My First Stethoscope and Parking Ticket

Thursday was started out like any other day. I woke up, ate breakfast, went reception shopping with my mom etc etc. But one thing that made this day different from every other day different was two things: my brand new stethoscope, and my first parking ticket.

I had this terrific lunch with some awesome friends: my former coworkers. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I love them to pieces. Then they did something above and beyond anything I could comprehend: they gave me a stethoscope, my first stethoscope. To those of you who don't know I worked in a doctor's office and I am planning to pursue a degree in Nursing at BYU in Provo. I was beyond words. I still am. Holy cow, they're amazing. And I think of them every time see it.

About this time, 2:15 to be exact, a waitress peeps through my happiness and says that it's 2:15 and if you've parked at the park you need to move it because the farmers market is setting up. I parked there knowing that I would need to move and I was like okay I should probably leave before I get a ticket. So I said goodbye to some of the most amazing people and started to walk across to the other side of the park to get to my car.

As I'm walking I see red flashing lights. "Oh no," I first thought "My car is getting towed." So now I'm walking REALLY fast trying to get there before my car gets towed. I get there and it's just a cop car. Phew. Or so I think. After a rather..... unpleasant conversation with the female police officer, I got my first parking ticket. My first reaction to this was, I'll admit it, to cry. It was a REALLY unpleasant conversation and I wanted to cry. But I decided, let's learn from this. And to be honest, I think I have. When a sign says leave at 2, I will be there at 2.

But my day ended well. When I got home I showed my family what I got that day. My cool glass from the Old Spaghetti Factory, my wonderful new stethoscope and my parking ticket. That dinner we spent listening to our hearts and to the opening and closing of our stomachs. Guess what Timmy now wants for Christmas? A stethoscope.

Official Blog Entry Number 1

I have to get this off my chest. Picking a background for this blog was freakin ANNOYING!!!! GEEZ! There was nothing I connected with! Sure, there where really pretty things and ones that I liked but nothing that said, "AFTON". There were several backgrounds that looked really arts-y but they all said, "I'm a troubled, emotional teenager that needs to have an outlet to express my pitiful life." Not me. Couldn't they have a piano or something musical?? So don't be surprised if you come back and my blog looks absolutely different. This is a work in progress.
Anyway, welcome to my blog! You probably looked at the title and thought, "What the...?" I'll admit that this blog's title got its name from my iPod. When I got my iPod, I named it "Afton's Ship" so that everytime I plugged it into my computer to add songs it would say, "Syncing Afton's Ship" across the top. It always brings a smile to my face. :)
I just got back from a two and a half week "vacation" in Utah. My brother and now sister-in-law were sealed for Time and all Eternity on July 17th. In my opinion, and I will probably eat these words when I get married, why plan and plan and plan for two months worrying about every little detail when your celebration lasts like two hours? I'm extremely happy for my brother and his wife but dang. Anti-climatic. The decorations were pretty and everyone was happy but I don't know if I want to put my mom through all that when I get married. I know, I know. I will eat these words. But looking into the past and glimpsing into the future of what we still have to do, wow. Bless my mother and father. And Stephen, be grateful.
Anywho, this past week was really nice. I had a week long family reunion with my mom's family and a day reunion with my dad's family. My dad's family reunion is the reason I'm doing this blog. I was talking with my cousin's husband, Weston, and I asked him, "What am I going to do for two weeks?" (I go back to Utah in two weeks for another reception in Texas. Long story.) He told me to write a book. Eventually another cousin's spose entered the conversation and said, "Start a blog." I guess this is somewhat like writing a book.... Kind of....