December 11, 2004

I was in my first semester of graduate school at the University of Utah. It was a Saturday morning and I woke up early to get a little studying done. I remember standing in the kitchen pouring a bowl of marshmallow mateys when I heard a noise outside. My roommates at the time were not home, I thought that maybe they were coming home from a night out with friends. I turned the light on in the living room and walked into my bedroom to peek out the blinds onto the porch. I was expecting to see one of my roommates but what I saw haunts me to this day.

Squatting outside my window was a man dressed in dark clothes. He apparently had seen the light come on in the living room and turned his head that way. He slowly stood up and started to walk away. My first thought was that he would try to get into the apartment. I locked myself into my bedroom and dialed my parents number. My mom answered the phone and somehow I was able to communicate that there was a man outside my apartment. My mom said she would come to get me. It seemed like an eternity before she got there. I remember a knock on the door and my mom saying it was okay to open the door. The rest of the day seems like a blur. I filed a police report and tried to go on with studying and yard work.

My parents wanted me to stay at their house that night but I knew that if I did not face my fear it would only become worse. I don't think I slept at all that night. I lay perfectly still waiting, listening, fearing. At one point I thought I heard something outside my door and I thought I saw a small flash of light but I was to afraid to look. I was to afraid to see what I feared.

My brother, Bart came down the next night to check things out. Even with the lights on inside you couldn't see into my room, but we could see into the basement apartment where another girl from my ward lived. I told my neighbor about the situation and had her adjust her blinds so that no one could see in. I honestly thought the problem was solved.

On January 24th my roommate had gone outside a few minutes before she usually did to warm up her car. I was in my room getting ready for the day when I heard "Get the #@$% away from my house, I'm calling the police." She had heard something in the bushes outside of my bedroom window and saw a man dressed in dark clothing walking briskly away. Once again we filled a police report. The police were unable to find the perpetrator that morning and suggested that we adjust a motion light outside my window.

The first day after adjusting the motion light I heard a noise outside my window and saw the light come on. The same thing happened the next day but the day after that changed everything. I walked out my apartment and the light did not go off. I thought that maybe the bulb had burned out. I walked over to the light and reached up to find that the light bulb had been unscrewed. Once again I called and filed a police report. The police came to the house and got took finger prints from the light, they also took an impression of a footprint in the mud outside my bedroom window. They had me look at the sex offender website to see if I recognized anyone as my peeping tom. It was horrifying to flip though web pages wondering if one of these men had been visiting my bedroom window.

My mom was furious about the escalation of events. She told the officer that she would be outside of my apartment every morning until the peeping tom was caught. The next day she was down there and so was the officer. He told her that he would be there everyday until the peeping tom was caught.

On February 4th I woke up to a noise outside my window. I was terrified to look out and ended up calling police dispatch and talking to the officer outside my house. He said that he had not seen anything. I continued with my normal morning routine and several minutes after I got out of the shower the doorbell rang. It was the officer. He informed me that he had arrested a man outside my apartment. As I left for school that morning I saw a man in the back of a police car. I also saw a turquoise Geo Metro parked back by my garage.

I was frustrated because the police officers would not identify the peeping tom. They told us it was someone that worked in the area but would not give us more information. I found out soon enough. On February 7th I was contacted by the media. They had identified our peeping tom, he was our mailman. My mind instantly recalled all of my interactions with the mailman. I thought about the times I had been out raking leaves or mowing the lawn and had said hi to him. I also remembered that the morning that I had first seen the peeping tom outside my window and how later that day the mailman had startled me when I had been out working in the yard. I felt completely vulnerable. This man had held a trusted position in the community. He had used his position to identify single girls and to victimize them.

I went through the paperwork to get a stalking injunction put in place. Through that process I was given access to the police reports surrounding the case. I read the transcript from the interview with the peeping tom and his words still send chills up my spine. He admitted to coming to my apartment 1-2 times for over two months.

I attended all of the sentencing hearings. My roommates and I wrote letters to the judge. In the end our peeping tom was sentenced to 30 days in jail, counseling, and psychoanalysis. Our peeping tom served 30 days but I feel like I continue to serve. My heart races every time I hear a noise outside my window. I barricade myself in my bedroom when I am home alone at night. I lock my car that is a locked garage. I race to get from my house to the garage whenever it is dark outside. I still have mace hanging from my key chain. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about this incident.

THE GUMBALL BANDIT

I showed up at work today and noticed that a gumball bandit had visited my office. My gumball machine had been opened up and pennies were all over. When I put it together I noticed that a number of gumballs were missing, at least 15 is my guess. I honestly feel bad for this person. At the end of each half hour session with students I let one student put a penny into my gumball machine to see what small reward the entire group gets for keeping the rules. The gumballs in my machine have various things written on them (one treat, one treasure, better luck next time, 10 minute free game time). These gumballs are over 2 years old, have been handled by numerous students and definately contain a large number of germs. Yuck!

PUMPKIN

I have a slight obsession with pumpkin. In my opinion pumpkin should not be seasonal. I would happily eat pumpkin year round. I love all things pumpkin. Kind of like Bubba loves shrimp. Here are a few of my favorites:

Pumpkin pie
Can you really beat a huge COSTCO pie for six bucks.

Pumpkin ice cream
COLD STONE's pumpkin ice cream with Graham Cracker Crust is my favorite.
Dryers is good too. I'm thinking about buying a few to keep in my freezer before they take them off the shelves.

Pumpkin Gelato
BELLISIMO'S in Bountiful is my favorite place to get Gelato, besides Italy of course. I love mixing the pistachio with the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Dessert
Kind of like pumpkin pie but way easier to make.

Pumpkin cheesecake
OLIVE GARDEN has the best pumpkin cheesecake. I haven't had it yet so I better get there soon.

Pumpkin bars
Hint, hint, Anne you haven't made any yet.

Pumpkin pancakes
IHOP is good, and the syrup is great.
MIMI'S CAFE puts apple pie filling on theirs.
Anne makes awesome pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes.


Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
I didn't think I could like them again after someone made them way too often and mixed in raisins or nuts instead of chocolate chips but my love for them has returned.

Cougar or Ute?

Some of you may be wondering where my loyalty lies. I have to admit that over the years it has flip flopped a few times. I am in a unique situation having graduated from both BYU and the University of Utah.

My first year at BYU was LaVell Edwards' last. I found a highlight of that season on Wikipedia

That season, the Cougars struggled and found themselves with a 4-6 record with just two games left. Prior to Edwards' final home game, against New Mexico, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that Cougar Stadium would be renamed "LaVell Edwards Stadium."^[1] Before the game started, President Hinckley addressed the BYU players in the locker room and admonished them, "Don't muff it." The Cougars went on to dominate the Lobos 37-13. The season finale against the Utes was much more intense as the Cougars were trailing late in the 4th quarter, still deep in their own territory. On a fourth and thirteen, quarterback Brandon Doman found Jonathan Pittman on a Hail Mary pass. On the next play, Doman completed another pass to Pittman to put them in scoring position. Doman completed the comeback by running for the clinching score, winning the game 34-27, and Coach Edwards was triumphantly carried off the field.

I was at the game described above with my cousin Stephanie. We had all sports passes my first two years at BYU and we attended every football game. LaVell left after my first year and the first few years of Coach Crowton were okay. By the time I graduated the football program was a disaster.

I started graduate school at the University of Utah and the football team was amazing. We played Texas A&M in the season opener. Urban Meyer led Alex Smith and the rest of the team to an undefeated season and we busted into the BCS to play at the Fiesta bowl.

So who will I be cheering for tomorrow?

I like to think of myself as CUTE (Cougar + UTE) but I have to admit that I have cheered for Utah since 2004 and will continue to cheer for them. I am wearing red today, and I will be tomorrow. What can I say, I look good in red. GO UTES!

"DATING" Max

Max is my nephew in case you were wondering. His parents went on a date a few weeks ago and the entire time they were gone he asked "I go on a date with you Nona (aka Grandma)?" Since this time he has become fixated on dates. So I decided that Max and I should start "dating."

DATE #1
On Wednesday night I took him to the library. As we drove there he told me how pretty the city lights were. I really wasn't thinking about how pretty the lights were. I was thinking about how much I hate the dark. I guess I should start thinking like Max. We drove by the temple and I asked him if he could see it. He said "I see the temple, my mommy and daddy go to the temple and bring me back a prize."

We pulled up to the library and I had to carry Max in because he was wearing footsie pajamas already. He looked so cute wandering around the library in his footsie pajamas. We picked out a few movies for him. One was the vintage Frosty the Snowman which I am sure he will love. On the way home we looked for deer around the canyon. Max has both a fear and fascination with deer. He kept saying "I see deer." I would ask "Where?" Max would say "Up in the mountains." Maybe he saw deer up in the mountains but I doubt it.

DATE #2
On Thursday night I took Max down to Gateway. He loves the fountain there. He asked if we would take off our clothes and go in the fountain. I said "It's too cold" he said "It's not to cold" (technically he said it's too told, but I knew what he meant). When we walked by the fountain he was totally mesmerized. I didn't let him get to close because I knew he would want to run in.

We stopped at the bank to make a deposit. They had a huge stuffed horse. Max decided to give it a big hug and carry it around. He was sad when he had to leave it. The cashier gave him candy so I think he thought it was a fair trade. He chose to eat the gum first and save the smarties for later.

Our next stop was Build a Bear. Max wanted the first animal he picked up but I made him look over all of his choices. We decided on a turtle because it had a secret compartment in the shell that he can hid stuff in. He loves hiding things. He helped stuff his turtle and give it a bath. I asked him what he wanted to name his turtle and he decided on Turkey. That is right we now have a Turkey the turtle. He wanted to carry Turkey in his house so he carried him all around the mall.

We went into Gap because of Friends and Family. While I was looking at a sweater Max found a mannequin and tried to undress it. He didn't get to far. When I told Sarah she was horrified. I forgot to mention to her that every time we walked by a table of clothes he would pick up a few things. He just liked all the pretty colors. Sorry to all of you retail employees out there who had to refold.

We got back to the car and Max held Turkey in his house all the way home. I asked Max if he was done with his gum. He said "yes." I asked him what he did with it and he said "I eat it." So I opened a pack of smarties to pass back to him. He said "here Suzy" and put the gum in my hand. Apparently he hadn't swallowed it. He said "Suzy I'm done with it. I share with you. You can eat it." Thanks for sharing Max.

When we got home Max was excited to show Turkey off to Nona and Papa. We started to eat dinner and Max seemed more interested in cupcakes than chili. I think that may be a genetic trait. He told Papa "I'm full." Then he pointed to the chili and said "I'm full of this." Then he pointed to the cupcakes and said "I'm not full of this." Smooth Max, very smooth.

I LOVE THE 80's

I walked by the book fair at my school this week and something caught my eye. Among the books, pencils, and stickers, was a Smurf journal. Instantly I was brought back to my childhood, I was sitting on the family room floor on a Saturday morning, eating fruit loops and watching the Smurfs. I loved the Smurfs. I could never really understand why there was only Smurfette and tons of Smurf boys (Tailor, Farmer, Dreamy,Harmony, Papa, etc.). I always wanted to be Smurfette. Maybe someday my childhood dream will come true. My sister lived the dream last Halloween when she dressed up as Smurfette. Maybe next year.

MY FIRST 1/2 MARATHON

will be P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll in January. I have been training since August and finally have committed to my first race. I bought my ticket to Phoenix this week and completed all of the registration. Here are a few reasons I chose this 1/2 Marathon as my first:

• My brother Jeff lives in Phoenix. This will be his 3rd time running the Rock 'n' Roll.
• The course is flat and fast. I have been training at an incline the past week and my ankles are not loving it.
• Phoneix in January= perfect weather.
• Live bands will be playing every mile.

As a side note, my ward hosted a 5K on Saturday. I crossed the finish line first. It was my first race win, EVER. Before you congratulate me you should realize that 10-12 people raced and most walked. I tried to run the entire time but my ankle (see above) did not cooperate. I was able to run all of the downhill portion. I have decided that I am a downhill runner, kind of like a downhill skier, but not. I have also decided that I don't like hearing myself breath. I need to take care of that little problem before January.