Amber Nelson
Bio
Wife to my one and only, mother of 4, lunch lady, home chef extraordinaire, gardener, lover of the outdoors, writing for fun.
Stories (13/0)
My Get it Done Playlist
Number one on the list is Turnpike Troubadours, I have yet to hear music from them that I do not like. They are a perfect blend of unforgettable lyrics and pleasant melodies that won't annoy your co-workers. We went to their concert a couple years ago with friends at this teeny bar in a shady part of Salt Lake City and they are so good live! Like, So. Good. So much talent that you can't help but fall in love. At the time I did not know what to expect, my husband finds these bands and I was just along for the ride but am so glad that I was introduced to these guys. There is nothing better than a band that sounds just as good, or better live, as they do in the studio. Now we are just stuck waiting for them to get back to performing, the lead singer was going through some personal struggles the last that I heard and my selfish self just wants to see them live again. Not that the Pandemic is helping the situation.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Beat
Dinner Party Reunion
All members of the Lewis and Clark expedition, please join us for an anniversary feast on this Friday September 25th, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. to celebrate the commencement of the Corps of Discovery of the American West. We will meet in Idaho at my cabin on the banks of the Snake River for dinner, with musical guest Turnpike Troubadours and an evening float down the beautiful Snake River. After which we will retire to our individual cabin bedrooms and meet again the following morning at 6:00 a.m. to spend the day fishing, hiking and horseback riding.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Feast
Money Cake
My grandparents didn't have a lot of money, maybe that's why as an adult I remember this so well. I was pretty young, maybe turning seven and it was my birthday. We happened to be at my grandparent's little two bedroom, one bathroom house in Idaho Falls and I remember it being cold. Like the kind of cold that makes you leave your car running at the gas station while you're filling up kind of cold. Of course that isn't unusual for South-Eastern Idaho, the wind seldom stops blowing and it is legit winter for about nine months out of the year- but that's beside the point. The point is, that I was at Grandma and Grandpa's house for my birthday!! And as a little girl I couldn't be more thrilled.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Families
My BFF
Jed, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for making our lives together so perfect. You have given me and our kids a charmed life and me staying home and raising them has been incredibly hard but it has also been a gift and something that I wouldn't change for the world. You are my best friend, the one that knows everything about me and the person that I trust with my life. I never expected when I met you at work as a teenager that my world would be forever changed. You were the fun guy, the guy that could make anybody laugh and the one that everyone wanted to hang out with, nothing about that has changed. You were known as the eternal bachelor, and then you got a crazy idea and married me! You are charming and chivalry is not dead with you, you have been opening doors for me and offering me the last bite of cheesecake since the day we met. And it's not just me, but you treat all women with that level of respect and I admire that about you. It has been a pleasure to not only be your wife for the last almost 20 years, but also your plus one at some of the best concerts that I never would have gone to on my own.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Humans
Tattoos. Top Story - September 2020.
Do you remember in elementary school, the temporary tattoos? I loved them, love them still. Cute little splashes of color used as a time filler at parties. The kids love them because they can have that little artistic expression, moms don't freak out because a bath and some scrubbing will remove all traces of that flamingo in no time. Unlike when your toddler finds red lip stick and tags everything, including their face and your new couch.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Families
"Benny the Jet" Rodriguez
I still remember it, I spent the whole summer of 1994 babysitting my neighbor's four kids, and do you know what their favorite VHS tape was? You guessed it, or maybe the title gave it away, The Sandlot! Remember? That movie set in 1962 about a boy dubbed "Smalls" as in "you're killing me Smalls!" who moved to a new neighborhood and happens upon a group of boys about his age that are obsessed with baseball. They teach him to play, get into some trouble along the way and get themselves into the biggest pickle that any young kid could imagine. What's more is that the movie was actually filmed in my home state! Ogden, Midvale and Salt Lake City, Utah are my stomping grounds. Of course I didn't find this out until high school, but you know my movie loving girlfriends and I absolutely HAD to go and swim at Lauren Farr Pool in Ogden the second that we found out that that was the pool that appeared in the film. I think that may have been one of my favorite scenes when Squints fakes drowning at the pool and the life guard, Wendy Peffercorn, that he is in love with jumps in, saves him, and gives him mouth to mouth. When he wraps his arms around her and tries to give her a big old kiss, she smacks him and stomps off.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Geeks
My Dream Home
I have always been fascinated with historic homes. Old homes with a history, something about them invokes a level of nostalgia. Like I am guilty of some serious rubbernecking when I drive by them, the way some might stare at a train wreck or a celebrity.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Families
Let's Take a Hike
You have so much to be thankful for. Take a minute before your start and breathe in the cool mountain air, hold it, now breathe out. Again. Allow yourself to feel the air filling your lungs, take in the notes of pine or sage. The way that it feels clean, and cold. The way that cold air actually has a scent. Roll your neck down, eyes closed, feeling the burn as you lengthen tight muscles. Three deep breaths. Now allow your head to gently stretch down towards your right shoulder, now your left. Feel the way that it loosens the band that runs down the side of your neck, through the shoulder and down towards your shoulder blade. Now stretch your arms straight up and over your head linking your hands, cold fingertips touching, feeling the muscles burn a little bit through the triceps. Now lower your hands and clasp them behind you back, rolling your shoulders back and feeling this open and stretch the chest. Lastly, steady yourself on a tree or fence or the hood of your car and bring your foot up behind you and grasp your right ankle in you right hand, allowing your quads to stretch. Gently holding for five seconds as you listen to the quiet rustle of forest animals, the tweeting of birds all around as they go about their business repeating their simple call. Lower your right foot, steady yourself and repeat with the left. Allowing this simple stretch to prepare your body and mind to be cleared of worries and doubts, stress and sorrow.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Motivation
Multiple Sclerosis & Inflammation
Hi! I'm Amber, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about 12 years ago, not long after my third child's first birthday. Frankly it was devastating, I was at the time working at a retirement home and taking care of 2 residents that had the condition. One man was 40 and in the late stages of the disease, in the two years that I worked there I unfortunately watched his steady decline and eventual death, it was so sad. The other woman was 75 or so and had not been able to walk since she was 50 but was now confined to a wheelchair with pretty severe tremors all of the time. I remember the day that I was helping her get ready for bed and she made the comment, "well at least you don't have MS" and then her crying when I revealed to her that I had just recently been diagnosed. All I could think about were my 3 young kids, my husband and the end result of the disease.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Longevity
That One Time,
Could you imagine being an explorer and coming upon this sight some two hundred years ago? Not to mention being a member of one of the Native American tribes who got to enjoy their summers in this magnificent landscape. These mountains are breathtaking, the peaceful, grassy valley so inviting to the weary traveler even today. The Grand Tetons, with their snowy peaks are a sight to behold in July when the only snow to be found is the shaved ice on a snow cone.
By Amber Nelson4 years ago in Wander
