Elia's Life

So, I thought I had started a tradition of writing an end of the year blog to summarize my highs and lows of the year. Well, apparently I didn't, because I couldn't find one for last year. Oh well, I've got some time now so here is my 2010 year in review. 2010 STINKS!!!! This has been one of the worst years of my life! I don't think I've ever been so glad for an entire year to be gone. I don't want this entire blog to be a complaint though, so I will try to find some highlights as well. Maybe we'll play a game of unfortunately...fortunately. Unfortunately, I have been sick the majority of this year. Most of you who read this blog, probably already know this, but I have ulcerative colitis. I know, I love having trendy illnesses. Last December things got really, really stressful at work. Our client was extremely demanding and we were constantly threatened with unemployment and tons of other fun things. In what I believe to be a direct result, I got sick. I...

Okay, so I'm still playing catch up. Here are pictures from last year's Halloween. Amanda hosted another murder mystery party. This year's theme was the Roarin' 20's, so we were holed up in the back of a speakeasy. Amanda was determined to set the right mood, so she went all out. It was a ton of fun. I was a "cub reporter" and Hana was a rich flapper. Here's the group of us. It's amazing how much fun a bunch of Mormons can have pretending to drink and smoke. :) Hana and the guys This was such a good time. Thanks to Amanda for pulling it all together. Here's hoping she finds some energy to do it again this year. :)

Last fall I took a photo class from the Ogden Arts Center. It was an advanced digital photography class and consisted of about five sessions. It was a lot of fun and reminded me how much I miss taking pictures on a regular basis. I really, really need to get back in to that. Anyway, here are some portfolio pictures from two of the classes. One day we worked on Portrait photography. This was a ton of fun. I think I could really get in to studio if I had the time and more importantly, the money. So if anyone wants to bankroll a photo studio for me, just give me a call. :) Our homework for the class was for each of us to bring a model. I actually convinced two people that they should come, Hana and a coworker. It was a good thing too since I was the only one who brought anyone. Hana was definitely the class favorite. She was a lot more photogenic than Hayden, although I still have to give him props for actually coming. A second class was night photography. I hadn't ever done anythi...

Well, we had an unexpected summer visit from some girls this year. Most of you probably know that Coleman spent a good deal of this summer in Mexico with work. He was sent there for a three week trip, again a week and a half later for two weeks and then rounded out the summer with another two week trip. Not exactly what he and Roni had planned this summer. :) One positive point though, was his second trip, he was able to take Roni. This meant that Makadie and Anika needed somewhere to stay for a few weeks. They came here to Utah. We had a lot of fun with the girls. It was definitely different to have them here for so long, but a lot of fun. I do have a whole lot more respect and admiration for the mothers of the world. That is one job I am still not ready for. Anyway, the first week they were here, Dad was at Scout Camp, so Annette flew in from Phoenix to help entertain the troops. One of our afternoon's was spent out at RuthAnn's house playing in her new backyard pool. Lucky f...

So this year I think most of you will probably remember that Annette came to Utah for my birthday. Okay, she really came for the Killers concert, but since I had bought those tickets for my birthday, it's like she came just to help me celebrate. I took a day off work to hang out and play with the family and we decided to go to Park City. I don't think I had really been there before and Mom couldn't remember the last time she had. I went to The Mikado at Deer Valley, but that was about it for me. Anyway, we decided to drive up and see what we could find. Mostly it was just a really beautiful day with a lot of color in the trees. We also walked around Downtown Park City. I'm pretty sure this is where they have Sundance every year, and I have to say, that was a pretty cool thought. I even saw EW posters up. Someday I think I may just have to scoot up to Park City for Sundance and see the "sights" This was a really cool sculpture hanging out at a mini-park This i...

Alright guys, here's another quick post for you. For some reason, my quick posts all seem to relate to Dad. I guess he's just a Kodak moment waiting to happen. Popo has decided that he is the lord and master of our house, I know, big surprise there. He also has decided that the majority of his favorite spots are in very odd places. He loves to sit on the top of the desk chair and preside over computer doings. So, no worries that Dad is doing something he shouldn't be, because Popo is on the job. :)

So, the other month (this picture is from May) we had a surprise family reunion. My grandma Miller passed away and my sisters and brother were able to come into town for the funeral. So we really did have a nice get together. Anyway, Sunday afternoon, Dad was supposed to be taking a nap with Anika. Well, Anika came tootling out of the room without Dad, so when we investigated, this is what we found. Oh yeah, he was doing a great job babysitting. :)

Okay, here are some more pictures for all of you who are still checking my blog, which I actually think is a pretty slim amount. I really should update this more often. Anyway, I was supposed to go visit Annette and Alita during my normal President's Day vacation, but this year, as some of you might now, I was deathly ill for two months. Although I promised myself I would be better in time, I wasn't and I had to cancel my trip. I did get to reschedule though, so maybe I should say that I postponed my trip. One of the things on my list of "to dos" when I went to Arizona was to go to the Phoenix Art Museum. They had an exhibit of Ansel Adams photography. I'm sure you can all figure out why I would have wanted to go there. Apparently when Ansel Adams died, he left his entire collection, photographs, negatives, journals, pretty much everything to the University of Arizona. Wow, that was a surprise. So they had lent the Museum some amazing pieces for the exhibit. It wa...

Okay, so I know I have been horrible about blogging lately, or for the past forever. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few pictures from Amanda's wedding. For those of you who didn't know, Amanda got married on May 8th to Kevin in the Manti Temple. This was my fourth wedding and definitely ranks up at the top. She was beautiful, he was happy and I have known few other people who fit together as well as the two of them. I was fortunate enough to be a bridesmaid so Mom and I went down to Manti for the festivities. Her reception was that night back at the Orr House. It was a perfect night for a backyard reception and everything looked amazing. Amanda and I both had special wedding shoes. I still think mine were much more festive, but she did love her sparkly ones. Here are Amanda and Kevin looking very happy. I wanted to push someone into the pool SO BAD, but Amanda made me promise not to. It was very, very hard to stop myself. Here are the bridesmaids. I think I was the o...

So, most of you who look at my blog probably know by now that my best friend Amanda is getting married the first week in May. I am very excited for her. Her fiance is a great guy and they are bound to be ridiculously happy together. But to be truly honest, I do have the typical feelings that are normal to any single girl when her friend gets married. One of these unfortunate side effects is that I keep thinking what it would be like, and what plans I would make if I was getting married. Well, one of my plans is now definite. I have found my wedding cake. Last night was Pack 214's Blue and Gold Banquet and Cake Auction. Well, the third cake to come in last night was made specifically for me. It had to have been, because it was perfect! So for a paltry sum of $65, I am the proud owner of my very own Polar Bear Cake!!! The polar bears and penguins are made out of marzipan. Is this not the cutest cake you have ever seen in your life?!?!?!?

So, last year I dressed up for Halloween at my office. Actually, the last two years I dressed up. This year, they scheduled a pot luck but most of the people I talked to said that they weren't going to dress up so I figured- what the heck, I'm not going to either. Well, wouldn't you know it, most of the office was in costumes. I was bummed. I did contribute to the pot luck though with some very fabulous deviled eggs. Thanks to Coleman and Roni's friend's Halloween party, because spiders make deviled eggs very cute. I did get the chance to dress up for MarketStar's big Halloween party. They don't do a family party around Christmas but for Halloween instead. It's usually not a lot of fun if you don't have a family, but they do a really nice raffle drawing and if you're not present you can't win anything. So a few friends and me decided to go. So here is my absolutely FABULOUS costume!!! I was extremely proud. You should all be able to rec...

Okay, I'm finally posting. No sarcastic comments will be accepted from anyone. That being said, here's my newest post. This year for my birthday, Coleman and Roni gave me a ticket to "WICKED" The touring company was coming through Denver again, and they told me that if I got myself to Colorado, they'd take me to the play. Well, it was a chance to see Wicked which I have wanted to see since I got home from my mission, so of course I told them I would make it to Denver. Here are some pictures from my big night out at the theater. No one told me that I was supposed to wear black and green. So I was stuck as the odd man out wearing brown. Thanks guys. :) Here's the three of us waiting for the play to start. That was the most exciting wait for a play to start I've experienced in a while. This is what the stage looks like. I'm still not positive why they had a dragon, it didn't really do much, but other than that, it was AWESOME!!! And here I am ou...