Firsts

Wow, it's been a while since I last updated, and there have been lots of fun things to write about, but they will all fit under the "Firsts" category.

First Ticket:
Just about everyone has already heard this story, I freaking ranted about it to anyone that would listen. But, for those 2 people that haven't hear it... here it is. So here I was, trying to be a good teacher, staying late on a Friday night to try to get everything ready for the next week. Then after school, I was being a good teacher and a good friend by running school errands for me and 2 other teachers. Do I even need to tell you how long of a day it had already been? This year I've got a couple students who are not my personal favorites and they make the weeks LONG. So it's been a full, busy week at school, I've staid late, I've run errands, I'm driving home at like 7:00pm, but then I've got a 30 minute commute (wait, longer than that because of stupid Utah construction). I finally make it to my exit, I'm tired as can be, Clayton's beaten me home, so he's started dinner, I can't wait to just relax, I'm 15 feet away from my driveway, and... flashing lights.

On the road I'm on, there is no shoulder. It's a two lane road, one lane for each direction, where am I supposed to pull over? After driving a couple feet, I just decide to pull into that 3 inch "shoulder" and see what the cop says. The cop walks to the window, asks for my stuff, and I ask him if we should just pull into my complex because I live right there and there's no shoulder. He says that we're fine where we are and then informs me that that was a stop sign right there. "I know, I stopped" "No you didn't" "I did, I did" "A stop is completely stopped for 2 seconds. 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand." I didn't agree, but I really had nothing to say to that. He goes back to his car, I want to cry, but hold it in, he comes back, and tells me that my license says that I live in Hooper (he said it in a demeaning tone, too - I can make fun of Hooper, but Hells Bells if he's going to, rudy) Remember how I had just told him I live in Sandy? He lectured me on the time deadline I had to get that done and then walks back to his car. I would swear up and down that he was back there for 30 minutes. I was doing everything I could not to let the tears fall. I was breathing deeply, looking out the window at whatever the crap I could look at, oh, and I was getting mad at him taking so DANG long when all I wanted was to get home.

He finally comes back, tells me that he watched me go through 2 stop signs, but that he'll make one a warning, give me another warning about the change of address, but that he's giving me a ticket for the second stop sign. Had me sign something and then asks if I had any questions. Yes I had questions, I didn't know what the freak to do with a ticket, I'd never gotten one before. He told me to call the number after a week and they'd tell me what to do and how to take care of it.

I came in the door bawling and poor Clayton didn't know at all what to do. I finally got the story out and then I spent the rest of the night rotating between being super pissed, and super sad/depressed. And it's not like it was over then, I had to have the ticket hanging over my head for a week. Lame!!

Well, the week went by, but I couldn't take care of it right away because they close at 4 (when I get off work) and they're in Sandy and I work in Orem. A couple times I got off a little early, but freaking traffic slowed me down and I missed it. Thanksgiving Break I was finally able to go in and talk to the court commissioner. Yeah, turns out that on the ticket that the cop turned in, he wrote that I stopped for 1/2 a second, but it wasn't a complete stop because it wasn't 2 seconds. Well, I had been looking everywhere for a definition of 2 seconds, but I hadn't found it. Yeah, neither could the court commissioner, and neither could any body in the office that she went and asked. So... after all of that hastel and waiting, and anger, and crying, the ticket was dropped. Good, because I would have been beyond ticked if I would have had to pay $130 for something I was innocent of.

First Snowboarding Day:
We went up to Hooper for Thanksgiving and decided to just stay the night so that we could go up to the Powder Mountain after Clayton got off work the next day. As long as we were staying the night, Jessica really needed a midnight, Black Friday shopping buddy, so Clayton and I went to Wal Mart around 10:30, 11:00 pm. Yeah, can I tell you how much fun that was NOT? We were all spread out, Clayton was at movies, Jessica was at the game station, and I was in toys. There were 2 different toys I had to grab (both of which there were extras of when we went to the Sandy Wal Mart a week later). Luckily there was a nice lady over by one of the toys I needed and we worked out a deal. She would grab me a Littlest Pet Shop if I would grab her an Operation Buzz Lightyear, which was next to the second toy I needed. Yeah for stranger team work, especially since where I was sent, there was NOBODY there, so I didn't have to fight or struggle with anyone. Although my blood still raced when I heard a fight going on a couple pallets down from me when midnight rolled around. I had to walk passed it to get back to the lady, and security was all over it. Kind of funny, kind of "what the crap guys, you're fighting over a toy, grow up."

Anyway, this section isn't "First trip to Wal Mart" it's about snowboarding. So, Friday, Clayton went to work and I did school work, and wrapped a couple presents, and was seriously bored while waiting for him to be done. Then, when he got off work we went up. Well, I can say that I am better then last year in at least one way (and probably only one way)... I can get up by myself. Like, after I fall hard on my posterior, I can stand back up on my own. Clayton says that I'm doing well, but Clayton is full of it. I still am terrified to actually use the right stance, so I'm still cheating when I go down the mountain. And I still can't get off the ski lift without Clayton holding me up. Yeah, it's going to be a long season. Good thing Clayton is patient.

First Day Snowboarding by Myself:
So Friday's run was a test run to see if I would be able to handle a day of snowboarding by myself. Saturday Clayton had to work, but he was working on setting up barriers and stuff on closed lifts. Obviously I couldn't come with, so I would have to either wait at home (not ours, Don and Jan's) or snowboard alone. I opted out of the first option, and dared to board alone. Here's what I know after going alone. The lifties (the people operating the lift) are really nice, and when there's not that many people on the mountain, they recognize you. I had some nice conversations with some of them. They knew I wasn't that great, that I was alone because my husband was on ski patrol, and that I wasn't having as much fun as I should have been having. Thing number two that I learned, was how to get off the ski lift without falling. Not going to lie, I had one total blow out of a run, and a couple other small spills, but I did end up getting the hang of it. Not because Clayton had every told me the right way to do it, but because one time I watched how the guy ahead of me got off. Thank goodness for that guy :o) I still cheated my way down the mountain, of course, I wasn't going to try anything on my own, and have to have ski patrol rescue me and then call Clayton over from the next mountain. I did have fun though, but I've learned not to go alone any more.

First Anniversary:
Clayton and I have only been married 6 months, but we were married exactly 6 months from the day that we met. So, December 5th was our 1 year anniversary of the day we met. The 5th was a Sunday, so on the 4th, we decided to recreate our first date. He had to work, of course, so we decided that he would drive to work, and I would take trax up to Salt Lake (where we had our first date), and he would meet me there. Well, I ended up not taking trax, because as I was driving to the station, I got pulled over. This polictress was a lot nicer, and she pulled me over because it didn't show that Clayton's truck had insurance. It did, I showed her the proof of insurance, and I was on my way. Except due to the delay, I missed trax and would have had to wait 20 minutes. Forget it, I just drove up :o)

We met at Cafe Rio for dinner, then walked around temple square looking at the lights. Holy Moly was it crowded. We could barely walk around without getting trampled. But we made it, and we had small talk, and it then we took separate cars home. I sent him to the store to go by sparkling cider, which I had forgotten to pick up when I had gone grocery shopping. It worked out though because it gave me time to go home, light the candles, and draw up a nice warm bubble bath... that was not something we did on the first date, but it's been a year now, so it's okay ;o) It was a fabulous first anniversary.

First Time Down a Black Diamond:
Yeah, another snowboarding story, but... 'tis the season. No, I didn't magically get super great at snowboarding so that I was skilled enough to get down the most challenging slope on the mountain, it was just a pretty empty day on the slopes, so I wouldn't get in any one's way, and I, of course, cheated my way down. But, now I can say that I've gone down a Black Diamond. That day, Clayton was patrolling the lift "Sun Down" which is the only one we've boarded so far, so I was not all that thrilled to be going, but he showed me that there were more then just the 2 slopes I'd been doing, so it turned out to be more fun after all. So that day, I actually went down 2 Black Diamond runs, and ended up doing all the runs on that mountain.

Alright, out of firsts for now. Sorry there aren't pictures, but both Clayton and I are terrible at taking pictures. Maybe next time?