just because

Mark Twain is 176 today! Couldn't let it pass by without an honorable mention

and be a true English Major :)

(Hey thanks, Google, for the heads up.)

Quotes:

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.

'Classic.' A book which people praise and don't read.

Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.

When in doubt tell the truth.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html#ixzz1fERFg3WX

 

26 on nov. 26

Another birthday celebrated in the Hortin home and this time it belongs to my big sister.

Happy Birthday, Mags!

To help celebrate this blessed event, Dad ltreated us girls with manicures! I've never had a manicure before. I had a pedicure once down in St. George with friends while we were on Spring Break, but that had been my only experience until a few days ago. Needless to say, I don't know much about the whole situation. Still, I loved it!

Maggie was originally planning on going with some of her EFY friends, but we added to the party. When we walked into US Nails (South Towne Center/ It is fabulous. You should go. End of plug.), the owner appeared to be in seventh heaven. I now understand what people are talking about when they say that the Asians speak to each other in their native tongue and you automatically suppose they are talking about how you. Totally understand!

(I apologize for the dark photographs. My camera and I are not getting along at the moment.)

So pampered on her birthday! Why be anything else?

That's me, soaking my fingers. 

I don't know who had the better time...

Then, on Monday, we celebrated again by going out to dinner at Archibald's in Gardner Village. We rediscovered Gardner Village this summer at a lunch date with Grandma and Patti. We've become addicted since. The food at Archibald's is delicious and the shops around the village are so much fun!

(Again, I don't understand why the flash wouldn't work. My camera turned all my pictures orange! We are not on speaking terms at the moment.... or whatever.)

Lemon Chicken with Rice Pilaf- eat your heart out JSMB

I love my sister! I love how she wants to know about my life even though she moved away. I love the way she squeals when she thinks something is really funny. I think she looks like Snow White. I love her sense of style. I love when we talk about boys. I love to watch her teach. I love hearing her testimony. I love how she pushes me to be better.

 I love you, Margaret Anne!

a few snapshots

Maggie gave me this idea a little while ago, and since I have been using my iphone camera so much lately to document things, it seemed a perfect idea. I give you:

Life According to My Iphone

I helped Melanie ask her friend Cameron to the Halloween Dance. That's pretty original, if you ask me. We got the scariest faced blue pumpkin in the store. The plan was to go and ask him that same night but his porch is the most difficult to doorbell ditch. The house is up on a hill with a large flight of stairs leading up. There is no place to hide! Melanie came home during lunch the next day and we walked up and laid it out on the porch. Mel did the work. I was just there for moral support.

*

A few weeks ago, the Hortin fam went on an awesome road trip. (I promise pictures are coming. I have been having trouble with my camera not wanting to work....But I'm working on it!) We went down to Zion's National Park. It was beeeeautiful! I found this little Park Ranger uniform in the Gift Shop and had to take a picture for the only Park Ranger I know... How cute is that?! Seriously. It even came with the huge hat.

*

The same day I went to talk to Laurel at the Joe about my situation, the building was hosting a Christmas Show. It is like the Wedding Show we did last January, but everything is Christmas. The businesses who come every year for their Christmas parties are invited to come and sample some new dishes and get a sense of what their party could be. I hung around and helped a bit, but had to take a few pictures of some of my favorite centerpieces. The floral shop is amazing! I just wish they weren't so expensive!

This one was my favorite! I love the asymmetry!

I had a sample of the Chocolate Mint on the far left.

AMAZING!!!

The show was in the middle of October so if you looked out the windows of the Empire Room, you didn't really feel the Christmas Spirit. Ergo: the curtains were closed, Christmas music was blaring through the sound system, and Dianne even found some Christmas Air Freshener to make the room smell like a Christmas tree! I laughed. And had to take a picture.

*

Melanie's answer:

Melanie received a text from Cameron to look outside and found a giant trifold painted black and plastered with stars. We sat there for awhile trying to make out the word YES as a constellation when Mom thought maybe, just maybe, we should take off the stars and see if the answer was on the back. I have a smart Mother.

*

Taken from the Gold Room on the Mezzanine floor. I love the colors of autumn, especially the bright oranges and reds! And the fact that the temple is there in the background makes it all the better. I could be a professional.......iPhone picture taker.

Do those exist?

*

You already know this little bit of news, but I took a picture of the front of my binder because it is such a sweet story to me.

The morning that I learned I was to be next summer's Director (Whoa, gosh! It still gives me chills.), Zim brought my binder in her car. It was snowing pretty hard when we got there and some snow had fallen into a basket Zim brought with her. The basket held pinecones. I think she used it as a centerpiece or something. The snow melted and somehow got into the front pocket of my binder. When Zim handed it to me, she told me over and over again how sorry she was that it was smeared, that she would print me another and mail it to me, and that she felt simply sick about it. In all honesty, I don't want anyone to touch it. That morning will always hold a special place in my heart and I will keep this sodden sheet of paper to remember it by.

*

Sometimes, at work, we work buffets. And sometimes, those buffets are long and boring. So, we find something to entertain ourselves. This experienced involved my good friend, Bryan, and thirty-five cherry tomatoes.

After, he spit them all out in the garbage can with just enough noise that Elizabeth and I turned around and both almost gagged.

*

Another adventure at the Joe: a reception in the Wasatch Room. The bride and groom's first date involved watching Tangled. So they attempted to recreate the "Floating Lights" scene in their reception. It was perfect! I might want to do something just like that whenever I have a reception, but the colors may be tweaked a bit....

(Oh, that's my friend, Michelle.)

*

Today, I went with the younger sisters to H&M. Don't worry- it is only my third time since it opened. We were waiting to get on the elevator over in the men's clothing, and Melanie found this pacifier stuck in a mannequin's hand. I don't know who put it there or why, but it was just too perfect to pass by without taking a picture.

You can't really see it because the plastic is see-through, but it is that pink thing in his hand.

Then, on the drive home, we found this little guy working out like mad on the side of the street.

He has a face and tied up sneakers.

And he was going at it!

Another picture too great to pass up.

My life, ladies and gentlemen. Don't you wish you were me? :)

JK!

sweet sixteen

(I need to ask a favor. Pretend that the date is actually November 20, 2011 instead of today...Can you do that for me? Thanks a bunch!)

TODAY IS MY BABY SISTER'S BIRTHDAY!

We have hit another milestone in her young life, and every single day I am grateful to be a part of it.

What I love about this girl:

She is such a goon!

The fact that every time I call her a goon, the conversation goes as follows:

me: Carrie, you're a goon.

Carrie: I'm not a goon. You're a goon, Goon!

*This has been going on for a good while. It was a happy day in my life when she said it while we were in the hospital. The memory still brings tears to my eyes.

 "Rootbeer" eyes

Her irritation with people's feet

The mornings when the first thing I see is her sweet face as she wakes me up for breakfast.

She has the ability to reach out to people and let them know they are special.

The times when she decides to straighten or scrunch her hair and she needs my help.

Whenever I am feeling low, she puts up a hand and hollers, "GIVE ME FIVE!" (Which means that you now must list five things you love about yourself, and often they can't be the same things that you said last time)

Her hugs

Her testimony

The determination of this girl continues to move mountains.

I wish I was more like her :)

happy 27!

This post is in honor of my wonderful parents who are celebrating 27 years of marriage today. I hope that I have the privilege in my future life to be able to say that.

My mom and dad are my heroes! They are always there for each other, no matter what happens in our crazy life. They have seen much of life, a good portion of it that neither of them planned on, but they keep each other laughing.

How grateful I am for the decision my parents made to be sealed in the temple and the gift it is to be sealed to them for all eternity. Happy, happy, happy day in the Hortin home today!

Mom and Daddio:

I love you! I love how you show your daughters how much you love each other. It gives me hope for my future life. Thank you for being exactly who you are and teaching me to be who I am. Everything I am comes from you. I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Love, me

remember how...

I love TV?

I know that you have probably gotten sick of me talking about Castle and Chuck, my two favorite shows, but I have another one to add to the ever growing list.

Have you ever heard of Pan Am?

If the answer is no, then let me help get you up to speed.

Sundays at 9 pm on abc! Watch it! 

As you may expect, the show is based on the Pan American Airlines during the 60s. My favorite story lines are that of Dean and Collette (oh my gosh!) and Laura and Ted. Each episode, I can't decide which pilot I love more. 

Here's just a nibble. I hope you enjoy!

(This is Dean and Collette, btw)

This is up there with Castle and Chuck for sure!

happy day!

Another announcement from the life of Jenny Hortin!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

is now open

at FASHION PLACE MALL!!!!!!!


Remember the excitement when I went shopping there in Las Vegas???

Now up that to the thousandth degree and you might get close to my excitement level that there is finally one in UTAH! And fifteen minutes from my house!

Somebody better hide my wallet from me. I could be in trouble.

Holy Smokes! I am so excited!!!

Take a gander:

http://www.hm.com/us/subdepartment/LADIES?Nr=90001

and if you have a free afternoon, call me up and we'll go!

growing up

I have another announcement! As you can see, these past few weeks have been rather exciting in the life of Jenny Hortin.

My announcement?

I bought a car!

A 2010 Kia Optima 

That's right. This has been a long time coming and it finally worked out so that I could take the plunge and have my own wheels. I have been researching cars for months and tried to get a loan through the bank to get things underway. They said I didn't have enough credit history but that my score was fine. So, I started looking at dealerships that advertised that they would sell to those with little to no credit. That's how I ended up at Larry H. Miller Used Car Supermarket.

Dad and I headed out after putting in a few hours at the office. I was so excited but had no idea that I would be driving the car home that night. 

Jenny Hortin has a car! It only took six years, but it finally happened. I'm finally growing up!

i know what you're doing next summer!

*This picture was taken during move-out of 2009. It was raining/snowing in the middle of August! Sorry the flash is in the way but the window says, " I <3 Brighton" (and oh how I do)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an announcement to make. Harmony, aka Jenny Hortin, is headed back up to Brighton LDS Girls' Camp next summer and working as none other than DIRECTOR! 

Yes, you read correctly. Director 2012! Me! Working as Director! I am so excited!

Story time: The last week of camp is Christmas week and Tuesday night the staff has a big Christmas Party where they eat lots of yummy food and exchange presents. To make this possible, past staff members are invited to come and patrol the cabins as the girls go to sleep. Last summer, Gloria called me and asked me to come help. I jumped at the chance!

I went up with my friends Pixel and Jibber. We had a wonderful time hiking and talking and patrolling, but I was struggling with a feeling that I couldn't name and really can't explain. I tried talking it out with Pixel but we kept running into friends and never really finished the conversation. 

At some point during the night, I met up with my wonderful friend, Granola, as she was helping a staff member that had injured her foot. We started to talking and, one way or another, she told me they were changing the process of hiring a director and firmly stated, a number of times, that she thought I should apply. This all happened months ago but it really got me thinking.

Camp ended and I went about living life and trying to figure things out. In the middle of September, my sister Carrie forgot something at home that she was supposed to take to school. I attempted to text her and ask if she needed it but I hit the wrong contact on my phone without realizing it. A few minutes later, Carebear (a member of the Brighton Presidency and a good friend of mine) texted me back saying that I had mistakenly texted her but that she was happy to hear from me. I apologized and felt terribly sheepish when she returned my text with the question: Is my Brighton door shut? 

That really got the ball rolling. I mentioned that I had been thinking about applying. Throughout the course of the next month or so, I received emails and text messages from Carebear as reminders that the deadline was coming up. I had an issue with getting a letter from my Bishop because as I was going in to talk to him and get my application in the mail, I learned he had left for Hawaii for two weeks! (Lucky man...) I called Carebear on the phone to ask how I should go about handing in an application, if it was okay to turn it in without my Bishop letter, and if he could mail it in later. Talking to her on the phone, I could sense her excitement and that made my excitement increase, although I don't know how that was possible. Application turned in, I received a phone call from Duke, another counselor in the presidency, to set up an interview for October 29th. I made a note on the calendar for JSMB and kept my fingers crossed. 

I don't think my interview could have gone better. I tried not to count my chickens, so to speak, but I knew that I had done everything possible. I had done everything that I knew how to do. Standing up to leave, I realized that I didn't want to. Still, I didn't want to overstay my welcome, but looking back, I felt something. And maybe, even a part of me knew what was going to happen.

The next Monday, Zim, the president, called me and asked if I would be able to come in that Saturday for a second interview. A second interview? Okay...... She said that it would be for a few hours so keep my morning open and I could come in jeans. She had me thinking, "What are they going to make me do???"

Last Saturday, I woke up early, got ready, and headed out. It was funny to me because I didn't feel nervous. At all. I drove slowly through the snow and got there a few minutes late, but eventually found where I needed to be. Walking to the room, I noticed Ao sitting outside the room. I figured that I was first and she was waiting for me to be done. Carebear came out and asked both of us to come in. I said hi to the presidency and they all came over to hug me. Carebear pointed to one of the two hot seats and said,"Harmony, you sit here." Okay.

Zim started the interview by asking Meadow to pray. Meadow prayed like this was a normal interview. Then, Zim said that they wanted to know how we would problem solve with another person. In front of each of us were baskets with small envelopes--- (Still have them for my scrapbook)

We were to grab one, read the question, and figure it out together. In my head, I'm thinking, "This is interesting. I don't think they've ever done this before." Then I started to read:

All I remember thinking then was "Where's the question?" I couldn't even believe it! It was such an out of body experience. I came back to myself when I heard Ao make a squeaking noise. We were totally played! Meadow jumped up and started taking pictures. Zim was so excited! She looked like a three year old on Christmas morning. Carebear was smiling so wide! Oh the shock! It still doesn't quite seem real.

I'm official. I have my binder and everything. The Presidency took us out to breakfast at Mimi's (swanky, holy smokes, delicious!) and we started talking about changes that are going to be made and things that we are going to be doing. There is so much! But I am ready. 

I realize the trust that Heavenly Father has placed in me. I know that He expects great things, and together, we can do them. I am so excited to be working with Ao! We met a few times during the summers that she worked but I have so much to learn from this wonderful girl!!! I wish it were January/ February already so that we could get started and run with this whole thing. My puzzle came together a little bit more on Saturday and I couldn't be more grateful!

Program Director Harmony...

Just you wait, friends. 

Director Harmony is here!

(Oh gosh, that sounds crazy)

life student

Today I learned:

-silence drives me crazy.

-wearing high heels, even when you sit behind a desk all day, may not be the best idea.

-I don't like the grapefruit lotion I used from the office bathroom.

-Bob Harper kicks my trash while making me smile.

-using earphones for longer than an hour is painful.

-I really like the sound and feel of my keyboard. Nerd Alert!

- sitting in a cubicle makes you invisible to the rest of the world.

- it is easier to have a good attitude when I exercise in the morning (shocker! ;) )

Yup, that is where I work now and learned most of these mind-blowing statements...

you are mine

I've posted a video of this song before, but as I was at work (read previous post) it played twice in one day on my iPod. Coincidence? I think not! So, in a sense of gratitude for a needed reminder, I am posting the lyrics again. It is just that good!

Ninety and Nine

Michael McLean

I am one of the ninety and nine
I’m not perfect but basically I’m doing fine
I have not lost my way, I have not gone astray
I’m just one of the ninety and nine
I am here in the heart of the fold
I’m not mindless but I try to do as I’m told
I’m not tempted to run and become the lost one
I am here in the heart of the fold

So why is my shepherd coming this way toward me
He’s holding his arms out and he’s calling my name
Yes he’s calling my name! But how, how can this be?

I’m just one of the ninety and nine
I have stumbled and fallen, but I’ve kept in line
I’m not one he must seek; I’m not all that unique
I’m just one of the ninety and nine

So why is my shepherd treating me like a lost lamb?
He’s searching to find me
And he’s holding me now, yes, he’s holding me now
And teaching me who I am

So why am I feeling like I’m the only one here
It’s like I’m his favorite
And he takes me aside, and he sweetly confides
These remarkable words in my ear

You are one of the ninety and nine
Have you any idea how brightly you shine?
You are safe in this fold, and it’s time you are told
That I know where you’ve been so I know where you’ll be
Because all of your life you’ve been following me
You are more than just one of the sands of the sea
Or just one of the ninety and nine
You are mine, you are mine, you are mine
You are mine

I am one of the ninety and nine.

changing winds

If you read my blog, you know that I work at Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I have shared many a wonderous story about my experience there. Yet, I reached a turning point a few weeks ago and lots of things are changing in my neck of the woods.

I still work there on weekends. At least, that is where it stands at the moment. Talking to a friend last night, I was reminded that things happen for a reason and maybe I needed that sudden experience that shook everything to evaluate where I am and where I want to be. More change may be coming my direction, but I have taken the first step.

What is that first step? I work for my dad now! I work behind a desk in an office and am on the road to having a "Big Girl Job!" My name is even on a cubicle. I'm still working out some kinks and fine tuning everything, which means that I have no idea what I'm doing, just that I am doing it.

I love the saying "Go Big or Go Home," and trust me, that's what I did. I went from a loud job that is constantly keeping me on my feet to sitting behind a desk where you can hear crickets chirping. (Almost.) I've hit the two extremes. A middle ground of the two would be delightful, but I guess that will come with time. I miss all the customer service and being surrounded by people. Here, they do better without the noise so I keep my iPod going all day long. I'm learning that I don't know half the stuff that I loaded on it. Crazy...

Anyways, I'll keep my head down and keep running. One of these days, everything will work itself out.

just rolling...

I love Lenka.

 Always have. 

Always will. 

And this is why: