The Fabulous Katie Gavin - November 8, 2008

I went home to Arizona the beginning of November for Katie Gavin's wedding. There's an interesting story behind our friendship, as it was made possible through the most unordinary circumstances.


About three years ago, my family was blessed to initially meet Katie's aunt, Karen Marchese. This meeting came when my brother was sick. Karen was his hospice nurse. She developed a very close relationship with my brother in the last few months of his life and was truly touched by his inner faith, strength, and peace. After my brother passed away, Karen sought after the innate peace that was part of my brother's character. She found this peace in our Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Two months after my brother passed away, she was baptized. Karen's light and inner peace touched her husband, Perry and niece, Katie. Perry and Katie were also baptized into the Church. Our friendship with the Marchese's and Katie has truly been a blessing. It is astounding how friends come into our lives. Never a mere coincidence.

After Katie joined the Church, per a friend's request, she started writing her friend's brother, Keenan, serving a mission in CA. Soon after he returned home, their friendship grew into something even greater. Needless to say, they were sealed in the Mesa Temple on November 8, 2008. Keenan and Katie are an amazing pair. I'm grateful that I had the chance to witness their sealing.

I'm so grateful for the Marchese's and their love, energy, and faith in the gospel. They are amazing examples to me, and I'm excited to see what great blessings will continue to unfold in their lives.

Sept. 12, 2008 - Happy Birthday TJ!

Well, September has come and gone (and yes, I'm still in Utah), but here are a couple highlights from the month: Tj's Bday weekend in Provo & Labor Day Weekend in Denver (scroll down to the next post...but you probably knew that).

This post may seem cheesy to some, but I haven't written about my brother in a while and I was thinking about him a lot around his Bday. It is amazing how time flies. He passed away over three years ago. Yet I still have times of missing him, as I'm sure many of you do too. I don't mind those times. I don't ever want to stop missing him. These moments give me a chance to break away from silly distractions and ponder about more important things in life. I know he is still very much apart of our lives. Truly a remarkable blessing that we have angels in our midst. I see miracles great and small that are definitely not of my own doing. Just need to pay attention to the fact that we are never alone:-)

I happened to visit some friends in Provo during the weekend of Tj's Bday. Many good memories of my brother come from there. He loved BYU and Provo. Looking back, it was a blessing to live so close to each other and spend so much time together.

I hiked the Y on Saturday morning with my friend Jackie. Tj only hiked it once or twice, but whenever I hike it I remember his description of the Y. "It looks like moldy oatmeal". Ah yes, moldy oatmeal. Leave it to him to come up with such a lovely portrayal.

For those of you that don't have a clue what I'm talking about, there is a big white letter Y on a mountain just east of BYU. You take a gentle, vertical hike to get up to the Y. Some think it's strenuous, others consider it a walk in the park.

See! If I'm running, it's got to be an easy hike :-) Okay, so I usually walk, run, walk, run . . . walk, walk, walk.

Sunflowers are often a reminder of my brother's outgoing, positive, bright nature. They were in full bloom on the trail to the Y.

Jovina and I had lunch at Jason's Deli and ate strawberry shortcake. I remember Tj ordering strawberry shortcake at Jason's Deli when we were kids (Yes, the little deli was around then, at least in Denver). Tj's absolute favorite dessert would be a fruit or chocolate trifle, but "Jason" said he could only offer the shorter-cake stuff. (Sort of a funny picture. I was messing around with the colors and accidently saved it.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAT! (That's brother in Russian. I always enjoyed calling him that. If you're wondering the Russian word for sister, it's sistra. Nothing related to a spoiled nature. Sisters are sweet afterall:-)

Labor Day Weekend - Denver

D is for days of sunshine, dog walking da five dogs (duh), driving un petit Mercedes RLK Roadster, Denver temple with dad, dog hunting with Debbie (we lost Bailey), de Liz, de Faith, and de Sam. Last three were a stretch, but I did enjoy Labor Day weekend with family and friends.

Liz and her friend, Faith, spent the weekend at dad's just in time to update me on the popular tween favorites such as Hannah Montana, HS Musical 3, Disney Radio, Aeropostale, as well as fabulous dance moves and swimming techniques. Those girls are in the know. Liz looks taller than me. We were on a hill, but she really is almost my height. What are kids eating these days to get so tall! I'm a shrimp at 5'7".

Labor Day was spent down at Debbie's. Liz, Faith and I went swimming and drove around in Debbie's yellow Mercedes. Plus, we enjoyed the company of Barney, Bailey, Penny, TJ, and Emma. Yep, Barney is the "odd dog out" of the four dachsunds (a.k.a. weiner dogs). Debbie has three dachsunds, dad has Barney and Liz's dog Emma (another dachsund). It's really difficult to try and get five dogs in the same picture.

Barney & the other dogs would sit in front of the door awaiting dad and Debbie's return. We actually lost Bailey twice that day. The dog has a way of running off, but both times he actually turned up in Debbie's car (someone needs to tell Bailey that dogs don't drive).

Consumer Report: The Mercedes SLK Roadster brings speed and style to any given day. Comfortable bucket seats conform to your body making short or long drives enjoyable. Quick acceleration allows for a fast escape from "sitting at red-light onlookers" to "let's see what this baby can do test drivers" (oh, I guess that was me). Just kidding. I only take rental cars on a real test drive. I was very cautious.

Arizona Living - What have I been doing?

What have I been doing in Arizona? Dodging cactus, tripping over tumbleweeds, and scavenging for rattlesnakes? Umm....No. It is time to review some great activities truly found in the valley of the sun. Especially now that I'm working and living in SLC for a few months (I suffer from vagabond syndrome - must drift from one location to the next).

For the most part work has consisted of mktg, writing, and research for different businesses. Nice diversity. On the side, I was involved with promotional marketing. It's great to get paid to attend the Superbowl NFL Experience, American Idol concert, some Donald Trump real estate convention, and various community banquets. In addition, I volunteered at sporting events like the PF Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon. Basically when you live in Phoenix, you get involved! A lot goes on in this city. Many cool things to do!

Here are just a few things I've done while living in AZ (events with photos).

My last promo event was for State Farm insurance at the American Idol concert. Just pull people in to play an American Idol game and win prizes. Plus, I got to watch the concert. I actually got into American Idol more than usual this year. In my opinion, the best performers that night were David Cook (of course), Kristy Lee Cook (surprisingly), and David Archuleta (another of course).

I joined my mom and uncle for a skin care coalition at the Botanical Gardens. There was a butterfly exhibit at the time. Butterflies flying around my head. Like seeing stars!
I think this photo is funny. Mom and me talking about products. Uncle Bill wondering "What do I want for lunch . . . turkey avocado or grilled portabello? Or maybe he's just going . . . duh?

Away from work & promos, there's much to do with friends like . . .

Attend a Gin Blossoms benefit concert: the band dipped out Cold Stone ice cream, signed pictures, and posed for photo ops after the show.


Try pasucci (ice cream pizza)

Visit fabulous friends that come to town (Nea, Cole & Mason)

Enjoy the Scottsdale and Tempe nightlife with more awesome friends! Plenty of places for fine dining and shopping. Moderate temps (minus the summer) make AZ nightlife year round. (Friends include Huier, Kristina, Lisa, Maria, and Lyndsey) We joined Huier for a goodbye dinner before she moved home to Taiwan.

Tube the Salt River in 116 degree temps (Heat is relative). Funny expression on the river. Not sure what I was trying to do, but hilarious photo op:-)

Ah yes . . . Arizona is a good place to live, work, and play. Or if you're up for a visit, I can help you find the inside track on the great things locals like to do:-)

Desert Life - In my own frontyard

You may think the only elements of desert living are cactus, dirt, and tumbleweeds. Alas . . . it is surprising to see what the desert truly has to offer, even what can be planted in your own yard.

Mom and me in front of our grapefruit tree planted Sept. 12, 2005 (TJ's Bday), as a gift from a dear friend, It's called the "TJ" tree. The tallest, fastest growing tree in the backyard - just like my brother.

Thanks to Steve, my stepdad, the yard has some of the fanciest foliage you will see in our Scottsdale neighborhood. (Here's the plug-in for his Naturally Green Soil Treatment - the mystery product he sells that makes your garden grow better then the Jones's and decreases water usage - contact Exhibit A shown below for more info).

Exhibit A: Mr. Paul Bunyan himself - a.k.a. Steve - neighborhood house watcher, tree chopper, gardener, and new found sod layer. The neighbors love what he's done to the neighborhood just by redoing our frontyard:-)

Yes, the frontyard was classified as a barren wasteland, with fancy flowers and shrubs for over a year - for which Exhibit A could be blamed or praised. Nothing but dirt. No sign of desert rocks, grass, weeds, or even lawn furniture (refer to Exhibit B below).

Exhibit B: Fancy looking dirt:-)

Exhibit C: Here are some of the distractions planted throughout the year to defer the neighbors and onlookers from the realization that the frontyard is just brown dirt.
These petunias surely became the talk of the neighborhood! Joggers and dog walkers alike loved them, including the dogs;-)




Bring Hawaii to the desert!
Who knew tropical flowers flourish in Arizona. Red hibiscus and a purple orchid tree brought more awe and bewilderment as onlookers stared in disbelief!


Exhibit D: Sod Saturday finally arrived. 5am - I meandered out at 6:30am - let the guys do the work. The barren wasteland came to an end. Soon people will start using the frontyard for picnics; slip n' slides; stop, drop, and roll demos; and king of the hill. Finally, we can say GO GREEN!

Hawaii (Oahu) - April 14 - 22, 2008

Another long lull in blog writing must mean I have fabulous things to say about my vacation to Hawaii. Well, I do. It was everything I hoped for and so much more . . . why wouldn't it be? It's paradise!

My friends and I combined over 500 pictures, which would be difficult to include in this blog. I decided it was best to link 98 of those photos to my blog, instead of posting them in here. Photos include fabulous commentary from yours truly. http://picasaweb.google.com/tahleaj/Hawaii?authkey=yoOmocXyW_4

Flight Cancellation

After graduating from BYUH six years ago, a reunion was a necessity. Yet, this reunion almost didn't happen. A week before we were flying to Hawaii, ATA (our flight carrier) went bankrupt and immediately canceled all flights. What chaos! They left people stranded in Hawaii (like that's a bad thing), while others scrambled for last minute flights.

Fortunately, we received a full refund, but ticket prices began to soar. Our cheap $295 tickets were quickly becoming $1000. Oh, it seemed hopeless:-( Yet, I have great faith that remarkable blessings can come in times of desperation. Like getting to Hawaii of course!! A few days later, my dad came across a very reasonably priced ticket. It was the last seat available (according to travelocity). The downside was that I would have to spend 8 days, instead of 5 days in Hawaii (Bummer).

A bright note to my trip was running into my old Bishop from BYUH in my layover city - SLC. Of all places to run into someone, it would be the airport. Yes, my trip down memory lane was just beginning:-)

4 nights in Honolulu

The first 4 days were spent in Honolulu with my friends Jackie, Jen, Jon, and Kristen (I know a lot of J' people - good people:-) We did the wonderful touristy things including Pearl Harbor and the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. Bring good walking shoes, cash, sunblock and patience a' plenty (Lines can get long at Pearl Harbor. Plus, you're in Hawaii - everything's slow). *Note on the Swap Meet - Buy everything here! Don't give into the lil' gift shops in Waikiki. You'll find greater selection and pricing at the Swap Meet (only open Wed. and Sat.)

Don't miss another important spot on the map - the Polynesian Cultural Center. Right next to BYUH and employed by BYUH students. The center highlight six polynesian cultures through dance, shows, food, etc. Highlights include village performances and the exceptional night show!

Learn to greet people in six different languages: Bula (Fijian), Aloha (Hawaiian), Talofa (Samoan), Kia Ora (Aotearoa), Iaorana (Tahitian), Malo e Lelei (Tongan). Additional local Hawaiin Pidgin phrasing would say "Was' up, brah?" or "Whaddsdascoops?!"

Every Hawaiian vacation needs a local language lesson to blend in with the surfers! Ha! Or just to get some good laughs at the attempt. A little surf lingo: "Da kine wave, brah. Jus carve up or slam the lid, or be pitched like there no tomorrow!"

Now that your language lesson is complete, you're ready to explore the north shore! Head to Sunset Beach, view Pipeline, snorkel at Shark's Cove, swim at Waimea Bay, then head to Haliewa to enjoy the popular Matsumoto's (shaved ice) experience.

Pineapple addicts everywhere flock to the Dole Plantation to savor the great flavor, view baby pineapple, and get lost in the pineapple maze.

4 Nights in Ka'a'ava

Due to my longer then expected stay on Oahu (again, woe is me), I needed a place to stay. My amazing friend, Shana, hooked me up with a great guest house in Ka'a'ava where some of her family lives. Amazing people and amazing abode that overlooked the ocean. Perfect way to enjoy the second-half of my vacation.

My quality, alone time was spent hiking Diamond Head, wandering different beaches, visiting the Laie Temple, and spending quality time at BYUH. I even wandered down to the Kokua Festival put on by Jack Johnson - just didn't get to see Jack.

Traveling alone gave me the opportunity to interact more with other tourists and locals. I forgot how sincere and kind people can be in Hawaii. Of course, not everyone's that way - like the rental car lady that tried to get this haole girl lost when I asked for directions (good thing i knew she was wrong). Or the short-tempered, grumbly clerks at a few stores in Haliewa. Yet, those little experiences can't compete with the warm aloha spirit many locals carry with them.

Overall, an amazing experience that leaves me longing for more time (and money) to go back. Another six years would be way too long. I need an annual trip (at the very least). Or if anyone needs a tour guide, I suppose I'd be willing to sacrifice the time and energy to go with you. Fo' Real! Good excuse to go back:-)