A small project...

I never feel very crafty, but I wanted a sewing machine for Christmas anyway. So today I made my first little project. I am quite proud. :)

And the back...

And the corners which I am really proud of, after the first try. :)

This has been very encouraging for the possibility of future projects! :)

THANKSGIVING!

The best re cap of my Thanksgiving can be made through the pictures that will follow. :)

Family Pictures - My Sister Rachel, her husband Jeremy, and baby Isis.

My Dad and his only grandbaby. :)
Gingerbread houses! YAY for traditions.
FAMILY PICTURE :) Missing David... :(
My sister and I gained a whole new appreciation for making gingerbread.
I had the privilege of taking the christmas tree on my car. :)
Isis was the center of attention for the weekend, for obvious reasons. :) She is so stinkin cute! :)
My mom and her only grandbaby. SOO cute.
Shooting the day after Thanksgiving. I was a DANG good shot if I do say so myself.
The WILLIS Family. :) After Thanksgiving dinner.
After the Turkey Bowl Thanksgiving morning. :)
My first motorcycle ride with my cousin Scott. Yes it scared the crap out of me.

Overall it was a wonderful Thanksgiving! :)

21 things you may not know about me...

The picture is explained in #20. :)

1. I took my 1st college class when I was 13. I took a computer programming class at a community college.

2. I have a really hard time cutting people out of my life.

3. Family traditions mean everything to me. I especially love the traditions around Thanksgiving/Christmas. We always get the our tree the day after Thanksgiving. The kids decorate it while my parents go out on a date. We make gingerbread houses the first Monday in December. We make mudballs. We go Christmas Caroling on Christmas eve. We have a scavenger hunt for the big family christmas present.

4. Things like the Tree man really freak me out. REALLY freak me out. Or things that are in strange masses. It makes my skin crawl.

5. I have to set the table with the fork on the left side of the plate, the knife on the right with the blade facing the plate, and the spoon on the right side of the knife.

6. I enjoy a good bubble bath, with candles. Also for some reason washing my feet before I got to bed is really relaxing.

7. I grew up going to historical sites. One of our family outings included going to cemeteries where my parents would send us kids looking for one of our ancestors names on the headstones.

8. When I was in 5th grade I use to brag at the dinner table how many boys I had punched that day. I had issues. :)

9. I love having colorful bras, I missed them on my mission. :) I only own one white bra.

10. I enjoy decorating cakes. Someday I would like to be good at it.

11. I LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS!!! LOVE THEM!

12. I love black and white photography, I'm currently obsessed with framing my own photos.

13. When my sister and I were growing up I always got in trouble because I laughed louder. Well, I still laugh louder but I don't necessarily get in trouble for it. One night we got sent to the garage for laughing too loud too late at night. We laughed so hard we we peed our pants.

14. I love the color Teal.

15. I always wanted to be a doctor, and sometimes I use to think I gave up. But then I realized that what I really wanted was to make a difference, which I know I have the potential to do.

16. I have a goal of never being in the US more than 18 months at a time without leaving to another country for a while.

17. I was on a swim team.

18. I was diagnosed with Asthma when I was 7. I had my most severe attack when I was 11, and was in the hospital for 4 days.

19. When I was 4 or 5 I use to make trips to the mailbox pretending that I was going on exciting trips. :) I would pack up my lego/duplo bucket as if it were a suitcase.

20. I was the biggest nerd in middle school, well maybe I still am. :) I played the clarinet, I did Future Problem Solving, I had a 4.0, and I was on Student Council. Also I got the history award for the year in 8th grade. I have the best picture to prove my nerdiness, if you want to see it, just let me know.

21. I want somebody who will dance with me in the kitchen, preferably to Nat King Cole. :)

Well there you go. :) I guess a small insight to my life.

My first tag...

crazy 8 tag... courtesy of Drea. :)

8 tv shows that i watch
1. The Office
2. The Biggest Loser
3. America's Next Top Model
4. Friends
5. What not to wear (at least when I had cable)
6. ER (back in the day)
7. Boy Meets World (part of me still loves this show I don't know why. :) )
8. Family Feud

8 things i did yesterday
1. Went running
2. Went to work - finally bonded with some of my coworkers
3. Set up a new checking and savings account
4. Saw two crazy old people on motorized wheel chairs on the side of the road
5. Worked on application for Phoenix Teaching Fellows
6. Made French Rolls for dinner
7. Went to the temple
8. Read part of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

8 places i love to eat
1. HOME :)
2. Olive Garden
3. Costa Vida
4. Guru Palace
5. L&T
6. Cracker Barrel
7. Any Chinese place with my mom and sister :) - something always comes up in those conversations. :)
8. How could I forget! KNEADERS!!! Oh I miss their sandwiches. :(

8 things i am looking forward to
1. making a difference
2. being w/ my family for Thanksgiving
3. traveling to every continent
4. taking beautiful pictures
5. laughing with old friends
6. having a family
7. owning a house
8. being better than I am today

8 things on my wish list
1. new camera lenses
2. a sewing machine
3. a kitchen aid
4. fabric to reupholster the chair I stole from the dumpster
5. unlimited money to travel
6. a small snapshot camera
7. love
8. a manicure and pedicure

8 people I tag
1. Candra
2. Rachel Gwin
3. Carolyn
4. Rachel H
5. Romina
6. Stacey
7. I don't know if anybody else reads this. :)
8.So if you read this, consider yourself invited. :)

A post I have been a little hesitant to write...

Just for the record the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints did not decide its position on marriage when the amendments for this November's ballots were proposed. The definition of marriage for the church is as old as "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." The church has publicly voiced its opinion on its definition since at least The Proclamation on the Family. published 13 years ago.

Singling out the church is wrong. The personal attacks on the church prove nothing more than the intolerance that the opposition is claiming against the church.

Kate Kendell, executive director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights said. "We need everyday Californians who are willing to write checks and make the financial sacrifice for their beliefs." SO let me get this right... it is ok for those that opposed Prop 8, to "sacrifice for their beliefs." Yet those that supported Proposition 8 financially are not making a "sacrifice for their beliefs" they are merely bigots. EVERYDAY Californians did write checks, and did vote. And if this were really about money shouldn't the opposing vote won. I have read in several different places that the YES for 8 raised between 31 and 32 million where as the No on 8 raised between 37 and 38 million. Yes I do recognize that church members donated the majority, but that was a personal choice as individual citizens. If I misunderstood this, let me know.

I have tried over and over not to get unnerved by the injustice of the situation, but it escapes me. How is such behavior tolerated? If these protests happened outside of synagogues, people would be all over it being antisemitic. The church formed part of a coalition of churches.

And what about the other marriage amendments passed in Arizona, Florida, and other states. They passed without the huge financial donations on either side. I am much more appalled at the amendment passed in Florida which grants no rights to same-sex couples, and it bans civil unions altogether. I believe that these couples are entitled to rights, but I do believe that the church has the right to believe that marriage is between man and a woman. Please forgive my ignorance, but what rights do civil unions lack that marriages have? Part of my understanding is that they are not recognized in other states, they do not receive the same tax benefits, and federal benefits, such as survivor benefits through Social Security. Legally I believe that they are entitled to those rights.

If it is cause worth fighting for, keep fighting. I believe everyone has the right to their opinions. It is fine to be disappointed, but placing blame on the minority of one state is unfair. Let's have some mutual respect here, disrespecting places that I consider sacred does not prove that one side or the other is right. I know this is not as articulate as I would like, but hopefully my point is understood.

Here we go...

Well I don't know exactly what to say about the election. All I will say is that I hope we are inspired to work better together. If we are focusing on change as a part of this election. Then I hope we do change for the better, and stop letting so many differences get in the way. I am curious how these next four years will play out, but I figure for myself I'll keep moving forward. :)

Back on track...

For the first time in a long time, I am starting to feel like I am back on track. Clear goals. Motivation to get there. Overall feeling of peace.

Oh the weekend...

Last weekend... (Oct 10-12) I made a little venture down to visit my family in Tucson. I love just being home. Even though I have never actually lived in the house where my parents currently reside, it is home. I think partly because I moved around so much, it wasn't necessarily the actual house we were lived in, but the people and the constant things that made it home.

I absolutely loved that as I drove up the Halloween decorations were all up. It is tradition that we have headstones in the front yard with clever little sayings. :) My dad's favorite with the husband's name being "Big Harry" and the wife's "Ima" and the last name SPOOK. I hope that made sense. Anyway, I just LOVE the traditions at my house, it keeps things constant as the years go on, and I don't think that I could ever tire of it. I love seeing my mom's books, and thinking about the amazing woman that she is. I love the blue plates that hang over the piano. I love the photo albums. I love that there is an almost endless supply of chocolate chips and ice cream. (And some of you wonder where that came from... :) ) When I first got in, I had a great talk with my mom I'm impressed that she stayed up to almost 2. (I'm proud that she was wise enough to take a nap before I got there.)

Then Saturday I went with them to an international festival in downtown Tucson. First I didn't even really realize that Tucson had a downtown, but it was quite cute. Then the festival was WONDERFUL!!! I love things like this! They seriously make me SO happy. I love seeing cultures come together, even though it may not be completely authentic. :) I was thrilled that they had a little Spanish booth! JOY almost pure joy is what comes to mind when I get to speak with little old Spanish ladies. They crack me up. Unfortunately they were out of Paella when we got there. Also a highlight of the night was the mens choir that sang. I loved how into the performance they were as they sang, the best was when they started dancing. It just made me happy. A shout out to my parents who have always made events like these a part of my life.

Then this weekend the adventure was the fair! I especially enjoyed getting in touch with my white redneck side by going to the super 8 racing... I secretly or maybe not so secretly got excited when they almost crashed or did crash. :) I enjoyed my frozen banana dipped in chocolate and nuts on a stick. You know that the food at the fair is always exciting. Also I witnessed many infomercials live... luckily I escaped without buying anything. :) I did get a free peery knife. I didn't go on the rides, but would have liked to, I LOVE RIDES! I did see all of the animals, and I have to admit they kind of freaked me out especially the turkeys. They are a little creepy.

If you want to see more pictures from both weekends click here.

I guess now back to the work week...

A mini update...

So after my little shout out post, I thought I ought to give a simple update. I finally found a job. It actually pretty much just fell into my lap. It has been interesting first few days of training, but overall I think that I am really going to enjoy this opportunity. I am working as an advisor at a charter school. It is a bit of a transition going to work full-time but so far I am enjoying it. :) Not to mention as I have recently become addicted to the Office, I can't help but laugh as I think of the strange situations that happen in my office on a daily basis. I really need to write the random things I see and hear on a daily basis. Today's highlight was on my drive to work (which soon I will be biking it is only 4 miles), I saw an older woman crossing the road with a pink frilly umbrella it made me laugh. Also I have found a radio station that I love, which makes everytime I hop in the driver seat a joy. :)

A Shout out to my friends...

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go up to Utah for my friend Derek's wedding. I had a marvelous time at the wedding as well as visiting old friends. I never really thought that I would miss Utah, but it had become home. So a little shout out to a few people:

Stacey - Thanks for letting me stay with you. I had a great time watching Baby Mama and eating peanut butter ice cream just like the good old days. Also our great drive through the fields to get to Derek's reception! Also the talk about pregnancy, I am still laughing about what was said. (I don't necessarily think it is appropriate to repeat here.

DEREK and PENNY - Thanks for getting married. :) It gave me a great excuse to go back to Utah. Plus you two are such a wonderful couple. I am just thrilled for you! I wish you the absolute best.

Kimber - Thanks for the heart to heart talks. I am so grateful for your friendship. I am so glad that first impressions are wrong. :) Thank you again for letting me stay with you. Of course Salsa Chocolate will forever be one of my favorite memories... if only I could be sexy like you.

Romina- Sorry we didn't get to talk that much, but I'm glad you came over and watched conference with us. I wish I had the power to get everything working for you. I admire you patience, I definitely don't have it.

Nico- Thanks for letting me crash on your couch and watch conference with you. You're great!

Platt and Munti - I am so glad that we got together for ice cream. I apologize for my crazy reactions. Know that I love you both to death. I love that I can laugh with you guys so much. :) You are WONDERFUL!!

Matt- I am glad that I gave you some personal "drama" to talk about. :) But please I'd rather not refer to the situation as slutty. Thank you for the AMAZING introd to Thai food. It was delish. :) I am a particular fan of the pumpkin curry, but seriously everything was phenomenal.

Sanjeev - Como es que cuejas que no estoy alli y cuando estoy alli casi ni me hablas. Bueno oye no te pongas demasiado tonto. :) Llamame de vez en cuando.

Stefani y Diego - Gracias por dejarnos preparar y comer el desayuno en tu casa. :)

Marianne- You are my hero. You were my hero on the mission, and still my hero. I am so glad that we got together for lunch. I look up to you so much.

Drea- You are WONDERFUL! I love being around you. Thanks for letting me chill at your place to watch conference. Plus dinner was delightful! You rock.

Nathan - Look you are a part of this shout out too. :) I can't believe I saw you outside of your little hole in the temple. :) Thanks for the conversation and taking the time to talk to me. You are one of the funniest people I know. Someday I will collect all of your phrases.

Nava - Nava Nava Nava... so much to say but none of which is appropriate so it will be left unsaid. :) Thanks for dancing.

Spencer - I love your stinkin guts. I miss you so much. I am so glad that I got to see you.

Erin - Hey cute face. Not that I should have a favorite but you are definitely one of my favorite cousins. I LOVE talking to you. I am so excited for your wedding, I wish that I could be there. :)

The Dean's office - You will always be my second family. :) Thanks for making me feel like I was home.

I hope I didn't miss anybody. I was grateful that I got to see and spend time with so many people in such little time. I wish that I could have seen more people while I was in town. You are always welcome to visit me in Arizona. :)

Another little shout out to my sister Rachel, my incredibly cute niece ISIS, and my brother in law Jeremy. Thanks for being a great pit stop on my trip. I am grateful for your love and support.

Trials in domesticity...

Do.mes.tic: devoted to home duties and pleasures
I don't know how devoted I am to home duties and pleasures, but it never hurts to pretend. Since I have had an usual amounts of time on my hands, I made a list a little bit ago of perhaps some of the projects that I could complete ranging from finishing some cross stitching that I started 4 years ago to teaching myself how to sing. Some goals obviously have more hope for success than others, but one having a list made me feel good, and two it gave me some productive things to do amidst the job search.

Well project one was stenciling my wall with the phrase "Live well Laugh Often Love Much." Trial 1: Failed. As you can see in this lovely photo I did not use the right kind of paint for "Live Well". So it actually looks more like Halloween lettering, with the dripping blood affect. Creepy. Trial 2: A work in progress. Luckily I finished the rest and it did not look quite as bad. Also I hung some wire to hang up my pictures. I think it is pretty cute, not perfect but ok for a first time idea.

Then on Wednesday I decided to attempt cake decorating. Nothing too extravagant but just to give it a try. My grandma Willis made BEAUTIFUL wedding cakes. I was always fascinated by the fake cake that was covered with plastic in her basement. I remember being 11 and as I was frosting a cake having her pull me aside to tell me a trick. It is a talent that I don't think that I really have, but would like to work on. So I busted out a my decorating bags, tips, pans, icing knife, etc. Unfortunately it did not quite accomplish the look I was going for, but for a first try it wasn't too bad. I just hope for steady improvement. :)

As for now that is all, I will keep you posted on further adventures in domesticity, perhaps including my plans to make pesto from scratch on Sunday. Nothing too exciting, but hey it keeps me from being bored. Also I did get a job offer today! Finally. I can finally breath! :)

CAN YOU HELP? (Nothing serious. :) )

Last night I read through one of the 5 partial journals that I have in which nearly every entry begins... "I really should be better about writing in here..." I must admit that I am quite a terrible journal writer. In fact there is little documentation of many of the different occasions of my life. And as such I am determined to work on writing about my life until now and continue it as a work in process. This is where YOU come in. I often find that it isn't until I am in a certain situation or with certain people that certain memories are triggered. Therefore, I am requesting the help of my friends. If you could please email or comment with a memory that we have together. It can be funny, sad, silly, dumb, fun, happy, etc. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind, but whatever it is, it will be helpful. With your help I can fill in some of the gaps that I may have forgotten about. I realize that your time is precious and limited so if you can only write down one that's great. But if you have time for more GREAT! It doesn't need to be anything lengthy either it maybe just two words depending upon the situation. :) I would really really appreciate it! THANKS!

My little blog house warming party...

Tonight I had my first visitors over to our apartment. Seeing as I know few people in Mesa, I invited Shanna Garrett a sister from my mission, and Angelo a kid I know from my mission over for dinner. We had chicken pillows, one of my personal favorites, with awesome broccoli, fruit salad, and rice. I got to use my pewter dishes which I've never used before, and actually used my inherited dining table and the awesome chairs we got at IKEA. Although there is still plenty of room for improvement, it has been fun to put some of the pieces together. The living room has bits of South America, including two paintings we bought in Tiajuana two weeks ago. The little corner collection contains a lot of random pieces from all over south america. Then the kitchen wall has a European influence with my plates from Spain and Michelle's bells from Holland. Then my room, I figured I'd be honest and not really clean it. :) I love my bed spread, and the wall I painted to match. I plan on hanging more black and white photos that I've taken. And that's about it. Hope you enjoy the small insight into where I live. :)

Playing in the Rain! :)

Michelle and I said that the next time that it rained we would go outside and play in the rain. So last night I was putting something away in the closet when I heard what I thought was rain but turned out to be just a busted sprinkler head. But looking at the sky and smelling the air, I knew it was going to rain. So we waited... and then a few drops came and then it just opened up and poured. It was great! I wish they could capture the smell of rain and dirt in a candle. I love that smell. Michelle and I ran around in our parking lot, splashing each other in the puddles that quickly formed, much to the amusement of our neighbors.

Sketchy...

So today I was just chilling in my apartment when I heard what sounded like an announcement over a megaphone. So I peeked outside to see 8 cop cars outside. And then the SWAT truck... with the building next door all taped off... so I looked it up to see what was going on. Here's the story.

Even more traveling...

The other day I did a rough estimate, and I have traveled nearly 13,000 miles this summer. Before my trip to Europe I had traveled to Tucson, Houston, and Las Vegas. And following my trip I drove to Mesa one weekend, Los Angeles the next, San Diego the next weekend, and this weekend I will be in Las Vegas. Will I ever sit still? I doubt it. :)

Where in the World is Katherine Anne Willis....

So contrary to popular belief I have not fallen off the face of the earth... even though my blog may appear that way. The past 8 weeks of my life have been rather interesting. Working in Spain was marvelous. I enjoyed getting to know some fantastic individuals as well as being surrounded by the culture that I love so much. I had some crazy, fun, and spiritual experiences over those few weeks. One of which was being grabbed off of a random bus by none other than a guy I had had a fling with 5 years ago. Quite possibly the scariest and most random experiences of my life. If you want to know more just ask. I have decided I'm a pretty open book, there very few things that I keep completely private in my life. I have not yet decided whether that is a good or bad thing.
I went dancing one of my last weekends in Spain. While going back to my hotel we ran through some sprinklers on a hill, and well somebody lost their balance and I went sliding down on my back through the mud. I wish I had taken a picture, and a picture of people's faces when they saw me. I also spent some time with a few people who I had taught while I was on my mission. It was a sweet experience to be with them. I learned to appreciate the beautiful art in the Prado. Learning the artistic styles of Italian and Flemish schools. I will forever be amazed by how much Dr. Rosenberg knows. I never thought I could be in an art museum for four hours straight and not even think twice about it. Learning from him will be an experience of a life time.

Shortly after the program ended I started my great adventure with my sister. We briefly took in Madrid which included seeing a processional in the middle of the city for James the Apostle. It was quite exciting, I love when traditions come alive. We spent part of the night in the airport before flying to Paris at 5:30 in the morning. I couldn't really sleep much, which for those of you who know me well is quite odd. :) My sister brought a banana with her that was quite possibly the best banana of my life. In fact I even called it the dream banana. Anyway... Paris was amazing. I was absolutely enchanted by the city. Contrary to popular opinion I found the French to be very nice and helpful. Our stroll through the Louvre was impressive. We spent two days taking in as much as we could Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, Rodin Museum, Napoleon's Tomb, the Arc de Triumph, a stroll down the Champs de Elysees, Notre Dame, Sacre-Coeur Basilica, the Tour de France, and just simply admiring the beauty of the city. Paris has definitely put its self on a list of cities worth visiting again. Rome came calling next. We checked into our hostel, where the very nice lady at the front desk told us where to go in the city. We were able to see a church where the wooden cradle of Christ was... sketchy, but interesting none the less. Another church had Michaelangelo's Moses. Then we went off to the Colosseum. It never ceases to amaze me how history comes alive as you see these places. It is truly remarkable and awe inspiring. I did have rather awkward run in with a guy posing as a Roman soldier outside the Colosseum. This picture might explain why...if you want the story just ask. We then barely slipped into the Roman Forum right before closing. Once again , it was very impressive. The next day we attempted to take in the Vatican, which I believe to be nearly impossible. Everything is absolutely astonishing especially the Sistine chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.
The next day we found ourselves on a train to Venice. Although I said I'd simply be content with just seeing the grand canal, I was happy with what we were able to take in. Probably one of the highlights of the trip was our walk from the train station to the piazza de San Marco. It was earlier in the morning so as we winded through the streets we found our selves at the open air market. It was beautiful. The variety of fruits, vegetables, and seafood was amazing. I loved the colors and the atmosphere that surround it. Peering down the small canals to see gondolas, doorsteps, and laundry out to dry made me smile. We also were able to take the boat bus over to the island of Murano and Lido. Murano is famous for its glass making, and Lido for its beaches. We did take advantage of the beach and finished off the day with a nice swim. Also I forgot to mention that earlier as we were looking at some souvenirs, I overheard a woman talking to a gondolier about pricing for a gondola. She wanted to find two more people to go with her and her husband to split the cost. I watched her go back over to her husband, and thought why not and asked if she'd like for us to join them. It worked out quite well, because we got a ride for less than we had budgeted for. :)
Soon we were off again to London. I fell in love with London. Well with everything besides the fact that our dollar is simply pathetic over there. But the city was again enchanting. My mom joined us there. Being together just "the girls" was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the British Museum, seeing WICKED, strolling through Portabello market, taking in Westminister Abbey, the Globe, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, London Bridge, and Hyde Park. We also had the adventure of renting a car and driving to Burbage where my great great great grandmother is from. The church in the town was beautiful. But the walk through town to get there, was one of my favorite parts. :) We also enjoyed seeing Stonehenge. That was a very quick summary of London. It truly was marvelous. I very much appreciated having my mother around simply because she knows so much and it was wonderful to simply ask a question out of curiosity and she always knew the answer. Rachel flew back to the US, and my mom and I flew back to Spain. I had the wonderful opportunity of showing her around the country that I love so much. We stayed quite busy seeing a different city everyday; Toledo, Avila, Segovia, El Escorial, and Madrid. I was grateful that my mom could finally see so many of the things I have been talking about for years. One of the silly ones being that there are so many old people in Spain. They are always out on the street. I really wasn't exaggerating. :) A funny little story from the trip to Segovia was a little run in that we had after walking down to the bottom of the hill to take a picture of the castle. I particularly want to hike back up to the castle, but it seemed inevitable after walking down. Oddly enough as we were about to head back up a taxi pulled up and a woman popped out of the cab asking if we spoke English. She explained to me that she couldn't communicate with the cab driver, so I went over and talked to him. While I was talking to him the lady offered for us to ride with them back up to the top of the hill if I'd translate for them for an hour. It was quite the experience, but it worked out great for both parties I think. :)
And although this is a shameful job of trying to wrap up my amazing trip, it will have to do. Better late than never right? :)

Here are some pictures. :)

I love Spain!

For those of you who didn't already know, let me reassure you, I love Spain. Wow I don't even know where to start. I should have written this last night. I arrived in Madrid yesterday at 9 in the morning. As I flew in, it was almost overwhelming, as I remembered taking off a year and a half ago not know when I would return. As I made my way to the metro to get into the city I felt as though I had never left. I felt at home. The only strange thing was as I got on to the metro I looked around because I felt as though I should have somebody with me. That has been the strangest part so far, is being alone. Luckily as I made it to my stop in the city, Dr. Rosenberg was waiting outside the train stop. I dropped my luggage off at the hotel, and then we headed off to take care of some items for the program. I just loved absorbing in Madrid again. Even in this insane heat, I love this city. Madrid has a smell, which I really do not have any idea how to describe. Not necessarily pleasant, but definitely present. I took some time yesterday to walk around and get to know the area where I was living. It happens to be one of the few areas of Madrid that I am not completely familiar with since I never served here. I am enchanted by los madrilenos and the way the speak. I hadn't realized how much I missed it. Simple things like seeing the gypsy with her palm leafs, and the mysterious liquid that falls from the buildings made me laugh. Since I needed to stay awake in order to adjust to the time, I decided to make a quick trip down to the temple. The "temple square" in Madrid is really special to me for two reasons I got to serve there and testify there, and when I was on study abroad I actually studied in the institute building there. I talked to a few missionaries that were there, it is crazy that I have been home for a year and a half. I only know 2 missionaries that are still here. My mission president happen to be coming there to give someone and interview, so I was able to talk to him for a minute. Then the hermanas told me the institute was having a birthday party. So I went over there, and ran into several people that I knew. It was particularly nice since I had been fearing that nobody would remember me. So hearing "HERMANA WILLIS!!" Just about made me cry. :) Two of the guys that I knew invited me over to eat, that was an interesting experience. They also invited me to go dancing, which was VERY tempting, but I decided I ought to get some sleep so that my body wouldn't be completely off. :) As I walked home at 12:30 am it was wonderful to see the streets still alive. The large street that passes in front of the hotel is beautiful. Between the two lanes of traffic is a park. A couple of restaurants are in the park, and it was so fun to walk by and hear the people talking outside as a piano was being played. The ambiance was amazing. City life intrigues me. Today I walked around a lot more to see what stores were around. I also gathered up information to help those that are coming with the program. I met 4 out of the 15 today. While I walked around downtown, I walked through Plaza Mayor. I was looking across the crowd when I saw this lady. I recognized her face, and then I heard say to her friends I know her. It dawned on me that she had come to English classes that I had taught over 2 years ago. It was a fun small world connection to make. I look forward to the many adventures to come. I love that it feels like home. :)

It's about time...

Well the month of May has clearly come and gone... and quite quickly I might add. It seemed to be a whirlwind month as I found myself all over Arizona, Texas, and Las Vegas. :) I guess I will begin with the beginning of the month. The 2nd of May was my Dad's retirement ceremony from the United States Air Force. The ceremony spoke to his excellence in his military career. The day was an emotional one for all of us. As I talked to my siblings, particularly my brothers Stephen and David we echoed the same sentiments of pride in all that our Dad has accomplished. As the general made some of his remarks we soon realized that we only knew of a small portion that my Dad had contributed. Not seeing our dad in uniform will be a hard change. Whether it was his flight suit or his dress blues, we always associated it with Daddy. It's funny how many chapters are beginning and ending in our family. My Dad will be a civilian. My sister Rachel celebrated her first Mother's Day. I will be leaving Provo, going to Spain again, traveling Europe, moving to Phoenix, and starting a real job. David enters the MTC this Wednesday headed to Monterey Mexico. It's very crazy, I question how we got so old. Timothy finished his first year of High School, and Thomas his first year of middle school. I am excited to see the places our family will go. I am so proud of my parents and my siblings. They are amazing people. I am grateful for the relationship that I have with each one of them.
The day after my Dad's retirement ceremony, my brother David went through the temple. What a wonderful blessing to be surrounded by nearly all of my family. Including my 90 year old grandpa. Who we celebrated his birthday that night. We had a great time. Since my dad's family is all over, it isn't often that we all get together. At the end of the party, somehow it became a game to see how many cousins my brothers could toss.... oh boy only in the Willis family. :)
A week later my good friend Stacey got married. The wedding was beautiful. After which my friend Drea and I drove to Moab. Then a week later I was in Texas for a friend's graduation. The next week I went down to Vegas to visit my sister. So to say the least it was been a busy month, with not much time to slow down. I am headed to Spain in 2 weeks and 2 days. Its hard to believe.

The magic of smells...

When I went to get the mail yesterday at work, I noticed as I walked into the mail room a very strong familiar smell. While most people take caffeine pills, drink a good Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew, or simple turn on the AC or roll down the windows, my dad as long as I can remember has eaten corn nuts to stay awake while he is driving. The smell is unmistakable, and I can't say the most pleasant either. But every time I even catch the smallest whiff, I am instantly transported back to our long family trips across the country. Every year we made the long journey across the country either from Florida to Idaho, or Illinois to Idaho or Arizona. Driving at least 10 hours in a day. These trips were always filled with mini adventures. I remember sticking a butter knife in seat cushions pretending like I was a pilot flying some sort of space craft, especially when we drove at night. I was always off on some crazy adventure in my imagination even though we may have been driving through the middle of Kansas. One of the things that I loved as a kids about these long trips, was the candy bag. My mom let each of pick out candy for the trip. Which very often included tootsie rolls, smarties, and little sweet tarts. These trips were some of the greatest bonding moments for my family. Including the time that my younger brother sliced foot open in the camper, blood gushing everywhere. Or when we pretendedmade news recordings on a very ghetto tape recorder. Or the time that we had the whole movie The Princess Bride memorized, so we muted it and each person in the car took a part and we said the lines of the whole movie. There are many more memories that I have from these trips, which I made add later. But it never ceases to amaze me how smells have
the affect of instantaneously triggering memories.

A Sunday Afternoon

Today was wonderful...
Even though I started the day with a major headache, it turned out to be a marvelous day. It definitely has been a day of reflection on how to be better. I had a peaceful afternoon that I just took for myself. It is amazing how rejuvenating that can be. I took some pictures which you can see here. Then I went up to my favorite look out place to think and read... it was great. I've started reading Elder Maxwell's book Not My Will, but Thine, which is helping me learn lessons that I definitely have needed. I'm walking in graduation a week from Friday! It is so odd to think that these will be my last classes at BYU. I have been so blessed by all of the experiences that I've had while I've been here. Oh the picture is one that I took while I was reading and watching the sunset.

Promised pictures...

So besides the need to post these pictures...


I just wanted to say how much I loved conference. I feel so blessed to know that there is a prophet on the earth today to lead and guide us. And even better, he has a good sense of humor.

Color Color everywhere! :)

Today I finally went to the color festival at the Hare Krishna temple! It was great! There will be pictures soon. There were an insane amount of people there, but it was a blast! There will be pictures that follow. Because without them, it would be nearly impossible to imagine the sight of what happened. One of the best parts of the night was when my friend and I were at a pizza place waiting for our pizza when this lady came in. She just smiled at us as we were covered with chalk, and she said "oh you guys are just so cute." Then she picked up her pizza and as she was leaving said "especially after a couple beers you two are really funny" and she just starts laughing. :) I couldn't help but laugh, glad that we could make a tipsy lady's night. :)

Hmmm....

So this weekend we preformed the play up at BYU Idaho. It went really well. It was great to have a great audience. Plus it was fun that my grandparents came even though they don't understand any Spanish. :) My grandpa is so cute. He went around to all of the cast members to have them sign his program. Oh boy tonight on the other hand... I don't know what happened, but I started laughing during one of my serious lines, and I couldn't stop. It was horrible. I mean the only thing I can really do is just laugh about it. But it was so hard to get it under control. To say the least I don't think the director was very happy.... Oh well things go on, and I will try some random mind tricks to convince myself to stay in character at all times. :) Also I have a new random obsession with Goldfish. Not the cheddar ones, but the original plain baked cracker. I almost can't get enough of them. I LOVE THEM!!! Anyway. Fiesta is coming up on Saturday! I am so excited! It should be great!

Just thinking...

So after giving a friend a hard time about not updating his blog... I thought I have no room to talk. And then after realizing my sister had updated her blog before me... I knew I was behind. :) Speaking of my sister, she's amazing. I love how I can laugh with her like I can few other people. I am grateful that she gets to go through certain stages of life before me, and fill me in along the way. She is an incredible individual, as well as wife and mother. Anyway, I'm not sure where that came from, but there's a little shout out for my sister Rachel. :) Check out her blog at gwinland.blogspot.com (That sick picture is of Rache and I when I was about 14 and for FHE we updated our 72 hours kits... to say the least they were slightly out of date.) A few random things have been on my mind. A small thing... I don't like being called maam, especially by someone that is my peer. It just seems odd to me. Do I really look that old? I know most of the time they are just trying to be polite, but it just feels awkward. Hmmm. Anyway, this semester has been crazy. But a light finally seems to be appearing at the end of the tunnel. The play opens this week. Fiesta is next week. I finally have all of my graduation stuff squared away. I'm getting stoked about Spain.... so much but I am genuinely happy. This is just a quick update... more to come... :)

Things I love...

One of the things I love is walking past people who can't help but smile. Honestly these people are just BEAMING. Most of the time it appears as though they are running over a recent conversation or situation that just makes them smile. It makes me wonder did they just get an amazing job offer, was a finacial situation magically resolved, did somebody tell them they loved them, did they just ace a test, did the see a good friend... whatever it is makes me wonder. I hope that I have done something at least once to make someone that happy where they couldn't help but smile as they walked. And for those of you who have done that for me Thank You! :)

Observations...

I really ought to write things down right after I see them. Last night when we went to Red Lobster. I dropped my friends off at the door, and as I was driving away this man who I was sure was an Elvis impersonator walked in the door. I quickly called my friends to see if they had seen him... and no luck... I apparently I am seeing ghosts with the creepy similarity to Elvis. Also yesterday as I was walking across campus I notice this very awkward couple holding hands. And the guy seemed to be dragging the girl across campus. She was a full arms length away. Hmm.... something tells me that if you don't want to be side by side or if you can't keep up with each then... avoid the awkwardness. The third thing today was at Walmart the lady behind us in the check out line was sitting in a mobile chair... obviously pregnant... and she just kept yelling at her daughter who was probably three. The girl from my observations hadn't done anything in the past five minutes worthy of such an awful reprimand. Sometimes I wish some people couldn't have kids... is that horrible. Well then she went off on her little girl saying "I just want you to know how spoiled you are... you are getting two movies today. So don't you ever complain. You are SO spoiled." I wanted to slap her. And just say let's see whose actually buying the movies... right that idiot would be you... so you are the one doing the spoiling. Oh and did I mention that she ate two reese peanut butter cups in line... Anyway... I will stop. I am grateful that this first week is over. This is going to be a busy busy busy semester with Fiesta, The Play, work, church, and my last classes.... but I'm excited. :) Soon... there will be a video of my cute niece. :) Also I am considering somehow including the random cell phone conversations that I seem to hear on an almost daily basis.