Imma gonna kill my sister

I'm mad at my little sister.

Yep, that girl.  She looks all sweet and innocent, but she's not.  Don't be fooled by her snazzy smile.

You see, Mary is preaching the good word in Argentina right now.  About a month ago she really got my mom's hopes up.  She emailed mom and said, "Hey!  I'm coming home in January.  But first you should come pick me up and see Argentina with me."

Then my mom really got MY hopes up and said, "Hey!  I'm going to go pick Mary up in Argentina in January.  You should come with.  I'll even help foot the bill.  You like Argentina, don't you?"  (DO I?!?!  Only a little bit as can be seen here and here and here.)

My next step was was to clear it with Hubs who said, "There's no way I can get school off to go with you, but if you want to go I support you 100%." (Best Hubs ever!)

Final step was the boss.  I marched right up to that principal's office and said, "Hey!  You!  If I'm going to teach this extra class for you all year then I'm going to need some time off in January to go explore the jungles of Argentina and visit all my friends down there and don't you dare tell me no!"  

And he said, "Yah, yah, we'll figure something out for you, ya freaking drama queen!"

And thus the stage was set for an awesome time in Argy come January.

Until yesterday.  

Mary emailed and said this, "I think I´m going to stay till March 5.  And that means that it might be better for me to book it home and start studying for the MCAT...I´ve got to take that sucker in the middle of May."

MARY!!!  What the freak are you doing?!?  Like the MCAT is more important than me getting to go to Argentina.  Come on, here!

Don't worry, though.  I haven't been too deterred.  My new plan is to find $5,000 in buried treasure so that Hubs and I can go to Argentina in the summer to visit all my mission friends. 

You think I'm joking?  I'm not.  

You see this below?  This is the real deal.

This was the email I received last week:

Hi Bonnie, I wanted to ask if I could convince you to share with your blog reading audience an upcoming event called the "$5,000 Great Provo- Orem Treasure Hunt".

This is a completely free Adventure that is perfect for Couples, Families or Groups (scouts, Singles Wards etc.).

It is exactly what it sounds like - an actual Treasure Hunt for $5,000 hidden somewhere in Provo-Orem. The first person to find it, gets to keep it.

Clues as to the secret hidden location of the Treasure will start on September 28th. They will be given out on Facebook, Twitter and on our website at www.ProvoTreasureHunt.com.

There will also be an iPhone and Android app available to download the clues - both a free version and a premium version for 1.99 that gives the clues out a day earlier.

In addition to the grand prize of $5,000, there will be mini-hunts for smaller "Treasures", including cases of Coca-Cola, sets of Pass of all Passes to Seven Peaks and gift certificates to local businesses including Pizza Pie Cafe and CityDeals.com.

The idea from this came from my own experience 15 years ago with my wife (girlfriend at the time). We took part in a treasure hunt put on by KOOL-FM in Ottawa, Canada. We would look for the treasure after work every night, and whenever we stopped the car, we wondered if this was the spot we would find the Treasure. Our hearts would beat faster and we would race to scrounge around the area. As we drove from one spot to the next, we would have long conversations dissecting the clues and sharing with each other what we would do with the money if we found it. This lead to us talking about dreams and ambitions. I told her secret wishes and hopes that I had never told anybody else. This is something we still remember and talk about to this day - it is a wonderful memory we share.

To sign up, all you have to do is any of the following:

Add Provo Treasure Hunt as a Friend on Facebook
Follow @ProvoTreasure on Facebook
Send dl@ProvoTreasureHunt.com an email

You can even get an early clue by following the instructions here.

   

I politely emailed this man back and said, "No way am I sharing this with the people who read my blog.  I want the treasure all to myself!  Why would I tell other people how to get it?!?"

Then I had a little change of heart and figured, "Hey, maybe if someone who reads my blog actually finds the treasure they'll split the profits with me since I am the one that gave them the idea."  Genius?  I think so!

So get to work, people!  Get your clue from Duncan, the mysterious man who is starting this treasure hunt, and get searching!  You find the $5,000, you give me half of it.  Do we have a deal or do we have a deal?!?

But seriously.  I'm going to be busy this week searching for clues!  You should too!

I Believe

I believe...

In being pretty.  In painted fingernails and long eyelashes and beautiful dresses.  I believe that every once in a while every woman should straight up feel like a million bucks.

I believe in laughing and laughing freely and even sometimes laughing when you don't feel much like laughing at all.

I believe in hard work and rewards.  I think good things come to those who wait, but I know that even better things come to those who don't waste time waiting and just get to work.

I believe in love.
I believe in marriage.
I believe in sacrifice, loyalty, trust, compromise, hard work, and letting go of pride.
I believe in saying sorry.

I believe that dreams can come true and that a dream is really nothing more than a big goal that requires so much work that it overwhelms most of us so much that it never becomes more than a dream.  I've always dreamed of being a writer, but the road seemed too long, the pathway too arduous.  I'll always be grateful for Hubs for encouraging me to chase my dreams, no matter how far fetched they first seemed.  It wasn't until I married Hubs that I dared to start blogging consistently.  I'm telling you now, it ain't no coincidence.


I believe in movie theatres and popcorn and an ice cold coca cola.


I believe in a God who is loving, forgiving, and understanding.  I believe in a God that does things we don't understand sometimes, but that doesn't do anything  that isn't absolutely necessary for us to become who He wants us to become.

I believe that my dad is still with me and is still a part of me.  I believe that he watches over me, protects me, laughs when I say something crazy to my students, and covers his eyes in horror when I run a red light.

I believe in the power of prayer.

I believe in the power of words.  Their power to heal, change, and inspire.  I believe in literature, and Shakespeare, and even the power of this little blogging world.

I believe in friends.  In being friends with your family, and friends with your roommates, and friends with your husbands.  I believe in my work friends and my college friends and my blog friends.  I believe in spending time with girls because those boys just straight up don't get it sometimes.

I believe that people like you based on how you make them feel.  The key to having a lot of friends is making people feel good about themselves.  You make people feel good about themselves, and you'll have a pack of friends following you around for life.

I believe in the power of serving others.  Of forgetting yourself and going to work.  I believe in my mom and her incredible example of strength and love and trust in God.  Of kindness and generosity and always having a warm, open heart.

I believe in honoring your parents.  I also believe in finding out what YOU believe, in gaining your own knowledge, and making your own choices.  I'll always be grateful to my parents for letting me do that.

I believe that if you're not playing a game with the intent to win a game, why are you playing it at all?

I believe in a diet coke to get you through the day.  If the first diet coke is cracked at 8 am, well by golly, I believe in that too.

I believe in quiet time... in finding time alone with God, time to think, time to be grateful, time to study, time to read, time to ponder.

I believe in loud time... in football games and dance parties and big, obnoxious groups of people having a good old time.

I believe that everyone should at one time visit a third world country.  That we should all make the effort to see the rest of the way the world lives and them come home and never complain about the color of our carpet again.

I believe in cooking on the grill and homemade ice cream and Sunday dinners with the family.

I believe in beautiful weather being a gift from God and in the quiet beauty of a Thursday evening home alone.

(This is a link up... I stole the idea from Erin.  Go link up.  And if you don't know Erin you need to.  She's a blogging mastermind.)