Courtney's Corner of the World...

Free Time... It's SO nice!

2010-06-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've been able to enjoy some good-quality-sit-down-and-do-absolutely-nothing time. I think I've lost touch with my, "I just want to do nothing" self and have been so focused on "Go-GO-GO" for so long, well the last 2 1/2 years I guess. I know I've written about this before, so I won't elaborate. All I really want to say is that I'm happy with all this free time I have at the moment! I'm like a kid in a candy store, I just don't know what to do with myself… HA! I know, right.... of course I know what to do...

So I've "rediscovered" some of my favorite things to do:

Hang out with friends again, of course! At first I was sad at the thought of not being able to use the, "I have homework" excuse - just so I can have some personal time, but I've been enjoying a much more social life these days (THANK YOU roomies:) I'll have to elaborate more on that later, at least for the month of June aka 'The June that Ends Too Soon!'

The Internship. I like my internship. "Therefore I'm okay with working for free." (through semi gritting teeth!) I'll have to blog about my internship, what it is I'm doing there and the FABULOUS people I get to work with as well... :) In the future for sure!

READ. Yes, just sit and read. I used to read for hours and hours on end. I'm not sure when this "love affair" started. I do recall always finding the "MOST interesting" book around finals time in high school. It was always "just to good to put down" that I couldn't ever put it down... which prevented me from actually studying :) Shocking, riiiiight!

I'm embracing this free time... and I know it's embracing me back...

I can't believe it's over....

2010-05-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain

Yes. It's true. I, like my friend Mark, have never, ever let my let schooling get in the way of any education I've pursued. It's been a long time coming and I'm happy to announce: I've (finally) graduated college! Class of 2010 baby! ...and it's only taken me 9 years! Not that I haven't been busy or anything, but I've finally taken the last 2 years seriously and committed myself to finish something I started 9 years ago.

The weekend was a great celebration with family and friends, good food, seeing old professors and having a fun get-together... along with some birthday celebrations. See for yourself:

Dad & Gina (along with Gentry & Ashby) drove all the way down from Utah to see me walk! Very cool! L <3 VE them!

Pat & Peri were there as well, of course!

Dr. Lee... one of my favs! I had her 3 semesters in a row, she's seriously one of the sweetest people ever!

My LADIES + one! I spent several semesters with these kids: Chrissy, Justin & Callie!!! LOVE THEM!

LOOK! Stace-Face made it to graduation, just on time! Naaaah! That would have been nice though :) ...this is just a photo shop job ;)

...my cute little sister, Ashby and I waiting to be sat for dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant, yum!

A Free Time Reading FIND!

2010-05-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

All semester long I've had a fabulous 2 ½ hour long break between my first and second class. I love it and will miss it dearly when the semester ends. I won’t however, miss my classes. Well, that’s not 100 % true either. I’ll miss the social aspect of having classes, all the conversations, all the characters I’ve had to work with or have been forced to work with on group projects. Ugh. And of course, all of the great friends I’ve made over the last few years. *Siiiiiigh* I will miss them. But life moves on and I’m all about change in the end. Anyways, this isn’t my “farewell to college” blog post…. This is something BETTER! This is something I came across while enjoying my 2 ½ hour break today.

It’s one of the best news articles I’ve read in a long time. So good, so touching, so what life should be about that I cried. I’m such a baby these days though. I don’t know what it is? Maybe it’s knowing that my brother is leaving for Afghanistan in the next week or two? Maybe it’s the “closure” of this chapter of my life? Maybe it’s a million other things, but in the end I’m sure it’s a mix of everything…. Anyways… here’s this incredibly cute story:

Local boy with cancer turns into a superhero for a day

Erik Martin, who is living with liver cancer, has always wanted to be a superhero. On Thursday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers in Bellevue and Seattle.

By Katherine Long
Seattle Times Eastside reporter

Thursday was shaping up to be just another school day for 13-year-old Erik Martin, but then something extraordinary happened: Spider-Man called.
Spider-Man happens to be one of the few people who knows that Erik, too, has a secret identity — he's Electron Boy, a superhero who fights the powers of evil with light.

And Spider-Man needed Erik's help.

Erik, who is living with liver cancer, has always wanted to be a superhero. On Thursday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers in Bellevue and Seattle.
The local chapter, which serves four states, grants more than 300 wishes every year to children with life-threatening medical conditions, but only a few of them involve so many participants.

Pulling off a wish like this one required a big story, and a lot of heart. And so, with a note of panic in his voice, Spider-Man explained the dilemma: "Dr. Dark" and "Blackout Boy" had imprisoned the Seattle Sounders in a locker room at Qwest Field. Only Electron Boy could free them.

Erik got into his red-and-blue superhero costume, and called on the powers of Moonshine Maid, who owns a DeLorean sports car. For good measure, more than 20 motorcycle officers from the Bellevue Police Department and King County and Snohomish sheriff's offices escorted Electron Boy to Seattle.
"They shut down 405 — they shut down I-90," marveled Moonshine Maid, aka Misty Peterson. "I thought it would just be me, in the car."

At Qwest Field, Electron Boy was directed by frantic fans to the Sounders locker room, where the entire team was shouting for help behind jammed doors. With a little help from Lightning Lad, the alter ego of local actor Rob Burgess, Erik opened the door with his lightning rod. The Sounders cheered.

"Thank you, Electron Boy," said defender Taylor Graham.

"You saved us!" exclaimed forward Nate Jaqua.

"Good job, big man," said defender Tyrone Marshall. And forward Steve Zakuani mutely bowed his thanks.

Electron Boy seemed a little dazed by his powers. Out on Qwest Field, the Sounders gave Erik a hero's congratulations, posed for pictures and gave him a jersey and autographed ball.

Everyone was startled when, overhead, the Jumbotron crackled to life.

"Electron Boy, I am Dr. Dark and this is Blackout Boy," sneered an evil voice, as the villain — Edgar Hansen, and his sidekick Jake Anderson, both of Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" — taunted the young superhero. "We are here to take over Seattle and make it dark!"

On the Jumbotron, a video showed a Puget Sound Electric employee Jim Hutchinson trapped in the top of his bucket truck in front of PSE's Bellevue headquarters. Only Electron Boy could save him.

As Electron Boy's motorcade — the DeLorean, the 25 motorcycle officers and a white limo — rolled through downtown Bellevue, pedestrians stopped in their tracks and pulled out their cameras to take pictures. Clearly, somebody famous was in town. But who could it be?

"It's Electron Boy," Erik's older sister, Charlotte Foote, shouted out the window of the limousine.

More than 250 PSE employees gathered outside the company's headquarters and cheered as Electron Boy freed the trapped worker. "It was so loud, people in office buildings were looking out the window," said Make-A-Wish communications director Jeannette Tarcha.

But Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy were still at large. Electron Boy got a tip that the evil duo were at the Space Needle, where they had disabled the elevator and trapped people on the observation deck. Racing back to Seattle, Electron Boy stepped out of the DeLorean to a cheering crowd of dozens of admirers, and confronted his nemesis.
"How did you find us, Electron Boy?" Dr. Dark demanded.

Erik wordlessly leapt at Dr. Dark with his lightning rod, freezing the villain. Then he unlocked the elevator and freed the people trapped upstairs.
Bellevue police Officer Curtis McIvor snapped handcuffs on Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy, who couldn't resist some last words: "How can we thank you for saving our souls?"

A tiny smile played around Electron Boy's mouth. Just for good measure, he held his lightning sword to Blackout Boy's throat again. The crowd went wild. "Hip-hip, hooray!"

Seattle City Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw stepped forward with a key to the city and a proclamation that Thursday was Electron Boy Day. Afterward, Erik posed for the TV cameras, flexed his muscles and spent some time astride a Bellevue police motorcycle.

"He's over the moon," said Foote. "This is definitely beyond anything we thought it would be."

Watching her son run across the plaza in front of the Space Needle, mom Judy Martin said Erik goes to school when he's able, but is often too tired. "He hasn't had this much energy in a long time," she said. "They called it the power of the wish, and they're right."

Like any good superhero, Electron Boy kept his innermost thoughts to himself. But he did have one important thing to say:

"This is the best day of my life."

Every now and then...

2010-04-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

….I get the “travel bug”, well more like ALL OF THE TIME. Although I know fun travels are far off for a while, this is what I’m thinking of next:

I'm a sucker....

2010-04-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

....for cheesy youtube videos, even if they are repeats.... But really, who isn't, right?! This is my latest find! And it's quite the jem :) I even LOVE the name: Axis of Awesome!

More Energy, Anyone...?

2010-04-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

My doctor, Dr. Web MD respectively, sent me an email just the other day on something I've been struggling with for quite some time. The title of the article/advice/something we should all be doing was: "Fatigue Fighters - 6 Quick Ways To Boost Energy" After looking over these 'Fatigue Fighters' I've come to the sad realization that:

1. I don't follow any sort of regimen for health, right now at least.
2. These are all GREAT ideas I plan on implementing when I find the time.... errr, what?
3. They TAKE no time! 5 minutes is all it's asking!

So I'm going to start some of these up. It's my new goal, because everyday at 4'o'clock, I AM pooped, have NO energy, want to nap but then end up getting a second wind some short time later and then end up staying up WAY too late.

I'm sure you're interested to know what these 'Fatigue Fighters' steps are?! I've listed them below, along with the link if you decide you need more information.

Energy Boost #1: Reach for energy food
Energy Boost #2: Eat a high-carb, high-fiber breakfast
Energy Boost #3: Take breaks
Energy Boost #4: Get moving
Energy Boost #5: Take 5 and Meditate
Energy Boost #6: Ditch the Energy Vampires
Here's the link

Happy HIGH ENERGIZED Weekend Everyone!

2009-01-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a random update for everyone. Sorry I haven't been to keen on writing on here lately... life is CRAZY busy with full time work and full time school....

Here's a bit of an update:

-I went from 15 credits to 12, as with working full time, I didn't have the time I needed to devote to reading an extra 40 pages a week... on top of the 70-80 I'm already reading on a weekly basis for my other classes. *sigh* So yeah, indeed I have nothing to talk about or discuss, unless you'd like to know about sustainable communities, world tourism and accomadations or the nature of inclusiveness....*SIGH*

-Training for the half marathon is getting more and more intense! I'm working out several days a week - and running up South Mountain (a nice little "hill" here in Phoenix) on any extra time I have. From the VERY top you can see the whole Phoenix valley! Amazing! From where we run/hike up to, it's also a great view and one of my favorite runs. Here's a picture from the TOP of the mountain.

-I'm OBSESSESED with chips and salsa, again. Oh, and I've been on a hot chocolate kick too.

-I've lost all interest in blogging. Period.

-I spent my whole Spring Break working. No joke. I worked six days straight, sad face.

-I'm LOVING my new place of residence! My roommates are fabulous, loooove living in a house and love the location :) Trust me, this move has been such an upgrade from the last place I lived... which was sort of a dump and living with a Beast isn't a good situation anyways, now, is it?!

-OH! I'm sure most of you have heard, but Jordan and Stacey had their bebe... Lily Grace Brown, or as Stacey's Dad calls her Lily Bean (and I LOVE the nickname and plan of using it too!)She's SO CUTE! I love her so much already :) She's such a sweet baby. So little and feminie! I swear, all first babies HAVE to be sweet and easy going, otherwise parents would stop at numero UNO if the kid were crazy! Here's Lily on her blessing day.
P.S. Jordan was deployed to Iraq today. Please keep him in your prayers that he'll be protected and kept safe.

-So after my run today, I decided to take a little "nap" outside in our fancy backyard (Although it's no Italian Riviera!) for about 30 minutes... man oh man.... it's only March (BUT 78 degrees!), and let me tell you... I FRIED! No joke. Not that I like to burn, but I do like to be several shades darker than I've been all winter long... and I'm now well on my way:)

-Peri (Mom) and went and saw the Lion King about a month ago! AMAZING! Although it was no NYC Broadway location, it was a close 2nd at the Gammage Theatre in Tempe, AZ. Meh. But the show itself was AMAZING!

-And last but not least... I'm OBSESSED with this new website... it's HILARIOUS! But it's not for the easliy offended, FYI! Some of the stuff is SO true... Twilight, group dinners, etc. And some of it's completely ridiculously lame... but still sooooo funny :)

2009-01-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've done any blogging lately... and I have some pretty BIG updates!

I'm MOVING!!! YAY!! Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't stay put for long. About 7 months top in one place at a time. That's the going time length for me these days. Lol. Since being home from the mission, (2 years this last December, geezzzz, time flies!) I've lived in Scottsdale, Tempe, Ahwatukee and now I'm moving to Chandler (with a small stint in Asia). OH! and check it... I'll be living with all LDS girls... WEIRD! I've never had LDS roommates before, so this should be fun :) Out of the 4 of us 2 have served missions, sooo that should be fun!

I got my first "instult" here on my BLOG!!! Crazy! Hahahaa! Here is it for your reading pleasure:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "I don't care if he's a Communist!" Remember that one? It was about {hot} Russian {sexy} tennis {puuuuuurrrrr} player, hottness Marat Safin:

'You're an idiot... just because someone is Russian doesn't make them a communist - that's just plain insulting. Learn about the different cultures of the world and the politics before you make comments like that, especially on the Internet where people who have a higher brain capacity than you can see it.'

Isn't that hilarious?! Seriously! Who goes around calling people idiots? Besides Tom Hanks trash talking Mormons... but seriously?!? Okay, I can catch myself trash talking certain things/people too, and I'm working on that... but I'd wouldn't be posting it on someones blog. Well, not as anonymous at least! So I thought you'd all get a kick outta that! I find it quite entertaining actually. Here's a little something to enjoy, again....
School starts! yay! One more semester down, two more to go after this one. 15 credits too. Phhhheeew! + working full time, yes - 40 hours. Pretty exciting. Well, basically I won't be having a social life for the next 4 months

I have to find a place to go for Spring Break!!! I'm thinking that I'll be meeting up with some buddy from Nor California in Southern California to hit up some amusement parks... but we'll see. I'd really like to go to Costa Rica or something?!?! Any Ideas?!? Somewhere CHEAP?!

I went to Park City, while the Sundance Fetival was going on this week, up here in Utah and DIDN'T see anyone famous.... BUT talked to some kid that seemed to have done too many drugs or was just putting on a really good act, on the bus that saw Will Smith buying some Nikes.... ooooh la la. So basically I'm ONE person away from Will Smith, or however that works?!? Funny experience tho :)

Gentry and I had a little dance party like old days. We danced to Out Kast- Hey Ya!!! Just like old times when I had moved home and shared a room with him.... sooo funny. I taught him to "Shake-a-Bumm" AND "Raise the Roof" - you've never seen anything as cute as a 3 year old shak'in his bumm!! Although his skills have digressed a bit, I'll have to come back up here more often to give him a few lessons!

I heart... RUNNING! No joke. I love it. Well, I guess I'm growing to love it. I guess right now I'm just liking it. But it feels great! I haven't gone in a few days due to sickness and then being on vaca in Utah (riiiiight, vaca in Utah?!?!?) But seriously, if you're looking to lose some of that holiday belly... running will do the trick! no joke!! You'll be "raising the roof" (hahahaaaa, hilarious!)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Amy Winehouse.... well, her music, not the cracked out version of herself. Unfortunate. She alone should be able to scare the CRAP outta anyone who might even be considering doing drugs... riiiight!

OH, and I've got two weeks to get caught up on The Bachelor... but I will... and that will be it's own blog. BUT I'm now obsessed with The Biggest Loser! LOVE LOVE LOVE that show! Soooo good... more on that later.... this is long enough!

Ciao for now!! More to come, after I get my homework done... I've got like 60 pages of STUFF to read... *sigh*

You'll Never Belive It...

2009-01-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

But one of my 2009 Goals is to start running again... so some of my peps and I have decided that we're going to run a half marathon! I know, I don't look like I'm ready to run one, but I'm getting there. SL..OOO...WLY. YAY! Okay, sooo my peps are actually some family members and myself that have decided that we're going to run in the Charlottesville Marathon and Half Marathon at the end of April, in Virginia. And get this, it's call "Bad to the Bone" Marathon! SICK! It's actually considered to be one of the top 10 BEST half marathons for beginners and in America. YAY! It's also one of the most B-E-A-UTIFUL runs too. We'll be sure to take lots of pics! I'm SO SO excited to get back into running and I've been enjoying it the last few weeks I've had free from school. I hope to get better and make this a regular physical activity for 2009!!

2008-12-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

I came across this video the other day and I thought that it portrays a GREAT message. As we're ALL surrounded by IMAGES everywhere of what we should look like, dress like, act like and be. This little message reminds us that we're all different, no one's the same and that goes for our clothes, looks and size. Yay for being HEALTHY and not trash talking ourselves :)

Even our Toes are feeling FESTIVE!

2008-12-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hooow cute are our toes?!?! I Looove 'em! My friend Katie always has SUPER cute, crazy, fabulous looking painted toes. So after asking her a bazillion times were the nail place was (because I could never remember!) I finally went and got my toes done... They had SO many options, it was hard to chose! But I couldn't resist the plaid! Katie's toes are the presents!

Hooray!

2008-12-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that.... FINALS ARE DONE! Por Fin! Just as of yesterday. I celebrated by attending FHE with the ASU ward, walking the Mesa Temple grounds that are FABULOUSLY decorated in lights! And then picking up my friend from the airport. {ooooh, how I wish I could leave!}

SO what does all this mean, you ask? It means 5 full weeks of FREEDOM from reading{for class}, writing, attending, listening to professors go on and on and ooooon, tedious homework assignments, late nights to complete projects, etc. You get the idea.

Sounds FAB right... not having to do any of that? YAY- I'm full of GLEE! Lol.

I'm EXCITED because this 5 week break is going to include, most of, if not all of the following activities:

-Learning how to COOK! no joke! I'm making chicken soup tonight! mmm,mm!
-Reading what I want to read! hooray! I have a MASSIVE stack of books that haven't been touched and are collecting dust, sigh {I just counted 13 books, sigh again}
-Getting more sleep, hmmmm, maaaaybe, I'll see if I can fit some more of that in?!
-Putting together Christmas gifts - I've got some GOOD ones this year- yea yea!
-Putting together my BFF's Christmas gift and last years birthday gift, and this years too! I'm sooo excited about these gifts
-FINALLY putting together the "Epic Asia Trip 2007" DVD... soooo cool! I'll make a link to it when I'm done :) I just finished China... and it's like 30 minutes long... hahaha, no one will care except for my BFF and I anyways :)
-Hang out with my buddy from South Africa, that I met in Asia- YAY SHANEY POOH!
-RUN! I'm SO excited to go RUNNING! I love running and now I have more than enough time to GO!

Oh and here's a little preview to the DVD... oooh, aaaaah...

I like things, like....

2008-12-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

....using my VOTING power as my voice... NOT MY SHOES!

Good duck there, Mr. President! Look at the dude to the right of him! Duud duuud Duuuum! hahaha... pay better attention next time, sir. (didn't he listen to his mother, ever?!)
It just seems SO much better, right?! No violence. No blood. No DEATH. No shoe throwing. The FREEDOM to voice my opinion through voting ROCKS!

Listen Up!

2008-12-14T09:44:00.001-08:00

Okay, if you haven't seen Australia... you NEED to! It's FABULOUS! All 3 hours of it. Those of you who know me, know I have a soft spot in my heart for Australia :) So it makes sense that I would absolutely love this movie, right?! Indeed I do! I can't wait to buy it when it comes out on DVD. Nicole did a fab job, Hugh was as HOT HOT HOT as ever (looooove the pouring water scene! haha!) BUT my absolute favorite little person EVER was this KIDDO, Brandon Walters:
I LOVED HIM! SO cute! I want kids that look JUST like this, or I'll take just one, I don't care!! Lol. I love his HUGE black/brown eyes! I love the messy, bleached out hair more (reminds me of little canarian kids!) and he's the about the cutest little kids EVER! Watch the movie, and you'll see for yourself.

Oh, and here's a cute picture of the main peps of the film! Okay, didn't Nicole JUST have a baby?!?!? WHAT THE CRAP! How does she look soo dang good already??

Man, oh Man!

2008-12-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

I wish I were Matt!!!.... traveling the world, seeing all sorts of places, meeting all sorts of great people, having amazing experiences! Ah! I can't wait to leave again! I love ALL the fabulous colors you see in this video, it's SO bright and happy! This is the "Where the Hell is Matt 2008" video.... it's NEW, and improved!

Christmas Questionnaire Time!!!

2008-12-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
I’m a hot chocolate connoisseur! I heart chocolate more than any other hot drink, more than mate! Anytime of the year (thank you Spain!) anytime of the day! I love this stuff! Keil brought me some of Costa Rica’s finest hot chocolate early this year and I drank it every night til it was gone! Delicious!
(and NO, I don't like big cinnamon sticks in my hot chocolate!)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
She definitely wraps them! I mean HE!!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I like to mix it up… or the family likes to mix it up. I have yet to put up lights on my own place. I do like to hang white lights in my room tho

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No!!!...but I totally should! What have I been thinking all these years?!

5. When do you put up your decorations?
My mom usually puts them up after thanksgiving, she’s SOOOOO good! I’ll prob do the same, but not to the same extent as her.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
I love stuffing, I love turkey, I love desserts, (unfortunately) I just love food in general. Hmmmm, mmm.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Getting my first stereo and my first CD ever, The Cranberries.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
No idea?!! The year my parents covered our windows with cardboard so they could sleep in after being up all night setting up the Christmas gifts. Lol.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Ummm, yes! Of course! Tradition. Oh, and it’s always pajamas!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Oh, however my mom tells me too! Hahaaa!

11. What is another favorite Christmas tradition memory?
Probably just playing with my toys all day. Also, going to the movies with my Dad on Christmas day.

12. Can you ice skate?
No, but I can skate on hockey skates…. Does that count?!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Anything to do with Barbie’s back in the day! Now, I love getting things I wouldn’t buy myself… nothing practical tho… I’ll be buying that myself!

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being with my family! My Dad’s side or my Mom’s… doesn’t matter who, but as long as it’s family!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Ummmm, all the treats my family makes… cookies, peanut brittle, the typical holiday treats!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Didn't I already answer this one? Another random fun tradition: Decorating the tree while watching Toy Story.

17. What tops your tree?
A ribbon or an angel tops my families tree.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
I like both! I love finding something or making something that I knooooow my family member or friend will love. I also love being thought of too, and when someone knows I’ll love something… it’s a full circle thing.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
I don’t think I have just one favorite song… I love instrumental Christmas music though.

20. Candy Canes?
When I’m in the mood, which just happens to be around Christmas time! I do love pepermint icecrem too!! mmmmm, mmmm!

21. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized?
Not if it starts in November, perhaps if it starts in August! I love hearing and seeing all the festive décor that comes with Christmas!

I'm tagging Amy S., Erin H., McKenzie H., all my girl cousins and sister-in-laws!

I VOTE NO!

2008-12-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

What's with the Chester Molester 'stache Clooney?!?!MAKE IT STOP G-Dawg! Pronto, PLEASE!Oh, and here's ANOTHER one... ugh!

Why ruin a good looking face like that with such an ugly looking 'stache?!?! Riiiiight?! Why can't we see something more like....

or better yet...He's just too good looking for an old dude to start sporting a nasty mustache. Although I prefer a bit of scruff, The Clooney looks SO much better clean shaven, don't you think?!

Oh my wooooord, blog!

2008-12-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Oh my word. It feels like it’s been MONTHS since I last posted anything. {Thank you Amy!}

Well, nothing too FUN or FUNNY or EXCITING or ENTERTAINING for that matter has gone on…..ugh. I think I’m just getting bored with blogging, I mean life….. I mean, I don’t have a whole lot to write about… well, I do. But really, it’s funnier to me, than to anyone else! Lol.

ANYWAYS…
-I’m in school. How lame does that sound? So yeah, I’m in a bit of a stand-still at the moment as I try to finish something I started WAY too long ago. . But hey, I guess that’s life. I’m just not used to being so “still” for this long. BUT great news!!! I have 3 semesters left here at ASU and the summer of 2010 I will be doing an internship. The internship will be (fingers crossed) in South Africa… while the World Cup is going on! Yeah yeah!! So if that goes down as planned, I’ll be seeing as much as possible in Africa prior, but most likely after I’m done working there 

-Jordan and Stacy got married! YAY! There’s some EXCITING news though for some of the family! Party!!! Par-tay, indeed it was! Well, not like outta control or anything… but it was fabulous little ceremony with just family and a few friends, with a nice reception, yummy food and a great time had by all.

Stacy looked like a hottie in her wedding dress and Jordan looked quite snazzy in his blues. Take a look for yourself…

And speaking of happy things… look at WHO IS WAVING AT ME!!!! My soon-to-be-here little niece: Lilly Grace Brown yaaaaaaaaay!!! Applause Applause!! Okay, she’s just sucking her thumb but really, she’s uber cute already!! You can just see it here! February can’t come soon enough! She doesn’t even know what she’s missing out on yet… SPOILAGE!!!

This years Halloween was a blast! A bit of a random night… but fun. I was a Greek Goddess and once again, my mom sewed my costume! Last minute. Haha… SUPER MOM! THANK YOU! Yeah, she picked my favorite color EVER, purple and added some nice touches of gold. FABULOUS! My friends, Katie and Amy and I went to some pretty random gatherings… and of course hit up Mill Ave. in downtown Tempe…. I’d love to post some pictures, but I look preggers in my picture, so I’m gonna have to pass!

-Also, I’ve started a WISH LIST for Christmas…..and if you talk to any of my parents, Steve and Gina or Pat and Peri, feel free to mention some of these items to them!!

1. An iPod. I need something to listen to while I work out (more on that later) but the one I have is LAAAAAAME, and works half the time. Actually, I don’t even have it at the moment. It served it purpose tho.
2. A new car. Okay okay, I know this isn’t gonna happen. And I’d prefer to buy my own, but hey, why not ask… you never knoooow?! (after doing some research, I think I’ve narrowed it down to the Toyota Matrix… uber cheap, great gas mileage and it’s just super cute all the way round!)

3. This really really cool world mad. It’s “old school” brown and tan. It’s thick, so you can put little pins in it, as to mark where one has been. It’s FABULOUS! And I really really want one!
FYI ladies that are into this ridiculous show…..Jan 5th… the BACHELOR starts!!! Need I say more?

But on a more serious note, my co-worker did confess his love for me. It’s a long story, so I’ll just point out the important things he mentioned.

-I’m a “Beautiful Creature”…. Ummm, who knew?!?!
-He’s not been able to pick his jaw up off the floor since meeting me. Ummm, flattering!?!
And the BEST thing he mentioned after all this confessing…
-“I wish I’d met you prior to the girl I met, and got pregnant”
Hahahahaa, hilarious! This is seriously the story of my life!

Oh and finally introducing the new LOVE of my LIFE, he’s a bit of heaven.

How often do you get to see.....

2008-11-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

.....Justin Timberlake in a leotard!?!??! No, really? Not to mention some high heels. Not that it's hot or anything... but it's certainly hilarious...

R.I.P. Pickles 1993 - 2008

2008-10-26T23:31:00.000-07:00

Pickles Brown passed away this last week. She was with our family for the last 15 years and will be greatly missed. She was the sweetest, most loving dog. She brightened our lives with her sweet little spirit. She was loved by all and she was the best dog ever!

2008-10-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Getting Tagged... here's some random info for y'all....
(in no specific order)

8 Favorite TV Shows... I own all these shows on DVD, don't get TV, I'm lame like that
1. The Simpson's
2. BBC The Office- classic
3. LOST... first 2 seasons... lost track of the show after that:(
4. 24- only if I'm watching it wil Keil!
5. Scrubs ... just a little RESPECT people!
6. Will & Grace.... HILARIOUS!
7. Extreme Home Makeover... okay, P&P DVR this for me... and I cry every week, tender
8. Dancing with the Stars, once again P&P dvr this for me... love it!

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. The Cliff House – although I worked there, they have some of the best food ever… calamari, dinner salads!
2. Family cooking :) Mom, Gina, Pat.... Dad's burgers?!
3. I love love love Cheesecake Factory!
4. Tia Rosas - AZ Mexican
5. Mukuni - BEST sushi ever!
6. Any kebab shop/shack in foreign countries, SO good after a night of clubbing:)
7. Amy Scerra's cookies:) Although not a restaurant, she could run her own cookie shop!
8. Red, White and Brew

8 Things that happened yesterday
1. Got to work at 6AM, and out by 3PM.... yay!
2. Studied (hahahahaaaa.... barely) for an exam this next Monday
3. Listened to my roommates funny story about this guys she's dating
4. Went out on a blind date (yay!) with a guy that looks A LOT like Mr. John Meyer!
5. Got my printer/copier set up, hooray!
6. Did several QA presentations at work, for several classes... I looooove public speaking:)
7. Spent too much time on the computer, that's like everyday tho
8. Kept my room clean:) as in I didn't throw anything on the floor, gold star for me!

8 Things I look forward to
1. Seeing almost ALL my family this weekend... you will be missed Will & Krystal...
2. Getting to play with my baby niece, Olivia, she's SO cute:)
3. Going to my brothers wedding
4. Going out with the John Meyer-look-alike again, hmmm, mmmmm!
5. Being done with school.... seems like it drags on and on and ooooooon!
6. Going somewhere cool and learning something fascinating about that place
7. Sleeping in on Saturday, it's the only day I have to sleep in
8. Having perfectly clear skin... ONE DAY!

8 Things I love about Fall
1. Fall means that summer is ENDING, which in AZ- is a GOOD thing
2. Still having FABULOUS weather for fall and winter (in AZ)
3. The "feeling" that fall brings...
4. The holiday seasons begin... Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas...yay!
5. All the treats that go along with fall, from the above holidays
6. The change of clothing, fall clothes are usually really cute, style/color/etc.
7. The excuse to hang out inside on "cold" days... watch a movie, have hot chocolate (okay- hot chocolate, that's okay everyday!) and just chill
8. Being able to snuggle under warm bed covers in a cold room

8 Things on my wish list
1. Being DONE with school already!
2. Discovering a hot/smart/spiritual boy that's keeps my attention for more than 5 seconds, and vis versa:)
3. A new car....?? with functioning AC
4. Visiting as many countries as how many years old I am
5. I wish I lived in a house and didn't have GHETTO neighbors
6. Not having to worry about $$ ever again... as in I wish I were rich:)
7. I wish I spoke more languages
8. I wish this "wish list" would come TRUE!

Now I get to tag 8 people.... oh, all of you!!

Okay, crazy story time....

2008-10-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

... although this happened a few weeks ago, I thought I'd share it with y'all....

Sunday night I got home from a very busy weekend totally pooped! I was off to bed, literally at 9pm... about 5 hours earlier than what I'm used to. Anyways, my roommate, April gets home from work around 11pm. That night she finds a plate of cookies at the front door with my name on it and a little poem (still don't know who they're from....??!?!)... anyways, she brings them in and off to bed she goes.

Well, about 2:30 in the AM I hear a loud knocking on the front door, my room being closest to the entry, I hear pretty much everything. People stomping up and down the stairs, someone knocking on the neighbors door, etc. Aaaah, apartment living! I know you all miss it!

Anyways, I walk out into the hallway and the front door is ajar...?!?!? creeeeepy!WHAAAAAT is going on? So I open it up to see my very Cute Neighbor (although I'm not attracted to him) with pad and pen in hand, and this is how the convo goes (oh, but I'm completely out of it and not coherent I'm sure):

CN: hey! I'm soooo sorry for waking you up...

ME: no worries, what's going on?

CN: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, but I noticed your door was open and I wanted to make sure everything was okay

ME: weird, we always lock our door

(Literally! we really always lock our doors...)

CN: I was just writing out a note to tell you that it was open when I walked by and I was going to put it in the door and shut it for you, but I wanted to make sure everything was OK

ME: okaaay, thank you. goodnight
Tender! V. thoughtful of him, but still I was a little freaked out to say the least. We do lock down pretty much every night. After I shut and locked both bottom and top locks, I go through every room and check to make sure that there's no crazy murder/rapist lurking around our casa. CLEAR! Then I go back to my room and lock my bedroom door.... and freak myself out for 20 minutes til I fall asleep. I'm such a dork! I don't know how I lived on my own or traveled around in random, scary cities?!

So after talking to my roommate the following day, she's not sure what happened. Perhaps the cookies threw her off, and she thought she closed and locked the door?! Don't know? But we're making EXTRA sure that the front door is now locked.

BUT to add to the story... flash forward to the following morning... I walk out the door and there's a note that's fallen to the ground.... and here's what it says:

Hello,
My name is _______ (blank, for his protection, of course). I really do apologize for waking you up or even startling you.

Just wanted to make that everything was ok and that you were ok also.
maybe if it's possible we can go out for a latte or something?

If so call me @ __________ or text.

By the way you are pretty.

Hope to hear from you. have blessed day and a blessed week.
x J
OKAY! OKAY! SO ADORABLE... what boy says that you're cute?!??! Well, not any LDS boys, that's for sure (yeah, LDS boys are gay). I'd take him up on going out, but really, I'm not interested at all. I sent him a text later that day thanking him for keeping an eye out for us girls and let him know that if he ever needs a cup of sugar or some flour, we prob won't have any! No joke. And left it at that.

Check it....

2008-10-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

Soooo, I'm kinda upset with all you people (friends & family members) that are going private on your blogs. Ever since I started using Google Reader, I no longer "browse" any one's blogs. I'm just too lazy/busy with school & work to spend any MORE time than I already do looking to see if you've updated your blog or not. SO until Google Reader makes it available to get updates automatically on private blogs, farewell private blog writers, it's been fab...
*sniff sniff tear*My personal opinion of "private blogs"..... I mean this is me being sad (and Amber too... we're trapped in the Chu Chi Tunnels actually!) that I hardly get my family's updates cus they're ALL PRIVATE Blogs!!!! BOOOOOOO! So I totally didn't see the Oprah that talked about crazy people and blogs, but really? Are you all cutting out news clippings on how to spot a rapist? serial killer?! Blog stalkers? *thanks Cameron!* What is the world of blogging coming to?!?

Am I my Mother?

2008-10-02T19:57:00.001-07:00

Take a look for yourself.....
Oh my gosh... we look sooooo much alike... and kinda like grandma Scadlock too!

Mini update.... plus a cute video:

2008-09-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Actually not a whole lot to update anyone on.... just work and school, school and work. Random hot study dates with a hot Jewish boy, and a random other boy, yep. That's about it.
Oh, last weekend I did go to a RS retreat... which was FABULOUS! Too bad I left my scriptures, binder, and earings I got from the Singapore Zoo up there (there being in Payson at a mansion of a cabin, about an hour north east of here.... ugh) oh, and to top it off, right after pulling into my apartment, I spilled Mountian Dew Code Red in my purse... and now my camera isn't working. SHOOT! I wanted to scream. Anyways... as soon as I can get some pics up of that, I'll post. Our university ward girls were by far the most fun...! What can I say? That's just how we roll! I'll post pics soon:)

Oh, and I heart heart heart this video... SO cool...enjoy!

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Elder Fitt takes flight!

2008-09-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so yeah, my little bro... or Elder Fitt takes off tomorrow to South Dakota! YAY! I posted his last email from the MTC, take a look at it!

www.willfittmission.blogspot.com

I'll keep this up to date once a week for you all to enjoy! There's something about reading missionary letters... makes me long for my missionary days... also helps remind me to be a better missionary member :)

Have a great week everyone!

Some EXCITING news!!

2008-09-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

A new member of the family!!! Yay! well, soon to be very new!....So most of you know that Jordan is getting married to his girlfriend, Ms. Stacey Czaplicki. I think the wedding will be in October, which will be super fun and we're all excited and happy for them! I thought I'd put some pics up of the cute couple... I hope everyone can welcome Stacey into the family! I can't believe my little brother is getting MARRIED!!!

Elder Fitt

2008-09-11T02:31:00.001-07:00

I've created a blog for all the postings of my brother William's missionary emails/pictures/etc. for the next two years! Check it out and check it often!!

http://willfittmission.blogspot.com/

What do you think....

2008-09-05T01:01:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted to changing the color of my hair. I'll be honest here. I think it's to compensate for the fact that I can't do other things with my life at the moment... like move or get a new job (signed to a contract on the casa, and not that I want a new job at the moment, nor do I have the effort to look for one). I can't pick up and leave on a whim and travel somewhere for at least a another year, I'm FOCUSED on (finally) finishing my degree! yay!
So my hair ends up being the scapegoat! It's pretty much the only thing I can change and get instant results. Too bad I can't lose weight the same same I can change color:( Wouldn't we all go out and buy a bottle of that, if that were the case!
So here's the deal. I'm NOT cutting my hair. I don't know why I cut it in the first place. Remind me never to chop my hair again! My hair and I are in the long haul to get it back to a nice long length. But what I am thinking of doing is DYING it back to it's more "natural" color... whatever that is?!

What do you think....

....Stay blond? This is as current a picture as I could find. So I don't think I'll be getting much lighter than what you see here... pay close attention to the roots... are they OK or a no-go? Also, I'm not tanning anymore, and I always thought that to have blond hair, one should look somewhat tan. So being all pasty-white again might not look too hot...?!?

....or go Dark again?! This is a little too red for me... (you can see the red if you blow the picture up) I think I'd go more chocolate brown, and probably keep some of the highlights. But you get the idea... it'd be MUCH darker than it is now. (There's also a pic of me with darker hair just below this blog). Isn't this a cute picture of some of the fam?!

2008-09-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

-Correction!!! Amy W. pointed out in my "Firsts" blog that this really ISN'T my first summer here in AZ... she stands correct. I really have spent a few summers here in AZ already. Why? I probably had a car with AC, so I didn't know how bad it would suck without it! Amy and I spent the summer together here several years ago... I want to say about 10 years ago? I think I was just 15?! Also, the following summer with my BFF Amber. We took summer classes ALL DAY LOOOOONG.

-Okay, so there were THREE August birthdays within my own immediate familia... SO a (late) HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to them: Cameron, Mom & Pat!!! LOVE YOU GUYS! Along with ALL the other birthday people in my extended family, cuz there's like a bazillion of you August birthday...FELIZ CUMPLEANOS!

-New position at work!! YAY! Sooo I'm still working for Dish Network and I've just been promoted within the company to work in the QA department... oooooh, aaaaah. I know. You're all jealous, right?! haha! Well, not that this is my dream job or anything (it pays the bills and that's about it!) but I'm really excited to "move up" in the world and make... salary- oooooh, aaaah (such a grown up thing!) and have a semi-normal schedule...

- I use Leslie Rushton's (my cute cousin) blog to see if anyone in the famliy has updated their blog.... lol. She get's up dates on everyone. It's FABULOUS! Saves so much time! I know I can "add" that onto my blog page as well, but I don't wanna! Thank you Leslie!

-So this weekend I'm watching the Pickles, yes, she's fine, and yes, she's still in her diaper. I think her "accidents" are more frequent than ever... sad. BUT the main reason I have her is because Pat & Peri are off to see the Grandbebe.... I couldn't be MORE JEALOUS! I'll admit it. I'm so so so sososososossssoooooooo jealous that they get to play with little Olivia and kiss her cheeks and make her laugh for the next few days. I wanna go! Ugh.

-New Calling!! Yep, so I moved and am now in a new ward, along with about 60 other people (they just redid the ward/student boundaries) so it's nice to not be the only new person. So before I made it to the second week I was asked to serve as the RS Education counsel/1st counselor.... EXCITING!! I really love love love it. It gives me a great excuse to be UBER friendly and go up to anyone really and get to know them, without even really having a reason other than "I'm trying to get to know EVERYONE in the ward, nice to meet you!" The BEST part tho... I still get to teach in RS!!! LOVE IT!

-Etsy. If you don't know what it is... CHECK IT OUT! I'm ADDICTED! I'm going to do a blog on some of the items I've purchased from there... looooove it!

-I heart my classes this semester! Although I feel as though I'm swimming in a sea of "little" people (18-21 year olds) I love my professors and now that I've finally found "my major" (Tourism Development & Management = fun fun fun!!!), I love going to class and I DON'T even mind going 3 days a week!

-I miss my G-bob (Gentry)... we had such a good time hanging out last weekend. I always have "withdrawals" every time I leave that side of the family, seeing as I get to visit with them a few times a year: ( Especially him for some reason. He's such a cute, warm, friendly, fun, inquisitive little "G-Man" as he likes to be called. Don't get me wrong... I miss everyone else too, Dad, Gina, Andude, and little Ashby...

Meet Karen

2008-08-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Karen. Well, really she's my Mom's friend- and I happen to be more of an extended friend. You know the kind- my Mom's the connection here. But had I met Karen first, we'd still be friends without the Mom connection. I'm just drawn to her like that.

So today we had great lunch and great convo and she mentioned something about my blog. It doesn't show my "culture diverse side". Or the fact that I have too many friends of other races other than white (although, most everyone on here is my family!)... black/African American friends, Latinos, Asians... I don't think she saw my Epic Asia Trip 2007 blog- if I made one or not, I'm not sure?! I'll have to do a blog about that sometime! Plus all the many other races of people in the world. So seeing as I've lived/traveled all over world and with lots of different types of people, from many nations and of many races, I guess it doesn't seem to show on my blog? Sad. I'm living in a white bread world!?!?

So I've decided to make Karen my "token" black friend on my blog, for the time being! Love ya Karen! oh, and a hilarious blog about white people having black/Asian friends... check this site out! It has TONS & TONS of other funny topics...

A very unflattering picture of myself. Karen and my Mom look fine tho, ugh. This was taken at a Mother's Day party that Karen threw at her house... good times! LOOK! We're like and OREO, but backwards!
Here she is with Meriel, Pat's Mom. Isn't she pretty! Karen is also one of the most friendly/loving people I've ever met: )
Here she is at the bottom of the picture talking to Pat's Mom, she's so nice!... and that's her husband across from her, or the only other black person at he table! They're a cute couple!

A first...

2008-08-29T01:21:00.000-07:00

So this is my first summer here in Arizona... I would never recommend summers here to anyone. They suck. Period. Well, mainly because the AC in my car is OUT! And I'm not willing to throw down a $1000 bucks to get it fixed. (I don't think my car is worth much more than that anyways). Bitter, you ask? HELL YEAH! Perhaps because I feel like I AM IN HELL WHEN I DRIVE ANYWHERE!

ANYWAYS... getting the point of this blah blah blooooog entry...

So Arizona has this thing called "Monsoon Season" that happens towards the end of summer. Weird, I know. But really, we do. It will be about a thousand degrees during the day, and then all of a sudden (usually later in the afternoon to night time) the clouds roll in and it just DOWN POURS, seemingly out of nowhere. I love it. It washes away all the dust and cools down the whole place- also making it a bit humid and flooding everything in the mean time. O-well.

And tonight was NO exception. DOWN POUR it was. Except tonight we had a LIGHTING SHOW! And I must say, tonight I experienced one of the most amazing lighting shows ever! (Better than the one's I used to see in Utah as a kid- UT does have some pretty good lighting storms tho). I love watching lighting to begin with, there's something SO amazing seeing the whole sky light up... you hear the sky roll with thunder and "CRACK" you see lighting dancing from one end of the valley to the other end, keeping the sky lit for several seconds!

While driving home tonight I could have turned my headlights off and gotten home just fine, the lighting was that bright and happening that often! And you know it's a great storm when you're driving home and there's a MASSIVE split-in-half tree that's fallen in the road because it was struck by lighting! Exciting!!!

Now I didn't see the tree being hit by lighting, but this is what I would imagine it to look like! Also, this is the closest picture I could find to compare with what the sky looked like... it was SO bright! I'm obviously really excited about this... I am such a dork!

All in 48 hours! Oh, and tons of pictures!

2008-08-25T23:27:00.001-07:00

I hate the fact that I've been home just shy of a year from the Epic Asia Trip 2007 and haven't gone and done anything fun since returning (in the way of exploring new countries that is)... okay, so I take that back....
...although I have been going a little stir crazy here in AZ, I've been able to travel just a LITTLE bit... there was the fabulous Buffalo/New York City trip that my friend James and I took over spring break this last year. Yeah, that's about it. Period.

The only other place I go when leaving the fine state of Arizona.... is UTAH! If it weren't for these kiddos/family members... I doubt I'd ever make it up there... So I was just up in Utah... for about a full 2 days... booo, not long enough to play with my cute little sibs or meet up with other family... but here's a few pictures of what I did get to do and who I got to see. But the real reason for the quick trip was to see my other little brother William off- as he's going on his mission! YAY for BILLIAM! He's going to make a FABULOUS missionary: ) (I have the cutest brothers ever!)

My G-Bob!!! I LOVE this kid... he's SO cute and growing up WAY too fast
As his sister, I, Courtney C. Brown, am proud to say I got him to do this with the hose... lol, couldn't help it! He thought it was too funny!
...and then there was The Monster Girl, otherwise known as Ashby. So I hear I was "just like her" when I was younger...?! Whatev, don't believe it! Yes, she's on time-out...lol
Ashby's also one of the sweetest little girls ever... she wouldn't leave my jewlery alone tho... we were best friends after I gave it to her to play with- and you can see how happy she is here
Ashby and I danced around the kitchen... it's so cute, she totally gets into it and gets a very serious face, as seen here!
A tickling fight that left Gentry on the floor... seriously, he kept egging me on, like he was going to win or something?!
My super duper cute hermanos... Will (the missionary) & Andrew
Hanging out with the cute Dastic girls, Natalie and Kate... they're a family from EDH. It was nice to see some faces I hadn't seen in a while
Will with some of the family that made it up to hear him give his mission farewell talk
And of course my friend "Brown Suga" Megan Reber! Hottie! Love this girl... first time seeing her in about 4 years... she wrote me ALL the time on the mission- what a great friend!

I'm totally addicted to...

2008-08-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

...this freaking cool you tube video! I don't know why... Maybe it's the long hair the guys are sporting? The song they chose to play? (GO 80's butt rock band "Europe"!) Or perhaps it's the teen-head-banging (flash back-flash back!) while playing such classical instruments? Regardless of the fact that they're off tune a bit... they absolutely ROCK!
But none-the-less I heart this video... makes me wish I could play the violin that's sitting in the corner of my room... *sigh* Enjoy!

I'm Famous!

2008-08-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

So check it... I was at work one day and I see this guy I totally recognize walking around... from where I couldn't place him, but I knew him! So when he passed by my desk I made sure to look at him. He pointed at me and said, "Hey, I know you! You're going to be in my commercial!" UMM WHAAAAAAAT?! So after chit-chatting with him for a minute we figured out that I used to work for his brother when I first moved to Arizona... about 5 years ago! He owns his own movie making company and was using office space in his brothers building, and so we worked in the same area. So we got caught up, he now has added to his fmaily, with an extra kid (or two?!) Oh and one of his daughters is named Courtney! Cool, eh?!

This is me being famous! Or making a face like I think famous people should make, riiiiight?!?
SO ANYWAYS, he now works for a company called jobbing.com, you might have heard of them, they're kidda a big deal. SO he was there making a commercial for our "new" center and he put me in it! YAY! I'm FAAAAAAMOUS! Well, not until I can find the dang commercial! BUT once I do, I'll be posting it, that's for sure! I just thought you'd all like to know... about my first commercial! I think this is my big break into showbiz guys! Lol.

Mom/Peri's 50th Birthday Surprise!

2008-08-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Surprise Birthday Parties are the BEST! No joke. Especially when they're NOT for you, but someone else- and they have NO IDEA! Well, for Peri's 50th this year Pat planned a BIG surprise dinner for Peri at PF Changs (mmmmm, mmmm!) inviting all her closest friends and family that reside here in Arizona.

Here's a little play-by-play on how the surprise went:

So while Pat arranged and get everyone to PF's, I worked my magic and got Mom/Peri to come out with me to go shopping. Now we all know that this isn't a hard task to complete... she's a born shopper... and I follow in her foot steps diligently! The issues were that we wanted her to BE ON TIME for dinner (which is hard for her to do sometimes, well, most of the time!) and I had to work, blah! So I've not really cared for work these days... and decided it was an "emergency-day-off or I'll-go-crazy" sort of day and called in "sick". Whatever, moving on.

I called Peri that morning saying that I wanted to take her out for her birthday- dinner and a movie....sorta boring, but totally worth the fib. We met up and shopped around a bit... didn't find any clothes... and were about to leave, but I still had to keep her "busy" for another 10-15 minutes or so. SO off to the purses we went! I found a fabulous purse and earrings that I just couldn't live with out, thank goodness we still had 10 minutes to look around! She wanted to go to the mall, but I in turn said I was STARVING and had a hankering for lettuce wraps... SOOO GOOD!

So we showed up at PF, she dropped me off to put our name in, so she could go park. One of her best friends walked in RIGHT after me... so she ran to sit down, very CLOSE CALL! I told the hostess that we were there and be ready to walk us to the party table! A minute later Peri walks in, there's TONS of people waiting to be sat, but the hostess walks us right in (Peri seemed a bit surprised that we didn't have to wait!!) and walks us up to a couple of tables full of her friends and family!

She was SHOCKED to say the least! SHE HAD NO IDEA! It was fabulous! I yelled SUUURPRISE! We all cheered! She started crying! Then she started pointing at Pat saying, "YOOOOU! You're gonna get it!" or "I can't believe YOU did this!" And the evening turned out great... here's pictures of everyone there:

Still in SHOCK Peri, thanking everyone!
BFF: Craig Smith & Peri Hammons
Pete & Karen Smyth, the outta towners!
A very cute picture of Mom... Shae and Perry too!

2008 QUESTIONNAIRE

2008-07-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

So I know these are silly, and get passed around quite a bit... but I thought I'd do it anyways, so yeah... Everyone should do it tho... if they're bored

1. What time did you get up this morning?
8am... and hit the snooze every 5 minutes for 20 minutes... sooooo 8:20 really.

2. Diamonds or pearls?
PEARLS!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Mama Mia! Looooved it!

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Simpsons? Don't watch a lot of TV.... yet! Oh, duh... The Bachelor/ette!! DWTS!

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Toast... maybe yogurt

6. What is your middle name?
Christine

7. What food do you dislike?
Hmmm, not a whole lot. I do hate olives tho... and pickles on hamburgers... ewww!

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Justin Timberlake... Future sex/love sounds... such a great CD
9. What kind of car do you drive?
A red one....?!?!

10. Favorite sandwich?
Turkey and avacado... mmm, mmmm. Or full on veggie!

11. What characteristic do you despise?
Lying, cheating, dishonesty, etc.

12. Favorite item of clothing?
My linen pants at the mo

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Next Big Trip: central & south America!

14. Are you an organized person?
Actually, yes, I know where everything in my room is.

15. Where would you retire to?
Not even thinking about retirement.... but by family

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
About too weeks ago... birthday party and dinner

17. What are you going to do when you finish this?
work

18. Furthest place you are sending this?
Ummmm, who ever reads this and is in another state? country?

19. Person you expect to send it back first?
???

20. When is your birthday?
July 20th

21. Morning person or a night person?
Both!
22. What is your shoe size? 9-9.5.... HUGE feet!

23. Pets?
Nope... not at my place... Pickles (as mentioned before) is at my Mom and Pat's casa

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
Nope, not at the moment

25. What did you want to be when you were little?
A vet or clothing designer

26. How are you today?
Fabulous! Did my "walk through" and I'm getting my FULL deposit of $500 back! YAY!

27. What is your favorite flower?
Don't have just one... not that I would know the names of them anyways... but something exotic. Roses are soooooo boring.

28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Aug 22... flying out to see my family in Utah... YAY!

29. What are you listening to right now?
JT... oh, he's so hot right now! Actually reminds me of my friend that sent this questionnaire to me, Melissa M.

30. What was the last thing you ate?
Chicken I grilled on the George Forman grill last night...

31. Do you wish on stars?
Oh, totally

32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Any shade of Green
33. How is the weather right now?
Sunny and bloody HOT- 104 degrees today

34. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My Marmee... we haven't talked since Sunday and we usually talk about everyday, almost.

35. Favorite soft drink?
Not drinking soda anymore (starting this last monday) BUT normally it would be Mnt. Dew... hmmmm, soooo goooood! Or Dr. Pepper

36. Favorite restaurant?
Depends. I heart Red, White and Brew. But loooove Mexican, and sushi, and basically anything.

37. Hair color?
I'm BLOND at the mo mo

38. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Probably Barbies

39. Summer or Winter?
Summer, DUH!

41. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Once again, depends.... half and half?

42. Coffee or tea?
Ment herbal tea....hmmm.

43. Do you want your friends to email you back?
???

44. When was the last time you cried?
Don't remember?!

45. What is under your bed?
Nothing! Carpet?!

46. What did you do last night?
Worked til 11. Came home and cooked chicken and then watched this guy pick my roommate up to hang out and he was really SHORT!!! She kept texting me about it! Hilarious! We laughed about it when she got back!

47. What are you afraid of?
Failure, feeling trapped

48. Salty or sweet?
SWEET!!!

49. How many keys on your key ring?
Too many
50. How many years at your current job?
2 months

51. Favorite day of the week?
Sunday/Monday- my days off of work... sunday dinner with the family

52. Do you make friends easily?
Oh yeah, totally

53. How many people will you send this too?
Not sending, but posting...

54. How many will respond?
???

55. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends?
YEP!

Hobby.... hobby.... anyone have a hobby?!?

2008-07-30T00:56:00.000-07:00

So I have about a month til school starts and I'm looking for a new hobby, or something to fill in my downtime. I know this sounds a little weird but I have EXTRA time during the day.

I'm still spending my days:
-reading a lot (it's summer and I'm outta school and can read whatever I want!)
-working out on an ALMOST regular basis
-ONLY working ONE full time job
-Blogging whenever something interesting (or not so interesting) happens: )

BUT I still have plenty of time left over... and am wondering what I can do to fill the time? Something CHEAP tho! I do need to put together the Epic Asia Trip 2007 trip dvd/video for my best friend Amber, but that can only be worked on a little at a time: )

I haven't come across anything in a while that's consumed all my time, as some hobbies sometimes do! SO does anyone have any ideas of a small, easy, inexpensive hobby I could pick up? Something on the internet? A craft? Something that you do on your down time? Although most of you are busy Moms and whatnot, (that read this) I'm guessing there has to be something that you know of... seeing as Moms know everything! I'm just searching for ideas, so anything will be appreciated!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GINA ROSE!!!

2008-07-28T00:06:00.001-07:00

July 27th!! Feliz Cumpleanos Gina!! Ai Ai Ai!
So a quick birthday shout-out to my step-Mom, Gina! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! YAY! So she and I were talking today about how we feel like we've known each other FOREVER, and yet we've only been in eachother's life the last 10 years. Gina is one of the most amazing women I know. She's smart, full of wisdom, great advise and is always there to listen. She is loved and appreciated by all who know her. I don't know what I'd do without her in my life.
And although we discussed that our birthdays tend to blend into ONE after 20-something years... it's still very necessary to recognize the important people in our lives: ) Feliz Cumpleanos! Here are some cute pictures of the Birthday Girl!

Gina, Jordan & Cameron

Ashby & Gina

Gina & Silly Dad not looking at the camera

When I Grow Old....

2008-07-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Many of you know or have met my dog Pickles. She's my families’ FIRST pet, ever. She's a BIG deal. I can remember the day we got her. We lived in Cameron Park, California, my older and younger brothers and I were outside playing in the front yard, we had to choose between her and her brother. She was the runt of the litter, with the cutest little face, big floppy ears that she hadn't grown into yet and the sweetest little personality. It was a done deal, and now she's been with us for about 14 years. My Dad and his wife had her until she moved down with Jordan (my little brother) to my Mom and her husbands home 3 years ago.

She's getting old. She is OLD! And like many unfortunate old people that start to lose certain uses of their bodies, Pickles has moved on into that part of her life as well. You know where she can hardly SEE (not that she could see all that well to begin with), HEAR (I think she's pretty much deaf now), or SMELL- once again, she wasn't really blessed with that trait in her younger days either. She sleeps most the day away, not wanting to go on walks, play much more than 5 minutes and prefers the quiet back room to take a nap whenever there's anything loud going on in the living room. She's even got the grumpy personality of someone who's lived a long life and just wants to be left along for 5 minutes to get a nap, she even gets snappy with little kids. Lol.

So when I'm old and crotchety I hope I don't have to wear diapers, like so many old people do. Seriously. It has to be embarrassing to not be able to "hold it" til you can get to a bathroom. I'm sure it starts out like a small accident- like, "Did I just do what I think I did?" The iron bladder you once had in your younger days is not so iron anymore. It's more like... a crappy Wal-Mart brand of zip lock baggies... that splits open and spills the contents into your purse. Ugh.

I think the worst thing that this poor little dog has come across in her olden age is bladder issues. And like many old people, Pickles has now been placed in what you would call a diaper. Sad, I know. Pat and Peri like having her in the house, but with her not so iron bladder these days, if she’s to stay in the house, she’s wearing it. Period.

And of course she looks hilarious… and I had to post a few pictures of it…. Hahahahaaa! Poor dog.

A shot from behind....

Oh my goooooosh, You'll never believe it!

2008-07-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

Is it any surprise?! I mean, really... I thought they were the perfect couple that would make it til the end... forever and ever... his little monkey... aaahhhh.

Well, sorry to BURST every one's bubble... but last seasons The Bachelor, Matt Grand and Shayne Lamas.... well, they split. Tear. Sniff Sniff. Well, Go freaking figure! She's a complete DITZ! (air head comes to mind as well). And Matt, although I thought he was cute, I lost a LOT of respect for the guy when he picked Shayne. Anyways... I guess their lives are headed in different directions... oh well, life goes on. YAY!

2008-07-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

All things I could have written a BLOG on... but had no time! And other random updates!

-I've moved into a fabulous apartment about a mile from work (with a Target on the way!) It has a full gym (yeeees! no paying for gym memberships!) 3 pools, We live RIGHT next to one and green, lush landscaping.... love it!

-I miss my niece Olivia terribly... she's starting to do all sorts of things... being cute, gibber-gabbering, kicking, being really cute, rolling herself over... AND I'm MISSING all of it : (

-Did anyone else think that Christian Bale sounded like he had a piece of popcorn stuck in his throat when he talked in the new Batman movie? It really got on my nerves. And the fact that the movie was 2 1/2 freaking hours looooong, also got on my nerves.

-Purchased plane tickets to.... none-other-than: UTAH! Yes, the only place I ever go when leaving the state of Arizona these days. So flying up to see my brother William's mission farewell....aahhh! South Dakota....here he comes! Lol. I'll be there 2 1/2 days.... laaaaaaaame. So if you don't hear from me, don't take it personally... I'll be doing family things while I'm there: )

-I TURNED a quarter of a century old... WEIRD! (July 20th!) Now I can rent a CAR! YAY! What else can I do? I have NO IDEA! But who cares! It's on to a new year!

-Getting my FREE Dish Network set up... getting all ready for the NEW Bachelor season to start... and other random TV programs that I'm sure I'll get addicted too! Oh and speaking of The Bachlorette- I never did a write on the finale.... b/c I was SO OVER IT by the time it came around... blaaaaah DeAnna...

-I have a cute new roomie, April. She's FAB! I'll have to do a post on her sometime soon! In the mean time, she's from Colorado, has long dark hair, and she speaks espanol! yay!

-I got an AMAZING cruiser bike from Pat and Peri for my birthday that I plan on riding to work, once it cools down that is... and stopping by Target to get cute stuff for my place of course!

-Did I mention I MOVED all my stuff into my new apartment myself? Yeah.... took FOOOOREVER. Love living on the 3rd floor, hating moving all my CRAP to the 3rd floor. I just have to wait for some big, strong MEN to move my actual furniture: bed, shelves, desk, etc.

-Saw Mama Mia. Loved it all over again, and am now listening to ABBA.... I'll have to do a BLOG on that later.

-I've perfected the art of staying up late and of sleeping in. I only have ONE job these days. Working 80 hours for 6 weeks straight is SO over rated...

A Boy Magnet....???

2008-07-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

So for whatever reason, I thought I'd share a little something with you all, a trend you could say. It's something I've noticed a lot in my life lately. In the last few months I have, for NO reason at all become a boy magnet... for gay guys. Straight, no. Gay, yes. Not as in HAPPY-Go-Lucky Gay, but as in the guys-attracted-to-guys kind of gay. Personal beliefs aside, as we all have our own personal beliefs and our own personal struggles, I am not opposed to having my new found friends. In fact, it's not like I go out of my way to find these new friends, it all just sorta happens: we chit-chat, we click, and Whaaaa-La, we're insta-friends! Just as I would anyone else, male, female, young, old, straight or gay.

In fact, as I recall- it all started my first semester back at ASU this last January. I walked into my English 200 class.... did a quick scan over the room, found the most attractive male, made my way over to the seat closest to him, sat down and thought of a conversation I could start. Within minutes, well, more like mere seconds of starting convo with Cute Boy (as we'll call him!) my "gaydar" as it's called, goes off. I don't know how we started talking, but I'm sure I pointed out something I liked about what he was wearing. The fact that he wasn't in board shorts, flip flops and a wife beater was a nice change, and is rarely seen on campus- that's ASU for you. So he's smartly dressed. Big deal. His taste is clothes was amazing. First tip off, I now know. I guess I should have know before I sat down, but hey, I'm trying to be optimistic about guys + fabulous clothes.

Johnny: "I'm sorry girl, I'm just not into you... I'm into him over there..."

So anyways, to make a long story short, Cute Boy and I totally click. We can talk about anything and everything. Clothes, boys, religion, emotions. I can tell him it's sad he's on my "team" b/c if he wasn't we'd be dating by now, and he can tell me when I need to reapply my lip gloss, and show me new dance moves. He's almost like my new BFF! (Joooooking Amber!)

And well, before I know it... I have another new gay male friend at my early morning job. A bit older, and a lot more flamboyant, we are insta-office-friends. We talk almost everyday on the phone- even tho we see each other EVERYDAY in the office. And now that I've quit that job, we still talk everyday. Now on to my new job- and once again my small pool of gay guy friends is on the rise. Second gay male insta-office friend and I text ALL the time- him trying to convince me to do karaoke with him... me kindly declining- I've told him, I'm tone deaf!

Where is all this coming from? What do I do to get all this attention.... from fabulous guys, but guys on MY OWN TEAM!?!? That's competition!!! Ugh! Lol. My Mom even pointed out to me that I have a lot of gay male friends, it's THAT obvious! Where have all the straight guys gone? Where are my dating options? It's nice to have attention- from the opposite sex- but then again, it's not the kind of attention I'm after : )

Peri/Marmee can be quiet NO LONGER!

2008-07-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

My Mom ROCKS! So my Mom was telling me how she was SO upset about the whole DeAnna/Batchlorette being SO into herself, that she, my MOM, PERI HAMMONS, went on line and posted on the ABC blogspot... Hilarious! I thought I should POST what she wrote, so you wouldn't have to scroll through all 584 posts yourself! (Oh and here's a cute picture of her talking... definetly one of the things she does best!) Here's what she wrote:
After watching this last week's episodes, I am totally over the Deanna thing! Here are my reasons:
1) I am tired of how it's ALWAYS about her heart breaking
2) I am tired of how she goes on and on about how "Brad" led her on and broke her heart, guess what? She isn't the only bachelorette who Brad led on....there WAS another girl on the show, it just happened that she was the second one he rejected, but how would she have known that during the show?
3) I am tired of how she cannot take any criticism or "honest" communication, give me a break, she's smug, sometimes unkind and a little conceited about this whole thing. Her supposed honesty is not honesty, it's brutal and it's ALWAYS about her and her feelings and how she's put herself out..... pleeeease, this is a TV show, how honest can you really be?
4) She didn't come on the show (again) to find love, she came to find fame....didn't I hear something about her wanting to cut an album? Wonder if that would have happened without this second go-around?
5) As hurt as Jason and Graham might have been, they are BETTER off without her....their lives would have had to revolve around her huge ego and constantly breaking heart!!

Posted by: Marmee | July 02, 2008 at 06:03 PM

I don't care if he's a Communist!

2008-07-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Seriously! Why has no one ever informed me of the hotties that play tennis?! I have to be randomly watching the Wimbledon 2008 matches to discover that there are many, many fabulous looking men playing the sport? Certainly beats having to watch football players run into each other. Yes, silly football players- covered from head to toe (so you can't even enjoy looking at the decent guys) running around the field looking like retards, duun duuun duuuud. Ugh, football.

ANYWAYS... yay for Tennis!

So purely based on looks (hahhaaaa! In regards to my last blaaaah blaaah bloooog!) I have a new crush... that being fabulously hot Marat Safin of Russia. Holy hotness! And really, I don't care if he's a commie.... I won't hold that against him. He's too hot hot hot! Sign me up for tennis lessons! Okay... here's a mooooore appropriate picture of the Communist Hottie! Why is he not sporting his Communist color of RED?! Who knows? And more importantly, who cares!

Oh, and just for kicks... The Spaniard, Rafael Nadal WON the whole sha-bang... yay for Spain! And out of love for the place, I thought I'd throw in a picture of him too! He's SO Spaniard looking to me... at least he doesn't have the Spaniard foo-hawk and narrow side burns- yuck!

Don't Hate...

2008-07-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

....So I know that most of you that look at this blog are HUGE Stephanie Meyer fans... me included- almost. Okay, so here's the deal. I read Twilight in a day- I definitely wanted to know what happened, although it toooooook forever to get to the main point. Not to mention the pages and pages of Bella's obsession with Edwards looks, and NOT much else. That, can easily be looked over. I mean, how many of us have been "obsessed" purely on looks alone? And how long have those obsessions lasted? NOT LONG, right?! Not that that's the ONLY thing Bella ever mentions about Edward. Weeeeell, actually, what other characteristics does she ever point out about the love of her life? Anyways, Twilight was good. New Moon took a bit longer to read... I was definitely pissed at Edward for taking off, Oooooh. What a jerk. Okay, so I'm over it.

NOW to my main issue. Eclipse. Booooooooring. I'm in 300 pages and it's week 3. For such an easy read, it's taking me FOREEEEVER. LAME! I'm just SO disappointed. Maybe it's Bella's bellyaching that's getting on my nerves or the fact that she's leading Jake on... ugh, I'm over her. I want Edward to call it a day- BITE her and make her a freaking vampire so she'll stop complaining already!

So I'm getting to the point where I don't care anymore about the characters and I'm starting to read other books. BUT I'm not a quitter! I want to finish it, I really do, I promise.... but I have a feeling that finishing Eclipse will be more painful than having to read Bella and Edward have another awkward moment... you know what I mean.

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

YAY for America! Ooooh, how I love my America. I think that most people can say that. Oh you know unless we're talking about some sheltered-very liberal-riot going-tree hugging-bra burning-extreme college student at Berkeley, who hates America for all the terrible things we impose on all the rest of the world... blaaah blaaah blooog.

AAAANYWAYS. Yeah, America. Land of the Free. Home of the Brave. Over time and travels, I've come to appreciate my home country more and more. The rights and freedoms that we so easily enjoy here, are usually lacking or non-existent in foreign countries, and I know it's somewhat cliche to say, but we tend to take those rights and freedoms for granted.

So in the spirit of America and all that it represents, we all know that we wouldn't be where we are today with out our military. And having several members of my family in one branch or the other, I'd like to say THANK YOU for all that you've done, do, will do and most of all, for what you've sacraficed for my personal rights and privlidges.

Grandpa Brown in his Air Force uniform... back in the day... waaaaay back in the day.

Grandpa and Grandma Brown...tender! Look at his hands! They're as big as my Grandma's face!

Grandpa Scadlock in his Navy uniform. He signed up to fight in WWII when he was only 17!

Grandpa & Grandma Scadlock... how cute are they! Love the mu-mu Grandma!

Cameron, Jordan and I at Jordan's Marine Graduation in San Diego last year

J & D or J & D?

2008-07-02T04:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don’t feel too adequate on writing much on this last weeks The Bachelorette…. As I didn’t see the first hour, and only watched bits and pieces of the second part.
First and foremost, THANK YOU for sending "WEIRD-O slash Fraud slash Crazy brothers slash Drama Diary Reading on American television" Jeremy home. Although very cute, very weird.

All I have to say is that I am SOOOOOO routing for Jesse! Tender. He’s sooo not the typical "Hot-Shot Hottie" they always seem to have on the show- but your average (perhaps “under dog” type) looking guy with a super fun personality/job. He would keep DeAnna young with all his jokes and pranks and adventurous life style… where as if she were to go with Jeremy + one, she would SO stress out BIG time, seeing as she knows nothing about kids... think back… to golf ball/star naming certificate- seriously retarded. Who gives little kids those types of things anyways?!

BUUUUUUUT, did anyone see:

1. The VENOM in DeAnna’s eyes towards Graham while on the “guys tell all” episode.

2. Or was it a “lovers quarrel”, but just with the eyes?!?! We’ll never know.

I’m not sure, but it came across more like:

3. “I Still Want You, and Am Bitter That You Didn’t Give Me What I Wanted” look.

What a tard. You could VISIBLY see that she was still very upset and that Graham still didn't care. Oh tension! Duuuuh duuuhn DUUUUN!
The End.

Pretty Feet

2008-06-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

So today my Mom and I went and got pedicures... they turned out really cute so I thought I'd post a picture of them! While at work today, I was trying to think of something I haven't done yet... and well, I've never done a zebra print. So zebra, as you can see, it was! My Mom got pink with white polka-dots- uber cute!

Whaaaaaaat did you do Graham?!?!?

2008-06-27T14:52:00.001-07:00

Okay, what the crap?! I just watched Mondays The Batchelorette- and I'm am SO soooo sooooooooo disappointed in Graham. First and foremost, because he wouldn't talk to DeAnna. Sad. Not that I want to slam him too much, seeing as I'm def. not the most open person ever- I can understand- I mean, with cameras everywhere, let's just make the whole thing as awkward as possible, riiiiight?!

Graham was def. my 2nd choice... (right behind Brian- hottie!) But seriously...it's as if he went OUT of his way to be a total jerk to DeAnna in the end. Uuugh. He was more dramatic than a girl too!!! And the thing was that DeAnna totally wanted him and went out of her way for him. BUT in the end he totally rejected her, he wouldn't even look at her when she walked him outside... she flat out said she was most attracted to him in every aspect- but he can't even look at her. And then he gave her A NOTE! Whatev. I'm over it.

Feliz Cumpleanos Andrew!

2008-06-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

Another birthday in the fam...
...well, every month til Sep. So this time my little brother Andrew, well, technically like every brother but one, so yeah, he turned 22 (yesterday)! YAY! Andrew is ridiculously cool, friendly, outgoing, cute (I have bragging rights, but then again, I think all my brothers are cute!) funny (Gaston!), creative, speaks espanol with me! and is just an all around FABULOUS guy! I'll be posting pics of him on here in a min. So in the essence of birthday wishes, I'm going to sing happy birthday to Andude en espanol! hahahaaa!
Cumpleano Feliz
Cumpleano Feliz
Te deseo a todo
Cuuuuuumpleanooooo Feeeeeelizzzzz!!!

Times a Change'in

2008-06-24T06:16:00.000-07:00

A LOT has happened this last week....well, not really, but two main things:

1. I found a new roommate! Yay! Okay, here's the deal. I loooooove looove love my studio/living on my own in downtown Tempe, but my retarded landlord was raising the rent almost $100... OUTRAGEOUS! ("I'm so mad I could just spit!"- who am I?! Lol.) "How can you raise the price?! The studio doesn't even have a kitchen!", I argued with the landlord. Odd, I know. (I do have a mini fridge and microwave, tho. Everyone asks). SO, I figured I could just find another place for $500 WITH a freaking kitchen.
SO one day while at work (my new job) I was talking to the only other girl in my training class and she mentioned she was looking for an apartment- and Whaa-La, instant roommate. After looking around, we're getting a 2/bed 2/bath for about the same price I was paying for a studio, before the rent increase! I'll be moving closer to my new job, less than a mile away(seeing as gas prices are insane, this will help out) and I'll be going to downtown Phoenix ASU this next semester- and that's not too far of a drive away. So as far as the roommate goes- I've stayed in too many hostels, stayed with too many random people and places to be all that picky of who I live with. She seems pretty normal- from Denver, CO. 25 years old. Typical girl. We'll see tho... could be the roommate from hell!?!? lol. Nah, not worried

2. I quit my job! Hooray! Goodbye 4am job. Blah, I'm SO over that job. I was typing up my 30 day notice for my studio apt. at work one morning and while at it, decided I didn't want to work 80 hours a week anymore... especially the 4 am job. (I've been working 4am-12:30, and then 2:30-11pm- terrible! I don't recommend this to anyone!) SO while in the spirit of notice writing, I wrote up my 2 week notice for my job and an officially done with CH2M Hill (otherwise known as my Verizon Wireless facilities job) July 3rd! I'm SO excited! I was going to quit it anyways, as all my school classes are in the morning this next semester. I'll be keeping my Dish Network job tho- which sorta sucks... as I work from 2:30pm-11pm.

SOOOOOO here's some pic's of my studio... I just put up some framed pics from Asia and bought a new bed spread! I bought it a little while ago from Urban Outfitters, love'it! They actually have some great house items... I threw in some other random pics...(all of which will be moved within the next month...laaaame.

I loooooove my pillows! Most of them are from Bali, Indonesia... I bought a whole bed set there for about $50USD- but got tired of it, hence the new bed spread.

My very colorful bookshelf and random nick-knacks....

Olivia Time/Family Time

2008-06-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

So I was able to go up and visit the family a few weeks ago...and meet my new little niece... sweet Olivia! She's SO dang cute! I love her so much already... it was hard to share her with everyone that was there for her baby blessing.
A very proud Daddy!

Olivia trying to run...okay, not really. We can already tell she's gonna be a baby genius soccer player! Lol.
Julie, my sister-in-law holding Olivia in her baby blessing dress, with Cameron. The proud parents!

Also while getting to meet my new niece, I got to hang out with the rest of my family (besides just staying at their home!)... Andrew, Gina, Ashby, Dad, Gentry and William and myself all went out one sunny Saturday to walk around an outside mall. Jordan was the only sib from this family that was missing for the weenend- lame. So I just have to say that I have the cutest brothers and sista.

All my tender, loving care... gone to waste!

2008-06-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Almost! Okay, so about a month ago or so I had decided to get all domestic (weird, I know) and try to grow a garden! ... well, here's some pics of how well my veggies are doing, well my tomato plant and some of my flowers... (I left my pitiful pitiful crook-neck squash out)...

Some flowers I planted... can't remember the names of them tho...not the plants in the background tho... those are weeds!
My dying tomato plant... you can see there's SOME tomatoes tho!
My sad sad plants.... laaaaame!
...alas as you can see, all my TLC hasn't gone all that far. I water them, love them and talk to them- giving them words of motivation on a daily basis. I'm uber bummed that my little tomato plant isn't doing too well. My flowers on the other hand- are looking great!
Anyone have any garden recommendations?

I Love the World...

2008-06-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

... and I totally dig this Discovery Channel video... makes me want to see more of what the world has to offer!

Why Brian?!? Whhhhhyyyyyy?

2008-06-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've only seen one episode of The Bachelorette (this last weeks, June 9th), and after having watched the first 5 minutes, I already had my mind made up of who I wanted her to choose. BRIAN! HEEEELLLO! Holy Hottness! He's uber hot and v. tall and comes across as a genuinely nice guy (so happy she got rid of Ryan- he was a jerk and a cry baby)... Anyways, back to Brian- He's Gorgeous! Incredible smile. Super hot, has incredible dimples, nice vocabulary, and well, did I mention that he's the most attractive one on the show? I could totally over look the fact that he loves/teaches football- it would be a small sacrifice. Lol!
Well, obviously DeAnna didn't agree, as she sent him home at the end of the show. I haven't seen any of the other episodes, but she didn't seem to give Brian much of a chance. My respect for her has just gone down... I mean really, why in the world would she keep Twilley over Brian?!?!?! (And what kind of name is Twilley anyways?) He's soooo goofy, and NOT in a "I want to be with you for the rest of my life, because you're so fun and goofy" sort of way. He's just straight up GOOFY, 100%. Lame. Anyways, DeAnna... just send Brian my way!

Feliz Cumpleanos Gentry!!!

2008-06-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

G-Bob... G-Rock.... little Gentry is 7 years old today, Friday June 13th! Crazy! I can remember the day he was born, I was at the hospital! Time Flies! He's such a cute little kiddo... from his non-stop questions to his little insights- he's so enjoyable to be around! Here's some of my favorite pics (or just latest) of the rug rat!

Gentry playing at the beach with Gina in Mexico.

I always laugh when I see this picture. The cruise wait staff were from all over the world and sang a song about that one night... I think this was the "Italian" part of the song. He totally got into it!

Trying to get the kid to smile while dressed up.... he left me no option... I tried to tickle him. punk.

I think this is one of the cutest pictures of G Bob! All these pictures were from a family cruise we went on last fall. He and I had to share a room... we talked about everything, or he talked about everything. He's such a good, loving, little kid! HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY GENTRY!!!

BFFs

2008-06-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

An ODE to BFF: Amber L. Conley
I’m a big believer in having LOTS and lots of friends. The more the merrier, right? And everywhere you go too. I like knowing that if I were to go somewhere I might possibly have someone I can visit while visiting. It’s always great when you make friends. Some friends are usually better than others. Some you carry with you throughout life, and keep in contact with on a regular basis, sometimes daily, for years. Others you email randomly or send Christmas cards to, sporadically. But when it comes down to it, you usually have ONE Best Friend. My best friend is Amber. Here’s my favorite picture of her (in Koh Pii Pii):I’ll tell you what I’m not a believer of… when someone has about 10 Best Friends. It’s confusing. When you mention your “best friend”- or refer to all your friends, as your “beeeest frieeeend” I start to doubt that they’re really all your best friends. The word BEST implies that one thing or person is usually above the rest:

BEST:
1. of the highest quality, excellence, or standing: the best work; the best students.
2. most advantageous, suitable, or desirable: the best way.
3. largest; most: the best part of a day.
–adverb, superl. of well with better as compare.
4. in or to the highest degree; most fully (usually used in combination): best-suited; best-known; best-loved. (we seem to try to only let the BEST things into our lives, right?)
5. something or someone that is best: They always demand and get the best. The best of us can make mistakes.

Now I do believe that those who are married are definitely best friends with their spouse (or I’d hope so!). BUT they usually have one other person that would be next in line to talk to, get advise from, call when you’re upset and who will listen to you when you just need to vent.

Amber, my Best Friend, is that person. And this blog entry is dedicated just to her! YAY! Haha! Here are some of my favorite pictures of Amber and more importantly, my favorite things about my bff…

Traveling with Amber for 3 months was everything rolled into one! I couldn't have asked for a better person to spend all that time with... haha. (Us dancing in Lao). She's very honest. She’s open to discuss everything- religion, politics, boys, etc. She's very observant. Amber is probably one of the best people I know to give constructive criticism. She’s kind hearted.

She’s funny. She’ll help pull out hair extensions, for a little while! She’ll go out of her way to try to make me happy. She’s SMART! (In a cooking class in Chang Mai, Thailand). And has common sense. She likes to have a good time. She has morals and values. She likes to have chill time. Amber likes to meet and talk to new people.
She considerate. (Eating in Koh Phanang) She's ridiculously good looking, but like not conceited at all. She's a boy magnet too! hahahaaaa! She loves and respects her family. She’s ‘hella’ cool, like that! Haha! She's a great Best Friend Forever! I love her dearly! She always has some exciting story to share. She gives great advice. She's a great listener. She's up for a challenge. She forgives easily. She ALWAYS calls me! (Playing/singing a game on a 36 hour train ride with the cutest Chinese girl EVER!) She’s funny. She's a talented piano player. She's wants to help the world. She always has cool Halloween costumes. She doesn’t like to dance, but she’s good at it anyways. YAY for best friends!

Requesting Reading Recommendations

2008-06-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

Reading Recommendations Anyone...Anyone?!
It's summer and schools out! Hooray! That means I get to read whatever I want:) No more reading about things that I have no interest in (Business, communications, etc.)just to get my homework done. It’s just finding the time now…. Which I’ve squeezed in here and there….
BUT I need some recommendations…. Anyone reading something that they LOVE and think we should all read? Do share!

I’ve gone through a few books already this summer, if anyone else is looking for something to read, here's a list of what I've read this summer:
Summer Book List 2008
1. My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki
I actually first read this book a few years ago, in an English class my first year at ASU. I really enjoyed it then, so I decided to read it again. AND I enjoyed it even more this time around, because I didn’t have to analyze it for a class. It’s definitely an interesting read.
2. The Voyage of the Northern Magic by Diane Stuemer
This book is basically my dream…. come true. And written down in book format. I’m SO jealous of this family and would love love love to do something like this one day. Well, maybe not on a boat. Seasickness. But none-the-less, this is a FABULOUS book. Oh, and this is also the second time I’ve read this book too… I’m scheduling to read it again in a few years.
3. Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald.
Iranian girl comes to the Land of the Free, America and needs to find a husband pronto. She’s awed by the new freedoms, torn by the traditions of her family and desperately wants to get married so she can stay and not go back to a life under the Veil. Eeeeeeh. It’s okay. Easy and fast read though.
4. For One More Day by Mitch Albom
Definitely a slow start on this book. Mondays with Morrie and The 5 People You Meet in Heaven were both SO good, so I was expecting the same from this book… a bit of a let down though. A story of a loser of a guy who blames everyone else for his issues, but you see him go through an experience towards the end of his life and he learns that he can’t blame everyone else for his actions. Like, DUH!

5. At First Sight by Nicolas Sparks
Bleeeh. I usually like NS books… and read them in a sitting or two… but this was BOOOORING Bummer. It was slow to start, and not “catchy” at all. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.
6. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Okay, I just started this book last week and the very beginning is about Atoms and cells and Science things, stuff I’m not interested in. But I’m trudging through with the hopes that the science talk with stop… and Bill will get to his usually funny stories. Fingers crossed.
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
I’ve hear over and over mainly by family that this book (and the following 2, which I have) are FABULOUS! Well, I was at the movies the other night and I saw a preview for it…. And the movie looked cool…I was sold! Plus I’d rather read the book before seeing the movie. So that night I went to my friends’ house, picked up all 3 book and am already half way through the first one. So far so good.

80....

2008-06-06T09:39:00.001-07:00

...hours of work this week. And I want to DIE! I thought that for some (great, and smart!) reason that getting a second full time job would be a fabulous idea for the summer. I don't think I could be anymore WRONG! (and did I mention, delirious?)
So I've acquired a second full time job for the summer to save up some extra moola. I plan on graduating school without debt (I’m going to school for free! Thank you FAFSA!)and graduating with a nice little cash fund.
And what I’m I going to do with any extra cash, you ask? Oh, you know… the usual-
…hang out in beautiful lands...

…have incredible experiences...

...and make incredible friends from around the world...

100 things about....

2008-05-28T17:40:00.001-07:00

... myself. This actually didn't take as long as I thought it would... sad.
1. I heart my familia- los dos
2. On regular people standards- I have a pretty big family
3. All my brothers and sisters are cute
4. I live in Tempe, AZ
5. I really like it here, for now
6. I'll be ready to move tho- in about a year, maybe a year and a half
7. I have a hard time staying in any one spot
8. My co-workers mock my "valley girl" accent
9. Don't know how I have one, when I didn't grow up in the Valley
10. My co-worker timed me, and I can only go 20 seconds without using the work "like"
11. That makes me fell pretty dumb! ha!
12. I'm new to the blogging world
13. I'm a pro at facebook
14. Sometimes at night I freak myself out about the sounds I hear from outside
15. I love asking other people questions about themselves to see how long they'll talk
16. I love meeting foreigners
17. I've kissed more foreigner boys than American boys- even in America. I always seem to find them?
18. Living over seas wouldn't bother me, in fact I would love it
19. I might miss my family- but then again, that's what the phone is for...and blogs!
20. I have a new niece, Olivia!
21. I haven't met her yet, but I already love her heaps
22. I plan on spoiling her and being the "cool aunt"
23. I'll even take her for the summer when she's a teen, but I won't let her dye her hair crazy colors or get tattoos, I promise. My brother would kill me, only after his wife!
24. I get to meet Olivia in 2 days
25. I also get to see the rest of my family! horray!
26. I'm at work right now
27. Not digging my job anymore
28. I’ve never been late for my job (the one I have now)
29. I start at 4am, tues-sat
30. I'm looking for a new job
31. I'm waiting to hear back about a new job I applied for last week, fingers crossed!
32. Sometimes I think work is so over rated- I just got an email about the importance of work in one’s life from my step mom- hahaha!
33. I can't wait to not have to work at an entry level job- blah
34. I've been working full time since I graduated high school, mission was def. full time
35. I've been going to school on and off, mostly off
36. Last semester was my first semester back at college in almost 4 years!
37. I did really well... all A's and B's
38. I can't wait to be done with school
39. I'm majoring in Tourism Management and Development
40. I would like to work as a tour guide in Africa or south America, taking rich people on tours, I would also like to use my spanish
41. After doing that, I would like to "settle down"... maybe
42. I CAN wait to get married- I'm in no rush, it's a HUGE commitment.
43. I'm not dating anyone at the moment, that's also a HUGE commitment! haha
44. I ran into the guy I was dating when I got home from the mission last week, and wondered WHY I ever dated him?
45. I enjoy reading late into the night (which happens to be about 10pm these days)
46. I'm a RS teacher and I love it
47. My favorite church calling ever was being a missionary
48. I would like to serve another mission with my husband
49. I'm very opinionated- but like to hear other peoples opinions or ideas, especially when they’re passionate about something-even if I don’t agree
50. I like to listen to peoples stories and or ideas on life, if they have something interesting to say, or listen to them if they need a sounding board
(in Buffalo, NY waiting to catch the overnight bus to NYC)

51. I love talking to my older brother; he's by far the funniest of the lot
52. I'm usually in a pretty good mood when I wake up; I'm a morning person these days
53. I love candy, but try not to eat it
54. I don't like fast food or soda
55. I want to work out, but I haven't been "feeling it" lately. I am fat
56. When I'm mad or upset, I get quiet
57. I don't like being bossed around
58. I love nice people, so I try really hard to be as nice and friendly to others as I can
59. I don’t have a TV- but I watch a lot of youtube- haha
60. I try to compliment people
61. I love to travel, really love to travel
62. I ALWAYS have a trip in mind
63. I want to have visited as many countries as how many years I am old. I'm 24
64. I've been to 15 countries, so I'm 10 behind
65. I plan on visiting at least 15 countries in the next year and a half, on two different continents
66. I'm a great goal maker, but a terrible day to day list maker
67. I don't save money unless I have a goal
68. I live in a studio apartment
69. I don't have a kitchen- weird, I know
70. I've only killed one cockroach since living there, well, I found him dean in my bathroom
71. I hate hate hate bugs
72. Once in Laos, bff Amber and I were sharing a bed and I woke up with a centipede crawling on me, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It was like, 8 inches long. I screamed and almost gave Amber a heart attack
73. I didn't sleep the rest of the night, or the following night in that bungalow
74. I secretly love speaking Spanish
75. I’m planning on learning Italian next, I bought the books!
76. My favorite feature is my green eyes
77. I just chopped off all my hair and am going blonde again
78. I can say “Hello” and “Thank you” in all the languages spoken in the countries I’ve been to
79. I think I’m pretty funny, or at least tell myself I am. Lol
80. I don’t plan on finding out the sex and or sharing the name of the baby before they’re born
81. When it comes to some things, I don’t care for others opinions
82. I want a lot of kids, but don't want to have to give birth to all of them
83. I would like to adopt a child or two
84. I love old people, especially Spaniard women
85. I secretly can’t wait to be really old
86. I’m not a picky eater, I’ll try anything once. I'm still fat
87. The strangest thing I’ve eaten has been fried soy grasshoppers in Thailand, or dog in Vietnam
88. I hate not straight-from-the-refrigerator-freezing cold milk
89. If I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be ice cream or canas-a Spanish dessert- sooooo yummy!
90. Summer is my favorite time of year, but not in Arizona
91. I have a ghetto booty, thanks to J-Lo, who's made them popular again, well, not with the LDS guys
92. I don’t like snow, period
93. I could retire to a small island somewhere in Indonesia
94. Sydney is my favorite city
95. I know I would get sick of ice cream and canas
96. I don’t know how to cook
97. I feel bad for my future husband
98. I’ll be a quarter of a century old this year
99. I will see all my siblings on my Dad’s side, except for Jordan this weekend! Horray!
100. I think confidence is uber sexy and cockiness is so so so unattractive

Family Ties

2008-05-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

My family’s some of the most bomb-diggity-bomb people around. Fo sho. Yeah, I dig ‘em all…. Here’s some pictures of them, also some of the reasons why they’re at the top of the Coolest People Ever List. Who needs People mag to tell us who's cool or not! When they're all within our families!
10.They're all very kind hearted people
9. They're all very cute/attractive people (every last one!)
8. They're all hilarious in their own way
7. They're all smart
6. We all get along, that's pretty good considering how big our family is
5. I can easily talk to any member of my family
4. We're there for each other when one's in need
3. They give great sound advice
2. I can vacation with them and not get annoyed
1. I have the best 2 families ever, I adore them all!
The Hammons

Krystal/Jordan/Brian

The Browns

(some of) The Boys

My G Bob (Gentry)

Cameron & Julie

And the latest addition- Baby O....otherwise known as Olivia! Horray!

Bay to Breakers Run

2008-05-28T11:43:00.001-07:00

So I just had to post this picture of my friend from high school. His name is Stewart-I'll leave it at that! He lives and works in the Bay area and did the Bay to Breakers Run 2008. It's a traditional run in San Francisco- it originally started in 1912 as a way to lift the city's spirits after the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, it is the longest consecutively running footrace in the world... way cool!
So here's what he dressed up as! An Aborigine! He's on the right. Here's another picture of some crazy runners... picnic tables and runners in the background… pretty creative!

A Walk Down Memory Lane #1

2008-05-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick recap of what I’ve been up to the last few years…
I was called to serve in the Spain Las Palmas Mission starting July 2005, but technically started in the CLAM (otherwise known as the California Los Angeles Mission). And had I known then what I know now, I might have actually asked to stay all 18 months there! Hind sight is always 20/20. JOKE.
So after waiting for my VISA there for a few weeks, I was sent to the Canaries, which are off the north/western coast of Africa. I grew to love the Canaries. In time.
After almost a year there in the islands, the Las Palmas Mission and the Spain Malaga Missions were combined. YAY! I was then transferred up to Fuengirola, el costa del Sol- on the peninsula where I finished. I completed the mission in late Dec 2006, taking almost 3 days to get home, with a night in London, NYC and a whole day in Dallas, TX. Ah the excitement! I have pictures to prove it!
Our investigators with their kiddos at a branch activity. Fuengirola.

YAY! Found my brothers name on a trash can! Lol.

A service project in my first area with some of my favorite missionaries! Lang, Seminario and Curtis!

Our lovely Moroccan friends, giving us a leaving party. We worked at Cruz Roja with them.

Working with Cruz Roja on Fuerteventura-to help the Africans that came over on boats.

My last Sunday on the mission, with one of my favorite ladies ever, Gloria, at her baptism. Her (ADD) son and my (ADD) companion, Hermana Boisserie.

joining the MASSES

2008-05-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

So my sister-in-law, Julie, mentioned on her blog that no one in her immediate family has a blog site.... WELL! Do I have news for you all!! I've actually had a blog site forever- but I've never posted anything on here. I'll admit, I've been too lazy and or busy to post anything. Between working full time and going to school full time- I've never found much time for anything else. BUT now that it's summer and I'm done with school for the time being, I'm going to take the time to join the MASSES and create a blog site!
Oh, and I believe that every blog entry needs a picture or two, for entertainment purposes.
So I've posted a picture of me between the roots of an ancient tree in the Angor Wat grounds, in Siem Reap, Cambodia- that my friend Amber and I got to see last summer on our Epic Asia Trip 2007. Enjoy!