Christina Joy Billquist

I did not have a chance to blog about Christi on her birthday last week and I wanted to take this opportunity and wish her the best year yet!

There are a few things you should know about
Christi:

1. She is A LOT of F U N!!! Anyone within a mile of her can feel of flair for life and that absolutely fantastic sense of humor. It rare the occasion that I am around Christi and not laughing hysterically at some point and most likely the whole time.
Christi and I have had many a good time together and shared many an inside joke. She is always the life of any party. Even if she never leaves her seat.

2. Christi is SMRT Smart! (just in case you think I can't spell; Christi will get that one) I am always in awe of the wealth of knowledge this girl carries around in her head. She never forgets anything! I am sure this is a big part of why she is so great at her job. She can retain and process information quickly and use it against if necessary. :) I have never met anyone who remembers music lyrics and movie lines the way she does. In fact we often dispense with pleasantries and converse in our favorite movie lines or George Straight lyrics.

3. Creative! Have you ever seen one of his girl's scrapbooks. America, shes got talent!

4. Christina Joy is the wittiest person I know. She has a come back for everything. Sarcasm is an art form for Christi. I have never known anyone to be able to turn something boring into a game the way she does. You have to watch your every step and word with this girl or she will make a mockery of you as fast as you can say Delila. Not sure how you spell that so I am sure that will come back to haunt me... :)

5. Aunt Cecee is also the best Aunt in the whole world (if you take me out of the equation, of course). From the day little Livvy was born Christi took on a whole new role in life and has embraced it and enhanced it with each new niece and nephew. She sure loves those kids and they love her. She is great with kids. When my nephews visit, they always want to hang out with Christi. I also see her with her friends kids and they are just as taken with her as the rest of us.

6. No one is more thoughtful. Christi always seems to know just the right thing to do for people. I have been the recipient of many a thankful gift but I have also watched as she has taken great care to put together a basket of someones favorite things to commemorate a special event or congratulate or thank them. She is constantly doing kind and generous things for those around her.

7. She is a Gamer! Has anyone else experienced the intense beat down in a game of Sorry? Has she ever made anyone else to stomp on the robber or chuck some wheat across the room? Then you have not played with the best of em' yet.

8. Loyal! Now this one is much more than your basic loyalty. Christi is the kind of friend you always want on your side. If she has befriended you, you can expect a friend for life. I have watched for many years as she has continued to cultivate friendships from High School and college and beyond. She has friends all over the country and she always makes time to visit them and stay in touch. She continually works to keep ties with her friends in many different ways.

9. Christi is a GREAT friend! This one is similar to the last but I would expound. For many years Christi has been like a sister to me. She is a dear friend who has been there for all the best times but has never turned her back on the bad times either. If there is one thing I can count on it is Christi. She is a loyal, dependable, thoughtful, fun, intelligent and utterly AMAZING friend! I know that through thick and thin I can always count on Christi. That is the stuff great friendships are made of...

Christi, know that even when you are trying to make it to Amarillo by Morning, up from San Anton, I will be sitting on my Ocean Front Property with Your Fool Hearted Memory. Write This Down; Right or Wrong, always play that Ace in the Hole. Well I gotta go now, and maybe I Can Still Make Cheyenne.

Weekend Update

This weekend was fabulous. I drove up to Big Lake on Thursday night and spent the next couple for days enjoying the great outdoors. My parents met me there for some hiking, fishing, reading and just plain relaxing.

My dad was so excited to teach me how to Fly fish and it was so fun! We found some great spot where we would hike along the river and fish as we went.

Mom and I spent a lot of time catching up and reading and watching Dad fish.

On Saturday morning Dad and I hiked up to the Big Lake look out and it was one of the prettiest hikes ever. You make your ascent through the thick forest at a pretty good grade and then out of nowhere arises this huge rock formation and the look out sits at the very top. As we were hiking up Dad though he saw a black "cat" up on the rocks. He said he did a double take but brushed it off, thinking that was crazy and it must just be a shadow from the tree. When we got to the top, the lady working the look out (watching for fires) invited us to come up and check out the view from the look out. While we were up there she was telling us that if we were quiet hikers we might see a bear and that there is a black Jaguar that hangs out around there. Dad then told her about his sighting and she was not surprised.

It was so nice to have some good quality time with my parents. I feel so blessed to have such amazing parents with whom I love spending time.

I would post some pictures but my camera died and all I got was one picture of a snake I saw on the trail, one of three I might add. I am getting so brave!

Weekend Update

This weekend was great! Saturday was Christi's birthday celebration so i spent most of the day preparing for the party and doing little things around the house. We had so much fun. I really wanted to do a pool party but the weather precluded any outdoor fun so we just had a small dinner party and then chatted after dinner. It was great to catch up with friends I had not seen in a while.

Sunday was nice, just church and meetings. I got to attend a little reception for a girl returning from her mission who was a beehive of mine when I was a Young Women's President. It was really fun to catch up with her and see what an amazing woman she has become.

Monday was full of adventure. It started early in the morning with a hike up to the top of Flatiron where I met two other friends who had camped out the night before. After we ate a quick breakfast we set out for what was supposed to be an 11 mile hike through the Superstitions over the ridge line to Peralta trail in Gold Canyon. Everything went splendidly until about 6 hours into the hike when we lost all signs of the trail. We searched for our route for about an hour and finally started backtracking until we found a canyon where, in the distance, we could see the road up to Peralta. WE started down this canyon which turned out to be pretty treacherous and five hours later, as the sun was getting lower in the sky and with depleted water supplies we finally got to another trail. By the hand of God, I am convinced, this trail spit us out at the exact place we had parked our car. After giving the car a big hug we got in and drove home. I was very happy to drop my 30lb pack and take my shoes off after 12 straight hours of hiking. I am just glad we made it down with no injuries and no snake bites. I did see a snake but it was up on the ridge before we lost the trail and miraculously we never saw one while trudging through thick brush and climbing down uncharted ravines. The Lord was definitely answering my prayers for us to have made it home without harm or accident befalling us.
I attached a topo map of our trip. The red line is where we were supposed to be and the green where we actually hiked down.

Stuff white people like:

I recently read this blog called "stuff white people like" and found it quite entertaining. I thought I would share some of my favorites but please go to the link and read more.
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like

#93 Music Piracy
White people have always been renowned for having ridiculously large music collections. So when file sharing gave white people a chance to acquire all the music they ever wanted, it felt as though it was an earned right and not a privilege.

When (not if) you see a white male with a full iPod, ask him if all of his music is legal. If he does not immediately launch into a diatribe about his right to pirate music, you might have to nudge him a bit by saying “do you think that’s right?” The response will be immediate and uniform.

He will likely rattle off statistics about how most musicians don’t make any money from albums, it all comes from touring and merchandise. So by attending shows, he is able to support the musicians while simultaneously striking a blow against multinational corporations. He will proceed to walk you through the process of how record labels are set up to reward the corporation and fundamentally rob the artist of their rights, royalties and creativity. Prepare to hear the name Steve Albini a lot.
#99 Grammar
White people love rules. It explains why so they get upset when people cut in line, why they tip so religiously and why they become lawyers. But without a doubt, the rule system that white people love the most is grammar. It is in their blood not only to use perfect grammar but also to spend significant portions of time pointing out the errors of others.

When asking someone about their biggest annoyances in life, you might expect responses like “hunger,” “being poor,” or “getting shot.” If you ask a white person, the most common response will likely be “people who use ‘their’ when they mean ‘there.’ Maybe comma splices, I’m not sure but it’s definitely one of the two.”

#50 Irony
The most horrific recent example is Trucker hats, that shockingly went from mainstream in the 80s to Ironic in the early 2000s back to mainstream, at which point they are no longer rare or unique. Once something reaches this stage, irony cannot be restored for 10 years.

Other examples would include white people getting together to have a ‘white trash’ night where they would eat Kentucky Fried Chicken, drink Bud Light and watch Larry the Cable Guy or The Marine. Maybe listen to Kid Rock or P.O.D. These events allow white people to experience things they are supposed to hate, all while feeling better about their own lives, decisions, and cultured tastes.

#56 Lawyers
A common characteristic amongst white people is the need to over analyze things, so they partake in activities such as therapy, writing a blog, or becoming an arts major. So its rather obvious why white people love lawyers so much as it is the one profession that has mastered the art of “over analyzing things”. Even though most disputes can be resolved through reason, unselfishness, and / or a google search, white people would prefer to take things to court or have something in writing.

These are only a few and excerpts at that. There is a lot more from whence this came.

A Whole New World

Considering my penchant for being the last to know about technological advances, i am sure all of you have already experienced my new fun. However, I will tell you about it anyway... I recently got a new computer and have therefore been trying to make myself more efficient by cleaning things up and using new tools with all my updated software. I just discovered the wonderment of igoogle! Wow, it has me mesmerized. I love being able to completely personalize my home page with my choice of thousands of cool backgrounds, points of interest, and google gadgets This has opened up a whole new world for me! Every time i open up my home page; I am inspired by quotes from The Savior accompanied by his picture, current time zone, weather, and I can translate his words into the native language of his current location if I so desire. I am now intrigued by the many places I am to see before i die, the healthiest food choice of the day, vocabulary enhancement and my to do list. And this is just the beginning. I am going to be the best humored, well informed, politically savvy, healthy eating, umbrella toting, enlightened, multilingual girl in town.

The little things in life

A lot of great things going on this past week. I discovered spray ranch dressing, 10 sprays only 15 calories. If you love to each fresh veggies with ranch but want to cut the calories this is a great option!

I am proud to announce the appearance of my first fruit of the vine. Due to my exquisite cultivating I have a teeny tiny chili pepper. If the economy gets too bad I may be able to sell my goods, like my own little farmers market. I also have a crop of little tiny flowers coming in. It is so exciting to grow your own plants! Sometimes I go outside several times a day to see if my flowers or vegetables have grown any. It is amazing how attached I am to a bunch of plants.

Friday was a big day! Denny graduated from Law School! Congratulations "Big Brother"! The picture I posted is of he and his beautiful wife Nichole, it was one of my favorites! I cannot wait to see what exciting new successes come his way now that he has completed this long time goal. It was great to attend his convocation and enjoy all of his outstanding successes. Congratulations Denny and Nichole!

Also, while hiking Flatiron on Saturday I noticed the blooms on the saguaro cacti. I don't think I have ever seen them in full bloom before. I think they only bloom for a short time each year so I took a picture and hope all of you enjoy them as well.

Green thumb and bargains

It was so nice to have a Saturday at home. I can't remember the last time I had this much time to myself. It was a great day! I am excited to report that I planted a small garden this weekend. I hope, in a couple of months, I will harvest my own cucumbers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red, yellow and green peppers and chili peppers.

I also, planted more flower seeds this weekend. This is my third attempt at bringing my flower garden back to life. I have a few seedlings coming up from my last planting but I think most of them were washed away when I accidentally flooded my flower bed. Lets cross our fingers they work this time.

Early Saturday morning I was also able to go get my first bountiful basket at the co-op pick-up. This is awesome! I got a huge basket of fruits and vegetables for $15.00. All of it was good quality and stuff that I will be able to use. There were a few items I would probably not pick up on my own but I have come up with ways to use them. Limes for example: I also got two bunches of cilantro so i decided I could make up a nice lime cilantro dressing like the one at Costa Vida. For anyone who lives here in the valley and is not aware of the co-op. You can go to bountifulbaskets.org and check out the site. They also have pick-ups for bread, cheese, rice and honey at great prices.

One more bargain to tell you about. If you like Biolage shampoo and conditioner; Costco is now packaging the moisturizing shampoo and conditioner in their own Kirkland branding and selling two huge bottles for $6.99. I pick-ed it up for storage and then had to use some and realized what it was! This is an excellent buy!

National Day of Prayer

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Today is the designated National Day of Prayer. As such it has been and will continue to be an eventful day. This morning began with the Governor's annual Prayer Breakfast, previously held on Martin Luther King's Birthday. It was a wonderful event with the Governor, many legislative officials and members of the judiciary. For those who were not aware of the NDP this is an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln who established it in 1863. "Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace."

This evening I have been asked to offer a prayer of peace at the capitol in an evening prayer vigil for human rights. These events are always interesting. It is wonderful to see the devotion of so many faithful people who sincerely and earnestly desire to do good in the world and make a difference in the lives of those who suffer.

I hope we will each have a prayer in our hearts for the leaders of this nation and for the people of the world who suffer in many forms, on this designated Day of Prayer and everyday.

Fun in the sun!

I just got back from a fun-filled weekend in Huntington Beach. I finally took the plunge and went to a singles conference. It was surprisingly enjoyable. There were a ton of fun activities and lots of interesting people to hang out with. I met a ton of new people and made some new friends. Friday night when we got there I did the speed dating and met a few fun guys. We hung out for a while a played jokes on a few other people we knew by putting fake notes in the envelopes provided for people to let you know they were interested in you after a round of speed dating. No one really used the envelopes but we stuffed a few of them with tons of notes and kissed the envelopes for even more effect. Then we all did some dancing and then more vi sting and mingling. Saturday we spent most of our time at the beach and then had dinner groups where an equal number of guys and girls had selected a restaurant and you just showed up and had dinner with whoever was there. Gina and hap pend to pick just the right place. We were the only girls with all guys. Okay so maybe we did accidentally mention to a few guys what restaurant we chose. It was fun to get to know people in that setting and we had a great dinner at Dukes on the Pier.

Yesterday we had a great sacrament meeting (2 hours). The Stake President and an Area Authority spoke and for the highlight of my weekend the Bishop of that ward invited Gina and me to come forward and bear our testimony of the Savior. You know I am always glad to bear my testimony but HOLY COW...without notice in front of 1400 people. Oh and did I mention he prefaced our coming forward with gentlemen "these are the kind of women you want to marry". Yeah, I thought my heart was going to explode. I have no idea what I said... I think I blacked out!

It was an interesting weekend to say the least. I am really glad to back to my normal, mellow, single life.

For love of basketball...

Nothing extraordinary going on in my life to blog about but I must put out some positive vibes for my SUNS today! I know we can take the Spurs and take this series. We are going to break this psychological barrier that has kept one step behind them in the playoffs in the past. GO SUNS!!!

On that note I saw this on my friend Steve's blog and thought I would share it. John Wooden has always been a basketball idol of mine, in all his wisdom and love of discipline, character building and winning!

"Discipline yourself, and others won't need to," Coach John Wooden would tell his players. "Never lie never cheat, never steal," and "Earn the right to be proud and confident." John Wooden was the most successful college basketball coach of all time. No one has ever even come close.

Rick Reilly, the talented sportswriter, recalls that if you played for him, you played by his rules: Never score without acknowledging a teammate. One word of profanity, and you're done for the day. Treat your opponent with respect. Wooden believed in hopelessly out-of-date stuff that never did anything but win championships. No dribbling behind the back or through the legs. ("There's no need," he'd say.) No UCLA basketball number was retired under his watch. "What about the fellows who wore that number before? Didn't they contribute to the team?" Coach Wooden would say.

No long hair, no facial hair. "They take too long to dry, and you could catch cold leaving the gym," he'd say. That one drove his players bonkers.

One day, All-America center Bill Walton showed up with a full beard. "It's my right," he insisted. Wooden asked if he believed that strongly. Walton said he did. "That's good, Bill," Coach said. "I admire people who have strong beliefs and stick by them, I really do. We're going to miss you." Walton shaved it right then and there. Now Walton calls once a week to tell Coach he loves him.