11 Months of 2010

This is the kind of post you would normally save for the end of the year. But no calls are in coming in at work yet, so I think it's a good post for 12/13/10. Today, for starters is Nick Terry's birthday. Happy Birthday old man. Hope this year is your best ever!

Let's review the year 2010 for a minute.

*Note: I'm at work and so the only photos I have are the ones I still have on my iPhone.

I started the year working at Consulmed and taking 5 classes at the U. I was also dating Cristy Ann Bubert, who is now engaged to the charming Scott Smith-Sound.

On May 1st, I embarked on a 2,400 mile journey across the country to Virginia. Accompanying me was Kyle Ray Brown. 4 days later we arrived in Yorktown, Virginia. We took a picture by the Nebraska state sign.

I flew home on June 17th. Two of my husbands were marrie off in two days. Brian to Courtnie on the 17th and Mark to Brooke on the 18th.

On July 19th, I met Lauren St. Mary, the beautiful life guard at the pool at Grafton Station. We spent the next 14 days together before I had to drive away from Virginia.

I drove 8 hours the first day, 8 hours the second day, and 17 straight hours the third day. This is the Nebraska state sign going west. Missing a state sign was one of the most devastating aspects of the drive. Besides the drive itself that is.

Morace, Julie Ann, Ezra, and Sofia moved to Stockholm, Sweden.

I started working at Edwards Lifesciences. I started out setting up iPads, then Windows 7 Deployment, and now I'm working on the Global Help Desk.

Nick and Carrie had their first baby: Natalee!

Spence and Kathy had their fourth baby: Emelia Lou Lake. She is the ninth niece/nephew. I get to hold on her Christmas!

Utah beat BYU on a blocked field goal. It was my last home game in the MUSS. We rushed the field. See video HERE.

I was hired on at the Apple Store at the Gateway!

Mark and Brooke had their first baby: Everett

I had my last undergad class of college on 12/9/10! 1 Final to go.

I'm single.

Summary: A good year and glad to be alive!

Utah Field Rush Celebration vs BYU 2010

Utah Man Am I!

Danny MacAskill - "Way Back Home" - NEW street trials riding short film

The Apple Event Effect

or

There is a phenomenon that occurs, roughly every 3 to 6 months. It is an Apple event. Apple traditionally has a keynote event in January, an iPhone event in June, iPod event in September, and now Apple has hosted a Back to Mac event. Yesterday, Apple announced new iLife 11 software, highlighted future Lion features, and new Macbook Air models. After watching these Apple events, I experience a very similar reaction. "I WANT that!" Yesterday was no exception. After watching the iLife 11 demos, my reaction was, "I WANT iLife 11." No harm in that. The software costs a mere $49. After watching the Macbook Air presentation, I immediately responded, "I WANT a Macbook Air" The problem with this is the cost. I would opt for the 13"with the 128gb storage and then throw down an additional $90 to upgrade to 4GB of RAM. Even with the student discount, that build will set me back a cool $1,339. I spent the rest of the day analyzing, stewing, debating, comparing, reading, and ultimately trying to find a way to justify this computer. I read a great article by Marco.org, (click here) that did a great job at putting a lot of my thoughts down in writing. Since I am 2 months away from graduation, my computer needs/usage may change drastically. Will I need a ultraportable Macbook Air? Would a powerhouse, 15" Macbook Pro be the way to go? How about settling down with the 27" iMac? Or maybe I should just keep on trucking with my nearly 3 year old white Macbook. Ultimately, I have had to step back, relax, and let my initial appetite for new Apple products assuage. I think I'll give it a couple months to settle and come back to this decision in January.

Utah vs. Pitt Game! Victory!

Football is back. Victory is in the air. And the Utes are 1-0.

A little tailgate action to kick things off.

Then onto the game.

These are our season tickets this year. ROW 1 Baby!!!

Rice Eccles was a rockin full house.

The attending crew! We were glad to have MJ with us!

We are legit. Mainly because we are cool. Also because we sit on the front row.

Pre Game Photo!

And for a little video action!

The North Liberty and Nauvoo Reunion

Two weekends ago we had the first annual Bob and Diane Lake Family Reunion. The original plan was for all members of my immediate family to be in attendance. Unfortunately, due to a move to Sweden, Morace, Julie Ann, Ezra, and Sofia were absent and sorely missed! We had a great time though! The kids in this family are amazing!

Baby Ian. I love this kid.

The bullet hole in the door of Carthage Jail.

The kids made friends with Joseph and Hyrum!

Us with Paul Bunyan, I mean Joseph Smith.

True pioneer cowboys.

Precious Pioneers.

Doesn't get much better then this pic! 4 beautiful Lakes!

Dress up!

Thanks Parents for the great time! Let's do it in California next year!

Lauren St. Mary!

In the last blog post, I eluded to the fact that something great came out of the summer. That would be Lauren. We met on the 19th of July and spent everyday together for the next 2 weeks. We went to Busch Gardens for my birthday, hit up the Outer Banks in North Carolina, went to Virginia Beach, saw Salt, stayed up late, had birthday dinner, hung out at the pool at Grafton Station, hung out with the wonderful St. Mary family, and much more. I'm heading out to Virginia next month and she be coming here in October! I love Lauren!

Silverline Security

The typical pattern for bloggers is to be gung ho about the blog, with regular updates, only to wane in the ensuing months. I appear to be falling into that group. To curb the trend, I'm writing a post this morning. I figured I would talk about my experience with summer sales and working in Virginia for 3 months with Silverline Security.

There were six technicians on the team: John Travis Hopkins, Austin Bridge, Nicholas Thomas Terry III, Chad Talbot, Eric Berg(see The Eric Post), and Me. Peter Lowe was our trusty manager who knocked and sold as well.

I didn't mind the actual work of installing security systems. What was hard for me was the lack of consistency. There were days when I'd install 4 systems(my record was 6) and other days where we would sit around all day and not get an install. We had to drive a lot. I put 12,000 miles on my Lexus in 3 months. Some days we would drive 80 miles to Richmond, sit at a McDonalds all afternoon, and then get one job at 8:30 at night. I prefer more structure, so that was a challenge. The main problem was simply not being busy enough. We had 6 amazing techs that could install quickly but not enough installs.

Now for the bad. The owner and co-owner of Silverline came out on July 27th. They told us that they were moving our office to Mississippi. When it was discovered that licensing in Mississippi takes a month, they simply shut down our office. Shutting down our office a month early basically kept all of us from hitting the next level of the pay scale along with rent and experience bonuses. This wasn't very kind of Silverline.

I am yet to be paid for a couple jobs and time will tell if a backend check comes in October and if the backend is accurate. I love the guys I worked with, I loved living in Virginia and had some awesome experiences, and I'm glad I made the decision to go. The next blog post will explain a little more about the great things that came out of living in Virginia!

P.S. One more thing, Chad may look bigger and tougher, especially in that truck of his...but we all know that Chad was scared of me and never wanted to mess.

Goodbye Eric!

My trusty friend and roommate Eric Berg has moved back home.

Eric was a great roommate for these reasons:

1. He let me sport my birthday suit, only throwing sandals at me once or twice.

2. He allowed me to hang my shirts all over the furniture for 48 hours before telling me to get a clothes rack.

3. We never left dishes in the sink.

4. He brought a microwave and blender from Utah and then left them for me to use!

5. He let me use the entire freezer for my Costco goods.

6. He was my date on Saturday dinner outings with the crew.

7. We listened to Eminem on the drive to Woodbridge!

8. See #1.

Goodbye Eric. See you at school!

Revival

Like an itch, a chronic collection of reminders

No stopping, an escalator of time

The body, lagging, exhaustion

Minutes don't matter, surpassed by moments

Priority recall, a holding pattern at the wings

Soaked in confusion, muscles and the mind

No real solution, an opportunity to take

A change, notions and conceptions in control

Let this in, don't shutter, no surrender

June and Family

I went home in June and had an amazing weekend with my wonderful family. Here are some of the best photos from the trip!

Ezra. The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

Of course he loves Root Beer. We all do.

The classic lion drinking fountain!

With Grandpa Ace.

The girl in the window!

Model? Yes.

Can you look at this picture and not smile and love this little girl? no. It is not possible!

Cousins!

When you are as old as Spence is, you need this many people blowing out the candles!

Grandma and Grandpa Lake!

Kisses!

We love this beautiful Lake family!

This photo is perfect.

Great Lakes!

Hugh M.D.

Tonight I saw a shuffle. Then I saw a skip. The shuffle came from Creepy Cockroach and the second came from a young frog, whom I shortly thereafter named Hugh M.D. His name came as inspiration which I owe to the extremely high moisture content in the air. So I scooped up this little Doctor and carried him inside with me. I placed him in my plastic bin where he went into dead mode. This is a survival technique I have seen used by potato bugs and a trick performed by some high functioning canines. I got nervous. Frightened. The last thing I wanted at midnight was innocent blood on my hands. I snatched the camera in hopes that the flashes would make him feel like a superstar. I think this only furthered his fear. Although the friendship had just started, I realized that it was about to come to an end. I knew that I couldn't be friends with a frog who plays dead. Frogs are supposed to jump around. We went back outside and down the stairs and I finally shook him out of the container. The container Hugh considered a coffin. He didn't budge. I tried coaxing him but nothing seemed to work. Ultimately, I had to leave him and return to my apartment. I hope that Hugh M.D. will be ok. I hope he finds a friend as good as me. Good luck Doc!