Happy Birthday Kimberly!

Last week was rough. I've had a viral infection for like 3 weeks and it just kept getting worse. I finally made it to the Dr. Thursday afternoon after escaping my afternoon research meeting. My Dr. was a Russian woman with a VERY thick accent. After the basic questions she broke out her stethoscope. "Oh Kelly I can hear you VEEZING. No more supress cough with syrup! Cough it out Kelly, cough it out!! ...but do not svallow if cannot get it out... I give you Z-pack, you take, you get better, or you come back to me. Sleep vith humidifier! Ok you go home Kelly, take first dose, take nap." I wish I could have. But I did go straight to the in house pharmacy to fill my prescription!

On my way home, the check engine light came on and my car started shaking violently every time I slowed down or stopped. Oh boy. Car problems! Yippee!! So Layne and I arranged to have the car looked at on Saturday. Friday morning on my way to work however, I got pulled over by a state trooper on the I-15 for not having my new registration sticker on my plates. When I handed him my license he about threw a fit that it was a North Carolina license and not Utah and then told me to "sit tight". So I did...for about HALF AN HOUR!! What was he doing all that time you ask? CALLING FOR BACKUP! One moment I'm just sitting there feeling sorry for myself, the next moment, this is what I see in my rear view mirror
2 more trooper cars with their lights flashing pulled up behind me. I was begining to wonder if I was going to end up in jail. 15 minutes LATER, my trooper finally came back over and told me that he had called for the other cars because his computer wasn't working and he needed one of them to print my ticket for him. How nice. Is that even legal? If he can't write me a ticket is he really allowed to hold me hostage for 45 minutes while he waits for someone who can? These are questions I shall be asking the district attorney when I go down to the courthouse to complain/try to get out of paying/end up paying anyway.

Friday night was dress rehearsal for the big SLCA concert from 7-10pm.




Saturday I spent a time working on my YW lesson, helping stuff CD's that would be sold at the concert, getting ready for the concert and picking up my car on the way. I don't even know what all was wrong with it (Layne talked to the guy) but I DO know that it cost us nearly $700 to fix. I LOVE our mechanic, and actually really trust him to do things as cheaply and quickly as possible. For those of you who live in the Salt Lake valley and are in need of a GOOD and trustworthy mechanic, I HIGHLY recommend Dee's Automotive on 4062 S. State.

Its never fun to get a $700 car repair bill, even when you HAVEN'T been slammed with home repair bills the month before. Oh well! Onward and upward! It could always be worse. Saturday night's concert was a long one to be sure, but everyone who came (including Layne) was thoroughly entertained! I'll post some clips, pictures and the Salt Lake Tribune review when I get a copy of the recording. I managed to sing most of the concert except for 2 songs in the middle of the Chamber Singers program. I had taken some cough suppressant (my Dr. would probably send the Russian mafia after me if she knew) so I could make it through the concert, but I got a sudden tickle in my throat in the middle of a Latin American ballad and had to spend the next 2 songs not only NOT singing, but trying to suppress the URGENT need to cough while still mouthing the words and not look like I was dying in the process. I know many of you know the feeling of trying to suppress a cough. I was shaking, beet red and had tears streaming down my face by the time the applause came and I could relieve myself a bit. The miracle is that no one noticed besides the people on either side of me that I was in SEVERE distress. To me that means MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I should be an actress!

Thursday the 16th was my sister Kimberly Flaherty's 22nd birthday! I feel awful about not being able to do my birthday post on her actual day, but am going to do it now with her forgiveness.
I don't even know where to begin to describe how grateful I am for my little sister. All I can say is that heavenly Father knew I needed a sister, and in His goodness, blessed my life with Kim (otherwise known in our family as Berferd, Berfy or just plain Berf). While during our younger years we went through the typical sisterly growing pains that come with sharing a room, and I was accomplice to a number of plots against her orchestrated by our older brother, Kim and I have otherwise always been best friends. Kim has always been older than her age suggests and therefore has often been like a big sister to me when I've needed it. While we don't look anything alike and are different in many ways, no one understands me the way she does. We can finish eachother's sentences and often say (or sing) the same thing at exactly the same time (which of course always ends in fits of laughter).Kim was blessed with an extremely keen sensitivity and a loving heart. She has made so many sacrifices in her life to help others. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't flown out to NC to help us pack up our house and made the 3,000 mile drive with us from Rocky Mount to Salt Lake. Talk about SERVICE!!! I treasured that time that we lived together while she was getting ready to start school at BYU and love seeing her on the weekends that she comes up to stay with us. Kim is extremely smart and talented, but the best part about her is that she doesn't think she is. I love hearing her play the violin and the piano (and sing), can barely keep up with her athletically, and marvel at her ability to do so well in school with everything she has going on. Not to mention she is the best Nertz player on the planet!
Kim is simply the best friend and sister I could have ever asked for. Being around Kimberly makes me want to be a better person. In short, I want to grow up to be just like my little sister! I love you Kim! Happy Birthday! (One of your gifts was resisting the urge to put some of the pictures on here that I could have.) Think chopsticks and an empty cereal box... :)