ONE SINGLE LIFE

Honk honk

2012-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

I'm just gonna go right ahead and say how totally impressed I am with myself right now. Yep, I totally rock and I'll tell you why. I just successfully pulled off a "Winterfest Carnival" (whatever that is) for like 700 people!!! And everyone had a great time! Phew... I'll be honest, I though for sure it was going to tank. Hard. BUT my committee came through with their assignments and we did it!!!!

I'm the co-chair of the stake activities council and once a month we have an activity for about 600-1200 people (it's always more if there's free food) and this month is was a carnival type thing - ring toss, pie eating, musical chairs, bball shooting, HUGE twister etc. I'm so glad it's over.

But yeah, don't mean to toot my own horn but uh... honk honk

Tempted

2012-01-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my phone buzzed and I got a text from one Jessica Weiss... "I want to have an adventure today. What are you up to?"

Just a few short hours we were on our way to see The Temptations in Wendover, NV. It took no time at all thanks to Steve's lead lead foot and Jessica's helpful updates on how much longer it will take if we go ___ mph. Unfortunately it was sold out by the time we got there so we eneded up going from casino to casino trying to understand why they all look IDENTICAL (except for the Wendover Nugget) and Jessica explaining which slots are the best.

Oh, also! The Temptations are not women. Who knew?

Right now, just tonight....

2012-01-06T22:44:00.000-08:00

... I decided to make a few goals for the year. So far I've come up with the following: post something on this blog at least once a week. C'mon, can't be that hard right? Also, I'd like to aquire a navy blue KitchenAid stand mixer just like Julia Child had.

Not bad goals for the year.

I will also stand up for myself more firmly. There is no room in this life of mine for people or habits that do no good.

I will think of other things I'm sure but I naturally oppose making New Year's Resolutions base solely on the fact that i'm "supposed to" at this time of year.

Thanks.

2011-11-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

Oh, yes. This year Thanksgiving will be a wonderous event. Lots and lots of Pacific ocean and sun, grilled pineapple and zero agenda. That's right, Maui here I come. I leave for this blessed event first thing tomorrow morning and it will be amazing. It's only "hit" me a little that I'm leaving for a tropical island but I'm sure It'll wack me right in the face as soon as I step off the plain in Kahului. We rented a little apt. in Paia and from there will find all our adventures!

Hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving and the storm, do a snow angel for me. I'll do a sand angel for you.

Reunited and it feels so good

2011-11-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

My fall hair color is back in action and I'm loving it! Ahhh.. the change in seasons, wearing scarves and sweaters. Fall is my favorite of the seasons and I'm always so glad when it comes.

I walked into the salon dead set on going back to my natural color (a.k.a the color of kitty fur) but that lasted for like 30seconds.

Welcome fall and winter!

Potato Harvest

2011-11-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

Picking potatoes is fun.

Mad Dog

2011-10-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite new friends these days is Stephanie Stuart. She comes complete with an awesome husband and a darling 16mo. old. Steph and I started working together right after I moved from Seattle back to UT. We toiled through the crappy work days at 3form, day in and day out. But now we both work as interior designers together. On Friday Steph went into labor and I was their "#1" to take care of Madison. I'd been looking forward to this for like 2 months and had it all planned out. I picked up Mad Dog from daycare and we went home and decorated the house for baby brothers arrival AND (this was what I was most excited about) we mad the baby a "painting" to welcome him home from his big sister. Thank you Kacey for the idea! Judging from this video it was a success.

smart phone

2011-10-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

I am one who makes lists. Lots of them, everywhere on any scrap of paper I can find... a business card, receipt or gum wrapper. I'm not too proud to admit that this steel trap of a mind sometimes just doesn't quite get all the details. And today was no different.

I totally double booked myself for two events that are both highlights of my month/season. I spearheaded hosting a what we call a 'favorites' party and because this elephant brain actually did forget something, I scheduled the party on the same night as bunko! :( No bueno!

So. That settles it. I NEEEED my iPhone back. I need a quick accessible calendar with me at all times who's alarm actually goes of when it's set (hint hint Samsung Gravity 3). Birthdays will be remembered, parties and lists will all be made in one perfect little hand held bit of wireless love. I'm half tempted to put my original iPhone back to work.

Domestic Success: A fall purse

2011-09-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Alrighty... anyone who has read this riveting blog since I started it whenever ago may remember the "Domestic Success" posts. Well, ladies and gentlemen they're back!

Behold the first Domestic Success of this new era:

I decided to make me a new fall bag rather than buying one because I get really picky when it comes to purses. I bought this Amy Butler pattern back in May and finally decided to whip it out last weekend after I'd finally found fabric I liked.

It's kind of a bit bigger than I imagined it, like one of those annoying HUGE chick bags but I still like it cuz I made it (and I've already lost my keys 14 times). I'll be making more of these little projects because they're pretty easy for the fledgling sewer like myself.

So cheers to having great fall/winter projects and stay tuned for something else...

Awe struck

2011-09-14T21:00:00.001-07:00

So, I went to the Utah State Fair last weekend. I've been to this fair a few times now but somehow managed (much to my dismay) to MISS the most incredible, jaw dropping display this place has to offer. We're talking tears here people - I actually had tears whilst walking around this particular portion of the fair.

I'm talking about the CREATIVE ARTS pavilion. Oh yes! You heard me. Just take a look at some of the gems I got pictures of. I mean, it's almost like I'm speechless - but not...

What is this creepy cowboy doing? You can't see it in this pic very well but it was like he was trying to be sexy and wink at you with his hips all cocked to one side and riding a bucking horse! He got a "best of show" ribbon?!?

This one I couldn't believe was actually taken seriously... Not the wood box, the tree. The store bought ficus with a TIN FOIL BIRD glued into it!! See that white blob in the middle of the tree? Yeah, that's the bird. I kid you not. Blue ribbon.

And this one...

Oh my. Yes, that is for real. I'm not really one for religious relics, "art" and such and this is no exception. It was hideous. And it got a blue ribbon - they all got ribbons. Creative Arts is a term used pretty liberally I guess but I'm ok with that because it was the most entertaining part of the whole night.

But for serious now... this was the ONE thing I had to see this year and it did not disappoint. KACEY!! This one is for you:

The Dairy Farmers of Utah "butter cow" 2011 sculpture. This puppy is made of butter, lots and lots of yummy butter. And it's Will and Kate!! We love them!

"Camping"

2011-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday night I went to the ward camp out. I had so much fun!! I really love my new friends in this ward and kinda love that most of them are younger - oddly enough the immaturity suits me. Big surprise - I know!;) My new ginger friend Sandi and I had a ball acting like idiots most of the time and laughing for the rest of it.

Sandi fell flat on her face. I laughed. and then proceeded to do the EXACT same thing.

We stayed at the Heber Valley Camp at the best site they had. Gordon B. Hinckley had this camp built for the Young Women's program as well as families. It's not really camping except for the fact you're in the woods but there are heated cabins, fridges, storage rooms, stoves and electricity. It is a really nice facility
The weather was A.MAZE.ING!! So perfect, the food was delish, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The bishopric in this ward and their wives are so generous and really fun to get to know.

I love the fall and it was so nice to spend some time in the crisp outdoor weather.

She's like the little sister I never had....

Dreaming of the day...

2011-09-07T21:25:00.001-07:00

At The Huntington in CA there is a gift store full of crap no one needs - just like at any museum or the like. However I always find something that I just HAVE to have like the set of 10 Frank Lloyd Wright 'Thank You' note cards or those flat smooth rocks that you can fiddle with, a book you'll never read etc. And this visit was no different.

But let me tell you, this find we ALL need. I can see myself buying everyone of these because I dream of having the excuse to use these little treasures. Dinner parties, baby showers, a fancy date, birthday party... anything really.

CAKE kitchen papers. I daydream of well planned, beautiful get togethers with my friends and family and I would love to use these papers to dress up the table and dishware. Oh, I will and I'll invite you to join us.

[picture from cakevintage.com]

Good night...

The city of angles

2011-09-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

Labor Day
Drive to Glendora, CA.
Car prizes every 100mi courtesy of one Jessica Weiss
Go to The Dounut Man at 1am UT time
Sleep at Becky's house
Go to Huntington Beach
Fish tacos
Get half of Huntington Beach IN my swimming suit via getting churned up in the surf
Buy 8 $1.50 belts at Forever 21
The Huntington museum and botanical gardens
Flea market and a vintage dress
Trader Joe's
A movie in the Hollywood Forever cemetery
Drive to Salt Lake

It was a good trip

Impulse do-er

2011-08-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

I'm totally an impulse decision maker. When it comes to moving, crafty projects, trips or even jobs I'll usually just go for it with the thought that "I'll just deal with whatever comes up when I get there" Most of the time it all works out and I don't have to backtrack and fix some stupid mistake I've made. A lot of my success comes from faith. I rely heavily on the principle of tithing to get me through a lot of these wild hair moves and job changes - cuz those things ain't cheep.

For example: I got a call from my schoolmate and friend Liz on Thanksgiving day back in 2005 and she said "Gomez Associates is hiring and my roommate is moving out. You should move in with me" By January 3rd or 4th I was moving to NYC with a couple duffel bags of clothes, an interview with Gomez and the belief that I could just find a job once I got there. And I did.

I like that about myself. I like change and I like just going for it. I get bogged down if I try to think about things too much. Like tonight, I went to the salon to get some blonde highlights to cover the kitty fur roots I had sprouting out of my noggin and left there 2 hours later a bright sparkly redhead. Again.

Try it. The impulsiveness I mean.

Bear Lake Brawl: Check.

2011-08-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the full report on my first triathlon:

The nerves didn't even hit me yet, not till I was mid-swim. I guess that's the good thing about going into something sorta blind is that you don't have a ton to be apprehensive about (except that I'd almost started crying two or three times the week before and at least once the morning of the race - pansy).

I was so happy to get my butt out of that lake after the swim. I didn't know what I had gotten myself into until I was about 100m out in the lake. It was so much harder mentally than I thought it would be. I was THIS close to tears but just kept reminding myself that it wouldn't last long... and I prayed that I would actually make it to the beach.

The bike was a cake walk. It was like 12.2 miles of easy scenic sunday riding, thanks to the flat course of course.

Ahhhh... I did it!!! I was .5 seconds behind that girl in the green. SO close to 4th place (I guess I shouldn't have been pushing her - we were right next to eachother in the transition area and she was really nice).

My family came up to watch and cheer for me. It was SO great to have them there to share this with me. THANKS FAMILY! And Joel and Steph & Ken for cheering too!

So yeah, I finished 5th in my age group (25-29), kept a faster pace during the run than I'd planned on and had a good time doing this. Oh! and i got a really ugly t-shirt. I plan on doing this again next year, and perhaps a few inbetween.
I did it!!

My first...

2011-08-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

I am signed up and have paid for my first triathlon that happens NEXT weekend. I'm a little bit nervous for the swim and that I will not have the mental willpower to actually finish without stopping - that's my goal. To finish. And to finish w/o walking during the run. It's only a "sprint" distance which means a 750m swim, 12mi bike and a 5k run. I get bored when I run and have to force myself to keep going. And the swim... well it's just a big cluster of people piling into the lake and I very well could get kicked right in the face and I've really gotta keep this money maker lookin' good ya know?

Ah well... it'll be fun I'm sure. I've got my very own fan club coming up just for the race and I'm SO glad to have support!

Today I saw my first Life Flight landing and pick up. A group of us went up the mt. to Guardsman pass to ride Wasatch Crest trail (which is an absolute must-do geogeous AMAZINGLY beautiful trail:)

and one of the girls we were with totally ate it hard and mangled her arm. We were 6 miles in when it happend and she didn't want to hike out so the helicopter came and got her. It was pretty rad to see it all. Poor girl, just got out of surgery a few hours ago. She'll be ok. (I can hear Life Flight right now... I hope they're ok)
Before:

After:

Also:
I can't get the background color changed on my blog and I don't like Blogger.

Six Months (keep scrolling down...)

2011-06-11T18:48:00.001-07:00

HEY! Below is the really interesting stuff I've done since 2011 started. This year has been pretty regular with a few awesome parts and a couple crappy ones and now it's already half over.

Missed a call from myself...

Yeah, weird huh? My phone started ringing and I looked down and it was my own number.

Started a new-old job back at Chase Associates.

Adios 3form - you suck.
Rode Frontrunner from Salt Lake to Ogden for dinner on President'Day

Celebrated Andrea's birthday at Tokai

Andrea and Dianne
Witnessed a lot of snow coming down at inappropriate times.

Celebrated St. Patrick's Day with friends

Celebrated Naomi's birthday at Mazza

Realized that I love to wear stripes.

I think there about 21 tops in my closet that have stripes

Built myself a little patio... well most of a patio

I made myself some knee pads with duct tape and work gloves

I turned 28.

Celebrated by eating at Pat's BBQ. Then went back to my house to have cake and icecream by candlelight since the power was out. It was a great birthday

Completed my first actual sewing project. A skirt.

I am very proud of myself!

Pretty cute eh?

Surprise visit to Seattle

I flew up to Seattle to surprise Kacey at her baby shower. It worked out perfectly!! She was so so surprised, I almost cried. That place is so beautiful

Moab weekend

At the start of our 10mile hike we were all smiles...

Lynn's pose for the calender, this was April I think

This one was Joel's... September maybe?

Attempted to hike to The Living Room.

Naomi - the most accomplished hiker I know.

We didn't make it to the Living Room but we still got a great sunset view

Class of 2001... anyone?

And just today I went to my 10 year high school reunion. Seriously? I cannot believe it has been T.E.N years. 'Bout this time back in '01 I had a crush on the "Coke Guy" who refilled the soda machines (turns out he was married). These are some of my dearest friends and women who mean so much to me.

Oh.. Sunshine. I LOVE you

2011-03-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Oh hello. Today is my early day at work. We get done at 1pm which is AWESOME! Today is the 2nd day in a row of warm temps and sunny sunshine. I made myself a tasty tuna melt sandwich, took a power nap and strapped on my runners and hit the road.

I think it's even so sunny that I might have gotten a little rosiness on me cheeks (not hard to do, I'm so fair that if you looked at me wrong I might burn).

Bring it on summer! Oh, and what's even more awesome is that on monday morning we woke up to this:

And today it's like this:

Tis the season... right

2010-12-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

I live in such a great place, I love it!!

Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving we'd head over to the Kings/Grocery Outlet parking lot to pick out a tree. One year, after my brother and sister decided not to go Bill and I came home with a huge, I mean MASSIVE tree. (he had to repaint the front door jam and trim after we got it in the house) It was amazing, we had to move some of the furniture out of the front room so the monster would fit.

Today I finally finished putting up my little tree. Have a look.

Fall Favorites

2010-11-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago Mallory and Naomi hosted a fabulous "Fall Favorites" party. It was a huge hit! Everyone brings 5 of their favorite things, (like i took 5 tubes of Victoria's Secret Lip gloss) with the intent to give them away. Everyone who brings their 5 things writes their name on 5 little pieces of paper, each perons draws out 5 different names and then gives those people one of the 5 things they brought. Get it? We had a $5 limit and we all ended up with some really great stuff.

Below I've listed two of my other Fall Favorites.
My neighborhood:

My neice, Victoria:

Back in the saddle

2010-11-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

Alrighty. Break ups are hard - yes. Recovery is long - yes. BUT moving forward is the only option so, here I go.

I'm determined to not let this lil blog get covered in dust. I have a lot of things to add here and as long as I can keep my hours a work to a healthy 45-50/week I'm going to bless you all with my thoughts. HA! Whatever...

And for my next post. A quilt.

I just finished this sucker in a hair under 1.5 years. I did the top summer 09 while in the Evergreen state and finally made the time to find a quilter here in UT. Thanksgiving at my moms gave me the time and the sewing machine to finish the edges. No close ups please, the stiching is all over the place.

Toodles.

Change. Bleggh...

2010-11-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

For someone who loves and thrives on change as much as I do I sure do not welcome change when it comes in this form. I don't like it when change causes discomfort or tears. Sure sure, change is just a part of life but man it's tough. Seriously, gimme a break! I'm over it.

Domestic Success: Shepherd's Pie

2010-09-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to write down all the random things I cook up in my little kitchen and maybe one day I'll print them all out and give them to you all as a gift... or something.

Yesterday: Shepherd's Pie.
1lb Ground turkey; browned in a deep-ish pot
1 can corn
frozen green peas (about the same amount as the corn)
fresh mushrooms sauteed in a little butter and a lot of garlic
some chopped red ontion sauteed with the mushrooms
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
4 large-ish red potatoes, boiled and mashed (with the skin) with 1Tbs butter and 1/4c. milk
Shreaded Medium cheddar cheese
Grated Parmesean cheese
S&P

After the turkey is cooked through + condensed CofM soup and veggies in the same deep pot. Stir till mixed. Spread the mashed potatoes nice and smooth over the top.

Cover + bake for however long... everything is cooked already so just till it's heated through. I had the oven at about 275 for about an hour.

In the last 5-8 mins, remove the lid, spread the cheddar and sprinkle the parm. Turn to Broil and let the cheese melt and brown. ***Keep an eye on it so you don't burn it!

It turned out really great and is a perfect fall 'one course' dinner.

A Wee Bit of Nesting

2010-09-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got up early and went running. But about 15mins into it I talked myself out of continuing because I had a headache (plus I get bored when I run and I had a project I was looking forward to working on.)

BEHOLD.... the finished project. I had painted a different "painting" on this same canvas but ran out of steam with it so I did something else. (you can see that other painting one post down.)

On Thursday I FINALLY got some frames and put up the two little prints I'd acquired this summer along with two other paintings I did some Sunday morning and a small painting I bought at a San Fran farmers market back in like oh eight. I like my desk!

Here's the cute side of my kitchen. This tiny little space of mine I just love. I can touch the N and S walls at the same time and if I'm sweeping I can stand in one place and get the whole floor. The little butcher block thing came on loan from Joel's house, I took the flower pics a few years ago when I discovered the "EXTREME MICRO" setting on my new camera. That white flower is only as big around as a nickle.

This is the 'functional' end of my kitchen. I need to get an extension cord for that microwave...

2010-09-06T10:46:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I got in my car and it smelled like toe jam. I'm not kidding. The culpret: cottage cheese. I'd eaten cottage cheese and pears on the way to work friday morning and didin't take the bowl inside. Oops. Gross.

I bought a new pillow on an impulse on Saturday from Modernthread The charcoal and white chevron one. It will perfectly match the fabric I'm using to cover my new old chairs. You'll have to be patient to see the change for the chairs... it's gonna take a while before I do it. The sofa I have needs to be slip covered too so nevermind the flowery floral blah.

Happy Labor Day...

Loving where you live

2010-08-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

Everyday when I get done with whatever I'm doing I'm always happy to head home. I L.O.V.E where I live. My neighborhood, my tiny apartment (all 406 sf of it), the proximity to downtown. Everything.

Intimacy

2010-08-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about intimacy for juuust a second. I think most of the time I/we gauge the appropriate level of intimacy (or lack of) by the amount of time we know someone. If it's not time is how comfortable we "feel" with that person (+ the amount of time we know them.)

But today I finally formulated in my lil brain that it's not only time or how you "feel" but the CONTEXT of your relationship with that person - whomever it is.

FOR EXAMPLE: Women... do a lot of you tell all sorts of details to your stylist about your life? I would guess that our hair stylists know a lot about our lives that other 'mostly strangers' don't. Why? Because we're in a confined concentrated relationship with them. What else are you going to do while she stares at you in the mirror for an hour while she's doing those foils? Also, she's safe. Excluding those of you who have a bestie as a stylist, the rest of us have stylists that were/are strangers and they'll never tell our neighbor what we think about that hideous color she painted on her front door.

See what I mean? It's the context in which our relationships occur that determine intimacy - not simply time or feeling. It was totally appropriate for Sandy to all up in my business down there but if that librarian tried any of that I'd be all "excuuuuse me?!"

Context is a big player, that's all I'm sayin.

Kacey, this is for you.

2010-07-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Kacey,
Everytime I try to upload photos on my blog they come out as jibberish... it's annoying. I'm trying, I really am. I'd like to keep up with this here blog being that it's now AUGUST. Holy crap, it's August.

It's really hot here in the Utah but luckly my apt. stays mostly not hot - as long as I don't move around too much. Work is still work and sometimes I remember back to waiting tables and how much fun I had doing that with you and everyone at Boston's... ah the days. I need a visit pronto.

I bought some really ugly chairs that I'm going to have recovered (my goal is this month). The fabric is straight from the gross 70's but the shape of the chairs is rad. The new fabric is dark gray with a white botanical print.

I've done lots this summer: St. George and Zion National Park for my birthday/celebrate Naomi getting her Ph.D, Island Park and West Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, got a new night stand and painted it the perfect yellow, played in a golf tournament where I won the women's longest drive contest. Hiking, biking, running, fireworks (made some fireworks of my own too... woot). We all bought season passes to the local amusement park (that's kinda neerdy cuz the only other people that have passes are still in jr. high not 27-30 year old single people! HA!!), lots of dates and summer fun!

so much has been going on this summer and it's almost over. I love the fall so bring it on baby!!!

Miss you! When can I come up and visit? When are you and your sis gonna come down?

Sunday Night Blues

2010-06-27T20:30:00.001-07:00

I feel very uneasy tonight. I don't know why. I just got home from a great weekend away in Jackson Hole, WY. Geez! That place is BUH-Utiful! Maybe it's the standard Sunday Night Blues that get me just about every week. Knowing that tomorrow brings work and no play. Bummer. BUT. I did have a nice weekend so I shouldn't complain too much.

I hate uneasy. I hate that things outside of my control make me uneasy and that I let them. It's like that feeling you've forgotten something important or that sick feeling you get when you missed your alarm on the ONE morning you just COULDN'T miss that alarm. Does that happen to you? Do you let the thought of something sad get to you to the point that it makes it hard for you to relax eventhough you can't do anything about them? I try to avoid this feeling by being rational but at times I'm just not. So what if you failed that test, got a ticket, ran out of money for the week, so what if he didn't call, who cares if you dented your car, have stress at work or want to make things better and cant.

I think I'll read a talk from the Ensign.

It all blows over. It does.

xoxo

**HELLO! Anyone there?*

2010-06-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Do you see the date today? Do you see the date of my last post? Yes, it's been that long since I've been able to post on my blog. I just got the internet installed. I mean JUST, I can still smell the "I've been working in the heat all day" comcast guy in my apt. I've got lofty ambitions to keep you all informed of the great summer I'm having and plan to continue to have. But not right now.

Stay tuned. But just know, I've missed you.

2010-02-28T08:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I 'spose I should get at least one post in in February. Work is SO MUCH WORK!! I had 36 hours of overtime on my last check- and we don't get paid overtime till after 48 hours in a week... you do the math.

I literally have nothing to report except that I still like my job. It's still hard, but now it's hard in a different way. At first it was hard because I didn't know where to find the info I needed. Now it's hard because I'm still learning to manage my work load. The northeast is a super busy territory and everyone that calls truly believes their project deserves to be put at the front of the line. Well, I'm getting the hang of it and I hope they keep me around.

OH!! Here's something non work related, I applied for an apt. yesterday. My very first apt. BY MYSELF! It's the most perfect little place, I love it already and hope I get it. I forgot to put a couple pieces of info on the app and woke up in the middle of the night in a panic thinking "oh no! they'll never approve me for the place because I didn't put my license plate number on the app!!!" Irrational? I know. I'm a little anxious/tired/overworked/crazy lately.

Well, one post in Feb. not bad.

Love you all!!!!

I'll post a picture of my new fabulous place soon!

XOXO

I'm Official

2010-01-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Alright folks. I'm at the end of my 2nd week at my new job and I really really like it. It's hard. I cover the northeast US and the Caribbean. No I don't get to travel. Too bad! I'm so tired. Moving is a lot of work and I haven't had to be up before 9 am for like the last 11 months... hence the lack of details and posts.

Ciao Seattle

2010-01-17T10:49:00.000-08:00

I moved. Again. This time back to the ol' beehive state. Yup, I sure did. Over Christmas I interviewed with a great company and wouldn't ya know it they liked me enough to have me come in everyday so they can send me a paycheck.

More details to come....

Christmas Recap

2010-01-06T22:31:00.001-08:00

Christmas was a much needed break and I took advantage of it! The 14 hour drive was worth the guilt-free naps all week.

There were:

Babies turning 2
Daddies having hard times with their babies turning 2...

Balloons and static...

Aunties and babies hanging out...

Babies learning to use the iPhone...

...and the camera... with grandpas help...

Freezing cold nights at the Zoo Lights...

Old friends....

and even older ones!!!

Now here's where it gets good.

Adam and Lisa showed us their 'blowface' game/something they do for fun.

Talk about a fantastic way to make everyone laugh- EVERYONE.

Brace your self for some seriously ugly faces:

We all had a great time and took about 60 pics of ourselves doing the ugliest faces we could.

You should try it sometime.

Christmas was fantastic.

Santa brought me something great- a new job!!! Yay for me.

So. I'm moving. Again. Back to SLC.

Ciao Seattle.

after a not-so-brief hiatus

2010-01-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well, here's the latest:

~ I moved to a house in Seattle with some girls from my ward. There will be no pictures of my new place because after a month it is STILL a mess (I know mom, you're not surprised are ya?).

~ I've become the un-official/official wedding planner for my friend Kacey. Mostly I just spout out all the ideas I'd wanna do for my own wedding.

~ I remembered why I don't like having TV available where I live. It SUCKS YOU IN.

~ Got the following Christmas picture from my lil bro who's over seas. He's in the middle... my guess is that he stole that sweater from the PTA president.

~Kacey and Dusting had a 'Christmas Festivus' party. It was a blast!! (see below for the proof)

This is Olive. She was having a rough time that afternoon but it seems she found the 'keg-erator' and from then on she was just fine.

Channeling my inner Frenchman.

These are the great friends I've made at work: Dom, Moi, Kacey, Katy and Jess

Ole!

Creativity with a stack of stick on mustaches... the possibilites are endless!!

And then Santa showed up! I don't remember the last time I sat on Santas lap.

But I can tell you that I've never sat on my bosses lap (as Santa or not).

We had a great time!! Thanks to Kacey and Dustin/Santa!!!!

Time Warp

2009-12-16T00:33:00.001-08:00

I've been living in my new place for 2 weeks as of today (well 34 mins ago it was today). And in that time my sleep schedule has migrated. I stay up later and sleep in later. It's weird. Like right now... it's 12:37 am. I should really hit the hay.

Maybe it's the airbed.

Wishful Thinking

2009-12-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

I've been daydreaming lately about a few things...

Maybe a visit to San diego?

A perfect necklace from my friend Tiffany. And you better believe I asked my special santa for this one... a girl can dream right?

Oh, be still my heart. This necklace (and all the others for that matter) from MD Sparks on ETSY

This perfect yellow sideboard would go very well with my new bedding. (not to mention

that I don't have anywher to put my clothes at the moment)

Oh, yeah! I'm moving again.

2009-11-30T10:43:00.001-08:00

There ya have it.

2009-11-30T10:27:00.000-08:00

This year was the first year I was without my own family.
So I borrowed this one:

Definitely some of the best turkey dinner I've had in the last few years.

Dave and I (how'd ya like me new hair color??)

Look at this lil gem!! He spent about 10 mins trying to get at some dessert.

Late night monopoly with Dave and Clay.

If you look closely you'll see Dave has mortgaged ALL his properties, I've done a couple of mine and only have about $33 to my name. Even after Dave and I cheated we still didn't win.

Well... there ya have it.

Two Quickies...

2009-11-18T23:04:00.001-08:00

Here are a two projects I did in the last week.

Numero Uno:
Zina mentioned that she wanted a autumn garland table runner. I thought I'd get her one as a thank you for the last 7 months of living in her house but had little luck. THEN. Joann's had all their "Autumn Inspirations" 70% off and I was like "I'm in." Here's what Zina has on her table now....

All that was only $20, even the vase.

Numero dos:
A few days ago I came upon this blog which lead me to this post and ultimately to this tutorial. I fell in love with the little pouch and knew it was just what I needed to make to replace my sorry, too full bag with all my nail stuff in it.
Behold the glorious results....

The linen on the outside is printed with silver metallic (a sample from me old work), and the lining is the leftovers from my flower pillow.

I went from this:

To this:

It was really easy to make. I've never put a zipper on anything but I did today. The whole thing took about 2 hrs. but it'll be quicker next time.

Turkaaaay Bowl!!

2009-11-18T22:40:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was the annual Turkey Bowl. I must say, I don't think I remember every competing in a turkey bowl and especially not in one of this magnitude.
There were 32 teams from the region (all the stakes and wards were eligible to play) and these people take it very serious. I mean... I'm athletic and very competitive but when I met my team Saturday and we started running plays and drills and I was told "no breaks till you get it right..." even I started to doubt my ability to live up to the TB hype.

But I mean c'mon... who we kiddin' here? Of course I dazzled everyone with my speed, agility and amazingness.

Somehow the church secures Husky Stadium for the evening and from 4pm on this place is crawling with Turkey Bowl-ers. 3 Fields, double elimination and a trophy. This is serious.

Here is our team "4th Reload" Not sure what the significance of that name is, like I said, I met all these people about 15mins before this picture was taken. We have Kyle, Art, Jenny, Morgan, Danny, Eric, Sam, Heather, The Shelb-A-Tron, and Coralee.

My Seattle friend Stacey and her Washington "mom" Laurie. They cheered for us after Stacey's Tutu team was out in the second round.

Action shots...

The team we're playing in these shots was a team from my ward. One of their players was talkin' a lotta smack so it gave me great pleasure to catch a pass and run it in for a touchdown which aided in our win over them!!!

Ward friends/the team from my ward. See the tall lurpy guy? That's who was big talking... so glad we beat them!

It was a BLAST!!! I'm fully recovered from my "almost concussion" and feel pretty good that I caught two passes that ended in two TDs and one 3 point conversion (girls get extra points). We ended up taking 3rd place overall. Not too shabby.

A Christmas Gem.

2009-11-11T23:47:00.001-08:00

Alright ya'll. Prepare yourselves.
Today at the Everett Mall (if you're from around here you know that any sentence that begins with "Today at the Everett Mall..." can only mean you're in for a real treat. It's like saying "Today while I was in Riverdale" or "I was at the Valley Fair Mall and...")
Ok, anyway...
Today at the Everett Mall I was picking up some presents for Christmas and there was something special that caught my eye.
I don't even know what to call these... things. It was hard to pick just one or two to photograph. I really wish my phone had video so you could see the real beauty. And there were SO MANY to choose from.

While I was taking the pic of the horse one the lady came over to me and I had to pretend like I was interested in them- I felt dirty afterward. She did her best to sell me on one, "this one is only $22.50"

They're lighted from behind and have that starburst pattern in the background. Behind the starburst is a spinning thing with multi-colored spirals so it looks like the starburst is radiating. It's just a true gem...

Take a closer look at the horse one. Regular horses at the top then BAM! Zebras in the bottom with that convenient clock. Oh, and a bald eagle. Do bald eagles and zebras live in the same places?

My New Addition.

2009-11-11T23:31:00.001-08:00

Last week I woke up with the need to make a pillow to go with my new bedding. (Oh, did I mention that I got my new bedding? I blah blah blahed about it awhile back and started saving the moola and now my new bedding and I are loving life). It just needed something else so I started this lil guy....

White felt petals, an iridescent button in the middle and some satin ribbon around the belly. It was SUPER easy to make- I didn't have a pattern or anything. I traced circles on teal fabric to make sure the petals stayed in line, very lightly glued them down with Tacky Glue to make it easier to sew, sewed them down and POOF. Done.

Cept now, I think I wanna make this pillow.... it's even shown in the perfect color.

Shelby Street

2009-11-11T23:27:00.000-08:00

I suppose if Seattle had anything remotely close to a logical address system/street organization I'd have never found this charming little street overlooking Lake Washington.

(the fact this single street post has 3 street names and none of them at right angles to each other is exactly what I'm talking about)

November 1

2009-11-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

This area is- so I'm told- is usually a bit more... moody as weather is concerned. More so than Seattle proper. Sunday morning I looked out my window and this is what I saw. I'm lucky to have such a view.

Waiting tables in a leotard.

2009-11-02T12:20:00.001-08:00

I got to work on Halloween which turned out to be pretty fun. Nothing starts getting crazy on Oct. 31st till later anyway.
I thought I'd resurrect my 80's work out alter ego from my high school MORP outfit this year. It was perfect, better than before! People just looked at me and smiled like "oh. my. is she wearing that in public? while she's working?" it was AWESOME! I L-O-V-E wearing costumes that are borderline humiliating, so much more entertaining.
Yes, I waited tables for 5 hours in this get up...

Me, Trish and Rainee

Me and Kyle. Ugliest big woman I ever saw.

Nate and I. Definitely my fave outfit for the night.

Chris and I. He trained me (and I trained Nate so...)

Me, Kacey the T-I double guh-errr, and Olive the Chicken (the sicky ear ache chicken)

Jen the "mile high captain" and I. Ya know, I don't think she really even has her pilots licence.

Me and Blake the PIMP

After work I headed down to Seattle for a house party.

On my way I ran into Little Red Ridinghood who'd had a run in with the wolf.

Oh. whup, wait.. no one was ready... take another one.

There we go. These are some wardies.

My Everett friend Elaina.

And just for old time's sake...

the original 80's work out outfit. I wore that to a school dance, oh, yes I did.

Glad they had 8 kids.

2009-11-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

R & Z have been married for like 38 years. That's a long time. I'm not sure how Zina did it but she successfully raised 8 children. And she still comes home after teaching everyday with a plan for dinner- very June Cleaver-like. I'm sure her ability to figure out these dinners has stemmed from her 38 years of feeding 8 kids.

Sometime in Sept. I was sitting at stake conference admiring the quilt that some young mother had for her lil' kid and I thought it was time for me to try my hand at making something like that. I've never made anything too far beyond a pillow case... a few make-shift Halloween outfits, a bag once and a skirt that's yet to be finished. So for a week or so I casually looked for patterns for a quilt that I'd like. Nothing country please. Then I found one on the blog of my college friend- MODERNTHREAD (PS The treasures here are unbeatable!! Make sure you look at her newer posts to see the finished quilt). I followed the link for the tutorial and headed to the fabric store.

My only problem was that I didn't know how much fabric to buy because the tutorial only used 3 colors for the quilt. So I ended up buying 2/3 of a yard of each just to be safe. What I ended up with was enough fabric to make a queen sized quilt rather than the crib sized quilt the tutorial called for. Uh, SAFE? Yah, I think so.

This thing became monstrous! I spent several hours at the sewing machine putting this sucker together. I realized that if I lived anywhere else but here there wouldn't be space on the dining table to lay it all out and pin and snip and cut and blah... Had R & Z not had 8 children they wouldn't have had such a huge table and this quilt may very well have never been finished.

So yeah, I'm glad they had 8 kids. Plus their #7 is a dear dear friend.

Pretty bomb huh?! Just need to get it quilted and finished now...

Yay for hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-28T13:13:00.001-07:00

Ok, here we go.
Hunting is AWESOME!! I had a great time and we really lucked out that the weather was SO BEAUTIFUL! I was a bit worried about spending so much time in the saddle (we're talking from sun up to sun down people!), but Steevo brought me a little camo pillow for me to tie to my saddle which made a world of difference!

We rode through some pretty thick parts of the forest but it was really fun. I learned to trust the horse and his feet (he only fell over on me once).

Beautiful, beautiful, COLD but beautiful!!

He got a 5 point and it was awesome. We chased the bull at full speed through the trees... it was SO much fun!

Hello cowgirl wanna be

Andee and I riding double. We had some adventures that's for sure!

Scott and Andee

Here we are hunting on foot giving the horses a break. Talk about a serious workout!

BEWARNED: the next photo is gross.

This is the gut pile from the elk Steevo shot.
(there isn't a shot of him with the elk because... well it's a long story but some guys from ID ganged up on us and took the animal)

This is what it looks like to hunt on foot after the sun has melted some of the snow from the previous weekend.

Everyone should go hunting!

3 x 30: Western WA and Noah

2009-10-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

At the end of Sept. I took a little road trip out to Western Washington/Easter Idaho to visit Hailey and Brett and their new bundle. It's a 5 hour drive but it's pretty.
Cost: Gas
Rating: If ya have a reason to go to Moscow, ID and Pullman, WA I'd do it!

We had a great time hanging out and catching up. Caramel Apples, quilt square cutting, grizzly bear seeing etc. I'd reccommend it.

Sawtooths

2009-10-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm off to another exciting and most likely freezing cold weeking in Wyoming. This time we'll be hunting elk in the Sawtooth Mtn. Range.
Wish me luck, 4 solid days on a horse... ouch.

another blog

2009-09-29T11:17:00.001-07:00

Check this out.
I made myself a portfolio blog with images of some of the work I've done since college.
No comments though... wanna try and keep it professional

No Kidding

2009-09-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago on my way home from church I noticed this green VW with a ton of stuff filling the back seat. When I got closer I noticed that there was something else in the front passenger seat. A duck. It was a duck. A live honest to goodness duck.
I missed my exit trying to get a good shot with my phone and not crash my car.

Can you see it in profile? He was just chilln' enjoying a sunday drive I guess.

Bainbridge Island Part II: The art finds.

2009-09-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

As promised here are the artists I found while on Bainbridge earlier this month.
I had to be sneeky with my phone to get these shots so they're not the best...
I was at the Roby King Gallery and just fell in love (again).

This guy was my favorite: Neal Philpott The painting above looks like the view from the top of the mountains at Green River Lakes.

This is Mary Carlton

This is Kathe Fraga I think if I were to put original works of art into a childs room I'd put her stuff into a little girls room

This guy was at a different gallery but LOVE him too. Germaine Austin

And also Cheri Christensen

So there it is. some great stuff to browse through.

2009-09-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

If you're anything like me you spend some amount of time daydreaming about new furniture or bedding or a car or house or a vacation. Lately (as in the last year) I look almost daily for a new duvet and shams. I found one and put it in my last post. Today during my search I found a site that has not only my new duvet love but a ton of other great companies that sell fabulous bedding.

I give you pillows and throws dot com

3 x 30: Bainbridge Island

2009-09-14T17:41:00.001-07:00

Alrighty then. Last week or the week before I took myself to Bainbridge Island! LOVED IT!! It was a whole day event and worth every minute. I just wantered around the little town center going in and out of shops and galleries. Really cool place. It has a lot of biking and things you can do too but I just took my car.
Cost: $14.50 (each way, with my car on the ferry, so $29.00 round trip)

Rating: Ab-sah-friggin-lootly!!

Here the ferry is just getting underway. Bainbridge is way back there on the horizon.

Note: When you go on this ferry beware that there is a shatteringly loud horn attatched to the front and it may go off without warning. (this pic was taken after I went to the gift shop and bought a new hearing aid and a trip to the facilities to change my soiled trousers)

Charm

Mora Iced Creamery. One scoop is about the size of a softball. DE-LISH

More charm

Oh, the charm

Ok. Esther's Fabrics. Probably my favorite store I went into.

Look at all these great prints!

And ribbon...

and vinyl!

I fell head over heels in Love with this duvet. I'm talking L-O-V-E, let's grow old together!

The lady said she'd sell it to me off the display in Oct. for 30% off!!! We'll see.

(I went into a couple art galleries. The things I saw deserve their own post. Coming 9/09)

After Bainbridge Island (the city) I drove 11 miles up this road to Poulsbo

see...

A darling little norwegian town right on the water.

Down by the water there was masses and masses of blackberries (not unlike any un-landscaped

piece of land in this place)

Enter: My Dream House (or at lease one version of it)

Mt. Ranier. The mountains infront of this volcano look to be as big as those along the Wasatch front. Mt. Ranier rises over 14,000 feet above sea level. It's HUGE!!

There she is, SeaTown

There she is, Shel-tizzle

Looking out of the ferry toward Seattle.

Crochet'd it myself

2009-09-14T17:35:00.001-07:00

So forever ago I posted about something called a "Draft Dodger". Well, I decided last week that I'd try to make one myself. I do, afterall, know a basic crochet stitch and really, how hard could it be? My friend Kacey and I have been getting so excited about fall and this was my first attempt to welcome the season.

Behold....

3 x 30: Woodland Park Zoo

2009-09-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Kacey, Olive and I went to Woodland Park Zoo. That place is rather large! We had a great time and saw some pretty cool animals.
Cost: $16.50 + $5.00 to park
Rating: Do it. Especially if you have weather like we did.

I was especially interested in the bears and the elk. I'm going to go on my first hunting trip with Steevo next month...

The classic zoo attraction: Elephants and Orangutans.

Above we see the very rare Olive-us infant-illus... most likely found in her natural habitat of Bostons Gourmet or roaming wild on her floor.

Did you know: Famingos get their color from the brine shrimp they eat? I didn't
I don't really have much photo proof that I was actually at the zoo too because I didn't think to take a picture of me but I swear I was.

Later on I met up with some girls at the Wallingford Art Walk. It was fun to see a different part of the Seattle area.

I thought these S&P shakers were appropriate now that it's hunting season.

On Monday I went to Snohomish (a little country bumpkin town east of me) to check out the antique shops. There are A LOT of them there. If you're in the mood for antiques this is where you should go.

Her name was Lola

2009-08-30T19:52:00.001-07:00

A little slice of heaven! Dominique and James threw a baby shower for Sierra today. We all work together and it was fun to hang out with a bunch of the girls (and James) outside of work.

This is Dom. She is HILARIOUS!!
James "Kiss the Cook" Daniel BBQ'n up our lunch.

This is where the slice of heaven comes in. Dom needed someone to make a cake so I said I'd do it and boy oh boy I was in domestic diva heaven!! I love doing stuff like this- it's just so good for my soul. And when it turns out something like I pictured in my head it's even better!

Vanilla cake with homemade blueberry filling and coconut buttercream frosting. VOILA!!

I made the cake stand too. Value Village + E600 epoxy = super fabulous cake stand.

Meet Sierra. She is so great and will be a fantastic mom. I picture her as the one with the little girl that has the most darling outfits on all the time. I made her a... thing with the baby's name on it. I hope she doens't change the baby's name because that thing took like 5 hours to make- but it turned out perfectly.

The cake actually tasted pretty good too.

3 x 30: Snoqualmie Falls

2009-08-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Due to a generous benefactor (who shall remain unnamed for her own protection) I have been given the opportunity to spend $30 three times a month on cultural/tourist activities. This is so that I can get out of my lil shell and really see Seattle and the Northwest (Ooo!! And I just heard yesterday that Wicked is coming in September so hopefully...).

My first adventure was: Snoqualmie Falls
Cost: $0 + $12.00 in gas to get there.
Rating: Might as well. It's a pretty drive going the back way and an easy walk down and back for just about anyone. A little steep but totally do-able.

This is a big beautiful waterfall that lives in the mountain pass on I-90 just before you get into the Seattle area. If you take the country route to get there from my house it's REALLY beautiful countryside. There's a big hotel perched right at the top of the cliff next to the fall- what a view that would be! "I'd like a room over looking a 150' drop please."

Elaina, her sister and their foreign exchange student went on the "hike". It turned out to be a 1/2 mile nature walk not so much a hike.
This is the top lookout next to the parking lot. See the hotel back there? Right behind my head.

Sign? We had to get a closer look- it had to be done.

It was really a pretty day to go, I even locked my keys in my car after we got back to the parking lot. I had to climb through the trunk (which we hadn't closed yet- thank goodness) to get the doors open. That was harder than the "hike".

One Less.

2009-08-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Mission ACCOMPLISHEDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man it feels SO SO SO great to have my portfolio all done. Like done done. DONE! I just had the last of the pages printed and I slipped them into those plastic sleeves the nano-second the ink was dry and boy oh boy does it feel good or what!!

I think it's awesome to see that after as many years out of college as I was in I actually have something to show for it. I never thought this day would come. I took out 90% of my student work and replaced it with things I designed and actually had installed- and it's all real, not just made up like the school stuff.

This is something that I've had on my To Do list for like... ever and tonight I have one less monkey on my back. Take that monkey boy!!!!!

Cook the world away....

2009-08-25T16:01:00.001-07:00

Julie & Julia. Go see it! It was a great movie. Julia Child was 6'2" (says Wiki). Zina and I just got back from the 1pm matenee showing of the film and we loved it.

I love cooking. It is something I hope to be able to do always. I hope to at some point in my life have a fabulous kitchen filled with fabulous things to cook with. I would L.O.V.E to have a stove with a french burner and a marble top somewhere to roll pastries. Hmmmm.... someday!

Heartcha!

2009-08-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

I am at a loss.

I miss home. I miss my boyfriend. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss familiarity.

I've been here just over 4 months. 4 months and 8 days to be exact. For a while there I felt like this was it. This is where I was going to be from now on but I'm definately not sure about that anymore. As I look back on these 4 months I realize that they have been THE hardest of my life. I am facing 2 of the biggest trials I've ever had right now and I don't like it. I don't like feeling like I'm loosing these battles. This is so hard on my mind and my heart and my soul.

And what makes it harder is feeling like there is no clear solution to these problems. All paths are filled with bumps, hurdles, more pain, more trials, more uphill fighting- which I'm ok with. BUT which on will get me where I want to be? I know we all go through these messy parts of life and that's why I write- I want to hear your survival stories. How did you make hard decisions? How did you know you were headed the right way when you couldn't see the end? What gave you comfort?

I had to get that out. I'm dying over here! I'm a talker not a keep-it-insider and so lets talk.

Wish me luck!!!!

There and Back Again

2009-08-18T11:33:00.001-07:00

Well.
I came, I saw, I loved every second of it.
I miss home already. I wish I were still there, I am getting worried about missing the Fall weather and the nieces getting bigger. I miss my man terribly already!

The drive to UT wasn't too bad for the first 10 hours or so. By the end I was getting a bit nuts-O. You would too if you had spent that much time with me alone! But the views were nice.

I stopped in Baker City Oregon at an RV park to take a nap and use the bathroom. Probably the smallest stall I've ever been in.

This is Betty. She's the Beagle/Pug my broski found wandering the streets in Vegas (don't ask me what he's doing taking girls he doesn't know home with him) and brought to Ut to give to my step mom Lori. It was all a big scheme against my dad and they won. Betty (formerly known as Hank) will be calling T-Ville home from now on.

THIS. This was the biggest shock of the whole trip. This little doll face had changed SO much since the last time I'd seen her. She was barely standing up, not talking, had that wispy straight baby hair when I left in April and now look. She's talking, has curly hair, teeth and is so so big! I just couldn't believe it when I walked in the back yard and saw her.

Here Jesse is putting his darlings' squeaker shoes on her 'extra wide' feet. She loved loved them! She spent 10 mins. running up and down the sidewalk listening to her feet squeak.

Then I went to Wyoming. That place has quickly found a soft spot in my heart.

It was Steevo's annual "Family Reunion"... (I've been told not to disclose the location of said reunion for fear that it will become overrun with city folk and tourists). Let's just say it was way up in the mts and there were signs warning about bears.

I had a glorious time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The smell of warm air and pine, the smell of sage brush remind me of when I was a kid and we'd go camping a lot with my dad and Lori. Those were THE best times. The cold air in the mornings and being too hot in the middle of the day, being filthy dirty and not caring (not that as a small kid I cared if I had dirt under my nails). Trying to widdle something but loosing interest. Oh, I love the mountains!!!!!!!!!!

I'd have stayed another month if I could.

This is Scott risking his life by waking up his little bro, Steevo the first morning we were there. I think he would have been better off waking up a sleeping grizzly.

Some of the crew on the first morning. Dorothy, Cameron, Mikelle and Logan.

This is Scott.

This is Annesley. One of the most darling easy going kids I've met. She loved everyone.

Here's a shot of the mts where we were staying. We rode horses, played catch, fished, played cards, took the canoe on the lake and river, rode the 4-wheeler, froze, baked, got rained, snowed and hailed on, fed chipmunks, ate great food and sat around the camp fire till late.

This is Leonard, Steevo's dad on Harley.

Steevo and his dad took me on a great ride up to Natural Bridge. It was A-MAZE-ING! Beautiful place... a little saddle sore after but totally worth it.

Natural Bridge. The river goes in that archway and comes out the other side. It's huge!

Here we are down under the arch.

Here's the view from on top of the arch looking back toward camp.

So, for Steevo's birthday I gave him that dark riding coat. He's wanted one for a while and with the help of his mom I surprised him (his bday isn't till October but that's in the middle of hunting season so I thought I'd give it to him early). Now he's one step closer to becoming a true mountain man. What a seriously HOT mountain man he'd be.

This is Fisher.

Typical camping things: Chop firewood, smell like smoke, eat food with dirt on it.

We played a lot of "500". Hit the ball, catch the ball, score points, fall into gopher holes etc., it was a lot of fun!!

The pictures don't really do it justice (of course) but the mountains here are staggeringly enormous! They take your breath away.

I made it down to the lake early one morning and caught this pic before the wind started to blow.

Logan and A.

The annual Scott and Steevo canoe fishing trip (+ one girlfriend this time). It was fun. More fun that I'd thought it would be. I've been fishing before but never really enjoyed it. This time was much more successful. I even caught a fish of my own. I was so excited that I just keep reeling it in and reeling it in till the hook came out because I'd reeled it in too far. I was too busy being stunned that I'd actually set a hook and caught a fish. But hey, at least I caught one.

S and S don't like White Fish and this is their way of getting them off the line.

Steevo and his "Brookie".

Here I am with the worlds smallest rainbow trout on the line.

This is Fisher with his fish.

That's Scott and Logan.

Steevo and I took the 4 wheeler WAY up in the mts. I was watching a pair of deer eye me as they made their way through this meadow all the while checking my back for bears. We were so far up there it was kinda spooky.

Almost to the top.

At the top looking down over the campground. What a view!!! And the mountains don't look too bad either. ;) I just adore him!!!

I had a great time. Thanks to Steevo and his family being so welcoming and loving! I am already heartsick for another visit.

Headed for the hills....

2009-08-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

My public.
I'm headed to Utah as soon as I can possibly do it. I'm currently trying to get 2 shifts covered at work so I can leave as soon as Saturday morning. I'd LOVE to be able to get out of here Saturday morning.
I will be passing through to go camping at this spot. I'm in desperate need of a break from "Hi there! How are ya'll doing? I'm Shelby I'll be taking care of you tonight, can I get anyone an iced tea, pepsi, margarita or glass of wine". Don't get me wrong I'm REALLY thankful for my job and I like my job. I've been blessed to make enough dough to cover the bills but it's tiring to do that 6 days a week.

So.

I'm going camping where it doesn't matter if there's a bug in my food or if my fork falls on the ground. This is Steevo's family reunion that has happened like EVERY year of his entire life and even before then from what I understand. I can't wait.

I'm planning to have a cooler packed with goods to avoid fries and burritos, I've got two Harry Potter books on CD to keep me entertained and a lead foot so I should be good to go for 12 hours of driving.

If this is my last post because I got eaten by a Grizzly bear please know that I love you all!!!

Toodles!

Love at first sight.

2009-07-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

When Steevo and I were eating at that great little underground cafe in Pioneer Square I couldn't keep my eyes off this painting. It was FABULOUS. Really. The little tag said Rachel Dory Cows Resting. I'm in love! I have to have one of her paintings and like soon.

There was some chemical reaction which I now attribute to love at first sight. I love the style, it's perfect. Christmas gifts... birthday... Bat mitzvah... sweet 16, just a hint.

2009-07-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

The LOOOOONG awaited weekend visit finally came... and went- very quickly. Steevo and I have been looking forward to his visit to Seattle for weeks and it turned out perfectly!! The weather was perfect (not like this week- 100+ degree heat).
Early Friday we went to Alki beach. This was something Steevo wanted to do very most during his visit, that and the Mariner's game. (I think something is wrong with my camera...)

Here's the difference between having a grandma with red hair and not. Between working in a restaurant and working construction.

Steevo's first visit to Seattle! I was really worried that he wouldn't have a good time in the city with all the people and crowds but he REALLY had a great time and I was so happy. It was fun to watch him see things for the first time, things that they don't have in a little town in Wyoming. Things like homeless people digging through the garbage, or crazy people talking to themselves as they walk down the street or the street performers. He even drove us to dinner on Saturday night- in downtown Seattle. That's something I'd suggested a few weeks ago and he swore I'd never convince him to do it but...

The market. Of course.

Ride the Ducks. A perfectly touristy "To do" when you're in Sea-town. (what do you think about my camera?? what's the deal with that dark patch?)

The Space Needle.

We lucked out and had a clear day and could see Mount Rainier way off in the distance.

We had a great sunset (this pic is a little effed up... it's time for a new camera).

Awwwwwhhhh.... precious.

I kinda like how the camera messed this one up. We were in the Pioneer Square neighborhood before the Mariner's game on Saturday afternoon.

Breakfast at some little underground cafe in Pioneer Square.

I scored some GREAT tickets for the Mariner's game and since Steevo had never been to a real baseball game so this was something we were really excited for. He ALMOST caught a fly ball. Really. It bounced out of his left hand. He had taken his hat off to catch it but then realized that the ball was headed right for my head (I was holding garlic fries so naturally I couldn't catch it) so he stuck out his left hand to try and catch it. But those things are coming pretty fast and hard and it bounced right out of his hand right into the old man's grabby little hands a few rows in front. I didn't realize that it hurt his hand as much as it did till he leaned over and whispered in my ear "my hand really hurts". He had to hold his cold drink to help.

After dinner on Saturday (which, btw was FABULOUS, everyone should dine at The Dahlia Lounge) we walked around and surveyed the aftermath of the Torchlight Run that had happened earlier in the night.

We had a fabulous weekend. I loved every second of it. And better yet Steevo loved it too. Seattle is now his 2nd favorite big city.

Oh, how I miss him!!

Could I tempt you...

2009-07-23T00:42:00.000-07:00

... with a shake from Mikie's Drive-Thru? Doesn't that sound perfect for a suffocatingly hot muggy day? I'll have two.
OH!!! and PS Steevo will be here in less than 24 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In case you've forgotten who that person is or how distractingly handsome he is see the pictures below.You couldn't tempt me with one of those cheeseburger banana shakes but I could definitely be persuaded to go for one of these!!

Namesake

2009-07-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

"Hi, nice to meet you. My name is Joe."

"Hello Joe. I' m Shelby"

"Oh, Shelby like the car?"

"Just like the car."

A familiar exchange I have with about 65.87% of men/boys/guys I meet.

This Shelby is one that pulled up in front of the restaurant while I was working and I waited on it's owner. I think he said it was '67 or '68... somewhere around there and it's all 100% authentic and restored exactly how Carroll Shelby used to build them. I've never seen an old one in person so it was pretty cool!

P.S. I went to the Carroll Shelby website and guess what. Carroll Shelby's wifes name was Jeanne. My name is Shelby Jeanne. I'm pretty sure my parents didn't do that on purpose.

Summaaaaaaa

2009-07-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well hello my peeps.

So the summer here in the Pacific Northwest is the bomb. It is really just so so beautiful here. Warm, sunny and oh so lovely. Have I mentioned that already? Well it really is great, I recommend it to anyone.

Ready for a barrage of iPhone photos?
1...
2....
3......

Aren't I darling? I FINALLY got my hair done. I just couldn't wait any longer... 3" roots. I wasn't havin' it. When I get a good pic of my new hair color I'll send it yer way.

Ok, so Woodinville is only about 22 mins. (with no traffic) from here and is the heart of wine country. My friend Stacey had a meeting there and they all stayed at a great hotel. Above is a picture of the herb gardens. Be still my heart! A raised herb garden is on my wish list for "Someday when I have a house...."

This is Puget Sound looking out to the Olympic mountains (the ones waaaay in the back that are really light). I had the day off so I spent some time on Alki Beach.

I learned my lesson from the previous 2 sunburns this year and applied the 50 spf all over... ahhhh... except for from my kness to my feet. So I'm now the proud owner of a pair of reddish/tan shins.

4th of July parade with Kati (from work) and her husb Miguel and their daughters Kelbi and Peyton.

Kelbi was incharge of taking pictures.

Later Stacy (from work, not Stacey), Chris and I met back up with Kati and her fam for fireworks at Lynnwood High/Alderwood mall. It was pretty good.

Stacy and Chris.

And that brings us to today.

Sunning at Martha Lake with Kacey (from work) and Olive Kacey's daughter (who, by the way happens to be the most favorite visitor when she comes in. all the girls in the restaurant flock to the stroller when Kacey and Olive walk in.)

And could you blame us? Just look at the beauty.

And to top it all off it was the Annual Tri-Ward BBQ at Bishop Jenkins'. This is his front yard. Uh, yeah. It is that amazing!! All 5 acres of it.

Scenic-By-Way

2009-06-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Lastnight I thought about what I would be doing with my day off come morning time. I figured I'd wake up early, watch the Redbox I rented, get dressed, retun the Redbox then the bank.

I decided that I needed some thinking time and it was 90 smooth-sailn' miles to Canada so I filled the gas tank and set off.

The area just north of here is absolutely beautiful!! Rolling hills/mountains covered in HUGE trees, farm land, farm houses, little towns, lakes- all of it. Really pretty. It made me think about the path my life is taking. The Scenic route. I think I'm taking the long way to get wherever it is I'm going. I've moved all over the place had several jobs, done a bit of traveling but still don't have anything too perminant- that's how I know I'm not "there" yet. I sure am learning a lot along the way and am enjoying it (most of the time) so I suppose it's more like I'm on the scenic-by-way route. I'll get there eventually and as a bonus will have had some great adventures along the way.

Anyway... I got off the freeway at the last exit before the border (didn't have my passport) and admired Canada from Blane, WA. It was nice.

A quick video...

2009-06-13T01:37:00.000-07:00

I took this video when Steevo and I were riding horses with the intent to post it but then neglected to do so. This is so you can see him as a real person rather than only a photo.

Everyone should have a boyfriend in Wyoming.

2009-06-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a great time in WY with Steevo! I got all dressed up like a cowgirl and did my best to fit in in that little town.

We went horseback riding.

Went camping next to this perfect little pond.

Shot guns.

Got dressed up for dinner.

And pretty much had a perfect long weekend!!!

Steevo is such an amazing guy!!

Yesterday I was a tourist.

2009-05-22T00:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the day on the streets of Seattle in the sun (with a hat and SPF and no exposed winter white flesh) with friends from back home. Hailey and her husband Brett spent the weekend with the Jorgensens at a beach house down on the Hood Canal and made it up to Seattle to see the sights and to visit me (I'd like to think this-visiting me- was their main objective). Hailey and I were roommates back in SLC before she got married last summer.

Here's what we did...

The Troll. This is a sculpture that is under the 99 bridge at Lake Union (I think that's what it's called). Totally a random sculpture but the plaque said that the neighborhood was really brought together by it's being built.

(Between the Troll and this pic we spent 4 hours walking around the Market and downtown Seattle hitting all the major stores. They live in Northern Idaho which only has an Old Navy and Wal-Mart so they were in serious need of some retail therapy).

Then we went to a Mariners game. The Mariners are a big deal up here. I'm afraid to cheer for Boston when they play together for fear of my life. Between the 8th and 9th innings some guy sprinted onto the field over on the 3rd base side and made it all they way to the 1st base side (dodging 2 umps and 2 'Alcohol Enforcement' dudes before a fan tackled him 1/2 way up the aisle. Totally worth the 8 bucks.

Hailes and I. She was one of the very best roommates ever! (um. hello! look at how long my hair is getting!! The pic in my banner was in December so it's grown quite a bit in just 5 months)

Brett, Hailey and I.

You can't really tell in this pic but Hails is 6 months pregnant with a little boy. Due in August. This pic was this morning at the temple grounds.

It was a good day.

Proof...

2009-05-19T15:55:00.001-07:00

... that there IS sun in the Northwest. To all ye nay sayers, I say "HA! It isn't all doom and gloom here." Although the joke is on me because I've been eating ibu like candy and have struggled to get aloe and lotion on my crispy back. This is the result of a sunny day and a 3.5 hour bike ride. Ya know, I've been fair skinned my whole life yet I still underestimate those pesky UV rays.

Ah, hmmmm.... the following post is based on the pictures I have in my "Random pics" folder.

2009-05-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hello from the soggy Northwest. It still amazes me how great it smells here- ALL of the time.

Below is a picture narrative... I guess this is what I've been up to.

I was on a run a sometime in the last 4 weeks and I noticed that there are miles and miles of Dandilions here and they are GIGANTIC!! See that one I'm holding? Massive.

Then they go to seed like this one did and become wishing vessels.

I REALLY hope that wish comes true!

Is this flower/tree Dogwood? I love it. I've seen them all over the place and have seen a few in UT too. I'd like one in my yard one day.

I had a little birthday money come in the mail and I bought a few random items.

1: Butterfly Flower lotion from B&B Works. Definately and impulse buy. I don't even use lotion that often but something about the smell reminded me of being on vacation.

2: Have you seen "He's Just Not That Into You"? If you haven't you SHOULD. It's great! The main loveable character has some fabulous jewel-tone purple polish on the whole show. I hunted high and low for it for a few weeks but to no avail. UNTIL the Everett Mall came trough. O.P.I makes "Purple With A Purpose" polish and I just love it.

3: I always get suckered into buying Martha's semi-annual Weddings magazine. They're just too tempting. Take a look at the length of the dress on page 50, bottom right photo. Beautiful!

4: Value Village had these perfect S&P shakers offered at a mere $.99/ea. I stood and debated for about 5 minutes and walked out empty handed. It's not like I really need a set of S&P shakers right? I sent a "you'd be proud of me for walking out empty handed" text to my man (I'm trying to be frugal). He said (without even asking the price) "just get them, I'll buy 'em". I went back the next day and aquired them. They're awesome. Thanks Babe!

Dear HP,

Is it normal for your computers to freeze up, end all programs in the middle of what I'm doing an make my screen look like that?

Please advise.

Thank you,

Shelby

On my trip to the Everett Mall I strolled through the bookstore looking for a good read. I always have good intentions of being well read. Then I spotted this book. Yup. Really. It's on the shelves at Borders ready for your perusal. Notice how well worn it is yet it's still on the shelf. It just dawned on me that I didn't even think about looking at it's contents, that's how serious I took this 'book'

Sea-Town from what I would think is a great make out spot in West Seattle. I'll let you know...

39.66 hours

2009-05-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ok. Check this out.
900 is the number of minutes I have in my plan.
737 is the number of minutes I've used from my plan in the current billing period.
119 is the number of mobile to mobile minutes I've used this billing period...so far. (thanks Jana)
1,524 is the number of unlimited night/weekend minutes I've used in the current billing period.

Now. The thing is is that my billing period began only 10 days ago. TEN.
What it the world do i talk about for 39.6666 hours in 10 days? That's like a full time job.
It's a good thing I have 3,441 rollover minutes (57.35 hours) to last me till the 23rd.

I don't think I've ever spent this much time on the phone... well maybe. There was the one skinny guy I dated on the phone from Washington a few years ago. (Ash, you remember "Bonnie") Well, I must say that the bulk of these minutes are again because of a man in another state. Yes, he's totally worth using up all my rollover minutes!!

Today I went to Alki with my new friend Stacey. It's a great place in West Seattle (where Stacey lives) that has shops and cafes and restaurants. And on a day like today a ton of people out on the beach and on bikes going up and down the boardwalk. Forgot the camera so no pics but believe me when I say it is just a perfect beautiful place.

I've Encountered a Problem.

2009-04-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Things are still going great. I start training at my new fancy server job tomorrow, the weather is still absolutely beautiful and I'm happy. There is however, one small problem. It gets light here starting at 5:30. It's crazy. I didn't even think about it and with the weather being so nice there aren't any clouds to block that pesky sun at 6 am. I have been combating the light with pillows over my face but that gets tricky proping things just right so there's a good air flow. Well, I think I solved my problem. I have been wering a black beanie to bed becasue my room is pretty cold. I started pulling the rolled up cuff over my ears then realized that it's the perfect sheild from the sun if I pull it over my eyes too. Problem solved. See below.

This nasty guy thinks he belongs here. Wrong-O-buck-O!! Goooo, he was big and gross.

I've Arrived.

2009-04-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ok. I know I got here a full 7 days ago (7 days and 8 minutes to be exact) but today I arrived. This great city I'm "living" in(I say "living" because I'm in a suburb but you get what I mean) has such a great feel and energy and life. The whole area the environment the weather- all of it makes me feel more at home after a single week than 26 years in Utah- 26 years today in fact.

This place is fantastic! Really. I'd recommend it to anyone. It's not too big, easy to navigate, beautiful and really feels like where I'm supposed to be. I'm so glad I came here and I'm glad I'm daring and brave- well, I am. Who else moves to a city they've never been to, where they know no one and where they don't have a job? (oh, I got a serving job! Isn't that great?!)

I saw my mom and Charlie today. What a lucky coincidence that they'd planned to be here this weekend and now I live here. Charlie and I hit the streets and walked around and got some lunch- he's so great! My mom got misty when I said good bye, I did too a bit. She's been my biggest cheerleader through all of this (and the other huge spur-of-the-moment random decisions I make) and it means the world to me. She's got a sense that THIS is IT. I'm where I'm supposed to be, which works out well cuz I feel it too. I guess mother and daughter aren't so different after all.

Today I received a package from a distant admirer, very much appreciated!! Thanks Steevo!!

Charlie and I spent the afternoon wandering around the city and talk talk talking.

Me. 26 years old. Today.

And of course, the fish market.

sunny day and oh's

2009-04-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today I slept in. I don't sleep in anymore. My body is programed to wake up at about 7:30 and it takes some serious effort to sleep longer. But today. I slept in till 9 or some ridiculous hour like that. I think that with all the moving and settling in and stress of picking up my life and ploping it down in the Pacific Northwest has caused my body to need for sleep. It's odd because I don't feel streesed or worried or uneasy or anxious but I must be.

Well today while most people in Ut made comments to me like "It's like seattle here today" I had to fish for my sunglasses and went to the park to let the UV rays coax out my freckles. It was lovely. I got a job interview at Boston's to be a server. I swear, one of these days I'll quit the server life. Promise. Then at Safeway I found my fav cereal on sale- Oh's- definately the best cereal ever. I hadn't been able to find them in UT for several weeks. I had a teriyaki burger from Teriyaki & Burger Stop on Rucker per Dave's reccomendation and it was amazing as promised. After dinner Z, R and I went to the beach for a sunset walk. It was cold but pretty.

I'm THERE!!!

2009-04-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!!! Washington is beautiful! My room has a soft bed, wireless internet and closet space. I think I'm going to make it here. I'm really excited to start this new part of my life and can't wait to see what it brings. I'm living with Dave's parents and they're great, very generous and kind. I spent the day today with Robert (Dave's dad) going around town to his job sites and getting a bit more familiar with Everett.

The drive wasn't so bad. I thought it'd be totally miserable but I kept myself entertained by singing outloud and dancing in my seat. I had a great nap in the parking lot of the Walmart somewhere in the middle of Oregon, sipped on a few Rockstars (I don't do long trips in cars very well. Long ride=nap in my world) and POOF! I was here. It's going to be great.

Moving Sale

2009-03-26T23:03:00.001-07:00

Moving sale is just a fancy way to say I'm trying to get rid of all my crap and hope you (or any random passer-by) will be willing to buy it. In total I bet I've spent barely $700 on EVERYTHING I own (shoes and clothes excluded). I'm talking about dishes, pots and pans, dining table, bookshelves, decorations, "art", accessories, rugs, sofa, loveseat, coffee table, dining table, end table, night stand, dresser, headboard, mattress set... you get the point. That's pretty good if you ask me. I can think of two items that I purchased at full price or didn't pick up off the side of the road or out of someone's DI pile. My big mirror and my old trunk. The rest of it was nearly free.

So, I'm having a "won't you buy my old stuff that was old when I got it but you'll feel like it's new" sale on Saturday. I've already sold my sofa and loveseat for $120 when I only spent about$40... that's what I'm talking about!!!

271 5th Ave. Salt Lake City
8am till whenever

A very important announcement....

2009-03-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

My dearests. The time has come for me to leave the SL valley and head to soggier pastures. Thursday I made the decision to move. To Seattle. Yep. Seattle. I'm planning on being there in the next few weeks and between now and then will just have to unload an apartment full of stuff, stuff the civic and head out. I'm so ready for this new adventure. I'm not all sorts of rollercoaster excited but just settled on it and it's sitting calmly in my chest. Dave makes this possible and I could hear the smile on his face when I told him I was going for sure. Wish me luck!

Boring, boring...

2009-03-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

...why is my Blog so boring? Ok, I should have a stellar Blog these days since my main responsibility in life right now is just making it to the gym which leaves 22.5 usable hours to blog away. The problem is my lovely laptop decided to quit connecting to the wireless internet we're stealing from who knows who. Now I have to drive all the way out to T-Ville to PLUG IN the internet. PLUG IN??? What is this 1999? Needless to say I haven't made it out to T-Ville too often to keep up on el Blog lately.

Now that I'm in T-Ville the scoop is as follows...

I have started making muffins a lot
I go to the gym almost every day.
I fell down the stairs at work- I'm ok, thanks for asking- and the best part is it got caught on survallence video. HILLARIOUS!!
I am coaching high school track and field. I love it!!!
Still no unemployment money coming in but I'm hopefull.
My brother Jeff married his girlfriend Andrea in Las Vegas last weekend.
My little brother Calvin is on he way to the war
I sat and listened to my mom tell me stories about what I was like as a young child. also hilarious.
The job hunt continues.
I really like not working a 9-5 these days. I wasn't made for that kind of structure.

Alright, peace out.

Thank You

2009-02-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 1 week anniversary of me loosing my job. (Oh, now now, don't cry for me Argentina. It's fine. Really. The boss had to do what she had to do in order to save her company. Damn economy.) If you're someone who's close to me you know that I thrive on change. Why else would I have moved 19- yep count 'em- 19 times since high school/2001? Or why don't I care about cutting my hair? It grows back. I love change. Perhaps I get bored, well, yes I do get bored, I admit it. So this means that I have a myriad of options ahead of me for my next step in life. I have few if any ties keeping me where I am now and so I've decided to head to Alaska for the summer. Why not? Three men to each woman I'm told. I'll be in a beautiful little town called Skagway (hopefully) giving people bike tours or hiking tours or taking them on a dog sled excursion from their cruise ship (that is if anyone goes on a cruise this summer, damn economy). I could work at the local gardens planting flowers and learing the art of glass blowing. Who knows. So, that is my plan. I'll be a waitress till I leave then spend my summer out of doors where people belong. Not in an office with no fresh air. So... thank you economy.

Lucky

2009-02-07T21:50:00.000-08:00

Here I sit in my best friend's room listening. Listening to he and his little brother play original music. And Justin can't keep his fingers off the iPod touch. It reminds me of before when best friend and I would sit in his basement bedroom and he'd play for me. It was all new back then and now it's all familiar. Lucky to be listening.

If only I still lived in the city.... (sigh)

2009-01-09T07:54:00.001-08:00

Thanks Jill for mentioning this fabulous event. I would definately do this if I still lived in Manhattan.

Adios oh 8, Helllllooooo OH 9!

2009-01-06T07:48:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous holiday season it was!

[google images]

Christmas was the best it's been in years. Really. Think, what makes Christmas so fun when you're a kid? Is it really the presents? I thought so until 12.25.08. I now believe it's the ACT of opening presents not necessarily what's inside them (except that I do just love my new waffle maker which makes perfect Cheese Waffles -Don't say eeeeewwww gross till you've tried it- and my Kor Hydration Vessel).

This is why: For the last say, um... 7 years I've been a mostly poor college/early career girl and for Christmas have requested the cash money it would take to purchase things like waffle makers in order to pay my heat bill in Logan or buy gas. And this year I didn't request anything -except the fancy water bottle and some spices to fill up my new spice cupboard in my new apt because my parents have been SOOO helpful these last 7 years.

But especially in 2008 (it was that damn Audi) when it came down to the wire my parents were there. Mom helped me A LOT in getting the new Civic and dad helped me move twice, paid for a couple repairs etc. I felt like Christmas was an all year festival of giving money to Shelby this year. THANK YOU!

So imagine my surprise and utter delight when I got to tear into festivly wrapped boxes (and sleep in till 8) and actually not having a single clue what's inside. That was the best part. The suspense and anticipation just like when we were kids. That's what made this Christmas the best in years.

Now that 2009 is here:

I WILL NOT EAT ANY SUGAR. Let me explain... no sugar/high fructose corn syrup filled candy, soda, cakes, pies, and all those other lovely treats. I'm doing this not because I think those things are bad for me but because I'm lazy and hate the cold. I loathe the idea of going outside in the cold to go to the gym and even worse driving home all sweaty and cold. So. If I don't eat sugar I'll feel a bit more justified in not going to the gym.

I'm considering this: If I go to the gym 4 times in one week I can have some sort of sugary treat.

Other goals for the year:
Learn more about the Prophet Joseph Smith
Continue attending the temple regularly
Decide what I REALLY want to do for a career
Give
Start road biking so I can to the Lotoja... someday
Read the lesson before RS and Sunday School
Move out of UT
Stay motivated to complete the above list.

Death by Boredom

2008-12-29T15:42:00.001-08:00

Can you die from boredom? I guess being bored is a choice but I can only file so many papers and read for so long online before my eyes fall out of my head, or watch so many movie trailers (two or three times each), or shop or count how many times "Ken" (that's the guy that works next door) walks past our windows, or see if the lady across the way slips on the ice again or, heaven forbid, WORK. But being glued to my desk at work is agony.

F.Y.I: This DOES NOT work with the new fangled flat screen computer monitors- just in case you considered trying it.

Unexpected Treasures

2008-12-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

Whenever ago Andrew and I made a stop at the downtown Deseret Industries. (You know, it wasn't until I was much older that I realized the term "DI" wasn't the generic name for places like The Salvation Army and Savers. In fact those places are called thrift stores. Who knew?)

We left with a car full of treasures. I bought a pair of cognac colored ankle slouch boots for $4- something I wouldn't buy full price because I'm still working my way into this fashion trend. But for FOUR dollars? I'm in! I also got a pair of very near new Saucony Jazz sneeks. Like these but brown with dark orange accents. 5 bucks (Don't believe me? The DI tag is still on the bottom).

I also found a pair of BRAND NEW tasty Steve Madden red leather, kitten heeled, pointed toe slip ons. The bottoms were factory direct- seriously. They had NEVER been walked in. I bought them though they fit about as well as the glass slipper did on Cinderella's ugly step sister. I figured Jana might enjoy them... turns out Rhonda (Jana's mom) has found them a warm home in her closet.

As we were pulling away loaded with our booty Andrew exclaimed "PLEASE TELL ME I'M LOOKING AT THIS!! PLEASE!" On the sidwalk next to the car we saw this kid with his amazing invention.

He was more than happy to pose for us. You better believe that's a sub wolfer between the back wheels and a CD player between the ape hanger handle bars. So rad!! I'd definately consider trike-ing to work on one of those.

Genetic Melting Pot

2008-12-17T14:27:00.001-08:00

A funny thing happened when the genetics were getting passed out in my family... they got all mixed and jumbled up and now we don't match. There are siblings that can be recognized as "Joe's little brother" years later by the algebra teacher and then there are those who's only resemblance lies in their last names. The latter is true for me and mine.

Spiv is narrow hipped, brunette with dark eyes and gets super tan when exposed to ultra violet rays. And is short.

Calvin is TALL has dark hair, grey-blue eyes, our grandma's nose and our dad's hands. AND shares Spiv's gift of absorbing UV rays and transforming them into Golden Tan rather than Freshly Cooked Lobster like I do.

I have that same grandma's complexion: fair and freckled, blue eyes, am much taller than Spiv and have a few more curves to boast about. And when I dye my hair red no one suspects it's a farce.

We all take after someone who came before us but we don't have anything very similar.

Maybe Spiv and I have similar voices on the phone? Grandma Nonnie never cold tell if it was me, Spiv or her own daughter who answered. Oh how I'd love to see Grandma Nonnie again!

So, we don't look like we're related. Big deal.

This Lawn is Your Lawn

2008-12-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

I think it's a smashing idea to use the huge White House lawn for something more productive than Kentucky Blue. This video shows us the history and future plans to return to history of the White House lawn.

Oh ye of little faith

2008-12-16T08:50:00.001-08:00

And you thought I'd never post pictures of my trip to Boston... you probably already forgot about it.
Ok, well I hope you're ready for way too many pictures! I'm terrible at editing and pairing down, so there are a TON of pictures following...

Boston and Watertown, Halloween 2008.
David tells me that this is where Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck and Violet live. I asked "how do you know?" and he said "because I've seen them". Can't argue with that. This house is just across the grass from where David goes to church.

This is where Washington had his headquarters during the war.

I think the colors in the stone on this church are so pretty; I think it's slate. David disagreed with me.

I would like a head stone like this one.

Cristina Carruth at a Halloween party David and I stopped at. It was a ward members party and turns out Cristina was there; she used to be in my ward here in SLC

David's charming street.

David left for school early in the morning so I showed myself around Cambridge and Boston....

Harvard University

More Harvard.

And more Harvard. I started to think... "these people look pretty normal, I bet I could have gone to Harvard" Pffffff... yeah right!

"Smile Jana, I'm taking a picture" Jana was "with"me while I was walking around Harvard.

MIT

I definately didn't think I could go to MIT!

Along the river with Boston in the background. I walked all the way down the river, over the bridge and all around Boston.

Beacon Hill. THE fancy pants neighborhood in Boston. Yes please.

This street reminded me of Jorrit (Tag) Wjin's street in Liden in The Netherlands.

Right before this picture was a catering set up... it was for some movie that was being shot in Boston. A few blocks later I walked right past all the camera men and movie stuff.

The city building.

Doing my part... I've kissed a lot of frogs!

This is in Boston's North End where David's school is.

North Bennett Street School. Piano making, cabinetry and Luthier school... it was pretty sweet.

David's desk.

The piece at the bottom is the cello David is making. His final is 4 violins, 2 violas and 1 cello.

3 of the 4 violins.

Incredible detail!! Those two black lines are inlayed wood and they are TINY.

With a little bit of this...

....this....

...and this....

...you'll get one of these!

Everything is so old!

Cemetaries all over the place, right in the middle of a neighborhood.

Near Boston Commons

Salem, MA for Halloween!!

David, Shelby and Ben

The witch house had such tiny windows, nice and dark for all the boil and brewing.

He really looked like Batman (the Val Kilmer verson)

Every street for 6 or 7 square blocks was packed like this.

This guy could barely walk down the street but not because of his shoes but because everyone wanted a picture with him.

This is where they burried a bunch of the "witches" from the trials. There were 18 "witches" tried at the trials. The city had it lit up so we could all see it.

Boston Temple.

This house has been sitting like this for A LONG time! The story goes that the awful man that lived here with his wife and baby (or babies, I don't remember how many there were) was abusive and mean. The wife made plans to escape but the night before she was to leave he found out, killed her and the baby and disappeared. It's been empty ever since. Creepy.

Indian dinner in Cambridge at Harvard Sq. SO GOOD!!!

Sunday morning walk back from breakfast!

This is David playing the violin. I had to be sneeky about taping him because he wouldn't let me... that's why it's at a funny angle.

PHEWW!! Now I can cross this off my "To Do" list.

Draft Dodger

2008-12-11T15:14:00.001-08:00

Check out these Draft Dodgers on Swiss Miss. I'd like about 3 of them.

Alone not Lonely

2008-12-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Living by myself has been AWESOME! Sure, no one to share the juicy details of my latest whatever with but SO what! (I have good enough conversations in my head as it is) My two weeks of independant living will end Saturday and so I'll have to say farewell to my new love, solitude. I just wish there was a way to have the roommate pay 1/2 the rent but stay living where she does now. How 'bout it? I haven't had one moment of lonely... with two jobs, Christmas present projcets, DVD watching, paint-the-kitchen-table-bright-blue project, unpacking, decorating (mostly wishful thinking) there is no time for lonely.
Shouldn't it be that way all the time. I chose not to get lonely and I didn't.

My sister just got the keys to her first place by herself and it is P-I-M-P!!! She's definately living one of my dreams. A sweet loft apt all to myself. But you see, she's figured out how to have someone pay 1/2 the rent and not live there. How'd she do that?? She told me. Shall I share? You call me and I'll tell you the secret. (I don't want too many to find out because then you'll all start living on your own and take all the sweet lofts for yourself)

I hung out with her at the totally empty loft on Monday- I laid right in the middle of the concrete floor while Spiv explained where everything would go. I gave her my yes's and no's and ideas for storage and layout. It has a great view, awesome windows, exposed brick and duct work- totally loft-like.

Christmas Soiree

2008-12-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

Saturday was my ward Christmas party. I have a great ward and love it... in fact I balled like a baby at the thought of having to leave the ward when I moved in the The Grandpa.

These are some of the great friends I've made in the last year and a half that I've been in the Aves.

Richie (my stylist), moi, Buck Wild, Renae, Brittany and Francine.

Last year this dear head mask made it's way into the top coveted spot of white elephant gifts. My roommate had something to do with it. Buck ended up with it this year... A buck for Buck. But I told her it was like winning Miss America, you only get to keep the crown for a year then you have to give it back. We'll see this guy next year.

Heidi won the finger lights which I would've liked to have. I actually left the white elephant empty handed... don't know how that happened.

I Elfed Myself.

2008-12-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Click HERE for a little holiday treat! Merry Christmas and all that... (it'll take a minute to load but is well worth the wait)

Fa la la la la La la la la

2008-12-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

Last night I spent way too long decorating my tree. I got this free artificial tree from my boss (1/2 the lights were out so she was just going to throw it away! Can you believe that?). I found a HUGE set of ornaments- I mean HUGE- for only $18. I have left overs that wouldn't fit on the sucker so they're in a box till I can figure out another use.

Who has the time to do this? I wish I did...

2008-12-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this Twilight "review"... more like short picture verson of the movie. If you haven't seen the movie you might not think it's funny. You may not even need to read or see either of them after this. Toodles.

Time for a Change

2008-11-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

How about a haircut?

This is me with long hair....

More long hair... a little lighter

This is me with short hair about two years ago

A little blury but you get the idea, also about 2 years ago.
And I think I'll cut it. At least this short- but with a bit more creativity. I think this lil bob is a bit boring but I like the length.

I might even have the guts to do it like this. This is my cousin McKinley and her daughter Sophia.

I'd like your opinion.

Long or Short?

Keep in mind that I'll still cut it... no later than spring (gotta let the bangs grow out a bit), but I'd like to hear what you think. i think I look better with shorter hair because my face is so long.

SPARK Them Tastebuds

2008-11-24T09:32:00.000-08:00

My dear comrade Suzanne a.k.a Scuz, is a talented interior designer and I would like to show you something she had a hand in. The pictures on Your Heart Out don't show much of the interiors but believe you me this place is GREAT!! SPARK is a contemporary restaurant and lounge. They offer great non-alcoholic drinks so those of us who don't drink alcohol can have a choice beyond Diet Coke or Sprite (though they offer those too- I've never had a soda there). The food is BEAUTIFUL as well as DEE-LISH! I've been there twice now and tried something new each time except for the Bacon & Eggs Ice Cream (don't knock till ya try it! It's not what you think. You'll LOVE it). I've been blown away at the perfect presentation, the proportions, the creativity of food pairings, the service- everything.

SPARK is totally worth the drive to Provo for a date night with your sweetie. You'll see the young owner Blake (a Napoleon Dynamite look alike), there chatting with guests and glad handing VIPs. Please check it out, you won't be disappointed.