Come What May, and Love It - Part 1

Frustrating and annoying things happen to me all the time. I was inspired by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's (miss him so, so much!) talk given in October 2008 entitled "Come What May, and Love It" (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-9,00.html). Whenever one of these frustrating or annoying things happen, I now try to jump back, look at the bigger picture, and then laugh. Elder Wirthlin said, "The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable." I feel like my re-telling of these situations have brightened the days of those I have told them to. So I thought I would start to share them here as they happen.

Part 1: Hansel and Gretel

Just before Christmas, I had made one of my usual jaunts over to Costco. Normally, Costco is the happiest place on earth for me, but not this day. I had purchased a few items, a case of bottled water, little delicious grape tomatoes, a huge pack of toilet paper, etc. I headed out to my car quite satisfied with my purchases and excited to eat the grape tomatoes. Those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE tomatoes and eat romas like apples. Delicious! God bless Costco and whoever grows these little grape tomatoes! You Costco lovers out there know the pieces of heaven that I'm talking about!
Upon arriving at my car and popping my trunk, I found that the carton of tomatoes had toppled off the case of water bottles and now my once heaping amount of grape tomatoes was now nearly non-existent. A moment of rage set in as I thought about the careless, thoughtless, obviously-out-there-to-sabotage-me cashier who had not arranged my cart in a way that could survive a trip over the stupid rain dips in the parking lot. Just as profanities were about to fill my brain (these tomatoes aren't the cheapest), I glanced back to glare at the stupid rain dip that caused the problem only to find that I had left a trail of grape tomatoes from said stupid rain dip to my car. Who could keep from laughing at that?!? If anyone was watching the incident, they had to have been highly entertained. I salvaged what was left in the carton, picked up all the tomatoes that were around the car (thoroughly washed them all and yes, I did eat them), and got in my car and headed home. Afterall, it was just a few bucks down the drain and good story to tell! At least I can find my way back to Costco now by following my trail of grape tomatoes!

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to 2009

I'm not normally one to get sentimental or nostalgic about starting a new year, but I'm not going to lie, 2009 was a great, great year in the life of me. It took 2009 ending for me to really sit and think about all the great things that I experienced in those 365 days. Here is a summary:

* Spent two weeks in Vancouver for work mapping it and getting it ready for the 2010 Olympics (which starts in 25 day, I love the Olympics!)
* After close to 6 years of searching, I found a hair stylist that I actually like. Thank you, Kelli at Gatsby Salon!
* Draper Temple Open House and Dedication
* Attended a fireside where LaVell Edwards was the keynote speaker. Living legend!
* Spent Memorial Day weekend in Portland with my dear friend, Joo Lin, her husband, Kelley, and their new cute baby, Seoul. I also got to see my cousin, Troy, and his family!
* Went to my first NBA Playoffs game - Lakers lost that game of course, but see following bullet...
* LAKERS 2009 NBA CHAMPIONS
* Trip of a Lifetime with Kara and Ryan - Niagara Falls, Palmyra, NYC (where I got to see my dear friend, Megan), Philadelphia, and Washington, DC
* Harry Potter 6 at midnight on opening day
* Oquirrh Temple Open House and Dedication
* Camping at Mutual Dell - I love, love, love camping!
* Spent Labor Day in Denver visiting my aunt and uncle and their family, and I got to have lunch with some of my work peeps too
* Keith Urban concert - hottest Australian lover!
* Spent a weekend in Bakersfield with Amy and Jack visiting my parents
* Celebrated Jack's first birthday
* Organized and carried out a successful Relief Society Retreat - with lost of help from my ward peeps!
* Paid off my car - what a miracle to not have that bill every month!
* Road tripped to Vegas with Amy for a friend's wedding who we hadn't seen in years and got to see my cousin Wyatt and his wife, Megan
* Turned 30-years-old!!
* BYU beat Utah and won their bowl game!!
* Huge Thanksgiving feast with Deeds
* Spent a weekend in Moab with my dear friend, Heather, went to Arches and Canyonlands for the first time
* Saw my dear friend, Roxy, and her family twice
* Watched over 100 episodes of Criminal Minds to get all caught up to the current season - Derek Morgan where are you? Please come kiss my lips!
* Great, relaxing Christmas with the fam
* Great, relaxing New Years with the fam
* New temples visited: Palmyra and Monticello
* Many new friends made

Isn't it quite easy to see why I was just a little bit sad to see 2009 go? I feel like I'm missing a ton of things too. Please add to my post if I am missing stuff. Hopefully 2010 can measure up! I wonder what trips I should go on this year...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It is hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone again. It was another great Christmas for the Cosby family. My parents came into town the weekend before Christmas, and we celebrated early with Dan, Amy, and Jack. It was our "off" year as far as Christmas with the in-laws go, so Amy spent Christmas day with Dan's family. It was sort of fun to celebrate a few days early. Isn't Jack the cutest and drooliest kids you have ever seen? Oh, how I love him! Amy didn't know I was taking this picture, but Jack clearly did!
A classic Jack close-up picture...crusties all over the place and not a care in the world!

His dome was almost too big to fit into the beanie that grandma made him. It was the grown toddler size. He is definitely housing a big smart brain!

He was the funniest while opening presents. It was way more fun to tear the paper and throw it than to actually see what the present was. He was so proud of himself.

Grandpa and grandma got him a little Manny Ramirez t-shirt. Dodger pride! That's one team that we all agree on. Think blue!

Deeds loves Jack's little yogurt puff things, so Amy got Deeds a couple of packs for Christmas. I think it may have been Deedsy's favorite present.

Again, Jack unwrapping his presents and lovin' it!

The Grossen Family. Jack was upset than he was pulled away from all the books that Kara and Ryan got him. Do not get between this kid and his books!

Grandma reading Jack one of his new stories.

The rest of these pics are from actual Christmas day. Deeds got Laker pajama pants, a furry winter hat, and a glitter ball (inside joke, but this may have been his second favorite gift).

Mom got a healthy pancake mix and some Cougar gear. Woop woop! Destroyed those Oregon State Beavers in their bowl game. So glad they finally showed up for a big game!

Kara working her new red bag!

Me and my most awesome new hoodie! It may have been a very Laker Christmas. These things happen when your team is awesome!

Dad got this ski mask thing to wear when he's out walking in the cold weather. It really came in handy while they were here. So dang cold!

Kara and Ryan got a brand new digital camera. Doesn't get much better than that!

Yes, yes, and yes! Sporting all our Laker gear.

This picture was just way too funny not to include. It sort of makes me want to vomit.

My cute parentals in the BYU gear that I got them for Christmas. They are best! It was so fun to have them here! We miss them when they're gone!

A classic three generation shot. We spent the afternoon on Christmas day with my grandma, who we fondly call, "Dedo" (pronounced Day-dough). Now you see where I get all my good looks!

I love Christmas time! I love giving people gifts and spending tons of time with family. They are my favorite people on earth!