Western Sugar Factory Tour

Josh's mom took us on a tour of the sugar factory this evening where she has worked for many years.  We started off by gearing up with hairnets, earplugs, safety glasses and hardhats.

This is where the sugar ends up and the last place we visited on our tour.  We looked out the window at the top of the tower on the left.  Cool view of the "city" of Lovell from up there!  When all four towers are full, they contain enough sugar to make 500,000,000 Snickers bars.  They fill them up over 3 times a sugar season!

Our tour guide entering the plant which was built in 1916.  They process sugar beets about half the year.  The sugar beets are being harvested right now so you have to watch out for slow beet trucks on the road.  There are huge piles of sugar beets waiting to be processed from over 1800 acres of farmland.

I'd never been in a factory like this before and it was very eye opening.

only in AZ

would you have an outdoor Ward Activity picnic at night in November. It was a mere 65 and some people (including me) were freezing. There was water balloon vollyball and a pinata and crafts for the kids. Everyone brought food to share. It was great. I kind of wish it would've lasted longer since it was my only venture outside all day but I needed to get home and pack the car for the boutique tomorrow. I'm exhausted just thinking about having to get up early tomorrow and all the work it's going to be to carry everything inside and set up but I do hope it goes well. I've made a lot of new stuff this week that's really cute. Calling it quits early tonight and heading to bed.

Listening to Conference

Since we were in Wyoming over General Conference weekend we didn't see all the sessions and during those we did see there was a lot of commotion going on. So, in an effort to make up for it we've been watching a talk or two a day and I've been loving it. It's so great to hear exactly what you need to hear each day. We're so lucky to have them available 24/7 over the internet. Yesterday I listened to the CES broadcast from over the weekend while I worked on a craft project. Such a better alternative than listening to the radio. What a timely message for us. One thing that really struck home was about being addicted to facebook. I completely am. It's pretty much my only contact with other people. Seriously, without it I would have no idea what was going on with anyone I know. It's the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I shut off at night. Guess I shouldn't be so dependent on it. Something to work on.

Perfect 10

I'm happy to report that I've gotten a perfect 10 score the last couple of days and am on track to get another 10 today. It so nice to get back into a schedule. I'm not happy that I haven't earned a 70 pt. week yet. Going on vacation and being sick really threw me off but I'm doing much better now.

Toy Story 3

As an avid hoarder I take the message of TS3 to heart. Not having a little sister to give my toys to they were all stored in the rafters as I outgrew them. When my parents were transferred to OK they went along, when they moved back to our home in CA they journeyed back. When I moved to AZ to get married they came with me. I have an entire room of opened boxes that I don't know what to do with. Obviously all these toys aren't doing me any good. Of course I was thinking that by this time I'd have someone to give them to but as that's not the case I'm wondering what to do now. These are pristine vintage toys in perfect condition but even at that they probably don't have much monetary value. Since I just have nephews obviously they didn't need them. Good thing Josh has a plethora of nieces. Maybe some of them would be interested in some of these toys. I dunno. It's overwhelming but I have way too much stuff as it is even without countless boxes of toys. What to do... what to do...

Decisions, decisions

I've come to the conclusion that the mind is a powerful thing. Once I decided a couple weeks ago to do the HHH challenge I've been mostly pretty good about not giving in to sweets. Lastnight I was over at a friend's for dinner and there were desserts a plenty. Pies, ice cream, brownies, etc... but I had no problem restraining from having anything. I think we have more control over ourselves than we give ourselves credit for. We think we have to give into our cravings all the time when the truth is we don't even have to have the craving in the first place. Once we make the decision to abide by certain rules it doesn't become a daily struggle anymore. I even bought some Halloween candy to use for treats for church and haven't even been tempted at all to dig into them. Maybe my resolve won't always be so strong but I'm glad it has been today and I'm finally back on track earning all 10 pts a day. If I do have any treats this week it'll be on Fri. at the ward party.

Bookman's

I ended up going on an adventure with my cousin lastnight and we ended up at Bookman's. We were looking for a movie for her son in the children's section and as soon as I was the standup of Edward I asked her to take my picture with him. Good thing I usually always have my camera on me. He doesn't look very happy in this picture though. Anyways, if you don't know what Bookman's is you are missing out. It's a great used bookstore where you can trade your used books for credit or cash. They also carry collectibles, records, dvds, vhs, games, etc... My cousin and her family use the store a lot. They have an amazing selection. It got my wheels turning. I should probably pack up a couple boxes of stuff and take it over there and see what they'd give me for it. My cousin trades for stuff all the time and it works out really well for her. Next time my mom comes to town I'm going to have to take her here. As an avid reader I'm sure she would love the place.