tradition: walking through with my parents, who examine the artistic differences and make notes for their own nativity sets; two years ago going with Dave early in our relationship, standing close but not holding hands; and taking Cameron in a stroller by myself because Dave had to work last year.

Some pretty amazing creation in woven grass or something

This year (and last year) was held at the beautiful Homestead Inn. It was so amazing to attend something so festive and family oriented AS A FAMILY.  Our work schedules conflict big time so family time is rare and wonderful.
There weren't as many nativity displays as I remember and Cameron was pretty grumpy. I think the beauty of it all was lost a little on her. Even though she likes looking at things, her exhaustion was winning out.
The best part about this tradition is to see the thousands of countries represented and creations of their own versions of the nativity scene. The arts are amazing!

I'm kind of a sucker for Charlie Brown Christmas

Christmas Lights!

My family always had a ton of Christmas traditions. One night in December we could cram into the car and between yelling and fighting we would drive around the nearby neighborhoods looking at Christmas light displays.
It was probably partially atributed to light-envy. My dad was always super afraid of heights. I remember how much he hated getting up on ladders, even in the one level house. I don't remember a lot of years when our house was lit up.
You know what's awesome though? KSL finds the lights for you. Check out this site. People put in the address of their light displays and you can go check it out, without driving for hours, looking at boring lights. Like the famous street in Salt Lake, where every house is lit with a sign telling a story about Christmas. Totally awesome.

Rollercoaster

My friend, Johnny, posted a blog entry today about life as a roller coaster. He feels like his life is not a rollercoaster-very flat and boring.
I'd like to propose a life roller coaster swap with Johnny Walker.
My day felt like a gigantic roller coaster of shifty demise. A big coaster with metal swirls of questionable integrity and sharp descents. I could name a big long list of crappy parts of my day, but the big one for me was frustration.
Two weeks ago I applied for a job that I really wanted and felt like was a perfect fit for me. The hours were perfect: 9-5 p.m., no weekends and holidays. I would work with one other girl, who didn't seem mean or conniving at all. It sounded lower stress and better pay. I did a phone interview with her and then I did a face to face interview. The interview was one that was so-so. I didn't know what the outcome was going to be, which usually means bad-but I had hope. I have been trying to practice hope over the past three months, you know fight those awful reminders.
In short email form I read that I didn't get the job. It was impersonal and plain. Emails of rejection can be such a blow for me. When my job qualifications are so job specific. My field of expertise is so direct that it's difficult to find a job that fits me. I've been looking for a new job for a while and I've only been on two interviews and zero offers.
That jab at the jugular was the first hard part of the day. It was such a big blow for a day that just continued to spiral like those super scary roller coasters.
In some ways I feel like my day ended hours ago, with me sitting on a concrete step outside my work and wanting my dad so badly. I wanted to run home to him. I could almost see him sitting there in his tan armchair, holding a puzzle book.  he would put down his book, hug me and tell me he loved me. That's it. He would give me some sage, church advice and everything would feel okay again. I miss him a lot.
I suppose this entry isn't all happy and awesome, but not every day is a funny story. Sometimes there are roller coaster days.