31 reasons to be happy!

Guess what?! Tomorrow you can go to Baskin Robbins (with thousands of other people) and get an almost free scoop! Who doesn't want a $0.31 scoop? Not to mention all the free tasting besides! So you could potentially get the equivalent of more than one scoop. (Which is not really a measurement at all... but still yummy!)

World Class Chocolate anyone? Jamocha Almond Fudge? Anything with fudge? Or Ripple? Or Nougat? (That word is so funny.)

Then they donate $100,000 to the
National Fallen Firefighters Fund - so how happy is that?
(the donating, not the falling...)

Did you know they have regional flavors? Creole Cream Cheese. What is that??? And why are Mississippi Mud, Fudge Brownie and Chocolate Almond not available everywhere?

Not important - what IS important is to run down between 5-10 p.m. on April 30th and get some yummy-ness!
Doesn't ice cream make you
So Happy?!

A long, long time ago...

On April 28, 1998, I left Argentina to come home from my mission!

They have been ten great years! Who could believe they've passed so fast!!!
Here's a synopsis (a brief one picture synopsis) of what my life has been since then...

BYU

(that's me and my BYU Roomie, Sharon, and her grandma during our end of the year Disneyland trip! I didn't have a digital camera then and it's too late to scan pictures right now... but I had some great roommates and great times at BYU!)

Seattle


The Temple


Lots of Old People

(That's my friend Stella, she'll be 100 this year! An amazing woman!!!)

Mexico


Europe


Mexico again


Europe again

Salt Lake City

My condo


Aidan


Young Women


Sister Beck


Grad School
(ok that's us on the way to Dis but these gals have been the best part of grad school for sure!!!)
(and the Hoff... our entertainment on the roadtrip.)

Disneyland

Lots of hair styles(you wish I'd post those! Maybe I will!) and so many good friends and family!











Who could ask for anything more? (well, a husband, maybe....)




It hasn't all been easy, but for ten years now I have been
So Happy.

Ah, Well...

Today, I'm happy to remember my dear friend, Hilda.

(This was Halloween when I was the devil and she was a cat.)

Isn't she fantastic?

(This is Hilda with her friend, Stella who will be 100 years old in September.)

I met Hilda in Seattle and knew the first time I saw her that we'd be friends. And I was right!

(This was New Year's Day at the Mobley's.)

It was so fun to be Hilda's friend. She was amazing. A Holocaust Survivor, a member of the French Resistance, a speaker of many languages, an avid reader, a fashionista...
She would always stick her cheek out for me to kiss before I left.
She critiqued my outfit daily.
She hated the food in the nursing home.
She loved tea and cookies at three o'clock and Millionaire at four.
She always read with "light from the left."
She got frustrated with me and my tries at speaking German.
She told me that I was lucky because I was pretty and smart (who wouldn't love that!)
She tied a little cape around her neck before she combed her hair.
She took walks on the balcony everyday and had a little scarf she wore so her hair wouldn't blow.
She traveled the world.
She did NOT like drinking water, but she loved ginger ale...
She didn't know why we had belly buttons.
So many memories... I could go on and on and on about her.

Funny, the things we remember about each other...

(Here Harriet, Stella and Hilda enjoyed an afternoon at Stella's apartment right on the water.)

So, today it makes me happy to remember her. I'm surprised that already three years have passed since she's been gone - and I can't believe it's only been three years. I certainly miss her.

Ah well... Still, so happy.

The Song Remembers When

I love music.

So I'm listening to the radio... FM 100.3 (said with a deep, smooth voice)... (I was at work - it's easy listening for at work, that's why.) when "She's like the wind" by Patrick Swayze started playing.

Think of it... (Sicily 1941... Just some Golden Girls humor -- sorry.)

"She's like the wind, through my trees." (really Patrick? Through your trees? Were those the best words you could come up with? Wait - are those even the right words?) "She rides the night next to me. She moves me through moonlight, only to burn me with the sun. She's taken my heart but she doesn't know what she's done!"

Such heartfelt pain.

(No - I had to look the lyrics up. But I do know enough to sing along in the car.) (A funny blog would be what lyrics do you think you know and always sing wrong? I thought that song, "Don't forget me when I'm gone" was "Don't go camping when I'm gone." I was little. Ok - I just realized like two years ago. :))

The point is -- listening to Patrick croon away swept me right back to my eighth grade year, eating pizza at Gina's house, lying on her floor (being really allergic to her cat), watching movies until we would go up to her Kirk Cameron, Debbie Gibson and Garfield poster adorned room and sleep on her waterbed! Awesome.

Songs somehow have the power to transport (remember the movie the transporter? Oh, Colleen.) me back in time to a memory so specific that I can remember smells, sights, sounds, feelings... Amazing.

I hear the song, "Dancing Queen" and I'm back in the yellow brick house having dance parties,

"Ice, Ice Baby" and I'm on the stage at a ward talent show ( I still know some of the dance),

"Tricky" and I see Suzanne dancing in the hallway,

"I've had the time of my life" and I'm 12 years old again and in love with Scott Reed at a stake dance.

"Nothing Compares 2 U" and I'm 14 and in my cool green and black outfit that was a little too short - but so cool -- dancing with Bryan Arazani at a different stake dance. Oh he was so cute. I thought I'd just die if that song ended.

"Hot Pants Explosion" brings me all the feelings of freshman year at Ricks - homesickness, noodle overload, and it makes me want to say dog a lot for some reason.

I hear "Cat's in the Cradle" and I can see the kitchen of our house in Princeton and even the kitchen radio, the white cupboards with the curtain over the bottom cupboards, the green silverware holder (there must be a name for that) and the enormous microwave (that we still have) that was so large (you can fit a turkey in it) it took up 1/4 of the kitchen. That song always made me so sad for the unfortunate relationship between the father and son... take time for your loved ones people!

I hear "Break My Stride" and I'm at the Skate-a-Rama in a yellow leotard with a feather tutu with my mom doing aerobics. (I know you're thinking, "Oh Amy, you just dreamed that." No my friend. That was real.) (But I changed that so it didn't read like my mom was the one in the yellow leotard. Sorry, Mom!)

"Cecilia" takes me right back to my high school turkey days, as does "Trouble Me", "Rainbow Connection" and "WKRP in Cincinnati". Oh, such good times. (Speaking of which - Happy Birthday, Carrie!) There are so many more...

Ok - no one is probably enjoying my memories as much as I am. But I sure am! Go bust out your mix tapes and see how much you enjoy your own memories.

What songs make you remember?

Memories make me -- So happy.

From the Mountains... To the Prairies....

Happy Tax Day!

I love America.

It makes me happy to know that our system allows me to get back almost all the taxes I paid last year because I'm a poor student and I need that money!

(And can I just mention - in all red - that the amount that I'm getting back is EXACTLY the amount that I need to make it through the rest of the summer without taking out a loan for the rest of my schooling!!!
I mean - Miracle! "The Lord does love a coincidence for sure!"
I love tithing too but that's a different blog for a different day!)

YOU'll be happy to know that I actually did finish my taxes -- at the deadline yes, so what's new? It works - less effective maybe - but still effective.

Don't you love America too?

So happy.

(Ps - I love the internet for those pics too - no way I took those!)

A Bottle of Sweet Oil and a Feather

Annie, Amy and Heather - happy to not be in class!

My favorite new happy place to go: Elizabeth's Tea House!

So Fun!

So English!

So Yummy!















While we were sitting by this lovely window the lovely English shop-keeper came over to tell us that if we got too warm we were so welcome to lower the lovely window shade! Lovely!

The secret is we actually went there (Annie and I) two days in a row. They serve Cadbury hot chocolate that is delish! And I've so been bitten by the travel bug lately -- A. I haven't been anywhere for a while, B. I'm totally infatuated with London - I used to want to be an English teacher because I was so infatuated with all of it - castles, Shakespeares, hobbits, C.S. Lewis etc etc etc... (And we're studying London for girls camp this summer because each ward in the stake had to choose a Temple to have as their theme for their camp and so the girls chose London! Yeah! I was so proud of their creativity! We're trying to speak in a British accent as often as possible so we can accomplish a whole week of it at camp! Ok - digression over.) (Well, maybe not. I swear I can't keep to one subject! What makes me happy is my friends who know that I flit from one subject to the next interrupting myself, my train of thought and sometimes them when I get distracted by whatever I see and just have to share! It's even happening on the blog! I'll try and restrain myself... ) and C. if you haven't read through "The Weakest Pen"... well, you're missing out on some good humor! My friend Rachel was over in London for work and reading her blog makes me incredibly happy! and just a tiny bit jealous!! :) And anxious to travel!

So, for now, to get that English fix, we head to Elizabeth's and eat pastys and tarts, sausage rolls and meat pies, have tea and cocoa and imagine.

And it makes us happy.

So happy.

Lady in Red

So this was the scene of our happiness last week.

Aren't the girls great? (Amy, Andrea, Joselyne, Carolyn, Jessi, Natalie, Julianne)
(admittedly not a great "bangs" day for me)

Little did we know what happiness awaited us outside!

And there we are with her! Sister Beck! Her husband sang "Lady in Red" while he took our pictures. This picture was moments before the skipping phenomenon.

To get the girls to watch General Conference, I told them that they'd get a prize if they could tell me what color Sister Beck wore on Saturday and Sunday. She wasn't so easy to see - but I found her! We'll see if they know tonight when we play guitar hero! Last week - the Testaments and Sister Beck. This week -- Guitar Hero. But we'll never forget last week - I mean what could compare?

Still, So happy.

I Got You Babe

I don't know if I've told you all or not, but I am in love. He's smart, funny, handsome, a good listener and very affectionate.
Plus he's got great toys and he's a fabulous dresser!
Knowing him has been the best 16 months of my life!

Ok -- This is one proud aunt blogging today. My 16 month old nephew is the greatest nephew ever born (says she modestly). He talks, walks, loves music and being outside, has the best mom and dad in the world and makes his aunt smile like no other.
This guy is the best.

**Jealousy alert** You may become very jealous by looking at the rest of the pictures in this blog. If you choose to proceed, you acknowledge that the writer of this blog accepts no responsibility for your feelings!**

I'm pretty sure he's saying, "It's so awesome when Amy comes to babysit!"

And, "I have the coolest clothes on the block!"

"Are you really taking pictures of me still? Can't I just play?

"Betcha can't catch me!"

"Aidan, where are you?"

"Boo!"

Come on. Is he brilliant or what?

"Ok. I'll pose. Just for you. But then I might bite your leg."

"Ok - I might bite your leg or I might be America's Next Top Boy Model."

"I pity the fool who takes any more pictures of me!"

So, So Happy.

High On the Mountaintop!

I love General Conference!
Could Temple Square be any more beautiful?

I got to go to Conference on Saturday morning and I was so happy to stand and sustain President Monson as our new Prophet.
(If you click his name you can hear his talk from Sunday Morning.)

I love that there are 8 hours of talks that we get to listen to and I'm always a little sad when we hear them say, "And then the Conference will be adjourned for six months..."

I am thrilled that the new Apostle is Elder D. Todd Christofferson. Not one of my guesses, but (you'll be surprised to know) they didn't consult me before making the call. :)

I'm also excited about the new Young Women General Presidency! Sister Tanner's talk was delightful and we will miss her.

Sister Dalton is a wonderful woman.
We have loved her for years now.
So many exciting changes!


The Temple is so beautiful. There is so much beauty all around it's almost impossible to take it all in.

Aren't we blessed to have such memorable days and experiences?

The Church is So True!
Click on the link and hear for yourself!

Wonderful Wonderful General Conference!

So happy.