holiday

 Ok sad story I can not find my memory card from Oct 2011- to Feb 2012.. so I am just going to have all those stories wait.. and " move on with my life " to Feb 2012..
...........I love to celebrate holidays!!! I really, really do!!!! so on President's day 2012 I planned a mid-singles trip to Ashlawn-Highland home of the 5th president of the United States James Monroe and his wife Elizabeth Kortright Monroe. In the picture above is Angelene, Donnie, Amy, Kris and myself.
Kris, Amy and I had a beautiful drive to Charlottesville, VA where we met Donnie and Angelene.  We walked around the gift shop where I got a magnet and then went over to the tour.. our tour guide was a short black gay guy named Donnie.. he was AWESOME!!!! great tour guide!!!:) He led us through the house and because it was president's day there were different visitors Donnie the tour guide seemed excited every time like "oh my goodness, look who is here!!" :) We had a young lady dressed in peirod clothing that was a "friend of President Monroe's daughters" she talked to us all about one of the rooms and ladies of that time period.. We had an older lady that was a "friend of Mrs. Monroe" that talked to us all about eating customs ( we were in the kitchen) We went in a few other rooms and we ended up in a room with a man that was "President Monroe"  President Monroe was broke and so he was pretending that this was the time period when his house was for sale and we were there to look at it and to maybe buy it..
He chatted with us for a bit. When we were leaving I asked if Barack Obama had ever been there and he said " I don't know who that man is ( they have to stay in character)but he is welcome to visit if he is an American citizen...ha ha.. We walked around the grounds for awhile and went in and toured some of the outbuildings there were people in those buildings doing little demonstrations too..I learned that tea used to come in blocks and they would shave it off to have tea I had never seen that before.
When we were done there we went down the road to Monticello because I needed to stop there and get a magnet.. because someone STOLE my Monticello magnet... that I got when I went there when I was 19..
Monticello is all built up .. it is like a production there like it is a Mt Vernon..
After that Kris, Amy and I headed back to Northern,VA
It was a great day ...I don't know what I will do next year.. The Adams Historic Park is closed in the winter.. I don't know if I will just go to Boston anyway or if I will head down to Nashville and visit Andrew Jackson's house.. I guess I will have to see when the time comes.

spiritual Keli

I am intermittently reading a book about J. Golden Kimball, for the most part it is just OK.. but last night I read something that stuck out to me. I read about how he was in a group of people and split them up and told one side to sing "High On a Mountain Top and told the other side to sing "Come, Come Ye Saints.. and then then pointed out how terrible that they sounded.. both groups sounded good .. but they were singing two different songs..so he taught them to sing in harmony ONE song.. the same song beautiful... what an often object lesson.. maybe if I was brave enough I could do that the next time that Angela or Katie forgets that they are teaching and then I volunteer and "teach" I think that often we are interacting with people that are singing a great song..but it is different than our great song.. and we just need to work together and be more united and work on singing one song...

random Keli

I have been reading a book about famous sitcom sets and their "style" while reflecting on some of the shows I have adored and some that I have never even seen an episode of, I remembered this story about " Sex and The City" of which I have never seen an episode. (all though I have read the book)
 While working at a care center in the middle 2000's "Sex and The City" re-run's started being broadcast on TBS or some other station like that. Ruby a resident of that care center who was in her 90's said to me " Keli there is a show coming on tonight called SEX IN THE CITY" ... she said then giggled to herself.. I was like " um OK" Then Ruby told me again "it is called SEX IN THE CITY!!" this time she also said that when it came on, I was not allowed to come in her room because I was not old enough to watch it..
I was in my early 30's.
When it came on I ducked my head in her room
and she said " Keli you can not come in here, Sex in the City is on and you are not old enough to watch it!!!" she then giggled to herself...

a little while later I ducked my head in again... this time I heard  a character say something like "damn" or "hell" or "ass" and she was like ............." well maybe I am not old enough to watch this...."

and just like that, she turned back on BYU TV and watched Andy Griffith, or LHOTP, or whatever was on..

I never heard another word about " Sex in the City"

field trip

While In Chicago at Millennium Park, Kevin and I also went to Cloudgate which is a large bean shaped sculpture that you can take pictures in with the Chicago skyline in the background.. this may not sound like a major tourist attraction and exciting thing.. but guess what...it is and I recommend it :)

random Keli

So I am almost caught up on ALL my shows... here is what I am currently watching
1. Once Upon a Time..- I LOVE THIS SHOW...!!!!!

2. The Celebrity Apprentice...- Clay Aiken is on this season.. should it even be a question that I am watching this.. of course I am watching this... I went on some website and saw that Clay and Arsenio Hall are going to be the final two.I hope Clay wins.. !!!! :) IDK if I can stand watching another long reality show finale if Clay Aiken does not win.....

3.Glee- I text Elaine the other day " on my way" when I was about to get in my car.. I would never text that while driving I don't want to end up like Quinn..

4. Criminal Minds- I like a lot about this show..

5. CSI Vegas- Ted Dansen has made it better I swear... my mom likes that Elisabeth Shue is on it now...

6. Law and Order SVU- the guy from Cold Case.. Harry Connick Jr... and everyone else...how could I not..

7. The Office- I am in love with Jim Halpert...but I would not go as far as Kathy hahahhaha :)

8. The Finder- I am loving this new, fun quirky show

9. Bones- thank goodness this is a good show.. because basically...............I will watch ANYTHING with David Boreanaz in it...

10. Awake- why did I start this show... ? why?? when I already am involved with all the above shows... why?? oh well.. I am enjoying i.. and I like that Fez has versitility as an actor...

11. Switched at Birth- um when is Hulu going to start streaming the episodes.. so I can watch the second season!!!!!....

12. Merlin- I am still in the second season...because finding time to watch ALL the above shows kinda hinders me from progressing with Merlin..

so those are the shows I am currently "in a relationship with" hahahahah:)

random Keli

I have read twenty-three books in 2012.. and it is now March. I am hopeful that I will reach and surpass my goal of 52 books this year. When I look over those books I realized though that this year I have not read anything "substantial" or "ground-breaking" or even..a " must-read" .. you know the book you want to tell all your friends that they NEED TO READ IT!!!!...
BUT I have read a lot of fun books..I am reading the works of Charlaine Harris who is famous for "True Blood" in 2011 I read her "Aurora Teagarden series"  now I have started her " Lily Bard series" I really like these short fast-paced mysteries set in small southern towns with women as the hero's and where the women are the  ones that have common sense.. I am also reading Margaret Truman's books she wrote some mysteries that are set here in DC that I enjoy because I live not that far from DC.
I am also reading books that my bosses have laying around and books that are sitting on my bookcase that I got at the thrift store.. because I don't think I can go to a thrift store and NOT buy a book... I also have a list a "mile long" of books that people have told me I "need to read" so I am enjoying the books I am reading and happy with my choices.. I just wonder at what point this year am I going to read a book SO AMAZING.. that I will need to shout it from the rooftops...
I will get back to you when I do..

missionary Keli

When I was on my mission we would meet with people and we read with them out of the Book Of Mormon. When I first got to Bakersfield, CA and started meeting with people I complained to my companions that we "always read 3 Nephi 11" and why could we not read something different... I thought there are so many good stories in the BOM why always 3Nephi 11.. My companions got annoyed at me .. "why couldn't I get it"...
It did not take me that long to realize why we always read 3 Nephi 11 with the people we met with..
3 Nephi 11 is where what the Book of Mormon is ABOUT.. it tells the story of Jesus Christ coming to the American continent.. it talks about how he he established the mode of baptism.. it talks about the basis of how he wanted his church run.. 3 Nephi 11 is what it is about..
Last night I watched my friend Christina's children while she went to Taco Bell, I had the oldest two Jayden and Jocelyn read 3 Nephi 11 with me. I had each of us read 3 verses. I felt the spirit so strong and felt like I was back on my mission ( they were better readers than some of the adults I encountered on my mission) ..What an amazing experience to hear children read the BOM out loud and to be able to testify to children..
I know that The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints is true. I am grateful for the savior Jesus Christ and for the atonement. I am grateful for the BOM and the testimony I have of it. I hope that one day I am lucky enough to have my own children so my husband and I are able to teach them about the gospel and I can one day hear them read out loud from the BOM .. what a wonderful day that will be

field trip

When I was in Chicago I saw a lot of really amazing things some of the things are hard to put into writing. One of those things was the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park it was two large structures with water coming down from them that had digital faces on them and then at one point the lips on the faces would open up and spit out water and there would be a little waterfall.. there was also a bit of water on the ground and you could walk across it. This does not sound very amazing or exciting BUT it was.. and I got quite a lot of pictures from there.. and I had a lot of fun there.. and I feel like I could have stood there for awhile and just watched the faces change on the fountain.. oh wait .. I did.. lucky for people that don't pay attention at all they now have censors in the fountain so if you are standing where the water comes out the fountain will not come on until after you have moved..this place was packed in September I can only imagine how it is in the summer.. or maybe I wont imagine maybe I will just go back someday