New Year, New Neighbors

This new year has brought many things, I now have to remember to write 2009 on checks (very difficult task). But the nicest surprise are these new neighbors:

Lexi and Casey moved in right across from us! I could creepily look into their living room from my kitchen. Luckily, we are both rather private and keep our blinds closed. The benefits of having a sister live this close is always having a friend to bug. She is forced to love me regardless of how much I visit her. And truthfully we don't see each other as much as you would suppose. I think there was a 2 day stretch where I didn't see her at all - which is pretty amazing, seeing how our front doors are about 15 feet away. It is comfortable and nice to have her and Casey live so closely. 

The new year always makes me think of new goals that I want to accomplish. But that is a whole post on its own. 

Moms

This most recent Mother's Day was one of the more pleasant ones recently in my memory. We spent it with Darren's Mom and it was wonderful to see him enjoying her company. I will upload pictures soon from the weekend. It was the first (and probably last) time I ever witnessed Darren and Stephen switching places on their parents. And I can't even describe the AWESOME-ness of the moment. That is how funny it was, I got to make up a word for it.

Dad and Mom, Christmas 2000

But I digress. I am writing this post because I wanted to share some thoughts about Mothers. It is a topic I enjoy. Because although Mother's Day can be a bummer, I believe that for 23 years of my life, I had it pretty good. So I am going to share a story which is random and sweet and is one of my favorite memories of my Mom, since it happened right before she passed.

Let me give you some background. Out of my parents, my Mom was the mechanically inclined person. She was capable of changing oil, popping a clutch, changing tires, and knew all kinds of crazy things about belts and I have seen her hotwire a car. She talked shop with mechanics. She was THAT Mom. Not to say my Dad was a slouch by any stretch but it was typically my Mom that would ask her children about the well being of their vehicles and tires. She was very big on getting tires rotated and checked.

At this particular time in my life I had an '82 VW Jetta. I was fortunate enough to purchase this car for $100 from my brother Jeremy and his wife Kimmi. And it was a great car. It has its little quirks but it worked and served my needs in college. At this particular time, I got a flat tire. Not just a flat tire but more of a tire implosion (I think the tires were from 1982). Luckily, I knew how to change a tire (my Momma taught me right) so I put on the spare tire. Since it wasn't a donut tire, I had no intention of getting it truly replaced. This was a topic that worried my Mom greatly when she called me. One of the questions she typically asked during the conversation was, "Did you get a new spare tire? You should always have a spare tire in your trunk." To which I would breezily reply, "Yeah yeah, I am going to get one soon."

Around Thanksgiving, I called my Mom (which I must admit, I did quite often) and she answered the phone crying. When I asked what happened, she told me that she had been very stressed. She was planning Thanksgiving in Arizona for all of her Bluth cousins and wanted to play games and have some sort of a program. Well she had talked to a few family members who shot down all of her ideas. And she was stressed and discouraged and felt bad. At this point, she sensed my first instinct to call these people and let them know exactly how I felt about ANYONE making my Mom cry, and she made me promise that I would not call them. I was sad because I didn't think I could made it to Thanksgiving to help her so I did the next best thing I could. I called my brother Tim. I told him a short story about what happened and told him he needed to be at Mom's disposal for Thanksgiving. (She didn't say I couldn't tell other people :)) Tim promptly called Mom and told her that it would be a great time and he was there to help with whatever she wanted to do.

These events happened within the course of an hour. What do they have to do with a tire? I promise I will get there. On my way to work Mom calls.

Me: Hi Mom
Mom: Hi Nikki-gal - Tim just called me. You didn't happen to tell him what happened did you?
Me: I only promised not to call those people, I didn't promise I wouldn't call anyone else.
Mom: Thank you, it was a huge relief to get that call. That really helped.
Me: No problem. It will be a great weekend.
Mom: Where are you headed to right now?
Me: Work.
Mom: Did you get your spare tire?
Me: Ummm, yeah, I will get that when I get home. Huge priority.
Mom: Long lecture about how dangerous it is to drive without a spare.

I got off the phone as fast as I could and went into work. When I came out almost 6 hours later, I was surprised to find a brand new tire on my back seat. No note, just the tire. I never locked my car because who steals an '82 Jetta? If it ran out of gas, it would be totaled. But the tire was there. It came from Mom because she was the only person who cared. Which means my Mom jumped in her car, went and bought the tire. Since she is a car person, she knew which tire to purchase. Then she drove 45 minutes from Salt Lake City to Orem to put the tire on my back seat to show her love for me. She didn't call me, or come into my work. She just drove home. Some Moms make quilts and some Moms write eloquent notes to show their love but I am glad I had a Mom who simply bought a tire. And to me that's love.

As a little sidenote there was a great article in the New York Times by Thomas Friedman (thanks Corey). His mother recently passed and he paid tribute to her. At the end he wrote, Call your mother, I sure wish I could call mine. I couldn't agree with him more.

American Idol - the real deal

What can I say? We were on American Idol. I think I've been "discovered" or I have just "discovered" what a cult TV show can do to a responsible adult if she is withing 3 feet of a celebrity. Let's just refer to my actions as star crazed.

Here are the rundowns of the events:

• We had priority seating thanks to Elizabeth. No waiting in long lines.
• We were on the floor next to Randy.
• I shook Paula Abdul's hand.
• Randy gave me a high five.
• Didn't touch Simon but not for a lack of trying.
• WAS ON NATIONAL TV and was right behind David Archuletta.
• Realized how much Jason Castro did not belong on TV.
• Had a sign but was standing so gave it to some little girls. I don't think it made it on tv.
  
• Paula hugged my sister-in-law Elizabeth.
• Randy said my brother-in-law Morgan was a funny guy.
• You can't really hear anything in the studio.
• Aside from not being able to hear much, David Archuletta has the best voice.
• Did I mention Jason Castro is worse than I thought?
• Talked to Syesha's parents - who were quite nice. Took a picture with them too!
  
• Ryan Secrist is GREAT at his job.
  

All in all - it was the perfect day. We got to spend some fun family time with Elizabeth and Morgan and it is always a good afternoon when I get to leave work early and spend it with my husband! Thanks for the tickets Elizabeth!!!!

Here is some photographic evidence that we were in fact, ON TELEVISION. The pictures are poor quality because our TV is old but I am hoping Elizabeth will have some better ones from her TV.

Do you see us? I am to the right of David Archuletta. Darren is directly above David's head, Elizabeth to the left and Morgan right above Jason Castro's head. I don't want to brag but we are AMAZING!!!!

Terrible picture of me but still counts as proof. What was that face???

And I am off to a work meeting in LA for the next 3 days. Yipee! Otherwise this post would be much longer.

Happy Birthday Sis!

What does the world do without sisters?
I have one who is 18 months older.
She let me be her shadow.
And never lost patience
(though she could have often).
I followed her constantly, and still am.
Most of my memories have her in them.
I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Birthday to the Greatest Mom!!!


Misha and Adam - Christmas 2007

Happy Belated Easter

So this is a few weeks late but I believe it is still post-worthy. We had our first Easter together. Complete with a puffed pancake and a super clean house and an Easter basket filled with our favorite goodies. There might have even been an Easter dress for me to wear somewhere in there.

So the basket is not really an Easter basket but I loved it and it was on sale at Marshalls for $10. It looks just perfect for a picnic.

One Sick Little Boy

And one terrible person with a camera.



Do you know how you have those moments in life when you can be a good person? And then you decide to be a bad person? This was one of those moments.

Enter my nephew Ezekiel, otherwise known as EZ. Such a sweet little guy. Who happened to get sick with a stomach bug this weekend in Arizona. True to form he didn't cry a lot, he just endured a sleepless night. Which unfortunately caught up with him in the morning. He simply crashed.

He fell asleep on his Mom's pregnant lap. As you can see, he is having a hard time resting his head because of her cute tummy. And being the bad people we are, my brother and I ran for the camera.

But come on - how can we resist? This guy is so cute!!!!

Lack Of Communication

This is a reference to my lack of effective communication with my 2 year old niece Arden. When we arrived at 10pm - she was awake because she is a party person. If there is fun anywhere in my house - she needs to be a part of it.

I had packed a free purse that someone at work had given me. It was a cheap, purple velvet number that had a heart on it. Something I would never use but perfect for a little girl. When I saw her I told her I had a present for her and proceeded to open my cosmetics bag to get the purple purse.

At that point she spotted a bag of my Kazuri beads, and exclaimed - "You brought me necklaces?????" I tried to explain that the necklaces were mine and the cheap purple purse was hers. She definitely has an eye for the more expensive item. She hardly paid any attention to her actual present. She was generous enough to let me take some pictures with all of her loot. And like the bad aunt I am - I took the necklaces back when she fell asleep in them.The purple purse is PERFECT for holding her new necklaces!


***As a sidenote I bought the Kazuri beads while in Kenya. They are handmade, hand-painted beads from a factory in Nairobi. Some of them were presents from my new family, so if there had not been a sentimental attachment, she probably would have went home with them.

My Brother, The Biggest Loser?

Oh no, my brother got voted off the Biggest Loser!


Just kidding. This is Mark - one of my favorite contestants on the show. I am a fan and was bummed to see him go, but was it because he looks like my own brother so much? You decide:
I am not the only one that sees the resemblance. Let it be known, Tim is better looking and younger and never weighed upwards of 3 buck, however the grin and eyes and some facial expressions are pretty similar. When I mentioned how much they look alike to Tim, then forced him to watch an episode, I think he was offended. In his opinion, he has never been a big guy that needed to go to a fat camp to solve his bad habits. So he probably won't be too pleased with this post. :)

The Fun of Family

So let's talk about how much I sincerely enjoy my family. There is an instant friendship with all cousins, aunt, uncles - you name it - we just are a bonded group that enjoys each other. This is due in a large part to the fact that we try to meet together annually. This is a tough feat to pull off but worthwhile. Because of the efforts of my family, I can go to most cities in the Western Hemisphere and visit a family member.

In fact, I remember going to Israel in 2000 and having my mom email and remind me that my cousin Irene was in Haifa with her husband. We never met up but not for a lack of trying - our schedules just didn't permit the time.

So last night was a fun surprise. Darren and I were getting ready for bed on Sunday night and we hear a knock at the door at 10pm. Thinking to myself - who on earth can that be?, I open the door to see my cousin JB standing on my porch! I just starting laughing. I haven't seen in him about 3 years - and now he is the father to 2 children. Santa Vaca! So he came in and we chatted for about 45 minutes. Turns out he was visiting a friend that happens to live in my apartment complex and they mentioned I live around the corner and he decided to pop in for a visit and catch me up on the Jack Brown family news . It was a pleasant surprise and there was no worries about how messy things are or the fact that I am in sweats and ugg boots. Come on, it's family. Seeing how I often drop in unannounced on various family members, I sure hope they like the surprise as much as I do!

Picture from the 2005 Brown Family Reunion. This picture shows about 1/8th of the attendees.

Mom

02/24/01
This was the day that everything changed. It was the day my Mom passed away. Every year I remember this day. Not in any attempt to wallow in remorse but to make sure I don't forget. As time goes by, you do start to forget. Little things like the way she smelled or even the sound of her footsteps at home. My brother had made a cd of a Relief Society lesson she had given at church. When I first listened to it, it took my breath away because it sounded like her. And to me she sounded like home.

There are some important things that I haven't forgotten. She is a Mom. She shaped my world. She taught me how to love, she taught me how to share, how to talk, how to read. She taught me how to live. Everyday that I live, everything that I love, anything that I learn - has always been following in the footsteps of Mom. My job going forward is to remember what I can and apply it to my own life. The missing-you-so-bad-that-it-hurts never really goes away - your heart just grows strong enough to deal with it. I don't wallow because my Mom never would.

Today is just a day of reflection and remembrance. To my friends who never knew her, here were some of her finer qualities:

Mother - (to 11 children, which she bore naturally)

Wife - She shared 40 happy years with my Dad

Testimony - Her most valued possession - her relationship with her Savior saw her through some difficult times.

Energy - Very active and very fun. Always getting people together for activities which typically involved some amount of athleticism.

Humor - Could laugh at anything. Easiest way to make her not mad was to make her laugh (which I used to my advantage as a teenager).

Athletic Ability - she was simply AMAZING at any sport she attempted. In college she lettered in Softball, Basketball, Volleyball, Diving and Swimming and was tested as the most coordinated athlete at BYU (out of men and women). She was ranked as a Masters division tennis player, played on the Mexican Olympic Basketball team, participated in the Pan-American games and was named female athlete of the year in Mexico. The year she passed away she was still doing back flips on the trampoline. Sometimes I wonder if I really AM her daughter.

***03/13/08 - Correction. My Dad informed me today that I was wrong - she lettered in 5 sports at BYU - the missing one was Volleyball. :)

And here are some pictures:

A picture of her basketball days. She is the one with the ball. Are you kidding me with those legs? This game was in Mexico, and soon afterward she was named female athlete of the year. I think they were afraid she was going to kick them with her muscular legs if she didn't win. :)
A picture of my Mom, Misha and myself in the Colonies in Mexico - we have just gone tubing and I was the shortest child ever.


Here she is in Europe during college. Yes, she is wearing lederhosen.

Love this

So I am posting a few of my loves. Seeing how this is love week and all. Of course there are some loves that everyone knows about - husband, family, religion (all in the number one spot) but I want to talk about a few of my favorite things. That maybe everyone might NOT know about.

1st love - Books.

And I mean any book. Whether it be scripture or children's book, cook books, fantasy, sci-fi, romance novels, magazines, instruction manuals - I simply love words. It is rare (or a terrible book) if I don't finish a book within a day or two. It helped that my parents are reading junkies as well. In fact, I don't think I have every seen my Dad without a book in his back pocket.

For every reader there is one book in their past that lit the passion for reading. For me - it was "Little House in the Woods" by Laura Ingalls. I was in first grade and I still remember how exciting it was to imagine the story of a little girl in the Wisconsin woods. From there I was a junkie.
Does anyone else still read children's books? (Harry Potter does not count - but I read that too) I still have a slew of them in my bookcase that I will crack open to read my favorite parts again. Some of my favorites from my little years:

- Anne of Green Gables series
- The Little House on the Prairie series
- A Little Princess
- A Wrinkle in Time
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
- The Little Lame Prince
- The Great Brain series
- Holes (okay I bought that as an adult - I still buy kids books. No judgment please)
- Summer of the Monkeys (simply amazing)

As I have gotten older, I have found some authors that make me chuckle from their clever compilations - Bill Bryson, David Sedaris. Some that leave me in wonder - Hyrum Andrus.

I am going to recommend a book. Probably one of my favorites - at least top 10 but one of the clearest books solely based on the craft of writing. Don't judge the author:


Yeah - that is Stephen King. Creator of some pretty scary stuff. However, he is the creator of some pretty great stories like - The Shawshank Redemption. Trust me, he has a gift - but a lot of the time he uses it for horror. But one book in particular was so fascinating. I loved it. I have owned probably 6 copies and lend them out, never to come back. But I know I could buy it again:
With On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft - you see who Stephen King is - where he gets his ideas, his flaws, his inspiration and most importantly the craft that he loves. Spoken so clearly you wish he wrote more books that didn't leave you with nightmares.

What is your reading love?

PS - there is some language in this book. Just have to give that disclaimer.

One Fine Day

Tim and Heather & Co. came to visit one afternoon (along with Casey and Lexi) and for a brief moment, our little home was full! I quickly realized that I didn't really have any treats for the little people like crackers (is it weird I have not purchased crackers in about 5 years? I only eat them when other people have them). All I could offer up was some carrots and apples. Like a lame aunt who doesn't have kids :) What Aunt Nikki DID have was accessories for Kiki to play with and she was kind enough to pose for some pictures in my shoes and sunglasses. Which suited her perfectly. Kiki is such a girly girl. I rarely see her in pants. She prefers skirts. And even had a Skirt Party for her birthday. She is devoted to all things feminine.


I love this shot because it shows how big these shoes are on her little feet and I admired her walking skills in over-sized platforms.


I love her pose here. This was naturally how she put her feet when I told her I wanted to take some pictures.

What do you get on your first Christmas? Snow.

Our first Christmas - we were fortunate to have it snowing the night before so it was beautiful.

Here is a picture of me and my sweetheart (the ones taken early Christmas morning are quite atrocious and therefore will not be posted):
But here is what it looked like on Christmas morning when we woke up - perfect, huh?

Home from the Holidays

We are home. After a great trip to Utah to see the Brown and Harris families - we are happy to be home. Sad to work again - we are still hoping to have that independently wealthy lifestyle. In about 30 years :) We have a lot of work to do. Here is the holidays summed up:

Party at Jacque's beautiful new house - 10 of the 11 siblings were present. Lots of Mexican food, soda, Santa and the Nativity Scene. Thanks for letting us use your house Jax!

Here are the little people gathered around for Santa:
I love the look on my niece Madeline's face:


My niece Arden is adorable, but not really paying attention:

Debbie (sister), Johnny (brother) and Darren (devoted husband) are enjoying the show:

Here is my niece Libby on Santa's lap. I love how her hand is buried in his beard.
My nephew Ezekiel was wanting his Dad (brother Johnny) really bad, here is his sad face:
Here are almost all of the Brown women (we are missing one) and I am sorry Jacque - your face is totally hidden!
This is about as organized as it gets with little people doing the Nativity scene.


We left feeling full from all of the fabulous Mexican food - posole, tamales (wrapped in banana leaves - so amazing!), 3 different types of salsa and of course - beans and tortillas. We were tired, full, and exhausted - the by-products of an amazing party! Thanks Browns...