Sliders and Brooms and Hacks... and Stones and Skips, Oh My!

aka CURLING!

Last year Brian Farr came with me to my friend Shannon's wedding reception at the Olympic Oval. While there we saw some flyers for a curling class and thought it would be so fun. So the next week, we tried it!




Here's me "delivering" the stone. It's a lot harder than it looks, you have to get enough umph behind it to make sure it gets all the way to the other side (without 'throwing' it), keep it going as straight as possible all while trying to stay balanced and not fall on your duff.

"Sweeping" -- This is also a lot harder than it looks. If the stone starts to slow down or go off course, the leader tells the sweepers to SWEEP!!! This creates friction with the ice and causes the stone to go further than it otherwise would.

Oh, and I may or may not have totally fallen on my butt while attempting to sweep :)

New things I've discovered about curling:

1. It's so much fun
2. It's a lot harder than it looks
3. Don't make fun of curlers because that stone is dang heavy and I wouldn't want one flyin' in my direction (not that that has happened to me)

I even thought about joining a curling club after this experience. Ya, that's right.

A Regular Ski Bunny

Last winter I went skiing for the first time ever and had an absolute blast! It was a ton of fun. A group of friends from my ward went to Brighton for their 2 for 1 night skiing deal. Preston also came up from Provo to go boarding.

My friend Erin was so great and gave me a couple lessons on the bunny hill to get me going. She must have been a really good teacher because after just 3 times down the bunny hill we decided to hit the big slopes. I was so surprised and happy that I picked it up so quickly, it made it a lot more fun and I came away resolved to go skiing more often.

It didn't really happen, because I haven't gone again until this year. But again, I had such a fun time! I think my friends Kate and Shelby and I are going to try to go to The Canyons sometime this winter.

Basically, I'm a regular ski bunny :)

The Wait is Over!!

I've always loved the San Francisco Giants.

My dad grew up in the Bay Area and, although it probably made more sense to be an Oakland fan because of proximity and their winning record during his teen years, he chose to support the Giants and stuck with them through thick and thin. So it was only natural that he pass on his love for the men in Orange and Black to his kids. I remember him making sure we knew the difference between the 'good' baseball Giants as opposed to the 'bad' football Giants. I wore Giants shirts and collected books and memorabilia. I loved to watch Matt Williams, Will Clark, JT Snow, and Kurt Manwaring. I collected their cards. In fact, I still have a whole stack of them, in perfect shape, practically untouched from when I first bought them in the 90's. I made a special effort to care for those, almost never going through them because I didn’t want to bend the corners. “Miracle at Candlestick” has been proudly displayed on my bookshelf since that season in 1993. I still have my Matt Williams figurine, and remember how sad I was when he moved to Arizona. When I found out a high school teammate of mine was Dusty Baker’s niece, I wasted no time asking for memorabilia. I remember going to my first Giants game at Candlestick Park in July 1996. They were playing the Colorado Rockies. We sat behind right field under the mezzanine and, like any game at Candlestick, it was bitter cold. The fog coming up from the bay was so heavy it almost felt like rain. In fact, I remembered it as rain until my dad reminded me of that thick, thick mist, probably known only to those who have experienced it in San Francisco.

(Preston and I; Train ‘em young!)

I have never even thought about cheering for another team. While some fans turn their back on their childhood teams, not me. When it comes to Major League Baseball, I will always bleed orange and black.

One blogger said, “Real San Francisco Giants fans carry baggage and lots of it, including a half-century of wait-until-next-years and a Game 6 that left a hole in their heart the size of a World Series ring” (http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-10-06/news/24113535_1_juan-uribe-buster-posey-fans)

While I may not be old enough to have experienced over 50 years of pain watching a Giants team that was usually ok, or even pretty good, but never quite good enough -- I am old enough to remember the pain of 2002. October -- the San Francisco Giants vs the Anaheim Angels. I remember I had a Young Women's activity the night of game 5, but luckily I had a leader (good 'ol Sis. Rosenkrantz) that loved baseball as much as I did and turned on the game for my friend Melissa Cowles and I.

For game 6 - that game of awful games - I was out of town for a soccer tournament with the Tabagators. The night of the game we went to dinner as a team. It was practically torture having the TV in the bar where I couldn’t see it, even though I had some parents periodically checking the score for me. I was staying with Raquel Bray and the second we got back to the hotel, I turned the game on. I watched in horror as we blew a 5-0 lead with only a couple innings left to play. In fact I remember thinking at the time, "We had a World Series win in our pocket. In our pocket! But no, we just had to take it out and play with it and now we've lost it!" Sure, I knew we still had a chance to win it in game 7, but I also knew how hard that would be, playing in Anaheim and coming right off a disheartening loss like game 6. Mr. Bray turned game 7 on the radio for the drive home on Sunday. I sat in the back, wanting to cry as I listened, knowing more with each scoreless inning that we would lose.

My family had an Angels helmet that we would play with growing up. Where we got it or why in the world we kept it I have no idea. But for Halloween 2002, with the heartbreaking loss still very fresh in our minds, we took that helmet and stuck a butcher knife through it. Then, in our front yard turned 'cemetery' we gave it a place a top our 'tomb of the unknown Angels fan.' It may seem morbid, but hey, we were ticked. Ever since I’ve had an almost subconscious hatred of the Angels that people don’t usually understand. It’s not like they’re the Dodgers. But they did enough damage that year to justify my feelings.

Rule No. 1 for those jumping on the SF Giants bandwagon: "They need to know how it hurt in 2002.” (http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-10-06/news/24113535_1_juan-uribe-buster-posey-fans)

So you can imagine my extreme pride and joy this season when my Giants won the World Series for the first time since coming to San Francisco in 1958!!

I live in Utah and don't have cable, so I wasn't able to watch many of the mid-season games. I checked their record every once in a while and about midway through the season it didn't look like they were doing so hot, about 50%.

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"Giants baseball. Torture.” The phrase stuck, defining a season that included four straight months out of first place and 52 games won or lost by one run. (http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-10-06/news/24113535_1_juan-uribe-buster-posey-fans)
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But starting in September things started turning around. My dad gave me a call and told me they were only one game away from winning their division. What?! Then started the checking of scores daily rather than weekly or monthly. Sure enough they beat the SD Padres to win the Western Division!

I couldn't watch most of the Atlanta series (no cable), but my dad kept me posted. I watched the Giants win game 1 against the Phillies. Game 2 was a Saturday night and the ward was over at my bishop’s house for dinner. I wore my Giants jersey and asked to have the game turned on in the basement. This guy that I didn’t even know really ticked me off by saying he was going for the Phillies because they had the best chance against the Yankees. Well, boo yah! 1. The Yankees didn’t make it to the WS anyway, and 2. I don’t see your Red Sox anywhere either. Off soap box. Well, we got past the Phillies, kicking Roy Halladay and the rest of their pitching superstars’ trash. I watched the last game of that series at the Old Chicago restaurant in Boise, Idaho where my hockey team was eating dinner after a tournament game. I don’t think I paid attention to anyone around me the whole time. Although I did look away long enough to take this picture
When they got the last out I jumped up with a resounding, “Yesss!” It was probably a little embarrassing, but I didn’t care. The Giants were going to the World Series! Their first postseason appearance since 2002, playing the Texas Rangers.

(My Halloween costume)

The morning of Game 5, the San Francisco Chronicle stated my feelings perfectly: “The Giants (we’re checking, this might be a dream) are on the verge of bringing home the biggest party since the glory days of the 49ers.”

BJ and Preston came over for one game of the series, and Melissa Cowles came over for another one. I love that Melissa is also a Giants fan. They won game 1 and absolutely destroyed them in game 2! I talked to my dad that night. Even after a 9-0 win we couldn’t get too excited. My dad said, “You know, I’ve been disappointed so many times that I’m not even going to entertain the thought that we could win. I just have to take it one game at a time.” But when they won game 4 in Texas we couldn’t help but get excited, only ONE MORE!

Part of me wanted them to win in San Fran, in front of their home crowd, but hey I would take a win any way they delivered it! I watched Game 5 all by myself and, after not wanting to believe it until it actually happened, THE GIANTS WON!!! It didn’t matter that I was alone, I celebrated as if there was a party all around me!

After the game, and after answering all the texts from friends congratulating me on my teams triumph, I called my dad. We talked for hours about our memories of cheering for the Giants, the history of the team, and not believing it had actually happened. I mean, my dad had waited for this moment...well...his entire life.

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I thought this blogger really captured the feelings of many Giants fans so I’ll end with his summary of the season: “There’s been a lot of publicity about Giants Torture. With their great pitching and so so hitting, their games are often nail biters. I never considered myself tortured by the G-Men, but I never started a season thinking, this could be the year. I always knew better.

This year, when the boys made the playoffs, I was right there with the “experts”, if they’re lucky, they might squeak by the Braves, but they’re gonna get killed by the Phillies. The Phillies after all have great pitching AND great hitting. But hey, it’s the Giants and they did their best.

Then I watched in awe as the pitching took over and dominated every series they were in. I breathed into a paper bag a couple times, got up and walked around the room, looked way, and clenched fists and jaw, and when it became really tense, it was.. as they say.. torture.

And it was great.

So for the first time in my life, my team has won the World Series.

I think, for the first time, all of us fans of the Orange and Black will have the same thing on our minds.

This IS the year.

(http://oldandintheway.org/2010/11/02/a-giant-love-affair/)

So...a lot can happen in a...year.

I know it's been a really, really long time since I've blogged, but hey, it's a new year and I'm ready to get it going again. A lot has happened so I'll be playing a little catch up.

First off, I got a new job! The eBay job really wasn't the best fit -- AT ALL. So I was hired as a Project Supervisor at
And I love it! I work with great people in a field that I love. And on top of that, my friend Melissa works there too. Good times.

It's not every day...

...you meet someone who is 90 years old.

And it's even more rare to meet a 90 year old who walks 2 miles a day, works out at the YMCA, works several shifts a week at the Las Vegas Temple, and lives by himself. Well my Grandpa Mathews hit the 90 mark on January 2nd and yes, he does all of those things. (Man I hope I got some of those genes! :))

To celebrate this amazing milestone we had a big party for him with family and friends.

My mom has been planning this party for months. Every time I called her she was planning food, ordering supplies, or figuring out decorations for the tables. Well, she definitely did not disappoint. If there's one thing I know about my mom, she never does anything half way. The party turned out wonderfully. The food was amazing, the decorations top notch, and most importantly, it was a day to remember for my grandpa. All 3 of his sons, all 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren made the trip to Las Vegas for the occasion. I think for him, having his entire family there was the best part. In all, we estimated that about 150 friends came to celebrate with him. Some were old friends, some new. Some came from far away, others were local. Some even surprised him by not telling him they were coming.

I hope this party was fun and memorable for my grandpa, but most importantly I hope it showed him just how much he is loved by everyone he comes in contact with.

In case you weren't able to make it to the party, here are some pictures of what you missed :) --

The Food = Amazing! (Compliments to Dana Mathews)

The Guests

The next day after church my grandpa referred to his birthday as one of the best days of his life.

We love you so very much Dasil G! Happy Birthday!!

I finally finished them!

I may be the last person on the planet, but I finally finished the Harry Potter series!

I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Friday night at midnight. Yes, I decided to be a total loser and spend my entire Friday night reading. But it was worth it, sooo good. Although I kind of wish now I had spread out the reading a little bit because now I'm kind of sad it's over.

I started reading the Harry Potter series last year because my roomate insisted I would like them. I had nothing against reading them, I guess I just never had the desire or time, or something. So I read the first 3 but for some reason stopped halfway through the fourth book. Then this summer my friend Ben found out I had stopped reading the series with no plan of action to get a hold of the others and finish them. He first looked at me like I was crazy, then promptly took me to his house where he grabbed the fourth book, handed it to me, and told me I had to finish them.

Well, I'm really glad he did that. The Harry Potter books really are so good! I had a ton of fun reading them. The books fully transport you to Harry's magical world. So many times while reading the books I found myself wishing I could be there at Hogwarts, living in a castle with a four poster bed and a trunk full of spellbooks. I wish I could clean my house or wash my clothes with a flick of a wand. I wish I could go on adventures and discover hidden secrets.

My favorite character was by far Dumbledore. Now, I know he's fictional so don't think I'm going crazy, but while reading the books I often wished I could be like Dumbledore. He was so wise, understanding, and witty. He could command respect without ever raising his voice. He could win any argument with his completely reasonable and witty replies. There were so many times that I re-read Dumbledore's words (really JK Rowlings) so they could sink in further. Like the time he talked about death and darkness and explained to Harry that it isn't really death or darkness we fear, but it's the unknown. So true, those of us who know what lies in store for us after this life have no real reason to fear death. I know I'm probably reading way too much into it but, dang, so good nonetheless.

While my favorite character was Dumbledore, the best character of the whole series was probably Snape. And JK Rowling did an amazing job concealing his true loyalties until the very end. You were never really sure where he stood until the very end. Awesome.

Anyway, if you haven't read them I highly recommend it. If not just for something fun to take your mind off life.

Some more catch up stuff that just can't go overlooked any longer...

I got to the end of this post and realized it's going to have to be picture-less because I can't find the cord that connects my camera to my computer. So when I reference a photo, you're just going to have to imagine :) The only picture you get at the moment is the one I stole of PTM from Facebook.

Ok, there have been some events recently (my definition of "recently" for this post being anything in the last 6 months :)) that can't be forgotten in the dark hole of my laziness in writing on this blog.


I digress -- I think my journal writing is somewhat like Joseph Smith's, with "periods of effective journal keeping, but there were also gaps when months and even years went by in silence (Mark Ashurst-McGee and Alex Smith, "The Joseph Smith Journals," Ensign, Dec 2007). While neither of us, I'm sure, are proud of this, at least he could employ scribes to help him later in life. Hmm, that might be something worth looking into...scribes...ya.


Ok, back on topic.


I had to get this one posted because it barely meets the "rarely" cutoff. In March my cousin Paul (aka PTM) took me to a Jazz game. Big deal you say? Well this wasn't just any Jazz game. It was his company's turn to sit in the box seats. Yes, that's right. Notice the "Luxury Suites" logo on the ticket, announcing to the world that we are more important than everyone else :). Seriously though, that's the way to watch a basketball game. They had all kinds of food, drinks, snacks, and desserts, and all still pretty close to the action on the court.

It was so nice of him to take me to the game, I mean, he could have taken anyone. (And I'm sure his parents were not a little displeased that he didn't take a girl whose not a relation :)) He took me because he knows I love basketball, and would probably appreciate it more than anyone else. Well, except for our other cousin Christie whom he took last year. She's pretty much the biggest Jazz fan EVER.

Anyway, thanks PTM for taking me to the game, I had a blast! And thanks for being my number one hockey fan in Ogden!!

Here's a pic I stole of PTM from his Facebook

Next up --- Fourth of July Lewiston Extravaganza. We went to Lewiston for the 4th again this year, and again Sis. Hall did not disappoint as the "Goddess of 4th of July Fun." This year we actually decided to add another somethin' somethin' to the festivities and ran the 5k race. The Mathews family represented pretty well, I must say. Preston won the whole thing, I got 4th for the girls, 2nd in my age group, and BJ got 10th overall, 3rd in his age group (which included Preston). Here's our little ribbons. Hopefully Sis. Hall doesn't get in trouble for bringing an outsider "ringer", and Preston can come back again next year!

Third --- My Stanley Cup Final Party. The final was in June and it was the Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins. What made this game really exiting was 1) The Penguins were a heavy underdog, and 2) this was the exact same match up as last year when the Red Wings won it all right in front of the Pittsburgh fans. Well, revenge is sweet. I invited some friends over and made sure I had everything in the Pens colors of black and tan. For snacks I had ding dongs (they look like pucks, PTM's genious idea), Pepsi and Lemonade (closest drinks to Pens colors I could find), and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting. I also put the players names and numbers on the cupcakes which I think added a little something. That's my specialty, I do the cupcake/players name and number thing for my Suns parties too.

It was an exiting, exciting game and the Penguins came out the victors. To make it even better? The final was won in Detroit. Muahahahahaha. Take that!

NeNe Sticks

This morning I got a text from my mom informing me that my Grandma Hunt's sister, Jeannine, had passed away. Aunt NeNe was a strong woman who often fought against the odds and won. Whether it was raising two children alone during the '50s and '60s when it wasn't exactly the norm, or fighting cancer and living years after many doctors predicted she would. Today, that cancer finally got the best of her, but she didn't go down without a fight.

She remained ever faithful in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and will always be an example to me of dedicated service and enduring to the end.

I will never forget the times spent with her at my Gp's cabin. She and I would often share the upstairs bedroom, and although we never 'chatted it up like schoolgirls', I always felt special being with her. One night she told me about how her name is spelled differently on her birth certificate, but that she had always spelled Jeannine with two N's so that's how she kept it.

My brothers and I loved going to visit her in St. George on our way home to Las Vegas from school. We would visit her at her home where she was always so hospitable and glad to see us there. We'd look at her old pictures and she would show us the most recent ones of her grandkids and great grandkids, she was so proud of them. In the most recent years we visited her at a hospital in St. George. She was so feisty with the doctors it was almost laughable, but it was that same personality that most likely kept her with us for so long. The last year of her life she lived in Missouri to be closer to her immediate family. I hope it was better for her, but we certainly missed having her close to us here. Although my grandma's children and grandchildren weren't her closest family, she was always an important part of our lives. We will miss you NeNe Sticks!

Until we meet again...

Songs that mean something to me - Part 1

Ok, I've always kind of liked the song Who I Am, by Jessica Andrews. Not because of any particularly genius tune or catchiness, but because I really like the words. It talks about the important things in life; about being confident in yourself; about having a family that loves you and supports you.

There have been times after high school that I felt a little sad/mad at myself that I didn't play sports in college, or even try. I felt like I was wasting my talent. More importantly, at least in my mind, I felt like I was disappointing my parents. They had spent so much time and money giving me opportunities to play sports at the highest level I wanted to play at, and here I was..wasting it. Not even using that talent to help pay for college.

But my dad, what a good guy, simply told me once that it was worth every penny to see me happy, doing the things I wanted to do. He also said that it was sports who helped shape me into the person I am today. Sports can teach young people how to work hard for something they want, how to practice, how to work as a team, respect authorities, listen to directions, and to be graceful in winning as well as losing.

Here are some of the lyrics to the song:

If I live to be a hundred
And never see the seven wonders
That'll be alright
If I don't make it to the big leagues
If I never win a grammy
I'm gonna be just fine
'cause I know exactly who I am

So when I make a big mistake
When I fall flat on my face
I know I'll be alright
Should my tender heart be broken
I will cry those teardrops knowin'
I will be just fine
'cause nothin' changes who I am

I am [Billie Lea's] granddaughter
The spitting image of my father
And when the day is done
My momma's still my biggest fan
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
But I've got friends that love me
And they know just where I stand
Its all a part of me
And that's who I am

It's true, I do look a lot like my father. And as far as my biggest fan? Just ask the woman who allowed her car to transform into a locker room; the one who put on her taxi cap nearly every day to make sure I was at every practice; and who attended almost every game I ever played in. I had been playing hockey for about 2 years before my parents (and grandpa) were finally able to watch me play a couple weeks ago. I think it killed them to hear me talk about it, especially with it being so new, and not be able to come watch me play.

I love you mom and dad, thanks for everything!

A night with Jan Shipps

Last Friday night my Bishop and his wife invited me to their house to have dinner with them and their special guest, Jan Shipps. I had read her first major book, called Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, for a couple of classes at BYU as well as some of her articles. She also helped edit the Journals of William E. McLellin which I used extensively for the John Johnson Home Site Guide I helped with. She has been president of the Mormon History Association and gave a paper on Mormonism at a conference commemorating, Joseph Smith, Jr., held at the Library of Congress in 2005.

Her newest book is entitled Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons. Puzzled by that last title? Here's the kicker -- Jan Shipps is not a Mormon. She is actually a lifelong Methodist, but during the 1950s she lived briefly in Logan, Utah. There she became fascinated with the Mormons - their religion, culture, and place within the greater American religious context. She never looked back. She has been studying the Mormons ever since.

Her husband Tony also came to dinner as well as other historians John Hamer and Jean Addams. When I was first introduced to John I knew I recognized his name from somewhere. My bishop then told me he has been studying all the Mormon schismatic groups which jogged my memory. I remembered him as the author of this book:

The group of us talked a little before dinner - of course about church history topics. Jean has studied the Hedrickite Church (or he Church of Christ (Temple Lot)) so we talked a little about them. We covered everything from the soon to be non-existent office of church patriarch, to Emma Smith, to Utah mining.



It was definitely a different experience talking about church practices, offices, priesthood, and history with people who don't believe in the faith, yet most likely know more about these topics than 99% of church members. It was also a little out of the ordinary to have to distinguish which church I was talking about with each comment. LDS? FLDS? RLDS? Hedrickites?


They were all so sweet and fun to talk to. At dinner John asked me what topics I'm interested in studying and encouraged me to write a paper and attend the John Whitmer Historical Association meeting this year. He's actually one of their Exec. Directors and helped start their new press. Jan Shipps asked me what my plans were for more schooling. I must admit I felt a little sheepish not really knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I mentioned possibly getting a masters degree in Library Science and Archives. At this Jan's husband, Tony, spoke up. He has an MLIS degree and worked in libraries for years. I told him I wasn't sure about it because I didn't want to work in a public library. He gave some really good advice, and put me in my place, when he told me, "Well, you don't always get to do what you want." Very true. Sis. Marsh and Jan then encouraged me to maybe take some classes at the U.

After dinner Jeremy and I went into the living room with Jan and her dog, Mr. Darcy :). We talked for probably an hour and a half, just the three of us. She told us about how she got into studying the Mormons, where she went to school, how she paid for school, her family, all the odd jobs she has had, etc. She was very, very interesting to talk to. I even got her to sign my book.

I am so grateful to Sis. Marsh for inviting to me this dinner and giving me the once in a lifetime opportunity to associate with such great Mormon historians in such a close and intimate setting.