THE Bridesmaid

Happy Freaking New Year!

2012-01-13T21:44:00.000-08:00

This New Year's Eve was...interesting? I went with my friend Becky to the "mid-singles" (and they use the term "mid" VERY loosely) dance called "Fire & Ice". Let me just say, I miss YSA :) I went from feeling really old in the YSA crowd to feeling really young in the "mid"-singles crowd.
As soon as we walked in, I knew that they really weren't enforcing the age limit. There were a bunch of old guys (probably in their late 40s or 50s) that kept coming up to Becky because she was having fun dancing. One guy told her that she's not supposed to have that much energy. Right, because in the nursing home NONE of the other ladies have that much energy.
Pretty sure Billy Graham was there too. I thought maybe he was a chaperon, but turns out he wasn't. He was there looking for his EC just like the rest of us.
Right before midnight they had everyone go outside to watch the fireworks show. The best part of the whole thing was they had Mi Amigos catered food. We decided to stay inside and eat some dinner while everyone else went outside.
While we were there eating, someone wheeled in this old lady in a wheelchair who was falling asleep sitting there. For a second I thought maybe she was dead, but she was just sleeping. COME ON! I mean, they don't even need to check her id to know that she's above the age limit.
THEN a man came in and was looking for his camera so he decided to come over and talk to us. He was wearing cargo pants, so he he thought he'd talk to us about cargo pants. He told us how great they are, how you can put so many things in the pockets. This is an exact quote, "I love cargo pants because you can put so much stuff in them. I like to pack my piece in them when I'm on my acreage." Piece? Acreage? SERIOUSLY!
Then as we were leaving, the cargo pants king found us again and since there were fireworks he thought he would talk to us about fireworks.
Cargo Man: "Do you like fireworks?"
Me: "yeah, they are cool"
Cargo Man: "I remember lighting them in my front yard as a kid back before they were banned"
Me: "Really? I thought they've been illegal for like 50 years?"
Cargo Man: "yeah, those were the good old days"
That was my cue to leave.
It was definitely a night I will never forget. I actually did have fun.
Here's the thing...It's not like I think I am too good for these guys. BUT when you are 50 years old, what makes you think you should be hitting on a 30 year old (AND I don't even look 30)? It's just wrong!!

Look at the bright side...my year can only get better from there, right? Since life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it, I choose to react with a sense of humor and be grateful for the lesson I learned. Stay away from the mid-singles dances! I can use this knowledge to help others. I should start going to YSA Wards warning them of what lies ahead of them if they don't get their crap together and get married :) Maybe Cargo Pants Man will come with me, because if I am not convincing enough I am pretty sure he can drive the point home.

Handy Dandy

2011-12-06T14:02:00.001-08:00

Hi, my name is Marie and I am addicted to Pinterest. Yup, I said it. I don't even want to quit. It's AMAZING! This addiction has gotten me thinking about all the things I can do to make all my old crap feel like new crap.

My first project was to paint my old kitchen table black. It was a super light pine and I never loved it but I got it for $100 on craigslist and it's solid wood. Couldn't pass up that deal. It's like a new table!!! I love it!

I thought I had a "before" picture so I didn't bother taking one. Turns out, I can't find a single picture of it before. So I just found a similar one online. For this project, this is what I learned from Pinterest...use a liquid sander stuff instead of sanding the entire thing. It was super easy to use & the paint went over it really well.

On to my next project! I saw this on Pinterest:

The entire plan is from this AMAZING website (I want to make everything on there). My sister and I decided we MUST have one. SO I coerced my dad into helping me make one. He spent 3 days in his shop with me making this and my entertainment center. He is the best dad in the world!

I am in LOVE with how mine turned out. Sara is still working on hers but it will be awesome too.

The picture does not do the paint justice. I used Martha Stewart's Textured Metallic paint in Anchor Gray. It's kinda sparkly and a rough texture...freaking awesome!! We used the leftover MDF from my entertainment center (pictures coming soon) so the cost for this bad boy was $5 for the handle, $3 for the hinges, & $7 for the paint (I used a little more than half of the jar) for a total price of $15!!!

And my other project was my entertainment center. Also on this website. This is the one I saw...

Since my dad is a woodoworking genius, we were able to make a few modifications to make it exactly what I wanted. I wanted it a little taller than the original one and a little narrower. Plus I didn't want any drawers, I wanted them all to be doors with false fronts to look like drawers. I also found online a paint style that I wanted. I painted it with Behr Dove Gray then spray painted it with a metallic silver spray paint, THEN went over it with Valspar Antique Glaze. I still have some more work to do, but this is a picture of the progress before I added the glaze and before I drilled holes for the hardware. I can't wait to finish it. LOVE IT! The total on this one probably ended up being around $150 with the hardware and paint, and MDF. Which isn't bad for a custom entertainment center.

Ketchup

2011-07-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I suck at Blogging...but pretty much everyone does and now Facebook has taken over. But since I use my blog for a journal then I feel like I need to at least post every once in a while.

Memorial Day weekend my mom, Daniel, and I went to my cousin Chris' wedding in Palm Springs. We drove up on Friday after work. I got pulled over for unsafe following distance. Luckily I got off with a lecture on safe following distance and a warning. It was a good weekend. This is the first time in at least 14 years that I've seen my cousins. I also got to see my Uncle Steve for the first time in maybe 16 years. Chris' wedding was great and his wife is so sweet. I found out that my cousin Michael, who is a few years older than I am, has 2 step-grandkids! AND THEN his dad, my aunt's ex-husband, got remarried and has a 4 year old daughter. So to recap...he has a 3 year old daughter, two 3 year old step-grandkids, and a 4 year old half-sister! KA-RAZY!

My super exciting news so far this summer...I learned how to hem my own jeans and keep the original hem! Woohoo!! I was pretty proud of myself.

I broke a tooth while at my cousin's wedding. The dentist fixed it without having to do a crown...blessing! Then a few weeks later I got a toothache and went back to the dentist. Yeah, that tooth is cracked now. I have to go to an endodontist now to see if I have to have a root canal before they put the crown on. This is not helping me get out of debt :(

Here's a picture of my bruised thumb. I think it's funny that I bruised my thumb. I was helping Christi put together a bookshelf and was using an allen wrench and got a bruise. Further proof that I really do bruise like a peach.

4th of July weekend I got to go to Utah. Marie was going there to hang out with her sisters so I was going to join them. Then it turned into a Slade Family reunion, which was fine by me because I love that whole family. I got to see Amy for a teeny bit, she picked me up from the airport on Thursday and we got to hang out until Marie picked me up on Friday afternoon. It was so good to see her! The Slade Family reunion was awesome. We stayed at Marie's aunt Debbie's house. 15 kids running around like crazy is pretty good birth control. But I love those kids and I miss them so much. I can't believe how fast they are growing. We went to Stadium of Fire @ BYU and sat outside the stadium in the grass to watch the fireworks show. It was awesome. I love fireworks. Then we went to the Provo Parade. Lynn's father-in-law gets like 50 dozen donuts and reserves a huge area for friends and family. It was a long parade but it was fun. We just chilled the rest of the weekend and I got to see Amy again on Tuesday afternoon before I went to the airport. BEST WEEKEND EVER!!!

Then on the drive home from the airport, this is what Christi and I saw...a HUGE wall of dust was closing in on us. It hit us about 5 minutes after I walked in the door. Thank goodness my flight landed when it did because not long after that, they were sending the planes away because of the storm.

Something New & Different

2011-05-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to Huntington Beach for a Mid-Singles Conference. Thursday night my friend Alli and I drove up to Valencia and stayed with Trish & Matthew and then Friday we went to Magic Mountain. Trish and Matthew and 2 of their girls met up with us after the girls got out of school. It was so much fun! I love roller coasters!!!!! It was so good to see Trish too.
Friday night we drove to Huntington Beach for the conference. Friday night there was a party at someone's house. We attempted to go to the party, but the house was literally packed full of people. As soon as we got inside I felt the panic coming. We were being pushed all over the place and our path to the door was completely blocked. We shoved and pushed our way back outside and left. Saturday morning there were some classes/speakers. I am not usually a huge fan of speakers and classes...BORING. But, these speakers were actually really good. Pretty much the best part of the conference, although the boxed lunch from Honeybaked Ham was pretty good too. After that they had beach activities planned which Alli and I both decided were not for us so instead we went to the Newport Beach Temple. It was so pretty! So glad we did that and not the beach.
Then was dinner which we thought would be nice and intimate and be able to meet some people on a smaller scale because we were split up into groups for dinner. We got there and they were so backed up that we had to wait in line to be seated until someone came out of the restaurant. We ended up sitting at the "bar" which made it nearly impossible to talk to anyone. We did meet 2 guys that sat next to us who were really nice and we were hoping to run into them at the Stake Center afterward.
That is, until we got to the Stake Center and realized it would be impossible to find ANYONE in that crowd. I am not even kidding when I say every room was filled with people and I mean FILLED. It was so loud that we couldn't even talk to someone sitting next to us. I think we stayed maybe 30 minutes and then left.
I don't want to sound too much like a negative Nellie...I am glad we went. I now know that I don't want to go to this conference again. And Alli and I had fun, we got to go to Magic Mountain, I got to see Trish, and I got to go to the Newport Beach Temple.
One thing I did learn from this conference...attending this conference as a 50 year old is creepy (there were plenty of OLD people there and they weren't the "leaders").

Same OLD, same OLD

2011-05-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

OLD being the operative word. I turned 32 at the beginning of April (and I know, its not THAT old). I don't know why but this year was a hard year for me. I think I was just looking at all (well most of them) of my friends & siblings who are my age and younger and they are married with kids some are even done having kids, some have had their first course and gone back for seconds (2nd marriage, which is fine - I am VERY happy for them). But, I haven't even started. My roommate from college has 7 kids...7!!!! She said, "just think, you could have 7 kids." And I said, "I can't even get a husband, let alone have 7 kids."
I feel like no one really prepares you for this stage of life. All growing up you learn about being a good wife and mother. No one talks about being a good single person and how to be good at being alone. Don't get me wrong, I have had fun being single. I've been able to do a lot of things that I wouldn't have been able to do if things were different. I have been very blessed. I am lucky to be able to spend so much time with my nieces and nephews, I love them all so much, (including my Chesley niece & nephews) and I know if I were married things would be different. Its been a good 14 years being a young single adult. But I feel like I am REALLY good at this stage of life and I am ready to move on.
Things I've learned in my 14 years of being single...
1) I really don't mind being alone (like for the night, not for eternity)
2) I can kill bugs all by myself with the help of a vacuum cleaner
3) I can fix a leaky toilet
4) Even though I gag everytime, taking out the garbage isn't the worst thing in the world
5) Its okay for me to put myself first sometimes
6) I can change a flat tire
7) I can jump a dead battery
8) I can install hardware on cabinets
9) I can install a kitchen sink (mostly)
10) I can move really heavy furniture by myself, I just need a lot of time
Thanks to my single-hood-ness - I have learned to be very independent.

Bondurant Baby!

2011-04-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

So, I think my favorite part of my job is planning the national sales meeting that is held once a year. Last year was in Vegas @ Aria and I stayed in that massive room. This year they were trying to save some money so we stayed here and had it at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale. Not quite as fancy, but it was still tons of fun. Everything went off without a hitch (of course it did, I planned it). This year for our group activity we went to Bondurant School of High Performance Racing. It was awesome!! We had a track that was set up with cones and we had to weave in and out of the cones and see how fast we could go. We drove brand new Corvettes. We had 3 tries to go as fast as we could without knocking down cones (if you knocked down a cone they added 1 second to your time). I thought I did pretty good, but I came in like 6th place out of 10. Oh well. Then after that we got to ride with a professional driver and he took us around a professional track going like 100 mph and drifting around the curves. It was seriously awesome! I can't wait to see where we're going next year.

Kim's Bachelorette Party

2011-03-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last night was Kim's Bachelorette Party. We went to RigaTony's for dinner then back to Kim's house to open gifts. Then our friends Pat & Ben came and "danced" for us. They were hysterical! Kim gets married next week!

Month in a nutshell

2011-02-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

Since I don't have a whole lot going on, I figured I'd post my Facebook statuses for the month. This pretty much sums up what's been going on with me...(I added some notes in red to explain some things)

February 1 at 1:11pm

I am pumping gas & an outdoor urban dweller approached me & told me she has 5 babies who have diaper rash & could I help her at all. I told her I don't carry cash. She said she wasn't asking for cash & that another nice lady gave her a sandwich. I told her that I didn't have a sandwich. She walked off muttering something. So what the crap do her 5 babies with diaper rash have to do with her wanting a sandwich?!

This one had some funny responses, so here they are…

Kate Hiller Smith: You mean you don't carry a tube of buttpaste with you at all times?? Sheesh, get with it Marie! :)

Marie Rich: I know, I am SOOOO not prepared. The boy scouts would be so disappointed in me.

Cameron Boehme: The poor lady sounded hungry Marie...

Cameron Boehme: I'll remember this next time you ask me for a sandwich.

Marie Rich: Maybe she should have started out by saying her 5 babies with diaper rash really want a sandwich.

Loretta Jack: I haven't laughed this hard in a while! Love the post....love the responses.

Jessica Archambault: Outdoor urban dweller? And where are those babies while she's begging? And all 5 with diaper rash? 5? This woman needs a better story!

Lindsay Levi: BAHAHAHA!!!

Marie Slade Chesley: I would've told her I use mayonnaise on my sandwich not desitin and apologize. But I always apologize too much....it's not my fault she has 5 kids in diapers still...

Marie Rich: I don't even like mayo though.

Chris Bryan: I got approached by a homeless guy and I told him he could have the rest of my milk bc I had no money. He got all mad at me and I yelled at him if I was homeless I'd take anything I could get. And then I realized I was yelling at homeless guy...

Loretta Jack: I always give them money. Guilt? Can't help it.

February 2 at 11:20am

Top of Form

Fuh-reeezing outside...but I love it!

February 3 at 11:31am

Top of Form

I may be all grown up, but I still don't like the crust on my sandwich

February 3 at 1:16pm

Top of Form

I tried the new Mentos Rainbow pack & here is my assessment...strawberry - delish as always, pineapple - taste like soap, grape - taste like you sprayed perfume in your mouth, raspberry - decent, orange - vitamin c, cherry - pretty good, watermelon - tastes like a now and later that's been on the shelf since 1995...overall findings - Don't waste your money, buy the all strawberry pack instead

February 3 at 4:55pm

Top of Form

My nephew walks up to me and says "ree...its me, aiden, you're best friend." I love that kid, he cracks me up!

February 3 at 9:22pm

Top of Form

Just realized my Sunbeams are turning 16 this year...my cute little 4 year old Sunbeams, how did 12 years go by that fast?!

February 7 at 2:22pm

Top of Form

Going to Culinary Dropout tomorrow for lunch...any recommendations????

I am in the process of planning our national sales meeting at work and its going to be here in AZ this year so I get to test out some restaurants to see where we want to have our dinners. One of the perks of my job!

February 8 at 7:17am

Top of Form

gotta love these post-running headaches that won't go away!

February 8 at 2:31pm

Top of Form

no Culinary Dropout today, too many people called out sick at work and there's no one to cover the phones. But we are still going on Thursday...tomorrow is Modern Steak!

February 9 at 10:03pm

Top of Form

Seriously AWESOME tennis match tonight thanks to my doubles partner Vin, the Asian Invasion as I like to call him, some random dude who wanted to play and we needed a 4th person. We smoked Brian Weber and Jared Peterson; I like to think it was mostly because of my mad skills.

My friends Jared, Brian, and I started playing tennis back at the beginning of January. Its so much fun! None of us are really that great but we have a lot of fun playing. Its usually just the 3 of us so we either play 2 on 1 or one of us sits out. On this night, our little Asian friend made it so we could play 2 on 2. It was a blast!

February 11 at 8:34amTop of Form

My hands have been freezing at work lately so I went and bought some gloves (little girls gloves, because that's all they had left) and they don't work, my hands are still freezing!

February 12 at 4:02pm

Had the best time catching up with my friends from Schwab at lunch today. I miss those days!

February 12 at 10:15pm

Top of Form

Went and saw "Just Go With It" last night. It was pretty dang funny!

February 15 at 8:14am

got at least 12 Valentine's last night...things are looking up

February 16 at 1:20pm

Top of Form

fairly certain I have shin splints...my tibia is killing me!

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Christmas

2011-01-17T14:40:00.001-08:00

My work closes for nearly 2 weeks for Christmas every year which can be a little boring for a single person with no children & all my friends leave town. SO...I went to Idaho on Christmas night and spent nearly the entire week with Marie and her family. Tricia & her family were there too so I got to see them and also Mom & Dad Slade who left on another mission for a year. It was so much fun. The kids are growing up too fast and I can't get enough of them. I loved waking up in the morning to the kids standing at my door waiting for me to open my eyes and as soon as I do they all run into the room and climb on me.
And I love, love, LOVE being able to spend time with Marie. We laugh at nothing and have fun doing nothing. We went to Zumba and I realized that I have no rhythm whatsoever! Marie is truly my best friend. I am convinced that we were friends in the pre-existence. I am so grateful to have her in my life.
Then I came home and partied like a rock star for New Year's @ my friend Jared's house. Good times. Then I got sick and I am still trying to get over that - Its been over 2 weeks!
Then my friend Kim got engaged (typical thing to happen to almost anyone who is my friend) so we are now planning her wedding which is always a good time. Still love my ward and am enjoying it as much as I can before they kick me out, which is going to be sooner than I'd like it to be I think.

Done and done

2011-01-17T14:21:00.001-08:00

Its official...I no longer own my house. It closed on Friday. I can't believe it sold so fast - 4 months from when it was listed it closed. CRAZY! Its bittersweet, but I am glad to have that stress gone and to be able to move on. Hopefully I will be able to get out of debt by the end of this year and then I can start over.
Life is good!

New Blogger

2010-11-19T20:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, so if you started a new blog today, BLOGGER has changed things and uploading pictures is SOOOOO much easier...so, anyone know how I can get those changes to be effective on this account which is older?

Halloween 2010

2010-11-19T14:22:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween my friend Kim and I dressed up as 80s Punk Rockers/Jem & the Holograms. NO ONE knew who Jem & the Holograms were! I felt so old. But, we had a blast. Our costumes turned out pretty good too...mostly made from stuff we had on hand. I'll post pics later.
I officially moved into my parents house. Its been really good, no complaints.

Ketchup

2010-09-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Time to play catch up...life has been good. Real good.
For Labor Day weekend I drove to Cali with some friends (thanks to my Sis who let us drive her Tahoe so we could all fit in 1 car). We went to the beach and then we went to Bakersfield to visit my friend Kim's parents. It was so much fun!!! It was totally overcast at the beach which was great because it wasn't hot. The water was actually colder than ice water but we went in for a bit anyway. After a few minutes we were totally numb and couldn't feel anything anyway.
Kim's parents were so much fun. Her mom made like 20 lbs of the BEST chicken salad EVER and like 8 dozen rolls and a huge batch of mint brownies. We managed to polish it all off without a problem. There were 7 of us plus Kim's parents & grandpa.

Two weeks ago, after much thought and many many prayers, I decided I needed to sell my house. I want to get out of debt so bad and ever since I lost my job 3 1/2 years ago I haven't been able to get ahead. I finally came to the realization that as long as I have my house I will never be able to get out of debt. SO...we listed it last Saturday and had an offer on Monday. Now its up to the bank to either accept or decline the offer which will take months. In the meantime I am moving back with my parents (next weekend) and my old roomie & her husband are going to rent my house until it sells. By doing this, I should be completely debt free in about a year which will be the biggest relief! HUGE shout out to my parents for letting me move back in with them. Out of all of the kids, I am pretty sure I've moved out and back in the most (I've also been single the longest of any of my siblings so maybe that has something to do with it). It is very sad to say goodbye to my very own home. I've put so much of me into it and I really do LOVE it, but its the right thing to do and it will be okay.

Last Friday I added accident #18 to my list. I was driving back to work from lunch and I was on a small side street sitting in the middle lane waiting to turn left and an idiot was barreling towards me - driving in the middle lane - doing about 60mph. There were cars coming from my direction so I couldn't move out of the way & there was a car next to him in the actual lane so he couldn't move either. Just before getting hit head-on I turned as quickly as I could and he plowed through the back of my car, never slowing down for a second. And before I could even recover - he was gone. Luckily I wasn't seriously injured and my car is fixable.

Then we went on a ward campout Friday night. Loads of fun!

That's my life in a nutshell. Can you dig it?

Murder Pics

2010-08-06T22:32:00.001-07:00

Murder, that's right, I said MURDER

2010-08-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to a murder mystery party. It was a "Hollywood" theme so we all had to dress up like we were movie stars and what not. I was the hostess along with my friend Kayela. So, Saturday Kim & I went to Goodwill to find us some H-O-T evening gowns to wear. We tried them on over our clothes in the aisles. People were looking, but seriously, who cares? Kim's character was a detective and we found a dress that had a cape, A CAPE, on the back of it and it fit (snugly)! We found me a "little black dress" that was perfect for a hostess. They were sleeveless, but we decided we'd just wear shirts underneath them & that would make it funnier.
Anyway, so we got all dolled up and went to the party. They had a red carpet out front and took pictures as we arrived. Everyone who came dressed up and it was great! Seriously, good times. And I will post pictures later, but Marie is nagging me about a new post so I thought I'd better post something. So, pictures to come...

I'm a boarder

2010-07-19T12:49:00.001-07:00

I am totally a wakeboarder!
This Saturday my ward went to the lake for an activity. We had a lot of fun (sort of). At first we were stuck on this little sliver of land that we named "Survivor Island". It was more like a sandbar, it was so small. We had 2 coolers to sit on but that's it. We couldn't sit on the ground because of the ants & there were bees all over the place. So we decided to go in the water. That's when we saw the leeches! Needless to say we were all very happy to be rescued and brought to a better place.
I decided I wanted to try wakeboarding, even though I have never been able to get up when I tried water skiiing, and snowboarding was a joke. I totally got up on my first try! Yes, I am awesome! I didn't last too long, but I still got up. We did a few more rounds and I got up everytime, I just couldn't get the board turned sideways so I was "snowplowing". But I was just happy I got up.
Wahoo!!!!

What the surgery?!

2010-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

This last week has been full of crazy. Last Friday I got a call saying my mom was going to the hospital and they were doing an emergency surgery! Apparently she had diverticulitus that ruptured causing a hole in her intestines (or colon) and it was pretty bad. My sister and I went to the hospital to keep my dad company while he waited for her to come out of surgery.
The surgeon said the surgery went really well so we were very relieved. She was in the hospital for a week though. It was hard to see my mom like that. I felt so bad for her being in so much pain. My dad was awesome though! He hardly ever left the hospital and was so attentive and so sweet to my mom.
She was released on Thursday and she is so glad to be home. I know my dad is glad to be home too. She is getting better every day.
Our family has never really been through anything like this and I couldn't believe the outpouring of love and support that I felt from my friends. I know my mom had many many prayers said on her behalf and I am so grateful for my friends and the amazing support you all are.
I am so grateful that my mom is okay, I really don't know what I would do without her. I am so lucky to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and to know that no matter what I will be with my family forever.

A whole lot of nothing

2010-06-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

Really, there's not a whole lot new going on in my life. But I can say this...life is good, life is really good. I am having so much fun and meeting new people. I really do love my ward & the new friends I've made. Work is good.
Nothing is perfect...but for the time being, I am enjoying my not-so-perfect life.
That is all.

Time flies

2010-05-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its been a month since my last post. I thought I posted about Idaho, but I guess I didn't.
I got to go to Idaho at the end of April to visit Marie. Hunter turned 8 so we had his bday party while I was there with like a million little kids running all over the place. I swear I am not cut out for this mom business. I can't believe Hunter is 8!!
Gwennie was obsessed, literally - obsessed, about why I am still single. She could not understand how I could be the same age as her mom and yet NOT be a mom. She finally said, "Well, maybe you should just buy yourself a ring." If only it were that easy! Then she tells me that I should marry Santa Clause because he already has a wife that he dumped and then we could bring her presents every year. Hilarious!
It was so fun to get to go up and visit. Its been way to long since I went.
I did take pictures but I will upload them later. Blogger takes way too freaking long to upload pictures.
That's all the exciting stuff that's happened for me this past month.

New Niece & other randomm -9ct8res

2010-04-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

Emily Rich is here and she looks just like Makayla. She's a cutie!!! And I took sommmmmme othr rnddddim picse with mey new camersa I ujust took an ambiebn but I wanted to get thise -9ct8res loaded up and blggrr keep mseeing me up, S9 I amjust g98jhhgmt0mtrym0hem fmore tikmme......................................................ij

The High Life

2010-04-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

No, not the Miller High Life.
Last week I went to Las Vegas for our National Sales Meeting at work that I organized. It was 6 months in the making and it finally came and was a huge success! It was my first time meeting most of the sales people and they were so much fun. They all loved me and thought I did a great job organizing everything. They were so nice! We stayed at Aria Hotel & Casino because our product, guestLINK is in all the rooms. My room was the Executive Hospitality Suite...2,000 square feet! It was soooo nice. First of all, the curtains part as you enter the room and the entire back wall is windows. It was amazing. The conference room was in my room and that's where the meetings were held. The bathroom had a bidet!
The first night we were there we met up at a bar (they LOVE their booze) and then half of us (7 people) went to dinner. We went to American Fish & I tried...lobster lettuce wraps, crab, sturgeon, halibut, and oysters! Yes, yes I did. I liked the lobster, the crab was okay, the sturgeon tasted like bacon (it was wrapped in bacon) but I don't like bacon, the halibut was really good, and the oysters tasted like diet coke because that's what I had to wash it down with. When we got the bill it came to me because it was being charged to my room (the main account), I literally got light headed and couldn't breathe for a minute when I saw the total...$800!! They were all laughing at me. In my defense, the nicest restaurant I've ever been to is Carrabbas (although I think when I was in Aruba we did go to a nice restaurant) and the only dress code has been "no shirt, no shoes, no service". They thought that was hysterical!
The second night we went to a "fusion" restaurant and I tried lobster tail and clams...not a huge fan of either. Third night was lamb, duck (foie gras), veal, swordfish, and souffle. No go on the lamb chops, foie gras, and swordfish. The veal wasn't terrible and the souffle was good but I like creme brulee better.
And the last night was lobster claws & king crab legs and I didn't really enjoy either.
But I can now say that I've tried all those things and I never would have tried them if I was paying for it because I am WAY too cheap. And just for the record, I did not order all of those dishes, I tried other people's.
I really did have a blast even though I worked like a dog! But they were all very appreciative of my hard work. Can't wait until next year - maybe some more new things!

Marie's Birthday & Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T22:35:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to Marie - my BFF. We've known each other for like 17 or 18 years now. I get to go visit them in Idaho at the end of the month and I can't wait!! Love you Dood :)
Today was Easter Sunday & Conference. Conference was awesome! Oh, and we had a teeny tiny little earthquake here this afternoon. I heard my doors rattling and I just thought it was a gust of wind, but no...it was an earthquake.
Everyone came over to my parents today for an Easter Egg Hunt. The kids just make these holidays so much more fun! They are so cute!

Best Birthday Present EVER!

2010-04-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon I got a text from Sara asking me for the code to get into my house because they were running errands and she had to go to the bathroom. Then when I got home from work, there was a brand new bike sitting in my kitchen from Sara & Anthony and my parents! I got my old bike for Christmas from my dad about 5 years ago & last weekend I went on a bike ride with Natalie and the back tire totally slipped off the track & I needed to buy a new wheel. Well, not anymore. I am so excited for my new bike, its soooo comfortable and nice to ride. I LOVE IT. And its PINK!

Ellee's 1st Birthday and Tiffany's Wedding

2010-03-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

Last saturday was Ellee's first birthday party and Tiffany's wedding.

Ellee is so freaking adorable I can hardly stand it! She was so cute & Sara did an awesome job with the decorations. Ellee was pretty tired, poor thing, but she sure did devour that cake like a champ

Tiffany's wedding was beautiful. It was a gorgeous day outside and the sealing was wonderful. I am so happy for her! She looked so pretty and so happy!!

I'm retarded

2010-03-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

So, my lease is up on my car so I finally had to get my bumper fixed before I turned it in. My dad let me borrow his truck while my car was in the shop & his truck is just a little bigger than my car. Parking it in the garage was quite the ordeal. First of all, its a stick shift and although I can drive a stick, I am not comfortable trying to get it close to a wall without running through the wall. I got home and tried for about 1/2 hour to get it into the garage and I was just about 2 inches away from fitting but I could not get it any closer to the wall. Being the genius that I am, I put it in neutral and ran to the back to push it in the rest of the way. By the time I ran back to the drivers seat it rolled back again and I was back where I started. Ugh! I finally gave up and just parked it in my driveway. But the next day I was determined to get it in the garage and I finally did it!!!!

Here's the pictures to prove it and to see how tight a fit it really is...

Aiden the Entertainer

2010-02-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

My 3 year old nephew Aiden is a real kick in the pants. He cracks me up with the things that he says. I have to post this because I think its priceless.

On Saturday I was watching Aiden & Ellee at my parents house and my dad asked Aiden if he wanted to go with him to pick some oranges. To which, Aiden replies, "Nooooo Papa, I'm just a little boy, I'm sorry. I just want some M&M's."

Then on Sunday we were over my parents for dinner & Aiden was sharing my mom's brownie and he says, "Grandma, you're my best friend. You treat me right." Then she got up to throw her plate away and I was coming to sit down with my brownie and he says, "you're kidding me, right?!"

The kid is a crack up!!! And he LOVES it. He knows he's hilarious.
Ellee is following in his footsteps too. She's been fake sneezing for a while but now if you say, "bless you" she will fake sneeze with sound effects. And she loves it when everyone laughs, she will smile and do it again and again.

Good times!!

2010-02-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I went snowboarding for the first time with my ward. I had no idea what to expect, but I was excited to try. We took a bus up there, it was about a 5 hour bus ride. This particular bus had a “potty” on board so there would be no potty stops. I thought I could hold it, but after about 3 hours I couldn’t take it anymore and so I ventured into the onboard commode. What I found on the other side of that door was straight out of my nightmares! I was thinking it was going to be a bathroom like they have on motor homes. Boy was I wrong! This was literally a port-a-potty on wheels. I stood there for about 5 minutes staring at the stuff sloshing around and I just could not bring myself to sit on THAT. So I left the port-a-potty and sat back down hoping it wouldn’t be long before we got there. About an hour later the bus driver stopped for a stretch and I asked how much longer it would be…the answer was at least an hour. By this time my kidneys are in pain and I literally can’t hold it anymore. So I rushed back to the bathroom and told them that they’d better not let the driver move while I am in there. Luckily, no sloshing was going on during my short stay. I went to wash my hands and there was no water!! I was disgusted! But, whatever…moving right along…
So, we got there, got our gear on and headed to the slopes. I decided to start out on the bunny hill with a couple of girls. OH MY GOODNESS! It was so hard just getting the snowboard onto my feet! None of us could stand up. There were some people there showing us how to stand up and a few of us couldn’t do it. I ended up flipping onto my stomach (with my board on my feet) and then getting on my knees, then standing up. It worked for me.
For the rest of the day I would go a few feet down the hill and then fall, few feet, fall, few feet, fall. Then hike back up and do it all over again. I had a couple of good runs where I almost made it to the bottom without falling. I had some pretty good wipe outs too. Pretty sure I got whiplash. I had a lot of fun, but I decided that I hate snowboarding! Surprisingly enough, my legs or butt were not sore at all the next day or EVER. My shoulders and arms were sore but that was it. I had a few bruises but other than that, I came out without a scratch, which I was totally shocked.
Moving right along…
Went to see “Dear John” with Christi on Friday night. It was alright. My opinion: If you’ve seen “The Notebook” then you’ve seen “Dear John”. Basically the same plotline with a few different changes in circumstances, but overall the same movie. It wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen (12 Rounds is). But I would wait until it came out on video to see it. We went to Red Robin afterwards and had a blast teasing our waiter. He was a good sport and he came over and sat with us for like ½ hour after his shift was over just joking around with us.
Yesterday was Alston’s blessing. He is so smiley lately, its so cute! Aiden sat down and then he saw me and told my mom, “There’s Ree, she’s my best friend.” LOVE IT! Makayla wanted to get up and bear her testimony, so she walked up to the stand and stood at the pulpit like she was in line (there was a girl who was up there bearing her testimony). Andrew went up and helped her sit down and wait her turn. She bore her testimony and said that she loves the church and her mommy & daddy, and she loves gramma and papa and her cousins, and one of them’s name is Parks, and I love gramma and papa and I love aaaaaall the people in the whole world.
It was precious!!!

Check this out...

2010-01-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

I think I am going to start trying to sell digital baby announcement designs on etsy.com!!! People can just upload them into Costco or whoever they use and print them so they just buy the design.
Here's a few I've been playing with:

Fabulous Life

2010-01-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

I did post something on Sunday night, but I was on Ambien and it made no sense whatsoever so I delted it. Here is a much more coherent version of what I was trying to say:
Life is good. Of course there are things that I would love to be different, but all in all life is good. My job is really great - they love me. I am hoping that this job will turn out to be like Schwab and I will continue to move up.
I seriously LOVE my nieces and nephews. Makayla always wants to know if I brought my carseat with me to her house so we can go to my house. She's also named the baby that's coming in April...Strawberry Shortcake! How funny is that?!
Aiden and Ellee are best buds and its is adorable. Sara & I went to lunch on Aiden's birthday and Ellee kept nodding her head and Aiden was cracking up so she would do it again and wait for him to laugh then she would laugh. They are so stinking cute. Ellee fake sneezes to get Aiden to laugh. I can't get enough of her!!
Trey is learning to be a big brother to Alston and is talking in complete sentences. He's a charmer for sure. Alston is getting so big and he's starting to smile now - its is so cute!

I am liking my ward. Although they are still WAY young, I am having fun. I am the Communications Specialist which means I send out all the announcements via email and text message.
We are taking a ward Snowboarding trip and I am going to go! It was supposed to be this weekend but with the weather conditions they had to postpone it until next weekend. I am excited. I've never been snowboarding or skiing before, so this should be interesting!
That's all for now...

Back to school, back to school, to prove to my dad, that I am not a fool...

2010-01-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

Back to work tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT! I have been so bored!!! There's only so many epispodes of chrminal mingds that a person cab watch at one sittong without theit reart going to sleep. I am just soe excited to get back into the sweing of htngsfffffffffffffffffffffffjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj o igoay yo go zir the drugua are kickjjmnnnng immmmm

The Riches Stockings

2010-01-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

Our Grandma's Lutheran friend has been making us theses stocking for several years and anytime there is a new addidion whether it be a spouse or baby she make one for them to...here we all are with our stockings (minus Anthony cuz he was working)

Christmas Fun

2009-12-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

First of all, here is this year's Christmas Card...

Okay, so for a brief summary of what's been happening:
I got a calling in my ward as Communications Specialist - fancy
I spoke in church as part of the Christmas Program (thank you, Amy, for writing my talk :) )
Recently I was hanging out with some kids from my ward and one of them told me..."Its so cool that you can chill with us and be cool." I said, "What is that supposed to mean?" He proceeded to stumble and say something to the effect of "for a person your age to be able to hang out with us and be chill is just cool." To which I responded, "I see...so, none of the other mom's are as cool as me?" HA! I thought it was hysterical. He also said that my brother was his hero because for a guy his age to be out playing basketball was just awesome. This kid is 22. I guess I remember at 22 thinking 31 was old, but definately not geriatric!

Christmas was nice. It was our off year, but everyone came over to my parents at noon to open gifts. I just love watching the kids open their gifts. I am off work too from Christmas Eve to Jan 4...wahoo!!
Here's some pics of the kids opening their gifts... I would post more but it takes like 10 years for them to upload. And, does it infuriate anyone else how the pictures load in here? Why can't they load into the text where the cursor is instead of at the top & why does it look one way in the screen (the teeny tiny little screen) when you're organizing it and then when you click "publish post" everything is all screwy? AGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! I am annoyed.

The plague

2009-12-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

I think I've got the black lung, Pop.
I've been hit with the plague! Seriously, Sara was sick starting Wendesday and she was miserable. I felt so bad for her. Then Friday morning at about 2:30 in the am, I woke up and started hacking. 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, & 6:15 the hacking continued. On Fridays there's no one to cover for me at work, so in between the hacking I put a little makeup on (couldn't do my hair because of the hacking), grabbed my little garbage can and left for work. I drove in the right lane in case I needed to pull over and puke (also what I brought my trash can along for). Got to work and about 1 1/2 hours into it they sent me home.
I went straight to bed and everytime I moved at all I puked. My parents brought me over some saltines, sprite, and chicken soup - so nice! Although I still couldn't keep anything down. I did attempt to eat some saltines and drink some sprite but promptly threw that up.
Woke up this morning and although I am super achey and sore, I feel so much better! Today I realized that being a mom must TOTALLY suck when you are sick. I can't even imagine how I would have felt if I couldn't just come home and crash for an entire day with no interruptions. I don't know if I'm cut out for this mom business - I want my rest when I am sick.
For the good news - I lost 4 pounds in 1 day!!!! Who needs Weight Watchers, just get the plague and you'll be down to your goal weight in no time.

Nieces & Nephews pics

2009-11-29T20:05:00.001-08:00

My parents wanted a picture of my nieces and nephews to send out a Christmas card. here are some of them...

Giving thanks and what not

2009-11-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

This week has been so great & I can't believe its almost over. I was off work Wednesday thru Sunday - wahoo!!!
Thursday morning I went to cheer on my sister when she finished her 10k. She did awesome! I totally would have died long before the finish line. Then we went to my parents for Thanksgiving lunch. Then I went to hang out with Marie (she and Travis are in town with the kids). I have missed them so much! I feel like the kids are growing up way too fast.
That night at Midnight Sara and I met up with her friend Mindy at Superstition Mall for Midnight Madness. They were giving away $50 gift cards if you spent $100. It was a madhouse! There were so many people there. So, when the doors opened, I went and got in the line for the gift cards & Sara & Mindy went to spend the money. Thank goodness we did that because by the time they had spent the money the line was SUPER long. We waited in line forever and we all got a $50 gift card - jackpot. Then we went to QT for some re-fueling (if you know what I mean) and we ran into the ladies who were in line behind us at the mall. They were funny, they were asking us what our game plan was and they thought we were so cool because we had a strategy and everything. It was funny. Went home at 2am and were going to meet back up at 4am to go to Walmart for their doorbusters. No point in going to sleep for less than 2 hrs, so I went home and got all my Christmas decorations put up. Then met Sara and went to Walmart. That place was a freak show! People EVERYWHERE! We got what we needed then headed to Target where Marie had gone and we had her pick up the stuff Sara wanted there (excellent choice, thanks Marie!). Then went to Staples which was a piece of cake. We went to Paradise for breakfast and then went home. I think I ended up getting home around 7am. I was so tired. I took a quick nap and then went to hang out with Marie again. Today was Trey's b-day party so I went to that then went to lunch with Marie (Rumbi Grill - THE BEST) then hung out with her and the kids one last time before they leave tomorrow.
Some funnies:
Gwennie was sitting next to me playing with Marie's phone so I sent her a text message that said Hi Gwennie. She was so excited that I texted her. She had Travis text me back. Then the next day when I went over she said, "Ree, remember that one time when you texted me?"
Then she kept asking me how old I was, then she asked Marie how old she was. Then she says to me, "Ree, um....how can you be the same age as my mom but you're not even married?" HA! Good question Gwennie. I wonder everyday how the heck I can be the same age as these married people with 4 kids and not be married myself :) She is a doll.
Tyler LOVES Ice Age 3 and I was watching it with him for a little bit and it was so cute because he kept explaining the movie to me in his little 3 year old words.
Dallin didn't like me at first but he warmed up to me enough to share some fruit snacks with me. He looks exactly like Hunter did when Hunter was a baby. I can't believe it, they could have been twins.
Hunter is getting so big and yet he is still such a sweet boy. He gave me the biggest hug and told me that he missed me so much.
I am so glad I got to see them and hang out with them.

I am so thankful for good friends and family. I have been so blessed to have a friend like Marie, I swear we were friends in the pre-existence. I love her so much and I love her family to pieces.
I am thankful for my sister. Funny, but we didn't really get along that great growing up, but now she is my best friend. Its so fun to hang out and do crazy things like Black Friday with her.
I am thankful for my family. I love my parents. They aren't always perfect, but they have always supported me and been there to give me advise and encouragement whenever I need it. I love my siblings & their spouses. My brothers picked some pretty great girls and my sister picked an awesome guy - good job! And I LOVE my nieces and nephews. They bring a smile to my face just thinking about them.

And on a side note:
I have a new nephew! Alston Alan Rich was born on November 4 & I totally forgot to write about it. He is super cute! Trey is still adjusting to having another kid around, but he's going to have to get used to it.

Halloween

2009-11-06T23:40:00.000-08:00

My grandma came to visit again this year for Halloween. I think she likes seeing the great grandkids all dressed up.
We all went to my parents house and went trick-or-treating around their neighborhood. The kids were all so cute! Makayla was Princess Belle, Aiden was Buzz Lightyear, Trey was a cow, and Ellee was a ladybug.
Aiden tried to run into everyone's house.
At the first house after the woman gave out the candy, Makayla turned around and said, "Thanks, you're the best!" Too cute!!

Laugh or Cry?

2009-10-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to mention something about my singles ward. I only recognized a few faces (kids I babysat) and there was this one girl who I recognized but didn't know how I knew her and then I saw her brother and knew instantly.
Her MOM was my teacher in Merry Miss (11 years old) when she was pregnant with the girl who is in my ward! I actually felt her kick as a fetus. I am literally going to church with babies! Hilarious!

New Ward

2009-10-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well, my decision whether or not to stay in my ward or go to the single's ward became a whole lot easier yesterday. They split my ward and I am not in the same ward anymore. So, that makes the decision to go to the Single's Ward a no-brainer!
Let's keep our fingers crossed that I can find my man in 6 months or less before I flunk out of the Single's Wards for good!

Sheesh...

2009-10-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

Its been a while, I know. Sometimes time flies by so fast.
So, my new job...I am an executive assistant for the owner of a communications company. So far I like it. It is like 1 biw-yun times better than BofA so I am so happy to have it. Its a little closer and the hours are better.
My good friend from childhood got married last weekend in Utah. I went up for the wedding. It was awesome. I am so happy for her!!
I found out last night that they are creating a single's ward in my stake (FINALLY)! Here's my only dilemna: I can't leave my Sunday School class because they've all been studying so hard for our "final exam" at the end of the year. If I leave now that will totally suck for them. Then if I do go in January I am going to be kicked out in April anyway. So I haven't decided what I am going to do. But its great that they are finally creating a ward for the young-er single adults :)
My sister and I are making flower clips and diaper wipes cases to sell at boutiques. We have one this Saturday from 1-6...come!!

No Care Act

2009-09-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

BofA has this "mantra" called the Know, Care, Act. We know the customer, we care about the customer (PHAH!), and we act on their situation.
Now, we associates like to call it the NO Care Act as in the act of not caring. You like that? We made that up! Anywho...since I have only 5 more days left there - because I did get another job which I will go into later - I have been putting the No Care Act to good use. I am so sick of people calling and asking for help then yelling at me because they are beyond help. Not my fault. Usually I would try to calm them down and apoligize for their situation and explain other options. Not anymore. I am SOOOO done. I now work in the "hardship" department where we can "help" those having financial hardships by reducing payments, etc. Most people who call in are pretty belligerent and don't think they need to provide any information to us because its none of our business. Uh, don't think so MORONS, how can I help if you won't explain the situation.
So...here's a few situations this past week (the week of me not caring).

Me: How has your financial situation changed in the last 6-12 months?
Woman: Well, its because of the economy.
Me: What particular part of the economy is causing you to be unable to maintain your payments?
Woman: Uh, in case you haven't heard, the economy sucks right now.
Me: I understand that, but I need to understand what YOUR hardhip is, not the world's hardship.
Woman: Apparently you can't read or don't watch TV because its all over the news.
Me (the No Care Act is in full swing now): Ma'am, if you want to be condescending and rude then this phone call is over. I cannot help you if you refuse to give me the information I need in order to determine if we have anything to assist you.
Woman: Excuse me?! What gives you the right to talk to me that way?
Me: I was merely stating that if you do not wish to cooperate with me then we have no need to continue this conversation.
Woman: What is your name?
Me: Marie
Woman: What is your last name?
Me: I do not give out my last name
Woman: you mean to tell me that you can have my social security number, birthday, and address but you won't even tell me your last name?
Me: That is correct
Woman: No, you just don't want me to have your last name because you don't want me to get you in trouble
Me: You are absolutely right
Woman: So are you really refusing to help me.
Me: As long as you're refusing to cooperate, yes
Woman hangs up...Victory!

Now, multiply this same conversation by 30 and that's what I do (or did) all day at BofA in this new department.

Also this week I had a similar phone call where she asked me for my first and last name after threatening me that I would NEVER want to run into her on the street. I refused to give her my last name and she insisted I tell her why. So I told her that I have to take her threat seriously and if I were to give her my last name, who is to stop her from finding me. She was so appalled that I would even "go there" she told me she was going to write a letter to my boss and tell her how horrible I am. I asked her if she needed the address to send the correspondence & she hung up. Oh, the satisfation.

Please understand, that I am not intentially getting these people mad. I am just done taking their crap quietly.

HELP ME PLEASE

2009-09-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

Our Stake is really pounding it into our head to have at least a 3 month supply. So, I've decided to start with the things I use on a daily basis once I have those down then I will worry about the food (that part is the scary part). So...I need help figuring out what all I need to include.
So far, this is my list:
Toilet Paper
Shampoo & Conditioner
Face Wash
Soap
Razors
Q-Tips
Floss
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Hairspray
Tampons
Batteries
Lotion
Face Lotion
Kleenex
Hand Soap
Exedrine
Aleve
Water
First Aid Kit
Cleaning Products

what else? Am I missing anything?????? Help me! I don't want to die!

33 years

2009-09-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my parents 33rd anniversary!
One thing that I love is that for as long as I can remember, my dad has taken my mom on Friday night Date Night. Hopefully some day I will have a marriage like theirs.
Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Enchanting

2009-09-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

All growing up I hated the color of my eyes. They aren't quite green OR brown and all during elementary I don't recall HAZEL being an option, so I always had to say "greenish-brownish" or as I used to say...diarrhea colored.
Fast forward 20-ish years. This week at work I've had 3 guys tell me how awesome my eyes were and today this guy told me that my eyes are "enchanting"! HA! He said that if he had my eyes he would get into so much trouble. Not sure what that means, but I'll take the compliment of my poop colored eyes.

Could I BE any more bored?

2009-09-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

(Said like Chandler from the hit television show, "Friends")
Seriously, this new job is SOOOO boring! I sit there all day remembering what it was like to have a real job where people didn't call me to yell at me and tell me why Bank of America sucks. if I hear one more person tell me they shouldn't have to pay their credit card or they should get 0% interest on it BECAUSE Bank of America got BILLIONS of dollars from the federal government I am literally going to throw my phone out the window.
I totally understand that there are legitimate people out there who are experiences serious financial problems, but when you have a deficit of $2,000 every month do you really think that lowering your APR on one credit card is going to make a difference?! NO! I am telling you right now it WON'T!
Besides that, life is great. Lately I have been longing for the day when I can have an actual job. Not one where any bum off the street could do my job, but one where I am actually valued for MY contribution and MY job is one that no one else does or only a few others do...not 95 other people doing the exact same thing.

But I am TOTALLY not complaining. That would be ungrateful. I am merely dreaming of the day when my in box is piled high and there are things that only I can do. Ahhhh. Sometimes it takes the bad times to remember how good the good times were & will be :)

Anywho...I'm bored now AGAIN, aren't you?

Blasted Allergies

2009-08-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

I swear I have been sneezing non-stop since early today. Christi gave me some Allegra and it didn't do ANYTHING. Thanks for nothing Christi, I thought you were my friend.

The Poopie List

2009-08-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

I got this many, many years ago and found it again. I literally laughed so hard I cried when I read it. I remember every detail. I was working at Schwab and it was before I had email and so Marie and I would fax each other crap all day because we were bored and she faxed this over to me. She made me call her while I read it because she wanted to hear my reaction. I was seriously crying because I was laughing so hard. I caused such a commotion that everyone came over to my desk to find out what was so funny. So, I had to pass copies around to everyone and they were dying too. I remember I had it up at my desk for the longest time. I also remember sharing it with my friend Amy and her mom. I really thought her mom was going to have a stroke and stop breathing because she was laughing so hard.
So, don't be offended...its funny:
THE POOPIE LIST
Bathroom Humor at its finest:
Ghost Poopie: The kind where you feel the poopie come out, but there is no poopie in the toilet.
Clean Poopie: The kind where you poopie it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the toilet paper.
Wet Poopie: The kind where you wipe your butt 50 times and it still feels unwiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and underwear so you won't ruin them with a stain.
Second Wave Poopie: This happens when you're done Poopie-ing and you've pulled up your pants to your knees, and you realize that you have to Poopie some more.
Pop-A-Vein-In-Your-Forehead-Poopie: The kind where you strain so much to get it out, you practically have a stroke.
Gassy Poopie: It's so noisy, everyone within earshot is laughing.
Drinker Poopie: The kind of Poopie you have the morning after a long night of drinking. Its most noticeable trait is the skid marks on the bottom of the toilet.
Lincoln Log Poopie: The kind of Poopie that is so huge you're afraid to flush without first breaking it into little pieces with the toilet brush.
Corn Poopie: Self-explanatory.
Gee-I-Wish-I-Could-Poopie Poopie: The kind where you want to Poopie but all you do is sit on the toilet and fart a few times.
Spinal Tap Poopie: That's where it hurts so badly coming out, you would swear it was leaving you sideways.
Wet Cheeks Poopie (The Power Dump): The kind that comes out of your butt so fast, your butt gets splashed with water.
Liquid Poopie: The kind where yellowish-brown liquid shoots out your butt and splashes all over the toilet bowl.
Mexican Poopie: It smells so bad your nose burns.
The Surprise Poopie: You're not even at the toilet because you are sure you're about to fart, but oops.......a Poopie!!!
The Dangling Poopie: This Poopie refuses to drop into the toilet even though you know you are done Poopie-ing it. You just pray that a shake or two will cut it loose

Its funny cuz its true :)

Wanted

2009-08-11T22:16:00.001-07:00

So many of you know that I am working on getting a loan modification on my house. I started the process last year and was rejected once and am trying again. Well...its taken much longer than I anticipated and I think I am going to have to give up my scrapbook room once again and get a roommate.
So, if anyone knows any normal female who needs a place to live, send her my way. It can be a male too, but he would need to be prepared to date me, fall madly in love with me, and marry me and THEN he could move in.

Seriously though...find me a roommate

Privacy Block

2009-08-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so with all of this weird stuff going on with people's kids' pictures being posted on craigslist I have decided to go private. Also, I don't really want the people from work finding my blog and getting offended at the stuff I say :)
So, email me @ the1bridesmaid@gmail.com if you want to be part of my exclusive, member's only club.

More BofA funnies

2009-08-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

This week we had to update our emergency contact info for the HR department. Anyway, one of the questions is which county you live in & this girl says, "county? what's a county?" I told her that each state is divided up into counties and most likely she lived in Maricopa County. She said, "Oh, I didn't know ALL states had counties, I thought it was just a Maine thing" (she's from Maine). We all just about died & she felt really stupid but I mean, come on! How can you not know that every state has counties?! Ever heard of the Maricopa County Sheriff's office?!

Happy Anniversary to ME

2009-08-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

7 years ago today was when I went through the temple for the first time. I can't believe its been 7 years! So, to celebrate I went and did a session. I seriously LOVE the temple! I get such a peaceful feeling when I am there. I wish I could stay there all the time because life doesn't seem so crazy when I am there. I can't wait for the Gilbert Temple to get started.

Day 2 of Snoozefest 2009

2009-08-04T23:32:00.001-07:00

Today was my 2nd day of training for my new job. Talk about snooze fest! I have to say that through all of my years of high school and college, I NEVER fell asleep during class...EVER. But in this class, I find it nearly impossible to keep my eyes open. Its not that the trainer is boring, its just the material is such a drag. Things I don't even care to know, things that aren't going to help me do my job better; things that can be learned in 10 minutes take 8 hours to go over. I am really beginning to think that I am above average in the intelligence field. Perhaps the sole reason for me working at Bank of America was to realize my true potential. I am waiting for my acceptaince letter into Mensa anyday now.

Happy Birthday Sara!

2009-07-30T21:52:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to the best sister in the world! She is funny, talented, a great mother, creative, crazy, quirky, hilarious, and my best friend.
I love you Sara!!

We Are A Peculiar People

2009-07-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

One of my co-workers recently figured out that I am LDS. Its not a secret or anything, I just don’t announce it as I walk down the hallways. Anyway, today one of the other guys (the one who thinks Christians only eat fish) asked me if I wanted to go in on a PowerBall pool that they were doing. I thanked him for the offer but declined to participate. Well, my friend heard the conversation and said to the guy who asked me, “Manny, NO she does not want to participate. I can’t believe you would even ask her!” Then he looks at me in disbelief as if someone just asked me to deny my religion, like he couldn’t believe the nerve of Manny to even think that I would participate in such evil acts as gambling. Then he tells Manny, “Don’t you know, gambling is EVIL?” (Troy had already contributed to the pool). Manny was super confused and I just laughed it off. I thought it was sweet that Troy was totally defending MY religion even though it wasn’t a big deal. I had a good laugh about it.
Another religious encounter at work:
Last Friday was Pioneer Day and of course we do call people who live in Utah. Low and behold, one of the cardholders said that it was a holiday and their accounts payable wasn’t in to discuss the account. So, they started talking about Pioneer Day, and one girl says…”Well, just ask Marie, she’ll know.” I just think it’s funny - the outside perception of WE Mormons.Oh! And one other thing that had me dying. Back onto the subject of the intelligence of my co-workers. My manager is leaving the department to manage somewhere else, so we all signed a card for her. One of the girls wrote her a poem and this is how it went:
“Lil some I wrote” (“some” I think is supposed to be somethin’)
“You have always been there for us. You have always mentored us. We will never forget the knowledge you have pistole upon us.” Now, perhaps its my higher education that causes me to find the HUGE ERROR in this very sweet poem. So, I went up to the girl who wrote it to ask her what “pistole” meant. And she said, “You know, when you like give something to someone” and I said, “You mean BESTOW?” And she said, “ooooooh, yeah, that one! How do you spell it?”
Seriously, now I am starting to think I really am a genius!

Christmas Wishes

2009-07-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

We picked names today for Christmas and we also decided that we are doing homemade gifts this year. So, Andrew....here's my Christmas Wish:

Cousin Pics

2009-07-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Target today to get their pictures taken so my parents can have an updated pic of the grandkids. First of all, our appointment was at 10:20 and we didn't even get in to take the pictures until 11:15. The kids were great while we waited, but as soon as it was time for pictures, they started getting cranky. Then the photographer was HORRIBLE! She was trying to rush us through our session to get to the next session. She took 16 pictures of the same the pose and then thought she was done. We told her she wasn't done and she was flustered, didn't know what pose to do next, and couldn't even get the pictures centered properly. You'll notice that in the "aerial" picture, you can't even see Makayla's face...great job on that one! She also would wait until they were all looking at her instead of just taking the pictures when they were all happy & cute. What a moron! Anyway, none of them turned out spectacular, but the kids are adorable anyways :)

Life with Marie

2009-07-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

So, I made this ice cream cake for a co-worker’s birthday a while back and all of my other co-workers were raving about this ice cream cake. Its SUPER easy to make but it is delicious. They can’t believe that I know how to make an ice cream cake. Then I made Sour Cream cookies, which are delicious! And they were amazed that I could make cookies. Then I made homemade sugar cookies (from scratch) and that’s when they all thought that I was some sort of Martha Stewart. I’ve had 4 orders for the ice cream cake, which I am actually SELLING to them! I had another order for 2 today and also brought in a diaper wipe case thingy that I made for another co-worker’s baby shower. After seeing the diaper wipe case, a few of my co-workers told me that I needed to have my own TV show. Now, they all have been telling me for quite a while that I needed to have my own radio show, because I am HILARIOUS but today, I got promoted from radio, to TV. The name of the show would be, “Life with Marie” (their choice, not mine) and it would be “sandwiched in between Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart” (according to them). They are amazed at my many talents and also the fact that I am a hoot just makes it all that much better.
One thing I can say about working with a bunch of morons is it does wonders for my self-esteem!! I call them morons, but they really are nice people…just not the sharpest knives in the drawer. So, who knows…check your local listings for my new show “Life with Marie” you’ll find it sandwiched in between Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart, but in the comedy section….HA!
Oh, and they make fun of me because I always laugh at my own jokes. I can’t help it, I crack myself up. Doesn’t everyone laugh at their own jokes? Come on!

Moving on

2009-07-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

I interviewed for and was offered a job with Bank of America in the credit department. I will basically be a credit analyst for those who are stuggling to keep up on their payments and get them on some sort of program that will help them out. I will be able to get my lending authority which is something I could take anywhere with me. Its a great opportunity. It will be a pay increase...no shopping sprees yet, but at least I may be able to afford a pedicure twice a year now.
Training starts on Aug 3 & I will be in training with my friend Matt who was in training with me before. Hopefully it will be a fun time.
It is definately time for me to move on. I am bored with what I am doing and pretty much know how to do everything and most of my days are spent running reports and helping everyone else out with their forms and any questions they have. My manager doesn't want me to go because I do so much for her, but she is excited for me to move on. I just hope that the new people will still think I am a genius. We'll see!

I am also thinking...should I short-sale my house and try to buy a house closer to work? Should I short sale and get and apartment? Should I just stay in my house? I don't know what to do.

I don’t eat meat, I’m a Veterinarian

2009-07-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Friday was Tiffany’s birthday and her friends threw her a par-tay at Texas Roadhouse. There were a ton of people there and we had tons of fun! I sat next to this guy named Kent who was a riot. He ordered the rib eye steak RARE. I swear the cook accidentally dropped it on the grill and quickly took it off and then put it on a plate to serve. But after making several comments on how disgusting it was Kent dared me to try a bite. And being the good sport that I am, I did…and this picture is the evidence. That thing had so much fat on it & was so UNDER done I almost couldn’t swallow, but I did (with the help of some water). What a champ! Pretty sure I have mad cow disease now because my eye has been twitching ever since.

Boo-freaking-hoo

2009-07-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

Lets be honest...this whole Michael Jackson thing has really gotten out of control. 20,000 people actually took the day off of work to go to the memorial "show". What a joke! Seriously, people...he was a great singer. But he also had a freak flag and he was waving that bad boy like there was no tomorrow. I feel sad for his loved ones who will miss him, but my goodness...let the guy go!
I cannot believe the random pictures they have of people sobbing, like they really knew him and they are going to miss seeing him everyday. WHATEVER! They didn't know anything about the guy except what the tabloids reported. And we all know that everything they report is the truth, but they leave some things out. Play his greatest hits CD and reminisce about the good 'ole days when his nose was bigger and his skin was darker, I promise, you will feel like he is right there beside you because you are not alone.
On top of all of this...Billy Mays, the King of Infomercials died and no one seems to care. MJ totally stole his thunder and I for one, think that is TOTALLY inappropriate!
Anyway, that is what I was thinking about at this moment in time and I knew everyone was curious so I blogger-fied it.

“Wicked” 4th of July

2009-07-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July was the best!! It started out with me watching my niece Makayla while Andrew & Kalene went away for a quiet weekend alone. Then I went to see Wicked with Susanne!!!! She texted me on Friday because they had an extra ticket and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her. Uh, duh…OF COURSE! So, we went to Wicked yesterday afternoon and it was TOTALLY WICKED! I loved it! It was funny too; I didn’t expect it to be a comedy. But it was. I loved the music too. Thank you Susanne for the WICKED-est day of my life! She goes back to CA tomorrow, I will miss you Zandles!
After that, I hurried back to get Makayla (thanks Mom for watching her). She wanted me to paint her toenails like mine. She said they were “beautiful”. So we went to my house & I painted her nails then we headed to Sara & Anthony’s to do some sparklers and watch some fireworks. Anthony was totally paranoid about letting the kids do the sparklers, it was pretty funny. Must be the firefighter in him. But the kids loved it. Aiden had a blast and Makayla was scared at first but after she saw Aiden doing them, she wanted to do one too. She was still a little scared of them, but she enjoyed it. We didn’t stay for the fireworks because she was so tired. But we did see some on the way home so we pulled over and watched them from the side of the road. She loved it. She wanted to drive around and find more.

She loves listening to the radio – loud, so we blasted the radio and sang at the top of our lungs and danced in our seats the rest of the way home & she was loving it. She was laughing the whole way home.
This morning I brought her to church with me. She had to pick out her own clothes for church and she wanted to know what I was wearing because she wanted us to match like our toes matched. I was wearing a skirt with big polka dots so she picked a dress with big polka dots. She kept putting her dress up against mine and showing me how they matched. She would not go to nursery because she wanted to come to class with me. I told her my class was boring, but she insisted. She colored the entire time and at the end of my lesson, she held up her drawing for my class to see. It was pretty funny.
This 4th of July was seriously awesome!

This is how much I love my country...

2009-07-03T19:51:00.001-07:00

I experimented with a new toenail polish design. Don't look too closely because you'll see how much of an amateur I really am.

Fun Stuff

2009-07-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Makayla to the movies and we invited Sara, Aiden, & Ellee to come with us. We saw Ice Age 3. They loved it! They were so stinking cute. Before the movie started they were both asking where Ice Age was. As soon as the movie started Makayla wanted to know where the dinosaurs were. They laughed when everyone else laughed even though I don't think they knew why they were laughing. After the movie was over, they kept saying that they like "Ice Age Dinosaurs". They kept roaring like the mean dinosaur really loud. They were so much fun.
And Ellee was awesome for the whole movie too. Fun times! I love being an Aunt!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day, Dad!! My dad is seriously the best. He always has the best advise and is so proud of his kids. He loves his grandkids & they LOVE "Papa". I get some of my best qualities from him.
I love you, Dad!

What's the deal-io, yo?

2009-06-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today I was talking to a card holder and he asked me for my personal phone number. This is not the first time this has happened and it got me thinking...what is wrong with Mormon boys?! Since working at Bank of America I have been asked out by at least 20 card holders. None of them are Mormon (this is apparent by the language they use), so I want to know why it is that I have been asked out more by people I talk to on the phone than I have ever been asked out in my life by any Mormon guys?
boys are stupid!

Funny Commercials

2009-06-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is for you, Christi...
Christi and I were talking about skits for girls camp and I was telling her how we did funny commercials when I was in girl's camp and I was trying to explain this old Little Caesar's commercial to her and she had no clue what I was talking about.

More Disneyland Pics

2009-06-02T19:34:00.001-07:00

Disneyland

2009-05-31T22:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went with Christi to Disneyland. It was seriously so much fun!! Christi's b-day was Friday so we went to California Adventure. I've never been there before, it was so much fun. I LOVED the ride called Soarin' Over California. So cool. The Pixar Parade was cool. It really wasn't that crowded so we got to go on every ride we wanted to with time left over. The weather was fantastic! The next day we did Disneyland. Again, not too crowded and we got through the entire park in the early afternoon. We rode the "wet" rides and got soaked, but it was fun. Christi loved Space Mountain so we went on that twice. She also loves Soarin' Over California so we went on that one 3 times. I loved the Toy Story ride so we did that one 3 times. It was loads of fun. I have major blisters all over my feet from all the walking, but it was SOOOO worth it. The best trip ever. Christi is the best road trip companion, tons of laughs :) THANKS CHRISTI & HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

What the crap?!

2009-05-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

I got a letter in the mail last week from the US Dept of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. I thought maybe I was getting audited. But NOPE! It appears that in 2007 one of my employers changed ownership & therefore reported taxes under 2 different tax id #. But, they failed to send me my W2 for both companies. So I only reported my earnings from the 1 company instead of both...how was I supposed to know they changed names and I should expect 2 W2s? Turns out I owe $674.00. How awesome is that? There goes $674 that I don't have, thank goodness for credit cards. So much for listening to the Prophet and getting out of debt. Anyone else want to try to get blood from this turnip?

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:16:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there! I love my mom!!!

In other news...I was bored last week and decided to make a skirt. I didn't have a pattern, so I just traced a skirt I had and went from there. It turned out too small, so I gave it to Sara & decided to make Ellee a matching dress with the leftover material. I think they turned out pretty dang cute!!!

I made myself 2 other skirts that actually do fit. I was pretty proud of myself.

Child Labor

2009-04-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

Marie & Family are in town for a friend's wedding & they came over for a visit this afternoon. The kids were bored because my house isn't the funnest for the young ones. So, they went to play in my "backyard" and Hunter saw all my weeds (I have a green thumb when it comes to growing weeds). He asked me if I would pay him $1 if he pulled my weeds. Who am I to stand in the way of a child's dream...so I said, "heck yes!" He did an awesome job and then he went onto the other side of my house and saw the literal jungle that I have worked on for over a year and went to work on that. He was awesome. My jungle is gone!!!! That was the best $3 I have ever spent in my life (I paid Hunter $2 and Gwennie $1). Even in this rough economy, I can afford a "lawn man".
It was so good to hang out with Marie. I just love seeing them & am so glad they were able to come down here.

New Obsession

2009-04-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

So, I am now obsessed with making blog backgrounds. Its so fun! My sister-in-law asked me to make her one & I got carried away. I will probably never use half of them, but they are too much fun to make. Here's what I've done so far...

Learning

2009-04-20T21:29:00.001-07:00

So, I learned how to do my own blog background. This is my first attempt...what do you think?

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

I went to the Easter Pageant with Tiffany on Thursday. I haven't been in years & was impressed with how short it was! It used to be sooooo long. My favorite part of the whole pageant is at the end when Christ rises above the angels and looks like he is ascending to heaven. That part always gives me the chills. It was fun, I am glad I went.

We had our easter egg hunt at my parents yesterday and then lunch. The kids were so excited to see their baskets. The egg hunt was kind of a disaster because it rained and ruined the plans to hide them in the backyard. But it was fun and we all had a good time.

I was reading the Ensign and it has the section of artwork for Easter and this picture is my all time favorite Easter picture:

Its the disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre, by Dan Burr

I don't know why, I just love it. I can imagine their anxiety to get to the tomb and to see if their Lord and friend Lives.

And, I was reminiscing about Easters past and I remembered Easter 2003. Andrew and Kalene had just gotten married. I went to Idaho to visit Marie and the kids and when I got home, sitting on my kitchen table was an easter basket full of treats for me from "the Easter Bunny". I knew it was from Kalene (they had a key to my apartment because they lived upstairs from me and used my washer & dryer). That was seriously so sweet of her & it made me feel so good to know that she cared. How cool is that?!

So, I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter!!

Christians only eat fish

2009-04-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here is another hilarious anecdote from my life at the bank of opportunity, I swear its a true story...I could not make this stuff up!
Today I overheard 2 guys talking...one of them talked to a cardholder who said they could not make a payment today because it was a Jewish holiday. He asks the other guy, "What Jewish holiday is today?" The other guy tells him, "I think its like Chaka Kahn or something." I about peed my pants, I was hysterical. I piped in and said, "I am pretty sure its Passover, because Easter Sunday is Palm Sunday in the Jewish religion AND Chaka Khan is a singer." Now, I wasn't positive that my answer was 100% accurate (although I am pretty sure), I know it was much closer to the truth than HIS answer.
They then moved onto another, possibly related subject about what the fish symbols means for Christians. And the same brainiac who said it was Chaka Kahn, says, "They use the fish symbol because fish is the only meat they can eat." I couldn't help but laugh out loud this time. Once again, I know that I am no expert on world religions, but I had to say something, right?! I told them that, first of all, Chrisitans are allowed to eat all meats, and secondly I thought the fish symbol was used because Jesus was a "fisher of man". They had no clue what that meant at all, I explained that in the bible, Jesus tells James & John that if they follow him, he will make them fishers of man. Still, they had no clue what I was talking about. At this point I figure its useless to explain any further so I turn back to my computer while deep down inside I am dying of laughter.

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

2009-04-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

I HATE headaches!
That is all.

30, Flirty, & Thriving!!!!

2009-04-05T20:15:00.001-07:00

So, today I turned the big 3-0! Really nothing special/different about today. I hung out with my sister and then we had family dinner. Kalene made an awesome b-day cake for me & we had yakitori chicken. Yum.
Now, lets go back to Wednesday...
My sister & I were supposed to go out to dinner but when we got there, I noticed that there were alot of people that I knew sitting there. They yelled, "Surprise!" and I realized that it wasn't a coincidence that we all happened to be at the same restaurant.
My sister & sisters-in-law planned this surprise party for me. I was in complete shock! I really had absolutely no idea at all. It was so good to see everyone. I know they worked very hard on the party & getting in contact with everyone they could. I have the best sister & sisters-in-law EVER! I can say that my 30th was the best!

Happy Birthday Marie!

2009-04-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

Today is my BFF, Marie's b-day. To quote her, she is my "bosom friend". She truly is one of the best people I know. She is a great mother & wife. She really gets me & I don't have to pretend with her. She almost knows me better than I do.
I love you, Dood!!!
Happy 30th....we are getting so old :)

Update

2009-03-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

Just a few random things to report:

I saw a movie last night with my friend Christi. Its called "12 Rounds". As soon as I saw that it was produced by WWE, I was wondering how great it was going to be. Well, it lived up to my expectation & was RIDICULOUS! Christi felt bad for picking it, but its not her fault that the WWF wrestlers think they are able to cross over into the world of acting. Someone needs to tell them to stick to the "wrestling" (which is pretty much acting anyway).

My niece is fantastic! I just love to hold her. Aiden sure loves his sister. He is so cute with her. We went to my parent's house last week & nearly the entire way there, Aiden was talking to her. It was adorable.

Work is good. I am still a genius. I now sit next to a guy who is not only a know-it-all, but he tells stories of "his life" that I swear he gets out of the Reader's Digest & claims them as his own.

One of them involves "his" dog killing "his" neighbor's rabbit.
The other story involves some kids in one of "his" classes in college, an exam, & a flat tire.
My Chemistry teacher told us this story my Junior year of high school.
Both of these stories can be found on snopes.com... http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/flattire.asp
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/haredry.asp

Of course, I had to pipe up and explain to him that neither of these stories originate from him & that I had heard those stories years ago. He still claims them as his...even after I told him you could find them on snopes.com. The most hilarious thing about it is that he adds his own details & even does accents and everything!

Anyway, this week I am expecting some story that goes like this...His sister, who is blonde, got fired from the M&M factory because she threw away all the "w's". True story.

New Niece!!

2009-03-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

My niece was born on Saturday at 2am. Ellee Marie Arnett...7 lbs 10oz 20.5 inches. She looks just like my sister. She is freaking adorable!!! Sara is doing so good & Ellee is such a good baby. I just want to hold her all day!

Peeved

2009-03-12T18:02:00.001-07:00

I know I've already mentioned this before, but I really get the road rage when I am driving (and by driving, I mean creeping along at a snail's pace) and I see complete MORONS who drive in the carpool lane when they ARE NOT carpooling! I hate it even more when they totally cut off the law-abiding citizens in the normal lane because they thought they saw a cop. I really wish I had the authority to pull them all over.
Be honest...does anyone out there ever drive in the carpool lane when they are NOT carpooling? I can honestly say that I have NEVER driven in the carpool lane during the designated carpool times.
Since I am complaining...one more thing:
Why do some people park like idiots?! I seriously want to key people's car when they park crooked, take up 2 spots, park right on the line, etc. But I don't, because I am a good person with a good heart who just hates retards :)

not so Young Single Adult

2009-02-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot to blog about this...
Last week I went to the "old" YSA Institute last Thursday which is for the 24-30 year olds. Here's the ironic thing...the last time I was there was a few months before I turned 24. And now its a few weeks before I turn 30. I guess I missed the mark on that one. Oh well.
I have to say that I did have a fun time hanging out with my old roomie Tiffany. Then on Friday night we went to a bonfire. Although we got lost and showed up as they were cleaning up, I still had a great time. Its been such a long time since I mingled with the single crowd. I felt like a kid again! Who knows, maybe I will finally get ahold of this single thing.

And on another note, a few more reasons why my co-workers think I am a genius:
I know what "pro-rated" means
I know what "retroactive" means
I know that "1121 E Buckeye Rd, 1202 E Monroe, Phoenix, AZ" is not a legitimate address

Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up - theses are real examples from my real work life from my real co-workers. But don't you worry, BofA hires the best of the best (at least last is what they drill into our heads time and time again during training).
And if you are late on your credit card payments, then maybe you will find joy in this because, lets face it, it won't take much to confuse the collectors when they are calling you :)

Pure Genius

2009-02-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

So, one of the perks of my job is that almost everyone on my team thinks I am a literal genius. Everyday they are in awe of my vast knowledge. Here's a few examples of what makes them think that I am a veritable Albert Einstein:
1) I know off the top of my head that there are 2080 work hours in a year
2) I know all the different tax forms (1040EZ, 1040A, 1040)
3) I know how to figure out my hourly pay based on my yearly salary
4) I know how to figure out percentages without using the percent sign on the calculator
5) When I am looking at a bank statement & I see a deposit that is from the Department of Economic Security - I know that it is an unemployment check!
6) I know that there's an "N" in Valentine's Day - not Valentime's Day
7) I know that when I see a link on our payroll website that says 2008YE Statement, then it means that is our W-2 for 2008
8) I know that the law is that all W-2 are supposed to be postmarked by Jan 31
9) I have a fancy degree from an accredited 4 year university
10) I know that the correct term is "robbing the cradle" not "rocking the cradle" when it comes to dating younger people
11) I know that the correct term is "estranged" not "strange" when it comes to not being on good terms with a person

there's plenty more, but you catch my drift.
I do have a lot of fun with my teammates, but I just think its hilarious that they honestly think I am the smartest person alive!!!

Anyway...

Does anybody know what time it is???

2009-02-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

Its GMAT time!!!!! That's right...I am starting to think seriously about getting my masters degree. I figure I can qualify for more grants now that I am po' than I could have when I was rich. So I need to see what BofA has for tuition reimbursement & then see what grants I can get and they i'm home free!!!
So I decided I want to go for the MBA program offered at wp carey school of business or the prgram that s offered at UoP...they do have a better selection on emphasis. so we shall see what comes of it. I definately dread taking the gmat for sure. and if I went to UoP there's no gmat, but how does that look tofuture employers.
deciscions descicopjfs.
priolnbly shhjkud godfe to begd vuhd the nnaoien is kiccccccccjkibhg inl.. so tired

New Calling

2009-02-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot...
I got a new calling last week. I am now the sunday school teacher for the 13 year olds. I've taught twice & they will definately be a challenge, but they are good kids. I think we will have a great time.

Awesome story

2009-02-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows that I have been looking for a better paying job since I got the job with bofa.
Well, my friend Rob that I was in training with at BofA got a new job at the end of December & they were hiring, so I applied. I got called for an interview & got the job. They were going to pay slightly more than BofA so I took the job. WHen I turned in my notice at BofA they offered me more money & an extra week of paid vacation...how awesome is that?
So, I am staying with BofA & making more money...its a win win!!
Just goes to show that our Heavenly Father is truly looking out for us.

Happy News

2009-01-23T20:23:00.000-08:00

I found out this week that my friend Ryan Hooper got engaged!!! Ryan was friends with my bro Andrew in High School and he really is one of the best guys I've ever known. We've been friends for years.
I knew that some lucky girl would snatch him up...I am surprised he lasted this long.
Congrats Hooper!!!

B-I-N-G-O

2009-01-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

And Bingo was his name-o
Last night I went to Ft McDowell casino with my sister & brother-in-law & brother Daniel to play Bingo. It was fun. Daniel & I signed up for the "winner's circle" and they give you $10 for signing up. So we paid $10 to play Bingo and got $10 back. Then Daniel & I decided to play the $.02 slots & I won $15!!! Then on the way out we played the $.05 slots and I lost $5 so I came away with an extra $10...wahoo!!
Although none of us one BINGO, we did have a good time.

Prove It!

2009-01-11T00:17:00.001-08:00

If I didn't already know my life was boring, this just about proves it :)
45/99= FAILED
Survey says...
(Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.)
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (everyday in the car)
11. Bungee jumped - too dangerous
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - too dangerous
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (its a little porcelin one from my nativity, but no one said a "live" lamb)
26. Gone skinny dipping - gross
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (I've gone, but chickened out once we got there)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain - ha!
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (home movie)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - can't give blood, veins are too small
65. Gone sky diving - too dangerous
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy, no but I do still have & still sleep with my blanket
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (my blog book)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

That thine alms may be in secret...

2009-01-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

So I have this favorite Christmas story and I will share it with you. But here's what made me think of it...

I opened my mail tonight and in it, there was an envelope with my name neatly typed out and no return address. Weird, I thought to myself. Much to my surprise, I opened it to find a crisp $100 bill...and that's it. No note. I don't know who sent it, but I have to say that they are my favorite person right now. How awesome is that?! What a blessing!! So to whoever you are...THANK YOU!

Now, for the story: (its a long one, but so good!)

THAT THINE ALMS MAY BE IN SECRET by George Durrant

"That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."--Matthew 6:4

Most folks in Steelville were just a little bit afraid of Big Sam Edwards. Sam had lost his job when the steel plant had cut back, and he hadn't been able to find work during the past six months. He was a proud man; and now, with Christmas coming, he made a few telephone calls to important people telling them that he didn't want any "do-gooders" trying to help his family at Christmas. He gruffly warned, "I'll be staying up on Christmas Eve, and if anybody comes around trying to leave anything at the door, somebody's going to get hurt."

On Christmas Eve, when his wife, Kathryn, and his children had gone to their beds, Sam sat in his small front room with a shotgun draped across his lap. He became so weary that around two o'clock he fell asleep.

The next morning when he awoke, there in front of him he saw a whole pile of toys, a large ham, a small Christmas tree, and an open Bible. For a few seconds, he felt a surge of joy. But then he became angry. To himself he muttered, "I warned them, and somebody will pay for poking their nose into my business." Just then the children came into the room. Seeing the toys, they shouted, "Look, Daddy! See what Santa left us!"

Sam jumped from his chair and quickly stepped between the children and the toys. "Don't touch those things!" he shouted. "This is not our stuff, and somebody is going to pay for sneaking in here and leaving it. That's breaking and entering, and I'm not going to put up with it."

Sam went quickly to the telephone and called his long-time friend Sheriff Walt Durrant. After several rings the sleepy sheriff picked up the phone. Sam blurted out, "Sheriff, you get over here. Somebody broke into my house. I want them arrested." He hung up.

Sam looked over to the corner of the room where his children were standing in a huddle, gazing longingly at the pile of toys. "You kids get back to bed," he said. They didn't move, but fixed yearning eyes on their mother, who stood behind them. She didn't know what to do. During the past few discouraging months, she had more or less given up on helping Sam. If she voiced her thoughts, it always started an argument.

Sam sternly repeated, "I said get back to bed. It's too early for you kids to be up anyway."

The children reluctantly retreated. Kathryn went into the kitchen and started cooking some oatmeal. Breakfast might be the best meal they were going to have that day.

Thirty-five minutes later, Sheriff Walt Durrant knocked on the door. "Come in!" Sam shouted. The sheriff opened the door and said cheerfully, "Merry Christmas." Sam's only reply was a look of disgust."

Now, what's happened here?" asked the sheriff.

"Somebody broke in last night and left all of this stuff on the floor, and I want them arrested.""Well, Sam, that looks like pretty good stuff to me. Did they take anything?"

"No, they didn't take nothing, but I'm fed up with all of the do-gooders in this town. I can take care of myself and my family. I don't need help from nobody. Besides, didn't I tell you to keep those meddlers away from here?"

"Were you gone away last night when they did it?"

"No, I was sitting right there in that chair."

"Well, Sam, you know nobody could have come in here without making a big racket."

Sam, more angry than ever, replied, "They might have made a big racket, but I guess I slept right through it."

"I guess you did," the sheriff drawled. "Funny thing is, when I drove down your lane from the road, I could see that nobody else had been down here since the big snow last night."

"Well, somebody drove or walked in here. Now you find out who it was."

"I told you, there's not a track out there. The snow quit falling last night around nine, and nobody has been in here since then."

"Sheriff, there must be some tracks out there."

"Go see for yourself, if you think you're so smart. See if you can see where anybody came in here."

"I'll show you," said Sam. "I don't know why we pay taxes for a blind sheriff like you anyway."

Together the two men went outside. Sam wandered down the lane searching for some tracks other than those left by the sheriff, but there were none.

He returned to where the sheriff stood. "Let's go around the house," he said. "There will be some tracks out back."Together they circled the house, but all around it the snow was as smooth as a calm lake. Not a mark on it.

Sam, more irritated than ever, shouted, "Somebody's raked over the tracks."

"Nonsense," said the sheriff, "nobody has been here. I don't know where that stuff came from, but I know this--nobody brought it here."

Sam didn't know what else to say or do. The sheriff spoke as kindly as he could. "Look, Sam, I've got Christmas waiting at home. Why don't you just take the stuff and enjoy it. Forget where it came from. Just be grateful.

"Sam's voice was choked with emotion as he replied. "Sheriff, I'm not grateful for nothing, except the stuff I provide for my own family."

The sheriff replied, "I know, Sam. But you'll get work soon. Things will get better." He drove away.

Completely mystified by what had happened, Sam came back into the house and sat in his chair. Kathryn spoke softly. "Sam, what does it matter how it got here? It's here."

Sam's only reply was, "I just can't figure out how somebody came here without leaving no tracks."

Little four-year-old Katie, who was standing nearby with the other children, excitedly said, "Daddy, maybe there's some tracks on top of the house."

"I don't think so, honey," Sam replied gently.Then it hit him like a light. Some troublemaker had actually rented a helicopter and landed on his roof!

A few minutes later Sam propped his old wooden ladder against the side of the house, and to the amazement of Kathryn and the children he almost ran to the top. Up there he looked carefully around. "Nothing," he muttered. Little Katie called up to him, "Are there any reindeer tracks?"Sam paused and looked down at her and the other children. Then he winked at Kathryn and said with a chuckle, "Yeah, I think I can see some reindeer tracks over by the chimney."

Suddenly Sam had a feeling that he had not had in years. He shouted out, "Well, what are you kids waiting for? Those toys are for you, you know!"

Soon the ham was cooking in the oven. The children were playing with their toys. The miniature Christmas tree was on the table. Unnoticed by his family, Sam picked up the open Bible. A verse was underlined. He softly read: "That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." Never before or since has more joy been packed into one little house or into one father's heart than there was at that moment.

From then on and through the years everybody in town knew that Sam had changed. During the next thirty-six years almost everyone had been touched by one of Sam's kindnesses. He'd done everything from helping Arnold Conder build a house to being the chief cook at the annual old folks' dinner. On his sixty-eighth birthday he was honored as the city's most generous citizen. Sheriff Durrant, his closest friend, was appointed to present him the plaque.

Sam wasn't much of a public speaker. As he accepted the award, he awkwardly said, "I don't do no more stuff for others than anybody else around this here town. I just wish I could do like Jesus said in the Bible. I wished I could do something good and do it in secret so nobody would ever know."

As the years went by, in almost every conversation he had with Sheriff Durrant he would say, "You remember, don't you, Sheriff--that Christmas when there was no tracks nowhere? If I could do something good for someone and leave no tracks, that would be the merriest Christmas of all for me." The sheriff would smile and say, "Maybe someday, Sam."

All in the community mourned when Sam's wife died. By now the children were all grown up and married, and had moved to larger cities to get work. They and their children visited Sam as often as they could, but most of the time he was alone.

Now it was once again Christmas Eve. Tomorrow Sam's house would be filled with his children, his grandchildren, and even his two-week-old great-grandson. It was a family tradition for all the family to come home on Christmas afternoon. But tonight he was alone. He would have gone to visit some friends but his eyesight was such that he could no longer drive, and his arthritis made walking a lot less than pleasurable.

At about five o'clock the Gentrys had come over to sing Sam a Christmas carol. They were a young family who during the past summer had moved into the old Conder home across the hayfield from Sam. Their two young children, five-year-old Lexie and three-year-old Ben, had taken a special liking to Sam, and he to them. The family made it a point to give Sam a ride to church every Sunday. The children loved him to tell them stories about when he was little. They and their mom, Marinda Gentry, came to visit him often.

This Christmas Eve tears moistened his cheeks as first Lexie and then Ben hugged him and said, "We love you, Grandpa Sam. Merry Christmas." Just before they left to go home he gave Lexie a doll and Ben a ball. He had wanted to make each of them something, but his hands were not now his servants as they had once been. Sam watched them through his front window as the little family departed down his driveway toward the country road that led the one block to their home. A heavy snowfall had begun.Sam, who had difficulty in sleeping anyway, had decided to stay up late this night. As he prepared for bed he looked out of the window and saw that the gentle snow had covered all of the fields in the country neighborhood with a soft smooth whiteness. The snow by then had stopped falling. The winter scene reminded him of that mysterious "trackless" night so long ago. As he let his mind wander in a multitude of memories, he was suddenly jolted back to reality. Looking out across the field toward the Gentry house he saw an orange glow. To his horror he realized that the Gentrys' house was on fire. Hurrying from his chair he scooped up a jacket on his way to the back door. He quickly climbed the wire fence that separated his house from the hayfield. His pains forgotten in his fears for his friends' safety, he hurried toward the burning house. There he found a group of people standing together near the mailbox. The firetruck had just arrived, and the hurrying men were unrolling hoses and exchanging shouted instructions.

No one saw Sam approach, all eyes being on the leaping flames. Mrs. Gentry was screaming, "Bennie is still in there!" The boy's father shouted, "I'll try again!" but two men grabbed him and shouted, "You can't go back! It's no use!" Unnoticed by anyone, Sam ran around and entered through the back door. He couldn't see because of the thick smoke but that didn't matter because he knew the layout of the house, since he had helped build it. Flames were everywhere. He could feel the heat biting against him. The smoke choked his lungs. Suddenly he heard a faint cough. He blindly made his way toward the sound and found little Bennie lying on the floor. He scooped the crying child up in his arms and, running through the flames, made his way to the back door. Once outside he held the boy close to his body and looked heavenward. After coughing violently for several seconds the child began to cry. He placed little Bennie down on the snow and told him to go out front to the mailbox to his mother.Now for the first time Sam could feel the pain. His lungs seemed to be on fire and his skin felt as though he had been immersed in boiling water. He wanted to be home. Home was where he wanted to die. Without consciously knowing what he was doing, Sam, as if carried by the angels, crossed the snow-covered field, climbed the fence, and staggered into his home.

A fireman found Bennie crying and making his way through the snow. Soon the little boy was in the arms of his mother, who embraced him as she wept with love and gratitude. As she held him, Bennie repeated over and over, "Sam, Sam, Sam." Overwhelmed with emotion, the parents didn't register this, but someone else did. The former Sheriff Durrant, now too old to be a regular lawman, but always a volunteer, stood up straight, and a look of wonder crossed his face. "Sam," he said softly to himself, and he walked back a few yards so that he could see across the field. Just as he did, he saw the light go on in Sam's bedroom window.

The sheriff walked back to where he could watch as Doctor Jones looked at the boy. After just a minute the doctor said: "He looks fine, other than his curly hair is mostly gone. But why don't you drive down to the hospital, and I'll come down and we'll have a good look. Then we'll find a good place for you to stay until the house can be rebuilt."

The sheriff tapped the doctor on the shoulder and said, "You rode out on the firetruck. Why don't you let me give you a lift down to the hospital." As the old sheriff and the doctor pulled out of the Gentry lane, the sheriff said, "Let's just stop in and wish old Sam a Merry Christmas. It will only take a minute." The doctor replied, "He'd be sleeping, wouldn't he?" "No, I don't think so," the sheriff replied. "I think he stays too busy to sleep much."As they pulled down Sam's lane, the sheriff said softly, "No tracks in or out."

"What's that?" asked the doctor."Oh, nothing."

The deep new snow on the doorstep was undisturbed. The two men knocked, but there was no response. The door was not locked. The sheriff pushed it open and entered. The doctor said, "Let's go, he's asleep. Let's not wake him."

"Sam," shouted the sheriff, as he moved further into the house. "Let's look back here," he said, as he walked toward the bedroom.

A few seconds later they switched on the light and found Sam lying fully dressed on his bed. He didn't stir as the sheriff said, "Sam! Sam! are you okay?" At the same time, the doctor took Sam's limp wrist in his hand. There was a faint pulse. He put his hand on Sam's forehead. "He looks flushed," he said softly. "Feels like he has the flu that's all over town. He's burning up with fever."The sheriff moved closer and said, "I can smell smoke, can't you, Doc?"

"Yeah, it must be on our clothes," replied the doctor.The sheriff spoke again, "Sam, can you hear me?" There was no response. "Sam, have you been over to the Gentrys'?"

"What are you talking about, Sheriff?" the doctor asked. "This man's one of my patients. He can hardly walk."

The sheriff leaned down so his face was only a foot away from his old friend and asked, "Sam, did you go to the Gentrys'?"

"What's wrong with you, Sheriff? I told you he can't walk much, and he's sick, and besides, when we drove in here I noticed that there wasn't a single track out there in the snow."

An almost indistinguishable smile crossed Sam's face. A smile that only someone like the old sheriff could have seen. Then his head fell to the side. Sam Edwards had died. The doctor placed his fingers around Sam's wrist, and after a few seconds he said: "He's gone. The flu didn't do it on its own. My best guess is his old ticker just plain gave out on him."

"Maybe too much strain?" the sheriff asked.

"No, just too much age," the doctor replied.

Near two in the morning, the sheriff had the Gentrys settled in at the local motel. Warren Anderson from the mortuary had come an hour earlier and had taken Sam's body away. Now the sheriff came back to Sam's house. There was something he felt he had to know.

Sheriff Durrant parked his car just in front of the dark and quiet house. In his heart he felt certain that in some miraculous way Sam had gone to the burning house. Soon he would know. Were there tracks out back and across the field? Had Sam saved the boy and brought the greatest joy a family could ever know?

As the old sheriff's boots crunched into the cold snow, he felt for a moment he could hear the angels singing. He paused and looked up at the stars.

He spoke softly as he looked up. "Oh, heck, Sam! You and I both know there ain't no tracks out there. Besides, I need to be home. It's Christmas."

As the sheriff opened his car door, he looked back at Sam's house. He'd miss his old friend. A tear ran down his cheek, and he felt he heard Sam's voice saying, "I finally did it, Sheriff. Merry Christmas."

Already there was a rumor in town that the life of a little child had been saved by a miracle. Sheriff Durrant felt satisfied with that.

Released

2009-01-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I was officially released yesterday from my calling in Nursery. So sad. I will definately miss my class, but its time to move on. It will be nice to have adult interaction for a change. Its been a good run...just over a year & I can say that it was a total blast!
No new calling yet, all I know is that it better not be anything to do with Enrichment!!

Go Gila Monsters

2008-12-28T19:35:00.001-08:00

Last week we had a mini reunion for the girls who we used to hang out with at EA. It was so much fun to get together and to see everyone's kids. I can't believe how fast time goes by. Its been 10 years since we were at EA...crazy!
And, the greatest thing...someone backed into my car in the Target parking lot and didn't leave a note. So that was fantastic!

P.S. - I have major heartburn right now and it totally sucks!

52 Blessings #51 & 52

2008-12-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

The final 2 blessings of the year.
Blessing #1 - my calling. I have loved working in the nursery for the past year. The kids are so cute and they make me smile every week. I am sad that I won't be in there with them anymore.

Blessing #2 - the blessing of surviving this year!

Christmas Cards through the years

2008-12-22T20:06:00.001-08:00

In case you were wondering...these are my cards that I've made throughout the last 4 years.

And this years:

If you didn't get one please don't hate me. I go through the cards I get the year before and then add on from there. I refuse to make more than 50, so that's how it works.

Anyway, even if you didn't get one I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Only people with an honest opinion need scroll down

2008-12-17T22:35:00.000-08:00

So, I want you people to tell me the truth here.
I am making these ornaments for my nursery kids as their Christmas Gift to take home on Sunday. I am kind of wondering it might be too cheesy. What do you think? Cheesy?

Would you say it was so nice and then throw it away on your way out to the car?
Or maybe you would wait to throw it away at home?
Would it ever even make it on your tree?
If it did make it on your tree, would it be tossed out when the tree was taken down?
OR would you keep it for years and years for the sentimental value?

I have no children and I would probably throw it away on my way out to the car.

Should I or should I not make the 14 other ornaments and just forego this whole idea?

Pics from Thanksgiving

2008-12-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from when I watched Marie's kids while she and Travis went to dinner. They watched Ice Age & ate popcorn

52 Blessings #49

2008-12-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking how blessed I am that although it sucked, I am sure lucky I was unemployed last year instead of this year. Its WAY worse now than it was then so I am VERY blessed!!

ALSO....Happy Birthday Kalene! I am so glad you're my sister-in-law :)

Pictures

2008-12-07T20:11:00.001-08:00

52 Blessings #46, 47, & 48

2008-12-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

I know its been a while since I've updated...life happens.
My blessings are: The blessing of having job, the blessing of good friends, the blessing of little kids.

So to catch up:
Marie & family came in town for Thanksgiving. They blessed Dallin while they were down so I got to go to that. I did get to see the kids and hang out with Marie which was so great. I wish they still lived here. I miss them so much and am so glad when I can see them.
I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving with my mom & sister. I had to work so I met them at Walmart at 4:30am, I got the jeep I wanted for $88 that I got for my niece & nephews for christmas. As soon as I got it I had to hurry up to get to work by 6am. I worked all day (the first time I have EVER worked the day after Thanksgiving).
Work is going well. I am kicking butt still.

Life is good. Nothing too exciting has happened in the last little bit.

I love this time of year! I have my Christmas decorations up & its so fun.

Adorable with a capital A

2008-11-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

I just went to THE best Christmas concert EVER!! My cutest niece Makayla is in a music class and they had a Christmas concert tonight. She was soooo stinking cute. They sang Jingle Bells and she came out and stood right in front of one of the microphones that was a little to high. She kept trying to get it down to her mouth. Finally her teacher adjusted it and then the song started and she just sang her little heart out right into the mic. It had to be the cutest thing I've ever seen. When she was done she came running over and said..."I got a microphone!" All she cared about was having a mic.
It made my day.

52 Blessings #45

2008-11-16T21:15:00.000-08:00

This week's blessing is the blessing of friends coming to visit for the holidays.
I can't wait to see Marie & the kids!!!