Back to school, back to school...

Today is going to be my second day of my golf class at BYU. I already don't want to go! How lazy am I? I really just want to go home and hang out with my husband or maybe hit the golf course with him instead. I'm sure once I get into this class I will like it, but as of right this minute I am nervous about hitting the ball in front of a bunch of strangers. A mental problem Scott tells me I really need to get over. I just have to keep reminding myself I chose to go back to school and everything that comes along with it is my choice. Not that this golf class is even a hard class. But it is one of the classes that fulfills part of my health requirement. It's just my lovely insecurities coming to the surface. I am still waiting for my class materials for my online class to come in the mail, I am anxious to start because I can basically finish it as quickly as I can get through it. It would be nice if I had a little bit more money and I would register for another online course as well, but I guess I will start slow until I save up some money or I can get some of my tuition reimbursement to help pay for the next class. Speaking of which, I love the company I work for and the fact that they do tuition reimbursement. It will help ALOT. Anywho, not really sure what the point of this post is... but there you go.

Race for the Cure

Those of you who know me well enough know that I like to be involved in the fight against breast cancer. I don't even like pink and I have pink grips on my golf clubs because they are breast cancer grips. This year I actually found out early about the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure here in Salt Lake. I am really excited to be able to run it this year. If anyone wants to donate to the cause, click here. No worries if you don't want to, just wanted to put it out there in case anyone did. I know I don't have a lot of money to donate either... but every little bit helps.

Eating My Words

I am now officially eating my words yet again. This post explains a few of the other things I said I would never do. And now the newest one:
This weekend I went and got my BYU ID card, and tonight is my first class there. I can't deny it, I am officially a student of BYU. A school I said I would never attend. Yes, I attended BYU-I, but it is much different. I still have mixed feelings about BYU overall. I am not totally on board with the overall attitude there and the whole stereotype that goes with it, but it made sense for what I want to get out of my education. The program I am going into is ranked pretty high in the nation.
I have to say again, never say never. Maybe it's only me, but I almost always end up eating my words. It's a nice big slice of humble pie...mmm tasty!

Can Anyone Tell Me Why?

Here is my question:

When you are driving down the freeway below the speed limit, why in the world do you SLAM on your brakes when you see a cop on the side of the road?

Time to Golf

Golf season has officially started at the Morgan household. Scott and I started a tradition of going golfing every Monday night last summer as our FHE, and it is something we want to keep up. We were able to go for the first time on Monday and it was so beautiful out and while I definitely didn't do my best, it felt good to be out and playing again. Tuesday night we went down to the putting green at Hobble Creek and played around as well. It is so nice to have the beautiful weather and be able to walk around a gorgeous golf course with my husband. Since I am taking a golf class this term at BYU, I am pretty sure this next 6 weeks is going to be full of golf. Golf on Monday's with Scott, class on Tuesday and Thursday nights and then sometimes we will go golfing with some of Scott's buddies on Saturday. Maybe with that much golf I will be able to improve my game!!!

Poor Parenting

To quote my very blunt visiting teacher who I love, if you have bad children, it's because of poor parenting. Ok, so in order not to offend anyone, I have to say, I realize I am not a parent. I realize parenting is hard, and I realize that no matter how good of a parent you are, you can't control your children. Not all misbehaviour reflects on the parent, but you can tell the difference between a child who is allowed to misbehave and one who is misbehaving because of a particular circumstance. My intent is not to offend anyone, so if you are offended by this, I no longer take any responsibility.
With that being said, holy cow, I am amazed at how many parents don't take their responsibility seriously and are beyond lazy about it. I noticed that the current generation (in general) are more concerned with making their children happy and giving them things they didn't have as kids, and being their friend than they are about being a good parent. The majority of kids today are full on brats. Why people? Why don't you take care of your kids?
Here are a few examples of why I am ranting:

• The kids in our neighborhood play in the street, understandable, they move for cars, not a problem. What is a problem is when they have a super soaker out and are squirting cars that go by with it. And the mom just stands there and smiles. First of all, it's dangerous, because you don't know what kind of psycho might drive by. Second of all, it makes people angry. Third, you are teaching your children it is ok to not respect others or their property. Sweet!
• There is a mom in our ward that WORSHIPS her 5 year old daughter. I'm talking she gets up and bears her testimony and gives talks about how awesome her daughter is. Therefore, the daughter thinks she is amazing and is actually a BRAT. She has no respect for any adults, or anyone around her really. She thinks the world revolves around her and expects people to give her attention and think she is great. And, this family has a second daughter, but you would have never known it by the way the mom only talks about the first. So she is raising a daughter who thinks she does no wrong. Good job.
• We were up at Hobble Creek Golf Course chipping and putting on their practice green. Along comes this dad on what is obviously a child's scooter. Totally fine, what is the kid doing? Running, while pushing what must be his little brother in a stroller, a regular stroller, not a running stroller. He was running and tipping it back and being crazy with it. Some people may not think that is a big deal, but it was so unsafe! Just let one of your kids kill the other while you ride your little scooter. Good job, dad!
• A couple of weeks ago, Scott and I went to the drag races in Vegas, I won't even start on the tiny children that are being dragged around the strip in the middle of the night.What really got me was the people who took their babies to the drag races. The sound of the cars racing is so bad, it hurts your inner ear drum if you don't have your ear plugs in super tight. And people have their babies there. Those babies can't say, mom that hurts my ears. Come on really? You could give that baby permanent hearing damage at a very early age, lets use common sense.

Once again, I do not have kids, but I do have a lot of nephews and nieces. I can see the difference in a poorly parented child and a well parented child. I do understand that there are no perfect parents and no perfect children, but at least give it a good effort. Good heavens. Don't sit and watch your kid act like a jerk and have no respect. And seriously why did you have kids if you were too selfish to take care of the them the way a child needs? My parents may not have been perfect, but I tell you what, they taught us right from wrong, and you better believe we DID NOT act up in public. We learned very well what happened if we did. Why aren't more parents like that now? We all ended up as respectful, hardworking, good people, so apparently my parents methods weren't that bad. It's just sad that this generation is so laid back about parenting. Do I like kids? On a case by case basis, usually directly related to the parenting. I can't imagine what these kids will grow up to be...

It's Gone

This weekend we decided to try and get a little more interest on Scott's bullet bike, since we had it for sale for a month. We dropped the price and said in the listing that it was for this weekend only. And, it sold! I put up the listing on Thursday and we sold it on Friday. It was kind of a bitter sweet thing. I was really excited that this guy was interested, then when Scott text me and said,"and it's gone," I was really sad. We really didn't ever ride it, but on a nice Sunday afternoon we might take it for a short ride around our neighborhood. I am glad that we are going to have a little extra money to really minimize our debt, but it is still sad to see it go. I told Scott some day we will get him a cruiser. Maybe when we don't have two car payments anymore! For now we are without a motorcyle... I will miss it, but I keep telling myself it is going to a better home where it will get the attention it deserves and not just sit in our garage and collect dust.

The Family Man

Ok, so I know the movie is kind of old, but Scott and I watched it last night and it confirmed something I had been thinking about for a long time. For those who haven't seen it's a Nicholas Cage movie about a man who works on Wall Street and makes multi-millions, he thinks he is happy until he gets a glimpse into what his life would have been like if he married his college sweetheart. He gets thrown into a life where he is middle class living in New Jersey and working as a tire salesman. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, he is trying to figure out how he got where he did in this alternate life and his wife tells him a few of the surprises that came along and life changes they made because of them. Sorry for the dialog here but can't really explain my feelings without it. He says, "So that's our life in a nutshell." She says,"If you want to look at it that way." "Well, how would you look at it?" "A great success story."
I have been thinking a lot recently about what makes someone a success, and I have been feeling a lot recently that the world and the media put too much emphasis on money being the only measurement of success. Sure, it would be nice to have money. It would be nice to be able to travel and see the amazing places I would love to see. But that is not what life is all about. If we have to save up for a couple of years to go somewhere special, so be it. To me, success is about how you live your life, the person you become and the family relationships you have. Of course we wouldn't mind having more money, but if we don't, we will survive. If I don't ever get to see Rome or Scotland, it will not effect my life in the long run. If Scott and I love each other and keep thinking about the other, have a good relationship with our families, make enough money to get by, and are able to raise a good family, I will have considered my life a success.

Good Quote

I signed up a while back to get "success quotes" in my email every day. I have a couple of them posted up around my cubicle to help me remember them. Today I received this:

"Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored."

Earl Nightingale1921-1989
Radio Announcer, Author and Speaker

I don't really know who that guy is, but I thought that was a very good thought for today. I was actually upset about a couple of random things when I got to work this morning, and it really helped remind me I am in control of my own happiness. I have learned in the short amount of time I have lived that if I am not happy in the life I am leading now, I am never going to be happy. There will always be something to complain about, or something to make me miserable IF I LET IT. But, there will also always be something to be grateful for. If I focus on the positive and be grateful and happy, I won't have to say,"I'll be happy when..." This quote is definitely one for me to remember and live by. Life is what you make it. I can't change what others do or some circumstances in my life, what I can do is change my attitude about it and improve myself.

Scotty Cameron

Scott really likes Scotty Cameron putters, and putter head covers, which are collectibles. They are pretty much the top putters out there, but I think it might have a little to do with the name too. Anyway, Scott bought one of Scott Cameron's collectible limited release putters called the Teryllium Tel3. He bought it used on Ebay. It sat around our house for a few months, then for his birthday I decided to get it refinished for him. I didn't end up paying for it because Scott wanted to go the more expensive route and send it in to Scotty Cameron to get it refinished instead. And I have to tell you, we are sure glad we did. It looks so amazing. I was shocked when we got it back in the mail on Tuesday and we opened it up. I would never have known it was all beat up. It has nicks in it, the color was faded and had discoloration in parts. But now it looks like a brand new putter. They did such a good job with it. Plus, they re-gripped it, made sure the specs were right, and sent a new head cover and oil rag with it. Here are a few pictures:And here are a few pictures of Scott's entire collection: This is the head cover I bought him (it's the best one):
Isn't the box cool? That is the box they sent the putter back in. Scott wants to leave the putter in the box now and display it. That is how good this thing looks. Too bad we really don't have anywhere to display it.

*Disclaimer: I tried to get Scott to write this post because, well, it's actually his stuff and he knows a lot more about it. Please forgive my ignorance on the subject!

Vegas

This post is a bit late, but I have been really busy at work lately and haven't been able to take a lunch break. But anyway, this last weekend Scott and I went to Vegas. Originally we had planned to go down to the drag races with Scott's best friend and his fiance', but unfortunately she got really sick and they decided not to come. So we decided to go down by ourselves. We went to dinner with Scott's brother Larry on Friday night in Cedar City and hung out with him the rest of the night. I got a little loopy, which is always a good time. We stayed that night in St George. Saturday we woke up and headed down to Mesquite. Where I actually won $100. I put $20 in a machine and was up to $196 at one point, but was trying to win more. I cashed out at $120. Then, we headed down to Vegas. Highlights of Vegas:

• We stayed at the Tropicana, when we went to check in, we just happened to get an upgrade. We got a one bedroom jacuzzi suite with a king size bed. It was old, but nice. It was kind of funny because there were mirrors everywhere. But it was awesome.
  
• Walking the strip and seeing all the crazy people everywhere. So much energy. So much people watching, which we love.
  
• Lance Burton Magic show, which we got discounted tickets for. First magic show I have ever been to, and I still don't know how they do all that stuff.
  
• Drag races. Holy cow those cars go fast. And you can feel the vibrations through your entire body. It was freakin awesome. The only crappy part is, the only girl who raced that day lost her race and didn't advance. Oh well, we don't really follow the sport. It was still really fun to watch (and get burnt to a crisp, that part was great!)
• Sunday morning we got up early and Scott took me for a walk. The strip was basically empty and calm, which was something I had never experienced. Scott didn't tell me where we were going, but he took me to the Bellagio to see the garden. It was awesome. The garden's were gorgeous as usual.

It was a great trip, and sadly I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures of it, which sucks. And if anyone is wondering, no, we didn't go down to Vegas because it was conference weekend. We actually had been planning the trip since January and it didn't ever really dawn on us until last week that it was the same weekend. It was a much needed trip for us. I think both of us were a little burnt out and we needed a little getaway. It was the best trip we have had in a long time or maybe the only trip we have had in a long time? Who knows. Did I mention it was a good trip?