Driving to Provo...

Much earlier this evening I took some time off to visit a dear friend of mine down in Provo. The plan was to dine out at Zupa's and enjoy some fondu (we like fondu). In the end we deviated from the plan somewhat, we ate at Zupa's, but enjoyed sandwhiches instead. I must admit the sandwhich was well worth giving up the fondu for and that is saying a lot.

The drive down to Provo (south of Salt Lake) was so beautiful and just another reminder to me that living in Utah ain't all bad. I left Salt Lake around 4:20 and already I was starting to see somewhat of a sunset because of low cloud cover on the mountains. At one point as I was crossing the mountain coming out of the valley when the sun broke through the clouds in the most amazing way. Not only was it reflecting beautiful bright yellows, but it held pinks, purples and blues.

Every time I see a sunset off of the mountains I'm reminded of the awesome nature of God. To me sunrises and sunsets are perfect, and not only reflect beautiful colors, but more importantly a beautiful God.

Lately the sunrises and sunsets have given me a blessed peace in my life here in Utah. Not to say that the skies aren't beautiful back home in Virginia, but in some ways that just don't hold up to the majesty of the skies here in the west.

Oh all this is foolish sentimental talk, but it's still true, atleast to me. Hope you enjoyed reading about it, for whatever it is worth to you : )

On the Ball...

Hey, so I mentioned yesterday that I would be adding Family Christmas photos to my photosite soon. Well....I did it.

GO and check 'em out...
www.jheatwole.photosite.com

Come One...Come All...

...and check out my newly updated photosite. I've kept up the pictures from Africa to be enjoyed a little while longer, but other than that it's all new pictures.

Soon enough I hope to have some Christmas family photos posted as well, but I'll be sure to let you know when that happens.

So, come check out all the fun at www.jheatwole.photosite.com

I Should Be in Bed...

...but I'm not. Truly, I can't fathom why I am still up. I'm sure it has something to do with the good book I picked up earlier in the evening and couldn't put down until it was finished. Another valid reason would be that I'm fairly use to these late hours, having been working them here of late.

Working as a server is so fairly unpredictable. Some days, like today, I must be at work to see the placed set up and opened for the guests. And then there are other days, like last night, when I have to stay fairly late to make sure the place is cleaned at set to rights for the next day.

The worst is days like yesterday (Friday) when I was there to see everything set up and opened, and then I was still there at the end of the day to see everything cleaned for the next. What makes the situation even more tiring is the fact that a few short hours of sleep later I was back at work making sure everything was set up and ready for today's guests. Needless to say I'm a very tired young lady and I'm thankful for my evening off tonight.

Though obviously I'm not using this time off very wisely (i.e. sleeping). I've spent it in studying and pleasure reading. Also for those of you who know me very well I had to spend some of the time cleaning my apartment (it's not really work it's relaxing - you'll never change my opinion otherwise).

So why have I been working the long hours recently you ask. Let's just say if you play you pay. And I had a wonderful time playing earlier this week. Two of my friends from back home in Virginia came out for a short visit.

During the time they were here time was spent exploring around Utah a little bit. I do mean exploring!! These guys (brothers) seem to love maps and going off on the little lines you find on them. You know the lines I speak of, the ones that are smaller than the rest and usually head out in directions away from cities or towns.

Oh what neat places those little lines take you. I had so much fun getting out of the city, and spending the time with two persons who enjoyed the random adventures as much as myself (probably even more so) made the experiences very memorable.

Well, I haven't much else to share, but I figured you all would enjoy some photos in parting. SO ENJOY!!!


We made a stop through Provo Canyon to take some scenic pictures. This one shows a clear shot of my friend Kyle. My friend Kyle is a good guy, but he is a little misguided when it comes to farm equipment. He seems to think green and yellow makes good colors on machinery. Personally, I'm more taken with red and blue, which I'm sure you all will agree are far superior.


Now this is Brendan, who happens to be standing on a snow covered road. We had taken one of those little lines (on the map) I had mentioned earlier. This little line lead us out to who knows where, I certainly don't know where, but then again I didn't have the map. We sort of just followed the road until it came to and end...well sort of. It was a very scenic spot and it certainly had a good bit more snow around than the city. I just loved the fresh air, clean snow, and mountains in the background.




I'm throwing this final photo in because it's fun and I like it. One of my favorite moments of my friend's visit was when we went to Maija's home in Provo. We had originally traveled down to Provo to take a tour of the indoor climbing wall Maija works at, but the randomness of the visit lead to a lesson in weaving. Maija is quite talented in weaving and showed us the working of her loom and samples of linens she has made in the past. I love how we went to learn or be shown one thing, and ended up be taught something completely different...Maija was so sweet to go along with our randomness.

Well, I guess that's enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity (haha...with no pictures of me). Blessings!!

My...My...My...

....it's been awhile. So, I'll admit to being some what negligent with the updates here of late. The truth is I haven't much to share, nor have I been pondering any great thoughts.

My life has begun to revolve around work here of late. That hasn't really been such a terrible thing. The more time I spend at Chili's the more I feel at peace, that God specifically put me there.

That has everything to do with the people I meet that I wait on and the people I work with. Here are two specific examples though they might not mean as much to everyone that they do me.

This past Monday I had a wonderful evening at work and met some really nice people. One table happened to be a group of five young adults, some from Australia and the others born and bred Americans. They were so nice and I enjoyed waiting on them. At the end of the evening I noticed one of them was wearing a fish necklace and I commented on how cool it was. They asked if I was a Christian too and before I knew we were exchanging the names of Churches we attended. I hope to be spending more time with them in the future and I thank God for that special meeting He brought together.

Another neat acquitance I've made while at work is with Bobby one of the Chili's bus boys. It just so happens that Bobby is originally from Staunton, Virginia and moved to Utah awhile back. I thought originally that he moved for the skiing and snowboarding he talks a lot about, but I've since learned that the move was prompted by his decision to join the LDS Church.

Bobby and I have had quite a number of great conversations about life back home. I call him R.E. Lee (since that's where he went to high school) and he calls me T.A. (well because that's where I went to high school). I know that God brought Bobby and I together and I'm looking forward to furthering our friendship.

Well, that's life at Chili's (atleast the good parts). Stay tuned for the next installment of my life is all work.