Gemini Queen

Charlie's Monkey

2010-04-18T18:57:00.005-06:00

I actually did this a few months ago but I've been too lazy to post anything on this blog. Hopefully the spring sunshine will inspire me to write more. I was very proud of this drawing because I think it was the first time I really felt inspired to create something on my own as an artist and it had very special meaning to me.

As some of you may know the first miniature dachshund Josh and I got was in 2006 and we named him Charlie. He was the cutest little dog- a black and tan smooth haired doxie with a shy and loving personality. Truth be told, he was a momma's boy. He was mine.

His favorite toy was the monkey you see in the drawing.. he had loved it so much that he chewed all of the arms, legs, and tail off so it was just a monkey torso. Tragically, we buried Charlie with that toy just after 9 months of his short life.

It killed me... like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest. It hurt so much that I started to block out memories of him so I wouldn't feel the pain in my heart. After a while I started to forget what he looked like, only until I would be looking through old photos and come across a shot of his curious, innocent face. Still, it hurt. After burying the pain for so long I lost my memories of Charlie without even realizing it.

We quickly got Sam after Charlie died to help fill the holes in our hearts. Sam gave us something to focus on and love. One day Josh came home with a monkey stuffed animal and was so excited that he had found it. To his shock, the toy didn't even strike me as familiar. After trying to explain that he had found Charlie's favorite monkey toy at the local grocery store, he was amazed that I could not for the life of me remember its existence- almost like I had forgotten about Charlie's existence. I felt horrible. How could a mom forget about their dog? Or to me... my child?

Since then that monkey has been chewed up, stretched out, thrown around, and fought over by Sam and Nelly. One day, I saw it lying on the ground in this exact position and just stared at it for a while. I pulled out my art tools from the back of the closet, got comfortable on the floor, and started to draw, very intently. And as I drew a memory started to come back- I remembered Charlie's monkey. I remember frantically trying to find it the day of his funeral because I knew Charlie could not be buried without it. I remember the eyes and nose chewed off. I remembered how he used to hop up and down through the venetian blinds when I approached the door coming home from work. I remember how I used to make him dance with me. I remember him running through a field very fast and making the funniest noise as he coughed up blades of grass because he was so close to the ground. I remember he was the best cuddler around. I remember hating to say goodbye to him at the airport as I left for Connecticut that July. I didn't know it would be the last time I saw him alive.

Sometimes I think of him and I cry, even to this day. But I know that he is in a better place and I'm thankful I got to be his Mom and mean so much to him only if it was for a short period of time. I think he knows I love him very much and I still think of him and miss him. I just hope there are puppies in heaven!

Dedicated to my one and only Charlie Bones. All my love... Mom

New Seasons Bring New Beginnings

2009-10-11T14:31:00.007-06:00

I show you this picture of a road leading to a destination unknown because my life is reflecting just that.

This new fall season with it's dropping temperatures and glorious colored leaves has not only brought changes in the weather, but my life as well. In mid-September I was told about a fabulous work opportunity that I just couldn't pass up. As a result I found myself saying goodbye to more than just summer sun..... I was saying goodbye to my workplace that I had been at for over 2 years.

When I wrote down all of the pros and cons I realized that I had been comfortable and loved the people I worked with, but I was at a stand still and had simply outgrown the position. I knew if I passed up this offer I would resent my job, so I took a leap of faith and accepted the new offer! It was indeed one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make but it was so worth it.

I went from being a real estate office receptionist to an administrative assistant in the wedding reception business. I now have my own office (you know... the kind that have a door?) and my own personal phone line (with voicemail! woot woot). Totally an upgrade!

On my first day I was extremely overwhelmed with how poorly the files were being kept, the disorganization, but mostly my manager's stress level. I was missing my old job almost every day of the first week. The positive was that my manager was pretty new herself and was so thankful I would be there to help sort out the problems and find the solutions. We work with multiple wedding coordinators and all work as a team to make sure these events are being carried out as smoothly as possible. That's the best part, is that it all happens because of a team effort but everyone is pulling their own weight, like a relay race. When we cross that finish line and look at how well we did we know that we couldn't have done it without each other.

I am finding that my voice is finally being heard and not talked over. When I open my mouth people are listening to what I have to say... I'm not just the ditz at the front desk. I'm putting all of my brain power to use really experimenting with creative problem solving. I am starting to feel like an important link for the business's success and I have grown a passion for it... at least that's what can be said if you are having dreams about your job, right?

Every day is crazy as we find more issues to solve, but the good thing is that nothing is mundane about it. When I arrive in the morning I usually have no idea what the day will bring me. I can go from editing our wedding guides and setting up our filing system to arranging centerpieces and ordering linens. I guess the thing I love most about it is that it's EXCITING! Every event goes super smooth and our clients would never know the chaos that goes on behind closed doors! I love being a part of the chaos and I feel that in just the two weeks I have been there I have made some really good and affective changes. I am realizing that it's important to feel like you are growing and achieving which I now see how I was lacking those feelings at my old job. I can't wait to find out what other strengths I can use to add to the company's success.

Although my real estate job will always have a special place in my heart, I'm missing it less and less. I'm thankful for the learning experience and all of the relationships I have made and I know that I would not be where I'm at without my time there. The hardest part about accepting change is the discomfort with the unknown and always questioning, "Where will this road lead me?" But I'm glad I took the risk because that's what life is all about! If we knew where every road would take us what kind of fun would that be? And how would we ever learn how to make decisions? I'm learning that it's the excitement and learning that helps you grow as a person... and I feel good about that :)

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” -Oscar Wilde

2009-09-14T16:12:00.007-06:00

So Josh and I had an interesting situation arise late last Tuesday night. It all began around 1:30 in the morning. We were sound asleep when we were awoken by the sound of our doorbell.

"Who could it be?" I wondered, hoping it was not some terrible emergency.

We both got out of bed, and when Josh opened the door we realized that no one was there. We totally got ding dong ditched! "What a punk," I said, "Let's go back to bed."

Not five minutes later we were jolted by yet another doorbell ring. This was getting quite ridiculous. Josh opened the door again and like we expected, no one was there.

"Let's wait and see if those guys come back a third time," I suggested. And so we waited patiently, Josh by the door and me by the front window, watching and listening from behind the blinds. I was expecting to see some young kids scatter in the bushes, but what happened next I did not expect...

All of a sudden a shirtless Polynesian man, about mid-twenties, came around from the side of our house and started walking towards our door. I recognized this guy... he lived in the house across the street! I had the window cracked, so I yelled out to him to get off of my property. Josh then came out and approached him, telling him that it was nearly 2:00 in the morning and that we were trying to get some sleep, politely asking him if that was OK with him. The guy nodded and went away.

"Creepy!" I said as we walked back to bed. With the adrenaline pumping through my veins I couldn't get myself to fall back asleep. I don't know what it is with men, but my husband seemed to drift back into his dreams with ease. About fifteen minutes passed when I started hearing noises.... in our basement.

Now, Josh and I rent the top unit of a duplex, and we had a new tenant that was slowly moving her things in but had not moved a bed yet so we knew she had not been spending the night, all the more reason why I freaked out when my friendly little dog started growling at our stairs. I quickly woke up Josh and he grabbed his pocketknife which has a rather large blade. He led the way into our hallway as I followed, and we stood still in the silence, waiting for any sort of sound from below. Shortly after we heard some noises coming from our deck which was right beyond our sliding glass doors in the kitchen...

As Josh approached the doors I went into the bathroom and listened through the window in our shower as to hear any commotion. I heard my husband open the door and start to ask this man a series of intimidating questions like...

"WHAT THE *insert curse word here* ARE YOU DOING ON MY PROPERTY??"

followed by,

"DUDE, YOU NEED TO LEAVE BEFORE I CALL THE COPS..."

to,

"YOU ARE DRUNK, MAN! YOU NEED TO LEAVE NOW, I'M GIVING YOU A FEW SECONDS..."

After this man started talking back and refused to leave, Josh grabbed him by the shirt and threw him down the stairs of our deck, tossing him onto the concrete and into the shed below. Josh then began to beat the #$&% out of this guy, punching him at least 8 or 9 times in the effort to move him out of our yard. The intruder squirmed away, and in the process of this debacle, Josh ended up cutting the guy's arm, ripped his shoe off, and tore his belt.

I called the cops immediately after and waited with Josh on our deck until they showed up. While we waited Josh told me the window downstairs had been opened and the front door was wide open as well, and the man was in fact was trying to open our door as Josh approached the kitchen. I couldn't believe a neighbor would be so drunk and so stupid to actually break into someone's house. It worried me because I did not know what his intentions were...

You would think after getting hit so many times it would be a clear warning to not return.. but minutes later he actually came back from across the street and started walking slowly up our driveway heading straight towards us. Just as Josh began to yell out, we saw the cop car's headlights coming down our street catching him red handed!

The cops took over from there. They quickly realized this guy was absolutely BOMBED and asked us if we would like to press charges. "HELL YES," was our answer! They found out he had a warrant out for his arrest for trespassing/assault so they got him cuffed and took him off to jail.

As we walked back inside to go back to bed we couldn't believe this awful and terrifying thing had happened to us! Even though I knew he was gone I was still very anxious and had a very hard time sleeping. I kept waking up from nightmares thinking that I heard noises or that someone was in the room. Needless to say I was sleepy the whole next day at work and needed lots of coffee to stay awake. On a positive note I had a killer story to tell to my office!

The reason why I titled this post with that quote is because after this kid broke in, it was almost like he broke the ice between us and our Polynesian neighbors. During the following days we were overwhelmed with how many family members came over to apologize for Phil's actions (that's the drunk guy's name). You could tell they were deeply hurt and took it very personally that one of their own family member's put their neighbor in danger. I realized that the Polynesian culture takes their family values seriously. I was surprised that they refused to bail him out of jail and that they acted so kindly towards us. They have lived in this neighborhood for years and years, so knowing that their name was tied into a bad situation made them furious. It made us feel better talking to his father. He helped us understand about Phil's past and let us know that we had his family's full support.

Phil was bailed out by a friend in less than 24 hours and the next day came by our house to talk to Josh and apologize. He didn't remember anything from the night before, only bits and pieces. He thought he was locked out of his own house, and so he was trying to find a way in, not knowing it was not his home. He was embarassed and ashamed, but after hearing the results of his actions he was in tears. It was heartfelt and so we both accepted his apology with confidence that it would not happen again.

So because of all of this, we have made good friends with a couple of the family members, mainly Phil's older brother and his cousin. We have since invited them over for beers and football and I honestly enjoy their company. The stories of their culture continue to fascinate me. I admire their views on how family always comes first, and how even if they are drinking and smoking on a Saturday night, you can bet they will be out of bed and in church the next morning.

"Don't you ever feel guilty when you go to church and see all of these perfect families lined up next to you?" I asked, wondering how they could live such a different lifestyle than what the LDS church enforces.

"I never compare myself to others," Oni explained, "because it's not between me and them, it's between me and Him."

I was amazed by their faith and their comfort in who and what they are. This experience has opened my eyes and has taught me that while I may have little trust for strangers on the outside, I should be willing to familiarize myself with the people around me. To my surprise, they have quickly become like family and will be there for me to help whenever I might need them.

So that was our little blessing in disguise!
What experiences have you had that were blessings in disguise?
Please share your stories, I would love to hear them!

Wine, Lakes & Love

2009-09-05T09:29:00.002-06:00

So I know I've been ranting and raving about our Seattle trip lately, but I'm not finished yet and they get better, so keep on reading!! :)

After our Sunday baseball game, we realized our whole week was wide open with endless possibilities of things to do. We tried planning it out, but we ended up mixing in a lot of spontaneity. We decided a wine tour would be really fun and relaxing, since our most favorite Riesling is made in Washington, we were off to The Chateau St. Michele!

As soon as we drove through the gates and saw the vineyards, we knew this was going to be just lovely! The wine tour was absolutely free so we signed up and had a half hour to spare before it started. The grounds were amazingly gorgeous; I was loving all of the green trees with crazy huge trunks! It made me think back to tree climbing as a kid back in Connecticut. People were picnicking on the grass sipping their wine and reading their books and flipping through newspapers. No one seemed to have a care in the world... this was indeed a "Stress-Free Zone"!!

At the end of the tour they provided a free tasting of their three most favorite wines including a Merlot, Blush, and Dessert. I realized that Merlots were an acquired taste and I would have to work on liking it. I enjoyed the blush, and the dessert wine was almost too sweet for my liking. We ended up going home with my original favorite Chateau St. Michele Riesling. Mmmmmm!

The following day we went to Pikes Place Market which we were told was one of the most essential tourist destinations when visiting Seattle. It was a good thing Cindy lent us her GPS system since Seattle roads make absolutely NO sense!! We didn't see any fish throwing, but we got the gist of how great the market was. You could get a beautiful bouquet of gorgeous flowers for only $5.00! If I lived in downtown Seattle you could bet I would be shopping for their fresh veggies and fish on a weekly basis.

The market sits right on the coast of the Puget Sound and we stepped outside to take in the fantastic views. We dined on classic fish & chips at the Emmett Watson Oyster Bar, passed by the original Starbucks while listening to the famous Seattle Street Singers, sipped on Tulley's coffee in downtown Seattle's Harbor Steps, and observed amazing works of art in the Seattle Art Museum.

What a wonderful day this was! When we headed back home Cindy wanted to take us to Martha Lake, a small lake closeby where there is a swim area for kids and a dock with lots of open water to paddle on. We packed up a couple boats and paddled until sunset...

The next day was me and Josh's 3 year anniversary! We decided to go to Golden Gardens Park, which is a nice little beachy stretch of sand with picnic tables and bonfire pits. We brought a blanket, our books, some snacks and our Riesling, and just relaxed all afternoon in a cluster of shade trees. As I tucked my feet in the soft sand, rested on a tree, and tasted the delicious wine on my lips, a feeling of pure joy set in as I gazed out onto the water. I couldn't ask for a better way to spend time with the love of my life....

Now feeling a little happy buzz we headed to Ray's Boathouse down the street for a nice seafood dinner. We were seated on an outdoor table with views of the water, served wine and beer, and feasted on fresh halibut and calamari.

I'll be honest now... it sounds like a wonderful anniversary dinner, right? Well I'll be the first to admit that I had a little too much to drink and started to morph into my evil Gemini twin, becoming more and more obnoxious and belligerent. I felt myself becoming heated and angry for no reason... Josh pleaded to try and enjoy the moment, but I couldn't stop, all I could feel were the negative feelings: the sun was too hot, we were too crowded, and it was hardly the romantic dinner I had hoped for. There wasn't much love going on between us, only bickering and fighting, so we left quickly both feeling frustrated and hurt. We went home in silence and Josh left to cool off. I sat in the RV in a drunken state of mind, cried, and felt sorry for myself. It was pathetic.

So that's a heavy dose of reality, wouldn't you think so? Maybe you're wondering why I didn't keep on with the lovely stories and why I am now sharing these personal details? Well, being a blog reader I come across many that are sugar coated where their lives seem to be so perfect you can hardly stand it. On the other hand, there are a select few that spill out their honest feelings and I find myself more interested in the realness of them because I can actually relate.

So here it is, the real me, exposed and imperfect.

The truth is I was so backed up on Monday (yes... you know what I mean) that we almost didn't get to go on the wine tour. The truth is I complained a lot about the claustrophobic nature of the market and needed to leave after only 5 minutes. But Josh stood beside me, dealt with my moodiness, and tried to make the best out of each moment. He is a real trooper and I can't tell you how blessed I feel for having such a wonderful husband who bares through the negativity of my evil twin, and has the power to look into my eyes and bring out the real me. I feel safe and secure with him, and I sometimes wonder if he knows me more than I know myself.

Despite it all... we were together and we enjoyed our special moments, and at the end of the day we slept by each others side and woke up still happy and still in love. Good morning kisses seem to smooth over the rough times and leave them in the past...

Well guys, thanks for reading. I appreciate any and all comments because it keeps me writing, so if you enjoyed this post, please let me know!

Mariners VS. Yankees

2009-08-30T09:39:00.010-06:00

So in addition to Cindy's kindness, she and her husband, Kelley, were thoughtful enough to buy us tickets to the Mariners vs. Yankees game on Sunday at Safeco field! We were so excited! Seattle is known for it's horrendous traffic, especially on game days, so I was glad to take the bus to Downtown Seattle where the stadium was.

It was a perfect day for a baseball game: sunny skies with a slight breeze. Our seats were very high up, but we had an awesome view of the field and were luckily in the shade. It was so relaxing to be there while eating our hotdogs and sipping on our beer (6% beer is like drinking a breath of fresh air... compared to Utah's lame 3.2%!).

Being from New England, I have always grown up being a Yankee fan. My dad is the biggest fan of all. Since the Yankees had beat the Mariners twice already, my dad told me to "bring out the broom!" Every time A-Rod came out to bat there was a booming uproar of hostile boo's coming from the crowd. I quickly decided not to root for the Yankees since I probably would have been tortured with belittling remarks and flying hot dogs.

To my surprise the Mariners ended up kicking major Yankee a$$! Yankees were in the lead starting out, but in the 4th inning Ken Griffey Jr. hit a single to center, starting a 2-out ralley that gave the Mariners 5 runs, leading 9-3. Yanks just lost their focus after that and were at a stand still. I believe the final score was 11-3!

It was lots of fun to spend a Sunday afternoon watching baseball with Cindy and her family. I was already having such a good time and looked forward to more enjoyment throughout the rest of the week.

Here are some of our pictures we took from the game:

Roberts Family Reunion

2009-08-29T09:58:00.011-06:00

First of all, I apologize for not blogging literally all month! We have been anticipating our Seattle trip and after sadly returning back to Utah, I am now in the mood to reflect and think out loud once again :)

This trip was very meaningful for many reasons, so it is necessary I explain how and why we decided to go...

Josh and I had recently gotten in touch with his Aunt Cindy (his dad's sister) through Facebook. Josh never really knew the Roberts side beyond his dad's immediate family. He had lost touch after his mom and dad separated when he was 9 and grew up mostly knowing his mom's side. Thankfully through Cindy he was able to fill in some gaps, like what his real grandfather's name was and the difficult struggles his dad had to go through in his childhood. Not only did it help Josh understand his father more, but it also made him curious as to what blood relatives he had that he never got the chance to know. Cindy told us we should go to the annual Roberts Family Reunion in August. We considered it, and realized that the reunion was close to our 3 year anniversary and decided to plan a vacation around it. Cindy then told Josh's great Uncle Jack and he was overjoyed with the news that we were going to be there.

So we did it! We took the time off work, packed up our little black Honda, and started our drive over 800 miles through Idaho's endless farms and haybales, to Oregon's gorgeous blue rivers and canyons, and into Washington towards Cindy's home in Lynnwood, about 10-15 miles outside of Seattle. Once we passed through Washington's eastern desert area we saw the beautiful vineyards, and then traveled through the mountains with everlasting trees. Ah... trees :) They were so green and so beautiful you could not see through the thick forests if you tried. We rolled down the windows and felt the humid air on our skin. The feeling of freedom and anticipation made me smile and awe over how great this was... how great it was to be away and with the ones I love most.

Cindy was more than generous with her hospitality. I was so overwhelmed with how welcome we felt and how she was so willing to help with anything that we needed. She let us bring our dogs and stay in her RV, which was so great because we had our own separate space and privacy throughout the week.

We arrived late on Friday got our rest for we knew that Saturday was the reunion. While little nervous feelings ran through our veins, they were surpassed by excitement and openness to meeting new people. Not just people... actual family. Would they be nice? Welcoming? Rude? Strange? We didn't know! We only hoped we would fit in somewhere.

We arrived and approached a large gathering of complete strangers. Shortly after we met Uncle Jack... a very unique and charming individual. He appeared to be in his late 70's yet had the spirit of a 20 something. He made a big announcement to everyone and introduced us to the whole family.

I'll be honest... I felt a little out of place. After all, I was not a blood related Roberts, just an in-law with less knowledge of the family than anyone else there. I struggled with names, but surprisingly I was able to carry on conversations. Josh was chatting it up with everyone, meeting cousins, uncles, aunts, and everyone in between. I felt so happy for him but had a hard time shaking my discomfort. But then I thought... isn't that how everyone feels at reunions? Uncomfortable because you onyl catch up once a year if that? I realized that everyone was playing catch up, re-introducing themselves, and reminding each other of their names. I decided to let my nervousness go and put a smile on my face, because really... what was the worst that could happen?

As I outstretched my hand to greet people, they hugged me instead. It seemed as though everyone was welcoming us into the family and we felt so loved, as though we had never lived apart. It was easy because there was a familiarity to each Roberts. They shared struggles while showing their quirky Roberts idiosyncrasies such as their ability to talk and talk (and talk.. and talk...) and their nonjudgemental qualities, accepting everyone for what they were. I swore a little bit, they would swear back. Josh and I went to go smoke a cigarette, and someone would join us. We fit in!

I enjoy being around older people and listening to their stories. The elderly are amazing individuals. I look into their eyes and see wisdom. If you listen to them and really hear what they are saying, you begin to see that they have this understood comfort with themselves and their stories are written in their aged faces. They speak with sweetness and charm. I was starting to really love these people.

We ate cheeseburgers and hotdogs, played a friendly baseball game (Josh caught the last ball, winning the game!), participated in the water balloon toss, and a listened to live acoustic hour. I would never guess The Roberts were so musical because Josh is totally tone def! His Uncle Jack used to promote concerts back in the day booking famous Western Country performers such as Johnny Cash! Uncle Jack and his nephews have even performed and recorded albums in times past. They get together every reunion and play their guitars and sing together. It was so amazing to watch. I actually teared up a few times as they played their versions of the classics.

As we said our goodbyes, hugged everyone, and exchanged phone numbers and emails, Josh and I felt whole, forever engraved with their kind words and hearts.

Here a just a few of the photos we took:

This was just the first day of our Seattle trip.
Check back to read about more stories of our adventures in Seattle :)

Missing Connecticut

2009-07-25T09:37:00.006-06:00

With my mom & dad being in town this last month, I've been missing my hometown more than ever.

Here are a few things I miss about living in Connecticut:

The endless rolling hills full of trees or what I called "broccoli fields" when I was little
The fact that Connecticut was one of the 13 colonies and has such historic attributes
How you can drive 45 minutes and be out of the state
Having 4 consistent seasons, none of which are more extreme than the other
Curvy and narrow roads we liked to call "roller coaster roads"
Cape & Colonial style homes that were built as early as the 1700's
Friendly's Fries and Dunkin Donuts Coffee
Family owned businesses & restaurants that have been around for years
Having beach, country and city closeby
The fact that only 2% of the state is LDS
Being a democratic state
Fireflies, hot air balloons, light houses & covered bridges.

But most of all, I miss having my family & friends right around the corner.

Who knows, one of these days I might be able to convince Josh to move back east! Doubtful... but possible :)

I just can't get enough...

2009-07-25T09:31:00.005-06:00

of this SONG!! I'm obsessed.

Wish I had the actual video but they disabled the embedding... isn't it great though?? I also loved it because my favorite dancers on "So You Think You Can Dance" did such a powerful jazz routine to this song.

All tucked in...

2009-07-21T20:09:00.005-06:00

CHOPPED!

2009-07-21T20:05:00.002-06:00

Yes, it's true.

I chopped my hair off AGAIN and this time I went a little bit shorter in the back.

Check it out!

Good Reads: "The Beach House" by Jane Green

2009-07-07T10:57:00.005-06:00

"Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn’t care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn’t she skinny dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes.

So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside-down."

(courtesy of Jane Green's website)

I loooooooooved this story!! I literally could not put it down. I completed it within 2 weeks- I think that's a record for me! Something about the Nantucket location (Josh and I visited Nantucket on our honeymoon) and the quirky characters made me feel like I was home with family again.

The characters were all very different from one another and I enjoyed reading from each of their perspectives. They all had their own challenges to face in their personal lives which lead them to renting a room from Nan's home. Together they discover their true selves through dealing with their past and celebrating new beginnings.

To me this book was about facing harsh realities, growing from your mistakes and being comfortable with a new you. It exposes issues from death to divorce, to raising children and having an affair. Whether it's the character or the issue, you are sure to relate somehow and grow from reading this!

St. George Trip!!!

2009-06-16T19:59:00.010-06:00

I was so excited to head down to St. George for a fun and relaxing girls weekend with my friend Hailey! We made a pact to forget all of our worries and leave them at home. We were ready to have ourselves a kick ass time!!

Driving down was long but so beautiful! With the help of Hailey's iPod we were singing along to Biggie, Salt'n'Peppa, and Bonnie Raitt!!

We were going to be staying at Hailey's sister Ashley's house
(or "Ashwipe" as we like to call her :) These two aren't as innocent as they look!!

*COCKTAILS!!*

We didn't waste anytime!! Rum & Cokes + Tequila shots were the start to one CRAZY night!! My good ol' friend Macy came over later- it was so good to see her face again! As we shared our stories we all were laughing so hard my cheek muscles started to hurt! I honestly couldn't remember the last time I have laughed so hard... it felt great.

Here are some of my favorite pics we took that night:

The next day we laid by the pool in the afternoon and later went down to visit Hailey & Ash's Dad and Stepmom. They cooked us these amazing cheeseburgers and made us ice cream sundaes complete with a cherry on top. I felt so special :)

Afterward we headed to the Outlet stores for some shopping and decided to take the scenic route. It was so gorgeous in person- these pictures do not do it justice!

After shopping for some new clothes we got all dressed up to go out to Mesquite for a little drinkin' and gamblin'!

I learned that penny slots are where it's at!! Hailey's fav is Betti the Yetti. I swear those slot machines love her- she won so much money!! I was cheering for myself when I won 40 cents- meanwhile Hailey is winning $3 and $5 at a time with no problem. Lucky Beyotch. After several watered down drinks and zero buzz, we thought our money would be better spent at home with a bottle from the liquor store. Good call!

The next day we did some more lounging and shopping. We knew we would have to be leaving soon, so for the last hour we laid out by Ashley's community pool which sits on top of a hill with amazing views of the St. George valley- red rocks everywhere. I was in heaven with that sun shining down on us and did not want to leave!

We took a few last pictures together and slowly got our butts moving dreading the fact that we were about to go back to reality. Who would want to go back to work after a trip like this! I seriously could have stayed there all day.

On the way back despite the fact that Hailey's iPod had died, her CD's got left at Ashley's, and all that was on the radio was Jesus tunes, we saw this beautiful rainbow! It was the perfect way to end the weekend.

As we drove back into more rainclouds and stormy skies, I smiled as I looked through the pictures on my camera. Life is all about making memories and being with the people you love. We didn't have a care in the world and I know I will look back and smile every time. Even though I knew tomorrow was going to be back to stress and the every day hustle, I held on to being in that carefree state of mind as long as I could.

I thought of when Hailey, Macy & I all stopped in the middle of our drunken giggles that Friday night and sang along to Bob Marley:

"Don't worry about a thing,
cuz every little thing is gonna be alright."

Well said Bob, well said. :)

Movie Review: "The Young Victoria"

2009-06-12T08:44:00.009-06:00

"A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert."

I almost died when I saw that this movie was available to view online! Most of you know that I was named after Queen Victoria, hence the blog title, so I feel a tiny connection to her, but I've never really known her story. After watching this film and seeing some of the historic events she went through, I felt even more special to be named after such a powerful woman. I learned that her real first name is Alexandrina so we actually share the same middle name! She is also a Gemini born on May 24, 1819. She grew up an only child, her father dying when she was only 8 months old, with a domineering mother whom she refused guidance from after she became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland just a short month after her 18th birthday.

This film showed who the real Victoria was, a free spirited and strong willed woman who cared for people that were less than her royalty status. She was treated like a child, even after she was Queen, and many tried to influence her decision making, including her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne whom she was rumored to have a relationship with. The movie shows the perspectives of Lord Melbourne and her cousin Prince Albert, who both are seeking Victoria's heart. She follows her heart which leads to Prince Albert, and they get married in February of 1840. They were very happy together and ended up having 9 children.

She reigned for 64 years until her death in 1901, the longest ruling Queen to this date.

(Learn more about the biography of Queen Victoria by clicking here.)

I just loved this romantic drama, I thought it would have been boring but it really captured my interest the entire time. Historic movies always show me that although it was a long time ago and their speech and the way they dress are different, underneath it all the emotions and drama are real and comparable to today's generation. The costumes were AMAZINGLY gorgeous. Although it may not have been perfectly depicted to its true history, I thought it was very well done as a whole. Emily Blunt is an amazing actress. I loved her in "The Devil Wears Prada" and was glad she got this role. I heard this movie was rated #3 for the best movies in 2009. Hopefully Emily will win herself an Oscar!

Rain. . Rain. . GO AWAY!

2009-06-11T09:09:00.004-06:00

Dear Mother Nature,

I'd like to ask you a small favor. First, let me explain. . .

There is a serene and calming energy around when Rain comes to town. I love seeing the artistic little beads of water he leaves on the windows, watching his drops splash in the puddles, the peaceful sound of thudding on the roof, the way he clears the air and makes it smell fresh again. He really is quite enjoyable for the most part.

But, come on Mother Nature. Rain has been here for almost 2 weeks straight. ENOUGH ALREADY! It's been nice enjoying Rain's company, but I'm tired of those gloomy and gray clouds he brings with him, I'm sick of him causing there to be wet doggy trails through my house, and I am through with carrying an umbrella when it is clearly the middle of June!

So please, Mother Nature, if you have a heart, ask Sun to please come back and shine those rays upon us once again. We sure do miss her around here :-(

Sincerely,
Kristen

P.S. Please tell Rain we hope there are no hard feelings :-/

"Wisdom Tooth Tale" featuring Brian Regan

2009-06-05T11:33:00.002-06:00

So last weekend I had the lovely experience of getting my wisdom teeth removed. . .

To say the least I had a lot of built up anxiety about it. I had never been under any anesthesia in my life and the thought of a doctor prying my mouth open and ripping 4 huge teeth out of my mouth really just freaked me out more than anything. I was glad I was going to be sleeping the whole time.

I decided to have it done on a Friday morning so I would have the weekend to heal and be able to return to work the following Monday, hoping I wouldn't resemble a chipmunk. I went in that morning and they took me into a back room. They gave me an IV and I became really relaxed. The last thing I remember was the dental assistant saying I was very pretty. . . I woke up an hour later crying hysterically feeling my mouth full of gauze. I guess the crying is a common side effect of the anesthesia, LOL.

It was a rough weekend, in the sense that my mouth hurt like a B, but percocets became my new best friend and I ate lots of pudding and mashed potatoes. I'm healed up a lot better right now, still a little annoying but hopefully in a week the discomfort will be gone.

Anyway, I tell this "Wisdom Tooth Tale" because I came across a YouTube video of Brian Regan doing part of his Improv stand up comic act. In it he tells a joke about wisdom teeth, along with some other hilarious stories. If you have never heard of Brian Regan, you should get to know him. His voices, his stories, and his unique non-cussing makes him one of the best comedians I know today. Enjoy this video. . . it made my day!

Movie Review: "Changeling"

2009-06-03T16:02:00.003-06:00

"Los Angeles, 1928. A single mother returns from work to find her nine-year-old son gone. She calls the LAPD to initiate a search. Five months later, a boy is found in Illinois who fits the description; he says he's her son. To fanfare and photos, the LAPD reunite mother and son, but she insists he's not her boy. The cops dismiss her as either a liar or hysterical. When she joins a minister in his public criticism of the police, they in turn use government power to silence and intimidate her. Meanwhile, a cop goes to a dilapidated ranch to find a Canadian lad who's without legal status; the youth tells a grisly tale. There's redress for murder; is there redress for abuse of power?" (courtesy of IMBD.com)

WOW is all I have to say after viewing this film! In my opinion it was very well done and held onto my interest the entire time. I'm not a huge fan of Angelina, but I really applaud her performance in this drama/thriller in addition to all of the other stellar performances. The true story exposed the LAPD for what they were in the 1920's... corrupt. It was unbelievable to me what citizens had to go through to get justice in those days. This film will make your mouth drop, maybe make you cry and cringe, but I promise you will remember this woman's story forever. I give it 5 stars. . . definitely worth renting.

Book Review: "Baby Proof" by Emily Giffin

2009-05-19T17:41:00.007-06:00

"First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes . . . a baby carriage? Isn’t that what all women want?
Not so for Claudia Parr. And just as she gives up on finding a man who feels the same way, she meets warm, wonderful Ben. Things seem too good to be true when they fall in love and agree to buck tradition with a satisfying, child-free marriage. Then the unexpected occurs: one of them has a change of heart. One of them wants children after all.
This is the witty, heartfelt story about what happens to the perfect couple when they suddenly want different things. It’s about feeling that your life is set and then realizing that nothing is as you thought it was---and that there is no possible compromise. It’s about deciding what is most important in life, and taking chances to get it. But most of all, it’s about the things we will do---and won’t do---for love." (conveniently provided by Google Book Search)

This is one of those rare books that made me feel very close to the main character. Every rambling thought, every decision she made, even her family members, reminded me of myself and my life. I think I have fallen in love with this author. I especially felt close to the big dilemma about deciding whether to have kids or not, so it was a serious page turner for me.

It's a great story, about life and how it can change your plans and ultimately change your heart. Its about compromise and sacrifice- which is exactly what marriage is all about. Its romantic, utterly truthful, sometimes sad, a little spicy, and just a great read overall. I highly recommend it for any girl wanting to indulge on some serious girl talk.

Little girls bring such delight with hearts so warm and smiles so bright! -- Author Unknown

2009-05-10T09:42:00.016-06:00

So last weekend Josh and I had the pleasure of seeing his sister Sara and 3 kids, Taylor (5), Bella (3) and JJ (2). We don't see them very much anymore since they moved to Texas almost 2 years ago. I was very excited to see them, but also nervous because I hoped they would like me, let alone remember me. We started out by going down to his aunt's house in Lehi, the house of the backyard we got married at, and had lunch with everyone. It was fun to see how much they had grown!

Below is JJ, the 2 year old stud muffin. He is just learning how to talk, he's very adventurous and a bit of a dare devil. He will do this big jump and then land flat on his butt on the hard ground, and just laughs. Crazy kids... but isn't he adorable? I'm loving the mo-hawk.

And this is my niece Taylor, the oldest of the bunch. She loves to be the center of attention, she's a little crazy but she is so sweet and I can't believe she is already 5! It's hard to believe that Josh and I started dating when she was just 6 months old.

And this is Isabella, or Bella for short, enjoying her root beer float. She is such a sweetheart, the kind that when she talks it just makes your heart melt. She's got these little freckles on her nose and it's just the cutest thing. She is a spitting image of her mom and wants to be just like her sister Taylor.

And this is the whole Smith family, minus Jason who had to stay in Texas to work. Sara and Josh got mistaken for twins in high school. It's crazy how much they look alike!

His Aunt Susan snapped this pic of us, and I must say it's probably my favorite picture yet! We look happy, and we really are. That's what being around family does to you I guess :)

So Sara thought it would be a great idea for Josh and I to take the 2 girls for the day and have them sleepover for the night. Upon hearing this suggestion, I got wildly nervous about taking care of 2 little girls for an entire 24 hours. What would we do? Will they like it at my house? Will they scream and cry for their mom?? I hadn't babysat in a long time, I haven't even babysat my niece Addyson let alone 2 little girls. I didn't know what to expect, but Josh said they are just kids, and I shouldn't be so nervous about impressing them. And he was right... again.

We planned on taking them to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D and then spend the rest of the night hanging out at the house. They had all their clothes packed, and 2 bags full of entertainment to keep them busy- coloring books, polly pockets, snacks and more. I took a deep breath... we could do this!

So we get home and I forgot that my dogs would be providing most of the entertainment. Taylor wanted to hold Nelly like a little baby literally the entire time! I had to explain that Nelly is a dog, not a baby, and that she wanted to run and play with Sam. She would set her down for maybe a couple minutes, and then decided that Nelly wanted to be held again. Josh and I just laughed to ourselves, and surprisingly Nelly didn't put up much of a fight. It was hard to get them going to see the movie because they didn't want to leave the pups! Silly girls...

"See how I'm holding her now? She loves me so much."

It quickly became a photography session with the doggies. Bella got her turn, taking pictures of Taylor and I. She would go, "1...2...3... CHEEESE!"

Then of course Taylor had to get her turn too. We took at least 50 pictures of the same pose. LOL. I just had to laugh, I was really having so much fun with these two.

I taught Bella how to take a picture of yourself with one hand, see above photo. She tried to do the same, but I forgot how little their arms are, so this is how they turned out....

We finally went to see the movie, which they loved. When we got home I made up some Mac & Cheese, practicing my mothering skills, "Two more bites and you can have ice cream for dessert!" We made a bed for them out of our couch cushions and lots of blankets. We colored and played, and lectured when they quarreled. We stayed with them until they got sleepy and silently snuck away to get some rest, knowing that the morning would be a whole nother adventure!

I realized during our time together that they weren't the ones making me nervous, it was my own self, doubting that I would be good enough to be a mother someday. Doubting that Josh and I could handle such a thing. But these girls taught me that taking good care of them doesn't require years of pratice, parenting skills, or knowledge. It came easily because I love them. Love took care of everything. It made me want to play with them, to teach them new things, to cuddle while watching movies, to kiss them goodnight, to wake up to sleepy eyes and invite them to snuggle in bed with us, to go out of our way to get Hannah Montana cereal, to make sure their hair is done and teeth are brushed in the morning, to sing along to Kids Bop in the car, to give them hugs and kisses when we dropped them off.

This experience taught me that while Josh and I aren't quite ready for a baby, it made me feel secure in knowing that someday we will be great parents. Just seeing Josh in our backyard with Bella, blowing dead dandelions, or seeing him hold Taylor in the movie theater when she got scared of the villain, lets me know that he will be an amazing father. I never could quite envision it before, but now it's clear to me that one day it will happen and one day we will be ready for it.

Little girls dance their way into your heart, whirling on the tips of angel wings, scattering gold dust & kisses in our paths.
-- Author Unknown

Rut no more!

2009-05-05T19:22:00.006-06:00

So after my last post I realized my in-laws coming into town would be the perfect motivation to start on my re-decorating project! I always get nervous before family visits and it's my natural instinct to want to impress, so I got started right away with a little (ok... A LOT) of help from my handy husband. I got excited and forgot to take "before" pictures, but I figure the after ones are the only ones that matter, right? So take a look and let me know how you think it turned out!

New blue/green curtains (favorite color) and new coat of "Soft Suede" paint.

(If you are noticing those small bright white marks on the ceiling, that is the result of Josh trying to touch up with bright white ceiling paint that we later realized didn't quite match the existing paint. . . it's a small detail so I'm sure we will get around to painting the whole ceiling another time. I'm done painting for QUITE a while!)

My sister-in-law, Sara, gave me the framed letters of our last name for Christmas. It originally was done in a font I wasn't a big fan of, so I tracked down a vinyl lettering pro and got some new ones more to my liking and picked out ribbon to match. Those are new (and also FABULOUS) blue silk pillows to match the curtains thanks to Target, $19.99 each.

Isn't this adorable?? This is my favorite detail of the room. I got to pick out the lettering myself!

I re-vamped the entry way with stuff I already had and hung up my old framed art pieces I got at Shopko for $8 each. And of course the doggies are comfortable in their new environment, how could they not be?

In our Home Depot adventure we decided it would be cheap and easy to make these box shelves. The wood was $3 each (Home Depot cuts them for you) and with a $1 can of black spray paint you got yourself some functional & fine lookin wall decor.

On to the kitchen. . . we re-painted the grass green wall to a more toned grayish green called "Moss" that matched the rug we already had and continued it on to the adjacent wall. We also finally got around to centering the chandelier which tremendously enhances the lighting.

I had this great idea to make some shelves to showcase my fine china that I got as a wedding present. They have been sitting in my cabinets the entire time and have never been used. Both pieces of wood added up to $3 and I spray painted them white. It helps break up that huge wall and gives you something to look at.

So. . . how do you think I did for making this happen in less than 2 weeks?? I'm happy to say that when my mother-in-law came by she said she loved our place and the simple design, and mentioned that she needed to make her house decorated more like mine. What a compliment! Just hearing that made it all worthwhile. Not to mention that I am SO happy now when I come home and look around, I'm very pleased and comfortable.

The only trouble with re-decorating is that once you reach your goals, there is always something else you want to do! I can't help but look around and think of other things I can do to fill in the blanks. Josh says it's a "work in progress" and I need to cool my jets. While that's true, I've already decided on my next project. . . creating a magnet board (like Nicki's) and painting it to match my kitchen. Oh yes. . . it's gonna happen- and soon!

Uninspired

2009-04-19T08:22:00.004-06:00

This is me, uninspired, as this colorful world surrounds me.

What is wrong with me!

As you can see I haven't blogged in over a month... *gasp* Honestly, I haven't been inspired to write about anything because I feel there is nothing really extraordinary going on in my life. I'm kind of in a rut. Josh and I have both worked ourselves silly to the point of being TIRED & UNINSPIRED!

But today is a new day, right? It's actually Josh's birthday today! So here I am up early while he sleeps peacefully in bed. My plan was to start cleaning the house but after a huge cup of coffee I still haven't found the energy to start.

I think part of the reason why I've been in a rut is because I've been missing my family terribly the last month. If I feel like going to my Mom's for a home cooked meal that can't really happen unless I shovel out $500 for a plane ticket across the country. I'm starting to wonder if I can live like this for much longer.

When I first moved here I thought it wouldn't be so bad because I do have my sister up in Ogden, and at the time Josh's whole family lived close by. Well, things have changed. Everyone from Josh's family moved and scattered around the country to California, Texas, and Japan. So Josh and I both have 1 sister left in Utah, however, both of them still have all of their in-laws close by. So what happens when holidays come around? Everyone gets together with their families and me and Josh are left by ourselves. Sometimes it's nice to have it be just the two of us, but lately it feels like something is missing.

It's a good thing that Josh's sister Sara with her 3 kids are coming out to visit at the end of the month, followed by his mom, all visiting for his other sister's birthday and Mother's Day. I'm really excited! I haven't seen my 2 nieces and nephew in at least a year if not more. I hope they remember me!

I'm also looking forward to my mom and dad coming out to visit in July for a few weeks. It's always nice to see them. I wish they would just move out here already! I worry because they are both getting older and they tell me about all of these health problems they are going through and it scares the crap out of me... because I know if anything were to happen I couldn't be there right away to help :(

Anyway, I need to start doing some projects soon to feel like myself again. I woke up yesterday and couldn't get back to sleep because I kept thinking about all of the things I want to do around the house. For instance, I want to paint! Pretty much every room needs it. I also want to DIY a headboard for our bed. Make it all cushioned with buttons. Also I need to clean out the 2nd bedroom and make it more of an office/bedroom instead of an office/storage room.

Annnnnnnd Josh and I are planning a road trip to Seattle for Memorial Day weekend in May! We recently reconnected with his Aunt Cindy through Facebook who lives up there. What a perfect way to hang with family while exploring a new place!

So yes, it's been a very long and dull month, but it's spring and that means it's time for new beginnings. Just like a spring flower, I'm bringing myself out of this dirty ground and showing off my true colors again!

Meet our little Nelly

2009-03-03T21:29:00.006-07:00

meet nelly.

Or Nellers, Nelly Belly, Nala (that's Josh's).
Nicknames... they just come naturally!

We got Nell about a week ago in a spur of the moment type of decision. For the past couple months we were thinking a lot about getting Sam a companion, someone who could be his friend while me and Josh work all day. We checked out puppies on KSL.com and when we saw her cute picture with those little stink face eyebrows...

...we just couldn't resist! Normally when we search through the puppy ads I always find something I don't like (I'm really picky) but when I know... I just know!

We made an appointment to see her 45 minutes after viewing the ad. I felt so scared and excited at the same time... scared to take on another huge responsibility and also scared for Sam, just hoping he will be happy with our choice.

She was so shy and quiet when we first met her, I really didn't think she couldn't handle our hyper Sammy, but there was something special about her. We actually almost brought home her sister because she was a lot more playful. After an hour of arguing, contemplating, and asking my husband about a hundred times, "Well what do you think??" we finally made up our minds. We just couldn't leave this little girl behind! She literally stole our hearts.

Nelly was her original name and we thought it fit her perfectly so we kept it. She is a miniature dachshund (doxie), same as Sam but she's a wire haired which means she's got some wavy hair. She's black and tan with some cream spots, really cute markings. And now she is 10 weeks old. We took her to the vet last weekend and she weighed in at all of TWO pounds! Seriously like she's the length of my forearm.

It took her a couple days to come out of her shell... but boy we had ourselves fun week! I'm telling you these puppies- all they do is eat, play, and poop. And then poop some more. The puppy phase is always a love/hate relationship for me.... hate them cuz they just pooed all over your sheets or woke you up at 2 in the morning to go potty, but love them because they are just too damn cute to stay mad at. And because you know the outcome is definitely worth all of the hard work and time you put into it.

Sam has been adjusting well and enjoys having a playmate. We got him neutered last week shortly after we got her. So poor Sammy got a cone on his head for a couple days. He's a trooper and is healing very well. Nelly is really feisty with him when she plays, she gets all sassy and she barks and chases him. But she loves to cuddle too and will fall asleep in your arms like a little baby. She even snores... :)

And can I just express my love for having another female in the house??

I have always had Josh, my very, very male minded husband, and we have always had male dogs. And now our family is complete and I finally have a woman on my side! I know I'm going to enjoy this:

1) She can watch America's Next Top Model with me without whining (even though she will most likely sleep on my lap the whole time).

2) She will let me read my Marie Claire without barking to throw a squeaky toy outside.

3) She might even let me paint her toenails someday...

4) ...and let me put a cute dress on her and maybe even LIKE it.

Who knows, maybe I'm wishful thinking, but I have a feeling there's going to be some much needed girl bonding going on...

But of course my Sam will always be my man. Nothing will ever replace that. I love them both the same and I like being a mommy to them. It's weird.. I really have no interest in having kids anytime soon so my motherly instincts go toward canines. I guess I will always be a sucker for pups and I'll accept that for now!

For the time being my baby hunger will have to rely on my older and very pregnant sister! 15 weeks... and they think it's a.......

*whispers*

BOY!

... more details next time! :)

One Flaw In Women

2009-02-21T13:42:00.004-07:00

I got this forwarded email from my mom the other day and thought I would pass along the message to all of you wonderful, amazing, strong women out there :)

One Flaw In Women

By the time the Lord made woman,
He was into his sixth day of working overtime.
An angel appeared and said,
"Why are you spending so much time on this one?"
And the Lord answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her?
She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,
have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable
and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,
have a lap that can hold four children at one time,
have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart
-and she will do everything
with only two hands."

The angel was astounded at the requirements.
"Only two hands!? No way! And that's just on the standard model? That's
too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I won't," the Lord protested.
"I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.
She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days."

The angel moved closer and touched the woman.
"But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed,
"but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or
accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?", asked the angel. The Lord replied,
"Not only will she be able to think,
she will be able to reason and negotiate."

The angel then noticed something,
and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.
"Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.
I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak,"
the Lord corrected, "that's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy,
her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love,
her loneliness, her grief and her pride." The angel was impressed.
"You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Woman is truly
amazing."

And she is!

Women have strengths that amaze men. They bear hardships and they carry
burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.. They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous. They fight
for what they believe in. They stand up to injustice. They don't take
"no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution. They go
without so their family can have. They go to the doctor with a frightened friend..

They love unconditionally. They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards. They are happy when they hear
about a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they
think there is no strength left. They know that a hug and a kiss can heal
a broken heart. Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They'll
drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning. They bring
joy, hope and love. They have compassion and ideals. They give moral
support to their family and friends. Women have vital things to say and
everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Making faces

2009-02-15T11:14:00.003-07:00

I went shopping with my sister Amber and my niece Addy last weekend and I couldn't help but notice how much this little girl is growing up! She is such a ham, she will do anything for attention and loves when you laugh. Hence, these hilarious faces she was making...

This one is my favorite because she stuck out her tongue at the last second!

We went to Jamba Juice and took some pictures. She likes taking pictures "cheek to cheek"

She is so beautiful!

I am loving watching her grow into her personality and learning from everything around her. And I can't believe my sister has another one on the way. Kids really are amazing creatures aren't they?

De-stress

2009-02-12T20:35:00.006-07:00

God I hate being stressed.

It makes my whole body ache, mostly in my shoulders and in my head. When I'm stressed I hate the person I become. I start getting selfish, I have no energy when I come home, I put myself in this negative frame of mind and I pretty much starting hating on everyone. So I figured instead of being a grump throughout the week, I would research some ways to de-stress.

Below are a few ideas I scrounged up on a Google search. I hope you take a few of these ideas and apply them to your own lives to help you calm your nerves and get yourself back to that lovely person you are inside:

Be aware of your body.

"Slumped shoulders and a bent spine can actually induce moodiness. Tensed stomach muscles can induce mental anxiety"

So stop slouching at work when you are sitting in that chair for hours. Keep your shoulders back and maybe do a few head rolls through the day. Another way to de-stress at work is by laying on the floor with your legs straight up against a wall, and scoot your bum as close to the wall as possible. Then lay there, with your arms out, palms up, and just take 5 minutes to meditate. Hopefully your co-workers won't catch you..

Listen to music that makes you feel calm and peaceful.

Since I don't have an iPod (and because I'm cheap and I don't want to pay a dollar for every song) I listen to Pandora radio and I get to choose a genre I would like to listen to that day. Then I steal songs from there and look them up on playlist.com and make special mixes for my different moods. When I'm feeling exceptionally stressed I will put on some classical music, piano, or Enya. It helps me from swearing at people at work :)

Take a warm bath.

I love taking a bath after a long overworked day. It's so nice to feel the hot water release all of the tension in my body. Just listening to silence and focusing on myself really makes a difference. I swear someday I will have a nice jetted tub in my house just for me!

Breathe.

Deep breathing can reduce stress and increase relaxation. Try taking a deep breath, and then releasing it twice as slowly as you inhaled. If only I could stop smoking and just breathe... damn that nicotine!

Participate in activities that leave you with a sense of relaxation and peacefulness.

This is why I love yoga. The breathing and stretching helps me calm down and find peace. I also love to unwind by reading a good book with a cup of tea while relaxing on my couch. Any activity that helps you get your mind at ease will work.

Take a nap.

Studies show that a quick 30 minute nap will help boost your energy. So if you're feeling really tired, lay down for a bit and close your eyes. Don't overdo it though or it will have a reverse effect.

Pray.

Even though I don't really go to church anymore I still like to pray every once in a while. Just telling someone about my fears and stress helps me get those negative feelings off my chest. Its kind of like having a personal shrink. Only the shrink is Jesus.

(ideas provided from this awesome website)

Coraline

2009-02-08T08:39:00.004-07:00

"A young girl (Fanning) walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life – only much better. But when her adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home – and save her family." (courtesy of imbd.com)

Josh and I went to see this last night in 3-D! It was imaginative and dark, a little creepy yet still humorous... and watching it in 3-D was a totally different experience, making the movie even more exciting.

I was positive this was a Tim Burton movie, which I now know is a common misunderstanding. Henry Selick directed (who also was the director for "The Nightmare Before Christmas," Tim Burton wrote and produced it) and Neil Gaiman wrote the childrens book it was based off of. Looks like they stepped out of Tim Burton's shadow for this one and I am certainly impressed! I love the creativity, like these adults somehow held on to their childhood wonders through the years and made it all come to life. Simply amazing.

Josh and I loved it and I'm not gonna lie... we felt pretty cool rockin those 3-D glasses, hehe!
Go see it- you will not be disappointed!

One step forward, Two steps back...

2009-02-05T18:39:00.013-07:00

(Apologies for not blogging in like... what, 20 days now? Gawd. I am slacking and it doesn't feel right! )

Lets do some catching up, shall we?

I feel like time is going by faster than ever, especially at work. Ever since the big transition at my job all I can think about is getting ready to do it all over again the next day. So when I am finally home I don't even want to be near a computer- I just want to eat dinner, spend some time with the hubby, watch a few TV shows, and pass out by 9:00.

It's been very stressful to say the least... I've been doing this job for almost 2 years now and I had a perfect routine going, making my job enjoyable for the most part. I was in control and could finish everything on my list in one day and sometimes in a matter of hours! Now it seems as soon as I finish one thing I get 2 more things piled on... I sometimes find myself looking around at all the crap I have to do and I honestly just want to cry. Lately I feel myself biting my tongue so I don't lash out on anyone who asks me to do a favor for them. If they only knew what curse words I hold back from my polite smile...

But I have to keep reminding myself that going slightly insane at work is better than going insane at home without a job. I can't believe the unemployment rates. Seriously? This is nuts. Even college graduates who are completely qualified are jobless! What is going on in this country?!

At least I have gotten through these first 2 weeks and the worst is over. Hopefully this will mean Mr. Rai$e will come along my way next month... but I won't hold my breath.

Hmmm what else is new........ oh yes, I CUT MY HAIR!

About 4-5 inches to be exact. I had been growing it out for the past year and it only took that one bad hair day to realize my damn hair is just too thick and too heavy to be long. I called up Hailey and asked for an emergency appointment. I'm telling you, this girl is a genius! Needless to say I LOVE the cut, it is so much easier to manage and much more "me." She gave me a nice A-line cut so it's slightly shorter in the back and it frames my face perfectly. Check out the new doo:

Besides all the stress at work I have been feeling really good health wise. Josh and I purchased the P90X program a couple weeks ago and it has totally made a difference in the way I feel. I forget how much eating breakfast boosts your energy for the day. It's much better than running on coffee all morning and starving until lunch. I thought the food would be the biggest challenge but I was wrong! It's the exercise!!!

I don't know if you are familiar with P90X, but this Tony Horton guy is certainly no joke. The routines are long and they are very challenging. Let's just say the first time I tried plyometrics (jump training, lunges...) I lasted 12 minutes, collapsed on my way to the couch, and couldn't walk right for 2 days. Not kidding, ask Heather.

I forget how painful exercise is!! But it's also very rewarding... and I feel much better knowing that I'm treating my body good. So far I am loving the yoga, kempo, and cardio routines. It makes me not want to give up, to keep going, and to see how far I can really push myself...

Here are some of my current obsessions...

My new blackberry phone
Starbucks soy vanilla bean powder lattes
Grapefruit sprinkled with organic sugar
Yo-ville on facebook
"Day & Night Remix" by Jim Jones
Practicing my cursive handwriting
Night time baths
The new Nip/Tuck season
Sweater dresses w/leggings
Practicing my Vinyasa

NAMASTE:
"The light in me honors the light in you."

Ch-ch-ch-Changes!

2009-01-17T09:39:00.005-07:00

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."
~Author Unknown

So I got to thinking about all the changes that have been going on around me and thought I would give you an update on the changes in my own life...

First of all, I have decided to go back to school at Eagle Gate College in April for the Graphic Design program. I'm really excited about this! I feel its the right time to start working on me, finally. I've been waiting and waiting and I know the only way I can feel whole is to better myself through using my God-given talents. I can finally work towards a life I've always wanted, one that can be spent not really working, but doing what I love and enjoying every minute of it. I hope to someday be able to design custom blog templates for personal or business, maybe even make custom invitations, business cards, stationary, advertisements- I'm up for anything!

Ever since Josh has been working for O'Currance, our happiness has multiplied! He is finally doing something he can grow in, and he's amazingly good at what he does. He is coaching the agents on the phones and teaching them how to sell like a pro. He has this energy- this self motivating excitement- and his boss sees it and wants him to go far in the company. I'm so happy for him, that he has finally found his niche. Not to mention we're finally getting back on track with the billy-bills!

And I've also seen some seemingly negative changes in my work place. My company is going through major changes and letting people go left and right. I'm really starting to feel the effects of this economy. It's really sad to me, to watch people lose their jobs that they have worked so hard for. But I also realize that its necessary if we want to keep afloat. We have to consolidate, let go people we love, in order to save ourselves. That's business for you I guess... but I do see the positive parts in it. My office is going to be transitioning into our biggest one yet. We're going to go from 35 agents to 70 in the next week! I'm pretty excited actually, and grateful that my superiors see me as someone who can handle all of it, and value me enough to keep me around.

This year is going to be huge, and I can feel myself transforming into the butterfly I've always wanted to be :)

Things to think about...

2009-01-13T12:13:00.005-07:00

I received an e-mail from my mom the other day and it listed 24 things that I too often forget. I thought I would share my top 10 favorites with you, and wish that we all remember these important but simple things throughout this new year:

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in ::SILENCE:: for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God (or a friend) about what is going on in your life.

3. Drink Green Tea and Plenty of Water. Eat Blueberries, Wild Alaskan Salmon, Broccoli, Almonds and Walnuts.

4. Try to make at least 3 people smile each day :)

5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy on the positive present moment.

6. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

7. DON'T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY... no one else does.

8. Don't compare your life to others... you have no idea what their journey is all about.

9. However good or bad a situation is, it will CHANGE.

10. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

Slum Dog Millionaire

2009-01-05T20:02:00.006-07:00

"The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love." (courtesy of imbd.com)

This was an extremely powerful and captivating story- me and Josh both loved it. It is nominated for 4 Golden Globes and I'm not surprised! I would highly recommend seeing it!

I mean really...

2009-01-05T19:58:00.002-07:00

...does it get any cuter than this?

Sammy and the Scarf

2009-01-03T10:48:00.003-07:00

Since the weather has been sooo cold lately, I thought Sam would appreciate a little extra warmth from my scarf...

What a stud.

You may think he is good at posing..
but it seriously takes me at least 10 shots to get one like this!

I love the tongue.

Making faces :-P

He is so cute I can't stand it.

My younger sister told me she got Sam a little jacket for Christmas,
I'll make sure to take pictures :)

Resolutions

2009-01-02T10:04:00.004-07:00

Happy New Year Everybody!!

And you know what that means... time for writing out my 2009 resolutions!!

I know everyone hates these things, but I believe setting goals for yourself are important. Not saying that I will accomplish everything in one year, but hey it's a start right? So here we go...

1. Stop smoking cigarettes... it's a terrible habit, and quite expensive too. If I want a long and healthy life I'm going to have to stop treating my body like an ash try. I know that in order to accomplish this both me AND Josh are going to have to do it together. Which leads me to my next goal...

2. Start exercising. Seriously people, I think I may have exercised maybe... 3 or 4 times last year? That's embarrassing. Truth is, I'm getting older and my eating habits are going to start showing on my ass if I don't do something about it. Josh and I have been researching this workout/nutrition program called P90X. Have you heard of it? We have watched a few friends try it out and it seems to really work! They say you will see your results within 90 days. However, it really kicks your ass by giving you a different exercise routine every day so you never get bored. I got Josh a pull up bar for Christmas so we can start it soon!

3. Stop eating so much JUNK FOOD. The holidays are over and I overindulged on all the delicious food around and got that out of the way, so now is the time to turn over a new leaf. Not saying I'm going to start shopping in the organic section, or stop eating all my favorite foods, but I need to learn how to eat those foods in moderation. I'm going to try to start bringing my lunches to work instead of always ordering out. I did my budget for this month and together Josh and I spend more money on eating out than we do groceries! Lowering the amount of times we go out to eat will not only help our bodies but also our budgets, which leads me to my next resolution...

4. Get our finances organized already! I am guilty of past due bills and credit card debt. And I'm also guilty of not dealing with it properly. If I want my credit score to ever recover and maybe actually be a homeowner someday, I need to start caring about how I look on paper and deal with my debts. We need to budget more carefully and start paying our bills on time. Therefore if I keep at it I hope to pay off at least 50% of my debt this year, and hopefully have a savings built up. If I can do that I know I'll sleep better at night...

5. Be more POSITIVE and OPTIMISTIC! Every time I face a challenge I seem to surround my thoughts with negativity, with thoughts in my head like "I can't.." or "This is impossible". Josh points this out to me all the time. I don't do it intentionally, I guess it's just engraved in my brain to think that way. But that will only lead me to failure.. so in order to succeed I need to start thinking "I can!" and "I'll find a way.."

6. Go back to school. I've been wanting and waiting for the right time to go back to school. However, it's a very intimidating thing to do. This year my high school classmates will all be graduating college. Even my younger sister will have completed her first year of college which is more than I can say. I love my job and all, but it's definitely not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I need to live my passion.. in art and design. It's what I do, it's what I've been blessed with and it's about time to start using it to my advantage. I'll not only make more money, but I will feel better about myself and my life. Graphic Design is my calling and I'm going to make it happen this year even if it kills me!!!!

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right!"
-Oprah

Step Brothers Review

2008-12-30T15:37:00.006-07:00

OK I have been obsessed with this movie for quite some time now. Let's just say Josh and I purchased the DVD about 2 weeks ago and I've probably watched it about seven times I loved it so much!

If you liked Anchorman and Talledega Nights, you must see Step Brothers! (Warning you though, if bad language and f-bombs aren't your style then don't go see it- if you can tune them out to appreciate the humor then definitely see it!)

Basically the synopsis is Brennan Huff (Will Farrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reily) are 40-year old men still living with their single parents. They pretty much act like they are 13. After their parents fall in love and get married, they are forced to become step brothers . Instead of moving out on their own, they decide to live together and share a bedroom. Conflicts arise as you enjoy hilarious scene after scene. This is comedy at its best, in my opinion.

Here is one of my favorite scenes... Brennan finally sings in front of Dale (This is blog appropriate- no swear words!):

This has pretty much become my favorite movie of all time-

I give it 5 stars!

Preggers!

2008-12-26T09:14:00.010-07:00

I felt the need to express my total excitement and joy about the news I found out yesterday...

My older sister Amber is PREGNANT!

I'm going to be an auntie againnnnn :) :) :)

And I could not be happier for her and Andrew. I know they have been trying for almost a year now and it's so frustrating. Will Addy have a brother or sister? I don't care, all I know is that this is going to be so much funnnnn!

...thank God it wasn't me, right? PHEW!

Christmas Cards

2008-12-24T09:45:00.012-07:00

This year instead of going out and buying Christmas cards I decided to hook up with my crafty friend Brook and make them instead.

Brook is very, very talented when it comes to paper crafts. I knew she would be most helpful because she has given me a card a time or two and I loved them! After looking through all of her past Christmas card ideas I came across the wreath designs. It was so simple!

All you needed was some different colored cardstock. I used red, green, and cream colors for the card, then cut out a dark brown square piece that you glue in the middle. Then you just need to have a variety of different Christmas colored paper in a mix of designs. Luckily for me Brook was generous enough to let me use all her stuff. She had 2 different sized hole punches so you go through all your different paper and punch 'em out. Then arrange them in a circle, glue 'em down, and tie a cute little ribbon and glue that on the top. Easy right?

After doing a lot of these my creative mind started to drift and I just made them up as I went- it was more fun for me that way. This one turned out to be one of my favorites. Doesn't it look like it's got an Old Navy theme to it?

It was so fun to do these, and the best part is that when your family and friends receive them with your hand written note inside they will know you spent some extra time on them.

Hope every has a Merry Christmas!

OMG I'm still crying a little...

2008-12-19T19:33:00.003-07:00

... this video is hilarious!! Watch if you are having a bad day and want to laugh at other people falling/getting hurt.

I felt kinda bad for that chick in the end though... that's not very funny....

...heheheh

Thank you for the broken road...

2008-12-17T12:48:00.007-07:00

"We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise
if we have waited in the darkness"
-Unknown

So, the other day... (being the deep and emotional person I am) ... I was inspired by my friend Heather's story and struggle to find true love in her life. It's really confusing to date around, how do you know when you're being too upfront? Or you suck at flirting? Or you just don't know how to play the game? It made me flash back to my dating days and all the feelings I felt going through that.

I gave her some advice and told her that it doesn't matter how much baggage you carry around with you because literally everyone must have SOME kind of baggage, whether it be a weird family or some crazy screwed up childhood. But I basically told her that it is inevitable that you will encounter douche bags and jerks along the way, but the real prince is out there waiting and willing to accept you as you are and love you, even with all that baggage.

So, I got to thinking about my journey through love and all the jerks and ex-boyfriends I came across along the way. And I thought it would only be proper manners to thank them for being the douche bags that they were... cuz if they hadn't been so douchey, I might have stuck around longer and who knows how that could have screwed up my road that lead to Josh. I want to do a shout out to all of my ex-boyfriends (names have been replaced with fake ones):

To Max: Thank you for teaching me about lust. I now understand that true love doesn't happen in a 5 month relationship, or when you are only 14 years old. It's called INFATUATION.

To Roy: Thank you for only looking for an object to screw with. You taught me that no matter how much I pressed the fact that I wanted to wait for marriage to have sex, there will always be dirt bags like you that will try and convince you otherwise. I'm so grateful I didn't budge :)

To Zack: Thanks for showing me what a cheapskate really is. Sneaking into a movie on our first date should have been a warning sign...

To John: Thank you for grabbing my boob in public, and in front of my younger sister after we kissed the night before... you really taught me how shallow men can be, and how sometimes a kick in the shin is completely appropriate.

(OK enough with the men bashing... I know I had a part in all of it and learned my lessons the hard way, even though they were pretty douchey...)

And my last shout out is for Josh... my one true love... thank you for treating me with respect from the start and making me your #1 priority. Thank you for always being there for me regardless of the distance and for having patience through those long 12 months. Thank you for showing me what real love feels like, for always kissing me goodnight, and all of your "I love you's". You have taught me that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that hard work pays off in the end. I love you, all of you, as you are, with all of your baggage... and I'm so grateful that you love me too :)

It's beginning to look a lot like....

2008-12-13T17:43:00.006-07:00

* Christmas!! *

I woke up this morning to a whole lot of snow! I think that's a good 4-5 inches right there...

Gray skies have never been so beautiful! I have a love/hate relationship with snow. It's like any snow around Christmas time is great... but ya know, come January, I'm pretty much over it. Unless the snow lures Tyler & Macy up to Salt Lake for a visit- then I would love it!

I came inside and caught my little man taking a nap all wrapped up in his doggy blanket. His favorite place to lay is right in front of the heating vents.

Here's our Christmas tree! I actually put it up last weekend but never got around to taking pictures of it until now. Six feet and pre-lit sounded good enough to me!

Here are some close ups:

I love having memorable ornaments that take you back to a time and place. We don't have very many of those since we've only been married 2 1/2 years but there's a few. This one we got at our wedding, I think it's darling. It has our wedding date on it and everything :)

This ornament we got in Cape Cod on our honeymoon. Love it!

Nothing too special about this one except I think the picture came out lovely!

Take a look around you and observe your surroundings.
Christmas is everywhere!

Numba Oneeeeee!

2008-12-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

Just felt the need to announce that, oh maybe....

we might have....

WON THE WINDOW DECORATING CONTEST! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

First Place!!! I honestly couldn't believe it! Heather got the call on Friday at work from our complex owners saying that we had won and they would be mailing us our CHECK next week!! When I heard her squeal I got right up, we ran and met each other in the hall and started running around and dancing and screaming like a bunch of crazy Edward fans! lol

I believe we just earned ourselves our own Christmas bonus! WOOT WOOOOT!
Numba oneee!!

OK I'm officially in the best Christmas spirit EVER!

Pretzarollo's

2008-12-10T17:42:00.007-07:00

So I want to share with you this amazingly quick and easy Christmas treat recipe that I got from my lovely mother-in-law over Thanksgiving break. (WARNING: They are highly addictive!)

Ingredients:
Square Pretzels
Rollo's
Holiday Peanut M&M's (red & green)

Start with conning someone into unwrapping a bunch of Rollo's (because this part sucks). While they unwrap, spray your cookie sheet with cooking oil and line up your square pretzels, as many as you possibly can fit on there (my pan fit 88 so you know one batch will make plenty!). Then take the Rollo's and put them on top of each pretzel. Heat your oven up to 175 degrees and bake for 8 minutes.

When you pull them out of the oven the Rollo's will be soft but not melted. Push each M&M in the Rollo. Then put them in the fridge, still on the pan, and let them cool down and solidify. When you sneak one for taste, you will understand why you unwrapped so many Rollo's!

They are DELICIOUS!! And the best part is that you don't need to tell anyone that they were actually Rollo's... people will think you made your own caramel and chocolate by your own Betty Crocker self! (I'm just nice enough to let you all in on the secret)

...you can thank me later :)

Elf Yourself

2008-12-10T09:30:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Window Decorating Contest

2008-12-06T12:08:00.006-07:00

So before Thanksgiving break, Heather and I got a newsletter from our office's complex announcing a window decorating contest! The first prize is for $1000, 2nd prize $500, and 3rd prize $250. They showed pictures of last years winners and we thought "Hell, we can do way better than that!"

So we thought up a cute and creative idea to tie in our real estate business with Christmas. Santa & Mrs. Claus have had enough with the North Pole so they decide to have RE/MAX sell their home. Then after they pack their moving boxes in their sleigh, Santa pictures a sunny warm place they are moving to.

At first I thought I could do this painting myself, but after thinking of all the details and time it would take me while still working my job (and the deadline of Dec. 4th) we decided to ask the pros for some bids. After seriously searching, we found The Sign Hub, which created a proof for us with awesome graphics showing our idea exactly! It would be a custom sticker/decal that would go on our front entrance windows and doors. We loved it and decided if we win first prize, we could pay off what it cost to purchase the decals...plus have a little left over for us to split.

So after getting approval from the broker and fine tuning our order, we decided we were going to hold our breath and DO IT! It was pretty nerve wracking considering all of the other shops work going on around us. Other stores hired some painting professionals and we knew we had some serious competition... even after asking some of the agents for their opinions whether we could win or not, we were put down and told our idea would only make 3rd place!! That only put more fire in my eyes and more desire to win... because me and Heather never back down from a challenge! We have a history of winning every art project our office throws at us and always having fun with it. We decided that if the decals weren't enough I was going to do some other holiday paintings on our side windows so that we could be confident we could win!! Pros.. shmos... we could DO this!

Thursday, December 4th was one of the best days I worked. I got all of the paints I needed, got all of my ideas collected, and pretty much painted outside all day! I didn't even notice the freezing weather because I was so focused and enjoying every minute! I got a lot of compliments from the agents, since my artistic abilities aren't exposed very often. Now I'm starting to wonder if I should be in real estate or working in the art industry!

Here is our office windows completed and ready for judgement!

Front Entrance

Santa's house SOLD by RE/MAX!

All packed up and ready for some surfing!
Notice the U-HAUL sled and snowflake swimming trunks!

This is my Happy Holidays painting!
(I stole the idea offline but free-handed it!)

Heather begged me to do a Christmas tree.. here's a closeup...

The winners will be announced next Friday, December 12th... wish us luck!!!

My Dream Home Design

2008-12-05T11:50:00.002-07:00

Happy Friday everyone!

I'm going to practice my writing again today, especially because I love the prompt.

One Minute Writer's prompt today was on Design:
"You are designing your own house. Describe it."

My home will have a white vinyl exterior with black shutters, cottage style, residing on a quiet tree-lined street somewhere in the country, with lots of trees and a flower garden in the yard. A cobblestone walkway will guide you to the front porch where I can sit out and drink my coffee in the mornings, or maybe paint. The front door will be a dark hunter green with a wreath hanging in front. Warm distressed wood floors will go through the living areas with neutral colors and pops of color in each room, combining old style with the new. The kitchen will have white cabinetry and tan granite counter tops. The ceilings will be tall and there will be a wall of windows overlooking the backyard. There will be big comfy couches and a brick fireplace. And of course lots of style throughout in shades of brown, white and green. It will be comfortable and cozy, somewhere you can just relax and enjoy yourself.

Ok so that was a little more than 60 seconds but I got a little excited there!

Someday this will happen for us... but for now I'm perfectly happy where I'm at :)

California Trip

2008-12-02T09:23:00.006-07:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all ate lots and lots of turkey and pie and spent time with your families. There is nothing like being together on the holidays. We definitely had a great time in California. We got to take our little Sammers with us and he had a great time too. I got this picture of him napping after he ate a bowl full of yummy turkey...

Josh's entire family wasn't there so we had a small group- Josh's mom, his step dad, his brother Jarred, and me and Josh. We enjoyed each other's company and in the process we got a little addicted to the Wii bowling game... so addicted that I was recovering from some intense shoulder pain the rest of the trip!! The Roberts clan is VERY competitive with each other so that made it extra fun. We also loved the Wii American Idol and Tennis. I know what I want for Christmas...!

Our last day there me and Josh spent the day with Bob and Liz. Liz and I got pedicures together in the morning and then we all headed to the Swap Meet in San Diego. Look at these beautiful palm trees! Just looking at them makes me feel relaxed.

So I fell in the with the Swap Meet! Kinda like a flea market, everything is pretty cheap. We got all our nieces and nephews Christmas presents and we got ourselves a couple things too. Then we headed off to go see Portside Village right next to the beach. It was beautiful!

Portside Village has so many little shops and restaurants. We bought a San Diego shot glass. I think we'll start collecting those wherever we travel...

The view of the ocean was gorgeous!! I loved feeling the sea's breeze and the humid air. Reminds me of back home...

This is my mother-in-law Liz and her hubby Bob. Aren't they cuuuute!

While walking around San Diego city's sidewalks there are a bunch of entertainer's around. One guy was making roses out of corn stalk and gave some to us! Here we are holding our souvenirs in front of the ocean and the cruise ship about to take off. And below is this crazy dancing dude who is painted silver... even his teeth! He would be a statue and then just start dancing, he even posed for the camera!

What an amazing view!

Snapshot of the waves crashing on the shore.

We went to Anthony's for dinner and the restaurant is literally right on the water. We got a window seat and got to watch the sunset...

What a perfect way to end our trip!! It was so much fun and just the perfect place for me and Josh to get a little R & R. I am so thankful we got to go and thankful for the hospitality of his Mom and step dad. Family is so important and being around them is like a breath of fresh air. We have gone through so many struggles this year and the fact that we were able to go is such a blessing. We can't wait to go back!!

And so the Twilight Saga Comes to an End....

2008-12-01T11:19:00.005-07:00

So after Heather so kindly lent me her copy of Breaking Dawn (...2 months and 754 pages later...) I have finally finished the Twilight series!

I definitely enjoyed reading these books, it gave me a whole new perspective on vampires (secretly wishing they were real) and sent me back into that giddy teenage love daze!

It's such a dark romance.. exciting yet a little creepy. I will miss staying up hours past my bedtime anxiously flipping pages while trying to keep myself from falling asleep.

I did get to see Twilight in the theaters this past weekend and LOVED it! I think the storyline was pretty accurate (except the tree climbing... little confused about that) and I think they got the characters down perfectly. It did go a little fast but thats what happens when you cram a whole book into 2 hours. I especially loved the baseball scene and the MUSIC (mostly by Muse)! Did anyone catch Stephenie Meyer at the restaurant? I heard a lot of people were disappointed but overall I think they did a good job. I'm really excited for the other movies to be made!

Now I just need to find another good book to read... any suggestions??

Sweet San Diego... Here We Come!

2008-11-25T10:01:00.004-07:00

"Vacation is what you take when you can't take
what you've been taking any longer."

Yes ladies and gentlemen... the day has finally come! The heavens have parted and angels must be on our side because we are FINALLY going on a vacation!

Remember way back when me and Josh had to cancel our Cali trip over the summer at the LAST possible minute? Yes people... now is the time to make up for our heartache... we are leaving for sunny San Diego tomorrow morning!!

WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!! Nothing is stopping us this time, that I can be sure of :)

I'm looking forward to....

California breeze
Warmth on my skin
In & Out Burger
Relaxation
Sunglasses
Flip flops
Feeling sand between my toes
Palm trees
Feeling carefree
Summer nostalgia
Taking pictures
Watching the sunsets
Spending time with family
Thanksgiving comfort food
Watching football
Naps with full bellies
Feeling thankful for everything we've overcome
Dare I say..... a tan??

...... and also blogging about everything when we come back!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving weekend! Anyone ready to put up their Christmas tree yet?

.... me either.

Hubby Tag

2008-11-24T14:30:00.001-07:00

1. Where did you meet? New Britain Ward in Connecticut... he was on his mission and I was a Mia Maid! lol
2. How long did you date? 2 years.. well after he was off his mission!
3. How long have you you been married? 2 years and 3 months... WOW!
4. Favorite Feature? hmmm... I would have to say his green eyes. And the way they wrinkle when he smiles :)
5. What is your favorite quality of his? He has a very positive attitude about life and he always keeps my spirits up.
6. Does he have a nickname for you? Baby
7.What is his favorite color? I'm going to go with..... blueee?
8. What is his favorite food? His Momma's cookin
9. What is his favorite sport? Football all the way
10. When and Where was your first kiss? It was on our first date at Monique's apartment in Provo I think... on the floor after watching Love Actually. He didn't make a move all night so I went for it... time was of the essence!! And I had been waiting a long time to kiss those lips :)
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Honestly, we're couch potatoes. We are happiest just at home with Sam and a good flick on TV. Lame, but we don't care!
12. Do you have any children? Hell to the NO! We're putting that on hold until we're good and ready.
13. Does he have a hidden talent? He can play piano.
14. How old is he? 26
15. Who said, "I love you first?" I think it was him, and I didn't have to think long to say it back.
16. What is his favorite type of music? Classic rock
17. What do you admire most about him? He is book smart and also street smart, he has taught me so many things about life. I call him a walking encyclopedia.
18. Do you think he will read this? Someday!

I tag: Nicki, Lauren, and Nicole- have fun ladies!

And the winner is....

2008-11-20T08:43:00.006-07:00

After much anticipation I finally got to see who won America's Next Top Model.......

and the winner is.....

McKey

... BLAH... can I just say that I totally disagreed with this decision!!! I guess the judges are the professionals here, but they seriously eliminated Annaleigh FIRST out of the 3! I couldn't believe it! Poor Annaleigh didn't do great at the commercial, although she had a good photo shoot but they decided she was too commercial looking and her face wasn't balanced enough- with her big eyes, nose, and lips. Whatever...... Tyra is whacked out of her mind.

So Sam and McKey got to do the runway show... obviously at this point McKey was going to win because she has a better walk. I guess I'm happy for her. This show never ceases to surprise me at the very last minute.

Congrats to the Lurch er, scuse me, MCKEY. You're stuck with a Cover Girl contract while Annaleigh has plenty of designers just waiting to hire her :)

Gibberish

2008-11-18T15:02:00.003-07:00

Is everyone glad Monday is over? I sure as hell am. Only 3 more days until the weekend!

Thought I would practice my writing again and asked One Minute Writer for help:

Consider the "WORD VERIFICATION" word at the bottom of your comment window. Create a definition for it, and use it in a sentence.

scrit [scr-IT noun]

definition: the nasty dried up food remains left on your skillet after leaving it on the stove overnight.

"I hope you plan on cleaning up that scrit so I don't have to soak it in hot water for an hour."

lol that was thoroughly entertaining... Now YOU try!

Antique Clocks

2008-11-16T14:17:00.004-07:00

Last week my friend Jodi from work invited me and the other office girls to sign up and make these beautiful antique wooden clocks. She has a friend that hosts these clock parties and she brings all of the materials and vinyl lettering. I'm always up for something crafty so I decided to make a big clock to put in our living room, customized with our name and the year we got married.

I chose to make it look extra old with this old world font which I looove. You literally do the whole thing yourself; from the tick marks, to the rub on vinyl, to the spackling and staining, and putting on the hands. I love the way it came out!!

What do you think? I absolutely love how this clock makes my living space personalized. And the best part is you can customize them any way you want, with any saying or quote that you like. They also make great wedding and Christmas gifts.

Chillin with Jammers

2008-11-15T16:19:00.005-07:00

Oh how I love vegging out with my little Sammer Jammers.. he is such a cuddle bug! He rarely gets up before me and Josh do... he always digs himself a burrow underneath all of our piles of blankets. It's hard to find him under all of those layers so I usually sing his name in the morning and he'll finally grace us with his presence, after stretching and yawning for a good 15 minutes. Oh what a life it would be to be Sammers. He is my little man. Look how cuuuuute!!

Guilty Pleasure...

2008-11-14T18:32:00.003-07:00

Many of you already know that I am slightly obsessed with this show called America's Next Top Model... it's what you would call my guilty pleasure.

I cannot believe how much I get into this show! I've been watching it ever since I was 16 and have watched 10 cycles... currently watching cycle 11. Not only do I love the fashion world and love seeing the backstage hair/makeup, but I like seeing these girls start off as nobodies and grow to try to reach their goal. I take it very seriously!

So I just watched the 2nd to last episode and I was so sad that Marjorie went home! :( I actually cried, no joke. I know I'm a loser, shut up. But anyway, that means next week is the season FINALE! Who will win??

I love Sam, she has amazing photos and has a great fun-loving personality, but she always tends to over act and doesn't look like a model in person. She almost got eliminated last week so I'm pretty sure she's going home... sad but true.

I adore Analeigh! She is always so sweet and has a great attitude about the competition. She struggled with her photos in the beginning but keeps getting better and better, thanks to her ice skater grace. She rocks at commercials and is charming in person. I hope she wins!!

McKey is unique in her beauty and takes probably the best photos, but the ultimate prize is for a Covergirl cosmetics contract, which includes smiling, being girly and doing great in commercials. She is a little too high fashion for that sort of thing, in my opinion, and doesn't do good with commercials. She's one of those just sit there, look pretty and don't speak kind of models.

Next week the girls will battle it out in a Covergirl commercial/photo shoot and one model will be sent home... then it's time for the final 2 to duke it out on the runway for their very last chance to prove they are ANTM! So excited! May the best girl win!!

(Tune in on Wednesday, November 19th at 7:00 pm on the CW!)

One Minute Writer

2008-11-12T10:37:00.004-07:00

Happy Wednesday Morning! I was on time for work today- yay for me!!

I was browsing through some blogs that have been highlighted for the week, looking for some inspiration, and finally came across one called One Minute Writer.

What you do is view the posted subject of the day and use 60 seconds to write a response. That's it! It even has a 60 second timer. The point is to show you that you only need 60 seconds a day to practice your writing. You can either comment on the post or write your response on your own blog.

The author of this blog has some really great topics that get your creative juices flowing such as, "If you were on Jeopardy what story would you tell to introduce yourself?" or simple things like, "What is your favorite place to be in your home?"

It reminds me of a creative writing class I took in high school that I really enjoyed. Every day there would be a new topic on the board to journal about for like 5 minutes. I would love to keep using these daily ideas to get better at writing and blogging.

So today I chose to blog about:

"If writing was your career, what would you write about?"

I would definitely write children's books! There are tons of morals and lessons you learn while growing up. I would choose one that I feel passionate about like for example, being yourself or following your heart. I would then draw out some cute and witty animal characters to tell the story and illustrate as well. That would be so fun as a career. How cool would it be to read them to my children some day? My mom always wanted me to be an author/illustrator...

...maybe someday...

Thank heaven for little girls...

2008-11-09T12:40:00.014-07:00

Can I just say how much I love my cute little niece? Not only is she the most adorable little girl alive but she is saving me from having baby hunger. I just loving being Auntie Kiki :)

I went up to visit my sister Amber on Saturday to spend time with her and Addyson and Andy-rew. First she wanted me to go check out her new school she is teaching at, which is so awesome and quite the upgrade. I'm so proud of her. Me and Addy played the whole time with a some hide and "BOO!", jumping in the elevator, and lounging in these big comfy bean bag chairs. She is such a doll it's ridiculous.

Then we decided to go to the school's playground and take some pictures. I am in love with my new camera, I'm having a lot of fun playing photographer...

So cute...

Giggling and swinging around the pole...

Going down the slide, her favorite.

Trying to capture a close up...

Jumping up & down!

I can't believe her hair is already in a pony tail!!

Sort of a smile... I take what I can get :)

Playing on the monkey bars with Mommy!
(This girl can really hang on there surprisingly!)

Addy and Mommy all smiles

"Whoa Mom, not so cheeky!!"

Fishy kiss faces

Silly face... always watching Mommy

We grabbed some yummy Farr's ice cream on the way home. I can't help but notice all of Addy's special characteristics. She is so adventurous is always observing, never wanting to sit still and always looking for excitement and fun. She is not shy but friendly and talks to everyone around her. She is also getting so smart! She can already sing part of the ABC's and can count to ten. Did I mention she's not even TWO yet??

She had been mentioning her bike all day and how she can ride it all by herself. I had to see! I think she was getting a bit tired of me following her around with a camera all day... oh well!

Afterward Amber and Andrew cooked us a delicious steak & potatoes dinner and we got to hang out a bit more before I had to leave. I decided I have to visit way more often before this girl grows up too fast on me!

GET OVER IT!

2008-11-07T18:06:00.013-07:00

So I don't know about you but I'm getting pretty sick of all the emails going around mocking our new president's race... since when is it OK to make fun of someone because they're black? Didn't we go over this in the Martin Luther King days?? And when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation? Are we over this yet?? And why are these stupid emails coming from white Utah mormons? When is the last time they even saw a black person??

When will white people actually look at a black person and feel equal to them? I say it's gone on long enough... lets get with the times and stop keeping ourselves in the white-washed mind set of our ancestors. Now is the time for CHANGE and that includes ourselves, not just the government.

It angers me that we have reached this milestone in history... electing the first black president ever... and instead of supporting him there are people out there labeling him "DEMOCRAT", not really listening to what he is saying, basing everything off the misleading campaigns, and just coming to the conclusion that since he's not Republican our whole country is in the shits. I wish everyone would just lighten up, start being positive, and change their attitudes.

I believe Barack Obama has the potential to change this country in amazing and positive ways and now is not the time to be creating negative energy. He is representing our country for the next 4 years and there's nothing anyone can do about it so maybe...

get over it... deal with it... and support it!
This is our country after all, let's be proud!!

Rock the Vote!

2008-11-04T10:22:00.003-07:00

I voted today!! For the first time ever :) YAY!

I cannot even express how good I felt walking out of my polling location this morning with my "I voted" sticker on. For the first time I felt truly blessed to be a part of this country and to be able to vote and exercise our rights. This year has made me realize the big picture and how important it is to vote. I never used to be into politics, but after listening and following the debates, I realize I can no longer let someone else choose for me. As an American citizen, t is my responsibility to be educated on the issues. And now more than ever is the time to get involved. Because it's not the politicians, it's not the president, it's not the Senate or the House of Representatives that make things happen... WE, as the people of the United States of America, can CHOOSE what happens and we together are the ones that can ultimately change the world.

Wench, Keg & a Can!

2008-11-02T20:20:00.011-07:00

happy halloween!!

So me and Josh decided to go with a beer theme this year for Halloween. I was a wench, Josh was a keg, and Sam was a beer can. We haven't dressed up since we've been together... ever! So we decided to throw a fun Halloween party at our house. Josh invited some new friends from work and I invited a few of my friends too.

Then Josh decided to pick up an extra shift that went til 10:30... don't ask me why. So I'm all dressed up in my beer wench costume, looking hot, ready to party.. and just waiting around. Slowly one by one everyone starts to bail on us! I felt like such a loser and by the time Josh got home I was bummed and just wanted to go to bed.

Then he told me I needed to stop pouting and lighten up- we were together after all and that is all that matters. He gave me a pep talk and said we're still having a good time and getting drunk off our asses. Then he decided I needed to drink a flaming Dr. Pepper... ever had one before?

It's strong but it's actually really good. You take a cup and fill it half way with beer. Then pour some Amiretto in a shot glass and on top of that pour a tiny bit of Bacardi 151 (which is flammable). Then you light the shot glass on fire, drop it in your beer, and chug chug chug! Tastes just like a Dr. Pepper and you feel like a total bad ass afterwards!

So after we got our spirits back up we were later invited to a party at our friend's house and had a blast! We don't go out very often but when we do it always ends up being a crazy ass night. I got hit on by this bi-sexual girl, almost got my ass beat by a drunk chick, and saw a real live tarantula!

Here are some pics we took...

Sammy the Bud Light Can.. our perfect side kick!

What a sport!

Josh is a beer keg... not a penis pump LOL!

It really did store your beer and dispensed through the tap!!

"Would you like a beer, sir?"

Blowin kisses

Me trying to be sexy in my messy computer room :)

Hope everyone had a fun night and made some memories! Here's to dressing up, drinkin like a bad ass, and making the most of the night!

New Camera!

2008-11-02T19:54:00.007-07:00

So at Josh's work there is this huge wheel you get to spin if you get 4 sales in a row. It has a bunch of prizes on it like a PS3, laptops, free lunch.. etc. Well I've been wanting a new digital camera ever since we lost our old one. I was hoping to get it for Christmas.

So low and behold Josh goes into work last weekend and gets a sale off of a TV ad... gets to spin... and wins this amazing Sony Cybershot camera!!

What luck!

So we have been testing it out and it takes amazing pictures. You can even take them in black & white, sepia, with all different sorts of settings. I'm getting a little excited here because it's been a long time I've gotten anything so nice! And for $Free.99!!

Here are some pictures we took while we were testing it out...

Silly...

Angry...

Serious...

Kissy...

Happy :)

Can you tell I got my hair dyed back to my natural color? There's still some subtle highlights in there but it feels so nice to get back to my natural roots! Thanks Hailey!

Anywho- I'm so excited I get to post more pictures now :) Yay for Josh's job!

Do It Yourself!

2008-10-27T10:55:00.002-06:00

So I have this huge blank wall above my couch and I've been wondering what the crap to decorate it with. Then I had this brilliant idea to gather all my picture frames and make a collage! It would create a nice focal point when you walk into the room and will also give it warmth and personality.

When you have tons of picture frames like I do you tend to scatter them around the house, but how cool would it be to group them all together and create a personalized piece of art? I plan on gathering all my favorite photos, printing them out in black & white and cropping them to my liking. I got this image when I searched in Google to show what I'm talking about:

To make the pictures pop even more you can block out the designated part of the wall with moldings and paint the inside a bold color to match your living space.

Don't have picture frames? I bet you can get a screamin' deal at thrift/discount stores or even garage sales. Make sure to get all different sizes to create interest.

You can leave the wood frames natural if that matches. Or even better- pick out a color that matches your space, lets say brown, and pick out 2 different shades in spray paint, and go for a two-tone effect!

What do ya think?? I'm totally doing this- it is so cheap and easy! I'll make sure to post pictures after I'm done!

You are Beautiful

2008-10-24T12:01:00.004-06:00

So I saw this post on Macy's blog and thought to myself...

"Who is the most beautiful person I know... inside and out?"

I thought about this for a while and a few people came to mind, but ultimately I would have to say my younger sister Alecia. Isn't she just stunning?

I am so proud of her. She has grown up and also has grown into her beauty. She always felt awkward growing up because she was taller than me and my older sister.. about a 5 inch difference taller! She knew she was different and always struggled with that until recently. I think she has finally accepted herself and her body and knows that she is beautiful.

She is more than just a pretty face though.... she also has the most beautiful personality. She doesn't feel ugly without makeup on, she can be silly and laughs a lot, she enjoys life to the fullest, and she is so smart. She respects herself and knows that guys aren't worth losing yourself over. She has a really bright future and knows what she wants out of life. I always taught her things growing up and she looked up to me, but now I find myself learning things from her and I get inspired by her attitude and love for life.

Who do you think is the most beautiful person you know? I tag everyone who reads this!

My neighbor is the next American Idol...

2008-10-22T15:19:00.004-06:00

...NOT!

OK so I really hope I don't come across as a perv, but we have had these new neighbors that live downstairs in our duplex... and they are pretty weird. The walls are really thin so we can hear a lot of stuff.. sometimes things I would rather not hear if you catch my drift...

Sometimes me and Josh will just be chillin out watching TV and we'll hear the most random sounds, like a really loud shout out of no where, or a loud laugh that goes on for 15 minutes... totally random.

So Josh was working late all last week and I had the joy of listening to my neighbor sing.. in the shower.. at the top of his lungs.. for TWO HOURS!

Not kidding! I could hear the whole thing, and it was even louder than the TV! I had to stoop down the stairs to hear him clearly.

The dude was BELTING! And not just one song.. but a huge combination of songs from Warrant's "Cherry Pie" to Bon Jovi's "Shot through the heart"... and also some strange comment about a vacuum being $39.95...

So as I was laughing my ass off totally entertained I decided I could not be the only one to get a kick out of this. And I knew a story would not do it justice... so I found a way to record a clip on my cell phone that lasts about a minute.

Click on the link below and be entertained as you mouth the words, "WTF??"

Singin Neighbor

I'm pretty sure if he ever tried out for Idol it would be a HELL to the NO!

The Simplest Things Are Often the Truest...

2008-10-17T11:29:00.008-06:00

Henry David Thoreau once said, "As you simply your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness."

I got to thinking about how complicated life can get. When me and Josh first got married, we had tons of opportunities in front of us and there was so much to think about: decorating the house, what credit cards to open and how many, what bank to use, what plasma TV to get...etc. To put it plainly... when we had the money we definitely found more reasons to spend it.

As time went on and the credit card balances went up, it was like a huge slap in the face. What to do now? Move to a smaller place, sell our valuables, get a loan... etc. To put it plainly... the shit hit the fan!!

Recently I've been learning how to live with just the simple things- back to the basics! You never think you could live without your precious Blackberry, your designer shoes, or your HBO channels but I'm learning there are ways around these things!

SIMPLICITY IS KEY! We have simplified our life- we downgraded to basic cable (and still get to watch Family Guy, Simpsons, Seinfeld... simple entertainment!), we sold our plasma and now use our old TV (without HD thank you very much!), we don't have fancy cell phones- just the ones that came free with our plan, we don't get to go shopping every month but we do something fun together every once in a while. We still have the same old raggy comforter set we got 2 years ago and it keeps us warm at night. If I do get to go shopping I don't buy pricey items- no one can tell the damn difference anyway! And our dog Sam doesn't have any new toys but still loves his good ol' squeaky. It's like I've been blinded by thinking I'm so poor and comparing my possessions to what everyone else has. Who says anyone's life is any better?

In the words of Carrie Bradshaw, "I admit it's tempting to wish for the perfect boss - the perfect parent - or the perfect outfit. But maybe the best any of us can do is not quit, play the hand we've been dealt, and accessorize what we've got."

It's amazing how it feels when you can be perfectly happy with what you got. I kept obsessing with what I want and everything I don't have that I forgot about all the amazing and good things that I DO have. We have a roof over our heads, food in our fridge, gas in our car, good jobs, and most of all each other... Isn't that all you really need anyway?

I once told Josh a long time ago when we first started dating that I would love him and be happy with him even if we lived in a cardboard box. I'm not so sure about the box... but you get my point.

I was reading an article on "Ten Ways to Simplify Your Life." Here are a few of them that stood out to me:

Define your values

Determine what your values are and live to those values. We often feel conflicted because how we are living is out of sync with our values. For example, if your number one value is family and your job requires you to work 65 hours a week, is it any wonder that you feel unsettled and unhappy? When you're clear about what is important to you, it will be easier to let go of things that don't fit.

Create priorities

Determine one or two things you want to accomplish within the next year for your career/business, home life, relationships, and self. Work only to those priorities. If your goal is to develop a new income-generating product line, then that is where you should spend significant time focusing your attention.

It's very easy to get distracted from our priorities, because there is so much information out there that attracts our interests. How often do you get diverted to other projects and never finish what you were originally working on? What happens? The year goes by and you did not accomplish any of your objectives. When new ideas do excite us, get an idea notebook and write all of your new ideas down for future projects. One note, if you find yourself working on everything but your stated priorities, it may be time to reexamine what you think you want.

If you are struggling - let it go

If something is a real struggle, or you can't come up with a solution, drop it for a while. Giving yourself a mental break will allow your brain to rest and therefore create new ideas. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and had an aha? This happens for two reasons, 1) because you are relaxed, and 2) because you were not trying to direct your brain's thoughts. Giving yourself a mental break from a challenge is a great way to consciously create that aha.

Have fun

Why is it so hard for us to have fun? Make time each week to do something that brings you joy. Do something completely silly. Have fun with yourself. Laugh. Forget all the other stuff for a while and just have fun. You will feel a whole lot better.

HOW TRUE! Hopefully you can take a bit of this and apply it to your life. I highly recommend it :)

Tag: Favorites, Firsts, and so on...

2008-10-14T09:52:00.004-06:00

Tagged by Macy

10 Favorites.
color: turquoise
food: dad's pancakes :)
song: hmmmmmm... right now I'm in love with the Offspring "You're Gonna Go Far Kid"
movie: The Little Mermaid... and all the other classic Disney movies
sport: i'm not really a sporty chick
season: autumn... in Connecticut :)
day of the week: Frrrriday
ice cream flavor: Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream
time of day: 5:00 when I get to go home!

9 Currents.
mood: optimistic
taste: coffee. I need a breath mint or better yet some of Hailey's dubble bubble watermelon
clothes: work clothes... dark wash jeans, white button up, black v-neck and black heels
desktop picture: fall trees and view of rolling hills
toenail color: none.. I'm too lazy and I don't plan on wearing open toed shoes anytime soon... brrr!
time: 10:31 A.M.
surroundings: computer, phone, nice view out the front doors
annoyance: drivers... the bastards in front of you that insist on going 10 under the speed limit until the light goes yellow, they speed up and I am left sitting at a red light... grrr. Orrr the ones that act like theres not a huge space next to a car turning left so they sit and wait when they could have just gone around!
thoughts: I want some lunch soon

8 firsts.
best friend: Katherine Curry
kiss: Bryan Hazelton.. LOL he had braces and my lips hurt afterwards
name: Nick name maybe? I didn't really have one until like 5 years ago my younger sister started calling me Keester
pet: we had a brittany spaniel named Scout. He later ate a pheasant and went blind... poor guy.
crush: ok i'm going to go back to pre school and say WILLIAM! He gave me flowers at the park.
music you remember hearing: My parents always listened to the classics like Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Carly Simon, The Beatles... they have good taste :)
car: OMG.... it was an '88 BRONZE Pontiac Grand Prix. It was my grandpa's old car and I loved it until I crashed it... I bet I would still be driving that thing I loved it so much.
ticket: I got a ticket after I pulled out into traffic and crashed

lasts.
cigarette: this morning
drink: coffee
ride: driving to work
kiss: a "Bye baby, I love you" kiss before I left for work this morning
movie seen: What Happens in Vegas.. great movie!
call: Josh.. yelling at him for stealing the lighter out of the car
played: lol me and Josh decided to play this game we've had for a while called Battle of the Sexes. We just went through the cards seeing who knew their gender better... Josh won

6 have you evers.
dated one of your best friends: tried to and it didn't work out
broken the law: who hasn't?
been arrested: negative
skinny dipped: hehehe
been on tv: I think I made an appearance on Cops one time... JK!
kissed someone you didn't know: well I always knew their first name... I think...

5 things (5 for each).
you're wearing: I think I went over this already but black v-neck, white button up, jeans, heels, and earrings.
you've done today: went to work, sorted some faxes, checked facebook, picked out some songs to put on Heather's new CD, and now blogging. Yes, very productive...
you can hear right now: Juicy by Biggy, the fax printing something, me typing, someone talking on their cell phone, phone ringing
you can't live without: my family, friends, Josh, Sam, and beauty supplies... haha
you do when you're bored: watch TV, read a book, surf the internet, play with Sam, call my family

4 places you've been today: home, car, work, and Heather's office.. hey my day just started!

3 people you can tell anything to: Josh, Hailey, Alecia

2 choices. What will I make for dinner tonight? Should I exercise or be lazy?

1 thing you want to do before you die: TRAVEL!

I tag... Hailey, Heather, Nicki, and Nicole Tenny :)

Amen, Ralph! Amen!

2008-10-13T11:33:00.003-06:00

I was reading a quote on my Chai Tea package the other day and couldn't have agreed more:

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's funny how life gives you hints every once in a while. This is exactly what I needed to hear. Forget what has already happened- begin each day new with endless possibilities.

Here's to another great week!

What a difference a day makes...

2008-10-11T09:54:00.006-06:00

So these past couple weeks turned out great for both me and Josh.

It was a lot of fun for me because I've been able to go out with my friends a few times. It's so nice to just get out of the house! I rarely go out and I sometimes feel like a hermit. But it feels like I've been going out more now, and I'm not spending money, just having fun with my family and friends.

My friend Heather had a Lia Sophia party not too long ago which was lots of fun and also invited me to sub for Bunco which she was hosting at her place. I never played before so I wasn't sure how much fun it would be since I didn't know anyone else besides Heather and her room mate. Turns out I had a blast! I really like getting to know new people, I used to be shy about it but I think I'm improving. Although I think I was the only one married without a child lol. So different here. But no wonder all the mormon mommies get together once a month to play, it was really fun. And easy! All you had to do was roll some dice and count. And even losers can win! And she also made her own home made Cafe Rio pork salads which were MMMMMMM delicious! I didn't win any prizes but I met a lot of cool people. I wouldn't mind going again :)

Josh was having a good week too!

His brother Jarred is in town doing some training for his security system job. He used to live with us last year and we were like a happy family until he got this job and had to move to Florida and then to L.A. It's good for him since he's young and single without any attachments but I know Josh misses having him around so he's been spending time with him which is great.

Also, Josh has been out of a job for a few weeks now which makes for a lot of stress, but he finally had 2 different interviews set up this week- one for parking lot security and one for selling the Jitterbug (you know the cell phone with the big buttons and loud speaker for old people...... Jiiiitta-bug *doo doo doo doo doo doo* tell me you've seen the commercials?). Anyway, he didn't care which one he got as long as someone said, "Can you start Monday?"

He got good feedback from the parking lot security job, turns out those people can make a lot of money! Even the guys that sit in a toll booth all day, collect your money, and raise the bar? Yeah.... they make up to $20/hour! Who knew? Obviously I'm in the wrong business here...

Then he went to his Jitterbug interview and after talking with the manager for a few minutes the manager asked him, "So you really want to work for Jitterbug??" and started telling him about this other position being on the phones for a company similar to Sylvan Learning for kids. It was better pay, better hours, and a better product to sell. Annnnnd he will be training for the manager position! HALLELUJAH!! The hours and location work out perfectly, he is only 10 minutes away from my work so sharing the car won't be a big hassle. WHOOPEE!

*dances*

*booty shake*

So yes, it's been a great week. Not to mention my favorite time of year has been in the air. I just love Autumn- the crisp air, the changing colors, it's like a 2nd spring only the leaves are the flowers. I love breaking out my coat and scarf. Although I would much rather be in Connecticut this time of year. That's why I put that fall picture up- and also because the car looks EXACTLY like my Mom's Saturn Ion hehe! Miss you guys!! Guess I'll have to savor the ONE month of fall we get here in good ol' Utah!

Although we are going to have a big storm this weekend and possibly SNOW! I'm so not ready for that yet! Guess I'll be hibernating at home with movies this weekend! Have fun everyone!

Vice Presidential Debate

2008-10-05T16:54:00.001-06:00

Did you watch the vice presidential debate that went on last week? I was really hoping for Palin to slip up and totally get her ass kicked. Mostly so Americans don't have to sit on the fence anymore and can realize who the obvious choice is. To my surprise, she held her own and did a decent job, compared to how low of a bar was set for her.

Although, she didn't really answer the questions very well and kind of trailed off into her own prepared speeches about Alaska and "The Maverick." Kinda sounded like she was reading from a script the whole time.

I laughed my ass off watching this SNL skit about the vice presidential debate. Tiny Fey is so dead on it's hilarious...enjoy!

"Where there is great love, there are always miracles."

2008-10-01T12:05:00.002-06:00

So yesterday was a hellish day...

Me and Josh woke up to find our dog Sammy completely gone! He usually sleeps in our bed and I woke up and instantly knew he wasn't there. We searched around the house and looked in the backyard to find our fence had been messed with and it was on an angle, leaving some space for Sam to get out.

My immediate reaction? Well since he has done this a few times since we moved here I thought we would be able to find him quickly. He usually just wants to find someone to play with so we usually will find him at the neighbor's or closeby.

This time it was different.

Me and Josh first walked around the neighborhood calling his name. He was no where to be found. This, by the way, is one of the worst feelings in the world. I get completely numb. My head is full of worry and my only focus is finding that dog and getting him home safely.

We then drove around our neighborhood, squeaking his favorite toy and calling his name. Still no luck. I was getting really worried at this point. It was time for me to go to work and I really didn't want to stop looking. We figured if he wasn't walking around the neighborhood he must have been with someone. The worst part was that we had our old cell phone number on his tag so whoever had him wouldn't be able to get a hold of us.

After posting a KSL ad I figured I better get myself to work and let Josh handle it.

I get to work and tell Heather about it. She tells me to try calling our old phone number. I thought it had been disconnected but after trying it had been re-assigned to a girl named Heather. I got her voicemail and told her to call me if she got any messages about a missing dog.

I was trying to think positive while everyone at work reassured me. I was hoping that he would be OK while I waited for more information but something just didn't feel right inside.

Then I got the call back from my old cell phone number.

She told me that she was concerned because she got a call late last night from a frantic woman asking if she had a dog named Sammy and that he had been hit by a truck.

*heart drops*

*tears start swelling*

*SOBBING BEGINS!*

I didn't hear anything else after that. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't stop saying "No, no, no!!!"

Somehow I heard the chick tell me that she would call me back with the number that called her last night. Since I was in such an emotional state of mind I called Josh, told him the bad news, and gave him the number of the lady that had Sam.

I started panicking. If any of you have dogs, you can relate to this horrible feeling. People don't realize that this dog is my CHILD! He is my pride and joy and I could not picture my life without him. I started flashing back to Charlie and how HORRIBLE it felt to hear he had died.

Worst. Feeling. In. The. World.

Seriously. I started screaming at the top of my lungs. You can't help but assume the worst! Luckily my good friends Hailey and Heather took care of me while I tried to hope for the best. But it didn't sound good. Sam, a little 7 pound wiener dog against a 10 ton truck- how can he possibly come out of that alive?! And if he was alive what the hell happened to him?!

My thoughts started racing while Hailey popped a few ciggys in my mouth and drove me home to get Josh, since my eyes were blocked with dripping black mascara.

On the way Josh called to tell me that he had gotten ahold of the woman. She said she was behind the truck that hit Sam, saw it all, and pulled over to see if he was OK. By the grace of God he was OK- just unconscious. She called Animal Control and waited with him until he got picked up. She said he had been taken to the West Valley Animal Shelter.

RELIEF!

I honestly couldn't believe it. It was a miracle. Sam was OK!!

We later picked him up from the shelter with a big fat $145 bill! God damn!

But... he is worth it :)

And I couldn't find it in my heart to complain. Sam was OK. The shelter had been taking care of him. The money didn't matter to me.

After getting micro-chipped he was released and I got to take him home with me!! No broken bones, no blood. Just some bruised ribs and a lot of stress and aftershock.

Since he was so small they let him stay with the cats overnight. He smelled like cat piss and it didn't look like he got much sleep so I took him home, gave him a bath, and he was OUT for the rest of the day. It was like he just wanted to make sure we were paying attention to him.

It was so good just to cuddle with him and watch him happily sleep. Life can be taken away so easily. I'm just glad he is still with us. We never want him to leave us again!! Hopefully our little man has learned a lesson. TRUCKS ARE DANGEROUS!!

So now we joke that he is like our teenage son that sneaks out in the middle of the night, gets all banged up, and we had to bail him out of puppy jail... hehe!

He is our Super Sammy now. Maybe he will be Superman for Halloween :)

Money DOES grow on trees!

2008-10-01T11:56:00.003-06:00

So when you're down and out, no cash, no food, no nada.... what do ya do?

Cut down a tree, that's what!!

This past weekend Josh cut down this old dead birch tree in our backyard. He chainsawed it down into little logs and then was talking about selling them on KSL.

I didn't realize people went on KSL to buy firewood but they do!

15 minutes after we posted the ad they were SOLD for $60!

Pretty sweet eh?

So hence the blog title.... money does grow on trees... dead ones that is :)

You live and you learn...

2008-09-28T09:43:00.007-06:00

I've learned....

...that things don't always go according to plan
...that life can be ugly and so beautiful at the same time
...that learning the hard way isn't always the best way
...that family is the most important thing in the world
...to simplify rather than complicate
...that things usually work themselves out
...that worrying is like a rocking chair- it gives you something to do but it never gets you anywhere
...that in order to solve a problem you need to focus on a solution
...that patience really is a virtue
...that we live in a truly amazing world
...I may not understand why at first but everything happens for a reason
...that I will never be perfect no matter how hard I try
...that you need to love yourself in order to be able to love anyone else
...that love really is everywhere
......that music can unlock your soul
...to not be afraid of what could or might happen
...to expect good things to happen instead of bad
...that negativity gets you nowhere
...to enjoy life in little moments
...that I control my own destiny
...that being myself is perfectly OK

Four Things Tag

2008-09-26T08:54:00.003-06:00

Nicki tagged me! Here we go...

4 random things I like about my husband:

~He is a brilliant cook- he should be a chef!
~He has been cleaning around the house lately so I don't have a big mess to clean up over the weekend.
~He stays positive through our rough times.
~He is really cute when he cuddles with Sammy

4 books I'd read more than once:

~Twilight Series

~The 4 Agreements

~Anything by Jodi Picoult

~Lovely Bones

4 TV shows I watch:

~America's Next Top Model
~The Hills (shut up I love it!)
~The Soup, I can't get enough of Joel McHale
~Nip/Tuck & Weeds, I couldn't decide

4 places I have been:

~Connecticut
~Chicago
~San Diego, California
~Pretty much every state on the east coast

4 people who email me regularly:

~Dad
~Mom
~Aunt Jan
~That's about it, I don't have a very tech-friendly family.

4 favorite foods:

~Mom's meatballs

~Josh's spicy chili- I can't wait for him to make it this football season
~Cafe Rio tortilla soup
~Grilled tuna sandwiches

4 places I would like to visit:

~Hawaii
~Seattle
~Italy
~Canada

4 things I am looking forward to in this coming year:

~Hopefully moving closer to family
~A new president!!!
~Family vacation on an Oregon beach
~Starting school again!

Hear ye, Hear ye! Princess Nicki of Swilorville is getting MARRIED!

2008-09-25T15:26:00.004-06:00

So my good friend Nicki Christensen asked me and Heather to throw her a bridal shower for all of her friends at work.

We have been calling her "Princess Nicki" ever since she got engaged and thought what would be more fun than a PRINCESS PARTY!?

OK I just have to say... this was SO much fun to plan! We planned it right down to the tiny details :) We played fun princess games, gave everyone a crown to wear, wands, and bubbles!

Since Nicki has already taken the initiative to blog about this eventful night complete with pictures and details I'm going to direct you there: Nicki's Bridal Shower.

In the words of Cinderella.... "Dreams DO come true!"

CONGRATULATIONS, PRINCESS NICKI!!

Oh yes it's ladies night... oh what a night!

2008-09-25T10:14:00.006-06:00

So after a very long and stressful week, me and Hailey decided it was time for a girls night out! With lots of alcohol involved of course! Turns out her old band, The Boom Sticks, were playing a show at the Urban Lounge in Salt Lake. How perfect!

After pre-gaming with some Bacardi Grand Melon (with Sprite- sooo yummy you should try it!) we took a cab ride over the bar and Hailey got hit on by the Iraqi driver. Classic.

Urban Lounge is kind of a grungy type dive bar, lots of punk rockers with green hair and goth chicks with corsets and fishnets, so me and Hailey definitely stood out!

We started with Gin & Tonics, then beer, then more Gin & Tonics, then more beer.... and I think I remember drinking a half empty Cosmopolitan at the end of the night. Turns out they spill everywhere when you're trying to walk to your table hahaha

Let's just say we had ourselves a goooood time :-)

Starting out looking pretty!

Gettin our drink on!

Trying to be a punk rockstar. To my surprise I was loving the loud and crazy screamo music. ROCK ON!

Holding our hu-mungo beers!

Watching the Boom Sticks play- they kicked serious ass!

Chillin with the drummer and lead guitarist- he makes a lot of crazy faces ahaha

All together now!

Drunk on the right and Drunker on the left.

These are 2 amazing and CLASSY women!

From what I can remember it was a well deserved kick ass night!
Thanks for another crazy Friday night, Hay Hay!

Tonight and Forever

2008-09-21T20:11:00.003-06:00

I just fell in love with this song called "Tonight and Forever" by The Damnwells. I heard it off of the movie Chaos Theory (which by the way was SO good- you should go rent it!). Have a listen:

I am...

2008-09-17T16:43:00.005-06:00

I am... a hopeless romantic.
I think... constantly.
I heart... my dog Sammers.
I dance... when I'm feeling happy.
I want...to stop worrying.
I have... great hair thanks to the brilliant Hailey Johnson.
I am scared of... spiders. And now moths as well. Don't ask.
I hate... when people are mean on the phone... RUDE.
I miss... my friends and family back in good ol' CT.
I write... "i love you" messages on steamy mirrors.
I wish... I could go to the beach and hear the waves crashing.
I fear... of losing a loved one.

Sunday with Amber

2008-09-16T09:14:00.005-06:00

I was so excited to see my older sister this past weekend!!

It's hard to find enough time to see each other when we live an hour away from each other (for some reason she decided to live in Ogden *gags*). But the woman is my only family here so I have to make time.

We decided to meet in Layton to have lunch at Winger's and then we went and saw "The Women" which by the way is SUCH a good movie!! Go with your best friend, sister, or mom. I seriously don't remember seeing a male in the entire movie! It was really funny and had a great story about friendships and relationships. And Meg Ryan looks really good for being what... almost 50 now? Check out the trailer here.

Then we decided to grab some coffee and go check out bargain deals in the mall. My sister is the queen of bargain shopping. The girl is just talented! She goes into the high end stores like Dillard's, Macy's, Banana Republic.. etc and goes straight to the clearance section. She usually never spends more than $10 or $15 on a shirt. Kinda made me want to start taking maybe like $20 out of every paycheck. That gives me $40 to work with... which could turn into 3 or 4 shirts! Sounds like a good deal to me.

I'm more of a "oooh that's pretty" shopper and I get the new stuff displayed in the front of the stores. It feels good at first until a couple months later I see the same shirt I paid $40 for on the clearance rack marked down to $15. They just don't look happy all bunched together in those clearance racks :( Well I'm going to start taking my sister's advice and I'm going to discipline myself and only get what's on sale. I hate it but it's what I must do!!

I think my sister and I are starting to get a lot closer. I've started to be more honest with her lately and she's been really helpful when I tell her about my issues. She's not afraid to tell me her life isn't perfect and that sometimes she tends to go crazy. We're just women...

And we like it that way!

You'll be my American Boy....

2008-09-14T18:31:00.001-06:00

I looooooove beyond love this song right now. Some chick named Estelle? I like the remix with Kanye... gotta love him. Have a listen folks...

Fall Fashions

2008-09-14T15:29:00.011-06:00

So I've been dying to go shopping lately, especially because I love shopping for the cold months coming up. Since I don't have the extra cash to spend I decided to look online for some of my favorite fall looks and create a shopping list!

I love these long cardigans. (^) You can layer them over your cute tee's and tanks you wore all summer. It's probably best to get one in a neutral color so I can add pops of color with accessories.

I also really want to try out these sweater dresses. Its like wearing a really comfortable long shirt and the best part is that I can wear leggings underneath. Add some heels and I'm good to go! Definitely good to wear on your "fat" days.

I'm also wanting to get a blazer so I can wear them over cute dressy sleeveless blouses. I would pair them with some really great wide leg trousers like these (<---).

I really love pops of color, especially turquoise!! And I love 3/4 shirts and scoop necks, they always seem to be most flattering on my body. How cute is this argyle sweater/shirt? I could pair it with some cute colored tights. And those brown boots are a must. After sloshing through snow in my flips flops last winter and almost getting frost bite on my toes I would say I'm in need of some super cute boots, what do you think?

I'm also loving these shoes called "booties." It's like a shoe, boot, and heel combined! I'm always trying to find cute dressy shoes to wear to work when it's cold out. These look perfect!

Let's hope I can save some extra cash before the snow hits! Wish me luck!

To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo? That is the question.

2008-09-13T16:10:00.006-06:00

So I've been thinking about getting a tattoo now for quite a while. About a year to be exact.

I always hated tattoos growing up and thought they looked dirty. Now it seems the tattoo trend has grown.. everyone wants to get one now a days! Shows like Miami Ink and L.A. Ink showed me that it's more than just a tattoo.. it's an art form... and they are very deep and meaningful to a lot of people. Like a constant reminder of who you were at that time in your life. It's just so PERMANENT! Kinda freaks me out a little that I will be an old granny with saggy tats. HAHA.

So here are some of my ideas, tell me what you think:

I would love to get one symbolizing my Gemini zodiac sign. I was thinking of getting 2 women figures on my back, one an angel and one a devil. That's where my mind starts to wander. Should they be on opposite sides of my back, maybe looking at each other? Or I thought they could have their backs showing, holding hands, and looking back over the shoulder. Or back to back. I'm not quite sure, but I know I would want something symbolizing the Gemini and not just the sign itself. Or maybe a mix of both...

And then there's my crown idea. My mom named my sisters and I after queens for our middle names because her daughters are her queens! My older sister's is Amber Elizabeth, then there's me, Kristen Victoria, and my younger sister Alecia Catherine. I was originally thinking of getting a really decorative cursive V with a queen crown on top of it. Or maybe just the crown itself. I was thinking to get it on the back of my neck or the back of my shoulder. I'm still searching for the perfect crown design though.

And then there's another one I have, I will probably save this one for later when I've gotten used to having tats, not to mention the crazy amount of money it would cost. But I thought it would be really pretty to have like a string of orchids or different flowers going down my stomach area, starting up on my side and then coming down to around my belly button. I'd have to start liking my stomach to get this one but I love the idea.

Nicki's wedding in Vegas next month? Sounds like the perfect amount of time for me to decide what to get!

Artistic Inspiration: Ashlynn Pierce

2008-09-11T09:47:00.008-06:00

So I discovered another exceptional artist named Ashlynn Pierce.

She mostly does oil paintings and from what I can see she is extremely talented. I read up a little bit on her bio and she has been winning art contests since she was 8, got an art scholarship and recently started painting full time.

She mostly paints Abstract style paintings and she gets inspired by beauty around her and also paints from visions in her dreams.

"Sometimes I just start painting and see things emerge in the painting.I develop the vision and even I am surprised at the final creation."

How true! Sometimes when I paint I may have an idea in my head when I start but as I work on it I come up with new ideas and it turns out nothing like I had planned. Thats what I love about art- it is spontaneous and surprises you.

The painting above is called "REQUIEM" and is described as "murder with passionate rage." I like paintings with a little gore :) Amazing use of color and imagery... you can really feel the passion coming through.

This next one is called "INFERNO" and is described as "water being engulfed with flames." I love the shapes and use of color. Blue and Orange are complimentary colors and make the other stand out. I could see this pattern in a fabric or something. The different sized water shapes shows depth and and the direction carries your eye around the whole canvas.

I'm in love with this one to my right called "FIREDANCE" described as "a modern abstract southwestern scene." This is a great example of Impressionism which is the use of bright colors in small brush strokes. Edgar Degas and Claude Monet used this technique in their paintings as well. If you were to see this painting way up close you would see the tiny brush strokes and pops of color and as you stand back it all blends together. I love how the water looks like its moving. I always thought landscape paintings are the hardest, I still need to try it out.

This one to the left is my favorite! It's called "ALURE" and is described as "butterflies being drawn to the light." I especially love the colors and the black outlines. The different sizes of the butterflies create depth, like they are getting farther and farther away. Its just a beautiful painting to look at. I made it my new desktop background hehe :)

Stay tuned for more artistic inspiration!

I can't get this song out of my head....

2008-09-07T16:06:00.004-06:00

I love this new song by Shontelle called "T-shirt." It reminds me of trying to get over my old boyfriends.. it's one of those songs that every girl can relate to. It doesn't have an official video but it shows you the lyrics.. I love it- hope you like it too!

Brett Dennen

2008-09-05T16:33:00.001-06:00

I have discovered a new favorite music artist.. Brett Dennen!

If you like Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Ben Harper you will definitely love this guy. I even made a playlist so everyone could have a listen :)

My favorites are "She's Mine" and "The One Who Loves You The Most"

Enjoy!

Artistic Inspirations

2008-09-04T17:54:00.000-06:00

I got to thinking the other day...

For as long as I can remember I have been an artist. My art assignments always got selected for art shows, I was artist of the month in middle school, and my senior superlative was "Most Artistic." I even went to college to pursue a degree in Art.

Well as you may know I quit schooling and turned my focus towards working full time while being young and married. I noticed that since I quit school I haven't been drawing or painting as much. It's all about what outfit can I wear or what colors to use in my new living room. Pathetic!

So my question is... what happens when you stop being a student and no longer have the constant inspiration to draw and paint? I think that is where true artists are born- when they don't have anyone giving them assignments- they have to think of it on their own.

So since I've been slacking I'm going to try something out. Every week I want to research an artist I have never heard of before, pick out my favorite pieces from their portfolio, and blog abot them :)

So you may have noticed all these beautiful bare breasted women all over my page! Not to be a lesbian or anything but these paintings are so amazing and beautiful to me. They are by an artist named David Bromley. One of his most well known themes is the female portrait.

What I like most about these paintings is the use of bold color. I love how the actual drawing of the women is so realistic but the abstract painting totally transforms it and makes it pop.

This artist truly understands the woman's shape and form. He has drawn them looking so soft and elegant, but then he paints with sharp brush strokes and edgy patterns- contrasting the two together so beautifully.

I can sense these women's emotions too. I love when a painting has an emotional reaction- it means the artist captured the soul of their subjects and made it into visually stimulating pieces.

Here are a couple other pieces from him:

"An artist's duty is rather to stay open-minded and in a state where he can receive information and inspiration. You always have to be ready for that little artistic epiphany."
~Nick Cave

Got any spare change?

2008-08-31T19:56:00.001-06:00

(WARNING: This blog contains several swear words and crazy thoughts due to stress. Take serious caution.)

BLAH..... sooooooo.... I'll just say it.. basically.. I'm broke as a joke.

A joke that's not at all funny! This past week was seriously hell-sent straight from the devil.

One week ago I was excited as hell that I only had one day to go into work and the rest was going to be spent in California with me and my husband and his family. We were going road trip there, spend a night in Vegas, then see his sister graduate from the Navy, spend time with family whom we hardly ever see, and we were going to take a family photo on the beach since this would be the first time the whole family has been together in 5 yearssss!! Also it would be my first Roberts family photo that I would be in and I was really stoked about it to say the least. So you could say it was a big deal, not to mention the one and only trip me and Josh had planned all year...

So what changed these marvelous plans?? MONEY. After not getting a pay check from Josh's company for a very looooooong and stressful 3 weeks we didn't really have a choice. We ended up canceling our trip all together!! You would think working with multi-millionaires would be a good thing. Oh nooooo. From what I've seen, people with money don't give money very easily.

Money is a very interesting phenomenon... and I don't entirely understand it just yet but I do know that it can FUCK your world up.

No money?
Lots of money?

Either way you're fucked.

(I'm not going to stop saying the f word so if it offends you get the fuck out)

Even if you were to have a ton of money, who's to say you're better off? I know lots of rich people that are still miserable. It's like you're given one good thing in life. For me, I can honestly say my biggest blessing is finding true love. How can someone with millions of dollars find true love? There are way too many gold digging, money hungry bitches scamming away ready to take it all away from them! Jesus.

Sometimes I think I'm better off without it.

Only for a short time until I take a look at my piles of bills and my bank account and realize I need to figure out how the hell I'm going to balance all of this. Like the picture above. To really live debt free what are we willing to sacrifice? And in a world so consumed with shiny new things how are we supposed to keep up?? And still be healthy through it all? Like regular ass groceries aren't good enough I need to start shopping in the organic section. Or exercising. It's all these high standards that make me feel like I'm not good enough! I'm not thin enough! I'm not smart enough!!

*screams*

I dunno about you but I think I need a cigarette right now.

I guess everyone has their own ways of getting through it. Cigarettes. Drinking. Fighting. Stressing. Crying. OK so those are MY ways of getting through it but you get my point.

I try to enjoy little things like laying out in the sun, listening to my favorite music, reading a book, watching my favorite TV shows, surfing the web... all while still secretly wanting to scream at the top of my lungs and burst into tears.

I just want to sit down with whoever is in charge of the damned world and ask, "Where did I go wrong?? What more do you want from me?? I'm trying the best I can. Why isn't it good enough?"

How the hell can I Carpe Diem when I don't have a dime to my damn name!

My spiritual side is telling me to count my blessings. What the hell I'll give it a shot.

I have my husband who gives me peace through all this hell.
I have a few close friends that I know I can count on.
I have a good job that teaches me something new every day.

....

Is it wrong of me to not feel like being optimistic right now? Screw it.

This has been thoroughly entertaining. I'm going to go drink now.

50 Reasons Why I Love Josh...

2008-08-23T12:42:00.000-06:00

So I saw this idea on Nicki's blog and totally loved it. Me and Josh just celebrated our 2 year anniversary on August 19th so I thought this idea would be perfect!
Here are my top 50 reasons why I love Josh:

1. His favorite look of mine is when I first wake up in the morning.
2. His lips are so soft and kissable.
3. He loves to cook for me and it's always delicious. He is always coming up with new recipes and even when it seems we have absolutely nothing to make for dinner... he comes up with yummy food all the time.
4. He is the ultimate handyman and can probably build me a house if he wanted to.
5. He is very intelligent. I can ask him any question and he most likely will know a detailed answer with dates, names, quotes... the whole sha-bang.
6. I love the wrinkles around his eyes when he laughs.
7. He enjoys and appreciates his life in "little moments." For example the other night we were having KFC chicken. We sat down on the couch and his favorite team, the 49ers were playing a preseason game. He said, "This moment is almost perfect. I got my girl, fried chicken, and football... I just need a beer." After getting up and giving him one he said, "That's all I needed, little moments like this are enough for me." He didn't even need to watch the rest of the game he was so happy!
8. He is an amazing lover and always makes sure I'm sat-is-fied!
9. He always has an optimistic attitude. The crappiest thing can happen to him and he still keeps his head up and looks for a solution rather than focus on the problem.
10. He inspires me to be a better person.
11. He is very sociable and makes my friends and family laugh.
12. He never gives up.
13. He has lots of confidence.
14. He is a couch potato just like me :)
15. He lets me watch Sex & the City without complaining. Most of the time.
16. Same with America's Next Top Model hehe
17. I sometimes catch a country boy accent when he talks.
18. He served a mission... and met me :)
19. He supports me with every decision I make.
20. He loves to watch the History Channel and even though it's a bit nerdy, I still love that he is interested in it.
21. He always calls me Baby and rarely by my name.
22. He is low maintenance and lives simply. He only needs the necessities and it will make him happy.
23. He is always up for an adventure or something he has never done before.
24. He buys me furniture for Christmas! (I've gotten our bedroom set and a new set of couches!)
25. He always wears a hat, it's his signature.
26. He has always had serious relationships and never slept around.
27. He is a gentleman and treats women with respect.
28. He introduced me to Family Guy, The Simpsons, Futurama, South Park, and many other adult cartoons all which I have come to love and appreciate!
29. He has learned to love my family.
30. He is very good with children.
31. He still is close with his best friends from high school.
32. He tells me I'm beautiful every day.
33. I trust that I can ask him to do something and it will be done.
34. He lightens my load by helping with cleaning up around the house.
35. He doesn't mind that I wear his t-shirts every night when I go to bed.
36. He re-assures me that everything will work out even if it seems to be impossible. And to my surprise... it always has.
37. He is a hard worker. When times were tough and he didn't have many job options he went to work an $8/hour job on a golf course with a bunch of Mexicans and never complained, just so we could pay the bills. And he actually enjoyed it!
38. He is a people person. He knows how to communicate. When he talks, people listen.
39. He absolutely loves me body. When I get dressed in the morning I always catch him peaking even if he was in the middle of sleeping.
40. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself
41. His laugh.
42. He is my teddy bear and perfect for cuddling.
43. He is an expert at Guitar Hero.
44. The fact that he changed my life and teaches me something new all the time.
45. He says I'm better looking than Jessica Alba... even though I know he's fibbing.
46. He still holds my hand in movie theaters.
47. He makes me feel safe when I'm with him.
48. His deep green eyes.
49. He writes poems.
50. I can dance weird, say whatever is on my mind, sing (or shout) a song without knowing the words, and be myself... and I know he will still love me, no matter what.

Baby, you are the best husband I could ever ask for. You have made me so happy over these 2 years and my life is so blessed because of you. Thank you for sticking with me through the good times and bad. You are truly my favorite person in the world, my best friend, my true love.

Sisterly Summer

2008-08-21T11:51:00.002-06:00

"I do not believe that the accident of birth makes people sisters... It makes them siblings... Sisterhood is a condition people have to work at. It is a serious matter. You comprimise, you give, you take, you stand firm, and you're relentless...and it is an investment. Sisterhood means if you happen to be in Burma and I happen to be in San Diego... if you call me in the middle of the night, I have to come."
-Maya Angelou

OK so one of my favorite people in the world came to live with me this summer... my younger sister Alecia. She just graduated from high school in Connecticut and was going through the last summer with my parents before leaving for college in late August. In other words, the word on Alecia's brain was "PARTY" and the word on my parents brains was "CONTROL."

She had called me multiple times before coming out and was having a rough time trying to balance friends, work, and living with my parents all while trying to save enough money for college, AKA the transition phase. She pretty much just needed a break from it all so I suggested she come and live with me and Josh for the summer, get a job, and work out here. She didn't think it was a bad idea and after convincing my parents, she soon arrived on July 2nd with my mom who was planning on staying for 3 weeks.

Keep in mind, I hadn't seen my sister in about a year so it was exciting to see her!! We instantly bonded and spent a lot of time doing all sorts of fun things. We went to Park City for a day, went to visit my sister and niece in Ogden a few times, went to a couple movies and dinners, but mostly we just hung out and enjoyed each others company.

Two weeks in we finally found her a job at Einstein Bagels. The girl desperately needed some cash for college. I think she started understanding money and how a budget works and mostly about sacrifices.

We had such a blast! Josh started making friends with some of the younger kids in the neighborhood who were Alecia's age. They came over to party a lot and I think it was nice for her to be around guys her own age.

We also took a ton of pictures!!

Alecia fell in love with Sam this summer. They are best friends now :)

Visiting Amber in Ogden for Andrew's birthday. And we got to see Addy! I just love that girl. Her personality is shining brighter every day.

Smoking ciggys on the car rides.

PARTY TIME WITH MALIBU!!

Flash Face Kisses

Trying to be sexy.

Drunky

Fat Face

We colored a lot, I was so proud of this one!

We decided to go stargazing in my Honda through the sun roof. It was a blasttt!

Just yesterday I dropped her off at the airport. It was SO sad!! She cried and I didn't. Later at work I had a delayed reaction and couldn't stop sobbing. I'm going to miss her. A lot.

I will miss having someone there that knows me in and out, knows my flaws and still loves me anyway, can deal with my bitchy moments and forgive me simply because we're family. Someone that knows my past and appreciates who I've become. Someone who just GETS me. I'll miss laughing so hard with her that I cry and almost pee my pants. I'll miss attempting the "Dutty Wine", watching funny videos on Youtube, watching Sex & the City & old Are you afraid of the Dark episodes, dancing around my apartment like a bunch of retards, and singing every word to our favorite summer songs:

I'll never forget this summer. Love you Leash!!

CONTEST!

2008-08-14T09:34:00.001-06:00

Sweet Contest, if you would like more information click HERE .
GOOD LUCK!

“Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together.”

2008-07-24T08:42:00.002-06:00

I was browsing through my Facebook friends this morning and thought to see what my old friend Liz is up to. I went looking through some of her photos and was amazed by what I saw. She had traveled to Spain for a semester which a huge group of friends and taken over 1,000 pictures! I saw her dancing, site seeing, just living really and you could tell she had been having the time of her life. I also saw my younger sister's vacation to Italy and all of her adventures there. It amazes me! I feel like I have skipped that part of adventure in my life and gone straight to responsibility and hard work, like I'm going on 30. I'm only 21 years old and I have kept my mind set on whats going to happen next, how we're going to pay the bills, worrying about everything instead of doing the things that I WANT to be doing with my life. So in a sense I haven't been living, I've been dealing, and maybe dreaming of things but always putting them off for another day. What if I don't have another day? What experiences am I going to remember most?

I've heard the saying, "...that's on my life list..."and thought maybe it's time I put my own life list together showing all the things and goals I'm determined to make happen before I die. I'm not setting a limit or anything, I haven't actually thought about it until now so I did a little research on how to create your "life list." It can be tricky because you can get carried away writing down all the things you can imagine to do and they aren't always realistic which can set you up for disappointment. Everything I write down I want to seriously make it happen and if I know it's a long shot I'm going to take it off. I know some of my goals will change as I get older but for now here is what I put together:

In no specific order...

-Vacation in Italy or Ireland
-Go on a cruise
-Para sail
-Perform a dance routine in front of an audience
-Get into a form of exercise (whether it be running, pilates, kick boxing, cycling...etc) and get in the best shape of my life doing it.
-Graduate college
-Pose for a pin-up girl photo shoot
-Go to NYC for New Years Eve
-Get a tattoo and never regret it
-Horseback riding, anywhere! I just want to ride a horse.
-Buy a fixer upper home, remodel, and make it my dream home
-Take tons and tons of pictures and put them together in scrapbooks

That's all I can think of right now! I'm sure I'll be adding to it as things cross my mind :)

Tag, I'm it!

2008-07-22T11:05:00.000-06:00

OK well no one actually tagged me (sad) but I saw it on Nicki's post and wanted to try it :)

Four places I visit over & over:
1. RE/MAX Results
2. Burger King
3. Home
4. Hailey's

Four People who e-mail-txt me regularly:
1. Josh
2. Alecia
3. Hailey
4. Heather

Four favorite foods:
1. Rodeo Cheeseburger
2. Cafe Rio's soup
3. Crunch Wrap
4. Mom's meatballs

Four places I'd rather be:
1. Drinking espresso in Italy
2. Relaxing on a Rhode Island Beach
3. Playing beer pong in Bristallll my home town
4. Canada... to take advantage of the legal substances :)

Four movies I'd watch over & over:
1. My Best Friend's Wedding
2. Thelma & Louise
3. The Little Mermaid
4. Half Baked

Bands/Groups I love to listen to:
1. John Mayer
2. Jack Johnson
3. Blink 182
4. DMB

Four People I am tagging:
1. Heather
2. Hailey
3. Josh
4. Thats it!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”

2008-07-21T11:09:00.000-06:00

About a month ago I was asked by one of the agents in my office if I would like to stage a house for one of her clients. I had expressed to her my passion for design a few times before so I was so enthused that she wanted to give me this opportunity! I gladly accepted the offer and went to see how bad of shape the house was in that afternoon.

I must say, it was pretty bad- bad because of 2 things- dated decor and bad energy.

Jerri Snarr (the agent) told me about the situation her seller was in. His wife had recently passed away due to depression that she had been dealing with for a long time. They had a lot of kids together and had been married for something like 30 years. The family is very religious and had pictures of temples, family photos, and religious sayings EVERYWHERE. It was very cluttered and very personalized, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but when you're trying to sell you need to de-personalize as much as possible.

We started de-cluttering and tried to make it look as good as it could for the time being by doing some basic staging. Here are some photos of how it looked before:

Where is the color?! You can't really tell but the entire house has a chair rail. Painting would have been a huge plus but the budget was limited and the seller wasn't interested in painting.

A common misunderstanding that sellers have is the thinking that if you leave your walls white, the buyer will like that they won't have to paint over everything and it will just be a blank canvas for them. It's actually not a good thing to ignore your walls and keep everything white. Buyers have zero imagination. They need you to create it for them by painting and adding inspiration. I knew I needed to add pops of color in the couch, mantle, and above the entertainment center and somehow tie it all in with the kitchen and dining since it was such an open floor plan.

Nice kitchen but take a look at the heart wreath. Those kinds of silk floral arrangements were literally everywhere. Look at the gorgeous hardwood floors! That dark green colored rug isn't doing anything to accent it. And that window doesn't look very appealing either.

Notice the rug in the dining. Pale greens & pinks. Ewww. The sad thing is that the hardwood floors aged and changed color, but under the rug they looked the same as when they were put in. Which means that a rug now always needs to be covering that space. I also had to figure out a way to work with the light woods in the kitchen, floors, and living and still make the harsh dark mahogany color of the dining set look good together

We didn't take pictures of the master bedroom before but this picture of a bedroom downstairs will give you an idea of how ugly is was. The picture to the right is of the master bathroom. Notice the burgundy, dark green and gold color scheme. Yugh. Very nice tile though. Staging is all about accenting the best features of the home so I knew I would really have to show off the tile and hardwood floors.

All in all, the home itself wasn't that terrible, it was the decorating that was bad. I told them that they needed to do some serious cleaning. Every counter space was cluttered, little newspaper cut outs posted all over the side of the fridge, just all together very "grandma." Kind of creepy too because his deceased wife was the one that decorated everything, so I knew it would be a very difficult task to get rid of all her stuff that she loved. They cleaned out everything, got rid of all the silk arrangements, took down every personal picture, and left me a blank canvas to work with. It was awesome to have that done and really helped me think of the big picture.

As you can see, I had my work cut out for me. I was to stage the main level including the entry, the family room, kitchen, dining, master bedroom and master bathroom. Phew! I was very nervous to go shopping. Ron, the seller, gave me $1,500 to start out with.

I wrote a list down of things I needed to get:

The kitchen needed some new rugs, some kind of kitchen art on the walls above the cabinets, and some window treatments. The dining room needed a new rug, a table runner, and centerpiece. The family room needed some new throw pillows, a centerpiece for the coffee table, and lots of random decor for the mantle and above the entertainment center. The master bedroom needed a completely new bedding set and accents for the end tables. The master bathroom needed new towels, new bath rugs, and some kind of bath decor.

I had a limited budget to work with so I went to TJ Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, Pier 1 Imports, Tai Pan, and Target.

I thought the shopping would be fun but it was honestly the hardest task to complete. Maybe if I was focusing on one room at a time it would be a bit easier but I had 5+ rooms I was trying to think of at the same time. I kept doubting myself, picking things up and then putting them back, I knew I would probably return some stuff so I just went with my gut and got things that I wasn't really sure where I was going to put it, I just knew I would somehow make it work. It took a lot of confidence and reassurance of myself to do it but I got it done!

I found the most amazing bedding set for the master bedroom and got it approved by the seller, I was relieved that they loved what I picked out and mostly that I wouldn't have to return it!

I went to go stage for the first time with my husband (he helped with hanging things on the walls and measuring, I couldn't have done it without him!) and I stayed there for a good 3 hours trying to make it look perfect. I realized the kitchen rugs I got were too small, found a rug in their garage that worked perfectly in the dining room, and went through dozens of original artwork and picked out what I could use. All in all it went really well. I knew there was more work ahead though.

That Monday when I went to work, Jerri approached me and told me that Ron was very pleased with what I had done so far. He was so impressed! PHEW. I was so nervous that he wouldn't like it and especially nervous for Jerri to see it too. I had a lot of pressure on me, this was my first time ever doing this and would be the deciding factor in whether I would want to continue on this path and decide if whether I would do this for the rest of my life! So yeah. You could say pressure again. But I kept my confidence up and was determined to do an amazing job.

I ended up shopping on 4 different occassions and staged the house 3 different times. I did run into a couple problems like the new comfortor for the master bedroom... we tried putting it in the dryer and it came out with 3 dark brown spots in the middle of it. EEEK! I freaked out. Since I had been keeping all of the receipts I called Bed Bath & Beyond and they switched it out for me! Problem solved. Oh and don't leave candles in your car when it's hot out. They melt. Who knew?

After all the fussing and freaking out, I decided that I did a pretty damn good job. I was proud of myself and it felt so amazing and rewarding afterwards. Plus it was so much fun! Decorating and designing is what I love and it was so awesome to show my talent to someone who was actually paying me to go shopping!

Here are the AFTER photos, let me know what you think!

The family room doesn't look like much has changed but I added some throw pillows, some items to the mantle, and a decorative centerpiece. You can't see what I did above the entertainment center which really was the statement of the room. If you would like to see the panoramas you can visit:

http://www.Obeo.com/483619

I really love how the kitchen turned out. I thought red would be the perfect color to incorporate in here so I also added touches of red in the family room as well. I just don't understand why they took out 2 of the 3 red rugs I put down in the kitchen. And replaced it with that ugly green one again. Whateva! How fabulous do those curtains look though? Love it!

My favorite thing about this dining room is the rug switch! So much more colorful and luxurious! It went with my color scheme perfectly. I was trying to bring out neutrals through golds, greens, and browns and then added pops of red. I added a gold table runner to the table with a cute candle votive. The clock in the kitchen has a mahogany finish so it ties in the dining table with the light wood of the kitchen. It looks a lot more balanced to me.

This is a bad shot of the master bedroom (again, you can view the panorama which shows the wall with the bedding) but it definitely looks a lot cleaner along with the bathroom which is more neutral and spa-like. You don't seem to notice the brass fixtures as much when you have neutral colors that go with the gold theme.

What an amazing experience this was!! I'm really grateful for having the opportunity and I hope to have more like it in the future. It was a tough first time job but I know it gave me what I needed: CONFIDENCE! I will be taking online classes soon to get certified and hopefully get a business started!