Good ole Family Christmas

First of all, as promised, my picture with Santa from 1984. What kind of fake beard is that!? But lest you doubt, there is NOTHING fake about Donna's hair. SWEET!

Though our trip home for Christmas was relatively short this year compared to years past (darn jobs), it was none the less spectacular and memorable. We played more Nertz than I think any family has ever played, saw movies, ATE, and saw lots of friends and family. It was actually nice to escape the snow and cold for a few days. I just love being with my family. It doesn't matter what we're doing, we always have a blast.

Dane finally outgrew me (and Layne) this year. He is now a "not-so-mini" mini me of John. It was fun getting to watch him compete in a volleyball tourney on Saturday (even though it was in Dysart). Go number 4!

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without spending time with mom and dad "Ray-Ray and Jacks" Nelson. Look how cute and photogenic they are! Check out Ray's Christmas version of Pimp My Cane. We had a great time at Layne's sister Cherie's house with her husband Tim and our nephew Daniel on Christmas day.


Not a common Christmas tradition, but certainly one of our fav's is the Flaherty family 3 on 3 basketball game. This year mom had keys to the church which we put to good use for what will now be known as "Hoop it up '07". We played 3 exhausting half court games, and had a blast. Dane is finally old enough and good enouch to make the games really interesting. It was Layne, Tim and Kim vs. Kelly, John and Dane. Who do you think won 2 out of 3? We all came away bruised, battered and broken after many collisions, collapses, jammed fingers, sprained ankles and a few Athsma attacks, and all but Dane suffered from crippling muscle pain the next day, but a better time was never had (though we should have taken a before picture instead of after --EWE!).


Of course it wouldn't be a good trip home without crossing paths with some of our best friends (Christi, Dave, Ashley, Jarrod and Layne's 2nd polygamist wife Nedra -- such a cute couple) and one really cute Beagle. We had a great time catching up with our peeps and planning future events (ie the end of all fun Murray '08).

Thanks to moms and dads and friends and siblings who bent over backwards to accommodate us and make this a wonderful and unforgettable Christmas!

More Christmas pictures to follow.

A Visit to Santa

These pictures really made me smile when I got them as part of an email. I'll bet it's because my mom has a similar picture of me as a child. Only, I didn't even make it onto Santa's lap. All you see in the picture is Santa reaching out to pick me up, me leaning back as far as I can with a look of utter mistrust on my face, and my mom's hands pushing me forward. I'll have to see if I can scan it while I'm home for the holidays to post. Meanwhile, enjoy a visit to Santa!

This one is definitely my favorite. And is that David O. McKay in that Santa suit?

This Santa is totally creepy. Reminds me of A Christmas Story. Whats with the makeup dude?

Night Skiing

Date night this Friday night was unique and very fun for Layne and I. Not only was it our first time hitting the slopes this season (and our first as Utah residents) but it was our first time skiing Brighton and my first time skiing at night. Every evening but Monday and Tuesday at Brighton ski resort from 4:00 to 9pm is night skiing. With an x96FM card, it's 2 for one coming out to a grand total of $14 per person, making it the perfect date! It's so nice to live a stone's throw from the mountains and be able to go on a Friday evening after work and still be home before 10pm. We had a blast, but I must say, it was COLD!! Shortly after the sun went down, someone told us it was 6 degrees and dropping rapidly. I don't know how low it got by the time we left, but every single one of my eyelashes had turned into a sharp little icicles and my eyebrows were covered in frost and frozen solid. I've never participated in an outdoor activity in that temperature before, so I was proud of myself not only for hanging in there and only requiring one stop in the lodge for a warm up, but also for skiing hard and having a great time! Thanks Layne for planning such a fun date! I'm sure we'll be doing it many more times this season, but hopefully on some warmer nights.

"You've reached 911 emergency, please hold..."

I feel very blessed today after having witnessed and nearly been a part of a horrific car accident this morning on my way to work. I was on the I-215 and about 300 E. when a guy in a little red car sped up behind me going at least 85 mph and started riding my bumper. When I wouldn't speed up, he punched the gas and swerved around me, but lost control of his car at that speed on the icy road and went into a sliding spin. He spun very close to my car before sliding off the road and smashing into the snowy bank where his car flipped at least 5 times before coming to a stop. I pulled over and called 911 and was put on hold for an eternity. Fortunately there were cops nearby and it didn't take them long to arrive. Witnessing car accidents like that leaves me with a really sick feeling. I hate having to call 911, and I hate that I've had to do it more than once in the past 2 years due to reckless driving in bad weather. So PLEASE be careful driving in winter conditions this season and be grateful for every safe day you have!

"Ding Sung" Chicken Feet

My friend and co-worker Qiurong Ruan treated our little production team to Dim Sum (which she told us is really pronounced "Ding Sung") at her favorite Chinese restaurant "The Golden Dragon" today. Qiurong has searched high and low since moving to the U.S. for the most authentic Chinese food and has happily settled on this place because of their Dim Sum. I had never had it before, but had always wanted to try it, so I was really excited. When we asked her what was good (since the menu was pretty much all in Chinese) the first thing she said was the chicken feet. She said that they are a delicacy in China and very hard to prepare. Rebecca and I were both a little hesitant, but because she was so insistent, we both promised to try them. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what on earth there could possibly be to eat on a chicken foot until the dish arrived and Rebecca and I watched in horror as Qiurong tore into them, holding them with her chop sticks (not an easy task by the way) and ripping the slimy skin off the bone with her teeth. Skin! Thats IT! All that difficult preparation for a few square inches of slimy chicken skin!! Rebecca couldn't even get past picking it up with her chopsticks before she got sick and gave up. I managed to eat about half, but I couldn't get passed the feel of bony chicken toes in my mouth. BLEK! NO THANK YOU! Needless to say we stopped her from ordering snake or snake skin or mice or anything else of the sort, but I did give it a fair shake, and the rest of the food was fabulous! I've never had a better pot sticker, and several of the other things I tried were fantastic as well. All in all, Dim Sum was a good experience, and I managed to eat the whole meal without a fork under Qiurong's chop stick tutelage (she said I used them like a real Chinese person). In summary, I recommend Dim Sum if you've never tried it, but take my advice and steer clear of chicken feet!

Bringing Sexy Back Part II

This picture should have gone with my earlier post titled: "The Rubber Maid". Just another example of my hot "at work" fashions. I want to use this picture to perhaps help explain to my husband why my hair looks the way it does after work.
That phone call meant another 3 hours of work for me.

Hit 'n Run

Yesterday on my way home from work, I pulled up to a stop light behind a guy in a big GMC Yukon. While waiting for the green, I was rummaging through my bag when suddenly something slammed into the front of my car. I looked up to see that Mr. Big Wheel had decided he really wanted to turn right instead of left and thought he could quickly back up and change lanes before the light turned green. Of course, it's hard to back up when there is a car behind you, which he quickly discovered. His trailer hitch had punched a hole in my (thankfully cheap plastic) grill. He pulled forward to pull it out while I was still trying to figure out what the heck had happened. He got out and came to my car to make sure that I was ok and express apologies. I'm CERTAIN he was Mo', and looked actually a lot like my dad, just maybe a tad older. As I got out and walked to the front of the car to assess the damage, he asked me once more if I was ok and gave me a little side hug, and after I said yes, he walked back toward his car (I assumed to get a pen or a business card or insurance info) only to jump in and take off through the green light before I could even see his plate number. He left me standing in the street shakily staring at the front of my car. Whats with that!? Someone fell asleep in gospel doctrine during the Luke 10 Good Samaritan lesson. I already thought Utah drivers were bad, but this takes the cake, and also was the icing on what has been a VERY lousy week for me. He may not be a jack Mormon, but I assure you, he's a "jack" something! Oh, and aside from a little neck stiffness I'm fine, but my pride is still in the ICU.

December 1st Surprise!

December 1st here in Murray brought a great surprise for a few Arizona raised folks. We awoke Saturday morning to find a veritable winter wonderland in the making out our windows. Needless to say we were like a bunch of kids on Christmas morning (especially Layne, at the prospect of next weekend's snowboarding). He actually woke me up to look out the window. After breakfast, we got ourselves all "Randy'd up" (hopefully you've all seen The Christmas Story) and went outside to play in our fresh foot of powder! We had snowball fights, built a snow man, made snow angels, and everything else kids would do. It was honestly the most fun I've had in a long time! We were outside playing for hours while neighbors moaning and shoveling their driveways rolled their eyes. After our romp we came inside and blasted the Christmas music while decking our halls. It couldn't have been a better way to kick off the Christmas season!

Meet Cletus the Southern snowman, complete with pipe and Farm Bureau Insurance Hat.

My favorite picture, Layne's snow angel. It was great that he got some use out of the Ozark Trails moon boots we bought him years ago for his Napoleon Dynamite Halloween costume!

Kim & I raced down the "gauntlet" and dove across the finish line.

These poor ducks kept getting stuck in the ice. Don't ducks fly to warmer climates for the winter?

I just LOVE winterscapes with trees covered in white and frozen ponds. It was truly picturesque!

Layne was shaking the trees so that they dumped their entire contents of snow on us as we walked down the sidewalk. Kim and I learned quickly not to trust him behind us.

Kim and I by a pretty little waterfall. What a perfect day!

The street was nice and slick so we had fun sliding around. I love Kim's attempt at a belly slide. I think all she succeeded in doing was filling her shirt and pants with snow. But it's fun to watch!

Kelly's Utah Television Debut

Today, unbeknownst to me, the school of engineering was to host a camera crew in the lab where I work for the shooting of a TV commercial for the Utah Banker's Association's 100th anniversary. Because they donate so much money to education, specifically the U's engineering dept., they wanted to get some action shots of someone working in the lab for their commercial. Little did I know that I had already been chosen by the staff to be the star of said commercial (I think they wanted a girl). So at 1pm after the crew had already set up the staging area and the cameras and crew were in place, I was summoned from my lunch and told I was needed in the lab. They had already mapped out which processes they wanted me to demonstrate, so after getting dressed, I was shown to my place and had a camera stuck in my face (literally). At that point it was fruitless to protest. Within 1 minute they had begun shooting me using the aligner (a big expensive machine) in the yellow room (you can't see it in the picture above but it's directly to the right of me). After it was all over and I had already signed the media release forms, I looked in the monitor and realized how ridiculous I looked in my hairnet and safety glasses with my eyeballs glued to a microscope. Certainly not my finest look for my Utah TV debut! Today was the their last day of shooting, so not long from now it will be all over the local channels. Fortunately I don't know that many people here. Strangely enough, a year ago this week was my debut on WITN News in North Carolina when I got pulled over by a state trooper and interviewed by a news crew as part of a sting operation to enforce a new driving law in the state. Several Novembers before that was my debut in AZ singing madrigal Christmas songs in a quartet in full renaissance apparel. Needless to say, my television history is less than stellar. I wonder what next November will bring!

Be Grateful

It was a banner year for me this Thanksgiving. I roasted my FIRST turkey all by myself! Not only that, but I cooked an entire Thanksgiving smörgåsbord all by myself as well. I was going to take a picture of the turkey right out of the oven, but that only proves that I can put a turkey in the oven. A picture of it's carcass however, proves that it tasted good enough to eat! My father-in-law (Ray the gourmet) has always cooked for us on Thanksgiving, but I thought it was about time I gave the guy a break and do it all myself. It was a LOT of work and took a lot of planning, but it was very satisfying to be able to say I did it!

Everything I read about how to roast turkeys suggested that you cover the breast with tin foil after it's 2/3 done to keep the breast meat juicy and tender. So I cut out tin foil in the shape of a bikini and did this with my turkey. Unfortunately I had to cut into it to see if it was done before taking a picture, but it looked a little like this, minus the pose. It was one SEXY turkey!

The satisfied customers. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, fruit salad, rolls, appetizers, pumpkin pie and ice cream!

Relaxing with Brody after all that cooking (and eating)! This pretty much sums up the rest of the break. A lot of relaxing!

I love the Christmas lights at temple square! We strolled around on Saturday night (as long as we could before freezing to death) and took in the spectacle. It was especially cool after having done a session in the SLC temple that afternoon. That was the first time for all of us to set foot in that temple and it was really special. I was so glad Layne's parents could go with us. It was the perfect thing to do this weekend to remind me of how much I have to be thankful for, especially mi amigo mejor y esposo maravilloso! I can't imagine a life without Layne.

Zip It!

Every Tuesday morning at 8am, there is a big production meeting for my team, the researchers, and all the top dogs who call the shots on the DARPA project. The most exciting thing that ever happens at these meetings is perhaps some shouting and arguing in a variety foreign tongues, and the occasional fists on the table. Today however, there was a surprise guest at our production meeting. One of the "top dogs", a physiology guy (who shall remain nameless), always bikes to work and usually arrives sweaty and has to hurry and change out of his bike wear before the meetings. This morning he must have been in a particular rush to change because he failed to secure a certain "opening" in the trouser region. When he stood (next to me I might add) to give a power point presentation on the latest soak test results, I was horrified to notice that a bit of his fruit had strayed from the loom. Of course I couldn't say anything, and none of the few others that were sitting at the unfortunate angle to notice dared either. It was, to say the least, an uncomfortable situation. Those who did not notice will most certainly have mistaken my nervous shifting and fidgeting for the need of some Preparation H. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel it is outside the realm of my responsibility (or is just inappropriate) to inform a male when his zipper is down. Perhaps I just don't know a tactful way to do it. Any opinions? Please advise.

Rock My World

Layne, Kim and I went to Furniture Warehouse on Saturday to buy an ottoman, and stumbled across this gigantor glider chair. This is not a gimmick. This real (HUGE) rocking chair made by Ashley furniture can be yours for a mere $2,000. It's hard to tell just how big it is, but I had to step on a stool to even mount this sucker, and I'm not a small girl! It was EXTREMELY comfortable, and really did glide as well! Anyone who knows me knows how much I like things that make me look small (does it come in black?), so naturally I fell in lust with this chair instantly. How cool would it be to have this thing in a kid's room for bedtime stories?! I could fit at least 3 kids in that thing with me!! I have to tip my hat to Ashley Furniture for thinking outside the box on this one!