The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.

'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me.. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.

'This is your thanks..'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room.
A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did.. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base.
I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base... It will be about time for a sandwich.
God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.

As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

I love to see the temple

I love to see the Temple, I hope to be sealed there someday.

Things I love

I saw this on my aunts blog and decided that I would steal it from her.
As I reflect back on many things that have changed recently in life, I am grateful for many things especially....

loving parents that would do anything for me or Mitch
working at Nordstrom
walking through wet mud, letting it squish through my feet
traveling through Europe years ago with my family
a clean house that smells of warm freshly baked bread
spending a evening alone with my husband when he isnt at his 2nd job
fresh manicure and nail fill
carwashes
payday
holding hands walking on the beach
Hawaii
learning something new
pantene pro v conditioner
diet coke
laying in the grass watching the clouds float by
spring
william sonoma chocolate chip cookies
flip flops
bare mineral makeup
mac lip gloss
fresh lemonade
feeling happy and healthy.

What are your favorites?

up stairs family room

last night we decided that we would just go look at some furniture with no intent to buy but we fell in love with this set. We dont have it yet, but it should be ready by moving day!

Do you officially become an adult when you are excited to buy some of these?
well if the answer is yes, I guess we became adults tonight! They even have a wrinkle steam release cycle, its so exciting

Be careful what you wish for because it just might come true!!

I have a feeling that I might be counting more sheep than I care to remember tonight. Isnt it interesting how life can do a complete 360 degree change in a matter of minutes! That is how I am feeling at the moment. You know when you look back at life and you arent thrilled with the way things are going but you just stick with it and then you wonder how you ever would have done it any differently? That is what I am crossing my fingers and hoping for.

A week ago I took of some time to go on a mini vacation with Mitch for our 2nd Anniversary. While I was away from work clearing my head, we spend some time in Las Vegas, finished house hunting and started packing up all of our things. When I walked into work on Monday I was greeted by my boss who informed me that the Murray store had an opening and she encouraged me to go for the position. After being able to think about it for a few minutes it became official and another thing in our lives changed.

This last week I have been sick but I have a feeling that its just stress, right? Stress affects you right? Thats what I am going to blame it on for now :)

By the end of the month we should be new residence to Bountiful Utah. I almost cant even let the reality of it hit me until we sign the final papers. We are so excited to finally have our own home and a place to grow and learn new things as a small little family. Its amazing how many little papers you have to sign and initial in order to prove that you are who you say you are in order to own a home. Its been a fun process that I never thought that I would ever go through.

we also were informed that our Bank had closed for business. You can imagine how frustrating this is while trying to buy a home. While our funds were tied up it really makes you think about how hard it could be someday to get to your money when you really need it.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I cant wait till I can call my new life normal! Until then, I am off to count sheep.... 1............2..........

Under Contract!

Today we officially are under contract! This will be our future back yard! I cant wait to see what my mom will do with the place! haha (she knows she will though!)

This is part of our house in the back. I think that I am the most excited about the hot tub that is coming with the house.

This is already my favorite room. I almost cant wait to break it in!
Now the fun part, Packing.... agh!

I was watching HGTV and saw this before and after. Since we have been house hunting, we have seen a lot of homes that you had to nearly close your eyes and sometimes plug your nose to image the hidden treasure. Isnt fashion and designing incredible? It is so neat that we live in a time where anything is possible, seriously almost anything!

I am going to miss you man!

I watched the Tonight Show for the first time in a long time last night. It has been a long emotionally stressful day but when I turned on his 2nd to last show I found myself laughing out loud by myself for the first time in a long time! That hasnt happen in a very long time. It was refreshing. Good luck Coco!!

Have the courage to say no, Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with Integrity.

-W. Clement Stone

This pretty much sums it up!

whippy cake fashions

I was watching Studio 5 today and they had a gal on that had the cutest ideas! I went to her website and found these cute cute cute flower headbands. A huge trend right now are these big chunky flowers with some kind of detail in the middle. During Thanksgiving we made some really fun flower pins that have been a lot of fun.

Fun new appetizer

The other night I was trying to decide what I was going to take to my parents house for our New Years Eve party. I found this on a blog and decided to try them.
I went to Costco and got a big bag of those little mini mini sausages. I cant remember the name of them to save my l life right now but you know what I am talking about right?
I also picked up a thing of bacon, some brown sugar and some toothpicks. Thats it only 3 ingredients!!
We cut each piece of bacon into 4 pieces. Make the strips just long enough to barely wrap around each little smokie sausages and then secure them with a toothpick.
Finally sprinkle each with a little brown sugar and then bake!
They are so simple and so yummy!

What a great year it has been!

As this year comes to a close I have to stop and reflect about how blessed we are!
Mitch has been working his tail off. He works in the day at Guitar Center in Taylorsville and during the evening at the Huka in Murray doing security. I dont know how he can function on so little sleep but he seems to manage quite well. We will see how long he can keep that up.
He is also a drummer for the band Dulcesky. He loves the band members as if they were his own brothers.

I am still managing 2 departments at Nordstrom in Orem and loving almost every second of it. :) Now that the Christmas holiday season is nearly at a close, I love my job more and more! This year has been quite challenging due to the economic cercumstances but we are still going strong and managing to survive. I am counting down the days until the new store in downtown Salt Lake City is finished! I can not wait!!

In September we were able to travel to Hawaii with my parents. What a beautiful area that is. We hope to be able to travel back soon.

At the end of January we will celebrate our 2 year anniversary. Can you believe it? We survived!!

In 2 months we are planning on moving, not sure where yet but we are absolutely thrilled to be leaving our cozy apartment.
We hope that this year has been full of health and happiness! We cant wait to see what 2010 has in store.
Love us!!

Pioneer woman cooks

Okay Okay so I know we are suppose to be on a break but I am obsessed with a new website. Its called Pioneerwomancooks.com
Many of you probably read her blog but I have really really really enjoyed everything that we have made. She takes pictures of everything that you will need. While making her recipes she takes pictures step by step so that you know you are on track. They had her on QVC this morning and she sold 10,000 books in about 5 minutes. We love her at the Razon house! Merry Christmas. Tonights dinner, Lasagna from her website.

Its time for a break

Thanks for following our blog. We are currently closed for business.
Merry Christmas

designer handbags cheap!!!!

http://www.blowoutmoda.com/index.php
check it out! I found Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton
I wonder if they are real?

My new favorite thing!

philosophy®: we recently pioneered a next generation medical microdermabrasion procedure that rapidly resurfaces the skin as it replenishes the skin with vitamin c. the treatment is known as the microdelivery peel and it is light years ahead of traditional microdermabrasion. we are proud to introduce an in-home version of this revolutionary microdermabrading treatment. the peel is ideal for all skin types. results are immediate and remarkable.

At work I have been searching for a great chemical peel. The one that I had heard the most positive feedback on was the Philosophy peel. I am now obsessed with this product! I used it to "resurface" my hands, neck and face. I hope you will try it sometime! Its awesome!

Fun wreath ideas

Pistachio Cherry Bark

Ingredients

• 1 pound(s) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 8 ounce(s) white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 12 ounce(s) pistachio nuts, shells removed (1 1/2 cups), toasted
• 8 ounce(s) (1 1/2 cups) dried tart cherries

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Directions

1. Place semisweet chocolate in microwave-safe 8-cup measuring cup or large bowl. Place white chocolate in microwave-safe 2-cup measuring cup or medium bowl. Heat semisweet chocolate in microwave, covered with waxed paper, on High 2 to 3 minutes or until almost melted, stirring once. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth. Heat white chocolate in microwave, covered with waxed paper, on High 1 to 2 minutes or until almost melted, stirring once. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.
2. Stir 1 cup pistachios and 1 cup cherries into semisweet chocolate. On large cookie sheet, spread chocolate mixture to about 1/4-inch thickness. Spoon dollops of white chocolate onto semisweet-chocolate mixture. With tip of knife, swirl chocolates together for marbled look. Sprinkle with remaining pistachios and cherries.
3. Refrigerate bark 1 hour or until firm. Break bark into pieces. Store in tightly sealed container in refrigerator up to 1 month. Pack in decorative boxes lined with waxed tissue paper or colored cellophane for gift giving.